Woohoo! It`s that time again, my 3rd annual report and thoughts. Of course some of this may be old news, some I know will be new. Assuming I remember everything of note, here goes:
The Magic Kingdom
Overall exterior upkeep was great. The Village Haus lost its tarps, and the colours are so vibrant. The riverboat reopened and although some banister areas looked rushed it looked very fresh.
Jungle Cruise; sounded great. Some AAs need help again; on one trip we had both a static hippo and a static Chief Nami. Skippers ran from better than okay to excellent. This attraction seems to be next in line for the big infrastructure refurb, and soon.
Pirates; still looks good. Some minor AA tweaks are needed, especially some mouth movements including JS. Audio could still be louder in places. DJ projection worked fine all the time.
ETRUNM; playing to quarter full crowds, but upkeep seemed good. Hats off to Landon who went from Greeter to Load to inpromtu preshow in the space of 15 minutes. Video coming soon
Splash; Excellent! No missing effects of note, Brer Rabbit hopped well, Laughing Place water jets all working, even the lightning behind the vultures was working all the time. Big 101 and evac one night.
BTM; looked and sounded great day and night. More UV in bat caves. Falling rocks are definately locked in place now and replaced by an enhanced gobo lighting effect.
CBJ; still corny, still popular. Audio does need work again. One or two speakers hard to make out specific words and get lost in the mix.
HOP; Stunning. And that`s from a tourist. The fact they began from scratch instead of just redoing the original show really hit home. Nice the preshow spiel specifically states taping is allowed with no lighting.
HM; still great. Some subtle lighting effect changes with Leottas room, graveyard lighting looked brighter (or just cleaned). Lightning in ballroom had failed last week.
iasw - looked stunning. Some AAs missing for repair, but what was on show worked. I don`t think I have ever seen every single doll moving before.
Philhar and Pan both still popular. Whilst in Fanland, how did the world ever get by without strollers? The parking, whilst regulated, was chaotic at the best of times. There are just too many. What ever happened to walking?
Stitch - still a walkon. Our headrest audio didn`t work in chamber one, neither did any lasers. Poor.
Space and TTA - coming along. Space had lifts running on Wednesday, and a friend got a photo of a car on main Omega lift on Thursday. Car looked the same. Lifts sound far quieter - could the silent lift upgrade actually have happened? Could only here them when actually next to the lifts. Penthouse ceiling (center of roof) is having the smaller holes covered over, the large square void in the middle is still there. New work lights installed and in use in TTA tunnel as well as old downlights. Postshow still totally covered over. Old SM signs still either side of TTA track, still unlit. The TTA had new audio as of yesterday morning (the 2nd) - reminds me of ORAC-1 without the beeps. Stitch, Buzz and a Monster (!) have spiels above their attractions. Area loops used along all track, Monorail song is played in the model tunnel, Space had a female pardon our dust spiel but no music. LED lighting looks great at night. Still static colours, but goes all white when stopped.
Skyway store is being walled up. New barrier/facade installed on roof. large hole in south wall, behind trees. Looks like the same layout will remain. No exterior SM work aside from the arcade; the arches and front are now an off white colour, the base a pure white colour. Retro theming??
Overall, half of Tomorrowland was like a ghost town. The other half could be so much better.
CADCT preshow - a hyped up DVD commercial. In the MK. It beggars belief.
Spectromagic looks great. No smoke on logo float, but all glitter balls were moving again, the logo now has its rainbow underline back after a long time, and the spectromen have various new LED suits. Fibre optic fireworks on finale also now LED.
Wishes - timings were great, show looked great. Some timings were tightened last month. The bad news is around the 19th the show will begin to be thinned out. Same length, same ammount of shows, but fewer shells in places or cheaper shells. I`d rather have this than shows being cut, but of course it shouldn`t happen at all. Crowds went from good to really heavy - they have the money.
Epcot
Park upkeep seemed good. Shame about F&W signage and props spoiling some views.
Energy; paintwork looks great. They did forget however to swap around the rib lights; the 1982 lights are still off behind the ribs, the 1996 spotlights are still used to illuminate the (now) dark grey ribs. Roof lights need replacing. Show quality was good, smoke was missing from diorama floor to begin with and was thin on a reride. Large red sun looked new, but had issues with fading in and out (it didn`t)
Space; still good, still 5 and 10 mins on average to wait for both versions. Noticed the pole mounted spots for Horizons roof are still in place by the FWEast smoking area and between Space and TT.
Test Track; minor show issues. We had a car where the LCD screen was like 3 minutes of of sync, and another with no narration. The collapsing cone worked then didn`t. ABS was still missing the non-ABS video replay. Still very popular. Disney will have to keep this one going, even if they do move away from sponsored attractions.
Imag; always a walk on. For what it is it is still enjoyable, but we all know the rest. Could be the star of the next D23. Exterior pyramid glass was filthy. Some leapfrog fountains need help; the foam holes don`t align with the jets. Night leapfrog lighting mostly broke.
The Land; Soarin' still stupidly busy. Projection air cleaners working far better than they used to; films consistantly clean and dust is blown away very fast. LWTL still boarded - this is what happens with a new fleet of boats that need modifications.
Seas; mostly walk on. Ride still nice; Kuka worked fine. Seabase still a jarring theme. Exit still far too visible. Turtle Talk still very popular.
Innoventions and spine; new floors completed in breezeways. East fully opened week before last, west had its walls switch sides last week. Can verify the floor is now non slip! West clutter removal makes it look so much better. Especially at night. Canopies should be next all being well. Kuka Arm visible in East for SOAT. Looks neat. Storm Force neat and a true addition to Innoventions. Fountain has a few misaligned jets, no big deal, and one air jet is missing (south east corner). Some airjet lights are out on north side but LED lighting is stunning. Fountain shows ran as per the clock all the time, as did the chimes. A good refurb. Non stage railings looking good and complete, LED lighting under top most rail half installed but not yet in use. SSE logos a nice detail.
SSE - exterior lighting looked crisp, white lighting on lower west side - probably a missing gel. For some strange reason entire south side goes dark after lighting again following the Siemens logo. East sign rim lighting missing along the top. Area music still too quiet. The attraction itself was in great shape. AAs still good, lighting still good. Smoke in machine room was missing then was back. Matrix leak still visible in 180top, and underride lighting was on in one area where vehicles rotate. tut tut. Triangles now look just sad, and will do until Siemens can pay for a finale. Onboard video should be expanded in the future to offer more endings.
Showcase - F&W clutter everywhere. Some carts now more permemant but the prom itself is too cramped. Especially when busy. CV movies still a good experience. Maelstrom had most effects apart from smoke cannons working. AmAd was as good as ever, but the projection quality was still very poor - the film wobble ruins the background effect. If MV3D can get digital projection why can`t the premier showcase show?
ROE - very very good. Since when has China had a laser on its roof? Not a bounce but a fixture? Timings were near perfect aside - still - from the red glitters on the water during Chaos. New globe strobes worked some of the time. Show overall was very tight.
DHS
Still a park in a mess. Idol being pushed down guests throats to no avail. GMR very popular, most effects working, but AAs in dire need of upgrades. GMR right hand neon sign is gone, with a temporary flat sign instead. If Uni can maintain their Neon maybe Disney can now too. TSMM still insanely popular. Shows how much the park needs family rides. BPB still chaotic, still in the wrong park, but still lots of fun.
TOT - audio still a work in progress. Charlie and Delta VVCs scores were often a full 5 seconds behind the visuals. Drop shaft audio is far louder than usual, and for the better. Foxtrot can be heard at Sunset and Hollywood!
Fant! - still insanely popular. Shows need to be added, but we all know that. No major effects not working. Still missing comet pyro during Sorcerer section.
DAK
You still get the feeling a few more family D & E Rides would make the park complete.
Dinosaur; not as much smoke as my last trip but still some. New comet gobos on sky cyc #2. New starfield effects in time portals in lieu of original lasers. All AAs working, those now static really standout as locked off when spotlit. All meteor lighting effects working well.
Everest; finally A2 mode. Strobe, fan, fans, locked torso but swooping right arm. Not ideal but far better than B mode. No peak mist, no side waterfall, no steam at load. Goes without saying no bird or cave mist.
Still no reason or desire to return to PI.
USF/IOA; still great parks. Parkwide cuts on smoke is plain to see; MIB and Spiderman had a small mist effect in liue of the blanket effect in their spinning sections. T2:3D still has fog bank for the finale; this one will remain. Jaws has its flame trench deactivated unless a night ride. HRRR is a stunning coaster. The G forces wern`t as bad as I anticipated. Audio system worked perfectly. Now if they could get the car count up without tripping the software, solve the lawsuits, get the autowalks certified and keep the ride up and running it would be a great addition to the park. It will be a shame if they rip it out. They`ve done it before, remember.
SWs Manta - what a coaster. Unreal. Great theming. Great feel. Wonderful preshow. Hands down the best in Orlando.
That`s it for now. I`m sure I forgot plenty. That`s jetlag for you. It was great to meet everyone we did, and thanks to those who made our visits here and there more interesting that we anticipated
And with 32 hours of HD footage I think I`ll be busy way into the new year and beyond - not counting our forthcoming whistle stop 7 day trip next month
The Magic Kingdom
Overall exterior upkeep was great. The Village Haus lost its tarps, and the colours are so vibrant. The riverboat reopened and although some banister areas looked rushed it looked very fresh.
Jungle Cruise; sounded great. Some AAs need help again; on one trip we had both a static hippo and a static Chief Nami. Skippers ran from better than okay to excellent. This attraction seems to be next in line for the big infrastructure refurb, and soon.
Pirates; still looks good. Some minor AA tweaks are needed, especially some mouth movements including JS. Audio could still be louder in places. DJ projection worked fine all the time.
ETRUNM; playing to quarter full crowds, but upkeep seemed good. Hats off to Landon who went from Greeter to Load to inpromtu preshow in the space of 15 minutes. Video coming soon
Splash; Excellent! No missing effects of note, Brer Rabbit hopped well, Laughing Place water jets all working, even the lightning behind the vultures was working all the time. Big 101 and evac one night.
BTM; looked and sounded great day and night. More UV in bat caves. Falling rocks are definately locked in place now and replaced by an enhanced gobo lighting effect.
CBJ; still corny, still popular. Audio does need work again. One or two speakers hard to make out specific words and get lost in the mix.
HOP; Stunning. And that`s from a tourist. The fact they began from scratch instead of just redoing the original show really hit home. Nice the preshow spiel specifically states taping is allowed with no lighting.
HM; still great. Some subtle lighting effect changes with Leottas room, graveyard lighting looked brighter (or just cleaned). Lightning in ballroom had failed last week.
iasw - looked stunning. Some AAs missing for repair, but what was on show worked. I don`t think I have ever seen every single doll moving before.
Philhar and Pan both still popular. Whilst in Fanland, how did the world ever get by without strollers? The parking, whilst regulated, was chaotic at the best of times. There are just too many. What ever happened to walking?
Stitch - still a walkon. Our headrest audio didn`t work in chamber one, neither did any lasers. Poor.
Space and TTA - coming along. Space had lifts running on Wednesday, and a friend got a photo of a car on main Omega lift on Thursday. Car looked the same. Lifts sound far quieter - could the silent lift upgrade actually have happened? Could only here them when actually next to the lifts. Penthouse ceiling (center of roof) is having the smaller holes covered over, the large square void in the middle is still there. New work lights installed and in use in TTA tunnel as well as old downlights. Postshow still totally covered over. Old SM signs still either side of TTA track, still unlit. The TTA had new audio as of yesterday morning (the 2nd) - reminds me of ORAC-1 without the beeps. Stitch, Buzz and a Monster (!) have spiels above their attractions. Area loops used along all track, Monorail song is played in the model tunnel, Space had a female pardon our dust spiel but no music. LED lighting looks great at night. Still static colours, but goes all white when stopped.
Skyway store is being walled up. New barrier/facade installed on roof. large hole in south wall, behind trees. Looks like the same layout will remain. No exterior SM work aside from the arcade; the arches and front are now an off white colour, the base a pure white colour. Retro theming??
Overall, half of Tomorrowland was like a ghost town. The other half could be so much better.
CADCT preshow - a hyped up DVD commercial. In the MK. It beggars belief.
Spectromagic looks great. No smoke on logo float, but all glitter balls were moving again, the logo now has its rainbow underline back after a long time, and the spectromen have various new LED suits. Fibre optic fireworks on finale also now LED.
Wishes - timings were great, show looked great. Some timings were tightened last month. The bad news is around the 19th the show will begin to be thinned out. Same length, same ammount of shows, but fewer shells in places or cheaper shells. I`d rather have this than shows being cut, but of course it shouldn`t happen at all. Crowds went from good to really heavy - they have the money.
Epcot
Park upkeep seemed good. Shame about F&W signage and props spoiling some views.
Energy; paintwork looks great. They did forget however to swap around the rib lights; the 1982 lights are still off behind the ribs, the 1996 spotlights are still used to illuminate the (now) dark grey ribs. Roof lights need replacing. Show quality was good, smoke was missing from diorama floor to begin with and was thin on a reride. Large red sun looked new, but had issues with fading in and out (it didn`t)
Space; still good, still 5 and 10 mins on average to wait for both versions. Noticed the pole mounted spots for Horizons roof are still in place by the FWEast smoking area and between Space and TT.
Test Track; minor show issues. We had a car where the LCD screen was like 3 minutes of of sync, and another with no narration. The collapsing cone worked then didn`t. ABS was still missing the non-ABS video replay. Still very popular. Disney will have to keep this one going, even if they do move away from sponsored attractions.
Imag; always a walk on. For what it is it is still enjoyable, but we all know the rest. Could be the star of the next D23. Exterior pyramid glass was filthy. Some leapfrog fountains need help; the foam holes don`t align with the jets. Night leapfrog lighting mostly broke.
The Land; Soarin' still stupidly busy. Projection air cleaners working far better than they used to; films consistantly clean and dust is blown away very fast. LWTL still boarded - this is what happens with a new fleet of boats that need modifications.
Seas; mostly walk on. Ride still nice; Kuka worked fine. Seabase still a jarring theme. Exit still far too visible. Turtle Talk still very popular.
Innoventions and spine; new floors completed in breezeways. East fully opened week before last, west had its walls switch sides last week. Can verify the floor is now non slip! West clutter removal makes it look so much better. Especially at night. Canopies should be next all being well. Kuka Arm visible in East for SOAT. Looks neat. Storm Force neat and a true addition to Innoventions. Fountain has a few misaligned jets, no big deal, and one air jet is missing (south east corner). Some airjet lights are out on north side but LED lighting is stunning. Fountain shows ran as per the clock all the time, as did the chimes. A good refurb. Non stage railings looking good and complete, LED lighting under top most rail half installed but not yet in use. SSE logos a nice detail.
SSE - exterior lighting looked crisp, white lighting on lower west side - probably a missing gel. For some strange reason entire south side goes dark after lighting again following the Siemens logo. East sign rim lighting missing along the top. Area music still too quiet. The attraction itself was in great shape. AAs still good, lighting still good. Smoke in machine room was missing then was back. Matrix leak still visible in 180top, and underride lighting was on in one area where vehicles rotate. tut tut. Triangles now look just sad, and will do until Siemens can pay for a finale. Onboard video should be expanded in the future to offer more endings.
Showcase - F&W clutter everywhere. Some carts now more permemant but the prom itself is too cramped. Especially when busy. CV movies still a good experience. Maelstrom had most effects apart from smoke cannons working. AmAd was as good as ever, but the projection quality was still very poor - the film wobble ruins the background effect. If MV3D can get digital projection why can`t the premier showcase show?
ROE - very very good. Since when has China had a laser on its roof? Not a bounce but a fixture? Timings were near perfect aside - still - from the red glitters on the water during Chaos. New globe strobes worked some of the time. Show overall was very tight.
DHS
Still a park in a mess. Idol being pushed down guests throats to no avail. GMR very popular, most effects working, but AAs in dire need of upgrades. GMR right hand neon sign is gone, with a temporary flat sign instead. If Uni can maintain their Neon maybe Disney can now too. TSMM still insanely popular. Shows how much the park needs family rides. BPB still chaotic, still in the wrong park, but still lots of fun.
TOT - audio still a work in progress. Charlie and Delta VVCs scores were often a full 5 seconds behind the visuals. Drop shaft audio is far louder than usual, and for the better. Foxtrot can be heard at Sunset and Hollywood!
Fant! - still insanely popular. Shows need to be added, but we all know that. No major effects not working. Still missing comet pyro during Sorcerer section.
DAK
You still get the feeling a few more family D & E Rides would make the park complete.
Dinosaur; not as much smoke as my last trip but still some. New comet gobos on sky cyc #2. New starfield effects in time portals in lieu of original lasers. All AAs working, those now static really standout as locked off when spotlit. All meteor lighting effects working well.
Everest; finally A2 mode. Strobe, fan, fans, locked torso but swooping right arm. Not ideal but far better than B mode. No peak mist, no side waterfall, no steam at load. Goes without saying no bird or cave mist.
Still no reason or desire to return to PI.
USF/IOA; still great parks. Parkwide cuts on smoke is plain to see; MIB and Spiderman had a small mist effect in liue of the blanket effect in their spinning sections. T2:3D still has fog bank for the finale; this one will remain. Jaws has its flame trench deactivated unless a night ride. HRRR is a stunning coaster. The G forces wern`t as bad as I anticipated. Audio system worked perfectly. Now if they could get the car count up without tripping the software, solve the lawsuits, get the autowalks certified and keep the ride up and running it would be a great addition to the park. It will be a shame if they rip it out. They`ve done it before, remember.
SWs Manta - what a coaster. Unreal. Great theming. Great feel. Wonderful preshow. Hands down the best in Orlando.
That`s it for now. I`m sure I forgot plenty. That`s jetlag for you. It was great to meet everyone we did, and thanks to those who made our visits here and there more interesting that we anticipated
And with 32 hours of HD footage I think I`ll be busy way into the new year and beyond - not counting our forthcoming whistle stop 7 day trip next month
