We just got back last night. Arrived Wed pm and left Sun pm. It's my first time in 18 years! My wife's first in 20yrs. My 5yo girl's first trip.
WED
* Checked in at Polynesian; got magically upgraded to concierge building. Great food. Free beer after 4pm
* Rode bus to D'town
* World of Disney store is awesome
* Wolfgang Puck - very good, overshadowed by every other meal on the trip. This restaurant seems a little dated now.
DTD is really, really long. To walk it is not the easiest thing. We took the boat back to the beginning after WP's.
THU
* Bus to AK
* Safari was great, but went by too fast to absorb it all
* Exp Everest - really good coaster, fantastic ride - probably by
favorite - DD scared of Yetti
* Yetti Meetup and photo session - just kidding
* Rainforest Cafe - I really liked, DD was freaked by the spooky
looking restaurant
* Festival of Lion King - Awesome live show that gave me chills and lump in my throat (beautiful live vocals do it do me every time)
* Nemo Musical - ugh
* Dinoland - ugh WD is rolling in his grave
* Parade - great
* Dinner at Boma (AK Lodge) - Really good African buffet. Wife's fave meal
* Bus back to hotel for dusk pool, view MK fireworks from beach with
piped-in music
Great day. A few comments - AK needs a few more well-themed attractions for tots. For instance, a Peter Pan-like attraction themed with Jasmine flying over a miniature city. Nemo musical is terrible. Music is totally forgettable, and Disney made no effort to hide the puppeteer. The actor holding Marlin actually had thick, black glasses on, for goodness sakes! At least put the puppets downstage from the actors face when you can!! Two thumbs down. I love the concrete paving job for this park and the safari. Definitely want to return.
FRI
* Mono to MK
* Very crowded, DD afraid of dark rides - freaked on Tomorrowland
Transit Authority!!!
* DD fell in love with talking garbage can in Tomorrowland
* Show at castle was good
* Thunder Mtn RR - We loved
* Splash Mtn - We loved, what a weird ride.
* Return to hotel for dinner - ran into high school friends
* Ate at Polynesian's Kona - great meal
* Ran into college friend in restaurant, and joined his family for Pirate & Princess party
* P&PP - AWESOME fireworks. Rides were walk-on. Parade was phenomenal.
* DD changed while touring with friend's 5yo daughter - she loves all rides now.
* Wife and DD went on to hotel at 11pm, I went to
- Haunted Mansion LOVED IT
- Space Mtn - hated it.
Magic Kingdom has not at all gotten away from what made Disney, DISNEY. Main St. is still so full of good, wholesome fun, without going over the top. Personally, though, I think they need just a couple more basic rides or attractions for children. Too many of these attractions "for children" feature darkness and scary, loud audio crashes and flashing lights. This is why Peter Pan's line is always the longest around (we didn't even try Snow White after reading about children freaking in there).
SAT
* Mono to Epcot
* Livin' with the Land - more fun than I remembered - DD loved it
* Living Seas with Nemo - ugh. What used to be an education ride is
now a bunch of cartoon garbage. Please make me smarter after these attractions!
* Turtle Talk with Crush - Really good, funny, impressive like MK garbage can.
* Lunch in Norway with Princesses - fantastic. Food there was really
good. We have a bunch of friends who don't know food, apparently because all I heard was how "weird" the food was there. Tons of high quality (Whole Foodsish) pastas. I got Lamb stew which was delicious.
* Soarin' - Awesome, one of the best rides ever made, anywhere.
* Universe of Energy - really, REALLY disappointing. I loved this ride in
1990. The new story with Ellen DeGeneres doesn't jibe with prehistoric
ride. WAY too loud.
* Test Track - DD and I did this and we loved it, but it was too
short for the 30 min wait.
* Dinner in Italy (Tutto Italia) - great!
* Back to Soarin' 2X - missed Illuminations
EPCOT needs some work. They have a major problem with theming in Future World. There were several times where I wasn't sure just what they were trying to do. For instance, as we entered the futuristic park, we were greeted with Oldies music (Beach Boys, Elvis, etc.). All that stuff I've heard a million times a) doesn't jibe with the theme of the park, b) is what I paid $3,000 to get away from. It's almost like hearing secular music in church.
Another example is this Universe of Energy. I think Disney has a very long, expensive prehistoric ride that they've cloaked with a story that doesn't work. Ellen's "nightmare" (why is Disney telling me that I'm investing 45 minutes into a nightmare, anyway?) involves her failing on Jeopardy, getting dragged into the past to see dinosaurs, and somehow returning to Jeopardy a college degree smarter. Why didn't I get this smart by the end of this attraction? The dinosaurs didn't really teach me anything!
There is an attraction called "Circle of Life". Of course, I'm all for quiet environmentalism, but this movie should have been called the "Circle of Irony". This preachy little film gives us a guilt trip for wasting energy, riding on airplanes, developing forest land, and for living in urban areas. I thought that urbanism was the best way to conserve land? How am I supposed to go blow a few expensive days at Disney without taking an airplane and using a lot of power watching movies that run in logical circles? Why is the Hoover Dam so bad? Over in the Universe of Energy they told me I SHOULD use hydroelectric power instead of coal!! Cars are bad...now go enjoy Test Track brought to you by GM! Arrgh.
Another problem that seems to be pervasive is the Character branding of rides that aren't popular. The worst of this is Nemo. That ride was completely worthless. Hunting down information upstairs in the seas was not easy or fun. The Circle of Life was an obvious attempt to make a boring environmental film seem more attractive to children. Hey it's the Lion King, it must be good. Stuff like this does a real disservice to outstanding attractions like the Festival of the Lion King at AK.
SUN
* Rope drop at MK - opening ceremonies are full of so much goodness -
Zipadeedoodah, Wells Fargo Wagon, etc.
* Train to Splash Mtn, road on first boat.
* Greeted by Dream Squad who gave us Dream Fast Pass ticket - The
bad news, DME bus left hotel at 12:15
* Big Thunder Mtn 2X, once in rain - wetter than splash mtn. ha ha
* Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Pooh, Small World.
* Bus to airport. Ate at Chili's.
* Feet hurt. Need to import 600 photos taken. One day DD will laugh
at the clothes we were wearing.
WED
* Checked in at Polynesian; got magically upgraded to concierge building. Great food. Free beer after 4pm
* Rode bus to D'town
* World of Disney store is awesome
* Wolfgang Puck - very good, overshadowed by every other meal on the trip. This restaurant seems a little dated now.
DTD is really, really long. To walk it is not the easiest thing. We took the boat back to the beginning after WP's.
THU
* Bus to AK
* Safari was great, but went by too fast to absorb it all
* Exp Everest - really good coaster, fantastic ride - probably by
favorite - DD scared of Yetti
* Yetti Meetup and photo session - just kidding
* Rainforest Cafe - I really liked, DD was freaked by the spooky
looking restaurant
* Festival of Lion King - Awesome live show that gave me chills and lump in my throat (beautiful live vocals do it do me every time)
* Nemo Musical - ugh
* Dinoland - ugh WD is rolling in his grave
* Parade - great
* Dinner at Boma (AK Lodge) - Really good African buffet. Wife's fave meal
* Bus back to hotel for dusk pool, view MK fireworks from beach with
piped-in music
Great day. A few comments - AK needs a few more well-themed attractions for tots. For instance, a Peter Pan-like attraction themed with Jasmine flying over a miniature city. Nemo musical is terrible. Music is totally forgettable, and Disney made no effort to hide the puppeteer. The actor holding Marlin actually had thick, black glasses on, for goodness sakes! At least put the puppets downstage from the actors face when you can!! Two thumbs down. I love the concrete paving job for this park and the safari. Definitely want to return.
FRI
* Mono to MK
* Very crowded, DD afraid of dark rides - freaked on Tomorrowland
Transit Authority!!!
* DD fell in love with talking garbage can in Tomorrowland
* Show at castle was good
* Thunder Mtn RR - We loved
* Splash Mtn - We loved, what a weird ride.
* Return to hotel for dinner - ran into high school friends
* Ate at Polynesian's Kona - great meal
* Ran into college friend in restaurant, and joined his family for Pirate & Princess party
* P&PP - AWESOME fireworks. Rides were walk-on. Parade was phenomenal.
* DD changed while touring with friend's 5yo daughter - she loves all rides now.
* Wife and DD went on to hotel at 11pm, I went to
- Haunted Mansion LOVED IT
- Space Mtn - hated it.
Magic Kingdom has not at all gotten away from what made Disney, DISNEY. Main St. is still so full of good, wholesome fun, without going over the top. Personally, though, I think they need just a couple more basic rides or attractions for children. Too many of these attractions "for children" feature darkness and scary, loud audio crashes and flashing lights. This is why Peter Pan's line is always the longest around (we didn't even try Snow White after reading about children freaking in there).
SAT
* Mono to Epcot
* Livin' with the Land - more fun than I remembered - DD loved it
* Living Seas with Nemo - ugh. What used to be an education ride is
now a bunch of cartoon garbage. Please make me smarter after these attractions!
* Turtle Talk with Crush - Really good, funny, impressive like MK garbage can.
* Lunch in Norway with Princesses - fantastic. Food there was really
good. We have a bunch of friends who don't know food, apparently because all I heard was how "weird" the food was there. Tons of high quality (Whole Foodsish) pastas. I got Lamb stew which was delicious.
* Soarin' - Awesome, one of the best rides ever made, anywhere.
* Universe of Energy - really, REALLY disappointing. I loved this ride in
1990. The new story with Ellen DeGeneres doesn't jibe with prehistoric
ride. WAY too loud.
* Test Track - DD and I did this and we loved it, but it was too
short for the 30 min wait.
* Dinner in Italy (Tutto Italia) - great!
* Back to Soarin' 2X - missed Illuminations
EPCOT needs some work. They have a major problem with theming in Future World. There were several times where I wasn't sure just what they were trying to do. For instance, as we entered the futuristic park, we were greeted with Oldies music (Beach Boys, Elvis, etc.). All that stuff I've heard a million times a) doesn't jibe with the theme of the park, b) is what I paid $3,000 to get away from. It's almost like hearing secular music in church.
Another example is this Universe of Energy. I think Disney has a very long, expensive prehistoric ride that they've cloaked with a story that doesn't work. Ellen's "nightmare" (why is Disney telling me that I'm investing 45 minutes into a nightmare, anyway?) involves her failing on Jeopardy, getting dragged into the past to see dinosaurs, and somehow returning to Jeopardy a college degree smarter. Why didn't I get this smart by the end of this attraction? The dinosaurs didn't really teach me anything!
There is an attraction called "Circle of Life". Of course, I'm all for quiet environmentalism, but this movie should have been called the "Circle of Irony". This preachy little film gives us a guilt trip for wasting energy, riding on airplanes, developing forest land, and for living in urban areas. I thought that urbanism was the best way to conserve land? How am I supposed to go blow a few expensive days at Disney without taking an airplane and using a lot of power watching movies that run in logical circles? Why is the Hoover Dam so bad? Over in the Universe of Energy they told me I SHOULD use hydroelectric power instead of coal!! Cars are bad...now go enjoy Test Track brought to you by GM! Arrgh.
Another problem that seems to be pervasive is the Character branding of rides that aren't popular. The worst of this is Nemo. That ride was completely worthless. Hunting down information upstairs in the seas was not easy or fun. The Circle of Life was an obvious attempt to make a boring environmental film seem more attractive to children. Hey it's the Lion King, it must be good. Stuff like this does a real disservice to outstanding attractions like the Festival of the Lion King at AK.
SUN
* Rope drop at MK - opening ceremonies are full of so much goodness -
Zipadeedoodah, Wells Fargo Wagon, etc.
* Train to Splash Mtn, road on first boat.
* Greeted by Dream Squad who gave us Dream Fast Pass ticket - The
bad news, DME bus left hotel at 12:15
* Big Thunder Mtn 2X, once in rain - wetter than splash mtn. ha ha
* Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Pooh, Small World.
* Bus to airport. Ate at Chili's.
* Feet hurt. Need to import 600 photos taken. One day DD will laugh
at the clothes we were wearing.
