TR: Walt Disney World, March 9.

[TombRaiderFTW]

Hey all! On Thursday, I went to all four Walt Disney World parks. I'd been to Epcot and Magic Kingdom before, but this was my first time going to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Just had some thoughts that I'd like to share here. There's probably going to be a ton of text and not many pictures, so you've been warned: this is going to be a novel.

So it's been about a year and a half since I was last in Orlando. My last trip involved Magic Kingdom on Christmas Day... Uuuuuuugh. To say it wasn't a great experience is kind. So, I was aching to get back to WDW on a day with decent attendance levels. And that's very much what I had on March 9! A one-day Park Hopper ticket was at the cheapest price tier (the last day it's at that tier until sometime in August or September.) Spring breakers were somewhat present, but I think it's still pretty early in spring break season--they didn't really affect the park experience too much. There were some noisier folks staying in the same hotel as me, but even then, there weren't too many of them. (I didn't stay on Disney property--I stayed at an Extended Stay America fairly close to Universal, ironically.)

The final Disney After Dark event at Magic Kingdom was also set to happen that evening. If you're not already aware, Disney After Dark is a (controversial) series of events that Disney started last year. In essence, you pay extra for around 3 hours of ERT at Magic Kingdom on select nights. It's typically priced higher than a full day at MK (about $115 for DAH vs. $100 for a one-day MK ticket)--hence, the controversy and accusations of Disney being greedy. Ordinarily, I'd be very, very hesitant to pay that much for only a few extra hours... But I made an exception this time as I wanted to ride certain rides in each park, wanted to spend more than 3 hours in each park (9am to 9pm hours across 4 parks = 3 hours at each), and probably won't be able to go back to Orlando for quite some time. Plus, with how short I've read the lines tend to be, I figured it would be fun to experience multiple re-rides on some of my favorite Magic Kingdom rides just once.

So, I got ready and headed to Lake Buena Vista in time for an 8am arrival at...

Park One: Animal Kingdom

Time spent at park: 8am to about 12:30pm.
Attractions experienced: 5, but with multiple re-rides.
FastPass+ reservations acquired beforehand: Expedition Everest, Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safaris.
Food bought at park: some Masala Chai tea and a chocolate doughnut.
Percent of time spent drooling: 95.7%.

First impressions: You know how when you pull into a park's parking lot, you look at the skyline to see the big rides? Yeah, that's mostly not how it works at Animal Kingdom. You can see some floating Avatar islands and the very tip of Expedition Everest, but that's it. Depending on what you look for in a park, this can either be intriguing or disappointing. Personally, I found it really interesting--that's pretty much exactly the opposite of Epcot and Magic Kingdom. So, with tentative excitement, I parked in the Dinosaur parking area and headed for the gate.

The front gate does remind me a bit of Islands of Adventure, but not so much that it feels like a copycat. It's very jungle-y and filled with bamboo, and the buildings all have a green or dark brown color scheme. You enter the park, and you are in the Grove, a small grotto surrounded by huge trees and some water elements. Is it anticlimactic? Maybe. It flies right in the face of Main Street USA at Magic Kingdom. There are no lines of sight deeper into the park. Is it mysterious? Absolutely. If you're like me, you're dying to explore deeper into the Grove and into the park to see what's around the bend. In essence, that feeling summarizes Animal Kingdom really well. Magic Kingdom finds adventure in exploring imagination and fantasy; Epcot finds adventure in exploring the future and everything that contributes to making a brighter future; and Hollywood Studios arguably finds adventure in storytelling, especially through utilizing stories we know through movies. Animal Kingdom simply seems to find adventure in exploring the world around us; the world is its adventure. That really resonates with me. I just think that's so dang cool.

Anyhoo, I digress: around 8:45, they let the crowds finally walk deeper into the Grove. We wound past trees and rocks until finally, the Tree of Life came into view. It's a HUGE faux tree that has several animals carved into its trunk, and by far one of the cooler centerpieces to a park I've seen. Check it out:

(Source: Disney Parks Blog.)

What's more, as they held people in the plaza in front of the Tree of Life, they did a small show featuring at least a dozen Macaw parrots flying in from another part of the park and swooping over the crowd. It was one of the COOLEST things any park has ever done. I'm geeking out so hard over it. That was so cool.

Finally, at 9:00am, the ropes were dropped. I had a FastPass+ reservation at Expedition Everest starting at 9:00, but I wanted to try to get multiple rides on it if possible. So, I started power-walking to it with several other people.

Now, time for a PSA: when you're heading for Expedition Everest from the Tree of Life plaza, you'll notice that you have to go around the large-ish body of water used for Rivers of Life to get there. You can either turn left and walk through the Asia section of the park, or you can turn right and go through DinoLand U.S.A. Go left, it's quicker. Didn't know that myself, so I went right and realized my mistake when only a couple other people went with me. If you want to beat the crowds to Expedition Everest, don't do what I did. Go left. You're welcome.
 

Expedition Everest: I wasn't totally sure what to expect out of Expedition Everest. I've heard both great things and complaints about a "Disco Yeti" not living up to expectations. I've watched (and watched, and watched) POVs, and I wasn't sure how much I should raise my expectations. I didn't want to experience anticipointment, ya know?

Uh, yeah. About that. Anticipointment was not an issue. Expedition Everest is incredible.

Much like Verbolten, it's one of those things that might not look like much on YouTube. Also like Verbolten, it's a much better experience when you are actually there experiencing G-forces and the bass of the Yeti's roar (or the forest spirit's voice, in Verbolten's case.) On the second lift hill, you pass through this small tunnel themed to a temple with paintings warning you of the legend of the Yeti, and there are these wailing horns that play as you pass through, and I get straight cold chills every time.

If you didn't know (I didn't!), the story behind Expedition Everest is that you are starting an expedition to the top of Mount Everest from a small town in India/Nepal. You're taking a train up the side of the mountain. You are warned about the legend of the Yeti, but you press on--until your train encounters track that appears to have been pulled to pieces. You hear a faint roar off in the distance, just over the sounds of the birds squawking. Your train stalls, then rolls back down a side track until you're deep within the caverns of the mountain. You pause--and in light shining through a small hole leading outside, you see the silhouette of a huge animal tearing more track to shreds. Your train speeds through another side track and down the side of the mountain in a frantic attempt to escape, but the more you run, the closer the roars echo. Finally, as you plunge through a final tunnel, the Yeti is inches from snatching you out of your train--and you can only see him in quick and occasional bursts of light. You narrowly escape and roll into the brakes at your base camp: the expedition failed, but you survived.

Everest had a HUGE price tag ($100 million, more than Cedar Fair or Six Flags spends across all of their parks in a typical year), so I'm sure the technology behind the ride wasn't cheap. Plus, y'know, the giant mountain they built and stuff probably cost some money, too.  That being said, there's something really awesome about the indirect and somewhat subtle way they tell the story. There's never any narration, but it still communicates a story really well. I've never really experienced anything like that before, and I really, really like it.

I can't quite decide if EE ties Verbolten and Fury 325 as my favorite steel coaster or if it's in a very close second, but I do know for sure that it's a must-ride. If you have time to visit Animal Kingdom while in Orlando, you HAVE to ride Everest. I recommend the back if you want the forces or the middle if you want the best view of the theming. I like both forces and theming, so sitting about 3/4ths of the way back on the train was my favorite experience. They assign rows for this ride, though, so your mileage may vary. The single rider line is VERY nice, though, and you can cut a 45-minute wait down to 5 minutes pretty easily. That's how I got about 3 rides in on it.

(Side note: if, like me, you've ever heard complaints about "Disco Yeti," here's my understanding of what that's about: the Yeti animatronic you encounter in the final tunnel is illuminated by a strobe light. It doesn't move. This is due to some alleged foundation issues for that animatronic that keep it from moving--apparently, the Yeti used to reach out towards the train as you go by. I don't know what the lights originally did, but I guess it wasn't the intermittent strobe situation it is now. Since the main thing that makes the Yeti alarming now is the strobes, it's earned the nickname "Disco Yeti." Admittedly, I haven't researched the original ride's design, but I don't mind Disco Yeti. I think it's pretty cool the way it is, but that's me!)
 

Maharajah Jungle Trek: Maharajah Jungle Trek is essentially a zoo, but with some incredible crumbling Asian-/Hindu temple-inspired architecture. I visited it very early in the morning after 2 or 3 rides on Expedition Everest, so it was nearly empty. The animals were pretty active, though, and the views you get of their exhibits are really well-designed. I saw tigers sprinting a few feet from the windows I watched from. There also are cast members stationed at each exhibit, so if you have any questions or just want to learn some things, that's there for you. I thought that was a neat touch.

One of my most favorite places is the small Islands of Southeast Asia area at the Columbus Zoo. I still love it, but MJT is that experience on steroids. I don't know of any themed park area that's ever felt like an adventure the way that MJT does. Plus, it's secluded, (at least for me) not crowded, and doesn't have a line. If you love seeing animals, I have to recommend Maharajah Jungle Trek, regardless of whether or not you ride Kilimanjaro Safaris. (More on that in a bit.)

I don't have too much more to say than that--just be sure to check it out if you're at AK! Here's someone else's picture for reference:

(Source: the Walt Disney World website.)

Dinosaur: Wow. Wow wow wow wow wow. Let me make a big claim right now: as far as I'm concerned, Dinosaur might be the most underrated ride at WDW, in Florida, or even the American amusement industry. You may not agree, but I stand by what I said. It's one of the best dark rides I've ever been on. I think it's tied with IOA's Spider-Man for my favorite dark ride.

Dinosaur is located within the fictional Dino Institute, which holds a handful of traditional museum pieces in it (e.g., a large dinosaur skeleton, pieces of fossils, etc.) As you enter, you are separated into one of two preshow rooms, where the head of the Institute, played by Phylicia Rashad, explains that they have perfected a time machine to take you back to see dinos firsthand. It's praised as the next step in experiencing history--after all, "the future is truly in the past." And then the video feed is interrupted: quirky subordinate scientist Dr. Seeker wants you to travel to the past to bring back an Iguanodon. You're not supposed to, of course, as Dr. Marsh (Rashad's character) reminds you. When she's not looking, though, Seeker modifies the time coordinates to the point JUST before the comet hits and kills the dinosaurs, which is where his Iguanodon is located. Don't worry, though--"you'll be in and out of there before it breaks the atmosphere. What could go wrong?"

I don't even want to describe the ride experience because I don't want to spoil it. Yes, the ride is 19 years old, but still. It's so good. And so much of the ride is in the dark that it doesn't video particularly well. If you want to know what the ride's about, I'm sure you can find an in-depth description somewhere else. If you absolutely want to get an idea of what it's like, check out a POV on YouTube. The audio in the darker parts will give you a pretty good idea of what's going on. It's just so good. I will never ever not get goosebumps at

 

"We're not gonna make it! We're not gonna make it!"

Yeah. Yeah. Just go ride Dinosaur, okay? At least on the day I went, it never had a line longer than about 5 minutes, not including the preshow video.
 

Primeval Whirl/DinoLand U.S.A.: Uhh... I think this might be why Dinosaur doesn't get more praise.

I've read somewhere that Dinosaur is supposed to be the "serious" attraction in DinoLand U.S.A., and everything else in that area is supposed to be themed to a cheaper tourist attraction for visitors to the Dino Institute. Knowing that, I guess the theme of the area works... but I'm not a fan of it. If I hadn't known that beforehand, the area would feel like a very, very cheaply done attempt at mimicking (or even mocking) the Jurassic Park area at Islands of Adventure. Frankly, if it came out tomorrow that Eisner actually was trying to mock IOA, I'd believe it.

There's a jarring contrast between the romanticized African and Asian sections, with their rustic signs and crumbling archways and respective animal elements, and the faded, cartoony, and flat printed signs of DinoLand. Gone is the feeling of "the world is an adventure"--and it's been replaced with something that feels a lot like "we needed some other stuff to go with Dinosaur, but we didn't have the money." It's a flat, crumbling asphalt patch with faded parking lot stripes painted on it. Attractions include two clearly portable spinning coasters and multiple game booths scattered throughout the area. The game booths aren't a bad thing by any means, but they're very simple and sun-faded; they'd fit more at a struggling FEC than a Disney park. The area, honestly, feels and looks cheap, and if lack of budget didn't "inspire" this area's theme to begin with, I'd kindly suggest that it get replaced soon. I get the feeling that Avatar is going to only make DinoLand look even more out of place. I never experienced the original California Adventure, but I get the impression that had a similar vibe. Here's a picture for reference:

(Source: Vacationearing.com.)

As far as Primeval Whirl goes... It's a pretty standard Zamperla- or Reverchon-style spinning mouse. It's fun enough, but it might not change your life. Disney's foresight to add two of that coaster was kinda nice, as I'd really hate to wait hours and hours in line for just a spinning mouse. I ended up waiting about 10 minutes. I'd say it's worth a 10-minute wait. Ho hum.
 

Kilimanjaro Safaris: About 12 years ago, I had a chance to go on a safari in a national park in South Africa. Last January, I had a similar experience at an animal reserve in India. Kilimanjaro Safaris was pretty true to both experiences, and as a result, I totally loved it! Unfortunately, so does everyone else, so this ride gets a looooooooooong line early and keeps it all day. Fortunately, I managed to nab a FastPass+ reservation, so I only waited about 10 minutes.

Quite simply, you ride through multiple animal habitats and see animals going about their day. There are many photo opportunities along the way, and the truck driver will narrate accordingly. If you've ever ridden the train at Busch Gardens Tampa, it's kinda like that, except you're in a wide truck instead of a train. If you've ever ridden Jungle Cruise at Magic Kingdom, it's like that, except in a truck and with 75% fewer puns. There's a very real possibility than an animal will decide to lay in the middle of the road and keep you from moving, so your typically 20-minute ride might be a half hour or more. For me, I really enjoyed both seeing the animals and hearing/seeing people's reactions to them. One of my most favorite things at any park is seeing and hearing people exclaim with excitement or wonder, and this was filled with that from start to finish. Such a good time. If you can make time for Kilimanjaro Safaris, you should definitely pursue it.

For reference, here's a cool action shot:

(Source: Disney Parks Blog.)
 

In closing: I'm a very, very big fan of the Busch parks. I've gotten the impression before that Animal Kingdom was supposed to be Disney's/Eisner's attempt to keep people from spending a day at Busch Gardens Tampa. Many of the same sources made me believe that it wouldn't be very good--I've read many reviews where people name it their least-favorite park at Disney World. Whoever those people are, I couldn't have any more different of an opinion of the place. Animal Kingdom is definitely my favorite park there. It doesn't have a huge lead on Epcot, but it does have the lead. The attention to detail is just jaw-dropping, DinoLand excluded. If I had one day to spend at WDW again sometime soon, I'd be very tempted to spend a full day at Animal Kingdom. I'd love to try some more of the specialized food, I still haven't managed to see a show at a Disney park (AK has several), I need to see Rivers of Light, and I'm sure Avatar will be something to behold. I'd add some more thoughts on Avatar, but frankly, I've been working on this post for 3 hours, it's 11pm, and I'm old.  Maybe I'll loop back around to it at the end.

When daydreaming, I sometimes will think about what I would include in a third Busch park. BGW is themed to Europe, while BGT's domain is Africa. I can't help but wonder what a modern Asian Busch park might look like. Whatever I was planning, Disney completely blew it out of the water with AK's Asia section. It is probably my favorite non-Potter themed park area. Like I said before, I've had the opportunity to go to India, and "Anandapur"/Asia brought up some great nostalgia and emotions I associate with my trip there. The Hindi on the signage was such a cool touch, and the weathered look to most things was very true to the real thing. (I'm really kicking myself for not learning more Hindi when I've studied it in the past... It would have been really cool to be able to understand what was written on the signs and possibly find more Easter eggs.)

------------------------------------------------------------------

See? Told you it would be a novel.  Part two is coming eventually; I'll cover my trip to Epcot, then Hollywood Studios, then back to Epcot.