Day Four
We grabbed a quick breakfast at CBRs food court and then waited for the Mears shuttle. They were quite late this time and ended up sending a cab. Unfortunately they didn't tell him where to find us so it took even longer. We headed out for Universal Studios. The weather began chilly but warmed up to the nicest day of our trip so far. We began with Twister. It's a simulated storm that you watch. I had seen it before and remembered it as being fairly good, but this time I got soaked. I was towards the back and it felt like someone threw a bucket of water at my left side. I was not amused. I really think that the use of water is unnecessary, especially when the weather isn't that warm to begin with. Universal seems to think it adds to the experience somehow. We wandered through New York and I was disappointed to see they had done away with Kongfrontation. I always liked that one. In its place however, there is construction for a new ride is based on one of my favorite movies franchises. The Mummy's Revenge based on The Mummy and the Mummy Returns. The subway portion is still pretty effective but Paul said he it felt a little dated to him. After the incident at Twister, I was worried about getting even more wet when the water came rushing at us, but I stayed dry this time. Paul went on Jaws, but I decided not to risk it as they announced that we would get soaked on this one. He didn't get the least bit wet. Sigh. I noticed that the backlot tour was missing as well. How can both parks get rid of this major staple of a movie based theme park at the same time? Odd. Now we came to one of my favorite rides. It ranks third on my list actually. Men In Black is such a completely great ride! It has a clever entrance, a faithful reproduction of the movies' set and it's just plain fun to ride. I'm not much of a game player, but I enjoy trying it there. We ate at the International Food Court and I was pretty disappointed with the food. I had Chinese and Paul had pizza. His was okay, but I barely ate mine. We decided to go on MIB one more time since the line was so short. Next up was Back to the Future. The line went very quickly. I like the pre-show video and set up for this ride, but it is one of my least favorite rides of all. If I don't manage to get a front seat, my head gets bonked on the back of the car or I spend all my time trying not to hit my head. The screen is blurry and the images aren't very well done. You can hear riders in other cars on either side of you, which is very distracting and confusing. Paul didn't like the way you get thrown against the restraint bar repeatedly. Honestly, Universal, this one could be scrapped for something better. I, for one, would not miss it. Despite Paul's skepticism, I managed to get him to go on E.T.'s Adventure with me. I appreciate the fact that Steven Spielberg is in the pre-show. I really love the way the line is inside a fabulous forest setting. I like the "bikes" you get to ride. I really like this ride until we get to E.T.'s home planet. Then it's so incredibly saccharine, it almost rivals It's a Small World. I guess that's why it's in the kiddie section. A shame really. It has such potential. Also, I really think they should drop the name gimmick. E.T. saying my name is not a big thrill and half the time you can't understand him. I'd rather the line just moved faster instead. Next was the new Shrek 4-D attraction. The pre-show took place in a fairly well done torture chamber with video of the three little pigs and Pinocchio warning us to run away while there's still time. The main auditorium is a bit of a let down. It has almost no theming what so ever. The movie was highly entertaining, but I felt that the seat movements and bumps were very unnecessary. It didn't really add to the show at all. And of course they felt the need to spray water at us, losing points in my book. We checked the time and headed over to see the Ghostbusters show. I had been to the attraction they used to have and was hoping for something similar. I was very disappointed. The show was essentially four guys doing karaoke and dancing with Beetlejuice controlling the show. Most of the crowd wandered off during the performance. The new Jimmy Neutron ride was alright but geared towards children. I think it's possible to reach a broader audience, but I can see the appeal of having things specifically for children. We went to Terminator 3-D next. I've seen this show so many times, but it never fails to amaze me. Sometimes the actors are better, but it's such a complete spectacle. Film, live action, explosions, 3-D effects. Wow! It is hands down the best attraction anywhere. Next up was the Universal Horror Makeup show. I've never seen this one before. It was quite funny. I felt quite sorry for the poor "volunteer" who barely spoke English. The waiting area was even more interesting to me however. It was filled with props and sketches from "The Mummy" and "The Mummy Returns". Fascinating stuff. As we left the park, I noticed one of the big differences between Universal and Disney. Slidewalks and escalators. You almost never see them at Disney. They can be quite useful at the end of a long day.
We grabbed a cab over to "The Pirate's Dinner Adventure". They had an offer to upgrade your ticket for $5.00, so we did. It meant we got seats in front and the opportunity to be chosen to participate in the show. They let us in to a large room with several bars, shops and two tables full of appetizers. We had our pictures taken in front of a piratical setting and then filled our plates and sat for a bit. That felt good. The appetizers were pretty mediocre. A man came out and entertained the crowd for a bit. We were surprised at the size of the crowd on a Tuesday night during the off season. After a while the pirates arrived and shanghaied us. We were taken in groups by ticket color to boat/tables that corresponded to that color. They surrounded a large pirate ship with water surrounding that. We were instructed to cheer for the red pirate. Most of the action took place on the ship but sometimes our pirate would be on a mast in front of us. I've done this show once before and the main thing that's changed is they have added more audience participation. It makes the whole thing more interesting, at least for those who got chosen which we did not. It's a fun evening anyway. Afterwards we had reservations for a Mears shuttle, but the temperature had dropped considerably and we didn't feel like waiting for them so we caught a cab. It turns out that Mears has most of the business within Disney property, or so our driver said so he had no idea where our hotel was. Rather than risk him driving around all night we had him drop us off at Pleasure Island. Once again, we ended our night watching the antics at the Adventurers Club. If it hadn't been so cold we might have checked our more of the island. Well, we were content to be warm and entertained.
Day Five
Wednesday was by far the coldest day we'd had on our little trip. You could see your breath that morning. I dressed in layers hoping for it to warm up later. We grabbed a quick bite at the food court and caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom. I warned Paul that this park was usually the busiest and was proven right despite the cold. Just outside the park are the 75 Mickey statues for the anniversary. It was just too cold to spend anytime looking at them. Once inside, we ducked into a shop to get warm and browse. I figured we could stay inside for a good portion of the journey to Tomorrowland. There was just one problem; the character I've been trying to get my picture with for years was on the other side of the street. Robin Hood! We ran over and got a few pictures with him and several others as well. So on to Tomorrowland. I was very disappointed to see that Timekeeper was closed again. I know it's not terribly exciting for some, but it's so well done. I really wanted Paul to experience it. I knew that they had closed Alien Encounter to make way for a ride about Stitch, so no disappointments there. I'd gotten to do it several times and won't really miss it. It was well done, but could've been better. We got in line for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. It went quickly and we were shooting aliens in no time. I thoroughly enjoy this ride. Unfortunately, the person trying to steer has a bit of a handicap. It's well themed and fun even if I can't seem to hit the broadside of a barn. Paul thought it was great. We went through twice and the second time we bought the photo, a first for me as they never seem to be very flattering no matter how hard I try. We did the Carousel of Progress partly because it no longer exists in DL. The jump in time at the end is a little disconcerting and that song is insidious, but it has such a strong feeling of Disney spirit to it. We moved on to Fantasyland and rode the Snow White ride. Very silly, but nostalgic. The wait for Peter Pan was 35 minutes, mostly due to Fastpass holders. We hardly got to move forward at all. I think that system needs to be reworked. A ride like that shouldn't have a long wait. I definitely prefer the DL version of this ride. As we shopped I decided that it wasn't going to warm up much more so I gave in and bought a Tinkerbell sweatshirt. It helped immensely. Next was the Haunted Mansion. The line went quick and we enjoyed it thoroughly. It's such a nice long ride. Entertaining, detailed and well themed. I was thrilled to see that they've done some merchandising for it as well. We cut through Frontierland to Adventureland, to do the Jungle Cruise. Our guide was very talented and even had a few jokes I don't remembering hearing before. I like the few things that make this differ from the one in DL. The temple with the tiger is a nice touch. Pirates of the Caribbean has always been one of my favorite rides. It's nice and long, and highly detailed. Even its waiting area is themed. I was a bit surprised and displeased to see that the smaller interior shop after the ride has been closed. I thought with the success of the movie there might be a little more effort put into this area, not less. Where are the Captain Jack Sparrow dolls?!! The restaurant across the way has been closed for awhile now as well. I never had any complaints with the food and it was a nice place to take a break. I went to have my picture taken with Captain Hook, but he was upset about my new sweatshirt. Hey, it's not my fault! They didn't have any with him on them. I zipped up my jacket and he was mollified. We went back to Tomorrowland and had a snack at Cosmic Rays. Rays jokes are so corny, but it's nice that there's an attempt at entertainment. Paul wanted to do the people mover because he remembered it from his last trip. As we rode I told him about DL's failed attempt to soup it up, the Rocket Rods. I like the People Mover better. The tracks just aren't made to go that fast. Once when I tried to ride the RR, my seatbelt wouldn't buckle. I still have visions of what would have happened if they had started it up. We felt like we'd done as much as we wanted to by then. We were tired and decided to head back to the resort for a nap. Afterwards, we needed to get food before going to see La Nouba. Since we didn't have PS for anywhere, we decided to try a new place, Shutters at our resort. To our delight, the food was very good. I had shrimp with a side of mashed sweet potatoes. We shared the signature dessert. It was all very good and the wait staff was first rate. We bussed over to Downtown Disney for the show. I've seen this one once before but it's been a few years. Of all the Cirque Du Soleil shows I've seen, this is easily my favorite. I love the trampoline act and the way that the performers act as an audience for every act. The performers who fly on the long red curtains are spectacular. I highly recommend seeing this show. Paul was a little skeptical, but he absolutely loved it. Afterwards we walked over to Pleasure Island and went to…yes, we went to the Adventurers Club. We were addicted. It happens.
Days Six/Seven
We ate a quick breakfast at CBR and caught a bus for Epcot. Paul was looking forward to it, but I had my doubts. To me, it's just too spread out. Lots of walking, but not that much to really enjoy. While getting our bags checked we overheard someone say that the Vice President of Disneyland Paris was walking by. It's so odd to see someone in a suit in the park. We began with Spaceship Earth. While riding I began to realize my biggest problem with Epcot. I mentioned it to Paul and he concurred. Almost the entire park lacks a sense of humor. It has a few mild incidences, but for the most part it just isn't at the same level as the other parks. We went to the Living Seas because Paul couldn't remember if he'd seen it, although it holds absolutely no interest for me. We didn't stay long. Next we went to the Bland…I mean the Land. I mentally renamed it that after the remodel of the ride. The line for the ride was so long that we didn't even think twice about skipping it. We had a snack at the food court as I usually do and pondered why Epcot just doesn't work. Another problem I find is the segmented nature of the park. The World showcase is so different from the Future World portion. I warned Paul that they had changed Journey Into Imagination. As silly as the old version was, it was still better. He agreed that he missed the old version. This one is just lacking somehow. We did enjoy Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I think the pre-show video is different since the last time I saw it, and much better. The show itself is very entertaining. Definitely one of the best attractions at Epcot. We started the long hike around the World Showcase. We agreed that we would skip the movies since we had both seen them at least once and they are pretty dry. We strolled and browsed in the shops. By the time we reached the other end, we were pretty tired out. We were tempted to leave but it seemed a shame to miss the new ride, Mission Space, completely. Paul decided to try it so we made a plan to meet in half an hour. Unfortunately he encountered some residual unpleasantness from a previous passenger and had to wait for another pod. Despite this small set back, he said the ride didn't bother him. It made me glad I decided to give it a miss. We debated about doing the Universe of Energy since Paul had never seen it since the remodel, but it was getting late and we were getting hungry. The original plan was to eat at Epcot and then watch Illuminations, but we decided to skip it. It's a nice show, but it had been a long trip and the weather was not what we'd hoped for. A quiet dinner seemed to be in order. We went to Downtown Disney once more and checked for seating at the Portobello Yacht Club. We got right in. It got much busier soon after we were seated so we felt quite lucky. The food was very good. I had the parmesan encrusted steak and Paul had the prosciutto wrapped tuna. The service was very good as well. We were pleased with our choice of venues. Since it was our last night, we wanted to spend the whole evening seeing the shows at the Adventurers' Club. We had managed to miss the early shows each night so far. It was a bit busier than it had been on previous nights but by this time we were experts. We had a wonderful time. We even got to interact a bit more than previously. Tish, the maid was setting up a song where everyone was to get excited when their state was called. Since anyone from out of the country would feel left out, she was assigning states that often went unrepresented. When she tried to give away Montana, my home state, I felt the need to speak up. She said they had never before had anyone from Montana and she genuflected for me. It was very amusing. We stayed until they kicked us out.
The next day we packed and did a little last minute shopping in Downtown Disney. We took the Mears shuttle to the airport. The security line was insanely long and the ceiling was all torn up for some sort of maintenance. It made for a miserable wait. We finally got to our gate. The flight, though long, was uneventful. There was a long delay getting our bags, but we did manage to make it home.
I fear that I am getting jaded from my many trips, but I still enjoy myself. I just don't feel the need to do everything like I used to. I am looking forward to seeing what new rides they come up with although I miss a few of the ones that have gone away. I wish making the new didn't mean doing away with the old. I hope they will realize that faster isn't always better, and don't leave out the humor, please.
