We are here, we are here....August 2008

[Castaway Dave]

Day 1: We arrive Sunday, August 10th, 3:30pm. Lots of time Right! Weather just wonderful. Where's the heat, where's the humidity?? We checked in by a great cast member named Matthew. We asked for an upgrade. Didn't get one but got a room just one door down from a river view in building 6. We mention we were meeting friends and he set their room just 3 doors down from ours. Still lots of time, right? Now we need to get supplies. We ran down to the Winn DIxie and got breakfast foods. TIP: don't buy spoons or forks or creamers or suger. You can pick those up at the food court. Still lots of time right. Our friends were not schedule to arrive until 2 hours after us. So as we were helding back to the room with our supplies, we ran into our friends. Is it that late??? So here's the plan. Meet at the Poly at 9PM for the Water show and watch the fireworks form the beach. TIP: the Poly pipes in the music during the show.... yes they do, but unless you are at the Bar or in the Bathroom by the pool, you can't hear it. Greatt show anyway. Plenty on time, plenty on time. So we rush to the Magic Kingdom. It's 7:30 PM. TIP: if you are a Disney Guest, park your car at the Poly and ride the Monorail over. No crowds.

We arrive at Disney World, still time, still time but we are starving. Where are the crowds, where are the crowds? The park is, in Disney standards, virtually empty. We run to Casey's and get a quick Hot Dog. TIP: Don't forget the free melted cheese for your dog or Fries. MMMMM good. YIKES, it's 8:45. Where did the time go. Hop on the Monorail to guest's resort. TIP: After the fireworks, use this monorail instead of the normal monrail. Takes you to the parking lot via the resort hotels. Faster and no one on it.

We arrive just in time for the water show..... Boring. At 10pm we witnessed the spectacular Disney World Fireworks. Would have been better if we could have heard the music. That's the end of Day 1. Really hoped we could have rode something but very productive none the less.

Day 2: Monday Aug 11th. Arrived Epcot, 8:30. Where are the crowds, where are the Crowds. Great day, not that hot. Cool breeze every now and then. We witnessed the rope drop and headed straight to Soarin'. What a great ride. It was our first time. After Soarin' rode all the rides at the Land. By 11am we were starving. Ate a quick bite at the Land and headed for the Seas. Did I tell you that we were trying to follow a touring plan from the Unofficial Guide but there were just no crowds. After lunch we headed for the Seas and rode everything there. We picked up a FP for Test Track then we stopped by the Cool Station to sample the Coke products from other countrys. TIP: stay away from the soda from Italy. We then headed to World Showcase. After two movies and several countries we were starving again. Where's the heat, where's the heat. Yes it was hot but not unbearable as I was lead to believe it would be. We ate at a counter service in Norway then headed for Test Track. The stand by line was as short as the fastpass line. Where are the crowds, where are the crowds? After Test track we thought we would stop by Mission Space. No way we could get in there without a fastpass, right? WRONG. Walked right in and rode. Where are the crowds,where are the crowds? Well it's 7:30pm and we are exhausted so we decided to head backto the Resort (FYI: POFQ) and take a dip in the pool. Great idea, right? Wrong!! the water was freezing. Where is the heat, where is the heat.

Bottom line. The first 2 days have been spectacular. Small crowds and great weather. Will it hold up? Only time will tell. Heading to Animal Kindom Tuesday, Aug 12. Will keep you updated. Lets keep those fingers crossed for no crowds and great weather. Bye.

 

[MousekaMaddi]

wishing we were there to see the no crowds! Have fun!!

 

[PrincessDisney96]

Nice report!

 

[pixiedustforever]

Thanks for the report from a fellow Texan -
We are leaving for the World on Friday ...

Hoping the heat & humidity stay here!

"Pixiedustforever"

 

[Reedfamilyrulz]

I'm in. I hope the nice weather and small crowds stays in effect for our arrival in 40 days - a girl can dream can't she?!

 

[angela3676]

No crowds, nice weather. WOW!!!!! I would sell a kidney to be able to experience that. Well, maybe not my kidney but "a" kidney. I'm glade you're having such a good time. Can't wait to read more. Where are the pictures, where are the pictures!

 

[Castaway Dave]

Day 3: Animal Kingdom. Arrived 10mins before opening. After bag check and through the gates the park had already opened. We headed straight for Expedition Everest. It was my first time. Went straight through, the line never paused then we were on. It was really great. It was not as nearly as jerky as I expected. But there was one disappointment. I never saw the Yeti. The DW saw it, she thinks. According to some of the websites I have read is that the Yeti has been broken almost since it was created. That they gave up fixing it and instead dimed the lights and added a lot of strobe lights to give you the impression of movement. Many of the people we talked afterward also said they missed the Yeti. After Everest we headed to Primeval Whirl (Now that's a jerky ride. I felt a little dizzy after that one) Still no lines. For some reason it always seems hotter in the morning. By afternoon we start getting the cool breezes. Off to Dinosaur. Now that ride is an intense ride. After DINOSAUR the time was approaching 11am so we headed to the Nemo Musical. We reached the line at 5 till the hour. We walked right in and right to the front of the stage, which I must say were some of the best seats in the house. You can actually see the expressions on the actors' faces. This is one well done Musical. I really wanted to go and see it again but not everyone in our party was as big Musical Fan as I. Since our next attraction was "It's a Bug's Life" (A Family Favorite) we decided to eat at the Flame Tree Barbecue. Very Tasty!! TIP: DO NOT feed the Ducks. They will start fighting over the food and they get very aggressive. Two young teenaged boys, who were feeding them, got attached. No Life threatening injuries were sustained. After a hearty lunch (I do mean Hearty! The DW shared hers with our son.

FYI: We had last visited Animal Kingdom in 2004 and did all the Nature and Animal viewing during that visit so we skipped them this go around.

We were off to Kali River Rapids. Really dark clouds were approaching. Would we now see that rain which had been forecasted everyday for our week at Disney? We figured, if we were going to get wet, it might as well be on the Rapids ride…. Wrong. It only sprinkled a few drops. Didn’t even get the pavement wet. By this time there was a real cool breeze going and there were quite a few people getting off the Rapids ride that were starting to shiver. I was even regretting wearing my tank top today. And that nonsense about getting wet on the Rapids. Not us, we brought out our trusty Ponchos. Now our feet got a little wet and I thought we would be steaming in those Ponchos. But instead we were dry and warm and able to enjoy the rest of the day. The time has now approached 4pm. We had accomplished all our goals for the day so we decided to think about heading back to the POFQ. However, we thought we would take a leisurely ride on the train. It was a nice change of pace and we got to see a little of the backstage scenes at Animal Kingdom. After the ride we treated ourselves to some treats from Kusafiri Bakery. Hit a few shops then left for the Hotel. Time, 5pm. After very short rest, we hooked back up with our friends at 7pm. We had a quick bite at the Food court (The books gave these food courts low marks but they are really good and the variety was ample) then we headed to Magic Kingdom. They were opened till midnight so I thought we could get in a few rides. As another change of pace, this time we parked at the Contemporary and rode the Monorail over. Once inside we headed straight for Buzz Lightyear Ride. Now I must admit the Crowds were a bit heavier but the parade was about to start and it just may have seemed crowded. Anyway we got to Buzz and walked right in. This was the DW favorite, so after it was over…… we rode it again. After Buzz we stop at the Teacup Ride. My DS loves this one so we had to ride. Where has the time gone?? It’s already 10pm and time for the fireworks. So we watch them and I try to get the gang motivated for some more touring… NO LUCK. They are wasted. The Teacups did them in. So everyone decided to call it a night. DRAT!

I did talk everyone into a late night snack of beignets before bed which for some strange reason they still had energy to do. That’s it for Day 3 folks. Day 4 is finally a full day at the Magic Kingdom. Woo Whoo!! Stay tuned.

 

[Castaway Dave]

Thanks for the report from a fellow Texan -
We are leaving for the World on Friday ...

Hoping the heat & humidity stay here!

"Pixiedustforever"

I spent 6 years in Austin after I graduated from UT Austin. Then back to my Native East Texas.

 

[MousekaMaddi]

hurry please

 

[Castaway Dave]

No crowds, nice weather. WOW!!!!! I would sell a kidney to be able to experience that. Well, maybe not my kidney but "a" kidney. I'm glade you're having such a good time. Can't wait to read more. Where are the pictures, where are the pictures!

Can you give me a quick lesson?

 

[angela3676]

Can you give me a quick lesson?

Nope! I don't know how to load pictures. Eventhough I have an accout with photo bucket I've never used. I know someone here can give you instructions on how to upload pictures. Someone!

 

[Castaway Dave]

Day 3: I'm going to make it short. I've got to get sleep. Anyway, MK was great. Only had to use one fastpass to Space Mountain. Our longest wait was for 30 minutes on the Jungle cruise. We ate at Cosmic Rays Starlight Cafe. I had the veggie wrap. The DW and DS shared a turkey sandwich. It was plenty. A couple next to us on the dining plan gave us their desserts because they were going to throw them away. They only ordered them because they paid for it on the dining plan with no intention of eating it. What kind of logic is that? Anyway, we got free desserts. Carrot Cake... MMMMM Good. TIP: Never buy a small drink. A giant size is only 30 cents more. We still have enough things left on our schedule to fill another day at MK. We are planning a half day on Friday.

Weather on Day 3: 40% chance of rain. Got none. Rained for about 5 mins at 11pm as I typed this entry. I don't think it ever broke 90. The DW had to borrow one of my shirts to wear before we went back to watch the fireworks because she only brought sleeveless shirts because it was suppose to be Hot as HE--. There are people here wearing sweat shirts.

Day 4: Disney Studios are scheduled tomorrow alone with a 60% of rain. keep the fingers crossed. TTFN.

 

[Reedfamilyrulz]

You have had great weather so far, so I expect more of the same! Sounds like you had a great trip and have been able to do many things. I always have energy for beignets! Keep the trip report coming.

 

[Castaway Dave]

Quick entry. Managed to ride everything we had plan. It did rain for approx 2 hours starting around lunch time. Nothing heavy, just wet. No worries, we had our handy-dandy ponchos. We ate the Backlot Express. I got their veggie sandwich and DW had the some sort of melted turkey and cheese sandwich. She said it was fantastic. No sun today so it was very pleasant. Not that humid feeling either. Left at 5pm for a little R and R. Returned at 8pm. Pick up a bite at Catalina Eddie's, I had the Italian Sandwich and the DW & DS had the pizza. Their Pizza has improved over the years. Walk into Fantasmic at 8:45. We did have to sit pretty close but the view was good. THERE WERE NO ONE STANDING DURING THIS PERFORMANCE. Simply Amazing. I bought the $99 Photopass special and looked at the pictures this evening. They came out really great. They added some special afffects to them. It was a real hoot. We shared the expense with our friends so it is turning into a great value.

Day 5: Half day at Epcot then back the MK. Weather forcast. Overcast with a 40% chance of rain. We'll report back some. Night!