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Disney World Orlando Florida - Attraction: Splash Mountain
by flowerpot19 Splash Mountain is log flume style attraction located in the Magic Kingdom park within the Walt Disney World resort in Florida. There are also versions of this rides in some of the other Magic Kingdom parks (e.g Paris). Depending on the time of year you go you may encounted a large queue for this ride in Florida as although it ... has been there for many years it still remains a very popular attraction. The longest queue I ever saw for this ride was 3 hours! If you plan it right and get there first thing in the morning or get a Disney fastpass for the attraction you can cut this queue time. If you do have to queue its not so bad, as with all Disney attractions the queue area is well themed and has various things to look at that will help pass the time. A substantial section of the queue is under shelter too, which is great if your visiting at a hot time of year. Once you reach the front of the queue a cast member will place you in a row ready to get on to the boat. The ride seats 8 people in four rows of 2. The restraints are large padded bars that pull down over your front. One thing im sure you will notice when you sit down is that there is a fair amount of water already in the boat - this gives you a pretty good indication that you are going to get pretty wet! The ride begins by taking you through an indoor themed area based on Disney's film the song of the south (Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, Brer Fox etc). I have yet to see the film but still thoroughly enjoy the ride. The ride tells the story of Brer Rabbit who leaves home looking for a laughin place. Brer Bear and Brer Fox are chasing after him trying to catch him. You go through several cheerfully themed indoor areas, that have animatronic animals singing and dancing songs from the movie. As the villians in the film (brer bear and brer fox) chase after the rabbit you encounter some darker scenes that involve several short drops. From memory I think 2 of these are inside and in the dark. Towards the end of the ride Brer Rabbit manages to outsmart the villains and they end up falling down in the briar patch. Riders follow this fall with the rides biggest drop (which is visable on the way to get to the ride). A photo is taken as you drop and you can purchase this after the ride. An Indoor Segmant follows after the ride which shows Brer Rabbit returning to his "home sweet home" and is finished off by the annoyingly catchy zip a dee doo dah song which no doubt you will find stuck in your head. I personally love this ride, I think it is brilliantly themed and has lots of happy scenes and catchy songs. It has just enough drops to make the ride that bit more entertaining too. The final big drop is quite steep but the padded bar makes you feel very secure. My 70 year old Nan loves the ride so it cant be that scary!! Read the complete review |
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Downtown Disney (Florida, USA)
by Meggysmum Downtown Disney is the huge shopping and leisure area that can be found at Walt Disney World, Orlando. It is well signposted and is near the Crossroads and the Lake Buena Vista side of the area. On arrival it can be a little confusing as there are lots of entrances into the car park which stretches along the whole length of ... the complex. The Disney store is located near parking A,B and C, whilst Planet Hollywood, Disneyquest and Cirque du Soleil are the other end at parking I to N. Parking in the whole area is free. Shopping: There are several shops in the area but some are very distinctive and worth a visit. World of Disney: This enormous store is a true Disney interactive experience. It is split into several distinct areas where little girls can revel in the delights of being a princess and swash-buckling pirates can find treasure galore. There is also an enormous selection of clothing for all ages, household items of every type adorned with Mickey ears as well as jewellery, bags, toys and gifts that suit every budget from a small set of pencils to gold-plated watches. The store is very disorientating and you can find yourself wondering around for ages as there always seems to be something else to see. The staff are delightful and there is never a problem with children playing with items or being photographed wearing a selection of Mickey Ears. LEGO imagination centre: There is no way you can miss this store as a towering red robot made of Lego bricks can be seen from quite a distance. A LEGO Loch Ness Monster can be seen in the lagoon too. All around the outside of the building there are representations of various landmarks made of LEGO. Outside the store there are lots of tables for people to sit and play with the well stocked tubs of LEGO, these are nicely shaded from the Orlando sunshine. The store stocks every set of LEGO that you could imagine. Team Mickey Athletic Club: Definitely aimed at the American market this store stock a huge array of sports merchandise, especially clothing. Once Upon A Toy: A childs delight this is a toyshop that not only stocks the standard Disney range of toys but also stocks classic games such as Monopoly and Trivial Pursuit with a Disney makeover. You can make your own, customised Mr Potato Head which you can purchase or you can just play with all the variations in store. Children can be seen waving light sabres or trying on tiaras and there is never any problem with this. Disney's Days of Christmas: A wonderful store devoted to all things Christmas. There are magnificent displays of baubles and other decorations. We usually visit in October and there is always a lot of Halloween tinsel etc on sale too. Decorations can be personalised by the decorators in store. Disney Pin Traders: Pin Trading is a hobby that consists of traders buying small metal pins depicting characters, rides, films or parks and then either collecting or swapping them with others. The range is fascinating and there is also a pin-trading area where collectors can swap between themselves and cast members. Moving further around Downtown Disney brings you to several more stores that stock specialist merchandise. The Harley-Davidson store is popular both for its gifts and the photo opportunity available on the two bikes that grace the window. Disney's Candy Cauldron is where you will find handmade sweets and candy apples of all types. You can stand and watch these candy apples being made and decorated in the window, some of them are true works of art. Magnetron is an unusual store that only sells decorative magnets, I didn't know there were quite so many available and they offer great multibuy offers that cover virtually every magnet they sell so they make interesting gifts at good prices. There are also stores offering premium cigars, magic gifts, sunglasses and artwork. Entertainment Walking around Downtown Disney is always entertaining as there are often street entertainers, even sometimes bands playing. However there are also more formal forms of entertainment on offer. Cap'n Jacks Marina: All sorts of different boats are available for rental and lifejackets are provided. The Village Lake is quite large and my husband and son had a great time whizzing around in their small "speedboat" which was not very fast but still provided plenty of fun. Cirque Du Soleil: La Nouba is the presentation in this distinctive building. I have never been here and it is recommended that tickets are bought in advance. I have heard great reports of the physical acrobatic display but it has never really appealed to me. DisneyQuest: This is a basically a 5 storey arcade. It is incredibly noisy and dark. Entrance is included in many types of Disney tickets and it proves a popular place, especially on rainy days. As well as normal arcade type machines (free to use) there are a few more unusual things as well. I particularly like the Pirates encounter where you man a boat and shoot at pirate ships using 3D graphics and interaction; it really is a fun family game as you work together. There is also an area where you design your own rollercoaster on computer consoles and then you get to ride it in a simulator, this was amazing when your child insists on putting in as many inversions as you are allowed! This is not my favourite place but my teenagers love it and it does make a change from normal theme park entertainment. AMC cinema: I believe this cinema has 24 screens but I have never used it so can't comment on the comfort or the price. Characters in Flight: This large tethered balloon rises 400ft to give great views across WDW. However it is greatly affected by the weather and most times we were at DTD it was closed. Dining This area offers lots of dining opportunities but I think that it is actually quite an expensive place to eat and there are much cheaper places offering a similar quality of food a short drive away. However some people like to eat here as they can use Disney transport if they are staying on site and also several of the restaurants participate in the Disney Dining Plan. Looking at the various menus all of the restaurants offer cheaper dining over the lunchtime period compared to the evening. If you wish to dine from about 6.30 onwards I would strongly recommend that you make reservations as the queues build up very quickly. Many of the restaurants are themed and there are several that are well known names. Planet Hollywood: This globe-shaped restaurant houses three levels of dining and film memorabilia. We have visited a few times but on my last visit I thought the food had gone downhill, it was expensive and tasteless and the service wasn't very good either. It is quite tatty now and could really do with a bit of a revamp. T-Rex Cafe: We didn't venture in here as it was very noisy. Children who love dinosaurs will be thrilled with the massive T-rex on the outside. The menu didn't look too expensive but some people moan that you can end up in the "ice-room" which is cold and bizarrely coloured. At regular intervals there is a "thunderstorm's and some young children find this a bit scary as it is very loud. Rainforest Cafe: Another popular chain this can be easily spotted across Downtown Disney with its vast volcano. Seating outside gives a nice view across the lake but young children would probably prefer being inside with more of the animated animals and sound effects. Fulton's Crab House: Located on a steam boat on the lake this is a beautiful looking restaurant but unfortunately I have never set foot inside. My husband hates seafood and since this is the house speciality he wasn't keen. I think if it hadn't been quite so expensive he might have venture in but at about $50 each before drinks it was out of our budget for the four of us. There are several other places including Portobellos, Raglan Road Irish Pub and the Earl of Sandwich. Downtown Disney is a lovely place to spend a warm evening. It is really buzzing with entertainment and it is always busy. The beautiful lighting creates a delightful image and many families are walking around which gives it a great friendly atmosphere and it is definitely worth a visit but be prepared to pay premium prices if you want to eat whilst there. 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Disney World Orlando Florida - Attraction: Splash Mountain
by Beth03 This is one of the tallest attractions in the Magic Kingdom Park at WDW in Florida. Located in Frontierland and neighbour to runaway mine train themed ride, Big Thunder Mountain. Splash Mountain is a great version of the classic log flume ride. The queueing for this ride is more often than not up at the hour mark so make use ... of the fast pass facility if you don't love waiting. A good time to ride is when everyone else is distracted by parades and fireworks if you've seen these once, its worth hopping on attractions like this and Big Thunder instead. Generally speaking this is a slow paced ride where you get spectacular views of the park, an occasional nice cooling splash of water and lots of fun country style music. Based on the Song of the South Brer Rabbit segments, children are treated to well designed sets and moving characters including Brer Rabbit and Brer Fox. Essentially you take the role of Brer Rabbit using a boat as your vehicle to escape from the clutches of Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The boat takes you all around the 'creek' where you encounter a great number of creatures who are all happy to say 'How Do You Do.' Brer Fox and Brer Bear are on the hunt for you and desperate to catch you and you narrowly escape them a number of times seeing how they planned to trap you. One of the faster moments on the ride is when you are in a dark chamber illuminated by little bees and hives and you go over a series of speed bump style hills in quick succession. This ride is not however fun for any child/adult scared of heights as after a series of mini dips you finally will plunge down the high point pictured next to this review into a mean looking briar patch. As you descend towards the patch a flash occurs, you may want to pull silly faces/lift your arms up for a second to pretend you're braver than you are when you get home etc. You emerge safe but incredibly wet from the briar patch and all of your friends are there to welcome you back from the clutches of Brer Fox and Brer Bear in an enchantingly cheerful room with a model riverboat and dancing creatures with the refrain of Zip a Dee Doo Dah playing as you return to the docking area and are then able to exit the ride. You walk round and enter the photo screen area where shots from recent rides are displayed, if you wish to buy your photo use your photo pass to have the picture scanned and then decide if you want to buy it. They cost in the region of $15 and I have known many a person position their loved ones on the bridge by the drop to take a picture as their boat falls but you'd need a pretty good zoom to make sure it was them. From here you follow a path into a gift shop with a range of souvenirs from your ride and brer rabbit themed gifts. It also sells beautiful wooden pieces some of which are a little too big to stow in your hand luggage. You can also access this shop from outside the ride so if you haven't been able to ride you can at least browse in here. You can buy your photo from here or from anywhere else across the Magic Kingdom that sells photos you can also order any of the photos on your photo pass when you get home. If your child is under 40" tall they won't be able to ride, I remember being very happy aged 7 when I was tall enough to ride, I rode it as many times as I could and still visit once a day when I'm in the Magic Kingdom because it is so much fun. The ride is also not suitable for people with neck, back, heart conditions or who are pregnant. This is due to the force of the drop but obviously it depends on your specific condition. The ride is a great way to cool off from the Florida heat though and you will dry off quite quickly. Of course you have the option of a waterproof poncho, personally I enjoy riding this when its raining or after a day at the waterparks. That way I'm already wet and don't have to worry about getting other rides wet. If you're looking for a thrilling ride at the Magic Kingdom where you can also get wet and be moving slowly enough to appreciate the scenery this is definitely one for you. Read the complete review |
Disney World Florida Theme Park / Zoo International |
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11 reviews Theme Park / Zoo International / One of the Magic Kingdom's major attractions is Splash Mountain. Based on the 1946 Walt Disney film, "Song of the South", this ride features the antics of Brer Fox and Brer Bear's attempts to catch the wily Brer Rabbit as he looks for his laughing place. Over 100 Audio-animatronic figures ... |
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