February Trip Report -- Part 6: Going to Disney-MGM Studios

[BarryHom]

February 5, 2001

The cast:
Me (the 28 year old)

Dave’s departure was set for today at around 11 am, so I wasn’t sure what park to go to today. I had considered going to Sea World and doing the Predators tour, but on Saturday, Dave was telling me that he rode the Rock N Roller Coaster nine times and Tower of Terror three times before 11:30 am on Tuesday. I wanted a piece of that short wait, so I decided to go to Disney-MGM Studios.

I woke up around 6 am and Dave’s final bill was slipped under the door. The total was $1,249 for about eight days, which wasn’t bad. Dave was watching the Weather Channel and it was going to be 20 degrees in New Jersey and snowy. He was not too happy about that. I left around 8 am to go to Disney. I said my goodbyes to Dave and left. I did not eat the breakfast buffet because I planned to ride the Rock N Roller Coaster a lot. The exit gate for self-parking was still flipped open.

I stopped by the 7-Eleven near the entrance to Disney property. Not only does it have the some of the most expensive gas in town (I did not buy any gas from them), but it always seems busy. I bought an apple fritter and some orange juice. I was still trying to fight off the cold.

I arrived at Disney-MGM Studios at around 8:30 am. The Green Army Men were greeting guests as they exited their cars and waited for the tram. The Sarge was in the van and was looking through his binoculars for the tram. We finally boarded and went to the gates.

I was let in, but my annual pass would not scan. It look my finger imprint, but it would not let me in. The Cast Member checked my ID and reset my annual pass. I would have to get a new finger imprint the next time I use it. I decided to go to the Rock N Roller Coaster first. The guests were roped off and we were let in at around 9 am. The Cast Members said not to get ahead or we would be sent to the back of the line. Some people were at running pace and the Cast Members kept up with them!

There were a lot of people heading to the Rock N Roller Coaster. I first grabbed a Fast Pass and my return time was between 9:40 and10:40. I got into the regular line and it stretched all the way back to the entrance. Even with this long line, the wait was about 10 minutes. In the wait before entering the studio, the Cast Member had told us to stand three asides. We were bunched up pretty tight. I was assigned the sixth row.

Since the wait was about 10 minutes, I rode again. The Cast Member inside noticed that two guests were coming back for a second ride. He started talking about how he is a member of ACE. He also talked about Millenium Force and how it compared to the Rock N Roller Coaster. There is no comparison! A guest asked him what was the best coaster in Orlando. He said the Hulk. If he said the Barnstormer, I know that he was lying! He said the best coaster in Florida was Montu. He didn’t ask us to stand 3 aside again. Everyone was standing in a single file line and he did not seem to notice! This time, I rode in the second row. The Cast Member did not assign guests to rows. He just said to gather up in groups of two.

It wasn’t time to use my Fast Pass, so I headed to Tower of Terror. The posted wait was 13 minutes, but the actual wait was no more than 5. This time, I didn’t get much airtime and actually was thinking, “That was it?” during the drops. I got more airtime on Dr. Doom’s Fearfall the other day!

It was time to use my Rock N Roller Coaster Fast Pass. I got another Fast Pass before boarding. The standby line wait was 20 minutes. My return time was 10:30 to 11:30. There was no Cast Member by the Fast Pass line. A Cast Member said that I could step over the chain and enter the Fast Pass line. This time, I rode in the back. I tried to keep my restraints a little loose so they would not pin my shoulders. Even doing that, it was a rough ride. My head kept on banging back and forth. It was almost uncomfortable.

I had some time before using my second Fast Pass. Tower of Terror wait was now 30 minutes in the standby line. Nothing else struck my fancy to ride. I even looked at the photos on the park map of the other rides in the other Disney parks. Nothing really interested me today. I decided to walk around the park and just look around. I met up with a group who was watching a Cast Member sell a toy. Everyone watching had a nametag. I don’t think I should be watching, but no one shooed me away. I headed off to other parts of the park.

I stopped by the Soundworks setup at the end of the Sounds Dangerous show. I played around with the special effects. I have a feeling these have been around since the park opening. One guest that was coming out of the Sounds Dangerous show said, “This is the reason that we come to Disney.” I think that he was only kidding.

As I was heading back to the Rock N Roller Coaster, I noticed the Green Army Men. They were posing for photos. They were also getting new recruits from the kids. They made the kids do jumping jacks. One kid was named Jack and he was jumping like he had too much sugar! The Sarge said that he was truly “Jumping Jack.” The Sarge also talked about a party with all these toys, like My Little Pony and Teddy Ruxpin. Are they still around? I left when they started to sign autographs.

I used my Fast Pass on the Rock N Roller Coaster. The wait for the front was short, so I got into that line. The Cast Member just waved everyone through again. The front was a great ride. It was pretty smooth and I got a good look at what was up ahead.

The park was getting crowded and I think I got my fill of the Rock N Roller Coaster, so I headed out. I went to Epcot, specifically to go to Ice Station Cool for free Cokes!

I went to take the bus to Epcot. As I was waiting, the boat pulled into the Disney-MGM dock. I had considered taking the boat over, but the boat just sat there for a long time. As soon as the Epcot bus came, the boat left. It wouldn’t have made a difference what I took. I’m glad I didn’t take the boat. I would have had to walk through the Boardwalk and avoid speeding bikes! I would have also had to make the trek through World Showcase to Future World.

I waited about 10 minutes for the Epcot bus. It was standing room only, but I got to Epcot nonetheless.

Barry Hom
The moderator formerly known as Barry aka usagi
Moderator, Universal and Sea World Boards


"If you were me, you'd be good looking."

 

[Molokai Gram]

Mahalo Barry. As usual, detailed and interesting. On to the last one...