A Disneyland Gal's Trip to Walt Disney World - lots of words, lots of photos.

[Wendygirl]

Last Summer my 24 year old daughter said, "Mom, why don't we go back to Walt Disney World?" Back in 1991 when she was 6 years old we went as a family as my husband was going to a business event in Miami. After the business thing we rented a car and drove up to Orlando to spend three or four days at WDW.

So I got on the Disney Travel Site and started to make plans. In August I began to nail everything down. I wanted to make my airline reservations right away because gas was going up, up, up and who knew how much things would cost by April. We made our plans for the week after Easter because I work at a school and that was my week off. At the time, my daughter was working. I did all my own planning and making reservations for both WDW and the airline myself on line. I've become quite good at this because I'm always making reservations for a friend who has no computer.

I would also like to say that threads here on this site about planning a trip to WDW were extremely helpful in some of the decisions I made. So thank you!

Then the countdown began. My daughter was let go from her job in December (and the business has since gone bankrupt) and has had no success in getting a job since then. But fortunately we were able to pay for everything back in August. Then American announced they would be charging for checked luggage so we made the decision to go entirely with carry on.

I signed up for Magical Express, a 5 day Park Hopper Pass and we stayed at All Star Music. We did not sign up for the meal plan.

Altogether I took 1,906 photos (and no, I won't put you through the torture of looking at all of them). After I returned home I put my thoughts into a journal of sorts by sending my brother (Lost Boy on these boards) an email and then I posted it on my Facebook page and also sent the email to friends who are not on Facebook.

So what will follow is a link to my photos in Photo Bucket and a day by day report of what we did, and how we thought things compared to Disneyland. I'll do the photos first as some of you may only be interested in them.

So here we go, fasten your seat belts and keep your hands and arms inside the ride vehicle at all times.

[Wendygirl]

Photos of Arrival, Day 1 Link

Day One: Arrival Day April 11

Jennifer and I spent last week at Walt Disney World in Florida. The first report is very small because we didn't do much that first evening.

The weather back there was on the warm side Sunday and Monday. In the mid to upper 80's but humid. Then Tuesday we had thunder, lightning and rain showers almost all day. Wednesday and Thursday were great. Rather warm in the afternoon but not as humid.

On Saturday when we arrived we headed over to the B side of the terminal and went down to the second level where there was a Disney person to direct us. Down another level and around the corner to the Magical Express counter. We checked in there and then were directed to an area where we would get our bus. The bus for All Stars was right there and so on we got and we were soon on our way. Music playing and then on the TV screens they played a welcome with the Disney characters which explained the Resort area and how best to enjoy our stay. We arrived first at All Star Sports and a lot of the people got off there. Then next was our place, All Star Music. Walked in and did not wait long at the front desk to be checked in. We were given our cards that were our room key, and park hoppers. We opted out of having our credit card put on it or a dinning plan. There are 5 units in All Star Music. We were in a unit called Jazz. Ours was on the left. Each building is three floors and we were on the third floor. Think of the building as a T. The top of the T was along the front with the bottom part in the back. We were in the back on the third floor (no one above us) and the very last room so no one on that one side of us. We never heard anyone in the room next to us. No one ever came to the back and walked down those stairs and so it was very quiet. The room was nice. Nothing fancy but clean and two big double beds that were very comfortable. A wall safe in the room which I used and an area to hang clothes with the sink area and then a small bathroom with the tub/shower and toilet. Lots and lots of towels that were always refreshed daily. They kept giving us soap and shampoo so we brought home the extras. Beds always made every day. At the very end I left a note on the notepad by the phone thanking them (the maids) for making our stay pleasant and we left a tip.

After we settled in and unpacked and stuff we took off for Downtown Disney. We had a coupon as part of our deal for $15 off a meal at Planet Hollywood. Out front of our resort is where the buses come for pick up. There was a spot for Downtown Disney/Blizzard Beach, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Disney Studios. A bus would come and they would stop at all three All Star Resorts during the day but in the morning when people were all leaving early they had a bus for each separate resort. Sometimes they packed us on those buses like sardines, standing room only. So we waited a little while and the bus for Downtown Disney came and we were off. We got to Planet Hollywood and the wait was like two hours but when they found out there was only 2 of us we got right in. That is not a place I would normally eat at. Very noisy. But the food was good and we walked around on our way out and looked at the props and stuff. Then we walked around Downtown Disney and I took a few photos. We headed back to the pick up place and waited and waited and waited for a bus. Finally one came for All Stars and we were packed on. At this point I came to realize that All Stars is probably the Disney step child. The reason I say this is because as we waited for an All Star bus we saw buses for all the other resorts come and go sometimes two or three for the same place. Us people who were staying at the value resorts (and let me tell you, there were more of us then of the higher end people) were made to wait and get packed on. We finally got back to our room and called it a night because the next day we decided to go to Animal Kingdom. This was a recommendation I found on line at some site where it is figured out by date the best place to be on a certain date. And it was a good decision as we heard that the Magic Kingdom was packed on Easter.

So that ends day one. The next report will be Sunday at Animal Kingdom.

[Wendygirl]

Photos part 1: Day two Animal Kingdom link
Photos part 2: Day two Animal Kingdom link

Day 2 - Animal Kingdom 4/12

On to day two of our trip but our first full day in a park. Because of the predicted crowds at Magic Kingdom I felt the best park to visit would be Animal Kingdom. It is a great park and if I lived back there and had an AP I would probably spend a lot of time there. It was not that crowded. More crowded probably than normal but way better than MK as I heard that park was really bad on Sunday.

Our room had a nice clock radio and so Jennifer set it for 6:30 AM as the Park was to open at 8 AM. No magical hours there that day. Because the main places that sold breakfast at our hotel did not open until 7 AM we decided to eat when we got to AK. I was very surprised at how quickly Jen got up and started to get ready. We were down and ready to leave shortly after 7 AM. We waited for a bus and because AK is the closest park to All Stars we arrived around 7:20. So we went into Guest Services and got a map and entertainment schedule and used the restroom. We then sat and looked through everything and decided that our first priority would be to hike back to the Kilimanjaro Safaris.

People began to line up at the turnstiles around 7:35 and they opened them at 7:45. Their ticket system is different there. They have attendants for every two turnstiles and you put your card in and it grabs it and shoots it out the other side and you pick it up and walk in. This surprised me and I wasn't ready for the card to be sucked in and I was kind of confused. Anyway we walked around the Oasis and right to where you can see Discovery Island and the Tree of Life and that is where they halted everyone. Right at 8 AM music started and a large jeep type vehicle came into view with Minnie dressed up like she is going on Safari along with Goofy. They talk about the park and being safe and wearing sunscreen all in a fun way. Turns out Mickey is over by the "cliffs" near the Tree of Life like he's rock climbing and he turns around and greets us. You will see all this in my pictures and I took a video (I think). After that the rope was dropped and off we went. Many people went to the right to ride Expedition Everest and many of us went to the Safari. They were bringing in jeeps one right after the other so the wait was not long. There were lots of animals out and I set my camera to Sports Motion and got some good photos.

We decided to try and find breakfast and ended up at a bakery type place where Jen got a large cinnamon roll and I got a bagel with cream cheese and some coffee. They sell the same cruddy coffee back there as here - Nestle. I wish they would change as the coffee doesn't have a good coffee flavor.

After that we took the various trails and walks and saw lots of animals. We also took the train up to the Conservation Station and saw how they take care of the animals. We watched them check out a goose who 3 months ago had an enlarged spleen. They Xrayed him and put him on antibiotics and now after 3 months it is back to normal after another Xray which we watched. I took pictures of this too.

We left Africa and went to Asia where the tiger walk is. That was super. They call it Maharajah Jungle Trek. Saw bats and tigers and stuff and it is themed really nice.

From there we walked over to Expedition Everest and used the single rider line. The wait was maybe 15 minutes tops and we even ended up on the same train. Wow. That is a great roller coaster. I loved it. Jen has a problem with motion sickness so that is the one and only coaster she rode the whole time we were back there. We got fast passes to go back but ran out of time because of all there was to do there.

From there we went over to Dinoland and the show that is in the big building is Finding Nemo - The Musical. Looong line. But we all got in and we had good seats. Huge theater. That is a good show where the performers not only sing and speak but are puppeteers. They use the big over the head ones on long sticks. I was not able to get good pictures in there. The guy that played Crush had an amazing singing voice. It was a very well done show.

Now we were hungry for lunch. Earlier we had passed a place in Asia called Yak & Yeti Local Food Cafe. They also had a restaurant but those are more expensive. We went back there across a bridge and got lunch. It turned out one meal would have fed both of us as the portions were good sized. Jen got the Mandarin Chicken Salad and I got the Honey Chicken which came with noodles and we got some fried rice as I didn't know the Honey Chicken came with noodles. It was really good. We each had our own water bottle which we had purchased at the LA Airport and we kept refilling them and using those little flavor packets we had bought here and took with us. So we seldom ordered a beverage when we got something to eat.

After lunch we went back to Dinoland and I went on Dinosaur. Jennifer walked the line with me so she could see how everything was themed in there but bypassed the ride itself. It is the same track as Indiana Jones out here only at the beginning instead of three doors there is only one and there is no falling boulder at the end. It is full of scary dinosaurs. I like Indy Jones better.

Now it was getting close to parade time, 3:45 PM. It is called Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. I decided we should be close to the entrance of Camp Minnie-Mickey so after the parade ended we could hightail it over to the Lion King show. The parade is cute but some of the stuff looks like it has seen better days. It was a good thing we were keeping ourselves covered in sunblock as we were right out in the sun for this.

After the parade we went to see Lion King. The wait to get in was the longest yet and it was humid over there. The temp all day was probably in the mid 80's but humid. Probably not as humid as it can get there, but more than what we are used to. Finally we were allowed in and we went over to the side where the Simba float comes out from. We had a good view of everything and that is also a really great show. Those performers have amazing voices. That was the 4:45 show and so now it was close to 5:30. We got a funnel cake and found a great secluded cool spot to eat it. Then we went over to Discovery Island and looked at the animals and walked around the tree. We did not see Bugs Life. The other ride we did not do that day was the rapids as we did not want to get wet. We also never saw the bird show.

The park closed at 7 PM and it was around 6:30 when we left. We decided to take the bus to the Animal Kingdom Resort to look around there. That would be a nice place to stay. The lobby is beautiful and out back is a Savannah where you can walk out on an observation type place and see all kinds of animals there. People who have rooms overlooking this area can get up in the morning and go out on their balconies and see animals like in Africa. Cool.

Now, in order to get back to All Stars we had to take a bus to a theme park or the transportation center. There was no use taking a bus to Animal Kingdom because it had closed so I decided we would take a bus to Epcot and then a bus to All Stars. Jennifer was feeling sickish and the bus first went to Blizzard Beach where buses were picking up for hotels. Jennifer did not want to go all the way to Epcot and then all the way to All Stars. I wasn't too sure about Blizzard Beach as it looked closed and there weren't that many people there. There was another family from India on the bus that also wanted to go to All Stars and the bus driver assured us a bus would be there to pick us up. So we all got off and walked to the shelter for All Star pick up. A British woman and her son who had been at Blizzard Beach was there and she said they had been waiting for quite some time. So buses for other resorts came and went, but no All Star Bus. Then some more people got dropped off and waited with us. Finally a bus came for another resort but at the shelter next to ours and this British Woman and I went to talk to the driver. What I wanted him to do was get on his walkie talkie system and find out if there was an All Stars bus for Blizzard Beach out there. But he kept telling us it was not unusual to wait that long and I left her to argue with him. Now all this time a little ways out in the parking lot three buses were sitting idling and the drivers were out talking with a gal who had been in a small jeep type car, probably a Disney transport type person. First one bus left and then later another, leaving one bus and the girl. So I started walking over to this bus and as I got closer the girl left and the driver came over and asked if he could help. I told him we had all been sitting there for over 30 minutes and while other buses were coming, no All Stars bus ever came. So he said, "I'll come over and get you guys and take you there". I thanked him profusely and he went to his bus and I went back and everyone cheered and thanked me. He picked us up and everyone thanked him and off we went to All Stars. He first pulled into Sports and there was a huge line of people waiting for a Magic Kingdom bus and so I guess he decided to go there next and loaded as many of them as he could get on. Then he stopped at Music and we got off and thanked him again and told him how nice he was. I guess I would say that experience was probably the only really negative thing about our whole trip. But the driver's kindness made a bad situation better.

We got back to our room and decided to call it a night and just eat in our room. Jen didn't feel good so I went down to the food court and got a kid's meal cheese pizza with grapes and applesauce and small water and for Jen a Vegetable Soup. She ate the soup and some of my pizza and the applesauce while I had most of the pizza (it was small) and the grapes. I bought the food around 9 PM. We should have been back to the room sooner than that except for the bus delay.

That day was also Easter Sunday and a number of cast members wished us a Happy Easter which was nice seeing as how I missed services.

So my next report will be Monday at Magic Kingdom which is like our Disneyland.

[Wendygirl]

Day 3 Photos Part 1: The Magic Kingdom link
Day 3 Photos Part 2: The Magic Kingdom link

Day 3 The Magic Kingdom 4/13

Now we move on to Monday which we set aside for The Magic Kingdom.

That morning was a Magical Morning Hour(s) for this park and so they were opening at 7 AM, one hour before regular opening. This meant that Jen and I needed to get up at 5:45 AM. I'm not sure how we did it (skipping any breakfast until later while in the park helped) but we made it on the bus, through security and into the front area of the park for their cute little opening right before 7 AM. I had heard that for this opening (and I've seen a video of it somewhere) characters come out on the train and welcome us and sing and introduce a guest family and "officially" open the Park. That day there was no train. Instead the characters came out from the train depot. It was very cute and I video taped the whole thing (which I will later post on YouTube and post a link).

Seeing as how Magical Hours is for the Resort guests only and seeing that it was 7 AM and taking into account that the previous day is when most people went to the Magic Kingdom, the crowds at this point were light. It seemed funny to walk through a larger tunnel and out to Main Street and look around. Sort of the same as Disneyland but different. The building on the right, not the Opera House. City Hall much bigger. A firehouse that is really a gift store. Things not so close together and so on. As nice as it all was I missed the closeness and cuteness of Main Street at Disneyland.

One of the perks we got in our packet was a coupon good for a free 5x7 photo taken by a Photo Pass person. We had taken a few photos over at Animal Kingdom and had the pass with us. We found someone to take our picture on Main Street with the Castle in the background. I was surprised that at 7:15 AM how much darker it still was. The castle had a pinkish glow to it and the little lights were on on the buildings.

The only two areas open for this one hour were Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. We went through the castle looking at the lovely tile pictures that tell the story of Cinderella and out to Fantasyland. So different from Disneyland. Buildings housing the rides have not been updated like Disneyland and it didn't seem as cute and European looking. Lines were practically walk ons. First we did Snow White which we really liked. Their Snow White has a much better ending than ours. I forgot to mention that as we came out into Fantasyland a Cast Member was handing out "surprise fast passes" to Mickey's PhilharMagic so that was one thing we could leave for later. Then we rounded the corner to our left and found Peter Pan. Again we really enjoyed it. The one thing that didn't happen in theirs was the ship at the end did not turn gold. Across from Peter Pan is Small World...and talk about small and it's inside a building. Very strange. Even with the controversial updates to ours, I like ours better.

There really wasn't anything else there we wanted to see or go on so we headed over to Tomorrowland. First we went on Transit Authority. This is like our old People Mover. It isn't that big of a deal but because we don't have it anymore we really wanted to go on theirs. Then we had to do Carousel of Progress. Oh, how I miss that. Brought back such great memories. We did not do Space Mountain or the Speedway (which just reminded me of our Autopia) because we have them here. Also no Stitch Adventure because I've heard such bad things about it.

At this point we were getting hungry. Much to our surprise in looking at the guide there were only two places serving breakfast there and both were expensive sit down places. One CM thought that the Starlight Cafe in Tomorrowland offered breakfast and so we went there - no, they didn't. So we thought we would have to suck it up and try to get in to the character breakfast at The Crystal Palace. When we got there we spoke with a CM who told us the Noodle Station in Tomorrowland was serving breakfast. Apparently they don't normally do this but were for the Spring Break time periods. They usually do Chinese Food for lunch and dinner. So we went there and it was just what we wanted. Similar offerings to what we have at Tomorrowland Terrace.

So after a fortifying breakfast we headed off to visit the rest of the park. Dream Along with Mickey is a show that plays 6 times a day in front of the castle and the first performance was at 9:35 so we headed there and got up toward the front. It is cute and I took photos and a video. Jen noticed that in this show the characters eyes and mouths move. We left there and walked around to where Belle does her story time. But that's not why we were going over there. Instead we found a hidden gem. When Belle is not there doing her thing, Lady Tremaine and her daughters Drizella and Anatasia come out for a meet and greet. They stay out for an hour and let me tell you, they are wonderful. They take time with each person that comes up to them for a photo. They interact with them and the audience. It is like a little improv show. We stayed there a long time and I took tons of photos of them. So so funny.

After they left we went through Fantasyland and saw Mickey's PhilharMagic. Wow! We really should get that out here. It was wonderful. Next we went over to Haunted Mansion. Interesting. I do like the beginning of their ride once you are on the Doom Buggy. But the rest was just like ours. I did not like that you almost immediately go into the stretching room and then immediately onto a Doom Buggy. Frankly, I liked ours better. Next we walked through Liberty Square and into the Silver Horseshoe, the equivalent to our Golden Horseshoe, but no shows. And smaller. The CM there told us that he spends most of his time telling people that no, we have no show. What a shame.

From there we visited our Country Bears. Again, I miss them so much and it was so fun to see them again. They are very much loved back there and are getting the attention of the public they deserve. They are on the main road through Frontierland and each time we went (4 times altogether) the place was packed and the people were into it, clapping and stomping and laughing. It was great. Again, I took photos and on Thursday morning when we went back there I videoed them.

From here on out things get a little fuzzy but I know we did Tom Sawyer Island (no Pirate Lair there) and it was very nice. No Splash Mountain (same as ours and did not want to get wet) and no Big Thunder as the line was long (did it another day). Went back to see Country Bears. One thing I was surprised about is they have no merchandise there for Country Bears. Just a bobble head of Big Al. I was really disappointed. Headed over to Adventurland and got a Fast Pass for Jungle Cruise and then did Swiss Family Tree House (which I also miss). No Pirates (we have that) and no Tiki Room (they've ruined theirs and they sure had better not do that to ours).

We decided at this point to leave the park and take the Lagoon boat and go visit Wilderness Lodge. The boat ride is really nice and the Lodge is beautiful. We ate lunch there at their sort of fast food place and it was good with lots of "extras" that you can get for free to add to your meal. Took the boat back to the Magic Kingdom and went back in the park to see the Tremaines again. This time I got in line and when I got to them I told Lady Tremaine that I heard her daughters Drizella and Anastasia had lovely voices and could they favor us with a song (this is something Jen had heard they will do if you ask). So funny. I took a video of this. Went back over and saw Mickey's PhilharMagic again. Then on our way over to Jungle Cruise we saw Country Bears again. Our guide on Jungle Cruise was not that good but we enjoyed the ride and loved the music they play in the queue line. I think we left again at this point and got on the Monorail. We stopped at each of these places and looked around: Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Resort and Grand Floridian. This time we had dinner at the "fast food" place at the Polynesian.

After getting back to the Magic Kingdom we headed over to the Hub area so we could find a place to watch Spectro Magic and then the fireworks which went off at 10 PM. Spectro Magic was pretty but weird and strange. I could not quite figure out what, if any, story it was trying to tell. For the fireworks we were in front of the castle which turned out to be bad. The castle is so big it blocked many of the fireworks. But it was still nice.

One thing we noticed is that the people who visit WDW for the most part seem nicer and more polite than the people who visit Disneyland. Maybe because a lot are from the South and they seem to have a natural Southern charm to them. But there was no pushing, shoving, getting mad at people while waiting for the parade or fireworks. Lots of excuse me and that's OK and stuff.

At this point we decided to call it a night. We walked and walked to our bus stop and waited and waited for a bus and got packed on and got back to All Stars around 11:45 PM. A long, long day.

Next will be a dark and stormy day at Epcot.

[Wendygirl]

Day 4 - Epcot photo link

Day 4 at Epcot in the rain 4/14

On Tuesday thunderstorms, high winds and rain showers were predicted for the better part of the day. So what we decided to do was visit Epcot that day as there were many indoor activities one could do, especially in Future World. Epcot was to open at 9 AM so we were able to sleep in a little bit. We got up around 7:30 and went down to the hotel food court. We shared a pancake (two or three) with turkey sausage and a kids meal platter with bacon but I don't remember what it was exactly. It took awhile to get the food and pay for it and while Jen was waiting for me she walked away from one of the meals and birds swooped in and stole our bacon. I don't care of sausage and the pancakes had cooled so this was one of the few meals we had that I did not enjoy.

We went out and waited for the bus to Epcot and the wait was not too bad. We both took rain coats/ponchos with us. The day was cooler and cloudy and it did look like rain would come. When we got to Epcot it was shortly after 9 AM and so it wasn't very crowded yet. After looking at the Flower and Garden Show floral sculptures with a Cinderella theme, we headed over to Space Ship Earth. Several years ago they upgraded this ride and I liked it much better than I did back in 1990. Now you ride through a history of human communication. It was very well done. At the beginning of the ride they take your picture. Then on the way back down once you've reached the top of the doom they keep you busy with a little computer screen in your vehicle. They ask you a bunch of questions and then they show you what your future will look like and they have super imposed your picture on little figures. It is really well done. When you are finished with the ride you can see your picture on a big screen and you can also send it home via your email address. One thing that happened though is that the ride stopped for quite some time just as we were coming back down. For a moment they turned on the exit lights I thought we were going to be walked out. But they got the ride going again. When we got to the load/unload station a maintenance man was there and I guess one of the ride vehicle doors had stuck.

We left this ride and walked around and looked at the map to see where to go next. Now it was getting darker and started to sprinkle so we put on our rain gear. We decided to go on the Imagination Institute ride and as we were walking over there we could see flashes of lightning and hear thunder. Then there was a bright flash and thunder cracked right over us. We ran to the door way of the ride building and literally just made it inside when the rain poured down. And hard too. So we went on the ride which was kind of stupid. I wish they had not taken out the original. The only thing I liked was getting to see Figment again. When we left that building the rain had stopped but everything was sopping wet. Next we went to The Lands and took the tour in there. Jennifer really like that with her interest in gardening. We walked all around in there and also saw a movie about conservation with the characters from the Lion King. We did not do Soarin' as it's exactly like ours in DCA and the line was very long. When we came out of that building we could again tell that it had rained pretty hard again.

From there we walked over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. They have done a nice job here incorporating Nemo with big huge aquariums to look at. The Nemo ride is like our submarine ride except you are in ride vehicles sort of like a doom buggy but shaped like a sea shell. We did not do Turtle Talk with Crush as we also have that here.

So by now we were getting hungry but it was still continuing to rain lightly to moderately. We felt like having Mexican food so we made our way over to the Mexico area of World Showcase. There was no place to sit outside because all the tables and chairs were wet so we stood and ate our tacos, rice and beans under an overhang. They were good and we shared the plate. Then we went inside and rode Gran Festa Tour boat ride. Continued over to Norway and rode Maelstrom which was good. Moved on to China and saw their movie in the round. By now the day was not pleasant and there was no street entertainment and I did not want my camera out in the wet weather. We went to Germany and Italy but basically just walked by them. We reached The American Adventure and went in and saw that show. I remember it from 1990 and just love it. So patriotic. Left in the rain and went by Japan, Morocco and France and found ourselves hungry again in The United Kingdom. They were selling Fish N Chips and so got some to share but again had to find shelter to stand under and eat it that way. It was good though. Next we went to Canada and saw their movie that stars Martin Short. Again a 360 degree movie and it was good.

By now we were wet and it just wasn't pleasant so we decided to go back to our hotel and see if it got nicer in the evening to go out again. We got to All Stars a little after 5 PM and dried off and watched the news and weather report. At this point I began to realize that something was wrong with my feet. So I looked and on my left little toe I had developed a pretty good sized blister. So I went down to the front desk and they gave me some band aides but also told me that I could stop at a First Aide Station in one of the parks as they probably had better band aides. Even though my right foot did not hurt as badly as my left I decided to check it anyway. Sure enough a blister was beginning to form on that little toe as well.

Around 6:30 or 7 we decided to head over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We planned to go there the next day and thought that we could get some of the shows or attractions out of the way this night and give us more options the next day. So off we went on a bus which did not take long to pick us up. As soon as we got inside I headed right for First Aide. There the nurse gave me the kind of band aides that you can put on the tip of your finger or toe. She even helped me get them on both toes. They did help but it was becoming more difficult for me to walk.

The first thing we did was go to see the Little Mermaid show. That was really neat. Great actors and special effects. Very well done. Then we went over to see the display about Walt Disney and the movie One Man's Dream. We had an interesting conversation with a CM who loves Disneyland and is planning another trip out here. One thing I liked in the display was the area devoted to the 1950's and the beginning of Disneyland.

By now we were really hungry and decided to see if we could get into the 50's diner. When we got there we were able to get in as a standby for a table for two. Otherwise they were booked solid for the rest of the night. What a neat place. Sitting in the "living room" watching a 1950's TV waiting to be called. I love how each little room is decorated and later after we finished our meal we walked around looking at stuff and I saw things I remember that we used to have. Our server was good but not as into it as some of the other servers we observed. Jen got an appetizer of onion rings and I got the Pot Roast and then we shared. Wow, was that ever good! I also got a chocolate coke even though it's not on the menu. They have cherry and vanilla but it is harder for them to make the cholocate due to the fact that their chocolate syrup comes in the big #10 cans. But he made it for me anyway. We also bought a Bread Pudding for dessert as a to go item.

After that we decided to call it a night and just walked around Hollywood Blvd. and went into a few stores and then headed back to our hotel. I would say we got back around 10 PM. I soaked my feet in the tub for awhile, shared the bread pudding with Jennifer and it was really, really good and then went to bed

The next report will be our day at Disney Hollywood Studios.

[Wendygirl]

Day 5 - Disney's Hollywood Studios photos part 1 link
Day 5 - Disney's Hollywood Studios photos part 2 link

Day 5 Disney's Hollywood Studios 4/15

Today's report is about our second to the last day. We decided to visit Disney's Hollywood Studios. The park opened at 9 AM and so again we slept until 7 AM. This time to prevent bacon being stolen by the birds Jennifer went down to the food court and got us a large Mickey Waffle with strawberry topping on it and a cup of coffee for me. I think there was bacon with it too. It was really good. My feet were still bothering me but I put on some fresh band aides and hoped for the best. After breakfast we went down and caught the bus. We just missed a bus and so had to wait and therefore did not make it to park opening. So I don't know if they do anything special or not.

Once inside I went right to First Aide to get some more of those tip band aides to see me through the rest of our trip. We decided to go over to Tower of Terror and get some Fast Passes. As we walked up Hollywood Blvd. they were making a big production out of giving away special early bird Fast Passes to Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show so we got those. We then hung a right on Sunset Blvd. There a dressed up CM known as Miss Patootie was posing for photos and talking with guests. She was so funny. Dressed and talked liked a wanna be movie actress from the 1930's. Kind of the dumb broad type but sweet. I posed for a photo with her and then she took me along the street to introduce me to Officer ?. I wish I could remember his name and she took the photo of Jennifer and me with him. Jennifer had gone off to get our Fast Passes but came back saying they didn't have FP for this ride. What? I didn't think that was right so we went down there and found the area for FP and got a couple. We wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show which began at 10:15. I noticed that Rock N Roller Coaster had a single rider line. Jen did not want to go on so I got in line. Well it was taking too long even for that so I got out of line and Jen and I made our way over to see the stage show. It was very well done but I don't think their effects were as good as the ones we had here when we used to have this play.

Next we did Tower of Terror. Wow. We really got gypped on ours out here. I love how the elevator moves forward into the field of stars and then you start going up and down. Way cool. After we got off we went right back and got more Fast Passes.

As we made out way back up Sunset Miss Patootie was in her car playing "dumb" with the officer. It was pretty funny. From there we made our way back to the Stunt Show with the plan to then take in the Indy Stunt Show right after. The Lights, Camera, Action is really good. I got some good photos but I also took some video. This is something that went over very well at Paris Disneyland and was brought over here. After it was over we hightailed it over to Indy but we were too late to get a good seat and so decided to go back later.

I think at this point we did a lot of walking around and looking at things. We did not do Star Wars as there was no need. The park this day was very crowded. I do not like how the American Idol thing takes up so much room outside with the Jumbo Tron going. I also do not like how they've put up a stage for High School Musical 3 right in front of Mickey's Sorcerers Hat which already blocks the Grumman Chinese Theater facade.

By now my feet were hurting pretty bad but I kept going. I think now we stopped and got some lunch. The lines were long for food everywhere and there was no getting round it. I slathered on more sunblock (and by the way, the day was absolutely beautiful after the previous day's rain) and stood in line in the sun to get our lunch while Jen tried to search out a seat for us.

Now it was time to go back to the Indy Jones Stunt Show which was to start at 2:00 It was about 1:15 and I really needed to sit down. That show is pretty much how I remembered it from 1990. Turns out the guy who plays Indy has been playing him for the last 20 years. He was 18 when he started. So that means when Jen was 6 years old and saw this show, it was him.

I think at this point we took the back stage tour which was OK and then walked through Pixar Place (did not do Midway Mania), Mickey Ave. and the Animation Courtyard. They no longer have artists working in the Animation building and it is just a meet and greet place now with a wait of over 40 minutes. No thank you.

From there we headed back to Tower of Terror and did that and then I decided to brave Rock N Roller Coaster. When I made it up to where the end of the single rider line was I could tell that 6 or more people in front of me were really all friends. The wait to get on as a single rider was slow. As we got closer the guy who was directing the line could tell what was going on and he pointed to me (past all these guys) and had me come up and get on the ride (he, he, he). I'm glad I did the ride but I would never do it again. The music (which I don't care for anyway) is blasted into your ears. I was sitting in the last car which swings around a lot anyway and so my head kept hitting the restraint. Yikes.

We had earlier gone by the Sci Fi Diner but they were booked. They told us to come back later (around 7 PM) as a stand by table for 2 (which worked for us the previous night). Unfortunately it did not work this time. We went over to The Great Movie Ride and did that. Then walked over to Star Tours so Jennifer could have some pictures there. I was tired and my feet really hurt. Our original plan had been to leave the Studios and go to the Magic Kingdom, get something to eat, and stand in a better location for the fireworks but I just couldn't do it. So instead we went back to our hotel. We stopped at the food court and got dinner to take back to the room. We got a kids meal Turkey dinner and an adult meal Turkey dinner. I was really surprised at how good it was.

I was able to watch LOST and then go to bed shortly after 10 PM. Getting back early and resting is what probably helped my feet more than anything because the next day they didn't bother me near as much.

The next report will be our last day in a resort where we go back to the Magic Kingdom for a few hours taking advantage of Magical Hour and then going back to Epcot which got short changed on Tuesday.

[MsSarah]

Lovely report! I enjoyed reading it

[Wendygirl]

Day 6 - Last day at Magic Kingdom/Epcot part 1 photos link
Day 6 - Last day of Magic Kingdom/Epcot part 2 photos link

Magic Kingdom and Epcot on 4/16

Now we're finally to our last day, Thursday, at the resort. Because we had now visited all four theme parks we decided to go back to the Magic Kingdom for their magical hour which this time was 8 AM. We were not able to make it there for the opening ceremony unfortunately due again to just missing the bus and having to wait for the next one. We again got Mickey waffles for breakfast but two adult ones this time.

We remembered we had not been on the Winnie the Pooh ride in Fantasyland. I know, but I mistakenly thought this was the good one that moved around and twirled on the track. Of course as soon as we were on I realized that one must be in Tokyo. From there we went over to Mickey's Philharmagic one more time. After that we waited at the rope drop as I wanted to ride Thunder Mountain at least once. Walking back it was our intention to do Country Bears but they did not open until 10 AM so we went through over to the Jungle Cruise hoping we would get a better guide. I also wanted to listen to the neat music you hear in line. As we got on we noticed we would have an older woman. We both looked at each other thinking, oh well. But it turns out she was really good and really funny.

Back over to Country Bears and this time I videoed the entire show so that if I ever get lonesome for my bears, I can watch this.

Now it was time to leave Magic Kingdom as crowds started to pour in. We took the monorail over to Epcot. Our plan was stay in Epcot until evening and then go back to Magic Kingdom to see fireworks (and that plan later changed).

Compared to Tuesday in the rain, this day was beautiful and that place is terrific to take photos in. After taking some flower photos at the front we made our way back to World Showcase. I will let the captions on my photos pretty much cover what we did there but we started on the right side with Canada and moved around to America. We briefly hightailed it back to Great Britain to see The British Invasion (a take off of the Beatles) and then took the lagoon boat back to America and continued round. We stopped and took photos, looked in shops, watched street performers and ate lunch and dinner there. For lunch we shared a lamb platter in Morocco. It was SO good. Later we ate dinner in China. We shared a platter there that had shrimp fried rice and an egg roll and then I got extra egg rolls and steamed pot stickers.

We decided not to go back to Magic Kingdom for the fireworks. We had seen them Monday night albeit kind of obscured by the castle. We choose instead to stay in Epcot and see the show they present on the lagoon called IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth. Combination water show, fireworks and this huge earth that comes "floating" out onto the lagoon with projections on it or it in or something amazing like that. It was worth staying there to see that. We watched the show right by the lagoon over by United Kingdom. While we waited Jennifer went back over to Norway and got each of us a creamy, calorie laden Danish dessert. Yum. This was the one time I was actually cold and could have worn a jacket.

When we left we decided to walk by the other side of Future World and at least look at Test Track and Mission Space. It was magical hours and we could have stayed but we chose to move on. We did ride Spaceship Earth one more time and then went to the Photo Center. We had a coupon good for one free 5x7 that was taken on our Photo Pass card. Lots and lots of other people had the same idea. I waited in line for almost an hour. This is something you have to do there and not online. While I waited Jennifer went back over and rode Spaceship Earth again.

After getting our photo we left the park and went back to our hotel to pack and get some sleep. As it was it was after Midnight when we got back to bed. We had received from Magical Express what time we needed to be down to get the bus to the airport and we also had received our boarding passes (which was so neat).

The next morning we were up so we could get our final packing done and have breakfast. They want to take you to the airport 3 hours before the flight time so we were being picked up at 10 AM. Again for breakfast a little after 8 AM we went with those really good Mickey Waffles. Went back to our room and finished up and then lugged our carryons down to where the bus was to pick us up. We checked in and then someone from the hotel came by with a lap top computer on which we took a survey. We had mostly good things to say (except not so much on the bus service out to All Stars).

Got to the airport with plenty of time to spare. The concourse before you go through security is like a great indoor Mall. So we took turns sitting by our stuff and looked around. Then we went through security which is much better organized than LAX and went down to wait at our gate for American. Jen walked around, came back and then I went to Burger King and got our carry on lunch. The trip home was packed. No empty seat by us this time and no room for our carry on above in the bin so we crammed (there was no way I was having my bag checked) under the seat in front of us. This meant I had little leg room for a good five hours. This time the movies were Yes Man with Jim Carrey and Bedtime Stories with Adam Sandler. Not my two favorite actors but it passed the time. Got off the plane, used the restroom (!) and walked out to find Paul waiting right there for us.

And so ends our trip to the Happiest Place on Earth, Florida style. We really had a good time and except for my feet we did really well getting around. We did real good not spending a whole lot of money on food. The only things I bought for myself were two postcards to post on my wall over my desk at work, a Magic Kingdom pin and a WDW T-shirt that covers all four parks. We are traveled out for now and glad to be home. It was good to go to Disneyland again yesterday and feel at home in our nice little park and see things where they are supposed to be .

In the coming days I will be posting my videos on YouTube.

As a final summary for my MiceChat post. Yes, I am a tried and true Disneyland fan but I really enjoyed my time at WDW. Everyone who works there was super nice to us. I was really glad we had the opportunity to go and if we ever had the chance to go again, yes we would.

I hope this hasn't been too wordy for you and that you enjoyed my photos.

[migy21]

OMG!!! Those are good clippings from your trip...how I wish I could got to Disney World.

Thanks you for sharing your adventure with us.

[denice25]

thanks for the share...

[Disney Wrassler]

Back over to Country Bears and this time I videoed the entire show so that if I ever get lonesome for my bears, I can watch this.

Oh! Oh! Oh! (raises hand and shakes it wildly in the air) Can I get a copy?

Thanks for the insightful report and pictures! Looks like you all had fun !

[Micoofy Duck]

Sooooo Jealous!

[Wendygirl]

Oh! Oh! Oh! (raises hand and shakes it wildly in the air) Can I get a copy?

Thanks for the insightful report and pictures! Looks like you all had fun !

Actually, I found out when I told my brother I had done this that he is making a DVD of all 3 shows the Bears ever did when they were here - the original, the Christmas and the Vacation. So contact him and maybe he can get you a copy.

[Alice's Wonderland]

Very nice and thorough trip report! It sounds like it was wonderful. Thanks for sharing!

[Wendygirl]

I've only been had the time to get one video posted on You Tube so far. It is the opening ceremony at the Magic Kingdom at 7 AM on April 13.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXVolVM6nkg"]Link[/ame]

I'll be getting around to others in the next few days.