The Year In Review: DIT Takes Disney Love To A New Level In 2017

[DaveInTN 3,247]

19 minutes ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Yep. That’s the one. 

IIC loved it so much she bought the cup.  

Two shots of rum!!!

Yes that is a good drink.   We've also had the zombie one... that was good too.   

[Duane 152]

On 1/11/2018 at 12:51 PM, DaveInTN said:

 

As dinner time approached, we also went over to POR to meet up with them.  We decided to try the food court over there, as I had always heard about the pasta bar and wanted to try it.  It's been pointed out to me that, like many things at WDW, the pasta bar isn't as good as it used to be, and you don't get as much food as you used to.  But not having ever had it before, it sure seemed good to me!  Isn't it funny...that's how WDW as a whole is.  For someone who didn't experience things the way they used to be, the place is magical.  Those of us who've been there many times get a bit jaded.  

 

 

Ahh, the good 'ole POR Food Court... The Miller Clan's favorite "What do you want to eat?...  I don't know, what do you want to eat?  Well, how about (fill in any place imaginable)? No, I don't really want that, but I'll go anywhere you want to go.." type of place.  There is always something for everyone in the party.

The "meat and 2 sides", or the made to order salads is usually what I get...  The "made to order pasta" and the Magic Cookie Bars are my daughter's favorite.

Whether we are camping or DVC-ing, we always seem to find our way over here at least once per trip.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

1 hour ago, Duane said:

Ahh, the good 'ole POR Food Court... The Miller Clan's favorite "What do you want to eat?...  I don't know, what do you want to eat?  Well, how about (fill in any place imaginable)? No, I don't really want that, but I'll go anywhere you want to go.." type of place.  There is always something for everyone in the party.

The "meat and 2 sides", or the made to order salads is usually what I get...  The "made to order pasta" and the Magic Cookie Bars are my daughter's favorite.

Whether we are camping or DVC-ing, we always seem to find our way over here at least once per trip.

I can vouch for Duane. One time we were both camping at the same time, but we ran into each other at the POR food court. 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

In the last 24 hours here in Middle Tennessee, the temp has dropped from 70 to 18 (and it's still dropping).  I and the kids are home with INC due to ice and snow.  So, it's kind of ironic that I'm about to post pictures of Blizzard Beach, of all places.  Despite the blizzard theme, what I wouldn't give to be there right now.  Anyways, let's go to the waterparks, shall we??

Blizzard Beach is dominated by a "mountain" at the center of the park, themed like a ski resort, lift and all.  You can actually ride a ski lift to the top to reach the big slides like Summit Plummet, and also the family raft ride Teamboat Springs.  

Here we are heading up the lift...

Looking back at the girls.

You get quite a view from up on that mountain.  From the Teamboat Springs queue, you can see the backside of Everest

Teamboat Springs is a family raft ride that can seat up to 6 people per raft.  I don't believe there are any other rides at the Disney water parks with that capacity, and since there were 6 of us on this trip it was perfect.  

And you know what else?  The ride is pretty flippin fun too!  If you have a minute and a half to spare, here is a ride through video.  

We rode that several times, and it never got old.  

We also enjoyed the wave pool at Blizzard Beach.  Unlike the one at Typhoon Lagoon, this one has tubes if you want to sit and bob.  Which was nice for Anna.

We also spent some time floating in the lazy river, Cross Country Creek.  Only, there are sections that flow through the mountain, with mist and waterfalls.  That sounds like a really nice feature on a hot July day.  But in March, those features were a bit too cold.  Anna has trouble maintaining her inner temperature in the water, and that ended her swim time for that day.  

I'll leave it here for now....and pick up in the next update at Typhoon Lagoon, including the new (at that time) family raft ride Miss Adventure Falls.  

Stay tuned....

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

3 hours ago, Duane said:

Ahh, the good 'ole POR Food Court... The Miller Clan's favorite "What do you want to eat?...  I don't know, what do you want to eat?  Well, how about (fill in any place imaginable)? No, I don't really want that, but I'll go anywhere you want to go.." type of place.  There is always something for everyone in the party.

The "meat and 2 sides", or the made to order salads is usually what I get...  The "made to order pasta" and the Magic Cookie Bars are my daughter's favorite.

Whether we are camping or DVC-ing, we always seem to find our way over here at least once per trip.

Did you say Magic Cookie Bars??  I've only had those at Roaring Fork.  I assume they are the same?  Now I have a reason to go back.  

2 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said:

I can vouch for Duane. One time we were both camping at the same time, but we ran into each other at the POR food court. 

TCD

it's a small world, after all.  

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

9 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

In the last 24 hours here in Middle Tennessee, the temp has dropped from 70 to 18 (and it's still dropping).  I and the kids are home with INC due to ice and snow.  So, it's kind of ironic that I'm about to post pictures of Blizzard Beach, of all places.  Despite the blizzard theme, what I wouldn't give to be there right now.  Anyways, let's go to the waterparks, shall we??

Blizzard Beach is dominated by a "mountain" at the center of the park, themed like a ski resort, lift and all.  You can actually ride a ski lift to the top to reach the big slides like Summit Plummet, and also the family raft ride Teamboat Springs.  

Here we are heading up the lift...

Looking back at the girls.

You get quite a view from up on that mountain.  From the Teamboat Springs queue, you can see the backside of Everest

Teamboat Springs is a family raft ride that can seat up to 6 people per raft.  I don't believe there are any other rides at the Disney water parks with that capacity, and since there were 6 of us on this trip it was perfect.  

And you know what else?  The ride is pretty flippin fun too!  If you have a minute and a half to spare, here is a ride through video.  

We rode that several times, and it never got old.  

We also enjoyed the wave pool at Blizzard Beach.  Unlike the one at Typhoon Lagoon, this one has tubes if you want to sit and bob.  Which was nice for Anna.

We also spent some time floating in the lazy river, Cross Country Creek.  Only, there are sections that flow through the mountain, with mist and waterfalls.  That sounds like a really nice feature on a hot July day.  But in March, those features were a bit too cold.  Anna has trouble maintaining her inner temperature in the water, and that ended her swim time for that day.  

I'll leave it here for now....and pick up in the next update at Typhoon Lagoon, including the new (at that time) family raft ride Miss Adventure Falls.  

Stay tuned....

 

It's been a LOT of years since I've been in a waterpark. Looks like fun. I'm with you though, I do remember the mist and waterfalls in the lazy rivers. It would have to be really hot for me too.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

12 minutes ago, DaveInTN said:

In the last 24 hours here in Middle Tennessee, the temp has dropped from 70 to 18 (and it's still dropping).  I and the kids are home with INC due to ice and snow. 

 

We're in about the same situation, although it only dropped to 26 so far. But it turned a 3-day weekend into basically a 4-day weekend :)

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

The video is a must watch if only to see how much fun Anna is having.

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[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

2 minutes ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

The video is a must watch if only to see how much fun Anna is having.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

Absolutely!!! That grin is infectious :)

[DaveInTN 3,247]

1 hour ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

It's been a LOT of years since I've been in a waterpark. Looks like fun. I'm with you though, I do remember the mist and waterfalls in the lazy rivers. It would have to be really hot for me too.

Yeah, probably refreshing in the summer.

1 hour ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

We're in about the same situation, although it only dropped to 26 so far. But it turned a 3-day weekend into basically a 4-day weekend :)

Temp seems to have leveled out at this point.  Didn't get too much snow, but enough so that the ground is white.  And there's a good layer of ice under the snow.  Good day and night to stay in.  

59 minutes ago, momof3kids-Yvonne said:

The video is a must watch if only to see how much fun Anna is having.

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She LOVED that ride.  

56 minutes ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

Absolutely!!! That grin is infectious :)

Yep.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

I've never seen or noticed the back side of Everest, kinda a fail on Disney that they didn't finish it off a little better. 

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

16 minutes ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

I've never seen or noticed the back side of Everest, kinda a fail on Disney that they didn't finish it off a little better. 

You can see it from hotel windows on 192 also.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I will roll right into Typhoon Lagoon, and then we can compare the two parks.  

We were pretty excited to be visiting in late March, as TL had been closed for its annual refurb, which this year included the addition of Miss Adventure Falls.  This ride is notable as having the best theming, and first animatronic, of any Disney water park ride.  It's a bit longer of a ride compared to Teamboat Springs.  But is it better?  Let's find out.  

First off, for comparison purposes, I'll point out that the capacity of each raft is 4 riders, compared to 6 at Teamboat Springs.  So right away, for us that was a negative.  We split into groups of 3 to ride.  I rode with my 21 and 17 year old DD's.  

Here is the queue.

The rules in case you are interested.

Here's an example of some of the theming.

Unlike Teamboat Springs, where you need to ride the ski lift or climb stairs to the top to board, you board Miss Adventure Falls at ground level.  There is a shallow pool area that you board your raft in.  

INC, Stella and Anna rode ahead of us, and then it was our turn to board our raft.  Let's do another ride through, ok?  Although no Anna this time....

If you didn't notice, the animatronic character is toward the beginning, about half way up the lift hill.  It talks and such....isn't really necessary but is a cute feature.  The theming is pretty decent overall.  But for us, the ride wasn't quite a fun as Teamboat Springs.  TS seems faster, with bigger drops and higher curves.  And being able to all go together was a plus.  So our vote would be that Teamboat Springs is a better ride.  As always, YMMV.  

We also rode the small water coasters at Typhoon Lagoon.  When I initially read there were water coasters, I was excited.  We've ridden the coasters at Splashin Safari in Santa Claus, IN, which has both the #1 and #2 rated water coasters in the world.  The ones at TL aren't so much coasters, as they are super-slides.  Fun, yes.  But we expected more from them.  

We did enjoy the large pool area at the bottom of the slides....it was heated to a nice temp. 

 

You can see the "coasters" in the background.

Here's a pic I took while riding one of the 3 coasters....you can see how the water jets shoot you up the hills.

Again, these are fun.  But if you are interested, here is a video of one of the water coasters at Holiday World and Splashin Safari.

Still, the Disney theming can't be beat.  

We also enjoyed the wave pool at TL.  It has much larger waves than the one at BB.  It does not have tubes.  The big kids and I enjoyed going out and riding the waves, so the speak.  It wasn't a good fit for Anna like the pool at BB.  I'd say for the younger kids, the BB wave pool would be better.  

Ok, so let's compare the two water parks.....Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach.  We enjoyed the Blizzard Beach family raft ride better.  We enjoyed the Blizzard Beach wave pool better.  But we enjoyed the lazy river at Typhoon Lagoon better, and the overall theming at TL was more pleasant to us.  Food service was decent at both...we ate lunch once at both parks and it was typical Disney park food.  

If I had to pick a favorite, I'd give a slight nod to Typhoon Lagoon, primarily because Blizzard Beach simply felt colder to us in March.  If I were to return in the summer, my vote might go the other way.  Both parks are worthwhile ways to spend half a day.  And the water park annual pass is a great deal if you want to try both parks, and if you think you'll return within 12 months and want to get in another water park day.  

I think we'll have one more update and then we'll be finished with Trip #2 of 2017.  But don't worry, there are still more trips to cover!  

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

27 minutes ago, Cortezcapt (Derek) said:

I've never seen or noticed the back side of Everest, kinda a fail on Disney that they didn't finish it off a little better. 

Yeah, it's pretty darn ugly.  

10 minutes ago, mouseketab.....Carol said:

You can see it from hotel windows on 192 also.

That I can understand, but it's a shame that it is so visibly ugly from another vantage point within WDW.  

[slices 16]

Thanks for posting the waterpark pictures. Never done a Disney waterpark and hoping to do both on my next trip in July.

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[DaveInTN 3,247]

22 minutes ago, slices said:

Thanks for posting the waterpark pictures. Never done a Disney waterpark and hoping to do both on my next trip in July.

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This was a good deal for us if you don't have Park Hopper Plus option on your theme park tickets.  

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passes/water-parks-annual/purchase/

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

All caught up.  Sorry, I've been out of town for a couple of days.  Having never been to a Disney water park since River Country, I really enjoyed your videos!

[slices 16]

This was a good deal for us if you don't have Park Hopper Plus option on your theme park tickets.  
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passes/water-parks-annual/purchase/

Thanks was thinking of either this or the after 2 pm Florida resident tickets.

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[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Love the videos of the family raft water slides.  Based on the two videos I too like blizzard beaches Best.  It was so neat that y’all got to ride it together.   It looks like everyone really liked it. Especially you. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

19 hours ago, CCIntrigue...aka Gwen said:

All caught up.  Sorry, I've been out of town for a couple of days.  Having never been to a Disney water park since River Country, I really enjoyed your videos!

Thanks Gwen!

18 hours ago, slices said:

Thanks was thinking of either this or the after 2 pm Florida resident tickets.

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You have some good options.

5 hours ago, h2odivers...Ray said:

Love the videos of the family raft water slides.  Based on the two videos I too like blizzard beaches Best.  It was so neat that y’all got to ride it together.   It looks like everyone really liked it. Especially you. 

But you couldn't see much of me in the videos.  I take it you had your volume up?  

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Thank you to everyone who has commented!  I hope to have the next update done this evening or sometime tomorrow, which will wrap up Spring Break.  I then have to decide if this will be a Disney-only trip report....or if I share some pics of other trips we made in 2017.  Once I decide that, I'll pick up with further updates.  

[LONE-STAR 370]

We like team Boat springs but the only problem for us is we are a family of 3 so we have to wait for more people to ride with us, and sometimes that can take awhile.

[bhall 115]

5 hours ago, DaveInTN said:

Thank you to everyone who has commented!  I hope to have the next update done this evening or sometime tomorrow, which will wrap up Spring Break.  I then have to decide if this will be a Disney-only trip report....or if I share some pics of other trips we made in 2017.  Once I decide that, I'll pick up with further updates.  

I'd be interested in reading about your other trips if you're willing to share them.

[caveat lector 181]

Ok, am I the only one that didnt know that DIT had such mad selfie skills.....

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Loved the videos! Anna’s smiles are infectious!


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