Disney World May 2012 Trip Report Pt 2
“I was up early the next morning.” I feel like a lot of trip report installments that I’ve written start with almost that exact sentence. I don’t know if that makes me dedicated or crazy, or a little bit of both. Probably mostly crazy. Whatever the case may be, after getting to sleep around 2:30 am, I was awakened by the sound of ducks the next morning at 6 am. Not real ducks, but the ducks that live in my phone and make noise on its alarm.
I almost didn’t get up. (See, I’m human!) Initially, I turned off the alarm and started to drift back to sleep, but for whatever reason, I jolted back up and started fumbling for my camera gear. Eventually, my inability to see in the dark caused me to run into enough things in the room over about a ten minute stretech to wake up Sarah. Once she was awake, I turned on the lights, grabbed my things in a matter of seconds, and headed out the door to photograph the sunrise.
Although I like photographing sunrises, I wouldn’t have been up that early but for an upcoming TouringPlans project. The goal was to collect night photos and sunrise photos over the course of the two nights and mornings we were there.
I was hoping for a big, glorious sunrise with radiating light and all sorts of other rad stuff. Unfortunately, it was a bit hazy on this particular morning, and there wasn’t a ton of color in the sky or very good light. I took tons of photos anyway, and some turned out pretty well. Here are a few that I can share.
I spent about forty-five minutes taking photos before finally heading back to our room. In reality, I was heading back to our room to get ready, but when reviewing my photo library, there’s a (fake) reason that seems a lot more interesting. For some reason, at the end of my morning shoot, I took 16 photos of a random squirrel by the base of a tree. Those were the very last photos I took, and it’s almost as if I realized that I had just taken 16 photos of an ordinary squirrel and realized at that point that I was grasping for straws. In case you’re curious, here are a few shots of the little guy. I’ve named him “Henry.”
Once back to the room, I quickly got ready and we were out the door by 7:10 for Disney’s Hollywood Studios. We were lucky to immediately catch a bus, and we arrived at the Studios right around 7:30. To our surprise, the opening ‘show’ with the Stormtroopers had already started, and the turnstiles were about to open. This struck us as odd, as we thought the show started just before 8 am with the park opening at 8 am.
We watched this show for a while (it’s not so much a show as a couple Stormtroopers on top of the Pan Pacific turnstiles warning guests as they enter). You could probably watch it for 10 or 15 minutes without seeing the same interactions twice, and it’s really amusing.
We were quite excited to be in the park so early and start doing Star Wars Weekends events, but once there, we realized that nothing Star Wars-related started until 9 am. We weren’t interested in autographs or anything of that sort (no offense to any collectors–but I don’t quite understand the appeal of an illegible scribble, no matter who made it), so we decided to head to Toy Story Mania. It didn’t quite feel right focusing on rides when there would be so many Star Wars activities that day, but it seemed like a better option than wandering around aimlessly.
We did Toy Story Mania twice with minimal waits both times. This might be revisionist history, but I don’t remember who won, so I’m going to assume that I won both times by incredibly large margins. Reality may (does) differ from this portion of the trip report, but I’m the one writing the thing.
We next headed over to the Tower of Terror, where there was also no wait. I don’t know if this used to be an effect that no longer works or if my family just visited on foggy days (I think it was an effect), but back in the day, the Tower of Terror queue used to fill with a layer of fog/moisture in the morning (maybe all day–we always did it in the morning). I distinctly remember this from my trips and it really added an ominous feel to the attraction. Based upon cuts of “little things” like this over the years, it’s clear some in management feel these little details are superfluous and go unnoticed, but this one thing in particular really clicked for me. I can’t remember entire attractions we experienced on those family trips, but I remember that “scary” fog. Just goes to show that the details do matter.
Little things that “hardly anyone notices” are, in fact, noticed and important. Fog in the Tower of Terror queue or spinning bees in Splash Mountain aren’t going to make or break anyone’s vacation, but these little details can be what sticks most in the mind of a child, and, in my opinion, it’s a shame that current management views these details as expendable. The more little things you have to enhance the guest experience, the better. No, the sky isn’t falling if they’re not there, but the Walt Disney Company didn’t earn its reputation by lowering the bar.
You may notice that I’ve started breaking these trip reports up into multiple pages. This is for two reasons: 1) we’re having a lot of server issues, and I believe single page reports are taxing on the server, and 2) people on mobile devices have complained that not all images open on their phones/iPads when viewing the report as a single page. I’m trying to add a “View All” option, but I know VERY little about WordPress coding…So sorry to anyone who doesn’t like multiple pages. The other pages are equally good (or equally bad!) as this one, I promise!
There are multiple pages in this Walt Disney World trip report installment. Navigate to the next page below!
Just wanted to say that I love that you named the squirrel “Henry”. Growing up, somehow all squirrels in our neighborhood were also called “Henry”. They must give off some sort of vibe 🙂
I have no real evidence of this, but I suspect that Disney’s rights to the use of Star Wars only extends to the Star Tours ride, gift shop, and the use of costumed characters. Whatever agreement they have may even go so far as to prohibit the use of Star Wars characters in a parade, thus this obviously lame motorcade situation. I can definitely see Lukas being particular and specific in any agreements made with a company outside his control. The most compelling evidence for my theory, I think, is this absurd Avatar themed land in Animal Kingdom, theoretically as some sort of enormously misguided effort to compete with Harry Potter’s presence over at Universal. Why would they even consider such a thing if they truly had the rights to use Star Wars in their back pockets? I could brainstorm about a hundred Star Wars related theme park attractions right now, and I’m sure imagineers could too. Admittedly, I’m a nerdy Star Wars fan, but I think it’s proven itself as a property with legs — Avatar, not so much. I really hate to think that the folks making decisions at WDW are so myopic that they COULD use Star Wars and just don’t want to.
Based on what I’ve heard from some reliable folks, I don’t think this is exactly true. I think there would be difficulty expanding a permanent Star Wars presence in the parks, but as far as Star Wars Weekends go, Lucas is pretty lax.
Just creeping through old trip reports and came across this gem of a reply! Well well well….funny how that one panned out, Star Wars Land is upon us!
” I think the conversion would be approximately 13.5 kilometers by 54 meters. I think”
Tehehe.
13 kilometers would be a five minute drive. I would want a model that big! I wouldn’t have to visit the park!!
the size would be around 1.8 by 3.7 meters.
Love me some Buffalo Chicken Sandwich at Studios Catering Company!
Tom, it’s funny that you mentioned you guys having kids down the road. My wife and I visit your site quite a bit and we can only imagine the kinds of candid photos you’ll eventually take when you do have kids, as well as the ones you might have now that showcase the non-Disney part of your private lives.
By the way, our two year-old son is named Henry. He sometimes makes the same face as the squirrel in your pics. 😛
So you’re telling me that you named your son after a squirrel?! That is SO weird! 😉
I know this post is really old but I love browsing through your blog and am already planning our next Disney Vacation for next May! Considering the Beach CLub Villas hence re-reading this post.
Anyway! I too remember and love the mist at ToT, it really makes the walk up creepy and they need to bring it back. I agree Disney is all about the atmosphere and the small details. Bring back the mist Disney!
Thanks for this brilliant blog!
Gemma
The fog Tom…the fog! You are right, it was there, I saw it, that happened.
I couldnt agree more about the point you made about the ‘small’ things that are scaled down.
I took a picture last year of the 13 minute (aka zero) wait time for ToT and made the comment, ‘they probably will have cut that back by the time I come back next year’.
As you say, for Disney fans these things matter.
But – great report! Its getting me truly in the mood for my DHS day in a few weeks time (get me to Gertie!)
Thanks for sharing, I would have named the squirrel Cyril though. 🙂
Glad to know I wasn’t crazy about that fog! It is the little things that make a big deal, and it bugs me when some bloggers point to attendance numbers or other stats as “proof” that these things don’t matter. That’s a flawed argument for soooo many reasons.
I felt the same way about Brave! It was a good movie, but for Pixar standards it was seriously lacking. I have a small obsession with all things Scotland (especially Highlands) and this was a disappointment for me.
Glad to know I’m not alone. When I shared my opinion on Twitter, most people disagree. But I think most Disney fans are biased towards Disney films no matter what their quality.
Tom, while you took pictures of “Henry”, did you happen to be reminded of the kid who took tons of squirrel pictures during your disneymoon? xD
HA! No, but unfortunately now I am. I am just as bad as that poor kid I poked fun at. Actually, I’m worse. Not only am I an adult, but I also poked fun at someone else for doing the exact same thing I ended up doing later.
I blame the lack of sleep…
We went to Star Wars weekends in 2007 with my two year old daughter for her first trip to Disney World. She spent most of the time in fear of the characters we saw at different dining experiences and throughout the parks. They were great from across the room, but when they were close, she was not a fan. We stood in line for quite a while to take a pic with Jedi Mickey. When it was our turn, she walked right up to him grabbed his hand and leaned in to hug him. As a Star Wars fan for a very long time, I was beaming. Thanks for bringing that great memory back today!
Geek rant – the dude that looks like Boba Fett is Jango Fett, Boba Fett’s father. He was also the model after which all of the clone troopers were built. He saved one clone of himself to be his son, Boba. –Geek rant over
I like the separate pages. Love the report so far.
I think Brave fits better as a “Disney” movie than as a “Pixar” movie. The themes really seem more classic Disney as compared to the Pixar stories like Wall-e and Up. And I think Disney and Pixar know this since Merida is in Magic Kingdom rather than DHS…