Reb23
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- May 18, 2012
- Messages
- 23
So here is my first DIS post and trip report.
4 parks, 1 day. Pretty daunting, right?
So I was heading to Florida for a wedding in Daytona Beach and I had an extra day so I decided to spend that day at Disney World. When I decided to go to Disney I tried to choose only one park but I soon decided that I wanted to see if I could hit all of my favorite attractions in one day. So I booked an off-site hotel less than a mile from Disney with some airline miles and got into planning mode. Armed with a list of what I wanted to do and after doing a lot of research, I was ready for my one day at Disney World.
I arrived at Disneys Hollywood Studios about 45 minutes before the park opened to get my one day park hopper. I was second in line at one of the ticket turnstiles. They opened the park 20 minutes early. I went straight to Sunset Boulevard and got a Fast-Pass for the Tower of Terror before getting in line for Rock n Roller Coaster which I rode 3 times before the park had should have opened. I then waited in line for the Tower of Terror for about 20 minutes and as soon as I got off I went back through using my Fast Pass. After all the screaming, I decided to take a break from thrill rides by checking out the new Star Tours. The ride is now 3D and there are many different adventures. When I got over there the ride only had a 30 minute wait and the Fast Pass was for 40 minutes later so I grabbed a Fast Pass and got in line. Once I got off the ride I had about 10 minutes to wait so I grabbed a Mickey ice cream bar before I rode Star Tours again. Then it was time to move on to my next park, Epcot. It was 11:15am when I got in my car to go to the next park.
Here is way to save time if you are already parking at Disney, you pay the parking fee ($14) once and you can park at any Disney parking lot on that day. It saved me a lot of time just driving to each park because I didnt have to wait for buses.
I reached Epcot and immediately headed to Soarin. I had never been on this ride so I decided to try it. I waited in line for 85 minutes and in my opinion it was a waste of time. The ride wasnt horrible but it wasnt something that I want to do again. It isnt a thrill ride; it is a simulator and not as good a ride as Star Tours in Hollywood Studios. After this disappointing ride, I went to go find the Disney Visa Card Members character spot in Innovations. I walked into Innovations West and the line was about 15 families long so I decided to skip it and come back later. I then headed to the World Showcase to look around and grab some lunch, some fish and chips in the United Kingdom. After walking halfway around the lagoon, I jumped on ferry in Morocco and headed back to Future World. I tried the Disney Visa Card Members character spot again and there was no line so I got to go right in. The characters there were Mickey, Minnie & Goofy. I got a voucher for a free 5×7 from the attendant here, which was a nice bonus. I then headed over to hit one of my favorite rides, Test Track. Only waited about 20 minutes in the single riders line then it was time to try one more new ride for me, Mission Space. I considered skipping this one since Soarin was such a disappointment but I am glad I didnt. When I got there, someone asked if I was alone and then gave me their extra Fast Pass. I waited in line for about 5 minutes instead of the posted 35 for the stand-by line. I chose the Orange mission which is more intense. I loved this ride, I think I have a new favorite ride in Epcot (though Test Track will always be a good one). I wished I had more time to ride this one again but I had to move on to my next park, Animal Kingdom.
I arrived at the Animal Kingdom at 4:15pm. I had a list of 3 rides I wanted to ride but I decided I really only wanted to ride one, Expedition Everest. So I headed straight there. Since the last time I was at Disney World (January of 2010), they have put in a single rider line. This was great for me! I waited only a minute for my first ride, 2 for the second and I had to wait 10 minutes for the third ride because a group of about 20 teenagers got in line ahead of me. After my three rides, I started to walk over to Kilimanjaro Safaris but on the way decided I really didnt want to ride it so I grabbed dinner at restaurant called Yak & Yeti. I liked eating here because they had a bar that I could sit at instead of waiting for a table. They even serve alcoholic beverages here (I had the Yak Attack which is like a frozen mango margarita). After eating, began to meander out of Animal Kingdom. As I was leaving, I witnessed a young boy (about 9 or 10) throw a hissy fit because the Animal Kingdom doesnt have any honey badgers. It was HILARIOUS! Made my trip to the Animal Kingdom worth it.
It was 5:45pm when I left the Animal Kingdom to drive up to the Magic Kingdom. I parked my car and then got on a tram to the Transportation Hub. I learned on my ride that the Magic Kingdoms parking lot is the 4th largest in the world. When we got to the Transportation Hub, I was planning on taking the monorail to the Magic Kingdom but it was shut down. So I had to ride the ferry over. It was 6:10pm when I finally got into the Magic Kingdom and I headed straight to Space Mountain but it was closed down for about 20 minutes so I decided to work my way back around to it. I walked over to Adventureland to check on the wait time for Pirates of the Caribbean. The wait was only 20 minutes so I decided to ride it. I am always amazed how realistic the Jack Sparrows are. Then I walked to Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion. I love the ride but the wait to get on this ride is one of the worst, I was pushed through to the ride. If I was claustrophobic, the press of people would have freaked me out. Then it was time to go back to Space Mountain. The posted wait time was 60 minutes, it was almost 8pm so I thought I would have plenty of time to ride and then settle down for the fireworks. Boy was I wrong. I waited in line almost 2 hours! 2 hours! Some of the people in line left, which sucked because they had to wade back through the line to get out. I traveled through space and it was 9:59pm when I finally got out into fresh air again. And then fireworks started and I just grabbed a bench right there in Tomorrowland. It was nice to watch the fireworks without having to try see around people and since I have seen the fireworks the right way before, it didnt bother me. Then it was time to leave, the fireworks finished at 10:20pm and I didnt get back to my car until 11:15pm. The park was open until midnight but I had to drive to Daytona Beach so I didnt want to stick around.
All in all, my day was exhausting but it was just enough for me. I got to ride all of my favorites, I tried some new rides, I got a picture with Mickey, and I saw some great fireworks. I think that if I am ever in Florida again with a spare day that I would do this again just to experience a little of that Disney magic.
4 parks, 1 day. Pretty daunting, right?
So I was heading to Florida for a wedding in Daytona Beach and I had an extra day so I decided to spend that day at Disney World. When I decided to go to Disney I tried to choose only one park but I soon decided that I wanted to see if I could hit all of my favorite attractions in one day. So I booked an off-site hotel less than a mile from Disney with some airline miles and got into planning mode. Armed with a list of what I wanted to do and after doing a lot of research, I was ready for my one day at Disney World.
I arrived at Disneys Hollywood Studios about 45 minutes before the park opened to get my one day park hopper. I was second in line at one of the ticket turnstiles. They opened the park 20 minutes early. I went straight to Sunset Boulevard and got a Fast-Pass for the Tower of Terror before getting in line for Rock n Roller Coaster which I rode 3 times before the park had should have opened. I then waited in line for the Tower of Terror for about 20 minutes and as soon as I got off I went back through using my Fast Pass. After all the screaming, I decided to take a break from thrill rides by checking out the new Star Tours. The ride is now 3D and there are many different adventures. When I got over there the ride only had a 30 minute wait and the Fast Pass was for 40 minutes later so I grabbed a Fast Pass and got in line. Once I got off the ride I had about 10 minutes to wait so I grabbed a Mickey ice cream bar before I rode Star Tours again. Then it was time to move on to my next park, Epcot. It was 11:15am when I got in my car to go to the next park.
Here is way to save time if you are already parking at Disney, you pay the parking fee ($14) once and you can park at any Disney parking lot on that day. It saved me a lot of time just driving to each park because I didnt have to wait for buses.
I reached Epcot and immediately headed to Soarin. I had never been on this ride so I decided to try it. I waited in line for 85 minutes and in my opinion it was a waste of time. The ride wasnt horrible but it wasnt something that I want to do again. It isnt a thrill ride; it is a simulator and not as good a ride as Star Tours in Hollywood Studios. After this disappointing ride, I went to go find the Disney Visa Card Members character spot in Innovations. I walked into Innovations West and the line was about 15 families long so I decided to skip it and come back later. I then headed to the World Showcase to look around and grab some lunch, some fish and chips in the United Kingdom. After walking halfway around the lagoon, I jumped on ferry in Morocco and headed back to Future World. I tried the Disney Visa Card Members character spot again and there was no line so I got to go right in. The characters there were Mickey, Minnie & Goofy. I got a voucher for a free 5×7 from the attendant here, which was a nice bonus. I then headed over to hit one of my favorite rides, Test Track. Only waited about 20 minutes in the single riders line then it was time to try one more new ride for me, Mission Space. I considered skipping this one since Soarin was such a disappointment but I am glad I didnt. When I got there, someone asked if I was alone and then gave me their extra Fast Pass. I waited in line for about 5 minutes instead of the posted 35 for the stand-by line. I chose the Orange mission which is more intense. I loved this ride, I think I have a new favorite ride in Epcot (though Test Track will always be a good one). I wished I had more time to ride this one again but I had to move on to my next park, Animal Kingdom.
I arrived at the Animal Kingdom at 4:15pm. I had a list of 3 rides I wanted to ride but I decided I really only wanted to ride one, Expedition Everest. So I headed straight there. Since the last time I was at Disney World (January of 2010), they have put in a single rider line. This was great for me! I waited only a minute for my first ride, 2 for the second and I had to wait 10 minutes for the third ride because a group of about 20 teenagers got in line ahead of me. After my three rides, I started to walk over to Kilimanjaro Safaris but on the way decided I really didnt want to ride it so I grabbed dinner at restaurant called Yak & Yeti. I liked eating here because they had a bar that I could sit at instead of waiting for a table. They even serve alcoholic beverages here (I had the Yak Attack which is like a frozen mango margarita). After eating, began to meander out of Animal Kingdom. As I was leaving, I witnessed a young boy (about 9 or 10) throw a hissy fit because the Animal Kingdom doesnt have any honey badgers. It was HILARIOUS! Made my trip to the Animal Kingdom worth it.
It was 5:45pm when I left the Animal Kingdom to drive up to the Magic Kingdom. I parked my car and then got on a tram to the Transportation Hub. I learned on my ride that the Magic Kingdoms parking lot is the 4th largest in the world. When we got to the Transportation Hub, I was planning on taking the monorail to the Magic Kingdom but it was shut down. So I had to ride the ferry over. It was 6:10pm when I finally got into the Magic Kingdom and I headed straight to Space Mountain but it was closed down for about 20 minutes so I decided to work my way back around to it. I walked over to Adventureland to check on the wait time for Pirates of the Caribbean. The wait was only 20 minutes so I decided to ride it. I am always amazed how realistic the Jack Sparrows are. Then I walked to Liberty Square to ride the Haunted Mansion. I love the ride but the wait to get on this ride is one of the worst, I was pushed through to the ride. If I was claustrophobic, the press of people would have freaked me out. Then it was time to go back to Space Mountain. The posted wait time was 60 minutes, it was almost 8pm so I thought I would have plenty of time to ride and then settle down for the fireworks. Boy was I wrong. I waited in line almost 2 hours! 2 hours! Some of the people in line left, which sucked because they had to wade back through the line to get out. I traveled through space and it was 9:59pm when I finally got out into fresh air again. And then fireworks started and I just grabbed a bench right there in Tomorrowland. It was nice to watch the fireworks without having to try see around people and since I have seen the fireworks the right way before, it didnt bother me. Then it was time to leave, the fireworks finished at 10:20pm and I didnt get back to my car until 11:15pm. The park was open until midnight but I had to drive to Daytona Beach so I didnt want to stick around.
All in all, my day was exhausting but it was just enough for me. I got to ride all of my favorites, I tried some new rides, I got a picture with Mickey, and I saw some great fireworks. I think that if I am ever in Florida again with a spare day that I would do this again just to experience a little of that Disney magic.
