My Second WDW Trip Report-Feb 2015

[ImagineerWannabe]

Welcome to my trip report. From Feb. 1-5 I enjoyed Disney World on a family trip with my parents. We stayed at All Star Sports and had a wonderful time.

I had flown down to Florida a few days earlier and left this much snow (i.e.: none) behind.


It was a very sad day when just over a week later I returned to a neighbourhood with this.


But back to the good stuff. I had hoped to re-use the same plan as my last trip but Disney flipped park hours around so I started from scratch with the planning again.
Day 1: Hollywood Studios!


The sorcerer hat deconstruction is progressing. From a different angle you can see the tip of the hat sticking above the boards where it's been taken off and set on the ground.


First stop, Midway Mania! There was some confusion over my Dad's ticket at the park gate, so while he got that straightened out Mom and I rode once in the standby line, then we all rode again with the FP. I'd never seen the full queue before. Pretty fun with this guy.


The sequence of shows started with the Frozen Sing-a-long. It's well done, and the snow inside at the end is a cute touch. One usher was singing and dancing along through the whole thing. Then Beauty and the Beast.

There seem to be quite a few variations on the gold dress.


Followed by Indiana Jones. I do like the opening sequence and the splitting of the set.



Lights, Motor, Action had already started when we got there, but thankfully they were still seating people. I got lucky capturing the jump shot.


I used the singles line for Rock n Roller Coaster. I worked quite well in that I only had to wait about 1/2 the posted standby time. Unfortunately, I got seated in the last row. I only got up the nerve to ride this on my last trip and then had requested a seat near the front. It's quite different in the back. My solution? Scream your head off The guy beside me just had to deal with it, although appears happy enough. I love the scrunched up face of the guy in front of me.


Before leaving the park, I took a quick tour through One Man's Dream. They had nice models of the castles from most of the parks, Spaceship Earth, and this one from Tokyo Disney Sea.


After we moved into our room we hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Obligatory castle picture from Day 1.


We enjoyed the Magic Kingdom presented spectacular festival pageant of nighttime magic and imagination with thousands of sparkling lights and electrosynthemagnetic musical sound...the Main St. Electrical Parade!


The Little Mermaid was entering refurbishment Feb. 2, so it had to be ridden tonight. The timing was perfect and we were able to walk right on.


Dumbo had no line either and we rode twice On the way to Frontierland, where I started my numerous trips around Big Thunder, we were passing by Be Our Guest when the fireworks started. From Main St. it looks like they all go off right behind Cinderella Castle, but a lot actually are behind the Beast's Castle. It was so cool to spin back and forth between the ones going off right by the castle and the ones further back. You are literally in the middle of it. This one shows the Beast's castle spire.

[Polynesian Princess]

Great report so far - love the pictures! You definitely had a lot of snow when you got back home.

[Amy]

Great start to your trip report ~ love all the photos. That's great that you were able to see the Little Mermaid that evening before it closed for refurb!

[horizons1]

I am enjoying your report. And it is wonderful to see the Sorcerer Hat dismantling!

[ImagineerWannabe]

Thanks for reading. After a delay as I dealt with a super busy week and a broken water pipe to the house (it should be fixed when I get home after a weekend escape to Grandma's ) let us continue with Day 2: EPCOT and a return to DHS for evening entertainment.

Got a nice view of a monorail passing by while waiting for the park to open.


After riding Soarin' first thing, we went through the singles line at Test Track. I usually walk past all the exhibits at the exit but this time stopped at the one where you can make a commercial for your car. I had to watch it 3 times to get the timing of the photo of my car correct before it faded.


I got up the nerve to try Mission Space again. Green side only thank you, and it wasn't as bad as I remembered.
It was feeding time while waiting for Turtle Talk with Crush. The lady had the sting rays literally eating out of her hand, and she put bits of food on the end of a stick for the sharks to take.


Back to The Land for lunch and Living with the Land boat ride. I don't remember seeing water lilies in the greenhouse before. EPCOT is still educational since I learned they are completely edible. I do miss the Listen to the Land song though.


We had a quick visit with Figment and Journey through Imagination (skipping Captain Eo, once last year was enough) and headed for a limited tour of World Showcase (more to happen on future days). Returning to Canada to start, it was nice to see green grass and gardens.


We caught the new Lumberjack Show. Maybe the guys just weren't that into it or the pace was too slow, but it seemed too much like work and not enough fun, even if a friendly competition aspect was involved. They aren't very good at ax throwing (one ax completely missed the target), the sawing through a log with a super sharp blade was kind of cool, as was the demonstration of spring boarding where the guys embed planks in the sides of trunks to cut higher up. But really, I doubt anyone does this by hand anymore. Does anyone know if these guys are actually Canadian?


After listening to the always excellent Voices of Liberty, we caught the boat over to DHS for Fantasmic. I don't think I've ever walked the Boardwalk, but it sure looked nice from the water. The boat captain was fun too. He told trivia, not that I remember much of it, but I think Spaceship Earth weighs something like 30 million pounds.


First stop, a FP kiosk, where thankfully they still had ones left for Fantasmic. After dinner at the Backlot Express (yay for free drink refills and the kids veggie sandwich, yum) we headed over and watched the sunset behind the "mountain". That's actually the moon in the picture. We were there early, perhaps earlier than needed, but got good seats and managed to be get in and be in a different section than the huge South American Fifteen tour group.


Cue water, dragons, and Mickey!


The show finished about 8pm, which gave just enough time to get a bus back to All Star Sports, get some warmer clothes, and get back to EPCOT for Illuminations. It was close, we got to the lake at the 5 min call, and found ok spots on the side of the gift shop. The light by the door didn't dim as expected, and there was a tree beside me, but I liked how the fireworks appeared behind the branches in this picture.


No Castle photo today, Spaceship Earth at night instead

[Amy]

I love sting rays ~ never saw them feeding any of the critters before ~ that was good timing!
Gosh, I don't remember those water lilly ponds in the Land either ~ I wonder when those went in?
We love eating at the Backlot Express too ~ the regular sandwiches are plenty big enough to share ~ and free refills are always nice
Looks like you had great seats for Fantasmic!
Nice that you were able to get from DHS, change and make it to EPCOT in time for Illuminations ~ was that with traveling on the buses?
Beautiful shot of Spaceship Earth ~
looking forward to the next installment

[Polynesian Princess]

Aww, the commercial for your car sounds fun. I'll have to check that out next time.

You should visit the Boardwalk - it is nice! We hadn't ventured there until last trip (to eat at the now closed Cat Cora restaurant).

I really love your night shots. Especially the one of Spaceship Earth.

[ImagineerWannabe]

Nice that you were able to get from DHS, change and make it to EPCOT in time for Illuminations ~ was that with traveling on the buses?

Indeed, it was on the buses. Timing worked out well. Might not work again though I almost went right to EPCOT from DHS, but it was nice to have a warmer jacket.

[ImagineerWannabe]

After much delay, we reach
Day 3: Animal Kingdom (and EPCOT later in the day)

Ah, the opening sight of the massive tree.


The cranes were visible from the parking lot and from wherever this was inside. I have no idea where I was when I took this, from the hangings maybe Asia? There was a lot of construction going on everywhere it seemed. The walkway from Dinoland over to Expedition Everest beside the theatre for Finding Nemo had walls up the entire way.


I started the day with 3 cold trips around the forbidden mountain (it was not a warm morning), followed by a much rougher than I remember spin around Primeval Whirl, then headed to Dinosaur. Great order for avoiding the crowds, not so great for keeping a calm stomach. I'm starting to really like Dinosaur though and if I hadn't been trying to pack the park into half a day and thinking about getting to our FP time over at Kilimanjaro Safaris, I probably would have gone again.

The view over towards the new Lion King theatre when walking into Africa sure is pretty though.


Back to the safari; since it was a cool day, these guys were hanging out soaking up the sun rather than hiding in the cool water.


The termites were rebuilding. Our driver was an excellent guide, very informative, but I can't remember what he said had happened to the hill.


I also learned that the giraffe only has 7 vertebrae in their neck. That's the same as humans, but because each is so large, it's tricky for them to reach food on the ground, hence they prefer the trees or grasses on raised overhangs.


According to our driver ostriches will try anything once, and this one was investigating a rangers truck. He also said she was looking for the nest and it's a good thing several of them share egg sitting duties because they can't remember where the nest is. We crossed paths with the same ostrich a little while later. I hope she kept walking because the nest was just on the other side of our truck.


Next up was Festival of the Lion King. They probably aren't, but the singers look like the same ones from when I last saw the show many years ago. The high flying monkeys are still my favourite though


From the safaris of Africa to the gardens of the United Kingdom in EPCOT. Isn't travelling the world in one day fun? And no jet lag These snap dragons will make a pretty desktop picture when I switch mine from the current snowy mountain image to something for spring.


I wanted to explore some of the countries I usually walk right past. I never noticed the easel and painting in progress beside France before.


The square beyond the tower in Italy I'd never investigated either. There's a fancy fountain back there.


China was on the list too. I'd never seen their circle vision film or been inside the temple. What a lovely ceiling. You can also try out a really cool echo feature if you stand right in the centre.


I'd also heard there was a Chinese bowl in the shop at the back. The Science Centre here has a Chinese bowl where you rub the handles to start the vibrations to make the water jump. I don't have the knack, but was curious if this was the same thing. It looked exactly as I expected. It even had water in it. The $270 price tag and a sign reading "Fish Basin" dissuaded me from trying it out though.


After a pizza dinner in the All Star Sports food court, and picking up the requisite evening jacket, we went back to EPCOT. I had the Jeremy Irons narration of Spaceship Earth on my iPod and tried listening to that as we rode. I didn't have the timing quite right at the start but thanks to a ride slow down it synced quite well. I miss "all roads leading to Rome" and the "but all was not lost" line after the burning smell. I really had wanted to listen to Tomorrow's Child on the descent, but hadn't copied the file over

We ended up walking by the Fountain of Nations just in time for a show! I don’t know if there’s a schedule and had my eyes open every time we’d walked by hoping the music would change and the fountains would dance. I love a lot of the fountain show music and this one happened to be one of my favourites from listening on Subsonic


Before we’d left earlier I got FP's for Illuminations. The reserved area is a good spot, although the closest section to the water stays roped off in case of debris, according to someone I asked. Without that section it cuts down on the railing edge viewing areas, but we were there early enough to capture one. I even managed to get a somewhat understandable picture of the images on the globe (it’s either the space shuttle or an aircraft carrier across Asia, that would be the "somewhat" understandable part ).


Another picture with the globe open and nice laser colours which I also got lucky capturing.


Finally, to conclude Day 3, a front shot of Spaceship Earth since I find I typically end up with more photos of it from the back.

[Amy]

It looks like the AK is just a big series of walls while they are under construction. Does it seem confined while you are walking through the park?
Dinosaur seems rougher than it was when it was Countdown to Extinction. I don't remember Primeval Whirl being too bad, but it has been awhile since we were there and I might just not remember.
That view toward Lion King sure is pretty. I will have to see it when we are next there to really see what the area looks like.
Aww, the sleeping hippos are soooooo cute! You so rarely seem them out of the water.
I wonder if they knocked the termite mound down since it was getting so big?
I did know that about the giraffes' vertebrae, and I've seen x-rays of them, they are enormous compared to ours. I've heard that ostriches are none too bright, but they sure are cute.
You know, those singers from the Lion King could very well be the same ones. I was so surprised to see a few of the same cast members when we returned to see the show after about 10 years!
I love snapdragons ~ those are beautiful! And I always take the time to snap a picture of them too
Didn't want to put your hands in the fish bowl huh?
I haven't tried listening to the old version of Spaceship Earth yet, but I want to try!
Oh, the Fountain of Nations is one of my favorites too. I think it might have a set schedule, but I don't really know. I just love the music that plays with the shows
Nice shots from Illuminations ~ looks like the FP+ might be a good one to use there.
Love, love, love your shot of SE ~ I have several from the front as well as the back, and the sides...it is so beautiful at night it is hard to resist taking photo after photo

[ImagineerWannabe]

It looks like the AK is just a big series of walls while they are under construction. Does it seem confined while you are walking through the park?

AK wasn't too bad, but there were a lot of walls including a bunch right in front of the tree and along a few pathways that did constrict things. There weren't a lot of people on those paths when we were there so it wasn't too congested.

Aww, the sleeping hippos are soooooo cute! You so rarely seem them out of the water.

Aren't they though? They look like they're smiling.

Didn't want to put your hands in the fish bowl huh?

Nope! Technically I may not have had to put my hands in the bowl, just on the handles . But I also didn't want to break anything or get in trouble.

I haven't tried listening to the old version of Spaceship Earth yet, but I want to try!

Do try! It's fun. I remember reading somewhere on here that someone had listened to a different soundtrack to Space Mountain and it fit really well. I didn't try that but wish I'd planned a bit better and had the Walter Cronkite narration. It would be fun to ride 3 times in a row each time with a different narrator

Love, love, love your shot of SE ~ I have several from the front as well as the back, and the sides...it is so beautiful at night it is hard to resist taking photo after photo

Thank you! Agreed, I take lots of pictures of it too!

[Polynesian Princess]

Definitely looks like you were in Asia for that picture of the cranes. There isn't much else identifying in the picture, so I might be wrong, but I think you're standing near the yeti statue that's close to where you enter Asia. Head to the left to go to Everest.

I bet they were some of the same performers! I think they tend to stick around longer than the typical cast member (special skills and choreography memorization makes it less likely for them to train a college program person who's only there for a short time, for instance). Remembering cast members is really cool though. When we were going about 3 times a year, we definitely recognized CMs (though that wasn't frequent enough for them to recognize us, of course). Unfortunately when we went back last time after not going for about 2 years, we didn't see any of the ones we remembered.

As a kid, I thought the countries in Epcot were just fake buildings where you could see everything from the main loop without going inside (as in, you could only walk a few feet before you hit a wall ). I don't know why my parents didn't correct me on this (maybe they didn't want me going in the gift shops ). The first time I really explored the pavilions, I remember being amazed at how far back the roads extend into the countries. "Spend more time exploring World Showcase" is always on my to do list when we're on a trip.

Love the Fountain of Nations too! One of my favorite things about Subsonic is that it introduces you to music/details you might have overlooked. You end up noticing them the next time you visit and really appreciate them.

Love your shot with the globe open!

[ImagineerWannabe]

I didn't notice a yeti statue, but could be I'm just not very observant Or it could be like the Partner's one and all hidden behind construction walls.

The EPCOT buildings do look like they could be fronts like the houses on the old backlot tour. I'm glad they aren't though and are ripe for exploring!

[horizons1]

Great report. Thanks for all the pics too.

[ImagineerWannabe]

Day 4: Magic Kingdom

Today started very early. The grayness didn't really help getting people interested in getting out of bed. I'd managed to get 8:10am reservations for the Crystal Palace and we were on the bus at about 7am. The park wasn't scheduled to open until 9, and I wanted time to enjoy an empty Main. St. and take Castle pictures. We were lined up outside the park for about 20 minutes and then were finally let in a few minutes before 8am. I had been expecting we'd get in earlier than that but anyway, it was still pretty empty. Alas, workmen don't sleep in either, and my dreams of lovely Castle pictures were hijacked by the crane.


The Partner's statue with Walt and Mickey was also on my "to photo" list, and that plan failed too. The hub construction has resulted in it being all boarded up.


I did like this picture of a completely empty bridge to Liberty Square though.


After the photo ops we headed over to the Crystal Palace. I had just given our names when we were called. I was expecting the buzzer to go off but waiters were just coming out and calling for their parties. I almost missed it We got our table and I headed to the omelette station. Part of the reason I picked the Crystal Palace was for the made to order omelettes, and part of the reason for the early dining time was to get in line early and not have a long wait. It sort of worked. The characters came out while I was in line and headed over to the row where our table was. I got back just in time, all thoughts of actually eating forgotten momentarily as we shared hugs with Winnie the Pooh.

Back on Day 1 at HS we'd drawn Piglet in the Animation Academy...talk about perfect! I took my drawing and had the Hundred Acre Wood crew sign it. The picture is a bit fuzzy, but shows Piglet being quite happy with his pencil line doppelgänger.


Pooh and Piglet had the easiest time signing since they used the table. For Eeyore and Tigger the paper had to be held above their noses so they didn't have very much support behind. I'm quite happy with the finished product though!


Breakfast was delicious and took a bit less than an hour and a half, so the timing I'd picked for our first FP of the day at the new Seven Dwarfs Mine Train coaster worked out pretty well. We kept with the breakfast theme though and rode The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh first. I don't remember the dripping "honey" touch screens in the queue before. It's really fun to draw and wipe the "honey" away to see the picture underneath. I wish I'd taken a photo. I hope it's disinfected often!

From the FP entrance of the Mine Train (and regular exit) you get a nice view of the front of Snow White's cottage. Too bad there are no glimpses of the dancing and witch on the other side. I like the Mine Train. The dark ride section is very cool (love Sleepy!) however no pictures I took turned out. Honestly, I didn't notice the swinging cars at all. Maybe I wasn’t paying attention for it, but for me it was a nice novelty that added to the smoothness, but didn't add any extra "wow" factor.


Usually I have no luck with pictures on Peter Pan either, but this year along with getting a nice one of my glowing shoes (a practice shot ) I captured this! And really the only fitting caption is what my Dad always announces right at this point...

"Don't jump Wendy!" It's tradition

From Neverland to the happiest cruise that ever sailed. Sing with me now, It's a Small World After All . I realized I don't often look up, so this was me remembering to do that.


After moving through Fantasyland, visiting the 999 ghosts at the Haunted Mansion, the Country Bears at their jamboree, the Br'er characters (yep, Splash Mountain was finally open in February!) in Frontierland, and of course riding Thunder Mountain again, we moved back to Main St. for the Festival of Fantasy parade. Flynn was looking good riding high on Rapunzel's float.


The Peter Pan pirate ship was the easiest float to get pictures of since it was so tall.


I've never seen Brave, but how can you not like a bagpipe float?


The dragon however isn't looking all that fierce coughing up smoke I think I just missed getting the fire breathing shot.


Next up, Tomorrowland where I got blown out of the water by my parents Buzz Lightyear scores. I can beat them on Toy Story Mania, but don't have a hope on Buzz. I did almost double my score the second time we rode, but it didn't help.

We found ourselves leaving the park at 5pm. I'd read about the flag lowering ceremony but had never seen it before. Nice touch Disney. They were playing "America the Beautiful" as we went by.


After much success with Dole Whip last year, we had to have another. So, next stop, the Polynesian Resort. Dole Whip isn’t self serve anymore, and has it’s own location, Pineapple Lanai. The person serving created a tall tower, unfortunately there was a hole in the middle. Oh well, it still tasted good. I like the pineapple/vanilla swirl more than the straight pineapple.


Back at the Magic Kingdom the Electrical Parade was just starting so we watched the beginning again from outside the town hall. I took a few pictures with a real camera and liked this one for showing Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy!


Since I was at Town Hall, I went to see Magician Mickey. He's talkative! He jumped right in telling me about how he'd gone sailing with Captain Jack Sparrow as soon as I'd said hello. Here he is thinking about a question I asked when I finally got a word in.


We found a spot on Main St. to watch the castle projection show and Wishes fireworks. Unfortunately the walkway that's kept open to cross the street and monitored by cast members ended up being right in front of us. It ended up being busy, distracting, and noisier than I would have liked for trying to get lost in the music and moment. Also there was one street light that didn't go out and gave the cheshire cat an odd added glow below his eye.


We all know this guy.


I'm not sure what movie this was trying to depict (Sleeping Beauty maybe?) but the vines actively climbing the castle were really pretty.


The perspective of the fireworks from Main St. is extra impressive with the castle providing a comparison for the scale of the huge bursts.


Another pretty castle firework photo for good measure


I left the parents who decided to walk back to town hall and people watch, and hurried back to Thunder Mountain Railroad for a few more rounds. It's just so much fun in the dark and in the last train car Then I sang and danced my way through a pretty deserted Frontierland as the park closed and heard the "thank you for coming" announcement and playing of "When You Wish Upon a Star" for the first time that I remember.

The water pageant was going by as we were leaving the park! After the fireworks, it was rather underwhelming with only the loch ness monster type lights and then switching to patriotic flags and stars. But still a nice distraction while waiting for transportation after a long day!


One more day still coming. Stay tuned.