Magic Kingdom + Hollywood Studios: Thrillography's Great Floridian Expedition Trip Report - Part V

Hello again. :}

Who's ready for more Magic Kingdom??? :}

It's another beautiful day at Magic Kingdom park. 

Good morning horsey! Good morning Cinderella's Castle! Good morning crane!

Today we start with Adventureland!

The Tiki Room here is a bit more grand. At Disneyland you'll miss it if you blink.

Everyone knows there's no New Orleans Square at WDW (although there is a hotel with the theme). At Magic Kingdom and Disneyland Paris, Pirates of the Caribbean lives in Adventureland!

Fam in front of Pirates!

Taking pictures of this ride is a struggle, but I put forth maximum effort to get a decent shot of my favorite scene. :}

Pirates came to WDW in 1973, just a year and a half after the resort opened. It's slightly smaller than its Anaheim sibling and lacks the larger 2nd drop (which is present in the Anaheim version to help clear the Disneyland Railroad).

The other cardinal establishment of Disneyland's New Orleans Square, Haunted Mansion, is right at home in Magic Kingdom's unique Liberty Square. It's French Quarter-esque aesthetic was swapped out for something a bit more Tudor-ish. Inside, I'd say the rides are right on par with each other. 

Up next is one of my personal favorites!

<3 it's a small world! <3

The facade of this small world got a sizable downgrade from its Anaheim inspiration, but housing the entire queue indoors helps protect guests and scenery from Orlando's unforgiving weather patterns.

Inside, things are just as spirited as they are in California.

I'm sure you could put together a really in-depth master comparison of all 5 it's a small world installations, but that's an undertaking I'm not prepared to make. ;}

Who wants to tiptoe through the tulips with me? :}

A key difference between the first two small world installations: Disneyland's uses a flume  inside an otherwise dry setting; Disney World's is totally flooded, with boats guided by an underwater track. 

This ride is pretty much Epcot: the Ride. It just needs a Future World scene! 

India! Now here's a nation that could use a pavilion at Epcot!

Of the three small worlds I've ridden now, this is the only one that doesn't now feature classic Disney character animatronics in the style of Mary Blair. Their inclusion was met with opposition at first, but I think most people have really warmed up to them.

Not quite up to snuff with Hong Kong's Asia room, but still great. ;}

Africa! Epcot was supposed to have a larger Africa presence, but now Animal Kingdom seems to have satisfied the need.

When you give a hippo Schnapps, this happens. 

small world quickly became one of Emma's new favorite rides. 

Just like Jungle Cruise, small world features both Indian and African elephants. 

One of my favorite scenes! The Chilean penguins! 

The Latin America room of small world has a very special kindred attraction at Epcot! We'll be riding it tomorrow. :}

This would be the first of countless small world rides for Emma.

Rainforest room!

Oceana! 

Walt really loved Hawaii. Its significant influence on attractions like it's a small world, The Enchanted Tiki Room, and Disney's Polynesian Resort reflected American society's infatuation with Hawaii, particularly following its then-recent conversion to statehood. 

WDW's is the only small world that features a roller coaster. :}

All of the children come together in the finale room!

Almost time to say goodbye!

WDW's small world seems to have a lot of traffic jams. 

Bye small world! I'll be back again several times on this visit.

Well there's no walking by the carousel without Emma going for a ride. 

This time I joined in.

<3

What's that in the distance??

It's Splash Mountain! We'll be going for a ride on this later. :}

Back in Adventureland for the park's other, other Dumbo ride!

I think this is a nice ride for this area. Disneyland's Adventureland is one of the most cramped areas of any Disney park, but here there's plenty of room!

Walt Disney Studios Paris has a clone of this ride, but it was closed on our visit.

Our Jungle Cruise skipper was fantastic. Absolutely hilarious!

Anyone else hungry?

This gag has a totally different implication to me now that I'm older. 

What's that hiding in the rocks?

It's Seven Dwarfs Mine Train! One of my new favorites!

This ride has excellent throughput. It'd say it launches a train every 30 seconds or so. 

Despite the great capacity, lines are insane all day. 

Tilt shift. Duh.

The degree of smoothness on this ride is unparalleled. Literally the smoothest ride on any amusement park attraction. 

"Dive! Dive! Dive!"

(10,000 Leagues Under the Sea reference. It was located where the Mine Train is now)

Let's take a moment to appreciate how lovely these trains are. 

Time for lunch at Be Our Guest! It's one of WDW's latest and greatest dining options!

The bridge to Be Our Guest offers some pretty sweet Mine Train views!

<3 <3 <3

The dining rooms at Be Our Guest are second to none. 

Also the French Onion soup here was so good that I basically cried when it was over.

After our visit to Belle's we returned to the room before setting out on a twilight visit to Disney's MGM Hollywood Studios!

The smallest WDW park is the biggest on thrills! 

Like its sister park, Walt Disney Studios Paris, Disney's Hollywood Studios is suffering from a bit of an identity crisis. 

A movie studio park is a well-loved trope, but these days the parks are becoming a catch-all for ride concepts that don't fit into their companion parks.

Family photo!

Hollywood Studios opened in 1989 as Disney's MGM Studios. Its only rides were the Great Movie Ride and the now-defucnt Studio Backlot Tour. The latter's companion ride in Paris is still operating, and perhaps even more deserving of demolition.

Like Disneyland Anaheim, Hollywood Studios is preparing to debut Star Wars Land in 2018. Existing park areas have been given some temporary Star Wars flair.

What's this I see?

It's none other than Hollywood Studios' bread-and-butter attraction, the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror!

Few approaches are more bewitching than that of a walk down Sunset Blvd to the Hollywood Tower Hotel. 

This was a game-changing development for M&M Studios when it opened in 1994. Its since become one of the world's most celebrated Disney attractions, and in recent years has become one of four major identifying icons for WDW (along with Cinderella's Castle, Epcot's Spaceship Earth, and Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life).

Anaheim is about to say goodbye to their Tower of Terror, which opened in 2005 at Disney's California Adventure. The significantly abridged version of the ride will soon undergo a transformation into Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout for 2017.

Over here we have Tower of Terror's partner in crime, Rock 'N' Roller Coaster!

Ten years after MGM Studios opened, the debut of Rock 'N' Roller Coaster gave the park its third marquee thrill ride. At this point the park was firmly established as the resort's thrill ride hot spot!

Using the next generation of technology developed for Disneyland Paris' Space Mountain coaster, Vekoma launched the industry-revolutionizing Rock 'N' Roller Coaster to great reviews and outstanding success.

The French's insatiable appetite for big thrills lead to another Rock 'N' Roller Coaster at Walt Disney Studios Paris. 

The Florida Rock 'N' Roller coaster has a lot of details that the Paris coaster didn't receive, like the giant guitar and entry courtyard. Many are familiar with the ride's theme of VIP fans being shuttled to an Aerosmith show via stretch limo through the Hollywood hills.

 While the Paris coaster is a technical copy of the original, the ride is not located in a Hollywood-themed area. Oddly enough, the Paris version is actually themed to being a roller coaster – one that Aerosmith has designed to recreate the sensation of going to an Aerosmith show. 

I love the Limousine trains. Some of the coolest rolling stock ever devised. :}

The sun is setting at Hollywood Studios. You know what that means!

Time to grab seats for Disney's most iconic nighttime spectacular, Fantasmic!

I'm only familiar with watching this show at Disneyland by the Rivers of America, but this stadium is pretty sweet!

Mickey takes on the dragon!

Lots of fire.

And pretty water stuff!

I think it's clever the way Fantasmic empties out directly to the park entrance via a special walkway.

Bye Hollywood Studios! We'll be back later in the trip!

Round 2 of Disney is in the books! On the next update we'll dive head-first into what many consider to be Disney's greatest strength: Epcot!

Oh, and bring your appetite, because it's the annual Food and Wine Festival! :}