Hey hey, we had a great time.
Bruce: 46 yrs old
Kris: 46 year old
Authors of Carlson's Disney Resort and Parks Website.
Spent 4 days at WDW last week.
Here are the hi-lights:
We stayed off-site at the Quality Suites because I could not get a moderate OR All Star room to save my life. I called weekly for two months. Never hit the right night I guess. MLK weekend is a tough one. The marathon had just ended and a huge hockey tourney was taking place at Downtown Disneyâ¦possibly taking up a lot of rooms. The hotel was fine but the Disney magic wasnâÂÂt there.
And: I was on business and keeping the expenses down so I didnâÂÂt want to over-do it elsewhere.
We spent our first night at Margaritaville at Citywalk, enjoying the house band. A cool and very windy walk around the lake and we called it a night (our plane came in around 6:30 pm and by check-in time we decided to keep it simple. Normally we head to Boardwalk on the first night but just didnâÂÂt get there this trip.
Over the next 4 days we criss-crossed WDW several times. On one day we were at three parks and every day we were at two parks. WeâÂÂve start at the M.K. until close and then head to EPCOT for instance. Many many trips on the Admiral Fowler and Potter ferryâÂÂs. The first few days those rides were pretty chilly as the temps were in the 50âÂÂs at close. With the wind that can feel pretty cold in Florida. On the first three days, because of business, we were only able to hit the parks after 3 pm.
Thursday we toured the M.K. just walking around and having some fun. No agenda, no hassles, just relaxing. We watched a lot of people, rode a couple rides (pirates and Haunted House). How many of you have noticed that the famed Marc Davis has a tombstone now at the mansion? We rode the train around and just had a nice day. Very few rides.
Our first evening meal was Thursday night at ArtistâÂÂs Point at the W.L. Coming into the W.L. area after dark on a chilly evening just seemed RIGHT. Just like the great northwest. We had an eight oâÂÂclock priority seating and got right in. The lighting was brighter than I expected (from descriptions) and the atmosphere must noisier. It was crowded with families having a great time and didnâÂÂt turn out to be a good âÂÂromantic locationâ for a meal. Not this evening anyway. The food was great (I had pork and my wife had the salmon). The salmon came really raw and the waitress after coming to the table as my wife made the first cut said âÂÂthatâÂÂs not rightâ¦.please let me take it back.â So, I finished half my meal (eating as slow as I could) and Kris finally received her âÂÂwarmedâ salmon and it was great. The waitress brought us a berry cobbler ($10 normally) on the house as a consolation. All in all, we had a great time and walked through the pool area before we drove back to International Drive.
On Friday we went to the Magic Kingdom and here we had a few really funny moments. First, we rode on a tram with a mother and apparently âÂÂherâ mother, and 5 kids. Not sure if all the kids were hers, but she was responsible for them. She was already yelling at them as we passed the âÂÂDopeyâ section in the parking lotâ¦and it continued to the entrance-she sure wasnâÂÂt in the Disney spirit. As my wife and I got off the tram all I said was âÂÂI canâÂÂt wait to see what sheâÂÂs like by tonight!âÂÂ
Later in the evening we took the jungle cruise after dark and the boat engine stalled and we were all stuck there as the lady guide tried over and over to start it. Just like a stalled car in your driveway. We were all cracking up and sitting there in the dark (by the headhunter). Finally the engine fired and we limped home. Our guide, a middle-aged lady, was really nice but just didnâÂÂt have the sarcasm and commentary that many younger male guides have shown. Not to be chauvinistic but our favorite guides on Jungle Cruise have always been male. At A.K. some of our favorite safari guides have been women.
After the Jungle Cruise conked out on us we headed to the Pirates. Well, guess what? As we came to the âÂÂmayor getting dunkedâ scene the boats all stopped and we got stuck there for several minutes. A C.M. had to sneak in through the âÂÂbuildingsâ and check things out and check on us. We waved to him and he shined his flashlight up his chin (sort of the Halloween look). It was funny. By the way, the pirate captain(?) in red at the dunking scene had a mechanical problem that that made his head shoot forward and backward like a âÂÂyesâ motion. Back and forth violentlyâ¦.something was definitely wrong. I pointed it out to my wife and we both started laughing. He kept doing this over and over, with the dialogue still running normally. The poor pirate looked like he was having a seizure, shaking back and forth. Whoa boy, now what else could go wrong?
Well, the evening at M.K. was ending, and we watched the fireworks behind a tree. Not a fat thick tree, but a tree nonetheless. Now remember, weâÂÂve been to the park probably 12 âÂÂ15 times. YouâÂÂd think weâÂÂd know where the fireworks shoot off and the proper angle. Oh well. It was warmer that night and we were having fun.
We headed to EPCOT to catch Tapestry of Nations at 6:30 pm, have some wine and pastries in France. We hung around, watched some entertainment (the statues always are fun) and saw TON again. I took more pictures that I hope to post at our website soon.
On Friday night we headed to the M.K. and just hung out, walking and having fun. Not much on rides that night and to be honest IâÂÂve forgotten all in all what we did. Some trip reporter I make, eh?
Saturday was A.K. day. Big Red and Little Red survived another ordeal on the safari, the gorillas were initially hard to locate but came out in view eventually. The little gorillas did some pretty funny stuff that got us laughing (beating their chests and jumping on each other). It doesnâÂÂt take much to entertain us, I guess. Asia brought us the tigers and they were majestic as usual but no real photo ops like our last trip. I was fortunate enough to get this pic on that trip: http://www.inwave.com/~hhstech/tigers_fight_smaller_version.jpg
We havenâÂÂt seen the âÂÂvine ladyâ at A.K. for two trips now. Has anyone else seen her? Later in the day we visited Port Orleans to explore it as a future resort and I took some new pictures of it for the website. We also ate at San Angel Inn at EPCOT (I told you we were bouncing all between the resorts). We were seated immediately without priority seatingâ¦.because a table for two just opened. Otherwise it would have been about 20 minutes. Had a nice meal in that area off to the right as youâÂÂre facing the volcano. ThereâÂÂs a little side room (area). Had a nice âÂÂloud talkerâ at the table near us. She must have been at least 8 feet away but we weâÂÂre privileged to hear virtually every word she said. Jerry Seinfeld had his low talker in that one showâ¦â¦we had our LOUD talker at the San Angel Inn. We still had a wonderful time.
Saturday night we spent at the M.K. again, and had fun catching a few rides and eating dinner.
Sunday was all EPCOT and our only full day at a park. Our free day. (First we had breakfast at Tony's at the M.K. and it was fantastic as usual. I had the Italian Toast and my wife had the Lady and the Tramp waffle.) I didnâÂÂt think weâÂÂd spend the whole day just hanging out at EPCOT but we did. The first thing we noticed was the crane and construction on the 2000 sign on Spaceship Earth. A "2" and a zero are now gone. We didn't go on hardly any rides but we caught many entertainment groups. We met our âÂÂInternet friendâ Linda at Test Track as she was working as a greeter that day. Seeing her only on our trips to EPCOT is fun to plan. Our dream is to retire to central Florida and work at WDW just as she and her husband (a monorail driver) did. They really seem to love their work there.
We watched TON just âÂÂonceâ that day, the late parade and caught Illuminations for the third time this trip. This time we watched it from near the entrance back to Future World and it was our best view of all the many times weâÂÂve watched it. The fireworks appeared as if they were right over us.
Monday we flew back to cold Milwaukee and drive home to Illinois. Crudâ¦but itâÂÂs still nice to get home.
Not the most linear trip report you guys have read but thatâÂÂs how we spent our days. Just bopping back and forth with no real goal in mind. Just did stuff on a whim I guess.
Hope you all have a great trip when you make your own. WeâÂÂll be back at Christmas, if not earlier.
Bruce and Kris
WedWay72
http://www.bruceandkris.com
Disney Resort (and Parks)
Picture Site (over 800 photos).
All the resorts of Disney are featured in high quality photos taken by our family. Also EPCOT at night, M.K. and the other parks as well.
Bruce: 46 yrs old
Kris: 46 year old
Authors of Carlson's Disney Resort and Parks Website.
Spent 4 days at WDW last week.
Here are the hi-lights:
We stayed off-site at the Quality Suites because I could not get a moderate OR All Star room to save my life. I called weekly for two months. Never hit the right night I guess. MLK weekend is a tough one. The marathon had just ended and a huge hockey tourney was taking place at Downtown Disneyâ¦possibly taking up a lot of rooms. The hotel was fine but the Disney magic wasnâÂÂt there.
And: I was on business and keeping the expenses down so I didnâÂÂt want to over-do it elsewhere.
We spent our first night at Margaritaville at Citywalk, enjoying the house band. A cool and very windy walk around the lake and we called it a night (our plane came in around 6:30 pm and by check-in time we decided to keep it simple. Normally we head to Boardwalk on the first night but just didnâÂÂt get there this trip.
Over the next 4 days we criss-crossed WDW several times. On one day we were at three parks and every day we were at two parks. WeâÂÂve start at the M.K. until close and then head to EPCOT for instance. Many many trips on the Admiral Fowler and Potter ferryâÂÂs. The first few days those rides were pretty chilly as the temps were in the 50âÂÂs at close. With the wind that can feel pretty cold in Florida. On the first three days, because of business, we were only able to hit the parks after 3 pm.
Thursday we toured the M.K. just walking around and having some fun. No agenda, no hassles, just relaxing. We watched a lot of people, rode a couple rides (pirates and Haunted House). How many of you have noticed that the famed Marc Davis has a tombstone now at the mansion? We rode the train around and just had a nice day. Very few rides.
Our first evening meal was Thursday night at ArtistâÂÂs Point at the W.L. Coming into the W.L. area after dark on a chilly evening just seemed RIGHT. Just like the great northwest. We had an eight oâÂÂclock priority seating and got right in. The lighting was brighter than I expected (from descriptions) and the atmosphere must noisier. It was crowded with families having a great time and didnâÂÂt turn out to be a good âÂÂromantic locationâ for a meal. Not this evening anyway. The food was great (I had pork and my wife had the salmon). The salmon came really raw and the waitress after coming to the table as my wife made the first cut said âÂÂthatâÂÂs not rightâ¦.please let me take it back.â So, I finished half my meal (eating as slow as I could) and Kris finally received her âÂÂwarmedâ salmon and it was great. The waitress brought us a berry cobbler ($10 normally) on the house as a consolation. All in all, we had a great time and walked through the pool area before we drove back to International Drive.
On Friday we went to the Magic Kingdom and here we had a few really funny moments. First, we rode on a tram with a mother and apparently âÂÂherâ mother, and 5 kids. Not sure if all the kids were hers, but she was responsible for them. She was already yelling at them as we passed the âÂÂDopeyâ section in the parking lotâ¦and it continued to the entrance-she sure wasnâÂÂt in the Disney spirit. As my wife and I got off the tram all I said was âÂÂI canâÂÂt wait to see what sheâÂÂs like by tonight!âÂÂ
Later in the evening we took the jungle cruise after dark and the boat engine stalled and we were all stuck there as the lady guide tried over and over to start it. Just like a stalled car in your driveway. We were all cracking up and sitting there in the dark (by the headhunter). Finally the engine fired and we limped home. Our guide, a middle-aged lady, was really nice but just didnâÂÂt have the sarcasm and commentary that many younger male guides have shown. Not to be chauvinistic but our favorite guides on Jungle Cruise have always been male. At A.K. some of our favorite safari guides have been women.
After the Jungle Cruise conked out on us we headed to the Pirates. Well, guess what? As we came to the âÂÂmayor getting dunkedâ scene the boats all stopped and we got stuck there for several minutes. A C.M. had to sneak in through the âÂÂbuildingsâ and check things out and check on us. We waved to him and he shined his flashlight up his chin (sort of the Halloween look). It was funny. By the way, the pirate captain(?) in red at the dunking scene had a mechanical problem that that made his head shoot forward and backward like a âÂÂyesâ motion. Back and forth violentlyâ¦.something was definitely wrong. I pointed it out to my wife and we both started laughing. He kept doing this over and over, with the dialogue still running normally. The poor pirate looked like he was having a seizure, shaking back and forth. Whoa boy, now what else could go wrong?
Well, the evening at M.K. was ending, and we watched the fireworks behind a tree. Not a fat thick tree, but a tree nonetheless. Now remember, weâÂÂve been to the park probably 12 âÂÂ15 times. YouâÂÂd think weâÂÂd know where the fireworks shoot off and the proper angle. Oh well. It was warmer that night and we were having fun.
We headed to EPCOT to catch Tapestry of Nations at 6:30 pm, have some wine and pastries in France. We hung around, watched some entertainment (the statues always are fun) and saw TON again. I took more pictures that I hope to post at our website soon.
On Friday night we headed to the M.K. and just hung out, walking and having fun. Not much on rides that night and to be honest IâÂÂve forgotten all in all what we did. Some trip reporter I make, eh?
Saturday was A.K. day. Big Red and Little Red survived another ordeal on the safari, the gorillas were initially hard to locate but came out in view eventually. The little gorillas did some pretty funny stuff that got us laughing (beating their chests and jumping on each other). It doesnâÂÂt take much to entertain us, I guess. Asia brought us the tigers and they were majestic as usual but no real photo ops like our last trip. I was fortunate enough to get this pic on that trip: http://www.inwave.com/~hhstech/tigers_fight_smaller_version.jpg
We havenâÂÂt seen the âÂÂvine ladyâ at A.K. for two trips now. Has anyone else seen her? Later in the day we visited Port Orleans to explore it as a future resort and I took some new pictures of it for the website. We also ate at San Angel Inn at EPCOT (I told you we were bouncing all between the resorts). We were seated immediately without priority seatingâ¦.because a table for two just opened. Otherwise it would have been about 20 minutes. Had a nice meal in that area off to the right as youâÂÂre facing the volcano. ThereâÂÂs a little side room (area). Had a nice âÂÂloud talkerâ at the table near us. She must have been at least 8 feet away but we weâÂÂre privileged to hear virtually every word she said. Jerry Seinfeld had his low talker in that one showâ¦â¦we had our LOUD talker at the San Angel Inn. We still had a wonderful time.
Saturday night we spent at the M.K. again, and had fun catching a few rides and eating dinner.
Sunday was all EPCOT and our only full day at a park. Our free day. (First we had breakfast at Tony's at the M.K. and it was fantastic as usual. I had the Italian Toast and my wife had the Lady and the Tramp waffle.) I didnâÂÂt think weâÂÂd spend the whole day just hanging out at EPCOT but we did. The first thing we noticed was the crane and construction on the 2000 sign on Spaceship Earth. A "2" and a zero are now gone. We didn't go on hardly any rides but we caught many entertainment groups. We met our âÂÂInternet friendâ Linda at Test Track as she was working as a greeter that day. Seeing her only on our trips to EPCOT is fun to plan. Our dream is to retire to central Florida and work at WDW just as she and her husband (a monorail driver) did. They really seem to love their work there.
We watched TON just âÂÂonceâ that day, the late parade and caught Illuminations for the third time this trip. This time we watched it from near the entrance back to Future World and it was our best view of all the many times weâÂÂve watched it. The fireworks appeared as if they were right over us.
Monday we flew back to cold Milwaukee and drive home to Illinois. Crudâ¦but itâÂÂs still nice to get home.
Not the most linear trip report you guys have read but thatâÂÂs how we spent our days. Just bopping back and forth with no real goal in mind. Just did stuff on a whim I guess.
Hope you all have a great trip when you make your own. WeâÂÂll be back at Christmas, if not earlier.
Bruce and Kris
WedWay72
http://www.bruceandkris.com
Disney Resort (and Parks)
Picture Site (over 800 photos).
All the resorts of Disney are featured in high quality photos taken by our family. Also EPCOT at night, M.K. and the other parks as well.
