The Most Magical Time of Year in the Most Magical Place on Earth! Nov. 2010 NEW 4/5!

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Great update! I'm so excited that you are a Splash convert!!! Also, happy to hear you made it in time for the lighting ceremony!

I can't believe I put it off for so long! Splash was so much fun!

Yeah...for trying and loving SM! Can't believe you did it again on a chilly night. How lucky making it to the lighting ceremony too. Staying tuned too see what the next "first" is.

I was feeling adventurous!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Yeah for SM!!!! You should now remember that the big drop comes after they say "Briar Patch, What Briar Patch?"

That pic of you and Minnie is sooooo cute!!!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Yeah for SM!!!! You should now remember that the big drop comes after they say "Briar Patch, What Briar Patch?"

That pic of you and Minnie is sooooo cute!!!

I will remember that in the future! I like to know before I fall.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

DAY 2 – Pt. 6

After our meal at Pecos Bill’s I decided I wanted to try something new, something that neither Miguel nor I had ever done…

The Jungle Cruise! Can you believe I’ve never been on this?
I

We weren’t really sure what to expect, but let me tell you – we loved it! I laughed the whole way, I thought it was so hysterical! You can’t see to well at night, so we’ll definitely be experiencing this one during the day on the disneymoon!

After our hilarious ride through the jungle, we walked the street of Adventureland, where we decided to take a spin on Aladain’s Magic Carpets.

Ugh, this made me kind of queasy. I made the mistake of showing Miguel how you can adjust the highth of the carpet…this was worse than Space Mountain!

And speaking of Space Mountain, it was finally time to use those FP’s that we had secured that afternoon. We had one time for one more ride before the parade and we knew that had to be it.

It’s a good thing we had FP’s, because the wait was 70 minutes long! I don’t think there’s any way I could have waited that long. There’s something about that queue that makes me really claustrophobic – it just seems so small!

As we made our way back out into Tomorrowland, there was some sort of dance party going on. It was so entertaining watching some man dance to Justin Bieber, and then the chicken dance!

We moved on to find a place for the parade, but found that hub was way to crowded! I heard a CM say that there was still room in Frontierland, so I grabbed Miguel and off we went!

We ended up stopping in Liberty Square, since that was the first place we came along that seemed like a decent enough spot.

I went to grab some drinks while Miguel held down the fort. And then, the music started…

 

[Princess_K]

I haven't been on Jungle Cruise either! The line is always too long But I'll definitely add that to the to-do list!

 

[therussells08]

I'm back and I'm all caught up! I'm so glad you enjoyed Splash Mountain! That is definitely one of my favorites!

Don't feel bad, I had never ridden Jungle Cruise before this trip either!

 

[Nermel9]

Great update! I love Adventureland, your pics are really great, love seeing it at night!

Jungle Cruise sounds like fun! We didn't have time to ride it this past trip AGAIN...I'm starting to wonder if we will ever make it on to the Jungle Cruise!

I'm not sure if I'd like the Magic Carpets...they're so cute, I love Aladdin and would like to give them a try someday, but after my ordeal with Astro Orbiter and hearing you say they made you queasy, I might stay away from them!

I love watching the parades in Frontierland, you can almost always get a good spot!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I haven't been on Jungle Cruise either! The line is always too long But I'll definitely add that to the to-do list!

You should! It was a lot of fun!

I'm back and I'm all caught up! I'm so glad you enjoyed Splash Mountain! That is definitely one of my favorites!

Don't feel bad, I had never ridden Jungle Cruise before this trip either!

This trip really proved to me how many things I had never experienced at Disney! Surprisingly, even though it was a short trip, we experienced a lot of "firsts".

Great update! I love Adventureland, your pics are really great, love seeing it at night!

Jungle Cruise sounds like fun! We didn't have time to ride it this past trip AGAIN...I'm starting to wonder if we will ever make it on to the Jungle Cruise!

I'm not sure if I'd like the Magic Carpets...they're so cute, I love Aladdin and would like to give them a try someday, but after my ordeal with Astro Orbiter and hearing you say they made you queasy, I might stay away from them!

I love watching the parades in Frontierland, you can almost always get a good spot!

I really feel like I'm in a different world in Adventureland. We normally just head over there for Pirates, but I think we'll be spending more time there now since we've discovered our love for the JC. I can't wait to do that one again.

I'd skip the carpets. I get kind of dizzy just thinking about them!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

DAY 2 – PT. 7

When I last left off, our ears were being filled with a new sound – the music for the Main Street Electrical Parade! I’m sure I probably saw the MSEP sometime during my childhood, but I couldn’t remember it. Miguel had of course never seen it, so we were filled with excitement and anticipation about what was to come.

Soon after the music started, the floats appeared!

I thought these little things were kind of strange. They zipped around so fast that it was hard to get a good picture of them!

Here was my favorite float – even though it wasn’t really a float! I loved the couples dancing and the lighted canopy.

I was kind of surprised that this was the ending float. I thought it would be a little more Disney?

So my thoughts on the MSEP? To be honest, I liked it, but I don’t think it compares to Spectro. There is just something about SpectroMagic that gets me – I love it. Maybe it was the magical experience we had watching it on a previous trip. Maybe it’s the music. I think there’s just something kind of “dreamy” about Spectro and the way everything is all silver and white. So, it was fun seeing something new, but I really hope Spectro returns in time for the disneymoon!

Since we were watching the parade in Liberty Square, we didn’t have too long to spare to find our Wishes spot once all the floats had passed. We were a little stumped as to where to find a spot – even though I had a whole post dedicated to this on my PTR, I couldn’t remember what the recommendations were!

Finally, we just decided on the hub. In my opinion, it really is the best place to watch Wishes. It’s crowded, but being right there in front of the castle with so many other Disney lovers is pretty magical.

We had a few minutes to wait, and our feet were tired, so we just plopped ourselves down!

Soon enough, the show started!

Unfortunatley, the sky was very cloudy that night, and it made all of the fireworks look kind of faded. It was hard to get any good pictures.

And then it was time to leave. I was sad knowing that we wouldn’t be back to MK on this trip. I normally like for the Magic Kingdom to be our final park, but it just wouldn’t work with the schedule this time.

Before we left the park, though, I did have another mission to accomplish.

I wanted to pick up something sweet from the MSB! I had never had one of the famous cinammon rolls, and I figured that it was the perfect opportunity to pop in and get one.

Thankfully the bakery wasn’t too busy, so we were able to get in and out in a decent amount of time. We decided to just get one roll to share since they were so huge!

There were still masses of people trying to exit the park at this point, so we tried to stall a bit, knowing that rushing out to the bus stop would only mean that we would be waiting in a very long line. While we were hanging around the front of the park, a nice woman offered to take a picture of Miguel and I.

When there’s only 2 of you on a trip it can be hard to get pictures with both of you in them, so I really appreciate when people do this.

Finally it was time to face the music and head out to meet what we knew would be very long lines. I was expecting a lot of people, but I couldn’t believe it when I saw this!

That’s the monorail line! We joked that it was the longest line that we saw all weekend – and that was the truth! I couldn’t believe how it was wrapped around the entrance of the park! At this point, I was very glad that we decided to take the bus, because I would have hated to wait in that line!

Thankfully, the bus decision did prove to be the best one, because we walked right over to the bus stop and one was waiting! We were able to walk right on, and even though we had to stand most of the way, I was just glad to get on the bus.

The ride back wasn’t too long, which was nice. A lot of the people on the bus kept complaining of a terrible smell, which I thought was strange because I smelled nothing, and I have a very sensitive nose. I think it was all in their minds. You know, one person smells it and then so does everyone else?

Eventually we made it to the final stop back at the depot and we let off of the “smelly” bus. We made our way back to the room and relaxed for a few minutes before turning in for the night. It had been a wonderful day!

 

[disneybarbie]

Nice update Courtney!

Interesting to read your thoughts on MSEP .. I've not seen it in years so can't remember much about it (think it was last in WDW in the 1990s?), and I adore Spectromagic; we didn't catch MSEP this trip but plan to during honeymoon

and I always mean to get one of those cinnamon rolls from the Bakery.. but then remember just how big they are & end up with a muffin or danish instead! sharing one could be a good plan


That line for the monorail is crazy!! good choice on the bus!


Emma x

 

[Nermel9]

I felt the same way about MSEP! I was so excited to see it before our trip, I remember it from when I was a kid...but when I finally did see it, I thought it was a little cheezy! The music is awful! I hope they bring Spectro back soon!

I thought you got some great fireworks shots! I love watching Wishes from the hub with the castle in the background! Sometimes we watch from the bridge going to Adventureland but I'd prefer to be right in the middle!

I cannot believe that line for the monorail! I have never seen anything like that, it's insane!!!

 

[klacey1]

Cannot BELIEVE that monorail line! We hate driving, so we always take the buses everywhere-- exactly for that reason! The longest we've ever waited for a bus, even at park close, has been 25 minutes.
I'm totally with you on Spectro-- it's so much more "Disney" to me than MSEP. I don't understand the fuss about the latter.

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Nice update Courtney!

Interesting to read your thoughts on MSEP .. I've not seen it in years so can't remember much about it (think it was last in WDW in the 1990s?), and I adore Spectromagic; we didn't catch MSEP this trip but plan to during honeymoon

and I always mean to get one of those cinnamon rolls from the Bakery.. but then remember just how big they are & end up with a muffin or danish instead! sharing one could be a good plan


That line for the monorail is crazy!! good choice on the bus!


Emma x

I definitely prefer Spectro. I'll be interested to see how long the MSEP lasts.

The cinnamon rolls are almost too big! I think 3 people could easily share one.

I felt the same way about MSEP! I was so excited to see it before our trip, I remember it from when I was a kid...but when I finally did see it, I thought it was a little cheezy! The music is awful! I hope they bring Spectro back soon!

I thought you got some great fireworks shots! I love watching Wishes from the hub with the castle in the background! Sometimes we watch from the bridge going to Adventureland but I'd prefer to be right in the middle!

I cannot believe that line for the monorail! I have never seen anything like that, it's insane!!!

I'm glad I'm not the only one! I didn't care for the music either, and I've read about so many people who love it.

I was so glad we didn't have to stand in that monorail line. That would have been so miserable.

Cannot BELIEVE that monorail line! We hate driving, so we always take the buses everywhere-- exactly for that reason! The longest we've ever waited for a bus, even at park close, has been 25 minutes.
I'm totally with you on Spectro-- it's so much more "Disney" to me than MSEP. I don't understand the fuss about the latter.

It was crazy! We normally drive because I hate waiting in the bus lines, but this was one time when driving would have definitely wasted so much time.

I'm so glad you agree about the MSEP. I don't get the fuss, either!

 

[Mrs T 2009]

our wait to get on the monorail the last night we were at disney this past october was like that! LOL just me and DH so maybe we should have just taken the bus! LOL
Great update though!!! I have never has anything from MSB either, and would love to when we go again in september!!!
and good to know Peco's Bill's is a good place to eat- we have a DDP this time that is one TS and one CS a day compared to our normal deluxeDDP!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

our wait to get on the monorail the last night we were at disney this past october was like that! LOL just me and DH so maybe we should have just taken the bus! LOL
Great update though!!! I have never has anything from MSB either, and would love to when we go again in september!!!
and good to know Peco's Bill's is a good place to eat- we have a DDP this time that is one TS and one CS a day compared to our normal deluxeDDP!

MSB has so many yummy things. I love the egg croissant they have for breakfast. And Peco's Bills is always a good choice!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Oh I love the couples with the light up dresses...gorgeous!!!!

Super cute pics of you guys! Yay for random strangers

OMG that line. I think I would have hopped in the lake and swam

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Oh I love the couples with the light up dresses...gorgeous!!!!

Super cute pics of you guys! Yay for random strangers

OMG that line. I think I would have hopped in the lake and swam

I definitely would have taken the ferry! I can't imagine having to stand in that line after being on your feet all day!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

DAY 3 – PT. 1

A new morning came early again because we had an ADR at one of our favorite places from January – Akershus!

Our ADR was for 8:35 and we made it to Epcot in plenty of time, since I wanted to make sure we had time to take pictures of an empty park!

We were able to leisurely make our way over to the World Showcase and stopped to admire the newly renovated Mexico.

We were excited to see La Hacienda since we would be eating there at the end of our trip!

When we made it to Norway, there was a considerable crowd. I went to check us in and Miguel again took the time to snap some pictures.

We ended up waiting probably 15 minutes before it started to rain and they let us move inside. From there it was probably another 5 minutes before our name was called to have our picture with Belle and be seated.

The only problem? The Belle line was a mile long! I was tempted to tell a CM that we really didn’t care about having our picture made if could just bypass the line, but we got a little pixie dust and the CM lead us right to the front of the line! I’m not sure why, but I was very thankful!

Belle was sweet, and a little more personable than the one we met last time. She asked it Miguel was my beast, which I thought was funny!

We were lead to our table and introduced to our watior, Kim, who was wonderful! And then of course it was time to make our way to the buffet.

Here’s what I picked up…

And then this arrived!

This breakfast always impresses me. From the CM’s to the princesses to the food, everything is always top-notch. To me it’s one of the better-paced character meals, as I find some of the others can be a bit hectic. They always seem to plan this one out well. There was a woman with a clip board taking note of what princess had gone where, and even checked in with us at one point about who we had seen. Our waiter Kim, also assured us that he would make sure each princess stopped by our table in a timely manner.

And sure enough, they did!

First up with Aurora, which if you remember from my January 2010 TR, is Miguel’s favorite. She was a little bland this time around, but still made him smile!

Next up was Cinderella. She was sweet as always, but she just never seems to have much of a personality.

At that point the princesses gathered up the little kids to do the princess processional and we were able to enjoy our yummy food. Soon enough, Snow White came over to greet us!

SW is always a hit! She’s such a charmer and is always so in-character.

And finally, one of my favorites – Ariel! I love how she always comments on our matching hair color. She’s great to talk to, too!

After visiting with all the pretty princesses and stuffing ourselves on two plates of that delicious breakfast fare, we were off to Future World!

 

[Nermel9]

Love the pictures of empty Epcot! *Sigh* I miss Epcot soooo much right now, I'm so ready to go back!

Breakfast at Akershus looks great! I like how they go around and ask you who has been at your table to make sure you have seen all of the princesses, I wish more character meals did that!

I really want to meet Snow White, she seems like she would be fun to talk to!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Love the pictures of empty Epcot! *Sigh* I miss Epcot soooo much right now, I'm so ready to go back!

Breakfast at Akershus looks great! I like how they go around and ask you who has been at your table to make sure you have seen all of the princesses, I wish more character meals did that!

I really want to meet Snow White, she seems like she would be fun to talk to!

The Akersus breakfast is so well planned. It makes me wonder why other's don't have the same method. I think it would make some of the more hectic meals so much more enjoyable.

Snow White is so much fun to meet! She always has a wonderful personality and so many great things to say!