Category: Traveling Writer
Why Do This Crossroads Travel Thing?
That is a good question.
I’ve written dark fiction and horror for thirteen years. In that span, I have written or co-written over thirteen novels, and I’ve had more than thirty stories featured in different anthologies and eZines. I wear metal band shirts and horror gear constantly. If you came to my office, you’d see how much I love the horror genre (and Star Wars).
But, I’m more than that.
This may seem strange to most people, but I am also a huge Disney fan. I proudly wear my Disney Adult membership on my sleeve. I also like to travel and cruise. I want nothing more than to be on a ship in the middle of the ocean or docked in a foreign port. I may like the dark and scary things, but I’ll visit a Disney park or a beach anytime.
So why have I started this extremely time-consuming venture along with a full-time job and trying to write the next novel?
Honestly, I love to create. My mind is constantly in motion with new ideas and new plans for things. The fiction has gotten me so far, but my creative spirit wanted the space to spread its wings. This is where the Crossroads comes in. The Crossroads is where I can let my creative spirit fly without the constraints and trappings of genre fiction writing. I get to flex my creative muscles in the non-fiction arena while sharing my experiences and thoughts about where I’ve been and where I’m going.
And about what’s up in my Disney lifestyle.
Bringing the Crossroads to life is a massive undertaking, and I’ve struggled with the project. I knew that, going in, I’d have to spread myself thin between my job, home life, writing, new YouTube channel, Crossroads, and all the social media accounts I hadn’t paid attention to before. Now, I have TikTok, Instagram, and Threads. Instead of one Facebook page, there are two. I have to plan in advance what I’m working on for which site every day. Some get posts daily, and others only once or twice a week. I still have to plot how everything drops and spaces out. I feel like I have two full-time jobs!
But that’s okay because I’m doing what I love. Maybe I can do this as my only job, along with fiction writing. One can dream, can’t they?
I want to thank you for stopping by the Crossroads for this little chat. Today, I felt like taking a short break from the Disney news and travel reports to speak with you about the why. I imagine some folks wondered what the fresh Hell had gotten into me, so I wanted to let you in on the thought process. This wasn’t some mid-life crisis move but instead an expansion of the hobbies I love mixed with my desire to always be creating.
If you should feel like supporting any of the socials, YouTube channel, or fiction, thank you. I’ll post links below. I create these projects to share my love of the world and the fantastic things we have in it and take it for granted. Look outside the window, and instead of watching the world go by, go out and experience all our planet and cultures have to offer. That, my friends, is the best advice I can give you.
As always, thanks for stopping by and meeting me here on the Crossroads,
Brent
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A New Bride in Disneyland and a New Closure Coming to Animal Kingdom!
Welcome back to the Crossroads! I know it seems like all we’ve been talking about lately has been the rides we’ve lost and the attractions we will lose soon. One I didn’t cover was It’s Tough to be a Bug. This opening day attraction in Animal Kingdom is inside the massive Tree of Life. The 3D show is based on the characters from the Pixar film A Bug’s Life. I always loved the movie, and I’m sad it never got the IP love it deserves. It never received a sequel and now the attraction based on it is getting a makeover. This saddens me.
The last day to visit the attraction is on March 16, 2025. There isn’t much time left for It’s Tough to be a Bug, so hurry in to ride. They didn’t give it the year-long send-off that Dinosaur received. Soon, it will join large areas of Dinoland USA in oblivion and rebirth. What will the new attraction in the Tree of Life be when it reopens? Zootopia: Better Zoogether.
Yeah, Zootopia.
I’m not a Zootopia fan, so this one hurts like Muppets closing hurts.
The Haunted Mansion in Disneyland has reopened after its transformation from A Nightmare Before Christmas back into the classic Mansion. When it reopened, it featured a new Bride in the attic. This Bride harkens back to the older Beating Heart Bride and replaces Constance Hatchaway. The projection effects for Constance didn’t age well, and I think the idea of a hatchet-wielding bride chopping off her many husband’s heads didn’t sit well with Disney. We still have the hanging man in the Stretching Room for now, but we’ll see how much longer he lasts.
The new Bride stands in the same spot across from the Hat Box Ghost and now has a window in the attic behind her. The face appears a little odd-shaped, but the effect of her flowing dress is fantastic. The wedding pictures have also changed. Constance’s husbands featured their heads disappearing, and now the entire husband vanishes. Beside her is the spirit of the one-eyed cat from the loading area where you climb aboard your Doom Buggy. This was a nice touch for Mansion fans, who can point and look like a meme in their excitement.
Overall, I loved the older Brides in Disneyland and Disney World, and I think the new one fits well with the past Brides. It is an improvement over Constance, and I’m okay with the change. There are some changes I haven’t liked and some I’m preparing not to enjoy, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Thanks again for stopping by! Please be sure to check out the Brent’s Crossroads YouTube Channel and follow on Instagram, Threads, and Facebook. Any subscriptions and likes go a long way to helping keep gas in the tank to travel around creating content. I want to thank you, and I’ll see you at the Crossroads!
Safe Travels,
Brent
Is Universal Orlando Leaving Disney in the Dust?
Hey gang, and welcome back to the Crossroads! The snow, ice, and prolonged power outages have created a world of havoc on my end, and I have found most of my work behind schedule. So, I’m back and ready to get the conversation going with you about the impending opening of Universal Studios Orlando’s Epic Universe park. The new park appears impressive, and I’m not sure Disney has been up to the task of combating the threat to their Orlando theme park dominance. What this means for the summer season at the parks is anyone’s guess, but I’ll give you my thoughts and have you weigh in.
First off, I want to start with Universal. They are opening a new theme park gate on May 22, 2025. Epic Universe looks like it will live up to its epic name. The park has three new hotels and is divided into five worlds. You can enter the Worlds of Harry Potter, Nintendo, How to Train Your Dragon, Celestial Park, and my most anticipated area, Dark Universe. I am a huge Universal Monsters fan, so a theme park world dedicated to them excites me. Universal decided to build a new park from scratch, allowing them to create something truly special. They also took some Disney Imagineers, which could be part of the Disney park problem.
Multiple YouTube channels have covered the construction, and there is some fantastic drone footage of the lands taking shape. I suggest checking out Theme Park Stop and Bioreconstruct for the best footage and updates. I feel Disney has been lacking the level of detail given to the Epic Universe lands lately. Look at Communicore Hall in Epcot or the DVC building at the Polynesian Resort for some examples of uninspired work.
I must admit, the theming around Epic Universe is something I always expected from Disney, but don’t feel like we’re getting any longer. Watching the footage of the illuminated Stardust Racer roller coaster cars streaking around the track at night is a testament to the care Universal put into making this park incredible. The immersive feel for Dark Universe is capped off with The Burning Blades Cafe, which features windmill blades that catch fire and burn at various times. I can’t wait to walk the streets of Darkmoor to explore the monster legends.
Now to Disney World…
The response to Universal and Epic Universe has appeared to be tepid. It feels like Disney was caught on their heels and can’t react fast enough to compete with the new park opening down the road. So far, all the announcements Disney has made about new attractions to the parks have been met with reservations, disappointment, and anger in some cases. Disney has announced some nice rides, but instead of building new ones and expanding the park’s capacities and footprints, Disney is destroying attractions instead.
A new Monster’s Inc. coaster and themed area in Hollywood Studios? Sounds good, but instead of tearing down the underused Animation Courtyard, they are destroying Jim Henson’s final Muppet project before he died in Muppet*Vision 3D. The kicker is that the ride isn’t taking over the building or being torn down; it’s just ceasing to exist. The same can be said about the new Cars area in the Magic Kingdom. Instead of building it behind Big Thunder Mountain as the Blue Sky Beyond Big Thunder project plans hinted at, Disney is tearing down Tom Sawyer’s Tree House and filling in the Rivers of America. This dramatically changes the landscape and ruins the peaceful and serene queue for the Haunted Mansion. Replacing water with concrete in the Florida summer doesn’t seem like a sound idea, and losing the River Belle will be ripping a wound in the heart of the Magic Kingdom that will never heal.
Imagine being in the extended queue for the Haunted Mansion. The once quiet and still waters of the Rivers of America, where you could peacefully contemplate the impending tour of a haunted estate, will be replaced by the noise of cars racing by. You lose the anticipation of the Haunted Mansion to loud motors and screaming riders. Next thing you know, they’ll tell us that Aerosmith’s Rocking Roller Coaster is being replaced by the Muppets.
Oh wait…
I won’t even mention what’s happening at Animal Kingdom in Dinoland today; I’ll save that for later this week. I will also talk a bit more about the Rocking Roller Coaster situation and how it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be made into a Muppet attraction. Be sure to stop back by and we can continue this conversation a little more about how Disney is being left behind.
I gotta go and catch up on stuff, so I’ll catch you all later at the Crossroads!
Brent
When In Rome…
Welcome back to the Crossroads! Today, I want to travel to Rome and share with you my three favorite things I experienced during my visit in October. We spent four days exploring the Eternal City, and it wasn’t close to being enough time. Our hotel was within walking distance of many sites and several metro stops, making traveling around the city easy. Our favorite thing to do when visiting foreign countries is to walk around and see things a tour may not show you. The food in Rome is excellent, and it is better to be a few blocks away from tourist stops if you would like to try local cuisine. My best meals were found a few blocks off the main streets and away from big, popular locations. This trip had one drawback; due to the Jubilee next year, multiple sites and streets were closed, closed off, or under construction. I guess I’ll have to go back. Now, let’s take a look at my three favorite things to visit when I vacationed in Rome.
Number one on my list is visiting any of the Roman catacombs. These burial places for Christians had to be outside the city walls. In fact, no person could be buried inside the city walls, not even the emperor, and most citizens were cremated. It is advisable to book a tour because of the distance needed to travel to visit the different catacomb locations. We explored two places, and the experience was very humbling. The picture is from the crypt at the Santa Maria dell’Orazione e Morte. The remains inside the crypt are displayed artistically, and the rooms are themed. One is the Pelvis Room, with wall decorations made from hundreds of pelvic bones. The catacombs are a solemn location, and no pictures are allowed inside. Most of the bodies there had been removed, but some still remain at rest in their tomb.
The second stop on my Roman tour was the Colosseum. My degree is in Ancient Studies, so this was a ‘have to’ stop for me on this trip. Once again, I recommend going with a tour group to bypass the enormous lines to enter the Colosseum gates. The only drawback to tour groups is you might not get as much time to explore specific areas of the ruins. I wanted to spend more time in some places, but between crowds and the tour schedule, I didn’t get to. I want to warn you to be prepared for the site to be very busy. It is one of the most visited locations in Rome, and it is packed. You will also want to book ahead of your visit. The Colosseum has multiple different ticket types, and they sell out quickly.
The last stop on this brief tour is the Vatican. The lines to enter St. Peter’s Basilica can be lengthy, but they move quickly. Be sure to take water and sunscreen if it is a hot and sunny day. The lines are outside in the square, and there aren’t shady places in line. Inside, I enjoyed not being part of a tour group because it allowed us to spend time at each of the sculptures and holy spots within the basilica. The basilica is the resting place of St. Peter and features Michelangelo’s Pieta. I found the sacred location to be bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside. Rome has an embarrassment of riches regarding Catholic churches, and St. Peter’s is the greatest. After visiting the Vatican, we also had tickets for the Vatican Museum. This is another venue where tickets sell out fast, and you need to pre-book your visit. Tour groups go through the museum, but we went on our own here, too. The museum is massive and is like a maze in some areas. It was better to have time to examine and study the various rooms and collections on our own time than be rushed through in a large group. We observed many groups, and they crowded exhibits when they tried to gather around their guide to hear what they were saying. So, another win for being self-guided!
I have a few more stops, but we’ll save those for another day. I want to wish everyone a happy New Year, and I hope you’ll take some time to travel and experience new places in 2025!
See you at the Crossroads,
Brent
Disney Rides We’ve Loved and Lost Pt.2
Greetings from the crossroads, my friends! I started down a rabbit hole that I didn’t intend to start down. My last article discussed rides I loved at Walt Disney World when I first visited as a kid. Well, I started thinking about everything I’ve enjoyed over the years that has been closed and was either revamped or destroyed. The list grew larger than one article could do justice to.
So, here we are in a growing series that we’ll touch on for a few weeks.
I see you looking at the picture of me on the Galactic Starcruiser. I know you’re reminding me it wasn’t a ride but an immersive experience. I believe the experience puts it in the same categories as a ride. I also wanted to take a step out of the Magic Kingdom. Don’t worry; we’ll get back to it soon enough.
The Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser was a two-day immersive experience hotel running in conjunction with Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The hotel puts you in the action and intrigue of a voyage set during the New Republic era. This disappointed many fans because it focused on the First Order era, not the classic Empire era. I believe fans would’ve wanted the prequel era over the sequel one, but we’ll never know. The very steep price included your two nights at the hotel, food, the actors, and passes to go to Galaxy’s Edge to ride Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run in the morning of your only full day at the hotel. The price was most likely the other colossal factor hastening the Halcyon’s demise.
The Galactic Starcruiser experience was terrific, but it closed before it had a chance to take off. The price and era worked against it, but Disney could’ve tried to alter the experience to lower the price or change the timeframe it took place. Once a guest went on the voyage, there wasn’t a real sense of needing to repeat the trip. Yes, some did take repeat voyages, but it was cost-prohibitive to go multiple times. Shutting down briefly to refresh the story could’ve gone a long way to saving the Halcyon. Instead of a cool hotel set in the Star Wars Universe, we now have a plain gray block building that doesn’t serve much purpose. Will Disney reopen the hotel as something else? Only time will tell.
Still with me? We’re running back to the Magic Kingdom for a ride that’s closed twice. One ride that stood out was the ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter ride in Tomorrowland, which was inspired by the movie Alien. The ride put guests in a room where an alien was held in a containment unit in the center of the room. Horrifically, the alien breaks free, and the experience becomes a 4D attraction in the darkness. You feel the alien running along your chairback, hear it breathing down your neck, and get drenched in blood when the creature rips a company employee to pieces. The water sprayed on guests during that part of the show gave me a jolt of love for the twisted. Alien Encounter was dark, adult, and scary. It got many negative complaints and reviews due to the nature of the attraction being in Disney World. Plans to add it in Disneyland, Paris, and Tokyo were scrapped after the reviews became negative. Because the ride was so terrifying, it didn’t last. The ride ran from 1995 until closing in 2003.
But wait, the ride didn’t die…yet.
When Alien Encounter’s closing was announced, Disney also announced it would be replaced by a new attraction featuring Stitch from Lilo and Stitch. The latest version used the same show sets and effects but added some gross stuff, like Stitch belching behind you and releasing a foul stench instead of the alien breathing on your neck. This version would last longer, running from 2004 through 2018. The building now remains closed, and nothing has replaced Stitch’s Great Escape. You can say this ride counts as two-for-one in the dead attraction department.
Well, fellow travelers and Disney adults, I must pause our discussion for now and work on the new book some more. Don’t worry; we can meet back here at the crossroads again soon to talk about how much we’ve lost at Epcot and especially MGM…I mean, Hollywood Studios.
Until next, we meet my friends; I’ll see you out at the crossroads,
Brent
Disney Rides We’ve Loved and Lost
Welcome back to the crossroads! I’m happy we can meet up here again. Today, I want to shed some tears for the attractions we’ve lost in the Disney Parks over the years. Many beloved rides have fallen victim to the WDI expansion drive. I don’t fault Walt Disney Imagineering; I blame a company that would rather destroy than build. The parks in Florida have plenty of room to expand their footprint and thus their park capacity, but they refuse to expand the park sizes for some odd reason.
I visited Walt Disney World for the first time when I was twelve years old. Being from southern Indiana, this was a big deal, and it was an experience that would shape my love of Disney parks and the movies into adulthood. I watched Disney animated movies before, but visiting the park cemented my fandom. There were rides I loved and rides I didn’t love. I didn’t think about it at the time, but at any moment, Disney could take them away. This article will focus on the rides I loved on my first visit that have been replaced, but l will return to the topic later to discuss other attractions lost to the march of Disney expansion. The funny thing is that three of the ones I miss the most were removed and replaced in Fantasyland.
The first Disney World ride I want to discuss is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The good thing about this attraction is you can still experience it at Disneyland in Anaheim. The picture in the article is from Disneyland. The ride left an impression on young me. Before going to Disney World, I’d never watched the entire movie The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad. The only part I’d watched of the movie was a clip from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow that aired on television around Halloween in a Disney Halloween special we had taped for our VCR. I had no expectations of the ride, so I was surprised when it ended with the car you ride in being hit by a train and you go to Hell. The ending scenes even featured demons and the Devil. Let’s just say it shaped my horror love at an early age.
When the announcement came that Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride was being replaced, I didn’t hear about the sad report. I didn’t follow Disney on the internet in those days, and a story like this wouldn’t be in the local newspaper. I was shocked when I returned to Disney World as an adult in 1998 to find a Winnie the Pooh ride where Mr. Toad once stood.
That wasn’t the only change coming to the rides I loved in Fantasyland; Snow White’s Scary Adventure would be next.
Snow White was Walt Disney Animation’s first full-length animated feature film, and it remains one of my top three favorite Disney films. The ride was a scary dark ride that followed Snow White and the evil queen through the spooky forest, the queen’s creepy castle, the queen’s transformation to the hag, and finally, the dwarves chasing the queen to her death. The mood was dark, and the scenes were scary for the target audience, but it remained a fan favorite until its demise. It was on my list to ride before Peter Pan or anything else in Fantasyland.
Snow White’s Scary Adventures remained in operation until 2012. Once the plans were in place for the Seven Dwarves Mine Train roller coaster and the upcoming Fantasyland 2.0 upgrades coming, Snow White’s Scary Adventures became expendable. I could ride it on a few visits before it closed, so I didn’t feel blindsided like I did with Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. The internet news for Disney was also a bigger thing, and I followed it at this point, so I knew the ride was closing soon.
Still, it was a sad loss.
Lastly, for Fantasyland, I mourn the loss of the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea: Submarine Voyage attraction.
I was only able to ride this scary ride once before it closed. It wasn’t scary because of the images in the attraction, but instead because of how bad the submarine ride cars leaked when underwater. This made the ride expensive to maintain and led to its demise. There is still a version of it at Disneyland Anaheim, but it has been re-themed to Finding Nemo. Honestly, I think I like the Nemo version better.
The Submarine Voyage closed in 1994, and the area around it has witnessed many changes since then. Once the water was drained from the ride, it became Ariel’s Grotto, with a statue of King Triton and a meet-and-greet area for Ariel. Winnie the Pooh also shared the space with a play area until the plans for the Fantasyland expansion and the Seven Dwarves Mine Trains were announced.
I will close by saying I planned on this being a single article, but I think it is now a multi-part series covering the other Magic Kingdom lands and the other Walt Disney World property parks. We will also discuss the numerous upcoming closures and changes. If I started on the Muppet*Vision 3D closure now, I’d have a stroke.
Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you at the crossroads again.
Happy travels,
Brent
So, I’ve Taken the Tiana’s Bayou Adventure Plunge- What Did I Think?
Greetings and welcome to the Crossroads! Welcome back, and I’m happy we crossed paths again. Today, I want to look at what happens when Disney rethemes a ride instead of building a new one. They are about to make the same mistake with the Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island to construct the new Cars attractions in the Magic Kingdom (or Muppet*Vision 3D, The Great Movie Ride, and Rocking Roller Coaster, to name a few others), but that’s a discussion for another day. We are here to discuss another Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom ride.
When the news first broke that Disney World was closing the Splash Mountain flume ride and replacing it with a new version based on The Princess and the Frog, I was a little upset. The first time I visited Walt Disney World as a kid, Splash Mountain was still under construction. Seeing the partially constructed mountain top was jaw-dropping to a kid, and I couldn’t wait to return and ride it when it was finished. Once we returned, it was open, and I rode it multiple times that trip. I wanted to ride so much that the rest of our group was sick of it. The only ride I go on more than I did Splash Mountain then is the Haunted Mansion anytime I set foot in a Disney Park.
I never had much of an attachment to Song of the South. Growing up, I watched the classic animated movies, but it was one we never owned or rented. Not knowing the story of Brer Rabbit, Brer Bear, and Brer Fox made the ride a whole new experience. The Laughing Place and the briar patch became new places I could explore on the journey and get wet in the end on the hot Florida days. Once I got older, I viewed the movie more out of curiosity than anything else. I was more offended by Disney taking Pecos Bill’s cigarette than Song of the South being removed from the shelves. So, the change to a movie I had seen multiple times and enjoyed didn’t bother me, but I still had a connection to the original version I grew up with.
The outcry was loud online when the announcement that Splash Mountain was closing came out. I was upset because it was one of my top five favorite rides at Walt Disney World, but I would wait and judge it once I could ride the Tiana version. I’ve ridden it twice in the past few months, and I must say it surprised me.
I first rode Bayou Adventure at Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party this year. Before I rode, I was afraid it would break down or wouldn’t even run at all during the party because of all the issues Disney was having keeping the ride operational. We rode it without any problems, and I must admit, I liked it a lot. The animatronics were a significant upgrade, and some areas seemed to have more figures and action than Splash Mountain. The story isn’t very good by comparison, though.
Splash Mountain had a linear story you followed as you rode and featured antagonists like Brer Fox and Brer Bear. You knew you were in danger of being thrown into the Laughing Place, and tension ratcheted up on you during the ride. The new story lacks any tension or fear of danger. The original story for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was about finding a special spice, and the final story is about finding a critter band for a big party Tiana wants to throw. Not something filling riders with dread. I miss the buzzards mocking you before you make the drop because the new ride lacks the same soul as the original.
The story could have been based on the film and not been an original concept. I believe the weakness is the missing villain, Dr. Facilier. By removing him from the story, it removes any sense of danger from a fifty-foot drop in a log. The original music is also better. The final scene is better on Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, but Zip-a-dee-doo-dah is a far superior closing tune.
Overall, I do like and enjoy Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. I wanted to ride it again before forming my feelings on the reskin. I rode it a second time and still had a fun time at the attraction. It does creep in slightly above Splash Mountain, but not by much. I can’t wait to ride it again in Tokyo Disneyland. The rumor is that it is the best version of Splash Mountain, and I’m ready to test that theory. Don’t ignore Tiana’s Bayou Adventure. It may not be Splash Mountain, but you’ll have fun if you give it a chance.
If you’ve been on Splash Mountain and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, which do you like better? Drop a comment below, and we’ll discuss it.
Well, back to planning the next trip! Take care, and I hope we’ll meet again out on the crossroads!
Brent
Disney’s Haunted Mansion Love
Greetings, fellow travelers and Disney Adults! Today, I want to discuss my favorite Disney attraction, The Haunted Mansion. This was one of Walt Disney’s favorite projects, but he unfortunately never got to experience any of the ride’s completed versions. The original Disneyland project underwent many changes, and after a delay in the design phase and building due to the World’s Fair, it didn’t open until 1969, three years after Walt’s death. I have ridden three versions, so let’s talk about it.
The first version I want to discuss is the original in Disneyland Anaheim. This one started it all and is considered the standard by many enthusiasts. The Haunted Mansion began as a planned walk-through attraction where a host would guide guests through a haunted manor. It later shifted to a collection of bizarre items and artifacts. The shifting of the tone and theming led to design delays while the mansion’s exterior was built. The World’s Fair happened during this time, and attention at Disney Imagineering focused on it instead. So, the mansion sat in Disneyland with a sign posted by the entrance gate proclaiming it was a retirement home for ghosts and spirits.
While the attraction sat empty, the idea of the walk-through portion fell through. The decision was made to make the ride a ‘people eater’ and the concept of the Omnimover. This would be a continuous stream of Doom Buggies taking passengers on a tour of the mansion and the graveyards beyond. Unfortunately, Walt passed in 1966 before the final plans were made and built. The main Imagineers who worked on the project were Claude Coates, Marc Davis, Rolly Crump, X Atencio, and the narration performed by Paul Freese. The Haunted Mansion opened to all guests on August 12th, 1969.
I’ve ridden the original, and it is a classic, but is it the best? Many of the scenes in it are shared with Disney World and Tokyo Disneyland. There are some slight differences, but recent updates bring it closer to the Florida version. Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland are the only two that transform into a Nightmare Before Christmas version during the holidays. The overlay was supposed to be on the Disney World one, but it ended up being what is used in Tokyo. I still need to experience the overlay because I love both the ride and the movie.
Second is Disney World’s Haunted Mansion. I have been through this mansion hundreds of times, which has left an impression on me. I love this mansion’s look, which is better than the original’s southern design. This one looks like how I would want my haunted house to look. Walt Disney wanted the original mansion to look pristine on the outside but dusty and old on the inside. The Florida house keeps up this tradition.
The stand-by line is designed and decorated better than the Disneyland mansion, but the insides are nearly identical, as stated above. The new stand-by line in Disneyland is an improvement, but Disney World’s mansion wins. This one is my favorite because it was my first and the one I experience the most often.
Lastly, let’s give some love to Disneyland Paris and Phantom Manor. This version is very close to being my favorite. I feel that not saying the original two aren’t the best is sacrilegious, but damn, this one kills it. The outside of the manor is broken down and weather. It looks abandoned and haunted. The grounds around the manor are dead and run down. The story is more defined here as well. It is a family tragedy concerning a jealous father and his daughter. All of her suitors end up dead, and Henry Ravenswood is responsible. The story also ties to the nearby Big Thunder Mountain roller coaster and the Thunder Mesa area of the theme park. Explaining it doesn’t do the weaving narrative any justice. Go there, lol!
The inside of the ride features a darker tone. There are similar scenes and themes, but most of this version is a variant parallel to the others. The ride doesn’t end in the graveyard scene but in an undead western town. The phantom spirit of Henry Ravenswood is present in various locations and is creepy, with his skeletal face laughing at your doom.
The other versions are in Tokyo, and a Haunted Mansion variant called Mystic Manor is in Shanghai Disneyland. I will be crossing Tokyo off the list next year, but it is primarily an exact copy of the Disney World attraction. Because of the cultural differences concerning ghosts and spirits, Mystic Manor is an entirely different attraction. I won’t discuss the differences here; we’ll revisit that later, fellow travelers.
I hope you enjoyed this brief look at my favorite Disney ride. If you’ve been on any of them, what are your thoughts and favorites? The YouTube channel for Brent’s Crossroads has finally posted its first video; you can check it out here. I’m working to get the links to the other associated social media sites in the sidebar. Don’t forget to enter for a chance to win a Hollywood Studios Jollywood NIghts pin by subscribing or following the other sites by December 9th. You can get one entry per follow here, on Instagram (@brenttabell), Threads (@brenttabell), or TikTok (@brent.abell).
Glad you could stop by and see me on the Crossroads, and I hope to see you out there!
Happy travels,
Brent
Disney Vs. Universal- Refillable Cups
Greetings, and welcome to the Crossroads! I’m a little behind on seeing you all again due to some traveling and holidays. One of the things I will talk about here on occasion is the differences between Walt Disney World (or other Disney Parks) and Universal Studios Orlando (or another park). Today, I want to discuss a topic that has really bugged me about the two parks since October.
I want to compare the refillable cup systems at the two Orlando parks. I will explain each program and then give you my take on the best one.
I will start with Walt Disney World. If you’re visiting a Walt Disney Park in Orlando, drinks are served in either paper cups or plastic bottles. In the parks, there is not a refillable option. You can refill cups at water fountains, but there isn’t anything like a Coke Freestyle machine. The resorts are the only place you can buy and use a refillable cup for sodas on the Walt Disney World property.
The resorts all sell refillable plastic cups, but they can only be refilled at the soda stations at a resort. You can’t buy a refillable cup at the Caribbean Beach Resort and refill it in a park during the day. There are Coke Freestyle machines in some of the resorts, however. During my last stay at Caribbean Beach, I found one in the room areas (not the main resort restaurants) close to our room. It was a pain to refill at times from the room, but it beat going back to the main building for a refill. I really wish you could do this in the parks.
Next, we look at Universal Studios Orlando. When I visited during Halloween Horror Nights, I decided to try their refillable cup option. The cup wasn’t a cheap plastic one but a sturdier one. The Universal cup was also more insulated than the Disney one, keeping my drink cooler longer. This was advantageous because the afternoon and evening we attended were hot. The cups are refillable at any Coke Freestyle machine in the Universal theme park areas. The park has them located at various points, making them easy to find and use.
The other plus to the drinks is you can get Icee fills in the cup. This isn’t at every Icee station, but they will post it on the menu board if you can refill it with an Icee at that cart. The only drawback to the Coke Freestyle machines at Universal was that the ice had to be refilled in the machines manually. Team members had to carry out large tubs of ice to refill the machines instead of making their own ice. This can lead to downtime for the Freestyles when the ice is refilled, or the machines run out of ice. A problem, but the drinks still taste cool when they come out of the Coke Freestyle. They also sell a cool sling to hold your cup while you run around the park.
Overall, they both have a couple of issues, but Universal Studios Orlando wins this bout. Walt Disney World wants to think it is a super green park, but it can eliminate a ton of plastic waste by not selling bottled soft drinks in the parks. Disney already has a Coke deal for the parks, and bringing Coke Freestyle machines in shouldn’t be a problem. I see plenty of people who buy the cups at the resorts, and charging a little more to have them usable in the parks would be a win-win for everyone. The process at Universal was smooth, and I feel I got a better bang for my buck with the Universal Studios Orlando cup.
Maybe Walt Disney World Orlando will follow suit one day, or maybe not. They could also make merchandising money from selling cup slings like Universal does. I don’t think Disney would turn down the chance to make some extra merchandise cash if they can. What do you think Disney should do? Should they add Coke Freestyle machines or stay the course? Comment below to let your voice be heard.
Before I go, be sure to check out my friend Bobby Linn at Pixie Travel Co. for help booking your next trip to the Magic Kingdom and beyond! Email him at bobbyl@pixietravelco.com and tell him I met you at the Crossroads and sent you.
Well, back to the writing and planning the next trip,
Brent
Brent's Crossroads 