Live Report from AKV

[Claire L]

Great pictures and isn't PE worth it? did you get caught up in the delays yesterday or were you back before or after then?

Claire

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Great pictures and isn't PE worth it? did you get caught up in the delays yesterday or were you back before or after then?

Claire

PE was a very nice way to start out trip after a 7 hours delay outbound. We got back Tuesday AM.....what delays are you referring to?

 

[Claire L]

PE was a very nice way to start out trip after a 7 hours delay outbound. We got back Tuesday AM.....what delays are you referring to?

Thursday morning when Gatwick got closed for 4 hours due to ice on the runway! One Virgin plane diverted to Manchester and then they used buses back to Gatwick!!

Claire

 

[Perdie]

Thursday morning when Gatwick got closed for 4 hours due to ice on the runway! One Virgin plane diverted to Manchester and then they used buses back to Gatwick!!

Claire

OMG-thank god that wasn't us! We had a bad enough experience on the way there!!!!! That would have just ben the icing on the cake with us for our Virgin experience (no pun intended!)

 

[Claire L]

OMG-thank god that wasn't us! We had a bad enough experience on the way there!!!!! That would have just ben the icing on the cake with us for our Virgin experience (no pun intended!)

I have just checked and the flight we 'should' of been on landing home today is 6 hours late Hope things are better in February, but knowing the English weather anything can happen!

Claire

 

[Perdie]

I have just checked and the flight we 'should' of been on landing home today is 6 hours late Hope things are better in February, but knowing the English weather anything can happen!

Claire

I am pretty sure we won't be flying Virgin again-our experience on BA last year was much better! (Although BA did cancel our flight completely 30 days before-but we were able to go on the flight the day before and add a day to our trip)

Virgin seems to be delayed out of Gatwick a lot and I think it has to do with the fact that they only use 6 planes for Gatwick and since the Heathrow planes are different, they can't swap them out if there is a problem-so any maintenance issues or weather issues causes MAJOR delays.

Good luck to you in February On another note, the flight itself was extremely pleasant! One of the better ones I've been on!!

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 3 w/ photos

Good evening everyone from the Uzima Savanna where it is nearly 80 degrees and the sun is getting ready to set and everything is nice a peaceful. Thanks again for all the nice comments which keep me motivated to keep updating everyone as we move along on our first trip home. For this who are coming down in the next week, we will be at the merry mixer on Friday Dec. 5th so hopefully we can say hello. Not sure what we will be wearing then so you can ID us, but maybe I'll through it in another update. Also, sorry for the many typos in my report as I don't usually have time to edit as I write and then have to post so we can head out or got to bed or something.

OK, well, after I hit the send button on my last update, we ran out the door and jumped in our rental car and headed over the Magic Kingdom. Again, as we pulled into the parking lot and boarded the monorail for our ride around the seven seas lagoon, the excitement kept building until we were ready to hit each other to get our the overwhelming energy (lovingly of course).

We passed through the turnstiles just as the opening park ceremony began on the train station platform. It was so cool and of course when the train pulled into the station with all the characters we got the chills. Then the rope dropped and we hearded in the with the rest of the cattle (it was a bit busy) and took in all the nice holiday decorations (sucks that the christmas tree is not up in town square yet). As we walked up main street, me snapping pictures and the DW taking video, we got what my DW and I refer to as magic in our belly. This refers to that intense feeling of Disney magic you get that makes you want to explode. Warning: This can happen just about anywhere on WDW property. The DW gets it anytime she walks up any Main Street at a Disney Park.

We then went straight for Spalsh Mountain. Since we have been in the UK for the last 2 years, we have gone to Disneyland Paris about 5 times and Splash Mountain is not offered there, so we had been missing it big time. It was as wonderful as we remembered and since we got a little wet, we decided to take a ride on the wildest ride in the wilderness at Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Now, this ride is offered at Disneyland Paris and is much better there, but we enjoyed it anyway. Next a ride on Pirates, which is sooo short here and the Davey Jones effect was not working (very disappointed). Still fun though. The next adventure was Jungle Cruise which is not in Paris. We had a good skipper and enjoyed our return to the jungle. We got helped off the pair of docks by the pair of dorks.

Then it was time for one of the major treats we had been anticipating for our return to the world.....dole whip. Yummy!!!! We went over to Tomorrowland to get a FP for Space and realized the people mover is here (I know TTA), we had totally forgot. So, after getting our FP, we jumped on for a nice ride around Tomorrowland where were got to see space with the lights on. We quickly made our way over to Haunted Mansion and realized how great this ride is since the refurb. AMAZING. Probably the best ride in MK.

We had a FP for Splash we got in the morning and returned for our second helping and landed in the front row. So, I'm sure you figured out we got soaking wet!! Well, the DW worse than me. It was time for lunch and we needed a good American hot dog, so where else but Casey's Corner. Oh, Yummy city....loved it, as the rag time piano player filled the air with that Disney magic. After we ate, we went straight for Philharmagic, which is another perfect WDW exclusive and walked right in. What an amazing show, except the CG characters look a bit odd. Now the parks were starting to get crowded so we used our FP for space, very different than the one in Paris. It's very old school here, but wonderful in a nostalgic way. I lost my sunglasses so we picked a new pair up on Main Street, did some other browsing and then back to the AKL.

We got back and went down to the pool for an hour. It was a bit cold to swim, so we read our books and enjoyed the sun when the clouds would let us and now we are back in the room and an antelope is chasing around some zebras as we get ready for dinner at Boma.

Well, I better get ready for another meal we have really been looking forward to so, as usual stay tuned.....more to come.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 4 w/ pics....

Greetings from drenched WDW!!

Yes, that's right, we are back in the room as we got poured on like I have never had before. Of course as soon as we got back to the room it stopped.

To start the day we woke up to the very bad wake up call they have at the resorts now, it was disney music but only came on intermitently. What happened to Mickey Mouse telling me about the big doings going on today? Oh well, what are you going to do? After we took care of our daily observations of the savanna and we had some Mara brought to the the room (thanks DW), we got ready and drove off to the studios. They made us park way too far from the entrance and we hopped aboard the tram. We saw another amazing christmas tree at the entrance and as we worked our way through the turnstiles at about 30 minutes after park opening, we were both overcome again with excitement.

We quickly made our way up Hollywood Blvd and over to Pixar Place, where we focused on getting our first ever rides on Toy Story Midway Mania. We grabbed FP's and jumped in the line, about 45 minute wait at that point. The level of detail in that line was just outstanding, it really made the wait fly by as we were moving past and observing all the little touches the imagineers placed all over the place. The mr. potato head animatronic was really great to see up close, you just want to watch him all day, I really love the suttle movements of his lips as he talked. Great job!! Now the ride I had been cautiously anticipating as I heard both great and not so great reviews and I was not sure how I would find it. Well, we both walked out and thought how much we really loved the attraction. Another game or two would have made the length perfect, but it still was still very cool. The 3D effects were not very noticable, but I think were pefect as to not distract from playing the games. It is the perfect ride for everyone in the family as there are varying degrees of difficulty. We can't wait to get back on this later!!

After we walked around Pixar place a bit we walked over and "dropped" into TOT which was great as usual, a bit tamer than the one in Paris, but you have to love the 5th dimension. We encountered a couple slow CM's when we tried to get a soda and popcorn, but it was good to have real disney popcorn. The popcorn in Paris is sweet, which we enjoy, but it's nice to have what you grew up on. MMMMMMMM.

We grabbed FP's for Rock and Roller Coaster and watched Beauty and the Beast stage show, which we sang along to and observed how you really have to know the story as they leave a lot out in their attempt to squeeze the story into 25 minutes. Still a lot of fun. We next jumped in line for the Great Movie Ride, which I think could use a refurb and update to the script, but again a great classic with some really fun and detailed scenes. When we walked out of the exit to the ride we saw a whole bunch of people just standing in the covered exit area and we noticed the heavens had opened up and it was as if the atlantic ocean had been lifted and dumped onto the Studios. We stood there for a minute and decided to get some food at the ABC Commissary (two chicken curry's, ok, not a lot of flavor) and ran around the corner. Being outside for 30 seconds got us soooooo drenched we could barely get our ponchos off once inside.

After lunch, the rain had subsided a bit and we ventured out to use our Toy Story Mania FP, but when we got there it started to pour again and we realized we were sooo wet that we needed to get out of the park and dry off. I wanted to watch the Redskins football game (that's my team) and was hoping they would be on tv in the room, so this was the perfect time to head back. As we walked down Hollywood Blvd it started to come down so hard that it hurt and there was thunder everywhere and we just pushed through. We jumped on the tram where we had to sit like 6 cars apart by ourselves to just get on and it was pelting us as we sat on the end and the CM was telling everyone to keep their umbrellas closed and it just rained and rained and rained. We got off at our stop and realized we were at the end of the row and looked at each other and just started to laugh soooooo hard that we could not breathe as we ran down the road and ran into some people who could not find there car. Sucks for them. It was raining so hard that you could hardly hear anything but the rain and I think I might have seen Nemo at some point. Just keep swimming, Just keep Swimming!!

We jumped into the car and completely brought the ocean in with us and screetched away toward the AKV's. The rain started to subside be we were not comfortable, imagine jumping into a swimming pool fully clothed and then getting into a car for a ride. Not fun, but very funny.

We are now back at the resort and drying off and of course the game is not on, so we are resting and watching the animals. We plan on heading back to the studios for some more rides and then Osbourne Family Lights (first time ever) and Fantasmic. That's it for now......more to come soon...stay tuned!!

BTW, the christmas decorations at AKV are wonderful, with an African flare. The tree is the best one we have seen yet and is as grand as the lobby. Those coming in the next month will love it!!!

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 4 cont. w/ pics...

Good Morning from the drying out Uzima Savanna, where our cattle friends bid all DVCers out there a pleasant good day. Thanks for the info. on Bubba the cattle, he is right outside our window now and says hello.

My DW is correct, we rode Toy Story Midway Mania four times yesterday and she did beat me each time. Not sure what is going on here, but we'll need to get back there a few more times so I can figure this thing out!!

OK, after my last update we debated on whether or not we should return to the Studios as the weather seemed unstable. We considered heading to DTD and having dinner and watching Bolt at the AMC theaters. After a bit of debate, we settled on putting on a complete new set of clothes and making our way back to the studios to try and get in some more rides, catch the Osbourne Lights, Fantasmic and enjoy evening extra magic hours.

We arrived at about 5:30 and once inside the park we beelined it to Rock N Roller Coaster to use the FP we had from earlier in the day. We loved the themeing on this ride as the one in Paris has different storyline where the band is involved in building a roller coaster and it makes little sense and it just plain stupid. Although, like tower of terror the ride is bit more tamer here in the states. After we rocked it out on RRC, we hightailed it over to Toy Story Mania to use our FP we got earlier in the day. Love the fact that you can use your FP anytime after the times listed on the pass, not so in Paris, the deny you if the expire time has come and gone. Well, the rematch did not go so well for me as I think I concentrated too much time on accuracy and the DW just fired all over the place and I lost again. ARRGHH!!

After my poor performance with the toys we strolled over to the Streets of America and observed the Osbourne Family Lights. When we turned the corner and saw the lights up and down the street my mouth just dropped and I thought this was unreal. It's amazing how the transform that area into a holiday wonderland and we took about 20 minutes to walk up and down the street, find some hidden mickey's and take in all the detail. The dancing light aspect was a very nice and appropriate add on to the whole experience. As we walked up the street we saw a little merchandise area where we saw a Darth Goofy plush. I guess this is a good time to inform all that we both love Goofy, he's our favorite and we love to collect themed Goofy plush. This was a new one we hadn't seen in a place where they seem to be doing away with the themed classic character plush. He was the last one so we swooped him up and headed off to dinner.

Since it was less than an hour before the second Fantasmic, we grabbed a quick bite at the Backlot Express (chicken nuggets and fries). We walked over towards Fantasmic and as soon as we turned the corner down Sunset Blvd, we started to feel a few rain drops where we both let out a huge uh oh!!

Sure enough, the closer we (and the herd) got the ampitheater the harder the rain got. Keep in mind we now had no rain gear as it was soaked during the afternoon drenching. This was not looking good. We found some seats about half way down and just off of center (thanks Matt Hotchberg over at WDW Today) and before the DW would sit on the pond that formed on the metal bench, I was given the look.....you know the look that said you must turn around get me a poncho so I don't have to soak my backside. I headed against the current (pun intended) and grabbed one poncho (they were $8 for a thin piece of plastic) and two churros (yummy!!) and returned to take my seat in the small river that had formed. The DW appreciated the gesture of the poncho and churro, but she stil managed to soak her pants.....suprise!!

After about 20 minutes of being warned that the show could get canceled, the lights dimmed, the rain picked up the pace and the show started. We tried to forget the fact that we were now ruining a second set of clothes, and enjoyed this amazing show. We are huge fans of the Disneyland version of this show and still think it's better (don't like the Pochohantas add on), but still a great show and we will return this week to watch it in a bit drier conditions. Of course, the moment we walked out of the theater the rain stopped.

Now it was time for extra magic hours and we decided to hit Muppet Vision first as we love the muppets and are also fans of Beaker. Meep Meep!! The pre show and show were great as usual and we had to buy beaker shirts just after. Can you believe $27 for a t-shirt?? Highway robbery!!

We decided to try and hit the tri fecta (I think that's how you spell that) and do Toy Story, Rock N Roller, and Tower of Terror. We got all three in, Tower has such a nice view at night, with mininmal wait and got in one last Toy Story Mania ride just as the park closed.

We dragged our very damp and tired bodies out of the park and actually felt magic in our bellies as we walked out of the park, love the atmosphere of a Disney park at night. Back to AKV to say goodnight to our Animal friends and get some shut eye.

Well, we are now late for our date with the Animal Kingdom, so more to come later.....stay tuned!!

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 5 w/ pics.....

Good evening fellow DVCers, we are back for a short break after a wonderful day touring the world of animals at AK. It was another pop tart and in room coffee morning as we wanted to get over to the park as close to opening as possible. We knew we would never make extra magic hours, but did not want to get there too late. We approached the turnstiles just a few minutes after 9AM, and with the excitement only felt while entering a Disney park in the morning we made our way to Expedition Everest to get FP's. Since the wait was just 10 minutes we hopped in line and enjoyed probably the best themed line ever at a Disney park. There is so much detail that the line often moves too fast to be able to take it all in. We enjoyed our first encounter with the Yeti, although he was in "B" mode. What is the deal? I heard he had been in this mode for quite some time and wonder if they have plans to refurb the ride and get him working again.

After, escaping the Himalayas with our lives we journeyed over to Kilimanjaro Safaris where we had a pretty short wait and funny and entertaining guide. We saw a good number of animals, although everytime we ride this attraction the lions are sleeping and you can never see them. After a quick snack on some cheesy pretzels (suprisingly good), we toured the Pangani Forest trail. We enjoyed observing the animals, but almost just as interesting is observing other people, especially the ones with kids. I leave it at that.

After our forest experience we realized it was just 15 minutes before the nest showing of the Festival of the Lion King. We got in just in time for the show and this was our second time checking this one out. It was way better than I remember it as the music and performers really make this show. They have an unbelievable energy and combined with the music and costumes, it really immerses you in the show and does not let go until it's over.

We finished our time with the circle of life and had just enough time to grab a FP for Dinosaur and get over to Yak and Yeti for our lunch reservation. We were seated pretty quick upstairs and had a very nice server. I ordered the shrimp and steak and the DW had the BBQ ribs, we also shared an order of egg rolls. We ordered way too much food, but it was all very tasty. The ribs, rice and steak were a bit dry for our liking, but the flavors were good. I would recommend this place, although I hear it is hit or miss and I can see why that would be the case. I think we both hit on this occasion.

We rolled ourselved out of the Yak and Yeti and were going to try and catch Nemo, but found out that you can not just show up 15 minutes before the show and expect to get in. The crowds for the day were pretty healthy and it was busier than we expected. We made an audible at the line and decided to check out It's Tough to be a Bug, which allows you to get close to the Tree of Life and you really appreciate the detail to which they went in carving all those animals into the trunk. The show was fun and we can see why a lot of children walk out of that show very scared as it can get pretty intense. A lot fun though!!

After getting gased by the bugs we went to use our FP for Dinosaur and really enjoy this under appreciated ride. I think the Indiana Jones Ride at Disneyland, which uses the same vehicles and track layout, is better, but they did a great job with the special effects. Once we returned the Iguanadon from the past, we went for a second ride on Everest and had another fun trip and were able to keep the lunch down!!

Just around the corner from Everst is the Maharajah Jungle Trek, where we had some chance encounters with some sleeping tigers and bats. Once we emerged from the jungle, it was time to get a spot for the parade. We found a place on the bridge from Africa to Discovery Island and with some time to kill got ice cream (Mickey Bar for the DW and a ice cream sandwich for me) and a popcorn (a parade staple for us). The Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade was very fun, albeit a bit short, and the music is only on the various floats. I would say it is probably the least impresive Disney parade, but we still had fun interacting with the cast in the parade and the DW had a magical moments when Pluto came up and gave her a kiss.

Once the parade passed us, we worked through the crowd to Asia where we decided to get catch the last show of Finding Nemo the Musical. This show is simply amazing. It is a broadway caliber show in a theme park. The could take this show, make it 3 hours longer, and plot it on broadway and it would be great. The music is good, the actors a greatl, and the sets are just mind blowing. You just get sucked into the performance and cannot look away for a second. It makes you beg for more at the end. Bravo to Disney for taking a chance on this concept as we think they hit it out of the park.

After we found nemo, we found our car and made the short trip to AKV for this short break. We are heading to the Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours tonight. It has gotten colder, so we will be bundling up and heading out. Stay tuned.....more to come.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 5 cont. e/ pics.....

Goooooooood Morning DISboards gang and welcome to another update from the sunny and a bit chilly Uzima Savanna as we enjoy our last morning here before we switch to SSR. Mixed feelings today as we are very sad about leaving our wonderful home resort and love the time spent watching the animals roam around the savanna, however getting to experience a new resort fills us with anticipation of new things.

Last night after I hit the post button on my report, we flew out the door and headed over to the Magic Kingdom to partake in evening extra magic hours. Once we arrived, parked the car, walked to the TTC, and took the express monorail to the entrance a good 30 minutes had gone by. What a schlep. Once on Main St. at night, we got really excited as this is one of our favorite times on any Main Street with all the lights and music, etc. We worked our way around town square and turned up main street when we got our first look of the castle with the christmas lights all over and were immediately taken aback. It was a beautiful sight, almost didn't look real!! The lights all over the castle came from Paris, where they started doing this a few years back and it looks just as good here. Very nice touch. It was about 15 minutes before Wishes so we worked our way up to the end of main street and grabbed a spot in the middle of the street. The fireworks were just amazing....love the music and timed pyro that goes off all around. It's not as good as Remember Dreams Come True at Disneyland, but still a top notch show.

After good overcame evil in Wishes, we decided it was time for some dinner, but it was extra magic hours and we were not sure what was open. We decided to see if Pinocchio's was open, but due to the crowds we had to head into Tomorrowland and work our way around. We were shocked at how many people were heading further into the park as it was extra magic hours, but anyone can stay in the park and it looked like most people were hanging out. Very frustrating!! We finally got to Pinocchio's to find out it was closed so we continued on to Columbia Harbor House and got in the door and a CM told us they were closed too and that Cosmic Ray's was the only place open. We later found out that Peco's Bills was open, but we then back tracked to Cosmic Ray's where just one bay was open and the lines were HUGE!! We waited in a 25 minute line at 9:30PM to get a couple of Cheeseburgers and the only thing that improved our mood at this point was the consistent performance of Sunny Eclipse. How does he do that?

Once we felt fueled up we decided to try and hit some rides for the final 2 hours of extra magic hours and could not beleive how many people were in the park as we walked around Fantasyland trying to ride something. Winnie the Pooh had like a 25-30 minute wait and were giving out FP's. Don't even ask what the Peter Pan wait was!! We got in line for Small World, yes you heard me correct, we got in LINE for Small World where we waited about 10 minutes and all boats were full. This is not what we expected or experienced in the past with regards to the crowds during extra magic hours. There seemd to be way too many people there than should be with only resort guests allowed. They really need to re-visit both how they handle extra magic hours and what food locations they keep open.

After Small World, we took the short walk to Haunted Mansion and waited longer for this ride than we had a couple days earlier during the day, on a Saturday, on Thanksgiving weekend. Explain?

HM did a very good job of recovering our mood because this is such a great ride!! We then walked over to Big Thunder and were please that we were able to just walk on this. I agree that Thunder is much better at night and we had a lot fun in our run away mine train. We decided to take our chances on a chilly evening and hop aboard Splash. We walked right on and took the back row and I am happy to report that we walked away with barely any water on us.

We had 10 minutes left of extra magic hours and practiced our jogging/fast walk skills to get over to Pirates for another encounter with Mr. Sparrow. He was happy to oblige and we were able to enjoy this great classic as our last ride of the night. Oh, and the Davey Jones effect was working!!

We then took the long journey out of the park, onto a packed monorail (way too many people for the end of an extra magic hour night), found our car for the pretty quick ride back home. We said our goodnights to the cattle and passed right out!!

After our alarm reminded us we were still in the magical world of Disney, we threw on some clothes and made our way to Boma for breakfast. Thanks for the suggestion. We loved this breakfast as it had some interesting new items (curry chicken, some kind of biscuit and yummy sauce thing, and some other unidentifiable items) and also some great classics (great french toast, bannana bread, and bacon). We also had the very yummy jungle juice (a kind of mango/fruit mix) and coffee.

Now we are back in the room and packing up our stuff to make the short trip over to Saratoga Springs where we have reserved a 1 bedrooom, so we will get to experience a new resort and room type (we are in a studio here at AKV). Stay tuned for another update as we make the transition.

P.S. A comment on the weather....it only rained the one day, but it was torrential, so most of the time it has been sunny and nice.....we had warm temps the fist few days then it has cooled off a bit and will be real cold tonight (39) which is good for the Christmas Party (we have tickets), but should warm up the rest of the week (70's).

P.S.S Thank you again for all the kind comments as it keeps me going with this report and I welcome all feedback.

 

[theostwalts]

Just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to come back and post the pictures with your trip reports. I really enjoyed reading your reports during your trip, and it is really nice to see the pictures now along with the reports.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 6 w/ pics.......

Good morning from Congress Park at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR). Yesterday, after gather all our personal belongings, grabbing small children by the hand, and watching our head and step, we said goodbye to the animals of the Uzima Savanna (there weren't really any out at the time) and left our home resort (AKV).

We made the pretty short drive over to SSR and were welcomed home by security at the gate and then made our way to the carriage house for check-in. Once inside the very nice lobby with a real cute Christmas tree, we stood in a short, but slow moving line to check-in. We requested a Downtown Disney view in the Congress Park section of the resort, and the very quiet and strange front desk CM told us that we had a room in Congress Park, but not with a Downtown Disney view. She said she would as the guy who was standing in the middle of the counter hover over a small lap top with his head down to see what he could do. She came back and just stood there and said nothing and we just sort of looked at each other and stood there in a very uncomfortable moment. Then she walked away again and had a quick conversation with the powerful man at the lap top and we then told that our room was ready, but she didn't tell us if we got a room with a view or not.

We drove over to Congress Park and found our room and walked in and the first thing we noticed was a kind of mildew type smell. The room was very big as we were now in a 1 bedroom, however you could tell that this room was a lot more worn than what we just came from. The carpet and furniture was not in bad shape at all, just a little worn. You felt like you stepped into someone's apartment, that's the best way I can describe it. We went over to check out our view and we did get a DTD view, however we are set back a bit and there are a number of trees in front of our porch, so it is very much an obstructed view. Oh well, it's still nice as we are facing from Bongo's down to La Nuba.

Our sort of DTD view

Hidden Mickey on the window

Congress Park

That's the DTD view we should of had

We quickly unpacked and settled into our new room for the next 6 nights and realized we were hungry and needed some food. We decided to walk over to the Carriage house and check out Artist's Palette, which is SSR quick service location. On the way we stopped in at the preview center and asked about models for the new Bay Lake Tower units. One of the very friendly DVC CM's walked us over and let us check out a studio and one bedroom, which we really liked. The lay out and size were good and I think this is going to be a very popular place for DVCers. I think we might be in trouble as we have discussed an add on possibility and we there is no voice of reason between us!!

BLT 1 bedroom

BLT Studio - notice the vanity/kitchenette

Once at Artist's Palette we immediately notice the very nice decor and new and fresh menu compared with most other Disney quick service locations. They had salads, soups, sandwiches and flat bread pizzas. We each selected a flat bread pizza and I tried the chili. The food and service was very good and I highly recommend this place to other staying at SSR. It was a relief to go to a quick service location without such a huge mob, it felt nice and relaxed there. We walked back to our room, taking in the beautiful grounds of this huge resort. Once back in the room we noticed that even know we lowered the temp in the room, it was still very warm. We called down to housekeeping and made several observations known to them: the temp control not responding, the fact that the windows would not open in the bedroom, and the strange smell. They sent housekeeping who could not open the window and we also showed her that in the master closet there were extra pillows and blankets up there but they were not folded rather just kind of thrown up there and we worried they were not clean. She ensured us they were and then proceeded to fold them, which we kind of all laughed over as we insisted that was not necessary we just wanted to be sure they were clean. We decided after that to just forget about commenting on the mildew smell. Also, maintenance arrived to fix a sensor on the thermostat.

After taking care of the issue in our room we decided to check out the walk to DTD, which was a pretty easy 10 minutes. We really were craving a visit to Goofy's Candy Company where I ordered a rice krispy treat with white chocolate and oreo cookie crumbs and the DW got marshmallow with reese's peanut butter and white chocolate. We also grabbed a couple cookies and got out of there before we bought one of everything. That place it very good for those with any kind of sweet tooth. Yummy!! We made a quick trip over to the World of Disney to pick up a goofy holiday hat for me and a Tinker Bell sweatshirt for the DW.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 6 w/ pics part 2......

We walked back to the room and grabbed our jackets as it was forecasted to be a cold night (39) for the Christmas party. We drove over to MK and were in the park about an hour and half before park close and the start of the party. We decided to eat dinner before the party so we would not have to worry about like the night before during EMH and we went for another famous Casey's Corner hot dog. After we gobbled down our yummy hot dog and fries we jumped over next to the partners statue in the hub to watch the short but sweet castle show were Cinderella helps to light up the castle. It was very nice again to see that amazing light display on the castle and let's just say the DW and I had much love!!

We entered tomorrow land at about 6:45 and the first showing of Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas was set for 7, however when we got there we were told that the first show was full!! We could not believe the crowd level as everyone said go the Christmas party during the first week of December and early in the week because the crowds would be less. This was very much not the case. The crowd felt like a regular busy day at the Magic Kingdom. There was hardly any space anywhere in the park with elbow room and you kept running into people and we were surprised and disappointed. We felt like no better way to cheer us up than a ride on the TTA, but it was broken down, so we walked over to Space and guess what?? Broken Down. Buzz was also broken down and so it appeared tomorrowland was just down and out to start the party!! We waited a few minutes over by the TTA and within about 10 minutes they opened up again and we got a chance to take in tomorrowland at night.

While on the TTA we noticed people already lining up for the next showing of Twas the Night Before Christmas, so after our ride we joined the group waiting where there was still 40 minutes before show time. Waiting seems to be the theme of this party. We enjoyed our time people watching and ease dropping on other people's conversations until show time. The show was very fun, though kind of cheesy in spots, but we loved Santa Goofy. They could have made the show a little longer, but it was still festive enough. After Mickey wished us happy holidays, it was getting very cold and we thought we should get our free ($50) hot chocolate and cookies and the closer place was the Tomorrowland Terrace where there was a long and slow line for free stuff!! The CM's were so slow and I have no idea what took soooo long to hand people free hot chocolate that was already made a cookies that were sitting right there. Crazy.

We took a moment to enjoy our refreshments and then figured we would check out the special party merchandise so we walked over to Mickey's Star Trader where we were surprised at how little was available. It was all on one stand and it was very uninspiring. At this point there was only about 20 minutes until Holiday Wishes and based on the crowds we figured we better get over to Main Street. We grabbed a spot by the tip board at the top Main Street and waited for the fantastic firework show that is Holiday Wishes. They really take it up a notch with this show and the display is really awesome. There might have been a little bit of that crazy wetness in one of my eyes again during that show. We joined the masses in leaving the hub and decided to head over to Liberty Square to position ourselves for the parade. We decided to take a ride on Haunted Mansion and the line was very healthy (post firework crowd), but moved fast and we loved another look at this amazing ride. We stood right in the middle of the stretch room and you can really hear the surround sound from there, very cool.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 6 w/ pics part 3.....

After the HM, we noticed the crowd for the parade was building so we walked into Frontierland and found a spot toward the beginning of the parade route. The parade was great......it was long and there were great floats and characters and it was just such a fun and festive time. And, there is nothing better than the toy soldiers.....bar none!!!

Once Santa passed us by, we entered Fantasyland and rode Snow White (better than Paris) and Winnie the Pooh (better than Disneyland). All of a sudden the crowds were right about what they should have been all night, but it was the last 45 minutes. We walked onto Space Mountain and Buzz Light Year (the worst of three versions of this ride), and then got one final ride on the TTA, before it was time to make that long stroll down main street and toward the exits. We stopped in the Emporium to kill some time as the crowds left, but then I started getting attacked by the tired bug. We took the resort monorail (less crowded) and then a sleepy ride home, where we collapsed on our huge king size bed.

I just had my rice krispy treat for breakfast (yummy) (only at Disney) and we are getting ready for a warmer day (about 70) and a return to Epcot where we have lunch reservations at Le Cellier (my favorite). So, as usual.....stay tuned.....more to come!![/QUOTE]

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 7 w/ pics....

Good morning once again from Congress Park at SSR, it looks to be warmer day today, but I need everyone to pray that this nagging cold/allergy thing I have going stays at bay for the rest of the trip (I have First Defense on the case). Well, we slept in a later yesterday and got a slow start to the day as the sixth straight day of Disney fun we beginning to take its toll on our stamina. After we put the final touches on the last report we got ready and drove over to Epcot. We entered the park at about 11:00, which is way too late for us, but the late night at Mickey's Very Merry forced us to delay our start to this day. Once in the park and after a few obligatory photos of the main entrance area we made the long walk to the Land and downstairs to get FP's for Soarin'. Since we were already there and had not been on Living With the Land since they ditched the live guide, we decided to check it out. We both agreed the attraction was much better without the live guide and we really enjoy the first half with the sets of the various climates.

After we learned to live with the land we left the pavilion and took another shot at finding Nemo over at the Seas with Nemo and Friends. Our clam shell was working this time, but the animatronic fish with the big teeth (have no idea what kind of fish he's supposed to be) that tries to attack Nemo was not working. The ride technology is really great and the DW loved the starfish at the very end of the ride as she begs everyone to help her get out of this repetitive ride. Very funny!! We didn't spend any further time in this pavilion and we back tracked a bit and experienced our favorite Epcot attraction Space Ship Earth. I think I could ride this attraction all day with so much to see and the ride moves too fast to take in all the detail. We even think the end of the ride is fun, although after repeat viewings and you run out endings to experience and run out of faces to make it might get a bit old.
The Land

We e-mailed our funny faces to ourselves and family and the proceeded toward the World Showcase as we had reservations at Le Cellier, my favorite WDW restaurant. We had some time to kill so we browsed around the shops at the entrance to the World Showcase and then we walked we caught a little of the Canadian Santa Claus show for Holidays Around the World. It was a very cute presentation and Santa had a lot of energy as you might expect from the jolly fellow. Before the end of the show we had to make our way down to Le Cellier for our lunch reservations which were for 1:40 and we took that time as it was all they had available from about 4 or 5 months ago for the entire time we were going to be here. We waited about 10 minutes and about half that we were sitting in the waiting area by ourselves. We got seated and the first thing we noticed was more than a third of the tables were empty. We were shocked at how empty it was had to ask the server what the deal was. He gave us some answer about the Candlelight Processional reservations starting at 2:00 and also the possibility of no shows. He said it varies from day to day where they could have every table going or some days with a bit less and they even take some walk ups. We just could not get it, for a restaurant that is so popular and hard to get into with such a small seating capacity how there could be that many tables were beyond us. Any idea??

Our server at Le Cellier (and really both times we have been there) were excellent. He was from British Columbia and was very sweet and friendly and chatted us up just enough to be pleasant but not overbearing. He earned the extra tip we added to the bill. The food as usual was AWESOME!! We both had cheddar cheese soup and dipped our pretzel bread in it and then followed it up with Fillet Mignon, which was such a tasty and tender cut of beef that I savored every bite. We got the seasonal sorbet for desert which was pumpkin and it tasted just like pumpkin pie, very yummy. After that heavy lunch we both felt like collapsing into a coma, but knew we had more to do in Epcot. We walked over to the O' Canada circle vision movie and had to wait for the next show, but when we walked in we overheard two CM's talking and one remarked how she had to tell a guest that using the term "eh" in Canada is a stereotype, kind of like "Y'all" in the South. It was very funny to listen to them; however I wanted to tell her she needs to visit the South because they really do say that there.

Martin Short showed us around his great country to the North and then it was time to get another FP. This time we headed back to Future World and over to Test Track. We grabbed our FP's and made our way back over to the Land for our trip on Soarin'. Even with a FP you have stand through a couple cycles of the movie and even know the wait is not that long, it always feels longer when you have to stand still and the line does not move. We enjoyed our trip, even know the DW has to close her eyes during the LA traffic scene (motion sickness), BUT there as a guy one glider over who took out his camera and started to take flash pictures. The CM got on the microphone during the ride three times to mention no flash pictures and he proceeded to snap away. We along with other would throw him a look every time he took a picture and nothing seemed to matter. When the ride ended the CM went right up to him and told him something. As we exited the ride people were giving him dirty glares and when we got back out into the pavilion and were about to get on the escalator we both made eye contact with the guy and gave him dirty stares.....we just could not resist. We kept our mouths shut to avoid an ugly confrontation, but we couldn't help but give him the stare.

After out trip over California and our chance encounter with a rude guest, we went back into World Showcase and browsed through England, France and Morocco. It was fun to look at all the stuff in England as we currently living there and they have many of the same items we see on a daily basis. Once we reached the American Adventure, the Candlelight Processional was on so we walked up to the standing area and watched about 10 minutes. Neil Patrick Harris (Doogie Houser) was the celebrity narrator and it seemed like a very nice program, but not really worth it for us to go through the trouble of getting seats. Ten minutes was enough and then we caught the next showing of the American Adventure. What an amazing (do I say that a lot??) attraction, the use of animatronics and sets combined with film projection really capture your attention, although there is something about that theater that makes most sleepy. It's nothing against the show, just one of those things. After we renewed our faith in the promise of America (thanks Mr. Franklin and Mr. Twain) we continued around the world showcase on our way to Test Track, stopping and browsing through the various countries and taking special notes in the ones we have actually visited.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 7 w/ pics cont.....

We used our FP's for Test Track, which was not necessary as it was a walk on up to the pre-show. After the pre-show, we always seem to get stuck in there as the ride seems to break down a lot and you can never tell if it's just a couple minutes delay or longer. We finally got on and enjoyed our trip along the test track while pointing out hidden Mickey’s to each other. After our test dummy experience we realized it was getting close to Illuminations and we needed to eat. The smell inside the Land pavilion had inspired us earlier in the day, so we decided to return and eat at Sunshine Seasons. We both got noodle dishes with chicken and beef and agreed the portion size was too small for the price. The food was decent, not very hot. We gobbled down our MSG (I sure hope not) and once again returned to the World Showcase. This time we went clockwise and decided to take a quick trip to help find Donald Duck in The Three Caballeros at Mexico. We found him once again and watched his performance before grabbing a spot for Illuminations in our favorite spot which is at the end of Mexico just before Norway across from the Margarita bar. The show was just as awesome as before and we really wished we could see that show everyday we were here. It' that good and the location we saw it in was excellent. The holiday tag really adds to the show and the finale just blow your mind....and your ear drums.

At this point the park was closed and it was pretty chilly, so we thought the best way to deal with this situation was to get some desert and what better desert than ice cream. We had been wanting to try to the No Way Jose over at Beach's and Cream at the Beach Club, so we got in our car and drove around Epcot told the security guard our genius plan and he let us in. We got seated very quickly and had anther really nice server who looked exactly like Amy Adams (How do you know???). She brought us the No Way Jose which has chocolate and vanilla ice cream with fudge and peanut butter and whip cream and some other stuff I can' remember, but it was soooo good. The DW exclaimed that she has now found her new favorite desert. We finished the whole thing off and then rolled out of there and back to SSR where we got in contact with our families to report that we were still alive and well and not to expect to hear from us for the rest of the time as our days are getting less and less and we are feeling the stress and sadness as those final day approach.

Well, we are on our way to the Studios and another date with Toy Story Mania (I'm going to get my DW back this time) and then later we head to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe. As usual, please stay tuned......more to come!![/QUOTE]

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 8 w/pics.....

It's late night here at Congress Park, but it appears lively just across the water at Downtown Disney's west side. We just put the finishing touches on another magical Disney day. It was a pop tart breakfast day as we slept in again after a late night last night. We got ourselves together and were out the door at about 10:30, and were in the Studios just before 11AM. Knowing that Toy Story Mania runs out of FP's by about mid-day, we knew that would have to be our first stop. We got there and they were still offering FP's, so we grabbed ours and decided to jump in line at it appeared shorter than the last time we waited even know the wait time was listed as 60 minutes. Well, it took 60 minutes to get on as the line moved much slower because I assume they were holding the stand by line longer to allow the FPers in. We had another great ride and I am sorry to report that the DW somehow managed to beat me again. I was leading going into the last game and then she overtook me and blew me out of the water. I was not happy and was looking forward to a rematch later when we used our FP's.

After I got my backside kicked by the DW on TSM, we made the short walk over to The Voyage of the Little Mermaid and enjoyed this beloved classic that is in serious need of an update. I think it's time has passed and the technology is passing it by in addition to the fact that the story was strangely presented. After getting wet with Ariel and friends we made our way up Sunset Blvd and dropped into the Tower of Terror. We enjoyed our random sequence drops and then wobbled over to Rock and Roller Coaster to pick up some FP's.

It was time for some lunch so we headed over to Pizza Planet where service was extremely slow, not so much to order, but to have the order filled. They have a very strange system over there where each CM filling does their entire non-pizza gathering, and then one CM handles all the pizza. This makes for a very slow process. We had our average pizza and salads (it was nice to have Ranch dressing again as you can't get it in the UK) and jumped in line, yes I said line, for Muppet Vision. It moved pretty quick and right into the pre-show, but the show was full. The crowds seemed to be pretty healthy, not as bad as over last weekend, but still pretty heavy. The attraction wait times were not too bad, except for the big ones, but the park was still full of people. The weather was also improved as the temps were in the low 70's with some intermittent sun.

We enjoyed our test screening at Muppet labs and decided to jump on the backstage tour, but the wait was 25 minutes and we just didn't think it was worth that and we would come back later. We walked through Pixar Place and toured One Man's Dream (the Walt Disney Story) and enjoyed all the displays and the 15 minute movie at the end where I almost fell completely asleep. Whoops.

Once inspired and awoken by the end of the Walt movie we felt it was time for a snack, so I had a milkshake from SS Rustworthy (I think that's what it's called) and the DW grabbed a Mickey Bar (her favorite). My milkshake was like soft serve ice cream, but it felt good on my throat as I was not starting to loose my voice. Well, after a yummy ice cream snack there is nothing better than riding a roller coaster, so off to Rock N Roller we went as our FP was up. The ride was fun as usual, but I chose not to scream like a 13 year old girl to conserve my fleeing voice. I think Ursula might have done something to me when we saw the Little Mermaid. That wicked sea witch. Anyway, Rock N Roller is a great ride, but much too short, they needed to have little more length to the track.

Once we enjoyed our backstage passes to Aerosmith, we walked over to the Animation Courtyard and toured the Animation Building. I really miss the old attraction on this one, with real animators that you could watch and the Robin Williams movie. Ah, the good old days. The movie in this attraction with Mush is dated and a little boring and there is little repeatability in the interactive displays after the movie. The best thing is the animation academy where you get to learn how to draw a Disney character, but we had to skip it so we could get to our Toy Story Mania FP's at 5:45 so we could get to Fantasmic and get a seat. We did find out what character we were most like and I am like Tarzan (it's all about the abs and biceps) and the DW was like Cinderella (her favorite as a child) We got into the FP line and could not believe how backed up it was and how little of the stand by line was being used despite the 80 minute wait time listed outside. It took us a good 20 minutes to get on and once we did I was whipping the DW pretty good through the early games, but she started creeping back and sure enough the last game she overtook me again and beat me!! She is undefeated in this ride and I don't what it is, but I can't beat her in the last game where the plates come flying at you.

In defeat, it was time to make our way to the Hollywood Hills and get a seat for Fantasmic. With 45 minutes until show time we could not believe how crowded the amphitheater was. We found a full looking section just left of center and about 10 rows from the water found two seats on the end and sat. We wanted to get an end seat because we had 8:20 reservations at Whispering Canyon over at Wilderness Lodge so after the show were needed to bolt out of there and get to our car and go, go, go!!

After killing the time people watching, the show started and it was much better than the other night when we watched it in the pouring rain. What a great show, especially the end where Mickey lights up the sky. As soon as Mickey indicated he was done we quickly turned and ran up the isle and made our way out as fast as we could. It turns out we made excellent time and were able to enjoy the resort and all its holiday glory. This was DW's first time at his resort and guess what?? We want to stay at the Villas here as well, surprise!! We got seated at Whispering Canyon, but were sat in the small back section with about 8 tables and it was very quiet compared to the rest of the place. DW wanted to experience the whole thing and enjoy the interactivity, but we were in another room. Our waiter was great and played it up well with us, but we still missed a lot. The food is mostly good, especially the pulled pork, ribs, corn, beans, salad and corn bread. Oh, and you can't forget the bottomless shakes. At this point my voice was nearly gone so I had to have some hot tea, which helped a bit. We stuffed ourselves beyond repair and then walked around the resort a bit more, even walking over to the DVC building and enjoying the quiet lobby area in there. On our way back to the main building we saw a few minutes of the nighttime electrical water pageant which was just another small magical moment for us. We took our tired and full bodies back to SSR and with an hour were out to the world.

It looks to be another beautiful day today and we are planning on a return to the Animal Kingdom and then will make our way over to the international gateway for the DVC merry mixer and we have reservations at Spoodles for later. So, as usual stay tuned.......more to come.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 9 w/ pics....

Good morning to you all from a quiet Congress Park at SSR here at WDW. It was another full and exciting day during our first trip home. The major problem with the day, or not if you as the DW, was that I have just about completely lost my voice as it appears I have caught something leading to laryngitis. Writing this TR is probably the most talking I have done all day. It took as a little longer to get out the door as I was trying to have some hot tea, and get myself together to take on the day. Also, the maid came to do our trash and towel service and we asked if she could come back in 10 minutes and we would be gone, but she had her purse over her shoulder and she said she has to go, so the DW let her in to do the service. Very strange.

We rolled out of SSR and arrived into the wilds of Animal Kingdom at almost 10:30. Our first stop was a FP for Everest and also we detoured to the Tea stand in Asia where I got some hot tea for my throat and my wife got a very tasty Latte. We then decided to hot Primeval Whirl before the line gets too long. This attraction just came out of rehab and they were only using one track with no FP service. The wait was 45 minutes and it was not really worth it. Once we got dispatched from the station we sat at the bottom of the hill with three other cars for a good five minutes before we went up the first lift hill. The ride is pretty mild and lacking in interesting detail and the worst part was the section where the car spins around have the tea cup effect on my motion sickness prone DW and she was not happy when we got off.

With the DW starting to turn various shades of green, we did what anyone else would do in the same situation....we used our FP for Everest. The ride was awesome as usual and of course the yeti was in full "B" mode. We asked one of the CM's later what the deal was and he told us that the Yeti's whole mid section is cracked. I imagine it will take a lengthy refurb to get that going again. The next item on our list was Dinosaur, but on the way the DW had to take a little break on a park bench to try and regain some of her balance as the combination of the spinning on Primeval Whirl and the intense nature of Everest made her head feel a bit loose. While we were sitting there to very nice people came up to us and offered up their FP's for Everest as they were not going to be using them. That was one of those great unexpected magical moments.

The DW regained some balance in her head and it was time to encounter the dinosaurs over at Dinosaur. We just about walked onto the ride and had a fun time escaping that meteor shower and sure enough we made it back, just in time for some lunch. Today we had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, one of the best quick service locations at WDW and especially at AK. The menu is good, the line moves fast and the secluded seating location spread out in the woods along the water facing Asia make the ambiance perfect. We enjoyed some pulled pork/beef sandwiches, corn bread, onion rings and beans before taking some time to explore the area around the Tree of Life. Nobody ever seems to be walking these trails and you get some great views of various animals and you get some amazing up close angles from which to observe the rich detail that makes up the carvings on the Tree of Life. I highly recommend everyone take the time to slowly take in these areas as it really gives you an appreciation for what the imagineers accomplished with this park.

Once we completed our alone time with the tree we took one last ride on Everest using our FP's and then giving our other FP's away to two random people. We paid it forward, love that Disney magic!! We enjoyed what was probably our last trip to the Himalayas and made our way to the exit of the park, stopping to take in some of the trails/exhibits at the front of the park. A very nice security CM talked to us by a swan exhibit and he was very nice and told us some fun fact about the birds in that area.

We left and headed for the Boardwalk resort so we could attend the DVC Merry Mixer. We were shocked when we got over to the International Gateway and saw the line waiting to enter the tent. It was wrapped around the corner, but moved fast. When we entered they gave us a door prize entry card and a treat voucher. We filled out the door prize form and then got our treat which was a snow man rice krispy treat with frosting on the front half of course. There was a line for exclusive DVC pins and it was way too long for us since the special pin did not even look that exciting. There was a stage with a DJ who was keeping the kids involved with all kinds of dance songs. Pluto and later Santa Goofy would join in with the kids to dance to the music. There was a winter scene set up on the other end where they rotated Minnie and Mickey and Donald and Daisy. There was free apple cider and cash bar for anything else. They had a pin trading booth and an area for arts and crafts for the kids. We stayed for about an hour and then headed into Epcot. On the way out they handed us a neat pewter DVC ornament, which was very cool.

We entered Epcot and made our way straight to Space Ship Earth. We enjoyed another ride aboard this favorite attraction of ours. I love the very beginning where you see the hunters/gatherers taking on the huge wooly mammoth and also the part where your time vehicle turns and Judi Dench mentions something about "here we are" or our "space ship earth" and you see the earth at that exact second as you enter the huge planetarium type room. After our return to earth we stopped into the Art of Disney store and we checked out the awesome art pieces which included an artist that does really cool watercolors and the artist was in the store. We talked with him for a couple of minutes as one of his pieces has always been the DW's favorite and we considered emptying most of what was left in our wallet to add it to our collection.

We strolled over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends and took a ride in yet another search for Nemo. We found him, and enjoyed more line from the very funny starfish at the end. As we were exiting it appeared that Turtle Talk was just starting so we ran in there grabbed a seat and watched while a very strange sounding and acting Crush seemed to phone in the performance. All the shows we have ever seen have been pretty consistent as far as quality and content, but this one just stood out as odd.

It was getting close to our reservation time at Spoodles and we had time for one quick ride. Based on where we were and the time we had, we jumped onto Journey Into Imagination. Again, it was just an OK ride and I really miss the original version of this ride. We kind of decided that Epcot needs the most work of all the parks. Test track is just ok, Mission Space makes most sick, Universe of Energy is dated and boring (we never even did it), and Imagination needs a complete overhaul. Not to mention the Wonders of Life pavilion is just sitting empty. Just our two cents.

We made our way out through the international gateway and over to Spoodles at the boardwalk. We got put in the corner near two very different families. Both with four adults and one with five kids and the other one with seven kids. The group with seven kids was out of control with the kids running around and very loud and the other group had kids who got up and walked around a bit, but for the most part sat at the table and really behaved themselves. Since conversation was reduced to nothing because of my voice, we had lots of time to people watch and eavesdrop.

The food at Spoodles was very good as was the service. We both had pasta with sausage sauce and also some pita and hummus. It was a loud restaurant, but had a nice atmosphere and an open kitchen. We noticed that had another open kitchen where they made just pizza, which was not on the menu, for walk-ups to an outside window. Has anyone ever had that pizza and is it any good?

After dinner we returned to SSR and walked over to DTD to get most of our World of Disney shopping out of the way. We of course spent way tooooo much money and walked about at about midnight with two huge bags and some tired bodies. It didn't take us long to fall asleep, but now we are up and getting ready for a full day at the Magic Kingdom. Today is the Christmas Parade taping so I will be sure to tell Regis and Kelly hello from everyone. I am feeling better and it is going to be another warm and sunny day here so stay tuned for another update later.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Day 10 w/pics.....

Well, we are back from a most magical day in the most magical kingdom of them all. You guessed it; we were at the MK all day long today. As usual, we were off to a late start as I think we must have snoozed for over an hour. I was feeling better and my voice somewhat returned albeit a pretty hoarse. We left SSR just as we should have been walking through the gates. By the time we had driven to the MK, parked, and for a change of pace, taken the ferry across the seven seas lagoon, it was 45 minutes after park open. Upon entering the park, the entire town square was closed off as they were taping for the Christmas Day Parade and Regis and Kelly were in attendance to do their part. All guests were directed back stage behind Main Street and out into Tomorrowland. The sneak peak backstage gives you kind of a reality check how much the themeing stops as soon as you are out of the guest’s sight. We really didn’t care for it and looked forward to returning to the “story.” Also, they saw us with a video camera and asked that we not film backstage.

Once we got into Tomorrowland we realized based on the number of people that joined us that it was going to be a busy day in the MK. Since we were forced into Tomorrowland we decided to get a FP for Space Mountain and then get as far on the other side of the park as possible since there would most likely be less people. We crossed the hub, and could see a little of what was going on Main Street with some musical performances starting and then stopping. It seems like a tedious process and one that looks much better on TV than live. They were doing a number from the Mary Poppins musical as we could hear the music from the hub. Once we had our fill of watching the parade filming from afar, we continued into Adventureland and the over to Frontierland to get a little something to eat. There was nothing of the breakfast variety around, so we got a couple of cookies and raspberry lemonade slushy which is one of those breakfasts you could only have at a Disney park. After filling up on our morning sugar, we attempted to get on Splash Mountain, but it was not operating due to technical difficulties (somebody screwed something up and it broke down). We looked next door and Big Thunder Mountain had also experienced a technical difficulty requiring us to re-think our plan.

We decided to jump over to Adventureland and hop aboard the Pirates of the Caribbean for a chance to meet up with Jack Sparrow and Davey Jones. We pretty much walked onto Pirates and then decided to check out the Tiki Room Under New Management which just does not match up to the original version of this show, sorry Yago and Zazu. Just down the way from the Tiki Room is the Jungle Cruise where the line was a lot longer than we expected as it appeared the crowd was beginning to swell. Jungle Cruise does have a great and detailed queue and it always move pretty good. We had a pretty good skipper and nothing hit the spot better after a two trek deep into the jungle than a dole whip. We each got a dole whip and enjoyed this favorite treat while we walked over to Splash Mountain to get a FP. By the time we reached Splash, I had polished off my yummy Dole Whip and noticed the ride had returned to normal operation. We grabbed our FP and walked over to Thunder to see if we could get a ride in and the timing was perfect as the ride had just reopened from being down and the wait was about 10 minutes. As usual, we asked to sit in the back since the ride is way better from there and of course had a great time on our runaway mine train.
After our return to Frontierland from deep in the mine we decided to attempt lunch at Pecos Bills. They have a new area where you can walk up if you are using a credit or room charge and use a touch screen to put in your order. After you make all your selections and slide your card, you get a receipt and walk up to the window for pick-up. We found this to be an excellent addition as we flew threw the line while the regular lines where much more backed up. Disney needs to add these machines to all food locations across property immediately. We collected our order and found seats in the wonderfully themed seating area and enjoyed our bacon cheeseburgers and fries and of course the people watching. After lunch it was time to grab another FP, so we walked over to Fantasyland and got FP’s for Peter Pan as we had not been on this ride yet the whole trip and the reason is mostly the long lines this attraction always seems to have. Since we were in Fantasyland we took in a nice afternoon showing of Mickey’s Philharmagic. This attraction is so much fun with great effects and definite repeatability. The only problem was we were starting to get tired and fighting to keep ourselves going. With only a few days left of our trip, we pushed through it knowing we would regret bailing out now. The sacrifice made to enjoy Disney Magic.

We dragged our tired bodies onto the Haunted Mansion where there was a good 20 minute wait. I recommend trying to stand in the middle of the stretch room as the surround sound effects seem better from there. We waited in the room as everyone left and got to hear the freaky whisper telling us to “get out.” Next, we made our way to Splash to use our FP and made a detour to the Country Bear Jamboree. We clapped our hands and stomped our feet and unfortunately the DW bused me falling asleep. Note to all, do not take in any theater type shows after lunch and you are tired. This is very dangerous business as falling into a deep sleep could happen. In order to try and wake up a bit we used our FP at Splash and the several drops did the just the trick in jolting the system a bit. We exited Splash and got in line for the train where we had to wait about 5 minutes for the next train before we could take a grand circle tour of the MK. We did the full circle and then got off at the Mickey’s Toontown station and walked over to Tomorrowland to use the FP we got fist thing in the morning for Space Mountain. We zipped through space like nobody’s business and re-entered the atmosphere to take a look at a family’s journey through the 20th century on The Carousel of Progress. There were only about 20 people in the theater and we enjoyed this classic Disney attraction.

After the Turkey was burned for Christmas we jumped on the TTA for another trip through Tomorrowland and we saw in the hub area a lot of filming seemed to be taking place on the castle stage. After our return to Rocket Tower Plaza, we decided to head out and over to the Grand Floridian as we wanted to see the gingerbread house and Christmas decorations over there. On the way out was stopped to check out the commotion in front of the castle and noticed that on the grass to the right of the castle in the rose garden area people were all staring and yelling. It didn’t take long to hear they were yelling the name Miley, Miley and sure enough Miley Cirus of Hannah Montana fame was standing right there. I took a couple great pictures of her and of Mickey and Minnie dressed as Santa and Mrs. Claus. It appeared they were taking down all the equipment as they were done shooting for the day so we grabbed another snack before leaving the park. I got a dole whip float (very yummy) and the DW got her favorite Mickey bar.
We took the monorail over to the GF and were amazed at the beauty of the lobby and the gingerbread house in the corner. We could not believe the house was made of actual food and went down to get a closer look. The detail was amazing with all the little winter scenes and the smell was irresistible. We took some pictures and picked up a couple gingerbread items before our return to the magic kingdom. Once we got back it was dusk out which is the DW’s favorite time of day. We enjoyed our stroll up Main Street on our way to use our Peter Pan FP. We flow over the roof tops of London and on to Neverland to watch Peter defeat Captain Hook. We felt this version is better than the one in Paris, although the Paris version does use some cool fiber optics at the end which is very cool. It was time for dinner and we went just next door to the Columbia Harbor House for some clam chowder soup. We sat in the relatively quiet upstairs seating area and enjoyed the very well themed atmosphere while we enjoyed our appropriate soup.

We realized that we had not even seen Mickey’s Toontown Fair and so off we went to take on a ride aboard Goofy’s barnstormer. There was no wait for the kiddy rollercoaster so it was ok to give it a ride as the themeing was fun. While we were there we toured Mickey and Minnie’s house and fun reading all the little detail found throughout. We journeyed over to Tomorrowland and used our second FP for Space Mountain. We had a great ride through space as the DW was yelling out stuff, as we usually do, but I had to just listen instead of participate because of my voice. It was very funny to listen to her.

Buzz had too long to a wait, so we grabbed FP’s and took a nighttime ride aboard the TTA which is a magical time for this ride. We decided to try and get on Thunder during the fireworks so we passed through the hub and used FP’s we had from earlier. We got onto our train just as the fireworks were beginning and we got to see a bunch of great pyro blasts as we raced around the wilderness and enjoyed every second. We exited the ride and watched the rest of Wishes and then walked right on to Splash for a mostly dry ride in the back. It was getting close to parade time and we really wanted to see Spectromagic on this trip, so we staked out a spot in front of the Hall of Presidents. The parade did not get to this area until about 10:15 and we had fun humming the catchy music and watching all the colorful lights and characters pass us by our front row seats. As soon as the parade was over there was only 20 minutes left until park close, so we ran over to Haunted Mansion for a great trip through the spooky home of Master Gracie. There was about 5 minutes left, so we and many others ran over to Small World to close out the night with one last ride. We enjoyed the message of world peace from world’s children and got that addictive song stuck in our heads as we walked through the castle and on to Main Street taking in all the beauty of the MK at night, the best time in the park.

On the way out, we had to stop and get some ice cream from Main Street. A tradition we have from our days at Disneyland. We walked around the shops on Main Street while we enjoyed our Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream. It was about midnight when we said our goodnights to the MK and started to feel sad as the realization that we only had one more full day left before our long journey back to England on Monday. We reluctantly left and boarded the monorail for our long journey back to SSR. As usual, we got back and about collapsed from fatigue and fell asleep. It’s going to be a cooler day today (high only in the low 60’s) and we are planning a day at Studios and evening at Epcot to finish our last night with our third installment of illuminations. So, stay tuned……at least one more update to come.