Sorry for the delay, folks. It's been a while since I'm on Mousepad (we never bothered to get internet at Disney).
I didnt put any of our ADRs on here, so here is a list of them before I put in any installments:
June 17, Nine Dragons Restaurant, 7:30
June 19, Le Cellier, 7:25
June 21, California Grill, 9:25 (all dinner)
also, June 22 we booked a Behind the Seeds Tour for a special Fathers' Day treat.
Now let us begin:
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
The day started early. I had gotten up at 5:18, and had alarms set for 5:20. Alex and I were going to watch the Shuttle launch! It was going to be keen! We walked down to the lobby of the Marriott Fairfield Inn at the Marriott village. We walked out the doors and I started to scope out where southeast would be, but a cab pulled up and the driver said that the launch was cancelled. Darn! So we went back to the room, I got back in bed and I drifted off
An hour and a half later, I woke up and all of us got ready to leave. We packed up the car, getting ready to go to Disney property. We drove up 4, and then on to World Drive. We were finally there!
Going to the Polynesian, we checked in. Our room was not ready when we arrived, so we went to the Magic Kingdom. We entered the park, and we were trying to decide where to go. We decided that Alex and I would go get Fast Passes for BTMRR and we would meet the parents and PotC and then we would ride it. Adventureland was extremely crowded! But Frontierland was much better then. We got the Fast Passes for about 11:30. We met the parents back at PotC and rode our first ride.
Our Fast Passes for BTMRR were already up, so we went to ride that. After getting off the ride, Mom said she wanted to do the Enchanted Tiki Room, Under New Management because she never did it. We rode it and the family really enjoyed it. I didnt really like it personally. I can watch it, it is entertaining, but I still feel the original is better. We went to get Fast Passes for Splash Mountain, and as a tradition, Alex wanted to eat at El Pirate y El Pericho, so we went to have lunch. Our Fast Passes were not up yet, and I wanted to ride the Carousel of Progress. We went to the Frontierland Train and took it over to Mickeys Toontown Fair.
We walked into Tomorrowland, and went over to ride CoP. I loved it as usual, and my parents seemed to enjoy it too. We were able to get new Fast Passes, so we got ones for Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. We walked ALL the way back to Frontierland and rode Splash Mountain. Alex and I rode in the front seat and somehow, we only got a few drops on us in the big drop. How we didnt get soaked was amazing!
So then we walked ALL the way back to Tomorrowland to use our Fast Passes. After riding, our room was ready so we went back to the Polynesian via monorail. We got our room (3502, where I am writing this right now!). Alex wanted to take a resort tour and take the monorail to the Grand Floridian and Contemporary. I went with him, and we stopped in both the Resorts. We went back to the resort, to get ready for our ADR at Nine Dragons that night. We walked to the TTC and took the Monorail to Epcot. We had to go straight to the restaurant.
The place was not crowded, and we got right in. Mom, Alex, and I shared Egg Rolls and Honey Sesame Chicken. Dad himself had Five Spice Baked Fish. It was all very, very good and tasty! And our waitress was a lot of fun too.
We went to ride Spaceship Earth before the attractions closed. After Spaceship Earth, we went and stayed a bit in Mousegears, and then went back to the Resort. I went down to the beach to watch Wishes!. The fireworks were good, but apparently they stopped playing the music on the beach. That was a disappointment, but it was all still ok. We stayed up a bit and then went to bed to get ready for the next day.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Today was a day dedicated to Epcot. We all agreed that we wanted to ride Soarin, so Alex and I volunteered to get Fast Passes for the family, while the parents rode Spaceship Earth. We met them back by the Times Board. The wait times were long, my friends. Very long indeed. Mission:SPACE? 60 minutes. Test Track? 90 minutes. Soarin? 120 minutes!
We tossed around a few ideas on what to ride. Although deciding on Mission:SPACE and walking halfway there, we stopped halfway where my dad declared he did not want to wait an hour for a ride. So that was it. No space mission for us for a bit.
The Living Seas was our next choice. We got into the clam-mobiles and saw the ride, which it still amazes me how they get the projections of our sea friends into the actual aquarium.
We walked around the pavilion a bit. I really like this pavilion. The fish can be so colorful and fun to watch! We even saw the manatee exhibit. Theyre just lumps! says Alex. I still like them, even if they are just lumps eating celery.
I saw the waiting area for Turtle Talk, so I stressed interest in seeing it. The show never fails to disappoint! I love the great guest interaction, and the kids answers are priceless! I would like to do this any time. Its a nice respite from the heat.
We were able to get new FPs, so I led Alex to the Mission so we could finally ride it. We got them, and by now, the FPs for Soarin were up. We walked over to The Land to use them, and Soarin was still just as good as ever. By now, we were all very hungry. We walked over the World Showcase to eat some foods from different lands. Alex got a quesadilla from the San Angel inn at the rest of us shared egg rolls and dumplings from Lotus Blossom.
It started to get very hot. We went to back to the Polynesian.
I rested for a few moments, and then I was up and at them. I was going over the Grand Floridian to find all of the Hidden Mickeys (at least the ones that are listed in the book!). I found them rather easily, didnt take me very long. The grounds and the GF are very nice. I got a few good photos of the castle from the marina.
I rode around the lagoon and walked around the Contemporary for a bit. Then I went back to the resort for 7 so that I would make service (food offerings at the club level. I didnt know what it meant either so thought I should let you know). Today it was lo mien. I had more Chinese food in those past 24 hours then I had in the past year!
Back to Epcot for the night. There was EMH that night until midnight. We went in and rode Spaceship Earth yet again before going to the World Showcase for a bit of shopping. We stopped in France to watch Impressions de France. We were in France (and you must say this with a long a in order to read this trip report) when Illuminations began. This is, of course, my favorite show on property. The music and visuals prove for a very thrilling experience.
After the show, parents went back to the resort and Alex and I stayed for EMH. We ran around for like 15 minutes trying to find where to get wrist bands, when a cast member enlightened us to the fact that there are no more wrist bands. Somehow I missed that tidbit of information.
We then proceeded to walk around the rest of the showcase, stopping in Norway to get cake and cookies and in Mexico to ride the Three Caballeros ride. We went to future world and there really was not much to do without waiting for an infinity of time. We went in Mousegears and I got my father Fathers Day gifts that my mom pointed out to me beforehand while my brother went to wander around (im really not sure where he went). I got the goods and then we rode Mission:Space before we left the park.
A good Epcot day all n all. Tomorrow will be the Studios and Le Cellier and the PM!
Friday, June 19, 2009
We were all up and ready at about 9 or so, and we went down to the club level lounge to have the regular continental breakfast. For breakfast, the offerings everyday were bagels with fixins, sticky buns, croissants, plus different kinds of cereal such as frosted flakes, fruit loops, raisin bran crunch (from Kelloggs!) and cheerios.
We went down to the bus stop and the bus to Hollywood Studios pulled up just in time. The bus was, well, the bus.
We pulled up to the park and went to the entrance. Alex and I were volunteered to run to Toy Story Midway Mania to get Fast Passes. We ran all the way there, and the distribution times were for 5 to 6. Why do we even bother? We met up with the parents again so we could go down Sunset Boulevard (that twisting boulevard) to get FPs for Tower of Terror!
After receiving these, we went over to the Great Movie Ride area. We stopped to get popcorn and water at a cart near the hat. We sat for a couple of minutes, when a cast member came up to us for a survey. She asked us questions like where we were staying, how long we were staying, etc, etc. She was from our state, actually the Pittsburgh area, which is on the other side of the state from us. She gave me some good advice for me if I were to hopefully get into the Disney College Program. She was very helpful!
After this little break, we went to ride the great movie ride. Now in the line, we got to see some of the great ways people come up to skip ahead in line. We were standing there and the line in front of us started moving. When the moving part got up to us, a child ran beside us and ahead. All of the sudden, the rest of his family comes up behind us (about 5 people) and chase after him. And when they finally got him, they just stayed in front of us. And they even did it again before the line reached the door. And you know what else is funny? We were on the same ride vehicle, so skipping in line did absolutely nothing for them!
So we did not let that ruin our day. We got off the ride and our FPs for ToT were ready. Us 3 rode it and we met mother after we got off (she does not ride, we are lucky to get her on BTMRR and Splash). We strolled over to the other side of the park after this.
On the Streets of America, we saw Muppetvision, one of my personal favorites. We walked around randomly and then we wanted to go on the backlot tour.
In line, a cast member walked up to us. She asked if we were a family of four. We are a family of four. And guess what? She was looking for a family of four! !We were picked to do the beginning pre-show of the backlot tour. You know, where they sit in the booth and spray you with water.
Of course mom did not want to do it, and I didnt want to either, but I went along with it. The one cast member took us into the shack, and gave us some slickers and boots to put on. I was feeling so nervous, I really did not want to do this. There was a technical difficulty, so we had to wait 10 minutes. At this point, I felt like I was about to throw up. And then there was another technical difficulty, and on a 2 to 1 vote (Alex voted ye) we did not want to wait that long. We took our giant raincoats off and we left to go on the ride. I was so relieved, but still shocked.
We did not ride this since they added the stunt show, and it was cool to see what that looked like backstage. It is cool to ride this and see what it is like behind the scenes of the movies.
We were ready to go back to the hotel after this, and we leisurely walked through the shops to the parks entrance to get ready to leave. We took a bus to the TTC and then walked over because the bus to our resorts left just as we were walking up.
I left the family to take the monorail around the lagoon again. I got off at the magic kingdom and actually walked on the path that was originally built to go all the way around the lagoon. It was very peaceful (yet hot). I even got to hear some wonderful monorail horns!
I then went to the contemporary to walk around. I went into the garden wing, something I never did. I also walked along the beach on Bay Lake and all in the tower.
I went back to the Polynesian to get ready for dinner at Le Cellier. Our ADR was at 7:25. We got on the monorail and went to Epcot. We walked slowly over the Canada because we had some time to kill. At the restaurant, our waiters name was Mo. Alex and Dad had a filet with mushrooms, Mom had prime rib, and I had a Kansas City strip with some kind of coffee rub. The meal was amazing! Just as good as Le Cellier always is.
So today is Friday, so that means EMH at MK. And, for whatever reason, the park was open until midnight, so that means park time until 3 in the morning!
Alex and I arrived in the park around 9:50 ( the monorail was a bit slow) so we decided to stay in the town square until Wishes was over. Alex ran off somewhere so I had to find a spot for myself. I found a spoton top of the white water fountain. I sat while Wishes was going on, and Alex came back soon. We dodged traffic to get to adventureland, where we rode Jungle Cruise and Pirates. We then went to frontierland and got a FP for Thunder Mountain, and we went back to Fantasyland.
In Fantasyland, we rode its a small world and also Fantasmic. There was enough time to go in a store until our FP for Thunder Mountain were up. We went back to Frontierland and rode Thunder and then we rode Splash, because the wait was not that long. I started to get hungry, and most good places were closed already. A cast member told us Cosmic Rays was open, so we walked over to Tomorrowland. It was closed, and we had nothing else to do.
Alex suggested that we do the Tomorrowland Speedway. I got to drive a little bit! There was still a little bit of time, so we rode Astro Orbiters for the first time. There is a great view from up there! It was about 3 now, so we took the monorail back to the hotel and went to bed. And by the way, I got a dole whip every day. They are the best!
Stay tuned for Animal Kingdom on Saturday!
And thank you for reading so far
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