It\u2019s another great day \u2013 really hot out here by the pool (are you all very jealous?)
\nToday we are going to have lunch at the Swan and Dolphin then head over to the ICE exhibition at the Gaylord Palms later.\u00a0 But first what happened at Disney yesterday I hear you ask.<\/p>\n
We left the villa about midday and drove to Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM for those still struggling with change).\u00a0 It was really hot as we went into the Park but also really busy.\u00a0 We headed down Hollywood Blvd through the shops towards the sorcerers hat and the Little Mermaid ride.\u00a0 Sadly, the standby entrance for Mermaid was full for the 1:20 show so we had to leave it.\u00a0 Instead we headed to the great movie ride.\u00a0 Being busy they had both carts running so with a little barrier hopping we got ourselves into the queue for the first cart.\u00a0 Why did we do this?\u00a0 Because for years they\u2019ve run only 1 cart and it goes through the Gangster interactive routine but those seasoned Great movie riders amongst you will recall that there is also a Cowboy interactive routine.\u00a0 Since we had not experienced this in years we wanted to! We got seats at the very front of the cart, although the Cowboy does not pick on the riders the way the Gangster does.\u00a0 There are no changes to the ride.\u00a0 We spotted the hidden Mickey and enjoyed the ride as ever.<\/p>\n
After this we decided to go through \u201cOne Man\u2019s Dream\u201d; a kind of exhibition telling the story of Walt and the theme parks.\u00a0 It has recently been re-furb\u2019d and has many very old and valuable artefacts like original cartoon cameras to show perspective and many old toys and models.\u00a0 There are models of most of the theme park castles that were to scale and used by the Imagineers and builders to create the real thing.\u00a0 There is a short movie in this attraction but we didn\u2019t watch it.<\/p>\n
We still did not mange to ride Toy Story Mania as the standby wait time was 120 minutes.\u00a0 This attraction is about 18 months old now yet still pulls in the crowds and we are still yet to experience it.\u00a0 Instead we headed on over to the Backlot Tour (an old fave).\u00a0 We were right at the front of the entrance when they closed the previous tour so we had a little wait time but were then at the front.\u00a0 We reminisced about the time when Paul starred in the Pearl Harbour scene and I stitched him up the with engine room part where he got dumped on by 1000 gallons of water.\u00a0 I don\u2019t think we ever posted those pics \u2013 but they were fab.\u00a0 We got good seats on the tram for catastrophe canyon and the props boneyard etc (there are some pics posted of this as well as various others including me in silly hats and one for you Mark \u2013 I almost bought you a T shirt but at Disney prices you just get a pic).<\/p>\n
We then looked in the Christmas shop and even had to give the Muppets 3D a miss as it had a long wait.\u00a0 So before going over to Epcot we had one final thing to do \u2013 The American Idol Experience. We made our way to the holding area where the pre-amble was taking place (some guy chivvying up the crowd and a cameraman filming).\u00a0 We eventually went in and managed to get good seats in the centre of the row and with small folks in front so had a very clear view of the stage.\u00a0 The 3 contestants were Jamie (a youth Pastor), Lauren (a newly wed) and Daniel (a 17 year old who looked about 25!!!).\u00a0 The first 2 were OK but Daniel stole the show.\u00a0 A standing ovation from about half the audience and even the Simon Cowell-a-like judge had to say good things.\u00a0 The guy was pretty awesome and stands a real chance of getting into next seasons Idol.\u00a0 Of course there is no Simon Cowell as a judge next season as he is set to launch X-Factor in the US.<\/p>\n
We came out of Idol at about 4:30 and left the park straight away.\u00a0 We really wanted to stay and see the Osborne family spectacle of lights but having only 3 days left on our passes we need to hop and make the most of them so, after a pit stop at McD\u2019s for some scran (we really do need to start eating better this trip) we went into Epcot.\u00a0 By this time it was starting to get dark and we headed straight onto Spaceship Earth.\u00a0 There was even a queue for this but it moved quickly and we were on in minutes.\u00a0 We are not as keen on Dame Judy as we were Jeremy Irons (narration for non Disney fan readers) but the interactive video building bit at the end is definitely a good addition.\u00a0 Paul had the idea to select Japanese as our language so that our answers would be truly random and we would get a different video (as we seem to end up with the same ones) but in the end we opted for English.\u00a0 The vid is posted here on the blog for your entertainment!<\/p>\n
When we got off Spaceship Earth we went over to the one thing we HAD to do at Epcot \u2013 Captain EO!\u00a0 After 15 years it is back.\u00a0\u00a0 MJ at his best in glorious 3D.\u00a0 I for one was gutted when this ride got replaced by \u2018Honey I Shrunk the Audience\u2019 so had to visit.\u00a0 No one knows how long Disney will keep it this time around. It had not been digitally remastered but they had added the hydraulic seat movement and other \u201c4D\u201d effects such as air blasting from vents, which definitely made it better.\u00a0 I\u2019m not sure all of the audience appreciated it as some were laughing (loudly I might add) at the 80\u2019s fashion and styling.\u00a0 Paul and I though, loved it.\u00a0 Captain EO is king!<\/p>\n
Being after 7pm by now a few rides were sadly shut, like the Land and Ellen\u2019s Universe of Energy.\u00a0 Soarin\u2019 had its usual long wait but the Sea\u2019s was open so we wandered past the animated seagulls and rode Nemo.\u00a0 Not much to say about this ride.\u00a0 It\u2019s designed for kids but is very well put together.\u00a0 Very impressive is the way the Nemo characters are projected into a real aquarium as other real fish and dolphins swim around.<\/p>\n
We came out and wanted to watch the fireworks but it was 8pm and they were not until 9 and we were both pretty shattered so decided to leave it.\u00a0 We exited the park and came straight home.\u00a0 After watching some TV (Family Guy \u2013 v funny) we went to bed about 10pm.\u00a0 Still not managing to stay up very late \u2013 we need to change that ahead of our all nighter to go and see the Shuttle launch!<\/p>\n
Well, I must go and get ready now, need to pack warm clothes for the ICE exhibition.<\/p>\n
Click Here to see our Video Postcard from the future<\/a><\/p>\n
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