DisneyVillain
<font color=green>On a quest for lime green duct t
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2003
- Messages
- 574
Disney Day 4: Tuesday, 3-Jun-2003
Because the water parks were not opening until 10:00AM, we were able to sleep late, and still arrive at Blizzard Beach at opening time. We entered the gate and picked up a park map. The boys and I went decided to ride (is this the right word for a water slide?) Summit Plummet first thing, before the lines got extremely long. Mom, who is temporarily unable to walk long enough to get to the top of the tower, held our stuff for us while she waited at the bottom.
Summit Plummet is quite a rush! Someone had described it to me as being like jumping out a third story window, and that seems like an adequate description. Everyone should jump out of this window at least once!
After Summit Plummet, we went to the Slusher Gusher. Slusher Gusher runs parallel to Summit Plummet, and is also very fast, but is not quite as tall, and has some up and down. I liked it better than Summit Plummet, because of the feeling of going airborne over the hills.
After that, I went to get a locker, and found the line extremely long. I decided it could wait.
Teamboat Springs is wheelchair accessible. We had planned to put my wife on the chairlift to the top of the mountain, and then move the wheelchair to the bottom of Teamboat Springs and walk up to meet her at the top. This turned out to be unnecessary. When we arrived at the chair lift, they had a waterproof wheelchair she could transfer into. (Net cloth and PVC pipes w/wheelchair wheels.) The chairlift has an accessible car, and the queue for Teamboat Springs is wide with no steps. When we got to the front of the line, they strapped the wheelchair into a raft by itself, and sent it down the ride. Then we rode and the chair was waiting for us at the bottom. This is a really excellent family raft ride, faster and much longer than the one at Typhoon Lagoon. Very exciting, but also recommended for families with small children.
After Teamboat Springs, mom and I went to get a locker, and the boys went to try one of the other slides. This strategy didnt work out too well, because it meant that during the sudden 1 hour lightening storm, we were separated from the boys. Since they are now 13 and 17, this was only annoying and inconvenient, and not worrisome. We would, however have liked to be able to use this time for lunch, although everyone else in the park probably had the same idea, and the lines would have been long.
After the storm abated, mom went to float in the Cross Country Creek, while the boys and I went to slide on Snow Stormers. Snow Stormers and Toboggan Racer share a queue, because they use the same mat and the same mat return conveyor belt. Once you have waited in line, and picked up your mat, you turn left for the Toboggan Racer, and left for the Snow Stormers. Most people were choosing the Toboggan Racer, but we liked the looks of the Snow Stormers, and this turned out to be our favorite slide. It consists of 3 curvy slides running side by side, and you slide headfirst on a Toboggan mat with at turned up front and handles. It was fast and exciting. We rode Snow Stormers twice, and then went to find mom for lunch.
Lunch was typical burgers and fries fast food, except that mom had an unimpressive turkey sandwich.
After lunch, mom went back to Cross Country Creek, while the boys and I went to try Runoff Rapids. Runoff Rapids is similar to Snow Stormers, but on a tube instead of a mat. We liked Snow Stormers better, so we went to slide there two more times.
After Snow Stormers, we went to find mom in the Cross Country Creek. By mid-afternoon, when we got there, Cross Country Creek was packed wall-to-wall with people. For me, it was too crowded to be enjoyable. We were also disappointed at the amount of trash in the water. There was both natural debris, like leaves, mulch, and bugs; and litter.
By this time we were ready to go, so we headed back to the hotel for a snack and an icy-cold fermented malt beverage. When I turned in the locker key, I was given a choice of a $2 refund, or a BB mug. The mug is not as fancy as the refillable mugs they sell at Blizzard Beach, but it is identical to the refillable mugs from the hotel. This worked out great, since my older son had not gotten a souvenir mug because he doesnt drink coffee, tea, or anything carbonated.
There were two slides we didnt ride because they didnt look worth the line to us. Toboggan Racer is similar to Snow Stormers, but with a slightly longer wait, and no curves. Downhill Double Dipper is a straight line covered tube slide, and the line was much longer than this fairly tame ride seemed to warrant. We also didnt visit the little wave pool, because it didnt seem any better than our hotel pool.
We enjoyed our day at Blizzard beach, but I personally prefer Typhoon Lagoon.
After our snack, we walked across Disneys Boardwalk, but it was too early for much activity there. We went back to the room and relaxed and read until time to go to dinner.
We had dinner at Spoodles, and then rented a four-seat surrey bike for 30 minutes. This was a lot of fun, although very tiring. It was easier than our last visit 6 years ago, because now I had 2 teenaged boys to help me pedal. Of course, having 2 teenaged boys also meant that we had to pass every other bike out there, and we couldnt let anyone pass us. We went around the lake three times, and had about 5 minutes remaining, which was not enough time to go around again. The hill from the Dolphin up to the bridge over to the Boardwalk was a killer, especially the third time up. Our only problem was the we didnt have a bell ringer. These bikes have a basket seat on the front for children too small to pedal, so the little ones are generally assigned the task of bell ringer. Some take this duty very seriously, and all are cute. When we are standing or walking on the boardwalk and a surrey comes by with a little one in the front, we always yell Ring the bell! Ring the bell!, and then applaud and cheer when they do.
After riding the surrey bike, we watched the Epcot fireworks from the boardwalk in front of the Yacht Club, and then went to bed.
Tomorrow we visit the Magic Kingdom!
Day 5: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=402794
Because the water parks were not opening until 10:00AM, we were able to sleep late, and still arrive at Blizzard Beach at opening time. We entered the gate and picked up a park map. The boys and I went decided to ride (is this the right word for a water slide?) Summit Plummet first thing, before the lines got extremely long. Mom, who is temporarily unable to walk long enough to get to the top of the tower, held our stuff for us while she waited at the bottom.
Summit Plummet is quite a rush! Someone had described it to me as being like jumping out a third story window, and that seems like an adequate description. Everyone should jump out of this window at least once!
After Summit Plummet, we went to the Slusher Gusher. Slusher Gusher runs parallel to Summit Plummet, and is also very fast, but is not quite as tall, and has some up and down. I liked it better than Summit Plummet, because of the feeling of going airborne over the hills.
After that, I went to get a locker, and found the line extremely long. I decided it could wait.
Teamboat Springs is wheelchair accessible. We had planned to put my wife on the chairlift to the top of the mountain, and then move the wheelchair to the bottom of Teamboat Springs and walk up to meet her at the top. This turned out to be unnecessary. When we arrived at the chair lift, they had a waterproof wheelchair she could transfer into. (Net cloth and PVC pipes w/wheelchair wheels.) The chairlift has an accessible car, and the queue for Teamboat Springs is wide with no steps. When we got to the front of the line, they strapped the wheelchair into a raft by itself, and sent it down the ride. Then we rode and the chair was waiting for us at the bottom. This is a really excellent family raft ride, faster and much longer than the one at Typhoon Lagoon. Very exciting, but also recommended for families with small children.
After Teamboat Springs, mom and I went to get a locker, and the boys went to try one of the other slides. This strategy didnt work out too well, because it meant that during the sudden 1 hour lightening storm, we were separated from the boys. Since they are now 13 and 17, this was only annoying and inconvenient, and not worrisome. We would, however have liked to be able to use this time for lunch, although everyone else in the park probably had the same idea, and the lines would have been long.
After the storm abated, mom went to float in the Cross Country Creek, while the boys and I went to slide on Snow Stormers. Snow Stormers and Toboggan Racer share a queue, because they use the same mat and the same mat return conveyor belt. Once you have waited in line, and picked up your mat, you turn left for the Toboggan Racer, and left for the Snow Stormers. Most people were choosing the Toboggan Racer, but we liked the looks of the Snow Stormers, and this turned out to be our favorite slide. It consists of 3 curvy slides running side by side, and you slide headfirst on a Toboggan mat with at turned up front and handles. It was fast and exciting. We rode Snow Stormers twice, and then went to find mom for lunch.
Lunch was typical burgers and fries fast food, except that mom had an unimpressive turkey sandwich.
After lunch, mom went back to Cross Country Creek, while the boys and I went to try Runoff Rapids. Runoff Rapids is similar to Snow Stormers, but on a tube instead of a mat. We liked Snow Stormers better, so we went to slide there two more times.
After Snow Stormers, we went to find mom in the Cross Country Creek. By mid-afternoon, when we got there, Cross Country Creek was packed wall-to-wall with people. For me, it was too crowded to be enjoyable. We were also disappointed at the amount of trash in the water. There was both natural debris, like leaves, mulch, and bugs; and litter.
By this time we were ready to go, so we headed back to the hotel for a snack and an icy-cold fermented malt beverage. When I turned in the locker key, I was given a choice of a $2 refund, or a BB mug. The mug is not as fancy as the refillable mugs they sell at Blizzard Beach, but it is identical to the refillable mugs from the hotel. This worked out great, since my older son had not gotten a souvenir mug because he doesnt drink coffee, tea, or anything carbonated.
There were two slides we didnt ride because they didnt look worth the line to us. Toboggan Racer is similar to Snow Stormers, but with a slightly longer wait, and no curves. Downhill Double Dipper is a straight line covered tube slide, and the line was much longer than this fairly tame ride seemed to warrant. We also didnt visit the little wave pool, because it didnt seem any better than our hotel pool.
We enjoyed our day at Blizzard beach, but I personally prefer Typhoon Lagoon.
After our snack, we walked across Disneys Boardwalk, but it was too early for much activity there. We went back to the room and relaxed and read until time to go to dinner.
We had dinner at Spoodles, and then rented a four-seat surrey bike for 30 minutes. This was a lot of fun, although very tiring. It was easier than our last visit 6 years ago, because now I had 2 teenaged boys to help me pedal. Of course, having 2 teenaged boys also meant that we had to pass every other bike out there, and we couldnt let anyone pass us. We went around the lake three times, and had about 5 minutes remaining, which was not enough time to go around again. The hill from the Dolphin up to the bridge over to the Boardwalk was a killer, especially the third time up. Our only problem was the we didnt have a bell ringer. These bikes have a basket seat on the front for children too small to pedal, so the little ones are generally assigned the task of bell ringer. Some take this duty very seriously, and all are cute. When we are standing or walking on the boardwalk and a surrey comes by with a little one in the front, we always yell Ring the bell! Ring the bell!, and then applaud and cheer when they do.
After riding the surrey bike, we watched the Epcot fireworks from the boardwalk in front of the Yacht Club, and then went to bed.
Tomorrow we visit the Magic Kingdom!
Day 5: http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=402794
