WillMontu Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Be sure to check out Erik's corresponding Video TR Erik and I headed down to WDW yesterday to check out some of the Christmas makeovers and a few other things. I took a lot of pictures and a few video clips. Some of the pictures will be blurry because taking pictures from a moving vehicle without the flash is not the easiest thing to do. Weather was okay in the morning, though it cooled down a bit in the evening. Thankfully I had my amazing hoodie (just be careful when taking it off, as it has more magic than you might think, especially when combined with Disney magic). Animal Kingdom- The Yak and Yeti restaurant is now open. We didn't go in, but the menu is posted The Yeti himself is having some issues. Besides the tree out front and a few plastic decorations in Dinoland, there wasn't much in terms of decorations Grand Floridian resort This hotel has the annual gingerbread house. Unfortunately you can't go inside it, nor can you eat it (sorry guys). It's actually just a glorified candy store, but it does smell good. Magic Kingdom Crowds were moderate, but we got on everything we wanted to, including Space Mountain twice, Thunder once, Splash once (5 minute wait), and even some of the shows and dark rides. We even checked out the tree-house, got the mandatory Dole Whips and watched the castle lighting show. EPCOT Disney had a surprise Christmas gift for us. We got there after 7pm, and we had heard that SSE was closed for issues. Some of the changes were good, some were not so good, and one particular change has completely ruined the ride. Test Track was a five minute wait, along with Mission: SINESE. Magic Kingdom will be next, and the best is yet to come They were even dueling them! Does this turn you on Beemerboy? The house itself is basically a candy store. Visitors can't go inside unfortunately This is what went into the house. If you have any questions, e-mail Dan! This is what we were here for This hotel probably has more Christmas decorations than Animal Kingdom The GFR is one of three resorts around the Seven Seas Lagoon and is notable for being the place where Robb and Elissa married It's not uncommon to see someone taking a monorail POV This sign was probably made before they put up that obnoxious hat landmark, though they will probably change it soon when the park is renamed This one's for you Beemerboy! We then headed over to the TTC to check out the Grand Floridian Hotel This is the "Unicorn" parking lot. What happens when unicorns get sick? Wes? Not our Dino! The ride is basically Indy with a different theme So what is Bill Nye doing these days? A new TV show? Sundials on Mars? Rides on the Moon? The flesh-eating-rodents are there too I haven't done Dinosaur recently The Santa hat is one of few decorations around the park More Christmas decorations What's that girl in the front seat doing there? Get a room you two! There's another one! The single rider line had a less than five minute wait There isn't as much to see on the other side, aside from part of Kali River Rapids A few of the landmarks visible from EE's lift There's actually a mechanism under the platform that provides the steam The steam effect is pretty cool Oh look! Another Hidden Mickey! This food stand is new The menu is posted outside, as with many theme park restaurants The Yak and Yeti restaurant went up fairly quickly And a Donkey Spinning rodents The Animal Kingdom tree Here's Erik shooting his parking lot tram POV Not our Dino! And look, there's another one We must be at WDW because there's a Hidden Mickey in the clouds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazed49 Posted December 17, 2007 Share Posted December 17, 2007 Great Pictures Will! Those pictures from atop of EE really show the impressive size of Disney World. Can't wait for the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted December 19, 2007 Author Share Posted December 19, 2007 I'm not getting as many hits/feedback as I was hoping for, but the show must go on To be continued He's running a lot more consistently now We were spared by the Water Jets of Doom though they were operating that day Merry Xmas Cameron! Although the robot has returned Space hasn't gone down for the major rehab yet, fortunately Does this count? Anyone notice this detail outside the Haunted Mansion? Back...to the mansion! This ride makes people so insane, that they literally throw their money away Hey, I gotta lotta faith in you I'll stick with you kid, that's the bottom line Yeah, we have a lot of fun don't we And heaven has to be with you all the time Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy! (Midwest trip in-joke) Merry Xmas Jahan Merry Xmas Wes Merry Xmas James! Does this count as Christmas theming? OUR 'it's a small world' doesn't need to be modified to accommodate fatties Here are some pictures of the ride to prevent the need to ride again The river Styx The turnover rate for ride ops here must be really high We didn't see any decorations here Donald Duck's Christmas tree lot They do look a little different Maybe we should ride the Teacups There's a Christmas scene in Carousel of Progress Buzz Lightyear Dreamflight! "If you had wings...like Buzz Lightyear" Random fact: The original PeopleMover at Disneyland was sponsored by Goodyear. They pulled their sponsorship after Rocket Rods kept tearing apart their tires. There's also a Hidden Mickey in this picture! It's the PeopleMover CONTROL PANEL! OMG! Erik will post a video explaining this picture The "Red line". The PeopleMover itself is the "Blue line", and there's also a reference to a "Green line" The original EPCOT model. It doesn't have a golf ball, but it doesn't have a giant obnoxious wand either. PeopleMover > MILF First ride of the day, the one and only PeopleMover! At Magic Kingdom, even the trash cans run wild. This is something that the Cedar Fair trash cans can only dream about This one's for you, Casey! The castle is easily visible behind all the decorations All of the parks have at least one giant Christmas tree Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Heh, this is basically a photo still version of the videos I have been posting. I wonder why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorchomp83 Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 We must've just missed ya'll on Sunday. We did Animal Kingdom from about 11-3 and then Epcot from 3-9 or so. Nice photos, I've got a Photo TR floating around here from this past weekend as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 I'm not getting as many hits/feedback as I was hoping for, but the show must go on Hey Will, Thanks for taking time to post all these pics. All the work is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cprocks22 Posted December 20, 2007 Share Posted December 20, 2007 Awesome TR, great pictures! I love the decorations throughout the park. BTW any idea when Space Mountain is going down for rehab? Hopefully after the new year... 5 days till I'm there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dandaman Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Have to ask, what's that train doing in the flowerbed? At Magic Kingdom, even the trash cans run wild. This is something that the Cedar Fair trash cans can only dream about. If all the CF trash cans were like PUSH, "Rise of the Machines" would no longer be restricted to a movie title. Won't even bother talking about the Hidden Mickey in this one, huh? Great pics, Will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted December 21, 2007 Author Share Posted December 21, 2007 Thanks for the feedback so far. Screamscape says that Space Mountain will go down in June 2008 for nearly a year and the Peoplemover/TTA will probably go down around the same time, meaning that the only two "good" Tomorrowland attractions will be closed. I'm not sure what the story is with the train. I'm guessing it's something Christmas related. It reminded me of the locomotives on BTMR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrock23 Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Great report so far, can't wait to see the rest. Looks like the weather was perfect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted December 21, 2007 Share Posted December 21, 2007 Sorry I missed this until now. Got some great shots there, Will! As always, the monorail love is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted December 22, 2007 Author Share Posted December 22, 2007 Magic Kingdom continued. Mostly just eye candy in this update. EPCOT is on the way Castle lighting video It looks so pretty. To be continued But that doesn't mean we can't still take the monorail over to EPCOT A view of the Contemporary Resort from the ferryboat This one for the ferryboat. (Sorry Beemerboy, we would have taken the monorail, but the line for that was even bigger) Once we got out of the park, we had to wait in another line That is, if we can get to the gate It was time to leave the park, as they were closing it down for the Mickey Christmas party More Pixar stuff Back over to Pixarland for another ride on Space If anyone wants higher resolution versions to use as desktop wallpaper, I can post them The integrated the lights with the fireworks show Mostly eye candy from this point The reason for this being the fireworks show But then they went out again I have posted a movie of the actual lighting in the video forum The story is that Cinderella doesn't want to have to put up the Christmas lights up herself. She's a princess and she needs others to do it, so she calls upon her Fairy Godmother. The characters are more animated now and their mouths move when they speak They make a show out of the lighting When the Imagineers designed the Christmas decorations for our castle, they realized that people would see it, and so went with a design that doesn't look like a giant marshmellow The less political correctness the better Card carrying ACE member? "The Dump" No Christmas makeover for Country Bears Our Thunder Mountain is a Vekoma NOT the Death Seat The sight of pineapples means one thing...Dole Whip! I bet nobody has Space Mountain from THIS angle It's a "walk though" attraction I've never done this before At least our Pirates is better than the one at...um..Hong Kong Disneyland We got onto Pirates with a five minute wait Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knottslover77 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 looks Great! The Castle is so beautiful. --Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xxhershey818xX Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I would love some high res photos for my comp. background! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebl Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 I miss WDW. Too bad I didn't get to go this year. But I'll be back. Thanks for all of the photos and report. Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UniversalGSHo22 Posted December 22, 2007 Share Posted December 22, 2007 Great Pictures!!! Sad thing... me being able to see WDW From my living room widnows but I never go. I think that is the plyte of working at a Theme Park.... it kinda ruins the magic of going there on your days off!! I LOVED the Castle/Fireworks pictures!!! Beautiful!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I love DW Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Amazing pictures, especially of the castle. It looks spectacular! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Great pics all, but you out did yourself on the castle lighting and fireworks. Bravo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsmcdon Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Those were some great photos of the castle during the show. And thank you for posting the pictures. It makes some of us that can not go feel so jealous of those that can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 Most awesome photos Will. Yes, the castle is quite amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arrowfanman Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 The ride is basically Indy with a different theme No it's not. Our Thunder Mountain is a Vekoma No it's not. -Jahan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillMontu Posted December 23, 2007 Author Share Posted December 23, 2007 ^ What is it then? I've heard Arrow, Vekoma, and in-house. See also: June 2007 SpaceShip Earth video taken before the re-hab. What would rides be like...ON THE MOON? And Gary leaves us with one question... I was the commander this time Look! Gary Sinise has a Santa hat I wonder if there is any Christmas theming on Mission: Space The dummy was down for rehab Windows Media Player failed the Brake Test. They should switch to Linux Test Track had a less than five minute wait through the regular line, despite the signs saying that the queue was much longer. The goal is to use the sticks to push "resources" to the buildings that need them. It is sort of like shuffleboard. The game is played by using large sticks Power City is a new interactive game in Project Tomorrow This one-way mirror is new. It allows riders on SSE to see into Project Tomorrow In the future, there will also be rides on the moon This is what happens to you when you play in the nuclear waste In the future, there will be flying cars The screen then shows a short animated video of what thinks "your future" would be like. The screen behind us was playing "There's a great big beautiful tomorrow", as either a tribute to Horizons or as a references to COP (or both) The "review" session of the ride The computer asks a few simple questions At this point, the interactive touch screens activate. Sounds a lot like Horizons doesn't it? This is all we saw for the descent back to the ground level. The top point of the ride, where the vehicles rotate, remains similar to the original with the image of the Earth and the cars rotating around it And we enter the Matrix We continue to go up This scene is also completely new This scene is new, and the "communicating across the world" scene has been removed Some of the bigger changes come after this scene For reference purposes, this is what it looked like before. Did anyone ever get this credit? The boobs have been covered!!! This was probably the most significant change made to the ride The appearance of many of the Animatronics characters has been improved The first few scenes are very dark as before. It's very blurry here, but it shows a caveman trying to convince a woolly mammoth to switch his car insurance. On the initial ascent, the cameras instruct riders to look up at the camera. I don't know what it's used for, but it will probably serve a function when the ride is officially re-opened Going up The ride vehicles have been fitted with the interactive touch screens It doesn't officially reopen until February We were surprised to see that it was open for "sneak previews" We got to EPCOT around 7 and there were still moderate crowds. We expected Spaceship Earth to be closed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexy No Jutsu Posted December 23, 2007 Share Posted December 23, 2007 ^ What is it then? I've heard Arrow, Vekoma, and in-house. The one at MK is Arrow I believe, and Disneyland's is WED Enterprises. Confirm/Deny? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 While WED has the credit for all four Thunder Mountains, I believe that Arrow helped out on the track work for both the California and Florida versions. I am not sure about Japan, but Vekoma did do the one for Paris. I too thought that Dinosaur was pretty much the same ride system and track layout as Indy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gax Posted December 24, 2007 Share Posted December 24, 2007 Awesome photos, the new Spaceship Earth looks really cool, thanks for taking all of them!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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