Photo TR: Walt Disney World & Universal Orlando

Upon learning that our three Russian roommates had always dreamed of going to Disney World, an expedition was quickly mounted in the short time we had left before they were due to head back home. I called my friend Matthias to arrange some things ahead of time and come hang out with us, and we headed down.

The wife (Janis), Olga, Kira, Tanya, Matthias, and Buzz Lightyear. I may not be in the picture, but I got the highest score on the ride.

The girls liked Space Mountain, but I miss Disneyland's version. This one is just too rough for my delicate sensibilities.

Space Mountain and the Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

"Welcome...to the world of tomorrow!"

From left to right: Olga, Tanya, and Kira with Pooh Bear.

Matthias and Kira on Peter Pan.

Check out the guy in the control booth of "it's a small world."

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Am overview of the Magic Kingdom from high atop Splash Mountain.

Having grown up with Disneyland, I tend to be a bit biased towards it. But Splash Mountain is the one ride that I can say is clearly superior at Magic Kingdom.

I thought the changes to Pirates were well done, and I absolutely loved the Davey Jones water curtain effect.

Since the girls had never been to any of these places before, we started with the Magic Kingdom.

Day two of our three-day park-hopping extravaganza was spent at Animal Kingdom and Disney MGM Studios. Since Janis is, as a general rule, adverse to animal exhibits, we largely limited ourselves at Animal Kingdom to Expedition Everest and Dinoland USA.

Matthias had never seen Fantasmic! I guess he liked it. I still think that it's just a bunch of randomness.

A shirt in the Star Tours gift shop.

This ride contains the single worst story point of anything ever: "But that just goes to show you that anything is possible in the movies."

The best of about six attempts at this picture.

The launch area (sans train).

On the second ride, the girls asked if we had to watch the preshow again.

The girls, on the other hand, seemed to prefer this one.

And Tower of Terror is my favorite ride at WDW.

MGM is my favorite of the four WDW parks.

Obviously, it helps Animal Kingdom to have a big new ride. But, otherwise, I don't think that it really adds anything original to the resort.

I love this photo. Everest, however, I found to be fun, but nothing really special. It just sort of cruises around for a while.

Awesome report! I'll be down there in... (holy crap...) 2 weeks from today. I should probably start buying tickets.

What is that guy off to the left doing??? Actually he's more centered now that I look at it again...

Great TR. Nothing better than Disney, than Disney with foreign chicks!

What is that guy off to the left doing??? Actually he's more centered now that I look at it again...

That's Matthias. And I do believe that he is rocking.

Thanks for the kind words.

Parts 3 & 4 will probably have to wait until tomorrow.

I can't believe I didn't see that Yoda shirt last week.

Thanks for the updates.

That's Matthias. And I do believe that he is rocking.

Then that is quite appropriate. I deem that appropriate behavior.

Otherwise, I thought you caught some stranger doing something goofy, which is also not altogether bad!

Nice TR.

They have had that Yoda shirt at Disneyland for at least 2 years.

Day three found us at Universal Orlando. We started at Islands of Adventure, had a late lunch in City Walk, and then finished out the day at Universal Studios.

The girls had enjoyed Disney, but it was Universal that really blew them away.

Marvel and Toon as seen from Seuss Landing.

Sneech Beach, with Mythos, Dueling Dragons, Poseidon’s Fury, and the Seuss Trolley in the background.

The Green Eggs and Ham restaurant was closed, but it still looks pretty cool.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish as seen from The High In The Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride. (That was fun to type.)

The girls test their grasp of the English language with some Seuss twistiness.

More Dr. Seuss goodness.

I liked it. Even if it's not quite what it was originally supposed to be, it's still fun, and adds a lot to the ambiance of Seuss Landing.

Finally, after years of waiting, McBean is open! (It's just not called McBean anymore.)

Best theme park restaurant ever. But the girls wanted to go to Hard Rock, so we skipped it.

The Mystic Fountain being all mystical and fountain-like.

I'm not into games, but do like how they themed the games in the Lost Continent.

As is customary, our free-spirited, no-hassle day was interrupted at Dueling Dragons. I would have gotten the trains in the picture, but I hadn't the patience.

The Discovery Center, as seen from Port of Entry.

The Jurassic Park River Adventure and its acceptable amount of wetness.

Welcome...to Jurassic Park. Home of Pterannadon Flyers. Or, as park employees call it, P-Flyers.

We skipped the super-wet water rides of Toon Lagoon, but here's a photo of my former home away from home, Ripsaw Falls.

One more picture of Hulk, with Doctor Doom's Fearfall in the background.

Looking back at the Hulk.

Marvel Super Hero Island.

We started at the Incredible Hulk. This would prove to be the girls' favorite ride of the trip.

I worked at IOA for four years. And now, here I was back as a guest for the first time in over a year. And I liked what I saw. The park looked absolutely beautiful: clean, fresh paint everywhere, and filled with fun and exciting attractions. Of course, for me, the park still lacks one thing: a coaster that I'm excited about riding over and over again (i.e., one with lapbars and airtime). Nevertheless, I was impressed with the park all over again.

Perhaps nostalgia had something to do with it. Or maybe it was helped by the addition of a "new" attraction. Whatever it was, on this day, IOA became my number one park.

Now it was time to see how the studio had fared in my absence....

Well, that's it for this trip report. I don't know about you folks, but we're exhausted.

A shot of the USF lagoon, complete with big white things that make escape impossible.

MIB also has the best on-ride photo of any ride. Clockwise, from top left: Tanya, Matthias, Olga, Kira, my-big-stupid-self, and Janis.

Men In Black: Alien Attack. For my money, from start to finish, the best themed attraction anywhere.

Fire is cool.

The Jaws/Amity Boat Tours loading area.

Mummy was running well, with two really good airtime moments. The Volkswagen placement out front is rather lame, though.

City Walk in all its glory.

Time for lunch, and the girls wanted to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe. Why, I'm not exactly sure, since there's one just a few miles down the road from us.

Those globes are so damn ugly...

They totally ruin the great-looking view across the lake.

Awesome TR Erik.

Hey.. I remember talking to a guy in a Voyage shirt at the Trolley last week.. interesting.. haha.

Eric

^ Oh yeah? Did he look kind of like this?

Awww, that last photo of the Universal Studios segment was adorable.

I agree, the VW on display in front of Mummy is awful looking... what were they thinking? Put it on City Walk or something at least.

^^Never knew that Goofy was a Vikings fan. I've learned so much on TPR.

I know I'm new here, but has anyone got pics of Pirates of the Carribean since its been updated for the movies?

There's a video here...

http://archive-c01.libsyn.com/bndteJh2nX3Ed5d8mnKap2unkXSX/podcasts/insidethemagic/wdwpirates.mp4

Erik that photo of you guys on Men in Black, it looks like you are having way too much fun!

Great Trip Report, al ot has changed in the ten years since i was there.

i need that yoda shirt.

Yeah it was definately you.. you were talking to some supervisor looking person for awhile, then I told you I was jealous that you've been on Voyage.. amazing how people with random coaster shirts stick in your brain.

I know I'm new here, but has anyone got pics of Pirates of the Carribean since its been updated for the movies?

Well, it's not very good...but here's a picture of Jack Sparrow sitting in the treasure room at the end of the ride.