Mike Jones
<font color=993300>....nothing clever to say... ju
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2003
- Messages
- 1,372
The Cast:
Mike, 39, chief organiser, driver and brew maker
Heather, 40, wife and mum
Bethany, 11 (going on 20!), coaster addict, hates getting wet.
Adam, 9, (going on 8!), hates coasters (except BTMRR), LOVES getting wet!
DAY 5 MONDAY 22ND DECEMBER 2003
Todays plan : MGM, AK, AKL & Boma, Illuminations.
Slept a full and unbroken 8 hours and awoke at 600am. Feels a lot milder outside today and I check the local weather channel to see that it should be another pleasant and sunny day! Tried to get some international news not completely dominated by things American, possibly even British, but failed. The main story is that the government has raised the terrorist threat level, and I anticipate more security at the parks as a result.
Usual coffee for me, tea for Heather routine and rouse the kids. Showers, collect gear and leave the villa by 810. MGM is one of the closest parks to the villa (just pips Epcot I fancy) and we are in line by 825. Its a lovely, warm, sunny start to the day. We are delighted to see an aged Cast Member, Stan, who we first saw at Easter. Stan gives out park maps to people in line and offers Mickey stickers to the kids have you seen him? Hes very frail and looks nearer 90 than 80 years old but always has a word and a big smile for everyone! We have often observed that many US citizens appear to work well beyond retirement age, presumably because of necessity and less than perfect pension arrangements.
The raised terror level does not affect the security check. Taking advice from someone elses trip report (Craig, mkingdon, was it you?) we put the missile launchers under our hats and use the grenades as gob-stoppers to avoid detection. We are admitted to the usual rope-drop inside by 845 where we split up. Heather and Adam are going to go to Star Tours (ride and get FastPasses) while Beth and I intend to do the Tower of Terror/ Rock n Roller Coaster double. Park opens at 900 exactly and we pretend not to run down the Boulevard to the Parks most popular two attractions. The crowd splits and we bear right we are about 20 back from the front and actually walk through the lovely garden, queuing area for a change, giving me chance to take some video for Heather, whos never seen it. Ive given up trying to persuade her to ride this now, but would love for her to experience the atmosphere of the grounds, with its spooky feel and cheesy, 20s music. You could even do the pre-show and the boiler room, I suppose, before baling out at the elevator doors.
The ride is excellent as always, with a completely different drop sequence (better and more drops) than our last visit. Lots of first-timers on our load, so multiple screams and howls! (From me, just to wind them up! LOL). Out by 920 and around the corner to join stand-by for RnRC. This is posted at 35 minutes already, but turns out to be exactly 12! Great ride front seats for the first time ever!
We meet Adam and Heather under Sorcerer Mickeys hat as arranged on walkie-talkies. Loads of characters around here! Heather and Adam have done Star Tours twice and have FastPasses for NOW so we ride. I used to like this ride but am getting a bit immune to its charms now as we must have done it 12 1 5 times in the last couple of years. No complaints though, as its one that Adam really hankers for and we never have to queue. Exit at 10:08am and walk straight into the 1015 Indiana Jones Show just in time to see them select the volunteers oh, look Heather, there always seems to be a guy with a loud, pink shirt who gets picked! We are seated quite far left which is fine as this gives a different perspective to previous visits (a bit like at Seaworld, where we sat in the same area twice for Shamu a couple of years ago. It wasnt until we moved to the complete opposite side of the stadium the following year that the show had a fresher feel about it!) (Incidentally, we like Seaworld but are having a rest this time, partly due to less time in Orlando and also to let it fade a bit in our memories we were struggling to fill a day there last time).
Enjoyed the Indy antics. Is this show ready for a makeover now? I imagine Disney will probably keep it as it is due to the obvious expense of refurb and new sets etc., but Id enjoy a different show more, if at all possible. We dont have any other must-dos left here and want to eat at animal Kingdom, so we walk the length of New York Street as we like the feel and visuals here. However, there is significant work going on behind large hoardings, which spoils the effect, so we go through the buildings at the bottom onto Mickey Avenue and loop back to the entrance. We leave the park at 1115 and drive to Animal Kingdom (my notes tell me we parked in row 34, Dinosaur!). Courtesy tram to the gates. Another lovely Christmas tree in front of the entrance, another round of security and another restroom! Kids have agreed on the same place for lunch (not possible, you say, but true!) so even though its a thinly disguised McDonalds, we walk round to Dinoland USA (daft name, but not as bad as Camp Minnie Mickey) and line-up at Restaurantosauras. Beth has cheeseburger and fries, Adam hot dog and fries -$12. While they eat, I obtain FastPasses for Primeval Whirl for self and kids. We move on to the Flame Tree BBQ where Heather has the chicken sandwich and I have ribs, both with beans and corn plus extra bucket of fries. $20. Sat in an attractive, shaded veranda area to enjoy. Warm to hot now, and very busy here. Having finished, we move on to Asia, intending to walk through the Maharajah Jungle Trek so that Heather can say hello to her tigers, but notice that the standby time for Kali River Rapids is only 20 minutes. Another of Adams favourites, so I agree to take him on. We go to the restrooms and remove surplus clothes (underwear for me, same + socks for him!) and entered the line, which now shows 40 minutes! Hes got his head set on it now, so we advance anyway (I would not normally do anything with a 30+minute wait time). We seem to be having lots of luck this week though, and the wait is actually 15 minutes . Im starting to wonder if any of the posted times are reliable. Any views?
Ride is quite pleasant, if a bit short (the prince of raft/rapid rides is undoubtedly Popeye and Bluto at IOA which we hope to do tomorrow I take a full change of clothes for that one!) and we dont get more than splashes, although a couple of co-riders are soaked! We move round the park again to Harambe in Africa for coffee the walkway is jammed solid between Asia and Africa, as a crowd has stopped to view the leaf-lady on stilts. When we first saw this 3 years ago you couldnt see the characters face, and it looked a bit spooky/bizarre. Now the face is green but visible - wonder if they had comments from parents of young kids? We thrust past the logjam and seat ourselves at a favourite and surprisingly peaceful coffee spot in a shady courtyard on the corner of the Asia road and Harambe (sort of diagonally opposite the Tusker House restaurant the African drummers usually play in front of the archway on one side and character greetings occur on the other. Anyway, its a tranquil spot, with fake stone /adobe walls, lots of foliage and you can keep an eye on the crowds through the openings. I get coffees (regular filter coffee + shade grown espresso for me and Minute Maid orange and apple for the kids - $12) sat in the sun to drink, watching Baloo and King Louis greet the kids nearby. The African drummers approach from the Asia side and take up station around the corner. When they finish, they walk into our seating area, as a Cast Member door is right next to us. We get a grin and a few beats of the drums as they pass.
We like the understated atmosphere of Harambe. Have you cottoned on to the washer upper sound effects behind the Tusker House? Well, we discover new sound effects in our little courtyard someone pumping water from a squeaky hand pump! Great attention to detail! FastPass time now, so we walk back to Dinoland & ride Primeval Whirl. Heather sits out as she is not a fan of spinning whirly things and thats basically all this one does! Dinoland USA is bedlam now, and the stand-by time for PW is about 50 minutes. Its pretty good, but not that good. On leaving the ride, we see some street entertainers setting up a 3 man juggler outfit dressed as decorators. I think they were called Slip, Splat and Dip or something similar. They were really great, as I find most ad-hoc Disney acts are, especially at Epcot.
We walk back to Asia and this time we do get on to the Maharajah Jungle Trek for Heather to get her tiger fix! Its busy, but passable, and we get some good video footage of the tigers. They seem much more active than when we have been previously in the hotter months around Easter. We make our way back to the exit via almost every store, although not much is purchased until we get into the Rainforest Café Store. Adam bought a display folder for his squashed penny collection, and Bethany got some sandals. Heather and I both found attractive T-shirts on sale, and then we sat in the discreet garden outside the store for a while. This is a pleasant spot, not at all busy, and can be a great way to sneak past the crowds if you arrive to find that the main entrances are busy you can walk through the shop from the external entrance, go through the garden and you will find another entrance to the park!
Time for our assault on the Animal Kingdom Lodge now, so we drive round (3 minute journey!) and present ourselves at security. My photo ID is requested and checked and the guard makes a note of our car registration. We self-park, as the lot seems very close to reception, and walk up to the lobby. I notice that the layout of car parks, hotel entrance and valet service appears very similar indeed to the Wilderness Lodge I suppose it must work then! We are very impressed with the lobby, particularly the vaulted, beamed and reeded ceilings. We discover the terraces and balconies to the rear, overlooking the savannah areas and sit on the rocking chairs for a while to view the giraffes and other animals wandering about. Outside we have a look around the swimming pool and other animal viewing areas before retiring inside. After taking the lifts up as high as possible to get photos of the lobby from above, we find the entrance to Boma for reference, have a look in the shop and then lounge on the comfy sofas in the lobby until 600pm.
I like the AKL very much, and, had I not already seen the Wilderness Lodge I would have been more impressed still. However, Im not sure that the animal enclosures are totally convincing in the way guidebooks and other reports have suggested. Perhaps the grounds need more time to mature they seemed a little sparse to me but then the animals wouldnt be as visble?! Bit of a conflict here! On balance, I think I would prefer to stay at the Wilderness Lodge if offered a choice of the two. (But hey, if youre paying, Ill go anywhere!)
Descend to Boma reception at 600pm and book in. There are a lot of standby guests waiting to ea, and they are all being told to expect a 50-minute wait. We are given a pager and are called in about 20 minutes. The restaurant is appealing, with its dark and warm styling and mix of different contours and aspects. Our server is Kia who explained the food pod system (Ill shorten it right down for you, folks its a buffet! Help yourself to anything you like the look of!) The only essential difference from most other buffets Ive had are that, (1), you dont really queue up, you graze from different food stations like animals in the wild. Yeah, right! Its a buffet! Oh, and (2) the quality of the food is exceptional! Kia brought drinks choc milk for Adam, strawberry/raspberry smoothie for Bethany and African beers for Heather and I. We had loads of everything and I can only remember some of the dishes (jambalaya soup superb! prime rib, equally so , a gorgeous lamb dish and interesting vegetable sides. The kids had no trouble finding satisfaction either. We tried virtually all the desserts I found the renowned Zebra Dome to be good but whats all the fuss about? The banana bread pudding with vanilla sauce was far better! (IMO, obviously!) I had Kenyan AA coffee to finish, and Heather had cappuccino I think. Check was $115 including a generous tip. A lovely experience somewhere well return to in the future. Staggered back up the stairs into the lobby and digested in the sofas for a while! At about 815 we return to the car and drive round to Epcot for about 825. On entering the park (I LOVE Epcot at night!) we are drawn to see Spaceship Earth and walk straight on with no wait. Its about 3 years since we did this and both Heather and I are more impressed than we remembered being then I dont think its changed, but no doubt someone will advise if it has.
We exit the ride and dont linger in the post show area, as we are eager to see Innoventions Plaza. This is a delight at night, with twinkly lights in the pavements and particularly the central fountain with its music-interactive displays. We are more than content with the experience, although it still seems slightly odd that the normal music in the plaza area is replaced with festive stuff. (Good excuse for returning in the middle of the season again!) We progress through the Christmas arches covering the walkway to the lagoon, and view the tree in its splendour before turning right and walking around the World Showcase ant-clockwise to find a suitable viewing spot for the fireworks. We end up at Japan and climb the stairs adjacent to the store entrance to see what the view from the balcony around the upper floor restaurant looks like. It seems fine the extra elevation promises much and the Japanese arch in the lagoon appears to frame some of the action areas.
The show starts I love the narrators voice and the way he blows the lights out before the drumbeats begin. The first shell burst appears and were off! The viewpoint is great and the show does not fail us, although the kids are a bit bushed now and dont get the best from it! It ends, as always, too quickly for me and we join the throngs making their way to the exits. We are back at the car by 1010pm and the kids are sleep-walking now! We arrive back at the villa by 1035 and put them to bed before having a beer and are in bed ourselves by 1115pm. Another good day.
Tomorrows plan: Coaster time! - Islands of Adventure.
Mike
Mike, 39, chief organiser, driver and brew maker
Heather, 40, wife and mum
Bethany, 11 (going on 20!), coaster addict, hates getting wet.
Adam, 9, (going on 8!), hates coasters (except BTMRR), LOVES getting wet!
DAY 5 MONDAY 22ND DECEMBER 2003
Todays plan : MGM, AK, AKL & Boma, Illuminations.
Slept a full and unbroken 8 hours and awoke at 600am. Feels a lot milder outside today and I check the local weather channel to see that it should be another pleasant and sunny day! Tried to get some international news not completely dominated by things American, possibly even British, but failed. The main story is that the government has raised the terrorist threat level, and I anticipate more security at the parks as a result.
Usual coffee for me, tea for Heather routine and rouse the kids. Showers, collect gear and leave the villa by 810. MGM is one of the closest parks to the villa (just pips Epcot I fancy) and we are in line by 825. Its a lovely, warm, sunny start to the day. We are delighted to see an aged Cast Member, Stan, who we first saw at Easter. Stan gives out park maps to people in line and offers Mickey stickers to the kids have you seen him? Hes very frail and looks nearer 90 than 80 years old but always has a word and a big smile for everyone! We have often observed that many US citizens appear to work well beyond retirement age, presumably because of necessity and less than perfect pension arrangements.
The raised terror level does not affect the security check. Taking advice from someone elses trip report (Craig, mkingdon, was it you?) we put the missile launchers under our hats and use the grenades as gob-stoppers to avoid detection. We are admitted to the usual rope-drop inside by 845 where we split up. Heather and Adam are going to go to Star Tours (ride and get FastPasses) while Beth and I intend to do the Tower of Terror/ Rock n Roller Coaster double. Park opens at 900 exactly and we pretend not to run down the Boulevard to the Parks most popular two attractions. The crowd splits and we bear right we are about 20 back from the front and actually walk through the lovely garden, queuing area for a change, giving me chance to take some video for Heather, whos never seen it. Ive given up trying to persuade her to ride this now, but would love for her to experience the atmosphere of the grounds, with its spooky feel and cheesy, 20s music. You could even do the pre-show and the boiler room, I suppose, before baling out at the elevator doors.
The ride is excellent as always, with a completely different drop sequence (better and more drops) than our last visit. Lots of first-timers on our load, so multiple screams and howls! (From me, just to wind them up! LOL). Out by 920 and around the corner to join stand-by for RnRC. This is posted at 35 minutes already, but turns out to be exactly 12! Great ride front seats for the first time ever!
We meet Adam and Heather under Sorcerer Mickeys hat as arranged on walkie-talkies. Loads of characters around here! Heather and Adam have done Star Tours twice and have FastPasses for NOW so we ride. I used to like this ride but am getting a bit immune to its charms now as we must have done it 12 1 5 times in the last couple of years. No complaints though, as its one that Adam really hankers for and we never have to queue. Exit at 10:08am and walk straight into the 1015 Indiana Jones Show just in time to see them select the volunteers oh, look Heather, there always seems to be a guy with a loud, pink shirt who gets picked! We are seated quite far left which is fine as this gives a different perspective to previous visits (a bit like at Seaworld, where we sat in the same area twice for Shamu a couple of years ago. It wasnt until we moved to the complete opposite side of the stadium the following year that the show had a fresher feel about it!) (Incidentally, we like Seaworld but are having a rest this time, partly due to less time in Orlando and also to let it fade a bit in our memories we were struggling to fill a day there last time).
Enjoyed the Indy antics. Is this show ready for a makeover now? I imagine Disney will probably keep it as it is due to the obvious expense of refurb and new sets etc., but Id enjoy a different show more, if at all possible. We dont have any other must-dos left here and want to eat at animal Kingdom, so we walk the length of New York Street as we like the feel and visuals here. However, there is significant work going on behind large hoardings, which spoils the effect, so we go through the buildings at the bottom onto Mickey Avenue and loop back to the entrance. We leave the park at 1115 and drive to Animal Kingdom (my notes tell me we parked in row 34, Dinosaur!). Courtesy tram to the gates. Another lovely Christmas tree in front of the entrance, another round of security and another restroom! Kids have agreed on the same place for lunch (not possible, you say, but true!) so even though its a thinly disguised McDonalds, we walk round to Dinoland USA (daft name, but not as bad as Camp Minnie Mickey) and line-up at Restaurantosauras. Beth has cheeseburger and fries, Adam hot dog and fries -$12. While they eat, I obtain FastPasses for Primeval Whirl for self and kids. We move on to the Flame Tree BBQ where Heather has the chicken sandwich and I have ribs, both with beans and corn plus extra bucket of fries. $20. Sat in an attractive, shaded veranda area to enjoy. Warm to hot now, and very busy here. Having finished, we move on to Asia, intending to walk through the Maharajah Jungle Trek so that Heather can say hello to her tigers, but notice that the standby time for Kali River Rapids is only 20 minutes. Another of Adams favourites, so I agree to take him on. We go to the restrooms and remove surplus clothes (underwear for me, same + socks for him!) and entered the line, which now shows 40 minutes! Hes got his head set on it now, so we advance anyway (I would not normally do anything with a 30+minute wait time). We seem to be having lots of luck this week though, and the wait is actually 15 minutes . Im starting to wonder if any of the posted times are reliable. Any views?
Ride is quite pleasant, if a bit short (the prince of raft/rapid rides is undoubtedly Popeye and Bluto at IOA which we hope to do tomorrow I take a full change of clothes for that one!) and we dont get more than splashes, although a couple of co-riders are soaked! We move round the park again to Harambe in Africa for coffee the walkway is jammed solid between Asia and Africa, as a crowd has stopped to view the leaf-lady on stilts. When we first saw this 3 years ago you couldnt see the characters face, and it looked a bit spooky/bizarre. Now the face is green but visible - wonder if they had comments from parents of young kids? We thrust past the logjam and seat ourselves at a favourite and surprisingly peaceful coffee spot in a shady courtyard on the corner of the Asia road and Harambe (sort of diagonally opposite the Tusker House restaurant the African drummers usually play in front of the archway on one side and character greetings occur on the other. Anyway, its a tranquil spot, with fake stone /adobe walls, lots of foliage and you can keep an eye on the crowds through the openings. I get coffees (regular filter coffee + shade grown espresso for me and Minute Maid orange and apple for the kids - $12) sat in the sun to drink, watching Baloo and King Louis greet the kids nearby. The African drummers approach from the Asia side and take up station around the corner. When they finish, they walk into our seating area, as a Cast Member door is right next to us. We get a grin and a few beats of the drums as they pass.
We like the understated atmosphere of Harambe. Have you cottoned on to the washer upper sound effects behind the Tusker House? Well, we discover new sound effects in our little courtyard someone pumping water from a squeaky hand pump! Great attention to detail! FastPass time now, so we walk back to Dinoland & ride Primeval Whirl. Heather sits out as she is not a fan of spinning whirly things and thats basically all this one does! Dinoland USA is bedlam now, and the stand-by time for PW is about 50 minutes. Its pretty good, but not that good. On leaving the ride, we see some street entertainers setting up a 3 man juggler outfit dressed as decorators. I think they were called Slip, Splat and Dip or something similar. They were really great, as I find most ad-hoc Disney acts are, especially at Epcot.
We walk back to Asia and this time we do get on to the Maharajah Jungle Trek for Heather to get her tiger fix! Its busy, but passable, and we get some good video footage of the tigers. They seem much more active than when we have been previously in the hotter months around Easter. We make our way back to the exit via almost every store, although not much is purchased until we get into the Rainforest Café Store. Adam bought a display folder for his squashed penny collection, and Bethany got some sandals. Heather and I both found attractive T-shirts on sale, and then we sat in the discreet garden outside the store for a while. This is a pleasant spot, not at all busy, and can be a great way to sneak past the crowds if you arrive to find that the main entrances are busy you can walk through the shop from the external entrance, go through the garden and you will find another entrance to the park!
Time for our assault on the Animal Kingdom Lodge now, so we drive round (3 minute journey!) and present ourselves at security. My photo ID is requested and checked and the guard makes a note of our car registration. We self-park, as the lot seems very close to reception, and walk up to the lobby. I notice that the layout of car parks, hotel entrance and valet service appears very similar indeed to the Wilderness Lodge I suppose it must work then! We are very impressed with the lobby, particularly the vaulted, beamed and reeded ceilings. We discover the terraces and balconies to the rear, overlooking the savannah areas and sit on the rocking chairs for a while to view the giraffes and other animals wandering about. Outside we have a look around the swimming pool and other animal viewing areas before retiring inside. After taking the lifts up as high as possible to get photos of the lobby from above, we find the entrance to Boma for reference, have a look in the shop and then lounge on the comfy sofas in the lobby until 600pm.
I like the AKL very much, and, had I not already seen the Wilderness Lodge I would have been more impressed still. However, Im not sure that the animal enclosures are totally convincing in the way guidebooks and other reports have suggested. Perhaps the grounds need more time to mature they seemed a little sparse to me but then the animals wouldnt be as visble?! Bit of a conflict here! On balance, I think I would prefer to stay at the Wilderness Lodge if offered a choice of the two. (But hey, if youre paying, Ill go anywhere!)
Descend to Boma reception at 600pm and book in. There are a lot of standby guests waiting to ea, and they are all being told to expect a 50-minute wait. We are given a pager and are called in about 20 minutes. The restaurant is appealing, with its dark and warm styling and mix of different contours and aspects. Our server is Kia who explained the food pod system (Ill shorten it right down for you, folks its a buffet! Help yourself to anything you like the look of!) The only essential difference from most other buffets Ive had are that, (1), you dont really queue up, you graze from different food stations like animals in the wild. Yeah, right! Its a buffet! Oh, and (2) the quality of the food is exceptional! Kia brought drinks choc milk for Adam, strawberry/raspberry smoothie for Bethany and African beers for Heather and I. We had loads of everything and I can only remember some of the dishes (jambalaya soup superb! prime rib, equally so , a gorgeous lamb dish and interesting vegetable sides. The kids had no trouble finding satisfaction either. We tried virtually all the desserts I found the renowned Zebra Dome to be good but whats all the fuss about? The banana bread pudding with vanilla sauce was far better! (IMO, obviously!) I had Kenyan AA coffee to finish, and Heather had cappuccino I think. Check was $115 including a generous tip. A lovely experience somewhere well return to in the future. Staggered back up the stairs into the lobby and digested in the sofas for a while! At about 815 we return to the car and drive round to Epcot for about 825. On entering the park (I LOVE Epcot at night!) we are drawn to see Spaceship Earth and walk straight on with no wait. Its about 3 years since we did this and both Heather and I are more impressed than we remembered being then I dont think its changed, but no doubt someone will advise if it has.
We exit the ride and dont linger in the post show area, as we are eager to see Innoventions Plaza. This is a delight at night, with twinkly lights in the pavements and particularly the central fountain with its music-interactive displays. We are more than content with the experience, although it still seems slightly odd that the normal music in the plaza area is replaced with festive stuff. (Good excuse for returning in the middle of the season again!) We progress through the Christmas arches covering the walkway to the lagoon, and view the tree in its splendour before turning right and walking around the World Showcase ant-clockwise to find a suitable viewing spot for the fireworks. We end up at Japan and climb the stairs adjacent to the store entrance to see what the view from the balcony around the upper floor restaurant looks like. It seems fine the extra elevation promises much and the Japanese arch in the lagoon appears to frame some of the action areas.
The show starts I love the narrators voice and the way he blows the lights out before the drumbeats begin. The first shell burst appears and were off! The viewpoint is great and the show does not fail us, although the kids are a bit bushed now and dont get the best from it! It ends, as always, too quickly for me and we join the throngs making their way to the exits. We are back at the car by 1010pm and the kids are sleep-walking now! We arrive back at the villa by 1035 and put them to bed before having a beer and are in bed ourselves by 1115pm. Another good day.
Tomorrows plan: Coaster time! - Islands of Adventure.
Mike
AKL is a wonderful place.
