Posted on 08/24/2006 8:32:53 AM PDT by Maximus of Texas
It’s been a while since I’ve posted one of my weekend movie reviews so I decided to post a review of my recently completed vacation to Walt Disney World. Yes, I know volumes of books have been written about the place but, as always, my take on things can be somewhat different. You, the reader, as always, are free to share your memories and experiences.
Ok, here we go:
This was a last minute trip so there was really no planning on our part. We booked everything Tuesday morning and showed up Friday. No maps, no “how to” books, nothing. I grew up around Six Flags so I was expecting a nice, landlocked amusement park but soon found a city unto itself. That place is freakishly huge! We soon got accustomed to the buses and the layout of the place.
Extended Park Hours - Not a good thing. A few nights a week, one of the parks will stay open longer for WDW Resort guests. Good thing, right? The whole park just for the WDW folks? Wrong! What happens is that all the WDW Resort guests decend on that one park and create a huge log jam. We hit Magic Kingdom on their extended evening and found more people and fewer rides open. Not a good combo. We left earlier.
Dining Plan - If you eat two full meals a day, this is a good thing but we were finding that we were forcing food down just to take advantage of the thing. Also, no one told us we need to book reservations so far in advance. We had a hard time finding places with spots open but in the end it all worked out. Plan runs $40 per day per person. Would I have spent $160 a day on food for my family? Probably not. We would have been better off eating one large meal per day and snacking the rest.
Epcot – Ok, neat place but the Tour of Countries was a disappointment. Nothing but gift shops. The best part was the Canadian band that rocked out with bagpipes. We had lunch at an English pub (only place with openings, see comments above) and I was reminded why we don’t have English restaurants over here.
Disney Princesses – I heard so much about them and failed to see one. Dangnabit, Max!
Magic Kingdom Parade and Fireworks – Wow! Make sure you are in front of the castle to see the show.
WDW Guests - Humans are weird. And we’re fat! When its hot and you’re at an amusement park, people tend to wear things that show every roll, every flaw, etc. I can say this because I need to lose 25 pounds but we’re a world of fat people! 90% of the people in wheelchairs and scooters were not handicapped but simply too fat to walk. And these folks and their families would scoot to the front of the line. Somtin wrong ‘bout that!
Rides – Some of the rides are dated but overall, all of them were enjoyable. The worst one we experienced was the “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” 3-D show at Epcot. The show is about 20 years old and needs to be put to rest. The wait directly outside the theater was terrible. No AC and they crammed about 400 people in that room. A lot of the shows/rides were simplistic but when you’re hot and tired, those are welcomed at times. Oh, on the safari ride in Animal Kingdom, our guide, who was acting scared with reports of danger ahead, sounded like she was having multiple orgasisms with her “oh’s”. It was getting somewhat embarrassing.
TV Stations in the WDW Resorts - ABC, ESPN and Disney were your choices (well, a few others but you get the point). We got hooked on the “7 Top Attractions at WDW” loop that featured Stacy. She was high on something. We had her lines memorized by the time we were done.
Weirdest Sight - A group of Hindu Monks in their orange robes and wood sandals in line to ride the Arrowsmith Roller Coaster.
We noticed that too.
Oh, and $17 for the cooling squirt bottle w/fan. Riiiiighhtttt....
what about the gay pride disney weekend
wheres your review of that?
They want you for the Grand Marshall.
Tell me more about that safari ride...ROFL! :)
It really was embarrassing. My daughter even said something about it (not the Big O part but just that she was weird)
I guess I shoulda pinged her. She'd be impressed with your beer goggles.
Max - 
Universal's Islands of Adventure (not the Universal "Studios" Park) is much more fun for older kids and adults. Newer rides, better roller coasters (beer is easy to find) and the City Walk shops, restaurants and theatres just outside the entrance offer a lot to do.
There are areas for little kids - cartoon world, the cat in the hat, but it's not a park solely for the little ones, so if you're going to Orlando for a few days, try a park outside the Mouse's realm as well.
Sheeesh. Something I said?
That's me allright!
Is there a hotel within walking distance? If beer is that easy to get , i don't want to drive. It would be nice to let my guys run wild and have a few.
Cmon now, I just though Milli was short for Millificent. ;o)
Yeah, I heard that there is a ton of stuff to do outside of WDW as well. One thing I like about WDW coasters is that, overall, they were pretty tame, which helps at my age, but also edgy enough to hold the attention of older kids.
Yep, Universal's got a hotel on premises, but South Orlando/Kissimmee is so choked with hotels, you could catch a shuttle or cab, and pick another one that suits your tastes.
Vacations are hard work. : )
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