This theme park combines thrills with animals and is truly a work of art. There are details everywhere and you have to see it in person to be amazed. In 2006, Expedition Everest will make this a must visit park.
Behind the Seeds is a great opportunity for people who enjoy plants, biology, or science in general. It is a great opportunity to see more of what is going on in the greenhouses, and the new updates to the tour post-Soarin' add some fun elements. As a former tour-guide I can say that who you have is important to the overall enjoyment. While usually any guide is capable, some are simply better than others. It is a good value for the money and good for kids if they are interested in science at all.
I don't want to put Beach Club Villas down, but my wife and I took the tour a few weeks ago. Since there were 27 people on the tour, we broke into two groups. We got James, from the Disney Institute. He was extremely knowledgeable, and very funny. He did go into detail about the Osbourne lights :) In fact, he knew more about the multitude of Christmas, Ramadan, Hannakuh, and Kwanzaa traditions, than the other tour guide. Although James did not provide much in the way of "Disney Christmas traditions," I don't think the tour is geared that way. I think it's geared more toward Christmas traditions - the Christmas tree, ornaments, lights, the manger, Ramadan, Hannakuh, Kwanzaa, pointsettia flowers, small down decorations (down the parade route). Then he talked about some of Disney's decorations - the 4 park Christmas trees, decorations down Main Street, USA, etc. Next we went to the Wilderness Lodge. There was really nothing extrordinary about the decorations at WL. Next we went to the 68,000 square foot Holiday Entertainment wharehouse. This is where all the Christmas displays are stored for 4 parks, 21 resorts, the Vero Beach resorts, and 2 cruise ships. Also are workshops for the 25 (?) full time CMs who get all the displays ready by mid October, and start refurbishing them starting mid-January. True, during the Christmas season, there isn't much to see, but you can definitely imagine the shelves completely stocked with displays. If you really enjoy Christmas, and you really enjoy Christmas at Disney, my wife and I highly recommend this tour. And, you definitely need to ask for James. :)
You will learn and see much more of The Land Greenhouses then you will on Living With The Land. Well worth the money!
The Keys to the Kingdom Tour is an excellent one! Our tour guide made the tour worth it... so hopefully you will have a good one. Reasons to take this tour: you've really wanted to see the Utilidors... you want to see what the parade float storage unit looks like... Otherwise, the tour is really about describing the magic of the Disney theme parks, as well as share the history and heritage of Disney. If you are a big Disney expert, Backstage Magic has a lot more and may suit your interests better!
This tour is the best I have taken. Very pricey, but definitely worth it if you are curious about Walt Disney World in general! Backstage Epcot is similar to the Undiscovered Future World Tour... but going behind the scenes at the American Adventure (to see how it actually works!) is AWESOME... like the Keys to the Kingdom, there is a trip into the Utilidors... and looking at Creative Costuming, Horticulture, and ESPECIALLY Central Shops is not to miss! HIGHLY recommended for the Walt Disney World fan!
This is THE tour for big Epcot fans (like me)! We took the tour back in 2002, and what a blast it was! It was super neat to go back to the upstairs of the Imagination pavillion... and going backstage at the Universe of Energy was awesome. Backstage Epcot is super cool... It really depends on how knowledgable the tour guide is... but we had an absolute blast!
We were placed on a small bus at Rainforest Cafe and taken to the the Safari area. We saw all types of animals although the tour information states you won't. My wife hair was chewed on by a Giraffe that was on loan by a Zoo. She was standing next to the fence and the Giraffe leaned over. The duration was a little long, we became bored looking at the food prepartions for the animals and then the look at where the hay is stored. We received a free pin at the end. Great tour
A rated kid very poor becuase it tells secrets and good unmask the magic. We went in 2002 when you could us it for the Silver Plan. It was very good. You were taken back stage and under ground. You were taken on some rides and given the history of those rides. Lunch was provided and it was excellent. You learn alot about the history of Magic Kingdom. It does require a lot of walking. We should have taken a mid day break after the tour ended. We were very tired by time the park closed You cannot take pictures, but they will lock up your personnel belongings while on the tour.
Great trail and should be visited at least once per visit!
This trail is full of animals for you to see and is beautifully decorated. I would not miss this if you go to Animal Kingdom. This and the Pagani trail are one of the best animal exhibits anywhere.
I enjoyed this show very much but I wouldn't recommend it for very little kids. Some parts can be quite intense like the wasp stings that hit you from the back. When the spiders drop from the ceiling, it can scare children so use your best judgement. The queue for this is always short so no need for Fastpass. Overall, it was an excellent show and one of the best 4-D shows ever. I prefer this over the DCA one because this one takes place under a tree just like in the "A Bug's Life" movie.
This ride is very fun and should not be missed. From the very beginning, you travel down rapids and dodge waterfalls. The burning part was cool and I enjoyed the drop. It was a bit on the short side but enjoyable whatsoever.
This ride is perfect in every way. The theming is fantastic and looks just like a real savannah. This is an example of what Jungle Cruise would be like if it had real animals. The ride is about 30 minutes long and perfect for kids. Do not miss this no matter what.
This ride was fantastic! After riding Indiana Jones at Disneyland, I thought this would be a bit of a let down but I was wrong. This ride is thrilling, and has great animatronics. The jerks and turns make this an intense ride but still perfect for big kids. They lowered the height restriction from when it was Countdown to Extinction so now smaller kids can enjoy it too. Personally, I liked it more intense back then but now you can see the dinosaurs more clearly.
This is the best thrill ride at WDW so far. TOT is so popular that they're building it at DisneySea and Disney Studios in Paris.
This ride is very smooth and packs quite a thrill. Not as good as TOT but one of the best rides at MGM Studios!
One of the best rides at Epcot, even though it was copied from Soarin over California at DCA. This ride is very unique and is a must ride when visiting Epcot or DCA.
Most people drive faster than this on the freeway so I don't really see this as a thrilling ride. Good storyline and a decent ride. Honestly, I thought this would be better considering it was advertised "Disney's fastest and longest ride ever!"
This ride fits into Future World perfectly and has a nice theme to it. The overall ride is very thrilling but not recommended for younger children.
Calm, relaxing ride through Norweigian seas. Not too big on thrills and can get a bit scary for younger kids. Go on this if you visit Epcot, it's a classic!
This ride is not very good at all! The film is old and story is outdated. The actual ride is very rough and made me feel sick.
This ride is perfect for the whole family to ride! It's not too scary and a good way to get small kids used to roller coasters. The queue can get over 2 hours as it is one of the more popular rides. Don't miss this ride when going to MK.
This ride is one of my favorites at MK next to Splash Mountain. Like Splash, this ride attracts some of the longest lines ever. I recommend you use Fastpass unless you want to wait for 2+ hours! The actual ride itself is only average and if you're riding for thrills, you would be better off on Rock n' Rollercoaster
I love this ride!!! From the animatronics to the big drop at the end, this is a perfect flume ride. The only bad thing is the huge lines, which can often surpass 2 hours.
This ride is good but personally, I think the "carnival" theme didn't fit well with the park. The theme of the ride fit very well with Dinorama. I understand that Joe Rhode wanted to attract more guests to Animal Kingdom and after doing a survey, it turns out Dinorama really does make people stay longer at the park because of rides like Primeval Whirl. Even though the atmosphere of this area is not as good as expected(like DCA), the ride itself is pretty good and I'm glad they decided to expand the park.
The Backstage Magic Tour is absolutely the best! First, for a bit of explanantion on the ratings. Duration onlly gets a "Good" because it could have been MUCH longer. But that's me, and I could stay backstage all day and find it as entertaining if not more entertaining than onstage (i guess that's why I'm in techinical theatre!). Kid friendly gets a "poor" due to the fact you must be 16. I am 16 and enjoyed it, but it is my field of interest. My friends would have been bored. The $199 is completely worth it! Passholder/DVC discount is great too! Our guide Nancy was very good, and explained everything very well. After starting at Epcot, we went into the American Adventure to see how it worked, followed by a visit to the Cast costuming and locker area. We then hopped to MGM (via a disney cruise line bus, which stayed with us the entire day), where we went into the Creative costuming dept. The Lunch at Mama Melrose's Restraunte Itlaino was AMAZING! All of the signiture dishes (with pizza as an appitizer) were served family style with more than enough to go around. After our lunch, we went behind the Magic Kingdom to the Holiday Warehouse. In December that place is a bit...empty. Still very interesting. We then spent a great deal of time in Central Shops, where everything from AudioAnimontronics to ride vechiles are made for parks world-wide. After a very good amount of time there, all of which very interesting, we went to the Utilidors. That was very interesting as well, although we spent all of our visit underneath Main Street. I would have loved to just explore and get myself lost! After the Utilidors, we watched the afternoon parade from town square and went back to Epcot. All and all, an AMAZING tour! PM me for more Info, and/or questions.
I am 38 years old now, but I can still remember going on this ride in my pre-teen years. I sure miss the late 70's and early 80's Walt Disney World. It's funny how magical this ride and the whole place seems when you're a kid. Now I'm experiencing the wonder and amazement through my 3 year old daughter's eyes. I went to MK so many times as a kid, I can truly imagine how she sees it. I had an Epcot park employee ask me last week if this was my first time at Disney. I told her I sure wish it was, but unfortunately it's not.
I heard about this ride for the first time a few weeks ago. We were at Disney for 5 days last week and I was really looking forward to my day at Epcot because of all the talk about Soarin' being such a great ride. Well, maybe I went in with extremely high expectations. The ride itself is pretty darn cool. But, there were a few things I disliked. One, which was immediately noticeable when the film started, was bits of dirt and debris showing up on the projected image. I'm not sure if it was stuck on the film reel or in front of the lens, but it appeared and disappeared many times and moved around causing quite a distraction for me and ruining the whole 'suspension of disbelief' effect. My next complaint is of the film image itself. In this day and age of razor sharp HDTV images in one's living room, Soarin's image looked soft and blurry. If you looked far off into the horizon, it was okay, but if you looked down, particularly during the Magic Kingdom flyover, the images lack sharpness and definition. My final complaint is of the IMAX screen. If you sit on the front row, you will be lifted to the top of the three row stack when the ride begins. While at the top, you'll clearly see the top of the IMAX screen where the image stops. This also kills the 'suspension of disbelief'. If you're sitting in Row 1, you must keep your head pressed firmly against the back of the seat and not look up in order to avoid seeing the edge of the screen. The ride could have been spectacular, but for me it's just a 'pretty cool' ride. Nothing more, nothing less.
I did the 8:30 tour. Our tour guide was Matthew. He is by far, the best tour guide I have encountered. He was very knowledgeable and made the tour really fun. The tour started out with a trip down Main Street. This part of the tour deals a lot with Walt and his dreams and ideas. Next, we made a quick stop at Cinderella Castle. He explained how all the buildings in Main Street and all around the park, are built with a forced prospective, giving the illusion that the buildings are taller than they really are. Next stop - Adventureland. The tour guide explained how Disneyland was a complete failure at first and put the Disney brothers in a lot of debt. But from that, came a good lesson which helped them when it was time to make Disney World. He also explained how the idea for the Utilidor came about. After that quick chat, we took a trip backstage behind Splash Mountain. For most of us, this was our first glimpse at "backstage". After that, we took a private tour of the Jungle Cruise where the guide pointed out a lot of things not usually pointed out by the skippers. Ding! Time for lunch! Lunch was served at the Columbia Harbour House. 11:00 is a bit early for lunch, but I liked the fact that we had the 2nd floor all to ourselves and lunch was already waiting for us when we got there. After lunch, we took another quick look at Cinderella Castle from a different angle where we were better able to see the forced perspective come into play. From there, we went behind Crystal Palace and into the backstage area again and went into the Utilidor. Seeing the utilidor was a neat experience. There's really nothing out of this world down there, but it's pretty cool knowing that you're one of the few, non-CM people that has ever seen the utilidor. My overall rating of the tour is Excellent. I really learned a lot about different parts of the park and I would recommend it to anyone.
The best part about this ride is the audio. Aerosmith music playing outside and in the ride cars during the ride is awesome! The fact that there is great variety and little to no repitition in the music tracks is probably the best aspect to it all. The Preshow story is a cool addition, that plays off well. The ride itself has a great launch (hydraulic sled propulsion), good overall ride speed, great cars (very comfortable) and nice theming on the cars and the loading area. The ride is very smooth and enjoyable, you hardly notice you're inverted at all. The ride signs and set pieces are rather boring, but the great sound track and smooth ride make up for any lacking visuals. Regarding the ride launch, the hydraulic sled is fun to watch if you are sitting in the front of the first car. As your train moves in to place, you will sit a second, then hear a slidding sound coming towards you out of the dark tunnel, this is the launch sled coming to attach to the train. It is resetting from the last train launch. Seeing it come and attach is a cool mechanical element that is essential to the ride's functions. Anyone not sitting in the front row will miss this, and they will not be able to see over the people in the front row. Also, the track and tunnel are dark, so it's hard to see to begin with. I do wish the ride was twice as long, but I believe it is short due to lack of chain driven propulsion and to maintain the smoothness of the ride. This is one of the smoothest roller coasters you can find. Since there is no chain drive to jerk you up a hill, and no apparent brake points during the ride, everything is momentum driven after the initial launch. So, you are floating and gliding on the track for the rest of the ride. This is very enjoyable. A second vertical lift via chain drive would be needed to make the ride longer, or a second hydraulic or magneto launcher would be needed, which would greatly increase the ride's costs and add a greater percentage of service issues, due to greater ride complexity. Overall, this ride is excellent! Great job Disney and Aerosmith-->Keep up the good work. This is what people want!
The only thing going for this very boring ride is the Preshow. It does a good job of building some excitement to what will be shown thereafter. There are props and display from classic movies shown and these are interesting to see. Unfortunately, there are not that many to look at. Unfortunately, the ride itself is a GREAT WASTE of Time. A cast member drives you thru make-shift mock movies sets of classic movies. Unfortunately, none of the sets look remotely like their movies, nor do they evoke any suspense or similarity to the actual movies that they portray. The animitronics are boring and stiff, and the lines the "script" that the cast members read is dull at best. The cast members are trying to build excitement in to something that is obviously boring. The park space should be recaptured and used for something more entertaining.
If you like gardening, take this tour. If you like nature and the outdors, take this tour. If you like the World Showcase, take this tour. This tour is a detailed trip around World Showcase, pinpointing all the small, detailed items about the inner workings of Disney's honocultural efforts at WDW and WS specificaly. This is, in our opinion, one of the best tours Disney offers. It's not about rides, or shows, or some gadget or another. It's about trees, and flowers, and plants, and nature, and how Disney has incorporated all of that into a theme park. ANd how they keep it going on a daily basis. We've done this tour many times now. And along with the Segways tour, is by far our favorite. We've had a different guide on each tour, and have learned new things each time because the guide have specialties that they talk about during the tour. On our first year we had a turf man. He loved grasses. And by the end of the tour, we all loved greasses too. Did you know all grass at WDW is green. Even the brown dead stuff. It's painted with a food color to make it green if it's not. On our last tour we had a tree specialist. And she explained how Disney moves around huge trees, and i'm talkining about really huge trees over 40 feet or more. The guides have all been trained specialists. These are not people from off the streat and put through 2 days of training staff. These are doctorate level specialists that could be working anywhere, but have chosen Disney because of there commitment to there field of study. It's a pleasure to have a tour led by these same people, and a breath of freash air compaired to most of the other tours that are sometimes Disney "sugar coated" a bit too much. Take the tour, you'll love it too.
This is the walking tour version of the boat ride available at The Land. And it has the distinction of being the least expensive of all the Disney tours. We haven't been on this one in a while, as it has been closed the last few times we were there because of the Soarin' construction. What you get is a walking tour of the gardens where all the food is being grown. Some of it is backstage where you can't see from the boat, and some of it is in the same places where the boat tour travels through. You get alot more detail on how things are done in The Land, and it much more informative than the boat ride. If you are looking to spend some extra time, and actually learning something while at WDW, this tour is full of juicey educational information. For the cost and the content, I'd recommend this one to all.
We love this tour. You basically are trained how to use the Segways for an hour inside a room in FW. Then you head out into the park for an hour. Like others have said, they should cut down the training to 30 min, and increase the play time to 1 1/2 hours or even more. You get a little bit of Disney information while out in the park, but most of the time is spent zooming around the world showcase, and most of it is still closed because it's before 11:00 AM. So you get to see what happens before the park opens. I to would recommend the first tour. The second tour sometimes doesn't get all the way around before WS opens, thus yu get shorted a little ridding time. This tour, for us, is worth every penny. We've done it twice now, and will do it again on our next trip. It is also one of the few tours that you can get a discount with using a Disney Visa card. I just would like to see an advanced Segway tour for those who already know how to ride them. I'd love to have more time zooming around in the happiest place on earth.
Wild by Design is once of those types of tours that strives to be the very best, but falls a bit short sometimes. We've only done this tour once. And because of a few things that happened on our tour, we should probebly do it again to see if it has improved, plus because of some issues with the guide, the experiance could probebly be better. Let me elaborate... The tour was an "on stage" tour that basically points out the architecture and building choices Disney made while creating DAK. We were given radio headsets, and the guide had a mic. This allowed us to wonder off a bit and still be able to hear her, plus with the added bonus that other guests couldn't try to tag along with your tour for free or interupt you paid experiance. I would hope that Disney uses these devices at other on stage tours were the general public is around you during the tour. The tour was basically a triva type tour, not unlike the Treasures tour at Epcot. And is a fine tour to do once so you can learn some of the reasonings behind the choices the Imagineers made building DAK. Now were our experiance goes a bit off was that our guide was not feeling well that morning. About half way through the tour you take a little breakfast break, and when the break was over, we had a different guide. This just kind of made the tour strange in that we had been with one guide, an got to know her, then she was gone and someone new was there like nothing happened. Just a bit akward. On a second note, why does Disney stick in food breaks on the shorter tours. Yea, on Backstage Magic (and all day experiance) you break for lunch. But this ones is not that long. They did the same thing on Undiscovered FutureWorld too. I paid for a tour, not a contenental breakfast. And while the cinomon rolls we had were great, I much rather would have spent the 20 min or so getting and seeing things. I can eat afterwards.
Backstage Safari is a behind the scenes on how Disney runs an animal themed park. We've done this tour several times over the years, and it has changed a little each time. As of the last time we took this tour, it begins with a ride through the regular Safari ride for your group. You then move on to the backstage area to see several barn, and sometimes animals and the caretakers. Since this is a working backstage, things cannot always be "scripted" so your experiance will vary from tour to tour. We've been able to feed a girraffi once, see the elephants play in the out side pen area, touch a reptile and bird, and talk and ask questions of several care takers. This all happened across several tours, so do not expect much, but you may get surprised if things work out. You then are moved on to the food prep area, and are show how all the food is created and readied for the animals. You can sometimes get some juicey information like the lions favorite treat in a rabbit frozen in ice. The bunny pop. Then the tour finishes with a walk through the vet areas that you can see at the Conservation Station. As a side note, the tour has become more about pleasing the "common man" than in previous years. The first year they had the tour, there was no ride in the begining. Instead the used the time in the middle of the tour in a classroom setting. A cartaker would bring in an animal (an American Alagator once) and have an Q & A session. The previous tours were more centered around education, and I believe, were better than the current format. Thus I would have given excelent in years past, but now I consider it good. In any case, it is still one of the better Disney tours you can take, and well worth the money.
Queuing Time-Excellent-I have honestly never waited more than maybe 5 minutes to ride this attraction. Audio/Music-Good-The first half of the ride has very ambient, tribal music that is very good and adds to the mystique. However, the second half has a redundant and rather annoying song that will drive you silly. Although it sticks in your head for hours. Over the years it actually has grown on me. PreShow/Queuing Area-Excellent-No Preshow. The queue area is inside the temple near the plaza and restaurant. Thrills-Very Poor-None whatsoever. It's relaxing, not thrilling. Duration-Good-It's probably a little too long. But-if the song at the end wasn't so goofy it might not seem that way. Kid Friendly-Excellent-This ride is perfect for anybody. It's like a poor man's version of 'It's A Small World". Overall-Average-I think this quiet and very relaxing boat ride is a bit underrated. It's nice to escape the heat and just sit back and enjoy the sights. I think the Mexico pavilion is great and although the ride is slightly hokey at the end, it's still fun to ride. Go on this ride expecting a quiet boat ride and you'll enjoy it tremendously.
Queuing Time-Average-It all depends on when you visit and other variables. If it's raining, at night or during the off-season you can get on quick. During the day during peak seasons it can be a long, long, long wait. Audio/Music-Excellent-From the authentic bgm played in the queue to the twilight zone theme during the ride itself. The music is perfect on this ride. The sound effects are also very good. PreShow/Queuing Area-Excellent-The queue area starts in the delapidated hotel gardens and eventually the lobby. Cobwebs and other nice touches add to the feeling of charm and creepiness at the same time. The preshow in the library is also awesome. The preboarding area boiler room is perfect to get you into the mood and make your hair on your back stand up. Storyline-Excellent-The story is written to include the ride and you as part of the story. It's a very cool twilight zone story. Theming-Excellent-Lots of little details. The outside sign with it's burn marks from lightening and the blinking neon marquee are just the beginning. When you are inside the lobby it really feels like a hotel inside! The library also has many cool set pieces from the show. PostShow/Merchandise-Excellent-A full range of TOT items are available after your ascents/descents. Thrills-Excellent-Just waiting in line for this ride is thrilling. Words can't describe the feeling of excitement and terror when the drops start. Amazing. Duration-Good-If you include the preshow, it's perfect. But I always thought the ride should explore a floor or two more of the hotel tower. Kid friendly-Average-If your kid is afraid of the dark, scary noises and music, loud sounds, any kind of drops or the actual Twilight Zone show; I would not recommend it at all. However, if your kid is a thrill-seeker they will love TOT! Overall-Excellent-This is one of WDW's best rides ever. If you have never been on TOT it is worth even a 2 hour wait-it's that good! Disney did a perfect job in bringing you thrills and a good story to envelope you. DON'T MISS IT!!! Destined to become a classic at WDW.
I was very excited about my first Christmas trip to Disney, and decided to take the Yuletide Fantasy Tour to make sure I could see as much of the World as possible in a weekend. I was told that we would visit World Showcase, the Magic Kingdom, at least one hotel, and the place where they store all of the decorations. I couldn’t wait. We met up with the group in front of Epcot, and proceeded backstage to a Mears bus. We were told we would be going backstage to World Showcase to discover how other cultures celebrate the Holidays. We started in Morocco, where our guide told us there were no decorations because they celebrate Ramadan, which was already over. Then we went to Japan, which again wasn’t decorated because the Japanese don’t celebrate a traditional Christmas the way Americans do. I was expecting to visit Italy, Germany and Norway, or at least some of the countries that looked different than they do during the rest of the year. It was nothing special. Our guide talked about how the Japanese buy new furniture during the New Year. Then we went to America, which was decorated beautifully. We went inside, and the guide tried to explain the Hanukah and Kwanzaa displays. She called Kwanzaa a “made up holiday” and said that the miracle of Hanukah was that there was enough oil to last for 3 days and it lasted for 6 (there was enough for 1 day and it lasted for 8). By this time, I was annoyed and wondering what exactly I had paid for. We went outside of the American pavilion, where the guide spent 15 minutes asking the group about their holiday traditions. I didn’t really care what everybody put on their trees; I cared what Disney puts on their trees! That was it for Epcot. We went next to MGM because the MK was filming the Christmas parade. We went in the back way to see the Osborne Lights. We stayed on the street for about two minutes before the guide decided it was too loud and moved us over to the entrance to HISTK playground. There she went on for twenty minutes about Christmas movies, including Miracle on 34th Street and how Maureen O’Hara was cast in it and how the movie was filmed. If I really wanted to know any of this, I could have Googled it. I wanted to know about the Osborne lights! That was it for MGM – it was off to the Grand Floridian. I was excited to see their tree and gingerbread house, and I really wanted to buy a gingerbread cookie. In the lobby, the guide read the recipe of the gingerbread house and gave us 2 minutes to take pictures. Then we were herded out of there like cattle. No cookies, no up close views, no nothing. Bah Humbug! I seriously considered jumping ship (or bus) and hitting the monorail at that point, but decided to stick it out. Our last stop was the bungalow where Disney holds all of its holiday decorations. Which, as you can imagine at this time of the year, is a bunch of empty shelves. I’d like to see it in July. This was the most interesting part of the tour, though, because we heard about the store where they go to buy the decorations in Atlanta, the permanent staff of 15 that keeps everything looking like new, and how the Christmas trees are assembled and disassembled every year. Then it was back to Epcot. Bottom Line: This is no way felt like a Disney tour. This could have taken place in Any Town, USA. You're much better off walking around on your own. You can learn more from reading a park map.
As with all tours, this is strongly dependent on the tourguide and the group. We had a rather obnoxious and distracted guide (last minute replacement) and some people in the group that had no business being there (ie I like the big golfball and where is the Mummy ride?) The tour was slow in starting spending too much time talking about the Epcot vision, and Walt and other boring common knowledge stuff. You get to visit one or more of the "private" lounges, go backstage in some exhibits (we did backstage at UoE and got to get photo's with the pterodactyl anamatronic that was replaced by Ellen) You also tour backstage on MS and TT (tour may now include soaring...) most groups get to sneak on an ride one or more...we didn't do any. There was a breakfast break midway that was a real waste of time...we're here to tour! We also got to do backstage at the dockyards for all water craft including the "fire barge" (before being damaged). There was also a meeting with international CM(s) that wasn't organized well for this tour. You also got to see cast wardrobe for Epcot. So there were some neat things to see, but this one was poorly presented.
This is one of the few tours that is open to kids 10+, so provides a nice family opportunity. You should be able to swim well, and it's best to have some snorkelling experience. You enter outside the park at guest services, so don't need park admission. You are met in the guest services courtyard (to the right of the windows) and give clothing size info, so that when you arrive in the locker room, your wetsuit and other equipment is ready for you. There is the prerequisite training lecture, then off to put on your wetsuit. If you have never done it, it is a bit of an experience, if you have, it's funny to watch others. You then parade from the locker room to the central core through the guest aquarium area where the stairs are located to the top of the tank. You are equipped with an oxygen tank and respirator similar to scuba, (breathing is similar to using a snorkel) you have fins, mask and a flotation vest that will keep you on the surface no matter what. If you try to dive, you will look like a duck with your butt and feet in the air. You get about 30-45 min in the tank and get to see a whole lot. Some fish and the sea turtles are very friendly and come close...but you are not to attempt to touch. You can wave at guest in the view windows. For non divers it is a very special experience. The one down to our tour was that it was very full, and due to a scheuling mistake an additional group was added on. The tank area was really too crowded for a leisurely swim. If you are certified, do the scuba tour, but if not, or with younger children, this is a truly wonderful experience.
OK, age is 16+ (to not spoil the magic) so I rated it very poor for kid friendly. All of these tours are somewhat dependent on your tourguide. This tour I have only seen and heard of very good and excellent. It is about 5 hours long so you need to be comfortable with the group. Also on this topic, the makeup of the group can really impact the tour. Even someone that thinks they know all about Disney will learn some things and look as Disney a little differently after. You get a good backstage experience and visit the utilidors. There is opportunity to ask the kinds of questions of Cast members that you didn't feel appropriate in a private setting and generally get back an answer that is not necessarily "the party line". Lunch is included. If you do one, this should be it.
A really fun and different experience. Possibly spends a bit too much time in the practice/preparation, but you do get about an hour out and about. Transportation on these machines is a very different type of experience. Suggest doing the earlier tour rather than the later as it is often less crowded and you get some more interesting views of world showcase "waking up" Remember your AP discount. Age is 16+ which probably could be relaxed for this. Most kids can handle these better than the adults.
I was very excited to do this tour, mainly to see the Utilidors. I was not disappointed with the back stage portion of the tour, even though we didn't get to see the intricate workings of the attractions. I was disappointed, however, that we didn't get a full tour of the Utilidors. Only shown a small portion of them. Other than that, the tour was great. Our guide was knowledgable and very helpful with any questions we had for him.
The Swiss Family Treehouse is one of Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom's oldest and most detailed attractions. Based on the movie, it allows guests to actually experience what living in a gigantic tree might actually be like! ON TO THE REVIEW! Queue Time-Good Sometimes the waits can be very long. My advice is to come back later when it's no line. You can relax a bit and take your time to enjoy the details and the sights from the tree. PreShow/Queue Area-Good I guess there really isn't one, but it's themed so well I give it a good rating. Storyline-Average There isn't really a story, it's more like a way to get an idea of what something might be like, somebody else's POV. Theming-Excellent The lazy river surrounding the tree, the Spanish moss dangling from it's branches, the sound of the water from the wheel, the Swiss polka music. All of it combines to make a great experience. PostShow-Average Other than a bridge to walk towards the exit on there is no post show. But-this type of attraction is a show in itself, so it can't/doesn't need one! Thrill rating-Poor. Okay, thrill seekers might not like this. But, some of the views are rather inspiring. I suppose if you suffer from acrophobia or vertigo it does provide some mild thrills. Duration-Good Unless it's crowded you can enjoy this at your own pace-fast or slow. Kid friendly-Good For kids over the age of 4 it's great! Overall-Good. I think a lot of people overlook it because it's not new or thrilling. Shame on those who dare to pass on this Disney show. It's a shame they rethemed the California version to Tarzan now. The old Swiss polka is part of Adventureland's charm. Give it a try before WDW changes their's, too! Once it's gone, like so many other classics, it will be sorely missed.
This is/was my favorite Disney 3-D movie so far and was definitely their most imaginative and expensive one to date. Michael Jackson starred as the heroic leader, Captain Eo. On a mission to find the Supreme Leader they crash land on her planet accidentally only to find the planet's been turned into a wasteland. As captives, the band of freedom fighters use music and dance to overcome the Evil Queen and end up converting her and the planet's people back to good. Yes, it all sounds kind of simple and almost hokey, but the movie was a really great action-packed adventure. The music and sound were loud and crisp and the visuals were on an epic scale. The combination of Lucas (produced and wrote) and Coppola (scripted and directed) made it a real quality show. The characters were cool, too. The little furry creature, the twin-headed muppet Idee, Hooter the blue elephant and the Blue robot dude, Major Domo. Contrary to what many people think, the attraction was not removed due to Jackson's legal troubles. In fact, the Paris and Tokyo versions were still around in the late 90's;and even California's didn't close until 1996. Anyways, Honey, I Shrunk the Audience is a somewhat mediocre replacement for what Cpt Eo was. I will always have fond memories of Captain Eo. I still remember walking in EPCOT's Future World East and actually being able to hear the bass from the last song, 'Another Part Of Me', rumbling from far away as the show ended. Hooter, btw, was played by Tony Cox, the same black dwarf actor who was hilarious in Me, Myself & Irene as the limo driver and more recently in Bad Santa as Santa's helper!
I thought this had the best theming of any rapids ride in the world. It even has a drop unlike many others. Compared to GRR, I would choose Kali River Rapids for sure. It has better theming, stronger rapids, and gets you way more wet(which is bad and good). Who cares if GRR is a bit longer, the theming is lacking. Don't know why everybody is complaining that it's so short, it was a good 4 and a half minutes. Thats pretty long for a water ride!
Queue Time--Avg Star Tours can sometimes be a horrendous wait, but then other times it's empty. Audio/Music--Excellent Well, for one it's got John Williams classic score during the actual ride. But the sound effects and overall ambience are also awesome in the queue area. PreShow/Queue Area--Excellent. Very well done. Lots of things to look at and details to point out. Also, any Star Wars fan will appreciate the basic feel of it all. It's pre-prequel Star Wars!! Storyline---Good. Okay, it's basically a trip to the moon of Endor gone wrong with some inconveniences along the way. (BTW-ever notice you never do get to Endor?) Theming--Excellent. Again, the entrance alone is pretty cool. Everything in the entire show is themed well to the Star Wars saga. PostShow/Merchandise---Excellent. As a Star Wars nut it's a cool shop to browse in. I guess for people who don't care for Star Wars it's not that great. Thrill--Good. Although it's a bit old now, it still will get you laughing and the kids still love this ride as well. Duration--Average. I always thought this ride should be about 2 minutes longer. It always felt a liitle too short. Kid Friendly---Good. Kids who love thrills will absolutely love this ride. And kids who like Star Wars will want to go on again and again. Overall--Excellent. Even though it's 19 years old now (technically it's only 16 years at WDW), it still is a must-see attraction. The whole ride is a fun romp and totally succeeds in creating a thrilling, fun and emersive experience.
The main purpose for the Magic Kingdom is to have fun as a kid or as an adult. As a kid, the Raceway is totally fun. As an adult, it's pretty uneventful. With that being said, I think it's almost unfair to blast this ride as adults. If you surveyed kids under the age of 11, I bet this ride gets a huge thumbs up. I for one am glad Disney chooses to maintain and keep this ride. Sometimes we adults forget that some of these attractions were designed for kids. I remember the Autopia at Disneyland being one of my favorite rides when I was a little kid. And yes, the ride lost a lot of excitement when I learned to drive a real car; and even moreso after I got a real job out of high school and found out what commuting means. BUT!!!----It would be a shame to bulldoze this ride and put in something that only adults can ride. WDW is one of the most special places to take a kid and this ride only makes it more special. So, as an adult I give it a bad rating. But you know what, I'm going to give the ride the rating I would have given it when I was 10, since that's the age most riders are.
Sorry, but World of Motion was much better of an attraction than Test Track. No, it did not have thrills, but it educated way more than Test Track could ever do. The World of Motion was EPCOT's equivalent of Pirates of the Caribbean. Huge sets with tons of Audio-Animatronics and a great soundtrack. The attention to detail was so amazing on it. And the humor made it great for kids and adults alike. Plus, this show lasted a good 15 minutes. I hate how all of EPCOTS new attractions are so short and pointless. Test Track, Soarin', Mission Space--they're all less than 5 minutes!!! The shows they replaced, World of Motion, Horizons and Kitchen Kabaret were 15 minutes each!! Such a worthless trade in my opinion. The old EPCOT was original, educating and fun. The new Epcot is stale, trendy and more for quick thrills than anything else.
Okay, first I'll review it, then I'll make my statements. This is one of the Magic Kingdom's best attractions. Queue Time--Not bad at night or early morning. Mid-day can be brutal, though, especially in summer. Audio/Music-Some of, if not, the best Disney music ever on an attraction. The soundtrack is great, too. Preshow--Very cool dungeons and then the port area where you dock (get on the boat) is very well done. Storyline--Awesome. Theming--Some of the best theming you will ever lay your eyes on anywhere. Postshow/Merchandise--The exit spills you out into a Caribbean Plaza.....good I guess. Thrill--Back when this came out, it was probably a bit more exciting. But it still gives you a rush on the little falls. Duration--Um, on it's own, it's fine. More on this later. Kid friendly--Almost any kid will love the ride. Overall--Not to be missed! Excellent use of visuals, audio, theming, lighting, music, Audio-Animatronics.... NOW---With all that being said....this version of the ride is not as long or as entertaining as Disneyland's in California. Queue Area-I like WDW's a lot! The dungeons and lairs and Spanish port you leave from at the start is cool. BUT--the old bayou swamp that's in California's is way more detailed and adds more to the actual ride itself. The Ride---Geez, where to begin. WDW's is missing the whole beginning scene in the swamps. It only has one small drop instead of the 2 (I know, I know, it's because WDW's doesn't have to go below a berm--but still!) The dungeons and underground caves with all the skeletons in the bar, the beach....none if it is in this version. And then the finale is much, much, much shorter. No creaking wood on fire that's ready to collapse. And again, you get off the boat before it goes back up the hill. Which I understand, but it's still neat at Disneyland. The finale at Disneyland and WDW are also completely different. I actually like WDW's arsenal scene better.
This is our favorite club on PI. My wife and I end every evening at the AC after dinner. We love the atmosphere, theming, all the characters and shows. The AC is at the top of our list for nigttime adult entertainment.
This movie ended in 1993. Queuing Time-Like all shows, if you happened to walk in right before it started, you had no wait. Audio/Music-The music on this show was some of Disney\'s best. The Magic Journey\'s theme was good and the score was very interesting. Although nowadays it would have been somewhat dated. PreShow-The preshow area was just a room with 3-D holographic pictures of Disney characters. When it was at Epcot they showed a short called \'Makin\' Memories\'. But when it moved to MK after Cptn Eo I remember them playing the Donald Duck & Chip n Dale cartoon, \'Working For Peanuts\'. Story-Well, it didn\'t really have one. It was more of a dreamlike story where it just followed some kids playing and centered on their dreams and imagination. Theming-Nothing really. The theater was plain and didn\'t have anything interesting. PostShow-Again, there was none. You just got up and left and walked back out into Fantasyland. Thrills-None. Although, there was the what is now considered to be common to a 3-D movie, sight gags. When this debuted, it was state-of-the-art. It was a new concept for Disney having a 3-D show. Now it seems common. Duration-Perfect. It was great for people who wanted to cool off for a good 25 minutes. Kid friendly-A scene where an evil witch threw lightning at the audience would sometimes cause little kids to start crying or screaming. Other than that, it was very tame and didn\'t have any loud special effects or music. Overall-It lasted a lot longer than I ever thought it would. It was a great movie for it\'s time, though. I think out of all of Disney\'s 3-D films this one had the best music. The cinematography in Magic Journeys was also very good. But it was also probably the least entertaining of all. The last time I saw it in Summer of \'93 (right before it was taken out) I remember dozing off a few times because it was so quiet and relaxing after a long, hot summer day in the Magic Kingdom.
Long waits are common in early morning,afternoon. The theming is awesome on this ride and demands admiration and awe. Every little detail, from the various wildlife to the hot springs and flooded mine town; it\\\'s all done with amazing detail! The music waiting in line fits the ride perfectly. That saloon old-west piano music is great. Also, the out-of-control whistling and chugging noise the train makes as it tears through the tracks is great! The mountain is breathtaking to look at and makes one want to go exploring inside its tunnels. The WDW version has a much better layout than Disneyland\'s mountain, in that it is situated on a hill and is quite a distance away from the queue area and located along the banks of the Rivers of America. The thrills are there, but not so intense or high that it scares away the timid. It\\\'s a good coaster and the elements of the surrounding environment add to the thrills! The train whips around corners and feels like it is going to collide with buttes or smash into the beautiful red rocks of the mountain. The ride is perfect in length. It\\\'s not too short or too long. Most kids will love this ride. It\\\'s not too scary and there\\\'s a lot to see, too. Overall, Big Thunder is one of Disney\\\'s greatest ride\\\'s ever built! The western theme gives it a very chaotic feel and the sheer scope of detail and size of the entire area is amazing. Be sure to ride it when you visit!!!! If you ride at night it gives the ride a whole different experience. Is a can\\\'t miss ride at WDW! Also, \\\"be sure to hang on now, n\\\'specially to dem hats n\\\' glasses! \\\'Cause this here\\\'s the wildest ride in the wilderness!!!\\\"
Okay, since I was lucky to see both versions of this show I am rating each one on it\'s own since they were very different. 1975-1993 (Now Is The Time Version) Queuing Time-Excellent. You never had to wait! Audio/Music-Excellent. Now is the time! That song was so catchy and brings back fond memories! Better to me than the current one. PreShow/Queue Area-Poor. Nothing to see or do. Storyline-Good. Theming-Good. PostShow-Very Poor. Although I don\'t think one was needed for this show. Thrill-Very Poor. Again, no thrills. But, it wasn\'t meant to, either. Duration-Excellent!! Perfect for relaxing or enjoying a long and interesting show. Kid Friendly-Good. I think this version of the show was actually more interesting to kids. It had more humor and seemed more entertaining. Overall-Good. I think this was my favorite attraction when I was a kid. 1994---(Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow version) Queuing Time-Excellent. Again, no real waiting time. Audio/Music-Good. To me, and I know it\'s the original theme, it\'s not as good. I have a soft spot for the older one. PreShow/Queue Area-Average. Although, it\'s better than it used to be. Now they have a cool video of old footage that is very interesting to watch! Storyline-Good. Theming-Good. PostShow-Very Poor. But it doesn\'t need one, either! Thrills-Very Poor. And again-it wasn\'t meant to, either!! Duration-Excellent. No such thing as too long for Disney rides! Kid Friendly-Average. I don\'t think the current show is as kid friendly as the old one. Maybe because I\'m an adult now. Overall-Good. Still a treat for the whole family and preserves Walt\'s vision and dreams of a brighter tomorrow. One thing that will always be annoying on this attraction--the 4th and final room. Unless Disney updated it every 3 or 4 years, it will always be dated. In 1994 the finale was fine, but in 2006 it is hokey and lame. The Now is The Time version\'s finale was even worse!!! It had a Brady Bunch-like feel to it with floodlights, shag carpet, turtleneck sweaters, beads and a TV inside a wood display to boot!! But now that I think of it, that gives it slight charm .
Okay, I admit it, I loved Delta's Dreamflight/Take Flight. It was somehow hypnotizing to me. That song would get stuck in my head the rest of the trip. Ahhh, memories.....I know it wasn't the best attraction and the appeal factor was low. I never expected it to last forever. You knew it was someday going to replaced. The cheesy cut-outs in the barn! The guy strapped to the plane doing stunts! The Japanese garden! The French street! The jet engine with fog!!! The giant pop-up book with the Delta jet projection whizzing by in the background! It was so memorable! I agree it wasn't a crowdpleaser, but to me it was one of the best rides in the Magic Kingdom. And the best part--you could walk on this ride whenever you liked without a wait! No matter how crowded the park was. A very average ride to an average visitor. But one of my favorite rides in a long line that are now gone at WDW!!
This show got a really bad reputation for scaring the kiddies. But in all fairness, Disney warned parents and the parents didn't listen. Anyways, the theming to this show was great and seemed very real. The seats alone would make anybody who hates being trapped scream with terror. I loved the feeling of being stuck in the seat and not knowing what the blazes was going on. The screaming of terrified people was a plus, too! This show made me laugh with glee. Most kids hated it and rightfully so. Horror movie/Sci-Fi fans loved it. I kind of think a lot of people expected this show to be like the one it replaced (Mission to Mars). Meaning, a way to relax and escape from the heat for 20 minutes in an air-conditioned theater. What they got...was a surprise! And as for all the moronic parents who dragged their children on this--I hope the parents were scarred psychologically, too. There were warnings all over the place. Maybe those parents were illiterate, I don't know.
Queue Time-Poor-The ride was notorious for having long waits during the day and peak seasons. But it was somewhat soothing to hear the hum of the engines and smell the chlorine! Audio/Music-Average-The music playing in the queue area was very good but the actual sound system used on the submarines was very old and somewhat muffled. PreShow/Queuing Area-Good-No preshow, but the queue area was simple yet effective in capturing that nautical feel. The music playing and the sounds of the subs added to the exotic nature of the ride. Storyline-Good-Cpt Nemo was basically your tour guide through the sea. It was very simplistic but at the same time it worked very well. Theming-Good-The theming was fantastic. All the rocks and plants added a really far-off feel to the ride. And the Nautilus's were detailed and very cool looking. PostShow-Very Poor-There wasn't one. You walked off an were right back outside in front of Mr Toad's. But did it need one? No. Thrills-Poor-Obviously this was more of a show than an actual ride. The only thrills came when the sub was attacked by the giant squid. Although, as a kid I remember being excited that it was underwater, too! Duration-Good-It was long but that meant you were extremely captivated by the end. Looking out the port holes and staring out into the lagoon's waters was almost hypnotizing in a way. Kid Friendly-Average-Kids who were interested in ocean-life would love it. However, most kids might be somewhat bored and uninterested by the time the 9 minute ocean voyage was over. Overall-Good-I miss this ride. It was one of Fantasyland's most interesting and unique attractions. I always thought Captain Nemo's narration was pretty good and that the effects were quaint but did the job. It's too bad Disney ended up filling up the lagoon with dirt and uses it as a Pooh play area. The lagoon alone by itself was so awesome just sitting there. I'm glad I rode it every year I visited WDW.
Audio and visuals are top-notch. The lighting on the floats are extremely well done. I can see how a lot of people might not like this parade, though. There's not as many Disney characters involved and the parade isn't as interactive as it could be. I will say I hated it the first time I saw it. But--it grew on me after repeat visits to Disneyworld. I think by the third trip I grew to love the show. Now I can't imagine the Magic Kingdom without it now!
WHEN READING REVIEWS OF THIS SHOW I THOUGHT THEY WERE WHINNING DISNEY NUTS. I WAS WRONG !! THIS SHOW HAS NO GOOD POINTS. IT STARTS OUT BORING AND GOES DOWN HILL FROM THERE
ONCE YOU GET THROUGH THE CROWDS OF PEOPLE IT'S A GREAT EXPERIENCE.THE RIDE ITSELF SEEMS SO SHORT, DUE TO BEING SO ATTENTION GETTING THAT TIME SEEMS TO FLY BY.
LIKE ANY THRILL SHOW, THERS IS ALOT OF FILLER AND PEOPLE WHO READ FROM A SRIPT THAT WAS EITHER WRITTEN BY A THIRD GRADER OR A PERSON WHO HAS LITTLE IDEA OF WHAT A THRILL SHOW IS ALL ABOUT. THE THRILLS ARE AS GOOD AS CAN BE EPECTED FROM A SHOW THAT IS RUN SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK.THE CAR NUTS WOULD PROBABLY LIKE TO SEE THE MODS OF THE CARS UP CLOSE AS THEY SEEM TO PLAY A LARGE PART IN THE SAFTEY OF THE SHOW
I keep reading comparisons to Indiana Jones. This ride is no Indiana Jones. It is, however, an incredibly bumpy, jerky, and ROUGH ride. Ride is too dark to take advantage of the visuals. You literally FLY past the few nice visuals that are lit to any degree. Not one of Disney's best pieces of work.
The line all depends on different aspects- time of year, time of day, weather, and such. Overall, its not that bad. The music in the queue is amazing- authentic 1920-30's elevator music! The storyline is excellent, with an actual plot, and a problem. I love when you go into the library and watch the movie. I always scare the other people by going (DUM DUM DUUUUMMM) when the lights turn off. I like the touch of the lightning, too. I enjoy the shop, after, too. Who HASN'T bought a ToT pic? When WDI randomized the drops, the ride improved ten fold. It adds an element of surprise. At 13 (I am thirteen, yes!), I still close my eyes when we go into the "twilight zone: it freaks me out! The only drawback is that it may scare little children. It scares my 11 year old brother, and I torment him about it all the time...
Depending on what time you are there, or what the weather is like, RnRC has a average line. If you getg a fastpass, however, expect to get in the building in around 5-10 minutes. When you walk up the ramp, and you get into the first room, take a sec, and look at all of the cool stuff! One of my favorite parts of the "ride" is the preshow- It rocks! All of the decoration is superb. The storyline is good- you are trying to get to Aerosmith's concert. After the amazing, thrilling, hair raising ride with inversions and such, you are whisked into a giftshop with amazing stuff (although a tad expensive). The only drawbacks are that it is a bit short, and it might frighten little children.
All of the times that I have gone on this amazing adventure safari, there has been little to no wait. The audio on the caravan is a bit rushed, but (most of the time) the CM explains the animals. To me, the queuing area is like a real African outpost, with decorations that the real stuff may envy. The story line is a bit outdated, however, and I think that the majesty of the animals should speak for itself. It is amazing how Disney recreates an African savannah from a Floridian climate (I live in Miami!). I come to Animal Kingdom just to see this.
When I went (5:30 pm, after a day of thunderstorms) there was no line, which is why I am giving the queuing an excellent. The music was so/so, and there was no pre show or noteworhty pre-ride attractions. No storyline, and the theming is okay (50's). No merchandise. The duration is a bit lengthy for the ride. It is very jerky, maybe making children weary. Personally, I hate this carnival themed part of the park, and all the surrounding rides. (Like the overrated Dinosaur)
The story line, etc, and theming is excellent, but the ride itself (For me) is not scary, but way too bumpy. Don't get me wrong, I am a teen, but I didn't fully appreciate it. Also, if you have epilepsy (which my sister does) advise against this. Also, children will be extremely afraid.
I love this show. The music is the best. The only issue i had was that it might be hard to see the spinning earth globe.
Good theme park. Has wonderful theming/atmosphere(greater than the other parks) and has a good selection of E-tickets as well. Definetely visit this park if you go to Walt Disney World! With Expedition Everest coming out in 2006, this park will definetely become more popular!
If you like to look at theming, landscaping, browse shops, and take a leisurely stroll through a large park, this is the one for you. If you like to be amused by attractions, thrills, etc., it isn't although they've tried to start fixing this with Space and Soarin. Not much yet. Food is good in this park. Limited fun for kids.
When i went on holiday to Walt Disney World in the summer of 2003 they where just starting construction on Soarin so ever since 2003 i have followed the work and updates on Soarin's constuction. Soarin at Epcot opened on the 5th May 2005, i myself went on holiday to Walt Disney World on the 12th May 2005. I can fiarly say that Soarin is one of the best rides in Walt Disney World so far. Disney have really put a lot of work into the ride pushing boundies even ferver. Soarin is located in "The Land" at Epcot. When you queue up for Soarin you could be waiting for up to 3 hours, for a seven minute ride. Or you could get a Fastpass and only wait ten minutes, but i can say that whatever the wait that it is completley worth the wait. As you are queueing up for the ride you can hear music being played from vairus aviation movies you can also here loud rumbling sounds from the ride in the background (very nice atmosphere). There are two queues called "concorses" that split off in opersite directions when nearing the Pre-Show this is because there are two theatre's for the ride you could eiver goto "Concourse 1" or "Concourse 2". You will then wait in another queue for a short period of time before entering the Pre-Show area. When you enter the Pre-Show area you will be put into seperate 3 diferent blocks of small queues (by the Soarin staff) the queues are labled A, B, C. The Pre-Show it self if presented by actor Patrick Warburton he is the chief flight intendent of the ride. He tells you about the ride, safety etc. The Pre-Show will then finish and you will be quided into the huge theatre and instructed where to sit. One everyone is sitting and has fastend their seat belts the light go out and you hear Patrick Warburton say "Soarin to tower, we are cleared for takeoff". You are then lifted up 40 feet above the ground if front of a huge I-MAX dome screen where the movie comes on and you acctually think you are flying. I wont go into the movie to much but i will tell you that the ride system that you are sitting on tilts and pitches with the movie and you can smell different cents as you fly over different scenes with a cool wind in you face. The movie finishes and you are lifted back down to the ground (the ride never cieses with everone clapping). You then hear Patrick Warburton say "On behave of our entire flight crew thanks for soarin with us, to unfasten your seat belt just push down on the red button on your right, be sure to collect all you carry on items etc. You then leave the theatre and exit Soarin back into The Land. It is clear that Soarin is and exelent ride for all ages and i would recommend it to anyone who was going to Walt Disney World. 10 out of 10. I will be writing a full review soon on my Soarin website i will update the WDW Forums when the site is online.
I couldn't have told you what the fireworks show was supposed to be about or represent in the times I've actually seen it. But oddly enough, it's quite moving, probably because of the wonderful score that's the best of any ever written for a Disney show. I've since come to understand the show is supposed to represent the formation of the Earth itself to the present day w/ all it's human inhabitants. The fireworks are perfectly choreographed to the score, and the globe in the middle of the lagoon, while a bit too small, is a pretty good centerpiece for the action. This is one show we never miss.
I don't get why this parade is not popular on these review boards. Granted, I was never greatly impressed w/ the floats, but I've always loved the performances, and I'm always wowed by the Chinese acrobats. It's like watching a scene from Cirque de Soliel on the street.
This is a decent version of the Disneyland show, though not quite as solid. 1st the bad news; The theater is way too big for it's own good. It probably seemed like a good idea to build the thing since the Disneyland show is so incredibly popular to this day and crowd control is a nightmare. But compared to the Disneyland version where you're never more than 10 standing rows back, here at the Studio version you may be a good 35 seated rows up watching from far away. This has the effect of removing you from the action, and once you've been that close, it's hard not to experience the vastness of the Studio theater as being a bit impersonal. Also, the WDW version has several changes to it, the most evident is that the Peter Pan battle aboard the moving Columbia has been replaced by a Pocahontas stunt show on a stationary stage. The Disneyland version is far more kinetic, simply because it takes place on a moving ship. Frankly, it's also nice to see 2 Disneyland icons -- the Mark Twain and Columbia -- used to such great effect in the Disneyland show, whereas WDW has completely eliminated the Columbia (probably as a cost-cutting measure) and build a bare bones version of the steamboat. Now the good news; the WDW Fantasmic still does keep the spirit of the Disneyland show. Most of the effects are left intact. It's still an exciting story that utilizes to great effect our familiarity with and love of Disney stories. Try to line up early to sit closer to the front.
If this is a part of your length of stay pass, by all means then check it out. I'm not sure I'd ever pay separate admission for it though. Granted, it's themed well, and there are some interesting attractions here. My particular favorites were the river raft ride, the remote control jeeps, and Ride the Comix. But I also felt a bit claustrophobic somehow. The facilities are entirely enclosed, and the layout is somewhat confusing even with a map. Although there's no money changing hands, it almost has a Las Vegas like casino feel to it that I'm not real happy with. I once read Disney's intent for Boardwalk was to test the waters for gambling on the property, and thank goodness they haven't gone through with it yet.
This ride is a must-do for every trip to the Magic Kingdom. Why? Well, there's nothing really rational for my love of this ride. It's not particularly exciting, it's slow, not very smooth. I guess it's just nostalgic for me. I live near Anaheim, and they ditched the Peoplemover here for the Rocket Rods which they don't even have anymore, so now the old track still stand in the middle of Tomorrowland completely abandoned. It's nice to still see it in operation at WDW, even if no one goes on it.
I kinda like the WDW Railroad better than the original Disneyland one. Although Disneyland's Grand Canyon Diorama and Primeval World are always fun, they always seemed out of place to me, even as a kid. I like that WDW's railroad is just a nice train ride around the park.
I understand that Pooh basically takes place in the imagination of a boy, but this ride still doesn't seem to fit into Fantasyland. I think Fantasyland is more about fairy tales, and Pooh doesn't really fit that mold (neither does Mickey's Philharmagic, which would have gone much better in Toontown, but I digress...). At any rate, this is still a decent dark ride addition. Before my 1st time on this ride, I had read there are a bit too many painted plywood cutouts where there should be bold 3 dimensional sets. That's true, but I really didn't notice all that much, and in my opinion it doesn't really detract from the charm of the ride, and the scenes flow together pretty well. I remember just as many plywood pieces on Mr. Toad, so it doesn't seem like such a big deal to me.
I'm in agreement that they needed to update the show. However, I think New Management was a big let down. Not that it wasn't a great idea, Iago and Zazu taking over sounded like it'd be a lot of fun. But the problem is in the execution. See, one of the things that makes audio-animatronic shows from Walt's time more classic is that they all had original tunes -- Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, It's A Small World, Yo Ho A Pirate's Life, etc, even if it's true those attractions contained a lot of non-original songs. New Management features no new songs at all. In fact, if the point of the show, as Iago screams out, is to show the world the Tiki Birds are hip, then why do they belt out only remakes with slightly modified lyrics? On top of that, they're OLD songs. That Buster Poindexter song "Hot, Hot, Hot" was at least 10 yrs old by the time New Management debuted, and the 2 Gloria Estefan songs even older. So much for hip. It just felt like without a new song, they weren't even trying on this one. It just felt cheap. On a better note, I loved the wit of the two agents, Morris and William, from the preshow. Very clever.
I prefer the old Swiss Family Tree House in Orlando to the new Tarzan Tree House in Anaheim. While Tarzan is done up well enough, and there's a nice animatronic baby elephant at the end, I think there's more charm to the Swiss Family. Since there's no cartoon characters to focus on here, there's more attention to the details like the names of the books, or the various artifacts in each of the rooms.
This is my favorite "mountain" attraction at the Magic Kingdom. I really think this is the perfect blend of a thrill ride and a traditional audio-animatronic attraction. It's got one of the steepest, longest waterfalls of any ride in the world for thrills, plus the fall in the middle of the ride that is more like a dip. There are animatronic animals everwhere, and the story is quite cohesive if you're listening to the lyrics. This is one thrill ride that meets you on all levels.
This is a pretty good "mad mouse" style roller coaster that uses similar technology to the Matterhorn. It doesn't feel quite as smooth as the Anaheim Space Mountain, but it's track layout is better. I hope it gets the same makeover that the Anaheim version recently got for the 50th anniversary.
Count your blessings, this ride is far better than the one we have out in Anaheim. Better for one reason only -- the ending. In Anaheim, the ride ends with the scene of the 7 Dwarves trying to get to the Witch who is standing above the ride vehicle trying to knock a large rock onto you. There's a flash of light, and then BOOM you're outside looking at the exit and riding past a sign that reads "And they lived happily ever after." Huh? There is absolutely no conclusion here. In Orlando, the addition of the scene with Prince Charming kissing Snow White gives you what is sorely lacking from the original.
This and the Haunted Mansion are truly classic Disney rides in design, theming, atmosphere, detail, and especially storytelling. It will be interesting to see the upgrades intended to integrate aspects of the 3 Johnny Depp films.
This is probably the best of the Fantasyland dark rides. I've always attributed it's popularity to the fact the ride vehicles hang off their track, while the other dark rides feature ride vehicles on the ground, just like any other ride. After all, who doesn't want to feel like they're flying?
Here I go again, comparing things to Disneyland's versions... The Disneyland Toontown is much better than the Magic Kingdom's. Granted, MK's came 1st, and I believe was intended more as a temporary set up, so it was planned and built quite quickly. But while all the elements are there indoors, those darn tents that they're housed in just gives no atmosphere at all. The Disneyland Toontown facades should be the model for a much needed makeover of the MK Toontown.
I love this film. It's light on 3-D effects and big on story and love of Disney animation. It takes the some of the best segments of Disney films and ties them together with the thread of Donald searching for a very important missing object. They could have done a bit more with the design of the actual theater and the queue however. I also wish they'd have animated this with hand drawn cells instead of computer. But I suppose if Disney is switching to computers only these days, then the truth is they've done a pretty decent job on this one. This is one of their best recent efforts.
It's hard for me not to compare the Magic Kingdom rides to their Disneyland counterparts since I grew up with Disneyland. I do enjoy this version a bit better than the Disneyland version. Basically, I like the addition of the cave at the end of the MK version. DL doesn't have this.
Although so many folks find the song irritating by virtue of it's repetition, the song itself cannot be denied it's classic status not only amongst Disney songs, but within the world of music in general. While the Magic Kingdom's version is not quite as effective as the Disneyland version, this is an effective copy.
This attraction is great in just about every aspect, the theming, design, storytelling, animatronics, effects, atmosphere. There are details everywhere and each time there's something new you didn't notice before. The preshow is probably the most famous of all Disney attractions, and there's even a nice post show touch ("hurry baaa-aaack..."). The ghost effects are still effective even by today's standards. This is a classic.
This is one of those shows for the die hard Disney fan. The animatronics and detailing are a sight to behold. As an actual show, it may not be something you necessarily need to see with every trip to the Magic Kingdom, but this show deserves to be seen at least once. This is Disney's America at it's patriotic best.
I've always liked this show better than the newer "Vacation Hoedown" show at Disneyland. The Disneyland show is disjointed, the songs don't always fit the theme, and it's weird to see Country Bears singing the Beach Boys or Gene Kelly, or Country Bears dressed in Las Vegas Elvis jackets, or snorkels and inflatable inner tubes. I mention Disneyland's version because that show renewed my appreciation for the original Magic Kingdom show, where it's a straightforward country/western variety show, with country/western songs and country/western costumes. And what can you say about Blood On The Saddle - it's timeless.
I love the old animatronic shows like this one. This is how they used to do it. While I like societal & cultural changes in taste, it's a shame this type of storytelling is considered dated, because there's so much nostalgic charm in something like this. Although it's future is uncertain, I appreciate Disney's attempts to update it, featuring a new preshow video explaining the shows historical relevance as it relates to Walt Disney himself, and I like the updated dialogue better than the original, especially the running joke about specifics technological improvements to the same types of household chores, each update building onto the next era's (show scene's) update. Probably only a ride for those who appreciate the nostalgia.
Great idea for a dark ride to make it interactive. Essentially, this is a combination dark ride and shooting gallery where you shoot at various designated targets along the ride's path. A direct hit causes a reaction from an animatronic, much the way a hit in a shooting gallery causes a response. It's kind of a cheap looking ride, but the gun element is extremely fun, and warrants repeat ridings on the same day. The guest photos are funnier than you'd expect, with sometimes pained looks of concentration on the rider's faces. Although the Disneyland version is a bit better, the Magic Kingdom features the original version.
A well-themed coaster infused with bits of Disney humor here and there (guy in bathtub, flooded town, etc). It's probably the least thrilling of the 3 "mountains" at the Magic Kingdom, but the detail can be elaborate and communicates an environment of thrilling possibilities that makes up for any perceived lack of thrills produced by the track layout itself.
Overall, I like this attraction. The show itself is a bit gruesome by Disney standards, even if it is only implied. It's not something you'd expect at a Disney theme park, perhaps more in the style of Universal. But the thrill is undeniable, featuring some of the more creative storytelling effects to date (at least for that time). The preshow where SIR fries the poor alien is quite mean spirited, and really the only aspect of the attraction I really had any problem with. It's in the delivery of the SIR character, who is written and animated as more of a bully than anything else. A bully with no remorse and no retribution, very un-Disney like if you ask me.
In addition to the decent ride, I've always loved the Stave Church exhibit. It's the tiny building in the front of the pavilion that most people either skip or rush through when they realize you're gonna have to read stuff. I personally think it's one of those nice detail touches throughout Disney theme parks. I find the exhibit to be a fascinating look at Norways religious influences. It's also interesting to note how religion influenced the actual design of the churches, not just in how it is decorated, but in how it is structurally designed. On a different note, my wife got a great thrill last year when visiting this pavilion. We got off the ride and went into the store. Toward the end of the store, she noticed a familiar scent, and realized they were selling the same perfume she had bought and worn exclusively for our wedding. She ended up happily explaining this to one of the cast members. As it turned out, even though the man had a name tag, he was not a cast member (and was not wearing a cast member costume). He was in fact the actual creator of the perfume, who was there from Norway for several days promoting his perfumes. He graciously gave my wife a free bottle of the perfume, Leila, and signed it, gave her a signed headshot, and took a picture with her. That made her day.
While I wish that every pavilion had a ride or show, I guess I don't mind it when they don't. Japan was supposed to get Meet the World for a while, then they were supposed to get a Mt. Fuji roller coaster, but that rumor's been around for years. Oh well. One of the things I really appreciate is that the exhibits here aren't just historical. The last one we saw was about Japanese toys, and someone else mentioned the one about baseball. I think it's great they do things on the fascinating world of Japanese pop culture. It used to be that all things American were a huge influence on Japanese pop culture, but these days the reverse is slowly happening where it's Japan having an influence on American youth -- increasing anime style cartoons, Japanese baseball players, fashion (think Gwen Stefani's song Harjuku Girls), etc. I even heard a song the other day on the local top 40 station that was sung entirely in Japanese.
This is the best 360 film at Epcot. It benefits from a filmed narrator (who by the way has very refined and stately speaking skills), rather than an unseen one as in O Canada and Impressions de France. I've read social commentary before that said this film is lacking because it fails to address the current Communist regime, but it's too bad these folks let politics get in the way of appreciation for beauty of the Chinese culture and landscape (though I can understand if a Chinese native has something to say about this). This is a truly a majestic film that captures the spirit of it's people and the magnificence of it's terrain.
I love this show. It incorporates a few films, some great technology with a moving theater that breaks up into ride vehicles, and some cool animatronics. Ellen DeGeneres is not everyone's cup of tea apparently, but I think she's pretty funny in this show. I love that Alex Trebek plays it straight, and Jamie Lee Curtis is perfect as "Stupid Judy." The two films in the theater have fantastic special effects and animation, and the entire storyline is Imagineering at its best.
If you never see this, you're not missing anything. Having said that, grading it on it's own merits for what it is, it's actually a pretty good film w/ Martin Short doing a back-to-the-future, seeing his parents when they were younger, seeing when he was born, etc. Directed by Glen Gordon Caron (TV's Moonlighting), it deals with sex tastefully, and doesn't get too scientific.
I don't get it. Half these reviews complain about the missing Sea Cabs and how they were the best thing about the pavilion. I mean, I miss them too, and it definitely played a part in building anticipation toward the climax of Sea Base Alpha, but it was only like a minute and a half long, and in-and-of-itself all it did was take you past the big fish tank which (once you exit the ride) you end up being able to stand in front of it for however long you wished anyway. How is observing the fish tank on a ride any better than observing the fish tank by standing in front of it? If anything, standing there is better, because you're able to take your time and watch, the same way you'd do it at the Maharajah trail at Animal Kingdom. Needless to say, I enjoy this pavilion. It's more than a big fish tank, it's supposed to be the largest salt water tank in the world or something like that. Although it's a bit degenerated over the years, the sea life is still amazing, especially those giant turtles. Some of the other areas are in need of rehab or update, but I hear Turtle Talk is a nice edition - I hope it's at least somewhat educational.
This is the kind of show I wish we had more of at Epcot. There are a lot of stories to be told at World Showcase, and I think this type of show can do it justice. Anyway, amazing animatronics aside, this show does a good job of craming 200 years of history into 20 minutes. A lot of folks have written about how it Disneyfies a lot of the darker periods in US history or omits them from the animatronic part of the show such as Vietnam and the civil rights movement, but what are you going to do? I've got my own list of events I think should have been mentioned, but it's only 20 minutes long, something's gonna get cut. At least MLK gets acknowledged in the montage at the end. This is a decidedly pro-American show in a short period of time, so you're really only going to get the happy highlights.
Though I never miss this ride, I do feel it's a bit overrated as a thrill ride. The only real thrill is the charge around the outside of the building at the end. Everything inside is more like a dark ride, and the parts that are supposed to be thrilling like the mountain curves and the brake testing are quite tame. Still, I enjoy it for what it is, and they obviously put a lot of money into developing this one. The queue is actually the best part of this attraction which actually explains a lot of the R & D that goes into developing a car.
This is the last great animatronic ride left at Epcot. Horizons and World of Motion are gone, the original Journey Into Imagination gone (though I admittedly never went on it). Universe of Energy is still up, but the dinosaur segment is just a part of the overall experience. A while back, they were going to try to gut Spaceship Earth of the original ride and put in a thrill ride. As it turned out, the structural integrity of the sphere would have been compromised as the ride itself helps support the sphere from collapsing, so they ditched the idea. While I'm sure the new ride would have been good, I'm really glad they kept the old one, because it's one of my favorite dark rides. The theme is the evolving of human communication, and it's quite appropriate for the interior of a structure meant to symbolize our planet itself. As the Epcot icon(or "weenie" in Disney-speak), I appreciate that this ride really ties in together all the themes of the various pavillions (or used to anyway) and the underlying implications of World Showcase. If nothing else, it's nice to see animatronics old-school style. Not that there's anything wrong w/ more recent animatronic technology, but it's fun in a retro sort of way.
This is for the most part a solid thrill ride. I don't think it's the best, Dinosaur and Rock N' Roller Coaster are still tops for me. But Mission: Space is pretty good overall. Obviously the G's are what everyone talks about. The G's are actually not as strong as what you experience on Rock N' Roll, but they're sustained over a much longer period of time rather than the short burst that is Rock N' Roll's launch. The training camp idea works, and the storyline in the ride itself is typical Disney -- everything is routine until (oh no) something goes awry -- but exciting in the moment. My only complaint about the ride was that the animation on the viewscreen is not realistic, but kinda cartoony. Maybe that's how a real training simulator is, but I guess I expected something more like the Star Tours film.
It's a decent ride with fun troll animatronics that could have been a bit more cohesive in it's storytelling. The ride itself could have been a bit longer, while the movie at the end could have been a bit shorter, or done away with completely, as it is probably the only film at any Disney theme park that was not remotely interesting. I always feel embarrassed for the poor CM's introducing the film because half the people walk straight from the ride past the theater and out the exit. Then again, I'm one of the folks skipping the film so I can't really say anything.
Most people hear about this ride and think "BORING!!" myself included. But Birnbaums, the Unofficial Guide, and a couple other books said not to let the description fool you, and guess what? They were right. Obviously, this is not a particularly thrilling ride, the beginning scenes are scaled down sets, and it's nothing you want to take your kids on for sure. But the beginning is effective enough at drawing you in, and the 2 greenhouses are really quite amazing with what they have accomplished there, you know, vegetables growing without soil and all that. For the extreme Disney fan, I really believe this ride captures the essence of what Walt Disney had originally intended for Epcot. Not Epcot the theme park, but E.P.C.O.T. the city. While a lot of what was written about the different advanced technology that would have been used citywide, I can picture that the advanced farming technology featured in this ride were things that would have been used on the city's outskirts. The lines are usually pretty long (pre-Soarin' days anyway), but it's worth the wait to go at least once.
Never been on the original or 2nd version, only the 3rd. It's cheap looking, a bit noisy at one point, but occasionally cute. I like Eric Idle as Nigel Channing both here and in the 3D movie next door. I don't have much of an attachment to Figment, and with no point of reference to how bad the 2nd version of this ride supposedly was, I can only say that on the whole, this is a mediocre ride at best.
I've never been a fan of Innoventions. Been to the one at Disneyland as well. What's the point? Most of the technology is really not all that advanced, and if your a geek like me you probably heard about it from one of your geek friends already or read about it on the net or magazine somewhere. Most theme park fans know Innoventions was Paul Pressler's baby that got him 1st noticed by Eisner, because it was an attraction that they didn't have to spend any of their own money on - they just got the different vendors to pay the money for their own displays. It's one big giant occasionally interesting string of commercials.
I don't know what the big deal is. Birnbaum's said this was the best Epcot movie, and I disagree. China 1st, Canada 2nd, France 3rd, Norway 4th. I think I liked the pre-show exhibit more than the film.
This is another one of those hidden Disney gems that you can easily miss. Nothing great, just a nice little surprise. Granted, the eye sore of an entrance is hard to miss, but once you're inside the ice cave, it's fun and freezing. The main draw of course is the free samples of soda from around the world. A couple of those sodas are plain terrible, but it doesn't matter if you don't like what you try, the point of it is to have fun trying it. My wife and I never miss it.
Most people rank It's Tough To Be A Bug as the best WDW 3D experience, but I prefer this one, as well as Mickey's Philharmagic. Bug was made for the two purposes of promoting the Pixar film (as per command from Eisner himself) and exploiting 3D and other in-your-face effects. Granted, while any 3D film is to exploit it's effects, the thing that sets Honey apart is that the effects are decently integrated into a storyline where 1 segment (character driven I might add) builds onto the next. Whereas in Bug, the 1st 2 bugs featured are there solely for the purposes of demonstrating an effect, and once they're gone from the stage, that's it. I'm probably thinking too much about it, but that was my gut reaction after 1st seeing Bug, and it made my appreciation for Honey that much more.
This movie about technology's impact on the environment is a bit preachy, but an important theme that mixed well w/ the pre-Soarin pavilion, and told well enough. The theater is just an ordinary movie theater with no preshow or themed queue. See it once, but probably not worth a repeat.
My favorite theme played during the fountain show is the exciting Rescuers Down Under theme. My favorite place to sit back an watch the fountain is outside the Electric Umbrella on an uncrowded weekday, sitting eating my burger and fries. You never want to set something up like this as being such a big deal, because it really isn't. It's just one of those nice things Disney does that if you have the time, it's nice to stop and take it in.
I like the films from the Wonder Cycles enough to give it an overall rating of "good." The camera goes into places obviously not accessible to a real bike, so it's fun to watch even if you're not the rider.
I've read enough negative reviews of this ride on various travel guides, that when I actually rode it, it wasn't that bad. Guess I was set up to expect much worse. I think everyone'e problem with it is that from the opening scene past the temple and restaurant, it looks like you might get something in the spirit of Pirates of the Carribean. But you don't get that. What you do get are some uneventfully pleasant scenes that amount to a tour book of Mexico. I don't mind riding this at all when there are no lines.
I don't care how dated this show looks, or how little money they obviously spent on it, I still think it's absolutely fabulous. Don't miss the preshow cartoon that sets up the plot of the main show. The storyline is cute, clever, and full of laughs. This is one show I can see over and over again. I'm highly disappointed by it's rumored closure.
This is a great idea for a ride, love Tim Matheson who plays the captain. However, I've never been more sick on any other ride than this one, so it's really hard for me to judge it fairly. This ride uses the same simulators as on Star Tours, and yet I never get sick on Star Tours. The motion on Body Wars is far worse. There's something about the physical movement generated by the idea that your vehicle is pretty much out of control and at the mercy of the body fluid currents. Half the time you're supposedly moving backwards. It all just made for an extremely unpleasant trip. The only WDW ride I refuse to go on.
The ratings here don't really do it justice. Granted, it's just an ordinary changing exhibit, but for a movie buff like me, you don't care about things like theming and storyline. All you care about is the movie props on display behind the glass cases. I've only been here once, and the props I saw are long gone, but it was very cool to see an actual Kermit and Robin posed on actual sets from Muppet Christmas Carol. The marionettes used in The Sound of Music were displayed. The best part was seeing the one of the actual 6-foot tall Terminator skeletons.
This is a pleasant relaxing diversion. The theming is well done, and it's interesting to see some of the backstage areas like where the animals from the safari actually sleep at night. On the flip side, I'm not sure why this ride is here to begin with. I guess it's supposed to convey a sense of going from onstage areas to offstage, offstage being your train's destination -- Rafiki's Planet Watch (originally named Conservation Station) where you learn what goes on behind the scenes at Animal Kingdom. But I don't know why we couldn't just walk there. I hated having to wait 15 minutes for a train going 1 way only with no narration. And frankly while Rafiki's is a decent attraction, is not worth the total 30 minute wait (both ways). You're essentially queing up twice for a kid's museum.
This is based on what was there in '99. I hear some things have changed since then... While not the most exciting thing in the park, it can be interesting and fascinating. It's not much to look at both outside an in, and has a kid's museum like feel to it. Nevertheless, I like being able to see the food the animals eat including the grubs (must be a guy thing). I like the animal cams. Although we didn't see any animals in the medical exam rooms, the idea is pretty cool. I even liked the video segments on endangered species. You kinda just have to expect that it's mostly for education, and then you might have a good time.
I have to admit I had more fun on this than I thought I would. But the thrills are purely from the coaster design itself, not the theming. I really don't like the theme of the entire area to begin with. Seriously, there's nothing special about this place. Nothing elevates it beyond an actual "roadside carnival" that it tries to emulate. The Disney publicity machine states the theme of the ride itself is the dinosaur extinction, but it really is just a ordinary ride w/ cardboard cutouts. I've read from time to time guests say we should grade it for what it was intended to be and in that sense it succeeds. I agree with this, but on the other hand, I don't like what it was intended to be to begin with. So there you are. A disappointment.
At a regular zoo, you'll walk along an ordinary concrete road lined with cages or individual themed habitats that have a few rocks, tree stumps, some patches of grass. Disney designs circles around the typical zoo experience by theming the areas between the habitats as if you are really somewhere in the wild (yeah, of course the concrete road is still there, but it's windy like an actual trail). The habitats themselves are better designed and far more lush than the dirt and rocks at the zoo. The highlight are the gorillas, although they tend to blend in with their environment a bit and need a bit of patience to spot.
At a regular zoo, you'll walk along an ordinary concrete road lined with cages or individual themed habitats that have a few rocks, tree stumps, some patches of grass. Disney designs circles around the typical zoo experience by theming the areas between the habitats as if you are really somewhere in the wild (yeah, of course the concrete road is still there, but it's windy like an actual trail). The habitats themselves are better designed and far more lush than the dirt and rocks at the zoo. Don't forget to stop by the bat house where you can see the bats without a barrier between you and the bat.
This is the main reason to go to Animal Kingdom. This is Imagineering at it's best (and there are hardly any animatronics!). The landscaping is beautiful, there are many different areas of the safari with different animals, there's an interesting storyline thrown in RE poachers that involve the few animatronics in the ride. When Walt Disney was designing the original Jungle Cruise for Disneyland, he wanted live animals, but was advised against it because they would mainly hide during the day and guests wouldn't be able to see any. Kilimanjaro Safaris is the realization of the original intention for the Jungle Cruise. The methods of keeping the animals from hiding are fascinating, including hiding most of their food in visible areas so that the animals are trained to look where the safaris can see, and air conditioning in certain rocks. The Imagineers keep the animals in their designated areas (so none of them get eaten by others) by hidden barriers like ditches, or chain link on the ground (animals won't cross this for some reason). The whole thing is really amazing. The only thing that may vary your experience is how enthusiastic your driver is, or maybe how good a day they're having. I can't speak to comments that the ride is better in the early morning -- I've never ridden it anytime but then.
Though I rated several categories "good," I feel overall this ride was just average. It's basically not much different from any other river raft ride. I have 2 conflicting thoughts. On the one hand, there isn't much to see. A lot of lush trees, and a scene where they're all burned down. On the other hand, I'm not sure I would have really noticed if there was more to see, you spend most of the time wondering when the raft is going to turn your back to the water so the next splash nails you. Maybe that's why there isn't much to see, no one pays much attention anyway. The theme of deforestation is a bit of a grim subject to be surrounded by while you're excitedly screaming after getting doused. A little bit of an odd mix.
I almost didn't see this show b/c of a negative review I once read in a travel book. But we had time, and the show was just about to start. The banter between the two trainers was cheesy but fun and they actually had a cute chemistry. They hadn't done the show so much that they'd lost their enthusiasm or surrendered to underlying cynicism. The birds were beautiful and majestic. I saw a similar show w/ birds and other animals @ Universal using several similar stunts and jokes, but because the Disney version was better themed and better performed, I prefer this one.
Probably the best live show at WDW. Incorporates several floats from the Disneyland Lion King parade. It's been several years since I last saw it, but as I recall, it's not really the story of the Lion King, but like the title implies, more of a festival. There's a lot of energy here.
In most polls, Tower of Terror and Rock 'N Roller Coaster seem to win for biggest thrill, but I think Dinosaur may be the best ride out there for sheer intensity. It's actually quite relentless in places, especially the end. A ride doesn't have to be fast to be thrilling, and Dinosaur is not fast. Rather, what makes this ride so intense is not purely the physical movements of the ride vehicles as in Tower and Rock 'N Roller, but in the animatronics combined w/ the vehicle's motion. While I believe the ride is too dark in places (to hide the fact there's nothing but black walls instead of props), several of the dinosaurs are quite scary. My wife pretty much hid her face the last third of the ride. Some have complained this is the noisiest ride ever, and it's true they could turn the volume down just a bit. On the other hand, the loud volume only adds to the sense of chaos, so in my book, that's generally a plus.
It's kinda misleading to refer to this attraction as a "trail" since the other 2 trails (Maharajah & Pangani) in Animal Kingdom are significantly longer, better themed, & have a ton more of animals to see. You're barely getting started when it ends. This is a poor man's version of a Disney's Animal Kingdom trail.
As this is the most recent 3D show built @ WDW, it has the best effects. Hopper is an animatronic wonder to behold. The theming is pretty well done, and the attraction posters in the lobby are clever. Although the other reviewers here all gave "excellent" ratings for storyline, I found the storyline lacking. It's meant to be a variety show, so it's a bunch of individual segments loosely strung together. In this way, the show seems like a big excuse to throw a bunch of 3D and other effects in your face. I suppose that's the point of 3D. But compared to something like Honey I Shrunk the Audience where each segment builds onto the next and the effects are an extension of the story, you don't notice the effects for the effects themselves. In Bug however, the 1st 2 bugs (stink bug, acid bug) are simply there to showcase the effect and build towards pretty much nothing later. Maybe I'm thinking too much, it's just a show, but that was my initial gut response the 1st time I saw it. It's also worth mentioning that a couple kids were crying due to the intensity, one of them left the theater during the show.
It's enjoyable once, but compared to Universal's tram, this tour is just a little too short for me. They really dropped the ball on this one in comparison to the Universal tour. Because the Studio built hardly any sound stages for actual filming, they just could never attract production companies to film there, and they rarely got any new sets or props to put on display when the filming was over. Consequently, there's not much to see here, and every several years the tour gets shorter. This year I hear that w/ the new automobile stunt show, they shortened the backstage tram even more. At least w/ Universal's tram, they periodically build new animatronic presentations like King Kong into the tour. Disney hasn't added anything like this ever. When the highlight of the tram is seeing the small plane Walt Disney used to scout locations for WDW, then you know something is missing.
This is a review of the older show, back when the Studio still had an actual animation department. It's really a shame they axed them. With respect to the attraction itself, it sort of defeats the whole purpose of having the attraction in the first place. I mean, the whole point is to see the animators at work (which is why you had to go during regular working hours to see any). I really appreciated seeing them at work. The Robin Williams / Walter Cronkite film is funny and enjoyable.
One of the best thrill rides at any theme park. The drops are thrilling even if you're in the dark most of the time and can't see the view. The vehicle itself is memorable for being able to move forward horizontally instead of just vertically. The theming is excellent throughout the hotel and the effects are pretty good. As a Twilight Zone story, there's not much of a point to it, at least not in spirit of the old TV show with it's moralistic overtones, but it's cohesive enough. Definitely merits numerous repeat visits.
It's nice to see a traditional audio animatronics attraction done decently. I expected to be a little bit more immersed in the action - the large vehicle size sorta prevents this - but this will do. The interaction w/ your tour guide is clever and surprising for the 1st time rider. The film montage at the end of the ride is kinda lame and it's a shame they chose to use so many Touchstone films that were hits, but not breakouts and certainly not significant films. The previews in the queue were a great tribute to the films in the ride.
Not a great show, silly story, and although it incorporates new technology (3D sound), it really has nothing to do with the movie making process the way the old sound show w/ Martin Short did. In that older show, you got your general education on sound in the movies. With Drew Carey, you just get a display of the technology without the explanation. This attraction is probably only fun if you're a Drew Carey fan like me. In real life, he loves WDW, and you can just see him having a great time making this attraction. I like that.
My favorite ride anywhere. The preshow where you meet Aerosmith is actually kinda cute. I did think the coaster's soundstage could have benefitted from more than cardboard cutouts, then again you're going so fast it's a relatively minor annoyance. Experiencing the launch 1st hand for the 1st time is shocking even though you've already watched it several x's before your turn. I love that you could see Steven Tyler's attraction photo on display in the store at the exit, although we couldn't find it last time we went.
I love reading anything about the man himself, Walt Disney, so this exhibit was a dream come true. Granted, I'd seen a lot of these displays at the Reagan Library a couple years ago, but it was great to finally see them somewhere on Disney property. I did wish it could have been a little more interactive, but this exhibit was one of the highlights of of our last WDW trip.
Not a great storyline, and I disliked that the camera wasn't stationary. In other words, it didn't look as if the screen were an actual stage like in Honey I Shrunk the Audience and It's Tough To Be A Bug. Nevertheless, I enjoy anything w/ the Muppets, and I try to see this out in Anaheim as much as I can. SPOILER AHEAD!! -- Favorite line in any attraction; Waldorf "Hey look at the guy w/ the Goofy mask!" Stadler "Uh, that's not a mask." Waldorf "Oh, sorry lady!"
I've only seen this show once. I must've gone on a bad day -- the stuntman performing Indy was terrible. He jogged through each stunt as if he were tired of doing it, no enthusiasm for the part. I realized he probably performed the same thing several times a day, but come on. The storyline itself was fun.
Oops, I'm reviewing the wrong show. Tried to delete it but I can't. Sorry.
Disappointing. I hear pretty good reviews of this show, but I wasn't that impressed. Each song segment in and of themselves were well done, but I thought the storyline was modified a bit too much. Granted I understand there are time constraints when you're in a theater where the temp is 90 degrees, but there you are. I think I was a bit prejudiced by the fact of seeing the very exciting Aladdin show at California Adventure before ever seeing this one.
Though I prefer the theming here than at the newer Blizzard Beach, Blizzard's slides are better (though I have yet to try the new blaster). Shark Reef is fun, but too short and not as many fish as I would have liked.
I am hugely impressed with this water park. I admit, when I initially read about the theme, I thought it was silly, but being there is another thing and I actually changed my mind about it and found it quite immersive and clever. Summit Plummet is absolutely the scariest thing at WDW, you get more of a rush here than Tower of Terror or any other thrill ride at WDW.
Superb show, certainly not to be missed. From beginning to end keeps the entire of the audience captivated, quickly moving through the storyline in the 25 minutes provided covering every detail that is needed. Have a friend who also does the show and it was recommended to me to come and see it - I enjoyed every minute of it. Superb performance by all.
Rock n' Roller Coaster is a shining example of what the future of Disney thrill rides is. Test Track, Mission: Space, Tower of Terror, Dinosaur, and this ride provide great templates for how the Imagineers put Disney Magic and Themeing into their rides, while still appealing to a new generation of riders. Rock n' Roller Coaster is a very short ride, but I dare you to only ride it once. 5/5
This ranks right up there with journey into your imagination as the worst rehab every. I personally liked Alien encounter, even though i knew it was not for everyone. This piece of garbage is scary, but is probably still too scary for children. So it is too scary for children, but not thrilling enough for adults. It uses only one new effect and has not one original idea in it. Thismight be the biggest piece of garbage I have seen in a long time.
While the ride itself is somewhat dated, it's not too bad of an all around experience. However, Ellen Degenres degrades the whole experience. Her attempts at humor drag down the whole ride. If she didn't host the Universe of Energy, I wouldn't hesitate to ride it numberous times, however I think next time I'm near the UE, I'll pass.
Finally went on Misson:Space. I'm not sure if it was that I had big expectations, but the ride was a dud. The take of was great. Other then that I really did not see anything special. It did not do anything more for me then Body wars or Star tours. I really cannot understand how people even get sick on the ride Body Wars is ten times worst. All the attraction made me do is miss the "Old" Epcot even more.
Disney MGM Studios creates the strongest and best atmosphere of any of the parks. It truly immerses you in an amazing environment which is known as, "The Hollywood that nevere was, but always will be." It easily has the two most gut wrenching experiences offered at a Disney park in Rock n Roller Coaster and the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror as well as fun for the little ones with their Playhouse Disney and Voyage of the Little Mermaid shows. It also sports arguably the best of the Disney nightime shows in Fantasmic.
Ulike any other theme park worldwide, Epcot is an amazing experience. No other park can blend a look into the future and a trip around the world so flawlessly. With the new additions of Mission: Space and Soarin', Epcot solidifies itself as a great Disney theme park.
While not abundant in thrill rides, no park does everything else as good. First and foremost a family park, Magic Kingdom has set the standard for theme parks since its construction in 1971. It has an amazing atmosphere which cannot be compaired to any other created by any other park. Regardless of how many parks Disney constructs on their Florida resort, the Magic Kingdom will always be the heart of the Walt Disney World Resort.
This is my personal favorite of the WDW parks, although the magic lies within the Magic Kingdom, Disney MGM Studios is amazing a fun and great place to be, with the two best thrill rides at the Disney parks and the shows are excellent. Disney Studios is also the home of the best night time show...FANTASMIC!
This would be the best parade i have ever seen! even though the transformations in this parade are not taking place it is overall a 10/10. The costumes & theming are excellent and also the vibrant colors of the floats and the storyline of this parade are awesome.
The latest attraction at the Disney MGM Studios fails to live up to my justifiably high expectations for a Disney attraction. My first complaint is that the video clips and our host seemed to be "talking down" to the audience. I draw this conclusion based on the general tone of the entire show-something difficult to pin down, yet a conclusion with which my entire family of Disney veterans agrees. Furthermore, the storyline was weak, and much of the show seemed to be filler or fluff. The choosing of a volunteer from the audience to "drive" one of the stunt cars was simply rediculous. It contributed nothing to the storyline, and, frankly, I was uncomfortable with the fact that, at my showing, an 11-year-old boy was made to feel embarassed in front of 50,000 guests. Finally, the seating area is in drastic need of better ventilation. Due to the heat and the fumes, my entire family felt light headed and nauseous after the show. The shows only redeeming quality: the stunt drivers. I truly enjoyed watching these young men showcase their incredible driving skills. Other than that, this show was a complete waste of time, and I would recommend seeing it only once, after you have done everything else at MGM at least twice. Anyone looking for a show like the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, which can be enjoyed again and again, you are out of luck. I sincerely hope that this is not indicative of the quality of all new attractions at WDW-this one, in my opinion, will not withstand the test of time, as people will not be eager to enjoy repeat viewings.
This parade is absolutely amazing! The first thing I should mention is the beautiful music played throughout the parade. The music is so beautiful that I bought the CD and I play it a lot at home on my ipod. It cleverly incorporates music from multiple movies, using a full orchestra to make it sound classical. The parade is very extravagant, and it seems very dramatic because of the music. After watching this parade, the Main Street Electrical Parade in Disneyland seemed kind of plain and dull. It lacks the soundtrack as well as the variety of characters (some Disney, somee created specifically for the parade) and floats that Spectormagic has. Spectromagic seems more innovative and magical than MSEP, but that may be just because of the music. Then again, sometimes it just takes music to change an entire tone of the parade.
Great Memories as a kid watching the starland show. Gummi Bears were my favourite along with Ducktales & Chip 'N' Dale
I had the chance to ride the Disneyland version of this attraction, which I understand to be very similar to the WDW version. I found the strongest aspect of this attraction to be the coherent story. The scenes seemed to logically flow from one to another. There is also a nice effect with the train. However, the low-tech 2-D scenery was not very engaging. Also, the attraction contained a couple of elements that I felt were inappropriate for younger (under 10) riders. Overall, I found Mr. Toad to be somewhat entertaining.
Awsome for all ages From educational to thrilling The countries to KIDCOT fun stops and everything in between Epcot is an excellent disney theme park
This high speed "car thrill" puts you right into the test seat and sends you through hair raising stunts and hairpin turns... Even a high speed portion. Not to be missed, the que and themingis excellent, guiding you through a real car factory in which airbags/seatbelts etc are being tested.
This ride, was so amazing. this is just...Out of this world! (No pun intended). The Quue Area, Just made me feel like, i really was, At Mission Control. Then, the amount of Gforces, Made me so scared, but it was worth it. It was the most amazing thing ever. I reccomend ot anyone over 10.
This was one of my favorite all-time Disney attractions until they took it out. Alien Encounter was something that could not be described, only experienced. The effects were awesome and the suspense and fear was thrilling.
Wonderful fireworks and choreography! I love it...I bought the soundtrack, video taped it, and took 60 something pictures of it! Absolutly amazing! I highly recommend. this show! It is definatly my favorite! (IllumiNations: ROE is my 2nd favorite)
This parade doesn't hold a candle to the Main Street Electrical Parade! SpectoMagic is not near Magic! It is absolutly horrible!
It's a great ride. If you want a thrill you won't get one. It's 3D, but if you don't like 3D you don't have to keep your eyes open all the time. Very interactive as the characters come out to you. Definetly a Disney Classic.
this ride is great and has few thrills but it is fun and u always have to look out for the targets so your always on edge. Overall its a great ride
I'm so happy that I decided to go on Splash Mountain. I am terrified of heights and drops, and for years, wouldn't go on. I've always wanted to though, because it looked like so much fun. I made my father tape the ride so I knew if there was anything he was leaving out when he told me about it. I went on, held on white knuckled to the bar and survived! It was so much fun. After a while you don't even feel the drop. My advice is just scream and before you can finish your scream you're already at the bottom! Fantastic ride. Great for all ages and stomach problems...lol..= ).
There are many things that make this attraction excelent. The time spent in line is well worth the duration of the ride. The theming and storyline are te best, along with multiple drops and even the view from the top of Splash Mountain make it a top notch attraction!
Would ride it again if not a long wait had some interesting effects like Stitch
This is one of the few rollercoasters that is fun for ALL ages. It is exciting enough to give you that rush of a roller coaster but isn't so intense that kids cant ride.
I really do miss this attraction. Unfortunately, I was only able to ride it a few times. I have been on Mission: Space and comparing would be like apples to oranges. The technology of M:S is great, but nothing can beat this ORIGINAL attraction.
"Please let all the bettles, bugs, and cochroaches safely exit the theater." A reaaly exciting and intense 3-D show with the stars of A BUG"S LIFE that will have you jumping off your seat, literaly!
What's the sign you know you had one hell of a ride? When you get off and you feel your knees knocking. The harder they knock.. the better the ride. If guests at Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) can hear your knees knockin' - get back on Mission: SPACE ;)
The Rock n'Roller Coaster is a very fast and fun roller coaster, right now, it is the only one of it's kind in the WDW Theme Parks, it goes 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. It is a very cool ride, if you like fast and energetic roller coasters, than this is definatly the ride for you.
Fantasmic! is a great show to watch after a long day at Disney-MGM Studios!!
All I can say is, if people see the themeing here as 'average', what would one expect to see when the theming is 'excellent???? I think this park is beautifully built and maintain and captures the hearts and souls of every nation, young and old. May it live forever!
When you enter the park, everything is Disney! And there're magic everywhere. Let this be a place for your family fun. It's great for every one and every time.
This's one of the greatest show I've ever seen. You'll feel like every wishes will come true!
I had a great time on this one...Even tho I only scored like 80,000. Good job guys
An amazing 3D adventure, with all the faviorate disney Characters: Mickey, Donald, Ariel, Simba, Peter Pan, Aladen, Jasmine, Beauty and the beast's luminare and friends. And the best part of the show is when they Make the whole theatere smell like fresh bake pie!
A ride that has better themeing in the Queuing Area than in the actual ride itself. Disney was a penney pincher when building and scaled back the origional plans, and it shows.
It cannot get any better than Splash at Magic Kingdom. Sure, other attractions come VERY close...but Splash is one of a kind! Most attractions have such long lines, and the duration does not make up for it. Not so here! The lines are long, and the ride is long and very detailed, so that each time you go, you notice something new. The drop may be extremely intimidating, but it looks worse than it is. Aside from that, the attraction has MUCH more to it than the various drops. I don't know what else to say...just go ride it!
This and BTMRR are tied in second place, because Splash is my favorite. Now, I do indeed love Space...as long as I can get a fastpass for it. Right before closing, the lines are empty as well, and sometimes we take advantage. It's hilarious watching a herd of people hauling patootie to the empty lines lol. Anyway, even though this ride isn't really fast, it does FEEL fast. It's very jerky, but somehow that makes the ride feel more exciting right? What my incessant rambling is trying to say is that you should definitely check this out. A lot of little kids who meet the height requirement get freaked out. But if they decide to ride, it'll quickly become a favorite!
Ok, so it doesn't have the same technology as Winnie the Pooh or Philarmagic. It's still cute. Well, it used to be less cute because of the witch popping out so much. The witch still pops out, but it shouldn't be too bad for kids. Every kid is different though, so be cautious. I especially love Dopey waving good-bye to everyone in the end. I'm very biased to Dopey (who isn't?!) and that is why I love seeing him in the ride =). If you have time and are a Seven Dwarfs fan (Snow White doesn't appear as much ::shrugs::), definitely check it out. Otherwise, there are cuter attractions out there...sorry lol.
I don't go on this attraction as often as I used to...and I don't know exactly why. It's a classic, but I've always felt it's too short. I still enjoy it though. From the skull right before the fall to the "pata cochina" ("yucky foot" in Spanish lol), this is a family favorite. I guess I'll have to revisit it again if I enjoy it so much lol. For first timers, this is a must in order to appreciate an attraction personally supervised by Walt Disney before his death. Kids may be a bit frightened, but not as much as say Haunted Mansion.
This used to be one of my favorites at MK. However, the lines have become ridiculously long for the duration, and for the fact that it's a continuously loading ride. The ONLY worth while thing in this attraction is that you "fly" through London and Neverland aboard a pirate's ship. No matter how old you get, that is always appealing. Nevertheless, I will not wait in an hour to fly over London and Neverland in a minute or two. For the kids, this is definitely worth it. For everyone else, either Fastpass it (after you've fastpassed everything else) or wait until right before closing.
This has quickly become one of my favorite attractions at Magic Kingdom. FINALLY, Donald Duck gets an attraction where he's in the center of it all. Please don't let the Mickey in "Mickey's Philarmagic" fool you...he's only in the beginning and the end...and I love that! Donald is adorable and funny in this attraction! The animation is very nice and it never ceases to amaze me when everyone (kids and adults) reaches out to grab some jewels or apple pie lol. Speaking of apple pie, keep your noses alert for that delightful smell. My only problem with this attraction is that it's too short. It felt like we were being rushed through each movie, with Peter Pan getting the shortest amount of time in the attraction. Seeing as how this attraction is extremely kid-friendly, a longer movie would have been great. Anyway, this is not to be missed at Magic Kingdom. Don't miss it!!!
A great way to end a day at WDW. There is a large viewing area from anywhere around the world showcase lagoon. It is an excelent show with fireworks, water, and fire.
It's a good ride for a tough stomach, when its open now that the land is in SEASONAL operation.
This so-so ride is a great when you need a to relax. Queueing time is excellent as there's never a wait. However, there are no thrills what-so-ever and no story at all. Overall a mildly entertaining boat ride with it's a small world style dolls (uh-oh).
This ride does seem like a rip-off of Star Tours, but it's still fun. I do agree that it's rough, but I guess that's why I think it's thrilling.