Disney NEVER Ceases to Amaze Us
scubalab
Posts: 3,105
So, we arrived in Orlando last night to cap off our annual Thanksgiving break vacation. We start at the parks today. But last night, we all had Disney fever so we headed to Downtown Disney (I guess it's now called "Disney Springs).
By luck we walked up to the new light show. It is absolutely amazing and this YouTube video doesn't do it the justice it deserves. Technology is incredible - all done with 500 drones. Enjoy!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o5CQPcPF2Qc
By luck we walked up to the new light show. It is absolutely amazing and this YouTube video doesn't do it the justice it deserves. Technology is incredible - all done with 500 drones. Enjoy!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=o5CQPcPF2Qc Comments
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Mesmerising!
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Good stuff.Oh, Listen here mister. We got no way of understandin' this world. But we got as much sense of this bird flyin in the sky. Now there is a lot that bird don't know, but it don't change the fact that the world is happening to him all the same. What I am tryin to say is, is that the course of your life, well its changing, and you don't even see it- Forest Bondurant
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Al,
Glad you and the family are having a great time!
Mike -
Like
WOW
Okay?
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Nice
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Headed there January with wife and Emma. Staying at contemporary. Emma will be balling it up with her magic kingdom view
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how the price keeps going up and up.The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
I've always been mesmerized by Disney, too. I still haven't figured out how they manage to get folks to pay money to stand in line. One may do that, for free, at the DMV in any state, any week day.
We took the kids once to the one in FL (EDIT: The Disney thing, not the DMV!) when they were young (two families went together). It was OK -- not something I'd ever feel the need to do again.
Glad you're enjoying yourself, though (seriously, without a trace of sarcasm)!
I know it something many folks do enjoy. Sort of like taking a cruise (another pastime that eludes me). -
BlueMDPicker wrote: »Al,
Glad you and the family are having a great time!
Mike
Mike,
Thanks for the kind words. We really enjoyed meeting you Sandy, Geri, and Mitch. Thank you so much for welcoming us to your place Thanksgiving evening. You made us feel 'at home' while away from our home on the holiday. My daughters loved the cookies Sandy sent back with them Thursday night. You have a wonderful family - please pass our thanks on to them all for their hospitality.
While at Epcot today, I thought of your story about the management of the construction of the aquarium in 'The Seas'. Still quite an impressive attraction even though it may not be the biggest any more.
-Al
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Joey - We're staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge this trip, and I have to say that after a long first day, the bus ride back to the resort seemed endless. There is definitely something to be said about staying on a monorail route! We stayed at the Beach Club last trip and it was nice walking out of Epcot and being a few hundred yards from our room, or taking the monorail to Magic Kingdom. AKL is quite a cool place and does have it's benefits - We have a balcony overlooking the 'savanna' and have seen many of the animals already. My younger daughter has wanted to stay here for a while, and this trip we let her decide.
January is a great time to go (crowd-wise). That is when we used to go. Hope you have a great trip! -
We're big Disney fans and have been many times, in fact the wife and kids were all just here for Thanksgiving and we went (for our first time) to DisneyLand here on the West Coast. It's a quality vacation dollar, especially so with kids!VA HT HK AVR20II, Sony S9000ES CD/DVD/SACD, Polk Audio RC80i / Polk Audio CSi3, 60" Panasonic Plasma, Nordost / Signal Cable A2 / Wireworld / Pangea / Magic Power
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Motorhead/Mark,
Yeah, the prices of Disney can sting a bit, and the lines are certainly frustrating. I guess it's something that's just not for everyone, and I completely get it. I HATED Disney for those exact reasons the time I went after college before we had kids. However, when we took our kids for the first time back in 2009, we fell in love with Disney. Just seeing how much the girls loved everything and believed in the 'magic' was (and still is) priceless. I'm still amazed that even with the millions of guests they host, that they make you feel like you are their only guest. We now realize that you get what you pay for.
Although the prices have gone way up since we started coming with the kids 7+ years agi, there are some things that are not so expensive. Food is great and is no more expensive than eating out most other places. Disney Springs is free (including parking), although it's really just a glorified Disney themed shopping mall. However, because it's free, it was CRAZY busy and crowded last night. You can still get some pretty good deals if you catch a good promotion. (We got an upgraded room and free dining this trip.)
As for the lines, yes, they can be crazy. You just have to decide what's important to you and plan your trip around that. We try to go when crowds are historically lower (late summer, January, the week after Thanksgiving). I agree... paying top dollar (no sales) for peak times and dealing with twice the amount of people and wait times is crazy. But I will say that I'd much rather wait in line for a Disney attraction/ride and take in the sheer excitement and joy of my kids' anticipation than to get my driver's license photo taken! As with prices, you just need to prioritize and plan. We do Disney with a laid-back attitude. If a line is too long, we pass. We kind of go where the day takes us, and have had nothing but success with that attitude.
We try to diversify our vacations. Disney can be crazy. That's why for this trip, we only did 6 days at Disney. The first week of the vacation was spent doing much more relaxing things (we ziplined at Mega Caverns and hit some museums in Louisville, KY; we hit Mammoth Cave National Park; we spent a day taking in the culture/music in Nashville, TN; we saw Rock City, GA; we hiked Stone Mountain in Atlanta, GA; we did kayaked with Manatees in Crystal River, FL; we spent a few days at the beach in Sarasota, FL; and we hit the Clearwater Marine Aquarium) before we hit Disney. It's been a great family vacation all around. -
Hey Russ (@lightman1) - we'll be driving up the eastern states on Saturday. If you're anywhere along the route, it'd be cool to finally meet up during one of our stops. We've met up with Mike (BlueMDPicker) on this trip. We also met Dan (the late Geoff/G-2's father) to pick up the LSi/FX's I bought from Geoff right before he passed. It's been somewhat of a "Polkie meet-n-greet" trip so far as we've met some more great members of the Polk Forum 'family'!
-Al -
We're big Disney fans and have been many times, in fact the wife and kids were all just here for Thanksgiving and we went (for our first time) to DisneyLand here on the West Coast. It's a quality vacation dollar, especially so with kids!
We were at Disneyland and California Adventure for a couple days during our trip out west the Summer of 2014. There were several things that we liked better about Disneyland and several things we liked better about Disney World.
Both are definite quality vacation dollar destinations for families. -
Hey Russ (@lightman1) - we'll be driving up the eastern states on Saturday. If you're anywhere along the route, it'd be cool to finally meet up during one of our stops. We've met up with Mike (BlueMDPicker) on this trip. We also met Dan (the late Geoff/G-2's father) to pick up the LSi/FX's I bought from Geoff right before he passed. It's been somewhat of a "Polkie meet-n-greet" trip so far as we've met some more great members of the Polk Forum 'family'!
-Al
He's in Southern(ish) IN in Terre Haute which is about an hour and a half southwest of Indianapolis
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
My bad. I assumed Russ hailed from Tarheel country. Also thought he mentioned he was (or was going to be) in Virginia. Maybe it's just his legend that makes him seem omnipresent!
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My bad. I assumed Russ hailed from Tarheel country. Also thought he mentioned he was (or was going to be) in Virginia. Maybe it's just his legend that makes him seem omnipresent!
I do live in NC on the occasional weekend..
. As Dan said, I arrived in Terre Haute, Indiana this evening. Been on the road for over a year now.
But! As you yourself did, I met another Polkie on the way from Virginia. Tophat Johnny everyone! Big round of applause! Detoured off I70 in Ohio and stopped in for a visit. Sat around chatting and he showed off his gear. Some speakers I have never heard of, Montanas(?). Good sounding set, folks.
In retrospect, I purchased a pair of Amphion Creon 2 speakers from him just recently. He graciously shipped them to Arlington, TX (Skips). Then I flew down for the debaucle and drove them 1100 miles back to Mooresville, NC. Then proceeded to Winchester/ Shenendoah Valley. Finished up there and, oddly enough, find myself in Ohio at there point of origin at Johns house. Go figure the ballsed up logistics on that one.
Again, like a Bigfoot sighting, no pics available.....
He's good people and his wife is a stunner
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My appologies, Al.....but glad you and the family had a great time on your adventurous vacation. Good times for good people.
Except the part about getting suckered into going to Mikes house. -
One of these days, Russ... One of these days!
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At Magic Kingdom today. Having second thoughts about the lines now. This is jus to get in...
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Is that a line? Oh god... that's the stuff of nightmares, no thanks.
afterburnt wrote: »They didn't speak a word of English, they were from South Carolina.
Village Idiot of Club Polk -
Actually, they (Disney) are pretty darned good at crowd management.
I was awfully negative on the place last night
Sorry 'bout that.
Should've just said "not my cup of tea" and left it at that. Disney's very good at what they do -- and I am glad the OP & his clan are havin' a ball!
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Best time to go to Disney world is right after a hurricane... my wife and I went there in August of 04, and waited in a line for absolutely nothing, and did not even need a fast-pass. We saw everything within the complex in the seven days we were there. We ended every night in the World Showcase at Epcot with dinner at the best restaurant of each nation represented there.
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We have been to WDW 8x I think.
Fast pass is how you do it.
Also, hire a guide.
Zero wait.Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
I fly in on Dumbo.The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
That was the line to get IN the park. It actually wasn't that bad. Maybe 5-10 minutes for me (I carried the bags and had to go through the bag check line. The rest of the family walked right in. It is crowded today.
And Mark - no worries. I completely get it. Like I said, I hated Disney too before the kids!!
We're having lunch at Be Our Guest. We tried the 'grey stuff'. It was delicious!
Post edited by scubalab on -
Pure magic and that's why I love Disney!Just a dude doing dude-ly things
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That was the line to get IN the park. It actually wasn't that bad. Maybe 5-10 minutes for me (I carried the bags and had to go through the bag check line. The rest of the family walked right in. It is crowded today.
And Mark - no worries. I completely get it. Like I said, I hated Disney too before the kids!!
We're having lunch at Be Our Guest. We tried the 'grey stuff'. It was delicious!
No man it's not bad. Disney actually runs smoothly unlike other parks.
And if you really want to breeze through all the lines without wait, get a guide.
It's fast pass X 100.
Too bad it costs an arm and a leg.
What's the current rate for a guide? $300/hr?Magico M2, JL113v2x2, EMM, ARC Ref 10 Line, ARC Ref 10 Phono, VPIx2, Lyra Etna, Airtight Opus1, Boulder, AQ Wel&Wild, SRA Scuttle Rack, BlueSound+LPS, Thorens 124DD+124SPU, Sennheiser, Metaxas R2R -
My misses passed away in 2006.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact. -
motorhead43026 wrote: »
My misses passed away in 2006.
I feel your pain. It was just a lighthearted joke brother. A week from Saturday marks the end of the first year for me and my family.
No harm, Dec 29 this year would have been 43 years of marriage. Yep, I felt for you, knowing all too well what you were going through. Hang in there, it still pains but less often as time passes.
Take care.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it.
It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.
