Photo TR: Dan Does Disney, 8/21 - 8/30

Hey all! Just got back from another great WDW vacation, complete with free dining, tropical storm action, and three full days at Epcot! Our main intent was to drop my sister back off at college in the Tampa-St. Pete area, but this was also supposed to be regarding my college choice for next year as well. Unfortunately, both of my prospective schools (Florida Tech in Melbourne and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical in Daytona) were essentially under about a foot of water and above on our scheduled tour dates earlier in the trip. Disappointing obviously, but the irony is that I want to major in meteorology, so it's all good. I'll probably get the chance to go back in October or thereabouts, also, so it‘s not a total educational loss.

Anyway, after the long-winded opening paragraph comes an even longer prelude extravaganza of stuff around Orlando in the first few days of our visit. Because of our tour cancellations, we basically just toted around the Orlando area for a couple of days, so the aforementioned WDW pics will most certainly appear tomorrow afternoon. (I do have a job, folks.)

So, without further adieu or complaints, I present to you in amazing RectangleVision format, the Dan Smith tourist extravaganza!

We open this vacation with a special preview of Soarin' over Detroit! (Polluted rivers, construction and mayoral corruption can now be enjoyed from high altitudes.)

The lighting scattered over the clouds made the sky look remarkably like a glassy lake with mist rising all across.

It even comes complete with its own ghost ship!

I only kept this because it very accurately describes our descent into Orlando. Just our luck that Tropical Storm Fay was unleashing her worst yet on the central Florida area the same night of our intended landing. I'm quite surprised that we managed to land at ALL... I mean, I love wild rides as much as the next guy, but I was damned scared of those crosswinds when we dropped like a rock onto the runway!)

Indeed we are! (As much as I love the Simpsons, I love BTTF with a passion rivalled perhaps only by that one guy who hand-built an exact Delorean time machine replica.)

From what I recall, we ate at Olive Garden this night. Minestrone soup + breadsticks = Italian awesomeness.

 

[dandaman]

The next day (Friday the 22nd, for the record), we find ourselves in front of Hotel Royal Plaza. We stayed here for the night because the roads seemed nigh impassable out on the Gulf Coast to get to our originally intended hotel... smack dab on the A1A outside Cocoa Beach. Combine that with a MouseSavers deal here and we're set. (The ironic part is, I haven't stayed here since one of the 2004 storms wrecked about 90% of the place!)

Alas, my only remaining Orlando park credit.

The damage from Fay was worse than I thought...

This was officially the home of the best/worst souvenir towel EVER! The Florida map wanted me to visit such exotic places as Olala, Cocoa Bach, Gaineville and, the Happiest Misspelling on Earth, Wali Dinsey World! (I so should have taken a picture.)

Hidden Mickey trip credit #1!

Fun Spot didn't look very fun today, even from a shopping mall a mile away.

OK, so I went into this store just to look at all the overpriced (but official) souvenirs, but instead I found...

...One of my greatest investments of the entire trip. Special shout-out to the resident Delorean owner(s)!

If you don't continue reading this TR, you are WAKKIE NU NU!!!

Finally some blue sky! (To be immediately replaced by more wicked rain/wind.)

 

[dandaman]

..."Walt's Revenge"

Seriously, Disney, enough with the direct-to-tourist-destination sequels!

Our final prelude to WDW... well, it IS Disney! I haven't been mini-golfing in ages in the Orlando area, so I thought I'd give Fantasia Gardens a go.

Well, they've got the "Gardens" part down cold... but where's the golf?!

The Fairways course (i.e. less whimsical stuff but a lot more challenging) was really cool. I got two hole-in-ones in a row! Despite that, it was seriously the toughest mini-golf course I've ever played.

Does that really look like a dolphin, Disney? REALLY?

“Good Tower”

Liked all the little signs with directions that never worked.

Sweet zombie Jesus! I actually somehow managed to kick a tropical storm's behind at mini-golf! That's like on page one of the Tourist's Guide to Asskickery.

They were even giving away free stuff to everyone on the links! Considering everything that had gone wrong the past few days, Disney made up for it in the first hour on property!

"To the Mousemobile!"

And, as for me, I bid adieu. Catch up with y'all tomorrow afternoon, with any luck. First stop, the Magic Kingdom!

 

[figmentmom]

Dan - great trip report so far!

On another note, both my daughter and son-in-law graduated from Embry-Riddle! It's an awesome school. :sohappy:

 

[One Lil Spark]

LOVING your report so far, Dan. Can't wait to see the subsequent installations. Way to go for the 'asskickery' ( :lol: ) of Fay at minigolf and free stuff, too.

*thumbs up*

 

[dandaman]

^I wasn't sure if the censor would catch it, but I say you've gotta have a little PG-13 sometimes. ("Smacking the possum" is decidedly worse. :lol: ) And I haven't even gotten to Epcot let alone any parks yet, so rest assured you've got some better TR content coming your way!

^^That's awesome! I'm really hoping to visit both prospective campuses sometime in the next couple of months.

Tune in tomorrow (hopefully) for MK!

 

[One Lil Spark]

^I wasn't sure if the censor would catch it, but I say you've gotta have a little PG-13 sometimes. ("Smacking the possum" is decidedly worse. :lol: ) And I haven't even gotten to Epcot let alone any parks yet, so rest assured you've got some better TR content coming your way!

*Eagerly waits for continuation and Epcot report*

 

[LuisT]

awhh. I cat wat to you finish it up. What a wonderful trip report. Makes me want to go to the world right now ):

-Luis

 

[mouselvrmom]

Can't wait for more!

 

[Nicole220]

Yay! Another Dan trip report! They're always so fun and entertaining. Can't wait for the rest!

 

[dandaman]

Brace yourselves, people, this WILL be bandwidth-heavy!

Day 1: Magic Kingdom

Oh, halloo-hallay, we’re in Wali Dinsey World!

Our accommodations for the next six days or so. Fairly good for a value resort, but because of its size, the bus stops (and buses) were always PACKED. One group of people, I recall, waited 45 for an Epcot bus at Pop Century, and a full hour at one of the All-Stars! Disney really needs to do something about the bus intervals at the value resorts.

Aside from that, the place was really well-done. Giant pop culture icons, most of them not even Disney-related, adorned all of the individual complexes. We stayed in the 50's section, but props to the 80's for having a Pac-Man game going all around the balconies!

I actually have that exact same back-scratcher...

PLEASE STAND BY... CONTINUING COVERAGE OF REPUBLICRAT NATIONAL CONVENTION SHORTLY...

No Johnny B. Goode? WTH!

…One giant what?

Oh, ____…!

And of course, we all remember the 1950’s for bowling. Not Disneyland or anything like that.

Oh, wait, at least they put this in our room. Disneyland + 20K + Fess Parker = good nostalgia.

 

[dandaman]

There was actually a lot of construction vehicles at the sad-and-pathetically-abandoned Legendary Years project across Hourglass Lake. Confirm/deny, anyone?

P.S. There's so much potential for the food court here... sell some 10-cent apples and hardtack at every meal with minors that shine your shoes and steal your wallet!

Aah, so much comedic possibilities simply by calling it a giant Tramp.

Crap! I can't even get away from work! (A&W, for the record. It's a lot better chain up here in Canada.) Trust me when I say the irony was not lost on me that I took vacation days off to be surrounded by 50's memorabilia/tunes for the entirety of the stay.

Best billboard in world history.

"A kingdom full of endless dreams..."

Huzzah! Walt Disney World Railroad pictures FTW

Zoom testing. In case you were wondering, it's a Canon Powershot A550 with 7.1 MP, 4x optical and 16x digital zoom. Got it for $150 and between that and my $5 bendy tabletop tripod, it's been my greatest investment in recent times, nay ever.

“Art”

 

[dandaman]

We'd never actually taken the trolley down Main Street, so we figured we'd give it a go.

"...Yes, we can, yes, we caaaaaaaaannn..."

Come to think of it, 'New Horizons' shows a remarkable correlation to the Obama campaign.

“Standard”

"In fact, many of our monuments are hydroponically grown and served here in the Castle hub!"

Am I the only one that doesn't sleep in the Hall of Presidents? I definitely seem to be the only one in my school who avidly follows politics, if only to poke satire.

Welcome... to HELL!

I think to make this ride complete, they should have this guy rotate completely around really slowly and have a slowly-building maniacal laugh.

"Oh God, this truly IS hell!!!"

Count 'em. Do you see one single smiling face? Exactly.

...NO, the clock guy doesn't count!

 

[dandaman]

In all my years of visiting WDW, I'd never experienced the Liberty Belle Riverboat. I figured now that I had a camera, I could get some good shots of Big Thunder Mountain, which is my favourite Disney coaster because it totally counts as a railroad credit.

Oh, and since I didn't get another picture... the "new" Haunted Mansion is awesome! The staircase scene and disappearing bride effect are nice and all, but the audio was crystal-ball clear, and really won me over.

Rode Splash that night many times, also very good. All effects seemed to be working and I even got one boat to myself!

Tom and Huck can build some pretty seaworthy craft... though I suppose calling it “Tom’s Cruise” would make the boats jump on couches and jostle the passengers.

Spontaneous singalong!

At Big Thunder Mountain station there’s a frightened trembling man,
His body’s weak and feeble and his skin has lost its tan,
When I asked him for a ticket, he turned and shook his head,
He grabbed my by the shoulder and this is what he said...

"Before you get on board this train, there’s something you should know,
When I finish with this tale you might not want to go."
I listened with amazement at what he said was true,
And now my friend the time has come to tell this tale to you.


Hear the legend, of Thunder Mountain,
Victory come and tries to stay away,
From Big Thunder, Mountain railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad ran away!

Part II of our singalong to continue further down the line. In the meantime... nice butte!

'Course it would have been better if BTM hadn't gone 101 before we passed by on the river, but whatever. Now I can say I got the elusive no-trains-in-one-shot credit!

Love how they've even put the striations on the rocks.

 

[dandaman]

"I've got a great idea! Let's put all the Native Americans in the furthest corner of the park to symbolize Manifest Destiny!"

"Way down upon the Suwannee River, far, far... oh, wait, there it is."

Taken especially for someone. You know who you are!

The only picture I took of Pirates. Cherish it. Love it. Caress it. Now clean off your monitor, please, you'll enjoy the rest of the report a lot more.

Happened to catch Dream Along With Mickey, formerly Cinderellabration, formerly Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, formerly... eh, whatever.

The new "talking heads" were a bit disorienting at first, but gradually they just kinda blended with the rest of the characters. Ultimately I'd LOVE to see more technology like this being used, except for meet-and-greets. IMO only face characters like the princesses should be able to talk with guests, etc.

 

[dandaman]

"Look at me, the delightfully flamboyant pirate my merry men call Jimmy the Hook! And now, to go solicit children for..."

"Mr. Hook? Chris Hansen from Dateline NBC."

"Damn you Hansen! Your disguise never betrayed you once!"

“…Wait, what are you…? NOOOOOOO!”

"Book 'em, Danno."

"And we all helped arrest the Scourge of the Neverland Chat Room."

"Hooray!"

(If the preceding didn’t scar your childhood memories for life, I don’t know what will.)

Couldn't take this from the other side, as the Liberty Square bridge was being completely rehabbed. But unlike Lindsay Lohan, the rehab only took about a week.

 

[dandaman]

Super Wedway Peoplemover action!

lol, lite speed 2 endor

Much like Dr. Pepper, I thoroughly question the traffic reporter's credentials every time I ride the TTA. It was a 45-minute backup every time we passed!

WDI must be converting it to a new Sigourney Weaver ride! Awesome! (I’m so, so sorry.)

…Awwwwwww.

I have no caption for this, but I do have a shameless video plug. Taken by the folks at Theme Park Review (it‘s a download, FYI)… what happens when CoP goes horribly, horribly wrong? This:

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/download.php?id=159551

Hooray for the Disney Company in the Disney era!

Come on, guys! Just knock off the AIN, move her over from the Great Movie Ride and we're set!

If Disney really wanted to go green, they'd eliminate the thousand riding lawnmowers over here in Tomorrowland!

 

[dandaman]

Toontown-Tomorrowland Walkway = best hidden path on property.

(That's totally a Hidden Mickey.)

The Roger E. #3's fine and all, but my heart lies with ol' #1. (Yes, I can have favourites. Shhhhh.)

If you're a railfan visiting WDW, I wholly recommend the "Magic Behind Our Steam Trains" tour. A really in-depth look at the locomotives, rolling stock and maintenance area (directly under the monorail shed, for the record), plus you get in the park about an hour before other guests.

Time to invade the Big Cheese's privacy!

...And Mickey promptly signs a "Keep Back 50 Feet From Property" contract.

*drool*

The sign of quality!

Slightly tweaked the family photo, just to show you... Belle totally has the hots for me. Just sayin'.

(Also, I apparently have a gold tooth.)

Something seems wrong with this photo... perhaps it's the woman at left clamoring for help?

 

[dandaman]

If even Goofy's hat somehow made it through, that must be the fastest cropduster in the skies!

OK... so we left the park for the hotel before the 4 p.m. storms rolled through. We got to our room to find this set up on our side table, along with a free fridge magnet. Disney Mousekeeping rocks.

Took the ferry over to the Grand Floridian to eat at the Café. Not bad, but a lot noisier than I expected. Guess the free Dining Plan has some unfortunate side effects besides “regulars” not being able to eat ANYWHERE. Nevertheless, the food was excellent as usual, and you can’t go wrong with dining on New York strip every night.

Testing out my flexible tabletop tripod. Best $5 I've ever spent. To be perfectly honest, ever since I've bought my first camera two years ago, taking pictures has been half the fun of vacations. I'm more than content with just wandering around finding good places for photos.

Across the atrium lies the one reason I'd stay at the Grand Floridian: live jazz band.

Re-entering the park around 9-ish. Tried to get a decent night shot of Main Street Station with no luck.

 

[dandaman]

Now here's a clock tower that REALLY got struck by lightning!

Direct contradiction... everyone knows that decent "gifts" can't be found at an arcade! (Unless someone wants to send me a pinball machine, in which case my Christmas wish list is DONE.)

You still know who you are! (I should hope so.)

Couldn't find an available garbage can or flat surface with a good sight line, so my fireworks shots once again suffered from my unsteady hand.

EMH on Big Thunder Mountain, and you know what that means... singalong continuation!

They say as legend has it on one foggy night in June,
The train and crew pulled out at twelve beneath a darkened moon,
With a boiler full of water and a tender full of coal,
The whistle screamed a warning as the wheels began to roll...

Then like a buc-kin' bronco with a cougar on its back,
The train began to run away down miles and miles of track,
What happened to the crew that night no one has ever learned;
The train pulled in all by itself, the men did not return...

The history of Big Thunder continues to unfold,
The stories of its danger continue to be told,
Of avalanche and rattle snakes and earthquakes in the night,
And voices of that phantom crew that chill your blood with fright.

So please forgive me mister if I’m standing in your way,
But before you buy your ticket, there’s one thing I have to say:

Hear the legend, of Thunder Mountain,
Victory come and try to stay away,
From Big Thunder, Mountain railroad,
Thunder Mountain Railroad ran away!

Buzz apparently suffered the same fate as the clock tower.