Staff writer Brian Bennett’s photo tours are a great trip planning resource for those guests unfamiliar with various attractions in the Orlando area. In this first group of letters, Brian responds to feedback on his coverage of the new Shamu show, Believe, at SeaWorld Orlando (link). Dave Weber writes:
Thanks for the interesting article on the new Shamu show at Sea World! I was wondering if the always entertaining splashing of the audience by the whales still occurs? Still a need for the “splash zone”?
Yes, the show still does include the classic “splash the audience” moves. Unfortunately, the whales moved faster than I could anticipate and none of those pictures turned out.
Tom writes:
My wife went and caught the new dolphin show, which was a major disappointment. She feels they are trying to add too much [Cirque du Soleil] into everything with a Broadway spark. In fact the Shamu show sets were designed by Broadway experts.
The artsy fartsy of the shows is a miss for the kids since they want to see the animals. It seems they pocket the animals in very specific times with is always less the video.
I think we can all use a little video and more real action in almost all the theme parks. I think that is why the Fantasmic! at Disneyland is superior to the MGM one since it does not have the eight minutes of straight video. But of course, what do I know my son loved the show and clapped when Mickey was being chased and destroyed the dragon. I don’t think the crowd and SeaWorld cheered as loud as the Fantasmic! crowd did. Thanks again for a very honest article.
I completely agree about the “Cirque-ing” of the dolphin show. They now spend more time on human acrobatics and such than on highlighting the dolphins themselves!
Fortunately, even when Believe (the new killer whale show) goes off tangent a bit to tell the story of a young boy who became a trainer, the focus is still on the orca. Of the two, Believe is by far the superior show.
But toss in Fantasmic! as an option (at either Disneyland or Walt Disney World) and I’d vote for Mickey and friends anytime.
Brian’s two-part photo tour of Disney’s Pop Century Resort (part 1, part 2) provides a detailed look at all this new resort has to offer. Robert Lutter writes:
I’m a cast member at Disney’s Pop Century Resort and I just wanted to make two corrections from Part 2 of your article about our property.
In the article you stated there are nine buildings in the resort. Well, there are actually 10. The 10th building actually starts with “0” (there’s also 1-9) and is located in the ’70s section.
Also, you called Phase 2 “The Golden Years.” The name is actually going to be “The Legendary Years.” Also a little tidbit—the buildings that are already built (and pretty much abandoned right now) are the 1940s buildings and “Legendary Hall” (which will, eventually, be the lobby and hold the quick service/merchandise location).
Thank for the note Rob. I’ll ask our editor to correct the building count… And I’ll make sure to make the correction regarding the “Golden Years” after you guys get that part of the resort built.
Tom Sinsky writes:
Thanks Brian, for saving me an hour or so that I would have used to check out that resort. I loved the large statues from Lady and the Tramp, Jungle Book and of Mickey and his friends, but I thought everything else looked like a depressing housing project. As a movie fan I think I will wait to see if they make any suites at All-Star Movies or splurge on that moderate resort that looks like New Orleans (I forgot the name).
My wife and I had a reservation to stay in the Pop Century right after it was scheduled to open, but the opening was delayed. Disney informed us that we could stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge for only $10 more! I’m not making that up. We did and, of course, were pretty happy. The check-in person said it was the lowest rate they’d ever seen for the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Thanks for the note, Tom. If you ever come across a rate like that for Animal Kingdom Lodge, make sure to let all your friends know—buddy, pal, great old friend of mine.
Also, regarding the Port Orleans Resort… I don’t think you can go wrong there. I much more prefer the moderate resorts to the value resorts because of the theming and ambiance.
Stanton Wong writes:
I enjoyed your photo report on Pop Century and would love your feedback. We’ve been to All-Star Resort in the early ’90s and it was wonderful to be on Disney property at a great value. We went in January and had a great time. Since then I’ve heard some horror stories about staying at the value resorts. Besides the kids, the worst part is the massive crowds getting to and from the parks on the busses. Often it was the last stop, farthest away, and had the longest lines. Part of me feels that if we go in off-season, it shouldn’t be that bad, but I am concerned.
We’re hoping to return to Walt Disney World in September, October, or November and thinking of staying at Pop Century. Part of our group swears the crowds won’t be that bad since were in off-season. Others think its better to pay the premium for the Moderate Resorts and get a better experience. The concern is not about theming or amenities, just crowds.
If your only concern regarding the resorts is crowd levels, then the folks in your party that are saying that September, October, and November will be significantly less busy than June and July are absolutely right.
I would, however, suggest that you avoid the golf tournament (October 16 – 22, 2006), Labor Day weekend in September, and Thanksgiving week in November. Other than those times, the fall is much less crowded than the other times of the year.
Pop Century will be less crowded than the All-Stars, too, just because it’s a smaller resort. It will have fewer buses running to and from it, but overall I think you’ll find that the queues for buses will be about a third of the size of the All-Star resorts.
Arnie writes:
Thanks for providing the tour of the Pop Century resort. Are there any pictures/reviews of the rooms? Or did I miss them somewhere? Just wondering how the rooms are since I have a week stay at the PC coming up. I have stayed at the All-Star Music and the All-Star Movies in the past and in both cases the furniture and bathrooms were showing signs of aging which is interesting since the All-Star resorts are not that old (compared to other Disney resorts).
Unfortunately, no, I don’t have any room pictures. I’ve only been in one room at Pop Century Resort on a single occasion, and the room was very much like the All-Star rooms, although I must say that I never noted any wear and tear.
Brian’s photo tour of the NASA Up Close tour at the Kennedy Space Center’s (link) prompted this letter from Yvette Jenkin, who writes:
Thank you so much for such a nice note about your experience with the NASA Up Close tour at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. I will recommend that for your next trip you take your young children to experience the Mad Mission to Mars Show and also The U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Both are included with your annual pass.
At the U.S Astronaut Hall of Fame you will get to enjoy all the history behind the Astronauts, and also, there is a whole section of fun interactive games and simulators great for the whole family. Mad Mission to Mars is an Interactive Live Show at the Visitor Complex. By the way, do not miss the chance to see the temporary exhibit of The Lost Spacecraft Liberty Bell 7. The exhibit will be at KSCVC until September 10, and is located inside the IMAX theater building.
I look forward to reading more of your visits to Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.
Thanks for the kind note about the article I wrote about the KSC tour. We are, indeed, planning on returning to the Space Center—I hope before the boys go back to school in early August.
When we visited the Space Center, we did see “Mad Mission to Mars” with the boys. They did enjoy it very much. The young actors in the production worked very hard to keep the interest of their young audience and did a great job of it.
There is so much more to see. I’m really looking forward to it… And will make sure to write other articles for MousePlanet when we do so.
Finally, Brian’s knowledge of the Walt Disney World trains comes in handy in answering this query from MousePlanet reader Scott Sumner, who writes:
I recently contacted one of the other authors about this question but then I found your articles about the Walt Disney World Railroad tour and thought I’d ask you as well. During my last visit, I wasn’t able to take the steam train tour but I did ride the railroad. I boarded at the Main Street station and took the full circle. Behind Big Thunder Mountain Railroad I noticed an extra track spur but it was on the wrong side of the park to be the barn lead. I wondered if you had any insight on this. Here are my theories:
• Connection to the outside world (not likely since the Walt Disney World trains are narrow gauge)
• Some sort of model shop and/or paint shop over there since Big Thunder Mountain Railroad has a swing-out piece of track to allow its vehicles back to that area
• A connection to Animal Kingdom so that their trains can share the common maintenance facility.
Any information you have on the matter would be greatly appreciated.
The crossing for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad swung across and was tubular rail rather than standard track. I was spinning around to try to get another look at that when I saw the other Walt Disney World rail spur (so it’s in that general area). I remember the roundhouse siding in the general vicinity of Toontown.
Given the cost to lay track or build a new storage and maintenance facility, I could certainly see either one on the Animal Kingdom/Walt Disney World railroad facilities.
If I know the track siding you’re referring to (and I may be mistaken), I think you’re seeing a siding for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and not the Walt Disney World Railroad (the main train that runs around the park).
The fact that the siding you’re referring to was a tubular rail rather than standard track is proof that you were looking at a Big Thunder Mountain Railroad siding. The Walt Disney World Railroad trains run on standard track spiked down to standard ties with ballast.
The siding that goes back to the roundhouse is located just north and slightly west of the Toontown Fair station. As you are riding on the railroad the track to and from the round house actually comes into the main line from the left. Trains are returned to the roundhouse by backing up along that same track.
The Walt Disney World Railroad (at the Magic Kingdom) and the railroad at Disney’s Animal Kingdom are not connected in any way. Both have their own tracks and maintenance facilities.
