WebmasterBarry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
Part 35: The Walt Disney World Thrill Ride Tour Disney-MGM Studios: Thrill Ride Central
May 30, 2001
The cast:
Me (the 29-year old)
If there is a Disney park with thrill rides, Disney-MGM Studios is it. The Magic Kingdom has the most rides that can qualify as thrill rides, but Disney-MGM Studios has the ones with quality. Thrill rides should scare the living tar out of Grandma. The thrill intensity factor of Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror are the highest that you will find at a Disney park.
I headed into the park at around 4:45 pm. As I was walking to the entrance, I noticed some crying kids. That got me thinking. Nearly everyplace I went in Disney World today, I would at least hear one crying baby or a kid whining about something. I thought it would be a good DIS Convention game to count the number of crying kids that you see in the parks throughout the day. The person with the highest number at the end of the day gets a prize!
I entered the park and checked the information board. Star Tours had a 15-minute wait, Tower of Terrors wait was 13 minutes, and Rock N Roller Coaster had a 40-minute wait. My plan was to pick up a Fast Pass for Rock N Roller Coaster and do Star Tours and Tower of Terror. I got a Rock N Roller Coaster Fast Pass and my return time was 5:50 to 6:50. With good luck, I would be able to finish the tour at 6:00 pm.
I was pretty happy since it was feasible that we could do the thrill ride tour before Tower of Terror ERT starts at 8:00. I was pretty giddly as I headed to Star Tours. The posted wait for Star Tours was 15 minutes, but I had to wait only five minutes and that was for the preshow. When I got on this ride, my mind tends to wander. My mind did on this ride. I was thinking about the DIS Convention thrill ride tour and making some plans. Again, I think I am desensitized to simulator rides from riding Back to the Future a lot.
Next was Tower of Terror. The posted wait was 13 minutes, but I walked right on. The boiler room wait was only a few minutes long. Elevators were going out half full. As I was being directed to a seat, I noticed that I was the first person to fill the elevator. Without thinking, these words came out of my mouth
Can I have the seatbelt seat?
I didnt plan to ride the seatbelt seat or even plan to say it. I guess I saw an opening and took advantage of it. The Cast Member gave me the seat of honor. I was the first to be strapped in and the seats to my right and left were empty. The Cast Member put some more people beside me and they had to climb over my feet!
We went up and were dropped accordingly. People say the seatbelt seat is a different experience. They werent kidding! I thought that I got a lot of airtime in the regular seats. The seatbelt seat gives you a lot more. I was up in the air a long time! It was a great experience.
It was around 5:30 pm. I had about 20 minutes until I could use my Rock N Roller Coaster Fast Pass. I noticed that the standby line had a 25-minute wait. I decided to wait in the standby line. By the time I got out, it would be time to use the Fast Pass. It took about 30 minutes total to ride with the wait and exit time. It was 6:00 and I used my Fast Pass for another ride. This time, I managed to get the front seat. The Cast Member was waving people to the front half of the train. There were a few people waiting for the front, so I snuck into the front seat queue. I like the front seat because it gives you a good view and is so smooth, but I dont ride in it too often because the waits can get long.
I had finished the Walt Disney thrill ride tour by 6:15 pm and I was very happy. It can be done! I took the bus back to Epcot. I bought some souvenirs in the Epcot gift shop outside the gates. I then headed to my car. I knew my car was in Journey, but I forgot the row. I spent 15 minutes looking for it. I almost hailed security when I finally found it.
Tomorrow I would head to Ohio and Cedar Point for Coastermania. I had a hotel in Tampa by the airport. I wanted to stay overnight in Tampa because my flight left at 8:00 am. I got Homestead Suites by the airport off Priceline for $25. I had printed out directions from Mapquest.com and they were pretty accurate. The hotel would have been hard to find since it was back off the main road.
The hotel was pretty nice. It had a bed and a small kitchen. It was smaller than other suite rooms Ive been in. There werent any cups in the room, though. Most rooms Ive been in at least have plastic cups with the sanitary wrapping on it. No matter, since I wasnt going to be there for a long time anyway. On the phone, I had a message. I wondered who called me. I feared it was the front desk and they had a problem. The message was for a guy named Mike and it ended with Go Rams! It sounded like Governor Jesse Ventura! It was left earlier in the evening.
I headed out to find some food. At this time in my vacation, I was getting tired of eating burgers. I hit Taco Bell and had a taco salad. I then fell asleep at 10:30 pm and had Millenium Force dreams.
May 30, 2001
The cast:
Me (the 29-year old)
If there is a Disney park with thrill rides, Disney-MGM Studios is it. The Magic Kingdom has the most rides that can qualify as thrill rides, but Disney-MGM Studios has the ones with quality. Thrill rides should scare the living tar out of Grandma. The thrill intensity factor of Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror are the highest that you will find at a Disney park.
I headed into the park at around 4:45 pm. As I was walking to the entrance, I noticed some crying kids. That got me thinking. Nearly everyplace I went in Disney World today, I would at least hear one crying baby or a kid whining about something. I thought it would be a good DIS Convention game to count the number of crying kids that you see in the parks throughout the day. The person with the highest number at the end of the day gets a prize!
I entered the park and checked the information board. Star Tours had a 15-minute wait, Tower of Terrors wait was 13 minutes, and Rock N Roller Coaster had a 40-minute wait. My plan was to pick up a Fast Pass for Rock N Roller Coaster and do Star Tours and Tower of Terror. I got a Rock N Roller Coaster Fast Pass and my return time was 5:50 to 6:50. With good luck, I would be able to finish the tour at 6:00 pm.
I was pretty happy since it was feasible that we could do the thrill ride tour before Tower of Terror ERT starts at 8:00. I was pretty giddly as I headed to Star Tours. The posted wait for Star Tours was 15 minutes, but I had to wait only five minutes and that was for the preshow. When I got on this ride, my mind tends to wander. My mind did on this ride. I was thinking about the DIS Convention thrill ride tour and making some plans. Again, I think I am desensitized to simulator rides from riding Back to the Future a lot.
Next was Tower of Terror. The posted wait was 13 minutes, but I walked right on. The boiler room wait was only a few minutes long. Elevators were going out half full. As I was being directed to a seat, I noticed that I was the first person to fill the elevator. Without thinking, these words came out of my mouth
Can I have the seatbelt seat?
I didnt plan to ride the seatbelt seat or even plan to say it. I guess I saw an opening and took advantage of it. The Cast Member gave me the seat of honor. I was the first to be strapped in and the seats to my right and left were empty. The Cast Member put some more people beside me and they had to climb over my feet!
We went up and were dropped accordingly. People say the seatbelt seat is a different experience. They werent kidding! I thought that I got a lot of airtime in the regular seats. The seatbelt seat gives you a lot more. I was up in the air a long time! It was a great experience.
It was around 5:30 pm. I had about 20 minutes until I could use my Rock N Roller Coaster Fast Pass. I noticed that the standby line had a 25-minute wait. I decided to wait in the standby line. By the time I got out, it would be time to use the Fast Pass. It took about 30 minutes total to ride with the wait and exit time. It was 6:00 and I used my Fast Pass for another ride. This time, I managed to get the front seat. The Cast Member was waving people to the front half of the train. There were a few people waiting for the front, so I snuck into the front seat queue. I like the front seat because it gives you a good view and is so smooth, but I dont ride in it too often because the waits can get long.
I had finished the Walt Disney thrill ride tour by 6:15 pm and I was very happy. It can be done! I took the bus back to Epcot. I bought some souvenirs in the Epcot gift shop outside the gates. I then headed to my car. I knew my car was in Journey, but I forgot the row. I spent 15 minutes looking for it. I almost hailed security when I finally found it.
Tomorrow I would head to Ohio and Cedar Point for Coastermania. I had a hotel in Tampa by the airport. I wanted to stay overnight in Tampa because my flight left at 8:00 am. I got Homestead Suites by the airport off Priceline for $25. I had printed out directions from Mapquest.com and they were pretty accurate. The hotel would have been hard to find since it was back off the main road.
The hotel was pretty nice. It had a bed and a small kitchen. It was smaller than other suite rooms Ive been in. There werent any cups in the room, though. Most rooms Ive been in at least have plastic cups with the sanitary wrapping on it. No matter, since I wasnt going to be there for a long time anyway. On the phone, I had a message. I wondered who called me. I feared it was the front desk and they had a problem. The message was for a guy named Mike and it ended with Go Rams! It sounded like Governor Jesse Ventura! It was left earlier in the evening.
I headed out to find some food. At this time in my vacation, I was getting tired of eating burgers. I hit Taco Bell and had a taco salad. I then fell asleep at 10:30 pm and had Millenium Force dreams.
Oh well. LOL! 
