Yes Im running a bit late with this, but since I came back I have been busy. But now I have some time to finally write up my first trip report! This is the first part, I hope you guys like it.
Im a huge Disney fan. Always have been, always will be. One thing I havnt gotten to do a whole lot is make trips to Disney world. Or any of the Disney Lands around the world. So this year as sort of a dual birthday present for me and my at the time Girlfriend Jessica, I planned a nice week long trip to Disney World. Well things happened and Jessica and I broke up. And since none of my other friends could go (They all had good reasons), my mom decided she would go. But shhh she was supposed to be off sick form work.
We made a couple of stops along the way to the Airport. Mostly because we had time to kill. So after stoping at a few stores and a mall, I already had acquired a few Disney items. I found a nice Disney Fairies book for $3 at a book store. At Toys R Us I picked up the Toy Story Collection Buzz and Woody figures. These are super nice. Good thing I bought them on the way down because nowhere at Disney World had them. Plus I had two $10 Gift Cards from TRU to use So I ended up only paying $40 each for them.
And lastly and most oddly I found a Pirates of the Carribean figure at a Magic Mart I had never seen or heard of. It was a Disney Parks exclusive but I couldnt find a year on the package. Anyway it was the Lady in the Red Dress. She fits in nicely with the Indiana Jones figure I picked up at Disney World last year, looks like they may even be the same sculpter. Anyone know anything about this figure? Is there more in the set or just her? Anyway marked down to $3 how could I pass her up? Thats right, I couldnt.
The plane ride down was smoth and fast. Everything was on time, and soon we were loaded onto the Disney Magical Express bus and heading worry free to Dinsey World. We were staying at Disney`s Pop Century resort. This place was much larger than I expected. We were staying in the 50s. For a "Value" resort, I found Pop to be fantastic. Much nicer than most regular hotels you will stay in anywhere else. It may not have all the luxury of the priceir options, but for us it was great. Upon check in I was given my special Birthday button to wear. The button got me a lot of Happy Birthdays from a lot of strangers. It was actually really nice. Even if I did wear it everyday I was there.
After check in we still had a few hours before we would be able to go into our room. Not wanting to start with a half a day at one of the large parks, we opted to go to Downtown Disney. Here we did plenty of browsing and shopping. First stop was Goofy`s Candy Factory. Hey I needed some sugar.
Giant Stitch wants Giant Baloon!
After doing some shopping and mom doing some pin trading we headed to T-Rex for a late lunch. This place is awsome! The meteor shower is loud, but its oh so cool. The food was great. Way more than any one man could or should eat. After this we headed to Disney Quest. I had always wanted to check this place out, I love me some video games. Sadly I was very dissapointed. The interactive rides were cool. The Jungle Cruise and Pirates rides were nice enough. The virtual reality Aladdins flying carpet ride was awful and uncomfortable. But the virtual space mountain was amazing. Its crazy how real it feels. Our coaster was sadly only a 4. but it was still enough to make us both a little nauseous. But that could have also been from the massive amount of food we just ate.
Dino Sized Entree
After this, and a little more shopping it was time for Dinner at Planet Hollywood. Once again way more food than anyone should eat. After a few pictures of the assorted movie costumes and props around the walls we headed back to our hotel with our bellies full ready for a good nights sleep. Because we were getting up early the next day for we had breakfast ressies at Epcot.
I have been to Dinsey world twice before. The first time was on my senior trip and we just got to go to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours. No complaints, but 8 hours is hardly enough to do much of anything at a Disney Park. The second time was last summer with my mom and sister, and we just had time to hit Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I have always wanted to go to Epcot and Animal Kingdom but I just never had the chance, so for this trip I planned to hit both of them as soon as possible. First up was Epcot.
One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was meet as many characters as I could. So I kind of planned our days around that task. Like our first breakfast. It was at Akershus. After getting our picture taken with Belle we were then seated by a beautifull Norwegian girl named Hege. Hege was extremely nice. I have honeslty never had fish for breakfast, but it was good. During the meal more Disney Princesses came out to great guests and take pictures. Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White. All of them were very good, but Snow White was amazing. Aside from looking and sounding just like the on screen Snow White, she had the hand movements and the overall attitude that Snow White required. She was fantastic. Before we left Hege brought me a birthday card signed by all the princesses. She also signed it herself with a happy birthday in norwegian. Not one to pass on an oportunity to have a picture taken with a beautiful woman, I asked Hege for a picture. She seemed almost embarassed, but after she was all smiles. Sadly pictures dont do her justice.
Hege
After breakfast we headed back to Future Showcase. Here we quickly got in line for Mission Space. There was no wait time here and we were quickly on our way to Mars. After the big breakfast we had we opted for the less intense version. It was still great though. This is an incredibly popular ride, and I just dont see why? Honestly other than the last bit of speed it gives you, I drive on much worse road conditions every day for work. But I realize thats just me. Overall I felt the ride was unimpressive. Next as we were making our way over to Soarin, we ran into some characters. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Minnie were all on hand. So of course we got pictures with all of them.
Pluto Hugs!
I think Minnie was flirting...
Soarin is a cool ride, but I never really got the sensation of flying. Could have been because I wasnt in the front or top. But it was still fun. After this we checked out the Circle of Life. It was really neat but kind of dated.
Then we headed over to the Seas with Nemo. This is a great ride, and the kids were in awe of it. Turtle talk with Crush was next. The technology on display here is amazing! They need more of this interactivity in the attractions.
After Turtle Talk we moved on to Journey into Imagination. This was a neat ride and now I see why so many Disney buffs love Figment. After this we moved on to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. This is another cool but dated attraction. After all this it was time for lunch. I had reservations for the Nine Dragons resteraunt in the China Pavillion so off we went into World Showcase once more. Nine Dragons was amazing. This was real authentic Chinese food. None of that Chinese fast food crap you get everywhere else. The food was great. And the Blackbeary tea was even better. Our hostes who`s name escapes me was very nice. At the end of the meal she brought me a peice of cake with a candle in it and another birthday card signed by her all in Chinese. After this we checked out the rest of the China Pavillion. The Circle Vision movie was really cool. With some breath taking shots.
Next we backtracked to Norway again. This time everything was open so we got to ride the Malestrom. I loved this ride. I have always wanted to go to Norway, now I really really really want to go there. The museum was nice, and its strange that no one pays any attention to it.
Im sure everyone who has been to Epcot has this picture
We made our way back to Mexico next. I was really impressed with just how much is inside the pyramid here.You really feel like your outdoors at night. The ride was nice, but the timing on some of the segments was off. Like we would get to an area and be catchign the end of the segment. It was still funny. Back outside we got our picture taken with Don Donald.
Mexi-Duck
Now we really started to move aorund World Showcase. Next stop was Germany. Here we met Snow White again. She remembered us from Breakfast which was nice. Then we wroked our way over to Morroco to meet Alddin and Jasmin but we still had a bit of a wait, so we headed over to the UK. Here we met Belle again and Beast. Then Back over to Morroco for Jasmin and Aladdin. Jasmin was beautiful! Then we got word that Mulan was appearing back in China so we worked our way back over there. No mulan but the Dragon Dynasty acrobats were just getting ready to start a show. So we grabbed a seat and enjoyed the show. These kids are amazing. Afterwards Mulan was out and we got some pictures taken with her. Then we worked our way back around World Showcase and took in the American Adventure movie. If your ever doubt your patriotism, watch this. It`ll bring a tear to your eye for sure. Then we were off to France to see Aurora again.
Belle checking out my tattoos
Alladin being not to happy I was checking out Jasmin
We made our way through what was left of France and then Canada, and back to Future Showcase. We had Dinner reservations at the Gardin Grill. The grill was really neat. During the meal Mickey Pluto and Chip and Dale made the rounds to great guests and take pictures. We ate way too much and then I got another birthday cake and and another card this time signed by the four characters at that meal.
Back outside we walked back over to World Showcase and took a seat near the lake to get ready for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Our seats were not the best but we could still see most of it.The show was amazing. Afterwards we waited for the park to clear out a bit and then made our way back through World Showcase. Mostly by ourselves, the park is beautiful at night all lit up. It was a really peacful walk with hardly anyone around. But then it was time to head back to the hotel. I regreted that we didnt get to ride Spaceship Earth, or do the Universe Of Energy. Or even go in either of the 2 Innoventions buildings. But there was always next time. But back on the bus I could only smile as I thought about what a great day it had been and how great tomorrow woould be at the Animal Kingdom
Im a huge Disney fan. Always have been, always will be. One thing I havnt gotten to do a whole lot is make trips to Disney world. Or any of the Disney Lands around the world. So this year as sort of a dual birthday present for me and my at the time Girlfriend Jessica, I planned a nice week long trip to Disney World. Well things happened and Jessica and I broke up. And since none of my other friends could go (They all had good reasons), my mom decided she would go. But shhh she was supposed to be off sick form work.
We made a couple of stops along the way to the Airport. Mostly because we had time to kill. So after stoping at a few stores and a mall, I already had acquired a few Disney items. I found a nice Disney Fairies book for $3 at a book store. At Toys R Us I picked up the Toy Story Collection Buzz and Woody figures. These are super nice. Good thing I bought them on the way down because nowhere at Disney World had them. Plus I had two $10 Gift Cards from TRU to use So I ended up only paying $40 each for them.
And lastly and most oddly I found a Pirates of the Carribean figure at a Magic Mart I had never seen or heard of. It was a Disney Parks exclusive but I couldnt find a year on the package. Anyway it was the Lady in the Red Dress. She fits in nicely with the Indiana Jones figure I picked up at Disney World last year, looks like they may even be the same sculpter. Anyone know anything about this figure? Is there more in the set or just her? Anyway marked down to $3 how could I pass her up? Thats right, I couldnt.
The plane ride down was smoth and fast. Everything was on time, and soon we were loaded onto the Disney Magical Express bus and heading worry free to Dinsey World. We were staying at Disney`s Pop Century resort. This place was much larger than I expected. We were staying in the 50s. For a "Value" resort, I found Pop to be fantastic. Much nicer than most regular hotels you will stay in anywhere else. It may not have all the luxury of the priceir options, but for us it was great. Upon check in I was given my special Birthday button to wear. The button got me a lot of Happy Birthdays from a lot of strangers. It was actually really nice. Even if I did wear it everyday I was there.
After check in we still had a few hours before we would be able to go into our room. Not wanting to start with a half a day at one of the large parks, we opted to go to Downtown Disney. Here we did plenty of browsing and shopping. First stop was Goofy`s Candy Factory. Hey I needed some sugar.
Giant Stitch wants Giant Baloon!
After doing some shopping and mom doing some pin trading we headed to T-Rex for a late lunch. This place is awsome! The meteor shower is loud, but its oh so cool. The food was great. Way more than any one man could or should eat. After this we headed to Disney Quest. I had always wanted to check this place out, I love me some video games. Sadly I was very dissapointed. The interactive rides were cool. The Jungle Cruise and Pirates rides were nice enough. The virtual reality Aladdins flying carpet ride was awful and uncomfortable. But the virtual space mountain was amazing. Its crazy how real it feels. Our coaster was sadly only a 4. but it was still enough to make us both a little nauseous. But that could have also been from the massive amount of food we just ate.
Dino Sized Entree
After this, and a little more shopping it was time for Dinner at Planet Hollywood. Once again way more food than anyone should eat. After a few pictures of the assorted movie costumes and props around the walls we headed back to our hotel with our bellies full ready for a good nights sleep. Because we were getting up early the next day for we had breakfast ressies at Epcot.
I have been to Dinsey world twice before. The first time was on my senior trip and we just got to go to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours. No complaints, but 8 hours is hardly enough to do much of anything at a Disney Park. The second time was last summer with my mom and sister, and we just had time to hit Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. I have always wanted to go to Epcot and Animal Kingdom but I just never had the chance, so for this trip I planned to hit both of them as soon as possible. First up was Epcot.
One of the things I wanted to do on this trip was meet as many characters as I could. So I kind of planned our days around that task. Like our first breakfast. It was at Akershus. After getting our picture taken with Belle we were then seated by a beautifull Norwegian girl named Hege. Hege was extremely nice. I have honeslty never had fish for breakfast, but it was good. During the meal more Disney Princesses came out to great guests and take pictures. Aurora, Ariel, Cinderella, and Snow White. All of them were very good, but Snow White was amazing. Aside from looking and sounding just like the on screen Snow White, she had the hand movements and the overall attitude that Snow White required. She was fantastic. Before we left Hege brought me a birthday card signed by all the princesses. She also signed it herself with a happy birthday in norwegian. Not one to pass on an oportunity to have a picture taken with a beautiful woman, I asked Hege for a picture. She seemed almost embarassed, but after she was all smiles. Sadly pictures dont do her justice.
Hege
After breakfast we headed back to Future Showcase. Here we quickly got in line for Mission Space. There was no wait time here and we were quickly on our way to Mars. After the big breakfast we had we opted for the less intense version. It was still great though. This is an incredibly popular ride, and I just dont see why? Honestly other than the last bit of speed it gives you, I drive on much worse road conditions every day for work. But I realize thats just me. Overall I felt the ride was unimpressive. Next as we were making our way over to Soarin, we ran into some characters. Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Pluto and Minnie were all on hand. So of course we got pictures with all of them.
Pluto Hugs!
I think Minnie was flirting...
Soarin is a cool ride, but I never really got the sensation of flying. Could have been because I wasnt in the front or top. But it was still fun. After this we checked out the Circle of Life. It was really neat but kind of dated.
Then we headed over to the Seas with Nemo. This is a great ride, and the kids were in awe of it. Turtle talk with Crush was next. The technology on display here is amazing! They need more of this interactivity in the attractions.
After Turtle Talk we moved on to Journey into Imagination. This was a neat ride and now I see why so many Disney buffs love Figment. After this we moved on to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. This is another cool but dated attraction. After all this it was time for lunch. I had reservations for the Nine Dragons resteraunt in the China Pavillion so off we went into World Showcase once more. Nine Dragons was amazing. This was real authentic Chinese food. None of that Chinese fast food crap you get everywhere else. The food was great. And the Blackbeary tea was even better. Our hostes who`s name escapes me was very nice. At the end of the meal she brought me a peice of cake with a candle in it and another birthday card signed by her all in Chinese. After this we checked out the rest of the China Pavillion. The Circle Vision movie was really cool. With some breath taking shots.
Next we backtracked to Norway again. This time everything was open so we got to ride the Malestrom. I loved this ride. I have always wanted to go to Norway, now I really really really want to go there. The museum was nice, and its strange that no one pays any attention to it.
Im sure everyone who has been to Epcot has this picture
We made our way back to Mexico next. I was really impressed with just how much is inside the pyramid here.You really feel like your outdoors at night. The ride was nice, but the timing on some of the segments was off. Like we would get to an area and be catchign the end of the segment. It was still funny. Back outside we got our picture taken with Don Donald.
Mexi-Duck
Now we really started to move aorund World Showcase. Next stop was Germany. Here we met Snow White again. She remembered us from Breakfast which was nice. Then we wroked our way over to Morroco to meet Alddin and Jasmin but we still had a bit of a wait, so we headed over to the UK. Here we met Belle again and Beast. Then Back over to Morroco for Jasmin and Aladdin. Jasmin was beautiful! Then we got word that Mulan was appearing back in China so we worked our way back over there. No mulan but the Dragon Dynasty acrobats were just getting ready to start a show. So we grabbed a seat and enjoyed the show. These kids are amazing. Afterwards Mulan was out and we got some pictures taken with her. Then we worked our way back around World Showcase and took in the American Adventure movie. If your ever doubt your patriotism, watch this. It`ll bring a tear to your eye for sure. Then we were off to France to see Aurora again.
Belle checking out my tattoos
Alladin being not to happy I was checking out Jasmin
We made our way through what was left of France and then Canada, and back to Future Showcase. We had Dinner reservations at the Gardin Grill. The grill was really neat. During the meal Mickey Pluto and Chip and Dale made the rounds to great guests and take pictures. We ate way too much and then I got another birthday cake and and another card this time signed by the four characters at that meal.
Back outside we walked back over to World Showcase and took a seat near the lake to get ready for Illuminations: Reflections of Earth. Our seats were not the best but we could still see most of it.The show was amazing. Afterwards we waited for the park to clear out a bit and then made our way back through World Showcase. Mostly by ourselves, the park is beautiful at night all lit up. It was a really peacful walk with hardly anyone around. But then it was time to head back to the hotel. I regreted that we didnt get to ride Spaceship Earth, or do the Universe Of Energy. Or even go in either of the 2 Innoventions buildings. But there was always next time. But back on the bus I could only smile as I thought about what a great day it had been and how great tomorrow woould be at the Animal Kingdom