General:
- Park was busy, but nothing unmanageable. Longest wait time we saw for Soarin' was 100 minutes, with Test Track being 65 minutes. Everything else was in the region of 10-20 minutes.
- Fountain of Nations was working exceptionaly well. A good majority of the nozzles, including the perimeters, were functioning beautifully. Also, the default fans and two fountains shut off for each show like they are suppossed to. Best I've seen the fountain in some time. Not perfect, but definitely better than what I've seen. :sohappy:
- On board audio for Mission: SPACE cut in and out several times when we were on it. Living with the Land had similar issues.
- Kim Possible did not appear to be up and running for tests when we were there. Did see the carts around but each was closed up and no CMs were around. Also, the suspected Kim Possible area on the bridge between FW and WS is still walled up.
- Didn't see this reported anywhere, but the torches around World Showcase Lagoon are being repainted. They are going with a bronze color, and look very nice when they are done. Below you can see a before and after (didn't realize how faded they had become). Probably being a bit presumptious, but this repainting makes me think they'll be sticking around for a while.
- Holiday decorations were up around the park, and they were lovely as always. However, it appears the Epcot Christmas Tree is still having issues. When it came to light it at 6PM, all lights came on, including the strobes. Then, the lights dimmed and flickered for a few seconds before going completely out. This was repeated 3-4 times before the tree was finally lit with no strobes. I should add that the tree remained on throughout the course of IllumiNations instead of going out as is usual.
IllumiNations:
- For those of us who are RoE freaks
lookaroun), you'll be happy to know that the red lava flashy things in Chaos...are back! :sohappy: Haven't seen those for some time. They are about 5 seconds too late in lighting, though, and continue into the 2nd part of Chaos. Still, its nice to see that effect back up running (hopefully for some time to come). (Look for them in Part 1)
- Celebration and Home are...not the best right now. Some of the outer lagoon pyro in Celebration was off because of the wind.
- The southwest fountain barge (one closest to France) was having problems. When they did the preshow test, only about half the nozzles were working properly, with the other half not even getting 15 feet high. From what I could see, it stayed that way throughout the show.
- The Earth Globe looked great! The only thing that would now prevent one from seeing the images clearly is size. Still, I was able to make out many more things that I had never noticed before. One thing to note: for about 5 seconds in Adventure, there was a glitch in the signal and the images became scrambled. However, that was the only time this occurred, and the globe was fine for the rest of the show.
- Holiday tag went off and was as loud as ever. There were certainly no pyro cutbacks from what I saw, though a few shells were slightly different from what I remember, probably related to the China situation.
Video of IllumiNations: (Please note that only the sections with pyro are shown.)
- Part 1 (Chaos)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008321.flv
- Part 2 (Adventure, Home, Celebration)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008322.flv
- Part 3 (We Go On)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008324.flv
- Part 4 (Holiday Tag)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008325.flv
Spaceship Earth
- Background music for the queue was non-existent. I heard it VERY faintly just before the entrance mural, but that was it. Also, it was bearly audible in the load/unload areas. Audio throughout the attraction was okay, with some areas being too soft.
- Burning Rome smell was VERY weak. Unless you were expecting it, I'd be tempted to say you might not even realized it was there. Someone needs to refill the scenter.
- Face recognition was working all three times I went on. As a side note, the e-mail area where you can send your image to yourself is VERY popular.
- As far as the descent goes...sigh. I could not see anything other than what has already been mentioned. Yes, there are quite a few triangles present, particularly on the last part of the descent, but apart from that, there was little else.
Here's a quick rundown starting with the blue light field: (Please note that there are limited flash pictures becuase when I went there at 9PM, there was a line waiting to get in (Incredible!). As a result, I was surrounded by other guests, and for their comfort, I kept the flash pics to a minimum.)
From the blue lights, the triangles begin above our heads. There is no large suporting structure; rather, they appear to just be hanging there thanks to thin wires. On the right, as we descend, there is a faint pattern visible. However, I highly doubt that this is anything new. Rather, it appears to be left over from previous incarnations of the attraction when there used to be stars and gas clouds there. The only reason you can see it is because of the blacklights that are being used to illuminate the triangles overhead.
Moving to the pepper's ghost area, there is nothing visible. I know before there were some rather temporary looking fiber optic stars here. However, either they were off yesterday or they have been taken down, because the only thing there was black curtains. Above us, the triangles continue, dimly lit by blacklights. If there is something new in the pepper's ghost area, its being kept well under wraps because nothing is visible. However, I will say that it looks like some kind of structure is there (don't know if its the old glass enclosure or something new), becuse it is clear that the curtains are wrapped around something rather than just hanging there from the ceiling.
In the area that formerly held the glitter city, there's nothing but a cluster of triangles on wires. Unclear if something is going in there, but there isn't anything there for the moment.
As we proceed down the final leg of the descent, above us, the triangles suddenly increase in number, and instead of a single file line of triangles, they are spread all over our heads in an arc. They continue all the way to the turn-around area. Supporting them is, what appears to be, a rather hefty frame; don't really know how strong it is. Some of the triangles are directly on the structure, others are hanging from it by wires. On the right, where the old SSE model was, there are more black curtains, this time with fiber optics, and these extend all the way down to the turnaround area. Possibly there is something there, but again, if there is, its well covered.
It should be noted that from the blue lights down to where the old glitter city was, it is just the black curtains with no fiber optic stars. The only thing to look at outside the vehicles are the dimly lit triangles. (Again, could just be that the fiber optics in that section were off.) However, from the old SSE model to the turn-around, there are fiber optics on both sides of you and hanging above you with the triangles and the frame overhead. One more thing: the triangles do not fade and dim. The blacklights for the triangles are located on the floor next to the track (which, in my opinion, seems to indicate that they are temporary, as no real attempt is made to hide them) and depending on where the light is directed, the vehicles can come between the light and the triangles, giving the appearence that the triangles are "dimming" on their own.
Overall, don't really know whats up with the descent. I'm sure those black curtains are hiding something, but at this point, its unclear what. :shrug:
- Park was busy, but nothing unmanageable. Longest wait time we saw for Soarin' was 100 minutes, with Test Track being 65 minutes. Everything else was in the region of 10-20 minutes.
- Fountain of Nations was working exceptionaly well. A good majority of the nozzles, including the perimeters, were functioning beautifully. Also, the default fans and two fountains shut off for each show like they are suppossed to. Best I've seen the fountain in some time. Not perfect, but definitely better than what I've seen. :sohappy:
- On board audio for Mission: SPACE cut in and out several times when we were on it. Living with the Land had similar issues.
- Kim Possible did not appear to be up and running for tests when we were there. Did see the carts around but each was closed up and no CMs were around. Also, the suspected Kim Possible area on the bridge between FW and WS is still walled up.
- Didn't see this reported anywhere, but the torches around World Showcase Lagoon are being repainted. They are going with a bronze color, and look very nice when they are done. Below you can see a before and after (didn't realize how faded they had become). Probably being a bit presumptious, but this repainting makes me think they'll be sticking around for a while.
- Holiday decorations were up around the park, and they were lovely as always. However, it appears the Epcot Christmas Tree is still having issues. When it came to light it at 6PM, all lights came on, including the strobes. Then, the lights dimmed and flickered for a few seconds before going completely out. This was repeated 3-4 times before the tree was finally lit with no strobes. I should add that the tree remained on throughout the course of IllumiNations instead of going out as is usual.
IllumiNations:
- For those of us who are RoE freaks
lookaroun), you'll be happy to know that the red lava flashy things in Chaos...are back! :sohappy: Haven't seen those for some time. They are about 5 seconds too late in lighting, though, and continue into the 2nd part of Chaos. Still, its nice to see that effect back up running (hopefully for some time to come). (Look for them in Part 1)- Celebration and Home are...not the best right now. Some of the outer lagoon pyro in Celebration was off because of the wind.
- The southwest fountain barge (one closest to France) was having problems. When they did the preshow test, only about half the nozzles were working properly, with the other half not even getting 15 feet high. From what I could see, it stayed that way throughout the show.
- The Earth Globe looked great! The only thing that would now prevent one from seeing the images clearly is size. Still, I was able to make out many more things that I had never noticed before. One thing to note: for about 5 seconds in Adventure, there was a glitch in the signal and the images became scrambled. However, that was the only time this occurred, and the globe was fine for the rest of the show.
- Holiday tag went off and was as loud as ever.
There were certainly no pyro cutbacks from what I saw, though a few shells were slightly different from what I remember, probably related to the China situation.Video of IllumiNations: (Please note that only the sections with pyro are shown.)
- Part 1 (Chaos)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008321.flv
- Part 2 (Adventure, Home, Celebration)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008322.flv
- Part 3 (We Go On)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008324.flv
- Part 4 (Holiday Tag)
http://s300.photobucket.com/albums/nn1/tmayor6/?action=view¤t=Epcot-Thanksgiving2008325.flv
Spaceship Earth
- Background music for the queue was non-existent. I heard it VERY faintly just before the entrance mural, but that was it. Also, it was bearly audible in the load/unload areas. Audio throughout the attraction was okay, with some areas being too soft.
- Burning Rome smell was VERY weak. Unless you were expecting it, I'd be tempted to say you might not even realized it was there. Someone needs to refill the scenter.
- Face recognition was working all three times I went on. As a side note, the e-mail area where you can send your image to yourself is VERY popular.
- As far as the descent goes...sigh. I could not see anything other than what has already been mentioned. Yes, there are quite a few triangles present, particularly on the last part of the descent, but apart from that, there was little else.
Here's a quick rundown starting with the blue light field: (Please note that there are limited flash pictures becuase when I went there at 9PM, there was a line waiting to get in (Incredible!). As a result, I was surrounded by other guests, and for their comfort, I kept the flash pics to a minimum.)
From the blue lights, the triangles begin above our heads. There is no large suporting structure; rather, they appear to just be hanging there thanks to thin wires. On the right, as we descend, there is a faint pattern visible. However, I highly doubt that this is anything new. Rather, it appears to be left over from previous incarnations of the attraction when there used to be stars and gas clouds there. The only reason you can see it is because of the blacklights that are being used to illuminate the triangles overhead.
Moving to the pepper's ghost area, there is nothing visible. I know before there were some rather temporary looking fiber optic stars here. However, either they were off yesterday or they have been taken down, because the only thing there was black curtains. Above us, the triangles continue, dimly lit by blacklights. If there is something new in the pepper's ghost area, its being kept well under wraps because nothing is visible. However, I will say that it looks like some kind of structure is there (don't know if its the old glass enclosure or something new), becuse it is clear that the curtains are wrapped around something rather than just hanging there from the ceiling.
In the area that formerly held the glitter city, there's nothing but a cluster of triangles on wires. Unclear if something is going in there, but there isn't anything there for the moment.
As we proceed down the final leg of the descent, above us, the triangles suddenly increase in number, and instead of a single file line of triangles, they are spread all over our heads in an arc. They continue all the way to the turn-around area. Supporting them is, what appears to be, a rather hefty frame; don't really know how strong it is. Some of the triangles are directly on the structure, others are hanging from it by wires. On the right, where the old SSE model was, there are more black curtains, this time with fiber optics, and these extend all the way down to the turnaround area. Possibly there is something there, but again, if there is, its well covered.
It should be noted that from the blue lights down to where the old glitter city was, it is just the black curtains with no fiber optic stars. The only thing to look at outside the vehicles are the dimly lit triangles. (Again, could just be that the fiber optics in that section were off.) However, from the old SSE model to the turn-around, there are fiber optics on both sides of you and hanging above you with the triangles and the frame overhead. One more thing: the triangles do not fade and dim. The blacklights for the triangles are located on the floor next to the track (which, in my opinion, seems to indicate that they are temporary, as no real attempt is made to hide them) and depending on where the light is directed, the vehicles can come between the light and the triangles, giving the appearence that the triangles are "dimming" on their own.
Overall, don't really know whats up with the descent. I'm sure those black curtains are hiding something, but at this point, its unclear what. :shrug:
FANTASTIC WORK, Hyphnt!:sohappy:
They look MUCH nicer painted.
