I decided I would "Celebrate" finishing my unit and spring break '09 at "The Place Where Dreams Come True!" :animwink: Unfortunately for me, so did everyone else on the planet. :lol:
I had plan on leaving around 7:00 am on Sunday morning, but I woke up at 5:30 and was too excited to sleep, around 6:15 or so I hit the open road heading towards The World. After a quick stop for gas and a 5 hour drive, I was pulling into the famous entrance. I was shocked to see the YOMD decorations still up on the main gate. I figured they would have changed that out and added balloons to the arch.
Once on property, I made my way to All-Star Sports since that was where I had been booked to stay. Once I got to checkin, I was informed the resort was full! 11:30 am and the resort was full! They offered me a room at Pop which I gladly accepted. Once I arrived at Pop and checked in to room 9148 in the 80's, I headed out to EPCOT!
I had one mission when I made it EPCOT, get a springtime Figgy to complete my set. It is here that I have to mention something, when I heard about the "Celebrate Today Celebration," I was very vocal about my displeasure with it. I thought it was stupid and a blatant marketing ploy. While I still believe the later is true, I absolutely love the treatment they have given the parks. It works really well and has a nice balance that YOMD didn't. Plus, the color scheme is very vibrant and alive. So, I guess I actually liked it when I saw it in person.
Anyway, EPCOT, once inside the turnstiles, I made my way to Soarin' b/c they still had FP according to the tip board. I quickly ran and grabbed a FP before heading to Imageworks to buy my Figgy. After that, I couldn't resist Dr. Channing's "Welcome, welcome, welcome!" After a quick journey through the Institute and Figment's house, I wondered around FW taking pictures. I eventually ended up in the single rider line for TT. A quick walk though MouseGear, and I was on SSE. Sadly, nothing new with the decent.
At this point, I wanted to get a ride in on ToT so, I caught the bus to DHS. It was here that I realized something was wrong....bad wrong. The crowds were ginormous! It was around 2:30, FP was gone for both RNRC and ToT and both had over an hour and a half wait! It was at this point that I saw them....CHEERLEADERS! :fork: Actually, they don't bother me that much, but they definitely had influenced the crowds at DHS. I decided to watch Muppets and make my way out of the park and back to EPCOT to use my Soarin' FP and to make my ADR at the Rose and Crown.
Before dinner, I enjoyed KP. I had no idea what to expect with the new little cell phone game, but I loved it. It's cool to see a new experience that really is fun. Next, I enjoyed a lovely dinner where I had an excellent view of the space shuttle launch. I was sitting right on the lagoon and the shuttle came up directly behind Mexico. It was great! After I used my Soarin' FP and another spin on SSE, I caught the monorail to MK.
After the transfer and all that, I made my way up Main Street USA to Tomorrowland. Space Mountain's line was backed up to the metal palm trees without FP being available. I shrugged it off and hit CoP. I enjoyed the 1900's scene and than I got to enjoy the 1920's scene 3 times! The ride had gone 101, they finally evacuated us. I made my way to TTA and than I took in the PhilharMagic (one of my favorite attractions) and HM. By this time it was between 11:30 and 12. MK was going to be open until 2 for EEMH, but I just couldn't make it. It had been along time since 5:30 am, I also had the Key's to the Kingdom Tour early the next morning. I headed out to the bus back to Pop for the night.
Selected pictures from Day 1:
I had plan on leaving around 7:00 am on Sunday morning, but I woke up at 5:30 and was too excited to sleep, around 6:15 or so I hit the open road heading towards The World. After a quick stop for gas and a 5 hour drive, I was pulling into the famous entrance. I was shocked to see the YOMD decorations still up on the main gate. I figured they would have changed that out and added balloons to the arch.
Once on property, I made my way to All-Star Sports since that was where I had been booked to stay. Once I got to checkin, I was informed the resort was full! 11:30 am and the resort was full! They offered me a room at Pop which I gladly accepted. Once I arrived at Pop and checked in to room 9148 in the 80's, I headed out to EPCOT!
I had one mission when I made it EPCOT, get a springtime Figgy to complete my set. It is here that I have to mention something, when I heard about the "Celebrate Today Celebration," I was very vocal about my displeasure with it. I thought it was stupid and a blatant marketing ploy. While I still believe the later is true, I absolutely love the treatment they have given the parks. It works really well and has a nice balance that YOMD didn't. Plus, the color scheme is very vibrant and alive. So, I guess I actually liked it when I saw it in person.
Anyway, EPCOT, once inside the turnstiles, I made my way to Soarin' b/c they still had FP according to the tip board. I quickly ran and grabbed a FP before heading to Imageworks to buy my Figgy. After that, I couldn't resist Dr. Channing's "Welcome, welcome, welcome!" After a quick journey through the Institute and Figment's house, I wondered around FW taking pictures. I eventually ended up in the single rider line for TT. A quick walk though MouseGear, and I was on SSE. Sadly, nothing new with the decent.
At this point, I wanted to get a ride in on ToT so, I caught the bus to DHS. It was here that I realized something was wrong....bad wrong. The crowds were ginormous! It was around 2:30, FP was gone for both RNRC and ToT and both had over an hour and a half wait! It was at this point that I saw them....CHEERLEADERS! :fork: Actually, they don't bother me that much, but they definitely had influenced the crowds at DHS. I decided to watch Muppets and make my way out of the park and back to EPCOT to use my Soarin' FP and to make my ADR at the Rose and Crown.
Before dinner, I enjoyed KP. I had no idea what to expect with the new little cell phone game, but I loved it. It's cool to see a new experience that really is fun. Next, I enjoyed a lovely dinner where I had an excellent view of the space shuttle launch. I was sitting right on the lagoon and the shuttle came up directly behind Mexico. It was great! After I used my Soarin' FP and another spin on SSE, I caught the monorail to MK.
After the transfer and all that, I made my way up Main Street USA to Tomorrowland. Space Mountain's line was backed up to the metal palm trees without FP being available. I shrugged it off and hit CoP. I enjoyed the 1900's scene and than I got to enjoy the 1920's scene 3 times! The ride had gone 101, they finally evacuated us. I made my way to TTA and than I took in the PhilharMagic (one of my favorite attractions) and HM. By this time it was between 11:30 and 12. MK was going to be open until 2 for EEMH, but I just couldn't make it. It had been along time since 5:30 am, I also had the Key's to the Kingdom Tour early the next morning. I headed out to the bus back to Pop for the night.
Selected pictures from Day 1:
