BeemerBoy

Part duex. For others, prepare to enter old school Epcot awesomeness in 3...2...1.... Okay, admittedly it needs some TLC. I just hope the refurb is kind to my baby. For some....prepare to enter hypersleep in 3...2...1.... I told you that waiting until later would pay off. Score!! They're cool. Just not $5,000 cool. Nothing clever to say here. Move along. Sea Base Alpha? Also, Matt, notice the clarity? savethemanatee.org Seriously. I worked around these things for years, and nothing was more depressing than to have to call in over the marine radio about another dead, or injured manatee along the intracoastal. Easily the best use of technology at any Disney park, IMHO. How long 'til we reach Sea Base Alpha? To the Clam Mobiles! The longest wait of the day for anything. 30 minutes or so. It's about this point that I really missed the 20K theming. Deep down, how cool would it have been to see The Living Seas with Team Zissou? More beauty. I'm tired, and the captions may begin to suffer as a result. Was this created to be climbed on? I really did wonder about that. This place is right up there with Dollywood and Busch Gardens Europe for "most beautiful." At least the interior still looks pretty good. Thanks to the crowds Soarin' brings in, the boat ride had a 30 minute wait. I had to skip it today in order to get everything else done. Redemption! Frozen chocolate covered bananas are the greatest thing ever created in the history of mankind. Almost, anyway. You mean the one that was held by the Dreamfinder? No? Well, that's a shame. Depression then began to set in. Oh wait. Figment's still awesome! Says it all right there. I definitely miss the original version. We told the next people to arrive upon the scene that this was due to something else. "Stay away from the one on the end. Try the Beverly instead." Suckers. But then OMG. The taste bud train simply derails. It's at this point I'm thinking "who on God's green earth drinks this crap!?" Is this served to prisoners or something? First couple of seconds and you're thinking "eh, it's different, but it's not that......" It was time to try it out for myself. Uh oh. You know what that sign means.

Well, it was time for my bi-annual business road trip along the east coast. The trip takes me from Fort Lauderdale to Martha's Vineyard and vice versa twice a year, allowing me to stop at parks along the way. Since I was unable to visit Epcot on my WDW trip last October, a stop at the park was inevitable this time around. My ambitious plan of attack would take me from Boomers (in Fort Lauderdale) to Epcot (Orlando), to Hersheypark (Pennsylvania), and finally Knoebels (Pennsylvania) all in about two and a half days. Yep, you read that right. It's a marathon journey, and one I'm crazy for even attempting. Unfortunately, I arrived at Hershey a bit later than planned, and therefore would be forced to visit Knoebels at another day in time. I'll post the other pics in separate threads because, as the title suggests, this is all about one of the greatest parks on earth.....Epcot! Epcot has always been one of my favorite parks around, and always will be. I'm one of those grouchy "old school EPCOT CENTER" fans. You know, the type that seems to complain about any and all recent changes. Well, the only reason we do that is because we love the place so much. Call it tough love. The kind any proud parent would give their child who they felt was underachieving at something. Naturally, I was very anxious to try and experience everything about the park on this day, and then form some updated opinions on where she stands almost 25 years after opening day. It was nice to be accompanied by my brother and his wife on what turned out to be a great spring Florida day. I'll post my thoughts on various things later, but now I should probably explain what you'll see in this trip report. "Experiment" Time. About a month before this trip, Shannon and I were discussing the insane cost of postage these days, and how unreliable the service seems in our area. Naturally, the proverbial "light bulb" went on in my head, and it lead me to think of this "experiment" the next day while daydreaming at work. Back in the day, before Al Gore invented the internet, people actually sent letters and postcards to friends and family. Epcot Center, as well as the Magic Kingdom, used to have mailboxes for this very reason. As a kid, receiving postcards from traveling family members and friends was always something I looked forward to. It got me to thinking though, after hundreds of visits through the years, never once did I, myself, mail anything from either of the parks. So with the internet now in place, common theme park friends around the world, and a desire to see what kind of service a .90 stamp buys, it was time to put the plan in motion. That is, of course, if Epcot still had mailboxes. As I researched it, I found that apparently they no longer did, thus forcing plan B into action. Luckily, the Beach Club access from Epcot allowed me to stop in and mail everything off. Basically, I decided to round up about 20 members from around the world, and send each a postcard from Epcot to see how long each one took to arrive. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the stack of Disney postcards I used to have somewhere and was forced to make my own crude postcards with some photo paper and random pics I had on the computer. Some are just random "old school" Epcot images, and some are specific to the people receiving them. A HUGE thanks to all the participants in this "experiment." Many of them you'll recognize, and some may be new to you. Either way, you'll soon see that old technology still works, regardless of how long it takes to connect us. Without further ado, From Epcot with Love...... This is something I'd probably expect to see at Wild Adventures rather than Epcot. See, God loves Epcot. Or a good time for a quick power nap. This is one exhibit that needs to be rethought. Such an impressive and ambitious ride/exhibit when it opened, that now just comes across as very disjointed. Next up was Universe of Energy. And I think everyone who saw the TPR calendar can agree, Joe is nothing less than a "wonder of life." Here's to ya, Joe! Back over to Mission: Space. Wes, your capcom really does miss you terribly. You may recognize this homemade Hummer from a certain commercial. Well, because only a few steps away was a promotion for this beastly gas guzzler. It certainly seemed like a strange marketing decision....but eh, I've seen stranger ones, I guess. Their odd attempt at teaching to "Live Green." Odd? Why, you ask? Look, Test Track's doing it's impression of "Scream!", but with authentic theming. Or a Steak 'n Shake milkshake. Mmmmm, milkshake. Time to feel like a cheap fast food burger. So does anyone know how many tires do they go through each year? Yeah, I miss World of Motion, but I'll give 'em credit on this one. Test Track is an excellent attraction. 10 minute wait for Test Track? Score. ....that's better. Here ya go, Matt. Wait, hang on..... Hi Julie. Saved you a seat. Does this ball force everyone to get artsy from time to time? That's gotta be a six minute wait. Forget it! We'll wait 'til later, thanks. The International Flower and Garden Festival was in full swing. Well, so much for that dream coming true. Maybe that wand will eventually come down one day. I can still dream! And here they are, all ready to test our postal service. But not before spending half a day at Epcot. Lucky postcards! Yep. Hmmm, okay, I've got one in mind. I'll give you guys a pic or two to see if it comes true. I move to make it mandatory that any WDW trip report include a pic of the monorail. All in favor say "I." After an early start from Fort Lauderdale, it felt great to finally see this sign again!

AWESOME pics, Jeff! Thanks.

^ Sorry, it was sort of an inside joke if you caught this report.

Thanks. We didn't even get to look at the normal menu options before we were handed this. Would it have been worth it compared to the usual prices? Just curious. Also, we'll go on record as saying an event at Halloween focused around MM would make perfect sense. That is, if mother nature allowed 'em to run both coasters that day. Thanks again for the compliments guys. I'll throw in a few more pics since we all love the place so much. Thunderhead station fly-by. Mmmmm. Theming around Tennessee Tornado. Yes, there actually was a service here on this day. Clever theming of some misters. Matt, I found one for ya. An out of focus shot of Aunt Lillian at her restaurant. She wanders around entertaining while you eat. Deal?

It's big here in the south, and annoys the living hell out of me: "I'm fixin' to _________." "Git-R-Dun" also ranks high on the list.

Rumor has it that: A. I'll never get "Look at all these rumors surrounding me every day I just need some time, some time to get away" out of my head now. B. Intamin will open their next coaster on time. C. I'll have an actual reason to revisit King's Island in the next 20 years. Don't quote me on it, though.

^ So I shouldn't say anything about your prison time?

Nice report, Jeff! Sounds like a great evening indeed. Front left is what I was thinking would be the "money seat." Glad you enjoyed it!

Okay, I finally had to click this to see what waranted a random video getting it's own thread. This sums it up: yawn, awn awn awn eh eh eh

I disagree. Although it obviously won't ruin the entire ride experience, it is definitely a BIG change. In fact, it was what I was most looking forward to on the ride. Think about it. When parks market a ride, on a t-shirt for instance, what do you commonly see? Something to the effect of: Maverick *Cedar Point's 17th roller coaster * Featuring a 95 degree first drop * two horseshoe inversions * a 70mph launch tunnel * a high speed heartline roll * etc, etc. See what I'm getting at? You're losing a major component here. A high speed S curve doesn't exactly convey the same effect. Sure, it'll still be fun, but when you look at some of the polls created in here, one of the highest rated elements is always the zero-g/heartline roll. And considering where this particular one was to be located (close to the ground, and between huge rocks) I definitely think it would have been a great rush. Oh well. Like I said, I'll still ride it, and it'll still be fun, but I am somewhat disappointed with this news.

This is the strangest medical miracle I've ever heard about. I'm still amazed. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18719316/wid/11915773?GT1=10008

Great pics!! You made an already great looking park look even better. Thanks for the report.

Before I throw up the last of the pics, just one note. Tennessee Tornado was easily the biggest surprise of the trip. The real mystery at Dollywood is how they keep this thing so smooth! I don't know if I just caught the magic seat or what, but this thing was, dare I say, B&M smooth. It really was ashame that it was so short, because we thought it was great! Anyway, thanks again for reading. Hope you enjoyed the pics as much as we enjoyed the park. Thanks again for viewing. Hi Ted. A nice view of MM from the train. A view from the rear of the Dollywood Express on its 5 mile journey, spewing soot all along the way. Oops, it's just the classic steam engine train they named Cinderella. The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire.... hehe. This sign had the potential to go horribly wrong I feel so dirty. I'm in a glass box of emotion! Remember the opening scene of European Vacation when Clark says, "we'll be pigs" during the game show? Well, whenever a kiddie credit is in our paths, I can't help but think of that line with "whores" substituted in. lol Hi Julie. What's a Mother's Day report without an actual mom? I'm blessed with a wonderful wife and mother-in-law. We love ya, Mom! Okay, we love carousels, but this one SUCKED. If ever there was a park that deserved to have a classic one, this is it. Unfortunately, this one didn't fit the bill. Probably the biggest disappointment of the day for us. You could do better, Dolly! Country fair time, kids! Sorry BGE, I still love ya, but Dollywood takes the crown of Most Beautiful park in my mind. Honestly, how could someone shoot something so beautiful? Don't let the southern hospitality fool you. Dollywood is ruthless. They've even trained their birds to take your cash! Next to the Bald Eagle habitat was the Birds of Prey show. This guy is a prime example of the stupidity of some hunters. His left wing had to be amputated after some jacka$$ shot him. We only caught one ride. Third to last row seemed to work wonders for us. Just a bit too short to remain among the best out there. Truly the surprise of the day....week, month, and year for that matter. Up next was Blazing Fury. Sorry for the lack of pics. I was too busy scratching my head over this one. I actually somewhat love the campy quirkyness of it all.

I'm planning on riding both the DBH and Phoenix next week. So luckily I'll get a chance to compare all three within a couple weeks time. Sadly, I missed the chance at El Toro due to it opening late. Thanks for the compliments thus far, guys! I'll post the rest of the pics later tonight.

Okay, I certainly don't wanna jump to conclusions or accuse anyone directly, but this seems like the wrong move. While I'm glad you guys are enjoying some of what the US has to offer, "leaving your mark" by defacing park property isn't exactly the classiest thing to do, IMHO (if of course, it was members of your group). I hope I'm not out of line by saying that, but this is the kind of stuff that's frowned upon.

Great pics! If I'm able to make it to Knoebels next week, then that leaves IB as my most anticipated park to visit. I love the look of the place. Slight point deduction for lack of any blurry pics though.

Okay, time to discuss the coasters a bit. Mystery Mine - After seeing all the TRs of the UK trip, I was pretty excited to be getting the first Eurofighter installation in the US only a couple hours from home. Well, after riding, I'm like most folks in here who have ridden. Certainly a mixed bag. The theming was outstanding. The vertical drops were great. The ending was outstanding, but far too short. And the biggest downside was the first outer section of track. It seemed pretty simple to me. The course and the ride vehicles just did not blend well. Honestly, it was sort of painful in spots (we had a front row seat). With all the short, tight turns and dips, it created some pretty jerky sections. Perhaps I would've been prepared to brace for it on a reride, but that didn't happen due to time restraints. As for the interior portions, they were pretty fun. And the ending blew us away. All in all, it's definitely a great addition to this park, and I categorize it alongside Expedition Everest.....definitely a fun reridable coaster, but nothing you should drop everything for. Thunderhead....... Certainly in my top five for wood. I'll tell you sometime next week if it overtook my baby (the DBH). As of now, it's a solid second. Along with some strange looking green cake. Was Dr. Seuss the chef today? It looked sick, but was really good! I'm tired, so I'll finish this bad boy up tomorrow. Instead, Aunt Lillian's (or is it Jillian's?) was calling our name. We ate somewhat light today, as Shannon illustrates. Jarvis, we were gonna take your suggestion and ask for Jan, but we weren't psyched about the huge line and an $18 Mother's Day "special" they had going. Hopefully next visit though. ...and this....every 20 feet, or so it seemed. ...this.... Are you kidding? We're at Dollywood! It's impossible to not be when you're subjected to..... Holy crap. It really is true! Definitely a winner in our books. GCI's don't even need a train in the pic to look great. Smile. She's so photogenic. Station fly-by. The line later in the day. Even more awesomer. Millennium Flyers....like a La-Z-Boy on wheels. Now someone grab me a beer, and we're set. All kidding aside, we were stoked to finally get a ride on this GCI gem. And 20 minutes or less = awesomeness. Is "Red Dawn Awesome" copyrighted yet? Okay, now we're talkin'! This is bound to be the greatest ride in the history of the universe. Golden Tickets wouldn't lie now would they? Nice to see the goth kids were busy "nonconforming" by visiting a major theme park today. Suckers. Timber Tower. The money shot. What to do during maintenance delays? Take pics, of course! I happen to really like this one. At the mention of the 4th delay, we made use of the stairs. Shannon still managed a smile. Me, not so much. But I did appreciate the way most of the queue was out of the direct sunlight. The line was rather long at this point. After three 10 minute delays (made known by a pleasant recording), we found ourselves midway up the stairs, just outside the station. When I said to Shannon, "I'm glad it didn't rain," I think Gerstlauer misunderstood it as "bring the pain," as this section proved. A quick look up as the train enters the death zone. At 10:15am, we entered the line, which began here....at the switchbacks under the first outdoor section of track. Since Thunderhead was about 15 minutes from opening, in made sense to go check out the new toy. Okay, we've been here 10 minutes, and I'm already thinking of casting my vote for "Most Beautiful Park." Seriously, everything in this place looks great. Naturally, the gravitational pull of Timber Canyon was unavoidable, so we headed there first. We FINALLY made it here!! In order to preserve the beauty of this shot, I elected to remain absent from it. It seems to have worked.

I hadn't been to Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge since the early 90's. My brother and I vacationed with the family there many times over the years, yet never felt the urge to visit Silver Dollar City/ Dollywood. Honestly, before Thunderhead was built, I'm not sure too many of us did. Obviously times have changed, and now that we're living a couple hours away, we've been anxiously wanting to visit. Unfortunately, every time over the last few years that we've tried, something unexpected had kept us from going. Needless to say, we were pretty excited that everything including the weather cooperated with us this time around. Even though we're big GCI fans, and Dollywood has always looked incredible in everyones trip reports, admittedly, there was always a small part of me that worried about being underwhelmed by the place. Sort of like feeling as though it wasn't "complete" enough. Truth is, this place was anything but incomplete. We knew we'd be there on a holiday, and expected somewhat larger crowds than usual, which there were. However, the park has such a great laid back feeling with some of the best park employees I've ever encountered. Had we seen even larger crowds, we probably still wouldn't have been disappointed. The atmosphere is very enjoyable. It's unbelievable how much difference an older work force that takes pride in their place of employment can make! I just about had a heart attack when out of nowhere, an older gentleman dressed in traditional southern attire walked up behind us as we were trying to navigate with a park map. He politely asked us if we could use a helpful hand, and correctly steered us in the right direction with a tip of his hat. That just about made our day right there! As for the food, well, what is there to say that hasn't already been said? It's Dollywood. The Food Network could do an entire show on this park alone. Finally, the rides. I'll save the short critiques for the second batch of pics. Enjoy. I failed to take a pic of any sign like this around town, so here's an improvised version to end this portion of the report. Up next, Dollywood. And although I'm not a big fan of it, you can watch 'em make taffy here. The fudge; however, is why I keep coming back. Mmmmm. As a kid, this was my favorite candy shop in town. There, I filled my blurry pic quota for this report. View from atop the mountain looking down on Gatlinburg's strip. Us. Time for the overpriced chairlift up the side of a mountain. After golf, we made our way over to the tram for Ober Gatlinburg. Sadly, the ticket sales for everything but the tram had ended for the day. This was as close as I'd come to the alpine slides. Another look at the railway. Shannon obeys the sign and decides to swing at the ball, and not me. A look at the awesome setting. POV of JJ credit? I've always loved this place. It's pretty unique, as you take an incline railway to one of two courses. And you thought that was social commentary. ...some hillbilly golf. After we checked in, it was time for..... Arriving in Gatlinburg. This is the nicer side. Pigeon Forge would be like the "redneck Kissimmee."

Why limit it to Miami? It's really South Florida in general. Anyway, it's nice to see some things never change. Scott "has plenty of his own Miami road rage stories" B.

I'm curious, what are the stickers you're pointing at? I can't make them out.

That sounds about right.

Excellent report, and very well written! We made our first trip to the park on Sunday as well, and I'd have to agree with everything you stated. The park is awesome, and we're anxious to get back.

Great job, Paul! TRs with cultural credits always earn bonus points from me. DC's subway did look pretty cool, and you got some great shots of KD. I bet Canaba still ended up losing that race somehow.

Coincidentally, I believe that was also the year that the gimmicky fad died out too (thankfully).