Welcome, Foolish Muggles! IoA/US/MK/SW July 2011* Top Ten "Things" *

[natebenma]

Enjoying your report! Hoping for more soon!!

Thank you so much!!!!!!

Here you go...

 

[natebenma]

Before heading to Kona, we had taken our bag from the locker, in case we needed anything like new shirts or our ponchos. When we entered back into MK, we decided we would turn in our locker key to get our deposit back and keep our stuff so we could avoid doing that at the end of the night.

And here we encountered our slowest moving line of the day.

I think I was two families back. There was one person working at the desk. The person she was helping was having some big issue (I couldn’t figure out what it was, although I tried). A supervisor came by and they both tried to solve the problem. Still nothing. We didn’t move. A woman and her friend got in line behind us, observed that nothing was moving and I hear her say “We don’t really need one”

I saw an opportunity when she said this. I turned around and asked her if she was trying to rent a locker. She said yes. I told her that I was returning my key and I was just trying to get my deposit ($5) back. I offered to sell her the key for $5. She would be paying $2 less than the rental amount and she would not have to deal with paying the extra deposit. I would get my $5 deposit back and be on my way.

Once she was convinced that I wasn’t trying to scam her (and she heard “savings”) we made the exchange.


We have never made it much past 3 PM at the MK on previous trips, so we had no idea what to expect for crowds.

It was BUSY!

You may recall, we have FPs for Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, Jungle Cruise and Winnie the Pooh from before dinner.

The first thing that we did was use our FP for Winnie the Pooh. Many of you know (and some of you have seen), the queue line has been upgraded and there are lots of interactive things for little ones to do. I’m not entirely sure how it all works. I think the kids can play here while you are holding a place in line?

There is a wall where you can paint with “honey”. As you touch the screen, the honey reacts. All I can think of is little kids trying to lick the wall, after everyone has had their hands all over it. ICK!!!

The ride is fun, and SURPRISE! We get a smile from Nate.

Our next destination is Frontierland. We have a FP for Big Thunder Mountain, but we decide to get another one to use later in the evening. One of our hopes is to ride BTM at night.

This time, we have Ben pull the FPs:

We will be right back to BTM, but first we go to ride Splash:

Now BTM:

As we are leaving the ride, I looked back and saw this:

This is one of my favorite (non-family) photos of the trip.

It is now 8:15 PM

As we proceed through Fantasyland to Tomorrowland, we glance up at the FP time for Peter Pan:

MK is open until midnight tonight. That’s a little late for us!


By the time we make it to Space Mountain, all FPs are gone for the day.


We get into the FP line for Space Mountain. Unfortunately, the line is about 30 minutes. Must be all those obnoxious people who collected FP earlier in the day and are turning them in now! Actually, we look ahead to where the ride is boarding and it looks like a Tour Group is riding- so either they have slowed things up, or maybe they have gone through with FP. This is really the first time during the day, or even on the trip, that they really had any impact on us.


Disney After Dark

It was probably around 9 after we finished at Space Mountain. We had FP for the two rides we wanted to try in the dark- Big Thunder Mountain and Jungle Cruise.

We rode BTM first. Afterwards, the boys used the rest room in the gateway between Frontierland and Adventureland. Spectromagic was going on and I was able to see the float from Pete’s Dragon. We didn’t stick around for any other floats in the parade.

Our final ride was Jungle Cruise. The CMs wouldn’t take our FP because there wasn’t really a line for this. A lot of people love this attraction at night and we were excited to try it out.

I have a couple of pictures, but to be honest, it was just “meh” for us. The skipper seemed to be going really fast, and either missed a lot of the puns, or told them after we had passed the scene.

At that point we were ready to call it a night. We were meeting our driver at 10:15 at the Contemporary and we wanted to get to there before the fireworks started at 10, so we could watch a little of Wishes before we left.

We made our way out of the park

The view from the CR bus stop was so-so, especially when a bus pulled up, but we could see the fireworks while sitting on benches.

We had a spectacular day at Magic Kingdom!!! We saw the opening show. We had great meals at Columbia Harbor House and Kona Café and enjoyed Dole Whips and Smoothies. We rode Big Thunder Mtn (4), Space Mtn (3), Splash Mtn (2), TTA (2), Jungle Cruise (2), Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Peter Pan, Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh, Philharmagic, and the monorail (which IS a ride). And we ended our day with beautiful fireworks.


Next up: Day 4- Sea World then back to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure

 

[EPRV We love Disney]

Oooh, awesome day!! I'm very impressed with your touring!

Now you're making me want to do MK for a day too.... hmmmmm...

You all seem like you're having such a good time. I love hearing about it!

 

[AnjieNet]

What a great day! Thanks so much for sharing! We love BTM at night. Always one of our first rides and last at the MK. Prefer Space Mountain during the day though. I think you can see more of what's going on at night since your eyes are a bit more used to the darkness or something. Have never done Jungle Cruise at night but I had heard that it's better too. Too bad you didn't find it that way. Maybe the Captain had a long day.

 

[RAPstar]

Great update! I got to do BTM at night during MNSSHP last year and loved it....especailly since it was close to closing so my friends and I had the entire train to ourselves (and we still sat in the back, lol). Can't wait to do it again this year (twice! MK PM EMH and MNSSHP).

 

[natebenma]

Oooh, awesome day!! I'm very impressed with your touring!

Now you're making me want to do MK for a day too.... hmmmmm...

You all seem like you're having such a good time. I love hearing about it!

Thank you! We really enjoyed the strategy involved in collecting the FPs we wanted.

I try to be frugal- I don't mind spending money, I just hate to waste it! Although visiting MK for one day was not the most cost effective part of our trip, we definitely feel like we got a good value.

What a great day! Thanks so much for sharing! We love BTM at night. Always one of our first rides and last at the MK. Prefer Space Mountain during the day though. I think you can see more of what's going on at night since your eyes are a bit more used to the darkness or something. Have never done Jungle Cruise at night but I had heard that it's better too. Too bad you didn't find it that way. Maybe the Captain had a long day.

BTM was fun at night, but as you point out, it is fun any time of day! I think this is my family's favorite ride (we rode it 4 times this day) and it always makes me smile! Such great theming.

The skipper really makes or breaks the Jungle Cruise ride. In 2010, the two skippers we had were both great. We even included their names and day/times worked when we sent a compliment letter to Guest Services about our trip. This year, the two skippers we had were mezza-mezza.

Great update! I got to do BTM at night during MNSSHP last year and loved it....especailly since it was close to closing so my friends and I had the entire train to ourselves (and we still sat in the back, lol). Can't wait to do it again this year (twice! MK PM EMH and MNSSHP).

Yeah for BTM at night!!!

 

[Seeker615]

I really have enjoyed your trip report. It gives me a lot of good ideas for our trip which is quickly approaching!

 

[SharonK0527]

Another awesome update! Sounds like you guys had such a fun day! I'm looking forward to hearing about your day at Sea World, as we will be visiting there in October

 

[natebenma]

I really have enjoyed your trip report. It gives me a lot of good ideas for our trip which is quickly approaching!

Wow, your trip is getting close. You are now eligible to play the "One week from today game"

I should be able to get in at least one more IoA update before you leave.

Another awesome update! Sounds like you guys had such a fun day! I'm looking forward to hearing about your day at Sea World, as we will be visiting there in October

Your wish is my command! I'm just about to write the Sea World post. Hopefully I will get a chance to post it later today, but the beach is calling my name...


Edit to add: Bad Disser! Sorry it has taken me so long to get this update done! I thought I could do the Sea World post in one post, but I am going to split it up into two posts. Seeker615, I may not get to the next IoA update. Have a fantastic trip!!! Can't wait to hear all about it!

 

[natebenma]

After breakfast in the Concierge Lounge, we took a taxi to Sea World (around $20 plus tip) and we arrived right around opening at 9:00. This would be our second visit to SW thanks to the buy one day, get one free deal.

Praying Manta won’t bring up breakfast

Nate and I went to the waiting line for Manta- this is a new coaster at Sea World. When we started to wait, they hadn’t even opened the queue yet, so we were waiting outside. Employees (not sure what they are called here- Sea Ms?) would go through the line and inform people that they couldn’t take bags onto the coaster. I think my fanny pack was fine. I (reluctantly) handed my camera over to Ben, since 1) I wouldn’t be able to use it and 2) He and Mark would be visiting exhibits while Nate and I were riding. We planned to meet at 9:45 at the Atlantis attraction.

I think we had about a 15 min wait in the line, but there are pretty interesting aquariums to look at. So interesting, that I was disappointed that I didn’t have my camera. But then I remembered that I did have my phone, so I took some pictures. But apparently I don’t know exactly how my phone camera works because I haven’t been able to find the pictures I took.

Here is the description of the coaster from the Sea World website:

Find out what it’s like to spin, glide, skim and fly like a giant ray when you experience the only flying roller coaster of its kind in the world. A seamless blend of up-close animal encounters with a head-first, face-down thrill ride, Manta is an adventure only SeaWorld could create. From the ground, this flying coaster seems to glide effortlessly through the skies. Those who’ve braved its intense motions know this Manta as a monster of the sea. Riders are taunted by a head-first, face-down inverted nosedive…and that’s just the beginning. This powerful ray leads bold adventurers on a journey to experience the full force and power of riding the high seas, all on one of the smoothest tracks in the world.

The first picture is from the Sea World website.

I think I took the first picture and the second one is Ben’s while Nate and I were riding the coaster:

I asked Nate for his impressions of Manta- he says it is a “unique” coaster and you should ride it if you like coasters. I would give you my impressions, but my mind was more occupied with willing the cars (rays) not to fly off the track than paying attention to the ride. The ride was very smooth while you went through the twists and inversions. I would be willing to ride it again.


Here are the pictures that Ben took while we were separated. He and Mark went to the manta aquarium, dolphin tank, turtle exhibit, manatee pen and alligator enclosure:

When we were finished, we met up at the entrance of Journey to Atlantis.

The park map description: “Explore the mysterious lost city of Atlantis aboard this thrilling water ride”.

Our take: Like Splash Mountain, with a Mediterranean rather than Southern style.

We had about a 15 minute wait in the line for this ride.

We enjoyed this enough to do it again when we were finished. The line was a little longer, maybe 20 minutes, but we knew this would only get longer throughout the day.

Next up: The rest of our Sea World Day

 

[natebenma]

After exiting Atlantis, we were near entrance to Kraken rollercoaster. Nate really wanted to do this. Mark was not interested in riding it. I wanted to see the Sea Lion show at 11:15. After a short discussion, we decide to let Nate tackle this alone. We planned to meet up inside the entrance of the Penguin exhibit when the show was over.

Kraken is described as “A monster coaster born from tales that struck terror in sailors for centuries” This is one of those coasters where you are seated with a shoulder harness and your feet dangle. It has a couple of inversions.

Nate LOVED it!!! He rode it twice. I think this was his favorite of the 4 extreme coasters he tried on this trip (Manta, Kraken, Dragon Challenge and Hulk)

Da-dum, Da-dum, da-da-da-da-da-da

Mark, Ben and I went to the Shark encounter since we had a little time before the show. During our prior visit a few days before, we went into the exhibit, but the shark tunnel part was too crowded so we bailed.

Ben was really excited about the fish we saw:

We saw fish. We saw sawfish:

Next up was a really ribbiting exhibit:

It was time to go to the Sea Lion Show, “Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island”

My favorite part of the Sea Lion show is the mime who makes fun of audience
members as they are getting seated. From previous visits to Sea World, I remembered how much I enjoy the preshow. He is hilarious! Unfortunately, we arrived at the theater too late to enjoy him.

Picture me in all white makeup, my fingers at the corner of my eyes, running down my cheeks

The show was ok- didn’t blow me away- but maybe I was a tad bitter from missing the mime.

Continued in Next Post...

 

[natebenma]

After the show, we met up with Nate and went through the puffin/penguin exhibit.

Ben wanted to return to the Shark Encounter with Nate because he was so excited that about the sawfish.

At this point we were ready for lunch. We were near the Antarctic Market Counter Service restaurant featuring grab and go sandwiches, salad, fresh fruit and desserts. The four of us split a Turkey Sandwich, a Buffalo Chicken sandwich, a kid’s Hot Dog meal, a water, soft drink (probably a Gatorade of some sort for Nate) and the kid’s meal came with a soda.

I don’t have a picture of the turkey sandwich, but this is the Buffalo Chicken and the kid’s meal:

Our timing for lunch was good. After we had ordered and found a table, a bunch of people from a tour group came in and the lines got really long there.

Following lunch, we headed out of the park and took a taxi back to the Portofino. Mark, Ben and I went for a swim while Nate chilled and rested in the room.

Next up: Chillin' at the Portofino pool and finally back to IoA/US/IoA

 

[AnjieNet]

Loved the Sea World part II update. Makes me wish we could squeeze it into our next trip. The Manta and the Kraken sound like loads of fun! Always have enjoyed the sea lion show at San Antonio though I don't remember a mime there. The penguins are a favorite of my daughter but after seeing Happy Feet dozens of times, they just make me sad.

 

[natebenma]

Loved the Sea World part II update. Makes me wish we could squeeze it into our next trip. The Manta and the Kraken sound like loads of fun! Always have enjoyed the sea lion show at San Antonio though I don't remember a mime there. The penguins are a favorite of my daughter but after seeing Happy Feet dozens of times, they just make me sad.

Glad you enjoyed the Sea World update. We had a good time during our visit, but it is definitely not something we need to do every time we visit Orlando. I think once every 3-4 years is good.

The thrill rides really went a long way in my teenagers enjoyment of SW! Manta was cool and I would like to do it again. I rode Kraken 7 years ago, but I'm pretty sure my eyes were closed for most of the ride. It was my first inversion coater.

 

[RAPstar]

I love your Sea World update! I can't wait to go again next month! I'm mainly going to ride Manta as much as I can....and hit a few things I didn't get to in 09 (the manatees and the penguins mainly).

 

[SharonK0527]

Yay Sea World updates! I am not a thrill-ride junkie by any means and it's hard for me to do coasters because I hate drops and finding a good coaster without large hills is hard to do. I love all of the coasters at Disney - Space Mtn, BTMRR, Expedition Everest. Rock 'n Roller Coaster is my favorite ride at Disney. I tolerate Splash Mountain but don't love it (again, because of the drop). I have no problem with coasters that go upside down and can tolerate small (not giant) hills. Based on that, do you think I could do Manta and/or Kraken? What about Hulk at IOA? My DH has been on Hulk and said if I can do Rock n Roller Coaster I can do Hulk. What do you think? That drop on Atlantis looked pretty intense - not sure I would like that.

Loving the updates! Please keep 'em coming!

 

[RAPstar]

Yay Sea World updates! I am not a thrill-ride junkie by any means and it's hard for me to do coasters because I hate drops and finding a good coaster without large hills is hard to do. I love all of the coasters at Disney - Space Mtn, BTMRR, Expedition Everest. Rock 'n Roller Coaster is my favorite ride at Disney. I tolerate Splash Mountain but don't love it (again, because of the drop). I have no problem with coasters that go upside down and can tolerate small (not giant) hills. Based on that, do you think I could do Manta and/or Kraken? What about Hulk at IOA? My DH has been on Hulk and said if I can do Rock n Roller Coaster I can do Hulk. What do you think? That drop on Atlantis looked pretty intense - not sure I would like that.

Loving the updates! Please keep 'em coming!

Manta you should be ok with. Its on par with RNRC, but it doesn't feel as wild (or loud, lol).

 

[natebenma]

I love your Sea World update! I can't wait to go again next month! I'm mainly going to ride Manta as much as I can....and hit a few things I didn't get to in 09 (the manatees and the penguins mainly).

Please don't hit the animals! They frown on that over there.

Thanks for your post! SW is a nice change of pace from the other theme parks.

 

[natebenma]

Yay Sea World updates! I am not a thrill-ride junkie by any means and it's hard for me to do coasters because I hate drops and finding a good coaster without large hills is hard to do. I love all of the coasters at Disney - Space Mtn, BTMRR, Expedition Everest. Rock 'n Roller Coaster is my favorite ride at Disney. I tolerate Splash Mountain but don't love it (again, because of the drop). I have no problem with coasters that go upside down and can tolerate small (not giant) hills. Based on that, do you think I could do Manta and/or Kraken? What about Hulk at IOA? My DH has been on Hulk and said if I can do Rock n Roller Coaster I can do Hulk. What do you think? That drop on Atlantis looked pretty intense - not sure I would like that.

Loving the updates! Please keep 'em coming!

Manta you should be ok with. Its on par with RNRC, but it doesn't feel as wild (or loud, lol).

I agree, you should try Manta. The ride was very smooth!

RNR is a good comparison to Hulk. Like RNR, there is a very quick takeoff. There are no prolonged hill-climbs that I recall, if that's what bothers you. The cars go quickly through the loops and inversions.

I didn't find the drop on Atlantis to be too bad, but then again, Splash doesn't really bother me. You could probably find out the technical details on the drops (height and angle) on the subforums, but it is probably a decision you need to make by looking at it.

 

[natebenma]

After returning to the Portofino from SW, I lingered in the courtyard entry to take a few pictures.

We then made a quick trip to the Concierge Lounge for snacks. After a brief stay in our room, Mark, Ben and I decided to go for a swim. I had been to the pool a couple of times by myself, but this would be the first time I had some company. Nate decided to stay behind in the room to rest.

Here are a few pictures from the pool:

The slide that goes through the fort is a lot of fun. I had gone on it a few times on my solo trips to the pool, with my camera, but this time the guard at the top of the slide said I couldn’t go down with my camera. He said it was ok for me to go down the slide, then Mark could send the camera down alone and I could wait at the end and catch it.

So I slid.

Mark sent the camera down.

The life guard exclaimed “I hope the camera is waterproof!” and as he watched, he told my husband I made a “Good catch”.

Then Ben and Mark each followed.

We returned to the room and changed into dry clothes and woke Nate from
his mid-day nap.

We were ready for our next Adventure!

Coming up: Back to Islands of Adventure/Universal Studios/IoA again