JJHale
Active Member
Ok ... finally have enough time away from work and unpacking to post a report. This is my first trip report, I'll do my best.
Took the Autotrain (1st time). Relaxing trip, but due to heat and signal problems we didn't arrive until about noon. Picked up the truck and headed to Port Orleans Riverside. Room was ready, checked in and headed to MK.
First ... Riverside. Still absolutely beautiful. Every time we stay there I am astounded by the place. Stayed in Aligator Bayou. Very cozy and rather private for such a large resort. Room was clean and in great shape. Definitely up to WDW standards. Lobby building and food court were great, the theming is remarkable. I could go on ...
PARKS: Magic Kingdom - Crowds were actually lighter than expected. MK never disapoints us. Don't mean to sound mushy but, you can still fell Walt's touch every where you turn. Rode the major attractions Splash, Space and Big Thunder. Big Thunder seemed a bit "faster" than previous trips. We allways rode the last car but it still seemed to be a notch higher on the intensity scale. Is that possible? Perhaps I was just thrilled to be there. Jungle Cruise was great, had a good "guide", we picked on each other the whole cruise. POTC - kinda miss the old "non-PC" version but it still one of my favorites. HM - For some reason we rode this more than anything the whole trip, at least 8 times (lines were short even during the day). My daughter and I noticed that there are 160 Doom Buggies in the ride (details, details). The new tombstone is cool, a couple of people jumped and screamed when Madam Leotta opened her eyes! FUN! HoTP - Pres. Bush speech is good. Attraction always moving, especially this year. Took in e-ride on the 20th and 23rd. mostly Splash, BTM and HM on the 20th, stayed in Tomorrowland on the 23rd. Always a fun night. Main Street Bakery is a late night must for everyone.
MGM Studios - Our favorite park. First, the hat. Didn't find it as annoying as I expected. Very bright and colorful. Covers TGMR but that attraction wasn't really visible from the front of the park anyway. BTW, rode GMR several times. I don't understand people who trash this ride. I have ridden it countless times and it still entertains me. This is a movie them park and this ride is about the movies! Perhaps a couple of the choices are questionable (Aliens?) but all in all it is a great attraction. We did look for and see the R2 hyroglyph, rode in the very back and watched for the cast member to appear as we left the "jewel" scene. saw them! Star Tours - sentimental favorite, don't care if the technology is dated, this ride is FUN. Rode several times with first timers, the sqeals of delight convince me that this attraction is still great. MV3D - wonderful, preshow is the BEST! Indy - maybe a little dated. Show is entertaining (and looks like some new hardware) but it might be my choice for a major overhaul or replacement. TOT - What can you say, the best attraction at WDW. The detail is amazing, I could explore the lobby and library for hours. The ride is fun, the effects amazing. It did seem as if the drop sequence changed from ride to ride (8 or so times over 3 days) Is it a random sequence now? RNRC - Second favorite attraction. Second most fun you can have in the dark. I love the alley, and the launch is pure adrenaline rush. Saw Fantasmic, a jaw dropping show. During our show the Beauty and the Beast barge went out of control and came to rest against the side of the lagoon by the audience! Quick recovery and the show went on! (And by the way, IMO Stitch is knida cute on the Empire State Building). Wonderful Theme Park!!!
Epcot - Spent more time here than usual. explored World Showcase and sampled a LOT of food (burp!) Only bummer of the trip, My wife's wallet went missing in Japan and never resurfaced. Fortunately she carried little cash and the Trav Checks and Cards were quickly replaced (Thank you AMEX). We enjoyed Futureworld, (Everyone, take the single rider line for TT!!!) Energy, The Land (another big burp), SE and the Living Seas are fun. Passed on WOL. I'm always reluctant to go to Epcot but once I am there I enjoy it just as much as any other park. I just think it just needs better PR.
Animal Kingdom - Spent one full day there. This is an amazing theme park. I am in awe of it every time I go there. The diversity of the animals, the detail of the theming, all make for a unique experience. Safari - we were fortunate, the animals were pretty active, even in the heat. Good views of the lions and cheetahs. Jungle trek - Tigers were beautiful, gorrilas were very active, had one follow our group for a long ways thru the trail. He would stop every minute or so and turn like he was posing! Wow. Dinosaur - great thrill ride. Fun theme. Passed on river rapids, rode it before, I find it too wet and a bit boring for a "rapids" type ride. Lines were very long for that anyway. TTBAB - always a hoot! I'm amazed by the number of people who ignore the warnings about loud noises and bugs who leave the theatre complaining loudly. Pay Attention! Loved Festival of the Lion King.
The new Dino-Rama area - I liked it! Primeivel Whorl was a lot of fun. A wild mouse on steroids. I can see where it is not for everyone but we all enjoyed it. IMO the whole area is a nice diversion. Overall a very enjoyable day.
Saw CIrque du Soleil - I can only say that all three of us were astounded. This was the highlight of a very fun trip. I have now taken to searching the Cirque web site for the traveling shows!
Overall impression - WDW is still the most wonderful place I know of. I am in my mid 40's, never grew up and I instantly become a kid again the moment I walk thru the gates (and my doesn't mind it either!) The cast members are still the best. The parks are just as clean as they were 10 years ago. Customer service is still king. I have already started bugging my wife about when we can go again! Sorry for the extremely long post. I have a lot more to say (including a couple of days at Universal) but I'll post that later! Thanks for your patience everyone!
Took the Autotrain (1st time). Relaxing trip, but due to heat and signal problems we didn't arrive until about noon. Picked up the truck and headed to Port Orleans Riverside. Room was ready, checked in and headed to MK.
First ... Riverside. Still absolutely beautiful. Every time we stay there I am astounded by the place. Stayed in Aligator Bayou. Very cozy and rather private for such a large resort. Room was clean and in great shape. Definitely up to WDW standards. Lobby building and food court were great, the theming is remarkable. I could go on ...
PARKS: Magic Kingdom - Crowds were actually lighter than expected. MK never disapoints us. Don't mean to sound mushy but, you can still fell Walt's touch every where you turn. Rode the major attractions Splash, Space and Big Thunder. Big Thunder seemed a bit "faster" than previous trips. We allways rode the last car but it still seemed to be a notch higher on the intensity scale. Is that possible? Perhaps I was just thrilled to be there. Jungle Cruise was great, had a good "guide", we picked on each other the whole cruise. POTC - kinda miss the old "non-PC" version but it still one of my favorites. HM - For some reason we rode this more than anything the whole trip, at least 8 times (lines were short even during the day). My daughter and I noticed that there are 160 Doom Buggies in the ride (details, details). The new tombstone is cool, a couple of people jumped and screamed when Madam Leotta opened her eyes! FUN! HoTP - Pres. Bush speech is good. Attraction always moving, especially this year. Took in e-ride on the 20th and 23rd. mostly Splash, BTM and HM on the 20th, stayed in Tomorrowland on the 23rd. Always a fun night. Main Street Bakery is a late night must for everyone.
MGM Studios - Our favorite park. First, the hat. Didn't find it as annoying as I expected. Very bright and colorful. Covers TGMR but that attraction wasn't really visible from the front of the park anyway. BTW, rode GMR several times. I don't understand people who trash this ride. I have ridden it countless times and it still entertains me. This is a movie them park and this ride is about the movies! Perhaps a couple of the choices are questionable (Aliens?) but all in all it is a great attraction. We did look for and see the R2 hyroglyph, rode in the very back and watched for the cast member to appear as we left the "jewel" scene. saw them! Star Tours - sentimental favorite, don't care if the technology is dated, this ride is FUN. Rode several times with first timers, the sqeals of delight convince me that this attraction is still great. MV3D - wonderful, preshow is the BEST! Indy - maybe a little dated. Show is entertaining (and looks like some new hardware) but it might be my choice for a major overhaul or replacement. TOT - What can you say, the best attraction at WDW. The detail is amazing, I could explore the lobby and library for hours. The ride is fun, the effects amazing. It did seem as if the drop sequence changed from ride to ride (8 or so times over 3 days) Is it a random sequence now? RNRC - Second favorite attraction. Second most fun you can have in the dark. I love the alley, and the launch is pure adrenaline rush. Saw Fantasmic, a jaw dropping show. During our show the Beauty and the Beast barge went out of control and came to rest against the side of the lagoon by the audience! Quick recovery and the show went on! (And by the way, IMO Stitch is knida cute on the Empire State Building). Wonderful Theme Park!!!
Epcot - Spent more time here than usual. explored World Showcase and sampled a LOT of food (burp!) Only bummer of the trip, My wife's wallet went missing in Japan and never resurfaced. Fortunately she carried little cash and the Trav Checks and Cards were quickly replaced (Thank you AMEX). We enjoyed Futureworld, (Everyone, take the single rider line for TT!!!) Energy, The Land (another big burp), SE and the Living Seas are fun. Passed on WOL. I'm always reluctant to go to Epcot but once I am there I enjoy it just as much as any other park. I just think it just needs better PR.
Animal Kingdom - Spent one full day there. This is an amazing theme park. I am in awe of it every time I go there. The diversity of the animals, the detail of the theming, all make for a unique experience. Safari - we were fortunate, the animals were pretty active, even in the heat. Good views of the lions and cheetahs. Jungle trek - Tigers were beautiful, gorrilas were very active, had one follow our group for a long ways thru the trail. He would stop every minute or so and turn like he was posing! Wow. Dinosaur - great thrill ride. Fun theme. Passed on river rapids, rode it before, I find it too wet and a bit boring for a "rapids" type ride. Lines were very long for that anyway. TTBAB - always a hoot! I'm amazed by the number of people who ignore the warnings about loud noises and bugs who leave the theatre complaining loudly. Pay Attention! Loved Festival of the Lion King.
The new Dino-Rama area - I liked it! Primeivel Whorl was a lot of fun. A wild mouse on steroids. I can see where it is not for everyone but we all enjoyed it. IMO the whole area is a nice diversion. Overall a very enjoyable day.
Saw CIrque du Soleil - I can only say that all three of us were astounded. This was the highlight of a very fun trip. I have now taken to searching the Cirque web site for the traveling shows!
Overall impression - WDW is still the most wonderful place I know of. I am in my mid 40's, never grew up and I instantly become a kid again the moment I walk thru the gates (and my doesn't mind it either!) The cast members are still the best. The parks are just as clean as they were 10 years ago. Customer service is still king. I have already started bugging my wife about when we can go again! Sorry for the extremely long post. I have a lot more to say (including a couple of days at Universal) but I'll post that later! Thanks for your patience everyone!
, Timekeeper and COP (of course) and a real bummer - Casey's (the hot dog place at the end of Mainstreet) was closed for refurb. I REALLY wanted a hot dog from there one night and was really upset. That place is a tradidtion just like the bakery!