Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Disney Highlights --Journal Finale

Besides the ones I already mentioned, other "must sees" are here in my final installment.

Soarin' --Soaring --Flying is what it's like! 7 people sit in a ski lift chair with feet dangling. They provide a space under your seat for loose shoes and other belongings. You are swung forward over what must be a gigantic, seamless screen--and you are "flying" at various speeds over beautiful scenes --and you feel the sensations as though you really were speeding up over a mountain top --over trees and water, cities, forests, etc. You feel you need to lift your feet or they'll drag into the tree tops! A fabulous thrilling ride.
But too short! (Did I already mention this one? think so)

You want to get fast passes for this one --as the line was very long without the pass. Again, being disabled was another way to go in sooner. I don't know if our fast pass was necessary or helpful or not. One way or another, we didn't wait long.

Another event was an interactive comedy show, bringing in people from the audience on screens. The Laugh Floor by Monsters, Inc. My grandson laughed really loudly on this one, because they had a laugh-o-meter --and he wanted to help them reach the top.

Micky's Philharmagic --(like Philharmonic) This is a delightful 3D movie in the Magic Kingdom with a music/orchestra theme --good old Disney movie stuff.

It's Tough to be a Bug --inspired by A Bug's Life --was in the Animal Kingdom --this one is the one that scared the kids but was enjoyable for us adults.

Downtown Disney is a shopping area that's quite fun to visit. They have a big LEGO Store with a huge Lego dragon out front, a family with cameras, and lifesize dogs --all made of legos. There is a classic toy store with some of the older toys still available.

We went to see the Country Bear Jamboree which used to be a must-see event but seems a little "dated" now. Perhaps we were seated too close. Also General Electric's Carousel of Progress at the Tomorrowland side of Magic Kingdom. I still enjoy that one and think it is instructive about the development of electrical use in homes, etc. It was first seen by me and my family at the NY World's Fair in 1964?--along with It's a Small World and the Hall of Presidents.

My husband tells me that Kruschev saw It's a Small World at the World's Fair and determined that he would want to go to Disney World.

My son-in-law and the boys most loved the Buzz Light Year ride in The Magic Kingdom. ON that ride there were video game shooters for every rider to "man" and you could accumulate points for shooting at certain X targets --My son in law was really good at it and into the hundreds of thousands of points compared to my 20,000.

Dinosaur --in the Magic Kingdom was a ride in the dark with lots of scary creatures leaping at you. This scared the boys, too, and was when our grandson said he just kept telling himself Grandma's words, "It's just pretend! It's just pretend!"

Another EPCOT ride also featured dinosaurs, The Universe of Energy, featuring Ellen Degeneres as a comedic guide. It did explore the various sources of energy and the various advantages and problems of each. I didn't think it demonized any groups as liberals tend to do on this subject. It said our minds were unlimited resources and suggested hope for our energy difficulties would come through human ingenuity.

The Swiss Family Robinson tree house was climbed by the others in the family.

Regrets would be that we didn't take time to watch any parades and we didn't stay for the fireworks in the Magic Kingdom. But we did see the closing light show at EPCOT which is worth seeing --but a good idea to hug the fence around the EPCOT lake to reserve a place with visibility--as some of the light show is at lake level. We were also warned that it could get pretty smoky from the fireworks if you watched them downwind --which we did not.

Two reserved restaurant dinners planned by my daughter, our excellent tour guide --were the Liberty Tree Tavern at noon in the Fort Wilderness area of the Magic Kingdom --which is an early American tavern in an early american village with paddle wheel boat to ride and a train into the frontier --neither of which we did this trip. The Bear jamboree and one of the roller coasters is here.

And also a French Restaurant in the evening at EPCOT --which was very pricey with what seemed to me to be rather Americanized French food. We had a table with a view and it was a nice way to finish the day before the fireworks.







"God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance and have eternal life."--the Bible

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