sleepydog25
Been here awhile
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2004
- Messages
- 8,454
This trip report won't feature any restaurant reviews as I've detailed them separately in the Disney Restaurants section as "Sleepydog's Dining Delights and Low Lights." But, I will give you a rundown on a wonderful trip my DD4, DW, and I took the week of 10-15 Apr 05.
SUN, 10 Apr
The closest airport is 1.5 hours away; the first of only two direct flights to Orlando leaves at 5:25 a.m.--the second flight doesn't leave til the evening hours so wasn't an option. Thus, we were up at 1:30 a.m. to arrive in Orlando at 7 a.m. Got the luggage, the rental car, then scooted over to VWL to pre-register, then to hit AK for most of the day. Good fortune shown down on us (I know, pixie dust) as there was a suite clean, ready, and available at 8:15 in the morning! The CM said they were only operating at about 70% capacity--talk about good timing for a vacation.
After unpacking and decompressing a bit, we bused to AK, met up with my eldest DD (grad student in Melbourne), and enjoyed a fun day in the park. I still think TARZAN ROCKS is cheesy, still thoroughly enjoy LION KING, and still get a kick out of seeing giraffes up close and personal on SAFARI. Here are the high and low lights using my Mickey scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating:
TARZAN ROCKS -
1/2 Better than last August, primarily because it wasn't so hot and humid. Some day I'm gonna figure out why the rock band is featured so prominently.
FOTLK - What's not to love? You're inside; the music is great; the costumes are superb. Very upbeat, catchy, and ultimately lovable pageantry.
DINOSAUR - DD4 just HAD to ride this one again after a meltdown in it last August. I guess she wanted to prove something to herself. . .she did. . .that it still scares the bejeebers out of her. On the bright side, she didn't cry as loudly or long as she did last time. 
KILIMANJARO SAFARIS - Hey, the ride moves, the DD4 is enthralled, the views and sights are usually good, so I think it's a fun and educational attraction. . .as long as the wait isn't too long.
POCAHONTAS - Not my favorite attraction, but it's short, and the DD4 naturally loves to sit by herself near the front and loves Pocahontas. She'd likely give it 5 Mickeys, but she doesn't write yet. When she begins to do so, she can publish her own set of critiques.
PETTING ZOO/TRAIN - Hard to rate this one, so I won't. It's your typical petting zoo and by the time we got there, we were beginning to slow down from having been up so long that day. DD4 liked it, of course, while DD elder wanted to hurry up and wash her hands. . often.
We headed back VWL around 3 p.m., hit the pool, the hot tub, then ate a snack from Roaring Forks. The grill there is fast and quite decent. We were all asleep by 10 p.m.
MON, 11 Apr
MK day and--trumpets please. . .no, not strumpets, TRUMPETS--my DW's birthday. 21. . .has been for several years. We boated over to MK and arrived just in time for park opening where we were bombarded by the confetti. I'm sure my camera work will dazzle the in-laws as I'm stumbling, bumbling, and uttering a couple of mild epithets trying not to trip over the stuff as the DD4 yanks at the stuff twisted around my feet. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT has nothing on my cinematography skills. After a brief stop at Town Hall to procure a BD badge for DW, we headed straight for. . .a photographer--dang those 50% discounts for the Photo Pass!
Our first real stop was Fantasyland; yes, the entire Land. DD4 wasn't going to miss a thing, trust me. She and DW rode DUMBO first since the line gets so bloody long so quickly, while I had the presence of mind to say, "Why doesn't Daddy take pictures of you instead?" After an hour of riding the CARROUSEL, TEA CUPS, POOH, PETER, and PSNOW WHITE, we hoofed it over to Cindy's Joint, er, Castle in time to catch CINDERBRATION, no, CINDELLATION, no, CINDERELLABRATION as she got hitched to Prince Charmin, uh, Charming. It was quite warm, though nowhere near summer temps, and DD4 had an awesome view. . .from atop my shoulders. Still, it was a nice way to showcase the princesses, minus Ariel since I guess she hadn't fin-ished her dress. Not surprisingly, we found Ariel at her Grotto and grott her grottograph along with a pic or two, then we sped over to Toon Town to find Cindy, Snow, and Aurora, along with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. No, not all together--that's just wrong. After autographs and pics, we were hungry.
We hit Pinnochio's Haus for lunch; lo and behold (or was that an "OMG, no!"), IASW was open. Sigh. After riding it once, and bracing for the inevitable "let's do that again," more pixie dust got in my eyes. "Yeah, that was fun. Can I do Goofy's Roller Coaster?" Yes! A daughter after her dad's own heart! We proceeded to ride everything possible at least once, and some things several times. The crowds were manageable, a little smaller than what we found last August after school had started for most districts. We didn't wait more than 5-10 minutes for most rides that we didn't FP.
An early afternoon was called for since we wanted DD4 to take a nap before coming back to MK for SPECTROMAGIC and WISHES. And we did just that, boating back to VWL, hitting the pool briefly, then resting up until dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe. For the full review, see my separate posting mentioned above. In short, we didn't like it: for the second time in a row, we got a lousy server and mediocre food.
Back to MK we boated again--a most enjoyable way to travel, I might add--and made it in time to get a second row "seat" on Main Street while eating some ice cream. How much cooler than that can you get? SPECTRO was cool and WISHES dramatic. What a splendid end to a splendid day. Below are a few other notes:
SPECTROMAGIC - Very colorful, vibrant, but rather redundant.
WISHES - Good fireworks show, especially at the end, and a classic Disney moment. But, for my money, ILLUMINATIONS has the more bang for the buck. Granted, it doesn't have Cindy's Castle as the backdrop, though.
STITCH - Dreadful, absolutely dreadful, even if we only waited five minutes by FPing it. I got none of the effects save the shoving down of the already uncomfy shoulder harness. I'd like that wasted time back in my life, please.
BUZZ - A mildly diverting ride, though I did love the swivel action! DD4 has been on a Buzz kick of late, so she loved it thoroughly.
GOOFY'S COASTER - For sheer enjoyment from a 4-yr old, it's hard to beat this ride, though as a serious coaster fan it doesn't provide much of a thrill. My DW isn't a fan of any sort of coaster, so who does DD4 choose to ride with her? Ha! Quote from DD4: "Daddy, know what Mommy said on the coaster? AHHHHHHHHH!"
We had a grand day at MK, and DW must have been told "Happy Birthday" by three dozen CMs! She was thrilled. The best one was by a singer on back of a trolley as it rolled by. Just as they passed, he stopped singing in mid-sentence, leaned out and said "happy birthday," then picked up right where he had been in the song. As my DW so eloquently put it: "That was cool!" I revel in the sights, sounds, and experiences of MK, especially in the eyes of those you love. Saw it all that day. . .and then some. That's it for now. Part Deux to come. . .
SUN, 10 Apr
The closest airport is 1.5 hours away; the first of only two direct flights to Orlando leaves at 5:25 a.m.--the second flight doesn't leave til the evening hours so wasn't an option. Thus, we were up at 1:30 a.m. to arrive in Orlando at 7 a.m. Got the luggage, the rental car, then scooted over to VWL to pre-register, then to hit AK for most of the day. Good fortune shown down on us (I know, pixie dust) as there was a suite clean, ready, and available at 8:15 in the morning! The CM said they were only operating at about 70% capacity--talk about good timing for a vacation.
After unpacking and decompressing a bit, we bused to AK, met up with my eldest DD (grad student in Melbourne), and enjoyed a fun day in the park. I still think TARZAN ROCKS is cheesy, still thoroughly enjoy LION KING, and still get a kick out of seeing giraffes up close and personal on SAFARI. Here are the high and low lights using my Mickey scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest rating:
TARZAN ROCKS -
1/2 Better than last August, primarily because it wasn't so hot and humid. Some day I'm gonna figure out why the rock band is featured so prominently.FOTLK -
What's not to love? You're inside; the music is great; the costumes are superb. Very upbeat, catchy, and ultimately lovable pageantry.DINOSAUR -
DD4 just HAD to ride this one again after a meltdown in it last August. I guess she wanted to prove something to herself. . .she did. . .that it still scares the bejeebers out of her. On the bright side, she didn't cry as loudly or long as she did last time. KILIMANJARO SAFARIS -
Hey, the ride moves, the DD4 is enthralled, the views and sights are usually good, so I think it's a fun and educational attraction. . .as long as the wait isn't too long.POCAHONTAS -
Not my favorite attraction, but it's short, and the DD4 naturally loves to sit by herself near the front and loves Pocahontas. She'd likely give it 5 Mickeys, but she doesn't write yet. When she begins to do so, she can publish her own set of critiques.PETTING ZOO/TRAIN - Hard to rate this one, so I won't. It's your typical petting zoo and by the time we got there, we were beginning to slow down from having been up so long that day. DD4 liked it, of course, while DD elder wanted to hurry up and wash her hands. . often.
We headed back VWL around 3 p.m., hit the pool, the hot tub, then ate a snack from Roaring Forks. The grill there is fast and quite decent. We were all asleep by 10 p.m.
MON, 11 Apr
MK day and--trumpets please. . .no, not strumpets, TRUMPETS--my DW's birthday. 21. . .has been for several years. We boated over to MK and arrived just in time for park opening where we were bombarded by the confetti. I'm sure my camera work will dazzle the in-laws as I'm stumbling, bumbling, and uttering a couple of mild epithets trying not to trip over the stuff as the DD4 yanks at the stuff twisted around my feet. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT has nothing on my cinematography skills. After a brief stop at Town Hall to procure a BD badge for DW, we headed straight for. . .a photographer--dang those 50% discounts for the Photo Pass!
Our first real stop was Fantasyland; yes, the entire Land. DD4 wasn't going to miss a thing, trust me. She and DW rode DUMBO first since the line gets so bloody long so quickly, while I had the presence of mind to say, "Why doesn't Daddy take pictures of you instead?" After an hour of riding the CARROUSEL, TEA CUPS, POOH, PETER, and PSNOW WHITE, we hoofed it over to Cindy's Joint, er, Castle in time to catch CINDERBRATION, no, CINDELLATION, no, CINDERELLABRATION as she got hitched to Prince Charmin, uh, Charming. It was quite warm, though nowhere near summer temps, and DD4 had an awesome view. . .from atop my shoulders. Still, it was a nice way to showcase the princesses, minus Ariel since I guess she hadn't fin-ished her dress. Not surprisingly, we found Ariel at her Grotto and grott her grottograph along with a pic or two, then we sped over to Toon Town to find Cindy, Snow, and Aurora, along with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore. No, not all together--that's just wrong. After autographs and pics, we were hungry.
We hit Pinnochio's Haus for lunch; lo and behold (or was that an "OMG, no!"), IASW was open. Sigh. After riding it once, and bracing for the inevitable "let's do that again," more pixie dust got in my eyes. "Yeah, that was fun. Can I do Goofy's Roller Coaster?" Yes! A daughter after her dad's own heart! We proceeded to ride everything possible at least once, and some things several times. The crowds were manageable, a little smaller than what we found last August after school had started for most districts. We didn't wait more than 5-10 minutes for most rides that we didn't FP.
An early afternoon was called for since we wanted DD4 to take a nap before coming back to MK for SPECTROMAGIC and WISHES. And we did just that, boating back to VWL, hitting the pool briefly, then resting up until dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe. For the full review, see my separate posting mentioned above. In short, we didn't like it: for the second time in a row, we got a lousy server and mediocre food.
Back to MK we boated again--a most enjoyable way to travel, I might add--and made it in time to get a second row "seat" on Main Street while eating some ice cream. How much cooler than that can you get? SPECTRO was cool and WISHES dramatic. What a splendid end to a splendid day. Below are a few other notes:
SPECTROMAGIC - Very colorful, vibrant, but rather redundant.
WISHES - Good fireworks show, especially at the end, and a classic Disney moment. But, for my money, ILLUMINATIONS has the more bang for the buck. Granted, it doesn't have Cindy's Castle as the backdrop, though.
STITCH - Dreadful, absolutely dreadful, even if we only waited five minutes by FPing it. I got none of the effects save the shoving down of the already uncomfy shoulder harness. I'd like that wasted time back in my life, please.
BUZZ - A mildly diverting ride, though I did love the swivel action! DD4 has been on a Buzz kick of late, so she loved it thoroughly.
GOOFY'S COASTER - For sheer enjoyment from a 4-yr old, it's hard to beat this ride, though as a serious coaster fan it doesn't provide much of a thrill. My DW isn't a fan of any sort of coaster, so who does DD4 choose to ride with her? Ha! Quote from DD4: "Daddy, know what Mommy said on the coaster? AHHHHHHHHH!"
We had a grand day at MK, and DW must have been told "Happy Birthday" by three dozen CMs! She was thrilled. The best one was by a singer on back of a trolley as it rolled by. Just as they passed, he stopped singing in mid-sentence, leaned out and said "happy birthday," then picked up right where he had been in the song. As my DW so eloquently put it: "That was cool!" I revel in the sights, sounds, and experiences of MK, especially in the eyes of those you love. Saw it all that day. . .and then some. That's it for now. Part Deux to come. . .
