The Official Future Guy's January 2010 WDW Trip Thread
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Future Guy
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Future Guy
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Just made some ADRs! We're doing a lunch at Le Cellier, a dinner at the Garden Grill, and a breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Future Gal wants to do Cinderella's Royal Table, but you have to pay up front for that and our trip money is in an account that doesn't allow you to transfer money out of it online, so I'll have to wait on that until we get paid on Friday.
Then we discovered that a Pirates & Pals fireworks cruise costs about the same as a meal at Cinderella's, and Future Gal may decide before Friday that she wants to do that instead. So we'll see.
Then we discovered that a Pirates & Pals fireworks cruise costs about the same as a meal at Cinderella's, and Future Gal may decide before Friday that she wants to do that instead. So we'll see.
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Future Guy
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We're back! We had fun, although the record-setting cold was just as intolerable as the summer heat, and unfortunately it made my wife sick. She's got all the symptoms of a severe cold, and I'm trying to nurse her back to health.
Until I have time to post a detailed trip report, here are some pictures to tide you over:
Until I have time to post a detailed trip report, here are some pictures to tide you over:
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mindflipper
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Len90
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Wow you had some pretty cold weather for your trip, but not cold enough to freeze the magic of Disney World! I hope you still had a blast and that your wife is feeling better.
I'm trying to figure out your picture angle for your aerial shot of EPCOT. From the looks of where your room in the Contemporary was, your view was of Discovery Island (back of the hotel). The EPCOT shot has Spaceship Earth to the right of Soarin and Test Track. Where was that taken from? I am almost certain it was not from the Contemporary. You can't get that view of the park form it. I believe that is Old Key West in the foreground. Only angle I could think of is a helicopter over Saratoga.
I'm trying to figure out your picture angle for your aerial shot of EPCOT. From the looks of where your room in the Contemporary was, your view was of Discovery Island (back of the hotel). The EPCOT shot has Spaceship Earth to the right of Soarin and Test Track. Where was that taken from? I am almost certain it was not from the Contemporary. You can't get that view of the park form it. I believe that is Old Key West in the foreground. Only angle I could think of is a helicopter over Saratoga.
- Len90
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy"
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy"
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mindflipper
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Len90
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I am awaiting conformation, but from the angle of the picture it looks like somewhere above the Saratoga Springs. The foreground is Old Key West and then you have EPCOT in the background with Spaceship Earth to the right of everything. When looking at a map of the property, that seems like the only possible place.mindflipper wrote:Hey, Len90, I was wondering the same thing! Where did he take that EPCOT aerial photo? I've been trying to figure it out too...
- Len90
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy"
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy"
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Future Guy
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mindflipper
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I had thought of Downtown Disney, but disregarded because there are no structures there tall enough (did not know about the Characters in Flight balloon). I thought maybe from one of the hotels nearby DTD in Buena Vista will a really high-powered zoom lens maybe...
At least I was thinking in the right vicinty! Just didn't know about the balloon! Can't wait to hear about that in the trip report!
At least I was thinking in the right vicinty! Just didn't know about the balloon! Can't wait to hear about that in the trip report!
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boilerbabe
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Len90
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I forgot about the balloon too. Glad I was able to at least identify the broad area/angle it was taken from. Can you please tell me more about that balloon. I would love to go up there on our next trip... hopefully this summer.Future Guy wrote:Actually, the aerial shot was taken from the Characters in Flight balloon at Downtown Disney.
- Len90
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy"
"If you can dream it, you can do it. Always remember that this whole thing was started with a dream and a mouse."
"Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow, and fantasy"
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Future Guy
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Future Guy's WDW Trip Report
Starring: Future Guy (me)
Mrs. Future Guy (my wife Marie)
and assorted Disney characters and cast members
In the years to come, when reflect back upon this trip, I'll think of the bathroom at the rear of the Imagination pavilion. Did that pique your interest? Good. Now let's dive into the trip report, starting with:
Sunday, January 3
We woke up around 8 and were on the road by 10:30. Check-in time at the resort isn't until 3PM, so as we approached the entrance to the Disney property around 12:30 we mulled over what to do; go to a park or hit Downtown Disney for some shopping? We decided on Downtown Disney, and as we parked Marie caught sight of the Characters In Flight balloon and said "We've got to ride that!" Although I am a huge wimp who experiences trepidation at anything more perilous than a slow-moving dark ride (although I'll zip down the Interstate at 85+ MPH like nobody's business) I allowed her to persuade me to go up, and it was lots of fun.
Although the weather was gray, chilly, and windy, I foolishly did not bring my hat. Well, we went up in the balloon, and after we reached the maximum altitude, the pilot, driver, or whatever he's called went around and took a picture of everyone who wanted one.
We also took the picture I posted earlier. We walked around DTD until a quarter to three, then we got in the car and headed to the Contemporary to check in. We've only stayed in value resorts on our past trips, so we didn't quite know what to expect. The check-in process went very smoothly (and everyone pronounced our last name correctly, something that almost never happens) and we got a surprise: although I had paid for a room in the Garden Wing, we were upgraded to a room in the main tower, on the 11th floor directly above Chef Mickey's. This would turn out to be a mixed blessing.
Our room was on the Bay Lake side of the tower, and although we didn't have a view of the Magic Kingdom, we did get a theme park view of sorts:
Our room was also directly above the pool, and thanks to the extreme cold the pool area looked exactly like this during throughout our stay:
There wasn't even anyone in the hot tub.
We got settled into our room, then headed downstairs for lunch at the Contempo Cafe (their Caesar Salad with chicken was very good). Before long, it was time to head downstairs for the Pirates and Pals Fireworks cruise. We assembled outside one of the second floor ballrooms along with lots of other families. At around 6:45, they let us in and we were given the opportunity to load up on drinks and snacks. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee also came out for a meet and greet. (Disregard the timestamps on those photos, BTW, they're not correct)
A word about the characters: I've always loved them, but Marie felt silly standing in line for them. But I showed her the character picture-of-the-day thread on WDWMagic, and when she saw all the adults who have no problem having their pictures taken with the characters (including that one six-and-a-half-foot tall dude who's always having the princesses pose with the little dolls he carries around. I'm sure he's totally harmless and a very nice person and all, but hmmm.) Anyway, her fear of looking stupid thus conquered, she resolved to get pictures with as many characters as she could, and even bought an autograph book so she could get signatures and use them to decorate her Disney trip scrapbook.
After the meet-and-greet, it was time to get on the boats. We were introduced to our guides for the evening, Patch and his "twin brother" Patch. They joked around for a bit about various pirate-y things (such as whether Jack Sparrow would be more upset if you took his gold or his eyeliner) and then we were seperated into two groups which boarded two separate boats. During the cruise from Bay Lake to the Seven Seas Lagoon, Patch recognized people who were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, and he made the couples who were celebrating anniversaries (of which we were one) get up and dance while he sang "Kiss The Girl". At the end of the song, the husbands were encouraged to "kiss the girl", and of course we obliged. He also mentioned the Magic Kingdom's large Christmas tree and jokingly said that, although Christmas was technically over "at Disney we like to milk it for all it's worth". We were soon to realize just how right he was. By that time the boat was in position for Wishes, and we had an excellent vantage point. We don't have a very good camera, so the pictures we took of the fireworks didn't come out very well.
After the fireworks, we headed back to the Contemporary, and on the way back Patch entertained the kids by conducting a little trivia contest about various Disney movies and giving them prizes for each correct answer-little trinkets like plastic hooks, frisbees, and swords. In one family, both little boys got a sword. Patch joked that the parents were sure to have a fun drive home with those two swordfighting in the back seat. Peter Pan was waiting for us at the boat dock, and as as we disembarked he headed inside for a meet-and-greet. Ordinarily, I think the meet-and-greet happens out on the dock, but the wind coming off the lake was especially chilly. There were lots of kids eager to meet Peter, so we skipped that meet-and-greet and went up to the room to grab some things before heading into the MK for Extra Magic Hours.
The park closed at 10PM, and EMH lasted until 1AM. We got into the park around 9:30, and were able to enjoy our first nighttime ride on the Jungle Cruise. It was great fun; when we entered the Cambodian temple, our skipper started singing the "There's no knowing where we're going" song from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". After the JC, we went on Pirates. My favorite part of the ride is right after the drop, when you float into the harbor, and you really can't tell where the wall behind the pirate ship is. It truly feels like you're in a real harbor. Simply amazing.
A word about Christmas: for those of us in the U.S.A., the yearly barrage of Christmas muzak and decorations starts around Halloween (one popular radio station in Gainesville even changes its format to all Christmas music, all the time during the holiday season). By December 25, we're mostly sick of it, and by January 2 our patience is exhausted and we want it gone. I understand that it's a rather large undertaking to "un-decorate" all 4 Disney parks after New Years, and it can't be done overnight, but I really wish they'd stop playing the Christmas music loops after January 1. It doesn't make anyone feel jolly, it just makes them flash back to overcrowded malls and long lines at cash registers, and they want to shoot something. And it's not like it's hard to do. Just swap out the discs in the CD player, or something equally simple.
We backtracked into Fantasyland and took the picture of the castle that I posted earlier. By now the crowd had really thinned out. As we walked through Cinderella Castle, we noticed Pluto was doing a meet-and-greet, and we stopped for a picture.
We headed over to Peter Pan, and quickly found out where the crowds were; the wait time was over 40 minutes. We got Fastpasses and then went for rides on Dumbo (sorry, didn't get any pictures of that) and the Carousel:
Near the Carousel, a cast member was "painting" Disney characters on the pavement with a bucket of water and a broom
Amazingly, the water didn't freeze. I don't know why.
On the way back to ride Peter Pan, we stopped for a picture with Donald:
Even though he was wearing no pants, he didn't seem to be cold. After that, we headed over to Tomorrowland. I wanted to ride the TTA, but it doesn't operate during EMH. We went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin instead, and as usual Marie totally kicked my butt. On the way out of Tomorrowland I snapped what I think is a pretty decent picture:
We were starting to get sleepy by then, so we headed back to the resort to rest up for our first full day in the parks.
Monday, January 4
Monday was EPCOT day. We had a 1:30 reservation at Le Cellier, and I was looking forward to some time to unhurriedly roam the park and take pictures. Unfortunately, we got to bed very late that morning (after 2AM) and Marie had a very hard time sleeping, and did not actually get to sleep until sometime after 4. Her difficulties kept me awake, so neither of us was very well rested as we headed into EPCOT. I mistakenly believed that crowd levels would be somewhat equal to or less than they were on our last visit to EPCOT in October. Boy, was I wrong. The park was as busy as I can remember seeing it. Every time I've been there, Mission:Space was practically a walk-on, but on this Monday the posted wait time was something like 60 minutes! We got Fastpasses for Soarin', then went over to Universe of Energy, where I took a picture of one of the few remaining pieces of EPCOT Center:
A note about the show: we were seated in the front row on the extreme left side of the leftmost ride vehicle, and during one of the Jeporady sequences, we were facing toward a blank wall, and the action was happening on a screen to our right, forcing us to turn our heads like owls for ten or so minutes to see the show. Shouldn't that have been taken into consideration when they were putting the show together?
After UoE, we went on Soarin', then went to ride Imagination just to kill time before our lunchtime reservation. (Bring back Dreamfinder!) After the ride (and a quick stroll through the gift shop. where I picked up a Figment shirt) I decided to make a pit stop at the restroom before lunch. Normally, I like the restroom at the rear of the Imagination pavilion. It's never crowded because not many people know it's there, and since I prefer little or no human interaction during my restroom experience that's a big plus for me. However, the windy, frigid-as-Kate Gosselin weather highlighted an important design flaw in the Imagination restrooms: their lack of doors. In the warmer months, this isn't much of a problem since the air-conditioning system is robust enough to keep the worst of the heat out. However, the heating system is obviously not as powerful because it was downright COLD in there! Not only that, but the faucets were only dispensing cold water. I couldn't help thinking how ironic it was that, at the dawn of the second decade of the 21st century, I was literally freezing my glueteus maximus off in a bathroom in FUTURE WORLD!
Meanwhile, Marie took a couple of really nice pictures that could very well be from the EPCOT Center era:
To be continued . . .
Starring: Future Guy (me)
Mrs. Future Guy (my wife Marie)
and assorted Disney characters and cast members
In the years to come, when reflect back upon this trip, I'll think of the bathroom at the rear of the Imagination pavilion. Did that pique your interest? Good. Now let's dive into the trip report, starting with:
Sunday, January 3
We woke up around 8 and were on the road by 10:30. Check-in time at the resort isn't until 3PM, so as we approached the entrance to the Disney property around 12:30 we mulled over what to do; go to a park or hit Downtown Disney for some shopping? We decided on Downtown Disney, and as we parked Marie caught sight of the Characters In Flight balloon and said "We've got to ride that!" Although I am a huge wimp who experiences trepidation at anything more perilous than a slow-moving dark ride (although I'll zip down the Interstate at 85+ MPH like nobody's business) I allowed her to persuade me to go up, and it was lots of fun.
Although the weather was gray, chilly, and windy, I foolishly did not bring my hat. Well, we went up in the balloon, and after we reached the maximum altitude, the pilot, driver, or whatever he's called went around and took a picture of everyone who wanted one.
We also took the picture I posted earlier. We walked around DTD until a quarter to three, then we got in the car and headed to the Contemporary to check in. We've only stayed in value resorts on our past trips, so we didn't quite know what to expect. The check-in process went very smoothly (and everyone pronounced our last name correctly, something that almost never happens) and we got a surprise: although I had paid for a room in the Garden Wing, we were upgraded to a room in the main tower, on the 11th floor directly above Chef Mickey's. This would turn out to be a mixed blessing.
Our room was on the Bay Lake side of the tower, and although we didn't have a view of the Magic Kingdom, we did get a theme park view of sorts:
Our room was also directly above the pool, and thanks to the extreme cold the pool area looked exactly like this during throughout our stay:
There wasn't even anyone in the hot tub.
We got settled into our room, then headed downstairs for lunch at the Contempo Cafe (their Caesar Salad with chicken was very good). Before long, it was time to head downstairs for the Pirates and Pals Fireworks cruise. We assembled outside one of the second floor ballrooms along with lots of other families. At around 6:45, they let us in and we were given the opportunity to load up on drinks and snacks. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee also came out for a meet and greet. (Disregard the timestamps on those photos, BTW, they're not correct)
A word about the characters: I've always loved them, but Marie felt silly standing in line for them. But I showed her the character picture-of-the-day thread on WDWMagic, and when she saw all the adults who have no problem having their pictures taken with the characters (including that one six-and-a-half-foot tall dude who's always having the princesses pose with the little dolls he carries around. I'm sure he's totally harmless and a very nice person and all, but hmmm.) Anyway, her fear of looking stupid thus conquered, she resolved to get pictures with as many characters as she could, and even bought an autograph book so she could get signatures and use them to decorate her Disney trip scrapbook.
After the meet-and-greet, it was time to get on the boats. We were introduced to our guides for the evening, Patch and his "twin brother" Patch. They joked around for a bit about various pirate-y things (such as whether Jack Sparrow would be more upset if you took his gold or his eyeliner) and then we were seperated into two groups which boarded two separate boats. During the cruise from Bay Lake to the Seven Seas Lagoon, Patch recognized people who were celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, and he made the couples who were celebrating anniversaries (of which we were one) get up and dance while he sang "Kiss The Girl". At the end of the song, the husbands were encouraged to "kiss the girl", and of course we obliged. He also mentioned the Magic Kingdom's large Christmas tree and jokingly said that, although Christmas was technically over "at Disney we like to milk it for all it's worth". We were soon to realize just how right he was. By that time the boat was in position for Wishes, and we had an excellent vantage point. We don't have a very good camera, so the pictures we took of the fireworks didn't come out very well.
After the fireworks, we headed back to the Contemporary, and on the way back Patch entertained the kids by conducting a little trivia contest about various Disney movies and giving them prizes for each correct answer-little trinkets like plastic hooks, frisbees, and swords. In one family, both little boys got a sword. Patch joked that the parents were sure to have a fun drive home with those two swordfighting in the back seat. Peter Pan was waiting for us at the boat dock, and as as we disembarked he headed inside for a meet-and-greet. Ordinarily, I think the meet-and-greet happens out on the dock, but the wind coming off the lake was especially chilly. There were lots of kids eager to meet Peter, so we skipped that meet-and-greet and went up to the room to grab some things before heading into the MK for Extra Magic Hours.
The park closed at 10PM, and EMH lasted until 1AM. We got into the park around 9:30, and were able to enjoy our first nighttime ride on the Jungle Cruise. It was great fun; when we entered the Cambodian temple, our skipper started singing the "There's no knowing where we're going" song from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". After the JC, we went on Pirates. My favorite part of the ride is right after the drop, when you float into the harbor, and you really can't tell where the wall behind the pirate ship is. It truly feels like you're in a real harbor. Simply amazing.
A word about Christmas: for those of us in the U.S.A., the yearly barrage of Christmas muzak and decorations starts around Halloween (one popular radio station in Gainesville even changes its format to all Christmas music, all the time during the holiday season). By December 25, we're mostly sick of it, and by January 2 our patience is exhausted and we want it gone. I understand that it's a rather large undertaking to "un-decorate" all 4 Disney parks after New Years, and it can't be done overnight, but I really wish they'd stop playing the Christmas music loops after January 1. It doesn't make anyone feel jolly, it just makes them flash back to overcrowded malls and long lines at cash registers, and they want to shoot something. And it's not like it's hard to do. Just swap out the discs in the CD player, or something equally simple.
We backtracked into Fantasyland and took the picture of the castle that I posted earlier. By now the crowd had really thinned out. As we walked through Cinderella Castle, we noticed Pluto was doing a meet-and-greet, and we stopped for a picture.
We headed over to Peter Pan, and quickly found out where the crowds were; the wait time was over 40 minutes. We got Fastpasses and then went for rides on Dumbo (sorry, didn't get any pictures of that) and the Carousel:
Near the Carousel, a cast member was "painting" Disney characters on the pavement with a bucket of water and a broom
Amazingly, the water didn't freeze. I don't know why.
On the way back to ride Peter Pan, we stopped for a picture with Donald:
Even though he was wearing no pants, he didn't seem to be cold. After that, we headed over to Tomorrowland. I wanted to ride the TTA, but it doesn't operate during EMH. We went on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin instead, and as usual Marie totally kicked my butt. On the way out of Tomorrowland I snapped what I think is a pretty decent picture:
We were starting to get sleepy by then, so we headed back to the resort to rest up for our first full day in the parks.
Monday, January 4
Monday was EPCOT day. We had a 1:30 reservation at Le Cellier, and I was looking forward to some time to unhurriedly roam the park and take pictures. Unfortunately, we got to bed very late that morning (after 2AM) and Marie had a very hard time sleeping, and did not actually get to sleep until sometime after 4. Her difficulties kept me awake, so neither of us was very well rested as we headed into EPCOT. I mistakenly believed that crowd levels would be somewhat equal to or less than they were on our last visit to EPCOT in October. Boy, was I wrong. The park was as busy as I can remember seeing it. Every time I've been there, Mission:Space was practically a walk-on, but on this Monday the posted wait time was something like 60 minutes! We got Fastpasses for Soarin', then went over to Universe of Energy, where I took a picture of one of the few remaining pieces of EPCOT Center:
A note about the show: we were seated in the front row on the extreme left side of the leftmost ride vehicle, and during one of the Jeporady sequences, we were facing toward a blank wall, and the action was happening on a screen to our right, forcing us to turn our heads like owls for ten or so minutes to see the show. Shouldn't that have been taken into consideration when they were putting the show together?
After UoE, we went on Soarin', then went to ride Imagination just to kill time before our lunchtime reservation. (Bring back Dreamfinder!) After the ride (and a quick stroll through the gift shop. where I picked up a Figment shirt) I decided to make a pit stop at the restroom before lunch. Normally, I like the restroom at the rear of the Imagination pavilion. It's never crowded because not many people know it's there, and since I prefer little or no human interaction during my restroom experience that's a big plus for me. However, the windy, frigid-as-Kate Gosselin weather highlighted an important design flaw in the Imagination restrooms: their lack of doors. In the warmer months, this isn't much of a problem since the air-conditioning system is robust enough to keep the worst of the heat out. However, the heating system is obviously not as powerful because it was downright COLD in there! Not only that, but the faucets were only dispensing cold water. I couldn't help thinking how ironic it was that, at the dawn of the second decade of the 21st century, I was literally freezing my glueteus maximus off in a bathroom in FUTURE WORLD!
Meanwhile, Marie took a couple of really nice pictures that could very well be from the EPCOT Center era:
To be continued . . .
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mindflipper
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- Joined: Sep Sun 06, 2009 8:53 am
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Maybe you were suppose to use your imagination and pretend there was heat and hot water at the Imagination restroom? 
You think they could borrow some power from the Universe of Energy so they could turn on the heat?
Proud of you Future Guy for doing the balloon! The baloon ride looks cool. How many people can it hold. And, if you don't mind me being impolite about discussing finances - how much did it cost to go up in the balloon?
You think they could borrow some power from the Universe of Energy so they could turn on the heat?
Proud of you Future Guy for doing the balloon! The baloon ride looks cool. How many people can it hold. And, if you don't mind me being impolite about discussing finances - how much did it cost to go up in the balloon?