Walt Disney World Trip Reports
Topic: Randy's Report: MK

#	Author	Message
1	RandySavage Wed 4/9/2008 9:51a	I just returned from a family trip to WDW, the first in ten years and the first with three generations of family, ranging from 2 to 75. Here are my detailed reactions to share and discuss: MAGIC KINGDOM: Having not visited this park for a decade and having read a great deal of the criticism of the Magic Kingdom online before our trip, I was mentally prepared for negative changes and keeping an eagle eye out for problems and flaws. While only taking in a handful of attractions (the kids always wanted to return to the Beach Club's Stormalong Bay after a few hours at the parks), I feel like I was able to get a decent sense of the state of the park. PROS: Haunted Mansion: The newly enhanced version of this classic was a 5/5. Fix the loud hissing of the crow animatronics and it would be flawless. An example of the timelessness of a truly great attraction so long as it's given a little TLC. It's a Small World: Apparently this ride had been suffering before its recent rehab. Everything was ship-shape during our visit. Pirates of the Caribbean: I thought the new scenes and FX were well integrated with old. The Barbossa animatronic looked nothing like films' Barbossa, just a cool-looking new pirate captain, so that's what we took him to be. We got stuck for a little while near the last Jack Sparrow animatronic - his movement was great and none of his dialogue was repeated. I had read reports of the new AA standing out from the old ones in an awkward way, but I thought the Auctioneer moved just as well as Barbossa and the first two Jacks. The show building, new signage, queue and ride vehicles were all great, and I enjoyed the new exterior background music from the films. The kids loved this attraction. On the negative side, I did find that some of the soundtrack was difficult to hear and static-ky. On our second ride, I noticed what looked like many pieces of gum stuck to the bottom of the first town bridge as we passed underneath. I hope gum is removed on a daily basis, but I've read online reports to the contrary, and it looked like some had been there for quite a while. On another sad note, all those neat little fountains hidden around the Castillo had been turned off and filled with potted plants. Main Street Characters: We had some fun with the "Town Gossip Lady" on Main Street who told us, among other things, that she suspected that Pluto had fleas. Buzz Lightyear: I didn't get to ride this one, but it quickly became a favorite of our 4-year old. Tom Sawyer Island: Growing up, this had been one of my favorites. Much of what makes it dear to my heart is still there. On the other hand, about half of the Fort guns were broken (missing triggers, not making sounds) and Aunt Polly's looked to be permanently closed... for shame. Cracked open an old copy of Twain's "Huck Finn" the other night and as I read it thought back to how Disney really got the Island right. Thank goodness the place had not been re-themed to Pirates. Park at Night: The whole place looked gorgeous at night, particularly Frontierland and Adventureland. CONS: Defoliated Trees: I'm not sure if this has to do with early spring in Florida, but I noticed that a large number of trees in the Magic Kingdom (particularly the four in Town Square, all in central Fantasyland and a few in Adventureland) were defoliated. I'm curious as to whether these trees were sick/dead or whether they were deciduous and their spring leaves had not yet come in. Jungle Cruise: Here is an example of a once brilliant attraction that lost its luster decades ago. Problems included mist-sprayers out in the open - no one even attempted to cover them with foliage; the elephants that no longer squirt riders; and a gun sound no longer startles. Our guide was decent but his constant ripping on his job ("I have to do this 564 more times today"), the attraction ("these animals are real, just bolted down") and Disney World ("where every ride ends in a gift shop") made him sound bitter and cynical and took away from the experience (and out of the 1920's jungle). I think this ride could be brought back to E-ticket standards by dropping the skippers, adding a pre-recorded spiel (blasphemy to some), new animatronics and enhanced FX. Magic Carpets: While the little ones in our group enjoyed this addition, I found the paving and plastic-looking caravan tents of the surrounding area to be below par for the otherwise richly-detailed Adventureland. Disney Vacation Club: Every land had its own DVC Kiosk. Enough is enough. Merchandise: How to operate a shop at WDW: stock one shelf with Princesses, one with Pirates and one with High School Musical. Leave a display for stuffed Disney characters. Repeat ad nauseum. It felt like every shop in every land, park and resort was selling the same stuff. Main Street Casualties: Cinema, Magic Shop, Penny Arcade... all senselessly removed so Disney could hawk more merchandise from High School Musical, Princesses and Pirates. Wishes: The fireworks were fine, but the accompanying music/songs were far too saccharine for my taste. Disneyland's "Remember" with its review of classic attractions would be welcome. Fantasyland, the Asphalt Desert: Needs some shade trees and additional greenery badly. Tomorrowland: Tomorrowland lacks an identity. It has one foot in the 1970s (Terrace and Noodle Restaurants, Space Mountain, Speedway, half of the Peoplemover, Carousel), one foot in the cartoon world (Stitch and Monsters, Inc.) and one foot in Buck Rogers (AstroOrbitor, Avenue of Planets). For aesthetic purposes and overall cohesiveness it needs to bring all these loose ends together in an overarching theme. Utilidors?: I remember when the Magic Kingdom's underground Utilidors were famously used to move cast members and supplies around the park without interrupting the guest experience. I noticed several cast members in several parks who were "on stage" but who appeared to be off duty (walking out at the end of a shift, texting on their cell phones, etc.) or others pushing large dollies of supplies through crowded park areas. I don't remember seeing that in my previous visits ten years ago. Is the Utilidor system still in use? Spill on Sidewalk: My eagle eyes noticed one spilled ice cream cone on Main Street that had not been attended to, but it could have happened moments before I saw it, so I won't be too harsh. OVERALL: While I noticed a number of problems (above) at the Magic Kingdom, I would grade the overall condition of the Magic Kingdom as a B+. Despite the horror stories I had been reading on the Net about the neglect shown to the park by management, it looked to me to be reasonably maintained and quite beautiful (and I was actively looking for flaws!). While we did not spend a great deal of time at the MK, our family enjoyed the time we had there. Epcot will be next.
2	bobbelee9 Wed 4/9/2008 5:18p	Interesting and thought out report, most enjoyable. My only comment is....please don't suggest pre-recorded guides on the JC. The later you go at night, the tireder they are, so the dumber the jokes, and the more fun the ride is. Please we need to keep the guides.
3	Autopia Deb Wed 4/9/2008 8:50p	Part of the Jungle Cruise charm is never knowing if your skipper will be a dud or laugh-out-loud brilliant (usually he or she is in between). With pre-recording there won't be much point in riding it more than once a visit. It would get real stale real fast.
4	RandySavage Wed 4/9/2008 9:12p	^ I understand where you're coming from, but imagine riding the JC skipperless, with a piped-in guide (maybe Trader Sam) telling you about the dangers and wonders of the jungle, while hippos and headhunters and other surprises were much more animated. I don't think that would get any more stale than say Pirates. With our skipper it was "let's make fun of how bad this ride is."

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