Dan Bejma -- September 2000 -- Walt Disney World (CBR)
Hi all!
This is just a quick summary on a few new or fun things we did during
our trip in Sept. I know, it's what, a month or two later? Oh well, I'm
a slacker :)
Sept 2nd 16th
Caribbean Beach Resort (12th year in a row!)
Who? Me, Dan, 37 and TOTALLY into WDW :) ...and my wife, Laura, 32 who's
also been bitten by the WDW bug (no kids). We both live in Carlsbad, CA.
Thankfully, I own my own company which allows me to make a trip to WDW
when I get the urge (time-wise, not money-wise, we still have to save
for it). We go to WDW every September, right when the crowds die down.
I've been ALL times of the year and Sept. and Xmas are the best times
to go in my opinion. We always push our Annual pass to get in at least
2 trips per year.
Anyway, here's a few snippets of some things we experienced:
Epcot:
- I'm not usually a complainer, however, Journey still sucks (did I
really think it would get better?). I'm "trying" to get used
to it, but I can't. Laura and I both LOVED Figment and Dreamfinder and
it really makes it hard to even tolerate the "new" ride (not
attraction). Oh well, hopefully the re-hashing will better it in some
way. With most the old track pulled out and all the old props destroyed,
I doubt it. They should just yank it all out and put a churro cart there.
:)
- Spaceship Earth is still my favorite. I love this attraction. :)
- Japan is showing the history of Japanese baseball in their museum
area. It's pretty nice.
Magic Kingdom:
- We did E-ride night during our stay... it's definitely worth it. Even
if you're just walking around an uncrowded, beautiful park, it's worth
it. We must have gone on Buzz Lightyear a jillion times :) I finally
maxed out the score at "999,999". Ummm... if I had kids, I
could use them as an excuse for choosing this ride over Space Mountain
and Alien Encounters, but I can't. :)
- The new Winnie the Pooh ride is incredibly cool. Of course, I am partial
to anything Tigger. :)
Animal Kingdom:
- Tough to be a Bug is STILL the best 3D film Disney owns. Possibly
the best attraction they have. I love it when an attraction makes EVERYONE
smile (ok, some kids were crying...:), and this is it. I've seen people
come off of Rock n Roller coaster, Space Mountain, etc., with that same
'ol "do I really have to be here" look that most tourists
get. Not with this film tho' Everyone jumps and laughs and I love it.
- The Kilamanjaro Safari's? As good as ever. You GOTTA get there in
the rain, it's the best. A perfect example was a day when we thought
there would be no rain and we went anyway. It was a hot, sunny day and
all we saw were a few gazelles and some sleeping crocs, that's it! On
our way out of the park... rain, tons of it. We immediately turned around
and ran to the safari's. While waiting in line we could hardly contain
ourselves (knowing how a rainy safari is) and we chuckled as people
complained about the rain. The safari itself was spectacular. Giraffes
walked right up to our vehicle, we saw warthogs, ostriches, all the
rhino's, alligators, the lion were up and walking! (rare), the cheetahs,
and at the elephant pool, an elephant was in the water spraying his
back. An incredible experience for sure. Oh, and funny thing, half-way
through the safari, the woman to the right of Laura said, "excuse
me... are those animals real?".
- The "new" Dinosaur ride is MUCH MUCH better than it used
to be. Being kinda spoiled with Indiana Jones Adventure at DL, this
ride was always dull for us. However, they've now enhanced it with more
Carnosaurs and the ride is SCARY! Yikes! :)
MGM Studios
- The Animation Tour was showing "Emperor's New Groove" (ho
hum) and the Studio Tour gave hint to the new "Who Wants to be
a Millionaire" show coming.
- Rock n Roller Coaster is now more fun! Before, your head would bang
side-to-side against the restraints, taking away from the fun (in my
opinion), and now, they've added a U-shaped head rest that keeps your
head centered. A much better ride now. :)
- Muppetvision continues to make us laugh our butts off. The pre-show
is NOT to be missed! If you walk in when the theater is entering, I
suggest you hang back to catch the funny pre-show and to observe the
props. (a net full of Jell-O, get it?).
Misc:
- Disneyana was fun. We didn't pay the outrageous price for the entire
convention, but public day and other activities were great. We bought
some wonderful merchandise and got the opportunity to talk to Richard
Sherman for the 3rd time. He really is a sweet guy. I love it when the
Disney greats take the time to meet with their fans, Bob Gurr and Sam
McKim are the same way. :)
- What's up with the Disney Institute? That place is a ghost town! We
spent some time going to all the resorts to collect the Millennium coins
and D.I. was one of the spots we had to visit. Even when we asked for
directions, one castmember said, "why would you want to go there?",
and another, "oh, there's nothing going on there now.. why do you
want to go?". Even at the front gate, the guard wondered why we
wanted to go in... YIKES! When we got to the lobby, we had 4 Castmembers
ALL OVER us trying to assist us, they really were bored, you could tell.
I guess that concept didn't work out to well for them??
- If you like Sushi, you GOTTA try Wolfgang Pucks. They have the BEST
sushi we've had in quite a while and the BEST eel we've EVER tasted.
:p We ate there a couple times and the menu is incredible. Try the bar
if the restaurant is crowded. You'll get the same food and faster service.
- DisneyQuest. I'm really more into this than my wife, but I talked
her into going in because I wanted to see the new Pirates attraction.
We were NOT disappointed! She loved it as much as I did! You put on
these 3-D "goggles" and go 4-6 people per room. The room you
go into is about the size of a standard living room. When you stand
in it, the glass entry door is to your back and all other 3 walls are
huge video screens. Inside, you're standing on the deck of a small boat,
close to the bow, with 3 cannons on either side of the boat. Closer
to the back of the boat, is the large wooden captains wheel. I controlled
the steering of the boat, while Laura and the other two people controlled
the cannons. I couldn't believe how realistic this was! It was sooo
cool! You're just immersed in the 3-D pirate environment and you're
crusing the seas looking to sink other pirate ships. If you get sea-sick,
I would avoid it. :)
- We tried the Winter-Summerland golf course for the first time, it's
really fun. With an annual pass, you get 2 fer one. It's really worth
doing. Just watch out for "Squirty" the snowman. :)
- We went parasailing at the Contemporary, which was a blast! It was
our 1st time so we were a little nervous, but that turned to complete
joy when we were floating 600ft in the air. We did a tandem flight which
was as comfortable as could be. It's like sitting in a playground swing.
Try it!
- and finally... we joined DVC! It's a great deal with the Magical Beginnings
program that takes about $2000 off of the price. We purchased 240 points
which will allow us 2 weeks in a 1 bedroom villa at OKW every year.
A $4300 value for only about $650 in maint. fees every year. :) Not
bad!
That's it! We did MUCH more of course, but I just wanted to highlight
some of the more memorable items as well as some changes Disney has made.
This is my first report ever, so I hope it was O.K.
I'll get another report out after our trip this December (Nov 28th-Dec6th).
Take care!
Dan Bejma
imtigger@pacbell.net
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