I am still getting over the week I had in Florida 12/16-12/23. The morning of the 16th- a blizzard came to Chicago and theatned to keep us in the snow. But the planes were on time and we actually arrived in Orlando ahead of time. Southwest is GREAT!!!! Who can pass up $49!!
I came down with a cold from the warm weather during the day and cold weather at night. NO RAIN!!! December travelers- bring pants!!! I am warm blooded so I was fine in shorts but pants are a must.
As far as my size for those who can relate- I am 5'7, 400lbs, 25 years old. So I was very concerned about fitting onto rides. I will report more later. Southwest is accomadating- always get the seatbelt extension!!
Briefly these are my thoughts of MVMCP- I attended December 16th
I came down with a cold from the warm weather during the day and cold weather at night. NO RAIN!!! December travelers- bring pants!!! I am warm blooded so I was fine in shorts but pants are a must.
As far as my size for those who can relate- I am 5'7, 400lbs, 25 years old. So I was very concerned about fitting onto rides. I will report more later. Southwest is accomadating- always get the seatbelt extension!!
Briefly these are my thoughts of MVMCP- I attended December 16th
- We arrived at 5pm- the weather was perfect. 60s- then got sort of cold at night- still warm enough for shorts. Perfect for the hot coco and cookies!!
- All of the MVMCP (including me) felt like we were VIP in the Magic Kingdom!! After the 6pm showing of WISHES- the CMs became very strict by ushering people who did not have wristbands out of the park. A lot of non MVMCP people were upset that they were being asked to leave when clearly there was a night of fun about to be had.
- Throughout the night- the CMs continously checked wristbands to get coco, entrance to lands, resturants, stores, etc. I was very impressed!!!
- The Parade was FANTASTIC!!!! The best parade I have seen at Disney to date. Dreams come True is also very good!!!
- Saw both WISHES and Holiday Wishes and loved them!!!
- The cookies were delicious. The coco- VERY VERY VERY HOT and not so good.
- The castle lights were SPECTACULAR!
- The wait times for rides were less than 5 minutes. Space Mountain was about 15 mins- rode for the 1st time and it was AWESOME!!! I sat in the front and barely had enough room to breate but it was fun!!
- It was great because we completed the majority of the rides that night and still got to enjoy the shows.
- Would I do MVMCP again? Well, everyone should experience it at least ONCE. I have been once but do not have to do it again. Though, I enjoyed my experience!!
- OK experience. My first time going. Not a place I have to travel to again. My suggestion- skip sea world and do Epcot!! The day we went- the park was practically empty. Kraken was closed so it was day basically to relax and let the kids enjoy. Beleive was great. The other shows were boring.
- Journey to Atlantis is PHENOMENAL!!!! This ride tops any water ride at WDW. I loved it!! No size issues!!!
- Penguins, Bears, Birds, Fish... blah
- Spirit of Aloha dinner show... I do not have to attend again. The reviews for the show seem to give this show an edge to Disneys. I have attended both but I prefer the Disney show. Its more Hawaiin. The Sea World version takes place in a resturant in the park. And outside of the performers- no one is from Polynesia (though our wait staff was great!!). The food.. BLAH.. fish, chicken, rice.. was not that great!
- The show however was very good! Also, their was about 30 people attending the show- so it was very lackluster given audience participation.
- The only grip about the Aloha Show- there were A LOT of locals. We were at a table with a group of locals who were celebrating their divorces from their husbands. Not good for me and my girlfriend- ah well.
- What to say??? You either love it or hate it.
- No Spaceship Earth..
- Nemo ride... clearly there to bring the kids to Epcot. Otherwise, a TERRIBLE attraction for adults. However, the aquarium after the ride is great!!
- The Land Pavillion.. BAD!!! The wait time for Soarin was 90 minutes!! I do not know what I expected but I was dissapointed. To ride a simulator over California was not fun. It was boring and a waste of time considering the wait. Also, beware of the seatbelts- very tight. I still like the Living with the Land ride. The Lion King show has got to go!!
- Universe of Energy.. got on at 6:45 and by 6:55pm.. everyone on the moving tram was sleep. Enough said. In desperate need of an update.
- The Character Greeting place is great- minus the 2 hour wait but we knocked out all the major characters and enjoyed the individualism.
- TEST TRACK!!!!! NUMBER 1!!! BE WARNED: The seatbelts on this attraction are VERY TIGHT and the CMs move very fast so once you are placed in a line- you are stuck. Luckily my girlfriend got on because she fastened my seatbelt- otherwise, I would not have been able to ride. My grip- get rid of the GM celebration after the ride. Waste of time.
- World Showcase: In a polite manner.. its cheezy. Besides the opportunity to experience food from different countries- World Showcase is ok. The CMs at the French pastry shop were RUDE!!! Though, I did manage to eat at every country fast food spot in the span of 2 hrs!!!
- Illuminations.. the globe was BORING!! The fire, fireworks, lasers were great. But it seemed their was about a 10 minute period where we looked at the globe and nothing was going on while it moved.
- The crowds on the 19th was low. The wait times for the major attractions was less than 30 minutes.
- The 3 mountains were GREAT and I fit on all with no problems!!
- Caseys has the best hot dogs in all of Orlando!!
- Dreams Come True Parade was interactive, colorful and fun!! In the past I skipped the daytime parade because of boredom- Mickey Mania was bad, lol.
- Haunted Mansion received a good update. Not a scary ride but a must!!!
- Because we attended MVMCP- there was not a lot left to do at the MK. So by 6pm- we were tired and ready to go. The lines for every ride in Fantasyland was 60 minutes. Mickeys 3D show was enjoyable!! Cheesesteaks and fries were also good their!!!
- Spectromagic remains my number 1 parade! I love the interaction that the characters have now- my son got the scare from the Big Bad Wolf.
- DOLE WHIP!!! Though, the chocolate and pinneaple juice is not good.
- Rode Tower of Terror for the 1st time. Had a tough time with the seat belt and had to have my 5 year old son buckle it for me because my girlfriend refused to get it. GREAT RIDE!!!
- Skipped Rockin Roller Coaster- the signs stating that people of certain body sizes may not fit was enough for me.
- Catastrophe Canyon was nice. I miss seeing the Golden Girls house- thats my favorite how.
- CARS was good!!! I liked the hosts.
- The Holiday Parade was SPECTACULAR. Every character imaginable was in the parade!! A must see during the holidays.
- Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast show are a must!!!
- Fantasmic LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!! This was my 1st time seeing the show. I loved the Princess Scene. My favorite is the ending. I have heard many people complain about the lack of characters on the boat but the night we went- the boat was FULL!! I also love the flags the characters twirl to the music!! Beautiful!! Also, it pays to show up late- we were seated in the middle and as the CM said- it is the best seats in the house!!! Disney definantly knows how to put on a show!!!
- Osborne Lights: VERY NICE!!! Takes about 10 minutes to see. Though, nothing that I have to see again.
- Its Tough to be a Bug. The seats in the front row must have been malfuntioning because I remember feeling things in the seats in 2001. Though, the show is a MUST!!
- Kali River Rapids was fun.. very wet!! Make sure you speak with a CM so they can direct you to a larger seat. Also be forwarned that it is ONE seatbelt for 2 people.
- Safari: 60 minute wait but worth it. We saw about 80 percent of the animals on the safari and our tour guide stopped along the route long enough to let us take pictures. The highlight, a giraffe 1st crossed our path then followed us for about 5 minutes. A MUST!!
- Expedition Everest: With so many deaths on the ride and given my weight, I was scared to get on. To complicate it- someone passed away on the ride the day before and right before getting on- a CM got hurt (how she got hurt I dont know) But she was crying and a big woman came out with security and the ride shut down for a short period of time. As far as size, I fit fine with no problems. This clearly is my favorite ride at AK and I rode it 10 times. The single rider entrance is great!!!
- Animal Kingdom is A LOT of WALKING!! The food there is TERRIBLE!!! The main attraction is the sweet and sour chicken and rice. YUK!!! I had to walk all the way to the kiddie part of AK to get real good! I thought I was getting a hamburger and fries. Little to my surprise- it was McDonalds fries!! AHHH
- Speaking of McDonalds- why oh why is there McDonalds fries every 5 minutes in every theme park.
- I am a big man- I appreciate the health turn that Disney has done. However, the wheat buns have got to go. How can you promote big hot dogs and hamburger buns then once you pick it up- the bun falls apart? In previous years, you would get heaping portions of fries- what happened? I do not like cups of fries. I am on vacation- I want fat!!!
- LOL I guess the positive- I lost 10lbs in the week I was in Florida.
- Nemo show is GREAT!!!!
- Definantly no Disney!!! Nothing major to report. Did not fit Dudley Do Rights water ride. Jurrasic Park was a fun water ride. Popyes Barge water ride- SOAKED!!!! Only do in hot day time weather!! Hulk- I passed but would have got on had I known how the seats were made. Otherwise, it was an ok day at Islands of Adventure.
- City Walk.. OMG!!! LOCALS LOCALS LOCALS When the theme parks closed, I was scared for my life. No security no where and even though I am young, the young people there was acting horrible. Smoking illegal drugs, drunk.. it was bad.
- We ate at Emeril Lagases resturant and the service was HORRID!!! The decor was nice but thats all. The wait staff seemed to be racist. It was evident that some people got advantage over others. My single glass of water has yet to be refilled to this day. While there, 2 waiters dropped food on the floor- though it was immediately cleaned up. The food was BAD!!! I had the steak- for $30, waste of money. My girlfriend had the seafood platter and her rice was not cooked and the seafood was lackluster. Nothing that we had expected from Emeril.
- Did not go to Pleasure Island. If its anything like City Walk I am glad we did not. I have heard the reports that it has gotten bad.
- The shopping is great as always. The Rainforrest Cafe is a MUST!!! The atmosphere, food and staff are terrific!!!
- World of Disney is the best store in Orlando period!!!!
- Parking is TERRIBLE!!! They need to add more parking lots.
- The continous disney christmas music was irritating by day 3. I was tired of hearing donald duck and the 12 days of christmas. LOL The same songs play in all of the world.
- The CMs at the Magic Kingdom are the nicest. Everywhere else, the CMs seemed to be more normal like they were working at Six Flags.
- I have read MANY negative reports about Celebrity Resorts Orlando- we stayed there and I am pleased to report- our stay was PHENOMENAL!!! Everything was clean and the staff was great!! Though, for Orlando I am going to opt for disney property in the future. Its something about Disney resorts that you do not get on offsite property.
- As for my size, at Disney I felt very comfortable!!! At Islands of Adventure and everywhere else in Orlando I can not say the same. Disney really is a world of its own.
- Thrifty Rental Car is SPECTACULAR. We got a Toyota 4Runner for 8 days for $160.
- The day we left- we did not leave Orlando until 11pm due to flights to Chicago being delayed. For a future trip, I am going to opt for an earlier flight out of Orlando as we did not do anything between 10am and 6pm. The outlet malls in Orlando are ok but the holiday sales were TERRIBLE. It seemed everything was marked up then put on sale.
