Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, 9/11/21 and 9/12/21

[Yoshi]

With Disney World finally selling annual passes again, I was looking forward to being able to visit the 4 parks as much as I wanted, plus Blizzard Beach (and hopefully Typhoon Lagoon soon)

 

The wait at the Ticket and Transportation Center wasn't too bad for a Saturday. The whole process took about 40 minutes from getting in line to getting the actual passes.

 

It was strange to go to Disney World and not leave from a hotel room. Even after leaving Tampa at 8:15, we didn't actually walk into the Magic Kingdom until just after 11:00.

 

For a Saturday and the first weekend for new annual passholders I couldn't believe how empty it was. 2 hours after opening and Splash Mountain was a 5 minute wait and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was only 10 minutes. I used to prefer other mine trains with just 1 lift hill but with this being the only mine train around, I appreciate it more.

 

Haunted Mansion is back to the old operations with the stretching room.

 

Jungle Cruise had some new theming and others removed or updated. I did like the new scene with a partially sunken boat with monkeys taking over.

 

Space Mountain is probably my favorite coaster in the park. It feels a lot faster than the 28mph it goes. Sitting in the last row there was some good air time.

 

Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin is also another favorite ride for me. It's not as technologically impressive as Justice League but I like how the ride has no screens except the speed tunnel.

 

We saw Happily Ever After and Main Street was crowded for the low overall crowds but not too bad.

 

After the fireworks we went back to Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan's Flight and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.

 

We also rode It's A Small World, People Mover, Under The Sea Journey of the Little Mermaid and saw Mickey's PhilharMagic.

 

I'll post the EPCOT report later.

 

50th Anniversary Banners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Yoshi]

I kind of have mixed feelings about EPCOT. I still like the park but I miss what it once was before every new ride was tied to Disney characters or when the original rides were better like Journey Into Imagination.

 

Even getting to Test Track 15 minutes before park opening it already had a 45 minute wait so we decided to go to Soarin' instead. I waited at the exit since I can't really handle simulator type rides well anymore.

 

Living With The Land is always fun, and I look forward to trying the ride at night to see the greenhouses then.

 

After The Seas and Journey Into Imagination With Figment, we went back to Test Track since the wait was 25 minutes. I was not too comfortable with the room before the pre-show where every group stands on a circle and they were all close together. There were also announcements that the ride could close at any time because of severe weather. This is my favorite ride at EPCOT but I prefer the original version and also miss World of Motion. The high speed banked turn feels like a coaster.

 

After Gran Fiesta Tour, we walked around World Showcase. There were annual passholder previews from Ratatouille but only for people who were passholders prior to the new sale of Annual Passes.

 

The EPCOT Experience was cool to see future projects and had a neat model of the park with projection mapping.

 

Spaceship Earth is the last classic EPCOT dark ride that hasn't changed much (at least for the first half of the ride). I was glad to see the refurbishment was put on indefinite hold. I just would like to see the backwards portion of the ride restored to having show scenes to look at rather than a screen.

 

Before leaving, we stopped at the monorail to take a full circuit on the EPCOT loop. It's always fun to see Future World from the monorail.

 

It was a fun 2 day trip and I can't wait to go back.

 

Tron construction, I forgot to post this picture in the Magic Kingdom report.

 

 

 

I like the old pavilion logo flags.