JenniBarra
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2002
- Messages
- 415
Wednesday, February 6
Today, we headed over to Disney-MGM.
What better way to start our visit than hit the Great Movie Ride! I found it interesting that the movie montage at the end has been updated since our last visit.
Next, it was the animation tour. I was eager to see if we would finally spot actual animators at work. (On our last trip, it was Thanksgiving week.) I suppose many were off on lunch breaks at the time, but, yes, we did see some folks hard at work here and there. : )
By the time the tour concluded, it was about ten minutes until the next Indiana Jones stunt show. I had so wanted to do this last trip, but we ran out of time. It was great! We were particularly amused by the "extra" from the audience who took all the punches from the stuntwoman. My husband actually believed at first that it really was a guest playing along, but I *knew* it has to be a plant. ; )
At this point, we were getting hungry. We had contemplated the Brown Derby, but they have since taken off the steak sandwiches that my hubby so loved last trip. Instead, we went with a restaurant (Backlot Express, I think it was) that, according to the Passporter, was frequently overlooked and therefore quieter and less busy. (I think things have changed in a couple years!) Still, we had a nice lunch and played "Guess that television show theme song" as we ate. <g>
After lunch, we started to head past Star Tours, etc. when I mentioned to my husband how I had read about "flight checks" on a WDW discussion board. We decided to go ahead and inquire about them and were seated fairly quickly after that. There was a grand total of four of us for that "trip" - in the front row was a woman with a small girl. It was definitely an interesting ride! Due to the way the film is shot, you still get somewhat of a sense of motion, kind of like you might feel watching certain IMAX films. (We decided after that, if we had time, we'd do the same thing with Body Wars at Epcot, since I had previously sworn off that ride due to the terrible queasiness afterward.)
Keith decided to stake out a spot for the Stars and Motorcars parade while I checked out the 100 Years of Magic kiosks under the big hat. (The questions were a snap! The only problem is that they have so many machines clustered together that, if someone is standing nearby at a different machine, the sound of the two compete with each other.) I came back out to find Keith was sitting on a bench, talking with an older couple. They were telling him all about the Backstage Magic tour they'd taken a year earlier and the interesting books the man had read about Walt Disney and Disney World (I remember making a mental note to look up _The Making of Animal Kingdom, as I'd never heard of it before). They told us that, while no guarantee, they hoped that, should we take the extended tour, that James is our guide. They said how it's a labor of love for this man and how just the day before they ran into James and a tour group at Mama Melrose's and that James remembered them, even after a year!
Then it was time for the parade. I like the creativity of the cars for this parade, such as a bed for "Toy Story."
We followed this up with heading over to catch the film "One Man's Dream." I had no idea that there would be such a detailed exhibit in the pre-show area. Not only that, it was cool to actually see the "dancing man" that our tour guide on Monday had talked about when discussing the history and technology of Audio-Animatronics. There was a part of me, though, that was both happy and bummed to see Walt's other office as part of the exhibit. (As a more frequent visitor to Disneyland, its absence there is very noticeable, IMO.) Since I was dismayed previously at seeing Tokyo DisneySea and California Adventure left off the 100 years list, it was heartening to see models of Grizzly River Run and part of DisneySea included toward the end of the exhibit. The film itself was nice, though, as sometimes happens, certain things were glossed over in the account of Walt's life.
We had just enough time to catch the backlot tour. The people seated with us on the tram were funny - they kept trying to offer to switch seats with someone else. ; ) I really don't think there's any way to avoid the line of fire on this one. ; ) (The first time I went on this, I remember part of my family on the right side laughing as the the left side got wet...only to quickly find the tables had turned and they got as wet, if not more so!) The tour hasn't changed all that much in four years.
By now, it was about ten minutes until 6PM, the time that a mini-meet of DisneyDollarless folks was to take place. I told Keith I wanted to quickly pop in a store to look for postcards and park soundtracks and started to tell him to keep an eye out for a woman with a brightly colored scarf. No sooner do I open my mouth when I hear someone call out "Jennifer!" Any grown woman named Jennifer will likely tell you we frequently ignore when our name is called out since it's practically always referring to some other Jennifer. ; ) (I never give my name out in restaurants, for fear of five other Jennifers jumping up to claim my table. <g>) I hear it again, though, and happen to look to one side and guess who's there? Melissa, in her brightly colored scarf! <g> After saying hello, I quickly jet to the store and, when I come back, Jackie and Chris and her family are there, too.
We all trek to the Fantasmic! arena. After we get our seats, everyone chats about how their trips are going, where they're staying, and so on. Jackie tells me about the tours she took earlier in the week, including the Backstage Magic one. It ends up that she was in the tour group at Mama Melrose's where James spotted the couple we shared a bench with earlier in the day! What a small world! If I wasn't fired up about taking this tour before, I'm even more so after Jackie shares the details of her experience. : ) Needless to say, the wait time goes pretty quickly with terrific company. : )
As for the show itself, I know that many find DL's version to be more cozy and intimate, but I find that I appreciate having a clear view of everything, something that does matter if you're 5'3". (Only once have I managed to get a spot at DL where I had a perfectly clear view, the rest of the times my view has been obstructed my someone taller than myself.) There are some scenes absent from the original that I do miss, but there's also a lot of neat stuff that Disney-MGM has that DL doesn't.
I have come to conclude that there are *similar* attractions between the east and west coasts, but few things are actually *equal*. That's why I'll continue to come back to Walt Disney World while also advising those that have only been to Disney World that they should try to make it out to the west some time.
Today, we headed over to Disney-MGM.
What better way to start our visit than hit the Great Movie Ride! I found it interesting that the movie montage at the end has been updated since our last visit.
Next, it was the animation tour. I was eager to see if we would finally spot actual animators at work. (On our last trip, it was Thanksgiving week.) I suppose many were off on lunch breaks at the time, but, yes, we did see some folks hard at work here and there. : )
By the time the tour concluded, it was about ten minutes until the next Indiana Jones stunt show. I had so wanted to do this last trip, but we ran out of time. It was great! We were particularly amused by the "extra" from the audience who took all the punches from the stuntwoman. My husband actually believed at first that it really was a guest playing along, but I *knew* it has to be a plant. ; )
At this point, we were getting hungry. We had contemplated the Brown Derby, but they have since taken off the steak sandwiches that my hubby so loved last trip. Instead, we went with a restaurant (Backlot Express, I think it was) that, according to the Passporter, was frequently overlooked and therefore quieter and less busy. (I think things have changed in a couple years!) Still, we had a nice lunch and played "Guess that television show theme song" as we ate. <g>
After lunch, we started to head past Star Tours, etc. when I mentioned to my husband how I had read about "flight checks" on a WDW discussion board. We decided to go ahead and inquire about them and were seated fairly quickly after that. There was a grand total of four of us for that "trip" - in the front row was a woman with a small girl. It was definitely an interesting ride! Due to the way the film is shot, you still get somewhat of a sense of motion, kind of like you might feel watching certain IMAX films. (We decided after that, if we had time, we'd do the same thing with Body Wars at Epcot, since I had previously sworn off that ride due to the terrible queasiness afterward.)
Keith decided to stake out a spot for the Stars and Motorcars parade while I checked out the 100 Years of Magic kiosks under the big hat. (The questions were a snap! The only problem is that they have so many machines clustered together that, if someone is standing nearby at a different machine, the sound of the two compete with each other.) I came back out to find Keith was sitting on a bench, talking with an older couple. They were telling him all about the Backstage Magic tour they'd taken a year earlier and the interesting books the man had read about Walt Disney and Disney World (I remember making a mental note to look up _The Making of Animal Kingdom, as I'd never heard of it before). They told us that, while no guarantee, they hoped that, should we take the extended tour, that James is our guide. They said how it's a labor of love for this man and how just the day before they ran into James and a tour group at Mama Melrose's and that James remembered them, even after a year!
Then it was time for the parade. I like the creativity of the cars for this parade, such as a bed for "Toy Story."
We followed this up with heading over to catch the film "One Man's Dream." I had no idea that there would be such a detailed exhibit in the pre-show area. Not only that, it was cool to actually see the "dancing man" that our tour guide on Monday had talked about when discussing the history and technology of Audio-Animatronics. There was a part of me, though, that was both happy and bummed to see Walt's other office as part of the exhibit. (As a more frequent visitor to Disneyland, its absence there is very noticeable, IMO.) Since I was dismayed previously at seeing Tokyo DisneySea and California Adventure left off the 100 years list, it was heartening to see models of Grizzly River Run and part of DisneySea included toward the end of the exhibit. The film itself was nice, though, as sometimes happens, certain things were glossed over in the account of Walt's life.
We had just enough time to catch the backlot tour. The people seated with us on the tram were funny - they kept trying to offer to switch seats with someone else. ; ) I really don't think there's any way to avoid the line of fire on this one. ; ) (The first time I went on this, I remember part of my family on the right side laughing as the the left side got wet...only to quickly find the tables had turned and they got as wet, if not more so!) The tour hasn't changed all that much in four years.
By now, it was about ten minutes until 6PM, the time that a mini-meet of DisneyDollarless folks was to take place. I told Keith I wanted to quickly pop in a store to look for postcards and park soundtracks and started to tell him to keep an eye out for a woman with a brightly colored scarf. No sooner do I open my mouth when I hear someone call out "Jennifer!" Any grown woman named Jennifer will likely tell you we frequently ignore when our name is called out since it's practically always referring to some other Jennifer. ; ) (I never give my name out in restaurants, for fear of five other Jennifers jumping up to claim my table. <g>) I hear it again, though, and happen to look to one side and guess who's there? Melissa, in her brightly colored scarf! <g> After saying hello, I quickly jet to the store and, when I come back, Jackie and Chris and her family are there, too.
We all trek to the Fantasmic! arena. After we get our seats, everyone chats about how their trips are going, where they're staying, and so on. Jackie tells me about the tours she took earlier in the week, including the Backstage Magic one. It ends up that she was in the tour group at Mama Melrose's where James spotted the couple we shared a bench with earlier in the day! What a small world! If I wasn't fired up about taking this tour before, I'm even more so after Jackie shares the details of her experience. : ) Needless to say, the wait time goes pretty quickly with terrific company. : )
As for the show itself, I know that many find DL's version to be more cozy and intimate, but I find that I appreciate having a clear view of everything, something that does matter if you're 5'3". (Only once have I managed to get a spot at DL where I had a perfectly clear view, the rest of the times my view has been obstructed my someone taller than myself.) There are some scenes absent from the original that I do miss, but there's also a lot of neat stuff that Disney-MGM has that DL doesn't.
I have come to conclude that there are *similar* attractions between the east and west coasts, but few things are actually *equal*. That's why I'll continue to come back to Walt Disney World while also advising those that have only been to Disney World that they should try to make it out to the west some time.
