brad192
10-22-2007, 09:42 AM
10/10/07 - Wednesday
Cast – Just Me, 48 Yr. old Disney Nut, engineer, singer, and thespian.
Dates – 10/9 thru 10/16
Accommodations – Pop Century, 50’s section, room 3434.
After a good night’s sleep, I was up at 7AM to start my first full day at WDW! :party: Prepped for my day, I headed down to the food court for my typical WDW breakfast – big honkin’ orange juice from the “grab & go” section. I grabbed & went, and headed towards the bus stop for the MK. Had a 15 minute wait for the bus, but it went by quickly. Once we boarded, it was a 20 min ride to MK. I was giddy with excitement, walked as fast as I could towards the entrance, and made it thru bag check. It had been 2 years, 11 months and 4 days since I’d been here, and I was about ready to burst. Shot thru the turnstiles, grabbed a couple of maps & a time schedule, and walked under the train station (left side – tradition), around the corner, thru Town Square, and there it was, at the end of Main Street, Cinderella Castle! :cloud9: Yup, there were tears & a big emotional moment for me. Luckily, no one seemed to notice this, and I was able to compose myself quickly.
I spent the next 10 or 15 minutes standing near the exit to Town Square watching people rounding the corner. I was blown away by the number of people who walked around that corner, looked down Main Street, and had huge smiles on their faces as they saw Cinderella Castle for the first time. There were a LOT of people pointing, some screaming, some laughing, some crying. It was quite entertaining, and I just love this moment each & every time I visit. For me, this tradition always starts my vacation off on a happy note.
After my indulgence at Town Square, I hustled my way to Fantasyland, where I headed for IASW as quickly as I could to satisfy another tradition. This was very important to me , as this was the very first attraction my family experienced back in ’71, on Christmas Day, and IASW was down for refurb the last time I was here in ’04, so I couldn’t satisfy tradition that trip. After a voyage with “the Dolls”, I decided to try & “finish” Fantasyland. Rode Peter Pan, Snow White, and saw Mickey’s Philharmagic! Isn’t this the best 4D attraction WDW has to offer? Each & every time I see this I’m simply blown away. I end up exiting the theater saying “Way to go Imagineers!”.:thumbsup: Then I decided to head “left”, towards Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Adventureland. Rode PotC & eventually HM. Got stuck on PotC for 40 minutes! :ack: 30 minutes was in the auction scene – the “We wants the Redhead” spiel will forever be engrained into my memory! We then moved slowly into the scene with Jack Sparrow grabbing a quick view of the map from the barrel, where we sat for another 10 minutes, watching Jack pop up and down in that barrel like some possessed, lunatic “Jack in the Box”. We were finally & thankfully transported out of the Pirate Plundering Ordeal, and back to reality (right into the gift shop, of course). We were all issued any ride, any time Fast Passes, which was , in my opinion, minimal compensation for the torture we all had to endure. LOL.
After that crazy encounter, and a ride thru HM (the refurb is great! Really well done, adding to the experience, but not changing the overall “feel” of the ride at all), it was time for lunch. Most of my TS ADR’s were for around 5PM, so I wanted to eat lunch early & light. Headed for Pinocchio’s for lunch. As I was on the DDP, had turkey & bacon panini, fries, cheesecake & iced tea. All average & nothing to write home about, but filled the hole I had, and the upstairs dining area was nice & quiet, as I was the only one there. $13.08 on the DDP, $0 for lunch. WooHoo!! Love that DDP! Too bad they had to go & mess up a good thing by changing it, but that’s a rant for another thread.
After lunch, I needed to digest a bit, so I headed for HoP to do just that, and also to have all my patriotic buttons pushed. Timed it perfectly, as the theater was loading as I walked up. Grabbed a seat in the 3rd row, and enjoyed my time with the Presidents. I expected a couple of comments from the audience, after reading numerous previous posts about this, and was not disappointed. There was a small group that applauded when President Clinton was introduced, and a couple of catcalls when President Bush (W) was introduced. I just wish people would……..oh never mind, it’s not worth going into.
Sticking with my game plan for the day, I decided to snag a monorail & get in a small dose of Epcot before my 5PM ADR at Kona. Monorail Yellow was waiting for me at the MK station, and whisked me quickly to the TTC, where Red completed my journey to Epcot. Thru bag check, I headed for the Land first, with a quick detour to Club Cool to quench my growing thirst & satisfy my bizarre need to taste Beverly once again.:crazy: Foolishly thinking I might be able to ride Soarin’, I entered an amazingly packed pavilion & discovered Soarin’ had a 85 minute wait for standby, with FP returns between 6 &7 that night. Oh well, that would have to wait until Saturday. I’d rather ride it for the first time with a bunch of Intercotees anyway! As long as I was in the pavilion, I thought I’d take nice boat ride. I actually had to wait in line for this! I haven’t had to wait for this ride since the ‘80s! Soarin’ certainly has rejuvenated this pavilion! After my float thru the building I decided to leave the Land, and head for the Seas & check out the new Nemo overlay. A short walk later I was there.
Another packed pavilion! The “clammobile cruise” was better than I thought it would be, and I was pleased to see so many people there. I spent about 30 minutes cooling off & watching the sea life – for some reason, watching the manatees always relaxes me – then I headed over to visit Figment. No crowds here, it was practically deserted. Did my obligatory ride & left quickly. Please Imagineers, do something with this area next! Hoofed it across FW to UoE to visit with Ellen, Bill, Stupid Judy, and get out of the mid afternoon heat for awhile. Then, I couldn’t wait any longer – it was time for M:S! Orange team please! I just love this ride, so much that as I exited, I swung right around to the entrance & rode it again! Didn’t have to wait long either – cool! It was time to leave for my 5PM ADR at Kona, so I monorailed (is that a real word?) it to the Poly & checked in for dinner.
Kona opens at 5 for dinner, so I waited about 2 minutes, and was the 3rd person seated. Sandy, my server, was nice & friendly and very helpful about menu choices. I started things off with an Island Sunset – mmmmmm – just the thing after a long, hot day. Crab cakes were next. Double mmmmmmm. These were perhaps the best crab cakes I’ve eaten. Seasoned and cooked perfectly, they were amazing, and just the right amount for an appetizer. My entrée was the beef teriyaki, a huge piece of meat that arrived just a little overdone (this would be a trend for the week), with smashed potatoes and broccoli. All was very tasty, even the broccoli, which I think was stir fried in sesame oil, which gave it a really yummy flavor. Already stuffed, I still had dessert coming (darn that DDP!) banana crème brulee’, not terribly banana-y (?), but sweet & creamy, and again just the right amount. OOP for the drink was about $9.50, and dinner came to $49.38 with tax & tip. Hooray for DDP! Bloated & uncomfortable, I waddled out of the Poly and caught the monorail back to MK for some after dark fun.
I really like MK after dark, it just seems more magical to me. Still too full, I rode CoP & the TTA, 2 of my personal faves, then saw Stitch. Lucky me! My chili dog smell gun wasn’t working! :) Yay! I wandered aimlessly for awhile, just taking it all in, and found a great spot on the bridge between Main Street & the Hub for Spectro & Wishes. Spectro there has to have was fun as always, and Wishes did it to me again….I ended up with tears streaming down my face, and having to explain that they were ‘happy tears” to a concerned little girl standing next to me who noticed them. :blush: Oh well, a little embarrassment never hurt anyone. I left with the masses, and had a surprisingly short wait for a bus back to Pop. Grabbing a couple iced teas from the food court on the way in, I filled my ice bucket, poured a cold drink, and took a long, hot shower to relax. Finished up my trip report notes for the day, and it was lights out by 11:15, with a wakeup call set for 7, as I was going to spend a full day at DHS/DS/MGM. Up next, Day 3 – will I EVER learn my way around this park? :mad:We’ll see.
Cast – Just Me, 48 Yr. old Disney Nut, engineer, singer, and thespian.
Dates – 10/9 thru 10/16
Accommodations – Pop Century, 50’s section, room 3434.
After a good night’s sleep, I was up at 7AM to start my first full day at WDW! :party: Prepped for my day, I headed down to the food court for my typical WDW breakfast – big honkin’ orange juice from the “grab & go” section. I grabbed & went, and headed towards the bus stop for the MK. Had a 15 minute wait for the bus, but it went by quickly. Once we boarded, it was a 20 min ride to MK. I was giddy with excitement, walked as fast as I could towards the entrance, and made it thru bag check. It had been 2 years, 11 months and 4 days since I’d been here, and I was about ready to burst. Shot thru the turnstiles, grabbed a couple of maps & a time schedule, and walked under the train station (left side – tradition), around the corner, thru Town Square, and there it was, at the end of Main Street, Cinderella Castle! :cloud9: Yup, there were tears & a big emotional moment for me. Luckily, no one seemed to notice this, and I was able to compose myself quickly.
I spent the next 10 or 15 minutes standing near the exit to Town Square watching people rounding the corner. I was blown away by the number of people who walked around that corner, looked down Main Street, and had huge smiles on their faces as they saw Cinderella Castle for the first time. There were a LOT of people pointing, some screaming, some laughing, some crying. It was quite entertaining, and I just love this moment each & every time I visit. For me, this tradition always starts my vacation off on a happy note.
After my indulgence at Town Square, I hustled my way to Fantasyland, where I headed for IASW as quickly as I could to satisfy another tradition. This was very important to me , as this was the very first attraction my family experienced back in ’71, on Christmas Day, and IASW was down for refurb the last time I was here in ’04, so I couldn’t satisfy tradition that trip. After a voyage with “the Dolls”, I decided to try & “finish” Fantasyland. Rode Peter Pan, Snow White, and saw Mickey’s Philharmagic! Isn’t this the best 4D attraction WDW has to offer? Each & every time I see this I’m simply blown away. I end up exiting the theater saying “Way to go Imagineers!”.:thumbsup: Then I decided to head “left”, towards Liberty Square, Frontierland, and Adventureland. Rode PotC & eventually HM. Got stuck on PotC for 40 minutes! :ack: 30 minutes was in the auction scene – the “We wants the Redhead” spiel will forever be engrained into my memory! We then moved slowly into the scene with Jack Sparrow grabbing a quick view of the map from the barrel, where we sat for another 10 minutes, watching Jack pop up and down in that barrel like some possessed, lunatic “Jack in the Box”. We were finally & thankfully transported out of the Pirate Plundering Ordeal, and back to reality (right into the gift shop, of course). We were all issued any ride, any time Fast Passes, which was , in my opinion, minimal compensation for the torture we all had to endure. LOL.
After that crazy encounter, and a ride thru HM (the refurb is great! Really well done, adding to the experience, but not changing the overall “feel” of the ride at all), it was time for lunch. Most of my TS ADR’s were for around 5PM, so I wanted to eat lunch early & light. Headed for Pinocchio’s for lunch. As I was on the DDP, had turkey & bacon panini, fries, cheesecake & iced tea. All average & nothing to write home about, but filled the hole I had, and the upstairs dining area was nice & quiet, as I was the only one there. $13.08 on the DDP, $0 for lunch. WooHoo!! Love that DDP! Too bad they had to go & mess up a good thing by changing it, but that’s a rant for another thread.
After lunch, I needed to digest a bit, so I headed for HoP to do just that, and also to have all my patriotic buttons pushed. Timed it perfectly, as the theater was loading as I walked up. Grabbed a seat in the 3rd row, and enjoyed my time with the Presidents. I expected a couple of comments from the audience, after reading numerous previous posts about this, and was not disappointed. There was a small group that applauded when President Clinton was introduced, and a couple of catcalls when President Bush (W) was introduced. I just wish people would……..oh never mind, it’s not worth going into.
Sticking with my game plan for the day, I decided to snag a monorail & get in a small dose of Epcot before my 5PM ADR at Kona. Monorail Yellow was waiting for me at the MK station, and whisked me quickly to the TTC, where Red completed my journey to Epcot. Thru bag check, I headed for the Land first, with a quick detour to Club Cool to quench my growing thirst & satisfy my bizarre need to taste Beverly once again.:crazy: Foolishly thinking I might be able to ride Soarin’, I entered an amazingly packed pavilion & discovered Soarin’ had a 85 minute wait for standby, with FP returns between 6 &7 that night. Oh well, that would have to wait until Saturday. I’d rather ride it for the first time with a bunch of Intercotees anyway! As long as I was in the pavilion, I thought I’d take nice boat ride. I actually had to wait in line for this! I haven’t had to wait for this ride since the ‘80s! Soarin’ certainly has rejuvenated this pavilion! After my float thru the building I decided to leave the Land, and head for the Seas & check out the new Nemo overlay. A short walk later I was there.
Another packed pavilion! The “clammobile cruise” was better than I thought it would be, and I was pleased to see so many people there. I spent about 30 minutes cooling off & watching the sea life – for some reason, watching the manatees always relaxes me – then I headed over to visit Figment. No crowds here, it was practically deserted. Did my obligatory ride & left quickly. Please Imagineers, do something with this area next! Hoofed it across FW to UoE to visit with Ellen, Bill, Stupid Judy, and get out of the mid afternoon heat for awhile. Then, I couldn’t wait any longer – it was time for M:S! Orange team please! I just love this ride, so much that as I exited, I swung right around to the entrance & rode it again! Didn’t have to wait long either – cool! It was time to leave for my 5PM ADR at Kona, so I monorailed (is that a real word?) it to the Poly & checked in for dinner.
Kona opens at 5 for dinner, so I waited about 2 minutes, and was the 3rd person seated. Sandy, my server, was nice & friendly and very helpful about menu choices. I started things off with an Island Sunset – mmmmmm – just the thing after a long, hot day. Crab cakes were next. Double mmmmmmm. These were perhaps the best crab cakes I’ve eaten. Seasoned and cooked perfectly, they were amazing, and just the right amount for an appetizer. My entrée was the beef teriyaki, a huge piece of meat that arrived just a little overdone (this would be a trend for the week), with smashed potatoes and broccoli. All was very tasty, even the broccoli, which I think was stir fried in sesame oil, which gave it a really yummy flavor. Already stuffed, I still had dessert coming (darn that DDP!) banana crème brulee’, not terribly banana-y (?), but sweet & creamy, and again just the right amount. OOP for the drink was about $9.50, and dinner came to $49.38 with tax & tip. Hooray for DDP! Bloated & uncomfortable, I waddled out of the Poly and caught the monorail back to MK for some after dark fun.
I really like MK after dark, it just seems more magical to me. Still too full, I rode CoP & the TTA, 2 of my personal faves, then saw Stitch. Lucky me! My chili dog smell gun wasn’t working! :) Yay! I wandered aimlessly for awhile, just taking it all in, and found a great spot on the bridge between Main Street & the Hub for Spectro & Wishes. Spectro there has to have was fun as always, and Wishes did it to me again….I ended up with tears streaming down my face, and having to explain that they were ‘happy tears” to a concerned little girl standing next to me who noticed them. :blush: Oh well, a little embarrassment never hurt anyone. I left with the masses, and had a surprisingly short wait for a bus back to Pop. Grabbing a couple iced teas from the food court on the way in, I filled my ice bucket, poured a cold drink, and took a long, hot shower to relax. Finished up my trip report notes for the day, and it was lights out by 11:15, with a wakeup call set for 7, as I was going to spend a full day at DHS/DS/MGM. Up next, Day 3 – will I EVER learn my way around this park? :mad:We’ll see.