The Magic Lives (and I'm a little surprised)

[pax_65]

For those of you who know me, I've been pretty negative on these boards lately. I'm not a fan of MM+, unhappy with rising prices and grumpy about crowd levels in the parks. I'm also very picky about things I don't feel are up to the Disney "show" standard.

Well... I just returned from 8 days in WDW and I have to say, we had a great time. The parks were in great shape and so are the resorts I visited. In general the crowd levels weren't bad and to my amazement we had no problems with the Magic Bands or FP+. No issues with transportation (rode buses, boats, and monorail).

Cast Members provided the Disney service I love - that includes housekeeping, front desk, and parks. We had a couple cast members go above and beyond the call and I'll be sending Guest Relations a note to hopefully get them recognized (hope to continue to reinforce this kind of service).

It was our first time in Pandora and we were very impressed with how well the area is themed. Flight of Passage exceeded my already-high expectations. Also our first time on Frozen and well, let's not go negative on this post.

Anyway... I will continue to hold Disney to a very high standard but on this trip I have to admit they met and maybe exceeded that standard. The Magic Lives!

 

[larryz]

That's good to hear.

 

[Dayma]

Good to hear. Hope your hope is restored!

 

[Zipadeelady]

So glad to hear a doom and gloomer got a little pixie dust!

Just kidding. Very awesome to hear that everything was great on your vacation!!

 

[jloucks]

For those of you who know me, I've been pretty negative on these boards lately. I'm not a fan of MM+, unhappy with rising prices and grumpy about crowd levels in the parks. I'm also very picky about things I don't feel are up to the Disney "show" standard.

Well... I just returned from 8 days in WDW and I have to say, we had a great time. The parks were in great shape and so are the resorts I visited. In general the crowd levels weren't bad and to my amazement we had no problems with the Magic Bands or FP+. No issues with transportation (rode buses, boats, and monorail).

Cast Members provided the Disney service I love - that includes housekeeping, front desk, and parks. We had a couple cast members go above and beyond the call and I'll be sending Guest Relations a note to hopefully get them recognized (hope to continue to reinforce this kind of service).

It was our first time in Pandora and we were very impressed with how well the area is themed. Flight of Passage exceeded my already-high expectations. Also our first time on Frozen and well, let's not go negative on this post.

Anyway... I will continue to hold Disney to a very high standard but on this trip I have to admit they met and maybe exceeded that standard. The Magic Lives!

 

[eliza61nyc]

Glad you had a good time but kinda baffled about going on a vacation expecting not to like it.

 

[pax_65]

Glad you had a good time but kinda baffled about going on a vacation expecting not to like it.

To be honest I wanted to give WDW a longer break. My plan was to return after Star Wars Land was finished. We stayed away for 2 years but my family finally staged an intervention and insisted we return. I was hoping to have a good time and went in with an open mind but I wasn't exactly hopeful. But the vacation totally exceeded my expectations in pretty much every way - and a great time was had by all.

 

[pax_65]

That's wonderful to hear! It'd be nice for threads like this to go on for 20 pages but alas, the pendulum swings overwhelming negative. Human nature, I guess.

Well at least I'll be a little more positive going forward. I still have concerns (Futureworld in Epcot is sad, Frozen in Norway is an example of why IP synergy doesn't always work, etc) but overall WDW is doing better than I thought.

 

[muddyrivers]

Glad to hear you had a good time. I've been finding over the past several trips that while the parks are crowded and seem to be not as magical as they once were for me, the resorts are just as good as they always have been. I've spent several afternoons just taking busses to explore the different resorts and take in the scenery and theming.

 

[ppete1975]

For those of you who know me, I've been pretty negative on these boards lately. I'm not a fan of MM+, unhappy with rising prices and grumpy about crowd levels in the parks. I'm also very picky about things I don't feel are up to the Disney "show" standard.

Well... I just returned from 8 days in WDW and I have to say, we had a great time. The parks were in great shape and so are the resorts I visited. In general the crowd levels weren't bad and to my amazement we had no problems with the Magic Bands or FP+. No issues with transportation (rode buses, boats, and monorail).

Cast Members provided the Disney service I love - that includes housekeeping, front desk, and parks. We had a couple cast members go above and beyond the call and I'll be sending Guest Relations a note to hopefully get them recognized (hope to continue to reinforce this kind of service).

It was our first time in Pandora and we were very impressed with how well the area is themed. Flight of Passage exceeded my already-high expectations. Also our first time on Frozen and well, let's not go negative on this post.

Anyway... I will continue to hold Disney to a very high standard but on this trip I have to admit they met and maybe exceeded that standard. The Magic Lives!

Remove that its frozen and where its located/what it replaced. Would you like it otherwise.. like the actual ride. The pov looks pretty good.. I haven't had a chance to ride it in person.

 

[pax_65]

Remove that its frozen and where its located/what it replaced. Would you like it otherwise.. like the actual ride. The pov looks pretty good.. I haven't had a chance to ride it in person.

Some of the animatronics are pretty good. But the whole thing feels really forced. They kept the existing ride and just overlayed Frozen on it. So when you make that initial climb (where you used to stare into the eye) there is really nothing happening. Then Elsa pushes you backward (for reasons that aren't exactly clear) and THEN you are face-to-face with the giant snowman. It would have worked better if the snowman said "Go away" and threw you backward - but I'm sure they wanted Elsa to have more ride time. The story is basically nonexistent (I guess Elsa is having a snow day? Not exactly sure.)

Bottom line, if they were going to replace Maelstrom (and yes, I wish they didn't), they should have started over with a brand-new ride. I know Frozen remains very popular among kids but at a time last weekend when Epcot was very busy the ride only had a 10-minute wait. There is no reason to ride this thing more than once unless you're 4 years old and love Anna and Elsa.

 

[pax_65]

Glad to hear you had a good time. I've been finding over the past several trips that while the parks are crowded and seem to be not as magical as they once were for me, the resorts are just as good as they always have been. I've spent several afternoons just taking busses to explore the different resorts and take in the scenery and theming.

I LOVED "Happily Ever After" fireworks (although I will always love "Wishes" too). We saw the show a few times from Main Street. On our last night we didn't feel like dealing with the crowds again, so we walked around the Grand Floridian and then took a boat to Magic Kingdom (by way of the Polynesian) and were able to watch the fireworks from the boat (while listening to the music part of the time from the two resorts). It was a pretty cool way to experience the fireworks, and we were able to catch the beginning of the water pageant up-close from the boat.

So I agree - there are so many different things to do outside of the parks. You could literally fill up some days of vacation just enjoying the resorts in different ways.

 

[BoarderPhreak]

I went the week before last and have nothing to complain about... Everything did look pretty fabulous. Sure, there were some occasional crowd peaks and ubiquitous overpricing, but it is what it is. Some ride closures here and there, but that's to be expected too. Transportation was all good. The Swan, Boardwalk area, parks... All good too. Family had a blast, as always.

 

[pax_65]

I went the week before last and have nothing to complain about... Everything did look pretty fabulous. Sure, there were some occasional crowd peaks and ubiquitous overpricing, but it is what it is. Some ride closures here and there, but that's to be expected too. Transportation was all good. The Swan, Boardwalk area, parks... All good too. Family had a blast, as always.

We had cheerleading competitions both weekends, so we saw the crowds increase... and walking through Mexico on May 5th we wondered why it was so crowded and why everyone was drinking so much. Duh. I much preferred the crowds during the middle of the week, especially in Epcot.

Toy Story Mania was a mess because they're moving the entrance to Toy Story Land, but we just dealt with it. I have to admit, Toy Story Land looks pretty cool (obviously I wish it would have move attractions but still, it looks like a nice addition).

 

[ppete1975]

Some of the animatronics are pretty good. But the whole thing feels really forced. They kept the existing ride and just overlayed Frozen on it. So when you make that initial climb (where you used to stare into the eye) there is really nothing happening. Then Elsa pushes you backward (for reasons that aren't exactly clear) and THEN you are face-to-face with the giant snowman. It would have worked better if the snowman said "Go away" and threw you backward - but I'm sure they wanted Elsa to have more ride time. The story is basically nonexistent (I guess Elsa is having a snow day? Not exactly sure.)

Bottom line, if they were going to replace Maelstrom (and yes, I wish they didn't), they should have started over with a brand-new ride. I know Frozen remains very popular among kids but at a time last weekend when Epcot was very busy the ride only had a 10-minute wait. There is no reason to ride this thing more than once unless you're 4 years old and love Anna and Elsa.

Thanks for the excellent review!! As a fan of dark rides (especially the old ones) and water based ones I was hoping it was just the maelstrom loss, and frozen hatred that made people dislike it.

 

[pax_65]

Thanks for the excellent review!! As a fan of dark rides (especially the old ones) and water based ones I was hoping it was just the maelstrom loss, and frozen hatred that made people dislike it.

I actually LIKE Frozen. In fact we own the Blu-Ray and watched it after we got home. The characters are cute and the songs are great. Granted it's more of a kid's movie but I think it's really very well done overall.

Maybe the attraction would have been better if they tried to tell the story of Frozen (kind of like the old Snow White did, and like Mermaid tries unsuccessfully to do). I dunno.

We laughed when we got the ride photo from Frozen, we all had this confused look on our faces like "What the heck is this?"

 

[ppete1975]

I actually LIKE Frozen. In fact we own the Blu-Ray and watched it after we got home. The characters are cute and the songs are great. Granted it's more of a kid's movie but I think it's really very well done overall.

Maybe the attraction would have been better if they tried to tell the story of Frozen (kind of like the old Snow White did, and like Mermaid tries unsuccessfully to do). I dunno.

We laughed when we got the ride photo from Frozen, we all had this confused look on our faces like "What the heck is this?"

As a 43 year old male I have to admit I like it to. I went in to the theaters with friends with little girls and I was expecting to hate it, but was pleasantly surprised the animation is beautiful and I liked the story. I didn't like the short in front of coco though (another movie I didn't think id like but was blown away by)

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

As a 43 year old male I have to admit I like it to. I went in to the theaters with friends with little girls and I was expecting to hate it, but was pleasantly surprised the animation is beautiful and I liked the story. I didn't like the short in front of coco though (another movie I didn't think id like but was blown away by)

Did anyone like that short? My daughter asked me when it was going to be over when we went to Coco (I too didn't have high expectations for Coco and I liked it a lot).

 

[Musical Mermaid]

I agree with you about Future World in Epcot. I even did the Pixar 3d thing, which I’ve never done, and now I see why. Spaceship Earth still manages to crop my face weird for the end. I went last week for the Flower & Garden and to be honest, I was expecting more after I had a really good time at Festival of the Arts. For the 25th anniversary, it seems like they could have put a little more effort into it.

The good: I loved the cheesecake and ice cream from the Honey Beestro, need the recipe asap. This booth was set up really well too. The tea tour in the U.K. was informative and best of all, free. I also took some time to hang out in the Seas pavilion. I usually skip the ride and go through the shop entrance. They were feeding the animals, which I’ve never seen before and I thought they did a great job at explaining everything. The air conditioning was also terrific in the pavilion.

 

[slappy magoo]

Some of the animatronics are pretty good. But the whole thing feels really forced. They kept the existing ride and just overlayed Frozen on it. So when you make that initial climb (where you used to stare into the eye) there is really nothing happening. Then Elsa pushes you backward (for reasons that aren't exactly clear) and THEN you are face-to-face with the giant snowman. It would have worked better if the snowman said "Go away" and threw you backward - but I'm sure they wanted Elsa to have more ride time. The story is basically nonexistent (I guess Elsa is having a snow day? Not exactly sure.)

Bottom line, if they were going to replace Maelstrom (and yes, I wish they didn't), they should have started over with a brand-new ride. I know Frozen remains very popular among kids but at a time last weekend when Epcot was very busy the ride only had a 10-minute wait. There is no reason to ride this thing more than once unless you're 4 years old and love Anna and Elsa.

I get the complaint, and my biggest beef is I think the most common and most obvious - Norway is not Arendelle (sp?). It's great that it's inspired by Norway but honestly, those characters were so popular, they could have made a ride about Anna/Elsa/Kristof/Olaf going to visit their nearby neighbor Norway and it still would have been a success.