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dxwwf3's Trip Report

Just got in and I thought I would write down a few notes from the trip. Nothing major here, just some thoughts in random order

Wonders of Life being open was a true thrill. I had forgotten how good the Making of Me and Cranium Command were. They are fantastic attractions and I should have appreciated them more in their prime. Body Wars is still my favorite attraction at Epcot and the back row provides the best thrill in the park. I spent a few hours there on back to back days and it was the best part of the trip.

The Animal Kingdom at night is just as awesome the 2nd time as it is the first time you see it. Can't wait to ride Everest after dark.

The Peace on Earth ending to ROE is, in my opinion, much better than the show itself. It was worth standing through the globe sequences of the regular show just to wait for PoE :lol:

Stitch's Great Mistake isn't pulling in the crowds is it? Holy crap Tomorrowland was absolutely packed 3 days ago (Buzz 70 minute wait, Space 60 minute wait, and people lined up at CoP) and SGM had a 15 minute wait. That's not a bad wait time if SGM was in it's 6th or 7th year of operation, but in it's 1st?!?!?! My Dad even said to me "At least Alien Encounter would have had a 20 minute wait" :lol: All personal feelings aside, that is not a good sign for the attraction and it's fans. If you like it, try and spread the word when you are down there and try to get others to see it. It seems many people aren't finding it on their own.

Carousel of Progress didn't look too much different from the rehab, except it was packing in the crowds just like it was when I was there in the summer. Maybe the seasonal operation made people appreciate it more because it certainly has more guests now than it did in the early 00's.

Epcot is definitely the best park for Christmas.

The Living Seas is sort of ho-hum right now. We'll have to wait and see what happens when it really opens up next year.

The changes at the Land are growing on me more each time I go. Sure I don't really care for the Sunshine Seasons changeover, but the whole pavilion sparkles now and Soarin' is still amazing.

I think Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is 100x better than LMAX. And that's after watching it for the 50th time.

Does anyone else but me pay attention to what sports clothes the guests of WDW have? I always see alot of Texas Longhorn fans, and they would win the award for most visible team this year. Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Florida, and Tennessee (even after depressing seasons I always see alot of fellow Volunteers) always represent well too. In the NFL department there were alot of Chicago Bears jerseys in the parks. And alot of Bucs, Jaguars, Jets, and Bills (Orchard Park's high school team was in the same KSA tournament our HS team was in and I got to complain alot with other Bills fans about this terrible season) fans too.

That's all I can think of right now, but if anyone has any questions I'll reply back ASAP.
 
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SpongeScott

SpongeScott

Well-Known Member
must depend on when you go because SGE had a longer wait time on Monday than Buzz. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 40, it's still a monumental waste of time and space. Everything in that building has been like that.

As for sports teams paraphenalia, I pretty much agree. Throw in FSU and the plethera of Yankees and Red Sox hats and you've got it covered.
 
Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
SpongeScott said:
must depend on when you go because SGE had a longer wait time on Monday than Buzz. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 40, it's still a monumental waste of time and space. Everything in that building has been like that.

As for sports teams paraphenalia, I pretty much agree. Throw in FSU and the plethera of Yankees and Red Sox hats and you've got it covered.
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I got quite a few cudos for my Astros hat on our trip.
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
SpongeScott said:
must depend on when you go because SGE had a longer wait time on Monday than Buzz. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, or 40, it's still a monumental waste of time and space. Everything in that building has been like that.

As for sports teams paraphenalia, I pretty much agree. Throw in FSU and the plethera of Yankees and Red Sox hats and you've got it covered.
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Hmmm interesting. I'm sure wait times do go up and down depending on when you go. I was only in Tomorrowland twice this trip and the first time nothing had much of a wait, so a 5 minute SGM wait was nothing to frown upon. But Sunday night when Fantasyland East was packed, a 15 minute wait is terrible.

On the last line of the first paragraph, I'm going to have to get into full Gary Cole mode "Ummmm yeah. I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. Yeahhhhh. Uh-huh." :animwink:

I have never seen alot of FSU or UM stuff at WDW. I don't know why. And I never really pay attention to MLB teams because I hate baseball and I usually don't pay too much attention to the gear being worn in the parks.
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Another point

Something else I wanted to bring up was how effecient the WDW transportation system was for us this trip. We never waited longer than 5 minutes for a bus and the few times we used the monorail we experienced less waits. The longest we waited for any transportation was the 10 minutes to get a Friendship Boat from MGM to the Swan and Dolphin. So I would like to give my praises to everyone involved in transportation because it seems to work alot better now than in previous years.

We did a fair bit of resort hopping on this trip and we realized that we would definitely never want to stay at the Swan or Dolphin. It is far too fancy for our taste and it didn't feel like "Disney". The same feeling I have for the Grand Floridian. But we were very impressed with Coronado Springs though. Felt alot like Port Orleans Riverside and was themed perfectly. Not sure we would like the way the Pepper Market works though. That might keep us from staying there as opposed to PO or Caribbean Beach in the future as we like to grab quick meals for dinner (after eating a big lunch in the parks). Any insight about the Pepper Market would be useful.
 
MKCP 1985

MKCP 1985

Well-Known Member
dxwwf3 said:
But we were very impressed with Coronado Springs though. Felt alot like Port Orleans Riverside and was themed perfectly. Not sure we would like the way the Pepper Market works though. That might keep us from staying there as opposed to PO or Caribbean Beach in the future as we like to grab quick meals for dinner (after eating a big lunch in the parks). Any insight about the Pepper Market would be useful.
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Pepper Market:
10780wdwmagic3.jpg
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Interesting. Not sure why there is a 10% charge for this though. It looked like a simple food court to me.

MKCP what did you think of Coronado Springs as a whole? Compared to either Port Orleans or Caribbean Beach or any other resort.
 
mousermerf

mousermerf

Account Suspended
Coronado is my favorite moderate. It's pretty, it's got neato fountains and looks wonderful at night - plus it's quiet.

I despise Carribean Beach - I think it's ugly and metal panel roofing should be outlawed as it's hideous and a cop-out for any real design.

I nicknamed Port Orleans Riverside "Cracker Barrel Land" (my friend calls it "The Boringest Place on Earth!) I'm from the south - I don't need cracker barrel stuff they sell in the giftshop (I've been to cracker country at the Florida state fair!) and I don't need to cane pole fish.
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
CAPTAIN HOOK said:
Typing error (Stitch's Great Escape) or your opinion on the quality if the attraction :confused:
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It's just what I call it. I'm still bitter :lol:

And I'm not the only one either (from the most hated attractions thread):

AKQJ10 said:
Hands-Down: Stitch's Great Mistake
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That's Lou from Disney World Trivia, by the way.
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
mousermerf said:
I nicknamed Port Orleans Riverside "Cracker Barrel Land" (my friend calls it "The Boringest Place on Earth!) I'm from the south - I don't need cracker barrel stuff they sell in the giftshop (I've been to cracker country at the Florida state fair!) and I don't need to cane pole fish.
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Well I'm from the south too, but I never really think of the former Dixie Landings that way. It just seems relaxing and nice to me and I guess the themeing does make it my favorite resort I've seen. I like Boatwrights and the food court there alot and our family really likes the way the room areas are themed.

It will be a difficult choice on where we'll stay next time, but one thing is for sure we are all pretty tired of the All Star Sports. I am glad that they are putting all of the youth touring groups in one spot, but man it really has taken a toll on the place for other guests. The place just feels old and run down nowadays and we are ready to stay somewhere else.
 
wannab@dis

wannab@dis

Well-Known Member
Interesting... Stitch's Great ESCAPE had plenty of long lines while we were there. Also, I heard several "cool" and "neat" and "wow" on the monorail when Stitch started his spiel.

Sour Grapes, anyone? :lol:
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
wannab@dis said:
Interesting... Stitch's Great ESCAPE had plenty of long lines while we were there. Also, I heard several "cool" and "neat" and "wow" on the monorail when Stitch started his spiel.

Sour Grapes, anyone? :lol:
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Oh no doubt there is sour grapes and I don't try to hide the fact. But when I was there and Tomorrowland was running over, it was pretty much empty. And the CM at Buzz said that it wasn't unusual for that to happen. That's not an opinion. At least I felt good enough to actually look at the attraction this trip. So I am doing better :lol:
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Oh another thing I forgot to mention is my feelings about the possible Space Mountain and PotC rehabs. After riding each attraction a few times this trip, I must say that I am in favor of any and all changes that might come to these attractions. I used to think that adding Sparrow to PotC would ruin the ride, but now after really paying attention to the attraction on this trip, I don't think it would at all. There are plenty of dead spots where figures from the movie could be added. And to be honest, I think that the WDW PotC could use the changes as I have become pretty tried of the current attraction. It needs a change, IMO. And Space Mountain needs it even worse. Guests have damaged alot of the queue area and the chipped paint and scratches are noticable. And now that the WDW version is easily the worst SM in the world, we need to catch up.
 
mousermerf

mousermerf

Account Suspended
I'll confirm on Stitch - I've seen Buzz, Space, and even Carousel with a line but then Stitch's holding area was empty.

They even went so far as to shut off it's fastpass two hours after the park opened.

About Port Orleans - did you get to stay in the Magnolia Bend manor-style homes? I think if I did, i'd love it.. they look so pretty in pictures... I always end up in Alligator Bayou building 14 (closest to that big spinning wheel).

My mother would love the rustic charm, I just feel like i'm living in Deliverance.
 
dxwwf3

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
mousermerf said:
I'll confirm on Stitch - I've seen Buzz, Space, and even Carousel with a line but then Stitch's holding area was empty.

They even went so far as to shut off it's fastpass two hours after the park opened.

About Port Orleans - did you get to stay in the Magnolia Bend manor-style homes? I think if I did, i'd love it.. they look so pretty in pictures... I always end up in Alligator Bayou building 14 (closest to that big spinning wheel).

My mother would love the rustic charm, I just feel like i'm living in Deliverance.
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Thank you for the confirmation. I wasn't try to post propaganda there. It doesn't mean that what I saw always happens, but that is how it was on my time in the area.

Yes when had stayed at Riverside in the past it was always at the Manors and not the Bayou buildings. I don't remember a TON about the rooms, but I do remember everyone really liking the Magnolia Bend manors.
 
mousermerf

mousermerf

Account Suspended
Yeah - Magnolia is all big charming southern bell so I could stand on the porch and go "I do declare..."

Over in "Alligator Bayou" the building are boring brown things, the bed spreads aren't pretty flowers (like magnolia's various themed flowers) but rather a patchwork pattern that is charming but dull. The bed's aren't slegh style or pretty dark wood headboards.. no.. they're made out of "rustic" wood that resembles the murder of a sapling :( This motif carries to the rest of the room, including the TV/dresser. I understand the theme - I just hate it. I want to gather some twigs and twine and make it myself and say "Look ma! I dun made it myself! It's the best christ-mus evah!"
 

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