Chicago526
<font color=red>Any dream will do...<br><font colo
- Joined
- May 6, 2003
Day 2:
The next morning we headed to DCA, and I went on Soarin' (mom gets motion sickness just from normal IMAX, so she skipped this). I have to say, I don't think the hype lived up to the ride on this one (for me, anyway). It is an amazing ride, and very smooth. But it just didn't WOW me at all. I'm glad I got on it first thing, I'd have been disappointed greatly if I had to wait for it. The we went to CA Screamin', and again mom skipped this. I waited about 10 minutes, go on, and was all belted in when they shut the ride down (they didn't say why, but judging by the clouds I'd say lightning.) I was lucky, the car before me got stuck over the water just before they launched and had to be walked off by the CM's. So we went to the Backlot to see the Muppets. When we got out, it had started to rain. Hard. So out came the ponchos.
Mom stopped for coffee to warm up, then we decided to head over to DL to make our 1:10 PS for Blue Bayou. Great food, great atmosphere, great service. Basically a great time, I'm glad we did it. Mom had the Monte Cristo, and it was just excellent (I stole some from her, so I can vouch for that!) and I had the prime rib, which was also good. Then we rode Pooh.
I hated it. Oh it looks great and all, but the ride is just so fast, and the story so convoluted, that I can't imagine that unless a child is VERY familiar with Pooh, that'd they'd even recognize anything from the books/movies at all. Again, same thing with the Snow White musical, slow the ride down a little, and either make it longer so the story is coherent, or keep it the same length and take out some scenes and make the remaining scenes longer and more understandable. I have the same complaint with the Snow White ride, you're running through a scary forest, then bang! A sign that reads "and they lived happily ever after" and that's the end of the ride.
After Pooh and Snow White, we rode a few more rides and we headed back to the hotel to change, rest, and have dinner (White Water again). The we headed back to DL to watch the parade. A couple more rides and it was back to the hotel for the night.
Day 3:
Friday dawned clear and sunny
, and turned out to be almost a perfect weather day, the only downside was that it was still kind of cool. We did a big park hop, first to DL for Splash, and then to DCA to go on Screamin' since I didn't get to go the day before. We then did the animation exhibit (I'm a cartoon nut) and a bit of shopping (had the package sent to the hotel, I love being able to do that!) and then we headed to DL. We had lunch at the Horseshoe, they had a group called "Bill and the Hillbillies" or something like that, they were hysterical! 
Some more rides including my first on the Matterhorn, and my first visit to the Tiki Room (never saw it in WDW either). Then back to the hotel for a rest and dinner, and it was time for the "park hopping evening parade/show boogie!"
First to DCA so we could see the 8PM Electric Parade. Mom and I have seen it (sort of) several times in WDW, but due to bad viewing places and my mom being so very short, she's only ever seen the very tops of the floats. We waited 1 and 1/2 hours to be in the front row of the sidewalk, right by the front gate for a clean getaway. For we planed on seeing the 9:30 Fantasmic! at DL. The parade was fun, and then we high-tailed it to DL, stopped for coffee to help warm us up and a restroom break. We got to the river by about 8:45 and the first show was still going, so we watched the end from afar, and snagged some spots right by the water edge when the crowed cleared out. Only to be shooed away by some CM's, they roped off the area we were in for wheel chair viewing (but this area was NOT roped off for the 1st show, very weird). So we lost our prime spots and had to move over to where we were not in the first row of people. But we still got a great view, so it all worked out. Mom even liked it, except she said it was much too loud (and even though I like things a little loud, I had to agree with her, they just blasted those speakers). Then it was back to the hotel for the final time.
We had an excellent time, I'm very glad we went. DL is a great park, but overall I still prefer WDW. Maybe because WDW was the first Disney park I'd been too, but I just like FL better. I hate it when people say that WDW doesn't have Walt's touch. Walt designed both MK and Epcot, and MK was finished before he died, it just hadn't opened yet. I see Walt everywhere I go in MK, I don't know why others do not. Anyway, we both had a fantastic time, and well worth it!
The next morning we headed to DCA, and I went on Soarin' (mom gets motion sickness just from normal IMAX, so she skipped this). I have to say, I don't think the hype lived up to the ride on this one (for me, anyway). It is an amazing ride, and very smooth. But it just didn't WOW me at all. I'm glad I got on it first thing, I'd have been disappointed greatly if I had to wait for it. The we went to CA Screamin', and again mom skipped this. I waited about 10 minutes, go on, and was all belted in when they shut the ride down (they didn't say why, but judging by the clouds I'd say lightning.) I was lucky, the car before me got stuck over the water just before they launched and had to be walked off by the CM's. So we went to the Backlot to see the Muppets. When we got out, it had started to rain. Hard. So out came the ponchos.
Mom stopped for coffee to warm up, then we decided to head over to DL to make our 1:10 PS for Blue Bayou. Great food, great atmosphere, great service. Basically a great time, I'm glad we did it. Mom had the Monte Cristo, and it was just excellent (I stole some from her, so I can vouch for that!) and I had the prime rib, which was also good. Then we rode Pooh.I hated it. Oh it looks great and all, but the ride is just so fast, and the story so convoluted, that I can't imagine that unless a child is VERY familiar with Pooh, that'd they'd even recognize anything from the books/movies at all. Again, same thing with the Snow White musical, slow the ride down a little, and either make it longer so the story is coherent, or keep it the same length and take out some scenes and make the remaining scenes longer and more understandable. I have the same complaint with the Snow White ride, you're running through a scary forest, then bang! A sign that reads "and they lived happily ever after" and that's the end of the ride.
After Pooh and Snow White, we rode a few more rides and we headed back to the hotel to change, rest, and have dinner (White Water again). The we headed back to DL to watch the parade. A couple more rides and it was back to the hotel for the night.
Day 3:
Friday dawned clear and sunny
, and turned out to be almost a perfect weather day, the only downside was that it was still kind of cool. We did a big park hop, first to DL for Splash, and then to DCA to go on Screamin' since I didn't get to go the day before. We then did the animation exhibit (I'm a cartoon nut) and a bit of shopping (had the package sent to the hotel, I love being able to do that!) and then we headed to DL. We had lunch at the Horseshoe, they had a group called "Bill and the Hillbillies" or something like that, they were hysterical! Some more rides including my first on the Matterhorn, and my first visit to the Tiki Room (never saw it in WDW either). Then back to the hotel for a rest and dinner, and it was time for the "park hopping evening parade/show boogie!"First to DCA so we could see the 8PM Electric Parade. Mom and I have seen it (sort of) several times in WDW, but due to bad viewing places and my mom being so very short, she's only ever seen the very tops of the floats. We waited 1 and 1/2 hours to be in the front row of the sidewalk, right by the front gate for a clean getaway. For we planed on seeing the 9:30 Fantasmic! at DL. The parade was fun, and then we high-tailed it to DL, stopped for coffee to help warm us up and a restroom break. We got to the river by about 8:45 and the first show was still going, so we watched the end from afar, and snagged some spots right by the water edge when the crowed cleared out. Only to be shooed away by some CM's, they roped off the area we were in for wheel chair viewing (but this area was NOT roped off for the 1st show, very weird). So we lost our prime spots and had to move over to where we were not in the first row of people. But we still got a great view, so it all worked out. Mom even liked it, except she said it was much too loud (and even though I like things a little loud, I had to agree with her, they just blasted those speakers). Then it was back to the hotel for the final time.
We had an excellent time, I'm very glad we went. DL is a great park, but overall I still prefer WDW. Maybe because WDW was the first Disney park I'd been too, but I just like FL better. I hate it when people say that WDW doesn't have Walt's touch. Walt designed both MK and Epcot, and MK was finished before he died, it just hadn't opened yet. I see Walt everywhere I go in MK, I don't know why others do not. Anyway, we both had a fantastic time, and well worth it!
