Trip Report 4-19 to 4-26

Hi All! I am back from the world and will be posting a day-by-day trip report as I have time. I will also try to include pics, but that will take a little longer, so they might end up at the tail end. Let's start with the basics:

Who:
The Disney vets:
Myself (27, 10th visit), Twin Brother (27, 8th), My Parents (54, 51, 9th)
The Disney newbies (All had been before, but none remembered):
My GF (27), Brother's GF (24), Another Family (don't know ages, somewhere in the 50s), and their Daughter (29), Her Husband (31), and Son (8 months)

We cut a wide path thorugh the parks with a group that big.

Where:
Kids and GFs - Riverside Room 2717
Parents - Riverside Room 2718
Other Familes - Off Property

General Observations:
The parks were PACKED. There were mid-summer crowds there all week, and I don't know if we were all on the same schedule :shrug:, but the only time we hit a park that had some space to move was Animal Kingdom on Thursday morning, but even that was filling up by afternoon.

Those of us staying on property had the dining plan for the first time. We LOVED it. I ate so much food, I felt like I was going to burst. I will try to keep a running total of what I ate during this report, but I don't think I will be going back without using the dining plan. We ate at several places we never would have eaten at unless we were on it, and had several meals that we would have passed on due to cost. Personally, I didn't think that not having the tip was that big of a deal, and I could not have even eaten the appitizer if it had been included.

My parents rented a minivan for the week, something we were unsure of since we were staying on property. I'm a big proponent of the bus system, but I must say it was nice not having to wait on the bus. The only park I think it is a detriment to drive to is the Magic Kingdom, since the bus takes you to the front gate, while you have to monorail or ferry it from the parking lot. Other than that, I loved having the car.

The weather was chamber of commerce good. The only rain I felt all week was at 6:30 Sunday morning. Other than that, it was blue skies or white puffy clouds, and soooo much better than July.

Coming soon, Day 1 - Travel, Magic Kingdom, and Studios.....

 

[DAKOTADISNEY]

I'll be waiting for your next post!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

My appetite is whet - when's the report coming

 

[disney21]

Looking forward to the report and pics!

 

[BlizzardPoke]

OK, sorry it took so long. Things got kind of crazy at work, who knew after a week off right? So here goes.

April 19 (Day 1)

My GF and I were the last of our crew arriving into MCO, and our direct flight from Oklahoma City actually arrived right around noon, 25 minutes early :sohappy:. By far the best start I have ever had to a vacation. We hopped down to DME and had almost no wait before we were on our bus to Port Orleans Riverside. At this point, I had my hopes up for light crowds as our flight was empty, and there was almost no line for DME. Sadly, that wasn't to be.

We were met by my brother at the resort to lead us to the rooms. At this point we figured out my only complaint with Riverside, our rooms were fairly close to the Lobby, but far from a parking lot. Other than that, I loved everything about the place. Since we had not eaten all day, my GF and I used our first CS for the dining plan and split chicken nuggets, fries, a coke, and a chocolate chip cookie. When we got back to the room everyone was waiting for us, so it was off to the Magic Kingdom, and in to the park by 2.

I had put a lot of thought into what the first ride should be with all these newbies and finally chose Philharmagic. We parked, monorailed over, and walked in the main gate (I'm home!!!), only town square was packed. Why? Because I'm an idiot and we walked into the Magic Kingdom at 2:45 as the streets were lined for the parade. We hoofed in through the crowd on the east side of main street and cut through Tomorrowland to get to Fantasyland. We then walked right into the show, such great timing! From there we headed to IASW (10 min. wait) and the Tiki Room (no wait). It was about 3:30, so it was time to head to try and make our dinner at Chef Mickey's.

We booked this trip only a few months ago, and when we did, Chef Mickey's was booked for the entire week. It is a tradition of ours, however, so we decided to get there right at 4 when they opened and see if we couldn't sneak in. Sure enough, as soon as we got there, our party of 11 was seated (this theme will continue thoughout the week). We all stuffed ourselves on the buffet (1 TS) and then wondered through the shops on the concourse to digest. After that, it was off the the Studios.

We headed to the studios because it was evening EMH and we hoped to spend some time there after hours (those of us staying on property). Well, the best laid plans....We got there around 7, and immediatly headed to GMR (10 min. wait). After that, it was Muppets (no wait), and then we were going to go over and get our places for Fantasmic. However, after Muppets, the other familes were dragging after a long travel day, and we knew it was going to be an early morning at EPCOT the following day. We ended up splitting up, with the off property people heading back to the hotel, and the Riverside crew staying for Fantasmic (the theater was almost completly full for the 10 o'clock show). After it ended, we too were casualties of fatigue and skipped EMH to head back to the room and get some sleep.

Coming soon...Day 2 - Epcot and Magic Kingdom, and hopefully pics.

 

[coasterphil]

The Studios didn't have evening EMH that day anyway, it's in the morning on Saturdays.

 

[BlizzardPoke]

April 20 - Day 2

We got up early and headed to EPCOT, getting there about 9:30. Jumped right on SSE (5 min. wait), and I was very excited to see all the changes. I've read a bunch on here about them, I must say that overall I liked it. The touchscreens didn't bother me, and I think Dame Judy did a great job. The new AAs in the ascent were amazing, and the score sounded good as well. I would agree with just about everyone in that the descent was lacking, even with the touchscreens, but it looked like they were still not finished. I also really enjoyed the project tomorrow area (we spent an hour in there).

After SSE, we ran to Soarin' for fastpasses which were for a few hours later, so we headed to JIYM (5 min. wait) and The Seas (20 min. wait). We then trekked back to the Land for LWTL (20 min. wait) and lunch at Sunshine Seasons (rotisserie half chicken, mashed potatos, carrots, lemonade, and chocolate cake to die for) until our fastpasses came up. Soarin' (30 min. even with fastpass) became the new favorite for all the newbies, and then those of us that were willing headed over to M:S (20 min. Orange, 5 min. Green) for some thrills.

The Riverside crew then went back to the resort for our dinner res. at Boatwright's. I must say, this was my only bad experience during the entire week. We go in and seated right on time and our waiter came and took our drink orders. My brother ordered the Glowtini, and the waiter looked at his GF and said "It's for her, right?" We lost it!!:ROFLOL:After picking up his wounded pride, my brother stood by his order and the rest of us ordered drinks and food. After the initial round of drinks, my brother ordered a beer and we got ready for our food to come. 10 minutes later our food was delivered (I got the Filet Mignon with scalloped potatos, along with several others, but after they were delivered, we noticed that both the steak and potatos were cold), but not by our waiter, who we have not seen since he took my brother's drink order. Another 10 min. goes by before we see our waiter (20 min. total between trips) and he still does not have my brother's beer. We inform him that our food was delievered cold, but still good, and ask him to take it in the back and heat it up. Instead he immediatly gets his manager without even listening to our request. We tell the manager our story and he quickly has new steaks delivered. Our waiter checks back again (still without my brother's beer, and we remind him about it). Finally, about 45 min. after he orders it, he gets his beer, and we finish our meals and order dessert (more chocolate cake for me ), which takes another 15 min. to arrive. We finally finish eating and my brother heads straight to the concierage to inform them about the ordeal at dinner. They take his name and room number, but that's about it, and we head back to the Magic Kingdom for some more quality park time.

We dodge the Spectro crowds and head straight to Tomorrowland when we arrive and ride CoP (no wait), TTA twice (no wait), once during Wishes, and Buzz Lightyear (20 min. wait). We try to get on Space, but we want to catch the 11 Spectro and the 60 min. wait is too much. Instead we head back to the hub and get our places for Spectro right in front of the popcorn vendor on the hub near the bridge to Tomorrowland. I grab a Mickey Premium Bar (first snack used), and we enjoy Spectro. Then, we fight the crowds and head back to the resort for some well earned rest before another full day on Monday.

Next up, Day 3 - Animal Kingdom and Studios.

 

[disneygirl1]

Great trip report so far. I can't believe you can remember everything so clearly! Can't wait for the next installment!

 

[BlizzardPoke]

On to Day 3, April 21.

We decided to sleep in a little (not the smartest move considering that we were headed to Animal Kingdom) since we badly needed the rest, and got through the turnstiles at 10:30. My brother and I dashed off to get fastpasses for E:E, while everyone else ambled toward KS. We jumped in line for the safari right at 11 and had a 90 min. wait , serves us right for sleeping in. The safari got off to a great start with lots of animals on both sides, but when we got to the savannah, it was almost empty. After the safari, we had about 30 min. till our fastpasses came up, so we walked over to Asia and through MJT. One of the tigers was sleeping right in front of a window in a little sliver of shade, and was obviously chasing something in it's dreams as his paws would make running motions every few seconds (it was really funny and cute ).

We hit E:E (man I love that ride, 10 min wait with fastpasses), and then hoofed it down to Dinoland for Dinosaur (40 min. wait) and PW (10 min. wait). Food was a necessity at that point, so we went back to Pizzafari for lunch (cheese pizza, lemonade, chocolate cake) and decided to do It's Tough to be a Bug (10 min. wait) before heading to the Studios for some more thrill rides.

We drove over to the Studios and grabbed fastpasses for RnRC, then ran to ToT because the line was low. We rode it twice back-to-back (15 min, 25 min) and grabbed dinner before our fastpasses came up (Commissary, cuban sandwich, plantain chips, lemonade, chocolate mousse)(we were saving one table service meal to eat at Yachtsman's Steakhouse on Tuesday). We jumped on RnRC (30 min. wait with fastpasses) and then grabbed spots for the 8:30 Fantasmic. By that time, everyone was getting punchy so we decided to call it an early night and head back to the resort.

Once there, my roommates and I grabbed some mini-margaritas at the food court and relaxed for an hour before deciding to head to the bar for the full version. 2 giant margaritas and a decent buzz later, and it was off to bed, with dreams of the Magic Kingdom, tomorrow's destination, dancing in our heads.

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Enjoying your trip report! Thanks for sharing.

 

[BlizzardPoke]

Day 4 - April 22

Today was our day to hit the Magic Kingdom hard. Apparently that was everyone else's plan as well because the place was packed. We got to the parents to grab Splash fastpasses while the kids grabbed a quick breakfast at Main Street Bakery. While the kids were catching up, the parents jumped in line for BTMRR and grabbed a child swap since they had the baby with them. They're wait was 45 min., and when they got off we jumped on with the swap (10 min. wait). We then used our Splash fastpasses (20 min. wait) and jumped down the CBJ (no wait as usual ) for some AC and a thrill ride breather. We then skipped over to POTC (30 min. wait) and back to HM (20 min. wait) before grabbing lunch at my favorite quick service place, Columbia Harbour House.

After a filling lunch (chicken, apple slices, chocoate cake) we ambeled over to the Tea Cups (20 min. wait) and tried very hard not to :hurl:. From there, it was over to the carousel (15 min. wait) and back down Main Street for a full circle tour on the train (no wait), then back to the resort to clean up for dinner at the Yachtsman's Steakhouse.

I was really excited about this dinner since the moment we booked the dining plan. We knew that we wanted to try a signature dining experience, and this one fit our tastes perfectly. We had a wonderful bottle of wine, and 5 of the 6 that were there got the 24 oz. porterhouse, which was amazing :sohappy: (I had the mousse cake for dessert). Being very stuffed, we met the rest of our party at Downtown Disney for a easy night of souvenir shopping. I have never seen so many people at the Marketplace as there were that night. You could barely move in any of the stores, let alone try to walk between them. We fought the crowds and grabbed what we knew we wanted without doing too much actual shopping due to the high crowds.

The easy night turned out not so easy as my GF apparently ate something that did not agree with her and got very sick :hurl: around 11 that night. She stayed out of commission all the next day catching up on sleep :snore: and trying to feel better. In the meantime, we were off to Epcot on Wednesday (the trip is half over already ) to spend most of the day in World Showcase, with my brother's goal of drinking around the world.

 

[DicksonGR]

Enjoying the reports so far ... Thanks

 

[disneygirl1]

Can't wait ro hear how the drinking around the world went for your brother! :ROFLOL:

 

[BlizzardPoke]

Day 5 - April 23

We're off to Epcot, light one GF who is still not feeling well. We got a semi-late start (got to the park around 10:30) and planned to hit the major future world rides before heading to world showcase. My brother plans on drinking around the world, so he wants to get back their at a decent time so that he is not passed out drunk in the park. We start by grabbing some Test Track fastpasses and jumping on M:S (30 min. orange, 10 min. green). Our fastpasses were already up by the time we got off, so half the crew went on while the other half stayed with the baby, and then we switched. We had a very light breakfast, and were getting hungry, so it was off to Sunshine Seasons, and grabbing some Soarin' fastpasses while we were there.

After a brief lunch (chicken ceaser salad, lemonade, butterfinger cheesecake), the adults headed to HISTA while my bro, his GF, and I headed to start drinking. We jumped on GFT (5 min. wait) and then grabbed some fiesta margaritas and explored the shops in Mexico. We enjoyed them to Norway, where we grabbed fastpasses for Maelstrom (it had been 2 hours since we got our Soarin' fastpasses, and the first fastpass time was only 5 min. longer than the stanby line). To kill the 20 minute wait, we grabbed Carlsburg's from the hut and shopped in the Puffin Roost. A quick ride later (5 min. wait), and I left the crew to run back to the resort and check on my GF. My bro and his GF continued on, and we met up with our parents a few hours later in Italy for dinner at Tutto Italia.

Dinner was amazing (lamb chops, pasta, chocolate torte (anyone noticing a theme here )) any my bro and his GF used it as a brief rest to sober up some(they had hit China, Germany, and Italy while I was gone, and brought their Budweiser's from America to dinner with them), while I enjoyed a glass of wine for my 3rd country. We then rushed back to Soarin' to use our fastpasses (20 min. wait) and by the time we got off, it was 7:00. The adults went to grab a spot for Illuminations in Norway, while my bro, GF, and I went to kill his last 5 countries starting in Canada. His GF and I split the last 5 so he wasn't drinking alone, but we could still remain coherent (5 countries in an hour and a half is a chore). He and I grabbed Labatt's in Canada and drank them on the way to England, where he and the GF grabbed a Harp. We had made good time, so we strolled over to France, enjoying the view of sunset over the International Gateway (I swear I'm going to get pictures on here sooner or later), where he and I ordered up some red wine. Off to Morocco for some Sangria, and we entering Japan just after 8, plenty of time for rice wine for the GF and Sake for him before a stroll to Norway, right? Wrong, Japan was packed and after a half hour wait for beverages, we ended up practically running though world showcase to get to our spots before Illuminations began.

We enjoyed Illuminations (suprisingly sober) and just stayed in Norway and let the crowds empty some. We stopped by the Fountain of Nations and took tons of group pictures in front of SSE before finally moseying to our car for the trip back to the resort. The good news is my GF was feeling better, and would be joining us early Thursday morning at AK for a safari.

Coming soon...Day 6 - AK, Studios, and MK, oh my!

 

[DAKOTADISNEY]

I like your dessert choices, which usually have chocolate in them. My kind of dessert! I am amazed at your drinking abilities. I would have been out after two countries. Can't wait for the next day's report. Any headaches in the group?

 

[Grumpy-Fan]

I can`t wait to hear how your brother felt the next morning.

 

[BlizzardPoke]

Day 6 - April 24

We got up early (and maybe a little slowly after our little binge the night before), but overall everyone was feeling good, and there was nary a hangover to be had (in case you can't tell, we're professionals ). Our plan was to hit AK and Studios, but when we looked at the park hours guide, which we should have done earlier, I noticed the MK closed early on the 25th, so there would be no Spectro or Wishes. Well that changed my plans right there, although the rest of the crew was not excited to hit three parks in one day.

When we got to AK, we basically ran to KS, and since we got there right after 9, the wait was only 20 min. The safari was much better this time, with all kinds of animals out all along the route, and even the lions made an appearance. We then trekked down to FOTLK (with a quick stop for an early ice cream fix, the cookies and cream sandwich, on the way). After the show (25 min. wait) we headed over to Nemo, but sadly it was right after one show had began, with the next show not for several hours later. We really wanted to hit the studios early to do some new stuff that day, so we decided to grab lunch at Flame Tree (1/2 chicken, baked beans, lemonade, chocolate cake :slurp and jumped over to the studios.

We got there right around 1, and wanted to hit LMA at 3, so we ran through the animation tour, and then back to the backlot tour (the long way with Pixar place still closed). I was holding out the tiniest bit of hope that there would be some previews of TSM while we were there, but that wasn't to be. We got off the backlot tour at 2:30 and made it in to LMA with pretty good seats, even if they were a little high. Grabbed a slushie at the herbie stand outside LMA and it was time to say goodbye to our group as my GF and I headed to a private dinner and then over to MK for the night shows.

We took a boat to Yacht/Beach and tried to get into Cape May at 5. We did not have ressies and when I tried to get them earlier in the day, I was told that they were full for the rest of the night. Well, I walked up to the podium and asked what they wait would be for a party of 2, and we were seated right away. Between Chef Mickey's (11 people), Tutto Italia (6), and Cape May (2), we never waited more than 5 minutes for a table at a place we did not have ADRs at, and that was supposed to be full for the rest of the day. We packed ourselves with food, maybe a little too much for my GF as she was still recovering from being sick the previous day, and took the bus to the Magic Kingdom for the evening.

I always prefer to watch Wishes from the bridge to Tomorrowland, and we had some time to kill when we got there, so we headed to MILF (15 min. wait), which I had never experienced before and really enjoyed. Then we ambeled over to directly below the Tomorrowland sign to wait out wishes, with the plan to head to the hub for the 11 Spectro once the crowd cleared. Wishes was awesome, as usual, but my GF was starting to feel the effects of eating too much, and wanted to leave after it was over. I hate being a part of that crowd fighting down Main Street, but we did it, with the bonus being that traffic moves so slow that you are stuck in the middle of the street for a while and you can just take it all in and enjoy it. We waited about 30 min. for a very crowded bus ride back to POR, and she promptly went to bed, while I stayed up a little and soaked it all in, as tomorrow would be our last full day. The only way to end it...at the Magic Kingdom, but since it was closing early, we were going to jet over to Epcot for Illuminations as our last goodbye to the world.

 

[BlizzardPoke]

Day 7 - April 25th

The final full day of our journey, and the last day of my report, as the 26th was uneventful except for the sad return to normal life. Our plans were to hit MK all day, doing everything that we had yet to do, and potentially going to Epcot for Illuminations since MK was closing early.

We were up and about early and at the park by 9:30. I grabbed everyone's ticket and ran to Space to get fastpasses, while others had some shopping to do at the Emporium. We met up in Tomorrowland and rode Buzz (20 min. wait), MILF (10 min. wait) and Stitch (5 min. wait) before our Space fastpasses came up. We jumped on that (15 min. wait) and headed to Cosmic Rays for some food and music, since we had an early dinner ressie at Tony's that afternoon. After lunch (cheeseburger, apple slices, lemonade, and chocolate cake again :lookaroun) we walked over to Liberty Square for another ride on HM and the Hall of Presidents. Then it was over to the Jungle Cruise and Aloha Isle for some Dole Whips :slurp:. Finally, we headed back to Toontown to see if we could get some character pics, but the lines were too long, so we shopped on Main Street before our dinner.

None of us had ever eaten at Tony's before, although I think it might become a regular on our travels. We had a great table, in the far northwest corner, looking out onto Main Street, and our hostess was amazing! We spent a long time there, just eating (ny strip, mashed potatos, and the ice cream bomb) and enjoying each other's company before we all had to go back to our daily lives and our 4 seperate cities (2 in Stillwater, OK, 2 in Virginia Beach, VA, 3 in Pittsburgh, PA, and 4 in New Castle, PA). Sadly, my brother was not feeling well after dinner and took the bus back to the resort. The GFs and I headed to Epcot, while the families headed to the boardwalk to watch hockey at the ESPN Club.

On the way to Epcot (which was packed as all the MK folks looked for somewhere to go, and it had EMH that night), we managed to snag the front car of the monorail from the TTC to Epcot. I have ridden in the front before, but from the TTC to MK, and neither of the girls had ever ridden up there. It was awesome to be up there for so long, enjoying the views that only that seat has to offer. We headed straight to world showcase since my GF had not been there the other time we were, and jumped on GFT (10 min. wait). We stopped at the Outpost for some ice cream, and grabbed spots in Germany for Illuminations.

I don't know what it is about Illuminations, but I always seem to end up there on my last night, and it always seems much better on those days than on others. I know it's just my imagination, but it was incredible, and after it was over we took as much time as possible walking to the internation gateway to meet my parents at the boardwalk. Once there, we said our goodbyes and drove back to the resort to pack up and get some sleep before our early flights the next day.

Overall, it was a very magical vacation, and a new experience for me, taking so many new people to the world and trying to open up their eyes to what I love so much. We tried to get as much in as we could, but of course there were lots of things that got left behind that we will have to get on another trip (water parks, mini-golf, more time at EMH, more time enjoying the resorts) but for the most part, I like to think that I helped give them a great experience. As I said at the beginning, this trip was the first on the dining plan for me, and I don't think I'll go again without it.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my trip as much as I have enjoyed telling you about it and reliving the memories that are still only a week old. I swear I will get pictures up, hopefully this weekend, and I'm sorry that it has taken me that long to actually get them off my camera. I don't know when my next trip will be, but eventually there will be another report, and I enjoy reading all of yours, so keep them coming!

Craig

 

[cinderellafan6]

My favorite part had to of been all the drinking at the parks!! I want to especially drink around the world. My bf and I are going the end of May so we will def try to do that!! Great trip report. You def know how to do some park hopping:ROFLOL:

 

[JustPlainBill]

Fantastic report!
I enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing.