Carl
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
- Messages
- 3,304
After getting up very late (10:00 am,) I went to Spoodles for breakfast. I like to eat there because they have very reasonable priced a la carte breakfasts. I paid around $7.00 for breakfast, including the tip.
Then I went back to my room to brush my teeth and then came down and caught the boat to MGM. Some day (in much cooler weather) I'm going to walk to MGM from the Boardwalk. First thing I did was get in the Tower of Terror line. The wait was about 15 minutes. The new set up for the ride is much more interesting. You never know exactly how many times it is going to go up and down, or how far down or up it will travel each time. They have seat belts now on this ride. By the way, someone had posted that Spaceship Earth had installed seat restraints. That is NOT so.
After riding TofT, I got a Fastpass to return later to ride it with a little shorter wait. It is very hot in the park. I head for the ice cream shop which is very close to TofT, but it does not open until 12:00. That is why I have never bought ice cream there before. On previous trips, I have always come to MGM very early and ridden TofT first thing in the morning. Thus, the little ice cream shop has never been open. In fact, until this year, I had assumed that the shop only opened during very busy seasons. It isn't that - it's that it opens late in the day. I walked up and down the street until the ice cream shop finally opened and got a dish of 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 sugar free vanilla ice cream.
Next, I went over and saw the Animations tour. This is the first time I have ever been on this tour. They told us that coming on a week day we could see more of the artists actually at work. I was amazed at how many years it takes to create an animated film. I thought with the computer aided graphics of today would have seriously cut down the time.
I then went back and used my Fastpass on TofT, got another ice cream and headed over to Hollywood and Vine to make a PS for 4:00 for the Fantasmic package. I came and stood in line for the Little Mermaid show (Fastpass was too late for me to get out in time for my 4:00 PS. After Little Mermaid, I went to the Hollywood and Vine and waited until about 3:45 and entered. This is not a bad deal at around $20 including the special seating at Fantasmic.
The rest of the day I killed time looking for the street actors and viewing the parade. I never did see any of the street actors. I was specifically looking for Roman Holiday, because I know some people from the Texas Renaissance Festival who are related to him. They wanted me to deliver a message to him. I finally found out that I could go to Guest Services and leave the message there and they would give it to him. I did that.
I ended up going into the Fantasmic Theater at about 7:00. This more or less wasted the money I had paid for special seating, because there were very few people at the theater when I arrived. Also, 30 minutes before the show they open up the special seating area to the general public, so you can't get up and then come back to your seat. You would think that someone like me who has been coming every year at least once or twice since 1996 would have seen Fantasmic by now, but this was my first time. It is a very impressive experience. I was particularly impressed by the projection of the images on the water vapor. I left just before it ended and was able to get on the first boat back to the Boardwalk.
Then I went back to my room to brush my teeth and then came down and caught the boat to MGM. Some day (in much cooler weather) I'm going to walk to MGM from the Boardwalk. First thing I did was get in the Tower of Terror line. The wait was about 15 minutes. The new set up for the ride is much more interesting. You never know exactly how many times it is going to go up and down, or how far down or up it will travel each time. They have seat belts now on this ride. By the way, someone had posted that Spaceship Earth had installed seat restraints. That is NOT so.
After riding TofT, I got a Fastpass to return later to ride it with a little shorter wait. It is very hot in the park. I head for the ice cream shop which is very close to TofT, but it does not open until 12:00. That is why I have never bought ice cream there before. On previous trips, I have always come to MGM very early and ridden TofT first thing in the morning. Thus, the little ice cream shop has never been open. In fact, until this year, I had assumed that the shop only opened during very busy seasons. It isn't that - it's that it opens late in the day. I walked up and down the street until the ice cream shop finally opened and got a dish of 1/2 chocolate and 1/2 sugar free vanilla ice cream.
Next, I went over and saw the Animations tour. This is the first time I have ever been on this tour. They told us that coming on a week day we could see more of the artists actually at work. I was amazed at how many years it takes to create an animated film. I thought with the computer aided graphics of today would have seriously cut down the time.
I then went back and used my Fastpass on TofT, got another ice cream and headed over to Hollywood and Vine to make a PS for 4:00 for the Fantasmic package. I came and stood in line for the Little Mermaid show (Fastpass was too late for me to get out in time for my 4:00 PS. After Little Mermaid, I went to the Hollywood and Vine and waited until about 3:45 and entered. This is not a bad deal at around $20 including the special seating at Fantasmic.
The rest of the day I killed time looking for the street actors and viewing the parade. I never did see any of the street actors. I was specifically looking for Roman Holiday, because I know some people from the Texas Renaissance Festival who are related to him. They wanted me to deliver a message to him. I finally found out that I could go to Guest Services and leave the message there and they would give it to him. I did that.
I ended up going into the Fantasmic Theater at about 7:00. This more or less wasted the money I had paid for special seating, because there were very few people at the theater when I arrived. Also, 30 minutes before the show they open up the special seating area to the general public, so you can't get up and then come back to your seat. You would think that someone like me who has been coming every year at least once or twice since 1996 would have seen Fantasmic by now, but this was my first time. It is a very impressive experience. I was particularly impressed by the projection of the images on the water vapor. I left just before it ended and was able to get on the first boat back to the Boardwalk.
