Citizens of the 'Couch are no strangers to the fact that I am a certifiable, undeniable, no holds barred Disney freak; particularly when it comes to the parks. Some of my earliest memories are of my dad rummaging through the Coupon Book searching for enough E-Tickets to get my sisters and I on the Jungle Cruise as the scent of popcorn wafted through air littered with Mickey-shaped balloons. Delicious.My muse and I did practically all our dating and courtship at Disneyland, and even honeymooned at Disneyworld. This is the first time in our marriage that we have not been in close proximity to a Park, and I am having severe symptoms of Disney Deficiency.
With this in mind, and noting that I have been more times that I can even count, I would like to share something we discovered a couple of visits ago. All you need is a One-to-Four Day Passport to The Happiest Place on Earth, two sets of headphones, a splitter, and an 80-gig Ipod.
Long lines are always shorter when you play classic games like "Disney Character 20-Questions" or "Top 5 Disney Films by Category." But after the FastPasses have run out and you are looking at a wait of over an hour, nothing beats watching "Meet The Robinsons" as you nudge slowly along through the cue. Having said that, I have ridden many of these rides enough that I know every line and turn blindfolded; so adding your own soundtrack has a way of adding a new dimension to how the ride is experienced.
We even have a play-list based on each ride, as follows:
Expedition: Everest - "Neuroliptika" by Janus (think German techno-scream-metal a-la Rammstein. Dancy speed metal is the perfect companion to a killer coaster.)
It's A Small World - "Miss Sarajevo" by U2, followed by "Common People" by William Shatner
Space Mountain - "The Party's Over" by TV Eyes, OR "Beautiful Spain" by Venus Hum, OR "I Ran" by A Flock of Seaguls
Tunder Mountain Railroad - "East-Bound and Down" by Jerry Reed (goes without saying, really.)
Pirates of the Carribean - "Whiskey in the Jar" by Metallica
Autopia - "Cars" by Gary Numan
Soarin' Over California - "Learn to Fly" by either Foo Fighters or Pink Floyd (both work well.)
The Haunted Mansion - "No One Lives Forever" by Oingo Boingo
California Screamin' - "Hot for Teacher" or "Unchained" by Van Halen
Splash Mountain - "Big Time Sensuality" by Bjork (incidentally, there is an awesome Companion Restroom just off of Splash Mountain at The Magic Kingdom at WDW that you can lock from the inside. Great for use in making it an even more magical experience for you and your -shall we say- ride partner. Conceived our daughter there.)
Be sure the volume is loud enough that it drowns out the audio from each ride, and you have animatronics singing the words with you (sometimes it is a little scary how well things sync up; almost a Wizard of Floyd kinda thing.)
Or, experiment 'till you find the right one! Try it, it's fun!
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6 comments:
Funny you should mention Disneyland. The missus and I will be spending Halloween in the Magic Kingdom this year, so this alternate playlist comes at a most opportune moment.
For my money, I can't hear "Higher Ground" by the Chili Peppers without flashing back to Space Mountain.
I am both proud and appalled. Proud because it's so awesome. Appalled because I used that particular companion restroom no more than 4 weeks ago for changing diapers. (The kids, not mine.)
We didnt have any lines at WDW a few weeks ago. Something about a hurricane. Expedition Everest was the longest wait, maybe 10 minutes. It was pretty fantastic as our schedule at the parks had to arranged around nap times (again, the kids, not mine.)
Dean-O - Disneyland at halloween will be awesome!
Haven't been to Disney- anything since I went with Kev and his sister's family many, many, many moons ago. However, since I'm leaving for LA tomorrow for work and to see my brother's kids I'm hoping to find out when their first Disneyland outing is planned and of course, invite myself along.
Thanks for all the advice...some of which I can use now...and some of which I can put in my file "Unique Places to Get Some Action."
I feel I must share with you all my shame when it comes to my last visit to "It's a Small World."
I hate that ride. Always have. Even as a kid, when I was supposed to enjoy it, I thought it was lame. Maybe that means I'm a cyborg, or some sort of Blade Runner-esque replicant; I don't know.
Anyway, last March I took Natalie to Disneyland for her first time ever. And she naturally wanted to ride on Small World. Because she's my squeeze, I agreed.
The kid running the ride made some severe tactical errors, because he loaded us in the very front of the boat, along with a few other adults. The kids were about three rows back.
So we go floating down this magical Stygian ferry ride, Natalie's singing along, and I'm flashing back to Lisa Simpson at Duff Gardens.
We round a bend, and the boat stops, bumping against the corner. Another boat bumps ours, and we don't move. Another boat, and we're still stuck. Another boat. Another. The song is still on a loop, like some hellish jukebox that has been fed an infinite amount of quarters.
After an eternity or three, the lights come up, and an employee comes walking down the service track alongside the water trench. She informs us that the boat is "overloaded," and would anyone be willing to "volunteer" to get out? (She says this, looking right at me.)
I shoot my hand up and say, "I'll leave. Get me out of here." Natalie decides to come along with me, and as soon as we step out, the boat floats around the corner and the log jam is cleared.
Recently, Disney announced that Small World would be closing for extensive renovations. Specifically, they are making the water trench wider and deeper to "accommodate all our guests."
Translation: "Remember that one big guy? Yeah, he broke Small World, kids. Thanks a lot."
THAT WAS AMAZING!!!! You got to get off the ride and walk deep into the bowels of the multi-cultural happiness? I am so glad that you broke the ride if only because it makes for one of the best stories I have heard! Remember, that ride is MUCH more entertaining with U2 and Shatner providing the soundtrack, it syncs up like some kind of cosmic ballet!
Going behind the scenes was pretty cool, because we ended up going out the back, and got to walk through all the performers getting in costume for the upcoming parade.
The girl who was leading us also let us stop at look at the Finding Nemo ride, which was then under construction and otherwise off limits. Tres cool.
When we got around to the front, she told us that we could go to the front of the line and get on the very next boat, but we declined.
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