Jackie's Dream Come True - Trip Report

[jackieleanne]

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2539053 - Pre Trip Report

Hey everyone so Ive finally got round to starting my trip report from our Christmas trip.

So let me begin.

After a tough year for me Jonathan being the lovely bf he is decided to suprise me on my birthday that we could go to Florida for Christmas as he knew how happy it would make me and he hated seeing me sad. Well that instantly made me feel a lot better and I had to plan for a trip to the world for 7 days.

After researching on time period we decided to go on the 27th November to 4th December and I choose Pop Century with free quick service dining through Dreams Unlimited flying with Virgin from Manchester.

......

Day 1:

Month's later and the night before had arrived very quickly after busy periods at work for us both I actually got in from work at half 5 having still to pack everything and go and pick Jonathan up oh and I'd still not even got a lot of stuff I needed from the supermarket for our trip oops! It was gone 1am by the time we got in bed and I was way to excited so I was up by about half 4 am very excited and pottering about until it was time to leave for the airport and a decent time to wake Jonathan up.

Before we left I used my Virgin Atlantic ap and we was all on time and they actually expected us to arrive earlier than scheduled.

The weather in Manchester was very icy but thankfully like a lot of the UK we actually didn't have any snow yet I'd been very worried about that we got to the airport where despite nearly slipping on the ice I managed to make it to check in on time and thanks to online check in me and Jonathan where checked in and going through security very quickly. This was the first time we'd used the new security and I still think it's quick and if it makes it safer for us to travel than so be it.

We got breakfast and sat in the new lounge for a bit in Terminal 2 before we had a quick shop around duty free in no time what so ever it was time to board I was beyond excited and just wanted to get there already.

....

Well the flight actually went quite quickly surprisingly I watched Toy Story 3 and then fell asleep for quite a lot of it that by the time I actually woke up we was only an hour from landing and they where serving us with our choc ice woohoo we still got it. When we landed it was hot but a little overcast looked like they had just had a shower but it sure beat freezing England! We also arrived a good 40 minutes before scheduled so everything was going great.

Shortly after we had made it to the Magical Express and checked ourselves in our line for POP wasn't that long compared to others and I knew we would make the next bus out for it however it did seem to take a good while for the POP bus to arrive compared to others that seemed to have quite a lot of buses going in and out.

We got chosen for a cruise line bus I was happy that we had a disney bus and not just one of the yellow mears shuttle's Jonathan thought I was being stupid over this and kept taking the Mickey out of me!

It was nice to be able to relax knowing I didn't have to be giving directions and being able to enjoy the film however I do miss getting a car and just getting to the place quickly although Jonathan loved not having to drive right off the flight.

... Right well we still have to arrive at POP and visit DTD but I'm very tired so the rest of this part will have to wait until Tommorow however please feel free to look round my photos on facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=248129&id=508748480&l=660864c7de - Part 1 Photo's from our first few days.

 

[jen_uk]

Great start

 

[mark&sue]

Always a great feeling to get there knowing that you have your whole holiday ahead.


susan

 

[jackieleanne]

Day 1/Part 2 - POP & DTD.

We arrived at Pop not long after 3 and as we had checked in online we was served straight away at the desks and given our pack and told how to get to our room etc.

I loved the theming here it was really cool we had a quick look as we walked over to our rooms in the 90s section. We got to our room and had a quick shower to freshen up as well as unpack and change into something cooler as it was really warm outside.

At about five we went and grabbed something to eat in the foodcourt using our dining credits. I had chicken nuggets while Jonathan had pizza. Once we had eaten we hopped on a bus over to DTD.

At DTD we had a few hours looking around and general browsing I didn't actally buy anything on this night although I saw a lot I wanted.

It was about half 8 when we left DTD tired out and ready to go back to the resort for bed. We went for a bus at the Pleasure Island site and was quite lucky as one for POP came in about 5 minutes.

Once back at POP I had just jumped in bed ready to get some sleep when we heard fireworks outside Jonathan looked out and you could see them right infront of us. It was a nice ending to our first day and got me really excited about doing our first park of the trip the next day.

 

[jackieleanne]

Oops it took me way to long to get to Day 2 sorry.

Day 2 - Hollywood Studios

The next morning we were both up bright and early ready for our first park day. Like our last trip in 2008 Hollywood Studios was going to be our first park of the trip with plans to go straight to Toy Story ride the standby and then grab fast passes for later.

First we decided to have a quick snack for breakfast at the POP food court before getting our bus to the Studio's which arrived quite quickly. It was nice and warm out already so perfect as back in England the ice and snow of the winter had already set in.

Once at the studios we waited for a while before we was allowed through the studio and then joined the queue near the front for the rope drop show and ready to run towards Pixar Place. Like most others.

I think it must of been about 10 minutes then before the rope dropped and we was allowed through once we arrived at Toy Story Mania we did as planned and was practically straight on the ride. I absolutely love this ride and it is the one ride I'd probably wait the standby times for when they reach their peak. As usual Jonathan won and we got fast passes to return later on. While Jonathan got the tickets I noticed the Soldiers walking around so grabbed a few photos of them for the album.

It was then time for us to make our way towards TOT and RNRC for what would be our first rides on both of them. I was very excited for RNRC having had my first upside down experience on Nemesis while Jonathan was quite scared about this one. We grabbed fast passes for TOT while we went to ride RNRC the stand by wait only being 20 minutes for this one.

I have to say I absolutely loved RNRC! What an amazing ride Loved how fast it went and loved the music and theaming, can't believe it took me so long to get on this, but so glad I finally did it.

After that it was TOT time I was really nervous about this one but I have to say I absolutely loved the queue perfect theaming really set the atmosphere.
We got the front row and my belly was doing somersaults all the way through but again I loved it and hadn't been expecting it to move forward or jump up and down as much as it did. The view from the top is amazing as well.

We grabbed an early lunch from Backlot Express Jonathan had the salad from his cs credit with Marble Cheescake and I had the hot dog meal with Fries and a Strawberry Parfait which was delicious.

After this we went over to do the Backlot Tour and the Little Mermaid before we headed back to POP for the afternoon to have a break by the pool as it was probably in the 20's despite it being late November.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=248129&id=508748480&l=660864c7de << Here's the link to my facebook album add me as a friend as well if you like.

I will try and write part 2 of day 2 tomorrow.

 

[miss_bell]

Just read through your report and i've had a look at your pics on facebook, looks like you had a nice time, not long until you will be at Saratoga Springs Resort.

 

[suzycute]

Great start to your report!
We went on the day you came back - nearly didn't take off due to the snow though!
Would be lovely to read some more of your trippie!

 

[jackieleanne]

Sorry about the delay here is the next part.


Day 2 – Part 2

After arriving back from the Studios in the afternoon we went out for a swim by the pool for about 2 hours it was cold at first but then we soon warmed up it was around 20 degrees once it got to around four we got out and went back up to the room we took showers.
We headed back towards the studio on the bus thankfully one came fairly quickly and it was still nice temperatures despite the sun having gone down. We loved the Studios at night and we quickly made our way to do Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights and wow were we blown away. This was amazing and we both absolutely loved it. This is something really not to be missed especially if you go at this time of year. It was magical and made us feel very Christmassy despite it only being November.
We also managed to do one or two rides/shows managing to fit in Tower of Terror, Muppets, Movie Ride, One Man’s dream and Little Mermaid with it being evening hours for Hollywood Studios.
I have to say I love night time at the Studios especially when it is all done up for Christmas. We had a snack from the food court at POP once we got back and then headed straight to sleep we had to be up early for the Extra Morning Hour at Animal Kingdom.

Again Pictures can be found here

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.482339258480.248129.508748480&l=660864c7de

 

[jackieleanne]

Day 3 – Animal Kingdom.

A bright and early start this morning so that we could head down to Animal Kingdom for the EMH. It was already lovely and sunny and we didn’t feel cold in our shorts and T-shirts. Our bus arrived straight away and we had soon arrived at Animal Kingdom where I was completely blown away by the tree! Wow I loved this one loved the decorations and all the features of it so we had to get a few pictures before we went inside.
Once inside we did the usual fast passes for Everest on the way to the Safari. At the safari we got on straight away with no queue and I have to say this is the best Safari I have been on yet at the Kingdom. We got to see the new baby Giraffe running right by our vehicles as well as seeing the young Rhino very closely but best yet was when we reached the lion. I was happy enough to see that he wasn’t sleeping but up and about but boy was we shocked at what happened next. He started to roar and he didn’t just do it once or twice but a good few times. It was spectacular and I managed to get it all on my video camera. When we got off as it hadn’t opened the queue was still very short and we decided to get straight back on.
Again we got some great shots of the animals and then once we had come out into the trails we also managed to get some great views/pictures of the Gorillas. We both love Animal Kingdom one of our favourite parks.
We then headed over to Everest and went to see the Yeti which was brilliant yet again I love this ride it makes my stomach flip so many times in addition to screaming my head off. We also did Kali River Rapids but used our Mickey Mac’s as we didn’t want to be unable to dry off if we got soaked. And we got drenched so thank god we did decide to wear them! In Summer I’m happy to get drenched but even with temperatures in the mid 20’s I was not going to go without a mac for this!

We went over to Dinoland and it was a walk on for Dinosaur so we went on and then also did Triceratops Spin before we ate lunch at Dinousauraus. I can’t remember what we had now it’s been to long oops. (Sorry).
After lunch we went over to watch my favourite show Festival of the Lion King we were in the Lion Section and yet again this show was amazing and a nice little break from a busy day.

Afterwards we headed off back to the hotel for a swim by one of the quiet pools while it was nice.
I had to say I loved Magic Kingdom at Christmas once we got off the monorail I was in love with the theming especially in the shop windows down Main Street. We headed towards Frontier Land to get a spot for the parade and then we waited for it to start. I love the Electrical Light Parade but I still prefer Spectro Magic I don’t know if it’s just because it’s the one I grew up on and was the first night parade as I know that I’m nostalgic about the Spectro music especially. After the parade we went on Splash and I got absolutely drenched! And now that it was night time although I hadn’t been cold earlier the wet was making me shiver and It had soaked through my shorts and got all of my knickers soaked! Not good at all we went on Thunder to try and dry off and it did help in addition to the driers but I was still soaking. We did Pirates and then Haunted Mansion before I was like we need to see if we can get a shop that does pants or shorts or something so that I can put them on as I was cold and a little grumpy because of it and I really wanted to stay until Midnight. We ended up heading off as I was really irritable after we couldn’t find anything.
It was probably for the best as I fell asleep the second we got back to the hotel.

Lots of pictures over on facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150130447243481.278669.508748480&l=66b46a207e

 

[irongirlof12]

love disney at xmas, can't wait to read more and I really must be brave enough to try ToT again, you have inspired me!

 

[Habbakuk]

Sounds like a really great trip you had. Hope you can go again soon.

 

[jackieleanne]

Thank you. Will update again tonight.

And also going back in August for 3 weeks Habbakuk can't wait. Busy planning away with that one.

 

[jackieleanne]

Early start today and off to Epcot for Early Magic Hours. Our first stop was Sourin for fast passes and to ride. As I do love this ride but by no means would I queue over half an hour for it. We was straight on and got front row. I didn’t manage to not stop myself from ducking when the golf ball is hit! I do this every time! And yes I still get emotional at the end when Wishes is going on over Disneyland.
Next was straight over in the opposite direction for Test Track I do love this ride but yet again wouldn’t queue over 30 minutes for it. We were straight on test track and no queue’s what so ever! It seemed to go faster this time then what it had when I’d last been yay!
When we got outside it was already sweltering so we headed off to Club Cool for a nice refreshing drink before heading onto Spaceship Earth. I do really like the new additions to it although our picture never came out on the bigger screen at the end. After Spaceship Earth we headed over to Figment! I love this ride but I still think the old one was better.
Once we had been on our Journey Into Imagination we went on Sourin again before heading off to try Captain EO and I loved it. Never seen it before and I really enjoyed it however I think to see it once or twice would be enough where as did Honey I Shrunk The Audience Lots of Time. I wonder if they will ever advance to say a Toy Story 3D or update this show a bit though with the modern 3D technology we have now.
We then went and had a bite to eat using our Snack Credit in the Land Pavilion. I think I had chocolate cake even thought it was early! Can’t remember what Jonathan had now. Oops! We did Nemo and looked around The Sea’s Pavilion before World Showcase finally opened. We grabbed another drink from Club Cool before walking around World Showcase clockwise doing our usual Norway trip love this ride but boy do I always hope that we get there before they close the doors for the film at the end in which like most we make a dash right out to the other side. We went to Mexico and did the boat ride as usual and a look around the stalls.
We stopped when we got to America and grabbed some lunch in the food court. I had a hot dog meal and Jonathan grabbed one of the burgers I loved the Gingerbread house and we headed off straight after for a walk over to the Boardwalk as I’d never been before. We loved this area and loved the look of the hotels and all the Christmas Decorations I took a lot of pictures. After this we got on a bus to Animal Kingdom from The Yacht Club and once there swapped to Pop so that we could have a few hours by the pool as it really was boiling weather we had a swim and a rest by the pool as we were exhausted from all the walking.
That evening we were booked in for a meal at Rose and Crown for the Candle Light Processional package we had booked. It wasn’t long before we were seated quickly and soon enjoying some Schnapps in which I was extremely happy to discover was on the drinks menu and Cider for Jonathan. It was still really lovely outside and we enjoyed the various breads from the basket before our meals came. We both had one of the roasts and absolutely loved them.
I loved the Candle Light Processional but wow it gets so busy even with reservations we had to queue right back to Morocco. It was great thought and quite emotional although that may have been the fact that I was fairly tipsy. We had really good spots for Illuminations though once we came out and I loved the show more than I usually do especially all the Christmas Fireworks added at the end and all the Greetings. I love World Showcase at Night it really does look amazing. As we knew we had to get a bus after it finished we casually made our way back slowly stopping to take lots of pictures and look in Mouse Gear on the way out.

Lots of pics from today can be found on my facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.482390943480.248157.508748480&l=747c5775bb

and http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.482422923480.248185.508748480&l=55b0737c67