WDW OCTOBER 2013

DOWNTOWN DISNEY

Downtown Disney/Pleasure Island is a shopping, entertainment and nightlife area that's the size of an amusement park. It surrounds a lake and you can take boats from one section to another.

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There are lots of over-the-top themed restaurants, movie theaters, a bowling alley and a Cirque du Soleil.

 

RON AND PETER AT THE RAINFOREST CAFE

HARD-DRINKIN' DUDES

"EDELWEISS" MEETS "SAW"

This place has different rooms with animatronic dinosaurs, each room themed to a prehistoric period. I liked the Ice Cave best.

THE MAGIC KINGDOM

MAGIC HOUR AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM, WHEN IT FIRST LIGHTS UP

It's a really unique touch to keep the figures unlit in this Cinderella fountain. Notice the crown on her head in the wall pattern.

When we got back, Ron had been replaced.

PUSH, THE TALKING TRASH CAN

NEW FANTASYLAND

They've expanded Fantasyland. The signature ride is a new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train that isn't finished yet. I was excited to see one of the mine cars being tested while nobody else noticed.

THE "BE OUR GUEST" RESTAURANT ENTRANCE, WHICH IS SO EXCLUSIVE AND EXPENSIVE
THAT THEY WON'T LET YOU LOOK INSIDE AND DON'T POST PRICES.

I was really impressed with the design and detailing of this new area, and it's a big treat to get such extensive additions.

The new Little Mermaid ride is the same as in California, but the WDW castle facade and queue area are much better.

DISNEY GEEK ALERT: In the queue area, I thought it was curious that they played an acoustic version of A Whale of a Tale from 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, instead of music from The Little Mermaid. 

The reason is that this ride is built on the spot where the submarine ride had been before, so it's an homage to the previous undersea experience, and the song works well in setting up the show.

A funny thing happens in the Sea Witch section of this video.

 

EPCOT

In the queue for TestTrack, you design your own car, and then after the ride you compare your car's performance to the test vehicle.

In the post-ride area, you can have your photo taken with the car and emailed to you. This was Peter's design. We probably should have been standing in the lighted spot.

 

The Seas is now Findng Nemo-themed, but still has the original sea tanks and some great displays of living sea creatures.

EPCOT AT SUNSET

IMAGINATION PAVILION

GERMAN PAVILION

STREET IN THE ENGLAND PAVILION

 This is my favorite spot in all of WDW.

ILLUMINATIONS: Reflections of Earth is the fireworks spectacle that closes each night at Epcot. Seen here from the dock of the Italy pavilion.

Watch in full screen mode by clicking the icon in the lower right corner.

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
& ANIMAL KINGDOM

This was my first visit to Animal Kindgom and I was very impressed. The detailing of exotic cultures is excellent, but the park is mostly decorated with lots of lush, beautiful foliage.

HOTEL TOUR

I spent part of one day touring the hotels around the lakes of the Magic Kingdom.

THE GRAND FLORIDIAN WITH THE POLYNESIAN RESORT IN THE DISTANCE

 

THE CONTEMPORARY HOTEL AND DISNEY VACATION CLUB TOWER

THE GRAND CANYON MURAL BY MARY BLAIR

I boarded a boat to get to the Wilderness Lodge, which is across the lake from the Contemporary hotel. This was the first time in all my trips to WDW that I've been out on the water.

DISNEY'S WILDERNESS LODGE

We stayed at the All Star Music Resort, which is where I stayed on my last trip in 2000. It hasn't changed at all. Still grotesquely awful eighties design, but the cheapest WDW hotel option.

The guitar-shaped pool is wonderful, with sculptures of my favorite Disney characters, The Three Caballeros.

Yes, those are four-story high maracas.

MAGIC BANDS

The grey bands on our wrists are called Magic Bands. With them you access hotel rooms, the parks, fast passes for the rides, and even make purchases. They're water proof and if you want to accessorize, you can buy colored add-ons and special character pins

 When you use Magic Bands to enter the parks, there's a Mickey-shaped kiosk that you hold it to, and the kiosk lights up, then you have to give a fingerprint scan to verify you're the right person. It's kinda scary. If you prefer not to use the Magic Bands/finger scan, you can still enter with the old non-invasive card key system.

You can sync the Magic Bands with a mobile app that lets you schedule Fast Passes online. Fast Passes allow you to get on the rides without having to wait the full time in line

LAST LOOK

It's always hard to leave.