Toughbug
06-23-2007, 11:07 AM
Cast of Characters:
Toughbug - me, father and planner
Mrs. Toughbug - DW, mother, voice of reason
Big Toughbug - DS, used to be Little Bug, Disney nut like dad, 13
Weezy - DD, sweet as pie, 11
Dates: May 18 - 25, 2007
Day 5 - Epcot
Quick story, it is quite an accomplishment getting 4 people ready in the morning at the *** resorts with the smaller rooms. So when I was getting out of the shower, there was knock on the door. I said who is it? The answer from DS was "Pancho the dancing frog". Great answer from left field. Really funny, and that day he was Pancho the dancing frog, or that is what I called him.
Okay, another day without a breakfast adr. So we get out of the room and are on our way about 8:15. We get into Epcot about 8:55a.m. and make our way through the graveyard and head toward Soarin'. We had about a 10 minute wait but was it worth the wait. What an awesome attraction!!! We got fps on the way out to come back later. We crossed over from one side to the other and did Test Track. The wait was about 5 minutes longer because it broke down while we were in line, but we did it and totally enjoyed it as usual. We then headed over to Mission: Space and did it and got another fp for M:S. That is still my favorite attraction in WDW, I mean the g-forces on take off and when you blast past the moon are remarkable. When leaving, we got a fp for M:S for later, then crossed back over to use our fp for Soarin'. That has to be the best thing to come out of Disney's California Adventure. From there we headed over and did Imagination, a good attraction but not as good as the first version of JIYI. Then it was time for lunch which we ate at the Electric Umbrella, a counter service meal, and Big Toughbug and I had bacon double cheeseburgers and it was already paid for so hey why not.
By this time the crowds had started moving back into the World Showcase so we walked onto Spaceship Earth. What a dark ride. I just can't say enough about the Disney dark rides. Then we headed over to The Seas with Nemo and waited in the longest line of our trip so far. It had to be 20 minutes, but the obnoxious kids behind us made it seem like forever. Chaparones need to do their jobs. Anyway, the ride is cute but not cute enough for the wait in line that we did. So from there we headed back into the World Showcase and did the Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexico. It was cute, and nice, and worth a 5 minute wait. Then we toured the World Showcase, visiting the shops that we wanted. While we were back there we did the American Adventure and once again we saw what makes WDW special. A great attraction. From there we went back into Future World and did Mission: Space.
At this time it was time to head over to the Grand Floridian for our adr at 1900 Park Fare, a new one to us. On the way, we sat in the front car of the monorail as we rode from the TTC to the GF, a nice touch. The dinner was really good, the food hot, pretty and delicious. And it was interesting to see the different characters that the Fab Five at a buffet. From there we hopped on the monorail and went over to the MK and rode Pirates, Thunder Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear. By this time we were getting tired so we headed back to the hotel and called it a day.
Day 6 - Typhoon Lagoon & the Studios
Okay, we found out that resort guests can get into the water parks an hour early. This is our first time as a family doing a Disney water park. So we drove over to Typhoon Lagoon and were in line by 8:20a.m. for the 9a.m. opening. While in line a lifeguard asked Weezy if she could smile all day long. She said yes, and he told her that she is the Big Kahuna of the Day. What a suprise, and benefit, to us. She got to wear a medal all day and all the cst members there greated her as Big Kahuna whevever we were, our DC got refillable mugs free, we had a reserved spot with huge umbrella on the beach right off the wave pool, her medal fit in the key hole to "turn on" the wave pool at the 9a.m. opening, we got a free locker and as many towels as we needed. We also got a private tour of the grounds giving us the lay of the land and where all the attractions are. During the tour we passed a meeting of the lifeguards and cast members and when they recognized the Big Kahuna, they created a honor guard line where they held up their life saving belts and created an honor line where we passed through, like at a military reception with the swords. What a kick. I really think this is the best thing about this trip. During the year of a million dreams and all those giveaways we were picked to have this, totally unexpected but man was it great. Oh and we had a photopass photographer document the first hour and a half of our visit for us. Okay, on to the park. The slides are awesome, the wave pool was great, Humumga Cowabunga is an awesome water slide, the shark reef was really relaxing and the lazy river was really enjoyable. We also used one of our counter service meals here and as part of Weezy's Big Kahuna package we got two dozen donuts, which we got on the way out around 3p.m. and make a great snack.
So with this we cleaned up and made it to our adr at the Prime Time Cafe, which is our favorite meal in WDW. Of course this means we headed over to the Studios and after dinner we got fp for Rockin Rollercoaster. What a great coaster. After dinner we caught up with some friends from home and did Star Tour, used our fp, Big Toughbug did it with us for the first time and really liked it, did the Great Movie ride, and Str Tours again. I need to add, Chris a maintanance worker at the Studios from Alexandria, Va kinda took us onto ST and told us some trivia and stories and entertained all the kids. He did not have to do this but you know it is WDW and cast members like him are worth their weight in gold. What a great cast member.
So this ended our day, and what a day. Exhausted but unbelievable happy and satisfied. What a family vacation.
:mickey:
Toughbug - me, father and planner
Mrs. Toughbug - DW, mother, voice of reason
Big Toughbug - DS, used to be Little Bug, Disney nut like dad, 13
Weezy - DD, sweet as pie, 11
Dates: May 18 - 25, 2007
Day 5 - Epcot
Quick story, it is quite an accomplishment getting 4 people ready in the morning at the *** resorts with the smaller rooms. So when I was getting out of the shower, there was knock on the door. I said who is it? The answer from DS was "Pancho the dancing frog". Great answer from left field. Really funny, and that day he was Pancho the dancing frog, or that is what I called him.
Okay, another day without a breakfast adr. So we get out of the room and are on our way about 8:15. We get into Epcot about 8:55a.m. and make our way through the graveyard and head toward Soarin'. We had about a 10 minute wait but was it worth the wait. What an awesome attraction!!! We got fps on the way out to come back later. We crossed over from one side to the other and did Test Track. The wait was about 5 minutes longer because it broke down while we were in line, but we did it and totally enjoyed it as usual. We then headed over to Mission: Space and did it and got another fp for M:S. That is still my favorite attraction in WDW, I mean the g-forces on take off and when you blast past the moon are remarkable. When leaving, we got a fp for M:S for later, then crossed back over to use our fp for Soarin'. That has to be the best thing to come out of Disney's California Adventure. From there we headed over and did Imagination, a good attraction but not as good as the first version of JIYI. Then it was time for lunch which we ate at the Electric Umbrella, a counter service meal, and Big Toughbug and I had bacon double cheeseburgers and it was already paid for so hey why not.
By this time the crowds had started moving back into the World Showcase so we walked onto Spaceship Earth. What a dark ride. I just can't say enough about the Disney dark rides. Then we headed over to The Seas with Nemo and waited in the longest line of our trip so far. It had to be 20 minutes, but the obnoxious kids behind us made it seem like forever. Chaparones need to do their jobs. Anyway, the ride is cute but not cute enough for the wait in line that we did. So from there we headed back into the World Showcase and did the Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexico. It was cute, and nice, and worth a 5 minute wait. Then we toured the World Showcase, visiting the shops that we wanted. While we were back there we did the American Adventure and once again we saw what makes WDW special. A great attraction. From there we went back into Future World and did Mission: Space.
At this time it was time to head over to the Grand Floridian for our adr at 1900 Park Fare, a new one to us. On the way, we sat in the front car of the monorail as we rode from the TTC to the GF, a nice touch. The dinner was really good, the food hot, pretty and delicious. And it was interesting to see the different characters that the Fab Five at a buffet. From there we hopped on the monorail and went over to the MK and rode Pirates, Thunder Mountain, and Buzz Lightyear. By this time we were getting tired so we headed back to the hotel and called it a day.
Day 6 - Typhoon Lagoon & the Studios
Okay, we found out that resort guests can get into the water parks an hour early. This is our first time as a family doing a Disney water park. So we drove over to Typhoon Lagoon and were in line by 8:20a.m. for the 9a.m. opening. While in line a lifeguard asked Weezy if she could smile all day long. She said yes, and he told her that she is the Big Kahuna of the Day. What a suprise, and benefit, to us. She got to wear a medal all day and all the cst members there greated her as Big Kahuna whevever we were, our DC got refillable mugs free, we had a reserved spot with huge umbrella on the beach right off the wave pool, her medal fit in the key hole to "turn on" the wave pool at the 9a.m. opening, we got a free locker and as many towels as we needed. We also got a private tour of the grounds giving us the lay of the land and where all the attractions are. During the tour we passed a meeting of the lifeguards and cast members and when they recognized the Big Kahuna, they created a honor guard line where they held up their life saving belts and created an honor line where we passed through, like at a military reception with the swords. What a kick. I really think this is the best thing about this trip. During the year of a million dreams and all those giveaways we were picked to have this, totally unexpected but man was it great. Oh and we had a photopass photographer document the first hour and a half of our visit for us. Okay, on to the park. The slides are awesome, the wave pool was great, Humumga Cowabunga is an awesome water slide, the shark reef was really relaxing and the lazy river was really enjoyable. We also used one of our counter service meals here and as part of Weezy's Big Kahuna package we got two dozen donuts, which we got on the way out around 3p.m. and make a great snack.
So with this we cleaned up and made it to our adr at the Prime Time Cafe, which is our favorite meal in WDW. Of course this means we headed over to the Studios and after dinner we got fp for Rockin Rollercoaster. What a great coaster. After dinner we caught up with some friends from home and did Star Tour, used our fp, Big Toughbug did it with us for the first time and really liked it, did the Great Movie ride, and Str Tours again. I need to add, Chris a maintanance worker at the Studios from Alexandria, Va kinda took us onto ST and told us some trivia and stories and entertained all the kids. He did not have to do this but you know it is WDW and cast members like him are worth their weight in gold. What a great cast member.
So this ended our day, and what a day. Exhausted but unbelievable happy and satisfied. What a family vacation.
:mickey: