Trip Report It can only go up from here

Lyear · Dec 11, 2013

Eating at Boma after a day at Animal Kingdom has become a tradition for us. I'm not really sure how we first heard about Boma (possibly through the unofficial guide to Walt Disney World), but we loved it on our first trip and have kept coming back. It seems every time they have completely different food on their buffet line, and every time it's great.

Any trip to Boma starts with entering the Animal Kingdom Lodge (Jambo House). I really love their design of the lobby. It is so intricate. I'd really love to take some time to explore this in the daylight some trip. I've actually never seen the animals in the savannah.

We have never ponied up to stay at a deluxe resort, but if we ever do it would undoubtedly be Animal Kingdom Lodge. When we price it out, it ends up being about $600-$700 more for our visit. We can never bring ourselves to pay this much when we spend so little time at our resort. One day AKL, one day...

We had about 30 minutes before our reservation, so we found a seat and plopped. We were beat. Our view from our seat.

We called and checked on Luke. Today was the big switch, where Sara's parents were going to pick him up from my parents. That went off without any problems. We try talking to Luke, but he's not interested. He wants to play. I guess he's not missing us that much. After about 15 minutes, I decide to go downstairs to check in. They give me a buzzer, and I walk back upstairs. About 30 seconds after I sit back down, we're being paged. Doesn't it always work out that way? We both make the trip downstairs this time, and are taken to our table.

I'm not positive of our server's name, I think it was John. He was really good. He didn't strike me as being the waiter type. If I had met him in street clothes, I would have guessed he was a mechanic or something similar. But he had a gift for serving. We told him we were vegetarian, and he went back to get a chef to take us through the buffet line and point out what we could eat. What excellent service, and very helpful since we weren't eating run of the mill food.

The place was full, but the lines moved pretty quickly. Since the meal was more exotic than everyday fare, I can't remember exactly what we ate. I remember I tried the different types of hummus with pita bread, and the white bean hummus tasted the best. The food was marvelous. It really is great every time we eat here.

Ready to dig in...

And a bit of scenery. I'm not sure what caught Sara's attention here.

I know it's been said over and over, but they really did a great job with the theming of this restaurant. While it might be going too far to say it feels like you're eating in Africa, it certainly has an adventurous feel.

After we had finished, our waiter came over. He had noticed my birthday pin, and he had a candle that he placed in my cheesecake. He made my day by saying, "I'm not going to sing to you." That just wasn't his thing. He wished me a happy birthday, and let me enjoy my dessert.

There were two couples sitting at the table next to us, and we did a photo exchange with them. We took their picture, and they took ours. Unfortunately the woman who took ours must have hit the wrong button, because there's no picture. We didn't think to check Sara's phone at the time, but now we wish we would have.

As we were finishing dinner, Sara explained to me that no Disney vacation would be complete without a trip to downtown Disney. I didn't really share her enthusiasm. I am not a shopper. In my world, I really don't care if we hit Downtown Disney. In fact, I might be happier if we don't. I know there's a lot of things to see and do there, but nothing that gets me excited. Upon looking at our schedule, we realize there's never going to be a perfect night to do DTD, and tonight will likely be better than most. I reluctantly agree.

We leave Boma, spend a short time in the Jambo House gift shop, then make our way to the bus stop.

And then a very peculiar thing happened. Somewhere between Animal Kingdom Lodge and Downtown Disney, I lost every bit of energy I had. I think the lack of sleep from the night before our flight, coupled by two days of what seemed like endless walking, finally caught up with me. As we rocked slightly on the bus, I really felt I was being rocked to sleep. Sara was pointing out different resorts that we had never been too, and I only faintly acknowledged her. My memory of the rest of the night is fuzzy at best.

Once we got off the bus, I wasn't suddenly filled with energy. Did I mention shopping doesn't excite me. We leave the marketplace bus stop, and come upon this.

This lovely scene was actually the source of our biggest argument we had during our trip. As we walked by Sara noted "Oh, that's neat." This was really code for "Take a picture." I look at her with a "really???" look, but she is serious. I pull my iphone out and snap a picture. "I MEANT WITH THE CAMERA!!!" she says, her face showing that she is none too pleased, with a hint of "I could have done that with my phone." The camera is in my backpack, buried under my sweatshirt and water bottle. I really don't feel like fishing it out. I turn to her and say something along the lines of "Really? for this?" That didn't exactly make her overflow with Disney magic. Quite the charmer was I.

At this point, I'm tired, but I drop my backpack and dig out the camera. I pull it out and snap a quick picture and shoot her a look that screamed "There, are you happy?" She wasn't.

The first store we come to is the Christmas store. It's our tradition that we always buy an ornament when we're at Disney, so what better place. Wow, they have a lot of selection. Rows and rows and rows of Christmas ornaments. I find one in the first section that I think is good and suggest it to Sara, but we can't purchase it until we look at the entire store (hmmm, whose decision was that?). So we walk. I am aware that I am basically sleepwalking, and I'm trying to jolt myself awake. I'm surrounded by multiple racks of small, expensive ornaments, and I realize if I spin around with my backpack while not paying attention I could cost myself a good bit of money. It just doesn't work though. I just can't wake up. We eventually comb the whole store, and come back to the one I had picked within 2 minutes of entering. In perhaps the biggest blessing of the night, I'm feeling too tired to say, "I told you so."

We go through the checkout for engraving, and arrange for it to be shipped to our hotel. It actually turned out pretty nice, and is currently hanging on our tree.

We then head towards world of Disney. "Oh," I'm thinking, "I can't wait for this." Thankfully the store wasn't that crowded. We walk through the different sections. Each time I'm thinking we're getting towards the end of the store, there's a whole next section to explore. "Will this store never end?!?" Sara wants to buy a shirt for Luke. I'm doing my best to concentrate, but it's like my mind is somewhere else (in bed I guess). I'm trying my hardest, but Sara knows she's not getting 100% of my concentration, and I can tell it's bugging her. I want to wake up and be in the moment, but I...just...can't. We end up buying him a cars T-shirt (he's a big fan), and a Duffy Bear with a Buzz Lightyear outfit. We also bought the Duffy story. Luke now loves Duffy, and sleeps with him every night. We may have bought other items, but it's a blank right now.

After this we head to the pin kiosk. I'm just following at this point. The cast member there says something to me, and I mumble something back. So tired. Sara finally has pity on me and agrees that we can go. We head back towards the bus stop. I honestly don't remember boarding the bus, the ride back to Coronado, or getting into our room that night. Very shortly after we entered our room, I was out.

Looking back, it's really like my body had just had enough. Too many activities, not enough sleep. I've only experienced something like that a handful of times in my life, and it's just unfortunate that one had to be while at Disney World. I knew I wasn't being a good husband or a good travelling buddy while at DTD, but I just couldn't snap myself out of my funk to change. After a good night of sleep, I was back to my normal self, and Sara accepted my apology the next morning. An overcorrection was coming the next night.

ginadee · Dec 12, 2013

I felt that kind of tiredness more than once on our trip. I was asleep on the bus every night.

Tiggerish · Dec 12, 2013

So, which picture of the DTD Happy Holidays tableau did you share with us? The phone pic or the camera pic? LOL

I'm happy for you that you were too tired to say "I told you so". That probably wouldn't have gone over well.

disneygirl1 · Dec 12, 2013

We love the Animal Kingdom Lodge! It's our home away from home. Loving the Eagles shirt!

Lyear · Dec 12, 2013

ginadee said:
I felt that kind of tiredness more than once on our trip. I was asleep on the bus every night.

I would have liked to fall asleep, but I have a fear that if I would fall asleep I would miss my stop and end up spending the night on the bus at some parking terminal. Not a very rational fear I admit, but something I think about.

Tiggerish said:
So, which picture of the DTD Happy Holidays tableau did you share with us? The phone pic or the camera pic? LOL

I'm happy for you that you were too tired to say "I told you so". That probably wouldn't have gone over well.

I hadn't really thought about it because photobucket actually jumbled the pictures pretty good when I uploaded them. I went back and checked, and it's actually from the iphone. I selected that one because it is a more straight on shot. Here's the one from the camera.

A little better quality, but not as straight on.

disneygirl1 said:
We love the Animal Kingdom Lodge! It's our home away from home. Loving the Eagles shirt!

I can completely see why you love it so much. I didn't pack an eagles jersey, but I had to wear something to support my team.

Lyear · Dec 12, 2013

While we weren't planning to be out the door super early on our 3rd day, it just kind of happened that way. We both woke up and got ready, and we were heading to El Centro by around 8am. Sara actually came with me today. It was her first time seeing this part of the resort when it wasn't pouring.

We went to Café Rix to fill our mugs. Sara got the southern sweet tea, which she fell in love with this trip. She started getting this anywhere she could. I got the green tea. We then went to the El Centro bus stop. This would be a longer wait for the bus than normal. We saw 2 buses for each other park at least twice before an Epcot bus rolled in. It still was only about a 15 minute wait. As we are boarding, I can tell it's one of the fun drivers. He announces, "Ok, is everyone ready for the Magic Kingdom." I must have had a look of worry, because another rider assured me he had been staying that since the first stop at the resort (El Centro is actually the last station to be picked up at Coronado).

On the way, he asked if anyone wanted to play some Disney trivia. We all half-heartedly say ok. He then asks, "ok, who has some Disney trivia?" Ok, that was funny. He eventually asked what 3 movies were themed from rides at Disney World. Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion were quickly guessed. The one no one got...Tower of Terror. Yup, did not know that one.

It was a beautiful morning, and we actually got to Epcot before they opened. I remember from a previous trip Epcot let you into the park before the opening, and did an opening ceremony which finished in a rope drop. This has changed. They now keep you outside until the park opens, and shoot off some streamers when they are opening. Then it's a fairly long wait in line to go through the gates. I'm not sure what the reason was for the change, but I thought the rope drop ceremony was a nicer beginning to your day than what they were currently doing.

Once inside, we really didn't have much of an agenda. Our first fastpass + wasn't until 11:00. I had heard that the first guests at club cool get a surprise, so we headed there. Once we arrived, we realized club cool doesn't open until 10:30, so we'd have to come back. We did not make it as the first guests.

We then head towards the Land, go downstairs and grab paper fastpasses for Soarin'. Might as well double up on fastpasses while they let you. We went back upstairs and came to Circle of Life (featuring Timon and Pumba). This is a show we had done back on my first visit in 2005, and hadn't done since. We figured we had seen it once, and it really wasn't a show that you need to see every visit. Since it had been so long, we decided we might give it a try again. Unfortunately, it was a bad time. A show had just started and it was going to be about 20 minutes. Maybe later circle of life.

With no real plans, we exited the Land, and made a right toward the imagination pavilion. Sara is in love with a certain purple dinosaur. She loved him from back when the ride used to be dreamfinder, an attraction I never experienced. I know a lot of people aren't real happy with this pavilion right now, but there have been trips before where Sara and I would ride the Figment ride 6-7 times in our trip. Today it's not crowded at all.

Once we get to the cars, we're the only ones there, and we're told to sit wherever we want. We pick the front seat, which turns out to be the worst seat for this ride. You're basically past all the different sense stations before they start. We enjoy the trip though. Sara is always happy when she gets to hear figment's song. "A dream, can be, a dream come true, with just a spark, from me and you."

After figment, we spend some time in the shop, and Sara buys her mouse ears for the trip. Figment ears. These are just so perfect for her. Since we were the only ones in the store, we got to talking with the person at the register, who told us a story of a friend of his finding an old worn down Mickey watch at a flea market and buying it for (I think) $2.00. He then took it to the jewelry stop on Main Street, and someone there fixed it up, and said it was worth several thousand dollars. I can't remember the exact figures (or verify the authenticity of the story), but it was a neat to hear. Makes you want to keep your eye out when at yard sales or antique dealers for old Disney merchandise.

After Figment, it was time for a blast from the past.

Sara did want to wear the ears. I know, I know...

I couldn't help but think as I watched this show, "this is so 80's." The sheer 80-ness of the show made it impossible for me to suspend my disbelief and become totally enthralled, but it was enjoyable. It was really neat to see a classic. It was something I had never done, and it helped me feel connected to Disney's past in some small way. It was weird seeing such a young version of Michael Jackson. If only the world's problems could be solved through singing and dance

After watching Captain Eo, it was back to the Land for Soarin. I took this picture for my pic of the day. I was surprised it was as challenging as it was.

We rode on the bottom, towards the left side this time. Another ride where it's hard to be 100% into it, since you can look down and see the edge of the screen. Still enjoyed ourselves though. We really do love Soarin'.

It was now time for our fastpasses to the new Test Track. We stopped at club cool on the way and tested the new flavors. We both kind of missed the old ones. The family beside us had two kids who I would say were in elementary school, and they were both tricked into trying Beverly. So much fun to watch. Off to Test Track.

Lyear · Dec 13, 2013

We made our way over to Test Track. I had heard much about the new version, and I was looking forward to trying it myself. We made our way to the fastpass entrance, and got the green Mickey sign. We were cleared to enter. It was immediately clear that this was not the same crash test dummy ride of a few years ago.

We walked right up to the staging area before going into the design room. As we waited there, my anticipation was building. I had heard stories of people designing their own cars, but really had no idea how the whole process would work. I got the premise that the circle we were standing on corresponded to our design station. That was apparently harder for some people.

The doors open, and we are looking at rows of touchscreen computers. We make our way to our station, and start to get busy. Sara has always wanted to buy a Cadillac Escalade extended version. Whenever she brings this up, I try to bring her back to reality and the fact that the car payment for this would likely be equal to or greater than our mortgage. But this is her chance to build her own. I operate the controls, and she tells me what she wants. She selects the truck option, but decides she wants to do the right thing for the environment, so it's a solar powered truck. And big wheels. I'm talking huge monster truck tires. What color??? Well pink with sparkles of course. And to top it off, a killer sound system like DJ from the movie Cars. I really wish I had thought to take a picture, but I was completely in the moment. As we added crazy effect after crazy effect, we were both almost laughing uncontrollably. This pink, solar-powered Monster truck was going to rule the world. The countdown came much too fast as we were having a really good time. At this point we get ushered our of the room, go through a brief queue, and load very similar to how you used to. We pull up the monster truck before we enter our vehicle and we're ready to go.

The ride itself was very similar to the old one. They obviously changed a few things, but the overall effect was about the same. Once we got inside, we checked how we did. I can't remember the score, but it was only 8 points below the highest of the day at that point. Maybe there's a future for the pink sparkly monster truck. I'm sure GM will be interested in the idea.

I really enjoyed the new test track theming. The ability to design your own car MADE this attraction. We had so much fun, and this part alone made Test Track one of the best rides of our entire trip.

At this point it's about 11:30. Neither of us were that hungry, but we had 5:30 dinner reservations that night, so we figured we'd better eat. Lunch was going to be at the American pavilion. We made our way over to the world showcase, and decided to take a boat over to the Germany pavilion. We had just missed a boat, and while we waited for its return, I took a few photos. It was a beautiful day.

The location of our upcoming dinner that evening.

Here comes the "friend"ship

A boat ride across the lagoon, a quick walk to America, and we are entering the Liberty Inn. This used to be the home of the best veggie burgers in all of WDW. It's ok if you think veggie burgers are disgusting, we still love you.

They had changed their menu since the last time we were there. My thought is they didn't want to be known as just a burger and fries joint. I can see the benefit of this, but we really enjoyed the old way.

The vegetarian selection now is a southwest "chick'n. It's a soy product that looks like chicken, served with guacamole and corn salsa. Meat lovers feel free to skip ahead, nothing to see here! It's ok, not great. We both eat it with little complaint, other than missing the old Liberty Inn. One of the cooks in the kitchen noticed my birthday pin, and gave us each a chocolate chip cookie, so that was a perk.

After lunch, we kept with our original plan of going back to Coronado for an afternoon nap. We were both feeling rather tired, and the plan was to check out extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom that night. We figured we would want to get some extra sleep so we weren't miserable that night. Epcot, with so much left to do, and with it's perfectly manicured landscaping, was calling to us. But we remained strong and exited the park. A photo on our way out.

We made our way to the bus stop, and waited.

You always know that the mid afternoon waits at the bus stop are going to be the longest. Nothing you can do about it. In about 12-15 minutes, the bus arrived, and we were on our way. Mousekeeping had already been to our room. A nice nap, and we would be on our way back to Epcot for dinner.

Tiggerish · Dec 14, 2013

Love your Epcot photos!!! We will be visiting in February, and it will be my hubby's first opportunity to try out the new Test Track.

Lyear · Dec 15, 2013

Tiggerish said:
Love your Epcot photos!!! We will be visiting in February, and it will be my hubby's first opportunity to try out the new Test Track.

Thanks. I hope February comes quickly for you.

Lyear · Dec 15, 2013

We had a good nap, and around 4pm, we were up and ready to get going. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful night, the type EMH were made for. We made our way to bus stop #3, and towards Epcot. While we didn't have a lot of time before our 5:30 reservation, we had enough time that we could stroll. Took a picture of SSE in the sunset.

Back into world showcase, our 3rd time there in 3 days. Over to the Rose and Crown. We were actually turned on to the Rose and Crown by a book written for vegetarians in Disney World. I guess there's enough of us that it's worth writing a book. We learned from this book that there's a vegetarian version of their cottage pie that is not on the menu, but can be made upon request. We have loved it each time we went. The only place, that we know of, to get something like this.

We get to the U.K. with a little time to spare. Phone booth time. There's actually a line up to get your photo in a phone booth. Sara was more than happy to take my picture.

We checked in and were given a pager. A few minutes of wandering...

Today was actually Mickey's 85th Birthday!!

After about 5 minutes, we got the buzz, and we were quickly seated. What a view!

Our server was Charlie (female), and she, like most at Disney, was great. I had talked before about an overcorrection, and this is where that story begins. I figured to make it to 12am at MK, I would need a little caffeine, so I ordered coffee. Then the heartbreaker...they don't make the vegetarian cottage pie anymore.

They have a roasted vegetable plate instead. We must have been visibly disappointed, because Charlie asked us to wait one moment. She checks for us, and we find out that the chef is willing to make us a version of the veggie cottage pie. He/She doesn't have all the ingredients, but will do what they can. We both thank her for this, and are very excited for our meal.

I totally forgot to take a picture of it, until I was almost done. It doesn't look too appetizing at this point, but it was really, really good.

After we eat, we take some time to enjoy ourselves. We were getting in the habit of not having a 2 year old to be checking in on every few minutes, and it was really nice to have some adult time. For dessert, I had the sticky toffee pudding, and Sara had the Joffa tarts. Both were really good. The sticky toffee pudding was my absolute favorite dessert on our last visit, and while it wasn't quite as amazing as I remembered, it was still very good. Maybe my expectations were too high. I had another coffee with dinner.

And then we just sat. It was a beautiful night overlooking the world showcase lagoon. We looked out over the other countries in the night. In the distance we could see the Characters in flight balloon at DTD going up and down, and even further we saw planes flying in the distance. I remember wondering if anyone on those planes were coming to start their vacations that night.

Typically when one thinks of Disney World, one thinks of rides, characters, parades, etc. I'm pretty sure that having dinner overlooking the water in world showcase is probably pretty down on a list. But this time at Rose and Crown was very magical, and looking back, was probably the best dinner we had while in WDW, if not our best experience overall. There were extra tables around, so it's not like we were holding anyone up. We stayed a good hour after our meal. I thought about staying until illuminations, and getting a very unique vantage point for the show. But that would not happen tonight. We had a Kingdom to close.

We made our way back to the front of Epcot, and onto a monorail. Really bad selfie from the monorail.

We arrive at the TTC, and Sara has a brain fart moment where she thinks this monorail will take us all the way to MK. "No," I explain, "this one is going back to epcot." She looks at me for a bit, then has that dawn of enlightenment moment and rushes off the monorail. Yes, I did give her a hard time about this.

Soon we had arrived at the entrance to MK. We took a brief moment to call Luke and check in on him. Once again, he was doing fine.

We enter magic kingdom right around 8:20, and we realize we better get a spot for the castle projection show and wishes. Our original plan was to do wishes on a later night, but we had some dinner reservations that would possibly collide with the show, so we figured it was best to do it now. We headed up main street, and made a right.

We used to watch Wishes from the Tomorrowland noodle station, but apparently that's now a reservation viewing spot. So we continue through, and come to this location.

Not bad, right? We didn't think so either. It was quite a view of the castle. But there were a few problems. Number one, I guess because it was extra magic hours, they did not turn off the soundtrack to the people mover that was running right over our heads. During both shows, we had to continuously hear about all the fun you could have at the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor. This made listening to the the projection show and Wishes almost impossible.

Number two was the bigger one though. We were with our backs against a wall right at a thoroughfare. This meant throughout the show there were people going back and forth in front of us. Not that big a problem, right? I mean, we can still see the castle. Well, yes, that's true. But because this was one of the only spots in this area with a view, we had people continuously stopping in front of us. When the projection show started, there were people at the very front of the walkway, and us standing at the back (see the photo above). By the time wishes was about to start, it looked like this.

And I wish I could tell you that was the worst it got. But it wasn't. There were about 2 more rows of people that had stopped behind the backs of these people by the time wishes was over. The grand result was that there was enough room for a single row of traffic to get through. So that meant people could either go from our right to left, or left to right, but not both. This of course led to mass confusion. It also led to me getting my feet run over by countless strollers, even though I was as pressed against the wall as I feel I could get. People were apologetic when this happened, and I let them know not to feel bad, as it's not really their fault. They are just trying to get through a lane that others have clogged up.

So overall, not a great wishes experience. I couldn't hear a thing during the projection show, and barely got to focus or hear during wishes as I was trying not to get run over. I've seen Wishes a few times, so I know how it goes, and I could imagine what was being said as the fireworks exploded. But I felt bad for that person who may have been near us who hadn't seen it before. Wishes is such a perfect ending to a Magic Kingdom day, and it's really sad if someone didn't get to experience it in all it's wonder. Thankfully, we would have another go at it later in our trip.

As the show ended, people began moving towards the exits. But not us, our extra magic hours were just beginning.

Lyear · Dec 16, 2013

Following Wishes, it was time for EMH. But first, a Christmas photo of the castle.

Our plan was to head towards Frontierland, but we knew that the hub in front of the castle would be packed. We decided we would go right to go left (We watch too much Cars). We turned right into tomorrowland, and would make the loop through fantasyland. Sara had to use the bathroom. But wait, you're not going to use the icky tomorrowland bathrooms. No my dear, there is a much better bathroom experience to be had. She glared at me a little bit, as I walked her towards the Tangled bathrooms. I must say the guys bathroom here is really nice. I of course can't comment on the ladies' room.

I really liked the theming they did here. It was a nice area to sit and relax, but you were still surrounded in magic. Sara really liked the phone charging stations, but we actually never used them on this trip.

Our plan to go to extra magic hours actually began while we were preparing our itinerary in anticipation of our trip. Sara had the observation that we had never ridden Big Thunder Mountain Railroad or Splash Mountain at night. We decided that was definitely something we wanted to do this trip, and extra magic hours just seemed like a perfect time for it.

BTMR had a 30 minute wait, compared to Splash's 10 minutes. We went with Splash. We love the music on this ride. There've been times before where Sara has sung the entire way through this ride. Oh the things you are able to do when you buy the Disney World soundtrack. I know most of the song, but not enough to sing it. They really have done a great job with Splash. The theming starts the moment you enter the queue and really gets you into the mood of the ride. It's weird. I've ridden much bigger drop rides than this but something about the music in this one always makes me a little nervous before the big drop. But hey, we survived.

BTMR was now a 20 minute wait, but honestly it was almost a walk-on. It was a recurring theme on this trip that we didn't really get a chance to stop and take in the sights in the queues. Disney has put in so much work engrossing you in the ride experience even before you get on the ride, but our line times were so short the whole trip we really didn't get a chance to experience most of the queues. We didn't have to stand in this line until we were already on our way down to the loading station. BTMR is pretty fun at night. It's not the scariest roller coaster, but it's one you remember. As we exit, we decide we're going to go for it again, so we actually rode BTMR twice that night.

Afterwards, we paused for a few pictures.

We made our way into adventureland. We decided to check out the Christmas version of the Jungle Cruise. They did a nice enough overlay. I know some who have been on this ride don't like the Christmas overlay too much, but I thought it was nice. A little different, but not something so in depth that it would require a long time putting it together. Our skipper was really good. She had a very dry sense of humor, and her timing was spot on. She used pauses well. There were a good number of people laughing out loud during the ride. Probably a larger number groaning.

After this we took a small break in Adventure land. I forgot to mention it above, but we had gone to France after our meal at R&C, back to the Patisserie. We got a huge chocolate chip cookie this time, and there in Adventureland we stopped to enjoy it. Soooo good.

We were actually right beside the Swiss Family Treehouse, something else I had only ever been on once on my first trip. We decided we would go through it. This is yet another ride where the theming is noticeably good. I've just never seen it full. It's not a very big draw, but I hope people can appreciate it for what it is. If you're familiar with the story, it's pretty neat. We used this time to get some photos. Very few came out.

At this point it is a little less than an hour before midnight. Still feeling good. Pirates is a walk-on. Noticed that the Davey Jones mist/waterfall in the beginning wasn't working. Not sure if that was a technical thing, or if they took it out. Had a good time regardless.

We continued around the park, and stop to get this photo on the river.

Haunted Mansion is also a walk-on, as probably everything was at this time. We had heard about the new queue area, and were both interested to see it. It was off to the side of the queue they had open leading to HM, so we veered off and took about 3 minutes to read some epitaphs and especially play with the musical gravesite. This one was really neat. It was fun to make the different musical combinations. It was also fun to not have anyone behind us. We felt we could stop and enjoy ourselves. Upon entering the Mansion, the cm got us all to sit down during the stretching room, saying it was a much better experience. Ehhh, about the same I would say. The ride itself did not disappoint.

Our final ride that night was Pooh. We were the last ones to enter the queue area, but not the last ones to ride. The family that had gone in ahead of us had a two year old, and he was infatuated with the little bees that you can push back and forth on the wires (I'm sure there's a technical name for this, but I can't think of it). His mom was there saying, "don't you want to ride the ride?" and he kept emphatically answering "no," while the rest of the family waited at the loading point. Oh the joys of having a two year old. I know what you're going through, family. I'm not sure if they ever got to ride. We were quickly on and experiencing the 100 acre wood.

At last extra magic hours had come to a close. As was our custom, we took our time on the way out and got some photos.

The rear of the castle.

The carousel

I never realized this was here before...

From the side

And through the tunnel, again something I had only done once before.

Maybe I'm just not very patient, but it seems like I never get an opportunity for this shot while the park is open.

And one final shot of Christmas Time on Main Street.

An awesome end to a very productive and happy day. We make our way out of the park, board a bus, and are back at our hotel. Ready for bed, or so I thought. As you have probably guessed, I didn't do so well with the caffeine from those two cups of coffee. I laid down in bed, and after about an hour I realize I'm not close to falling asleep. Normally on nights like this I would go downstairs and turn on the television, but that's not really an option in a hotel room. I have Netflix on my phone, but the wifi on Disney property isn't fast enough for streaming, and the 4G coverage in our hotel room wasn't great. Alas, nothing to do but try to get comfortable. Around 4am, I realize that this isn't working, and decide I'll go ahead and get a shower. I think that helped. I laid back down, and around 5:30 (I think) I finally fell asleep. Managed to sleep in until around 8 the next morning. At least I was able to get a little sleep, but I could tell I wouldn't have a lot of energy for our next day.

Longers · Dec 17, 2013

Loving the night time pictures. Might have to add leaving a park slowly to our list of "must do's" for our next trip.

Lyear · Dec 17, 2013

Longers said:
Loving the night time pictures. Might have to add leaving a park slowly to our list of "must do's" for our next trip.

Thanks. I really came to prefer taking photos at night this trip, especially after the parks had closed. It gives you time to size up a shot, and try it a few different times, all without feeling like you're in someone's shot, or that you're holding up someone who wants to get through.

Lyear · Dec 17, 2013

Day 4. We left our hotel the latest we would on this trip, and it was all because of me. I didn't feel like moving. My mind was saying, "you're in Disney World, Go! Go! Go," but the rest of me wasn't having it. Thankfully Sara was patient with me. We left our room around 9:30 and made our way to El Centro for refills. This would become a morning ritual for us. I really enjoyed our early, or mid, morning walks through the resort. Usually the lake was very peaceful, and the whole resort had a laid back, serene feeling. Makes it so easy to forget that there is actually a world outside of Disney World.

Today we decide to take a slight detour and check out the Dig Site pool. We wouldn't end up swimming in this pool (or any pool for that matter), but we had heard such good things about it that we had to check it out. Absolutely stunning.

Little imprints like this were the whole way around the pool.

We get our refills, sweet tea for Sara, green tea for me, and hit the bus stop. We're going to Hollywood today. We get on a bus quickly, and in about 5 minutes we're disembarking towards Hollywood Studios. One of the definite perks of Coronado was its close location to Epcot, Hollywood, and Animal Kingdom. All the bus rides to these parks were right around 5 minutes.

We have fastpass plus's for toy story mania, tower of terror, and rock n' roller coaster, all in the afternoon. We decide to head over to Star Tours. As had been our custom, we took our time getting there. Disney is so visually stunning. It's amazing what you get, and what memories you make, when you take the time to take it all in, rather than running to get on the next ride. I've certainly had my share of the latter, but when I look back, I so much prefer the former.

I really like the effect the giant palm trees have on the overall appearance of the park.

This was actually my "where are we?" pic of the day. Not surprisingly it was guessed almost immediately.

This was my first time riding the new star tours, and I was very happy with the ride. I really enjoyed watching the little pre-show on the screens above the entrance as we waited. You get to see how C3PO becomes your pilot, and get to see the droids up to their antics. It was funny to watch. I didn't write down the details of our story on the ride itself. I know we saw Vader in the beginning, and went through the Wookie planet, but I can't tell you too much more. I actually didn't realize at this point there were different story lines, which would be a pleasant surprise later. I had heard this, but for some reason it never really sank in until I experienced it myself. I left the ride very happy with the changes they had made, the new version was much higher quality than the old. In the gift shop, I searched for a shirt that said, "Luke, I am your father." No such luck.

After star tours, we made the short trek to see Muppet Vision. This was the same show I remember. The show has actually grown on me. The first time I saw it I thought it was great for small kids, but I didn't find it all that funny. But I've learned to take it for what it is, it is the muppets after all. It's the type of show that will have a tuba player with a tuba on his head ruin the whole finale, cuz that's just how it works in muppet land. Just don't try to rationalize it.

After the show, since we were in that area, we decided to do lunch at pizza planet.

Basically the same restaurant as pizzafari in Animal Kingdom, but it's Toy Story themed. I love Toy Story. Buzz Lightyear is hands down my favorite Disney character, and it's not even close (can you tell by my username?). I remember back in college watching Toy Story 2 somewhere between 15-20 times (maybe more) over about 2 months when it came out on video. Sara stayed by me during this season of my life. I guess we were truly made for each other. On our first trip together in 2005, upon learning that there was an actual Pizza Planet restaurant, we knew we had to go, and we've been coming back ever since.

We both got pizza, shocking I know. For dessert we got these awesome pumpkin cupcakes.

They were so good, I'm getting hungry now just thinking about them.

As we were eating, we came upon this head scratcher. I'm hoping someone reading can help us out with an answer. MGM studios opened in 1989, but Toy Story didn't come out until 1995. What was Pizza Planet before the toy story movie? We assume it was a restaurant of some kind, but hoping someone might be able to provide some specifics. Anyone??? Thanks in advance.

After filling our bellies with pizza, it was time to go to Andy's room, er, Toy Story Mania. This was the moment I (we) had been waiting for. The brand new toy story attraction. I had heard so much about it, and couldn't wait to experience it myself.

TheMouseFan · Dec 17, 2013

I just went a looked at a map I have from summer of 1990. The area where Pizza Planet is , was undeveloped land (shown as grass and trees on the map) that was near the Backstage Studios Tour. I don't know when they added the building that Pizza Planet is in.

Duckberg · Dec 18, 2013

Lyear, have to give you kudos for the quality of this very detailed trip report. The amount of your trip pics really makes the reader feel they are taking the same trip with you all. WELL done!

Lyear · Dec 18, 2013

TheMouseFan said:
I just went a looked at a map I have from summer of 1990. The area where Pizza Planet is , was undeveloped land (shown as grass and trees on the map) that was near the Backstage Studios Tour. I don't know when they added the building that Pizza Planet is in.

Thanks for looking that up. It never crossed our minds that this area might not have been developed when the park first opened.

Duckberg said:
Lyear, have to give you kudos for the quality of this very detailed trip report. The amount of your trip pics really makes the reader feel they are taking the same trip with you all. WELL done!

Thank you so much Duckberg. I really appreciate that. I'm trying to follow in the footsteps of some of the awesome trip reports I've seen on this site.

Lyear · Dec 18, 2013

We walked down Streets of America, which was completely covered in Christmas lights (currently turned off). We would be back later for the Osborne Spectacle. We made a right at the end, and straight ahead was our destination.

The excitement at this point was palpable. Here was a whole new world within Disney. A place we had never been. One of the first things I noticed was the green army men who were walking around. It seemed there were always about 2-3 of them around, and young children were having a really good time with them. I then looked around, and saw the amount of detail they put into this area. There were monkeys climbing down walls and gigantic toys everywhere. They certainly did this right.

It's a cowboy crunchies stand. The only cereal that's sugar frosted and double dipped in chocolate.

Our fastpass time had come, and the green Mickey head signaled we were good to enter. Once inside, the world of Andy's room opened up. The people who created this deserve a standing ovation. There is so much to see, even in the fastpass line. I think this is one of the only times on our trip that Sara and I were deliberate in wanting to get photos, and were letting others go ahead of us. We both had our phones out. There was so much to see.

And as we enter the loading area, a giant version of Andy's room.

Tin Toy!!!

A cm saw us taking photos, and asked if we wanted him to take one of us. Just a bit blurry (I was wearing my wife's bag at this point, which explains the purple, frilly cover on the strap).

The loading area was superb. As for the ride itself... I thought it was fine. Probably better than fine, it was good. They did a good job theming everything, and the game play was really fun. It was neat seeing the technology interact from your car to the screens. My only complaint is that the whole thing felt extremely rushed. I felt like the car would whip you to one station, and within 2 seconds you were shooting, then after 15 seconds, it would whip you around to another location, more shooting. And on and on. I felt like there was never a time where you could settle in; never a time where you could say, "I'm experiencing Toy Story." I know why they do this. There's a lot of people to get in and out (the wait was about 60 minutes at this time). I just would have enjoyed a bit slower pace.

We took a few more photos on the way out.

You may need to be a Pixar nut like us to understand why we took this photo.

Goodbye Toy Story Mania

Overall a very good ride. One I look forward to riding several times in the future. Sara won by the way. The rings did me in.

After toy story, we went to...

This was ok. It reminded me of the Narnia attraction they had a few years ago. I think it's in the same place. This one is ok if you like squeezing into crowded areas and being talked to by a giant skull. My wife and I walked out not sure whether Jack Sparrow was a real actor or on a screen. I went back and forth several times during the show. I guess that's a good thing.

After this, it was time for one of our most memorable experiences of the trip, One Man's Dream...

Lyear · Dec 19, 2013

I have often said to Sara that One Man's Dream should be a mandatory first attraction for first time visitors to WDW. I was only slightly kidding when would say this. When you are surrounded by breathtaking and thrilling rides and attractions, the idea of going through what is basically a museum sounds so boring. Indeed, as we stood outside the attraction, I found myself saying, "do we really need to do this?" We had done it before, and the story really hasn't changed.

I'm glad that we decided to go in. For the record, my wife didn't waver at all. It is truly remarkable to go through this attraction and see the story behind the place where you are standing. Walt Disney's story is as inspiring as they come. When you go through and see the bare bones start of the Disney enterprise to what it currently is, all stemming from "one man's dream," it really gives you a newfound awe of Disneyworld. And to me that's really what One Man's Dream is. It's not the most thrilling attraction, it's not the one you're most excited for when you enter the park, but it's an enhancer. Experiencing this attraction will make the remainder of your Disney experience better. It will give you a newfound perspective that will make the rest of your vacation even more magical.

They had changed a few things since we had last been here in 2007. There was now a gigantic new fantasyland display. It was neat seeing this before we had entered new fantasyland for the first time. I would say we took about 20-30 minutes going through, then had about a 5 minute wait to enter the theater. This is where things got interesting.

I struck up a conversation with the cast members in the attraction. Sara kept saying/complaining that I would talk to everyone on this trip. I will admit that the birthday pin I was wearing made it much easier to start conversations. It started with a simple question asking how often they need to wipe down the display glass from kids' fingerprints. Slowly the conversation evolved, and we were talking about one man's dream and all the little tributes you see to Disney's history around the park. I specifically brought up the names on the upper story Main Street windows. It was at this point that the female cast member asked me to wait there and that she wanted to give me something?

Ultra fastpasses?

Nope, she came back with this pin.

How awesome is that? I was walking around the rest of our trip proudly wearing this, and many times when someone started talking to me about my birthday, I was quick to point this pin out as well. Apparently there's not too many of these around. Made my day. You might even go as far as to say it made my trip (ok, that might be stretching it a bit). Sara was not too happy that she had chosen to sit down as I was getting my pin. I let her wear it some through the rest of our trip too, as she is a bigger Disney expert than I am.

Once we had exited One Man's Dream, it was time for our Tower of Terror fastpasses. We started our journey towards Sunset Blvd. But first, recreating a scene. "Now where is that giant blue hat thingy?"

Here we come...

I can't write anything about Tower of Terror that hasn't already been said much more eloquently than I could say it. There's a reason it's such a hit. There's a reason people come back to do this ride over and over again. So impressively themed, such a great storyline, and so fun of a ride. I have a fear of heights, so drop towers are usually out. But not TOT.

A few quick iphone pics as we made our way through the queue.

You could tell Sara hadn't ridden this in a while, because she was pretty nervous. We didn't get a photo on the ride, but her face was so anxious in it, and she was holding on real tight.

We then had our final fastpass + of the day at Rock 'n Roller Coaster.

We made our way to the queue and checked in, but as we were walking forward, we noticed people starting to walk back past us. Too many people for it to be some chickening out. Yup, the ride was down. We were assured as we left that our fastpasses would be good throughout the remainder of the day.

As we were leaving the RNR plaza, it was incredibly crowded as the whole queue had just emptied. We then experienced what I would call something amazing. In the crowd, we came across a young girl, probably 5, who was crying, with no one around her. Before we had a chance to respond, some kind lady was already talking to her, confirming she was lost, and taking her to a nearby CM, who instantly stopped what he was doing to look after her. As we turn around and start walking again, we notice a woman looking frantically around. This is obviously the mom. It's clear her attention was on a younger child in a stroller while the older child got a bit too far away in the crowded plaza. Again, before we have a chance, some other kind person points the mom to the direction of the child.

Maybe it's something about Disney World that brings out the best in people, or maybe it's there all the time. But I was humbled to see so many people drop what they were doing and want to help this family out.

We decided to make our way back towards the main hub, and to the Great Movie Ride.

This has never been my favorite attraction here. I appreciate it, I think it's well done, but the main reason I ride it is because Sara likes it. Maybe it's because a good number of the movies are before my time, at least I'd like to think so. Halfway though our car is taken over by a gangster (surprise!), but in the end he meets his demise by being a bit too greedy. One photo of the ride, just to prove I was really on it.

We exited the Great Movie Ride, and made a left. It was again time for something new. We had never been in the Animation/Playhouse Disney section of Hollywood Studios before. And that was going to change.

ginadee · Dec 19, 2013

The pin is awesome! I would be very excited. John really liked the museum. I thought it was very interesting as well and I definately learned a few things I didnt know. But I fell asleep in the movie. Couldnt help it. I think I fell asleep every time I got still.

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