shelemm
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- Joined
- Feb 10, 2006
- Messages
- 1,859
Our two day trip (same time last year) to MK and AK was such a success, that I thought we should recreate some of the magic this year. The crowds did their part of the bargain by mostly staying away. As an extra incentive, we had the P&P Party to look forward to.
The trip expanded from two to four days, which meant we knew we were getting into some rough territory by going all day in the parks. To make matters worse, I learned that my son had a school talent show the evening before the trip, so I had to change flights from late afternoon to late, late evening. Hang on folks, this is going to be a bumpy ride....
Day One; MGM. I didn't think I was going to like this place all that much. I'm hardly into movies, and the idea of stunt shows don't thrill me. But boy was I wrong. First of all, the park is just gorgeous and Disney does a great job with capturing the glamor of Hollywood. The streetmosphere characters here are an important part of the scene. Fantasmic is sensational, the two big rides, TofT and RnR are unbelievably good, and the stunt shows were wonderful and surprising. I was really impressed with Lights Motors Action. I also loved sitting down with my kids at the drawing tables at the Animation Academy. This was a great, great first day! Three Favorites: LMA, Magic of Disney Animation, Fantasmic.
Day Two: Islands of Adventure in the morning. For a family of mixed interests, this park poses some problems. There is a lot of walking to do here. The distances are enormous. If someone doesn't want to get wet, then they have to do a ton of walking to get to the next acceptable attraction. The two coasters have significant height restrictions. Still, some rides are so much fun. The Cat in the Hat outdoes PP, SW and WP in Fantasyland. Popeye and Bluto Barges also better than KRR at AK. Spiderman and Poseidon's Fury unique and great.
Three favorites: Spiderman, Popeye, and Poseidon's Fury.
Unfortunately all the walking meant that instead of finishing early afternoon, we stayed to mid-afternoon, so only enough for an hour nap at the hotel before.....
P&P Party. This alone made the trip worthwhile, Special fireworks, parade, no crowd, candy, dancing, what more could you ask for? A magical night. I didn't dream we would stay until 12:30am, but we did.
Day Three: EPCOT. Remember what folks say about getting to the parks early? Well, we blew that by staying up so late the night before. We got to EPCOT at 10:30am. Future World is enormous. Too much walking and distances to follow a strategy. But we tried anyway. Soarin' line starts off long and gets longer the day advances. At mid-afternoon it is a 60 minute standby. We had fastpasses, so it was only a 35 minute wait for us. But by the time we got out, the Fastpass line had doubled. Yikes!
The 'new' Seas attractions are the highlights for me. Turtle Talk is phenomenal, clever, and beautiful animation. The Finding Nemo ride concludes with a stupendous, jaw-dropping animation in a live aquarium. I'm not sure if folks simply take for granted what they are seeing, but it is mind-boggling. Unfortunately, everyone thinks they have to get on this to enter the pavillion, so lines are significant.
We were pressed for time, so it is deeply unfortunate we 'wasted' it on Spaceship Earth (old and lousy animatronics) and Ellen's Energy Adventure (funny, but awkward, a bit dumb, and time consuming). Too bad also that the Land Pavillion looks like a third rate hotel ballroom. Future World wore on us, wore us down. Not a pleasant experience. Partly our tiredness, but partly the difficulty of using Fastpasses effectively in this park.
World Showcase: Like a breath of fresh air after Future World. The Pavillions are stunning. The entertainment is exciting. Wish we had reversed our time commitment in Epcot, but we've traveled to many beautiful places around the world, so I thought WS might be disappointing for us. NOT! Illusions is dramatic, surprising, and a great way to end the day. Three favorites: Turtle Talk, Finding Nemo Ride, Illusions.
Day Four. Universal Studios in the morning. Plane flight is in the afternoon, so have to get many rides and attractions in the a.m. Hurray for Universal Express!! First of all, the park is spacious and beautiful. Just strolling around is a pleasure, and would seem uncrowded and peaceful even on crowded days.
But the lines at Universal can be a nightmare, They are all hidden from view. You MUST stay onsite or simply purchase Universal Express outright. Even when there are not many people in the park. The good news is that UXP works even better than Fastpass. It really is Front of the Line.
This was a great day, the sun was shining, the place was beautiful, no lines for us, and the distances between attractions is easy.
In terms of the qualtiy of the attractions, everything is very good. But in a head-to-head comparison with MGM, I must say that there is no contest, MGM has the glamor and nothing really compares to TofT, RnR, and Fantasmic.
However, if I compare the entire Universal experience as a kind of 2-parks-in-one mega park to Epcot, I have to say that the Disney magic is spread pretty thin at Epcot. Three Favorites: Terminator, Twister, Men in Black.
So there you have it. No, I'd never attempt this kind of schedule again. Made some mistakes. It was like spending four days in the teacups. But what a ride!
The trip expanded from two to four days, which meant we knew we were getting into some rough territory by going all day in the parks. To make matters worse, I learned that my son had a school talent show the evening before the trip, so I had to change flights from late afternoon to late, late evening. Hang on folks, this is going to be a bumpy ride....
Day One; MGM. I didn't think I was going to like this place all that much. I'm hardly into movies, and the idea of stunt shows don't thrill me. But boy was I wrong. First of all, the park is just gorgeous and Disney does a great job with capturing the glamor of Hollywood. The streetmosphere characters here are an important part of the scene. Fantasmic is sensational, the two big rides, TofT and RnR are unbelievably good, and the stunt shows were wonderful and surprising. I was really impressed with Lights Motors Action. I also loved sitting down with my kids at the drawing tables at the Animation Academy. This was a great, great first day! Three Favorites: LMA, Magic of Disney Animation, Fantasmic.
Day Two: Islands of Adventure in the morning. For a family of mixed interests, this park poses some problems. There is a lot of walking to do here. The distances are enormous. If someone doesn't want to get wet, then they have to do a ton of walking to get to the next acceptable attraction. The two coasters have significant height restrictions. Still, some rides are so much fun. The Cat in the Hat outdoes PP, SW and WP in Fantasyland. Popeye and Bluto Barges also better than KRR at AK. Spiderman and Poseidon's Fury unique and great.
Three favorites: Spiderman, Popeye, and Poseidon's Fury.
Unfortunately all the walking meant that instead of finishing early afternoon, we stayed to mid-afternoon, so only enough for an hour nap at the hotel before.....
P&P Party. This alone made the trip worthwhile, Special fireworks, parade, no crowd, candy, dancing, what more could you ask for? A magical night. I didn't dream we would stay until 12:30am, but we did.
Day Three: EPCOT. Remember what folks say about getting to the parks early? Well, we blew that by staying up so late the night before. We got to EPCOT at 10:30am. Future World is enormous. Too much walking and distances to follow a strategy. But we tried anyway. Soarin' line starts off long and gets longer the day advances. At mid-afternoon it is a 60 minute standby. We had fastpasses, so it was only a 35 minute wait for us. But by the time we got out, the Fastpass line had doubled. Yikes!
The 'new' Seas attractions are the highlights for me. Turtle Talk is phenomenal, clever, and beautiful animation. The Finding Nemo ride concludes with a stupendous, jaw-dropping animation in a live aquarium. I'm not sure if folks simply take for granted what they are seeing, but it is mind-boggling. Unfortunately, everyone thinks they have to get on this to enter the pavillion, so lines are significant.
We were pressed for time, so it is deeply unfortunate we 'wasted' it on Spaceship Earth (old and lousy animatronics) and Ellen's Energy Adventure (funny, but awkward, a bit dumb, and time consuming). Too bad also that the Land Pavillion looks like a third rate hotel ballroom. Future World wore on us, wore us down. Not a pleasant experience. Partly our tiredness, but partly the difficulty of using Fastpasses effectively in this park.
World Showcase: Like a breath of fresh air after Future World. The Pavillions are stunning. The entertainment is exciting. Wish we had reversed our time commitment in Epcot, but we've traveled to many beautiful places around the world, so I thought WS might be disappointing for us. NOT! Illusions is dramatic, surprising, and a great way to end the day. Three favorites: Turtle Talk, Finding Nemo Ride, Illusions.
Day Four. Universal Studios in the morning. Plane flight is in the afternoon, so have to get many rides and attractions in the a.m. Hurray for Universal Express!! First of all, the park is spacious and beautiful. Just strolling around is a pleasure, and would seem uncrowded and peaceful even on crowded days.
But the lines at Universal can be a nightmare, They are all hidden from view. You MUST stay onsite or simply purchase Universal Express outright. Even when there are not many people in the park. The good news is that UXP works even better than Fastpass. It really is Front of the Line.
This was a great day, the sun was shining, the place was beautiful, no lines for us, and the distances between attractions is easy.
In terms of the qualtiy of the attractions, everything is very good. But in a head-to-head comparison with MGM, I must say that there is no contest, MGM has the glamor and nothing really compares to TofT, RnR, and Fantasmic.
However, if I compare the entire Universal experience as a kind of 2-parks-in-one mega park to Epcot, I have to say that the Disney magic is spread pretty thin at Epcot. Three Favorites: Terminator, Twister, Men in Black.
So there you have it. No, I'd never attempt this kind of schedule again. Made some mistakes. It was like spending four days in the teacups. But what a ride!
