DD(2)'s first trip to Disney world! (Stitch preview included)

[staiebomb]

I'll keep this as short as I can! My wife, daughter(2) and I just got back today from our WONDERFUL trip to Disney. It really stinks to come back to reality...but oh well, so is life.

I'll touch on a few highlights:

-We stayed at both Coronado Springs and Caribbean Beach. We LOVED both but fell head over heels for Coronado! What a BEAUTIFUL resort! Such wonderful architecture and landscaping. The pool is AWESOME and the Pepper Market has a fantastic selection of food for a good price (by Disney standards). : ) We enjoyed Caribbean Beach as well, but it just didn't seem as "disney" as Coronado...the tropical landscaping at CBR was awesome and our room was better(renovated in 2002) but that's about it, the main pool is too small and there's alot of walking (we were in Aruba) with little variation in scenery along the way. The only negative we found at CSR is that the rooms could use a remodel, especially after seeing the difference over in CBR. We enjoyed both resorts and will DEFINATELY stay at CSR next time! (As a side note, we ate dinner at POR and I really dont see what everyone likes about this resort...just seemed kind of plain to us. Just a matter of taste I guess...the food at Boatrights was GREAT, I had the Bourbon Chicken with Dirty Rice, and the 3 of us shared a HUGE Brownie Sundae that really was big enough for 4! Can I take this restaurant and replace the Maya Grill? : )

-Michaela(DD,2) got to ride Winnie the Pooh 5 times, saw the Playhouse Disney show and met Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Donald, Daisy, Chip and Dale, Cinderella and her mouse, Jo-Jo and Goliath, Rafiki, King Louey, a Dinosaur (at Chester and Hesters Dino-Rama) and had dinner with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet! Needless to say she had a great time!

-Test Track is the best Thrill ride in all of Disney EXCEPT for ToT of course! : ) Mission:Space is a VERY realistic simulator ride..but not too interesting IMHO.

-Has Space Mountain gotten rougher over the years, or is it just me?

-I was LUCKY enough to get to experience the new Stitch attraction on Monday night (Columbus Day) around 7:30 PM. ALL THE IMAGINEERS were there including the head imagineer (the guy who's always on the discovery channel and Travel channel shows). They told us that we were the FIRST PUBLIC AUDIENCE for the new ride!!!! They brought in about 50 people and STRICTLY made sure that there were no CAMERAS allowed inside! Here's a little run-down of how it the ride goes:

I rode the old Alien Encounter only once (back in 1999), so I don't remember much for comparison. First you enter a briefing room where captain Gantu and the Queen (?) brief you on your tour of the prisoner facility...this is a funny segment. You then enter through a couple of doors into the "prisoner teleportation" room where a robot security guard and a cute alien who "hitchhiked" from Jupiter to Saturn is held in a teleportation "tube". This is cute and what follows is a definate realization of this attraction's new target audience as a burping and farting alien is materialized into the other tube. : ) There is a red alert and we are ushered into the main theater which remarkably looks just like it used to with the exception of TWO LARGE ROBOTIC ARMS coming down from the ceiling. After you are seated and the "scanners" come down on your shoulders, the lights dim and all of a sudden Stitch appears in the center tube...STITCH IS AN AMZING ANIMITRONIC!!! The best one Disney has done yet...everything on him moves, his eyes, ears, wings all four arms and even his legs move! He looks so lifelike!!

I wont tell much more, cause I'd hate to give away the whole show but I will say one more thing (spoiler ahead) what used to be a FRIGHTENING experience (this from a 29 year-old man) when the Alien breathed down your neck and growled...is now replaced by a "chili dog incident"......very funny and GROSS!!

Overall I was impressed...for me, I liked Alien Encounter better..it was the only attraction outside of walk-thru haunted houses that ever scared me...but for the target audience (5-12) it will be a VERY popular attraction. Excellent job Imagineers! This is a better fit for Magic Kingdom...too bad Alien Encounter couldn't be rebuilt at the Studios, huh?


-We had a fantastic trip and can't wait till we go back in January of 2006! It just seems so far away. : (

Thanks for reading!

Jason Staie

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Thanks for the report! We are AP holders and are thinking of doing the AP preview for Stitch, but will probably wait until we're there a couple of weeks later for dd's birthday. She'll be turning 5, and is a huge fan on Lilo and Stitch, so this should be a great surprise for her! I'm glad you guys had such a great time!

 

[Kimberle]

Any height requirement on Stitch? Loud noises or darkness to make it to intense for little ones?

TIA!

 

[staiebomb]

Stitch was dark at times, but he was always "cute" and running around the room during those times....no real loud noises to speak of. The height requirement is still 44" unfortunately. : (

It's NOTHING like the old Alien Encounter as far as the "fright factor" goes...very kid friendly.

Jason

 

[jennymouse]

Thanks for posting! Sounds like a blast. You've got me excited to see the new Stich attraction when I go in February. This is a strange question, but I'm taking my father, aunt & uncle, all in thier late 70's to early 80's. Is there anything about the experience that would freak them out?

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Annie&Hallie'sMom]

Thank you, Thank you for your Stitch report. I am hoping for some more surprise openings when we are there in a few weeks.

 

[Mom2Ashli]

I wonder why the height requirement is still 44 inches. Seems strange.

 

[Credit Man]

Thanks for the great report, and Stitch preview.

 

[dw123]

What was the MK like attendance wise on Columbus Day? Was at the water parks and they were empty (probably because it rained most of the day), but didn't make it in the parks. Was afraid it would be packed - was it?

 

[cajunmommy]

Thanks for the Stitch preview.....hope to add it to our list for our Feb. trip.

My guess is the height restriction has something to do with the seats & the built in "sensory" features. Never experienced "Alien", so it's just a guess.

 

[staiebomb]

yeah...i believe the 44" height restriction is still in effect because of the seating and sensory. I noticed that the over the shoulder "restraints" don't go very low and I have a feeling that there was nothing they could do about that. I'm sure they wanted to make the ride more accessible to little kids but I just dont think they were able to physically make those changes needed.

I don't see why an 80 year old would have a problem unless he was easily startled...there aren't really any loud sudden noises, but some effects do take you by surprise (in a cute way).

Attendance at MK on Columbus day was not too bad at night. Monday was our "clean-up day" as we revisited our favorite rides at MGM, Epcot and MK. We got to MK around 6PM and it was not TOO bad, as a point of reference the "stand-by" line for Space Mountain was 55 minutes and Fastpasses were still available up until around 9PM. On the other hand MGM studios was PACKED!! RnR had a wait of 35 minutes and ToT had a wait of 45 minutes...and this on a rainy day! Epcot was nice and manageable especially since we went back mainly to eat! Gotta love that Food and Wine festival! : )

 

[Chicago526]

Reminds me when MY family was part of the first public viewing of original Universe of Energy ride in EPCOT! Very cool (at the time!). I remember the fog they used stank like you wouldn't believe! Nothing like knowing you were the first to see something!

I'm so excited to ride this, Stitch is my BF's fav character!