Part two of my jet lagged ramblings....
Hollywood Studios
Funnily, this park seems less in need than Epcot after my recent visit. Not to say it doesn't need major help though, maybe that is an indicator of how bad Epcot has gotten.
The hat. Nuff said. Not long hopefully. It has been surveyed. Hopefully the stage will go with it for good too.
GMR.... Hidden jewel. Please update it. Please plus it. It could be so much better for so little. Much like Imagination.
Star Tours is still a great upgrade. The cabins need some TLC though with loose trim exposing light bulbs and wiring.
Tower has its audio problems as always. At Least local pressure has dimmed the boiler room lights again and gotten the gardens misting system working again. The new "neon" signage looks great.
Indy, LMA and BatB played to packed houses. Not bad for shows on life support. Take note TDO.
The big surprise was MuppetVision. Someone loves this attraction. Everything was top notch from the image to the penguins, from the exploding walls even down to the burning rubber smoke effect.
Another surprise was Fantasmic. Recent work has paid off. The show is still too dependent on projections in Orlando and the Sorcerers comet pyro is still strangely missing, but the LED barges and show lighting were excellent. Even the laser looked great. Shame it didn't work a few days later though.
However, the park is just overun with Frozen. It's no secret the summer promotion has kept DHS afloat this year. But really? Pure arrogance and penny pinching kept an attraction from the park that could really use it. Instead we are getting more TSMM instead of real expansion with new, innovative attractions that would spread the D Ticket and family crowd. For the medium term at any rate. How I wish we got the MI Coaster.
DAK... The walled kingdom. TTBAB was a good experience, albeit with a still fuzzy projection. Any truth in that the trees netting was all removed in the last week?
Kilimanjaro is still excellent eye candy but is weaker for no plot. Not that it needed one but it enriched the experience compared to the watered down and now removed version. Even the interim geysers offered somewhat of a finale. Not any more.
Everest.... New stick bird that's still corny. Aside from that my thoughts are known. Dinosaur was hit and miss. Some excellent parts, but coupled with inconsistent smoke and lasers that fire too early it is still a case of what could have been. Dino head on a stick moves now though. Wasn't it static before?
The new Harambe area is gorgeous. Fantastic. But who planned for the standby line to enter via a single fire door out the back of the theatre?
DTD stands out for the mess it is. What is coming is only a fraction of what it replaces. I can't see Disney Springs on the to-do list next year or next decade. Pleasure Island was like nowhere else. Springs themed shopping and dining is like every offering available at home and in Orlando. So why go?
And of course I should mention the new Wizzarding world. Diagon is truely stunning. Totally immersive. Everywhere you look is detail, theming, something to draw you in. The more you look the more you see. I spent two hours just walking and felt I'd only scraped the surface. Hogworts is fantastic. A true experience of a ride and moving between parks. With stunning stations to boot. Gringotts is an E. For sure. Handles the crowds now it is coming upto speed. But if its an E, Forbidden Journey is an E+. The first ride still has the edge with its unique ride technology. One area Gringotts fails is the finale smoke. The opening in the screen absolutely has to remain hidden. It should be swamped in Ln2. With extra to make sure. Of all the effects this one just has to work fully every time. On my 4 rides it was hit and miss.
I'm sure I'll think of more but that's it for now. I think.
Hollywood Studios
Funnily, this park seems less in need than Epcot after my recent visit. Not to say it doesn't need major help though, maybe that is an indicator of how bad Epcot has gotten.
The hat. Nuff said. Not long hopefully. It has been surveyed. Hopefully the stage will go with it for good too.
GMR.... Hidden jewel. Please update it. Please plus it. It could be so much better for so little. Much like Imagination.
Star Tours is still a great upgrade. The cabins need some TLC though with loose trim exposing light bulbs and wiring.
Tower has its audio problems as always. At Least local pressure has dimmed the boiler room lights again and gotten the gardens misting system working again. The new "neon" signage looks great.
Indy, LMA and BatB played to packed houses. Not bad for shows on life support. Take note TDO.
The big surprise was MuppetVision. Someone loves this attraction. Everything was top notch from the image to the penguins, from the exploding walls even down to the burning rubber smoke effect.
Another surprise was Fantasmic. Recent work has paid off. The show is still too dependent on projections in Orlando and the Sorcerers comet pyro is still strangely missing, but the LED barges and show lighting were excellent. Even the laser looked great. Shame it didn't work a few days later though.
However, the park is just overun with Frozen. It's no secret the summer promotion has kept DHS afloat this year. But really? Pure arrogance and penny pinching kept an attraction from the park that could really use it. Instead we are getting more TSMM instead of real expansion with new, innovative attractions that would spread the D Ticket and family crowd. For the medium term at any rate. How I wish we got the MI Coaster.
DAK... The walled kingdom. TTBAB was a good experience, albeit with a still fuzzy projection. Any truth in that the trees netting was all removed in the last week?
Kilimanjaro is still excellent eye candy but is weaker for no plot. Not that it needed one but it enriched the experience compared to the watered down and now removed version. Even the interim geysers offered somewhat of a finale. Not any more.
Everest.... New stick bird that's still corny. Aside from that my thoughts are known. Dinosaur was hit and miss. Some excellent parts, but coupled with inconsistent smoke and lasers that fire too early it is still a case of what could have been. Dino head on a stick moves now though. Wasn't it static before?
The new Harambe area is gorgeous. Fantastic. But who planned for the standby line to enter via a single fire door out the back of the theatre?
DTD stands out for the mess it is. What is coming is only a fraction of what it replaces. I can't see Disney Springs on the to-do list next year or next decade. Pleasure Island was like nowhere else. Springs themed shopping and dining is like every offering available at home and in Orlando. So why go?
And of course I should mention the new Wizzarding world. Diagon is truely stunning. Totally immersive. Everywhere you look is detail, theming, something to draw you in. The more you look the more you see. I spent two hours just walking and felt I'd only scraped the surface. Hogworts is fantastic. A true experience of a ride and moving between parks. With stunning stations to boot. Gringotts is an E. For sure. Handles the crowds now it is coming upto speed. But if its an E, Forbidden Journey is an E+. The first ride still has the edge with its unique ride technology. One area Gringotts fails is the finale smoke. The opening in the screen absolutely has to remain hidden. It should be swamped in Ln2. With extra to make sure. Of all the effects this one just has to work fully every time. On my 4 rides it was hit and miss.
I'm sure I'll think of more but that's it for now. I think.
