LIVE from Thanksgiving at DW

Good Morning and Happy Thanksgiving!

Before you ask...yes, it's 6:30am on Thanksgiving and I'm starting our During-Trip Report as I wait for my girls to get ready to head to Magic Kingdom! If you want to see the background for this, here's the Pre-Trip report:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/nov-21-24-3-nights-3-resorts-40th-birthday.853258/

So, Tuesday into Wednesday we made the drive. Of course the first leg of the drive had some difficulty with the area south of DC. We averaged just over 70mph for the whole drive EXCEPT about 3 miles of 95 near Stafford, VA which took 1 hour. Yikes! But we managed to make up the time and arrive happily at the resort right around 6:30am. We headed to Boardwalk and got checked in. Since we were here so early and Animal Kingdom had 7am EMH, off we went!

Sunrise with my ladies at Animal Kingdom:


And sunrise over the mighty Everest:


And, finally sunrise from Everest over the rest of the park:


But, that was about all for Animal Kingdom on this very early morning, and we were actually out of the park prior to regular opening at 8am! We headed back to the Boardwalk and got changed for our 'real' park visit at Epcot! But, now we are heading to the Magic Kingdom, so that will have to wait until this afternoon.

 

[jlsHouston]

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[real mad hatter]

Have a magical vacation,great snaps,oh and happy thanksgiving

 

[Billy6]

Awesome! Have a great time, and thanksgiving day!

 

[Plowboy]

Loving the "real-time" trip report. We were at the world 3 weeks ago, so the pics are keeping our own memories fresh. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[s&k'smom]

Fantastic! Thanks for the pix, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

 

[Minnie1976]

Enjoy your vacation . I can't wait to read more. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

 

[disneypearl]

Have a great time and Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[KwikE]

Enjoy, Just got back . Alot colder then I expected

 

[brifraz]

Thanksgiving afternoon now (3pm to be precise) and the ladies are both asleep for a while and then we are getting a few minutes at the pool, so let me finish the Day 1 tale...

When last we saw our intrepid team, it was just getting to 8am and we were actually leaving Animal Kingdom for the day. We headed back to the Boardwalk resort and everyone got changed out of the clothes we had been in for almost 24 hours and into something better for touring. With Epcot opening at 9am, we had a little time to get ourselves refreshed. On the ride down, DW had gotten a good 7 hours of sleep and DD had gotten a little over 6, so they were both pretty ready to begin with. I was working on just about 4 hours sleep, so a bit rough around the edges, but nothing stops us from having a good time!

For those who have not joined us on a trip report before, DD enjoys dressing up and DW enjoys sewing, so each trip tends she has new princess wear. This trip, she wanted the Belle provincial dress, so...


Suffice to say, a large portion of Day 1 was spent saying hello to CMs and guests who were admiring the costume. We walked over to the International Gateway and headed into Epcot at 9am. DD and DW are both coaster nuts, so they headed for The Sum of All Thrills while I got Fastpasses for Soarin'. Despite being the day before Thanksgiving, the crowd was not too insane, so we got FPs for 10am. I walked over to Innoventions and watched the girls ride Sum (those really are their feet in the background).


They convinced me to take DD on another ride, while DW did a more risky ride for herself (those not familiar, the ride has some limitations for those under 54 inches, which DD is). On the ride-o-meter, ours was a 337, while DWs was an 888! Then we walked to Spaceship:Earth, which was only just beginning to get a line, and rode that - I know many object to the Flash animated descent activity, but DD just loves it! It was now just at 10am, so it was time to use our FP for Soarin'.

We had breakfast (really brunch, methinks) reservations at 10:50am, so it was over to Norway and Akershus. Of course, this was a big highlight!


After brunch, I got Maelstrom FPs (for 12:30) while DW bought some of the infamous Norway perfume. OH, forgot to mention, the whole point of the trip is DWs 40th birthday, so a little splurging has been in order. DD then wanted to complete an Agent P adventure. If you were with us in April, you know that the end of Kim Possible was the source of some GREAT concern and after a few short tears, she has now come to love the Agent P adventures much the same as she did for Kim. I will avoid my thoughts on replacing KP with Agent P, because I have already made my voice heard in those discussions enough! Here she is working on the Norway adventure on her own (mom and dad are asked to keep a respectful distance so the secret agents can complete their work, even though she knows she'll have to wait behind as many as 2 or 3 other agents for each activity)


Time to use the Maelstrom FPs and then over to Mexico where DW got to enjoy a margarita while DD completed the Agent P adventure in that pavilion. Through all of this, DD is loving the fact that every CM and many guests are talking to her as if she is Belle! About this time, the message came in that the room was ready and we were ready for it, so back to the Boardwalk for a little nap time!

 

[brifraz]

Napping done and it was about 3:15pm and time to go to the Magic Kingdom for our (much anticipated) Be Our Guest dinner reservations! Well worth waking up at 6am that one morning and dialing three phones simultaneously for 10 minutes to get through. It was an excellent dinner. And DW got to try the gray stuff and it was delicious. DW had the salad trio (interesting) and then the steak (excellent). I enjoyed the French Onion soup (which really is vegetarian, no beef stock in this one) which was excellent, and the salmon which was also really top notch (special mention to the leeks). And, of course, three of the cupcakes/puffs for dessert which were great, too. BUT, this isn't a dining blog, so back to the touring! After dinner, we got to meet up with the Beast in his study. He took a particular shine to our little Belle!


One of the main reasons for this night in MK was to enjoy all the New Fantasyland offerings. Absolutely love the theming and detail work and I particularly enjoyed this little guy holding up a lamp along the bridge to the restaurant.


After dinner we walked over to Philharmagic to see if there was any chance at a Little Mermaid Fastpass and not only did they have them, but they were only for half an hour later! So, might as well watch Philharmagic (I mean, we were right there!) and then back to visit Ariel. We definitely enjoyed the new ride (I am a big fan of dark rides) and the animatronics in there are amazing. The wait for Storytime with Belle was almost an hour, so we visited the Storybook Circus to just look around (we did Dumbo and Goofini back in April) and ended up doing meets with Daisy and Minnie who also both loved DDs dress quite a bit.

Then as we walked back through FLE, the Belle wait was down to 40 minutes and the CM at the gate was from Morgan State University (just a few miles from where I teach) and he started singing to DD, so we were hooked! The wait really was almost exactly 40 minutes, but well worth it as the experience is excellent. DD was chosen to play Belle's horse and was introduced to the actual Belle as Lady Belle, which added some unique humor to our version of the story.


After the story was complete (and we had chatted more with our new CM friend on the way out) we rode It's a Small World (you just have to do it) and then found a nice spot along the new Castle wall to watch fireworks. We really enjoy the behind the castle fireworks viewing 'in stereo' and have done it the last few visits. While we waited for the show to start, I got Fastpasses for Pooh for after the fireworks.

Of course, Wishes never disappoints and DD was quite excited at the paper shrapnel that landed in front of us, so that's going in the scrapbook! Then we rode Pooh (FPs were pointless as there was no line at 9:30pm) and after a very long day which followed an excessively long night, we were headed back to the room for sleep.

 

[Frank Rizzo]

Loved reading your report and viewing the pictures. I am amazed that you guys were able to accomplish so much after driving for so long, especially with little ones. Thanks for sharing!

 

[brifraz]

Loved reading your report and viewing the pictures. I am amazed that you guys were able to accomplish so much after driving for so long, especially with little ones. Thanks for sharing!

Frank, we are always on the go. Both at home and here at DW. We also always do the 15-16 hour drive and then open a park, so we know what to expect in terms of exhaustion level. Now, doing 3 parks in one day after that drive may have been pushing things a little, but it was a great day, so all worth it now. Although, I can't wait to get to sleep tonight BEFORE 11pm!!

 

[Gojira ゴジラ]

We have a great time this Thanksgiving, reading this report is a great way to close the day. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[wiigirl]

Awesome! Love your pics! Hope you have a great time!

 

[disneygirl1024]

I enjoyed reading this. Thank you so much!

 

[brifraz]

OK, time to get going on Day #2! We were up early (6:15am) and, as is usual for us, before the alarm even goes off. You would think with the lack of sleep from the night prior, we'd be tough to wake up, but that just isn't the way we work! So, by 7am, we had packed the car and were on the bus to Magic Kingdom.

Opening was just a few minutes before 8am and we were right at the rope; however, when it drops, we tend to walk a little more casually than most. Regardless, DW and DD headed for Space Mountain for an early ride while I got Fastpasses so we could ride it all again later. When they got off, DD and I went to do Buzz while DW headed for the bakery to get some breakfast for us. We enjoyed that breakfast while waiting to meet Merida (a high priority for this visit) - in our world, those cinnamon rolls and blueberry muffins are the best! As it was just getting to 9am by this point (and still another 15 minutes before Merida came out), I went to get FPs for Big Thunder Mountain. After meeting Merida we went to use the Space Mountain FPs. I decided not to ride as Space and my back don't tend to get along too well. Then we headed to Frontierland (via Fantasyland to enjoy the new sights there again). Along the way, we got to meet some of the new 'characters' that are populating Fantasyland.


As we got to Big Thunder, it was down, so we tried to do some Sorcerers of the MK with our old cards from last visit. But as we tried to get them to work, Thunder started working so off we went. Best thing about FPs right after the ride is down is there is no line at all, so we basically walked on. For some reason, I love taking pics during Big Thunder and managed to get the girls enjoying the ride this time!


After that it was time to head out...but, as we walked by Pirates, we couldn't resist a 5 minute wait and took a ride through the Caribbean - we enjoyed the addition of the mermaids at the beginning! Then out of the park (about 10:45am for those keeping score). We took the monorail around to Grand Floridian for a quick visit to check out the gingerbread house.


Then it was back on the monorail(s) for the trip to Epcot for a quick walk through to get to our Thanksgiving Dinner at Captain's Grille in the Yacht Club. I couldn't resist a quick shot of the sun over the coolest geodesic sphere around!


So, just a bit before 1pm we were at the Beach Club to check into our room (before lunch) and to our great joy, it was already available, so we stopped in the room before lunch. It was very nice to have a place to come home to after we engorged ourselves on the excellent Thanksgiving buffet at Captain's Grille. Special kudos to the squash bisque and the pumpkin cheesecake desserts! Time for some rest in the room and then a little pool time - how can you not visit the best pool on Disney property? DD enjoyed it quite a bit, but then it was time to see us some serious Christmas lights!

But that part of the story is going to have to wait as we are headed out again!

 

[brifraz]

At this point in the story, it is Thanksgiving evening at around 5pm and we are catching the boat to Hollywood Studios, which took quite a while. Significant line for the boat from Y&B Club, so we had to wait for two boats and those twenty minutes do seem like an eternity! Perhaps part of the problem is that the streetlight at the first intersection appears to be a bit broken?


But, around 6pm we finally are walking into Studios (trying to stop and go at the same time) and while the girls shop, I hoof it down to Tower of Terror to pick up some Fastpasses. Then we head back toward the Osbourne lights. We can't pass MuppetVision without a visit, though. That one single attraction can put me in a good mood for a week, minimum, I just love it. And every trip, I take quite a few gratuitous photos of different aspects of it. This time, the projector assembly:


After Muppets, it was time to see the lights. Amazing as always, although (understandable as it is) we are not big fans of the crowd being herded through from one end to the other. We always enjoyed just walking in and out of the lights throughout the evening whenever we found ourselves in the area... Whether or not this is Duffy bear, we couldn't tell, but we had to get the picture!


Then it was over to Star Tours for a quick visit (for those who wonder about these things - Darth - Pod Race - Leia - Naboo). We then went a little off plan for a bit, had a pretzel and drinks and went back to the Animation area and did the class with an artist. Our drawings of Goofy may not look quite right, but we enjoyed doing them! To finish up the night, we rode Tower of Terror with our FPs and really enjoyed seeing the night lights when the doors opened on the 13th floor.

Upon departure (9:45pm), the line for the boat was exceptionally long, so we decided to take the walking path. What's another mile or so when we've already done a few hundred??

Next up is Black Friday, which evidently means very excited animals at Animal Kingdom for us. I hope to find a chance to get it posted tomorrow, but it may just wait until Sunday when we are back in cold Manchester, Maryland trying to stay awake until a reasonable hour to get our clocks back on normal folks time!

 

[brifraz]

Hey, it's 6:15am - what does that mean? I'm up early enough to get Black Friday onto the trip report!

Of course, we were up early and at Animal Kingdom for regular admission at 8am (we aren't used to this morning with no EMH thing). First things first, Safari time! And, what a safari it was. The animals were VERY awake and active. The first big excitement was the 'stampede' of wildebeests that ran directly in front of our vehicle - why were they all running at top speed across the savanna? Being chased by a young giraffe - only managed to catch the giraffe on film:


After seeing the majority of the elephants up close and eating and the cheetahs both prowling (one up front), we got to the lions. As we approached a lioness was on display:


Why was she standing atop the rock? Well, there was quite a bit of playfullness down below as the male was chasing the other lioness around the rocks, putting on a full roaring show and as we pulled away, the lioness who had been up top, jumped down on top of the other lioness! It reminded us of our 2 kittens at home, but on a much larger and more dangerous scale! After the safari, it was Pangani jungle walk time and the animals there were up to the task. Molerats were partying, roaches were play fighting (no kidding, we actually watched the roaches fighting with each other as the roach handler talked to us about their activity). Then the gorillas - everybody was up on display and the 3 year old was quite playful as he was sneaking up on one of the adults!


The animals in the Maharajah jungle were not quite as enthusiastic this morning, but along the way DD got a nice music lesson from one of the locals:


Then it was over to the Dinoland area - DD wanted to check out Primeval Whirl before we watched the Nemo show, but alas, at 10am the wait was already 40 minutes and that was too much to be worth it. So, a little shopping and then into the Theatre in the Wild for our favorite show on site, Finding Nemo, the Musical. After Nemo it was time to head out of the park and over to Old Key West to check in.

Once checked in (no room ready this time) we took the boat to Downtown Disney for a great lunch at Wolfgang Puck Express. As always, great food and lots of leftovers. Then it was over to the West Side for Phineas and Ferb and YOU! A nice, quick little addition to the offerings and DD definitely enjoyed both the picture opportunity and the P&F trivia while in the line.

Then back to the room, a quick nap, and heading for Epcot. And that is a story that will have to wait until later (most likely Sunday afternoon).

 

[Tiggerish]

You guys are nuts!!! (I say that with all due respect and great admiration)

Fantastic live trip report, thanks for sharing. How exciting and challenging, switching resorts every day/night!! Both of your ladies are beautiful, and it looks like you're having a great time, with some great meals, too!