Just back from WDW and have some thoughts

[IrishBulldog]

Myself, DW and our 2 and 1/2 yr old DD just got back on Saturday. We drove from Philadelphia to Orlando, something we did on our honeymooon but this time we had a little one in the back, which was fun..lol. We went to the MNSSHP on the 17th and it was fantastic, hallo-wishes alone is worth the money. I know there were people on the borads saying it was not worth the money but I have to disagree, it was so much fun. We came home with 3 full bags of candy and a ton of cool pics. Some things I did notice was that some of the rides need a makeover. Peter Pan's ride could use a coat of paint and a nice cleaning. Aladdin's magic carpets were looking bad and the Jungle Cruise needs an animatronic update. I know the die-hards are gasping, but come on, it would be better if the animals looked real. Tomorrowland also needs an update. The TTA ride is lame and outdated but relaxing, the Carousel of Progress needs a sprucing up and the Stich ride needs to go. Our daughter did get to be the one to open up Minnie's house in ToonTown fair, which was a lump in your throat moment for my wife and I.
She made it through most of MNSSHP but when she did fall asleep in her coach, I put the map next to her face and took a pic..lol. I wanted to be able to show her in a couple of years how her night ended..lol. Nemo's new ride was ok, I expected more. The heat was ungodly, It was really bad in AK. Soaring was the best, I loved this ride even though I am deadly afraid of heights. WDW is still the greatsest place on earth, but it could cut some of the old rides for some newer more exciting one's. Lastly, we thought Captin Jack was great in POC. His body moves so well it makes the others around him look broken, I can hear the die-hards gasp again..lol.

 

[disneyfan61]

Glad to hear you had a great trip!!

 

[TinksMagic54]

I have to agree about the Jungle Cruise. Maybe I just don't get it... ....but it was nothing special when we were there in 2004. DD has already informed me she is ready to skip that ride this year.

Glad you had a great time and I'm sure it was very special with your DD.

 

[orljustin]

Aladdin's carpets need to be closed down, dipped in paint stripper and repainted from the ground up. They were horrendous last week.

 

[Slightly Goofy]

We were lucky enough to catch the Jungle Cruise during a slow time and were the only ones on our boat. The 'driver' knew that we were regulars as we had ridden with him on his previous round. He offered us a 'guided tour' of all the secrets behind the attraction and it really made our day!

That being said, we adore the classic rides BUT I do think they could add some new things without ruining the experience. (ducking while some people throw things at me)

Slightly Goofy

 

[IrishBulldog]

The Magic carpets were really bad when we rode it as well. They could make more rides around their older movies, such as Lion King, Hercules and Mulan. Even if they were just like Peter Pan's Flight, I like feeling like I am in the movie.

 

[IrishBulldog]

Bump.............

 

[kaybird]

The Magic carpets were really bad when we rode it as well. They could make more rides around their older movies, such as Lion King, Hercules and Mulan. Even if they were just like Peter Pan's Flight, I like feeling like I am in the movie.

Lion king, Hercules, Mulan--OLDER movies!!! ROTFL!!! Man am I OLD!!!!!

 

[IrishBulldog]

OK, older was a bad choice of words, being only 35 myself. But I think those movies would make cool rides along with some OLDER ones like Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Robin Hood.

 

[Got Quattro?]

paragraph much?

 

[IrishBulldog]

Be Nice . I was trying to do 2 things at the same time.

 

[helenk]

paragraph much?

Was that really necessary?

 

[Rhongepooh]

While we were waiting for Spectromagic last Thanksgiving we struck up a conversation with one of the cast members. He gave us the heads up on the changing of POC before we had heard anything about it. He also said that they are preparing to do a major overhaul on The Jungle Cruise. He said that HE wished they would do it like the one in Tok. He said it was really spectacular!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I think if they could keep the classics, but update them in more or less seemless ways, that would be great. Over the years, they have updated the animatronic captain of the DL pirate captain a number of times, and probably nobody ever noticed. They also did a great job revamping IASW.

I think one of the catches with the Jungle cruise is that times have changed, and some of the ride - cannibals - just wouldn't fly in today's PC world....put it in the context of Walt's day, and people are more willing to say...'oh yeah, there really were cannibals in the world fifty years ago,' certainly people considered it a legitimate concern of jungle travel back then.

I also miss the super clean bathrooms that used to be everywhere at WDW.

There has been a lot of rumors that CoP could be on the chopping block - thus they haven't revamped the last scene in quite a while. I haven't been on it in a few years myself. I used to think it was cool show, and I still love the early scenes, but that last scene was painful to watch the last time I saw it. I fear if they update it though there will be a huge time gap.

I sort of agree that Futureworld looks a little dated now, but that's part of the fun of it. It's also part of why I miss Mission to Mars. It captured that whole essence of the hope built into the space race. We've lost that. As a nation we've really lost the essence of the concept that we're all Americans, that we're all in this together, and that if we work together we can achieve our dreams.
Our politics has never, in my experience, been more about personal greed and personal agendas than it is today. Where has the hope for a better tomorrow gone? "You DO have wings! You can Fly!" "Now is the time, now is the best time of your life!"
Walt tried to embrace that concept, so did the Imagineers that worked at WDW in the early years...to me the loss of that vision is the single greatest loss at WDW. No thrill ride can top that.


Okay, I'll get off my soap box now.

 

[J.C.&ALI'SMOM]

Was that really necessary?

It probably wasn't but posts are much easier to read if there are paragraphs. Just indent.