we've made it back

[Canadave]

Hi y'all...been back for a few days, but just finally getting a chance to post here.

Had a great time (except DD17 was sick the last 3 1/2 days ...stayed alone in the hotel the last 2 days )...weather was a few degrees below normal with one day raining.

Good Times :

New attractions
Expedition Everest...got to ride it in the evening of EMH...awesome worth the wait.
Soarin'...did twice...a little bit of motion problem for DW, but a wonderful ride.
Turtle Talk with Crush...very cute and funny.
Lights, Motors Action...did twice...very cool/amazing...large line, but fits thousands...most have good view.
Philharmagic...I know it's not brand new, but it is such a great 3D show...very Disney

Old favourites
Festival of Lion King...still get goosebumps.
Tower of Terror...best thrill attraction
Splash Mountain...best overall attraction, IMHO

Underrated "Secrets'
4 for a Dollar (before Beauty and the Beast Show)
Chicken and mashed potatoes at Cosmic Rays
Package delivery from theme parks to your hotel
National Dance Championships at the Indiana Jones attraction (there are all kinds of different events at WDW throughout the year. This is a great opportunity to see the talented youth in action.)
The Pirates of the Caribbean game at Disney Quest...a hoot!!

Great Restaurants/Shows
Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki...one of the highlights of our trip...we had a VERY interactive and animated chef...food was good too
50's Prime Time Cafe....having a server that gets into character makes the experience sooooo much fun...she even made one Dad have to stand up with nose against the wall (because he kept putting his elbows on the table)

New experiences
My first time (and my DD's) trip down Summit Plummet ...FUN
La Nouba...what a wonderful show...worth every penny...and thanks so much to my friends on the DIS...every seat is good, but we had the best!
First time at WDW with a digital camera...I think we have 500 to 600 pictures to go along with a few hours of video

Off WDW property
Sharks Restaurant in Seaworld...great view for dinner...mixed reviews on the food (I loved mine...DW was not so enamoured)
Islands of Adventure....Spiderman ride was the best attraction in North America...and I'm a Disney nut, so that says a lot.

Not so Good Times

Break downs on attractions...RnRC, Splash Mtn., Carousel of Progress, Haunted Mansion, LMA (although they did warn of technical difficulties beforehand)...don't remember sooo many breakdowns on one trip

Restaurants
The food at Raglan Road was disappointing...decor was nice though
L'Originale Alfredo di Roma Restaurante...atmosphere greatly lacking

New attractions
Stitches Great Escape...nap time...bring back Alien Encounter
Cindercellabration...mixed reviews with our family, but I found it lacking
Narnia attaction at MGM - can you say 'commercial'

Old attractions
What's with the lineups and Fast Pass times (3 to 4 hours) at Peter Pan...I really enjoy the ride, but jeeez

Other
DD being sick....sure was depressing to go on without her
Seaworld...was OK, but overall, we were disappointed
Losing our key to the locker at MK....luckily, we didn't lose anything in the locker.
Snow and Ice in the Tennesee Mountains...yuk


Anyway, that was some highlights and lowlights of our trip....any questions, fire away

 

[merfsko]

Thanks for the review! Haven't been since January 2005, and we're planning a trip for January 2007. Great to hear about the new attractions and such!

Glad you had a fun time!

-merfsko

 

[Debbie]

Brain dead today. LMA What is that?

Sounds like you had a good trip.

 

[marylou]

LMA is lights, motor action show at MGM stunt cars at such

 

[SnowWhite]

So sorry to hear that your DD was sick. Glad to hear that the rest of your trip was good! We would like try IoA soon (when DS is a little older). So Summit Plummet was fun? DD still repeats the line from Stacey from Disney TV "little ditty about Summit Plummet, complete with the hand actions!!) She thinks she is ready for it but I can't wait to see her face when she sees it for the first time!!


Glad to hear you made it back safely, so when is the next trip??
Can't wait to see the pics!!!

 

[riu girl]

Happy to hear you had a good trip. Sorry about DD being ill. That must have been terrible for her.

Thanks for the trip report.

We are planning on 2-3 days at SeaWorld in December.
Can you please tell me what was good/bad about SeaWorld?

Thanks

 

[striker3636]

Did you come back through the nasty snow storm in the Tn mountains last weekend? I have driven through a lot of storms, but I must say hauling a trailer and wondering if you are going to plummet down the mountainside at 2am really tops it off. And, I was only the passenger!

We had a few more breakdowns than normal too..Unfortunately EE was down BOTH days we tried - bummer. Funny how our good times list is almost the same! Although we seemed to always be behind a group of cheerleaders in a line and never watching them in action!!!

 

[TimNDansMom]

Welcome home, Dave. I remember well what it's like to drive through those mountains in the snow and ice. (winter storm January 2002) Never again!!

I'm so sorry to hear that your DD became sick for the last part of the trip. I hope she was able to enjoy the first part. DH spent most of the entire long weekend we were down at Disney at the end of January, in bed sick, too!


I agree about Mickey's Philharmagic, it's the first thing I do when I get to Fantasyland in the morning! I'm really looking forward to EE!

Thanks for the trip report!

 

[Canadave]

Sorry Debbie, marylou is right, it's the Lights Motors Action show...some great stunts and some behind the scenes info on how they do a lot of the stunts.

SnowWhite...Brit and I enjoyed IOA...pretty well did it all by mid afternoon...the Spiderman ride is really awesome...we also had our picture taken with THE Spiderman...he was realllly good, a very believable Spidey.....When we were at Blizzard Beach, I had to really get on Brit's case to go on with me (BTW, Brit's my DD17)...I secretly needed her support ..when we finally got to the top, we could see for miles ...you do get to the bottom reeeeeal fast...I hit 64 mph!!!...it was a real adrenaline rush...you have to just Go For It.....as far as our next trip, nothing planned yet, but the word 'Cruise' was mentioned on the way home ...we'll have to see

riu girl....we went to Seaworld on the first day that DD was sick, so I had to go back to the hotel 1ish to pick her up, so maybe my overall feelings may be slightly biased....The shows ranged from very good to so-so...the sharks enclosure was very cool...the penguin pavilion was closed that day ...one big highlight of our trip was actually getting a chance to pet a dolphin, it was so neat...we didn't get to the park in time to feed any of the animals.....the snack booths were very lacking in choice, but we had dinner at Sharks Restaurant and it was very neat...All in all, if we had got there first thing in the morning as planned (with all 4 of us in good health), I think the experience would have been much better.

striker3636 and TimNDansMom...on our way home (I-75), we went up the mountains with the roads being wet, but at the top and on the way down, there was a couple of inches of snow, on top of an icy road surface ...we just took our time (had new snow tires), but a lot of people were all over the road and trying to gas it with no traction ....made it to the bottom, that was just wet, but shortly after we ran into a 'no-visibility' snow storm, so we just found the closest hotel for the night...other than that, the drive was actually pretty good.

.....my youngest DD is into hiphop dance classes, so we planned a day at MGM to watch the National Championships at Indiana Jones...saw them last trip too...they are wonderful to watch....although all those girls fill up the park, we've always been very pleased with how they conduct themselves...


...I would say that Expedition Everest has lived up to all the hype...It was closed during the day that we were there (they were taping something), but we kept checking...eventually they opened it to the public that evening...the line was long, but moved pretty quickly...the queue area is very neat, so it passed the time...the ride itself was one of the longest roller coaster rides I've been on....I won't spoil the surprises if you haven't been on it, but expect a different experience than a regular coaster


Thanks all for your thoughts about my DD's sickness...she still isn't her normal self yet ...our trips to WDW are all about family, so when one member is down, things just don't feel right...but we were on our trip for 14 days, so we got a lot of good memories in there.

 

[madonna31]

Welcome back, thanks for a GREAT report!

I just want to say, that I couldn't agree with this comment more:

Spiderman ride was the best attraction in North America...and I'm a Disney nut, so that says a lot.

Spiderman REALLY is that good and I to am a Disney fanatic, so for me to say it, says a lot to.

 

[riu girl]

Thanks for all the info. on SeaWorld.
We are pretty excited about going there.

Hope DD is feeling better soon.

 

[sammi]

We were down in Florida last week too and we had some pretty cool days! I'm really not too sure if we'll go back in Feb anymore though.

We loved Seaworld and actually spent 2 days there. We haven't gone to that park in a couple of years and I saw alot of improvement. We actually got to see Leann Rimes in concert there, too which was really nice.
For $10.00 more each DH and I got what is called a Fun Pass which enables you to return to Seaworld anytime until the end of this year and since we're going back this Nov, it'll be really handy as DS and his girlfriend will be coming back with us!

Glad you made it home safe and sound and hope your DD is feeling better real soon!DH had a few "off" days too while we were down there. And all we saw were people coughing and sneezing all over the place!

 

[hockey mom]

I was thinking you must be coming home soon.

Five to six hundred pictures sounds like a good dis meet to me.

So sorry Brit was sick. I know what's it's like to stay at the hotel and miss out on all the fun.

I have always said the Spiderman is the best ride ever made.

We can't wait to do EE- glad you liked it.

Welcome home.