TiggeRia
10-09-2007, 08:29 PM
Day 1 - October 1st
Cast:
Ria (me!) - 26 (going on 27)
Chris - DBF, 26
We got up at 4 am this morning in order to be ready for our 5 o'clock pickup for the airport. All was smooth sailing until we hit the security line. Apparently, Pal Mickey caused some security concerns :blush:. They took apart my bags until they found him and then swiped him with the wand, opened up his back, and rubbed something with a cloth all over him. Not sure what that was, but after Mickey was cleared by security, we were off to our gate. Our flight left at 8:05 and we landed 20 minutes early. There was a minimal wait at the ME line to check in, and we were on our bus within 10 minutes or so! Yippie! I was so excited to get there. :mickey:
Our bus first stopped at the POP, Coronado Springs, then it was off to the AKL! We arrived there around 12:30ish. This is my first time staying here, and I absolutely loved it! It looks gorgeous from the outside and even more beautiful on the inside. The lobby (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2498051190099791469JmLvkM) was humongous! We were checked in very quickly, but our room was not ready yet, so Chris and I decided to try and find the quick service place for some food. We took the long way around and wound up in an animal viewing area watching the Ankole cattle (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2451281870099791469nVzaFt). It was an amazing sight! We finally found Mara and grabbed some lunch. We were on the DDP. Chris had the African stew in a bread bowl, which he said was delicious. Me, being the adventurous person, had a cheeseburger with fries. :) We both had cookies for dessert.
After eating, we were starting to get really tired, since we had gotten up so early. We made our way back to the lobby and rested in the chairs. Around 2:15 I tried calling to see if our room was ready yet...it was! We were in room 4516, on the Uzima Trail. The rooms were a very nice size. I liked that the sinks were separate from the actual bathroom. The beds I found to be very comfortable. Unfortunately, I found no living creatures outside of our balcony except for love bugs. But hey, it was middday and pretty warm outside. Our luggage arrived within ten minutes of being in our room.
We freshened up and headed off to EPCOT for our dinner ADR. This was my first ever view of the "ball" without the hand and wand, and I must say that I really liked it. I never minded the decorations it had, but to see it without everything else on it makes it look so much better! We both got EPCOT 25th anniversary buttons as we entered the park. We stopped in the Land to pick up some fastpasses for Soarin' (which there were still some!) and then headed off to the Seas.
We had a 4:30 ADR at the Coral Reef. This was my first time there, and I had been a little wary after reading some of the reviews. We had an excellent experience, though! We checked in about 5 minutes early and were seated within 10 minutes...right next to the aquarium!! Chris had the Land and Sea appetizer, Blackened Catfish, Chocolate Mousse, and water. He deemed his meal excellent and said it would be hard to find a better meal the rest of the week. I had the Mixed Greens salad, Grilled chicken, creme brulee, and a coke. My meal was also very good. The service was great and we wound up leaving an extra tip.
We still had some time to kill before our fast pass time was up, so we went off to see Figment, HISTA, LWTL, and finally Soarin'! This is my absolute favorite ride, and Chris had never been on it. Unfortunately, he has a tendency not to like heights, so he wasn't fond of the ride. I had a great time though. :) After we got out off of Soarin' we were going to head over to the WS, however, it was absolutely pouring!!! The sky looked gray everywhere. Chris and I decided to risk it, and made a run for it all the way to MouseGears. By the time we got there, we were both drenched. We picked up two ponchos, put them on (not that we really needed them anymore...) and headed back out into the rain. We strolled along the WS for a bit and it finally stopped raining.
We got spots about 1/2 hour before show time on the bridge area by Canada. Chris went off to look around some more and came back with a lamb slider and some wine from New Zealand. The lamb was ok, but I'm not a wine person, so I didn't like that at all. By this time we were both fairly well dried off, had our ponchos tucked away. Five minutes before the show was supposed to start, there was another heavy downpour and we got soaked again. The show started about ten minutes late, but it was great nonetheless. ROE is by far my favorite show at WDW. At the end they did a special fireworks show to celebrate the 25th anniversary, which was wonderful. I got everything on video!!! After all was over, we made our way back to the bus stop and were on our way to the AKL within 10 minutes. We were back in our room a little after 10 PM, and I think I fell asleep by 10:30! All in all it was a great day and a great start to our vacation!
Cast:
Ria (me!) - 26 (going on 27)
Chris - DBF, 26
We got up at 4 am this morning in order to be ready for our 5 o'clock pickup for the airport. All was smooth sailing until we hit the security line. Apparently, Pal Mickey caused some security concerns :blush:. They took apart my bags until they found him and then swiped him with the wand, opened up his back, and rubbed something with a cloth all over him. Not sure what that was, but after Mickey was cleared by security, we were off to our gate. Our flight left at 8:05 and we landed 20 minutes early. There was a minimal wait at the ME line to check in, and we were on our bus within 10 minutes or so! Yippie! I was so excited to get there. :mickey:
Our bus first stopped at the POP, Coronado Springs, then it was off to the AKL! We arrived there around 12:30ish. This is my first time staying here, and I absolutely loved it! It looks gorgeous from the outside and even more beautiful on the inside. The lobby (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2498051190099791469JmLvkM) was humongous! We were checked in very quickly, but our room was not ready yet, so Chris and I decided to try and find the quick service place for some food. We took the long way around and wound up in an animal viewing area watching the Ankole cattle (http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2451281870099791469nVzaFt). It was an amazing sight! We finally found Mara and grabbed some lunch. We were on the DDP. Chris had the African stew in a bread bowl, which he said was delicious. Me, being the adventurous person, had a cheeseburger with fries. :) We both had cookies for dessert.
After eating, we were starting to get really tired, since we had gotten up so early. We made our way back to the lobby and rested in the chairs. Around 2:15 I tried calling to see if our room was ready yet...it was! We were in room 4516, on the Uzima Trail. The rooms were a very nice size. I liked that the sinks were separate from the actual bathroom. The beds I found to be very comfortable. Unfortunately, I found no living creatures outside of our balcony except for love bugs. But hey, it was middday and pretty warm outside. Our luggage arrived within ten minutes of being in our room.
We freshened up and headed off to EPCOT for our dinner ADR. This was my first ever view of the "ball" without the hand and wand, and I must say that I really liked it. I never minded the decorations it had, but to see it without everything else on it makes it look so much better! We both got EPCOT 25th anniversary buttons as we entered the park. We stopped in the Land to pick up some fastpasses for Soarin' (which there were still some!) and then headed off to the Seas.
We had a 4:30 ADR at the Coral Reef. This was my first time there, and I had been a little wary after reading some of the reviews. We had an excellent experience, though! We checked in about 5 minutes early and were seated within 10 minutes...right next to the aquarium!! Chris had the Land and Sea appetizer, Blackened Catfish, Chocolate Mousse, and water. He deemed his meal excellent and said it would be hard to find a better meal the rest of the week. I had the Mixed Greens salad, Grilled chicken, creme brulee, and a coke. My meal was also very good. The service was great and we wound up leaving an extra tip.
We still had some time to kill before our fast pass time was up, so we went off to see Figment, HISTA, LWTL, and finally Soarin'! This is my absolute favorite ride, and Chris had never been on it. Unfortunately, he has a tendency not to like heights, so he wasn't fond of the ride. I had a great time though. :) After we got out off of Soarin' we were going to head over to the WS, however, it was absolutely pouring!!! The sky looked gray everywhere. Chris and I decided to risk it, and made a run for it all the way to MouseGears. By the time we got there, we were both drenched. We picked up two ponchos, put them on (not that we really needed them anymore...) and headed back out into the rain. We strolled along the WS for a bit and it finally stopped raining.
We got spots about 1/2 hour before show time on the bridge area by Canada. Chris went off to look around some more and came back with a lamb slider and some wine from New Zealand. The lamb was ok, but I'm not a wine person, so I didn't like that at all. By this time we were both fairly well dried off, had our ponchos tucked away. Five minutes before the show was supposed to start, there was another heavy downpour and we got soaked again. The show started about ten minutes late, but it was great nonetheless. ROE is by far my favorite show at WDW. At the end they did a special fireworks show to celebrate the 25th anniversary, which was wonderful. I got everything on video!!! After all was over, we made our way back to the bus stop and were on our way to the AKL within 10 minutes. We were back in our room a little after 10 PM, and I think I fell asleep by 10:30! All in all it was a great day and a great start to our vacation!