ytzking
08-21-2007, 08:50 PM
Me - DH/44
DW/?
DD/15
DD/9
Up at 7:00 AM for an early start at AK. I'm out by 7:20 to go pick up some breakfast for everyone. Note- McD's in DTD doesn't open until 8:00 AM. I found out the hard way. So it was in the car and over to Crossroads. By some miracle I got back to the room and everybody was dressed. We ate and were on the way to AK by 8:30. I think we got the first tram of the day from the parking lot to the gate.
Once inside the gate we hit the crowd at the top of the hill/bridge leading to the Oasis. We caught the tail end of the opening with Mickey on the cherry picker in front of the Tree of Life.Once they dropped the rope we headed thru Dinoland and straight to EE. We secured FPs for 1020 and got on line for stand-by. The posted 30 mins. was actually closer to 15. We had a great ride sitting near the back of the train. I did notice that the falcon or eagle that used to fly out over the train before you go backward is no longer there.
After EE we headed over to ride KRR. The line had just opened and we were on in about 10 minutes. The ride was great and we all got wet but I couldn't help noticing that alot of the waterfall and geyser effects were not on. The mist on the first climb at this time of the morning is always impressive.
Next it was Dinoland. While I rode PW with DDs, DW went and got FPs for Dinosaur. I had enough sense to sit with the divider between me and the girls. DD9 thanked me profusely after the ride. By now it was about 1045 and time for our 2nd ride on EE. Great again. Single rider was now open so we went for another ride minus DW,( I give her credit for going twice).
Next was lunch at Pizzafari. We sat in the back room which is dedicated to animals that utilize camouflage for protection and hunting. It was unbelievably quiet back in this section and we took our time eating and looking for hidden Mickeys.
After lunch we headed back to Dinoland and rode Dinosaur. DW sat out. I really enjoyed this ride alot. For some reason it seemed more intense than last year. By now it was around 1:00 and getting hot. I got a call from DB saying they had arrived, checked in at Bonnet Creek, and were heading to AK. I told him we were a little worn out and would catch up to him tonight at EPCOT. ( On the tram back to the lot, we passed DB and his family heading in on anothr tram)
Back at the Grosvenor, DW and DDs crashed for a while and I hit the pool. I had read some bad reports about the pool but I found it to be fine. There is a large area fenced off where a new pool is being built but the existing one was large enough to accomodate the hotel. DW joined me after about an hour and we swam til about 3.
DD9 wanted to do some shopping so she and I along with DW headed to DTD with a promise from DD15 that she would meet us at 4:30. We went and looked around for a while and then wound up some how:cool:at Ghirardelli's. We sat and had sundaes while waiting for our 4th. ( Side story- while at Ghirardelli's I observed a womanl about 20-25 with another woman and two men around the same age. They sat at a dirty table before anybody could clean it and proceeded to take all the dirty glasses and plates and pile them on the shelf next to the napkins. She then took out a squeeze bottle of hand sanitizer and wiped the table and threw the napkins on the shelf next to the plates, with a garbage can only 3 feet away. After squeezing sanitizer on two of her friends hands she took the empty bottle and threw it on the floor, before breaking out a new bottle to finish the job. GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH. I told my wife about this AFTER we left and let's just say, she was shocked at my restraint and glad I hadn't brought it to her attention. Some people are more to be pitied.)
DD15 arrived and we headed to EPCOT. Since we had already paid for parking for the day we parked in the main lot. Got a spot right behind the handicapped section since alot of people had left for the day. ( This decision on parking would be fortuitous in a Magic Moment to come)
Our first stop in EPCOT was the LS w/ Nemo. I had never been on this and found it entertaining. We wandered around the post-ride area for a while and watched the SCUBA demo. Pretty Cool. On to The Land to find out, ( not surprised ), that FPs were gone for Soarin'. 70 minute stand-by so we decided to pass. We rode the Living with the Land boat ride. I hadn't been on this in years and it really wasn't as boring as I remember.
Time for dinner. We went to Electric Umbrella and had burgers and salad. I was happy to find that the talking garbage can was still at the entrance to the left of the service counter. Spent about 5 minutes there embarassing DDs trying to carry on a conversation with the can as people were walking by.
We rode MS-Green with about a 20 minute wait and then TT single rider. By now it was about 7:30 and my DB and family had an 8:00 at The Biergarten. We walked over and met him and his family, SIL, Neice-26 and neice's boyfriend.
After catching up on each other's trip they went in to eat and we continued walking around World Showcase. When we arrived at Canada a decision had to be made. Since we were parked in the main lot we elected to skip Illuminations and get out of the park before the mad exodus.
On the way out we stopped at Soarin' to see what the line was like. It was 8:30 and the stand-by said 45 mins. The CM at the entrance assured us that it was a 45 min. wait. Under protest from DD9 we decided to skip it in favor of beating the crowds at the exit. As we prepared to leave we were approached by a youn female CM named Genevieve. She asked if we were in a hurry and we said yes. She then asked if we would like to skip the line and be " In Flight '' in about 5 mins. Of course we would. She then proceeded to walk us out a back door, around the greenhouses and in to a waiting area adjacent to the final part of the queu. While we were waiting for the next flight we talked and she filled out a Magic Moments certificate with our family's name. She then walked us out and we took spots in the front row of the middle glider. Then to top it off she made an announcement welcoming our family from The Bronx and informing everybody that we would be flying 1st Class tonight. We were all thrilled and the ride was fantastic. We still made it back to the car before Illuminations ended and back to the hotel in short order.
A great day all around and everybody was in bed by 11;30, anticipating an early wake up and check in at the Boardwalk.:mickey:
DW/?
DD/15
DD/9
Up at 7:00 AM for an early start at AK. I'm out by 7:20 to go pick up some breakfast for everyone. Note- McD's in DTD doesn't open until 8:00 AM. I found out the hard way. So it was in the car and over to Crossroads. By some miracle I got back to the room and everybody was dressed. We ate and were on the way to AK by 8:30. I think we got the first tram of the day from the parking lot to the gate.
Once inside the gate we hit the crowd at the top of the hill/bridge leading to the Oasis. We caught the tail end of the opening with Mickey on the cherry picker in front of the Tree of Life.Once they dropped the rope we headed thru Dinoland and straight to EE. We secured FPs for 1020 and got on line for stand-by. The posted 30 mins. was actually closer to 15. We had a great ride sitting near the back of the train. I did notice that the falcon or eagle that used to fly out over the train before you go backward is no longer there.
After EE we headed over to ride KRR. The line had just opened and we were on in about 10 minutes. The ride was great and we all got wet but I couldn't help noticing that alot of the waterfall and geyser effects were not on. The mist on the first climb at this time of the morning is always impressive.
Next it was Dinoland. While I rode PW with DDs, DW went and got FPs for Dinosaur. I had enough sense to sit with the divider between me and the girls. DD9 thanked me profusely after the ride. By now it was about 1045 and time for our 2nd ride on EE. Great again. Single rider was now open so we went for another ride minus DW,( I give her credit for going twice).
Next was lunch at Pizzafari. We sat in the back room which is dedicated to animals that utilize camouflage for protection and hunting. It was unbelievably quiet back in this section and we took our time eating and looking for hidden Mickeys.
After lunch we headed back to Dinoland and rode Dinosaur. DW sat out. I really enjoyed this ride alot. For some reason it seemed more intense than last year. By now it was around 1:00 and getting hot. I got a call from DB saying they had arrived, checked in at Bonnet Creek, and were heading to AK. I told him we were a little worn out and would catch up to him tonight at EPCOT. ( On the tram back to the lot, we passed DB and his family heading in on anothr tram)
Back at the Grosvenor, DW and DDs crashed for a while and I hit the pool. I had read some bad reports about the pool but I found it to be fine. There is a large area fenced off where a new pool is being built but the existing one was large enough to accomodate the hotel. DW joined me after about an hour and we swam til about 3.
DD9 wanted to do some shopping so she and I along with DW headed to DTD with a promise from DD15 that she would meet us at 4:30. We went and looked around for a while and then wound up some how:cool:at Ghirardelli's. We sat and had sundaes while waiting for our 4th. ( Side story- while at Ghirardelli's I observed a womanl about 20-25 with another woman and two men around the same age. They sat at a dirty table before anybody could clean it and proceeded to take all the dirty glasses and plates and pile them on the shelf next to the napkins. She then took out a squeeze bottle of hand sanitizer and wiped the table and threw the napkins on the shelf next to the plates, with a garbage can only 3 feet away. After squeezing sanitizer on two of her friends hands she took the empty bottle and threw it on the floor, before breaking out a new bottle to finish the job. GOD GIVE ME STRENGTH. I told my wife about this AFTER we left and let's just say, she was shocked at my restraint and glad I hadn't brought it to her attention. Some people are more to be pitied.)
DD15 arrived and we headed to EPCOT. Since we had already paid for parking for the day we parked in the main lot. Got a spot right behind the handicapped section since alot of people had left for the day. ( This decision on parking would be fortuitous in a Magic Moment to come)
Our first stop in EPCOT was the LS w/ Nemo. I had never been on this and found it entertaining. We wandered around the post-ride area for a while and watched the SCUBA demo. Pretty Cool. On to The Land to find out, ( not surprised ), that FPs were gone for Soarin'. 70 minute stand-by so we decided to pass. We rode the Living with the Land boat ride. I hadn't been on this in years and it really wasn't as boring as I remember.
Time for dinner. We went to Electric Umbrella and had burgers and salad. I was happy to find that the talking garbage can was still at the entrance to the left of the service counter. Spent about 5 minutes there embarassing DDs trying to carry on a conversation with the can as people were walking by.
We rode MS-Green with about a 20 minute wait and then TT single rider. By now it was about 7:30 and my DB and family had an 8:00 at The Biergarten. We walked over and met him and his family, SIL, Neice-26 and neice's boyfriend.
After catching up on each other's trip they went in to eat and we continued walking around World Showcase. When we arrived at Canada a decision had to be made. Since we were parked in the main lot we elected to skip Illuminations and get out of the park before the mad exodus.
On the way out we stopped at Soarin' to see what the line was like. It was 8:30 and the stand-by said 45 mins. The CM at the entrance assured us that it was a 45 min. wait. Under protest from DD9 we decided to skip it in favor of beating the crowds at the exit. As we prepared to leave we were approached by a youn female CM named Genevieve. She asked if we were in a hurry and we said yes. She then asked if we would like to skip the line and be " In Flight '' in about 5 mins. Of course we would. She then proceeded to walk us out a back door, around the greenhouses and in to a waiting area adjacent to the final part of the queu. While we were waiting for the next flight we talked and she filled out a Magic Moments certificate with our family's name. She then walked us out and we took spots in the front row of the middle glider. Then to top it off she made an announcement welcoming our family from The Bronx and informing everybody that we would be flying 1st Class tonight. We were all thrilled and the ride was fantastic. We still made it back to the car before Illuminations ended and back to the hotel in short order.
A great day all around and everybody was in bed by 11;30, anticipating an early wake up and check in at the Boardwalk.:mickey: