The MCLOVINS Hit the World - HARD!!!!! *COMPLETED*

[__disneygirl]

BONUS SCI-FI PICTURES!!!!!!!
Day nothing, Part nothing!!

As if I haven't made my Sci-Fi obsession clear enough!!! Well, I found some more pictures of this fabulous place, plus a couple from previous trips. Anyway thought I might as well throw them in! They're not even that great but you know... whatever. It will satisfy your Sci-Fi craving!!

Full update coming once I get some SLEEP! It's 1:22 AM here and I've been staying up every night until like 4am and waking up too early to even name the time, so I'm pretty whipped. Anyway, I will update in the morning! Well, later on this morning.

Join in on the Sci-Fi worship with me people!!!!!!! You can feel it pulling you in, can't you? Boooook annnnnn AAAADDDRRRR..... Boooook annnnn AAAADDDRRR...!!!!! I know, it's hypnotizing.

Two other things:

1. A VERY HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO TWO OF MY GLORIOUS READERS!!! Kara aka MarieTheCat24 turned 20, and Tinkgurlfriend AKA tinkgurl turned 23!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!

2. Check out this great TR: Sabotage de la Diet: The Not Just Food TR ~ I've been loving it, and he doesn't have too many readers which is just silly if you ask me. He's a great writer! Oh and especially check it out if you're a Harry Potter fan cause he provides some great descriptions of their experience at the Wizarding World.

Well, goodnight friends and fans!!!

 

[Cat0727]

LOVE it!!!! The car is still out front, right? I can't remember if I saw it or not last time. My pictures inside Sci-Fi never come out that good, I need a new camera

I love the title of the TR you linked, I'm going to check it out!

 

[jenniferkeala808]

hey lia!! Sorry I've been soo MIA but i'm back! And thanks for the links to your updates...makes it much easier to get caught up...which is where I'm going now...to get caught up! LOL! I'll be back!

 

[MarieTheCat24]

AHHHHH SCI-FI!!!!!

Exactly 2 weeks from TONIGHT I will be dining there!!! I will probably send out 50 manic, overly excited tweets from the restaurant. But, please keep finding pictures to tease me with until then!!

And thanks for the b-day shout out, dear!!

Now I'm off to read the TR you recommended.

 

[creativeamanda]

Hmm. . .I've never done SciFi, but I may have to try it someday.

 

[poohbearluver]

Subbing! I love your style of writing.

 

[__disneygirl]

LOVE it!!!! The car is still out front, right? I can't remember if I saw it or not last time. My pictures inside Sci-Fi never come out that good, I need a new camera

I love the title of the TR you linked, I'm going to check it out!

Yep, the car's still there!

hey lia!! Sorry I've been soo MIA but i'm back! And thanks for the links to your updates...makes it much easier to get caught up...which is where I'm going now...to get caught up! LOL! I'll be back!

Hey, no prob! I know you've been going through a lot. It's good to have the DIS to escape to. Thanks for catchin up!!

AHHHHH SCI-FI!!!!!

Exactly 2 weeks from TONIGHT I will be dining there!!! I will probably send out 50 manic, overly excited tweets from the restaurant. But, please keep finding pictures to tease me with until then!!

And thanks for the b-day shout out, dear!!

Now I'm off to read the TR you recommended.

SO JEALOUS!! But excited for you! and excited for the tweets!!

Hmm. . .I've never done SciFi, but I may have to try it someday.

You must!!!

 

[__disneygirl]

Subbing! I love your style of writing.

and thanks so much!!!

 

[yinyanggirls]

It's Disney, so I know this has been thought of, but I'm curious...what type of seating do they have that is handicap accessible? It does look fun!

 

[__disneygirl]

It's Disney, so I know this has been thought of, but I'm curious...what type of seating do they have that is handicap accessible? It does look fun!

It's hard to explain, but some of the cars are more... open, I guess you could say, than others. They might be handicap accessible, but I'm not positive so you should give them a call before your next trip. There are regular tables scattered around, though. They're circular with umbrellas, so you should be fine at one of those. The cars are fun but I wouldn't mind sitting at one of the umbrella tables, just to get the experience of being in there is awesome enough

 

[yinyanggirls]

I just don't know if I could do this one!

 

[__disneygirl]

April 12, 2010
Day 2, Part 5 In Which We Have The Tower of Terror All To Ourselves...Or Do We?


After enjoying a nice film and meal at the drive in, we headed out to explore the rest of Hollywood.

My mom had never seen Pixar Place and we both had never been on Toy Story Mania (I KNOW, CRAZY. WAY MORE ON THIS LATER) so we went to that area first. I knew we would almost definitely would have to skip TSM for now, but she still wanted to see it.

We went over to Pixar Place and of course the Fastpasses were done and the line was 75 minutes. We never wait on that kind of line so we decided to go check in at the Hollywood Tower Hotel, where we would be staying for the night.

Or would we?

The Tower of Terror is my favorite ride of all time. If you can even call it that. It's a full on EXPERIENCE. A feast for the senses...and all that.

Oh my God... it. Is. EPIC. It's genius. The tower...ahem... The Hollywood Tower Hotel is just sitting there at the back of the park all ominous during your whole trip. Taunting you. After a walk down sunset boulevard you finally reach it. Wow, what a beautiful area. Beautiful... and yet... something is not quite right here. There is a sinister undertone to the place. Something terrible happened here. On a night...just like tonight.

The queue is long, the staff unwelcoming, the greenery absolutely beautiful.

Vines snake around the entire area.

You walk and walk and walk and walk. 1930's classic music is playing... you're not quite sure from where. The build up is crazy. The theming perfect. Finally you reach the inside.

There is something off about the energy of the place. It looks as if, years ago, everyone just picked up and left without a second thought. Cobwebs fill the beautiful, once thriving lobby.

What happened here?

And who is RT? Those initials can't just mean nothing. There's a reason for everything at Disney World.

Guests are directed to the library. You look around at the incredible detail put into this place, but your examination is cut short when the room goes pitch black. All you see in the darkness is a fuzzy TV screen.

It is explained to you that in the 1930's, a group of people got on the elevator and never got off. Now you'll be getting on that elevator.

IT'S CHILLING. And fantastically done.

The long walk through the boiler room.

I took this picture in 2006. It's one of those little Disney details I love. It reads: "It's easy enough to be pleasant / when life hums along like a song / but the man worth while / is the man that can smile / when everything goes dead wrong." God, too amazing. I also love the little pipe sitting there, like some guy was working on something and smoking and then high tailed it out of there before he got stuck in the Twilight Zone himself!

You can go straight or to the right. Oh god, the first time I went on this I was ten and my heart was pounding so fast at this point I thought I was going to die. But I did not leave through the chicken exit. I did it. And it was some of the most fun I had ever had.

CONTINUED IN NEXT POST

 

[__disneygirl]

CONTINUED FROM LAST POST

Prior to experiencing The Tower of Terror, I thought you just get on, the thing drops, and then you get off. But of course that isn't the case. This is Disney. They have to slowly lure you into the Twilight Zone. And they sure do.

I won't spoil the entire ride for those of you who haven't been on yet. But my god is it brilliantly effective. I STILL get so excited every single time. And every time it is different and every time I notice something different.

Brilliance, I tell you. BRILLIANCE!

This particular time, the wait posted said TEN MINUTES! And this is at around 5:00 PM on April 12. Crazy! We sped through the empty queue and it was a total WALK ON! I've never seen this before! My mom and I looked at each other so excited because we knew this would turn into one of our ToT marathons where we ride over and over until our brains bleed.

Usually right when the park is closing and everyone is obsessing over getting a good Fantasmic! spot, we do ToT and Rock n Roller Coaster (my other FAVORITE) back and forth over and over and OVER! The first time we did this, I was 10, and it was like the most fun night of my life. I remember RUNNING out of ToT and straight on RnR, and then RUNNING off RnR and back to ToT. Never waiting. The CMs were cracking up at us!

After getting out of the elevator:

After we rode ToT with no wait, my mom said, "I think that was the BEST it has ever been!" I couldn't agree because of my ToT obsession I feel it's always THE BEST! On a high from riding, we RAN over to RnR and hoped the wait was the same!

Wrong-O!! The wait at RnR was an hour with NO Fastpasses left! I wonder why RnR was popular this day and ToT wasn't? So strange! No prob - we'll just hit ToT a few more times!

The next time we headed in there, there was no one else. I couldn't believe how deserted the place was! I came to the conclusion that Disney decided we were VIPs and cleared out the hotel for us. I mean, what else could it be?

It was so funny when they let us in the library... a CM said to us in a creepy voice, very slowly, "Well, I guess it's just us..." :O

You can't ever really be ALONE at The Hollywood Tower Hotel, if you know what i'm saying.

Eerie!!

I really wanted to buy the shot of us alone on the elevator but a group of people RAN up right before we were let on. Sheesh, do you not realize our VIPness?

Three rides later, the wait time had been raised to 30 minutes. So many trips to the Twilight Zone and back had made us a bit crazy - no one should see that many ghosts in one day! So we decided to venture elsewhere.

We just wandered around a bit and shopped. I wanted to go to Starring Rolls and get one of those huge cupcakes, but for some reason they close super early. So, we decided to hit The Great Movie Ride.

The wait was about 5 minutes. Being obsessed with movies, I absolutely love this ride. I know some people on here call it "The Not So Great Movie Ride" as a joke, and I have no idea why. At all. I've always had a huge fondness and always will. I wish they could do an additional ride for more recent movies, though, and i'd also love a Great Television Ride!

I love the carpets in here. A tip at WDW: Always look up, and always look down. There are many beautiful details to be taken in.

It made me sad that my dad wasn't with us - he thinks every movie made after basically 1965 sucks so this ride is his dream. No one will ever be as good as Judy Garland and Jimmy Cagney to him. He's on the older side, and actually experienced old Hollywood. His uncle was a Hollywood movie producer, so he got to meet and hang out with a lot of the stars of that time, including Marilyn Monroe and Frank Sinatra. OF COURSE I WASN'T AROUND THEN! Sigh. When he is at MGM with us, he always says "Let's go see James Cagney now!!!" like an excited little kid about to ride Dumbo. I think he really misses those days.

On the way out we checked out the hand, foot, and other prints of some cool people who came before:

There is a cool display in front of the Chinese Theatre that I love, it's media from the Jungle Book premiere in the 60's:

We go to a lot of premieres in Manhattan, and the media passes and stuff are wayyyyy not as cool! It's awesome to see what it used to be like. Also, Disney characters do not show up in costume now which is disappointing!! They should come, even to non-Disney movie premieres. Just so we have that clear!

At this point my mom was suuuuper exhausted and overheated, so we decided to call it a day. I actually have NO memory of what happened after the Great Movie Ride - so I must have been SUPER tired too! I actually feel bad, because I barely took any notes for the TR, and the ones I did take are on my BlackBerry. Well, my BlackBerry is what the guy at the TMobile store referred to as "Beyond Repair" so those are gone. I am relying on photos and my memory at this point, and usually, I have the sharpest memory of anyone i've ever met. Anytime anyone is foggy on something, they ask me. I remember the entire rest of the trip near perfectly, but this night I just can't! Next trip, I am WRITING everything down in a notebook b/c I am not a "take notes on my BlackBerry" kind of person anyway. I have approx. 65 note pads scattered throughout the house, car, and all my purses (including a Disney World one from World of Disney in Manhattan that for some God forsaken reason was $7.50), so next time i'll bring a pad to the parks!

I imagine that we headed back to CBR and to Old Port Royale where we filled up our mugs and got a snack, watched TV for awhile, and then went to bed, because that is what we did almost every night, minus a very crazy after-Boma experience that is coming up later in the TR...

I DO remember, however, that I was again too excited to sleep... I absolutely could not wait for our breakfast the next day!!!

Up next: Breakfast in Hawaii!! Keala, where are you girl?! LOL!

 

[__disneygirl]

Can I hijack your TR for a quick minute??? I see you have many northeastern readers and I need NE experience...if you all have a minute to spare will you read my post and reply if you have anything to share?
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37348493&postcount=313

I don't mind at all, but... I have many northeastern readers? I didn't even know that. LOL! But I hope you can get some help. I wish I could offer my own advice but I have no idea about schools and medical care which I know is super important. If you want to know where to have a good time then I can provide that! LOL. Good luck!

 

[yinyanggirls]

I felt bad that we were posting at the same time and my question popped up in between your two reports so I moved it.

Here:
Can I hijack your TR for a quick minute??? I see you have many northeastern readers and I need NE experience...if you all have a minute to spare will you read my post and reply if you have anything to share?
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37348493&postcount=313

If we move to the Northeast I will be exploring the hell out of it. I don't even care if that makes sense! I have lived my whole life in the west and aside from a few little visits to random places through the years, I really don't know the eastern states at all. So sad.

 

[tinkgurl]

DISNEYGIRLFRIEND! I love the new Cinderella avatar pic you have!

Oooh Sci-Fi looks neat! I remember seeing the pic of Tina Fey outside there.

Thanks for the b-day shout out!

I cannot wait to see the new changes to ToT. Wow! The wait was only 10 minutes for you?! How lucky is that?! I think I would have been way creeped out to be the only ones on the ride! Have you noticed the creepy doll at the end of the ride when the vehicle is getting ready to turn towards the doors?

 

[MarieTheCat24]

I love your photo walk-through of the Tower of Terror!! I've never been on it (and probably never will) because falling and I just do not go together. And I kinda hate elevators so it's like the double whammy of things that make me uncomfortable. Add in a few birds and a guy dancing around in a clown costume, and it'd be like my own personal hell.

Anyway, it was nice to get to "see" some of the sights that I will never actually see with my own eyes. The detail in there looks AMAZING. And the Tower of Terror bellhops have the best job in WDW. And the coolest costumes. I want one of their hats!!

Ooooo I LOVE your idea for a Great Television Ride. Disney, get on that!! I'm already imagining the medley of awesome TV theme songs that they could play in the queue. God, I'm such a TV addict...

 

[YukiPhnx]

WOAH! Updates! I've had a super busy weekend, so gonna rest a bit, then catch up on what y'all are talking about. Toodle loo~

 

[__disneygirl]

I felt bad that we were posting at the same time and my question popped up in between your two reports so I moved it.

Here:
Can I hijack your TR for a quick minute??? I see you have many northeastern readers and I need NE experience...if you all have a minute to spare will you read my post and reply if you have anything to share?
http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=37348493&postcount=313

If we move to the Northeast I will be exploring the hell out of it. I don't even care if that makes sense! I have lived my whole life in the west and aside from a few little visits to random places through the years, I really don't know the eastern states at all. So sad.

Oh, it was no problem but thanks!

You will absolutely love it here. I can't imagine living anywhere else but the Northeast. I have traveled around the US a lot and while I love so many other places, I can't imagine living there. Since i'm in show business, I know i'll have to live in Los Angeles for a period of time and even though California is beautiful I am going to miss NJ/NY soooo much!

DISNEYGIRLFRIEND! I love the new Cinderella avatar pic you have!

Oooh Sci-Fi looks neat! I remember seeing the pic of Tina Fey outside there.

Thanks for the b-day shout out!

I cannot wait to see the new changes to ToT. Wow! The wait was only 10 minutes for you?! How lucky is that?! I think I would have been way creeped out to be the only ones on the ride! Have you noticed the creepy doll at the end of the ride when the vehicle is getting ready to turn towards the doors?

Thanks Tinkgurlfriend!!!

NO I have not noticed a creepy doll!! OMG! I must find out more details about this so I will not miss it next time! See what I mean about this attraction? There is always something waiting to be found. I notice something new every time but never this doll. Now i'm 10x more excited than usual to ride again.

I love your photo walk-through of the Tower of Terror!! I've never been on it (and probably never will) because falling and I just do not go together. And I kinda hate elevators so it's like the double whammy of things that make me uncomfortable. Add in a few birds and a guy dancing around in a clown costume, and it'd be like my own personal hell.

Anyway, it was nice to get to "see" some of the sights that I will never actually see with my own eyes. The detail in there looks AMAZING. And the Tower of Terror bellhops have the best job in WDW. And the coolest costumes. I want one of their hats!!

Ooooo I LOVE your idea for a Great Television Ride. Disney, get on that!! I'm already imagining the medley of awesome TV theme songs that they could play in the queue. God, I'm such a TV addict...

Ooooooo girl. You must, at least, walk through the queue, lobby, library, and experience the pre-show. That way you can enjoy at least part of the attraction without having to drop. Although, I would not be me if I didn't urge you to someday, somehow... RIDE!! The ride itself is much more involved than just the drops, there are places you go and things you see before you finally drop... I wish you could experience it! That is one of my favorite things about WDW - even though I'm doing something that is terrifying, like dropping, I know i'm at WDW and I know i'm SAFE. It's the feeling of getting to experience other worlds and crazy things and cultures without being terrified for my life. Though, riding ToT as many times as I have in a row, i'm surprised I haven't been sucked into the real Twilight Zone by now. If there is a real Twilight Zone. Uh... anyway!!!!!!

I want the Great Television Ride sooo bad. I bet the idea's been thrown around. I wish they'd make it happen. It would be better than Sounds Dangerous, that's for sure. Get that out of there and bring me Lucy and Ethel hangin out in the kitchen! Let's see the Friends at Central Perk. I don't need to sit there in the dark and hear bees flying around Drew Carey. I just don't.

WOAH! Updates! I've had a super busy weekend, so gonna rest a bit, then catch up on what y'all are talking about. Toodle loo~

Yay! See ya soon, Yuki!!

 

[Cat0727]

Amazing walk-through of ToT! How crazy is that, you and your mom all alone in the library? I would have freaked out! The bell hops are so creepy, I love how into character they get. Too bad you didn't get your own elevator ride. My sister and I had our own log to ourselves on Splash at night a few years ago in January and I wish I had taken a picture of our ride photo. But that was before the DIS and I didn't know what a redneck photo was