Things I am doing/want to be doing instead of writing my final papers:
- Learning the dance moves to Beyonce's "Single Ladies"
- Getting five stars on every song on every level of Guitar Hero: World Tour
- Attempting to play using the orange button on regular Guitar Hero
- Packing for Disney
- Surfing the internet, mindlessly
- Making delicious cupcakes
- Laundry
- Typing out lists of things I'd rather be doing
- Blogging, Tweeting, Skyping, Facebooking
Anyways, on to what you came for: lists. I'm trying to break these up so they're easier to read. I know they're text-heavy, but that's just because I'm too lazy to look up pictures.
Also, does anyone know if there's an easy LJ-cut equivalent for Blogger?
Disney's Hollywood Studios
The 5 Worst Attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios.
5. Fantasmic.
I know this is going to annoy a lot of people, but I really don't like Fantasmic. For one thing, it's dated. You can tell it was created around the time of Pocahontas because of that ridiculous John Smith scene. For another thing, it's just not all that fantastic. There haven't been a lot of real, solid villains in recent Disney movies, so the references here can, at times, feel dated. Seriously, why is Chernabog referenced in so much stuff at Disney World? No kid I know has any idea who that is. During Spectromagic, you can hear the crowd go "Who IS that?" to the Chernabog float. And as much as I love Hercules, not a lot of kids know who Hades is. And he wasn't evil in the way they show him on the water screen. He was more a con-man than a cackling scary person. Oh, and the float parade at the end of the show feels out of place. Like, "Yay! Mickey defeated his nightmare (or whatever the "plot" of the show is)! Let's have every character ever come out! Oh, and let's throw in the tumble monkeys for good measure!" I do wish that Steamboat Willie character came out for meet-and-greets, though.
4. One Man's Dream
I know, I know, I know, I shouldn't put this. I love Walt, as do most people who work for the Company, but I feel like this museum should be somewhere else on property. Like in the Magic Kingdom. It would be great in MK, right at the beginning of Main Street, USA. It feels so out of place at DHS, and its location is terrible. It seems like such an after-thought attraction. Like someone said "We should have a Walt museum!" but there was nowhere to put it. Eventually someone shouted "Hey, there's that big empty stretch of buildings in the back of MGM, let's put it back there where no one goes!" Seriously, if Guests are coming from the right, they stop at the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. If they're coming from the left, they went to Pixar Place and turned for the Great Movie Ride. It's totally ignored.
3. The Voyage of the Little Mermaid
Hey, speaking of the Voyage of the Little Mermaid...I hate it. HATE IT. This may have something to do with my dislike for The Little Mermaid, though. The only redeeming scene in this show is the blacklight effects puppet scene. The stupid Ursula thing though, ugh. I hate that the hands are "puppets" and one CM is always more enthusiastic than the other, making Ursula look like she's had a stroke. One hand will be gesturing wildly while the other is being lazy. Terrible, terrible, terrible. And I never like being splashed with water in a theatre. Mostly because it's always way too cold. "But, Aurora," you say, "You've been out in the heat! The cold water should be refreshing!" Not when it comes after you've been in the air conditioning for an hour! (I'm including the time standing in the lobby, here.) Speaking of the lobby, if they're going to have stuff "come to life" they need to do more. Maybe they had more and most of it is broken...in that case, they need to fix it. Right now, people sound like crazy people when they shout "THAT PICTURE JUST LIT UP!" and no one around them saw it.
2. The Magic of Disney Animation
To be fair, this was down for refurb recently, so they may have fixed my issues with it. For one thing, the only reason anyone does this is for the Animation Academy. And if you think you're being smart and try to sneak through the Art of Disney to get there, you are mistaken. Unless you get particularly lazy CMs, they have been instructed NOT to let you through the store. Which makes sense. It would be like trying to go through the PoTC store to get to the ride just so you can see the final Jack scene or something. You sit through the show, you get to learn to draw. That show, though...can we please get a character OTHER than Mushu. And please, God, don't replace him with Stitch. On my List of Most Annoying Characters, Stitch is rated "More Annoying than Mushu," which is a hard rating to achieve. I'd even accept Tinkerbell, even though I don't like her...the host character should be a classic character that everyone knows. I'm sure some people don't know who Mushu is. (Although, to be fair, people may not know Tinkerbell. We got on the parking tram at AK, and my mom was talking about how excited she was because she met Eeyore. The guy in front of us asked who Eeyore was, and then proceeded to tell us that he had no idea who it was because he "doesn't know these new characters".)
1. Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Spectacular/Beauty and the Beast/Journey Into Narnia
I couldn't decide which of these I hate more, so I gave them a three-way tie. LMA annoys me because of the stupid lady who hosts it...I might enjoy it more if they dropped the whole "we're shooting a movie!" premise and just said "Hey, we're gonna show you how they do stunts in the movies!" I like not being treated like an idiot. Beauty and the Beast is just over the top cheese. And the Beast's "roaring" is pathetic. I've never been into the Narnia thing, but Autumn told me to rate it here because it's so bad. I have no interest in anything Narnia-related, and I can't imagine it will be there much longer (if it is there anymore at all) because Disney doesn't do the Narnia movies anymore.
The Top 5 Attractions at Disney's Hollywood Studios
5. Star Tours
I like a good motion simulator, and, while this is in desperate need of an update, it packs a lot of fun. I remember this was my favorite ride at MGM (until ToT came along) when I was a kid. I hate fireworks, and I used to trick my brother into going on Star Tours during the fireworks with the promise of "Oh, yeah, the fireworks won't start until we get out!" That pre-show video cracks me up, too. The hair. Oh god, the hair. I do enjoy the costumes here, too...
4. The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
As far as stunt shows go, I obviously prefer this one to LMA (number 1 on my "worst" list). Granted, it, too, needs an update, and it needs to lose the "We're shooting a movie! Look at our cameras!" bit, but it doesn't slap me in the face with the fake-movie like LMA does. This one is more "look how we do this" than "look at us do it". Plus, I really want to be an extra. Really, really, really.
3. Rock'n'Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith
I'm not a fan of Aerosmith, but I am a fan of rollercoasters. While it may not be the best rollercoaster around (in fact, it's not. By far. And it gives out headaches like candy.) it is fun. I have been tring to pose during the launch for years now, and I am never successful.
2. The Great Movie Ride
Shut up, I think this ride is awesome. I love everything about this ride except for the Busby Berkeley scene being changed to its current, static scene. It looks terrible. They should really take that out or change it or something. My dream job (other than JC skipper) is to be a GMR driver. I'd love that so much! Plus, I'd yell out all the movie names in the montage at the end! And, yes, I have seen both the gangster and the cowboy scene.
1. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
This is, by far, my favorite ride on all of Disney property. Seriously. As I write this, I am sitting beside a Tower of Terror poster, there is a Tower of Terror keychain on my keyring, a framed ride photo is sitting on top of my dresser, and there is a Tower of Terror shirt in my laundry. I love it. Every little thing about it. I love the library, I love the boiler room, I love the people who think we're going to drop at the first stop, and, most of all, I love that you can feel the Florida heat coming towards you as your elevator moves forward toward the drop shaft. That is my favorite feeling at Disney World. Anytime I feel anything like that, I am instantly sitting in that elevator. Love it.
Honorable mentions (you decide if they go in the top or bottom):
- Sounds Dangerous: starring Drew Carey
- The American Idol Experience
- Toy Story Midway Mania
- The Backlot Tour
- Muppetvision: 3-d
- Playhouse Disney: Live on Stage!
