My wife and I went to WDW yesterday (March 18) for a one-day visit while she was here for Spring Break (left the kids at Gramma's.....not happy
). Our goal on this trip was to simply enjoy ourselves and not rush anything. There was no real set agenda, just do what we wanted to do with the time alloted to us. Visited AK first to catch two of our favorite shows, Festival of the Lion King and Flights of Wonder. Both were good, as usual, and we left here to head over to Epcot.
Headed to Test Track first to see how long of a wait there was (60 minutes at 11:30) and got a FastPass (3:30-4:30). Headed to Coral Reef for our PS at noon. We were seated right at noon and had a nice table for two right on the aquarium window. I think the view from higher up in the restaurant would have been nicer, but it was nice being right there and having fish right in front of you. We ordered the Diver's Special, which gave us a choice of a starter, the entree, and dessert. For starters, my wife had the mixed greens salad (she loved the vinagrette dressing--very light tasting) and I had the creamy lobster soup. :slurp: We had the pan-seared shrimp with mashed potatoes. It was very good; my only complaint of the meal was that the food could have been warmer. Dessert was included in the special and we had a very light piece of cheesecake--some of the best I have ever had. I also had a side of mushrooms with my shrimp. Total bill including tip: $54. After lunch, we decided to ride SSE since we didn't want to wait on TT or ride it on a full stomach. Off to Magic Kingdom...
Got there around 2:00 pm and it was crowded. First thing we did was check on IASW and they said it probably would not open today. Wrong. More on that later...Walked over to Splash Mountain and FastPassed it for 4:05-5:05. Wait time was listed as 75 minutes. Decided to kill an hour or so while waiting in line for Big Thunder. It was listed as a 75 minute wait and it took us 35 minutes from getting in line to getting off the ride. Still had time to kill, so we headed to Haunted Mansion. Wait time was listed as 60 minutes, took us 20 to get on the ride. Went back to Splash and used our FP and it took 5 minutes.
Headed to Fantasyland to do PhilharMagic and saw that IASW was now running. Decided to go on it since it was rehabbed to see the difference. Not much is new, though everything is brighter and fresher than before and things in disrepair are now fixed. Music is still the same, dolls are still the same, some backdrops are new. If you hated it before, you'll still hate it. Save your time and energy for something else. I have vowed to never ride it again until I have grandchildren.
Made it to PhilharMagic and waited about 30 minutes to get in. Show was good as usual.
Dinner at Pecos Bill's was next to meet Disneydata from our boards. As you see by my signature, I will be performing his wedding in December, so it was good to meet him and his fiancee and mother.
After dinner, off to Main Street to find a sweatshirt since it was so COLD. We're guessing the temp was in the mid to upper 50's and breezy. After fighting the shoppers, we decided to stake out a spot for Spectromagic and Wishes. We sat on the rail just off of the hub and had a great view for the parade and fireworks. Wishes is nice, but I'll still take Illuminations as my favorite closing show at WDW.
The mass exodus after Wishes took us one hour from the time the show ended to the time we got on the tram. Take the ferry--it's quicker than waiting for the monorail.
We spent the night at the Orlando Marriott World Convention Center. If you want to splurge and be pampered, try a night here. Unbelieveable! Huge pool, has its own golf course, all the amenities you would want or need.
:wave:
). Our goal on this trip was to simply enjoy ourselves and not rush anything. There was no real set agenda, just do what we wanted to do with the time alloted to us. Visited AK first to catch two of our favorite shows, Festival of the Lion King and Flights of Wonder. Both were good, as usual, and we left here to head over to Epcot.Headed to Test Track first to see how long of a wait there was (60 minutes at 11:30) and got a FastPass (3:30-4:30). Headed to Coral Reef for our PS at noon. We were seated right at noon and had a nice table for two right on the aquarium window. I think the view from higher up in the restaurant would have been nicer, but it was nice being right there and having fish right in front of you. We ordered the Diver's Special, which gave us a choice of a starter, the entree, and dessert. For starters, my wife had the mixed greens salad (she loved the vinagrette dressing--very light tasting) and I had the creamy lobster soup. :slurp: We had the pan-seared shrimp with mashed potatoes. It was very good; my only complaint of the meal was that the food could have been warmer. Dessert was included in the special and we had a very light piece of cheesecake--some of the best I have ever had. I also had a side of mushrooms with my shrimp. Total bill including tip: $54. After lunch, we decided to ride SSE since we didn't want to wait on TT or ride it on a full stomach. Off to Magic Kingdom...
Got there around 2:00 pm and it was crowded. First thing we did was check on IASW and they said it probably would not open today. Wrong. More on that later...Walked over to Splash Mountain and FastPassed it for 4:05-5:05. Wait time was listed as 75 minutes. Decided to kill an hour or so while waiting in line for Big Thunder. It was listed as a 75 minute wait and it took us 35 minutes from getting in line to getting off the ride. Still had time to kill, so we headed to Haunted Mansion. Wait time was listed as 60 minutes, took us 20 to get on the ride. Went back to Splash and used our FP and it took 5 minutes.
Headed to Fantasyland to do PhilharMagic and saw that IASW was now running. Decided to go on it since it was rehabbed to see the difference. Not much is new, though everything is brighter and fresher than before and things in disrepair are now fixed. Music is still the same, dolls are still the same, some backdrops are new. If you hated it before, you'll still hate it. Save your time and energy for something else. I have vowed to never ride it again until I have grandchildren.
Made it to PhilharMagic and waited about 30 minutes to get in. Show was good as usual.
Dinner at Pecos Bill's was next to meet Disneydata from our boards. As you see by my signature, I will be performing his wedding in December, so it was good to meet him and his fiancee and mother.
After dinner, off to Main Street to find a sweatshirt since it was so COLD. We're guessing the temp was in the mid to upper 50's and breezy. After fighting the shoppers, we decided to stake out a spot for Spectromagic and Wishes. We sat on the rail just off of the hub and had a great view for the parade and fireworks. Wishes is nice, but I'll still take Illuminations as my favorite closing show at WDW.
The mass exodus after Wishes took us one hour from the time the show ended to the time we got on the tram. Take the ferry--it's quicker than waiting for the monorail.
We spent the night at the Orlando Marriott World Convention Center. If you want to splurge and be pampered, try a night here. Unbelieveable! Huge pool, has its own golf course, all the amenities you would want or need.
:wave:
