CAPT. HOOKS trip report

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Trip Duration = April 8th - April 24th
Participants = The Captain & his wife, 2 daughters (13 & 10) and Grandma.

Left Bolton (Gtr Manchester) @ 1615hrs (April 8th) for the 240 mile drive to London Gatwick, arriving at 2030hrs. Used Virgin Twilight Check-In - excellent service. This allowed a sleep-in the following morning as we didn't have to be at the departure gate until 1 hour before take off.

Flight (1125hrs) was delayed by 40 mins but arrived at Orlando Int. only 20 mins late. In flight entertainment was poor and the food even worse. US Immigration had no queues, baggage reclaim excellent. Virgin holidays use Dollar car rental with their own desk - no queues, speedy service and good rate on vehicle upgrade (Mitsubishi Montero 4x4).

Private 3 bed house booked through www.contempoflorida.com/ - situated just off Highway 27 near the jct with Highway 192 West (about 20 mins from WDW). House (with pool) was superb - had four large bedrooms and excellent facilities.

Thurs 10th - visited Florida Mall and went to DTD at night.

Fri 11th - Animal Kingdom - very quiet. Longest wait 20 mins for Dinosaur. Enjoyed Mickeys Jammin' Jungle Parade. Also did Kilimanjaro Safaris, Primevial Whirl, Its Tough To Be A Bug, Festival of The Lion King, and Tarzan Rocks. Kids got autographs with Lilo & Stitch = thrilled. Ground was hard going with Grandma's wheelchair.

Sat 12th - SeaWorld - again pretty quiet. Kraken 4 times with only a 5 min wait. Journey To Atlantis was down until 1730hrs. Saw the dolphins at Key West and the Dolphin Nursery, Shamu and Shamu Rocks America (excellent) and did the Dine with Shame Experience - excellent, well worth the money.

Sun 13th - MGM - pretty quiet. RNR down first thing so got FP for TOT. Returned to RNR for FP and asked how long was the delay. Told it was opening now so was first in the Stand-by line, first into G-Force records and into the front seats of the first car. Came out and used FP on TOT - enjoyed the new drop sequence. Stars and Motor Cars parade very good, Backlot Tour, Animation tour, Millionaire, Beauty and The Beast show Excellent, oh, and Fantasmic (of course) - Brilliant.

Mon 14th - Magic Kingdom - crowded. Got to ride up front in the monorail and taped the ride. Breakfast at Crystal Palce - excellent. Space Mountain 10 min wait, Buzz Lightyear (FP), rode Carousel Of Progress and sat through the final scene 5 times as the carousel progressed no more (that song is more annoying than Small World). Then MK started to get busy. Got FP for Splash Mountain and queued 40mins for Big Thunder. Time to use FP for SM when we got off. Share A Dream Come True Parade then onto the shops on Main Street. SpectroMagic and Fantasy In The Sky.

Tues 15th - EPCOT - quieter than expected. Spaceship Earth walked on. Test Track used FP. Journey Into Your Imagination - loved Figment, thought Living Seas was poor without the travelators. Went into World Showcase. Norway waited 20 mins for Maelstrom. Dinner at Rose & Crown - table booked for 1930hrs but was 2015 by the time we were seated and so watched Illuminations from the table. Excellent.

Wed 16th - Islands Of Adventure - quite busy. Thought that the park as a whole was average (not in the same league as WDW). Hulk 40min wait, Spiderman 60 mins (went as single riders and waited 15mins), Dudley Do Rights Ripsaw Falls 25 mins (got completely soaked) and Duelling Dragons walked straight on to both rides !. Rode Hulk again (25mins) before leaving quite unimpressed at about 1600hrs. Far too many eating places in the park. Went on to DTD for the evening.

Thurs 17th - SeaWorld - second visit. Again problems with Atlantis. Another enjoyable visit to this great park.

Fri 18th - Discovery Cove. What can I say - yes it is pricey but the Dolphin experience, coupled with the excellent food and limited numbers of guests combines for an absolutely brilliant day. And I will be doing it again next time we go to Florida.

Sat 19th - MGM - busier than previous visit. Did Indiana Jones - this is getting a bit stale (and its 9 years since I last saw it), Walt, One Mans Dream - very good. Plus the usual RNR, TOT, and Fantasmic.

Sun 20th - EPCOT - as previous visit. Stood at entrance to WS to record Illuminations.

Mon 21st - MK - still very busy. Dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern (first ever visit) - excellent.

Tues 22nd - MGM

Wed 23rd - EPCOT until 1300hrs and then left for the airport. Dollar Car Rental return was a joke - about three lanes of vehicles with people and baggage unloading and only two people checking the vehicles. Good thing we arrived with plenty of time to spare. Flight left on time and arrived back in UK 5 mins early.

Good points of the trip :-
Discovery Cove - well worth it.
WDW - All the CMs who we dealt with. A special thanks to those that work in the shops for packaging the pottery gifts we bought as they weren't allowed on as carry-on luggage and survived in the aircraft hold.
WDW - to Ross at the Rose And Crown, who lives about 20 miles from us in the UK and who was extremely helpful and attentative.

Bad points of the trip :-
Fellow Guests - those who are completely selfish and get up to leave a performance (Beauty & the Beast and Fantasmic) before it has ended and walk in front of others (me) recording the show.
The weather - where was the Florida sunshine ???

Finally (I'm sure that it has been mentioned on the boards while I have been away) :-
Mission:Space is scheduled to open late October/early November (local TV news reports, and,
Expedition Everest will open in AK in 2006

 

[Slinky Dog]

Good to have you back Hooky! Thanks for the great trip report

Always a good feeling to be first on a ride (RnRC)

Couldn't agree with you more with regards to Discovery Cove - a fantastic experience and well worth the money, assuming that they still limit guest numbers. It provides a perfect rest day in the middle of a WDW holiday, its such a peaceful place and the dolphin swim beat the one we did in Israel hands down.

Yeah, Mission Space has been mentioned once or twice on the boards while you've been away

:lol:

 

[RnRCJohn]

You were at Seaworld the same day as me, I was with the Florida Coaster Club... You probably saw us with yellow or white shirts saying "we ride all year".. and yes.. the Journey to atlantis was a big bummer.


John

 

[tenchu]

Glad to hear you had a good time hooky.

We used contempo a few years back and they were pretty good. When you going back then?

:wave:

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Originally posted by RnRCJohn
You were at Seaworld the same day as me, I was with the Florida Coaster Club... You probably saw us with yellow or white shirts saying "we ride all year".. and yes.. the Journey to atlantis was a big bummer.


John

Yes, I saw you (well I saw people with the T-shirts) - did you see me :lol:

 

[tiggerlover1971]

welcome back hook great trip report

 

[DisneyWonders07]

Very interesting trip report Captain Hook! I saw that you replied to my trip report so I wanted to return the favor and reply to yours!

 

[Katherine]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!!

 

[Brett]

Great report, Hook! To be honest, I've never tried Discovery Cove, and you may have pushed me over the edge. I'm seriously considering (if time allows) going next time I'm down. Great to have you back!

 

[DisneyCP2000]

Originally posted by CAPTAIN HOOK
Sat 12th - SeaWorld - again pretty quiet. Kraken 4 times with only a 5 min wait. Journey To Atlantis was down until 1730hrs. Saw the dolphins at Key West and the Dolphin Nursery, Shamu and Shamu Rocks America (excellent) and did the Dine with Shame Experience - excellent, well worth the money.

Wow what a trip report! I'm glad to hear that all went so well

as for the 12th...did you dine with shame or shamu because you were not in WDW? :lol:

welcome back

:wave:

 

[djmatthews]

Sounds like Virgin wern't up to their normal standards. I love Virgin. Did you not visit any water parks? Sounds like you didn't have to queue too long for the rides? I loved IOA, excellent rides ( I do like thrill rides) but I know what you mean about too many restaurants... and shops too.

 

[no2apprentice]

Nice trip report. Brief, concise, and to the point (goes with job, right?:animwink: ).

Question for you, Captain. What level would you put your children at as swimmers? I ask because my kids are 15 and 11, and not very strong swimmers (very weak swimmers, actually). We had considered doing Discovery Cove on our next trip, but were concerned that it might be too much for them, especially if the youngest one can't touch bottom. Any advice appreciated. Again, nice report.

 

[Slinky Dog]

Kids at Discovery Cove

no2apprentice, although it was a couple of years ago that I went, so the Captain can tell you if I'm right or wrong...

When I was there, they were disabled guests in the dolphin swim, so I would think that children of limited swimming ability shouldn't have a problem at all, also they provide flotation devices/jackets if needed, the dolphin swim does not require much swimming - you are either holding onto a dolphin's fin or standing in shallow water and there are plenty of attendants there to help if needed. There is a very shallow "lazy river" around the perimeter, very much like Typhoon Lagoon that the kids would be able to stand in no problem and plenty of shallow areas around the beaches - the only pools that go deep as far as I remember (apart from the dolphin swim) are the the snorkelling pools and again, with the . What impressed me was how well the park was run, I couldn't fault it, a very memorable experience.

If you haven't checked out the website, it might give you more of an idea:

http://www.discoverycove.com/glance.asp

Hope some of this helps and if you decide to go, have a wonderful time!

 

[Pippa]

Thanks Captain Hook for the report! Nice to know the brits are being well represented in the states! I am going to WDW Late Oct/Early Nov so with any luck I can report back on MS. Your report has kept my addiction fed for a bit!

 

[MKCustodial]

Nice to have ya back, Cap'n! And great TR! :wave:

 

[scottsalisbury]

Promotion Code?

Does anyone have any ideas on how I could get a promotion code for Discovery Cove? Its expensive!!! I will post this on the Sea World board as well but while we are typing about it I thought I would put it here too. I don't think the Sea World board gets a lot of traffic.

Scott

 

[tigga]

Hi Guys!
Im new to this so forgive me if Ive done it wrong???
I know this is a Disney guide but forgive me in question to the thread posted by Captain Hook (great to read trip reports!) As I too am making the pilgrimage to WDW in September (19 weeks to go! not that I'm counting or anything!) I am intending to take in the Discovery cove experience and my question was did you book direct with them or who orgainsed it for you? Also did you book in advance? How do I get the best price?
Thanks for your help, p.s thanks all you guys for your valuable info you have all helped in my planning for my upcoming trip, been a reader for a long time but too shy to post myself until now!
:wave:

 

[Mitzer]

Nice trip report C.Hook. We will be leaving for Disney on Saturday...any last minute suggestions? I think the weather will be warm, but being so close to Florida, we should be ok. Pretty much equal weather here. Glad you had a great time...hope I can do half as good at my report as you did.

 

[Anne]

Great report Captain Hook.

Hoping to do The Dine with Shamu ourselves and also DC if I can persuade my other half to part with the cash-lol