Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Evening, everyone! Before I get into the nitty gritty, the Doom and Glooming, The Fanboy-ing, The Pixie Dusting, (Yes, I do ALL of it! ) and of course, The News, I would just like to preface that with a small introduction on the background of this trip. I am sure that the events preceding it effected my perception of it. Aug 2008-Aug 2009 has been a very interesting time for myself and my family. In the course of one year, we've lost family members, struggled with difficult courses, fought with college applications, been accepted from college applications, made very tough choices, and ultimately, realized that after this year, a TON is going to change. As we went through this crazy year, we ultimately overcame all the stress, insanity, and survived to get to "the other side". Once victoruous, what do we want to do? Well...I think the answer is the same for a ton of you. Go to Walt Disney World! So, a trip was planned for early August. We planned, we packed, we got excited, and then suddenly, it was postponed and shortened. It was a large disappointment, but there was some solace in still being able to go for one day, and to go to The Magic Kingdom. (We are saving EPCOT for December!) So, finally we are here. Back at the Walt Disney World Resort, and back at The Magic Kingdom. Ultimately, I think this is what Walt wanted. A family, to Celebrate being together, Celebrate being at a special place, and Celebrate the moment. This year's theme, though cheesy fits this momment for me all to well. It's something special. Now that we have moved past all the fluff () it's important to note that this is my first trip returning to this park since 2006. In this, I'm sure you'll be reading some of these reports already knowing the news, but I hope that I can provide a new look at some of them, and perhaps update you with some new information and observations And now....What you are here for- NEWS!! Resorts/Monorail/Merch Visited the Poly on this trip, as always. An enjoyable experience, I find that while it's not a theme park, the magic is very strong there for me. This was made all the more fantastic by GREAT CM's that we ran into and had the pleasure of talking to. A huge improvement over some experiences I had last year. It was good to see most CM's chipper, happy and interacting with guests. (Pin trading FTW, here.) However, on a less than positive note, backstage is VERY, visible around the Poly and around the MK, too. It's not something that really should be seen...It kills off the great illusion they have pulled off- Especially if a resort guest can see it from their room...Which they can. Grand Ceremonial House is getting some work done on it's facade as well. Moving on....Monorails. All were working great and had the AC on full blast! it was cold in there! Only negative was Mono Gold was having very bad audio issues. Cracking speakers and failed to do any speil as we made our way to and into EPCOT for a quick look. Grand Floridian appears to be having some work done to it's (what I think is) the North Wing (closest to 7SL and MK). All I could see from the Monorail was a few cherry pickers and some tarps. No pics, The Monorail was booking BLT's exterior, though I know many fans dislike it, is well received by guests. Lots of comments about it as we passed. Maybe it's just because it's new.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Continuing now...The Magic Kingdom itself... Like I said, GREAT to be back. A 3 year gap only makes the experience all the more better. Main Street- Looks EXCELLENT! I was quite shocked to tell you the truth. No discernible paint chips, not a plurality of lights out at night. The refurbs on Champions is still underway, and it's well deserved. Keep MSUSA looking like this, and it's a return to the quality Disney is known for. The Hub is also looking pretty good. Though the trees are missed, it is looking a tad more lush. Plants have been allowed to grow in, and are not just in bunches. It's very nice. Cinderella Castle itself looks stunning. I was apprehensive of the darker paint job, but I think it fits it well....Seeing as my eyes were glued to it all throughout the day. Adventureland Oy. Here's where things go a little wacky....and I'm kinda of surprised that it has not been mentioned or addressed here. It hurts me to say this, but I'm thinking it's the worst land in the MK right now. Or at least the first half of it. In terms of upkeep,the land looks it's age. It's faded, ram-shamble and does not convey the positive feeling of "Disney" here. Aladdin's Spinner only adds insult to injury. I'm thinking that the whole front part of the land needs some upkeep. Hopefully it's high on the list. The positives, however are here, though. The back part of the land is great! Calm, lush, the architecture goes well with it's surroundings. Love that the Swiss Treehouse is still around, PoTC looks great in it's surroundings...Even if Caribbean Plaza is overly generic now. As for POTC itself...Again, good to be back. Upkeep of the sets seems to be passable, and audio is better than it was in 2006. I could hear lots more going on in the scenes. The only place where this did not hold true was the Davy Jones Projection room. Otherwise, all was good. Frontierland All good, here. Upkeep was very nice and backstage stayed backstage. Only rode Splash Mountain here...And as always, thrilling! AA's do need some work though, which is understandable for a water attraction. However, some are really not looking good, especially since you are able to see them up close. Brer Rabbit was NOT hopping BTW....and it looked like his ears were about to fall off. Besides that, great. I screamed my lungs out. Pecos Bill's was had for lunch...Great CM's once again, but portion size has definitely gone down. Also...They no longer give you free refills, something they did, in 2006, at least. I guess that has changed.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer OK, good morning, everyone! Let's get back into some more news and observations. Time for me to gush and pixie dust....LIBERTY SQUARE. WOW! Now THIS is a perfect example of Magic Kingdom LAND. It looks exquisite, maintenance is top notch, and it just works. If this is the WDW we are returning to, I have very optimistic in spite of what I saw in Adventureland and other areas. Looks stunning, eh? HM- FINALLY saw the new enhancements. VERY well done. Loved the floating Leota, loved the stairs. Audio was fantastic. Honestly, this attraction feels like it opened last week. I know of several attractions that had refurbs two years ago and look to be in the same condition before the refurb, but not here. A HUGE plus to keeping the attraction looking great...and it's so much better than seeing it falling apart in 2006. Hall of the Presidents- Another HUGE wow for me. As both a History Geek (and a Major!) and a Disney Geek, this is a little piece of nirvana. Loved almost everything about it. Narration- superb. Music- So fitting. New clips in digital- stunning. HISTORICALLY ACCUTATE- Yes! Honestly, the only two things that did bother me, was the transition to the WDI Andrew Jackson love affair, I feel that a few more founding fathers could have been introduced. Also, Washington's voice. Studies have found that he had the typical Virginian/British accent. Maybe it's me, but the voice that they DID give him just didn't fit. Fine by me, however, everything makes up for it! Also... LOVED how the Lincoln AA does the whole Gettysburg Address. That was awe inspiring. So was Obama's speech. Bi-Partisan and thoughtful. Oddly enough...No one clapped. And not just for Obama, no one clapped for ANY of the Presidents. I don't know if it was respect or just disinterest. Odd.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Moving on now....Another positive, and something that really shocked me. The 3 PM Parade. Honestly, I usually hate the 3 PM Parade and we skip it, so as to take advantage of a shorter line. However, this time, we caught it- and by accident. We were right in the Hub as it was moving on by, and on our way to Tomorrowland. Maybe it's the fact that it caught me off guard, maybe it's the fact that I haven't been in MK for a bit, maybe it's the fact that I had a Dole Whip, but this was something simple and nice. Even though it's the same floats, I liked the overlay and the music is quite nice. I was also very happy to hear Walt and 1971 mentioned. It just had a good "Disney" feel to it. Merch!- Lot of nice, but expensive stuff around now. Pin Trading is celebrating it's 10 Year Anniversary (Nice commemorative pins for that) and I noticed a lot of Resort Specific items, odd, seeing that it might be discontinued. Poly had a ton of them. As for shirts...Could not find the JC one, but I did see a new 4 Parks One World shirt- and without the wand! Looks like they finally changed it. Also, a new Toad shirt for Women Fantasyland is up next! __________________
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Time for Fantasyland! Hmm...This is another odd portion of the trip and of the Magic Kingdom. A small part of me kept thinking...We need a refurb here, why? Honestly, I am happy to say that Fantasyland West looks VERY good. All the work that has gone on here makes the building's colors pop out, and it looks very vibrant. However...This is Fantasyland WEST...Which we did not see in the blueprints. Perhps this area will retain it's look (which appears fine, to me) while FL East gets the help that I think it DOES need. Only complaints is that it's cramped, and it needs some foliage. Fantasyland East- Again, Backstage pretty visible, especially from behind the show buildings. We also saw some workers setting up Wishes. Also...Some of the trees you can see from backstage look kinda scraggly. It would be nice if they could clean those up, especially around the Castle. Speaking of the Castle, it looks like the Dreamlights are going up around the back! Is that new? I remember hearing that they wanted to extend them out...Perhaps they are? As you can see...This is on the lower backside of the Castle. Ongoing is a refurb without a wall at Pinochio's Village Haus. All the shingles are gone. As for the rides/shows in FL...All look to be in good condition. IASW still looks pretty new, though a few AA's have stopped moving. SWSA is showing it's age in a few of it's effects and in the track-Very rough! ...But it's still a blast. Peter Pan CONSISTENTLY had 60 min waits- even after Wishes in the hour that MK added. We had to skip it. Same with Pooh...It too, had 50-60 min waits. Philharmagic was great, and Kudos to the CM who got us into the theater as it started to rain! Only problem here was that it's VERY easy to see where the screen is covered up by the curtains after they move. Two distinct black blurs can be seen in that area. The show still wows people (and me!) and played to a packed house, though. So fun seeing people ooh and aah over it. My biggest gripe for FLEast is the TLM Meet and Greet and Scuttle's Landing. Looks very out of place, and rusty. Hopefully a bigger TLM replaces it. Moving into TL, next!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Time for WallLand!....RefurbLand....I mean, Tomorrowland! Walking around here was surreal. So quiet...I had to stop and laugh at the one point near the FL/TL border where you see the TTA Wall, the SM Wall and the SSC Tarps.Hysterical. The land upkeep is OK-ish. Concourse from FL to TL is, and always will be, I think horrible. So much clashing there and odd looking. It could be a very nice area if they were to get rid of the Speedway and refurb some of the architecture. As for the MAIN part of TL, a lot of rust can be seen. The Metal work needs help. Not as bad as the feeling I got from Adventureland, but still...Not Disney quality. All of the TTA Cars have been moved to the SM area. Don't know what that means. Also... The new lights are NOT LEDS. I don't know if this is correct but the new TTA lights appear to be bulbs- but with many colors. This one, that was actually on, looked to be green and red. I don't know what they plan to do with this. Hopefully color changing lights will add to the kinetics. Peaked behind the SSC tarps...They look like they are painting it. Poor Skyway is going away...The waterfall has been turned off, and it appears the whole thing will be gone. Don't know if you can see it or not, but there are holes in the ceiling.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Tried my BEST to see over the SM walls... Failed. Disney knows to move the benches around...I have to applaud them. Did see that nothing has been moved, so to speak...the horrid FP area and sign is still there. As are the two spotlights. I'm hoping that the walls are hiding lights that will be added to the mountain. Buzz Space Ranger Spin was fun as always. Some older CM cracked up when I asked him about If You Had Wings. Just wanted to give my thanks for FP and this attraction. I know it's a Omnimover, and does not need it, but sheesh. You need a FP just to get through the queue! Always hot, always loud and always dirty. It's horrible in there. Kinda shocking to go from that in the queue to a ride, which has pretty good upkeep. SGE... First ride on it since it was AE. I've never really gotten into the actual debate over the attraction, but I do have my thoughts on Stitch... I can honestly say that it's not as bad as people make it out to be. Yes, Stitch is annoying. Yes, it smells horrible. But, YES, it was fun. I just wish it was original. Twas good to see SIR and Skippy again. Ate in Cosmic Ray's for Dinner.... Both the food and service has improved greatly. I had a Philly Cheesesteak on Pita and the CM's were once again very friendly and great to talk to. Got several mentions on my WDWMagic button here. CoP- Ahhhh...one of my all time favorite rides. It had been WAY too long. Was good to see it...But not good to see the condition it's in. The facade is tired, methinks. The gears need to go. The colors need to help it fit into the rest of TL. It needs to stand out. My family and I were only joined by about 8 other people in the theater. Pretty sad. The inside was OK-ish here. The static parts of the set looked pretty good. Moving parts...? Eh. 1920's Jon was VERY noisy in his hydraulics. We sat in the back row and we could hear him snapping and hissing. The scrims that hide the rest of the family and the movement of those scenes looked very dirty, and it was obvious when those smaller schemes were rotating...The entire scrim moves with them! Kinda sad to see something that it Walt Disney's fall into such shape. Hopefully it gets the refurb it needs and soon! Despite this, it's still a great ride, and with a great message. Yeah, it's corny, but it's fine in that. It's still a integral part of MK. Nighttime Spectaculars are next. __________________
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Let's talk some Nightime Spectaculars! Spectromagic, first of all, looked stunning! Has it had work since 2006? I'm pretty sure it has. It looked VERY vibrant. It seems that some effects have returned to the parade! I remember hearing that the rainbow underneath the word "Spectromagic" had been deactivated...However, it was working fine this trip. Also, spotlights were VERY bright and functioning well on top of Mickey's Dreamcoat Float. You could actually see the beams of light instead of just spots. It looked VERY nice. The rest of the parade looked equally as stunning- I love how it's announced, how Jimminy talks to you over the loud speaker, how the Castle shimmers and lights up in time with the opening music... I believe that we have a classic here. It's almost 30 years old now, and is a WDW original. I'm thinking it should stay like that. If they want to update it, perhaps add new music to the middle section, and add new effects to the existing floats. Give it a Dreamlights treatment. Waiting for Wishes was quite a hassle, though...We had to be moved to the other side of the Hub, as we were too close to the Castle. Moving there was very disorganised as everyone is leaving the park at the same time. Also...Trash pickup was going on at this time! Bad show, and kinda gross to have custodial picking up all the trash cans right in front of us while we were waiting. And now...for Wishes... WOW. First time I have seen the show properly! In the past, I always ended up being in FL, TL, or the Poly. What a treat it was to get the full experience of being RIGHT in the middle of Main Street, next to a blaring speaker, just taking it all in. Sheesh. Such awe, this show creates...it's a perfect synthesis of what Disney is and what Disney stands for. I knew this all before, but again, wow. This showing personified it more perfectly than ever before. Like I said before, maybe it's the background of this trip, maybe it's the fact of not getting to the MK for a few years. This was perfection though. I feel quite blessed to have gotten to see it. On a technical note, the show ran smoothly as always. How IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth over in EPCOT runs every night with such issues in it's pyro and synchronization while Wishes is flawless is beyond me. Also, new pyro! I had heard about this from forum members, especially Martin, and how hard it was to discern which shells are new- the new ones are more colorful, and fly differently. Most notable was the Fantasia Red shells that preface the Villainous Wishes section of the show. Also nice were the white comets that surround the castle...I might be mistaken, but those now fly in a straighter line than before. I always remember them curving. It also seems that the finale busts are now more red and green, where they used to be multi colored. The rest of the colors are now in the side launches it seems. Castle lighting for the show is equally as fantastic. So many subtle changes from movement to movement. I loved how the Blue lights of the castle were influenced my the Red Fantasia sections to give a purple tinge. The Slave in The Mirror also seems clearer than before. All in all...It looked great! I find Wishes to be a stellar show and really don't get why it's dislike by many. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And here we are. The end of another Trip Notes. I would just like to reiterate that this was one of the BEST times I have had in a WDW Park in recent times. Although there is some Doom and Glooming here, a better time could not have been had. This was what these parks were made for- Pure and simple fun. Hope you enjoyed the Notes...I'll be throwing some more pictures up randomly from time to time as they upload. Feel free to ask any questions and comment!
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt <<Also, a new Toad shirt for Women>> No pix!!! Christmas is coming!!
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer How do I post pics? I have a ton of them, but don't know how to link them here.
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt I think you have to set up an account with one of those on line photo sharing sites like photobucket or something. I've never done it.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer I'll just link to it, then. <a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2460/3838307066_ffa805611c_m.jpg" target="_blank">http://farm3.static.flickr.com...1c_m.jpg</a> More pics can be seen at...<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/38046369@N06/page4/" target="_blank">http://www.flickr.com/photos/3...6/page4/</a>
Originally Posted By A Happy Haunt Great pix!! Nothing like an ominous sky!! PAGING bobbelee9!! this is the # for WDW merchandise if you would like to get it for me for Christmas..(407) 363-6200!! I wonder if it's in the LP store? Thanks EE
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Very ominous sky! Heh. We got rained on 3 times...Luckily we were in queue or eating when it rained. Anytime!
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Fun trip report. I agree with you about the improvements to Spectro making it sparkle anew. I actually mentioned this in a post in May somewhere. The fireworks in the MK and "F" and Reflections all seemed to have that Summer Magical Nightastic feel to it. I personally think WDW has had the new dragon for the entire summer. But that is just my personal opinion.
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Im pretty sure we didn't get any enhancements to RoE or F...and the dragon, especially. Spectro DOES look new, though. Glad you enjoyed it!
Originally Posted By MPierce Great trip report, and pictures EE. Glad you had a fantastic time. I know the excitement is already building for your December trip. Was Sonny Eclipse performing when you ate at CR's?
Originally Posted By EPCOT Explorer Thanks very much, Pierce! Glad you enjoyed the pics and news....I just wish I could do these more often!! And a huge yes to Dec. and my EPCOT Center return!! Begining to plot and plan already. Sonny was preforming, yes, but we didn't watch. Opted to sit in the room that overlooks the Castle. Colder and more tranquil in there.
