2 NYer's Head South - The Big Drive Down, Then Back Up Again (W/PICS!!) UPDATED 9/12!
- Thread starter ericafny
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swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
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Great update, love seeing all of your pics.
ericafny
<font color=purple>OK, I am a real Harry Potter ge
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2005
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Yes AKL is beautiful, I don't know if I am going to be able to stay anywhere else now.
Another great update
BTW - We are in Bellmore.
DBF has some relatives in Bellmore. We go shopping at Trader Joe's in Merrick every weekend! What a small world!
Oh cool, I try to take some different pics when I go so people can get different perspectives. A lot of my pics were also taken from the 6th floor concierge lounge too.
Thanks!!
ericafny
<font color=purple>OK, I am a real Harry Potter ge
- Joined
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Hi everyone. School has started and in full force so I am going to TRY to get another update in at some point within the next few days but please bare with me!! So glad you are all enjoying the report so far. More to come...stay tuned!!! 
ericafny
<font color=purple>OK, I am a real Harry Potter ge
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2005
- Messages
- 1,375
Day Six - DHS/DTD/Epcot
OK, sorry about the hiatus but it has been a very hectic start to the school year...but onward we go
So today we were spending the morning at DHS. I knew that Toy Story Mania was going to be insane so I planned that we would get to the park by opening. We got up around 7 and had a brief breakfast in the lounge (I LOOOVED having the convience of the lounge, so worth the extra $$!) We finished up breakfast by 8:30 and headed to the bus stop. THe only thing that set us back this morning was the fact that the DHS bus is shared with the BB bus. So it took about 15 minutes for the bus to come, and then we had to stop at BB first. So annoying...so we got to DHS about 9:15 and the crowds were already insane. EVERYONE was literally running towards Toy Story Mania. Here is a pic I snapped of the new Pixar Place signage on the way to get FP's:
When we got to the FP machines I could not believe the madness. There are queues set up for the FP machines. The lines were at least 15 people deep and there were 6-7 machines. There was a CM shouting at everyone to have only 1 member of their party stand in line to avoid overcrowding. Here is a pic of the FP return time when we got to the lines, about 9:30 or so:
Yes that does say 10:45 - 11:45 at 9:30am, CRAZY! We waited about 20 minutes to get an FP and our return time was 12:50 -1:50. The standby line was already at 40 minutes at this point too. I am wondering what is going to happen when they open the Monsters, Inc. rollercoaster in 2010.
After that we wandered over to ToT and waited in line. Wait time said 20 minutes and it was pretty accurate. I snapped these pics while in line:
We then tried to wait in line for RnRc but the wait time was 60 minutes and we werent due another FP until 11:20. I noticed this was up where the smoking area used to be over there by the ice cream place:
Not sure what they are doing over there..
At this point it was around 10:00 so we wandered over to the Streets of America to see these guys:
They are so funny! And pretty good musicians if you ask me. I also snapped some pics of some 'construction' they are doing on those streets:
Working on the muppet ballon:
Not really sure what they were doing here:
After the show we walked back around to the Great Movie Ride. I don't know about you guys but I think this ride needs some serious updating. Maybe add some new movies in there. Wouldn't it be great to have a Pirates scene? I know that it would be kind of like POTC but I think they could do an interactive skit with an autioanimatronic of Jack Sparrow just like they do with the wicked witch of the west...anyone with me on this??
Here are some pics I snapped while on the ride:
We always get the gangster scene, do they do the western scene anymore?
After this we decided to wander back over to TSM to see what was going on over there. It was about 11am and ALL of the FP's were gone for the day. This ride is EXTREMELY popular! I can't blame people either, its awesome! So at this point we were getting hungry for lunch and we still had about 2 hours until we could use our FP's so we did something really spontaneous! As we were walking we passed Sci-Fi and I said, "Lets see if we can get a table w/out having an ADR". DBF agreed with me (we had eaten here last year) and so we walked up and asked how long for 2. They told us 15 minutes but honestly we waited about 2 minutes. It was 11am and the restaurant was just opening. This is a good way to try to get a table at a restaurant you weren't able to get an ADR for. Now I am not a huge fan of this restaurant but I did like their ceasar salad so I was excited for that. Much to my disapointment the ceasar salad wasn't on the menu. I ordered some kind of shrimp and pasta dish that I ommitted MANY ingredients from and it was OK, very very salty. I did have a really yummy vanilla milkshake though
Here is a pic of me loving my milk shake:
Here is a pic of DBF:
Our server was really nice and funny. We were seated in the back of a car with a family in the first 2 seats and he kept calling me and DBF 'hitchhikers'. He was also really good at multi-tasking, taking all of our orders at once and making sure to pay attention to each of our parties equally. I don't remember his name but I would have liked to give him a guest compliment. All in all the lunch there was good, we got an air conditioned break and we bought some time before we could use our FP's for TSM.
After lunch we only had 20 more minutes until we could use our FP's, yes we spent A LOT of time at Sci-Fi and did not feel rushed at all! So we walked over to TSM and hung out across from the entrance by the character meet and greet. I people-watched this whole time and the look on some parents faces when they got to the stand-by line and it read 80 minutes
You GOTTA get there early people! It's the ONLY way!!! So finally our time was up and we could ride the ride. The FP line rushes you through the queue but we got to see some things. Didn't get good pics and didn't get to see Mr. Potato Head but that's OK. We waited a little while even on the FP line. Oh, also, at this point in the day they were NOT taking single-riders. This happened later on in our trip too. I think the high wait times they shut down single-rider option.
OK, so this ride is AMAZING! I am in awe by the technology that they have come up with for this ride. DBF beat me, and we didn't get to ride again so no re-matches
But I'll get him next time! I think I got 80,000, DBF broke 100,000 I think...
After TSM we decided to head back to the resort to relax. Our plan was to go to DTD to eat at Wolfgang Puck Express for an early dinner, then head over to Epcot for EMH evening. We arrived at DTD around 4:30 and went over to the restaurant. For anyone who isn't familiar with this it's a CS of Wolfgang Puck Cafe. They serve many of the same items, and they also serve beer and wine. It's an interesting concept because you order, get your drink, and are given a number to put on your table. Then, a 'server' brings over your food and re-fills your drinks for you if you have time. Here are some pics:
The number
The outside eating area where we ate:
It was actually a beautiful nite! Our 'server' happened to be from NY and we chatted him up a bit. He is a college student who actually didn't like living in Florida and told us he wanted to go back to NY. Oh well...We tipped him a few dollars, and we saw some other people do the same. They do bring you food, re-fill drinks, and clear away your table.
After dinner, we walked around some and ofcourse I had to do a little shopping! Then, it was off to Epcot for EMH. Let me preface this by saying this was the stupidest idea I had ever had. I dunno WHAT we were thinking. We hopped on the Boardwalk/Yacht/Beach Club bus for Epcot. We actually ended up getting off at the Dolphin, and took a trip down memory lane since we stayed there 2 years ago (we hated it)...there were so many conventioneers..that is one of the reasons why we didn't like it.
We entered Epcot via International Gateway and it was PACKED. Already I could tell - bad idea. We immediately hauled a** to Test Track and the wait was 70 minutes
We asked a CM if they would be turning on the FP machines for EMH and he said no, they were only turning on the ones for MS, which by the way had a 10 minute wait. I honestly do NOT understand Disney's reasoning here!!! Soarin was out too because the board said there was a 70 minute wait for that too. We walked over to Spaceship Earth where the wait was 15 minutes. OK, we thought, not too bad. So, we get on line and almost get up to the ride vehicles when the line stops. Then they started taking people off the ride, then they had us walk up the ramp and then turn around at the exit and leave. No explanation. I asked if it would be running again soon and I got a blank stare and an 'I dunno'. OKee..not really fun, but what are you gonna do.
Now here is where the night gets ridiculous. It was almost 9 and me, not thinking, had the brilliant idea of walking around WS. So, off we went. Illuminations starts shortly after and we stopped to watch, not too much because this is my least favorite show and DBF agrees. Last time we saw it we weren't that impressed. So now, I started to PANIC. I knew the crowds were going to be crazy leaving WS and we were going to get stuck in it. We tried as best we can to leave before the show was over but no such luck. We were suddenly in a sea of people, barely moving towards Future World. When we finally did get to FW we noticed Spaceship Earth was running again and we hopped on. We didn't get to ride last year because they were updating it so this was our first time experiecing it with the updates. I really like them! The interactive part at the end is really cool! I got one pic from it, but have more later on when we ride again. Here is the one pic I got:
After that we left. Not a bad ending to a rather bad idea of a night.
Up next - Universal and pics of the new Harry Potter Land Construction
OK, sorry about the hiatus but it has been a very hectic start to the school year...but onward we go
So today we were spending the morning at DHS. I knew that Toy Story Mania was going to be insane so I planned that we would get to the park by opening. We got up around 7 and had a brief breakfast in the lounge (I LOOOVED having the convience of the lounge, so worth the extra $$!) We finished up breakfast by 8:30 and headed to the bus stop. THe only thing that set us back this morning was the fact that the DHS bus is shared with the BB bus. So it took about 15 minutes for the bus to come, and then we had to stop at BB first. So annoying...so we got to DHS about 9:15 and the crowds were already insane. EVERYONE was literally running towards Toy Story Mania. Here is a pic I snapped of the new Pixar Place signage on the way to get FP's:
When we got to the FP machines I could not believe the madness. There are queues set up for the FP machines. The lines were at least 15 people deep and there were 6-7 machines. There was a CM shouting at everyone to have only 1 member of their party stand in line to avoid overcrowding. Here is a pic of the FP return time when we got to the lines, about 9:30 or so:
Yes that does say 10:45 - 11:45 at 9:30am, CRAZY! We waited about 20 minutes to get an FP and our return time was 12:50 -1:50. The standby line was already at 40 minutes at this point too. I am wondering what is going to happen when they open the Monsters, Inc. rollercoaster in 2010.
After that we wandered over to ToT and waited in line. Wait time said 20 minutes and it was pretty accurate. I snapped these pics while in line:
We then tried to wait in line for RnRc but the wait time was 60 minutes and we werent due another FP until 11:20. I noticed this was up where the smoking area used to be over there by the ice cream place:
Not sure what they are doing over there..
At this point it was around 10:00 so we wandered over to the Streets of America to see these guys:
They are so funny! And pretty good musicians if you ask me. I also snapped some pics of some 'construction' they are doing on those streets:
Working on the muppet ballon:
Not really sure what they were doing here:
After the show we walked back around to the Great Movie Ride. I don't know about you guys but I think this ride needs some serious updating. Maybe add some new movies in there. Wouldn't it be great to have a Pirates scene? I know that it would be kind of like POTC but I think they could do an interactive skit with an autioanimatronic of Jack Sparrow just like they do with the wicked witch of the west...anyone with me on this??
Here are some pics I snapped while on the ride:
We always get the gangster scene, do they do the western scene anymore?
After this we decided to wander back over to TSM to see what was going on over there. It was about 11am and ALL of the FP's were gone for the day. This ride is EXTREMELY popular! I can't blame people either, its awesome! So at this point we were getting hungry for lunch and we still had about 2 hours until we could use our FP's so we did something really spontaneous! As we were walking we passed Sci-Fi and I said, "Lets see if we can get a table w/out having an ADR". DBF agreed with me (we had eaten here last year) and so we walked up and asked how long for 2. They told us 15 minutes but honestly we waited about 2 minutes. It was 11am and the restaurant was just opening. This is a good way to try to get a table at a restaurant you weren't able to get an ADR for. Now I am not a huge fan of this restaurant but I did like their ceasar salad so I was excited for that. Much to my disapointment the ceasar salad wasn't on the menu. I ordered some kind of shrimp and pasta dish that I ommitted MANY ingredients from and it was OK, very very salty. I did have a really yummy vanilla milkshake though
Here is a pic of me loving my milk shake:
Here is a pic of DBF:
Our server was really nice and funny. We were seated in the back of a car with a family in the first 2 seats and he kept calling me and DBF 'hitchhikers'. He was also really good at multi-tasking, taking all of our orders at once and making sure to pay attention to each of our parties equally. I don't remember his name but I would have liked to give him a guest compliment. All in all the lunch there was good, we got an air conditioned break and we bought some time before we could use our FP's for TSM.
After lunch we only had 20 more minutes until we could use our FP's, yes we spent A LOT of time at Sci-Fi and did not feel rushed at all! So we walked over to TSM and hung out across from the entrance by the character meet and greet. I people-watched this whole time and the look on some parents faces when they got to the stand-by line and it read 80 minutes
You GOTTA get there early people! It's the ONLY way!!! So finally our time was up and we could ride the ride. The FP line rushes you through the queue but we got to see some things. Didn't get good pics and didn't get to see Mr. Potato Head but that's OK. We waited a little while even on the FP line. Oh, also, at this point in the day they were NOT taking single-riders. This happened later on in our trip too. I think the high wait times they shut down single-rider option.OK, so this ride is AMAZING! I am in awe by the technology that they have come up with for this ride. DBF beat me, and we didn't get to ride again so no re-matches
But I'll get him next time! I think I got 80,000, DBF broke 100,000 I think...After TSM we decided to head back to the resort to relax. Our plan was to go to DTD to eat at Wolfgang Puck Express for an early dinner, then head over to Epcot for EMH evening. We arrived at DTD around 4:30 and went over to the restaurant. For anyone who isn't familiar with this it's a CS of Wolfgang Puck Cafe. They serve many of the same items, and they also serve beer and wine. It's an interesting concept because you order, get your drink, and are given a number to put on your table. Then, a 'server' brings over your food and re-fills your drinks for you if you have time. Here are some pics:
The number
The outside eating area where we ate:
It was actually a beautiful nite! Our 'server' happened to be from NY and we chatted him up a bit. He is a college student who actually didn't like living in Florida and told us he wanted to go back to NY. Oh well...We tipped him a few dollars, and we saw some other people do the same. They do bring you food, re-fill drinks, and clear away your table.
After dinner, we walked around some and ofcourse I had to do a little shopping! Then, it was off to Epcot for EMH. Let me preface this by saying this was the stupidest idea I had ever had. I dunno WHAT we were thinking. We hopped on the Boardwalk/Yacht/Beach Club bus for Epcot. We actually ended up getting off at the Dolphin, and took a trip down memory lane since we stayed there 2 years ago (we hated it)...there were so many conventioneers..that is one of the reasons why we didn't like it.
We entered Epcot via International Gateway and it was PACKED. Already I could tell - bad idea. We immediately hauled a** to Test Track and the wait was 70 minutes
We asked a CM if they would be turning on the FP machines for EMH and he said no, they were only turning on the ones for MS, which by the way had a 10 minute wait. I honestly do NOT understand Disney's reasoning here!!! Soarin was out too because the board said there was a 70 minute wait for that too. We walked over to Spaceship Earth where the wait was 15 minutes. OK, we thought, not too bad. So, we get on line and almost get up to the ride vehicles when the line stops. Then they started taking people off the ride, then they had us walk up the ramp and then turn around at the exit and leave. No explanation. I asked if it would be running again soon and I got a blank stare and an 'I dunno'. OKee..not really fun, but what are you gonna do. Now here is where the night gets ridiculous. It was almost 9 and me, not thinking, had the brilliant idea of walking around WS. So, off we went. Illuminations starts shortly after and we stopped to watch, not too much because this is my least favorite show and DBF agrees. Last time we saw it we weren't that impressed. So now, I started to PANIC. I knew the crowds were going to be crazy leaving WS and we were going to get stuck in it. We tried as best we can to leave before the show was over but no such luck. We were suddenly in a sea of people, barely moving towards Future World. When we finally did get to FW we noticed Spaceship Earth was running again and we hopped on. We didn't get to ride last year because they were updating it so this was our first time experiecing it with the updates. I really like them! The interactive part at the end is really cool! I got one pic from it, but have more later on when we ride again. Here is the one pic I got:
After that we left. Not a bad ending to a rather bad idea of a night.
Up next - Universal and pics of the new Harry Potter Land Construction
jmskinner
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2006
- Messages
- 4,267
Great update. Sorry your evening got so crazy. I've only ridden the GMR twice, but I agree with you. Some updates would be great, but I would hate to lose what is already there. Maybe they should create another one, just Disney movies? DHS could use more rides.
I love the atmosphere at Sci-Fi but just haven't been impressed with the food. I'll have to try walking up like that at other restaurants some time.
I love the atmosphere at Sci-Fi but just haven't been impressed with the food. I'll have to try walking up like that at other restaurants some time.
swankybeth
<font color=teal>Loves bubble tea!<br><font color=
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2000
- Messages
- 3,098
Great update, from your experiences so far it doesn't really sound like evening EMH is that great. I was considering doing one at MK this trip but maybe we'll just skip it. I can't wait for TSM, it's the only reason we're going to DHS this trip. I keep having this fantasy that we'll get fastpasses for it and then we'll win dream fastpasses so we can ride 2x. LOL. I can dream, can't I? 
ericafny
<font color=purple>OK, I am a real Harry Potter ge
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2005
- Messages
- 1,375
Yes I agree with you about the food at Sci-Fi, its OK but nothing to write home about. We pretty much only go for the atmosphere too.
Great update, from your experiences so far it doesn't really sound like evening EMH is that great. I was considering doing one at MK this trip but maybe we'll just skip it. I can't wait for TSM, it's the only reason we're going to DHS this trip. I keep having this fantasy that we'll get fastpasses for it and then we'll win dream fastpasses so we can ride 2x. LOL. I can dream, can't I?
Yeah this is honestly the first trip that evening EMH hasn't worked out for us that well. Every other year its been great. The World was REALLY crowded when we were there so that could play into it. We were there the week before the kids went back to school in the south. Here is some pixie dust for you in hopes you win dream fastpasses
for TSM! You are gonna love it!!
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