Well, after some plane mishaps (that I would rather not relive) we woke up in Orlando at 6:30 AM on Saturday. We'd only gotten to sleep at 3 AM the night before, but it being our first day, we were completely excited. My sister & brother-in-law surprised my girlfriend and I with breakfast at Chef Mickeys and a castle view while we ate. Then it was onto the Magic Kingdom.
We arrived just in time for park opening, and headed straight for Pirates. It being a continuously loading ride, I wanted to go on one of the other headliners, but my group insisted. As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about.
The lines were completely non-existent. It was the quietest I've ever seen a Disney Park. Pirates, Big Thunder, Splash Mountain, Fantasyland, Tomorrowland...I walked onto Space Mountain at 11:45 AM! It was completely nuts, but we weren't complaining.
We decided to leave at around 12:30 to get some rest and check into our villa. At around 5:30, we got our pirate costumes on and headed to the P & P Party.
It was great. We had amazing views of the parade and fireworks, and again...not a single line. It was so weird to walk through Tomorrowland with quiet pathways. They piped some smoke into Adventureland and turned on some lights to make it look like a movie site. Saw Stitch for the first time. Hated it. Saw Monsters Inc. for the first time. Really enjoyed it! And I'd never seen Philharmagic, but loved that too!
Today was a rest day, and Epcot tomorrow. We're interested in seeing if the MK was so empty because people knew they wouldn't be able to stay all night, or if we just picked a great time of year to come down. So, I'll keep you updated!
Matt's Trip Report: August 17-25th, 2007
Moderator: Moderators
I love live reports! 8) Mid August is probably the best time typically to go as a lot of school systems go back to school earlier than the rest of the country.
Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Enjoy the rest of your trip!
Steve Baker ~ Travel Consultant :mickey3:
Steve.Baker@themagicforless.com
Affiliated with The Magic for Less
www.themagicforless.com
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Steve.Baker@themagicforless.com
Affiliated with The Magic for Less
www.themagicforless.com
[url=http://ubanimator.com][img]http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/4199/userbar517512ps8.gif[/img][/url]
I know I fell behind, but I was on vacation!
So I arrived on Saturday, as you read above. Sunday we were still pretty worn out from lack of sleep Friday night, so we took a quiet day. We had some naps, spent some time at the pool, and headed out for our 7 pm dinner reservation at about 6:40.
We ate at Raglan Road. I'd never been there before and enjoyed it very much. I had the shepard's pie and Smithick's Ale. Then we went to the Adventurer's Club. It was my girlfriend and I's first time, so the masks hit on her, and I was selected to dance for Babylonia. I earned my pin! We watched the radiothon and then headed over to 8 Trax for dancing. And that was our second day there! To make it easier to read, I'll split these posts up by day. Sunday was Epcot. I'll type it up when I get a chance.
So I arrived on Saturday, as you read above. Sunday we were still pretty worn out from lack of sleep Friday night, so we took a quiet day. We had some naps, spent some time at the pool, and headed out for our 7 pm dinner reservation at about 6:40.
We ate at Raglan Road. I'd never been there before and enjoyed it very much. I had the shepard's pie and Smithick's Ale. Then we went to the Adventurer's Club. It was my girlfriend and I's first time, so the masks hit on her, and I was selected to dance for Babylonia. I earned my pin! We watched the radiothon and then headed over to 8 Trax for dancing. And that was our second day there! To make it easier to read, I'll split these posts up by day. Sunday was Epcot. I'll type it up when I get a chance.
Ok, so, Monday was our first Epcot day of the trip. Due to some people in my group...we'll say...enjoying Pleasure Island a little bit too much the previous night, it took us awhile to get going in the morning. (Not me. I was awake and showered by 7:30) As a result, we got into the park at about 9:30 AM. We went straight to Soarin', and waited about 30 minutes to ride. It was my first time, and I wasn't disappointed. We were the second row back, but in the middle. Loved the pine and orange smells, and Patrick Warbuton.
Then we walked onto the Seas, which I liked, especially because in the final couple of windows there was a beautiful dolphin swimming by. I liked the queue line for this very much, especially the part when you're walking underwater and see the fishing boat above you. Then we did Turtle Talk with Crush, which I thought was absolutely adorable. My favorite part, by far, was when he told all the young kids to keep saying "Dude" all day because "Your parents will totally love you."
After that, we headed over to Imagination, which, despite the changes, is one of my favorites, mostly because I love me some Figment. As we were coming out, we went to the Figment meet area and got some pics with the purple guy himself.
Then we went over to Test Track, grabbed some Fastpasses, and waited about 20 minutes for Mission: Space. (Orange side, naturally) I'd gone on this once before, right when it was opening, and wasn't too impressed with it, but I enjoyed it much more this time around, since I wasn't so scared. After M:S, we walked onto Ellen (we all needed naps,) and left the park for our midday break and pool time.
We headed back around 6 pm and rode Test Track, then made our way into the World Showcase. We started at Mexico and went counterclockwise (enjoyed Gran Fiesta Tour much more than Rio Del Tiempo, but the best part is still the 'outdoor' Mexican restaurant.) Rode Maelstrom, made the mistake of grabbing some counter service Chinese, and fixed it by getting some Sushi in Japan. Then we saw Impressions de France and watched Illuminations from the UK with a yard of Bass. The only way to travel the world. Then we headed out and went back to our resort for a swim and some sleep.
Then we walked onto the Seas, which I liked, especially because in the final couple of windows there was a beautiful dolphin swimming by. I liked the queue line for this very much, especially the part when you're walking underwater and see the fishing boat above you. Then we did Turtle Talk with Crush, which I thought was absolutely adorable. My favorite part, by far, was when he told all the young kids to keep saying "Dude" all day because "Your parents will totally love you."
After that, we headed over to Imagination, which, despite the changes, is one of my favorites, mostly because I love me some Figment. As we were coming out, we went to the Figment meet area and got some pics with the purple guy himself.
Then we went over to Test Track, grabbed some Fastpasses, and waited about 20 minutes for Mission: Space. (Orange side, naturally) I'd gone on this once before, right when it was opening, and wasn't too impressed with it, but I enjoyed it much more this time around, since I wasn't so scared. After M:S, we walked onto Ellen (we all needed naps,) and left the park for our midday break and pool time.
We headed back around 6 pm and rode Test Track, then made our way into the World Showcase. We started at Mexico and went counterclockwise (enjoyed Gran Fiesta Tour much more than Rio Del Tiempo, but the best part is still the 'outdoor' Mexican restaurant.) Rode Maelstrom, made the mistake of grabbing some counter service Chinese, and fixed it by getting some Sushi in Japan. Then we saw Impressions de France and watched Illuminations from the UK with a yard of Bass. The only way to travel the world. Then we headed out and went back to our resort for a swim and some sleep.
Tuesday morning we headed to Animal Kingdom and got there at about 9:30. We headed straight for Kilamanjaro Safaris and got on in about 15 minutes. Saw some great animals (only one elephant and he was...how do you say, 'doing his business) including a swarm of hippos all sleeping together underwater, some giraffes among the trees, and a lioness on the rock overlooking the trail. Due to the camera battery dying halfway through the safari, we didn't get shots of all of them, but I'm continuously impressed with the safari. It's definitely one of my favorite Disney attractions.
After the safari we headed over to Asia for Expedition Everest. It was about 10:15, and the wait was only 20 minutes. (That should give you an idea of the crowd level.) We grabbed some Fastpasses and hopped on the standby line. I'd never done the attraction, and loved the detail in the queue, particularly the stuff from the yeti museum. Loved the ride also. (Quick aside. My girlfriend had never done a single roller coaster prior to this trip, due to being scared of big drops, but I was able to get her on Space Mountain, Rock'N Roller Coaster, Everest, and the Mummy at Universal when all was said and done.)
After Everest we headed over to Dinoland to ride Dinosaur. We were all craving french fries, but since it was only about 10:50, nothing was really open. We got on line for Finding Nemo: The Musical, and had some frozen lemonade while we waited.
I loved the show. It had some great songs and very cool staging. Even got a little teary at the end. I can't wait to see it on Broadway, fleshed out a little bit.
After Nemo we cashed in our Everest fastpasses, then decided to bypass the 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids (not wanting to spend that much time on a 30-second ride) and It's Tough to be a Bug (we all hate it) to go home for lunch and a swim.
We headed to MGM for dinner at the Brown Derby, and while the other three in my party went to get the table, I ran ahead to get RNRC fastpasses. (It was about 5:45 PM and ToT had a 20 minute wait...insanity.) We had dinner, rode RNRC and made our way over to Fantasmic, since we had the dinner package. The show was terrific, as usual. Then we headed home to rest, since the next day was our Universal day, and we knew we wouldn't get a break.
After the safari we headed over to Asia for Expedition Everest. It was about 10:15, and the wait was only 20 minutes. (That should give you an idea of the crowd level.) We grabbed some Fastpasses and hopped on the standby line. I'd never done the attraction, and loved the detail in the queue, particularly the stuff from the yeti museum. Loved the ride also. (Quick aside. My girlfriend had never done a single roller coaster prior to this trip, due to being scared of big drops, but I was able to get her on Space Mountain, Rock'N Roller Coaster, Everest, and the Mummy at Universal when all was said and done.)
After Everest we headed over to Dinoland to ride Dinosaur. We were all craving french fries, but since it was only about 10:50, nothing was really open. We got on line for Finding Nemo: The Musical, and had some frozen lemonade while we waited.
I loved the show. It had some great songs and very cool staging. Even got a little teary at the end. I can't wait to see it on Broadway, fleshed out a little bit.
After Nemo we cashed in our Everest fastpasses, then decided to bypass the 70 minute wait for Kali River Rapids (not wanting to spend that much time on a 30-second ride) and It's Tough to be a Bug (we all hate it) to go home for lunch and a swim.
We headed to MGM for dinner at the Brown Derby, and while the other three in my party went to get the table, I ran ahead to get RNRC fastpasses. (It was about 5:45 PM and ToT had a 20 minute wait...insanity.) We had dinner, rode RNRC and made our way over to Fantasmic, since we had the dinner package. The show was terrific, as usual. Then we headed home to rest, since the next day was our Universal day, and we knew we wouldn't get a break.
