HULK BACK!
HULK WANT TO PLAY!
My play style will be a little limited for the foreseeable future, as I’ve been without WiFi or a computer since November (don’t ask). Even so, I’d still enjoy getting back into the spirit of this community.
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Living room or bedroom??
World of Motion = Bedroom
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As promised!!!
For those unaware, Tegan’s Top 4 is simply an open discussion where we list our, well, top 4 favorites of a specific topic as dictated by Tegan. (Ha! That’s me!)
Our first topic will be:
Your top 4 favorite (current) attractions that are unique to one park!
As per tradition, I shall lead off!
4. Radiator Springs Racers - sometimes modern imagineering hits a total home run. This is one of those occasions for me. It’s incredibly well themed, has a decent ride time, and is thrilling enough, while not being super intense, to appeal to pretty much everyone. I wanted to include 7DMT but I think RSR’s length just edges it over into 4th place.
3. Alice in Wonderland - just narrowly topping Mr Toad and Peter Pan for title of my favorite Fantasyland dark ride. I absolutely love that it’s two stories and had the little outdoor section. Plus I adore the film.
2. Spaceship Earth - it’s the icon of my favorite park. I feel like I HAVE to put it first on my list, but my favorite attraction of all time just beats it. While it needs a little TLC, it’s still a wonderful experience and must do on every trip.
1. Living With The Land - if I could only ride one ride for the rest of my life, it would be this. My favorite attraction of all time, any park, any era. It’s classic EPCOT at its absolute best!
Top 4 unique attractions:
4
. Velocicoaster - Islands of Adventure
Even minus the theming, it would still be a Top 5 coaster for me. Add that theming, the setting, rock work, all that, and it’s the perfect fusion of regional park thrills with theme park immersion. Just ignore anyone who dismisses exposed coaster track out of hand. Velocicoaster is what got me to finally visit Orlando, and it was my most-ridden attraction. Endlessly reridable, with a lovely integration of layout & coaster elements & story. Leaping over the paddock wall and running free across the lagoon is a transcendent moment.
3
. Pirates of the Caribbean: Battle for the Sunken Treasure - Shanghai Disneyland
This ride justifies Shanghai Disneyland. It sees modern Imagineering perfecting the high-tech screen dark ride format, and marrying that with inspiration from the very best dark ride from old school WED. Endlessly reridable, always a crucial factor. Between a long ride time and a monstrously high rider throughput and reliable effects, it’s one of Disney most purely functional recent rides. Better than the movies, too.
2
. Journey to the Center of the Earth - Tokyo DisneySea
The experience begins from the moment you pass under Hotel MiraCosta and first glimpse Mount Prometheus, and the experience simply builds and builds as you slowly approach the volcano, enter its fissures, and descend ever further beneath the earth’s crust…and all that’s before the queue! A perfect marriage of the Test Track slot car tech with immaculate place-making throughout, this is at the very core of what makes DisneySea such an excellent destination.
1.
Steel Vengeance - Cedar Point
It’s hard to argue with a pure thrill machine done this well. Sure it’s basically unthemed, but that’s like saying music needs lyrics to be worthwhile. The physical ride sensation alone is a symphony of adrenaline, with all the rising tension, excellent pacing, and distinct movements of a musical masterpiece. Beautiful just to look at as a wood & steel behemoth, intimidating to approach, playful in its pre-lift, suspenseful on the climb up, then terror transforms into bliss in a never ending series of wild, varied, creative, ludicrous elements. (This is a tossup slot which could also easily go to Iron Gwazi.)
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I hope everyone had a wonderful and restful weekend!!! Happy Easter and Happy Passover to all who celebrate!!
For today’s question, we’re gonna be listing our top 4 favorite dining locations. These can be within the parks, or resorts, or elsewhere on property (Disney Springs, Downtown Disney, etc).
Honorable mention to Maya Grill at Coronado Springs Resort. It’s a nicely themed Mexican restaurant with delicious food and phenomenal beverages. This was in my top 4 until my most recent visit.
4. Sci-fi Drive In - Disney’s Hollywood Studios
For me, this is one of the best themed dining experiences anywhere. Experiences like this are part of what helps me view the Eisner era with such reverence. There is a fantastic attention to detail, and this is one of the increasingly rare relics from the early years of the park.
3. Teppan Edo - EPCOT
Japan is at the top of my list of countries I most want to visit. In the meantime, we have the Japan pavilion. This is such a wonderfully immersive experience. Firstly, the pavilion itself is absolutely gorgeous. But perhaps the coolest part is that your party is seated at the grill as your chef prepares your meal right in front of you! So much fun! Also get ready for a pattern.
2. Garden Grill - EPCOT
Living With The Land is my favorite attraction ever. The Behind the Seeds Tour offers guests an up close look at the attractions greenhouses, but I always wish I could spend more time inside the ride’s opening show scenes. The Garden Grill restaurant offers that opportunity! That is the main reason this place is so high on my list. But the food is wonderful too! And like the Sunshine Seasons food court, it’s made with food grown in the ride! Quintessential EPCOT right here!
1. Space 220 - EPCOT
Everything about this place is incredible. By far the most story-driven dining experience at EPCOT, rich with detail, and incredibly immersive, I fell in love with this place from the moment I first walked into its doors. The food was exceptional, the drinks were otherworldly, and honestly some theming elements felt inspired by Metroid. It’s everything I could ever want!
I like food, I like theme parks, but theme park food mostly stinks. As a child growing up in Southern California theme parks, the best dining option was always “leave, go to the nearest In ‘n’ Out.” As an adult traveling abroad, the best option is now “leave, go back to Tokyo / Paris / Hong Kong / Shanghai, their food kicks butt.” So here’s the theme park dining I
do like, with convenience being my biggest priority.
4.
Prime Time Diner - Disney Hollywood Studios
My favorite overall meal from my one-and-only Orlando trip must make the cut. (Sci-Fi Dine-In would likely beat it out had I managed reservations.) As a thematic concept, dinner in grandma’s kitchen works much better in person than on paper, with big kudos to the in-character servers. Their all-American comfort food menu, while unambitious, was far more successful e.g. the timid, watered-down international food of World Showcase. (I wish WDW dining were easier to do overall without extensive preplanning, since they seem to excel generally with quality and quality.)
3.
Carthay Circle Lounge - Disney California Adventure
Back in my pre-pandemic passholder days of commando marathoning Disneyland and DCA in a single day, this was always my fallback option for a midday break when I needed to cool down, rest, and grab a drink. Yes, there was a limited menu too, culled from the (very good) Carthay Circle Restaurant upstairs. I could always do this without planning or a long wait, so I did it often…so often in fact that the bartenders knew me by name. In a Disney park! That’s a rare personal connection which makes this a favorite.
2.
Mrs. Knott’s Chicken Dinner Restaurant - Knott’s Berry Farm
The restaurant so good, they had to build a theme park around it simply to entertain people waiting for a table. Nowadays, this sits conveniently just beyond the Knott’s park gates, it too offering a simple midday respite from the crowds and heat with little muss, fuss, or preplanning needed. Good fried chicken, scrumptious biscuits with jam, a wide drink assortment, just a winning comfort food venue. Best of all is the attached bakery. I never leave Knott’s at day’s end without picking up a fresh boysenberry pie to bring home to friends or family.
1. Trader Sam’s Enchanted Tiki Bar - Disneyland Hotel
My favorite end-of-day spot, when you’re through with the parks but you’re not ready to go home or abandon their atmosphere. Pound-for-pound, the interior is the most dense with theming of anyplace I know. The overall vibe is both very classically Disneyland while also paying tribute to L.A.‘s mostly defunct mid-century tiki culture. Crowds are a problem, unless you’re a local and you know how to outflank ‘em - a trick I couldn’t pull off with WDW’s Grog Grotto. The tropical cocktails and Hawaiian grub are a little tacky, but in a nice way which fits Trader Sam’s wacky atmosphere.
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