To Mars and Back for $1000! (Day 1 Part 2 finally posted!)

[CarolynFH]

DD, DH and I made a quick trip to ride Mission: Space over President's Weekend. DD will never stop bugging me if I don't write this trip report! So here's the first installment - written by DD herself (but talking as if its me)! (Future installments will be a collaboration....)

First of all, the purpose of the trip was specifically to ride MS. I rode it in September, and I enjoyed it so much that I knew DH and DD just HAD to ride it ASAP. We didn't have a trip planned, but DD had this 4-day weekend holiday in February, so we booked our room at BWV and our air tickets and started planning. The fact that it was President's Day weekend didn't occur to us until later, and little did we know how that would affect our trip.

Day 0 - The Departure from Home, or, What Else Would You Be Doing on Thursday Afternoon?

We picked up DD15 from her school at 2:30, which is an hour earlier than normal. We drove to my office to tend to a last-minute glitch, than we were off! It took an hour and a half to get to DFW, but first we had to eat dinner. We ate at Trail Dust in Grapevine ("The steak house with the huge slide"), then we drove over to Park 'n Fly. We caught the tram to the airport, checked in, and flew off!

We landed about 10:30 PM, then DD and I got the luggage while DH went off to get the rental car. We had a blue Saturn Vue, very nice, very quiet SUV. As we drive to WDW, DD talks constantly about how she can't wait to get there and ride ToT, her favorite ride. The princess is too tired to sleep! As we drive into the gates with all the classic Disney characters greeting you, DD goes hysterical with joy!

We drive up to BWV (where we are DVC members) and find out that the gate-keeper's parents are amongst the 25,000 people of the town that we live in! [Enter a chorus of 'It's A Small World After All!'] We checked in without a hitch, and after the LONG walk to room 2010, discovered that the groceries we had ordered beforehand had indeed arrived and been put into the fridge if need be. Our one-bedroom looked over the office building behind Jellyroll's, that's what we get for standard view. We then unpacked, DH got the coffee ready to turn on in the morning, and we all got in bed around 12:30. Surprisingly, we actually slept!

Day 1 to follow - check this same thread!

 

[MAGICinMYHEART]

Thanks for posting can't wait to hear how they enjoyed Mission: Space.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

Cant wait to hear more. Well I do wish I could have been at the trail dust with you, but I am planning on that for august at the one in mequite or arlington, gotta love those rangers and yankees baseball games, second only to disney as far as magic.

 

[CarolynFH]

I'll post another one as soon as I can figure out how to post pictures. I know that you have to have it posted on the web for it to load, etc. etc. but I'm just waiting to get an e-mail back from the DIS Photo posting boards, which I registered in a short while ago.

 

[CarolynFH]

Day 1 Blast Off!

We woke up around 7 that morning, had breakfast in the room (amazingly enough, DH can cook eggs & bacon in exactly the time I need for a shower), and took the boat over to Epcot. DD went ahead to get fastpasses for MS while DH and I walked through WS, enjoying the scenery. We met in front of MS, and as we had decided previously, rode stand-by. I tried to point out all the interesting stuff in the queuing area, but the excitement was too much and we just had to hurry through and board as fast as we could. Fortunately, we walked right into the briefing room. DD was getting extremely excited and nervous, and so was DH.

After Gary Sinise gave us our instructions, DD was so excited, she practically ran down the hallway when the door opened. When they explained the various jobs, DD said she had to be Commander. Who are we to argue with her? Then the door opened to the capsule, and it was time to load! DD kept saying "Oh, what the heck am I getting into?" But when we lifted off, she yelled, "Whooee!"

We all loved it! DD commented on how it actually feels like you're really taking off into space, even though she says that she wished she could have ridden it before the Imagineers tuned it down to be less intense. She also really loves the sling-shot part. I like seeing the birds fly past the gantry, then the feeling of rising into the sky, faster and faster, right through the clouds. What an awesome ride! DH found it "intriguing" and couldn't wait to ride it again.

After a visit to the gift shop, where we all found numerous items we would have bought if it hadn't been our own money we'd have to spend, we walked over to Test Track because our MS fastpass time hadn't arrived yet. We got in the single-riders line because the stand-by was about 45 minutes at 9:30 in the morning! We just walked into the area where you stand to get in the briefing room. We enjoyed TT like always. And DD had her dream come true when she got to sit in her dream vehicle, an H2, afterwards.

Photo: coming!

By the time we got out it was almost time to ride MS again, but we had time for a picture first.

Photo: coming!

We can never get tired of that ride! We now have a new favorite ride!

After MS, we walked over to the monorail to go over to MK so we could see Mickey's PhilharMagic. We thought about riding Spaceship Earth, but the line was way too long. After about a ten minute wait, we boarded the monorail and rode over to the TTC. After seeing the loooooonnnngg line for the monorail to MK, we decided to take the ferry. It was chilly! I was glad I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt.

Photo: coming!

We went through security without a hitch and DD went ahead to get fastpasses for Mickey's PM. We purposely ignored the "75th Birthday Mickeys" out front, knowing we'd have more time later to check them out. We met DD back in front of MPM and then walked onto Peter Pan. That presented an issue - the three of us won't fit into one pirate ship! After some discussion, it was decided that she would ride with DH and I would ride alone, since she rides single too often when it's just the three of us. I love Peter Pan - it's one of my favorite rides, and I have to do it every trip. I was so glad that we were able to ride it while waiting for MPM - little did I know how lucky we were, since this was Friday morning and the President's Day crowds had not yet descended on the parks!

We walked back over to MPM and used our fastpasses. DD read out loud the signs advertising future "concert events." We all love the details that the Imagineers always put into these rides. For those of you that haven't been able to see MPM yet, I won't give away any secrets, but I will say that we all thoroughly enjoyed it. DD found it so cool that Disney was able to put all of those effects into the show, and it felt so real! We'll say no more than that, and that you must be sure to look up and behind you at the end...oh yes, and make sure your nose is working too!

After MPM, DD and DH went to get DD some ice cream for her lunch while I hit the Ladies' Room. Now, before you become concerned about the nutrition theory in effect here, I must explain that we made PS for the Fantasmic Dinner Package that night, and the latest time we could get at H&V was 4:50. So we didn't want to spoil our dinner with a big lunch! We met back up and walked over to Space Mt. and picked up fastpasses, then we bought a turkey leg for DH and me to split for our lunch. We sat down under Astro Orbiter and DD said that she wanted a "taste" of the turkey leg. I think she must have forgotten how much she likes them, because she kept asking for "just one more taste."

We then rode COP. We were so glad it was open, so we could ride it and "vote" for Disney to keep it operating. While we were waiting for it to start, the CM asked whether anyone was celebrating a birthday that day. Everyone just sat there. Then she asked about birthdays yesterday or tomorrow. Silence. Finally she says, "What about any birthdays this month?" and DD and I made DH raise his hand - his birthday was on the 5th, just a week before! But of course she had to ask how old he was, and HE TOLD HER! So after the whole theatre found out his real age (to DD's chagrin), and applauded, the show finally started, and DH and I were finally able to sing "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow," much to DD's displeasure.

We then walked over to Space Mt. for our fastpasses. The stand-by line had gone down since we got the fastpasses, from around 75 minutes to "only" 45 minutes. We breezed right past all those people waiting in the standby line, had about a 5 minute wait, then DD asked the CM if we could ride on the left, and he let us! The left side is the best, you know - as we confirmed once upon an E-night, when we rode each side twice in a row! ļ Yay! We also love to ride in the back (a wilder ride and more airtime on the drops!) so we asked for seats 4, 5 and 6 and the CM kindly obliged us. DH has long legs, and he always gets scrunched when he rides in the front seat due to the small amount of leg room, but he also doesn't care whether he's in the very back or not (at least, he doesn't care as much as DD and I do. So DD said she'd make the sacrifice and let me ride in the very back this time, but only if she could ride there the next time. Always the deal-maker, our DD...

Afterwards, we took the bus to Boardwalk so we could rest up and get ready for MGM. We decided we'd go to DTD after Fantasmic, so we drove over to MGM. We arrived just in the middle of the parade. We walked through the crowds while watching the parade, but ultimately made our way to RnR so we could see what the fastpass time was. It was for 5:30 to 6:30! I was delighted - since our PS was for 4:50, we could easily eat, ride The Great Movie Ride, and then make our RnR fastpass before we had to go to Fantasmic! Piece of cake! (Or was it? You'll find out....)

 

[Byrd]

Thank you for taking the time to write. I can't wait to hear more.
Byrd

 

[DHSsenior007]

Bump!

It's too hard to find when it's not near the top on the 1st page!!

 

[ktulu]

Me thinks next time there be a trip via DFW airport ye be stoppin around Lewisville to pick up me and me wife

Now ye be finishin this here trip report!

darrrren

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[CarolynFH]

I have no idea how these will turn out, but here ya go!

DD and HER H2!!

What an awesome ride!!

That was a cold ride for DD and DH; short sleeves, no jackets!

DH snapped that at the split second where Mickey only has one 'finger flare' during Fantasmic!

DD is working on typing up the rest, then I will edit them. We'll be going to Tennessee next week for Spring Break, so that will be a quiet week from us!

 

[alliecats]

I'm sorry, WHAT was that about Gary Sinise?? I LOVE him. Please elaborate a tad.

 

[CarolynFH]

alliecats, Gary Sinise is the Director at Mission: Space. He tells you all about your mission, and about how if you don't think you're ready for that, you can train for mission control. And after you land on Mars, he and the crew back on earth all celebrate and congratulate you on making it! So he has a major role - and you don't have to actually ride, you can go for the briefing and then ask to be directed to mission control. Just in case you want to enjoy seeing him but don't want to ride!

Now, back to our report: Day 1 Part 2

After getting our fastpasses for RnR, we walked over to Star Tours, since that is also one of our family’s favorites. We got our favorite seats there too – the back corners! Wonderful! We came out and decided to look around at the shops on Hollywood Blvd since it was still early for our PS at H&V.

As we were looking around at the shops, DD found so many cute things she wanted, if only they were cheaper or she had more money!!! She finally decided on getting a t-shirt, and was about to buy it when we remembered we get a 10% discount at DTD, and we could go there after Fantasmic! Yay to those 10% discounts!!! We checked in to H&V about 10 minutes early, and waited about 5 minutes until we were called. We enjoyed the food and after dinner, we walked to The Great Movie Ride. We thought, “Oh, we can ride this, won’t be more than 15 minutes, and then go ride RnR with our fastpasses, then have plenty of time to get good seats for Fantasmic! Piece of cake!!” Looking back at it now, DD was right when she said, as soon as we walked into the queuing area, that it would take longer, MUCH longer than just 15 minutes.

We walked through the queuing area with all of the famous movie props (sure miss seeing Dorothy's red shoes) and into the area where they have the movie screen up and you weave in and out. As we saw that it was full - both lines open and packed - DD immediately gave DH a huge sigh and that look that means "I told you so, but I won't say it!" We ended up seeing the preview 3 times all the way through before we got to load into our tram. The ride wasn’t any different, even though I had heard about how the Wicked Witch of the West was much more human-like than before. We got out at 6:15, which meant that we definitely did NOT have enough time to ride RnR, even with fastpasses. DD was understandably upset, and of course I had to apologize since I was the one who was so sure we had time to do the GMR before RnR.

So we just walked straight down Hollywood Blvd. and showed the CM at the blue gates our FDP paper, and walked the long walk to the back entrance to Fantasmic. We got really good seats in the second section from the end and waited about 30 minutes for the show to start. Not bad considering that about a year ago when DD and I went, we entered almost 2 hours ahead of time! Then again, last year we sat in the Mickey section (middle) instead of the Fantasmic seating section far to the side.

We enjoyed Fantasmic like always! There aren’t really any bad seats in that theater.

DH snapped the shutter when Mickey had only one finger flare!

After Fantasmic was over, we slowly and patiently walked along with the huge crowd through the park. It’s a longer walk than coming in, because even though you can exit the seating area through the same place you came in, they make sure that you exit onto Sunset Blvd. with the rest of the crowd! Finally we made it back to our car and drove to DTD.

At DTD, DD bought the t-shirt that she wanted for 10% off, and she also got some gifts for some of her friends. “That’s my shopping for this trip!” She only had about $50 with her, and for all of you WDW vets, you know that won’t go very far!

On the way home, we saw part of Illuminations over the rooftops and treetops- what a great end to the day!

Three parks and DTD all in one day! Why in the world should we be tired?