So, first post and I might as well make it a doozy.
My wife and I finally went on our long-planned trip to WDW this past weekend and had an absolute blast. It was my first time back in two years... and my wife's first time in thirteen years (California native.)
Day 1
--------
We departed home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, at 11 PM and arrived on-property at roughly 7 AM. Not the longest drive in the world but not a short one either.
We had reservations at the All Star Sports Resort (we like to save money) and were surprised to find our room ready for us. We were also surprised to find out that the travel agent we'd spoken to had lied to us and our resort did not yet have the Magic Bands. I'd been really looking foward to trying out the new tech, but I just shrugged off my disappointment. Also waiting for us were a pair of Aniversarry Buttons; a nice surprise.
We got into our room in the Baseball section and did a quick settle in. The room was well worth the money and we've decided to make it our go-to resort of choice.
Once we'd unpacked, we jumped back in our car and headed to the TTC for our tickets. We were happy to find out we qualified for the Military Deal and ended up paying much less than we'd anticipated for the tickets. Since we were right there, we decided to hit my favorite park first; EPCOT.
We arrived via Monorail just as the park opened. I raced over for Test Track FPs then joined the wife for Spaceship Earth. Always loved this ride... After shopping briefly we hit Test Track. This was my first time on the ride since the refurb and MAN does that building look great or what? The ride was fun, but I was just blown away by the redone building.
My wife opted out of Mission: Space so we decided to hop on Ellen's Energy Adventure. I've always enjoyed this attraction (love me some Bill Nye) but I could tell my wife was getting bored. I jumped onto Mission: Space, choosing as I always do the Orange Mission.
Big Mistake.
I'm becoming a lightweight in my old age, as I learned after I left my breakfast in the garbage can post-ride. We grabbed a Sprite to settle my stomach and headed for the calmer shores of the Seas. This ride was not nearly as charming as I remembered. Kinda boring until you reach the climax. We skipped the Land and headed straight for my favorite area; Imagination.
While the ride itself is in need of... something, it's still rather fun and I loves me some Figment. I also never noticed the reference to 'The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.' Cute.
My wife at this point confided in me that she was not having fun and didn't care for EPCOT. Crushed, I agreed that we could leave after the American Adventure and Maelstrom.
We entered the America Pavilion just in time to catch the end of a Voices of Liberty performance. Very nice. I was enjoying the American Adventure as I usually do when I looked over... to find my wife asleep.
Defeated, I melancholily strolled with her to Maelstrom.
Maelstrom seemed slightly different from my last visit. I didn't recall the big troll that comes out of the water next to the Three Headed Troll nor the baby Polar Bear. I also don't remember the splash at the end being nearly that big.
We headed back to the Monorail and jumped onto the Magic Kingdom line at the TTC. I ran ahead and got FPs for Splash Mountain then rejoined my wife for lunch at Pecos Bill's. Still the best burger in WDW. We still had some time, so we jumped onto POTC. My wife was horrified at the smallness of it compared to Disneyland's while I just enjoyed the new Mermaid effects. Very cool.
My wife cheered considerably on her favorite ride; Splash Mountain. A number of AAs were malfunctioning but I assured her they would probably be fixed the next day. We headed straight for the Mansion (my favorite ride) and I took great pleasure in her admitting that the WDW version was superior.
Exhausted, we headed back to the resort. It was still early, so we decided to try the complimentary bus system and check out Downtown Disney. After enjoying a dinner of the best fish and chips I've ever tasted (the name of the establishment escapes me) we became overwhelmed by crowds and got back on the bus.
It took 45 minutes to get from Downtown to the resort. We'll be driving from now on.
Day 2
-------------
Coming Soon!
My wife and I finally went on our long-planned trip to WDW this past weekend and had an absolute blast. It was my first time back in two years... and my wife's first time in thirteen years (California native.)
Day 1
--------
We departed home in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, at 11 PM and arrived on-property at roughly 7 AM. Not the longest drive in the world but not a short one either.
We had reservations at the All Star Sports Resort (we like to save money) and were surprised to find our room ready for us. We were also surprised to find out that the travel agent we'd spoken to had lied to us and our resort did not yet have the Magic Bands. I'd been really looking foward to trying out the new tech, but I just shrugged off my disappointment. Also waiting for us were a pair of Aniversarry Buttons; a nice surprise.
We got into our room in the Baseball section and did a quick settle in. The room was well worth the money and we've decided to make it our go-to resort of choice.
Once we'd unpacked, we jumped back in our car and headed to the TTC for our tickets. We were happy to find out we qualified for the Military Deal and ended up paying much less than we'd anticipated for the tickets. Since we were right there, we decided to hit my favorite park first; EPCOT.
We arrived via Monorail just as the park opened. I raced over for Test Track FPs then joined the wife for Spaceship Earth. Always loved this ride... After shopping briefly we hit Test Track. This was my first time on the ride since the refurb and MAN does that building look great or what? The ride was fun, but I was just blown away by the redone building.
My wife opted out of Mission: Space so we decided to hop on Ellen's Energy Adventure. I've always enjoyed this attraction (love me some Bill Nye) but I could tell my wife was getting bored. I jumped onto Mission: Space, choosing as I always do the Orange Mission.
Big Mistake.
I'm becoming a lightweight in my old age, as I learned after I left my breakfast in the garbage can post-ride. We grabbed a Sprite to settle my stomach and headed for the calmer shores of the Seas. This ride was not nearly as charming as I remembered. Kinda boring until you reach the climax. We skipped the Land and headed straight for my favorite area; Imagination.
While the ride itself is in need of... something, it's still rather fun and I loves me some Figment. I also never noticed the reference to 'The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes.' Cute.
My wife at this point confided in me that she was not having fun and didn't care for EPCOT. Crushed, I agreed that we could leave after the American Adventure and Maelstrom.
We entered the America Pavilion just in time to catch the end of a Voices of Liberty performance. Very nice. I was enjoying the American Adventure as I usually do when I looked over... to find my wife asleep.
Defeated, I melancholily strolled with her to Maelstrom.
Maelstrom seemed slightly different from my last visit. I didn't recall the big troll that comes out of the water next to the Three Headed Troll nor the baby Polar Bear. I also don't remember the splash at the end being nearly that big.
We headed back to the Monorail and jumped onto the Magic Kingdom line at the TTC. I ran ahead and got FPs for Splash Mountain then rejoined my wife for lunch at Pecos Bill's. Still the best burger in WDW. We still had some time, so we jumped onto POTC. My wife was horrified at the smallness of it compared to Disneyland's while I just enjoyed the new Mermaid effects. Very cool.
My wife cheered considerably on her favorite ride; Splash Mountain. A number of AAs were malfunctioning but I assured her they would probably be fixed the next day. We headed straight for the Mansion (my favorite ride) and I took great pleasure in her admitting that the WDW version was superior.
Exhausted, we headed back to the resort. It was still early, so we decided to try the complimentary bus system and check out Downtown Disney. After enjoying a dinner of the best fish and chips I've ever tasted (the name of the establishment escapes me) we became overwhelmed by crowds and got back on the bus.
It took 45 minutes to get from Downtown to the resort. We'll be driving from now on.
Day 2
-------------
Coming Soon!