AllesonWonderland
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- May 17, 2006
- Messages
- 1,248
Feel free to skim through if this is long and boring. LOL 
We're just back from our first trip to WDW and had a great time! Here's our report:
Saturday March 24--Drove 4 hours to Kansas City to catch our flight to Orlando. The airport was very easy to navigate. Grabbed some dinner at Burger King and waited by the gate for our flight. We had 'A' passes and didn't bother to get in line til they announced they were about to begin boarding. Had no problem getting seats together (dad and 2 kids on one side, me on the aisle seat across) near the wing. It was the kids' first flight but they did great.
Flight left at 7:15 and we arrived in Orlando at 10:45. Got our luggage and headed over to the Alamo desk. No lines, used the computer to check ourselves in and headed out to get our car. The lot was pretty empty (guess that's what you get for flying in late on a Saturday night.) The printout said we could pick out anything in the full size row, but there was an attendant who pointed us toward a Ford Taurus. To me, a car's a car...I think DH would've liked to look for something else. Took 417 to get to Windsor Hills, the key was in a lockbox on the door so we let ourselves in and put everyone to bed.
Sunday March 25--Animal Kingdom Got up early and took the 'shortcut' from Windsor Hills to the Animal Kingdom. We were there shortly after 9. Headed straight to the Safaris, grabbed a fast pass and walked through the forest trail while we waited. Came back and did the Safari, it was great--lots of animals out. Went over to Asia and grabbed fast passes for Kali River Rapids. Did the jungle trek while we waited, then got VERY wet on the rapids. Grabbed a quick bite on Discovery Island, then headed to Dinoland for the kids to play a little. They played at the dig site and had fun unearthing fossils. Went over to Camp Minnie/Mickey and got Minnie's autograph. Earlier in the day we got Baloo and saw King Louie, and also got Princess Atta's. Explored the Oasis on our way out, we had to leave early to get over to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue for the 5 o'clock show. Made our way to Ft. Wilderness and caught a bus to Pioneer Hall. Walked through the petting zoo while we waited for show time. Got in a 5 and had excellent seats in the middle one row back from the stage. The food was delicious and we all loved the show. Afterwards we stopped by Walmart on our way home to get groceries for the week. Let the kids swim in the splash pool for a bit and all went to bed.
Monday March 26 Epcot Day 1 Arrived at Epcot first thing in the morning. Headed straight for Soarin' and got Fast Passes. Road Livin' with the Land and saw the Circle of life. Headed over to Innoventions East and the kids had a great time. We especially liked the robot race game. I came in 3rd in the race and DD9 got first place in the style competition. LOL DD was also chosen to 'test' items at one exhibit. They gave her a lab coat and safety googles and took her around to do all the tests. She got a little certificate at the end. Went back to the Land Pavillion to do Soarin and the kids did the Nestle Cookie Baking thing. Went home for lunch and a swim. (and a nap for dad) Then checked out the resort pool at Windsor Hills while DS used the exercise room. Had an early supper and came back to Epcot. Went over to the Universe of Energy ride. It says it's open til 7....but they must do the last ride earlier than that. Went to Innoventions West and did the House Fire game. Started to tour the World Showcase starting in Canada. Saw the show and explored the United Kingdom. The kids were tired and uninterested so we went back to the Townhouse. (And I scratched off the World Showcase things I had planned for our 2nd day at Epcot)
Tuesday March 27 Magic Kingdom Day 1 Arrived 40 minutes before opening and took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom. Got to see the opening 'show' and headed straight down Main Street. Went to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear--no waiting. Walked over to Fantasyland and went on Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight and Small World with no wait. Almost hated to leave at that point, but we had reservations at Chef Mickey's for breakfast. We walked over, but about halfway there wished we would have taken the monorail. Note to self: make kids walk as little as possible. LOL Had a great breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Saw Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy and Donald. Found our first pressed penny machine at the contemporary when we were getting ready to ride the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom. Went back down Main Street and saw the Hall of Presidents. Went and got a fast pass for Mickey's Philharmagic and then went through the Haunted Mansion. Went back for Philharmagic--the kids loved it. Went to see the Country Bear Jamboree and toured Tom Sawyer's Island. Caught a bit of the parade while we were on the Island. Took the train from Frontierland to Mickey's Toontown Fair (I didn't realize at the time that we could have taken it all the way back to Main Street--Doh!!) Walked from Toontown through Tomorrowland and headed down Main Street to go home for supper.
Wednesday March 28 Disney MGM--Got there right at opening. Did the Great Movie Ride. It had some technical difficulties in Oz and at the end. Our cast member felt really bad. Came out and the High School Musical Pep Rally was just about to start. DD9 loved it and sang all the songs. After that we went to see Walt Disney One Man's Dream. Tried to take the backlot tour but it too was having problems. Went to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground instead. Saw the Muppet Movie and got Buzz, Woody's and the Green Armyman's autographs afterwards. Saw the Streets of America and grabbed a bit to eat at the ABC commissary. Got FP's for Little Mermaid and went to Sounds Dangerous. Grabbed FP's for Indiana Jones then saw Little Mermaid. Came back for Indy and finally got to take the Backlot Tour. Got the Incredibles' autographs. Went home for supper and a swim, then came back for Fantasmic. It was so AWESOME!!!! Wish we would have brought the video camera. The kids were amazed and DS6 especially liked it. The whole rest of the trip he pointed out every sorcerer Mickey he saw. Home to bed.
Thursday March 29 Epcot Day 2 Got there right at opening and rode Spaceship Earth. Then headed to the seas, rode the ride and toured the aquarium while we waited for the first Turtle Talk with Crush show. Went to the Imagination Pavilion and rode the Imagination ride, saw the Image Works exhibits and the Honey I shrunk the Audience movie. Went over to norway to ride Maelstrom...DS6 didn't like the short drop at the end. Went to try the sodas at the Cool Station. Explored Innoventions West and rode Universe of Energy. Went home for a swim and supper and then back for IllumiNations. It was good, we probably would have enjoyed it more if we had seen it before Fantasmic. Home to bed!
Friday March 30 No plans for today. Tried to convince the kids to go back to Animal Kingdom since there was so much more there mom and dad wanted to see. (Lion King Show, Flights of Wonder, Safari again, Nemo Show, etc) But, that was a no go. Went to Downtown Disney instead. Did some shopping and let the kids play at legoland. Sampled some chocolate at Ghiradelli's and lots of Fudge at Goofy's Candy Store. Got to do a 'Magical Moment' where everyone in our family tasted 4 different flavors of fudge and rated them. Then they put our score cards on the display and gave us a certificate to take home. Bought some ornaments at the Christmas store to always remember our trip. Then a few more souvenirs at the big Mickey Store. Back home for lunch and another swim at the big pool at Windsor Hills. DD loved the waterslide. Tried again to convince the kids to go to AK, still no luck. Thought about going to see Fantasmic again so we could videotape it, but I knew we'd be up early to go to the magic kingdom the next day so we just stayed home and vegged. Did some laundry and started packing. *sniff*
Saturday March 31 Magic Kingdom day 2 Got there bright and early again. Watched the Welcome show and got on the train to Frontierland. Went to Splash Mountain but it wasn't working. DH and I did the kid swap on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Checked on Splash Mountain again--still down. Went to Adventureland and explored the Swiss Family Treehouse while we waited for some other things to open. Took turns on POTC (kids decided they didn't want to go) got a fast pass for the Jungle Cruise and saw the Tiki Room show. Came back and did the jungle cruise. Checked Splash Mountain on the way to the train station. Couldn't tell if it was back up or not...probably should have gotten fastpasses then, but didn't want to back track at that point. Rode the train to Toontown and explored the houses. Didn't wait to see any characters since we already had our autograph books pretty full. Went over to Tomorrowland. Wanted to eat at Cosmic Rays, but didn't see any seats so we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Saw the Carousel of Progress. Back to Cosmic Rays for some yummy burgers.The kids wanted to do Peter Pan's flight again but the line was long and the fast pass time was for 6-7p when I thought we'd be doing supper. Grabbed Mickey's Philharmagic fastpasses instead and went on TTA again while we waited. Went to the Laugh Floor and then grabbed fast passes for Buzz Lightyear. Went over to Philharmagic--kids liked it again. Went on TTA one last time. (Kids liked that one and there was never a wait--LOL) Did Buzz Lightyear and headed home for a quick swim and supper. Came back for Spectromagic and Wishes. Thought since everyone was trying to leave after wishes we would see if Peter Pan had a wait. Probably should have gotten fast passes before we went home for supper. The standby line said 20 minutes, but it looked longer. Instead we went to Adventureland for a famous Dole Whip and then went to wait for the monorail to get back to the parking lot. Went home and slept for a few hours, got up at 4:45am to get to the airport for our 7:20 flight. Again, no troubles sitting together. Had a friend check us in and reprinted our A Boarding Passes at the skycap luggage check.
So, that's it! It was a wonderful time! I was worried that the crowds would be bad, many posters warned against going at Spring Break time. Maybe this week will be busier because of Easter, but I really didn't think last week was bad at all. Can't wait to plan another trip!!
We're just back from our first trip to WDW and had a great time! Here's our report:
Saturday March 24--Drove 4 hours to Kansas City to catch our flight to Orlando. The airport was very easy to navigate. Grabbed some dinner at Burger King and waited by the gate for our flight. We had 'A' passes and didn't bother to get in line til they announced they were about to begin boarding. Had no problem getting seats together (dad and 2 kids on one side, me on the aisle seat across) near the wing. It was the kids' first flight but they did great.
Flight left at 7:15 and we arrived in Orlando at 10:45. Got our luggage and headed over to the Alamo desk. No lines, used the computer to check ourselves in and headed out to get our car. The lot was pretty empty (guess that's what you get for flying in late on a Saturday night.) The printout said we could pick out anything in the full size row, but there was an attendant who pointed us toward a Ford Taurus. To me, a car's a car...I think DH would've liked to look for something else. Took 417 to get to Windsor Hills, the key was in a lockbox on the door so we let ourselves in and put everyone to bed.Sunday March 25--Animal Kingdom Got up early and took the 'shortcut' from Windsor Hills to the Animal Kingdom. We were there shortly after 9. Headed straight to the Safaris, grabbed a fast pass and walked through the forest trail while we waited. Came back and did the Safari, it was great--lots of animals out. Went over to Asia and grabbed fast passes for Kali River Rapids. Did the jungle trek while we waited, then got VERY wet on the rapids. Grabbed a quick bite on Discovery Island, then headed to Dinoland for the kids to play a little. They played at the dig site and had fun unearthing fossils. Went over to Camp Minnie/Mickey and got Minnie's autograph. Earlier in the day we got Baloo and saw King Louie, and also got Princess Atta's. Explored the Oasis on our way out, we had to leave early to get over to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue for the 5 o'clock show. Made our way to Ft. Wilderness and caught a bus to Pioneer Hall. Walked through the petting zoo while we waited for show time. Got in a 5 and had excellent seats in the middle one row back from the stage. The food was delicious and we all loved the show. Afterwards we stopped by Walmart on our way home to get groceries for the week. Let the kids swim in the splash pool for a bit and all went to bed.
Monday March 26 Epcot Day 1 Arrived at Epcot first thing in the morning. Headed straight for Soarin' and got Fast Passes. Road Livin' with the Land and saw the Circle of life. Headed over to Innoventions East and the kids had a great time. We especially liked the robot race game. I came in 3rd in the race and DD9 got first place in the style competition. LOL DD was also chosen to 'test' items at one exhibit. They gave her a lab coat and safety googles and took her around to do all the tests. She got a little certificate at the end. Went back to the Land Pavillion to do Soarin and the kids did the Nestle Cookie Baking thing. Went home for lunch and a swim. (and a nap for dad) Then checked out the resort pool at Windsor Hills while DS used the exercise room. Had an early supper and came back to Epcot. Went over to the Universe of Energy ride. It says it's open til 7....but they must do the last ride earlier than that. Went to Innoventions West and did the House Fire game. Started to tour the World Showcase starting in Canada. Saw the show and explored the United Kingdom. The kids were tired and uninterested so we went back to the Townhouse. (And I scratched off the World Showcase things I had planned for our 2nd day at Epcot)
Tuesday March 27 Magic Kingdom Day 1 Arrived 40 minutes before opening and took the ferry to the Magic Kingdom. Got to see the opening 'show' and headed straight down Main Street. Went to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz Lightyear--no waiting. Walked over to Fantasyland and went on Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight and Small World with no wait. Almost hated to leave at that point, but we had reservations at Chef Mickey's for breakfast. We walked over, but about halfway there wished we would have taken the monorail. Note to self: make kids walk as little as possible. LOL Had a great breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Saw Minnie, Mickey, Pluto, Goofy and Donald. Found our first pressed penny machine at the contemporary when we were getting ready to ride the monorail back to the Magic Kingdom. Went back down Main Street and saw the Hall of Presidents. Went and got a fast pass for Mickey's Philharmagic and then went through the Haunted Mansion. Went back for Philharmagic--the kids loved it. Went to see the Country Bear Jamboree and toured Tom Sawyer's Island. Caught a bit of the parade while we were on the Island. Took the train from Frontierland to Mickey's Toontown Fair (I didn't realize at the time that we could have taken it all the way back to Main Street--Doh!!) Walked from Toontown through Tomorrowland and headed down Main Street to go home for supper.
Wednesday March 28 Disney MGM--Got there right at opening. Did the Great Movie Ride. It had some technical difficulties in Oz and at the end. Our cast member felt really bad. Came out and the High School Musical Pep Rally was just about to start. DD9 loved it and sang all the songs. After that we went to see Walt Disney One Man's Dream. Tried to take the backlot tour but it too was having problems. Went to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground instead. Saw the Muppet Movie and got Buzz, Woody's and the Green Armyman's autographs afterwards. Saw the Streets of America and grabbed a bit to eat at the ABC commissary. Got FP's for Little Mermaid and went to Sounds Dangerous. Grabbed FP's for Indiana Jones then saw Little Mermaid. Came back for Indy and finally got to take the Backlot Tour. Got the Incredibles' autographs. Went home for supper and a swim, then came back for Fantasmic. It was so AWESOME!!!! Wish we would have brought the video camera. The kids were amazed and DS6 especially liked it. The whole rest of the trip he pointed out every sorcerer Mickey he saw. Home to bed.
Thursday March 29 Epcot Day 2 Got there right at opening and rode Spaceship Earth. Then headed to the seas, rode the ride and toured the aquarium while we waited for the first Turtle Talk with Crush show. Went to the Imagination Pavilion and rode the Imagination ride, saw the Image Works exhibits and the Honey I shrunk the Audience movie. Went over to norway to ride Maelstrom...DS6 didn't like the short drop at the end. Went to try the sodas at the Cool Station. Explored Innoventions West and rode Universe of Energy. Went home for a swim and supper and then back for IllumiNations. It was good, we probably would have enjoyed it more if we had seen it before Fantasmic. Home to bed!
Friday March 30 No plans for today. Tried to convince the kids to go back to Animal Kingdom since there was so much more there mom and dad wanted to see. (Lion King Show, Flights of Wonder, Safari again, Nemo Show, etc) But, that was a no go. Went to Downtown Disney instead. Did some shopping and let the kids play at legoland. Sampled some chocolate at Ghiradelli's and lots of Fudge at Goofy's Candy Store. Got to do a 'Magical Moment' where everyone in our family tasted 4 different flavors of fudge and rated them. Then they put our score cards on the display and gave us a certificate to take home. Bought some ornaments at the Christmas store to always remember our trip. Then a few more souvenirs at the big Mickey Store. Back home for lunch and another swim at the big pool at Windsor Hills. DD loved the waterslide. Tried again to convince the kids to go to AK, still no luck. Thought about going to see Fantasmic again so we could videotape it, but I knew we'd be up early to go to the magic kingdom the next day so we just stayed home and vegged. Did some laundry and started packing. *sniff*
Saturday March 31 Magic Kingdom day 2 Got there bright and early again. Watched the Welcome show and got on the train to Frontierland. Went to Splash Mountain but it wasn't working. DH and I did the kid swap on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Checked on Splash Mountain again--still down. Went to Adventureland and explored the Swiss Family Treehouse while we waited for some other things to open. Took turns on POTC (kids decided they didn't want to go) got a fast pass for the Jungle Cruise and saw the Tiki Room show. Came back and did the jungle cruise. Checked Splash Mountain on the way to the train station. Couldn't tell if it was back up or not...probably should have gotten fastpasses then, but didn't want to back track at that point. Rode the train to Toontown and explored the houses. Didn't wait to see any characters since we already had our autograph books pretty full. Went over to Tomorrowland. Wanted to eat at Cosmic Rays, but didn't see any seats so we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Saw the Carousel of Progress. Back to Cosmic Rays for some yummy burgers.The kids wanted to do Peter Pan's flight again but the line was long and the fast pass time was for 6-7p when I thought we'd be doing supper. Grabbed Mickey's Philharmagic fastpasses instead and went on TTA again while we waited. Went to the Laugh Floor and then grabbed fast passes for Buzz Lightyear. Went over to Philharmagic--kids liked it again. Went on TTA one last time. (Kids liked that one and there was never a wait--LOL) Did Buzz Lightyear and headed home for a quick swim and supper. Came back for Spectromagic and Wishes. Thought since everyone was trying to leave after wishes we would see if Peter Pan had a wait. Probably should have gotten fast passes before we went home for supper. The standby line said 20 minutes, but it looked longer. Instead we went to Adventureland for a famous Dole Whip and then went to wait for the monorail to get back to the parking lot. Went home and slept for a few hours, got up at 4:45am to get to the airport for our 7:20 flight. Again, no troubles sitting together. Had a friend check us in and reprinted our A Boarding Passes at the skycap luggage check.
So, that's it! It was a wonderful time! I was worried that the crowds would be bad, many posters warned against going at Spring Break time. Maybe this week will be busier because of Easter, but I really didn't think last week was bad at all. Can't wait to plan another trip!!
Sounds like you and your family had a WONDERFUL 1st trip to the WORLD! I would love to try Windsor Hills some time. You also seemed to have picked a good week to visit. This week-leading up to Easter and the week after Easter -will be CRAZY! Joan
