Christmas at the World ( Day 3, Pirates, Characters, Rock and Roll, and Terrifying attractions)

Christmas Tree at Hollywood Studios.

Mists over the Seven Seas Lagoon

Day 3 of our Christmas Disney holiday began early.  We had an appointment with Chef Mickey at 7:30 for breakfast for which we didn't want to be late. Figuring in wait times for the buses and travel times to the parks we had set an early morning alarm so we could be at the bus stop in front of the French Quarter by about 6:30 AM.  Our bus arrived and we were off to the Magic Kingdom long before the park opened.  Chef Mickey's is at the Contemporary Resort so the Magic Kingdom stop was the Closet stop for us that morning. When we arrived at the Magic Kingdom there was a feeling that we had the whole Magic Kingdom to our selves.  No one else was there at the time and we took a few moments to appreciate a magical moment solitude at a busy vacation destination.  A mist hung over the Seven Seas Lagoon and all the approaches to the park were deserted.  My wife took a picture of the mists on the lagoon that has become one of my favorite pictures from the trip and has become the Wall Paper for our desk top at home.  This mornings destination was breakfast with the Disney Characters.  Breakfast at Chef Mickey's, in the Atrium of the Contemporary resort,  is probably my favorite Character Encounter in all of Disney world. Breakfast is varied with lots of fruit, egg and potato casseroles, Mickey Waffles and pastries of all sorts. My personal vendetta against the bacon at Disney was reinforced by the limp flavorless stuff that was suppose to be bacon on the Buffet, However, the rest of the food was fresh, flavorful and hot.  Beside, While the food was good, the focus of a visit to Chef Mickeys is the opportunity to interact with all the Disney Characters.  Goofy, Mickey and Donald all visited our table and spent time with us as we took photos and generally had a blast.

Jim and Mickey are Pals

A Librarian where ever she goes.

Minnie was there.. but No Chefs hat.

Rock and Roll Roller Coaster (Downloaded Picture)

After breakfast, we had planned to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios. So we hopped on a bus from the Contemporary resort. I personally believe that some of the most adrenalin packed attractions live in Disney's Hollywood Studios.  The Rock and Roll Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror are within a few dozen yards of each other and I would say that for pure excitement you cannot beat those two rides.  The back story of the Rock and Roll Roller Coaster is set at a Recording Studio where Aerosmith has been making a new album.  The Band is late for a gig but because the band always looks out for their fans, they arrange for back stage passes to the gig,  The coaster ride is the journey from the recording studio, through the streets of Los Angeles to the auditorium Aerosmith is playing. Upon boarding the "Lemos" visitors are lauched from the 0 to 60 launch in less that 3 seconds. From launch  to the final curve and drop, the ride is unrelenting for over 3,000 feet. Often the rider doesn't know up from down as the coaster loops three times as it plunges and banks through the Neon signs of Los Angeles. To add to the excitement 32,000 watts of Aerosmith soundtrack are pumped through 125 speakers and 25 sub-woofers in each car.  The effect grabs you by the ears and eyes and doesn't let go till you finally stop at the end of the ride.  We road the Rock and Roll Roller Coaster twice that day and would have done it more if there wasn't so many other fantastic things to do At Disney's Hollywood Studios. I didn't mention that Except for the Illuminated road signs the ride takes place completely in the dark so you really don't know whats coming. 

0 to 60 in 2.8 seconds (Downloaded Picture)

Twilight Zone Tower Of Terror (Downloaded Picture)

Close to the Rock and Roller Coaster sits an icon of Disney Studios.  When visitors see this attraction form a distance they know they are close to Hollywood studio's.  The Tower of Terror sits high an large at the end of Sunset boulevard and is hard to miss from all over the park. The build up to the ride is one of the best pieces of hype I have ever seen.  Dark and scary, what the visitor to the attraction sees is identical to the kinds of things that were on the Twilight Zone. I know people that haven seen the Hype were reluctant ever to ride the ride again because of how scary the hype was in conjunction with the ride. When the attraction first opened the ride would open the doors for a brief view of the park before dropping to the bottom of the ride.  Later, a randomized series of drops and assents was added to give the rider a different experience each time they road the attraction.  At the end of some of the assents a window would open and you could watch Disney Studios disappear form view and the car was once again fell away.  A feature of the attraction of which I wasn't aware until recently add additional excitement to the experience.  People who are aficionados of Roller Coasters and Thrill rides often judge a rides worth by the amount of "Air Time" the  attraction provides.  "Air time", from what I could gather is the amount of time you spend floating above your seat.  The Tower of Terror actually pulls the car downward at a rate of acceleration greater than gravity.  You immediately pop out of your seat and if it wasn't for the seat belt, you would be bumping your head on the top of the elevator. This so startled my wife that she not only grabbed my leg, but the leg of the other person sitting next to her.  Fortunately,  the lady sitting next to my wife was so startled herself that she didn't notice the grab.  The attraction is in my opinion one of the most fun at Disney world.

Mr Potato Head at Toy Story Maina (Downloaded Picture)

One of the newer attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios, Toy Story Mania has quickly risen on my list of "Must Do" attractions.  The concept of this ride is fairly simple but the execution is anything but simple.  Visitors are shrunken to the size of toys as they enter Andy's room to board the ride.  There is no gadget that accomplishes this feat.  As visitors proceed through the queue they see large toys that give the impression of being the size of Woody or Buzz.  Visitors board the ride in Andy's room and are whisked into  a Three D world of Boardwalk Arcade games. Visitors shoot darts or balls or even hoops to score points.  The points are tracked and a winner in each car is displayed at the end of the ride.  There is a frenetic energy caused by how the games unfold. I started  shooting for the highest scoring targets  though I would probably have better been served to score points by shooting more avialable and lower scoring targets that were easier to hit.  Very soon however, any strategy i might have had was out the window and I was shooting and hooping anything that looked like there were points involved.  I believe my wife beat me that first game but upon a return visit I was able to take her down. Each time you ride the attraction the visitor is given a different set of games to play. Unfortunately,  our return visit had to wait for another different trip to Walt Disney World.  The attraction is very kid friendly and Adults get a big kick out of the attraction as well, so the lines for Toy Story Mania tend to be long, even in the slower times of the years such as early December. Here is a tip for new visitors to Disney's Hollywood Studios:  Go get your fast passes early for this attractions. It isn't unusual for fast passes to sell out quickly for Toy Story Mania.  My wife is a master of fast passes and we usually get to ride our favorite attractions more than once. But because of all the other rides and the line at this attraction, we were unable to ride Toy Story Mania more than once on our early December trip.

Toy Story Mania Fun (Downloaded Picture)

Night settles on Hollywood Studios.

We took a late lunch at Hollywood Studios when we ate at the Sci Fi Drive In Theater.  The food served at the Sci Fi was no better than fair considering all the other wonderful food we had eaten over the past few days.   I think I had a burger and my wife had the chicken.  It might have been the other way around.  As you can see from my memory, the food was unremarkable, pretty standard fair and rather expensive for what we got.  The attraction of the Sci Fi Drive In Theater isn't the food anyway. If you have a fondness for old B movie Science Fiction then The Sci Fi Drive in Theater is for you.  Everyone eats in a "Car"  facing a large projection screen and on a about a 45 minute loop, trailers for some of the old B movie Science Fiction movies are show in all their B movie Glory.  Interspersed between the Trailers were old vintage 50's shorts. Some had to do with how the 50's saw the future and the gagets that would be available in the 50's version of the future. A few cartoon shorts were also included in the Loop. Tex Avery's "The Cat Who Hated People" was on the loop. Of course the short features a cat who hates people so much he goes to the moon. Much to his dispair the moon is a silly place and not to his liking at all. He returns to the earth with a greater appreciation for people.   In my opinion The Cat who Hated People is a classic animated short. Surprisingly,  this shore was not a Disney Cartoon. Tex Avery worked for MGM when he made this cartoon.  Maybe this nod to the fact that when the park first opened it was Disney/MGM studios. The restaurant was fun but it was also the worst meal of our trip.  We went back last year with my daughter and her fiance and the food was better.  But still, if you go, go for the show and don't expect too much from the food.

Streets of New York before Dark

We didn't go watch the fire and water show, Fantasmic, this trip, Instead we opted to go to the Osborne Family Specatcale of Dancing Lights. Our plan was to go while Fantasmic was showing hoping the early show would draw most of the crowds away. We were wrong.  The Streets of  New York, where the display is set up, were packed. However, I have to say that I think there is something to be said for the shared experiences with a large group of people when the spectacle you are witnessing with them is this amazing.  Here are a few statistics about the display.  The Display opened in 1995 The Osbornes had just settled a law suit that some of their neighbors had  lodged against them. In the settlement, they were restricted to the number of hours the could have the displays running.  One time, A family arrived late,  the Osbornes took pity on them and turned the lights on for late comers.  The they were fined $10,000.00 for this transgression and the Neighborhood rallied to have the lights off perminatly.  Happily, Walt Disney World stepped in and took the light show over and the folks at Disney have been adding to it ever since. To give credit where credit is due, I found the backstory on the Studios Central web site.   At last count, there were 5 million lights on 350 miles of light strings. The display takes 800,000 watts of electricity to illuminate (No wonder the Osbornes wanted to find a someone to take it).  It takes over 21,000 man hours every year to put the display up.  All I can say about the whole thing is,  Wow.  Every where you look you see walls of lights or spinning displays, Christmas Trees or Angels.  The lights will flash and change in time with music.  The Trans-Siberian Orchestra was the favorite of the Jennings Osborne and the visitors get a large dose of their music. Of course between the electronic music of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, more traditional Christmas music from Barbra Streisand and Jose Feliciano can be heard while the lights dance and spin and mesmerize.  The lights on their own are an awesome sight, but when they dance with the music it is a truly jaw dropping moment.

Santa and Mickey... in lights.

New York at Night

Two pirates.. (and some Disney Characters)

This third day at Disney ended with a trip boat trip on Bay Lake and the 7 Seas Lagoon. Some time ago, we had reserved seats on the Pirates and Pals Fireworks voyage. I was somewhat worried that we would be late because we were in Hollywood Studios and our Pirates and Pals thing was at the Contemporary resort.  But, as it was very late fall, the sun went down early and we were able to get as much of the lights as we wanted and still make it easily to the Contemporary resort. Included in the cost of the trip was "Desert" and a picture with Captain Hook and Smee.  The deserts were not impressive.  The cast members that manned the boat were funny and told lots of jokes.  They asked trivia questions and prizes were awarded for correct answers. I think at the end of the day, everyone got a prize of some sort.  We met Peter Pan at the end of the trip.  There were a few tidbits I learned about while on the cruise. For instance, The Electric Water pageant is the oldest attraction at Disney world.  The barges of the pageant have been towed around bay lake and the 7 Seas Lagoon since the park opened in 1971.  The pageant is very dated, the musical score is played on synthesizer.  But even so, Its kinda cool to know that something that was around with the park opened is still operating.  Sea monsters, flags and fireworks make up the cast of the Electric Water Pageant and we saw them all as our boat slipped passed each barge. The highlight of our voyage on the 7 seas lagoon was seeing the fireworks again from the boat.  Before when we saw the fireworks at the Christmas party we were close to the castle and the fireworks exploded all around us.  From the boat we could see all of them at once, giving us a wider view of the spectacular show.  I am still in awe of the person who does Tinkerbell on the cable that runs from the castle.  I would recommend seeing the fireworks from a boat on the lagoon to anyone, but i think there are less expensive options than the Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage.  In my mind, while worthwhile to do once, I don't have to do The Pirates and Pals Fireworks Voyage again.   After our Voyage ended and we docked at the contemporary resort form where we departed and we hopped a bus back to the French Quarter.  Day 3 was a big success.

King Neptune

Not Bad for 1971.