We flew into Orlando around 5:00 PM Tuesday, and took a shuttle to our hotel, the Buena Vista Palace, right across from the entrance to the west side of Downtown Disney. I must say, it was really nice that there were no strip malls or crappy motels surrounding Disney property. The hotel was really nice, and I would consider it a viable non-Disney hotel option. No theme parks on the first night, but a really cool reception on the first night, and everyone got a free Canon Powershot to take photos during the trip.
MGM Studios
The next morning, we had a mandatory "meeting" to attend (so the pesky IRS wouldn't tax us), but we wrapped up around 12:15, and headed for MGM Studios for our first day. We had to get back on the buses by 5:00 PM, but that didn't stop us from having a blast. I really love the layout of MGM Studios, notably how it employs the "hub" style of a park. It's not like California Adventure (DCA), where you have to walk so far to get to one side of the park, where all the good attractions are. We got FastPasses for ToT (later finding out it was unneccesary), got some food (long lines!), and headed for Rock 'N' Roller Coaster.
The posted wait was 50 minutes, but we got on in about 30 minutes. I love how nearly all major rides in Orlando have pre-shows. I truly believe it adds so much more to a ride. The theming of the station was really cool, and the ride was great! It was fast, there was no head-banging, and it was smoother than Disneyland Paris' Space Mountain. Our on-ride photo was awesome, because we had no clue where it went off.
We shopped around for a bit, went to Tower of Terror, and I completely geeked out over the awesome outdoor line. I think DCA should just tear up the entire front entrance of the ride and make it as awesome as MGM's. We then realized our FastPasses were unneccessary, because the line in the lobby, on a busy day, was as long as DCA's line is every day -- ridiculously short. After waiting about 5-10 minutes, we were ready to go. The first show scene was relatively the same as DCA's second one, minus the drop, but it was all about the 5th dimension. Seriously, my conception of it was just a short, straight path when we move forward, but talk about blown away! I had no idea it would be so long, and I LOVED the effect with the materializing door.
The drop sequence we had was much longer and very unpredictable, the elevator really had a mind of its own. I love how we move back through the fifth dimension at a faster speed backwards, and when we rotate at the end... just WOW. Everything comes together so nicely with Rod Serling's voice-over, and we exit in a different area. The entire experience was just overwhelming. I love DCA's Tower, but MGM's just takes a huge dump on the CA version. The fifth dimension, the loading/unloading process (empty elevators w/ no hallway), the random sequences, the ride mechanics (how the hell are there are only two elevator shafts and four loading zones?!). This is how Tower of Terror is done.
We concluded with the Great Movie Ride, which was okay, but I did want to ride it. Walking out of the park, I actually wish I had time for the Lights Moteurs Action Stunt Show, but given the fact that I rode RRnC and ToT, I was happy. We headed back to the hotel for the night.
Animal Kingdom
The next day, we had no committments in the morning, and didn't have to be at the hotel until 6:00 PM. We boarded a shuttle to Animal Kingdom at 8:00 AM, mainly so we could ride Everest. Upon arriving at the park, we expectedly saw everyone already lining up before the park opened. They let us into the park, and everyone was packed in very tight.
After watching the opening ceremony, we followed the general flow to EE, and had a great chance to slowly admire the beauty of this park. The Tree of Life is a gorgeous centerpiece, and the rest of the park just blew me away. Joe Rohde did a great job in this park.
We finally arrived at Everest, and got to witness pandemonium for 10-15 minutes. The ride was down, probably for testing, but we were in the roped off portion of the standby line, just outside of the main ride entrance. Everyone else was gridlocked on both sides of the FastPass distribution in scorching heat, blocking everyone else's efforts to join the standby line. Despite the frequent request of the CM to have everyone queue up for FastPass on the opposite side, no one was budging. Nonetheless, the line started moving, and after enjoying the museum caliber line, we were ready to go!
All I can honestly say is HOLY SH*T! I did read all about Everest, so I did expect the backwards portion, but my friend didn't, and his reaction was great. Still, I had not seen any video of this ride, and I loved every little moment of this ride. A great coaster, yes, but it is all about the extensive theme! The appearances of the yeti, that eagle that appears at the broken track, and just the sense that you truly are on the world's tallest mountain. Our on-ride photo on the first ride turned out really well, considering we had no idea what was going on. That being said, we immediately lined up again, and only had to wait 15 minutes for our second ride.
Initially, we planned on leaving the park, but the park was just too beautiful to leave. We decided to queue up for Kilimanjaro Safaris, and had a great time on that ride as well. This may be crazy, but I thought it was better than the tour at the San Diego Zoo. We grabbed lunch at Animal Kingdom, and were ready to transfer to Epcot around 12:00 PM.
EPCOT
Thanks to Disney's awesome, courtesy shuttle service between parks, we were at Epcot around 12:30. I had been dying to visit this park for so long, and I had a great time. After taking way too many pictures of Spaceship Earth, we headed over to Test Track, figuring that would have the longest line. After I got lost multiple times, we finally found Test Track and its 90 minute line. We quickly headed over to Mission Space, and saw we could get FastPasses for it at 1:21, awesome! We decided to go for the Single Rider line for TT, listed for 20 minutes. We entered, and I thought the line was really cool! I sort of wish I could have seen all the little tests they had. We waited for about 1/2 an hour, and finally got on the ride. The ride was just okay, but it was still fun. I thought the tests were boring, but the speed run was very fun!
After the pre-show that got me pumped for my piloting duties, we crawled in. It wasn't very claustrophobic, but it was still very tight. Immediately though, my friend and I got disorientated by the screen. The launch was VERY intense. I struggled moving my hand forward. I thought the weightlessness was pretty good too, considering how hard it could be to simulate that. The ride was a lot of fun, but is it possible to fail the mission? I thought it would be cool to make it harder to pass the mission.
After MS, we went to Club Cool to complete our EPCOT rite of passage with drinks of Beverly. It was bad, but it wasn't terrible, it tasted like cough medicine. My friend on the other hand, without knowing anything about it, hated every moment of it, and said he would throw up if he went on MS after drinking Beverly.
We visited the Living Seas, and although the seagulls were not working
, the ride was very cool, and I am definitely excited for the Submarine Voyage in Disneyland now. I went to Journey into Imagination, just so I could see who Figment actually was. Nothing special, but it was a pretty darn catchy song. Honestly, it just made me wish I had known all the EPCOT rides before they were taken out/butchered (i.e. Horizons).Rode Maelstrom and had a small taste of the World Showcase, but decided we would head back to get some rest before IOA. It was a bummer we couldn't stay the entire night to watch Illuminations, but I would love to come back when the food and wine festival takes place and leisurely take in the atmosphere at EPCOT.
Overall, I was very fortunate to be able to go on this trip, considering it will be the cheapest trip to Orlando I ever encounter. Nevertheless, I'm already planning my follow up trip. Orlando is just way too awesome to not visit again. I'd like to go in October, considering everyone mentions the absence of lines, but visiting during Spring Break was not too bad, and the lines were not crazy. If you guys are still with me on this TR, thanks for reading!
