Re: Florida Part Two: Animal Kingdom
I paid around $650 for five nights, which isn't dreadful, but that was with a "winter discount rate". When you consider I later paid $350 for seven nights for a basically identical room, including breakfast which I didn't get at Disney, on International Drive, you start to see how overpriced it is. You're paying for the Disney name and the overall convenience of not having to think for yourself as they babysit you every step of the way.
The transport was excellent, but I could have stayed somewhere else in a more convenient location, got taxis to the parks, and still paid a lot less overall.
I've thought about it a lot, and I think they're quite evenly matched to be honest, but for different reasons. EE is undoubtedly the more intense coaster, but I like that BGM has three distinct sections that get progressively better. BGM has much better ineraction with the area as a whole and for spectators. Everest only really has that one vantage point. I think a night ride on BGM gives it a slight edge as it's lit up beatifully. The execution of the the backwards drop on BGM is done a lot better, though the backwards section itself is not as good.
To be honest though, I think BGM should be compared more to Big Thunder Mountain, as that's basically what it has replaced in the Hong Kong park, but even then they're totally different. It's really only the trains and the fact that it has a backwards section that make it similar to EE.
Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Again, I woke up stupidly early without really wanting to, so decided to just suck it up and get to Magic Kingdom for opening at 8 o’ clock. Ridiculous. It was closing at 1am, so I could’ve easily got there later and still got what I wanted done. I got there just as the opening ceremony thing was finishing and was straight into the park.
The crane was magical; such a wonderful first impression!
To be fair, it was gone a couple of hours later; it’s just a shame that it was up at all when the park was open. There was also some construction going on just in front of the castle on some viewing area. It was gorgeous.
I had a fastpass for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train much later that evening, but headed straight there anyway, assuming, correctly, that it would be busy all day.
Even though the park had just opened, it already had a 45-minute queue, so I decided not to bother and get some other stuff done first while queues at other rides in the area were at a minimum.
I got the roller skater done and dusted for the +1 since it was walk-on and I really didn’t want to spend time queuing for it later.
I also got the dark rides in the area done, assuming that they’d get pretty busy later, especially Peter Pan. I was right to do that; I only waited ten minutes for Peter Pan, but by the time I got out the queue was up to 40 minutes and didn’t drop below that for the rest of the day from what I could see. I’ll just throw a few thoughts in on each ride and then a bunch of pictures. Oh, The Little Mermaid ride was down for annual maintenance. I’d just done it a few months earlier in California though, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment. I really like it though.
Peter Pan: I don’t really get the love for it to be honest. It’s dated, short and not worth waiting for. The queue line is the best part. I loved it as a kid though, so I can see the appeal to families.
Small World: Needs an overhaul. It’s looking tired and shabby. It's pretty grim really.
Philharmagic: Identical to Hong Kong’s apart from the entrance area. I like this. As far as 3D shows go, it’s decent and always worth a go if there’s a minimal wait.
Winnie the Pooh: Again, pretty much the same as Hong Kong’s, but either Hong Kong’s has some better effects or they just weren’t working on this one. It’ll just be an age thing, but Hong Kong’s feels a lot fresher and seems to be a bit more popular as it gets longer lines even on quiet days. The soundtrack on this one seemed too quiet as well. The queue line and exterior were much better though, with stuff for kids to do. Hong Kong’s is just a cattle pen.
Haunted Mansion was excellent as always. It’s one of the rides that I loved as a kid, but probably appreciate even more now.
It was cool to spot a few things that have also made it over to Mystic Manor, for example the Medusa painting and one of the talking/singing heads in the graveyard; the same face (I’m pretty sure) has made it into the first room of Mystic Manor and comes alive when the “magic” is released form the box.
I did the Hall of Presidents thing much later in the evening as it wasn’t something I really wanted to take time out to do when there was so much more to do first.
I just don’t get it to be honest. It just seems bizarre to have this attraction based on real people, and politics, in the middle of a theme park designed around fantasy. I guess it appeals to a local audience though.
On the other hand, Country Bear Jamboree is f**ing FAB.
Big Thunder Mountain broke down right as I got to it, but reopened about an hour or two later. It broke down three times that I could see over the course of the day. I was checking the Disney app quite often for waiting times, and you could see when something was f**ked as it would be “temporarily suspended”. A lot of things were temporarily suspended over the course of the day.
The parade was about to start though, and begins right next to that area, so I stuck around to watch it.
It was piss-poor to be honest, and a hell of a lot shorter than I’d thought it would be. The whole thing froze for about ten minutes right near the end, obviously because the big dragon wasn’t working. Eventually, they just gave up and continued with it not doing anything. It was a bit of a shame as it clearly would have been a strong ending to an otherwise dull parade. It still looks impressive even when it’s knackered I guess.
I had a fastpass for Splash Mountain later in the day, assuming it would be busy as the other two I've done were very popular and got long lines. Right after the parade, it was walk-on though. I like the ride, so an extra ride or two would definitely be welcome.
Big Thunder Mountain was back up and running by this point.
I loved this as a kid, and still really enjoyed it this time around. It could definitely benefit from the new tunnel effects that California now has, but is still a solid family coaster and worth another go later in the day.
I had a fastpass for Space Mountain, knowing that I’d want at least two rides on it to get both sides, so I headed over to Tomorrowland. I’d ridden it before, but didn’t remember which side I’d already done, so I needed to do both so that I’d definitely know I could add the +1. See, no crane:
I used the fastpass for my first ride, then joined the regular queue, waiting for about 20 minutes, to get the other side. I couldn’t tell any difference between the two really.
As a coaster, it’s probably the best of all the Space Mountain rides down to having a couple of decent drops and a bit of interaction with riders going up the opposite lifthill. However, it’s not the smoothest (not rough, just showing its age a bit), and as an overall attraction, the California/Hong Kong version is my favourite. The onboard soundtrack and better lighting make a massive difference.
1. California/Hong Kong
2. Florida
3. Tokyo (same coaster as California/Hong Kong, but without the audio)
4. Paris (piece of s**t)
Carousel of Boredom was walk-on or I wouldn’t have bothered:
The people mover thing broke down around this time and didn’t reopen for the rest of the day. Meh.
Stitch’s Great Escape was gash. Just really, really poor.
The Buzz Lightyear shooter was also the weakest of the bunch, mostly down to the guns being fixed to the front of the car.
I wasn’t going to bother with Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, but ended up popping in right at the end of the day/night before I left just to see what it was really. As I feared, it was one of those talking to the audience things that I f**king HATE and try to avoid
Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, it started to rain and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. This was annoying, but it also meant that a lot of people just buggered off out of the park, which was nice. I made a bit of a stupid mistake by going straight to Pirates of the Caribbean, which a lot of people also did, meaning a 45 minute wait, which dropped to 5-10 minutes by the time I got off and didn’t go up again.
Hmmmm, this is another ride I loved as a kid, but now that I’ve done all of them, I think it’s the weakest of the bunch. It’s still a great ride, but felt quite short. I can’t remember Paris’s in any great detail really, but I definitely prefer the California and Tokyo version over Florida’s, probably for the whole Bayou opening section more than anything.
Jungle Cruise was walk-on at this point, probably thanks to the rain. I didn’t take any pictures though.
Enchanted Tiki Room is fab.
At some point, I’d used my fastpass for a second ride on Splash Mountain, but decided to give it a night ride later as well since the queue had dropped right down. It broke down right before the final lifthill and drop though, so I was stuck for about ten minutes before we got evacuated and led out through the staff access areas.
Interesting (or not) fact: the whole ride has pressure pads built into the floor next to the water trough to alert staff if anyone somehow gets out of the boats. I’m guessing it didn’t actually used to have lapbars? Otherwise, these seems like a very difficult/unlikely scenario now.
They gave us a fastpass on the way out, which I used for another ride on Space Mountain. I was going to use it for Big Thunder Mountain, but that was pretty much walk-on by this point. My fastpass for Seven Dwarfs was for late in the day. The queue time, which had been up to two hours earlier, was down to about half an hour, so after using the fastpass, I just sucked it up for a reride.
It’s much better than I was expecting to be honest. The swaying of the cars is barely noticeable, but the coaster section was more substantial than I thought. Obviously, the dark ride section was stunning, but you actually go through it quite quickly, so it’s not easy to take it in fully without a reride. It’s a great little ride though.
After the reride it was time for the various night shows, starting with the electrical parade (I think?), then the projection show on the castle and then the fireworks. The projection thing was really impressive. The electrical parade was a bit poor though, and really doesn’t seem to have changed since I saw it as a kid, when I found it much more impressive; I guess everything looks more impressive when you’re that much shorter though.
‘Murica!!!
That last float, as in the daytime parade, broke down and ended up being pulled through the rest of the course by something resembling a golf cart.
Final picture:
Ok, so some overall thoughts. Hmmmmm. It’s a great park, but certain aspects felt a bit tired to be honest. There were soooooooo many breakdowns over the course of the day as well. Luckily, the app is brilliant for keeping tabs on queue times and seems to be updated in real time, so most breakdowns didn’t really affect me, and they got things up and running again. Over the course of the day though, the following rides suffered downtime:
Thunder Mountain (for a good couple of hours)
Space Mountain
Pirates
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain (multiple times)
Jungle Cruise
People Mover (stayed closed all afternoon/evening after breaking down earlier in the day)
Then you’ve got two parade floats that broke down during parades that were already a bit s**t to begin with, a huge crane next to the castle for the first few hours after opening, which is exactly when it really shouldn’t be there as it ruins the impact of entering the park for the vast majority of guests, and some of the older, “classic” attractions just feeling a bit run down and stale really.
So yeah, it’s a weird one. It’s absolutely a top-notch park, which is gorgeous in a lot of areas, but I didn’t get the whole “Disney Magic” from it that I was expecting. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting to get the same feelings I did as during my first visit as a kid, and there’s loads more to do there now than there was then.
Having said that, I still got that feeling we I went to the California park last summer, I got it in Tokyo, and still get a sense of it in Hong Kong despite having been countless times now, so I really don’t think it’s as simple as me being a bit jaded at this point. I think if I had to order the parks, I’d have to put them:
1. California – Loved it. Gorgeous park with sooooo much to do.
2. Hong Kong – Far fewer attractions than the others, but the quality is really high, with unique attractions and “best” versions of classics. The location and atmosphere are lovely. It’s a much more relaxing/chilled day out as well.
3. Tokyo – VERY similar to Magic Kingdom really, but seemed to be a bit less tired
4. Magic Kingdom – By no means anything even close to a bad park, and kicks the arse of 99% of other parks the world over, but it just didn’t click for me this time.
5. Paris – Meh.
LFTL said:
I paid around $650 for five nights, which isn't dreadful, but that was with a "winter discount rate". When you consider I later paid $350 for seven nights for a basically identical room, including breakfast which I didn't get at Disney, on International Drive, you start to see how overpriced it is. You're paying for the Disney name and the overall convenience of not having to think for yourself as they babysit you every step of the way.
The transport was excellent, but I could have stayed somewhere else in a more convenient location, got taxis to the parks, and still paid a lot less overall.
Ben said:
I've thought about it a lot, and I think they're quite evenly matched to be honest, but for different reasons. EE is undoubtedly the more intense coaster, but I like that BGM has three distinct sections that get progressively better. BGM has much better ineraction with the area as a whole and for spectators. Everest only really has that one vantage point. I think a night ride on BGM gives it a slight edge as it's lit up beatifully. The execution of the the backwards drop on BGM is done a lot better, though the backwards section itself is not as good.
To be honest though, I think BGM should be compared more to Big Thunder Mountain, as that's basically what it has replaced in the Hong Kong park, but even then they're totally different. It's really only the trains and the fact that it has a backwards section that make it similar to EE.
Day 3: Magic Kingdom
Again, I woke up stupidly early without really wanting to, so decided to just suck it up and get to Magic Kingdom for opening at 8 o’ clock. Ridiculous. It was closing at 1am, so I could’ve easily got there later and still got what I wanted done. I got there just as the opening ceremony thing was finishing and was straight into the park.
The crane was magical; such a wonderful first impression!
To be fair, it was gone a couple of hours later; it’s just a shame that it was up at all when the park was open. There was also some construction going on just in front of the castle on some viewing area. It was gorgeous.
I had a fastpass for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train much later that evening, but headed straight there anyway, assuming, correctly, that it would be busy all day.
Even though the park had just opened, it already had a 45-minute queue, so I decided not to bother and get some other stuff done first while queues at other rides in the area were at a minimum.
I got the roller skater done and dusted for the +1 since it was walk-on and I really didn’t want to spend time queuing for it later.
I also got the dark rides in the area done, assuming that they’d get pretty busy later, especially Peter Pan. I was right to do that; I only waited ten minutes for Peter Pan, but by the time I got out the queue was up to 40 minutes and didn’t drop below that for the rest of the day from what I could see. I’ll just throw a few thoughts in on each ride and then a bunch of pictures. Oh, The Little Mermaid ride was down for annual maintenance. I’d just done it a few months earlier in California though, so it wasn’t a huge disappointment. I really like it though.
Peter Pan: I don’t really get the love for it to be honest. It’s dated, short and not worth waiting for. The queue line is the best part. I loved it as a kid though, so I can see the appeal to families.
Small World: Needs an overhaul. It’s looking tired and shabby. It's pretty grim really.
Philharmagic: Identical to Hong Kong’s apart from the entrance area. I like this. As far as 3D shows go, it’s decent and always worth a go if there’s a minimal wait.
Winnie the Pooh: Again, pretty much the same as Hong Kong’s, but either Hong Kong’s has some better effects or they just weren’t working on this one. It’ll just be an age thing, but Hong Kong’s feels a lot fresher and seems to be a bit more popular as it gets longer lines even on quiet days. The soundtrack on this one seemed too quiet as well. The queue line and exterior were much better though, with stuff for kids to do. Hong Kong’s is just a cattle pen.
Haunted Mansion was excellent as always. It’s one of the rides that I loved as a kid, but probably appreciate even more now.
It was cool to spot a few things that have also made it over to Mystic Manor, for example the Medusa painting and one of the talking/singing heads in the graveyard; the same face (I’m pretty sure) has made it into the first room of Mystic Manor and comes alive when the “magic” is released form the box.
I did the Hall of Presidents thing much later in the evening as it wasn’t something I really wanted to take time out to do when there was so much more to do first.
I just don’t get it to be honest. It just seems bizarre to have this attraction based on real people, and politics, in the middle of a theme park designed around fantasy. I guess it appeals to a local audience though.
On the other hand, Country Bear Jamboree is f**ing FAB.
Big Thunder Mountain broke down right as I got to it, but reopened about an hour or two later. It broke down three times that I could see over the course of the day. I was checking the Disney app quite often for waiting times, and you could see when something was f**ked as it would be “temporarily suspended”. A lot of things were temporarily suspended over the course of the day.
The parade was about to start though, and begins right next to that area, so I stuck around to watch it.
It was piss-poor to be honest, and a hell of a lot shorter than I’d thought it would be. The whole thing froze for about ten minutes right near the end, obviously because the big dragon wasn’t working. Eventually, they just gave up and continued with it not doing anything. It was a bit of a shame as it clearly would have been a strong ending to an otherwise dull parade. It still looks impressive even when it’s knackered I guess.
I had a fastpass for Splash Mountain later in the day, assuming it would be busy as the other two I've done were very popular and got long lines. Right after the parade, it was walk-on though. I like the ride, so an extra ride or two would definitely be welcome.
Big Thunder Mountain was back up and running by this point.
I loved this as a kid, and still really enjoyed it this time around. It could definitely benefit from the new tunnel effects that California now has, but is still a solid family coaster and worth another go later in the day.
I had a fastpass for Space Mountain, knowing that I’d want at least two rides on it to get both sides, so I headed over to Tomorrowland. I’d ridden it before, but didn’t remember which side I’d already done, so I needed to do both so that I’d definitely know I could add the +1. See, no crane:
I used the fastpass for my first ride, then joined the regular queue, waiting for about 20 minutes, to get the other side. I couldn’t tell any difference between the two really.
As a coaster, it’s probably the best of all the Space Mountain rides down to having a couple of decent drops and a bit of interaction with riders going up the opposite lifthill. However, it’s not the smoothest (not rough, just showing its age a bit), and as an overall attraction, the California/Hong Kong version is my favourite. The onboard soundtrack and better lighting make a massive difference.
1. California/Hong Kong
2. Florida
3. Tokyo (same coaster as California/Hong Kong, but without the audio)
4. Paris (piece of s**t)
Carousel of Boredom was walk-on or I wouldn’t have bothered:
The people mover thing broke down around this time and didn’t reopen for the rest of the day. Meh.
Stitch’s Great Escape was gash. Just really, really poor.
The Buzz Lightyear shooter was also the weakest of the bunch, mostly down to the guns being fixed to the front of the car.
I wasn’t going to bother with Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, but ended up popping in right at the end of the day/night before I left just to see what it was really. As I feared, it was one of those talking to the audience things that I f**king HATE and try to avoid
Sometime in the middle of the afternoon, it started to rain and didn’t stop for the rest of the day. This was annoying, but it also meant that a lot of people just buggered off out of the park, which was nice. I made a bit of a stupid mistake by going straight to Pirates of the Caribbean, which a lot of people also did, meaning a 45 minute wait, which dropped to 5-10 minutes by the time I got off and didn’t go up again.
Hmmmm, this is another ride I loved as a kid, but now that I’ve done all of them, I think it’s the weakest of the bunch. It’s still a great ride, but felt quite short. I can’t remember Paris’s in any great detail really, but I definitely prefer the California and Tokyo version over Florida’s, probably for the whole Bayou opening section more than anything.
Jungle Cruise was walk-on at this point, probably thanks to the rain. I didn’t take any pictures though.
Enchanted Tiki Room is fab.
At some point, I’d used my fastpass for a second ride on Splash Mountain, but decided to give it a night ride later as well since the queue had dropped right down. It broke down right before the final lifthill and drop though, so I was stuck for about ten minutes before we got evacuated and led out through the staff access areas.
Interesting (or not) fact: the whole ride has pressure pads built into the floor next to the water trough to alert staff if anyone somehow gets out of the boats. I’m guessing it didn’t actually used to have lapbars? Otherwise, these seems like a very difficult/unlikely scenario now.
They gave us a fastpass on the way out, which I used for another ride on Space Mountain. I was going to use it for Big Thunder Mountain, but that was pretty much walk-on by this point. My fastpass for Seven Dwarfs was for late in the day. The queue time, which had been up to two hours earlier, was down to about half an hour, so after using the fastpass, I just sucked it up for a reride.
It’s much better than I was expecting to be honest. The swaying of the cars is barely noticeable, but the coaster section was more substantial than I thought. Obviously, the dark ride section was stunning, but you actually go through it quite quickly, so it’s not easy to take it in fully without a reride. It’s a great little ride though.
After the reride it was time for the various night shows, starting with the electrical parade (I think?), then the projection show on the castle and then the fireworks. The projection thing was really impressive. The electrical parade was a bit poor though, and really doesn’t seem to have changed since I saw it as a kid, when I found it much more impressive; I guess everything looks more impressive when you’re that much shorter though.
‘Murica!!!
That last float, as in the daytime parade, broke down and ended up being pulled through the rest of the course by something resembling a golf cart.
Final picture:
Ok, so some overall thoughts. Hmmmmm. It’s a great park, but certain aspects felt a bit tired to be honest. There were soooooooo many breakdowns over the course of the day as well. Luckily, the app is brilliant for keeping tabs on queue times and seems to be updated in real time, so most breakdowns didn’t really affect me, and they got things up and running again. Over the course of the day though, the following rides suffered downtime:
Thunder Mountain (for a good couple of hours)
Space Mountain
Pirates
Peter Pan
Splash Mountain (multiple times)
Jungle Cruise
People Mover (stayed closed all afternoon/evening after breaking down earlier in the day)
Then you’ve got two parade floats that broke down during parades that were already a bit s**t to begin with, a huge crane next to the castle for the first few hours after opening, which is exactly when it really shouldn’t be there as it ruins the impact of entering the park for the vast majority of guests, and some of the older, “classic” attractions just feeling a bit run down and stale really.
So yeah, it’s a weird one. It’s absolutely a top-notch park, which is gorgeous in a lot of areas, but I didn’t get the whole “Disney Magic” from it that I was expecting. Obviously, I wasn’t expecting to get the same feelings I did as during my first visit as a kid, and there’s loads more to do there now than there was then.
Having said that, I still got that feeling we I went to the California park last summer, I got it in Tokyo, and still get a sense of it in Hong Kong despite having been countless times now, so I really don’t think it’s as simple as me being a bit jaded at this point. I think if I had to order the parks, I’d have to put them:
1. California – Loved it. Gorgeous park with sooooo much to do.
2. Hong Kong – Far fewer attractions than the others, but the quality is really high, with unique attractions and “best” versions of classics. The location and atmosphere are lovely. It’s a much more relaxing/chilled day out as well.
3. Tokyo – VERY similar to Magic Kingdom really, but seemed to be a bit less tired
4. Magic Kingdom – By no means anything even close to a bad park, and kicks the arse of 99% of other parks the world over, but it just didn’t click for me this time.
5. Paris – Meh.
