Aug 9-17 Trip Report

[PrincesCJM]

My boyfriend Todd and I (Carla) heading down to sunny Florida on August 9 from Maine. It was a much needed vacation for the both of us. It was Todd's first trip to Disney and really his first vacation ever.

We left PWM at 830am and arrived at MCO around 1pm on 8/9. After getting our luggage and picking up the rental car (yay for finally being 25!), we got on our way to our first hotel: AmeriHost Inn in Kissimmee on 192. I had printed directions but somehow missed a turn or something and got lost. After an hour driving, we finally got to the hotel - just after check in time so it worked out perfectly. We ended up just playing it low the first day there. We were both tired from traveling.

Full Day #1: Todd and I head to Kennedy Space Center for the day. Todd's a huge fan of space so this was a must do for him. I was hoping that we would get to catch a launch but no luck. It went up on time, almost. He really enjoyed the Shuttle Launch Experience Ride. Early afternoon, we went on the bus tour and got some great pictures! It was a good time. We will definitely head back there again sometime.

Day #2: Despite going to bed early, we both woke up before 7. My plan for the day was DisneyQuest. What I didn't realize until we got to DTD around 830 was that DisneyQuest didn't open until 1130 and nearly all of DTD didn't start to open until 930. We ended up walking around, eating at McD's, and window shopping before heading to DisneyQuest. We first went to their Pirates ride and had a blast! before heading to cyber space mountain and the jungle cruise. We had an okay time but ended up not finding much we wanted to do.

It's time for me to get ready for work so this will have to be continued . . .

 

[mom2fivecs]

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[PrincesCJM]

Day #2 cont. - We ended up heading to the Magic Kingdom for a couple of hours. Todd wasn't all that impressed with DTD so we headed to a park to show him what it's really about. It was his first trip so he had no idea what to expected. We didn't do much there - mostly walked around but did go on TTA and Buzz Lighter (to which I kicked his butt )

Day #3 - We checked out of AmeriHost early in the morning and checked into All Star Sports. I wasn't surprised to find that our room wasn't ready and that was fine. It was our first {full} day in the parks so I was really looking to get our parking pass. We heading to the Animal Kingdom and was there before the gates opened (I told you we checked out and in early). We went first to the Safari and had a great time. At one point we had to stop because further up the path, an animal was blocking it. We walked the trail that's right there when we got off then headed to Asia. Kali had a 20 minute wait time so we decided to wait. We literally walked onto the ride. Todd got soaked but loved every minute of it. From there, we got a FP for Everest that was for about two hours later. While waiting, we went to Dinosaur, It's tough to be a Bug and walked right into Festival of the Lion King. Everest was great - it was my first time riding it. Not a big fan of the backwards part though. Had lunch then wait to Rafiki's Planet watch before heading home. The sun and heat was really starting to get to us so we left by 2. At that part our room was ready so we could sit, nap and enjoy the AC. When we checked in, I mentioned that it was Todd's birthday so he was given a birthday button. I was so proud that he wore it - he was going to refuse but decided to give it a chance. It actually was his birthday and he often forgot he was wearing it until someone wished him a happy birthday. Ate dinner at ASSports and went to bed early. All in all, a great day. Never waited for anything more than 20 minutes.

Day #4 - A full day at the Magic Kingdom. Again, we arrived before the gates had opened. We headed straight to Space Mountain and got a FP as the line was out the door. From there, we went on Peter Pan's Flight and Splash Mountain. Rode Buzz again and again, I kicked Todd's butt! Waited less than 15 minutes for Splash Mountain. Walked over to Mickey's Toontown to see if we could find Chip and Dale. Todd's a fan and wanted to get his picture with him. To our luck, they were there and only had to wait a couple minutes to meet them and Goofy. We decided to forgo meeting Snow White. At that point, we were within our FP window for Space Mountain and ended up in the first car. I'm not a super huge fan of the dark but it was a little better for me since I was in the very front and could slightly see where we were going. We went back to Big Thunder, got a FP right at the time the ride broke down. It ended up working again before we left so they didn't go to waste. Todd was disappointed by Pirates - he was expected much more action. We did a couple of others things before heading out again around 2. We were hot, sweaty and getting tired of the crowds. We did everything we wanted to do and that wait times were getting longer.

I'll continue more in the morning. But for now, I'm off to bed. (if someone tells me how to post pictures, I will)

 

[PrincesCJM]

Day #5 - Todd and I headed to Blizzard Beach for the day. As we were walking out the door, Todd said "let's go and get this over with." I figured it was going to be a bad day. But he ended up loving it. We arrived around 845 and were able to walk right in because of EMH. We headed right to teamboat springs. Gotta love that ride! We did a couple of other things before spending most of the rest of our day in the wave pool. It was the wave pool that won him over. I thought before we left that he was nervous about his swimming ability (and lack there of) but he enjoyed every minute of it. Saw Goofy walking around. Again, we left early in the afternoon. Too much time in the sun for us. Spent the rest of the day at AS Sports or touring some of the "flea markets" located on 192.

Day #6 - Spent the day at Epcot. We again arrived before the gates opened. Waited until a couple of minutes before they opened the gates - only to be stopped later at the rope. We managed to get right at the rope and was able to meet Mickey and Pluto (and Goofy again). Once the roped dropped, we headed right to Mission Space (for the space loving boyfriend). We went orange and got on one of the first launches of the day. Todd was a little disappointed that it wasn't longer. Headed next to Test Track. It had a 20 minute wait so we decided to join the stand by line. It was probably more like a 30-35 minute wait but that was because they experienced some technical difficulties and had to close it down for a couple of minutes. Went next to get FP for Soarin'. WE were given a return time of 2 hours later so we went on Living with the Land , Honey we shrunk the audience and Nemo and friends. I was greatly disappointed by Nemo. I was expecting something much more fun and entertaining to watch and was sad that they couldn't even get all of the original voices. After that, it was almost time for us to go on Soarin', just enough time for a quick drink break. Soarin' was AWESOME! I had never been on it and was amazed by it. We were in the front, off to one side and both loved it! I can now understand why it's so popular. We had about a half hour to spare before lunch reservations at the Coral Reef so we walked about and spotted Minnie! Todd's dad is a big Minnie fan so we decided to stop back later to wait in line to meet her (and Mickey and crew). AT the Coral Reef, we got an amazing table, right next to the tank. Neither one of us was impressed with our meals (Mine was the lobster salad, Todd had the steak). But thanks to Mom giving us a Disney Rewards Card, it covered lunch. We went back and waited in line for an hour to meet Minnie at Innovations West. As we were next in line to meet Mickey (he was first in the line of characters), a cast member let a young boy in a wheelchair and his familiy go ahead of us. The boy probably had MS or Ceribal Palsy (I stink at spelling) and it was emotional to watch the two meet. It brought tears to my eyes to watch Mickey interact with this child. I will never forgot that image. After getting our picture with Mickey and Minnie, Todd and I finally headed over to the world showcase. Went on the Maelstrom and walked the countries. Epcot was one of our longest days in the park - we didn't leave until 5

Day #7 - Disney MGM Studios. Arrived at before the Gates opened and the "rope" drop. Heading right to Tower of Terror first. Todd had to dragged me on this ride and I can say that I will NEVER do it again. I'm not a fan of the drops - thank goodness for the handles on the seats. Todd was left with nothing to hold and decided he didn't want to do that again that day. Rockin' Roller Coaster next. It was a 20 minute wait so we waited. The take off always takes my breath away and i have to actually tell myself to breathe. But I love the ride. Went to Star Tours, the Back Lot Tour before catching the Extreme Stunt Show. It was pretty cool to see it. WE walked around for a couple of minutes before heading to our reservations that the 50's Prime Time Cafe. It was a great meal and we both enjoyed the atmosphere. Todd take the easy way out of eating his vegetables and got the ham sandwich. I got the meatloaf. I ate around half of the green beans but was still heckled about it. We both want to go there again. Walked right into Muppets 3-D and eventually saw Indiana Jones. We had gotten a FP for it but that doesn't really seem to do anything for you. They didn't appear to be letting in only FP holders first. IT was a great show as always and Todd that it was cool. On our way out of the park, we stopped to look at our PhotoPass Pictures. Ended up buying 3 5x7s for $29.95+tax. Cheaper than ordering from home and they were ready extremely fast. One of the major downsides to going in the summer: Squinting Eyes in the pictures. We kept taking off our sunglasses for the pictures and got lots of squinting eyes.

Last Day (8/17), we hung low at AS Sports before leaving to develop some pictures at Target on 192. The car needed to be back by 130 so that we would get charged extra. We ended up arriving at the airport around 1230. By 1, we had cleared security and was waiting for our 430 flight. Long wait but we weren't going to pay extra for the car. Got to DC fine but our flight was delayed leaving. Darn weather delayed our plane coming in and then we sat on the plane for 30-45 minutes. I knew it wasn't a good sign when the flight attendent started serving drinks. Arrived back in Maine around 1130. Was home in Biddeford by 1215. Long day for sure.

All in all, it was a great trip. After spending two days in Disney Parks, Todd declared that we were going back in 2009 . I'm certainly not going to argue with him on that one! We took close to 200 pictures. My one big piece of advice: SUNGLASSES. It's bright down there. Todd lasted 1.5 days before we had to buy him some. I'd love to say that we won't go back in August but at the moment I'm a teacher (maybe not for much longer if I don't find another job soon but that's a whole 'nuther story)