meeko_33785
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- Joined
- Oct 20, 2000
- Messages
- 5,491
As I began to work on this trip report, I came to realize that this would be my 10th trip report that I have posted here on the DIS. Hard to believe Ive done that many, but its true. If youve ever read any of my previous reports, you must know by now that I usually put some photos from my trip along with my reports. This one will be no exception, but with one difference. As the years have past though, technology has upgraded and for the first time, every photo in the reports will be digital. Thats right, no more scanned photos. These should be the clearest and best quality pictures that have ever been seen in any of my reports. Well, without any further ado, lets start the report.
It seems like it has become so natural for me to arrive at Walt Disney World early in the morning that I cant even imagine arriving there after the 8am hour. Theres a certain air about the World at that time in the morning. Its early enough where the parks arent fully open yet, but there are still some signs of the day starting- near empty buses on the streets, the monorail whizzing by overhead, and the first guests of the day driving onto property. This is when I arrived at the Contemporary Resort. While I was planning this trip, it was clear that it would defiantly be centered in the Magic Kingdom area. I knew that I wanted to spend a whole day at the park- something I had not done for many years-, and had been planning to try the character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare for the first time. Of course, since everything I was doing was in that area, it was clear that a resort in that area, preferably one on the monorail line, was what was needed. The Contemporary had a good deal, so that became my resort of choice. I had never stayed there before, so I was pretty excited to finally see what it was like.
The Magic Kingdom would be opening in less than an hour, so I didnt have a long time to look around. I did check out the gingerbread display they had. Nice. I was proud of myself too for finding a Hidden Mickey in it. Theres one right by Figaro that looks like spilled paint. Well, enough looking around. Time to check in and get to the park! My room was ready so I dropped by bag off.
Maybe it just seems larger because I stayed at Pop Century on my last trip, but the room sure seemed bigger to me than I thought it would. The best part though was getting a Magic Kingdom view. How cool is it to be able to see Space Mountain right out your window? This could be a nice spot to watch Holiday Wishes later in the evening. By 9am, I was walking to Magic Kingdom. It was a shorter walk than I had imagined. I was inside the park in no time. The plan for the day called for the first ride to be Big Thunder Mountain followed by taking the Railroad to Toontown. Since I just upgraded cameras, I was hoping to get to the Hall of Fame to take some character new photos before the lines really picked up there.
On my way to Frontierland, I heard the Trolley Show music begin to play. In all my year of going to Magic Kingdom, I have never seen this show. For some reason, Im just never on Main Street when its happening. It was a nice surprise to start out the day. Very cute. After the show, I was about to head to Frontierland again, when I noticed that Cinderellabration was scheduled to start in less than 10 minutes. Now, I could tell that the weather was not ideal for the show. It was very foggy, the stage looked a little slick, and a number of stage managers were out on the stage inspecting the stage and deciding if the show could go on. I know that if the show got cancelled, then the cast would come down and do a meet-and-greet. I saw the exact same thing happen for a performance of Cinderellas Surprise Celebration a few years earlier. I figured, I would just wait a few minutes and see if the show went on or not. If it did, Id make a break for Big Thunder. If the meet-and-Greet happened, Id stick around.
At the scheduled Showtime, the firework that signals the Fairy Godmothers first appearance in the show went off. Everyone cheered; until the announcement came that the performance was cancelled. After shooting off the rest of the shows fireworks display, the cast all came down for meet-and-greets. First, I got in line to meet Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip, and got autographs and photos. I have never been able to find Prince Phillip in the park, so it was nice to finally see them together. Next, it was over to my favorite Disney couple- Belle and her Prince. They werent signing autographs, but I thought the photo I took of them turned out wonderfully. Plus I got to ask the Prince what is name was. Ive seen so much argument online about whether his name is Vincent or Adam or whether he has a name at all that I wanted to hear his side of it. I dont really have a name, he said. They call me The Prince. I just knew it wasnt Vincent.
It was so exciting getting to see the characters in that setting in front of the Castle that no other character greeting that day could hope to top it.
Enough Trolley Shows and Character greetings. Its time for some rides! First stop- Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The standby line said that the wait was 20 minutes, but the wait seemed much shorter than that. The ride was fun as usual. By now, Toontown was open. Of course, my plan was to take the train to Toontown after Big Thunder to hit the Hall of Fame, but I was in the mood for more rides instead. Instead, I headed over to Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean. No wait at all here. After the ride, I noticed Wendy Darling from Peter Pan coming out for a meet-and-greet, so I went over and got a photo of her. She was perfectly in character and very charming. Last thing before leaving Adventureland was the Jungle Cruise. Of course its corny, but I still like it. With the major attractions in Adventureland behind me, it was back to Froniterland for a dose of Holiday cheer. The story contines in Part 2 .
It seems like it has become so natural for me to arrive at Walt Disney World early in the morning that I cant even imagine arriving there after the 8am hour. Theres a certain air about the World at that time in the morning. Its early enough where the parks arent fully open yet, but there are still some signs of the day starting- near empty buses on the streets, the monorail whizzing by overhead, and the first guests of the day driving onto property. This is when I arrived at the Contemporary Resort. While I was planning this trip, it was clear that it would defiantly be centered in the Magic Kingdom area. I knew that I wanted to spend a whole day at the park- something I had not done for many years-, and had been planning to try the character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare for the first time. Of course, since everything I was doing was in that area, it was clear that a resort in that area, preferably one on the monorail line, was what was needed. The Contemporary had a good deal, so that became my resort of choice. I had never stayed there before, so I was pretty excited to finally see what it was like.
The Magic Kingdom would be opening in less than an hour, so I didnt have a long time to look around. I did check out the gingerbread display they had. Nice. I was proud of myself too for finding a Hidden Mickey in it. Theres one right by Figaro that looks like spilled paint. Well, enough looking around. Time to check in and get to the park! My room was ready so I dropped by bag off.
Maybe it just seems larger because I stayed at Pop Century on my last trip, but the room sure seemed bigger to me than I thought it would. The best part though was getting a Magic Kingdom view. How cool is it to be able to see Space Mountain right out your window? This could be a nice spot to watch Holiday Wishes later in the evening. By 9am, I was walking to Magic Kingdom. It was a shorter walk than I had imagined. I was inside the park in no time. The plan for the day called for the first ride to be Big Thunder Mountain followed by taking the Railroad to Toontown. Since I just upgraded cameras, I was hoping to get to the Hall of Fame to take some character new photos before the lines really picked up there.
On my way to Frontierland, I heard the Trolley Show music begin to play. In all my year of going to Magic Kingdom, I have never seen this show. For some reason, Im just never on Main Street when its happening. It was a nice surprise to start out the day. Very cute. After the show, I was about to head to Frontierland again, when I noticed that Cinderellabration was scheduled to start in less than 10 minutes. Now, I could tell that the weather was not ideal for the show. It was very foggy, the stage looked a little slick, and a number of stage managers were out on the stage inspecting the stage and deciding if the show could go on. I know that if the show got cancelled, then the cast would come down and do a meet-and-greet. I saw the exact same thing happen for a performance of Cinderellas Surprise Celebration a few years earlier. I figured, I would just wait a few minutes and see if the show went on or not. If it did, Id make a break for Big Thunder. If the meet-and-Greet happened, Id stick around.
At the scheduled Showtime, the firework that signals the Fairy Godmothers first appearance in the show went off. Everyone cheered; until the announcement came that the performance was cancelled. After shooting off the rest of the shows fireworks display, the cast all came down for meet-and-greets. First, I got in line to meet Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip, and got autographs and photos. I have never been able to find Prince Phillip in the park, so it was nice to finally see them together. Next, it was over to my favorite Disney couple- Belle and her Prince. They werent signing autographs, but I thought the photo I took of them turned out wonderfully. Plus I got to ask the Prince what is name was. Ive seen so much argument online about whether his name is Vincent or Adam or whether he has a name at all that I wanted to hear his side of it. I dont really have a name, he said. They call me The Prince. I just knew it wasnt Vincent.
It was so exciting getting to see the characters in that setting in front of the Castle that no other character greeting that day could hope to top it.
Enough Trolley Shows and Character greetings. Its time for some rides! First stop- Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The standby line said that the wait was 20 minutes, but the wait seemed much shorter than that. The ride was fun as usual. By now, Toontown was open. Of course, my plan was to take the train to Toontown after Big Thunder to hit the Hall of Fame, but I was in the mood for more rides instead. Instead, I headed over to Adventureland for Pirates of the Caribbean. No wait at all here. After the ride, I noticed Wendy Darling from Peter Pan coming out for a meet-and-greet, so I went over and got a photo of her. She was perfectly in character and very charming. Last thing before leaving Adventureland was the Jungle Cruise. Of course its corny, but I still like it. With the major attractions in Adventureland behind me, it was back to Froniterland for a dose of Holiday cheer. The story contines in Part 2 .
