Spring Break - Day 6/Closing Comments

QuickGold

Studios Superman
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Mar 8, 2002
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This is the final TR of this trip, so if you have no idea what I've been doing on this trip so far, Hi, I'm QuickGold and shame on you for not paying attention. Check out the previous logs of this TR:

Day 5 - Epcot
Day 4 - Day off
Day 3 - MGM
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom
Day 1 - Arrival
Pre-Trip Details


Da Crew:
Me, 20 year old college student attending Pace University in New York City, but originally from Connecticut. I'm a Disney Nut(or as my parents call me, Disney Nazi).
Allon "Spock" Moore: Fraternity Brother who is coming with me down there. It took some doing, but I got him to go.
"Money Talks": Our new cab driver who says alot of things to us, most of which none of us understand.


We woke up at about 4am and at the moment, I wished I paid an extra $20 or so to get that later flight. We got our stuff together in a zombie like state, not saying anything, with looks on our faces like we'd been up forever. After accounting for everything, we went downstairs and noticed we were early. However, the front desk notified us a car was waiting and sure enough, our towncar (Limo Orlando) was there about 20 minutes early. We put our stuff in and got out. I think it is better to leave in the morning when its dark out so you dont have to see how beautiful the countryside is when driving out(or notice the palm trees and wonder later where they all went :( )

We got the airport about 1.5 hours early for our flight and at first, we were daunted by a huge line. However, that line was for ATA and we quickly moved to the Spirit Airlines line which, as usual, was 2 people deep. After waiting about 2 minutes, we got to the ticketing counter, where we were met by a very nice employee. She took our stuff, asked if we wanted an exit row(again! :D ) and got us on our way. Security, was again, a breeze, although I did get padded down because I forgot about my belt(that and they probably felt they had to do something because the gates were empty.

We got to our gate after one final run on a monorail(Sure its not WDW monorail, but it was a monorail nonetheless). We waited about an hour, got on the flight and had a very uneventful flight. We landed in New York at 9:00(2 hour flight! That is so nothing!). After getting home at around 11am(Luggage time + mass transit = more time) I called my mother and took a nap.

Final Trip Comments
Spirit Air: What a great airline! I have to admit, I had some doubts about Spirit before the flight. I envisioned a jalopy of an aircraft and flight attendents who smoked throughout the flight. However, it was quite the opposite! If you can get a good deal on a fare from them, take them! I wouldnt hesitate to say the courtesy was as good, if not better than Disney CM's. After each flight, the captain came out and personally thanked every passanger for flying! Kudos!

WDW:
I really felt let down by how Disney handled the crowds. Two out of the three parks were opened far too late and as a result, the crowding was the worst I've ever experienced. Opening them 1/2 hour before they actually did would have done wonders. Aside from that, the Magic is still there and its tremendously fun. I spent $200 on a 4 day park hopper(1 day left!) and I feel its worth it.

Magic Kingdom: It was after going to this park with Spock, I realized that I could definetly come to WDW solo eventually. The idea seemed so foreign to me before the trip, but I realized I could have a great time going solo. It was still fun, but considering I didnt do any of the rides the kid in me wanted to do(i.e. Small World, Peter Pan, Steam Engine Railroad, etc) I kind of left a bit depressed. However, my time on Splash Mountain and other great rides, as well as the feeling of being in WDW in first few minutes made it worth it.

MGM: What can I say, other than MGM is the BEST park now IMHO. There was not one bad ride there. I feel more magic when I go to MK, but the magic of re-discovering Disney somewhere else is just as great. I cant help but remember going to MGM when it first opened in 1990 and telling my parents I would never voluntarily go there again :p Man, have things changed! If it werent for rides like Splash and Space Mountains, MGM might be the first park I go to.

Epcot: I think Im finally at the age where the World Showcase becomes semi-interesting. Again, I had wished I went by myself to experience some of the pavillions to my heart's content. Cranium Command is without a doubt the most underrated ride in WDW. Epcot is good fun and because the crowds were a bit more managable then in the other two parks, I felt I had a better time. Also, Grande Margaritas require a good 1/2 hour of sitting or feel a head rush like no other. ;)

Ramada East Gate: Boy, did I luck out with this place. Hotwire came through as I expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised. Clean rooms, great housekeeping, good food and excellent guest ammenities make this a place I would definetly recommend and go back to. It was very close to the park but still maintained its convenient location on US192.

Spending: My budget for this trip exploded. Sure, buying a $400 camcorder really didnt help, but I spent way more than I anticipated. I wasted some money on some stupid things like walkie talkies that for one thing, had no privacy channels, and two, since it was just me and another person, we didnt need them.

Regrets: One regret is I didnt continue a tradition of mine to eat out a nice restaurant at the World Showcase and treat myself out. I never really brought it up, partially because I had a feeling Spock wasnt up for spending so much on food. Another regret that I always have but at the same time know I did it on purpose was not seeing any fireworks. Im not really a fireworks kind of guy. I saw Illuminations in 2000 and it was good, but after being in the park from 8am, the last thing I want to do is see the fireworks at 9pm. Oh well, Hakuna Matata!

Well, thats my TR. Hopefully I'll be going back soon(Christmas time?). I had a great time, not the best trip ever, but it was definetly up there. Hope you all had as much fun reading as I had writing. A tip to anyone who writes a TR in the future, if you can, write them when your on vacation after the day is done. The memories are fresher and its easier to write alot more. Also, thank you to the faithful who wrote responses to all my TR's, encouraging me(and threatening! :) )to keep writing the rest of the report. You know who you are, so kudos! Until next time, toodles! :bounce:
 
done an excellent job.....and I really enjoyed it.......thanks so much for taking the time out to do this.....NOW BACK TO THE BOOKS.........
 
Thanks for taking the time to write this trip report. I have enjoyed it! Also thanks for the margarita warning!! (ha, ha):)
 
Thanks for taking the time to Post your trip reports! I really enjoyed them!
 

I've read all your reports - but had trouble posting replys last week.. thanks for telling us all about your trip.

we always call the tram in the airport our first monorail ride!
 
NOW BACK TO THE BOOKS.........

Geez, I can see my mother has been influencing some of you without my knowledge :p

Also thanks for the margarita warning!! (ha, ha)

One of the best values in Disney, and a great way to forget about how much money you've spent and how much more still needs to be spent.
 
Quick Gold:

Loved reading your trip report. Thanks so much for the info on Ramada Eastgate. I booked through Hotwire also. We (me, dh, and 2 dd's) leave out Monday, April 1. I was uneasy about the hotel at first, but after reading your review, I feel much better. The Hotwire price was so unbelievable I couldn't pass it up.

Thanks again.

Michele
 
Loved your reports. Glad to read one from a college student too. Makes me wish I was back there. Now I'm off to email my friends who are still CM's down there.
 
Quickgold,

This is the most entertaining trip report I've ever read. It's been a very (not really, it just seems like it) long time since I've been a spring breaker and your report brought back some cool memories.

I totally agree with you on the crowd/park opening issue. We were there Jan 19-25 (supposedly the "light" season-WRONG!!) and I was stunned by the number of people. I remember thinking to myself that the spring break season would be a nightmare.

Bottom line is, people will very quickly become frustrated with the current system and spend their vacation $$$$$ elsewhere. I can already see the writing on the wall with the restaurants (when we were there the WDW restaurants were 1/2 full at best, while off property restaurants had wait times of 1hr or more).

We can all hope that P. T. B. at Disney READ & PAY ATTENTION to these reports and act accordingly.
 
Great report. Thanks so much for writing.


We seem to have a lot in common--my family used to refer to me as the Disney Nazi too (of coruse one trip of leaving them on their own--to plan, manuever and do the parks and I am much more appreciated now). I did my first solo trip last August with grave concerns about going alone. I LOVED it (can I leave everyone home from now on???). Not really just kidding. Sort of.

Anyway, I spent two whole days in EPCOT mainly exploring World Showcase- I saw EVERY show and entertainer in the joint (I believe it was around 28), every shop and a lot of good food. I also spent a day at MK just moseying along wherever the spirit moved me. GO SOLO one time--you'll love it!!!
 














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