Who we are.
Me: Ali (40-but only just!) - chief planner, packer, and organiser
Tim (47) - husband, driver, generally willing to go along with my plans, hates queuing.
Thomas (9)- son, Harry Potter fan
Molly (6) daughter, loves Ariel and all the other Disney Princesses
Day 2 Sun 23/3/03
We all awoke at around 3am but luckily were able to get back to sleep quickly. Woke again at 6.30am. Looked out of the window to see it was pouring with rain. Not to worry I said It never rains in Florida for long! Turned the TV on to watch the weather channel. Apparently, Florida had suffered a wave of unseasonal storms and was flooded in places, rain forecast all day. OK so I was wrong. According to my carefully made plan, we were to be heading off to Animal Kingdom that day but it really seemed it would be a waste in the rain. The next day was to be a shopping/free day so we decided to switch, much to the disappointment of the children.
We had breakfast in the hotel, our first experience of the American breakfast buffet -an amazing assortment of food! Molly began to cheer up when she saw the pancakes and maple syrup, (she has a sweet tooth obviously not the one she lost!); Thomas was disappointed they didnt have Weetabix.
At 8am it was the welcome meeting in the bar. We were going to skip it but as we were around we decided to go. It only took about 20 minutes but we didnt learn anything new. We did buy the Virgin kids eat free card for $15 dollars, we saved money by using it, but the choice of restaurants was not that great and there are so many offers around anyway.
The rep told us where the nearest Wal-Mart was so we headed off there to stock up on a few things. Several hours later we had purchased various snacks, biscuits etc, clothes for Molly, trainers for Tim and Thomas, shorts for me, beers for Tim, wine for me, and two of those insulated water bottles with carry straps that I had read about on this board. They were so useful; we filled them up each morning with ice and water and they stayed cool all day; one of them had an ice pack in the base. If we ran out of water, we topped them up from the water fountains in the parks. I think Tim became fed up of me raving over these bottles, but we must have saved a fortune on cold drinks.
After wed dragged the kids around Wal-Mart for so long (not their favourite occupation), we wanted to cheer them up. We decided to go to Downtown Disney so they could get a fix of the Disney atmosphere. It would have only been a short drive away had we not got lost. The map we had was not very detailed (thats my excuse) and the signs we were following seemed to disappear. After a tour of most of the resort areas, we finally found it and parked by the Marketplace. We ran through the rain to the Disney Store, and once we had dried out, we began to feel a little happier. We bought autograph books for Molly and Thomas and enjoyed browsing all the lovely merchandise. Molly would have spent all her holiday money there and then but we pointed out it was only our first day! After that we made a run for the Lego store where we browsed some more.
By this time the rain was torrential and we could hardly make out the Rainforest Café through the gloom. We decided to head back to the hotel, on the way we stopped at a Sizzler for lunch/dinner. It was around 4pm by then.
Back at the hotel, the children were desperate to go in the pool, and as the rain had eased off a little, we agreed. Tim and I didnt really feel like joining the even though it was warm enough, so we huddled under a sun umbrella on the poolside to supervise them. I must admit this was a low point for me. This wasnt how it was meant to be! Even though the shopping was good, felt as if we had wasted our first day and we were itching to get to the parks.
That evening we went for our complimentary cocktails in Hurricane Sams, the hotel bar and then had an early night praying for better weather the next day.
Day 3 Mon 24/3/03 Animal Kingdom
After the washout of our first day, the first thing we did on waking was to check the weather channel. To our relief, a fine, sunny day of around 79 degrees was forecast this was more like it!! We ate breakfast in the hotel, and set off to the Animal Kingdom with much excitement. AK was the closest park to our hotel and we were in the car park by 8.15am. By the time we had walked to the entrance and had our bags searched, it was just after 8.30am. Oh look, theyre letting people in already! said Tim. I looked to where he was pointing,; they were not letting everyone in - just Disney resort guests! My heart sank. All my careful planning and we had arrived on an early entry day! My excuse was that Simon Vs book was not up to date, and the printout of the current info I had put aside to bring with us had mysteriously vanished! The poor children couldnt understand why we couldnt go in, and we spent an agonising 25 minutes watching happy, carefree families entering whilst Tim and I argued through gritted teeth over whos fault it was.
Finally 9.00am arrived and we passed through the turnstiles and rushed of to our first destination Africa and the Kilimanjaro Safaris. In my original plan, we would have gone straight on this ride, but since there was by then a fair queue (30 mins I think), we obtained Fast Passes and went on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Tim and Thomas particularly enjoyed this experience. I was just happy to be in Disneyworld in the sunshine!
After the trail, we went straight onto the Kilimanjaro Safari. We all enjoyed this although I felt it was a little rushed. Despite the bad reports I had read about the poacher incident, we found it all part of the fun.
We then set off to catch the wildlife train to Rafikis Planet Watch but decided the queue was too long and that that wasnt much that took our interest.
We still had a sense of urgency and wanted to make up for lost time, so we headed off to Discovery Island.
We met Baloo and King Louis on the way, which made it feel more like Disney
It was at this time that Molly complained of a blister on her heel. Just a little over an hour into our first Disney day! I had made sure we were all wearing well-worn trainers too! Determined that this was not going to spoil our day, I noticed on the map, the first aid point was nearby, so we all trooped in there. I was very impressed with the service there. We were seen immediately and given a specially shaped heel plaster, plus a couple of spares. Molly didnt have any problems with her feet for the rest of the holiday thats Disney magic!
We were hoping to get FPs for Its Tough To Be A Bug but they werent in use. Saw Lilo and Stitch, but no time for autographs as we wanted to see The Festival of the Lion King at 11am. Arrived 15mins prior still plenty of seats. We all loved this show, my favourite I think. I just loved the music, energy and colourful costumes and models.
After the show we felt we were beginning to relax, the park wasnt as crowded as we had feared. We had photos and autographs with the Cinderella mice and Goofy although Mickeys queue was too long.
We particularly wanted to experience the Dinosaur ride so headed to Dino-land. We had slowed our pace so were able to start taking in all the lovely details that Disney do so well. We check the ITTBAB time 35 min - too long.
Got FPs for Dinosaur and met Pluto by the restrooms!
It was getting hot by then, so we found a shady bench and had our snack lunch that we had taken with us. We had a look around Chester & Hesters Dinorama but we werent prepared to queue for what were basically fairground rides. So we went into the Boneyard which the children thought was excellent.
Time to return to Dinosaur, around a 5 minute wait with the FP. We were lucky and had the front row in the Time Rover vehicle and we all enjoyed the ride tremendously even if Molly found it a little scary. We were tempted to get another FP but there were many other things we wanted to see.
On leaving Dinoland a cast member told us Tarzan Rocks was about to start so we hurried to the theatre and had seats at the back just as the show began. The children and I enjoyed it, especially the roller skaters although Tim wasnt so keen.
After the show we headed to Asia where we picked up a FP for the Kali River Rapids, then went on the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We were impressed with attention to detail in this area and the kids enjoyed identifying he different species of birds and animals from the cards provided. Molly was flagging a little here so we went at a slow pace with plenty of rest stops.
It was then time for the rapids ride, so suitably dressed in our rain proofs, we by passed the rather lengthy queues and set off with trepidation we had seen everyone getting off the ride emptying out their shoes! The ride was good fun, we all received our fair share of water there really is no escape.
By this time it was 3.50pm and the parade was due to start at 4pm. We werent sure if we would be able to find a spot with a decent view but quite easily found a place just outside Asia. The cast members were working their magic entertaining the crowds and the feeling of anticipation was rising. The parade was one of the highlights for me at Disneyland Paris. I was not disappointed with the AK version. We all loved it and I think it was my favourite of all the parks. It may be because it was our first but I just loved all the bright colours, music and clever man-driven animals.
The children were getting rather weary by then so we begin to make our way towards the exit. We decide to view the Tree of Life as we passed, which we found stunning; and then noticed that there was only a ten minute wait for Its Tough To Be A Bug. On the promise of it being a sit-down show we convinced the children to stay for just a little longer (they didnt need much persuading). We are so glad we did we all thoroughly enjoyed the show, particularly the smelly bit and the acid!
When we had exited the show it was 5pm and the park was closing. We walked back to the car, tired but extremely happy with the day. We had seen all the things we had planned to, and everything had exceeded our expectations.
We decided to grab something to eat close to our hotel so tried out The Magic Mining Co. just next door. The appeal for the children was the waterfalls just outside the large glass windows and the model railway running through the restaurant. The food was good too I had the prime rib, which was lovely and tender and was served with corn cake, salad and potatoes.
Back to our room and we were all asleep within half an hour!
Me: Ali (40-but only just!) - chief planner, packer, and organiser
Tim (47) - husband, driver, generally willing to go along with my plans, hates queuing.
Thomas (9)- son, Harry Potter fan
Molly (6) daughter, loves Ariel and all the other Disney Princesses
Day 2 Sun 23/3/03
We all awoke at around 3am but luckily were able to get back to sleep quickly. Woke again at 6.30am. Looked out of the window to see it was pouring with rain. Not to worry I said It never rains in Florida for long! Turned the TV on to watch the weather channel. Apparently, Florida had suffered a wave of unseasonal storms and was flooded in places, rain forecast all day. OK so I was wrong. According to my carefully made plan, we were to be heading off to Animal Kingdom that day but it really seemed it would be a waste in the rain. The next day was to be a shopping/free day so we decided to switch, much to the disappointment of the children.
We had breakfast in the hotel, our first experience of the American breakfast buffet -an amazing assortment of food! Molly began to cheer up when she saw the pancakes and maple syrup, (she has a sweet tooth obviously not the one she lost!); Thomas was disappointed they didnt have Weetabix.
At 8am it was the welcome meeting in the bar. We were going to skip it but as we were around we decided to go. It only took about 20 minutes but we didnt learn anything new. We did buy the Virgin kids eat free card for $15 dollars, we saved money by using it, but the choice of restaurants was not that great and there are so many offers around anyway.
The rep told us where the nearest Wal-Mart was so we headed off there to stock up on a few things. Several hours later we had purchased various snacks, biscuits etc, clothes for Molly, trainers for Tim and Thomas, shorts for me, beers for Tim, wine for me, and two of those insulated water bottles with carry straps that I had read about on this board. They were so useful; we filled them up each morning with ice and water and they stayed cool all day; one of them had an ice pack in the base. If we ran out of water, we topped them up from the water fountains in the parks. I think Tim became fed up of me raving over these bottles, but we must have saved a fortune on cold drinks.
After wed dragged the kids around Wal-Mart for so long (not their favourite occupation), we wanted to cheer them up. We decided to go to Downtown Disney so they could get a fix of the Disney atmosphere. It would have only been a short drive away had we not got lost. The map we had was not very detailed (thats my excuse) and the signs we were following seemed to disappear. After a tour of most of the resort areas, we finally found it and parked by the Marketplace. We ran through the rain to the Disney Store, and once we had dried out, we began to feel a little happier. We bought autograph books for Molly and Thomas and enjoyed browsing all the lovely merchandise. Molly would have spent all her holiday money there and then but we pointed out it was only our first day! After that we made a run for the Lego store where we browsed some more.
By this time the rain was torrential and we could hardly make out the Rainforest Café through the gloom. We decided to head back to the hotel, on the way we stopped at a Sizzler for lunch/dinner. It was around 4pm by then.
Back at the hotel, the children were desperate to go in the pool, and as the rain had eased off a little, we agreed. Tim and I didnt really feel like joining the even though it was warm enough, so we huddled under a sun umbrella on the poolside to supervise them. I must admit this was a low point for me. This wasnt how it was meant to be! Even though the shopping was good, felt as if we had wasted our first day and we were itching to get to the parks.
That evening we went for our complimentary cocktails in Hurricane Sams, the hotel bar and then had an early night praying for better weather the next day.
Day 3 Mon 24/3/03 Animal Kingdom
After the washout of our first day, the first thing we did on waking was to check the weather channel. To our relief, a fine, sunny day of around 79 degrees was forecast this was more like it!! We ate breakfast in the hotel, and set off to the Animal Kingdom with much excitement. AK was the closest park to our hotel and we were in the car park by 8.15am. By the time we had walked to the entrance and had our bags searched, it was just after 8.30am. Oh look, theyre letting people in already! said Tim. I looked to where he was pointing,; they were not letting everyone in - just Disney resort guests! My heart sank. All my careful planning and we had arrived on an early entry day! My excuse was that Simon Vs book was not up to date, and the printout of the current info I had put aside to bring with us had mysteriously vanished! The poor children couldnt understand why we couldnt go in, and we spent an agonising 25 minutes watching happy, carefree families entering whilst Tim and I argued through gritted teeth over whos fault it was.
Finally 9.00am arrived and we passed through the turnstiles and rushed of to our first destination Africa and the Kilimanjaro Safaris. In my original plan, we would have gone straight on this ride, but since there was by then a fair queue (30 mins I think), we obtained Fast Passes and went on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Tim and Thomas particularly enjoyed this experience. I was just happy to be in Disneyworld in the sunshine!
After the trail, we went straight onto the Kilimanjaro Safari. We all enjoyed this although I felt it was a little rushed. Despite the bad reports I had read about the poacher incident, we found it all part of the fun.
We then set off to catch the wildlife train to Rafikis Planet Watch but decided the queue was too long and that that wasnt much that took our interest.
We still had a sense of urgency and wanted to make up for lost time, so we headed off to Discovery Island.
We met Baloo and King Louis on the way, which made it feel more like Disney
It was at this time that Molly complained of a blister on her heel. Just a little over an hour into our first Disney day! I had made sure we were all wearing well-worn trainers too! Determined that this was not going to spoil our day, I noticed on the map, the first aid point was nearby, so we all trooped in there. I was very impressed with the service there. We were seen immediately and given a specially shaped heel plaster, plus a couple of spares. Molly didnt have any problems with her feet for the rest of the holiday thats Disney magic!
We were hoping to get FPs for Its Tough To Be A Bug but they werent in use. Saw Lilo and Stitch, but no time for autographs as we wanted to see The Festival of the Lion King at 11am. Arrived 15mins prior still plenty of seats. We all loved this show, my favourite I think. I just loved the music, energy and colourful costumes and models.
After the show we felt we were beginning to relax, the park wasnt as crowded as we had feared. We had photos and autographs with the Cinderella mice and Goofy although Mickeys queue was too long.
We particularly wanted to experience the Dinosaur ride so headed to Dino-land. We had slowed our pace so were able to start taking in all the lovely details that Disney do so well. We check the ITTBAB time 35 min - too long.
Got FPs for Dinosaur and met Pluto by the restrooms!
It was getting hot by then, so we found a shady bench and had our snack lunch that we had taken with us. We had a look around Chester & Hesters Dinorama but we werent prepared to queue for what were basically fairground rides. So we went into the Boneyard which the children thought was excellent.
Time to return to Dinosaur, around a 5 minute wait with the FP. We were lucky and had the front row in the Time Rover vehicle and we all enjoyed the ride tremendously even if Molly found it a little scary. We were tempted to get another FP but there were many other things we wanted to see.
On leaving Dinoland a cast member told us Tarzan Rocks was about to start so we hurried to the theatre and had seats at the back just as the show began. The children and I enjoyed it, especially the roller skaters although Tim wasnt so keen.
After the show we headed to Asia where we picked up a FP for the Kali River Rapids, then went on the Maharajah Jungle Trek. We were impressed with attention to detail in this area and the kids enjoyed identifying he different species of birds and animals from the cards provided. Molly was flagging a little here so we went at a slow pace with plenty of rest stops.
It was then time for the rapids ride, so suitably dressed in our rain proofs, we by passed the rather lengthy queues and set off with trepidation we had seen everyone getting off the ride emptying out their shoes! The ride was good fun, we all received our fair share of water there really is no escape.
By this time it was 3.50pm and the parade was due to start at 4pm. We werent sure if we would be able to find a spot with a decent view but quite easily found a place just outside Asia. The cast members were working their magic entertaining the crowds and the feeling of anticipation was rising. The parade was one of the highlights for me at Disneyland Paris. I was not disappointed with the AK version. We all loved it and I think it was my favourite of all the parks. It may be because it was our first but I just loved all the bright colours, music and clever man-driven animals.
The children were getting rather weary by then so we begin to make our way towards the exit. We decide to view the Tree of Life as we passed, which we found stunning; and then noticed that there was only a ten minute wait for Its Tough To Be A Bug. On the promise of it being a sit-down show we convinced the children to stay for just a little longer (they didnt need much persuading). We are so glad we did we all thoroughly enjoyed the show, particularly the smelly bit and the acid!
When we had exited the show it was 5pm and the park was closing. We walked back to the car, tired but extremely happy with the day. We had seen all the things we had planned to, and everything had exceeded our expectations.
We decided to grab something to eat close to our hotel so tried out The Magic Mining Co. just next door. The appeal for the children was the waterfalls just outside the large glass windows and the model railway running through the restaurant. The food was good too I had the prime rib, which was lovely and tender and was served with corn cake, salad and potatoes.
Back to our room and we were all asleep within half an hour!
