Wait while I take a picture, I cant eat any more, NO KIDS! Sept 2012 Trip Report

If you need a little background on me any my wife please visit my Pre Trip Report HERE.

So with no more delay here it goes.....

We had counted down from 344 days for our arrival day. Finally it was here and all was set. So we hit the road around 8am EST and headed I-75 Sound Bound!!

Not too eventful during our trip. However I must point out while needing to fuel up before leaving Georgia we decided to visit what we felt was a pretty good deal on fuel. $3.69 per gallon.

After I swiped my card and started fueling I noticed the price was a lot different from what was on the sign. I told my wife. Wow this gas is $3.74 a gallon. Confused I kept pumping and started looking around. Then my eyes were finally able to focus on the VERY tiny notice on the right side of the HUGE Citgo sign. Notice picture zoomed in below...

Needless to say when you first get into Valdosta, GA and see a Citgo gas station, just drive a few mile further down and you will find plenty of gas stations with the same pricing and no need to pay with cash or a special gas card. Stay away from Citgo!!

Anyway nothing was going to get me upset so off we go with a tank full of gas and before we knew it....

The Florida State line and Ron Jon Surf shop signs!!! Ahead of schedule and making great time!

Of course my first stop when entering Florida is...

Thats right!! The I-75 Florida Welcome Center!!

Nothing like finally being back in Florida! This is by far my most favorite State Welcome Center!

Pat was kind enough to offer me a free cup of Orange Juice and Grapefruit Juice.

After that its always fun browsing the brochures.

So we are back on our way and once we get on the Florida Turnpike the signs point the way!

But before you can get there you have to pay the toll!!

And once you go through a lengthy countdown and make all your ADR's and travel all that way...

You arrive here........

 

[Sunshineglow68]

OMG!!!!!!!!! YUMMY!! I will be there a week from yesterday and my mouth is watering already.

 

[disney1077]

Wasn't going to start the full day 1 of my report for a few days as I have so many shots to go through. However I couldn't resist sharing my sun rise of POP Century with everyone.

Day 1.....

It almost cant get any better.

Oh but it does............

Couldn't leave the original one alone.

HDR Tone Mapping with Photomatix.

Beautiful pictures!

 

[disney1077]

Great trip report! Nice pictures! Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[bethymouse]

Nice trip! I love the "no kids" idea!

 

[nngrendel]

Yay!! Can't believe your trip has already come and gone! We started our countdown at 345 days and now we are 11 days out!!

I am so pumped to read this TR...I cannot wait until we do our first WDW trip without the kiddos.

Pictures are gorgeous and in 18 days that Banana Bread Pudding has my name all over it!!

I cant believe it has come and gone either. Think I am on a 2 year rotation on returning. Not sure when one without the kids though. Think we may bring them one more time. They are not getting any younger and soon will be leaving the nest.

 

[nngrendel]

OMG!!!!!!!!! YUMMY!! I will be there a week from yesterday and my mouth is watering already.

This was great! All I can say is save room. This is a lot of food and all of it is quite wonderful.

Nice trip! I love the "no kids" idea!

I love the no kids idea too! It gives Disney trips a whole new meaning. Adults can have fun there too. Believe it or not there are many more things I want to do at Disney without the kids. Its was nice for a change to not have to rush from ride to ride. A nice stroll through the parks was just what we needed.

Thank you to everyone for commenting on my photo's. I wish I was as good as others on this board and think that mine are just average. I took over 3000 shots while there last week and spending all my free time going through these. Today was my first day back to work so I cant wait to get home to go through my pictures some more. Hopefully I can continue with Day 2 later tonight or tomorrow.

I love doing this trip report but so ready to post back in the "How many days" thread again.

 

[nngrendel]

Beautiful pictures!

Thanks! I have more shots like this from POP and also AoA.

 

[Tinkerbella16]

Awesome TR so far!!!!! You took amazing photos!!! Looks like you had a wonderful time!!!

 

[nngrendel]

I have been so busy since I got home from our trip and we all know how your first week back to work is.
I haven't had much time to go through and upload all of my pictures but this weekend I should have more of the trip report complete.

 

[luckycharligirl]

Great trip report so far. It's the trip report that finally made me decide to make an ADR for our anniversary in February. Good thing! It was the last available ADR at Ohana for that night!!! So i owe you a thanks!!

 

[nngrendel]

Great trip report so far. It's the trip report that finally made me decide to make an ADR for our anniversary in February. Good thing! It was the last available ADR at Ohana for that night!!! So i owe you a thanks!!

We enjoyed it a lot. I would suggest not letting them sit you next to the aisle unless you like having kids with brooms and shoving coconuts around next to your table. hahah. I was lucky as the kids were well mannered. I can see that getting out of hand somehow.

You have to let me know what you think and if you like it as much as we did. Save me some dessert!!

 

[Gucci65]

My daughter was in Disney earlier this year in the college program and RAVES about dinner at O'Hana!! So glad that you posted pics so I could get an idea what she was talking about. Love the sunrise picture as well

 

[nngrendel]

Wheeew. Its been a long week back at work. Nice to get back to my Trip Report.

If you need to go back and review my arrival day please click on This Link to read it.

Now lets move on to day 2 our first full day...

The next morning I woke up the first thoughts through my mind was to see what the weather was like. Then I though... Hey why not get some cool HDR sunrise shots from POP! Well thats what I did. Grabbed my camera walked out side and waited patiently for the lens to stop fogging up and took a few shots...
I have already posted one HDR shot from our first morning so here are the rest.

The one below is like the other sun rise picture I posted earlier. Just a different camera position.

After these shots I grabbed a cup of coffee and went back to my room. Before I could get in the shower I could hear the rain comeing down outside. I thought it would be a quick shower however it lasted for hours. After getting ready for the day and attempting to wait out the rain we finally gave in to venturing out to visit Hollywood Studios. With the rain persistent I kept the camera in the bag. I dont have one of those fancy weather proof ones.

Wife and I did some browsing of some shops when we first arrived and made our way back to the Great Movie Ride. Once in side it was time for the camera to come out!! Really love the inside of the Great Movie Ride.

Also for some strange reason I really love the movie reels they play during your wait to board the ride.

Seems I got to see a lot more of it that usual. Its been a long time since I have seen a wait like this one for the Great Movie Ride. Guess the rain brings people into this attraction. I however really like it. Well thats depending on if your in the A car or the B car. My favorite is the A car. Wouldn't you know it! I get the B car! I was about to ask to wait for the next ride but decided to just go with the flow.

Were all loaded up a shot wait later and were off!

Below are a few ride shots I got. Enjoy!

Now time for my favorite part of the ride!! The Wizard of Oz!

Then we follow the yellow brick road...

More to come......

 

[The MaD Hatter]

Couldn't leave the original one alone.

HDR Tone Mapping with Photomatix.

Beautiful! This shall be the new wallpaper on my phone, replacing Spaceship Earth.

 

[nngrendel]

Once we were finished with the Great Movie Ride the rain was starting to slack off so I was finally able to take pictures outside! Here is another shot I played around with HDR again.

I know everyone loves the hat!

Then its off to Muppet Vision! A must do while at Hollywood Studios.

I must say I was excited to see this. I believe I had read that they cleaned up the video and did some work to the attraction. However, I was unable to notice any difference. Still loved the show.

My favorite queue area.

Now were ready for the show. And no I am not one of those annoying people who takes pictures of the movie.

On the way out my wife noticed this at the exit. We thought it was cool.

Quick shot of the fountain and were moving on...

Now were off toward Star Tours. I was excited to get to see this after the update. Just needed to see the wait time...

Perfect! I will ride now!!\

Love this queue too!!

However we basically ran through the queue.
I was very impressed with Star Tours. Its a much better ride now and cant wait to get back to Hollywood Studios to ride. Wife loved it as well.
As its now well past noon and our ADR's for the Rose and Crown is not until 7:50 its time for refreshments. High Octane Refreshment seems to be in order!

Cant remember what my wife ordered...

But remember I got a Yuengling.

Then we felt it was time for a quick bite from Studio Catering Co.

We decided to just split a Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. Nothing special but did hit the spot. Wife pointing out the meal for me to photograph.

Notice that during my stay nothing was left to chance. In the background you will notice another beer just to the right of the other beer. I ordered another Yuengling when ordering the Chicken Sandwich as I knew my original Yuengling purchased would need to be refilled. Now thats thinking ahead.

Most days I have ever passed by the Studio Catering Co. it has always been packed. However this day there were plenty of seats. Very nice day relaxing there. I was amazed because this is usually a mad house.

More to come......

 

[lostpro9het]

Awesome pics! Please keep them coming!

 

[nngrendel]

After a break there at the Studio Catering Co for a quick bite to eat and people watching we decided to head back out. Next stop....

Toy Story Mania.

Once I saw the wait time was only 35 minutes I was ready to get in the Stand-by Entrance.

I dont think I have ever seen this under 60 minutes. This was the longest wait time we saw the entire day and the actual wait time was maybe 20 minutes but the queue is nice so not a big deal.

After a quick shot of Mr. Potato head were almost there!
Our Cast Member friend Todd was polite when letting us on the ride. Even smiled for a picture.

After this we decided to start walking back toward the front of the park.

Oh! Whats that happening up ahead?? Who is that on the left side of the street??

YES!!! Its Mulch, Sweat n' Shears Bandscaping! This is what I love about Hollywood Studios. The random shows that take place on the street.

We then proceed to head toward the front and pass by old memories of dining at the Sci Fi Dine In.

Love the trees down this path.

And yes everyones favorite place to eat!!

Just kidding of course! But there maybe a few that like it.

Another shot of everyones favorite hat and...........

Whats that I hear????
Yes! Its the Citizens of Hollywood! Love to see them!

The act was going on and then they had to spot me taking pictures. hahahah.

She mentioned something about the size of my camera reminded her of something during a colonoscopy! Not sure where shes going for her procedures but I would suggest seeing another physician. Was too funny and was fun being part of the act.

When the show was over we decided to start heading out so we could head back to the hotel to get ready for our evening at Epcot.
On the way toward the exit I realized I haven't even took a picture of the Tower of Terror. So here is what I got..

We had enjoyed ourselves so much and didnt even ride the thrill rides. Great start to our day.

On the way to the bus I grab this shot.

After a short wait for the bus we are back at POP and through I would take a few pictures while walking through the lobby.

Now back to the room for a little R&R to prepare for the Rose and Crown and Illuminations!

More to come....

 

[nngrendel]

Awesome pics! Please keep them coming!

Thanks. Just thought about this and wanted to let everyone know that all of the ride pictures you see were taken with no flash. Didn't want anyone to think I was one of the people that take shot after shot on dark rides with the flash on. Thats why I love my 50mm 1.4 lens. Also the other main lens I used was a 16-35mm 2.8L for all the camera buffs wanting to know. Although I don't think I used the 50 mm for any of these shots so far.

 

[myhappyplace]

Wonderful pictures! Glad you had a good day at HS

 

[amaley01]

I love reading your trip report, with no trip planned or foreseeable for 2013 it's satisfying my Disney fetish.
Thanks & can't wait to see more great photos.