Okay, fess up men…how many of you secretly watch The Little Mermaid with your daughters? Let’s face it: cute girls in seashells don’t just attract small female children. Ariel’s grotto in Fantasyland of the Magic Kingdom gives people young, old, male and female a chance to meet Ariel, pose for pictures, and get an autograph.
Since Ariel is such a popular character, it makes sense that people would want to meet her. (more…)
It’s amazing that a place like Tom Sawyer’s Island can exist in the middle of a bustling, crowded amusement park. For some reason, the island just seems rustic and remote, even though there are a lot of people milling around.
The only way to get to Tom Sawyer’s Island is by raft. Well, I guess you could swim, but I wouldn’t advise a dip in that yucky water. Anyway, (more…)
Ever dream of walking straight onto a ride without waiting in line? Well, Disney’s Fastpass won’t exactly let you do that, but it’s as close as you’re ever going to get. Disney created FastPass to make waiting easier on guests, and to more evenly distribute the lines on their most popular attractions. Apparently the system is working, because Disney keeps adding more and more rides to the FastPass system.
Okay…this is how FastPass works. (more…)
Welcome to the home of 999 ghosts…but there’s always room for one more! The Haunted Mansion looks frigtening from the outside, but on the inside it’s more of a fun romp through a “haunted” castle then a ride designed to scare anyone. I took a three year old on it, and he wanted to jump right back in line when we were done. That about tells you how scary The Haunted Mansion is.
Your journey through the mansion begins in the portrait hall, where all seems normal until the floor starts dropping. Or is the ceiling rising? Anyway, (more…)
While Epcot has the distinction of having the most diverse and culturally genuine restaurants, Disney MGM Studios holds the title for the most creative and fun eateries. One of my family’s favorites is the Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre.
The Sci-Fi Dine In Theatre is set up as an old fashioned drive in theatre. Guests sit in cars to eat their dinner. All the cars face toward a big screen, where snippets of truly awful sci fi movies run in a continuous loop. I think the industry term is “B movies”. Whatever rating they’re given, they’re bad. (more…)
“You can fly, you can fly, you can fly!” Well, sort of. You can fly if you first board a pirate ship attached to cables that lift it off the ground. I know…way to bring realism into somewhere it shouldn’t be. I love Peter Pan’s flight…I always have. There’s nothing quite like getting in that pirate ship and flying over the rooftops of London all the way to Neverland…
For those who have never seen Peter Pan (not sure who I’m talking to here, but whatever), (more…)
When Mickey built his Toontown Fair, Goofy decided it would be the ideal place to plant his farm. Thus, Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm was created.
The premise of The Barnstormer is simple. Guests climb into crop dusters and follow Goofy’s flight path. Sounds easy enough, but remember that this is Goofy’s flight path. His route includes a small detour crashing through the barn. (more…)
In all the water parks I’ve been to in my lifetime (and it’s a few…I like water parks), I’ve never seen anything quite like Shark Reef. At the entrance, cast members hand you a face mask, snorkel and life jacket. You then sit on a ledge while another cast member tells you how to use the face mask, snorkel and life jacket. You then enter the water (be prepared…it’s cold!) and swim across a pool where you can look at tropical fish and, hence the name, sharks. They’re little sharks. They only nibble on toes, not take off your leg. Just kidding…the sharks are completely harmless. (more…)
The Tomorrowland Indy Speedway caters to every little kid’s dream…driving a real car. Well…they’re close to real cars, anyway. They’re a bit smallish, have no brake, and run on a track, but other than that, it’s just like the real thing.
Anyway, whether it’s like real driving or not, kids get a kick out of the Indy Speedway. You have to be 52″ tall to drive…which basically means you have to be tall enough to reach the gas pedal. (more…)
Summit Plummet, found at Blizzard Beach, is the ultimate in speed slides. You may recognize it…anyone who has seen pictures of Disneyworld has seen Summit Plummet. Guaranteed. It looks like a ski jump. In fact, my children wondered if people actually were launched off the jump, because it really looks like they are. No, the slide goes under the jump, but I have to admit, it’s a really cool effect.
Summit Plummet is not for the faint of heart. (more…)