Epinions Recent Reviews for cactus_matt

A little overripe in places...

Sat, 9 Feb 2002 02:52:35 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - As is the case with most of Epcot’s Future World pavilions, there has been some amount of renovation taking place at the Land, not all of which has made complete sense. The result was transforming something outstanding into something merely average,...

Why didn’t mine ever turn out this way?

Sun, 3 Feb 2002 20:06:48 GMT

rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - The treehouses we as children spent entire Saturday afternoons engineering all but paled in comparison to Walt Disney’s own. It was thus likely no surprise the wonder with which a child might explore the Swiss Family Treehouse – it’s everything we’d been...

Has "it's a small world" become nothing more than a big running joke?

Thu, 31 Jan 2002 00:57:47 GMT

rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Note: Spelling “it’s a small world” with all lowercase letters was a gimmick thought up by Disney. Just to clarify that I’m not making the same glaring typo over and over again. Nevertheless, I’m going to be italicizing the attraction’s title just so...

Before Mel met Hollywood...

Mon, 28 Jan 2002 03:35:18 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - After Star Wars blew audiences away in 1977, everyone was lining up to try and make something dramatically different in hopes that it might catch on as well. This occurred to such a degree that an individual had to look hard for a movie that was...

An Experiment Gone Terribly Wrong

Sat, 26 Jan 2002 03:57:21 GMT
rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Way back in 1965 Walt Disney spoke of a revolutionary township to house and provide for the employees of his soon-to-be Florida theme park. Dubbed EPCOT, or “Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow,” the project was to be a monumental undertaking,...

The Death Knell for Disney Theme Parks?

Mon, 12 Nov 2001 20:05:10 GMT
rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - About four months ago I wrote an article on Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and how I felt that the “magic” was slipping away. It was more or less an appeal for tradition and nostalgia, and I’d picked the Magic Kingdom because I felt it was the park in...

The real Ultimate Challenge is sitting all the way through...

Fri, 24 Aug 2001 01:56:10 GMT
rating: 1/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - I once looked at Wrestlemania as the pinnacle of all wrestling events. The biggest superstars, the biggest matches – the war to end all wars. Then, of course, I grew up.

Despite the extreme hype and glitz, there’s no escaping that some of the...

Wait a second, that’s not Hulk Hogan!

Tue, 21 Aug 2001 22:48:37 GMT
rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - WCW was getting set for major change in 1994. After years of being hailed as the underdog federation, they were finally coming close to attaining Hulk Hogan, the superstar that had been Vince McMahon’s meal ticket for nearly 10 years. It’s a dubious...

I guess you really can’t do that on television these days…

Mon, 20 Aug 2001 20:28:16 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - It was back in roughly 1981 that a fledgling television network called Nickelodeon attained airing rights to the Canadian children’s show You Can’t do That on Television. A sort of ‘Laugh-in’ for kids, YCDTOTV combined crude slapstick humor with...

Decent roller coaster, amazing atmosphere.

Fri, 17 Aug 2001 01:33:10 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - The Magic Kingdom is not a place renowned for the extremity and quantity of its roller coasters. The coasters there are actually some of the tamest you’ll find at any major theme park, and there’s only two of them. What these coasters lack in intensity,...

Just another terribly misguided decision…

Wed, 15 Aug 2001 01:00:19 GMT
rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Okay, Disney has ruined a lot of rides in recent years. Handing the Enchanted Tiki Room over to Iago and Zazu was notably thoughtless. Handing the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse over to Tarzan was considerably dimwitted. But placing the lasting appeal...

Faster, faster, faster…

Sun, 12 Aug 2001 04:03:55 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Only so many Disney rides have managed to firmly cement themselves into our pop culture. Even fewer have gone about doing so by being well-known for making riders aimlessly dizzy. The Mad Tea Party is one of these rare cases.

This...

Lots of wasted potential this time around...

Mon, 6 Aug 2001 01:39:31 GMT
rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - I recently wrote of a review of Halloween Havoc ’91, a tape I picked up during a trip to the flea market. Well, on that same trip, I also got my hands on the ‘sequel,’ Halloween Havoc ’92. I thought I was very fortunate to have accumulated such an...

The Chair...of TORTURE!

Sat, 4 Aug 2001 02:49:27 GMT
rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Longing for some good oldschool wrestling, I picked this tape up at the flea market along with a few others. I never thought a card could flop this badly.

WCW has a habit of not printing the matches on the back of the box. So, you can really...

A prime example of old-fashioned Disney ingenuity.

Sun, 29 Jul 2001 02:56:37 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - The Country Bear Jamboree comes from a time in Disney history where ‘imagineers’ took it upon themselves to create truly unique attractions without the backing of popular characters or films. Back then, hardly anything outside of Fantasyland was based on...

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...

Tue, 17 Jul 2001 02:53:39 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - There’s something that simply enamors people with Peter Pan’s Flight. One of the original rides at Disney World, it probably also remains one of the most popular to this day.

The outside façade is a typical Fantasyland medieval-tent affair...

The sort of thing we watch in spite of ourselves.

Sun, 15 Jul 2001 03:13:24 GMT
rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Being an obvious fan of Mick Foley/Cactus Jack, I was mysteriously drawn into the world of Japanese 'garbage' wrestling, where wrestlers compete with everything from broken glass to barbed wire to exploding rings. Is it a deep appreciation for the skill...

The Lament of a Concerned Disney Fan

Sun, 15 Jul 2001 00:46:30 GMT
rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - I want to make it clear ahead of time that you probably won't get many helpful travel hints from these following paragraphs. There's been a great deal of those provided for you already. I'm going to be addressing what I feel is wrong with the Magic...

The biggest thrill since riding in a cardboard box on a conveyer belt.

Sat, 7 Jul 2001 02:17:40 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - As a sheepish little kid, I could always count on 'The Peoplemover' for a ride completely free of surprises. It was slow, quiet, and a nice way to rest your legs. These days, not much has changed.

Well, not too much.

'The...

Don’t blink or you’ll miss it.

Fri, 29 Jun 2001 17:07:26 GMT
rating: 2/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Squeezed into the crevices of Mickey’s Toontown Fair, there’s not much to say about this ‘coaster.’ The peculiar sight of a biplane stuck in the side of a water tower highlights the entrance. It’s set within a cartoonish farming establishment, complete...

What did I win? Nothing? Woohoo!

Thu, 28 Jun 2001 18:52:21 GMT
rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - Is Disney too worried about marketing these days? Here's another ride brought forth to capitalize on a popular product. This time it's the 'Toy Story' characters. Is Disney looking for an easy draw from a conceivably temporary fad, or are they placing...

Snooooopy, Snooooopy, why oh why did you roam? Come home, come home...

Mon, 30 Apr 2001 15:56:55 GMT
rating: 5/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - While browsing the Epinions archives, I was kind of taken aback not to have found any reviews posted on this movie. After all, 'Snoopy, Come Home' is an integral part of our pop culture, not to mention an excellent feature. I knew that the only thing I...

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, what ride is the most outdated of them all?

Mon, 30 Apr 2001 02:00:57 GMT
rating: 3/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - One of the oldest residents of Disney World (and also at Disneyland), this ride has definitely been around the block a few times. And it shows.

Lines here usually move pretty quickly. There's not much to look at in the queue area except a...

Please do not bump the car in front of you... or else!

Mon, 2 Apr 2001 03:01:11 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - I think we can all agree that Go-Karts are a pretty mild thrill ride at best, right? And probably something that more rightfully belongs next to a miniature golf course than inside Disney World, right? Well, imagine Go-Karts, only much slower. And with a...

We're merrily on our way to... Oh, wait...

Sun, 1 Apr 2001 00:16:47 GMT
rating: 4/5 by: Epinions Author cactus_matt - I came here promising myself that I wouldn't hold a vendetta against this ride. It may have killed Mr.Toad's Wild Ride, but I can't really blame Disney. It doesn't take a genius to see that Winnie the Pooh is Disney's cash cow. It looks to me that Winnie...