disneyfan1313

Whoops! I did not even notice the "no photo" rule and tons of folks on my train were video taping... odd..

We had decided to also go to Universal Orlando during the day (and not during a HHN) for the first time since ...oh... 2000 since it was one of the last days of Universal 360, we had not been on the High in the Sky Trolly Train and we also wanted to do BTTF before it closes. Universal 360.. It wasn't bad.. it just felt kinda half-a$$d.. It felt hastily edited together, cheesy and somewhat dated. Its better than the old lagoon show by far but when compared to WDW's and even Sea World's offerings it falls pretty flat. Oh Wel While BTTF it rough and cheesy - I am going to miss it. I *heart* those movies. I ate your brother for dinner!!! HAHAHA!! We then headed over to the Studios and had a *great* dinner at Lombardi's Landing (under the false assumption it would get us priority viewing for Universal 360). What a nice restaurant - it looks like it should be in TDS! I miss the T-Rex encounter! You can kinda still see where the path was. This is the *Ultimate* roller coaster T-Shirt! We walked by the "OMG WE ARE THE BEST RESTAURANT EVER!!!!!111!!" place long enough to snap a picture of their menu for interested parties. You do have some pretty good views of IOA. This is pretty much the only theming you see on the one track..and you go by it so quickly I have no idea what it is.. There are warning signs *everywhere*.. why? The top speed of about 3MPH is pretty scary. Oh..and did I mention - THEY STAPLE YOU ON THIS RIDE MORE THAN KNOTTS! Pleeeeeeease?!?! I mean it has wheels and stuff! Can we at least count this as a credit?!?! The queue looks nice.. Oh wait..that is because it has BEEN SITTING AROUND SINCE THE LATE 90's! First stop the "It's more boring than if you had the TTA and a parking lot tram have sex" ride! Stacey looks a little too happy to be riding the panther... I have never noticed these large plasma screens before in front of all of the ticket booths..nice touch! First stop IOA (with a huge line to get through the turnstiles with 3 running... WTF?!?!?) Bubba Gumps is now open and *very* busy. We have been to the one in Miami so we decided to skip this one.

Stacey and I decided to take a little random day trip yesterday and visit one of the last remaining brass ring carousels in the USA. We had heard about this carousel in a thread about them a while back and since Stacey has never been on a Brass Ring Carousel before and it is only about 30 minutes away from Orlando we decided - What the heck! This Carousel is in a *seriously* redneck and scary fleamarket in the middle of the drive between Orlando and Tampa. Unfortunately it had already stopped running for the day once we got there but we hope to try again (TPR Side Trip?!?). And try out the newest video game technology. Before we left we had to get some credits! You grab the Brass Ring from the Gators Mouth - ROCK ON! Here is the informational plaque. It looks like it had been in Old Town before this.. what a step down! (and that is hard to do coming from Old Town!) It appeared to have real horse hair tails and lots of great detail Until we stumbled upon this beautifully restored carousel. Damn.. it had just closed a half-hour before we got there and crap like this... It took *forever* to find the carousel. Pictures miles upon miles (ok..probably more like feet upon feet) of crap like this.. Here we are in the Beautiful and Scenic "International Market World" in Auburndale, FL.. WTF - DOES THAT SAY WACO GUN SHOP?! Should we turn around now?

Hey! I have that credit at Southern Adventures also.. The place was deserted when I was there as well and they got kinda freaked out with all the pictures I was taking.. Interesting..umm.. place?

For those of you looking at airfare...a couple of tips. 1) Travelocity Fare Watcher - Sign up for where you want to go and it will notify you if the fare drops or if it goes on sale. Great for catching one day fare sales and wars. 2) Think about flying in early - You might save quite a bit by flying in one day early and you will get acclimated to the area before the trip starts. 3) Learn the Low, Average and High fares of your destination. For example I know that MCO-LAX averages 220-240 and has a low of 180-220 and a high of 240-300. I know not to buy when it is in that high because it will probably go down. Watch the fares for a while. 4) Consider flying to LAX or NYC for international flights and then booking the international portion separately. This is not always cheaper but it was for us when we went to japan. Plus we had a few extra days in LA. 5) It really is a bit to early to look at airfares - there will probably be a few fare wars before the fall...but be ready to bite if there is a HUGE sale.

The local market is not where you make the money. Locals don't spend the night, are more likely to bring food, are less likely to buy merchandise. Why on earth would you want to price to attract locals?

Yae! Food network and Theme Parks! (Robb.. I think you should pitch a travel around the world and try different theme park food show.. ) 1) Dole Whip at WDW and DL. This is one of those "Must Have" unique treats. 2) O'hana - Overall a wonderful experience. Great food and Atmosphere and a perfect view of the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom. 3) Boysenberry at Knotts - What a unique story and a unique food item used in many ways throughout the park. 4) Burgers at Beaches and Cream at Disney's Beach Club Resort - Best burgers at WDW or anywhere else in Orlando. 5) Food and Wine Festival at Epcot - What a perfect paring of food and theme parks - this *has* to be featured. The special cooking demonstrations and dinners with the world class chefs are only part of the fun. My list is a bit disney-centric but I have not had any amazing theme park food anywhere else.

Cypress Gardens charges so little because it HAS to. Attendance there when there is not a concert going on is very low (which ...from what I have heard is why they have not started building the starliner or fixed a lot of their rides). Plus Cypress Gardens is not marketed to the average tourist - Uni has a hard enough time getting people down I-4 to a world-class theme park... who the heck is going to drive through the backwoods of Polk county for some Carny Rides...

I was told by an employee of disney that Coke actually provides Disney there coke for free to make sure they sell it instead of Pepsi..... That is not true. It is an urban legend. WDW's prices on food and drink are quite a bit lower than the other theme parks in the area and defiantly lower than Six Flags (and higher in quality as well). Ticket prices will match what the market will bear - It is silly to complain that it is too expensive.. no one is forcing anyone to go. Almost all theme parks have a high 1 day ticket...but offer discounts in some way or another. WDW's way to offer the discount is to entice you to stay longer and to purchase your tickets ahead of time. Hour for hour .. you get *much* more bang for your buck at WDW than most other entertainment locations. For Example.. I just went to a Marlins Baseball game in Miami the other day.. Tickets - $31.00 each plus $5 ticketmaster service charge Parking - $10.00 Program - $5.00 Bottled Water - $5.00 Hot Dog - $8.00 That was for a 2.5 hour game... WDW is *much* more of a bargain on all accounts.

What a great video! I am so jealous!

I miss South of the Border when it was ... umm.. "decent". I remember going in the early 90's when it was pretty hopping, had cool indoor mini golf and lots of people in the stores. It was still sketchy but it just had a "bad flea market feel" not a "I'm gonna get killed" feel. I think we actually stayed there once too... early 90's I believe. I remember the cool indoor pool in the dome.

Wow! What can I say.... I think this is best DVD yet! Stacey and I watched the whole thing in one sitting and loved it! You really capture the flavor of Japan so well.. it's great and very entertaining. Stacey enjoyed her cameo with Non-German Tom...and I enjoyed seeing her squirm with the dogs and random clown shots. Good show and great job! -=R=-

Until the Walt Disney Company announces it - it is still a rumor... A rumor which was started by jimhillmedia - not the most reliable source by any stretch of the imagination.

It is just a rumor that it is going to close. I would *highly* doubt that it will anytime soon.

Good Trip Report! A Few notes.. -I personally prefer having to take the Monorail/Ferryboat to the MK over DL's "hey - we can see a Denny's from the Bus Drop off area!". I also think it is a great and relaxing way to start a day there...but thats just me! - It's not E.P.C.O.T. and has not been since 1994ish. That is when they changed it from an acronym to a proper name. - You are very lucky you got to see steam on Everest.... The construction you took a photo of next to it is for the enclosure of the Theater in the Wild for a new Finding Nemo show.

Sigh. Look - While I realize the thought and the heart is in the right place there are a few things that are an issue here.. 1) As many others have said they HAVE NOT ANNOUNCED THEY ARE SELLING THE PARK. They are *exploring* it which could mean many things. 2) Even if they had said that they selling it for sure - AN ONLINE PETITION WILL NOT STOP IT FROM HAPPENING! Seriously... it won't. What matters is the $$$. The only way to ensure it will always be there is to pony up the hundreds of millions it would take to buy it yourself and purchase it!

Walt Disney World has changes as well. It has not had any previews yet however.

Why would they be mad? They got paid! Plus - I'm sure it would get moved to another park and rebranded if the park was closed.. but I feel like a few others do. This was just a feeler to get the excitement up around the other possible sales.

Er - First week in September is no cooler than the end of August. As far as crowds the last week in August will be a bit slower (although there is a free dining promotion at WDW along with kids concerts that might skew that a bit). A good rule of thumb is to look at the park hours. Shorter the hours the slower it is going to be!

Probably after Robb and Elissa finish wrangling 50+ people, fly home and get a weeks worth of sleep.. Don't forget folks - what they are doing is not easy and putting up photos during their trips is wonderful and very time consuming. Cut 'em some slack!

Wow! That photo of Ryan and Barry looks like an image from a bad Jerry Lewis movie.. Great update!

Heh. It's kinda like when you go on a new attraction or to a brand new park and you see an amazing special effect that you know will only last until it breaks the first time. Unfortunately it was bound to happen - they were probably Actors Equity performers and making as much as 3 or 4 other employees do per hour.

Great trip report! Now you have me wanting some Varsity Burgers and Monster Plantation goodness - unfortunately they are 8 hours of the most boring drive in the universe away. Dammit.

Thanks for posting this! I haven't been on a brass ring carousel since I was 9 or so in Asbury Park, NJ. I've always wanted to show Stacey one - this gives me hope! I figured they were all long gone. Wow.. I actually just looked at the list a little closer and there is one about 30 minutes from me near Orlando at some random Flea Market.. WTF!?!?!?

Great trip report Guy! It looks like you were actually brave enough to get out of the car in Coney Island when the cyclone was closed... we weren't.. You have to find an excuse to bring the wife and kids to WDW - Don't they have things that require plasma tv's down here in FL also?