Tower of Terror - a thoughtful review

Tonight's post is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. This, as you may recognize, is Blog, still in operation waiting for you. I invite you if you dare to continue reading because in tonight's post, you are the reader, and this Blog is headed directly to... The Twilight Zone!

History

Let's go back to May 1989. The new Disney-MGM Studios opens ahead of schedule to open ahead of Universal Studios Florida (its competition). While Universal opened in 1990, both were rushed ahead of schedule. That fact was pretty obvious when MGM opened, as it only had 2 rides (The Great Movie Ride, and The Studio Backlot Tour), and 1 show (The Monster Sound Stage). The Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and Star Tours didn't open until later that year. Over the next 3 years Here Come The Muppet's, and Muppet Vision 3-D appeared, as well as The little Mermaid stage show, and the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids playground, and Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage.

The Studios, and the WDW Resort were in need of thrill rides and plans fell through for a drop ride at Euro Disneyland (geyser mountain) but the idea of a drop ride stuck. Imagineer's thought a haunted hotel in Hollywood would be interesting. This concept went through many phases including a comedic who-dun-it hosted by Mel Brooks, and an actual hotel. Imagine how fun a Mel Brooks thrill/interactive experience would be! I would have loved to see how that would have played out, but Disney found something that fit the haunted hotel better, Around this time Disney was looking at a ride that would take guests along with Dick Tracy on an adventure, This ride was never realized do to the lack of interest in the Dick Tracy movie that had been released, but the ride vehicle was eventually used in Disneyland for the Indiana Jones and the Temple of the Forbidden Eye.

Disney got the licensed rights to use the CBS show "The Twilight Zone" and the Tower was now a trip into the 5th dimension.

About a year ago I wanted to see what the Twilight Zone is like and it is amazing. It's Sci-Fi, with bits of Drama, Horror, Suspense, and Mystery. Seriously it has grown into one of my favorite shows since I first watched it. It really is as thought provoking as it is entertaining. so if you haven't already, check it out, it's on Netflix.

Site clearing for Hollywood Boulevard and the Tower of Terror in early 1992. The location of the hotel changed slightly due to a sink hole, but the huge new area would lead guests down Sunset Boulevard which leads directly to the Hollywood Tower Hotel. This location was so big because this was also to be site to future expansions and attractions, which ended up being: Beauty and the Beast Live (opened 1991), Fantasmic/Hollywood Hills Amphitheater (opened 1998) and Rockin' Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith (opened 1999).

Disney had a very wild idea to not only use up and down elevator technology from Otis, but also have the elevator be pulled down faster than the speed of gravity, that way the guest will achieve more "weightlessness" moments, or rather longer ones. This design also called for the vehicle to move forward and backwards. Disney used a Automated Guided Vehicle or AGV to navigate the floors. AGV's are commonly used at warehouses to transport goods and such from trucks to their intended destination. Wires under embedded under the floor in the basement and in the "5th dimension" floor scene to guide the vehicles to each shaft.

This ride maybe one of the greatest immersive rides I've ever been on. Once you enter the line, you pass through the bowling greens (not actually) and a once beautiful terrace and fountain that is now empty. Outside, as well as in the lobby, you hear the blues playing in the background, as if someone forgot to shut the music off in 1939 and its somehow still playing. Then you enter the Lobby, which is actually pretty stunning. The first thing that catches the eye is the high vaulted ceiling, which is beautiful.



From there you enter the Library to view the pre-show video. Once that's over, your then ushered into the boiler room where the line splits in-two, one line straight and one to the right. Go straight! My unconfirmed theory is that usually the elevators in elevator shaft "Echo" tend to drop first instead of doing a mini-drop first. That is definitely unconfirmed, and most likely not a thing, but from personal experience, I've had good luck with it.

So I'm going to attempt to try to explain how the ride works. If you haven't seen Martin's Tribute Vid's you should they are amazing, and the graph he uses is so helpful (I'll post it underneath).The guest enters the show building in the lobby on floor 2, there you are sent to 1 of 2 identical libraries to watch the pre-show video. From there you enter a line in the boiler room which splits into 2 lines. The line farthest from the library (or the line that goes straight when it splits in two) will service elevator shafts Alpha and Bravo which will ultimately lead to drop shaft Echo. Once it's over your vehicle will go down to level 1 (the basement) and reverse into the unload area.

The ride opened on July 22nd, 1994 and was a hit. It was the first modern thrill ride at Walt Disney World, not including Splash Mountain. This ride gave the Disney-MGM Studios the anchor attraction it needed, and gave the park some space that was desperately needed.

One interesting note about the ride; In its first year of operation the Tower of Terror featured only one drop! When you reached either the "echo" or "foxtrot" drop shaft the lift would bring you up to the highest point, take your photo and then drop you. That was it. Once I think of it, the Power Tower at  the Cedar Fair parks basically only drop once, but after riding this ride for so many years with the multiple drops it seems ludicrous to wait in line for one drop.

Changes to the ride

I first rode the ride with my father and cousin I think in 1999, so I am relatively new to the Tower of Terror (lol). But in 1996 the ride went from one drop, to the "new devastating double drop" which, you guessed it, added another "drop profile" which dropped twice!

In 1999, the third version of the profile was added. This profile introduced the rumbling of the ride vehicle in the drop shaft, as well as increasing the pull of the vehicle to add more air time (time off of your seat).

In 2003, the ride changed to the ride we know and love today. This update add four new ride profiles and are chosen by random. Each ride profile is different, but they all include at least one full drop from the top of the shaft to the bottom. There was also projections added to the shaft, so while you drop there may be lightning, a blue ghostly apparition, or the original guests (the OG five lol). The vehicle will still rumble, and the ride is slightly longer. This version of the ride saw the restraints change from a lapbar to just seat belts.

In 2010, for the "Summer Nightastic" (so just for the summer), the Tower updated the profiles slightly to make each drop a farther drop. Some other changes included 1940's music being played in the drop shafts as soon as you entered them and a picture of your vehicle flashed before the door opened. Then finally when the ride ended and you vehicle started moving backwards, another ghostly picture of your vehicle flashes.

Once the Summer of 2010 ended, the ride reverted back to it's 2003 form. Only minor additions have happened since then, such as the installation of video cameras that both record you at the start of the ride, and your first drop.

Disney California Adventure

In 2004, 10 years after the Tower of Terror opened in Florida, the Tower of Terror opened in California. This version was actually intended to be for Disneyland Paris, however attendance at that time in Paris was very low, so it was put on hold and instead added to the also struggling Disney's California Adventure. Because of the location of Disneyland, space is always at a premium so the Imagineers had to cut costs as well as condense the space used for the ride. Instead of your vehicle moving forward and the "5th dimension scene" were cut all together and a new mirror scene was added. This meant you rise and fall from the same elevator shaft. The drop profile is set on this version, which means that every time you ride, you'll always have the same (great) ride experience. Cutting dialogue and ride time, as well as load/unloading in the same place definitely helped shorten the experience to become a little bit more efficient.



Who Rode It Better?

By who rode it better, I of course mean which one is better.

Growing up visiting the Walt Disney World Resort has made me very bias to this, so I have to say Disney's Hollywood Studios beats out Disney California Adventure, but they are both great rides.

While DCA keeps most of the same essence of the original, the thing that made the attraction so popular in the first place was the extra mile in theming and ride experience. DHS removes you from the rest of the park, and really makes you feel like something awful happened to this hotel. From the queue that is surrounded by plants and trees, to the fountain, down to the lobby, they feel more grand in Florida, even the exterior.

(DCA's Lobby)

(DHS's Lobby)

(DCA's Tower)

(DHS's Tower)

Why is Guardians of the Galaxy checking-in?!

You may have heard the rumors, and they are true, sort of, The Hollywood Tower Hotel is going to become Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout, in early 2017, only on the west coast. The Original TOT is staying exactly the same. Bummer for the west coast peeps, but us Floridians (or honorary Floridians) can't wait to ride the new Marvel ride. I love Marvel and was hoping that the parks would start utilizing them.

Top Ten Muppets Songs!

So, It's been a while, Welcome back!

I must say this list was not my idea, but rather a video that I watched which WatchMojo.com posted "Top 10 Muppets Songs". I love the Muppets and of course thought that this would be a nice watch before bed. I was wrong. I was so taken aback that most of my favorite Muppet songs were excluded from the list or even the honorable mentions that I needed to make a Muppet list to wash the bad taste out of my mouth.

Like their list, I am excluding Seaseme Street, Fraggle Rock and songs not originally written for the Muppets. Unlike their list, I am excluding songs that were written only for the Muppets films, so this list will not include The Muppet Show Theme, which we can all agree to is the one of the best. I will try to give an actual balanced look at the top tunes of the beloved Muppets.

(My eyes after watching their top ten list)


Click here to listen along with a YouTube playlist of the songs.

Oh and subscribe!


10. Hey a Movie!- The Great Muppet Caper (1981): This is one of the many Muppets opening number songs on our list. This song from the follow up film of The Muppet Movie and sets the tone for a mystery movie. From the moment Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo land we are enveloped in the story right away. Now if they had only looked behind them once during the song this movie would have been a lot shorter.

9. I Hope That Somethin' Better Comes Along- The Muppet Movie (1979): One of my personal favorite Muppet tunes to date. I don't know if it's because of Rowlf (my favorite character) or because this song is so different from any other Muppet song, but it is played in the slower part of the movie and really keeps the movie interesting during the restaurant scene, although I bet Steve Martin could have done that anyway. It's a great tongue-in-cheek song about love and bad dates, which most men can relate to at some point in there life. As Rowlf would say, "You can't live with 'em, you can't live without 'em. There's something irresistible-ish about 'em,We grin and bear it 'cause the nights are long, I hope that somethin' better comes along."

8. Life's a Happy Song- The Muppets (2011): Another opening number to our list, and the first song on this list of this century. I cannot tell you how worried I was when I viewed The Muppets for the first time, but right off the bat I was so happy that the fun, silly, and excited spirit that I had seen during my childhood, which was missing for the better part of a decade, was very much present in this song. This song doesn't even have any classic Muppets, but you can tell how excited both Jason Segal and Peter Linz (Walter) are to return the Muppets to their former glory.

7. Together Again- The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984): Hey a opening number... Together Again immortalizes for me the fact that Jim Henson may no longer be with us, but whenever and where ever the Muppets get together they will be the same weird family that they have always been. Obviously Jim Henson was still alive when this movie was released, but to me, the song has much more significance since his passing. The Muppets Take Manhattan was a severely underrated Muppet movie. Many of my friends and family don't even remember this movie which is so sad because I think it is overall a better movie than The Great Muppet Caper.

6. Happiness Hotel- The Great Muppet Caper (1981): NOT AN OPENING NUMBER! Thank goodness that this was on the Watch Mojo list, cause I would have been downright upset if it was excluded. From the rat bellhops, to everyone's eyes dilated, this is such a classic.You can never go wrong with The Electric Mayhem. Also The Swedish Chef and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew are terrifying with eyes. YOU ARE ALL WEIRDOS.

5. Sailing For Adventure- Muppets Treasure Island (1996): It's hard to choose a favorite from Muppets Treasure Island because they honestly are all so good, but nothing will ever beat the lines "Every storm we ride is its own reward, and people die by falling overboard". Jim Hawkins angelic voice kinda freaks me out, which is partly why Something Better is on this list, but also due to Mr. Bimbo's solo which is epic. "Sailing for adventure on the big blue wet thing" is obviously a good time for everyone, especially if "there are bingo games every fun-filled day, and margaritas at the midnight buffet".

4. I'm Going To Go Back There Someday- The Muppet Movie (1979): This song was actually probably the main reason I wrote this list. If I was bold enough I would say that if this isn't in your top 5 Muppets songs, you are insane, but I'm not so your okay! While the Muppets are known for their comedy, their heart is just as big and this is the best example of that. Gonzo sings this rather serious and nostalgic inducing song, which is a peculiar choice but works perfectly. This song also unintentionally foreshadows Gonzo's heritage. If you haven't seen it, watch this clip of Dave Goelz (voice of gonzo) singing it at Jim Henson's funeral. All in all, probably my personal favorite Muppet song of all time.

If that weren't enough, you could really cry your heart out by watching Big Bird sing "It's Not Easy Being Green" here. Be warned, I actually had tears streaming down my face.

3. Man or Muppet- The Muppets (2011): This song may have proved without a doubt that the Muppets can survive another generation. There is really not that much I can say about it other than its wonderful and that my friend and I was duet-ing it days after its release. Interestingly, this was the only Muppet song to win the academy award for best original song. Good stuff.

2. Movin' Right Along- The Muppet Movie (1979): This song probably best represents what we think of as Muppet humor. It's catchy, running gags, cameos, banjo, a frog, a bear, and a studebaker, a Doc Hopper billboard, it has it all! Seriously, the most memorable song from any Muppet movie, and I dub this song the official road trip song. Is the fork in the road the best gag ever?!?

Honorable Mentions:

Thankful Heart- The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): Michael Caine, who is possibly the best Scrooge in any adaption, learns of holiday cheer and spreads the wealth! Poor Been Bunny having to carry that turkey everywhere.

Professional Pirate- Muppet Treasure Island (1996): As Tim Curry say's "this is my only number" and makes sure we remember it. As my friend Brian Jones said, "He out-performs a cast of Muppets". I kinda wanted him to reprise his role in Pirates of the Caribbean

Can You Picture That?- The Muppet Movie (1979): The Electric Mayhem! I love the band, and I definitely felt bad not including them, but it just missed making the top ten.

1. Rainbow Connection- The Muppet Movie (1979): Really, again with the opening number? Yes, because this is Kermit's anthem (besides It Ain't Easy Being Green).  Kermit is at home in his swamp and is dreaming of big things. Well we all know how that turned out. This song represents everything Kermit the Frog is about, hope, dreams, while still being humble, which is in a way the heart of the Muppets.

Well, thats the list! Thanks for reading guys! I'm currently working on a Twilight Zone Tower of Terror post which with any luck should be out soon.

Disneyland - Trip Report 2016

This is a pretty old review, seeing as I went the last week of January, but better late than never! It was also the Diamond Celebration!

I have only been to the Disneyland Resort one other time in my life and that was on a choir tour in 2009, which meant I was only able to experience about a total of a days worth, it was also pre-Cars Land. This trip was for business, so I got to experience the park from open to close on multiple days. IT WAS GREAT.

The down side was that a ton was closed.

Disneyland:
Disneyland Railroad
It's A Small World (one week to tear down the holiday decorations)
Fantasmic!
Autopia
Davy Crockett's Explorer Canoes
Mark Twain Riverboat
Sailing Ship Columbia
Jungle Cruise
Tom Sawyers Island

Disney California Adventure:
Aladdin: A Musical Spectacular
World of Color (one week refurbishment)


So that was a bummer, especially World of Color and Fantasmic, both of which I was unable to see my first trip.

But I got to experience Hyperspace Mountain, and what I consider the best nighttime parade that currently plays at any Disney park (an argument could be made for the best ever, but would loose to Spectromagic).

Hyperspace Mountain was fantastic! It was the Seasons of the Force which basically meant all of Tomorrowland became Star Wars Land.

Disneyland's cute Space Mountain!

This ride was a dream for any Star Wars fan. The music was all John Williams scores from Episodes I-VI, and definitely brought a tear to my eye. Every time I rode there were multiple cars that came back into the station with people cheering, I may have been one of those people. Also original FASTPASS for the win!

Also this was the first time I got to ride Radiator Springs Racers, and it was really good. I still prefer Test Track for the thrill, but the dark ride portion is amazing!

Much like Test Track, the car holds 6 people, it has it's own single rider line (which I found is rare in Disneyland), and will usually have a 60+ minute wait.

Seriously, some of the best Audio Animatronics I've ever seen!

From there you start your race against another car through Ornament Valley. This would be my favorite ride ever if "Life is a Highway" started playing, Listen!

All in all, a great ride. Good Job Disney!

Cars Land it self is beautiful and looks exactly like the movie. It's pretty stunning to see the exact replicas of the buildings in Radiator Springs. It was also massive.

This is the Cadillac Mountain Range. You can also see the fire station and the Cozy Cone Motel.

Luigi's Flying Tires was closed, as it was being transformed into Luigi's Rollickin' Roadsters.

Flo's V8 cafe! I actually didn't try the food, but the roast beef looked pretty tempting.

Ramone's House of Body Art!

All in all, a great addition to the least attended US Disney Park.

I was super bummed that I was not able to see World of Color or Fantasmic! I was not able to see either my first visit and was looking forward to maybe catching them. I was also bummed that I was unable to go on It's A Small World. Oh well.

I really hadn't explored Disney California Adventure the first time I had visited because I really wanted to see all of Disneyland. All I saw in DCA the first time I visited was Muppet Vison 3D and Soarin' Over California, both of which I have seen on a regular basis, I just wanted my friends to expirence Soain' so after we left.

I LOVE Paradise Pier, I think there could be another E-ticket ride here but both Toy Story Mania and California Screamin' are awesome. Here is the video (not mine).

I absolutely loved California Screamin'. It is a launch coaster and launches you into a hill which is pretty unique. Before I went on I thought it would be fun, but not comparable to Rockin' Rollercoaster, or Expedition Everest, but I was wrong, It was better.

No it is not as thrilling as Rockin' or Everest, but it was just good old fashioned fun. It does have a inversion, just one loop, but that isn't even the best part, it's the atmosphere and view you get while riding, as well as a great soundtrack that is synced with the train. It is the longest coaster in California and one of the longer roller coasters I've been on, which is much different than the very quick Rockin' Rollercoaster which seems like it's over even before it starts.

California Screamin' has de-throned Space Mountain (Florida) as my favorite roller coaster of all time. I never thought those words would be spoken, or written rather. And go at night, preferably not when it's raining, that kinda hurt the old face.

Anyways, back in Disneyland, everything was great. It was the Diamond celebration so the castle was sparkling.

I got time to ride pretty much everything in Disneyland. I only missed Peter Pan's Flight, The Storybook Canals, and the peoplemover (jk RIP).

Splash Mountain was a little bit awkward since I was spooning a father of three, and my pants started to rip, but it was still fun!

A clothes pin and Dole Whip Float later I was at the Enchanted Tiki Room, which is far superior to Walt Disney World's Tiki Room for one reason. I could bring in the DOLE WHIP. Seriously seeing a Tiki show is far better with a Dole Whip Float, I couldn't imagine the show without it. I tried to bring it in to the Tiki Room in Florida and was told that I could only eat it outside, and had to wait for the next show. LAME. I am currently trying to find a way to enjoy Walt Disney's Enchanted Tiki Room with my Dole Whip, but lets keep that on the DL.

I guess Walt Disney World does not trust you to throw your tiki trash away...

Then I ventured to Star Wars land, sorry I meant Tomorrowland to check out the new Force Awakens scene in Star Tours and ride Hyperspace Mountain again, and meet Chewbacca.

Rawr...

I wasn't even going to go to Marvel HQ, but I'm glad I did. I am a pretty big Marvel fan, and Iron Man is my favorite of The Avengers, so I was pretty happy to see the Iron Man suits.

Mk. III as seen in Iron Man (2008)

Mk. IV as seen in Iron Man 2

Mk. V as seen in Iron Man 2

Mk. VI as seen in Iron Man 2, and The Avengers

Mk. VII as seen in The Avengers

and Mk. XLII as seen in Iron Man 3

Definitely awesome. I wish that they had like an Avengers Lounge or the S.H.E.I.L.D. Hellicarrier. I would love it. I would love to see a Marvel meet and greet other than Spider-man and Thor.

But the most exciting part of the whole trip was actually the nighttime entertainment. I cannot tell you how much I love the Paint The Night Parade. I am so over the Main Street Electrical Parade at Walt Disney World, and this was such a breath of fresh air. The Parade was set to the tune of "When Can I See You Again" (the credits music from Wreck-It Ralph) which I don't know if I've even heard it besides the one time I watched the movie but it is amazing. The Baroque Hoedown (from MSEP) is also intertwined into the medley.

Seriously, I'm not really a parade person although this blog is proving otherwise, but this is amazing.

Some of the coolest floats I've ever seen.

Looks suspiciously familiar to a whrillyball from Spectromagic

Also off topic is this guy not way more frightening than..

Okay maybe they are both frightening

Anyways so many cool floats, the coolest by far was Mickey's multidimensional ball of light thing as seen here.

Honestly, It was just great to see a night parade that wasn't MSEP. That music is cute for like 2 minutes. I would love to see Paint the Night in WDW for it's 50th celebration, almost as much as I would want to see a revival of Spectromagic.

Also Disneyland Forever was amazing. Made for the Diamond celebration, Disneyland Forever utilized projections on Main Street, and had a great soundtrack to go with the fireworks. They had an awesome Tangled portion, as well as Circle of Life, which was epic.

All in all, a great visit to Disneyland!

Everything's Better At Night! Magic Kingdom Edition

Everything's better at night at the Walt Disney World Resort. OK maybe not parasailing, but that might be it. Night has always been my favorite time to visit the parks whether that be because of the fireworks, parades, colder temperatures, short lines, it's all good.

Walt Disney's favorite time to go to the park was at night. He felt it was more magical and wanted guests to leave the park feeling special. He also wanted fireworks to end the day, they were to be a "Kiss Goodnight".

For those of us taking family vacations to WDW on a yearly basis, do you remember when you had to go back to the room to sleep while the adults went to E-ride nights (now in the forms of Disney After Hours, Extra Magic Hours)? I remember, I couldn't wait to be old enough to stay out late.

Fast forward to now, some 20 years later, I try to spend every single moment I can at the parks, even after close. For some that I have vacationed with, it is perhaps too much. In my experience, It's never too much.

Here are my favorite things to do at nighttime at the Magic Kingdom.

1. Visit Main Street U.S.A.

Main Street U.S.A. at night is gorgeous, even when exterior renovations are happening to some of the buildings, Main Street lights up the night while you are walking in/out of the park. Music from the turn of the century, that's the 20th century of course, plays as you enter the gateway to our 6 themed lands of the Magic Kingdom. Listen to some Main St. music!

This actually may be my favorite land in all the Magic Kingdom. You've got your Confectionery which has the best sweets in the park, but unfortunately no longer has a choose your own taffy (Disneyland still lets you though!)

Or possibly the best "souvenir shop"in any of the parks, the Emporium, which honestly doesn't really say much because they all have pretty much the same merchandise, but still looks cool and has awesome scenes from Disney classics in its windows.

Definitely my favorite and most visited quick-service restaurant, Casey's Corner. A hot dog lovers paradise!

Opposite of Casey's is the Plaza Inn Restaurant and the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor. I've actually never eaten at the Plaza Inn Restaurant, but I have had many ice cream cones and sundaes from the ice cream parlor and they are great. Expect to wait a little longer at night though.

There is also the Main Street Bakery, which is great if you love Starbucks. As of 2012, Starbucks has a location in each one of the US parks (not the water parks). That means the Main Street Bakery no longer sells Nestle coffee, or specialty baked goods like the cinnamon rolls which are now at Gaston's Tavern. But if you want a quad venti carmel macchiato with a slow roasted ham and swiss, you know where to go.

 And you can even meet a really cool talking Mickey Mouse in Town Square. Visit during Extra Magic Hours, there is hardly any wait.

2. Significantly less wait times.

Especially during Extra Magic Hours, your wait times are going to be cut by about 75%-90%.

What would normally be a 25 minute wait (depending on the time, and time of the year) will be a 8 minute wait.

If you are really into stats and wait times, give TouringPlans.com a look, it's pretty great. You can see what wait times are projected at for your next vacation, and even historically because you have nothing better to do like me!

You can get your own boat!

It's a Small World! (this one was at Disney After Hours)

Fun fact: Space Mountain was built outside the perimeter of the Walt Disney World Railroad, so in order to reach the ride you must walk underneath the tracks.

3. Different ride experiences at night.

Obviously not every ride has a different experience at night, but some are a lot more fun when the sun is down.

Big Thunder Mountain at night is a pretty different experience at night. Be sure to ride it both during the day and at night. In the dark is pretty fun, obviously you can hardly see anything which makes this wild ride, even crazier. I actually think Disney has toned down the lighting on the "Mountain" itself sometime within the last year.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is cool at night too, but really doesn't change anything. Unless you ride it when its pouring rain, that makes this very tight squeeze interesting to say the least.

Splash Mountain is such a great ride day or night. In fact it is my favorite ride in the Magic Kingdom when all the effects, audio and Audio Animatronics are working (it maybe my favorite ride in all of Walt Disney World), especially on a hot Florida afternoon. Usually crowds tend to avoid this water ride at the end of the night, which gives you a great time to experience free falling into the briar patch at night. Be warned it may be chilly at night, and you may want to bring spare clothes (and socks), or just avoid sitting in the front. 

4. Wishes and Celebrate the Magic!

Wishes is probably the most underrated fireworks show at Walt Disney World. Or it is for me anyway. When I am planning a vacation Wishes is probably the first nighttime show to go on my itinerary, not because it's bad, no it's because it hasn't changed since 2003. I KNOW THAT FANTASMIC AND ILLUMINATIONS HAVE BEEN AROUND LONGER, but hear me out. The Magic Kingdom's fireworks usually revolve around Disney movies, which there have been a lot of since 2003. I think there is a lot of potential for a revised Wishes, not necessarily a whole new show because Wishes has become a classic.

Wishes really upped the ante from the historic Fantasy in the Sky fireworks which had played for 32 years. Be warned, if you are at the Magic Kingdom on a busy day, you will more than likely be herded into groups to watch the show. I do not have any really tips to avoid such madness. If you are planning to stay in the park after fireworks, watch Celebrate the Magic and Wishes from Main Street and be prepared to book it towards the Tomorrowland Terrace if you're going to Tomorrowland or Fantasyland, or  the Crystal Palace if you're going to Adventureland, Frontierland, or Liberty Square.

 Also check out Celebrate the Magic which is an awesome castle projection show. It incorporates all  the new classics as well!

5. The freaking castle

I feel like I don't actually have to say anything about this.

B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L

Don't mind the scrim!

Finished product of the Hub redevelopment.

6. Holidays at night (Seasonal)

The Holidays are a special time in the Magic Kingdom! Fall is the best time to visit the Magic Kingdom, and Walt Disney World in general (try to avoid the actually holidays if you hate crowds). During both Halloween and Christmas the park looks amazing for both morning and night, but it's especially magical at night.

Main Street Station looking very festive 

This is the 2014 - present Christmas decorations for Main Street!

And of course the castle in it's icicle glory!

It's really spectacular to see in person.

And Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade is wonderful. If you love Christmas you'll love this parade and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Not only do you get to enjoy the park with  less crowds, you get to experience Christmas Disney style. Real snow falling on Main Street, free cookies and cocoa and special Christmas time shows and character meet and greets.

But my favorite ticketed event and just plain time in the Magic Kingdom is the Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. On these nights, adults can ware costumes and trick or treat in the park along with their kids. If you don't have kids, no worries the party is for all ages, and A LOT of groups with no kids go. 

For example:

This is by far the most fun I've ever had in the Magic Kingdom (and that's saying something).

Do not miss Mickey's Boo To You Halloween Parade! It is the best parade on property (Spectromagic formerly held the title for me) and very popular so remember to get your place extra early.

HalloWishes and Holiday Wishes makes use of the Magic Kingdom's perimeter fireworks which can be seen from as far away as the parking lot! Seriously both are terrific and are only rivaled by Symphony in the Stars at Hollywood Studios and IllumiNations at Epcot.

(photo credit: disneyworld/go)