Thursday Thirteen #8 ~ 13 Rides I Loved at Disney World

Since I just got back from vacation, I thought I would regale you with stories of the rides I went on and loved. :) Let's see if I can remember them all...

1. Splash Mountain. Some people have an aversion to getting wet. Lemme tell ya, when you're in scorching Florida heat with a humidity level of 80%, Splash Mountain soon becomes your favorite ride in the park. :P

2. Big Thunder Mountain. This one is a favorite at Disneyland and Disney World. I love this one because the track is different from Disneyland's, and thus, it's like riding it again for the first time.

3. Mission Space. A lot of people don't like this one, and I couldn't ride it more than once, but it was awesome. The ride is in a centerfuge, which spins really fast, and this allows you to feel like you're "blasting off". Your mission is to go to Mars and be the first explorers. Of course, you face problems. :P We knew we were going to love this ride because Gary Sinise is the "commander" you watch on the TV in the line queue. We love Gary Sinise. And there are literally about 50,000 warnings for this ride. "Are you SURE you want to go on?" I think this ride had barf bags. LOL Sweet.

4. Dinosaur. This ride was awesome. My son loved it so much, he bought a dinosaur toy in the store the ride dumps you out in. They don't have the Indiana Jones ride at Disney World, however, they DO have Dinosaur. It's the same concept with the hydrolic bouncy cars. It was really fun, and dinos even spit at you on this one!

5. Aerosmith's Rockin' Roller Coaster. This ride ruled. First of all, the coaster looks like a stretch limo. That's because you are the VIP fans with a backstage pass trying to get to the Aerosmith concert. But oh no! There's bumper to bumper traffic on the freeway. What are you going to do? LOL This ride rockets you from 0 to 60 MPH in 3 seconds. And immediately, you go upside down. The ride is in the dark, so you can't see where you're going, but there are random street signs (like you're on the freeway) lit with dark lights. And through it all, you're listening to "Dude, Looks Like a Lady". Awesome. :P

6. Twilight Zone's Tower of Terror. I've heard this one has more of a "story" behind the ride than the one in Anaheim. It's a hotel that was a popular spot for Hollywood's elite in the 30's, that suddenly got struck by lightning and sucked into some other dimension. LOL Of course, the ghosts of the starlets are still in the hotel. And you're in the haunted elevators that go up to a level where you then go forward, out into a room where you look at all the ghosty stuff, before the room goes dark and you suddenly drop 7 stories. Then bounce back up five. Then drop again, and bounce up three. Then drop again. If you didn't have your seatbelt on, you'd be seriously effed up on this ride. LOL And let's not forget the elevator doors that open on the seventh and 5th stories that show you nothing in front of you but the park right before it drops... Ack. Scary, but sweet.

7. Expedition Everest. This ride in one word: WOW. Two words: FRICKIN' WOW. You think the yeti in the Matterhorn in Anaheim is "scary"? You don't know what the heck you're talkin' about. LOL This ride is in the Animal Kingdom, and it's HAWT. This ride is fast and scary, taking you to a section of track that's been ripped to shreds by the unseen yeti. Then, the cars begin to go backwards. But not just for a little bit, you're going over bumps and turns for a long time backwards, and fast! Then you stop, and you see a shadow of the yeti on the wall ripping up more track. And you shoot out of the tunnel, going over some more twists and turns before the giant yeti tries to grab hold of your cars, and I'm talking GIANT fricken' yeti! Awesome ride. LOVED it. Do you have kids? Do you watch the Backyardigans? LOL Well, we were all making "fun" of this ride, going "yetiyetiyetiyetiyeti!" Like they do in that show. :P They go on an expedition in their backyard looking for a yeti and they're trying to call it to them or something. It's pretty funny. But having that many small kids, they all knew the reference, so it was a great inside joke that stayed with us throughout the trip, not just on this yeti ride. LOL

8. Star Tours. Yup, this is the very same one they have at Disneyland, however, I loved this one more because the line queue is so much better! Outside, it's all themed like you're on the moon of Endor, with a giant, animated AT-AT that makes cool Star Wars lazer noises and moves it's head. And there's jungle music and bird calls, it's just awesome!! In fact, most of Disney World has MORE theming in their ride queues than Disneyland does.

9. Pirates of the Caribbean. This ride is also different than the one in Anaheim, but it was the very first time I was able to see the Captain Jack Sparrow animatronics they added to the ride. It was AWESOME!! I'm so glad they did that. :) However, for the record, I like Disneyland's Pirates ride better, for the simple fact that you float through the Blue Bayou restaurant and have TWO waterfalls you go down, not to mention one waterfall you go *up*. This ride only had one waterfall drop and maybe another tiny one. But it was worth it for Capt. Jack.

10. Haunted Mansion. Yet another example of a ride that's the "same" but "different". In this ride, there are giant spiders. :P Loved it. And of course, it was nice to sit down in the lovely air conditioning after walking all over the park... I always love Haunted Mansion because of that. Dark, cool, sit back and enjoy. :)

11. Kali Rapids. Again, another opportunity to get wet, and by the end of the day, you're desperate, if only to wash off the grime. LOL The only complaint I had about this one was it needed to be longer and get me wetter.

12. Soarin'. In California, the ride is called Soarin' Over California. Here, it's just Soarin'. This ride has you strapped to a seat, then you're lifted into the air, looking at a HUGE Imax-type theater screen, while you have the sensation of "flying" like a hang-glider. The seats tilt and everything. In fact, they tell you to take off any thongs or loose shoes or you're going to lose them, because your feet dangle in the air. They blow wind on your face, and even spray scents at you while you're flying. You go over an orange grove and you smell oranges, for example. You fly over the ocean and smell the salty tang. It's awesome.

13. Winnie the Pooh. Who doesn't love Winnie? This ride was fun, because of the theming on the outside, and because it's another ride to go on to get out of the sun. It's a cute little ride through the 100 acre-wood. A ride for everyone, where it's cool inside and you can sit for a few.

And there you have it. YETIYETIYETIYETIYETI!!

~~Becka