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RazorOye
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Thanks everyone for all of your help!
I cut and pasted a TON of information from the replies and they helped us plan our vacation and daily agenda - we just got back from Disney and I am still basking in the Orlando Afterglow.
I was NOT keen on going to Disney, I will admit. Not a huge fan of Disney for a number of reasons and never really saw any of the movies. I wanted to go on a cruise or Cancun or Vegas. But my wife was insistent - and she was 100% right about Maui for our honeymoon though I didn't want to go there either. So Disney it was.
I LOVED it. I had a darn near complete adolescent regression and I am shamed by it. I should know better, after all - right?
But I couldn't help it.
The fun factor overrode any sense of logic or decorum previously espoused.
We had a PACKED few days that went something like this:
Condensed version:
Sunday: Downtown Disney, Boardwalk/ESPN Zone, Magic Kingdom
Monday: Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios
Tuesday: Animal Kingdom, Epcot
Wednesday: Epcot
Thursday: Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom
Conclusions:
LOVED LOVED LOVED Magic Kingdom. Epitome of what I expected of the park. A lovely nostalgic walk through my childhood in terms of amusement attractions. Had to go back the last night for just an hour to say good bye
Going with just me and my wife was amazing - we were able to open each park and stayed at the extended hours every night it was available (twice during our stay). Will be fun with kids and/or friends. But just the two of us traveled light and fast. We NEVER stopped.
Tower of Terror was my favorite ride.
Fastpass is the real deal! Our longest wait for a fastpass eligible ride was about 10 minutes. Just amazing. We must have fastpassed at least 15 different rides - like 4 or 5 a day.
SUNDAY
Shoveled a foot and a half of snow at 530 am for an hour and a half so we could get out onto the road and fought snow on the way to the airport. Miserable start.
Arrived at the hotel - stayed at Pop Century - at about 4:00. We were initially going to stay at the French Quarter - since I've been missing home something terribly - but we advised to just stay at the cheap hotel since we weren't going to be there much. That was 100% dead on. We were at the hotel about 4-6 hrs a night and that was it.
Headed down to Downtown Disney and shopped a bit. From there headed down to the Boardwalk as advised and really enjoyed it - not many people here at ALL. Lots of views and food and shops. A nice serene welcome to Disney. Ate at ESPN Zone - I do miss ESPN here in Canada I must say - and watched the LSU Lady Tigers vs. the Lady Vols on the big screen.
Got back to the hotel about 930 and saw that Magic Kingdom was having extended hours until 2:00 a.m.
Debated going and decided to go ahead and go. Closed the park down! Stayed until 2.
We did Stitch's Great Escape, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice, It's a Small World and a bunch of shopping and sightseeing.
MONDAY
Woke up early and headed back to Magic Kingdom. Caught all the rides we didn't the night before - like Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. Saw shows like Carousel of Progress. Stood in line for pictures with the Princesses. That was the longest wait of the entire stay. 45 minutes to see Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle.
Watched the night time parade and the fireworks. Left at about 11:00 and headed to Hollywood Studios for a quick little night trip.
Extended hours at Hollywood Studios. Stayed there until 1 in the morning. Rode Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror - favorite ride of all. I LOVED it. Did Star Tours. Made my wife sick to her stomach so no more rides that night.
Stayed until park closed at 1.
TUESDAY
Headed out to Animal Kingdom that day. Did everything there: Mt. Everest Expedition roller coaster (best coaster of all the parks - I like outdoor coasters with drops as personal preference), Bug's Life 3-D adventure, Kilimanjaro Safari, the Asia and Africa walking tours of the animal exhibits, Dinosaur ride (loved this one too).
Stayed here until about 4:00.
Headed over to Epcot.
At Epcot we did the Honey I Shrunk the Kids 3-D show and the Finding Nemo ride and spent about an hour at the aquarium there on site. Headed to the International Area and ate in Morocco for dinner. Took lots of nighttime pictures and strategized our next day's visit there.
Stayed until close.
WEDNESDAY
The only day we spent at the same park - Epcot. There when gates opened at 9 and stayed until the park closed.
Did everything. Did GM test track twice - after the first trip we talked to an associate about the GMC Acadia on display in the showroom. We are considering that for my wife's next vehicle. The girl was very nice and gave us VIP passes up to the executive lounges. Went up to an observation level for a beautiful view of the park behind us and the ride in front of us, clean private bathrooms, all the soft drinks or coffee or tea we wanted, leather chairs, etc... and a backentrance to the ridecar exits where we hopped right onto the ride.
Nice surprise! Felt like total VIPs.
Did Soarin' - absolutely amazing ride. Took pictures and the Character Spot. Turtle talk with Crush was pretty cute. Mission: Space (less intense version - after Star Tours no way was my wife doing the more intense version), Ellen's Energy Adventure, The House of Tomorrow at Innoventions, Figment,
Headed to the World Showcase at about 1:00 where we ate at Germany, Mexico, and France. Went on the Norwegian area ride - Maelstrom. Took lots of pictures. Watched the Fireworks over the lake. Amazing!
Stayed until close.
THURSDAY
Return to Hollywood Studios. Did Rockin' Rollercoaster - the takeoff was amazing. Ride was not bad. Like I said - I am a big fan of drops. Did Tower of Terror again. Loved it. Again! Beauty and the Beast show was impressive and enjoyable. Indy Jones stunt spectacular was fun. Backlots tour did not feature the Golden Girls house as we were led to believe. Wife disappointed. Did the Great Movie Ride. Enjoyed the biographical walk through Disney's life at One Man's Dream. Caught the Muppets 3-D movie. Watched the Jedi Training Academy - adorable kids they picked.
Highlight - VIPs at the Fantasmic! We were selected as recipients as part of the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. Two people came up to me and my wife and put these lanyards and tags around our neck and told us to show up at the amphitheater at 8:15. So we headed there at that time and they walked us past the crowd - which had been gathering for about an hour. We sat in a roped off section in the center and had all the drinks we wanted. It was an amazing show.
Left after that at about 9:45.
Headed back to Magic Kingdom (again) so that I could say goodbye. Did It's a Small World again (so creepy I had to do it a second time to be sure that it was as creepy as I remembered... it was), Haunted Mansion - which I LOVED, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Left as the park closed.
That's it!
I cut and pasted a TON of information from the replies and they helped us plan our vacation and daily agenda - we just got back from Disney and I am still basking in the Orlando Afterglow.
I was NOT keen on going to Disney, I will admit. Not a huge fan of Disney for a number of reasons and never really saw any of the movies. I wanted to go on a cruise or Cancun or Vegas. But my wife was insistent - and she was 100% right about Maui for our honeymoon though I didn't want to go there either. So Disney it was.
I LOVED it. I had a darn near complete adolescent regression and I am shamed by it. I should know better, after all - right?
But I couldn't help it.
The fun factor overrode any sense of logic or decorum previously espoused.
We had a PACKED few days that went something like this:
Condensed version:
Sunday: Downtown Disney, Boardwalk/ESPN Zone, Magic Kingdom
Monday: Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios
Tuesday: Animal Kingdom, Epcot
Wednesday: Epcot
Thursday: Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom
Conclusions:
LOVED LOVED LOVED Magic Kingdom. Epitome of what I expected of the park. A lovely nostalgic walk through my childhood in terms of amusement attractions. Had to go back the last night for just an hour to say good bye
Going with just me and my wife was amazing - we were able to open each park and stayed at the extended hours every night it was available (twice during our stay). Will be fun with kids and/or friends. But just the two of us traveled light and fast. We NEVER stopped.
Tower of Terror was my favorite ride.
Fastpass is the real deal! Our longest wait for a fastpass eligible ride was about 10 minutes. Just amazing. We must have fastpassed at least 15 different rides - like 4 or 5 a day.
SUNDAY
Shoveled a foot and a half of snow at 530 am for an hour and a half so we could get out onto the road and fought snow on the way to the airport. Miserable start.
Arrived at the hotel - stayed at Pop Century - at about 4:00. We were initially going to stay at the French Quarter - since I've been missing home something terribly - but we advised to just stay at the cheap hotel since we weren't going to be there much. That was 100% dead on. We were at the hotel about 4-6 hrs a night and that was it.
Headed down to Downtown Disney and shopped a bit. From there headed down to the Boardwalk as advised and really enjoyed it - not many people here at ALL. Lots of views and food and shops. A nice serene welcome to Disney. Ate at ESPN Zone - I do miss ESPN here in Canada I must say - and watched the LSU Lady Tigers vs. the Lady Vols on the big screen.
Got back to the hotel about 930 and saw that Magic Kingdom was having extended hours until 2:00 a.m.
Debated going and decided to go ahead and go. Closed the park down! Stayed until 2.
We did Stitch's Great Escape, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad twice, It's a Small World and a bunch of shopping and sightseeing.
MONDAY
Woke up early and headed back to Magic Kingdom. Caught all the rides we didn't the night before - like Space Mountain and Splash Mountain. Saw shows like Carousel of Progress. Stood in line for pictures with the Princesses. That was the longest wait of the entire stay. 45 minutes to see Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Belle.
Watched the night time parade and the fireworks. Left at about 11:00 and headed to Hollywood Studios for a quick little night trip.
Extended hours at Hollywood Studios. Stayed there until 1 in the morning. Rode Hollywood Hotel Tower of Terror - favorite ride of all. I LOVED it. Did Star Tours. Made my wife sick to her stomach so no more rides that night.
Stayed until park closed at 1.
TUESDAY
Headed out to Animal Kingdom that day. Did everything there: Mt. Everest Expedition roller coaster (best coaster of all the parks - I like outdoor coasters with drops as personal preference), Bug's Life 3-D adventure, Kilimanjaro Safari, the Asia and Africa walking tours of the animal exhibits, Dinosaur ride (loved this one too).
Stayed here until about 4:00.
Headed over to Epcot.
At Epcot we did the Honey I Shrunk the Kids 3-D show and the Finding Nemo ride and spent about an hour at the aquarium there on site. Headed to the International Area and ate in Morocco for dinner. Took lots of nighttime pictures and strategized our next day's visit there.
Stayed until close.
WEDNESDAY
The only day we spent at the same park - Epcot. There when gates opened at 9 and stayed until the park closed.
Did everything. Did GM test track twice - after the first trip we talked to an associate about the GMC Acadia on display in the showroom. We are considering that for my wife's next vehicle. The girl was very nice and gave us VIP passes up to the executive lounges. Went up to an observation level for a beautiful view of the park behind us and the ride in front of us, clean private bathrooms, all the soft drinks or coffee or tea we wanted, leather chairs, etc... and a backentrance to the ridecar exits where we hopped right onto the ride.
Nice surprise! Felt like total VIPs.
Did Soarin' - absolutely amazing ride. Took pictures and the Character Spot. Turtle talk with Crush was pretty cute. Mission: Space (less intense version - after Star Tours no way was my wife doing the more intense version), Ellen's Energy Adventure, The House of Tomorrow at Innoventions, Figment,
Headed to the World Showcase at about 1:00 where we ate at Germany, Mexico, and France. Went on the Norwegian area ride - Maelstrom. Took lots of pictures. Watched the Fireworks over the lake. Amazing!
Stayed until close.
THURSDAY
Return to Hollywood Studios. Did Rockin' Rollercoaster - the takeoff was amazing. Ride was not bad. Like I said - I am a big fan of drops. Did Tower of Terror again. Loved it. Again! Beauty and the Beast show was impressive and enjoyable. Indy Jones stunt spectacular was fun. Backlots tour did not feature the Golden Girls house as we were led to believe. Wife disappointed. Did the Great Movie Ride. Enjoyed the biographical walk through Disney's life at One Man's Dream. Caught the Muppets 3-D movie. Watched the Jedi Training Academy - adorable kids they picked.
Highlight - VIPs at the Fantasmic! We were selected as recipients as part of the Year of a Million Dreams promotion. Two people came up to me and my wife and put these lanyards and tags around our neck and told us to show up at the amphitheater at 8:15. So we headed there at that time and they walked us past the crowd - which had been gathering for about an hour. We sat in a roped off section in the center and had all the drinks we wanted. It was an amazing show.
Left after that at about 9:45.
Headed back to Magic Kingdom (again) so that I could say goodbye. Did It's a Small World again (so creepy I had to do it a second time to be sure that it was as creepy as I remembered... it was), Haunted Mansion - which I LOVED, and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Left as the park closed.
That's it!
