Some background for you...
Many of you will remember me for expressing my frustrations over not being fairly compensated for the cancelation of EE. After planning on staying on-site for more than two years I was extremely disappointed with the cancelation of EE and the offer of characters at the properties to make up for any loss time in the parks. I operate hotels for a living and for many weeks prior to leaving on my trip I wrote of my frustrations with Disney management and their poor business decisions. I swore I was not giving Disney a penny of my hard earned money. I canceled my reservations and had my annual passes refunded in full...UNTIL MY WIFE AND CHILDREN FOUND OUT? In the end we settled on staying outside of Disney and following our original vacation plans (two weeks in Orlando). Our family consists of our daughter 10, two sons 8 & 6, my wife and I. We stayed at a Comfort Inn & Suites just outside the gates for free (nice perk). I cannot stress enough how totally frustrated I was with Disney and the fact that they were going to get money out of me. If anybody was going to see the "negative" side of Disney it was going to be me. In the end, we had a great trip and I wouldn't have changed a thing. The following are just brief random notes and thoughts.
Epcot:
Take your kids here the first day and a half. The kids will be amazed and will really enjoy the experience. Visit any other central Florida park and then Epcot...you'd have more fun at the dentist. I enjoyed the updates to the energy ride/show and the ball. Our six year old was very shaken up by fast track. A few days later he was begging to go back on but it was his first intense ride. The living sea exihibit stunk and lacks everything but water. American exihibit was "out of order". I think out of security concerns they had it closed.
Magic Kingdom:
As could be expected the kids simply loved it. No lines 12/1 - 12/12. We used the parades to ride Buzz over and over again. Used fast pass a few times but it wasn't very neccesary. Be forewarned that alien encounter is scary and not for all children. Pooh was a disappointment. The addition of the flying carpets should have cost someone their job?
Animal Kingdom:
A gigantic dissapointment!!! I love zoos and so does my family. I understand that people either love or hate this park. File us under the thumbs down catagory. The safari and story are weak. I rode the safari twice just to see if the driver, time of day, visible animals etc enhanced the experience...it didn't. The dinosaur ride was a slight hit with the family as well as the rapids. Ride the rapids for the last 30 minutes of the day. They will allow you to just stay on the raft and keep riding assuming their is no line. Very fun and wet way to end the day. The bird show put all of us to sleep. Bugs life was cute. All in all I would do Epcot over animal kingdom anytime. The park lacks "reason". It appeared to be a disney creation that was never quite finished.
MGM:
The kids loved the muppets, star tours, Raiders, sci-fi theater (hearty thanks to the patient family with the screaming infant seated in the car behind us). My daughter, oldest son and I did the Tower of Terror. My memory of the ride from the first year it opened was that there was two drops? It seems either my memory is wrong (I rode it 6 times in a day years ago) or they have "modified" it. Needless to say, once was enough (for all of us). My daughter and I absolutely loved the Rockin' Rollercoaster (short but sweet).
Blizzard Beach:
By far my families favorite Disney experience was here. Simply a not to be missed day. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed every aspect of the park. We went mid-week and off season to ensure that we would not stand in lines...it worked!
Universal Studios:
Tornado was new and extremely real. My kids freaked! They also freaked out on many of the other rides (Kong, Jaws, Earthquake etc). Somehow along the way they began to enjoy being freaked out? They absolutely loved Universal over the "sugar and spice" world of Disney. The favorite was easily the Men in Black ride...exceptional!
Islands of Adventure:
Move over Disney!!! Nothing and I mean nothing Disney has or is planning will touch the Islands of Adventure theme park. The roller coasters are exceptional but lets face it they are available all over the country. The hulk is extremely extreme and not for the weak hearted! Fire is equally rough. Ice was a nice surprise in that I almost relaxed and enjoyed being upside down. The absolute must see/do experience is SPIDERMAN. No ride in the world competes with it...period! Jurassic park was great but just when it started to get good it was over. It should have been another minute or two longer. The posidens fury attraction was worth the price of admission. HUGE WARNING: POPEYE AND BLUTOS RIVER BARGE WAS AWESOME AND WET TO THE BONE. BRING EXTRA CLOTHES OR RIDE IT AT THE END OF THE DAY. THIS RIDE MADE FOR ONE EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE DAY AND MANY BLISTERS. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH LOTS OF WATER. DRASTICALLY MORE WATER THEN THE RAPIDS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Suess landing was a fun time and the grinch really is a grinch...what a surprise! If you visit Orlando and your kids are 8+ this park should get a minimum of two days.
Kennedy Space Center:
Post 9/11 the space center has changed dramatically (men with uzi machine guns are very visible as well as police working with attack dogs and bomb sniffing pups). It is still a nice break from the parks. Kids will love some of the new offerings. Keep an eye out for the alligators lining the canal next to the road into the space center.
All in all it was an incredible vacation with a happy ending.
Many of you will remember me for expressing my frustrations over not being fairly compensated for the cancelation of EE. After planning on staying on-site for more than two years I was extremely disappointed with the cancelation of EE and the offer of characters at the properties to make up for any loss time in the parks. I operate hotels for a living and for many weeks prior to leaving on my trip I wrote of my frustrations with Disney management and their poor business decisions. I swore I was not giving Disney a penny of my hard earned money. I canceled my reservations and had my annual passes refunded in full...UNTIL MY WIFE AND CHILDREN FOUND OUT? In the end we settled on staying outside of Disney and following our original vacation plans (two weeks in Orlando). Our family consists of our daughter 10, two sons 8 & 6, my wife and I. We stayed at a Comfort Inn & Suites just outside the gates for free (nice perk). I cannot stress enough how totally frustrated I was with Disney and the fact that they were going to get money out of me. If anybody was going to see the "negative" side of Disney it was going to be me. In the end, we had a great trip and I wouldn't have changed a thing. The following are just brief random notes and thoughts.
Epcot:
Take your kids here the first day and a half. The kids will be amazed and will really enjoy the experience. Visit any other central Florida park and then Epcot...you'd have more fun at the dentist. I enjoyed the updates to the energy ride/show and the ball. Our six year old was very shaken up by fast track. A few days later he was begging to go back on but it was his first intense ride. The living sea exihibit stunk and lacks everything but water. American exihibit was "out of order". I think out of security concerns they had it closed.
Magic Kingdom:
As could be expected the kids simply loved it. No lines 12/1 - 12/12. We used the parades to ride Buzz over and over again. Used fast pass a few times but it wasn't very neccesary. Be forewarned that alien encounter is scary and not for all children. Pooh was a disappointment. The addition of the flying carpets should have cost someone their job?
Animal Kingdom:
A gigantic dissapointment!!! I love zoos and so does my family. I understand that people either love or hate this park. File us under the thumbs down catagory. The safari and story are weak. I rode the safari twice just to see if the driver, time of day, visible animals etc enhanced the experience...it didn't. The dinosaur ride was a slight hit with the family as well as the rapids. Ride the rapids for the last 30 minutes of the day. They will allow you to just stay on the raft and keep riding assuming their is no line. Very fun and wet way to end the day. The bird show put all of us to sleep. Bugs life was cute. All in all I would do Epcot over animal kingdom anytime. The park lacks "reason". It appeared to be a disney creation that was never quite finished.
MGM:
The kids loved the muppets, star tours, Raiders, sci-fi theater (hearty thanks to the patient family with the screaming infant seated in the car behind us). My daughter, oldest son and I did the Tower of Terror. My memory of the ride from the first year it opened was that there was two drops? It seems either my memory is wrong (I rode it 6 times in a day years ago) or they have "modified" it. Needless to say, once was enough (for all of us). My daughter and I absolutely loved the Rockin' Rollercoaster (short but sweet).
Blizzard Beach:
By far my families favorite Disney experience was here. Simply a not to be missed day. We had the place to ourselves and enjoyed every aspect of the park. We went mid-week and off season to ensure that we would not stand in lines...it worked!
Universal Studios:
Tornado was new and extremely real. My kids freaked! They also freaked out on many of the other rides (Kong, Jaws, Earthquake etc). Somehow along the way they began to enjoy being freaked out? They absolutely loved Universal over the "sugar and spice" world of Disney. The favorite was easily the Men in Black ride...exceptional!
Islands of Adventure:
Move over Disney!!! Nothing and I mean nothing Disney has or is planning will touch the Islands of Adventure theme park. The roller coasters are exceptional but lets face it they are available all over the country. The hulk is extremely extreme and not for the weak hearted! Fire is equally rough. Ice was a nice surprise in that I almost relaxed and enjoyed being upside down. The absolute must see/do experience is SPIDERMAN. No ride in the world competes with it...period! Jurassic park was great but just when it started to get good it was over. It should have been another minute or two longer. The posidens fury attraction was worth the price of admission. HUGE WARNING: POPEYE AND BLUTOS RIVER BARGE WAS AWESOME AND WET TO THE BONE. BRING EXTRA CLOTHES OR RIDE IT AT THE END OF THE DAY. THIS RIDE MADE FOR ONE EXTREMELY UNCOMFORTABLE DAY AND MANY BLISTERS. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH LOTS OF WATER. DRASTICALLY MORE WATER THEN THE RAPIDS IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. Suess landing was a fun time and the grinch really is a grinch...what a surprise! If you visit Orlando and your kids are 8+ this park should get a minimum of two days.
Kennedy Space Center:
Post 9/11 the space center has changed dramatically (men with uzi machine guns are very visible as well as police working with attack dogs and bomb sniffing pups). It is still a nice break from the parks. Kids will love some of the new offerings. Keep an eye out for the alligators lining the canal next to the road into the space center.
All in all it was an incredible vacation with a happy ending.
