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Dave Bucholtz -- February 2000 -- Walt Disney World (PO)Feb 26 to Mar 4 2000 Hey all! Just got back from Disney World and figured I would let you guys in on some of the things I saw/heard while I was there. Wore my RADP pin, but never did see anyone else with one. : ( Oh well. First off, the construction of the new hotel by Animal Kingdom is underway, and you can see walls and stuff there already! As far as the type of hotel, according to the tour guide for the Backstage Magic tour I took, it will me at least a moderate resort, probably a deluxe. This is because it will have views of the safari in Animal Kingdom! Neat huh? One can hope. Secondly, unfortunately, the "new" Walt Disney World Explorer is still the second edition with the new millennium packaging...kinda bummed me out. Oh well. Anyway, on to the trip: Day 1 - February 26 Arrived in FL around 11:30, and Port Orleans around 12:00 - 12:30 PM. Left our luggage with the bell services, and ran (not walked) to the nearest bus to the Magic Kingdom. First stop, Pirates of the Caribbean. I was very surprised at the amount of people that were in line for this! I guess being the last day and all people were rushing to see it, but still...I've never seen it that busy. Never saw any construction on the fire mountain that everyone talks about, and the Backstage Magic tour guide didn't say anything about it when I asked him about Fire Mountain. Well, after that hit the usual stuff in Adventureland, but man was it crowded! Used the fast pass for the first time on Jungle Cruise and stepped on in about five minutes...that was great! Standby was about an hour. After that, we stopped back at the hotel for dinner and finishing our check in. Then we again ran to the bus and headed for the Magic Kingdom again for the Main Street Electrical Parade. That was great to see...never saw any of the other electrical parades, and this was definitely worth the wait. Just wish that it was on a better schedule than once a week...oh well. Did hit Alien Encounter, which was fun, but my chair was defective and I didn't get the whole ride experience....but at least my unsuspecting family did! That was about it for the first night for us...it was a long day, so we pretty much went to bed early that night because we couldn't wait for the Disney Studios the next day, Sunday the 27th of February. Day 2 - February 27 Woke up early Sunday and canceled reservations for the Brown Derby, and made Fantasmic dinner reservations for 4:00 PM for Brown Derby...much MUCH MUCH better idea. Had an early dinner and GREAT seats for Fantasmic. I highly recommend this was of seeing Fantasmic. Right now, you must make the reservation the day of the show, so wake up early! First stop in the studios was ToT...this was great...didn't fastpass the ride, but only had to wait about 20 minutes. The new drop sequence is great! Much different from my last ride in '96. Seemed like much more drops, and better drops. Highly recommended. From there, we got a fastpass for the Rock 'n Roller Coaster, and headed off! (Just a note for any of my fraternity brothers out there, was kinda neat walking into the RnR area and hearing Magic Carpet Ride playing! Made the Disney magic hit home even more) Anyway, went to the Great Movie Ride and did the photo thing w/ the handprints...I don't know, but if you ask me, the Great Movie Ride is cute, but does need some help. I hope they do go through with the gutting, and make a more thrilling ride out of it. Next we went back to the RnR and walked right on w/ our fastpass....boy do I LOVE fastpass. The preshow was great, and the ride was, well, INCREDIBLE! I just wish that they make more rides like that!!!! A+++++ a must see. Ok, anyway, hit the Disney Animation tour, which changed since I last went in '96, and wasn't as impressed w/ it. The queue has pictures of scenes from the animated movies, but they didn't look much like any of the movies...kind of like an artists rendition of the scenes, which really didn't look good at all IMHO. Also, the walking tour seemed better before. Dinner was spectacular! Quinton was our server, with trainee Elaine, and they were both GREAT! I don't think I have ever gotten better service ever. He was so good, we even got his picture, and will hopefully nominate him for some kind of outstanding service award. Anyway, the Mushroom and Potato Lasagna appetizer is HEAVEN, and so is the Earful Sundae! Anyway, after dinner we hit Muppet Vision 3D, and walked right on....that was nice. Still a great show. Heading back we walked through the New York Street, and the Epic Stunt Team (aka the Indiana Stunt Show people) were there doing an awesome performance on some of the buildings. If you ask me, put that show in place! It was great! On a sad note, sounds dangerous is utterly stupid now IMHO. You sit in the dark and listen to Drew Carey fumble around as a mediocre security guard...ho-hum...annoyingly boring sitting in the complete dark for about seven minutes listening via a pair of headphones. Oh well. That was it for our MGM day...saw a little of the Mulan parade and that was fun...there are some cranes on the park, but they are just painting up the Hollywood Hotel building, no new construction. Oh yeah, Fantasmic...about fifteen minutes in it started to rain, but only for a few minutes...the show didn't even flinch, and went off without a hitch! Those two guys that did the preshow are GREAT! I think they could be an attraction themselves...with the ladder balancing and all, these two bellhops were HILARIOUS. Once again though, I highly recommend the dinner package for Fantasmic. We showed up about thirty minutes before the show, sat about six rows back, watched the preshow, and had a great time...felt bad for the people that were sitting there in line for almost two hours before us...I know, I met them, and they didn't like our priority seating that much...oh well. Day 3 - February 28 Ah....where was I? Oh yes, day three would be EPCOT...YEAH!!! I love that place. First, the good news...after riding Imagination! for the first time with the new ride scheme, and...folks...it <was bad>...oh well. On the good news though, I was waiting outside at the exit doors for the rest of our party, and lo and behold, all our emails and letters have been read! They are doing exit polls on the ride to see how people like it! When asked my favorite part I told them the way it was before they changed it! Ha...lets see how they like that! Anyway, on w/ the day! Started out w/ a fastpass at Test Track...had to wait an hour until our time, so we hit Energy Adventure. In a word, WOW. EEA is MUCH better than it was previously...it is actually a COOL ride now! I can't believe how good it is...my family loved it too. Then, we hit our fastpass on the Test Track and WOW! That was AWESOME! Even my mother, who HATES roller coasters, LOVED IT! So much we went on again at the end of the trip...but it was great...plus, they had my car in the showcase, and I drooled over her for a little while. (Sorry, I just got her and she is my first new car, and I even took pictures of it even though it wasn't actually MY car, but hey....I LOVE IT) So where was I...oh yeah, ride test track, but fastpass...when we walked by later in the day the fastpass was closed at five because they gave them all out already! Well next, we did a walk through of the world showcase...that was nice...I never really got much into the showcase, more like to walk through the shops and have dinner there...but that was later. Anyway, got to Imagination...that was dumb...oh well...Honey I Shrunk the Audience was cool though...I still like that. Also, the after show in Imagination was cool because they have lots of neat activities. My family and I sent a few dozen emails to friends from the Kodak photo email stations there...that was definitely cool. Also, the photo in a block of glass was neat, didn't get one but they were cool. Ok, on to the living seas, and the what, 500? foot decent...or so...that was cool. 5.7 million gallons of water. Got to see the divers, the fish, etc... Well, by then we header for dinner in Japan. Now this is my love of the world showcase...the food! Went to the Teppanyaki Dining Room...that was great...sat w/ a family from Chicago...they were nice, but stuck-up...they obviously had some money too...but anyway, dinner was nice...the chef didn't do any tricks though, at least not like the other chefs around us...but it was fun. After dinner we called in an early night and I headed into Downtown Disney. That was FUN...unlimited magic pass from the hotel got me right into DisneyQuest, and CyberSpace Mountain is a MUST SEE...I got a 5/5 on the sick-o-meter for my coaster and had a blast. Only thing I didn't like is the Lego store had no sets that built Disney attractions...I thought that would be neat, but who knows. Well, that was about it, except that I was in a huge line for the boat back, about 100 people in front, when lo and behold the boat that came up only went to Port Orleans, and I only waited 5 minutes....boy, glad I wasn't at Dixie Landings. Day 4 - February 29 Well, it is Leap Day 2000 now, Feb 29 and we visited the Animal Kingdom. I don't know what all the hubbub is, but I didn't really get that much out of this park. The Tree of Life was cool, and like the safari and Tough to be a Bug, but there wasn't really a whole lot else...well, countdown was cool though. Anyway, can't really say much there. Had dinner at Italy and that was fantabulous! Best part of the day had to be the E-Ticket night that we did in the Magic Kingdom. In a 2.5 hour span, we rode Space Mountain twice, Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin twice, Astro Orbiters, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice...if you like big rides, hold off until you can E-Ticket! Forget fast pass!! Well, Wednesday didn't do much for us either...pretty much just lounged around all day. Rainforest Cafe was nice to eat, and did hit It's a Small World...must say that the rehab was fantastic and the dolls looked great! Well, look for more reports soon...about three days left including Backstage Magic tour! Day 5 - March 1 Ok, so basically I'm skipping Wednesday of the trip because we basically took this day off. Spent most of the day sitting in the pool....which was at Port Orleans and really nice if you asked me...loved the serpent slide. Anyway, hit MK a little and just basically caught a few rides that we had missed on Saturday, and went to dinner in Downtown Disney at Rainforest Cafe. I must say though that I really love the Haunted Mansion, and one of the hosts was this older lady who was GREAT! She was almost spooky herself! Day 6 - March 2 Anyway, Thursday we hit Blizzard Beach and it was GREAT! My sunburn from Tuesday was a pain, but if I go to Florida and don't come back with at least a little color, then nobody will think I went! Anyway, Summit Plummet was AWESOME! I wish it had a preshow or something because the ride itself is only a short few seconds. Probably the best part though is standing in line! Really! I wish I had my camera because from up there you can see the Tree of Life, Spaceship Earth, Earful Tower, Tower of Terror, the tip of Cinderella's Castle, and Space Mountain....truly breathtaking. Other than that, we did the tube thing on the lazy river and the other slides...the family raft ride is really cool....definitely enjoyed that! Dinner was at the Liberty Tree Tavern and was excellent. Loved the stuffing and turkey best...also, seeing the characters was nice too. Went to Downtown Disney again that night and did more Disney Quest...gotta love that Unlimited Magic Pass getting free entry into Disney Quest! Well, a little DQ and shopping later we turned in so I could go to my Backstage Magic Tour the next day!!!! YEAH!!! Well, more tomorrow....or in a short time! Day 8 - March 4 I'm gonna go backwards (describing day 8 before day 7) because on Friday I went on the Backstage Magic tour and I don't want to ruin it for anyone. So first off, Saturday: Last day, leaving the world at 5:00 PM, so we decided to hit EPCOT one more time. That was great...got there about 11:00 AM, and got a fastpass to ride Test Track one more time...the return time wasn't until 3:15...wow...that thing fills up fast. When we got back at our scheduled time, the fastpass was closed because they didn't want to give more tickets out until the rest got through. While waiting, hit Body Wars and Cranium Command...I love both of those...and, since I went on backstage magic the day before, it was neat to actually ride Body Wars after seeing it from behind the stage. After that, went for lunch in the Biergarten in Germany...Being half German and half Polish, I absolutely LOVED the buffet there! Great deal too! We then hit Norway's Maelstrom and Innoventions...rode Test Track one time, then wept as we left the world... Day 7 - March 3 Ok, it is back to Friday March 3rd...arrive at EPCOT Guest Relations at 8:30 AM. Tour begins at 9:00 AM. Ended up having a large group of about 24 people...bigger than the average group, but a little pixie dust fixes everything! First stop, American Adventure. We rode the bus around the backs of everything in EPCOT...that was really cool to see the backs of the buildings and how everything is totally different. For example, the Eiffel Tower is on the very back of the France pavilion, and actually isn't that tall. Now for one thing, the backs of the buildings aren't as nice as the front, but for what it is worth, they still look very nice! Went under the show, behind the projection screen. That was neat...got to see the audio animatronics, I was about 3 feet from Mark Twain....kinda cool. They look at those costumes every day to check for rips or oil or other problems. Also, those are the only ones that have human hair wigs. Next stop was underneath the Body Wars ride...we went to pod 4. These are actually bigger versions of flight simulators, and if you look down while exiting the ride, you can see the control area that has the monitor to watch the ride. (Look for the plastic enclosure, it will be to the very far right (back of the theater) as you exit the ride. Also, these rides move A LOT! I never realized how much you actually move in this thing! Well, got back in the bus and headed to the living seas. Went right around test track, and they must have 50-100 GM cars waiting there to be moved into the exit area of the ride...that is what you see in that big outside loop of the Test Track. We also drove around the backs of everything again, and the land looked kinda neat going through all the greenhouses. There are some HUGE filtration tanks behind the seas to filter the 5.7 million gallons of water...and another aquarium to help the fish adapt to the new conditions. What was neat was when we walked onstage here, it is just a few feet from the exit of the "hydrolators". If you exit the "hydrolators" and look right, you see a little passage way...walk through it and turn...voila...backstage. Kinda neat eh? Amazingly enough, you can't hear any of the sounds while onstage, but as soon as you walk out that path....it is totally a different story...you hear trucks and all kinds of equipment and other stuff. We took a quick tour of the Seas, and moved on....boy, this is getting kinda long. (Based on a Deja News search, Dave never did post it to RADP) Dave Bucholtz dbucholtz@home.com Mail a Comment to Dave Bucholtz |
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