Anyone Game? 2 Castles and a Road Trip TR! Last Day and TR Wrap Up! #2796; 10/01

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


More Rides in the 5th Park




Our next stop was an old family favourite. Anyone wanna guess where we were heading to?








The 'eyes' have it!







Not even a flaming dragon would stop us from charging in here.







It's a veritable gold mine in here.








All good things come to an end and we had to kiss this experience goodbye as well.








It was hard leaving this part of the park. We love those attractions.









We were still full from breakfast and our snack, so we gave the boneyard a wide berth.








I've never been able to get DS anywhere near a Disney royal princess. There was no exception to that rule today either. He was not impressed with Empress Lilly.








There were just some attractions that we just walked past.







We'd already tested out this attraction the other night. No repeat visit today.







It was another hot day. This park severely needs a water ride!







I wasn't aimlessly walking around this park. I did have a destination in mind.







I did have another promise to make good to DS and my promises aren't filled with hot air.








Ooohhh......squirrelmation! I was easily distracted. But I have to admit I've really never seen the light where vinylmation is concerned.







But back to the point. We were walking to the beat of a different drum today.








Nearly there!








(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Previous Post)


In Quest Of......Magic Band Entry Required




Which one did you guess we were heading to?







I had told my DS about this place on our last trip. We had wanted to come here in 2010 but never found the time. Isn't it amazing what kids remember? I made him a promise that we would definitely come here on this trip no matter what.







It was almost a relief to leave the pay-as-you-go Park and enter the park where you needed to have the appropriate ticket on your Magic Band to enter. At least there would not be any credit card rollercoasters in here.







And we were in 5 floors of air conditioned heaven where DS was concerned.







Ground Floor. We found out that we couldn't paddle our way in this Virtual Jungle Cruise to save our lives. Multiple paddles up the creek resulted in multiple failures. Even DS voted to move on.







So we swapped the river for the high seas.







There be gold here. Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for Buccaneer Gold, that is.







Jack Sparrow is safe. We all took turns at captaining the ship. We found that we were all equally as bad at steering the ship in high seas as we were as paddling up the river. No gold for us here either.







Second Floor and I was running three strikes out of three. I was doomed to miss out on Animation Academy on this trip. I came back multiple times and kept missing the start of the class.








We all passed on this attraction.







DS was keen to head up to the third floor.







He did pause long enough to pose with Ralph on the third floor.







But he could see the arcade machines in the Cave of Wonders.







Yes, it truly was a Cave of Wonders here for all of us. We did spend a bit of time cruising in here. DH and I completely lost track of time and DS whilst we were out racing the various tracks around the world.







There is the Buzz Lightyear Astroblaster bumper cars on this level. Sadly for me, this attraction was down for most of the day and I never got to experience it.







No goals for us here. This one just didn't seem to open at all!







Fourth level seemed closed. Nothing to see here. Move along. Move along.



To the Fifth level.







And finally! Something that my family could actually get a semi-abysmal score on; rather than pure abject failure.







We did invade multiple times. We never did find our target but we did manage to explore more territory here than on the river or high seas.







The arcade games on the fifth level was also something that we could all do.








This was more my speed.








It was at this point that I made a cardinal error.


I decided to go back to the second floor and ride the magic carpet through Agrabah. Turns out that that head-mounted display into virtualness is something else that makes me feel sick. Once I started to feel sick, I realised that this five floors of airconditioned heaven for DS was incredibly noisy. Between the feeling of nausea and the massive headache, I needed to leave.....and fast.

 

[declansdad]

I have never seen the inside of Disney Quest. Once you pay your entrance fee, are all the activities free?

 

[dolphingirl47]

You were very restrained as far as shopping was concerned. DH has that Grumpy shirt and I think it is brilliant.

I have never been to Disney Quest and was always curious about it, but I think after reading your report, I no longer wish to go. It just sounds and looks old and tired. What a shame that so many things were down.

Corinna

 

[rentayenta]

Loving your 5th park day or as we call it, the 7th park. We consider TL and BB parks 5 & 6.

We haven't been in Disney Quest since 2007. The kids loved it but I have conveniently never mentioned it again.

You showed amazing restraint with buying just the one shirt. I don't plan days of shopping because it becomes painfully expensive. And I don't like shopping. The girls do though.

Joshua collect Vinylmation. I'll have to show him that cool light.

 

[mvf-m11c]

I'm enjoying reading your report from DTD. There is so much to do in DTD at WDW from the shopping, restaurants, Cirque du Soleil, & Disney Quest. I enjoyed the pictures from the Lego Store and all the different characters made out of Lego's.

I haven't been to Disney Quest in a very long time and I should consider it one day when I go back to WDW. One reason I don't I don't go to Disney Quest when I am at WDW since I am here for the actual Disney parks and trying to enjoy it where I am on my computer, playing video games, etc. where I can do those kind of things elsewhere.

It is tough to restrain yourself from buying merchandise at WDW. I always have trouble restraining myself from buying when I am at the parks, WoD store, etc. But I have been good about it lately since I haven't bought a lot of merchandise at the parks (this does not include shopping at WDI, D23 Expo, etc.).

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have never seen the inside of Disney Quest. Once you pay your entrance fee, are all the activities free?

Everything inside is free; except for food (and souvenirs if there are any....I didn't look to see if there was a shop). We were lucky that it was very quiet; so there was no wait on anything and we could go on anything we wanted multiple times.

You were very restrained as far as shopping was concerned. DH has that Grumpy shirt and I think it is brilliant.

I have never been to Disney Quest and was always curious about it, but I think after reading your report, I no longer wish to go. It just sounds and looks old and tired. What a shame that so many things were down.

Corinna

It really only was those two things. One just seemed closed and the other was down. They were working to get Buzz Lightyear bumper cars back up as fast as they could.

There are about 3 - 4 things in Disney Quest that I would go back for and I don't mind some of the pinball machines, racers and old time arcade games; but if you don't like arcade games, I would skip it. As far as old and tired is concerned, it didn't seem that bad when you are there. Compared to the indoor arcades we have in Melbourne, Disney Quest would be 4-stars. What the pictures don't show is the ding-ding-hum-hum noise of the machines. That got to me after a while.

Yes. I was surprised at how restrained I was.

Loving your 5th park day or as we call it, the 7th park. We consider TL and BB parks 5 & 6.

We haven't been in Disney Quest since 2007. The kids loved it but I have conveniently never mentioned it again.

You showed amazing restraint with buying just the one shirt. I don't plan days of shopping because it becomes painfully expensive. And I don't like shopping. The girls do though.

Joshua collect Vinylmation. I'll have to show him that cool light.

I really enjoyed the day at DTD. By this stage, I think we were pretty tired out from the constant go-go-go and taking things easy at DTD without having to worry about FP+ or queues/crowds was exactly what we needed.

I'm enjoying reading your report from DTD. There is so much to do in DTD at WDW from the shopping, restaurants, Cirque du Soleil, & Disney Quest. I enjoyed the pictures from the Lego Store and all the different characters made out of Lego's.

I haven't been to Disney Quest in a very long time and I should consider it one day when I go back to WDW. One reason I don't I don't go to Disney Quest when I am at WDW since I am here for the actual Disney parks and trying to enjoy it where I am on my computer, playing video games, etc. where I can do those kind of things elsewhere.

It is tough to restrain yourself from buying merchandise at WDW. I always have trouble restraining myself from buying when I am at the parks, WoD store, etc. But I have been good about it lately since I haven't bought a lot of merchandise at the parks (this does not include shopping at WDI, D23 Expo, etc.).

It's taken us 4 visits to make it out to Disney Quest. And we've only done it because DS really wanted to go. DS was quite happy with the equation and enjoyed his time here. I did consider the trade-off between hitting DQ compared to hitting a park; but a promise is a promise. Besides, I'm not sure if he'll still be in the gaming phase if we ever get to WDW again.

I know. I saw lots of things that I could have easily bought but I kept thinking about whether I would use them when I got home or if they would just sit somewhere and collect dust.

 

[zanzibar138]

I completely missed your last update!

I've always been curious about DisneyQuest. I also wonder all the games are free once you're in

I love the Lego sculptures at the WDW store. The ones that I remember from DLR seem pretty simple in comparison. But I still enjoyed it and will enjoy it again

I think you were very restrained with your credit card. I shudder to think how much money I'm going to spend on merchandise on our next trip. Or perhaps I should think about how much money I will SAVE by having an AP discount

 

[franandaj]

It was interesting seeing your photos. We were just there yesterday and boy is that whole area torn up now. There are construction walls everywhere and it's quite the eyesore and very noisy as well.

Disney Quest looks almost like it did when we went there some 17ish years ago. We too were miserable at rowing and captaining the ship! Did they still have the build a coaster experience? That's what pushed me over the nausea edge, too many loops in my coaster!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I completely missed your last update!

I've always been curious about DisneyQuest. I also wonder all the games are free once you're in

I love the Lego sculptures at the WDW store. The ones that I remember from DLR seem pretty simple in comparison. But I still enjoyed it and will enjoy it again

I think you were very restrained with your credit card. I shudder to think how much money I'm going to spend on merchandise on our next trip. Or perhaps I should think about how much money I will SAVE by having an AP discount

The single entry fee to Disney Quest is quite staggering. It makes the 2-hour free play at Intencity look like a positive bargain.
But if you buy the Water Park Fun and More option on the WDW ticket, and look at it as an option that way, it doesn't seem so bad.

With your AP discount, I would definitely be thinking about all that money you would SAVE.

It was interesting seeing your photos. We were just there yesterday and boy is that whole area torn up now. There are construction walls everywhere and it's quite the eyesore and very noisy as well.

Disney Quest looks almost like it did when we went there some 17ish years ago. We too were miserable at rowing and captaining the ship! Did they still have the build a coaster experience? That's what pushed me over the nausea edge, too many loops in my coaster!

They still have the build-a-coaster experience. I don't know why we didn't go in. Maybe I wanted to go to Agrabah first. Bad. mistake.

I'm pretty sure it is almost identical to 17 years ago. At least Disney does keep the facility relatively clean and dust-free; compared to the games arcades we sometimes visit back home.

It's going to be interesting to see how the new DTD works out.

 

[Luvchefmic]

I have never been inside Disney Quest That animation Academy my first thought was I would LOVE to have that chair/desk ! How awesome would that be No I will never grow up Looks like another beautiful day was had by all

 

[skier_pete]

We went to DisneyQuest for the first time ever about a week after you. I was just talking about it last night with DW. The phrase I use to describe it is:

"The most amazing video arcade you've ever been to...if it was 1997."

Some of the things are kind of cool, but it all feels terribly dated. I thought the neatest thing was the roller coaster simulator, though that took WAYY to long and the ride was WAAYYY to short.

 

[WanderlustNZ]

I really enjoyed your updates about your day at the 5th park.

After seeing your pics of Goofy's Candy Co, I feel annoyed that we didn't venture into this store. It all looks so delicious. However, it's probably just as well. I'm sure I'm still working off the gigantic ice cream I had at Ghirardellis.

We went to DisneyQuest to fill in an hour or so before Cirque Du Soleil. Unfortunately this short visit was just enough to wet DS's appetite, and come his birthday day (the last day of our trip), when we asked what park he wanted to go back to, he said DisneyQuest. Argghh! The place is not bad, but I fully get what you mean about it starting to get to you after a while. I found a moments peace drawing Mickey at the Animation Academy, but otherwise, the whole place felt like a bit of an assault on my senses. That Aladdin virtual reality thing was awful. I ripped the helmet off my head after about a minute as I was struggling to breathe properly and was beginning to have a panic attack. The castmember was not surprised - he said it happens all the time. I really enjoyed that Pirates of the Carribean thing/ride, and could have happily done that multiple times, but that was about it.
I feel embarrassed to say that the one day of the trip I decided to have a bit of a grumpy, meltdown, was that day - my son's birthday. DH sensed it, and politely suggested to DS that we do two more activities and then leave. A big birthday ice cream afterwards and we were all smiles again.

 

[Pinkocto]

Love that 5th park. Marshmallow deliciousness covered in chocolate! How have I not gotten this before!

I need a repeat DQ experience. My memories are not very whole. Bummer you got sick.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I have never been inside Disney Quest That animation Academy my first thought was I would LOVE to have that chair/desk ! How awesome would that be No I will never grow up Looks like another beautiful day was had by all

I hope I grow up to be just like you.

We went to DisneyQuest for the first time ever about a week after you. I was just talking about it last night with DW. The phrase I use to describe it is:

"The most amazing video arcade you've ever been to...if it was 1997."

Some of the things are kind of cool, but it all feels terribly dated. I thought the neatest thing was the roller coaster simulator, though that took WAYY to long and the ride was WAAYYY to short.

That's a perfect description of the place. But it's been pretty well maintained and cleaned since 1997.

I really enjoyed your updates about your day at the 5th park.

After seeing your pics of Goofy's Candy Co, I feel annoyed that we didn't venture into this store. It all looks so delicious. However, it's probably just as well. I'm sure I'm still working off the gigantic ice cream I had at Ghirardellis.

We went to DisneyQuest to fill in an hour or so before Cirque Du Soleil. Unfortunately this short visit was just enough to wet DS's appetite, and come his birthday day (the last day of our trip), when we asked what park he wanted to go back to, he said DisneyQuest. Argghh! The place is not bad, but I fully get what you mean about it starting to get to you after a while. I found a moments peace drawing Mickey at the Animation Academy, but otherwise, the whole place felt like a bit of an assault on my senses. That Aladdin virtual reality thing was awful. I ripped the helmet off my head after about a minute as I was struggling to breathe properly and was beginning to have a panic attack. The castmember was not surprised - he said it happens all the time. I really enjoyed that Pirates of the Carribean thing/ride, and could have happily done that multiple times, but that was about it.
I feel embarrassed to say that the one day of the trip I decided to have a bit of a grumpy, meltdown, was that day - my son's birthday. DH sensed it, and politely suggested to DS that we do two more activities and then leave. A big birthday ice cream afterwards and we were all smiles again.

What a shame you felt that way on DS's birthday. And yes....I so sympathise with Agrabah!

It's funny. I see Ghiradelli's at WDW and I normally don't head in. That's because I normally hit it at San Francisco when I'm there. It does leave me with empty stomach space for Goofy's instead.
A lot of the stuff at Goofy's, you can find in the parks. So, you haven't missed much. The thing that I think is really different about Goofy's is that make your own treat.
Maybe next time you're at WDW, you can go make yourself a marshmallow treat.

Love that 5th park. Marshmallow deliciousness covered in chocolate! How have I not gotten this before!

I need a repeat DQ experience. My memories are not very whole. Bummer you got sick.

Are you a Gamer as well, Pam? If so, then I hope you get a repeat of the Q experience.

 

[PrincessInOz]

I interrupt this TR with a complete diversion and off-topic post. I figured it was worth sharing this.


I had the opportunity to go see an exhibition in Melbourne this winter yesterday.
Apologies for the picture quality. I didn't realise that photography was encouraged.....the last time I was at this museum, they didn't let anyone take photographs for the special display. So, I ended up having to make do with my i-phone.


I know it's not Disney; but I'm guessing that you might be interested enough in this to grant me the latitude to stray off-course to the Dark Side.




OT - DreamWorks Exhibition




The DreamWorks exhibition celebrates 20 years of animation from the DreamWorks studios. As it has partnered with the Australian Centre of Moving Images (ACMI) in Melbourne, there was always going to be a educational aspect to the exhibition. It was loosely based around the art of animation.

These were images projected on a wall as we entered the display area. Sketches are done to see how the characters will look in the early stages of animation.













The first display area was dedicated towards modelling the character.







Aside from Plaster Cast models.....














(Ruthie - I took this one for you!!!)









There were framed sketches of the different aspects of characters from all angles and facial expressions on the wall.














Sadly, it's not the Lion King.








Back to the animation modelling process.....

We all know this beloved character to look like this.








But did you know that they tested out at least 40 other 'looks'?








It wasn't all just static displays. We had the chance to use a 2D device to change the facial features of a number of characters.








You can see the pre-determined characters on the right hand side. Once you selected the character of choice, you then had a choice of different starting faces from the left.

Once you did that, you could then control each bit of the face and distort it using the boxes on the bottom. Each of the facial sections had at least 3 or 4 slide controllers that allowed you to raise, drop, slant, shift at least one aspect of the element.

Naturally, DS pushed everything to the extreme right.







Back to the static display. This was miniature (about 1") size models! Wish my vegie patch looked like that.








The second room was dedicated towards the "pitch" and storyboarding of a movie.
This was pretty cool. They had this segment run in a continuous loop.....







.....storyboarding Shrek.








Untouchable display of storyboards. The numbers they shared of storyboards used for the various movies were staggering.








Not everything started from scratch. This was quite a interesting view of Mr Peabody and Sherman. Remember how the characters used to look on TV? (For the record.....I didn't. I wasn't quite old enough )








This is what they modernised it to look like in the recent movie.






There was a very messy table in this section. It was filled with sketches, doodles, coffee mugs and storyboards. I guess it's meant to mimic what the workdesk would look like. Really, it was a wasted opportunity.








(Continued in Next Post)

 

[PrincessInOz]

(Continued from Next Post)




The second hands-on station was an exercise in controlling background scenes.
I braved the high seas for y'all and didn't get seasick!



Pick your view of the ocean. Naturally, I went with the one that had the prettiest sunset.







The amplitude, height, direction and frequency of the waves could be changed using the controls in the bottom boxes.

This is what my sequence of waves looked like.





































The one area of the display that I truly loved was the 'flight simulator'.








The screen gave about 150 degrees view. Think Soarin'....only smaller scale and no swings to sit on.






They animated and coloured in different aspects of Berk during the 3 minute projection.















Yes, we were supposed to be riding Toothless.







Towards the last minute, we did fly by pretty fast.







The iPhone really wasn't good enough here to capture freeze-frame; but you get the picture.






This back room just had a number of different cel's.







.....from a few movies.














There was also scale models on show. This is from Sinbad.







I didn't mind looking at the model trees from Madagascar.







They were quite lovely and detailed.







There was also a section in this back room talking about lighting and music.






There was one final room where there was hands-on computers for you to sit down and draw your own animation/cartoon. They were loaded with special programs that allowed you to draw and colour in the background and then draw and colour in the foreground with stick figures. We would then copy the stick figures to different sections of the screen at the different timeframes and at the end we could run the sequence. This was really cool.

But by this stage, the crowds had come and we were asked to move on after 5 minutes or so.



All in all, it was a decent enough exhibition with lots of static stuff and tons to read. I was a little disappointed that there weren't more hands-on stuff.





I believe that this exhibition might be heading to LA next year. It will be interesting to see if they keep it exactly the same or if they add additional items to the collection!

 

[zanzibar138]

Thanks for sharing PIO. I forgot this was on and wouldn't mind catching it. I might try to get into town a little early on Friday and see it before our DisMeet. How long would you recommend I allow?

Shame that you were stuck with your iPhone for photos. It did a pretty good job, and of course your composition never fails! I will remember to take my camera when I see it

 

[PrincessInOz]

Thanks for sharing PIO. I forgot this was on and wouldn't mind catching it. I might try to get into town a little early on Friday and see it before our DisMeet. How long would you recommend I allow?

Shame that you were stuck with your iPhone for photos. It did a pretty good job, and of course your composition never fails! I will remember to take my camera when I see it

We were there on the Friday morning and it was super empty'ish. We got through it in about an hour (and a bit). It depends on how long you take to read things and when you think you might hit the information overload stage. I stopped detail reading by the end of the first room.



Thanks.

 

[ejud]

I interrupt this TR with a complete diversion and off-topic post. I figured it was worth sharing this.

Indeed! Thanks! Very cool!



Jud