Voicetek

No, so far Downtown Disney is the same as it's been the last couple of times I've been there. However, there are a lot of walls up and you can definitely tell they're doing some work. I had forgotten about the whole "Disney Springs" thing and kept saying to my wife that it looks like they're doing a bunch of work around here.

Thanks for the info, I went ahead and made the edit. I had checked the location online while writing this trip report since I couldn't quite remember. I guess the got wrong information. Thanks!

Last week I was honeymooning down in Hilton Head, SC when I realize that we were only 4 1/2 hours from Walt Disney World. Being the Disney nut that I am, I couldn't help but be drawn towards the park. I talked to the wife and we decided that it would be really fun to plan a spur of the moment trip down to the Magic Kingdom for a day. I booked us a room at a place called Seralago Hotel and Suites for a night. We had stayed there before and they have great prices and it's pretty nice place. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone, especially families, who are trying to see Disney on a budget! Along with great prices, they have free transportation to the Disney parks, or if you want to drive yourself, they are located only about 10 minutes from the parks. Very convenient either way. We arrived Wednesday evening around 6. We checked into our hotel and headed to Downtown Disney for the evening. We had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and took in all the Disney shops. The weather was great and the atmosphere was amazing as usual. Thursday morning we woke up bright and early and went down to the hotel restaurant where we enjoyed 2 complimentary breakfasts at their fully stocked breakfast buffet - another perk of staying at Seralago! After breakfast it was straight to the park. For me, as an animation fanatic, the Magic Kingdom has always been one of my favorite parks so this is the one we decided to do since we only had one day. We arrived at the park around 10 am and started scoping out the place. We noticed that the crowds were very light. This would definitely help us get more out of our day at Disney. The first thing we did was grab one of their free buttons that they give out to guests who are celebrating something special. They have buttons for first time visitors, for people celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. We got one that said "Happily Ever After - Honeymoon." These buttons are great and the Disney staff are very quick to congratulate you all day long as you make your way through the park. First thing was first though - it was straight to the New Fantasy Land to try to snag a Fast Past to the new Journey of the Little Mermaid ride. However, it was pretty much a walk on. The line didn't even stop long enough for me to take pictures of video of their amazing queue areas. Oh well! We do enjoy walk ons! Next, it was back to Tomorrowland for a ride on Stich's Great Escape. I hadn't ridden this ride since it was Alien Encounters, so I was excited to check it out. Stitch is also one of my favorite characters and my wife and I have kind of adopted him as a sort of "mascot" for our relationship since we started dating on June 6, 2006 which would be "6-2-6." Get it? After "Stitch" it was on to a Disney classic - Space Mountain! This was as walk on as well. Once we got off this ride, we decided to take a break from Tomorrowland and head over to Liberty Square for a ride on The Haunted Mansion. And surprise, this was a walk on as well! My wife hadn't ridden this ride before, so it was a lot of fun to experience it with her. Next we took a little lunch break and had a picnic lunch in a little area designed like the world of "Tangled." We find a nice little spot under some trees with a great view of Rapunzel's tower. After lunch we walked around the corner and caught a show of Mickey's Philharmagic. If you've been to the Magic Kingdom lately and haven't seen this show, then you've really missed out! If you're planning on going to the Magic Kingdom in the near future, make sure this show is on your list of things to do. You won't be disappointed! Next it was over to take in a show of the Bear Country Jubilee. I love this show because I'm just so dang fascinated with animatronics - it's a weakness really. Now it was into Frontierland for a ride on one of my favorite rides in the park Splash Mountain. This ride had one of the longer lines in the park that day, but still, it was only about 15-20 minutes. Not even worth Fast Passing really. Next it was a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This is a nice little coaster and it's always great to take a ride on this runaway train! It was time to slow things down a bit, so we next enjoyed a nice leisurely ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. This is another of my favorites because it is an amazingly themed dark and loaded with animatronics! Next, we took in a fun-filled show at the Enchanted Tiki Room. Now some people are thrilled that it's back to it's original form, however, I got to see it back in 2000 when it was the "Under New Management" version starring Iago and Zazu. I have to say, I enjoyed that version a lot better. I thought the songs were great and I especially loved the part with the Tiki God towards the end of the show. After this we decided to head back to Tomorrowland for a ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This ride should be the reference for what a dark ride target shooter should be - hint hint Kings Island! Finally it was over to Fantasyland for a ride on the classic Small World and Peter Pan's Flight rides. We were planning on heading towards Main Street to do a little shopping before the park closed, but we had a little surprise in store for us and we didn't even know it. Just out of curiosity we decided to check out the new Be Our Guest restaurant inside the Beauty and The Beast castle. We we informed that you could not even see inside unless you had a reservation to eat. We were a little disappointed so we thought we see, just by the grace of God, if there was an opening. We asked and we were surprised to find out that they had a cancellation which left them with one extra table for 2! We were very fortunate enough to be able to go inside the castle and grab some dessert! This castle is amazing and you really feel like you're in the movie. This is a must do even if it's just to get dessert. Now it was time to leave. A quick trip down Main Street and some last minute shopping and we had to head out. Unfortunately the night we were there they were having a special "Mickey's Christmas Party" event which came with an additional $66 upcharge if you wished to stay an particpate, if not, you were booted from the grounds - no questions asked! I tried to go into a store to buy a last minute souvenir before leaving. There were two cast members at the door and they asked if I had a wrist band. I said no and they said "park's closed." Obviously the park wasn't closed because there were still tons of people and also people shopping. It was just closed to us because we didn't want to fork over another $66 per person to stay around after 7 pm. That sucked a little and I didn't quite care for the attitude we got from the cast members guarding the doors to the store. If Disney didn't want my money in that store, then I will take it elsewhere! All in all though, it was as fabulous day at the Magic Kingdom. The weather was nice, the crowds were light, and we got to do pretty much everything we wanted to do. This was a great addition to an already great honeymoon!

I'd actually like this place to succeed. I'd like to visit because I think it would be an interesting attraction. I read the posted article and found it to be a little mean spirited. Not sure what the author of the article has against creationists, but it was clearly evident that the found this whole project to be a joke.

I'm amazed at how fast these things seem to come together. They are making great progress with this coaster and I can't wait to ride it!

The blast of heat in Phantom Theater

The path wasn't actually a path into, what would have been then, Hanna-Barbara Land. I'm pretty sure the "vine tunnel" attached into Rivertown. However, it has been quite a while since I've walked through that, so I might not be remembering correctly. But I feel like it used to bring you out near the log flume, which is now Race for Your Life Charlie Brown.

First I would remove Boo Blasters. I'd seriously gut that whole building. Next, I would install a high quality dark ride was AMAZING theming, full-blown animatronics, awesome music and sound effects. If I'd have to remove something else, I, like most people on here, would be fine with Congo Falls and Action Theater. I actually wouldn't mind seeing Action Theater restored. Some of those movies were pretty cool, especially the 3D ones. Right now the building is useless. Oh yeah, one more thing....Tear down that monstrosity that is the Crypt building! That is all.

I know some people probably looked at us and thought we were horrible parents or whatever when they saw us walking my nephew around with the harness on. That doesn't bother me though. The way I look at it is this, people put a leash on their dog when they take it on a walk because they care about their dog and don't want it to get a way. So how much more should we care about our children when we take them to a crowded theme park? It is only for their protection because we don't want to see anything bad happen to them. And people probably didn't realized that my nephew was autistic with ADHD and they really don't have the ability, especially at 4, to think rationally. He would have thought nothing of it to wander off and go see something he wanted to see. We care about him enough to keep him attached to us, to protect him. People can think what they want to think, but at the end of the day it comes down to what you think is best for you and your child.

It's a little early for Christmas music, don't ya think? I, too, was glad to hear Christmas music on 93.3. I first heard it Friday evening on my way home from work. Needless to say, I've been listening to it all weekend! Voicetek who also likes his Christmas early and who misses Winterfest deeply.

Not to derail this topic, but the story of the woman suing McDonald's for the hot coffee is not as bizarre or outrageous as you've probably been led to believe. The incident occurred in 1992 and severely burned a 79-year-old woman. The coffee was at a ridiculously hot temperature compared to other establishments, and McDonald's had already dealt with over 700 similar reports of coffee burning customers without adjusting the beverage's temperature. The woman spent eight days hospitalized because of the burns the coffee caused, and initially sought to settle with McDonald's for only $20,000 (a very realistic amount considering her medical bills and loss of income), but the company was only willing to pay $800. Also, do a Google image search for "Liebeck burns" (mildly NSFW, I may add) to see just how bad the burns was. There is also a documentary about this on Netflix. I was completely blown away by the extent of the burns!

Being autistic, my nephew has a tendency to run off or wander off. There was no way we were taking him to Disney World without having a good grip on him. Plus, the harness was shaped like a stuffed monkey that wrapped around him, so he loved it. It made for a more relaxing time knowing that we wouldn't lose him, and we all had a fantastic, safe time at the park!

This just seems strange to me that a 5 year old "leaned back too far and fell out of the boat." A few years ago we took my nephew to Disney World and rode Pirates of the Caribbean. He was 4 and he has autism, ADHD, and behavior disorders. He was just fine on the ride. Yes he was antsy, but we sat him between us, had him on a harness, and made sure he was safely seated at all times. It will be interesting to see the reports after they investigate this further. Perhaps the ride in Paris has different seating that the one in Florida, or maybe the parents were being too lenient with this kid during the ride. We can't say for sure. I just can't get my head around how a kid falls out of a boat when the parents are sitting right there.

In past seasons, I've always been able to renew my gold pass for $69. My fiance and I have done that for at least the past 3 or 4 years. And we usually do it on the last day we visit for the season. I was surprised not to see that being offered this year. Don't get me wrong, the current price is still a good one, it's just that I was hoping to see the renewal promo going on again like always.

Is it just me or does anyone else think that it's kind of a rip off that a brand new 2014 season pass and a renewal of 2013 season pass are both the same price? Why would I renew when I could just buy new and get a brand new card and everything? I liked it when they had a renewal special and you could save a few bucks.

When you watch those videos, you can see all the attention to detail that was put in to making those dark rides really immersive. It's a shame we don't have anything as cool as this there now.

I've been out places where I feel people dress way too casual: Church, the symphony, a wedding, a fancy restaurant, etc. However, I never quite understood the reasoning behind putting on a suit and tie to go ride rides at an amusement park. Of all places, that seems like the one place to dress more comfortable and casual.

I love how people used to get dressed up to go to an amusement park (as seen in the embedded video above). I remember watching a documentary about Coney Island and you'd see people walking around in suits and dresses. Times have definitely changed.

Read the article and see more pics here: http://twistedsifter.com/2013/07/amusement-park-crushed-into-cube-james-dive-glue-society/

Wow is that actually Kings Island in a Kings Island commercial? You don't see that anymore!

I know I'm in the minority with my opinion, but I have never been able to understand why people want to glorify blood, mutilation, torture, death, etc. I've heard all the arguments - it's not real, it's all in good fun, it's make believe, I like a good scare, etc. However, I've never been to a "Haunt" at KI and don't really have a desire too. It's just not my thing. And looking through these pics, it just reaffirms my choice. Some of the things on display here just made me sick. Tortured and mutilated bodies laying around, people feasting on blood and mutilated bodies, etc. I just couldn't bring myself to participate in such a display. I love fall and love the festivities of Halloween, that's why I come to the family friendly version during the day. We see acts of evil and violence on the news everyday and we're just appalled by it. Such a horror and a brutal act if inhumanity. We sit at our television sets just shocked and wonder how could such an act of violence be displayed? Then a few hours later, we pay good money to view some of these very same acts on display at a "theme park" or "attraction" and we shrug it off because it's "make believe". It just confuses me. I don't want any part of any violent or inhumane display whether it be real or staged. This is just the way I feel and have always felt. In a world where evil is already so prevalent, I just can't bring myself to submit to it and honor it like some do around this time of year every year. I want to end this post by saying that I'm not trying to judge anyone. I know lots of people who go to these types of events and don't think twice about it. If you truly have a good time and this type of display doesn't bother you then that's fine. This is, and has always been, a personal viewpoint of mine and this is all just my opinion. I just wanted to offer some of my thoughts to you all on this board. Please don't take offense to anything of I have said.

I talked about this in another post, but it's been a while so I'm going to talk about it again I'm not saying this should happen, could happen, or would happen. It would be very expensive, especially in licensing alone. However, I think theming kiddy land to Nintendo Land (or something similar) would be the coolest thing ever! Imagine Boo Blasters converted to a Super Mario dark ride. The castle becomes Bowser's Castle complete with theme music from the various games, and animatronic Koopas, Goombas, etc. You could still make it interactive, you could shoot targets and gain power ups from the game. All this would conclude with a high tech, state of the art animatronic of Bowser himself. Defeat him and win the game! What an amazing experience this could be! Also, you would have the other Nintendo properties as well so you could theme some of the smaller rides. I feel this would introduce a wide variety of colorful and appealing characters and bring something to our park that is not seen anywhere else. It would truly be a unique land and something everyone, from kids to adults, could relate to and have fun with! Hey, I can dream can't I?

I found this video on YouTube and thought it was pretty neat. It talks about Drop Tower (then Drop Zone) and Son of Beast and has some great footage of each. One thing though, around the 40 second mark, it claims that the ride opened in 2001. Is that correct? I was sure it was around 1999. If someone could reply with the exact year it opened that would be great. So here is the video, enjoy! http://youtu.be/8DMIvVOHLqk

Amen to this! I'd like to donate part of my billion dollars to this cause. Where do I sign up?

Is there any way you could post some of your pictures? I'd love to see them!