I have posted on the resorts board and the restaurants board regarding the All Star Movies and the places we had meals on our recent trip to the World! I thought I'd cover some of the "other" stuff here!!! This was a "planned at the last minute" trip, as my husband was told he needed to take 8 vacation days in November or he would loose them, so where else does one go when one gets 8 unexpected days off but to Disney World?? 
My husband Mark and I drove to Disney from the Chicago burbs, leaving cold Chicago early on Friday, November 14th for our two-day drive down, as I am more than a white-knuckle flyer, I simply don't fly anymore. The drive, though long, was not unpleasant. We stopped in Louisville, KY and met Mark's mom for lunch the first day; that was fun! We stayed overnight at a Country Inn & Suites hotel in Georgia, and I found I was the "guest of the day"! They had a small sign that had my name on it, and I received a goody bag filled with snack items! That sure made me feel good after being in the car for 13 hours! The next day, after about 9 more hours on the road, we arrrived at Disney. Just to summarize, I really didn't like All-Star Movies this trip, but I had a great rate, and got a last-minute reservation, so I can't complain too much!
The Weather: Perfect! I couldn't have asked for better weather. Here, the temps were in the 40's and cold and raining almost all week. At Disney, it was between 70-80 degrees and sunny, except for Wednesday morning, when it rained, but cleared up by the afternoon. We were at the Beach Club b-fast in the morning and then did shopping that afternoon, so the rain wasn't a problem. I love temps in the 70's!!! Crowds: Low! The only place I really think was crowded was the All-Star Movies hotel! We were able to walk on to just about any ride or attraction...didn't need to use FastPass at all.
New Stuff (for us)!: MK: Mickey's Philharmagic---excellent new show ..saw this one twice. New Parade, Share a Dream Come True .this has the characters in snow globes (how do they breath in there, anyway?) Cute parade, but no catchy, sing it for days music/song! Wishes Fireworks show ..this was good! Goofy's Stampede or something like that where the Horseshoe Jamboree was before, okay, could skip this one Old favorites: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World (yep, I still like this one!), Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and I like the Fantasyland stuff for kids, too, esp the Winnie the Pooh ride!
Epcot: liked the Food & Wine Festival, glad to see that! Illuminations seems different somehow, did they change it?? Finally got to see the movie in France!!! I liked it a lot. Those living statue things are still there, I always enjoy that, scared the heck out of me, though, I was standing next to one, I had no clue he was like in my face till I looked up and then I screamed...gave the crowd a laugh!!! Mark got REALLY sick on Mission Space...I didn't go, and I'm glad I didn't!! I still like Spaceship Earth a lot.
Studios: I love the Great Movie Ride. We did Who Wants to be a Millionaire and I actually made it into the top 10 once, amazing!! Saw the new parade, Stars and Motor cars, that was kind of cute. Watched Fantasmic! I think that show is great, probably worth admission alone! Watched Little Mermaid and I went to see Beauty and Beast while Mark watched Indiana Jones. Enjoyable day!
Animal Kingdom: I like the Lion King show, again, I think it's probably worth admission just to see that. We also saw Tarzan (hadn't seen that before), kind of loud. The safari ride was okay, quite bumpy!!! I like watching the gorillas, but I feel sorry for them. We have an AWESOME zoo here in Chicago, so Animal Kingdom is probably not as impressive to me as it might be to some people. Plus, that darn bird pooped on me there! Twice!!
Again, the weather was GREAT, no crowds at all, plus we got to see a lot of the Christmas decorations. After going to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner, I really wish we had stayed there! Oh, well, maybe after I win the lottery! <g>
We also got to visit with my sister and her family on the way back from Disney, who we haven't seen in several years...they met us in Georgia and we spent an extra day there. All in all, we had a good time, and did quite a bit for a spur-of-the-moment trip!! It was a bit of a challenge for me to leave home and be so far away from the kids ( both are in college) but I managed!
Any questions, please feel free to ask! I love talking Disney!
My husband Mark and I drove to Disney from the Chicago burbs, leaving cold Chicago early on Friday, November 14th for our two-day drive down, as I am more than a white-knuckle flyer, I simply don't fly anymore. The drive, though long, was not unpleasant. We stopped in Louisville, KY and met Mark's mom for lunch the first day; that was fun! We stayed overnight at a Country Inn & Suites hotel in Georgia, and I found I was the "guest of the day"! They had a small sign that had my name on it, and I received a goody bag filled with snack items! That sure made me feel good after being in the car for 13 hours! The next day, after about 9 more hours on the road, we arrrived at Disney. Just to summarize, I really didn't like All-Star Movies this trip, but I had a great rate, and got a last-minute reservation, so I can't complain too much!
The Weather: Perfect! I couldn't have asked for better weather. Here, the temps were in the 40's and cold and raining almost all week. At Disney, it was between 70-80 degrees and sunny, except for Wednesday morning, when it rained, but cleared up by the afternoon. We were at the Beach Club b-fast in the morning and then did shopping that afternoon, so the rain wasn't a problem. I love temps in the 70's!!! Crowds: Low! The only place I really think was crowded was the All-Star Movies hotel! We were able to walk on to just about any ride or attraction...didn't need to use FastPass at all.
New Stuff (for us)!: MK: Mickey's Philharmagic---excellent new show ..saw this one twice. New Parade, Share a Dream Come True .this has the characters in snow globes (how do they breath in there, anyway?) Cute parade, but no catchy, sing it for days music/song!
Wishes Fireworks show ..this was good! Goofy's Stampede or something like that where the Horseshoe Jamboree was before, okay, could skip this one Old favorites: Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Small World (yep, I still like this one!), Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and I like the Fantasyland stuff for kids, too, esp the Winnie the Pooh ride!Epcot: liked the Food & Wine Festival, glad to see that! Illuminations seems different somehow, did they change it?? Finally got to see the movie in France!!! I liked it a lot. Those living statue things are still there, I always enjoy that, scared the heck out of me, though, I was standing next to one, I had no clue he was like in my face till I looked up and then I screamed...gave the crowd a laugh!!! Mark got REALLY sick on Mission Space...I didn't go, and I'm glad I didn't!! I still like Spaceship Earth a lot.
Studios: I love the Great Movie Ride. We did Who Wants to be a Millionaire and I actually made it into the top 10 once, amazing!! Saw the new parade, Stars and Motor cars, that was kind of cute. Watched Fantasmic! I think that show is great, probably worth admission alone! Watched Little Mermaid and I went to see Beauty and Beast while Mark watched Indiana Jones. Enjoyable day!
Animal Kingdom: I like the Lion King show, again, I think it's probably worth admission just to see that. We also saw Tarzan (hadn't seen that before), kind of loud. The safari ride was okay, quite bumpy!!! I like watching the gorillas, but I feel sorry for them. We have an AWESOME zoo here in Chicago, so Animal Kingdom is probably not as impressive to me as it might be to some people. Plus, that darn bird pooped on me there! Twice!!
Again, the weather was GREAT, no crowds at all, plus we got to see a lot of the Christmas decorations. After going to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner, I really wish we had stayed there! Oh, well, maybe after I win the lottery! <g>
We also got to visit with my sister and her family on the way back from Disney, who we haven't seen in several years...they met us in Georgia and we spent an extra day there. All in all, we had a good time, and did quite a bit for a spur-of-the-moment trip!! It was a bit of a challenge for me to leave home and be so far away from the kids ( both are in college) but I managed!
Any questions, please feel free to ask! I love talking Disney!
