We Had the Best Trip Ever! Maholo WWoHP, WDW & Waikiki- A Jan 2012 TR

[PrincessInOz]

Cool pics! Thanks for sharing.


Now you've got me wanting a Butterbeer!

 

[OziJo]

Day 4 Sat 7th Jan

Kennedy Space Center was on the schedule for today. I will admit that I was a little reluctant. Not that I personally wasn't interested and I knew DH was definitely keen but i was a bit concerned that the girls would not really want to go. After all the travel and excitement of Harry, I thought they may be reluctant to drive for and hour and a half to look at "Space stuff".

We all woke up quite refreshed so I kept my concerns to myself and didn't give anyone any choice. We were heading for the Florida coast! Happily,
apart from the usual grumbling as they settled into the backseat of the car, everyone was quite keen. I had given them a rundown of what to expect and they were engaged and raring to go.

The drive was pleasant, onto the freeway and a straight line through the flat Florida landscape, 3 toll booths and marshlands. Then there it was! The iconic NASA Building with the giant painted USA flag:

We later found out this was the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) where they assembled the all the rockets from the original giant Saturn rockets to the insertion of the Space shuttle payloads (oooh listen to me sounding all Space techy ). And here's me thinking it was the building where Major Nelson and Dr Bellows had their offices and Jeannie got up to all her shenanigans Of course that's the office building in the foreground to the right.

There was a bit of a lineup to get in and was thinking I really should have bought the tickets online. I reminded myself that reason I didn't was because I wanted to have the option of not doing KSC if we were too tired. No one else was ever let in on that bit of planning. Prior to leaving everyone had agreed that they wanted to go and that was the end of discussion but I still wanted an out. Just in case.

Well I think we would all agree that it was worthwhile.

They call this the Rocket Garden...

...I suppose because it looks like the Rockets are growing out of the ground

The first picture is from outside the gates. The other two are from the plaza outside the visitors Center.

Everything was very Space agey, you know like Tomorrowland only more, how should I put it? Real
A mural of the International Space Station:

A landing module:

On arrival our first stop was the Star Fleet Academy Show. This was a "Mad Science" Star Trek production and being Trekkies, DH and wanted to check it out. It was a fun, incorporating visionary Star Trek technology with contemporary space science in an interactive show where the audience were Star Fleet Academy recruits faced with an unexpected Romulan threat. Love it!!

How nerdy are we:
Live Long and Prosper...

 

[Caroline NZ]

Loving your trip report and can't wait to hear more

 

[DsnyMama]

Subbing! We love January TR's - honeymooned in January 2008 and heading down Jan 28-Feb 5 next year!

 

[PrincessInOz]

I was really surprised at how much we enjoyed going to KSC. Looks like your family found it fun as well. Great pics!

 

[alicia1506]

subbing in!!!

 

[OziJo]

Hi all subbers! Thanks for joining.

(Day 4 KSC cont)
After the Star Trek show we had some lunch then it was off on the bus tour which was included in the entry price.

At this point I gave DH the camera but these are the only pics he took:

The gantry where they worked on the Rockets prior to launch:

The launch pad:

One of the Space shuttles now out of service:

The shuttles are now in the process of being fitted and refurbished for display at Museum's around the country. Kennedy will house Atlantis and they are building a new Museum for the purpose. All the tour guides and workers at KSC were very excited about it and spoke in reverential terms about the Shuttles.

We got out and walked around the gantry and were able to climb up the few flights and take in the view. I don't know why DH didn't take any photos. The Scenery was stunning. I suppose he was looking and reading all the info.

We were also taking into the Mission Operations Control Room which is set up as it was on the day of the moon landing complete with the original 60's tech. There is then a dramatic recreation of a launch with noise and vibrations as it would actually be felt from that room. I could kill DH for not getting any picture here. There's YouTube video posted by others. I won't post a link. Just google- "Recreation of Apollo 8 Mission Operations Control Room" if interested.

Anyway on leaving that room we were led into a huge hanger space where there is a real Saturn 5 rocket hanging the length of the ceiling. At this point DH decided to use the camera and got some great shots:

The Rocket. Too huge to fit in one shot:

The command module:

Lunar landing vehicle:

Touching a piece of the Moon

A peek inside the Command Module:

DD3's realistic dream is to be a pilot but we encourage our kids to shoot for the stars:

The Right Stuff!!!

After the tour we lined up for the Shuttle launch simulation. They were showing video of Shuttle astronauts describing how a launch felt and explaining that the simulation was as close as you could get to the real thing.

One final shot of the Rocket Garden at night...

...and we headed hone to Fort Wilderness via Wal Mart.

Hot dogs and salad for dinner in the Cabin. Bed by 10pm. We had established something of a pattern and it was working well for us.

 

[Mum from oz]

Finally made it over here! You got some great pics at US/IOA. The ones you got on The Forbidden Journey are great. I'm also glad you all liked KSC. I was surprised at how interesting it was considering I had no real interest in visiting the place.

 

[Moodyzblu]

Joining in and loving your report !!

We're going to WWoHP in April and so I am very grateful for your reports on it. I'm SO anxious to try a Butterbeer and ride the Forbidden Journey !!

Looking forward to reading more !

 

[OziJo]

Hi Mum from Oz! Thanks for joining.

I was surprised at how much the girls enjoyed KSC. They were truly engaged and interested. DD3 does really well at science and Maths and has said she wants to be a pilot. We had talked a little about her being an astrophysicist or and aeronautical engineer and after KSC she now sees that these are "real" career choices. She even believes now that being an astronaut is within the the realm of possibility .

 

[OziJo]

Joining in and loving your report !!

We're going to WWoHP in April and so I am very grateful for your reports on it. I'm SO anxious to try a Butterbeer and ride the Forbidden Journey !!

Looking forward to reading more !

Thanks for joining in!!. Make sure you have a Frozen Butterbeer and have one for me!!:

The Forbidden Journey was fantastic and well worth the queuing. Unfortunately when we went back I couldn't ride it again because my neck was playing up and I didn't want to make it worse. It does jerk around a bit but it's no problem unless you have neck issues like I do at times. Traveling and sleeping in a strange bed had taken it's toll and we still had Space Mountain and Star Tours coming up . The others rode it again though.


Day 5 Sunday 8th Jan

Disney Marathon Day. Glad we were heading out of the area though DH said he wished he had known he might have entered. I said that's why I didn't tell you WWoHP and Universal day 2 awaited.

This was the last day of our room only reservation. Our package deal which included free dining started tonight with the HDDR We had arranged to check out, check back in and receive our new package keys-to-the-world first thing. We were to be staying in the same Cabin so didn't need to pack.

This was not to be and the first little dint our precision plans arose. On waking we noticed the message light flashing on our phone. I hadn't noticed it last night but DH said he wondered why that was flashing The message was an apology that we would have to move Cabins by this evening as they had to do some arboreal work in the 2100 loop. We would be moving just over the road to loop 2300 but we needed to have out stuff packed and bell services would move it all for us. This was going to be a problem as we were heading out to Universal and we wanted to get there right on opening so we could line up for Ollivanders.

I rang bell services and apart from the Disney/Universal rivalry jokes when I mentioned the "U" word they were very obliging and said we could call them up this afternoon when we had come back and packed and they would move us out while we went to HDD.

So all was fine. We went and checked out and checked back in and they gave us our new keys. All lovely. No problems. But those of you who are more experienced may see a problem here. It didn't occur to me at the time and I don't know why the CM didn't pick it up but it wasn't until we were in the car at Universal on the way home that I realised as we had checked out of Cabin 2143 our old keys wouldn't work. How were we to get back into the Cabin to pack!!

I can laugh about it now but we DH had to return our car and we had to be at the HDDR to get to by 5:45. I was a touch put out. I got onto FW front Desk and they said to stop off at the Outpost on the way back. They had a bit of a discussion behind the scenes and finally the CM came out with one key that would only work once. That is we could get back into our Cabin to pack. So back we went. DH quickly packed and got ready for the HDDR then went to drop off the car with strict instructions not to get lost as it was 4:30 and we had to be at HDD by 5:45. We packed and I arranged with Bell Services to move our stuff specifically stating that we had some stuff in the fridge. I had put all our groceries in plastic and left the cold things in the fridge. No problems they said.

At 5:30 I was starting to worry about where DH was when he got off the bus from the outpost (Alamo had dropped him there). We jumped straight on the next bus and made it to Pioneer Hall right on 5:45. We had a great time (more about that later and in my mini TR) and were happy to arrive at Cabin 2330 to see all our things had arrived. Except for the groceries from the fridge...

So I called again and had to explain the story, again. This time the CM was not quite as friendly. She couldn't understand what had happened. Why we had to move and I realised I was speaking to a generic CM as she didn't have a clue about what was happening at FW so I had to explain about the work in loop 2100. She snapped at me saying that they won't touch your groceries because of "health issues" I said that maybe so but It's not what they told me and I would be happy to go across the road and grab the things out of the fridge but I no longer have a key!!! She finally understood and said she would contact Bell Services (the button I had pressed on the phone in the first place) "your at the Wilderness Lodge right?" "No Fort Wilderness Cabins. We were in 2143 now we are in 2330..."

Any way the stuff from our fridge arrived about half an hour later. The guy who brought them over didn't seem have a problem touching our groceries. It was the first and only time I had a problem with CM's. It was the Sunday night shift after all.

 

[OziJo]

(Day 5 Cont)

Despite the Cabin moving we had another great day at IoA/Universal.

This time we had no problems getting there and arrived promptly at 8:30am. After the 10min walked from the carpark we we able to get straight in even though it's not scheduled to open until 9am for those who stay offsite. We were through the gate by 8:40 and headed straight to Ollivanders. the crowds were not as big at this point and the wait for Ollivanders was only about 20mins.

We snapped a few shots while waiting in line:

Smoke coming out of a chimney:

Here comes the sun:

DD1 so happy to be there :

DD3's reflection. Kinda' spooky:

Inside:
Mr Ollivander:

The wall of wands:

The experience is brief by very well done with atmospheric music and special effects. A boy was chosen to have a wand "choose" him and then Ollivander went through the magical process. Of course the first couple of wands weren't right but the right wand was found and we could all move through to the shop to choose our own wands if we so wished.

Well of course we wished and after some thought we decided on buying Hermione's wand as the family wand. It sits proudly on our piano with the phot0s from Forbidden Journey, Splash Mountain & HDDR :

The display in the window of the main character wands:

Due to my neck problems I decided to sit out Forbidden Journey. That was a hard decision as I really had enjoyed it. So while the others went off I strolled streets and did some window shopping while sipping a Butterbeer

They then did Dragon Challenge again. There are two separate roller coasters that at one point appear to head straight for each other.

We bought our Harry Potter souvenirs. We bought t-shirts, scarfs, nicknacks and sweets for ourselves and for friends and relatives then reluctantly said goodbye to WWoHP. The girls vowed they would be back one day if not as a family then with friends.

We had a plan for a few other attractions. First up was The Hulk Roller Coaster. I sat out again. They rode it twice. Then we all did The Popeye Rapid Ride. We had bought ponchos for this but we still got really wet.

After Popeye we left IoA and had a light lunch brought from home on the lawn at Universal while we dried off from Popeye. Our shoes were soaked:

DD1 & 3 wanted to do the Rockit Roller Coaster while DH, DD2 and I wanted to the Monster Make-up Show. As we had limited time we decided to split and meet up on the lawn.

DD2 is interested in the behind the scenes aspect of movies so was always keen to do these shows. Horror and special-effects especially interest her:

The show was fun. This guy was hilarious:

When we met up back at the lawn we noticed the Rockit wasn't operating but we couldn't see the other two. They eventually came wandering out. They had made it nearly to the end when the ride was stopped. They waited for a bit but decided to come down. It was disappointing. So we did Twister then left Universal via some last minute gift shopping. We were do do a lot of this in coming days as we found it hard to resist the lure of "The Gift Shop at the End of the Ride".

Au revoir Universal:

Note we waited until Australia had come into view.

We had the afternoon to pack while DH dropped off the car:

Then it was off to the Hoop Dee Doo Review:

So much fun and so much food Bring on WDW and Free Dining

 

[5ofus]

Loving this report The HDDR is awesome isn't it? It'll be something I make sure I take my boys to on our trip in a few years.

 

[Travel Mum]

Loving reading your report OziJo and it brings back so many lovely memories to me. Oh my gosh, I'd love to go back! I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Hi Mum from Oz! Thanks for joining.

I was surprised at how much the girls enjoyed KSC. They were truly engaged and interested. DD3 does really well at science and Maths and has said she wants to be a pilot. We had talked a little about her being an astrophysicist or and aeronautical engineer and after KSC she now sees that these are "real" career choices. She even believes now that being an astronaut is within the the realm of possibility .

WE cannot wait to go to KSC and good on your daughter for shooting for the stars.

Loving all the pictures, how exciting.

 

[PrincessInOz]

What a shame about that CM...but hey...you can write about it NOW.

That's a great day at IoA. Glad you and the family enjoyed it.

 

[OziJo]

Loving this report The HDDR is awesome isn't it? It'll be something I make sure I take my boys to on our trip in a few years.

We had sooo much fun. And the food!! DD2 asked for another bucket of fried chicken. Our CM server laughed and promptly obliged. I think she ate it all herself I loved it when all the servers came onstage with Strawberry Shortcakes! It was just a shame I was too full to eat much more at that point.

Loving reading your report OziJo and it brings back so many lovely memories to me. Oh my gosh, I'd love to go back! I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.

I want to go back too. I wish I could apparate To Potter World then to Fort Wilderness so I can take the boat to Magic Kingdom and finally to our apartment on the beach at Waikiki I could skip the plane trips.

WE cannot wait to go to KSC and good on your daughter for shooting for the stars.

Loving all the pictures, how exciting.

So glad you are all enjoying it. I'm loving reliving the experiences! Thanks for tagging along

What a shame about that CM...but hey...you can write about it NOW.

That's right! What's a TR without a little drama If it wasn't for that one experience I would have had to make something up.

Everything else ran so smoothly thanks to all the advice for you PiO and others on the DISboards. DH and the girls were so impressed by my organisation they bought me something in WDW, kept it hidden from me and surprised me with it on our last day in Honolulu. More about that later...

 

[OziJo]

Day 6 Mon 9th Jan

Day1 WDW 6 day Park Hopper

Magic Kingdom

We were up early, had a light breakfast and were on the bus to the Marina by 8:30. This was probably a bit later than I had planned but I wasn't stressing about getting there for rope drop. We were in holiday mode and though we were keen to do as much as possible it was going to be at a moderate rather than commando pace.

After a delightful boat ride, past the Wilderness and Contemporary Lodges right up to the gates of Magic Kingdom, we passed through bag check and were through the gates just after 9am:

Our first glimpse up Main Street:

They still had the Christmas Decorations up at this point. By the time we went back on Wednesday they had all gone. I was so glad we got to see some decos our first day:

Our first stop was Space Mountain so we were off to Tomorrowland:

Past topiary Mickey & Minnie:

Ahh Disney detailing

My favourite ride from 2009:

The wait time was 10mins so we grabbed a fast pass for later and rode now:

Fun flight through the dark but wait a minute something was missing! Shouldn't there be flashing lights? Stars? Planets? This wasn''t what we remembered. A bit of a disappointment.

We went and did Buzz Light year. I got the highest score Then Stitch's Great Escape and decided to use our Space Mountain fast pass before we headed out of Tomorrowland.

This time someone had remembered to flick a switch somewhere! This was more like it. Awesome

We headed over to Liberty island and straight to Haunted Mansion. Back in '09 the Haunted Mansion had been closed so we all wanted to do it this time. Not scary at all. In fact kinda cute. I loved these gravestones:

After Haunted Mansion we decided to get some lunch at Columbia Harbor House. I wish I had some more photos but it was crowed around here that all we wanted to do was get inside and have lunch. I was surprised at the crowds. It's supposed to be off season. The atmosphere was great though and the crowds really didn't worry us too much. It just made getting a nice picture a little difficult in the narrow streets.

Here's one picture I snapped as we were heading away from Liberty Island:

Anyway we had a very nice QS lunch. It was our first real use of the Dining Plan and DH was impressed at the ease. We used 3 CS credits while I had the Chowder and ate from the other plates. Clam Chowder was one of the off plan items on my list and I really enjoyed it. Plenty of drink and dessert to go around (too much really) an enjoyable meal:

DH had the Salmon, the DD's shared a lobster salad sandwich which came with a side of broccoli and a plate of nuggets and chips which came with a side of crisps. 3CS plus an off plan chowder was plenty. At this rate we were going to have CS credits to spare!

 

[Ms. Shuttergirl]

Great use of your counter service points. Love how the sandwich came with a side of broccoli

 

[OziJo]

After lunch we went over to Frontierland and grabbed a Splash Mountain fast pass:

The wait was bout 40 mins and we wanted to do Pirates asap. So back to Adventureland and the queue for PoC:

DD1 always so happy

We walked out of PoC we came across the Captain Jack show. No Johnny Depp but us girls all agreed he was close

Then back to Frontierland and Splash Mountain another of our favs from '09:

DD3- Happiest when we are doing a ride that has some action :

We didn't buy this one. Next time:

We grabbed another fast pass but the return time was 5:45. I didn't think we would spend this much time in MK as it was DL '09 revisited. But we had so much fun that the day just flew. My plans for today had included some necessary laundry and then I thought we might go to Downtown Disney in the evening. DH & DD3 wanted to stay on and do Splash Mountain again so we split up and DD1&2 and me took a leisurely stroll through MK towards the entrance. We stopped to use a snack credit. we all had Mickey Oreo Icecream Cookies Yum!

DD2- Happiest when eating

We headed out past Crystal Palace where we would be having our Character Breakfast on Thursday:

Past Cindy's castle:

Stopped at the shops in Main Street...

Bought a couple of things and made mental lists of other things we wanted to buy. It was getting towards 5pm by this time and I still had the laundry to do. I was starting to think that Downtown Disney wasn't going to happen tonight so I called up DH and we agreed that he would pick up take out at Trails End when he got back to FW.

I thought we would get to Downtown one night but the combination of Park attractions and Fort Wilderness meant that we never made it. It was my one regret but looking back I don't know what we would have given up to go there. Ideally another day added to our stay. I think everyone here on the DISBoards would agree you can always do with another day

Our trip back was pleasant and leisurely. I wasn't rushing to get to the laundry.

We arrived back at Fort Wilderness. By now it felt like home:

I got two large loads of laundry washed and dried once I had chased up enough quarters. The change machine in the laundry wasn't working so DD2 and I took the short stroll to the Meadows Trading Post where they changed some money for me. The main reason I had requested the 2100 loop was because it was close to the laundry and the Meadows Trading Post. It was also in walking distance of the Settlement but we generally caught the bus there. When we had to move it was only across the road to the 2300 loop so still close by. Also the bus stop was right outside our door!

By the time I was back with the last dried load, DH was calling saying he was on the bus on the way back with dinner. 4CS credits of fried chicken, nachos and chicken Ceasar salad drink and desserts. A bit of USA teli and bed by 10pm as usual.

A relaxing end to a Magic day. Tomorrow it's off to the Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.