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Published: January 3rd 2011
Disney Studios..
..Mickeys hat from Fantasia.. this is the central landmark of the park..As stated in the title it was a quiet day at Disney Studios today...no it wasn't it..it was just quieter - but that ain't hard. All in all it was still a lot better and only some parts of the park were manic as opposed to every square inch..
Weather was superb today but quite humid and a little muggy..especially when in close proximity to others in queues.
We were in the park at 11 am this morning and frankly it did not make a skerrit of difference..this is the busy time of the year. Having said that it was still a good day and we stayed until around 4 pm but made a conscious decision to leave so as to better ensure the kids got an earlier night.
It took the longest to get in the park of any day with it being around 15 - 20 minutes through bag searches, ticket gates...where I invariably select the queue that appears the shortest but has the person with 'issues' that take for ever to resolve. Regularly you see people get their tickets knocked back for a variety of reasons but they insist on standing there and discussing it
Whanau on main street..
..Sorcerers hat behind... in great detail with the gate attendant who has already told them repeatedly that they must return to the ticket office to have the issue resolved...apparently the theory is that if you discuss it for long enough then the ticket attendant will just let you in..but they don't. Interesting observation here is that the folicly challenged are not as fashionable here as in a nation of the more enlightened sophisticates in Aotearoa and there is an inbred distrust of bald men with back packs...I know this because my back pack has been disassembled regularly during the bag search phase.
Once in the park we headed straight for the Indiana Jones Stunt show but just missed out as they had just closed the gates for the start of the performance. So we headed across the park to another event and happened across the 'Great Movie Ride'. This is one of the forgotten, less frequented affairs and we walked straight into it. It was really good and was a 25 minute ride through sets and scenes of old movies tracing the history of Hollywood and the movies...all the classics...with Cagney in a stage set delivering his famous lines, Marlon Brando, Bogart
Sound Stage...
..Disney Channel dance and music show live..Caitlin loved it! and Bergman in the airport scene from Casablanca, The Duke from a range of his classics and even a set where they had the Duke and Eastwood doing a set of their signature lines as a dialogue...worked well and I did not know that Wayne and Eastwood never worked on any projects together. American classics like the Wizard of Oz and general oldies like Mary Poppins with Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, Sigourney Weaver in Alien, and whole bunch of others...the ride incorporated old stage sets, movie clips and the staff interacting with characters and models...kids thought it was brilliant and wanted to do it again.
Came out of that and were heading back to Indiana Jones when Disney Channel Music started a live dance and music show on the stage beneath the Apprentices Hat. So Caitlin stopped and watched that until it got called off due to a sudden shower of rain. That passed and we went to the Indiana Jones Stunt show...this was funny and really well done. Meant as a demonstration of stunt work and special effects comes across very successfully as well scripted semi slap stick. They used 3 different sets, all huge in
Indiana Jones stage set..
..30 or so minute show where they display the inside workings of a movie set.. the space of the 35 minute or so presentation. A temple scene similar to Temple of Doom, a Cairo Bazaar brawl scene (not really a hard place to start a brawl as we found from our own experiences there in '97!) and then a desert German army base set where stuff got 'blowed up big'. Really well done and quite amazing that they can blow all this stuff up and then have everything reset to do it all over again an hour later. One of the stunts involves blowing up a fast moving truck and having it flip tail over bonnet to land upside down, completely engulfed in flames...very effective and amazing that they can just keep doing it.
Queued for half an hour for the Little Mermaid show for Caitlin and this was just a little 'close' and lots of people were just starting to get frazzled by the wait with their little princess all getting a little precious! Regardless the show was again very well done, laser lights, special effects and amazing puppetry.
After that...kids did some souvenir shopping...it is fascinating the things they make! A kitchen waste disposal plug with a metal handle shaped like
Stuff goes 'bang'..
..lots of stuff got blowed up... Minnie Mouse was one of the more original seen.
Then left the park just after 4 pm and back to the apartment where the kids had a swim to cool down.
The crowds are just part of the experience and if one was cynical then it could be suggested that perhaps Disney Enterprises is just a little mercenary in filling their parks so full...has not been a problem for us as we have pretty much managed to do everything we wished but for those just in for a day or so, then they and in particular their little people will miss out on the more popular attractions...at Disney Studios the no.1# attraction for young kids is the Toy Story attraction...when the queues are 2+ hours long parents either grin and bear it (another observation - there are very few smiles in the magic kingdom from the patrons...most just look hassled and tired) or they try and move onto the lesser attractions.
Spared the kids another marginal meal and Sandy cooked. Much better.
Tomorrow the plan is to visit the Magic Kingdom and Sandy has already planned the schedule.
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JB/Nana
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Love that hat Reuben
Hi guys.Obviously another good day had by all.I am getting a little worried.Has anybody said"when are we going home?"I can't imagine they have. Not sure what reaction "Shall we go to Botany for a coffee" might have.However Sandy you can always take Reuben shopping at "Farceys"!!!He looks great in his hat.He can wear it to impress his "Touch Rugby"mates???Caitlin would have loved the Little Mermaid.Love those Minnie Mouse ears,very cute. Seriously,you look as if you have all had a holiday to remember.Have you given up on the shopping yet Sandy? We went into Myers yesterday. It was quite busy,not bad.They are in the middle of huge refurb and looking great. Good coffee shop. You will be very disappointed in me though.Alan left me to "do my thing" for 2 hours and I purchased one very "ordinary"pair of sandals.Loads of love.Over to AB Hi there - enjoyed reading about your day out at Disney Studios - looks as if you had fun!Great photos and JB has commented on those. All I bought yesterday were the tram tickets ansd the coffees! Although I did get Jan a luvly Giorgio Armani perfume and body lotion at Myers for her birthday - she chose so it will be a good one. We head home on Thursday - enjoy the rest of your trip. Loadsaluv!!!!!! (PS: Aust 5 / 149 on day 21st innings of 5th test)