Once Upon A Celebration Dream: Revenge of the Ewok 8-1

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Since we're a party of 9 with an infant and a wheelchair(mom has severe foot problems) we wait for the entire plane to disembark before we make our way through MCO. We come to the tram which will take us towards Disney's Magical Express. As soon as we exit the tram, we see the first sign of the Disney marketing machine, Disney's Earport. Yes, if you need to get a last minute souvenier from WDW, or a first minute souvenier because you just can't wait to spend all that money burning a hole in your pocket, Disney has provided this convenient stop for you.

And right by the entrance to Disney's Earport, I see her, or rather a picture of her, but at least she's in the blue dress. Yes, it's Princess Aurora even though the picture changes depending on where you are in relation to the picture. This causes much confusion as part of my family is trying to figure out why my little brother is taking a picture of me and Ariel while the other half is trying to tell them that he's taking a picture of me and Aurora. I consider this a good start to the trip since I didn't get to meet her at Disneyland, and hope to meet her at Walt Disney World.

After the picture, we proceed to make our way to Disney's Magical Express. We have a little bit of trouble finding it, but we eventually do, and my dad and brother proceed to wait in the first line of the trip! After a few minutes, they come up to us with our tickets and tell us where to go. As we gather our carry on items, my nephew discovers a hidden talent: the joy and fun of pushing his own stroller.

This ability is something that would be beloved and enjoyed by all parents with a child. Think of how much easier it would be if your kid would push his or her own stroller. Of course, it may be difficult since you would have to carry the kid while they pushed the stroller, but nonetheless, my nephew was having the time of his life.

When the Magical Express bus arrives, we all happily board and get ready for our trip to Scopa Towers because nothing says Magical Express like Disney's POP Century, or something like that. With The Incredibles playing on the TV screen, we leave the airport and head for the Happiest Place on Earth. Our driver tells us that the Magic Kingdom will be crowded tomorrow and that Pirates of the Carribean is closed, but thanks to the DIS, I tell him that it will be open for tomorrow only before going down for the final touches on refurbishment. Even though it's late at night, every passenger on the bus continues the time honored Disney tradition of screaming happily as we pass under the entrance to Walt Disney World. Soon we can see the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom's Grad Night parties and it begins to sink in. Finally around 9:45 the bus pulls up to Scopa Towers and we see Classic Hall.

Upon entering Disney's POP Century, you are immediately transported back in time. Memories of childhood come rushing back to you. Even though I was born in 1976, a reminder of my childhood is seen in the fifties with mementos from the Mickey Mouse Club. Back when the Disney Channel actaully believed in showing Walt Disney's creative work, I used to watch the Mickey Mouse Club every day. I was a little surprised they didn't have anything there about the opening of Disneyland, but they didn't forget the Mousketeers.

Skipping over the sixties, which in a way ended on the day that Homer Simpson's hippy friends sold their VW van on December 31, 1969, we come to the seventies, which contrary to the opinion of Tom Servo, did not have the Roman Empire still reigning supreme. Sure enough though, the seventies pays homage to the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971, commemorated here by my little brother.

I was born in 1976, and in 1978 two important events happened in my two year old life. My parents took me to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse, and they brought me along when they finally saw Star Wars. So, parents, be cautious. What you expose your children to even when they're little can influence them for the rest of their lives.

Then we move on to the eighties, when Ronald Reagan was President and Star Wars continued to rule the box office. 1980 also happens to be the year that my favorite Star Wars film, The Empire Strikes Back was released.

The late eighties also mark the first time in my life that I fell in love with a Disney Princess for that is when I saw Sleeping Beauty. As we see more and more memorabilia from the eighties, I see another reference to Star Wars, which I excitedly point out to my youngest sister. And so, she scans and scans the wall until, eventually, she sees a lone ewok pez dispenser.

My other sister and sister-in-law chat happily as they see all these beloved toys from childhood that they haven't played with in years. Disney knows how to do things right. In just a few minutes, they've taken you back to your childhood and you feel like a kid again. And soon we come to the nineties, where I discover that Scopa Towers in one display has referenced two of my favorite TV shows from my college years, The Simpons and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Now checked in, we're all given our Key to the World cards and we proceed to our building in the Seventies. Along the way, we pass Surfer Goofy and the gigantic Mickey phone is right next to our building. This is somehow appropriate since our trips to Disney began because Mickey Mouse was the first friend I had in the world. We drop off our stuff in our rooms and head back out to Everything POP. It's been a long time since my brother played flight attendant and we're very hungry.

This is my first indication that the dining plan is going to provide us with lots of food. If you're on the dining plan, there's no reason to ever be hungry at Walt Disney World. We all like the wide variety of selection and of course, we also buy our refillable mugs. My little sister says she doesn't want one because some random person told her the frozen coke wasn't part of the plan, but I tell her it is included and when she doesn't believe me, in what will become a common theme on this trip, my mom tells her that I have spent months preparing and planning for this trip, and that if I say it's included, it is included. Soon enough, a cast member proves me right. Anyways, now stuffed from dinner, we head back to our rooms. It's getting really late and Mickey is opening the Magic Kingdom tomorrow morning at 9:00am with or without me.

Next Up: The Saga Begins

 

[fizz13]

Wow, some great memories on those boards, thanks for sharing the pics,
Claire xx

 

[TLinden16]

Great pictures. It's fun looking at those collages in the Pop lobby.

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

what a time warp... thanks for the pics!! cant' wait for more

 

[pooksma]

I just love those memory box displays at POP! Great TR!!!

 

[mousebit]

Great report so far! Looking forward to more. LOVE THE POP!! I'm eager to see how you managed as a group since we have our first big family trip in the planning stages right now.

 

[schmoopypoo]

Awesome report so far! I can't wait til our trip. We're staying at POP too and I have a feeling I'll be spending some time at those collages. Great pics too and your nephew is adorable

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Great report so far! Looking forward to more. LOVE THE POP!! I'm eager to see how you managed as a group since we have our first big family trip in the planning stages right now.

In some ways we didn't. And by that I mean we all basically did our own thing. The only time we were ever at the parks altogether was after a TS meal. The trick with us though is that we were a party of 8 adults who had different agendas. Those whose agendas matched tended to stick together, so I spent a lot of time with my 20 year old brother who wanted to spend all day in the parks. I think you'll get a better idea of how things went as I continue.

Thanks everyone for your kind words. I can only hope that the report gets better from here on out as we've come to the park portion of the report.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

As we settled into our twin sized beds at POP, we had a flashback to the last time we stayed at Disney in a hotel, so, with Mr. Peabody's permission, we'll enter the Wayback Machine to a Disney trip from yesteryear. It's December 1998. This is the year we're going to Disneyland for Christmas. We tried in 1993, but an untimely case of chicken pox dashed those dreams. I'm still in college, one brother is a year removed from high school, but working while living at home and everyone else is still in school. Somehow, we've crammed 7 people into a suite in Anaheim. My brother and I are sharing a bed, as are my parents. My sisters are on the hideaway bed, and my other brother is in roll in bed(for the life of me I can't remember what they're called). Since we're going to Disney, we're all in a giddy and silly mood except for Donald, who so values his sleep that he has chosen sleep over talking with family members who can't talk on the phone very often. Well, Goofy has developed a habit of stealing the covers. I call him cover thief and soon we settle the argument the only way brothers can. We wrestle for it. The winner gets the covers. After a few minutes, I emerge victorious and throw cover thief off the side of the bed. Everybody laughs and we act silly later into the night, except for Donald, who is getting more and more angry at every passing minute. Eventually, he blows a gasket and I quip, don't have a cow man. To which he responds, "if you guys don't shut up, I'm going to have a whale." And Goofy responds with a line that has become family legend. "Goody. I'll be an uncle." Now, everybody roars with laughter save Donald, who is desperately trying to keep a straight face at 11:30pm. So, now here we are together again, staying in a hotel to go to Disney. Except now, Donald has a son, and Goofy really is an uncle, except my nephew is much cuter than a whale. We've come full circle. This time there are no fights over the covers and everybody attempts to sleep quietly. I, however, can't sleep. I don't know if it's the jet lag, or if like the Walt Disney World commercial, I'm too excited. Eventually, though sleep comes in spurts.

My alarm goes off at 7:00am and I'm exhausted, but after 20 minutes of having my eyes closed and nothing happening, I figure I'm going to be tired no matter what so I get up to face the day. I awake Goofy who then goes into the other room and tries to awaken Ewok, but she tells him she wants to sleep. A quick stop at Everything POP to fill our mugs and we're on our way. Now, the UG recommends avoioding the Magic Kingdom today, but this is the only day that Pirates of the Carribean will be open, so we head there to visit the Pirates. It was nearly 3 years ago that Goofy dressed up as a pirate with me and my buddies when we went to see Pirates of the Carribean. As I look at the lines for the other parks, the UG is right. The MK is full, but the other lines are empty. Well, we still make it on the first bus and arrive at the MK around 8:40, giving us plenty of time for rope drop.

The crowd is buzzing with excitement outside the entrance. After all, we're all there for the same thing. The cast members soon come out and welcome us all to the Magic Kingdom and then the big announcement comes. Mickey is on his way from Toon Town to open the Magic Kingdom. Everybody cheers and in just a few minutes, the excitement reaches a fever pitch as the train pulls up to the station.

And soon, we see Mickey and friends waving from the train. The Mouse is here, and it's time to open the park. Mickey's friends help out and with a countdown, pixie dust is released into the air and the Magic Kingdom is open. I'm 30 years old and suddenly I remember the excitement of visiting Disneyland all those times as a child. In the end, Disney isn't about rides as much as it's about a feeling. Feeling like a kid again. Feeling safe with your family. Feeling like your dreams can come true, and it all started with that wonderful little mouse and the man who created him.

After passing through the gates, we notice two old friends coming down from the train station. Yes, as Goofy and I walked underneath the train station, we saw Mickey and Minnie coming down to meet us. It was a great way to start the trip.

Upon entering the Magic Kingdom, you first notice how huge it is. Gone is the old town feeling of Main Street USA at Disneyland. Here the buildings are bigger, but they have to be in order to not be overwhelmed by the castle sitting at the end of the street. And while Sleeping Beauty Castle may be my home castle, the first Disney castle I ever saw, I love Cinderella Castle too. It reminds me of childhood hopes that we would someday visit Disney World, and so here we are. In the end, a Disney castle is a wonderful site. It's a reminder of where you are, and whether it be in Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, Paris, or Hong Kong, Disney is the happiest place on earth.

We head over to Splash Mountain, only to find that it isn't open yet. The cast members don't know when it will open, so Goofy and I head to destination 2 on the touring plan, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We walk right on to the ride. As we go careening off into the wilderness, something feels off to me. The train always seems ready to really take off, but it never does. Maybe it was because it was early in the morning so it wasn't warmed up yet, but I was disappointed in BTMRR. Disneyland's seemed so much faster and more exciting. With BTMRR done, we decide to wander over to Adventureland and visit the pirates. We walk into the queue and a cast member hands us a tracking device with instructions to give it to the pirate up front. When we arrive there, I say in my best pirate voice, "Arrgggh. The pirate up front asked me to be givin' this to ye." Apparently, the pirate near the loading bay isn't awake yet as she grumbles thank you. I'm in full pirate mode as this is one of my favorite rides ever. But as we sail the Spanish main, something seems different. This Pirates isn't very long. The ride is shorter. Where's the second drop? Where are all the scenes? Something is very strange here. Now to all of you who are WDW regulars, please don't feel like I'm putting down your home park here. I'm not. I love Disney World, but as I remember from our '94 trip, Disneyland often has the more detailed versions of rides, and this is especially true in the case of a longer ride and more detail in the ride itself. I don't really know why that is. It's sad really. If you've never been to Disneyland, I hope you get a chance to come sometime. WDW's Pirates of the Carribean is like a really good hamburger, but Disneyland's is like eating at Le Cellier(and in regards to food, WDW beats Disneyland hands down). At this point, Goofy and I decide that since we've done Pirates, we can do the rest of Magic Kingdom later. And so with that, we mosey out of the Magic Kingdom and take the ferry across to the TTC.

Rumor has it a mysterious creature has been spotted in the Walt Disney World area the past few months, and we want to see if the rumors are true.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[BCKatie02]

Really enjoying your report. Thanks for sharing. Can't wait to hear what happens next.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

This is a great trip report. It's very interesting to experience WDW through the eyes of a DL veteran! I had no idea our POC was inferior, makes me want to go to Anahiem just for POC oh and DD wants to ride the Monster's Inc ride!

Keep it coming! Great Stuff!

 

[PrincessAurora]

Great report. I just finished the Disneyland one and page 1 of this one. now I need a break or my eyes are going to glue to the screen.

One thing though, since Disneyland is my home park, even if it is 400 miles south of me - don't you wish that they would change Star Tours to another tour? I thought I hear they would have other flights like to Hoth and Tatooine coming out but nothing but the Moons of Endor that we never get to. I also can never get into Star Tours at WDW. Don't know why. It just has always been a DL thing to me altough that doesn't stop me from going to the WDW gift shop. Now THAT is cool.

Well I have 2 Disneyland trips this year (including Mickeys Halloween party BACK IN DISNEYLAND!!!!) so I don't have to travel to Florida to wear my dress! One with "The Family" and one with my best gal pal. Wheeeeeeee!

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Thank you all for the compliments. PrincessAurora, it was your trip report that inspired me to think about writing my own, so I'm honored that you're reading and I look forward to reading your future Disney adventures.

I'm moving to California in two weeks, and am planning on getting an AP to Disneyland so there will be more trip reports from me, plus I'm planning a Star Wars Weekends trip for next year. The move also means I'm busy packing, but I will try to get an update in this weekend.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

After waiting a few minutes for the bus to Animal Kingdom, Goofy and I are on our way. It's not even 10:00 yet and my feet are starting to hurt. I think I've developed my first blister. So much for using bodyglide to prevent blisters. I don't care though. I can rest later. Disney World is only available for one week. The bus ride to Animal Kingdom is rather enjoyable. I really like seeing all the Disney billboards for MGM, plus it always makes me happy to see R2-D2 and C-3PO. It's still setting in that we're really at Disney World. Eventually we see the parking lot for Animal Kingdom and the distinctive entrance gates. The bus drops us off and we head for the park entrance, intending to make a beeline straight for Expedtion: Everest. I'll see the rest of Animal Kingdom later, but I want to do Everest now. So, we make it through security and join the throngs of people waiting to enter Disney's Animal Kingdom. Then we walk up to the turnstile, put our tickets through, and boom. Access denied. We try again. Same result. A CM comes up to us and tries to help us, but the system does not like our tickets. Just wonderful. Our first day in Disney World and the tickets don't work. The CM shows where Guest Relations is and they can fix our problem. She also lets us know that when we're done, we can go back to her turnstile without having to wait in line again, so that relieves some of the frustration.

And while we wait in line to get our ticket problem figured out, we see a palm tree roaming around outside the entrance talking to unsuspecting guests. People don't know quite what to make of this strange thing. Only at Disney, right? Wes Palm soon has people enthralled. The tree gets very excited as one park guest is wearing a shirt with palm trees on it, so Wes gets really excited talking about seeing his aunt Barbara and other relatives on the shirt. Wes tells a guest with cornrows in his hair that he really likes his hairstyle, and even asks for a hug. When the surprised guest obliges, Wes replies that he always knew there were more treehuggers in the world. The art of bad puns, plied so effectively on Rocky and Bullwinkle and The Muppet Show is still alive and well. Somewhere, Dr. Rolf is happy. After admiring some more bling, Wes than rolls up to a girl with red streaks in her dark hair and asks if she's gone to the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique since her hairstyle reminds him of both Ariel and Snow White. This elicits a laugh from the girl and Wes eventually gets another hug. Another guest obliges Wes with a cool spray from a mister fan, and then it's time for Wes to wander off elsewhere, but his work is done for Disney's biometric entry system is decidedly un-Disney. It never seems to read things right, and on our trip, the most annoying line of the day was always waiting for the biometric scanner to misread 3 or 4 times before the exasperated CM shuts it off and waves the park guest through since the ticket reader is already satisfied that the ticket is valid. I shudder as I think of lines waiting to get into the parks when it's really crowded. But Wes' antics have entertained the crowd waiting to get into the park and they realize that, despite temperamental biometric scanners that don't work even when set to orangutan, Disney is still the king of theme parks. Plus, it provided some laughs and entertainment while Goofy and I waited. The Guest Relations CM does is excellent. He has sign our passes and reconfigures them before taking us through a CM entrance that will deposit us on the park side of Guest Services so I can redeem my voucher for a free picture from Expedition: Everest. After a tip here on the DIS, I played that YetiVision game, computer crashes and all for two hours one night to get my free picture and I'm going to get my free picture.

Once inside Animal Kingdom, Goofy and I marvel at the theming of this park. The foliage is impressive. The tree of life is a pretty distinct park icon, but we admire it as we pass by. Thanks to my days of planning, I know that Everest is in Asia and I've got an idea of how to get there quickly. So we follow the signs to Asia until a large mountain is seen in the distance. We head over to the entrance and learn that the fastpass return time is 3:15 with a 55 minute standby wait. Having heard the horror stories of horribly long waits for brand new Disney E-Tickets, 55 minutes isn't bad, so we grab our fastpasses and hop in line. Star Tours opened at Disneyland with 6 hour waits and the line stretching down Main Street to the park entrance. I've seen 2 hour waits at Disneyland for popular E-Tickets that aren't brand new. So this isn't bad. Plus, if the ride is really cool, we can come back later with our fastpasses. And so we begin what would end up being the longest wait of the entire trip, except the wait doesn't seem too bad as this line moves. As long as the line moves, a long wait really isn't that bad.

Expedition: Everest, in grand Disney tradition, is more than just a cheap roller coaster that takes you into a legendary mountain. From the moment you see the mountain, it calls to you. When you step into the village, which I recognized from playing that Yeti-Vision game and watching all those TV specials, you are transported into another world. The flags flapping in the wind, the aging village, the bells ringing, sometimes incessantly so by teenagers engaging in a competition to impress the scantily clad girls around them all help you to remove you from the real world, which I had last seen 24 hours earlier. And in another grand Disney tradition, money has been thrown into one of the areas of the queue. By placing a few glistening chalices in there, Disney invites everybody, both young and old to throw their spare change into the pit in an effort to land the coin in the golden chalice. It's like a primitive arcade. I suppose they give this money to their conservation arm, so they probably don't mind the glistening change too much. After standing in, you guessed it, more line, we come to the Yeti Museum part of the line. The climbing gear is here as well as tons of information about the mysterious Yeti. As we pass by a photograph of the Himalayas, Goofy and I notice the word lhasa. The family dog is part lhasa apsos and the species is bred in Tibet. This is important only because Goofy and I can tease Princess that we saw dog at Disney World while she was sleeping in the hotel room. Now, I don't know if they're all actually still asleep, but we're quite confident that they have yet to leave the room. We also see the rumored Yeti scat in the queue. This is also quite exciting since my roommates all love to say the word pooh pooh. They've even given everybody in the apartment a pooh pooh themed nickname, so they'll be excited to hear that I saw Yeti poop at Disney World. And then, we pass through a magical doorway and can see the trains that will take us to the top of the mountain. Soon, we're on the trains and our expedition begins, and our 55 minute wait was wrong. It's only been 50.

The landscaping of Expedition: Everest is impressive. It's breathtaking as you start on the track and see the mountain still off a little bit. And then you make the big climb into the mountain. And yes, you're really high up. I couldn't help but remember PrincessAurora seeing Elvis in addition to EPCOT and Tower of Terror as she rode the ride. Many times throughout the trip, I would chuckle to myself as I passed Disney landmarks and remembered what had happened to a DISer at that very spot. And soon the thrill part starts up. We go hurtling down the track and careening through the mountain, but all the while an ominous noise rumbles in the background, and soon we head up to the top, only to find that the track is broken. Something has gone horribly wrong. The ominous noise is louder and there are huge footprints in the snow. And then, it happens. The ride goes backwards. This sensation is very cool and the ride gets crazier. More train track breaks, this time at the hands of a huge being. Soon, there's only one way out, and that leads to the encounter with the Yeti. This thing is impressive. Think Chewbacca, only hairier, on steroids. He angrily takes a swipe at us, but misses and we're headed back safely to the station. As the train pulls in, many passengers applaud. This ride is that good. I'd heard people say it was short, but it didn't seem short to me. I've been on roller coasters that were one minute long, and Everest is not short. Goofy is equally enthralled with the ride and we know that we'll be spending much of our afternoon in Animal Kingdom. After all, our fastpasses will enable us to experience the mountain again at 3:15. Boy, do I love fastpass.

We catch our breath for a couple of minutes by watching a monkey climb around near Everest, but we make our way to Kali River Rapids. There is no wait, so we quickly put cameras and everything into Goofy's backpack and get ready to go. This ride will eventually get you wet if you go on it enough. The longer and more detailed version at Disney's California Adventure has gotten me pretty wet, so I knew what was coming, or so I thought. The raft went down the biggest hill backwards, and Goofy and I took a drenching. Yesterday on the flight, I had a wet spot on my shorts from spilling soda on myself. Today, I have a dry spot on my shorts that somehow, the water didn't find. Ironically enough, the lady across from me is dry to the bone. Yes, this ride can and will get you wet. I don't recommend riding if it's cold outside or else you may need to buy a new beach towel, shorts, t-shirt, and maybe even underwear in order to avoid losing precious travel time heading back to your hotel to get dried off. It's not too bad when it's out though, although you'll still take time to dry off.

Goofy is now getting hungry, but I convince him to go through the Maharajah Jungle Trek before going to lunch. This is mainly because I would like to dry out some before sitting down to eat as I can still wring water from my shirt. The jungle trek is cool, but I wished the tigers had been out and about. One of my favorite philosophers in life was a tiger. With that we head to Tusker House and our second snafu of the day. The CM at the cash register accidentally charged my lunch to my room instead of the dining plan. Once this is fixed, I look at my receipt and notice that my parents still haven't lunch yet. I wonder if they're still asleep. Goofy and I sit down to enjoy a very filling lunch of chicken, mashed potatoes and chocolate cake. Lunch was quiet and uneventful, though a bit uncomfortable as I'm still drenched. After lunch we walk out of the restaurant to notice a performing group of Animal Kingdom. These guys were great, decked out in full African costume and dancing. They even convinced shy guests and a few not so shy children to try and dance with them. It's especially watching children attempt to follow them and adults start to make up their own moves. After the brief show, Goofy and I talked about how many people miss something like this because they're in a hurry to make it to the next ride and miss the quiet moments that make Disney what it is.

We head to the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which says the wait is an hour, but in what's becoming a trend, we're only actually waiting for around 20-30 minutes. This ride is breathtaking. There are moments when you think that you really are on the plains of Africa. It's very cool to see the animals out and about in a natural habitat instead of separated by a chain link fence or something. That said, the poacher story was a let down. Something doesn't feel right about seeing a baby elephant that you know is animatronic. It just doesn't fit with the rest of what Disney is trying to do here. After the safari, we head over to the Pangani Exploration Trail. Having recently seen King Kong, seeing the gorillas here is very cool. I just enjoy seeing the gorillas move about in a natural setting.

We've still got time before our fastpass for Everest, so we trek over to Dinoland or the themed equivalent at WDW to DCA. I can see why so many people don't like the cheap carnival feel of parts of Dinoland. Well, all I have to say is at least that's one section. Most of DCA has the cheap carnival feel and their carnival rides aren't all that great. Primeval Whirl is a fun little ride that we enjoyed. Nothing special, but worth going on if the line is short enough. Then it's on to Dinosaur. Once again, we practically walk on to the ride. From my planning I knew that the ride was similar to Indiana Jones at Disneyland, so we had an idea of what to expect. Well the ride design is similar. I found Dinosaur to be loud, a little confusing at times, and very rough and bumpy. I really could do without that carnotaurus screaming in my ear, but the ride's not too bad. With that, our fastpass window is now open. Goofy starts to head out by the skeleton of Sue near the entrance to Dinoland when I stop him. I tell him that there's a quicker route. Confused, he comes along with me, and sure enough, after a few minutes, we see the peaks of Everest looming in the distance. He asks me how I knew this and I replied that I had spent days planning this trip. Even though I had never been to Animal Kingdom, I had an idea of what the layout of the park was like. On our way to Everest, the phone finally rings. My family has emerged from slumber and now at 3:15 in the afternoon, they have finally found their way into the Magic Kingdom. I tell them that Goofy and I have fastpasses for Everest, so we'll meet them at EPCOT later.

At Everest, Goofy and I decide to try the front of the ride. Remember how cool we thought Everest was from the middle of the train? Well, it's even better from the first row. The torn up track is more dramatic and the backwards effect is more thrilling. Simply put, this ride rocks. It is now one of my all time favorite rides. I even consider going to AK first thing every morning simply to ride Everest. After the ride, I take a little breather for my stomach to settle and then Goofy and I head to for the exit. We want to beat the parade so we can head over to EPCOT and put in a few rides before dinner. And by the way, I'm still wet from Kali River Rapids.

Next Up: Maybe EPCOT Can Dry Me Off

 

[pooksma]

Another great installment~keep 'em coming!

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

Thanks for the compliments. Depending on how things go, I may be back tonight to finish off the day.

Sleeping Becca, I'm glad you understand what I was getting at as I described my reaction to the rides. I wonder sometimes that people won't understand what I'm trying to get at. WDW's POTC is an enjoyable ride, but as I ride it, I can't help but compare it to the longer and more detailed version at Disneyland. In the end it's the same thing as those who are surprised to see how much smaller Sleeping Beauty Castle is at DL when compared to WDW.

I see so many posts of people saying they're afraid to visit Disneyland because it's not WDW, and I almost laugh. They don't know what they're missing out on, just as any person who won't even try Disney World because it isn't Disneyland would be missing out on a wonderful Disney experience. Both parks are different and they have their positives and their negatives.

 

[Thinktinknpixiedust]

I love your description of EE! I am even MORE excited to go this August! Thanks for the great TR

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the great report. The way you discribed EE made me want to ride it now instead of a few months from now. Waiting for the next chapter don't keep us waiting to long. I also enjoyed your Disneyland and WDW dining reports.

 

[Sleeping Jedi Beauty]

I'll see what I can do. I'm moving to California next week though, so I don't know how much time I'll have for writing my TR with all the packing I have left. It's getting pretty overwhelming. The good news is that the next chapter is almost done. I should have it up tomorrow.