Walking to the Theme Parks

Some (all of which are deluxe resorts) resorts at Walt Disney World are so close to some of the theme parks that you can walk to the theme parks from your room.  This sounds great but is it really that good?

Below I am going to list the hotel and what it is like to walk to the theme parks from the front door of the resort.

The Contemporary:

Resorts within walking distance: The Magic Kingdom

Details: This is the best walking experience of any resort.  First of all it's the shortest distance you will find in any of the resorts on this list.  The "official" time is about ten minutes.  The actual time is really under ten.  Not only that along the way you will see the Monorail run overhead and some nice topiaries that other people don't get to see.

The Boardwalk:

Resorts within walking distance: Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios

Details:  The walk to Epcot is almost always the shortest way to get to the park.  The walk to DHS is hit or miss.

Epcot is about a ten minute walk but along the way you get some really great views.  You can take the boat but it's almost never a good idea unless it is raining. The great thing about staying a the Boardwalk, Beach Club or Yacht Club is the fact that you can walk off some of the food you ate at the Food and Wine Festival.

DHS is walkable if the boat just left or you'll have to wait a while to catch it.  The walk is about 20 minutes and it's nothing special.


The Beach Club:

Resorts within walking distance: Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios

Details:  You might as well list this resort with the Boardwalk  All of the times listed are within two or three minutes of that resort.  It really depends on what kind of theming you want.

The Yacht Club:

Resorts withing walking distance: Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios

Details:  Once again it's just about the same as the Boardwalk and Beach Club.  The only difference is it's on the same side of the lagoon as the Beach Club.  The Yacht Club and Beach Club are more of a direct walk from Epcot than the Boardwalk.

The Swan and Dolphin:

Resorts within walking distance: Epcot and Disney Hollywood Studios

Details:  When it comes to the Swan and Dolphin things become more hit or miss.  The Swan and Dolphin are really in the middle zone.  Whether or not you should walk depends on where the boats are.  If you just missed them then in both cases you should walk.

The Swan and Dolphin are the closest resorts to DHS but it's still a little bit of a walk to them.  If you are healthy its about a 15 minute walk.

Fantasmic: A Review

Over the years Disney had done everything you could think of to make seeing Fantasmic very difficult for me. Between the days with single shows to the huge lines for it to the day restrictions I had never seen this show.


The truth be told I almost didn’t see Fantasmic on my last trip either. Like usual it seemed like everything went wrong. After a horrible (and I mean horrible as in worst ever) dining experience at the Hollywood Brown Derby that ran about an hour longer than it should have, a wife who got sick, and a niece who didn’t care if she saw it or not I figured it would be at least another two years before I saw Fantasmic.

In the end my wife told me to go. By that point I figured it would be a bust because it was the second showing and people were already seated.

When I got over to the venue it was still ten minutes to the show but I had to sit in almost the last section to the left. Needless to say it was not a good seat but I figured it would still be good after all the majority of the deeks out there rave about Fantasmic.

 

If you do the dining package or are late this is the kind of seat you will end up with.

I have to say that Fantasmic is one of the most overrated shows I’ve ever seen. Yes it is a good show but I would take Wishes or Illuminations over it any day of the week. Considering what you have to go through to see Fantasmic I’m not sure I’ll ever see it again.

There are some high and low points to the show. From where I was sitting the scene where they set the lagoon on fire was impressive. You really feel the heat pouring off of the water.

There is a limited use of fireworks but it’s a little disappointing. Then again the main focuses of the show are the characters and the story. In regards to that your experience will vary greatly depending on where you are sitting. If you are on the side you will miss most of what is going on.

The use of the lagoon for multiple boats and other aspects is really fun and allows everyone to get a good view of that part of the show.

Fantasmic suffers a low point much like Illuminations low point. It’s a scene where a lot of movie clips are displayed on water screens. It’s a nice technology and it’s fun at first but it just goes on for too long. You start to get bored with it.

The music in Fantasmic is okay. It’s just okay. The music for Wishes is better and the music for Illuminations is drastically better. Fanasmic has about twenty seconds of good music and then a lot of generic bland music.

Overall Fantasmic suffers from its popularity and its venue. The venue is so limited that you really do have to get in line at least an hour early to really see the show. If you try to just show up or get in line too late you will end up with a poor seat. While you will technically see Fantasmic you will miss a lot of detail that other people will get to see. It’s this aspect that hurts Fantasmic so badly. A lot of planning and time is needed to really enjoy Fantasmic. It’s really hard to justify that kind of planning just to see a show.

Photo of the Week: Blow Up the Red Cross

For a second you'd think this was an actual movie shoot except for one thing... 

Back in the day Indiana Jones used to fight the Nazi's.  Did you know he switched to the Red Cross?  I know this isn't really the Red Cross emblem but it's much closer to that than the swastika that use to be on the plane they blew up.  

Was it really a bad thing to blow up a plane with a swastika on it?  I think that would be the opposite of offensive...unless you are a Nazi...and if you are no one cares if you're offended.

Photo of the Week: Run Indy Run!

Some people complain that the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular is outdated.  To that I say :)~.

Indiana Jones has become a classic. 

This is a decent photo from the beginning of the show.  The key to capturing this photo is turning your shutter speed down to 250 or lower.  If it's higher you won't get the blurring effect.  Most of the time you want to avoid blur at all costs.  In this case you want the blur.

Why would you want blur? In this case it actually adds a dynamic to the photo.  The blur reflects the motion.  Without the blur this photo would just be another still shot.  With the blur it's an action shot.

Dining Review: Momma Melrose's

When you think of dining at Disney Hollywood Studios a few places come to mind. Most people would think of the Brown Derby, the SciFi, and the Prime Time Café. Most people would not mention Momma Melrose’s.


Momma Melrose’s is an Italian restaurant that’s somewhat hidden away near the Muppets. It has a sign but that sign doesn’t stick out. In fact if you were not looking for Momma Melrose’s you would possibly walk right by it and not even notice it.

The bottom line is this. Momma Melrose’s is forth on most people’s lists because of it’s out of the way location. Momma Melrose’s is a far better value than the Brown Derby, has better food than the Prime Time, and has far better food and is more laid back than the SciFi.

The Food:

As far as park food goes. Momma Melrose’s has some of the best you’ll find at Disney Hollywood Studios. Granted the food is not as fancy as the food you’ll find at the Brown Derby but it’s still excellent. For example – for an appetizer I ordered the minestrone. Granted there were some better options and the minestrone was the cheapest option but if you order the soup you will find out what kind of place you are dealing with. A lot of restaurants use cheap premade soup and just reheat it. If Momma Melrose’s did that I could not tell. The soup was good. If they are using canned soup they are not cutting corners on quality.

For an entrée I ordered the Charred Strip Steak. Another test of a restaurant is to check and see if they can cook a steak to order. Momma Melrose’s can cook a steak to order. That’s all I was really looking for but that’s not all I got. There was something else that comes with the steak that is shocking. I’m now going to say something that is going to irk a lot of people.

Jiko does not have the best macaroni and cheese in Disney World. In fact it’s not even close. Momma Melrose’s serves a macaroni and cheese that puts Jiko’s to shame. I’ve had both. Jiko’s was cold and bland compared to the one at Momma Melrose’s. I did not expect to find something like this tucked away inside a theme park.

The deserts are what you would expect at an Italian restaurant. It’s hard to go wrong with any of the classics. The Panna Cotta, Chocolate Cannoli Cake, and the Chocolate Amerettini Cheesecake are all worth trying.

The Service:

The service at Momma Melrose’s is up to Disney Standards. In fact it was a little better than our average Disney dining experience. Our server wanted to make sure we were informed and easily answered any questions we had. She even took the time to make sure I knew all of the ingredients in my order. She wanted to make sure I knew that they used pancetta to make their mac and cheese. This might sound odd but I guess they have run into problems with this. I guess some people have issues with pancetta.

The Atmosphere:

The atmosphere at Momma Melrose’s is odd. It’s basically a warehouse with a lot of junk hanging everywhere. On the surface you would think that the Imagineers just cheesed out on this place. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Momma Melrose’s has one of the deepest back stories you can find. On top of that the actual history of how this restaurant came into existence is rather interesting. I’ve heard the history from both Jim Korkis and Jim Hill. If you Google them you should be able to find the detailed history. I’ll put the short story here.

Momma Melrose’s moved to Hollywood to try and become an actress. She couldn’t find any work so she started cooking for the actors out of a warehouse right next to the studio lots. The actors started giving her random gifts to help spruce the place up. She also just grabbed whatever she could find to decorate the place so it wouldn’t look like a warehouse.

When you know the back story the decor makes more sense and it actually becomes fun. You will start noticing all of the tiny little details that are packed into this place.

Now the actual history is much different. Momma Melrose’s was not on the original plans. It came about as a scramble to find something to stick in this building. The original plan was to have a Muppet’s themed restaurant. The Swedish Chef was going to be in the kitchen. Rizzo and his buddies would deliver food on a little track built into the place. It was going to be one crazy place to eat.

The Muppet’s idea ended up falling through and the Imagineers had to scramble. Sometimes great things happen when you don’t over plan something.

Conclusion:

Momma Melrose’s is a hidden gem of a restaurant. Sadly in some ways it really is hidden. Don’t let that stop you. Try this place the next time you are in the Studios and want to hit a table service location for lunch.

Review of Star Tours the Adventure Continues

Star Tours the Adventure Continues was one of the most hyped overhauls that I can remember.  In most cases when something is so hyped it falls short of expectations.  Does the new Star Tours fall short?

Overall Star Tours does meet the hype but lets break this review into some pros and cons.

Pros

3D - the 3D is t he best 3D I've ever seen.  Normally I'm not a fan of 3D.
Glasses - The glasses are not your standard 3D glasses and they seem to fit better.
Multiple Stories - The mix of ride scenes is great and keeps the ride fresh.
New Queue - The new queue has some really nice features.
Use of visitors in the ride - Having one of the visitors being the spy is a really nice touch.

Cons

Motion Sickness - If you have a problem with the old, you will have a problem with the new one.  My wife got really sick.
Potential of seeing the same thing twice - I rode three times.  Two of the rides were almost identical.  That was a bummer.
Non-Star Wars fans would miss a lot - If you are not a fan of the movies there are a ton of details that you would miss.  If you are not a fan this is basically just a 3D motion simulator.

Overall the new Star Tours is a great overhaul and should stand the test of time.

New Video Posted: Citizens of Hollywood - Chef Pulls Table Cloths

The Citizens of Hollywood are a troop found at Disney Hollywood Studios.  They do a number of random shows throughout the day.  All the ones I've seen before have been slapstick.  While this one has some funny moments the ending was totally unexpected.

You can see the video here.

Photo of the Week: Gone But Not Forgotten

It's gone but not forgotten.  The Droid Room was one of the best parts of the original Star Tours.  It was replaced in the new version of the ride.  At least many people agree that the replacement is a worthy replacement.

If you never got to enjoy the original Droid Room you can find videos of it on YouTube.  You can also find photos like this all over the Internet.

Photo of the Week - Tower of Terror

Most of the eye catching attractions (or wienies in Disney talk) look completely different depending on the time of day.  The Tower of Terror is no exception.  This photo was taken early in the morning.  In this light it doesn't washout like it does in the middle of the day.  The light gives it more of a blue tone.

Photo of the Week - Hollywood Hotel Lobby

Has Disney done a ride better themed than the Tower of Terror? The lobby of the Hollywood Hotel is amazing. It's even impressive by Disney standards. No other attraction comes close.

Photo of the Week - Bitter Sweet

You have to love the Muppets. It's great that both Kermit and Jim Henson had their hands put into the cement in front of The Great Movie Ride. However, you have to admit it's a little sad. Jim Henson died at what some claim was the golden age of the Muppets. You also have to wonder what kind of Muppets entertain we'd see today if he was still alive.

The Most Neglected Park

People love to complain. When it comes to Disney it’s no different. WDW fans love to rip apart rides they do not like and things they think the company is ignoring. Sometimes I have to admit the complaints are warranted. For example in the Magic Kingdom you find Stitch’s Great Escape is universally hated but Disney has no plans to do anything about it (at least none that have been leaked).

In the Animal Kingdom people rip a majority of Dino Land USA. I totally agree with that. There is no reason to go over there unless you are going to Dinosaur.

In the Hollywood Studios you have Sounds Dangerous which should have been put out of it’s misery a long time ago.

Then there is Epcot. When you break it down Epcot is the most neglected park in all of WDW. There are a lot of reasons for this:

1 – Ellen’s Energy Adventure: This ride is so outdated it’s painful. Ellen looks young because she WAS YOUNG when she did the film for this attraction. PLEASE someone fix this movie!

2 – Mission Space: Mission Space is a bad movie glued to a ride that spins. I’ve ridden it twice and don’t plan on riding it again. It’s re-ride value is really lacking.

3 – Wonders of Life Pavilion: I can’t think of a time in Disney’s past when they shut down such a large portion of a park to never reopen it again. This pavilion just sits there like a skin tag. You don’t want to look at it because it’s unpleasant but you can’t help yourself.

4 – Imagination Pavilion: Possibly the most disappointing pavilion ever; the Imagination Pavilion went from the best to the worst. The ride is broken and now we have a 20+ year old movie installed in a theater and sadly, that’s an upgrade over what was there. The real kicker is, this is one of the most beautiful pavilions from the outside. Too bad inside is rotten to the core.

5 – Spaceship Earth: I love Spaceship Earth but what’s up with the dark tunnel. Did you run out funding? Was there nothing you could even recycle and put in there?

6 – The Trading Post thingy: It was supposed to be an African Pavilion instead it’s turned into a boil on the backside of World Showcase. What a waste of space. I think only people with heatstroke stop here.

7 – World Showcase: I love world showcase so why am I listing it? Have you ever seen the original plans for the World Showcase? It was supposed to have twice the countries it has now. They were supposed to expand behind the American Adventure. Instead everything stopped after Norway was added. BOOOOO!

8 – Norway: Norway is a cool pavilion but it has the worst movie in the World Showcase. That movie is so bad it’s laughable. It’s not supposed to be funny but it is. I feel bad for the cast members from Norway who have to put up with that.

9 – Italy: Not much there is there? That’s because it had its ride cut.

10 – Germany: What’s in that big building? It was going to be a ride but it got cut too.

11 – Japan: Wouldn’t it be cool to have a Mt. Fuji ride? Sure…unless you’re Kodak. Fuji film was going to sponsor a Mt. Fuji ride. Kodak stonewalled it.

Ok I’m done. I think you get my point. Epcot feels like could and should be so much more.

The Power Rangers Get Flushed!

When I heard the news that Disney unloaded the rights to the Mighty Morphing Power Rangers, I jumped for joy. I always hated the Power Rangers. They drove me nuts to begin with never mind the fact that Disney bought the rights and stuck them into DHS.

To put it simply the Power Rangers and Disney were like oil and water. They do not belong together. I can’t tell you how much it annoyed me when I’d be walking through DHS and I’d run into the Power Rangers. I guess I’m a purist. I don’t want to go to Disney and see the Power Rangers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, or any other non-Disney (Pixar is ok but I don’t want to see Marvel either) characters in the parks.

I’d like to go to DHS on August 7^th, 2010 just to celebrate the Power Ranges going away. I won’t though. I can’t afford it and I wouldn’t want to upset the kids who really like the Power Rangers. For those kids I have some good news. Disney sold the rights back to the original owners who turned around and sold the rights to Nickelodeon. You’ll be able to see the Power Rangers there in the near future.

Stuck on the Tower

A business really shows its true color when something goes wrong. I’ve seen good companies turn into monsters when trying to right a wrong (or in some cases ignoring the wrong).

What did Disney do when my wife and I got stuck on the Tower of Terror? Granted that’s not a major problem but it still wasn’t fun.

We had been through all the drops, entered the maintenance room, turned to face the elevator door and started to move towards it. That’s when we stopped. Right away I knew something was wrong. We were about six inches short of where we needed to be. The music / voiceover ran its length followed by about thirty seconds of silence. Still we were not moving. Next the lights turned off, the wall to the left of us opened and the wall on the right closed for the next ride vehicle.

After about a minute in the dark someone turned the lights on. We could see into the guts of the tower. It was just a typical unthemed area. A mechanic turned the corner with another guy. The mechanic had a uniform on that somewhat fit in with the Tower of Terror theme. He looked under our cart and in no time got us moving, and the doors opened. Instead of just disappearing after that he got right in the act by apologizing and saying he hoped it didn’t ruin our stay at the Hollywood Tower Hotel. He also said if we needed anything to ask for assistance from the bellhop.

First of all the fact that a cast member who is behind the scenes would be required to dress in a costume that fits in with the theme is amazing. The fact that he would be trained not to break the story is even more amazing. That really hits home when you realize he might have to interact with guests only a handful of times a year.

Photo of the Week - Mr Potato Head

Easily one of the best audio animatronics in Walt Disney World. Mr. Potato Head is a must have for the queue of Toy Story Midway Mania. Without him there would be no distraction from one of the longest lines in all of Disney World.

Beauty and the Beast Live

I’d never really thought about going to go see Beauty and the Beast Live in Disney’s Hollywood Studios but my wife and I were trying to kill some time while we were waiting for our fast passes to become valid. We walked in and took our seats with about five minutes to spare.

One of the best things about this show is it is really live. I know that sounds dumb and the name should have told me that. However, the actors actually sing. After seeing Voyage of the Little Mermaid I was surprised by that.

If you like Beauty and the Beast you will love this show. It has a number of the big songs from the movie. It has most of the characters from the movie too. The costumes are spot on. There are no real special effects. It’s much more a traditional stage show.

The length of the show was good. It came in around thirty minutes. So they didn’t have to really butcher the story like they did in the little mermaid.

I do have one complaint but it’s not really related to the show. Once you are a few minutes into the show, SHUT THE DOOR!!!!! DO NOT let late comers in. I can’t even tell you how many times I had to move, stand up, or lean to see what was going on because people showed up late. The worst case was someone who chose our row to sit in and we all had to stand up to let them in. This happened during the final scene. THE FINAL SCENE! Why?!? They saw about two minutes of the show.

Overall I will do this attraction again. It was worth doing. I will sit closer to the stage next time to avoid as many of the late comers as I can.

Review: The Boardwalk Resort

The Boardwalk Resort is one of the Epcot Resorts near the Swan and Dolphin, Beach Club, and Yacht Club resorts.

The Boardwalk isn’t the most beautiful resort but it does have its charms. It’s like stepping back in time to the 1920s era boardwalk in New Jersey. The storefronts and other structures on the Boardwalk fit right into that theme. The only part of the area that seems to stick out like a sore thumb is the ESPN Zone. They try to make it fit with an old school arm pumping an old weight but it seems rather tacky.

At night everything is lit up with string or neon lights. Nighttime is also when the performers come out. There are magicians and jugglers and other performers. There is also a clown with a squeaky noise for a voice. I avoided him. The noise drove me nuts.

The lobby is spacious and well decorated with large chandeliers, comfy chairs, and antiques. The antiques are the only crank viewers that show a short clip for a penny or the vintage pre-arcade machines. You’ll also find a musical model carousal which goes off every so often. Another model is of a vintage rollercoaster which is lit up.

The rooms are ok. You’ll find much better rooms at the Contemporary. The rooms at the contemporary are larger, cleaner, and better designed. The biggest issue is the bathroom. The toilet and the tub are together while the sinks are outside the bathroom. It was just odd and cumbersome. If someone is stepping out of the bathroom the door will hit anyone washing their hands at the sink. The decorations are nice. The paintings are very nice if you like oils of Disney inspired scenes. The beds are comfy enough although we ended up with two double beds. For some reason I thought the higher end resorts had two queens. The balcony is nice but only two or three people can fit on it. The average cruise ship balcony is bigger.

The location is great. You walk to DHS or Epcot. There are also boats that will take you to both. Most people think walking to DHS takes too long or it’s too far. It is faster than the boat. If the boat is arriving when you start walking you will easily beat the boat to DHS. The Boardwalk is the first stop going towards DHS. That means you have to stop at the Yacht and Beach Club followed by the Swan and Dolphin. When you consider the boats only move about twice as fast as a walk you’ll see why you can easily out walk it.

The walk to Epcot is rather short and is great when you realize you don’t have to wait at the monorail or bus stop to go back to your room after Illuminations.

In the end I don’t know if I’d stay at the Boardwalk again. If I was going to stay in that area I’d try one of the others next. Overall I’d stay at the Poly or Contemporary before the Boardwalk. However, if I was going to be doing a lot in Epcot it would be a decent choice.

Streetmosphere

Streetmosphere are the mini, random shows that the “Citizens of Hollywood” perform on a couple of the streets in Disney Hollywood Studios. It’s one of the best things about DHS.

On my last vacation I got to experience a few different Streetmosphere shows. The first was a Dorma Nesmond photo shoot. The premise was they trying to film a commercial but people kept walking through the shot. Of course they waited for someone to walk through the shot to start each time. When someone walked into the shot the director would throw his bullhorn at them. Dorma Nesmond is a very quirky actress who hinders things as well. The third part to the show was camera operator who wants to be famous.

The best part about this show is the interactivity. I was filming it so the director started calling me camera two and wanted to make sure I was ready to start filming. Dorma kept walking right up to my camera and doing funny things.

This was the best show I’ve seen in Disney World. I was glad I captured it. I’d share the video but my basset hound chewed the memory card. I lost all my footage of the Animal Kingdom and a vast majority of my DHS footage. Over an hour and a half of HD footage was destroyed forever. The only video from that card that survived is the Festival of the Lion King only because I converted that part it first. To put it lightly I was very upset.

The one Streetmosphere show I can share and will share shortly is the “Department of Public Works.” This was a good show. It consisted of the supervisor and his two idiot underlings. All they had to do was setup some work cones. It took them a long time to get them setup thanks to the idiots. Then they had clean up. The idiots asked why. The Supervisor said its break time. The idiots broke down in record time while the supervisors back was turned.

I’ll try to get this video posted before my dog finds a why to destroy that card too.

Photo of the Week: Best Sign in Disney

Disney tends to put detail into everything, even the places you wouldn't expect. The sign for the Tower of Terror is a great example. It looks like an old stone hotel sign but if you wait long enough you'll see it light up. A lot of people don't bother to wait they just run by the sign and up into the queue. That's too bad because this is a great place for a group photo.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid

I had very low expectations for the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. I thought it was going to be a kids show and that my wife and I would be bored stiff. I was proved wrong.

The queue room for the show is great. They hit the theme right on the head. The decorations are funny and fit perfectly with the Little Mermaid theme.

The first major scene is Sebastian and friends doing “Under the Sea.” This scene is jaw dropping. All the actors are dressed in total black and the puppets light up under a black light. The most amazing part of this scene is how they manage to make the puppets seem like they are swimming and the overall movements. It’s amazing that the actors don’t get in the way of the puppets and that they don’t trip over themselves. I was tempted to watch the entire show twice just to see this scene again.

The rest of the scenes are decent but it’s very obvious everything is lip synced it takes a little out of the show. The effects in all parts are amazing but when they do the water effects the first three or four rows get really wet.

One disappointing was the show was missing a “Kiss the Girl” scene. I bet that would have been awesome. Because it’s missing, the show jumps from Ariel giving up her voice to Ursula being killed which is about two thirds of the movie.

One warning to parents, Ursula might scare younger children. She is rather creepy.

Overall, go see this show. It’s great.