After spending a fair amount of time on these boards I figured it was time for me to try my own trip report. My daughter and I love being at Disney. My wife is not the enthusiast that we are, so when she decided to spend the weekend wit her sister for her birthday, it opened the door for a hastily planned trip for Dad and daughter. This is the 4th time my 7 year old girl has been in the last couple of years, but the excitement level never goes down. Eventhough the event was planned in about a week and a half, she wanted to know why we couldn’t leave immediately.
It worked out that we could go on the second weekend in August. We had gone the same time last year and found the park not to be overly busy with some schools having already started. It works out to be the weekend before she goes back to school, so we call it our last summer blowout before she starts the schoolwork.
It also doubled as a photography trip for me to play with all the new toys I have acquired since re taking up photography. At this point, I must acknowledge someone on this board whom I have never met or even talked to, but in seeing his work on the boards, it motivated to pick up a hobby I really love. WDWFigment (Tom Bricker), hat's off to a great photographer.
For a 7 year old, my daughter is a true Disney junkie and a warrior in the parks (you’ll see what I mean a little later). We took off on a Thursday afternoon and got to Orlando around 6:00 pm and made a quick jaunt to our hotel, The Swan. We normally do stay on the monorail, but this time with the short lead in, The Swan fit the bill. Significantly less than the Contemp and readily available. I really wasn’t sure what to expect and really was pleasantly surprised. The hotel is nice and the rooms were large. We quickly dropped the luggage off and headed for Hollywood Studios. My daughter is an adrenaline junkie like her dad and for the last 8 months we have been charting height with the hope that she could ride the only rollercoaster she hasn’t on the property, Rock N Rollercoaster.
Right before the moment of truth
Before we left we had measured and I knew it would be close. We hurried our way over and up to the measurement area and…………… nope, missed it by a hair. While a little disappointed, we were still with in eye site of another favorite, Tower of Terror.
Wait times were almost non-existent and it only took about 7 minutes to have the miss on height forgotten. Now while I love Disney, this trip was extra fun as I was able to test out a good bit of photo gear including some new lenses. What better test than the ghosts on TOT.
With the lines nice and short and an excited 7 year old, we did TOT 3 times in a row. After that it was off to Star Tours. The new show is really good.
Once out from Star Tours, it was time for my daughter’s other favorite at Disney………..Shopping. As it was 9:00, I knew it wasn’t going to be bad on the pocketbook. As we headed for the shops on the way out, it allowed me to run around for some pictures of the park at night. It ended up being a great first night.
It worked out that we could go on the second weekend in August. We had gone the same time last year and found the park not to be overly busy with some schools having already started. It works out to be the weekend before she goes back to school, so we call it our last summer blowout before she starts the schoolwork.
It also doubled as a photography trip for me to play with all the new toys I have acquired since re taking up photography. At this point, I must acknowledge someone on this board whom I have never met or even talked to, but in seeing his work on the boards, it motivated to pick up a hobby I really love. WDWFigment (Tom Bricker), hat's off to a great photographer.
For a 7 year old, my daughter is a true Disney junkie and a warrior in the parks (you’ll see what I mean a little later). We took off on a Thursday afternoon and got to Orlando around 6:00 pm and made a quick jaunt to our hotel, The Swan. We normally do stay on the monorail, but this time with the short lead in, The Swan fit the bill. Significantly less than the Contemp and readily available. I really wasn’t sure what to expect and really was pleasantly surprised. The hotel is nice and the rooms were large. We quickly dropped the luggage off and headed for Hollywood Studios. My daughter is an adrenaline junkie like her dad and for the last 8 months we have been charting height with the hope that she could ride the only rollercoaster she hasn’t on the property, Rock N Rollercoaster.

Right before the moment of truth
Before we left we had measured and I knew it would be close. We hurried our way over and up to the measurement area and…………… nope, missed it by a hair. While a little disappointed, we were still with in eye site of another favorite, Tower of Terror.

Wait times were almost non-existent and it only took about 7 minutes to have the miss on height forgotten. Now while I love Disney, this trip was extra fun as I was able to test out a good bit of photo gear including some new lenses. What better test than the ghosts on TOT.

With the lines nice and short and an excited 7 year old, we did TOT 3 times in a row. After that it was off to Star Tours. The new show is really good.

Once out from Star Tours, it was time for my daughter’s other favorite at Disney………..Shopping. As it was 9:00, I knew it wasn’t going to be bad on the pocketbook. As we headed for the shops on the way out, it allowed me to run around for some pictures of the park at night. It ended up being a great first night.




