Florida 01/26 – Animal Kingdom + Hollywood Studios
While on a Disney roll, the next morning began at
Day 3 – Animal Kingdom
Main motivator for returning to the resort was the +1 here. Not just any +1 of course, Expedition Everest had been closed for maintenance on our previous visit and was one of the biggest names still out there that I was yet to tick off.
A significant chill was in the air as we headed in, the unseasonably cold weather seemingly settling in for the long haul. Good for the coaster theme I guess.
Took a detour on route however to pay homage to old mate Dinosaur. Secondary factor in coming back and at this time of year was aiming mere days before the retirement of this top tier Disney dark ride.
It didn’t disappoint, as I remember really liking it before, and god damn, it still kicked ass. The theme had a quaint retro vibe to it, amongst it’s dying hours, but the movements of the vehicle are where the attraction really shines. In a corner seat it feels downright dangerous the amount it manages to toss you about which, combined with the chaotic darkness of much of the layout, was simply joyous to sit back and endure.
Took a few laps in the end just to be sure and got a little emotional about it in the closing moments of the sequence, when the reality hits. Won’t ever be experiencing that again. RIP one of Florida’s finest.
Hello, new friend.
Flashbacks to the state of Tron’s queue when walking through the wonders of #1 Expedition Everest. So much care and attention went into this one, what with all the lore of designers living out in-situ and bringing back all these artifacts as evidence.
With all that distraction we were on in what felt like a flash, while I wasn’t sure I was even ready for it. This this is meant to be good, right?
Well it’s gorgeous, even simple things like the stone steps leading to retractable evacuation stairs give it that magical touch as you head up the big lift hill.
Shenanigans in the dark led us to learn that all that time down for maintenance didn’t even bring back bird on a stick before a bit of backwards. The cave wasn’t quite as atmospheric as I would have liked and then the coaster is simply decent.
For the step up in thrill I don’t think it quite landed where I wanted it to after so many years of expectation, what with the rate at which things happen vs the more chilled pacing and simple joys of a Big Thunder. Then the yeti is obviously ruined. But who can blame them, new parks can’t get that right either.
Glad to have done it, wouldn’t rush back.
Speaking of, the Avatar ride queues were already ruined for the day, so headed off to one last new thing. Sort of.
The rethemed 3D cinema, now Zootopia: Better Together flavour. As a fan of the film it was good fun, but lacked the signature ‘scares all the children out of the room’ moments that Tough to be a Bug was legendary for. Liked the joke in particular that acknowledged we couldn’t have the official vocal performance because they hadn’t paid Shakira for it. Battle at the Ministry.
And that was Animal Kingdom. Still far too few rides, and they just closed their best.
Headed out to Five Guys for a meal, before hopping over to
Hollywood Studios
This park was the bane of our existence on the previous visit. Though many of the attractions were undoubtably top notch, they were the new hotness and multiple queues of multiple hours managed to destroy our legs and vibes.
Returning without the pressure of needing to do anything was lovely in comparison.
Hello, old friend.
Technically one thing we needed were some A-mode effects on the beast that is Rise of the Resistance. Alas, animatronic Kylo was still hiding behind a piece of metal and gimping around in his ship outside instead. And the turrets still didn’t move.
It remains a mind-bogglingly addictive attraction that I can never find the words to review however.
Walked into what turned out to be Aerosmith themselves while exiting the ride. Didn’t know them to look at, just made a glancing remark that some old blokes looked very rockstar and were probably famous. Later found out they were on park to say goodbye to a ride we certainly wouldn’t miss.
Speaking of, something was clearly up with Smuggler’s Run as it consistently had double the queue of Rise. In no universe can that be justified, so I look forward to being disappointed by the planned overhaul.
Here’s Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, one that never disappoints.
Pure Disney magic.
There’s a new Villains show out the back of a bad coaster that’s getting Muppeted, replacing some poxy Cars one and in anticipation of a future themed land. 3 baddies come out and plead that they ain’t so bad, before the audience picks a winner. Was cheesy and enjoyable in a good musical kind of way, with a very catchy overarching tune from the magic mirror. Better than Tron.
Here’s Tower of Terror, one that never disappoints, and the fact that this one just has a forwards dark ride section entertains me to no end. So elaborately engineered while being the absolute best thrill machine on resort. Just need to amp up the scariness by 20% like Paris has now.
Did some more Star Wars stuff, including the only walk-on attraction in the state, Star Tours, a couple times because I love seeing all the different combinations. Have now reached the point where I’ve landed on a couple of repeats over recent years, but it’s still highly entertaining even as just a piece of hardware, until it references Episode 9, my personal death of the franchise. But then I can laugh about it, like Harry Potter.
Ended the night on Florida Fantasmic, because it wasn’t running back when we last visited. Seen the Cali edition, before it caught fire, though the one here is quite a different experience just on setting alone, being in a full arena.
Selection of music was slightly off-base from the usual castle show stuff, and much better for it, while the story was very much from the same page. Mickey, cameos, bad things, power of love and money.
Loved it overall, just think it lacked the punch of spectacle that Cali managed to deliver with it’s 200ft pirate ship appearing out of nowhere into a much more intimate staging. And the dragon ain’t all that now, for reasons.
And it was too cold, did I mention that?