My Christmas Trip

[A Foolish Mortal]

I just got home from a 6 day stay at WDW, and we had a fantastic time. This trip reaffirmed my belief that the Beach Club is the best hotel on the Disney property. The location is as good as you can get, the pool is amazing, the staff great, nice rooms, just everything was great. The only thing that was not great was the bus transportation. The few times you do have to ride the bus, you have to make multiple stops, and that can become annoying late at night, after a long time at the parks.

I do have a few strong opinions on the parks and the attractions, though for the most part everything is wonderful. First of all, the parks, in order from my (now) least favorite to favorite.

4. Epcot
We spent the least amount of time at this park. Besides Soarin', Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and sometimes Mission:SPACE, this park has very little to do. The whole Imagination pavilion desperately needs an update, or at least the awful 'Honey I Shrunk The Audience' movie needs to be replaced. A new E-Ticket is needed, preferably in the World Showcase section of the park, to draw the crazy crowds away from Soarin'.

3. Hollywood Studios
Although the few attractions this park does have are, for the most part, fantastic, there is a lack of things to do here. Tower of Terror, the Great Movie Ride, Rock'n'Rollercoaster, Toy Story Mania, and Muppet Vision 3*D are along some of the greatest things at WDW, but most of the shows are outdated or just boring, and not worth a revisit. I'd say the worst of the live action shows is the Lights, Motors, Action! show. After seeing this once we have never again wanted to see it. Also, even though the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular is one of the best shows at the park, an Indy ride would be perfect here. It would drive crowds away from the too busy Pixar Place and Sunset Boulevard sections of the park, to the often empty Echo Lake section.

2. Magic Kingdom
This park is not lacking in things to do, but it really needs a new E-Ticket attraction somewhere. Something added to Adventureland would be great (Indy?), as it is easily the least crowded area of the park. Tomorrowland, besides at the very beginning of the day, is extremely crowded, with super long lines at almost every attraction. There needs to be another big ride to balance out the crowds between the 3 mountains, and that's where I think an Indy ride would fit best.

1. Animal Kingdom
Now, I know I've been griping about a lack of things to do at some parks, and I fully realize that Animal Kingdom also has very little to do. The thing that makes Animal Kingdom so great, though, is the fact that the few things that are found there are among the best of WDW. Classics like Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King, Its Tough to be a Bug, and Dinosaur are amazing, and new additions like Expedition Everest are perfect compliments to the park.


Now my new top 10 rides...

10. Toy Story Mania
Although it is basically a large Wii game, it is still great fun, despite the huge lines.
9. Muppet Vision 3*D
The best 3D movie. Hilarious. 'It's for the big waterskiing finale!'
8. Soarin'
Mellow and exciting at the same time, it is a beautiful ride.
7. The Haunted Mansion
Timeless and classic, it features a lot of WDW's best visual effects.
6. Rock'n'Rollercoaster starring Aerosmith
A great, but short ride, it is thrilling, and has a great soundtrack to go along with it.
5. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
The 2nd best ride at night, it is thrilling, and features great visuals also.
4. Splash Mountain
A great blend of animatronics and ride technology, Splash Mountain mixes a great story with a fantastic ride. It is simply just a great ride.
3. Dinosaur
The most thrilling ride at WDW. This is my favorite ride to take WDW newbies on, as the pure terror in their faces (and their screams) make the ride even more enjoyable. The animatronics on this ride are amazing, and the whole environment of the ride is great. Even though I know its coming, the Carnatauras (is that how you spell it?) at the end of the ride gets me every time.
2. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
Only slightly edged out by the number 1, ToT is a great ride, and was the best at WDW for a long time. The theme an attention to detail of this ride is just amazing, and the ride itself is groundbreaking and thrilling.
1. Expedition Everest
This is simply the best there is. A perfect blend of a fantastic theme, a great environment, and just an awesome ride, make this ride WDW's best. The front row of this ride, especially at night, is the greatest ride you will find anywhere. Simply amazing.

A few other things-

-Christmas Day will be the least crowded day of your whole trip, IF you don't go to MK. Hollywood Studios was empty, with the normal 2 hour TSM wait reduced to just about 45 minutes. It was great, and we were able to walk on just about everything.

-Buzz is fun when the ride stops! I succeeded in getting 999,999 points on Buzz Lightyear this trip, when the ride stopped in the alien planet room and I could just keep hitting the volcano.

-I realized the importance of moving all the way across the row in the theatre attractions. I witnessed several confrontations between groups of people (thankfully not including me) over them stopping in the middle of the row, or taking to many seats, or something like that. Nothing got physical, but I saw some pretty heated words exchanged between groups of people.


Well, thats it. Thanks for reading my lengthy trip report!

[mouseketeer mom]

Ha Ha!!
Love when Buzz stops!!
Thanks for the great report!

[RedSoxFan]

Sounds like you had a great time. I agree, EE is a GREAT ride. We rode a bunch of times in October.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[dtootsie42]

Thanks for the report

[faline]

Glad you had fun! Somehow I seem to find more than enough to do to fill more than an entire day at each of the Disney parks. Guess that's why Disney appeals to such a broad spectrum of folks - there's something there for each of us!

[A Foolish Mortal]

That's true... I don't do everything at the Disney parks. My trips usually consist of me just reriding most of the rides over and over again. I'm not much of a show fan, though I do make time to see the exceptional ones, like Festival of the Lion King.