Birt Family Focus

Disney MGM Studios - Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It!! on Mickey Avenue -- 02/12/03

Today we visit the last attraction, and the best one, on Mickey Avenue- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire- Play It!! This attraction is VERY popular. It is set up exactly like the set you see on the show. Everyone files in a takes a seat which has a little 4 button console in front of it. Every member of the audience has the same chance to win a visit to the hot seat. The fastest finger, of course, wins. I have played this numerous times as it is one of my favorite attractions, but though I have made the top ten frequently, I have never gotten in the hotseat. Sigh- I'll just keep on trying. The draw here is that you do actually win something if you make it through to the prize levels. Not money- they'd never be able to close the thing- but a set of exclusive pins and a cap at the first level. There is a second set of pins and a polo shirt at the second level, AND if you get all the way to the million, you win a trip for 4 on the Disney Cruise lines. It's a pretty nice prize and one of the few places in WDW you get something for nothing other than your general knowlegde.

Some of the questions are easy and some aren't depending on your area of expertise. As you get to the higher value questions they do get harder and the Disney Trivia gets very obscure. I have seen several people win the second level, I have never seen anyone win the top prize, though I hear a few have indeed done so. When this attraction first opened, the top prize was a trip to New York to attend a taping of the show with Regis Philbin. Now that it is in syndication and Regis no longer hosts, the prize was changed to the cruise. Frankly, I think the cruise is much nicer! It is 3 nights and 4 days and includes airfair, BTW.

The show is actually 30 minutes long and is offered once an hour throughout the day. There are various hosts that I found out by going 4 times in one day trade off roles/jobs throughout the day. Those of you who attend the Adventurer's Club regularly will be familiar with this practice. Just when you get used to one face in a particular role, they change it. ;-) Having been here multiple times, I can tell you this is the shortest 30 minutes I have ever spent. I am ALWAYS ready to play on when the time's up buzzer sounds!

The "help" options are the same here with some variations to accomodate the fact that it is a theme park attraction. For one thing, the entire audience answers each question, so when you use the "ask the audience" option, they just pull up the results from that question, there is now special asking of the audience. Rather than phone a friend, one phones a complete stranger. This is often quite funny as a CM on the street by the phone collars passersby and asks them to answer questions for the show. Often they are clueless, but now and again they know the answer. It is fun to hear them on the other end of the phone hemming and hawing and deciding what to say. Well- it's fun if you aren't the one in the hot seat!

This is a fastpass attraction, so if you want to play often, do like my daughter and I did the other day. We went to MGM for the sole purpose of playing this and trying to get in the hotseat (we failed). Get your fastpass and then put it in your pocket and attend the first show of the day. When that show is over, get another fast pass and use the original to go right back in. Continue this pattern until you win or get tired or the park closes. ;-) We got tired and decided to go ride the tower after 6 trips. BTW- if you make the hotseat right before the show ends, they will hold you over for the next show so you still get to play.

As you might have guessed- my DD and I love to play this. DH can take it or leave it. He likes it when we want to go for the whole day, though, because he gets to play golf. LOL

Until next week-

Sla`inte~