Rides That Come and Go

One of the main concepts behind all of the Disney parks is the concept of constant change.  This has been a driving force at Imagineering since the parks first opened.  This means that you can't really visit a Disney park without some kind of construction going on.  Sometimes they're building a new attraction, other times they're updating an old one.  For the person planning a trip so far in advance (almost 2 years) this can be both exciting and unnerving.

The excitement comes from the fact that there will be many new rides and attractions opening between now and our visit date.  Because of the monstrous budget Disney has to spend on these attractions (compared to most theme parks), you can be sure that whatever they're building will be awesome.  The latest updates to Fantasyland including the new Snow White and the Seven Dwarves mine car ride seem particularly interesting.

The part of all of this constant updating that's unnerving is the unpredictability of knowing what might be open.  Not all updates are additions; some are drastic changes and even eliminations.  The drastic changes can be a little sad because you may have a fond memory of a particular ride that has changed.  For me this comes across most with the change of Mr. toads wild ride into the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.  I've always loved Mr. toads wild ride, and I'll miss it, that's not to say that I automatically dislike the new Winnie the Pooh ride.

Sometimes an idea at Disney becomes unpopular or unprofitable and they simply eliminate it entirely.  A good recent example of this is the concept of Pleasure Island.  Pleasure Island used to be a section in the downtown Disney entertainment complex.  It was a section of this complex dedicated to adults and nightclubs.  It included some pretty interesting clubs including the Adventurer's Club and a fun comedy club.  A few years back Disney abandoned the whole concept of Pleasure Island, and promptly closed most of the clubs, now it appears to be just a hole in downtown Disney complex.

While we have a pretty good idea about what new attractions should be open for our visit, we have no idea what might close down, either permanently or temporarily, when we're there.  It's almost guaranteed that some sort of update will be going on, but you never know what.

Carrying as Little as Possible

One of the new trends that Disney seems to be promoting is the idea of carrying as little as possible. Presently your hotel card can act as a credit/debit card, and anything you buy in the park can be sent to your resort front desk for pick up. But they're not stopping there; right now they're testing a new system that changes your hotel card into a wristband. Magic Plus will be a wristband that may eliminate having to carry anything hotel or theme park related at all. The only thing I don't think it covers is the Fast Pass ride vouchers.

Assuming that the magic plus system is up and running, what else is important to carry with you on your Disney adventures?

Camera - Our choice of camera is going to be the Fuji XP. It's the perfect vacation camera because it's small, waterproof, and pretty tough. You can take it anywhere in any park without having to worry about keeping it dry.

Water - The big question we have is if it is necessary to carry bottles of water with us throughout the parks.  I'm told that you can find water fountains all over the parks, but are there enough to keep us hydrated, particularly while waiting in line for the rides.

Snacks - While we plan on buying one of the meal plans that includes a snack, I think we may also pick up a few granola bars to carry around as well.  That way we can pick our treats based on how much fun they might be to eat rather than how hungry we might be.

Bags - Whether or not we carry a bag while walking through the parks depends on our decision to carry water with us.  If we decide to bring water bottles with us through the parks then we'll probably bring bags to the parks as well.  If we only pick up water along the way, then the bars and camera can easily fit in our pockets.

Our Love Of Goofy

Both Allison and I love Goofy, it's safe to say that goofy is both of our favourite Disney character. This love of Goofy, for both of us, came long before we ever met. In fact when we were dating, our mutual love of Goofy is one of the many reasons we fell in love.

I'm not sure how our love of Goofy will affect our visit. We do plan on going to the character breakfast where Goofy is present, and I'm sure we'll make efforts to go to at least one Goofy meet and greet. I'm also pretty sure we'll take pictures with anything goofy that we come across in the park.

The Barnstormer featuring the Great Goofini is going to be a must visit on our trip.  It's part of the new additions to Fantasyland in the Magic Kingdom, and it looks like it'll be full of all kinds of Goofy fun.

If anybody knows any other must visit Goofy attractions, let me know.

Resort Activities - Campfires, Watersports, and Others.

While we're on this epic trip we plan on spending most of our time in the main theme parks.  However we also want to experience a few other secondary attractions as well.  The parks are the most popular of adventures you can have, but many of the resorts have fun activities to try out.

The Fort Wilderness areas are well known for having campfires with sing a-longs and s'mores.  While this resort is a little out of the way for us, it might be worth the journey.

Many resorts also offer nighttime screening of classic Disney films.  These screening might be a fun way to wind down after a busy day at a theme park.  There really isn't that much information about the screenings, but since one seems to take place at the resort we're planning to stay at, it might be worth checking out.

Disney World offers four different mini golf courses, two of which I've tried before and two are new to me.  Allison and I both enjoy a fun round of mini golf now and then, so I think we'll take some time to swing a few putters.  Our plan is to visit one of the courses that I've played before and really enjoyed (Fantasia Gardens), and play one of the courses I haven't played (One of the Winter Summer Land Golf Courses).

On this trip, Allison and I have decided that we want to try doing something we've never done before, wakeboarding.  On Bay Lake they offer one-hour wakeboard lessons for complete beginners.  It sounds like the perfect time to learn a new water sport.

We haven’t decided how we’re going to go about paying for these, should we get a park pass that includes all of these, or is it more economical to pay for them separately?

Seeing Too Much

One problem that comes up with all of this planning is the possibility of ruining any surprises that might come along.  The internet is full of tips and information, but some of this information could be considered spoilers as well.  Allison feels much stronger about not seeing anything from behind the scenes, while I'm a little more interested in seeing how some of the magic is made.

Allison refers to the entire behind the scenes engineering and design as magic, and is built off of smatterings of pixy dust.  While I do enjoy learning about the behind the scenes magic, I worry that over the next two years I may learn too much.  My worry is fairly minimal however because the folks at Disney are experts in making new surprises all the time.  I also try to avoid watching or reading too many unofficial behind the scenes materials since they don’t censor themselves when it comes to giving away too much.

The other reason I'm not too worried about learning too much, is Allison's lack of wanting to learn anything.  Even if I figure out how something works, I'll get to watch everything through Allison's eyes as well.

Previous Park Visit

Both Allison and I have been to Disney World in the past, so it’s not our first visit.  Allison went for a few days and explored Epcot and Pleasure Island.  I've been to Disney World before several times, including a full week's adventure.  We haven't however ever been to Disney World together.

We've also both been to Tokyo Disney, both together and Allison went on her own as well.  Together we went to Tokyo Disney Sea, and we had a really great time.  In fact, the intense fun we had is a great deal of the inspiration we had to plan this epic trip.  On our Disney Sea adventure we learned how much both of us really enjoy Disney parks.  Best of all we've learned that we both enjoy the same parts of the parks as well

Everyone has a different way of enjoying Disney parks; our previous experiences have proven that we enjoy the parks in a very compatible way.  That’s why this adventure is going to be so much fun.

My fear of some rides

Allison is a fast ride fanatic; I on the other hand get sick on many rides. Since getting sick often trumps having fun, we don't go to too many places that have big rides. The good thing about Disney World is that many of the rides are fairly tame, and even the bigger rides tend to be smooth enough that I don't get sick. There are a few rides that I am worried about.

Test Track

Of all of the rides on this list, Test Track is the one I'm least worried about. Although it's one of the fastest rides in the park, it looks pretty smooth and not filled with any loops.

Aerosmith’s Rock and Roller coaster

This ride is the one that's giving me the most indecision.  I know that it's a looping roller coaster, something that often makes me ill.  It's also supposed to be really fast as well, but that doesn't bother me too much.  The one thing that can make me really sick with roller coasters is how bumpy they can be.  I can often handle some extreme rides if they're fairly smooth.

So why would I even want to chance this ride?  First of all I don't want to leave Allison on her own, secondly the story of this ride sounds great.

Tea cups

The teacups are a classic Disney ride, but it's a ride I will not be ridding on this trip.  They spin, I get sick, and I don't really get any entertainment value out of them.  I've ridden the teacups in the past, and it's a childhood trauma I don't want to relive.  Fortunately Allison has little interest in ridding the teacups either.

Expedition Everest

I didn't really think much about expedition Everest until I watched a documentary on its construction.  While I'm pretty confident I'll be OK, I am a little worried about the going backwards portion of the ride.

Mission Space

When I first started collecting a list of rides that worried me, I glossed right over Epcot.  I figured there was no way Epcot would have any rides that might make me sick.  Then I started reading about Mission Space.  This ride apparently sends its visitors into a centrifuge simulating every stomach turning reality of being shot into space.  This is the only ride in Disney that comes equipped with barf bags, and very sever warnings.

What Makes Up Disney World

Disney World is made up of several kinds of theme parks.  The largest parks include the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom.  These are the four parks you think about most when a trip to Disney World is on the agenda.  These parks are so big that they're split up into separate lands. These lands are like mini theme parks within the larger park.  Sometimes these “lands” are connected, however in the Magic Kingdom they’re a little more random.

The style of theme parks in Walt Disney World are the water parks.  There used to be three of these to choose from, but since the closing of River Country, there are now only two.  Blizzard Beach is a water park themed on a ski resort; it also has one of the most intense water slides I've ever seen.  Typhoon Lagoon has a more classic water park theme, and it has one of the biggest wave pools in the whole world.

After all of that fun overload, some people like to relax with a bit of shopping, and you can be sure there are plenty of places to do that.  Downtown Disney has become the centre of shopping within Walt Disney world. It has many shops to buy anything Disney has ever licensed.  Many of the resorts also have restaurant/shopping areas inside then, in particular the Disney Boardwalk has many interesting shops to choose from.

As I mentioned above, many of the resort hotels have shopping and dinning, but some have even more to do, like water sports, campfires, and shows.  There are also several mini golf and full sized golf courses as well.  You also can't exclude the many forms of transportation as entertainment.  With boats, old fashion trains, and the famous monorails, getting around can be fun too.

This is just the most basic of overviews, for those who have never really given Disney World any thought.  I’m sure we’ll have more details about all of these places in future posts.

Shhhh, It's a Disney Secret

One of the most interesting facets of all of the Disney parks all over the world is the secrets.  While just the surface of the Disney theme parks is enough, there are thousands of hidden treasures to be found.

The most well known and consistent secrets of Disney World is the hidden Mickey.  Disney is notorious for hiding likenesses of Mickey Mouse all over their parks. There are even several books on the subject, and many websites with lists attempting to find them all.  While we enjoy the concept of the hidden Mickey’s and will have fun looking for them, we have no plans to find them all.

While the hidden Mickey is the most consistent and popular of the Disney world secrets, it's by no means the only one.  In fact Disney World is full of hidden secrets, the thing is, many of them are ever changing.  Often when a special secret is discovered and posted on the internet, within weeks it's eliminated or changed.  Some of the old secrets were, telling the characters from Toy Story that Andy was coming and watching them fall to the ground, waking up Tinkerbell at Tinkerbell’s Treasures shop in Cinderella's castle, and finding paint brushes on Tom Sawyer island for prizes.

Once a secret becomes a race and not a discovery, they tend to eliminate them.  So how does one discover Disney world secrets? The first trick is to be aware and engaging.  Look around, and chat with the cast members.