When you Wish Upon a Star...7/11-7/18 - Updated 7/26 Day 6 and More Pics!

[lesliejmorris]

We are the Morris Family from Sacramento California. Now I will attempt to put pictures in!

Me - Leslie - 45 -Stay at home mom, amateur photographer

DH - Jim 47 - Avid Marathoner

DD - Ashley - 16 - Actress, singer and dancer - wants to be on Broadway (Unfortunately might make it....sigh!)

DS - RJ - 5 - Professional trouble maker and lover of all things that have guns....ahhhh boys.

Itinerary:

11th - Arrive MCO 5:55 pm, check in CBR, Dinner CS maybe swim
12th - Donalds Breakfast 8, AK, Boma 6
13th - MK - Whispering Canyon 5:30
14th - Studios, Sci Fi Cafe 12:25 (Ashley will audition for AI today)
15th - MK - Crystal Palace 11:45
16th - Rest - Late AK - Kona 5:30
17th - Epcot, Coral Reef 11:45, Chef Mickey 5:30
18th - Studios or MK - Fly home late afternoon

Coming up....Day 1, Animal Kingdom

 

[lesliejmorris]

Arrival and Day 1 - July 12 – Animal Kingdom.

Our arrival was not to bad, we woke West Coast time of 4:30 to make a 7:30 flight out of Sacramento, left on time, got on our connection in Denver and were told the door was broken, they would not let us off as we waited an hour and a ½ for them to get a part and replace it. During that time they let all the kids into the cockpit to entertain them; I was a little worried when RJ started to push buttons! But door was fixed and we arrived in Orlando at 7, only an hour late, got our car on the Emerald Aisle (only three left when we got there, YIKES) checked in, ate Counter service (salmon was pretty good) got to bed about 9.

Sunday – July 12 – Animal Kingdom

We were out of bed woken by Stitch, I think as it was RJ who answered the phone in a stupor! We drove left CBR at about 7:15 and got to AK about 10 minutes later to find the parking lot not yet open. Was told that could happen, but they opened at about 7:40 and we were able to get to Donald’s Breakfast with no problem.

Breakfast was great; the juice concoction was pretty tasty. We all had lots of different things and the character interaction was fun. The only thing was it was like a freezer in the building, luckily the coffee was not too bad!

We went a bit against conventional touring by going directly to Safari after breakfast and were on the first jeep out. Lots of animals and it was enjoyable.

Just a few examples of what we saw (I took over 1500 photos - not including PhotoPass!) So if you want to see something in particular, let me know and I will post it if I have it!

Then we went to Asia to fast pass Everest at about 9:36 (Return time 10 something) went to Dino land and everything was walk on.

Notice lack of people, could have walked on this ride at least 5 or 6 times is my guess. We did skip Primeval Whirl due to spinning. Then headed to Character trails.

Saw all the characters then lined up for Lion King at about 10:30, I ran over to Kali and got Fpasses then met family at Lion King (was not full)

After Lion King we went to Everest, Ashley rode with Jim then again with me as RJ was just a touch under 44”, it would have scared the pants off of him, he was still reeling a bit from Dinosaur!

Still early, so we went to get cooled of in Kali, well we were the ones who got to go backwards through the falls and were totally drenched, RJ kept pumping his hands in glee and said it was the best ride ever! Then he played in the little water fountain just outside the ride for a bit before finally complaining of hunger.

So soaking wet we hit Flame Tree BBQ, food was good. Ribs OK, salad good, Pulled Pork Sandwich rated the highest of all.

1 pm off to resort for swim in Pirate Pool and rest.

We left the CBR at about 5:30 to explore the AKL and then had a 6:10 ADR at BOMA. The Salmon was to die for, lots of good stuff to choose from and the desserts were great!

I don't like my food to touch, so had to go back to the buffet more than once or twice The salmon was my favorite...

Ashley did not like the Zebra Domes but we had fun taking pictures!

We wandered around the grounds and took more pictures of the animals, the zebras were very pretty.

We did not do everything at Animal Kingdom, luckily we had another day planned later in the week....

Back to resort and bedtime!

Tomorrow….Magic Kingdom!!!!!!

 

[lesliejmorris]

Day 2 – Monday July 13th – Magic Kingdom (Day one of two, returning Wed for more!)

We had a good start to the day even though we were feeling the time change effects a bit. We were out of the resort at about 8:15 and parked close enough to walk to the transportation center, walked right onto the express monorail (there was plenty of room for more people – even thought this was billed as a yellow day) and got to the MK in time to watch opening ceremonies. Still, not to many people.

We walked with purpose, but did not run to the rope drop area in Tomorrow land, I think most people may have headed to Frontierland or the Castle. I was the first to Buzz to get a FP with a return time of 10:15, I thought this was odd as I was one of the first and thought it would be more like 9:45 or so but we were then off to walk on to Buzz, we had a great time on this ride, RJ really loved it, we could have continued to walk on several times but the grains of sand were falling.

My goal was to head straight to Fantasy Land but DH decided he needed a Bathroom break right in front of the Autotopia (or whatever it is called ride) and the kids both begged, line was short so they went on. I was slightly distressed but decided to relax and go with the flow, I really did not have much to worry about, it was not to busy.

After we got of there, we walked onto Pooh, and then headed to Peter and GASP! saw a line!!! We got into it and waited about 10 minutes to board, this was the longest wait we had all week on our vacation. After Peter, we were ahead of time so decided to go off plan a little and walked on Small World, I liked it, I know a lot of people complained about the changes, but I was happy to see it not looking as tattered as I remember from the last time.

When we got into the room with all the white and snow, RJ asked “Is this Heaven?” He is still young enough to catch the magic here.

OK, finished with Fantasyland, we are now off to Frontierland. We grab a FP for Splash and walk onto BTMRR…I am beginning to think this is really odd, so again we are ahead of schedule, what to do now? Well bathroom break and to Haunted Mansion. RJ still a little shaken from BTMRR (though he said it was fun) refused to open his eyes during the ride but at least he did not have a temper tantrum so we were all able to enjoy, he did admit to peeking at the end and seeing our friend riding in the car with us.

We then hit Pirates an it was at this we discovered that RJ had one real goal during our trip, it was to visit each and every gift shop at least a dozen times. He really loved the gift shops, every time we passed one, he would jump out of the stroller and run in. (By the way the rental from Orlando Strollers saved our lives, there was no way RJ would have walked all that way in that heat!). We then were able to catch a portion of the Pirates Tutorial.

But still with shopping we managed to stay ahead of schedule and hit Pecos Bills for lunch, great burgers and taco salads. The toppings bar was amazing especially the sauteed mushrooms!

So now it is only noon and we have two sets of FPs to use as we were not coming back for the evening. It was getting pretty crowded in Frontierland at this point and it was a joy to walk past all of THEM in the 45 minute wait line at Splash and walk right on.

RJ enjoyed it, but was really mad at me after for not telling him about the drop. For the rest of the trip he would ask every cast member at the beginning of the ride if there were any “slopes”.

We then used our Buzz FP and went back to the resort for a swim to wash off all of the sweat! It was about 1:30 or so, did not do a good job of recording exact times.

We swam in the pirate pool then rested a bit and headed over to the Wilderness Lodge to check it out.

We had an ADR at 5:30. It was fun, but we were pretty tired as we rested but did not nap so we really were not up to the antics, the Platter was good, lots of food, the pulled pork was the best, we asked for more. I was really impressed with the childs Salmon plate, it was really good, RJ loves salmon. With so much food, we took our dessert to go and ate it the next morning for breakfast!

Anyone know what kind of rabbits these are? They seemed to be everywhere.

Again, I have sooooo many pics, if you want to see somethig not here I probably have it! Just ask and I will upload. It was hard to pick just a few to share!


Next up: Tuesday, Hollywood Studios and the American Idol Experience success for Ashley!

 

[lesliejmorris]

Day 3 – July 14th – Hollywood Studios – American Idol Experience

Well the day has come that Ashley has been dreaming about for 4 months, the chance to compete in the American Idol Experience. Have no idea if she slept, but she was up at the wake up call, sorta ate something then we were off and at the turnstiles at 8:30, no sign of the AIE team so we asked the friendly CM at the breakfast turnstile for the scoop. She sent us over to a spot just away from the turnstiles and sure enough in a few minutes, out came the cameras and microphones and the announcement for auditions.

Ashley was the first to audition and they promptly handed me paperwork to fill out, step one success! She was so very excited.

As we waited for them to take us back for the next level we watched several unsuccessful auditions and other successful auditions, as the amount of successful auditions mounted, they begin to give them time slots to come back for their step 2. At about 8:45, they took us back. I had given Jim instructions with RJ to hit the TSMM dash and get fast passes, then to ride TSMM then hit Star Tours, if they had not heard from us, they were to get ToT FP at the next window and hit the AIE for the 11 am show, hopefully to see Ashley perform.

So, back to Ashley and I, we walked with several other successful candidates through the empty park into the AIE building back door, something fun about entering the back door. They were then greeted by a video of Ryan Seacrest and then moved to a red room with IPods to listen to, practice and select their songs. They all talked and laughed and had a good time during the process.

After the song was selected each candidate went into a private audition room with the producer where they sang their song. The producer liked Ashley and with congratulations, handed her a “Vote for Me” lanyard with instructions when to return for hair, makeup, vocal coaching and staging of the show….again she is in seventh heaven!

So we return not to long afterwards as she is in the second show, we briefly see Jim and RJ who were able to get TSMM FP with a 10:15 return but by the time they did, the standby was 45 minutes so they just went to STours, luckily they gave Ashley four fast passes to anywhere so we were feeling fine about things at this time. They go off for ToT FPs and will meet us for their VIP family seating of the show.

So Ashley goes back in for hair, makeup, coaching, staging and such, then gets one last chance to practice her song…..then to the show!

They hide a little sensor on you so that the spotlight follows you wherever you are on the stage!

The stage is enormous; it looks like the real thing! I had to sit backstage as Ashley is a minor, but they had a big screen to watch on. (I got to change places with DH for the finale!)

Ashley and the other performers were great, what a lot of talent they see here. After each performer sang, they got to go up against the panel of three, two nice and one mean, the Simon character always had something obnoxious to say, but the crowd booed each time, nothing to cause tears, but added to the reality of the experience. Both praise and criticism was well thought out.

Then the time came, the audience voted and Ashley came up the winner of the 11 am show.

You can see how happy she is up on the big screen in the top corner of the picture.

Ashley was then instructed to come back at 6 for preparation for the finale along with the other 6 winners throughout the day.

We then met up for a nice long lunch at the Sci Fi dine in. We loved it, nice and quiet and Ashley enjoyed the break and was ravenous.(Great burgers and milkshakes and onion rings) though she said she was so spent from the first performance that she nearly fell asleep eating lunch!

We met several people after the show who wanted pictures taken with Ashley, it was so fun for her. For the rest of the week, everywhere we went, people recognized her and told her how much they enjoyed her performance. I figured that between the first show and the finale, over 3000 people were able to see her and the other finalists perform. What a great experience.

There was so much talent in the finale, that it was really hard to see who would win, although Ashley did not win the finale, she had a wonderful time and will always remember it! After the finale we hit Pizza Planet for a well deserved Pizza Celebration.

We did leave for a rest in the afternoon and came back. Even with all the time spent at the AIE, we managed to ride TSMM three times, TOT and ROC and see Indy. We made a plan to come back on our few hours left on Saturday as RJ was desperate to fight Darth Vader…..

Oh, here was what Ashley looked like when we finally got back to the CBR after dinner…

Up next – Magic Kingdom Day 4 – Lighting and Wishes….

 

[lesliejmorris]

Day 4 – July 15 - Second Day Magic Kingdom – Lightning and Wishes

Since our day at HS took so much out of us with AIE and since we did soooo much on our first day at MK, we decided to take things a bit slower today. Still we woke as normal and were off at a decent hour.

We arrived at the ticket and transportation center at about 8:30 and there was quite a line for the monorail, so we got on the ferry, it was fun to see all the other resorts from the water.

We strolled in just after rope drop and enjoyed took a leisurely walk down Main Street, we really only had a few things planned this morning and an early departure as we were coming back to enjoy the night magic. We got a FP for Buzz then proceeded to walk on it three times in row, would have gone again except Ashley (16) began to complain.

So we then walked over to Fantasy land, still this looked like a wasteland, don’t know where everyone was and watched Philharmagic (walk on). This was just a magical show, I recommend EVERYONE see this, I would have watched it again if we had not needed to go get our Jungle Cruise FP to use later, we planned a twig light cruise for later.

We then rode Pirates again and gave into RJs craving to shop, today he purchased a pirate gun and a Mickey lightsaber, yesterday he bought an Indiana Jones Action Figure (he yelled at me each time I called it a doll).

We still had some time to kill before our 11:30 lunch at Crystal Palace so we decided to try the Tiki Room, well this was our only waste of the trip, I will have to agree with the reviews I have read that the refurbishment is just awful…but it was cool inside! We should have gone to CBJ instead!

Well we then went to CP for lunch, we happened to get there the same time as one of RJs best friends from school and his family, we knew they were going to be there but did not expect to actually see them. The boys spend all lunch time running back and forth to each others table talking up a storm.

The character interaction was great, food was great, but it was FREEZING inside.

After lunch we ambled back to the front and caught the monorail back to the car, back to resort, swim and an actual nap for all of us!

We were all a bit rummy from having slept, but were ready for our evening adventure! We rode the monorail back again as there was no line at 6 pm. We were able to catch the parade as we came back in.

We had time to kill and the park was not too crowded, we took a few photopass picture then headed to the Laugh Floor, this was really cute and everyone loved it, I highly recommend it. We then used our Buzz FP, Ashley was really getting bored with this one, but RJ loved it.

We then hit the Noodle Station for dinner, I would not really recommend it, food was really marginal and although it fit the bill to kill the hunger, I would not go back again. I could see them setting up the terrace for the Dessert Party.

We then went to the Jungle Cruise, fun as always and as it was getting dark, had a different look to it. When we got off, there was no one in line and all the boats ahead of us were empty, should have had a premonition…then noticed that Aladdin was not running….we were told…Big Storm Coming! (Also dumped my favorite sunglasses in the river as I exited the boat, good thing I brought a spare!)

It was then time to get set for the parade, we headed over to Frontierland and go there just as they were setting up the ropes, plopped right down in front of the rope in front of the Hall of Presidents when the thunder started, then the lightning, then the cast members recommending we take cover. Ashley hid cowering in the Hall of Presidents while RJ fought with his light saber with another boy with his. CM then took down the ropes, still saying the parade was still on, well they waited until 9pm to actually announce that they had to cancel the parade due to the electrical storm. It was quite spectacular as we watched from the cover at the Hall of Presidents.

We tried CBJ after the parade was cancelled but it was closed so we went ahead and did the Hall of Presidents, we all liked it except RJ who would have rather gone to Buzz yet again.

When we got out, we could hear the screams from Splash and BTMM, so the threat had passed, so off we go to get a spot for Wishes.

The storm had scared many, many people out of the park so there was an abundance of space. I should have sat in the hub for better fireworks photos, but instead we elected to sit in that little nook in the Rose Garden where the photopass photographer usually is, they were all gone by now, we had hoped to get a pic with the castle at night, but alas not a photographer in sight.

While we waited Jim ran over to get us Dole Whips, these are really great we had several this trip and highly recommend them!

Wishes was wonderful, Tinkerbelle flew directly over the top of us and RJ was enchanted, at the end, he said his wish was to be an Astronaut.

We then joined the mass exodus from the park, we were somehow lucky enough to get on what looked like the first ferry out and were able to catch the water parade as we rode back to the cars.

We got back to the CBR at 11, not to bad! I was expecting closer to midnight. So another magical day.

Tomorrow – Sleep in and wander around day at AK to catch what we missed earlier in the week.

 

[lesliejmorris]

Day 5 – July 16 – Slow Morning and Animal Kingdom second day

Since we were up late last night we elected to sleep in and then hit Animal Kingdom for walk around and a few shows we missed the first day. We set our wake up call for later but we woke anyway at 7 am like always. We had a lazy morning and breakfast in room and headed out at just before 9 if I remember right. This was a green day at AK.

We parked a little further and had to take the tram in, no biggie, we really did not have anything on the bill. So we decided to FP Kali for our ride for the day and then hit the Maharaja Jungle Trek and enjoyed the animals, here are a few pics:

We then found the super secret trail around the Tree of Life and took more pics and played the game of who could see the most animals.

We also then decided to throw the 11:15 Finding Nemo – The Musical show in, we were so glad we did, it was just magical and both kids loved it.

We then hit the lunch at the Yak and Yeti CS outlet, they had tasty boxes, Ashley and I had Shrimp Lo Mein and Jim had Orange Chicken over Rice. RJ had something that I can’t remember, most likely a burger or mac-n-cheese. The Shrimp Lo Mein was very good, highly recommend it.

We then went off to Africa to walk that trail, interesting but we liked the trail in Asia better.

RJ decided he did not want to ride Kali, so we gave our FP’s to a thankful family of four standing in the one hour standby line then we went to see Bugs Life. I put RJ in my lap as I knew what to expect but did not tell my DH why so he could get the full effect, everyone loved it.

We were now done, about 1pm. We went back to the resort and tried out the quiet pool for the first time to get cooled of and refreshed. It was nice, but RJ said he missed the Pirate Ship. He mellowed out when another little boy showed up for him to play with.

We then got ready for our 5:30 ADR at Kona Café. I had been looking forward to this one and was glad we were up to keeping it. I had the Shrimp and Scallops (wonderful), Ashley had the steak (really good), RJ had Mickey Ravioli and Jim had some stir fry thing that looked pedestrian but he said he liked it, looked so boring that I did not take a picture.

Then, what I had been waiting for, the Kona Cone! Yummy! Jim had the Crème Brule (I did not think it was very good, to custardy, not smooth) and the kids had make your own sundaes.

Loved it, highly recommend this for a resort spot. We then headed back to crash.

Up next – EPCOT – Full day – wow can you say exhausted!

 

[lesliejmorris]

Day 6 – Epcot – Friday July 17th

We were able to get a good night sleep which was really, really good as we were about to attempt our first day without a break. We only had one day for EPCOT as we decided as a family that we would return to Disney Studios on Saturday morning before we had to go to the airport….so we had to make this all fit!

Did not take to many pictures today but did get some great Photopass images, will try to update when I get my disk from PhotoPass.

We got to the turnstiles about 8:30 and were able to find one uncovered (in the shade) without a line – AMAZING. The plan was that I was going to get to the rope and join the Soaring Stampede and they would wait for me at Living with the Land.

Well, there was not to big of a group and we were all four standing at the Rope talking with CM’s shaking hands with Mickey, watching the opening ceremony.

The ropes dropped and I walked with purpose, leaving the Family to fend for themselves. I chatted with the nice CMs as we all power walked towards the Land. I was first in line for FP until another ‘guest’ literally pushed me, I almost fell, it was amazing, so I was second in line at the FP machine (return time 9:45, I think). We were only planning on riding once, so we went ahead and were first on the boat at Living with the Land. Since both I and DH have a background in agriculture, it was very interesting and DS really liked the aquaculture exhibit with the fish.

We then exited and walked right onto Finding Nemo and right off of this into Turtle Talk with Crush. This was a lot of fun and RJ was able to ask Crush a question, he asked how fast he could swim…what a cute show, even the adults and teens enjoyed.

While the family explored the Seas, I walked over and got Test Track Fast Passes, we were now ahead of schedule. (11:30 return time)

We then walked right on to Figment and finished about 11.

We had 11:30 ADR at Coral Reef, so killed a bit of time in Imagination and went to check in at 11:15 – we were the first to be seated and got a wonderful tank side table and communed with the fish during lunch, it was so great to have a meal where RJ was so fascinated with something that he actually sat still for the entire meal!!!!!!!

The food was awesome! My favorite for the week. The Mahi Mahi was wonderful, Ashley had a Shrimp Caesar and Jim had the Chicken (no seafood for Jim!) The Cream Brule was outstanding. Service wonderful. Highly recommend it. Even if you don’t get a tank side seat, you can see very well from most areas in the restaurant.

After lunch we went to secure our Mission Space Fast Passes then decided we needed to digest for a while and the 45 Minute Ellen Ride fit the bill perfectly. It was really funny how many times they announced how long the ride was….I guess they don’t want anyone to have a potty emergency! The dinosaur portion was really fascinating and updated from when I was there 10 years ago. RJ really liked it and even Ashley did not complain about being bored. Funny thing was that her best friend called her from Ireland just as we were getting on, so she gave Shelby a play by play for a while…teens!

So after Ellen we hit Test Track as a family. We all loved it, RJ even liked it until the end. Again said great ride, don’t ever want to do it again! Then we did the tame version of Mission Space. It was a lot of fun, glad to not have gotten sick. We met a family the day before who said the spinning version ruined their whole day!

So tired but not yet finished, we then walked onto Spaceship Earth as our last ride. We exited at almost exactly 4pm after having sent our pictures home!

We went back to the CBR and decided on a quick dip in the quiet pool, RJ and I were able to get in before the thunder hit and all pools were closed due to the electrical storm, it never really rained. We decided to let RJ use up the 30 minute arcade voucher then ordered a pizza and salads, took them to our room, and picnicked on the bed and watched TV.

After some food, I was energized enough to pre-pack as we had one last mission for our trip…..RJ to be chosen to participate in the Jedi Training Academy at the Studios.

 

[grandpaof3]

Just to let you know that someone is reading your TR. Tell Ashley that I would have voted for her.

We will be checking into CR for 11 days the last week in Aug.

 

[Nanu57v]

Yay! Thanks for the detail about AI! I can't wait to try it. I'm fairly certain I won't make it to the finale (I can sing, but I'm no pro), but I'd love to sing up on stage.