sbaxter
Sr Member
Yeah; I don't always agree with Tom Corless of WDWNT, but I do trust him to be honest. He's definitely not shy about crying foul or raking the company over the coals if he thinks they've done something wrong or foolish.
Another one I believe to be trustworthy is Len Testa of Touringplans.com (Len is also co-author of the The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World). He was among the first public "sailing" and has weighed-in on The Disney Dish Podcast found here. While he found a few minor annoyances, he clearly was very impressed, saying what he experienced was far beyond anything he has ever previously experienced with themed entertainment -- and given this is how he earns his living, that is saying quite a bit. Indeed, in relating their experiences on the podcast, he is clearly audibly choked-up in a couple of instances, something I've never heard with him before, and I've been listening to him on various podcasts for at least 15 years. I'd normally describe him as playful but fairly cynical and somewhat jaded, so this was really somewhat startling to hear. He says the real value is found in doing all the side quests -- anything a cast member suggests you do during your stay, you should do it, even if it is just something they mention that you might consider doing -- because those things can and will affect things that you might get to see or do later. He also said you can and should create your own backstory going in, because when you tell parts of it to cast members, they will remember it and take note of what you tell them and refer back to moving forward. He, for example, created as his character a man named "Hank Lonely," a film maker in the Star Wars universe who created a nine-movie saga that is identical in its details to to the nine movies we have, but which were called in-universe the Space Robot Warts in Space (IIRC) -- and which, in-universe, virtually no one bothered to see. When he visited Batuu at Disney Hollywood Studios as part of the trip, he ventured out of Batuu into the rest of the park and decided to incorporate that into his story as well, telling cast members that he had discovered another territory outside Batuu that was ruled by a pair of large rodents. Because he did every side quest offered to him, he and his sister got to experience a private event at which he said only about eight other guests were able to attend, and it is what he got to see there that that got him so emotional. If you're interested in that, listen to the podcast linked above.
His final take, when asked whether it is worth $5,000, was this: If you're in the US and you've already traveled quite a bit and seen this country and Europe and maybe whatever your ancestral homeland might be, and if you can come up with the money to do so, it is absolutely worth the money, being far beyond Universal's Diagon Alley, which he considered his previous benchmark experience.
I have to say, hearing Len describe this -- a much, much more immersive experience than the initial itineraries I read led me to believe would be the case -- makes me wish I could justifiably afford to do this, whereas previously my attitude was that I would do it if someone handed me the money on the condition that I not use it for anything other than this.
One more note -- Len said that this is the single most re-playable experience Disney has ever created, since the outcome is so malleable based on what you choose to do along the way -- but the irony is that few will be able to afford to do it more than once, even among those who can pull it off at all.
SSB
Last edited:
