This isn't going to be a trip report, but I had a bunch of random thoughts I wanted to touch on.
Festival of Fantasy totally lives up to the hype. I loved it and I don't even like parades. Someone needs to give me a pair of the Raven Men boots.
Those people who have been poo-pooing the tiny castle on top of Be Our Guest have completely missed an amazing feature- that little castle has created an amazing secondary viewing area for Wishes on and in front of the Be Our Guest bridge. Framed in front of the miniature castle, the fireworks look HUGE, and there's almost no one else there. If you're not watching Wishes from the Be Our Guest bridge, you're doing it wrong.
If you listen closely, the reggae music they play at Rainforest Cafe has pretty raunchy lyrics.
I never noticed it before but Restaurantasaurus has possibly the most interesting themeing I've ever seen at Disney. We didn't eat there, but we did spend several minutes standing too close to people who were while gawking at all the clever touches and thoughtful details in the decor, especially on the "students" side. Seriously, if you're a fan of Imagineering in general you've got to check this place out. I mean, the "Zip Awards"! This this thing is a masterpiece.
Additional themeing kudos for the tiny waiting area to meet Wreck-it-Ralph characters. Fans of video games will really appreciate the little in-jokes on the scrolling LED board and the really spiffy BGM loop this little alcove has. There's not much to this, but you can tell a lot of love went into it by an imagineer who cares.
While we're on the subject, Vanelleope Von Schweetz is apparently a huge Game of Thrones fan. She totally geeked out when she saw my sister's T-shirt.
Tangierene Cafe is better than Restaurant Marrakesh in every possible way for half the price.
Before you die you need to try the bread pudding at Raglan Road.
Before you try the bread pudding at Raglan Road you need to have like 4 Guinesses.
DisneyQuest is a museum. The only thing there worth your time is Let's Go Jungle.
We did both waterparks on consecutive days and Typhoon Lagoon is easily the better of the two. It's just more pleasant to explore and be at.
Oh, and a word about the three tallest slides at Walt Disney World:
Humonga Kowabunga: Quick but painful. I've still got a nice bruise on my butt.
Summit Plummet: Intimidating but actually a lot of fun. Not sure it was worth the 45 minute wait, though.
Slush Gusher: Positively Terrifying. Repeatedly losing contact with the surface of the slide is really disconcerting.
The Rix red lager at Coronado Springs is really good. Wish I had more of this.
The Voyage of the Little Mermaid stage show is lame except for the Under the Sea sequence where there's like 20 invisible people on stage in black bodysuits operating day-glo puppets. Also, lasers. If the entire show was lasers and bunraku it would be a must-do.
The Beauty and the Beast stage show is lame except for... wait, no, the Beauty and the Beast stage show is just lame.
If the desk clerk at the Swan tells you that the walk to MGM Studios is only 5 minutes, don't believe her.
Am I misremembering things, or did the floor of the Tower of Terror boiler room used to have spilled-out glowing coals on the floor? The orange glow is still there in places, but no coals.
Journey of the Little Mermaid has a pretty amazing queue, what with the semi-interactive crab game and all the waterfalls, but when we were there the Scuttle figure's hand was coming off! The figure was still moving, but the little "hand" portion of his left arm/wing was detached except for a thread and flopping around gruesomely. I've got video I may post later.
Festival of Fantasy totally lives up to the hype. I loved it and I don't even like parades. Someone needs to give me a pair of the Raven Men boots.
Those people who have been poo-pooing the tiny castle on top of Be Our Guest have completely missed an amazing feature- that little castle has created an amazing secondary viewing area for Wishes on and in front of the Be Our Guest bridge. Framed in front of the miniature castle, the fireworks look HUGE, and there's almost no one else there. If you're not watching Wishes from the Be Our Guest bridge, you're doing it wrong.
If you listen closely, the reggae music they play at Rainforest Cafe has pretty raunchy lyrics.
I never noticed it before but Restaurantasaurus has possibly the most interesting themeing I've ever seen at Disney. We didn't eat there, but we did spend several minutes standing too close to people who were while gawking at all the clever touches and thoughtful details in the decor, especially on the "students" side. Seriously, if you're a fan of Imagineering in general you've got to check this place out. I mean, the "Zip Awards"! This this thing is a masterpiece.
Additional themeing kudos for the tiny waiting area to meet Wreck-it-Ralph characters. Fans of video games will really appreciate the little in-jokes on the scrolling LED board and the really spiffy BGM loop this little alcove has. There's not much to this, but you can tell a lot of love went into it by an imagineer who cares.
While we're on the subject, Vanelleope Von Schweetz is apparently a huge Game of Thrones fan. She totally geeked out when she saw my sister's T-shirt.
Tangierene Cafe is better than Restaurant Marrakesh in every possible way for half the price.
Before you die you need to try the bread pudding at Raglan Road.
Before you try the bread pudding at Raglan Road you need to have like 4 Guinesses.
DisneyQuest is a museum. The only thing there worth your time is Let's Go Jungle.
We did both waterparks on consecutive days and Typhoon Lagoon is easily the better of the two. It's just more pleasant to explore and be at.
Oh, and a word about the three tallest slides at Walt Disney World:
Humonga Kowabunga: Quick but painful. I've still got a nice bruise on my butt.
Summit Plummet: Intimidating but actually a lot of fun. Not sure it was worth the 45 minute wait, though.
Slush Gusher: Positively Terrifying. Repeatedly losing contact with the surface of the slide is really disconcerting.
The Rix red lager at Coronado Springs is really good. Wish I had more of this.
The Voyage of the Little Mermaid stage show is lame except for the Under the Sea sequence where there's like 20 invisible people on stage in black bodysuits operating day-glo puppets. Also, lasers. If the entire show was lasers and bunraku it would be a must-do.
The Beauty and the Beast stage show is lame except for... wait, no, the Beauty and the Beast stage show is just lame.
If the desk clerk at the Swan tells you that the walk to MGM Studios is only 5 minutes, don't believe her.
Am I misremembering things, or did the floor of the Tower of Terror boiler room used to have spilled-out glowing coals on the floor? The orange glow is still there in places, but no coals.
Journey of the Little Mermaid has a pretty amazing queue, what with the semi-interactive crab game and all the waterfalls, but when we were there the Scuttle figure's hand was coming off! The figure was still moving, but the little "hand" portion of his left arm/wing was detached except for a thread and flopping around gruesomely. I've got video I may post later.
