Trip Report 7/1-7/8/06

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

Hey all, so I just got back in last night from a week down in WDW. It was the first trip that I planned and my bestfriend and girlfriend were accompanying me.

Day 1 - We landed in Orlando around 10:20 or so and got our rental car and called our off property time share to see when we could check in. They told us not until 2:00PM at the earliest so we decided to go and pick up our Disney tickets which we ordered online. Our first attempt was to go to the Polynesian and park and then go over to the TTC to get the tickets but we got lost a number of times and when we finally got to the Poly, my friend accidently drove straight through the parking lot and out of the gate on the other side, so instead of going all the way out and around we just decided to try Downtown Disney. We had planned on going to DisneyQuest that evening so we tried to just pick up the tickets at the DQ ticketbox, but after waiting for about 15 minutes in the heat the ticket agent told us he couldn't print them and we had to go to guest services. We got our tickets there and then headed over to the Marketplace and did a little shopping/looking and ate lunch at the Earl of Sandwich. It was my first time there and it was pretty good and reasonably priced. I really liked the super grilled cheese that my g/f got. By that time it was close enough that we drove back to the timeshare, checked in, dropped off the bags and changed. We then went back to DisneyQuest and played around for a while then ate at Bongos. There was a HUGE line out the door when we got there and we went up to the desk and asked how long for a seat; they told us an hour and a half to two hours. My friend really wanted to eat there so we got in line, and I ran over to a vendor and bought one of those WDW spray fans. It cost like 16 bucks! But I figured it was a souveneir and useful so I got it. I couldn't figure out how to make the strap bigger and brought it back and the CM accidently undid the entire strap and didn't know how to put it back together so she gave me a new one. By then we were just about to the desk, and when we got there they seated us right away after only the 20 minute line to the desk! They played good live Cuban music while we ate. We got two appetizers to split, the croquetas de jamon and some sort of eggroll type thing, both quite good. I got the churrasco which was good but not as good as I remembered - I definitely enjoyed it though. We were undecided about Pleasure Island that night but after the trip and dinner and everything we all decided to head back to the timeshare and call it a night.

(I'll edit the post gradually and post day by day! )

[horizons1]

Can't wait to hear the next installment!

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

7/2/2006 - Sunday

This was the day we went to the Universals. We had ordered the $50 1 day 2 park Express Passes online and bought 1 day 2 park tickets for $77.75. This was about $25 bucks more expensive net than just a 2 day 2 park - but for the extra $25 we basically gauranteed we'd see both parks and save a day for Disney. We started out in IOA at park opening. Our express pass was technically only good for one ride then it became null for that ride for the rest of the day. With that in mind we decided to try to ride as much as we could without using the pass. We started out by riding the Hulk with 0 wait time, then we re-rode it again still saving the Express pass. We then went to Spider Man, which my gf agreed was probably the best ride ever (Sorry, but I have to be honest - that ride rocks!) without using the Express pass. We then hussled on over to The Lost Continent and went to make reservations at Mythos then off to Dueling Dragons. There was NO ONE there and we basically walked onto the front row of both fire & ice dragons then re-rode them both by walking on to rear rows. We never ended up using the Express on those. From there we walked into Seuss Landing and rode the newly (I think?) opened Snitch ride. It's on that track that travels over Seuss Landing but since park opening was only used for little non-passanger cars for ambiance I suppose. It's sort of like the TTA in that you go through other show buildings/restaurants but it has a storyline about the starbellied snitches. We then went over to the Cat in the Hat and used our express passes to by pass the 15 minute line. From there we went off to go do the Poseidon walk through and watch the Sinbad show in Lost Continent. Sadly the Sinbad show got cancelled right before the finale due to approaching lightning so they just shot off all of the remaining pyro. We had a great lunch at Mythos, where we all got Fried Buffalo BBQ chicken wraps. I also got the shrimp tempura sushi. After lunch we went over to Dudley Do Right and Popeye over in the Toon Lagoon, then from there to Jurassic Park and got thoroughly soaked. From there it was back to go ride Hulk using the express pass to dry off a bit and then a re-ride of Spiderman. After that we walked over to Universal Studios and due to the random thunderstorms that day I suggested we do Jaws first before it got closed indefinitely. Once in Universal we used our Express Pass for everything. From Jaws we went and did MIB where we got really held up due to broken and full MANDATORY lockers for the ride. It took us 20+ minutes to get a locker for my backpack and with the Express Pass 2 to actually get on the ride. I got the highscore with almost 400,000 points and our car with my gf, best friend, and myself versus a full car on the other track won. We then headed over to Back to the Future where I met Doc Brown on his new bicycle time travel device, which was decked out with a Mr. Fusion and Flux Capacitor mounted on it! I asked him if he was able to get it up to 88 MPH and he admitted that's where the problem with his new invention was. After riding BTTF we went over to E.T. which was nice, but E.T. seems to be getting drunker and drunker when trying to say your names at the end. It was like "Eerrgewrgermmmererer" for all 6 passangers. From ET I believe we headed off to do Earthquake where both myself and my bestfriend got selected as volunteers along with a guy who has horrible body odor. We then enjoyed the always loveable Horror Makeup Show where the make up artist was even more offensive than any other I've ever seen. It was great! At one point he chucked a severed arm at the audience and the guy it was headed for started shrieking like a school girl with arm flailing that matched. After that we headed over to the Terminator 3D which we all loved. Then off to the Mummy which was great too. From there we all decided to go to Twister then try to rush over to Shrek 4D before the new Universal 360 show, unfortunately we missed getting into the last Shrek show prior to 360 by about 3 people. We ended up skipping both Shrek and Jimmy Neutron to go watch 360. The 360 is basically 3 giant sphere-like balloon floats in the middle of the little lagoon in Universal Studios which have highlights from Universal movies projected onto them. The show is billed much like Illuminations as a firework/laser effect show in addition to the movies but both lasers and pyro were very much minimal. In addition the ash from the close proximity fireworks literally rained down on us. It wasn't hot thankfully but it was definitely hitting us. It was a decent show but I would not recommend waiting around for it or sacrificing seeing other attractions for it. After the show ended the park closed and we headed back to the time share. To be continued!

[jrcohen]

I've heard great things about Spider-Man, is the ride really that great? Can you describe it a bit?

[horizons1]

Spider-Man is a fun ride. Nicely themed queue leading you through the offices of the Daily Bugle. You ride in what's basically a motion simulator on wheels. Not so much like Indy/Dinosaur but more like Star Tours as far as range of movement. Oh, plus spinning too.

You wear 3-D glasses and they do some great effects syncing the motion with some projected images to make you feel at one point like you're falling off a building. Very cool.

[jrcohen]

Sounds really cool. I'll have to get to Universal to check it out.

[AKLRULZ]

Nice report thus far. You've eaten at some of my favorites (Earls, Bongos, Mythos)!

I'll agree that Spiderman is truly a remarkable ride - I really like Universal and Islands of Adventure.

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

I've heard great things about Spider-Man, is the ride really that great? Can you describe it a bit?

The way I often describe Spiderman is one of those 4D movies on wheels. It's a dark ride, but in place of AA figures etc 3d images jump onto your car causing it to rock/shake etc. Real life explosions and water/heat effects are also involved and they really do a lot to make you feel like you're actually involved in a battle between Spiderman and some of his toughest villains (Doc Octopus, Hobgoblin, Hydroman, Electro, and some little known symbiote chick that was in the whole Total Carnage series)

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

Monday: 7/3/2006 - The Magic Kingdom.

This was the day I had been planning for for months in order to make sure we could get everything done. Due to an oversight though, this was the only park we weren't at the gate for park opening for Every other park pened at 9 am but MK had to be different and be 8 am.

We walked through the gates around 8:40 and went straight through the hub to get fastpasses for PeterPan. From there we headed to Frontierland to hit up both Splash and Big Thunder mountains. Both still had zero wait time so the arriving late didn't really hurt my schedule. By the time we were done with the double header of downhill delights our fastpasses still weren't ready, so we headed over to Adventure Land.

To my surprise, and happiness, PotC was re-opened! We rode it with no wait and I was pleased to see the changes hadn't really effected much. ***************************SPOILER ALERT****************************
They added a pretty awesome waterfall/Davey Jones effect in the initial cavern with the stalagmytes & tytes that you go through. It is the most realistic waterfall illusion effect I have ever seen! The boat in front of us was empty and as it passed through it looked like water was even splashing off of it! As you approach it Davey Jones' face appears in the water and mumurs something about being "daring" or something then you go through only to find that it's not even water vapor but only a light fog/smoke! They then changed the first actual pirate scene where the ship is bombarding the Spanish fort. Now it is Capt. Barbosa (although I didn't think it looked particularly like him) on the ship ordering the Spaniards to hand over Jack Sparrow. Likewise the scne with the dunking mayor and Capt. Hook & Mr. Smee they are now asking the mayor the whereabouts of Capt. Jack with a newly added Jack figure popping out of a nearby alley to survey the scene then glancing right at your boat as you pass. It looked really good but of the THREE Jacks it was the least impressive. (I have pics) Then the scene that was infamously changed due to feminist reactions - the pirate who used to be looking for the girl while holding her undergarments...then looking for treasure while holding a map with the girl still curiously there....now is trying to keep his map away from Sparrow only to have an extremely good Jack pop out of the barrel and sneak a peek at where X marks the spot. The final change was the final scene where they've removed the guards who were tied up and (sadly) the drunken pirates shooting barrels and replaced it with another excellent Jack figure rocking back in a heavy chair with the treasure rooms prizes all around him, one leg slung over the arm of the chair. He has an amazingly realistic parrot next to him on the table and Johnny Depp (I think) voices Jack here as he makes random humorous quips (such as to the parrot: "Oh my fine feathered friend, take a small trinket for yourself!.....JUST a small one!") and sings Yo-Ho. All in all the ride remains mostly unchanged except the final scene really (and a little sadly) but they really did an outstanding job on the Depp figures, they look incredibly like him.

From there we headed to Fantasy Land. Out fast passes still weren't ready so we started doing other attractions. We were actually able to walk onto Snow White's Scary Adventure, which my g/f was still a little scared of from her vague memories as a child, then into Phillharmagic which we all really enjoyed (although the CM there was already grouchy at around 10 am, not very common) and then into a 10 minute Pooh line. I never imagined we'd get so much done so fast - I thought 4th of July weekend would surely be more crowded. After Pooh we used our fastpasses to bypass the mere 20 minute Peter Pan line - it was my g/f fave at Disney as she loves Peter Pan.

From there we headed straight into Tomorrowland where we started encountering our first real lines. We grabbed a fastpass for Buzz's Space Ranger Spin and got in the 30 minute line for Space Mountain. My 17 dollar spray bottle paid off here My g/f and friend loved it, and although I think it's great too I don't think I can say it's one of my faves and never has been. After that I think we rode the TTA/WEDway which is always a great way to kill some time and enjoy Walt's old dreams. We used our fastpasses for Buzz after (I only made that Pilot rank I don't know where the super targets are!) and then grabbed one for Stitch's Great Escape. We went and waited in a long line to actually meet Stitch and take pics with him, although I've never seen the movie, and look like weirdos as the only group without a member under the age of 9, nevermind 18. Then we rode one of my faves, the Carrousel of Progress. I love Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow so much, it always puts me in a good mood.


<To be Continued!>

[AKLRULZ]

I cannot WAIT to ride POC with the enhancements.

[knedeau]

Wow! You sound like you had a BLAST at the MK! I can't wait to go!

[jrcohen]

The more I read it, the more I want to be there. Unfortunatly it'll be almost a year until I get to go again Althought Next Summer when Jen and I go for Epcot's 25th Annaversary we plan on spending at least a week. I can't wait!!!

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

7/3 cont.

After Carrousel it was time for our Stitch passes and I have to say I had mixed reactions to it. I loved AE but I did find Stitch to be somewhat entertaining. I was ultimately disappointed though as it's basically just a rehash of the old attraction, but now it just feels less realistic and somewhat slapped together. Whereas AE had the whole engineer walking the catwalks and everything and seemingly more realistic sensory (minus smell but I think that's a plus in this case) stimulus Stitch seemed a lot shorter and somewhat lacking in quality compared to AE. The Stitch figure was cool and so was that beam cannon thing, the chili dog smell was not. Why on Earth has Disney going away from pleasant smells (Horizons oranges, Figment's roses) and going to offensive smells (This, Fraudment's skunk smell, and ITTBAB's stink bug) ? Okay so Phillharmagic and Soarin' are both newer and have good smells but am I the only one who sees this sort of disturbing trend? Who really wants to be bombarded with offensive smells? It's Florida we already have to deal wit the startling large population who don't know what soap is yet walk around in the 90º+ temps in a tank top with their odor there for everyone.

Anyway, it wasn't as bad as I had read on other forums, but it still was a let down.

From Tomorrowland it was time to go get lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern. Before we got there though we ran over to Adventureland and picked up FPs for Jungle Cruise. At the LTT I had the roast beef sandwich with American cheese (I asked for that, how can it be a patriotic meal with SWISS?) and horseradish sauce which was very very good. My g/f and myself also split the mozarella sticks...and...blobs? They were also yummy. My g/f got the clam chowder as her meal and my friend got the burger and both enjoyed them. We caught the parade through our window onto the street....well I caught it, they both missed a lot of it as they both went to use the restrooms.

When we finished eating our FPs weren't ready yet and I had planned to walk right onto one of my all time faves, the Haunted Mansion.....it was a 45 minute wait!!? I've never seen the HM line go beyond the graveyard outside the foyer but this wound back out into the street in front of Colombia Harbor Houseand wound in and out by the ghost horse and funeral cab through where the defunct FP machines are and up and down those corral style railings. I couldn't believe it! It was the only snag in an otherwise outstanding (if I do say so myself ) schedule. I thought Small World would be better...and it was... only 30 minutes back out onto the street. These were my two aces, in conjucture with TTA, Hall of Presidents, and Carousel that I thought would be no more than 10 minutes each. Well, at least I was right on Hall so that's where we headed. I started to tear up during Lincoln's speech and my g/f thought that was funny, sweet, cute, and funny again as I rarely ever cry/shed tears. She would continue to mention the "Lincoln thing" for the rest of the trip.

When we got out of there we still had time so we headed on over to Jungle cruise and boarded. The highlight was the little boy who screamed he wanted to get wet over and over when the skipper asked, but didn't understand what our fearless captain was implying with "Then you better go to Splash Mountain." The ironic thing was when the elephants threatened to squirt us that little boy was doing everything in his power NOT to get wet! After Jungle Cruise we went on in to the Tiki Room, which although is cute seems so much shorter and so less musical than the original. Plus Gilbert Gottfried's shouting voice gets very annoying after...oh 3.2 seconds? After that we grabbed some dole floats which I love sooo much! and then had the grand opportunity of taking pictures with Friar Tuck and Prince John...why were they in Adventureland? I don't know! I guess because John's a lion? Who knows...

From there we had to bite the bullet and stand in the 45 min HM and 30 min IASW lines. IASW looks BEAUTIFUL! The colors are so vibrant now and the boat load is a lot more jazzed up! The old man loading was dancing constantly too!...HM on the other hand was a mad house. After the stretchrooms WHERE YOU COULDNT HEAR A WORD thanks to everyone talking over eachother and even more over the narration we got led out and into wall to wall people crammed together up that hallway. I'd never seen that before ever and it was scary. I thought we'd get trampled or something...then the second stretch opened and MORE people tried to push in. I don't think it was the CMs or the ride's fault but more the people who don't know how to walk and/or sit in the ride. The ride however was a little disappointing. I love HM so much but it seemed a little unmaintained and there were parts where the audio would just completely cut out for seconds to minutes at a time.

After HM we went and had a hoot hollerin time with the Country Bears. After that it was time to go re-ride Pirates and Space Mountain. Pirates had no wait again; Space Mountain had a 30 minute wait - but we got one of those red cards to give them an idea of line time and the CM gave us all fastpasses for a re-ride after we waited in this line! So we got to ride twice for the wait of 1!

After that we were all tired and my companions didn't really care to stay for the fireworks even though they were debuting the 4th's fireworks a night early as a test. I'm not a fireworks guy so I didn't mind. We stopped at the Main Street Emporium on the way out where I picked up part of my g/fs next bday present and a couple of souveneirs for family. And so concluded a lonnnnnnng MK day...long but magical!

[jrcohen]

Wow, This trip sounds like a blast. But, I guess, what trip to Disney isn't.

[Mr.ToadWildRider]

Yea it was really fun! I still have so much more to post, and maybe pics too if I can. I just don't really have time to post big posts so I'm doing it in spurts. Next will be MGM on the 4th of July!


Oh and I forgot to mention on the Universal day:

Shortly before the 360 began me and my friend ran in to use a men's room. When we were at the sinks washing our hands and conversing a tall gangly (and I apologize but for lack of a better word 'geeky') was at the sinks too. He had on what looked like a Universal name tag and out of the corner of my eye I saw him rinse his face then look right at us and start saying "Guys! Guys!" - my friend had his back to this guy but I looked at him and he looked at me and said "I AM the Terminator." At first I thought he was just joking and I kind of smiled and said "okay..." but then he was like "IM SERIOUS I'M ABOUT TO BUST AT ANY SECOND! I'M THE TERMINATOR!" to which I once again replied "Okay" and left. My friend then said he mentioned going off on his co-workers after I left. By the way I left the bathroom dying laughing, but after my friend said that last bit I was a little scared. It's still funny though. Something funny and memorable always seems to happen to me in Universal restrooms....