Fitswimmer
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- Joined
- May 30, 2006
- Messages
- 11,824
Just got back from my second stay at SSR and it was wonderful. We stayed from 12/20-12/23 in a 2 bedroom. Our room was in the Paddock, #5621. We had a lovely view of the lagoon and could watch the swans every morning.
I had the whole place to myself on 12/20, which was more fun than I thought it would be. I got to the World via Magic Express about 11:30 am, checked in, dropped my carry-on bag and boarded a bus for MK! I was craving chicken strips BIG TIME. I had my strips from Cosmic Rays and sat outside where I could see the castle. AHH, the joy of a sunny Florida afternoon at MK!! Hunger thus satisfied, I decided to roam aimlessly around MK for a while. It was VERY crowded that day, probably due to EMH. I did catch Mickey's Philharmagic though, which I enjoy every time I see it. Did some shopping around Main Street and decided to sit and catch the parade. I was joined by a lovely "Snow White" named Madison (aged 3) and her mother. We truly enjoyed the Cast Members who led the children in "Mickey Says" and the Hokey Pokey while we waited for the parade. The new parade is much better, I am glad to see the snow globes GONE. After the parade, I decided to head over to EPCOT and check out some of the holidays around the world. I caught Papa Noel in Canada and Father Christmas in England before I headed to the Candelight Processional. I've seen that 4 times and I love it more each time I see it. Neil Patrick Harris was on his last night and he did a wonderful job. After the processional, I decided since I got up at 3:30 am it was time to relax. I went back to SSR, got my room and got a ride over from Bell Services-after a long day that was about the nicest thing ever! Took a long soak in the spa and crashed to be ready for the family to arrive in the AM.
12/21-Mom and Dad and my 20 year old niece arrive, and we head off to MGM. Dad (78) loves Tower of Terror and wants to ride Rock n' Roller. I'm a little nervous, but I can't talk him out of it. So, we fast pass RNR and go on stand by for ToT. As we're going in, I notice a CM with a tie (so you know he's important) counting us. I figured it was just volume, but I was wrong. When we got into the pre-show area, after we watched Rod Serling, the CM told us that we had all won Dream FastPasses!!!!
We screamed, jumped up and down and slapped hands!! Everyone was so excited. After we got off the ride, we found a father and 2 sons to give our other FastPasses away. That was as much fun as winning! We got them onto the ride an hour early and they were really thrilled. Then, onto RnR. It was my first ride too and I loved it. So did Dad! It was his first inversion coaster and he said he felt like a kid again! We also got to ride Star Tours and Indiana Jones. We had a 2:30 ADR at Crystal Palace, so we had to leave. As we were walking out, we found a family to give our fast passes for Mermaid and Tower of Terror to, and it really was fun to see their faces. Not only did we get a treat, we were able to treat other families too!
We made our ADR over in MK, and really enjoyed our "dinch". My niece is an Eyeore fan, and I'm a Pooh fan, so it was really nice to eat there. We had wristbands for the Christmas party so we got those and headed for the rides! We got on Splash twice, rode BTMR in the dark which was really cool. I saw things I'd never seen before! We rode Pirates and headed for Main Street for the parade and fireworks. It was my third party and I enjoyed it just as much as the first! After the fireworks, Mom and Dad headed back to SSR while my niece and I hit all the cool rides: Haunted Mansion, Small World, Philharmagic, Pooh, the Barnstormer and Buzz. No lines, no waiting-sweet!
12-22-up early again to head for Animal Kingdom and Everest!! Dad and I rode it after Thanksgiving and loved it, so we headed for that line first. The three of us got in the stand by line, and we'd been there about 20 minutes when the ride stopped. Uh-oh. Rumors running rampant about the ride closing and long waits. We start to head out for the fast pass lines, and we hear the trains start running again! Race back to the line and wait to get on. I loved it more the second time! It's such a smooth ride and really fun. We had lunch at Flame Tree which used to be my favorite place, but the last two times I thought it had really gone downhill. We did the jungle trails and then headed back to SSR to relax. We had ADR's at Nine Dragons at 4:30. If you haven't gone there yet, put it on your list. It's a really beautiful place and the food is excellent. After dinner, we started shopping around the world, and it started to POUR!! We were like 4 drowned rats heading for the exits. Once we got back, we shed our wet clothes and threw them in the washer. Surprise! The dryer door won't shut!!! Called the front desk and they sent someone to fix it, but did not have the parts they needed. Dad ended up holding the door shut to get our stuff dry. They eventually did fix it, but not completely until the next morning. Not a huge inconvenience, just a little annoying. Note:check your dryer door before you start the laundry!!
All in all, we had a wonderful vacation and we're looking forward to Vero Beach and SSR again in May!!!
I had the whole place to myself on 12/20, which was more fun than I thought it would be. I got to the World via Magic Express about 11:30 am, checked in, dropped my carry-on bag and boarded a bus for MK! I was craving chicken strips BIG TIME. I had my strips from Cosmic Rays and sat outside where I could see the castle. AHH, the joy of a sunny Florida afternoon at MK!! Hunger thus satisfied, I decided to roam aimlessly around MK for a while. It was VERY crowded that day, probably due to EMH. I did catch Mickey's Philharmagic though, which I enjoy every time I see it. Did some shopping around Main Street and decided to sit and catch the parade. I was joined by a lovely "Snow White" named Madison (aged 3) and her mother. We truly enjoyed the Cast Members who led the children in "Mickey Says" and the Hokey Pokey while we waited for the parade. The new parade is much better, I am glad to see the snow globes GONE. After the parade, I decided to head over to EPCOT and check out some of the holidays around the world. I caught Papa Noel in Canada and Father Christmas in England before I headed to the Candelight Processional. I've seen that 4 times and I love it more each time I see it. Neil Patrick Harris was on his last night and he did a wonderful job. After the processional, I decided since I got up at 3:30 am it was time to relax. I went back to SSR, got my room and got a ride over from Bell Services-after a long day that was about the nicest thing ever! Took a long soak in the spa and crashed to be ready for the family to arrive in the AM.
12/21-Mom and Dad and my 20 year old niece arrive, and we head off to MGM. Dad (78) loves Tower of Terror and wants to ride Rock n' Roller. I'm a little nervous, but I can't talk him out of it. So, we fast pass RNR and go on stand by for ToT. As we're going in, I notice a CM with a tie (so you know he's important) counting us. I figured it was just volume, but I was wrong. When we got into the pre-show area, after we watched Rod Serling, the CM told us that we had all won Dream FastPasses!!!!
We screamed, jumped up and down and slapped hands!! Everyone was so excited. After we got off the ride, we found a father and 2 sons to give our other FastPasses away. That was as much fun as winning! We got them onto the ride an hour early and they were really thrilled. Then, onto RnR. It was my first ride too and I loved it. So did Dad! It was his first inversion coaster and he said he felt like a kid again! We also got to ride Star Tours and Indiana Jones. We had a 2:30 ADR at Crystal Palace, so we had to leave. As we were walking out, we found a family to give our fast passes for Mermaid and Tower of Terror to, and it really was fun to see their faces. Not only did we get a treat, we were able to treat other families too!We made our ADR over in MK, and really enjoyed our "dinch". My niece is an Eyeore fan, and I'm a Pooh fan, so it was really nice to eat there. We had wristbands for the Christmas party so we got those and headed for the rides! We got on Splash twice, rode BTMR in the dark which was really cool. I saw things I'd never seen before! We rode Pirates and headed for Main Street for the parade and fireworks. It was my third party and I enjoyed it just as much as the first! After the fireworks, Mom and Dad headed back to SSR while my niece and I hit all the cool rides: Haunted Mansion, Small World, Philharmagic, Pooh, the Barnstormer and Buzz. No lines, no waiting-sweet!
12-22-up early again to head for Animal Kingdom and Everest!! Dad and I rode it after Thanksgiving and loved it, so we headed for that line first. The three of us got in the stand by line, and we'd been there about 20 minutes when the ride stopped. Uh-oh. Rumors running rampant about the ride closing and long waits. We start to head out for the fast pass lines, and we hear the trains start running again! Race back to the line and wait to get on. I loved it more the second time! It's such a smooth ride and really fun. We had lunch at Flame Tree which used to be my favorite place, but the last two times I thought it had really gone downhill. We did the jungle trails and then headed back to SSR to relax. We had ADR's at Nine Dragons at 4:30. If you haven't gone there yet, put it on your list. It's a really beautiful place and the food is excellent. After dinner, we started shopping around the world, and it started to POUR!! We were like 4 drowned rats heading for the exits. Once we got back, we shed our wet clothes and threw them in the washer. Surprise! The dryer door won't shut!!! Called the front desk and they sent someone to fix it, but did not have the parts they needed. Dad ended up holding the door shut to get our stuff dry. They eventually did fix it, but not completely until the next morning. Not a huge inconvenience, just a little annoying. Note:check your dryer door before you start the laundry!!
All in all, we had a wonderful vacation and we're looking forward to Vero Beach and SSR again in May!!!
