I can't make my writing interesting enough to justify a true TR and as a local there isn't any exciting stuff about the traveling or hotels. Instead, I'm just going to go park by park and give some opinions on things.
Disney-MGM Studios
-Desperately needs anything it can get at this point. To call it a half-day park would almost be generous. It didn't seem as bad during my last trip 2 years ago, but I guess my needs have changed or I'm just disappointed that nothing has been done. Plus they removed what had become one of my family's favorite attractions WWTBAM.
-RnRc's new queue setup is very nice. The ride itself was a little rougher than I remember, but maybe my memory is just a little fuzzy. Still a great attraction.
-Tower of Terror: I don't remember everything being so bright when the vehicle leaves the shaft, you could see everything. I don't know if that was just something that was happening that day, whether it has changed, or if I'm just an idiot. Whatever it is, the illusion isn't nearly as cool when you can see the guidemarks on the ground and all the stuff alongside the vehicle.
-They need some sort of queue for Fantasmic! Just having people spill out onto Sunset Blvd in a messy line doesn't cut it.
-The Great Movie Ride needs updating immediately. I remember really enjoying this ride on previous visits, but I could hardly stand it this time. The effects get worse and worse as time goes on and the CMs weren't into it at all on my particular ride. This should be one of the best attractions on property if they could just enhance the scenes and ensure that actually try some upkeep in the future.
-I like "The Hat." The new lighting package is nice and it makes sense. Since GMR sucks so much now anyway it's probably best that the theater isn't the focal point as you enter the park.
Epcot
-Spaceship Earth is positively stunning without the wand. It will always be my favorite icon on property.
-Mission: Space Orange is an intense as advertised IMO. I've been on hundreds of coasters and devilish little fair rides and it's right at the top of the list as far as intensity is concerned. I'd say it's a Rotor or Gravitron times 5 on the sickness scale. If you don't enjoy that powerful spinning sensation than the ride basically offers nothing. None of the other effects are any good and the interaction during the ride is pretty lame. I probably won't be riding it much more in the future.
-Test Track is fun no matter how much you guys like to rag on it. It offers lots of different things and the speed test is as fun as a roller coaster would've been. I'm also a big fan of the single rider line here, especially the fact that you can skip the preshow video.
-Whoever designed the land pavilion better not have a job anymore. The whole thing is an absolute mess. They knew Soarin' would be popular so how did they think the traffic flow would work? Ignoring that complaint, I rode Living with the Land for the first time and it was very enjoyable. The landscape scenes were cheesy but good and the greenhouses offered plenty of education.
-The Beverly trick isn't really that funny. I had two people try it out on me during my 3 minutes inside Club Cool. "Oh this one is so good, I'm going to get some more. You should try it!" :hammer:
-JII was much worse than I remembered it being 4 years ago. I actually thought it was a nice little ride back then, but I must have just had my WDW rose colored glasses on. Now that I go to the parks alone I have a chance to be more cynical.:lol:
-The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends is a horrible excuse for a dark ride. It's a movie that you watch from a ride vehicle, not what I'd call a dark ride. The only interesting part of the attraction is the Kuka Arm Anglerfish, but you can see the arm moving it if you actually look closely enough. I'm not one of those folks that complain about Pixarizing everything, I just think they could've done a much better job with this.
-UOE, yet another attraction that seemed more enjoyable last time. The idea is cute, but its simply too long and the animatronics are too dated.
-Gran Fiesta Tour, no real opinion on it. I didn't really care about El Rio and the changes they made haven't done anything for me either.
-Maelstrom makes absolutely no sense to me. Vikings, Trolls, giant Polar Bears, more trolls, oil derrick, ride over! YEAH I'm going to book my Norway trip right now! They should just have a CM meet and greet if they really want to promote the country, if you know what I mean. :kiss::animwink:
-I'm glad they are doing so much work on the park, but everywhere I turned there was another rehab wall. Kinda detracts from the beauty of Epcot.
Disney's Animal Kingdom
-Throw me into the group that just doesn't "get" DAK. I just don't enjoy the animal exhibits or the rides as much as BGA.
-Expedition Everest is just BTMR with a longer lift hill and a Yeti thrown in. Any talk of this being a "serious roller coaster" is a joke. Maybe I'll enjoy it more next time because I know how tame it is, but for now the queue is better than the ride. The Yeti looks much better IRL than on any videos, so that was good too.
-Dino-Rama is so much better than you guys say it is. I think its one of the best themed areas on the entire property. If you wanna argue that it doesn't belong in the serious minded DAK thats fine but don't say they didn't pull the theme off well. The atmosphere is perfect and all the signs had me giggling.
-Just a warning, Primeval Whirl throws you around a lot. I'd been on a similar ride before with 4 big guys and was in pain for the rest of the day. Thankfully thanks to my aforementioned singleness I didn't have to worry about any pain. The couple in the vehicle with me where wincing the last 30 seconds though and even made a little joke about how lucky I was to have a side to myself.
-Dinosaur is such a wasted opportunity. I loved the ride during my first visit to the park and probably still would if I hadn't made a trip to DL and rode Indy. After that I refuse to except what Dinosaur offers. So much darkness and so little in the way of actual things to look at. The carnotaurus is awesome, but the ride needs a full environment to ride through.
-I like the toned down storyline on the Safaris but I still think it would be best without it completely. I got some very good views of the animals even though I rode in the heat of the day.
-The acrobats/dancers/limboers in Africa put on a great show. Definitely stop and watch. I probably enjoyed their performance more than anything else that day.
Magic Kingdom
-Space Mountain is an absolute mess. I know that this has been discussed to death but here is what I want out of a refurb.
-MILF is a nice attraction that doesn't deserve any complaints other than than it doesn't really fit into Tomorrowland. The interaction was good and the animation was much smoother than previous videos I had seen which I guess is a result of a recent update.
-Buzz really needs the removable guns like Astro Blasters at DL. It wasn't a problem before but now I find myself struggling to try and get it to shoot where I want. Just another example of being spoiled by DL I suppose.
-Philharmagic is the best 4-D show ever done at any theme park. I don't think you could create an attraction that says Disney better than this one.
-Nothing going on at HM. I'd be lying if I didn't say that at least part of me was holding out hope for a surprise soft opening as I was nearing Liberty Square. Oh well, I'll be back next week to see it.
-BTMR in the pouring rain is a lot of fun. The whole train seemed to really enjoy it the experience, screaming and shouting the whole way with their hands up.
-I had forgotten that SM's station wasn't covered until I walked up and saw the rain pouring into the logs. Needless to say I was sufficiently drenched after BTMR and this. This is also the time where I actually get to rag on DL for once. Splash Mountain here is arguably the best attraction at the entire resort while out there it isn't that much better than the average flume. The story is so much more developed here and I love it.
-Back to the WDW bashing and DL love, POTC is so much shorter than I remembered it being. I guess riding it at DL changes your perception. The Jack Sparrow overlay didn't seem to work quite as well here either.
Thats all I've got for now. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to come back and post it later. Otherwise congratulations to anyone that made it through all that rambling and all questions or comments would be very much appreciated. I finally have a chance to talk about WDW in recent terms instead of 2 years ago in the case of MK and MGM or 4 years for Epcot and DAK.
Disney-MGM Studios
-Desperately needs anything it can get at this point. To call it a half-day park would almost be generous. It didn't seem as bad during my last trip 2 years ago, but I guess my needs have changed or I'm just disappointed that nothing has been done. Plus they removed what had become one of my family's favorite attractions WWTBAM.
-RnRc's new queue setup is very nice. The ride itself was a little rougher than I remember, but maybe my memory is just a little fuzzy. Still a great attraction.
-Tower of Terror: I don't remember everything being so bright when the vehicle leaves the shaft, you could see everything. I don't know if that was just something that was happening that day, whether it has changed, or if I'm just an idiot. Whatever it is, the illusion isn't nearly as cool when you can see the guidemarks on the ground and all the stuff alongside the vehicle.
-They need some sort of queue for Fantasmic! Just having people spill out onto Sunset Blvd in a messy line doesn't cut it.
-The Great Movie Ride needs updating immediately. I remember really enjoying this ride on previous visits, but I could hardly stand it this time. The effects get worse and worse as time goes on and the CMs weren't into it at all on my particular ride. This should be one of the best attractions on property if they could just enhance the scenes and ensure that actually try some upkeep in the future.
-I like "The Hat." The new lighting package is nice and it makes sense. Since GMR sucks so much now anyway it's probably best that the theater isn't the focal point as you enter the park.
Epcot
-Spaceship Earth is positively stunning without the wand. It will always be my favorite icon on property.
-Mission: Space Orange is an intense as advertised IMO. I've been on hundreds of coasters and devilish little fair rides and it's right at the top of the list as far as intensity is concerned. I'd say it's a Rotor or Gravitron times 5 on the sickness scale. If you don't enjoy that powerful spinning sensation than the ride basically offers nothing. None of the other effects are any good and the interaction during the ride is pretty lame. I probably won't be riding it much more in the future.
-Test Track is fun no matter how much you guys like to rag on it. It offers lots of different things and the speed test is as fun as a roller coaster would've been. I'm also a big fan of the single rider line here, especially the fact that you can skip the preshow video.
-Whoever designed the land pavilion better not have a job anymore. The whole thing is an absolute mess. They knew Soarin' would be popular so how did they think the traffic flow would work? Ignoring that complaint, I rode Living with the Land for the first time and it was very enjoyable. The landscape scenes were cheesy but good and the greenhouses offered plenty of education.
-The Beverly trick isn't really that funny. I had two people try it out on me during my 3 minutes inside Club Cool. "Oh this one is so good, I'm going to get some more. You should try it!" :hammer:
-JII was much worse than I remembered it being 4 years ago. I actually thought it was a nice little ride back then, but I must have just had my WDW rose colored glasses on. Now that I go to the parks alone I have a chance to be more cynical.:lol:
-The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends is a horrible excuse for a dark ride. It's a movie that you watch from a ride vehicle, not what I'd call a dark ride. The only interesting part of the attraction is the Kuka Arm Anglerfish, but you can see the arm moving it if you actually look closely enough. I'm not one of those folks that complain about Pixarizing everything, I just think they could've done a much better job with this.
-UOE, yet another attraction that seemed more enjoyable last time. The idea is cute, but its simply too long and the animatronics are too dated.
-Gran Fiesta Tour, no real opinion on it. I didn't really care about El Rio and the changes they made haven't done anything for me either.
-Maelstrom makes absolutely no sense to me. Vikings, Trolls, giant Polar Bears, more trolls, oil derrick, ride over! YEAH I'm going to book my Norway trip right now! They should just have a CM meet and greet if they really want to promote the country, if you know what I mean. :kiss::animwink:
-I'm glad they are doing so much work on the park, but everywhere I turned there was another rehab wall. Kinda detracts from the beauty of Epcot.
Disney's Animal Kingdom
-Throw me into the group that just doesn't "get" DAK. I just don't enjoy the animal exhibits or the rides as much as BGA.
-Expedition Everest is just BTMR with a longer lift hill and a Yeti thrown in. Any talk of this being a "serious roller coaster" is a joke. Maybe I'll enjoy it more next time because I know how tame it is, but for now the queue is better than the ride. The Yeti looks much better IRL than on any videos, so that was good too.
-Dino-Rama is so much better than you guys say it is. I think its one of the best themed areas on the entire property. If you wanna argue that it doesn't belong in the serious minded DAK thats fine but don't say they didn't pull the theme off well. The atmosphere is perfect and all the signs had me giggling.
-Just a warning, Primeval Whirl throws you around a lot. I'd been on a similar ride before with 4 big guys and was in pain for the rest of the day. Thankfully thanks to my aforementioned singleness I didn't have to worry about any pain. The couple in the vehicle with me where wincing the last 30 seconds though and even made a little joke about how lucky I was to have a side to myself.
-Dinosaur is such a wasted opportunity. I loved the ride during my first visit to the park and probably still would if I hadn't made a trip to DL and rode Indy. After that I refuse to except what Dinosaur offers. So much darkness and so little in the way of actual things to look at. The carnotaurus is awesome, but the ride needs a full environment to ride through.
-I like the toned down storyline on the Safaris but I still think it would be best without it completely. I got some very good views of the animals even though I rode in the heat of the day.
-The acrobats/dancers/limboers in Africa put on a great show. Definitely stop and watch. I probably enjoyed their performance more than anything else that day.
Magic Kingdom
-Space Mountain is an absolute mess. I know that this has been discussed to death but here is what I want out of a refurb.
- Totally new tracks, with a similar layout to the current one. I don't want the DL version as theirs is basically one endless turn as opposed to the more interesting one here with varying turns and some decent drops. The layout is good, just too rough especially when you take into account the horrible trains.
- New trains that can actually fit a taller man. I'm only 6'2, I should have my legs hanging out the side of the train and just barely be able to get them under the bar. Also on those trains add audio capabilities.
- Make the whole thing dark, you know, like space. I can't believe how much light there is inside the attraction at this point. It is simply ridiculous.
- Don't touch the queue or station, but are fine as they are right now IMO.
-MILF is a nice attraction that doesn't deserve any complaints other than than it doesn't really fit into Tomorrowland. The interaction was good and the animation was much smoother than previous videos I had seen which I guess is a result of a recent update.
-Buzz really needs the removable guns like Astro Blasters at DL. It wasn't a problem before but now I find myself struggling to try and get it to shoot where I want. Just another example of being spoiled by DL I suppose.
-Philharmagic is the best 4-D show ever done at any theme park. I don't think you could create an attraction that says Disney better than this one.
-Nothing going on at HM. I'd be lying if I didn't say that at least part of me was holding out hope for a surprise soft opening as I was nearing Liberty Square. Oh well, I'll be back next week to see it.
-BTMR in the pouring rain is a lot of fun. The whole train seemed to really enjoy it the experience, screaming and shouting the whole way with their hands up.
-I had forgotten that SM's station wasn't covered until I walked up and saw the rain pouring into the logs. Needless to say I was sufficiently drenched after BTMR and this. This is also the time where I actually get to rag on DL for once. Splash Mountain here is arguably the best attraction at the entire resort while out there it isn't that much better than the average flume. The story is so much more developed here and I love it.
-Back to the WDW bashing and DL love, POTC is so much shorter than I remembered it being. I guess riding it at DL changes your perception. The Jack Sparrow overlay didn't seem to work quite as well here either.
Thats all I've got for now. If I think of anything else I'll be sure to come back and post it later. Otherwise congratulations to anyone that made it through all that rambling and all questions or comments would be very much appreciated. I finally have a chance to talk about WDW in recent terms instead of 2 years ago in the case of MK and MGM or 4 years for Epcot and DAK.
