Well, I just got back from my 8th trip to Disney World and it was as fun as ever. I'm working on writing out my trip report, and when I'm done, I'll post it. 
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Disneygirl03's trip report 12/27-1/2
- Thread starter disneygirl03
- Start date
Day 1- December 27, 2003
We woke up early (4:00) to get to the airport for our 7:30 flight out of Milwaukee. We were delayed half an hour due to "crew legalities," but I suppose that's better than the 4 hour delay the same flight had the day before.
We arrived in Florida around 11:30, picked up our bags and drove to All Star Sports. After checking in, we were all pretty hungry, so we got lunch from the food court (mmm...chicken strips!! ). Then we went swimming for a while and after that, we went over to the Animal Kingdom. There, we went on Primeval Whirl, which broke down for a while right as we were about to get on, and then saw It's Tough to be a Bug. Since it was getting dark, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We took a bus to the Polynesian (good old Polynesian) and took a monorail to the park. Once we got there, we went on Magic Carpets of Aladdin and then rode Thunder Mountain. We also got to see some of SpectroMagic after riding on BTMRR. We then decided to head back to the hotel since we still had our whole vacation ahead of us, and would be getting up early for Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom the next day.
More to come later!...
We woke up early (4:00) to get to the airport for our 7:30 flight out of Milwaukee. We were delayed half an hour due to "crew legalities," but I suppose that's better than the 4 hour delay the same flight had the day before.
We arrived in Florida around 11:30, picked up our bags and drove to All Star Sports. After checking in, we were all pretty hungry, so we got lunch from the food court (mmm...chicken strips!!
). Then we went swimming for a while and after that, we went over to the Animal Kingdom. There, we went on Primeval Whirl, which broke down for a while right as we were about to get on, and then saw It's Tough to be a Bug. Since it was getting dark, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. We took a bus to the Polynesian (good old Polynesian) and took a monorail to the park. Once we got there, we went on Magic Carpets of Aladdin and then rode Thunder Mountain. We also got to see some of SpectroMagic after riding on BTMRR. We then decided to head back to the hotel since we still had our whole vacation ahead of us, and would be getting up early for Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom the next day.More to come later!...
Day 2- December 28, 2003
Woke up early for Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom. Our first stop was Tomorrowland to go on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Somehow my mom managed to get the highest score possible on Buzz! Then we went on the Indy Speedway before heading over to Fantasyland. There, we went on Pooh and saw Mickey's PhilharMagic. We all really enjoyed it. After doing these things, it was about time for the rest of the park to open, so we headed over to Frontierland. We went on Thunder Mountain again and Splash Mountain, even though it was still a little chilly. We got on in about 2 minutes- there was hardly any wait. Got a little something to eat and then went on the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean before heading back to the hotel.
Later in the evening we went over to Epcot. As we were approaching the big fountain in Future World, I saw my history teacher from junior year. Isn't it a small world? :lol: The lines for Test Track and Mission:Space were ridiculously long, but since it was later in the afternoon, there's no surprise there. We decided to walk around the countries, and got some food from the bakery in France. I had a croissant and chocolate mousse- mmm!! We were able to see some of the Candlelight Processional with Gary Sinise as the narrator. I also saw some guy and his wife or girlfriend or something complaining to the cast member at the entrance to the show because they couldn't get seats. He was mad and said that for the money he pays he should be able to get a seat. Some people. There was a huge line waiting to get in, but they must've thought they were important or something. We then headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.
Day 3- stay tuned for MGM and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade!!
Woke up early for Extra Magic Hour at the Magic Kingdom. Our first stop was Tomorrowland to go on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Somehow my mom managed to get the highest score possible on Buzz! Then we went on the Indy Speedway before heading over to Fantasyland. There, we went on Pooh and saw Mickey's PhilharMagic. We all really enjoyed it. After doing these things, it was about time for the rest of the park to open, so we headed over to Frontierland. We went on Thunder Mountain again and Splash Mountain, even though it was still a little chilly. We got on in about 2 minutes- there was hardly any wait. Got a little something to eat and then went on the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean before heading back to the hotel.
Later in the evening we went over to Epcot. As we were approaching the big fountain in Future World, I saw my history teacher from junior year. Isn't it a small world? :lol: The lines for Test Track and Mission:Space were ridiculously long, but since it was later in the afternoon, there's no surprise there. We decided to walk around the countries, and got some food from the bakery in France. I had a croissant and chocolate mousse- mmm!! We were able to see some of the Candlelight Processional with Gary Sinise as the narrator. I also saw some guy and his wife or girlfriend or something complaining to the cast member at the entrance to the show because they couldn't get seats. He was mad and said that for the money he pays he should be able to get a seat. Some people. There was a huge line waiting to get in, but they must've thought they were important or something. We then headed back to the hotel to turn in for the night.
Day 3- stay tuned for MGM and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade!!
Day 3- December 29, 2003
Went to MGM in the morning to do Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster. Those two rides really freak me out for some reason, but my little sister absolutely loves them both. After doing these, we went on the Great Movie Ride. That's about all we did there since we wanted to get over to the Magic Kingdom to see the Christmas parade. We had to wait a while for a bus to finally come since it was only about 10:00, and most people were coming still, not going. We took a bus over to the Contemporary and walked over to the Magic Kingdom.
We got lunch at Cosmic Ray's before staking out spots for the parade. We enjoyed the parade a lot, and took a bunch of pictures. The Purdue marching band was in the pre-parade, and my dad had fun talking to some Purdue fans who were right by us for the parade (he loves Big Ten marching bands/football- especially Michigan!!). After the parade, we took a monorail to the Grand Floridian to look at their Christmas decorations that we saw on the Travel Channel Disney World Holiday Special. It looked really nice, and I thought the gingerbread house was pretty cool. Then we went back to the hotel for a little bit.
For dinner we went over to the Boardwalk and ate at the ESPN Club. While we were there, we also looked at some of the surrrounding hotels' Xmas decorations at the Yacht and Beach Club and Boardwalk. Before calling it a day, we played a free round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens.
Still more fun to come!!!!
Went to MGM in the morning to do Tower of Terror and Rock 'n Roller Coaster. Those two rides really freak me out for some reason, but my little sister absolutely loves them both. After doing these, we went on the Great Movie Ride. That's about all we did there since we wanted to get over to the Magic Kingdom to see the Christmas parade. We had to wait a while for a bus to finally come since it was only about 10:00, and most people were coming still, not going. We took a bus over to the Contemporary and walked over to the Magic Kingdom.
We got lunch at Cosmic Ray's before staking out spots for the parade. We enjoyed the parade a lot, and took a bunch of pictures. The Purdue marching band was in the pre-parade, and my dad had fun talking to some Purdue fans who were right by us for the parade (he loves Big Ten marching bands/football- especially Michigan!!). After the parade, we took a monorail to the Grand Floridian to look at their Christmas decorations that we saw on the Travel Channel Disney World Holiday Special. It looked really nice, and I thought the gingerbread house was pretty cool. Then we went back to the hotel for a little bit.
For dinner we went over to the Boardwalk and ate at the ESPN Club. While we were there, we also looked at some of the surrrounding hotels' Xmas decorations at the Yacht and Beach Club and Boardwalk. Before calling it a day, we played a free round of mini golf at Fantasia Gardens.
Still more fun to come!!!!
Day 4- December 30, 2003
This morning we went to Epcot. The first stop was Mission:Space, but I was too chicken to try it, so my dad and sisters went on, so me and my mom went to get Fastpasses for Test Track. When they came out, they were all smiles and they all absolutely loved it. In the words of my dad, it was "very neat." They also informed me that I probably would've liked it. We still had some time before we could use our fast passes, so we went into the Wonders of Life pavilion and hung around in there for a bit. Then we headed over to Test Track and got into the preshow within 2 minutes, but right as we were about to board, one of the cars broke down, so we had a little bit of a delay. This was my mom's first time on Test Track. By this time, we decided to get some breakfast, so we went to the Land and got something to eat. We also did the Living with the Land boat ride. We then headed over to the Living Seas because we hadn't done that on our past couple trips, and we wanted to see the Nemo exhibit. We didn't spend too much time there because my one sister was complaining about how it was boring. Next we did the new Journey Into Imagination, which we all agreed it was better than the old one, but we still don't understand why they ever changed the original in the first place. Before leaving the park, we did the countries. Me and my sister bought those passports and got them signed at all the countries. We also got to see some of the Santas, which was cool.
Went back to the hotel for a swim.
We finished the day by going to see Fantasmic at MGM.
This morning we went to Epcot. The first stop was Mission:Space, but I was too chicken to try it, so my dad and sisters went on, so me and my mom went to get Fastpasses for Test Track. When they came out, they were all smiles and they all absolutely loved it. In the words of my dad, it was "very neat." They also informed me that I probably would've liked it. We still had some time before we could use our fast passes, so we went into the Wonders of Life pavilion and hung around in there for a bit. Then we headed over to Test Track and got into the preshow within 2 minutes, but right as we were about to board, one of the cars broke down, so we had a little bit of a delay. This was my mom's first time on Test Track. By this time, we decided to get some breakfast, so we went to the Land and got something to eat. We also did the Living with the Land boat ride. We then headed over to the Living Seas because we hadn't done that on our past couple trips, and we wanted to see the Nemo exhibit. We didn't spend too much time there because my one sister was complaining about how it was boring. Next we did the new Journey Into Imagination, which we all agreed it was better than the old one, but we still don't understand why they ever changed the original in the first place. Before leaving the park, we did the countries. Me and my sister bought those passports and got them signed at all the countries. We also got to see some of the Santas, which was cool.
Went back to the hotel for a swim.
We finished the day by going to see Fantasmic at MGM.
Day 5- December 31, 2003
New Year's Eve! For the first time, we went to the Animal Kingdom in the morning. Like almost everybody else, our first stop was the Kilimanjaro Safaris. We saw a lot of animals, including the lion prowling! Our next stop was Dinoland USA to ride Dinosaur, where I heard some Disney jokes from the CM. Then went to ride Primeval Whirl and Triceratop Spin. We also did both of the trails and saw the Tarzan Rocks show for the first time. That was a pretty cool show.
After AK, we went to look around at the other All Star resorts and took some pictures there. Then we went swimming again for a while before heading over to MGM for dinner at the Sci-Fi.
Since we knew that it would be crowded with all the New Year's festivities, we just went back to the hotel and got some ice cream.
Day 6- January 1, 2004
Our last full day at Disney World.
We woke up early again to be at the MK when it opened at 7. My dad thought that maybe it wouldn't be as crowded since it was New Year's Day, but he was wrong. Our first stop was Tomorrowland again to go on SM and Buzz. Then we went to Fantasyland to do the rides we hadn't already done on Sunday. We then went to Frontierland to ride SM and BTMRR one more time each. We wanted to get some pictures with the characters, so we headed over to Mickey's Toontown Fair and got pictures with Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and of course, Mickey!! We got Fast passes for Jungle Cruise and then went to get lunch at Casey's Corner. As we were heading back to Main Street, we got our picture taken with Dopey. Before using our fast passes, we went on the Carrousel and It's a Small World. After Jungle Cruise, we said our good byes to the MK and headed back to the hotel to go for one last swim.
We went to Downtown Disney to buy our souvenirs, but it was so crowded we weren't there for very long. We also stopped at the AK Lodge to see their Xmas decorations and to look at the animals. I really want to stay there some day.
And so our vacation ends- we didn't really do anything in the evening since my dad wanted to watch the Rose Bowl and we had pretty much done everything we wanted to do.
Day 7- January 2, 2004
Checked out of All Star Sports and went to the airport to come home.
Overall, I had so much fun on this trip- I can't believe the day before we left I didn't really want to go anymore!! But of course, when it came time to leave, I didn't want to. Can't wait to go on my next trip! (whenever that may be!!!!!!!)
New Year's Eve! For the first time, we went to the Animal Kingdom in the morning. Like almost everybody else, our first stop was the Kilimanjaro Safaris. We saw a lot of animals, including the lion prowling! Our next stop was Dinoland USA to ride Dinosaur, where I heard some Disney jokes from the CM. Then went to ride Primeval Whirl and Triceratop Spin. We also did both of the trails and saw the Tarzan Rocks show for the first time. That was a pretty cool show.
After AK, we went to look around at the other All Star resorts and took some pictures there. Then we went swimming again for a while before heading over to MGM for dinner at the Sci-Fi.
Since we knew that it would be crowded with all the New Year's festivities, we just went back to the hotel and got some ice cream.
Day 6- January 1, 2004
Our last full day at Disney World.
We woke up early again to be at the MK when it opened at 7. My dad thought that maybe it wouldn't be as crowded since it was New Year's Day, but he was wrong. Our first stop was Tomorrowland again to go on SM and Buzz. Then we went to Fantasyland to do the rides we hadn't already done on Sunday. We then went to Frontierland to ride SM and BTMRR one more time each. We wanted to get some pictures with the characters, so we headed over to Mickey's Toontown Fair and got pictures with Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and of course, Mickey!! We got Fast passes for Jungle Cruise and then went to get lunch at Casey's Corner. As we were heading back to Main Street, we got our picture taken with Dopey. Before using our fast passes, we went on the Carrousel and It's a Small World. After Jungle Cruise, we said our good byes to the MK and headed back to the hotel to go for one last swim.We went to Downtown Disney to buy our souvenirs, but it was so crowded we weren't there for very long. We also stopped at the AK Lodge to see their Xmas decorations and to look at the animals. I really want to stay there some day.
And so our vacation ends- we didn't really do anything in the evening since my dad wanted to watch the Rose Bowl and we had pretty much done everything we wanted to do.
Day 7- January 2, 2004
Checked out of All Star Sports and went to the airport to come home.
Overall, I had so much fun on this trip- I can't believe the day before we left I didn't really want to go anymore!!
But of course, when it came time to leave, I didn't want to. Can't wait to go on my next trip! (whenever that may be!!!!!!!)
Grumpy56
Member
Enjoyed your report. It is a chance to live vicariously!:sohappy:
Noticed from your sig liine that you have stayed at the Polynesian many times but this time at All stars. Jst curious, but how is it to go from a deluxe to a budget? I keep telling myself that we should really try the less expensive accomadations (we could go more often!) but I'm afraid I'm spoiled.
Glad you had a great trip, it sounds like you did a lot!
Noticed from your sig liine that you have stayed at the Polynesian many times but this time at All stars. Jst curious, but how is it to go from a deluxe to a budget? I keep telling myself that we should really try the less expensive accomadations (we could go more often!) but I'm afraid I'm spoiled.
Glad you had a great trip, it sounds like you did a lot!
Thanks for the comments.
As for staying at the Polynesian so many times and then staying at All Star Sports, it really wasn't that bad. We figured that we could get more space by having two rooms (for our family of five), for a lot less money. At first my one sister was a little disappointed because we wouldn't be on the monorail (she loves the monorails), but we enjoyed it. The only problem was that my mom assumed that they would have a hair dryer since they did at the Polynesian, but they didn't. So, it really wasn't that big a deal switching from a deluxe to a value resort, and in the end you do end up saving a lot of money!! And after all, you are still in Disney World!! :sohappy:
As for staying at the Polynesian so many times and then staying at All Star Sports, it really wasn't that bad. We figured that we could get more space by having two rooms (for our family of five), for a lot less money. At first my one sister was a little disappointed because we wouldn't be on the monorail (she loves the monorails), but we enjoyed it. The only problem was that my mom assumed that they would have a hair dryer since they did at the Polynesian, but they didn't. So, it really wasn't that big a deal switching from a deluxe to a value resort, and in the end you do end up saving a lot of money!! And after all, you are still in Disney World!! :sohappy:
No, unfortunately we didn't see any New Year's fireworks. But we heard some from the hotel.