Trip Log:
Started off the trip arriving at MCO about an hour late, just after 7am due gate issues at LAX. Walked down and hopped on the Magic Express to Port Orleans Riverside, I had a bus to myself. I was checked into the Resort and down at Port Orleans French Quarter for breakfast by 8:30am. After breakfast took a bus to Animal Kingdom. Grabbed a Fastpass for the Safari and then took the train to Conservation Station. Once back walked through Pangani Forest and then went over to the Flights of Wonder show. After the show went for our safari ride and then dodged a downpour and looked for lunch. Ended up across the park in Dinoland at Restaurantosourus. After lunch checked and the room was ready so headed back to see if the room and unpack a bit. Caught our breath and then headed by bus to the Magic Kingdom. Walked down Main Street and noticed that the Laugh Floor Comedy Club was open so went in for the show, then grabbed a Fastpass for Buzz. Cut across the park and ate dinner at Pecos Bills then took the train around to Toontown Fair and walked to Tomorrowland. Road Buzz and then the TTA. Wandered around Tomorrowland and then headed over to Liberty Square and through Fantasyland. Ended up at Mickey's Philharmagic and then walked out the east side of the Castle since it was the only way to go toward Main Street. Circled through the hub and back to Liberty Square to eat a funnel cake and watch SpectroMagic. After the parade waded through the Main Street traffic and out of the park. Took the bus back to Port Orleans. Ended up going to the French Quarter due to the bus sitting there and over a one bus wait for the Riverside. Walked back to the room and called it a night.
Thoughts & Observations:
- I arrived about an hour late due to United and its gate scheduling and close flight scheduling, but it was still just around sunrise when we set down at MCO.
- I used the Magic Express service to get to Port Orleans, Riverside, again the process ran extremely smooth with no wait at all and I was off to the resort within 30 minutes of the plane touching down in Orlando. I managed to get my own bus again this trip too, which is always nice.
- I first went to Animal Kingdom and have nothing too new to report, the park looked good and the crowds were mild since it was fairly early on a Tuesday morning. Only thing to really note is how dead I thought Conservation Station was. I went out there since I did not make it there in December and I was a bit disappointed that nothing has changed and it still felt dead to me. I was at least hoping to see something going on since it was a weekday morning. I had read rumors of possible changes coming to the Safari and it was the same spiel as always, nothing noticeably different.
- When we walked into Tomorrowland there was a temporary sign saying the Laugh Floor Comedy Club was open, so we went in there first. Overall I thought the show was ok, but a bit out of place in Tomorrowland. I think its a stretch to have this there, not sure where it belongs, but its a bunch of Monsters telling stand-up jokes. For those not familiar with the premise this attraction is in the old Circle Vision/Time Keeper building and the premise is the folks from Monsters Inc. have built a Comedy Club and they transport us humans to their world to laugh (which as we all remember from the movie generates power for them). The show uses the same technology as Turtle Talk with Crush, just on a larger scale since the audience is bigger. I found the jokes to be funny (a bit corny, but I laughed, some Jungle Cruise type groaners too). It will be interesting to see how this attraction wears.. it seems to me that the repeatability is not there, I was going to try to go again but over the next 7 days never did make it back through for one reason or another. The queue rooms have some interesting signs and things to look at but nothing too spectacular. I was a bit disappointed that there was no indication of when the next show would start or even more information on why you are in line or what is going on. The intro video that plays is very short and is in the second room. Seems to me they need something like what the Muppets has that keeps the pre show wait moving along... the conversion of the main room to a sitting area is ok, but the hard plastic seats are not that comfortable. There was also a noticeable lag in the audio when the guests in the audience talked, my guess is this was a glitch.
Has anyone else seen the show? Anyone manage to see the original one that was tested last year and this current version, I am curious how they compare... I missed the preview in December.
- Last time I was at the MK I commented how the crowd control lacked some of the focus of Disneyland's and it still does. For example before Spectro Magic I was walking around the hub, which of course was jammed, and a CM decided to park their cart selling light toys directly in the walkway. This basically brought traffic to a standstill. No one seemed concerned though and this just bottled everything up and it did not appear anyone was interesting in buying the toys, they just wanted to get to a spot to watch the parade.
- The Magic Kingdom is the only park that has two bus stops for Port Orleans, one for the Riverside and one for the French Quarter, at the other parks its only a single bus. When we arrived the line for the Riverside was probably over a bus (it would have been close) and there was no bus in site. While right next door the French Quarter bus was there and loaded with seats available. So we hopped on that one and were long gone before a bus even pulled in saying Riverside.
Pedometer Information for the day:
Steps |
23,896 |
Miles |
11.31 |
MPH |
2.85 |
Steps/Min |
100 |
Time |
3:57:35 |
Enough
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