18 May 2001: Fifth Disney Day and it was Double Punch: MGM and E-night at Magic Kingdom
Trip information: Me?Sandy (38); My Husband?Tim (50), My nephew?Michael (8). This is my second trip (1991 and 1996), Tim?s second trip (1982 and 1991) and Michael?s first trip.
By now we were used to getting up early and today it was to tour MGM. It wasn?t and EE day, so we didn?t need to be at the park until 9:00. We actually slept in to 6:30, had our usual breakfast and went down the boat dock.
We arrived at MGM just as it was opening and we had already plotted our course. The first stop was Tower of Terror, but what there was already a 30-minute wait. We got a Fast Pass and then went to Rock n Roller Coaster.
One of my employees had told me about the ride, but I didn?t share any details with Tim or Michael, I really didn?t want to scare them away. As we walk through the tour area and the sound studio with the band, I thought was a great theme for a roller coaster. After that it was a short hop to the ride. In just a few minutes we were going from 0 to 57 in 3 seconds at 5Gs, it was exhilarating. After we got off the ride, my nephew refused to even speak, but my husband really liked it because it was a much smoother ride than Space Mountain. We got our pictures and poor Michael, he looked like he was about to give birth. His face was red, he was panting, and he had that pained expression. Needless to say, he wasn?t riding this again.
While I loved it and the lines were short, so we agreed to do the Baby Swap and take turns riding the coaster. Luckily for Michael it broke down and we had to get passes to come back later.
After doing that ride, we went to Tower of Terror and got another Fast Pass before getting on the ride, so we could go back on again. I wasn?t sure Michael was going to handle this after the roller coaster, but we would give it a shot. Again, I didn?t really go into details about the ride. I had been on it years before and knew that it sounded worse than it really was.
We got into the elevator after about 20 minutes (even Fast Pass doesn?t guarantee quick access on this ride) and we went up and up and up and then down, down, down. My Tim and Michael loved it. This was Michael?s favorite ride after Test Track. We got and road again, got another Fast Pass and then went to see Star Tours and the Great American Movie Ride. Tim passed on Star Tours, he was afraid it would upset his stomach. After we went on those rides, it was back to Tower of Terror and then lunch at Sci Fi Café.
Now you can imagine, this is a lot of criss-crossing of the park and even though it is a small park, it was crowded and my feet hurt. But cross we did and we rested our tired dogs and watched movies at our own drive in. Now I have been to both the Prime Time Café and the Sci Fi diner and I prefer the Sci Fi. The food is better, I like the theme, and the experience is not entirely dependent on the acting skills of your server. We had a little mishap here when I walked Michael to the bathroom and lost him. Well he wasn?t really lost, but he wouldn?t answer when I sent someone in and my poor hubby had to track him down.
After lunch, I went back to do the Rock n Roller Coaster, the boys couldn?t handle it after a large lunch. It was great and actually a little more fun when you ride alongside someone who really wants to try it. We went to see Muppet Vision 4D (Michael?s favorite 3D movie).
After that it was about 1:30 and we headed back to the hotel, took a nap, a swim and then off to dinner at the Magic Kingdom.
We had reservations at Tony?s. This was another day that the concierge came in handy because we originally were going to eat at Citircos and then decided we just didn?t want to deal with going to one venue after another. Disney transportation is not that fast and it was just too stressful to try to coordinate the timing of dinner and the parade. Off to Tonys and boy were we glad we had PS. Some poor folks didn?t know you needed them and they were tired and cranky.
We had a significant wait at Tony?s and unfortunately the atmosphere is better than the food. We ate and then stepped out on the balcony to catch the parade. After which we made our way to the other side of the castle to see the fireworks. I felt like a cattle in a cattle drive, pushed and prodded, but we made it. Once the fireworks were over, it was e-night.
For those of you who don?t know, e-night is when Disney sells separate tickets to ride nine selected attractions after the park closes. It is about $13/person. We were able to go multiple times on Thunder Mountain, the Haunted House, AstroOrbiter, Buzz Lightyear, as well as to see the characters. We left the park, tired, but happy. Michael was so thrilled to be up so late as this was his first time to stay up past midnight.
We planned to have a relaxing morning with breakfast at Chef Mickey?s at 11:15, so we knew we could sleep in.
Trip information: Me?Sandy (38); My Husband?Tim (50), My nephew?Michael (8). This is my second trip (1991 and 1996), Tim?s second trip (1982 and 1991) and Michael?s first trip.
By now we were used to getting up early and today it was to tour MGM. It wasn?t and EE day, so we didn?t need to be at the park until 9:00. We actually slept in to 6:30, had our usual breakfast and went down the boat dock.
We arrived at MGM just as it was opening and we had already plotted our course. The first stop was Tower of Terror, but what there was already a 30-minute wait. We got a Fast Pass and then went to Rock n Roller Coaster.
One of my employees had told me about the ride, but I didn?t share any details with Tim or Michael, I really didn?t want to scare them away. As we walk through the tour area and the sound studio with the band, I thought was a great theme for a roller coaster. After that it was a short hop to the ride. In just a few minutes we were going from 0 to 57 in 3 seconds at 5Gs, it was exhilarating. After we got off the ride, my nephew refused to even speak, but my husband really liked it because it was a much smoother ride than Space Mountain. We got our pictures and poor Michael, he looked like he was about to give birth. His face was red, he was panting, and he had that pained expression. Needless to say, he wasn?t riding this again.
While I loved it and the lines were short, so we agreed to do the Baby Swap and take turns riding the coaster. Luckily for Michael it broke down and we had to get passes to come back later.
After doing that ride, we went to Tower of Terror and got another Fast Pass before getting on the ride, so we could go back on again. I wasn?t sure Michael was going to handle this after the roller coaster, but we would give it a shot. Again, I didn?t really go into details about the ride. I had been on it years before and knew that it sounded worse than it really was.
We got into the elevator after about 20 minutes (even Fast Pass doesn?t guarantee quick access on this ride) and we went up and up and up and then down, down, down. My Tim and Michael loved it. This was Michael?s favorite ride after Test Track. We got and road again, got another Fast Pass and then went to see Star Tours and the Great American Movie Ride. Tim passed on Star Tours, he was afraid it would upset his stomach. After we went on those rides, it was back to Tower of Terror and then lunch at Sci Fi Café.
Now you can imagine, this is a lot of criss-crossing of the park and even though it is a small park, it was crowded and my feet hurt. But cross we did and we rested our tired dogs and watched movies at our own drive in. Now I have been to both the Prime Time Café and the Sci Fi diner and I prefer the Sci Fi. The food is better, I like the theme, and the experience is not entirely dependent on the acting skills of your server. We had a little mishap here when I walked Michael to the bathroom and lost him. Well he wasn?t really lost, but he wouldn?t answer when I sent someone in and my poor hubby had to track him down.
After lunch, I went back to do the Rock n Roller Coaster, the boys couldn?t handle it after a large lunch. It was great and actually a little more fun when you ride alongside someone who really wants to try it. We went to see Muppet Vision 4D (Michael?s favorite 3D movie).
After that it was about 1:30 and we headed back to the hotel, took a nap, a swim and then off to dinner at the Magic Kingdom.
We had reservations at Tony?s. This was another day that the concierge came in handy because we originally were going to eat at Citircos and then decided we just didn?t want to deal with going to one venue after another. Disney transportation is not that fast and it was just too stressful to try to coordinate the timing of dinner and the parade. Off to Tonys and boy were we glad we had PS. Some poor folks didn?t know you needed them and they were tired and cranky.
We had a significant wait at Tony?s and unfortunately the atmosphere is better than the food. We ate and then stepped out on the balcony to catch the parade. After which we made our way to the other side of the castle to see the fireworks. I felt like a cattle in a cattle drive, pushed and prodded, but we made it. Once the fireworks were over, it was e-night.
For those of you who don?t know, e-night is when Disney sells separate tickets to ride nine selected attractions after the park closes. It is about $13/person. We were able to go multiple times on Thunder Mountain, the Haunted House, AstroOrbiter, Buzz Lightyear, as well as to see the characters. We left the park, tired, but happy. Michael was so thrilled to be up so late as this was his first time to stay up past midnight.
We planned to have a relaxing morning with breakfast at Chef Mickey?s at 11:15, so we knew we could sleep in.
