ourtrip
05-20-2007, 07:50 PM
Travel dates: March 29th - April 8th
Travel method: Plane from Maryland, Magical Express
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Accommodations: Standard view room - had a decent view of the savannah though - room was above the check-in desk
Ages Represented in Group: Wife 35 - Me 39
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Our 7th Trip - annual for the most part
Comments: Our second trip during Easter week and probably the last during that time. Overall it was a great trip, had a few hiccups here and there
Cast of characters: Just me and the wife :)
Day 1 March 31st - We avoided the Philly connection and went to Charlotte instead - excellent choice - nice, clean, efficient airport. Magic Express was good and in under 10 minutes we were on our way, unfortunately we were the last ones dropped off so it was well over an hour to the resort.
Checked in around 3:30 - and we were quickly off to AK, managed a few quick rides on EE, hit the Safari and Tough to Be a Bug. Headed over to the Contemporary for dinner at the California Grill. Excellent server and dinner, but we didn;t get "fireworks viewing" seats, so we had to leave dinner and watch the show. wife got ill during the show - not sure why - too much air travel, rich food, heights - combination of all... She ended up feeling better a short time afterward, so we headed back to AKL for some much needed rest.
Day 2 April 1st - Our Anniversary, yeah we were married on April Fool's Day.
Spent the am in AK. We were lucky enough to get a Dream Fast Pass after getting off the Safari - helped a lot with managing the crowd levels.
My surprise was the special boat ride to view Illuminations - we left from the Yacht and Beach Club and had nice comfortable seats to view the show and fireworks. We docked under the bridge, a very romantic and unique experience.
Day 3 April 2nd - MGM - again hotter than we expected and crowded. Managed to get the EMH in the am to squeeze a little more fun in the day. hit the Tower and Rock-n-oller a few times through out the day. Managed a Dream FastPass while doing the Animation Tour. Most of the big attractions were done before the day was over. We took a break around 1:00 to cool off and rest in our room a bit. The evening let us do Tower again and a few of the less crowded attractions. We had excellent dinner at the Brown Derby and of course the seating for Fantasmic. I love that show, so all in all a great day.
Day 4 April 3rd - Back to MK - redid a few attractions and saw Mickey in the tent. Took a more relaxed approach to the day and enjoyed just being there with each other. Took a late-day break to refresh and cool off before heading to the Polynesian Resort for dinner at O'hana. My wife loved this place. It was new to us, so we didn't know exactly what to expect. We usually don't like the buffet style meals, but this was awesome. Great food and atmospshere and we had an excellent table next to a window looking out to the MK. We watched the water parade and Wishes from the beach before heading back to AKL.
Day 5 April 4th - AK - Very hot and crowded, but took advantage of the EMH in the am and were able to hit all the attractions we wanted. Finding Nemo was well worht the long wait in the sun. Spent a long time on the animal paths and We had a rather plain dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe - can't wait for the new restaurant to open... Headed back to AKL to watch the animals a bit.
Day 6 April 5th - Spent the day at Epcot - very, very crowded - soaring was over a hour and and half wait time :mad: We managed to get in Mission Space, Test Track, Turtle Talk, and Nemo as well as Honey I Shrunk... before hitting the World Showcase for some entertainment and shopping. Excellent dinner at the Coral Reef.
Day 7 April 6th - Check-Out day... Went to MGM to say good-bye. did Tower of Terror and Rock-n-Roller Coaster. Had lunch at Sci-Fi and did a bit of last minute shopping. BAck to AKL at 3:30 for a quiet ride to the airport.
BEST EXPERIENCE - Had a great cast member really playing it up on the Tower of Terror - so I played along (accused wife of not tipping etc...) Over the course of the day we saw him about 3 times and he let us take a picture when he was working the gate by the sign - I noticed his name tag listed his hometown as about 30 minutes form where we live and mentioned where we were from. turns out he lived in our town growing up and went to the school where my wife teaches. He hooked us up with a few special passes for the ride. so we ended up seeing him a few more times that day. Made the vacation seem extra magical...
This was my first attempt at a trip report, was fun to re-live it a bit :D
Travel method: Plane from Maryland, Magical Express
Resort: Animal Kingdom Lodge
Accommodations: Standard view room - had a decent view of the savannah though - room was above the check-in desk
Ages Represented in Group: Wife 35 - Me 39
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Our 7th Trip - annual for the most part
Comments: Our second trip during Easter week and probably the last during that time. Overall it was a great trip, had a few hiccups here and there
Cast of characters: Just me and the wife :)
Day 1 March 31st - We avoided the Philly connection and went to Charlotte instead - excellent choice - nice, clean, efficient airport. Magic Express was good and in under 10 minutes we were on our way, unfortunately we were the last ones dropped off so it was well over an hour to the resort.
Checked in around 3:30 - and we were quickly off to AK, managed a few quick rides on EE, hit the Safari and Tough to Be a Bug. Headed over to the Contemporary for dinner at the California Grill. Excellent server and dinner, but we didn;t get "fireworks viewing" seats, so we had to leave dinner and watch the show. wife got ill during the show - not sure why - too much air travel, rich food, heights - combination of all... She ended up feeling better a short time afterward, so we headed back to AKL for some much needed rest.
Day 2 April 1st - Our Anniversary, yeah we were married on April Fool's Day.
Spent the am in AK. We were lucky enough to get a Dream Fast Pass after getting off the Safari - helped a lot with managing the crowd levels.
My surprise was the special boat ride to view Illuminations - we left from the Yacht and Beach Club and had nice comfortable seats to view the show and fireworks. We docked under the bridge, a very romantic and unique experience.
Day 3 April 2nd - MGM - again hotter than we expected and crowded. Managed to get the EMH in the am to squeeze a little more fun in the day. hit the Tower and Rock-n-oller a few times through out the day. Managed a Dream FastPass while doing the Animation Tour. Most of the big attractions were done before the day was over. We took a break around 1:00 to cool off and rest in our room a bit. The evening let us do Tower again and a few of the less crowded attractions. We had excellent dinner at the Brown Derby and of course the seating for Fantasmic. I love that show, so all in all a great day.
Day 4 April 3rd - Back to MK - redid a few attractions and saw Mickey in the tent. Took a more relaxed approach to the day and enjoyed just being there with each other. Took a late-day break to refresh and cool off before heading to the Polynesian Resort for dinner at O'hana. My wife loved this place. It was new to us, so we didn't know exactly what to expect. We usually don't like the buffet style meals, but this was awesome. Great food and atmospshere and we had an excellent table next to a window looking out to the MK. We watched the water parade and Wishes from the beach before heading back to AKL.
Day 5 April 4th - AK - Very hot and crowded, but took advantage of the EMH in the am and were able to hit all the attractions we wanted. Finding Nemo was well worht the long wait in the sun. Spent a long time on the animal paths and We had a rather plain dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe - can't wait for the new restaurant to open... Headed back to AKL to watch the animals a bit.
Day 6 April 5th - Spent the day at Epcot - very, very crowded - soaring was over a hour and and half wait time :mad: We managed to get in Mission Space, Test Track, Turtle Talk, and Nemo as well as Honey I Shrunk... before hitting the World Showcase for some entertainment and shopping. Excellent dinner at the Coral Reef.
Day 7 April 6th - Check-Out day... Went to MGM to say good-bye. did Tower of Terror and Rock-n-Roller Coaster. Had lunch at Sci-Fi and did a bit of last minute shopping. BAck to AKL at 3:30 for a quiet ride to the airport.
BEST EXPERIENCE - Had a great cast member really playing it up on the Tower of Terror - so I played along (accused wife of not tipping etc...) Over the course of the day we saw him about 3 times and he let us take a picture when he was working the gate by the sign - I noticed his name tag listed his hometown as about 30 minutes form where we live and mentioned where we were from. turns out he lived in our town growing up and went to the school where my wife teaches. He hooked us up with a few special passes for the ride. so we ended up seeing him a few more times that day. Made the vacation seem extra magical...
This was my first attempt at a trip report, was fun to re-live it a bit :D