Mark9 Posted July 16, 2015 Report Share Posted July 16, 2015 Initially I was against writing a trip report on Disney World. I've done two previously and sparked the odd debate on the quality of Disney and Universal. Nonetheless, with a month now passed, I think I can be objective on the trip enough to do a write-up. So here goes. Since my last trip in 2012 a lot has changed. Not only has WDW seen a lot removed ( and a few things added), I've also been to many other parks including four trips to Paris and a trip to California. I think it's fair to say that Chris and I were both a tad concerned that the amazing memories we'd gathered of our previous visits would be dashed. Suffice to say, thankfully that wasn't the case. So firstly.... The New Seven Drawfs Mine Train The big new (D ticket) ride and has taken the crown for busiest attraction on property. I've some mixed views on this. Although it is unquestionably a decent ride, it has a few issues that stop it being a stand out. Firstly it's way too short. It's a ride of three parts, the first and third being ride sections and the middle being a dark ride section. I have to say I love the middle of this ride. The Drawfs working around you, the great animatronics and the singing is really immersive and fun to be in. This bit rides ironically rides pretty well in the dark. The only problem is it's way too short and could have done with 10/20 seconds more ride time. It doesn't help that the rollercoaster parts are too short as well with nothing really standing out. Oh and the rocking barrels barely registers. I'm a big fan of the queue line games and a huge fan of some of the old props from Snow Whites Scary Adventure used in a house near the break run. The biggest positive is that it fits the bill of a stop gap ride between The Great Goofini and Big Thunder. Festival of Fantasy Parade New parade, it's got some pretty awesome floats. I'd forgotten just how much of the Magic Kingdom gets cut off during the parade, particularly when her Haunted Mansion. Big Thumbs up for the great music in this new parade. Harambe Village Extension/ Lion King theatre With Avatar land at full throttle, a lot of changes have occurred to Animal Kingdom and it very much looks like a building site. With preparation, a new Lion King theatre has been built as well as a new eating area around Kilimanjaro Safari. Both areas look outstanding and you'd hardly belief that they were recent additions as fit into the surrounding themed areas perfectly. Chris announced during the trip that Animal Kingdom was now his favourite Disney park. Quite a claim. I've always been very fond of the place as I love Everest, Dinosaur and Kilimanjaro. I'm not so much concerned about Avatar as other enthusiasts, Cars was hardly and excelling franchise and yet the quality of Radiator Springs in California more then met my expectations. Oh and Starbucks opened. It has my favourite cupcakes so I approve. Star Wars Weekender One of the big reasons for this trip was this weekender. Here was a chance to meet rare characters and to Star Wars it out with parades, shows and special talks with legendary Star Wars characters. Expect to see more Star Wars everywhere else from this year on. And finally... MAGICBANDS So the big new investment, the one thing that saw refurbishments cut in California and seen as more important then more e-tickets in Florida, is the magic wristband. Very simple to use if you have a shred of common sense (Oh dear), this is used as your park entry, it stores your fastpass times, your disney dining plan credits and can be used to pay for anything around the parks. If you savvy you can really make it work to your advantage and without it we wouldn't have bothered with Rock N Rollercoaster for example. The main issue we found is that everyone around us just didn't have common sense in either making it work or using it properly. A lot of fastpass queues had people struggling to tap their bands to the pads or just getting in the way. It's evened queues around the parks down too so no more 5 minute queues for Haunted Mansion or Small World. In theory, it has bought down the queues for the coasters but some rides such as Jungle Cruise have seen massive increases. For some reason it had a 120 minute queue on our first day at Magic Kingdom. So I think it was a worthwhile addition but I'm not particularly sure it was necessary. Everything else in the parks were awesome. I reignited my love with the best tower, found my love for rides again on things like Thunder, Space and Splash mountain. And finally met Beymax! Thanks for reading see you next time in Hong Kong. pluk, Tom, Kerfuffle and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt 236 Posted July 16, 2015 Report Share Posted July 16, 2015 Interesting read, I think the magic bands an interesting idea and with a moderate amount of looking in to it could work well. I'm excited for the launch of Avatar land and I think the installation of this area (with its Yeo major rides & theming) along with the nighttime Kilimanjaro and nighttime show the park will feel a lot more complete although apparently delays might push the opening until 2018 ( when I'm thinking of going). How was Holkywood studios? As its park that's in the middle of a long refurb yet is closing tonnes of attractions like there's no tommorow yet not replacing them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted July 16, 2015 Report Share Posted July 16, 2015 Thanks for reading see you next time in Hong Kong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark9 Posted July 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2015 How was Holkywood studios? As its park that's in the middle of a long refurb yet is closing tonnes of attractions like there's no tommorow yet not replacing them. Didn't miss Tram Tour one little bit and on my visit the Animation place was still open, hence why I was able to meet Beymax. Hollywood Studios is an odd park, it really doesn't fit in with the other three hence why it's going through a massive change at the moment. On paper with Tower, Star Tours and Fantasmic it should be well up there but for some reason the park doesn't gel with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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