WDW 1/1 - 1/6

[FRD714]

Arrived at WDW at 12:30pm on Monday. Checked in at the Pop Century Resort. This was my third time staying at Pop Century. It's a great value hotel and has tons to do when your not at the parks.

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster: If you didn't know, it closed for rehab on January 2nd. I only had one day to ride it. When I got there, the line stretched all the way to the entrance to the courtyard. I waited 1.5 hours. Rode it three times, and two were in front row. I heard the Back in the Saddle/Dude (Looks Like a Lady) track all three times. I guess it could have been worse, I could have heard the Megamix all three times.

Tower of Terror: This ride seemed boring this trip. It really wasn't doing anything for me. I rode it three times the whole week. The line was fairly long due to RnR being closed.

Lights, Motors, Action! Extreme Stunt Show: My favorite show at WDW. Always a must see when I'm there. I'm still amazed at how close the cars get without hitting.

Click here for the Lights, Motors, Action! video

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad: Always a great ride. I think I rode it about six or seven times. Also I was just about to get on when it broke down. So we had to exit the ride area and I managed to get a video of maintinence trying to pull a train up the track using a pulley system. I was always curious how they would get the train up the track when a ride stop was hit at this point.

Click here for the BTMRR Breakdown video

Space Mountain: Rode it two times. It was just too crowded to wait in line. I got lucky both rides since I used my fastpass from the BTMRR breakdown, and then someone gave me a fastpass right when I was walking into the line. I rode both sides one time each.

Test Track: Rode this the most out of all the rides at WDW. The single rider line sure works out well. Also I read somewhere that if you work for GM, you get a backstage tour of the ride. And my dad works for GM. So I told him to go talk to a CM about it. Turns out that is correct. You get a backstage tour, and get to hang out in the V.I.P. room, which is where that window is when you are in the ride part. Unfortunately, my dad didn't have his GM card with him, so we have to wait until next time to get the tour.

Soarin': Does this ride ever have a short wait? It was always a 120 minute wait. I only rode it once. Had to use fastpass.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends: After hearing many bad reviews from various people at WDW, I wasn't planning on riding it, but since I had so much time, I rode it anyway. It was very boring and more for the younger crowd. I found the part where the fish is attached to the robotic arm cool though.

Mission: SPACE: Another ride that wasn't as exciting as usual. I rode it four times I think, but only because it had a short wait.

DINOSAUR: This ride never gets old. the EMV's (Time Rover's) are just awesome. The rides audio was louder than usual. Also they had a little problem the one night we were there. They closed one side of the loading area. This meant there were two extra cars on the track so it would obviously mess the ride up a bit. We got to the end of the ride where the Dino is pulling the log down, and we stopped. All the lights went out and the rover was bouncing around a bit. Then a minute later we continued and came up to the last Dino. Well during that part Doctor Seeker is saying "Your not gonna make it, your not gonna make it!!." We stopped right after he said that in the time machine and it was pitch black. Of course I had to make a comment "Ummm....we didn't make it. We're dead" I got some laughs out of that. About a minute later we finished the ride. I rode this four times.

Expedition Everest: Riding this at night is just awesome. The Yeti scene was lit up nicely. I would recommend riding this at night if you havn't already.

I did get a prize for YoMD. As I was walking off BTMRR, a lady came up to me and told me I won a prize. It was a YoMD lanyard and two YoMD pins that say "My dream came true." I was congratulated by a few CM's then. I can't imagine what they do when you win the grand prize. I'll have a pic later of it.

So all in all, the trip was OK. Crowds were worse than I expected and the parks were low staffed, which meant all rides were ran at low capacity. That didn't help the lines at all. Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and Splash Mountain being closed kinda made me mad. Also the parks closed too early, so we ended up going back to the hotel at 9pm some nights.

Click here for photos

[Jackluver18]

Awesome TR, glad you had fun

[Sedir]

Nice TR. I'm going to WDW (or maybe DL) this year and I'm pretty excited. I haven't been at WDW in about 5 years. And last time I was at DL I don't even remember so I'm pretty excited.

[zjohn1988]

WASNT IT CROWDED!!!! Where did ya go for NYE? Epcot's fireworks were amazing. Our hotel room overlooked Tower of Terror too, so I loved waking up to that!

[FRD714]

^Yes, it was more crowded than I expected. I was home for NYE, but I was there two years ago and you weren't able to get on any rides because it was so crowded. Our hotel room also overlooked Tower of Terror and the Wide World of Sports.

[zjohn1988]

Epcot had over 85,000 people in the park..

[Danhockey04]

A 120 minute wait for Soarin' is pretty short compared to what it was when I was there the week of Christmas, about 180 all day and 240 at some times, but still rode it 3 times. Also, it was packed there when I was there, but I still managed to get great ride numbers, mostly to Extra Magic Hours and the few fast passes I had. Great TR and looks like you had a good time there as well, if only SFGAm had operations like WDW....

[jjp5225]

Im going to WDW the second week of March hopefully crowds wont be that bad im bummed though the haunted mansion is down for rehab while im there

[zjohn1988]

ill be there too.

[FRD714]

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster will also be down for rehab in March again.

[jjp5225]

BOO!!! haha well my family said what ever Im pretty sure im going to all four theme parks but not any of the water parks im really looking foreward to Expedition Everest and the mountains at magic kingdom. last time I was in florida I was 8 and now im 16 so I really dont remember much. Im excited though

[zjohn1988]

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster will also be down for rehab in March again.

They have A LOT of work to do..the entire line is supposed to be torn up and redone outside to be reconfigured to include a single rider line. Not sure how that will work but I guess we'll see and I'm sure it will help out.

[FRD714]

^Well supposedly the singles line is being put in right now. The ride is going down for rehab again for March, however construction walls will be up all over the place after January 22nd. They're basically testing out the singles line from now until March, and if it doesn't work, it's being scrapped. Everything else done during these rehabs is mechanical, like replacement of all the control panels. Sometime in 2008, there will be a big rehab, and it will include changing the pre show video and other major things.

[zjohn1988]

^I think for now theyre setting up a temporary single riders line, but it wont be permanently installed until March.

[jjp5225]

Does anybody have any idea of what will be closed in march of 2007 at WDW? I've searched several sites and i've gotten many different answers.

[zjohn1988]

The following rehab schedule is based on the latest information available. However, for the definitive information, please check with Walt Disney World Guest Relations.


Main Street Market House: Reopens sometime this spring..no official date yet.
Liberty Square Riverboat: February 27th until March 1st.
Body Wars: (Seasonal)
Cranium Command: (Seasonal)
The Making of Me: (Seasonal)
EL Rio del Tiempo: Closed until April 1st.
Rose and Crown Restaurant: February 21st until March 3rd.
Teppanyaki Restaurant: Closed from January 15th until May 25th.
Port Orleans Riverside Mill Food Court: Reopens in April.
Silver Creek Springs (Wilderness Lodge): January 29th until March 2nd.
Typhoon Lagoon: Reopens March 17th.

[jjp5225]

sweet thats amazing I cant wait to go hopefully we'll get to all four parks but I have no clue. The two main parks I want to hit are Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. I was eight last time we went and we went to MGM, EPCOT, And Animal Kingdom. The Last time i was at Magic Kingdom was when I was 4 and I dont remember much.

[FRD714]

Actually Body Wars and Cranium Command will never reopen. It's rumored the Wonders of Life pavillion is now closed for good. The pavillion will reopen in a few years as something else.

[zjohn1988]

Its scheduled to be open sometime this June.

[FRD714]

Heres a video I threw together because I was bored.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHJ3ccs6a8o

If you have any problems, post here or try it later. You Tube has been acting weird lately.

[zjohn1988]

nice vid