handicap18
<font color=blue>Husband, father of 3, and Disney
- Joined
- Oct 18, 2005
- Messages
- 4,860
DW and I got back last night (Sun, June 12th) from a 4 day adult only trip to WDW. We left our 2 kids (DS-4 and DD 18months) home this time. However, DW at this writing is 6 1/2 months pregnant. So we did go with no kids, at least no kids that have been born yet. 
Anyway, this was the "Shopping, Photography and Character" trip. By that I mean, DW was able to do all the shopping she could ever ask for in WDW (the 4 major parks only) without have anyone hounding her to hurry up or come on or no I'm don't want to go in there, etc. No 4 year old tugging at her, no 18month old crying because she's hungry, no me standing around giving her dirty looks to hurry up. She just about shopped herself out. She went into every shop in MK, every shop in Epcot, every shop in MGM (most of them twice) and all of the few shops in AK. She was a happy camper. That also made the trip better for her because she was able to spend time in air conditioning during the 90+ degree weather. She also went on all the ride she could handle, including many of them twice. Her favorite part of MK is FantasyLand. At one point she just kept going in and out of the attractions there (IASM, Peter Pan, Pooh and Philharmagic and also threw in Haunted Mansion a few times). Don't get me wrong here, I didn't leave her alone the whole trip. We did do alot of things together, but it is really nice to have some real quality alone time in WDW to do your own thing at your own pace as you want. Mission accomplished!
While she was shopping I was picture hunting (I'll have a photo trip report a little later over in the Photography board,,, I ended up taking somewhere around 1400 pic's with my new Nikon D50 digital SLR). Photography has been a hobby of mine since I was a pre-teen (I'm a 30 something now). I had always had a camera. After going to a digital point & shoot 4+ years ago I finally went back to a SLR camera and boy did I have fun. If you haven't checked out the photography board on this forum, you are missing a lot. There are some GREAT photographs there by your fellow DISers. I got a lot of inspiration from them as well as using my own eye to photograph the 4 major theme parks and little bit of our host hotel, All Star Movies.
My new camera did not let me down at all. I wasn't completely happy with one of my older lenses and there are some things I realized a little to late that I could have done differently to take better shots. All in all, though, I came away very satisified and got more than a few great pictures out of the 4 days.
The trip ended up being a little more wall to wall than I probably would have thought. We left Manchester, NH Thrus morn and arrived at MCO around 10:30. Got to Magical Express with no issues and were at the hotel around Noon time. Checked in, left our carry on bags with the luggage service (who later brought them to our room when it was ready) and were on the bus to Epcot. Got there around 1pm and stayed with the EMH till about 10:30. (Epcot is one of the best parks for picture taking, I love going through the different countries and exploring). DW and I split a Fish and Chips platter in Great Brittian (which was excellent) and had dinner at Chef's de France (which also was excellent, would definately eat there again). Also got my picture taken with 10 characters I hadn't previously (Mushu, Gideon, Belle & Beast, Princess Aurora, Mary Poppins, Pooh, Eeyore & Rabbit, and Donald Duck; also posed with Classic Mickey Mouse). This started a whirl wind adventure of seeking out characters I had not previously posed for a picture with.
Friday morning had EMH at MGM-Studios. We were in the park by 8am. This was the last scheduled weekend for Star Wars Weekends. I wanted to make sure I got a limited edition pin so I headed to Star Tours, but they ended up having all the SWW stuff at a special store on Mickey Ave. So I headed there and found Darth Vader (#11). I finally found Wickets Wonders (I think it was called) and got my LE SWW pins. I then went on to pose for pics with one of the Ewoks (#12 {Chewbacca was also supposed to be in that que, but he couldn't make it last minute}), then Mace Windu, another Jedi and a Stormtrooper (#'s 13, 14 & 15). Luke Skywalker (#16) showed up in another line next to Star Tours so I said what the heck (line was short). After that I took a jaunt over to Aerosmith to get a fast pass and took some great pic's along the way. Went back to Mickey Ave to find the Emperor and 2 Royal Guards (#'s 17 & 18) and a bounty hunter from SW Episode I (#19). Had an early lunch at ABC Commessary (sp?) then met up with DW after having a pic with Friar Tuck and Robin Hood (#'s 20 & 21). Then saw Chip & Dale with Clarise (#22) We watched the Star Wars parade then went to Lights, Motor, Action stunt show then the Great Movie Ride. We then found Daisy Duck (#23) and also Chicken Little & Abby Malard but the line was to long for them. Got a tip from a CM that Jedi Mickey (#24) was in the Sounds Dangers theater. Then Queen Amidala (#25) had a short line. Went to watch part of the Jedi Academy (which was AWESOME, man I wish they had that when I was 10 or 12 years old) before meeting up with DW to head back to the hotel for a short rest.
In the evening we had dinner reservations at the Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary (excellent food). Then went to MK for evening EMH and stayed till about 1:30am. Got some very nice night pictures, but my fireworks pics didn't come out great (didn't have a very good spot).
Saturday came quickly as we had early breakfast reservations at the Crystal Palace (8:05 to be exact). But we made it. It was nice to see the park just about empty. Breakfast there was very good. DW declared it her favorite place to eat at WDW (she loves Pooh and Friends and we had dinner last time which was also excellent, next time we do lunch there!) We each posed for pics with the 4 characters (Tigger and Piglet made 26 & 27 for me for the trip thus far). After breakfast we hung around Adventureland (saw Timon the Meerkat, #28) and Frontierland which were not very croweded. Bought a few more pins and took a few more pics (I also saw Aladdin (#29) & Genie). Considering how late we were up the previous night, we ended up staying for a fairly long time. After having our pics taken with Aerial (#30) DW went back to the hotel and I wandered around for a few more hours and ended up staying till around 4ish. On the way out I found Tweetledee & Tweetledum (#'s 31 & 32) at the Tea Cups and I also found Classic Goofy (#33) & Max (#34) in the Town Square. (I had my pic taken with Painter Goofy, Chef Goof and Liberty Goofy (at the Liberty Tree Tavern, but never with just the plain ol' Classic Goofy) For a Saturday I didn't find the park overly crowded, but I guess when your by yourself and can do whatever you want it will seem that way. It didn't bother me not to ride the 3 mountains as I've been on them before and can do them another time. I was very happy with me and my camera.
After going back to the hotel for some rest, we ended up going back to MK again as I wasn't very happy with my fireworks pics. This time we got back around 8 and I plopped myself down in a good spot and waited for Spectro and Wishes. All the while DW did more shopping. I got better pics this time and DW again spent time in Fantasyland. A Great day indeed.
The last day was Animal Kingdom. This is probably the best AND worst park for picture taking. There are so many great things to photograph, yet at the same time the shadows from the greenery make getting really good shots hard. And the Safari makes for great blury pics if your not careful from all the bumps. DW wasn't feeling great so she stayed off the Safari. After I got a fast pass for Everest I went on the Safari (which I always love), then did the Pangani Forest Trail. DW did Its tough to be a Bug, Festival of the Lion King and Pochauntus. I also rode Everest which was AWESOME! Can't wait to go back and ride it again. Then after about a 1 hour complete downpour we met up and walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek. DW went back after we ate at the Flame Tree BBQ. I stayed for the Parade and a quick walk to Camp Minnie/Mickey and got more pics with Flik (#35) and Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Mickey all in their Camp/Safari Outfits (so techinically they're different characters #'s 36, 37, 38 & 39). 39 new and different characters in a 4 day trip. Only 1 character meal to boot! I think I did pretty good.
I pushed my stay till the absolute last minute getting back to the hotel a 5:50 and the Magical Express picked us up at 6:15. So we ended up basically getting 5 days of parks in 4 days (MK twice for 8 hrs each). Gotta love Extra Magic Hours.
After our last trip (after Thanksgiving '05) I decided that one of my goals for Disney was to get as many character pics as I could. I certainly accomplished it on this trip (though there are many more to go and a few on this trip I almost got). The characters and CM's were great. Nothing like a 270lb 36 year old man standing in line to have his picture taken alone with a Disney character. Although there were a few small children and even the occassional parent giving me weird looks. A few tried to cut in line when it was my turn. Most of them thought I was with the party in front of me. Oh well. I only took about 30 seconds. I don't think I made their (other guests) day any longer.
All's I know is that I had fun. DW had fun and I highly recommend adults going alone without their kids at least 1 time. We will do it again, but probably not till the kids are grown. Till then We'll be a family of 5 going on another magical trip to the happiest place on earth. I can't wait!!
Anyway, this was the "Shopping, Photography and Character" trip. By that I mean, DW was able to do all the shopping she could ever ask for in WDW (the 4 major parks only) without have anyone hounding her to hurry up or come on or no I'm don't want to go in there, etc. No 4 year old tugging at her, no 18month old crying because she's hungry, no me standing around giving her dirty looks to hurry up. She just about shopped herself out. She went into every shop in MK, every shop in Epcot, every shop in MGM (most of them twice) and all of the few shops in AK. She was a happy camper. That also made the trip better for her because she was able to spend time in air conditioning during the 90+ degree weather. She also went on all the ride she could handle, including many of them twice. Her favorite part of MK is FantasyLand. At one point she just kept going in and out of the attractions there (IASM, Peter Pan, Pooh and Philharmagic and also threw in Haunted Mansion a few times). Don't get me wrong here, I didn't leave her alone the whole trip. We did do alot of things together, but it is really nice to have some real quality alone time in WDW to do your own thing at your own pace as you want. Mission accomplished!
While she was shopping I was picture hunting (I'll have a photo trip report a little later over in the Photography board,,, I ended up taking somewhere around 1400 pic's with my new Nikon D50 digital SLR). Photography has been a hobby of mine since I was a pre-teen (I'm a 30 something now). I had always had a camera. After going to a digital point & shoot 4+ years ago I finally went back to a SLR camera and boy did I have fun. If you haven't checked out the photography board on this forum, you are missing a lot. There are some GREAT photographs there by your fellow DISers. I got a lot of inspiration from them as well as using my own eye to photograph the 4 major theme parks and little bit of our host hotel, All Star Movies.
My new camera did not let me down at all. I wasn't completely happy with one of my older lenses and there are some things I realized a little to late that I could have done differently to take better shots. All in all, though, I came away very satisified and got more than a few great pictures out of the 4 days.
The trip ended up being a little more wall to wall than I probably would have thought. We left Manchester, NH Thrus morn and arrived at MCO around 10:30. Got to Magical Express with no issues and were at the hotel around Noon time. Checked in, left our carry on bags with the luggage service (who later brought them to our room when it was ready) and were on the bus to Epcot. Got there around 1pm and stayed with the EMH till about 10:30. (Epcot is one of the best parks for picture taking, I love going through the different countries and exploring). DW and I split a Fish and Chips platter in Great Brittian (which was excellent) and had dinner at Chef's de France (which also was excellent, would definately eat there again). Also got my picture taken with 10 characters I hadn't previously (Mushu, Gideon, Belle & Beast, Princess Aurora, Mary Poppins, Pooh, Eeyore & Rabbit, and Donald Duck; also posed with Classic Mickey Mouse). This started a whirl wind adventure of seeking out characters I had not previously posed for a picture with.
Friday morning had EMH at MGM-Studios. We were in the park by 8am. This was the last scheduled weekend for Star Wars Weekends. I wanted to make sure I got a limited edition pin so I headed to Star Tours, but they ended up having all the SWW stuff at a special store on Mickey Ave. So I headed there and found Darth Vader (#11). I finally found Wickets Wonders (I think it was called) and got my LE SWW pins. I then went on to pose for pics with one of the Ewoks (#12 {Chewbacca was also supposed to be in that que, but he couldn't make it last minute}), then Mace Windu, another Jedi and a Stormtrooper (#'s 13, 14 & 15). Luke Skywalker (#16) showed up in another line next to Star Tours so I said what the heck (line was short). After that I took a jaunt over to Aerosmith to get a fast pass and took some great pic's along the way. Went back to Mickey Ave to find the Emperor and 2 Royal Guards (#'s 17 & 18) and a bounty hunter from SW Episode I (#19). Had an early lunch at ABC Commessary (sp?) then met up with DW after having a pic with Friar Tuck and Robin Hood (#'s 20 & 21). Then saw Chip & Dale with Clarise (#22) We watched the Star Wars parade then went to Lights, Motor, Action stunt show then the Great Movie Ride. We then found Daisy Duck (#23) and also Chicken Little & Abby Malard but the line was to long for them. Got a tip from a CM that Jedi Mickey (#24) was in the Sounds Dangers theater. Then Queen Amidala (#25) had a short line. Went to watch part of the Jedi Academy (which was AWESOME, man I wish they had that when I was 10 or 12 years old) before meeting up with DW to head back to the hotel for a short rest.
In the evening we had dinner reservations at the Concourse Steakhouse at the Contemporary (excellent food). Then went to MK for evening EMH and stayed till about 1:30am. Got some very nice night pictures, but my fireworks pics didn't come out great (didn't have a very good spot).
Saturday came quickly as we had early breakfast reservations at the Crystal Palace (8:05 to be exact). But we made it. It was nice to see the park just about empty. Breakfast there was very good. DW declared it her favorite place to eat at WDW (she loves Pooh and Friends and we had dinner last time which was also excellent, next time we do lunch there!) We each posed for pics with the 4 characters (Tigger and Piglet made 26 & 27 for me for the trip thus far). After breakfast we hung around Adventureland (saw Timon the Meerkat, #28) and Frontierland which were not very croweded. Bought a few more pins and took a few more pics (I also saw Aladdin (#29) & Genie). Considering how late we were up the previous night, we ended up staying for a fairly long time. After having our pics taken with Aerial (#30) DW went back to the hotel and I wandered around for a few more hours and ended up staying till around 4ish. On the way out I found Tweetledee & Tweetledum (#'s 31 & 32) at the Tea Cups and I also found Classic Goofy (#33) & Max (#34) in the Town Square. (I had my pic taken with Painter Goofy, Chef Goof and Liberty Goofy (at the Liberty Tree Tavern, but never with just the plain ol' Classic Goofy) For a Saturday I didn't find the park overly crowded, but I guess when your by yourself and can do whatever you want it will seem that way. It didn't bother me not to ride the 3 mountains as I've been on them before and can do them another time. I was very happy with me and my camera.
After going back to the hotel for some rest, we ended up going back to MK again as I wasn't very happy with my fireworks pics. This time we got back around 8 and I plopped myself down in a good spot and waited for Spectro and Wishes. All the while DW did more shopping. I got better pics this time and DW again spent time in Fantasyland. A Great day indeed.
The last day was Animal Kingdom. This is probably the best AND worst park for picture taking. There are so many great things to photograph, yet at the same time the shadows from the greenery make getting really good shots hard. And the Safari makes for great blury pics if your not careful from all the bumps. DW wasn't feeling great so she stayed off the Safari. After I got a fast pass for Everest I went on the Safari (which I always love), then did the Pangani Forest Trail. DW did Its tough to be a Bug, Festival of the Lion King and Pochauntus. I also rode Everest which was AWESOME! Can't wait to go back and ride it again. Then after about a 1 hour complete downpour we met up and walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek. DW went back after we ate at the Flame Tree BBQ. I stayed for the Parade and a quick walk to Camp Minnie/Mickey and got more pics with Flik (#35) and Donald, Goofy, Minnie and Mickey all in their Camp/Safari Outfits (so techinically they're different characters
#'s 36, 37, 38 & 39). 39 new and different characters in a 4 day trip. Only 1 character meal to boot! I think I did pretty good.I pushed my stay till the absolute last minute getting back to the hotel a 5:50 and the Magical Express picked us up at 6:15. So we ended up basically getting 5 days of parks in 4 days (MK twice for 8 hrs each). Gotta love Extra Magic Hours.
After our last trip (after Thanksgiving '05) I decided that one of my goals for Disney was to get as many character pics as I could. I certainly accomplished it on this trip (though there are many more to go and a few on this trip I almost got). The characters and CM's were great. Nothing like a 270lb 36 year old man standing in line to have his picture taken alone with a Disney character. Although there were a few small children and even the occassional parent giving me weird looks. A few tried to cut in line when it was my turn. Most of them thought I was with the party in front of me. Oh well. I only took about 30 seconds. I don't think I made their (other guests) day any longer.
All's I know is that I had fun. DW had fun and I highly recommend adults going alone without their kids at least 1 time. We will do it again, but probably not till the kids are grown. Till then We'll be a family of 5 going on another magical trip to the happiest place on earth. I can't wait!!
