A 1st timers best and worst list and a great big thank you

[Johnfish]

Hi everyone!!

We have been back 1 week and I am having big time WDW withdrawl. I was so concerned about this trip being perfect. It was the first trip for both my 15 yo DS and myself. Even with the Hurricane the trip ended up being absolutely perfect!!

When I started reading these boards back in April everyone kept talking about the magic. I didnt understand then what they meant. Well I can tell you now that the magic is alive and well and I now understand what you all mean. All I need to do is just think about Wishes and I start to get all teary eyed (some tough guy I am).

This has to be the most incedible vacation I have ever had. And alot of the credit goes to the great people on this board. So...


THANK YOU!!!:thewave:

Now on to my best and worst list;

All around Best:

WISHES This absolutely tops my list. The first night we were there we went to Ohanas for dinner and they gave us a window seat. Our PS was at 8:30 and by desert WISHES had started. It was a great first magical moment for both of us. What a great way to start vacation. We saw WISHES 2 more times and I never got tired of it. Every show brought tears to my eyes. As a tip for other newbies make sure to be somewhere on Main street when they start. One night we got caught over by splash mountain and by the time we got to the monorail to go to the parking lot the lines were huge. If this happens to you, use the ferry back to TTC as it is much less crowded.


Best Ride:

SPACE MOUNTAIN My son and I did just about every ride in all 4 parks. We loved Dinosaur, RR coaster, Splash mountain, BTMRR, etc. And he fell in love with the duelling dragons in IOA.
But we could not stop riding space mountain. We just kept going back and riding it over and over again. It isnt that the drops are scarey or it gives that great pit of the stomach thrill. Its just plain fun from the theming to the anticipation of the drops and curves in the dark. We absolutley loved it.

Best Live Show

FESTIVAL OF THE LION KING By far the best show of all the ones we saw. I was blown away by the sets and the acrobatics of the "monkeys"

Best 3D Show

Mickeys Philharmagic This show was awesome. And it wasnt just the 3d effects that made it great. Its about time Donald Duck got some recognition and this show does a great job of it. It was great the way Disney incorporated alot of their most popular animated movies into the story.

Best food:

OHANAS This was our first dining experience in WDW and was one of the best values for the money. The food was incredible and it just kept coming. My son love the honey corriander chicken wings. The main course meats were shrimp, turkey, pork and steak served off of giant scewers. The food and the theming was great. and then to top it off with WISHES made it that much more magical. The final bill for the 2 of us was around 60 dollars and that included 10 dollars of adult beverages for me.

Best Drink to cool off:

Frozen Lemonade We found these in Animal kingdom. This is a kind of a lemonade slushie. They were fairly resonably priced and not only quenched your thirst but really helped to cool us down. I highly recommend it.

These are some of my top favorite things. I could go on for many more pages. Disney is a super class organization and I do feel they make dreams come true!!!!

As for the worst... Its hard to find anything bad to say really, but there were a few things that were worth noting.

Worst live show:

Tarzan Rocks We did this show at noon time and boy was that a mistake. It is in an enclosed open air theater. I honestly believe the temperature inside must have been 105 F or higher. I was miserable. My son enjoyed the show but I found it a little disjointed. It had a lot of great music and CMs doing amazing things on roller skates but it really seemed to have no point. If you have to choose between this and the Festival Of the Lion King take the Lion King every time.

Worst time to visit the Magic Kingdom

Do not go to the Magic Kingdom on a friday afternoon / evening everyone in the world is on the last day of their visit and will be making this their last stop. The lines were crazy. During the rest of our visit we never waited more than 20 to 30 minuites in que. On friday space mountain was at 60 to 90 minuites!! We did get to ride BTMRR and Splash mountain several times though. I was surprised that I didnt come across this information either here or in the Unofficail Guide to Walt Disney.

Anyway this post has gotten really long so I will close with this thought.

I have found my new favorite place and it truly is the happiest place on earth.


If you have any questions or comments I will be happy to reply.

Thanks again,

John

 

[mmeb144]

Wow! It sounds like you had an awesome time. Wishes is one of my favorites, too.

On my next WDW vacation, we are doing our first park day on Friday at, you guessed it, MK. Oh, well...

Marie

 

[Johnfish]

Hi Marie,

It wasnt awful at MK on friday, but it was much more crowded than I expected. It was also our last day and we had done AK in the morning and MK in the evening. Just make use of fast pass and ride the popular rides in the morning and you should do fine.

John

 

[ErinInCT]

John,
Great report. Looks like the goods definately outweighed the bads!!!!

 

[chyam]

John,
Once you find the magic it never leaves you....you either find it or you don't! Even as adult and as a solo I always have a wonderful time at Disney and I am glad you did as well. Now you will have to try it at different times of the year...........Oct is great for the Food and Wine Festival and the concert series, also the holidays are the most magical for me, the first week in Dec. the crowds are low and the decorations are awesome, add to that Wishes, the Christmas parades and shows anyone would be moved by them! The spring brings the Flower and Garden Festival at EPCOT which is always a great time, so start saving again and come on down and enjoy ALL of the Disney magic!

 

[hockey mom]

Sounds like a great time. There is nothing better than hearing from a first timer how much they enjoyed Disney. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Lori-n-NY]

John,
Only one question...

When are you going back?

Lori

 

[Johnfish]

That is the question of the day Lori!!! As soon as possible!!!

I would like to go back next year late fall. Oct or first week of december. But it depends on how my son does in school this year and my finanacial situation. We may need to wait to the following year. One thing is definite I will be going back!! Hopefully again and again.


John

 

[fredms]

Thanks for the info. A little nervous as I've scheduled MK for Friday but we'll probably go morning to mid afternoon go back to the hotel for a break and come back for Spectro/Wishes. Also this will be middle of January so hopefully things will be less crowded.

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

 

[Leota]

John - What a great post! I love hearing when people get hit with the Magic. As the Mom of a 15 (soon to be 16) year old son, I love that he got the Magic too.
Like someone said above - once you've gotten it, it never goes away - Welcome to the WDW Addicts Club.

 

[Luckymommyx2]

Thanks for the report John! It was like a trip down memory lane for me--I felt like I was reliving my own trip!! It sounds like you had lots of pixie dust following you around. Hopefully you'll get back again soon but in the meantime just know that there is a constant flow of us DIS'ers going through withdrawls! I'm still in withdrawls and I went back in March!!!! Thanks again for the report--I really enjoyed it!

 

[momxx5]

Awesome post!!!

Thanks for the report. I agree with all your reviews. You gave me a moment of "magic" while I took a mini-vacation in my head.

WDW is truly magical and I think the only thing that stops the withdrawals is planning another trip.

Thanks

 

[doodle]

Wow, John! Thanks for posting! You made me teary eyed.

I must agree with momxx5. The best medicine for WDW withdrawl is plannning your next trip.

Wishing you many more magical days in The World!!

 

[Harambe]

Hey John! Welcome to the cult . . . , er, I mean the group!

And thanks for the tip about Wishes. We'll be seeing it for the first time (my gang would rather do rides than watch parades, fireworks, etc.) and I'm really looking forward to it. I'll watch from Main Street!