This was a long trip so I'm going to just post the highlights of the trip. I went with my mother, brother, and sister. We are a bunch of old timers. I'm the youngest of the bunch at 22. I graduated from college a few weeks before we left. We spent 4 nights in the Universal area at the Radisson Twin Towers. After that we moved to the Polynesian for a 6 night stay. The Radisson hotel is directly across from Universal and we had a room on the 17th floor overlooking the parks. It was an awesome view. You can easily spot The Hulk, Dueling Dragons, Dr. Doom, and Jurassic Park.
After we checked in and visited the room, we went to Universal Studios. I think we arrived at around noon and were able to do about 3/4 of the park by 5. The first thing we saw was the new Shrek movie. The show was ok, but the quality of the video is the best I've seen. It's like high definition 3D. After we left Universal, we took the I-Ride trolley to the Belz Factory Outlets. I bought most of my souvenirs there. There are 2 Disney stores and one Universal store. I bought 4 shirts and each one was $10 or less. I also noticed that they had Alien Encounter stuff. If you have means of transportation I advise you check them out, it will save you money.
The next day we got up early and went to Islands of Adventure. This was my first time there and I loved it. We were able to complete the entire park, riding some rides multiple times, in one day. I got completely soaked on Dudley Do-Right but luckily it was warm on that day. I wish that they could take the animatronics from Splash Mountain and put them in Dudley Do-Right. It would be the ultimate water ride! I also loved Spider Man, The Hulk, and Poseidon's Fury. I think IOA has become my favorite park. It isn't very big but just about every attraction is top-quality. We left IOA early and saw The Haunted Mansion movie at the City Walk theatre. Possibly the worst movie I've seen this year. We ate at the Hard Rock at City Walk that night. The service was excellent, food was decent, and the facilities are nice. It is much nicer than the other Hard Rocks I've been to.
The 3rd day we went to Sea World. This was also my first time at Sea World. We were able to do everything the park had to offer well before it closed. I don't think Sea World can compete with anything that Universal and Disney has. The Journey to Atlantis ride there is nice though. Man I thought I got wet on Dudley Do-Right... I actually had to take off my shoes and wring out my socks after I got off Atlantis. That night we took the I-Ride trolley to the Premium Outlets. They also had Universal and Disney stores but they weren't as good.
The 4th day was our final day in the Universal area. We spent the day finishing up Universal Studios and then went to Islands of Adventure to ride anything we wanted over again (I rode The Hulk 3 times). We ate at Pastamore's on City Walk on the way out. The service was terrible, our location was bad, and the food was mediocre. I won't be going back.
The next day we checked into the Polynesian. What a great hotel. I didn’t think having monorail access would make that much of a difference but I was wrong. Busses come every 20 minutes but monorails come every 5 minutes. We went to the Magic Kingdom the first day. I saw Carousel of Progress, Timekeeper, and Philharmagic for the first time. I like them all but I like Philharmagic a lot. We did notice that Big Thunder was slower than usual the first time we rode it. However, we came back and rode it later and it was much faster! However every other time we rode it throughout the trip, it was slow like the first time we rode. That night we ate at O'Hana's and it is my new favorite restaurant. The food is so delicious and it's all you can eat. We also had a nice view of the Magic Kingdom as we ate. My only gripe was that the service was a little slow. I definitely will eat there again, it's worth the price. After dinner we went to Epcot, mainly to see Illuminations.
On the 6th day we went to MGM. We ate breakfast at Kona Cafe before we left (yay Tonga Toast!). MGM is becoming one of my favorite parks. I got to do Millionaire and the Animation Tour, things which we had skipped in the past. I don't know what was up with Indy but the boulder scene was taken out. Other parts of the show were a little different and there was a different stuntman playing the extra. I finally got to ride TOT4 but unfortunately we only had time to ride it once. OMG I like it so much more with seatbelts! I was off of my seat most of the ride! We saw Fantasmic then headed home. We watched the water parade that night on the Polynesian beach. Wow that is lame.
The next day was MVMCP. We were at Magic Kingdom for 14 hours total and I never got tired of being there! We had a breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace before the park opened. I'm not a big fan of that place. The food is decent but the lines for the buffet are always so long. During the day we went to Tom Sawyer's Island which I've never been to. I liked it because it is a great escape. It doesn't feel like you're still in the park. Before the party officially started we had priority seating for Tony's. We were the first people in for dinner and our food was ready about 5 minutes after we ordered! The food there was really good but it was a bit pricey. I liked MVMCP a lot just because there was so much to do. The only downside was that the park was actually busier during the party than during the day. Most of the rides had a wait time of 15 minutes of more during the party. I also liked the little touches such as the little holiday music show they would do occasionally where images are projected on the castle. One of the highlights of the night was my first viewing of Wishes. Our location was bad but the finale that surrounded the park was spectacular. I didn't find out until a few days later that it was not the normal finale of Wishes but a special version for the party.
The 7th day we had a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's. They had a really good buffet there and the lines weren't bad. I recommend it. After hanging with Mickey we went to Epcot and walked around the World Showcase. I did some xmas shopping in the stores there. Before we left I finally got to ride Mission: Space. I was a little disappointed. I think the ride is incredibly cool and something you should ride once, but it doesn't seem like something I would want to ride over and over. It is actually physically tiring to ride it. We left before the park closed because we were dragging from the party the night before. We went to bed early.
The 8th day we went to Animal Kingdom. I love Animal Kingdom. Walking around the park is an attraction in itself. On this trip the only new thing we did was the Tarzan show. I have yet to ride Kali River Rapids. We decided it was too cold to ride it this time, the trip before it was broken, and we didn't have time the trip before that. We left Animal Kingdom right when it closed and took the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge so we could check it out. It is very nice. I hope to stay there sometime. We then took the bus to Downtown Disney on a bus from hell. If you see a bunch of early-teen cheerleaders getting on your bus, wait for the next one. At Downtown Disney we did tons of shopping and ate at Rainforest Cafe. They have a new system where they give you a time to return when they take your name. It works much better. I love Rainforest Cafe's food. I noticed that they have a much better menu then other Rainforest Cafe's I've been too. The place can get a little hectic though.
The 9th day we went back to Epcot to do Future World. I realized that I really don't like Future World too much. We had a Candlelight Processional dinner package that night. We went to the early show and I thought it was nice although I would recommend not getting a seat on the side if you sit towards the front. Or else you will go deaf from horn players blasting in your ear. After the show we ate at The Rose and Crown which was my 2nd favorite meal during the trip. The package included a 3 course meal and drinks and we had outdoor seating during Illuminations! It was cold out but they had heat lamps outside. It also got warmer during Illuminations.
The last day we went back to Magic Kingdom to ride our favorites before we left. While we were there they were taping Enrique Iglesias in front of the castle. We watched for a while but we didn't stay and watch for long because we had priority seating for lunch at The Plaza before we left. I thought The Plaza was sub par, but they had good desserts. Well after lunch we had to leave for home unfortunately. I hope I can return sometime next year with some friends, but right now I can't afford it
Happy holidays everyone! :xmas:
After we checked in and visited the room, we went to Universal Studios. I think we arrived at around noon and were able to do about 3/4 of the park by 5. The first thing we saw was the new Shrek movie. The show was ok, but the quality of the video is the best I've seen. It's like high definition 3D. After we left Universal, we took the I-Ride trolley to the Belz Factory Outlets. I bought most of my souvenirs there. There are 2 Disney stores and one Universal store. I bought 4 shirts and each one was $10 or less. I also noticed that they had Alien Encounter stuff. If you have means of transportation I advise you check them out, it will save you money.
The next day we got up early and went to Islands of Adventure. This was my first time there and I loved it. We were able to complete the entire park, riding some rides multiple times, in one day. I got completely soaked on Dudley Do-Right but luckily it was warm on that day. I wish that they could take the animatronics from Splash Mountain and put them in Dudley Do-Right. It would be the ultimate water ride! I also loved Spider Man, The Hulk, and Poseidon's Fury. I think IOA has become my favorite park. It isn't very big but just about every attraction is top-quality. We left IOA early and saw The Haunted Mansion movie at the City Walk theatre. Possibly the worst movie I've seen this year. We ate at the Hard Rock at City Walk that night. The service was excellent, food was decent, and the facilities are nice. It is much nicer than the other Hard Rocks I've been to.
The 3rd day we went to Sea World. This was also my first time at Sea World. We were able to do everything the park had to offer well before it closed. I don't think Sea World can compete with anything that Universal and Disney has. The Journey to Atlantis ride there is nice though. Man I thought I got wet on Dudley Do-Right... I actually had to take off my shoes and wring out my socks after I got off Atlantis. That night we took the I-Ride trolley to the Premium Outlets. They also had Universal and Disney stores but they weren't as good.
The 4th day was our final day in the Universal area. We spent the day finishing up Universal Studios and then went to Islands of Adventure to ride anything we wanted over again (I rode The Hulk 3 times). We ate at Pastamore's on City Walk on the way out. The service was terrible, our location was bad, and the food was mediocre. I won't be going back.
The next day we checked into the Polynesian. What a great hotel. I didn’t think having monorail access would make that much of a difference but I was wrong. Busses come every 20 minutes but monorails come every 5 minutes. We went to the Magic Kingdom the first day. I saw Carousel of Progress, Timekeeper, and Philharmagic for the first time. I like them all but I like Philharmagic a lot. We did notice that Big Thunder was slower than usual the first time we rode it. However, we came back and rode it later and it was much faster! However every other time we rode it throughout the trip, it was slow like the first time we rode. That night we ate at O'Hana's and it is my new favorite restaurant. The food is so delicious and it's all you can eat. We also had a nice view of the Magic Kingdom as we ate. My only gripe was that the service was a little slow. I definitely will eat there again, it's worth the price. After dinner we went to Epcot, mainly to see Illuminations.
On the 6th day we went to MGM. We ate breakfast at Kona Cafe before we left (yay Tonga Toast!). MGM is becoming one of my favorite parks. I got to do Millionaire and the Animation Tour, things which we had skipped in the past. I don't know what was up with Indy but the boulder scene was taken out. Other parts of the show were a little different and there was a different stuntman playing the extra. I finally got to ride TOT4 but unfortunately we only had time to ride it once. OMG I like it so much more with seatbelts! I was off of my seat most of the ride! We saw Fantasmic then headed home. We watched the water parade that night on the Polynesian beach. Wow that is lame.
The next day was MVMCP. We were at Magic Kingdom for 14 hours total and I never got tired of being there! We had a breakfast reservation at Crystal Palace before the park opened. I'm not a big fan of that place. The food is decent but the lines for the buffet are always so long. During the day we went to Tom Sawyer's Island which I've never been to. I liked it because it is a great escape. It doesn't feel like you're still in the park. Before the party officially started we had priority seating for Tony's. We were the first people in for dinner and our food was ready about 5 minutes after we ordered! The food there was really good but it was a bit pricey. I liked MVMCP a lot just because there was so much to do. The only downside was that the park was actually busier during the party than during the day. Most of the rides had a wait time of 15 minutes of more during the party. I also liked the little touches such as the little holiday music show they would do occasionally where images are projected on the castle. One of the highlights of the night was my first viewing of Wishes. Our location was bad but the finale that surrounded the park was spectacular. I didn't find out until a few days later that it was not the normal finale of Wishes but a special version for the party.
The 7th day we had a late breakfast at Chef Mickey's. They had a really good buffet there and the lines weren't bad. I recommend it. After hanging with Mickey we went to Epcot and walked around the World Showcase. I did some xmas shopping in the stores there. Before we left I finally got to ride Mission: Space. I was a little disappointed. I think the ride is incredibly cool and something you should ride once, but it doesn't seem like something I would want to ride over and over. It is actually physically tiring to ride it. We left before the park closed because we were dragging from the party the night before. We went to bed early.
The 8th day we went to Animal Kingdom. I love Animal Kingdom. Walking around the park is an attraction in itself. On this trip the only new thing we did was the Tarzan show. I have yet to ride Kali River Rapids. We decided it was too cold to ride it this time, the trip before it was broken, and we didn't have time the trip before that. We left Animal Kingdom right when it closed and took the bus to Animal Kingdom Lodge so we could check it out. It is very nice. I hope to stay there sometime. We then took the bus to Downtown Disney on a bus from hell. If you see a bunch of early-teen cheerleaders getting on your bus, wait for the next one. At Downtown Disney we did tons of shopping and ate at Rainforest Cafe. They have a new system where they give you a time to return when they take your name. It works much better. I love Rainforest Cafe's food. I noticed that they have a much better menu then other Rainforest Cafe's I've been too. The place can get a little hectic though.
The 9th day we went back to Epcot to do Future World. I realized that I really don't like Future World too much. We had a Candlelight Processional dinner package that night. We went to the early show and I thought it was nice although I would recommend not getting a seat on the side if you sit towards the front. Or else you will go deaf from horn players blasting in your ear. After the show we ate at The Rose and Crown which was my 2nd favorite meal during the trip. The package included a 3 course meal and drinks and we had outdoor seating during Illuminations! It was cold out but they had heat lamps outside. It also got warmer during Illuminations.
The last day we went back to Magic Kingdom to ride our favorites before we left. While we were there they were taping Enrique Iglesias in front of the castle. We watched for a while but we didn't stay and watch for long because we had priority seating for lunch at The Plaza before we left. I thought The Plaza was sub par, but they had good desserts. Well after lunch we had to leave for home unfortunately. I hope I can return sometime next year with some friends, but right now I can't afford it
Happy holidays everyone! :xmas:
