[JFischel]

Hey all, I made my first trip back to Disney World in Florida for the first time in 17 years over the Holidays. What a great time we had...The Tower of Terror has to be one of the best thrill rides I have ever been on! At any rate, just wondered if there are any Disney World fans out there...

Regards,

Josh

[Cadaver]

I took my three kids (5 years old and 3 year old twins) to the Magic Kingdom for the first time over vacation. They loved it.
It was kind of fun for my wife and I, too. First time back in about 8 years.

[euchomai]

My wife and went on our honeymoon there several years ago. (disneyworld, that is). We were there over christmas and it was just great to watch the parade and celebrate the new year too. Really a fun place!

We went back last year and decided that all the new stuff they set up at universal just kicked disney all over the place! With two parks, one full of rides and the other the movie stuff, it was just great.

[calamar1]

i'm actually going this weekend to watch the gf run the disneyworld marathon. i haven't been in 19 years. any recommendations?

[Millennium]

My wife and I went on our honeymoon there last week.

It being Disney, of course it went fantastically. My miggest recommendations this time are the new Mission: Space ride at Epcot and the Mitsukoshi restaurant, also at Epcot.

A word of warning about Epcot, however, if you've been before: they seem to have bolted this godawful Mickey-hand thing onto Spaceship Earth. I sincerely hope they don't mean for it to be permanent.

[The Godfather]

My young cousins and their friends like Nickelodeon more than Disney. It would make sense if Nickelodeon builds a theme park, as it would attract more kiddies.

Disney is so nineteen hundreds.

[BoomStick]

Originally posted by calamar1:
i'm actually going this weekend to watch the gf run the disneyworld marathon. i haven't been in 19 years. any recommendations?

Rainforest Cafe in Downtown Disney and Disney Quest also in Downtown Disney.

[Millennium]

Originally posted by The Godfather:
My young cousins and their friends like Nickelodeon more than Disney. It would make sense if Nickelodeon builds a theme park, as it would attract more kiddies.

They have one, sort of. It's part of Universal Orlando, last I checked. Lots of interesting stuff.

[webcookie]

I went to Disney World December 4-11 and it was my third trip this year. We stayed at the Polynesian (it was the Caribbean Beach and the Contemporary the other two times this year). This was the first time I had ever seen WDW dressed up for Christmas. We also went to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.

@Millennium: The hand has been over Spaceship Earth since 2000 and it *is* permanent. There are no plans to remove it.

WDW updates: Food Rocks in the Land pavilion in Epcot closed for good on January 3rd. The Wonders of Life pavilion in Epcot went into seasonal operation on January 5th. Alien Encounter in Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom has been closed and will reopen in the spring as Stitch Encounter, featuring Stitch from "Lilo & Stitch". In the meantime, the Carousel of Progress and The Timekeeper are open to take in the overflow (they are usually on seasonal operation). A new roller coaster is being built at the Animal Kingdom called "Expedition: Everest". Residential Street at MGM has been demolished in preparation for the Moteurs Stunt Show from Disneyland Paris.

Me = huge Disney geek.

[Millennium]

Originally posted by webcookie:
@Millennium: The hand has been over Spaceship Earth since 2000 and it *is* permanent. There are no plans to remove it.

Please tell me you're joking. The minimalist, high-tech look of Spaceship Earth is what made it such a cool emblem for Epcot. The hand just looks tacky.

[webcookie]

Originally posted by Millennium:
Please tell me you're joking. The minimalist, high-tech look of Spaceship Earth is what made it such a cool emblem for Epcot. The hand just looks tacky.

I wish I was joking. But unfortunately, the hand is there to stay. Epcot is losing its touch. Have you noticed.. Horizons closed (it was actually built on a sinkhole and was unsafe, but anyhow) and was replaced by Mission: Space, World of Motion closed and was replaced by Test Track, Energy got turned into Ellen's Energy Adventure, Wonders of Life is now on seasonal operation, Journey Into Imagination was turned into Journey Into YOUR Imagination with Figment! (but without Dreamfinder, the song, or any real imagination), Communicore was ousted in favour of Innoventions, the Living Seas is getting a Finding Nemo redo, etc. The real Epcot - EPCOT Center - is long gone. So the hand stays and all educational goodness goes out the window.

[Millennium]

I actually really liked Mission: Space. I don't remember Horizons, unfortunately.

I wanted to do Test Track, but we got there at 11:00 AM and the FastPasses were already going fast for the 9:30 boarding time with the standard lines being three hours long (and me in a three-hour line would be hazardous to everyone else's health).

The Living Seas is still pretty good, despite the Finding Nemo makeover.

Innoventions is actually pretty good. Then again, I'm a junkie for DDR. My wife and I had a wonderful time converting all the kids to The Cult Of Kingdom Hearts. I handled the kids, while she talked to the parents.

We didn't end up doing Journey into Imagination this time; too much else to do. Good to see that Figment is still around, at least. I still have a plushie of him from when I was four years old.

The World Showcase stuff seems to be more or less intact. It's a shame that Mitsukoshi can't do fire tricks anymore, though; there must have been some kind of lawsuit. Our 6th anniversary was on the 28th, so we went there for dinner (she'd had her first Japanese food there, back when she was four). The food's apparently as good as ever; I hadn't been there before, so I had nothing to compare to, but it certainly was good stuff.

[webcookie]

Originally posted by Millennium:
I actually really liked Mission: Space. I don't remember Horizons, unfortunately.

I wanted to do Test Track, but we got there at 11:00 AM and the FastPasses were already going fast for the 9:30 boarding time with the standard lines being three hours long (and me in a three-hour line would be hazardous to everyone else's health).

The Living Seas is still pretty good, despite the Finding Nemo makeover.

Innoventions is actually pretty good. Then again, I'm a junkie for DDR. My wife and I had a wonderful time converting all the kids to The Cult Of Kingdom Hearts. I handled the kids, while she talked to the parents.

We didn't end up doing Journey into Imagination this time; too much else to do. Good to see that Figment is still around, at least. I still have a plushie of him from when I was four years old.

The World Showcase stuff seems to be more or less intact. It's a shame that Mitsukoshi can't do fire tricks anymore, though; there must have been some kind of lawsuit. Our 6th anniversary was on the 28th, so we went there for dinner (she'd had her first Japanese food there, back when she was four). The food's apparently as good as ever; I hadn't been there before, so I had nothing to compare to, but it certainly was good stuff.

I didn't attempt Mission: Space. I went through the list of warnings outside it and decided that if I went on I'd come off puking and not able to walk and freaked out. I did buy a postcard in the gift shop, though. Too bad that you don't remember Horizons. Google it; a lot of great websites about it will come up.

Test Track always has horrendous lines like that. The fastpasses are often sold out for the whole day by 12p.

I have a Figment plush from when I was little, too. Be warned that the redo of the ride stinks and Figment got a small personality change.

I've never eaten in Japan! Truth be told, my favourite food in all of World Showcase are Miss Vickie's potato chips from the cart in Canada. I'm more of a cheap-pizza-from-that-place-in-(the pavilion formerly known as)Communicore kinda girl.