Let's see what this family does flying solo - the POST trip report!

[nilla]

For any of you rabid NFL fans out there, this was April 22nd, which as you know was the first day of the NFL draft. We get back in time to the second half of the first round. The Vikings don't pick until #30, so this is cool - I get to see it after all! Sure, I'm tired, but I'll stay up for this.

Emily falls asleep, Dylan eventually nods off, and Kristin isn't far behind when finally, the #30 pick comes up...


"The Vikings have traded the 30th pick in the 2010 NFL draft to the Detroit Lions."


NOOO!!!! All of that for nothing. The Vikes move from #30 to #34, but since the NFL has decided to stretch the draft out over three days this year, the 32nd pick will be the last pick of the night. What a letdown! Guess I'll be watching again tomorrow night

Lights out now...rope drop at Hollywood Studios tomorrow!

 

[nilla]

Great report! I love those laminate daily itinerary cards, and color coded to boot! I can't wait to hear about the rest of your trip.

Thanks! I forgot to mention (I know, recurring theme) that our card for the first day went missing at some point on Wednesday, so we were flying blind at Epcot. Amazingly, we did extremely well and stuck to the plan for the most part. I guess it's like when you spend all night putting together a cheat sheet for a test, then realize you don't need it because you learned everything you needed for the test while making the cheat sheet. Not like I've ever done that or anything , but you get the analogy

The card would then turn up as we were packing to go home...

 

[jlcd]

Great report. We were at Epcot on the same day. (wish we were still there!) Looking forward to reading about the rest of your rip!

 

[kristin t]

I love reading this trip report. I just can't believe it's only been one week since our last day in the Magic Kingdom. I can't wait for our trip next year!!

 

[MouseEarsJenny]

I'm enjoying your trip report very much! (Which is odd, since I don't generally like EPCOT as much as the other three parks, and I'm a Packers fan...)

Seriously, it sounds like you had a fabulous time at EPCOT. Your tank side seat at Coral Reef makes me want to try and make an ADR there next trip. Well, that and the mousse - yum. Can't wait to hear about Hollywood Studios!

 

[nilla]

I'm enjoying your trip report very much! (Which is odd, since I don't generally like EPCOT as much as the other three parks, and I'm a Packers fan...)

I'll try to refrain from doing too much Packer bashing in this thread, but there will be some mild Saint bashing later on.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Actually, I should say "thanks to all except for Flightless Duck", who is an Eagles fan. I think we all know what those people are like

As you well know, I wasn't born when the "snowballs at Santa" incident occurred. As for the others... my lawyer has advised me not to comment.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Love the report so far. Curious as to see how you fill out four days at Epcot. Coral Reef sounds like some place we will want to try one of these days.

 

[nilla]

...and we're back.

Our room at CSR has 2 queen sized beds, and the plan is to alternate sleeping arrangements every night to keep it fair. We had a similar situation when we went to the beach in NJ last year, and every night was the same song:

"I want to sleep with Mom!"

"No, I want to sleep with Mom!"

"Kids, you're hurting Dad's feelings."

"Uh, no, they're not. They can both sleep with you if they want. I'll be fine over here alone."

To prevent that, we have a system. The first night was Emily with Kristin, me with Dylan. Last night was Dylan with Kristin, Dylan with me. Emily is about half Dylan's size, but grinds her teeth so badly that I think it's worse for us to listen to it than it actually is to her teeth.

Mornings are fun, too, so far, since the kids are tough enough to get up without a full day of Disney fun to wear them out. The routine is established - I'm up first, then Kristin, then Dylan, then Emily. I eat a cereal bar, Dylan has a muffin from the quick service, and Kristin and Emily have Luna Bars. Once I'm ready, I'm off to El Centro with our NEW refillable mugs for a Cherry Coke for me, an unsweetened (Kristin felt the need to remind me of the "unsweetened" part EVERY morning) iced tea for Kristin. Playhouse Disney gets turned on early to get the kids coherent, but does make it harder to get them to do the essentials, like brushing their teeth or getting out the door.

The wake up call rings and I answer, and it's playing "Grim, Grinning Ghosts". HM is probably the ride I'm most fired up about getting back on, so that has me pretty psyched. But alas, that will have to wait - it's Hollywood Studios today!

 

[nilla]

We have our laminated planning card ready this time, and it's bound to be an interesting day filled with firsts:

- This will be our fourth trip to HS, and we will finally be seeing Fantasmic. The first time at HS (2007) was a surprise visit on the day we went home, the second time (2008) was the day after we got to WDW, and the kids were too tired to make it. We made a conscious decision in 2009 to skip it because we heard the crowds were awful on Fantasmic days. This year, however, we had two days planned in HS, so we were determined to finally see it.

- We're also seeing "Lights, Motor, Action!" this year, which Dylan is excited about. Should be pretty cool.

- Emily is going on Tower of Terror for the first time. She meets the height requirement by three inches, and she has been telling us for months that she's going to do it. This should be interesting!

- Emily is now armed with her first pin trading lanyard, and is ready for battle!

The bus is fairly empty on the way to HS, but as we will soon find out, this is no indication of what the crowds would be like in the park. We went through the gate and Emily made her very first pin trade, trading one of the eBay "lame pins" for a Belle pin, a moment that would kick off the career of a pin trading dynamo. Keys to the Kingdom are scanned and we're inside...

 

[nilla]

We got there less than 5 minutes after rope drop and followed the masses back to TSM. Kristin runs ahead and gets in line for a Fast Pass, while the three of us locate the standby line with the assistance of some very helpful military personnel.

Ok, ok, I know. Some of you may feel that the three of us waiting in line while Kristin gets the FP constitutes line jumping, and maybe it does, but that's a topic for another 1000 threads. You may be happy to know, however, that Kristin got behind the bane of our existence, i.e. someone who is incapable of using the FP machines. She finally gets through just before the kids and I reach the railed queue, but doesn't see us, so it's back to the end of the line. Karma's a villain, I know.

The wait in the standby line was maybe 30 minutes, tops. No problem, because I LOVE the theming inside the building, especially the recreation of one of my favorite Mr. Potato Head scenes.

Dylan and Emily are ride partners, as are Kristin and I. Kristin, an only child, is VERY competitive at these games, but is put in her place by my TSM dominance. What an awesome ride. I love that we get to come back later to do it again.

 

[nilla]

With that down, we head over to RnR, which only Dylan and I will be riding this year. Kristin claims that it "throws her around too much". Wimp.

We make the trek over and are foiled by a 60 minute standby line. We're outta there, and head over to ToT instead. 45 minute wait for that one, but I remind Kristin that we've never seen a posted wait time that was actually close to the real wait time, so we get in the standby line. Kristin is VERY concerned at this point and ensures me we will be waiting 45 minutes. I tell her it'll be more like 25. She plays the "I spent months planning this trip, read all the official and unofficial guides, and generally know much more about this stuff" card, so I shut my mouth and wait. Yes, this queue is taking us places where we've never been before, but it did let us get this shot we were never able to take when holding FPs:

We get inside the hotel, and Kristin takes another picture, only to be told that there's no flash photography. Busted! She apologizes and quickly puts the camera away, but wait - it's just the smart-**** teenage boy in the family behind us. We all laugh, and then it's into the room for a quick word from Rod Serling, from beyond the grave. Hell, if Mickey and Pluto can be two places at once, why can't Mr. Serling make a statement from the afterlife?

We get into the boiler room and it's just about "go" time. No sign of fear from Emily, which is good.

Dylan was a bit scared last year and told a CM this after he buckled in, and her response was "it's only going to get worse". She then pulled the doors shut and off we went. Funny stuff!

BTW, I LOVE the "in character" CMs at this ride and the Haunted Mansion. It really adds to the experience, even if it is a bit hokey.

Into the elevator and upstairs, through the pre-game show and into the main elevator shaft. Down we go. The back up. The doors to the outside open, and I notice that Emily's hands are in the air, while I hold on to my handles for dear life. She's nuts, just like her brother. A few more drops and rises, then a stop right in front of the ill-fated family from the story. I was the only one to spot them last year, but they seem to be lit up slightly more this year, so they're more noticeable. Sort of a "reverse yeti" evolution for this ride.

At one point, Emily tells Kristin that this ride is really scary, to which I reply, "well, hold on, then!" This was the longest ride on ToT I've ever experienced, with one last surprise shot when we all thought it was over. Awesome stuff!

The verdict with Emily? She "liked it", but didn't want to ride again. No screaming, no crying. What a trooper. We grab FPs as we leave, and I need to educate an older female guest who tells me you can't have more than one FP at a time. She didn't really seem to listen, though. Her loss.

 

[nilla]

That's all for now. Up next: Lunch, stunts, crowds, dinner, and Fantasmic!

 

[Kermit4President]

As you well know, I wasn't born when the "snowballs at Santa" incident occurred. As for the others... my lawyer has advised me not to comment.

Well dad.....I'm not quite sure what the ''snowballs at Santa'' incident is but i'm pretty sure its like the noodle incident and you don't have a lawyer. Oh well, at least I don't like the Beverly soda at Club Cool.

 

[Kermit4President]

That's all for now. Up next: Lunch, stunts, crowds, dinner, and Fantasmic!

Great! I'm looking forward to the rest of your trip report! By the way love the Flightless Duck comments! Take that dad!

 

[nilla]

Good evening! Or should I say "good night", since I really should be in bed, but we just watch 24 and I can't go to bed without posting. Can't let my readers down!

Back to Hollywood Studios, where our protagonists have just exited Tower of Terror. We headed over to the Animation Station to get Sorcerer Mickey's autograph. The "Sorcerer's Apprentice" bit from Fantasia is one of my all time favorite cartoons, so I get quite a kick out of the Big Cheese in his robes and hat. Saw another commercial during the week for the new SA movie with Nicholas Cage, and it did look like there was a broom scene, so I'm all in for that one, too! I WILL eventually get a tattoo of a bucket-carrying broom, maybe even this year. We wait for about 20 minutes and two relief Mickeys and we're up. *snap* *snap* and we're out.

Interesting poster on the "in production" wall - Cars 2! And I don't think it's straight to DVD, which means it will be cool. Hopefully 30 minutes shorter than the original, too

After the pics, we headed over to Pizza Planet, and while the pizza was much better than I had expected, the theming was a bit of a disappointment. Basically, it looks like a big warehouse filled with video games. I guess I was expecting it to be a bit darker, like in the movie, and would it have killed them to put in a rocket-shaped Big Choice filled with little green aliens? Seriously, would that have been that hard? Think of how much money they would rake in on that! From me alone. Veggie pizza was rockin', though, and Kristin's pepperoni was great as well. Dylan of course ate horribly. We keep telling him he's going to run out of juice pretty soon if he doesn't eat something, but he's not hearing it.

 

[nilla]

Great! I'm looking forward to the rest of your trip report! By the way love the Flightless Duck comments! Take that dad!

Thanks, Kai! Unlike the Flightless one, I fully intend to get this trip report done THIS year. Zing!

 

[nilla]

After lunch, we walk outside, and I am in my least favorite part of any of the WDW parks. Yes, I like it even less than the path from Asia to Africa in AK. It's just awful. I could come here 1000 times and I STILL will have no clue how to get from one place to another in this part of HS. Fortunately, if you walk far enough, you're bound to run into something cool, and for us, this time it's Star Tours.

My take on ST is that the theming outside and in the queue are spectacular. I mean, the AT-AT - how awesome is that? Probably one of the coolest machines ever to appear on the silver screen AND the model for the greatest toy of my childhood, and here it is, right before me. Walk inside, and there's Admiral Akbar, C-3P0, R2-D2, R5-D4, etc, etc, and it all ends with mechanical versions of the Splash Mountain vultures. Just fantastic.

One question, though, for you SW geeks (*ahem*, Flightless Duck)...why is 3P0's calf silver? Should I know the answer to that one?

Enough, about the queue - what do I think of the ride? Blah. Yes, blah. This film needs some serious upgrading, and thankfully, it's getting it, though I don't know the details. Personally, I can skip a wild trip to Endor. I want to go out looking for trouble and have our ship take down some TIE fighters on its own. I want to be the one to blow up that small moon. Bring it on!

Emily's riding this for the first time, though, and she loves it, so that made me enjoy it a bit more. Again, she had her hands up the whole time. Nutty kid. Just nutty!

 

[nilla]

After ST, we head up to Lights, Motor, Action!, but the path is partially blocked by the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and their TIGHT automobile. See, I told you the Japanese have the coolest stuff. The voices in my head distort the lyrics to the theme song as it blasts over the speakers ("Power Rangers gonna kick your a--!!"), but I come back to reality just in time to see Kristin walk directly in front of the vehicle as it starts moving forward. Something you should know about Kristin is that she can become oblivious to the rest of the world when she gets her mind set on getting into that queue as quickly as possible. Fortunately, I was able to call out to her and bring her back in the nick of time. Had I not, I swear the Pink Ranger was going to jump off that car and roundhouse kick her right in the temple. You're welcome, honey.

We watch LMA, and Dylan LOVES it. And why not - it IS really cool. The final explosion (sorry for the spoiler, if you haven't seen it) is great.

We followed the masses out afterwards...

Ok, maybe it's a testament to my lack of patience, but I just can't understand slow-walking people. I mean, I would have to try really, really hard to walk that slow. It would be physically and mentally painful for me to walk that slow. Sometimes I wish I had a cow catcher on the front of this stroller, so I could just give it one hard push and - ok, Jon, deep breaths. In...and out. In...and out. Ok, that's better. Before my BP shoots up again, let's end-around these snails and go get some more FPs for TSM. I sincerely apologize if you recognize your slow self in one of those pictures....but c'mon.

 

[nilla]

We get over to TSM, and the FPs are GONE! Apparently, they "sold out" by 1:50. Oh well. We already have our FPs from earlier. We decide to hold them for later and head over to the Great Movie Ride. We get some nice snaps of the footprints out front, then head on inside.

I should point out now that Dylan has a way of making walking a game, so if there's any pattern or crack on the floor or carpet, he'll navigate it or hurdle it like he's doing parkour. It becomes VERY annoying when he almost leaps into or in front of other people, which happens much too often for our liking. If I could make a pull-string doll of myself, the phrase immediately after "Dylan, just eat" would be "Dylan, walk regular!" It's insane.

After apologizing to an older guest who almost feels his fury, we get into the tram and we're off. The CMs are great, as usual. Emily really loves the Wizard of Oz part. Dylan likes the Indy Jones part. I like it, too. That is, when I actually get to see it, since I'm usually searching for the *@!%^!^ hidden C-3PO/R2-D2 and the hidden Mickey in the hieroglyphics. I can NEVER find them, no matter how hard I look. Kristin says she saw the Mickey, but again, I missed it.

Hands down, however, my favorite is the gangland scene, and only because it includes James Cagney. Kristin and I laugh like hell at this part. Why? If you want to know, watch the scene with Harlan Pepper and his ventriloquist dummy at the end of "Best in Show". Hysterical! "Say, over there...is that James Cagney?" "I think it is. I think it is James Cagney."

If you don't own it, buy it, or at least look for the clip online.

The end sequence to the ride is great, too, with so many great scenes from so many great movies. Mongo KO'ing the horse is probably my favorite, but there are so many others as well. Of course, it's lopsidedly packed with clips from Disney flicks, but I guess that makes sense due to licensing issues. Then again, most of the best movies ever made ARE Disney movies, so that could explain it, too.