10 Parks in 21 Days

[westical]

Been meaning to post this for awhile. Some references will be a little dated as a result.

Movie World

• Private function. Austin Powers needs to move on.
• Rode Green Lantern 3 times. Had audio 3 times. Hallelujah.
• First time I noticed the Harry Potter store was no longer branded, I’m surprised it lasted as long as it did to be honest. But I guess there’s no local Universal Studios.

Epcot

• Now one of my favourite parks. Helped by the Food & Wine Festival which had an amazing atmosphere. Sure some of the country stalls aren’t totally authentic, but it doesn’t hurt to pretend.
• Even though I spent two full days here, I still didn’t get the chance to fully explore the pavilions. Guess I'll have to go back sometime...
• The interactivity on Test Track is fun and the Tron design is slick, although I think I preferred the old ride theming. Still a great feeling zipping along the outside track.
• Took full advantage of the free Coke brands taste testing.
• Got to see how the audio-animatronic sets worked on The American Adventure. Absolutely fascinating stuff.

Disney Hollywood Studios

• First time riding Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, was definitely a highlight rides-wise. Wasn’t expecting a loop straight after launch. At least the audio always works on this ride.
• Enjoyed Lights, Motors, Action!, not sure why it sometimes gets a bad wrap. Can see the influence on MW’s.
• Indy is still a fantastic stunt show. The backlot tour needs to die though (Star Wars land?).
• First time seeing DHS’s version of Fantasmic! I prefer the DL version (although the auditorium seating at DHS makes the view better) but it’s still a must-see. The Glow with the Show ears are a fun addition to all the night shows.
• The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights is amazing. Photos and video don’t do it justice.

Magic Kingdom

• Always feels weird at MK having spent more time at DL. Takes a bit longer to get my bearings.
• New Fantasyland looks great, will be even better when the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train opens. Had the chance to see Imagineers working on the paintwork of the mine carts in the fabrication shop.
• Attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Not as much fun as Mickey’s Halloween Party at DL but still glad I went when I had the chance.
• Did a lap of the Utilidoors. Another fascinating moment, didn’t see any headless characters though.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• Theming here is underrated. Such a beautiful park at night too.
• The Lion King and Finding Nemo musicals are amazing for theme park productions.
• Expedition Everest went down about an hour before park close. I wouldn’t have blamed them if they had just left it closed until the next day, as plenty of other parks would have done. But no, about five minutes before park close, they managed to reopen the ride and left it open for about 15 minutes past close. Had about four rides including one in the front row. Disney magic right there.

Blizzard Beach

• First time visit.
• Not as big as I was expecting but the theming definitely made up for it.
• The lazy river just kept on going and going and going, loved it.
• Summit Plummet was worth the trip, hardly any queue being a quiet time of year. Only thing stopping me from going on it more was the pounding it gave my arse (no jokes pls).

Islands of Adventure

• First time visit.
• I knew The Wizarding World of Harry Potter was going to be amazingly themed, but I wasn’t expecting the rest of the park to be at nearly the same level.
• Butterbeer is delicious.
• Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey was the highlight ride of the trip, such an immersive experience, even if the storyline has a few holes. Amazing.
• Spiderman was a close second, there wouldn’t be a HP ride without it.

Universal Studios

• First time visit.
• Transformers wasn’t as amazing having been on HP and Spiderman, but it still beats the pants off anything in Australia.
• Didn’t get stuck on Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. Although fortunately I decided to go on this ride the day prior after I’d left IOA, because the next day when I spent most of the time at USF it was closed all day.
• Glad I got the chance to ride ET and see T2:3D again, not sure how much longer they’ll be around.
• Springfield looks fantastic. Krusty Burger was delicious. Glad they still made room for the BTTF3 train.

SeaWorld

• First time visit.
• Manta was the highlight coaster of the trip. Such a smooth ride. Kraken wasn’t too far behind.
• Empire of the Penguin was a little disappointing, some fantastic ride technology but the ride experience itself was bit a let-down.
• I know it’s no longer popular opinion, but I still enjoy seeing the killer whales on show.

Sea World

• Impressed with the new polar bear cub enclosure, was very popular on what was a fairly slow day.
• Storm wasn’t open yet, will get down there after school holidays are over.

[DaptoFunlandGuy]

Good, articulate and to the point.

Thanks for the good reviews.