E
erikthewise
Guest
Cast
Self (Richard): likes seafood, gets up too early, walks too fast. Thinks that entering a park after the scheduled opening is like walking in on a movie after its started. Can accurately estimate the duration of any sequence of activities.
DW (Julia): Family photographer. Hates seafood, likes to sleep in, walks too slow. Has no sense of time. Thinks its immoral if not illegal to arrive at a park before opening time.
DS9 (Jonathan): Tall enough to ride anything but doesnt like thrill rides. Loves computer games and arcades. Haven't told him about Disney Quest.
DS6 (Patrick): Fearless; will ride anything. Just barely tall enough to ride Space Mountain. Has the patience of a forest fire. Doesnt like anything that isnt a ride or a meal. Haven't told him about Tower of Terror.
We are staying 5 nights at Beach Club Villas in our first trip as members of Disney Vacation Club, followed by 3 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Also see restaurant report
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=303938
Sat Dec 14: Bah Humbug!
This was our last full day at WDW. The weather was solid clouds all day long. The weather report said tempuratures in the low 60s all day long. Lies, lies, lies! I assure you the temperature never reached 60, and as the day wore on it got colder. I know because I wore shorts and a T-shirt with a v-neck undershirt beneath, which would have been fine if it had really been in the low 60s. I brought a jacket as well but I didnt wear it into Epcot. I was cold most of the day.
There was so much of Epcot we still hadnt touched in spite of our 5-day stay at BCV, so thats where we went. We planned to visit the attractions in the Land pavilion which we didnt see last year either. First I made a dash to Test Track to grab a couple fastpasses as DS6 wants to ride it again. I met everyone else back at Land and we went on the boat ride. Its been a decade for me and I had forgotten about the part where you go through the agricultural areas. On to Food Rocks, which is fun for both children and parents (but probably not for the 12-25 crowd) because the music borrows heavily from classic rock. The names of the animatronic performers are awful puns such as the Peach Boys, Pita Gabriel, etc. The third attraction at the Land, Circle of Life, is a film in which Lion King characters Simba, Timon and Pumbaa deliver a simple and straightfoward environmental message. It wasnt until later that I was struck by the irony of Orlando being a prime example of the overdevelopment the movie is trying to counter. The last two attractions were all but deserted. We were 4 out of the 6 people in Circle of Life.
When Circle of Life let out, there were only 10 minutes remaining on our Test Track fastpass, so DS6 and I took off, agreeing to meet up again at Living Seas. I put him on my shoulders and speedwalked over, making it with time to spare. The standby line said 40 minute wait; boy was I glad we had fastpasses. We got into the fastpass line, but it didnt move at all. After several minutes an announcement was made concerning technical difficulties. That was our cue to bug out. When we left, the standby line said 60 minutes. So our last and best chance to make effective use of a fastpass went down in flames. Actually Im very grateful we are able to go at a time of year when use of fastpasses is not essential.
I had forgotten how hard it was to actually get into the Living Seas pavilion. DW and DS9 had watched the orientation film, so they hadnt been in very long when we caught up to them. We watched a brief scuba presentation, looked at some fish and sea mammals, and tried a couple side attractions. If youve ever been to a decent aquarium, no need to put Living Seas on your list of essentials. After we got out, we went back to the Land to eat lunch at the counter service food court there, Sunshine Season Food Fair. The food is pretty good for counter service but you have to wait in a different line for each area you buy from.
After lunch we walked over to the UK pavilion to watch the World Showcase Players perform their version (the Silly Version) of A Christmas Carol. This was DWs idea but I was happy to go along. As we had been seeking out the show we were seated on the curb right in the front rom. They chose me out of the crowd to play Ebeneezer Scrooge! (Im not sure what this means but I insist on taking it as a compliment.) I only had one line: Bah! Humbug! Harrumph!, but I got to say it several times! It was loads of fun, and after it was over, they gave me a button which says Honorary World Showcase Performer. This was the second major highlight of the trip for me!
We also watched the Father Christmas storytelling, then headed over to the American pavilion for the American Experience, a synopsis of American history with Ben Franklin and Mark Twain as hosts/narrators. The theatre for this show is enormous and was only about 1/4 full. (The restrooms on the left side of the building, on the other hand, are much too small.)
We took a boat back to Future World, and at the boys request rode Spaceship Earth one more time. Ive always liked it, but the more times I ride the more it grows on me. If the rumours are true that it will be taken offline in 2005 to be replaced by another attraction, it will be by far the best attraction to be retired at WDW.
After being frustrated in our attempt to see Fantasmic on Wednesday, I made reservations for a Fantasmic Dinner Package at Hollywood & Vine for this evening. So after we said goodbye to Epcot we drove over to MGM in plenty of time for our 4:10 PS. The park was pretty crowded and people were streaming in for the evening. There was already a line for seating at the H&V podium. We took some pictures and sat around for a while, and got into line at 3:45 if only because we had nothing else to do. It turned out that getting to the podium was the hard part, and once we did we were soon seated, right at 4:00.
After dinner we killed a little time under the hat where the boys played on the 100 years Q&A kiosks. By now they had the answers memorized so they were able to get all six questions right, which gave them a thrill. We then went to the secret entrance for dinner package guests and walked to the Fantasmic Theater about 40 minutes before the 6:00 show.
If youre wondering whether you need to do the dinner package in order to get a seat, I can give you an answer. If you do the dinner package, the show wont even be full; thats what happened to me both times I did it. If you dont, it will fill an hour before showtime and you wont get in. I thought that on a Saturday night we would need the dinner package, but we didnt. Perhaps it was because there were two Fantasmic shows that night, and two Spectromagic parades at MK. One advantage of the dinner package section is that you can sit anywhere you want, whereas in the main section you are herded to a specific row just as when you park in the parking lot. Some complain that the seats in the dinner package section are on the far right of the theater. This is true, but it doesnt matter in the slightest. The show is designed so you can see everything from any seat.
Even though the temperature was now in the forties, headed for a low of 43, I unzipped my jacket during the show so my Mickey the Sorcerer T-shirt (worn for the occasion) could help Mickey defeat the forces of evil.
Sun Dec 15: All Good Things
It was cold but otherwise nice weather for our trip home. The animals were back in force at AKL, and at 8:30 we called for a bellhop and headed for the airport. Our trip home went fine. All in all we had a great trip, in spite of the nasty weather. Even though that week brought several times the average rainfall for the month of December, it had only a minimal effect on our activities. We didnt use sunblock even once! On the other hand we had no transportation problems, no disasters, no illness. A guardian angel must have been watching over our trip!
When we got back to our car at the Hampton Inn in Columbus, I saw that I had in fact forgotten to lock the drivers door. It had remained untouched for nine days. Using my remote, I quickly locked so no one else would notice, then unlocked it again, and we were on our way home.
Self (Richard): likes seafood, gets up too early, walks too fast. Thinks that entering a park after the scheduled opening is like walking in on a movie after its started. Can accurately estimate the duration of any sequence of activities.
DW (Julia): Family photographer. Hates seafood, likes to sleep in, walks too slow. Has no sense of time. Thinks its immoral if not illegal to arrive at a park before opening time.
DS9 (Jonathan): Tall enough to ride anything but doesnt like thrill rides. Loves computer games and arcades. Haven't told him about Disney Quest.
DS6 (Patrick): Fearless; will ride anything. Just barely tall enough to ride Space Mountain. Has the patience of a forest fire. Doesnt like anything that isnt a ride or a meal. Haven't told him about Tower of Terror.
We are staying 5 nights at Beach Club Villas in our first trip as members of Disney Vacation Club, followed by 3 nights at Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Also see restaurant report
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=303938
Sat Dec 14: Bah Humbug!
This was our last full day at WDW. The weather was solid clouds all day long. The weather report said tempuratures in the low 60s all day long. Lies, lies, lies! I assure you the temperature never reached 60, and as the day wore on it got colder. I know because I wore shorts and a T-shirt with a v-neck undershirt beneath, which would have been fine if it had really been in the low 60s. I brought a jacket as well but I didnt wear it into Epcot. I was cold most of the day.
There was so much of Epcot we still hadnt touched in spite of our 5-day stay at BCV, so thats where we went. We planned to visit the attractions in the Land pavilion which we didnt see last year either. First I made a dash to Test Track to grab a couple fastpasses as DS6 wants to ride it again. I met everyone else back at Land and we went on the boat ride. Its been a decade for me and I had forgotten about the part where you go through the agricultural areas. On to Food Rocks, which is fun for both children and parents (but probably not for the 12-25 crowd) because the music borrows heavily from classic rock. The names of the animatronic performers are awful puns such as the Peach Boys, Pita Gabriel, etc. The third attraction at the Land, Circle of Life, is a film in which Lion King characters Simba, Timon and Pumbaa deliver a simple and straightfoward environmental message. It wasnt until later that I was struck by the irony of Orlando being a prime example of the overdevelopment the movie is trying to counter. The last two attractions were all but deserted. We were 4 out of the 6 people in Circle of Life.
When Circle of Life let out, there were only 10 minutes remaining on our Test Track fastpass, so DS6 and I took off, agreeing to meet up again at Living Seas. I put him on my shoulders and speedwalked over, making it with time to spare. The standby line said 40 minute wait; boy was I glad we had fastpasses. We got into the fastpass line, but it didnt move at all. After several minutes an announcement was made concerning technical difficulties. That was our cue to bug out. When we left, the standby line said 60 minutes. So our last and best chance to make effective use of a fastpass went down in flames. Actually Im very grateful we are able to go at a time of year when use of fastpasses is not essential.
I had forgotten how hard it was to actually get into the Living Seas pavilion. DW and DS9 had watched the orientation film, so they hadnt been in very long when we caught up to them. We watched a brief scuba presentation, looked at some fish and sea mammals, and tried a couple side attractions. If youve ever been to a decent aquarium, no need to put Living Seas on your list of essentials. After we got out, we went back to the Land to eat lunch at the counter service food court there, Sunshine Season Food Fair. The food is pretty good for counter service but you have to wait in a different line for each area you buy from.
After lunch we walked over to the UK pavilion to watch the World Showcase Players perform their version (the Silly Version) of A Christmas Carol. This was DWs idea but I was happy to go along. As we had been seeking out the show we were seated on the curb right in the front rom. They chose me out of the crowd to play Ebeneezer Scrooge! (Im not sure what this means but I insist on taking it as a compliment.) I only had one line: Bah! Humbug! Harrumph!, but I got to say it several times! It was loads of fun, and after it was over, they gave me a button which says Honorary World Showcase Performer. This was the second major highlight of the trip for me!
We also watched the Father Christmas storytelling, then headed over to the American pavilion for the American Experience, a synopsis of American history with Ben Franklin and Mark Twain as hosts/narrators. The theatre for this show is enormous and was only about 1/4 full. (The restrooms on the left side of the building, on the other hand, are much too small.)
We took a boat back to Future World, and at the boys request rode Spaceship Earth one more time. Ive always liked it, but the more times I ride the more it grows on me. If the rumours are true that it will be taken offline in 2005 to be replaced by another attraction, it will be by far the best attraction to be retired at WDW.
After being frustrated in our attempt to see Fantasmic on Wednesday, I made reservations for a Fantasmic Dinner Package at Hollywood & Vine for this evening. So after we said goodbye to Epcot we drove over to MGM in plenty of time for our 4:10 PS. The park was pretty crowded and people were streaming in for the evening. There was already a line for seating at the H&V podium. We took some pictures and sat around for a while, and got into line at 3:45 if only because we had nothing else to do. It turned out that getting to the podium was the hard part, and once we did we were soon seated, right at 4:00.
After dinner we killed a little time under the hat where the boys played on the 100 years Q&A kiosks. By now they had the answers memorized so they were able to get all six questions right, which gave them a thrill. We then went to the secret entrance for dinner package guests and walked to the Fantasmic Theater about 40 minutes before the 6:00 show.
If youre wondering whether you need to do the dinner package in order to get a seat, I can give you an answer. If you do the dinner package, the show wont even be full; thats what happened to me both times I did it. If you dont, it will fill an hour before showtime and you wont get in. I thought that on a Saturday night we would need the dinner package, but we didnt. Perhaps it was because there were two Fantasmic shows that night, and two Spectromagic parades at MK. One advantage of the dinner package section is that you can sit anywhere you want, whereas in the main section you are herded to a specific row just as when you park in the parking lot. Some complain that the seats in the dinner package section are on the far right of the theater. This is true, but it doesnt matter in the slightest. The show is designed so you can see everything from any seat.
Even though the temperature was now in the forties, headed for a low of 43, I unzipped my jacket during the show so my Mickey the Sorcerer T-shirt (worn for the occasion) could help Mickey defeat the forces of evil.
Sun Dec 15: All Good Things
It was cold but otherwise nice weather for our trip home. The animals were back in force at AKL, and at 8:30 we called for a bellhop and headed for the airport. Our trip home went fine. All in all we had a great trip, in spite of the nasty weather. Even though that week brought several times the average rainfall for the month of December, it had only a minimal effect on our activities. We didnt use sunblock even once! On the other hand we had no transportation problems, no disasters, no illness. A guardian angel must have been watching over our trip!
When we got back to our car at the Hampton Inn in Columbus, I saw that I had in fact forgotten to lock the drivers door. It had remained untouched for nine days. Using my remote, I quickly locked so no one else would notice, then unlocked it again, and we were on our way home.
