Trip Reports
02-20-2007, 03:34 PM
A.J. Barela - July 2002 - Port Orleans Riverside
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: PORR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: A.J. provides a great narrative of his trip. He also provides a fantastic list of "lessons-learned" that can be helpful to any trip planner. Last, he gives his opinions on the relative quality of Disney versus other parks around the country. Very interesting reading.
A.J. Barela -- July 2002 -- Walt Disney World (PORR)
July 12 - 20, 2002
The Tourists:
A.J. Barela/me (age 24)
Art/Dad (52)
Kathy/Mom (51)
INTRODUCTION
Hello, and welcome to my trip report. This will likely be rather long, so be warned. If you prefer to skip down to the Tips & Hints section, by all means do so now. Planning for this trip began several months in advance-I made the reservations at Port Orleans Riverside in April taking advantage of a $70 discounted rate that was being advertised on the Walt Disney World website for Disney Moderate resorts. Other discounts were being offered for the Value and Deluxe resorts, but since I was paying for lodging, I wanted to stick to the Moderate resort price range. My parents and I have traveled to Orlando for the past three years. The first two years we were busy at Universal, Sea World, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Only last year did we attempt Disney-my parents listened to a time-share spiel, got tickets for the Magic Kingdom, and we added a day at Disney-MGM Studios at City Hall inside the Magic Kingdom. Our previous visits to Walt Disney World occurred in 1984, 1992, and 1997. This year we wanted to visit primarily Walt Disney World (with a day trip to Busch Gardens Tampa) and for the first time stay on the Walt Disney World property.
TICKETS
We bought our 6-day park hopper plus tickets from floridaticketsinc.com at a price of $272.95, which is lower than the regular price of $293.64. The past three years, we purchased Orlando Flex Tickets from them, so we used them again for Disney tickets. The Orlando Flex Ticket allows you to park-hop between the Universal parks, Wet n' Wild, and Sea World for a 14 day period that starts from the first day you visit a park. There's also a more expensive version that adds on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. What's neat about the Flex Ticket is that once you pay parking at one park, it's free at the other parks for the rest of the day (just like Disney's policy). It's ALWAYS a good idea to buy your tickets before you get to Orlando-it's one less line that you have to wait in. :)
DAY 1
Friday, July 12: Arrive in Orlando, Room Shock, and Grocery Shopping
This trip to Orlando was actually the second week of our vacation--the first being spent at a timeshare in Williamsburg, VA. For that part of the trip we visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg (my favorite theme park) for a week. Since we went to Busch Gardens more than 4 days, we bought season passes. If, for example, you were to stay at Walt Disney World for more than 7 days (like 10 or more), you might want to look into buying a season pass.
At Williamsburg we managed to escape the heat and humidity, and for some reason I guess we all forgot how hot and humid it was in Orlando-even though we had been there the past three years. Once we walked out of the airport to catch the shuttle to Thrifty car rental, we began remembering the humidity. Although it was uncommonly hot and humid the entire week (heat indices of 100 to 105 degrees), there was hardly any rain-unlike during our visits to Orlando the past three years.
After picking up our rental car from Thrifty car rental at about 4pm, we proceeded to Port Orleans Riverside to check-in. The previous day I called to confirm my reservation and also ask for a specific room location-a procedure I learned about from Brian Bennett's 'Notes from the World' updates here on Mouseplanet. :) At check-in, I was happy to learn that I was able to get the building and floor I requested (Alligator Bayou Bldg. 15, upper floor). Check-in went very smoothly.
We got to our room and noted it was basically a Motel 6 type of room with a theme. Also, it had the Motel 6 type of smell as well. If you've been inside Injun Joe's Cave at Disneyland (and possibly at the Magic Kingdom-the last time I was at Tom Sawyer's Island in Orlando was 1984), the room had that kind of smell. Later we discovered that the smell originated from the air coming out of the air conditioner. What really got a bunch of laughs from everybody was the trundle bed beneath one of the two double-beds in the room. The trundle bed was a small mattress that you could wheel out from underneath the double-bed closest to the room's door. Note that we are used to time-share rooms in Orlando, so this was kind of a shock-I suppose I should have inspected the room diagrams on the Walt Disney World website more carefully, but I didn't want to spend more than the $121 a night that I spent for this standard room. On the bright side, the refrigerator I requested was at the room about 15 minutes after we first got to the room-the service at Port Orleans is wonderful (as you will read about later). Case in point-our room had a leaky faucet, and the maintenance people were at our room within 10 minutes of our call, and had the problem fixed quite quickly.
After we got over the initial shock of the room, we drove to one of the local Publix supermarkets to stock up on food for breakfast and drinks. To conserve costs, we usually eat cereal and bread for breakfast. My Dad was lamenting the fact that the room didn't have a toaster, but we survived.
The room was a unit that had an adjoining door between rooms, and because of this we were able to hear our neighbors talking and watching TV until about midnight. Then they were quiet. Since we like to go to bed around 11pm to be able to wake up at 7am to get to the parks when they open at 9am, we decided that the following day we would ask at the front desk to see if we could switch to a unit that didn't have an adjoining door between rooms.
DAY 2
Saturday, July 13: Rain at Busch Gardens Tampa, Switching Rooms
Last year when we were in Orlando we didn't head down to Busch Gardens Tampa because we did Disney-MGM Studios and the Magic Kingdom along with Universal and Sea World. We bought the Orlando Flex pass last year without the Busch Gardens Tampa option. Those Flex passes are wonderful...but I digress.
The main reason we went to Busch Gardens was that there was a ride that was new to us, opened last year, called Rhino Rally. In theory, I was going to ride Rhino Rally and then ride the Kilamanjaro Safaris at the Animal Kingdom and then compare the two. In theory. Unfortunately, our day at Tampa Bay was essentially rained out.
Before we even entered Busch Gardens it was pouring, so we stopped at a Walgreen's close to the park and bought some ponchos-thinking we would eventually have to use them in Orlando. We entered the parking lot and bought the preferred parking, which was a hefty $11. Ouch! However, we didn't want to use the tram to take us to the parking lot across the street if it was raining cats and dogs, so the ability to walk to our car was somewhat worth the expense. We used our Busch Gardens Williamsburg "Gold" season passes to buy tickets at half-price.
Rhino Rally was closed from the time we got to the park at around 11:30pm until the time we left at around 6pm, which was kind of a bummer. The ride operators told us that the rain had flooded parts of the ride and that the rain wouldn't stop long enough to justify pumping the 12 feet of flood-water out of the ride. Gwazi, the park's racing/dueling wooden roller coaster, was not working either-but we've ridden it before. Although Rhino Rally was down for the day, we managed to ride once each on Kumba and Montu (both excellent steel roller coasters), as well as see the Chinese Acrobats show, the Dolphin Show, and ride the park's train through the Serengeti plain section of the park. We also discovered a new location to eat besides our perennial favorite (the Festhaus)-a sandwich place at the Crown Colony House.
The ride operators at Kumba and Montu were dispatching trains at a slower rate than I've come to expect from Busch Gardens Tampa. The crews at Busch Gardens Williamsburg were much faster (though still not as fast as the operators at Disney, which I'll talk about later). In fact, the employees at Busch Gardens Tampa were rather like zombies when compared to the Disney Cast Members, or the Cast Members at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. And yes, in Williamsburg the employees are known as Cast Members, like at Disney.
By way, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has a cool rain-check policy. If rain affects your visit, just go the big tent in the parking lot and exchange your ticket for a return ticket that is valid within the next 7 days. They even take your picture, which is really fun-so the ticket is like a mini-season pass. We didn't plan on returning, but I now have a neat souvenir ticket with my picture on it from Busch Gardens.
When we arrived back at Port Orleans Riverside, Dad and I went to the front desk to change rooms. We asked for, and were able to get, a room without an adjoining door to another room. At this point we bought our E-ride night tickets which would take place Tuesday night. Equipped with a new, quieter room, we were able to get a wonderful night's sleep to prepare us for the park-hopping adventure of the following day.
DAY 3
Sunday, July 14: Disney-MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, Epcot
Having visited both Busch Gardens parks, we were spoiled only having to deal with low to moderate crowds. Later we would keep saying we didn't know how great we had it in Williamsburg. Anyway, this day marked our first visit to the Disney property, and we were all set to begin battling the hordes of people at the Disney parks. But you know what? There were no hordes to contend with the entire week! Last year we bought single day tickets to Disney-MGM Studios and the Magic Kingdom (with one of those days coming from a time share pitch--$17.50 per ticket, as I mentioned in the Introduction). We went to the Magic Kingdom on a Monday (huge, huge mistake-never ever ever go to the Magic Kingdom on a Monday-lest you wish to contend with LOTS of people), and Disney-MGM Studios on a Wednesday. Both parks were jammed last year, prompting us to give up on Disney-MGM Studios at 3pm last year, even though the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is my favorite Disney attraction in Orlando or California. This brings me to another point: take Brian Bennett's advice and take at least a 2-hour (or heck, 3-hour) break each day. We took this advice and felt fresher and more able to deal with the crowds (not hordes) that we did encounter, and it's nice to be out of the parks in the heat of the day anyway. Take your break sometime between 1pm and 4pm. And another tip: unless you absolutely have to, never buy a single day ticket to an Orlando Disney park-always have a park hopper of some sort.
When we entered the Studios at about 9:30am, the Tower was a walk-on. I had gotten Fastpasses before I saw the line, but it was just fine because a Cast Member working the Tower Fastpass asked me if I was also going to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Of course I was, and he handed me three Fastpasses for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I'm thinking they were special Fastpasses since their return times were from 9:15 to 9:45am, and I believe normal Fastpasses start with a return time an hour after park opening, which would be 10am at the earliest. During one of our rides on the Tower, the Elevator got stuck at the bottom of the drop shaft for 15-20 minutes. I thought this was pretty neat, being able to see what the bottom of the drop shaft looks like with the lights on. We were offered an immediate re-ride because of the wait. I suppose I would rather have been stuck in the 5th Dimension room, since there is air conditioning in there. After riding the Tower 8 times and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster 3 times, we headed back to our room at around 1pm for lunch (Subway sandwiches) and a 2.5-hour break.
After our break, we headed to the Animal Kingdom, which was brand new to us. Note that you can wind up doing lots of walking at the Animal Kingdom, but I don't think it's quite as large as Busch Gardens Tampa. We arrived just ahead of the Lion King parade, so we were able to walk quickly to Countdown to Extinction...er...Dinosaur, instead of being caught in the parade-watching crowds. I had read on the Internet that Dinosaur was supposed to be tamer than its original incarnation as Countdown to Extinction. The ride didn't seem tame to me at all-in fact I think it was bumpier than Indiana Jones here at Disneyland. The ride has an identical track layout to Indiana Jones, but it's quite a bit darker. There are many signs in the queue warning parents that the ride may be too intense for small children, and those signs aren't kidding. Dinosaur is a fun ride, and for me it was the best thing at Animal Kingdom. After 3 rides, we headed to Kali River Rapids.
Fortunately, I had seen video of Kali River Rapids and knew that it has a monster queue. The Standby line stopped outside the temple, and didn't move at all in the ten minutes my Dad and I stood there, so we left and went to the Kilamanjaro Safaris instead. We were able to see lots and lots of animals-lions, hippos, alligators, ostriches, gazelles, wildebeests, warthogs, elephants, and assorted birds. I had read on the Internet that the animals don't come out until around 5:30pm, so keep that in mind and save the Kilamanjaro Safaris as your last ride. I think the Safaris would be just fine without the "save Big Red and Little Red from the poachers" storyline. But other than that, it was much better than I expected.
Since our Safari ended at around 5:50pm, we had time to catch the last show of It's Tough to Be a Bug. We had already seen the cloned version here at California Adventure, but the queue at the Animal Kingdom is much, much, much, much longer. I prefer California Adventure's queue, which gives the illusion that you are an ant burrowing into the ground. The Animal Kingdom show also has a couple things that the California Adventure version does not-spotlights at the base of the theater, and fans that generate wind when bees or hornets are flying during the show.
Now for a bit of editorializing: neither Mom, Dad, nor myself was very impressed with the Animal Kingdom. It's very pretty, but there's not a whole lot to do there. We didn't see the Lion King, Tarzan, or bird shows. But we weren't going to come back to see them and ride Kali River Rapids. We also just glanced at the new section of Dinoland U.S.A.-DinoRama. I don't like Wild Mouse roller coasters, so that's why we just glanced at it. I understand now why they close the park at 6pm-in the summer, no less-there's just not enough to keep people there past that time. I was also surprised that the bird show stopped at 3pm. I would have thought that it could have run until at least 5pm. The good news is that the Animal Kingdom has room to expand. End of editorializing.
From the Animal Kingdom we headed to Epcot from 7pm to 9pm. We ate dinner at the Electric Café and had some dry chicken sandwiches. Blech! More advice-if you're going to eat at the parks, be sure to eat at one of the sit down restaurants where the food is better. I knew that Future World shut down at 7pm, but lo and behold, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and the Imagination Pavilion (both Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Honey I Shrunk the Audience) were all open! So we went to each of those things (except Test Track, which had a 75-minute wait). I had forgotten Spaceship Earth-the last time I rode it was in 1992. Now I won't have to ride it again for another 5 to 10 years. The addition of Figment back to the Imagination ride was very nice, but I still like the original ride better. I'm also glad the "One Little Spark" song found its way back to the Imagination ride in an updated form. Mom and Dad hadn't been on the Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3-D movie here at Disneyland, so they really enjoyed the part were the mice run into the audience. After the Imagination pavilion, we headed to World Showcase to ride the Maelstrom. I had thought that this ride was a little longer than it was, but it's still fun to go through part of the ride backwards. We tried to get on Test Track for the last ride of the day, but we got to the entrance about 2 minutes too late. Of course, we would be there tomorrow, and this way Dad got to watch the fireworks from the IllumiNations show.
DAY 4
Monday, July 15: Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios
We awoke again at 7am, ate our cereal, bananas, and bread, and we were all set to enjoy Epcot in the morning (the rest of Future World that we didn't see on Sunday and The American Adventure in World Showcase).
We arrived at Epcot shortly after 9am and headed straight to Test Track to get Fastpasses and then we got in line to the single-rider line. Again, I learned about the single-rider line from the internet, and would advise EVERYBODY to use it. The wait was never longer than 5 to 10 minutes. Mom and I weren't overly impressed by Test Track, but Dad liked it. He likes fast cars, so I guess that's why he enjoyed it so much. Mom and I decided that we'd give Dad our two Fastpasses so he could ride it some more, and while he was doing that we would be watching the American Adventure.
But first we walked a little to our left, past the Mission Space construction (that should be a very interesting ride-fascinating technology) and onward to the Universe of Energy. This was the first time any of us had seen the Ellen/Bill Nye overlay. We enjoyed the entire thing very much-and we even got to see the ENTIRE preshow. For me, the Universe of Energy is the best thing at Epcot. I still like the dinosaur part and really enjoy the "moving theater" vehicles. For future reference, try and pick the vehicle on the far left side of the theater as you enter-this vehicle is the first to depart and I think you get the best show value in this vehicle.
It was time for Mom and myself to walk way, way, way, way back to the American Adventure, so we left Dad at Test Track and said we'd meet him in about an hour. Mom and I couldn't figure out how people could walk all the way back the American Adventure in the blazing hot sun (there was cloud-cover when we were walking). We walked around the right side of World Showcase--passing by Canada, England, France, Morocco, and Japan. We were ever so slightly hot by the time we got to the American pavilion, and we noticed a Shaved Ice stand at the front of the Japan Pavilion. We decided that, after the American Adventure, we would get some shaved ice.
Well, it turned out that we would be getting our Shaved Ices sooner rather than later, as a Cast Member in front of the American Adventure said they were experiencing technical difficulties and didn't know if the next show at 12:30pm (it was about 11:20am when we got there) would even be able to run. So, Mom and I headed back to the Shaved Ice stand, got our Shaved Ices, and abandoned plans to see the American Adventure (we really didn't want to go back there again, even though there is a boat that goes across the lagoon). We decided to take one of those boats back-the one that runs from Japan to just in front of Canada. This was really cool, because we had never used those boats, and also it was just Mom, myself, and some other guy on the boat.
After our boat shuttle to the front of World Showcase, we headed to Test Track to pick up Dad. Apparently, he had given all three of the Fastpasses to three girls that had just come off the ride during one of his single-rider trips. He rode the ride 5 times using the single-rider line. As I said, he really enjoyed Test Track.
We took a very long break this day. We ate lunch and decided that tonight would be our last night at Port Orleans Riverside-it was just too small for us. So Dad checked in our American Automobile Association (AAA) guidebook and found a hotel that had suites available for $99 a night. It was fun to watch him make the reservations as we were finishing our lunch at Ruby Tuesday (which has a wonderful "Colossal Burger," a great BBQ chicken sandwich, and superb fajitas).
When we returned to Port Orleans Riverside, we decided to take a walking tour of the place to see all of the extra "resort" amenities that we were leaving behind. We walked to Old Man Island, saw the neat little waterslide there, and walked to the Magnolia Bend area of the resort. A note to folks trying to videotape their vacations in Orlando-depending on your camcorder, you may or may not be able to tape anything outdoors because it is too humid. Fortunately, we had our still-camera so we took pictures during our resort tour walk.
After some more resting (I can't emphasize how important it is to take a break from the parks for 2 to 3 hours), we then ate dinner outside the parks and headed back to Disney-MGM studios at around 7:30pm. We got five more rides on the Tower. This was the first night that we closed out the day at the Tower, and the bellhops were VERY, VERY GOOD acting their roles. They are such a big part of the entire show at the Tower, and definitely made my evening memorable.
DAY 5
Tuesday, July 16: Disney-MGM Studios, New Hotel, Magic Kingdom E-ride Night
Again, we woke up at some time around 7am. The previous evening we had packed all our suitcases yet again--for the third time since we got to Orlando! Before we went to the front desk to check out, I made reservations for lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for 1pm. We checked out (again, a smooth and fast process), and arrived at Disney-MGM Studios at about 9:45am. This morning we would log five more rides on the Tower, and before lunch we were able to do the Great Movie Ride and Muppets 3D as well.
For some reason, I thought that the Great Movie Ride was much, much slower than I remembered last year. We got the gunfight at the old west town and got a gunfighter for our "jump-aboard" Cast Member, instead of the other option-the gangster. Also, The Cast Members were kind of just going through the motions throughout the ride, so that probably contributed to my perceived "slowness." The Muppets were good, as usual, and I see them during my frequent trips to California Adventure. I had thought that the California Muppets 3D version had more theming in the preshow area-but it has mostly the same stuff as Florida-except our version has a really funny display clock that contains many cool jokes. I missed that clock in Florida.
We got to the Sci-Fi diner at 12:50pm, and were seated before we could go explore the bookstore next door! We had a fantastic waiter, who imitated the 1950s drive-in era lingo. The food was excellent as well. I had the burger with sautéed mushrooms (mmm, mmm, good) and Mom and Dad split the chicken sandwich. I stole several of their onion rings, too. We finished off the meal with a "Big Bang" sundae containing vanilla and chocolate ice cream, strawberries, chocolate fudge, caramel, and m&m's sprinkled throughout. Positively delicious. We watched the entire 47-minute tape loop of Sci-Fi flicks-I really enjoyed the atmosphere. For people with larger families, be warned that you sit side by side in "cars" that have three rows at the most. So talking to people behind you or in front of you will be slightly difficult. But I will definitely be eating there again the next time I visit.
After one more ride on the Tower (I think at this point I had the entire preshow and on-ride narration memorized-yes, scary, I know, but fun for me) using our Fastpasses that I got before we ate lunch, we bid adieu to the Studios and headed for our new hotel-the Buena Vista Suites. This hotel is located in a really good location, at the intersection between the 535 and 536 roads. From here it's easy to drive to Sea World or Universal without using the freeway. And also, you can take the 536 straight into Walt Disney World without using the freeway.
After our customary rest and break period, we did some more grocery shopping (bananas for the rest of the week, pretzels, snacks and such) and then once again ate a nice dinner outside the parks. We ate a large dinner, knowing we would need fuel to last until 1am for the complete E-ride Night experience.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom parking lot at about 7:15pm, and arrived at the actual Magic Kingdom gate at around 8pm. Perhaps one day a large parking structure might appear next to the Magic Kingdom (as it is here at Disneyland) to facilitate easier access from the parking lot, but that day will be long in coming. Until then, I'll just dream. We picked up our E-ride Night wristbands next to City Hall, and then headed to the 'Big Board' to see what wait times were like. Unfortunately, at 8pm, there is no Cast Member working the 'Big Board' and no times were displayed. Since Spectromagic would be going on at 9pm, I decided to head for the Haunted Mansion and then Fantasyland-away from the hordes of people gathering to watch the parade.
Suffice it to say that I prefer our original Disneyland Haunted Mansion over The Magic Kingdom's version. I do like the new Madame Leota gravestone in the queue though-she opens her eyes very quickly, and you really have to be looking at her to see her eyes open. Now for the problems: the hanging man in the stretching room was blurry-it was like looking through a gray cloud. Methinks the scrim screen there needs to be cleaned, if that's even possible. I like our loading area much, much more than Orlando's. Instead of gradually narrowing down the walkway as at Disneyland, Orlando's walkway narrows suddenly and causes a great big ol' traffic jam. I don't know how this problem can be fixed. Next, part of the on-ride narration was missing-the Ghost Host didn't say "each one of our ghosts has been dying to meet you-this one can hardly contain himself. Unfortunately, they all seem to have trouble coming through." I also prefer the way Madame Leota's head is projected at our Haunted Mansion. In Orlando, you can see the ray of light from where the projector is located. Also, the singing busts need an overhaul. The two on the far left (I don't know their names) are fuzzy and need their resolution fixed. Finally, it seems that the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" song is broadcast much more clearly here in California. I know-the average Joe probably won't notice any of these things, but to the burgeoning Disney fanatic, it does make a difference. I will say, though, that the Cast Members working the Mansion were first rate-especially the Cast Member working the stretching room. He was a riot! Very, very creepy.
After we rode the Mansion, we headed for Fantasyland and rode Snow White's Scary Adventures and then (*gasp*) It's a Small World. For some reason, I think that Orlando's version moves faster than ours. Of course, I haven't ridden the Disneyland version for many years now, and since I've ridden Orlando's version, I don't plan to ride ours again for many, many years to come. After Small World, we took another ride on the Mansion because Spectromagic hadn't finished yet. After the Mansion, it was off to Pirates of the Caribbean-and by the time we got off that it would be time for the E-ride night to start.
I enjoyed Orlando's Pirates very much. Like It's a Small World, the boats seem to move faster than our boats. Even though I rode it last year, I forgot that it actually does have a 15-20 foot small drop. Another reason I enjoyed the Magic Kingdom's Pirates is that it does not have a truckload of mist obscuring your vision as you enter the pirate ship versus the fort scene. Our Pirates has way, way, way too much mist in that area-which for me just irritates my eyes and interferes with my normal breathing. I suppose it's there to convey the idea that you are being whisked back in time because of the evil curse on the treasure. It's something I could do without, though. There was a major boat jam at the end of the ride-we were backed up to just before the jail scene with the dog holding the keys in its mouth. I know Disneyland's version sometimes gets backed up like this-too many boats on the circuit, I suppose.
After Pirates, the park was officially closed and the E-ride Night had begun. We took a couple of walk-on rides on Big Thunder Mountain, which I think is better at night, and then we moved on to Splash Mountain. Now, when we rode this last year, none of us remembered getting extremely wet, approaching soaked. Let me tell you now-you get nigh soaked on Splash Mountain. Disneyland's Splash Mountain isn't near as wet, and for that I'm thankful-even though I think the Magic Kingdom's Splash Mountain has a better show. It didn't help that we got hit by the water jets that spray out from the briar patch as our log was waiting to go up the second lift-but if that was the only "splash" we received (as it is here at Disneyland), everything would have been fine. What made all of this even more enchanting was that we had brought ponchos to the park because it looked like it might rain during the E-ride Night. Had we worn the ponchos, we probably would have avoided the soaking.
We then headed to Space Mountain for the remainder of the evening. After our initial voyage into deep space, Dad and I realized that we were going to freeze in the sub-zero air conditioning of the queue. So, we bought two Space Mountain T-shirts-ensuring that at least half our body would be dry. Mom elected not to ride after I informed her that it's a wee bit more jerky than Disneyland's Space Mountain-and it can be VERY jerky if you sit in the house of pain-seat number three on either side. After four rides, I had recognized the jerky spots and was able to prepare for them. After my seventh and final ride of the evening, I had the layout memorized (yes, I know-scary--but fun for me). The right side has 11 left turns and 6 right turns, while the left side has 11 right turns and 6 left turns-exact mirror images of each other, as I have read should be the case. Also, each side has four drops, the largest of which occurs last. I'll have to admit, Orlando's Space Mountain grows on you-just watch out for seat number three.
At some point during our Space Mountain marathon, we all took a ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and also the People mover...er...Tomorrowland Transit Authority. In fact, Mom rode Buzz three more times while Dad and I were busy at Space Mountain. Buzz Lightyear could be greatly improved if the guns had index-finger triggers, rather than thumb triggers. It's very difficult to push the firing button. For the ultimate shoot-'em-up dark ride, go ride Men In Black at Universal Studios instead. Men In Black is truly and out of this world experience. And it has a single-rider line!
By 1am we were all very tired, and I think by that time we had all finally dried out from our "splashing much closer to soaking" at Splash Mountain. I'm glad we did it at night with no wait, so we wouldn't have to waste a Fastpass on it if we chose to visit the Magic Kingdom again-which we did wind up doing. We returned to the comfort of the Buena Vista Suites at 2am, and fell asleep like rocks.
DAY 6
Wednesday, July 17: Sleep in, Laundry, The Stunning Realization, Blizzard Beach
We woke up at 9am or so, went down to eat our complimentary breakfast (scrambled eggs, French toast, hash browns, and regular toast-among other things) and then went back to the room to sleep. How about that-a larger room AND a complimentary breakfast-for $20 cheaper than Port Orleans-and it would have been $100 cheaper if I hadn't used the internet Disney deal! Yikes!
Throughout the day, we did our laundry at the guest laundry facilities. That's the great thing about timeshares-you get your own washing machine and dryer. I think we had a late lunch at Red Lobster. It was during this lunch that I had the STUNNING REALIZATION. It was this: I had run out of things to do at Disney. We had already banked one of our six days, and we figured it would be best to bank another day-since they never expire. I discovered that yes, it is possible to ride one attraction too many times. Instead of spending the following day riding the Tower all day, we decided to buy some single day passes to Islands of Adventure at the AAA office in Kissimmee.
However, it was getting close to the time I had planned to enter Blizzard Beach-namely 4:30pm. So, Dad dropped us off at Blizzard Beach at 4:30pm and went to go purchase the Islands of Adventure tickets-and he would meet us at the lockers at 6pm. He's a very special Dad. Mom isn't too bad, either. He was still able to do almost the entire park from 6pm to 7:15pm. Mom and I got to do everything, except for the two big-drop slides: the Slush Gusher and the Summit Plummet, and the downhill double dipper-those lines were much too long. I would suggest that if you really, really want to do those slides, get there when the park opens. However, if you want short waits and multiple rides on all of the other slides, go on a weekday after 4pm and stay until the park closes.
My favorite ride at Blizzard Beach is sort of a toss-up between the double-tubes on Runoff Rapids and Teamboat Springs. In just 2.5 hours, I was able to get 12 rides-once each on the three twisting face-first mat slides (the Snow Stormers), twice on the triple bump downhill face first mat racing slide (the Toboggan Racers), five times on Runoff Rapids, and twice on Teamboat Springs. I was on my way up the mountain at 7:15pm for one last ride on the Toboggan Racers, but approaching inclement weather made the park close early-so I had to walk back DOWN the mountain. That's another thing-be prepared to do lots and lots of climbing and walking at Blizzard Beach. We were quite exhausted after those 2.5 hours. Thankfully, it was an early night and we got to go to sleep early to be ready for our next day at Islands of Adventure.
DAY 7
Thursday, July 18: Islands of Adventure, Minority Report, Stunning Realization #2
We got to the Universal Parking structure at about 8:45am, and got into Islands of Adventure at roughly 9am. Do not underestimate the value of a parking structure-being able to return to your car at midday without having to first let out all the heat is a wonderful thing.
Once inside Islands, we went to get some Universal Express (their version of Fastpass) tickets for Spider-Man. Then Dad and I went to marathon Dueling Dragons, while Mom went on the Cat in the Hat, the Caro-seuss-el, Jurassic Park, and the Flying Unicorn (a kiddie coaster installed last year which is quite fun). We rode four times on the Fire and Ice dragons. This took just a little over an hour (amazing how much you can do here in so little time at the beginning of the day), and then Mom met us at the Dueling Dragons exit. Mom and Dad headed to Seuss Landing while I headed to Jurassic Park, and we met at Spider-Man to use up our Universal Express tickets.
I suppose I'll grind to a halt here and give a little description of Islands of Adventure. I've visited the park the past three years and I really, really enjoy it-I rank it #2 on my theme park list behind Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Two of my favorite coasters (the Hulk and Dueling Dragons) live here, as does my favorite rapids ride (Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges) and my #2 log flume (Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls--#1 is Splash Mountain). It has two awesome dark rides (Cat in the Hat and Spider-Man), and also Jurassic Park-basically a Six-Flags Tidal-Wave type boat ride with an extended layout. It also has a spectacular stunt show-the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad. The only two clunker attractions at the park are the Triceratops Encounter (major yawn) and Poseidon's Fury-which got slightly better after last year's makeover. Poseidon's Fury is a walk-through show which has three rooms. It is VERY cold in both the queue and the show rooms, so be warned. Be sure to wait in line for the Hulk at least once so that you can see the nice queue and watch the history of the Hulk on the TV monitors. Also, be sure to check out the Dueling Dragons queue-the best ride queue there is (yes, I think it's better than the Indiana Jones queue at Disneyland). Even if you don't want to ride the coaster, walk through the line. It's fabulous. Now, back to the story.
After our ride on Spidey, Dad and I rode Dr. Doom's Fearfall using the single rider line. Because Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, and the Hulk all have single rider lines, you really don't need to use the Universal Express system for them. Use it for Jurassic Park if you want to ride it in the heat of the day-and use it for Poseidon's Fury (because that isn't worth waiting for more than 10 minutes). The single rider lines never have more than a 15-minute wait. Dr. Doom's Fearfall features some very nice ejector seat airtime-but that's all it does. For those who are interested, it shoots you up 150 feet, you get the airtime, and then it oscillates up and down to use up the initial momentum-but there's no more airtime after that initial ejector seat Moment. The Tower of Terror is infinitely better. What was really cool at Dr. Doom's Fearfall was that Dr. Doom himself was greeting riders at the entrance.
After Dr. Doom, we got Universal Express tickets for the Hulk. Dad and I rode the Hulk using the single rider line. After Hulking-out, we left the park to see when 'Minority Report' was playing at the CityWalk theaters. It turned out to be at 3pm, and it was about 1:15pm. So, we ate lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. I had a veggie burger, Mom had a chicken sandwich, and Dad had a fish sandwich. The past three years that we've been in Orlando and have eaten at Margaritaville, the food was good. This time was the anomaly. Mom's chicken sandwich and my veggie burger were dry, although Dad's fish sandwich was good. After lunch, Dad and I rode the Hulk one more time using the regular line (25-minute wait) while Mom rode the Cat in the Hat one more time. Also, I noticed this year at Universal that there were more characters out and about than in my previous three years of visits.
After the Hulk, it was time to watch 'Minority Report.' We all really enjoyed it, and were glad Steven Spielberg recovered from the disaster (in our opinion) that was 'A.I.' After the movie, we went back to the hotel to sleep for a couple of hours, intending to go back to Islands of Adventure at night-ride Dueling Dragons at night and watch the fireworks. Now came the STUNNING REALIZATION #2: I was done with Islands of Adventure, even though I love its coasters and I hadn't yet ridden the Cat in the Hat. Of course, since we had been to Islands of Adventure the past three years, I've ridden the Cat in the Hat before and have done Dueling Dragons to close out the day before, so we decided to rest up and prepare for the our last day in Orlando--a park hopping extravaganza that I had planned during lunch at Margaritaville. Sometime before dinner I made reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom for 12:15pm-so everything was set for a final day of adventure.
DAY 8
Friday, July 19: Disney-MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom, and back to MGM Studios
On napkin, the initial plan was to first secure my twentieth ride on the Tower (up to this point I had ridden 19 times), and then head to the Magic Kingdom for some closure at Space Mountain-also to give me the chance to make sure my memorized ride layout was, in fact, correct. After our customary break, we were to head to the Animal Kingdom for several more rides on Dinosaur, and then finally finish at the Studios on one of the best vacation closers of all time-the Tower of Terror. As the day went along, we jettisoned the plan to go ride Dinosaur-we figured more rides on the Tower and a couple of rides on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster would be time better spent.
After securing rides 20, 21, and 22 on the Tower (and picking up a really nifty Rock 'n' Roller Coaster T-Shirt that shows the ride layout and statistics) we left Disney-MGM Studios at approximately 10am and headed for the Magic Kingdom. Upon entering the Magic Kingdom at around 11am, the first order of business was to secure Fastpasses to Space Mountain. My parents had graciously allowed me to use their Fastpasses in order to get more rides. As I mentioned before, I have special parents. While I was getting the Fastpasses, Mom and Dad went to the Hall of Presidents. To kill time on my first Fastpass, I first went into Timekeeper, then walked out since the movie wouldn't start for another 15 minutes. So I headed over to Pirates, and as soon as I got in line, the ride broke down. Fortunately for me, the next show at the Tiki Room: Under New Management, was just about to begin, so I ducked in there.
I really, really, really enjoy the revamped Tiki Room. I wish that Disneyland's version would get a similar overlay. After the Tiki Room, I headed back to Space Mountain, used my Fastpass, and got three more Fastpasses before heading to meet my folks at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We had a fantastic lunch-Dad ordered a salad, Mom ordered the burger, and I had the salmon. Everything was very, very tasty. The only warning I would give people is that the bathrooms at the restaurant are VERY, VERY tiny. You would have better luck using the restrooms around the corner in the archway that links Adventureland to Frontierland.
After lunch, we headed to Winnie the Pooh to pick up Fastpasses before I went off to Space Mountain. Mom and Dad did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Carousel of Progress while I finished my 3 rides on Space Mountain for a total of 11 for the trip. We still had time to kill until our Pooh Fastpasses activated, so we went to Timekeeper. This was once the old Circlevision, and last year it was closed-so this was new to each of us. We all really enjoyed it-it's very funny. After that, we rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh where we bounced with Tigger (that's always fun) and then got washed down river in the rain (love those motion-base vehicles). After Pooh, we headed for the Toontown Fair train station to catch a train to the front of the park, since we wanted to avoid walking into the parade that had started at 3pm.
We got out of the park at about 3:30pm, and then headed back to the hotel for a final recharge of batteries. After dinner, only Dad and I headed back to Disney-MGM Studios-Mom decided to rest and pack. I got two more rides on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and six more rides on the Tower. Dad got seven, because he rode the Tower while I used his Fastpass on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Again, we had fantastic bellhops for our final journeys beyond the Fifth Dimension-and on our last ride of the trip we even had a cool bellhop working at the unload area: he was telling Jungle Cruise type jokes, related to the Tower, of course. This really put the perfect close to a wonderful vacation.
DAY 9
Saturday, July 20: Bye-bye Orlando. Our plane departed at 10:05am, and we arrived at the airport around 8:30am. 15 hours and three connecting flights later, we were back in Los Angeles.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY
We were very surprised at the Motel 6 size of the room at Port Orleans Riverside. Although the guest service is first rate, the room size was just too small. As I said, I should have looked at the sample room diagram on the Disney website better. I have subsequently searched for the resorts with larger rooms, and what I found is that you need to stay in a "Deluxe" Resort or "Home Away From Home" Resort to get a room with 2 queen beds. If I stay on Disney property again, my first choice will likely be the Grand Floridian.
The Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion is in need of a refurbishment in certain areas when compared to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.
Animal Kingdom could use a couple to several more attractions that aren't shows. Dinosaur and the Kilimanjaro Safaris are fun, but that's about all there is.
Not really bad, but an observation-Walt Disney World should switch to printing FastPasses on the sturdier, more business card-like paper that Disneyland uses.
THE GOOD
It seemed to me that this year the Cast Members working the FastPass merge points on the queues were doing a better job of making the Standby lines move faster. Whenever there was not a large group of FastPass guests waiting at the merge point, the Standby guests were able to move ahead until the FastPass line built up a larger group. Compare this to last year at Disney-MGM Studios and the Magic Kingdom when, if you held a race between the Standby lines and a rock-the rock would win.
Timekeeper was a pleasant surprise at the Magic Kingdom-I'm glad we killed some FastPass time in there and watched Robin Williams the robot make us laugh.
It was very good to see Figment again at Journey Into Imagination. Also, Epcot has some drinking fountains in Future World that talk back to you. They're pretty funny.
It's so great that each Disney park is non-smoking except in designated areas. Contrast this to Busch Gardens Tampa and Islands of Adventure, where people were lighting up everywhere! People were also smoking quite a bit at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
THE SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS
The Sci-Fi Diner and the Liberty Tree Tavern were two outstanding sit-down restaurants, and I highly recommend them both.
28 rides on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was fantastic. Also, I enjoyed getting stuck at the bottom of the drop shaft so that I could look around down there with the lights on. I was hoping to get stuck on Space Mountain so I could see it with the lights on, but that will have to wait for another time.
I was able to return with five great new T-Shirts. Of these, the best discovery was a Swedish Chef T-Shirt at the Muppets gift shop.
105 rides/shows in a week at Walt Disney World, Islands of Adventure, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a pretty nice total. And that was just for me-multiply that by 2.5 or so and you get the total number of rides/shows when you include Mom and Dad.
TIPS AND HINTS
Always order tickets in advance. May I suggest floridaticketsinc.com or the AAA.
Always write down the parking lot section and number where you parked your car. You don't want to spend 15-20 minutes hunting for your car-especially if you're eager to hop to another park.
Designate one person in your group to be the FastPass gopher. Preferably someone who likes to walk around a lot and walks really fast.
From the moment you enter a Disney park, go get a FastPass and ALWAYS be holding a FastPass until the end of the day.
For maximum benefit from FastPass, be mindful of the printed time on the bottom of your FastPasses that lets you know when you can get another FastPass. Get your next FastPass first, and then proceed to your "open window" FastPass attraction.
Arrive at the Animal Kingdom at or after 4pm. The only line was for Kali River Rapids. Everything else was a walk-on.
Save the Kilamanjaro Safaris for the last ride of the day-the animals come out in the afternoon.
Arrive at Blizzard Beach (or Typhoon Lagoon) at or after 4:30pm on a weekday, and the lines will be minimal (except at the big drop slides). And be prepared to do lots of walking/climbing at either park.
Split up your group and use the Single Rider Line at Test Track. Your wait will be very short-often 10 minutes or less, or when my dad was riding-walk-on.
Make reservations for sit-down restaurants in advance using the (409) WDW-DINE phone number. You'll thank yourself when you only have to wait 5 to 10 minutes to eat instead of 45-60 minutes.
Lastly, and most importantly, TAKE A 2 or 3 HOUR BREAK from the parks during the heat of the day (1pm to 4pm). Taking a break really does help.
WRAP UP
If you made it this far, congratulations and thank you for spending the last 20 minutes or so reading this trip report. Oh, I almost forgot-I had one more point to make: at Disney, there STILL is a difference. I was talking to my parents and observing that, once you get hooked on Disney, everything else isn't quite up to the same standard. Busch Gardens Williamsburg and both Universal Orlando Parks, in my mind, come close to the Disney park experience-but aren't quite there yet. Disney still has the cleanest, friendliest, most efficiently run parks in the world. And Disney parks are non-smoking except in designated areas, which I really, really appreciate. My folks and I had a superb time, and we'll likely be heading back in 2004. After 4 straight years in Orlando, we need at least one year off. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you found something in this quagmire to help with your own trip to Walt Disney World.
A.J. Barela
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: PORR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: A.J. provides a great narrative of his trip. He also provides a fantastic list of "lessons-learned" that can be helpful to any trip planner. Last, he gives his opinions on the relative quality of Disney versus other parks around the country. Very interesting reading.
A.J. Barela -- July 2002 -- Walt Disney World (PORR)
July 12 - 20, 2002
The Tourists:
A.J. Barela/me (age 24)
Art/Dad (52)
Kathy/Mom (51)
INTRODUCTION
Hello, and welcome to my trip report. This will likely be rather long, so be warned. If you prefer to skip down to the Tips & Hints section, by all means do so now. Planning for this trip began several months in advance-I made the reservations at Port Orleans Riverside in April taking advantage of a $70 discounted rate that was being advertised on the Walt Disney World website for Disney Moderate resorts. Other discounts were being offered for the Value and Deluxe resorts, but since I was paying for lodging, I wanted to stick to the Moderate resort price range. My parents and I have traveled to Orlando for the past three years. The first two years we were busy at Universal, Sea World, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Only last year did we attempt Disney-my parents listened to a time-share spiel, got tickets for the Magic Kingdom, and we added a day at Disney-MGM Studios at City Hall inside the Magic Kingdom. Our previous visits to Walt Disney World occurred in 1984, 1992, and 1997. This year we wanted to visit primarily Walt Disney World (with a day trip to Busch Gardens Tampa) and for the first time stay on the Walt Disney World property.
TICKETS
We bought our 6-day park hopper plus tickets from floridaticketsinc.com at a price of $272.95, which is lower than the regular price of $293.64. The past three years, we purchased Orlando Flex Tickets from them, so we used them again for Disney tickets. The Orlando Flex Ticket allows you to park-hop between the Universal parks, Wet n' Wild, and Sea World for a 14 day period that starts from the first day you visit a park. There's also a more expensive version that adds on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. What's neat about the Flex Ticket is that once you pay parking at one park, it's free at the other parks for the rest of the day (just like Disney's policy). It's ALWAYS a good idea to buy your tickets before you get to Orlando-it's one less line that you have to wait in. :)
DAY 1
Friday, July 12: Arrive in Orlando, Room Shock, and Grocery Shopping
This trip to Orlando was actually the second week of our vacation--the first being spent at a timeshare in Williamsburg, VA. For that part of the trip we visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg (my favorite theme park) for a week. Since we went to Busch Gardens more than 4 days, we bought season passes. If, for example, you were to stay at Walt Disney World for more than 7 days (like 10 or more), you might want to look into buying a season pass.
At Williamsburg we managed to escape the heat and humidity, and for some reason I guess we all forgot how hot and humid it was in Orlando-even though we had been there the past three years. Once we walked out of the airport to catch the shuttle to Thrifty car rental, we began remembering the humidity. Although it was uncommonly hot and humid the entire week (heat indices of 100 to 105 degrees), there was hardly any rain-unlike during our visits to Orlando the past three years.
After picking up our rental car from Thrifty car rental at about 4pm, we proceeded to Port Orleans Riverside to check-in. The previous day I called to confirm my reservation and also ask for a specific room location-a procedure I learned about from Brian Bennett's 'Notes from the World' updates here on Mouseplanet. :) At check-in, I was happy to learn that I was able to get the building and floor I requested (Alligator Bayou Bldg. 15, upper floor). Check-in went very smoothly.
We got to our room and noted it was basically a Motel 6 type of room with a theme. Also, it had the Motel 6 type of smell as well. If you've been inside Injun Joe's Cave at Disneyland (and possibly at the Magic Kingdom-the last time I was at Tom Sawyer's Island in Orlando was 1984), the room had that kind of smell. Later we discovered that the smell originated from the air coming out of the air conditioner. What really got a bunch of laughs from everybody was the trundle bed beneath one of the two double-beds in the room. The trundle bed was a small mattress that you could wheel out from underneath the double-bed closest to the room's door. Note that we are used to time-share rooms in Orlando, so this was kind of a shock-I suppose I should have inspected the room diagrams on the Walt Disney World website more carefully, but I didn't want to spend more than the $121 a night that I spent for this standard room. On the bright side, the refrigerator I requested was at the room about 15 minutes after we first got to the room-the service at Port Orleans is wonderful (as you will read about later). Case in point-our room had a leaky faucet, and the maintenance people were at our room within 10 minutes of our call, and had the problem fixed quite quickly.
After we got over the initial shock of the room, we drove to one of the local Publix supermarkets to stock up on food for breakfast and drinks. To conserve costs, we usually eat cereal and bread for breakfast. My Dad was lamenting the fact that the room didn't have a toaster, but we survived.
The room was a unit that had an adjoining door between rooms, and because of this we were able to hear our neighbors talking and watching TV until about midnight. Then they were quiet. Since we like to go to bed around 11pm to be able to wake up at 7am to get to the parks when they open at 9am, we decided that the following day we would ask at the front desk to see if we could switch to a unit that didn't have an adjoining door between rooms.
DAY 2
Saturday, July 13: Rain at Busch Gardens Tampa, Switching Rooms
Last year when we were in Orlando we didn't head down to Busch Gardens Tampa because we did Disney-MGM Studios and the Magic Kingdom along with Universal and Sea World. We bought the Orlando Flex pass last year without the Busch Gardens Tampa option. Those Flex passes are wonderful...but I digress.
The main reason we went to Busch Gardens was that there was a ride that was new to us, opened last year, called Rhino Rally. In theory, I was going to ride Rhino Rally and then ride the Kilamanjaro Safaris at the Animal Kingdom and then compare the two. In theory. Unfortunately, our day at Tampa Bay was essentially rained out.
Before we even entered Busch Gardens it was pouring, so we stopped at a Walgreen's close to the park and bought some ponchos-thinking we would eventually have to use them in Orlando. We entered the parking lot and bought the preferred parking, which was a hefty $11. Ouch! However, we didn't want to use the tram to take us to the parking lot across the street if it was raining cats and dogs, so the ability to walk to our car was somewhat worth the expense. We used our Busch Gardens Williamsburg "Gold" season passes to buy tickets at half-price.
Rhino Rally was closed from the time we got to the park at around 11:30pm until the time we left at around 6pm, which was kind of a bummer. The ride operators told us that the rain had flooded parts of the ride and that the rain wouldn't stop long enough to justify pumping the 12 feet of flood-water out of the ride. Gwazi, the park's racing/dueling wooden roller coaster, was not working either-but we've ridden it before. Although Rhino Rally was down for the day, we managed to ride once each on Kumba and Montu (both excellent steel roller coasters), as well as see the Chinese Acrobats show, the Dolphin Show, and ride the park's train through the Serengeti plain section of the park. We also discovered a new location to eat besides our perennial favorite (the Festhaus)-a sandwich place at the Crown Colony House.
The ride operators at Kumba and Montu were dispatching trains at a slower rate than I've come to expect from Busch Gardens Tampa. The crews at Busch Gardens Williamsburg were much faster (though still not as fast as the operators at Disney, which I'll talk about later). In fact, the employees at Busch Gardens Tampa were rather like zombies when compared to the Disney Cast Members, or the Cast Members at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. And yes, in Williamsburg the employees are known as Cast Members, like at Disney.
By way, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has a cool rain-check policy. If rain affects your visit, just go the big tent in the parking lot and exchange your ticket for a return ticket that is valid within the next 7 days. They even take your picture, which is really fun-so the ticket is like a mini-season pass. We didn't plan on returning, but I now have a neat souvenir ticket with my picture on it from Busch Gardens.
When we arrived back at Port Orleans Riverside, Dad and I went to the front desk to change rooms. We asked for, and were able to get, a room without an adjoining door to another room. At this point we bought our E-ride night tickets which would take place Tuesday night. Equipped with a new, quieter room, we were able to get a wonderful night's sleep to prepare us for the park-hopping adventure of the following day.
DAY 3
Sunday, July 14: Disney-MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, Epcot
Having visited both Busch Gardens parks, we were spoiled only having to deal with low to moderate crowds. Later we would keep saying we didn't know how great we had it in Williamsburg. Anyway, this day marked our first visit to the Disney property, and we were all set to begin battling the hordes of people at the Disney parks. But you know what? There were no hordes to contend with the entire week! Last year we bought single day tickets to Disney-MGM Studios and the Magic Kingdom (with one of those days coming from a time share pitch--$17.50 per ticket, as I mentioned in the Introduction). We went to the Magic Kingdom on a Monday (huge, huge mistake-never ever ever go to the Magic Kingdom on a Monday-lest you wish to contend with LOTS of people), and Disney-MGM Studios on a Wednesday. Both parks were jammed last year, prompting us to give up on Disney-MGM Studios at 3pm last year, even though the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is my favorite Disney attraction in Orlando or California. This brings me to another point: take Brian Bennett's advice and take at least a 2-hour (or heck, 3-hour) break each day. We took this advice and felt fresher and more able to deal with the crowds (not hordes) that we did encounter, and it's nice to be out of the parks in the heat of the day anyway. Take your break sometime between 1pm and 4pm. And another tip: unless you absolutely have to, never buy a single day ticket to an Orlando Disney park-always have a park hopper of some sort.
When we entered the Studios at about 9:30am, the Tower was a walk-on. I had gotten Fastpasses before I saw the line, but it was just fine because a Cast Member working the Tower Fastpass asked me if I was also going to ride the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Of course I was, and he handed me three Fastpasses for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. I'm thinking they were special Fastpasses since their return times were from 9:15 to 9:45am, and I believe normal Fastpasses start with a return time an hour after park opening, which would be 10am at the earliest. During one of our rides on the Tower, the Elevator got stuck at the bottom of the drop shaft for 15-20 minutes. I thought this was pretty neat, being able to see what the bottom of the drop shaft looks like with the lights on. We were offered an immediate re-ride because of the wait. I suppose I would rather have been stuck in the 5th Dimension room, since there is air conditioning in there. After riding the Tower 8 times and the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster 3 times, we headed back to our room at around 1pm for lunch (Subway sandwiches) and a 2.5-hour break.
After our break, we headed to the Animal Kingdom, which was brand new to us. Note that you can wind up doing lots of walking at the Animal Kingdom, but I don't think it's quite as large as Busch Gardens Tampa. We arrived just ahead of the Lion King parade, so we were able to walk quickly to Countdown to Extinction...er...Dinosaur, instead of being caught in the parade-watching crowds. I had read on the Internet that Dinosaur was supposed to be tamer than its original incarnation as Countdown to Extinction. The ride didn't seem tame to me at all-in fact I think it was bumpier than Indiana Jones here at Disneyland. The ride has an identical track layout to Indiana Jones, but it's quite a bit darker. There are many signs in the queue warning parents that the ride may be too intense for small children, and those signs aren't kidding. Dinosaur is a fun ride, and for me it was the best thing at Animal Kingdom. After 3 rides, we headed to Kali River Rapids.
Fortunately, I had seen video of Kali River Rapids and knew that it has a monster queue. The Standby line stopped outside the temple, and didn't move at all in the ten minutes my Dad and I stood there, so we left and went to the Kilamanjaro Safaris instead. We were able to see lots and lots of animals-lions, hippos, alligators, ostriches, gazelles, wildebeests, warthogs, elephants, and assorted birds. I had read on the Internet that the animals don't come out until around 5:30pm, so keep that in mind and save the Kilamanjaro Safaris as your last ride. I think the Safaris would be just fine without the "save Big Red and Little Red from the poachers" storyline. But other than that, it was much better than I expected.
Since our Safari ended at around 5:50pm, we had time to catch the last show of It's Tough to Be a Bug. We had already seen the cloned version here at California Adventure, but the queue at the Animal Kingdom is much, much, much, much longer. I prefer California Adventure's queue, which gives the illusion that you are an ant burrowing into the ground. The Animal Kingdom show also has a couple things that the California Adventure version does not-spotlights at the base of the theater, and fans that generate wind when bees or hornets are flying during the show.
Now for a bit of editorializing: neither Mom, Dad, nor myself was very impressed with the Animal Kingdom. It's very pretty, but there's not a whole lot to do there. We didn't see the Lion King, Tarzan, or bird shows. But we weren't going to come back to see them and ride Kali River Rapids. We also just glanced at the new section of Dinoland U.S.A.-DinoRama. I don't like Wild Mouse roller coasters, so that's why we just glanced at it. I understand now why they close the park at 6pm-in the summer, no less-there's just not enough to keep people there past that time. I was also surprised that the bird show stopped at 3pm. I would have thought that it could have run until at least 5pm. The good news is that the Animal Kingdom has room to expand. End of editorializing.
From the Animal Kingdom we headed to Epcot from 7pm to 9pm. We ate dinner at the Electric Café and had some dry chicken sandwiches. Blech! More advice-if you're going to eat at the parks, be sure to eat at one of the sit down restaurants where the food is better. I knew that Future World shut down at 7pm, but lo and behold, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and the Imagination Pavilion (both Journey Into Imagination with Figment and Honey I Shrunk the Audience) were all open! So we went to each of those things (except Test Track, which had a 75-minute wait). I had forgotten Spaceship Earth-the last time I rode it was in 1992. Now I won't have to ride it again for another 5 to 10 years. The addition of Figment back to the Imagination ride was very nice, but I still like the original ride better. I'm also glad the "One Little Spark" song found its way back to the Imagination ride in an updated form. Mom and Dad hadn't been on the Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3-D movie here at Disneyland, so they really enjoyed the part were the mice run into the audience. After the Imagination pavilion, we headed to World Showcase to ride the Maelstrom. I had thought that this ride was a little longer than it was, but it's still fun to go through part of the ride backwards. We tried to get on Test Track for the last ride of the day, but we got to the entrance about 2 minutes too late. Of course, we would be there tomorrow, and this way Dad got to watch the fireworks from the IllumiNations show.
DAY 4
Monday, July 15: Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios
We awoke again at 7am, ate our cereal, bananas, and bread, and we were all set to enjoy Epcot in the morning (the rest of Future World that we didn't see on Sunday and The American Adventure in World Showcase).
We arrived at Epcot shortly after 9am and headed straight to Test Track to get Fastpasses and then we got in line to the single-rider line. Again, I learned about the single-rider line from the internet, and would advise EVERYBODY to use it. The wait was never longer than 5 to 10 minutes. Mom and I weren't overly impressed by Test Track, but Dad liked it. He likes fast cars, so I guess that's why he enjoyed it so much. Mom and I decided that we'd give Dad our two Fastpasses so he could ride it some more, and while he was doing that we would be watching the American Adventure.
But first we walked a little to our left, past the Mission Space construction (that should be a very interesting ride-fascinating technology) and onward to the Universe of Energy. This was the first time any of us had seen the Ellen/Bill Nye overlay. We enjoyed the entire thing very much-and we even got to see the ENTIRE preshow. For me, the Universe of Energy is the best thing at Epcot. I still like the dinosaur part and really enjoy the "moving theater" vehicles. For future reference, try and pick the vehicle on the far left side of the theater as you enter-this vehicle is the first to depart and I think you get the best show value in this vehicle.
It was time for Mom and myself to walk way, way, way, way back to the American Adventure, so we left Dad at Test Track and said we'd meet him in about an hour. Mom and I couldn't figure out how people could walk all the way back the American Adventure in the blazing hot sun (there was cloud-cover when we were walking). We walked around the right side of World Showcase--passing by Canada, England, France, Morocco, and Japan. We were ever so slightly hot by the time we got to the American pavilion, and we noticed a Shaved Ice stand at the front of the Japan Pavilion. We decided that, after the American Adventure, we would get some shaved ice.
Well, it turned out that we would be getting our Shaved Ices sooner rather than later, as a Cast Member in front of the American Adventure said they were experiencing technical difficulties and didn't know if the next show at 12:30pm (it was about 11:20am when we got there) would even be able to run. So, Mom and I headed back to the Shaved Ice stand, got our Shaved Ices, and abandoned plans to see the American Adventure (we really didn't want to go back there again, even though there is a boat that goes across the lagoon). We decided to take one of those boats back-the one that runs from Japan to just in front of Canada. This was really cool, because we had never used those boats, and also it was just Mom, myself, and some other guy on the boat.
After our boat shuttle to the front of World Showcase, we headed to Test Track to pick up Dad. Apparently, he had given all three of the Fastpasses to three girls that had just come off the ride during one of his single-rider trips. He rode the ride 5 times using the single-rider line. As I said, he really enjoyed Test Track.
We took a very long break this day. We ate lunch and decided that tonight would be our last night at Port Orleans Riverside-it was just too small for us. So Dad checked in our American Automobile Association (AAA) guidebook and found a hotel that had suites available for $99 a night. It was fun to watch him make the reservations as we were finishing our lunch at Ruby Tuesday (which has a wonderful "Colossal Burger," a great BBQ chicken sandwich, and superb fajitas).
When we returned to Port Orleans Riverside, we decided to take a walking tour of the place to see all of the extra "resort" amenities that we were leaving behind. We walked to Old Man Island, saw the neat little waterslide there, and walked to the Magnolia Bend area of the resort. A note to folks trying to videotape their vacations in Orlando-depending on your camcorder, you may or may not be able to tape anything outdoors because it is too humid. Fortunately, we had our still-camera so we took pictures during our resort tour walk.
After some more resting (I can't emphasize how important it is to take a break from the parks for 2 to 3 hours), we then ate dinner outside the parks and headed back to Disney-MGM studios at around 7:30pm. We got five more rides on the Tower. This was the first night that we closed out the day at the Tower, and the bellhops were VERY, VERY GOOD acting their roles. They are such a big part of the entire show at the Tower, and definitely made my evening memorable.
DAY 5
Tuesday, July 16: Disney-MGM Studios, New Hotel, Magic Kingdom E-ride Night
Again, we woke up at some time around 7am. The previous evening we had packed all our suitcases yet again--for the third time since we got to Orlando! Before we went to the front desk to check out, I made reservations for lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater for 1pm. We checked out (again, a smooth and fast process), and arrived at Disney-MGM Studios at about 9:45am. This morning we would log five more rides on the Tower, and before lunch we were able to do the Great Movie Ride and Muppets 3D as well.
For some reason, I thought that the Great Movie Ride was much, much slower than I remembered last year. We got the gunfight at the old west town and got a gunfighter for our "jump-aboard" Cast Member, instead of the other option-the gangster. Also, The Cast Members were kind of just going through the motions throughout the ride, so that probably contributed to my perceived "slowness." The Muppets were good, as usual, and I see them during my frequent trips to California Adventure. I had thought that the California Muppets 3D version had more theming in the preshow area-but it has mostly the same stuff as Florida-except our version has a really funny display clock that contains many cool jokes. I missed that clock in Florida.
We got to the Sci-Fi diner at 12:50pm, and were seated before we could go explore the bookstore next door! We had a fantastic waiter, who imitated the 1950s drive-in era lingo. The food was excellent as well. I had the burger with sautéed mushrooms (mmm, mmm, good) and Mom and Dad split the chicken sandwich. I stole several of their onion rings, too. We finished off the meal with a "Big Bang" sundae containing vanilla and chocolate ice cream, strawberries, chocolate fudge, caramel, and m&m's sprinkled throughout. Positively delicious. We watched the entire 47-minute tape loop of Sci-Fi flicks-I really enjoyed the atmosphere. For people with larger families, be warned that you sit side by side in "cars" that have three rows at the most. So talking to people behind you or in front of you will be slightly difficult. But I will definitely be eating there again the next time I visit.
After one more ride on the Tower (I think at this point I had the entire preshow and on-ride narration memorized-yes, scary, I know, but fun for me) using our Fastpasses that I got before we ate lunch, we bid adieu to the Studios and headed for our new hotel-the Buena Vista Suites. This hotel is located in a really good location, at the intersection between the 535 and 536 roads. From here it's easy to drive to Sea World or Universal without using the freeway. And also, you can take the 536 straight into Walt Disney World without using the freeway.
After our customary rest and break period, we did some more grocery shopping (bananas for the rest of the week, pretzels, snacks and such) and then once again ate a nice dinner outside the parks. We ate a large dinner, knowing we would need fuel to last until 1am for the complete E-ride Night experience.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom parking lot at about 7:15pm, and arrived at the actual Magic Kingdom gate at around 8pm. Perhaps one day a large parking structure might appear next to the Magic Kingdom (as it is here at Disneyland) to facilitate easier access from the parking lot, but that day will be long in coming. Until then, I'll just dream. We picked up our E-ride Night wristbands next to City Hall, and then headed to the 'Big Board' to see what wait times were like. Unfortunately, at 8pm, there is no Cast Member working the 'Big Board' and no times were displayed. Since Spectromagic would be going on at 9pm, I decided to head for the Haunted Mansion and then Fantasyland-away from the hordes of people gathering to watch the parade.
Suffice it to say that I prefer our original Disneyland Haunted Mansion over The Magic Kingdom's version. I do like the new Madame Leota gravestone in the queue though-she opens her eyes very quickly, and you really have to be looking at her to see her eyes open. Now for the problems: the hanging man in the stretching room was blurry-it was like looking through a gray cloud. Methinks the scrim screen there needs to be cleaned, if that's even possible. I like our loading area much, much more than Orlando's. Instead of gradually narrowing down the walkway as at Disneyland, Orlando's walkway narrows suddenly and causes a great big ol' traffic jam. I don't know how this problem can be fixed. Next, part of the on-ride narration was missing-the Ghost Host didn't say "each one of our ghosts has been dying to meet you-this one can hardly contain himself. Unfortunately, they all seem to have trouble coming through." I also prefer the way Madame Leota's head is projected at our Haunted Mansion. In Orlando, you can see the ray of light from where the projector is located. Also, the singing busts need an overhaul. The two on the far left (I don't know their names) are fuzzy and need their resolution fixed. Finally, it seems that the "Grim Grinning Ghosts" song is broadcast much more clearly here in California. I know-the average Joe probably won't notice any of these things, but to the burgeoning Disney fanatic, it does make a difference. I will say, though, that the Cast Members working the Mansion were first rate-especially the Cast Member working the stretching room. He was a riot! Very, very creepy.
After we rode the Mansion, we headed for Fantasyland and rode Snow White's Scary Adventures and then (*gasp*) It's a Small World. For some reason, I think that Orlando's version moves faster than ours. Of course, I haven't ridden the Disneyland version for many years now, and since I've ridden Orlando's version, I don't plan to ride ours again for many, many years to come. After Small World, we took another ride on the Mansion because Spectromagic hadn't finished yet. After the Mansion, it was off to Pirates of the Caribbean-and by the time we got off that it would be time for the E-ride night to start.
I enjoyed Orlando's Pirates very much. Like It's a Small World, the boats seem to move faster than our boats. Even though I rode it last year, I forgot that it actually does have a 15-20 foot small drop. Another reason I enjoyed the Magic Kingdom's Pirates is that it does not have a truckload of mist obscuring your vision as you enter the pirate ship versus the fort scene. Our Pirates has way, way, way too much mist in that area-which for me just irritates my eyes and interferes with my normal breathing. I suppose it's there to convey the idea that you are being whisked back in time because of the evil curse on the treasure. It's something I could do without, though. There was a major boat jam at the end of the ride-we were backed up to just before the jail scene with the dog holding the keys in its mouth. I know Disneyland's version sometimes gets backed up like this-too many boats on the circuit, I suppose.
After Pirates, the park was officially closed and the E-ride Night had begun. We took a couple of walk-on rides on Big Thunder Mountain, which I think is better at night, and then we moved on to Splash Mountain. Now, when we rode this last year, none of us remembered getting extremely wet, approaching soaked. Let me tell you now-you get nigh soaked on Splash Mountain. Disneyland's Splash Mountain isn't near as wet, and for that I'm thankful-even though I think the Magic Kingdom's Splash Mountain has a better show. It didn't help that we got hit by the water jets that spray out from the briar patch as our log was waiting to go up the second lift-but if that was the only "splash" we received (as it is here at Disneyland), everything would have been fine. What made all of this even more enchanting was that we had brought ponchos to the park because it looked like it might rain during the E-ride Night. Had we worn the ponchos, we probably would have avoided the soaking.
We then headed to Space Mountain for the remainder of the evening. After our initial voyage into deep space, Dad and I realized that we were going to freeze in the sub-zero air conditioning of the queue. So, we bought two Space Mountain T-shirts-ensuring that at least half our body would be dry. Mom elected not to ride after I informed her that it's a wee bit more jerky than Disneyland's Space Mountain-and it can be VERY jerky if you sit in the house of pain-seat number three on either side. After four rides, I had recognized the jerky spots and was able to prepare for them. After my seventh and final ride of the evening, I had the layout memorized (yes, I know-scary--but fun for me). The right side has 11 left turns and 6 right turns, while the left side has 11 right turns and 6 left turns-exact mirror images of each other, as I have read should be the case. Also, each side has four drops, the largest of which occurs last. I'll have to admit, Orlando's Space Mountain grows on you-just watch out for seat number three.
At some point during our Space Mountain marathon, we all took a ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and also the People mover...er...Tomorrowland Transit Authority. In fact, Mom rode Buzz three more times while Dad and I were busy at Space Mountain. Buzz Lightyear could be greatly improved if the guns had index-finger triggers, rather than thumb triggers. It's very difficult to push the firing button. For the ultimate shoot-'em-up dark ride, go ride Men In Black at Universal Studios instead. Men In Black is truly and out of this world experience. And it has a single-rider line!
By 1am we were all very tired, and I think by that time we had all finally dried out from our "splashing much closer to soaking" at Splash Mountain. I'm glad we did it at night with no wait, so we wouldn't have to waste a Fastpass on it if we chose to visit the Magic Kingdom again-which we did wind up doing. We returned to the comfort of the Buena Vista Suites at 2am, and fell asleep like rocks.
DAY 6
Wednesday, July 17: Sleep in, Laundry, The Stunning Realization, Blizzard Beach
We woke up at 9am or so, went down to eat our complimentary breakfast (scrambled eggs, French toast, hash browns, and regular toast-among other things) and then went back to the room to sleep. How about that-a larger room AND a complimentary breakfast-for $20 cheaper than Port Orleans-and it would have been $100 cheaper if I hadn't used the internet Disney deal! Yikes!
Throughout the day, we did our laundry at the guest laundry facilities. That's the great thing about timeshares-you get your own washing machine and dryer. I think we had a late lunch at Red Lobster. It was during this lunch that I had the STUNNING REALIZATION. It was this: I had run out of things to do at Disney. We had already banked one of our six days, and we figured it would be best to bank another day-since they never expire. I discovered that yes, it is possible to ride one attraction too many times. Instead of spending the following day riding the Tower all day, we decided to buy some single day passes to Islands of Adventure at the AAA office in Kissimmee.
However, it was getting close to the time I had planned to enter Blizzard Beach-namely 4:30pm. So, Dad dropped us off at Blizzard Beach at 4:30pm and went to go purchase the Islands of Adventure tickets-and he would meet us at the lockers at 6pm. He's a very special Dad. Mom isn't too bad, either. He was still able to do almost the entire park from 6pm to 7:15pm. Mom and I got to do everything, except for the two big-drop slides: the Slush Gusher and the Summit Plummet, and the downhill double dipper-those lines were much too long. I would suggest that if you really, really want to do those slides, get there when the park opens. However, if you want short waits and multiple rides on all of the other slides, go on a weekday after 4pm and stay until the park closes.
My favorite ride at Blizzard Beach is sort of a toss-up between the double-tubes on Runoff Rapids and Teamboat Springs. In just 2.5 hours, I was able to get 12 rides-once each on the three twisting face-first mat slides (the Snow Stormers), twice on the triple bump downhill face first mat racing slide (the Toboggan Racers), five times on Runoff Rapids, and twice on Teamboat Springs. I was on my way up the mountain at 7:15pm for one last ride on the Toboggan Racers, but approaching inclement weather made the park close early-so I had to walk back DOWN the mountain. That's another thing-be prepared to do lots and lots of climbing and walking at Blizzard Beach. We were quite exhausted after those 2.5 hours. Thankfully, it was an early night and we got to go to sleep early to be ready for our next day at Islands of Adventure.
DAY 7
Thursday, July 18: Islands of Adventure, Minority Report, Stunning Realization #2
We got to the Universal Parking structure at about 8:45am, and got into Islands of Adventure at roughly 9am. Do not underestimate the value of a parking structure-being able to return to your car at midday without having to first let out all the heat is a wonderful thing.
Once inside Islands, we went to get some Universal Express (their version of Fastpass) tickets for Spider-Man. Then Dad and I went to marathon Dueling Dragons, while Mom went on the Cat in the Hat, the Caro-seuss-el, Jurassic Park, and the Flying Unicorn (a kiddie coaster installed last year which is quite fun). We rode four times on the Fire and Ice dragons. This took just a little over an hour (amazing how much you can do here in so little time at the beginning of the day), and then Mom met us at the Dueling Dragons exit. Mom and Dad headed to Seuss Landing while I headed to Jurassic Park, and we met at Spider-Man to use up our Universal Express tickets.
I suppose I'll grind to a halt here and give a little description of Islands of Adventure. I've visited the park the past three years and I really, really enjoy it-I rank it #2 on my theme park list behind Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Two of my favorite coasters (the Hulk and Dueling Dragons) live here, as does my favorite rapids ride (Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges) and my #2 log flume (Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls--#1 is Splash Mountain). It has two awesome dark rides (Cat in the Hat and Spider-Man), and also Jurassic Park-basically a Six-Flags Tidal-Wave type boat ride with an extended layout. It also has a spectacular stunt show-the Eighth Voyage of Sinbad. The only two clunker attractions at the park are the Triceratops Encounter (major yawn) and Poseidon's Fury-which got slightly better after last year's makeover. Poseidon's Fury is a walk-through show which has three rooms. It is VERY cold in both the queue and the show rooms, so be warned. Be sure to wait in line for the Hulk at least once so that you can see the nice queue and watch the history of the Hulk on the TV monitors. Also, be sure to check out the Dueling Dragons queue-the best ride queue there is (yes, I think it's better than the Indiana Jones queue at Disneyland). Even if you don't want to ride the coaster, walk through the line. It's fabulous. Now, back to the story.
After our ride on Spidey, Dad and I rode Dr. Doom's Fearfall using the single rider line. Because Spider-Man, Dr. Doom, and the Hulk all have single rider lines, you really don't need to use the Universal Express system for them. Use it for Jurassic Park if you want to ride it in the heat of the day-and use it for Poseidon's Fury (because that isn't worth waiting for more than 10 minutes). The single rider lines never have more than a 15-minute wait. Dr. Doom's Fearfall features some very nice ejector seat airtime-but that's all it does. For those who are interested, it shoots you up 150 feet, you get the airtime, and then it oscillates up and down to use up the initial momentum-but there's no more airtime after that initial ejector seat Moment. The Tower of Terror is infinitely better. What was really cool at Dr. Doom's Fearfall was that Dr. Doom himself was greeting riders at the entrance.
After Dr. Doom, we got Universal Express tickets for the Hulk. Dad and I rode the Hulk using the single rider line. After Hulking-out, we left the park to see when 'Minority Report' was playing at the CityWalk theaters. It turned out to be at 3pm, and it was about 1:15pm. So, we ate lunch at Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. I had a veggie burger, Mom had a chicken sandwich, and Dad had a fish sandwich. The past three years that we've been in Orlando and have eaten at Margaritaville, the food was good. This time was the anomaly. Mom's chicken sandwich and my veggie burger were dry, although Dad's fish sandwich was good. After lunch, Dad and I rode the Hulk one more time using the regular line (25-minute wait) while Mom rode the Cat in the Hat one more time. Also, I noticed this year at Universal that there were more characters out and about than in my previous three years of visits.
After the Hulk, it was time to watch 'Minority Report.' We all really enjoyed it, and were glad Steven Spielberg recovered from the disaster (in our opinion) that was 'A.I.' After the movie, we went back to the hotel to sleep for a couple of hours, intending to go back to Islands of Adventure at night-ride Dueling Dragons at night and watch the fireworks. Now came the STUNNING REALIZATION #2: I was done with Islands of Adventure, even though I love its coasters and I hadn't yet ridden the Cat in the Hat. Of course, since we had been to Islands of Adventure the past three years, I've ridden the Cat in the Hat before and have done Dueling Dragons to close out the day before, so we decided to rest up and prepare for the our last day in Orlando--a park hopping extravaganza that I had planned during lunch at Margaritaville. Sometime before dinner I made reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern at the Magic Kingdom for 12:15pm-so everything was set for a final day of adventure.
DAY 8
Friday, July 19: Disney-MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom, and back to MGM Studios
On napkin, the initial plan was to first secure my twentieth ride on the Tower (up to this point I had ridden 19 times), and then head to the Magic Kingdom for some closure at Space Mountain-also to give me the chance to make sure my memorized ride layout was, in fact, correct. After our customary break, we were to head to the Animal Kingdom for several more rides on Dinosaur, and then finally finish at the Studios on one of the best vacation closers of all time-the Tower of Terror. As the day went along, we jettisoned the plan to go ride Dinosaur-we figured more rides on the Tower and a couple of rides on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster would be time better spent.
After securing rides 20, 21, and 22 on the Tower (and picking up a really nifty Rock 'n' Roller Coaster T-Shirt that shows the ride layout and statistics) we left Disney-MGM Studios at approximately 10am and headed for the Magic Kingdom. Upon entering the Magic Kingdom at around 11am, the first order of business was to secure Fastpasses to Space Mountain. My parents had graciously allowed me to use their Fastpasses in order to get more rides. As I mentioned before, I have special parents. While I was getting the Fastpasses, Mom and Dad went to the Hall of Presidents. To kill time on my first Fastpass, I first went into Timekeeper, then walked out since the movie wouldn't start for another 15 minutes. So I headed over to Pirates, and as soon as I got in line, the ride broke down. Fortunately for me, the next show at the Tiki Room: Under New Management, was just about to begin, so I ducked in there.
I really, really, really enjoy the revamped Tiki Room. I wish that Disneyland's version would get a similar overlay. After the Tiki Room, I headed back to Space Mountain, used my Fastpass, and got three more Fastpasses before heading to meet my folks at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We had a fantastic lunch-Dad ordered a salad, Mom ordered the burger, and I had the salmon. Everything was very, very tasty. The only warning I would give people is that the bathrooms at the restaurant are VERY, VERY tiny. You would have better luck using the restrooms around the corner in the archway that links Adventureland to Frontierland.
After lunch, we headed to Winnie the Pooh to pick up Fastpasses before I went off to Space Mountain. Mom and Dad did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and Carousel of Progress while I finished my 3 rides on Space Mountain for a total of 11 for the trip. We still had time to kill until our Pooh Fastpasses activated, so we went to Timekeeper. This was once the old Circlevision, and last year it was closed-so this was new to each of us. We all really enjoyed it-it's very funny. After that, we rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh where we bounced with Tigger (that's always fun) and then got washed down river in the rain (love those motion-base vehicles). After Pooh, we headed for the Toontown Fair train station to catch a train to the front of the park, since we wanted to avoid walking into the parade that had started at 3pm.
We got out of the park at about 3:30pm, and then headed back to the hotel for a final recharge of batteries. After dinner, only Dad and I headed back to Disney-MGM Studios-Mom decided to rest and pack. I got two more rides on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and six more rides on the Tower. Dad got seven, because he rode the Tower while I used his Fastpass on the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Again, we had fantastic bellhops for our final journeys beyond the Fifth Dimension-and on our last ride of the trip we even had a cool bellhop working at the unload area: he was telling Jungle Cruise type jokes, related to the Tower, of course. This really put the perfect close to a wonderful vacation.
DAY 9
Saturday, July 20: Bye-bye Orlando. Our plane departed at 10:05am, and we arrived at the airport around 8:30am. 15 hours and three connecting flights later, we were back in Los Angeles.
THE BAD AND THE UGLY
We were very surprised at the Motel 6 size of the room at Port Orleans Riverside. Although the guest service is first rate, the room size was just too small. As I said, I should have looked at the sample room diagram on the Disney website better. I have subsequently searched for the resorts with larger rooms, and what I found is that you need to stay in a "Deluxe" Resort or "Home Away From Home" Resort to get a room with 2 queen beds. If I stay on Disney property again, my first choice will likely be the Grand Floridian.
The Magic Kingdom's Haunted Mansion is in need of a refurbishment in certain areas when compared to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion.
Animal Kingdom could use a couple to several more attractions that aren't shows. Dinosaur and the Kilimanjaro Safaris are fun, but that's about all there is.
Not really bad, but an observation-Walt Disney World should switch to printing FastPasses on the sturdier, more business card-like paper that Disneyland uses.
THE GOOD
It seemed to me that this year the Cast Members working the FastPass merge points on the queues were doing a better job of making the Standby lines move faster. Whenever there was not a large group of FastPass guests waiting at the merge point, the Standby guests were able to move ahead until the FastPass line built up a larger group. Compare this to last year at Disney-MGM Studios and the Magic Kingdom when, if you held a race between the Standby lines and a rock-the rock would win.
Timekeeper was a pleasant surprise at the Magic Kingdom-I'm glad we killed some FastPass time in there and watched Robin Williams the robot make us laugh.
It was very good to see Figment again at Journey Into Imagination. Also, Epcot has some drinking fountains in Future World that talk back to you. They're pretty funny.
It's so great that each Disney park is non-smoking except in designated areas. Contrast this to Busch Gardens Tampa and Islands of Adventure, where people were lighting up everywhere! People were also smoking quite a bit at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
THE SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS
The Sci-Fi Diner and the Liberty Tree Tavern were two outstanding sit-down restaurants, and I highly recommend them both.
28 rides on The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror was fantastic. Also, I enjoyed getting stuck at the bottom of the drop shaft so that I could look around down there with the lights on. I was hoping to get stuck on Space Mountain so I could see it with the lights on, but that will have to wait for another time.
I was able to return with five great new T-Shirts. Of these, the best discovery was a Swedish Chef T-Shirt at the Muppets gift shop.
105 rides/shows in a week at Walt Disney World, Islands of Adventure, and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a pretty nice total. And that was just for me-multiply that by 2.5 or so and you get the total number of rides/shows when you include Mom and Dad.
TIPS AND HINTS
Always order tickets in advance. May I suggest floridaticketsinc.com or the AAA.
Always write down the parking lot section and number where you parked your car. You don't want to spend 15-20 minutes hunting for your car-especially if you're eager to hop to another park.
Designate one person in your group to be the FastPass gopher. Preferably someone who likes to walk around a lot and walks really fast.
From the moment you enter a Disney park, go get a FastPass and ALWAYS be holding a FastPass until the end of the day.
For maximum benefit from FastPass, be mindful of the printed time on the bottom of your FastPasses that lets you know when you can get another FastPass. Get your next FastPass first, and then proceed to your "open window" FastPass attraction.
Arrive at the Animal Kingdom at or after 4pm. The only line was for Kali River Rapids. Everything else was a walk-on.
Save the Kilamanjaro Safaris for the last ride of the day-the animals come out in the afternoon.
Arrive at Blizzard Beach (or Typhoon Lagoon) at or after 4:30pm on a weekday, and the lines will be minimal (except at the big drop slides). And be prepared to do lots of walking/climbing at either park.
Split up your group and use the Single Rider Line at Test Track. Your wait will be very short-often 10 minutes or less, or when my dad was riding-walk-on.
Make reservations for sit-down restaurants in advance using the (409) WDW-DINE phone number. You'll thank yourself when you only have to wait 5 to 10 minutes to eat instead of 45-60 minutes.
Lastly, and most importantly, TAKE A 2 or 3 HOUR BREAK from the parks during the heat of the day (1pm to 4pm). Taking a break really does help.
WRAP UP
If you made it this far, congratulations and thank you for spending the last 20 minutes or so reading this trip report. Oh, I almost forgot-I had one more point to make: at Disney, there STILL is a difference. I was talking to my parents and observing that, once you get hooked on Disney, everything else isn't quite up to the same standard. Busch Gardens Williamsburg and both Universal Orlando Parks, in my mind, come close to the Disney park experience-but aren't quite there yet. Disney still has the cleanest, friendliest, most efficiently run parks in the world. And Disney parks are non-smoking except in designated areas, which I really, really appreciate. My folks and I had a superb time, and we'll likely be heading back in 2004. After 4 straight years in Orlando, we need at least one year off. Again, thanks for reading and I hope you found something in this quagmire to help with your own trip to Walt Disney World.
A.J. Barela