Me 49, Disney nut
DH 49 (almost 50), enjoys WDW
DD 18, Disney nut
DF 18, hasnt been in a few years
Tuesday, April 6, 2004 R&R/WATERMICE
As we do for most of our trips, we have a down day after a park day. We slept in, had breakfast, pool time and then lunch at the campsite.
Our afternoon activity was going to be renting water mice. We had earlier looked into doing the family plan (10 days unlimited use of pontoons and watermice you have to check in every 30 minutes in case of people waiting), but the package price had gone up to $229 from $199. Add to that the fact that you couldnt get a discount on the package and that WDW was packed so wed have to turn our boats in every ½ hour we made the decision to just rent four boats for a one-hour period. We waited about 20 minutes (it was packed) for boats to come back in and then took off.
I was very uncomfortable in my boat for at least the first half hour. I kind of had to sit in the middle to keep it level, plus the lake and lagoon were kinda choppy. Add to that, there was the maximum amount of watercraft out (from all resorts) so you really had to pay attention.
My big mistake of the trip was taking our new digital camera in the boat. I had it in a plastic bag for a while and thought Id have the opportunity to take pictures of the rest of our group. Well they all sped off, plus the choppy waters, plus all the people well I didnt get any pictures at all.
Then Im just heading back in and some yahoo comes at full speed from my right heading directly for me. I slow down, but they dont and I get a face full of water. Well the camera got wet! As soon as I could I dried it off, but, as I was to find out later, some moisture got inside.
I was able to get a AAA discount of 15% (saved $18) on the boat rental, so the 4 boats for 1 hour cost a total of $108.82.
Once back at the campsite we all got cleaned up, but I was exhausted.
DH took the girls to Downtown Disney for shopping. We found out later in the trip that DDs drivers license was missing and thought maybe she lost it while at Downtown Disney.
They arrived back at the camper but I was still just wiped out, so I went back to sleep and they went to Crocketts Tavern for something to eat.
Wednesday, April 7, 2004 EPCOT/STUDIOS/MK
This is our last park day. We only have two days left before we leave.
The usual breakfast, paper and were in the car for early opening (8:00 am) at Epcot. We parked near the front and were through the gates at 7:45 am . They let us in early! We headed directly (with everyone else) back to Mission Space and Test Track. DD was supposed to get Fastpasses for MS while we got in line for TT. She seemed to be taking a long time, so I got out of line to see what was going on. She was having trouble with our tickets, but I got them through okay (hmm?) and we headed back to join DH and DF in line for Test Track. We were only in line for about 10-15 minutes and had a great ride. We decided to get in the singles line by this time it was much longer and were able to ride a second time before our MS fastpasses were up.
I believe it was here that I find out the camera was not working. I even tried a fresh set of batteries but it wouldnt even turn on at first. Later on at the campsite I opened it all up and hung it in front of a fan, hoping it might dry out.
Off to Mission Space, which was a first for all of us. I get sick on spinney rides so I had taken a Dramamine an hour before the ride. We saw all the warnings about motion sickness but I was determined to ride it at least once. I noted that you should try to stay looking forward. I concentrated very hard on this and made myself not panic when I felt the gravitational pull. Yeh!!! We all made it without getting sick!! I dont know if Ill do it again, but everyone else really, really liked it.
Our next plan of action was to head to the Studios because DD wanted to be in the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, see Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (WWTBM) and we all wanted to go on Tower of Terror again. Since the Studios opened at 9:00 and we left Epcot at 9:15 we had a good shot at going on some of these things! We were certainly prepared for the crowds today and had our plan of action in place!!
Once at the Studios, we parked and took the tram up to the front. Security check, ticket lines, and were in!!! We headed right for Indy to get a Fastpass and then did Sounds Dangerous while we waited. It was awful compared to the original attraction!! Anyway, we were eligible for another Fastpass so I headed over to get them at Tower of Terror (they were for 2:25 pm) while the rest went to be seated for Indy. They actually got seated 4 or 5 rows from the stage about in the middle so were in a good position for DD to be noticed when they began looking for volunteers. I, however, was late in arriving and the CMs were trying to herd me into the section they were currently filling. I refused to move and tried to find my family. Fortunately, they were looking for me and stood up to get my attention. I quickly moved right by the CMs and joined the family.
At that point, the CMs were trying to make everyone move in to make room for others. We were not in a packed row but were reluctant to squeeze in because we didnt want to be skin-to-skin with our neighbors (although Im sure they were very nice) and we also wanted to stay near the stairs thinking DD would be seen better. Anyway they came out to pick volunteers and DD began screaming and jumping up and down (in her red shirt) and was picked!!!! Yeh!
DD was one of the screamers and she had a great time. I have been picked for the show the last three times we visited and DD turned 18 this year and very, very much wanted to be in the show. She met one of her trip objectives and I was thrilled (especially after the other day).
The down side is that because of me, we did not have a camera to take pictures of DDs performance. I was to hear about this many, many times but even as adults, sometimes we make mistakes what can I say, Im human! DF promises to take pictures with her disposable camera.
From there we decided to see what else we could go on without a long wait while waiting for our Fastpass on TOT. WWTBM had a 35 minute wait, we got some ice cream and got in line. Fortunately, we were one of the first in line so were in the shade and could sit and lean against the building. Not bad at all. It was a very full show and we had fun; DD was the only one of us that got on the board this year.
We still had some time before TOT and noticed that the Back Lot Tour was open today (it was closed the first day we were there). We went in and were lucky enough to be in the next group so only had to wait about 10 minutes. This is one attraction that is fun but not nearly as good as what it was originally (3 hr truly a back stage tour). We saw the Pearl Harbor demo and then walked through the prop warehouse and boarded the trams for the back lot. They were doing construction on a new attraction (I think another stunt show) so a lot of what we saw in previous years was gone. We just looked at a couple of things and then entered Catastrophe Canyon.
After the ride, we did a little browsing and then it was time for Tower of Terror. I really must say, this ride gets better and better every year. My only regret is that we werent able to ride it more because of the crowds.
Since time at WDW was running out we started getting serious about buying our souveniers. We purchased a Donald Duck Watch, Lady and the Tramp Salt-n-Pepper Shakers, and this surprised me because I thought DH only tolerated Disney for me . DH wanted a Mickey Mouse keychain!!!
By now its 3:00 and time to head out of the Studios back to the campsite. There we ate and have a little relaxation time the girls took naps. I wandered over to the Meadows Trading Post and bought the Ft. Wilderness tee shirt Id been eyeing since my arrival. I also hung the camera up in front of the fan again with all the doors open hoping it would dry out.
We headed for the ferry and our final night at the Magic Kingdom. I think it must have been around 8:00 or so. We took the train back and rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain then went to the Haunted Mansion. I was amazed how many Fastpass returnees there were at this time of night. I dont recall it being like that earlier in the week!!! We were probably in line at BTM for 45 minutes!!!
Anyway, DH wanted to watch the parade so we got a spot standing on the retaining wall in Frontierland by the walking path. It is amazing how jammed up this path gets. Many people trying to stop on the path and watch the parade!!! If it wasnt so sad it would have been comical with all those people just jamming from both sides tighter and tighter, getting more and more indignant because people wouldnt move!!
After that we headed to Tomorrowland . Space Mountain had too long of a line so we gave up on riding it this year. That was the only must do that we didnt do on the trip! We did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (which I personally love!), COP and then headed over to do Dumbo. I couldnt believe that we only had to wait 10 minutes to ride. We have not ridden this since the kids were little!!! From there we managed to walk into Mickeys Philharmagic (very nice) and then were the next-to-last riders on Snow White. It was now midnight and our coach had turned back into a pumpkin and it was time to depart the Magic Kingdom until our next trip.
We took the ferry back to Ft. Wilderness and then the bus to our campsite (we were too pooped to walk) and off to bed.
DH 49 (almost 50), enjoys WDW
DD 18, Disney nut
DF 18, hasnt been in a few years
Tuesday, April 6, 2004 R&R/WATERMICE
As we do for most of our trips, we have a down day after a park day. We slept in, had breakfast, pool time and then lunch at the campsite.
Our afternoon activity was going to be renting water mice. We had earlier looked into doing the family plan (10 days unlimited use of pontoons and watermice you have to check in every 30 minutes in case of people waiting), but the package price had gone up to $229 from $199. Add to that the fact that you couldnt get a discount on the package and that WDW was packed so wed have to turn our boats in every ½ hour we made the decision to just rent four boats for a one-hour period. We waited about 20 minutes (it was packed) for boats to come back in and then took off.
I was very uncomfortable in my boat for at least the first half hour. I kind of had to sit in the middle to keep it level, plus the lake and lagoon were kinda choppy. Add to that, there was the maximum amount of watercraft out (from all resorts) so you really had to pay attention.
My big mistake of the trip was taking our new digital camera in the boat. I had it in a plastic bag for a while and thought Id have the opportunity to take pictures of the rest of our group. Well they all sped off, plus the choppy waters, plus all the people well I didnt get any pictures at all.
Then Im just heading back in and some yahoo comes at full speed from my right heading directly for me. I slow down, but they dont and I get a face full of water. Well the camera got wet! As soon as I could I dried it off, but, as I was to find out later, some moisture got inside.
I was able to get a AAA discount of 15% (saved $18) on the boat rental, so the 4 boats for 1 hour cost a total of $108.82.
Once back at the campsite we all got cleaned up, but I was exhausted.
DH took the girls to Downtown Disney for shopping. We found out later in the trip that DDs drivers license was missing and thought maybe she lost it while at Downtown Disney.
They arrived back at the camper but I was still just wiped out, so I went back to sleep and they went to Crocketts Tavern for something to eat.
Wednesday, April 7, 2004 EPCOT/STUDIOS/MK
This is our last park day. We only have two days left before we leave.
The usual breakfast, paper and were in the car for early opening (8:00 am) at Epcot. We parked near the front and were through the gates at 7:45 am . They let us in early! We headed directly (with everyone else) back to Mission Space and Test Track. DD was supposed to get Fastpasses for MS while we got in line for TT. She seemed to be taking a long time, so I got out of line to see what was going on. She was having trouble with our tickets, but I got them through okay (hmm?) and we headed back to join DH and DF in line for Test Track. We were only in line for about 10-15 minutes and had a great ride. We decided to get in the singles line by this time it was much longer and were able to ride a second time before our MS fastpasses were up.
I believe it was here that I find out the camera was not working. I even tried a fresh set of batteries but it wouldnt even turn on at first. Later on at the campsite I opened it all up and hung it in front of a fan, hoping it might dry out.
Off to Mission Space, which was a first for all of us. I get sick on spinney rides so I had taken a Dramamine an hour before the ride. We saw all the warnings about motion sickness but I was determined to ride it at least once. I noted that you should try to stay looking forward. I concentrated very hard on this and made myself not panic when I felt the gravitational pull. Yeh!!! We all made it without getting sick!! I dont know if Ill do it again, but everyone else really, really liked it.
Our next plan of action was to head to the Studios because DD wanted to be in the Indiana Jones Stunt Show, see Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (WWTBM) and we all wanted to go on Tower of Terror again. Since the Studios opened at 9:00 and we left Epcot at 9:15 we had a good shot at going on some of these things! We were certainly prepared for the crowds today and had our plan of action in place!!
Once at the Studios, we parked and took the tram up to the front. Security check, ticket lines, and were in!!! We headed right for Indy to get a Fastpass and then did Sounds Dangerous while we waited. It was awful compared to the original attraction!! Anyway, we were eligible for another Fastpass so I headed over to get them at Tower of Terror (they were for 2:25 pm) while the rest went to be seated for Indy. They actually got seated 4 or 5 rows from the stage about in the middle so were in a good position for DD to be noticed when they began looking for volunteers. I, however, was late in arriving and the CMs were trying to herd me into the section they were currently filling. I refused to move and tried to find my family. Fortunately, they were looking for me and stood up to get my attention. I quickly moved right by the CMs and joined the family.
At that point, the CMs were trying to make everyone move in to make room for others. We were not in a packed row but were reluctant to squeeze in because we didnt want to be skin-to-skin with our neighbors (although Im sure they were very nice) and we also wanted to stay near the stairs thinking DD would be seen better. Anyway they came out to pick volunteers and DD began screaming and jumping up and down (in her red shirt) and was picked!!!! Yeh!
DD was one of the screamers and she had a great time. I have been picked for the show the last three times we visited and DD turned 18 this year and very, very much wanted to be in the show. She met one of her trip objectives and I was thrilled (especially after the other day).
The down side is that because of me, we did not have a camera to take pictures of DDs performance. I was to hear about this many, many times but even as adults, sometimes we make mistakes what can I say, Im human! DF promises to take pictures with her disposable camera.
From there we decided to see what else we could go on without a long wait while waiting for our Fastpass on TOT. WWTBM had a 35 minute wait, we got some ice cream and got in line. Fortunately, we were one of the first in line so were in the shade and could sit and lean against the building. Not bad at all. It was a very full show and we had fun; DD was the only one of us that got on the board this year.
We still had some time before TOT and noticed that the Back Lot Tour was open today (it was closed the first day we were there). We went in and were lucky enough to be in the next group so only had to wait about 10 minutes. This is one attraction that is fun but not nearly as good as what it was originally (3 hr truly a back stage tour). We saw the Pearl Harbor demo and then walked through the prop warehouse and boarded the trams for the back lot. They were doing construction on a new attraction (I think another stunt show) so a lot of what we saw in previous years was gone. We just looked at a couple of things and then entered Catastrophe Canyon.
After the ride, we did a little browsing and then it was time for Tower of Terror. I really must say, this ride gets better and better every year. My only regret is that we werent able to ride it more because of the crowds.
Since time at WDW was running out we started getting serious about buying our souveniers. We purchased a Donald Duck Watch, Lady and the Tramp Salt-n-Pepper Shakers, and this surprised me because I thought DH only tolerated Disney for me . DH wanted a Mickey Mouse keychain!!!
By now its 3:00 and time to head out of the Studios back to the campsite. There we ate and have a little relaxation time the girls took naps. I wandered over to the Meadows Trading Post and bought the Ft. Wilderness tee shirt Id been eyeing since my arrival. I also hung the camera up in front of the fan again with all the doors open hoping it would dry out.
We headed for the ferry and our final night at the Magic Kingdom. I think it must have been around 8:00 or so. We took the train back and rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain then went to the Haunted Mansion. I was amazed how many Fastpass returnees there were at this time of night. I dont recall it being like that earlier in the week!!! We were probably in line at BTM for 45 minutes!!!
Anyway, DH wanted to watch the parade so we got a spot standing on the retaining wall in Frontierland by the walking path. It is amazing how jammed up this path gets. Many people trying to stop on the path and watch the parade!!! If it wasnt so sad it would have been comical with all those people just jamming from both sides tighter and tighter, getting more and more indignant because people wouldnt move!!
After that we headed to Tomorrowland . Space Mountain had too long of a line so we gave up on riding it this year. That was the only must do that we didnt do on the trip! We did the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (which I personally love!), COP and then headed over to do Dumbo. I couldnt believe that we only had to wait 10 minutes to ride. We have not ridden this since the kids were little!!! From there we managed to walk into Mickeys Philharmagic (very nice) and then were the next-to-last riders on Snow White. It was now midnight and our coach had turned back into a pumpkin and it was time to depart the Magic Kingdom until our next trip.
We took the ferry back to Ft. Wilderness and then the bus to our campsite (we were too pooped to walk) and off to bed.
