TR: 400/50 and more 2006 day 1 - Disney MGM Studios

[Rastuso]

I posted these on RRC, and always get good comments on them, but I know many don't read on there, so I thought I'd post the first one here, and see if folks cared at.

 

 

Day 1 09/28/06- Disney MGM Studios

 

 

This was my first trip to all of Disney World in a few years. I

visited all 4 parks in one day during IAAPA 3 years ago, and the

family had gone 4 years ago. When I found out about the awesome

special Disney offered for September, I had to jump on it. They

offered free Dining Plan for all people in your room. Yes, I had to

pay the undiscounted off-season rate, which was maybe $20 a night

high, and you had to buy at least a one day ticket for each person. I

upgraded my son's ticket to a 6 day for future use, and stayed with

one day for me and my wife, since we still have some old tickets from

the late 90s.

 

 

The Dining Plan gives you a snack, counter service, and table service

meal for each day. Snacks are basically anything under $4 (popcorn,

churro, pop, water, ice cream). The counter and table meals include

appetizer and dessert, and tip! I quickly realized we could go on a

pretty nice 6 day trip, so I got us a room in Martinique at the

Caribbean Beach Resort in late September, early October to get the

special, and hit the Halloween fun in Orlando. My son's teacher said

he didn't need to take any homework since he's doing great, so we were

off.

 

 

We had arrived pretty late the night before, so we wanted a park that

we wouldn't have to be at for opening and still do it all. So, this

was our choice. We headed straight to Tower, of course. I grabbed

FPs for RnRC for me and my son first. Tower had a 15 minute wait

since they were only running one shaft. My son was a bit scared.

This was his first major-league E-ticket thrill ride. Of course, the

ride is awesome, but the CMs were a bit lacking. Plus, I noticed the

"evil tower" fallen letters are gone!!! WTF!!!!

 

 

My son ended up loving it, and was proud that he rode something his

classmates had chickened out of. We got the first of MANY squished

coins, and headed to RnRC. I told him it was a double loop, since he

had only ridden Viper before with one. I was a bit nervous, but knew

he'd like it. He did, and wasn't mad when I told him it had 3 loops.

 

 

We had an early lunch at Sci-Fi Drive-in since we had dinner at Brown

Derby for the Fantasmic plan. So, we head back and waited. A few

folks came in after us and were seated. We asked and were told they

were going to outdoor seating. Does this really exist? Why would you go to this restaurant, but sit outside? Or, are there some seats not in

cars?

 

 

Anyway, we all squeezed in one seat, and met our greaser waiter who

kept calling us "kids". He would quote the stuff on the movie screen

every once in a while too. The food was decent, but small portions.

We normally don't eat at Disney restaurants because of the price, but

that was the main reason we were there, free dining! I didn't want

too much food, since we had a big dinner, so I got a chicken sandwich.

My son's non-breaded chicken fingers (part of a new Disney healthfood

initiative for kids) were pretty good. He was non-plussed by the

carrot sticks instead of fries. We got shakes for dessert. The tab

was about $70, I think.

 

 

The movie clips shown started to repeat pretty quickly, much faster

than the normal meal time. WTF? They can't find more than 40 minutes

of classic movie previews and drive-in advertisements? Very cool

ambiance, and a fun lunch.

 

 

After that, time started to become an issue. No matter what we wanted

to do, we weren't at the right time. We decided to split up. My son

and I did Star Tours and photos on the speeder bike while my wife did

Muppets. My son and I then did the Motors show. Talk about a

loooooong walk back. Why the hell couldn't they have switched the

thing around to get rid of the walk?

 

 

This show was good, but not enough action. Basically 5 (I think)

stunt scenes that took about 5 minutes, and 30 minutes of banal

filler. The trick cars with unusual driving positions were funny, but

not good enough for repeat viewings. I wonder what the pin given to

the kid in the show is worth? With only about 5 given out to kids per

day, it must be fairly valuable.

 

 

We rejoined and realized we just missed a Little Mermaid show. So, we

went to Narnia, which had a long line. So, we did the Great Movie

Ride. This ride is really showing its age, and the CMs were phoning

it in. They moved the Alien from above the tram to the side, which

removes the scare factor. My son was unimpressed.

 

 

We saw the Narnia attraction had very little line, so we went there.

Wow, what crap. Basically, a big wardrobe you walk through, a snowy

forest area where the White Queen appears and talks to you, and then a

5 minute synopsis of the movie. You then walk past a few props, and

that's it.

 

 

We rushed over for the Indy show and got decent seats, even arriving

late. This is still a cool show, and much more rewatchable than the

Motors show. I love how the mechanic drops into the stage right when

the airplane props hit him.

 

 

We had about 30 minutes until dinner, so my son and I went to Tower

again, and he really liked it. We got an extended drop sequence that

included seeing the victims at the bottom of the shaft, between drops.

 

 

We then went to the Brown Derby. This was a double table service

dinner, requiring 2 credits per person. My son still wasn't too

hungry, so he ended up not eating, and saving the credits. His

intestinal track was pretty backed up. The $5 little bottle of MoM we

bought at the resort finally did its magic mid-dinner. Our waitress

wasn't too good, and a bit snarky. The meal was OK. I got a crabcake

appetizer and steak. They lost our order, and we waited a long time.

The bread was great, though. Our dinner took so long that we had to

get the desserts to go so we would hit the Fantasmic reserved seating.

The meal would have been over $100 and definitely NOT worth it. The

food was tasty, but the portions very small. And, when I think of

1950s Hollywood, I don't expect a lot of Asian flavorings in the food

like the miso potatoes that I got with my steak. And my wife didn't

think much of her asian noodle dish. The desserts were good.

 

 

I'm sure glad we didn't waste two credits on my son, since the menu

there was the EXACT same as at the Sci-Fi, even though it cost double

credits. That's pretty shitty on Disney's part. And by us not using

his there, we used them on adult meals later in the week, so take

that, Mickey.

 

 

Our Fantasmic seats were pretty decent, and it was nice to arrive only

15 minutes early. My son loved it, and I always have. I noticed

Mickey doesn't shoot sparks from his hands at the beginning anymore.

Also, there was no Steamboat Willy, which REALLY sucked. I guess the

boat is in rehab early, so during that part, the characters just

walked out on the island and danced. And, good Lord, get rid of that

damn Pocahontus part. That movie was unpopular when it was released,

and it's now nothing more than thinly veiled PC crap to still be

included amongst the REAL classics.

 

 

Rastus O'Ginga

[SharkTums]

Nice TR! Glad to see your son growing up and enjoying the finer things like Good Tower!

 

As for the dining plan...I've heard mostly negative things about it. It seems that the Dining Cast Members don't like it since they're no longer really 'working' for their tip when you have the plan so the service has gone way down. They have also 'dumb downed' nearly ALL of the kids menus to make them exactly the same, so you either have them choose one of 3 things at EVERY restaurant, or you have to spend more Adult Credits!

[CoasterFanatic]

I have been hearing bad things about the dining plan also. Been a while since I have been to the parks, but it is my understanding that they have even converted some counter-service joints to pick up the extra people.

 

One thing that I don't like about it is that it has to cheapen the experience for those who just go to the restaurant without it. If I had your Brown Derby experience paying full-price, I would most likely be very upset.

 

// Read these over at RRC. Thanks for posting them here.

[Rastuso]

Thanks.

 

I guess I'll post the rest, and try to include some photos, although I switched over to mostly video now, since I FINALLY got a DV cam. I like the size, but really miss being able to take video of nearly anything, regardless of how dark it was. I'll still keep my VHS-C for dark rides, that's for sure.

 

I think during the free dining plan, service will drop, but I have no real comparison, since we rarely eat at Disney table services. I'd imagine the majority of folks there were getting free dining. But, we did get some good service that week too at Jikos and Planet Hollywood (although PH's food was another story).

 

RO

[dandaman]

As for the dining plan...I've heard mostly negative things about it. It seems that the Dining Cast Members don't like it since they're no longer really 'working' for their tip when you have the plan so the service has gone way down. They have also 'dumb downed' nearly ALL of the kids menus to make them exactly the same, so you either have them choose one of 3 things at EVERY restaurant, or you have to spend more Adult Credits!

 

This just happened recently. At last check, it was being tested at most MGM table service locations, and Tony's at MK.

 

As for service, I haven't noticed a single change or even had a bad server. Personally I've never had a bad experience with the DDP, but I can definitely see why the CM's would be slightly negative about it. (Actually, I usually tip them anyways if they're exceptional.

 

P.S. I didn't think Planet Hollywood was included in the plan? Or did you use that PH coupon that we got too?

[Rastuso]

 

P.S. I didn't think Planet Hollywood was included in the plan? Or did you use that PH coupon that we got too?

 

Nope, PH is on the plan. I didn't even use my coupon. And PH is a hell of a deal on the dining plan, since they have big appetizers (Cap'n Crunch chicken!) and desserts. We used 2 table services for a bill that was around $80, iirc. I chose a bad entree, but I could have stuck with a burger and been happier.

 

RO

[USRoadTripper]

So, we did the Great Movie

Ride. This ride is really showing its age, and the CMs were phoning

it in. They moved the Alien from above the tram to the side, which

removes the scare factor.

 

There are actually two aliens, and which one you see depends on where you sit in the ride vehicle. I believe that the front half of the vehicle sees the alien pop down from the ceiling, while the second half sees the one pop out of the wall.

 

-Julie

[CoasterFanatic]

I like the size, but really miss being able to take video of nearly anything, regardless of how dark it was.

 

Don't know what make your camera is, but I have always found most Sony cameras to perform very well in low light. Also, many of them have the Infrared setting for REALLY dark situations. Of course, the trade off is the green monochrome look.

[Rastuso]

I have a Canon Elura, which is low end, but a DV cam can't get close to analog cams for dark filming without getting quite expensive. And the IR options just don't do it for me. Mine can do that.

 

RO