Disney Adventures Part 2

On Friday, we arose to the lovely sound of our wakeup call at 6:30. We had to be up at our timeshare meeting at 7:30, so we rushed to get ready and headed over there. Basically, it was a timeshare pitch for some Sheridan-owned company in which you could stay anywhere, anytime, blah blah blah. We went along with the pitch, and even toured around this location on a golf cart, but in the end, we managed to get out of being suckered in. It took about 3 hours, but for $100 off our tickets, it was worth it! Plus, we got free breakfast out of the deal. Too cool!

Once we escaped, we flew over to Disney, this time heading to the Magic Kingdom. I was excited to see that the boat ride to the entry gate was not a figment of my imagination, so our mini sailing trip was quite nostalgic for me. Once at the park, we started our trip counterclockwise, beginning at Tomorrowland. We started out with the Stitch ride, an all-senses show in which Stitch escapes wreaks havoc on the audience. I think I would have enjoyed it more before it changed from Extraterrestrial Encounter, but it was still amusing. Beyond that, we rode the Carousel of Progress which documented technological achievements over time. I swear the voice of the guy from the show belonged to Norm MacDonald, which was amusing. We also rode the Astro Orbiter, a simple ride in which you can control your ascent and descent, which is found in many forms throughout the parks (Dumbo, Aladdin’s Carpets, and a dinosaur one at Animal Kingdom). Next up was Tomorrowland Transit Authority, which takes you around and through many of the rides. We did another Toy Story-themed ride that involved shooting with a laser gun, but it wasn’t nearly as fun as the one at MGM. Finally, we headed over to Space Mountain, which had been down, much to our chagrin, and took a spin on that. I somehow wound up with the front seat, and the ride was just incredible from there! It was much better than I remember Disneyland’s to be, since, with the lighting of the stars, you could actually see a thing or two. There were a few neat head chopper effects and some nice drops. A very fun ride indeed!

After this, we decided to get a FastPass so we could ride the other track, and we headed over to the Speedway, where we tooled around to kill some time. Finally, it was back over to Space Mountain, where we got our second ride, this time with Nate in the front. What a good time!

After we’d seen all of Tomorrowland, we headed up to Mickey’s Toontown Fair where we rode The Barnstormer, another roller coaster. This was a fair-sized family coaster, though not all that memorable. From there, we toured Mickey and Minnie’s houses before hitting the road down to Fantasyland. As a child, this is the place I remembered most, and I recognized the midway immediately. We took a spin on Winnie the Pooh first, which was a confusing and very trippy adventure. It’s sad that they replaced Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride for this, although I wouldn’t doubt that they’re both equally as trippy. I guess in this case, the lead character doesn’t wind up in Hell, which is probably why they changed it to begin with!

Next up we took a spin on the Snow White dark ride, which was pretty fun, and much like the one in California. We attempted to do Peter Pan next, but the line was exceptionally long, so we got a FastPass and headed over to find Small World. In doing so, I was absolutely perplexed! At Disneyland, Small World is this enormous building at the far end of the park, extremely elaborate and mechanical and saccharine and really hard to miss. Since Magic Kingdom is so similar to Disneyland, down to the placement of most of the rides, I expected no less here. Well, oddly enough, the entire ride is crammed into a row of shops and restaurants, almost easy to miss. However, once you enter the queue, it’s just as cloying and elaborate as that entire building at Disneyland, with much of the same decor. Only you can’t escape! We waited in the 15-or-so minute line, singing along and annoying all the parents around us, I’m sure. It was great! Then we amused ourselves on the ride, trying to determine which country was which, which was actually not as easy as you’d think in some cases. Luckily, we got through the ride quickly enough to avoid going crazy, and we moved on to the next thing…Frontierland. While there, we avoided getting caught up in the parade by hoofing it over the adjacent boardwalk. From there, we boarded a raft and sailed over to Tom Sawyer Island where we explored the forts and windmills and other attractions. We also ate lunch at a seafood restaurant, where I was able to get the clam chowder I’d been longing for. Sadly, unlike Disneyland, they don’t serve it in a bread bowl, but it was still quite good.

At this point, it was time to get back to Peter Pan, so we rode that. I can see why I’d have liked it so much as a kid, as flying was always something I’d wanted to do, and it emulates it quite well, but it was incredibly short. It was identical to the one at Disneyland, too, from what I could tell.

After this, we headed over to the Haunted Mansion, where Nate was handed a timekeeper pass. Basically it’s just a lanyard you take with you to the front of the line so they can determine how long the wait is. It’s funny because Nate wanted to experience that and had actually mentioned it prior to getting in line. Unfortunately, the ride op who was supposed to take it was busy talking to someone and Nate had to bring it back to the cast member outside. No worries…he was asked to (successfully) do the same thing three more times on the trip. I guess he looks responsible or something. ;)

Haunted Mansion was fun – much like the one at Disneyland – probably identical. We did get stuck on it at one point, but not for too long. It’s always fun to see the ghost accompanying you in your car at the end of the ride.

After this, we headed over to Frontierland again to obtain another coaster credit on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It’s really a solid ride and a lot longer than it appears. We wound up in the first row, which was all well and good until I remembered that the guy who got killed at Disneyland’s BTMR was sitting in the same spot – one of the components of the “engine” car broke off and killed him. So that’s what I was thinking about the whole time. Still, it was a fun ride – maybe I’d prefer being further back next time, though.

Then we rode Splash Mountain, which is the same as Disneyland’s. Lots of great animatronics and a good splashdown. I’m actually surprised it’s still there, though, as it’s about as non-PC as you can get, and since they’ve stopped selling and showing Song of the South, I’m not sure that most people recognize the characters anyway. It’s still a fun ride, though.

Finally, we ended up in Adventureland, where we climbed around in the Swiss Family Treehouse, which was a lot of fun, and inspiring to me, as I could see living in a tree one day. It was much better than Disneyland’s recreation into a Tarzan treehouse. They should just leave well enough alone! From there, we rode the jungle cruise, which is hokey as ever, followed up by the Enchanted Tiki Room. All I could think about was what a mess all those birds would make if they were real, not to mention how you’d have to cover your drinks the whole time. I was lucky enough to see this at Disneyland in its original form, but now they have recent Disney bird characters in on the act, which is rather annoying, but whatcha gonna do? After this, we went to do Pirates, which was lame because it seemed like they’d removed some original theming, and now Captain Jack Sparrow is a part of it all. Oh well.

Our last ride of the day was a lap on the train, which was ok, but not spectacular. Then we boarded the monorail and took it over to Epcot for the evening. On the way, I saw an armadillo rummaging in the grass below, which was pretty neat. Never saw any gators, though, sadly.

What can I say about Epcot? It’s one of the most unusual and imaginative parks I’ve ever seen. I think it was both Nathan and my favorite, in fact, and that’s saying a lot, as there are no roller coasters there! Our first night at Epcot was a bit truncated, as we only had about 3 hours before close. We rushed around, starting the night off with Mission Space, which is touted as being one of the most intense rides in the park. It’s a flight training simulator, supposedly designed by NASA. You sit in a rather claustrophobic flight bridge with three other people, and each of you is assigned a duty. You’re supposed to press buttons while the ride goes, simulating launches and shields and all sorts of things. The ride is a centrifuge, pushing you back against the wall as it rotates, simulating an extreme launch. I think it does some other simulator motions as well, but that is the most intense. It was an interesting ride, but not nearly as exciting as I’d been told.

Next, we ran over to Test Track. This ride takes you on a journey through a vehicle testing facility, where they subject you to the things a car would experience during the process: uneven road surfaces, skidding, maneuvering wildly, heat, cold, slamming through a brick wall (or so you think), and speeding along upwards of 60 mph on an outside track. It’s probably my favorite ride in the park, actually.

After that, we went to Spaceship Earth, the ride that resides within the famous Epcot orb. It was a neat journey through the history of mankind and into the future. One neat aspect of the ride was the interactive component. At the end, the computer in your car asks you questions about your ideal future and then puts together your answers to create it for you. Plus, it takes your picture and inserts your faces onto the characters. Later, you can send e-cards to people (if you remember their addresses!) with your faces. Ours were hilarious. I looked devious yet bored, and Nathan had this maniacally happy expression. Good times!

Our last ride of the day would be Soarin’. This is a show in which you sit in seats that raise you above the ground, with your feet dangling. You’re positioned in front of a huge screen, and you watch images of California go by, simulating flying, complete with the smell of oranges and gusts of wind. It’s really an incredible ride, and exactly the same as the one in California. It was a relaxing way to top off the day.

On our way out, Illuminations, the finale, was already going on, so we decided to wait to see it the next day. We beat the crowds out of the park and headed over to the Disney Boardwalk where we ate dinner at the local brew pub. It had a much different atmosphere from the western brew pubs we’re used to, but the beer was good, and so was the food, so we were happy. We wanted to try the “tiki” bar near our hotel that night, but sadly, it was already closed by the time we got over there, so instead we played a few rounds of pool at the local pool hall. On the way over, I noticed that most of the tiny ponds in the area warned not to feed the alligators. That was a bit disconcerting, but I would hope that any gators that live in those small ponds are small themselves. Still, we never saw any.