nvmom
03-20-2008, 08:49 AM
The cast: Myself (34 yrs) and dh (36 yrs) Previous Disney experience includes 4 trips to the Disneyland Resort since 2005 and of course obsessive reading of Mouseplanet :)
Please note, this will be long even though it's only a couple days and will be done in parts :) Also, we do have 3 children who are back home.
This was our first trip to Florida. We just got lucky that dh had to attend a show at the Orlando Convention Center and we got a couple extra days to take a quick peak at Disney World.
We stayed the first two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn at Sea World (a convention sponsored hotel.) Should you need a nice, reasonable, walking distance hotel to Sea World this hotel will suit your needs. Now onto the Disney fun...
We took a cab from the Hilton Garden Inn to the Swan/Dolphin arriving around 10:30 a.m. on Sat March 15. When we took the resort exit and drove under the "Welcome to the Disney World Resort" sign... only then did I get a sense of how totally huge & expansive this place really is. You're driving into a Disney World... literally. We passed one of the value resort entrances, a gas station, etc and then into the Swan/Dolphin area. Check in was very smooth with no wait. They did try and get us rooms that were ready but we wanted to be on at least the same floor as the couple traveling with us so we chose to wait. We stored our luggage with bell services, again no waiting and proceeded over to guest services to buy tickets. No lines, purchased 3 day park hoppers and decide to head to the Magic Kingdom.
We have a short wait for a Disney bus and we're off! We pulled into the Magic K about 11:30ish. I am very pleased at how busy it isn't! No lines to get in... maybe 8 people in front of us in the line we chose. The finger print machine/thing is new to us. That was not at Disneyland (at least not last Aug.) It was interesting experience walking into the Magic K... being Disneyland people... it felt like we'd been there... and yet not. The castle is lovely & huge of course.
We headed straight over to Adventure Land. Dh has an egg roll on the go and we headed for Pirates. We liked the que of Pirates very much. We waited maybe 10 min. The ride is good... but certainly not as good as our Pirates at Disneyland (which I was expecting.) We stopped to takes pics near Splash Mtn... we did not actually end up riding Splash.. but from what you can see from the "outside" the details and theming appear to be more impressive than at DL. We get fast passes for Big Thunder Mtn and then head towards Haunted Mansion. Along the way thru Frontierland they're doing an adorable little show w/Woody, Jessie, the Horse and there are kids riding stick horses and a few parents involved. It looked very fun! So we didn't realize the Haunted Mansion had such a diff look from the house at DL... but we found it. Waited maybe 15 min tops and enjoyed the ride. I haven't been on Haunted Mansion enough at DL to make specific comparisons. We did like the outside look of the brick house. Back thru Frontierland and grab a quick snack (hot dogs & drinks.) Time for Thunder Mtn fast passes. Line moves quickly. Love this ride!! We notice a few diff details.
Over to Tommorrowland to get Space Mtn FP. They are good for about 5:30 p.m. and the crowds are picking up. We wonder thru Tomorrowland and I check out the Transit Authority. Ok, I was never at Disneyland in the days of the People Mover... but this Transit Authority is not what I was expecting? I thought it went on a line in the sky above Tomorrowland?? I guess I just had it all wrong. Anyway, we did not end up riding the Transit Authority.
We head towards Fantasyland... and this where honesty comes in... dh & I just looked at each other like "this is Fantasyland?" To be frank the Magic K in general paled in comparison to our Disneyland in most ways... but here in Fantasyland, to us, it totally felt like a cardboard knock-off. Sad. So much of the detail is missing in the design & architecture and most of the really charming dark rides (and others) are not there. We walked thru the castle into the hub. At this point, the couple we're traveling w/have copped quite an attitude. Let's suffice to say they are not "Disney people." They ended up spending a lot of time at Universal and we didn't see much of them after this. Their loss.
So they choose to leave the Magic K and dh & I stay. We catch part of the "family parade." Not overly entertaining, but a fun idea and I'm sure my kids would think it was cool to be a part of it. We decide to ride the train to Frontierland and see the much beloved (as I read over on the Disneyland boards) Country Bear Jamboree. Again, having not been to DL as a child I'm curious to see this "classic." Ok, it's cute... but sorry, in my humble opinion it is not better than the Pooh ride currently at DL. :)
After Country Bears it's parade time... we get a spot right in front of the candy store and wait about 30 min. We are certainly noticing the heat at this point. We love the parades... they are always well done... but again, this Dream Come True Parade is not nearly as well done as the current Parade of Dreams at DL in our opinion. After the parade we get back on the train and ride around to the Main St station and head back to the Dolphin to get into our room.
So... to sum up our quick impressions of the Magic K... well, if it's the only one you've seen of course you love it. It's beautiful and charming and Disney done... but Disneyland is truly the original- a charm and atmosphere all of it's own in our opinion. :) So only comparing Magic K and Disneyland... it's Disneyland for us. :)
to be continued...
nvmom
Please note, this will be long even though it's only a couple days and will be done in parts :) Also, we do have 3 children who are back home.
This was our first trip to Florida. We just got lucky that dh had to attend a show at the Orlando Convention Center and we got a couple extra days to take a quick peak at Disney World.
We stayed the first two nights at the Hilton Garden Inn at Sea World (a convention sponsored hotel.) Should you need a nice, reasonable, walking distance hotel to Sea World this hotel will suit your needs. Now onto the Disney fun...
We took a cab from the Hilton Garden Inn to the Swan/Dolphin arriving around 10:30 a.m. on Sat March 15. When we took the resort exit and drove under the "Welcome to the Disney World Resort" sign... only then did I get a sense of how totally huge & expansive this place really is. You're driving into a Disney World... literally. We passed one of the value resort entrances, a gas station, etc and then into the Swan/Dolphin area. Check in was very smooth with no wait. They did try and get us rooms that were ready but we wanted to be on at least the same floor as the couple traveling with us so we chose to wait. We stored our luggage with bell services, again no waiting and proceeded over to guest services to buy tickets. No lines, purchased 3 day park hoppers and decide to head to the Magic Kingdom.
We have a short wait for a Disney bus and we're off! We pulled into the Magic K about 11:30ish. I am very pleased at how busy it isn't! No lines to get in... maybe 8 people in front of us in the line we chose. The finger print machine/thing is new to us. That was not at Disneyland (at least not last Aug.) It was interesting experience walking into the Magic K... being Disneyland people... it felt like we'd been there... and yet not. The castle is lovely & huge of course.
We headed straight over to Adventure Land. Dh has an egg roll on the go and we headed for Pirates. We liked the que of Pirates very much. We waited maybe 10 min. The ride is good... but certainly not as good as our Pirates at Disneyland (which I was expecting.) We stopped to takes pics near Splash Mtn... we did not actually end up riding Splash.. but from what you can see from the "outside" the details and theming appear to be more impressive than at DL. We get fast passes for Big Thunder Mtn and then head towards Haunted Mansion. Along the way thru Frontierland they're doing an adorable little show w/Woody, Jessie, the Horse and there are kids riding stick horses and a few parents involved. It looked very fun! So we didn't realize the Haunted Mansion had such a diff look from the house at DL... but we found it. Waited maybe 15 min tops and enjoyed the ride. I haven't been on Haunted Mansion enough at DL to make specific comparisons. We did like the outside look of the brick house. Back thru Frontierland and grab a quick snack (hot dogs & drinks.) Time for Thunder Mtn fast passes. Line moves quickly. Love this ride!! We notice a few diff details.
Over to Tommorrowland to get Space Mtn FP. They are good for about 5:30 p.m. and the crowds are picking up. We wonder thru Tomorrowland and I check out the Transit Authority. Ok, I was never at Disneyland in the days of the People Mover... but this Transit Authority is not what I was expecting? I thought it went on a line in the sky above Tomorrowland?? I guess I just had it all wrong. Anyway, we did not end up riding the Transit Authority.
We head towards Fantasyland... and this where honesty comes in... dh & I just looked at each other like "this is Fantasyland?" To be frank the Magic K in general paled in comparison to our Disneyland in most ways... but here in Fantasyland, to us, it totally felt like a cardboard knock-off. Sad. So much of the detail is missing in the design & architecture and most of the really charming dark rides (and others) are not there. We walked thru the castle into the hub. At this point, the couple we're traveling w/have copped quite an attitude. Let's suffice to say they are not "Disney people." They ended up spending a lot of time at Universal and we didn't see much of them after this. Their loss.
So they choose to leave the Magic K and dh & I stay. We catch part of the "family parade." Not overly entertaining, but a fun idea and I'm sure my kids would think it was cool to be a part of it. We decide to ride the train to Frontierland and see the much beloved (as I read over on the Disneyland boards) Country Bear Jamboree. Again, having not been to DL as a child I'm curious to see this "classic." Ok, it's cute... but sorry, in my humble opinion it is not better than the Pooh ride currently at DL. :)
After Country Bears it's parade time... we get a spot right in front of the candy store and wait about 30 min. We are certainly noticing the heat at this point. We love the parades... they are always well done... but again, this Dream Come True Parade is not nearly as well done as the current Parade of Dreams at DL in our opinion. After the parade we get back on the train and ride around to the Main St station and head back to the Dolphin to get into our room.
So... to sum up our quick impressions of the Magic K... well, if it's the only one you've seen of course you love it. It's beautiful and charming and Disney done... but Disneyland is truly the original- a charm and atmosphere all of it's own in our opinion. :) So only comparing Magic K and Disneyland... it's Disneyland for us. :)
to be continued...
nvmom