Ray
and Traci made a quick trip to Orlando for a medical conference. Unfortunately,
the conference which traditionally was held at a Disney area resort, moved to a
location near the Orlando convention center which is much further. After the
meeting, Ray and Traci decided to try and visit Disney World and sample some of
the attractions created or updated since their last visit.
Disney
World during the week of the President’s Day holiday is a very busy place.
Crowd calendars such as touringplans.com, ranked the Saturday after President’s
day 9 out of 10 and that is not a good thing for visitors trying to experience
the most popular rides. Ray and Traci’s prior visits usually had crowds rated
under 5/10 so this visit would require significant strategizing. Ray tried to
reserve fast passes but they were all taken far in advance for the most popular
rides.
Ray
rented a car and the couple arrived at Disney’s Animal Kingdom shortly after
the 9AM opening. Entering the park using pre-purchased one day park hopper tickets,
Ray and Traci immediately traveled to their first target – the new Pandora –
The World of Avatar. Ray had seen posted waits of over 3 hours for the
headliner attraction – Avatar Flight
of Passage. On their visit, the line wait app from touringplans.com had a 144
minute wait predicted. Ray and Traci joined the line and were pleasantly
surprised when they boarded the ride 104 minutes later. The futuristic quasi
motion simulator thrill ride has patrons sitting bicycle style on an Avatarian
Banshee. Considered widely as one of Disney’s most advanced attractions, the
silky smooth but exciting experience did not fail to disappoint! While waiting
nearly two hours for any attraction was difficult for the two patrons used to
off-season crowds, they both enjoyed Disney’s latest and greatest addition.
After Flight of Passage, Ray and Traci got in line for the other Avatar
attraction – Na’vi Ride Journey. It had a 60 minute wait predicted but Ray and
Traci got on after a 40 minute wait. This ride is basically “It’s A Small World
After All” boat ride set in an Avatar world. The 3-D holograms and visual
effects were quite good but thrill seekers should be aware of its docile
nature.
Surviving
their long waits at Pandora, Ray and Traci boarded a Disney bus to get into
Epcot for their next target, Soar’in Around the World. Soar’in was one of Ray’s
favorite rides at both coast’s Disney parks, the updated version visits major
sites around the world instead of just California. Fortunately the wait turned
out to be just over 30 minutes for Ray and Traci. Riders sit in a simulated hang
glider and visit sites such as the Great Wall of China, Eiffel Tower, and the
Great Pyramids. The gentle motion contrasts to the much more thrilling Avatar
Flight of Passage, but the astounding photography of some of the world’s
greatest treasures make Soar’in a must see. Their final ride was the “new”
Frozen Ever After Ride. Disney took the tired Maelstrom boat ride in the Norway
pavilion at Epcot and basically converted into scenes and characters out of the
animated movie Frozen. The actually ride was virtually unchanged from the
Maelstrom days, just the décor was different. When Ray and Traci entered the
line, the predicted wait was 70 minutes. They were confident that they would
not have to wait 70 minutes based on the overestimates for their three previous
rides. They were wrong, and it took the whole 70 minutes to get on. While not a
ride Ray would want to wait any time for again, Disney showed it is possible to
recycle a dated and unpopular attraction with new paint and characters and turn
it into a very popular ride.
After
a long day of 4 rides in two parks, Ray and Traci returned on the Disney Bus to
the Animal Kingdom to pick up their car and drive to the Magic Kingdom. The
travelers wanted to see the newest Disney Fireworks show “Happily Ever After.”
This show did not disappoint! The computer generated graphics projected onto
Cinderella’s castle alone made the show very unique. Adding Disney
choreographed fireworks made the spectacle a not to be missed experience. The
crowds were tremendous, viewers need to push their way to any spot with a good
view of the castle – people started blocking out places over an hour before the
show. Ray and Traci were quite exhausted at the end of the day but glad they
updated their Disney experience. Ray vowed to only go to the new Star Wars
attractions on days ranked 3 or less by touringplans.com
Besides their one day at Disney, Ray and Traci
had a chance to dine at notable establishments. Near the Hyatt Hotel, Ray had
dinner at the Copper Canyon Grill and he found the BBQ ribs to be exceptional –
perfectly prepared with tender meat falling off the bone and flavored with an
excellent sauce. When looking for ribs after a busy convention day, look no
farther than the Copper Canyon Grill. The second recommendation was Morimoto’s
Asia at Disney Springs. Entering the restaurant, it is a beautiful mix of
traditional Japanese wood work fused with modern futuristic glass &
lighting.
After
admiring the décor, Traci had a delicious order of vegetable rolls and Kakuni
Pork Bao. Despite initially questioning why a Seattle native should order
salmon in Florida, he had the chef’s Red Miso Salmon. His simple conclusion –
it was the best tasting salmon he has ever eaten, which means something from
someone who loves salmon. If you have the opportunity, don’t miss Morimoto’s
Asia!
