Originally Posted By TDLFAN Hi all, I just spend a few hours this afternoon and evening at both EPCOT Center and the Magic Kingdom. Took this time to see a dear friend and hang out in the parks for a few hours to check out the new, the bad, and the ugly. My friend was discovering some of the new additions both these parks have to offer and it gave me a chance to familiarize myself with some of those aspects as well... It was an added bonus that both EC and the MK were quite slow today. Both parks were well maintained and extremely clean for the most part, with the exception of your dirty table here and there at both locations were we ate, Electric Umbrella and Pecos Bill Cafe. But I don't let that bother mcuh since the rest of the parks were to say the least.. quite clean. Great Job custodials! Our walk started at EPCOT, where naturally, Spaceship Earth looks FABULOUS without that ugly wand. I took some pictures with my cellphone... <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/ec-1.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/ec-1.jpg</a> I personally like the newly planted palm trees in the gardens where the wand used to stand tall and proud. Some of these palm trees are similar in type to those planted nearby on the south edge of the small ponds when you cross into World Showcase. I personally love the continuity of it all. While most of the landscapping is nearly complete on the east side of SE, the west side of it is still bare and should be receiving new palms and bushes soon. It will look great when finished. While at EPCOT, I also noticed some new rocks placed along the edge of the pond close to the Rose Garden walk area. Nice touch. WE took the time to ride Grand Fiesta Tour, the China Film and naturally enjoyed both. Then we came upon American Adventure. Got there just in time to go into the show and we were loaded thru the main lobby, up the escalators and into the theater... in other words... the proper way to access the showroom. (However, the guests waiting to see the show after us, were being lined up to enter thru the exit ramp into the theater... may I ask, why do they do that? I personally do not like that loading method..) Anyways... we sat in the dead center, 3rd row from the stage. Watched the glorious presentation AmAd really is... Amazing that after 25 yrs, the show technical aspects and compelling storytelling still amazes me. This is Disney as it's best. The presentation could benefit greatly if Disney installed the new generation AAs we now see at POTC and other newer rides (like those at DLP or TDS), but even that does not matter much. Wishful thinking on my part, that's all. The new finale of the show adds some memorable faces and happenings of the past 6 yrs or so.. It gets to me everytime. Kleenex please. While I have issues with the vocals on the song..especially the female singer going off doing some unnecesary arpeggios.. the show's finale is a grim reminder of how tough it's been to get where we are as a nation today. Yet. The message of hope for the future pulls it off and avoid the feeling of doom and gloom. We exit the theater rocked to the core. Again... a glorious 5***** show. After the show.. we continued on our walk around World Showcase, passing many construction fences where venues for the upcoming Food and Wine fest are being erected. We then arrived at "O Canada", and enjoyed that as well. We then decided to head over the the MK... on the monorail. God help us. Curiously... today, we were not bombarded with excessive PA announcements as we would normally be. It welcomed the quietness of it all.. Along the way, I was able to check the new signage at the TTC, but this newly refurbished fountain in the "mono to EPCOT" platform caught my attention. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/fountain.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/fountain.jpg</a> We arrive at the MK and I am happy to report, I caught my first glimpse of the new Halloween decor now installed along Main Street USA. I particularly *loved* the new pumpkins on the front garden next to the Mickey floral face. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/msu.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/msu.jpg</a> Mickey's face was actually made of mini pumpkins as opposed to flowers.. and it looked wonderful. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/micface.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/micface.jpg</a> Main Street is awashed! (is that a word?) in Orange colors that were quite... well... Orange! to look at. New banners are hung everywhere on almost every building along the way. The lamp posts have banners as well with lovely Mickey pumpkin faces. Very very nice. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/ms.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/ms.jpg</a> For added whim... some decorative "scarecrows" have been added to Town Square. They are nicely detailed to reflect the different looks of Cast Members around Main Street USA... Like the Major, Marching Band member, Emporium CM...etc. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/scarecrw.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/scarecrw.jpg</a> <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/majorette.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/majorette.jpg</a> Nearby, the Emporium is already selling some new Halloween merchandise and some of these items caught my attention as well... Like the "Pirates of the SCAREribbean" tee... <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/scareribbean.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/scareribbean.jpg</a> HalloTink teeshirt. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/hallotink.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/hallotink.jpg</a> Simple Halloween Mickey face tee... <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/hallotee.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/hallotee.jpg</a> The cute Halloween Ears hat. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/hallhat.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/hallhat.jpg</a> I also got a couple of new pins for my collection... the lovely (even if I disgree with) Cinderella Castle BBB Grand opening pin, and a new Maleficent/Dragon Halloween pin. (not pictured here). We also took the time to catch the Monsters Laugh Floor show.. My friend liked this show a lot. This time around, I enjoyed the show as well and noticed some of the old jokes are still there but some new ones were performed as well. Seems to me the CMs those involved in the show have finally caught up with the pace of it and the show appeared to flow much better... jokes came and went and the audience did enjoy it a lot. At dusk... and with impending thunderstorms on the way... we walked past the castle to see if the Haunted Mansion was opened for unannounced sneak peeks... but NO. The wooden gate is still up and I noticed a new "wait time" sign has been installed just outside, next to the temporary construction gate. They were however testing a new lighting flash effect outside the Mansion... or maybe that effect is now officially turned on? Cinderella Castle at dusk. <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/castle.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/castle.jpg</a> WE ended up at Pecos Bill Cafe, and had a quick dinner there. This was my first time utilizing the new self-service TV monitors in that location. They were quite easy to use, and it is something I personally would love to see added to other locations. On our way out...as a light rain came down and lighting went off... I happened to notice the pumpkin statues next to Mickey's face at the front of the park do light up at night. This exceeded my expectations in a very positive way. It makes the MK look similar to TDL in artistry. LOVE IT LOVE IT! While, the decor is definitely great, and comes close to what I expect from the other 4 DL parks on Earth... it is still a bit less elaborate and not as plentiful as what you may find in Paris or Japan during Halloween, it's the right way for the MK to go and I welcome every bit of it. So KUDOS to whoever made it happen. It can only get better I hope! <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/pumps.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/pumps.jpg</a> Finally...a nice touch: Floral Mickey all dressed up in colors with the addition of neon colored lights. It looks fabulous! They have done this in the past before, but with the added halloween bling.. it looks even better! <a href="http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f231/TDLFAN/micky.jpg" target="_blank">http://i48.photobucket.com/alb ums/f231/TDLFAN/micky.jpg</a> All in all, it was a most enjoyable visit to the Kingdom and EPCOT today. Both parks were extremely clean and well maintained. This, as I have said before... is Disney at it's best. I hope the momentum continues for good.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 Great news and report, TDLFAN. They are definitely upping the seasonal decorations, which is a very good thing. As to the cleanliness, I'd expect that. Today was 9/11 and I'd venture to say it is one of the top five least attended days of the year. Quite possibly the least. If Disney can't keep things up when the parks are empty, well, that would be a huge problem. And Pecos Bill's and Electric Umbrella? We need to take you somewhere better ... you do know WDW has some great restaurants, right?
Originally Posted By vbdad55 Wow, it sounds like a trip back in time...how very good to hear. I would really like to get to WDW for Fall/Halloween - I just have to make it happen. thanks for the report and pix
Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP TDLFan we will be in the Magic Kingdom tommorrow, (9/12). Sorry to have missed you by a day, but I have no idea how we would have found you if we were trying. Anyway, glad to get a positive review. Happy to know that all is as it should be tomorrow!
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>And Pecos Bill's and Electric Umbrella? We need to take you somewhere better ... you do know WDW has some great restaurants, right?<< That is all nice and dandy but when you are under 27% paycuts... it's not the right thing to do, especially when a TDR Halloween vacation is coming up in a few days.. where tons of yen will be dropped in TDR-exclusive merchandise. Besides... my friend had no interest in eating nicely. Furthermore to be honest.. I don't give much importance to WDW's sit down restaurants (that is such a touristy trap thing to do Spirit) when I can find (and frequent often) much places off property where the food is excellent, the service impecable, and the prices on average 35% less than those you tourists are paying at WDW. So you go ahead and enjoy the fu-fu aspect of Disney. I much rather go off property for that, thank you very much.
Originally Posted By CCMOM Ok, what gives with the BBB pin? Why is it being "put down"?? Am I missing something?
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Spirit feels I am a hypocrit by giving into Disney's walmartization by buying a pin of the BBB, which is a Disney venture I truly detest, especially now that it is located inside Cinderella castle as well. But as a pin collector of "grand opening" pins, anniversary pins, and special event pins in particular, not buying this particualr pin would have meant not having a complete collection. Therefore, I bought. Speaking of... I went into the castle at approximately 7pm... just to find the BBB was closed for the day. There was NO BBB sign outside the castle, or in the walls nearby the two doors (a good sign IMHO).
Originally Posted By Goofyernmost OK, who are you and what did you do with TDLFAN? Just kidding, great report. I tend to agree that the cleanliness of any park is in direct collation with the number of "slobs" wandering through them on any given day. Sometimes it must be like trying to catch every raindrop with a thimble. Anyway, good to hear that things are looking good there.
Originally Posted By sun-n-fun Thanks TDLFAN. Great pics and your reports are always fun to read. Can you explain the self serve TV monitors at Pecos Bills? We were there in Aug and (maybe I missed something) but I'm not sure what those are.
Originally Posted By StitchMom84 Thanks for the report, TDLFAN, it makes me even more anxious for our upcoming visit (leaving three weeks from today). Can't wait to see the MK all dressed up for Halloween.
Originally Posted By MinnieSummer Thanks for the great picks and the positive (mostly) report. I can't wait to see the Halloween decor next week.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Thanks for the report... I'm glad you were able to give a good one. Relatively small changes can make a huge difference in the perceived quality of the MK. I really liked the pumpkins at the entrance.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>Can you explain the self serve TV monitors at Pecos Bills? We were there in Aug and (maybe I missed something) but I'm not sure what those are.<< It's very simple. They are CMs in the form of TV monitors with touch-sensitive qualities. You walk up to them, and touch the screen to select the menu items you want. The system self-explanatory and easy to use. When you approach the TV monitor, it tells you to "touch here to start". Once you do that, the menu choices will appear. You simply touch what meny items you want.. and then the system asks you the follow up info.. like "how many items do you want"? Then you tuoch the number on the screen. Then, it asks if you want a beverage. You touch the screen to select your choice, then it asks the size you want, then how many.. After that, it asks if you want dessert, yes or no. Touch yes, and the desserts appear on the screen for you to choose from... It's quite easy to follow and order, and for a chance... you do not have to deal with a CM who appears bored out of his/her mind doing that job. To pay, you swipe your credit card, and then the machine gives you your printed reciept, which you take to the counter and present when your order is delivered. TRY IT next time you are at the MK, or at the fast food location at the Polynauseaus Resort.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN Jet lag.. pardon the typos. EDIT FUNCTION PLEASE FOR THE UPTEEETH TIME!!!
Originally Posted By nbodyhome Captain Cooks has touch screens, I don't like them so much! I mean, I am fine with using one. But standing behind someone who is very slowly picking at their food items - that can take a while.
Originally Posted By bayrr326 Great report. I can't wait till this weekend and the return of the mansion. It is taking all of my will power to not go over there after work tomorrow night just to get a few rides in. But I will def. be heading over there Sat and Sun nights.
Originally Posted By MPierce Great report, and pictures as always TDLFAN. I've enjoyed all of your reports in the past. I know you give them fairly with what you see, and feel. Don't take this wrong, but I have noticed something different in some of your post lately. You seem much more optimistic now than before. I don't just mean in this post, there are several others comments that you made in other post that really showed a sense of optimism for the future of WDW. I know you love WDW, and want it to be as good or better than all the other resorts you visit. It's great to have somebody on this forum that visits all the parks on a regular bases, and takes the time to post the comparisons on a WDW discussion board. Most of us don't have that luxury. Most people or happy at WDW because they don't have anything better to compare it to. So please keep up the good work. If WDW can make you happy, it makes me more optimistic that a change for the better is really underway.
