Chapter 4.
Thursday
Thursday morning, we all awoke feeling well-rested from the Sleep Number beds. It was 8:00 a.m., and Jennifer had placed our breakfast order the night before using the Suite Butler, which is a touch panel screen. The Suite Butler can control almost anything in your room. There's one on the wall in the kitchen, next to the Portal Box, a portable one in the living room, and one in the master bedroom, that sits on one of the bedside tables. It resembles an electronic tablet, and it features the ability to control the air temperature, lighting, music; which can play in the kitchen, dining room, living room or the whole suite; food and beverage orders, and other requests for sheets, towels and anything you may need. You can even reserve cabanas, swap show and attraction reservations with other guests, and more. Simply touch and go. If you want clean towels, put the dirty ones in the Portal Box and request which type of towels and how many you'd like. Once the clean towels are in the Portal Box, the staff activates the chime and your light on the Portal Box turns on to let you know they are there.
You can request housekeeping when you feel you need it through the Suite Butler too. You pick the day and time available. This is great because they don't clean the room daily. Only when you request it. Also, the Suite Butler provides you with privacy and convenience. You no longer have to call down to the front desk to make a request, and with the Portal Box, you don't even have to answer your door when something you requested arrives. After all, you're on vacation. The less stress and work, the better.
The Suite Butler also controls your TV in the living room. You can watch 'live' shows from around the Complex. If your family is a WOE Member, you can watch live concerts from the Harmony Theater. All the content from the WOE web channel LIVE is also available to watch.
Another nifty feature of the Suite Butler is the Calendar. All your reservations will be displayed for the day and reminders will be given if you're still in the suite 30-minutes before your show or attraction time. The Calendar will also notify you on your cell phone or EAD if you're outside your suite. The Suite Butler allows you to also make future reservations for hotels and the Complex, just like you would on the website.
At 8:30 a.m., we heard the chime on the Portal Box, on time! We went into the kitchen and Sally opened the Portal Box door. "Awesome!" she happily proclaimed, "This is so cool!" She pulled out all the food, which was all in separate containers (family style), coffee and juice decanters, and little bowls of butter packets and jellies. We had sausage, bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, and a welcome card from the staff.
After eating, we put all the empty bowls back into the Portal Box and pushed the "complete" button to let them know there were items in the Portal Box to be picked-up. The dishes, silverware, and glasses went into the dishwasher. After the filling and yummy breakfast, we changed from our night clothes and headed out to go to the WOE Complex.
Getting to the Complex is easy and fun. Hotel Family, Hotel Couples, and Mayberry Town utilize a transportation system using Zipvators. These glass elevator type vehicles not only go up and down but side-to-side. They connect on a track that extends out from the balconies. There are 28 Zipvator stations in the hotel atrium; one on each side of the rectangle shape complex, and on each floor (excluding the Magic Water Park). You walk to the nearest station and step onto the Zipvator platform, which extends about 5 feet into the Atrium.
You press the call button, and just like an elevator, if one is already there, the door will open. If not, then one will arrive shortly. We pushed our call button and waited a moment for one to arrive. Once the Zipvator doors opened, we stepped inside, and the doors closed. Each Zipvator can hold up to 25 people. There were already guests inside when it picked us up. It then moved over and down two floors to pick up a few more guests. Then it headed to the second floor and started gliding along the wall through the hotel atrium. When it reached the end of the atrium, the Zipvator slowed and then connected to the WOE Complex track. It then started heading to the Complex. There are three tracks the Zipvators can run on, to go to and from the Complex, so Zipvators are passing you the opposite direction as you're going along. Once we started heading over, we heard an announcement that we were now heading to the World of Entopia Complex.
We couldn't believe how cool this was. Within seconds, we were outside the hotel atrium and traveling about 20 mph, 30 feet above the ground, toward the Complex. The tracks outside the hotel are all surrounded by an air-conditioned acrylic tube. We heard announcements about special shows occurring and their times for that day. After about 20 seconds, we could see the Complex through the trees. It is massive in size, and I mean massive! Think the Pentagon-size massive. The closer we got, the bigger it got. In my last visits, I would travel to the Complex from the Daily Visitor Hub and didn't really see how big this place was from the outside. As we were about to dock, we heard the announcement everyone loves to hear, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the World of Entopia Entertainment Complex." The Zipvator pulls into the Hotel Family Zipvator Station inside the Complex, which is in between the Continents and the Fun Town USA Hub.
If this is your first time seeing the inside of the Complex, you will undoubtedly stand there in awe for at least 10 minutes. Imagine seeing the Grand Canyon, Times Square, Vegas at night, or Niagara Falls day or night. Overwhelming, with millions of lights and so much to try and take in. The State Fair section is what you see when you arrive as a daily visitor or as we did as a hotel guest. The State Fair is the central Section, under a dome that is covered with solar panels and lit with millions of LED lights. Remember how the hotel atrium was considered vast? Well, multiply that by 5 just for the State Fair section.
If you wish to go to the Harmony Theater, you can take the Circle Shuttle, which travels around the perimeter of the State Fair on top of buildings for The Continents, Fun Town USA, Show Town, and The Dark Room. Or take the moving sidewalk, which takes you right to the Welcome Center and Harmony Theater Hub. Both are steps away from where the Zipvator dropped us off. If you wish to go to the ground floor, you take an escalator down and then you can walk to Funtown USA (on the right), the Continents (slightly to the left and behind the escalator), or the State Fair (50 feet to the left).
The time was now 9:25 a.m., so we were just in time for the State Fair to have its' opening ceremony. We took the escalator down and walked a little to where we could see the World Stage to our right. All the rides and coasters in the State Fair were bathed in dim blue light. That meant they were asleep. We walked to the World Stage, which has a shell roof covering seats that are shaped like bales of hay but are actually soft and covered in vinyl. The bales, as I'll call them, are all tiered so guests could see the large stage facing the State Fair area. There were guests already sitting and waiting for the ceremony to begin.
We sat on one of the back-row bales, and at 9:30, the ceremony started. A live band started playing, with dancers taking the stage. A few vocalists started singing with the music. The emcee was introduced, and he came onto the stage and welcomed us all. He then said it was time to introduce the Hero of the Day. A short video played telling the story of how a woman selflessly helped a stranger who suffered a heart attack on the New York subway. She jumped in when no one else did. She performed CPR for 25 minutes, even as the train was traveling, until the EMS got there. The man survived because of her actions and owed his life to her. After the video, her name and picture were shown on the video screens; "Julie Tamry." She walked out onto the stage with her husband and two kids. She was thanked by the emcee and presented a plaque. A picture was taken, and everyone applauded.
WOE selects a Hero of the Day from thousands of submissions sent in from around the world by others. If one is selected, they are sent a certified letter notifying them. The Hero and their family are given a 3-day and night vacation to the WOE, entirely paid for, including airfare. These heroes are recognized and chosen from the military, police, fire, and from many ordinary citizens. On alternate days, they honor a Citizen of the Day or a Child of the Day. So, one day will be the Hero, another the Citizen and another a Child. Each receives the same special treatment and accommodations. The Citizen of the Day is a person who has been chosen for their contributions to their community. The Child of the Day is selected from children ages ten through nineteen and have had a traumatic experience or upbringing. They are chosen by WOE and may include siblings.
After the Hero of the Day portion was over, the National Anthem was played with a special guest singing.
At 10:00 a.m., Julie Tamry, with her family surrounding her, pushed the "Launch" button. All at once, the lights all went dim, and a magic-like whoosh of lights went flying around the State Fair and the surrounding buildings. Then fire flares and fireworks started erupting all around the massive atrium, as the State Fair "woke-up" and came to life. Every light on the rides lit up and started moving in sync and changing colors. The music started on the midway and rides started moving. Oh man, what an experience! Everyone cheered and clapped. We had goosebumps and chills. Jennifer looked at me, grabbed my hand, and said, "I love you, and I'm so glad we're here!"
Well, now that the State Fair was open, we decided we might as well ride a few rides. We didn't have any attractions or shows booked for that day, so we had the whole day free. As I said before, you must make reservations to be at WOE in advance. They do not sell annual or seasonal admission passes, so you can't just show up whenever you want.
Having annual or seasonal passes for many theme parks is having the ability to control some of the crowds, but not all. In Florida, for example, the larger theme parks offer several different passes. The cheaper ones have block-out dates to keep you from attending during peak vacation times, Spring Break, summer, and Holidays. Instead, they allow pass holders who spend more money to enter any day and guests willing to pay a premium to buy a daily ticket to visit on those days. They say it's a way to control the crowds like airlines and hotels do. I say it's price gouging. Many families can't afford to take any other time off, other than when the kids are out of school. But now, they must pay more to visit in the summer, and some can't afford more. For theme parks, airlines, and hotels to charge more at the busier times of the year is merely taking advantage of people.
Let me try to use their justification in other areas: Maybe restaurants should charge more for food at peak times when more people are hungry? Lunch and dinner are usually different menus, and dinner can sometimes be more expensive. But let's say the burger and fries you want costs typically $6. But from 12 noon until 2 p.m., that burger and fries now cost $8. Would that be right? After all, the restaurant may say they are trying to get more people to avoid the lunch rush by charging more. But most people can't avoid the lunch rush, due to their schedule. So, the restaurant will benefit by losing a few customers at lunch, those who can change their schedule, but make more money from those who can't. That, to me, is taking advantage of people. If one or two businesses did that, they would probably go out of business. But if they all did it, like airlines, hotels and now theme parks, well, then you're just going to have to pay more if you want to eat a burger between 12 noon and 2 p.m.
Florida has a law that prohibits stores and hotels from charging more when a hurricane comes. But isn't charging more for a hurricane the same as charging more for a summer vacation? One is for emergencies, and the other is just taking advantage of people on vacation. If you want to have specials during the slow time of year, that would be fairer. Maybe it's just me. The WOE keeps the prices the same, no matter what time of year you come.
Another significant difference is that the WOE only allows so many visitors each day. And you can reserve times for all major attractions, shows, and The Continents in advance. If you are visiting for just a day, you won't be able to see very much. This place is so vast and has so many attractions, shows, rides, and other fun things to do that you'll need at least four or more days to really enjoy it all.
In fact, the WOE is not designed to see everything in just one or two days or a few hours. The only exemption is the special events, like; "After-hours, All-Nighters, Halloween, and Christmas." These events are very popular, and they know many people want to be part of them; far more than the guests staying on property and at the Brand Name Hotels. So, they offer an after-hours pass to WOE Members attending a Harmony Theater concert on the evening of the event. Since concerts usually end at 11:00 p.m., the Member can purchase an "after-hours pass" in advance for $15 and attend the concert, then visit the Complex event from 11 p.m. until at least 1 a.m., and sometimes longer. For the on-property guests, they can take advantage of certain events that start around 8 p.m., so they have plenty of time to enjoy everything before the Harmony Theater crowd shows up.
Many other theme and amusement parks close early when they have special events and then charge you for a separate admission to get in. So basically, they are shortchanging the daily guests and rerunning the turnstiles to get more money. They say it's done during the slow time of year. But, for those who are visiting at that time of year, it means fewer hours to visit and most of the time, fewer attractions available, due to refurbishments. WOE doesn't close anything early, they merely stay open later and only charge the $15 to Members who don't already have a Complex Pass for that day or aren't staying on property and are seeing an evening concert.
That's why most visitors book at least a two to three-day trip or come for a one or two-week vacation. They want to reserve the shows, attractions, The Continents, and concerts up to a year in advance and make sure they have plenty of time built in for relaxing, lounging, playing, and not stressing on trying to get everything done.
There's no need to wake up early and rush to the Complex to get on rides or attractions to beat the crowd. You don't need an Express Pass or Fast Pass. You can have most of your mornings free if you like. Book most of your times when it's convenient for you. Of course, a few shows or attraction times may not be available when you want due to others booking first, but those can be worked into your schedule. If you change your mind on the day before or day of the show or attraction or something else comes up, you can "swap" with somebody else's show or attraction electronically. Maybe you'd like to ride "Castle Mare" again before you leave and no longer wish to see a particular show. You start a "swap request" and offer your show and time for a Castle Mare time. If a match is found, presto! It's yours.
You can also "swap" your concert ticket at the Harmony Theater or offer it for sale up to one hour before the show starts at no charge. If your ticket isn't swapped or bought, then you're still responsible for it. All of this can be done on your phone through the WOE app, any of the touchscreens around the Complex or from the Suite Butler in your suite. Jennifer, Sally, and I booked everything we wanted to do over the two weeks and made sure to give ourselves plenty of time for relaxing and for my interviews.
Sally and I rode so many rides from each of the State Fair-themed areas: The Classic Era - rides from the '60s through the '70s; the Pop Era - '80s & '90s; and Millennial - 2000's through today. Each area is separate and has its own theming set to that time-period. The lights, games, music, and even the food and food prices are set to that period. Yes, it's cheaper to eat in the Classic Era, and the portions are a little smaller, but still a lot of food for your buck. In fact, the Classic Era's food is so popular, they have a large picnic area with picnic tables to accommodate everyone. There are even commercial grills that the staff use to cook the hamburgers and hot dogs; and because the picnic area is in the front of the Classic Era area, you can hear the World Stage and watch the entertainment from the giant screens outside the covered World Stage venue. You never have to pay for a drink, because they are always free at many beverage stations around the Complex.
The State Fair rides vary from the classic scrambler to high-speed roller coasters that are intertwined with other rides and coasters. There is a 400-foot drop tower, called, The Dive Bomber. This drop ride takes you up 400 feet, then turns your seat 180 degrees so that your upside down, holds you there for at least 30 seconds, then powers you down at 100 MPH.
Many of the rides close to each other share the same music, while others use their own. During special concerts at the World Stage, the music will play on every ride and be shown on video screens around the State Fair. This is mostly done during special events. All the rides are built or re-built by the WOE engineering department. They know every nut and bolt of every ride. I'll talk more about their engineering later when I meet Roger, the head of Systems Engineering. Of course, there's no tickets or armbands to deal with. If you're staying on property, you can zip over and just jump on a ride or coaster. The same goes for visiting Fun Town USA.
While Sally and I were riding the rides and having fun, Jennifer went to one of the Rest Lounges to relax a bit and read from her Kindle. These Lounges are enclosed and very quiet. They are designed to give someone who needs a little quiet time, and a reprieve from all the music and lights, a peaceful break. I've even gone in there and seen people napping. It's also a great waiting area for parents while their kids ride the rides. Parents also enjoy the entertainment at the World Stage as well. Either way, it's far better than just sitting on a bench and waiting hours for your family to finish riding the rides.
Once we were done riding our hearts out, we picked up Jennifer and decided to walk around some more. As we headed towards Show Town, we decided to hit one of the famous restrooms that the WOE is known for. The WOE has six highly themed restrooms called Respites. Each Respite offers a unique and pleasant experience compared to traditional restrooms found in most theme parks and concert halls. There is one located in each section of the Complex and the Harmony Theater. Besides each Respite being themed to their section, there are several other benefits. One is the sheer size and number of stalls for women.
The Harmony Theater Respite is divided into four sections and can accommodate 2,500 women at a time. All of them will be open for a full capacity show of 25,000 people. Each Respite for men and women has rows of stalls with their own queue lines. The stalls have doors from floor to ceiling, completely enclosed, ventilated and cooled. Each has an LED light and number hanging from the ceiling outside the stall, which tells the next in line when and where the stall is available. Each stall has wipes, hand sanitizer, plush toilet paper, garbage cans, music, and magazines. There is also a phone to call a Respite Assistant in case there is a problem, or "special need." The respite assistant can help with feminine hygiene or even bring you a bag and a disposable pair of underwear. Sometimes, guests may become sick from the rides, and the attendants will try and help them. It's wonderful! They are very discreet, and those in the queue don't know if someone is having a problem, because they can't see the stalls in the queue line. They just wait until a number is called, then they turn a corner and walk to the stall with the green light and the number that was just called.
There are plenty of sinks with push pedals on the floor to operate the water and soap dispensers. Each has paper towels, not the ear damaging hand dryers. The Women's Respite has a separate area for make-up and even has an attendant there to help with basic supplies, all free, and no tipping. There are also disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste dispensers. Each also has a lounge for making phone calls or relaxing for a few minutes. But here's the really cool factor; The Men's Respite has themed urinals. Yes, themed to the section you are in. For the State Fair, the urinals are walled off from floor to ceiling, each with a curtain to provide privacy; each has a green light and number, just like the stalls. For men, there are two lines in the queue: One to "sit" and one to "stand." But when you go into the urinal stall, there is no ordinary urinal, there is no wall in front of you. Instead, you get to look at a giant midway carnival themed game. The view is about 75 feet wide and 30 feet long and is lit up like in a carnival game, with moving objects, clowns going up and down and chickens going across. I've never seen anything like this, and it sure makes going to the bathroom fun. Believe me, the women are jealous. The other section's Respites have similar urinal designs, but with different themes. All these Respites are cleaned continually, and there are never any odors, as the ventilation system is remarkable.
Everything at the WOE is so well done and unique. But this is just the start.
Thursday
Thursday morning, we all awoke feeling well-rested from the Sleep Number beds. It was 8:00 a.m., and Jennifer had placed our breakfast order the night before using the Suite Butler, which is a touch panel screen. The Suite Butler can control almost anything in your room. There's one on the wall in the kitchen, next to the Portal Box, a portable one in the living room, and one in the master bedroom, that sits on one of the bedside tables. It resembles an electronic tablet, and it features the ability to control the air temperature, lighting, music; which can play in the kitchen, dining room, living room or the whole suite; food and beverage orders, and other requests for sheets, towels and anything you may need. You can even reserve cabanas, swap show and attraction reservations with other guests, and more. Simply touch and go. If you want clean towels, put the dirty ones in the Portal Box and request which type of towels and how many you'd like. Once the clean towels are in the Portal Box, the staff activates the chime and your light on the Portal Box turns on to let you know they are there.
You can request housekeeping when you feel you need it through the Suite Butler too. You pick the day and time available. This is great because they don't clean the room daily. Only when you request it. Also, the Suite Butler provides you with privacy and convenience. You no longer have to call down to the front desk to make a request, and with the Portal Box, you don't even have to answer your door when something you requested arrives. After all, you're on vacation. The less stress and work, the better.
The Suite Butler also controls your TV in the living room. You can watch 'live' shows from around the Complex. If your family is a WOE Member, you can watch live concerts from the Harmony Theater. All the content from the WOE web channel LIVE is also available to watch.
Another nifty feature of the Suite Butler is the Calendar. All your reservations will be displayed for the day and reminders will be given if you're still in the suite 30-minutes before your show or attraction time. The Calendar will also notify you on your cell phone or EAD if you're outside your suite. The Suite Butler allows you to also make future reservations for hotels and the Complex, just like you would on the website.
At 8:30 a.m., we heard the chime on the Portal Box, on time! We went into the kitchen and Sally opened the Portal Box door. "Awesome!" she happily proclaimed, "This is so cool!" She pulled out all the food, which was all in separate containers (family style), coffee and juice decanters, and little bowls of butter packets and jellies. We had sausage, bacon, eggs, hash browns, toast, and a welcome card from the staff.
After eating, we put all the empty bowls back into the Portal Box and pushed the "complete" button to let them know there were items in the Portal Box to be picked-up. The dishes, silverware, and glasses went into the dishwasher. After the filling and yummy breakfast, we changed from our night clothes and headed out to go to the WOE Complex.
Getting to the Complex is easy and fun. Hotel Family, Hotel Couples, and Mayberry Town utilize a transportation system using Zipvators. These glass elevator type vehicles not only go up and down but side-to-side. They connect on a track that extends out from the balconies. There are 28 Zipvator stations in the hotel atrium; one on each side of the rectangle shape complex, and on each floor (excluding the Magic Water Park). You walk to the nearest station and step onto the Zipvator platform, which extends about 5 feet into the Atrium.
You press the call button, and just like an elevator, if one is already there, the door will open. If not, then one will arrive shortly. We pushed our call button and waited a moment for one to arrive. Once the Zipvator doors opened, we stepped inside, and the doors closed. Each Zipvator can hold up to 25 people. There were already guests inside when it picked us up. It then moved over and down two floors to pick up a few more guests. Then it headed to the second floor and started gliding along the wall through the hotel atrium. When it reached the end of the atrium, the Zipvator slowed and then connected to the WOE Complex track. It then started heading to the Complex. There are three tracks the Zipvators can run on, to go to and from the Complex, so Zipvators are passing you the opposite direction as you're going along. Once we started heading over, we heard an announcement that we were now heading to the World of Entopia Complex.
We couldn't believe how cool this was. Within seconds, we were outside the hotel atrium and traveling about 20 mph, 30 feet above the ground, toward the Complex. The tracks outside the hotel are all surrounded by an air-conditioned acrylic tube. We heard announcements about special shows occurring and their times for that day. After about 20 seconds, we could see the Complex through the trees. It is massive in size, and I mean massive! Think the Pentagon-size massive. The closer we got, the bigger it got. In my last visits, I would travel to the Complex from the Daily Visitor Hub and didn't really see how big this place was from the outside. As we were about to dock, we heard the announcement everyone loves to hear, "Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the World of Entopia Entertainment Complex." The Zipvator pulls into the Hotel Family Zipvator Station inside the Complex, which is in between the Continents and the Fun Town USA Hub.
If this is your first time seeing the inside of the Complex, you will undoubtedly stand there in awe for at least 10 minutes. Imagine seeing the Grand Canyon, Times Square, Vegas at night, or Niagara Falls day or night. Overwhelming, with millions of lights and so much to try and take in. The State Fair section is what you see when you arrive as a daily visitor or as we did as a hotel guest. The State Fair is the central Section, under a dome that is covered with solar panels and lit with millions of LED lights. Remember how the hotel atrium was considered vast? Well, multiply that by 5 just for the State Fair section.
If you wish to go to the Harmony Theater, you can take the Circle Shuttle, which travels around the perimeter of the State Fair on top of buildings for The Continents, Fun Town USA, Show Town, and The Dark Room. Or take the moving sidewalk, which takes you right to the Welcome Center and Harmony Theater Hub. Both are steps away from where the Zipvator dropped us off. If you wish to go to the ground floor, you take an escalator down and then you can walk to Funtown USA (on the right), the Continents (slightly to the left and behind the escalator), or the State Fair (50 feet to the left).
The time was now 9:25 a.m., so we were just in time for the State Fair to have its' opening ceremony. We took the escalator down and walked a little to where we could see the World Stage to our right. All the rides and coasters in the State Fair were bathed in dim blue light. That meant they were asleep. We walked to the World Stage, which has a shell roof covering seats that are shaped like bales of hay but are actually soft and covered in vinyl. The bales, as I'll call them, are all tiered so guests could see the large stage facing the State Fair area. There were guests already sitting and waiting for the ceremony to begin.
We sat on one of the back-row bales, and at 9:30, the ceremony started. A live band started playing, with dancers taking the stage. A few vocalists started singing with the music. The emcee was introduced, and he came onto the stage and welcomed us all. He then said it was time to introduce the Hero of the Day. A short video played telling the story of how a woman selflessly helped a stranger who suffered a heart attack on the New York subway. She jumped in when no one else did. She performed CPR for 25 minutes, even as the train was traveling, until the EMS got there. The man survived because of her actions and owed his life to her. After the video, her name and picture were shown on the video screens; "Julie Tamry." She walked out onto the stage with her husband and two kids. She was thanked by the emcee and presented a plaque. A picture was taken, and everyone applauded.
WOE selects a Hero of the Day from thousands of submissions sent in from around the world by others. If one is selected, they are sent a certified letter notifying them. The Hero and their family are given a 3-day and night vacation to the WOE, entirely paid for, including airfare. These heroes are recognized and chosen from the military, police, fire, and from many ordinary citizens. On alternate days, they honor a Citizen of the Day or a Child of the Day. So, one day will be the Hero, another the Citizen and another a Child. Each receives the same special treatment and accommodations. The Citizen of the Day is a person who has been chosen for their contributions to their community. The Child of the Day is selected from children ages ten through nineteen and have had a traumatic experience or upbringing. They are chosen by WOE and may include siblings.
After the Hero of the Day portion was over, the National Anthem was played with a special guest singing.
At 10:00 a.m., Julie Tamry, with her family surrounding her, pushed the "Launch" button. All at once, the lights all went dim, and a magic-like whoosh of lights went flying around the State Fair and the surrounding buildings. Then fire flares and fireworks started erupting all around the massive atrium, as the State Fair "woke-up" and came to life. Every light on the rides lit up and started moving in sync and changing colors. The music started on the midway and rides started moving. Oh man, what an experience! Everyone cheered and clapped. We had goosebumps and chills. Jennifer looked at me, grabbed my hand, and said, "I love you, and I'm so glad we're here!"
Well, now that the State Fair was open, we decided we might as well ride a few rides. We didn't have any attractions or shows booked for that day, so we had the whole day free. As I said before, you must make reservations to be at WOE in advance. They do not sell annual or seasonal admission passes, so you can't just show up whenever you want.
Having annual or seasonal passes for many theme parks is having the ability to control some of the crowds, but not all. In Florida, for example, the larger theme parks offer several different passes. The cheaper ones have block-out dates to keep you from attending during peak vacation times, Spring Break, summer, and Holidays. Instead, they allow pass holders who spend more money to enter any day and guests willing to pay a premium to buy a daily ticket to visit on those days. They say it's a way to control the crowds like airlines and hotels do. I say it's price gouging. Many families can't afford to take any other time off, other than when the kids are out of school. But now, they must pay more to visit in the summer, and some can't afford more. For theme parks, airlines, and hotels to charge more at the busier times of the year is merely taking advantage of people.
Let me try to use their justification in other areas: Maybe restaurants should charge more for food at peak times when more people are hungry? Lunch and dinner are usually different menus, and dinner can sometimes be more expensive. But let's say the burger and fries you want costs typically $6. But from 12 noon until 2 p.m., that burger and fries now cost $8. Would that be right? After all, the restaurant may say they are trying to get more people to avoid the lunch rush by charging more. But most people can't avoid the lunch rush, due to their schedule. So, the restaurant will benefit by losing a few customers at lunch, those who can change their schedule, but make more money from those who can't. That, to me, is taking advantage of people. If one or two businesses did that, they would probably go out of business. But if they all did it, like airlines, hotels and now theme parks, well, then you're just going to have to pay more if you want to eat a burger between 12 noon and 2 p.m.
Florida has a law that prohibits stores and hotels from charging more when a hurricane comes. But isn't charging more for a hurricane the same as charging more for a summer vacation? One is for emergencies, and the other is just taking advantage of people on vacation. If you want to have specials during the slow time of year, that would be fairer. Maybe it's just me. The WOE keeps the prices the same, no matter what time of year you come.
Another significant difference is that the WOE only allows so many visitors each day. And you can reserve times for all major attractions, shows, and The Continents in advance. If you are visiting for just a day, you won't be able to see very much. This place is so vast and has so many attractions, shows, rides, and other fun things to do that you'll need at least four or more days to really enjoy it all.
In fact, the WOE is not designed to see everything in just one or two days or a few hours. The only exemption is the special events, like; "After-hours, All-Nighters, Halloween, and Christmas." These events are very popular, and they know many people want to be part of them; far more than the guests staying on property and at the Brand Name Hotels. So, they offer an after-hours pass to WOE Members attending a Harmony Theater concert on the evening of the event. Since concerts usually end at 11:00 p.m., the Member can purchase an "after-hours pass" in advance for $15 and attend the concert, then visit the Complex event from 11 p.m. until at least 1 a.m., and sometimes longer. For the on-property guests, they can take advantage of certain events that start around 8 p.m., so they have plenty of time to enjoy everything before the Harmony Theater crowd shows up.
Many other theme and amusement parks close early when they have special events and then charge you for a separate admission to get in. So basically, they are shortchanging the daily guests and rerunning the turnstiles to get more money. They say it's done during the slow time of year. But, for those who are visiting at that time of year, it means fewer hours to visit and most of the time, fewer attractions available, due to refurbishments. WOE doesn't close anything early, they merely stay open later and only charge the $15 to Members who don't already have a Complex Pass for that day or aren't staying on property and are seeing an evening concert.
That's why most visitors book at least a two to three-day trip or come for a one or two-week vacation. They want to reserve the shows, attractions, The Continents, and concerts up to a year in advance and make sure they have plenty of time built in for relaxing, lounging, playing, and not stressing on trying to get everything done.
There's no need to wake up early and rush to the Complex to get on rides or attractions to beat the crowd. You don't need an Express Pass or Fast Pass. You can have most of your mornings free if you like. Book most of your times when it's convenient for you. Of course, a few shows or attraction times may not be available when you want due to others booking first, but those can be worked into your schedule. If you change your mind on the day before or day of the show or attraction or something else comes up, you can "swap" with somebody else's show or attraction electronically. Maybe you'd like to ride "Castle Mare" again before you leave and no longer wish to see a particular show. You start a "swap request" and offer your show and time for a Castle Mare time. If a match is found, presto! It's yours.
You can also "swap" your concert ticket at the Harmony Theater or offer it for sale up to one hour before the show starts at no charge. If your ticket isn't swapped or bought, then you're still responsible for it. All of this can be done on your phone through the WOE app, any of the touchscreens around the Complex or from the Suite Butler in your suite. Jennifer, Sally, and I booked everything we wanted to do over the two weeks and made sure to give ourselves plenty of time for relaxing and for my interviews.
Sally and I rode so many rides from each of the State Fair-themed areas: The Classic Era - rides from the '60s through the '70s; the Pop Era - '80s & '90s; and Millennial - 2000's through today. Each area is separate and has its own theming set to that time-period. The lights, games, music, and even the food and food prices are set to that period. Yes, it's cheaper to eat in the Classic Era, and the portions are a little smaller, but still a lot of food for your buck. In fact, the Classic Era's food is so popular, they have a large picnic area with picnic tables to accommodate everyone. There are even commercial grills that the staff use to cook the hamburgers and hot dogs; and because the picnic area is in the front of the Classic Era area, you can hear the World Stage and watch the entertainment from the giant screens outside the covered World Stage venue. You never have to pay for a drink, because they are always free at many beverage stations around the Complex.
The State Fair rides vary from the classic scrambler to high-speed roller coasters that are intertwined with other rides and coasters. There is a 400-foot drop tower, called, The Dive Bomber. This drop ride takes you up 400 feet, then turns your seat 180 degrees so that your upside down, holds you there for at least 30 seconds, then powers you down at 100 MPH.
Many of the rides close to each other share the same music, while others use their own. During special concerts at the World Stage, the music will play on every ride and be shown on video screens around the State Fair. This is mostly done during special events. All the rides are built or re-built by the WOE engineering department. They know every nut and bolt of every ride. I'll talk more about their engineering later when I meet Roger, the head of Systems Engineering. Of course, there's no tickets or armbands to deal with. If you're staying on property, you can zip over and just jump on a ride or coaster. The same goes for visiting Fun Town USA.
While Sally and I were riding the rides and having fun, Jennifer went to one of the Rest Lounges to relax a bit and read from her Kindle. These Lounges are enclosed and very quiet. They are designed to give someone who needs a little quiet time, and a reprieve from all the music and lights, a peaceful break. I've even gone in there and seen people napping. It's also a great waiting area for parents while their kids ride the rides. Parents also enjoy the entertainment at the World Stage as well. Either way, it's far better than just sitting on a bench and waiting hours for your family to finish riding the rides.
Once we were done riding our hearts out, we picked up Jennifer and decided to walk around some more. As we headed towards Show Town, we decided to hit one of the famous restrooms that the WOE is known for. The WOE has six highly themed restrooms called Respites. Each Respite offers a unique and pleasant experience compared to traditional restrooms found in most theme parks and concert halls. There is one located in each section of the Complex and the Harmony Theater. Besides each Respite being themed to their section, there are several other benefits. One is the sheer size and number of stalls for women.
The Harmony Theater Respite is divided into four sections and can accommodate 2,500 women at a time. All of them will be open for a full capacity show of 25,000 people. Each Respite for men and women has rows of stalls with their own queue lines. The stalls have doors from floor to ceiling, completely enclosed, ventilated and cooled. Each has an LED light and number hanging from the ceiling outside the stall, which tells the next in line when and where the stall is available. Each stall has wipes, hand sanitizer, plush toilet paper, garbage cans, music, and magazines. There is also a phone to call a Respite Assistant in case there is a problem, or "special need." The respite assistant can help with feminine hygiene or even bring you a bag and a disposable pair of underwear. Sometimes, guests may become sick from the rides, and the attendants will try and help them. It's wonderful! They are very discreet, and those in the queue don't know if someone is having a problem, because they can't see the stalls in the queue line. They just wait until a number is called, then they turn a corner and walk to the stall with the green light and the number that was just called.
There are plenty of sinks with push pedals on the floor to operate the water and soap dispensers. Each has paper towels, not the ear damaging hand dryers. The Women's Respite has a separate area for make-up and even has an attendant there to help with basic supplies, all free, and no tipping. There are also disposable toothbrushes and toothpaste dispensers. Each also has a lounge for making phone calls or relaxing for a few minutes. But here's the really cool factor; The Men's Respite has themed urinals. Yes, themed to the section you are in. For the State Fair, the urinals are walled off from floor to ceiling, each with a curtain to provide privacy; each has a green light and number, just like the stalls. For men, there are two lines in the queue: One to "sit" and one to "stand." But when you go into the urinal stall, there is no ordinary urinal, there is no wall in front of you. Instead, you get to look at a giant midway carnival themed game. The view is about 75 feet wide and 30 feet long and is lit up like in a carnival game, with moving objects, clowns going up and down and chickens going across. I've never seen anything like this, and it sure makes going to the bathroom fun. Believe me, the women are jealous. The other section's Respites have similar urinal designs, but with different themes. All these Respites are cleaned continually, and there are never any odors, as the ventilation system is remarkable.
Everything at the WOE is so well done and unique. But this is just the start.