5/27 - 5/31 Trip Report

NemoRocks78 · Jun 7, 2005

Saturday, May 28th
Woke up at 7:00, got ready, and made our way to the Disney-MGM Studios after a stop at Burger King for breakfast. We had decided the night before that the girls would be going shopping for the day while us guys (my brother, cousin, and I) would be going to WDW. We pulled into the parking lot at 8:30, went to the ticket booth to buy Jason (my cousin) a 1-day park hopper ticket and then enterted the park. Our first goal of the day was to get an FP to meet Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca in the Star Wars films (remember, this is Star Wars Weekends). The line started next to Keystone Clothiers, went past the Sorcerer's Hat and the Sci-Fi Dine-In, then into the Star Tours extended queue where you would recieve your FP at the end of the line which was next to the regular Star Tours FP machines. We got into the line at 8:45 and recieved our FP (good to use between 4:35 and 4:50) at 9:50am. After we got our FPs we rode Star Tours which only had a 5 minute wait. We then spent about 10 minutes in the Tatooine Traders shop picking up some Star Wars Weekends merchandise (also bought lightsabers :lol: ) and a Chewbacca figure to have Peter Mayhew autograph.

After making our purchases we had to go to the Indiana Jones Outpost shop to buy the Star Wars Weekends LE pins (they were only available in that shop). We then went to Mickey Avenue to have our photo with Darth Vader, but we stopped for the 10:30am Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It! Star Wars Edition show. We walked right in just before the show began and got a good seat at the top. The show was fun with every question relating to Star Wars. After we got out of the show we went over to the Darth Vader meet and greet and waited about 10 minutes to have our photo taken with the man in black himself. We then decided to leave the park and visit the Magic Kingdom.

Once inside the MK, we went straight to Space Mountain to pick up FPs good to use at 2:05. We then had lunch at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe. After lunch we walked the entire park, only stopping at Pirates of the Caribbean (only ride without a wait :lol: ), before returning to Tomorrowland. Once there, we saw Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority before using our FPs at Space Mountain. After we got off the ride we left the park. Since we had some time to kill, we decided to take a "long way" back to MGM --- we took a boat to the Wilderness Lodge, walked around the resort for a bit and then boarded a bus from there back to MGM.

When we got back into the park, we walked down Sunset Blvd. and over to Tower which only had a 1/2 hour wait (which turned out to be about 15 or so minutes). After the ride we went over to the Star Tours area of the park and had our photo taken with Mace Windu and Shaak Ti before heading over to the Peter Mayhew meet and greet. Once we got there we had a few minutes to kill, so we had photos taken with Zam Wesell, Aurra Sing, Darth Maul, and Boba Fett. 4:35 finally rolled around and we got in line to meet Peter Mayhew. He autographed the Chewbacca figure I bought earlier in the day.....wasn't a very friendly guy though. Anyways, after getting autographs, we exited the park, went to the parking lot, got in the car, and drove to Downtown Disney. When we got there, we bought tickets for the 6:15pm showing of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith in Digital Projection at the AMC Pleasure Island 24. We had some time to spare, so we went into the Virgin Megastore for a few minutes before going into the theater and seeing the movie (my 4th time). The movie got out at 8:50 and we then left Downtown Disney. After a stop at Chick-Fil-A for a quick dinner, we returned home and watched some television before retiring at midnight.

RANDOM PHOTOS FROM THE DAY:

NemoRocks78 · Jun 7, 2005

Sunday, May 29th
We all woke up at 8:30 and got ready for our day at Universal Orlando. We were out the door by 9:30 and in the E.T. section of the parking garage at 10:00. On our way to Islands of Adventure we stopped at the Dining Reservations booth across from Cinnabon in CityWalk and got a lunch reservation for Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville at 11:30. We then made our way into the park. Our first stop of the day was at the Express machines for the Incredible Hulk Coaster. It had a 45 minute wait so we picked up 6 EPs (out of the 9 of us, my parents and younger brother are the only ones who wouldn't ride) which were good to use at 2:45. We then went over to The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man and waited about 20 minutes to ride. After we got off of the ride we waited 15 minutes to ride Dr. Doom's Fearfall, left the park, and went to Margaritaville for lunch.

Once we finished a great lunch at the best restaurant in Orlando, we went back into IOA and straight to Seuss Landing. We waited 10 minutes to ride The Cat in the Hat and then walked over to The Lost Continent. Dueling Dragons was advertising a 20 minute wait, but after waiting in line it turned out to be a ridiculous hour. We rode Fire Dragon and then headed into Jurassic Park. The River Adventure had an advertised 60 minute wait, however it only turned out to be about 25. After a "relaxing" ride we went back to MSHI and used our EPs for the Incredible Hulk Coaster. We then left the park and walked over to the Studios.

When we got inside we immeadiately went to Shrek 4-D and walked right in (the second theater has done wonders for the wait times). After the show we went straight over to Revenge of the Mummy which had a very surprising 20 minute wait. Once we got off the ride I bought the on-ride photo and we then went and caught the last showing of Beetlejuice's Graveyard Revue for the day. We then went to MEN IN BLACK Alien Attack which is where we spent an unfortunate hour at.

When we got in line, the advertised wait time was 45 minutes. No big deal...after all, the advertised wait times have been wrong all day. The outdoor queue wasn't too full and it looked as if we'd get inside in only 5-10 minutes. Well, after 15 minutes outside, an announcement about the ride having technical difficulties is made. We decided to wait it out anyways. 20 minutes later they start letting us into the building, and then it was a 30 minute wait inside. After we finally got on the ride, everything went well until we were about to go into the scanner. The ride stopped for a good 10 minutes or so, but during that time we were still able to shoot at targets and collect points. Once the ride began again, our points were lost and our blasters weren't working. The vehicles weren't moving right either and the audio wasn't matching up to everything else. When we got off of the ride they said we could ride again but we opted not to since we needed to get over to BTTF.

We walked over to Back to the Future The Ride and waited about 15 minutes to ride. We had a car to ourselves since there was 8 of us (dad didn't ride) so I got to sit up front and was able to take a good on-ride video with my digital camera (something I can never do when I ride alone since I always wind up sitting in the back). After the ride we went to E.T. Adventure and only waited to get into the pre-show. We then left the park.

It was 8:30 when we got into the car, and since there was no restaurant that anyone wanted to eat at on I-Drive, we drove to Landry's Seafood House on Vineland Avenue (near Downtown Disney). When we got to the restaurant, they had an hour and a half wait, so we said forget it and went next door to the Lone Star Steakhouse. They only had a 1/2 hour wait, so we decided to eat there. After a great dinner we went home, watched some television, and retired for the night at 2am.

RANDOM PHOTOS FROM THE DAY:

NemoRocks78 · Jun 7, 2005

Monday, May 30th
Since we were all tired from the day before, no one got up until 11am and we didn't leave the house until 12:30. We went over to a restaurant called Beef O' Brady's for lunch and then came back home. When we got back my aunt and cousins loaded up their car and left at 2:15. After they were gone we went to the AMC Pleasure Island 24 at Downtown Disney, hoping to catch the 3:10 showing of The Longest Yard. We purchased our tickets and went inside, but when we got into the auditorium, there were no seats available. We went to Guest Relations and told them what happened but they told us we'd have to go to the next show at 3:40. We had no choice but to do that, so we waited around for a 1/2 hour for the movie to begin. After the movie got out (it was great, BTW) it was about 5:30 so we went to Planet Hollywood for dinner. Once we finished there, we left Downtown Disney and drove to SeaWorld.

Our plan for our time at the park was to ride Kraken and JTA a couple times and then see Mistify at 10pm. When we got into the park we went straight to the back and got in line for Journey to Atlantis. After a 15 minute wait we got on the ride, rode it, and then went to Kraken which was a walk-on. We rode Kraken twice, then JTA again (walk-on), and then Kraken once more before the rain started to fall. This wasn't just a small shower either --- it was coming down hard. We ran to the bakery at the front of the park and stayed inside until the rain started to slow down. My dad and I then ran to our cars and picked up everyone else near the tram stop (it was Krista and I in my car and my parents, brother, and sister in the other). The drive home was crazy --- the rain fell harder and there was even hail....couldn't even see the cars in front of me. We made it back home safely though and went to bed at midnight.

RANDOM PHOTOS FROM THE DAY:

Tuesday, May 31st
Krista and I got up at 8:30am and left the house at 9:15 (everyone else was staying until noon and we decided not to). After a stop at McDonald's for breakfast, we got on the Turnpike and it was a bad drive home since it rained the entire way. We only stopped at the Ft. Drum Service Plaza for Starbucks and got off of the Turnpike at 12:30. I drove Krista home, stopped inside for a few minutes and then drove to my own home. Another great trip to Orlando had come to an end.

Hope you all enjoyed!

dxwwf3 · Jun 7, 2005

NemoRocks said:
Sunday, May 29th
When we got inside we immeadiately went to Shrek 4-D and walked right in (the second theater has done wonders for the wait times).

Best news of the day! I'm not expecting a walk on when I go to IOA/USF on July 2nd or 6th (Depending on the weather reports. I spend most of my day at IOA, so you definately don't want to go when it will rain all day), but I just don't think I can wait 90 minutes to see the show again. I've done it twice, but I didn't have a choice then. If I can see this show with only a 30 or 45 minute wait, then I'll be extremely pleased.

stingrock23 · Jun 7, 2005

Nice trip report. It didn't seem to be too crowded.

CAPTAIN HOOK · Jun 8, 2005

Great pics and a nice trip report. Sounds like you almost had the parks to yourself with those sort of wait times

5/27 - 5/31 Trip Report

NemoRocks78

Seized

NemoRocks78

Seized

NemoRocks78

Seized

dxwwf3

Well-Known Member

stingrock23

Active Member

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member