Trip Reports

[OrlandoMike]

If a cashier knows what they are doing, and granted most dont, they can just pre-auth the gift card for the amount that is left on the card.

I do it all the time.

Now dont line up with all of your unused gift cards, or Dad will be angry!

 

[zeitzeuge]

My partner and I, along with our two best friends just got back from DLR this past weekend. Our friends had never been to Disneyland so it was great being with them during their first experience. They were so excited and walked around with their mouths open for the first hour.

We arrived at 8am and immediately were told to run to the lady in the white vest. She was passing out free Dream Fastpasses, so we didn't have to stand in line for most all the rides that day, which was nice since the weather wasn't cooperating. It misted off and on for 1/3 of the day and by nightfall it was pretty chilly. The only other drawback was that the parade and fireworks were cancelled due to the weather. I really wanted them to experience that. We had an incredible time despite all of that.

We're planning on trying to go to WDW at the end of this year possibly too.

 

[TammieLand]

Ken, this was a great report and I loved your photos!


Thank you so much- you made me tee-tee laugh a couple of times....

 

[I<3EvilQueen]

I mentioned in my Trip Report that my friends and I love to make funny faces and scenes when we are at the Animal Kingdom. It has become a tradition. So here is the picture that I promised. I was pretending that I was a veteran explorer and little things like a Yeti and a run-way train are just small petty things when I am trying to enjoy my tea. As you can see my traveling companions felt otherwise.

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Great Pic!

 

[StormTigger]

Too funny! Love the Pic!

 

[insoin]

I will have to post a TR when I get back from my trip in June. I was to new to the DIS last year to make one. But I have started a PTR if anyone is interested, the link is in my siggie

 

[zulemara]

Ok here we go! Travel, arrival, and Day 1!

We got up at...I don't even know what time on the 21st, but it was early. Usually when I'm up at that hour, I haven't gone to bed yet. I think it was about 5am. Neither of us are morning people, but somehow the excitement of getting out of this dreadful cold and the magic of Disney awaiting can shake that "I hate morning" feeling. I started the drive. We were on the road at 6:30 or 7:30, I don't remember which. I have this all written down in my Passport I bought, but I'm doing this from work so bear with me. Day 1 is long. Nothing but flat, boring, and insanely foggy Illinois. We arrived In Nashville within 12 hours and I think we stopped about 4 or 5 times. Not too shabby!

2nd day travel
Early departure again. I love the speed limit being 70. We drove 79 the whole time, cops didn't touch us, and traffic was moving faster at times. We used yahoo directions and for some odd reason, it decided NOT to send us on the 285 bypass of downtown Atlanta. Therefore yours truly got to drive through downtown Atlanta in a little prius going 85-90mph consistently in 8 lane traffic. How's that for fun??? I still got 40mpg hehe.
Unfortunately we hit a lot of traffic coming out of Atlanta and it didn't really let up much the entire way down there. Once we got into FL, the traffic was 55mph...stop....55mph....stop...repeat. I felt like I was in kindergarten again. I was terrified to follow closer than 100 ft because at any given time, the traffic might come to a dead halt. It got a little better once we hit the turnpike. I deviated from Yahoo because I wanted to avoid I-4. In doing so, we ended up a little off base, but all roads lead to Disney right? A quick detour on 192 and we were at WDW. I truly love that about Orlando. No matter where you are, there will be a sign for Disney. It's a beautiful thing

Arrival
ok we got to Disney I think around 7ish. Check in was nice and smooth. We were on the 3rd floor of the 60s building at POP century. Not a good view, but for 50% off, what do you expect right? We unpacked and decided to hit downtown disney for some quick shopping. I hate the burden of buying stuff for people hanging over my head so I wanted to get it out of the way asap. It was also a nice introduction to the world Ryan has never seen. KEY PURCHASE: we bought our mickey top hats. I knew it would be important for the next day
This was one of only a few times we took the bus because I didn't want to drive at night my first day there. We got back to the hotel about midnight and went to bed.

Day 1, THE BIG DAY!
We got up bright and early and hit the food court for a quick breakfast. The park officially opened at 8am, but we got to the park about 7:45 and got right in. I covered his eyes and took him by the hand into Main Street. I took him dead center(and he LOVES christmas trees) and opened his eyes, gave him a kiss, and said Merry Christmas. Ugh, I'm gonna start crying typing this.

The photographer wasn't scheduled until 8:30 so I had to stall. We took a walk towards the castle holding hands when we were stopped by a cast member wearing a blue collared shirt. She asked if we were staying out of trouble and we said no, of course not. We talked with her and it was great since we had time to kill. So far everything was going great. You all know how high my expectations were for this trip and deep down I hoped that Disney would just push me over the edge and that they would do it without being prompted Once again, Disney delivered. It turns out she was a member of the DREAM SQUAD!!! AAAAHHHH
Since I'm a cast member, I'm not eligible, BUT Ryan and I do not live together and therefore the prize could be awarded to him. We were asked if we had any free time and were told to be at expedition hall at 1:20 for a private meet n greet with a Disney Princess! wwwooo!!!

We had to cut the talking a little short because we were gonna be late for the 300 dollar photo session LOL. I went to our meeting place and we met our photographer. He was a really nice guy. He told us when he interviewed for Disney he wore a daffy duck tie and told them daffy and bugs were his favorite characters! He's been with Disney for 15 years...go figure!

 

[zulemara]

Day 1 continued:

So we met with the photographer and went around the park getting pictures. We started in front of the train station at the entrance then went into a back area of the expedition hall then continued down main street. It's funny because when you take pictures with your own camera, most people don't notice and walk in front of you. If you have a photopass picture taken, usually people pay attention but some people are still idiots and will walk in the way. But let me tell you, when you have a photographer following you around, people MOVE. haha I love it!

We continued down main street and I told the photographer I wanted to give him the ring in front of the partners statue. He suggested the rose garden, which you can only stand in if you are doing this photo package, but after seeing how the pictures turned out, I'm glad I stuck to my guns. Call me cheesy, but giving a ring in front of the "partners" statue just hits home with me. I know it has nothing to do with my plight, but it's one of my favorite spots in all of WDW.
So I stopped in front of the statue and gave him the rings. I was sort of hoping there would be more people in the park, but it was DEAD! So much for making a big thing out of it! I have NO fear of crowds and was planning on using that to really get him, but oh well. I don't really remember what I said, but giving him the rings right then, and in front of that statue was a great way to start the trip. The photopass photographers around us clapped and we continued on our way. I was VERY pleased with the pictures we got. I really hope we end up in the running for best romantic photo because for me, a couple of those photos represent everything I love about Disney. ::wipes eyes:: ok enough crying...damnit I'm emotional about this stuff

After the photographer left us it was about 9:10 and we took off for the rides. I can't explain this at all, but we WALKED onto everything!!!! We got onto every major ride. I was SHOCKED! It actually got to the point where I went "now what???" Dare I say we were nearly bored at Magic Kingdom 2 days before x-mas. We did manage to find things to do and really take the time to enjoy the park. My plan all along was to make sure we got on the rides but also to make sure we weren't rushing. I wanted to just relax and stroll in the park. Disney puts so much effort into the environment at Christmas and I think sometimes people just ignore it because they just HAVE to get on the rides.
We saw the xmas parade, the castle show, the castle lighting ceremony, Spectro, and Wishes. With all that going on, we kept pretty busy especially since you have to site down 1.5 hours before the parade for a spot on the curb.

It was a beautiful 82 degrees and sunny. It was extremely foggy in the morning when we had our pictures taken, but it cleared up by the end and I actually like the aura it puts around the castle in some of the pictures.

That's all for now, Day 2 which features Dinner at V & A's and a fireworks cruise will be up next!
__________________
1995 first trip to WDW(10 years old)
2002 Second trip to WDW (18 years old, Senior in High School) marched in MK with the band
Aug 2004-May 2005 College Program Cast member :March 2005 3 day Disney Cruise
November 2005 Chaperoned high school band trip to Disney
March 2006 7 day spring break Disney Cruise
December 22nd 2007-Jan 3rd 2008 was the most magical vacation I've ever been on!
visit my Trip Report!

 

[zulemara]

So where was I? aahh yes Day 2! The big day in terms of $$$$

We woke up at a reasonable hour and were once again greeted by a delightfully sunny, warm day. I usually hate Christmas for a number of reasons, but I just can't be pissy when it's 80 degrees on Xmas eve! We went to Downtown Disney to get some shopping out of the way. I always hate that part, so I try to get all the gifts for people taken care of early in the trip.

We got back to the hotel by 2 I think, took a little nap, then showered and got dressed for dinner at V&A's. I had arranged to be taken by luxury car through Mears since we had to be all dressed up. The car arrived at 4:30 and took us to the Grand Floridian. Ryan is a huge Xmas tree guy, so his eyes absolutely lit up when he saw the gigantic tree in the middle of the lobby. There was a pianist playing and kids everywhere. We had to get some directions, but eventually ended up at V&As. We were told to arrive by 5 and they would seat us even though they don't serve until 5:30. That was wrong. We ended up just letting them know we were there and then walking around. We stopped at one of those handy photopass kiosks to check out the photos we had thus far.

5:30 came and we entered the restaurant. It was absolutely amazing. With all the hustle and bustle outside, it was silent inside. It was very very sound proof! I don't have the menu in front of me to elaborate on what we ate, but needless to say it was all fantastic. I had been trying to decide if we wanted to do wine tasting or not, knowing it was an extra 60 dollars a person. In the end, I figured hey, I'm on vacation so screw it, we're doin it. It was a good decision. We had wine from the top 100 wine list to go with dishes I can only begin to understand. I had arranged ahead of time for the harpist to learn the Moulin Rouge version of Come What May, which is our song. He did, and he played it during his 3rd or 4th set. It really couldn't have been any better. The staff was well aware we were celebrating our 2 year anniversary and treated us very well. I had ordered a cake ahead of time as well and OMG was it GOOD! We ate that thing for the next 3 days in our room. mmmm so tasty! Perhaps one of the coolest things was that there was another gay couple at the table just behind us celebrating their 10 year anniversary. Given it was still early in the trip, I think it really helped Ryan understand that literally everywhere you go, you're probably going to encounter a gay person. I wonder how the fundamentalists handle WDW LOL. Anyway, that's a different subject

I made the mistake of neglecting to tell our server that we had the fireworks cruise to catch right after dinner, so we had to sort of rush through desert, but it was fantastic nonetheless. We paid our bill(500 even with tip) and went on our way to the fireworks cruise dock. It took a couple tries, but we finally found the dock. The driver took my CC (CHA CHING there goes another 300) and off we went. They take you on a nice tour of the lake and place you in a great area to watch the electrical pagent. He got thrown off when the music on the boat started about 4 min early and it was the wrong version of wishes! He hurried over to his spot on the lake, and then at the scheduled time, the music started with the correct version. Whew! The view was fantastic and we got a couple good pictures. I really like the holiday edition of Wishes, maybe even better than the original. It was such a nice night, there was lots of snacks and pop on board, and the driver was very nice.

We got back to the dock, forced the driver to take a tip(3x rejection rule) and caught our luxury car for the way back to POP Century. We were pretty tired, so we went to bed early knowing we would be getting up at the crack of dawn to hit MK on Christmas Day.

So that's the end of day 2. I'll tell ya, after dining at vic and A's, I can barely eat Perkins LOL. We both enjoy dining out and once we move down there for good, I'm sure it's something we'll be doing quite a bit as long as the budget can handle it. It was a great day and seriously, the dinner was worth every penny. The cruise was great, maybe a little over priced, but it fit really well with the night and I hadn't planned on letting him see Wishes the night before, so it was supposed to be his first time seeing it. Oh well, live and learn! I will update the post with pics as soon as I can.

 

[OrlandoMike]

Great TR so far!

 

[I<3EvilQueen]

I believe I saw your pics on the Romantic catagory. I loved them.

 

[zulemara]

I believe I saw your pics on the Romantic catagory. I loved them.

And I'm kicking myself for not choosing one where it's a little more obvious I'm giving him a ring

There are SSSOOO many more pictures though. I think we took 450 total! I was hoping I'd be able to scan the pictures they put in our "engagement" photo album, but the pages are glued shut with the pictures inside! Sneaky little...

I might have to break down and buy the CD from the engagement photos. eeek 300 dollars is not cheap, but I want to be able to reproduce them. I realized my family doesn't have any pictures of me and Ryan up so I need to change that!

More will come, I've just been really busy. I just found out I get to go in June courtesy of my best friend's parents! hurray!

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Great TR so far!

DITTO!

 

[TuckandStuiesMom]

Mundania's been handing me a lil-bit-o the old character-building lately but I WILL get my trip report posted SOMETIME. PROMISE!

*******************************************************
INSTALLMENT ONE:
Friday night – The boys and I head down to Phoenix in the BIG crew-cab truck (Total luxurious extravagance given gas prices) The stereo is blasting, we are chattering, and the 180 mi. trip passes surprisingly fast. We stop at Walgreen’s on the outskirts of the metroplex for rope, Ike and Mikes, sunscreen, and a few other essentials. The air is INCREDIBLE – slightly warm & something fragrant is blooming in the surrounding desert. I take it as a good sign.
We arrive at my daughter’s house (she’s out on the town but has agreed to take us to the airport in the morning) and settle in for the night. She has two little dogs – both of which are THRILLED to use the three new available humans alternately as trampolines and cuddle pillows/chew toys. Not the most restful of nights but HEY! It was Free!

Saturday – Around 3 am, the grrlz arrive home. Since our flight leaves at 6:00 and it is a WHOLE LOT easier to keep a rock star up late than to get her up early, I make the tactical decision to get the boys up and head to the airport. Needless to say, we are first in line to check our odd assortment of luggage. At the gate before 4:30, we try to snooze a little before getting on the plane.
The flight was uneventful. We all had something good to read. I hunkered down with The Kite Runner and boys had a couple magazines – Time and Wired. Some people I know have come to despise air travel anymore. I still love it -- Is there anything better than an opportunity to read a really good book in one sitting?
One interesting (to me anyway) observation – my youngest son actually likes Southwest’s little snack boxes. Apparently 100 calorie pack chocolate chip cookie shavings are one of his preferred noshes. Who knew??? Something he has in common with anorexic models everywhere…difference is, he eats his, mine and his brother’s in one sitting.
We arrive at MCO and it looks like rain is imminent. YIKES! We still have to put our tent up when we get to Fort Wilderness. We scamper down to Magical Express, our bus is waiting and we are ON OUR WAY! Woo-Hoo!
Our check-in is uneventful and the good folks at FW haul us (and our tent) to our campsite. I was hoping to get a space in the 100 loop – that didn’t happen. But it’s all good. We’re in the 400 loop at its closest point to the petting zoo and marina. SWEET!
We get the tent up in about 15 minutes and it is PALATIAL – 10 X16, two rooms, windows all the way around – I LOVE IT (biggest and best thing I ever ebayed—Woo-hoo again!). We make sure the rain-fly is on straight and tight -- because it is actually starting to spit a little rain down on us. Right about then our luggage arrives – so we go ahead and get our beds inflated and sleeping bags spread out. Looks pretty dang home-y.
We eat a totally yummy buffet dinner at Trail’s End and then head over to EPCOT for a quick look-around. Funniest thing – at Club Cool, we encounter a fella from Italy who is encouraging newbies to try the Beverly. (That is SO my favorite thing to do but it’s even better with the authentic Italian accent offering encoragement). We wander around some more but head back to FW pretty early because we are somewhat sleep-deprived from the night before.
We fall asleep pretty early to the gentle patter of raindrops on the tent roof. In all the excitement though, I forget to change out my flip-flops for socks and sneakers before heading to EPCOT. WHAT WAS I THINKING???? I WILL live to regret this lapse of judgement in the ensuing days.
Tomorrow: Meeting up with the rest of the crew; Princess Aurora on the run, and Heh, Heh, Heh.

 

[I<3EvilQueen]

PART 1
We left Atlanta around 6am Sunday morning on the 17th. We stopped by Waffle House for our Trip Fuel and off we were to the Wettest Place on Earth

I'll apologize now for the lack of pictures as with TS Fay I didn't get many, and then when I got home I learned that my router was dead.

SUN - 17th
We pulled into Saratoga Springs about 1pm. Check in was longer than I have ever seen, but then we usually come in Feb. So I don't know it if it was the time of year or if a Magical Express just unloaded. We got to our room around 2pm and we headed over to Typhoon Lagoon.

Rode Crushin' Gusher, the Storm Slides, Keelhall Falls, and Castaway Creek (where I think I took a short nap). Then we headed over to the Wave Pool. I left that after I kept getting elbowed by others, once in the neck.

We were back at the Resort around 4:30pm to shower and rest up for our ADR at Artist Point. I was really looking forward to the dinner, as it is billed as one of the premire dinners. I am happy to report that dinner was great. I had the Portabello Mushroom Soup and it was to die for, I even asked for the recipee. I had the Buffalo steak as my entree, and enjoyed it with a nice glass of wine. Since the meal was so rich and bad for my tummy, I opted for the Sugar Free berry and Muscat Wine sauce desert.

MON 18th
Today was our Hollywood Studios day. The lines here were more than I am used to, again we usually come in Feb. We headed to Toy Story Mania first thing. We got there at 9:30 and the fast passes were already for 2pm. We got a fast past and got in the stand by line. 40 min wait. Loved Toy Story Mania, it was better than I expected. We rode: Toy Story Midway Mania (twice), GMR, Rockin' Roller Coaster, ToT, Backlot Tour (where I created a new character of a snotty, oily Disney Executive that would but a spin on things, I was this character for most of the day and was cracking up my friends), Star Tours, Animation Station (drew a 1937 Goofy), Playhouse Disney (for the first time), and Fantasmic.

We had lunch at the ABC Commasary, and Dinner at 50's Prime Time.

It did start to rain some today, but it was off and on. There were alot of concern from guests and from Disney about TS Fay hitting the next day. We even got back to our resort to a message on our phone about the change in park hours (all parks were opening at 8am the next day, with extended hours at AMC Theatres and Disney Quest) and that Disney would monitor the weather and make decisions if needed.

 

[I<3EvilQueen]

Part 2

TUES 19th
Woke up to a very cloudy gray morning. We packed our ponchos and we were off to the Magic Kingdom. The bus was nearly empty, and when we got to the park we were shocked to see how dead the place was. The fear of TS Fay must have driven all the people stay in as it was fewer people than we usually see in Feb.

Even with there being very few people there as I was wearing my Dis shirt as TS Fay messed up my wardrobe choices for the day. I was stopped by a family of DISsers that were very much awake from all the sugar they had consumed at Chef Mickey's that morning. They were nice but too much for me as I hadn't even had caffinee yet. I can't remember their names as they were saying them way too quick for me to hear and remember.

Every thing was walk on. We were done with Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland (riding just about everything) and we were done with those lands before lunch. Peter Pan's Flight was still like 40 min, of course that ride is always long. But even Dumbo was walk on.

The rides I experienced for the first time were: Dumbo, Magic Carpets, The Riverboat, and Barn Stormer.

The Kingdom was prepared for a Tropical Storm as all the signs were roped down and tied off so they couldn't swing.

We had lunch at the Columbia Harbor House (my first time). After lunch it finally started to drizzle and mist, and the park began to fill up some more. Finally about 5pm or so it started to finally be poncho weather and just continued to rain more throughout the evening.

We had dinner at the Crystal Palace (my first time) and it was at this time that the winds and the rain really picked up (around 7pm). It was a nice dinner, very LOUD, but nice. I got pictures with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeorye, but was dissed by Piglet. He totally saw us and didn't stop, so I vowed revenge and tired to order pork for the rest of the trip in protest.

To our amazement Wishes did go on. Althought it was changed up some. Tinkerbell didn't fly and the lower flying fireworks like the ones during the genie scene were not shot off either.

So all in all it was still a rather full day at the Magic Kingdom, as we were back at the resort around 11pm.

 

[I<3EvilQueen]

PART 3

WED - Aug 20th

Rain all day again. This was our Animal Kingdom day. We wanted to make sure we rode every wheel and spoke ride at WDW so we rode Triceratop Spin for the first time.

We had lunch at the Yak and Yeti (counter service area). Not a place to choose when it is raining as there are very few covered areas to sit. We found a seclueded table across from the resturant. It was the "garden area" of Drinkwala near the river. It had a table umbrella so it was nice.

I actually enjoyed Animal Kingdom in the rain, as the colors popped out and the animals loved it, so they were out more. I even noticed more of the details in the walkways because they were wet, than I ever had before.

We had dinner at the Tusker House. I think we were there the same day as Scopa (as his post was up the next day on it). I wish I could give it the rave reviews that he did, but I thought it was just ok. Boma is alot better and more choices. The thing that I found the worst about Tusker House was the amount of plates that just weren't clean, it was alot. I think that put me off a bit. I am not talking about streaks from the dish washer, but food particles still on them. I was completely grossed out when I reached for a bowl and underneath there was still a large amount of food on the bottom. barf....

After the Animal Kingdom, I visited one of my favorite bartenders on property and chatted with him briefly. Then I came back to change into dry clothes, only to head back out into the rain to shop at DTD and head over to Pleasure Island. We talk about going every trip but never seem to make it there, so we finally did. I got to experience the Comedy Warehouse and the Adventure's Club for the first time.

I really enjoyed them both. I wish we had stayed to see a second showing at the Comedy Warehouse as the one we saw didn't seem to be their best. I used to do Improv so I know how it changes based on the showing.

I really enjoyed the Adventurer's Club. I could see myself hanging out in there and being a regular. I loved the design of the place and the decor. The shows were fun, if not packed.

And I was shocked to run into Rob (rpmdfw). I was stunned that someone recognized me from my picture even though I was wet, unshaved, and had on glasses. I am shy at first when I meet somebody so, I apologize now, if I came off short.. But I was just stunned that you recognized me. But it was nice to chat with you.

 

[rpmdfw]

PART 3
I really enjoyed the Adventurer's Club. I could see myself hanging out in there and being a regular. I loved the design of the place and the decor. The shows were fun, if not packed.

And I was shocked to run into Rob (rpmdfw). I was stunned that someone recognized me from my picture even though I was wet, unshaved, and had on glasses. I am shy at first when I meet somebody so, I apologize now, if I came off short.. But I was just stunned that you recognized me. But it was nice to chat with you.

No one should be shocked to run into me at the Adventurers Club! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

You didn't come off as short. I thought you were tired and tired of being rained on. (and perhaps a bit scared of the wierdo who ran across the Main Salon to intrude on your vacation ) It was nice chatting with you as well!

 

[OrlandoMike]

Why do I have the feeling Rob sits at the door of the AC with index cards with everyone's pics on them looking for newbees?