Toy Story Land Review From 3/3-3/11 Trip to Walt Disney World

    Hey everyone! Today I'll be reviewing the newest area of Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Land. These are my thoughts and feelings on the land and perhaps some areas notes of fantasy of things I'd like to see. If you have no interest in Toy Story Land or don't want any kind of spoilers on the land until you see it for yourself, I suggest not continuing along. I'd also not recommend reading if you are of the belief that Disney can do no wrong as I do have some issues with the land. If you do not fall into those categories then enjoy the review!

    Toy Story Land is the area within Hollywood Studios where you shrink down to toy size and play in Andy's backyard. The idea is that you should be about the size of a green army man from the movies. This is conveyed by the fact that the green army men figures throughout the land are around six feet in height. The other toys in the land are much larger. Right in the entrance way a massive Woody figure welcomes you to the land and talks a little about the rides within. It's a really neat touch and can get the kid in all of us all kinds of hyped for what lies beyond. Just about everything from fences, to props, to railings, to even trash cans is all toy themed. Massive tinker toys and K'nex act as railings and lamp posts while huge Christmas lights are strung across the land for nighttime lighting.  All of it really does make you feel so small. As is the case most of the time, Disney was able to really immerse me into the land. Perhaps a little too well with the whole backyard theme. Reason I say that is outside of a few umbrellas the land has little to no shade. Since opening Disney has installed some more umbrellas near the rides and food areas, but still, it is a hot area for sure.

    While the scenery looks so fun, nostalgic, and colorful, if you look closer you can easily uncover a sad truth. Toy Story Land was built on a limited budget, that much is no secret. With Star Wars Galaxy's Edge being built right next store, the land was built to keep interest in the park going and what better way to do that than capitalize on Toy Story's popularity. It was a great move, but with the lower budget comes a bit of neglect that is not commonly seen in the Disney Parks. For example, paint is peeling off the walls and decals in both the Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucer queue lines. 

    In addition to paint peeling, which can be seen throughout the land, including areas that are out of reach to the public, there is also paint and damage issues to Slink Dog Dash. 

    I was very lucky to get to ride this ride three times on my trip and I'll talk more about it in a little bit, but here you can clearly see cracking all along the spring park of Slinky. Each time I went on the ride I saw this or a temporary cover over the spring like in the following picture.

    I'm not going to keep posting pictures of damage since that's not what this blog is about, but I will make a couple more damage related notes. The area near Woody's Lunchbox, the quick service food stand in the land, is in rough shape. Many of the tables have paint that has peeled and some of the tables even have chips that have broken off of them. The garbage cans are also dented, but that's to be expected from strollers running into them and people slamming trays on them all day so they get a pass. The queue for Toy Story Mania has also been having damage issues. While I was there apparently one of the massive wall decals peeled a decent way off the wall. Since I've been home apparently another wall decal in that queue line has had a similar issue. All of these issues I can chalk up to the lower budget as many of these damages are probably not caused by guests. 

    I did stop and grab a bite to eat at Woody's Lunchbox. The menu had a decent variety for being a quick service and even offered some really unique foods. When I ate there it was a lateish breakfast so I opted for a french toast s'mores sandwich. Yes I typed that correctly. French toast s'mores sandwich. 

  

    The price was a little steep in my opinion at right around $8, but it was surprisingly filling. The french toast was basically packed with graham cracker crumbs. Inside was wonderful melted chocolate and marshmallow. If you are looking for a full, but filling treat I certainly recommend giving this thing a try. Other notable options at Woody's Lunchbox that sounded pretty good to me was BBQ Brisket Melt and Smoked Turkey Sandwich. If you are in the mood for a grilled cheese and tomato soup, both items are sold here as well. With the stand being sponsored by Babybel, you can also get little Babybel cheese snacks here. It's certainly not the best place to eat in Hollywood Studios, but my experience was pretty good for a quick service. 

    Of course the big attraction with Toy Story Land are the rides. The 120 minute plus wait times for Slinky Dog Dash and over 60 minute wait times for Alien Swirling Saucers and Toy Story Mania confirm that for me. Toy Story Mania is still the classic ride it always was. The entrance to the ride was flipped from Pixar Place into Toy Story Land. There is now an outdoor portion of the queue line that offers a decent amount of shade and has different scenes of the toys playing the games on the ride. The main attraction of the queue is a Mr. Potato-head animatronic that talks, moves, and cracks a few jokes. 

    The ride itself remains the same as it always has been. You board your ride vehicle and engage in several 3-D carnival style games. You have a blaster on the front of your vehicle that you'll need to pull the pull string to fire at the various targets. The goal is to outscore your friend or beat your top score. There is no real story to the ride, just good carnival style fun with characters from Toy Story. This ride is the only non new ride in Toy Story Land, but that has not really had an effect on the ride's wait times despite Disney adding a third track.

    If you've been following along in my vacation blogs I talked a little bit about Alien Swirling Saucers. I'll go into a little bit more detail here and throw in a couple pictures. First off the ride looks really fun. The scenerey outside the ride is fantastic and very Buzz Lightyear/green alien themed. Standing tall outside is a Buzz Lightyear figure similar to that of Woody on the other side of the land. The big difference is Buzz did not talk. I'm curious if that'll change once Galaxy's Edge opens since the second entrance to Toy Story Land will be near Alien Swirling Saucer and the exit of Galaxy's Edge which is currently closed off. I've also heard that he used to talk? Anyway... There is a lot of this queue line that is in pure sunlight with no shade to be found. On hot days it could get pretty brutal standing in the line. Disney has installed fans, but I'm not sure how much they help in the Florida heat. Once you get in the shade the queue becomes themed around the green aliens and has a Pizza Planet feel as well. There isn't much to do though in the queue and it's easy to find those areas of missing paint.

    The ride itself is that of a classic whip ride. You'll be pushed side to side as the green alien drives your vehicle around to a spaced out random song from the Toy Story series. If you've read my previous blog where I talk about this ride you may remember that included in the song selection is "When She Loved Me". Now I have no problem with Disney using as much music as possible, but why oh why is one of if not the most depressing songs in any Disney movie an option on this incredibly fun ride. It literally killed the experience for me. If you don't know what the song is obviously it won't hurt your experience, but for someone going through a traumatic time, ugh. It was brutal. Okay now that I got that out of my system... 

    The ride is really fun. Do I think it is worth waiting 45 minutes to an hour for? No. If you've never been on it and love Toy Story like I do, 40 minutes I think is fine. I waited that long and outside of the music choice I got I had a lot of fun. The only other things I have to say about this ride is that at night it is probably a much better experience. There are all kinds of lighting effects on the ride for the nighttime which I'm sure enhance the ride a ton. I do have a mysterious question about the ride though. Back when it was first talked about there was talk of the claw choosing a rider/alien at the end of the ride. From what I saw that doesn't happen. The strange part is Woody mentions the claw potentially choosing you at the entrance of Toy Story Land. It's not a complaint or anything, just something strange to me. 

    The main attraction of Toy Story Land is the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster. The ride's wait time is frequently around the 120 minute mark. I talked a lot about this ride in my last blog, but I find it appropriate to talk about it a bit more here. Slinky Dog Dash is in my opinion a massive nostalgia hit. While waiting in line I couldn't help but think back to watching Toy Story when I was a kid. Looking around the queue line at the decals of board games and other childhood favorites brought a smile to my face. The queue is not interactive at all, but there is a fun game that can be played on the Play Disney Parks App while you wait. Getting on board the Slinky Dog is so much fun. Slinky talks a bit before the ride starts and from time to time you'll hear him talking as well, especially at the second launch. Similar to Rock N' Roller Coaster Featuring Aerosmith, this ride starts up with a launch, albeit a significantly smaller one, a launch nonetheless. The coaster wraps goes by an area where a massive block fort has been built by Andy. On top of the fort is Rex being, well stuck, and Jessie trying to save him. The two of them talk as well which makes it all the more fun. The twists, hills, and turns that follow are surprisingly intense. I found myself actually getting a little bit of air which really surprised me.

    Then you come to one of the ride's main attractions, the second launch. Slinky grinds to a halt, backs up slightly as the launch powers up, and then lunges forward and up the coaster's tallest hill. The second launch is again, not as strong as the one on Rock N' Roller Coaster, but it is much more significant that the first hitting speeds of near 40 miles per hour. From the top of that hill you get an incredible view of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. Following the launch are some bunny hills, some more twists and turns, and the on ride photo. At the end of the ride is the grand finale where a singing Wheezy the penguin animatronic sings You've Got a Friend In Me. Next to him a giant Mr. Spell displays various messages. It's a perfect way to end such an incredible and nostalgic ride. I wish I had taken a picture of him, but honestly I was just having way too much fun on the ride to think of it.

    If I had to pick two things wrong with the ride it would be the on ride photo, and damage. I rode Slinky Dog Dash three times and only once did the photo come out well. The first time in the rain was kind of blurry, but that could have been from the rain. The second time I rode it was at night and I don't think the flash was working so it was very dark. My final time riding it came out pretty good. I've heard many other people say that for some reason this camera is not really the most reliable and many people have had random people's photos linked to their accounts as opposed to their own.   

    Sadly this ride, despite being less than a year old has some damage. Slinky Dog Dash is not immune to the paint peeling that plagues Toy Story Land. Even the Slinky Dog trains themselves have damage that Disney has mostly tried to hide. The Slinky Dog Trains have riders sitting in-between Slinky's slinky rings or whatever they're called. The "handle" on the ride to hold onto is the ring itself. Many of these rings have a grey cover over them. I was told it was due to damage. The last time I rode the ride I got a good look at it as there was no cover, but sadly the damage in the form of badly cracked paint was plain as day to see.

    So those are the rides, food, and scenery of Toy Story Land. Before I wrap up this blog I want to talk a little about the flow of the land right now as well as the land at night. Currently there is only one way in or out of Toy Story Land. The entrance is just beyond Walt Disney Presents (formally One Man's Dream) and shortly before the former entrance of Toy Story Mania in Pixar Place (now themed to The Incredibles). Buzz Lightyear is available for a meet and greet in the area near the entrance. As you walk you'll walk by Slinky Dog Dash on your right and Toy Story Mania on your left. Shortly after the entrance of Toy Story Mania you'll walk by the Jessie and Woody meet and greet. The lines for Jessie, Woody, and Buzz are all outdoors with no shade at all, so you'll want to be prepared for that before getting in line. The green army men/women will march around and put on little interactive shows for kids throughout the day as well. Once you finally walk past Slinky Dog Dash you'll see Alien Swirling Saucers on your right. On the left will be both Woody's Lunchbox and the toy themed restrooms. 

    If you keep walking forward you'll run into a temporary wall. Beyond that wall is Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. There is another Toy Story Land entrance sign that can be seen on the other side of the wall which means that wall will eventually come down and be a second entrance into the land. The big question is when. With Galaxy's Edge opening August 29th, nobody knows what is going to happen. It's possible that like Pandora: The World of Avatar that guests will be walking through Galaxy's Edge in one direction and the second entrance of Toy Story Land my end up being a temporary exit only for Galaxy's Edge. It's just speculation, but I find it hard to believe with the crowds expected that Disney is not going to have some form of crowd control in Galaxy's Edge when it first opens. I feel like this could have a pretty big impact on the crowd in Toy Story Land as it already is very crowded and not very big. Time will tell, but already the flow in Toy Story Land sometimes slows to a crawl. We will have to wait and see what if any effect Galaxy's Edge will have on the land.

    Toy Story Land is what I would call two lands. It is one land during the day and another at night. Meaning, the land at night is so different. In general, many of Disney's attractions are different during the night. The lights on the rides make them look nice, Hollywood Studios has plenty of neon lighting mimicking Hollywood, Pandora: The World of Avatar at Disney's Animal Kingdom has incredible lighting technology going on as well. The difference though is that not everything changes in those areas. Na'vi River Journey and Avatar: Flight of Passage are the same experiences at night as they are during the day. Dumbo's lighting in Magic Kingdom makes the ride look incredible, but doesn't add any effect to it, except visually perhaps. In Epcot, the World Showcase lights up and torches are lit all around the World Showcase Lagoon, but the experience isn't any different. At least to me anyway... 

    Toy Story Land almost comes alive at night. Both Slinky Dog Dash and Alien Swirling Saucers take on completely different ride experiences. The huge overhead Christmas lights all lit up is one of the more entertaining light set ups in Walt Disney World. While the lighting brings all kinds of pop sort to speak to the land. The two new rides come alive like never before. I was lucky enough to get to ride Slinky Dog Dash at night, but did not have the time to get on Alien Swirling Saucers at night, but I did watch it running and it looked a lot more fun than during the day.

    At night, the lights on Alien Swirling Saucers give the ride more of a tricked out night club or disco esque appearance. Much like any party, there is something about the crazy lighting at Alien Swirling Saucers, that even from afar, change the ride. Anyone I've asked about it has told me the ride is about five times better at night than it is during the day. I can imagine that that is the case. Slinky Dog Dash on the other hand I can tell you is very different. As Slinky runs along the track the lights on the underside of the track change color. The second launch sequence becomes a whole lot more intense as the toy Go! arches light up, and power up. The toy flames on the side of them spin and the lighting makes it look like actual fire. Lastly the final scene with Mr. Spell and Wheezy is all lit up and looks amazing. I loved Slinky Dog Dash during the day, but it was really something special at night. 

    Overall I have mixed emotions about Toy Story Land. I want to love it. I really do. I feel like I can only really say that though about Slinky Dog Dash. The land looks great until you actually look close and see the damage and peeling paint. I know it's kind of nit picky, but Disney is so well known for incredibly quality and it just seems like the lower budget of Toy Story Land caused them to cut some costs from places that normally would not have been the first places to cut costs. I also cannot help but feel that a massive opportunity to recreate Pizza Planet was missed. You have a ride in the land that celebrates the green aliens, has the claw (though it's just a prop), and has significant pizza related paintings. How awesome would it have been if Disney closed the old Pizza Planet by Muppetvision 3-D and opened a new sit down restaurant Pizza Planet (which I feel Hollywood Studios could use in general). I know the theme is Andy's Backyard, but they could have situated it in the back or something to make it seem like you are out of the yard over there or something.

    I digress... The rides are great. As I've mentioned a few times, I love Slinky Dog Dash. Alien Swirling Saucers is a good ride and Toy Story Mania has been around for a while. I feel like one more Toy Story ride would really round out the area. There does appear to be some space for another ride in the land, so perhaps in the future something will end up there. The food of the land is limited to Woody's Lunchbox, but my experience there was not bad at all. Toy Story Land is certainly worth checking out overall though. For kids it is terrific, especially with the ability to meet Woody, Buzz, and Jessie. For adults who grew up with Toy Story, it is defiantly a trip down nostalgia lane and Slinky Dog Dash is surprisingly thrilling as well. It is great fun for the whole family and I recommend checking it out on your next visit to Disney's Hollywood Studios!

    Thank you everyone for reading my full review on Toy Story Land at Disney's Hollywood Studios. In my next blog I will be returning to my most recent trip to Walt Disney World. I'll be picking up on March 6th, which is a four park day. Stay Tuned! 

Parks Review From My Most Recent Trip To Walt Disney World 3/5

    Hello once again everyone! In my last blog I took several trips between Disney's Boardwalk Resort and Disney's Hollywood Studios. March 5th was the big day. Before the wedding though the groom and I took a quick trip to Hollywood Studios. Before getting into that I want to say that I will not be going into the wedding in this blog. I'll go into the wedding at a different time probably, but this review series I'm doing is focusing in on the parks and my experiences in them as well as the resorts and food I had the opportunity to eat. All I'll say about the wedding right now is that it was a beautiful ceremony at Disney's Boardwalk Wedding Pavilion. The weather turned out great and the reception in The Attic was perfect for the size of the wedding. I honestly can't say one bad word about the wedding itself from start to finish!

    With the wedding fast approaching we decided to open Disney's Hollywood Studios in an attempt to get on the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster. Think of it as we had some unfinished business from the day before. I originally did not have a park pass for the day of the wedding, but increasing my number of park days cost me a whopping $12 so it really was not a big deal at all. The weather was very New Jersey like. The temperature that morning was in the low to mid 40's. This was the first time I had experienced any kind of cold in Florida. Even with the temperatures that low I felt comfortable in my light zip up sweatshirt, baseball cap, and jeans. All around us were people bundled up as if it was snowing. Ski caps, huge parkas, gloves, and even some scarves could easily be seen. We got into the park before it opened and the cast members had a road block set up close to the Chinese theater.

    What this does is allow guests to get into the park and not be all jammed up at the gates. Starbucks opened early so people were able to get into there and get some coffee and what not while waiting for the inevitable park opening. While we were standing in line it began to rain at a good moderate pace. This wasn't the typical Florida downpour though. This was what I'll equate to a cold, rainy, miserable New Jersey morning. Ponchos were being put on left to right, people huddling together for warmth, and then you had people like myself and the groom who've grown up in that kind of weather standing there getting soaked in the cold rain and being completely okay with it. In fact it was just over a year ago that he and I had walked through Six Flags Holiday in the Park with temperatures in the mid 30's and a pounding rain. Eventually the hoard began to slowly move towards Toy Story Land.

    If you have never opened a park when a new land or a major new attraction has opened then this may seem strange to you. Instead of doing the classic rope drop, cast members stretch a rope across the crowd and lead them towards whatever the new area or ride is. This is an excellent method of crowd control. Back when Anna and Elsa first started a meet and greet at Magic Kingdom there were reports of adults running over kids trying to secure their spot in line. It was a huge mess. I was at the front of one of those lines one time and talked with a cast member whom was telling some stories of the crazy things she was seeing before this rope lead strategy went into effect. Crazy stuff. Anyway... The cast members led us to the entrance of the Slinky Dog Dash roller coaster and allowed people to branch off towards Alien Swirling Saucer and Toy Story Mania as needed.

    The rain kept coming down as we stood in the outside section of the queue line. Even with this park opening strategy and the terrible weather we were looking at about a 40ish minute wait. The line behind us stretched on and by the time we got off the ride the wait time was over 120 minutes. More on that later though. The queue line for Slinky Dog is a lot of fun visually. Giant toys and other object tower over you, really making you feel the size of a green army man. While the queue is visually engaging, it is not physically engaging like say Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom. Luckily for those waiting in monster lines with nothing to do Disney released the Play Disney Parks app for smart phones! More on that at another time though.

    Slinky Dog Dash is simply put wonderful. Growing up with the Toy Story franchise I have to admit I felt all kinds of giddy when I got on the ride. The ride was incredibly smooth, but actually a little intense at times. There are some great moments on the ride too. The first comes as you wrap around a scene where Rex has himself stuck on a tower of blocks and Jessie is working on saving him. The next awesome moment is the second launch sequence. The ride hits an impressive 40mph and at the top of one of the turns you currently have a clear eye shot into Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. I'm not sure if they are going to do anything about that in the future, but wow is the construction really coming along in there. It looks incredible even from the top of that hill. The final amazing moment on this ride comes at the end where a giant Wheezy animatronic is singing You've Got a Friend In Me. Mr. Spell is also there with various spelled out phrases, but Wheezy is the real star there. The only downside I noticed on this ride is some of the grey slinky parts had a protective covering over them. The groom told me that it was due to the paint chipping, cracking, and peeling off the train. I was sad to hear that since the ride isn't even a year old at this point.

    The second picture above is the second launch section of the coaster where you can get a great view of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge.

    With the weather being as crappy as it was and us achieving our goal for the morning we decided that it was a good idea to head back to the car and return to Pop Century Resort, play some Nintendo Switch and get ready for the wedding.

    Thanks as always for reading. I've decided to move my review of Toy Story Land to my next blog. So the next blog will be a semi pause in the trip related blogs. The blog after that will be March 6th which was a four park day with a special guest visiting Disney World for one day for the first time. Stay Tuned!

Parks Review From My Most Recent Trip To Walt Disney World 3/4

    Hello everyone and welcome back to my review on my most recent trip to the Walt Disney World Resort. In my last blog I reviewed my first day in the parks. March 4th was a very busy day that saw me going to two parks, a breakfast, a dinner, and a wedding rehearsal. It also involved a ton of walking! So let's begin.

    The day would begin as a strange one. By that I mean it did not begin with me opening any of the parks, rather I waited for the groom to come to the Pop Century Resort as I was spending the day with him leading up to his wedding the following day. While I was waiting I enjoyed a hot cup Joffrey's Coffee (my favorite!), and played some Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. I brought my Nintendo Switch along for the ride cause I figured I'd have some downtime around the wedding/flights/etc. It was a good call for sure. Once the groom arrived we went over to Disney's Hollywood Studios for a brief walk around the park. From there we walked to Disney's Boardwalk Resort where the wedding would take place. If you have never been to the Boardwalk Resort it is quite the site. It's situated between Disney's Hollywood Studios and Epcot. It is within walking distance of those two parks along with Disney's Beach and Yacht Club Resorts as well as the Swan and Dolphin resort.

    For breakfast we ate along with the rest of the wedding party and some guests at Trattoria al Forno. This is a character dining experience where Ariel, Prince Eric, Rapunzel, and Flynn Rider will all hang out and chat with you for a bit during your meal. The restaurant itself serves mostly Italian food during the day, but the breakfast menu is quite diverse. When you first sit down the table is given a nice variety of pastries to share. I'm not a huge sweets person, but I did find the chocolate croissants to be quite yummy. Judging from the fact that there were no leftovers at the table I'd say the rest were good too. One notable pastry was shaped like the sun on the lanterns in Tangled.

    As far as the main course went I chose King Triton's Shipwreck al Forno. This thing was a massive calzone stuffed with scrambled eggs, cheese, bell peppers, salumi, bacon, cheeses, and Sunday gravy (basically tomato sauce). I wish I took a picture of the thing, but with so much going on I totally forgot to. I got through about 3/4 of it and I was done. It was good for sure, but man was it filling.

    From there we walked to Hollywood Studios. If you've never taken that walk before, it is a very nice one. You walk along the canal that the ferry boats take. It's usually not very busy at all and is overall just a very nice walk.

    Sorry for the small size, but you can hopefully see on the crudely edited map I made the yellow line connecting Epcot and Hollywood Studios. The green line is the alternate route passing through the Beach and Yacht Club as opposed to the Boardwalk Resort. Here is a couple shots from that walk.

    I was honestly surprised with how busy Hollywood Studios was the second time we visited it for the day. The first time I visited this park it quickly became my favorite for reasons I'll go into at another time, but right now I can only describe it as a park in transition and a small identity crisis. Many of the shops along the way were closed for refurbishment, but oh my was there plenty of Star Wars and Toy Story merchandise everywhere! When we were there earlier in the day we didn't get on any rides, but I did get my first glimpses of Toy Story Land. Now that we were back we took our time and did a few things. 

    The first ride that we decided to go on was Alien Swirling Saucers in Toy Story Land which had about a 30 minute wait. I had never been on the ride before and after riding it I really don't think I'd wait 30 minutes for it unless I was with someone who had never been on it. The ride itself is basically a whip ride. You get pulled back and forth as the green alien driving the ship in front of you spins around and what not. It's a fun ride, but at the end of the day it is basically a carnival whip ride with a real fun Toy Story overlay. The music in the ride honestly ruined it for me. For the most part it is very fun music. While in line I heard fun space themed versions of all kinds of music from the Toy Story Movies.... Then my ride happened. The song "When She Loved Me" from Toy Story 2 came on. Given what is going on in my life I spent the ride incredibly sad. Why that song is an option on the ride is beyond me. Also, a minor gripe... I feel like back when the ride was first announced that at the end of the ride the claw would chose a random car. That doesn't happen, but at the entrance of Toy Story Land, the giant Woody figurine makes mention of the claw choosing people when talking about the ride... Strange...

    I'll save my thoughts on Toy Story Land as a whole for another blog, but overall I found the land to be fun, but not without it's issues. We wanted to get on Slinky Dog Dash, but we did not have the time, nor did we want to wait over 120 minutes to ride. Next, we headed over to the old Pixar Place which recently reopened as an Incredibles themed area. There wasn't really much to do there, but there was a dance party that mixed the Citizens of Hollywood street performers with some characters from the Incredibles. Looked fun for kids. Beachballs were flying through the air and everyone seemed to be having a good time. The main reason I wanted to check that area out was the storied Jack Jack's Num Num Cookie.

    So if memory serves me right this cookie was around $6, but weighed probably about a pound if not more. It was really big and really delicious. I am not a huge sweets fan as I said earlier, so the groom to be and I split the thing. If you are a fan of cookies check this thin out. It's really good and the chocolate chips melting in the Florida sun does nothing be benefit the cookie. 

    We had one final stop to make before heading to dinner and that was a big challenge for me. I admittedly have issues when it comes to roller coasters. I think it's related to heights as I never can muster the will to get on the coasters at Six Flags Great Adventure... At least the tall ones... That said I've always been able to handle Expedition Everest as long as I didn't look going up the lift chain. I had also never been on an upside down or  a launch coaster before. If you couldn't guess what the challenge is... It was the only ride I had never been on at Walt Disney World (with the exception of the new Slinky Dog Dash Roller Coaster), Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Featuring Aerosmith. 

    We had a Fast Pass for the ride so we were able to get on nice and quick. The queue for this ride is pretty neat as you enter into a recording studio. The pre-ride video sees you meeting Aerosmith as a recording session is wrapping up and they are off to their next show. They convince their manager to hook up the people at the studio with some backstage passes and order an extra large stretch limo to transport you to the show. The coaster train itself is the limo and looks pretty awesome. As you loop around the queue it takes on the look of a street and you can watch as the trains blast off into the dark. Oh yeah, I didn't mention this ride takes place in the dark too. Add that to the list. 

    The ride itself was insane to say the least, but in a good way. The launch was incredibly intense as you blast from zero to near sixty miles per hour in less than three seconds. Once up to speed you immediately go through a loop. Talk about two first time experiences back to back. Going upside down was such an odd, but cool feeling. Being completely in the dark may have amplified that too. The rest of the ride is a high speed thrill with a nice corkscrew inversion thrown in as well. All the while Aerosmith music is blasting from the coaster train. It's a really awesome experience. The best part about it was how incredibly smooth it was. I was bracing myself for a rough and wild ride, but it was so smooth. 

    After the ride we walked back towards Disney's Boardwalk resort, but made a pit stop at the Swan Resort for dinner at Il Mulino. By the time we were seated we started getting into a bit of a time crunch. We needed to get back to the Boardwalk for rehearsal so we just ordered some pizza off the menu. Honestly as far as pizza goes I'd rank the pizza there second only to the pizza at Via Napoli in Epcot. The server at the restaurant was very helpful with the various food options and really seemed to know his stuff. The hostesses were actually surprisingly rude and did not seem to care about our little time crunch issues. We were the first reservation of the night and I don't think more than three additional tables filled up while we were there, so I'm not sure what was up with that. From there we finished walking back to the Boardwalk.

    The gazebo on the right hand side of the picture is where the wedding would take place and where the rehearsal took place as well. No much else to note about that. After the rehearsal we walked the groom's mother back to the bus at Hollywood Studios. Our original plan was to re-enter the park and try to catch Slinky Dog Dash, Fantasmic, or Star Wars A Galactic Spectacular, but we arrived too late and the park had just closed. So we hoped on the bus to Epcot and wrapped up the evening by watching Illuminations: Reflections of Earth.

    Illuminations: Reflections of Earth has been running at Epcot for a long time and remains a must see fireworks spectacular. Sadly the show will be ending this summer with a replacement show on the way. Personally I'm excited for a new show, but Illuminations will be sorely missed. With the show ending, so will one of the greatest, if not the greatest soundtrack in all of the Disney Parks. I'll talk more about the show and post pictures from it in a later blog on this trip. 

    The second day of my trip I can best describe as the day of walking and rehearsal. On top of walking around in the parks and resorts we walked from Hollywood Studios to the Boardwalk resort three times. My legs were feeling the burn, but in a good way. I finally got a look into Toy Story Land and finally conquered Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Featuring Aerosmith. 

    Thanks for reading! Next up is the day of the wedding. This will be a substantially smaller blog as my time in the parks was very limited. I may throw my full Toy Story Land review in as at that point I had a good feel for the new area. Stay tuned!  

Parks Review From My Most Recent Trip To Walt Disney World 3/3

    Hello everyone, the following is me doing a little review on my most recent trip to Disney World. I hope you find it interesting and fun. This is going to take up multiple blogs as there is a ton of stuff that went on! The trip itself was a roller coaster for me as I am going through some real tough times right now. On one hand I got to celebrate and be a part of my good friend's wedding at the Boardwalk Resort (a blog for another time perhaps?). On the other though, like I said I am going through a pretty tough time otherwise. I went on this trip solo which made it my first trip to Disney alone. I took the time to do some things I hadn't done before and took some time to do a few things I normally wouldn't do as well. So lets get into the trip.

    3/3: The day I arrived I hit the ground running. I basically dropped my things off a Pop Century Resort and got right on the bus to the Magic Kingdom. On the way I was beyond hyped to simply see the backside of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge towering over the road. August can't come soon enough for that thing to open up!

     As hoped for I managed to get into Magic Kingdom and  grabbed a spot right on the corner of Main Street and waited as the Festival of Fantasy Parade was making it's way through the central hub area. I have seen the Festival of Fantasy Parade from many areas around the park. My favorite spots to date are right where the parade begins by Splash Mountain and also right on the corner of Liberty Square. Both offer their advantages, but this was my first time seeing the parade at the corner of Main Street. The parade was amazing as always and I streamed it on Facebook Live for fun and to give my friends and family back home a little unexpected magic. This was also my first time seeing the parade since before the fire that destroyed the head of the Maleficent dragon float. After being back in service for about a month, the new dragon head looks truly amazing and still breaths fire and spews smoke as well.

    This spot was really great as the parade floats seem to slow a little bit while taking the turn. Hats off as always to the dancers and other performers in this parade. It is a long parade to keep the level of energy they do up. Especially with as hot as it gets in Florida. It really is incredible how they can all perform so well for so long in that heat. After the parade I ducked into the Hall of Presidents. As a fan of history I always find the Hall of Presidents to be a nice little stop. I also hadn't seen the Donald Trump animatronic yet so that was another reason for it. The show focuses on the history of the American Presidency from George Washington to today. It culminates in a roll call of all the Presidents. All of them are present in animatronic form which is always impressive to see. I feel like the Hall of Presidents is something that any student should see at least once and something great for history buffs to check out. It is also air conditioned, so it's good for a get out of the heat break. 

      From there it was time for my first fast pass, Peter Pan's Flight. This ride is a true classic. You magically take flight and basically go through the movie. You fly over London, watch Peter Pan battle Captain Hook, and see various characters from the movie. The animatronics in the ride are obviously older, but that does not take away from the ride's charm at all. It is a favorite to many. For me, it is a very fun ride, but you will never catch me standing in the 90 minute stand by line. I will fast pass it though every trip I go on! 

    Between fast passes I slowly made my way to Frontier Land. Along the way I snapped some pictures, waved to people on the Liberty Belle riverboat, gave some directions to a family that couldn't locate Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (that was fun), and took in the sights and sun. My next fast pass was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. If you've never been on it, Big Thunder Mountain houses a runaway mine train roller coaster. There is all kinds of scenes along the way as you chug through a small mountain town, caves, and the mountains themselves. The scenery is great and really makes you feel a lot higher than you really are (a theme with many of Disney's rides). The ride had about a 45 minute stand by line. Depending on the situation I would potentially wait for it, but it'd have to be a situation where I had a decent amount of time with nothing else planned. That was not the case this time as I had dinner to get to.

    Dinner on my first night was my treat to myself for getting down to Disney. Jungle Navigation Co. LTD Skipper Canteen, or as it is commonly referred to, Skipper's Canteen. Skipper's Canteen is located in Adventure Land just a short walk from the world famous Jungle Cruise ride. The theme is a continuation of the ride, so your servers are dressed in the Jungle Cruise Skipper outfits and will crack some really just awful, but hilarious jokes throughout your adventure. The restaurant looks probably how you would expect from a jungle canteen. Lots of space, and a ton of hidden references and secrets. After your meal try to look around a bit and see what you can find. It's worth it for sure. Now for my meal, cause that matters.

    What a way to start the trip food wise. I had Dr. Fall Signature Grilled Steak. The steak was cooked to perfection and nearly melted in my mouth. It was topped with a garlic butter that went extremely well with the steak (New York Strip). Normally it comes with black beans that I swapped out for fries (just cause). It also comes with tomatoes and some Jasmine Rice, which went great with the steak. The price was $35 which for Disney isn't terrible for this kind of a meal. I was extremely satisfied and left feeling good and full. I've only eaten here one other time and had the steak then as well, but I am told pretty much anything on the menu is very good. They recently changed their menu too so if you have been there before, but not recently, it may be worth checking out again. 

    After dinner it was time for my final and most anticipated fast pass of the day, The Haunted Mansion. There is so much fan made lore about this ride that it's crazy. While the ride itself doesn't have a true story, fans have pieced together a variety of theories and mysteries about the mansion. Some of those I'll probably get into in future blogs. The ride was great as always. I did notice a couple of projections in the ballroom were not working, but outside of that the ride seemed in pretty good shape. During the stretching room preshow I was really happy to not be the only one reciting the script along with the ghost host as well. We all gave ourselves a nice round of applause once the doors opened.  

    After the ride it was time to find a spot for the fireworks. Happily Ever After is a show that words really cannot describe. I know a lot of people, myself included, miss Wishes. That being said, Happily Ever After is such a blend of technology and fireworks and music that I feel like the two shows cannot be compared. I found probably the best spot I could ever hope to find considering I was still in Liberty Square when the five minute announcement went off. The following are some pictures from the show! It is a must see for anyone going to the Walt Disney World Resort.

    I know it's not overly easy to see, but this part the first time I saw the show made me freak a bit. I am a big fan of Moana and what is going on here is the spirit of her grandmother in the form of a manta ray is swimming up the castle with How Far I'll Go playing in the background. Ugh! It's too much! 

    Before the Once Upon a Time Projection show existed, there was a show called Celebrate the Magic that had a scene where paper lanterns would float up the castle with At Last I See the Light playing. That scene was brought back in Happily Ever After, looks amazing, and has fireworks. Again... Too much! Ugh! So good!

    Towards the end of the show Tinkerbell will take flight just as she took flight in Wishes. Only now there is a backdrop of fireworks going off while she's flying.

    Whew! Now if I've learned anything going to Disney it is not to go back to the hotel right after the fireworks. The park closed at 10pm so I had about an hour and a half left. I fought through the crowd back to Adventure Land and picked up a Dole Whip (pineapple soft serve). There are three ice cream shops near me that now serve Dole Whip, but for some reason they are always just better in Disney. From there I got on two more rides. I was actually joined by the bride to be for these two. The first was Pirates of the Caribbean (which was walk on). 

    This was my first time on the ride since the old auction scene was removed, so I was pretty excited to see it. The ride is still the classic it always was, and the new scene is actually pretty good. The iconic we wants the redhead line is gone and replaced with we want the rum. Eh. I have mixed feeling on the change, but for sure it is a good scene. Red as a pirate looks really good and I wouldn't be surprised if future Pirates of the Caribbean movies featured her in some way. It works really well. I have to say the audio in the new scene is also much more clear compared to the rest of the ride where the audio is a bit older now. Not a complaint, but it was noticeable. The fog screen that wasn't working when I was there last was still not working. The mermaids are now totally removed as well. Again, I have mixed feelings on it, but the beach still looks fine without them. 

     From there were power walked over to Jungle Cruise for a trip through the,well jungle. Jungle Cruise, whether day or night is always a great time. After a short 10-15 minute wait we were on the ride. The skipper was hilarious as always and it's always good to hear a slightly refreshed script. Heard some new jokes which was nice. Even at night though, it did appear that the ride needs some help. For example, several of the hippo animatronics were motionless when they usually moved. There was also an unusual amount of garbage floating around. Not sure if that's a nightly thing or not, but it was strange to me.

    From there the park was closed. I stuck around to see the Goodnight Kiss mini show and then head to the bus. If you've never stuck around for the goodnight kiss, I totally recommend it. I was in Magic Kingdom from right around 3 till probably 10:15ish by the time I got out. It was a good start to the trip overall. Was a bit nerve racking at first being there solo, but as the day went on I felt more comfortable and had some fun!

Thank you for reading this blog on my first day! The next blog will probably consist of March 4th and 5th as my time in the parks were limited on those days due to the wedding. Stay tuned!

My Disney Favorites: Disney World Rides

    To kick things off on this blog I figured it'd be a good idea to put some of my favorite Disney World things out there. Keep in mind I am not saying these are the best of anything, but these are just my personal favorites!

Favorite Ride At The Magic Kingdom

   

Splash Mountain

    Picking just one ride to be my favorite at Magic Kingdom is so difficult. There are just so many great classics from Peter Pan's Flight to the Haunted Mansion to Pirates of the Caribbean, the list goes on. While all of those rides are incredible in their own rights, for me nothing beats Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain was the first of the three mountains I had the pleasure of riding and it completely blew me away. The ride is based on characters and stories from Disney's Song of the South. You'll follow Brer Rabbit as he leaves his home in search for adventure with Brer Fox and Brer Bear in hot pursuit to catch him and roast him. The ride transitions for a short time to a roller coaster as Brer Rabbit searches for his laughing place. Eventually the villains catch Brer Rabbit only to be tricked into throwing him into a briar patch which culminates in a 50 foot drop that ends in a huge splash! This is my favorite ride in the park. It has an overwhelming amount of charm and going through a cartoon makes it oh so much fun. Be careful though. Chances are you'll be getting pretty wet on this ride! Sidenote: Normally water runs down the drop... No idea why it wasn't on this particular day.

Favorite Ride in Epcot

Soarin Around the World

    Possibly a bit of a controversial pick. I feel like Epcot is really known for 4 rides. Soarin Around the World, Test Track, Spaceship Earth, and Frozen Ever After. There are other rides of course, but to me those are the big 4 that stand out. I really enjoyed the original Soarin. Much like the current version of the ride riders sit in a seat that gets raised into the air in front of a massive screen. The illusion was that you were soaring over California. Just a couple years ago Disney heavily updated the ride with an all new video featuring locations from all over the world. The footage is really magnificent. For me this is perfect for Epcot which of course is home to the World Showcase. While on the ride you feel like you are flying as you feel a light breeze, smell various scents, and watch as the world around you shifts from country to country. It's hard not to get pulled into the illusion. I have to give Spaceship Earth a very close runner up. I still love Soarin Around the World slightly more, but thanks to another ride in another park I nearly have to give the nod at this park to Spaceship Earth. Nearly. Somehow I don't have a picture of the entrance way for the ride... Sorry bout that! 

Favorite Ride in Disney's Hollywood Studios

   Star Tours: The Adventure Continues

    First of all, not to downplay Star Tours, but R.I.P. to The Great Movie Ride, my real favorite ride at Disney's Hollywood Studios! Ah. Hollywood Studios, a park in the middle of a major transformation. Gone are the days of feelings like you were walking the streets of Hollywood and learning all about the movies and what went into making a movie. I mean we still have the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, but still. The park is having some big shifts, but before Star Wars Galaxy's Edge was even a reality, Star Tours gave fans all kinds of galactic action! The ride is a motion simulator that will land you in a few different locations from all of the major Star Wars movies (sorry Rogue One and Solo). You will also come in contact with some familiar faces from the movie. The ride has 4 segments, all of which are very well done. As a big fan of Star Wars I can go on this ride again and again. One of the possible endings to the ride even has you landing at Batuu, the location of Galaxy's Edge. The future of this ride is not 100% known with Galaxy's Edge opening this summer, but for now it remains a great one!

 Disney's Animal Kingdom

Avatar: Flight of Passage

    Have you ever had an experience that you just want to gush over? Perhaps it was a particular meal? Maybe a movie you really love? Anything like that? Well this ride fits that bill for me. I could make an entire blog just on this ride (perhaps...). Hands down Flight of Passage is my favorite ride overall at Walt Disney World. I love it so much I was sure to ride it 5 times on my most recent trip. The queue line ends in a preshow of sorts where you are linked to an Avatar and taught how the ride will operate. The ride is similar to Soarin in that there is an incredibly large screen in front of you. That's about it though. This ride you can literally get lost in. You sit on the ride vehicle in a semi kneeling position as if you were riding on the back of a banshee from the movie. The restraints lock you in from behind ankles and back. Awkward for sure, but it all makes sense as you are linked to your Avatar and are all of a sudden on the edge of a cliff on Pandora. Immediately you lose all sense of the fact that you are on a ride (unless you decide to just tell yourself you're looking at a screen. It's easy to forget). 

    From that point on, every one of your senses are fully engaged. The sights of Pandora are beyond realistic, the smells you smell vary as you bolt through the various environment Pandora has to offer. You hear and feel the wind blowing by you. You hear the music as well as the calls of the wild life and the Na'vi. You feel the water of Pandora's oceans spray on your face. You feel the banshee breathing beneath you. It's an experience unlike anything I've ever experienced before and that's not even touching the ride itself. While Soarin has you feeling like you are gently flying, Flight of Passage has you feeling like you are plunging down mountainsides, corkscrewing around large animals, and slamming through trees. If you allow yourself to relax your mind and forget that you are at Disney's Animal Kingdom, it's possible to believe that you are actually on Pandora. I can go on and on about this ride, but I'll save the rest of it for another time!

    Thank you all for reading my first real blog on here. I had a lot of fun typing it up and I hope some of you find it interesting. Let me know what your favorite rides are in Disney World down in the comments. I'd love to hear about it! Feel free to let me know what you think about my choices too! Stay tuned!  

    

Welcome!

    Welcome everyone to my new blog. This blog will be much different than my others in that it will exclusively focus on one of my major hobbies, Disney. Within this blog I will review the various attractions of the Walt Disney World theme parks, thoughts on the latest Disney news, and anything else Disney related that pops into my mind that I feel like sharing. If you found this place from my ocean conservation blog "A Voice for the Voiceless", do not worry I am not stopping that blog at all. This blog will be a fun side project for me to work on. If you did not discover this blog from that blog and have an interest in sharks, rays, dolphins, whales, etc. feel free to check out that blog at https://voiceforsharks.blogspot.com/ . My first entry on this blog as well as an actual layout and probably a different name are all just around the river bend!