Day Five: Wednesday, 5/4/16 - Walt Disney World

Today's post is going to be a relatively short one. The reason behind this is the fact that we are going to try to make it to Animal Kingdom today (Thursday) as early as possible. But first, a quick summary of yesterday, Wednesday, 5/4/16.

Our plans for yesterday included plans to visit Animal Kingdom. However, there were some pretty severe thunderstorms in the morning and, after we saw that the forecast in the morning called for rain up until 6pm, we decided that skipping Animal Kingdom for the day would be fine. We were totally okay with this mainly because we had built in two off days in our original plans so our off day, which was scheduled for Thursday, got shifted to Wednesday. But, despite the fact that we got some much needed rest and relaxation, it really wasn't an "off" day because during breakfast, we all kind of decided that we should add one more days' worth of tickets so we could visit Hollywood Studios. I'm so glad we did.

The forecast called for the rain to end around 5:00 but, around 6:30 it was still raining pretty steadily. But that was okay because we were had ponchos and we were able to still stay fairly dry. Also, when it's rainy like that at a theme park, you kind of get excited about going inside buildings and seeing shows so we watched MuppetVision 3D, which I still find very funny and entertaining. We also saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid.

Of course the rides at Hollywood Studios are all pretty much indoors so we really had an awesome time. I think it was enjoyable mainly because this was our second time visiting the park this trip so, we didn't have any of the self-imposed pressure of "we gotta do this" or "we haven't done that yet! We have to do that or trip won't be complete!" (None of us actually said these things. Just exaggerating.)

Anyway, all in all, a very good time. Some quick things I'll record here for memories' sake: When we arrived for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Lily held her magic band up to the terminal and it accepted it before she got the okay from the cast member. I think she was afraid she'd done something wrong but, the cast member very sweetly asked Lily to help her open the chain so we could go in. It was very cute.

Sophie got to ride Rock n' Roller Coaster again, this time with Joy, Caleb, and Molly. Lily and I waited over near the American Cafe (I think that's the name. I'll correct this if it's wrong). After that, we rode The Tower of Terror and that was great as usual. Not for Sophie, though. I think she honestly got a little sick to her stomach so I'm glad she didn't end up proving it to us by actually getting sick.

After that, we went and got our pictures taken with Kylo Ren amidst all of the hardcore Star Wars fans (it was May the Fourth, after all), so that was kind of cool. To end the evening, we hung out in the main roadway and watched the Symphony in the Stars which is really just great fireworks set to Star Wars music and quotes.

Well, we are just about off to Animal Kingdom. Hopefully, I will get up early enough tomorrow for some updates.

Before I go, here's some highlights from yesterday:

Joy gets a signature from her favorite Disney character.

Sophie and Lily waiting on the Symphony in the Stars to begin

On our way to Hollywood Studios!

We're both looking at the lens!

Dinner at Everything Pop

Dinner at Everything Pop

Day Two - Sunday, May 1st 2016

Disney's Hollywood Studios was our destination for our second full day in Walt Disney World. Compared to Saturday (our first full day), this was an intentionally late start day but it was nice. We weren't in quite the same kind of rush that were when we were trying to make the rope drop show at the Magic Kingdom.

Heading into this park and knowing about all of the closures of various attractions, I really thought that Hollywood Studios (or MGM, as Joy prefers to call it) had turned into a half-day park. I was wrong. There's still plenty to do and there's actually quite a bit to keep your attention, particularly all of the Star Wars stuff that seems to be going on everywhere. I guess it's mainly limited to the stage area where the Sorcerer Mickey's hat used to be and the Animation courtyard but still, it seems pretty ubiquitous.

Speaking of Star Wars, though, I was really impressed by the Star Wars Launch Bay. This sits in the structure that used to be Disney's Magic of Animation and I went into it thinking it might be similar to the Chronicles of Narnia mini-attraction that was at the Studios back in 2007 but I was totally wrong. This was actually a very cool experience. First, you are treated to a short film about the Star Wars universe. The film is mainly clips of interviews from various producers, directors, artists, etc., that have either worked on the Star Wars films in the past or are working on current Star Wars projects. Oddly enough, George Lucas was not one of the people that was interviewed, although they did show a few clips of him filming the original movie.

Anyway, leaving the movie, there is a small museum of Star Wars ships, costumes etc. When we visited, you could also go on and meet Chewbacca and Kylo Ren (we opted for Chewie). Those queueing lines also had some cool Star Wars paraphernalia and there were television monitors that were displaying Star Wars trivia questions. All very cool.

The coolest part of our experience yesterday in the Launch Bay, though, was meeting the Jawas. These two guys were kind of hanging out in an area that was probably supposed to be Mos Eisely Cantina-esque but what was neat was that they would trade with you. What would they trade? I'm not sure what the rules exactly were but, when I gave Sophie a penny to trade, it was gestured to me that they could not accept actual cash. So, Sophie had the idea of giving them the lid from one of our apple sauce to-go pouches and they inspected it (hilariously) and, in exchange, gave Sophie...a scrubbie sponge. She loved it and thought it was great. Here's a bit of the Jawa decision-making process that I captured while they inspected the apple sauce lid:

Aside from Star Wars, we made it to my favorite attraction: Twilight Zone's Hollywood Tower of Terror. I won't go into detail as to why I think this attraction is still one of the best in Walt Disney World but I will sum it up in word again: theming. In a sort of bittersweet twist, we had fast passes for the ride so I didn't even get to enjoy the theming all that much. But, wow. Still love that attraction.

Just a cool shot of the external exit area of the ride. Also known as the "gift shop".

Didn't do a very good job here but, I was trying to capture the cool area music that I so love around the Tower of Terror:

Naturally, we also rode Toy Story Midway Mania which was a blast. That ride is so simple and, even though I've ridden it before, I used to wonder why it was so popular. But now I've confirmed the reason: this gallery shooting game is just so darn fun! I was also super excited to ride with my son and see this (even though he points out that his accuracy was better than mine. But then, why is "accuracy" at the bottom of the screen? ;-) ):

Now, let's get to the low of the evening and then we can get back to the highs. Rock n' Roller Coaster. Sophie has wanted to ride this since she found out that she was tall enough. Sadly, we didn't get a Fast Pass for it but we figured we wouldn't mind the wait. This is where the dilemma began because this was the first ride of our vacation so far that we couldn't all ride together (Lily's not tall enough yet) so it took some work to settle who was going with whom. Caleb did not want to ride it but Lily wanted to ride Tower of Terror again. I insisted that it would be better to keep the group in even numbers so we didn't have an odd man out on the roller coaster. 

Anyway, Molly and Caleb got in line with Sophie and me for the 60 minute wait. Which turned into a "temporarily closed" wait, to a 110 minute wait, back to a 85 minute wait. During this, I worked out with Joy that when she was off the Tower of Terror, Molly and Caleb could just walk off the Rock n' Rollercoaster in lieu of waiting the whole time. After 40 minutes or so, Joy and Lily got off their ride so Molly and Caleb went to meet them. Sophie and I hung out the whole time in the line and I really enjoyed being with her but, she kept telling me while we were in line, "I have to go to the bathroom!" To which I would reply, "But you just went with your mom! Can you hold it? We've already waited so long!" She repeatedly said, yes, she could hold it but, she was getting kind of danc-ey.

When we finally made it the last line area, when were the VERY NEXT RIDERS to get on, Sophie turned to me and said, "I have to go to the bathroom now! I can't hold it!" She was visibly upset. "Sophie," I said. "We are the very next people to go! Can't you hold it? If we get off now, we won't be able to get back on! It's already been over an hour and a half!" But, she couldn't wait so, I found a cast member and said we had to leave. We took the "chicken door" and I took Sophie to the bathroom.

Now, I really thought this whole "bathroom" thing was a ruse. I really thought she just got scared and didn't want to ride but, she did in fact really want to ride. I'll leave out the unpleasantness but, suffice it to say that Sophie and I ended up riding it a little later. 

Now for the bright side: we saw Fantasmic and had really great seats! It was a really good show and, even though we saw it back in 2007, I couldn't remember much of it. I mean, I remember all of the music but, that's mainly because of our strange obsession with continuously listening to Disney World theme park music.

Anyway, today is our "off" day which just means no theme parks; just pool, resort, and photography.

Hopefully, tomorrow's summary of today's events won't include any strife.

The Beauty of Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe

Let me start out by saying that when I use the term "beauty" to describe Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, I'm not really talking about aesthetics. That's not to say it's not a nice looking quick service restaurant, because I honestly think it is. No, when I talk about "the beauty" of Cosmic Ray's, I am talking about its idealism.

I'm not going wax philosophical or anything like that but, I like what Cosmic Ray's and the "lounge lizard", Sonny Eclipse, represent. To me, this restaurant stands for something that I hope is not dying off in Walt Disney World: original theming and attractions. I'm sure that this quick service restaurant's theming--and Sonny Eclipse himself--owe a great deal to sci-fi movies and books (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, perhaps?) but still, this restaurant is not based directly on a Disney movie, or any movie for that matter.

Now, there's nothing wrong with basing attractions and restaurants on existing IP's (intellectual properties). One great example is the Be Our Guest restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. That restaurant is absolutely beautiful and I was really blown away by the attention to detail that was in every nook and cranny.

But looking at one of my earlier posts which focused on The Tower of Terror, I am reminded of how good and authentic an attraction can feel without being based on a movie. The Imagineers have an awesome history of creating unique experiences that don't need to emulate a movie and I'd really love to see this continue. However, given the fact that Disney is already working on an Avatar land in the Animal Kingdom and Star Wars land and Toy Story land at Hollywood Studios, I'm afraid the trend of original-themed restaurants or rides at Walt Disney World might be a thing of the past.

I can't really blame Disney if they go completely for movie-based rides and attractions. After all, they spend literally billions of dollars on the Star Wars franchise so it really won't be a surprise if they mine the Star Wars universe for an endless amount of attractions. Disney's Hollywood Studios may end up turning completely into a Star Wars/Pixar theme park and I'm sure each and every one of those attractions would contain the same level of detail that I have grown to love at Disney. 

But here's the thing: when an attraction is based on an existing IP, people go into it with certain expectations. They know what a character's voice should sound like. They know how the music should sound. They know what the setting should look like. A well done, completely original attraction does not open with any of those pre-conceived expectations so, if it's good (like The Tower of Terror) it stands on its own. It doesn't need the muscle of Star Wars, Pixar, or Marvel to back it up.

But business is business and, in order to stay relevant, I just can't see Disney investing a lot of time and effort into restaurants and attractions that don't already have a huge audience.

Hang in there Sonny Eclipse! Don't ever let the Mos Eisley Cantina Band take your place!!

What are your favorite original Walt Disney World attractions/restaurants?

Also... 40 days to Disney!!

The Hollywood Tower Hotel (also: 55 Days to Disney)

The Tower of Terror at Disney's Hollywood Studios. I have a special place in my heart for this attraction and it doesn't really have too much to do with the actual elevator "thrill-ride" element of this attraction.

I love The Tower of Terror for one main reason: theming.

When I step into the area surrounding The Tower of Terror, the first thing I notice right away is the music. It echoes in and around the attraction and it has an eery, yet beautiful, echo-ey quality to it. It really sounds as if someone left a radio playing in an old abandoned hotel lobby. The lyrics to the song themselves fit the mood perfectly. "We'll Meet Again" by Vera Lynn is, for me, the quintessential soundtrack for the attraction. The mood of the song is almost forlorn, yet hopeful, and the notes are held out just long enough to fit the ethereal mood that permeates the entire "hotel".

But, it's not just the music. It's also the hotel itself. The lobby, of course, is the centerpiece of the attraction. Cobwebs are on everything and it really looks like everyone sort of just suddenly abandoned the hotel for good. But, then there's the queue line which comes complete with an old, decorative fountain that has fallen into disrepair after 60+ years of neglect.

Disney really knows how to do theming for their attractions. It's that attention to detail that always amazes me. But at The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios, they really just nail it.

Can't wait to see this amazing attraction in about 55 days. 

Until then, "We'll meet again, don't know where, don't know when..."

The Hollywood Tower Hotel (a.k.a. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror):

That awesome area music that I really do just absolutely love: