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View Full Version : Plex and Lettripp's Epic Honeymoon! Part 4 - Disney Studios



lettripp
09-05-2011, 11:37 AM
Sunday, Disney Studios


Cast:
Plex - Paul - DH :D
Lettripp - Lauryn - Wife! :D

We woke up early this morning because we knew we were getting our room changed! Not that we didn’t love our other room, but they offered us a BETTER Magic Kingdom view so we couldn’t resist. We re-packed everything, ate more bagels, called bell services and waved goodbye to our stuff. After checked to be sure the room was totally empty, we headed down to the busses. Although we were being fairly spontaneous on this day, we decided that with our ressies at Koussina at 5, DS would be the best bet… plus we were both DYING to try the new Star Tours!

That being said, the second we got off the bus, I checked the Fastpass and wait times on my phone so we could decide our course of action.
I just have to take a moment to say how much of a time and life-saver this application truly was on this trip. Each time we arrived at a park, before we even entered the gates, I was able to find out what rides we could get Fastpasses for within our timeframe of stay in that park, and find out what lines to avoid that day (or at that moment) without walking all the way over only to find we had to turn around. Anyone with a phone capable of using this App MUST buy it… it is less than $2 and so worth every penny.

OK back to Disney Studios: We checked the wait times for our usual favorites (ToT, RR and TSMM) and all had ridiculous lines or were down temporarily. As a result, we headed STRAIGHT for Star Tours. We grabbed a Fastpass and the hopped in line, knowing that we wanted to experience as many combinations as possible. Now, I really love the movies but Paul is the pro and can better tell you what “planets” we landed on each time. After an awesome ride we walked around, waited 5 minutes outside, saw our Fastpass time was up, grabbed ANOTHER Fastpass and hopped in line AGAIN. Yea, we were kinda obsessed at this point. We rode again and had an awesome time. I LOVE the new queue… particularly the robot who scans luggage. He was hilarious and I wish we could have just stopped and watched for a while but the line always moved fast so we didn’t have the opportunity. After this ride, we walked slowly through the gift shop because our pass had another 40 minutes before we could ride. We headed over to Muppets (favorite as usual), grabbed a quick drink after laughing at the same jokes we always do and headed back to ST. The Jedi Training Camp was going on by this time so we stopped to enjoy it. After we saw the Jedi defeat Darth Vador we hopped back in line for Star Tours and once again, had a totally different ride. So to recap – we got to the Studious and ONLY rode Star Tours (with the exception of Muppets) in the first four hours. We didn’t stop because we were Star-Toursed out, but because we wanted to try and get ToT in before we had to leave for our reservation. The line said 40 minutes but it was only 15 minutes from walking through the gate to walking off the ride! Gotta love when that happens!

We took our time walking out of the park because we knew there were a couple of souvenirs we wanted to find (namely the Mr. and Mrs. Mickey ear hat pins). We stopped to watch some comedy in the street (99 _______ walked into a bar) and couldn’t stop laughing. This made me miss the Comedy Warehouse though… and the Adventurer’s Club… but that rant is for another post.

We waited a while for a boat but that wasn’t a big deal because we still had a long time until our reservation. The ride was nice and not too crowded. When we docked we headed to Koussina but it was rather early and they had not even opened the restaurant yet. This ended up being VERY cool though because right before dinner service, the entire staff walked outside, stood in a circle and chanted in unison to get pumped for the hours ahead. I have to say that this was one of my favorite meals ever at Disney World. I had the slow cooked chicken in cinnamon and tomato sauce and just thinking about it, I want more. Paul had the lamb and enjoyed his meal just as much. We shared a goat cheese and grape leaf app and enjoyed the olive oil so much that Paul both a bottle for himself. For desert we had the Baklava and Greek donuts and I ended this by eating the raspberry sauce with a spoon (yea, that good). This restaurant is an absolute repeat and if you haven’t made it yet, I highly recommend trying it next trip!

We left Boardwalk via bus to MK and Monorail to the Contemporary. When we got back to the hotel we stopped by concierge to get our new room number and to fix some problems we were having with our room keys and charging to the room. We got our luggage from bell services ourselves and schlepped them up to the room, with me complaining the whole way (we didn’t have cash for tip at this point so no asking bell services to do it). The walk was well worth it because when we got up, we saw our AMAZING new view. I swear, the castle was dead center on our window from the center of the room. We made a game-plan to enjoy the fireworks from our room at this point. However, as I was looking for my SLR to get ready for the night ahead, I found it was missing! As was my lap top! (panic ensues) I called bell services… yes they had it. We told them we’d be down to get it on our way back from the pool later.

The pool was nice and empty because it was raining a bit (ok a lot) and we enjoyed it regardless! On the way up, Paul went to get my camera and laptop and a bottle of wine while I headed up to the room and showered. He came back just in time for us to sit, pour our glasses, get in PJs and head to the balcony. This was a dream come true for me… sitting in PJs with a glass of wine, watching the fireworks over the castle with my husband ☺. It was one of those Disney moments I’ll never forget!

Next up: Blizzard Beach and Epcot

faline
09-05-2011, 05:33 PM
Congrats on your wonderful Magic Kingdom view! Last year, we spent our anniversary at Bay Lake Tower and were lucky enough to have a view of the fireworks from our balcony (even though we had only booked a lake view studio). I'm sure you created some wonderful memories!

SBETigg
09-05-2011, 05:55 PM
So wonderful! What a magical honeymoon memory for you two on that balcony. I have lots of memories like that from my honeymoon 21 years ago and we still talk about it. And we keep going back. Cheers to you!

KylesMom
09-07-2011, 02:56 PM
Isn't the new Star Tours attraction da bomb? So many different combinations, it's crazy!

After a fun day at DHS and a wonderful dinner, I can imagine how surprised you were to find out your day was going to get even better.


This was a dream come true for me… sitting in PJs with a glass of wine, watching the fireworks over the castle with my husband ☺. It was one of those Disney moments I’ll never forget! Truly - I don't think life could get much better for you, Lauryn! :wine:

Plex
09-07-2011, 07:58 PM
Although we were being fairly spontaneous on this day, we decided that with our ressies at Koussina at 5, DS would be the best bet… plus we were both DYING to try the new Star Tours!

That being said, the second we got off the bus, I checked the Fastpass and wait times on my phone so we could decide our course of action.

...
OK back to Disney Studios: We checked the wait times for our usual favorites (ToT, RR and TSMM) and all had ridiculous lines or were down temporarily. As a result, we headed STRAIGHT for Star Tours. We grabbed a Fastpass and the hopped in line, knowing that we wanted to experience as many combinations as possible. Now, I really love the movies but Paul is the pro and can better tell you what “planets” we landed on each time. After an awesome ride we walked around, waited 5 minutes outside, saw our Fastpass time was up, grabbed ANOTHER Fastpass and hopped in line AGAIN. Yea, we were kinda obsessed at this point. We rode again and had an awesome time. I LOVE the new queue… particularly the robot who scans luggage. He was hilarious and I wish we could have just stopped and watched for a while but the line always moved fast so we didn’t have the opportunity. After this ride, we walked slowly through the gift shop because our pass had another 40 minutes before we could ride. We headed over to Muppets (favorite as usual), grabbed a quick drink after laughing at the same jokes we always do and headed back to ST. The Jedi Training Camp was going on by this time so we stopped to enjoy it. After we saw the Jedi defeat Darth Vador we hopped back in line for Star Tours and once again, had a totally different ride. So to recap – we got to the Studious and ONLY rode Star Tours (with the exception of Muppets) in the first four hours. We didn’t stop because we were Star-Toursed out, but because we wanted to try and get ToT in before we had to leave for our reservation. The line said 40 minutes but it was only 15 minutes from walking through the gate to walking off the ride! Gotta love when that happens!


Disney has rally outdone themselves with the the Star Tours upgrades!!! I really want to just hang out in the queue and watch the full loop for all of the different bits of entertainment throughout. The robot scanning luggage is absolutely hilarious, and after standing in the queue several times on this trip I haven't seen the same gag twice. Whoever designed that piece of the attraction needs a massive bonus. The other security robot is also funny, but the luggage scanner totally takes the cake.

Oh wait, I almost forgot to talk about the ride!

You know, it used to be cool that WDW had a Star Wars ride. Now, there's an AWESOME Star Wars ride. The graphics are awesome, the ride is better than ever, and the random scene selection is incredible.

Lauryn also failed to mention that I got the pleasure of being the spy being smuggled on the ship on one of our trips.



When we docked we headed to Koussina but it was rather early and they had not even opened the restaurant yet. This ended up being VERY cool though because right before dinner service, the entire staff walked outside, stood in a circle and chanted in unison to get pumped for the hours ahead. I have to say that this was one of my favorite meals ever at Disney World. I had the slow cooked chicken in cinnamon and tomato sauce and just thinking about it, I want more. Paul had the lamb and enjoyed his meal just as much. We shared a goat cheese and grape leaf app and enjoyed the olive oil so much that Paul both a bottle for himself. For desert we had the Baklava and Greek donuts and I ended this by eating the raspberry sauce with a spoon (yea, that good). This restaurant is an absolute repeat and if you haven’t made it yet, I highly recommend trying it next trip!


I'm a big fan of Iron Chef, so eating at Cat Cora's restaurant after riding Star Tours repeatedly has me geeking out pretty hardcore. The food was absolutely fantastic! Total WIN!

lettripp
09-26-2011, 07:57 PM
The start of a new school year has put a significant damper on the speed of posting my reports!!! I promise I will resume soon!!!

pdrlkr
09-27-2011, 11:16 AM
Thanks for the Report! :smickey:

MississippiDisneyFreak
09-30-2011, 08:43 AM
Thanks for the report, been hearing mixed reviews on Kouzzana lately glad to hear a good one....

Jennifer_and_Chris
10-03-2011, 11:32 AM
We hope to try Kouzina's one day.... and staying in BLT.

Nothing is better than fireworks, wine and pj's... .from your own balcony.

priceless.

brivers222
10-04-2011, 01:36 PM
you are getting me so excited... how awesome was this day?!

Joannelet
10-04-2011, 02:20 PM
He came back just in time for us to sit, pour our glasses, get in PJs and head to the balcony. This was a dream come true for me… sitting in PJs with a glass of wine, watching the fireworks over the castle with my husband ☺. It was one of those Disney moments I’ll never forget!


So cute! Sounds like a Disney dream come true! :)