BigTiggerGuy
HHN Here We Come Again!!!!
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2005
- Messages
- 262
O.K.- be warned that this review will be long but hopefully interesting. I'm typing this at work so it will proably have to be in two parts!
I specifically wanted to write a review because I fall into a demographic that does not always seem to be heard. I am a 35 yr old guy that acts like a big kid and went with my friend, a 31 yr old guy that is a bit more uptight. I thought our perspective of WDW might be interesting to some, so here goes:
First, off let me say that this was one of the smoothest vacations I have ever been on. Stayed Oct 1-6 at POR and loved the hotel. Very quiet and spacious. Stayed in the Mansion section and had a great room. We arrived around 9:30am on the 1st and immediately boarded our ME transportation and were on our way. Upon arrival at the hotel, we were informed that our room was not ready yet(to be expected) but were given a number to call after 2pm to get our room number. With park tickets in hand we decided to head to Epcot.
Imagine my surprise when we arrived at Epcot and WALKED onto Mission: Space! What a great start. We then proceeded to walk onto every ride we were interested in(with the exeption of Soarin'- we did a Fastpass later in the week). Stopped in Morocco for lunch using the Dining Plan and was amazed at how easy it was. We then proceeded to finish Epcot and returned to the hotel around 3:30pm. Called for our room number and went straight up. Our luggage was waiting, so we showered and changed and headed back to Epcot for our 7pm dinner reservation at Teppanyaki. Had a great meal and then headed out to watch Illuminations. Excellent first day!
Day 2, we were up and out and headed to Animal Kingdom at 9am. Went right to the safari and then headed over to It's Tough to Be a Bug. Along the way, we spotted Devine! You MUST look for her if possible- it was one of the coolest things we saw during our trip
She was "hiding" against a wall and we just stopped and stared(apparently nobody else had noticed her) A moment later, she lifted her head up and smiled at me and my friend. She then "peeled" herself off the wall and crossed the path(stepping right over my friends head- he's only about 5'6") It was great! We walked onto every ride(LOVED Dinosaur and It's Tough to Be a Bug!) and actually finished the park by 12:30pm! Headed over to MGM to hit a few rides then back to the hotel to change before dinner. Ate at L'Originale Alfredo in Italy(fantastic!) then back to MGM for EMH. Imagine our surprise when we happened to be walking past Fantasmic at around 9:30pm and discovered a special showing for EMH. Walked right in and enjoyed the show. Had a funny experience on the Great Movie Ride- My "group" was a bit dull and not really into the whole thing. Our tour guide, Jennifer, was still doing her best to get everyone involved. I was sitting in the first row so we started having some small talk in between sections. When we reached the end where we were in OZ, she asked the group, "Well, how do you suppose we get out from here?" The group just stared at her, so I decided to help her out. I shouted, "We follow the Yellow Brick Road, Jennifer!" She gave me a relieved look and said, "Thank you, sir. That's right!" She then said, "Sing along everyone, you know the words!" Again, the group just stared like deer in the headlights so I started belting out "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"- just me and Jennifer. At the end of the ride she pulled me aside and gave me a big hug and a thanks! She was a real trooper! We then walked onto TOT and RNR a few times then called it a night. The buses leaving that night were packed- but even then it only took about 25 minutes to get one. This brings me to my first dissapointment: While waiting in the long line to board, a father and mother pushed their two strollers right into the line a few people behind me and proceeded to stand there. The guy they cut in front of said a few words under his breath but nothing more. The line cutter had a very unhappy kid with him(she was probably about 3 or 4 and had apparently dropped something on the way to the bus). He continued to yell at her and tell her "That's what happens when you act stupid! I'm not going back for it, you should have held on to it." The little girl then tried to get out of her stroller and her dad roughly grabbed her, threw her back into the stroller and smacked her a few times. I immediately started to head towards him and my friend grabbed me to try and calm me down. The guy in front of me said he understood, but to not cause a problem or it could get even uglier. He then said, "If he does it again, I'll personally deck him!" The dad then stood in the line with his crying child completely oblivious to the glares he was receiving. I saw this jerk a few more times during my trip, and everytime he was cutting in line or just acting obnoxious! Unbelieveable.......but back to the trip.
Day 3 was MK day. Unfortunately, the park was mobbed. 40-70 minute waits for almost everything. My friend was not feeling too well and we had an early dinner at California Grill so we left the park early and went to relax at the hotel. California Grill was great and we followed that up with a trip to DTD for some shopping(bought a HUGE Pooh for my nephew) and adult beverages.
I'll stop here and post Tuesday and Wednesday later. I will also then vent about all of my issues- mainly with other people
Time to get back to work!
I specifically wanted to write a review because I fall into a demographic that does not always seem to be heard. I am a 35 yr old guy that acts like a big kid and went with my friend, a 31 yr old guy that is a bit more uptight. I thought our perspective of WDW might be interesting to some, so here goes:
First, off let me say that this was one of the smoothest vacations I have ever been on. Stayed Oct 1-6 at POR and loved the hotel. Very quiet and spacious. Stayed in the Mansion section and had a great room. We arrived around 9:30am on the 1st and immediately boarded our ME transportation and were on our way. Upon arrival at the hotel, we were informed that our room was not ready yet(to be expected) but were given a number to call after 2pm to get our room number. With park tickets in hand we decided to head to Epcot.
Imagine my surprise when we arrived at Epcot and WALKED onto Mission: Space! What a great start. We then proceeded to walk onto every ride we were interested in(with the exeption of Soarin'- we did a Fastpass later in the week). Stopped in Morocco for lunch using the Dining Plan and was amazed at how easy it was. We then proceeded to finish Epcot and returned to the hotel around 3:30pm. Called for our room number and went straight up. Our luggage was waiting, so we showered and changed and headed back to Epcot for our 7pm dinner reservation at Teppanyaki. Had a great meal and then headed out to watch Illuminations. Excellent first day!
Day 2, we were up and out and headed to Animal Kingdom at 9am. Went right to the safari and then headed over to It's Tough to Be a Bug. Along the way, we spotted Devine! You MUST look for her if possible- it was one of the coolest things we saw during our trip
She was "hiding" against a wall and we just stopped and stared(apparently nobody else had noticed her) A moment later, she lifted her head up and smiled at me and my friend. She then "peeled" herself off the wall and crossed the path(stepping right over my friends head- he's only about 5'6") It was great! We walked onto every ride(LOVED Dinosaur and It's Tough to Be a Bug!) and actually finished the park by 12:30pm! Headed over to MGM to hit a few rides then back to the hotel to change before dinner. Ate at L'Originale Alfredo in Italy(fantastic!) then back to MGM for EMH. Imagine our surprise when we happened to be walking past Fantasmic at around 9:30pm and discovered a special showing for EMH. Walked right in and enjoyed the show. Had a funny experience on the Great Movie Ride- My "group" was a bit dull and not really into the whole thing. Our tour guide, Jennifer, was still doing her best to get everyone involved. I was sitting in the first row so we started having some small talk in between sections. When we reached the end where we were in OZ, she asked the group, "Well, how do you suppose we get out from here?" The group just stared at her, so I decided to help her out. I shouted, "We follow the Yellow Brick Road, Jennifer!" She gave me a relieved look and said, "Thank you, sir. That's right!" She then said, "Sing along everyone, you know the words!" Again, the group just stared like deer in the headlights so I started belting out "Follow the Yellow Brick Road"- just me and Jennifer. At the end of the ride she pulled me aside and gave me a big hug and a thanks! She was a real trooper! We then walked onto TOT and RNR a few times then called it a night. The buses leaving that night were packed- but even then it only took about 25 minutes to get one. This brings me to my first dissapointment: While waiting in the long line to board, a father and mother pushed their two strollers right into the line a few people behind me and proceeded to stand there. The guy they cut in front of said a few words under his breath but nothing more. The line cutter had a very unhappy kid with him(she was probably about 3 or 4 and had apparently dropped something on the way to the bus). He continued to yell at her and tell her "That's what happens when you act stupid! I'm not going back for it, you should have held on to it." The little girl then tried to get out of her stroller and her dad roughly grabbed her, threw her back into the stroller and smacked her a few times. I immediately started to head towards him and my friend grabbed me to try and calm me down. The guy in front of me said he understood, but to not cause a problem or it could get even uglier. He then said, "If he does it again, I'll personally deck him!" The dad then stood in the line with his crying child completely oblivious to the glares he was receiving. I saw this jerk a few more times during my trip, and everytime he was cutting in line or just acting obnoxious! Unbelieveable.......but back to the trip.Day 3 was MK day. Unfortunately, the park was mobbed. 40-70 minute waits for almost everything. My friend was not feeling too well and we had an early dinner at California Grill so we left the park early and went to relax at the hotel. California Grill was great and we followed that up with a trip to DTD for some shopping(bought a HUGE Pooh for my nephew) and adult beverages.
I'll stop here and post Tuesday and Wednesday later. I will also then vent about all of my issues- mainly with other people
Time to get back to work!
Needless to say, I did not make it into the Hot Seat but it was still pretty cool to see everything from out great seats. Then it was back to MK. 
The wave that hit us at the end was like something out of "The Perfect Storm." I was drenched from head to toe. I would have been better off just jumping in the water and then getting out. Our entire boat was laughing and clapping and commenting on how Disney would have to refill the ride before anyone else could go on it. A great ending to our last day!
)
Regardless, everyone needs to remember that they are not the only ones on vacation. Be respectful of those around you and allow everyone to share in the magic. 
We 
you all!!
