It's alright, I'm still alive! a TR -- Day 11: Aquatica-- Updated 27/4

[Snowy-girls]

Looking forward to your update,hope all goes well with the move+Uni.x.

 

[DisneyJo]

Your RFC meal sounds good, the wait doesn't though

Have fun at Uni and we'll be here to read when you have time

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Hey guys just thought I'd drop by and explain the reason why this TR has ground to a complete hault. (yet another apology!!)

As you may have read above when I moved to uni at the end of september I left all the pictures at home on my old laptop.... unfortunately, despite my brother transfering them onto a cd for me, me transferring them on to a cd and my brother trying again my laptop is just not recognising that there are any photos on the cd's... so I know how 6 useless cd's(2 per try!) Have I ever told you just how much I HATE technology?!

I'm in the midst of organising my photos so as to get my brother to email them up to me, but it is taking a while as I have to try and remember what I had!

I really do apologise for the delay but if you remain seated the ride will begin shortly!

Promise!!! :

Thanks Snowy-girls and Jo for your comments!!

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Wahoo! After what seems like months and months of trying soso hard to get this TR up and running again I have finally succeeded... the photos, which I thought were lost forever (that's a totally different story in itself... to cut a long story short the computer had a major melt down!!) are finally on photobucket and ready to go!! So that means I can finally continue this TR a good 6 months after we went!!! so I hope you're all sitting comfortably because I'm going to begin....

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Day 3 brought Epcot.... it's a sort of tradition in our family that that's the first park we head to first... now I know what you're thinking, why not MK, well I think it's something to do with the fact that the very first time we went to WDW that was the very first park that we ever went to, it makes it kind of special don't you agree, for that reason Epcot has always had a soft spot in our family and I see no reason to change that!!

Yet again I rallied the troops... yes by now I had firmly established who was in charge of what time we got up and when we left the hotel/condo... we drove into Epcot around about 8:30 again which left plenty of time for a slow walk up to the park, the expected jaw dropping moment when you first see the 'golf ball' and of course the liberal application of sunscreen in the rope drop queue!

Bringing the characters out to 'warm up' the crowd was amazing, although my one gripe was that we were too far back to see as much as I had liked, although this was quickly countered by the fact that the little girl infront of my got all the attention which was 1. an awesome thing to see, her smile was as wide as her face, and 2. allowed me to snap this pictures...

We, along with the rest of the crowd, headed straight for Soarin', after all we had had such luck with TSM why should we hit a snag here? (On a little side note I did hear a funny... a man went up to a CM mid surge and asks him which way to Soarin', to which the reply was... honestly Sir, I don't think you have much chance of going anywhere else!!)

We were greeted in the Season's cafe by a whole host of CM's clapping, banging drums and generally singing and dancing, it was fantastic, and a very good, 'welcome back to Disney'. This is the best photo I got..

It seems we weren't wrong in the luck stakes either, we departed from the throngs making a bee-line for the fast pass and instead made our way down to the front of the ride, all I can say is my oh my is that queing system long, it seemed to go on forever and ever, and we were taken through all the short cuts!!!

It seemed our luck had not departed from us and no sooner had we joined the queue we were on the ride, indeed as the CM proudly told us, we were the first rider of the 30th June 2008... hell yes!!!

I had read quite a lot about Soarin' and honestly wasn't all that impressed by the write ups, but now I can see they just don't do it justice, and in many ways I don't think they will ever be able to. The ride took my breath away, the realism of it all was amazing, and I joined the many others breathing a sih of relief when we made a close call with the trees, and ducking as the golf ball flew out to hit us, the smells were fantastic and the whole ride just brilliant!

After Soarin' we decided to try our luck and see how bad the FP times has gotten for TT, which it turns out weren't bad at all, we had about an hour and a half's wait so decided to pick some up and head over to MS (the orange kind!) and ride that. Now I love this ride, my family however do not. I love feeling the G's, my family do not. The one thing they do like doing however is pressing the buttons, and on that alone I was able to convince them, just this once, to ride orange with me. I thought it was brilliant... my family, especially my dad, replied with "green next time Laura!!"

Next went moved on to Ellen's Universe of Energy... 90% of the reason to escape the sun which our English bodies still hadn't got used to!! It's not a bad ride, just goes on for a long time, but we try to ride every ride at least once, so we found ourselves sat on the ride for best part of an hour learning the numerous different dinosaurs and climate control techniques!!

After that came TT, now I love this ride, and I mean really love it, it's a lot tamer than I remember it being, so far as it is a lot slower round the track, I don't know whether that's because being a driver myself now I know how quick things are, or whether it was because the last time I rode was when I was 14, that speed isn't quite so exciting now! None the less I still loved it! We were aware that this was the only ride we could pick up a photopass ride photo for, so we prepared ourselves with the faces we were going to pull. Unfortunately things did not go as according to plan as we had hoped and we ended up with 2 extra people in our car, who we obviously didn't want in our photo with us, and who weren't open to discussing the various faces we pull. Infact I don't think we could have gotten 2 more serious people, they were obviously a couple, but I think they were slightly annoyed at the fact that they were split up between the front and the back of the car, well if you do get in the single riders lane what do you expect?! The photo came out as my family pulling the most outragous faces we could, their faces... as straight as anything, not even a hint of a smile! Still it gave us an excuse to go back on again later!!!!

From there we made our way in to World Show case as by now it had opened and we were quite up for a leisurely stroll around the various countries, we were a bit ride-d out for the time being.

Stopping for a few photo's...

However no sooner had we all agreed this we found ourselves in Norway, queing for Malestrom. The very first time I went on this ride, as I think it the same for many, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the waterfall and proceeded to yell at my parents at how they had promised me it was just a boat ride, no chance of getting wet... I had water rides with an absolute passion, don't know what it is about them, I just don't like getting wet with clothes on, bazar aren't I? Makes my job choice slightly hypocritical, being a lifeguard and all that!! My parents just laughed at me, they had seen that bit from the outside and realised it didn't go down the waterfall, it merely turned round!! It still makes me heart leap out of my chest everytime I go on that ride now, even though I know what will happen there is always the vague possibility Disney has changed the ride for some reason!!! Upon getting off the boat we made our way into the theatre, only to follow the age old trick of following the last group out again, we were not in the mood to sit and learn about Norway!! I feel for sure the CM saw us, but I was sheepishly avoiding her glance, so I can't tell you for definate!!

As has been the case in many of my installments I shall end (and begin) on food... stay tuned!!!

 

[fizz13]

I have been away from the Dis for a little while so am really glad you have started to post again now, means I didnt miss your fabbie trip report and I am loving how much detail you are putting in. i am also a rope drop freak which amuses whoever I am with no end
Will look out for more.

 

[Snowy-girls]

YAY-you're back ,and with a great update.I too am like you-i hate water rides for the fact i hate being wet with my clothes on.I DON'T DO water rides,but Hubby does'nt understand .
Great pics by the way.
Hope you're keeping well.x.

 

[jjk]

lovely day at epcot

 

[juliebrooks35]

I've just started reading this TR and absolutely loving it . I love all your pictures, especially the ones you just can't see in guide books etc such as those on the plane, the Magical Express bus and the WDW sign. It makes it all seem real and I'm getting so excited about my trip in June

We've got friends going in March for the very 1st time with Virgin and I can't wait to show them your report so far, I'm sure they'll love it.

Keep up the good work

 

[disneyhockeymad]

I have been away from the Dis for a little while so am really glad you have started to post again now, means I didnt miss your fabbie trip report and I am loving how much detail you are putting in. i am also a rope drop freak which amuses whoever I am with no end
Will look out for more.

Thanks! I can't believe how long it took me to come back, so many things got in my way, but I'm glad that you're still reading along!!

YAY-you're back ,and with a great update.I too am like you-i hate water rides for the fact i hate being wet with my clothes on.I DON'T DO water rides,but Hubby does'nt understand .
Great pics by the way.
Hope you're keeping well.x.

No none of my family understand either... I dunno what it is, just dont like having wet clothes!!

lovely day at epcot

Thanks there's still more so stay tuned!!

I've just started reading this TR and absolutely loving it . I love all your pictures, especially the ones you just can't see in guide books etc such as those on the plane, the Magical Express bus and the WDW sign. It makes it all seem real and I'm getting so excited about my trip in June

We've got friends going in March for the very 1st time with Virgin and I can't wait to show them your report so far, I'm sure they'll love it.

Keep up the good work

Aww thanks I'm so jealous of you going in June, you'll love it!! Virgin are amazing...(!) I have friends who have gone with another company and then with Virgin and say Virgin wins hands down!! I think it's all the extras like they skymap and the little snacks that make it

 

[arieljasmine]

Yey, thanks for carrying on, Laura, I am loving your trip report. I loved the story about you all pulling faces on TT and the couple in with you not looking amused - classic!

Laur's xx

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Yey, thanks for carrying on, Laura, I am loving your trip report. I loved the story about you all pulling faces on TT and the couple in with you not looking amused - classic!

Laur's xx

Hehe thanks Yer the couple made me laugh, luckily later on in the trip we got a car all to ourselves to I was over the moon!!

My mid terms have just finished and I've just caught the train home from uni due to the fact I have a week off, now thanks to general student sleeping patterns I'm wide awake when the rest of my family is asleep... so what better to do than update my TR... enjoy!!

 

[disneyhockeymad]

So where had we got to... ah yes we'd just come off Malestrom! By this time it was about 12 o'clockish I think, so we decided that it was time, for our elevenses so off we headed towards America for a good old cake and coffee My brother and I chose a muffin to share as they were so big, my mum an apple danish and my dad a cinamon roll, they were heaven!! In hindsight my brother and I made a bit of a mistake going for the chocolate muffin, seeing as the Florida heat and chocolate don't really go, none the less it was good and we weren't complaining.

I only managed to get a picture of the mine and my brothers food, unfortunately I wasn't quite quick enough with my parents and by the time I'd got the camera out it had half gone!! But here is the muffin!

After the gorgeous cake break we decided to walk around World Showcase for a bit taking in, and remembering all the sites and smells of the various countries. I do love World Showcase, although people mock it I do really like it, to be honest I have no idea why but it's nice just to have a break from the hustle and bustle of the rides and just explore!!

Home sweet home!

Once we were fully explored out we decided it was once again time to immerse ourselves in a little imagination, so we, of course, headed straight to Figment. I LOVE this guy, the song gets stuck in my head for hours mind you but I think I can deal with that... "It's not about listening with your ears... It's about listening with your imagination!... For every sound, your ears are hearing..." hahaha I love it!

After 'subjecting' my parents to possibly the worlds most annoying yet incredibly catchy tune (after IASW of course!) we decided to head over to Livig with the Land, briefly hoping on the way that we might try our luck in getting fast passes for Soarin'; we weren't holding out much hope but we had our fingers and toes and everything else crossed! Yet again the big Walt in the sky smiled down on us and the fast past timer wasn't late at all, infact it was 18:30-19:30, so we decided to go for it, result!! We managed to hit LWTL at the right point as well and walked straight on to a boat! Excellent!!

Now my most favourite part of this ride are the greenhouses they take you through too, and I almost thought we weren't going into them, for some reason what my brain remembered about the ride and what actually happened were two completely different thing, but I'm not complaining, it was a nice surprise!

This tree was my personal favourite...

Now after discussing this in AGPrincess' TR I had to take a picture of it myself, I don't know what it is about it but pineapples just don't grow like this in my head... is it just me!?

These tanks scare me too... aren't they angry with being cooped up in a small tank?!

I love the way these hang up!

and if you look closely... you can see one earning it's ears!

Next it was over to the sea's with Nemo and friends, now this was a totally new ride for us, when we were last at WDW it had something to do with a lift taking you underground maybe?! I don't really remember, just that it wasn't my favourite, I was hoping Nemo (being one of my favourite films) would make it better!

It was interesting... let's just say that. I can definately see how it attracts the young kids though, Turtle Talk with Crush was quite funny, one little kid got so excited he got selected!!!

 

[disneyhockeymad]

We were getting hungry again and opted to head towards World Showcase to get something 'international', we chose Morocco, more specifically the Tangerine Cafe. It was good, really good!!!

My brother and I both chose the meatballs, Mum and dad chose the wrap...

After dinner we wandered around World Showcase again and saw Illuminations being set up for the night, it was so interesting to watch, the fireworks are all on barges and they are transported to the of the lake, it looked like they were going to tip over, I swear they shouldn't go that fast!!

Right I'm going to leave it here, I didn't quite manage to finish on food, but it was close!!

Stay tuned for one of Florida's favourite rainstorms, the debate whether Illuminations was being put on and an ABBA tribute band!!

 

[disneyhockeymad]

After we'd seen that we headed to try another new ride, well I say new, the same ride plus 3 new birds!! The 3 cabellero's was good, it's pretty much the same as the old mexico river journey, only with a few more friendly faces! I took this photo, it's a bit blurry but you get the idea.

We ran into 3 Cabellero's Donald Duck outside, he was the first character that I had seen, I was almost to excited to see him. The photopass photographer was laughing so much at me, apparently he hadn't seen someone look so excited in a long long while!! He busied himself taking numerous photos of me and my shock and surprise!! haha

We'd had enough of WS for now so we went to SE, one of my favourite favourite rides, was so so looking forward to seeing the changes, I had read so much on the DIS and was super excited to see how it had been updated!!
And it got a massive thumbs up from me, it was just as good as I remember it and more! I loved the new screens in the seat and I loved the fact they asked you questions that you then answered to predict your future!! I stupidly got so caught up in the moment I forgot to take a picture of them, but I did manage to take this one!!

The new games at the end of SE are fantastic too, I loved the screen where are your future pictures are put up and then sent to which ever part of the world you came from, it was interesting seeing just how many people weren't from the USA or indeed the UK, more than I had ever thought! We came out of the door and were immediately greeted by another Florida thunderstorm. We joined the many other people sheltering under the cover and attempted to work out a plan! We decided after a while to run, and run quickly! It was so much fun, I love running through the rain, which is strange due to my hatred of water rides, maybe it's something about being in the happiest place on earth?!

We ran to MS and straight onto the green side (after my family hating the orange one, I didn't have much of a choice!) I didn't think it was as good as the orange one, but I still enjoyed it thoroughly!! Soon after that our time was up to use fastpasses for Soarin', so off we trundled! Not only did we skip past a 120 minute queue, which people were still joining... (I never understand that personally!!) we were put on the front row, which was AMAZING! no feet to get in the way, it felt so real! Definately my favourite ride of the day! The call of Season's beckoned to us after we came off the ride, the cakes just looked to delicious! That's the thing with Disney, you do some much walking you can afford to eat what you want, I love it!!!

From the bottom left I chose the chocolate cake, Dad had some apple thing (!), my brother chose a ricecrispie square and Mum the keylime pie. They were delicious!

We had heard that Bjorn Again were playing at the theatre opposite the USA (whose name completely escapes me right now!) in WS and Mum and Dad wanted to see them so we wandered off over there, and I have to say, they were very very good!! Everyone was dancing and singing along!

After that we stalked out a spot for Illuminations, and thanks to TourGuide Mike got a very very nice one! I miss the parade that came before Illuminations, Tapestry of Nations or something, it used to be so good, I was gutted to hear they'd stoped it!! (Now you can see how long it's been since we last went!) The fireworks were as awesome as I remembered, I loved them!!

When Illuminations finished we were shattered! We had hit it a bit hard on our first day, but we didn't mind, we had put in lots of rest stops in various cafe's (aided by a bit of cake!) but we were definately ready to go home, so back home we headed. The journey home was uneventful, but when we got back we looked out from the balcony and saw the MK fireworks. Definately a great ending to a fantastic day!!

 

[disneyhockeymad]

Well today was the day we were going to be a bit naughty.... we decided to go to the rival of all rivals... Universal Studios (and Islands of Adventure). We slept in slighty later this morning and were at the park by 9:30 instead of our usual rush for no later than 8:30 at Disney. It was a nice change!!

If there is one idea Disney should definately take from US it is without a doubt the moving walkways that take you from your car to the park, it's not so much of an issue in the morning, but after a long long day when you're legs have pretty much given up, they're definately welcome, you just step on and let them do the work for you!! When we arrived in City Walk we had a vote on which park to head to first, it was a pretty easy vote with IoA winning 3-1 (my brother always has to be difficult), so off we headed.

GRUMBLE- I don't like the ticket machines, or indeed the ticket attendants in the Universal complex as it were, they finger scanners they had never picked up our finger print despite the fact we used the same finger and whenever we had a problem they were always so rude to us about it. If Disney have managed to master it why can't Universal!? Grumble over!!

We made a b-line straight for Spiderman, it is our favourite ride in IoA, it's so real and I love the fact it's 3D. Even though my mum can't see 3D she still gets a massive kick out of the way the car moves and tends to react along with our faces, which are, apparently, always hilarious!! We only had a 5min wait too so we weren't complaining!!!

Next was the Hulk, mum doesn't like this rollercoaster, neither does my brother so they waited outside whilst my dad and I went on. The Hulk always gets mixed reviews in my books, I love the way it starts with the hidden speed burst when you're least expecting it but after the initial loops and such it gets a bit boring!! I still enjoyed it though!! It looks pretty spectacular though!!

The park was still ridiculously empty after we had come off the Hulk so we decided to wander and go on whatever took our fancy, we made our way to Seuss Land- which is by far the best best best themed land in Florida! I love the fact it is themed right down to the door handles and even the toilets!!

We noticed that the 'High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride' (what a mouthful!) queue had a less than 5 minute wait, and seeing as we had never been on it before we decided to give it a go... despite the fact it was designed for little kids! It was fantastic!! After the initial embarrassment of the rhymes we had to say to get 'the train started' we were off and the views were amazing! It's essentially a ride that tours the whole of Seuss land from the sky... if you get me.

the beginning...

the track and the end...

I hope from the photos you understand what I mean!!

After the HitSSTTR (see what I did there!!) We walked round to Duelling Dragons, again my brother and mum wouldn't ride so dad and I took advantage of the 5 minute queue and rode both dragons. Loved it!! Disney need a suspended roller coaster, I love the fact your feet dangle!!

After Duelling Dragons we were getting slightly hungry and yup you guess it decided to stop for our elevenses... (I did have a picture somewhere but it appears to have gone missing so if I come across it I'll stick it here!!) We got these amazing cakes, my brother and I shared a muffin again, and my mum and dad had a huge yummy looking cake each!!

After food we had had enough of IoA so decided to cross over to US and ride some rides there

First up was ET, I love the cute little cards you get when you go in.

The ride vehicles are really exciting, the bike type thing make it so much more real! The way ET says all your names at the end is just too cool too!

After ET Men In Black called out to us, so dutifully we followed. In my opinion this ride is miles better than Buzz Lightyear and not only because I always do so much better! I like the set up and the fact you can hit the aliens anywhere you want and score, it annoys me that there are targets on Buzz, I always always miss them!! I like the fact there are 2 lots of cars going at the same time too, and the fact you get the chance to shoot at them, makes it much more fun, especially when you're hit (although that's not the objective... I just like the spinning!)

After MIB we rode the Mummy, now dad and I rode this when it had it's soft opening, we were some of the first people to ride it, and we loved it. I don't really remember it but I do know it has changed a lot since we were last on it. That's not to say the changes were bad, I think they were just accomodating the popularity of the ride because the ride vehicles were much much bigger and everything seemed far more 'rollercoaster-esq' at the end. The mummy in the film scares the absolute cr*p out of me, so the only thing I didn't like about the ride was the giant upclose and personal meet and greet with it, but I closed my eyes so I guess all was ok. I made my family promise before they took me that we wouldn't sit in the front row because I couldn't handle being that close to the Mummy, but oh no guess where we were put, and unfortunately we didn't get much of a say in it. I have to say though the ride was definately better upfront, I just closed my eyes during the bits I didn't like!!

Next up: the rest of US and a trip back to HS for some Disney fun!

 

[disneyhockeymad]

After the Mummy we made a short walk to Disaster Studios, I don't remember much from the first time we went to US but I do vaguely remember a ride that was in the same place but I couldn't for the life of me remember what it was, as far as I was aware it was the same ride. It wasn't! Looking back on it I do remember the old Earthquake that was there instead, but I much prefer the new ride that incorporates it, far more fun!!

The queing area was somewhat interesting and slightly scary all at the same time, they had lots of models of the disasters in movies, like this one...

I liked the fact that it was all set up around making stunt disaster films, it was a really good laugh and definately racked up as one of my favourite rides in US, especially because I think we got some of the funniest presenters and people who were selected to take part, they definately played their part. It was fun to spot yourself on the video too, I liked the way they changed the Earthquake bit and filmed it, meaning that those who weren't chosen for the first bit could take part anyways.

We had spotted a little Italian cafe thing walking down the main street which we had earmarked for lunch and as we were starving by this point we made towards it. It was set up very cutely, it was like a little Italian bistro but with a counter service place at the far end, it sold typical Italian dishes like pizza and pasta as well as salads so it was well suited to our needs. I chose a plain margarehitta pizza along with a side salad, Dad a chicken caesar salad with garlic bread, my brother the meatballs and Mum a pepper pizza.

The pizza's were nice, and my dad gave the thumbs up to the salad but I don't think my brother was all that impressed with the meatballs, he ate all the pasta but only managed one meatball. I think that it was a combination of having superb mearballs at Morocco the day before and the fact that the meat in the meatballs couldn't really be defined. Still he wasn't as hungry as us so it wasn't too bad!!

As we walked out of the 'bistro' there was a crowd gathering for the next show of the Blues Brothers, and as we had just eaten it seemed like a perfect opportunity to sit and watch, so we did We have a bit of a family love for the Blues Brothers, and when we discovered that 'they' played US last time we were in Florida we immediately made a mental note to see them the next time we were here. I adore how real it all is, they arrived in the car and everything

they singing was brilliant as always and the saxophanist was amazing too,

they got everyone dancing and shaking their tale feathers, it was such fun to watch!

When they had finished we wandered for a bit unsure of what to do and finally decided on Jimmy Neutron, it's hard to decide whether it was indeed the ride or the pull of the misting fans in the queing area which made us choose this but choose it we did. Dad however refused to ride it as I don't think he liked it much last time and he wasn't up for being thrust about with a full stomach, so he stayed outside whilst we took advantage of the amazingly low queue time of 15minutes.

It was a good ride but I remember it having more pazaz (sp) the first time, still I guess beggers cant be choosers and what not, it was still cheesily fun!!

After we came off it was getting very very hot and finally our typical British bodies were sucumbing to the extreme heat that we were subject too and we decided enough was enough and headed back to the condel.... I've decided seeing as I have no idea what to call where we stayed I shall mix the two together, so condel it is!! The moving walkways definately came into play here, it was soo good not to walk anywhere, although it was quite quiet as we came out so I'm ashamed to say when no one was around to get caught up in it my dad, brother and I had races running down the wrong moving walkway, so against the flow! I did stop long enough to snap these pictures though, which really should have gone at the beginning of this day!!

We rested a bit in the hotel and as soon as we had cooled down we were once more raring to go, but only this time we headed to HS again to try and catch my all time favourite night show, Fantasmic. It was around 6ish by the time we arrived and we were hungry yet again... (I swear it's the heat!) so we stopped in teh ABC cafe briefly and grabbed a snack, I don't even remember what we had... I may have shared a curry with my brother!! It was so good to see this site after US this morning...

After 'dinner' we wandered for a fair bit just soaking up the atmosphere of the park, have I mentioned that I love the music the play in HS, it just makes me want to dance all the time!!! We came across the Prince Caspian walk through and one was about to start, so we joined the queue....

Aslan's table...

Costumes...

continued in next post...

 

[disneyhockeymad]

The animation tour was next, another firm favourite for me, possibly because when I was little this was all I wanted to do, become an animator, things have since changed and I'm now studying law, but there is always hope!!!

We met this little guy, I never thought it was possible to fall in love with a robot, but I did!!

Finally it was time for the late showing of Fantasmic, besides the benefits of having the park all to yourself going to the later showing there is also the bonus of getting a better seat and we got a fab one!! Here are my pictures as I can't even begin to describe how excited I was or indeed the size of the smile that came over my face when I saw the theatre once more

(favourite princess ever!!...)

Leaving was sad, but exciting at the same time, the park was nearly empty, so we got to take in so much more of the atmosphere...

 

[Snowy-girls]

Fantastic updates Laura .
We love Suess Landing,and as much as i am 34,i cannot wait to ride High In The Sky etc....as when we went last time it was'nt a working ride.Also love Spiderman and hoping that both of our girls can get on this ride.
I am so like your Mum-i don't do many rides at IOA-Hubby does-he loves it there.x.

 

[wicket2005]

Thanks for the update, I enjoyed reading it. We love Universal and Islands.