A Girl's Trip Becomes So Much More! My Trip Report is Posted!! 6.8.11

[TinksThree]

Commentary from "Present Day" My report for our scrapbook from 2009

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Hollywood Studios
Since the night before was a late one, we decided to not go to Hollywood Studios for the rope drop and slept in a bit. This was a mistake we later realized but in the end all was fine, except for missing Indiana Jones…that will be for next time!! Upon entry, we headed to Toy Story Mania for Fast Passes. I knew these would go fast and since it was 9:30am, I figured we still would have a wait. We did!! Our FP time was 2:15!!

This was our lesson in regards to DHS and TSM! If you want to do TSM plus other headliners...it is a MUST to be there at rope drop. Our whole day was thrown off! So from now on in my planning, I make plans that will allow a sleep in day when we are not going to DHS! Also I will add going on a Fantasmic day and EMH was not wise! We still had a blast though so all was good!!!

So with FPs in hand we went and looked at the Walt Disney museum. This is a real cool area and tells the story of Walt Disney going from a newspaper boy to the Mouse to the development of Disneyland and so on!!!

We skipped this last June but I have it in my plans for this year. I think my mom will love it!!

We left the museum and headed out to have a look around Hollywood Studios. We wandered around the Streets of America and took some fun pics along the way.

Then we headed to Star Wars. After Star Wars, we went and had lunch at Sci-fi Drive-In Theater. As we ate hamburgers, onion rings, and ruebans in our 1950’s convertible we watched old B-movies on the big screen!

We really like Sci-Fi! The burgers and shakes really are best! I had the reuban and it was okay so this past June I went with the burger and it was yummy!!

After lunch we went back out and went to Muppets 3-D, rode The Great Movie Ride, saw Lights! Motors! Action! Toy Story Mania and watched High School Musical !!!

A few pictures from the afternoon:

Then we went to eat dinner at 50’s Primetime Diner. What a great place! Our waitress was Mom (or Sue). She gave us a little homework assignment and made Chris wear a little napkin bib. Then when he did not eat his green beans, she fed them to him!! It was hilarious!!

We have ADRs for 50's PTC this year. It was the first place Madison said Nanie had to go!!

After supper, we headed to Rock-n-Roller and saw the wait time was 2 hours! Wow!! We decided that maybe we could make a quick stop back here on Friday morning and take in this ride. Then we headed to Tower of Terror with our Fast Passes. Awesome ride, especially at night!! After we came back from the Twilight Zone, we began to make our way to the exits. Both showings of Fantasmic were full 2 hours before show time, so this was another no go!!

So we concluded our day at Hollywood Studios...

When we got back to the resort, Chris wanted a Caricature so we proceeded to wait for an hour, but the wait was worthwhile!! It really turned out good!!!

So, that was our day at Hollywood Studios! A few lessons learned: 1) two ADRs at one park in one day can wreck havoc on a touring plan, 2) sleeping in and missing Rope Drop can mess up your touring plan!, 3) avoid Fantasmic days and EMH--for the most part, or park hop, 4) even if you miss something there is still a lot of fun to be had so don't stress over it!!

 

[mtgirl29]

I am truly loving all your pics!!! We are going to San Miguel for the first time on this upcoming trip. Your photos really capture the atmosphere there. Cannot wait to read more!!!!

 

[Moira222]

I have caught up on your memory lane trip. YOur pics make me look forward to future trips with Katie when she is a teen and (hopefully) so much more independent and cooperative.

I LOVE that you posted pictures of rope drop crowds. We have only gone in January so really never experienced crowds like this ..... the most crowded thing for us was leaving DHS after Fantasmic one night. nothing too dramatic!

I have learned a bit too about making it to rope drop and how to skirt to where we want to go. What was the fastest route you found to EE & Khali at AK? I would love to know for May. I will only be able to drag DD & DH to AK one time during our trip and I am determined to hit the spots I've not done before. DD is big enough for everything this year so CANNOT WAIT to do EE for the first time, and to do Khali again.

 

[creativeamanda]

I love your attitude--you learned a lesson, but it did not ruin your day! I love that way of seeing things.

Oh, and a little short lesson for the links.

Highlight the title. Then click on the little globe at the top of the message box. The one with the globe and link on it. This one:

Paste the url of the link in there and save. Go to the end of the text for the next. It will link the way you want it to.

 

[TinksThree]

I am truly loving all your pics!!! We are going to San Miguel for the first time on this upcoming trip. Your photos really capture the atmosphere there. Cannot wait to read more!!!!

Hello and !! So glad you are enjoying the pictures! I have so many!!

I have caught up on your memory lane trip. YOur pics make me look forward to future trips with Katie when she is a teen and (hopefully) so much more independent and cooperative.

I LOVE that you posted pictures of rope drop crowds. We have only gone in January so really never experienced crowds like this ..... the most crowded thing for us was leaving DHS after Fantasmic one night. nothing too dramatic!

I have learned a bit too about making it to rope drop and how to skirt to where we want to go. What was the fastest route you found to EE & Khali at AK? I would love to know for May. I will only be able to drag DD & DH to AK one time during our trip and I am determined to hit the spots I've not done before. DD is big enough for everything this year so CANNOT WAIT to do EE for the first time, and to do Khali again.

I think going with teens is great because they can ride everything and at least with mine, they are pretty cooperative.

I think I take those crowd pictures every day...it started out of boredom and now it is one of those "things" I have to get to have a complete "picture" of our trip!

We have done rope drop two ways at AK. The first was in 2009 and we went straight to EE grabbed the FPs and jumped in the stand-by line which was about 10 minutes. We toured until the window opened for more FPs and went to Kilimanjaro. This was around 11:15am with a return time of 2pm-ish. Down side to this is in March it isn't so hot but they say in hot weather the animals tend to hide more. So...in June 2010 we had 8am reservations at Tusker House and finished around 9:15am and headed straight for KS due to the animal/weather factor. Then we went and grabbed FPs for EE and rode stand-by. Both ways worked well. We ride EE at least 4 times in a visit because we love it!! I hope that helps give you an idea of how to plan!!

I love your attitude--you learned a lesson, but it did not ruin your day! I love that way of seeing things.

Oh, and a little short lesson for the links.

Highlight the title. Then click on the little globe at the top of the message box. The one with the globe and link on it. This one:

Paste the url of the link in there and save. Go to the end of the text for the next. It will link the way you want it to.

First: Thank You for the tip!! I will definitely give those tips a try!!

I try to go on my trips with the attitude of making plans but only as guidelines because you never know what may happen! I work to hard planning for my bad attitude to ruin my own vacation.

Spring Break has officially begun in our part of the woods which means it is time for our trip to Gatlinburg! Due to this, it will be several days before I get a new update done but stay tuned!!!

 

[TinksThree]

We are back and I am ready to get my memories section done so I can really start talking plans for this upcoming trip!!! It is hard to believe that this all happened just two years ago this past week!! Wow time flies!!! So without further adieu.....

Thursday, March 19, 2009
Magic Kingdom
Thursday morning was Early Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom so we arrived around 7:30 am for the 8am rope drop. We were a little further back this time so we were able to see the welcome show.

Once the rope dropped, Chris took our tickets and made the dash to Space Mountain for Fast Passes and Madison and I walked to TomorrowLand. We then met up at Buzz Lightyear and fought the aliens and then made our way to Fantasyland. We lined up for Mad Tea Cups and then we rode the Adventures of Pooh and Snow White’s Scary Adventures.

Then we headed to FrontierLand and got Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mountain and then we headed back to TomorrowLand and Space Mountain. Then it was back to FrontierLand and Splash Mountain before taking on Big Thunder Mountain again. In the midst of all of this, we took in “Mickey’s Once Upon a Dream”, parts of the Street Party, lunch at Cosmic Ray’s and some shopping along Main Street!

We had so much fun! It was sad leaving the Magic Kingdom since we knew this was “it” for this trip!!

Animal Kingdom
We headed straight from Magic Kingdom to Animal Kingdom to take in the Lion King Festival and any rides we just wanted to do again! So we got to Animal Kingdom about 3pm. We headed straight for Dinoland. We decided to go to Dinosaur again and then we tried a new ride…Primeval Whirl. After Primeval Whirl, we went and rode Expedition Everest and then we made our way to the Lion King.

The Lion King was a lot of fun and I am so glad we decided to fit this show in!!

Once the Lion King was over, we had a little while before the park closed at 7pm so we went on Kilimanjaro Safari again. This time, it was a little eeriey since it was late. But we got to see animals we did not see the first time like the elephants and the lion!

After we finished the safari, we casually and gradually made our way to the exit. Along the way, we checked out some of the trails. The park was almost empty and it was great! At the exit we saw the new “Kiss Goodnight” which was really cute.

Then we headed to the bus stop for our quick trip to Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Once at Animal Kingdom Lodge, we wandered around the resort checking out the savannahs and the fire pit storytelling. This is such an awesome resort!!! We looked around the resort store and then went to BOMA for supper.

BOMA
We ate at BOMA for supper on Thursday night. BOMA serves South African food on a buffet. The food was delicious and we left extremely satisfied!

After supper we hailed a taxi and went back to the resort. It was the next to last night and we wanted to be ready for Friday!!

 

[pinkxray]

Great update! We will have to try a late safari run. Usually the lions are sleeping when we go in the morning and you can hardly see them.


Mmmm, Boma looks good. It it always on my list of places to try but then I get too nervous we wouldn't like it and stick with the breakfast. One of these days we'll make it there.

 

[TinksThree]

Great update! We will have to try a late safari run. Usually the lions are sleeping when we go in the morning and you can hardly see them.


Mmmm, Boma looks good. It it always on my list of places to try but then I get too nervous we wouldn't like it and stick with the breakfast. One of these days we'll make it there.

We saw completely different animals from the morning safari on the afternoon safari. If it is doable, I definitely recommend trying to fit in two safaris!

Boma was very good. From what I recall the food was different but not too over the top. I also do not recall it being spicy, but then I can eat a whole jalapeno and say it isn't spicy so I am not one to judge spice levels for people! The prime rib was really good. You can see it in the upper right hand corner of the plate.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Good gosh, I was behind in your updates and can't even remember what I wanted to comment on because my brain is fried from planning our Disney trip and Lacey's wedding. Oh I do remember that I wanted to say that the picture of the lion was spectacular. We've never even seen the darn thing with his head up much less standing up.

 

[mtgirl29]

Lovin' all the pics. I am definitely feeling the MAGIC!!!
Cannot wait for more!

 

[TinksThree]

Good gosh, I was behind in your updates and can't even remember what I wanted to comment on because my brain is fried from planning our Disney trip and Lacey's wedding. Oh I do remember that I wanted to say that the picture of the lion was spectacular. We've never even seen the darn thing with his head up much less standing up.

I know the feeling on having a fried brain! And I do not see relief anytime soon! I am just so glad to have Disney to look forward to! Thanks on the picture compliment!! That is the only time I have ever seen that lion!

Lovin' all the pics. I am definitely feeling the MAGIC!!!
Cannot wait for more!

So happy you are lovin' it! I am about to post more!!

 

[TinksThree]

Sadly our last full day was upon us......
Friday, March 20, 2009
Hollywood Studios

Our first stop was to Hollywood Studios. We did not get to ride Rock-n-Roller Coaster on Wednesday and this was one ride we had on our “must do” list so we decided instead of sleeping in a little before going to Epcot, we would head to DHS. So we got there before rope drop and lined up. We stood on Sunset BLVD for 45 minutes or so before they let us walk down the street towards Rock-n-Roller and Tower of Terror.

Here is one of my crowd photos!

Chris had our tickets and when he was able, took off for the Fast Pass line at Tower of Terror while Madison and I headed to Rock-n-Roller. Next time, we will switch the order because everyone goes to Rock-n-Roller!! Once Chris met up with us the line said 180 minute wait!! And this was only 15 minutes AFTER the park opened!! Well we got in line and actually only waited about 30 minutes before we took off on a wild ride in Aerosmith’s limo!

Then we went to Tower of Terror to ride. Since each ride is different, it was still fun, BUT I prefer riding it at night. It adds to the “spook” factor!!

Once we finished here, we stopped for some pictures and then to the boat dock to go to Epcot!!

Epcot~~~all day
So we made it to Epcot with time to spare before our 11:30am ressies at Coral Reef. (Let me just say that the boat rides are my favorite mode of transportation! I wish we could go everywhere on the boats! It is so very relaxing!)

Goodbye Hollywood Studios!!

A stop at the Dolphin/Swan Resorts

On my "To-Do" List for "one day"

Since we had made it around 11am and had time to casually make our way to the Living Seas Pavilion, We weren’t exhausted when we got to Coral Reef. Coral Reef is a restaurant that has the feel of the inside of an aquarium. The food here is okay but the aquariums are really cool! We actually liked our food it just wasn’t the top of our list…that was to come later that night!

Coral Reef (Funny after reading these comments that I was seriously considering returning on this trip! Maybe time, and others reviews, have swayed my opinions!!)

So after eating we headed to the Seas with Nemo and Friends and rode our clam mobile through the ginormous aquarium. We then headed into the upstairs aquariums to see the sharks and manatees.

Continued in the next post....

 

[TinksThree]

We then began walking towards World Showcase (Mexico). We wanted to do the Kim Possible game and we were in search of the kiosk! Well, as luck would have it, the system was down, so we were unable to play! We then noticed a butterfly house and we ventured over to see the flowers and cocoons. The Flower and Garden Show began on this particular day, so the flowers, topiaries and decorations were everywhere and unbelievable!!

I loved the Flower and Garden Show! I wish it lasted just a bit longer so we could enjoy it in May!

We could not forget to show Keith what a good time he would have!!

Madison and Chris

We then proceeded through World Showcase…Mexico we had exhausted already so we walked past….same for Norway…..and China…..brief stop in the Outpost which is just a convenient souvenir stop…and into Germany. In Germany we spent a little time snapping a few more pictures and looking at the miniature train again.

Then we headed to the American Adventure where the Fifes and Drums were playing tributes to the military branches. We then headed inside the rotunda and listened to the Voices of America which sounded beautiful.

Then it was off to Italy! We did some shopping here and snapped a few more PhotoPass pics before making our way back over to Future World and some major shopping at MouseGears!

After spending all of our money, we then decided it was getting close to time to head to Canada and Le Cellier. We were a little early so we walked to Japan and looked around the gardens before running through the huge store.

A few more World Showcase pictures:

Then we made a bee-line to Le Cellier. This was the BEST meal of the entire trip!! We all got steaks and they were divine!!! The only complaint was that we were still a little full from lunch!! Oh my goodness, this place ROCKS!!!

After dinner, we went to France and used up the remainder of our snack credits from the meal plan to buy pastries. It was so much fun saying I want this and this and this and two of those!!

We were exhausted by this point and decided to skip Illuminations and head on back to the resort since we needed rest before driving home the next day.

A last view of Spaceship Earth:

Once back to the resort, we waited while Madison had her picture drawn and did some very last minute shopping and picture taking and then it was off to the room to pack for departure the next day! But at least we had one more adventure planned!!

 

[Jupiter&Wolfe]

Hey there! Tomorrow I'm booking a trip for May(ain't i the worst planner? a month and a half to plan, tsk tsk!) and to get excited I was looking through PTRs....came across yours and I just have to jump in for the ride! Looks like you guys are going to have a blast! We'll be there just before you guys, the 16th - 23rd.

Can't wait to see how things unravel!

 

[TinksThree]

Hey there! Tomorrow I'm booking a trip for May(ain't i the worst planner? a month and a half to plan, tsk tsk!) and to get excited I was looking through PTRs....came across yours and I just have to jump in for the ride! Looks like you guys are going to have a blast! We'll be there just before you guys, the 16th - 23rd.

Can't wait to see how things unravel!

So glad you are joining in!!!!

I am such a planner and ADRs are big for us but I could care less if I had 1 1/2 months to plan as long as I was getting to go to Disney!! I think it would be fun to go on a trip where I could just do whatever on whatever day. What fun to be planning a trip so soon!!

 

[TinksThree]

Saturday, March 21, 2009

We woke up early and loaded the car up before driving to the Polynesian Resort for breakfast with Lilo and Stitch. We took one last look at the resort and sadly said our farewells before departing for the Poly.

‘Ohana Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch and Friends

We drove to the Polynesian Resort and checked in for our breakfast ressies. The wait was a little long but we had fun looking around the lobby area and out the windows. You could see the castle from the 2nd story windows! We were so amazed by the beauty of this resort. We felt as though we had been plopped right in the middle of Hawaii!! We were each given lei with yellow flowers and had our picture made. Then we were seated.

We could see the castle from our table...I am not sure if this was taken from the table or the lobby though...

We were given pineapple bread and cinnamon type bread. HMMMMMM so delish!! Then fresh fruit was brought out followed by skillets of eggs, sausage, bacon, and Mickey Mouse waffles!! The food was so great!!! There was also a juice made from tropical fruits! Oh, it was so good!!

Lilo, Stitch, Mickey, and Pluto made their way around to each table and then they had a little parade with the little kids. We just watched.

After we were finished eating we began to explore the resort. We went out by the pool area (you can see the castle from here as well!). Then we made our way to the beach along Seven Seas Lagoon. From the beach you can see the Grand Floridian and Contemporary resorts as well as the castle. You can observe the boats on the water. We could even hear “Mickey’s Once upon A Dream” and see the fireworks from the beach. They also have hammocks in various places. We decided that this was the resort for us!!

We left the beach and wandered around the grounds. There are waterfalls and beautiful flowers everywhere! Again, we felt like we had gone to Hawaii!!

Pictures as we toured the Poly:

Then as we made our way back into the Ceremonial House (the front lobby area), we made a detour into the gift shop to try and prolong the inevitable just a bit longer. After a tad bit of browsing, we left the resort and made our way back to Mississippi. We gassed up right outside of Magic Kingdom and began the trek home. There was a lot of traffic and construction and we finally pulled into our drive-way around 9:40pm.

It had been a long, full week and we were extremely tired. But it was so wonderful. It was pretty much everything we had hoped it would be and more! We cannot wait until our next journey to the “World”!!!


The End


And after many weeks of a mini-TR down memory lane the Spring Break 2009 journey is over!! Little did we know that we would return in 2010 and now in 2011! Not often enough for me but i will not complain at all!!!

 

[Cindy-rella]

Still enjoying this so much!! I know we plan on doing EE right after rope drop at the AK. Your wait didn't seem to bad.

We also ate at Ohana for breakfast and loved it, but this year we are going to try dinner there.

Lastly, I love your info on Le Cellier. We are doing this for lunch on our upcoming trip!! I have to tempt my DH with food to make him want to go back to the World! I am hoping this lunch makes future trips more tempting!

 

[creativeamanda]

I love Coral Reef, LeCellier, and Ohana! I would really love to see the Flower and Garden Festival one day. Especially now. I thought I would get in a quick trip before June. No such luck.

 

[TinksThree]

Still enjoying this so much!! I know we plan on doing EE right after rope drop at the AK. Your wait didn't seem to bad.

We also ate at Ohana for breakfast and loved it, but this year we are going to try dinner there.

Lastly, I love your info on Le Cellier. We are doing this for lunch on our upcoming trip!! I have to tempt my DH with food to make him want to go back to the World! I am hoping this lunch makes future trips more tempting!

Glad you are still enjoying!

We love Ohana breakfast and the dinner is on my short list! It looks so good from other reports I have seen!! We planned Le Cellier last Juen for the same reason: to entice DH! We went on Soarin first thing that morning though and he was motion sick and didn't enjoy it at all. We still did though! The bread is really good they brought out and the chedder soup is really good!!

I love Coral Reef, LeCellier, and Ohana! I would really love to see the Flower and Garden Festival one day. Especially now. I thought I would get in a quick trip before June. No such luck.

The flower festival is so cool! I was just looking at some pictures from this year and wish I could eb there in person!

 

[pinkxray]

I love all of your Poly pictures. We liked the breakfast too, I was surprised no one wanted to go back this year. We are going back for dinner and I can't wait.

The Flower and Garden Festival looks lovely. I can't wait to check it out this year.

Your food porn is killing me! I am about 6 days into 8 weeks of no cheating Weight Watchers and the Le Cellier is making me so hungry. My salmon, brown rice and salad dinner plans tonight are making me a little sad.