YankeePenny goes to Disney

[yankeepenny]

Arrival Day
Just back from our first trip, Sept 1-7 at CBR.We arrived 9/1 around 5 pm after a horrible plane ride from charlotte NC. It was our stopover from Maine. first they could not get a door to shut properly, that was 30+ minutes, and then we are on the runway, we pull off, and they annouce due to storms MCO is closed and we sat for almost 2 hours.......we were allowed to walk about the cabin and use the restroom and electronic devices. when we arrived, we found magical express, and had to wait in a line just to get our voucher stamped, and then get in another line for the bus. By a stroke of luck we were able to get on a bus sitting there and sat up front with driver. doing this alowed us to be first to be checked in for our group, and on our way to the room. We got in the room, and then decided to head to the old port royale to check it out and stretch our legs and explore. Dinner was right there at Shutters that evening, (see review under Our Shutters Review) and then we strolled a little bit, and went back to the room for rest and sleep. The room was great, steps from
the bus, quiet pool, and laundry.

 

[yankeepenny]

First park day. Walked thru the gates 9/2 at 9 am. busy bus ride, but fine. quite a few people there, holiday weekend after all. We knew we would not see everything this trip, and were not going to rush and get overwhelmed, or in my case, worked up. Visited the Oasis, then the left side of discovery island. We then made our way to Africa. stopped in Kusafari for an espresso(perked me up) and then did Kilimanjaro Safaris and the Pangani Trail. Discovered very quickly that ample shade and benches to sit on made this warm first day actually enjoyable. After this it was nearly 1130, so we made our way to Flame Tree for a fantastic lunch.
We each had the BBQ chicken salad, I had iced tea and chocolate cake, and DH had Key lime pie and water.
After this, we headed to Tough to be a Bug(scared me, he enjoyed it) Then we visited Maharajah Jungle Trek and shops. Next we did a little of Dino Land. By then, it was 130, and I and had enough, so we got water, and made our way back to the hotel, where we swam, revived, and got ready for our Spoodles dinner. (see review under Our Spoodles review)
We used plenty of sunscreen, and that helped. The day was pleasant, and with that shade and trees there, made for an enjoyable first day.

 

[yankeepenny]

This was sunday, 9/3, our second park day. We arrived around 915, quickly made our way thru security and entrance, and noticed right away with the building and conrete it would be much hotter here vs. AK. We went down Hollywood Blvd and made our way to Mickey Avenue, were we perused shops and visited the Magic of Disney Animation, followed by One man/s dream. Next we visited Muppet Vision and Star Tours.
We walked on/waited maybe five minutes for any attraction, even though the place seemed busy.
By then, it was around 1130 and made our way to the Backlot Express, were Dh had a really good burger with fries, and I had chicken strips, iced tea, and we had chocolate cake.
another lunch winner!!!! After this, we headed to the great movie ride, waited maybe 10 minutes, and really enjoyed it. We visied some shops, and by then i was tired. it was really noticable here that there wasw no shade, and I gor really hot and wanted to leave. We headed back to swim and then our CG dinner. (see review under Our CG review)

again, knowing I would not see everything really made me stop and enjoy what we did view. another great day.

 

[yankeepenny]

we woke up on monday , laobr day, and knew right away goign to OPR that it was quiet. 2 cars in the parking lot of our building, and no one around. the bus to Epcot had a few people on it, and right away when we walked in around 930 we knew everyone had left. Since I was not sure that we would see all of Epcot, we chose to visit the world showcase.
We started with Canada, and there were maybe 10 of us in the O canada film, and then we walked through the gardens.
we then moved on to the UK and perused the shops and grounds. Then we headed to Morocco, and used the very clean restrooms and perused thru Japan next.
It was coming up on lunch, so we had burgers at the liberty inn. At America, I found a new hat, and then had a chance to walk right into the American adventure preshow and then the show. It was nice and cool in there, there were maybe 30-40 people tops. Next stop, Italy and Germany shops, and we lvoed the trains! Great place to sit and rest. After that, we visited China, then we had a snack at the bakery in Norway, and went to do the Maelstrom ride. It had a mechanical issue, and closed. So we went to Mexico, which actually was busy, and visited the ,market and the El Rio del Tiempo.
After this we visited a couple of shops heading toward the middle of future world and then decided to head back for a swim and relax.

 

[MyTalula]

Great Start on your TR Penny!! I've got to go read your dining reviews now! That's pretty cool how quiet it got on Labor Day! I would have figured it would have been busy that day.

Keep up the good work!

 

[mytwotinks]

Can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[stinkerbelle's mom]

Great so far! Yikes on all the problems just getting there!

 

[OhMari]

So when you landed at MCO, they wouldn't let you off the plane because of a bad Thunderstorm, or where you circling the airport waiting to land.

 

[yankeepenny]

So when you landed at MCO, they wouldn't let you off the plane because of a bad Thunderstorm, or where you circling the airport waiting to land.

we stayed on the runway at Charlotte, and never left for orlando, they would not even fly the plane....... i really feared they were going to pull us in and never get there.

 

[yankeepenny]

saved the best for last. on tuesday last week we did MK . Boy was it quiet! we entered the park and decided to ride the railroad to frontierland. it was fun, enjoyed the "sights" and i just was so happy to finally be at the kingdom!
we exited the train, and noticed right away that no one was around! so we visited big thunder mountain,( i NEVER do coasters) it was fun, walked right on to it., and i actually liked it. we then explored some shops and visited tom sawyer island, first ones over,and found a paintbrush, which earned us a special fastpass, good anywhere. quick break with a mickey bar and some water, and we headed for liberty square. there, we perused some shops and then went for the showing of the hall of presidents. that was really good. we saw that the liberty riverboat was freshly painted, and then it was heading around the water a bit. we next hit up the haunted mansion, and again, no waiting. I visited a couple more shops after that, and then we went to columbia harbor house for lunch.
it was good, DH had a tuna sanwich and I had fish sticks which I had not had in years and really enjoyed. the place was extremely clean and the bathrooms were immaculate. good service too. after lunch, we went to adventureland. I visited the Enchanted Tiki room, which my DH will say was hysterical because during the show he pointed at something, I was watching the front, I looked to where he was pointing, on my right, and lips were moving on a totem poll. of course I screamed. scared the bejeepers right outa me....
He thought that was funny. Apparently, so did the folks in front of us. After this we enjoyed the Swiss Treehouse and then Pirates of the Caribbean. That captain Jack sure looked like Johhny Depp. (no waiting there either) after this, I decided my feet were sore(bad feet) and wanted to leave. We decided to visit the next day(see next review) and see the rest. We took the railroad again, and made the loop around the park. Nice cooling ride. That night we returned to the area and had Kona Cafe for dinner. That review is under Our Kona Review. what a magical time, and more was to follow.

 

[yankeepenny]

we returned to the MK last wednesday. another quiet day.
who was out front? Goofy! have a few photos of me and him!

road the railroad around(gosh I l loved that) to the toontown fair. It was just opening, and there were maybe 10 of us, including 2 special needs kids. I was so impressed with the way they brought the kids to see the characters first, and gave them the special , first tour of Mickeys house. Those kids looked so happy! Saw all kinds of characters, and loved mickey and minnies house and Goofys farm and Donald's Boat. It was the third time we saw Daisy too. after this we visited tommorowland, and did the carousel of Progress and tommorland transit authority, along with some shops. Then I thought, okay, lets do space mountain. nope, did not like it, kept my eyes shut and prayed for the best. got off that and felt loopy and decided that was it for coasters!
after this we went to cosmic rays for lunch, I had chicken salad and DH had a wrap . Huge portions, it was good. Following this, I wanted to see a little more of Fantasyland, and we did snow white and a few shops, and perused thru the castle shop and had photos done. Next up, DUMBO. walked right on, he got pictures. HANDS DOWN, THE HIGHTLIGHT!!! noticed I was not the only person over 10 on that thing. or should I say, not the only over 21......
waited nearly 40 years, and was soooooo excited. following this, we decided to stroll down main street usa and shop, and got some great treats and fudge at the bakery, and visited a few other places. what a great time. we returned to the area that night for our farwell dinner at 'ohana. hard to believe it was a week ago. gosh what a great place! will visit again. 'bye mickey!