Operation Photopass! First trip to Disney World - TR - COMPLETED 07/16

[DisneyStitch626]

And now we enter Mainstreet! We missed the sign on the bridge apparently.

Looking pretty crowded already, although it didn't seem too bad most of the day.

And there she is, in all her glory! It just seemed so big, but very pretty.

First stop was Space Mountain. Like tradition in DL, we had to do it first.

On the way there, look who we ran into!

My favourite character the first 10 minutes we are in the park!!

After our short visit, we got a fastpass for SM, and then hopped on since it was only a 5 minute wait. It was....different. You don't get to sit side by side like in DL, and the ride itself is kinda rough. Still a lot of fun though, just different. I think I prefer the Disneyland one just a little better. I will probably be doing a lot of comparisons, just because we were at Disneyland not so long ago, so it was hard not to!

After this ride, it was decided that we were going to get the Photopass Plus. We had been talking about it for a while, and we saw many photo spots already, and with all the ride photos and character meals included, we thought it would be totally worth it. But we hadn't brought enough cash with us, so it was going to have to wait until after our 12:20 lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern, so we could go back to the hotel and get some money for it.

Next ride after Space Mountain? Why, Stitch's Great Escape of course!

On the way there, I had to stop and get another photo, since he was standing there all by himself!

I actually didn't mind Stitch's Great Escape. I was prepared for the smell, and for the darkness, so I didn't find it that bad. The smell was kinda like Asian noodles to me, haha. I thought overall the ride was kinda cute. It wasn't the greatest ride ever, but it wasn't as horrible as people make it out to be.

Next up, we wanted to head over to Pirates of the Caribbean, so we started over there, and took a bunch of pictures along the way. It was just so pretty.

To be continued...
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[DizNee Luver]

The opening show looks neat!!! It's so weird when I saw the Main St. pics......it kinda looks the same but it doesn't (if that makes sense). Your first pic of the castle (looking down Main St).....what the heck is up with that blue building?? It looks like its out of place.....like it's being put in but hadn't been pushed back in line with the rest of the buildings.

YAY for seeing Stitch right away & then getting a kiss too!!!

Great pics of the castle!!!!! So pretty!!!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

And we continue walking....

Photopass!

And into Adventureland we go!

We got a little lost on the way, and ended up here:

We didn't want to do that until we had our photopass plus card, so we got FP's for it for 2:45-3:45, and continued on our way to Pirates.

We saw Pirate Goofy, but the line-up was so long for him, we just got a photo from afar.

And finally, onto Pirates! It was a walk on!

I have to say that I really like the DL one more for this ride. This one doesn't have the Blue Bayou attached to it, so that whole part of the ride is just cut out. And it just seemed a lot shorter and chopped up. It's still enjoyable, just not as good.​

Next up: Haunted Mansion!​

 

[DisneyStitch626]

The opening show looks neat!!! It's so weird when I saw the Main St. pics......it kinda looks the same but it doesn't (if that makes sense). Your first pic of the castle (looking down Main St).....what the heck is up with that blue building?? It looks like its out of place.....like it's being put in but hadn't been pushed back in line with the rest of the buildings.

YAY for seeing Stitch right away & then getting a kiss too!!!

Great pics of the castle!!!!! So pretty!!!

You know the whole time we were in Magic Kingdom it felt that way, that it was like we were in Disneyland, but it was just a bit...off. We kept getting turned around in Tomorrowland, because Space Mountain and Buzz just weren't where they should be, haha!

That building was actually under construction, so that was a fake wall that they had put up. They tried to make it look like one of the buildings, but it kind of stuck out like a sore thumb!

 

[DizNee Luver]

You know the whole time we were in Magic Kingdom it felt that way, that it was like we were in Disneyland, but it was just a bit...off. We kept getting turned around in Tomorrowland, because Space Mountain and Buzz just weren't where they should be, haha!

That building was actually under construction, so that was a fake wall that they had put up. They tried to make it look like one of the buildings, but it kind of stuck out like a sore thumb!

OH, well ok, so its the wall that's out of place!! Hopefully that will be long gone before we go......ick!

I had heard that POTC was lots shorter and only has the one drop.....so we're excited to see it but know we'll have a greater appreciation for the one at DL!!

You guys got some wonderful pics!!! Loving everything so far!!!

 

[DisneyFairytale]

I can't get over how different that park looks. I will always be a DCA fan forever. I could never go anywhere else.

 

[DisneyStitch626]

After Pirates we decided that we wanted to try Haunted Mansion. Being one of my favourites, I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turned out to be great. Though not that much different, I actually enjoyed this one more than the one at DL.

Some photos from the line (about a 15 minute wait).

At this point there was a sign saying the line split. One way was through the cemetery, the other line was straight to the house. Well since we had never been to this one, we decided to head through the cemetery.
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To be continued in next post...

 

[DisneyStitch626]

OH, well ok, so its the wall that's out of place!! Hopefully that will be long gone before we go......ick!

I had heard that POTC was lots shorter and only has the one drop.....so we're excited to see it but know we'll have a greater appreciation for the one at DL!!

You guys got some wonderful pics!!! Loving everything so far!!!

Yeah that building construction was kind of a pain, especially during crowded times like the parade. And it certainly takes away from photos of the castle from Mainstreet.

Even being prepared for the shorter ride, we couldn't help but be a little disappointed. The drop especially was not that great, but it was still pirates, and it was still fun!

I can't get over how different that park looks. I will always be a DCA fan forever. I could never go anywhere else.

We are definitely still bigger fans of DLR, but it was nice to see something different, and definitely enjoyed it enough to want to go back some day.

 

[disneydiva16]

Great trip report!!!! Love all the pictures. I leave to go in 3 days. I am very excited. I just wish the scrim wasnt still over the main street bakery. Cant wait to read more!!!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Continuing on to the Haunted Mansion cemetery...

Dillon trying to fit in...

We were so glad we went the cemetery route. It was so neat with all this interactive stuff to do while you waited in line.

Here, you would touch the different instruments and they would play music.

Same thing around the other side...

Random books would pop out all over by touching different spots...

And some lighting on the way into the house...

And these were on the way out...

Such a fun ride! Really enjoyed it.​

Up next...a walk through parts of Fantasyland! But first....my son has awoken from his nap. Will update as soon as I can! ​

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Great trip report!!!! Love all the pictures. I leave to go in 3 days. I am very excited. I just wish the scrim wasnt still over the main street bakery. Cant wait to read more!!!

Welcome! Thank you for joining! Yay for 3 days!!!

 

[DizNee Luver]

Very cool on the Haunted Mansions interactive queing.....I had heard about it but hadn't seen pics of the stuff......yay...that should be fun!!!

 

[204charity]

Subbing in! Great pics! I already feel like I am back in DW where I belong.....

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Welcome! Thanks for joining!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Next, we wanted to check out Mickey's Philharmagic, since it was fairly close to our meal reservation at Liberty Tree Tavern, and we still had about a half hour or so until we had to be there.

Some photos on the way:

Then we made it into Mickey's Philharmagic just as the show was about to start!

It was such a cute little show. Dillon wasn't a fan of the 3D at first, but it turned out to be worth checking out. I wanted to try and go again at some point, but never got the chance.

Next, we were off to find Liberty Tree Tavern for our lunch!

We checked in an sat in the waiting area for a few minutes until we were called to our table, where we placed our drink order of a couple of cokes.

Then we both decided to order the Pot Roast dish for our entrees.

It was delicious. A big meal for a lunch, but it sure hit the spot. The mashed potatoes were really tasty, the meat was juicy, and everything just went really well together. So good! We really enjoyed our time there. The waiter was really awesome too. Joking around with us and everything. He gave Dillon a funny face when he started finishing off what was left on my plate. And made another face when Dillon ordered the Fruit crisp for dessert. He was really great.

Here are our desserts:

Mine was a toffee cake with ice cream

And Dillons was the fruit crisp

Both were so good. It was such a big meal for what we are used to with lunch, but we were happy with our choice to eat here.

After lunch, we started working our way out of the park so we could go back to the hotel to get some cash for our Photopass plus card and a short break.

Some scenery and photopass stops along the way:

If you look closely, you will see a little bunny in this one. They were everywhere around Disney World. We saw a bunch in one garden in Epcot, as well as some around our resort. And they were just little ones. Really cute!

As we came around to the front of the castle, this little show was going on. We seemed to catch the very end of it every time we were near the castle on this day.

Where we are planning to eat later on before the parade:

Then we were out the gates and headed back to the resort.

To be continued....
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[Trentmom]

Loving your update

I like how you are doing comparision from DL to WDW, very interesting to hear the differences.

That is cool that your space moutain has side by side seading. I wish ours did. Took Trent on it for first time 2 years ago and was pretty nervewracking not being able to hold on to him


Forgot, that waffle at at breakfast looked so good

I love Liberty Tree Tavern. Glad you enjoyed your meal there

How great you saw Stitch so soon in beginning

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Here are some photos of the resort area from when we returned for our short break.

Our little towel animal in our window:

While Dillon was taking a rest and unloading our camera onto his computer, I slipped over to the cafeteria to get our refillable mugs and fill them up. I wasn't sure how much use we'd get out of these, but we ended up using them more than I thought.

I grabbed the blue one for Dillon and the pink one for me.

Just after 2:30 we decided to head back to the park. We still had to get our photopass plus before using our 3:45 fastpass for Splash Mountain.

Got the sign on the way back in!

We headed in the the photo place just after crossing under the bridge and told them what we wanted. They were so excited that we were getting the Plus. We got our package and they explained all the features, etc, and I put the lanyard around my neck, where it would remain most of the trip. We also got the photos we had already taken during the day to the new card. They were chatting with us for a while, and we lost track of time and were almost late to use our Fastpass for Splash! One of the guys that was talking with us was concerned about us getting over there, so he wrote out a Fastpass ticket for us to use any time that day for any ride. That was so nice of him!

So now that we had just spent $200 on this card, our mission was to get as many photopass photos done as possible. We managed to stop at almost every one that we saw, with little to no wait! I think we did good. I will post the actual photo pass photos (other than rides and meals) at the end of the TR. But we got a lot taken with our own camera as well.

We finished up and raced over to Splash Mountain. We were a few minutes late, but they let us through anyways.

First photo using the Plus!

We actually really loved this Splash Mountain. We liked that we could sit side by side, and it was a nice enough day to not mind being a little bit wet afterwards.

After splash, we decided to head back over to Tomorrowland where we rode the Carousel of Progress, People Mover, and Buzz Lightyear.

Some photos on the way...

We caught some of that show again...I think Dillon was a little drunk with this one...

A little thing I caught while in line for the People Mover...

We really enjoyed the People Mover, mostly to just sit and relax a few minutes. It's a pretty slow moving ride, but a nice, quiet break from the walking and noise. Unfortunately I didn't get any photos of it at this time.

Here is one from our ride on Buzz. Luckily for me, the photos don't show our scores...I sucked at this one! It is a lot more difficult than the one in DL. The targets don't light up, and your gun doesn't shake, so you can't tell if you've hit anything. I think I got like 4000 points, and Dillon got about 35,000. Yeah, I sucked!

After Buzz, we did some more wandering for a bit. We made it over to Adventureland where Dillon caught sight of the Dole station. He ordered a Dole Whip Float that had orange ice cream and pineapple juice. I had a bite, and it was pretty yummy. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo.

At this time it was getting closer to 7:00, and I was starting to get pretty tired and a little hungry. I decided I was ready to head to Casey's Corner for the Corn Dog Nuggets I was dying to try, and then get our spot for the parade. We were pretty tired, so we didn't mind that we head a 2 hour wait.

Another photo of the Castle on the wait to Casey's. Apparently I couldn't get enough of it...

We snuck into Casey's where I ordered my meal. I was expecting just the nuggets and a drink. Completely forgot about dessert, and didn't know fries were included too. What was I supposed to do with all that food??? I ended up getting cotton candy for dessert, cause it was the easiest one to save for later on.

I took my humungous meal and we went to claim our spot for the parade.

​

Next up: The Electrical Parade!!!​

 

[DisneyStitch626]

Loving your update

I like how you are doing comparision from DL to WDW, very interesting to hear the differences.

That is cool that your space moutain has side by side seading. I wish ours did. Took Trent on it for first time 2 years ago and was pretty nervewracking not being able to hold on to him


Forgot, that waffle at at breakfast looked so good

I love Liberty Tree Tavern. Glad you enjoyed your meal there

How great you saw Stitch so soon in beginning

Thanks Kelly! I like to do the comparisons just so I remember it all when I am done. And also just to give insight to anyone else who might like to know.

Yeah I really didn't like the seating on Space in WDW, it was kind of uncomfortable, and the roughness of the ride just made it kind of seem like an indoor Matterhorn. Still fun though.

The waffle was pretty good. Big!

 

[DisneyStitch626]

As we sat down in our spot, we caught the last bit of that show...AGAIN! I took a couple photos of the Castle, just to see how close we actually were for both the parade and the fireworks. It was a really great spot for both!

Getting a little darker...

And now completely dark....

You know what that means???

The Electrical Parade!!! I think this is what I was most excited about when planning this trip. It was my favourite part of my family trip to Disneyland in '96 (before all the bad stuff happened to us), so it was a pretty big thing for me then, and to see it again just brought it all back. It was great. I loved that they kept the same music and most of the same floats. So pretty.

I apologize for the flashing light saber in most of the photos. That kid was pretty annoying with it. He and his Dad got asked several times by a CM to step back, because they kept going out onto the street to take photos, and then 2 minutes later, they were back out again. Some people can be really frustrating!!

Here comes my favourite float...minus the light saber!

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To be continued...
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[DisneyStitch626]

And the parade continues...

Sorry, we never got a clear photo of this one...

And that concludes my favourite part of the evening. It was so great seeing that parade again!​

Next, I will be doing the Magic, Memories and You show, followed by Wishes! I will try my best to continue these tomorrow. ​