Nostalgic 9 year-old Trip Report!

[skadar2]

This trip report is for nostalgia only. It was created after a trip that my wife and I took in March of 1999. It references a few attractions that are now gone, and others that were brand new at the time. I thought I'd share it with you.

----- begin -----

My wife and I just returned from a quick 4 day trip to WDW.
What follows are notes and thoughts about certain specific
aspects of the trip. There are also a lot of
opinions about different things.

We arrived on Monday morning (3/22/99) on Delta (smallest
airline seats I've ever had the discomfort of sitting in).
We immediately hopped on over to the Alamo mega-renta
center on a bus that only carried ourselves and one other
person... very light crowds already. :)

We drove our nice, clean car over to the WDW All-Star Music
resort. Even after reading r.a.d.p, we weren't sure what
building to ask for, so we simply let them choose. We ended
up staying in the Country section, which is (I believe) the
farthest building from the main building. This makes it
very difficult for someone to walk over to the food court
for some muffins in the morning. But it was extremely quiet
with parking very close by. If you do not have a rental
car, I would AVOID staying in this building... very far from
the buses. The room was perfectly fine, and we were
virtually never in it.

We immediately picked up our 4-day hopper passes and maps.
We also purchases E-Ride tickets for that evening! Then we
hopped on the buses to head to the Magic Kingdom. Thanks
to r.a.d.p for suggesting that we use the buses to get to
the MK, because the parking lots are very far away
(requiring a trip from the Transportation Center), while the
buses drop you at the front door.

When we got off the buses and started heading to the main
gate, we both experienced the "we are really at Disney
World" realization feeling. We strolled down Main Street
and took a left into Adventureland, we were planning to
participate in the Adventureland Challenge. There was a
little time before the challenge started, so (can you
believe it?) the first thing we did in the MK was the Tiki
Birds. :) Not too shabby.... Iago was funny. But we bolted
out of there when the doors opened to make the challenge.
We met our CM in front of the Ooga-Booga drums to get our
maps and first clue. We had never played this before, only
read about it on the net. Anyway, we had a blast running
around searching for clues! It turns out that our map color
clues were all messed up, so we didn't have a chance at
winning. The CM realized that he messed up and issued us
"Go to the head of the line passes" anyway! Wahoo!

Then we headed on over to Pirates of the Caribbean and I was
whisked back to childhood when I head the "Pssssst" of the
cannons on that castle behind the main entrance. What a
feeling! We walked right on to PoTC... no waiting at all.
After we finished, we walked on it again. This was almost
the rule of this trip... no lines. It was quite strange
because the park seemed rather crowded. PoTC was always a
"walk on". PoTC wasn't quite as dramatic as I remembered
it as a kid (of course), but it was still quite enjoyable.
When we went again 3 days later, the ride was dramatically
darker than that first day. It was a lot better with the
darker lighting.

We headed on over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and
waited about 10 minutes to ride. Lots of fun, but this was
to be our only ride for the length of our stay. We doubled
back to Splash Mountain where we witnessed the only truly
huge line of the entire trip...a 60 minute+ wait. All
(or most) of the internal corral switchbacks were open and
being used. What a perfect opportunity to use our "Head of
the line" passes! We went to the exit and presented them
to the cast member, who immediately took us to the loading
area where we got on the next available log... amazing!
As I was handing him the passes, I joked about letting us
keep them. He seemed to hesitate for a second, but I let
it drop. In retrospect, I bet he would have given them
back to us for another use if we had joked with him about
it a little more. But it turns out we wouldn't really
need them again anyway.

Splash Mountain is by far mine and my wife's favorite ride
in all of WDW. It's just an amazing ride that just keeps
going and going. The music is fantastic, even when you're
waiting in line! And that dip drop in the middle is so
much fun. We love that ride, and would virtually walk onto
it about 4 more times during our trip.

We continued up towards the Haunted Mansion and were able
to get on in about 5 minutes. What memories!! The trip
through the house was wonderful! We were both giggling like
little kids when we came off... we went right back on again.

Onward to FantasyLand. Peter Pan's flight was about a 15
minute wait... our longest yet. Although I used to love
this one as a kid, it has really worn off on me. Same
thing with Snow White's Scary Adventure. Some good memories
of the witch inside, but that's about it. Then we went over
to see the Legend of the Lion King, which we considered a
waste of time afterwards. Like everyone else, we had
already seen the Lion King film and were intimately aware
of the story. We expected this show to be something fresh
and new, but it was just a re-hash of the movie! The puppets
and sets were nice though.

Making a bee-line over to TomorrowLand, I was stunned by
the changes! I really like the new facade! Those metal
palm trees are too cool! The Astro Orbiter looks amazing.
Alien Encounter was a "walk on" during our entire trip...
never more than a few people in line. I guess there's really
no point in doing it again and again. We did it for the first
time and thought it was okay... nothing really amazing.
I did like the splattering blood effect though, and some kids
were really screaming in terror.. hahahaha.

After Alien Encounter, we headed over to Buzz Lightyear for
a 10 minute wait. The waiting queue isn't so great... with
not too much to entertain you. But the ride is very fun!
My wife loved it! It's a great concept... the interactive
ride. We rode it 3 times and our lasers worked fine every time.

On over to Space Mountain for a real flashback... wow, so
many memories came flooding back. Only about a 10 minute wait
for this one, none of the internal corral switchbacks were
being used. What an amazing feeling to be sitting in that
little rocket coaster again! We rode it 3 times in a row, one
of which I was able to snag the front seat. By all means, try
to get a front seat ride at all cost! You feel like you're
all alone on the track, it's fantastic. One of my best
experiences during the entire trip. I experienced no discomfort
of neck problems at all on Space Mountain... it's really a
mild roller coaster, but the atmosphere can't be beat. That
big cookie still looks yummy after all these years. :)

Time Keeper. I don't know, I really didn't enjoy this.
Nothing really blew me away or was all that amazing, except
maybe when 9-eyes looked in the mirror. I doubt I'll ever
do Time Keeper again. On to the People Mover, I'll always
like this ride... so relaxing. I'm disappointed that they
changed the narration though. If I remember correctly, they
used to tell you how the ride worked and how it was virtually
emission-free. They don't even mention this today. And "Rocket
Tower Plaza Station" is kind of a dumb name for the terminal.
hehehe

By this time, we were ready to eat dinner, and we had priority
seating at the Liberty Tree Tavern for a character dinner.
I was pleasantly surprised by how fun this was! Minnie, Goofy,
Pluto, and Chip and Dale were all on hand to take photos and
visit with you. It was here that we witnessed a truly Disney
moment. Next to us was the cutest little boy who was on a trip
from the "Make-a-wish" foundation, who's wish it was to meet
Chip and Dale at WDW. Well, one of the chipmunks came over and
literally sat down at the kid's table for about a half hour just
playing with him and at one time... hugging him for what seemed
like an eternity. The kid was just beaming. It was like they
were best friends and the little boy was truly happy. My wife
and I almost started bawling. :) The endless supply of food was
great, the character's were great, everything about that dinner
was great. The Liberty Tree Tavern is a winner! Priority
Seating got us a table right away while people were lined up
outside.

We watched the fire works and saw Tink fly from the castle to
Tomorrowland.

E-Ride night was fantastic. No lines for anything. We walked
onto Splash Mountain a bunch of times, same for Buzz Lightyear,
Space Mountain, The Haunted Mansion. We were totally wiped
out by the end of the night... having been up for almost 24 hours.
Crash!.... into our All-Star room. Sleep is good.

...continued below...

[skadar2]

Regardless, we woke up for early opening at Epcot, drove over,
parked very close, and walked to the main gate. Spaceship Earth
is just so inviting being empty and so close... so we did it.
Not as impressive as I remember, but kind of relaxing... although
I'm not sure why the cars are so bumpy. And the head-rest just
hurts when you are backing down the steep inclines near the end.

Test Track! As we neared, we saw that the line extended out from
Test Track all the way underneath the Innoventions walkway!!!!
Since we were newbies, we fell under the spell of "better get in
line now... it will only get worse" syndrome, so we waited... a
LONG time. But the sound of those cars whipping by is amazing!
It draws you in. Later on in our visit, we realized that is was
RIDICULOUS to stand in this line as long as we did. Never again
was the line as long.

Test Track tips: When you are under the awning outside, beware
of birds above your head. We witnessed no less than 2 people
getting "dropped on", if you will, from feather friends lurking
high above. You have been warned. Always use the Singles Line
if you can. Watch the track flex as the cars wizzzz by overhead...
it's almost scary.

As we approached the door, we saw some people speaking with a CM,
and then running around the side of the building. We quickly
understood what was going on, so we shouted "Singles!" and ducked
under the rope and headed towards the secret side of the building.
By joining the "singles line" we bypasses at least 40 minutes of
wait time! And by riding single, you ALWAYS get an outside seat!!!
And, even if you wait in the normal line, they will most likely seat
you one-behind-the-other if you are a party of two anyway!

Test Track is our second favorite ride after Splash Mountain.
Test Track is SOOOO much fun! We rode it 6 times during our trip,
including a special trip out to Epcot on our last day exclusively
to ride Test Track. It's a long ride, and it did break down many
times during our visit. One time it broke down as we were pulling
into the station, so we had to wait in the cars for about 5 minutes
until it started again. At first, I thought the outside radar speed
reading was unique, but I quickly realized that it always says
"64.8 mph". The breaking test is shocking during your first ride...
you really start moving! The environmental tests are sort of hokey,
but the outside speed loop is really, really cool.

The average line at Test Track seemed to start well under the awning,
so try not to wait in anything large than that. And at this point,
you are really close to being able to exit to the singles line anyway.
If the line stretches out of the roped area, you will actually have to
wait in line for some time before requesting singles. We found that
some cast members openly shouted out for single riders, while others
relied upon guests to simply "know" that this line was available.
In this case, you will get a lot of strange (and envious) looks
from people in the line as you duck under the rope and head directly
into the building.

Next was Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, which is my favorite Disney
4D movie! It was my first time seeing it, and it was HILARIOUS!
The effects were great, and the screaming that spread from the front
rows to the back was simply priceless. Don't miss!

We ate lunch at the Rose and Crown pub and sat outside on the veranda.
Very nice and relaxing.

The Universe of Energy is so much fun now!! Ellen is simply great!
We were cracking up the whole time. This is one "new and improved"
attraction that really is improved.

Body Wars, I really hate this ride. I generally hate simulator
rides to begin with, much preferring the real thing to a simulation.
I can't wait for the day when simulator rides are phased out when
people start to realize how truly bad they are. Give me a real
rollercoaster, no matter how ******, over a simulator ride any day!
I must admit, however, that Star Tours is much better than Body Wars.
Body Wars is just a gross ride that makes you feel sick and provides
false information. We skipped Cranium Command.

We watched the fountain show in the middle of Innoventions 3 times.
This is a great show that shouldn't be missed. Even better at night.

We then left Epcot, stopped back at the hotel room, and then headed
out to Pleasure Island. We went to Comedy Warehouse twice, spent a
lot of time at the Adventurers Club, and went to Mannequins for a
while. We were totally pooped out by the time we came home. The Lego
store was also high on my list, so we checked that out... really,
really cool!

... continued below ...

[skadar2]

The next day, we started at Animal Kingdom and ended up at MGM for
Fantasmic. We drove to Animal Kingdom, and were surprised at how
close it is to the All-Star resorts. We were immediately impressed
with the Oasis, but pressed on to make CTX our first stop.

CTX *****. Plain and simple. This ride is lousy. Avoid it and
spend your time elsewhere. I know that people really WANT this
ride to be good, but it really is bad. I almost felt sorry for
the CMs working on the ride when we pulled into the loading station.
They must get a lot of strange looks or complaints about the volume.
Luckily, we didn't wait at all to get on... walk on. I had high
hopes when I saw the ultra-cool vehicles... and the concept is good.
The hydraulic cars really make you feel like you are going fast around
really slow corners and things like that. But the ride is pitiful.
Most of the time, you are in pitch blackness... there is simply
nothing to look at. Whenever there IS something to look at, it is
simply flashed with a light for a split second. There was only one
part that was any good... when the Carnosaurus chases you. I didn't
even see the meteor at the end, I had no idea what was going on by
that point.

CTX is LOUD LOUD LOUD! I mean, ridiculously loud. Be warned.

We headed back to the Tree of Life, which you can stare at for an
eternity and still see something new. We got sucked into It's Tough
To Be A Bug, and were all set for a great show. Although it did turn
out to be a fun show, I think they really messed up on the 3D effects!
Many of them simply didn't work for myself, my wife, and many people
around us. They messed up with the filtering or something. Too bad,
because it could be on par with Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. It turns
out that the FUNNIEST part of the show was all of the screaming and
crying kids that were being ushered out half-way through. Without
giving anything away, there is a part of the show that many, many kids
did NOT like one bit. Half of my fun from many attractions is watching
the reactions of kids to what is going on around them. The absolute
best part of the show comes in the last 30 seconds, so don't go anywhere.

Then we hit Kilamanjaro Safari, which is a FANTASTIC attraction. Just
loads of fun with the right driver. Tons of animals and fun surprises.
I wish we had taken the time to ride this one again.

Then we rode the train to Conservation station, and remained on board
for the full circuit. We just wanted to relax.

We then headed over to Asia, which had just opened up. Onward to the
Kali River Rapids, which has one of the coolest lines ever! Waiting in
line is as much fun as riding the rapids. You've no doubt heard already
that the ride is extremely short! Too bad... it was loads of fun, and
you can get SOAKED! If you have a backpack, which we did, don't despair.
In the center of the raft is a compartment that you can put your pack
into. It then is covered with a thick plastic sheet. It works pretty
well as our pack came out perfectly dry.

We then did the Asia trek, which was a lot of fun. It really is a great
walk, and you get to see a bunch of animals. I lost my sun glasses somewhere
on the trek, so if you see them, let me know. :)

We then ate at Pizzafari and spent a lot of time around the Tree of Life,
and in the Oasis, just relaxing and making little discoveries.

In the late afternoon, we left and traveled directly over to MGM Studios.
There, we experienced Tower of Terror for the first time. There was a
zero-wait as we just walked on a couple of times. Very fun ride with great
atmosphere. I thought they just dropped you once, but it was more like
5 times!

We also hit the Great Movie Ride, which had a kid screaming behind us
when the bandit came onboard. Priceless. We also did Muppetvision 3D,
which was good, but still not better than Honey, I Shrunk the Audience.
The Muppetvision preshow is fantastic though.

We ate near the entrance to Fantasmic and arrived, in the theater at
about the half-filled point. Even so, we got great seats. At the top
of the theater, there were a couple of CMs handing out small blue
tickets. We took a couple, but never found out what they were for!
They were never referenced again! Does anyone know what we missed?
The pre-show was quite entertaining with these two guys coming out
cracking jokes and juggling. Not too bad. The show itself was
wonderful... with so much to look at. I didn't realize that so much
of it would simply involve watching movie clips though. The flaming
water at the end was really neat. Before the show, they kept claiming
that you could get wet. After seeing the show, it wasn't even a
possibility! There was really not one point with water came into the
audience. I guess, though, that if there was a strong wind blowing
towards the audience, then we could have been constantly covered with
mist.

After the show, we headed back to the hotel, planning to take a
swim and a walk. However, we were asleep before we even knew it!

For our final day, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom, which still
can't be beat for Disney atmosphere. We rode all of our favorites
again and again. Spent a lot of time just poking into different things
and enjoying the amazing scenery. We did a full circuit on the train.
Then we said goodbye to the MK and headed over to Epcot with the sole
purpose of riding Test Track again... and to give us an opportunity
to ride the monorails. We ended up riding Test Track 2 or 3 more
times, and visiting a bunch of attractions that we didn't get to see
the first time. Then we truly said goodbye to SpaceShip Earth and
rode off into the distance.

Coming home, we flew Delta Express, which was MUCH nicer than regular
Delta on the way down. The seats were bigger and provided a lot more
room.

I hope you enjoyed this quick(?) report. :) It will certainly help
us recall our memories in the future. Thanks for reading!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for sharing! :smickey:

[tinkerbell04]

Thanks for sharing, it is nice to see how things change over time :)

[RedheadWriter]

:thumbsup:What an idea ot do the report years later a a sort of look back in time. Thanks!

[mrsgaribaldi]

That was great to read, thanks:thumbsup:

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.