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[davewasbaloo]

After managing to miss Endor again, and nearly hitting George Lucas with our Star Speeder 3000, we decided to head for Capt EO one more time.

Quick correction. I don't know if you were joking, but it's not George Lucas you see ducking at the end of the Star Tours ride film. It's ILM model maker Ira Keeler.

From DLRPMagic.com:

Contrary to popular belief, the worker seen ducking in shock as your StarSpeeder returns to the Astroport is infact not George Lucas but Ira Keeler, an ILM modelmaker who just happened to be in the right place at the right time!

Wow, I am surprised. It looks like him and I remember when it opened in 1987 they were saying it was him. Uncanny resemblence.

[toritinker]

hi!
thanks for the trip report, i did look out for someone who looked like you but i dont think i saw you!!
you managed to see lots of people though haha!!
I can't believe you queued for 45mins for Annettes, wow! We ate there Sunday 29th and we got seated in 5 minutes (although we were there at 6pm)
thanks for sharing xxx

[davewasbaloo]

At 1pm it was a whole different story (I should know better really but that was how are schedule was).

[RiverRogue]

We did this by hopping on the Mark Twain for a cruise around the Rivers of the Far West and were astonished at the state of the Molly Brown. It looks like they have stripped her down to her bare bones. A little surprising since they had to rebuild her the other year after the fire.

Not really. The fire caused very limited damage and only those parts were repaired, along with some cosmetic repairs here and there... Now they're rebuilding the ship from the ground up. The Mark Twain ought to be next...

[toritinker]

i bet the wait was worth it though x

[DLP-Photos.com]

What a lovely report with some great pictures that really shows how much you, your kids and your friends enjoyed this magical weekend.

You have some interesting points and without being to much like anyone else it was nice to hear your view on TSPL - it sounds very much like the one of myself

Thanks!

[davewasbaloo]

Thanks Nicolai. We did have a very good weekend. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in TSPL.

[DLP-Photos.com]

Thanks Nicolai. We did have a very good weekend. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out in TSPL.

I am also looking forward to seeing it myself in real life to share my final view on it - I know for sure I will be going next summer and maybe already at New Years, which could offer a special opportunity to see in the winter weather which quite a few of us fear

[tubbsy]

Great report-Cant believe how much you managed to pack in What an amazing way to end the summer-apart from the drive back!
Whilst we were stood waiting for OUDP Mark got talking to an AP holder and she chatted with him about how great it was. Mark was seriously tempted but as hes not here for the next year he has decided against it for the moment. Fingers crossed for next year
TSPL-its very interesting to see it in the flesh-It certainly received mixed reviews from my family. Mostly positive but a few niggles. I do wish they would sort the merchandising out in all the shop tho, so that you find things just appropriate to that land with mbe one shop stocking things just in case you dont get a chance to go back and pick up those  much wanted items.

[davewasbaloo]

Thanks Tubbsy, though I think I half killed everyone - lol. They key is to know when and when not to do certain sttractions. It took a lot of persuasion to convince our guests not to get into the 60 minute queue for Buzz in the afternoon/evening but to wait and get up early the next morning ;-)

Annual passes are prefect for anyone planning to go for more than 3 days in the year (Fantasy) or if going for more than 5 or want peak times then the Dream is the way to go (every year we consider going for the Fantasy, but end up getting the Dream - or the equivelent in previous years - we are on year 11 now!).  You can save a lot of money too. It is permissable to book a package for one person then when you arrive add the rest of your party and just pay the tax. Or staying off site (where frankly there are better hotels) if you have a car, though the local bus is ok too if you have a Dream pass, you still get EMH. Plus I like the feeling of knowing we can go whenever we want in theory (though that is also a curse too as you always want to go). Lol

I agree with the merchandise and have felt this way for a very long time. What you described is exactly how they used to work. Every shop was unique (La Curious Giraffe sold African handicrafts and adventureland related merchandise - pith helmet wearing pooh, middle eastern Mickey and Minnie, etc.). Coffre de Capitain was all nautical/pirates gear. The shop in Frontierland was all western gear and frontierland merchandise etc. The only place where you could get the same stuff as elsewhere was the Emporium and the Disney Story in the Village. Then sadly Jay Rasulo and his consultants from Deloit and Touche changed everything - they decided it was cheaper to stock less variety, and to not have specialist items collect dust, and that if it were easy for people to grad the same stuff everywhere, the profits would be higher.

Sadly, it took all the fun out of shopping at DLP. Back in the day, we could spend a day happily shopping - that day we bought a tea set that was the same as auberge, a western skirt for my wife, a persian rug for my MIL, and some pirate gear for me, as well as die cast collectables of the ride vehicles, and we used to hunt for pins in the appropriate areas.

This trip, we hardly went in any shops at all. A real shame.

[i love main st]

fantastic report as usual =D>  looks like you all had a wonderful time...we always try to use the emh as our little boy is autistic and dosnt que very well, he gets on with it,but we could not stand in a que for 60 mins ,so these are a real bonus to us..i carnt wait for our trip in oct,and every report i read makes me feel that little closer to my own,and that little bit more excited....if thats possible
we have looked at getting anuals but when we enquired about room only prices it was astronomical compaired to package prices (with the discounts lately)..but reading your last post about booking for one ,what happens with that,and what sort of prices are the taxes,as that sounds fab....

[davewasbaloo]

Hi i love main st. Thanks for the compliment. EMH is perfect for little ones, autistic and disabled guests (well any guests really). WE had planned on going for naps in the day, but our friend's little one doesn't do naps. They did so well, I was amazed. BTW - did you know that if you can prove your son has an autistic spectrum disorder, they can talk to you about your needs at city hall and offer passes to help?

But yes, currently you can book a room for 1 and then add the others when you arrive if you have APs. I can't remember the tax, but it is a couple of Euro per person. You still get breakfast and an easy pass for EMH.

[tubbsy]

I love main street-Davewasbaloo is right-If you have any paperwork dated within 60 days of your visit stating at some point that your son is on the spectrum you can get a disability pass. Believe me its brilliant. Like you we use EMH to queue so Rob (HF aspergers) gets used to the idea as he will have to do it someday but the pass is there when things get too much. It also helps with parades as he and one other carer can go into the disability viewing area-they're less crowded meaning hes not overwhelmed and the CM we had was Fantastic and very understanding.

[dagobert]

Thanks for your great trip report and pictures. It looks like you, your family and your friends had a great at DLRP.

It's really sad that the "trois fees" are gone in the candy shop, it was a nice little touch. Hopefully the Molly Brown will return, because until now I have only experienced the Mark Twain.

Finally your review on TSPL was also great and it was like I expected it to be. Yes it seems that we have to live with that investment, but I hope that WDI will created wonderful attractions in the future again. Hopefully Ratatouille will be a "Disney Attraction" and that there will be nu budget cuts on it.
At least it looks like your kids liked TSPL, but I'm very sorry that you couldn't experience RC Racer on your own.
It seems that Disney made a big mistake with Buzz at the entrance of TSPL, because he is in Discoveryland, too. I didn't think about it and I'm really impressed by your son, that he thought about it.

What was your impression of the parks concerning maintenance, cleaness, working effects and CMs?

[davewasbaloo]

What was your impression of the parks concerning maintenance, cleaness, working effects and CMs?

It was mixed. I tried to stay positive, but there were very mixe experiences on that front. But here were my impressions:

Hotel New York - the cast were good here as were the characters, though still not as good as they once were (turn down is gone forever as are the fresh cut flowers unless on the Empire State Floor). However the room needs refurb, there was mold in the shower tiles, and the phone socket and a power socket were coming off the wall.

Village - we spend very little time in here, it was ok. Annette's was painfully slow though, it should not take three hours to have a burger/hot dog meal (2 hours after being seated - I can undertand needing to wait for a seat).

Fantasia Gardens - the fountains were barely working at all, a disappointment

Main Street looked almost like new, the refurbs have made a lovely difference. And the gardens were in very good shape. Walt's was a good cast experience, and although they lost our reservations (that was annoying), they were fantastic in how they sorted it out.

Frontierland was mixed. The MArk Twain needs a refurb (peeling paint) and most of the effects on the Rivers were not working (no waterfall, moose not moving and of course the geysers were not working - but you can see the rotting of it too). Phantom Manor does need it's refurb as you can hardly see the  hanging groom; the zombies are not moving and Little Leota's face is projected a couple of inches lower than it should be ruining the effect. Hopefully this month will sort it out.

Silver Spur was excellent food and service, however they did not bring us any rolls and butter (they did other tables, but we noticed well into out meal). The teepees are still looking great and the smoke is still coming out of them!

Big Thunder cast were good. And the great news was the splash was working very well. However, the falling rocks and swinging opposums were not working.

Adventureland - they are replacing the swinging bridge currently. And the pirate ship looks even more rotted than in June, but it is all closed off, so hopefully a refurb is coming. Indy was looking good at night (though sadly no burning torches on the temple). Pirates of the Caribbean was in great condition.

Fantasyland was doing well too. Though the castle needs it's long overdue refurb, Dumbo was looking great, as was Storybookland post refurb. The Labrynth had everything working too and still in good shape (save the roof tiles on the Queen of Hearts castle). IASW was ok, roughly 1 or 2 AA's were missing or still per country, but most people would not have noticed. The Carousel needs a little refurb on the horses though.

Discoveryland was in pretty good condition, and it was the first time I could hear the soundtrack on Space Mountain properly for a while.  :thumbs: Capt Eo was great too.

The Studios were ok - I need not comment more on TSPL. But Cars, the Carpets and Cinemagigue were in good shape. Animation was ok, however half the computers in the post show were broken and there were no drawing lessons.

The parades were well done, and the fireworks were ok.

My one real concern is despite being in the parks from EMH through close, I did not see one live musical act in the park during summer over the 3 days. I am hoping that was bad luck on our part.

We did not have many encounters with cast members, but they were all quite reasonable (and the guy at the Train Station was excellent. And the guests were all well behaved too, which is a bonus.

But to be honest, what really made this trip was seeing so many friends and show some of our closest friends things they have not seen before.