Daily December #6 - Disney and Me
What is my favorite ride at Disney World and why? (for ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theladyscribe)
ooooooohhhhh, Disney World. As longtime flisters/circlers know, I love me some Disney World. But what they might not know is that I was 32 before I went the first time (and I was 3 weeks post-partum with #2Son & despite this, we (the baby included) had a fabulous time.) So, it's not that I grew up going to WDW. It's more like it's an indulgence adult me has gifted to herself. (It's also within driving distance (so I don't have to buy airfare for 5) and infinitely hackable (so there's always one more thing to try to get the most bang for your buck (and then they go and completely revamp admissions and the ride lines and you get to start all over again.) so it's something do-able with the HoB.)
The thing about WDW is that they don't have the super-crazy 'coasters and rides (that's what Universal is for.) They have a couple mid-level roller coasters and rides, and then lots of rides 'flat' rides, where you're not going superfast or turning upside down. So, if you're looking for rides where you're flirting with death, you'll be all 'eh, I don't see what the big deal is.'
The things that Disney *does* do well, better than anyone almost (Diagon Alley at Universal is *stunning*, IJS & Disney appears to be taking them seriously and upping their projected game) are theming and customer service, which, on rides translate to queues that set the scene for the ride (because it's never just a ride, it's the climax to a story) and cast members who don't just get you onto the ride but play right along with that story.
The cast members at the Haunted Mansion are famous for how they play with the guests -- they glower and growl and generally have fun freaking out select guests (I should also add they're super-good at backing off if necessary.) The queue at Expedition Everest is so full of stuff to look at that we generally try to go through it once every trip (and then run through the single-rider line to get to the roller coaster part, which is one of the bigger 'coasters so of course we're hitting it multiple times.) The atrium at Dinosaur is gorgeous, full of faux sedimentary layers and fossils and the set up is fun (but ow, my ears by the time we're through. Every single on-ride picture of me shows me with my fingers in my ears, even when I remember to bring ear plugs.) For Star Wars fans (of which there are more than a few here at the HoB), the queue for Star Tours is one easter egg after another and you generally get cast members who send you on your way by saying "May the Force be with you, because you're going to need it with this pilot."
So, if you put all that together, my favorite ride is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The line winds through the creepy, falling-apart grounds and lobby of the abandoned hotel that forms the basis of the ride. Rod Serling himself welcomes you to the episode that you're about to take part in. The boiler room that's the loading zone is dank and dark and eerie and the cast members are even more into the atmosphere than the ones at Haunted Mansion. (I swear part of their audition is the Evil Laugh of Doom.) So there's all that, and then the drop sequence on the ride is randomized, so even if you can recite the entire pre-show loading sequence by heart, like my kids can, you still have no idea how they're going to drop you or when they're going to catch you. You can drop-drop-drop and then DROP, or hang suspended in front of the doors that open to the park (so everyone can hear the screaming) before they pull you down and zoom you back up or any combination in between. We spent one night going right back through as soon as we got off (Fantasmic was running by that point, so all the crowds were there, watching the show and the rides were walk-ons) and never had the same sequence twice. I stopped after 6 times but the boys made 11 and they said it was all different. The only thing is that at some point, you'll come out of your seat because the car is accelerating faster than you are, and that's generally when they snap your picture.
It's pretty awesome.
theladyscribe)ooooooohhhhh, Disney World. As longtime flisters/circlers know, I love me some Disney World. But what they might not know is that I was 32 before I went the first time (and I was 3 weeks post-partum with #2Son & despite this, we (the baby included) had a fabulous time.) So, it's not that I grew up going to WDW. It's more like it's an indulgence adult me has gifted to herself. (It's also within driving distance (so I don't have to buy airfare for 5) and infinitely hackable (so there's always one more thing to try to get the most bang for your buck (and then they go and completely revamp admissions and the ride lines and you get to start all over again.) so it's something do-able with the HoB.)
The thing about WDW is that they don't have the super-crazy 'coasters and rides (that's what Universal is for.) They have a couple mid-level roller coasters and rides, and then lots of rides 'flat' rides, where you're not going superfast or turning upside down. So, if you're looking for rides where you're flirting with death, you'll be all 'eh, I don't see what the big deal is.'
The things that Disney *does* do well, better than anyone almost (Diagon Alley at Universal is *stunning*, IJS & Disney appears to be taking them seriously and upping their projected game) are theming and customer service, which, on rides translate to queues that set the scene for the ride (because it's never just a ride, it's the climax to a story) and cast members who don't just get you onto the ride but play right along with that story.
The cast members at the Haunted Mansion are famous for how they play with the guests -- they glower and growl and generally have fun freaking out select guests (I should also add they're super-good at backing off if necessary.) The queue at Expedition Everest is so full of stuff to look at that we generally try to go through it once every trip (and then run through the single-rider line to get to the roller coaster part, which is one of the bigger 'coasters so of course we're hitting it multiple times.) The atrium at Dinosaur is gorgeous, full of faux sedimentary layers and fossils and the set up is fun (but ow, my ears by the time we're through. Every single on-ride picture of me shows me with my fingers in my ears, even when I remember to bring ear plugs.) For Star Wars fans (of which there are more than a few here at the HoB), the queue for Star Tours is one easter egg after another and you generally get cast members who send you on your way by saying "May the Force be with you, because you're going to need it with this pilot."
So, if you put all that together, my favorite ride is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. The line winds through the creepy, falling-apart grounds and lobby of the abandoned hotel that forms the basis of the ride. Rod Serling himself welcomes you to the episode that you're about to take part in. The boiler room that's the loading zone is dank and dark and eerie and the cast members are even more into the atmosphere than the ones at Haunted Mansion. (I swear part of their audition is the Evil Laugh of Doom.) So there's all that, and then the drop sequence on the ride is randomized, so even if you can recite the entire pre-show loading sequence by heart, like my kids can, you still have no idea how they're going to drop you or when they're going to catch you. You can drop-drop-drop and then DROP, or hang suspended in front of the doors that open to the park (so everyone can hear the screaming) before they pull you down and zoom you back up or any combination in between. We spent one night going right back through as soon as we got off (Fantasmic was running by that point, so all the crowds were there, watching the show and the rides were walk-ons) and never had the same sequence twice. I stopped after 6 times but the boys made 11 and they said it was all different. The only thing is that at some point, you'll come out of your seat because the car is accelerating faster than you are, and that's generally when they snap your picture.
It's pretty awesome.