DISWolves
Dreams really can come true !!!!
- Joined
- May 26, 2007
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Day 4 Magic Kingdom Tutto Italia - Part 1
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S VIDEO ROUND-UP
Today, I feel was the real start to our holiday, so what a better way to begin than EMH at Magic Kingdom!
It was a 6:30 get up, showered, dressed and on the road for 7:20. We arrived at the parking lot in plenty of time, with a prime spot, close enough to walk across the road, under the tunnel to the Transportation and Ticket Center. One downside to morning EMH at Magic Kingdom is the need to catch the resort monorail to get to the park for opening. A five-minute wait and we were making our way past the Polynesian and Grand Floridian for our first glimpse of the Magic Kingdom. To me, THIS PLACE IS DISNEY!!!!!. We like to start and end our holiday with this park.
Once through bag check, we were able to view the Walter E. Disney steam train arrival at Main Street Station and the characters greet us by performing the opening ceremony. Joining the milling crowds, we entered the park from the left gate and were greeted with lots of high-fives from many of the CMs along Main Street. Our plan was to get a bite to eat early on in the day, since we had not had breakfast. Our first port of call was over in Tomorrowland, to collect fast passes for Space Mountain, and then we joined the queue for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin to help battle against Evil Emperor Zurg. We managed to bump into Stitch near to the ride exit, so we said hello and grabbed a quick photo.
Next stop was Indy Speedway, this always seems to attract a good crowd, since I guess it may be for a lot of younger guests, their first attempt at driving!. I am not sure what steering controls are fitted, but the car always seems to have a mind of its own and the guide rail came to the rescue on more than one occasion.
Since we had not eaten breakfast yet, what do you reckon we should ride next?...............The Mad Hatters Tea Party of course!
On our way, it seemed rather strange to see Mickeys Toontown Fair no longer there. Goofys Barnstormer was a favorite of Emmas and I must admit to enjoying visits through the houses and seeing the funny portraits on the walls.
Arriving at the tea cups Sue wisely decided to sit this one out, so it was down to Emma and myself to see how dizzy we could both get. I must admit that when we left the ride, I did feel like a bad parent, since Emma was walking as if I had been plying her with alcohol for breakfast.
Time for food this was more of a quick pit stop in the form of a blueberry muffin each. We had a five-minute sit down, outside of Cosmic Rays, just to recharge our batteries.
Next up was Splash Mountain, we headed to the edge of Fantasyland, just in time for 9:00am rope drop into Liberty Square. I can never understand why Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are not open for morning EMH?. The crowd headed off at a fast pace towards the mountains and we arrived at Splash to a most welcomed walk-on.
Today was going to be the debut of my newly purchased Sony TX5 cameras waterproof feature. During the final few days of last years visit, my trusty Sony T100 compact finally gave up on me, and after a long search, I eventually replaced it with the TX5 model. This proved to be an invaluable piece of equipment throughout the whole of this visit. At the last minute, I had decided to take a massive risk and leave my Canon DSLR kit and Sony video camera at home. The TX5 compact, proved itself on many occasions, with its underwater capability, panoramic shots and HD video now back to the trippie.
Splash Mountain was as good as ever. It did seem a little strange though using lap bars after all of these years. I managed to get the front seat, so a video clip of the drop was in order.
Exiting from the ride, we grabbed another FP before heading next door to the wildest ride in the wilderness.
(I can imagine you all now, repeating that in your best Klondike Gold Miners voices!!!). Again the queue was moving quite quickly and we were soon aboard the run-away engine, arms aloft as we wound our way up and over the mountains and through the tunnels.
The sun was quite hot now, so where is a better place for a cool sit down than The Haunted Mansion. This was the first time that we had used the new alternate entrance, via the grave yard and I must say I was impressed!. There are a lot of interactive features such as a murder mystery, a sea captain's grave that spits water, a musical crypt, a pipe organ, a library with moving books, and a book that writes itself.
The end of the ride, which features the hitchhiking ghosts, has also been revamped, with a new few variations. Checking on my phones Hidden Mickeys app, at the exit of the ride, in the back top left of the pet cemetery, there is a headstone of Mr. Toad in tribute to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, which closed about 10 years ago. Never seen that one before.
Next on the list was Mickeys PhilharMagic. I never tire of this excellent 3D production and the attention to detail is amazing. At the end of the show when Donald get blown through the wall, his head appears coming out of the wall in the gift shop, tangled amongst various musical instruments. We did spend a good 10 minutes in here looking for a Hidden Mickey, but gave up in the end. The CM assured us that it wasnt part of the many music notations, dotted around the walls. Our FPs for Splash Mountain were now valid, so we made our way back, through the ever-increasing crowds. The heat was extreme and I felt sorry for poor Donald, who we saw posing for photographs in his trappers outfit, as we passed by. We had a slight wait at Splash Mountain, due to some tech. difficulty, but we were soon on the look out for again for Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear.
With the intense heat still beating down, we slowly headed out of the park, starting with a quick look in Pirates gift shop.
We continued via the Emporium and into a car, which resembled an oven. With the air-con on full blast, we make our way back to Old Key West. Later on during the afternoon, we paid a visit to Walmart on Vineland Road, for a few supplies and made a small detour on the return journey to Port Orleans Riverside food court for a snack.
Sue Cajun chicken sandwich + apple crisp + vitamin drink
Emma Chicken nuggets with fries + chocolate cake + diet coke
Nigel Beef & blue cheese sandwich + cheesecake to go + vitamin drink
On our return to OKW, we decided to cool off in the quiet pool, located near to our room on Millers Road. The next two hours in the pool had seemed to pass by so quickly as we made our way back to the room, for showers and a change, ready for our 19:30 ADR tonight at Italys Tutto Italia Ristorante in EPCOT.
We left OKW at 18:30 and were going through bag check by 18:45. After a quick peek inside Mouse Gear and still having a bit of time in hand, we decided to take the anti-clockwise loop around World Showcase. We popped into U.K. and listened to the new band for a while, and must say that I much preferred these to the Beatles tribute band.
Strolling on further through the various countries, the light was amazing so I took a few photos along the way.
Continued in next post.............
CLICK HERE FOR TODAY'S VIDEO ROUND-UP
Today, I feel was the real start to our holiday, so what a better way to begin than EMH at Magic Kingdom!
It was a 6:30 get up, showered, dressed and on the road for 7:20. We arrived at the parking lot in plenty of time, with a prime spot, close enough to walk across the road, under the tunnel to the Transportation and Ticket Center. One downside to morning EMH at Magic Kingdom is the need to catch the resort monorail to get to the park for opening. A five-minute wait and we were making our way past the Polynesian and Grand Floridian for our first glimpse of the Magic Kingdom. To me, THIS PLACE IS DISNEY!!!!!. We like to start and end our holiday with this park.
Once through bag check, we were able to view the Walter E. Disney steam train arrival at Main Street Station and the characters greet us by performing the opening ceremony. Joining the milling crowds, we entered the park from the left gate and were greeted with lots of high-fives from many of the CMs along Main Street. Our plan was to get a bite to eat early on in the day, since we had not had breakfast. Our first port of call was over in Tomorrowland, to collect fast passes for Space Mountain, and then we joined the queue for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin to help battle against Evil Emperor Zurg. We managed to bump into Stitch near to the ride exit, so we said hello and grabbed a quick photo.
Next stop was Indy Speedway, this always seems to attract a good crowd, since I guess it may be for a lot of younger guests, their first attempt at driving!. I am not sure what steering controls are fitted, but the car always seems to have a mind of its own and the guide rail came to the rescue on more than one occasion.
Since we had not eaten breakfast yet, what do you reckon we should ride next?...............The Mad Hatters Tea Party of course!
On our way, it seemed rather strange to see Mickeys Toontown Fair no longer there. Goofys Barnstormer was a favorite of Emmas and I must admit to enjoying visits through the houses and seeing the funny portraits on the walls.
Arriving at the tea cups Sue wisely decided to sit this one out, so it was down to Emma and myself to see how dizzy we could both get. I must admit that when we left the ride, I did feel like a bad parent, since Emma was walking as if I had been plying her with alcohol for breakfast.
Time for food this was more of a quick pit stop in the form of a blueberry muffin each. We had a five-minute sit down, outside of Cosmic Rays, just to recharge our batteries.
Next up was Splash Mountain, we headed to the edge of Fantasyland, just in time for 9:00am rope drop into Liberty Square. I can never understand why Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad are not open for morning EMH?. The crowd headed off at a fast pace towards the mountains and we arrived at Splash to a most welcomed walk-on.
Today was going to be the debut of my newly purchased Sony TX5 cameras waterproof feature. During the final few days of last years visit, my trusty Sony T100 compact finally gave up on me, and after a long search, I eventually replaced it with the TX5 model. This proved to be an invaluable piece of equipment throughout the whole of this visit. At the last minute, I had decided to take a massive risk and leave my Canon DSLR kit and Sony video camera at home. The TX5 compact, proved itself on many occasions, with its underwater capability, panoramic shots and HD video now back to the trippie.
Splash Mountain was as good as ever. It did seem a little strange though using lap bars after all of these years. I managed to get the front seat, so a video clip of the drop was in order.
Exiting from the ride, we grabbed another FP before heading next door to the wildest ride in the wilderness.
(I can imagine you all now, repeating that in your best Klondike Gold Miners voices!!!). Again the queue was moving quite quickly and we were soon aboard the run-away engine, arms aloft as we wound our way up and over the mountains and through the tunnels.
The sun was quite hot now, so where is a better place for a cool sit down than The Haunted Mansion. This was the first time that we had used the new alternate entrance, via the grave yard and I must say I was impressed!. There are a lot of interactive features such as a murder mystery, a sea captain's grave that spits water, a musical crypt, a pipe organ, a library with moving books, and a book that writes itself.
The end of the ride, which features the hitchhiking ghosts, has also been revamped, with a new few variations. Checking on my phones Hidden Mickeys app, at the exit of the ride, in the back top left of the pet cemetery, there is a headstone of Mr. Toad in tribute to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, which closed about 10 years ago. Never seen that one before.
Next on the list was Mickeys PhilharMagic. I never tire of this excellent 3D production and the attention to detail is amazing. At the end of the show when Donald get blown through the wall, his head appears coming out of the wall in the gift shop, tangled amongst various musical instruments. We did spend a good 10 minutes in here looking for a Hidden Mickey, but gave up in the end. The CM assured us that it wasnt part of the many music notations, dotted around the walls. Our FPs for Splash Mountain were now valid, so we made our way back, through the ever-increasing crowds. The heat was extreme and I felt sorry for poor Donald, who we saw posing for photographs in his trappers outfit, as we passed by. We had a slight wait at Splash Mountain, due to some tech. difficulty, but we were soon on the look out for again for Brer Fox, Brer Rabbit and Brer Bear.
With the intense heat still beating down, we slowly headed out of the park, starting with a quick look in Pirates gift shop.
We continued via the Emporium and into a car, which resembled an oven. With the air-con on full blast, we make our way back to Old Key West. Later on during the afternoon, we paid a visit to Walmart on Vineland Road, for a few supplies and made a small detour on the return journey to Port Orleans Riverside food court for a snack.
Sue Cajun chicken sandwich + apple crisp + vitamin drink
Emma Chicken nuggets with fries + chocolate cake + diet coke
Nigel Beef & blue cheese sandwich + cheesecake to go + vitamin drink
On our return to OKW, we decided to cool off in the quiet pool, located near to our room on Millers Road. The next two hours in the pool had seemed to pass by so quickly as we made our way back to the room, for showers and a change, ready for our 19:30 ADR tonight at Italys Tutto Italia Ristorante in EPCOT.
We left OKW at 18:30 and were going through bag check by 18:45. After a quick peek inside Mouse Gear and still having a bit of time in hand, we decided to take the anti-clockwise loop around World Showcase. We popped into U.K. and listened to the new band for a while, and must say that I much preferred these to the Beatles tribute band.
Strolling on further through the various countries, the light was amazing so I took a few photos along the way.
Continued in next post.............
