Walt Disney World 1/20/07-1/24/07 Trip Report (First trip in 6 years)

[SpaceMounatin]

Well, I made it to Florida all right. My Uncle Mike (CheshireFigment) picked me up from the Orlando Airport and drove out to his house. We ate at a Chinse Resturant for dinner and continued on going to his house. By the time we got here it was 8:30 so, we did nothing. His house is amazing. It's all Disney stuff and it's beautifull all together. I also must mentiont he 52 inches tall Figment doll! I even have my own room . Bad thing is, he has two cats and this is there room (the bed is covered with cat hair) and I'm allergic to cats! My eyes are itchy now but it's all good. So tomorrow, the Magic Kindom!

-Dainan "I'm very excited" Rafferty

 

[SpaceMounatin]

Day: 2

MAGIC KINGDOM

My uncle came in and woke me up around 8 and we then headed over for breakfast in his town. After that we headed off to the Magic Kingdom. I got in for free because my Uncle is a Cast Member, so it works well. Just to give you a heads up, I was in Tokyo Disneyland two months ago, so my mind is still on a TDL map and view of the park. Thus, it was nice to see Main Street with no roof. We go in and head over to Stitch's Great Escape.

Stitch's Great Escape was a walk on so that was good. The preshows were nice (I still prefer XS-Tech). I loved seeing Skippey in the Teleportation tube in the pre show (Skippey was originally in The ExtraTERRORestrial Alien Encounter). We went into the main chamber and ended up geting the second row. Needless to say, we were also in an auditorium with a bunch of little kids. When the OTSR or, "Scanning Units" came down, I sat up and once it finally locked, I sat back. My uncle sat all the way up and shrugged his shoulders as high as he could (He always does, I don't know why).

The show starts, and Stitch spat at me, which was pretty cool. The lights went out and, nothing. We sat there listening to him run around. The he's sniffing behind you. Eats a chili dog and burps. And it smells really, REALLY, REALLY bad! I felt bad for the little kid behind me. He got pretty freaked out (along with alot of little kids). The part where he jumps on you, hurt me a bit. Overall, it was a dark, smelly, uncomfortable, cool ride. After riding this though, I really want Alien Encounter back.

After Stitch we went over to Space Mountain. Unlike Tokyo, it was open! We got in line,w hich took no more than 20 minutes. We chose Side A (Alpha) because it had a quicker line. I sat in the last row, and my uncle sat infront of me. The ride got very rough, but I got alot of ejector so it was great. Also, I'm addicted to SM so it rocked my socks! We Fastpassed Space Mountain and went over to the Tomorrowland Transit Athourity. I love this ride, just sit back and relax.

After TTA we went over to the Pavillion because we had reservations. I got a bacon cheeseburger and we headed on over to Stitch again. I felt that I didn't feel everything, so I did it again and sat back this time so the harness pushed down me. Well...I felt alot more when it wasn'ttouching me,it jus turned out that the attraction was missing that much. After that, we went over to Space Mountain with our fastpasses. This time we chose side B (Otagem). It was a lot smoother, and I got front row. It was really a great ride!

After Spcae we headed over to Mickey's Phillar Magic. I must say I was very suprised. I really liked it. And there were some effects in it, that worked better thatn Stitch's. After that we went over to the Haunted Mansion. Up untill now, I realized I forgot to mention that my Uncle is in an ECV. We get in the handicapped line where the best CM (He stayed in character the whole time) I've ever seen took us through a back hallway into the Foyer. The ride was great, minus the fact that the hallway after the Stretching Gallery was jam packed with people. But, we got an E-stop in the Mirror hallway so that was really cool.

After Mansion, we headed on over to Big Thunder Mountain. We got in ECV line this time becaus emy Uncle knew there was a bonus here. We bring the ECV up to the Unload platform and get in the first row. BTMR is Double stationed, and you always end up on the oposite side, so we got to ride twice! Now, BTMR was a bit rougher and wilder than the one in Tokyo Disneyland, but it was still a fun ride. And my Uncle is a big man, so I was getting major airtime.

After BTMR we went into Adventureland and saw the new, Pirates Of The Carribean! I must say, the new effects and Jack Sparrow were amazing! The mist screan effect with Davey Jones was fantastic! And Jack Sparrow looked real. It was very good, I am pleased. After that we got a Dole Whip. Now, a Dole whip may look like Ice Cream, but it's not. I don't know what it is, all I know is that it is really good! I then took a solo trip in the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House....meh. Next we did the Jungle Cruise. That was a really cool ride. Next, The Enchanted Tiki Room. I loved the original show, this one...not as much.

After that we took an other trip through the Haunted Mansion and went to dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. It was good food, and every time a character came up to me, I ducked and said "Don't hit me!", then I'd say, "Pound it" and they did ! After that we went over to Space Mountain, but something happened. We get to the line and there not letting peopel in. I asked them what happened, they said it broke so I looked at my uncle and said, "We are going to TTA". We got on the TTA and go throught Space Mountain. And not to our suprise the lights were on! Here's the suprise! It was evacuated and my camera battery died while I was in there . But, wow! I had no idea how illuminated this room is.

I than took a solo ride on barnstormer (hehe). After that we took an other trip on Phillmar and went over to see Wishes. Wishes was an awesome firework show. There's really no way to describe it, other than, "This is better than Illuminations!" It was that good. After that my uncle and i walked around trying to find T-shirts, and then we went back home.

-Dainan "Now, off to Epcot" Rafferty

 

[blue_river]

You got in free - - now there's some pixie dust

It does hurt when Stitch jumps on ya - too much imo.

Waiting to hear about Epcot

 

[steffali]

How is the weather down there???

 

[SpaceMounatin]

The wather is great, I will have the Epcot TR up soon. In summary: Dreams really do come true at Disney...at least from my point of view!

-Dainan "I had my first..." Rafferty

 

[SpaceMounatin]

Day 3:

Epcot

My Uncle and I arrived at Epcot a bit after 10. The parking lot wasn't that filled, so almost every thingwas a walk on. We walked in and I took a solo ride on Spaceship Earth because my Uncle needed to drop off something at First Aid. I like this ride. On the decent back to the station we had an E-stop for someone in a wheel chair. It was pretty cool because it was on a pretty steep angle. After that we went over to Mission: Space We got Orange and we get into the pod. WOW! That'sall I can say. The G-forces were insane.

After that we went over to Test Track. I told my uncle it seemed obnormally quiet. Than we hear an announcment saying it was broken. But we then saw cars going by, so we got inline. 10 minutes later we weren't moving so we bailed. We then took a boat over to Germany. Walked to Japan and ate lunch at the Yokitori House, were I ordered Beef Curry and spoke Japanese which the CM's seemed really pleased with. We then checked out the Toy Museum. I looked at something and said to myself, "Nonikude" in English: "What is this?", I always say that. And the CM in there looked up and said in a very suprised tone, "Did you just speek Japanese?" I looked out her and said, "Noni?....Hi, sooyi masam!" In English: "What?...Yes, sorry!"

As you can probably tell, I like Japan! After that we went over to Journey Into The Imagination. We rode it twice. This was my first time in The Imagination Institute (In America anyway) so I finally saw Figment in person. For my Uncle, that was great. For me, it was great. I really enjoyed it. I wish I could just see Dream Finder the next time I go on it. Afterwards I went in Honey I Shrunk The Audience for the first time. I didn't like the ridiculously long Kodak presented Pre-show. The main show was great, and the effectys actually got me. When the mice got out I actually screamed, really loudly too. I thought it would just be vibrations, not something touching my legs.

We then went and got fastpasses for Soarin' and went on Living With The Land...meh, I could of lived with out this. After words, we went over to The Living Seas, with Nemo (the name just slipped my mind). It was good, I enjoyed it. After that we went over to Test Track. We actually walked right on and we got our own car (because of the ECV) and it was my first time riding in daylight. It was great as usual and after that I went on again. Walked right on again and enjoyed it.

After that, it was time to ride Soarin'. The walk to the ride, is a ride in itself. It is so long that there aren't even Switchbacks, and it looks like it'll never end. We got row 1 of isle B (meaning, we were in the best seats possible). It was amazing. It really felt like that we were flying. It probably was on of the best attractions in any Disney park, hands down.

We then walked over and ate dinner in Merchesh in Morracow. The food was really good and the resturant was really beautifull and I was right next to the Belly Dancer! After dinner we went on over to Universe Of Energy. We just got into the last show that was about 75% filled. The ride was long and slow. But I liked it. It was kind of like Countdown To Extinction (Dinasour) but slower. We got into the room with the radio of time and the final showing of Bill Nye and when they were halfway through the jepardy screen, the screan turned off and the music kept going, and we were still sitting. My uncle then said, "I think something is worng". Then they made the announcment that the ride broke down. They than said, "Just wait a moment, we are going to get a mechanic to evac" And I shouted, "YES!" at the top of my lungs! And everyone looked at me like I was crazy.

This is where dreams really do come true at Disney. I've always wanted an evac. The ops were asking if anyone knew what the final answer was. And talked to us and then a mechanic came by and opened each door, car by car. We got out and we walked around the cars and then through the room to an Emergency Exit! I was excited by this point, and then it rained, hard! We then did Mission: Space again. Orange too. It was just as fun as before.

After that we did Mealstorm and found every hidden mickey. After Mealstorm we watched Illuminations. The torchs on ourside of the Lagoon, werent going on. I always loved Illuminations so this was nice. But Wishes is better. After that we went home, and I typed this Trip Report (half asleep) and now I'm off to sleep!

-Dainan "MK/AK/MGM tomorrow" Rafferty

 

[blue_river]

Day 3:

Epcot

Afterwards I went in Honey I Shrunk The Audience for the first time. I didn't like the ridiculously long Kodak presented Pre-show. The main show was great, and the effectys actually got me. When the mice got out I actually screamed, really loudly too. I thought it would just be vibrations, not something touching my legs.

So did I!!!!! I was not prepared for that at all.

Great installment

 

[SpaceMounatin]

So did I!!!!! I was not prepared for that at all.

Great installment

It's one thing to see someone do that. It's an other to see your 16 year old punk rock nephew do it!

-Dainan "I have no shame!" Rafferty

 

[blue_river]

It's one thing to see someone do that. It's an other to see your 16 year old punk rock nephew do it!

-Dainan "I have no shame!" Rafferty

good point

 

[SpaceMounatin]

Day: 4

Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Disney's MGM Studios, Old Town
4 parks in under 10 hours
5 credits

My Uncle and I wake up around 7 and go out for breakfast. And then went over to the Magic Kingdom. We walked over to Space Mountain (are plan) and got in line. Well, we just kept walking and walking and we get to the station and see, about 6 people per side. So we walk over to Side B (Otagem) and we walk right ono the last two rows. That's right, we didn't stop walking until we were in our seats. We were all cleared and gone. After a fun, airtime filled ride, we talked to a Cast Member about the upcoming refurb, and then I ran around to Side A (Alpha). Once again, not stopping untill I was seated. I got the 4the row which was still rough, but not as rough for side A as usual. It was still fun and great airtime. After that we headed over to Animal Kingdom.

We get to Animal Kingdom and head straight to Expidition Everest. The wait said 20 minutes, but we waited no longer than 10 minutes. We get row number 17 (AKA: last row). We are locked and clear and off we go. Up the first and around, and my heart is racing, I'm so excited. The up the big decsent. Allready this is my favorite coaster from Vekoma. Crest the lift and turn and then into the final incline. Where we stop and wait. Next thing you know is your going backwards. I didn't know it went this fast in backwards, or this smooth or that there were dips inside. Then we stop. Take a look at the Yeti shadow, and then we get pulled out the mountain by the front of the train and get some good airtime. Around and back in to the mountain making a left, and then a double helix finally, untill your back in the mountian and make a left and take a good look at the Yeti. Wow, all I can say was wow. This was such a fantastic ride.

We then got back in line and did it again. This time we got the front row. It's even better in the front than anywhere else. We then Fastpassed it and ate lunch. After lunch, we went back and rode Everest in the front row. After that, we headed over to Primeval Whirl (cha-ching, double credit). We did the Dinasour side first. This was my first Revenchon Spinning Mouse, and it wasn't good. It was a bit on the rough side, and pretty bad. I then took a solo ride on the other Primeval Whirl (Everest side) and got compeltely pulvorized! It beat me up pretty bad, and it really hurt. I will never go on this again, and this earns the spot as "Worst Disney Attraction".

We then went over to Countdown to Ex...errrrr... Dinasour, which was a 5 minute wait. I haven't been on this ride since 2001, so I knew what I was expecting. But I just rode Indiana Jones in Tokyo Disney Sea 2 months ago, and I loved it. So I was looking foward to this. We finish the preshow, and it turned out it broke. 5 minutes later it's fixed. 5 minutes later, we are on (they were using one station at this point). The ride wasn't that good, and too loud. In fact, I didn't like it. Which is a shame, because this ride has really good potential.

We then went over and rode Everest again! In the front row. We just can't get enough. After that, I took a walk-on on Kali River Rapids. I didn 't get too wet (no suprise to me, I never get wet on Rapid rides ). After that we did, It's To Be A Bug. I liked it. The effects were really good, but I didn't like getting poked by stingers. After me screaming in a 3-D ride, again ( ), we went to Kilamijaro Safari. I just loive this actraction. It's just so neet, but less animals seemed to be up and about today. After Kali, we ran to Everest again, and got the last row this time. Than we got out of there and ate dinner at Boma's.

Boma's is te buffet in the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I loved it. The food was great, the CM's were friendly and the environment was good. After that we headed over to Disney's MGM Studios to see Fantasmic. The stadium was packed by six, that we weren't up to the top of the hill until 6:40. We finally got into the wheelchair lot and stayed there. I've never seen Fantasmic, so I was excited. The show was great, and I had a great view. It was worth seeing.

After Fantasmic we left the World and started driving back home, when my Uncle desides to stop at Old Town. We've driven past it everyday, but this was the only time we saw it open. He pulled over and sat in the car, while I ran in and got my two credits. First was Windstorm, built by SDC. It was okay. I've been one of these allready (but this used the old trains). It was rough, but allright...It's just a credit. Then I went and went on the Dragon Wagon (kiddie coaster). I have no shame, but hey, it was my 106th coaster credit. After that, I met my uncle and we got out of there.

-Dainan "Tomorrow, MGM and Flight back home!" Rafferty

 

[blue_river]

I can't believe how many times you went on EE!!! We didn't even try this ride...but definately on my list next time around.

at your comments re: It's A Bug's Life!!!!!!!

I guess you weren't sitting in the right seat on Kali

Thanks for the update

 

[Gregory]

Thanks for the trip report. I like the price FREE. WOW.

 

[SpaceMounatin]

Day: 5

Disney's MGM Studios, Lunch with an Imagineer, Flight back home

My Uncle and I left his house around 8:30, after packing my stuff and throwing it in the car. We ate breakfast at the Cracker Barrel and continued going to WDW. We got a good space in MGM and went straigh to Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. Uncle Mike, got two handicap passes for it in 20 minutes. So I went in for a solo ride.

I noticed a few things, the main set of swithbacks (outside) were blocked off by a big wall, and the inside switchbacks seemed to be gone. Anyone, I go through the preshow and get into the station. And I got the front row. I had my camera in my hand, and right at the tunnel, when we are about to launch. A CM comes up to me and said I had to put the camera away. I apologized and put it away. I had no idea video taping wasn't allowed on RNR. My mistake.

Anyway, we launch and go into the sidewinder element. It was a bit rougher than I remember. The whole ride was bumpy and...okay. Nothing to crazy over (from an enthusiests point of view). After that, my uncle was at the exit with the ECV and we got on again. They took us through a backstage hallway right into the loading platform. We got row 9. It was rough again this time...smooth for a Vekoma but still on the rougher side for Disney.

After that we went over to Tower Of Terror. Uncle Mike parked his ECV and we got inline. We walked right into the preshow. From the preshow and straight into the Elevator. Yes, another walk on. The ride was great (as usual), and the dropping was great. I got major airtime. I must say, this one blows Tokyo Disney Sea's out of the water! After that, we ran around and did it again. Next, we headed over to lunch.

Last night, my Uncle said he had tried to do the program, Lunch With An Imagineer, but he couldn't get it. Well, as we were walking over to
The Hollywood Brown Derby a woman comes up to my uncle and says, "Hi Michael" and kisses him on the cheak and looks at me ans says, "Dainan?". I introduce my self and what not. Now, at this point, I'm completely confused and asking my self, "What's going on?" She says, "I've seen your site and I can see how enthusiastic you are." My uncle looks at me and says, "Well, being I couldn't get "Lunch With An Imagineer" I figured I'd call one of my friends whos an Imagineer."

I was completely suprised. And amazed! Some of you guys may know who she is. Her name is Joni Van Buren. Now, something else I must say, Ever since Iw as 10 years old, my dream has been to be an Imagineer, so this was incredible! The meal itself was great, and the resturant was alot nicer than I thought.

So after an hour and a half long lunch, Joni had to go to a meeting and my uncle and I went over to Star Tours! We got the 2nd row on, you guessed it, a walk on. The ride was good. But it needs a refurb. After that we headed over to Muppet Vision 3D. This is the first 3D film that I haven't screamed in (Not couting Phillmar). It was good.

We then headed over to RNR and TOT. I took an other ride on RNR. It was a walk on. It was...okay. After that, we went on TOT. It was a walk on again. And this time, I was standing each time it went down ! Very good airtime. We then ran around and did it again. The CM's here were very good too. After our last ride on TOT we headed out to the parking lot.

We then drove straight to the Airport. We get there and hang out in the Delta Club room. My uncle is a member so I got to hang out up there. It was awesome. Very classy and nice. I really, did have the ultimate Disney vacation.

I then cought my flight back home and sat on the plane, all depressed and what not and finally landed in Newark Airport. I saw my mom and gave her a big hug. Stoped at Starbucks down the block from me and went home.

-Dainan "My vacation is now over " Rafferty

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I was thinking of doing a trip report, of what it is like to be escorting a 16 year old through Disney when you are 66 and slightly disabled. All I can say is was both a lot of fun but exhausting.

 

[alwayspooh]

Thanks so much for sharing. I really enjoyed reading you TR. Glad you had a great time. Even had a couple of good laughs. Hopefully we will be heading down there this year.

 

[SpaceMounatin]

Some pictures:

-Dainan "That's all for now" Rafferty

 

[blue_river]

Looks like you had a great trip with your Uncle

Thanks for sharing the pics too!

 

[disneyaddicted]

Another great trip report, I understood the rides on this TR, your Tokyo TR I had to leave alot to the imagination. I really like all the pics. Thanks for sharing those. Your Uncle really hooked you up with Disney. That has got to be the coolest thing ever.