jdawg1998

Yesterday I went to Animal Kingdom with my family. It was a very fun ride there. My cousin, Erick (13 years old) , hates roller coasters. HATES them. He says he hates the drop and loops. But he knew he would have to ride Expedition Everest. The whole car ride he was talking, talking, talking, obviously nervous. When we drove into the parking lot he said "It looks a lot bigger in person." Right at the opening we got Fast Passes for Kilimanjaro Safaris (already a 40 minute wait ... I hate Disney.) and tried to make our way through the insane crowds. On the other side of the park was Mount Everest, standing there waiting for us. We waited about 30 minutes to get on. Erick was so scared. The ride was pretty good. The thing is, as a roller coaster it wouldn't be that good, but with the theme, it makes it much better. Although the backwards segment is pretty fun. I was honestly scared when the yeti ripped the tracks and we were launched forward. You could tell Erick was scared ... in the picture he was holding onto his stepdad (my uncle) and looked about ready to cry! 4/5 ... must ride at AK. Next we rode Dinosaur which only had a 10 minute wait (not sure why). I love this ride! It scared me half to death, but it was awesome! The jerkiness combined with the yelling of the man about "Oh no! There's a big dino!" and the flashing of lights made for an awesome ride. The ending is amazing ... you'll have to ride it to see. 5/5. Our Fast Pass was ready for the safari, but when we got to it the Fast Pass line was a half hour! What a waste of Fast Passes. We didn't go on it, mainly because it was about ready to rain and we just didn't feel like waiting for a ride where we see two zebras and four other animals. To get away from the rain, we watched It's Tough to be a Bug (I HATE THIS SHOW, IT SCARES ME!!!) and it still scared me ... in the part with the wasps, Erick grabbed onto me ... wow. The rain was pouring hard now and my mom, my dad, my sister, my aunt, and her daughter all left and left me, my uncle and cousin. Since it was so crowded we did nothing else but ride Primeveal Whirl. It's actually a pretty fun ride, and the first mouse type coaster I'd be on. What a neck breaker! Fun ride though .. and Erick screamed like a little girl on the drops. 4/5. We left already because it was packed, wet, and not fun anymore. It was only 2! Oh well. I went back to Fort Wilderness with my cousin and uncle and we stayed in his RV for the night. This is when I got a surprise ... they were going to Universal the next day (Saturday)! I had begged and begged my family to take me before our vacation instead of going to Animal Kingdom or some other Disney park, but they said no. But my uncle was nice enough to take me with them for the day ... trip report coming soon ...

There's a reason - South Park. There's an episode where Cartman picks on all the ginger kids because they have "no souls" ... although the whole ginger thing might have started before that . Also, there is a video on YouTube of a ginger kid yelling and cussing at South Park for making fun of redheads and saying they do have souls. So basically it's come from the internet and other media ... there is absolutely no reason for anyone to make fun of someone because they have red hair ... so dumb.

I always need ice ... I don't know why, I just need it. Water with no ice ... bleck! (besides water bottles)

Why do you keep watching it if you hate it so much, and apparently you almost died in the last show? Seems fishy to me....

Haha at the comments like " I"m never riding this coaster!" and "This is why I don't ride coasters!" ... this rarely happens.

Today was my trip to Disney's Hollywood Studios! I stayed overnight at a cabin in Fort Wilderness with my grandparents and aunt while my parents when on a "romantic dinner". Quick review of the cabins: Now, this might just be me, but I hated the cabins! Small, old, with terrible TV stations and very slow Wi-Fi. There was also a weird smell coming from the kitchen, and our AC broke and took 4 hours to fix! Don't stay here! In the morning my dad picked me up from Fort Wilderness and we went to DHS while my mom and Emily (my sister) went to Magic Kingdom. We already had our plan mapped out; at around 10am we headed toward Rock n' Roller Coaster and got a Fast Pass (the wait was already at 40 minutes). Since Tower of Tower is right next to Rock n' Roller Coaster, we rode that after a 30 minute wait. I'll admit - I was really scared during the beginning of the ride before the free fall part. The set up scares you a lot! The airtime on some of the stops at the time is great, and it falls pretty fast. My new favorite ride at Disney (but I still have some rides tomorrow). 5/5. MUST ride. We still had some time to spare before our Fast Pass went into affect for Rock n' Roller Coaster so we rode The Great Movie Ride . It's a very underrated ride at the park. It's a tour through all the movies from the past, but in the middle you are hijacked by someone in one of the settings (gangster and western) and this includes gun fights and explosions; very cool! 4/5. At 11:10 our Fast Pass window was open and we rode Rock n' Roller Coaster within 15 minutes. Sorry Flight of Fear fans - this one's better. The G's on the launch are outrageous and the overall theme is great (what can you expect?), also it's very fun having Aerosmith playing while riding! 4/5. Rain was pouring at this point and everyone had ponchos but us, but we refused to pay $9.00 for one. We were starving now at noon and we always eat at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater. I got a chocolate milkshake with an Angus bacon cheeseburger and my dad got a burger with a HOT DOG on top and sauerkraut on top as well. Great food, and the dining experience is neat too. You eat in cars that are parked at a drive in theater while they play science fiction shorts, with advertisements from the 50s and all. Must eat! Next watched Muppet Vision 3D , my favorite 3D movie in the park (competing with PhillharMagic, Captain EO, and It's Tough to be a Bug). There was some great use of effects in it and it's in my opinion the funniest ride in Disney World! 4/5. I heard Star Tours was a must-do but of course, it was an hour and 10 minute wait, so what else can you do besides get a Fast Pass? While we were waiting for our window, we rode the Backlot Tour ... it was interesting, I guess. Some of the parts were somewhat boring but you get to see how a movie scene is filmed that includes heavy rain and explosions, as well as how they filmed the attack scene in the movie "Pearl Harbor". 3/5. Star Tours...ehh....everyone said how great it was ... maybe I'm just not the same as everyone else, but it was alright. It was still fun, but not as thrilling as I had thought. Just a simple motion simulator with bad 3D and a short movie ... oh well. 3/5. It may seem like a short day but we left at 3:00 due to the heavy rain moving into the area. I think we got everything done besides Toy Story Mania and the shows. About TSM - when we got into the park it was already a 50 minute wait and we wanted to ride Tower of Terror before it got too crowded; by the time we got off of the ride TSM was a 120+ minute wait and the FastPass window was at 2:00, around the time we wanted to start heading out ... so sorry, TSM fans. Hollywood Studios is my new favorite Disney park ... a lot of cool shows and rides; a must do park at Disney! If anyone wants some tips or wants to ask questions about Disney, just post! I'll be happy to answer!!

*kewl

Thanks! I'm going to DHS tomorrow. I thought Toy Story Mania looked kind of dumb ... but I guess I should try it.

Back from Downtown Disney. For jcgoble3, I will explain pretty much what Downtown is. It is split up into three parts; West Side, Pleasure Island, and the Marketplace. Each section has restaurants, shopping, and entertainment. West Side is more of the entertainment part; with Cirque De Solei, House of Blues, Disney Quest, and Bongo's (a Cuban restaurant). Disney Quest is an indoor theme park (not with rides, but kind of like Game Works) ... never done it, never will, reviews are bad for it. In Pleasure Island is most of the dining, while in Marketplace it's most of the shopping (where World of Disney, the world's largest Disney store is located). Downtown isn't really a city at all, but an outdoor mall like Easton in Columbus, for those that have been. For the trip report now; we ate at Rainforest Cafe (recommended - good food and good theme), and just walked around the rest of the time shopping.

Yes, I will, along with pictures. But today I am just hanging out at Downtown Disney and my hotel's pool, so no trip report today.

I don't know about the dining plan. Never used it.

Something I forgot to put in my original post; if you want a good place to eat while in World Showcase at Epcot, eat at the pastry shop in France. It was the best I'd ever had. The ham and cheese croissant was amazing, and so was my chocolate croissant. It was a very simple menu that was easy to choose from. For two ham and cheese croissants, one chocolate croissant, and a chocolate chip cookie it was only $12!

Today was my first day of my three day trip to Disney World! The last time I went to the "most magical place on earth" was in 2007 when I was 9 and afraid of everything ... so I didn't ride any thrill rides ... at all. This was my time to redeem myself and ride some of the best themed rides on Earth! Today was our trip to Magic Kingdom and Epcot. We are staying at the Hilton Bonnett Creek (which, by the way, I recommend to everyone ... especially those of Hilton Honors ...) so we took a shuttle at 8:00 to Magic Kingdom and got there at 8:30. Wow, was it crowded! But what can you expect? We watched the cheesy opening show and headed towards the entrance. Keep in mind this was my sister's first time here, at 6 years old. She was so amazed by the size of the Cinderella Castle in person! My dad and I decided to play it smart and get a Fast Pass for Space Mountain right away. On the way, we passed Winnie the Pooh - I gave my dad a funny looking smile and he hesitated for a minute and said, "Oh, fine." The reason I wanted to ride it, by the way, was because it was a walk on - and I mean walk on! It's a cute little ride. I'd give it a 3/5, only because it was too short. We ran into my mom and my sister in the line for it, which they looked at us like, "Why would a boy teenager and his dad go on Winnie the Pooh?" Oh well. They had gone on Peter Pan's Flight, which Emily (my sister) really liked. In another walk on we rode it's a small world and to this minute I am writing the song is stuck in my head. Very cool ride but the song is so annoying! 3/5. It was only 10! We had been on two rides (including my mom and Emily) in an hour! Considering the crowds, it was a big accomplishment. Our Fast Pass time came so we went on Space Mountain with a ten minute wait (compared to the stand by 75 minute wait). I don't care what you say... this ride has some competition with Flight of Fear. While the thrill is nothing compared to it, the theme is great and the sharp corners really pull some lateral G's. A must ride! 5/5. Next we were going to ride Buzz Lightyear but too long of a wait ... so my dad says hey, let's go on Carousel of Progress. I groaned but apparently it's about the nostalgia because he and his friend from college used to go on it all the time (living in Florida. ... ). He was sad to see that the song had changed, but other than that, it's actually a really cool show. 4/5. It was about 11:00 now and we were getting hungry, and we planned on eating at Liberty Tree Tavern but it was way too expensive! $31.99 for a meal! Since we were right next to Haunted Mansion, we rode that and enjoyed the funny tombstones inscriptions - some of them looked new since we last went. The interactive queue really helps pass time, which was about 30 minutes. Also during the line, I kept telling Emily, "Are you scared? I am." But she made fun of me (a six year old!) Emily loved this ride too. She said, "That wasn't scary at all!" I love this ride and always have ... 4/5. For lunch we ate at some turkey sandwich restaurant ... forget the name. It was pretty good but the BBQ I had on my turkey sandwich was just some Heinz BBQ sauce. The restaurant was directly connected to Frontierland so we went over there to get a Fast Pass for Big Thunder (a 70 minute wait). While we were waiting we rode Pirates of the Caribbean. On the surprise drop in the beginning Emily screamed so loud, and the cannonballs did too. I love Pirates, but it's just too short! 4/5. Our Fast Pass was ready for BTMR ... the refurbishment looked very cool but I couldn't compare it because I'd never been on it. They had it closed for refurb from January to late May. Emily was screaming and laughing the whole ride - such great expressions to watch at Disney! 5/5. At this point it was insanely packed, and walking around was like waiting in a line. It started raining pretty hard so we watched the Enchanted Tiki Room, which is pretty good but also too short. 3/5. So, it was pouring rain and almost storming but our original plan was to go to Epcot after Magic Kingdom...and we did anyway. We took the monorail over to Epcot. Let me just say I LOVE Soarin' and it's one of my favorite rides there ... I was so sad to see that all Fast Passes were distributed and it had a 120 minute wait. We never got to ride it. Since this report is long enough already, I will just say what I rode at Epcot and not actually report on it. Journey Into Imagination - 2/5. (Bleck! Boring, gross, and loud!) Captain EO - 4/5. (Great tribute to Michael Jackson, and good 3D effects). The Seas - 4/5. (The actual ride was alright, but the aquarium was very neat!) Innoventions - 5/5. (So cool and hands on!) Spaceship Earth - 4/5. (Very interesting ride, with very cool animatronics). Pictures will come soon ... and a trip report for Hollywood Studios coming Thursday, Animal Kingdom coming Friday, and a night trip report of Magic Kingdom Friday night!

Trolling much? First off, the crowds have been the highest I've seen in awhile, so I don't know what you're talking about. Also, guess what? Disney World (which I am actually going to be at tomorrow, sorry that seemed like I think I'm so cool...) is so much different than Kings Island. Kings Island is an amusement park with thrill rides and flat rides and roller coasters. Disney is a theme park with dark rides, and is a place with 17 million visitors annually ... BIG difference.

International Street doesn't really have the "International" aspect nailed down. You think adding a bunch of flags to the entrance will help? I wasn't really thinking about it that way. I still think it would look cool.

I would, also because it is in the back of the park and most people start in the front. The Voyage is pretty much the furthest ride back besides Pilgrim's Plunge.

I think since Don Helbig watches over these forums, he will probably see this, and maybe we'll have some inspiration for a new entrance next year... I would love flags lined up on top of the entrance with all the different countries' flags.

I just wish they only played light rock. That type of music everyone can be happy with. Just no pop hits.

Can that be the way it is for the rest of the year, please? (Besides Diamondback being closed).

All of the commercials are the same for each park ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgkQu_IFI1I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvb-rcvv_jM&feature=channel&list=UL I can't find the other one.

Thought I'd share a weird dream I had last night: So, I went to Kings Island and was waiting in Son of Beast's station with my friend. I told him I was really scared of it. It was the first day it had been open since it closed. The trains weren't there though...instead, there was one toboggan type thing made of wood, a handcar also made of wood, and a sled with no seat belts. All separate and had one person on each. I was too scared to ride it because of this so I left the station but the ride op stopped me and said "C'mon, don't be a baby." But I left anyway. Next, I found Don Helbig walking down Coney Mall so I went up and asked him what was wrong with Son of Beast. He said, "It's open, that's it." And the dream was over. Just sharing it because it felt so realistic and I woke up a little bit confused!

I can't think of anything scarier than Drop Tower in my opinion...such a scary ride. But I do have a mild fear of heights.

What?

I remember last year there was a little girl (about 7 I'd say) and a monster came up behind her mom and scared her. The little girl started crying and screaming, and the mom said, "C'mon, man, I have a little girl! That was so uncalled for!" - Wow, really? In the end though, the "monster" gave the girl a hug...

Oh, fine. I will go.