Hey folks,
just wanted to give you a quick "heads-up" (and thought this might be better suited to the Trip Reports section - my apologies to the moderators if I was mistaken):
- arrived safely in Orlando on Sunday - after almost 24 hours of travel. Got to my place (2 bedrooms, four people) at 1:30 in the morning-ish...
- the first two days were almost nothing but filling out tons of forms
- today's my "Off day", can't hit the parks yet for I'm not getting my ID before tomorrow during traditions
- went to Pleasure Island last night and had an amazing time! We accidently stumbled into the Adventurers' Club and this is the coolest Disney club ever! Really lots of fun. A great cast. Have to do it again.
Then went into "Motions". Got back home at 1:30... (yeah, kind of early, but the jetlag still got me - and these prudes didn't let me drink! I hadn't brought my passport with me and apparently my EU driver's license as well as my German ID card are not being accepted as prove that I'm actually way past my 21st birthday :?)
- I'm now going to work as a ticket agent at the Magic Kingdom (I suppose at the TTC).
- Pictures are coming - but now I'm going to hit the pool and maybe Downtown Disney afterwards.
- Hope I made you all jealous enough. :twisted:
Yeah, Adventures' Club is a lot of fun. I liked the exterior and interior of the building, which reminded me of Colonel Hathi's at DLRP. You should check out the Comedy Club, if you like stand-up comedy.
Keep on posting!
Quote from: "raptor1982"You should check out the Comedy Club, if you like stand-up comedy.
I certainly will! But summer's still young... hope to go to one of the parks tonight after traditions.
Went to Downtown Disney again (I always want to call it Disney Village...) yesterday. Took a stroll through the stores (World of Disney is
huge - almost too huge for my taste...), was shocked that their McDonald's is 1.) way smaller than the one at DV and 2.) way more expensive :!:
When the usual thunderstorms hit the area, I took the ferry (all of the transportation they offer is quite cool, but the times to get from one point to another are just ridiculous...) to Port Orleans and took a walk around the French Quarter (beautiful hotel!) and Riverside (kinda expected Scarlett O'Hara to storm out one of the buildings there).
Took the bus to the MK and from there the ferry to the Grand Floridian. Nice hotel with an awesome lobby though I prefer the coziness of our dear DLH...
That's pretty much all I did yesterday. Not too much. But considiring that I spent ages on busses and ferries and the heat was wearing me down quite a bit, it ain't too bad. :wink:
Quote1.) way smaller than the one at DV and 2.) way more expensive
And a lot less choice in food (nothing at all for vegetarians).
Experiment, I'm wondering... how was your welcome at WDW? Are there other German CM's around, besides at Epcot ofcourse. :wink:
Alright,
so I had my Disney Traditions yesterday - which weren't too bad, but not nearly as much fun as the ones in Paris...
And in the evening I finally managed to hit the parks!
We actually went to the Disney-MGM Studios, because the folks I got to know here wanted to go on ToT... desperately.
So we got to the Studios around 19:00 took a stroll down the beautiful Hollywood Boulevard and turned right into the even more beautiful Sunset Boulevard. This area of the park has so much atmosphere and is wonderfully designed. (Unfortunately, the entrance to the park is really anticlimatic and a true let down compared to the other parks, I think.)
There was a "13" minutes wait at the Tower... we wandered through the eerie gardens, went into the Lobby and straight into the library... Rod Serling is so cool... then through the boiler room and onto our service elevator. In short: this is still a masterpiece. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Folks were now lining up for the first showing of "Fantasmic!" - so we decided to do more attractions... a wise move! The park was completely dead with no lines at all! First, Great-Movie Ride... I'd like to say that Paris is missing such an impressive AA-attraction as this (and scenes like "The Wizard of Oz" are impressive), but in truth, the ride lacks a decent storyline and some of the AA-figures look just plain odd... (I wouldn't have recognized Gene Kelley or Ingrid Bergman if they hadn't told me!)
Next a short walk (the park is incredibly small!) over to MuppetVision... hilarious! We got to see the full preshow - which was just as hilarious as the main show! Loved every bit of it!
After that I had the strangest ride on "Star Tours": we just started our trip to Endor when the PA came on and a CM reminded somebody not to video-tape the ride - and then he forgot to turn the ride's soundtrack back on... so we had a mute version of "Star Tours". Which really did take away *a lot* of its fun. However, it was interesting to realise how loud the hydraulics on the simulator actually are...
After the ride, we informed a CM at the exit about the mishap, we immediatly offered us another trip to Endor, but we declined. (One of our group doesn't do well with simulator rides.)
We leisurely strolled back to Sunset Boulevard... had a bite at the food court (What?!?!? No CM discounts on counter service?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?) and then it was time for the second show of "Fantasmic!"... the theatre was only half-filled... we had wonderful seats. The show has its short comings, no doubt about it, but in the end I still caught myself open-mouthed at this wonderful performance. (Mickey, you're my heroe! And Pocahontas... you're hot! :wink: )
We walked out of the park, thinking: "yes, we finally arrived!" We had been here since Sunday but only after having set foot into the parks, we were finally at Walt Disney World...
Alright folks, hope you enjoy these short notes of mine... gotta run now... have a bus to catch. Today's agenda: Animal Kingdom. :)
QuoteToday's agenda: Animal Kingdom.
NOW I'm jealous. :wink:
Quote from: "raptor1982"QuoteToday's agenda: Animal Kingdom.
NOW I'm jealous. :wink:
Then my day's task is done. :P
Went to Magic Kingdom on Saturday...
Got to ride Haunted Mansion (not nearly as good as Phantom Manor, in my oppinion), Buzz, Splash Mountain (if anyone ever ask again why there isn't one in Paris - I got *soaked* to the bone...) and the new Pirates. (Mentioned in another thread)
Monday I visited Epcot:
got a FP for Soarin first, then went to Mission: Space - loved it! The sensations in there are just amazing and so unique. Really, it stands out. Not one of Disney's best rides, mind you, but really, really unique and very fitting to Epcot.
Then I caught a showing of Universe of Energy. I love Ellen DeGeneres and she didn't disappoint. I really loved it.
And then it was time for Soarin... just beautiful. Really, really beautiful. And you can't help but move to that great movie...
Also loved World Showcase. The movie in France was beautiful, as was the one in China. They had a candy sculptor in Japan, who was amazing.
At the end of the day, I watched Illuminations which is, in my oppinion, the best nighttime show on property.
Last night, for the 4th of July, I met up with some folks from work at the beach of the Polynesian to watch the fireworks - now that was amazing! Usually, I don't think that a lot of noisy explosions are the trademark of a good fireworks display, but this one was just *HUGE*. It was presented on a huge "canvas" stretching over the whole Seven Seas Lagoon. Really, really, really jaw-dropping...
So much from me for tonight. If you've got any questions about anything in particular, don't hesitate to ask!
Just keep on posting! 8)
Yep, keep the reports coming, when you've got time! :wink:
I'm really enjoying reading them, it's a fascinating insight into the experience. :)
looks like you are really having fun in the sun!
Quote from: "Dlrpfan"looks like you are really having fun in the sun!
What sun? Seriously: don't come to Florida in the summer. The weather is just awful. First it really heats up till about noon... than in the afternoon you have some very heavy rainshowers and thunderstorms (Orlando is one of the cities in the world with the most lightning strikes) - but they don't cool the day down! Just the opposite! As soon as they move on, the whole place turns into one giant steam bath. I cannot stress this out enough: if you want to have a good time at WDW, don't come in the summer!!!!!!!
Anyhow... just returned from a very nice evening at Disney-MGM Studios... it is a rather pretty small park and strolling down Hollywood and Sunset Boulevard it really hits you how much WDS is lacking... but when it comes to the rides...
Well, Tower of Terros is still the most awesome ride ever. Period. This has to be the pinacle of Disney Storytelling.
Also managed to get onto Rock'n'Rollercoaster: the exterior is really pretty, the queue is about the same - the preshow is fun and it is hardly missed at WDS... but for the ride itself... compared to our version it's less impressive and those blacklight props look rather cheap. I prefer our lightshow.
I also did Star Tours again (this time with sound)... have to say I find the French Rex a lot funnier with his very shrill and packing voice.
Also got to watch the "Stars & Motorcars Parade" - what a bore. The Cinema Parade is a lot more fun to watch and a lot more imaginative, though the MGM parade has a lot of great characters (a free-roaming R2-D2!!!) But all in all, the parade is just as boring as the name implies: a lot of "Stars" (= characters) in "Motorcars"... Even WWoDP is more fun (and you know I have been pretty harsh with that one in the past).
We chose to eat at Backlot Express. This place seems to be a lot larger than the one at WDS, but due to that it loses a lot of its charm. (In fact, the Backlot Express has to be one of my favourite counter service places in DLP...) But the turkey sandwich that I had, though expensive, was very nice... (but not as nice as the one that I had from the Boardwalk Bakery a couple of days ago.)
Oh, almost forgot about that one: went to see "One Man's Dream". The movie is nice but very, very, VERY "Corporate Identity"-correct. The exhibit is nice and I'd love to see one like that in Paris.
All in all I have to say that Disney-MGM offers a lot nicer package than WDS and more attractions - but the interiors that WDS has, appeal to me a lot more. (Now why can't they combine those two???)
And a more random thing: went out to Pleasure Island with two lovely girls Thursday night and we ended up at "Raglan Road", the fairly new Irish Pub / Restaurant. This one is really cool. The exteriors are very nicely done and are as welcoming as the interiors. Inside you have live Irish music and dancing at times. Our server seemed more European than American in her attitude :wink: , which I suppose was fitting. I had a Chicken Pie which was very nice... also had some Irish Cider, but that was ridicilously expensive, so in the future, I will pass on any alcoholics to go with my meal...
So much for today. Planning to go to the MK tomorrow morning.
Orlando out. 8)
Okay, here we go... some of my impressions of the Magic Kingdom:
it's a great park, with lots of nice corners - but it falls really short compared to "our" Kingdom. Especially the train ride disappointed me in that area... it is lacking the beautiful vistas that we are so used to...
The Opening Ceremony was fun and they had lots of great entertainment on Main Street (loved the Dapper Dans).
The smaller entertainment stuff is lovely... the "big ones" though... sigh... Cinderellabration and Share a Dream Come True suffer both from the same thing: there are great production values at work (lots of performers, great floats / stage), but they are just no fun to watch. I don't know why, but it is lacking magic... (To be fair, Share a Dream Come True is currently going through some changes, which might explain why the parade was so disappointing - though that's still not a good excuse.)
I enjoyed Tomorrowland very much. I thought "Stitch" was actually fun. (Though I don't have to do that again right away.) "Carousel of Progress" is beautifully nostalgic and the TTA is a fun way to explore the land and adds some great kinetics. All in all, I really like the look of the land. "Space Mountain" could need an update, but as it stands now, it's a fun coaster for almost the whole family. (Though it is very bumpy... but due to not having headrests as the one in Paris, this has not become as much of an issue as it maybe should be...)
My absolute highlight and now one of my Top Ten Disney Attractions is "Philharmagic". This one is so beautiful. So magical. So Disney. It's 3D, but instead of cheap tricks, they use smells and water really to enhance the experience. I'd say, this is the "Soarin'" of the MK: just beautiful, just amazing, just Disney.
In general, the parks aren't really busy right now and lines very manageable... Don't know why that is, but then again: Florida in the summer is not the best idea...
Also saw the Tiki Room and went on the Treehouse. (Wow, its water system actually works!!!)
The one ride now that seems to attract HUGE crowds is "Pirates". The wait can get up to one hour - which is amazing for "Pirates", don't you think?
A really fun thing they added is "Jack Sparrow's Pirate Tutorial". Jack Sparrow - an amazing actor, who really acts and talks just almost like a spitting image of Johnny Depp - teaches kids to be pirates. And for the finaly he and his trusted assistant Mack are singing together with the audience "Yo Ho! Yo Ho! A Pirate's Life For Me!". And while Captain Jack did that, he grabbed me by the shoulders and almost forced me to sing as loud as I can in front of all of these people... ahem... not one of my most enjoyable moments, but one I will always think back to with a smile on my face. (Oh man, I love when Disney does that :D )
I have been quite for a couple of days. Sorry for that.
I'll give you a short run down on some Disney offerings I got to experience this past week:
- met an old colleague from Paris working at the French pavillion in Epcot. I guess it really *is* a small world...
- spent another evening at the MK... parks are busy right now, but quite managable (with PoC having HUGE lines). Watched the very nice "SpectroMagic" Parade and "Wishes" - and surprising to many around here, I prefer Paris' "Wishes" quiet a bit. (Does anybody care to learn why? :wink: )
- the next night we went to Epcot. Got to ride "Test Track", which is nice. But the speed thing is a bit overrated, considering that I'm used to the Autobahn. 8) Caught a couple of minutes of a horrible cover-band slaughtering Aerosmith songs at the American Adventure and had a nice snack in Japan. (Terriyaki Chicken...)
The evening was topped by viewing "Illuminations", which is IMHO the best nighttime show on property. (Followed by "Fantasmic", "Spectro", "Wishes" and - if you want to count that - the "Electrical Water Pageant"...)
- This afternoon, I walked around Epcot. You know that it's bad (= hot) weather here in Florida, when you go on any attraction without much of a line just to get into something air-conditioned. That way I ended up seeing "Voyage of the Little Mermaid" (wow... makes "Animagique" look like it has a good storyline...), the "Narnia" exhibit (now that was a waste of time...), the Backlot Tour (uhm... wow, Paris version is pretty elaborate compared to MGM's), the Muppets (now THAT I love. Deeply) and "Sounds Dangerous", which turned out to be quite entertaining.
After a couple of weeks here I have to say that just the amount of amazing entertainment here at the Walt Disney World Resort makes this place the leader of the pack. But never, never let anyone say that WDW is "better" than DLP. Okay, I hold a strong bias for DLP, but what they've got in their parks (note: I said "in their parks") is usually a good deal better than what WDW has. There. I said it.
I just returned from a day at my favourite Disney theme park on this side of the pond: Disney's Animal Kingdom.
I just adore the place: the wonderful places it takes us, the stories it tells, the animal encounters it offers and its message...
I got there rather early this morning, but at 9:30 "Kilimanjaro Safaris" had already a 50 minute line (which would later climb to 80 minutes), so I got a FP and walked back to Discovery Island.
There, I strolled through the trails and was just in awe for the Tree of Life. This has to be seen to be believed and pictures don't do it justice...
I finally went on my safari at 11ish. The heat (how are you guys doing with that heat wave of yours, by the way?) had already driven most animals into shaded areas, but it was still an awesome experience... It feels more like we are guests in the world of the animals than the opposite (like in most zoos).
After that ride I took the short train ride (love those trains) to Rafiki's Planet Watch, which was nice, but way too crowded.
So I decided on heading to Pizzafari for lunch. Animal Kingdom truely has the best counter service restaurants (and the most beautiful, too) on property. I had a HUGE Italian sandwich and a small bottle of water (which I would refill several times during the day :wink: ).
Caught the 1 o'clock show of "Festival of the Lion King". It's a good and very entertaining show. More circus than Broadway (with DLP offering more Broadway than circus). I'd say the production values are higher in Paris and the WDW version lacks a storyline, but I still enjoyed that show very much.
I started wandering around for a while. The park was busy. 50 minutes at Dinousaur, 30 minutes at Primeval Whirl (which I still haven't done), 30 minutes at "it's tough to be a bug" and 115 (!!!) minutes at "Everest". So I ended up doing - nothing.
I sat down at "Flame Tree Barbecue" and wrote postcards to my grandparents... I thought about maybe going in line for "Dinosaur", but couldn't be bothered in the end.
I waited for "Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade" at 16:00 which is the most enjoyable parade at WDW. Something that is actually entertaining (after having been so disappointed with "Motor Cars" & "Share a Dream").
Animal Kingdom is just an awesome experience. It is beautiful. Just beautiful...
And as a quick add-on: went out to "Jelly Rolls" at Disney's Boardwalk last night and had a blast! The guys at the pianos were great. So, if you go to WDW (you know who you are :wink:), don't miss out on a night at "Jelly Rolls"!
Quote from: "experiment627"Also managed to get onto Rock'n'Rollercoaster: the exterior is really pretty, the queue is about the same - the preshow is fun and it is hardly missed at WDS... but for the ride itself... compared to our version it's less impressive and those blacklight props look rather cheap. I prefer our lightshow.
I said exactly the same. Those blacklights looked indeed cheap. Besides that, I didn't like the garage look of the station either (and it's rude Castmembers). The storyline of the small limo's is just so unrealistic, while a Disney attraction has to tell you a story as realistic as possible within the boundries of your imagination, if you know what I mean. Ofcourse, the storyline (or lack of it) of Rock 'n RollerCoaster in Paris doesn't make any sense either, but it just let Aerosmith and the music/concert play the leading role as it is supposed to. We don't have the strange "look-I-am-supposed-to-look-like-a-limo-although-no-one-buys-it" -look. One thing that is far better is their exterior and the much larger (at least it seemed that way, they had more merchandising for sure) Rock Around the Shop.
Quote from: "experiment627"Caught a couple of minutes of a horrible cover-band slaughtering Aerosmith songs at the American Adventure and had a nice snack in Japan. (Terriyaki Chicken...)
The Terriyaki Chicken is lovely. I loved the sushi too. By the way; try to eat something at The Land. The food is very good there. Actually, the food overall in Walt Disney World was good, and there is so much to choose from. Paris can really really learn from Orlando on this one!
Quote from: "Maarten"The Terriyaki Chicken is lovely. I loved the sushi too. By the way; try to eat something at The Land. The food is very good there. Actually, the food overall in Walt Disney World was good, and there is so much to choose from. Paris can really really learn from Orlando on this one!
Yeah, the quick service food here in Orlando is really good. Can't say that I had a bad meal so far... And there is such a great diversity of food!
I was told that the food at The Land is supposed to be really good. But the place always looks like a mad house to me... (thanks to the amazing "Soarin'" next door...) Might try it though next time I'm in the area!
Thanks for your comments!
have you seen the electrical water pagent yet experiment 627
Quote from: "Dlrpfan"have you seen the electrical water pagent yet experiment 627
Yes, I actually have. By incident while exiting the Magic Kingdom one night...
The Water Pageant is really nothing you have to say during your time at WDW. It is, however, a nice bonus after a long day at the Magic Kingdom.
The technology is obviously very, very low-key - and the music borders the obnoxious.
Still, it's a nice little thing. A little extra...
On other news: went to Jiko's at the Animal Kingdom Lodge today. First and foremost - the hotel is absolutely stunning. Really amazing. (Right now one of my favourites right next with the Polynesian and the Yacht Club.)
The dinner was 100% delicious. I went with a dear friend and we both shared a wonderful bacon-arugula-tomatoe flatbread as appetizer. She then had the halibut while I enjoyed my lamb (on couscous with spinach), accompanied by a nice glass of South-African chardonnay. For desert, we shared a pistachio creme brulée on a mousee au chocolat.
Everything tasted wonderful.
It might not have been the very best Disney dinner I ever had, but one of my favourite Disney dining experiences none the less.
QuoteOn other news: went to Jiko's at the Animal Kingdom Lodge today. First and foremost - the hotel is absolutely stunning. Really amazing.
Good to hear!!! :)
Another evening at the MK: I went out with some friends, who spent their last day at Disney World...
I finally got to ride Big Thunder Mountain (which is fun, but doesn't hold a candle to "our" BTM) and Jungle Cruise (which is just fun). Went on the Haunted Mansion again and did Peter Pan. We also managed to see the amazing Philharmagic with a wonderful crowd that clapped, cheered and even sang along.
A thing that I noticed at the MK last night is the lack of attraction specific costumes: BTM and Splash share the same generic costume, so do all the Fantasyland costumes (no nice costumes for the folks working at Small World...).
We ended the night with a very nice dinner at Tony's (I had the eggplant spaghetti, which were quite good - and they serve some bread with a delicious tomato pesto...). Also, our waitress was really great. (If anybody gets to eat at Tony's, ask if Rebecca is working that day...)
It's been exactly one month now that I've arrived here in Florida.
I enjoy my time here, mind you, but I'm also starting to be looking forward to getting back to Europe...
Quote from: "experiment627"Also, our waitress was really great. (If anybody gets to eat at Tony's, ask if Rebecca is working that day...
ok ill try to remember!
i love that restraunt - the theming and the staff are allways so very nice and so is the food!
If you should ever ask yourself the question: on property or not? - Stay on property!!!
I'm living right next to WDW, so off-property. And because people in Orlando have no clue about driving, traffic jams are frequent. And so it actually took me 1 1/2 hours to get back home after an afternoon at Disney-MGM ... sigh...
But let's get to the good, the bad and the ugly:
I got to the park around 15:30 - it was busy (I guess because of EMH tonight). 70 Minutes at RnR, 40 at ToT - so I got a Fastpass for that one.
For a late lunch, I chose to go to the ABC Comissary and ate outside in the alley, while I was seranded by classic TV tunes like "Love Boat" and "The Brady Bunch" ...
I already mentioned this, but: the counter service food at WDW is - compared to DLP - outstanding! The many different restaurants offer a great variety of dishes. Today I got some very good Asian noodles with fresh vegetables - and because this is the US, the portion was HUGE. (There is nothing small around here... which can be also annoying at times...)
Then I got to see "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire - Play It!" ... it was kinda fun. "Kinda" because the one in the Hot Seat was a dodgy English teenager who spoke as much and as clearly as Chewbacca... The show would have been good - but it's way too short! How is anybody supposed to win the 1.000.000 (and a Disney Cruise...) when the show just ends without anything special after some odd 20 minutes? (Oh well... this attraction's days are supposed to be numbered anyway...)
Walked to "Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show" (I hate it when anyone uses the word "extreme" in a title or name...). My verdict: they butchered the show from Paris. First, I had this strange feeling that the whole set was a bit more removed from the audience than it is in Paris. Then there wasn't any audience participation. And the whole "secret agent"-storyline was just missing. Everything that makes the WDS' show so much fun - the tempo and even the relationship the audience builds up with the two presenters - is lacking in Orlando.
To be fair: I only got to see half a show. Due to lightning in the area, the show got cancelled after the Herbie segment. But trust me: I'm not making a point about seeing the rest of it...
Took a ride on the Great Movie Ride and finally ended up in the "Wild West"-car... yes, it was busy today. (The ride had a decent 30 minute line with both cars running.) I enjoyed it. It's still very hokey at times and would do well with an extensive update (especially the "Tarzan"-scene is plain silly and if they didn't tell you, you'd have problems recognizing Gene Kelley, Julie Andrews, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman - the Oz-Scene and John Wayne are great however!), but it is a ride that actually puts a bit of Hollywood magic into a park that doesn't really seem to know which way to go...
Finally it was time for my FP at ToT - and I just can't wait to have this one in Paris and be able to ride it over and over again. It's just that good. (They also had some misters on in the garden queue which offered a welcomed way to cool off but also a very eerie mist.) I really love the Tower.
I ended the day wandering around. Aimlessly. It got even more crowded now with more and more resort guests getting into the park for EMH, so I decided not to wait for "Fantasmic!" - I'll do it another night.
So much for today... I'm back in the parks tomorrow!
Another day at Animal Kingdom (which is without a doubt my favourite theme park around here... but still needs some more stuff to do...):
Again I have to ask: why oh why doesn't DLP have such a great variety (and quality) of counter service offerings as WDW does??? Thank you.
We got to see the amazing Safari again, went on the very fun "Dinosaur" (twice), saw "it's tough to be a bug", got not too-soaked on "Kali River Rapids" (which is a bit on the short side...), took a spin on the very tacky but still entertaining "Primeval Whirl", walked the "Maharajah Jungle Trek", had lunch at Tusker House (see above), got to watch the Parade (the best at WDW) and venture on to Everest one more time.
Again, the park was busy - but managable.
(I was told that Everest has really caused the attendance to swell considerably...)
Can't be bothered right now to write any more in-depth reviews of any particuliar rides... just go ahead an ask about my oh so very important oppinion on different aspects of the park (or WDW in general... or politics... or food... or literature... yeah, just ask anything! :wink: ) and I might be tempted and so flattered to write it down. 8)
Keep us posted about the make-over of the MK parade!
Quote from: "raptor1982"Keep us posted about the make-over of the MK parade!
I will. They're pretty much done with the re-do of the floats. (Just saw it today. - the opening Walt Disney one was missing...)
Just to give you a quick overview of my activities:
- Went to Epcot on Tuesday night, to watch Illuminations from the VIP viewing spot at Italy. (Ah, connections :wink: ) Then went over with some friends to the Yacht & Beach Club to order the famous "Kitchen Sink" at Beaches & Cream: 8 scoops of ice cream topped with brownies, nutbread, milky way and a whole can of whipped cream. We were seven people and couldn't finish it... it was delicious, though.
Partied a bit at Jelly Rolls afterwards. (Tuesday nights there rock!)
- Did the Magic Kingdom on Wednesday: Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Pirates (bought the great "from the parks to the movies" book), Splash (I want that!), BTM, Tom Sawyer's Island, Country Bears, Philharmagic (I want that even more!), the teacups, Goofy's Barnstormer (kinda pointless), Buzz, Stitch, TTA and Space Mountain. (Which is jerkier than the Paris version but has a nicer queue... I also love the very elegant exterior design of the mountain...)
And we had lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus, and once again I have to ask: why does counter service food at DLP suck so much?
- went shopping yesterday. :wink: The Premium Outlet Mall is fun... a bit livelier than La Vallée... And due to the great exchange rate an amazing place to go shopping at Calvin Klein & Ralph Lauren. 8)
Had a nice meal afterwards at Downtown Disney's Wolfgang Puck's Express. A bit pricier than usual fast food, but really delicious. I paid for a nice pizza and a soda 12 Dollars. Good place, nice food.
Quote from: "experiment627"Had a nice meal afterwards at Downtown Disney's Wolfgang Puck's Express. A bit pricier than usual fast food, but really delicious. I paid for a nice pizza and a soda 12 Dollars. Good place, nice food.
Another tip; try to eat something at House of Blues. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is really great. By the way, did you know Pink was there somewhere in late July/early August? She probably gave a concert at House of Blues.
Quote from: "Maarten"Another tip; try to eat something at House of Blues. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is really great. By the way, did you know Pink was there somewhere in late July/early August? She probably gave a concert at House of Blues.
sigh... there are so many great places to eat - and I only have a couple of weeks left! :wink:
No, I didn't hear anything about Pink at House of Blues ... could be that she was in Orlando.
The resort is still abuzz about Johnny Depp's visit in early July. :wink:
Quote from: "experiment627"sigh... there are so many great places to eat - and I only have a couple of weeks left! :wink:
Ah... poor you. I feel so sorry for you man! :D
Quote from: "Maarten"Quote from: "experiment627"sigh... there are so many great places to eat - and I only have a couple of weeks left! :wink:
Ah... poor you. I feel so sorry for you man! :D
Thank you for your honest sympathy! :wink:
Just got back from a lovely stroll around Epcot (managed to ride "Soarin'" twice... what a wonderful, amazing ride... and did "Mission: Space" which is just awesome) - and I finally, after all the recommandations, went to "Seasons" at the Land Pavillion.
What a great place to eat!!! Went there for lunch and had a delicious Toasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad. I returned later to savour their amazing sweet treats and got myself a Strawberry Shortcake.
This place is truely the best counter service venue at WDW...!!!
im sooooooo jealous!
Quote from: "experiment627"Thank you for your honest sympathy! :wink:
You're welcome! :wink:
QuoteJust got back from a lovely stroll around Epcot (managed to ride "Soarin'" twice... what a wonderful, amazing ride... and did "Mission: Space" which is just awesome)
It's such an amazing ride indeed. In my humble opinion Soarin' is the best attraction of Epcot. I really do hope that the rumours about Soarin' in our Studios might be true. It's really is as great as the Tower of Terror (although the theming of the queue was less impressive then the whole Hollywood Tower Hotel package ofcourse). Although a video can capture the movie and mechanism of Soarin', it can't really capture the excitement and feeling when your flying over the Golden State. Let's get Soarin' to Walt Disney Studios! 8)
By the way; didn't you think the entrance of Soarin' was a bit odd? I mean, it's was somewhere in a corner of a 80s style mall. Really strange set up if you ask me. I guess it's the concept of The Land Pavillion.
QuoteWhat a great place to eat!!! Went there for lunch and had a delicious Toasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad. I returned later to savour their amazing sweet treats and got myself a Strawberry Shortcake.
This place is truely the best counter service venue at WDW...!!!
Indeed! I am glad you took my advice... :wink:
I will say it for the last time; the food in Walt Disney World is great. When I was there I haven't eat something that was cold like I have had in Paris. Besides that, there was so much to choose from. Every restaurant or counter service offered other food. I have only eaten one hotdog and one hamburger on my entire trip, and that was only the case because I wanted to eat it (well, your in America he? If you haven't eat a hamburger you haven't been there ofcourse... :D )
But my point is... Disneyland Resort Paris should really learn from this. Walt Disney World shows that it's possible to spend a day (or even two months, haha) in a themepark while eating great, healthy food without extremely high prices. When I return from a trip to Paris, if have eaten enough fries, hamburgers and hotdogs for a whole month...
Yeah, "Soarin'" would be wonderful to have in Paris... Though probably not the California movie with it... But if they should ever make another movie, they have to be very careful about one thing: music.
The current "Soarin'" is so amazing (among other things) thanks to the late Jerry Goldsmith's wonderful, very emotional score. It just takes one with it on a flight over California...
I finally found a restaurant that didn't impress me that much! :wink:
Went to "Bongo's Cuban Café" with some friends last night... and the food was only so-so, in my humble opinion. The place looks nice, though - and they have an amazing cocktail selection. But that's about it. Not bad. But not as good as it could have been. (But then again, it was only one meal... but the first one that didn't win me over, none the less...)
The "new" parade started today. Calling it "new" is even more of a stretch than calling the "Princess Parade" new... They removed the snowglobes from the floats (which at least made the parent different looking) and it's now called "Dreams Can Come True Parade".
They replaced the music with something that is - reportedly - coming from an old TDL show / parade. At least that one is more fun and a bit more catchy. But still not as much fun and not as catchy as "Dancin' a Catchy Rhythm".
The parade is actually more fun now. Though it still has to be said: DLP's entertainment is better than WDW's. And that's one of the biggest surprises around here...
Went to Typhoon Lagoon yesterday - and had an awesome time!
We only had three hours but we got quite a bit done: two raft slides, the Storm Sliders, "Humanga Kowabunga" (a very steep slide in the dark), the lazy river around the park, the very fun "Crush'n'Gusher" (a slide *upwards*), ...
We didn't get to the the "Shark Reef" (too much of a line), but we got a peek at it through the capsized submarine.
And then there's the wave pool... WOW! The waves are just breathtaking (also literallly). We had such a great time there!
The theming at the Lagoon is wonderful with lush gardens everywhere. And then lots of sandy beaches... and flowers... and the remains of that fateful typhoon.. in short: we had so much fun!
The only regret: that we didn't get to spend more time there...!
I guess the water parks are much better in high season than in off season. Blizzard Beach was aweful last year: abandonned, dirty and the lifeguards were very impolite. Typhoon Lagoon seemed somewhat better, but the lifeguards were the same here aswell. :(
(Not sure if you really missed something by not going to the shark reef. The water is FREEZING cold and slimery and you'll hear screaming CM's that want you to keep on swimming... :lol: )
Sigh... this was my last full day at the parks before leaving...
So we went to Epcot. And I finally got to see "Turtle Talk", which is really awesome (except for the long wait). But the interaction between Crush and the audience was simply amazing.
Then one more trip to Mars (I love the ride), a ride with Ellen (I really need to get the DVDs of her show now :wink: ) and then one more flight on "Soarin'"... sigh... and that was pretty much it.
We then went into "Character Connection", which is *the* best spot to encounter the big star characters (no wait!). And I finally got to ride "Maelstrom", which is a fun introduction to Norway - but not an Epcot-must... but still fun...
We saw "Reflections of China" once more (and the Chinese girl who was with us was actually impressed) and I showed my colleagues the German pavillion. We also watched Mizuki, the candy sculptor, in Japan... she's just amazing...
Then a bus ride to Downtown Disney where I got dinner at the Earl of Sandwich...
And now I've just got one more week to go...
Just got back from an AWESOME meal at the "Hollywood Brown Derby" @ the Studios.
The restaurant is beautiful - nice dark colours.
I got an AMAZING portobello goat cheese tortelloni as appetizer, followed by a wonderful roast duck - accompanied by a nice glas of Zinfandel. My company for this evening got a nice arrugula salad and salmon.
For desserts she got a delicious cheesecake while I ate truely amazing grapefruit cake.
All in all: the Brown Derby was one of the *best* dining experiences I had this summer. Highly recommandable.
The only downside: the whole meal took as longer than anticpitated so we missed "Fantasmic!"... :?
But all in all, this dining experience gets a very high 9 out of 10 tasty points from me.
Thanks for sharing your experiences! I can't believe your adventure is almost over! Times is flying by so fast!!!
Quote from: "raptor1982"Thanks for sharing your experiences! I can't believe your adventure is almost over! Times is flying by so fast!!!
Don't tell me... I'm surrounded by people who are not allowed to drink here in the States - and I have to ask myself: am I
that old?!?!?
Anyhow...
I spent a very cool day at SeaWorld yesterday. It's a pretty park. Okay, it's not Disney quality. Far from it. But I had a good time nevertheless. The animal exhibits are wonderful. I enjoyed the very goofy sealion show, the nice dolphin show and I saw Shamu! Though I have to say that the killerwhale show "Believe" is kinda sappy. (And the "Salut to Our Heroes" commercial at the beginning did nothing to put this pacifist to peace...) And "Journey to Atlantis" is the weirdest ride I've ever been on: we start of in a Greek port, then there's a seahorse and we are under the sea and a mermaid greets us to Atlantis. Then there's more of that seahorse that manages to anger the Hydra (I think) and up we go... and then there's the splash and another scene with some ships and candles and the coaster portion... really weird.
"Kraken" is cool, though. And very smooth. A very good coaster that isn't too hard on you, in my humble oppinion.
The highlight of the day for me however was the following: I got to feed a dolphin! This was such a wonderful moment. I was so close to the animal and even got to touch it... That single moment was worth the price of admission (and the price for the fish to feed the dolphins) alone.
Sigh...
Quote from: "experiment627"Though I have to say that the killerwhale show "Believe" is kinda sappy.
lol when i saw that show this year when they where trialing it there was a rather emotional part where a lady was talking about her life with the killer whales and how her mum stood by her all the way. once she finished she mentiond that her mum passed away to months ago and at that time all the audiance fell silent and some started to cry.