Disney World Trip Report

If you can't find a forum for it, talk about it here.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Character Meet & Greets

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

OMG I keep doing that with my hands I can't stop

CHARACTER MEET & GREETS:
-Okay, so this was a new thing for me. I only did Cinderella's Royal Table last time I was here, and haven't done M&Gs since (I was mostly in foreign parks, which have far fewer of these). Part of it was being shy; part self-conscious about seeming like some weird guy out to meet Princesses by himself. Honestly, I wasn't even planning on getting many pictures done.

BUT, in the past few years, I've read the Reddit AMAs with some of the Face Characters, and they say they didn't mind getting photos with male guests (One girl: "We're girls- we like attention. Take the picture!"). Only Tinker Bell said "All dads are pervy" and commented about how many dads asked what was underneath her skirt. And so I lost my self-consciousness (despite usually being the ONLY SOLO GUY IN LINE), and... these are actually a lot of fun! Once you're prepared to talk (or just listen to them babble; some just go off on their own with ready-made conversations), it's fine. It's kind of like improv, and funny to see how closely some of them can mimic their characters. Moreover; MANY of them actually get that "oh thank god" look in their eyes when they realize you know what you're talking about and have actually seen their stuff. Like, some of them MIGHT think you're weird, but most of what I've read indicates that they appreciate "Super Fans" who just adore the characters they play.

I think it also helps that I'm, like, WAY too old for most of these girls, and could recognize it. While some are quite attractive (I mean, that's the job), the fact that I'm 37 and most of them look barely into their 20s just makes them look like kids to me, no matter how pretty they are. Their itty-bitty "silhouettes" (as Disney calls them) just add to it, as does the short height of some girls. I met a very pretty Elena of Avalor, for example, but I'd have been more comfortable taking out her older sister, if you know what I mean.

Fun Fact:
if you look closely, you can see the pair of doors at Meet & Greet locations, and they're very careful to set up a small group at once, open one door, then draw you all in before the other door is opened for the next group. So every Princess usually has a counterpart in the immediate room over.

Also Fun: It's a great icebreaker to mention that you've met their Voice Actors doing the rounds at Comic Conventions. Just saying their name in passing is usually enough.

Other Things: Some Princesses are liable to just dominate the entire conversation and go rapid-fire, especially if you're a little quiet at first. Some are supposed to be REALLY chatty, while others are just pros at talking super-fast to move the line through (172 guests per hour is ideal; go below it and you can get in actual trouble! I've heard "Tattler" culture is big at WDW, sadly). As they're used to dealing with shy, noncommunicative kids, they have a lot of "pre-set conversation starters", and if you meet the "same" Princess a few times, you can pick up on them.

As most Princesses are chatty, this happens a lot. Most also take the arm of a male guest (I assume to prevent handsy fathers; one Snow White Reddit thing says this is a recurring issue, and others on YouTube are MUCH more blunt about it). A few will maintain their character's "voice" very sincerely- Tiana nearly always NAILS it. Belles nearly always match Paige O'Hara's cadence. "Human" Ariels tend to be chatterboxes, while "Mermaid" Ariels seem to do Jodi Benson's more slow, thoughtful delivery. Elsa is a major stand-out, as she's basically the only reserved, calm "Princess" (well, Queen).

Reading their "Face Plans" is interesting, as sometimes they match up, and other times they don't. According to some Q&As, you can often fail your audition for not looking enough like the OTHER active Face Characters- it's not as much about matching the plan for Belle as it is looking like every OTHER Belle. That said, I know from a fair few that the girls "double-up" as needed- at least one guy I know says a friend of his was "Friends Of" four women at a time (including the very not-white Pocahontas & Jasmine).
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image
Image

ANNA & ELSA: The Royal Somerhus in EPCOT is the new meeting place of these two. I was planning on doing this once, but ended up going five times because I'm still obsessed with Frozen, lol.

It's funny, though- I was expecting pretty girls, especially for Elsa. But then I walked in and saw literally the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my life, DRESSED AS MY FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER. I mean, I was FLOORED by how gorgeous this Elsa was- a somewhat long face, HUGE eyes, and absolutely immense, high cheekbones, giving her an otherworldly look. Her eyes were so dark blue I couldn't look away from them (though when I saw that Anna's were the same, and the subsequent Elsas all had the same eyes except the one with NATURALLY blue eyes, I figured out WHY they looked so impossible, lol). When I greeted her, I did a full formal bow ("Your MAJESTY", I said, like a total dork), and she actually got a wide-eyed, hand-on-chest, "Oh, THANK you!", lol.

The first Elsa I met is quite possibly the loveliest person I've ever seen in real life (which you can tell by my extremely-reserved body language in the picture :)). Most of the others looked a fair bit younger, occasionally with different facial shapes. I mean, for all the "they should look alike", some of them were ENORMOUSLY different- one had a slimmer face, while another had chipmunk cheeks. None looked remotely as old as the first one (who is the same Elsa as this June 2018 YouTube video, which means she's been at this a while). I in fact couldn't find ANY similarities... until I looked at my pictures of us talking and realized that every one of them had the exact same straight noseline when viewed in profile.

With the first time I walked in, I figured I wasn't gonna do "Princess Poses" all the time, so I'd just get a pic with my phone. Unfortunately, when I smiled and asked an attendant if she could take pictures, she gave me that noticeable "UGH!" look/sound, so I could tell she was a bit annoyed (either I was more brusque than I thought, or she just didn't feel like it). And though she took some decent photos, the PhotoPass guy might have been annoyed too (like "this guy isn't gonna buy these anyhow, why bother?"), and ended up only snapping TWO photos, only one of which turned out particularly well. It was unfortunate, because I realized later than my iPhone didn't take great pics of people, so I'd have actually wanted those ones. In any case, there's literally only two PhotoPass pics of this Elsa, while I have at LEAST five of every other character (including the Anna that was in the same room; the next attendant/photo guy apparently had no issue), and often upwards of a dozen. And I definitely didn't shove my phone into the person's face or anything. Just one of those things, I guess. The REST of the time, I had the pictures taken by the pros, with their good cameras.

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

I'm not an addict! I can quit any time I want!

What was neat is that they all had that "Queenly Reserve" thing going on- I would imagine Elsa is the most-difficult character to play in a lot of regards- she's never outgoing in the story. If you watch Frozen carefully, she's absolutely the quietest character ever 90% of the time. So she's not as bubbly as the other Princess characters you meet, moves very slowly and with purpose, etc. They're all VERY careful to flow that long cape around just so- they also all do this little "flick" with their hands (fingers splayed out with the pointer finger all the way up and the pink all the way down) and slowly drag the cape behind them. I actually complimented one of the Elas on it- it's really impressive.

Sadly, I wanted to go on about my Wicked t-shirt to Elsa, given the natural link between that and her story (Idina Menzel playing a magical chick who gets mistreated because of what she is, but through the use of a chatty annoying girl and Power Ballads, she accepts herself for who she is), but... Elsas always start off the conversation asking where I'm from or whether or not I'm an ice harvester, and there was never really an opportunity. Plus I didn't want to waste time in one of the busiest Meet & Greets. So despite meeting five separate Elsas, I never managed to talk about it :). Only one Elsa seemed particularly unique, in that she insisted that I NOT TELL Anna about the chocolate she'd hidden throughout the Castle. I of course betrayed this trust... but with an Anna two days later :).

Elsa seems to have a typical "pose"- doing that one with her hand up in the air and a casual smile on her face. Oddly, two Elsas did that with no body contact, while two others put their hand on my back. A middle one actually took my arm for the "Typical Princess Pose With Male Guest", which shocked me. I wonder what criteria they use for these? Do some performers just have a typical pose to use?

Annas, by contrast, are VERY chatty and outgoing (the first I met pointed out that "Kristoff calls me feistypants"). Typically if one gets going, they can dominate the entire conversation- it's tricky to even get a word in. Most of them completely stepped all over me, though one heard Elsa ask where I was from ("So I heard you say you're from CANADA?"), and another went on and on about chocolate, and asked me what kinds. She appeared stunned and confused when I said "maple" (IT'S A THING, I SWEAR!), but I copped to Elsa's secret hidden chocolate, which excited her. "HERE!?!" she asked, agog at the iea, and I stumbled out "Well in the CASTLE, maybe! But also in here!". Annas tend to have the same "Face Plan"- very cherubic, youthful cheeks, big eyes, and a pointy chin. Their full costumes make them stand out from the gown-wearing other Princesses for sure! The eyes of the sisters were interesting- they nearly always wear dark blue contacts, giving their eyes an impossible look.

The first Anna was super-cute, but the poor thing was wearing SO MUCH MAKEUP that I think it gave her artificial bags under her eyes (she looked barerly 20, yet had two dark lines visible in the photos)- she had some bad skin under her mouth, with notable pits. It kind of reminds me of some Princesses' comments, where they laughed about being called "beautiful" all day long, while hiding bad acne breakouts and the like, being so young.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image
Image

The outdoor Belles look pretty similar, but "Jenna Coleman's Clone" looks nothing like either, lol.

BELLE: Belle is visible all over the parks in various ways, but EPCOT has the primary meet & greet. Oddly, she has to sit alongside the rock wall, while Aurora gets a covered gazebo with a fan. Belle Characters have always impressed me- if you watch, they are VERY precise in their movements, going about like little ballerinas, just like the animators intended in the film. Watch the feet- one is ALWAYS pointed off to the side or at an angle. The makeup doesn't run, even in deathly Florida weather (this impressed the girls in line).

The first Belle I met was FANTASTIC. She had the movements down, the right face shape for the character (Belles typically have rounder faces- "full" and a bit less distinct than an Aurora), and even the VOICE. Like, she had the exact same inflections as Paige O'Hara did in the movie. And when I added "You know, you're my favorite Princess- in fact, I met a very nice lady named Paige O'Hara who told me that Belle is ALWAYS the favorite of the boys", we started talking about her ("Have you seen her paintings?", she asked). She even pointed out my Wicked shirt and nerded out over it in a way that made it clear she HAD actually read the novel ("Have you READ that story?"), before remembering to stay in character ("Do you think The Beast would like it?"). Then I pointed out how it was neat how she always took ballerina poses and she LOLd, almost embarrassed, like "People DO notice that a lot!". It ended up being a minute or so interaction- much longer than normal. Truly a great interaction.

The next Belle I met at the same location wasn't as familiar with Wicked, but I came up with my "Wicked/BATB" theory about how similar they are ("It's about a person who LOOKS odd, and so people mistreat them; that makes them grouchy and insular, until a GIRL comes along and helps them out of their shell!"). I don't recall as much about this one, though. She didn't seem to have it down AS well, but had the dialogue style properly. When I added "you're my FAVORITE Princess" she did the "laugh off to the side with hand covering the mouth" thing, and when I mentioned I'd met Gaston, she added "He is positively PRIMEVAL" (like the movie), and I joked about how flattering him made him seem to like me a lot more, lol.

The other Belle I saw was in Akershus, doing the big meet & greet. Oddly, they let me in way early, so I was the only one there. I was stunned to find what looked like a sixteen-year-old girl in Belle's costume! I mean, she was TINY, and looked way younger than the other two. A much rounder, more delicate face than the other girls (who seem to have thicker eyebrows drawn in), and wayyyyyyyyyy less make-up. It wasn't until I looked at the pictures that I realized she was a near exact clone of actress Jenna Coleman, too. I mean, it was UNCANNY.

The poor thing straight up JUMPED when I mentioned that I'd met Paige O'Hara- like a full "OMG!" expression, wide eyes, and covering her mouth while she hopped in excitement. Now THAT was funny :). Then I compared "Wicked" to "BATB" again ("So it's about this person who looks off-putting, and so everyone treats them badly, and that makes them grouchy & insular. And then a girl comes along and helps them come out of their shell!" "That's just like MY story!"). I think comparing a Broadway musical to a Disney movie to a character FROM that movie classifies as 10/10 Nerdiness.

Image

Every girl I show this to gushes over how pretty Aurora is. Meanwhile, I forgot to take off my sunglasses, lol.

Image

This Aurora looks craaaaaaaaaaaazy in the pictures :).

AURORA: I met two different "friends" in Paris (EPCOT), and another in the Akershus dining hall. One thing that's always struck me is the consistency in Auroras in the Parks- none of the other girls EVER have quite the same consistent "body/face plan" like Auroras do. It's always the same type of girl- tall-ish, slender, VERY long face. She typically acts like the most generic and friendly of the Princesses- "Princess Classic", as they call it, since she's not wild like most of the later ones, nor is she reserved or an intellectual. One I met just did a delighted chuckle most of the while (I forgot to take my sunglasses off for the picture, lol). REALLY prominent dimples.

Another went on this big thing about Prince Phillip, Dragons, and the rumors of a Dragon in EPCOT (once I figured out what she was talking about, I made mention of him being purple, and she suggested "he was just a figment of the imagination"). The weirdest thing is, this Aurora had a VERY distinctive Southern accent. I mean, she was doing the full "Southern Belle" thing ("Hello theah", "Ah heard tell of a DRAGON even here in EPCOT!" "Though some would say he's a FIGMENT of the IMAHGHINAYSHUN"). Which is weird, as most of the girls have very specific vocal cadences to perform- you're supposed to literally sound like the movie character, and here's this girl with a TOTALLY different accent. I nearly asked her if she was from "The southern portion of France", but was afraid it'd come off as mean, lol. But it was VERY striking; I'd never heard a Southern Disney Princess like that! I'm pretty sure that's not even allowed, given how most YouTube Princess Face Characters indicate how long they had to try to capture the voice.

The facial requirements for Aurora frequently mean that they're infamously attractive, I think. I saw a few gay guys in line clearly fawning over the first one "She's SO BEAUTIFUL!" and many Mommy Blogs warn about husbands spending too much time around Auroras, lol. And the women I showed the pic to were floored by the first one's beauty, as well.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

ARIEL: Ariel is always very hyperactive in human form, but less so in mermaid form, for whatever reason. And oddly, Ariels seem to be recruited from the same ranks as the Auroras, with very long faces, despite Ariel herself having VERY round facial features in the movies. But... mermaid Ariels tend to have rounder faces. It's peculiar. I had humorously long conversations with the Ariels in her "Grotto" meet & greet- I guess they're just happy to talk to ADULTS once in a while. I mentioned to one that I'd met "a human with nearly your EXACT voice" in Jodi Benson, and she suggested she "might have been a mermaid in a past life". With the next one, she mentioned "snarfblat" and I said I'd seen her using one on her hair, at which point she immediately corrected me- "That's not a snarfblat, SILLY- that's a DINGLEHOPPER!" (SCHOOLED!), and we riffed on that for a while ("did you know that some people use this to pick up FOOD?!?" "Really?!"). I mentioned I really had no use for such a thing, and she giggled. Quite funny.

haha, regarding Ariels, I always remember reading in one of the Travel Guides about how adults can get a bit shocked when they see her- "I was stunned to find a young woman wearing only a clamshell bra and a fish tail!" one guest reports. They were immediately too self-conscious to take a picture, and poor Ariel actually seemed hurt ("you don't want to take a picture with me?"). But yeah, it's legitimately a very young woman (I assume they have to have toned stomachs) wearing a clamshell bra. A pretty solid one, though- the second Ariel actually leaned into me for the photo, and that thing is REALLY thick and heavy. It hits you with a "THUD". Sucker's about 2-3 inches thick.

The third Ariel I met was in Akershus, and was one of the "hyperactive, long-faced human-form" Ariels. I remember almost nothing of what she said, lol. You REALLY don't have much time in the dining hall to talk.

Image
Image

CINDERELLA: Oddly, Cinderella seems to have the least-consistent facial characteristics of the girls. Rounder faces are common, I guess, but I've seen a lot of Cinderellas that match the face of a "Drizella" much more- longer, prominent noses. Very atypical appearances in some cases. They're apparently pretty famous for cooing over little boys who get in line, dancing with them and getting marriage proposals from infatuated youngsters, lol. I met her twice (the one in Akershus actually skipped my table!)- I think one led the entire conversation one time, while the next kept talking about the ball and hoping I'd be there, and all sorts of stuff about if I danced. She was all like "I hope you'll save at least one dance FOR ME!" and I was like "is she actually flirting with me, or is this part of the job?" I ended up asking if her sisters were going to be there, and if they were still single (I mean, Cinderella is MARRIED). "Oh yes- they're available! And they've been taking their dancing lessons, too!"

Here, the job requirements for slender girls became notable. The second Cinderella leaned right into me for the picture, and the front of that dress is SOLID. Like, a whole plank of... I dunno, whalebone or something. It would be intensely uncomfortable to have much shapeliness in that. It actually HIT me, like Ariel's clamshell.

Image

THE STEP SISTERS: These girls are always a hoot. And I find they seem to be recruited from similar groups as the Princesses, as they're often just as attractive as the Princess characters, though just in quirky ways. Anastasia appears full-faced and normal-looking, while Drizella is often attractive but with a very prominent nose. When I brought up that Cinderella said they had been taking dancing lessons, they immediately started hopping around, awkwardly raising their feet, and more. Hilariously, when I told Anastasia "You know, I talked to your stepsister, Cinderella, the other day..." She immediately interrupted with "I'm SORRY...." with this exasperated tone. I held in a laugh, going "yeah, she's a bit much, isn't she?". Truly funny girls. And boy, you have to be a good sport- some little girl ran right up and was all "You're UGLY!" to them.

Anastasia (who is the ONLY one that talks most of the time; Drizella just kind of sits there, all bored) noticed my Wicked shirt and riffed off that- when I explained that "it's about how someone who was thought of as the VILLAIN can actually just be MISUNDERSTOOD!" she was all "EXACTLY!!". Great stuff.

Image
Image

ELENA OF AVALOR: Yes, curiously, the spirited star of a Disney Junior TV series gets to sit there alongside the ultra-famous Cinderella. I actually really enjoy that show (it's TOTALLY on the wrong network; it's aired alongside Doc McStuffins, yet features the heroine whipping out a fire scepter and SHOOTING A WITCH IN THE FACE with it), which meant I was looking forward to this one. Both Elenas I met were very spirited and feisty, and looked nothing alike (one of those "well, you match the ethnicity" things, I guess). The funniest bit was the first one giving me some generic stuff about whatever, and asking me if I'd rather go "someplace COLD, or someplace HOT...?", and when I answered with "what about that one... MAGICAL place?" and her eyes just LIT UP as we said at once "VALLESTRELLA?!?!" with this look that just said "OH THANK GOD- AN ADULT KNOWS WHO I AM!!!"

I mean, these poor girls. Always gotta meet adults who are like "who on Earth is THIS?" unless they have small children. She's so obscure, yet sits there alongside a Princess everyone on Earth recognizes. It was adorable seeing the girl just light up when she realized I'd actually seen the show, so she was able to talk about the magical creatures living there. The second time I met Elena, she went on this thing about Jacquins (without explaining what they were) for a bit until I said "How's Vallestrella?"- she was a bit less excited than the last one to be recognized, but we did the "back-to-back with our arms crossed" pose.
User avatar
Ken
Posts: 3460
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 10:40 pm
Location: Sycalb, Madiganistan

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Ken »

Jabroniville wrote: Thu Jun 04, 2020 6:56 am Image
Image
Is this the same trip as last year, or were you able to make the trip this year after all?

And why does Ariel where seashells?

Because the b-shells are too small and the d-shells are too big.
My Amazing Woman: a super-hero romantic comedy podcast.

When the most powerful super hero on Earth marries an ordinary man, hilarity ensues.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

It's the same trip as last year. I realized I'd forgotten to finish these posts here.
User avatar
Goldar
Posts: 1229
Joined: Mon Nov 07, 2016 2:10 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Goldar »

Nice pics Thanks for sharing.

You definitely will be able to take your trip in the Fall. Disney World is schedule to re-open about June 22,2020 I believe.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Goldar wrote: Fri Jun 05, 2020 2:32 am Nice pics Thanks for sharing.

You definitely will be able to take your trip in the Fall. Disney World is schedule to re-open about June 22,2020 I believe.
Yeah, but I think I'm going to reschedule anyhow- they've reduced park hours and cancelled many things I like doing (Parades, fireworks, meet & greets, dinners with characters), and I have to spend a ton of money to get there, so I want to maximize visits, lol.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Image

Tink- unconvinced that my shirt doesn't mean I'm evil.

TINKER BELL: This one immediately freaked out at my Wicked t-shirt- "Wait- WICKED? Does that mean you're bad? Are you bad?!", but she calmed down since "well, it IS green, and that's my favorite color!". Very funny interaction, as she does the "crossed arms" thing and acts very spunky and impetuous. It's kind of mind-blowing that creepy dads would hit on these girls (one Tink AMA insists that "all dads are pervy" and that she's always been asked "what's under your skirt?"- the height requirements (4'11" to 5'2") and body type (slender, not very chesty) make them look legitimately about fourteen. I can't imagine coming to a park to hit on a Tinker Bell. It's SO WEIRD.

She appeared legitimately thankful that I'd actually seen the Disney Fairies stuff before Disney nuked that franchise. These poor girls- they have to memorize EVERYTHING, and now there's an entire set of movies that kids no longer really have access to. After a big riff on Wicked, she asked if I was a "Tinker-Talent Fairy", I suggested possibly a "Fast-Flying Talent", which IMMEDIATELY led her to riff about Vidia and how she'd been slowing down ("she must be slowing down, because she said she was going faster than the speed of sound, but this time I HEARD HER!"). She had that stuff about Vidia READY- probably just in case people ask about the Fairies stuff.

Seeing as this is right off of Main Street, this line-up is RIDICULOUSLY busy all day. It also has one of those lame automatic "Memory Maker" cameras to save on labor, which is goofy (Belle's less-popular meet & greet outside has an attendant and cameraman, but this one doesn't?). Since it just snaps "whenever", you can get some odd photos. And the next family's photos. I kind of feel for Tink, who now has to do Meet & Greets alone, instead of with her old Fairy Friends (most Silvermists were also Mulans).

Image

SNOW WHITE: Both Snow Whites I met (EPCOT, Akershus), were all about gooseberry pie for some reason, lol. Just going on about Grumpy Dwarf (were they saying something about my demeanor!?!) and that pie. Snow was HORRIFIED that my Akershus dessert contained none of it. Man, doing that voice all day has to be awful, though. As usual, I notice that all Snows have very round faces- the thick makeup and wigs easily making them resemble the character (though MUCH older- the movie version is quite young). When I joked that "you know, *I* can be a bit grumpy sometimes, too", she did the hugely-fake "laugh into her hand" Princess Laugh thing. You can really tell these girls squeak out their lines, though- no wonder some of them ruin their vocal chords.

Alas, no conversation like the last time I was at WDW, where Snow was all "Are you here ALL BY YOURSELF?" and when I was like "um, yes", she responded "ARE YOU STILL WAITING FOR THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE!?". Total pity from a Disney Princess is hard on the self-esteem, lol.

Image

GASTON: So to prove to others that I DIDN'T just take pictures with the gir-- I mean, so I could COMPLETELY MY FACE CHARACTER ALLOTMENT, I met up with Gaston. Now, guy/guy interactions with Gastons are always good, but in this case, I was sure to just use flattery. "You know, I always felt you were the PARAGON of manliness" "WOAH WOAH WOAH- 'Paragon'- that's a big word; what does that mean?" I had to shorted it up for him. Then he declared himself the TRUE hero of that story, pointing out he deserved Belle. Keeping up the flattery, I agreed, saying "a chin-cleft is the TRUE sign of a hero!". As I left, he told me to "Keep spreading the truth!". Thank goodness for Villain Meet & Greets :).

I naturally saw at least one person mention the push-ups to him- that thing is now a LEGENDARY YouTube video. However, it's not allowed; you can't touch the ground like that anymore. So he has to awkwardly say "I put too many cracks in the ground!" to anyone who asks now. I noticed this Gaston had some pretty bad skin- his comparative youth probably makes breakouts inevitable (not a lot of Gastons over 23, I think)- there's a lot of stage makeup on him, plus the "fake muscles"- Gastons are cast based off of height as much as anything.
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

RAPUNZEL: Rapunzel, whose dress is a lot less "flashy" than the other girls' (no Giant Bell-Shaped Dress), but more detailed (as she's from a CGI movie), was fun... but a total chatterbox. Some Princesses are trained to just go off on tangents (like Anna), and WOW she went off. I carry around a little side-satchel with me, and since Flynn's satchel is a big part of his whole "thing" (I guess), before I knew it, she was going on and on (at about a million miles a minute) about how "Flynn got me a satchel for my paints and dadadaa and dadadadada and dadadada..." that I was barely able to keep up. I had to wait until the end of her spiel before I could say ANYTHING, as I'd intended to talk about my friend's little daughter who's OBSESSED with her movie and TV show ("Even though it's TERRIFYING!", as I noted). I can't imagine what it's like to have to talk that fast all day, lol.

TIANA: I met Tiana only once (she shares the room with Rapunzel- I note that they have the "Popular Blonde Princess" meeting alongside the "Minority Princess" in each room, probably for a reason). This was the magical day I wore my Powerline t-shirt (from A Goofy Movie and had a ton of people comment on it- mostly black women, for some reason. And of course TIANA got in on it, too- "I LOVE your shirt!" she declared. I brought up him being a rock star, which led to a thing about Naveen being a jazz musician ("sort of the same thing"), and she mentioned dancing and such, and right before I mentioned that "I have two left feet", she said JUST THAT, but that she was learning. So I had to confess "I was literally JUST about to say that!" and we went into another thing. This girl TOTALLY had the voice down (YouTube videos reveal that most Tianas have mastered that "New Orleans Accent"- people in the comments are always AGOG over them, as most of the Princesses don't have specific vocal cadences they can follow so well). Then I'm pretty sure she addressed me as "handsome" and asked me to come to the next ball.
User avatar
Bladewind
Posts: 3234
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:26 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Bladewind »

This just popped up as unread thread in my notifications. And I call not fair !

One month from now, we were supposed to be in Disneyworld. My wife and are celebrating 20 years of marriage (went there on our honeymoon...) and my daughter is graduating high school... we had the perfect trip planned.

Thanks for showing me everything we're gonna miss ! lol.
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
Bladewind's 3ed M&M Builds
The Merge Setting document
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Bladewind wrote: Mon Jun 08, 2020 4:56 pm This just popped up as unread thread in my notifications. And I call not fair !

One month from now, we were supposed to be in Disneyworld. My wife and are celebrating 20 years of marriage (went there on our honeymoon...) and my daughter is graduating high school... we had the perfect trip planned.

Thanks for showing me everything we're gonna miss ! lol.
oof- sorry, dude.

I'm sure it'll still be great fun, but yeah, truncated park days by 2 hours each, I think no Extra Magic Hours, and the character stuff won't be there. I'm still not sure which rides will be up.

Congrats on the anniversary, though :)!
User avatar
Bladewind
Posts: 3234
Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2016 9:26 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Bladewind »

Thanks !

We actually cancelled the trip... no idea if/ when the border is even going to reopen !
Thorpocalypse wrote: Sun Oct 07, 2018 6:01 pm Building to be comics "accurate" is different than building to run a PC or building something to challenge a group.
Bladewind's 3ed M&M Builds
The Merge Setting document
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Bladewind wrote: Tue Jun 09, 2020 6:49 pm Thanks !

We actually cancelled the trip... no idea if/ when the border is even going to reopen !
Oh, you don't live in the U.S. either?
Jabroniville
Posts: 24690
Joined: Fri Nov 04, 2016 8:05 pm

Re: Disney World Trip Report

Post by Jabroniville »

Image
Image

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS (and Pinkeye!):

* Last time I was here, they hadn't quite built the new Harry Potter expansion yet, so this will be a bit of new stuff to see. During my planning phases, I kind of left one day "free", imagining I'd either go to Universal for two days in a row (as I did on my last Florida vacation), or spend another day park-hopping at Disney- I chose the latter, after realizing I'd enjoyed Epcot so much this time around.

Getting here was a bit of a pain, oddly, as my attempts to book a Mears Bus (like last time) went nowhere (their website wouldn't really work for me, and only provided cube vans and the like), and the person at the desk at Pop Century told me I should just get a taxi, since "it would be just as expensive". Ultimately, it took about $40 to get there, and $50 to head back (in some truly AWFUL traffic), which I think is a lot more than a shuttle for one day would cost, isn't it? At least it's a lot more convenient to come and go whenever you feel like it. Though man... I remember two days being "not that excessive" when I was there last time- now, a Park-Hopper was around $170!! So the day ended up being something like $300-400+ in Canadian money, which was a BIT crazy for, you know, just a single day. At least at Disney, I could spread the cost through the entire week.

Image

This thing was SO AWESOME, but I could never get a good picture because of the glare from the glass.

So spending only one day at the Studios, I decided to get there early-ish (though the HUGE line for tickets resulted in me missing rope-drop by a ways), and head right to the new Harry Potter stuff. Thankfully, this proved to be very excellent- there's a lot of "fakery" involved in getting what is essentially three rows of buildings to look like a large city, but the closed-in nature of everything, the piled-high facades, and the giant DRAGON all made for a big spectacle. No wonder Disney's constantly looking to one-up this stuff. If I was more into Potter stuff, I'd be agog over this, but even so, I was super impressed. Butter Beer tastes like it always does (how I'm not diabetic yet is an eternal question), they have this cool dark hallway where you can see anatomical images of monsters, and there's musical performances and stuff. The talking Goblin dude is an interesting attraction (the person behind the desk has him warn you if you bring food in "Please be careful with your food and drinks..." and has him asking for people's names), there's a "Pet Store", and more. A lot of it goes over my head, but I can always appreciate the work they put into this.

Escape From Gringott's is... fine. I mean, it's a 3D thing with some fast bits, and some "viewing things on screens", which isn't really my thing anymore, but it's fine. As a solo rider, I can walk on basically whenever (I rode it twice at all hours, and basically walked on both times). The plot's kinda lame, and there's less physically in front of you as there is at Hogwart's, but otherwise it's okay. The whole "you have to put your stuff into lockers" nannying is honestly more annoying than anything else, and kept me from riding it again. I rode the Hogwart's thing once and kind of skimmed this go-around of the Wizarding World in the old set-up, though I rode the train between the two. That was kind of a LOT of walking and running around for very little "attraction", so the next time I park-hopped, I just walked to the regular entrance.

Holy shitballs this animatronic.

The King Kong ride is basically "Another Lame Rollicking 3D Screen Simulator", which I rode easily using Single Rider, but the part with the Kong animatronic is EXCELLENT. Just amazing, state-of-the-art work, and something I'm way more into. I'd have ridden this a ton of times, but they closed Single Rider after a point, and I wasn't waiting 40+ minutes after that. I also did the mandatory Jurassic Park ride once, Transformers & Spider-Man. I rode the Fast & The Furious thing, and WOW was that lame. Weirdly fake screens of people awkwardly dancing and the cast snarking, then a ludicrously over-the-top insult to physics of a chase scene? How could anyone have survived ANY of that? Oh well- it's dumb but entertainingly so.

Having only one day, I skipped a LOT of stuff I'd already ridden- the Simpsons, Shrek, Men In Black, The Mummy (I was gonna, but again... lockers), and more. I kind of just... enjoyed the scenery a little bit more, as opposed to cramming everything in. I actually enjoyed the ET ride more this time than before, appreciating how aged it was. Sooooooooooooo old. It's great fun that way.

Image

I wonder... do the people working in here ever get sick of that song? They just repeat the same bars over and over again!

I feel like I should have gone to "Mythos" as a restaurant, because it smelled INSANELY good in there. Great scenery all around in that place. I listened to the snarky fountain for a bit in that one Island nobody hangs around in (my sister was SO MAD when she waited in line forever only to see a random show in an "effects room"). I skipped over the Kiddie Islands, but had fun in the shops around there- how many kids know what Gasoline Alley is? Because they even named a shop after it here! I saw a Betty Boop Face Character, with a huge security guard at the end of the line, looking serious as heck. It's pretty funny, actually, but given the much more "young adult" clientele of this park, and the nature of Betty's, um... garments... I can believe them being needed.

Image

I do get a kick out of Disney properties being heavily featured in a Universal theme park... especially because these are the most DATED versions ever! Iron Man hasn't worn that outfit in 25 years! The X-Men debuted those looks in *1992*! It's hilarious!

Right near park closing, I saw some dumb teenager get into trouble with park security, as he'd gotten into it with a cashier about something, then a plainclothes female guard showed up to talk to him. He did some "Do you WORK HERE?" thing, necessitating her showing him the badge... and more guys showed up. And more. And more. And finally he was surrounded by like seven people, who escorted him out of the park ("YOUR park?" he taunted. "Yeah, it's OUR park, because we WORK here!" she responded). Funny how quickly they can get there- sure a notch better than at Disneyland.

The only unfortunate thing was an itchy eye thing that was bothering me a little bit most of the day. Rubbing it occasionally, and of course swapping eyes to rub... I eventually realized what was going on. Eye grossness formed, redness of the eyes... yup- PINK EYE. If only I could figure out how I managed to get pinkeye while spending a week in theme parks filled with hundreds of thousands of people! This would only get worse throughout the vacation, though thankfully the pain went away and was replaced with me being unable to see when I got up in the morning, lol.

Ultimately, I was left satisfied, but a bit "Well, I've seen all this before". A couple of new rides, and some great scenery, but I was almost bored at points. The City Walk area looks terrific, though, and is probably as big a lure for the younger adults of Orlando- I noticed way more 15-25 year olds and partiers around, and it's clearly advertised towards them, with Disney World being more full of kids, families, and older people. I was ultimately left with the feeling of "should I bother coming back here again?", because... it's REALLY expensive to even make a day of it here, because you have to pay the fare to get to the Studios from WDW, then pay to get in for only a single day, which was a LOT more than I was expecting. Nobody goes to Florida to expect a cheap vacation, but when it's $300 cheaper to spend a day at DISNEY, you know it's nuts.
Post Reply