A Spring Fling in The Most Magical Place on Earth (Trip Report)

A Spring Fling in The Most Magical Place on Earth (Trip Report)(Updated Finally!)

Back in December, I got word that my family was offering to take me along with them for a week in Orlando. How could I say no to that. At the time, it was looking like Three days at Disney, and other days elsewhere. This was not what I called a good idea, so I talked them into uping Disney to Five Days (thanks to the fact that tickets get cheaper the more days you "play")

Then the plan became 5 Days at Disney and one at Seaworld, and while I was fine with my family going to see Shamu, I decided to stick around at Disney. This would also change, but that's part of the story.

So since I've a lot to show and tell, I'll do this in parts.

Part One: Remember the Alamo.

Landing in Orlando was the best feeling. I hate to fly, but I understand it's necessary to cut down travel times. Once the plan was safely being taxied into the terminal, I was a happy camper, but not for much longer. We got our luggage in record time and booked it for the rent-a-car lines. We decided to stay off property, due to our RCI condo weeks running out soon, so we got a week in Orlando, and a week elsewhere for my parents to enjoy. Since we weren't staying on property, and my parents intended to go elsewhere in the state of Florida eventually, a rent-a-car was logical.

To save money, we booked through Alamo, and lo and behold, it seemed like every body else in Orlando International had the same idea. The line was huge, but we trudged through it, only to be told that the car we rented was too small for the people on the trip and we'd have to upgrade. a 500$ upgrade. Needless to say, this put quite a damper on the start of the trip. We then had to wait for a good twenty mins. while the Alamo people found us the GPS unit we rented with the car, and my parents' stress level was through the roof. The only thing I could think of was "Man...if we had stayed at Disney, we'd be in our resort by now, thanks to the Magical Express" but I kept my mouth shut.

After our plan landing at around 9:15, we didn't end up getting to our condo until 1am. It was looking like it was going to be a very, very long week.

dun dun dun....

 

[Tiggerish]

Love the photo from Fantasmic! Mine always come out blurry...

 

[Todd L]

Love the photo from Fantasmic! Mine always come out blurry...

Weve NEVER seen that show...gonna try to make it this year for sure...maybe do the dinner/show package.

 

[Yensid40]

We then went on the Great Movie Ride, which I skipped on my last visit due to fear of the Alien that resided inside and I knew it. Funny part is, the Alien wasn't even working that well this time around, so the part I was most anxious to see was sort of lame. The ride was cool, even if our guide did try a bit too hard at times. The ride also got stuck behind another car during the Wizard of Oz scene, and therefore we essentially had to skip it. Our guide didn't even acknowledge the Witch, he let the guide in front do it all. it was sort of sad.

That is supposed to happen. It sounds like it was busy that day so they were probably running both the Gangster and Bandit shows. When the two of them run at the same time they meet in Oz and the first the show using a microphone that is set up for the entire scene not just the tram.

 

[lebeau]

We then went on the Great Movie Ride, which I skipped on my last visit due to fear of the Alien that resided inside and I knew it. Funny part is, the Alien wasn't even working that well this time around, so the part I was most anxious to see was sort of lame.

What was wrong with the alien?

It worked great when we saw it the week before. (All 3 times!)

In fact, I thought GMR looked the best I'd seen it in a long time.

 

[corey154]

Great pics! Can't wait to read the rest!!!

 

[lebeau]

Great pics! Can't wait to read the rest!!!

I'm going to have to re-read this at home. The pics are being blocked by my work filter. :fork:

 

[darthspielberg]

I'm going to have to re-read this at home. The pics are being blocked by my work filter. :fork:

That's my fault. I am using Facebook as a photo host, and as far as I can tell most major work places block sites like that. Sorry

And as for the Alien in Great Movie Ride? He didn't pop out. I could see him...but he just stood there and shook. Perhaps I caught a bad moment for it, and it was working fun for the next tram.

 

[lebeau]

That's my fault. I am using Facebook as a photo host, and as far as I can tell most major work places block sites like that. Sorry

And as for the Alien in Great Movie Ride? He didn't pop out. I could see him...but he just stood there and shook. Perhaps I caught a bad moment for it, and it was working fun for the next tram.

Like I said, I'll just have to look at the pics from home sometime. No biggie.

That's actually how the alien is supposed to work. He comes from the ceiling first. Then Mugsy will usually say something like "Here he comes again" and the one on the side will activate.

It's a little weird because you can see the one on the side the entire time if you know he's there. But most first-timers don't notice him until he moves. Which is very much in the spirit of the first Alien movie since sometimes the alien would hide in plain sight in that one.

Hopefully, you got to see the alien come out of the vent in the ceiling in a cloud of smoke/fog?

 

[darthspielberg]

Like I said, I'll just have to look at the pics from home sometime. No biggie.

That's actually how the alien is supposed to work. He comes from the ceiling first. Then Mugsy will usually say something like "Here he comes again" and the one on the side will activate.

It's a little weird because you can see the one on the side the entire time if you know he's there. But most first-timers don't notice him until he moves. Which is very much in the spirit of the first Alien movie since sometimes the alien would hide in plain sight in that one.

Hopefully, you got to see the alien come out of the vent in the ceiling in a cloud of smoke/fog?

I saw the tail end of it, which is my fault, as I was taking in all the set details (that set has some great design...) and only caught the tail end of that one and the second one. I guess it's my fault I had a bad experience in that show scene.

The "Mugsy steals the Jewel" Scene was really cool, mainly because I knew how it went, but my parents and sister did not, so watching them react was cool.

 

[lebeau]

I saw the tail end of it, which is my fault, as I was taking in all the set details (that set has some great design...) and only caught the tail end of that one and the second one. I guess it's my fault I had a bad experience in that show scene.

The "Mugsy steals the Jewel" Scene was really cool, mainly because I knew how it went, but my parents and sister did not, so watching them react was cool.

The timing of the alien can be a little weird. I only recently realized that they did one and then the other. (That will happen when you ride it three times in one trip.)

On our last ride of the trip, we had the perfect spot for the overhead alien. He was right above us. Joey smiled because she knew he was coming, she looked right up at him and she wasn't at all afraid. She was very proud of herself.

From this perspective, we only saw the second alien because we knew to turn around and look for him.

I think on most previous trips, I only caught one alien or the other.

 

[lisak09]

Great report, love the photos. Those wait times are crazy! No ride is worth waiting 2 or 3 hours for.

 

[Tiggerish]

The timing of the alien can be a little weird. I only recently realized that they did one and then the other. (That will happen when you ride it three times in one trip.)

On our last ride of the trip, we had the perfect spot for the overhead alien. He was right above us. Joey smiled because she knew he was coming, she looked right up at him and she wasn't at all afraid. She was very proud of herself.

From this perspective, we only saw the second alien because we knew to turn around and look for him.

I think on most previous trips, I only caught one alien or the other.

Wow. I am terrified of the aliens and always hide my head in my hubby's neck for that part, saying "tell me when it's over". Well, terrified might be a bit strong, but I definitely don't like lookin' at 'em. Probably because of the movies. And I'm easily startled. :lookaroun Humbled by a 4-year-old.

 

[darthspielberg]

Part Four

Day Four - Magic Kingdom Part 2: Pixie Dust Boogaloo

The Start of a Beautiful (if a bit stressful) day at the Magic Kingdom

This day proved to be quite a challenge, even before it started. You see, we had an ADR at Tony's Town Square, but most of the family didn't want to spend another day in the Magic Kingdom, despite us not doing HALF of the park on our first day.

This lead to tension, as I was anxious to do...anything, where as the family was content to wait for my aunt to show up after breakfast at Chef Mickeys. This meant we basically puttered around a packed Fantasyland for an hour doing literally nothing. This was angering, and I almost split from the family at that point, because being in The Magic Kingdom and not doing anything is just...torture for myself.

Eventually we decided to head back to Main Street to go to Tony's for lunch, which I will say vastly improved the day. We got to sit on the porch, and the day was just beautiful, and it was a thrill to people watch while we ate. My cousin David knew we were at Tony's just had to do the Lady and the Tramp Spaghetti kiss with everyone at the table. After my turn, I walked back to my seat and two teenage boys at the next table were eying me weird. I just smiled, and in my head I just said "I have an awesome cousin, and you don't. he also gets me to the front of the line for any ride I want. What do you got?"

A fun surprise came with my Canoli Cheesecake at Tony's Town Square

After lunch we hit up Fantasyland to ride my cousins four favorites, which include Winnie the Pooh, which didn't exist the first two times I visited the Magic Kingdom in my life. (First time, it was Mr. Toad, second time, Pooh was under construction) I liked it, but I don't know if it is better than Mr. Toad, which was one of my favorites. We then went on Snow White's Scary Adventure. It's an old ride, but it's full of charm. My cousin has it memorized, so it was fun to ride it with him. After that it was off to Peter Pan's Flight. If I were at WDI or TDO, I'd think updating the ride, but it's still the classic I remember. I also think a ride of that style could easily replace Magic Carpets in Adventureland if they were so inclined. Up Next: Small World. I love the ride, but the boat we got was crap. My cousin was in a wheelchair due to weak muscles that pervent him from standing or walking for long periods of time, but he can transfer out the chair either to get in the ride, or a short walk to the ride...but the CM didn't know this, and bless his heart, made us wait until the handicap boat arrived and put us on that. Those seats are so low to the seat that the ride was actually a chore to sit through. So much for a relaxing cruise. (I don't blame the CM, he was just trying to be nice and accommodating, but even my aunt despises the handicap boat)

My aunt and cousin then parted ways with us, and it was now time to decided if we wanted to go to Epcot (where no rides would be easy to get on as all FastPasses would be long gone by now) or stay in the Magic Kingdom. We decided to the latter, and then decided to hit up Splash Mountain due to the midday heat. The lone was over an hour and a half at that point, and blood pressure in everybody was rising, so we decided to FastPass it for later in the evening, and take a ride around the park on the WDW Railroad. This was nice and relaxing, and after one full trip around the park, we stayed on just long enough to get off at ToonTown. We walked through ToonTown to enjoy the scenery one last time before Fantasyland expands.

Moving over to Tommorowland we tried to get on Splash Mountain, but they were out of FastPasses and the line was two hours long, so that was a no. After a stop for bathroom breaks and a refreshing Sprite, we decided to take a spin on Carousel of Progress, which was a nice break from the pace of the afternoon (and no line made it an obvious choice.)

We then headed back to Fantasyland to check out Mickey's Philharmagic. I don't think I've enjoyed a 3D show that much..ever. Fantastic. I literally gasped when they made the stage vanish (and re-appear.) It was one of the first moments in the trip where I uttered "Can we do that again?"

We then headed to Liberty Square so my mom could go to the smoking area, and I hit up Leota's Cart, only to find they did not have the amazing Haunted Mansion shirt I wanted in my size. I'm a big dude, and as such I wear a 3X (2X fits me sometimes, depends on what the shirt is made of) for comfort. Sadly, they did not have it. I may mail order it eventually. At this point, I made a mental note to check back before the end of the trip to see if they re-stocked it)

A Nice Shot of Tom Sawyer's Island, despite still never stepping foot on it. Maybe Next Time.

We then ventured over to Adventureland via Caribbean Plaza to see the Tiki Birds. Whoops. This was a mistake. What an awful show. I had seen the new version when it was realtivly new, and it looked good. Now the show looks awful awful awful. Iago's tail had basically fallen off, and everything just looked like a cheap roadside tourist trap. It's sad to see on of Walt's proudest creations fall into ruin.

Then we realized that there was literally no wait for Pirates, so we went on that one more time. I think Jack and company look great in the ride, although I miss the old captain of the big pirate ship, He was pretty awesome. I still don't get how there is hardly a wait-time for the ride...ever. I don't think I ever saw it go up over 20 the entire time I was there.

Soon it was time for our Splash Mountain FastPass, and now the weather had cooled down, so getting wet was no longer a large desire of anybody in our party. My parents busted out the rain-coats, and me and my sister were left to fend for ourselves. The ride was fun, none the less, especially considering that another spat had taken place prior to our FP time arriving, making for a very ed off mother and sister. I don't even know what happened, but boy, I thought going for a swim in the Rivers of America would be more fun than hanging around to find out.

We quickly moved through Adventureland to Main Street to find a spot for Wishes, and ended up catching SpectroMagic. Now, I had never seen it thanks to the MSEP. Both times I went to the Magic Kingdom, the Main Street Electrial Parade was on display in Orlando. What luck. I liked SpectroMagic (but was saddened that Chernabog's float didn't seem to be working right) but I prefer MSEP. Nostalgia, I guess.

iPhones take crap night photos. Sorry about the quality on this one, folks

Wishes came, and that was beautiful to watch. The music was fun as well. Not much else to say besides the fact that it was beautiful.

We then made our way down Main Street (which was easier than I anticipated) and to the Confectionairy, which smelled marvelous, so much so that my teeth hurt. I think that might be a sign to go to the dentist. My dad bought a crapload of Chocolates as well as a Rice Crispy Mickey for each member of the family. We ate them while we waited for the bus, which was a sweet cap to a rough day, but one that was, ultimately, fun.

Sleep was a great gift that night, I will admit, especially since we had to be awake early the next day.

To Be Continues: Animal Kingdom, Nice to Meet You.

 

[lebeau]

Mickey's Philharmagic is one of the few can't-miss attractions on property. If you watch Mickey's Philharmagic and don't have a good time, you may as well just pack your bags and go home. It's the only attraction I can think of that really and truly appeals to everyone!

I know what you mean about standing around the parks and getting frustrated. I am fine with waiting around if it is part of a plan. Frequently on our trip, I would watch the girls so Mindy could do something. But if we were just standing around with no idea what we were doing next, it was frustrating.

Thankfully, that doesn't happen with us very often. The entire family pretty much looks to me to have a plan. And I typically have contingency plans on top of contingency plans. Sometimes we may be on plan C or D, but there is always a back-up.

 

[blackthidot]

I had forgotten how steep the drop of Splash was, but I swear I was hooting and hollering because I was having fun, not because I thought I was going to die.

To me, the dark drop before Chickapin Hill seems WAY worse!

 

[corey154]

"My cousin David knew we were at Tony's just had to do the Lady and the Tramp Spaghetti kiss with everyone at the table. After my turn, I walked back to my seat and two teenage boys at the next table were eying me weird. I just smiled, and in my head I just said "I have an awesome cousin, and you don't. he also gets me to the front of the line for any ride I want. What do you got?"

I love this answer!!!

 

[darthspielberg]

Part Five

Sorry for the long break between the last post. As soon as I got back from Disney, I got a job offer, and I also got let go from said job within a month, so…life’s been…crazy

Now onto the fun stuff.

Day Five: Adventures in the Animal Kingdom

Getting up on Wenesday, we knew we had to hustle and get out of the door, because for the first time since arriving at the parks, we would not be spending any time during the day with my aunts and our cousin David. They were going to Magic Kingdom for the day, it seemed, and wouldn't make it over to Animal Kingdom. This meant that to do the rides we really wanted to do, we'd have to take advantage of FastPass, and have to do it as early as we could.

For some reason we were under the impression that the park opened at 9am, when it actually opened at 8am, but we only arrived a few mins after rope drop, and were able to fly over to Asia to get the FastPasses for our must do in the park, Expedition Everest...except first we have to rent a wheelchair for my sister, who injured herself the day before, and walking was painful. So we do that, and to Disney's credit, it took less than 3 mins from walking up to the desk to walking away with her in a chair.

Asia was our next stop, and if we weren't in a rush, I would have been so happy to just stroll through the Oasis, but we booked it as fast as we could to Asia. Once there, we discovered that there was a 20 min. wait for Expedition Everest, so we swooped into line and for once, we wanted the wait to be longer. The Museum they set up in the queue was spectacular and so well done.

Setting the stage for a monstrous encounter

The ride was...one of the best "ride" experiences of my life (Yeti in B-Mode be damned.) I sat next to my mom, and seeing her face when the car started going backwards was worth the entire price of admission. As soon as we got off the ride, I grabbed a FastPass to come back later, as did my sister.

Then we walked right on to Kali River Rapids (because it was sort of chilly. We didn't really think it through. Having heard that the ride was sort of Roulette, where one person gets the most wet, I was prepared for it to be me. That would just be my luck. Oddly, it wasn't. I got wet, to be sure, but really...my sister got the full force of it, much to her chagrin and the rest of the family's delight.

We then went through the Maharajah Jungle Trek and enjoyed that quite a bit, especially the tigers, despite them deciding it was time for a nice long nap. The komodo dragons weren't out though, which was kind of sad.

On our way out of the path, a Disney employee was passing out FastPasses to the shows in the area, speficially Flights of Wonder, so we took some for it, and went to the take out counter next to Yak and Yeti to get lunch. I wasn't all that hungry, so I got fries. Big mistake. That food looked so good. We then went to watch Flights of Wonder, which was spectacular. I wasn't expecting anything from it, but it was a well put together show (even the Disney-fied twist of the tour guide showing up) and very educational and entertaining.

Afterwords, me and my sister headed back to Everest for our FastPasses, but we got in a bit of a fight, she got angry at me, and she gave me her pass and went to Africa to meet my parents (who were having a drink over by the Tusker House) so, despite an angry moment...I got to ride Everest not once, but three times in one day, a busy day where the line was over an hour and a half. It was awesome. Thanks for getting angry at me, Sis!

Then we got in line (a very long line, probably the longest we had to wait in the whole trip) for the Kilimanjaro Safari, but in the end the line was worth it (and towards the end we were allowed to skip some of the line due to my sisters wheelchair) because the Safari was just awesome. I can even forgive the totally unneeded storyline they added just because the animals were so close. I was snapping pictures left and right.

Baby Giraffes. The best picture I took all vacation.

This is the second best picture. The guys came right up to the car to say hi.

We then went on Pangani Trail, which was fantastic. My camera didn't really help me get good pictures, but seeing the gorillas was so breathtakingly amazing. This truly is the best "zoo" in the world.

Then we rushed right over to Festival of the Lion King, which took a lot of energy, because the next show was starting just as we arrived in the theater. That show is great, but I feel it would have been nice to see the very beginning. Next time.

Afterwords, we headed over to Dino-Land to ride Dinosaur, which I liked, but that made me the only one in my family. My mom hated the bumpy, my dad's back hated it too, and my sister was grumpy. I was thrilled to see the running dinosaur working, because I had been told he wasn't working all the time. God, that gave me a bit of a scare.

At this point, We called it a day, after getting a drink. We were going to see Finding Nemo: The Musical, but...the next show was over an hour away, and we were all wiped, so we left the parks, went and got dinner at a Golden Corral right next to our hotel (we don't have them in our area, but we get the ads all the time, so we figured why not)

Then we headed back to the hotel, hit up our swimming pool, then relaxed and watched a movie. It was a good night, topping off an awesome day at what is now my favorite Disney park.

The only picture I was able to snap of the Tree of Life. God, I love that thing


Next: It's the last day in the parks, and I do something no human should ever try: Three of the parks in one day. Will I survive? Find out next time.

 

[Princess Clayre]

Great report. Looking forward to the last day.