I had to do a quick meeting for work in Orlando, so I arranged it around the Martin Luther King Holiday and brought my college daughter and middle school son to the work for a few days!
We arrived in Orlando about 4:45 on Friday January 17th. We got some dinner at the airport, got our car and drove to Pop Century. I wanted to stay by DHS - and ride the Gondola's - and this worked out great. My daughter and I had stayed there years ago, and I thought the rooms were very nice. We stayed in the 70's buildings - building 6, 3rd floor - nice and quiet. We unpacked and raced to the MK. This evening was the Disney After Hours - starting at 9, and we wallked up to the entry line at about 6:40. They let us into the park at 6:45 - which was a bonus!. I had been able to make a couple fast pass rides during regular hours too - which was a bonus! We went to tomorroland and walked right on the the Laugh Floor, and then went to Space Mountaing for our fast pass. After that we did the Tea Cups, Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, and Small World. We went back for our Buzz fast pass, and then it was 9 - with the party starting. We went to Casey's for some food, then went into Adventureland - riding Magic Carpets twice, then Pirates. We then rode BTMRR 3 times, then went to Fantasyland and rode The Seven Dwarves. It was about 11:00, and we were getting up early for DHS and Star Wars, so we headed out and got back to the room about 11:30 - pretty much having hit everything we wanted to in the MK.
I got up about 5:15 on Saturday the 18th, and got the kids up a little later - and we were in the car by 6:15 - nice and close to DHS. We got into the park a little after 6:30, and were able to walk up to near Indiana Jones (though the "rope" must be way further up. At 7:00am, we clicked on the app and got a Boarding Group assignment of 91 - which turned out to be around 3:30 that afternoon. We followed the crowds into the Star Wars area - fantastic, and got in line for Smugglers Run - which by the time we got off, took a little more than an hour. My kids got to be the pilots, and loved it. After we got off, we got some of the green and blue milk (we liked the blue better), then went to Toy Story land for the first time and rode the Alien Spinning Saucers. Lines were huge everywhere, so we went down Sunset boulevard, got some snacks, and at 10:00 went to the Lightneing McQueen show. Lines were still huge, so we hopped on the Gondola and went back to the room for a bit. That was very nice - enjoyed it a lot. Rested in the room, then ate at the Pop Century Food Court, and got back on the Gondola. Got back into the park and used our fast pass at Toy Story Mania. Went to Indiana Jones, and then another fast pass for Start Tours - which honestly we thought was a little better than Smugglers Run. We then walked around Star Wars land some, got the Cole thermal detonators bottles, and got in line for Ride of the Resistance. It was great - we all loved it. After that we headed out, got our car, and went to the Pepper Market and Coronado Springs for dinner - then called it a night.
On Sunday the 19th, we went to AK. The Park was opening at 9, so we slept in some, but still got to the gate about 8:30. We went right to Flight of Passage, and the line was already over an hour long. We waited and rode it - loved it. 20 minutes after the park had officially opened, it was already a 4 hour wait. We then went to the Fesitval of the Lion King, then used our fast pass at Dinosaur. We then went to Pizzafari and used the Mobile ordering for the first time - which worked great! We then went to our fast pass at Everest, which was packed, then rode Triceratops spin. We went to It's a Bugs Life, and I was able to change fast passes and get on Kilamanjaro Safaris. We did some shopping, and went to an early 4:30 dinner at Rainforest Cafe. After that we headed out. Went to the outlet mall for the first time and couldn't even find a parking space, so went to the airport where we were staying for our 6:45am flight out on Monday morning.
The trip was great! We covered just about everything we wanted too, which was pretty amazing. With Star Wars land, it was amazing how packed the rest of the park was. I'm not one for waiting too long in a line - so we had to miss some things there. Did everything in AK that we wanted (crazy busy there too) - and at the MK.
Great trip - we'll be back!
We arrived in Orlando about 4:45 on Friday January 17th. We got some dinner at the airport, got our car and drove to Pop Century. I wanted to stay by DHS - and ride the Gondola's - and this worked out great. My daughter and I had stayed there years ago, and I thought the rooms were very nice. We stayed in the 70's buildings - building 6, 3rd floor - nice and quiet. We unpacked and raced to the MK. This evening was the Disney After Hours - starting at 9, and we wallked up to the entry line at about 6:40. They let us into the park at 6:45 - which was a bonus!. I had been able to make a couple fast pass rides during regular hours too - which was a bonus! We went to tomorroland and walked right on the the Laugh Floor, and then went to Space Mountaing for our fast pass. After that we did the Tea Cups, Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, and Small World. We went back for our Buzz fast pass, and then it was 9 - with the party starting. We went to Casey's for some food, then went into Adventureland - riding Magic Carpets twice, then Pirates. We then rode BTMRR 3 times, then went to Fantasyland and rode The Seven Dwarves. It was about 11:00, and we were getting up early for DHS and Star Wars, so we headed out and got back to the room about 11:30 - pretty much having hit everything we wanted to in the MK.
I got up about 5:15 on Saturday the 18th, and got the kids up a little later - and we were in the car by 6:15 - nice and close to DHS. We got into the park a little after 6:30, and were able to walk up to near Indiana Jones (though the "rope" must be way further up. At 7:00am, we clicked on the app and got a Boarding Group assignment of 91 - which turned out to be around 3:30 that afternoon. We followed the crowds into the Star Wars area - fantastic, and got in line for Smugglers Run - which by the time we got off, took a little more than an hour. My kids got to be the pilots, and loved it. After we got off, we got some of the green and blue milk (we liked the blue better), then went to Toy Story land for the first time and rode the Alien Spinning Saucers. Lines were huge everywhere, so we went down Sunset boulevard, got some snacks, and at 10:00 went to the Lightneing McQueen show. Lines were still huge, so we hopped on the Gondola and went back to the room for a bit. That was very nice - enjoyed it a lot. Rested in the room, then ate at the Pop Century Food Court, and got back on the Gondola. Got back into the park and used our fast pass at Toy Story Mania. Went to Indiana Jones, and then another fast pass for Start Tours - which honestly we thought was a little better than Smugglers Run. We then walked around Star Wars land some, got the Cole thermal detonators bottles, and got in line for Ride of the Resistance. It was great - we all loved it. After that we headed out, got our car, and went to the Pepper Market and Coronado Springs for dinner - then called it a night.
On Sunday the 19th, we went to AK. The Park was opening at 9, so we slept in some, but still got to the gate about 8:30. We went right to Flight of Passage, and the line was already over an hour long. We waited and rode it - loved it. 20 minutes after the park had officially opened, it was already a 4 hour wait. We then went to the Fesitval of the Lion King, then used our fast pass at Dinosaur. We then went to Pizzafari and used the Mobile ordering for the first time - which worked great! We then went to our fast pass at Everest, which was packed, then rode Triceratops spin. We went to It's a Bugs Life, and I was able to change fast passes and get on Kilamanjaro Safaris. We did some shopping, and went to an early 4:30 dinner at Rainforest Cafe. After that we headed out. Went to the outlet mall for the first time and couldn't even find a parking space, so went to the airport where we were staying for our 6:45am flight out on Monday morning.
The trip was great! We covered just about everything we wanted too, which was pretty amazing. With Star Wars land, it was amazing how packed the rest of the park was. I'm not one for waiting too long in a line - so we had to miss some things there. Did everything in AK that we wanted (crazy busy there too) - and at the MK.
Great trip - we'll be back!
