Disney 2008 - Day Four

I can’t really put my finger on why… but this was my least favorite day at Disney. We spent the day at Hollywood Studios. The newest Disney attraction is here at the Studios, Toy Story Mania… but the line was about 70 minutes all day. I didn’t know this going in… but fastpasses are usually completely gone by 11AM in the morning. So while I was off getting FP’s for Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror… everything for Toy Story Mania was completely used up. I was really disappointed about this. I guess it’s something to look forward to next year.

I was able to take Emily on Star Tours… which, for obvious reasons, has been a long time favorite of mine. She smiled through the whole thing. I will say though that this ride is very dated now. An update needs to be made… perhaps a foray into the battle above Coruscant that is depicted in Episode III? That would be stellar. The rumor right now is that it is going to be a pod-racing theme. I really wouldn’t be as excited about that.



Indiana Jones Stunt Show. This too is getting tired. The opening sequence is good… but the rest of the show just needs to be refreshed. Change the storylines and sets. Use something from Last Crusade or Temple of Doom… or even the new one. Just rewrite portions of the show every three years or so… just to keep the audience on their toes. I think this show should stay… especially if they plan on making an Indy 5. But a freshening up would be in order.

We figured something out about Aaron. Explosions scare him. He can handle dark rides well. But put him in a stunt show with loud explosions and it terrifies him. It’s interesting to see how each kid handles and adapts to Disney entertainment.

Rock N Roller Coaster… good ride. Unfortunately, though, the Aerosmith soundtrack wasn’t working and it was kind of weird going through the ride without loud music pumping in your ears. I didn’t get to Tower of Terror or the Great Movie Ride… but those don’t concern me as much. I was able to take in the Auto Stunt Show… which is ok, but once you’ve seen it… it loses it’s pizzazz.

We went to the Sci-Fi Dine In for dinner. We went here last year too. I liked it a lot better last year, and probably wouldn’t try to go here again for a meal… maybe dessert… but not a meal. Food was not great… and the atmosphere that hooked me last year was not quite as cool to me this year. One minor annoyance… the same movie clips they showed last year were used this year. Again, let’s spend a little time freshening up things for the repeat visitors.



I think Hollywood Studios could be a great park again… but everything just felt so old, dated, and thrown together. Major work needs to be done here. The Animation tour; the Back Lot Tour; even the Beauty and the Beast show needs work. Oh well. We left the park early, so we skipped Fantasmic. After a long day at the Magic Kingdom… just about all of us were exhausted. The kids went to the pool for a little bit. I did some reading and relaxing. And we geared up for our final day at Epcot.

A Cardinal Fan in a Cub World

Emily is not afraid to speak her mind when it comes to bashing the Cubbies!! She does it to grandparents, church-people, friends, etc. So apparently her school was going to wear Cubs gear yesterday to cheer on the Cubs and the teacher asked them to write a reminder note to bring home that said "wear Cubs clothes tomorrow". When I opened Emily's backpack, this is what her note said...."Wear Cubs clothes tomorrow but we won't because we don't like them". It was killing her to have to bring home a note about the Cubs, so she just HAD to add an extra line about how we don't like them.

Josh and I got a pretty big kick out of this!! He's trained her right, I guess.

I have to admit that the Cardinals and fan situation is probably the thing I miss most about not living in St. Louis anymore. I used to love having Cards days at school and being able to wear my jeans and Cards shirt. I loved that the teachers' conversation in the lunchroom everyday had to do with the game the night before and what was going on with the team. I loved that my kids would talk about being at the game the night before or would share their excitement about going to the game that night. I loved that taking time off from school to go to a World Series game was not only approved by the principals, but cheered on by them!! It was just a great environment and I absolutely loved the excitement toward the Cardinals - everywhere I went. I am sad that as big as a Cardinal fan as Emily is...she won't grow up in it, but she's proved she can hold her own and definitely won't turn. Now we just have to work on Aaron!!

2008 Disney Trip - Day 3

Our second park day was spent at Magic Kingdom. It was much cooler… but with the coolness came a lot of rain. In fact, it never really stopped raining until later in the evening. It was still a nice day. Magic Kingdom has a ton of stuff to do indoors which makes it easier to manage rainy weather.



Magic Kingdom also has the most fast pass attractions of any park… and I took complete advantage of this. The four of us were there for the rope drop and I took off immediately to get fast passes for Space Mountain. Whenever I was able to get another fast pass… I would leave the group and go get one for another attraction. I am not kidding… but by mid afternoon… I had fast pass tickets for seven attractions in my pocket. That night we rode a lot of big rides with pretty much no wait at all. Good stuff.



We had dinner at a place off of Main Street called the Crystal Palace. This is a buffet restaurant… but with Winnie the Pooh characters. As you’ll see by some of the pictures… both Emily and Aaron loved this aspect of the meal! Also, Uncle Kevin… who is known for his quick wit… also joined in on the fun. He had something different to say to all four characters:

To Piglet: ‘I am a big fan of your work.’ (Piglet was his favorite Pooh character as a kid) To Pooh: ‘You need to lay off the honey, you’ve been packing on the pounds recently.’ To Eyeore: ‘I see the Prozac is working for you.’ To Tigger: ‘You need to remember to take your Ritalin.’ Funny stuff.



I also experienced a first in Magic Kingdom. A couple of years ago, they redid the ‘Alien Encounter’ ride and re-themed it as a Stitch attraction. I gotta tell you, it was pretty lame. It could’ve been much, much better than it was. I actually liked the old attraction better than this one. I would grade it a solid D. They need to just completely rethink this space for a better attraction.

We stayed for ‘Wishes.’ Disney does a tremendous job with their fireworks. It was the first time we had stayed for Wishes since 2005. Magic Kingdom is just so huge and it’s opened the longest of any other park on a normal day. It makes for a long day… it still remains my favorite theme park.

I’m a huge fan of Adventureland. We had a terrific Jungle Cruise guide this time around. She had some great lines that I hadn’t heard before… like when we sailed through a dark and creepy Asian temple… she started eerily singing ‘It’s a small world after all…’ That cracked me up. She also said something like ‘If you think this ride is boring then go check out the Hall of Presidents and come back… then we’ll talk.’ She finished up by saying: ‘Enjoy your stay in the Magic Kingdom… where your dreams come true. Then the park closes… and MY dreams come true.’ I continue to enjoy other Adventureland attractions like the Enchanted Tiki Room and one of my favorite attractions on Disney property: Pirates of the Caribbean. Magic Kingdom continues to amaze me in its’ scope and creativity. As an aside… it was probably Emily’s favorite all around park as well.