awaggett
12-10-2009, 02:31 PM
Last minute trip for the holiday with two friends and their two boys (3 and 5); his family (mom, sister and family, brother), and another friend and her daughter (5)--15 in all.
Drove down from Atlanta early Tuesday morning, stayed off-site at a condo near Champion' s Gate (not my choice, traveling with friend's family, will definitely be back on-property in the future!). Got to the Magic Kingdom around 5 pm, just as it started to drizzle/rain. It was good for us, a lot of folks left and the weather cleared up pretty quickly. Spent evening with friend and her 5 year-old daughter. We did a lot of Tommorrowland and Adventureland. Caught the parade and Wishes.
On Wednesday we headed to DHS. It was stormed most of the day. We only stayed for a few hours and skipped out on TSM (wait was over 2 hours). Went to DTD in the late afternoon, then had dinner at bluezoo (really great--highly recommend!).
On Thanksgiving we had brunch at Chef Mickey's; then on to the Magic Kingdom. Got there around 12:30 and had a great day. It was crowded, but manageable. By 4:30 we were able to do Splash, BTMR, HM, IASM, face painting, play time at Pooh, and Pirates! We were meeting up with the entire family at Shades of Green for dinner at 5, but we never quite made it. We totally under-estimated how long it would take! We made it as far as the Poly and stopped. Had an awesome "Thanksgiving" dinner at the Sushi bar (sushi and Lapu Lapus!). Got back to the park around 7, did Adventureland again, BTMR, train, and the Barnstormer 4 times in a row. Headed to watch Wishes, then the parade. Great day!
On Friday went to AK in the am--saw two great shows--Lion King and Nemo. After all the years of going to Disney I had managed to miss these. Also did the Safari and Everest. From there headed to Epcot--did the single rider line at TT, missed out on FP at Soarin' and couldn't handle the 120 minute wait! Did the Land (my favorite) and Nemo. Spent the rest of the night in the World Showcase enjoying the holiday decorations and "shows" (love the Chinese acrobats and the Norway Santa was hilarious!), caught some of the Candlelight Processional, shopped, ate, and watched Illuminations.
All in all, in was a great trip. I didn't have high expections--the trip was fairly last minute and we were traveling with a huge group. Also, I went last year with friends and their kids--I don't have kids of my own and it is a totally different experience! As I said, parks were crowded, but manageable. I spent some time branching out on my own and did just about everything I wanted...only thing I wish I had seen was the Osborne Lights--I've seen them twice before, so I should be fine for a few years.
Drove down from Atlanta early Tuesday morning, stayed off-site at a condo near Champion' s Gate (not my choice, traveling with friend's family, will definitely be back on-property in the future!). Got to the Magic Kingdom around 5 pm, just as it started to drizzle/rain. It was good for us, a lot of folks left and the weather cleared up pretty quickly. Spent evening with friend and her 5 year-old daughter. We did a lot of Tommorrowland and Adventureland. Caught the parade and Wishes.
On Wednesday we headed to DHS. It was stormed most of the day. We only stayed for a few hours and skipped out on TSM (wait was over 2 hours). Went to DTD in the late afternoon, then had dinner at bluezoo (really great--highly recommend!).
On Thanksgiving we had brunch at Chef Mickey's; then on to the Magic Kingdom. Got there around 12:30 and had a great day. It was crowded, but manageable. By 4:30 we were able to do Splash, BTMR, HM, IASM, face painting, play time at Pooh, and Pirates! We were meeting up with the entire family at Shades of Green for dinner at 5, but we never quite made it. We totally under-estimated how long it would take! We made it as far as the Poly and stopped. Had an awesome "Thanksgiving" dinner at the Sushi bar (sushi and Lapu Lapus!). Got back to the park around 7, did Adventureland again, BTMR, train, and the Barnstormer 4 times in a row. Headed to watch Wishes, then the parade. Great day!
On Friday went to AK in the am--saw two great shows--Lion King and Nemo. After all the years of going to Disney I had managed to miss these. Also did the Safari and Everest. From there headed to Epcot--did the single rider line at TT, missed out on FP at Soarin' and couldn't handle the 120 minute wait! Did the Land (my favorite) and Nemo. Spent the rest of the night in the World Showcase enjoying the holiday decorations and "shows" (love the Chinese acrobats and the Norway Santa was hilarious!), caught some of the Candlelight Processional, shopped, ate, and watched Illuminations.
All in all, in was a great trip. I didn't have high expections--the trip was fairly last minute and we were traveling with a huge group. Also, I went last year with friends and their kids--I don't have kids of my own and it is a totally different experience! As I said, parks were crowded, but manageable. I spent some time branching out on my own and did just about everything I wanted...only thing I wish I had seen was the Osborne Lights--I've seen them twice before, so I should be fine for a few years.