Kim's trip Report 5/3 - 5/7

[airplane]

I am going to attempt to put my whole trip report on this thread.


Me- 26, WDW fanatic
BF- 26, First time in Disney
Mom - WDW Fanatic
Dad - WDW Fanatic

Day 1 - Monday, May 3rd
First time I ever I took an afternoon flt to MCO. I always leave ACY at 7 AM which means being up at 4AM. I missed getting to Disney early but I think this is the first time I actually packed the right amount of clothes (I am a right-before-the-flight packer).
My BF and I arrived at 3:30. My parents picked us up at the a/p at 4:00 (they arrived on the earlier flt)and we were at the Shades of Green by 4:30. We checked in and got a room in the new building. The SOG is beautiful. Our room was overlooking the 9th hole on the Palm Golf Course. I could spend hours just looking at the view. We walked around checking everything out. We bought our Stars and Stripes Tickets, beer and snacks for the room and then headed over to the Polynesian. We walked and it took about 15 minutes. We had ressies for Ohana at 7:00. We ate, ate and ate some more all the way until 8:45 which was when Wishes began. It was the best fire works show I have ever seen! We rolled back to the hotel and passed out by 11:00.

 

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Day 2, Tuesday 5/4
I barely slept last night b/c of the anticipation of bringing my BF to the Magic Kingdom for the first time. We arrived at the MK at 8:30 for a 9:00 opening. This was the first time I saw the opening park show where all of the characters arrived by train. They sang songs and danced. Tinkerbell and a chosen family spread pixie dust all over the crowd and then Mickey started a countdown until the opening. The park opened at 9:00. Our first ride was Splash Mountain. My BF is not a fan of rides so I was very surprised to see that he would go on it after seeing the big drop. Next we rode Big Thunder Mt, Pirates of the Carribean, ate a huge ice cream cookie, Haunted Mansion (which kept breaking down), Then we grabbed FP’s for Jungle Cruise b/c it had a 90 minute wait. We then walked over to Fantasy Land. I had to make sure It’s a Small World was closed, and it was. We then made our way through the crowds to Mickey’s Philharmonic. I really liked it but my favorite 4-D movie is still Tough to be a Bug. We ate at Comic Rays for the first time and it was fantastic. I ate a delicious creamy chicken soup and I ordered the corn dog kids meal. I could not believe they had cheese at their fixings bar. Next we went on the Tomorrow Land Transit Authority and then we took a nap on the Carrousel of Progress. Even my mom had her eyes closed. The lines for Space Mt and Buzz Lightyear had over 60 minute wait times so we went back to the Jungle Cruise. I love this ride. I love bad jokes and our tour guide was great. When we entered the tunnel he started talking like Willy Wonka. I laughed for a good 10 minutes. It was about 1:00 so we left the park and went to the pool at SOG. We sat by the bar and the pool until 5:30 and then we headed to ESPN at 7:30 to watch the Flyers game. This place is great. Drinks were not that expensive. After the game we headed to Jelly Rolls. It was very entertaining there. I want to go back again but I hate paying $7.00 to get in only to buy a $5.00 beer. It was cast member night so it was very crowded. On the way to Jelly Rolls I had a cheese crepe on the Boardwalk. YUMMY. We headed back to the SOG at 1:00.

 

[airplane]

Wednesday 5/5/04
We woke up at 7:30 and headed to Cracker Barrel where we overstuffed ourselves w/ breakfast. We arrived at Typhoon Lagoon at 10:00. Our first stop was the lazy river. Our goal was to raft around until we hit the first slides but it was too relaxing to move. We ended up going around a full circle and decided it was time to go snorkel. The water was warmer than usual and they didn’t have the wetsuit vests anymore. I saw the hammerhead shark for the first time. He is really big! I had to go back in a second time to see him again. We hit all of the slides and drank daqueries until 3:00. As we were leaving I grabbed a grilled cheese pretzel. I love those things! We headed back to the hotel for showers and we were off to Epcot at 6:00.
Our first ride was Spaceship Earth. It was Cinco de Mayo so we went to the Mexican Pavilion next. I thought they would have a special event there but everything was the same. We decided to eat at the Japanese restaurant. We did not have a PS so we had a 45 minutes wait, which was okay by us b/c we love the Japanese beer, Kiren. I had the steak and chicken. A salad used to come w/ the meal but now you have to pay extra to get one. I was in the mood for a Norwegian dessert after dinner but when we got there it was closed. I don’t know if it was closed for rehab or for good. I was disappointed but I had France to cheer me up! We left during the fireworks show, which was very disappointing after seeing Wishes.

 

[airplane]

Day 4 Thursday 5/6
We were at Epcot by 10:00 today. This was the day we were going to attempt drinking around the world showcase. We grabbed a FP for Test Track and then headed to Mission Space. I really liked it. I was dizzier from watching that wheel in the inside line than on the actual ride. Beware: If you are claustrophobic, this is not the ride for you! The line was about an hour. The outside line is very hot. There are not many trees and they were the only shade so I recommend getting the FP for MS and waiting for TT. Test track kept breaking so we ended up waiting 20 minutes before we got on the ride. After these 2 rides we headed to Mexico.
The participants of this day were me (26), BF (26), Dad (52), Mom (50), GF (25) and her husband (27). My BF and dad were sticking to all beer. My mom and I decided to start w/ a Margarita. I also could not resist a Dos XX. Next we had the Norwegian beer (pretty good), Chinese beer (might be my favorite), USA (gotta love bud), Germany (good), No beer available in Italy, Japan (delicious), No beer available in Morocco, France (YUCK), and we finished w/ yards in England. We did not get the Canadian beer b/c it cost the same to fill our yards as it did to get a cup in Canada.
The entertainment of the day (besides our group) was the candy lady in Japan, a flower power concert, fife and drum band in America, the guy who balances himself on several chairs in France, and a Beetles cover band in England. The only ride/movie we made it on was the American Adventure. I do not recommend seeing this show if you have been drinking beer (no bathroom in the theatre). After the Beatles band in England, our day was not finished. We went on Journey into Imagination, and played w/ the computers emailing people. Then we saw Honey I shrunk the Audience. We finished the day off w/ the Land ride. At 7:30 we rushed back to our rooms to watch the last episode of Friends. We were passed out by 10:30.

 

[airplane]

Day 5, Friday 5/6
After yesterday we needed a big breakfast so we headed back to the Cracker Barrel. We were at Blizzard Beach by 10:30. We went on everything except Summit Plummet. The line was at least 2 hours long. I have never seen it so long. We left the park around 2:00. There were a lot of high school trips there and it was very crowded. We went back to the hotel for a while and then headed over to MGM. My favorite ride is the TOT. My BF and dad rode w/ me. This was my BF’s first scary ride. He really liked it. Next we used FP’s for RRC. I thought my BF was going to ride but as soon as he saw the limo shoot out, he was out of there! Next we went to Who Wants to be a Millionaire. How on earth do you make it in the top 10? There must be a trick. I really like how they phone a stranger. We went on the Great Movie Ride and Muppet 3-D. We ate at Mama Melrose’s and it was fantastic. Then we rode Star Tours. I love MGM at night. Everyone in the park was at Fantasmic so we had the park to ourselves.

 

[airplane]

Day 6, Saturday 5/7
Today we were at Animal Kingdom at 9:30. The first ride was It’s a Bugs Life. This is my favorite 4-D ride. Next we walked the Trek next to the Safari while we waited for our FP time. There were a lot of animals roaming around. The gorillas were very close to where everyone was standing and they were playing in the waterfalls. The animals were not very active in the K. Safari. Our guide ignored the whole little red story, which made me happy. Next we went to Dinoland. Dinosaur was closed so we only went on the Primeval Whirl. That ride amazes me. How can they make a roller coaster spin? Our last ride of the day was Kali River Rapids. My dad and I were soaked. We stood and stared at the Tree of Life for a while and then left the park to go back to our rooms.
I love the SOG. We sat on our balconies, which had perfect views of the 9th hole of the Palm Golf Course. We drank beer and watched the golfers for about 2 hours. Then we sat by the pool and ordered food from Evergreen’s. They have very good bar food.

Around 8:00 we went to Pleasure Island. The first act of the Comedy Warehouse was really funny but the next 2 acts were terrible and I love bad jokes. We visited every bar. The majority of the time we were outside listening to a really good band that played a wide variety of music. We left around 1:00 AM.

 

[airplane]

Weather and Crowds

The weather was absoltuely perfect the whole time. Mid 80's and not a drop of rain. The parks were very crowded. I usually go this time every year and I have noticed an increase in crowd size from year to year. I still love Floirda this time of year but I may start to consider going in October when the crowds are smaller. There seemed to be a lot of school trips. Crowds are usually easier to handle if they are a bunch of small families rather than large groups of teenagers.

 

[jennymouse]

Thanks for reporting & glad you had a good time! We just returned from a very hot and rainy June trip so at least you had good weather even though the crowds were heavier than you would've liked.

 

[Alice28]

Sounds like you had a fabulous trip! I too had that Jungle Cruise Skipper who sang the Willy Wonka creepy song in the caves---I took a picture of him cause I thought he was the most awesome skipper ever! his name is Christopher.

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[kathymc]

sounds like a great trip

we did drinks around the world (well almost) last trip and it was a blast!

I actually answered the phone for phone a complete stranger last trip - it was a riot! and I got a pin that said "I am a complete stranger"

so what was your BF overall experience like - is he a fanatic now too?

 

[airplane]

My BF was overwelmed. We definitely needed more time. He really enjoyed the parks but his favorite parts of the trip were when we went out at night and when we spent time by the pool. It was also killing him that he did not have time to play golf, especially since we had such an amzing view of the Palm Course. Next trip, and there WILL be a next trip, I plan on slowing down to his pace which is 50% of mine. :