Back Home from Disneyworld......

[Disney Villain]

Well it's summer again so my family and I will be taking our annual trip to Disneyworld. I am so exicted-I love it there. My flight leaves Friday morning and when we arrive we will be staying at the Grand Floridian Hotel. I cannot contain my excitement lol. I will take a ton of pictures and give a full report when I get home.

[Luke]

Yay! Have a great trip! Hope it is a long one. Not because that means you'll be away from the forum, but because that means you'll be having fun at The Vacation Kingdom of the World!

I look forward to your report.

[JiminyCrick91]

Have fun! Is this your frist trip or frist in a long time?

[memnv]

Have a great trip and say hi to Mickey for me

[AwallaceUNC]

Hooray- how exciting! That means this will be your first Everest experience... enjoy it and take in that amazing view!

-Aaron

[Disney Villain]

Thanks Luke, JiminyCrick91, memnv, and AwallaceUNC. I am soo excited I feel like i'm 2 years old (I always get this way lol)

JiminyCrick91 wrote:
Have fun! Is this your frist trip or frist in a long time?

No It's NOT my first trip. I go to WDW almost every summer lol.

AwallaceUNC wrote:
Hooray- how exciting! That means this will be your first Everest experience... enjoy it and take in that amazing view!

Yes this will be my first Everest experience. I cannot wait to ride it.

[TashieGirl]

I envy you soo much!



Anyway, have a great trip!!!

[Disney Villain]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Well my flight leaves in a few hours so I just wanted to say goodbye to everyone and I'll be back on the forum's soon with a full report of my vacation.

[Argenbrit]

I can't wait to go back. You're lucky to go there every year!

Have a great trip!

[Disney Villain]

Well I’ve finally returned from Disneyworld. It was a longer trip than I originally expected. I left on Friday July 7th, 2006 and returned on July 19th. We stayed at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. I have been lurking in the forums, but I haven’t posted because I’ve been extremely busy. It feels so weird to be home. I could live in Disneyworld forever. Well thanks everyone for the kind posts and now I will report my trip park by park….

----------------------------------------
Magic Kingdom
The magic Kingdom is a fantastic park. Thank goodness for the extra magic hours. We were able to go to the Magic Kingdom until 2am certain nights. Not much has changed since my trip there last summer except the exciting new additions to pirates and the disappointing Spectromagic. What has happened to that parade? It has truly gone downhill. No Giant Ursula (only on certain nights) and the giant Cheronbong float has been completely removed. Luckily I was able to see that float last year. Also many years ago I remember a float with Aurora and Phillip and another float with a lot of Villains. The only villains in the parade are the Evil Queen and Captain Hook. The parade has gone downhill and I hope they fix it or replace it.

The Share a Dream Come True Parade was fantastic everything remained the same to my knowledge. I loved the Villain float—Maleficent smiled at me when I shouted out her name as well as Cruella and Jafar. The actress playing the Evil Queen also stopped inside her “snow globe” to pose for a picture. I loved every minute of it.

Cinderellabration is just wonderful. I was traveling with younger cousins (all girls ranging in age from 3 through 9) who are all princess obsessed. My youngest cousin Juliana wore a Belle outfit around the park. We all loved the show. Its pure Disney magic—a truly wonderful show. I am so disappointed that the show will be ending this September I’m glad I taped it. As you can see I loved it. The actress who played Cinderella even sounded like the real Cinderella (sometimes). The costumes are elaborate and I love the soundtrack. I highly recommend this show whether you like princesses or not.

Wishes is the best thing at the Magic Kingdom. The fireworks go so well to the soundtrack. My entire family (all 11 that went) loved it. Just watching the sparkle in the kids eyes made it all work while. I LOVE THIS SHOW (especially the Evil Queen part). Disney has truly outdone themselves with this nighttime spectacular.

Mickey’s Phillarmagic
A truly breathtaking show. This shows us that when Disney puts effort into something it can turn out beautiful. Nothing has changed. My cousins loved it they tried to touch Ariel’s hands and take her jewels. It was just fantastic. The best thing in Disneyworld. The animation as well as the 3-D is stunning. It’s just breathtaking.

The new Pirates of the Caribbean was great as well. I never knew that ride could generate such long lines. Usually you could just “walk on” to the ride with little to no wait. Well thanks the life like robots of Johnny Depp the ride now generates 80 minute lines. Although the new robot editions are awesome along with the cool Davey Jones waterfall effect the ride is nothing new—it still stays true to the original. I was afraid that the ride was going to be completely renovated but it’s still the classic Disney attraction. Captain Jack can first be seen peering out of some dresses after the new pirate ship battle (which includes a robot of Barbosa). Then Captain Jack can be seen peering out of a barrel and finally at the end of the attraction sitting with all his gold. The ride may have new additions but it’s not worth the wait.

Cinderella Castle Dinner was great. All my little cousins (including myself and my sister) got to take a picture with Cinderella in her throne room and eat in her dining room. We were greeted with character appearances by the Fairy Godmother, Susie, Perla, and Cinderella. My cousins were in heaven. At the end of the dinner we received a special Cinderella lithograph. I may go to Disney almost every summer but the last I ate inside the castle was summer 2002 and I enjoyed that dinner better. Then we had character appearances with all the princesses’ not just Cinderella. I think this year’s dinner would have been more memorable if more princesses were there. I liked the old dinner better. But don’t get me wrong the castle dinner was worth every dollar we all enjoyed it.

I’ve never noticed this before but there is a restaurant in tomorrow land that features an alien robot named “Sunny Eclipse” it was hysterical and screamed late 70’s early 80’s it’s probably been there for a while but I’ve never noticed it. Anyway I rode the teacups, saw the Queen in Snow White’s scary adventures, flied with Peter Pan, visited the haunted mansion, saw it’s a small world, shot aliens with Buzz, wanted to puke after watching Stitch’s great escape (a horrible attraction) rode splash, big thunder, and Space Mountain and shopped till I dropped. My family and I really enjoyed ourselves.


Disney MGM Studios
I love MGM Studios, mainly because of Fantasmic and the store “Villains in Vogue”. Nothing has changed since last summer to my knowledge. The park is exactly the same and has the best parade in my opinion: “The Stars and Motor Cars Parade” is always fantastic. This was the first year we got to stand up front. We were right where the floats came out. The characters came right up to us-it was great. When Cruella walked by she came up to my cousin and while my cousin shook her hand I said “Cruella, I love you” and she said “Thank You Darling”. I loved every minute of it. My cousins got up close to the characters which they loved. Since we right up front a cast member asked my youngest cousin if she could be in the parade she couldn’t because that meant that she would have to walk to the front of the park we had no time we had dinner reservations. Instead they gave her a Tinkerbelle certificate. My cousin loved that.

Tower of Terror is just an A+ attraction. Each time we went the ride felt different. I loved every minute of it. Same goes for the Rocking Roller Coaster. I thought it would be a little less intense after that poor boy that just died on it, but it just as crazy as. Later we saw Muppets 3-D which really stinks in my opinion. The show is dated and I think it needs to be updated. It pales in comparison to Mickey’s Phillarmagic which as I already stated is just breathtaking.

Fantasmic is my favorite show, mainly because it’s a Villain show. Finally I get to see all my Villains in one show. I’ve seen this show a lot over the years and it still puts a smile on my face. Since we were there during one of the parks busiest weeks there were 2 showings of Fantasmic one at 9pm and one at 10:30pm. Last year we sat 2 hours in advance for the 9:00 showing but we had great seats. This year we decided to go the less crowded 10:30 showing. It was literally empty!! We sat in the first bleachers. I got soaked and wanted to die when Maleficent blew that fire on the water it was so HOT. I realized that the show is much better if you sit further back. Sitting that up close we could not really appreciate the water effects-- luckily later that week at another 10:30 showing we sat in what I’d call perfect seats dead center. The show is amazing. Oh I’ve realized something. After Mickey defeat’s the villains at the very end of the show after he says his farewells he blows up in fireworks. I like to think of that as the Villains really winning in the end. Anyone else who has seen the show agree with me?

Villains in Vogue is my favorite store but it has gone downhill. Half of the store is Nightmare before Christmas the majority of the store is Pirates of the Caribbean and the Villains get 4 shelves in their own store with little merchandise. The store was like this the last few summers as well. The last time I remember the store having 100% villain themed merchandise was in 2002. Back then they had everything now there is nothing and it’s really disappointing. Back in the early 90’s there was a different Villain store in MGM (which is now a coffee shop) that had every thing you could possibly imagine themed to the villains. Hopefully after this pirate mania dies down the store will be restored to its full glory.

Epcot
This was probably the least populated park. I like Epcot it’s like an escape from the rest of Disneyworld I can’t really explain it.

World Showcase
As we visited the world showcase we were able to take pictures and get autographs from Aurora, Belle, Jasmine and Aladdin. The line for Snow White was too long. I was online for Aurora (I can’t begin to describe to you how much I love her) then she left, I waited 40 minutes for her to come back, but it was worth the wait. She kissed me and took a picture with me after I explained to her how much I love her. I was wearing a Maleficent pin and she said “Oh my is that who I think it is?” I was like “oh you mean Maleficent?” she said “Yes, I don’t really like her –as you probably already know, so I’ll just stand over here”. She stood on my left side because the pin was on my right.

When we saw Aladdin and Jasmine together I was amazed the actor sounded just like Aladdin. He kept asking me and my sister questions but we were speechless because we felt like we were talking to the animated character-this guy sounded just like the real Aladdin it was amazing.

While we were in the World Showcase we went to Norway to ride the waterfall thing (name?) that’s always fun.

We did not see the Fireworks at Epcot and that disappointed me because I loved Illuminations last year. It was a great show. I guess I’ll have to wait until next year.


Soarin'
This has to be the best ride in Epcot. Since fast pass had a ridiculous return time (7pm we were there at 1pm) we waited on line for about 40min but it was worth the wait. The line goes by fast because the keep you interested with fascinating facts about our planet shown on plasma screens on the wall. The ride itself is amazing. It is truly breathtaking. My grandmother went on with me, my mom, and the sister and she enjoyed it as well (usually my grandmother goes on everything but this year she was more toned down and did not want to ride as many attractions, but she loved this) I love this ride you actually feel like you’re flying and I especially loved when we flew over Disneyland California. I’ve never been there so I liked to see it. That ride did not change at all since last year. I love it.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom
It rained a lot when we first went there. We only did two attractions, but before I describe my experience I would like to complain about “Chester and Lester’ Dinorama” or something like that. It is crap. It ruins the entire park. It’s rally a step down for Disney. That space could be used for something better. It’s a scar on the face of Disneyworld. Disney if you’re listening CLOSE IT NOW!

Expedition Everest
The greatest ride in the park. I’ve never been on it before but it was tons of fun. The line was about 55min. It was worth the wait. I would have waited 50 years to experience it lol. My Uncle and I sat in the front row. I was a little apprehensive because I hate sitting in the front on a ride I’ve never been on before. But it was worth it. We got a great breeze and in the first 10 seconds of the ride you run out of track and go backwards. It is so cool. But just when you think it’s over you zoom into a cave with a Giant realistic Yeti. When it swooped its arm down I thought it was going to grab me I screamed so loud and lowered my head—it was that intense. I LOVED IT A+++++ Disney. I was not disappointed.

We also rode the Kali River Rapids in the rain—that was a lot of fun-- I got soaked. Right after that though the Everest ride dried me off lol.

--------------------------------------
As you can see my family and I had a fantastic time. I love Disneyworld and I love going there almost every summer. I’ve never stayed there for 2 weeks but it was worth it. Usually we go to Disneyworld in late August when the parks are empty. I will probably never go back there in July again due to the tons of people, long lines, and chaos lol. This is the first trip in about 4 years where we did not go on the Disney Cruise as well as visit the parks.

We may go on the Disney Cruise later this August or we will go to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party in October. I’ve never been to Disney during the Halloween season. I’d love to go just to see all my Villains in their glory as well as a villain edition of Wishes. However in October I need to take the SAT so we will see what happens.

I will update the thread with links to my photobucket account so you can see my trip pictures. I will also upload a ton of Video on to Youtube. If I highlighted something in blue that means I’ll put its video on Youtube.

Thank You for taking the time out to read this long report of my trip. Please ignore the misspellings. This took a long time to type up so it probably has errors lol. Thanks everyone for the kind posts and I can’t wait to see your thoughts.

[Escapay]

I could live in Disneyworld forever.

I know that feeling well.

Escapay

[JiminyCrick91]

I could live in Disneyworld forever.

I know that feeling well.

Escapay

Sadly we all do.

[Mr. Toad]

I could live in Disneyworld forever.

I know that feeling well.

Escapay

Yes, but Escapay knows it better than most of us.

Villain - I think you are right about Philharmagic. For me, Disney World is a once a decade event while Disneyland might happen a couple of times a year. I wish they could import it over here. Really I could do without Honey I Shrunk the Audience ever again.

Also with the Muppets, its not so much being dated as just bad. The pre show was better than the actual show. That 3D animated character was totally out of place and a fairly unfamiliar muppet is the star(the bunny).
The only thing that works is the ending.

[Kram Nebuer]

Wow! It sounds like you guys had a great time! I'm glad you guys got to stay so long and take the parks in slow. We were there about the same time you were from July 5 - July 10, but we only spent 3 days in the parks. It's very tiring to do a lot in just 3 days. We still had fun though! We were probably in Magic Kingdom at the same time if you went on July 7th, but there were so many people we probably never maybe might've saw each other, lol!

While we were in the World Showcase we went to Norway to ride the waterfall thing (name?) that’s always fun.

The Norway ride is called Maelstrom! It's great even though it's so short. We found that the fastpass for this attraction was unneccesary unless the line reaches outside of the building. Then the wait's not really worth it, but for a first timer it's thrilling. I hated that you were stuck in the little town docks if the Norway movie started already. I guess it's respectful to the ppl watching the movie, but it's terrible if you want to go someplace else or meet up with family members on time.

When we saw Aladdin and Jasmine together I was amazed the actor sounded just like Aladdin. He kept asking me and my sister questions but we were speechless because we felt like we were talking to the animated character-this guy sounded just like the real Aladdin it was amazing.

LOL!!! My sister (Jane Mccoy on UD though she's hardly ever here) and I were the same way! Is this him (see below)? The shades are protecting are identities, btw, lol! We didn't even plan on meeting him. We were just browsing the little store and I pick up some kind of musical trinket then look to my left and there's these glass doors with Aladdin behind it waiting for someone to meet him b/c no one was there! My sister and I were like and we ran around to find how to get in and met him. It was awesome b/c we never usually meet face characters and we never met Aladdin (well my sister met one b/c he was her friend and coworker in the Disney College Program who later auditioned and became the MK's Aladdin).

If this is not the same one, then Epcot is lucky to have at least two incredibly convincing Aladdins! It was like we stepped into the movie. He asked us where we were from and we were like NJ and he said, "Wow you guys flew from far away" or something like that (btw, Peter Pan made the same remark too) and he was very nice and made conversation. My sister was all acting boy crazy when he put his arm around her for the picture .

Anyhow, great trip report and I can't wait to see your YouTube vacation movies!! I'm a member too (same username there as here), but I just make Disney music videos.

Yes, but Escapay knows it better than most of us. Laughing

I think JiminyCrick91 was in the college program too. Though I might be confusing him with Fidget1234 who was in the program. Well I know Disney Princess Ariellen was in it too. I dunno maybe my mind is making this up! Anyhow, he knows it too much since he doesn't communicate with the family as much anymore .

[Fidget1234]

sounds like u had a good time DV. u REALLY heart your villians.

I too am dissapointed w/ villians in vogue now. that store kinda sux now w/ all the NBXMAS stuff & less villains merchandise. BOOOOO!!!!!
last time i went in there a few months ago- i walked in, & walked right out the other door- all i could see was jack skellingtons face slapped on everything.

80 min for the potc? yikes!
maybe it will calm down by November (when i go again after the dcl)

glad to hear u had a magical time!

[Escapay]

Yes, but Escapay knows it better than most of us. Laughing

I think JiminyCrick91 was in the college program too. Though I might be confusing him with Fidget1234 who was in the program. Well I know Disney Princess Ariellen was in it too. I dunno maybe my mind is making this up! Anyhow, he knows it too much since he doesn't communicate with the family as much anymore .

IIRC, UD'ers who have worked in a Disney theme park:

dvdjunkie - Disneyland
disneyfella - WDW (unless I'm confusing him with someone else?)
Fidget1234 - WDW
Prince Phillip - WDW
Jane McCoy - WDW
Escapay - WDW
Disney Princess Ariellen - WDW (and she should post more often, dammit!)
Kin00 - Disneyland Paris

And Aaron said he was accepted, but declined for now, which is a pity, because if he had gone in 2005, he would have seen not only me, Jane, and Prince Phillip, but he could have been around for all the grand openings and cast member previews (Small World, Soarin, Cinderellabration, LMAX)!

Escapay

[Fidget1234]

i think chapnearwdw works or used to work for wdw too.

[Disney Villain]

Thank you everyone for your kind posts. I figured so many of you would love to live in Disneyworld lol . I still have one more year of High School left until college. But I am looking foward to doing the Disney Internship program if i'm lucky enough lol.

Wow! It sounds like you guys had a great time! I'm glad you guys got to stay so long and take the parks in slow. We were there about the same time you were from July 5 - July 10, but we only spent 3 days in the parks. It's very tiring to do a lot in just 3 days. We still had fun though! We were probably in Magic Kingdom at the same time if you went on July 7th, but there were so many people we probably never maybe might've saw each other, lol!.

I know i've never seen the park so crowded in my life. There were just too many people there and a ton of camps from diffrent countries. We were there at the same time lol. I'm glad you and your sister had fun.

LOL!!! My sister (Jane Mccoy on UD though she's hardly ever here) and I were the same way! Is this him (see below)? The shades are protecting are identities, btw, lol! We didn't even plan on meeting him. We were just browsing the little store and I pick up some kind of musical trinket then look to my left and there's these glass doors with Aladdin behind it waiting for someone to meet him b/c no one was there! My sister and I were like and we ran around to find how to get in and met him. It was awesome b/c we never usually meet face characters and we never met Aladdin (well my sister met one b/c he was her friend and coworker in the Disney College Program who later auditioned and became the MK's Aladdin)If this is not the same one, then Epcot is lucky to have at least two incredibly convincing Aladdins! It was like we stepped into the movie. He asked us where we were from and we were like NJ and he said, "Wow you guys flew from far away" or something like that (btw, Peter Pan made the same remark too) and he was very nice and made conversation. My sister was all acting boy crazy when he put his arm around her for the picture .

YES your Aladdin was the same guy--Here is a pic of me and my sister with Aladdin and Jasmine at Epcot:


He sounded so much like the real Aladdin it was really amazing. When I said we were from New York he said the same thing he told you and your sister-"Wow you guys flew far". lol. It's great when they find people who sound like the characters it makes the experience more magical lol.

Villain - I think you are right about Philharmagic. For me, Disney World is a once a decade event while Disneyland might happen a couple of times a year. I wish they could import it over here. Really I could do without Honey I Shrunk the Audience ever again.

Also with the Muppets, its not so much being dated as just bad. The pre show was better than the actual show. That 3D animated character was totally out of place and a fairly unfamiliar muppet is the star(the bunny).
The only thing that works is the ending.

Wow i've NEVER been to Disneyland. I hope they get Phillarmagic too because it's such a fantastic show. The detail is amazing. There is one scene when Ariel reaches out her hands you can see the lines in her hands. It's really breathtaking. Ugghh I know how you feel about Honey I Shrunk the Audience lol. I also agree with you about the muppets. I hope they change it or get rid of it.

sounds like u had a good time DV. u REALLY heart your villians.

I too am dissapointed w/ villians in vogue now. that store kinda sux now w/ all the NBXMAS stuff & less villains merchandise. BOOOOO!!!!!
last time i went in there a few months ago- i walked in, & walked right out the other door- all i could see was jack skellingtons face slapped on everything.

80 min for the potc? yikes!
maybe it will calm down by November (when i go again after the dcl)

glad to hear u had a magical time!

Thanks. I do Love my Villains lol. I know exactly how you feel about Villains in Vogue. The villains have 3 shelves in their own store its horrible. It gets me mad. I understand that pirates are generating huge amounts of money but once that dies down I hope the store gets new villain merchandise.