BriarRose0708
10-25-2012, 12:29 AM
Hey everyone! Whew, today was a long one but it was awesome. I met up with Jared this morning just after rope drop at Magic Kingdom. We headed back immediately to Fantasyland to see if the new parts were open. Sadly for us, it was a Cast Member preview day and even though we checked back consistently this area was off-limits to us. But, we got it on pretty good authority that it's highly likely we'll see it open Friday night during the Halloween Party. Here's hopin!
We got so much done today though! It was my first time seeing Main St. without scrims and it looks spectacular. The fall decorations add so much charm to that area as well. We covered Pooh, Storybook Circus (Dumbo, Barnstormer, and all 4 character meets), Philharmagic, and Small World, Big Thunder, Pirates, Tiki Room, a break for a Citrus Swirl and Jungle Cruise all before lunch! Took a break at Liberty Tree for lunch, it was very good. Did Haunted Mansion and used a Fastpass for Peter Pan after lunch and then Jared headed over to EPCOT.
Striking out on my own, I tacked Tomorrowland. First up was Space Mountain. It was posted as 40 minute wait but I was out in 30. Also ran into an old college friend outside the bathrooms, that was surreal! Hadn't seen her since freshman year and there she was. I needed a bit of a rest, so I hit up TTA, Carousel of Progress and grabbed a Buzz fastpass. Crossed the hub to Hall of Presidents to continue recharging. Had never seen HOP before, it was actually pretty good. I browsed up and down the shops on Main Street and have scouted out some souvenirs to pick up later. Went back to Tomorrowland and it started to sprinkle so I ducked into Laugh Floor and then used my FP for Buzz. It was a bit past 6 p.m. so stopped into Cosmic Ray's for dinner. Yummy!
Couldn't really decide what to do next. I knew this would be my only opportunity to see Main Street Electrical Parade so I needed to kill time. Went back to Liberty Square and did HM again, it stopped three times and took a lot longer to get through that I thought it would. They were starting to set up for the parade so I found a seat in front of the Shootin' Arcade and waited while chatting with a nice family for a bit. Then MSEP started! Now, I am a SpectroMagic devotee and really miss this particular parade. But I have to say that even though I don't like the MSEP music at all, I really enjoyed the floats.
I still had to do Splash Mountain but with the tail end of the parade heading in that direction I joined three other people in the Country Bears waiting room to see the new version of the show. I thought it was too short! Didn't see what was wring with the last version except for the animatronics needing attention. Wish they had kept it as it was. By the time I got out the path was clear to Splash and I walked right on. Wishes had started so it was nice to watch the fireworks from the top of the mountain. I only got a little wet on Splash this time around- there were NO water cannons on. Lame!
Following the masses out of the park after Wishes, I actually made it to the Pop bus stop in good time and there were two buses loading. I met up with Sherri at Petals and then we walked over to Art of Animation to meet up with Kazateer and her husband. Just got back to my room about half hour ago. I can't believe I'm still standing after such a busy yet very productive day!
A big thanks to Sherri and Amy for saving my phone. I neglected to pack my charger so Sherri let me borrow hers while we were at the pool bar and Amy has an extra one when she arrives tomorrow. I really, really appreciate it ladies!
So, since today was a marathon I'm not going to push myself to get up for rope drop at EPCOT tomorrow. Especially since we'll get to do a group ride of Soarin' on Saturday. So the new plan is to sleep until 8:30 or so and get to EPCOT just before World Showcase opens to start enjoying Food and Wine Fest!:mickey:
We got so much done today though! It was my first time seeing Main St. without scrims and it looks spectacular. The fall decorations add so much charm to that area as well. We covered Pooh, Storybook Circus (Dumbo, Barnstormer, and all 4 character meets), Philharmagic, and Small World, Big Thunder, Pirates, Tiki Room, a break for a Citrus Swirl and Jungle Cruise all before lunch! Took a break at Liberty Tree for lunch, it was very good. Did Haunted Mansion and used a Fastpass for Peter Pan after lunch and then Jared headed over to EPCOT.
Striking out on my own, I tacked Tomorrowland. First up was Space Mountain. It was posted as 40 minute wait but I was out in 30. Also ran into an old college friend outside the bathrooms, that was surreal! Hadn't seen her since freshman year and there she was. I needed a bit of a rest, so I hit up TTA, Carousel of Progress and grabbed a Buzz fastpass. Crossed the hub to Hall of Presidents to continue recharging. Had never seen HOP before, it was actually pretty good. I browsed up and down the shops on Main Street and have scouted out some souvenirs to pick up later. Went back to Tomorrowland and it started to sprinkle so I ducked into Laugh Floor and then used my FP for Buzz. It was a bit past 6 p.m. so stopped into Cosmic Ray's for dinner. Yummy!
Couldn't really decide what to do next. I knew this would be my only opportunity to see Main Street Electrical Parade so I needed to kill time. Went back to Liberty Square and did HM again, it stopped three times and took a lot longer to get through that I thought it would. They were starting to set up for the parade so I found a seat in front of the Shootin' Arcade and waited while chatting with a nice family for a bit. Then MSEP started! Now, I am a SpectroMagic devotee and really miss this particular parade. But I have to say that even though I don't like the MSEP music at all, I really enjoyed the floats.
I still had to do Splash Mountain but with the tail end of the parade heading in that direction I joined three other people in the Country Bears waiting room to see the new version of the show. I thought it was too short! Didn't see what was wring with the last version except for the animatronics needing attention. Wish they had kept it as it was. By the time I got out the path was clear to Splash and I walked right on. Wishes had started so it was nice to watch the fireworks from the top of the mountain. I only got a little wet on Splash this time around- there were NO water cannons on. Lame!
Following the masses out of the park after Wishes, I actually made it to the Pop bus stop in good time and there were two buses loading. I met up with Sherri at Petals and then we walked over to Art of Animation to meet up with Kazateer and her husband. Just got back to my room about half hour ago. I can't believe I'm still standing after such a busy yet very productive day!
A big thanks to Sherri and Amy for saving my phone. I neglected to pack my charger so Sherri let me borrow hers while we were at the pool bar and Amy has an extra one when she arrives tomorrow. I really, really appreciate it ladies!
So, since today was a marathon I'm not going to push myself to get up for rope drop at EPCOT tomorrow. Especially since we'll get to do a group ride of Soarin' on Saturday. So the new plan is to sleep until 8:30 or so and get to EPCOT just before World Showcase opens to start enjoying Food and Wine Fest!:mickey: