Dax
Emma and Christopher's Mommy - Best job ever
- Joined
- Jun 18, 2000
- Messages
- 4,171
Hi all. I have been reading report now for a while and decided to share a great weekend at WDW. A little background. I am 23 and live in Lakeland Fl. My fiance(FDH-future dear husband) is 24. For those who do not know Lakeland is 30 miles from WDW. We also just recently dropped $800 dollars for Premium Annual Passes. That gives us unlimited admission to EVERYTHING!! Love that pass. Anyway that is the background and here we go.......
We decided earlier in the week while on out nightly walk that we would check out Animal Kingdom as it was open later than normal and since we are NOT early risers that that would be the best bet. We would finish our day at MK due to it being open till midnight. I finished out my work week excited as usual. Friday came and went and finally fell asleep at about 4am
Woke up Sat at 11:45(told you I don't get up early!!) and did my thing and got up my FDH. He is much slower but we were up out the door by 1:45. We got on property by parked at TTC. We then hopped a bus to AK. We arrived in AK at 3. WOW. The tree of life is incredible!!! First thing I normally do is grab a park map before I head in..well we detored off at Rainforest and went in that entrance-**Tip: Go in the Rainforest Cafe entrance to avoid crowds**-they didn't have any maps available. So on we pressed figuring we would pick on up somewhere within a shop. First stop, Its Tough to Be a Bug...30 min wait. We walked on.. Next Stop; Dinosaur..15 min wait. We hop in line and the line is not moving..We are sorry we are experiencing technical difficulties..your wait time may have increased..No way..out we go..and eat!! We pick up some fries(cold and soggy BTW) and a soda and press on to Asia. There is a woman practically beggin people to see the Flights of Wonder show so we decide to check it out. It was ok..I saw the same tricks and jokes for that matter at Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. Anyway we continued on through Asia and found Kali Rapids. 80 min wait. Now just a side track here..I know all about Fast Pass. We decided against using it as last time we did it messed up my FDH's ticket and we had to reissue him a new one. Also we didn't want to get wet! So we walked to the Jungle Trek. WOW!!! Being in the 90 degree heat and all; all of the animals were active. The tigers were bathing and such fun to watch. We contiued on the Trek. We enjoyed that a lot. It was one of the hightlights. Now for those who paid attention I mentioned getting a park map in a store..well we had been in the park all of 2hrs and still had no map!!! Oh well..we continued into Africa..and headed right to the safari..which was a WALK ON!!!! Now I have heard the stories about no animals in the afternoon. Well let me tell you...it was VERY HOT and there were tons of animals. I saw the lions, hippo's, vultures, rhino's, giraffes and all kinds of other stuff..the poacher theme is lame though. We got off this ride very satisfied. Can't wait to do it again!! We then walked through the Forest trails and watched the gorillas for about 15 mins-**Tip:If time allows and the gorillas are out and active, stay and watch..they are fascinating!**-By now ot was getting close to 7pm and we still wanted to ride Dinosaur. So that is where we headed. On a side note..I did find a map finally at 5:45pm..LOL. So we headed to Dinosaur and arrived at 6:30..posted wait 20 mins. The line seems long but what the heck we waited..While in line someone was handing out Fast Pass tickets for use right away but as I was asking my FDH the kid gave them to a father/daughter..oh well..hoped they enjoyed them...LOL. We finally made it to the ride after 20-25 mins of waiting and listening to Bill Nye the Science Guy 5 times. I wish someone would have warned me about him..I can't stand him..Well we make it to the stairs before the cars and the ride breaks down AGAIN!!! 3 times in a row it broke down...Finally they get us on and we are on our way..I loved Dinosaur..It was so cool. I can't wait to do it again. We head out for the busses and hop a bus to the Contemporary as that was the first to arrive. On a side note..as we were exiting the park I noticed a LARGE display full of park MAPS!!! I just had to laugh at that one.
We finally arrived at Contemporary and decided to go to Wilderness Lodge for dinner. We head for the boat dock only to find both boats leaving!! We figure from past experience no worry one will by by shortly..NOPE!! Almost half an hour wait. We have NEVER waited that long...Our whole dinner excursion took almost 2hrs due to the boats taking forever to arrive.-**Tip:When waiting for boats, Feed the ducks and see the GIANT fish jumping from the water**-We fianlly made it to MK at 9:50;just before fireworks were to start. So we fought our way through the crowd and ended up in Tomorrowland. Space Mountain was a 75 min wait so we skipped it and continued on to Fantasyland. Noticed that Tea Cups are re-opened; just 2 weeks ago they were closed. We picked up a Fast Pass for Pooh with a 10:55-11:55 return and continued on to Haunted Mansion..posted with a 13min wait(wondering if that was a joke or not 
)and rode that for our traditonal ride. We then exited and headed to Splash Mountain which was posted at 60 min and Big Thunder at 45 min. The train was pulling in so we hopped aboard and rode the full circuit. What a nice ride. Try it if you have the time ot just need to relax. We then headed back to Fantasyland and hopped on Pooh. I enjoyed this ride..My FDH was embarressed though as there were some girls in behind us and he didn't want to show he liked it..even a little bit. By now it was getting close to midnight and we still hadn't done our traditional ride on Splash Mountain and I still woanted to do Astro Orbitor. Well I got to do it and it was fun. A first for me and I am glad the wait was only 10 mins at most. We then cut through the Spectro crowd and jumped on Splash Mountain with a 5 min wait. Sat in the very back-**Tip:To stay dry sit in the back of the log, for a better drop in the front.**-Only got wet due to it cheating by getting splashed by a log passing on the drop as we were heading up..We enjoyed our trip to the laughing place and continued on to Big Thunder knowing this would be our final ride but not knowing this would be the best ride of the day!! We got lucky and got very last car!!! Never sat there before. We had a group of about 15 people in front of us who made the ride all the more fun as they screamed at all the right places and made the ride fun..as we pulled into the station the CM's said anyone who did not have anyone in there row could stay on and ride again...Loud cheering ensued!! We rode again. As we were pulling into the station the ENTIRE train begins with "ONE MORE TIME!!!" over and over...they let us go again officially announcing that it was to be the last ride of the evening..what a ride it was..As we pulled into the station the yelling stareted again but this time with "THANK YOU". The CM took our applause in stride and we headed toward the castle. We took up residence on Main Street with a popcorn and soda and waited for the Kiss Goodnight. We were treated to a wonderful end of our day and it was fun to watch people amazed at what they were seeing.-**Tip:If time allows stay and watch the Kiss Goodnight, you won't be sorry**-Thanks to the DIS for sharing this little secret with me and allowing me to share a piece of WDW magic with my FDH. We then headed out to of the Kingdom and toward the monorail back to TTC with a detour at the Poly to check out the new pool. The Poly is incredibly quiet at 1am. Very peaceful. We then hopped a tram to find our car in the blacktop sea. The tram announcer was in rare form saying if you had parked in the Goofy and other sections you had been here a really long time and probably set a record..the people who parked there looked TIRED!!! We finally found our car parked all alone in Happy 97. We made it home after a quick Walmart stop at 3:30 to 2 lonely kitties. Wow what a day!!
Well there is was my first report. Hope I didn't bore ya. I left out a lot of details but all in all it was fun..I will post again as we plan on going next week too...Is is Friday yet?
<font size="4"><font color="#6600cc"><font face="Times New Roman">
<marquee direction="right" align="middle" behavior="alternate">Make every day a DISney Day!!</marquee></font></font></font>
We decided earlier in the week while on out nightly walk that we would check out Animal Kingdom as it was open later than normal and since we are NOT early risers that that would be the best bet. We would finish our day at MK due to it being open till midnight. I finished out my work week excited as usual. Friday came and went and finally fell asleep at about 4am
Woke up Sat at 11:45(told you I don't get up early!!) and did my thing and got up my FDH. He is much slower but we were up out the door by 1:45. We got on property by parked at TTC. We then hopped a bus to AK. We arrived in AK at 3. WOW. The tree of life is incredible!!! First thing I normally do is grab a park map before I head in..well we detored off at Rainforest and went in that entrance-**Tip: Go in the Rainforest Cafe entrance to avoid crowds**-they didn't have any maps available. So on we pressed figuring we would pick on up somewhere within a shop. First stop, Its Tough to Be a Bug...30 min wait. We walked on.. Next Stop; Dinosaur..15 min wait. We hop in line and the line is not moving..We are sorry we are experiencing technical difficulties..your wait time may have increased..No way..out we go..and eat!! We pick up some fries(cold and soggy BTW) and a soda and press on to Asia. There is a woman practically beggin people to see the Flights of Wonder show so we decide to check it out. It was ok..I saw the same tricks and jokes for that matter at Universal Studios and Busch Gardens. Anyway we continued on through Asia and found Kali Rapids. 80 min wait. Now just a side track here..I know all about Fast Pass. We decided against using it as last time we did it messed up my FDH's ticket and we had to reissue him a new one. Also we didn't want to get wet! So we walked to the Jungle Trek. WOW!!! Being in the 90 degree heat and all; all of the animals were active. The tigers were bathing and such fun to watch. We contiued on the Trek. We enjoyed that a lot. It was one of the hightlights. Now for those who paid attention I mentioned getting a park map in a store..well we had been in the park all of 2hrs and still had no map!!! Oh well..we continued into Africa..and headed right to the safari..which was a WALK ON!!!! Now I have heard the stories about no animals in the afternoon. Well let me tell you...it was VERY HOT and there were tons of animals. I saw the lions, hippo's, vultures, rhino's, giraffes and all kinds of other stuff..the poacher theme is lame though. We got off this ride very satisfied. Can't wait to do it again!! We then walked through the Forest trails and watched the gorillas for about 15 mins-**Tip:If time allows and the gorillas are out and active, stay and watch..they are fascinating!**-By now ot was getting close to 7pm and we still wanted to ride Dinosaur. So that is where we headed. On a side note..I did find a map finally at 5:45pm..LOL. So we headed to Dinosaur and arrived at 6:30..posted wait 20 mins. The line seems long but what the heck we waited..While in line someone was handing out Fast Pass tickets for use right away but as I was asking my FDH the kid gave them to a father/daughter..oh well..hoped they enjoyed them...LOL. We finally made it to the ride after 20-25 mins of waiting and listening to Bill Nye the Science Guy 5 times. I wish someone would have warned me about him..I can't stand him..Well we make it to the stairs before the cars and the ride breaks down AGAIN!!! 3 times in a row it broke down...Finally they get us on and we are on our way..I loved Dinosaur..It was so cool. I can't wait to do it again. We head out for the busses and hop a bus to the Contemporary as that was the first to arrive. On a side note..as we were exiting the park I noticed a LARGE display full of park MAPS!!! I just had to laugh at that one.
We finally arrived at Contemporary and decided to go to Wilderness Lodge for dinner. We head for the boat dock only to find both boats leaving!! We figure from past experience no worry one will by by shortly..NOPE!! Almost half an hour wait. We have NEVER waited that long...Our whole dinner excursion took almost 2hrs due to the boats taking forever to arrive.-**Tip:When waiting for boats, Feed the ducks and see the GIANT
fish jumping from the water**-We fianlly made it to MK at 9:50;just before fireworks were to start. So we fought our way through the crowd and ended up in Tomorrowland. Space Mountain was a 75 min wait so we skipped it and continued on to Fantasyland. Noticed that Tea Cups are re-opened; just 2 weeks ago they were closed. We picked up a Fast Pass for Pooh with a 10:55-11:55 return and continued on to Haunted Mansion..posted with a 13min wait(wondering if that was a joke or not )and rode that for our traditonal ride. We then exited and headed to Splash Mountain which was posted at 60 min and Big Thunder at 45 min. The train was pulling in so we hopped aboard and rode the full circuit. What a nice ride. Try it if you have the time ot just need to relax. We then headed back to Fantasyland and hopped on Pooh. I enjoyed this ride..My FDH was embarressed though as there were some girls in behind us and he didn't want to show he liked it..even a little bit. By now it was getting close to midnight and we still hadn't done our traditional ride on Splash Mountain and I still woanted to do Astro Orbitor. Well I got to do it and it was fun. A first for me and I am glad the wait was only 10 mins at most. We then cut through the Spectro crowd and jumped on Splash Mountain with a 5 min wait. Sat in the very back-**Tip:To stay dry sit in the back of the log, for a better drop in the front.**-Only got wet due to it cheating by getting splashed by a log passing on the drop as we were heading up..We enjoyed our trip to the laughing place and continued on to Big Thunder knowing this would be our final ride but not knowing this would be the best ride of the day!! We got lucky and got very last car!!! Never sat there before. We had a group of about 15 people in front of us who made the ride all the more fun as they screamed at all the right places and made the ride fun..as we pulled into the station the CM's said anyone who did not have anyone in there row could stay on and ride again...Loud cheering ensued!! We rode again. As we were pulling into the station the ENTIRE train begins with "ONE MORE TIME!!!" over and over...they let us go again officially announcing that it was to be the last ride of the evening..what a ride it was..As we pulled into the station the yelling stareted again but this time with "THANK YOU". The CM took our applause in stride and we headed toward the castle. We took up residence on Main Street with a popcorn and soda and waited for the Kiss Goodnight. We were treated to a wonderful end of our day and it was fun to watch people amazed at what they were seeing.-**Tip:If time allows stay and watch the Kiss Goodnight, you won't be sorry**-Thanks to the DIS for sharing this little secret with me and allowing me to share a piece of WDW magic with my FDH. We then headed out to of the Kingdom and toward the monorail back to TTC with a detour at the Poly to check out the new pool. The Poly is incredibly quiet at 1am. Very peaceful. We then hopped a tram to find our car in the blacktop sea. The tram announcer was in rare form saying if you had parked in the Goofy and other sections you had been here a really long time and probably set a record..the people who parked there looked TIRED!!! We finally found our car parked all alone in Happy 97. We made it home after a quick Walmart stop at 3:30 to 2 lonely kitties. Wow what a day!!Well there is was my first report. Hope I didn't bore ya. I left out a lot of details but all in all it was fun..I will post again as we plan on going next week too...Is is Friday yet?
<font size="4"><font color="#6600cc"><font face="Times New Roman">
<marquee direction="right" align="middle" behavior="alternate">Make every day a DISney Day!!</marquee></font></font></font>
