So, its been a little while, but we wanted to update everyone on our trip to Disney! I've been talking about dragging Nate there for so long that I feel like I have to justify my fervor, and Nate is excited about sharing what he enjoyed most about the experience.
Our first day we rolled in around 5:00 pm and checked into our hotel: Disney's Pop Century! Right off the bat things were impressive. The hotel staff were extremely friendly and helpful and got us checked in quickly. They gave each of us a cool "magic band" that we could use to get into our room, get into the parks, pay for merchandise at the stores, and a few other neat uses we discovered throughout the trip. We parked in our section of the hotel (the 80's) and discovered it boasted rubix cube stairs, Pacman railings, Darkwing Duck posters, and a pool shaped like a floppy disk. We belonged here!
Despite being tired from the drive, we were super excited about being at Disney and ready to get started! So we'd barely put our suitcases down before I was dragging Nate out the door to catch a shuttle to Downtown Disney. Downtown Disney is a large open air mall of sorts that's open to the public and guests and features tons of stores, restaurants, theaters, and other attractions. We were there for the 'other' and headed straight to Disney Quest!
What is that, you ask? Just the most perfect place ever for my husband to spend 5 hours! Four floors of arcade games, from old favorites to new adventures, and everything plays for free! Also, Disney has about 10 different game experiences that you get to take part in! In one, you put on a three-dimensional headset and got to play a hero battling monsters with your light sword that you controlled by swinging a wand around. In another, you climb into a raft and use the paddles to actually steer your boat, which is on hydraulics that rock you around in sync with the waves on the screen. There is a Pirates of the Caribbean game where you are standing on the prow of a ship with cannons lined up on either side, screens all the way around, and boats filled with treasure appear on your left and right, and you have to rush from cannon to cannon to sink them to steal their treasure. If I sound like I'm gushing, I am; I was super excited to show all of this to Nate. We. Frolicked.
Nate Says: There was nearly every arcade game I had ever heard of and multiple cabinets of each of them so we were almost always playing together. The Disney created games really emphasized an immersive experience and each one had some sort of twist that made it new and different. I kept being reminded of the wild ideas in the movie Toys. One of them let you piece together a virtual roller coaster track (with assistance from a virtual Bill Nye) and then ride your track in an enclosure that could spin and twist in sync with your track on the screen. And right outside there was a class on how to draw Mickey Mouse. It was an amazing experience to be in an arcade that focused on letting you discover and play (instead of trying to wring money out of you in exchange for tickets for overpriced stuffed animals). The only downside is other arcades I've been to since have felt cheap and lacking.
Once Disney Quest closed, we grabbed a bite at House of Blues and headed back to the hotel. After having such a fun evening at what would be considered a side attraction, Nate was excited to see what an actual Disney park had in store for us.
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