EPCOT Forever: A New Beginning

    Today is a bit of a surprise blog that I tossed around typing versus not typing. Before continuing I am calling this a massive SPOILER WARNING IF YOU HAVE NOT SEE EPCOT FOREVER. At the end of the day I decided to share my feeling on EPCOT's new show, EPCOT Forever. To sum up my thoughts on the show very quickly, I'd call it good. Why I call it good is a loaded question though and just because I think it is a good show doesn't mean I don't have any issues with it. I'm throwing it out there now that this show is not the same quality show as Happily Ever After or even Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Personally, I never expected it to be of that quality so I am not disappointed that this show does not hit that mark.

    The show, for the first three quarters anyway, is a celebration of EPCOT. The show's soundtrack features bits from all different EPCOT attractions past and present. It's chock full of nostalgia throughout a good portion of the show and Walt Disney even has several lines at both the beginning and end of the show. Then the last quarter or so of the show starts up and I became kind of, I don't know, confused? To this point we've had an amazing nostalgic show highlighted by great fireworks, music, and even kites. Then a familiar tune starts up and A Whole New World from Aladdin plays for essentially the duration of the show. I have mixed feelings on this.

    On one hand the song actually fits what is about to happen to EPCOT fairly well. Future World is going to be leaving and we will have EPCOT as a whole new world to explore. While it fits that, it doesn't fit at all with what EPCOT is and has been since opening. It also highlighted many people's fear of the IP invasion coming to EPCOT. In a weird way I also feel like the ending of the show was a strange wave goodbye to everything that came before. It kind of reminded me of the scene in The Emperor's New Groove where Yzma hosts Kuzco's funeral. At the end of that scene she simply goes "Well he's not getting any deader". The majority of the show celebrated what EPCOT has been, but ends it with well not nostalgia about EPCOT, but an attempt at hyping what's next.

    So does it work for me? In a way yes. It's hard not to get hyped about what is coming to EPCOT. I did a few blogs about these changes already so I'm not going into it here, but the changes are all exciting and some of them even sound incredible. Having the show go out with something new isn't a terrible thing. Out of all the popular Disney songs, A Whole New World fits the bill best for what is to come, but what if we got something entirely new. What if we got some never before heard music that later gets unveiled as part of one of the new attractions, or even the redone Spaceship Earth? On another page, having music from an existing EPCOT attraction or even Illuminations itself to close out the show over A Whole New World would probably had the World Showcase freaking out in the best of ways last night.

    Enough about those choices though, back to the show itself. The pyrotechnics of the show are really good. There is a large amount of fireworks shot off through the show and the times that fireworks aren't going off, something else is happening. That always was my biggest issue was Illuminations that while the soundtrack is still possibly my favorite of any attraction, there was a large part of the show where the globe was just showing video. Here we have jet skis towing lit up kites that even become huge sparklers later in the show. The kite segments are perfectly planned out too as music from Soarin and The American Adventure highlight those sections.

    The biggest thing to remember about EPCOT Forever is that it is a place holder. Next year there will be a new show at EPCOT and EPCOT Forever will end. It's not meant to be the spectacular that Illuminations was and it's certainly not built to be Happily Ever After or even Fantasmic! for that matter. It is an eleven minute celebration of what EPCOT is and a look to the future. I think the show overall is good for what it is and my only real question mark, though it does make sense, is the inclusion of A Whole New World to close out the show. As a placeholder show, I think it will be great for a year or so. By no means is it designed to be a nighttime spectacular like the other shows and that is okay. If you haven't gotten a chance to watch EPCOT Forever yet, check it out here!

Disney's Art of Animation Mini Review September 2019

    This past trip to Disney featured many firsts. The first of those was arriving at not Disney's All Star Movies Resort or Pop Century or Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge: Kidani Village. No, this time around I arrived at the Art of Animation Resort. This blog is going to be a quick overview on my feeling about this resort, whether or not I would stay there again, and if I feel that it was worth the money. I did not spend a ton of time at the resort during my trip so outside of looking at the pools, I really can't say how fun the pools themselves are.

    The Art of Animation Resort is considered a Value Resort, though it is often times priced closely or right along side some of the Moderate Resorts. For example. when I booked it was only $10 cheaper per night than the Caribbean Beach Resort. The resort itself is themed around The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Finding Nemo, and Cars. The resort has a ton of suites with  the Lion King section, Cars section, and Finding Nemo section being dedicated to them. That means the only standard rooms at the resort are themed to The Little Mermaid. The resort layout has the lobby and bus stations in the front. On the other side of the lobby building is The Big Blue Pool which is... Big and Blue... It really is big! The biggest of any resort and it's a good thing because the pool is near by all of the suite buildings, but of course is right in the middle of the Finding Nemo section. To get to the standard rooms of the Little Mermaid, you walk roughly a quarter mile to the far end of the resort. The good news is there is another pool over there. It is significantly smaller however, and lacks the bar the Big Blue Pool has. Before I go more into this I want to talk about the room real quick.

    The room is the size of a small hotel room. It's pretty much the same size room that you would see at one of the All Star Resorts and is laid out in a similar fashion. There is either a king sized or two twin sized beds. They are not as comfortable as the new beds at Pop Century though. The room theme is incredible. You really feel like you are under the sea with bubble carpet, coral bed backs, and a bathroom that is themed to the shipwreck in The Little Mermaid. In the room is a mini fridge so any foods that you want to store can be stored to your liking. Otherwise that's about it as far as the room goes. Nothing really fancy about it which is a point I want to bring up. The individual rooms for Art of Animation are normally way more expensive than say All Star Movies, but they now offer less. Since their remodels, All Star Movies and Pop Century offer more in room amenities such as a coffee maker, and much higher quality shower systems. When Art of Animation opened a few years ago these rooms fit in fine and with it being the new resort and what not it wasn't surprising the price of the individual rooms were so much. Now with Pop Century and other resorts getting upgraded rooms, the price for a non suite at Art of Animation seems steep. Tack onto that the significantly longer walk to the bus, especially if you are in the Ariel building like I was and it makes it hard to justify picking this resort based on individual rooms alone.

    Really the individual rooms is where the biggest issue that Art of Animation has lies I think. The rest of the resort knocks it out of the park though and now a brand new addition is set to open. Art of Animation and Pop Century share the Hourglass Lake Disney Skyline Station. This makes it super  easy for guests of either resort to get to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios.The location of the station is literally on the bridge across hourglass lake that separates the two resorts. Once again though, the individual rooms are by far the farthest from this location whereas you can easily see the Pop Century rooms just on the other side of the lake. 

    The themeing around the resort is so good. It is similar to that of say All Star Movies with larger than life character statues and photo ops all over the place. The lobby is amazing as is the exterior of the lobby. All over the place you can see huge concept arts of characters from Finding Nemo, Cars, The Lion King, and the Little Mermaid. It is really, really cool to see original concepts for characters like Simba and Floatsam whom we are all so used to seeing in just one way. Along hourglass lake you can also find fun trivia facts about some of your favorite Disney characters from the movies the resort is themed around. 

    As far as the food and shopping at the resort go, it's what you would expect from a value resort. The gift shop is pretty large and connects into the food court where you can buy all kinds of goodies to eat. The arcade is stocked with fun video games from classics to new games, but I did not have time to check any of it out. I didn't have any issues with the buses at this resort either. Though I have heard stories of times where Pop Century and Art of Animation shared buses which causes all kinds of problems since both resorts are super popular (Pop with individual rooms and the sheer number of suites here). Personally I did not see it on this trip, but I did see it on my last trip.

    So overall what are my impressions on Art of Animation. I think it is an awesome looking resort that is perfect for families and groups looking to spend time in a hotel suite themed to their favorite Disney movies. From what I can find online the suites are all incredibly themed and look super comfortable. I love all the old concept arts that can be found throughout the resort and the themeing from Finding Nemo to The Lion King to The Little Mermaid is very well done as you walk through the resort. So would I stay here again? Not unless I was staying in a suite with a group of people. 

    The individual rooms were far away from the central hub of the resort, buses, and now skyliner. That along with the rooms just not being on the level of Pop Century or All Star Movies makes those two resorts better options in my opinion for the price that you pay. As I said in the beginning, individual rooms at Art of Animation rival that of some of the moderate resorts. I'll add onto that that they rival those room rates, but offer less comfort and convince than some of the other value resorts. That said, I cannot take away from the great job that Disney did to make you feel like you were a part of The Little Mermaid. The in room themeing is great, but not enough for me to spend the money there again. 

    Thank you all for reading as always. Next up will begin the difficult task of putting blogs together for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. What is first up? Stay tuned!   

EPCOT Review September 2019

    Have you ever walked somewhere where you have visited a few times and realized this is the last time you will ever see that place the same way again? Well that was me as I walked into EPCOT for the first time on this trip. From aboard the monorail I could see that the entrance to the park was already well under construction with all of the monoliths removed, but construction walls still up. The area there the festival photo opportunity once stood now sits empty as well. Beyond the entrance area though, EPCOT still looked the same. Despite officially closing the day before, the fountain of nations continued to flow and no construction walls were up anywhere else in the park outside of the ongoing construction projects of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Space 220 Restaurant, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, and the Disney Skyliner EPCOT Station.

    It felt really good to be able to see the vast majority of the park as it has stood for so long one last time. This would literally only last a day however as by the time I got back to EPCOT just a couple days later, construction walls wrapped from the area by the character spot all the way around the fountain of nations and almost all the way across to Mouse Gears. The reinvention of EPCOT I would say is now officially underway. No demolition was noticeable when I was there, but I did not enter the park via monorail after the walls went up so I am not sure if anything is noticeable from there. What was noticeable after the walls went up was a traffic jam. Typically guests can walk straight down the middle of the park and into World Showcase. With the walls up there is a much thinner walkway by Mouse Gears for guests to walk through or you can go around the construction area by the Land Pavilion. I would think that option will eventually vanish as construction ramps up. Despite the walls going up, plenty of fun was still had at EPCOT as well as a couple hiccups.

Construction
    Let's continue the construction conversation. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is really coming along. The building housing the ride looks pretty much done and the face of the old Ellen's Energy Adventure building has been removed and is undergoing a massive transformation. Not to be outdone, the Space 220 Restaurant is also making a lot of progress. At the back of the France pavilion, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure is also coming along smoothly. I'm really looking forward to that ride finishing. The one in France looks like a ton of fun and I'd imagine the one here will be no different. The Skyliner station looks ready to roll. Not sure how much more needs to go into this station, but the amount that can be seen looks beautiful. I'm still not sure how traffic in the area is going to be effected by the Skyliner nor am I really sure what the bus situation will end up being as a result of it either.

    One place where there is no sign of construction, and seems like wont be is probably the place that needs it most. The Imagination Pavilion, while still very fun looking, has seen better days. The fountain near the front of the Pavilion is still running unlike the Fountain of Nations. The building itself though has areas of faded and chipped paint. The interior was also quite dusty in areas and many features on the Journey Into Imagination ride were simply not working correctly. Kind of a shame given how popular Figment is with park guests, but for whatever reason this little corner of EPCOT seems forgotten.

    With the walls up around the fountain of nations, the area around the start of World Showcase is more crowded than ever. With the generally low crowds I experienced it wasn't too bad, but on Saturday it was a very cramped area. As more walls go up I'm interested to see how they are going to navigate walkways, especially with new firework shows just on the horizon. Next time I go to EPCOT it is going to be pretty amazing. I sure can't picture what it is going to look like right now, but if the Disney parks have taught us anything.... It will be magical.

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
    I got to see Illuminations: Reflections of Earth one last time. The show will end at the end of this month and a new show, EPCOT Forever will come in. Illuminations's soundtrack remains my favorite soundtrack in probably all of Walt Disney World, so I am sure going to miss hearing it. I do admit that the show on a whole is showing its age. Compared to the screens on many of the attractions and signage around the parks, the Illuminations globe just doesn't look that great. The parts of the show where the music is playing and the focus is on said globe has a hard time competing with the slower segments of Fantasmic, or Happily Ever After. I know it's not the same type of show, but the excitement just isn't there, especially when what's playing on the globe is hard to make out.
    Not quite Illuminations related, but on one of the last nights I was in Disney World I saw a few fireworks from what I'm guessing is Disney testing out EPCOT Forever. I was staying at the Art of Animation Resort and from the top floor I could see it. It was definitely from EPCOT as I had caught the end of Illuminations from the same spot about an hour earlier. Kind of cool to see that. Whatever the case, I am sad to see Illuminations go, but it is time for an update, that much is for sure.

Food and Wine Festival
    The Food and Wine Festival was well underway during my trip. The usual array of food stands were set up in and around World Showcase. New this year is a stand for the Alps. None of the menu items really appealed to me, but still cool to see that as a food and wine stand anyway. My favorite item out of food and wine fest this year had to be the cheddar soup from the Canada stand. While it was really hot and humid out, the soup still hit the spot. It is pretty heavy, but it is packed with flavor. In addition you get a pretzel bun that is absolutely perfect to dip into the soup. I also had the Le Cellier Filet Mignon. The filet is always delicious, but this time around I feel like it was more on the well done side. Something that I've seen a couple different Youtube Vloggers mention as well. The food and wine festival is still a whole lot of fun and a delicious time. It's also great for people watching really as the alcohol really flows through the World Showcase during this time of year.

The Rest
    No trip to EPCOT is complete for me with getting on both Soarin Around the World and Spaceship Earth. Spaceship Earth is actually my favorite ride in EPCOT and it was nice to ride it one last time in its current form. I'm really excited to see the planned additions for this ride come together as well as the new narrative. Ever since my time on the ride I've felt the last quarter or so where you are watching your future come together is just a complete waste of space. I am so excited to see what is going to be going in that spot to really bring the ride together. Other ride experiences were Frozen Ever After (which I actually got pretty wet on), the Seas with Nemo and Friends, The Grand Fiesta Tour Featuring the Three Caballeros and Test Track (which my car didn't register to me for some reason so congrats random person who got most powerful car of the hour that I designed).

    On September 11th I watched The American Adventure. As much as the show just screams AMERICA NUMBER 1!!!! it was a perfect thing to do on that day. The scene towards the end where the screen shows George Bush at ground zero was incredibly powerful that day. The show itself really a good way to spend some time out of the sun. It touches on some of the major American victories, but doesn't really touch on American issues outside of slavery and the woman's suffrage movement. More-so it focuses on the achievements of the country.

    The Seas with Nemo and Friends is always a great educational place. The aquarium isn't overly big, but all of the tanks in there are beautiful. The large tank that is connected to the Coral Reef restaurant I could sit in front of all day. The end of the ride where you pass by the tank with the Finding Nemo characters projected into the tank is still one of the coolest things to me. It's pretty much the only reason I ride the ride at all as the rest of it just seems so dated and well, broken down?

    Frozen fever is certainly starting to ramp up again with Frozen 2 just around the corner. Frozen Ever After is still in a fight with Test Track for longest wait times and it's not hard to see why. The ride is the most Disney ride in EPCOT and for the moment is one of two IP based rides (The Grand Fiesta Tour being the other) in the park. While I like Frozen, the movie doesn't rank in the top of my personal favorites and I really really enjoyed the creativity that was in Malestrom, which this ride replaced. So while the ride does nothing special for me and I feel that the entire backwards part is a missed opportunity, I get why it is a big hit with kids.The animatronics in the ride are amazing, the scenery is incredibly well done, and the most popular Frozen songs are there with some modified lyrics... Except for the lengthy Let It Go section that coincidentally is the backwards part I referred to earlier. At this point in the ride you gradually accelerate backwards from Elsa, but along the way there is no scenery really or anything special. Just lots of big screens of Elsa singing Let It Go. Compared to the rest of the ride, that section just lacks for me, especially when right before you have an energizing lead up to the palace and right after you encounter Marshmallow.

    So with all that said I said goodbye to the Epcot that I have come to know and enjoy over the past six years. I may not have been there for Horizons and other classic EPCOT attractions, but nonetheless I'll miss the concept of Future World. It is outdated and it is certainly time to move on from it though and I can see that just by walking around. Thank you all for reading as always! My next blog will be shorter as I take a quick look at Disney's Art of Animation Resort. After that will begin the bigger blogs. With the amount of things that I did at both The Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, it's going to take me some time and a few blogs to get all my thoughts out on these two parks. 

Shoutout
    Surprise! You never know what can happen in Disney. While waiting for a friend to get out of the bathroom I ran into my favorite Youtube bloggers, Tim and Jen Tracker. I've been watching them for the last few years and their many adventures in Disney parks around the world. Both of them were incredibly nice and were more than happy to chat for a few minutes and take a picture. Just wanted to give a shout out to both of them, congratulate them on their child one more time, and promote their Youtube channel which can be seen Here.

Disney's Animal Kingdom Review September 2019

    Another trip to the Walt Disney World Resort is in the books! This trip featured some goodbyes and some new experiences as well. I am going to do this trip review a bit different than the last. As opposed to going day to day I am going to highlight different experiences I had at each park. I'll be focusing in on rides, shows, and other things I found interesting, strange, sad, fun, etc. Chances are pretty good that the Hollywood Studios blog is going to need to be a couple blogs as opposed to one since there is just so much going on there. This blog will probably be shorter since Animal Kingdom is largely the same as it was back in March. So let us get right into it.

    I always feel weird in talking about Disney's Animal Kingdom. I love the park, but from working with animals so long I feel really jaded when talking about the safari and the trails through the park. This bring me to the first thing I'd like to talk about.

Disney's Animal Kingdom at semi-sunrise

Kilimanjaro Safaris 
    Kilimanjaro Safaris has seen a lot of changes through the years and I have to say it's current form I am not the biggest fan of. Don't get me wrong, the animals and their habitats are awesome for sure, but the experience itself I have a little bit of an issue with. This really stems from the quality of safari that Six Flags Great Adventure puts on. I know it's ridiculous to compare Six Flags to Disney, but in this specific case I have to. The guides on the Six Flags safari are lively and educate you on a mass amount of animals over what is essentially an hour long experience. I feel like I don't get this on Kilimanjaro Safaris. This was my second safari in a row where the guide seemed to just be repeating a script. There were long portions where I was learning nothing and other times the guide just seemed disinterested.
    I know that's a negative way of looking at it cause at the end of the day most people aren't going on the ride to learn, they're going to see the animals. In that aspect, while Disney does not have the number of animals that Six Flags has it is still a very well put together safari and includes several animals not seen at Six Flags. For the first time I was able to see the wild dogs awake and running around. That was certainly the highlight of the safari. Any other time I've been on it the dogs were sleeping, but that day they were up and running around. This was also the first time I've seen a sleeping elephant. Again, I feel a bit jaded and skewed when talking about this ride. Overall it was a good time for sure though. Just wish that the guide was more informative or at least acted like she enjoyed what she was doing.

Low crowds and construction walls at the base of the Tree of Life

Dinosaur
    Dinosaur is one of my favorite rides in not only Animal Kingdom, but Disney World as a whole. I am a massive dinosaur fan in general so I love the movie the ride is based on. I know it's not the best movie and certainly not the most popular, but I enjoy it. I enjoyed the ride as much as I always have, but noticed a few things either wrong and fixed. The first two times I went on through the week the raptor animatronic was missing, by the end of the trip it was back and working again. Glad to see it back as it's one of my favorites in the ride. The first Carnotaurus encounter on my second time riding was not working. The dino roared and you could hear trees snapping, but the dinosaur was not moving at all. The last time I rode it though it was fixed, so that was a quick fix for sure. The only other thing that wasn't working correctly was the Pterodactyl that was motionless the whole trip and apparently has been motionless for a while now.

    If they decide to replace Dinosaur with a new theme I will be a bit upset about it. I really do enjoy the ride and while it may not be the best for kids it's a rare thrill ride for adults and teenagers. While I was there the ride had very little wait times. For the most part it was 15 minutes or less, even on the busier days and there were plenty of fast passes available as well. While crowd wise it was pretty quiet, I still fear that consistent wait times and low demand may lead to the ride eventually becoming extinct. Speaking of extinct...

Dinoland U.S.A.
    Dinoland as a whole is still what some would call a hot mess. Compared to the rest of the park, the land just looks like it could use some love. Primeval Whirl remains down for refurbishment, and Triceratops Spin is in dire need of anything from paint to just being cleaned. The ride operated fine and the new soundtrack that goes with Donald's Dino Bash is much better than the country banjo music that used to play. The rest of the area still has that temporary carnival feel. Donald's Dino Bash however, continues to be a success. I'm glad they decided to keep the party going long term. The lines to meet the Dino Bash crew were all pretty long and it's still awesome that Scrooge and Launchpad are there every day. The music through the land is also pretty fun as it's a variety of different rock songs and what not. Certainly different than anywhere else in Animal Kingdom.

Pandora: The World of Avatar
    Pandora remains every bit the spectacle it has always been. I can't quite put my finger on it, but Pandora is one of two incredibly unique places for me in all of Disney World. As I walk over the bridge from Discovery Island or Africa I just get this sense. As the scenery changes to a more wild and natural one, the music of Animal Kingdom begins to fade out and more and more out of this world natural sounds take over. The scenery changes and all of a sudden I just feel like I am not longer at Animal Kingdom. It still legitimately feels like another world to me. Pandora remains in great shape, but I did notice one feature of the land that was not working correctly. In one of the many water features there are these creatures that are supposed to shoot water if they detect any sudden movements. These creatures were not working correctly. Only one of them attempted to shoot any water and when it did only a small amount of water dribbled out.
    Both rides are really in excellent shape. Flight of Passage was ridden 3 times. On the third ride it was having some kind of issue that must have shut down one of the theaters so wait times were a bit longer. Other than that the ride itself is ever bit as epic as I've always felt it is. Na'vi River Journey is still as beautiful as ever. I really do not understand the flak this ride gets. No, it's not worth waiting 45 minutes for, but it still is a beautiful and peaceful ride.

These are the creatures that are supposed to shoot water, but aren't

The beauty of Pandora

More of Pandora

Food
    At Animal Kingdom I had a couple different food items. First up was my traditional meal at Satu'li Canteen. This time around I had a noodle bowl with chicken, slaw,and garlic herb dressing. The chicken was very flavorful and while I normally am not a fan of slaw, I really enjoy it in this dish. The dressing is also very good. All the variety of flavors mashed into one bowl really bring about an interesting taste. I can see how it wouldn't appeal to everyone, but for someone looking for something a little different these bowls are pretty good. I'm not sure if I like the chicken more than the beef bowl or not. Both are very good and offer obviously different flavors. To drink I tried the Pandoran Sunrise. This drink is advertised as a blend of tropical juices and Powerade Melon. The price was a bit steep at nearly $5.00, but it was tasty and came with a slice of delicious pineapple. As far as the taste it tasted like Powerade with pineapple mixed in. Not sure what the other tropical juices are, but the two big flavors were the Powerade and pineapple. Of course dessert was the blue cheesecake again. It's one of my favorite desserts in Disney World. Tastes great and certainly looks interesting to say the least.

Blue cheesecake

Noodle Bowl!

    I also had the buffalo chicken chips from Trilo-bites. They're a bit expensive at $8.50, but I have to say they are pretty filling. The chips are homemade potato chips with buffalo chicken, buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, and some what I think is salsa on them. You get a lot of them and they are pretty flavorful. If you are into hot buffalo though you'll be disappointed. These chips are far from hot, but they are very flavorful and do have a bit of spice to them, just nothing crazy. I got these last time I was in Disney as well so I must have liked them enough to make a point in getting them again.

The Rest
    The Festival of the Lion King is still every bit as awesome as it has always been. If you are looking for something to do to get out of the heat in Animal Kingdom, check out this show. I won't spoil anything about it here for those who haven't seen it, but I will say that it is on my must do list for every one of my Disney trips! Speaking of the Lion King, the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the movie continues to go at full force. There is Lion King merchandise all over the park and various Lion King themed photo ops as well.

    Kevin from Up! as a walk around character is one of the best things in the park. She comes out of nowhere and is hilarious to watch. I hear she will even crash the dance party that takes place on Discovery Island.Speaking of Up!, Up! a Great Bird Adventure is currently closed for yet another refurbishment. If I'm not mistaken this is the second or third time the show has closed to be redone. Kinda crazy considering Flights of Wonder wasn't unpopular or anything. I didn't see Rivers of Light on this trip. It remains the only nighttime show I haven't seen. Even with the Lion King additions to the show, it still really does not appeal to me any of the other shows do. It's not even the lack of fireworks, it's just that it still seems to be like it's missing some kind of wow factor. I know Disney is limited here because of the animals, but in their massive box of tricks they have to have something that can help this show out.

Kevin having some fun!

    By the end of the trip I had done pretty much everything there is to do in Animal Kingdom. The only attractions I did not get to was Kali River Rapids, Rafiki's Planet Watch, and Finding Nemo the Musical. As previously mentioned Up! a Great Bird Adventure and Primeval Whirl were both under refurbishment so I was unable to experience those. I spent a good amount of time in Animal Kingdom on this trip. Flight of Passage is every bit as popular as it always has been. Even during extra magic hours, the cast members still guided the crowd to the ride. I was glad to see that other new happenings didn't really affect the ride's popularity like some thought it would. Well that is it for this installment. Next I will take a look at my experiences on this trip in EPCOT! Thanks as always for reading!

From Expedition Everest: Tower of Terror on the right, Spaceship Earth the left

September 2019 Disney World Trip Preview

    The hype is getting real. My next trip to the Walt Disney World Resort is less that 72 hours away. For my final blog before the trip I want to share some of the experiences that I have lined up for this trip. I have a lot of old favorites and some new things planned as well so lets get right to it!

    For my arrival day I plan on hitting the ground running. In theory I should get to the Art of Animation resort around 1pm. From there it will basically be drop the bags and get on the bus to Magic Kingdom to catch the Festival of Fantasy Parade. Fast passes on this day are Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, and Peter Pan. We'll see what is going on between fast passes and perhaps catch a Hall of Presidents show or The Muppets Great Moments in History or something else with a low wait time. Following those rides will be dinner at Skipper's Canteen. It will be hard not to get the steak there again. Last time it was really, really good. I may try something else, but considering this will be the fanciest place I eat this trip, I'll probably go steak. From there Magic Kingdom will be closing down for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party so I'll be heading over to EPCOT. The plan there is probably to hit a few Food and Wine Festival booths and watch Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Then perhaps a jog to Hollywood Studios in hopes of catching Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular at Hollywood Studios... Perhaps???

    Monday will be an early morning.... Really all of them are.... Who sleeps at Disney World? Extra magic hours at Animal Kingdom is first where Flight of Passage is the obvious choice. Following that could be Na'vi River Journey depending on it's wait time post Flight of Passage. Fast passes for the day are Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, and Flight of Passage. Other experiences of the table are Festival of the Lion King, Expedition Everest, and the various animal trails through the park. No special dining booked, but I'm debating between Satu'li Canteen and trying to find the buffalo chicken chips I had last time. Then there is a bunch of I have no idea what I'll be doing time, but at some point making my way to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic. Pending what else is going on that day EPCOT isn't off the table either for some more Food and Wine Festival stuffs.

    Tuesday is a first. I have no park ticket for this day. Originally I had planned on attending Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on this day, but plans changed and instead I will be doing some resort hopping and spending some time in Disney Springs. So lots of free time on this day. What exactly will I do? Who knows? I don't that's for sure.

    Wednesday begins the marathon. I do not have any Fast passes booked for EPCOT at all this trip so the plan is this... Get to EPCOT for extra magic hours and try to knock out Soarin or Test Track. Then go to the opposite. Then knock out Spaceship Earth and spend the rest of the morning around World Showcase and trying various foods while hitting a couple more rides... Probably not Frozen Ever After though. We shall see. Lunch is booked for Sci-Fi Dine In at Hollywood Studios, but where are the fast passes you ask? Let us go back to Animal Kingdom where Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, and Flight of Passage await me. There will be little time to hang around as Happily Ever After is scheduled at the Magic Kingdom for 9pm. So back on the bus to Magic Kingdom I go and will remain until 12AM when evening extra magic hours end. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin is a likely target for these magic hours as is Splash Mountain.

    Poor decisions have been made. Thursday will be extra magic hours at 6am at Disney's Hollywood Studios. The goal of course is get into Galaxy's Edge. The probability of doing that first thing in the morning. Probably small. At least I'll be able to get on the virtual queue for the land at that point. Fast Passes are Star Tours and Slinky Dog Dash. It's going to be a play it and see how it goes type of day. Whatever the case I have a reservation at Ooga's Cantina in Galaxy's Edge that evening so fingers crossed I can get in there for that. Afterwards I'm guessing it'll be Fantasmic and Star Wars fireworks unless I'm out of Galaxy's edge fast enough and can get to EPCOT for Illuminations. We shall see.

    Friday will be a tale of two to three parks. Once again extra magic hours will take me to Animal Kingdom for yup, another ride of Flight of Passage (if you couldn't tell, this is by far my favorite ride). From there another trip to EPCOT for more Food and Wine Fest fun could happen for a little bit before heading to Magic Kingdom for all kinds of stuff. Fast passes are Jungle Cruise, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Peter Pan's Flight. Lunch will be at Liberty Tree Tavern and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party will be incredible I'm sure. I have no agenda for the Halloween party other than seeing the new fireworks, the parade and checking out some of the ride enhancements.

    Saturday will be a bit of a later start possibly? Will it be another ride on Flight of Passage? It's possible... Depends on just how dead I am from Halloween the night before. Also, fast passses are in Animal Kingdom and are Na'vi River Journey, Expedition Everest, and Dinosaur. For the rest of the day I don't have much planned. By this point I should have most of everything done. I'll end the day at either Magic Kingdom for Happily Ever After or EPCOT for Illuminations.

    Sunday is the go home day, so it will be farewell to Magic Kingdom as I wrap up the trip with Pirates of the Caribbean, Dumbo, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. All in all this looks like a pretty jam packed trip. New experiences, old favorites, and a marathon that'll stretch from Wednesday till Saturday morning should keep me more than busy. Wrap all that up with spending time with some awesome friends and I think I have a recipe for a real good time. It's time to fight off some of these ghosts of the past and make some new experiences at my happy place. Thanks everyone for reading! I'll be back to blogging shortly after I return and I'm sure I'll have pleeeeeeenty to talk about!

D23 Wrap Up

    This blog is going to wrap up my thoughts on the D23 convention in regards to the Disney Parks. I've spent two whole blogs focusing in on EPCOT's transformation and all that comes with that, so I don't plan on spending much time on those here. While EPCOT was the main hot topic at the convention in regards to Disney World, there was a couple other announcements.

    We learned that the Star Wars Hotel will officially be called the Halcyon. The hotel will be a completely immersive experience as Star Wars fans will be basically living a Star Wars movie for the duration of their stay. Much of these details were already known with guests interacting with various crew (cast) of the Halcyon. Also involved in the galactic cruise will be a visit to Batuu (Galaxy's Edge). The visit will be complete with a unique dining experience. The Star Wars Hotel looks to be the ultimate bucket list item for any Star Wars fanatic. The price however for this incredible experience will be high though with prices being over $1,000 per night per person with a maximum of a two night stay. Some more details on the hotel layout reveal that it will be quite small in comparison to other Disney hotels. It is said that the hotel will consist of only 100 rooms. While that may seem like a lot, many of the other Disney hotels have over 500 rooms, so in comparison the Halcyon will be quite small. For me I love the idea of a fully immersive Star Wars experience like this. It's a bucket list thing for sure, but how much of a bucket list will depend on just how good the upcoming movie is. Since the hotel features a visit to Galaxy's Edge one would assume that it too takes place firmly within the new trilogy, which is to the dismay of many a fan at this point.

    Technology is a wonderful thing isn't it? Well Disney thinks so too and evidence of that is the upcoming Disney Genie. From what I understand the service will help plan out an itinerary for park guests. This will include booking dining and fastpasses. The screenshots also reveal that the app will set up and show an easy to read itinerary and give wait time forecasts for rides. For example, Space Mountain may have a 70 minute wait time. The Genie may say that the lowest wait time may be 30 minutes during the parade at 3:00pm. Of course there is no way of Genie knowing that for sure, but I'm sure all kinds of historical data go into estimating that wait time. Whatever the case, the new offering sure seems like it will make trip planning a lot easier for those whom are easily overwhelmed by the current system. Disney did not say if this service would be a paid service or not. I think the tool is going to be great for those who struggle with optimizing their time in the parks and trying to balance rides, dining, and other experiences. Personally, I can't see myself using it if it is a paid service, but if it's free I'd try it out for fun.

    Lastly I have just a few thoughts on some of the other not so close to the east coast Disney Parks. Disney California Adventure and Disneyland Paris are going to become linked by the new Avengers Campus that will be present at both parks. The lands are apparently going to tell the story of the Avengers seeking out the next generation of heroes. Also in the lands will be new attractions such as the Spider Man ride coming to Disney California Adventure and a plethora of character meet and greets. For Marvel fans, this is... Awesome. The two lands being linked on a global scale is pretty awesome and I look forward to seeing how far Disney goes with the two lands being linked together.

    Hong Kong Disneyland showcased some pretty epic stuff two. First off, the castle is undergoing a major renovation. Upon it's completion guests will notice references to 13 heroines. Snow White, Belle, and Cinderella are confirmed to be three of them. It'll be interesting to see who the others chosen are. I'd assume all 12 of the princesses will be on it, but the last one? My guess would be a reference to Elsa despite her not being an official Disney princess. Time will tell of course, but the castle should look great when it's done. Also coming to the castle will be a new daytime and a new nighttime show. Finally, some new details on the Frozen land were talked about. Frozen Ever After will be a part of the land and I'd think will mimic the ride in EPCOT. The new roller coaster, Wandering Oaken's Sliding Sleigh looks to be a lot of fun. Though I feel like it has a striking resemblance to the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in Magic Kingdom. Time will tell I guess. Still, pretty exciting that Hong Kong is getting a Frozen land. It wouldn't surprise me at all to see that come state side eventually, especially if the second movie ends up being as big as the first (I would be very surprised).

    Well that is it for my reactions to D23. There was a ton more stuff announced during the conference from new cruise ships to new movies to other park related announcements. Thank you all for reading as always. I may get one more blog in before I go to.... Walt Disney World! I will be there from September 8th to the 15th, so expect a bunch of review blogs after that. I will be checking out Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, doing some resort hopping, riding Flight of Passage probably 4-5 times, and of course, checking out Galaxy's Edge! Stay tuned for all kinds of review/picture/other stuffs with all that!

D23 EPCOT Reaction Part 2

    Welcome to part two of my reactions on all of the big changes that are making their way to EPCOT! So far I have been pretty excited about all of the changes and mildly disappointed that none of them seem to involve Figment at all. Lets continue cause there is still plenty more to look at and react to.

    EPCOT is being divided into four neighborhoods, officially marking the end of future world. The area that will be formerly known as future world will be divided into three of the four neighborhoods. The lone neighborhood that will not envelop the former future world is the World Showcase, which itself will be seeing some changes. The other neighborhoods will be World Nature, World Celebration, and World Discovery. I'm going to break down each of them as to what will be in each area.

World Showcase

    The World Showcase will not see the major overhaul that the future world area will be seeing, but it is still getting new things. As I mentioned in my last blog, Epcot Forever, HarmonioUS, as well as a new Mary Poppins ride will be joining the World Showcase. In addition to those will be a new restaurant, the Ratatouille ride, new movies for China and Canada, and also a Beauty and the Beast sing-a-long. The area will continue to focus on various cultures of the world throughout the day and culminate in a celebration of music during HarmonioUS. World Showcase has always been an incredible journey to walk through. With these new additions I expect the appeal for kids to rise. I also don't expect to see the appeal in the area for adults to drop. I am happy to see that none of these new experiences are going to be overtaking existing educational experiences in World Showcase (the movies in China and Canada sound like good updates to the existing films). The real big changes can be found in the other neighborhoods.

World Nature

    World Nature will encompass the new Journey of Water attraction, The Land Pavilion, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends. I talked a bit about the Journey of Water in my last blog, but I want to touch on it again here. World Nature is a celebration of the natural world. Living with the Land has always been a great place to learn all about the importance of well, the land. The Seas with Nemo and Friends is still a great little aquarium and a place to learn about the sea. Journey of Water will bring the area together really nicely as both the land and the sea participate in the water cycle which Journey of Water will be educating people about. Other than Journey of Water, there will be a new movie debuting in the Land Pavilion that will tell the story of our planet. The Land Pavilion and The Seas with Nemo and Friends are already popular locations within EPCOT so I'm not shocked we aren't seeing too much more done to the area, but I remain very excited for Journey of Water. For what it's worth it also appears on maps that the Imagination Pavilion could be in the area of World Nature as well?

World Discovery

    World Discovery will encompass both Mission: Space and Test Track. In addition the area will be getting Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, the new PLAY! Pavilion, and the Space 220 restaurant. The focus of this neighborhood will be on science, technology, and well, space. The new PLAY! Pavilion is going to be somewhat of a technological spectacle. I touched lightly on this in my last blog, but it sounds like it is going to be quite the interactive experience. You will get to enter to what looks like a digital world and connect with both real and digital Disney characters in a variety of different experiences. For example, you'll be able to help Edna Mode get rid of uninspired fashion. Knowing Edna, it's going to be a hilariously good time. Other attractions withing the pavilion include Zootopia, Wreck-it-Ralph, Big Hero 6, and Inside Out. Some of these attractions will be digital, and others meet and greets.

    The Space 220 restaurant is well under construction already next to Mission: Space. As you may have guessed the idea is you are eating on a space station in well... Space. The restaurant is slated to open this upcoming winter and promises to deliver an out of this world experience. As you dine you will see what Earth looks like from 220 miles up. The windows will all basically be ultra high definition screens showing Earth from space and surely some other things thrown in as well. Disney has confirmed that there will be day and night cycles as well, so it should look really awesome. My only question is with Test Track so close by, what is the plan to both not hear those roaring cars going by or the shaking that they can cause? I'm sure they have it all figured out, but I want to know!

    While Mission: Space itself and Test Track are not seeing any changes, the only Ellen's Energy Adventure is certainly seeing changes as it continues to morph into Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. This ride sounds pretty crazy. It is a roller coaster that will feature state of the art technology, the first backwards launch on Disney property, and tell a story. The ride will begin with the telling of the story of the formation of both Earth and Xander. Soon after the Guardians of the Galaxy show up and well, things get a bit crazy. The coaster looks like it will have screens throughout and the trains themselves will be able to rotate to keep you directly in the action. We have already seen how effective Disney can be utilizing screens on rides like Na'vi River Journey and Shanghai's Pirates of the Caribbean, so I expect this will be on that level as well. I do have to say I am so glad that they are going to have some educational stuff in this ride with the formation of planet Earth. Makes my nerves both about Marvel and the wave of IPs in EPCOT ease greatly.

    World Discovery is going to be bringing in a lot of new and holding onto two classic attractions. It's going to be interesting to see how popular the neighborhood becomes once Guardians of the Galaxy opens. You'll have all three of the parks most intense rides all in one place. Right now anytime I go over by Test Track there's a bunch of people on line for Test Track, but otherwise the area is pretty quiet and I feel like it was that way when Ellen's Energy Adventure was open as well.

World Celebration

    The final neighborhood will be from the main park entrance right down the middle of the park to World Showcase. Spaceship Earth is included in this neighborhood and the neighborhood itself will focus on connecting us to the world around us. Makes sense as World Showcase, World Nature, and World Discovery will all connect to World Celebration. As mentioned in my previous blog, Spaceship Earth will be undergoing a big refurbishment that will see the ride get new scenes, an updated narration that will focus on storytelling and an all new exit area, Dreamers Point. In addition to the big changes to Spaceship Earth, the entrance itself will be getting an overhaul. This has already started with the removal of the Leave a Legacy stones. The new entrance will feature all kinds of greenery, new paths, and a new fountain as well. With the PLAY! Pavilion taking over the current festival center, World Celebration will play host to a brilliant new pavilion. This three level pavilion will be the new festival center and also feature a park situated on it's roof that will give guests an incredible view of the park and HarmonioUS. Surely more details will eventually be coming out as to how all of that will work, but the pavilion itself looks incredible!

    World Celebration looks like it is going to be the perfect introduction to EPCOT. Spaceship Earth will tell us the history of storytelling. From there we will branch out to discover World Nature which will tell the story of the land and water (cannot just say sea anymore). World Discovery will tell the story of science and technology. Of course, World Showcase will continue to tell the story of the cultures of the world. All of this will link back to World Celebration. Personally I love it. I love the new idea. I love the new design. While it is no longer about the future and moving forward, the park's importance I feel went up significantly. It sounds like it is going to be a place that connects us all as people with the entire world around us.

Final Thoughts

    Originally I was against many of these changes as rumors swirled. Guardians of the Galaxy especially I was concerned about. As more details emerge it seems like Disney continues to try and keep Epcot as a place where we can learn about the world around us, even with these new attractions being linked to IPs. While this overhaul may be disappointing to some. I feel it is a great way to move the park into the future. No, there are no new lands being added like Hollywood Studios and no, the Imagination Pavilion is currently not slated to be touched, but really EPCOT doesn't need that to happen. It needed an update. It needed a face lift, not a complete re-do. The problem is with all the technology we have now, how do you remake a future world? Do you throw a bunch of Star Wars things in there and say here is our future now? The technology currently displayed in future world is our reality and from the time EPCOT opened until now it served its purpose to showcase what was coming.

    Until I'm proven otherwise, I do not believe that these changes and additions are going to change EPCOT's message. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is all about us uniting as individuals and as nations. That show's message resonates the message of EPCOT and though the show is departing, that message is going to now ring louder and clearer than ever. It is still possible that things could change and I could be completely off the mark here and EPCOT could turn into Magic Kingdom II. As of right now though I don't see that as the case and I for one am beyond hyped to see all of these new ideas and attractions up and running.

    Thank you for reading all of this. I'm sorry there are no pictures to go along with any of it. For full coverage on the D23 convention check out Disney Parks Blog WDW News Today and Chip and Co. At all three of these websites you can see all of the concepts for the new attractions coming to EPCOT and so much more. While I may be done reacting to EPCOT at D23, there are still some loose ends I'd like to tie up from the convention, so that will be my next blog. There I will take a look at some of the other announcements from D23! Thanks again as always for reading!

D23 EPCOT Reaction Part 1

    Well here we are as expected. Today was the D23 Parks Panel and wow is there a lot to digest with everything that was announced. Some things were certainly answered, new questions have popped up, and one thing became clear. EPCOT is going to be a completely different park than it is today. So lets get right into it shall we?

    I'd like to start where I ended my last blog, with the nighttime show Illuminations: Reflections of Earth coming to an end. Replacing it will be EPCOT Forever which will celebrate the history of EPCOT through the years. It sounds like the show is going to be great. Disney has said that they are going to have some pretty awesome effects going on in this limited time show and the music? Well it's music from EPCOT so it should be pretty amazing. After that will come HarmonioUS. HarmonioUS is the new name for A Celebration of Disney Music, and what a better name it is. The show is going to feature popular Disney music reinterpreted by artists from around the world. What exactly does that mean? I have no idea at all. I'm still hoping for less popular Disney music to take hold in this show over Under the Sea, Be Our Guest, etc, but those tunes done differently would sure be interesting as well. We now also know that this show is going to be the largest nighttime spectacular in the world. I'm pretty excited about the show still. We didn't get a ton of new details, but it's nice to have a better name equipped to it and I am certainly eager to hear the soundtrack.

    Well it was inevitable. The wave of Disney IPs into EPCOT has officially washed over the park. In addition to the already announced Guardians of the Galaxy, Ratatouille, and Moana(????) attractions, Mary Poppins will be getting a ride in the UK pavilion. The France pavilion will see the addition of a Beauty and the Beast sing-a-long and a new restaurant (not Beauty and the Beast themed). China and Canada are getting their movies updated, originally I heard rumors of Mulan being in the China one, but that may not be the case? In the new PLAY! Pavilion guests will be able to interact with characters from Wreck it Ralph, Huey, Dewey, Louie, Webby, and Edna Mode. Some of the characters will be virtual while others will be real. The rush of IPs at this convention isn't the least bit surprising, but one character is sitting on the sidelines, Figment.

    Figment is so popular that I am shocked that nothing is coming for the little dragon. There were no announcements regarding the much dated Journey Into Imagination or the Imagination pavilion as a whole. All these IPs moving in will surely have kids wanting to visit EPCOT more, but what about everyone's favorite purple dragon? I hope they at least give his pavilion a new paint job. EPCOT is going to look so beautiful, but that area is in serious need of a little love. Time will tell, but overall with all these IP and character related announcements, I'm surprised the one character that many refer to as EPCOT's mascot was seemingly forgotten.

    Speaking of popular and synonymous with EPCOT, Spaceship Earth's overhaul was also officially confirmed. The ride will be receiving an all new soundtrack and narration. While it will remain a trip through time, but will now focus on storytelling and it's importance in uniting us as people. The ride will also be getting new scenes installed and an incredible sounding new exit. The new exit area, Dreamers Point will feature a statue of the original dreamer, Walt Disney, and offer an incredible view of the World Showcase. Dreamers Point sounds like it is going to be an incredible area and I can't wait to learn more about it as time goes on. I was so worried about the shape of Spaceship Earth, but now I couldn't be more excited for this ride. Storytelling is something that has been around forever and it's great that we are going to see it's importance showcased. Speaking of importance...

   To wrap up part 1 of this blog, some more details came out about the Journey of Water attraction. The attraction will be inspired by the hit animated film, Moana, but as far as characters go, the only one will be water itself. In the movie, the Ocean is basically a character itself and that is what they are going for here. The attraction will be a walk-through and feature meeting and playing with magical water! It will also serve as an education tool explaining the importance of water and the natural water cycle. To me, this is beautiful. Moana is an absolutely beautiful movie and I am hyped to see this trail open mixing fun with water and education about water. I feel like the importance of water gets overlooked so much when discussing nature and even us as humans. This attraction will bring some awareness to that an I couldn't be happier now knowing that it's not going to be a movie based ride or completely character focused.... Well except for water apparently.

    Wow there is still so much more to react to about all the changes coming to EPCOT. Stay tuned for that as I throw my feeling out these on the all new layout for the park and the end of the park as well all know it! Thanks for reading!

EPCOT Evolution

    What a time it is to talk a little bit about EPCOT. With D23 about to kick off I just wanted to share a few of my thoughts on the re-imagining of EPCOT's future world area. Unfortunately I will not be including any new EPCOT concept pictures, but those can easily be found at https://wdwnt.com/ or https://chipandco.com/. Some of these feelings I've had for a bit of time now and some are new. The fun is these are my thoughts and it is totally okay if they differ from yours!

    Ellen's Energy Adventure closed just over two years ago (already!). Replacing the long standing EPCOT attraction is an all new Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster that will feature some really awesome state of the art technology. The old Universe of Energy building is being transformed into a queue area as well as the station for the coaster. Personally, I never experienced Ellen's Energy Adventure. As I learned about EPCOT, the attraction just sounded incredibly dated. With that in mind I spent my time in EPCOT doing other things. I know the attraction had its fans and have some pretty cool scenes and what not, but I wasn't heartbroken at all to hear it was being replaced. What is replacing it though had me mildly concerned.

    When the Guardians of the Galaxy Roller Coaster was announced I had a few fears. One has not been realized, one kind of has. Even back in 2017 rumors were flying all over that all of future world was going to be getting an overhaul. With Guardians of the Galaxy being announced I was honestly afraid that future world would be transformed into more of a Marvel themed land. I know that Universal has the rights to use the Marvel characters at their Florida park, but still I was nervous about it. That nervousness was also fueled by an internet rumor that Universal was considering ending their hold on the now Disney owned characters. As it turns out, Guardians of the Galaxy looks like it will be the only Marvel property in EPCOT.

    My other fear was that following Frozen Ever After that a new trend would start at EPCOT. That being a wave of IPs flooding the park's attractions. Frozen Ever After replaced Malestrom at EPCOT's Norway pavilion and while it has proven to be very popular, the ride seemed out of place at EPCOT. Since then we have had multiple IP attraction announcements. Remy from Ratatouille is getting his own ride, Guardians of the Galaxy is getting a ride, Illuminations: Reflections of Earth is being replaced with a show that will apparently feature various Disney characters, while not confirmed to be Wreck it Ralph themed, the new play pavilion's concept art looks like it is nearly ripped right from that movie. Other smaller attractions such as Reflections of China are slated to be updated with Disney character involvement as well. As of yesterday, Moana will be joining in on the fun with an interactive Journey of Water attraction.

    I could make a whole blog on this topic alone, but for now I'll just summarize my thoughts because D23 is just getting ready to take off and I'm sure more will come. While I feel that it is great to see many of these attractions appealing more to kids by taking on Disney animated characters, I fear that what EPCOT was is getting lost. The first couple times I visited that park I left with a bunch of knowledge about different countries that I didn't have before going through the gates. Future world's uh... technology of the future??? while dated showed that the area had a history focused on tomorrow. It was fun and educational. I worry that as time passes we will continue to see less and less of that and more and more animated characters moving in. My hope is that Disney is able to find a balance for EPCOT to keep the education and make it more appealing to kids. I am all for adding on to pavilions (France is gaining Ratatouille), I am not all for attractions coming in that take away from knowledge about a country and it's people's legends, etc (Frozen Ever After). More of this stuff in another blog...

    With all that said, I am hyped for the new nighttime show that will be replacing Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Don't get me wrong, I love Illuminations. It is probably one of the most awesome firework shows I've ever seen. That said when you look at the technology that Disney has at their disposal now, the show is in a word, dated. While EPCOT Forever will run for a little bit, the real focus is on A Celebration of Disney Music that will be starting in 2020. This show has unlimited potential and can be something really, really special. Judging by the name we will be taking a trip through some of Disney's biggest musical numbers yet again right? I wonder. While Magic Kingdom (and Fantasmic) is home to the Under The Sea, Be Our Guest, Friend Like Me variety, what if EPCOT goes a different direction. What if this show features music from Coco, Moana, Mulan, etc? In other words, focusing on different musical styles from around the world as opposed to the safe zone of Disney songs.

    That plus the incredible laser, projection, water screen, and other technologies at their disposal, Disney could really be making something magical to replace the crowd favorite Illuminations. Whatever the case I am hyped for the show. Happily Ever After has been showing off what today's technology can do for a firework show and I expect more of the same here. Lastly I just wanna throw this out there. EPCOT's entrance sounds like it is going to be beautiful. While I understood the whole leave a legacy thing, I couldn't help but feel like I was walking through a mess of concrete walls heading into the park. The extra foliage is going to look gorgeous and bring shade to a park that has virtually none.

    Well that's all I have for right now. I'm sure by the time D23 is wrapped up I'll have a mess of other things on my mind. Thanks as always for reading. I hope you have a magical day! 

   

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween: Worth It?

    Hey everyone! Today I'd like to give my thoughts on Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party at The Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. The party is a ticketed event that occurs on select nights from mid August through November 1st. On these days The Magic Kingdom closes to the public at 7:00pm and only guests with special wristbands are allowed to remain. While the party starts at 7:00. guests to the parts can enter The Magic Kingdom as early as 4:00pm. This does allow party guests to snag a couple Fast Passes before the park closes. The Fast Pass Plus system is not available during the Halloween Party, but in my experience it isn't really needed anyway.

    The crowd level during the party is significantly less than the regular daytime crowd thanks to a limited number of tickets being available. That being said, I heard last year's parties seemed to be more crowded than normal. Keep in mind that Disney ultimately controls how many tickets are sold. It's also good to consider as the fall really starts setting in that people are more into Halloween. Halloween night is usually a sell out. I went on Halloween a couple years ago and it was crowded, but still had an easy time getting everything I wanted to get done, done. I went one year towards the end of September and it was significantly less crowded than on Halloween. Then again, there was also a hurricane that hit the state right around the same time, so the crowd in general that week was pretty light. My point is that you will not be dealing with the typical crowd at The Magic Kingdom which makes the whole experience so much better.

    Costumes are permitted at the party and are a lot of fun. Disney does have costume guidelines that they ask guests to follow. For example, someone dressed as a princess that too closely replicates Disney's official princess cast may be asked to alter a part of their costume (hair, jewelry, etc) before entering. This is done for safety reasons. Disney does not want random people becoming a meet and greet and taking pictures of kids in their park, especially since it's not like a background check is needed to enter. All of the costume guidelines are reasonable and can be found on the Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween page on Disney World's website. Costumes are a great part of the Halloween Party. I had a blast seeing families and random people dressed up as their favorite characters. It's great to see just how far the Disney fandom goes. Of course you see a ton of popular costumes such as Elsa, Moana, etc, but I've also seen deeper cuts from The Great Mouse Detective and Bedknobs and Broodsticks. Personally I've gone as Flotsam and Jetsam from The Little Mermaid as well as Fantasmic, the nighttime show at Hollywood Studios.

    So what is there to do at the party? Well a ton really. Before going into it though I want to throw this out there. Dining locations are available during the Halloween Party. Since the party runs from 7:00 to 12:00am, there is time to sit down at a restaurant and eat. For some people the Halloween party presents a unique opportunity to get into a hard to get into location such as Be Our Guest. For me though, I'd rather grab some quick service grub during the Halloween party as opposed to going to one of the restaurants. I'm more of a ride person in Disney, so any opportunity I have to hit things like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with minimal wait, I'll take. Oh yeah, did I mention nearly all of the rides are open during the party? Yeah! They are and with much shorter wait times than a typical day too!

    Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party features a ton of entertainment. Throughout the park there are Trick or Treat stands where you can pick up some candy. Both times I went the candy was various snack size Mars brand candies. Overall the candy selection is pretty good to be honest. The fun thing is you can Trick or Treat as much as you want. I've seen people with huge pillowcases full of candy walking around these parties. Along with Trick or Treating you can visit some unique characters such as Jack and Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas and Jafar from Aladdin. Also scattered throughout the park are unique Halloween snacks for sale. I haven't seen the menu released yet for this year's party, but the two that I went to had some awesome treats for sure, so make sure you bring your sweet-tooth.

    In addition to that stuff, there are three more big events at the party. One is the Boo To You Parade. This parade features all kinds of spooky characters ranging from Mickey and the gang to the hitchhiking ghosts of the Haunted Mansion to the villains themselves. It's got an incredibly catchy soundtrack and is probably the coolest night time parade that Disney World has to offer.... It's also the only one outside of the Christmas party parade that Disney World currently has to offer... Anyway... The Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular takes place in front of the castle a few times throughout the night. This is your chance to see the Sanderson sisters put on a show for all to see. Also in the show are some of the most memorable Disney villains of all time. It is certainly worth at least one watch. Lastly, 2019 will debut a brand new fireworks spectacular! This unnamed show will be taking the place of Happy Hallowishes which in itself was a great show. I have no idea what the new show will look like, but here is the old show if you are interested in watching it.

    With allllll of that said. Is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party worth the price of admission. My answer is yes! I feel like there is enough going on from 7:00pm to midnight to completely justify the price of admission. In addition to all of what I mentioned there are other smaller things that go on such as dance parties, street performers, etc. that just add to the spooky magic. Personally I try to save money on a day ticket for that day. If I know I am doing a Halloween Party, I won't get a park ticket for that day. If you want to hit Magic Kingdom from park open till the end of the party, you'll need two tickets, which is by no means cheap. That said, being allowed in the park at 4:00pm was a great benefit and allowed for me to hit a few more rides and eat before the party started up. If you are going to the Walt Disney World Resort between August 16th and November 1st, check the calendar and try to get some party tickets! You will not be disappointed! 

    As always, thanks for reading. For more information on Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party visit The Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Page! 

  

Six Flags Great Adventure Review 6/2/19

    Hey everyone, before I start I want to say that I am slightly expanding this blog to also include blogs about my home theme park, Six Flags Great Adventure. While I love to blog about the Disney Parks and Disney in general, I don't have the luxury of being able to frequent those parks. I do frequent Great Adventure, so I think it's going to be fun for me to keep a sort of log of my adventures there as well! I am in the middle of typing up a pretty big Disney blog, so stay tuned for that soon.

    I got to the park right as the gates opened. Surprisingly the crowd was very light for what would be an 80 degree day. The group I was with and I headed right over to Safari Off Road Adventure. The safari is a favorite of mine and I was pretty anxious to see how the animals were. Last time I was on the safari was back in the fall. Many of the babies have grown significantly. The baby giraffes are huge now, which is to be expected I suppose. Even at Camp Adventura, the halfway point of the safari, the babies have grown.

    As someone who has frequented the safari over the past few years it was great to see these animals growing up. The bear cubs that were born in 2017 are basically teenagers now, and the lion and tiger cub combo have gotten so big, but not too big as they are still housed together. One would think as the tiger gets bigger they'll be separated. The only letdown on this round on the safari was that the America section of all places was pretty empty. Normally there are a bunch of elk and bison around, but outside of just a couple elk, the area was mostly vacant for some reason. The safari overall is in great shape as is Camp Adventura. Six Flags is doing a lot now with education in this area which is great. Both tour guides we had were very good and had good information about both the animals and conservation. If you have never experience the safari at Six Flags Great Adventure, I highly recommend it. 

    Hey this is a Disney blog, so lets throw this out there. The safari at Six Flags is quite different than the one in Disney's Animal Kingdom. That said it is difficult for me to say as to which one I like more. While Animal Kingdom certainly has the more natural appearing safari, Six Flags I believe has more species of animal within the safari. I also feel that the safari at Six Flags is a bit more educational and the stop at Camp Adventura allows for guests to actually feed the giraffes for $7. It's a pretty awesome experience if I do say so myself. As far as the habitats go, Six Flags does the best with what the climate of New Jersey allows them to do. In Animal Kingdom the African section has actual African trees and what not. Honestly they'd never survive the winters here so it's understandable that Six Flags cannot match Disney's safari when it comes to recreating a completely natural habitat for some of the animals. I'll go more into the differences of these safari's at a later time, but I just wanted to touch on that here real quick.

    After the safari we met up with some more people and headed towards Superman Ultimate Flight. Some of the group went on. I'm not sure, but it seems like Six Flags may have done some repaving of the area just past the boardwalk. The ground seemed a lot darker than I remember. I could be wrong on that though. Many of the games in the boardwalk area are still the same as they've been for the past few years. An exception to this is there is now a game where you see how long you can hang from a pull-up bar. Seems kinda strange, but there were quite a few people looking to give it a shot. The old fish n chips stand by Superman is no more. Replacing it is a new chicken stand which had a decent variety of chicken based meals. I'll have to try some of them out and report back on them at some point. Some of them looked pretty good. After Superman we headed back over to discount Frontierland.... I mean Frontier Adventures.... and hit the next ride, Runaway Mine Train.

    This is one of the oldest rides in the park. It shows that in both appearance and roughness. While the ride is great for kids, it can be a bit painful for adults. Unfortunately I was seated in a wheel seat which means less leg room. About halfway through the ride I got a wicked cramp in my leg which made the final hills of the ride even more painful than usual. That last hill is still a doozy and basically tries to eject you out of the ride. Still the ride is a classic and there was no wait at all for it.

    I had planned on going on Bizarro on this trip, but the group went to it right after Runaway Train and my leg was still killing me so I sat out. Next time... I do have to say though I was happy to see many of the effects on Bizarro working. Last season the fire effect seemed to never be going off while I was there, but today the flames were blazing and the mist effects and other ride effects all seemed to be going as well. Perhaps they've got it all running in preparation for the ride's "20th|" anniversary. I put that in quotes because the ride spent the first ten years as Medusa. When it transformed into Bizarro there were also sound effects from the speakers of Bizarro screwing with the ride during the chain lift. I doubt those have been fixed, but when the ride first was re-themed, it was a pretty cool effect. From Bizarro, we made our way to Justice League Battle for Metropolis.

    Justice League Battle for Metropolis is the closest thing you will get to a Disney or Universal level ride as far as themeing goes. The ride is a 3-D shooter similar to the likes of Universal's Men in Black. Within the ride are a few really good looking animatronics, fire, fog, and a bunch of other effects that make the ride stand out from the rest. All the while you'll stop at screens to try and stop both Lex Luther and Joker from capturing the Justice League. At the end of the ride your scores are posted and the ride displays where your score falls in all time. On this run I ended up with around 295,000 points. It put in the top 1%, but far from my high score of over 342,000. After Justice League it was time for lunch, but not before seeing something awesome.

    Debuting this season is Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth. This is the world's tallest pendulum ride. It reaches speeds of around 70 miles per hour and gets riders nearly 150 feet in the air. The ride was not open, but it was testing and it really way quite the sight to see. The ride sits where Stuntman's Free Fall stood from 1983 to 2006. It is great to see another ride in that spot and really rounds out a now reinvigorated area of the park. It was only three years ago that the area of the park from where Free Fall and Batman and Robin: The Chiller was still closed off to the public. Since Holiday in the park of 2016 reopened a path and theater that had been closed off to the public (not counting groups), the area has undergone a really awesome transformation. Since 2017, Justice League Battle for Metropolis, Cyborg Cyber Spin, and now Wonder Woman Lasso of Truth, along with two food stands have all breathed new life into what was a abandoned section of the park. I'll have more blogs on that later though.

    From there we got some lunch at Macho Nacho Express in Movie Town. Last season, this stand only sold loaded nachos. This season it is back to offering the same menu as Macho Nacho on the other side of the park. For the past two seasons Macho Nacho has been my favorite food stand in the park. My first rice bowl of the year was the biggest disappointment in my four trips so far this season. Most of the rice was rock hard. The beef was changed this year from a nice seasoned beef into something that looked more like Taco Bell with sauce. The beef had a bit of a kick to it which was fine, but the rice really ruined it. The cheese, lettuce, and salsa were still yummy, but I rice being literally uneatable was horrible. I'll give them another try, but I'll probably just go to the one by El Toro.

    After lunch we went on Batman. I don't understand why so many people say that the ride is really rough. I've been on it a couple times now and both times I found it quite enjoyable. It's intense for sure, but I never found my head getting slammed around or anything like that. I really don't find it anymore intense that Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Featuring Aerosmith at Disney's Hollywood Studios. Batman was the last ride I rode for the day, but the group continued on to ride Nitro and El Toro. As some of the group was on El Toro my phone lit up with a Severe Thunderstorm Warning. We made our way out and as we neared the car the rain came. Talk about perfect timing. 

    The rain arrived right around 4:00pm. We had been in the park since 10:30am. The crowd in a word was dead. The longest amount of time anyone waited was about 10 minutes. The rides that the group went on were Safari Off Road Adventure, Superman Ultimate Flight, Runaway Mine Train, Bizarro, Justice League Battle for Metropolis, Batman, Buccaneer, Nitro, and El Toro. The high point of the day was the quiet crowd level. The low point was definitely Macho Nacho Express. In reality you cannot ask for a better day in this park. From the morning Safari to watching friends enjoy themselves on El Toro at the end of the day it really was just a great day. Sure we hit some hail on the way home, but it was worth it. As always, thank you for reading! The next blog will be a return to Disney stuff with August being just two months away, there is a certain event I'd like to talk about!