DAY 1 12/25:
My fiancé Amy and I arrived in Orlando about noon and were picked up at the airport by our Quicksilver driver. Quicksilver was on-time, courteous, neat, and helpful, I will use them again and encourage all of you to do so as well. We arrived at the Dolphin at about 12:45 and heard from the doorman that the MK was at capacity. We checked in and hurried to Epcot before the big overflow got there from MK. Thanks to the advice I got from TourGuideMike.com, XMAS was the only day where the crowds affected us and we had long wait times, thank you TourGuideMike! We went right to MS, the wait time was listed as 120, but we only waited about 75 minutes. FPs were still available, but we had a dinner PS that conflicted. Amy and I both loved MS, and only felt woozy for about 30 minutes after, but a lot of that was because we woke up at 4am! We then did El Rio to relax and recoup and then got FPs for Maelstrom and walked around the WS and shopped, etc. People were lining up for the CandleLight Process. 3-4 hours before the show. I cannot understand why people are willing to waste time standing in line for that long when they have paid to be in a Park! But that is just me. We then went back and did Maelstrom and then stood in the Singles line for TT. Again, the sign said 50 minutes but we only waited 20-25. TT needs serious rehab work soon! The dummy tests in the queue aren’t even close to working correctly anymore and the outside speed test feels like the car is going to come off the track. I still love this ride, so I am glad to see it will get the attention it needs. The new concept cars in the post-show are awesome! We then got some Coke at Ice Station Cool, and then saw HISTA, walking in on the standby line, bypassing everyone with a FP! Walked on to Imagination. This attraction needs to go. It isn’t really fun for kids or adults anymore. Just my opinion. We then headed to the Rose and Crown for our 7:40 PS. This is where the fun began. People just weren’t leaving the restaurant because many were enjoying family XMAS style dinners, and others were waiting for Illuminations. So, people were waiting as much as 1 ½ hours after their PS time to be seated. Needless to say, all the unruly guests were out in force. I cannot say enough about the CMs working that night. Fiona and Katherine at the host station were calm, collected, and sincerely nice to all the guests, even those who threw down their pagers and yelled and swore in front of their children. Ah, the joy of XMAS. We were waiting about 35 minutes for an outside table, when we noticed that two women wandered out from the bar and sat down at what we had been eyeing as our table. I got the attention of the manager, Jodi, and told her of the situation, making sure that it was clear I was NOT asking for the ladies to be kicked out. Jodi immediately pulled over the nearest hostess and we were seated within 5 minutes at a table overlooking the water. I wish all guests realized that being a nice, normal person to CMs gets you much further than swearing and screaming. Anyway, Illuminations was great as always, but it might b time for a new show at EPCOT. We walked back to the Dolphin via the boardwalk and rested up for day 2.
DAY 2 12/26
This is the day that I had feared, but it worked out better than I could have hoped for. We arrived at the MK at about 7:50 and caught the opening show. We then did Space Mtn., Buzz, BTM, Pirates, Splash, HM, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Teacups, and Pooh all before our 12 noon PS at CRT. Thanks TourGuideMike!!. Philharmagic was really great, I loved the 180 screen and all the effects. I still miss Mr. Toad, I wish it would come back! After Lunch and some shopping we took the afternoon off and then headed to the Studios. We FP’d RNR and waited about 30 minutes standby for TOT. We caught the MuppetVision and did Star Tours before dinner at the PrimeTime café. Our waitress, Auntie Jan, was a riot, and made the lady next to us stand for a minute with her nose on the wall for putting her elbows on the table. BTW, Star Tours is really out of date. I love the theme, but maybe they should scratch the ride and start over, maybe with theming based on Coruscant from Episode II. Anyway, RNR was great as always and we got our first great quote of the week, as the girl behind us (maybe 7 or 8) declared her hair “funktified” after getting off. Anyway, back to the hotel again for some more sleep! (BTW, staying at the Dolphin is great for MGM, as you only have to wait one stop on the boat both ways!)
Stay tuned for Days 3 & 4!
Scott
:xmas: :xmas: :sohappy:
My fiancé Amy and I arrived in Orlando about noon and were picked up at the airport by our Quicksilver driver. Quicksilver was on-time, courteous, neat, and helpful, I will use them again and encourage all of you to do so as well. We arrived at the Dolphin at about 12:45 and heard from the doorman that the MK was at capacity. We checked in and hurried to Epcot before the big overflow got there from MK. Thanks to the advice I got from TourGuideMike.com, XMAS was the only day where the crowds affected us and we had long wait times, thank you TourGuideMike! We went right to MS, the wait time was listed as 120, but we only waited about 75 minutes. FPs were still available, but we had a dinner PS that conflicted. Amy and I both loved MS, and only felt woozy for about 30 minutes after, but a lot of that was because we woke up at 4am! We then did El Rio to relax and recoup and then got FPs for Maelstrom and walked around the WS and shopped, etc. People were lining up for the CandleLight Process. 3-4 hours before the show. I cannot understand why people are willing to waste time standing in line for that long when they have paid to be in a Park! But that is just me. We then went back and did Maelstrom and then stood in the Singles line for TT. Again, the sign said 50 minutes but we only waited 20-25. TT needs serious rehab work soon! The dummy tests in the queue aren’t even close to working correctly anymore and the outside speed test feels like the car is going to come off the track. I still love this ride, so I am glad to see it will get the attention it needs. The new concept cars in the post-show are awesome! We then got some Coke at Ice Station Cool, and then saw HISTA, walking in on the standby line, bypassing everyone with a FP! Walked on to Imagination. This attraction needs to go. It isn’t really fun for kids or adults anymore. Just my opinion. We then headed to the Rose and Crown for our 7:40 PS. This is where the fun began. People just weren’t leaving the restaurant because many were enjoying family XMAS style dinners, and others were waiting for Illuminations. So, people were waiting as much as 1 ½ hours after their PS time to be seated. Needless to say, all the unruly guests were out in force. I cannot say enough about the CMs working that night. Fiona and Katherine at the host station were calm, collected, and sincerely nice to all the guests, even those who threw down their pagers and yelled and swore in front of their children. Ah, the joy of XMAS. We were waiting about 35 minutes for an outside table, when we noticed that two women wandered out from the bar and sat down at what we had been eyeing as our table. I got the attention of the manager, Jodi, and told her of the situation, making sure that it was clear I was NOT asking for the ladies to be kicked out. Jodi immediately pulled over the nearest hostess and we were seated within 5 minutes at a table overlooking the water. I wish all guests realized that being a nice, normal person to CMs gets you much further than swearing and screaming. Anyway, Illuminations was great as always, but it might b time for a new show at EPCOT. We walked back to the Dolphin via the boardwalk and rested up for day 2.
DAY 2 12/26
This is the day that I had feared, but it worked out better than I could have hoped for. We arrived at the MK at about 7:50 and caught the opening show. We then did Space Mtn., Buzz, BTM, Pirates, Splash, HM, Peter Pan, Philharmagic, Teacups, and Pooh all before our 12 noon PS at CRT. Thanks TourGuideMike!!. Philharmagic was really great, I loved the 180 screen and all the effects. I still miss Mr. Toad, I wish it would come back! After Lunch and some shopping we took the afternoon off and then headed to the Studios. We FP’d RNR and waited about 30 minutes standby for TOT. We caught the MuppetVision and did Star Tours before dinner at the PrimeTime café. Our waitress, Auntie Jan, was a riot, and made the lady next to us stand for a minute with her nose on the wall for putting her elbows on the table. BTW, Star Tours is really out of date. I love the theme, but maybe they should scratch the ride and start over, maybe with theming based on Coruscant from Episode II. Anyway, RNR was great as always and we got our first great quote of the week, as the girl behind us (maybe 7 or 8) declared her hair “funktified” after getting off. Anyway, back to the hotel again for some more sleep! (BTW, staying at the Dolphin is great for MGM, as you only have to wait one stop on the boat both ways!)
Stay tuned for Days 3 & 4!
Scott
:xmas: :xmas: :sohappy:
