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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
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    Default "Daisy is a Duck!" -- Day One

    There are few things as enjoyable as waking up on Disney property on your first full day of vacation. The whole trip lies before you and to date, it's still "perfect." Today is Magic Kingdom followed by dinner in Disney Springs. As soon as I awaken, I’m excited about the day. Shower and dress, my phone reminds me it’s almost time to make reservations. I had already purchased the Genie+ for us around 3 AM. My first attempt will be to purchase Individual Lightning Lanes (ILLs) for Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride. At 7:00, I refresh, the link becomes active, and I search. I purchase two for approximately 11:15 AM. Now, what should be the next FastPass? I check Jungle Cruise and it’s only at 9:15 AM. I look at Peter Pan and it's at 10:15 AM already so I take that. Now, I need to wait until either 11:00 AM or my first FastPass to secure another. I set my phone, wake my daughter, and head outside.

    The morning is gorgeous, bathed in sunshine and singing birds as I walk to the food court. Joggers run past (with full determination on their faces.) Who jogs on vacation? I guess some do. The music around Ole’ Man Island plays as I near the water mill. I humm along. I purchase two refillable mugs and get two coffees and head back. Sophia is getting ready. I’m in my element. I could do this walk every morning. That picturesque walk along the river becomes something I look forward to as soon as I awaken. (I always encounter joggers and I always attempt a “Hi,” but they’re too engrossed.)

    We catch the bus, ride into the Magic Kingdom, and make our way through bag check. I’m singled out and have to have my backpack checked. I’m told, if I keep my charging brick in my hand along with my Thermoflask so they can see it, I won’t get sent over next time. OK. We’ll see.

    We go to Main Street Bakery and order. I send Sophia to Casey’s to secure seats for us while I wait. There’s a seasonal pumpkin cupcake she gets. As we are sitting, I snap a picture of her with the Main Street crowd in the background. I note: for someone always on the go, I could just sit there all day and listen to Main Street Music and people watch and never get bored. I just love it there especially with my daughter. She “gets it.”

    We go to Jungle Cruise first. The line looks short, but it says 55 minutes so we skip it. We go to Pirates instead. It says 45 minutes, but just as we were about to enter, it flips to 20 minutes. It’s actually only 15 minutes and we’re on one of the best themed rides anywhere. We exit, grab an Aloha Isle Dole Whip and start toward Peter Pan. Our FastPass will be ready soon. We’re too early so we watch Mickey’s Philharmagic. They added a scene from Coco, I think. I’m reminded how good that show is. Time for Peter Pan. As soon as I pass the second touchpoint, I begin looking for another FastPass. I snag Haunted Mansion for 11:30.

    Peter Pan is as quaint as ever. But you can only ride that once. We have time for Ariel so we meander past Gaston’s statue for some photos. Then the Ariel ride. This gets a bad rap. It’s such a cute ride. I’m not sure why so many dislike it. We exit, ride Seven Dwarfs (better than I remember,) then it’s time for Haunted Mansion. This is a favorite with us. The FastPass line stretched to Terra Haute (pun intended,) but moved quickly. Upon exiting, the skies had opened and it was a torrential downpour. Cast Member urging people to “keep walking” because the exit was getting blocked. We go into Memento Mori’s, buy ponchos, souvenirs, and mobile order from Columbia Harbor House. Lobster rolls for both of us. Because it's raining, we can’t find any seats, just an unaccompanied table. So we stand. A cast member sees we need seats and finds two for us. The lobster rolls were delicious. I’ve seen posts of how scantily they’ve been putting the lobster roll on the bread. Not in our case. Ours was overflowing and delicious. I think Harbor House is the best fast food restaurant in all four parks.

    The rain fizzles out. I grabbed a FastPass for Buzz at 12:50 PM. We ride Carousel of Progress (walk on,) People Mover (walk on,) Buzz (FastPass,) Monsters, Inc. (walk on,) snack and make our way to Main Street. We grab a seat and wait for the parade. It’s gruesome hot now. For me, we have to watch the parade on Main Street. Others like Frontierland and I get it. For us, it’s on Main Street, USA. The parade is wonderful as I remember. We shop for a bit before heading back to the room. Need to recharge our human batteries and refresh.

    Showered and with evening attire, we take the boat ride to Disney Springs. First stop: World of Disney. You could spend all day there. My daughter picks out some things she likes. We then go to Customer Service because I want to upgrade our tickets to Park Hoppers. They accommodate us. Over to The BOATHOUSE for dinner. This has become our favorite dining destination on property and it does no disappoint. We get an outside, lakeview table. Service was terrific. Food was fantastic. We can see the rain isn’t through with us for tonight, so we cut our day short. (We wanted to shop a lot.) We catch the boat ride back, but en route to Riverside, the Captain informs us there are lightning strikes and he needs to let us off at the next location. (French Quarter.) They order a bus for us to take us to Riverside.

    Finally in our room, both exhausted, my daughter streams “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” episodes as we fall asleep. Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios. Today could not have gone much better. When you think of a Disney vacation, this is the type of day you’re envisioning.
    WDW - 99 Off Site
    WDW - 00 C.Springs, Wilderness
    WDW - 01 POFQ, Boardwalk
    WDW - 02 C.Beach, POFQ, AK Lodge
    WDW - 04 Riverside
    WDW - 05 C.Springs
    WDW - 07 Riverside
    WDW - 11 C.Beach
    WDW - 12 POFQ
    WDW - 14 Riverside
    WDW - 15 POFQ
    WDW - 19 Wilderness
    WDW - 20 C.Beach

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  4. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 1999
    Location
    Mid Michigan
    Posts
    26,671
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    Default

    Thank you for taking the time to write such an awesome reprt.
    I agree completely about grabbing a coffee and sitting near Main Street in the morning. The atmosphere is great!
    Jeff

  5. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
    …I agree completely about grabbing a coffee and sitting near Main Street in the morning. The atmosphere is great!
    Not much better than that.
    WDW - 99 Off Site
    WDW - 00 C.Springs, Wilderness
    WDW - 01 POFQ, Boardwalk
    WDW - 02 C.Beach, POFQ, AK Lodge
    WDW - 04 Riverside
    WDW - 05 C.Springs
    WDW - 07 Riverside
    WDW - 11 C.Beach
    WDW - 12 POFQ
    WDW - 14 Riverside
    WDW - 15 POFQ
    WDW - 19 Wilderness
    WDW - 20 C.Beach

  6. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2001
    Location
    Florida
    Posts
    40,874
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    Terrific day despite the rain - something there has been a lot of in Florida!!
    Linda aka: Faline
    INTERCOT Staff: Vacation Planning,Trip Reports and Disney Camping
    [email protected]

  7. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Posts
    132
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    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by MrPeetrie View Post

    The morning is gorgeous, bathed in sunshine and singing birds as I walk to the food court. Joggers run past (with full determination on their faces.) Who jogs on vacation? I guess some do. The music around Ole’ Man Island plays as I near the water mill. I humm along. I purchase two refillable mugs and get two coffees and head back. Sophia is getting ready. I’m in my element. I could do this walk every morning. That picturesque walk along the river becomes something I look forward to as soon as I awaken. (I always encounter joggers and I always attempt a “Hi,” but they’re too engrossed.)
    Thank you for writing these reports. Your relationship with your daughter reminds me of the one I have with my sophomore in college. I always enjoy hearing about positive father-daughter relationships, as too often you hear the negative.

    And, it is funny - I always thought the same thing about running on a vacation until I started running. Believe me, I completely understand the thinking - why would you have to work out when you are supposed to be relaxing and waking several miles each day anyway? I do run, albeit not anywhere near as intense when I am at Disney. It is quite irrational, but if I don't keep up my running routine or at least get a run or two in a week, I have this fear that it will be easy to lose the habit. Unfortunately, it has happened to me before and with the loss of running comes the loss of my eating self-discipline, etc. - I am just wired wrong, I guess. For others that are training for a race or trying to build distance, they typically do not want to skip runs. However, I would certainly say 'hello" back - unless I had pushed myself to total exhaustion and could not speak (which should never happen and I doubt was the case with the ones you encountered). One of my favorite runs ever was a run at Saratoga Springs on a warm January day. I could run in shorts and a short sleeve shirt, while running back home typically requires several layers in the winter months.

    Anyway, your reports have also helped me think about our next trip as you seem to have figured out how to keep the enjoyment level high while navigating the Genie+ and LL systems. I have really enjoyed your posts.

  8. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2001
    Location
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Posts
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    Default

    Thank you. (My daughter is a sophomore, too.)
    WDW - 99 Off Site
    WDW - 00 C.Springs, Wilderness
    WDW - 01 POFQ, Boardwalk
    WDW - 02 C.Beach, POFQ, AK Lodge
    WDW - 04 Riverside
    WDW - 05 C.Springs
    WDW - 07 Riverside
    WDW - 11 C.Beach
    WDW - 12 POFQ
    WDW - 14 Riverside
    WDW - 15 POFQ
    WDW - 19 Wilderness
    WDW - 20 C.Beach

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