Yet Another Review of 8 Days In WDW w/PICS!

[boilerbabe]

Loved Day 2 Len!!! You guys really got alot in, geez! Very impressive! I have to say, the intensity is building for the pictures now!

How would you compare MSEP to Spectro? It's hard for me to remember MSEP anymore?! And I agree, the Jib slide at Stormalong Bay is AWESOME! I lost count as to how many times we went on last Dec.

Day 3, Day 3, Day 3!!!

[Len90]

Loved Day 2 Len!!! You guys really got alot in, geez! Very impressive! I have to say, the intensity is building for the pictures now!

How would you compare MSEP to Spectro? It's hard for me to remember MSEP anymore?! And I agree, the Jib slide at Stormalong Bay is AWESOME! I lost count as to how many times we went on last Dec.

Day 3, Day 3, Day 3!!!

Wow I was sitting around all night trying to get the name of the slide. That was what held day 2 from being posted. I finally just gave in and posted it without the name of the slide. I honestly liked Spectro better than MSEP, but it is still a really fun parade. The music is catchy and does get you wanting to start dancing. They are comparable but I honestly think MSEP needs a total refurbishment since I found it to be unreliable. I have seen Spectro numerous times over the years and never witnessed a breakdown. This would not be the only time I would see a MSEP mishap.

Pictures are being worked on and I hope to have them going within a week or so.

Madeye: you were right and I loved watching all the people sitting out in the heat at 7:30 when we entered the park and darted to Adventureland.

Amy: I'll try getting a picture of the tow tractor up for you to see it.

Mindflipper: There was sooooo much to do that a lot had to crammed. I am starting to think that 8 days might not be enough time. Thanks for keeping to the promise

[MmeLeota]

Great trip report so far Len!!!

[mindflipper]

I honestly liked Spectro better than MSEP, but it is still a really fun parade. The music is catchy and does get you wanting to start dancing. They are comparable but I honestly think MSEP needs a total refurbishment since I found it to be unreliable. I have seen Spectro numerous times over the years and never witnessed a breakdown. This would not be the only time I would see a MSEP mishap.

When Disney transplants there always seems to be snafus - like when the MSEP went to NYC years back for the premiere of Hercules (and got retitled Hercules Electrical Parde). As they went down the streets of NYC, the Pinnochio float lost power.

You have to remember there have been lots of advancements in lighting between MSEP and Spectro. It's not fair to compare both without taking that into account. Now, if you want something that's more comparable to Spectro in lighting techniques with the same music they're using now for the MSEP (I actually like to call it DEP - Disney's Electrical Parade - because the change of soundtrack does change the parade), then you really need to check out Tokyo Disneyland's Electrical Parade DREAMLIGHTS. Dreamlights outdoes Spectro. The giant Chesire Cat, the flashy Inchworm, and with more updated movies such as Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Monsters Inc. Look it up on YouTube.

[Len90]

The lighting I believe has been redone on MSEP since it has begun. However, there will be one more occurrence in the Trip Report with MSEP not going off smoothly. I will look that up tonight when I have more time.

Well Day 3 is now ready. I apologize about the length, but I did run it by a family member or two and they found it an enjoyable read. So without further ado, here is Day 3:

Day 3: It always seems to be the worst morning to wake up on a Disney vacation. Your feet ache from all the walking and you actually get the thought of staying in bed and sleeping in. However, this was not the vacation for lying in bed and resting. This morning would start out like most of our mornings during the stay would be. We would eat breakfast at 10:00 at the Captain’s Grille and then head over to the pool immediately following breakfast. Of course due to some slight over indulging at the buffet, the water slide would be put on hold for the first 20-30 minutes of pool time. However, once that had passed, it was off to the slide we went. It is really an exhausting trip to get up to the top of the slide. You have to leave the pool complex, walk across the main walkway and towards the beach and water. You then have to climb about 46 steps to get to the top. I will say that the descent is a lot quicker, less exhausting, but more intense. The slide was recently waxed in May and really ran smooth and fast.

After the pool it was back to the room for a quick shower and to get ready for Hollywood Studios. I was personally very excited since we were going to see the Block Party Bash parade and it was sunny outside with zero chance of rain. It would be the first time we got to see the complete parade with the acrobatics and all. Our friendship ride over was nice and peaceful. However I did notice that the boats were not in very good shape and needed a major refurbishment once again. Friendship II was discolored on the bottom and was actually burning something from one of the engines. Every time it would change direction or accelerate a glob of thick gray smoke would rise from the water. A couple of other boats were in need of new paint jobs where they would actually just scrape the boats down to the metal, then prime and paint. However, most people probably don’t even notice those small little things like we (repeat guests who analyze every small detail). None the less I still loved the smell of the friendships and the enjoyable boat ride to DHS.

Once we got to DHS it was about 30 minutes before parade time and it was a hot one. The temperature was in the lower – mid 90’s and it felt like a lot more when you add in the humidity. There was no need to worry about getting a good spot for the parade since nobody was camping out for one in this heat in advance. We headed down to a spot where I knew the Toy Story car would stop right in front of us. I had decided to go here since we had heard the parade now featured Lotso bear and Potato head. They ended up replacing Bo Peep and Jesse from previous years. The spot we picked was perfect for getting pictures of Lotso and Woody. However, it was not the best in getting a view of the acrobatic portion of the show. That has always been one of my least favorite things about this parade. You really don’t get to see everything as you either get the characters or the trampolines. Mark and I ended up joining in for the audience participation in dancing. I personally thought our dance moves were just as good as the performers. We watched the entire parade pass by following the show and decided to not follow it to catch the second show. It was just too hot to stand out there and watch the parade. I honestly have no idea how the performers can do their entire routine in that heat. They were dripping after the first show stop.

After the parade it was off to take care of Midway Mania. The wait times for this were not drastic at all this year around. Fastpasses were still gone early on, but the wait time was around 40 minutes. I enjoyed the upgrade for the attraction and was happy to see some Toy Story 3 characters incorporated in the attraction. I also enjoyed the new update with the scoring to show the best in vehicle. I was proud to see I had set the vehicle high with a 160,000. However I would get better on future rides and even suffer an injury due to my efforts! I ended up missing high score for the hour by 3,000 points, but nonetheless it was a great feeling knowing that I beat my family and 4 other strangers! Following Midway Mania we decided to head over to the Lotso Meet and Greet at the Animation Courtyard. We usually skipped this portion of the park, but were glad we didn’t. Inside the area is the only place you can meet Sorcerer Mickey who I was really excited to meet. Also present in the area are Mr. and Mrs. Incredible. In addition to these standard characters they also feature a number of surprise characters. We ended up hanging around for about 45 minutes to an hour and got to meet: Pinocchio, Tweedledee and Tweedledum (my brothers), Goofy, Minnie, Pluto, Mr. Penguin, Jafar, Mr. Snee, Stitch, and a Green Army Man. It was an amazing place to meet a lot of characters and we were glad we decided to go there. The area is air-conditioned and was a great way to escape the heat and see characters with minimum wait times. We also stopped off at the One Man’s Dream to see the stuff on display there before heading off to dinner at Prime Time.

I always get extremely excited walking into Prime Time Café. Especially since this time I was once again going in as a man with a plan. Immediately after checking in I knew the first stop would be the Men’s room. I took note of everything once again and even snapped a picture of the soap to prove I washed up. We were seated in a timely fashion and we once again got our favorite server, Uncle Tim. We walk into a room that was kind of starting to warm up to the idea of the restaurant. For those unfamiliar, the servers will yell at you and “punish” you for poor manners or bad eating habits if they have the correct crowd. Our server was already playing with another table and after a while sent one of their members to sit next to me. Apparently she was going to have to get to know me since we are both going to be the troublemakers… I had just walked in and already there was a good remembrance of my performance from the previous year.

First test I got was the usual did you wash up. I aced that one, except the server kept going until I got the color wrong on the walls! I had even showed my picture with proof, but that was not good enough. I made sure to be very disobedient during dinner with elbows on the table, talking with my mouth open, and being just pure annoying. Finally Uncle Tim had enough and decided to take drastic action. He pulled the girl from the other table who was misbehaving out and had her join me for a duet. We were going to have to put on a good show for this one. Luckily she was just as good a sport as I was. After taking requests from the rest of the dining room, it was agreed that the Hokey Pokey would be the song of choice. I will say that we got the restaurant noisy, but that would be an understatement. We had people poking their heads in from the other rooms to watch and our entire area was singing along as we danced the hokey pokey. YES there is video of this grand event and it will be posted as soon as it sized down to be uploaded. It was one of the most enjoyable shows ever put on at Prime Time and it felt great to be the cause of it.

After dinner, Hollywood Studios was closed so my brother and I walked back to the resort while the parents took the friendship. It ends up being quicker to walk it and my brother and I made sure to not jog and walked at an average pace. We ended the night with a trip to the Orlando Premium Outlets where my brother and I ended up buying a ton of stuff that cost almost nothing. Next up is Day 4, which would start out with a trip to 1900 Park Fare. Yes, the Hatter and I were going to be together in one room!

Day 3 Pictures: http://s885.photobucket.com/albums/ac53 ... 20Day%203/

[mindflipper]

Great report Len90! Can't wait to see the pics! No complaints!

**cough**pics!***cough**pics!**cough!

[boilerbabe]

I loved Day 3 Len! I cannot wait to see your performance at Prime Time!!!

[MadEye]

The lighting I believe has been redone on MSEP since it has begun. However, there will be one more occurrence in the Trip Report with MSEP not going off smoothly. I will look that up tonight when I have more time.

First test I got was the usual did you wash up. I aced that one, except the server kept going until I got the color wrong on the walls! I had even showed my picture with proof, but that was not good enough. I made sure to be very disobedient during dinner with elbows on the table, talking with my mouth open, and being just pure annoying. Finally Uncle Tim had enough and decided to take drastic action. He pulled the girl from the other table who was misbehaving out and had her join me for a duet. We were going to have to put on a good show for this one. Luckily she was just as good a sport as I was. After taking requests from the rest of the dining room, it was agreed that the Hokey Pokey would be the song of choice. I will say that we got the restaurant noisy, but that would be an understatement. We had people poking their heads in from the other rooms to watch and our entire area was singing along as we danced the hokey pokey. YES there is video of this grand event and it will be posted as soon as it sized down to be uploaded. It was one of the most enjoyable shows ever put on at Prime Time and it felt great to be the cause of it.

After dinner, Hollywood Studios was closed so my brother and I walked back to the resort while the parents took the friendship. It ends up being quicker to walk it and my brother and I made sure to not jog and walked at an average pace.

Yes, they redid the lights when they unloaded the trucks after MSEP (or DEP if you prefer) made it to WDW.

Len... I've been wanting to get back to 50's Prime Time for a while but now I'm freaking craving it!!! Thanks...

And I have to agree on it being faster to walk than use the friendships. Of course, it depends on the CM(s) piloting the friendships and how fast (or slow) any straggler guests can be but you can make good time when they are at the docks.

[mindflipper]

And I have to agree on it being faster to walk than use the friendships. Of course, it depends on the CM(s) piloting the friendships and how fast (or slow) any straggler guests can be but you can make good time when they are at the docks.

Also depends upon how tired you from walking all day at the parks too...young legs, yes, it may be faster; but older legs, not necessarily so...

[disneydreamer58]

Reading your trip reports make me wanna go soooo badly!!!! To WDW that is, not the restroom! sounds wonderful so far. And I agree, I really wanna see the electric slide you did

[kcarts]

Great report! Never too long. I thought the same thing when I was writing mine, but the more detail the better!

Going back to day 2, I agree with the Future World/Innoventions music. Love that. Unfortunately when I was down there in January, they were still playing Christmas music. I only heard the Innoventions music my last day. I sat there for a good half hour listening to the music and soaking in the atmosphere. I wanted to have a flashback when listening on here. I still get taken back to sitting on a bench in Future World that cool day in January.

Looking forward to more!

[Amy]

Following Midway Mania we decided to head over to the Lotso Meet and Greet at the Animation Courtyard. We usually skipped this portion of the park, but were glad we didn’t. Inside the area is the only place you can meet Sorcerer Mickey who I was really excited to meet.

I didn't know Sorcerer Mickey was available for meet and greets! I might have to check that out on the next visit!
I think we might have to hit the 50's Prime Time too ~ that sounds like a blast! And I'll have no trouble misbehaving and performing

Also depends upon how tired you from walking all day at the parks too...young legs, yes, it may be faster; but older legs, not necessarily so...

So true Hoping I still own a pair of young legs if we get to go this year

[Future Guy]

Enjoying the trip report, Len! Sounds like you had a great time at Prime Time, but we need video. And holy Christmas, you walked all the way from the Studios to your resort? Oh well, when I was young and skinny I guess I could have done that, too. 1990s, how I miss thee.

[NaCler]

Great job Len. Can't wait for the Mad Hatter story that has so cleverly been hinted at...

[MadEye]

Also depends upon how tired you from walking all day at the parks too...young legs, yes, it may be faster; but older legs, not necessarily so...

Well, it isn't like you are running a marathon.

If I remember correctly (and Len can confirm or not) there are benches along the path. Not to mention you can stop and rest. There are no signs that say "Just keep walking. Just keep walking."

And holy Christmas, you walked all the way from the Studios to your resort? Oh well, when I was young and skinny I guess I could have done that, too. 1990s, how I miss thee.

Thats nothing. Try walking from Epcot to MGM and vice versa.