My trip report, 3/24-3/29

[wdwgirl03]

I just got back from my 9th trip to WDW yesterday. It definitely flew by, but I had a great time. I hope you enjoy my report, and feel free to comment or ask questions!

The cast: Me, Mom, Dad, and sisters (Claire and Emma)

DAY 1, March 24, 2005: Heading down to Florida and the beginning of the magic

The day had finally arrived for our vacation to begin. We got up nice and early to catch our 7:25 flight to Florida. Luckily our plane was on time, so we arrived at Orlando International Airport around 11:00. We picked up our bags, got our rental car, and drove to the All Star Movies hotel in the Disney World resort. There was a long line to check into the hotel, so me, Claire, and Emma looked around the hotel, and of course the gift shop. Since our room wasn’t quite ready, we went to the food court to get something to eat. After eating, we headed up to our room (Fantasia building, numbers 8848 and 8849!). We turned on the TV and relaxed for a short while. And yes, I mean short. We started park-hopping right away. We first headed to Epcot. I had seen that Soarin’ was having soft openings in the afternoon, so we wanted to see if we could get on that. Lucky for us, they were previewing the ride. All I can say is amazing! Me, Emma, and Dad did it when we were in Disneyland, and loved it. Mom and Claire loved it too, as did almost everybody who tried it. That’s going to be another very popular attraction once it opens. After that we did Journey Into Your Imagination and Honey, I Shrunk the Audience. We got some ice cream, and then grabbed a monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Since it was early evening, the park was pretty crowded, so we weren’t able to do anything. After walking around for a while, we headed back to the hotel since we were all tired from the long day and needed to get some rest for the Magic Kingdom again in the morning!

And some photos...

Me acting like a weirdo at All Star movies...

Spaceship Earth...

My sister Emma playing in one of the fountains at the Imagination pavilion...

 

[wdwgirl03]

DAY 2, March 25, 2005: Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom

It’s always a tradition of my family to go to the Magic Kingdom on our first day, so we were up early once again for the Extra Magic Hour at 7:00. It took us a little longer than expected to get to the park, since the first bus that came to ASMovies was filled (one of the not-so-good things about All Star Movies!). Once we got to the park, we headed directly to Tomorrowland for Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. I managed to score 200,000 points. Claire was pretty frustrated at her score. Next stop: Frontierland. We finished off the Disney mountains by doing Splash and Big Thunder. Before getting some lunch we did the Haunted Mansion and Winnie the Pooh. By that time the park was getting pretty crowded, so we headed back to Main Street and picked up a few souvenirs before going back to the hotel for a little break.

Me and my sister Emma in front of Cinderella Castle...

In the afternoon we went over to the Animal Kingdom. We checked out the wait time board, and saw that there wasn’t really a long wait for anything, but we headed to Dinoland USA to get fastpasses for Dinosaur and then went back to do the safari. Time for Dinosaur!! Man, I’ve been on that ride how many times (well, ok, only twice!) and it still freaks me out! But what can I say, I love it. We ended up buying our ride photo because it is absolutely hilarious (I’ll try to post it later on). Then we did Primeval Whirl. Wouldn’t you know that as soon as we get on it breaks down. Luckily the other side was still working, so we were still able to do it. By that time the skies were looking kind of dark, so we decided to call it a day.

some birds in the oasis area at Animal Kingdom...

The Tree of Life...so majestic...

An elephant on our safari...

Our Dinosaur onride photo...so funny. We're in the front row.

Stay tuned for day 3, MGM and Epcot!!

 

[Michelle2]

I love reading your reports! Can't wait to see the rest. It sounds like you weren't too over-run by crowds considering the time of year it was, and you were pretty much able to do anything you wanted, that's great!

 

[dzneelvr]

Great Reports. I'm sure it was wonderful to be in sunny Florida when we were having some cold wet weather in our part of the country.
The only thing that kept us warm was the Illini game on Saturday....that game ROCKED. We were rooting for the Badgers on Sunday.

 

[lynn71092]

I love your report and I can actually see the pictures. I don't know what happens on some of the other reports but I can never see them. Can you tell me where Soarin' is at? We were there in December and the only new ride we noticed was the new ride about Mt. Everest.

 

[kaceyisme]

Great report! I can't wait for the next part!

 

[wdwgirl03]

DAY 3, March 26, 2005: MGM and Epcot

So we finally had a day to sleep in- well, atleast a little bit!! We hit MGM in the morning. It showered just a little bit right before the park opened, but it only lasted a few minutes. Me, my dad and sisters went to the Tower of Terror first and mom got fast passes for Rock ‘N Roller coaster. Once the big rides were out of the way, we were pretty much able to do whatever we wanted with relatively short waits. We then did the Great Movie Ride and got fast passes for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Play It! Since Donald was right outside the Millionaire building, we stopped for a picture and then headed over to the Backlot Tour. We hadn’t done that in a while, so it was pretty cool. I really liked the preshow where they film the harbor attack. Before our fast pass time for the Millionaire show, Dad took Emma, the thrill-seeker in our family, on Star Tours (yes, I am boring and didn’t do it!). So I waited with Mom and Claire outside the Millionaire buidling. We were very surprised when we saw that Daisy Duck was doing character greetings now, so we had to stop for another picture. Now, I’ve been to Disney World 9 times, and this is the first time I’ve ever seen Daisy, other than in a parade! We finished our morning with lunch at Pizza Planet.

Mickey's Sorcerer Hat...

The Tower of Terror...

A guest getting soaked during the preshow of the Backlot tour...

Next stop: Downtown Disney. Since it had started raining a little, we decided to skip the pool and headed over to DTD to do some shopping. Well, of course, right as we get there it starts pouring, so we only ended up staying for about half an hour. For being there for such a short amount of time, that didn’t keep us from spending money! Haha

After a little bit of a break, it was time for Epcot so we could see Illuminations. We checked the wait board, and were surprised to see that Mission:Space had only a 25 minute wait. Hmmm. But since we would be coming back to Epcot the next morning, we walked over to World Showcase and the Boardwalk for dinner at the ESPN Club. It took us a while to get in, since there were some basketball games going on. Wow, what a crazy time it was in there!! Lots of basketball fans. It was pretty amusing. We all enjoyed our dinner, and then we headed back to World Showcase and walked around for a while before picking out a spot for Illuminations. That was my first time seeing the show, and it was very cool. It was a great way to end the day.

At the Boardwalk...

My sisters and me in World Showcase...

Spaceship Earth as seen from across World Showcase Lagoon...

More to come…!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!!

Dzneelvr- I agree, it was definitely nice for a change to have some weather above 30 degrees! I didn't see the Illinois game (we were at ESPN Club during the Louisville-West Virginia game), but there were lots of Illini fans waiting to get in after we left. It sounded like it was pretty exciting.

lynn71092- Soarin' is at Epcot- it is going to be a part of the Land pavilion. However, we had to use the backstage area to get in, as the Land building is still under construction. Also, Expedition Everest is really coming along. I don't know what it looked like in December, but it is now taller than the Tree of Life.

 

[wdwgirl03]

DAY 4, March 27, 2005: Epcot and MGM Studios

It was an extra magic hour day for Epcot, so we got up early to go to that. Our plan was that Claire, Emma, and Dad would go on Mission:Space first thing while mom and I got fast passes for Test Track, but MS was down, so the plan was kind of ruined. That meant that the line at Test Track was twice as long, but we still got our Fast Passes and did Universe of Energy and Innoventions while waiting. We also thought we could do Spaceship Earth (since we hadn't been on that in a few trips), but that too was down. Grr! I knew we should have done it Thursday night when there was barely a line! Oh well. So after Test Track we went over to MS to see if it was running yet- it was, so Dad got fast passes for that and we headed over to World Showcase. By this time it was getting VERY hot outside. Our first stop in WS was Maelstrom. There was absolutely no wait, we walked right on. Then we made our way around the countries and got a snack at the little bakery in France. I had some of a chocolate croissant and chocolate mousse. Yummy!! Claire, Emma, and Dad then went to do MS and we headed out so we could go swimming.

The characters before the opening of Epcot...

Mom, Emma, and Claire enjoying Epcot...

Me in France...

We had a PS at the Prime Time Cafe for dinner, so in the afternoon we went over to MGM. We first went over to PTC to see if we could change our PS to an earlier time so we could see the early Fantasmic! But, no surprise, the restaurant was too busy. While waiting for our PS, we went and did the Animation Tour. It had changed since the last time we saw it, and I liked it a lot! They had a short presentation on the development of characters, and then we were able to see the Incredibles and do some of the interactive things. Soon it was time for dinner. This was our second time at the PTC, and it is really a fun restaurant. Our waitress (I mean, "Mom!") was very sweet. The food was great. We were done eating by 7, so we went to see if we could get into the early show of Fantasmic! Luckily, we were, so we saw that. I think one of my favorite parts of the whole Fantasmic! show is while everyone is waiting and doing the wave! But the whole show is great. We got wristbands for the extra magic hours, but only Dad and Emma stayed to do Rock 'N Roller Coaster again.

Me and Mr. and Mrs. Incredible...

Us and "Mom" at the 50s Prime Time Cafe...

The character boat at the end of Fantasmic!...

 

[joannwalton12]

My family of 9 (ages 52 to 5 months) were also in Disney World at the same time March 23 to 29, 2005. My first trip in 20 years! The best vacation I ever had in my life of 48 years! We had the Disney dining plan and it was a great choice! We stayed at POP Century in the 90's building and just loved it! The staff were super. We loved coming back to our room and seeing the cute things housekeeping did to our room. I loved the crowds but with fast pass we only wait 30 to 45 minutes to enter each attraction. The only place that I did not like was toon town. Alot of crying children and cranky parents. I can't wait to go again!

 

[liznboys]

Great report so far! Your Dinosaur picture is GREAT! LOL

 

[wdwgirl03]

Great report so far! Your Dinosaur picture is GREAT! LOL

LOL! Thanks. When we saw it we just had to get it. I like the 2 little boys in the row behind us.

 

[wdwgirl03]

DAY 5, March 28, 2005: Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom (our last day )

It's always a tradition of my family to do the MK on our first and last days, so we got up early again for the extra magic hour at MK. And this time we were sure we got on the first bus! I was already dreading going home, so as soon as the music started playing to open the park, I got tears in my eyes (I know, I am such a freak! ) But there was still a whole day of fun to be had, so we headed to Tomorrowland again to do Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. We hadn't intended on doing all of the Fantasyland rides or even Splash and Thunder Mountain, but for some reason (maybe the little bit of rain?) there was hardly anyone there for the extra magic hour, so we were able to do Dumbo, Snow White, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, the carrousel, Jungle Cruise, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and both Splash and Thunder Mountain in the span of about an hour and a half. It was GREAT!!! We wanted to do Small World, but we were told that some of the dolls had overslept. LOL. Dad, Claire, and I also did the new Stitch attraction. It was pretty cute. We took a few pictures and then headed back to the hotel for a little break. My sisters and I took some pictures around the hotel, and then we went over to the Animal Kingdom. We wanted to do another safari, but we decided the wait was too long, so we just walked around for a while and did the Maharajah Jungle Trek and again took some pictures. Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom for SpectroMagic and Wishes. As we were entering the park, someone offered us their Space Mountain fast passes, which was pretty cool. So we watched the Cinderellabration and then did Space Mountain before dinner. Spectromagic was great, and so was Wishes. It was the first time I had seen Wishes, and let me tell you, that soundtrack made me cry too (well, that combined with the fact that I knew I was going home in just a few hours). After the fireworks we left the park for the last time and headed back to the hotel to get ready to go home. Overall it was a great trip, and I cannot wait until I can go back again (which will hopefully be next Christmas!!!)

The view of Cinderella Castle on Dumbo...

Me and Claire on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin...

The building we were in at All Star Movies...

The bird I thought was going to fly in my face on the Maharajah Jungle Trek...

A tiger on the Jungle Trek...

Mickey at the beginning of Spectromagic...

Some mice during the Cinderella part of Spectromagic...so cute!...

 

[goingbackagain]

I enjoyed reading your reports and seeing the pics. Thanks! It makes me really want to go back now!

 

[copper0426]

Thank you for your report. I really enjoyed reading it. It is so cool they have Mr and Mrs Incredible at MGM. I told my husband we must get their picture when we go back again in July. When we were there in March we saw alot of people wearing the red shirt with the i on it, but we could not find any adult shirts on property to fit my husband. Ever since the movie came out he said he wanted a shirt like that. I finally found one at the Disney Store and bought it for him for Easter. Then today we went to another Disney store and we bought one for my son. It will be soo cool having a picture of them in their shirts with Mr and Mrs Incredible.

Thanks again.

Diane

 

[Captain Hook]

Very nice trip report, I relly liked seeing the recent pics. Great Job!!

 

[lissawynn]

Sounds like you and your family had a great trip!