The Parks

[Avaitor]

Wasn't Mr. Toad's Wild Ride replaced with a Pooh ride? Or was that in Disney World?

At Magic Kingdom, yeah. Disneyland did get that ride, but it replaced the Country Bear Jamboree instead. Disneyland still has Mr. Toad.

That's what I heard. I actually remember thinking that Big Thunder Mountain was slightly underwhelming (still awesome, just not as good as I thought it would be before I first went on it).

Yeah, I'm not a big fan of MK's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. It's still not bad, but of the 3 mountains, it's always been my least favorite and least essential to ride.

Do you know anything about the other Disney parks around the world?

Yeah, I've been in a real Disney park mood over the past month or so, so I've been reading about some of the other ones. Tokyo DisneySea looks like the best, with an awesome Jules Verne-themed land, complete with a 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride unique to the one originally at MK, and a stunning recreation of Venice. It looks very well built all around, including the "kids" Little Mermaid and Aladdin lands.

But Disneyland Paris also looks incredibly stunning. They also have a Space Mountain that's somewhat based off of From the Earth to the Moon that I would love to go on. Its sister park, Walt Disney Studios Park, also has some original stuff that makes it stand out, even if it's mostly a MGM/Hollywood Studios retread. I haven't been able to find out too much about Hong Kong Disneyland though, but I'll try to keep an eye out.

[talonmalon333]

I'm currently typing on my phone thus making quoting tedious, so I won't bother with this post. Either way, you'll know what I'm talking about without needing quotes.

I will say about Thunder Mountain that I remember it having two tracks. I might be wrong there. But I do remember enjoying the ride when I rode it a second time, far more than my first time riding it.

And yeah, I know what you mean about just being in that Disney park mood. I've been reading about them lately, too. Tokyo Disney sounds really great, largely because of DisneySea. Do you know if people like it more than Disney Land? Disney Paris also sounds very nice, but I actually heard from one source (from a few years ago) that it had a few Disney magic breaking moments, though I'm not sure if that was just a one time problem or if it's really relevant nowadays. Hong Kong Disney sounds like it's the smallest and has had a bit of a rocky history, so maybe it's not quite on par with the others. Relatively speaking, of course. I'm sure that all of these parks are 10/10 compared to non-Disney parks. Also, they are apparently building another Disney park in China.

I'd love to go to all these parks someday, but I'm sure that'll never happen. So far, I've only been to Disney World.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, they're building a Disneyland Shanghai that'll be open by the end of next year. That's going to have an exclusive Tron ride, as well as their first Marvel ride, an Iron Man one.

I'm not sure if people like Tokyo Disneyland better than Anaheim, but I know that it and DisneySea are the third and fourth most visited parks in the world, trailing MK and Disneyland.

[talonmalon333]

This discussion has inspired me to rank the Disney World parks in order, from favorite to least favorite. Because even if all four parks are uber god tier, some of them have to be slightly less uber godlike.

1. Animal Kingdom - My overall favorite Disney World attraction (Kilimanjaro Safaris), my second favorite "ride" (Expedition Everest), one of the best shows (Finding Nemo ? The Musical) and much more. It was also the first Disney World park I went to when I was there, so it has that personal connection.
2. Magic Kingdom - My favorite ride in Disney World (Splash Mountain), a really cool roller coaster (Big Thunder Mountain), and of course just that magic of walking through the park. I think Space Mountain is also here, but that ride was down when I was in the resort. This is basically tied with Animal Kingdom, really.
3. Hollywood Studios - Toy Story Midway Mania, Fantastmic, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, and other great rides and shows. I want to say that, when I was in Disney World, this is the park I was at most, but I might be wrong.
4. Epcot - No shame in being last on this list. The world and everything the different countries display is awesome. Test Track is really cool, and Soarin' is phenomenal. Plus, the fireworks shows here blow Magic Kingdom's fireworks out of the water.

[Avaitor]

Welp, it's official.

RIP Maelstrom.

[talonmalon333]

So Avaitor, have you heard about the Be Our Guest Restaurant? Apparently, it's so jammed that you typically need to make reservations for it up to five months in advance. I have a friend who was just in Disney World to visit his girlfriend and stay for a week (she's doing that program where you work there for a few months).

... They made reservations for it three weeks ago. Some people just get absurdly lucky, man.

But I was told that it really feels like walking into the ballroom from the movie.

[Avaitor]

Yeah, it's supposed to be insanely good. It's a little surprising to see the most popular part of New Fantasyland be a restaurant, but it combines the best aspects of Disney's theme park storytelling with awesome French food. And the grey stuff is supposed to be delicious. Apparently, the best time to go is during lunch, since all 3 rooms are used. One of them isn't available during dinner.

Another thing I know is that this is the only place at Magic Kingdom which serves alcohol. Walt originally wanted the Disneyland park (but not the hotels, mind you) to be a dry area, which carried over to MK, as opposed to their other parks. But since alcohol is a must for the French during dinnertime, you can order wine or beer during then.

[Avaitor]

I'm going to Food & Wine at Epcot for the first time this Sunday!

I'll try to make a post with some of my favorite things that I've tried. Although I'm not sure if I'll get to any alcohol, even though I'm most likely not driving. I'm not a wine person, the beers have been disappointing from whoever's told me about them, and I can't deal with sour mix, which Disney uses in a lot of their cocktails. But I'll see what I can do.

[Avaitor]

I'm lazy, so I didn't make my post yet, but Food & Wine was great! I'll try to do it soon, since I have a LOT of pictures saved. I'll just say that no one picked a loser from all of the options my group went with.

I'm posting here, though, to share this great article about the 10th anniversary of Stitch's Great Escape. It's a detailed read that explores the rise and fall of the Lilo & Stitch mania (I want to see something similar for Frozen a decade from now, when its fall occurs), why the Alien Encounter never really caught on, and most of all, just why this "ride" has failed to catch on itself.

I never got to experience the Alien Encounter- most of its run existed during the 5-6 year hiatus my family took from Disney after Eisner's insane price hike, and by the time we went back, it just didn't look that appealing to our younger selves- but Stitch never did much for me. It's true, that the experience feels like a weird mesh between funny and scary that doesn't begin to pay off in any regard, and right away it drops any pretense of respecting your intelligence. Is it the worst ride at Magic Kingdom? Maybe.

[talonmalon333]

I really didn't like Stitch's Great Escape. To me, it was the worst attraction across all four Disney parks that I got to experience.

Also, did you know they are revamping Hollywood Studios, apparently?

[Avaitor]

Hollywood really needs more rides. I swear, you can do everything at the park in just a day.

[talonmalon333]

I do like it more than Epcot. I love the world in Epcot, but it's kind of lacking in the more traditional Disney attractions, so by default it ends up being my least favorite by default.

I hear they are getting rid of the Mickey hat in Hollywood Studios.

[Avaitor]

Meh, but at least there's a lot to do in Epcot. The World Showcase is just gorgeous to walk through, while most of Future World has awesome stuff to do. Hollywood has its share of great stuff, but lots of dead space.

Not to mention that Toy Story Mania way isn't worth the long lines. It's a mediocre shoot-em-up, but so is the Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom. Men in Black at Universal trumps them both.

And I'm happy with the hat being retired. It's never been that nice to look at, especially since the original icon was supposed to be the Great Movie Ride. And I can't wait for TCM's additions to that, as well.

[talonmalon333]

Meh, but at least there's a lot to do in Epcot. The World Showcase is just gorgeous to walk through, while most of Future World has awesome stuff to do. Hollywood has its share of great stuff, but lots of dead space.

Not to mention that Toy Story Mania way isn't worth the long lines. It's a mediocre shoot-em-up, but so is the Buzz Lightyear ride at Magic Kingdom. Men in Black at Universal trumps them both.

And I'm happy with the hat being retired. It's never been that nice to look at, especially since the original icon was supposed to be the Great Movie Ride. And I can't wait for TCM's additions to that, as well.

I know. I'm not denying that Epcot is fantastic. I adore Soarin, and the Epcot fireworks blow away the Magic Kingdom ones. But to me, all four parks are fantastic, 10/10s. And I do think that Epcot has fewer rides than the other three, though I do love the world.

I'm a huge fan of Toy Story Mania, so I can't agree there. The Buss Lightyear one is indeed mediocre, though. But I hear they've been working to cut down on the waiting time of the lines in Disney World. Apparently it's far more convenient now than it was five years ago, which was when I was there. As for the hat, I do like the idea of each of the four parks having a sort of compass and an icon, but I do like the icons of the other parks more (the castle, Spaceship Earth, and the Tree of Life).

From what I remember, Magic Kingdom has the most stuff to do. And it's nearly the best of the four. But I have to say that, to me, Animal Kingdom just barely edges it out. I hear that, in Animal Kingdom, they are in the process of building an Avatar-based park. Pandora does make sense to make an amusement park out of, but I do think they should have gone with their original idea to make Beastly Kingdom, work a focus on fictional animals.

[talonmalon333]

I forgot to mention something else, but I adore the aesthetic of the Disney World parks. They each just have this really strong feeling to them. Of course, Magic Kingdom just flows with classic Disney, but I think each park excels in their own way. Animal Kingdom, for example, feels more outdoorsy. There's more nature around the place, and I specifically remember exotic birds just walking around going about their day on the paths. It's no wonder people talk about the "magic" of Disney World, and Disney really makes sure the illusion is never broken.