The Tower of Terror…and some other odds and ends (WDW ‘10)

I had a mention in the comments regarding riding the Tower and the whole “free fall” thing. So I’ll tell you my experience.

The queue looks like an old, abandoned hotel. Very elegant in an antique sort of way…with lots of spider webs and dust.

The line winds its way through this hotel and then Disney does what it does best. Eats up some time in the queue so you’re not just standing there bored stiff. There is a smaller room that looks a bit like a library (or something..it was very dark) with an old TV in there. When everyone finds a place in the room, the doors close and the TV comes on and it’s the guy from Twilight Zone talking about the hotel and the elevator etc. Nothing long or drawn out…just enough “story” to get you out and get you on the elevator for the ride.

After the TV part, some doors open and it’s another queue….another line, and it’s very dark in there. (This is a common theme with Disney rides I’ve noticed…waiting in a very dimly lit area. Weird.) Anyway, when you get closer to the ride, of course you get called on to stand on a number or in a line etc. And then when the ride is empty, it’s time to get on. The first time I rode, I was on the front row of seats. And there was a vacant seat next to me (more of this later). There are handles next to you, to hold on and a simple (but very sturdy) lap belt to buckle. When the ride starts, there is video to watch as the elevator part moves to the shaft where it goes up and down. There is a little bit more ‘story’, but again, just enough to have the ride. Nothing deep, just creepy.

And then the car locks in place. And the doors open. And you’re very high off the ground and you can see out the windows of the hotel at the park below. Still inside the building but in open air also.

And then it drops. Fast. It rises and falls and rises and falls a few more times. This part of the ride is random and no two rides are identical. So there really isn’t a way to count it up to figure out if it’s almost over. I held on for dear life and put my foot against the wall in front of me. And screamed my head off. Over and over.

I will insert here that my eyes were closed for the dropping parts. I opened them a couple of times and it freaked me out so I closed them again. I’ve watched some videos of this ride on you tube and there may be some videos etc shown during part of this sequence when the doors close, but I personally wouldn’t have a clue as to that.

Then there is a little bit more video at the end, and then it’s over. And then the exit dumps you out into a gift shop with all sorts of Tower trinkets and tee shirts. How convenient.

Remember I mentioned the part about having a seat next to me empty? Well..the second time I rode, there was a rather muscular young man sitting next to me and his upper thighs were pressed tightly against the handles. Um, ‘scuse me, but do you mind if I put my hand right there next to your beefy thigh to hold on for dear life? Um no, not gonna happen. So I only had one handle to hold that second time. MUCH scarier. It felt even more out of control.

In other news…

I love Belle. She’s my favorite.

Hubs and I had a chance to test ride a Segway. I rode the Tower but was too chicken to ride a Segway. Hubs said it was fun and all his Wii experience with the balance board helped a lot.

This is the name of our building at the Polynesian. Instead of thinking hard enough to figure out how to pronounce it, we just called it “the aorta”. Worked for us.

Last time we visited, we left on Thanksgiving day, so the park was already dressed for Christmas. This year, we got a blend of Halloween and fall. So cute.

Aaaaand, tomorrow is my last post about the parks. I promise…cuz it’s already written.

3rd day – Disney’s Hollywood Studios (WDW ‘10)

I know.. I know..what else can she say about that silly trip??? I guess I just want to document it in writing like I did last time. I promise I’ll eventually get back to ‘regular stuff’. Rilly.

Anyway..Tuesday was our third day and we spent it at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s a fun place and a little more show oriented and not quite as many rides. Which works out good cuz by Tuesday, we were more than happy to SIT DOWN a little bit.

We made rope drop and enjoyed the fun show with the director and he’s directing his movie and we’re all in it but we have to walk in this scene or he will yell at us with his bull horn. Very clever and cute. A fun way to start the day.

As soon as the drop happens and everybody starts walking, it was like a tidal wave of people heading for the exact same place…Toy Story Midway Mania. And we were right there with them! Ka-razy!

But we love this ride and were able to enjoy riding it in the line and with fast passes FOUR times in one day. THAT is pretty amazing because the lines for it are always nuts! (shows how good the crowds were, even though it didn’t always feel like it!)

Army man in the queue. I love this picture..I love the look on that dad’s face.

I took 6 or 7 pictures in the queue. It’s loaded with fun, nostalgic toys/things from childhood.

Mr. Potato Head was huge and talked to the crowd. Very fun.

But the ride is the main event. This is one of the most clever rides at WDW. Very imaginative and FUN. My arms were tired after riding it two times in a row, because you have to fire your ‘gun’ at the things in the midway. Gogogogogogo. Tired.

We went on the back lot tour. Lots of fun things to see. We also went to see Lights, Motors, Action, which is a live stunt show. Very loud but very fun.

Do you see that guy?! He’s falling! Very cool.

I rode The Tower of Terror. By myself…my peeps weren’t interested. Two times in a row. And I loved it. I was creeped out by it last trip and wouldn’t try, but this time, I decided to go for it. I’m glad I did. I am not much of a free fall ride kinda girl, but this one was great!

Also saw the Indiana Jones stunt show. We love the Indiana Jones movies, so this was a blast for us.

There is a Muppet-vision 3D show. Very funny.

We had a yummy dinner at a place called Hollywood and Vine and called it a night. Another fun day in the parks.

Next post will be odds and ends about the trip and then I think I have one more ‘in me’ about the food and our last day.

The Magic Kingdom - 2nd day of WDW ‘10

We spent our second day at WDW at the Magic Kingdom. (last trip, we spent our airplane day at MK and this time we spent that day at EPCOT). We’ve learned a lot since our first trip. We thought ‘the little shows’ the parks do as they open the park were really cute. But since our first trip, we’ve learned they’re called rope drops. And they’re sort of a big deal sometimes.

And we had not seen the one for The Magic Kingdom yet.

It was a magical start to a very fun day.

The characters arrive by train and the announcer/conductor guy says good morning and then the characters dance and sing.

We walked straight down Main Street towards Cinderella’s castle…and beyond. We were working on our touring plan and hitting major attractions very early before the crowds hit. That my friends, is the best advice anybody could give regarding the parks.

We rode Peter Pan’s Flight. We had not ridden this one, but I’d been on the one in Disneyland. It brought back a lot of fond memories for me. By the end of the week, we were able to ride this four of five times. Loved it! : )

We rode Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin as well. Very fun. Loved the Buzz in the queue.

We also rode the Haunted Mansion…another ride we were able to ride four or five times before the week was done.

This tombstone is kinda spooky. It’s in the graveyard alongside the queue outside. Her eyes open and close and her face moves. Creepy. (something I didn’t even notice on our first trip!)

We didn’t get to see The Hall of Presidents on our last trip. It was closed for refurbishment.  So this was a special treat for us.

And yep, there go my peeps (ball cap and pink shirt..I am always at the back stopping to take pics as they go on ahead..and then I have to run to catch up)

These are replicas of the boots George W. Bush wore to his inauguration.

It was a very moving and patriotic show. Makes you want to put your hand on your heart and be proud of who we can be.

We loved the People Mover. It was a nice relaxing way to take a rest and enjoy the scenery.

We didn’t watch any parades on our last trip. At the time, I didn’t feel like we were missing anything. But after seeing them, we’ve decided they are a festive “must see” just for the nostalgia of seeing the characters.

I love Jiminy Cricket. I remember watching those old educational films at school that he was in. Love love love!

The park was all decked out for fall. So cute!

Also got to walk through Cinderella’s castle this trip. Last trip that walkway was closed for shows.

These mosaics are all along the walkways. So beautiful and intricate.

We saw the Electrical Parade although in their schedules they call it something else. I remember this one from when I was a kid at Disneyland.

Main Street at night.

After the light parade, we found a spot to watch Wishes, the fireworks show at Magic Kingdom. We finally found a spot and actually got to see Tinkerbelle up close as she flew over us. Very fun. I didn’t take pics of the fireworks this year, because I took about 40 last trip. : ) I will say that I would pay for the dessert party to be able to sit on this one balcony and have a clear view of the fireworks. (next time…)

It was a sweet ending to another magical day.

Wednesday of WDW ‘10 (or NASA day)

I can’t figure out exactly how I want to tell you about the trip. I don’t think I’m up for a day by day account like I did last time. But perhaps I’ll just hit the high points..and maybe a low point or two, if they’re noteworthy.

And a boatload of pics.  How’s that?

So how about starting in the middle? On Wednesday we made arrangements to go to NASA. We’ve only been to the one in Texas and thought this would be fun. So we rented a car and drove out there. I was hoping to see lots of Florida but it was mostly just one loooong highway with trees on either side and a few toll booths. A little underwhelming. I still wanna see more!

There go my peeps walking around in the ‘graveyard’ as it’s called. Very cool to see all these rockets and such, up close and personal.

The space shuttle looks tiny rolling out the doors of this HUGE building.

There’s the shuttle on the pad. So cool!!!

I love Snoopy so I couldn’t resist taking a pic of this one!

They explain Snoopy better than I can, so I took a picture of the plaque next to him.

We did a special guided tour thing and a couple of the things our bus driver pointed out didn’t have anything to do with NASA…a huge eagle’s nest that’s over 70 years old and the size of KING sized mattress (!!!) and an alligator (!!!). No pics of either one of those, but they were both really cool. Love it that the NASA land is a preserve and lots of land and water life can thrive there.

And then we went to Chili’s. Of course. Well not of course, it was more like “oh look, a place to eat. Stop!” so we did. : )

I took a picture because they had different tiles on the table and I thought that was cool.

My family on the other hand, just thought I was nuts.

first day of the trip (WDW ‘10)

I guess I should start the story of our trip at the beginning.

Well, it began at around 3:15 a..m.

Our plane was to take off at 7 a.m.

So if you do the math, 2 hours before take off we had to be at the airport. It takes a half hour to get to the shuttle place and then they have to get you to your gate etc.

And I gotta wash my hair. Yeah, we got up at 3:15. But we were both already awake. We were too excited to sleep!

 

We got it together. Got to the airport and waited.

It was still dark. Even after we had been up aaaaall that time. I had the girl go take a picture of the plane. She said somebody commented that it was odd for her to take a picture of a plane. Obviously those people don’t blog.

Come to find out we flew out on the plane to the left of that one. Oops. It was early.

The sun was coming up as we took off.

She played her DS and listened to her iPod as soon as those things were allowed.

We had an uneventful flight. That’s the way I like it.

We got to the airport in Orlando and made our way down to the Disney area, waited in a couple of lines and made our way to the bus to the resort. Thirty minutes later we were checking in to our hotel, the Polynesian Resort. They had a Mickey waiting for us! At least I like to think of it that way. : )

We unloaded a bit and headed down to Captain Cooks (quick service place in the main building) to eat lunch, then we headed to EPCOT.  

Our plan had been to stay until after fireworks that night, but we didn’t make it that long and headed back to the room soon after dinner.

To crash. It was a looong day.

another countdown

Loving the little countdown app. Check it out!

But lovin’ the destination even more!

Yep, we went again. As a friend said to me a few days before our trip, “it draws you back”, and it certainly does. At least it did for us.

It was truly a magical trip, as we expected.

One little unexpected hiccup though… I got sick with either a cold or allergies right at the end of the trip. Big bummer.

It really would have been “The Magic Kingdom” if Puffs Plus sprouted up whenever I needed one.

Glad to be home. More later. Hugs! : )