Disney's Animal Kingdom and Epcot Wrap Up: The Good and the Bad- Sir Willow's Park Tales ep. 36
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- Опубликовано: 7 фев 2025
- I couldn't fit everything into my vlogs! So here's some of the awesome, and some of the not so awesome, that I experienced in both parks.
Links to the park vlogs:
Disney Springs and Meeting Fans • Shopping, Disney Sprin...
Pandora • Pandora at Animal King...
Animal Kingdom • Animal Kingdom- Rides,...
Epcot • Epcot- Changes, Thrill...
Not only did I work in theme parks for 10 years, I've visited a whole lot of them as well. Here's some stories of great visits, not so great visits, favorites, reviews, and much more.
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Huge thanks to Steve Williams for the logo. For more info on using his graphic design services, please contact me.
Special Thanks to my Patrons for their ongoing support!!
Ben Thornburg; Richard Meredith; Andrea Jacobsen; Peter New; Deana Martin; Kathy Goodman; Tamara Dillon, Bri Leiza, Drew Palmquist, Nirada Masters, Mary Loudon, Stephanie Burgess, Cassie Parkes, Ryan Gillin, Brandon Neely, Adam Wood, Michael Birchfield, Eric Lemay, and more!
Special thanks to Anna Simpson for the intro and Daniel Higgins (Goofy809) for the outro. Copyright and TM issues have been cleared through Joanne Choi of Disney legal and fall under parody/ satire provisions of law.
Looking forward to your reactions on my "asides" in the video. In watching what I had filmed I thought it was a little dry, and found myself making snide comments to my own video, so figured why not film them and give that a shot. I enjoyed it, but I'm curious as to your thoughts. Good or not? Funny or dumb?
Just my 2 cents.....I like the asides, they were funny. the only thing is there were maybe one or two too many, it kind of pulled me out a little bit. It was a little less jarring on 2nd viewing, though. but I like that you're experimenting.
Very good video!
I enjoyed them thought they were funny
I enjoyed most of them, but I agree with the others that there were just too many. A few of them sprinkled through to really punch it would work.
I really enjoyed tonight’s video!
I wouldn't call them dumb, and they were funny, but I also think they kinda took away from your natural flow a bit. This video was more targeted at your fans anyway since it was a continuation on the series about your recent trip so I don't think it matters much what you do. You are doing the right thing with trying different formats. Keep doing different things to work out what draws the most views and then do more of that. I'm sure lots of people have noticed you have been getting much better at video composition.
Since you are asking for advice; I think you should also put some time into developing a professional template for your thumbnails to help draw in new folks. I'd recommend using a good vector art program like affinity designer or adobe illustrator so you have something that will scale to whatever format you are using. If you enjoyed making the asides then maybe present them in a different way. You could have a mini-SirWillow in a PiP or if you can green screen something put him on your shoulder. That could keep your flow going and let you give your alter-ego a voice as well. One challenge would be filming in such a way that you have a place to put him in post and structuring your monologue in a way that you leave some footage in of you waiting for mini-SirWillow to stop speaking, then you can just cut that footage out if you don't use it. Actually if you empty out a spot on your shelf he could sit there, just film you sitting on a green table at the same angle your normal video camera sees the shelf.
I love this video and how you added the “second you”. It makes it fresh, different and funny. It definitely kept me watching the whole 20 minutes. 😊
Your videos are great and the adides and bloopers are a good addition. I really love your comments and reviews. Happy Valentine's Day!
D
*Note to self: Don't eat while watching SirWillow anymore. I had food in my mouth when you said: "I like to play with Pooh!" I had to pause the video and swallow my food.
at least you didn't spit it on the screen! lol
I laughed way too hard at “FITS LIKE A GOOD PAIR OF JEANS”🤠😂😂😂
I LOVE your videos!! i found them recently and have not stopped watching!! I like most of the asides! Some though were not necessary and more "baby talk" type thing which I wasn't a huge fan of but most were great!! So informative and funny! My brother and I got to open Animal Kingdom once about 10 years ago and it was so cool!!
Glad to see all this content about the trip!
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Universal!
First of those vlogs should be up on Saturday, probably a couple of hours before the live stream. Right now it looks like I'll have ones on Wizarding World of Harry Potter, one on Universal as a whole, and maybe a wrap up on that to boot. then Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, and a wrap up either for those two parks or for the trip as a whole. Plus other bits i've shot will be popping up for a while. So lots to come yet. :-)
Hey Sir Willow! I absolutely love watching your videos! I all honesty I am big not a fan of the asides because they take away from your main comments and insight. As a son of a goofy dad I could picture your son and daughter watching this and saying, 'oh dad...'! I mean that in the most humorous way possible! I will say, though, the asides do show your creative and goofy side which I did appreciate! All that being said, you do what you enjoy! God Bless! Mark 12:30
"Can you work out the kinks in my shoulder too?" I'm dead. XD LMAO
When Hubz and I went to Disney World (I’d gone in 1976, he’d never been) and and Universal Studio we went to the LEFT or counter clockwise! As we were winding down as the crowds were thinning... there were no lines!!!
Next trip will be Disneyland hopefully this summer on our way back from a business trip “back home” which is New Orleans ... we have lived in the Pacific Northwest for over 10 years. Washington is “home” now.
I haven't been to WDW in a long time, but last summer I went to DLR for my birthday. Didn't see any morning opening ceremonies there, but I wonder if that's because I was going during the early opening for resort guests? Maybe I would have seen them if I had started in the opposite parks. But the way they handled the then-still-very-new Mission: Breakout was somewhere between the two entrances you described. They let us in the gates about 20-30 minutes early (well, before opening to resort guests) and it was a mad rush down Buena Vista street and to the end of Hollywood, but there they had cast members with signs for the lines for the Standby Line and the Fastpass line and a rope blocking the street. About 5 minutes before park open for us they started walking us back (I was in the Fastpass line, near the front) to the official queues. Because of the projected length of the FP queue, they wound us around the backstage area behind the FP station before entering the official queue. Then when the clocks said that the part was officially open to resort guests and that the FP kiosks were live, they let us in to get our fastpasses.
I'll be heading to WDW later this year. It'll be interesting to see if the Pandora area is still as crazy after a year and a half, and to see the reaction to Toy Story Land.
very interesting thanks again I enjoy 👍👍👍
Really enjoyed this video....both of you!
You can still meet Pooh and Tigger beneath the ride in normal times and some more Pooh characters on the Halloween parties in costumes.
They actually added the second part of narration to Rivers of Light after the cash previews, originally it just had the opening narration.
Ther was some narration for Rivers of Light when we were there in August
Love the bloopers!! “Use the app Luke” 😆 Very nicely done video! Very fun!
Stoppit your intros are tooo catchy lol :D OMG I LOVE YOUR VLOGS!
In 2017, I returned to WDW after a 5 year hiatus. And I totally agree about Test Track. I walked off the ride saying that they had ruined the ride. BUT the biggest change I noticed was the emphasis on alcohol in the parks. Epcot has always had alcohol and folks looking to "drink their way around the world" but it has become much more prominent especially with the festivals. Similar story over at AK. They have that large, prominent bar over by Everest and it feels like there are so many "lounges" throughout the park. I enjoy an alcoholic beverage, especially with a meal, but the fact that it has become some prominent was overwhelming. It was surprising to see intoxicated guests at a Disney park.
LOL I like the asides but you know with this many fans you aren’t going to please all of us. Thanks for the video.
I agree with darting to the most popular/newest sections of theme parks first thing in the morning, especially at Universal Studios considering you have to pay for a fast pass. We sprinted to Harry Potter world, finished the whole thing in like an hour, then went through the rest of the park freely. However, that changes for me at the Magic Kingdom. I'm a kid at heart, and we're there for the kids. By law, you HAVE to start the day in Fantasyland.
Love the back and forth of you and yourself adding commentary. Funny. Great show as usual. I cannot wait to hear your take of Harry Potter world since it was so new to you. I have loved hearing your reviews about Pandora. I really am not a fan of the movie and thought the whole World of Pandora idea was dumb. So glad to hear it's really spectacular.
I was hoping that worked well. In watching what I had filmed I thought it was a little dry, and found myself making snide comments to my own video, so figured why not film them and give that a shot. I enjoyed it, but was wondering how others would react.
I remember a few years back when me and my family went to Epcot after some 15 years since the las time we were there, I turned to my my brother and told him "Wow! Future world looks retro now". We both had a laught at how old future world looked.
thanks for the spoiler warning! going in a couple weeks and havn't been on the new Soarin' yet!
re: orrdering food on the app...it may have just been kinks, but at both satuli in pandora, and pecos bills at mk, when we used the app to order ahead, the food we received tasted old, like it had been sitting, and have never had that issue with just ordering as normal...
odd. it worked perfectly for me at both of those locations. They were actually putting it on the tray right as I walked up. but I had a similar issue to the one at Epcot at the ABC Commisary at Studios, though not as bad.
I became homeschooled so I never miss a sir willow video. (I’m joking)
While I understand why you did it, I’m not fond of the asides. I just think there are too many of them. I think a few sparing and well placed ones would be better than the constant cutaway. I don’t mind a drier video.
thanks for the feedback!
The app was rather slow for me in the parks. I wonder if it has something to do with traffic or just me phone being dumb. I didn’t bother with the rides in pandora (I got in 20 minutes before opening) but walked right into Dinosaur. Lunch at Yak and Yeti, and I got some great pictures of the tiger cubs before the crowds got to them.
+Stephanie B were you trying to run the app off of park wifi maybe? I noticed my phone signal wasn't great in many places.
George...you are NOT RIGHT...and I like that! Keep it up!
I love your "Asides" comments. Can I vote good then BOTH funny & dumb (but in a good way)? On Soarin' I think the transitions are all a little cheesy but I'm usually MOSTLY amused by their overuse. Maybe the elephant CGI work was prototyping technology for Lion King... ;)
I feel I must now use the app.
Guess you need that bumpersticker Driver carries no cash he's married!
and has 2 kids in college! lol
Coco is by its very nature more culturally relevant than The Three Caballeros which has always been presented as a cheesy travelogue. Yes, a Coco attraction would be very focused on the singular IP with less visual emphasis on the actual country, but I think it'd be a much better and more respectful celebration of Mexican culture and heritage if it's even half as good at that stuff as the actual movie was.
Great video, not a big fan of the asides though. So appreciative for you taking the time to make these videos.
I miss the original Test track!
I think all the Marvel stuff belongs in Hollywood Studios. I like Marvel however it seems like it should be an all Universal property instead of Disney. I would say the same about Starwars if it hadn't been so heavily integrated with Disney already- though I guess its got about the same level of violence as Pirates so what do I know. I'd love to see them spin a Tron area up at WDW. Maybe they could integrate it with the people mover or something ;)
They do have the Tron coaster coming into Tomorrowland, so they might do some at the entrance of it at least. That would be neat. As far as Walt Disney World almost all of the Star Wars stuff will be at Hollywood Studios, which is I think the best fit for it, thought it's "fantasy" enough that it doesn't bother me really as a full fledged area at Disneyland. completely understand the feelings on Marvel.
I agree with you George, I wish Disney brings both original versions of Soaring and Test Track specially since it was originally a testing track ride with the blocks, brake system, environmental exposures; the futuristic version do not have the same vibes in my eyes, I am an old school Disney fan ( We started visiting Disney Parks since 1994). Epcot needs a lot of help in future world so true, I miss honey I shrunk the audience, Ellen Universe of Energy and body wars, hopefully there will be a guest suggestion box and our ideas get listened to.I miss Walt Disney he had all the wonderful dreams for this park, wished he would still be alive.
Wonders of Life is *likely* the future location of the Mission Space restaurant. Body Wars has been gutted. They used the vehicles either for the expansion of Star Tours or shipped them to one of the international parks. Cranium Command is actually intact still, but everything has been tagged and inventoried for the archives. I'm more concerned with why they still have the Odyssey Building - basically an empty restaurant that hasn't been a restaurant since 1994.
I LOVE Flametree Bar-B-Q, HOWEVER I am not fond of the birds that are right there trying to steal your food especially as someone that Isn't a bird person.
Ok, so you had some issues with Rivers of Light not having a cohesive story; but you don't have an issue with Na'vi River Journey? Sorry, I'm just trying to understand the reasoning. Other than that really enjoyed the video!
good question. I think the best answer I can give is 5 minutes vs. 30. You don't notice it anywhere near as much on a short ride compared to a long show. :-)
SirWillow fair enough. I do wish they had somewhat of a plot though. While visually it was pretty, it just felt anti climatic in my opinion. Also, they should have had more than one animatronic in the ride instead of just a bunch of screens. Lol
The reason I'm not worried about Coco coming into the mexico pavilion is because the movie is about the celebration of Mexican culture, just like the pavilions are meant to be.
You did go to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios I thought
they were the last 2 parks I went to, so they'll be coming soon. Universal is up next.
The not so great part of disney... leaving
Happy valentine day
Playing with Pooh...lol
I HATE the new Test Track!!! The original was so much better!