My first trip report, May 2008 with pics! Updated 7-21,Typhoon Lagoon and P & P party

[bluedolph1n]

Thank you all! PopArtGal, I think you will have a wonderfull time at Chef Mickeys.

Sunday May 4th
This morning it was time for Animal Kingdom. We took the bus and where on time for the opening of the park. We also did some photopass pictures, here is a cute one of Michael with Simba:

The one attraction we definitely wanted to do was Expedition Everest. So we went there first, and wow, we liked this one! It was so good, we quickly got a fastpass.

Now it was time for Kilimanjaro Safaris. When we were in Orlando the last time, Animal Kingdom was new, and this was one of the things we liked a lot. We still like it, and saw a lot of animals. Including that large one, you know, the elephant.... When we came home, we saw something on the picture, we didn't see there.....

We did Expedition Everest again and went to Kali River Rapids. Yeah, yeah, I know, you can get soaked in it... but it wouldn't be that bad.... would it??? ..... Michael and I had the wrong seats, we were completely soaked! But fun it was, the other girls who were in the same boat, or how do you call it, made it clear to us directly we were at the wrong seats and we should prepare.

After this, we went to the Lion King show. I loved this one in 1998 when we went, and oh I still love this one. It is so great, one of the best shows in Disneyworld for us.

We saw you could take pictures with Goofy and Donald, and did this. Especially Donald was very playful with Michael, we had a great time.

We didn't see Chip and Dale (our favorites) and asked if they were also in the park. They said we could try at the entrance, maybe they were there.
And yes, they were. They wanted to go away, but still took time to let us make some pictures.

After this we went back to the hotel to do some swimming. We read a lot of tips here on the board before we went, and this was a very good one, go back to the hotel in the afternoon to relax a bit. We ate something at the hotel, and I just had to try the Tye and Dye cheesecake....yummmiieeee.

In the beginning of the evening we went to Magic Kingdom, we wanted to see Spectro Magic.
First we did Space Mountain. In Paris he is very different, we knew that, but thought it wasn't such a good ride here in orlando, when we went in 1995.
(1998 we only did Animal Kingdom and a waterpark). I don't know if it has changed since then, but we liked it a lot this time, and especially Michael, this was one of his favorites.

One of the things we also like so much here in Disneyworld are the houses of Mickey and Minnie. We don't have them in Paris, but hope they will place it there also!

We took some pictures here, and took the train to Main Street Station. There we had a great place to see Spectro Magic. it is getting boring, I know , but this was also so beautiful! All these lights, these parades are also one of my favorites.

What a great first whole day in Disneyworld! The next part will be breakfast at Cape May, Epcot and Downtown Disney.

 

[bluedolph1n]

Some more pics of this day:

 

[stagemomx3]

Wow you got some great photos! I tried to take some in the Lion King show, but none of them turned out, so I'm really impressed with your bird lady picture.

 

[bluedolph1n]

I took a lot of photo's and most of them were not good to. I guess I had a few lucky shots.

 

[Dooda]

I'm really enjoying your TR. Pictures are great!

 

[bluedolph1n]

Thank you!

Sorry it takes a while to write another part, I hope to do it this weekend. But here in the Netherlands everybody ( well, almost everybody, me too ) is watching the Euro 2008, the european soccer tournament. We are doing so well at this moment, first we defeated Italy, the worldchampion with 3-0 Tonight we defeated the vice world champion, France, with 4-1. So it is party time!

 

[Marshay]

Hey, Blue Dolphin!! Just wanted to let you know I finally caught up! Things got wild here for a bit.

You got some awesome photos -- particularly the one of the rhino on the ground and the Lion King show!

 

[bluedolph1n]

Hey, Blue Dolphin!! Just wanted to let you know I finally caught up! Things got wild here for a bit.

You got some awesome photos -- particularly the one of the rhino on the ground and the Lion King show!

Thanks!

Ok, here another part of our trip as promised:

Monday, May 5th

It was an early morning, we had reservations for breakfast at Cape May at the Beach Club. We took our car this time.
We were early there also, so we had to wait for a short period of time. we watched some old cartoons there, I just love them.
They seated us, and we got some food. It was delicious, and a lot of choice. Like Mickey wafles, fresh fruit, yoghurt, scrambled eggs, sausages and breakfast pizza.

We were hoping both Chip and Dale would be there, since they are our favorites, but it was only Chip. But also Minnie ad Goffy were there, with beach clothes. They were fun, and took a lot of time with us.

After this we went to Epcot and left our car at the Beach Club. First we wanted to take the boat from the Beach club to Epcot, since we didn't know how long we had to walk. But we didn't see a boat coming, so decided to walk. Ofcourse the boat was coming when we were walking.
But it was not so long to walk, so we did't mind.
First we grabbed a fast pass for Test Track, but we did also at the same time, it was quiet at that moment. We loved this one, this is also one of our favorite attractions.
Then we went to Mission Space, it was great too. We did the green version, Michael and I were chickens, and didn't want to do the red one.
With the fastpass we did Test Track again.
We went to Soarin'to get a fastpass, and saw Chip and Dale posing for pictures. Ofcourse we had to do that again.

We did Living with the Land, and Nemo the living Seas.
Then it was time for lunch, and we went to the Electric Umbrella I believe.
it was time for our Soarin'fastpass. Wow, also an amazing attraction!
We also loved the Flower and Garden Festival, with all the green statues and flowers, wonderfull.

http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll91/santje04/dag1017.jpg

We went back to the Beach Club were our car was and went to the hotel.

Marco and Michael went for a swim, and I rested a little, since my foot hurted a little. This time the housekeepers placed Michaels plush turtles in the window.
At the end of the afternoon, we went to Downtown Disney. we had promised Michael he could make a Star wars sword. It took some time and help from a cast member, but then he had one.

We also went to the christmas shop ad bought a little piece with Chip and Dale.
After this we went to Disney Quest. We did several games and had our diner there. It was fun and we had a great time, but must admit I was glad the entranceprice was in our passes. Otherwise for us it was too expensive, not worth the money.
Untill this time we were always lucky with the busses, never had to wait long. This time he just went away, but we still only had to wait about ten minutes.

 

[bluedolph1n]

Tuesday, May 6th

This morning I called a close friend, who had her birthday. Then we went to the restaurant of Pop for breakfast. Michael and I love the Pop waffles, Marco is happy with a croissant.

Today it was time for Blizzard Beach.

First we went with the chairlift to the family rafts. We did another slide with tubes, and Marco and Michael did another after that.

Then it was time for the wave pool, and after that the lazy river. We also went to the area for kids.

It is a great waterpark.
In the afternoon we went back to the hotel ( as always ), eat something and rested a little.
Then we went to the Florida Mall and Prime Outlets. Marco finally found the Nikes he wanted, and ofcourse that was not the only thing we bought. For us the dollar is very cheap, and clothes are much cheaper here then in The Netherlands.
I also bought some vanilla fudge with caramel.......... now I'm writing this report, I think about it again, and want some more !!
At the Florida Mall we had to visit the large M & M store, all those colours, and what they from M and M's, very nice to see.

This evening we wanted to go to Illuminations, but we are tired, and decided to stay at the hotel. But a great thing is that we can see the fireworks ( well, the high ones) from our hotel room, and we see both Illuminations and Wishes together!

This time the housekeepers placed Michaels Lego and a transformer in the window, and the plush turtles together, great what they are doing.

 

[PopArtGal]

 

[stagemomx3]

I want some vanilla fudge with carmel too! Sounds like a fun day.

 

[Shazzie B]

Great trip report, you can see your son really enjoyed his first holiday to Disney World. Love all the pics of Chip & Dale.

I'm especially glad you posting this because I'm at Uni with a fellow countryman of yours-he laughed at my planning 'mad English!' now I'm going to tease him, the Dutch are the same!

Look forward to the next post.

 

[earthfaries]

What an awesome trip so far! I am really enjoying your TR ~ it's great

Love all your pics, you all look so happy

Although it took you a couple of days to get to Florida, you made it and did lots of fun stuff! I love Key West, and the Keys. I remember Mallory Square like it was yesterday, definately like no other place in the U.S., wonderful and unique.
Just seeing your pictures, esp. the one of the the guy with the bike, just took me right back there When we were there there was a woman dressed in a white gown , painted white too, solid white, and she just stood still as a statue until my son put money in her container and she came to life. It was so neat.

So you stopped over in Charlotte on the way to Miami? That is about 2 hours from me, It is the airport we usually drive to to fly. Charlotte is a big city.

I'm glad Michael got to make a light saber and got a bunch of Legos. I can understand going crazy here with the dollar being so cheap, my mom just returned from 50 days in Europe, mostly Venice, but also Austria and other places she stopped at on two of cruises, and she was just amazed at how little her dollar got her. Compared to Euros, dollars are cheap, and If I were coming from Europe or another country where dollars were cheap to me, I'd go crazy at the outlets in Orlando, I already do!!!

I can't wait to hear more and see more great pictures. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful adventure with us!

 

[bluedolph1n]

I want some vanilla fudge with carmel too! Sounds like a fun day.

I can't find it here, but we got travelvouchers from United because our trip didn't start well. So we decided to go back next year ( although only for ten days this time), and you already know what I want to buy first then..
Unfortunately I can't get the men to Disney next year I think, they want to visit Universal, Kennedy Space Center etc. I said ok, if we also go to Discovery Cove... We'll see, we got our plane tickets now, and other things we will arrange later. This time since we are going for a short period, we will only stay in Orlando.

Great trip report, you can see your son really enjoyed his first holiday to Disney World. Love all the pics of Chip & Dale.

I'm especially glad you posting this because I'm at Uni with a fellow countryman of yours-he laughed at my planning 'mad English!' now I'm going to tease him, the Dutch are the same!

Haha, but I must say not al Dutch are the same.

What an awesome trip so far! I am really enjoying your TR ~ it's great

Love all your pics, you all look so happy

Although it took you a couple of days to get to Florida, you made it and did lots of fun stuff! I love Key West, and the Keys. I remember Mallory Square like it was yesterday, definately like no other place in the U.S., wonderful and unique.
Just seeing your pictures, esp. the one of the the guy with the bike, just took me right back there When we were there there was a woman dressed in a white gown , painted white too, solid white, and she just stood still as a statue until my son put money in her container and she came to life. It was so neat.

So you stopped over in Charlotte on the way to Miami? That is about 2 hours from me, It is the airport we usually drive to to fly. Charlotte is a big city.

I'm glad Michael got to make a light saber and got a bunch of Legos. I can understand going crazy here with the dollar being so cheap, my mom just returned from 50 days in Europe, mostly Venice, but also Austria and other places she stopped at on two of cruises, and she was just amazed at how little her dollar got her. Compared to Euros, dollars are cheap, and If I were coming from Europe or another country where dollars were cheap to me, I'd go crazy at the outlets in Orlando, I already do!!!

I can't wait to hear more and see more great pictures. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful adventure with us!

I really love Key West too, and I don't think this was the last time we went there.
I can imagine it wasn't cheap for your mother. For the economy it isn't good to, also for Europe, so now I'm back I don't mind if the dollar is getting better.

Thank you all for reading my tripreport.

 

[bluedolph1n]

Wednessday, May 7th
This morning we had breakfast again at Pop. Today it was Magic Kingdom day.
We were there on time to see the opening, en went to Space Mountain, the favorite of Michael.
After this we went to Buzz Lightyear. Marco made a good shot in the beginning, and won from the three of us. The only thing we didn't like, was that the guns are attached to the car, in Paris they are not attached, so you can shoot better.
Big Thunder Mountain was fun, although that one is better in Paris we think. And we love Splash Mountain. We thought there would already be a lot of waiting time, but we didn't have to wait. ( I guess Tour Guide Mike paid off, or how do you say that? ). Ofcourse we were wet again.

After this we went to the flying carpets and the Jungle Cruise, and then Pirates of the Carribean. I heard Captain Jack was now in this attraction, and wow, he looks just like Johnny Depp! We were amazed about that, I hope they will place him in Paris soon too.
At the Main Street we took some shots with the photopass photgrapher, this time also with Tink in our hands.

What do you think of my own Chip???

We took a fastpass for Winnie the Pooh, and what a surprise, we got a surprise fast pass for Mickeys Philharmagic!
We saw Winnie the pooh and Tiger, so we went for some pictures with them.
We then went to Mickeys Philharmagic, and it was fun to get a surprise fastpass, but we didn't need it, since we could just walk through.
Great attraction.
It was time for our fastpass for Winnie the Pooh...... Isn't that someone from the Dreamsquad?? At the end of the attraction of Winnie the Pooh, we see some people of the Dreamsquad waiting. And yes, when we come out of the attraction, they say congratulations!
We got the lanyards, with 2 pins on it.
Ofcourse Michael and I now want pins with Chip and Dale, these Disney people are clever.
After this we did It's a small world and watched the parade.

We went back to the hotel, for some swimming. This time the housekeepers places Michaels turtles on the lamp.

At the end of the afternoon we went to Epcot.

When we eat something, Michael is not feeling very well. We already got fastpasses for Test Track. We decide that I go first, and after that I will take Michael back with me to the hotel. Marco can do Test Track then, and will film Illuminations, so Michael and I can watch it at home. When I did Test Track ( still great ) , Michael feels better, and says he will stay at Epcot. Sitting outside with the flowers and grass must have made him better he says.
We think he just was a little tired.
We bought some more pins for our lanyards, and got a good place to see Illuminations. We loved it.

 

[stagemomx3]

Great pictures. We didn't get a chance to see Illuminations, so it's on the next time list.

 

[earthfaries]

What a fun day! Glad Tour Guide Mike paid off for you. You hit alot of great rides that morning.

Glad Michael was feeling better and could enjoy an evening at Epcot! I LOVE Illuminations! We have the soundtrack and listen to it all the time. It transports us back to the World

Besides MK , Epcot is my favorite place

Another wonderful day ~ can't wait for more

All your pics turned out super!!!

 

[luzinsleep]

I enjoyed your TR! We are going in July, so looking at all the great pics you got makes me even more excited!!

 

[bluedolph1n]

Great pictures. We didn't get a chance to see Illuminations, so it's on the next time list.

You really must see it, I liked it very much.

What a fun day! Glad Tour Guide Mike paid off for you. You hit alot of great rides that morning.

Glad Michael was feeling better and could enjoy an evening at Epcot! I LOVE Illuminations! We have the soundtrack and listen to it all the time. It transports us back to the World

Besides MK , Epcot is my favorite place

Another wonderful day ~ can't wait for more

All your pics turned out super!!!

Yes, I was not sure if Tour Guide Mike would be helpfull for us, but he did.
Thanks for the compliments about the pictures.

I enjoyed your TR! We are going in July, so looking at all the great pics you got makes me even more excited!!

Ooh, I want to go again! Have a great time there, I'm sure you will.

 

[bluedolph1n]

Thursday 8 May

This day we went to the Hollywood Studios. When we arrive with the bus we see Marjol and Gerbert. We know them from a Dutch discussionboard, and they were in the same hotel with us in Washington, since they couldn't go further too. Today is their last day.

Together with them we went to Tower of Terror. Michael liked the fall a lot, but the theming was too scary for him, he didn't want to do it again. We liked it a lot.
We went to the Rock 'n Roller Coaster and Michael decided not to go. He has never done a rollercoaster wich take you upside down, and he doesn't know if he wants to do it or not. Michael could wait in a kind of waiting area, and Marco and I could ride it together, this one is so good! One of our favorites.
We had breakfast, and after that we saw Chip and Dale, ofcourse we had to take pictures with them. They saw our lanyards, and liked it a lot when they saw it where all pins of them. The interaction with them was very good.

Then went to the Indiana Jones Stuntshow. Great show, still after all this years.

We watched the Jedi Training. Since Michael doesn't speak english, he is afraid he doesn't know what to do, so he decides not to volunteer, but just watch. But he thought watching it was already a lot of fun, and we liked it too.

Then we went to the Lights, Motors, Action Stuntshow. This is one of the shows, we always visit when we are in Paris. The show here is exactly the same, but I must admit that we liked it better in Paris. Not everything went smooth, a part of a car was missing after a jump, and some funny things were very short. Like where someone controls the car, it was very short, while in Paris, they made a whole show of it. Still the show was good.

We saw Marjol and Gerbert here again, but I rushed away without saying anything, because I had seen a great Chip and Dale pin on a lanyard of a castmember, and wanted to see if I could find him again. I already appoligized to them, they understood.
After that we did the Studio Backlot Tour. Am I wrong, or could you 10 or more years ago also see something of real studios? I thought the last time we were there we had seen something of the Studio of Home Improvement, but I'm not sure.
We got some pizza at the Toy Story Pizza Planet and went back to the hotel to do some relaxing.
At the end of the day we went back to to Hollywood Studios. Marco and I took fastpasses for the Tower of Terror. Michael didn't want to this one, but said he now wanted to try the Rock 'n Rollercoaster. It was not so busy, so we decided to go there first.
Michael went, and..... this is now his favorite one! He wanted to go again, so we did.

(sorry not the best picture, but I just love it since it was Michaels first ride on this )

Then it was time for our fastpass of Tower of Terror. It was not completely clear how childswap worked, but Michael had to come with us, one of the parents had to go with him downstairs with another elevator. The other one could ride it, and when he came out, the other could go back up with the elevator and ride then.
Although we had a fastpass, we had to wait a long time, since 1 or 2 elevators didn't work. Marco went first, and since it was late now, I decided not to anymore.
We bought some drinks and fruit and went to Fantasmic. We had to wait a while but we had good places. This was also a great show, completey different from other shows.