Marathon Weekend 2023

[The Expert]

ATTQOTD:
:: polishes off my visited-every-park-in-the-world medal ::
Pirates in Shanghai is hands-down the most technically advanced and mind-blowing theme park attraction anywhere. I wish I could describe it and give it justice, but there's just no way. Even Youtube videos can't give you the scale. It starts off like Disneyland's Pirates and then transforms before your eyes and you're suddenly IN the damn movie, with ships towering over you and an epic battle going on all around. It feels so real and almost dangerous!
(Tron is pretty damn impressive too, and I can't wait for it to open at WDW!)

But for pure nostalgia, as in what ride could I ride every day all day forever? Haunted Mansion at WDW. (Phantom Manor in Paris and Mystic Manor at HK are fabulous spins on HM, too.)

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

Yeah, I think that’s what I want too. I’d also like to celebrate at CRT but only if the rest of the princesses are back which I have no idea if they will be.

If you do MK, you could consider one of the restaurants at a monorail resort for the celebratory dinner - lots of good options!

 

[Naomeri]

SAFD: this is kind of a tough question. I think I have to say Flight of Passage. It’s just so immersive and beautiful. I’m kind of hoping that they have the ability to make updates to the ride as the new movies come out, and maybe they can have slightly different journeys in the different theatres, like Star Tours does.

 

[HangWithMerida]

SAFD: this is kind of a tough question. I think I have to say Flight of Passage. It’s just so immersive and beautiful. I’m kind of hoping that they have the ability to make updates to the ride as the new movies come out, and maybe they can have slightly different journeys in the different theatres, like Star Tours does.

This is a really good one too. It is super immersive. I even like the queue. I would love it if they changed up the experience a la Star Tours.

 

[DisneyParrothead]

SAFD: I always loved the Alice in Wonderland ride at DL. I don’t care for the movie since it’s so trippy but the ride is so much fun. Whenever I’m back at DL I make sure to do that ride.

 

[striker1064]

SAFD: Absolutely Haunted Mansion at WDW. It's the only ride I make sure to do every time we go. If I don't do anything else, that's ok with me. I'd love to check out the holiday-themed Haunted Mansion at Disneyland someday.

 

[HangWithMerida]

SAFD: Absolutely Haunted Mansion at WDW. It's the only ride I make sure to do every time we go. If I don't do anything else, that's ok with me. I'd love to check out the holiday-themed Haunted Mansion at Disneyland someday.

This one is also on my family’s must do list. It might even be my husband‘s favorite ride. We missed the holiday-theme at DL by maybe a week the last time we were there. They had it closed to put on the overlay. So close! We talked about going back over the holidays just to make sure we could see it one of these days.

 

[lookingforsunshine]

SAFD: Hagrid’s Motorbike 100%

Oh wait, wrong park

For real, probably Pirates at WDW simply for nostalgia. If I’ve been on the DL version I don’t remember it— I haven’t been there since I was 8. I’ll be there in November though so I can’t wait to check it out!

The first time I went on Pirates I was not even a year old. My parents love to tell the story of how I enjoyed the ride so much and wanted to ride it over and over. Apparently I lost my shoe in the ride and a kind CM helped retrieve it.

My favorite part is the dog with the key.

 

[Barca33Runner]

SAFD:

This is tough. Generally, the thing about WDW (I’ve never visited any of the other locations) that brings me back is the connection to so many characters and stories that have played such a big role in my life, the memories both inside the parks and outside of them with my family and friends related to those stories. It’s nostalgia, sure, but it feels a bit reductive to narrow it only to that label.

Which is why it’s so odd that my favorite ride is Flight of Passage. I have little to no connection with Avatar. I’ve seen it but I couldn’t name any characters, it had little emotional impact, and I have no excitement for the sequels that, I guess, are happening at some point. The ride, though, is such a fantastic mix of amazing immersion, technology, visuals, and thrills. I love it every time and it’s the ride in all the parks for which I would voluntarily wait the longest.

Flight of Passage also checks off a huge box in its ability to reliably eat huge amounts of crowd (one of a few places Rise of the Resistance falls short for me, woefully short in this specific case). Avatar is really the one negative. I would love to see the ride technology applied to other IP down the road (the way they fell in love with trackless vehicles in Rise, Runaway Railway, and Remy).

A couple underrated favorites that I ride multiple times every trip (mainly because they fill another of my criteria, short waits) are Under the Sea-Journey of the Little Mermaid and Gran Fiesta Tour. I love the music and animatronics in each and will gladly ride them multiple times in a row when the line allows it (which is often).

 

[WillRunForPizza]

SAFD: Another vote for ToT here. It's exciting and always a little bit of a surprise with the randomized up-and-downs.

But also we always try to make a stop at Buzz Lightyear, and my brother and I like to do Test Track and try to make the worst car possible. Here is an example I found in my photos:

ID: A very small lime green Test Track car with very large wheels, police lights, flowers, a grate on the front, and more crimes against aesthetics and function.

And I love walking into Rise of the Resistance where they have all the Storm Troopers lined up - so cool.

ETA I love how they include the ASL interpreters in the Frozen Sing-Along show (or at least they did pre-Covid; I haven't been back since then).

 

[sandam1]

SAFD: Hagrid’s Motorbike 100%

Oh wait, wrong park

I'm going to percent agree on this one!

 

[GreatLakes]

SAFD: Mine is easy, Spaceship Earth. It isn't the most thrilling or technologically advanced and has no characters but is everything that made me fall in love with Epcot during my first trip in 1991. It is the last of the old future world rides, I work in technology which includes a lot of communication, and even with the second half updates they can't get right it is the thing that pops into my mine first when I think of WDW.

 

[camaker]

SAFD: Haunted Mansion. No other rides even come close for me. It's the one ride that I have to do every trip and it's the one ride I can do over and over again. Unfortunately, I've only been able to experience the WDW version. Both of my DL trips were for DLH race weekend and Haunted Mansion was closed for installation of the holiday overlay.

 

[accm]

I think if I had to pick, Phantom Manor at Disneyland Paris. Its so good. I also really like the DL version with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay.

 

[accm]

For me, after my first Dopey, it was all about where I wanted photos. I've seen people use plenty of backdrops at resorts, ESPN, and other areas outside the parks, but I wanted the castle. The Photo Pass photographers were well prepared for runners and had me do several different poses I never would have thought of myself.
I also wanted to get my marathon ear hat embroidered, which I know they do at MK. Be aware that a LOT of people do this, so the pick-up time may be several hours after you drop off. But iirc they also do embroidery at Springs, which wouldn't require a park pass and might give you more leeway for picking up another day. (I think maybe Studios does embroidery too.)

Can you share more about your experience with the Photopass photographers after Dopey? I find some photographers can make you feel rushed, and if there’s a long line (which there always is), I feel rushed to not hold up the line. Did you feel rushed? Im thinking of paying for Capture your Moment to not feel rushed, but would obviously rather not spend the money if people had good experiences with regular photopass.

(For reference, we were at the parks at the end of January, and every photopass photographer on Main Street always had a huge line)

 

[Cabius]

SAFD: Indiana Jones at Disneyland.

I know that Dinosaur has the same track layout, but Indiana Jones is 20x the ride experience. I remember riding it as a tween in the mid-90s, and falling in love. So there's a good bit of nostalgia, but also just a genuine honest-to-goodness great time every time I get on it. (Sadly, not nearly often enough!)

 

[The Expert]

Can you share more about your experience with the Photopass photographers after Dopey? I find some photographers can make you feel rushed, and if there’s a long line (which there always is), I feel rushed to not hold up the line. Did you feel rushed? Im thinking of paying for Capture your Moment to not feel rushed, but would obviously rather not spend the money if people had good experiences with regular photopass.

(For reference, we were at the parks at the end of January, and every photopass photographer on Main Street always had a huge line)

There was a line, and many others with medals waiting to get photos. They had LOTS of different photographers out all along Main Street and around the castle, so I never felt pressured to hurry up for "regular" tourists to get their shots. The photographer spent lots of time, suggested different poses, and asked if there was anything I had in mind or any other shots I wanted at several points in the process. If you're just after a variety of shots in one or two spots, photopass is definitely the way to go, as you could easily just go from line to line around the castle. If you're looking for something more elaborate or to hit multiple locations all over the park, it might be worth paying for the session.

 

[gosalyn_mallard]

you could easily just go from line to line around the castle.

I second this! If time allows, we always visit more than 1 photopass line. You never know if one photographer's camera setting will be off, or the lighting is a little weird, or 1 photographer just isn't having a good day etc.

 

[accm]

Thank you @The Expert and @gosalyn_mallard. We're staying until Wednesday or Thursday, so should have a lot of opportunity for photos. I'll take any chance to save some money at Disney!

 

[DisneyMountainWoman]

SAFD: Wow such a hard question.... ohh Space Mountain, or Haunted Mansion or ToT or Kilimanjaro Safari bah... and I have not even been on rise of the resistance or guardians rides which could honestly beat them all for me. I hate picking my fav ride, I loove too many.