I was at Disney from 11/18-11/27 here are my thoughts, opinions, and updates.
Magic Kingdom:
Jungle Cruise: Had arguably the best skipper ever mid week. Stayed with few staple jokes, and spiced it up with his own style and charisma.
Pirates: We were stuck on it while they were taking boats off. This backed up the line a bit which was annoying. It seemed to me that the soundtrack was louder.
Spash Mountain: On the 20th, my girlfriend and I were absolutely soaked coming off this ride. Never been that wet after Splash. Brer Rabbit was circling the bush across from Brer Bear stuck in the tree, but many other things weren't working. The sweeping female bears weren't talking and Brer Rabbit's shadow wasn't going over the hill. The jumping water in the Laughin' Place wasn't jumping either. There was also a large board on the left side of the track approaching the second left hill (the one that often gets spashed as other logs go down the falls). Finally, the waterfall before the Zipadeedooda scene wasn't functioning.
Thunder Mountain: The mouse that hangs down from the tree was missing.
Haunted Mansion: It seems they're putting more people in the preshow area resulting in a backed up disorganized mess waiting to board the ride.
Small World: Boarded up with light seeping out of the cracks during all hours of park operation.
20,000 Leagues: Nothing new here
Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, PhilHarmagic: No real changes, although I thought Christopher Robin has an animatronic in the "flood" scene of Winnie the Pooh. Also not sure if riders were sprayed with water previously on Pooh, if so that has stopped.
Buzz Lightyear: Other then my girlfriend beating me 995,900 to 618,000 nothing to report.
Space: Midweek the finally got smart and began winding the standby line around the interior. They set up polls that divided the fastpass and standby in the interior portion of the ride. This allowed for more people to fit in the building. Now... someone needs to explain to me why for the beginning of the line, the fastpass area is significantly wider then the standby area... shouldn't that be switched?
Stich: Clever to a degree. Stitch sounds like a slightly less annoying Jar Jar Binks. I find myself trying to translate the alien language that lines the walls. The Chili dog scent is a good effect, but it seems the amazing animatronic Stitch is wasted. I wish there was more to the ride where we can see him in the tube. The best part of the animatronic is how he blinks... it looks real.
CoP and Timekeeper: both open at times during the week.
Epcot:
Future World:There aren't many updates for future world. I didn't go on Mission Space b/c I'm not really much of a simulator fan, even of one that good. Test Track needs to find a way to move crowds better, but the cars are seconds apart, so short of building another exterior track it won't happen. Fast passes were usually gone by 11. Although Journey into a psychotic episode has cool effects, I wish they'd at least keep more of the original song. From future world Soarin' is pretty well hidden, However when you get to the American Adventure you can see the large building behind Canada. You can peak into the line area, but nothing is revealed, anything noteworthy is boarded up.
World Showcase: There is a large boarded area near Germany. No idea what's going here.
MGM: The soundtrack on Rockin' Roller coaster seemed softer this trip. Maybe it just seemed that way on different cars/soundtracks. I'm getting annoyed at people that say Disney wastes a large part of the Tower of Terror building. People fail to realize that pretty much the entire building is utilized for the attraction. The abbreviated backlot tour was nice, I wish they forced you around the prop area though. I would have liked to have an excuse to look at that stuff. As a joke, my girlfriend took a picture of the Geo Metro from Big Trouble. The interior of the Motor stunt show looks to be complete (save a few minor things). The seating area appears larger then Indiana Jones and is quite impressive as you see it through the trees on your way to the studios. The fastpass and line areas seem to be complete, so my guess is whenever the training is completed soft openings will begin.
Animal Kingdom: No soundtrack on the Safaris on one of our ride throughs. There were more ostrich's then I remember as well. Several sat alongside the road watching as the trucks drove by. I'd like to recognize the increased throughput time of this ride as well. They've got trucks leaving multiple times per minute, making sure every guest that enters the park can see the animals at least once with a minimal wait. Dinosaur: It baffles me that they can leave four empty seats on a ride vehicle like this. With waits of 45 minutes to an hour this is unacceptable. Perhaps it's just my thinking as a business student that studies ways to make things more effecient, I'd definitely re-consider how some of these rides are operated. Also, please note that the last time I rode this ride, I didn't make it back from the asteroid impact. The ride stopped right after Seeker said, "They're not gonna make it!" If you wanted to know, the afterlife is very dark. One of the species of monkeys in Asia has a baby which was put on stage this week. Finally, saw everest through the walk way. It is absolutely huge. I don't have any pictures, but they don't do it justice. As for the steps lining the banked turn out of the mountain, my guess is they'll be visible when the ride is completed, but they'll be covered with rock work. This seems to be how disney has done things in the past.
All in all a great trip (including a side trip to Universal). Not sure if I'll be going back this year so I made sure to enjoy every minute. One last note: I managed to go the entire week without eating a hamburger.
Magic Kingdom:
Jungle Cruise: Had arguably the best skipper ever mid week. Stayed with few staple jokes, and spiced it up with his own style and charisma.
Pirates: We were stuck on it while they were taking boats off. This backed up the line a bit which was annoying. It seemed to me that the soundtrack was louder.
Spash Mountain: On the 20th, my girlfriend and I were absolutely soaked coming off this ride. Never been that wet after Splash. Brer Rabbit was circling the bush across from Brer Bear stuck in the tree, but many other things weren't working. The sweeping female bears weren't talking and Brer Rabbit's shadow wasn't going over the hill. The jumping water in the Laughin' Place wasn't jumping either. There was also a large board on the left side of the track approaching the second left hill (the one that often gets spashed as other logs go down the falls). Finally, the waterfall before the Zipadeedooda scene wasn't functioning.
Thunder Mountain: The mouse that hangs down from the tree was missing.
Haunted Mansion: It seems they're putting more people in the preshow area resulting in a backed up disorganized mess waiting to board the ride.
Small World: Boarded up with light seeping out of the cracks during all hours of park operation.
20,000 Leagues: Nothing new here
Peter Pan, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, PhilHarmagic: No real changes, although I thought Christopher Robin has an animatronic in the "flood" scene of Winnie the Pooh. Also not sure if riders were sprayed with water previously on Pooh, if so that has stopped.
Buzz Lightyear: Other then my girlfriend beating me 995,900 to 618,000 nothing to report.
Space: Midweek the finally got smart and began winding the standby line around the interior. They set up polls that divided the fastpass and standby in the interior portion of the ride. This allowed for more people to fit in the building. Now... someone needs to explain to me why for the beginning of the line, the fastpass area is significantly wider then the standby area... shouldn't that be switched?
Stich: Clever to a degree. Stitch sounds like a slightly less annoying Jar Jar Binks. I find myself trying to translate the alien language that lines the walls. The Chili dog scent is a good effect, but it seems the amazing animatronic Stitch is wasted. I wish there was more to the ride where we can see him in the tube. The best part of the animatronic is how he blinks... it looks real.
CoP and Timekeeper: both open at times during the week.
Epcot:
Future World:There aren't many updates for future world. I didn't go on Mission Space b/c I'm not really much of a simulator fan, even of one that good. Test Track needs to find a way to move crowds better, but the cars are seconds apart, so short of building another exterior track it won't happen. Fast passes were usually gone by 11. Although Journey into a psychotic episode has cool effects, I wish they'd at least keep more of the original song. From future world Soarin' is pretty well hidden, However when you get to the American Adventure you can see the large building behind Canada. You can peak into the line area, but nothing is revealed, anything noteworthy is boarded up.
World Showcase: There is a large boarded area near Germany. No idea what's going here.
MGM: The soundtrack on Rockin' Roller coaster seemed softer this trip. Maybe it just seemed that way on different cars/soundtracks. I'm getting annoyed at people that say Disney wastes a large part of the Tower of Terror building. People fail to realize that pretty much the entire building is utilized for the attraction. The abbreviated backlot tour was nice, I wish they forced you around the prop area though. I would have liked to have an excuse to look at that stuff. As a joke, my girlfriend took a picture of the Geo Metro from Big Trouble. The interior of the Motor stunt show looks to be complete (save a few minor things). The seating area appears larger then Indiana Jones and is quite impressive as you see it through the trees on your way to the studios. The fastpass and line areas seem to be complete, so my guess is whenever the training is completed soft openings will begin.
Animal Kingdom: No soundtrack on the Safaris on one of our ride throughs. There were more ostrich's then I remember as well. Several sat alongside the road watching as the trucks drove by. I'd like to recognize the increased throughput time of this ride as well. They've got trucks leaving multiple times per minute, making sure every guest that enters the park can see the animals at least once with a minimal wait. Dinosaur: It baffles me that they can leave four empty seats on a ride vehicle like this. With waits of 45 minutes to an hour this is unacceptable. Perhaps it's just my thinking as a business student that studies ways to make things more effecient, I'd definitely re-consider how some of these rides are operated. Also, please note that the last time I rode this ride, I didn't make it back from the asteroid impact. The ride stopped right after Seeker said, "They're not gonna make it!" If you wanted to know, the afterlife is very dark. One of the species of monkeys in Asia has a baby which was put on stage this week. Finally, saw everest through the walk way. It is absolutely huge. I don't have any pictures, but they don't do it justice. As for the steps lining the banked turn out of the mountain, my guess is they'll be visible when the ride is completed, but they'll be covered with rock work. This seems to be how disney has done things in the past.
All in all a great trip (including a side trip to Universal). Not sure if I'll be going back this year so I made sure to enjoy every minute. One last note: I managed to go the entire week without eating a hamburger.
