Category — q. Reviews

The Hall of Presidents, in the Liberty Square area of the Magic Kingdom, re-opened last year after a refurbishment and the addition of President Obama.

I had a chance to check it out the other day–on a busy Easter week Friday when the Magic Kingdom was open from 7a until 2a.

Obama’s new speech is appropriate and stirring.

That said, the attraction, while it will remain a favorite of many, is still ranked low in this site’s comprehensive guide to rides and attractions.

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Space Mountain has been an icon at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World since its 1975 opening. 

After its recent refurbishment, it continues to be so, and in the top rank of Walt Disney World rides.

It is consistently one of the two most popular rides in the park (Splash Mountain is the other) and is rated in this site’s Comprehensive Guide to Rides and Attractions as a favorite for everyone third grade or older. 

(Pre-schoolers should avoid it–not just because of the ride’s 44″ height requirement, but also because it is not only a teeny bit scary, but also because the seats of the ride’s “rockets” separate parents from their kids.  At best, you’ll be able to touch your little ones if they panic, but you won’t be able to cuddle them.)

Space Mountain closed in April 2009 for what was thought to be a major refurbishment.  But then the recession happened, and it re-opened in November of 2009 with only minor changes.

These minor changes, however, add up in total to a real plus of the ride.  As a result, it remains a highly recommended ride for first time visitors!

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To go to the first page of this review, click here.

MORE ON DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

Disney’s Pop Century Resort officially salutes “many of the 20th-century popular culture crazes—including toys, gadgets, music, movies, fads and catch phrases.”

It includes an arrival building called Classic Hall, where you check in, buy tickets, catch the bus, and find the gift shop, the food court, etc.

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The Value Resorts    Pop Century    Movies    Sports    Music   Art of Animation

OVERVIEW: DISNEY’S POP CENTURY RESORT

We’ve stayed at Disney’s Pop Century Resort half a dozen times, most recently earlier this year.

This stay confirms that for those who can’t afford a deluxe resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort is the second best place to stay.

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OVERVIEW: THE COLOR COMPANION TO WALT DISNEY WORLD

The crew behind the Unofficial Guide—authors, among other things, of TouringPlans.com and The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2011, have released a new work, and it’s terrific!

The new book’s full title is The Unofficial Guide: The Color Companion to Walt Disney World, and Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa share author credits.

However, as has been the case in the rest of the Unofficial Guide series about Disney World and Orlando (the magna carta known in the community as TUG, with kids, without kids, beyond Disney—soon they’ll need an Unofficial Guide to the Unofficial Guides), a whole crew of data collectors, hotel inspectors, photographers and such were involved in its creation.

Yes, photographers. That’s the new thing about The Color Companion to Walt Disney World: more than 560 often excellent photographs.

The photographs really make this a new thing. They help illuminate some of the choices a visitor faces, show the future reward of current planning work, and also serve as great mementos of the trip itself.

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SUMMARY: SHADES OF GREEN RESORT

My family has made a number of trips to Shades of Green.

We visited most recently last month, in a trip sponsored as always by my father (retired career Navy) that included my test niecelets—that’s them in the photo.

Based on these visits, Shades of Green is a wonderful choice for eligible returning visitors to Walt Disney World.

However, for first time family visitors, it is not the best choice. 

It does not participate in key programs that Disney owned and operated resorts offer, especially the Disney Dining Plan and Disney’s Magical Express.  (It does participate in Extra Magic Hours.)

Shades of Green has little kid appeal, and despite a great location across the street from Disney’s Polynesian Resort, so-so convenience.

Families who need to take advantage of Shades of Green’s great value—it is indeed one heck of a bargain—will have their best first family visit to Walt Disney World by staying in it as part of a “split stay.”

That is, they should split their visit into some time at Shades of Green, and some at a more highly recommended Walt Disney World resort.

See this page for more on the best way to fit a stay at Shades of Green into a first family visit to Walt Disney World

Another great option—though much harder to pull off—is to get overflow rates from Shades of Green for a recommended Walt Disney World resort.  See this page on MilitaryDisneyTips.com for more on overflow rates.

POSITIVES OF SHADES OF GREEN

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