My WDW Impressions (Sept 28 - 29)

[ztonyg]

Hello all. I just wanted to post here what my impressions of WDW were after doing a 2 day park hopping experience this past Friday and Saturday. DLR is my "home" Disney resort so to speak (have been 5 - 6 times between 2001 and 2011) and I hadn't been to WDW since 1998 (when I was 13) so I was really interested in seeing how the east coast park operated. After reading certain things here, I was worried I was going to be disappointed with the parks. That disappointment didn't happen and I had a great time.

Here are some of my first thoughts off of the top of my head:

- I LOVE DL, but there's something "magical" about parking your car, boarding a ferry , seeing the MK in the distance, and riding over the lagoon, and having the boat drop you off near the entrance
- The Fantasyland expansion looks great (so far), I can't wait to see it finished.
- Future World needs some TLC.
- Why the heck did Disney put that sorcerer's hat in the location it did at DHS? The hat blocks the beautifully done facade of the Chinese Theater.
- Why the heck did they prevent guests from walking through the castle to get from Main Street to Fantasyland? As a kid I used to love walking through the Castle and now one has to go through either Tomorrowland, Liberty Square, or a narrow pathway with a smoking section at one end of it to get from Main Street to the "signature" land.
- WDW has a lot more Fastpass rides than DLR (but on slow days, the Fastpasses really aren't needed for most rides).
- WDW isn't nearly as "dirty" or "worn down" as some people on these boards state, but there were attractions where broken animatronics were noticeable.
- IllumiNations was amazing.
- The Epcot Food and Wine festival was a LOT of fun. I love all of the different booths with all of the different delicacies.
- The beginning of The Gran Fiesta Tour looks and feels like the beginning of DL's Pirates (except one is in Mexico and the other in the Bayou) complete with the restaurant on one side
- Stitch was about as lame as everyone has posted.

Now for some ride comparisons:

- Space Mountain: Call me crazy, but I love the MK version of this ride even more than I love the DL version. The ride, for whatever reason, at MK just seems more "thrilling". It may be the drops, it may be the left AND right turns, it may be the ride vehicles, but I'm going to have to cast a vote to the MK for having my favorite version of this ride.
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin: DL's version is far superior in almost every way (the queue, the removable guns, the lighted targets). I was a bit disappointed with the MK version.
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: Good ride, about the same at both parks. I miss the Country Bears at DL and Mr. Toad at the MK though.
- Peter Pan’s Flight: I can definitely see why there is such a wait for this ride at MK. Good ride, more detail than the DL version.
- “it’s a small world”: The exterior at DL is far, far, far, far superior.
- Haunted Mansion: I like the outdoor interactive queue at the MK. As far as the ride itself, I'd have to say that I prefer the DL version. I also wish that the MK had HMH.
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: The DL version seems a bit more "wild".
- Splash Mountain: The MK version seems to have a better ride sequence and ride vehicles.
- Pirates of the Caribbean: I like the queue at the MK. The rest of the ride is unquestionably better at DL. The MK version just feels "too" short and lacks a lot of the detail of the DL version.
- Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room: See above. The MK has the abridged version of this attraction. I like the queue and show building better at DL as well (the animatronic pre-show at DL really adds to the experience, IMHO).
- Jungle Cruise: The MK version is longer and more detailed. A reverse of Pirates and Tiki.

That's all for now... I'll add some more thoughts later.

[Michael808702]

Nice comparisons, last time I went to WDW I was so over whelmed that is wasn't enjoyable never going back to that rode again, we hated the idea of taking 3 modes of transportation to get to each park.

[jcruise86]

Thanks, ztonyg!

[Coheteboy]

I definitely agree re: Big Thunder... the WDW didn't feel as "wild". Don't agree on Space but no biggie.

For Haunted and Splash, it's kind of a draw for me. I love the interior of MK's Haunted but prefer the southern plantation of Disneyland's... plus you're walking through the FRONT DOOR of the mansion... not some side entrance. MK's Splash is a fulller ride but I much prefer the single file line up of Disneyland's log... i mean... THAT'S what a log ride is supposed to be: a log and you sit in a row.

Everything else you posted I can pretty much agree with but MK's winnie the pooh is much much better.

[toonaspie]

- Why the heck did they prevent guests from walking through the castle to get from Main Street to Fantasyland? As a kid I used to love walking through the Castle and now one has to go through either Tomorrowland, Liberty Square, or a narrow pathway with a smoking section at one end of it to get from Main Street to the "signature" land.

Likely they were about to do a castle show and have to close off that area during performances. That's probably the biggest downside to Cinderella Castle is that even though it has a stage they have to use the majority of the castle ground area whenever they do castle performances forcing people to take alternate routes around the castle during shows.

[steve2wdw]

I too like Space at the MK. It's a wild and crazy ride whereas the DL version is smooth as silk. Much more thrilling in my opinion.

[ztonyg]

I too like Space at the MK. It's a wild and crazy ride whereas the DL version is smooth as silk. Much more thrilling in my opinion.

Don't get me wrong. I love the DL version (went on it 5 times during my last trip to DL) and the soundtrack is phenominal. However, the two rides are conceptually different with the DL Space Mountain not having nearly as large of a drop as the MK Space mountain (plus the DL verion is all right turns versus the MK version involving right and left turns). Also, the MK version is not NEARLY as rough as some people make it out to be.

[Coheteboy]

I see MK's space mountain as Disneyland's Matterhorn so I always felt like I got what I wanted at Disneyland, but MK is sorely missing a rollercoaster that's smooth like DL's space.

[ztonyg]

It's been a few days, but some other thoughts came to my mind.

For as much as some people say that DHS needs some help, the theming of the park is beautiful (except for the sorcerer's hat) and it has a number of good attractions. My DGF and I only did Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster (twice), Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, Muppet Vision 3D, and the Studio Backlot tour (as we wanted to go back to EPCOT) but it was enough variety and entertainment to suit our needs. Both the Tower of Terror and Rock 'n' Roller coaster are great "thrill" rides with good themes and back stories (and IMHO are a notch above California Screamin' and TOT at DCA). We didn't brave the crowd for TSMM (I'd been on it at DCA and while it is an attraction I'd like to go on again, it's not a 60 minute line or a 5 hour into the future fastpass type of attraction).


My thoughts on EPCOT are as follows.

I am not a fan of walking into the park and through that "Epcot legacy" display. I hate to say it, but it almost feels like I'm walking into a cemetery. I don't know if that's the effect that they were trying to come up with (I'm sure it wasn't) but that's what it feels like to me. My DGF also thought it was a bit odd.

Additionally, while Future World does need help, there are many bright spots.

Finding Nemo (in the Seas) isn't a bad attraction. I actually think it's fairly creative how they've done it. My favorite part of that pavilion, however, was going upstairs to the aquarium and seeing the dolphin and all of the different fish.

We didn't do Soarin' (for the same reason as TSMM). The line was ridiculous and I'd done it at DCA already (and while it's a good attraction, it's not a 60 minute standby type attraction or a 5 hour fastpass wait attraction).

Figment is still there, and cute, but the ride is severely lacking something. I didn't do Captain EO as I'd done that last time I went to DL and, IMHO, Honey I Shrunk the Audience was significantly better. I know Captain EO is somewhat of a tribute, but when I look on a lot of movies / music videos set in the 80s I can't help but notice how "cheesy" they are.

Onto the other side, Ellen's Energy Adventure is a lot of fun. Ellen and Bill Nye are like stepping back into my childhood (I'm 27) but in a good way and both myself and my DGF didn't think it was all that dated (somewhat of a nostalgic feeling seeing a younger Ellen and Bill Nye). It's also a great break from walking around and the humidity. It's clearly an "underrated" attraction, and the dinosaurs are great as always.

Mission: Space is quite the experience. We did the "orange" team. The ride is pretty intense and did KO me for about 45 minutes afterwards.

There seemed to be a lot of construction at Test Track. I'm looking forward go coming back to FL in the 2014-2015 range to see New Fantasyland, The USH Expansion, and the new Test Track (other potential WDW attractions).

Lastly, Maelstrom is an interesting (and fun ride) that doesn't get a notoriety

---------- Post added 10-06-2012 at 03:25 PM ----------

I see MK's space mountain as Disneyland's Matterhorn so I always felt like I got what I wanted at Disneyland, but MK is sorely missing a rollercoaster that's smooth like DL's space.

I see that too. Maybe with the addition of the Snow White Mine Train Coaster MK will have a unique coaster (although not in the "thrill" category).

I like MK's Space Mountain slightly better than DL's Space Mountain, but significantly better than the Matterhorn (during the day). The Matterhorn at night is an experience that needs to be tried (as it's great) with the views of the park, all the lights, and the overall ride feeling / experience.

[ORD84]

Nice to hear some fresh views on WDW, I think some of us get hypocritical with our home parks just because we absolutely want the best...

I do agree on most of your points, except Nemo (even with a young one in tow) I feel like that attraction detracts from what used to be there, as well as alot of views of all of the beautiful fish

[danyoung]

At least they've finally changed the lighting in the tank from that awful green to the more muted blue. I'm not sure if the water is cleaner now, but it LOOKS cleaner.

[bookwyrm]

- Peter Pan’s Flight: I can definitely see why there is such a wait for this ride at MK. Good ride, more detail than the DL version.

Totally agree that the MK Pan is pretty. I do wish they had more audio in it, though.

- Jungle Cruise: The MK version is longer and more detailed.

I do like the added length, but I found it odd that there were no classic-style Jungle Cruise jokes inside the temple. That made me sad.

Don't get me wrong. I love the DL version (went on it 5 times during my last trip to DL) and the soundtrack is phenominal. However, the two rides are conceptually different with the DL Space Mountain not having nearly as large of a drop as the MK Space mountain (plus the DL verion is all right turns versus the MK version involving right and left turns). Also, the MK version is not NEARLY as rough as some people make it out to be.

I found the difference in roughness between the two to be very similar to DL Space before and after the reno for the 50th. In my experience, both DL Space pre-50th and MK Space are too rough to be comfortable, but not so rough that I won't ride them. On the other hand, I like the MK Space toboggan-style cars.

Nice report! It does provide a fresh perspective, and a different opinion than is often found in DLR folk.

[ztonyg]

Totally agree that the MK Pan is pretty. I do wish they had more audio in it, though.



I do like the added length, but I found it odd that there were no classic-style Jungle Cruise jokes inside the temple. That made me sad.



I found the difference in roughness between the two to be very similar to DL Space before and after the reno for the 50th. In my experience, both DL Space pre-50th and MK Space are too rough to be comfortable, but not so rough that I won't ride them. On the other hand, I like the MK Space toboggan-style cars.

Nice report! It does provide a fresh perspective, and a different opinion than is often found in DLR folk.

Thanks. I am going to DLR on Saturday (One of my strange life goals would be to do WDW and DLR in the same year) and I spent 2 days at WDW and will be spending 1 jam packed 8-midnight day at DLR.

I am probably the only person who isn't looking forward to Ghost Galaxy though (I think that the Space Mountain post 50th soundtrack is absolutely amazing) and after being on MK's space I want to have a fair comparison (without the ghosts). I feel the opposite with the Haunted Mansion where I am absolutely looking forward to the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay.

[Coheteboy]

I'm not a fan of Ghost Galaxy either. It feels slower and the projections too bright. You know when they're comin.

[bookwyrm]

I'm not a fan of Ghost Galaxy either. It feels slower and the projections too bright. You know when they're comin.

I like Ghost Galaxy for the variety, though I wouldn't want it that way year-round.