A Failure to Launch but Scaling a Mountain (aka My First Trip Report!) Updated 04/20!

[irishdancer86]

Glad you conquered another mt, and great idea to get the celebrating button!

Thta was a very good ride photo, the only thing I was nervous about on Space Mt was either that my head was too high and was going to hit something or my hairband was going to fly off and cause a hideous ride malfunction, happily neither incident occurred!

 

[Missyrose]

Hi, great Trip Report
I'm enjoying your photos! I love the harry potter photos you slipped in there as well!! I'd love to go there.
We just got back from WDW after being there from Dec. 27 - Jan. 1st.
Crazy busy!!! I just started a trip report but I'm having troubles with uploading photos! and I am certainly not as entertaining as you!

I especially loved seeing your video of Push the talking trash can. I had that on my list of things to do but just somehow forgot about it.
Also, I decided since I was at Disney I'm just going to push past my fears and do the big rides as well!!! I did Space Mountain 2 times and I never do coasters!! But I loved it! I even did RnRC.... but that was before I realized it went upside down!!

Looking forward to reading more!!

Debbie

Hi! Thanks for reading! Can't wait to read all about your trip. I went to Disney once at Christmastime, when I was about 8. I remember it being CRAZY busy. Hope you had an awesome vacation. Wow, you conquered Space Mountain AND RnR?!?!? One was enough for me on my trip.

Glad you conquered another mt, and great idea to get the celebrating button!

Thta was a very good ride photo, the only thing I was nervous about on Space Mt was either that my head was too high and was going to hit something or my hairband was going to fly off and cause a hideous ride malfunction, happily neither incident occurred!

I totally felt the same way about Space Mountain, you feel like you have to duck (even though you know, logically, that there's nothing remotely near your head.) You know on Big Thunder Mountain when you you go under the row of bones? I ALWAYS duck, I have every time since I was a little kid. I guess it's just a reflex!

 

[Missyrose]

First, a brief real-life interlude. Sorry the updates have been pretty sporadic recently, I've been a little distracted. But distracted in the best way. Franklin and I started to plan a trip to Europe this summer. One of our friends is getting married in Prague in June, so we've decided to make a two-week trip out of it. We'll start in Prague, then head to London, Paris and Amsterdam.

So between finding hotels and reading travel guides, I've been spending a little less time on DIS than usual. But if any of my loyal readers have been to any of the cities we'll be visiting, I'd love to hear any advice you have!

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled trip report update....

We last left off with the two of us trudging up the ramp at to take the monorail to Epcot.

Once we were on the monorail we strategized about what we wanted to do once we got to Epcot. We were hoping to get Soarin’ FP’s, but it being so late in the day, we weren’t very hopeful there would be any left. Franklin suggested he take off to get the FP’s once we arrived at the park. The only problem was he couldn’t remember where the ride was in the park. I said “The Land.” He said, “Which land?” “The Land,” I replied. It was a real Abbott and Costello moment for us.

But as we pulled into the station, I think he knew where he was headed. We were through the gates by 1:45. But as rushed as we were to get those FP’s we couldn’t pass up an opportunity for some fabulous Epcot entrance photos!

The Food and Wine Festival decorations made me giddy. I’d read so much about the festival here on DIS and I couldn’t wait to see everything for myself!

And then Franklin took off in search of those elusive FP’s. I took my time, taking in the sights, stopping at the fountain. I really love Epcot, there’s so much less hustle and bustle than MK. It’s wide open (though it was a little too wide open for my aching feet), no narrow walkways to be crushed amongst the crowds. I headed toward The Land and stopped at the benches between Innoventions and the Character Spot. I planted myself on a bench in front of the Innoventions door and so every time it opened, I got a delicious blast of air conditioning.

I called Franklin to tell him where I was waiting for him. And guess what? We got the FP’s! The standby time was 75 minutes, so we passed on that.

After refilling the water bottle with some refreshing ice water, we headed across the park to Test Track. The standby time was 45 minutes and the single rider wait said 10 minutes, so we headed for single riders.

Cue Franklin dancing into line singing like Beyonce, “All the single riders, all the single riders.” He’s probably not the first to make that joke, but it was pretty damn cute.

We literally walked right through the queue.

Notice the vast emptiness of the ramp? It rocked.

They sent us through the briefing room (without stopping for that inane video!) to where you load onto the ride. There were three single riders in front of us. Total time from when we entered the queue? Two whole minutes. Franklin is very much a car lover, so even though TT isn’t as thrilling as other rides at Disney, it remains one of his favorites. We made a few purchases in the dump shop (a plush Lightning McQueen and teeny, tiny T-shirt for Franklin’s soon-to-be-born nephew. And an interactive Cars storybook for our friend’s 2-year-old twins).

Next up was Mission Space.

Last time we were at WDW, we went to Epcot on arrival day and we left Mission Space for last (mainly because I was scared about how an intense ride like that would affect me). I don’t know if it was because I was worn out from a day of travel or not having eaten much that day, but I came off that ride completely green and slightly dizzy. The plan in 2009 had been to go from Mission Space to the World Showcase for Illuminations, but I wanted nothing to do with the park after that ride and so we went back to the hotel.

This time, I was more rested, I had eaten breakfast -- I was ready. So back to Mission Space we headed. I took a longing glance at the green side, but wanted to give orange another shot.

The posted wait time was 25 minutes, we waited maybe 10 or 15. I did soooo much better this time! I was still a shade paler than when I went on, but I didn’t feel nearly as sick.

I really wanted to spend a good chunk of time in the WS at the Food and Wine Festival, but there were a few more stops to make in Future World.

First up? Mousegears!

No real heavy shopping, we only ended up buying a couple of Minnie keychains (one for me and one for Franklin’s sister) and a talking Dug doll (from Up!). But we did lots of fun browsing. Seriously, I could get lost in that store for days.

See all that housewares stuff on that wall? I want all of it, every last item.

Next we wandered over to Club Cool. I don’t know why we’d skipped it on our last trip. Franklin was pretty excited to try all the different flavors of Coke.

I know I’m a terrible girlfriend for not warning him about Beverly, but getting to see his unsuspecting reaction was too priceless!

We grabbed a frozen Coke to split as we headed to one last attraction before starting the WS, and that was the throwback to end all throwbacks: Captain EO!

I was a huuuuuuuge Michael Jackson fan growing up and I had seen the movie many times as a kid (and had nightmares from the villain every time). I was so excited when Disney announced they were bringing it back.

It was cheesy and terrible and so much fun! The music was great, dancing was spectacular, and the special effects were 80s-tastic. I think Franklin was kind of like, “Why were you so excited about that show?” But when it came out, I was sooooo in love with all things Michael Jackson, I had the Captain EO poster in my playroom for years! I know it doesn’t hold the same allure for him because he never saw it before. But it was a great throwback that took me directly back to feeling like a kid. Did anyone else feel that same kind of nostalgia for Captain EO?

And with that last Future World attraction, we'll finish up this chapter. Coming up we’ll eat and drink ourselves silly in “Noshing (and Boozing) Our Way Around the World,” stay tuned!

 

[irishdancer86]

Great update!

I've been to Amsterdam and London and my nana has been to Paris and Prague, only thing I could really advise for Amsterdam is Anne Frank's House, it was brilliant, and a tour through the red light district is beyond shocking but was memorable for sure!

In London, one of the double decker bus tours would be a good start then you can get off at your oparticular points of interest, Buckingham Palace was our highlight this year I think!

Back to your trip report, there is a girl on thi dis called Nikki who's reports I follow and she made up a whole song to single riders which is very cool!

Good on you for going back and trying mission space! lucky to get soarin fastpasses so late!

I'm like you, I weant every single piece of that Disney homeware and I don't even have my own house yet!

That goofy shirt was very cool, and I can't wait to try club cool, 6 trips and I still haven't fitted it in!

 

[Missyrose]

Great update!

I've been to Amsterdam and London and my nana has been to Paris and Prague, only thing I could really advise for Amsterdam is Anne Frank's House, it was brilliant, and a tour through the red light district is beyond shocking but was memorable for sure!

In London, one of the double decker bus tours would be a good start then you can get off at your oparticular points of interest, Buckingham Palace was our highlight this year I think!

Back to your trip report, there is a girl on thi dis called Nikki who's reports I follow and she made up a whole song to single riders which is very cool!

Good on you for going back and trying mission space! lucky to get soarin fastpasses so late!

I'm like you, I weant every single piece of that Disney homeware and I don't even have my own house yet!

That goofy shirt was very cool, and I can't wait to try club cool, 6 trips and I still haven't fitted it in!

Thanks for the advice on London and Amsterdam! Anne Frank's house is at the top of my list of things to see in Amsterdam.

We TOTALLY lucked into Soarin' FP's at 2 o'clock in the afternoon! Gotta love low season

You have to try Club Cool, especially if you go on a hot day. Nothing beats a free Coke!

 

[Missyrose]

Where we left off, we’d finished our wish list in Future World (save for Soarin’, which we’d visit later when our FP window opened). We pulled up a seat on a bench near the bridge to the World Showcase to look at the Food and Wine Festival map and do a little game planning. Then it was time to join in the festivities.

Franklin, being the red-blooded American male that he is, wanted a beer. So our first stop was the 15 Beers for 15 Years booth.

He ordered a 12oz Smithwicks, this would be the last normal-sized beer he would order, they would only get bigger from here on out.

We then decided to take a sharp left and head around the showcase clockwise.

First stop? Brazil.

Franklin ordered the shrimp stew with coconut and lime. He said it was really tasty, I’ll take his word for it (I'm not a big seafood person).

Next we made our way to China.

I ordered the potstickers that I’d heard soooooo much about on DIS. And they lived up to their reputation. The soy sauce they come with even had a little kick to it!

Then we took a swing past Germany, where we ordered a sausage in a pretzel roll with mustard. Franklin also needed a new beer, so he got a 22oz Radeberger Pilsner in the souvenir F&W Festival mug.

Wow, this snack was unexpectedly delicious. The sausage wasn’t too salty which allowed the salted pretzel roll to shine.

We sat on the stairs for a while, watching people take photos with Spaceship Earth in background (Franklin being one of them).

Then we realized it was almost time for the first Boyz II Men “Eat the the Beat” concert, so we went up to the theater to see if there were any seats left. There weren’t, so we plopped ourselves on the ground and the band came out. They were really good! They played “Thank You,” “On Bended Knee,” Waters Run Dry,” “I’ll Make Love to You,” “End of the Road” and “Mowtown Philly.” Seriously, every song I could possibly want to hear from them, they played. About midway through the first song, a family got up and walked out, so we snagged their seats and had a fantastic view for the rest of the show.

Another fantastic throwback moment during our afternoon at Epcot. Boyz II Men were really popular during our middle school and high school days. I have very fond memories dancing to their songs and school dances, but they were never a band I’d ever seen live. I was very impressed at how good they’d sounded (though I was sad to find out that the fourth member Mike, had quit the band because of scoliosis, thanks Wikipedia!).

Here’s a video of “End of the Road,” Franklin apologizes for the not-great sound quality, he was using a friend’s camera for the video that he hadn’t quite mastered yet.

And here’s “Motown Philly.”

We hadn’t eaten in, what, a whole half-hour? So clearly it was time to resume the noshing. Just behind the theater was the Hops and Barley booth. Franklin ordered a New England lobster roll, which he really liked (more than the shrimp from Brazil). He got a 22oz Sam Adams Boston Lager, I had the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat (6oz).

We were going to sit down and eat the roll and drink our beer, so we decided to go sit in the theater for the second concert. Why not? We ended up with seats closer to the stage this time.

They did some of the songs from the first set and then did a couple of covers including Lonestar’s “Amazed,” which they said their record company offered to them first and when they passed, it went to Lonestar. Way to blow that one fellas. I actually think I like the Boyz II Men version better, take a look at the video and tell me what you think.

After the second show we continued our stroll around the world. Our next stop was going to be Australia because their lamb chop with red wine reduction sounded heavenly, but the WS had gotten much more crowded in the past hour and the line at Australia was really long, so we moved onto Belgium

where I got a waffle (even with nothing on it, it was so good!) and Franklin got ANOTHER 22oz beer, this time a Hoegarden (tasted a little like Blue Moon, just lighter). Here’s the thing, this was one of those times where I started to eat something before realizing I needed to take a picture, so here’s a lovely photo of Franklin’s beer and the teeny, tiny corner of my waffle that was left by the time we sat down at a table.

At this point, it was 7:30 and we were being picked up at 8:45, so we had to head to Soarin’ to use the FP's.
Some beautiful shots Franklin took as we left the WS.

Soon we arrived at

All the walking we’d been doing the past few days had finally caught up with me and my aching feet. A fact that was only exacerbated by how freaking long the walk is through the Soarin’ queue.

Here I am, smiling through the pain.

I love that ride, it’s just so cool and different. Clearly it’s not a “thrill” ride, but it’s a unique experience unto itself.

We got out of Soarin’ and started toward the front of the park to meet up with our friends.

Another wonderful Disney day in books. The next morning we’d be up bright and early to head to Kennedy Space Center for our special VIP briefing for the shuttle launch. So stay tuned for “Time to Be Briefed,” coming soon!

 

[Missyrose]

Okay so there will be a slight change of plans for the trip report. I had originally thought I’d break up Day 4 of the trip into three chapters (1. Time to be briefed, 2. A Downtown shopping trip and 3. The Ravenous Pig and La Nouba). But then I realized I’ve only got a few photos from that day, so I’m going to combine these entries into a single chapter and I’ll just have to use my fabulous storytelling skills to tell you all about our day! Without further ado, I bring you Day 4 of our Disney adventure!

It really looked like the launch was going to happen Wednesday, so on Tuesday morning Franklin, KK and Dan and I drove out to Kennedy Space Center to register, pick up our launch tickets and attend a NASA briefing about the launch. The boys were especially geeked out. They love all things space-related and I think they’re both still just a little sad that they didn’t end up becoming astronauts.
Our first stop was registration where we checked in and got our tickets for the launch.

We had a bit of time before the briefing, so we turned the boys loose for a while to explore and take photos.

Soon it was time to grab seats for the official briefing.

The briefing hit a few major points: the history of NASA, the history of the shuttle program, bios of the astronauts who would be flying in the mission and a description of the mission itself.

The main task of the Discovery shuttle mission was to take the final piece of the International Space Station into space.

Here’s where I have to admit something to you all. When the idea for this trip was first thrown around, the shuttle launch seemed like a great excuse for me to get back to Disney World. The launch was something I knew would be a cool experience, but I hadn’t given it much thought. But hearing about how everything was going to happen the next day flipped a switch in me, and I got pretty excited about what we were about to experience.

Now, as excited as I was becoming, it was nowhere near as excited as the KSC director who was doing the briefing.

What I learned was that space is a religion and this guy BELIEVED.
“And tomorrow we will rise up together at Banana Creek with our many hearts beating as one as we watch that mighty, mighty rocket head toward the sky,” he said.

KK and I couldn’t look at each other because we’d burst out laughing, but both Franklin and Dan looked ready to shout “Amen!”

We couldn’t possibly leave KSC without buying lots of launch-related stuff: A book, mission patches and a bag of gummy space shuttles!

As we headed back to the car, we began to map out our plan for the next day. Lots and lots of people (including the lovely folks at KSC who checked us in) warned us about the horrific traffic between Orlando and Kennedy on launch days. Only those with tickets to the official NASA viewing area are allowed at KSC on launch day. The shuttles to Banana Creek (the launch viewing site) would start running at 11 a.m. and continue until an hour before the launch. Our plan was to be up bright and early and hit the road by 8, giving us plenty of time to get to KSC and eat lunch before getting on a shuttle.

Satisfied with what we’d decided, we headed back toward Orlando. Soon after we hit the main highway, the skies opened up and it poured, hard. Despite the rain, we still wanted to head to Downtown Disney to do a little shopping. We all had gifts to buy for loved ones back home.

Our first stop at DTD was the box office for La Nouba to buy tickets for the 9 p.m. show. KK and I are both pretty big fans of Cirque du Soleil (this would be my 10th different Cirque show and it was KK’s 15th), and seeing the Orlando show was something on both our to-do lists. We didn’t spring for the expensive seats, we just bought Category 2 tickets. In fact, we ended up choosing seats in the last row, but they were dead center stage.

We drove over to the other side of DTD, where most of the stores we wanted to visit were. But the rain really put a damper on our willingness to explore. My wish list of stores included Goofy’s Candy Co., Trend D, Ridemakerz (for car-loving Franklin) and the Lego store (one of Franklin’s childhood favs). Alas, we only ended up in World of Disney.

Franklin and I bought the last of the gifts for the kids of a friend of ours (a T-shirt of Buzz Lightyear wearing oversized sunglasses, a Rex doll to go with the Cars story book we’d bought them at Test Track). And Franklin’s soon-to-be nephew got a baby Mickey plus a matching rattle, to go along with the stuffed Lightning McQueen and Cars T-shirt we bought at Test Track).

We had to get moving back to the hotel to change if we were going to make our dinner reservations (yes I said reservations, not ADR...time for little non-Disney dining). KK and Dan are BIG foodies, so there was an Orlando restaurant that she wanted to try. I’m always up for a good meal, so we went to the Ravenous Pig for dinner that night.

You forget how spread out the city of Orlando is, especially when you factor in Lake Buena Vista, as well. So it took us a little longer than expected to get to dinner (plus some bonus rush hour traffic).

It was a gastropub so then menu was a little more advanced than your regular chain fare. For appetizers, Franklin and I split the homemade soft pretzels with whole grain mustard mustard and taleggio-porter fondue. KK and Dan split one of the pasta dishes (which came with a warning about the very potent cheese that was used in the ravioli).

For main courses:
I had the lamb chops and truffle fries
Franklin had the bay scallops and pork belly with carrot puree
KK and Dan split the Pork Porterhouse (20 oz. of smoked pork).

Everything was really yummy, especially KK and Dan’s pork!

Next came dessert:
Franklin had the pumpkin creme brulee, KK had the “Hot Chocolate”: chocolate-ancho chili pot de crème, warm churros; Dan had the pigtails: warm cinnamon-sugar tossed fritters with chocolate espresso sauce.
Everyone shared and all three desserts got demolished, though I think the table agreed the pigtails were the best.

By the time we finished our desserts it was just after 8 p.m. and so we had to hit the road if we were going to get to Cirque in time.

Getting back to DTD was much easier after rush hour and we made it back in about a half-hour, giving us plenty of time to browse (read: shop) in the Cirque store. KK and I each got a program, which we always get. And they also had these really cute Cirque reuseable bags on sale (two for $6) so we each got one.

Soon it was time to take our seats for the show! P.S., if you ever want to see La Nouba, pack a jacket or sweater, it was FREEZING in the theater!

It was a really good Cirque show. Not as good as Love or O out in Las Vegas, but certainly better than many of the traveling shows. It had ribbons and trampolines, which are two of my favorite Cirque stunts and it left out the creepy strongman stunt that so many of the Cirque shows have, so it got bonus points from me.

As we strolled out of the theater, we realized we were all pretty beat, so we called it a night, knowing we’d be up fairly early the next day for the big launch!

 

[MelMel11]

Enjoying your Trip Report.

 

[Missyrose]

Enjoying your Trip Report.

Thanks Mel!

 

[Missyrose]

Before we start the chapters about Day 5, I forgot to add one little bit to the last chapter. When we got back to the hotel after La Nouba, KK thought it would be fun to take pictures of everything we’d bought so far on the trip. First up was all the wands from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Next was KK and Dan’s haul, now remember the only places they’d bought any souvenirs was Islands of Adventure, Kennedy Space Center and La Nouba.

Lastly, it was our turn.

Wow, when you put all of it together like that, it sure looks like we’re shop-aholics. But in my and Franklin’s defense, MOST of this stuff is gifts for our friends and family.

And now, on to your regularly scheduled Day 5 update....
It’s launch day!
The plan was to leave the hotel between 8 and 8:30, because everyone (including the fine folks at NASA) said it could take up to three hours to get to KSC on a launch day. We wanted to get out there by 11ish and have some lunch in the van before boarding the shuttle out to Banana Creek (the NASA launch viewing site).

I woke up around 7:30, showered and was about to get dressed when I decided to double check the NASA launch Web site one more time. Sure enough, the launch had been bumped until the following day at 3:30 p.m. (a time that wouldn’t work for any of us -- KK and Dan’s flight was at 4:45 and although Franklin and my flight wasn’t until 8, we weren’t sure if we could get back from the launch site and to MCO in time). The launch was eventually bumped to late November and then again to February. It's scheduled to finally launch tomorrow afternoon (here's hoping it finally happens! )

So after Franklin and I took a moment to mourn the loss of the launch during our trip, we had to make a quick decision about what parks we wanted to visit on this bonus day. Since we missed out on Toy Story Mania FP’s on our first day, we decided to head to Disney Hollywood Studios for rope drop and then hop to Magic Kingdom later in the day.

With our early start, we got to DHS in plenty of time.

We were through the ticket turnstiles and at the rope by 8:40. We were near the front of the pack, all the way over on the right side.

We had the same plan as always, Franklin would take my ticket and move as quickly as the CM would allow to get to the FP machine.

After the RD show, they announced that TSM would be operating under a delayed opening that morning, but that FP would be distributed at the normal time. This didn’t seem to dissuade many from the mass of humanity that marched from rope drop to Pixar Place. Franklin made it first in line at one of the FP machines and grabbed us two FP’s.

Then, just as we met back up, a CM announced that people could line up in standby line but there would be no guarantee about how long it would be until the ride opened (they said it could be as long as a half-hour). We decided to chance it and jumped in line, we were the second couple in line. No more than five minutes later, the CM announced the ride was open and they marched us through the queue and up to the loading area! We were in the first car of the day!

That pixie dust seemed to vanish right around the practice round as I learned my gun only shot about once in ever four shots. It stayed that way for most of the ride, though it seemed to work in spurts for no good reason.

There’s my pathetic score on the left.

So when we pulled back around to the loading area, I told the CM that the gun wasn’t working -- I didn’t want anyone else to get stuck being unable to play. We turned to leave and the CM told us to wait up against the wall. When the next set of cars came around she motioned for us to get in one. As she came by to check the lap bar, she said “Hope you have a better round”.

I did play much better, though Franklin still kicked my butt (he did have a whole round of warmup though).

Having played twice in the first 10 mins it was open, we headed over to Rock-n-Roller coaster and Tower of Terror. But first, to see how crazy the FP rush was, we glanced over to see what the FP return time would be less than a half-hour after RD.

I grabbed a quick frozen Coke (I needed caffeine and the day was already heating up rather quickly.)

Since I conquered Space Mountain, I momentarily thought about giving RnR a shot, but quickly decided that first could wait for another trip (hopefully it won’t take 24 years this time).

Franklin rode both, though RnR took longer than he thought it would, mainly because they didn’t have the single rider lane open.

We sat down to map out the rest of our day. We decided we’d go back to TSM and use our FP’s and then take a cab over to MK. This was the only time all week that we lamented not keeping the rental car with us.

We grabbed two more FP’s before we went into the ride (I had a plan). We rode TSM, I did much better, though I still lost to Franklin. We even uncovered an Easter egg in the game (in the ring toss round, if you get a ring around each alien before it regenerates, the rocket will blast off and leave you with slots to toss the rings into that are worth 500 and 1,000 points.)

When we came out it was about 11:15 and we looked over at the FP line. Just as we looked, the CM announced that all FP’s were gone for the day. We saw a family come out of the line for the FP machine looking very dejected (much like we had on our first day. We knew how it felt to get sooo close but still miss out). We gave them our extra FP’s and their daughter’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning. It felt really good to sprinkle a little Pixie Dust.

And with that little bust of Pixie Dust, we end our morning at DHS.

Stay tuned because we have a fabulously laid-back afternoon at MK coming up.

 

[debsters41]

Hi, I can't remember if I introduced myself earlier or have just been a lurker until now. Anyway, Lovely update! loved looking at the loot! I think it was so considerate of you to think of paying it forward like that with the fastpasses! I would so totally want to do something like that but would never think of it on my own. I am going to start writing things like that down along with my planning notes. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

[irishdancer86]

Pity about the launch! but at least you got to take part in some part of a launch before the space programme is stopped!

Lucky kentucky on your tsm experience! your scores were getting very good by the third go! did you really love the ride? we enjoyed it but wouldn't wait 2+hours!

really hope you can eventually make it on rock n rollercoaster it is a very smooth ride, and that blastoff gives you such an amazing sensation! but at least you've got space mt ticked off, and you've still got the thrill of rrr ahead of you!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Just found your TR, and I wanted to say how much I'm enjoying reading it! Great pictures! Sounds like you guys had a great trip! (and how nice of you to give your TSM FP's away to that family!)

 

[Missyrose]

Where we last left off, we had gotten caught up in the daily frenzy at Toy Story Mania and decided to spend our afternoon at Magic Kingdom.

We walked out of Disney Hollywood Studios and looked for a bus to MK, but there were none in sight and the sun was beating down on the shade-less bus stops, so we took the easy way out with a taxi.

The plan was to head to Space Mountain first (my, how far I’ve come) grab Fast Passes and ride a couple of times if the standby times weren’t terrible. We got there and the standby time said 20 minutes, so we hopped in line. It took 10. When we came out, the standby wait time said 30 minutes. We hopped in line again, this time it took 15.

By that point we were both starving. There wasn’t really any discussion about where we’d eat lunch, we both knew we wanted Casey’s!

We had a plan, Franklin would go grab a set of Big Thunder Mountain FP’s and I’d go stake out a table for lunch (preferably in the air conditioning!).

It took a few minutes of sitting on the “bleachers”, but a family finished their lunch and I swooped in for their table. Just as I sat down, Franklin collapsed into a chair, red-faced and soaked through with sweat.

“You didn’t have to literally RUN to BTM and back,” I said.

“But I was hungry!” Franklin replied.

Mental note, we need to plan breakfasts better on our next trip.

He went up and got our lunch while I guarded the table.

Franklin got a hot dog with EVERYTHING on it, fries and a soda. I got Casey’s famous corn dog nuggets, fries and a soda.

After we were refueled and refreshed, we headed back out into the heat and found our way back to Haunted Mansion, which wasn’t closed this time!

There was a standby wait time of 10 minutes posted, but the wait was only as long as it took you to walk through the queue.

In line in front of us was a family with a boy who was maybe 5. And as we left the stretching room and walked into the loading queue he yelled out “I wanna go see Elmo instead!” Poor kid. Sure enough, as we were getting off the ride, the kid was crying hysterically.

Next up was another first for Franklin: the Hall of Presidents.

Now, I know it’s not one of the most thrilling attractions Disney has to offer, but for someone who watches the History Channel as often as Franklin, it was a fun experience.

Next, we wandered over to Pirates of the Caribbean, which was walk-on.

Now, let’s take a minute to examine what a momentous thing this was for us. This was the first time I’d ever walked in MK with no commando, down-to-the-minute plan of what to see and when to see it. It was so much fun to just wander the park, stopping the check out anything that interested us along the way.

We walked past Aladdin’s Magic Carpets, we hadn’t ridden them last trip so we gave them a try. We waited one whole ride before getting on. Cue “A Whole New World”.
Franklin had no idea why I was lowering the carpet as we approached the camel and he got a face-full of water, ha!
It was sweltering by this point, so as we passed the Aloha Isle, I decided it was the perfect time to try my first Dole Whip. Franklin LOVES pineapple, so I knew he’d love this tasty treat that I’ve heard so much about on the DIS Boards. We got the pineapple float and it was as good as advertised. Really hit the spot.

I kept trying to get a photo of Franklin enjoying the Dole Whip, but he was being shy and kept turning away as I snapped the photo.

We headed out of Adventureland and back through the hub to Tomorrowland.
We made a quick stop so Franklin could figure out which of my two proposed Wishes viewing spots would yield the best photos. You’ll have to wait until later to find out where we ended up!

We were headed for Carousel of Progress when I saw Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin had only a 10 minute wait, so we diverted. Franklin ran to get another set of Space Mountain FP’s before we went into Buzz.

The wait ended up being exactly 10 minutes. I got revenge for TSM by kicking his butt at Buzz, beating Franklin 494,000 to 292,000.

Clearly we were taking this whole competition thing VERY seriously! Seriously, what’s up with those faces??!?!

As we came out of Buzz we saw they were loading people at CoP, perfect!. It was a fantastic break from the heat and we sufficiently got “There’s a Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow” stuck in our heads for weeks!

We looked up and saw the Tomorrowland Transit Authority was empty so we took it for a spin, it was nice to kick our feet up and feel a nice Florida breeze. I suggested another go-round but Franklin said he needed caffeine, so we settled into a nice, shaded table at the Lunching Pad for a frozen Coke and popcorn.

And that is where we will end this chapter, up next is a whirlwind of mountains and a spectacular showing of Wishes! So stay tuned.

 

[irishdancer86]

Great queue times for Space Mt, I love when the queue is shorter than posted, you feel like your getting a wee sneaky treat!

Those Buzz concentration faces are so funny! I beat DBF at that but enjoyed TSM a thousand times more even though he beat me on it both times!

 

[Missyrose]

Great queue times for Space Mt, I love when the queue is shorter than posted, you feel like your getting a wee sneaky treat!

Those Buzz concentration faces are so funny! I beat DBF at that but enjoyed TSM a thousand times more even though he beat me on it both times!

I totally agree about TSM being better than Buzz, but it was nice to finally beat Franklin at SOMETHING!

 

[brookelizabeth]

I'm caught up and loving your report!!!

That stinks about the launch being delayed! So close. Is the Banana Creek sight the bleachers out kinda near the launch pad? That would have been AMAZING. But, you did snag some beautiful pictures of the shuttle on the launch pad at least!

Your description of the lines, or lack thereof, make me ACHE for a Fall trip.

The picture of Casey's made my stomach growl.

Beautiful pictures - I'm looking forward to more!

 

[brookelizabeth]

Oh-and I can't believe I forgot to write this - GREAT JOB ON CONQUERING SPACE MOUNTAIN!!!!!! I love that you got a button for it!

Isn't it a fantastic ride? So fun! Next trip, RnRC????

 

[Missyrose]

I'm caught up and loving your report!!!

That stinks about the launch being delayed! So close. Is the Banana Creek sight the bleachers out kinda near the launch pad? That would have been AMAZING. But, you did snag some beautiful pictures of the shuttle on the launch pad at least!

Your description of the lines, or lack thereof, make me ACHE for a Fall trip.

The picture of Casey's made my stomach growl.

Beautiful pictures - I'm looking forward to more!

Oh-and I can't believe I forgot to write this - GREAT JOB ON CONQUERING SPACE MOUNTAIN!!!!!! I love that you got a button for it!

Isn't it a fantastic ride? So fun! Next trip, RnRC????

Thanks for reading! I was shocked how much I loved Space Mountain, and yes, I'm planning to conquer RnR on the next trip!

Following along on your trip on Facebook was so much fun! I can't WAIT for the actual trip report. I'm glad you guys had such a good time.

 

[Missyrose]

Where we last left off, Franklin and I had kicked our feet up at the Lunching Pad for some popcorn and a frozen coke.

Refreshed and rejuvinated, Franklin ran to Big Thunder Mountain for more FP’s. Here was our haul before Franklin’s last FP run:

With three sets of BTM FP’s and two for Space Mountain, we decided to use the FP’s until it was time to stake out a prime viewing spot for Wishes.

Space Mountain was first. We got two more rides on what was fast becoming one of my favorite Disney rides!

Then we headed back to BTM, which retained its title as my capital-F Favorite ride. We rode three times and finished at just about 7:05, I had planned to be on Main Street at 7, but we were a few minutes late.

Luckily, there was virtually no one lined up for Wishes yet! So we plunked our stuff down on Main Street near Casey’s (part of the “Prime Viewing Area” on Robo’s handy map).

After a few minutes of waiting, I decided I was a little hungry again. So Franklin took off for Frontierland to get a funnel cake for us to share. Now, I’m weird, I don’t like too much sugar on my funnel cake, but Franklin loves as much sugar as possible. So it came as little shock when he came back with a plate that looked like sugar with a side of funnel cake.

It started to pour at one point about 15 minutes before the start of Wishes, but it only lasted a minute or two.

Wishes was incredible. I don’t know what it is about that show, whether it’s the music or the fireworks or the sight of the castle, but I tear up every time.
Here are some of Franklin’s FANTASTIC Wishes photos

Sigh, just going through all the photos makes me want to be back there again! With those lovely memories that I know we all have of Wishes, I’ll leave off there. Stay tuned for “A Leisurely Stroll and Dinner,” coming soon!