Optional page text here. The Beast's Lair: Disney Vacation Entry #4

Saturday, July 29, 2006

Disney Vacation Entry #4

Yesterday, Friday July 28th, we spent all day at the Magic Kingdom. It was great, and my favorite day at the parks. There is just something that sets apart Magic Kingdom from all other parks. Maybe it is because you have to park away from the park and ride to the Magic Kingdom. Maybe it is because the tradition the park brings with it. Maybe it is because of the classic rides. Whatever the case, I could just sit in the middle of Magic Kingdom all day and do nothing and be happy.

We started the day off with a ride on the newly refurbished Pirates of the Caribbean. I was not very happy at all about the recent addition of Jack Sparrow to the ride. However, apart from the ending of the ride, the additions really did not change much of the ride. My favorite parts of the ride, "we want the red head" and "here kitty kitty kitty" were still the same. There is actually a very neat new effect at the beginning of the ride with a visit from Davey Jones. This is still one of the best in Magic Kingdom.

I was very happy to get a visit from Andi and her best friend Yvette. It is always a terrible thing to be away from Andi for any reason, and at Disney I keep seeing things that spark a "hey, Andi and I would love that" reaction. She has been in Orlando visiting Yvette while I have been with Rex, so yesterday we hooked up for a little while. We rode my favorite ride at Disney, The Haunted Mansion, and it was Andi's first time on the ride, which was a neat thing for me. Apparently, her friend Yvette got a real charge out of mine and Rex's detailed and thorough reviews of every ride in Orlando, and I think maybe she is wondering what Andi sees in me. It is not every person who has a spiritual moment before entering the doors of the Haunted Mansion. We all had a good time together, and Rex wasted no time, about 1 hour, before unleashing what could only be described as a risque comment on the Tomorrowland Transport after a bird's eye view of Chip and Dale. I'm sure this just solidified Yvette's opinion of me, my brother, and family in general. Oh well.

Today, we are back at our home away from home, the Royal Pacific at Universal Studios. We have already hit Islands of Adventure today and will be at the park until 10:00 pm. We have plenty of d-nuts and M-Dew on board, so things are looking good.

2 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

...i think i'm slowly getting there. i think i have it partially figured out. this whole "purist" thing. it's the classic, untouched side of things that you guys like, right? which would explain the affinity to mystery fun house. so if i'm going to try and compete i've got to come up with something better than soarin' and the altamonte springs mall, right? so i have from now until october to try and find something florida-classic, something pure that i can show the meade brothers.

right?
(andi says i have to sign my name, but you know who this is right? it's the girl who lives in orlando who likes all rides...except water rides. that's your wife's territory.)

yvette. (but you already knew that, right?)

July 29, 2006 7:27 PM  
Blogger PhilipMeade.com said...

Hey Yvette, thanks for reading and posting. I appreciate your attempt to understand our attraction affinity.

What you have to understand is that there is no magic formula - be it "purist" level, thrill level or themed level. There is a core essence here that supercedes any one element for a positive attraction experience; which is why Mystery Fun House, Haunted Mansion, Spiderman at Universal, and Jaws can all be classic, 4 Paws attractions for various reasons. As Rex's wife will attest, it takes many, many years to fully understand the interplay of ideas at issue in the attraction realm (with respect to me and Rex).

All of this, of course, does not make your, or anyone else's, opinion of a ride right or wrong. This is just the reality of how me and Rex, after years of professional theme park experience, come down on the issues. Feel free to respond.

By the way, it was nice to be able to hang out with you alongside Andi. I wish that could happen more often.

See you tonight at Skull Kingdom.

July 29, 2006 7:58 PM  

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