C
Captain Crook
Guest
With all the looniness that's been going on, I never related the specific experiences of my last WDW visit (10/18-21).
First, "One Man's Dream" IMO is fantastic. We spent well over an hour in there and need to go back. Even my kids enjoyed this immensely (of course they're the kids of a 'Disney geek', right Baron?). The CM's were pleasant & knowledgeable and seemed to revel in "Walt". Gcurling reported that there is a "Hallmark" sponsorship sign, but I never even noticed it.
The interactive kiosks too are fun. We purchased the interactive pins & enjoyed the fun that they provided on the rides, at the kiosks and during parades.
Next the big ugly hat...Just kidding. I know most of you don't like it, but I do. It is very colorful & whimsical & much better looking IMO, since the green barricades are down. Again, IMO, it very definately signals a coming change to the facade of the Chinese Theatre, so regarding the hat...I think you'd better get used to it!
AK was VERY busy every day we were there. Don't know why, but aside from MK, this is easily the busiest Park.
The new Playhouse Disney show is much more fun than Bear in the Big Blue House (even though Bear is by far the largest part of the show). My 8 year old still sang & danced and it was a wonderful sight for a father in these trying times. I do belive that (on average) 8 or 9 will be about the maximum age for real enjoyment - although my 12 year old knew all the words (from watching with sis) and sang right along!
Test Track FP is gone for the rest of the year. They are updating the system. So on busier weekends, you may want to prioritize TT. JIYI is closed for rehab (yahoo).
Security was very prevelent and from CM's I talked to (a lot more prevelent than meets the eye). We had to wait for bag serches, and I made it a point to thank every security guard I saw for their help. They seemed appreciative.
AKL was great (again). It is darn near an attraction by itself.
We saw all the parades. The kids did not like the change to (what is now) ToD, I didn't mind them. We all liked the new parade at MK, thought MGM parade was ok & we all thought the AK parade was the best. Very lively & colorful.
Thanks to the moderators for allowing us to share some rather unrelated thoughts, but to be safe, I will tie this in to the Rumor/Business Board.: It seems very easy for us to sit back and react to the changes that we read about at the Parks, but after visiting and after reading several other recent visitors reports, it seems obvious that the Magic still comes shining through, particularily the Magic of the CM's. Further, I would guess that perhaps the bark of these reductions is probably worse than the actual bite. Now, I'm not backing off the stance that JJ reiterated on another thread, that as things continually get taken away from us, more & more people will find less Magic at WDW. I do believe this to be true, but I do believe we have a lot of the 'chicken little' mentality around here and after visiting for 4 days I can say, without qualification, that the sky was not falling.
First, "One Man's Dream" IMO is fantastic. We spent well over an hour in there and need to go back. Even my kids enjoyed this immensely (of course they're the kids of a 'Disney geek', right Baron?). The CM's were pleasant & knowledgeable and seemed to revel in "Walt". Gcurling reported that there is a "Hallmark" sponsorship sign, but I never even noticed it.
The interactive kiosks too are fun. We purchased the interactive pins & enjoyed the fun that they provided on the rides, at the kiosks and during parades.
Next the big ugly hat...Just kidding. I know most of you don't like it, but I do. It is very colorful & whimsical & much better looking IMO, since the green barricades are down. Again, IMO, it very definately signals a coming change to the facade of the Chinese Theatre, so regarding the hat...I think you'd better get used to it!
AK was VERY busy every day we were there. Don't know why, but aside from MK, this is easily the busiest Park.
The new Playhouse Disney show is much more fun than Bear in the Big Blue House (even though Bear is by far the largest part of the show). My 8 year old still sang & danced and it was a wonderful sight for a father in these trying times. I do belive that (on average) 8 or 9 will be about the maximum age for real enjoyment - although my 12 year old knew all the words (from watching with sis) and sang right along!
Test Track FP is gone for the rest of the year. They are updating the system. So on busier weekends, you may want to prioritize TT. JIYI is closed for rehab (yahoo).
Security was very prevelent and from CM's I talked to (a lot more prevelent than meets the eye). We had to wait for bag serches, and I made it a point to thank every security guard I saw for their help. They seemed appreciative.
AKL was great (again). It is darn near an attraction by itself.
We saw all the parades. The kids did not like the change to (what is now) ToD, I didn't mind them. We all liked the new parade at MK, thought MGM parade was ok & we all thought the AK parade was the best. Very lively & colorful.
Thanks to the moderators for allowing us to share some rather unrelated thoughts, but to be safe, I will tie this in to the Rumor/Business Board.: It seems very easy for us to sit back and react to the changes that we read about at the Parks, but after visiting and after reading several other recent visitors reports, it seems obvious that the Magic still comes shining through, particularily the Magic of the CM's. Further, I would guess that perhaps the bark of these reductions is probably worse than the actual bite. Now, I'm not backing off the stance that JJ reiterated on another thread, that as things continually get taken away from us, more & more people will find less Magic at WDW. I do believe this to be true, but I do believe we have a lot of the 'chicken little' mentality around here and after visiting for 4 days I can say, without qualification, that the sky was not falling.