Shareholders Meeting Trip part 3: Ghosts and Ghouls
What better way to end a specific Shareholders meeting trip with some free time in the parks! Lucky for me I did have some free time (I admit, it was a well planned extra 1 and ½ day for the parks I added to my trip). So what’s up with the title you say… The trip is all about ghosts and Ghouls as you will see.
Phantom Manor is my favorite ride so it is no surprise that this was the first ride I enjoyed after the meeting. I admit, I was at the studios first and was anxious to ride the Tower of Terror, but a 45 minute waiting line… not my cup of thee and as the fast passes where all gone I risked waiting for a ride on the next day. So over to the Disneyland park to ride Phantom Manor.
I am always amazed how people run from the elevators to the buggies. The forget that there is more to see before that. Check out the changing portraits, the head that follows you, and Walt’s picture that is displayed on the table. There is so much to see, and so many people miss it. (so take your time is my tip for your next trip). More ghostly (or should we just call them dead pirates) fun for me is Pirates of the Caribbean. Love the ride (best queue area anywhere), always fun to do. And the best time to do it; just before closing time so you can ride multiple times. Some Cast Members ask you if you want to stay seated and if not just ask yourself if you can go again. As long as there is room in the boats it’s never a problem.
The next day it was Tower of Terror time. I was at the studios in time but to my horrors I could not see a queue at the ToT attraction. Cast Members told guests to come back later as the attraction was down! Did I jinxed it by not riding it the first day? I hoped not! When I went over to get a FastPass it was set for 12 o’clock, just in case they would not get it running before that time. But I was lucky. At 11:30 I could queue up for my first drop.
The outside queue area isn’t that nice, you just go from one row into the next one, not like in Florida, where the queue area is part of the attraction. A shame, but the only negative point for the ride. The lobby looks amazing and with a little queue area inside you have time to take it all in before you stand in front of the two crashed elevators. The libraries look similar as the once in Orlando, although all the stuff displayed inside will be different of course. The movie is in French with English subtitle, could they not have done this the other way around, at least this time, as the English track works so much better.
Going into the basement is a little strange as, when passing the left library, you are actually going up. Even so, the basement looks awesome. The big boiler with the face (better viewable from the lower queue area) looks great, and some of the effect are just fantastic like the one from the electric cabin on the “first floor” of the basement. A lot of detail has been used and that’s what makes Disney attractions what they are… fantastic.
But you know what really makes the attraction stand out… the Cast Members. The give the attraction life. I was able to do the attraction twice and every time multiple cast members could make me laugh or smile. Their interaction is great and we can only hope that they will be allowed to keep this up and alive. Job well done!
The ride itself. When it involves ghosts,… “me” happy. You’ll get to see the ghost in the elevatir, to room turning into a dark place filled with stars, but the fun thing happens when and you and you’re fellow riders turning into ghosts. But not much time to enjoy that, because before you know it… action! People where screaming (of joy) and everybody loved it. The sequence is just right and a lot of fun. Yes, for those that have been to the Walt Disney World version, no surprises as they sequences are always the same, but I have to admit (even with the surprise drop sequences at Orlando) I didn’t miss it here. Job well done imagineers. A winner, and the “screams” I heard are proof of that.
Now what about the ghouls in the title? Well, I think ghouls have been playing at Big Thunder Mountain as it came to an abrupt stop while I was on the ride. Just like last time I was stuck in the tunnel. A cast member took care of us and once the ride was back in motion all of us got a fast pass to use once the attraction would run again.
As you can see; I had a great time again and I didn’t tell everything yet. But I’ll still call it a night (it is night when I am writing this) and keep those stories for another time…
Picture copyrights Disney (Tower of Terror fridge magnet)