And yet another June Trip Report!!!!

First, some background. This was our fourth trip to WDW (with kids, my wife and I had been back in 1985). The very willing participants were myself, wife, son A (15) and son B (11). This was our second time staying on property.

JUNE 14th, Saturday - Travel day.
It's always fun to travel by car. Okay, maybe not fun, but when it's the fourth time driving over 700 miles, everyone knows the routine, and certainly knows better than to ask "How much longer, Dad?" It certainly helps having CDs, Gameboys, and a laptop that plays DVDs. No major problems, in fact, no real problems at all. Checked into the Wilderness Lodge after 11 1/2 hours on the road. Nikki was the CM who checked us in, and she was great. We were only doing three WDW parks, and Nikki put the admissions on our room card keys. She was patient, nice, efficient, and a great CM. Off to our room, and on to the pool. Talk about feeling refreshed after 11 + hours in a car. After the pool, we visited the gift shop to see what we would be buying later in the week.

JUNE 15th, Sunday - Magic Kingdom.
We all discovered something interesting this first day of frolic. Every one of us forgot it was Father's Day until a CM in the park wished me a happy Father's Day. See what the excitement of Disney can do? Anyway, we had breakfast at Roaring Forks (snacks and short order), and did the boat ride to the park. Kind of relaxing, in a way. We did Magic Hour and got to the park for the countdown. This was our first Magic Hour, and the countdown was at the admission gates, with no one going into the park except for PS breakfast. Got in, went to SM, and the line was about 80 people out the ride! Mild panic reared its ugly head, but then we realized that the line wasn't moving. It started moving after about five minutes, and we were on in about seven minutes. Next, on to Buzz, which was a five minute wait. I tried to tell my wife which targets to shoot for high points, but her pistol wasn't very accurate. After Buzz, we headed for Peter to Fast Pass, but the wait time showed 15 so we decided to get it done. Unfortunately, the wait was closer to about 22. After saving Neverland, we got FP for HM, and headed over to Splash. Splash was showing a 35 minute wait, so I got FP for Big Thunder and we decided to wait in standby for Splash. Wait only turned out to be 20 minutes, so we did Splash. After Splash, I went to get FP for Jungle Cruise but it was too early for another FP. We rode POTC, 10 minute wait. I went back to get FP for JC, but discovered one of our room keys missing! Holy Yikes! I checked with the CMs at JC, but it hadn’t been turned in there. One of the CMs got me a fourth FP so I would have all four. I went back to Big Thunder, and our card key was there. Whew! I don’t know if I dropped it or left it in the FP machine, but I was always showing all four of the card keys to my wife the rest of the trip. Rode Big Thunder. Went back and rode JC, which we enjoy. Had a good skipper, really had some good jokes. We did some shopping in Adventureland, and then on to lunch at Columbia House. We rode HM twice, both FP. Started some shopping on Main Street, tried to get picture with Donald in front of the Castle, but they closed the line. Did some more shopping, watched a little of the parade, hopped the train around to Toontown Fair, went back to the Castle, line for Donald was closed again. Time for our PS at Liberty Tree Tavern. Had a wonderful meal. Back to get another try at Donald, but they were done for the day. Did some more shopping on Main Street, and rode the boat back for swimming at the lodge. Champagne was waiting for us at the room, to celebrate our 20th Wedding Anniversary. I even drank a little. Watched the fireworks from our room at MK.
 
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no2apprentice

no2apprentice

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JUNE 16th, Monday – Shopping Day.
Got up and drove over to Contemporary for a 0900 breakfast at Chef Mickey’s. After a great breakfast, we explored the shops there, then drove over to Downtown Disney. Got stuff for us and stuff for people back at home, and it was nice using the Disney Club card for probably the last time. On to the AMC theatre for Finding Nemo. Great movie. Back to the Lodge for pool time, but some bad weather closed the pool. Got a light dinner at Roaring Forks, looked for Hidden Mickey’s, and got completely frustrated with the poor clues.

June 17th, Tuesday – Disney/MGM Studios.
Notice I wrote Disney/MGM Studios. That’s what every CM said in the park. So much for the MGM being dropped.
On to the bus for Magic Hour. Got to the park, but my wife and I had a slight delay at the restrooms. My wife sent the boys on ahead to TOT. We got control of the situation and went on to TOT. What a blast! You forget the feeling after a year. On to RNRC, for a great rush. It seemed to be running just fine without any glitches. Got FP for TOT for later. Next was Star Tours, which while is outdated, is still good for some hoots and giggles. Star Tours was kind of a surprise…30 minute wait by 9:30. It was up to 45 when we got off. Still popular, apparently. Went on to Muppets 3-D, which we enjoy…we’ve always enjoyed the Muppets. Stopped by Indiana Jones for FP, went back to TOT for FP line…it was so great having a completely different drop sequence. Did RNRC a second time, then hustled across the park to make our PS for 11:40 at Sci-Fi. When we were waiting to check in, a CM kept announcing that all dining slots were full until 9:00 PM, and no stand-by was available. Talk about a happening place to eat! This was our first time at Sci-Fi, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. It was nice and relaxing, and brought back a lot of memories for my wife and I of drive-ins of old. After lunch, it was time for our show of Indiana Jones. Even though it was our third time seeing it, Son A’s eyes always light up during the stunts. I guess mine do, too. We decided to try to see Little Mermaid next, but the FP line was already lined up for the 5:00 show. My wife said no way, so we went to GMR. Thirty minute wait, and everything looked clean and fresh. The Oz scenes looked a lot better, and I thought the CM’s script flowed better between the scenes. After GMR, we went over to Back Lot Tour, which we had not done before. I find this type of stuff interesting, and I believe that more props and vehicles need to be put out, that could be identified from movies or TV. After Back Lot, we did some shopping and it was time for our PS at 50’s Prime Time. Son A tried his best to get in trouble, but I think our CM was a little too busy to do any major scolding. We all enjoyed the food, and afterwards went back for one more ride at TOT. Standby was only a 25 minute wait, so we did TOT for our third time. Again, a different drop sequence. Disney did TOT 4 right. Some more shopping, and we caught some of the street performers, which always crack us up. Hopped the bus, went back to Lodge, and made sure the pool was still wet.
 
no2apprentice

no2apprentice

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JUNE 18th, Wednesday – Epcot.
Up early again for Magic Hour. This was the first time for the kids at Epcot, the second time for my wife and I since 1985. We headed for TT (of course), and it was already a 25 minute wait by the time we got there. We had a delay in the area near the central fountain, trying to find Donald. Son B has been trying to get his picture with Donald for the past two years, but we always miss him (we missed him three times at MK). Well, no Donald. The CM said that Donald missed the bus from Animal Kingdom and he might be there later in the day. But she took our name and address so Son B could receive an autographed photo in the mail. Anyway, after TOT, we got FP on our way out. Back to the front for SE, which was a walk on. After SE, it was already time to go back to TT for FP entry. Even with FP, it was about a 10 minute wait. We later heard from a CM that one of the staging rooms had a problem and caused a delay. When we got in the cars, it seemed to be getting a little buggy already. We made it through without any serious delays. Next, it was on to Body Wars, which was already a 30 minute wait. We went ahead and did standby. I was a little disappointed by the film, I thought it should have moved a little slower in some places so the anatomy could be viewed better. How can you be educated with a 1 second shot of a heart valve? Next, on to Living Seas at Son B’s request. What great potential for a great exhibit…it needs some better sea life. On to The Land, which was a 40 minute wait. My wife asked me what the ride was about, and I tried to explain it to her based on the description from the Unofficial Guide book, and she gave me “the look.” We went on over to HISTA, but standby was already 40, so we did FP. Went back to The Land for lunch at counter service. Back to HISTA for FP show. Everyone loved it, although my wife said she could have done without the mouse effect. We headed on over to World Showcase, and Off Kilter had just started when we came out of Canada’s gift shop. Son A thought they were very cool, and I let him know they had CD’s in the gift shop. Son A was happy. We worked our way around the WS, taking in some pastry in France, catching the Taiko in Japan, American Adventure, and then the rain started. We did some quick shopping, and headed back to The Land for our PS at Garden Grill. When I made the PS I told them I would like the Rehitching Ceremony, and the receptionist wrote it on our card. At the end of our meal, the CM who was our waiter brought us a “Happy Anniversary” cake, but no ceremony. My wife was surprised by the cake, and when the CM brought our check and everything seemed to be done, I told my wife about the ceremony. For whatever reason (maybe time), our waiter didn’t do it. On the way out, I mentioned it to the receptionist, and she was shocked! She asked who the waiter was, but we couldn’t remember his name. She said to wait, and she would do the ceremony in the waiting area. She got everything ready, and we did the ceremony. It wasn’t the surprise I was hoping for, but it was still fun. Back to the Lodge in the rain.
 
no2apprentice

no2apprentice

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JUNE 19th, Thursday – A day of rest/goof off.
We started out the day by trying taking a swim, but the water was a little cool. My wife is into quilting, so we got ready and drove out to Kissimmee so she could visit a quilt shop she found on-line. I took the boys to the Wal-Mart (America’s biggest?), went back and got her, had lunch at Uno Pizzeria, then back to the Lodge for more Hidden Mickey hunting. Only found four. Blah.

JUNE 20th, Friday – IOA.
In planning our trip, the kids requested a day at IOA. No problem, we all enjoy IOA. But this started out as a weird day. We turned the wrong way on Sand Lake Road after getting breakfast at McDonald’s, then we got into the slowest moving line to pay for parking, then we seemed to be in the slowest moving line to buy tickets, then Son A informed me he left the digital camera in the car. Things seemed to settle down for awhile. We did Hulk, already a 30 minute wait at 9:15. As far as pure thrill goes, Hulk is our favorite. Then on to Spiderman, which was running smooth during our visit. I got Express for Spiderman after we rode, and it was disheartening to see the 2 hour delay on getting the next Express. Next, on to the Dragons, and we rode both Fire and Ice. As we were leaving the exit que, the flood gates from above opened up, and it rained hard for about 15 minutes. It stopped, and we rode JP. We got in line for the first show of Sinbad, and it started to rain while we were in line. We all had umbrellas ready, so we stayed dry. It rained for about the next three hours. After Sinbad, which is a very entertaining stunt show, we went for lunch in Dr. Seuss Land. After lunch, we did some shopping, rode Spiderman again, did some more shopping, and then it was back to the Lodge.

JUNE 21st, Saturday – There’s no place like home.
It’s always bittersweet for me when we head for the barn. One part of me wants to stay longer, do more, see more, relax more (especially relax). The other part of me is happy but exhausted, and longing for my own pillow and bed.

FINAL OBSERVATIONS AND COMMENTS
For those wondering about Fantasmic and Illuminations, we decided to skip these this year due to our early start in the day schedule. Just before we left Studios and Epcot, I made sure that everyone was okay with missing the shows. Everyone was so tired, they were okay with leaving for the Lodge.

If our schedule seemed somewhat limited, well…we all do what we can within our own limits. My wife has had heel surgery, and has flairs of bursitis. The almost constant walking and standing in a theme park can take their toll, not to mention four theme parks. We aren’t going to make her suffer for the sake of a few more rides. Plus my feet aren’t what they used to be, but that’s another story.

All of the CM’s were friendly, helpful, and courteous. The parks seemed clean and the attractions we rode seemed to be in good shape. The crowds didn’t seem quite as heavy as the past two years when we were there at Spring Break.

We really enjoyed Wilderness Lodge, but we all agreed we prefer Animal Kingdom Lodge. It just had a little more exotic feel to it. The pool at Wilderness did seem larger, and I can see with the access to the lake there is more to do. But our next stay will hopefully be at AKL again.
 

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