Runners, in-laws, Beach Club, Birthdays! Part 3

[Mendelson]

Just got back from six nights at the Beach Club (Jan 9 to 16). Me (40), my wife (bit more than 40), our 4yo son, and for the first time we were travelling with my wife’s husband and his wife and two young kids and his wife’s sister and her young son. All of the above are thoroughly WDW knowledgeable. BIL was celebrating his 40th and niece was celebrating her 8th on this trip.

The report will be in general themes, rather than chronological, although I see now I've been titling them "Day 1, Day, 2..." which I did not mean to do.


Attractions
I’ll start with the lows. This trip was the first time I did the Lights, Motors blah blah stunts blah. I can say unequivocally it was the absolute worst attraction I have ever been audience to at Disney World (or better put – my least favorite, as “worst” is obviously very subjective).

My son wanted to ride the Speedway. Based on my history, it seems I ride it once every 29 years (I did so when I was 11 and I did so again this year). Thus we will not ride it again together until he is in his 30s, at which point we likely won’t both fit and I’ll have an out. But dear heavens this thing won’t still be around then, will it?

IASW is in need of some work. We saw many elements not working, lights out, etc. Perhaps the most egregious was the sun effect you see as you high on the wall opposite you as you enter the South Pacific/Poly room. Granted, we probably only saw these things because we’ve ridden whateverdozen of times, but some of them would be obvious even to a casual rider. Disappointing.

We did Story Time with Belle for the first time and my son had a part in the play, though got complete stage fright upon meeting Belle. The whole thing is charming.

At 4, it’s a good age to visit, after we eased him into the dark rides and such. Surprisingly, the Haunted Mansion was his favorite ride and had the biggest impression (for instance, after we got Spaceship Earth on a day late in the trip he said in a spooky voice, “And an astronaut will follow you home!” [On this ride, it should be noted, my son’s grabby hands touched Chinese for our language before we had a chance to touch the screen ourselves, so the whole ride was not really narrated for us in any way we could understand, but man, Judy Dench sounds just as awesome in Mandarin!])

We rode Mine Train twice on this trip and I’ll echo what most people say – cute ride and fun. Good intro roller coaster for a little one, a bit of a step up from the Barnstormer. Neat effects throughout and great theming. Make it about one minute longer and it goes from good to great, in my opinion. It's maybe a 6 on a 10, but we liked it.

AK, as has been reported, has walls up everywhere. I’m not going to complain about that, in that it means stuff is being built and new experiences are being created and it’s a necessary evil. Unfortunately in this park, with its beauty and greenery and nature everywhere you look, it really detracts from the feel and magic. Saw FoLK for the first (?!) time and really enjoyed it.

We have never actually carved time out of our schedule to go to TSI and have only been there briefly. With a 4-year old, we made a point to take time this trip, probably at least 2.5 hours over two days. Man, he loved that place. It’s kind of like paradise to a little kid.

Staying at the Beach Club we saw/heard at least parts of Illuminations several times. The night we made a point to watch the whole thing it had rained earlier that day and was a bit cool, and the WS was crazy empty. It was great. This is still a nice show, but I have to think the clock is ticking.

We’ve ridden POTC many, many times, of course, but the most recent time (last March) was at Disneyland….and I think we got spoiled. As we came to the end of the ride this time my wife said, confused, “Wait, that was it?”

The Festival of Fantasy parade was pretty good….great floats and that Maelficent dragon is really, really cool. Plus, the parade was a real departure from other parades! Let me try to explain – the parade features a series of very popular characters from movies, mostly princesses, dancing and waving to a catchy song that’s mostly about optimism and magic. Tough to wrap your head around, I know.

We rode Primeval Whirl for the first time. I liked this ride!!

[faline]

We each have our favorites and the rides/attractions we could skip without a problem. I've been to the auto stunt show a few time - once every few years is certainly enough for me. My nephew, however, was 2 the first time he went to the stunt show and he would have loved to see it every day. He's 7 now and it's still a favorite attraction of his.

Glad you had some good ride experiences on this trip!!

Haven't been to Tom Sawyer's Isalnd in a while - maybe we'll have to raft over the next time we're in Disney.

[KylesMom]

My son wanted to ride the Speedway. Based on my history, it seems I ride it once every 29 years (I did so when I was 11 and I did so again this year). Thus we will not ride it again together until he is in his 30s, at which point we likely won’t both fit and I’ll have an out. But dear heavens this thing won’t still be around then, will it?

I had to laugh at this one! A Disney Classic Attraction, but I am shocked there have been no moves to upgrade to something like CarsLand at Disneyland.

I recommend Story Time with Belle to all of my co-workers when they take their children. It's always a big hit.

I have not been to TSI in eons either. Used to be so nice when Aunt Polly's was open to grab a lemonade, a PB&J and wander away from the craziness of the summertime crowds with your youngster. I am glad you found that secret spot!

[princessgirls]

Sounds like you had a great trip and experienced some new things. Your son enjoyed his Disney time!!

Thanks for sharing!
Julie