DisneyWorld Trip Report, August 30th to Sept. 5th, 2006
Players
Jennifer Coolest Aunt ever, i.e. Me, needs to recover from disastrous WDW trip in 1999, this is my fourth trip
Ashley my brothers daughter, 13 years old and too cool for school, this is her second trip
Day 1
Our flight is at 10:25 a.m. out of Logan Airport in Boston. My dad has agreed to drive us to the airport and wants to leave the house at 7:30 a.m. At 6:45 a.m. I wake up and my dad informs me that Ashley has been awake and dressed for at least an hour. Someone is in a hurry to go, which is interesting because until this point she barely showed any enthusiasm.
By 7:40am were actually out the door and make a pit stop at CVS to pick up sunscreen and nicotine patches. Ive decided that since our room is non-smoking and it is such a pain in the butt to find a place to smoke in the parks, I might as well try quitting again.
At 8:15 were at the airport. Were flying on JetBlue so Ive already printed out boarding passes and baggage claim slips. We take five minutes to drop off our bags at the check-in counter, then go and wander around the airport because we have nearly two hours to kill. Eventually we eat breakfast and then pass through security, which takes longer than expected because Ashley has to remove the tons of heavy metal jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, etc.) that she is wearing in order to avoid setting off the alarm on the metal detector.
JetBlue (my new favorite airline) gets us boarding around 9:45 and we are actually moving down the runway before the official departure time of 10:25. Dont ever be late when flying JetBlue LOL
Less than three hours later we are setting down in Orlando. Were using Magical Express so we head straight to the Disney desk. It is so nice not to have to wait at Baggage Claim. Our bus leaves about 10 minutes after we board and Pop Century, our resort, is the first stop.
We are in Magic Kingdom by 3:15pm! On the way there we were told by the bus driver that the park was empty with only 17,000 people in it and he isnt kidding. The rain has been off and on all day long and when we first get into the park, it isnt raining, but the sky is overcast and itll be starting again soon. First things first though --- RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN. We head leisurely over to Tomorrowland and Space Mountain is a walk-on. By the time weve ridden it twice in a row, its raining again.
Because of the lack of crowds, Ive already made an executive decision to toss my itinerary out the window and just wander around the parks as it strikes Ashleys fancy. So when she decides that she wants to go on Astro Orbiter thats where we head. After the five minute wait, were up on the deck waiting to board and it occurs to me that riding an outdoor, exposed ride in the rain is probably a dumb idea, but we do it anyway and proceed to get quite wet. By the time we disembark, its time to run to a shop for Disney ponchos. $7 each, ouch! Suitably outfitted, just like everyone else in the park, in a see-through Mickey poncho, we head to Buzz Lightyear. Its another virtual walk-on. Less than a five minute wait and were on the ride and blasting away at targets. By the time were done my score is approximately 5,000 and Ashleys score is around 50,000. The videogame generation strikes again!
Next we go to Stitchs Great Escape. The last time I did it, it was still Alien Encounter. I liked it then and I like it now. I know. Im weird. So were the two guys sitting next to us though because they could not stop laughing during the entire encounter. They were beside themselves in hysterics and I think if we hadnt been brutally restrained in the seats they would have been doubled over on the floor. Ashley hated the chili cheese dog smell that Stitch burped all over us though so the ride was not a hit with her.
After exiting Stitch we were done with Tomorrowland. It was still raining and at this point we hadnt eaten anything since breakfast so I decided it was time to grab a bite to eat. We check to see if the Terrace Noodle Station is open. Its closed. So my plan was to head for the Mexican place over in Adventureland or Frontierland, wherever it happened to be, but we discovered that it is seasonal and therefore closed. Oh well. So we ate at the first place we came across which was The Plaza Restaurant. We each scarfed down a very large Turkey Club sandwich and French fries.
Next stop, Adventureland! We wander around aimlessly a bit, looking for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. One of the things I cant seem to get out of my head is the expectation that Magic Kingdom will be pretty much set up just like Disneyland, but nothing is in exactly the same spot. Even Space Mountain was in a different location in Tomorrowland at WDW than it is in DL. But since Ive been to DL probably about a 100 times at least, I cant quite get the memorized routes to rides out of my head. My feet just tend to move in the expected direction, leading us to nowhere.
Finally though we stumble upon Pirates and find ourselves in the shop. This is the point in the story where my niece loses her mind completely and spends her entire allotted budget for the TRIP on incidentals like jewelry, a sweat jacket with a skull on it, a handbag with a skull on it, etc. etc. Yes, our goth girl is obsessed with skulls and the Pirates shop is nirvana. It is at least an hour before I can pry her away from the racks to actually go to the ride, but not before Ive spent money myself on a t-shirt and a straw cowboy hat with skull & crossbones on it.
(Ashley wearing my hat)
Pirates is a walk-on. Its actually kind of ridiculous. Theres no one in line at all. So as we head into the queuing area I pull out my camera and start annoying my niece by taking pictures of light fixtures and such, fiddling with the camera to put it in sepia mode.
Once we enter the boat-boarding area, I stop again to take more pictures of a light fixture and the Pirates cast member in charge of boating says to me, Here, I can take a picture for you. So I hand him my camera and he proceeds to take a self-portrait! I started laughing my butt off and he says, Youll never forget today. My niece just rolls her eyes.
We get on the boat and head off into the ride, the only passengers aboard. Theres an empty boat in front of us and an empty boat behind us.
One of the constant refrains the entire trip is my niece asking me, Is this a water ride? I didnt know this was a Water Ride. Are we going to get wet? As we enter Pirates she starts to freak out over the waterfall we are approaching. I fail to mention that its a fake-out
We pass through the hologram or whatever it is unscathed and not anymore wet than when we entered the ride and she punches me in the arm. Hah! The last time we were at WDW she was 7 years old, so she doesnt remember a lot of details. This continues to provide me with amusement for the rest of the trip.
After we finish Pirates were back in the shop and I drag her out of it by the arm before we spend more money. We then wander around fruitlessly searching for the Haunted Mansion and when we find ourselves once again in front of Pirates, I stop to ask a cast member for directions.
Now that I know where Haunted Mansion is, we head into Liberty Square. Its raining again and the sky has darkened quite a bit, which makes for some nice gloomy pictures of the exterior of Haunted Mansion. I stop and take about 50 photos. Okay, maybe not quite that many, but Im sure Ashley thought I took at least a 100.
When we arrive at the front door of Haunted Mansion, theres a couple standing there and no cast member in sight. They turn and ask us if the ride is closed and I say that it probably isnt, but I really dont know. I check the door, but its locked so I go and take pictures of the gravestones.
While Im snapping away this big booming sound occurs on the opposite side of the locked door and the other woman gives a little screech. A moment later the door opens and then all of a sudden 20-30 other people appear out of nowhere and join us as we move into the Mansion.
By the time we exit Haunted Mansion night has fully fallen. I snap a few more pictures and then we wander into Fantasyland.
Ashley has no interest in riding any of the Fantasyland rides. Id love to on all the rides except Its a Small Ride (loathe it!), but it really doesnt matter to me that much since I know well be back in the Magic Kingdom in a couple of days, so the only thing I insist on is Mickeys PhilharMagic which Ive never seen. Its a big hit with me and I think even Ashley enjoyed it.
After leaving PhilharMagic we visit the shops in Fantasyland and I take pictures of the carousel and the back of the castle and then we wander through, stopping to spend a long time at the shop inside the castle.
By the time we come out the front of the castle, the loudspeakers are announcing that Spectro has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Yes, its raining. We slowly make our way down Main Street, stopping at the bakery to pick up some snacks for the resort, before finally heading out of the park. I assumed they cancelled the fireworks as well, but I really dont know or care because Im beat and very wet.
Back at the Resort we grab some more grub and buy our refillable mugs and then head back to the room where the new constant refrain of, Theres nothing on TV. Theres not enough channels. The airplane had more channels, begins (this time from my mouth) and we settle in for a night of Golden Girls. About 1am we go to bed because I have no intention of getting up for rope drop at Epcot.
And so the first day ends and even with the rain it has been rather excellent. Tomorrow: Epcot!
Players
Jennifer Coolest Aunt ever, i.e. Me, needs to recover from disastrous WDW trip in 1999, this is my fourth trip
Ashley my brothers daughter, 13 years old and too cool for school, this is her second trip
Day 1
Our flight is at 10:25 a.m. out of Logan Airport in Boston. My dad has agreed to drive us to the airport and wants to leave the house at 7:30 a.m. At 6:45 a.m. I wake up and my dad informs me that Ashley has been awake and dressed for at least an hour. Someone is in a hurry to go, which is interesting because until this point she barely showed any enthusiasm.
By 7:40am were actually out the door and make a pit stop at CVS to pick up sunscreen and nicotine patches. Ive decided that since our room is non-smoking and it is such a pain in the butt to find a place to smoke in the parks, I might as well try quitting again.
At 8:15 were at the airport. Were flying on JetBlue so Ive already printed out boarding passes and baggage claim slips. We take five minutes to drop off our bags at the check-in counter, then go and wander around the airport because we have nearly two hours to kill. Eventually we eat breakfast and then pass through security, which takes longer than expected because Ashley has to remove the tons of heavy metal jewelry (necklaces, bracelets, etc.) that she is wearing in order to avoid setting off the alarm on the metal detector.
JetBlue (my new favorite airline) gets us boarding around 9:45 and we are actually moving down the runway before the official departure time of 10:25. Dont ever be late when flying JetBlue LOL
Less than three hours later we are setting down in Orlando. Were using Magical Express so we head straight to the Disney desk. It is so nice not to have to wait at Baggage Claim. Our bus leaves about 10 minutes after we board and Pop Century, our resort, is the first stop.
We are in Magic Kingdom by 3:15pm! On the way there we were told by the bus driver that the park was empty with only 17,000 people in it and he isnt kidding. The rain has been off and on all day long and when we first get into the park, it isnt raining, but the sky is overcast and itll be starting again soon. First things first though --- RIDE SPACE MOUNTAIN. We head leisurely over to Tomorrowland and Space Mountain is a walk-on. By the time weve ridden it twice in a row, its raining again.
Because of the lack of crowds, Ive already made an executive decision to toss my itinerary out the window and just wander around the parks as it strikes Ashleys fancy. So when she decides that she wants to go on Astro Orbiter thats where we head. After the five minute wait, were up on the deck waiting to board and it occurs to me that riding an outdoor, exposed ride in the rain is probably a dumb idea, but we do it anyway and proceed to get quite wet. By the time we disembark, its time to run to a shop for Disney ponchos. $7 each, ouch! Suitably outfitted, just like everyone else in the park, in a see-through Mickey poncho, we head to Buzz Lightyear. Its another virtual walk-on. Less than a five minute wait and were on the ride and blasting away at targets. By the time were done my score is approximately 5,000 and Ashleys score is around 50,000. The videogame generation strikes again!
Next we go to Stitchs Great Escape. The last time I did it, it was still Alien Encounter. I liked it then and I like it now. I know. Im weird. So were the two guys sitting next to us though because they could not stop laughing during the entire encounter. They were beside themselves in hysterics and I think if we hadnt been brutally restrained in the seats they would have been doubled over on the floor. Ashley hated the chili cheese dog smell that Stitch burped all over us though so the ride was not a hit with her.
After exiting Stitch we were done with Tomorrowland. It was still raining and at this point we hadnt eaten anything since breakfast so I decided it was time to grab a bite to eat. We check to see if the Terrace Noodle Station is open. Its closed. So my plan was to head for the Mexican place over in Adventureland or Frontierland, wherever it happened to be, but we discovered that it is seasonal and therefore closed. Oh well. So we ate at the first place we came across which was The Plaza Restaurant. We each scarfed down a very large Turkey Club sandwich and French fries.
Next stop, Adventureland! We wander around aimlessly a bit, looking for the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. One of the things I cant seem to get out of my head is the expectation that Magic Kingdom will be pretty much set up just like Disneyland, but nothing is in exactly the same spot. Even Space Mountain was in a different location in Tomorrowland at WDW than it is in DL. But since Ive been to DL probably about a 100 times at least, I cant quite get the memorized routes to rides out of my head. My feet just tend to move in the expected direction, leading us to nowhere.
Finally though we stumble upon Pirates and find ourselves in the shop. This is the point in the story where my niece loses her mind completely and spends her entire allotted budget for the TRIP on incidentals like jewelry, a sweat jacket with a skull on it, a handbag with a skull on it, etc. etc. Yes, our goth girl is obsessed with skulls and the Pirates shop is nirvana. It is at least an hour before I can pry her away from the racks to actually go to the ride, but not before Ive spent money myself on a t-shirt and a straw cowboy hat with skull & crossbones on it.
(Ashley wearing my hat)
Pirates is a walk-on. Its actually kind of ridiculous. Theres no one in line at all. So as we head into the queuing area I pull out my camera and start annoying my niece by taking pictures of light fixtures and such, fiddling with the camera to put it in sepia mode.
Once we enter the boat-boarding area, I stop again to take more pictures of a light fixture and the Pirates cast member in charge of boating says to me, Here, I can take a picture for you. So I hand him my camera and he proceeds to take a self-portrait! I started laughing my butt off and he says, Youll never forget today. My niece just rolls her eyes.
We get on the boat and head off into the ride, the only passengers aboard. Theres an empty boat in front of us and an empty boat behind us.
One of the constant refrains the entire trip is my niece asking me, Is this a water ride? I didnt know this was a Water Ride. Are we going to get wet? As we enter Pirates she starts to freak out over the waterfall we are approaching. I fail to mention that its a fake-out
We pass through the hologram or whatever it is unscathed and not anymore wet than when we entered the ride and she punches me in the arm. Hah! The last time we were at WDW she was 7 years old, so she doesnt remember a lot of details. This continues to provide me with amusement for the rest of the trip.
After we finish Pirates were back in the shop and I drag her out of it by the arm before we spend more money. We then wander around fruitlessly searching for the Haunted Mansion and when we find ourselves once again in front of Pirates, I stop to ask a cast member for directions.
Now that I know where Haunted Mansion is, we head into Liberty Square. Its raining again and the sky has darkened quite a bit, which makes for some nice gloomy pictures of the exterior of Haunted Mansion. I stop and take about 50 photos. Okay, maybe not quite that many, but Im sure Ashley thought I took at least a 100.
When we arrive at the front door of Haunted Mansion, theres a couple standing there and no cast member in sight. They turn and ask us if the ride is closed and I say that it probably isnt, but I really dont know. I check the door, but its locked so I go and take pictures of the gravestones.
While Im snapping away this big booming sound occurs on the opposite side of the locked door and the other woman gives a little screech. A moment later the door opens and then all of a sudden 20-30 other people appear out of nowhere and join us as we move into the Mansion.
By the time we exit Haunted Mansion night has fully fallen. I snap a few more pictures and then we wander into Fantasyland.
Ashley has no interest in riding any of the Fantasyland rides. Id love to on all the rides except Its a Small Ride (loathe it!), but it really doesnt matter to me that much since I know well be back in the Magic Kingdom in a couple of days, so the only thing I insist on is Mickeys PhilharMagic which Ive never seen. Its a big hit with me and I think even Ashley enjoyed it.
After leaving PhilharMagic we visit the shops in Fantasyland and I take pictures of the carousel and the back of the castle and then we wander through, stopping to spend a long time at the shop inside the castle.
By the time we come out the front of the castle, the loudspeakers are announcing that Spectro has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Yes, its raining. We slowly make our way down Main Street, stopping at the bakery to pick up some snacks for the resort, before finally heading out of the park. I assumed they cancelled the fireworks as well, but I really dont know or care because Im beat and very wet.
Back at the Resort we grab some more grub and buy our refillable mugs and then head back to the room where the new constant refrain of, Theres nothing on TV. Theres not enough channels. The airplane had more channels, begins (this time from my mouth) and we settle in for a night of Golden Girls. About 1am we go to bed because I have no intention of getting up for rope drop at Epcot.
And so the first day ends and even with the rain it has been rather excellent. Tomorrow: Epcot!
