DrDoofenshmirtz
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2011
Part I of my trip (3 nights at the dark side) is here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2847323
Also, there are pictures, but I'm having trouble loading them onto the DIS boards, but you can view my WDW pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41967492@N05/sets/72157628459649625/with/6528373795/
OK, on with the goodness...
Friday, 12/9/11 - I started the day, around 8:30 AM, by checking out of the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal. Surprisingly, they decided to charge my credit card (put on file for charging abilities, naturally) for my stay. Surprisingly, because I had pre-paid the visit 4 months earlier, on another card. I notified the clerk of this (and I had paperwork showing the same), and assured me that I would not be charged.
(Footnote: Flash forward a couple of weeks, I receive my credit card bill...and the extraneous charge is still on it...sigh. A call to the credit card company to dispute the charge is now underway. I'm not worried about it, because I have a receipt from my travel agent, as well as my other credit card statement for proof that it's already been paid. Still, this kind of screw-up will likely prevent me from staying at the RPR again. End of footnote.)
Thinking the matter settled, I headed out front to wait for my driver to take me to Port Orleans: French Quarter at WDW. He was a few minutes early, and he soon had me safely delivered to PO:FQ. I was checked into a very convenient room (first floor of building 5, 1st floor, facing the pool area) by 9:00 AM. Bonus number one: apparently, I had an $80 credit on my account at check-in...woo hoo.free money! Bonus number two: there was a gift waiting for me...sort of. The CM's couldn't find this completely unexpected gift in the back. Before long, they found out it had been delivered to Port Orleans: Riverside, their sister resort. No problem, I was assured that the gift would be at PO:FQ later that day.
I dropped my luggage off, and hopped a bus to EPCOT, where I picked up my 6 day park hopper ticket at will call. I probably could've picked up the ticket at any will call, but for some reason, my paperwork specifically stated Epcot, so I decided to get it there. As a bonus, my ticket included one "fun feature" (an admission to a waterpark or Disneyquest) for some unknown reason. Cool beans!
Now, we all have our WDW rituals. For me, I need to start my Disney time at the Magic Kingdom. So, I hopped on the convenient monorail, and took a quick ride over to the MK, where I spent the bulk of the day.
Highlights include: Pirates of the Carribean (an all-time favorite), the Jungle Cruise (purely for nostalgic reasons, because this one's feeling old), The Tiki Room (yeah, I'm in the minority, but I greatly preferred the "under new management" version with Iago and Zazu), Splash Mountain (best ride in the park), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (fun ride), Splash Mountain again (this time with a fastpass), Haunted Mansion (an another all-time favorite, the changes...especially the interactive queue...are terrific), It's A Small World (I love singing along
), The Scary Adventures of Snow White (soon to be extinct), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (I waited 45 minutes, surrounded by toddlers, to ride in a hunny (spelling error intended) pot with a little yellow bear...priceless), Peter Pan's Flight (another all-time favorite, based on my favorite Disney movie), Space Mountain (the new ride vehicles...well, new to me...are a vast improvement), the TTA Peoplemover (it'll always be the wed-way peoplemover to me) and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (I love these interactive rides, great fun).
Around 5:00 PM, I was back at PO:FQ. Stopping by the check-in desk, I was informed that my "gift" was already in my room. . The gift turned out to be a regular sized backpack from my travel agent. Inside were a mini-backpack (loaded with snacks...cookies, trail mix, etc), a metal clip-on water bottle, a change purse, my credentials for the weekend's get togethers and probably some other goodies I'm forgetting.
Now, I know the DIS boards frowns on advertising business in these posts, so I won't name my travel agent. But, I will continue to fill you in on the benefits I received from them, and if anyone wants to know who they are, I'll be glad to respond to any PM's.
Anyhow, I just stopped into the room long enough to play with my new toys, unpack, grab a shower and put on my credentials so I could join the fun at Epcot later on. As a side note, the pool noise was more than I care for, but I was racing around at this point, not trying to rest.
By 7:00, I was at Epcot, with enough time for a ride on Spaceship: Earth (Still interesting to me after all these years, and I like the new interactive "you in the future" segment) before heading over to Italy for a VIP Illuminations party.
The VIP Illuminations party was another (free) perk of booking through my travel agent. Just a way of saying thank you. I was early for the meet, but as time went on, more folks showed up with their credentials showing (we had cute red lanyards...so we were easy to spot). At this point, I ended up in a friendly group with 3 ladies (Linda, Pauline and Jackie) who were each vacationing on thier own, as I was, so we ended up enjoying the festivities as a group. By about 8:30 PM, we started checking in for the event, and we were lead to a private viewing area, right on the water, opposite the Italy Pavilion. There we had plenty of tables, and chairs, and were treated to coffee, fruit juice, cookies, brownies, cupcakes and other tasty treats. We set up at a table right next to the water, and enjoyed a perfect view of Illuminations. Not bad for free.
Afterwards, we made our way around to the main exit, where we said goodbye as we got on our seperate busses. I was back at PO:FQ around 11:00, where it was (thankfully) quiet and peaceful.
Saturday, 12/10/11 - I started my day at rope drop at Epcot. Making a bee line for Soarin' (along with everbody else), I nabbed a fastpass, before getting in the standby line. That worked well, because I managed to get onto the first ride/show of the day. Soarin' is great fun, and I enjoyed it when it was new, at DCA about 10 years ago. I do think it would be better if this version had a Florida-centric film, as opposed to the current California-centric one.
The other highlights of my day include: Mission: Space (Orange, of course...this was my first mission, and I greatly enjoyed), Test Track (very short wait in the single riders line), Journey Into Imagination with Figment (OK, it's not very good, but it did stir up some fond memories), Captain EO (I thought was lousy back in the 80's...I still do. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience might not be terrific, but it's light years better than this), Soarin' again (this time with my fastpass), Maelstrom (I love water rides like this), Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the 3 Caballeros (...and like this. It is a little more entertaining with Donald Duck and his friends), Universe of Energy (I still really like this...I enjoy the framing sequence, and I love the dinosaurs), The Seas with Nemo and Friends (cute) and another ride on Spaceship: Earth (mostly so I could see my future with different choices than I made the previous night).
I made it back to PO:FQ around 3:00 PM, and this time the music being blasted on the pool area was too much for me. So, I headed back to check-in, where I was met by Quynh, who was the manager on duty. She very quickly had me moved into room 7203 (building 7, 2nd level, room 03) with no trouble, at all. This was perfect (as in very quiet) for me. seeing as how efficiently (and pleasantly), Quynh took care of this for me, I filled out one of those "excellent service" thank you cards for her (they're available in the gift store), which I turned in to another manager.
Tonight was the night for the big deal event, planned by my travel agent, at Disney Hollywood Studios. I made it to DHS around 5:00 PM, because I wanted to ride the re-vamped Star tours - The Adventures Continue, before the big event. I did ride along with C-3PO and R2-D2, and had a terrific time.
We were scheduled to meet at 7:00 PM, for the first part of the event near the fastpass line for Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. Now this event was limited in size (to I'd guess somewhere around 120-150 people), and cost us $35 per person. Turns out it was the best $35 I'd ever spent. I wandered down to the RNRC around 6:00, and was surprised to see that one of my friends (Pauline) from the previous night was already waiting. Like the previous night, soon we were joined by more and more event-goers (including Jackie, but not Linda who decided to pass on this event).
Eventually, we were all signed in (as the night before), this time, though, we were lead into the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater through the normally off-limits backlot of DHS, for a VIP showing of Fantasmic! Again, we were brought to a cordoned off area filled with tables and chairs, and served cocoa, coffee, fruit juice and desserts. We ended up at a table further back this time, but that was ok. It was difficult for us to see the action at water level, but we had a great view of the upper 2/3 of the show. I should point out that we could have easily moved to more advantageous views if we wanted, but we were pretty comfortable.
After Fantasmic, we were lead (again through the backlot) to (I believe) the Hollywood and Vine restaraunt, which had been closed for us. Inside, were more tables set up, with more refreshments (this time including some hot dishes like sausages and meatballs). The idea was we were going to chill out here, until the park officially closed at 10:00 PM, before moving on to the grand finale. While here, however, they kept us entertained with Christmas music, and a few short speeches...and some cool surprises.
One surprise was we each got a professional picture taken with Santa Mickey and Mrs. Claus Minnie, in front of a castle backdrop. Now, I can't remember the last time I got a character picture for myself, but this was a real thrill for me. A real highlight of my trip. After the pictures, our hosts held a raffle for us giving away mystery bags, Disney gift cards, Santa Mickey hats and the grand prize was a 6 night vacation at the moderate resort of the winner's choice, for 4 with park hoppers and DDP included.
I didn't win that, but I did win one of the table centerpieces, which was a beautiful ceramic and metal sleigh, complete with a plush Mickey pushing it. I ended up shipping mine home (packed in souvenir T-Shirts and blankets) from PO:FQ, and giving it away to my best friend's mom (who loves it, and deserves so much more).
Around 10:30, this part of the festivities was over, and we were lead to the set-up for the Osborne Family Lights. Before we got there, however, we had a detour along Pixar Place. You see, they arranged for us all to privately ride Toy Story Mania! This was my first exposure to the most popular ride in WDW, and I loved it!
After we had all rode TSM, we were brought over to the Streets of America, and given special 3-D type glasses. Suddenly, the Osbourne lights lit up, the music started and we were all spellbound. For those of you that have seen these lights, imagine a private viewing for around an hour, just for less than 200 people. Plenty of elbow room, easy to move around, take pictures, point out details to your friends, and sing (and in some cases, dance) along with the great soundtrack. I personally, couldn't resist dancing along to Feliz Navidad, but I digress.
It was close to midnight by the time we finished up, and were greeted with the final surprise of the night. Disney busses waiting for us, despite the fact that they should've stopped running about an hour earlier (I had planned to walk to the Boardwalk, bus to DD, the finally, bus back to PO-FQ).
I made it back to my room around 12:15 AM...exhausted and very happy.
Sunday, 12/11/11 - I started my day at rope drop at the MK. Earlier in the week, I received a coupon with one of my counter service meals, good for 20% off any purchase at several stores around WDW, if used before noon. Seeing as how I planned to spend around $100 on souvenirs at the Emporium on Main St (one of the stores included), it made sense for me to make this special detour. Rather than carry the bags around, I had them sent back to PO:FQ.
I planned on spending the rest of the morning at DHS, so I had to take the monorail to the TTC, and catch the bus to DHS from there. Still, everything went smoothly, and I made it to DHS by 10:00 AM.
My DHS highlights include: Toy Story Mania (about a 30 minute wait, though I snagged a fastpass before riding), Tower of Terror (great theming, a lot of fun). Rock 'N' Roller Coaster (not a bad wait with single rider line...ended up riding with a really cool guy...we kept cracking each other up), Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3-D (great show), Studio Backlot Tour (still kind of interesting, but a shadow of it's former self...the people who were chosen for the water stunts were from a Brazilian tour group, and they were HILARIOUS!), Star Tours (with a fastpass...saw some new segments from the previous day), Toy Story Mania (with my other fastpass) and finally the Great Movie Ride (I love GMR, but it does need a re-vamp...and while i love the CM's who host it, the trams are just too long. If you sit in the back, you're constantly one or even two scenes behuind what the hosts are talking about.
).
I left DHS around 2:00 PM, and took a friendship cruise over to the Swan Hotel. Across the street from the Swan is Fantasia Gardens mini-golf. I love mini-golf, so I played a quick 18 holes (on the heavily themed side, not the boring mini-putt side). I was extremely rusty to start, but finally rallied to shoot a perfectly par 53 for the course.
After the mini-golf, I walked over to the Beach Resort, and had lunch at Beaches & Cream. It was quite busy at 3:15, but I was able to be seated with no wait. Lunch was average, but the chocolate shake I had with it was great.
I took the bus from the Beach Club to Downtown Disney, and from there transferred over to the bus to PO:FQ. Relaxed a little bit and grabbed a shower.
Around 6:00 PM, I took the boat over to Downtown Disney. It was kind of drizzly at this point. I did some shopping, and tried out Pollo Campero (I liked it) for dinner. I was planning on seeing a movie at the AMC movie theater, but I still had a bad taste in my mouth after watching "Immortals" a few days earlier.
I took the boat back to PO:FQ, dropped my bags off in my room, and decided to walk over to PO:R. It was still a little rainy...not enough to get really wet, but enough to be a little annoying. I wanted to check out PO:R because I planned on seeing Yeeha Bob's show on Wednesday night, before leaving for home Thursday morning, and I wanted to be sure on the where and when. PO:R seemed like a pleasant enough spot, but in the dark and drizzle, I just wasn't into much sightseeing, so I headed back to PO:FQ to read and watch TV before hitting the sack.
Monday - 12/12/11 - I started the day around 8:00 AM, by walking around PO:FQ and taking pictures. It was an overcast morning, and again was kind of sprinkling.
About 8:30 AM< I caught the bus to Animal Kingdom, and made it in time for rope drop. I headed straight to Expedition Everest (which was awesome, despite the ansence of the audio-animatronic yeti), which I rode 3 times, with little to no wait at all. After EE, my highlights included: Dinosaur (Which I like), It's Tough To Be A Bug (I really like this show, except for the part where the spiders drop from the ceiling, and all the small children with negligent parents start screaming), Festival of the Lion King (I was in the Lion section, naturally...great songs, great performances and great fun), Kilimanjaro Safari (Fantastic, saw quite a few animals on this trip), Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (Apes!) and the Maharajah Jungle Trek (Tigers!). This was one of the few days I carried my camera around, so I took a bunch of pictures also.
And, that was about it for me and the Animal Kingdom this trip. If it wasn't for park-hoppers, I'd skip it entirely...there's just not a full day here for me. Perhaps the addition of Avatar land will change that. Considering that I found Avatar boring and preachy, probably not.
Around 12:30, I took the bus to the Magic Kingdom, with the idea of just wandering around and taking pictures. While there, I had my first dole whip float (with pineapple ice cream, naturally) in 10 years. Worth the wait. I also took a quick whirl on the Pirates of the Carribean and the TTA Peoplemover.
I headed back to PO:FQ around 3:00 PM, where I shipped home a package including the table centerpiece I had won on Saturday night. Rested up a bit, took a shower and headed off to Downtown Disney, via the boat ride. I love boat rides
I took advantage of my bonus "fun feature" by going into Disneyquest. I remember enjoying this 10 years ago. At least a little. Not so much, now. Cyber Space Mountain is still fun, but other than that, there was nothing to keep my attention. I was in there less than an hour. After that, I had a terrific chocolate shake at Ghiradelli's, and did some more souvenir shopping (this time at World of Disney) before heading back to PO:FQ around 7:00 PM, for an early night.
Tuesday, 12/13/11 - Headed over to DHS, for rope drop, and straight to Toy Story Mania (picking up a fastpass first, of course). While at DHS, I also rode Tower of Terror (again), Rock 'N' Roller Coaster (again) and Star Tours (again) while wandering around, and taking pictures. I had planned on eating at the Backlot Express while here, but it was closed both days that I checked. I don't much care for the dining options at DHS (can't please everyone...), so I didn't eat in DHS at all this trip.
Around 12:30, I took a friendship cruise over to the Swan and Dolphin hotels, and walked over to the ESPN Club on the Boardwalk for lunch. The ESPN Club is one of my favorite restaraunts at WDW, and I very much enjoyed the best hot dog I had on the trip, while watching Sportscenter. Sheer heaven for me.
After lunch, I wandered through the International Gateway entrance to EPCOT, with the sole purpose of wandering around and taking pictures.
I took the bus back to PO:FQ around 3:00, so I could grab a quick shower, before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
I made it to the MK just after 4:00 PM, so I received my ID bracelet then, and didn't have to worry about backtracking later. I spent the next few hours riding things that I knew would be closed during MVMCP (like the Jungle Cruise), and enjoying another dole whip float, while wandering around taking pictures. Before the party, I grabbed a snack at Cosmic Ray's. The man (Andy from Grand Rapids) in front of me had ordered 3 trays worth of food and drinks for his family (he had 3 or 4 small children), so I carried his drinks for him. I only mention this on the off-chance that Andy reads this, and goes "That's the guy!".
After the party started I spent my time riding rides, including everything in Tomorrowland. As I was sitting in the bobsled at Space Mountain, waiting to be launched, the ride stopped cold. Apparently, someone had dropped something on the track. Several minutes later, we were safely underway, but I couldn't help thinking that this was the plot to one of the "Final Destination" movies.
I really enjoyed Carousel of Progress and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, but Stitch's Great Escape was kind of lousy. I managed to be riding on BTMRR during the first fireworks show, which added to the wow factor. I didn't stick around for the parade, leaving just before it started. I wanted to beat the crowd. I made it back to PO:FQ around 11:00 PM.
Wednesday, 12/14/11 - I started the day at rope drop, at Epcot, and once more joined the stampede for Soarin'. Again, I grabbed a fastpass, and then joined the standby line. Again, I managed to be admitted to the first ride of the morning. I followed that ride with: Living with the Land (not nearly as interesting as when we had live guides), a quick breakfast at sunshine Seasons, my second ride of the morning on Soarin" (hooray for fastpass), Mission: Space (Orange side, again), Test Track (Single Rider), Gran Fiesta Tour, Maelstrom, The American Adventure (possibly my favorite show at WDW..the two brothers song always chokes me up), Impressions de France (Magnifique!), Journey Into Imagination (another trip down nostalgia road) and, finally, once more on Spaceship:Earth (with another all-new future scenario).
Around 2:30, I headed back to PO:FQ, just to rest up a bit. After all that walking for the last week plus, my dogs were barking. Seeing as this was my last night, I had to make a decision. I could either head over to PO:R, to see Yeeha Bob (which I really wanted to do) or I could head over to DHS, and catch Fantasmic! again, this time with a better view. I know you'll all be disappointed, but I opted for Fantasmic, it just seemed more "Disney" y'know?
Anyhow, I headed to DHS around 4:00 PM, which gave me enough time to catch last rides on Toy Story Mania and Star Tours, before Fantasmic! I was in line fairly early, so I ended up with a prime viewing spot (Pocahontas section, 3rd Row). I could see everything. Fortunately, it wasn't too breezy that night, and we only got a little bit of mist during the show.
I'll say one thing for Fantasmic!, that stadium empties out fast! I was at my bus stop 10 minutes after the end of the show. I got back to PO:FQ around 7:30. Now, it dawned on me that I still had time to hustle over to PO:FQ, and catch at least part of Yeeha Bob's show. But, I just hadn't had it in me. I was on the far side of exhausted, so I grabbed dinner at the food court, headed back to my room, showered, packed and dozed off in front of the TV.
Thursday, 12/15/11 - I was taking Magical Express back to MCO. This was my first time using ME, and I made sure I was early. More than an hour early, actually. As I was flying Jetblue, I managed to actually check-in at PO:FQ for my flight (leaving my checked luggage, which I didn't see again until Boston, and reciveng my boarding pass...sweet!). I was pleasantly surprised by how efficient this all was.
After checking in, I took my carry-on, and went over to the ME bus stop to wait. About 10 minutes later, one of the ME busses shows up (you know, for the people who show up at the right time). After he boarded the other folks waiting, I asked him if I could ride with him to MCO, instead of waiting an hour for the next bus. "Absolutely", he said, "I've got plenty of room".
As it turned out, PO:FQ was the last stop on this run, so we headed straight for PO:FQ. They played a promotional "thanks for staying with us and come back soon" video on the ride, but I just sort of zoned out. First stop at MCO? Why it's the Jetblue stop, of course. I thanked the driver with a $5 tip, and headed off for security.
Now, when I flew down from Boston, I went through security at 5:00 AM, with very little wait. Now, it was around 11:00 AM, and the wait was much longer...at least 30 minutes, all of it spent with a teenager begind me who was walking through the line backwards, in conversation with whoever was behind him. If I had a buck for each time this dope backed into me, it would've paid for a nice dinner. Still, I remained calm, and let it go.
Even after the long wait in security, I still had more than two hours before my flight, so I grabbed a quick lunch at Burger King, and then went to wait at my gate for boarding. A little while later, an announcement comes on that my flight is moved to another gate. No problem, I gather my stuff up and move. Half an hour later, another announcement, another gate. Half an hour later, another announcement and we're up to the 4th different gate. Twenty minutes before boarding...you guessed it...another announcement...this time sending us back to the original gate that I was given, back to PO:FQ.
Other than musical gates, everything went off without a hitch. I sat next to a quiet woman who slept through the trip, while I enjoyed Christmas music on the supplied Sirius radio. The flight landed a little early, I got my luggage pretty quickly, and headed over to the Limo area to wait for my driver (he was driving a towncar, btw, not a limo) who was there about 10 minutes later.
It took about an hour to get home in mild rush hour traffic, but that's not too bad. I spent the rest of that night with my family, who oddly claimed to miss me, and calling friends, letting them know I was back home safely. That left me with a week and half's worth of dirty laundry, an 18 inch stack of mail, 140 new emails, 26 hours on new shows on my DVR and 4 packages to sort out.
It's good to be home.
Also, there are pictures, but I'm having trouble loading them onto the DIS boards, but you can view my WDW pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41967492@N05/sets/72157628459649625/with/6528373795/
OK, on with the goodness...
Friday, 12/9/11 - I started the day, around 8:30 AM, by checking out of the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal. Surprisingly, they decided to charge my credit card (put on file for charging abilities, naturally) for my stay. Surprisingly, because I had pre-paid the visit 4 months earlier, on another card. I notified the clerk of this (and I had paperwork showing the same), and assured me that I would not be charged.
(Footnote: Flash forward a couple of weeks, I receive my credit card bill...and the extraneous charge is still on it...sigh. A call to the credit card company to dispute the charge is now underway. I'm not worried about it, because I have a receipt from my travel agent, as well as my other credit card statement for proof that it's already been paid. Still, this kind of screw-up will likely prevent me from staying at the RPR again. End of footnote.)
Thinking the matter settled, I headed out front to wait for my driver to take me to Port Orleans: French Quarter at WDW. He was a few minutes early, and he soon had me safely delivered to PO:FQ. I was checked into a very convenient room (first floor of building 5, 1st floor, facing the pool area) by 9:00 AM. Bonus number one: apparently, I had an $80 credit on my account at check-in...woo hoo.free money! Bonus number two: there was a gift waiting for me...sort of. The CM's couldn't find this completely unexpected gift in the back. Before long, they found out it had been delivered to Port Orleans: Riverside, their sister resort. No problem, I was assured that the gift would be at PO:FQ later that day.
I dropped my luggage off, and hopped a bus to EPCOT, where I picked up my 6 day park hopper ticket at will call. I probably could've picked up the ticket at any will call, but for some reason, my paperwork specifically stated Epcot, so I decided to get it there. As a bonus, my ticket included one "fun feature" (an admission to a waterpark or Disneyquest) for some unknown reason. Cool beans!
Now, we all have our WDW rituals. For me, I need to start my Disney time at the Magic Kingdom. So, I hopped on the convenient monorail, and took a quick ride over to the MK, where I spent the bulk of the day.
Highlights include: Pirates of the Carribean (an all-time favorite), the Jungle Cruise (purely for nostalgic reasons, because this one's feeling old), The Tiki Room (yeah, I'm in the minority, but I greatly preferred the "under new management" version with Iago and Zazu), Splash Mountain (best ride in the park), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (fun ride), Splash Mountain again (this time with a fastpass), Haunted Mansion (an another all-time favorite, the changes...especially the interactive queue...are terrific), It's A Small World (I love singing along
), The Scary Adventures of Snow White (soon to be extinct), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (I waited 45 minutes, surrounded by toddlers, to ride in a hunny (spelling error intended) pot with a little yellow bear...priceless), Peter Pan's Flight (another all-time favorite, based on my favorite Disney movie), Space Mountain (the new ride vehicles...well, new to me...are a vast improvement), the TTA Peoplemover (it'll always be the wed-way peoplemover to me) and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (I love these interactive rides, great fun).Around 5:00 PM, I was back at PO:FQ. Stopping by the check-in desk, I was informed that my "gift" was already in my room.
. The gift turned out to be a regular sized backpack from my travel agent. Inside were a mini-backpack (loaded with snacks...cookies, trail mix, etc), a metal clip-on water bottle, a change purse, my credentials for the weekend's get togethers and probably some other goodies I'm forgetting. Now, I know the DIS boards frowns on advertising business in these posts, so I won't name my travel agent. But, I will continue to fill you in on the benefits I received from them, and if anyone wants to know who they are, I'll be glad to respond to any PM's.
Anyhow, I just stopped into the room long enough to play with my new toys, unpack, grab a shower and put on my credentials so I could join the fun at Epcot later on. As a side note, the pool noise was more than I care for, but I was racing around at this point, not trying to rest.
By 7:00, I was at Epcot, with enough time for a ride on Spaceship: Earth (Still interesting to me after all these years, and I like the new interactive "you in the future" segment) before heading over to Italy for a VIP Illuminations party.
The VIP Illuminations party was another (free) perk of booking through my travel agent. Just a way of saying thank you. I was early for the meet, but as time went on, more folks showed up with their credentials showing (we had cute red lanyards...so we were easy to spot). At this point, I ended up in a friendly group with 3 ladies (Linda, Pauline and Jackie) who were each vacationing on thier own, as I was, so we ended up enjoying the festivities as a group. By about 8:30 PM, we started checking in for the event, and we were lead to a private viewing area, right on the water, opposite the Italy Pavilion. There we had plenty of tables, and chairs, and were treated to coffee, fruit juice, cookies, brownies, cupcakes and other tasty treats. We set up at a table right next to the water, and enjoyed a perfect view of Illuminations. Not bad for free.
Afterwards, we made our way around to the main exit, where we said goodbye as we got on our seperate busses. I was back at PO:FQ around 11:00, where it was (thankfully) quiet and peaceful.
Saturday, 12/10/11 - I started my day at rope drop at Epcot. Making a bee line for Soarin' (along with everbody else), I nabbed a fastpass, before getting in the standby line. That worked well, because I managed to get onto the first ride/show of the day. Soarin' is great fun, and I enjoyed it when it was new, at DCA about 10 years ago. I do think it would be better if this version had a Florida-centric film, as opposed to the current California-centric one.
The other highlights of my day include: Mission: Space (Orange, of course...this was my first mission, and I greatly enjoyed), Test Track (very short wait in the single riders line), Journey Into Imagination with Figment (OK, it's not very good, but it did stir up some fond memories), Captain EO (I thought was lousy back in the 80's...I still do. Honey, I Shrunk the Audience might not be terrific, but it's light years better than this), Soarin' again (this time with my fastpass), Maelstrom (I love water rides like this), Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the 3 Caballeros (...and like this. It is a little more entertaining with Donald Duck and his friends), Universe of Energy (I still really like this...I enjoy the framing sequence, and I love the dinosaurs), The Seas with Nemo and Friends (cute) and another ride on Spaceship: Earth (mostly so I could see my future with different choices than I made the previous night).
I made it back to PO:FQ around 3:00 PM, and this time the music being blasted on the pool area was too much for me. So, I headed back to check-in, where I was met by Quynh, who was the manager on duty. She very quickly had me moved into room 7203 (building 7, 2nd level, room 03) with no trouble, at all. This was perfect (as in very quiet) for me. seeing as how efficiently (and pleasantly), Quynh took care of this for me, I filled out one of those "excellent service" thank you cards for her (they're available in the gift store), which I turned in to another manager.
Tonight was the night for the big deal event, planned by my travel agent, at Disney Hollywood Studios. I made it to DHS around 5:00 PM, because I wanted to ride the re-vamped Star tours - The Adventures Continue, before the big event. I did ride along with C-3PO and R2-D2, and had a terrific time.
We were scheduled to meet at 7:00 PM, for the first part of the event near the fastpass line for Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. Now this event was limited in size (to I'd guess somewhere around 120-150 people), and cost us $35 per person. Turns out it was the best $35 I'd ever spent. I wandered down to the RNRC around 6:00, and was surprised to see that one of my friends (Pauline) from the previous night was already waiting. Like the previous night, soon we were joined by more and more event-goers (including Jackie, but not Linda who decided to pass on this event).
Eventually, we were all signed in (as the night before), this time, though, we were lead into the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater through the normally off-limits backlot of DHS, for a VIP showing of Fantasmic! Again, we were brought to a cordoned off area filled with tables and chairs, and served cocoa, coffee, fruit juice and desserts. We ended up at a table further back this time, but that was ok. It was difficult for us to see the action at water level, but we had a great view of the upper 2/3 of the show. I should point out that we could have easily moved to more advantageous views if we wanted, but we were pretty comfortable.
After Fantasmic, we were lead (again through the backlot) to (I believe) the Hollywood and Vine restaraunt, which had been closed for us. Inside, were more tables set up, with more refreshments (this time including some hot dishes like sausages and meatballs). The idea was we were going to chill out here, until the park officially closed at 10:00 PM, before moving on to the grand finale. While here, however, they kept us entertained with Christmas music, and a few short speeches...and some cool surprises.
One surprise was we each got a professional picture taken with Santa Mickey and Mrs. Claus Minnie, in front of a castle backdrop. Now, I can't remember the last time I got a character picture for myself, but this was a real thrill for me. A real highlight of my trip. After the pictures, our hosts held a raffle for us giving away mystery bags, Disney gift cards, Santa Mickey hats and the grand prize was a 6 night vacation at the moderate resort of the winner's choice, for 4 with park hoppers and DDP included.
I didn't win that, but I did win one of the table centerpieces, which was a beautiful ceramic and metal sleigh, complete with a plush Mickey pushing it. I ended up shipping mine home (packed in souvenir T-Shirts and blankets) from PO:FQ, and giving it away to my best friend's mom (who loves it, and deserves so much more).
Around 10:30, this part of the festivities was over, and we were lead to the set-up for the Osborne Family Lights. Before we got there, however, we had a detour along Pixar Place. You see, they arranged for us all to privately ride Toy Story Mania! This was my first exposure to the most popular ride in WDW, and I loved it!
After we had all rode TSM, we were brought over to the Streets of America, and given special 3-D type glasses. Suddenly, the Osbourne lights lit up, the music started and we were all spellbound. For those of you that have seen these lights, imagine a private viewing for around an hour, just for less than 200 people. Plenty of elbow room, easy to move around, take pictures, point out details to your friends, and sing (and in some cases, dance) along with the great soundtrack. I personally, couldn't resist dancing along to Feliz Navidad, but I digress.
It was close to midnight by the time we finished up, and were greeted with the final surprise of the night. Disney busses waiting for us, despite the fact that they should've stopped running about an hour earlier (I had planned to walk to the Boardwalk, bus to DD, the finally, bus back to PO-FQ).
I made it back to my room around 12:15 AM...exhausted and very happy.
Sunday, 12/11/11 - I started my day at rope drop at the MK. Earlier in the week, I received a coupon with one of my counter service meals, good for 20% off any purchase at several stores around WDW, if used before noon. Seeing as how I planned to spend around $100 on souvenirs at the Emporium on Main St (one of the stores included), it made sense for me to make this special detour. Rather than carry the bags around, I had them sent back to PO:FQ.
I planned on spending the rest of the morning at DHS, so I had to take the monorail to the TTC, and catch the bus to DHS from there. Still, everything went smoothly, and I made it to DHS by 10:00 AM.
My DHS highlights include: Toy Story Mania (about a 30 minute wait, though I snagged a fastpass before riding), Tower of Terror (great theming, a lot of fun). Rock 'N' Roller Coaster (not a bad wait with single rider line...ended up riding with a really cool guy...we kept cracking each other up), Jim Henson's Muppet Vision 3-D (great show), Studio Backlot Tour (still kind of interesting, but a shadow of it's former self...the people who were chosen for the water stunts were from a Brazilian tour group, and they were HILARIOUS!), Star Tours (with a fastpass...saw some new segments from the previous day), Toy Story Mania (with my other fastpass) and finally the Great Movie Ride (I love GMR, but it does need a re-vamp...and while i love the CM's who host it, the trams are just too long. If you sit in the back, you're constantly one or even two scenes behuind what the hosts are talking about.
).I left DHS around 2:00 PM, and took a friendship cruise over to the Swan Hotel. Across the street from the Swan is Fantasia Gardens mini-golf. I love mini-golf, so I played a quick 18 holes (on the heavily themed side, not the boring mini-putt side). I was extremely rusty to start, but finally rallied to shoot a perfectly par 53 for the course.
After the mini-golf, I walked over to the Beach Resort, and had lunch at Beaches & Cream. It was quite busy at 3:15, but I was able to be seated with no wait. Lunch was average, but the chocolate shake I had with it was great.
I took the bus from the Beach Club to Downtown Disney, and from there transferred over to the bus to PO:FQ. Relaxed a little bit and grabbed a shower.
Around 6:00 PM, I took the boat over to Downtown Disney. It was kind of drizzly at this point. I did some shopping, and tried out Pollo Campero (I liked it) for dinner. I was planning on seeing a movie at the AMC movie theater, but I still had a bad taste in my mouth after watching "Immortals" a few days earlier.
I took the boat back to PO:FQ, dropped my bags off in my room, and decided to walk over to PO:R. It was still a little rainy...not enough to get really wet, but enough to be a little annoying. I wanted to check out PO:R because I planned on seeing Yeeha Bob's show on Wednesday night, before leaving for home Thursday morning, and I wanted to be sure on the where and when. PO:R seemed like a pleasant enough spot, but in the dark and drizzle, I just wasn't into much sightseeing, so I headed back to PO:FQ to read and watch TV before hitting the sack.
Monday - 12/12/11 - I started the day around 8:00 AM, by walking around PO:FQ and taking pictures. It was an overcast morning, and again was kind of sprinkling.
About 8:30 AM< I caught the bus to Animal Kingdom, and made it in time for rope drop. I headed straight to Expedition Everest (which was awesome, despite the ansence of the audio-animatronic yeti), which I rode 3 times, with little to no wait at all. After EE, my highlights included: Dinosaur (Which I like), It's Tough To Be A Bug (I really like this show, except for the part where the spiders drop from the ceiling, and all the small children with negligent parents start screaming), Festival of the Lion King (I was in the Lion section, naturally...great songs, great performances and great fun), Kilimanjaro Safari (Fantastic, saw quite a few animals on this trip), Pangani Forest Exploration Trail (Apes!) and the Maharajah Jungle Trek (Tigers!). This was one of the few days I carried my camera around, so I took a bunch of pictures also.
And, that was about it for me and the Animal Kingdom this trip. If it wasn't for park-hoppers, I'd skip it entirely...there's just not a full day here for me. Perhaps the addition of Avatar land will change that. Considering that I found Avatar boring and preachy, probably not.
Around 12:30, I took the bus to the Magic Kingdom, with the idea of just wandering around and taking pictures. While there, I had my first dole whip float (with pineapple ice cream, naturally) in 10 years. Worth the wait. I also took a quick whirl on the Pirates of the Carribean and the TTA Peoplemover.
I headed back to PO:FQ around 3:00 PM, where I shipped home a package including the table centerpiece I had won on Saturday night. Rested up a bit, took a shower and headed off to Downtown Disney, via the boat ride. I love boat rides
I took advantage of my bonus "fun feature" by going into Disneyquest. I remember enjoying this 10 years ago. At least a little. Not so much, now. Cyber Space Mountain is still fun, but other than that, there was nothing to keep my attention. I was in there less than an hour. After that, I had a terrific chocolate shake at Ghiradelli's, and did some more souvenir shopping (this time at World of Disney) before heading back to PO:FQ around 7:00 PM, for an early night.
Tuesday, 12/13/11 - Headed over to DHS, for rope drop, and straight to Toy Story Mania (picking up a fastpass first, of course). While at DHS, I also rode Tower of Terror (again), Rock 'N' Roller Coaster (again) and Star Tours (again) while wandering around, and taking pictures. I had planned on eating at the Backlot Express while here, but it was closed both days that I checked. I don't much care for the dining options at DHS (can't please everyone...), so I didn't eat in DHS at all this trip.
Around 12:30, I took a friendship cruise over to the Swan and Dolphin hotels, and walked over to the ESPN Club on the Boardwalk for lunch. The ESPN Club is one of my favorite restaraunts at WDW, and I very much enjoyed the best hot dog I had on the trip, while watching Sportscenter. Sheer heaven for me.
After lunch, I wandered through the International Gateway entrance to EPCOT, with the sole purpose of wandering around and taking pictures.
I took the bus back to PO:FQ around 3:00, so I could grab a quick shower, before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party.
I made it to the MK just after 4:00 PM, so I received my ID bracelet then, and didn't have to worry about backtracking later. I spent the next few hours riding things that I knew would be closed during MVMCP (like the Jungle Cruise), and enjoying another dole whip float, while wandering around taking pictures. Before the party, I grabbed a snack at Cosmic Ray's. The man (Andy from Grand Rapids) in front of me had ordered 3 trays worth of food and drinks for his family (he had 3 or 4 small children), so I carried his drinks for him. I only mention this on the off-chance that Andy reads this, and goes "That's the guy!".
After the party started I spent my time riding rides, including everything in Tomorrowland. As I was sitting in the bobsled at Space Mountain, waiting to be launched, the ride stopped cold. Apparently, someone had dropped something on the track. Several minutes later, we were safely underway, but I couldn't help thinking that this was the plot to one of the "Final Destination" movies.
I really enjoyed Carousel of Progress and Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, but Stitch's Great Escape was kind of lousy. I managed to be riding on BTMRR during the first fireworks show, which added to the wow factor. I didn't stick around for the parade, leaving just before it started. I wanted to beat the crowd. I made it back to PO:FQ around 11:00 PM.
Wednesday, 12/14/11 - I started the day at rope drop, at Epcot, and once more joined the stampede for Soarin'. Again, I grabbed a fastpass, and then joined the standby line. Again, I managed to be admitted to the first ride of the morning. I followed that ride with: Living with the Land (not nearly as interesting as when we had live guides), a quick breakfast at sunshine Seasons, my second ride of the morning on Soarin" (hooray for fastpass), Mission: Space (Orange side, again), Test Track (Single Rider), Gran Fiesta Tour, Maelstrom, The American Adventure (possibly my favorite show at WDW..the two brothers song always chokes me up), Impressions de France (Magnifique!), Journey Into Imagination (another trip down nostalgia road) and, finally, once more on Spaceship:Earth (with another all-new future scenario).
Around 2:30, I headed back to PO:FQ, just to rest up a bit. After all that walking for the last week plus, my dogs were barking. Seeing as this was my last night, I had to make a decision. I could either head over to PO:R, to see Yeeha Bob (which I really wanted to do) or I could head over to DHS, and catch Fantasmic! again, this time with a better view. I know you'll all be disappointed, but I opted for Fantasmic, it just seemed more "Disney" y'know?
Anyhow, I headed to DHS around 4:00 PM, which gave me enough time to catch last rides on Toy Story Mania and Star Tours, before Fantasmic! I was in line fairly early, so I ended up with a prime viewing spot (Pocahontas section, 3rd Row). I could see everything. Fortunately, it wasn't too breezy that night, and we only got a little bit of mist during the show.
I'll say one thing for Fantasmic!, that stadium empties out fast! I was at my bus stop 10 minutes after the end of the show. I got back to PO:FQ around 7:30. Now, it dawned on me that I still had time to hustle over to PO:FQ, and catch at least part of Yeeha Bob's show. But, I just hadn't had it in me. I was on the far side of exhausted, so I grabbed dinner at the food court, headed back to my room, showered, packed and dozed off in front of the TV.
Thursday, 12/15/11 - I was taking Magical Express back to MCO. This was my first time using ME, and I made sure I was early. More than an hour early, actually. As I was flying Jetblue, I managed to actually check-in at PO:FQ for my flight (leaving my checked luggage, which I didn't see again until Boston, and reciveng my boarding pass...sweet!). I was pleasantly surprised by how efficient this all was.
After checking in, I took my carry-on, and went over to the ME bus stop to wait. About 10 minutes later, one of the ME busses shows up (you know, for the people who show up at the right time). After he boarded the other folks waiting, I asked him if I could ride with him to MCO, instead of waiting an hour for the next bus. "Absolutely", he said, "I've got plenty of room".
As it turned out, PO:FQ was the last stop on this run, so we headed straight for PO:FQ. They played a promotional "thanks for staying with us and come back soon" video on the ride, but I just sort of zoned out. First stop at MCO? Why it's the Jetblue stop, of course. I thanked the driver with a $5 tip, and headed off for security.
Now, when I flew down from Boston, I went through security at 5:00 AM, with very little wait. Now, it was around 11:00 AM, and the wait was much longer...at least 30 minutes, all of it spent with a teenager begind me who was walking through the line backwards, in conversation with whoever was behind him. If I had a buck for each time this dope backed into me, it would've paid for a nice dinner. Still, I remained calm, and let it go.
Even after the long wait in security, I still had more than two hours before my flight, so I grabbed a quick lunch at Burger King, and then went to wait at my gate for boarding. A little while later, an announcement comes on that my flight is moved to another gate. No problem, I gather my stuff up and move. Half an hour later, another announcement, another gate. Half an hour later, another announcement and we're up to the 4th different gate. Twenty minutes before boarding...you guessed it...another announcement...this time sending us back to the original gate that I was given, back to PO:FQ.
Other than musical gates, everything went off without a hitch. I sat next to a quiet woman who slept through the trip, while I enjoyed Christmas music on the supplied Sirius radio. The flight landed a little early, I got my luggage pretty quickly, and headed over to the Limo area to wait for my driver (he was driving a towncar, btw, not a limo) who was there about 10 minutes later.
It took about an hour to get home in mild rush hour traffic, but that's not too bad. I spent the rest of that night with my family, who oddly claimed to miss me, and calling friends, letting them know I was back home safely. That left me with a week and half's worth of dirty laundry, an 18 inch stack of mail, 140 new emails, 26 hours on new shows on my DVR and 4 packages to sort out.
It's good to be home.
