Fooboy
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2003
- Messages
- 454
Hello All!
We came back from our wonderful trip on New Year's Day. I miss it soooooo much. Everything is so uninteresting now
. haha. Anyways, here is a summation of our journey and experience.
12/26
Left IAH for MCO on a Northwest flight. We got an automatic upgrade to first class with my One Pass card but like it really made a difference because the seats were practically the same as coach. I was never too fond of flying NW. They really need to upgrade their planes. We arrived at MCO around 330P and our driver met us at the baggage claim. We got our stuff and headed towards our final destination. But before that, we made a quick grocery stop. We checked into the POR and got the room that we had requested at the Magnolia Terrace building. The weather was warm and beautiful. That evening, we headed towards Downtown Disney and ate at the House of Blues. It was OK. The jambalaya tasted like prepackaged dehydrated dog food with some cajun flavoring. My coke was the only thing that tasted like a genuine product. The cornbread was good though. After dinner, we went to DisneyQuest and played and explored for about 2-3 hours. Our journey continued to Pleasure Island where the "Disney Magic" seemed to quickly fade from Magic to Sleazy trash. We got a drink, experienced their "everyday new year's eve" and promptly left to head back to our resort. Hopefully to quickly restore the magic. It worked. We decided that night to never return to Pleasure Island. Poor Pinnochio.
12/27
Woke up at 5:00AM to get ready and head over to MGM-Studios. We were virtually the first ones in the park at the rope drop at 7:00AM. We finished all of the headliners by 11:00AM. My girlfriend LOVED the ambience of the park and had a blast on the Tower of Terror. We also enjoyed one of my absolute favs: Star Tours. I love that ride. The weather was a little chilly in the morning but warmed up in the afternoon. We headed back to the resort around noon and took a 2 hour nap before heading back to the park. When we returned, we discovered a new meaning of a crowded area. I couldn't even believe it. But was expecting it. My girlfriend thanked me so much for planning to hit the parks so early. Now, we could just take it easy and observe the frustrations of parents and the anxiety of little kids running around looking for the end of a horrifically long line to a ride. We enjoyed the rest of our day with a tour through the Magic of Disney Animation (we learned how to draw Goofy and I now have it on my fridge), One Man's Dream, some MGM shopping and pic taking, and dinner at the Hollywood and Vine, which was part of our Fantasmic! package. We finished off the day with Fantasmic! My girlfriend loved it and I could already see that it was the PERFECT way to finish a fun filled and low stress day. I gave myself a pat on the back.
12/28
Once again, we woke up before the sun did and headed towards the Magic Kingdom for a quick morning tour of the headliners. And again, we finished everything before noon and before the crowds. We headed to EPCOT around 1PM and the crowds were in their prime. So we just did a slow paced tour around the world showcase. Had lunch at the fish and chips shop and chomped down on a turkey leg that attracted everyone's attention. I love those things. Around 6ish, we headed back towards MK to the Contemporary Resort for dinner at the California Grill. EXCELLENT food and view of Wishes from the observation deck. Once again, a wonderful end to a wonderful day. HOWEVER, our mistake that day was that we didn't take our afternoon nap.... WE WERE POOPED!!! I almost fell over on the bus cuz i was dozing off so hard. but it was a wonderful day!
12/29
We woke up a little later today (600) and did a full day at EPCOT. We rushed to Mission: Space and Test Track first thing. We did MS twice. I fell in love with that ride. My girlfriend fell in love with Test Track. The weather was already really warm and i was wishing that i had brought shorts. But it was bearable. Actually, quite comfortable. We had lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh and dinner at Restaurant Akershus. Both were excellent! Finished off the park with Illuminations. I love EPCOT. Observation: Parents seemed a lot more irritable here than the other parks. My theory was the alcohol and the fact that the kids probably didn't enjoy the educational side of disney as much as the fantasy. Hence...complaining and whining....hence...mad parents. oh well.
I LOVE EPCOT!
12/30
Waking up at 7:00 for an early start at the Animal Kingdom. We did the the Kilmanjaro Safari first thing and watched the Festival of the Lion King and It's Tough to Be a Bug! Both excellent shows. This park was very mellow for us and we strolled through with no real problems with the crowd. We headed back to the resort for a nap and then to Downtown Disney for some shopping. We then went to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge (of which i absolutely LOVED) and had dinner at Boma, of which I also absolutely loved! The desserts are to die for. Excellent dining experience. We finished the night off with Cirque Du Soleil. My girlfriend loved it and wanted to see more. I promised her a trip to Vegas to see the other shows there. I've seen them all and still am amazed. The Chinese yo yo girls were adorable. The day was over and I began to realize that our trip was already coming to an end soon.... I wanted to make the MOST out of our next and final day.
12/31
New Year's Eve at the Magic Kingdom presented an entirely new definition of massive crowds and interesting observations of pissed off parents dragging and spanking the bejeezus out of little kids. I could understand why they would be a bit irritable but jeez, it's Disneyworld...let the kids have fun...not live out their days in fear. I was a little annoyed with that kind of behavior. Anyways, we took it REALLY easy that day and go Fast Passes as fast as we could. We did Mickey's Philharmonic again cuz we love it soooo much. We at the Crystal Palace and took pics with Pooh and friends. Watched Wishes from the restaurant patio. Very good view. We got good viewing spots for Spectro Magic and got a little added bonus to walk behind the last car. It was like were in the parade. Then some crazy parents pushed us out of the way to get their kids up to the front. Inside I wanted to trip the parents but I quickly decided that it was for the kids so took it all with a smile and enjoyed the experience to the best of it. We spent the rest of the evening shopping and looking for good spots to watch the New Year's Eve Fantasy in the Sky fireworks. We ended up on the end of Mainstreet near the big fork where the different roads lead to the different "lands." We counted down the new year and watched the explosions of color coming from all directions. It was absolutely wonderful. We felt like we were the only ones on the planet, despite the fact that we were completely surrounded with people blowing noise makers and going crazy! Magical. We headed back to our room to finish packing and get ready to leave the World. It was a sad night but I just kept thinking about all of the things that we've done and experienced. It went by soooo fast.
01/01
Left the POR in our towncar around 830AM and were soon on our 1035 flight back to IAH....back to reality. Now, everything is boring and uneventful. But it's good that way. Gives us an incentive to plan our next trip hopefully in the near future.
Our most magical moment: New Year's Eve at the Magic
Kingdom
Our best meal: Boma: Flavors of Africa
My Favorite Ride: Mission:Space
Mickey's Philharmonic
The Classics (POC, HM, Star Tours, etc)
Her Fav's: Mickey's Philharmonic
Test Track
Star Tours
Tower of Terror
Summation of Weather: Warm around 75-79
Completely Clear during most of the trip
My number one complaint: Irritable parents and a couple of
very rude CM's at the POR front desk.
My number one recommendations: GET YOUR REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO EARLY!!!!!!!!!
I hope this helps those who are going soon or are ever planning on going during the post holiday season. Of course, this summary does not include everything and I am sure that I forgot some of the major details. The week just went by so fast. But if you have any questions, I'll still be frequenting the board so I'll try to answer your questions from my experience last week. But lemme tell you, the crowds didn't get us down, the planning is crucial, and you must just let the magic happen. I understand that it can much harder to have a whole family along and that we had the advantage of being just the two of us with strong legs and good backs. But either way, it's the happiest place on earth. One MUST enjoy the time and cherish the moment...no matter how long the lines are. Happy New Year's to Everyone and G'luck to those leaving for their magical journey soon!!!!!!
foobs
We came back from our wonderful trip on New Year's Day. I miss it soooooo much. Everything is so uninteresting now
. haha. Anyways, here is a summation of our journey and experience.12/26
Left IAH for MCO on a Northwest flight. We got an automatic upgrade to first class with my One Pass card but like it really made a difference because the seats were practically the same as coach. I was never too fond of flying NW. They really need to upgrade their planes. We arrived at MCO around 330P and our driver met us at the baggage claim. We got our stuff and headed towards our final destination. But before that, we made a quick grocery stop. We checked into the POR and got the room that we had requested at the Magnolia Terrace building. The weather was warm and beautiful. That evening, we headed towards Downtown Disney and ate at the House of Blues. It was OK. The jambalaya tasted like prepackaged dehydrated dog food with some cajun flavoring. My coke was the only thing that tasted like a genuine product. The cornbread was good though. After dinner, we went to DisneyQuest and played and explored for about 2-3 hours. Our journey continued to Pleasure Island where the "Disney Magic" seemed to quickly fade from Magic to Sleazy trash. We got a drink, experienced their "everyday new year's eve" and promptly left to head back to our resort. Hopefully to quickly restore the magic. It worked. We decided that night to never return to Pleasure Island. Poor Pinnochio.
12/27
Woke up at 5:00AM to get ready and head over to MGM-Studios. We were virtually the first ones in the park at the rope drop at 7:00AM. We finished all of the headliners by 11:00AM. My girlfriend LOVED the ambience of the park and had a blast on the Tower of Terror. We also enjoyed one of my absolute favs: Star Tours. I love that ride. The weather was a little chilly in the morning but warmed up in the afternoon. We headed back to the resort around noon and took a 2 hour nap before heading back to the park. When we returned, we discovered a new meaning of a crowded area. I couldn't even believe it. But was expecting it. My girlfriend thanked me so much for planning to hit the parks so early. Now, we could just take it easy and observe the frustrations of parents and the anxiety of little kids running around looking for the end of a horrifically long line to a ride. We enjoyed the rest of our day with a tour through the Magic of Disney Animation (we learned how to draw Goofy and I now have it on my fridge), One Man's Dream, some MGM shopping and pic taking, and dinner at the Hollywood and Vine, which was part of our Fantasmic! package. We finished off the day with Fantasmic! My girlfriend loved it and I could already see that it was the PERFECT way to finish a fun filled and low stress day. I gave myself a pat on the back.
12/28
Once again, we woke up before the sun did and headed towards the Magic Kingdom for a quick morning tour of the headliners. And again, we finished everything before noon and before the crowds. We headed to EPCOT around 1PM and the crowds were in their prime. So we just did a slow paced tour around the world showcase. Had lunch at the fish and chips shop and chomped down on a turkey leg that attracted everyone's attention. I love those things. Around 6ish, we headed back towards MK to the Contemporary Resort for dinner at the California Grill. EXCELLENT food and view of Wishes from the observation deck. Once again, a wonderful end to a wonderful day. HOWEVER, our mistake that day was that we didn't take our afternoon nap.... WE WERE POOPED!!! I almost fell over on the bus cuz i was dozing off so hard. but it was a wonderful day!
12/29
We woke up a little later today (600) and did a full day at EPCOT. We rushed to Mission: Space and Test Track first thing. We did MS twice. I fell in love with that ride. My girlfriend fell in love with Test Track. The weather was already really warm and i was wishing that i had brought shorts. But it was bearable. Actually, quite comfortable. We had lunch at Restaurant Marrakesh and dinner at Restaurant Akershus. Both were excellent! Finished off the park with Illuminations. I love EPCOT. Observation: Parents seemed a lot more irritable here than the other parks. My theory was the alcohol and the fact that the kids probably didn't enjoy the educational side of disney as much as the fantasy. Hence...complaining and whining....hence...mad parents. oh well.
I LOVE EPCOT!
12/30
Waking up at 7:00 for an early start at the Animal Kingdom. We did the the Kilmanjaro Safari first thing and watched the Festival of the Lion King and It's Tough to Be a Bug! Both excellent shows. This park was very mellow for us and we strolled through with no real problems with the crowd. We headed back to the resort for a nap and then to Downtown Disney for some shopping. We then went to check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge (of which i absolutely LOVED) and had dinner at Boma, of which I also absolutely loved! The desserts are to die for. Excellent dining experience. We finished the night off with Cirque Du Soleil. My girlfriend loved it and wanted to see more. I promised her a trip to Vegas to see the other shows there. I've seen them all and still am amazed. The Chinese yo yo girls were adorable. The day was over and I began to realize that our trip was already coming to an end soon.... I wanted to make the MOST out of our next and final day.
12/31
New Year's Eve at the Magic Kingdom presented an entirely new definition of massive crowds and interesting observations of pissed off parents dragging and spanking the bejeezus out of little kids. I could understand why they would be a bit irritable but jeez, it's Disneyworld...let the kids have fun...not live out their days in fear. I was a little annoyed with that kind of behavior. Anyways, we took it REALLY easy that day and go Fast Passes as fast as we could. We did Mickey's Philharmonic again cuz we love it soooo much. We at the Crystal Palace and took pics with Pooh and friends. Watched Wishes from the restaurant patio. Very good view. We got good viewing spots for Spectro Magic and got a little added bonus to walk behind the last car. It was like were in the parade. Then some crazy parents pushed us out of the way to get their kids up to the front. Inside I wanted to trip the parents but I quickly decided that it was for the kids so took it all with a smile and enjoyed the experience to the best of it. We spent the rest of the evening shopping and looking for good spots to watch the New Year's Eve Fantasy in the Sky fireworks. We ended up on the end of Mainstreet near the big fork where the different roads lead to the different "lands." We counted down the new year and watched the explosions of color coming from all directions. It was absolutely wonderful. We felt like we were the only ones on the planet, despite the fact that we were completely surrounded with people blowing noise makers and going crazy! Magical. We headed back to our room to finish packing and get ready to leave the World. It was a sad night but I just kept thinking about all of the things that we've done and experienced. It went by soooo fast.
01/01
Left the POR in our towncar around 830AM and were soon on our 1035 flight back to IAH....back to reality. Now, everything is boring and uneventful
. But it's good that way. Gives us an incentive to plan our next trip hopefully in the near future.Our most magical moment: New Year's Eve at the Magic
Kingdom
Our best meal: Boma: Flavors of Africa
My Favorite Ride: Mission:Space
Mickey's Philharmonic
The Classics (POC, HM, Star Tours, etc)
Her Fav's: Mickey's Philharmonic
Test Track
Star Tours
Tower of Terror
Summation of Weather: Warm around 75-79
Completely Clear during most of the trip
My number one complaint: Irritable parents and a couple of
very rude CM's at the POR front desk.
My number one recommendations: GET YOUR REST!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GO EARLY!!!!!!!!!
I hope this helps those who are going soon or are ever planning on going during the post holiday season. Of course, this summary does not include everything and I am sure that I forgot some of the major details. The week just went by so fast
. But if you have any questions, I'll still be frequenting the board so I'll try to answer your questions from my experience last week. But lemme tell you, the crowds didn't get us down, the planning is crucial, and you must just let the magic happen. I understand that it can much harder to have a whole family along and that we had the advantage of being just the two of us with strong legs and good backs. But either way, it's the happiest place on earth. One MUST enjoy the time and cherish the moment...no matter how long the lines are. Happy New Year's to Everyone and G'luck to those leaving for their magical journey soon!!!!!!foobs
Be afraid, children... be very afraid! 
