Is 7 Days Enough to Make a First Timer Fall in Love??--Aug'11 TR-- FINAL UPDATE 8/26

[heathsf]

A Few Pictures of Pop Century

Here is the front entrance:

The bus stops from a distance:

I assume this is how they transport luggage while keeping with the theme. Gotta love that attention to detail:

Check-in area:

Place for kids to be entertained while waiting to check-in:

Entrance to gift shop/food court:

Area by our room:
(I apologize for the poor picture quality, I didn't realize how foggy my lens was from the humidity when I took these)

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Bowling Pin Pool:

Our room:

Movie night at the Hippy Dippy Pool:

Early morning painting touch-ups:

Construction on the Art of Animation Resort:

Up Next: We head to our first park of the trip

 

[jessiegirl84]

Just joining in now cant wait to read all about you trip'

 

[heathsf]

Just joining in now cant wait to read all about you trip'

Thanks for joining in!

 

[PixieMama]

I think the "foggy" pics are kinda cool!

Love seeing all the photos... especially since I'll be staying there for the 1st time soon!

 

[heathsf]

Saturday, August 20 - Part 3

We quickly changed into shorts and put on sunscreen, then headed for the bus stop. It was pretty empty so we waited on a bench under the fans instead of by the curb.

After just a few minutes, a Magic Kingdom bus pulled up and we were on our way! We arrived at MK at 12:00 pm, only 3 hours after the park opened. We pretty much had a full day ahead of us!

It took just a minute to have my bag checked and go through the turnstiles and then we were walking down Main Street! I kept reminding BF to make sure he takes in his surroundings and all the attention to detail.

BF's first EVER picture in front of the castle!

Hmm...I think I forgot to say "smile!"

The first thing we did was head to Frontierland to get FP for Splash Mountain.

The standby wait time for Splash Mountain was 75 minutes at 12:30 pm. Our FP return time was for 1:45 pm. Exactly 75 minutes later. Funny how that works out. Now, what to do with our 75 minutes since we didn't have to wait on line? Well, BF would be going on his first ride at Disney World! I pulled out my phone to consult the Lines app and see what the reported wait times were. Pirates of the Caribbean was posted as a 20 minute wait and since it was pretty close to where we were and it was a ride that BF was looking forward to, it was chosen as our first ride of the vacation! We made our way back to Adventureland and saw Jack Sparrow before we even got on the ride!

It turned out to only be a 15 minute wait but anyway, it's certainly not a boring queue to walk through. While on line I just had to say, "You've never seen any waiting areas at Six Flags that look like this, have you?" and "Look at all this attention to detail. Six Flags would never do anything like that!" I just couldn't help myself...

I was so happy that BF really enjoyed the ride. He knew it was a classic and he appreciated how groundbreaking the technology was at the time that the ride opened. He enjoyed all the details and the storyline too. Hooray!

Now it was time for lunch. I had told BF about some of the counter-service options and the food they had at each but he wanted me to choose. So I did. We went to Columbia Harbour House in Liberty Square. I had heard good things about the food and the views from the upstairs seating.

This is a picture of the downstairs seating:

I ordered the fried shrimp and fries with chocolate cake for dessert.

BF ordered chicken & fish and fries with an apple crisp for dessert.

The shrimp was tasty but there was much more breading than shrimp which made it very filling. It came with a cocktail sauce that was pretty good. For the last couple of shrimp, I peeled off the breading and just dipped the [tiny] shrimp in the cocktail sauce because I couldn't bear to eat any more friend breading. I had had this chocolate cake before and it is very very chocolatey. Chocolate cake with chocolate icing. I have a hard time handling that much chocolate at once but other than that, the cake is pretty good for what it is.

BF finished his whole plate (and a few of my shrimp too). He enjoyed his meal including the apple crisp, although he did comment that it wasn't very crispy. This lunch would have cost us $32 and change but we used 2 counter-service credits from the dining plan.

By the time we finished lunch, it was just about 1:45 so we could get another FP. BF chose Space Mountain so we headed to Tomorrowland. The return time was 2:45, only an hour later. I was pleasantly surprised that both FP we had picked up that day had return times less than 2 hours in the future. It looked like we would be able to do a lot.

Next we did the People Mover which really never has a wait longer than a minute or two, if it even has a wait at all. The entrance can be difficult to find if you don't know where it is. It's in the center of Tomorrowland, underneath Astro Orbiter (but next to the entrance to Astro Orbiter), just behind The Lunching Pad. Look for this sign:

Here's where the escalator takes you up:

I LOVE this ride! I had always enjoyed it, but I discovered that I truly love love love it on my last trip with my mom. I think we rode it four or five times on that trip. It's especially fun at night when Tomorrowland is all lit up. But anyway, I instructed BF to pay attention since he would be getting a tour of Tomorrowland. I also thought it was fun that we had *just* gotten FP for Space Mountain and now he was going to get a sneak preview of it!

BF didn't enjoy the ride as much as I do, but he did like it.

I figured at this point we could do another attraction in Tomorrowland that wouldn't have a long wait in the afternoon. I asked BF if he would rather do Carousel of Progress or Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. He chose neither. Instead we ventured into Fantasyland to see Mickey's Philharmagic, another one of my favorites. It was posted as a 5 minute wait but we walked right into the waiting area just outside the theater. It was only a few minutes before the doors opened. I was *thrilled* to see BF smiling and laughing through the show. Afterwards he said, "That was really cool!" He was genuinely enthusiastic! He said it was waaaay better than he was expecting it to be and he really liked it a lot!!!! Oh my gosh I was *soooo* flipping excited that he liked it that much! Even now as I write about it, I'm all excited and giddy!

After this we decided to use our FP for Splash Mountain so we headed back to Frontierland. It had been really hot but there were some dark clouds rolling in at this point:

BF liked this ride a lot (It's another one of my favorites, did I mention that already? Is there a limit to how many favorite rides a person is allowed to have at Disney World?). We had asked to sit in the front because we were really hot and wanted to get wet. We didn't really need to worry about that though, because by the time our log took us back outside for the drop, it was raining. And by the time we reaching the loading area to exit the ride, they were announcing that it would be closed due to the weather. By the time we got outside to look at our ride photo, it was POURING!

Ride photo:

Pouring rain:

I know that torrential rain storms are normal for a Florida afternoon but WOW was it coming down! We waited for 25 minutes underneath the overhang at Splash Mountain before it had slowed down enough for us to venture out into it. It was still raining pretty hard though. The area near the FP machines for SM had turned into a little lake. People were standing there with water past their ankles! We ran next door to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to get FP for later. There were soooo many people huddled in that area trying to stay dry that I really couldn't get close to the FP machine. I ended up handing our cards to the person next to me, who handed them to the person next to him, who stuck them into the FP machine for us and then passed everything back. Then we ran off to the nearest store to buy ponchos.

Up Next: Another ride and then an absolutely delicious dinner

 

[heathsf]

I think the "foggy" pics are kinda cool!

Love seeing all the photos... especially since I'll be staying there for the 1st time soon!

You'll love it. It's just great for the price. It's fun, cute, and clean...what else do you need? The funny thing about the foggy pictures is that the same thing happened when I put my sunglasses on first thing in the morning. I couldn't see because they just immediately fogged up!

 

[TinkerbellBby]

I'm late, but I'm in . Lovin' the TR so far !

 

[teekathepony]

Hi! I'm joining in, sounds like a great TR in the making. When I first took my DH it was the same story, he was pretty skeptical about the whole thing, now he never wants to go anywhere else!

 

[FosterA]

Saturday, August 20 - Part 3


I figured at this point we could do another attraction in Tomorrowland that wouldn't have a long wait in the afternoon. I asked BF if he would rather do Carousel of Progress or Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. He chose neither. Instead we ventured into Fantasyland to see Mickey's Philharmagic, another one of my favorites. It was posted as a 5 minute wait but we walked right into the waiting area just outside the theater. It was only a few minutes before the doors opened. I was *thrilled* to see BF smiling and laughing through the show. Afterwards he said, "That was really cool!" He was genuinely enthusiastic! He said it was waaaay better than he was expecting it to be and he really liked it a lot!!!! Oh my gosh I was *soooo* flipping excited that he liked it that much! Even now as I write about it, I'm all excited and giddy!


Up Next: Another ride and then an absolutely delicious dinner

Yay!!! loving the report so far. Great details!!!
Ok, I am all excited and giddy now hearing about how he liked Philarmagic. I never made it to this attraction when I went on my solo tour so I'm very curious about it. I think my husband will really like it too!
I want to try to do this our very first night after arrival. This and Haunted Mansion!
thanks for the report, can't wait for more!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Hi! I'm joining in and looking forward to hearing more about how DBF enjoyed the trip. We are two first timers going in two weeks and staying at Pop. We have requested the building you guys were staying in. Love all the pics of Pop - can't wait to stay there!

Glad the airport delay wasn't too long and love the MK pics. Can't wait to eat at CHH!

 

[serene56]

We requested 60's first floor or close to elevator since we had 2 people in wheelchairs.

When we checked in each of our rooms were in each building and not really doable- so we got 50's- third floor- so far away from the elevators/stairs
But we managed.
50's was very quiet.

 

[jenneth79]

Checking in and caught up on your TR so far!

Looks like you might be on your way to converting that BF of yours! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

And to answer your question, no, one cannot have too many favorite rides at Disney World

 

[Leshaface]

Omgosh, I started to get worried for you in the beginning...first the gas, then the delay?! I truly would have started crying after the delay, especially if you had experienced this already. But i'm SO happy it turned out great.

And I have to say that I LOVE that you take pictures, regardless of how big a crowd there is. Like the pictures of the lines at the airport and the crowd at Pop Century. I love to see crowd pictures, but for some reason get embarrassed like someone will get mad at me or something. I also love that you take pictures of things that are not so obvious. I've never seen the Pop Century 'suitcases' before! That is so neat!

Your BF looks truly happy on the Splash pic

Can't wait to hear more!!!

Oh, did you find the Line Waits App to be fairly accurate? I have the Disneyland Wait App that I haven't tried yet, but will try it in November, but just wondering if it's accurate enough to go off of...

 

[NMW]

Subscribing

 

[IheartDDuck]

There is absolutely no such thing as too many favorite rides at WDW. I have many. I'm totally with you about the Peoplemover too. I love that ride and have loved it since I was four years old. I can go round and round on it.

I'm so glad that your BF is enjoying himself so far. Philharmagic is definitely a great show, so I would hope that he loved that.

 

[heathsf]

I'm late, but I'm in . Lovin' the TR so far !

Thanks so much!

Hi! I'm joining in, sounds like a great TR in the making. When I first took my DH it was the same story, he was pretty skeptical about the whole thing, now he never wants to go anywhere else!

Thanks for joining! I'm glad your DH loved Disney so much! How long ago was your first trip together?

Yay!!! loving the report so far. Great details!!!
Ok, I am all excited and giddy now hearing about how he liked Philarmagic. I never made it to this attraction when I went on my solo tour so I'm very curious about it. I think my husband will really like it too!
I want to try to do this our very first night after arrival. This and Haunted Mansion!
thanks for the report, can't wait for more!

You *must* do this on your family trip. It is a great great great 3D show. I could do it over and over again. I forget...did you do Haunted Mansion on your solo trip?

Hi! I'm joining in and looking forward to hearing more about how DBF enjoyed the trip. We are two first timers going in two weeks and staying at Pop. We have requested the building you guys were staying in. Love all the pics of Pop - can't wait to stay there!

Glad the airport delay wasn't too long and love the MK pics. Can't wait to eat at CHH!

Oh my gosh you're going to have an amazing time! Will you be writing a TR?

 

[heathsf]

We requested 60's first floor or close to elevator since we had 2 people in wheelchairs.

When we checked in each of our rooms were in each building and not really doable- so we got 50's- third floor- so far away from the elevators/stairs
But we managed.
50's was very quiet.

I'm surprised that they didn't better accommodate you, especially since you had two people in wheelchairs. And you're right it was very quiet. We didn't even hear anything from the construction site across the lake.

Checking in and caught up on your TR so far!

Looks like you might be on your way to converting that BF of yours! Can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

And to answer your question, no, one cannot have too many favorite rides at Disney World

Thanks for coming over! I just finished catching up on your PTR. Oh, and thanks for answering that question for me, I really enjoyed your response

Omgosh, I started to get worried for you in the beginning...first the gas, then the delay?! I truly would have started crying after the delay, especially if you had experienced this already. But i'm SO happy it turned out great.

And I have to say that I LOVE that you take pictures, regardless of how big a crowd there is. Like the pictures of the lines at the airport and the crowd at Pop Century. I love to see crowd pictures, but for some reason get embarrassed like someone will get mad at me or something. I also love that you take pictures of things that are not so obvious. I've never seen the Pop Century 'suitcases' before! That is so neat!

Your BF looks truly happy on the Splash pic

Can't wait to hear more!!!

Oh, did you find the Line Waits App to be fairly accurate? I have the Disneyland Wait App that I haven't tried yet, but will try it in November, but just wondering if it's accurate enough to go off of...

I figure I won't be seeing these people again anyway. So what if they think I'm taking weird pictures?? BF on the other hand, I will continue to see and he *does* think I'm weird for taking soooo many seemingly random pictures! But he doesn't understand how they're going to be used for this TR!!!!

I really only used the "reported wait times" that other people who were in the park posted. And I made sure they were recent, not posted 3 hours ago. I didn't compare all of my actual wait times to Touring Plan's estimates but the few times that I did, they seemed to be fairly accurate.

Did I explain that well enough? Let me know if I confused you.

Subscribing

Thanks for joining in!

There is absolutely no such thing as too many favorite rides at WDW. I have many. I'm totally with you about the Peoplemover too. I love that ride and have loved it since I was four years old. I can go round and round on it.

I'm so glad that your BF is enjoying himself so far. Philharmagic is definitely a great show, so I would hope that he loved that.

Yay! Another Peoplemover fan! It's just so fun and relaxing and there's never a line! You can't beat that combo!

 

[TanzUnited99]

Oh my gosh you're going to have an amazing time! Will you be writing a TR?

Thanks for adding to my excitement!!! I soo can't wait!!!

Will def be writing a TR and have a PTR going - feel free to come and say hi. Don't worry - it has been going for a long time (at one point it felt like this trip would never get here! ) so don't feel like you have to read all of it!

 

[heathsf]

Thanks for adding to my excitement!!! I soo can't wait!!!

Will def be writing a TR and have a PTR going - feel free to come and say hi. Don't worry - it has been going for a long time (at one point it felt like this trip would never get here! ) so don't feel like you have to read all of it!

Going to check it out now!

 

[teekathepony]

Thanks for joining! I'm glad your DH loved Disney so much! How long ago was your first trip together?

His first time to WDW was with me in 2008. He had never been anywhere before, and I insisted. Last year he wouldn't even consider going anywhere else for our honeymoon and this year he wanted to surprise me with a trip for our first anniversary! Next year I want to visit friends in Germany but he doesn't want to -- he wants to go back to Disney again!