I just got back from a visit to WDW. I wouldn't call it a trip since I only visited for a few hours on my way down to St. Pete. Let me just say now that the magic just isn't there when your by yourself and your trying to squeeze as much as possible into one afternoon.
I arrived on Wednesday night and stayed at the All-Star Movie resort for 1 night. This was my first time staying at AS Movie, I was in the Toy Story building and it was pretty nice, I was right next to the lobby/food court. The biggest complaint I have about the All-Star resorts is that they have only 1 bus for all 3 resorts. Thats not very efficient, considering these resorts are usually near capacity a majority of the time. I think each resort should have its own bus, I waited for 45 minutes for a bus to MK, 2 passed by that were already full so only 3-4 people could board. But outside of that the resort was great, nicely themed and layed out.
Magic Kingdom:
The first park I visited was Magic Kingdom, it was a Thursday so this was the park that had the early open. In years past when I have visited Mk at park open, they usually have a number of characters ride up on the train while the music is playing, this time it was not the case, I was kind of sad there was music playing and people singing, but nothing mopre than that, no one was overly excited to enter the park. I remember in years past when they played the music and the characters rode up on the train, it made me that much more excited to enter the park, but this time it was prety much a dud. Ahh well!!
The next issue I had with the early open was that the only parts of the park that were open to the public were Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. I might be wrong but it used to be that during early open it meant the whole park was open and not just certain parts. Well this irritated me since I am one of that people who like to head to Adventureland first.
Anyway I went ahead and headed over to Fantasyland. I walked around and noticed that there was not line for Peter Pan, so I went ahead and jumped on. I hadn't ridden this ride in many many years so I kinda forgot what it was like, the ride was great, the only issue I have is that the AA are very outdated and old and its begining to show. You can see their age, the years of touchups on the them is showing, their faces are lumpy from all the coats of paint that has been slapped on them.
Next I went to Philharmagic, there was absolutly no wait at all which was surprising. This show was amazing, I have seen it once before and its as amazing to me this time as it was the last. The effects are great and the music selection is fantastic. Its a great show, I recommmend anyone who hasn't seen it to take time out to do so next time your in MK.
Next I went to Space Mountain, one of my favorite rides. The biggest change I noticed is that they have taken the TVs out of the queing area, this is good since they would cast a lot of reflected light onto the walls and allowed you to see the track while you were riding, thus taking away form the effectivness of the darkness. This was a much needed change and I'm glad to see it was done. Again this ride like the rest had no wait during the early open.
Once I left SM it was 9:00 and the other lands were now open, so I went across to Adventureland and straght into PoTC. Another favorite ride, again no wait, walked straight on. Only thing I noticed on this ride is that the lights that illuminate the Walls of the Spanish fort were not on, so it appeared that the Pirate ship in the begining is shooting at empty space. Outside of that the ride appeared to be in good working order.
My next stop was HM, my most favorite ride in all of WDW! :sohappy: Like the other rides, there was not really a wait, well there was but just for a few moments. I notice right off the bat that the ghost hurse was missing from out front, not sure if its because of the recent Halloween events or not, but it needs to be put back. Anyway, I got on the ride and all was well, until we got to the seance room, there I noticed that the projection for Leota's face was off center, the eyes were on the forehead, the nose was at the eyes, etc... It was rather funny, however it made the effect completely non-believable, not sure if any cast members on this site work the HM, but you might want to check this effect, it looks like someone just bumped the projector. Everything was good past that until we got to the graveyard, and I saw something that broke my heart. One of the projectors for the singing busts was not working, so you had four singing busts and then a dark one with a voice coming out of it, again cast members, this needs to be fixed ASAP, it looks really bad. Sorry, this is my favorite ride and it kills me to see it in such disrepair.
That was it for MK I hit a few rides but not all since I was only there for the afternoon so I left MK and headed for EPCOT.
EPCOT:
Took the Monorail over to EPCOT, haven't ridden the monorail the last few times I have visited WDW so it was nice to ride it again, and to hear the "Please stand clear of the doors...."
Walked into EPCOT and there were those darn LaL Monoliths, those things really need to go, I had trouble entering the park because they had character greetings going on with like 5-6 different characters scattered throughtout the monoliths. Lines were going in all different directions, it was like navigating a maze trying to find my was thru into the park. Once I got past the madness and into the park I headed over to grab some breakfast at the Electric Umbrella restaurant. I ordered an omlette plate cause the picture one the menu showed a nice sized omlette, a half a plate of hashbrowns and a biscuit. What I got was a 3" diameter omlette with american cheese, 3 mini triangle hasbrown patties and a tiny little miniature biscuit. The picture was very diceiving, had I known that this was a kid sized portion of a meal, I would have gotten a bagel or something.
Anyway, I finished my munchkin breakfast and headed over to the Energy pavilion. A show was a bout to start so I ran on in. First problem, during the preshow 2 of the projectors were not working, when made it kind of hard to follow the story when you can't see whats going on. Anyway, We get into the ride and all is going well till we get into the dinosaur ride thru area, I notice that NONE of the fog effects were turned on, this made the transition from the ride thru area to the next movie projection room kind of awkward. Outside of those two issues the ride was fun.
After I left the Energy pavillion I headed nextdoor to Mission:Space, about this time I was begining to develop a slight sinus headache, but no big deal I rode anyway. I got in the single riders line which only had a 5 minute wait. Got on the ride and when we started up I realized this wasn't such a great idea. Because I had some sinus congestion, the disorientation the ride caused was increased 10 fold, even though I enjoyed the ride, my headache got worse and I was dizzy for a good 15 minutes after I left the paviloin. So My suggestion to those heading to WDW with any sort of cold or sinus problems, to bypass M:S, it will reak havoc on your sinuses and increase any pain you may be having dues to the high G's.
My next stop was nextdoor to Test Track! I walked up to the ride and noticed the standby line was 45 minutes, so I turned around to see what the single rider wait was, and it was at 40 minutes
I really don't understand that one. I thought the single rider line was supposed to be quicker than the Standby line, but in this case it was not. I looked up at the FP sign and the return time was already after 2:30PM and it was only 10:30AM. So needless to say I bypassed TT .
Next I took a quick stroll around World Showcase and observed all the countries represented for the Food and Wine festival. Some of the food being served sounded very delicious but I didn't eat due to the huge breakfast I had just eaten earlier in the day.
Actually I was begining to feel ill due to the fact that my sinus headache was giving way to a full blown migraine.
So I headed out of WS and made my way back to the front of the park to Spaceship Earth. Got on this ride with absolutely no wait whatsoever, ride was as good as it always has been, no complaints. The one big thing I did notice is that the whole "play" area you walk thru at the end of the ride is all boarded up, and there is nothing but a sign pointing to the exit. Does anyone know what is going in there?
Anyway, I headed out of EPCOT with intentions of going to MGM, well at that point my head was on the verge of exploding due to the awful migrane that had developed, so I decided to call it a day and head back to my car for some headaceh medicine and to head on down to St. Pete. I wish I had stayed longer but I would have only been miserable due to the headache. I plan on heading back sometime in the near future, but when I do it will definately be for more than one day, and I plan on bringin my headache medicine into the parks with me.
All in all it was a good trip, short, but good. The wait times for most of the rides was good, save TT, and the crowds were light. Good time to be at WDW.
I arrived on Wednesday night and stayed at the All-Star Movie resort for 1 night. This was my first time staying at AS Movie, I was in the Toy Story building and it was pretty nice, I was right next to the lobby/food court. The biggest complaint I have about the All-Star resorts is that they have only 1 bus for all 3 resorts. Thats not very efficient, considering these resorts are usually near capacity a majority of the time. I think each resort should have its own bus, I waited for 45 minutes for a bus to MK, 2 passed by that were already full so only 3-4 people could board. But outside of that the resort was great, nicely themed and layed out.
Magic Kingdom:
The first park I visited was Magic Kingdom, it was a Thursday so this was the park that had the early open. In years past when I have visited Mk at park open, they usually have a number of characters ride up on the train while the music is playing, this time it was not the case, I was kind of sad there was music playing and people singing, but nothing mopre than that, no one was overly excited to enter the park. I remember in years past when they played the music and the characters rode up on the train, it made me that much more excited to enter the park, but this time it was prety much a dud. Ahh well!!
The next issue I had with the early open was that the only parts of the park that were open to the public were Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. I might be wrong but it used to be that during early open it meant the whole park was open and not just certain parts. Well this irritated me since I am one of that people who like to head to Adventureland first.
Anyway I went ahead and headed over to Fantasyland. I walked around and noticed that there was not line for Peter Pan, so I went ahead and jumped on. I hadn't ridden this ride in many many years so I kinda forgot what it was like, the ride was great, the only issue I have is that the AA are very outdated and old and its begining to show. You can see their age, the years of touchups on the them is showing, their faces are lumpy from all the coats of paint that has been slapped on them.
Next I went to Philharmagic, there was absolutly no wait at all which was surprising. This show was amazing, I have seen it once before and its as amazing to me this time as it was the last. The effects are great and the music selection is fantastic. Its a great show, I recommmend anyone who hasn't seen it to take time out to do so next time your in MK.
Next I went to Space Mountain, one of my favorite rides. The biggest change I noticed is that they have taken the TVs out of the queing area, this is good since they would cast a lot of reflected light onto the walls and allowed you to see the track while you were riding, thus taking away form the effectivness of the darkness. This was a much needed change and I'm glad to see it was done. Again this ride like the rest had no wait during the early open.
Once I left SM it was 9:00 and the other lands were now open, so I went across to Adventureland and straght into PoTC. Another favorite ride, again no wait, walked straight on. Only thing I noticed on this ride is that the lights that illuminate the Walls of the Spanish fort were not on, so it appeared that the Pirate ship in the begining is shooting at empty space. Outside of that the ride appeared to be in good working order.
My next stop was HM, my most favorite ride in all of WDW! :sohappy: Like the other rides, there was not really a wait, well there was but just for a few moments. I notice right off the bat that the ghost hurse was missing from out front, not sure if its because of the recent Halloween events or not, but it needs to be put back. Anyway, I got on the ride and all was well, until we got to the seance room, there I noticed that the projection for Leota's face was off center, the eyes were on the forehead, the nose was at the eyes, etc... It was rather funny, however it made the effect completely non-believable, not sure if any cast members on this site work the HM, but you might want to check this effect, it looks like someone just bumped the projector. Everything was good past that until we got to the graveyard, and I saw something that broke my heart. One of the projectors for the singing busts was not working, so you had four singing busts and then a dark one with a voice coming out of it, again cast members, this needs to be fixed ASAP, it looks really bad. Sorry, this is my favorite ride and it kills me to see it in such disrepair.
That was it for MK I hit a few rides but not all since I was only there for the afternoon so I left MK and headed for EPCOT.
EPCOT:
Took the Monorail over to EPCOT, haven't ridden the monorail the last few times I have visited WDW so it was nice to ride it again, and to hear the "Please stand clear of the doors...."
Walked into EPCOT and there were those darn LaL Monoliths, those things really need to go, I had trouble entering the park because they had character greetings going on with like 5-6 different characters scattered throughtout the monoliths. Lines were going in all different directions, it was like navigating a maze trying to find my was thru into the park. Once I got past the madness and into the park I headed over to grab some breakfast at the Electric Umbrella restaurant. I ordered an omlette plate cause the picture one the menu showed a nice sized omlette, a half a plate of hashbrowns and a biscuit. What I got was a 3" diameter omlette with american cheese, 3 mini triangle hasbrown patties and a tiny little miniature biscuit. The picture was very diceiving, had I known that this was a kid sized portion of a meal, I would have gotten a bagel or something.
Anyway, I finished my munchkin breakfast and headed over to the Energy pavilion. A show was a bout to start so I ran on in. First problem, during the preshow 2 of the projectors were not working, when made it kind of hard to follow the story when you can't see whats going on. Anyway, We get into the ride and all is going well till we get into the dinosaur ride thru area, I notice that NONE of the fog effects were turned on, this made the transition from the ride thru area to the next movie projection room kind of awkward. Outside of those two issues the ride was fun.
After I left the Energy pavillion I headed nextdoor to Mission:Space, about this time I was begining to develop a slight sinus headache, but no big deal I rode anyway. I got in the single riders line which only had a 5 minute wait. Got on the ride and when we started up I realized this wasn't such a great idea. Because I had some sinus congestion, the disorientation the ride caused was increased 10 fold, even though I enjoyed the ride, my headache got worse and I was dizzy for a good 15 minutes after I left the paviloin. So My suggestion to those heading to WDW with any sort of cold or sinus problems, to bypass M:S, it will reak havoc on your sinuses and increase any pain you may be having dues to the high G's.
My next stop was nextdoor to Test Track! I walked up to the ride and noticed the standby line was 45 minutes, so I turned around to see what the single rider wait was, and it was at 40 minutes
I really don't understand that one. I thought the single rider line was supposed to be quicker than the Standby line, but in this case it was not. I looked up at the FP sign and the return time was already after 2:30PM and it was only 10:30AM. So needless to say I bypassed TT .Next I took a quick stroll around World Showcase and observed all the countries represented for the Food and Wine festival. Some of the food being served sounded very delicious but I didn't eat due to the huge breakfast I had just eaten earlier in the day.
Actually I was begining to feel ill due to the fact that my sinus headache was giving way to a full blown migraine. So I headed out of WS and made my way back to the front of the park to Spaceship Earth. Got on this ride with absolutely no wait whatsoever, ride was as good as it always has been, no complaints. The one big thing I did notice is that the whole "play" area you walk thru at the end of the ride is all boarded up, and there is nothing but a sign pointing to the exit. Does anyone know what is going in there?
Anyway, I headed out of EPCOT with intentions of going to MGM, well at that point my head was on the verge of exploding due to the awful migrane that had developed, so I decided to call it a day and head back to my car for some headaceh medicine and to head on down to St. Pete. I wish I had stayed longer but I would have only been miserable due to the headache. I plan on heading back sometime in the near future, but when I do it will definately be for more than one day, and I plan on bringin my headache medicine into the parks with me.
All in all it was a good trip, short, but good. The wait times for most of the rides was good, save TT, and the crowds were light. Good time to be at WDW.
I really wanted to, but given my circumstances.....:brick:!! 
Sorry to hear about the migraine- I suffer from them, too, so I feel your pain. :hammer: