Disney trip

[starfish1113]

I'm back from a whirlwind and exhausting five days in the land of mouse. And, yes Mini, the weather was amazingly good! Unfortunately, most people in Florida took advantage of this, and the crowds were very large.

I did four "new" things during this trip:

1. Astro Orbiter at Magic Kingdom - a ride that has been there forever but one that I had never had a chance to do, mainly because the lines were inordinately long for a ride that seemed as if it would boring, and I feared the spinning would cause unnecessary queasiness. Well, my kids convinced me that I should try it and early Monday morning seems like the perfect time because the line was minimal. The ride itself was basically what I expected, although I did enjoy the view.

2. American Idol at Hollywood Studios - they had a soft opening for this on the day we were there (the official opening isn't until mid-Feb.) and it was really entertaining (don't bother if you aren't an AI fan, though). Throughout the park they had signs asking people to sign up for AI auditions. Apparently, the best of these auditions are chosen for each hourly show. Each show has three contestants (at least that's what it was like when we were there) and they each sing a song. There are three judges, and - surprise, surprise - the one on the left is black, the one in the middle is a woman, and the one on the right is British and mocks the contestants regardless of their talent. We were instructed to boo him no matter what he says. Anyway, after each song, the judges critique the contestant. This part is quite cheesy. After all three sing, we in the audience vote for our favorite. The one with the most votes gets to appear at the end of the day main show, where all of the hourly winners compete for a chance to get a golden ticket, which puts them at the front of the line for a city audition next summer. Because ours was a soft opening, they informed us that the winner wouldn't actually get that prize as some of these "contestants" were actually park employees. What strikes me about this prize is (1) big whoop - I can't believe getting in the front of the line is gonna make that much difference and (2) apparently the auditions are open to anybody 16 and above and the guy who "won" our show is 36. Last I checked, that makes him a bit too old to appear on AI. What do they do with him?

3. Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. Fantastic. The ride queue is great, showing oversized toys and games from days gone by. The ride itself is a 3-D shooting gallery, allowing you to accumulate points by hitting targets as they move and you move. There were sixteen people in our group. I think I came in fourteenth, beating out only my five year old nephew and my seven year old niece. All of my kids kicked my butt.

4. Chefs de France at Epcot. This is the French restaurant (I'm not sure I have the name right), and by eating here, it leaves only China as a World Showcase country I have never dined in. The food was good but (predictably) overpriced. I'd suggest the French Onion soup. Quite good.

[Big-Haired Mini]

We hit Chefs de France about every trip. There's a beef dish that Stephen craves, but he's sitting this one out since he missed school for sickness, so we may just skip it this time. We can never get into Canada when we're there! My favorite will always be Mexico, just for the setting. They could feed me a Big Mac for all I care.

I've threatened my kids that I'd try out for Idol. I'd be the William Hung of the day.

[starfish1113]

We hit Chefs de France about every trip. There's a beef dish that Stephen craves, but he's sitting this one out since he missed school for sickness, so we may just skip it this time. We can never get into Canada when we're there! My favorite will always be Mexico, just for the setting. They could feed me a Big Mac for all I care.

I've threatened my kids that I'd try out for Idol. I'd be the William Hung of the day.

I feel the exact same way about Mexico. I actually don't really like the food they serve, but if it were up to me, I'd eat there every trip. On Tuesday, we just sat by the fountain, soaking up the atmosphere as the kids played. I will never tire of that place.

I haven't been to Canada or Norway in a long while. Once we hit China, those will probably be the next two.

[Big-Haired Mini]

Norway's gone Princess buffet. I heard they were going to revamp the menu, too.

[gsabc]

Disney is GW's desired destination for the off-season, like November or December 1st. I'm taking notes.

[ulysses5019]

Disney is GW's desired destination for the off-season, like November or December 1st. I'm taking notes.

I'm getting Montezuma's Revenge.

[Big-Haired Mini]

Disney is GW's desired destination for the off-season, like November or December 1st. I'm taking notes.

I'm getting Montezuma's Revenge.

That's Disney Cruise Line....

[peacock2121]

Welcome back!

How did the kids react when it was sprung on them as a surprise?

[MarleysGh0st]

2. American Idol at Hollywood Studios - they had a soft opening for this on the day we were there (the official opening isn't until mid-Feb.) and it was really entertaining (don't bother if you aren't an AI fan, though). Throughout the park they had signs asking people to sign up for AI auditions. Apparently, the best of these auditions are chosen for each hourly show. Each show has three contestants (at least that's what it was like when we were there) and they each sing a song. There are three judges, and - surprise, surprise - the one on the left is black, the one in the middle is a woman, and the one on the right is British and mocks the contestants regardless of their talent. We were instructed to boo him no matter what he says. Anyway, after each song, the judges critique the contestant. This part is quite cheesy. After all three sing, we in the audience vote for our favorite. The one with the most votes gets to appear at the end of the day main show, where all of the hourly winners compete for a chance to get a golden ticket, which puts them at the front of the line for a city audition next summer. Because ours was a soft opening, they informed us that the winner wouldn't actually get that prize as some of these "contestants" were actually park employees. What strikes me about this prize is (1) big whoop - I can't believe getting in the front of the line is gonna make that much difference and (2) apparently the auditions are open to anybody 16 and above and the guy who "won" our show is 36. Last I checked, that makes him a bit too old to appear on AI. What do they do with him?

I don't care about AI, but it still pains me that they'd eliminate the WWTBAM Play It! attraction and then build this.

And what's really in it for the audience? Getting to hear three people sing and then being able to vote for one? Sure, you can audition (privately) to be one of those three, but it hardly compares to everyone playing the game and everyone getting a chance to earn a spot in the Hot Seat (without any Disney cast member APs making a selection) from the audience seats!

3. Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios. Fantastic. The ride queue is great, showing oversized toys and games from days gone by. The ride itself is a 3-D shooting gallery, allowing you to accumulate points by hitting targets as they move and you move. There were sixteen people in our group. I think I came in fourteenth, beating out only my five year old nephew and my seven year old niece. All of my kids kicked my butt.

It is a nice video game, if the lines aren't impossibly long. But, again, when I think of what it replaced...

[MarleysGh0st]

We hit Chefs de France about every trip. There's a beef dish that Stephen craves, but he's sitting this one out since he missed school for sickness, so we may just skip it this time.

Stephen is turning down a trip to WDW so that he doesn't miss any more school!?

Damn! It sucks to get old and responsible!

[starfish1113]

Welcome back!

How did the kids react when it was sprung on them as a surprise?

We told them about a week and a half before we left, for a couple of reasons. First, they were having a bad day, fighting with each other, etc.... We thought that telling them then would lift up their spirits, and it did. They were all very excited to think that in two weeks, they'd be on vacation! Second, we needed to tell their teachers that they'd be missing three days of school and we couldn't think of a way to tell them without telling the kids. All in all, it was the right choice. I had originally wanted to wait until the night before, but that would have been a big clusterf*ck.

The big surprise was for Tracey's sister, Gina. Gina had been planning this trip for months, always trying to get our family to come along. We told her (and actually believed at the time) that it wasn't possible. But, in the end, we decided to go and not tell Gina. We did tell her hubby, though, and we texted him when we got in the park. They were in line for Small World. I thought we should wait until they finished the ride and surprise them (also there was Tracey's best friend, who also didn't know), but Tracey was too excited and cut right into line and shocked everybody! That was probably the best part of the trip!

[peacock2121]

Welcome back!

How did the kids react when it was sprung on them as a surprise?

We told them about a week and a half before we left, for a couple of reasons. First, they were having a bad day, fighting with each other, etc.... We thought that telling them then would lift up their spirits, and it did. They were all very excited to think that in two weeks, they'd be on vacation! Second, we needed to tell their teachers that they'd be missing three days of school and we couldn't think of a way to tell them without telling the kids. All in all, it was the right choice. I had originally wanted to wait until the night before, but that would have been a big clusterf*ck.

The big surprise was for Tracey's sister, Gina. Gina had been planning this trip for months, always trying to get our family to come along. We told her (and actually believed at the time) that it wasn't possible. But, in the end, we decided to go and not tell Gina. We did tell her hubby, though, and we texted him when we got in the park. They were in line for Small World. I thought we should wait until they finished the ride and surprise them (also there was Tracey's best friend, who also didn't know), but Tracey was too excited and cut right into line and shocked everybody! That was probably the best part of the trip!

What a great addition to a fun vacation!

[MarleysGh0st]

The big surprise was for Tracey's sister, Gina. Gina had been planning this trip for months, always trying to get our family to come along. We told her (and actually believed at the time) that it wasn't possible. But, in the end, we decided to go and not tell Gina. We did tell her hubby, though, and we texted him when we got in the park. They were in line for Small World. I thought we should wait until they finished the ride and surprise them (also there was Tracey's best friend, who also didn't know), but Tracey was too excited and cut right into line and shocked everybody! That was probably the best part of the trip!

It is a small world! It really is!

[T_Bone0806]

(2) apparently the auditions are open to anybody 16 and above and the guy who "won" our show is 36. Last I checked, that makes him a bit too old to appear on AI. What do they do with him?

I believe I read that, in this scenario, the winner can transfer his/her audition spot to anyone they want to who fits the eligibility requirements.

4. Chefs de France at Epcot. This is the French restaurant (I'm not sure I have the name right), and by eating here, it leaves only China as a World Showcase country I have never dined in. The food was good but (predictably) overpriced. I'd suggest the French Onion soup. Quite good.

I will never set foot (wheel in) that place again after the way my mom and I were treated back in '98. After being seated in the main dining room, the embarrassed server came back and told us that the head honcho insisted that we be moved to another room because our wheelchairs were "throwing off the balance" of the seating arrangements. By now that asshole has probably moved on to another job being an insufferably snobby jackass in a new venue. I don't care. I'll never go back. Screw 'em.

I've eaten at all of the World Showcase places. Canada rocks! Not crazy about the UK. To hell with France. I like Morocco a lot. The new place in Italy had just started up and was still feeliing it's way. It was ok, but there are better Italian places 7 miles from where I live, not to mention in Albany. I like Japan a lot..well, I did prior to it's revamped offerings, but the new stuff sounds great. Germany is decent, and a solid value. We ate at CHina on ourr last trip and I enjoyed it, but they have also undergone (or are undergoing?) changes. I heard that hey are putting in an open kitchen where you can watch them make the food. Norway was one of my favorites when they had the hot and cold buffet, along with awesome icy cold RIngnes beer on tap, brought to you in a boot-shaped mug. They no longer have either, and I am NOT impressed at all by the current menus that accompany their princess storybook dining (and the accompanying high prices for rubbing elbows with Snow White and her posse. Finally, Mexico is another favorite. Yum.

My favorite restaurant on Disney property is the California Grill in the Contemporary resort. Truly awesome and memorable. I also like Boma i the Animal Kingdom Lodge and Ohana in the Polynesian. Todd English's Blue Zoo in the Dolphin was terrific as well, but a major drain on the wallet.