#1disneyfan
07-27-2003, 06:46 PM
Here is the first part of my very first ever trip report. Well it's more like a mini trip report -- mostly the highlights. Hope you enjoy it. :D
Days 1, 2 and 3
Walt Disney World : July 12 – 19, 2003
Cast: Holly, Emily(7), Tonya, and Rilee(7)
Saturday: Caught the plane in New Orleans. It was Emily’s first flight. About 5 minutes to boarding time, Emily decided she wasn’t sure is she wanted to get on the plane. Fortunately, WDW was enough of an incentive to overcome her anxiety. It was a pleasant flight and we were able to get a window seat for each of the girls. Tiffany Towncar driver, Jerry, was waiting for us when we got to baggage claim. He was so nice and professional. We made a quick trip at Publix and then off to All Star Movies. We checked in, freshened up and headed to Epcot to validate our AP’s. Then we took a ride on the Monorail. There was couple who had already asked to ride in the front, but they offered the girls to ride with them. They got co-pilot’s licenses. At TTC we changed over to the resort monorail. When we got to the CR we decided to try for a seating at Chef Mickey’s. We got lucky!! 5 minute wait. The food was FABULOUS! Goofy was in the lobby and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip and Dale greeted us at our table. The best surprise was seeing Rabbit in the lobby too. The camera and the autograph books were back at the hotel, so we had the characters sign the holder for our AP voucher. Better than nothing. ( note to self: always carry the camera, always) After dinner we headed back to MK on the monorail. Watched the fireworks, then caught the bus to ASM.
Sunday: Extra Magic Hour at the MK. We rode Buzz Lightyear, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Tea Cups, and Dumbo all before 9am!! That was amazing! We had a late breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. It was nice. MK was getting pretty crowded by the time we finished breakfast. With Fast Passes the waits weren’t too bad so we stayed a couple more hours. We also got to see the Carousel of Progress. The program evidently has a few bugs in it. On one stop, we stopped before we should have and then on the last scene, the sequence finished and started up again. We saw half of it before we left. In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to swim. The pool closed because of lightning so we dressed again and went to Epcot. We rode Test track, Spaceship Earth, Maelstrom. I had hoped to go to the boardwalk to meet some of the people from Tagrel.com. But, the girls were hungry and tired and cranky, so we headed back to the hotel. Truth be told, we were all tired and cranky.
Monday: Extra Magic Hour at AK. We rode Kilimanjaro Safari and saw It’s tough to be a bug. Both with Zero wait time. Emily was tall enough for Primeval whirl this time. Primeval whirl was great. Kali River Rapids: I was the lucky one that got completely drenched. The seats directly across from us were empty. My theory is that it shifted the weight to my side of the boat when we went down the drop, so it made me go down first. Emily ducked under my arm and somehow didn’t get nearly as wet as I did. It was a blast though. We had lunch at Tusker House then saw the Pocahontas and The Festival of the Lion King show before heading to MGM. It was pouring down raining when we got into MGM. We hid out under the “big hat” and waited for it to stop. They cancelled the Stars and Motor cars parade so instead we rode the Great Movie Ride ( in the front row). Definitely a different experience than usual. The girls didn’t like the live action since we were right there with the Bandit. And when we went into the Wizard of Oz room, nothing happened. No singing, no dwarfs etc. The driver looked rather puzzled too. The second cars’ driver pushed a few buttons on some sort of remote control and the scene came to life. After that it was time for our PS for Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Dinner Package. Very good buffet. (IMHO the lighting is too bright in the dining area.) Overall, it was a good value and pleasant dining experience. Next we caught the last Backlot tour of the evening. Residential Street is walled off. It was time to get our seats for Fantasmic. The seating area was to the far right of the stage and the view was good with plenty of elbow room (unlike the rest of the audience who appeared to be packed in there like sardines.) When they made the screen of water, we could feel the mist. The funny thing was, it started to rain, but no one could tell if it was the water from the show or rain at first. We were all looking around at each other with questioning looks. Then the rain came down a little harder and we pulled out the ponchos. The show went on like usual. The rain stopped as soon as the show was over. We did a little shopping and headed back to the hotel.
Days 1, 2 and 3
Walt Disney World : July 12 – 19, 2003
Cast: Holly, Emily(7), Tonya, and Rilee(7)
Saturday: Caught the plane in New Orleans. It was Emily’s first flight. About 5 minutes to boarding time, Emily decided she wasn’t sure is she wanted to get on the plane. Fortunately, WDW was enough of an incentive to overcome her anxiety. It was a pleasant flight and we were able to get a window seat for each of the girls. Tiffany Towncar driver, Jerry, was waiting for us when we got to baggage claim. He was so nice and professional. We made a quick trip at Publix and then off to All Star Movies. We checked in, freshened up and headed to Epcot to validate our AP’s. Then we took a ride on the Monorail. There was couple who had already asked to ride in the front, but they offered the girls to ride with them. They got co-pilot’s licenses. At TTC we changed over to the resort monorail. When we got to the CR we decided to try for a seating at Chef Mickey’s. We got lucky!! 5 minute wait. The food was FABULOUS! Goofy was in the lobby and Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Chip and Dale greeted us at our table. The best surprise was seeing Rabbit in the lobby too. The camera and the autograph books were back at the hotel, so we had the characters sign the holder for our AP voucher. Better than nothing. ( note to self: always carry the camera, always) After dinner we headed back to MK on the monorail. Watched the fireworks, then caught the bus to ASM.
Sunday: Extra Magic Hour at the MK. We rode Buzz Lightyear, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan, Tea Cups, and Dumbo all before 9am!! That was amazing! We had a late breakfast at Crystal Palace with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. It was nice. MK was getting pretty crowded by the time we finished breakfast. With Fast Passes the waits weren’t too bad so we stayed a couple more hours. We also got to see the Carousel of Progress. The program evidently has a few bugs in it. On one stop, we stopped before we should have and then on the last scene, the sequence finished and started up again. We saw half of it before we left. In the afternoon, we went back to the hotel to swim. The pool closed because of lightning so we dressed again and went to Epcot. We rode Test track, Spaceship Earth, Maelstrom. I had hoped to go to the boardwalk to meet some of the people from Tagrel.com. But, the girls were hungry and tired and cranky, so we headed back to the hotel. Truth be told, we were all tired and cranky.
Monday: Extra Magic Hour at AK. We rode Kilimanjaro Safari and saw It’s tough to be a bug. Both with Zero wait time. Emily was tall enough for Primeval whirl this time. Primeval whirl was great. Kali River Rapids: I was the lucky one that got completely drenched. The seats directly across from us were empty. My theory is that it shifted the weight to my side of the boat when we went down the drop, so it made me go down first. Emily ducked under my arm and somehow didn’t get nearly as wet as I did. It was a blast though. We had lunch at Tusker House then saw the Pocahontas and The Festival of the Lion King show before heading to MGM. It was pouring down raining when we got into MGM. We hid out under the “big hat” and waited for it to stop. They cancelled the Stars and Motor cars parade so instead we rode the Great Movie Ride ( in the front row). Definitely a different experience than usual. The girls didn’t like the live action since we were right there with the Bandit. And when we went into the Wizard of Oz room, nothing happened. No singing, no dwarfs etc. The driver looked rather puzzled too. The second cars’ driver pushed a few buttons on some sort of remote control and the scene came to life. After that it was time for our PS for Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Dinner Package. Very good buffet. (IMHO the lighting is too bright in the dining area.) Overall, it was a good value and pleasant dining experience. Next we caught the last Backlot tour of the evening. Residential Street is walled off. It was time to get our seats for Fantasmic. The seating area was to the far right of the stage and the view was good with plenty of elbow room (unlike the rest of the audience who appeared to be packed in there like sardines.) When they made the screen of water, we could feel the mist. The funny thing was, it started to rain, but no one could tell if it was the water from the show or rain at first. We were all looking around at each other with questioning looks. Then the rain came down a little harder and we pulled out the ponchos. The show went on like usual. The rain stopped as soon as the show was over. We did a little shopping and headed back to the hotel.