- Joined
- Aug 7, 2000
- Messages
- 24,430
The Cast...
DH-Closet Disney Freak...blames all our trips on me when he's just as bad
DSs- 9 (Cam) and 6 (Colt)-WDW & DL vets, not very adventurous and can be difficult at times
DM(Mother)- The one I got the "Disney gene" from She loves to come along on our trips since we can't get DF(Father) to go anymore, and she is a great help with the kids
DN(neice) 13- This was her 4th trip and we were so happy so could come along with us this time. Shes more daring than DS, but still a bit cautious.
And me....well, lets just say I love all things Disney and during this trip Cam referred to me as "Freaky Disney Person".
Monday 8/28
Today we were ready to begin our park touring time by visiting Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hour at 8:00. We started out about 6:30 in the food court. I think only 1 stand wasnt open at that time (the pancakes stand), but we were all able to find something to eat.
By 7:20 we were on a bus, and soon arrived at AK. We have done Early Entry here many times and arrived about the same time (15-20 minutes early). We could not believe there was practically no line, just a few people ahead of us. I actually had to double check my watch.
About 7:50 we were let in up to Discovery Island where we could see the Tree Of Life, and we were held back with a rope. 5 minutes later the pre show began and before long we were all shouting with Mickey, Let the adventure begin!.
DM and the kids went to the Safari while DH and I went to Expedition Everest. We knew if we all went to EE, it would take us forever to get over there. Since DH and I were the only ones riding we knew we could beat the rush although there really wasnt a big rush. We had ridden the safari enough times to be ok missing it this trip for EE. We arrived at EE, rode it, and loved it. Then we rode again .and again.
We had about a 10 minute wait the 3rd time so we finally decided to go meet up with the others. It was close to 9:00 and we had planned to meet at 9:00 in Dinoland. Here myself, DH, Cam, and DN rode Primeval Whirl (Colt is too short). We did this with just a few minute wait while we walked through the line. Next it was on to Dinosaur which DH & I rode with DN while the boys and DM rode Triceratops Spin, neither had a wait.
Now we checked the time and it was about 9:30 so we decided to try to make the 9:45 showing of the Lion King, but first DH detoured to Kali River Rapids to get FPs.
On our way out of Dinoland we ran into a family whose kids go to school with my kids (same classes). Now the chance of this happening is slim enough but the ironic thing is the SAME THING happened to us 3 years ago
.we ran into another family we know from school at AK on the first day of our trip. It's a small world after all!
We just said a quick hello as we were trying to make the show on time. We did get there with a few minutes to spare. DH showed up shortly after us, and still made it in the theater during the preshow.
As always we enjoyed the show. Afterwards, we took a little break and stopped to get ice creams at a cart nearby. We were then ready to go again.
We headed to Asia for the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Unfortunately, the bat room was closed this day as they said they were cleaning it.
It was now time for our Kali FPs. As we were walking toward the entrance we saw the kids' friends infront of us. They too were using FPs for Kali so we went in together and ended up riding with them. DSs thought this was the best thing ever .plus they (Cam & his friend) got completely drenched. Definitley a highlight of the trip for the kids.
Finally we were getting ready to wrap it up here. DM & DN wanted to look in a store. My kids had wanted to go to the Boneyard, but changed their minds after getting all wet. DH and I wanted to see Its Tough To Be A Bug, but no one else did. DSs were happy going to a store with Grandma (they figured they would get something, Im sure), so we split up again. DH & I saw ITTBAB, and they went shopping.
By about 12:30 we were headed to the bus stop. We had a short wait and returned to PC. Here we had a quick lunch in the food court and then spent some time at the computer pool before getting ready for dinner.
We left PC about 4:00 for our 5:10 ADR at Kona Café and ended up arriving about 4:45. After dinner, around 6:30 it was off to the MK.
We didnt have much of a plan for tonight, just wanted to get a few rides done to give us less to do on the other days. We also had hoped everyone would hold up so we could stay for Wishes at 10:00.
We started off toward Tomorrowland and immediately saw a CM at the COP waving people in as a show was getting ready to start so we jumped on that. Next it was onto Buzz. There was no wait here and I checked the time, it was 7:30.
My kids have this thing about the TTA, not only do they love it, but they want to ride it constantly when in this area, LOL! As usual there was no wait here so we rode that next. We then did Stitch with no line here either. This was new to everyone except me (DM didnt ride, she went shopping). Everyone thought it was good not great, but good.
Now we started venturing out of TL a bit and saw the Tea Party was a walk on so we rode those. Thinking what we wanted to do next, DH suggested Jungle Cruise because we had ridden that in DL in the dark and thought it was a totally different experience at night. We wanted to do that again.
We had about a 5 minute wait before our ride here. While pulling to the dock the Skipper made note that if we wanted to see Spectromagic to walk up past the Pirates and we could find space at the end of the parade route.
I wasnt making this parade a must do as Im not a huge fan of it (I feel Main St Electrical Parade at DL is much better), but since it was just about 9:00 and I figured we wouldnt need to stake out a spot for over an hour like the last 2 times we had seen it, why not try. There was plenty front row space open. The kids sat and we stood behind them and before long we saw the parade.
We then made our way toward Main St and actually found seats on a rounded bench right near the hub. I couldnt believe this was possible at 9:50. Soon the fireworks started and we found out why there was a tree blocking most of the view that we hadnt noticed in the dark when we arrived. There were others there who did the same thing though, LOL!
So we got up and moved around a bit to find a decent view. Finally we found plenty of empty space right near the stairs to Crystal Palace and we had a great view. What a great way to end our first park day!
After Wishes we headed right to the buses and the line was very long. But I have to say the busses were awesome. They came in twos and before long we were on our way. We arrived back at PC close to 11:00 and we all crashed.
DH-Closet Disney Freak...blames all our trips on me when he's just as bad
DSs- 9 (Cam) and 6 (Colt)-WDW & DL vets, not very adventurous and can be difficult at times
DM(Mother)- The one I got the "Disney gene" from She loves to come along on our trips since we can't get DF(Father) to go anymore, and she is a great help with the kids
DN(neice) 13- This was her 4th trip and we were so happy so could come along with us this time. Shes more daring than DS, but still a bit cautious.
And me....well, lets just say I love all things Disney and during this trip Cam referred to me as "Freaky Disney Person".
Monday 8/28
Today we were ready to begin our park touring time by visiting Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hour at 8:00. We started out about 6:30 in the food court. I think only 1 stand wasnt open at that time (the pancakes stand), but we were all able to find something to eat.
By 7:20 we were on a bus, and soon arrived at AK. We have done Early Entry here many times and arrived about the same time (15-20 minutes early). We could not believe there was practically no line, just a few people ahead of us. I actually had to double check my watch.
About 7:50 we were let in up to Discovery Island where we could see the Tree Of Life, and we were held back with a rope. 5 minutes later the pre show began and before long we were all shouting with Mickey, Let the adventure begin!.
DM and the kids went to the Safari while DH and I went to Expedition Everest. We knew if we all went to EE, it would take us forever to get over there. Since DH and I were the only ones riding we knew we could beat the rush although there really wasnt a big rush. We had ridden the safari enough times to be ok missing it this trip for EE. We arrived at EE, rode it, and loved it. Then we rode again .and again.
We had about a 10 minute wait the 3rd time so we finally decided to go meet up with the others. It was close to 9:00 and we had planned to meet at 9:00 in Dinoland. Here myself, DH, Cam, and DN rode Primeval Whirl (Colt is too short). We did this with just a few minute wait while we walked through the line. Next it was on to Dinosaur which DH & I rode with DN while the boys and DM rode Triceratops Spin, neither had a wait.
Now we checked the time and it was about 9:30 so we decided to try to make the 9:45 showing of the Lion King, but first DH detoured to Kali River Rapids to get FPs.
On our way out of Dinoland we ran into a family whose kids go to school with my kids (same classes). Now the chance of this happening is slim enough but the ironic thing is the SAME THING happened to us 3 years ago
.we ran into another family we know from school at AK on the first day of our trip. It's a small world after all! We just said a quick hello as we were trying to make the show on time. We did get there with a few minutes to spare. DH showed up shortly after us, and still made it in the theater during the preshow.
As always we enjoyed the show. Afterwards, we took a little break and stopped to get ice creams at a cart nearby. We were then ready to go again.
We headed to Asia for the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Unfortunately, the bat room was closed this day as they said they were cleaning it.
It was now time for our Kali FPs. As we were walking toward the entrance we saw the kids' friends infront of us. They too were using FPs for Kali so we went in together and ended up riding with them. DSs thought this was the best thing ever .plus they (Cam & his friend) got completely drenched. Definitley a highlight of the trip for the kids.
Finally we were getting ready to wrap it up here. DM & DN wanted to look in a store. My kids had wanted to go to the Boneyard, but changed their minds after getting all wet. DH and I wanted to see Its Tough To Be A Bug, but no one else did. DSs were happy going to a store with Grandma (they figured they would get something, Im sure), so we split up again. DH & I saw ITTBAB, and they went shopping.
By about 12:30 we were headed to the bus stop. We had a short wait and returned to PC. Here we had a quick lunch in the food court and then spent some time at the computer pool before getting ready for dinner.
We left PC about 4:00 for our 5:10 ADR at Kona Café and ended up arriving about 4:45. After dinner, around 6:30 it was off to the MK.
We didnt have much of a plan for tonight, just wanted to get a few rides done to give us less to do on the other days. We also had hoped everyone would hold up so we could stay for Wishes at 10:00.
We started off toward Tomorrowland and immediately saw a CM at the COP waving people in as a show was getting ready to start so we jumped on that. Next it was onto Buzz. There was no wait here and I checked the time, it was 7:30.
My kids have this thing about the TTA, not only do they love it, but they want to ride it constantly when in this area, LOL! As usual there was no wait here so we rode that next. We then did Stitch with no line here either. This was new to everyone except me (DM didnt ride, she went shopping). Everyone thought it was good not great, but good.
Now we started venturing out of TL a bit and saw the Tea Party was a walk on so we rode those. Thinking what we wanted to do next, DH suggested Jungle Cruise because we had ridden that in DL in the dark and thought it was a totally different experience at night. We wanted to do that again.
We had about a 5 minute wait before our ride here. While pulling to the dock the Skipper made note that if we wanted to see Spectromagic to walk up past the Pirates and we could find space at the end of the parade route.
I wasnt making this parade a must do as Im not a huge fan of it (I feel Main St Electrical Parade at DL is much better), but since it was just about 9:00 and I figured we wouldnt need to stake out a spot for over an hour like the last 2 times we had seen it, why not try. There was plenty front row space open. The kids sat and we stood behind them and before long we saw the parade.
We then made our way toward Main St and actually found seats on a rounded bench right near the hub. I couldnt believe this was possible at 9:50. Soon the fireworks started and we found out why there was a tree blocking most of the view that we hadnt noticed in the dark when we arrived. There were others there who did the same thing though, LOL!
So we got up and moved around a bit to find a decent view. Finally we found plenty of empty space right near the stairs to Crystal Palace and we had a great view. What a great way to end our first park day!
After Wishes we headed right to the buses and the line was very long. But I have to say the busses were awesome. They came in twos and before long we were on our way. We arrived back at PC close to 11:00 and we all crashed.
