MousDad's Trip Report 6/11-6/16 (now w/ pics)
MousDad's 2008 Trip Report
Dates: 6/11 - 6/17
Party: MousDad, MousMom, MousSon 7, MousSon 5
Weather: low 90s. Fairly pleasant mornings and evenings. 2 or 3 very hot afternoons. Dodged a couple passing showers and storms.
We stayed in a 2 BR condo in Windsor Hills, which is located just off 192 1 mile west of World Drive. Commute time was 15 minutes to Magic Kingdom, 10 minutes to the remaining 3 parks, 20 minutes to Typhoon Lagoon.
Day 1, June 11: Magic Kingdom
Crowd level was moderate. We arrived for rope drop and did all of Fantasyland (except Snow White), The Toontown walkthroughs, Goofy's Barnstormer and the Judge's tent by 11:30. Lunch at Cosmic Rays was great as always. Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear (FP) before taking an afternoon break. Returned for dinner at Crystal Palace. Did Buzz (FP) again, Laugh Floor, TTA, Toontown Hall of Fame, Railroad and Jungle Cruise (FP) after dinner. Enjoyed Wishes and Spectromagic at 11:00.
Highlights: First time viewing the opening ceremony at MK; Short lines! (longest of the day: 30 min. for Judge's Tent); Rode in the teacup next to Alice and the Mad Hatter; My 2 boys got to do the "All Aboard" at 2 stops in the conductor's car on the Railroad; Very lightly-attended 11:00 Spectromagic (sat on the curb at the Flagpole circle at the bottom of Main Street.)
Day 2, June 12: Animal Kingdom
Light crowds. Went to the park for the afternoon mainly to view the 2 shows: Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. Spent some time in Dinoland doing the games and playground (and dodging a thunderstorm).
Highlights: I think that the flying bird during FOTLK's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is an all-time, classic, Disney goosebump moment. I get shivers and choke up every time.
Day 3, June 13: Epcot
Moderate crowds. We enjoyed our favorite park from rope drop to closing. Morning included Soarin, Turtle Talk, Nemo, Journey, Soarin (FP), Living with the Land and Lunching at the Land. After lunch we hit SSE, Gran Fiesta twice (walk-on) and began the Kidcot tour of World Showcase. Took most of the afternoon getting stamps and mask pieces from all the countries, with American Adventure squeezed in. Dinner at the Rose and Crown. After Dinner, Test Track (FP) and another stroll back to view Illuminations from Italy (with a stop for crepes in France).
Highlights: Crush picked my son 7 to ask a question! (In case you're wondering, he wanted to know if sea turtles could go into their shell like other turtles.); First time at Rose & Crown, and we were very pleasantly surprised at the service and the quality of the food; Illuminations - say no more.
Day 4, June 14: Typhoon Lagoon and Magic Kingdom
Moderately heavy crowds at MK compared to 6/11. My kids begged to go to a water park, so we changed plans slightly and ventured to Typhoon Lagoon for the morning. We spent most of the time at the kids play area and the 3 slides on the left side of the park, as well as the wave pool. Didn't venture to the right side of the park. Went back to the condo for a couple hours rest in the afternoon and headed back to MK around 4:00. Worked in Speedway and COP, as well as repeats of Buzz(FP), Laugh Floor and TTA. Dinner at Plaza. We were wasted from Typhoon Lagoon, so we headed home early.
Highlights: Buddy Boil picked MousMom to do the mind-reading at Laugh Floor! (Of course, the whole time she was on the screen, my son 5 was waving his giant Mickey hand in front of her face. And he would not stop! Buddy milked that one for all it was worth.) One more - and I'm not lying about these here - we got picked to ride front car monorail on the way out of the park. Yes, we were lucky this trip. The only thing we didn't luck out on was getting a YOAMD prize.
Day 5, June 15: Hollywood Studios
This was by far the most crowded day. Our first taste of real summer crowds, and it was because of Star Wars Weekend and the start of the first week of everyone being out of school. And it was the hottest day also. Despite these, we were in the park about 10:30 to 8:00. The first order of business was Midway Mania. We got Fastpasses for later and rode standby at 11:00. (See my review under the TSMM review section.) Spent a while meandering the shops and buying lightsabers at the extremely crowded cantina store. Caught Beauty and the Beast, Block Party Bash before having an early dinner at 50's Prime Time. Midway Mania (FP) again after dinner. Then Playhouse Disney. Had a blast at Hyperspace Hoopla. Finished out the day at Pizza Planet and MuppetVision.
Highlights: Touring-wise, this was our most unprofitable day because of the crowds, but riding Midway Mania twice was a real highlight. Also was very pleasantly surprised with Block Party Bash, especially the life it injects into the park when it is coming through. My wife and kids thought Hyperspace Hoopla was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
Day 6, June 16: Epcot
Packed up and checked out by 10 AM and headed to Epcot for a couple hours before heading to the airport. Hello summer crowds! Night and day between June 13 and June 16. (Example, on June 13 we arrived at Test Track around 12:30 and the posted standby was 50 minutes. Today we arrived at 11:00 and the posted standby was 90 minutes, with Fastpass and Single Rider going out the door.) We did some spending at Mouse Gear, lunch at Electric Umbrella, and rode SSE and Test Track (FP) again, before heading to the airport.
Highlights: Test track has been officially ordained the favorite ride of the MousSons, followed closely by Philharmagic and Laugh Floor.
Hope you enjoyed the trip report, and hope your next trip is as enjoyable as ours was!
MousDad's 2008 Trip Report
Dates: 6/11 - 6/17
Party: MousDad, MousMom, MousSon 7, MousSon 5
Weather: low 90s. Fairly pleasant mornings and evenings. 2 or 3 very hot afternoons. Dodged a couple passing showers and storms.
We stayed in a 2 BR condo in Windsor Hills, which is located just off 192 1 mile west of World Drive. Commute time was 15 minutes to Magic Kingdom, 10 minutes to the remaining 3 parks, 20 minutes to Typhoon Lagoon.
Day 1, June 11: Magic Kingdom
Crowd level was moderate. We arrived for rope drop and did all of Fantasyland (except Snow White), The Toontown walkthroughs, Goofy's Barnstormer and the Judge's tent by 11:30. Lunch at Cosmic Rays was great as always. Philharmagic, Buzz Lightyear (FP) before taking an afternoon break. Returned for dinner at Crystal Palace. Did Buzz (FP) again, Laugh Floor, TTA, Toontown Hall of Fame, Railroad and Jungle Cruise (FP) after dinner. Enjoyed Wishes and Spectromagic at 11:00.
Highlights: First time viewing the opening ceremony at MK; Short lines! (longest of the day: 30 min. for Judge's Tent); Rode in the teacup next to Alice and the Mad Hatter; My 2 boys got to do the "All Aboard" at 2 stops in the conductor's car on the Railroad; Very lightly-attended 11:00 Spectromagic (sat on the curb at the Flagpole circle at the bottom of Main Street.)
A great place to be at 8:40 AM.
I love the smell of Dumbo in the morning!
Up close and personal on the Teacups.
Day 2, June 12: Animal Kingdom
Light crowds. Went to the park for the afternoon mainly to view the 2 shows: Festival of the Lion King and Finding Nemo the Musical. Spent some time in Dinoland doing the games and playground (and dodging a thunderstorm).
Highlights: I think that the flying bird during FOTLK's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" is an all-time, classic, Disney goosebump moment. I get shivers and choke up every time.
Day 3, June 13: Epcot
Moderate crowds. We enjoyed our favorite park from rope drop to closing. Morning included Soarin, Turtle Talk, Nemo, Journey, Soarin (FP), Living with the Land and Lunching at the Land. After lunch we hit SSE, Gran Fiesta twice (walk-on) and began the Kidcot tour of World Showcase. Took most of the afternoon getting stamps and mask pieces from all the countries, with American Adventure squeezed in. Dinner at the Rose and Crown. After Dinner, Test Track (FP) and another stroll back to view Illuminations from Italy (with a stop for crepes in France).
Highlights: Crush picked my son 7 to ask a question! (In case you're wondering, he wanted to know if sea turtles could go into their shell like other turtles.); First time at Rose & Crown, and we were very pleasantly surprised at the service and the quality of the food; Illuminations - say no more.
Day 4, June 14: Typhoon Lagoon and Magic Kingdom
Moderately heavy crowds at MK compared to 6/11. My kids begged to go to a water park, so we changed plans slightly and ventured to Typhoon Lagoon for the morning. We spent most of the time at the kids play area and the 3 slides on the left side of the park, as well as the wave pool. Didn't venture to the right side of the park. Went back to the condo for a couple hours rest in the afternoon and headed back to MK around 4:00. Worked in Speedway and COP, as well as repeats of Buzz(FP), Laugh Floor and TTA. Dinner at Plaza. We were wasted from Typhoon Lagoon, so we headed home early.
Highlights: Buddy Boil picked MousMom to do the mind-reading at Laugh Floor! (Of course, the whole time she was on the screen, my son 5 was waving his giant Mickey hand in front of her face. And he would not stop! Buddy milked that one for all it was worth.) One more - and I'm not lying about these here - we got picked to ride front car monorail on the way out of the park. Yes, we were lucky this trip. The only thing we didn't luck out on was getting a YOAMD prize.
Day 5, June 15: Hollywood Studios
This was by far the most crowded day. Our first taste of real summer crowds, and it was because of Star Wars Weekend and the start of the first week of everyone being out of school. And it was the hottest day also. Despite these, we were in the park about 10:30 to 8:00. The first order of business was Midway Mania. We got Fastpasses for later and rode standby at 11:00. (See my review under the TSMM review section.) Spent a while meandering the shops and buying lightsabers at the extremely crowded cantina store. Caught Beauty and the Beast, Block Party Bash before having an early dinner at 50's Prime Time. Midway Mania (FP) again after dinner. Then Playhouse Disney. Had a blast at Hyperspace Hoopla. Finished out the day at Pizza Planet and MuppetVision.
Highlights: Touring-wise, this was our most unprofitable day because of the crowds, but riding Midway Mania twice was a real highlight. Also was very pleasantly surprised with Block Party Bash, especially the life it injects into the park when it is coming through. My wife and kids thought Hyperspace Hoopla was the funniest thing they had ever seen.
Yes, you're my favorite toy. Just take your ear out, would ya!
Hyperspace Hoopla!
Day 6, June 16: Epcot
Packed up and checked out by 10 AM and headed to Epcot for a couple hours before heading to the airport. Hello summer crowds! Night and day between June 13 and June 16. (Example, on June 13 we arrived at Test Track around 12:30 and the posted standby was 50 minutes. Today we arrived at 11:00 and the posted standby was 90 minutes, with Fastpass and Single Rider going out the door.) We did some spending at Mouse Gear, lunch at Electric Umbrella, and rode SSE and Test Track (FP) again, before heading to the airport.
Highlights: Test track has been officially ordained the favorite ride of the MousSons, followed closely by Philharmagic and Laugh Floor.
Hope you enjoyed the trip report, and hope your next trip is as enjoyable as ours was!
