sportsguy2315
01-14-2011, 12:43 AM
I was down at Disney last week for my quickest trip in my memory: 3 days, 2 nights at Ft. Wilderness.
The cast of characters:
Me (The seasoned veteran/tour guide)
DGF (Her 2nd trip to WDW; 1st to Epcot)
Mom
Dad
Sister
Sister's BF
Since DGF and I had our own little trip planned, this report will focus on what we did and saw.
Thursday January 6th:
We had about a 2.5 hour drive from my aunt and uncle's vacation home in Venice. To say I was as excited as a little kid would not be off; I was pretty hyper on the ride up. Once we got to our cabin at FW and somewhat unpacked, we left for our date at Captain's Grille at Yacht Club via the boat between DHS and Epcot. The dinner was spectacular and Capt's Grille is definitely worth the visit. After dinner we went to the Boardwalk to walk around and to watch hear the fireworks from Illuminations. We walked to catch our bus to Downtown Disney. The first bus that came was quite packed, so we wisely waited. Towards the end of the loading of the first bus, this woman came running down the bus ramp trying to make the bus. She was turned away, as was a family of four. This turned out to be an interesting conversation as we had several stereotypes dispelled. For example: New Jersey isn't like the "Jersey Shore" TV show and people from Kentucky do in fact wear shoes. Everyone stayed calm despite the fact that they had to wait for another bus. Two buses later, we were back at the cabin for the night.
Friday January 7th, the "Disney Birthday":
It was a semi-early morning (Nothing like a 7:30 AM wake up from the alarm clock!) as I had a bagel as we went out the door. Because it was "cold" by Florida standards (mid 40's around 8 AM) my mom offered to give us a ride to the Concierge to get our tickets then off to Epcot for rope drop. While getting the tickets, my mom asked for a birthday button for me despite the fact that my birthday isn't for another week from that day. The CM obliged, and I got me a birthday button. A lot of the CM's and even some guests were wishing me a Happy Birthday, which is another cool Disney touch. We had the time to go around Epcot, and do all the rides. We'll begin first with my thoughts on Future World:
Test Track: Arguably my favorite ride in WDW along with Rock N Roller Coaster (We rode it 6, yes, 6 times!) including my first night rides. Going at night certainly adds a new ride ability factor to the attraction. 10/10
Mission Space: Before the less intense "Green Team" came into play, I didn't much care for this ride. Now with the green team, I find it on the same scale as Star Tours. The only downside was that we were the only two people in our spacecraft, so it took a lot away from the teamwork factor of the ride. 8/10
Universe of Energy: Disney, this needs a refurb, stat! I haven't touched this ride with a 27 ft. pole since the late 90's and don't plan to until things change up. Incomplete
Spaceship Earth: This is truly a tale of two rides; on the way up, I found it to be one of Imagineering's greatest feats with the Dench narration not being as bad as I thought it'd be. The way down? It's cornier than a cornfield. 6/10
The Seas With Nemo and Friends: It's very cute and a good way to rest the feet. We also had the chance to do something even I had never done; take in a dolphin presentation. 8.5/10
Soarin': The appeal of this ride still hasn't died, by noon, all the Fastpasses were snatched up. We luckily got ours for 6 PM, so it literally was an appointment ride. DGF was very impressed; 10/10
Imagination: Probably the "endangered pavilion" of Future World. While the addition of Captain EO could be slated to MJ's death, there was a more visual reason why it returned: To get people to the pavilion. For the 2nd trip in a row, I did Journey with no wait, and with Kodak recently pulling the pavilion sponsorship (and the cameras necessary for the 3-D films), I would not be surprised if this pavilion is gone like Wonders of Life in 3-5 years. Then again, can/would Disney accept 2 "ghost" pavilions? Yes, WoL does get use during Food and Wine, but it was a sorry looking sight when I was down there. 4/10
In World Showcase came one of the best character interactions I have ever seen. We went to UK so DGF could see Pooh and Tigger (She LOVES Winnie the Pooh!) . I happened to be wearing my Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt that day, so Tigger came up and started shaking his head and crossing out my Vikings shirt! It then turned into a game of charades to see which NFL team Tigger is a fan of (Miami Dolphins FYI). In my picture with Pooh and Tigger, Tigger posed as so to block out the word "Vikings" on my shirt...that crazy Tigger!
All in all, it was a very fun day, especially with EMH at night!
Saturday January 8th:
Get up and leave for the airport. Yes, it's always a sad day when you have to leave!
The cast of characters:
Me (The seasoned veteran/tour guide)
DGF (Her 2nd trip to WDW; 1st to Epcot)
Mom
Dad
Sister
Sister's BF
Since DGF and I had our own little trip planned, this report will focus on what we did and saw.
Thursday January 6th:
We had about a 2.5 hour drive from my aunt and uncle's vacation home in Venice. To say I was as excited as a little kid would not be off; I was pretty hyper on the ride up. Once we got to our cabin at FW and somewhat unpacked, we left for our date at Captain's Grille at Yacht Club via the boat between DHS and Epcot. The dinner was spectacular and Capt's Grille is definitely worth the visit. After dinner we went to the Boardwalk to walk around and to watch hear the fireworks from Illuminations. We walked to catch our bus to Downtown Disney. The first bus that came was quite packed, so we wisely waited. Towards the end of the loading of the first bus, this woman came running down the bus ramp trying to make the bus. She was turned away, as was a family of four. This turned out to be an interesting conversation as we had several stereotypes dispelled. For example: New Jersey isn't like the "Jersey Shore" TV show and people from Kentucky do in fact wear shoes. Everyone stayed calm despite the fact that they had to wait for another bus. Two buses later, we were back at the cabin for the night.
Friday January 7th, the "Disney Birthday":
It was a semi-early morning (Nothing like a 7:30 AM wake up from the alarm clock!) as I had a bagel as we went out the door. Because it was "cold" by Florida standards (mid 40's around 8 AM) my mom offered to give us a ride to the Concierge to get our tickets then off to Epcot for rope drop. While getting the tickets, my mom asked for a birthday button for me despite the fact that my birthday isn't for another week from that day. The CM obliged, and I got me a birthday button. A lot of the CM's and even some guests were wishing me a Happy Birthday, which is another cool Disney touch. We had the time to go around Epcot, and do all the rides. We'll begin first with my thoughts on Future World:
Test Track: Arguably my favorite ride in WDW along with Rock N Roller Coaster (We rode it 6, yes, 6 times!) including my first night rides. Going at night certainly adds a new ride ability factor to the attraction. 10/10
Mission Space: Before the less intense "Green Team" came into play, I didn't much care for this ride. Now with the green team, I find it on the same scale as Star Tours. The only downside was that we were the only two people in our spacecraft, so it took a lot away from the teamwork factor of the ride. 8/10
Universe of Energy: Disney, this needs a refurb, stat! I haven't touched this ride with a 27 ft. pole since the late 90's and don't plan to until things change up. Incomplete
Spaceship Earth: This is truly a tale of two rides; on the way up, I found it to be one of Imagineering's greatest feats with the Dench narration not being as bad as I thought it'd be. The way down? It's cornier than a cornfield. 6/10
The Seas With Nemo and Friends: It's very cute and a good way to rest the feet. We also had the chance to do something even I had never done; take in a dolphin presentation. 8.5/10
Soarin': The appeal of this ride still hasn't died, by noon, all the Fastpasses were snatched up. We luckily got ours for 6 PM, so it literally was an appointment ride. DGF was very impressed; 10/10
Imagination: Probably the "endangered pavilion" of Future World. While the addition of Captain EO could be slated to MJ's death, there was a more visual reason why it returned: To get people to the pavilion. For the 2nd trip in a row, I did Journey with no wait, and with Kodak recently pulling the pavilion sponsorship (and the cameras necessary for the 3-D films), I would not be surprised if this pavilion is gone like Wonders of Life in 3-5 years. Then again, can/would Disney accept 2 "ghost" pavilions? Yes, WoL does get use during Food and Wine, but it was a sorry looking sight when I was down there. 4/10
In World Showcase came one of the best character interactions I have ever seen. We went to UK so DGF could see Pooh and Tigger (She LOVES Winnie the Pooh!) . I happened to be wearing my Minnesota Vikings sweatshirt that day, so Tigger came up and started shaking his head and crossing out my Vikings shirt! It then turned into a game of charades to see which NFL team Tigger is a fan of (Miami Dolphins FYI). In my picture with Pooh and Tigger, Tigger posed as so to block out the word "Vikings" on my shirt...that crazy Tigger!
All in all, it was a very fun day, especially with EMH at night!
Saturday January 8th:
Get up and leave for the airport. Yes, it's always a sad day when you have to leave!