Walt Disney World and Disneyland(s) Discussion

[Kamandi]

We don't have a House of Blues here, so I'm still OK with it.

I'm not expecting much from the non-Sit Downs. Do I need to make reservations for the Counter Service places?

 

[cokebabies]

I'm thinking about doing a Halloween trip sometime in mid October. Does anyone know if there are other things to do for Halloween in Disney besides the the Mickey not so scary Halloween party? My daughter's six and I think she's still too young for the universal attractions but what else does Disney have to offer?

Halloween, not much. There'll be some decorating in the parks, but the Party is the big Halloween thing. But if you haven't done it before, the Halloween Party is a LOT of fun.

But yeah, definitely skip USF. Horror Nights is almost too much for my wife to handle (she went in one haunted house and refused to do any others).

I'm kinda thinking that you could find a better substitute for House of Blues. That place exists elsewhere and though it's adequately good, it's not unique to Walt Disney World. If you end up seeing a show there, I think it would add to the experience but I wouldn't actively seek it out to eat there.

I didn't say anything, because some people really seem to love HOB. I thought it was good, but haven't bothered going back.

 

[YoNoSe]

Do I need to make reservations for the Counter Service places?

Nope. They do get crowded in the summer but you just need to have a bit of patience.

 

[cokebabies]

Nope. They do get crowded in the summer but you just need to have a bit of patience.

Yep, after a couple of trips you get good at doing the Terminator scan of the room, spotting the people that look like they're ready to get up.

 

[Kamandi]

Maybe I should just walk up to the table "Ah you Sarah Conna?"

 

[cokebabies]

Maybe I should just walk up to the table "Ah you Sarah Conna?"

No, just give them a good old T-1000, "Get out."

 

[crows]

Halloween, not much. There'll be some decorating in the parks, but the Party is the big Halloween thing. But if you haven't done it before, the Halloween Party is a LOT of fun.

But yeah, definitely skip USF. Horror Nights is almost too much for my wife to handle (she went in one haunted house and refused to do any others).




I didn't say anything, because some people really seem to love HOB. I thought it was good, but haven't bothered going back.

I do horror nights every year, pretty big fan, the best halloween experience for me was going in the Jason, Leatherface and Freddy houses, the costumes were sick. It was like really meeting Jason, the detail in the houses sometimes is amazing. but. yes its really extreme for young kids. sometimes i see people bringing their 3-4 year olds and those kids scream and cry, and the parents dont care,

 

[YoNoSe]

Yep, after a couple of trips you get good at doing the Terminator scan of the room, spotting the people that look like they're ready to get up.

No, just give them a good old T-1000, "Get out."

I've never tried the Get Out but I have asked for a Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range at the Turkey Leg cart.

 

[cokebabies]

I've never tried the Get Out but I have asked for a Phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range at the Turkey Leg cart.

Only what you see, pal.

 

[YoNoSe]

 

[Agent0028]

Just trying one more time to see if anyone has any feedback.

Hey Coke, sorry if I'm too late, I hardly ever visit the board anymore... I've never done single rider, but I'm pretty sure you miss the dungeon where you pass by the one eyed witch statue and the door to the potions classroom (where you hear a professor chastising Neville if you listen close enough), you will also miss the greenhouse (where you see mandrakes, which is really the only cool thing about the greenhouse otherwise its just a long hot wait), but the best part is when you enter the castle, you pass the hourglasses for the house contest, a statue of who I think is Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. You might go through the Headmaster's chambers where Dumbledore welcomes you to Hogwarts and talks about a few ride plot points I shant spoil. I believe the single rider line does take you into the DADA classroom where our intrepid trio talk to you about skipping Binns lecture. I think you miss the Gryffindor common room and the Fat Lady's portrait, but you do get to see the sorting hat just before boarding.

As a huge Potterhead, I'd rather wait with a good friend than do single rider. Hope that helps!

 

[cokebabies]

Hey Coke, sorry if I'm too late, I hardly ever visit the board anymore... I've never done single rider, but I'm pretty sure you miss the dungeon where you pass by the one eyed witch statue and the door to the potions classroom (where you hear a professor chastising Neville if you listen close enough), you will also miss the greenhouse (where you see mandrakes, which is really the only cool thing about the greenhouse otherwise its just a long hot wait), but the best part is when you enter the castle, you pass the hourglasses for the house contest, a statue of who I think is Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar Slytherin. You might go through the Headmaster's chambers where Dumbledore welcomes you to Hogwarts and talks about a few ride plot points I shant spoil. I believe the single rider line does take you into the DADA classroom where our intrepid trio talk to you about skipping Binns lecture. I think you miss the Gryffindor common room and the Fat Lady's portrait, but you do get to see the sorting hat just before boarding.

As a huge Potterhead, I'd rather wait with a good friend than do single rider. Hope that helps!

Nope - I'm going first week of June, so you just made it in time - thanks.

Personally, I have less than zero interest in the Potter property. I just want to do the ride. My wife loves the Potter stuff, but hates simulators. I don't know what almost any of the stuff you mentioned is, so I'll show it to her - I'm sure she'll know all of it. I just don't want to have to wait in a 90+ minute line for the sole purpose of seeing what the line looks like.

I'm hoping after 2 years open (I think) it won't be as insane as everything I've read indicates it is, but I don't have too high of a hope.

 

[Shropt]

Nope - I'm going first week of June, so you just made it in time - thanks.

Personally, I have less than zero interest in the Potter property. I just want to do the ride. My wife loves the Potter stuff, but hates simulators. I don't know what almost any of the stuff you mentioned is, so I'll show it to her - I'm sure she'll know all of it. I just don't want to have to wait in a 90+ minute line for the sole purpose of seeing what the line looks like.

I'm hoping after 2 years open (I think) it won't be as insane as everything I've read indicates it is, but I don't have too high of a hope.

My wife went last wednesday with her mother to do the Potter ride. There was over a 2 hour wait for the ride only 1 hour after the park opened. Her mom did the single rider option and didn't wait more than 5 minutes. She did miss the cool stuff inside the castle though.

 

[YoNoSe]

I love Potter and look forward to visiting the park one day (we keep saying "next trip") but no way would I wait 2 hrs even if the queue was spectacular. Unless there's a drinking game.

 

[Agent0028]

When I say I won't do single rider...I should probably note that I'm a local so its easy for me to go during the off times and I go there first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. My friend and I went last year, first weekend in June, and got on really quickly after rope drop. So if your wife wants to see the queue, and you can make plans to be at the park when it opens, everyone should be happy.

A few extra notes on the queue itself. It's nothing really spectacular, and for the non-Potterhead its probably only slightly better than average, but for those of us that are huge Potterheads, its the closest we'll ever get to walking the halls of Hogwarts.

P.S. I forgot to mention that talking portraits which are pretty amazing. When they're not moving, they really do look like a regular painting and when they do move it still looks like a painting coming to life as opposed to a video or cartoon in a frame.

 

[cokebabies]

When I say I won't do single rider...I should probably note that I'm a local so its easy for me to go during the off times and I go there first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. My friend and I went last year, first weekend in June, and got on really quickly after rope drop. So if your wife wants to see the queue, and you can make plans to be at the park when it opens, everyone should be happy.

Yeah, that's what we'll probably wind up doing. I think it's a waste, since I'd rather do the Marvel Island rides first thing, but if she's going to see the queue, there's really no other way.

 

[YoNoSe]

When I say I won't do single rider...I should probably note that I'm a local so its easy for me to go during the off times and I go there first thing in the morning to beat the crowds. My friend and I went last year, first weekend in June, and got on really quickly after rope drop. So if your wife wants to see the queue, and you can make plans to be at the park when it opens, everyone should be happy.

A few extra notes on the queue itself. It's nothing really spectacular, and for the non-Potterhead its probably only slightly better than average, but for those of us that are huge Potterheads, its the closest we'll ever get to walking the halls of Hogwarts.

P.S. I forgot to mention that talking portraits which are pretty amazing. When they're not moving, they really do look like a regular painting and when they do move it still looks like a painting coming to life as opposed to a video or cartoon in a frame.

Yeah, it's a tougher pill to swallow if your Florida time is limited and expensive. That said, your description makes me want to check it more than I did.

 

[Agent0028]

I can understand being reluctant with a time limit. Do you spend much time at Universal when you visit? Honestly I only go for HP and the coasters, then I usually wind up riding other things just because I'm there.

Has the news about the HP expansion filtered out of state yet? That stuff sounds really exciting if they can do what was leaked.

Coke, I'd say close to half of the people in attendance at Universal on any given day are packed into Hogsmeade. You shouldn't have too big of a problem with Marvel Super Hero Island. Hulk and Spidey can get longish lines, but if you're there pretty early I think you'll be fine. Have you done IOA before?

 

[YoNoSe]

I've never been to Universal. We do WDW at least once a year. We planned on hitting Universal when Potter first opened but the crowds looked crazy so we thought we'd let it die down first. Now that there's news of expansion (the news made it to Jersey but I don't think it's gotten over the Rockies yet) we figure we'll wait for that. Then I'm sure we'll find another reason to put it off. We're Potter fans but we are bigger Disney fans so it's always a compromise we don't want to make when we start seriously planning our trips.

 

[cokebabies]

Coke, I'd say close to half of the people in attendance at Universal on any given day are packed into Hogsmeade. You shouldn't have too big of a problem with Marvel Super Hero Island. Hulk and Spidey can get longish lines, but if you're there pretty early I think you'll be fine. Have you done IOA before?

Oh yeah, plenty of times. Not for a few years, though... not since the HP stuff opened.

So we'll probably just do the HP stuff early, since that's the only real wild card. The other Islands might build up a crowd later on, but at least I know how to deal with crowds there better.