Drince88
01-31-2006, 04:11 AM
I was going to write this as a ‘traditional’ trip report – and it was too freaking long – so it’s going to be a more organic organization. I was there Friday, Saturday, and Sunday – January 27-29
Transportation:
I used Disney’s Magical Express quite successfully on this trip. My flight landed at 12:30, and I was waiting for the bus to the park at 2, having walked to the DME check-in, waited in a short line, got on my bus (which left immediately after I boarded!), travel to POR (with a couple other stops before mine), checked in, walked to my room, and dropped off my bag.
Coming home, not too much of a problem, though I’ll be happy when they get more direct flights (with better times!) between Orlando and New Orleans. Going through Atlanta is not my idea of a great end to a vacation, even a 3-day weekend vacation!
While on site, the buses weren’t too bad, except for leaving Epcot during Evening Extra Magic Hours when the entire queue was full of people, I was in the 3rd bus, and they were NOT coming frequently enough. I also took the boat from the Disney-MGM Studios to Epcot and got off at the Yacht/Beach Club stop and walked in, saving a little bit of time if not energy.
Food:
I had some ‘old-standbys’ and also tried some new restaurants (ok, one new one) – I had to get an Apple turnover at Starring Rolls in the Studios on Sunday morning – sure, it’s healthy ‘cause it has lots of apples, yep, I say it's healthy. I tried Tangerine Café on Friday evening, and it was pretty good. But how can there be Moroccan beer – it’s a 99% Muslim country? LeCellier was good, but one of the steaks had to be sent back (and was dealt with very apologetically). And I still like the fact that when you get a ‘combo meal’ with healthier side – at Flame Tree BBQ I was able to get two cole slaws in substitution for the beans and corn, and at the ABC Commissary I was able to get the black bean salad (though that was the listed side with the Cuban sandwich I got).
Great Ride:
Well, as you might imagine, this is in reference to Expedition Everest, the ‘excuse’ for the weekend trip to The World.
I had talked to some people on Friday who had on Expedition Everest lanyards to see how the lines were and such – I was REALLY hoping I didn’t regret not coming to Animal Kingdom on Friday! So I got up early, grabbed a quick bite, and was able to get to Animal Kingdom shortly (as in, within 5 minutes) after it opened. I went directly to EE where they were checking passes against IDs outside the theater that used to house Tarzan; the line wasn’t too bad at that point. I got in the ‘get a fastpass line’ immediately, got one for the morning, got into the standby line, and rode for the first time. I shopped a little in the gift shop, got a single-rider pass, rode a second time, and it was time for my fast pass, so I rode a third time. And then got another fastpass for later in the day. It was now 11:00, and in 2 hours I’d ridden the new coaster 3 times.
At the ‘end’ of the MousePad meet, a bunch of us decided to go ride again standby –we walked over to Asia to get in on that side, and they wouldn’t let us – we had to walk back around to the Dino-side entrance to EE (great idea, Mark! ;) After a slow wait for ID checks (and an interesting experiment in lines – we split into two different lines when it became multiple lines and not just a mass, and one finished up a lot sooner than the other). The stand-by line with the crowd was the longest wait I had, it was well over an hour – but it did allow us to visit more, really appreciate the queue themeing, and let Mark get some pictures for his article.
Two of us had good fastpasses, so we rode again after saying goodbye to everyone else. I left the park during the parade, having ridden the ride 5 times. I was also satisfied that I got ‘enough’ rides in for the effort of coming over for the weekend!
Thoughts on the queue and the ride (put in spoilers for those who want to be surprised) – but I will say Disney outdid themselves (as if you couldn’t figure it out by the fact that I rode it 5 times in one day!):
The queues
Having ridden using all three available methods, I was totally impressed with two, but the third was basically non-existent.
Single-rider does not get you ANY of the back-story – you enter at the fastpass entrance, but you don’t go fully into the building – you go immediately to the loading area. Granted, this was a preview weekend, so I’m not even sure they’re going to do single-rider in the future (though it looks like they might for a while, anyway), so that might change, but I doubt it, based on the configurations available.
Stand-by you enter an area to prepare for your expedition as well as a ‘museum to the Yeti’ with lots of artifacts, warning you of the legend (and providing ‘proof’). Tons of stuff to look at, and if the standby-fastpass mix stays what it was, it actually moved fairly decently most of the time.
Fastpass you don’t enter the museum, but you do see a couple of display cases labeled ‘here are some cool things like we have in our museum, you should go visit’.
I do not recommend single-rider for your first ride, but I think fastpass would be ok, but standby, if you can handle the wait, is VERY VERY VERY nicely done.
The ride
OH – MY- GOODNESS
I thought it was fantastic! You can read all the detailed descriptions elsewhere, but I thought it was great. The only ‘quibble’ I had with the ride is that I’d have liked to see the Yeti ripping up the track BEFORE we got to that. I thought it was kind of like a cross between Big Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn (though smooth like DL’s Space Mountain), and Rock n Rollercoaster, without the inversions, but taken up a few notches. I liked the length of the ride, RnR always seems too short to me. It’s probably helped by the two stops before and after you go backwards. I was able to see the mechanics of how they dealt with the switching of the track – looked like a good approach to do it quickly and be able to have adequate sensors to know if it was done all the way so you didn’t have any accidents. The AA Yeti was great – the couple of pictures I’ve seen online do NOT do it justice (but I haven’t gone looking for many) and I was VERY shocked at how much ‘thrill’ there was in the backwards part of the ride – I was expecting Mummy like at Universal Studios- Florida, which has a short straight backwards section.
The exit
What do you know; you exit through a small gift shop :eek:. It was a bit congested, in part because of handing out the pins and lanyards, but it wasn’t really big, anyway. They had a number of different T-shirts, plush, etc – but I was disappointed they didn’t have much in the way of magnets – they had a rock-hammer and a plush yeti, but they did have a flexible key chain and a pin that I’m going to modify the hardware and make into refrigerator magnets.
I did have to take a picture of one of the ‘placeholder’ signs they had in the gift shop and queues indicating what needed to be put in that place, which really indicated that the attraction wasn’t fully open to the public (as if the construction walls didn't tell you that already!)
There is an area outside the gift shop with a view of the big drop (you’ve probably seen pictures taken from here), but I thought the area could have had a couple of small things for the little ones to do while they waited for parent-swap.
Cool People
As I alluded to, I was able to attend the MousePad meet on Saturday. It was great meeting people you’d only ‘met’ online, and to re-meet a couple others I met at MouseFest. I KNEW I recognized you, Lisa, but couldn’t quite place you! I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to everyone, but extending the meet to the queue was a great way to visit a little longer (and made the extra-long wait not seem so bad!) So to everyone who was there that I didn’t say Hi to, “Hi!”
I also met LeslieM and her newly teenage daughter for dinner and a few attractions at Epcot before hand, which was really nice. I’m amazed at how ‘grown up’ the younger set can be ‘these days’ (yes, I felt really old typing that).
AND, as an added bonus, as I was killing time before the first Millionaire on Sunday, I went to the Narnia walk-through – and was able to go through that and a couple of shows of Millionaire with SummerinFL and her daughter. For a 5 year old, she did a GREAT job putting up with two Millionaire-addled adults for two shows!
Hot Seat
Those of you who ‘know’ me may know that I have a little ‘problem’ with a certain ‘Play-it’ attraction. (Hi, I’m Drince88, and I’m addicted to Millionaire). My first stop after dropping my bag in my room was at Millionaire, and it was the last thing I did before I went home. In total, I was present for 9 shows on the two days I was at the Studios. I was able to determine that the first two shows of the day aren’t especially full, and the last two of the day weren’t either – but those middle ones (ESPECIALLY the one that started right as a Lights-Motor-Action show got out) are much more crowded.
On Friday, I was able to get onto the board a few times, but never in the top couple of positions. I WAS able to determine that they do NOT hold anyone over if they can help it – one show ended less than ½ hour from the scheduled start time, and another almost ran into the next show.
On Sunday, SummerinFL and I both got on the board in the first two games, but never into the Hot Seat. One time, when they were filling the hot seat, I was number 2, and REALLY wanted number 1 to be a Cast Member! I talked to him later, and he said if I’d said something he would have declined. Granted, he was sitting near me, but I didn’t know that before they showed his score. Besides, that’s not a ‘fair’ way to get into the Hot Seat!
I stayed for the next two shows, and was on top of the board when they ended the 1:10 game. Bummer, I only had one more game before I had to leave.
First, I NEVER get on the board with the fastest finger. I either take too long reading, or if I do random numbers, they are wrong. That didn’t happen this time – some how I got the order that game systems were introduced in the right order in under a second! The host asked if I even read the question – well, yea, ‘cause he was reading it out loud - -I did not even read the answers, though!
I was NOT expecting to get into the hot seat at that point, so my heart was RACING. I was paranoid there’d be an ‘easy’ answer I wouldn’t know, but I did fine through the first 5 questions. Kept doing ok until I got to the 32,000 question. AND IT WAS A QUESTION I’D MISSED ON THE LAST TIME I WAS IN THE HOT SEAT! I really couldn’t believe that – and then I COULDN’T REMEMBER THE ANSWER! What player was PGA Player of the year for 5 times? Curtis Strange; Arnold Palmer; Lee Trevino; Jack Nicklas. I was pretty sure it wasn’t Strange, and I thought it was between Trevino and Nicklas – and the 50/50 left Palmer and Nicklas. But I was paranoid and phoned a stranger who had no idea and said Palmer – but went with my gut and said Nicklas – and thank goodness it was right!
I missed the next question (I think it was the next question!) about what author wrote the story that the movie ‘Minority Report’ was based on. 2 guys I didn’t recognize, Ray Bradbury, or Isaac Asimov. I guessed Bradbury – but was wrong, but it wasn’t Asimov either (my second choice) – so I didn’t feel too bad. (Philip K. Dick is the right answer)
I talked to my ‘stranger’ after doing the paperwork – she felt bad, but I told her it was ok – since I didn’t listen to her anyway!
Ooops
This report wasn’t any shorter than it was when I did it chronologically –but I hope it’s a touch more interesting!
But it really was a weekend of ‘Great Ride, Cool People, and a Hot Seat’!
Transportation:
I used Disney’s Magical Express quite successfully on this trip. My flight landed at 12:30, and I was waiting for the bus to the park at 2, having walked to the DME check-in, waited in a short line, got on my bus (which left immediately after I boarded!), travel to POR (with a couple other stops before mine), checked in, walked to my room, and dropped off my bag.
Coming home, not too much of a problem, though I’ll be happy when they get more direct flights (with better times!) between Orlando and New Orleans. Going through Atlanta is not my idea of a great end to a vacation, even a 3-day weekend vacation!
While on site, the buses weren’t too bad, except for leaving Epcot during Evening Extra Magic Hours when the entire queue was full of people, I was in the 3rd bus, and they were NOT coming frequently enough. I also took the boat from the Disney-MGM Studios to Epcot and got off at the Yacht/Beach Club stop and walked in, saving a little bit of time if not energy.
Food:
I had some ‘old-standbys’ and also tried some new restaurants (ok, one new one) – I had to get an Apple turnover at Starring Rolls in the Studios on Sunday morning – sure, it’s healthy ‘cause it has lots of apples, yep, I say it's healthy. I tried Tangerine Café on Friday evening, and it was pretty good. But how can there be Moroccan beer – it’s a 99% Muslim country? LeCellier was good, but one of the steaks had to be sent back (and was dealt with very apologetically). And I still like the fact that when you get a ‘combo meal’ with healthier side – at Flame Tree BBQ I was able to get two cole slaws in substitution for the beans and corn, and at the ABC Commissary I was able to get the black bean salad (though that was the listed side with the Cuban sandwich I got).
Great Ride:
Well, as you might imagine, this is in reference to Expedition Everest, the ‘excuse’ for the weekend trip to The World.
I had talked to some people on Friday who had on Expedition Everest lanyards to see how the lines were and such – I was REALLY hoping I didn’t regret not coming to Animal Kingdom on Friday! So I got up early, grabbed a quick bite, and was able to get to Animal Kingdom shortly (as in, within 5 minutes) after it opened. I went directly to EE where they were checking passes against IDs outside the theater that used to house Tarzan; the line wasn’t too bad at that point. I got in the ‘get a fastpass line’ immediately, got one for the morning, got into the standby line, and rode for the first time. I shopped a little in the gift shop, got a single-rider pass, rode a second time, and it was time for my fast pass, so I rode a third time. And then got another fastpass for later in the day. It was now 11:00, and in 2 hours I’d ridden the new coaster 3 times.
At the ‘end’ of the MousePad meet, a bunch of us decided to go ride again standby –we walked over to Asia to get in on that side, and they wouldn’t let us – we had to walk back around to the Dino-side entrance to EE (great idea, Mark! ;) After a slow wait for ID checks (and an interesting experiment in lines – we split into two different lines when it became multiple lines and not just a mass, and one finished up a lot sooner than the other). The stand-by line with the crowd was the longest wait I had, it was well over an hour – but it did allow us to visit more, really appreciate the queue themeing, and let Mark get some pictures for his article.
Two of us had good fastpasses, so we rode again after saying goodbye to everyone else. I left the park during the parade, having ridden the ride 5 times. I was also satisfied that I got ‘enough’ rides in for the effort of coming over for the weekend!
Thoughts on the queue and the ride (put in spoilers for those who want to be surprised) – but I will say Disney outdid themselves (as if you couldn’t figure it out by the fact that I rode it 5 times in one day!):
The queues
Having ridden using all three available methods, I was totally impressed with two, but the third was basically non-existent.
Single-rider does not get you ANY of the back-story – you enter at the fastpass entrance, but you don’t go fully into the building – you go immediately to the loading area. Granted, this was a preview weekend, so I’m not even sure they’re going to do single-rider in the future (though it looks like they might for a while, anyway), so that might change, but I doubt it, based on the configurations available.
Stand-by you enter an area to prepare for your expedition as well as a ‘museum to the Yeti’ with lots of artifacts, warning you of the legend (and providing ‘proof’). Tons of stuff to look at, and if the standby-fastpass mix stays what it was, it actually moved fairly decently most of the time.
Fastpass you don’t enter the museum, but you do see a couple of display cases labeled ‘here are some cool things like we have in our museum, you should go visit’.
I do not recommend single-rider for your first ride, but I think fastpass would be ok, but standby, if you can handle the wait, is VERY VERY VERY nicely done.
The ride
OH – MY- GOODNESS
I thought it was fantastic! You can read all the detailed descriptions elsewhere, but I thought it was great. The only ‘quibble’ I had with the ride is that I’d have liked to see the Yeti ripping up the track BEFORE we got to that. I thought it was kind of like a cross between Big Thunder Mountain, Matterhorn (though smooth like DL’s Space Mountain), and Rock n Rollercoaster, without the inversions, but taken up a few notches. I liked the length of the ride, RnR always seems too short to me. It’s probably helped by the two stops before and after you go backwards. I was able to see the mechanics of how they dealt with the switching of the track – looked like a good approach to do it quickly and be able to have adequate sensors to know if it was done all the way so you didn’t have any accidents. The AA Yeti was great – the couple of pictures I’ve seen online do NOT do it justice (but I haven’t gone looking for many) and I was VERY shocked at how much ‘thrill’ there was in the backwards part of the ride – I was expecting Mummy like at Universal Studios- Florida, which has a short straight backwards section.
The exit
What do you know; you exit through a small gift shop :eek:. It was a bit congested, in part because of handing out the pins and lanyards, but it wasn’t really big, anyway. They had a number of different T-shirts, plush, etc – but I was disappointed they didn’t have much in the way of magnets – they had a rock-hammer and a plush yeti, but they did have a flexible key chain and a pin that I’m going to modify the hardware and make into refrigerator magnets.
I did have to take a picture of one of the ‘placeholder’ signs they had in the gift shop and queues indicating what needed to be put in that place, which really indicated that the attraction wasn’t fully open to the public (as if the construction walls didn't tell you that already!)
There is an area outside the gift shop with a view of the big drop (you’ve probably seen pictures taken from here), but I thought the area could have had a couple of small things for the little ones to do while they waited for parent-swap.
Cool People
As I alluded to, I was able to attend the MousePad meet on Saturday. It was great meeting people you’d only ‘met’ online, and to re-meet a couple others I met at MouseFest. I KNEW I recognized you, Lisa, but couldn’t quite place you! I’m sorry I didn’t get to talk to everyone, but extending the meet to the queue was a great way to visit a little longer (and made the extra-long wait not seem so bad!) So to everyone who was there that I didn’t say Hi to, “Hi!”
I also met LeslieM and her newly teenage daughter for dinner and a few attractions at Epcot before hand, which was really nice. I’m amazed at how ‘grown up’ the younger set can be ‘these days’ (yes, I felt really old typing that).
AND, as an added bonus, as I was killing time before the first Millionaire on Sunday, I went to the Narnia walk-through – and was able to go through that and a couple of shows of Millionaire with SummerinFL and her daughter. For a 5 year old, she did a GREAT job putting up with two Millionaire-addled adults for two shows!
Hot Seat
Those of you who ‘know’ me may know that I have a little ‘problem’ with a certain ‘Play-it’ attraction. (Hi, I’m Drince88, and I’m addicted to Millionaire). My first stop after dropping my bag in my room was at Millionaire, and it was the last thing I did before I went home. In total, I was present for 9 shows on the two days I was at the Studios. I was able to determine that the first two shows of the day aren’t especially full, and the last two of the day weren’t either – but those middle ones (ESPECIALLY the one that started right as a Lights-Motor-Action show got out) are much more crowded.
On Friday, I was able to get onto the board a few times, but never in the top couple of positions. I WAS able to determine that they do NOT hold anyone over if they can help it – one show ended less than ½ hour from the scheduled start time, and another almost ran into the next show.
On Sunday, SummerinFL and I both got on the board in the first two games, but never into the Hot Seat. One time, when they were filling the hot seat, I was number 2, and REALLY wanted number 1 to be a Cast Member! I talked to him later, and he said if I’d said something he would have declined. Granted, he was sitting near me, but I didn’t know that before they showed his score. Besides, that’s not a ‘fair’ way to get into the Hot Seat!
I stayed for the next two shows, and was on top of the board when they ended the 1:10 game. Bummer, I only had one more game before I had to leave.
First, I NEVER get on the board with the fastest finger. I either take too long reading, or if I do random numbers, they are wrong. That didn’t happen this time – some how I got the order that game systems were introduced in the right order in under a second! The host asked if I even read the question – well, yea, ‘cause he was reading it out loud - -I did not even read the answers, though!
I was NOT expecting to get into the hot seat at that point, so my heart was RACING. I was paranoid there’d be an ‘easy’ answer I wouldn’t know, but I did fine through the first 5 questions. Kept doing ok until I got to the 32,000 question. AND IT WAS A QUESTION I’D MISSED ON THE LAST TIME I WAS IN THE HOT SEAT! I really couldn’t believe that – and then I COULDN’T REMEMBER THE ANSWER! What player was PGA Player of the year for 5 times? Curtis Strange; Arnold Palmer; Lee Trevino; Jack Nicklas. I was pretty sure it wasn’t Strange, and I thought it was between Trevino and Nicklas – and the 50/50 left Palmer and Nicklas. But I was paranoid and phoned a stranger who had no idea and said Palmer – but went with my gut and said Nicklas – and thank goodness it was right!
I missed the next question (I think it was the next question!) about what author wrote the story that the movie ‘Minority Report’ was based on. 2 guys I didn’t recognize, Ray Bradbury, or Isaac Asimov. I guessed Bradbury – but was wrong, but it wasn’t Asimov either (my second choice) – so I didn’t feel too bad. (Philip K. Dick is the right answer)
I talked to my ‘stranger’ after doing the paperwork – she felt bad, but I told her it was ok – since I didn’t listen to her anyway!
Ooops
This report wasn’t any shorter than it was when I did it chronologically –but I hope it’s a touch more interesting!
But it really was a weekend of ‘Great Ride, Cool People, and a Hot Seat’!