A Spring Fling in The Most Magical Place on Earth (Trip Report)

Can't wait to read more :wave:

Part Two

Day One: The Kingdom of Magic

We got up early on Saturday (March 27th) despite not getting to bed until 2am thanks to our exploits with Alamo and finding our condo.

We decided to head to Magic Kingdom for the day and packed up our stuff. Now to understand a majority of this trip, it helps to know that we chose the week to visit that we did to coincide with the vacation of my Aunt, her partner, and their adoptive son. We called them and asked if we could meet them at their on-site Resort (The Caribbean Beach) and we set off to get there.

We were actually not that far away from the main WDW entrance gate near Animal Kingdom, so we moved quickly to the resort and then found out they were at a character breakfast at the Grand Floridian, and that we would have to wait for them to get out, so we just decided to meet them at the Magic Kingdom, and we went to the Transportation and Ticket Center to park.

After getting through the gates at Magic Kingdom, we met my aunt, and then took to Main Street just in time for the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party parade, which was a nice way to kick off the vacation. We then headed straight for Fantasyland, because my cousin David has four favorite rides he has to do every time he goes to the Magic Kingdom and we had to hit those first. (Winnie the Pooh, Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan, and Small World)


Cinderella Castle, taken on iPhone

My cousin had an assistance badge and was in a wheelchair, which meant we got to fastpass most of the rides we went on that day at the Magic Kingdom, which was nice, but spoiled my family quickly, especially since due to the spring break period (which most Disney employees were quick to point out was the busiest they've ever seen it for Spring Break) the wait times were insane.

We went on those four favorites, got to do my personal favorite (Haunted Mansion ) caught a showing of Country Bears, went on Splash Mountain (another favorite of mine. I was so glad they finished the refurb in time for my trip) and then tried to go on Pirates, but it was temporarily closed for some reason, and we were told to come back later, so we went on Jungle Cruise instead.


Me looking angry on Splash Mountain. Really, I was having fun, I swear.

We then got lunch at Pecos Bill, which wasn't my first choice, but boy was it good, especially for what amounts to fast food. After lunch, we went over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which I had never ridden, and took the wildest ride in the wilderness. That was great fun, especially for someone who didn't get to do it the first two times I went to WDW.

We then headed back to Pirates and got right in (Pirates was the only ride that never seemed to have a wait time. I thought it was a classic favorite...what happened?) and then headed for Tommorowland to check out Laugh Floor, which was fun...especially since my father was chosen to be "That Guy" much to his dismay.

It was at this point (around 5pmish) we decided to call it a day. The one downside to my cousin's pass meant we were zipping from ride to ride, and it wore us out faster than we anticipated, especially after the previous long night. We eventually made it back to the Caribbean Beach resort and went swimming for a while before heading back to our Condo and just conking out for the night.

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To Be Continued. Next Stop: Rainy Rainy Epcot.

Aggg! Must have more report!!

darthspielberg said:

The line was huge, but we trudged through it, only to be told that the car we rented was too small for the people on the trip and we'd have to upgrade. a 500$ upgrade.

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Man, they pulled this same stunt with us last time we rented from them. It is a scam!

We declined. They told me they could give me the upgrade at a discount. I told them we had picked the car because we had al comfortably fit it one in the past and never had a problems. But the guy just would not let it go!

He kept telling me we would never fit and that if I turned him down again, we would lose the discount he was offering. I told him I was confident we would all fit and I was not interested in an upgrade even with the discount. He insisted I would be back later asking for an upgrade and that I would be very sad I had passed on the discount because it would be too late.

I told him to get me my keys.

Then he told me there was no gas in Orlando. None. This was during the hurricanes in 2008, so the thought crossed my mind that maybe the price of gas had hit the roof or something. But this guy had already lost his credibility. And there was no way I was buying that there was no gas at all in Orlando.

Turns out the guy was lying about everything. The car was beyond comfortable for our group and gas in Orlando was cheaper than it was back home inspite of the hurricane. Never once did we see a gas station that was out.

When you rent a car (at the Orlando air port especially!), buyer beware! These people are shameless crooks!

loving the report so far, can't wait for the rest!

darthspielberg said:

To save money, we booked through Alamo, and lo and behold, it seemed like every body else in Orlando International had the same idea. The line was huge, but we trudged through it, only to be told that the car we rented was too small for the people on the trip and we'd have to upgrade. a 500$ upgrade...

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lebeau said:

Man, they pulled this same stunt with us last time we rented from them. It is a scam!

He kept telling me we would never fit and that if I turned him down again, we would lose the discount he was offering.

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That is unconscionable!! What a terrible way to take advantage of people. I'm glad you mentioned this, I will never rent from Alamo now.

I always use either Avis or National because they are onsite and I usually get a discount through my job, but if I was ever to see a good deal from Alamo, I will pass on it.

Tiggerish said:

That is unconscionable!! What a terrible way to take advantage of people. I'm glad you mentioned this, I will never rent from Alamo now.

I always use either Avis or National because they are onsite and I usually get a discount through my job, but if I was ever to see a good deal from Alamo, I will pass on it.

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Sadly, I've heard this story on these forums more than once. They are definitely out there preying on tourists.

I will say I got a good deal from Alamo and once I got past the guy at the desk, I had no complaints. You just have to know going in that they will lie to you to get you to upgrade and you should firmly decline anything you don't want no matter what scare tactics they try to use on you.

Although I like your idea of a boycott better.

lebeau said:

Man, they pulled this same stunt with us last time we rented from them. It is a scam!

We declined. They told me they could give me the upgrade at a discount. I told them we had picked the car because we had al comfortably fit it one in the past and never had a problems. But the guy just would not let it go!

He kept telling me we would never fit and that if I turned him down again, we would lose the discount he was offering. I told him I was confident we would all fit and I was not interested in an upgrade even with the discount. He insisted I would be back later asking for an upgrade and that I would be very sad I had passed on the discount because it would be too late.

I told him to get me my keys.

Then he told me there was no gas in Orlando. None. This was during the hurricanes in 2008, so the thought crossed my mind that maybe the price of gas had hit the roof or something. But this guy had already lost his credibility. And there was no way I was buying that there was no gas at all in Orlando.

Turns out the guy was lying about everything. The car was beyond comfortable for our group and gas in Orlando was cheaper than it was back home inspite of the hurricane. Never once did we see a gas station that was out.

When you rent a car (at the Orlando air port especially!), buyer beware! These people are shameless crooks!

Click to expand...

Funny thing is, I complained on Twitter, calling Alamo some very ehem...vulgar things, and Alamo actually read the twitter and offered to talk to us about the issues we had. I dunno if they'll do anything nice for us, because it was the worst experience I've been a part of in terms of rent-a-car. We usually use Enterprise, and they had no line or anything. It was a frustrating way to start the vacation to be sure.

My parents stayed in Florida while I had to fly back to the real world, and they switched cars for a smaller one from Alamo with little trouble, so I suppose it depends on the person you get at the counter, and how eager he is to please the corporate bottom line.

darthspielberg said:

Funny thing is, I complained on Twitter, calling Alamo some very ehem...vulgar things, and Alamo actually read the twitter and offered to talk to us about the issues we had. I dunno if they'll do anything nice for us, because it was the worst experience I've been a part of in terms of rent-a-car. We usually use Enterprise, and they had no line or anything. It was a frustrating way to start the vacation to be sure.

My parents stayed in Florida while I had to fly back to the real world, and they switched cars for a smaller one from Alamo with little trouble, so I suppose it depends on the person you get at the counter, and how eager he is to please the corporate bottom line.

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Or how close he is to hitting his bonus figures...

lebeau said:

Sadly, I've heard this story on these forums more than once. They are definitely out there preying on tourists.

I will say I got a good deal from Alamo and once I got past the guy at the desk, I had no complaints. You just have to know going in that they will lie to you to get you to upgrade and you should firmly decline anything you don't want no matter what scare tactics they try to use on you.

Although I like your idea of a boycott better.

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I'm a bit of a reactionary, I'll admit it. :lol:

Not everyone is as clearheaded as you at the rental counter, and I feel bad for anyone who gets taken by such an underhanded practice.

darthspeilberg, I hope they do something for you, even if they just give you some discount coupons for next time. That really was a terrible way to start off your vacation, especially since the counter guy was out-and-out lying to you.

Part Three

Day Two: Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow

We got up bright and early on Sunday (March 28th) to head to the Caribbean Resort, where my aunt had put our car down as hers so we could use the parking permit. We parked, met up with them at the food court, and headed for the bus.

I was more than a little thrilled when we pulled into the Epcot gates and the theme from Journey to Imagination started playing. Flashed me right back to my childhood and my adoration for all things Figment and Dreamfinder.

We then walked through the gates to find a gloomy day hanging over Spaceship Earth. It was a sign of bad things to come.


These clouds are like the sign out front of Splash Mountain and Pirates "You may get wet"

Once inside we made a bee-line for Nemo, as my cousin just had to ride it, and I was very excited to give it a try. I love Finding Nemo, and the ride seemed to be the right blend of fun and education. We got on with no wait, thanks to the Assistance Badge (not that there was a long wait to begin with, an advantage with Omnimover rides) and due to a mix up with my sister not understanding the Cast Members instructions, I got a clammobile to myself. I loved the ride, it was a nice fun look at Finding Nemo, and seeing the finale with the real fishtank was incredibly well done.

We tried our best to get into Turtle Talk with Crush, but it was closed for the morning, and they didn't know when it would be open again, so after getting pictures in the Shark room, we left the Seas (I would have loved to explore a bit more, but oh well) and headed for the Land.

Once inside the Land we went on Living with the Land which had a huge line that we were able to skip, thankfully. I liked the ride, but I don't know if I would have if I had to wait an hour.

We then went straight to Soarin' and waited in the longest line of our trip to get in, and it was funny watching my family get antsy. They hadn't had to wait more than five mins. for any ride as of yet, and I don't mind waiting for something I really want to try. unless it's three hours...then I might skip it. Luckily we were in Soarin' quickly, and it was a thrill and a half. I loved it, despite having a deep fear of heights.

We then had to fly over to Canada in World Showcase for our lunch reservation at the utterly amazing Le Cellier. I can not stress how grateful I am to my Aunt for getting us in on her ADR there, because it was seriously one of the best meal experiences I've ever had at a restaurant...anywhere, let alone WDW.


Le Cellier in World Showcase. OMG. OMG. OMG.

Our waiter, named Kevin, I believe was amazing, offering his best suggestions, giving my dad advice on the beer selections and just being a great guy. The man earned the hell out of his tip, let me tell you.

My aunt and cousin then decided to call it a day. he wanted to ride Nemo one more time, and I wanted to try Test Track, so we split up. I took my family's tickets to get a FastPass for Test Track and was disappointed to see that despite the awful weather on the horizon, all the FastPasses were gone.


My Cousin David getting his picture taken with Bambi and Thumper topiaries.


I trudged back to World Showcase, but on my way, I decided to visit my old friend Figment in his new ride! Boy was that a mistake.

There was no line, which surprised me, so I walked right in, and hopped on a train, all by my lonesome, and then was throughly disappointed in practically everything. The videos were boring, the AAs were lackluster, and the only cool thing was the way they introduce the Finale of the ride, then the Finale was awful too, so it just left a bitter taste in my mouth. I didn't even stop to look at stuff in ImageWorks because I just wanted to get out of there.

I strolled through half of World Showcase, just taking in the sights, and bumped into Mary Poppins (Literally. Wasn't really watching where I was going and walked right into the poor girl. She was gracious about it though, and we had a brief conversation before she moved onto the tea garden, and I headed towards France)

Met up with my parents in Morocco, and then we walked through Japan and enjoyed some of the sights in the shop...including the below picture which just made me laugh out loud when I saw it.


Keep on smiling, happy frog!

But when we stepped out, we could feel the tell tale drips of rain as it began. We decided that if we went into The American Adventure and watch the show we'd be able to wait out the storm. Wrong. As soon as we stepped out, it started pouring buckets. Raining harder than I've ever felt it rain in my life anywhere.

By the time we made it back to FutureWorld, I was sure I had all of World Showcase Lagoon in my shoes, and we still had to get to our bus, which felt impossibly far away since I was sopping wet and my feet were starting to blister. (Probably too much information, but god, did that hurt)

It was around four when we got back to the Caribbean Beach, and decided to call it a day, and went back to our condo.

It was a tad disappointing. EPCOT is not my favorite park, due to it's size and it's emphasis on Dining and Shopping...and I knew that thanks to this rain, another trip would be in order...and I felt that besides missing Test Track, I had done everything I wanted to in EPCOT.

Before the rain hit, I was quite enjoying myself though, and if hadn't, I would have taken a lovely journey around World Showcase.

Have some more pictures!





To Be Continued: Hooray for Hollywood (Studios)

Great report so far - looking forward to the rest!

Landscaping looks great...you do NOT look great in the SM photo though:drevil:...you look as if you fear for your life :ROFLOL:

Hah! that is a great ride pic

blackthidot said:

Landscaping looks great...you do NOT look great in the SM photo though:drevil:...you look as if you fear for your life :ROFLOL:

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I had forgotten how steep the drop of Splash was, but I swear I was hooting and hollering because I was having fun, not because I thought I was going to die.

Part Three

Day Three - No Business like Show Business

Got up bright and early on Monday (March 29th) to find that it was still raining and fairly hard. This was not what I was hoping to wake up to, seeing as it had stopped raining at aroun 9ish the night before, but the news promised that the rain would stop within an hour, and by noon, it would be sunny and beautiful.

This, luckily, would turn out to be just the case. We got to the Caribbean Beach and met up with my aunt who was also going to the Studios for a few rounds on Toy Story, and to have lunch at the Sci-Fi Dine In.

When we got into the park, we booked it for Sunset Avenue so that we could get FastPasses for Tower of Terror, only to find the line was 20 mins long, which was good enough for us. My mom and my sister then went over to get FP for Rock N' Roller Coaster (it goes upside down, defying the laws of gravity...therefore I defy it.)

Waiting for Tower was a real treat. I loved all the details hidden in the queue, from the signage to the lamps, to little stuff like cracked flower pots.


Someone needs to tend to the yardwork...tsk tsk

Once inside I had the ride of my life. I am very afraid of Heights, which I think I've mentioned already in this trip report, and this was the ultimate test. Would I do it, or would I get to the elevator and want to use the chicken doors. I am happy to say I got into the elevator and went into the 5th Dimension. The ride picture from Tower is almost as funny as the one from Splash Mountain (See my frist day report) but I don't have it on my computer yet.

Because I survived and made it through, I treated myself to a souviner from the gift shop (a gold room key keychain) and headed out to see where we were going next.

We headed to the Sci Fi Dine In to see if we could possibly get a seat around the same time as my aunt, but alas they were booked, which wasn't a real surprise. We then found our way down Streets of America and got our pictures taken with the NY skyline as well as San Fransisco. We then ate lunch at Studio Catering Co. (which was out of this world for a sandwhich joint. The Turkey Club Panini was fantastic) and then we headed back to Sunset to catch my mom and sisters FP for RnRC. Sister liked it, Mom didn't...they were both glad they had fastpasses, given the two hour wait time.

We then met up with my aunt at Beauty and the Beast (which was cute, and a testament to the power of the story of BatB, because I was in tears at the end, and I've seen the movie a million times.) The best part was my cousin David who knows all the words and was singing along with all the characters. Very adorable.


Beauty and the Ex-Beast take their final bow

Then we headed to Toy Story Mania, and went on with David. Had we not been able to ride with him, I don't think we would have ridden, due to the THREE HOUR WAIT to get in. FastPasses were gone before we made it over to Pixar Place, which means they went FAST. I think Disney should consider doubling the capacity of the ride by essentially building a second ride that is identical to the first one...or figure out a way to move the line faster, because that was insanity.

After Toy Story (I got the second highest score. I was a shooting DEMON on that ride) we parted ways with my aunt and cousin who were going back to their resort to swim and then go to Magic Kingdom for the evening.

We then went on the Great Movie Ride, which I skipped on my last visit due to fear of the Alien that resided inside and I knew it. Funny part is, the Alien wasn't even working that well this time around, so the part I was most anxious to see was sort of lame. The ride was cool, even if our guide did try a bit too hard at times. The ride also got stuck behind another car during the Wizard of Oz scene, and therefore we essentially had to skip it. Our guide didn't even acknowledge the Witch, he let the guide in front do it all. it was sort of sad.

After that we split up so I could get FastPasses for Star Tours (which at the time had an hour and a half wait) and then met everyone at the cafe next to the Brown Derby for sodas and coffee (we needed a sugar/caffeine boost)

It was then time to kill time, so we hit up Muppetvision 3D which was just as fun as I remember it being. Statler and Waldorf still crack me up. "Look at that guy in the Goofy mask!"

Moving towards Star Tours we discovered that the wait time for Star Tours was now 10 mins. so we decided to skip using our FastPasses and go through the Standby line, and got right onto a StarSpeeder. The downside was both my parents forgot it was a motion simulator and a rocky one at that (especially since the last time we rode it it was 1993) and my sister didn't like it much either. All three of them claimed they were done with rides for the day, which was a bit of a downer for me, as I wanted to ride Tower one more time...but I figured I'd give them a break and sit in an open air theater and watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, which I had heard mixed things on, but I really enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun, and cool to watch how they changed the sets and did all the stunt work.

We then decided it was time to get get seats for Fantasmic, and we did so, grabbing some popcorn and drinks along the way, and we got really good seats, and had a blast watching the show. My mom even busted out some Disney Trivia I didn't think she knew (She knew that Black and White Mickey on the Steamboat meant Steamboat Willy)

All in all it was a great day at the Studios, although it got a bit dicey in the middle before we found our groove.

More Studio Pictures!





To Be Continued: Return to the Magic Kingdom

Nice report so far. Looking forward to the rest.

Loving it...keep it coming......................3 hours at TsMM????? A third of your day at the park standing in line??? No thanks..........i went on a slow week last year..we got our fast passes very early in the morning and had to come back the last hour the park was open............I may skip it this year....

ToddLee said:

Loving it...keep it coming......................3 hours at TsMM????? A third of your day at the park standing in line??? No thanks..........i went on a slow week last year..we got our fast passes very early in the morning and had to come back the last hour the park was open............I may skip it this year....

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We did.

It's a good ride, but it's not THAT good. I have the same reaction to Soarin'. No ride is worth more than an hour wait. You're better off hitting the smaller, less popular attractions you can walk on.

Hit those bigguns first thing when there's no wait. The ride experience is the same. but you still have the rest of your day to have fun.

If I can't get a FP for Soarin' or TSM, I can do without. They will be there next time.