h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

And who better than a Florida resident?

I didn't make my first visit to Disney until my fortieth birthday, and I am truly glad that's how it happened. A couple of my friends kidnapped me and headed for the Mouse. I literally didn't have a clue where we were going until we hit the gates. This was a five-day visit, staying at the Contemporary Hotel, with passports to all of the parks. Total immersion. All paid for.

Without a doubt, plenty of time to see and do everything makes a difference in the experience. There's no rushing to see it all in a short time, and there's an opportunity to do the fun things twice or three times. And out of all the fabulous rides and things to do, the one thing that really pulled me back time and again, was the "Dancing Waters" fountain at Epcot. Free, no lines, just an instant show every quarter hour with incredible music, an incredible fountain, and an amazingly different experience every time. Since they thoughtfully provided a pretty good pub right next door, it was nice to while away an hour or two at this location.

I'm a roller coaster fanatic, and Space Mountain, conducted totally in the dark, really freaked me out completely. The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, at Disney/MGM is certainly worth two repeat visits. Then again, riding up front with the captain of the monorail is pretty groovy too.

Money absolutely evaporates at an incredible rate of speed. Even with everything paid up front, including meals, I was easily spending a hundred dollars a day. Pleasure Island is way too tempting. There are some exceptional restaurants, but after five days, all of the food started to taste exactly the same, as if there were some central grill in the park, and all orders were ported to the various locations by some mysterious food transporter. One exception: The Coral Reef, which was classic French, served under the Living Seas exhibit at Epcot. There was an entire wall of the very seafood we were eating swimming right in front of us.

All in all, everything you hope it will be, and then some. You really cannot anticipate what you are going to experience, no matter how jaded and cynical life has left you. It literally took me two weeks to pry the inane smile off my face. I highly recommend it for kids; I especially recommend it for forty year old kids.

You mention the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror - I have been on this and found it very unsettling. The overall theme is that of an old 1930s hotel. The participants are led into an old lift, then shown into a large lift sitted with a two-row seating area. The doors close and the platform with the seats on it rises up into the huge tower. The lift doors open on a floor higher up in the 'hotel' to show the ghosts of some of the former residents, then they close again and the platform moves up to another floor and then out through an area that looks like the title sequence of the old Twilight Zone TV show, with the familiar voice-over teling the passengers that they are about to enter a realm of imagination. The platform then reaches a section of doors that open up to give a startling few of the entire theme park from the very top of the tower. It is then that the floor below gives way and the entire floor plummets to the ground, then stops, then soars back up half-way and plummets down again until eventually the lift comes to a stop.

TB

The best bit about the tower of terror are all the little touches of 1930s hotel - the decor as you queue, and best of all the gift shop complete with ToT bathrobes, towels, ashtrays etc etc etc

The best bit was when the front opened and you could see the whole park!

That's also the worst bit though.

Oh, no. the worst bit is when that stunning view suddenly disappears as the car drops. AARGH!

Hahaha, Tower of Terror was really great. The atmosphere of the thing was very well-done, as mentioned above. For the best experience, request the only seatbelt seat on the ride -- but only if you're not prone to vomiting!

Melisandre