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WhiteHowler posted:I've heard very good things about Kona Cafe breakfast at the Polynesian, so I have a reservation there in September. No characters as far as I know. If you don't mind missing out on characters, Boma at Animal Kingdom Lodge is a good way to get a different kind of breakfast. It has all of your typical American items if you're not too adventurous, but it also has some African and African-style dishes like bobotie. I do recommend a reservation, as it tends to be packed.
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Jul 29, 2015 23:16
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MrYenko posted:Kona Cafe breakfast was pretty loving good. Will recommend. Kona Cafe in general was great when I went their fairly often. I haven't been back since the latest renovations, but I'm assuming it's still the same?
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Jul 30, 2015 02:41
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Anya posted:Transportation Disney style- You're correct, the bus is the only viable way to Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios from there. Hollywood Studios and Epcot are both connected by boat, and Epcot and Magic Kingdom are connected by monorail. Animal Kingdom is the only park to be totally isolated from non-bus mass transit.
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Aug 3, 2015 02:04
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TheBigBudgetSequel posted:Jeeze, demon, behind on the times. It's been open for over a month. It's in the former merch location Creature Comforts (it kept the same name as the Starbucks) It's definitely the prettiest Starbucks. 
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Aug 5, 2015 18:24
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I'm hoping to finally hit Disneyland and Universal Hollywood next summer.
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Aug 9, 2015 18:20
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WhiteHowler posted:Everything I've read says that booking a viewing area fastpass for any of the fireworks shows isn't worth it. This is accurate. Figuring out a viewing area for fireworks is best done through trial and error. At Magic Kingdom I usually stand on the wooden bridge in front of Pecos Bill (the one that goes in front of the post-drop curve on Splash Mountain) because it's typically less populated and situated in a large open area. Also for parades, I go in front of the empty space between Hall of Presidents and Sleepy Hollow Refreshments. You can easily get front row or nearly front row and you're still in the first half of the parade route, so you can run off to rides after the tail end passes and the parade is still taking up hundreds of guests on Main Street.
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Aug 13, 2015 19:24
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Illuminations is in a central open area rather than consisting of fireworks launchers hidden in buildings and behind public areas all over the park, so literally any view that gives you an unobstructed view of the center of the lagoon will be a pretty good spot.
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Aug 13, 2015 20:47
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Gonna try to hit up Trader Sam's this afternoon before going to Legends: A Haunting at Old Town for my friend's last day working there.
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Aug 15, 2015 18:50
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Construction for Pandora began last year and is set to open in 2017, so 3 years of actual construction and testing. I'd imagine Star Wars and Toy Story each taking a similar amount of time once ground is broken. So yeah, even if they started literally right now you probably wouldn't see anything open until 2018 at the earliest.
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Aug 16, 2015 19:22
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Atricks posted:Dr. Doom is probably next after Hulk is done and that may wind up turning into Avengers and a completely different ride) Didn't the deal with Disney for the Marvel purchase restrict Avengers (or at least MCU) theme park stuff to Disney parks?
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Aug 17, 2015 19:12
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MrYenko posted:I just don't see the point of a whole park area devoted to that particular IP, I guess. It works for Harry Potter, and it'll certainly work for Star Wars, but I just don't recall there being a lot of super-hardcore Avatar fans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk2vR8w2sjc It's fake but chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 06:52 on Aug 18, 2015 |
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Aug 18, 2015 06:50
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I wouldn't try to predict its success or failure just yet. We don't know what'll happen with the next Avatar, after all. It's easily possible for the next movie to bomb and turn Na'vi Land into an embarrassment....or it may be one of the best movies of the 2010s and revitalize interest in the franchise. Sequels, especially sequels coming a decade or more after the past film, can be a real toss-up. Compare the differing reactions this year to Terminator: Genisys, Jurassic World, and Mad Max: Fury Road. I don't think any of us predicted Mad Max being  , let alone one of the best action films of the decade. And like hell anyone predicted it being a centerpiece of feminist filmmaking.
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Aug 18, 2015 17:18
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KidVanguard posted:Splash Mountain is based on an IP that's banned and it's an extremely popular ride that draws huge lines 28 years later. The IP doesn't matter if the place is themed well and has great rides. Guess who's got a commercial DVD copy of said IP sitting in his house somewhere? It was gifted by a Disney and Universal employee that we're no longer friends with because he's literally crazy.
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Aug 20, 2015 05:05
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Comb Your Beard posted:What do yall think of this itinerary? Keep in mind that while you can take a boat from the Swan & Dolphin to Epcot and Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will require a bus. From Port Orleans, everything will require a bus. Obviously this doesn't matter if you have a car, as you can simply drive on property, but buses can take a while to get to where you need to go. It's always recommended that you get up early and get to the park ASAP if you want to do everything you plan on doing. Since you're trying to hit a park every day, you'll probably want to get breakfast once you're in the park or just take some snacks from the room instead of getting a full breakfast at the hotel. For Friday, hit Animal Kingdom first. Hollywood Studios is open later.
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Aug 24, 2015 05:48
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demonR6 posted:You can take the monorail from EC to MK so if you are in for a casual stroll you can boat it to EC then monorail to MK. Depending on how lucky they are with bus schedules, that might end up slower than a bus. Especially since the boat drops you off on nearly the opposite side of Epcot from the monorail. It works for a schedule where you plan on spending the day at both parks, but it's not very efficient as a transit option.
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Aug 24, 2015 19:15
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Comb Your Beard posted:Thanks! We ended up going French Quarter because it's like $400 cheaper over the whole visit. I think the French Quarter theme sounds fun. The Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory opens at 6:00 AM for breakfast. All of the parks open at 9:00 AM on the week of your trip (the World Showcase at Epcot doesn't open until 11:00 AM and that's where the Food & Wine Fest stuff actually is), but keep in mind that depending on your time of departure and the whims of fate it can take up to an hour to get to your choice of park by bus (the good news is that they often start arriving 45 minutes before opening time). Buses generally operate up to 1 hour after a park's closing time, and they run till 2:00 AM between resorts and Downtown Disney.
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Aug 24, 2015 22:33
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I was at Trader Sam's I think 2 weeks ago? First time there, and I find it pretty neat. It's hard to get in because they restrict access to how many seats are available, but it means that it maintains its really casual and spacious feeling instead of being permanently standing room only. The poke they serve is pretty nice.
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Aug 28, 2015 00:10
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MrYenko posted:For some reason, it seems like the wait time is incredibly spiky. Both times I've been (both weekdays,) I've walked in and taken one of the few remaining seats with no wait, and then the place immediately has a line outside for like forty minutes, and then the line disappears. Also, all of the waitstaff are good, but some are absolutely wonderful. The waitstaff there are easily top notch and I wish all bars could have them. They're very personable and love joking around with the customers and playfully ribbing off one another. When I went with my mom, she was feeling very sick (she had her gallbladder removed in 2010 after nearly dying and is vulnerable to severe illness from certain foods like chili peppers, which she mistakenly had in her noodle bowl from Captain Cook's) and the bartender whipped up a glass of soda water and bitters that successfully settled her stomach to keep her from vomiting on the drive home. Part of the issue with wait times seems to be that even though they give estimates, you still need to wait for a free seat if there's not one available when you arrive because they don't kick people out when a buzzer rings. I think it helps that they have a 2 drink per ID limit, so there's no real way for someone to just sit and order half a dozen drinks and meander through each one before stumbling off. Also minimizes the chance of big problems with rowdy drinks.
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Aug 28, 2015 00:48
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MrYenko posted:I... Was not aware of this. Also, that's a pretty accurate description. They don't tell you outright. On the right side of the bar, look up above where the bartenders are working. You'll see I think a jug or something hanging from the wall with the 2 drink sign stuck on it.
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Aug 28, 2015 01:46
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Tim Whatley posted:I think the only day Disney ever closed was like 9/11. 9/11 and Hurricanes Floyd, Frances, Charlie, Jeanne, and Wilma.
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Aug 28, 2015 22:43
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Old Man Pants posted:I am also wondering if they're planning on making it a permanent fixture or or it is just going to be a now and then thing. I could see it being permanent at least until the construction starts in force. If I have its location right, it's in a location that will be taken over by the Toy Story expansion and on the opposite side of the park from the planned Star Wars expansion.
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Sep 3, 2015 23:20
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I'd be down for it if it was a day that I could actually attend, since I work full time Monday through Friday.
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Sep 6, 2015 18:33
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Bottom Liner posted:It was an unexpectedly perfect day to go to Magic Kingdom. We checked wait times at 2pm and saw that most rides were 15 minutes or less, so we headed in around 5:30 and hit everything in just a few hours. Seven Dwarfs was even a quick 20 minute wait around 8. It was amazing. Weather was great too, low 80s, which along with the fall decorations made for a really awesome night. I assumed the holiday would mean a packed park, but most rides were walk on. No showers? I was on John Young near the Orange County Correctional Facility (risking my life at the Shooting Gallery) and it rained almost constantly while I was there. Then again, this is the state where I have literally seen rain falling in the parking spots next to me. Not on me, but around me.
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Sep 8, 2015 06:13
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demonR6 posted:Oh man there is a MUCH better shooting range just a couple of miles up the road. Oak Ridge, right? Haven't gotten to go there yet.
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Sep 9, 2015 01:54
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demonR6 posted:Noooooo this place. Ah, I heard of that one too.
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Sep 9, 2015 02:48
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demonR6 posted:The resorts will do early check in based on occupancy. Also if you are really nice to the FD clerk and have kids you can plead the "We've been traveling since early this morning and the *insert kids* or *insert our family* etc etc" and they are pretty accommodating. If you are a dick about it then forget it. Usually if they have an available room that is not assigned they will get you in early so you can head out to the parks. A general rule of thumb is that if you're really nice to cast members (from janitors to managers), they'll be more willing to go out of their way to help you out and make sure you have a good time. If you're a dick, they won't gently caress you over but they'll definitely give you the minimum service to avoid getting in trouble for doing a poor job and that's about it. Disney has some of the nicest people on the planet working for them, but you want to make sure that you deserve the kindness.
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Sep 9, 2015 18:15
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I'm not a cast member myself (many of my friends are, but I only worked at Universal), but they do maintain rather strict hiring and behavioral standards. I actually know of one young woman who was told that she "wasn't Disney material" after her interview. She's a very nasty person with a bad anger and laziness streak who was fired from Universal after hurling a trash can in the break room. Disney still holds a lot of magic for many people regardless of age, and they generally treat their employees well.
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Sep 9, 2015 20:35
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Uziel posted:That makes sense. My 34 year old wife was carded in the England section of Epcot for a beer, and we left our wallets/IDs in the room thinking that the Magic Band would have this info. It sucked. I'd recommend taking your wallet and ID with you any time you leave the hotel on vacation just for emergencies.
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Sep 9, 2015 22:45
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WhiteHowler posted:There's a lot of fun outside the parks too. poo poo, you could kill a whole week's vacation just wandering around outside the parks. All of the resorts are unique and many are themed in interesting ways with unique restaurants (the budget hotels like Pop Century and Wide World of ____ are best for fans of whatever they happen to be themed around), and many have activities for guests and entertainment options.
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Sep 9, 2015 23:52
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At a minimum you've got a new fireworks show, parade, and castle show to see and a ghost interacting with guests in the Haunted Mansion queue. You also get the opportunity for plenty of free candy and get to spend a relatively long night in a really atmospheric park.
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Sep 10, 2015 21:04
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Can you still get free hot chocolate and cookies at Very Merry?
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Sep 11, 2015 06:32
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Walking is faster, boating is easier. The walk is nothing for someone who plans on going around a theme park all day, but you always have the option of the boat when you're just too exhausted to walk back to your room.
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Sep 11, 2015 20:52
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I hit up Hollywood Studios for the first time in a few months. Indiana Jones has gotten some mild script changes and the choreography is tightened up (though the Indy actor hurt his back early on and had to take it slow for the rest of the day). Great Movie Ride changes are almost entirely replacing the canned narration with Robert Osborne (with the driver having fewer lines) and almost completely redoing the ending video, with a few of the original clips remaining but mostly new stuff and all rearranged. Still difficult to find tour guides and Mugsys on that ride who actually ham it up awesomely like they're supposed to. Also saw the Frozen Sing-Along for the first time in ever. It's pretty much entirely for kids and huge fans of Frozen, but I know who did the script and I can tell where his style for self-deprecation comes in. Kona Cafe at the Polynesian is still a good dinner spot but reservations are entirely necessary even when it doesn't look busy.
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Sep 13, 2015 06:30
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WhiteHowler posted:I don't drink much at all, but, uh... Just for science... Where would one get such a thing? I think they're at Tamu Tamu Refreshments at Animal Kingdom. Can you get them at the Tiki Terrace at the Polynesian? The Spikey Pineapple drink there is basically Dole Whip blended with rum served in a glass. chitoryu12 fucked around with this message at 01:18 on Sep 15, 2015 |
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Sep 15, 2015 01:16
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Abu Dave posted:How bad is Rock N Roller Coaster with strobe lights and such? Strobes I think were mostly at the very beginning during the coaster launch (which has a countdown so you can close your eyes for it), as this is where the snapshot is. I think the rest of the track just has regular lighting for the environment.
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Sep 15, 2015 17:33
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I'm currently looking at hitting Not-So-Scary on Sunday.
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Sep 16, 2015 03:28
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I've been attending HHN since 2006, worked as a scareactor in 2012 and 2013, and attended several other theme park haunts and smaller local houses and trails around the country (and I'll be attending more this year). HHN is actually the tamest in terms of scares out of all the ones I went to. They have really huge production values and free reign to do licensed houses for big name movies, TV shows, and in one case the Resident Evil video games, but they tend to follow a somewhat formulaic pattern of scares and put heavy restrictions on just what the actors can do. We always try to push the envelope, but it's a corporate environment with limited freedom. Most actors even on the street simply walk up and try to scream or shake something or swing their hand toward your face as they pass by or maybe shout something in your ear after sneaking up from behind, then they move on. For instance, the "three step rule". Actors on the street can only take three steps to follow someone with a scare, then they need to step away. There's strict rules against actually chasing people. To get around this, you move in another direction after every three steps and then move toward the target again. Or you pinball between scares so you always maneuver right back toward the same target. In one case I simply walked about 100 feet behind a girl, making it look like I was just going toward her for a scare but never actually getting close. She ended up so paranoid about what I was planning that she sprinted out of the zone without me ever needing to get close enough to see the whites of her eyes. In 2012 we were given specific rules against looming over people, as my cast was intentionally all over 6 feet (I was the second shortest at 6'2) to fit our Beast characters and we were physically very imposing without any need for stilts. That said, it can be intense for very jumpy people. If you suffer from panic attacks or anxiety over typical horror movie jump scares, don't go. Also don't go if you're mentally sensitive to loud noises (physical sensitivity is mitigated by earplugs or your hands, but don't go if a really loud noise causes you to suffer PTSD flashbacks or something).
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Sep 19, 2015 21:25
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Old Man Pants posted:I saw multiple cast members with chainsaws corner female guests who were obviously very afraid, and try to rattle myself and my wife, but as someone who's had someone put a gun to their head more than once I'm not scared of much in the bully scare zones. This is simply not allowed. What you saw was a scareactor breaking the rules, and they were likely given a talking to after they went backstage. Things like that happen, but management is constantly trying to stomp it out. Again, I worked as a scareactor in both houses and streets for 2 consecutive years. I'm intimately familiar with what is and is not allowed and I can identify what's actually intended and when someone is breaking the rules. Or if it's not breaking a specifically given rule, they see the behavior and give a note backstage to correct it before someone gets hurt from it.
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Sep 20, 2015 17:16
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Old Man Pants posted:Good to know. It soured my wife on the experience of HHN, to the point that I don't think she'll go again. I might try to talk her into giving it another shot. Actually good to know that it was just some idiots, and not what's actually encouraged by management, forgive my misconceptions. The restrictions also depend on the individual directors and coordinators monitoring behavior, as well as any requests from whoever owns the rights to an IP that the house of scarezone is depicting. In 2012 our cast (the Beasts) got away with a lot of poo poo that wouldn't ordinarily fly, like hiding inside set dressing, because of how good we all did. However, the Walking Dead walkers outside Disaster were constantly being harassed by AMC's representatives to try and avoid their property accidentally offending anyone. They began getting more and more restrictions until by the end of the event they weren't allowed to have more than one walker scare the same individual simultaneously, only scare an individual once, and made to totally ignore anyone in wheelchairs. They subsequently ended up poorly received by guests.
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Sep 21, 2015 18:00
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Circutron posted:I've heard that 2012 was a pretty wild year for interactions between scareactors on the streets and guests. Did anyone in your crew ever end up following people into stores? I do remember that it was hyped up that year that the only "safe" places were the restrooms and the dining areas of the restaurants. Indeed we did, due to the rather unusual aspects to the streets. That was when construction was going on for both Transformers and Diagon Alley, resulting in large sections of the park being inaccessible to guests and surrounded by construction walls and bright floodlights (and in the case of Transformers, visible active construction). The relatively new parade also threw in a bit of a crimp in their scarezone plans, as set dressing along the parade route needed to be quickly movable to let them be shoved into place during the park closing and then removed as soon as the night was over. So rather than set scarezones, we had roaming hordes. There were the Beasts (that was me), Vampires, Traditionals, Warriors, and Prisoners. There was also a horde of walkers outside the Walking Dead exit who didn't move. The main hordes would change their location every 90 minutes (each scarezone or house has an A and B cast that rotate every 45 minutes, so each cast would get a turn in the particular zone before shifting over) and unlike most other years, scareactors had no specific parts of a zone they were restricted to. When we were scaring in New York, each of us had the entire street and sidewalk from the popcorn cart outside Ben & Jerry's to the Twister entrance, plus Sting Alley, the side streets, and Gramercy Park to scare in. This was way too much ground for us to reliably fill with less than 20 people, but it gave unprecedented freedom. We all got very creative working our angles and hiding spots; I was very fond of going up to someone sitting on a ledge or bench, seeming curious for a few seconds, and then leaping up to squat next to them and growl at them. I also used the expanded rules to take previously unheard of routes to sneak up on people. Like near MIB there's some seating near a concession stand that's normally only accessible from one entrance. So I simply walked across the grass and past some bushes to drop myself right behind someone without being seen entering. On the ledges used for seating in KidZone, I would find an empty space around the corner and crawl along the ledge to get right behind someone's head. One especially memorable instance was scaring some people as they entered Sting Alley, then running down the street with the Blues Brothers stage and leaping out at them from the opposite end of the alley. This was the first year sidewalks were open for scaring, with the restriction that we only move at a walking pace. But as a reward for good behavior or excellent performance, our stage managers would lead us into a restaurant or store and give us 1 minute to roam around inside. We couldn't do most of our traditional scares due to concerns about safety and property damage, but some people are panicked enough that just walking toward them in a "safe zone" can make them bolt across the building. I personally was in the MIB store, Universal store near the entrance, Finnegan's lobby and bar, the arcade, and I think Mel's. We also stretched the restroom rules for a bit, simply hiding outside them to scare people on their way out. Eventually they started putting invisible borders for us after management witnessed too many people refusing to enter or leave restrooms.
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Sep 21, 2015 23:01
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