Cheshirecatgirl Finally Returns to WDW, May 19-23, 2011 All Star Music

[cheshirecatgirl]

Cast of characters: Cheshirecatgirl age 31, aka Susan and my best friend from college Jill
Travel dates: May 19-23, 2011
Travel method: airplane from San Diego, then Disney's Magical Express to resort, Jill drove
Resort: All Star Music
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: veterans!


Well, it had been a long year and a half since I'd been to WDW. For some background, I grew up in south Florida and went to WDW sveral times in my youth and many many times in college and after. I lived in Kissimmee and worked on Disney property for 3 years. During that time, I practically lived at the parks! Then, in Jan 2008, I moved out of Florida and have lived for nearly two years in San Diego, CA. So now I have over a year of Disneyland experiences to compare. My last WDW visit was Oct 2009.

I missed WDW a great deal and decided to make this trip to see the Flower and Garden Festival. Alas, I misread the dates and booked the trip too late for the festival, but I was still eagerly awaiting my trip. There were so many things I missed about WDW, although I have grown to love Disneyland. I was worried I wouldn't have time to see and do everything, but I decided the most important thing would be to relax and enjoy myself. I was also glad to be going with my dear friend Jill.

Thursday May 19th: I had to get up at 4AM to get to the airport in time for an early flight. Flying was uneventful and I got to Orlando around 4PM. Besides WDW, Jill and I would make our first ever visit to Islands of Adventure to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. I am a fairly recent fan of HP, having just read the books this past year. At any rate, I stopped by the Universal store at the airport and bought our tickets there, so we wouldn't have to take time to do that the next morning.

I caught Disney's Magical Express to All Star Music. We stay here the most often, because it's cheap and we like it the best of the value resorts. When I arrived, Jill was there to meet me and had already checked in and everything. We went to the room in the Rock Inn section and I settled in a bit. Then we decided to go to Downtown Disney for the evening. We drove over and parked near the AMC theater on the West Side. We decided to see the movie Bridesmaids. We got a little confused at the theater, since they have remodeled it and added in theater dining on one side. We ended up having to go around the building to the other side to get in. We also decided to eat at Wolfgang Puck Express first, so we went over there and got our usual four cheese pesto pizzas! Yum!

The movie was good, mostly pretty funny, with some sad parts, gross parts and touching moments. Jill and I cracked up over one line, Meats and cheeses. I won't give away where that came from, but we used that line as a running joke the rest of the trip!

After the movie, it was late, so we lamented over the lost dance clubs of Pleasure Island and then headed back to the resort for the night.

[cheshirecatgirl]

Friday May 20: Jill and I got up early and headed out to Islands of Adventure. I had only been to Universal Studios once, back in 1997 and never to IoA. We found parking easy enough and loved the moving walkways out of the parking garage! We had to walk through CityWalk and then were at the gate. It was about 8:15 AM when we got there, so we had to wait. They let us in before 9, though. And almost everyone headed straight for Wizarding World! But it really wasn't too crowded then. We walked down the Hogsmeade street to the castle and went in. The wait time said 20 min, but it didn't seem like it, we were moving the whole time. The queue takes you through the greenhouses and into the castle. The castle is full of talking portraits and statues and such. Also you get to go through Dumbledore's office. I was so busy looking at everything, I didn't even take any pictures!

Now for the ride, Forbidden Journey. I didn't get to go on it. You may have heard about large people not fitting, and I did my share of reading about that and even tried to lose more weight before the trip, but it wasn't enough. Jill rode and said it was cool, but didn't offer much further comment. I think she felt bad that I couldn't ride, and I did, but I decided not to let it get me down. I knew I was on the border of being too big. There's always next time. My only comment to Jill was, Darn my big butt! I waited in the gift shop for her, and she reappeared pretty fast. That made me feel better, as it was not a very long ride.

After that, we rode the Hippogriff ride, which was a fun and short little coaster, kind of like Goofy's Barnstormer. It takes you past Hagrid's hut, so that was cool.

It was only a bit after 9, but it was hot, so we stood in an outdoor line for some frozen Butterbeer. Oh wow, it was soooo good! It tastes kind of like cream soda, only slightly buttery. Like butterscotch I guess, but the buttery flavor was very subtle. At any rate, it was delicious. We stood around on the bridge, sipping away and taking pictures of the castle. Then we headed down the street to browse in the shops. There was already a long line to get into Ollivanders. We looked in all the windows, which have great details. Fans will love them! We took pictures of each other looking scared at the wanted poster of Sirius Black. Then we headed into Honeydukes, which is also connected to Zonko's Joke Shop. Honeydukes was very bright and colorful, and displayed pretty much all the candies and treats mentioned in the books. I took pictures of most of them, since I wasn't actually interested in eating them. But they were fun to see: Ton Tongue Toffee, Fizzing Wizbees, chocolate frogs, peppermint toads, coconut ice, acid pops, sugar quills, and of course, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans. They also had a bakery case with things like pumpkin tarts, treacle fudge, and cauldron cakes.

Zonkos had many of the joke items mentioned, both from the actual Zonkos and from the Weasley Twins' shop. My fav was the jar of U No Poo! And they had pink and purple Pygmy Puffs. I got a purple one and named him Furrnando. We spent quite awhile in there, just looking at everything. They had Sneakoscopes and punching telescopes and extendable ears, to name a few.

Finally, we left those shops and decided to go over to the Jurassic Park section for a bit. Jill was into Jurassic Park in high school, so she wanted to see it. The ride was closed, but we went into the Discovery Center and looked around. Not much to it. Then we went back to WW and had lunch at the Three Broomsticks. It was hot, and we were thirsty, so we each ended up getting three drinks! Butterbeer, Pumpkin Juice and Pumpkin Fizz. I got the roasted chicken, which came with roasted corn and potatoes. It was very good. I liked the Pumpkin Juice and Fizz. The fizz was basically the juice but fizzy.


After lunch we browsed in Dervish and Banges, which carries all the Hogwarts school stuff, uniforms, books, and other accessories. They had Quaffles, Golden Snitches, ties and scarves in the various house colors and lots more. I wanted a cauldron, but it was pretty heavy! They had the Monster Book of Monsters in a cage and it jumped at me and scared me! There was a display of Spectrespecs.

Attached to Dervish and Banges on one side was Ollivander's. The line to get in and get the wand shop experience was very long, but we went in the back way and just looked at the wands. Also, they had wands in another attached shop, the Owl Post. That shop was full of stuffed owls and quills and wands and other supplies. They had the Quick Quotes Quill for sale. There were each of the various main characters wands available, as well as generic ones. Jill considered getting one, but decided it wasn't worth $30.

After we had thoroughly browsed all the shops, and walked up and down the street, it was time to go. I stopped to get a bottle of pumpkin juice to go and we were off. By this time, it was around noon and getting very crowded. It definitely pays to get there early!

Before we left for good, I had to stop in the Jimmy Buffett Margaritaville store in CityWalk. I had gotten into Jimmy Buffett a couple years ago and enjoyed walking around the shop. They had a lot of cool t shirts and margarita stuff, but I decided I didn't need any of it. Then we finally went back to the parking garage and drove back to All Star Music for a break.

[cheshirecatgirl]

When Jill and I had our break in the hotel room, we sampled Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. This was slightly dangerous, as they included all the gross ones mentioned, such as bogies, vomit, earwax, dirt, earthworm, rotten egg, etc. And yes, we tried them all. The vomit one was the worst, I spit it out and had to drink something. Ugh. Earthworm was also quite disgusting. Dirt tasted like dirt, but wasn't too bad. There was also grass, which tasted like grass, but not too bad. Earwax had a faintly waxy taste, but was mostly sweet. Rotten egg just tasted like lemon. And of course, Jill and I often peppered our conversation with the quote, "Alas, earwax." We also said this whenever we happened to say Alas about anything. I know, we're weird!

In the late afternoon, we decided to go to Magic Kingdom. We drove over and stopped at the TTC to get tickets. Then we took the ferry. We made a big deal about the castle, because it was so big! And you can see it across the lake! I have grown used to Disneyland's smaller castle, and I love it, but I do also love the big one at MK! Magic Kingdom was rather surreal, though, after spending the past year and a half going to Disneyland. Everything so spread out and open and far apart! I have now gotten used to the close and cozy DL and I think I rather prefer DL as a whole now!


Jill and I went into Adventureland first and the first thing we saw was a line for Ariel to the right of the entrance. We paused and behold! Prince Eric was there too! Now this was exciting. Jill has been in love with Prince Eric since she was 10 years old, and she has never once found him at a meet and greet before. She looked at me all excited and said, Can we wait? Of course! I know how long she's been waiting for this! So we got in line. We had to wait about 40 minutes, since they left for a break halfway through. I passed the time by leaving Jill in line and going over to the Sunshine Tree Terrace and getting a citrus swirl. They don't have Citrus Swirls on the menu anymore, but I got one anyway! I just asked for half orange slush and half vanilla soft serve and voila! I love those! It was so hot that I slurped through it and the ice cream melted enough that it all mixed together nicely.

So Jill finally got to meet Prince Eric and have her picture taken with him! It was a historic moment!

After that, we went on Pirates. Although the ride itself is not as long and is missing element from DL's version, I still really love this version. I also really love the queue for it, so I enjoyed that. And then I had to browse the shop too and get some new earrings.

We walked along Frontierland. We tried to see the Country Bears, but they were "sick". So we went over to Haunted Mansion. I love the new interactive queue! Very fun! Also, the new end part with the hitchhiking ghosts was cool too. Then we went to Pecos Bill's for dinner. After that, the Country Bears were working again, so we saw that. I love the Country Bears! Jill and I sang along to all the songs.

So then we headed to Fantasyland and saw Mickey's Philharmagic. Then I wanted to ride Small World. Now, here's the thing. I liked Small World well enough back in the day, but it was not a very exciting ride. Then I went to Disneyland and really loved the holiday version. And so I am used to the longer and better version at DL now, so I wanted to compare with MK. Well, DL wins on this one, no question! And then we got stuck in the last room for ages! By the time we got off, it was more than time to get a spot for Wishes.

We went around to the front of the castle and saw the new show, Magic Memories and You, I think it's called? I don't know, but it was a very neat show. All castle projections and lots of neat effects. I took lots of pictures of it! Then Wishes. Now Wishes is not my favorite show. In fact, I don't really care about it at all. But I've heard it often enough that I can still sing along!

After Wishes, we went to Liberty Square and got a good spot for the Main St Electrical Parade. We got there an hour early and no one else was in the area for awhile. Later, more people came and sat down behind us. We were at the rope, along with some others and we were all standing. I really cannot sit down on the ground because of my bad knees. I wouldn't be able to get up again. Well, the people behind us tried to get our attention. I ignored them, but the couple standing next to us answered and they asked if we would all sit down. The couple next to us said no, they had been waiting a long time to get a good spot and everyone would stand when the parade came through anyway. The people behind were obviously miffed, but no way was I sitting. You have to get there early for good spots!

Well we enjoyed the Electrical Parade as always. Jill and I both love Elliot the best!

After the parade, we walked over to Adventureland and found a spot to sit and wait for the crowds to die down, as the park was closing and everyone was leaving at once. Then we left and drove back to AsMu for the night.

[drewtime]

Hi Cheshirecatgirl!
I really enjoyed your trip report! Your descriptions for the Harry Potter section of Universal was so fun to read with all of your descriptions of the park. I really want to visit there someday too. I'm also from CA, so it probably won't be for quite awhile. I'm glad that you had so much fun.

[cheshirecatgirl]

Thanks, drewtime! More to come!

Sat May 21: Jill and I slept in, since we'd had a late night. Then, Jill's brother met us and we headed off to Epcot for the day. We took the bus this time, since we knew we would want to have some drinks around the World! We arrived around 11AM and took a shortcut through Innoventions to get to The Land. We got fastpasses for Soarin, with a return time of 3:30. Then we went over to The Seas and rode the Nemo ride. I would have liked to stop and look at the fish, but we wanted to do lots of things, so I skipped it. We were all hungry for lunch, so we headed to World Showcase. First stop, Margarita stand in Mexico! I got my usual frozen mango margarita. Jill and her brother got the Fiesta mix. Then we had lunch in China at Lotus Blossom Cafe. I love the orange chicken!

It was another hot hot day! I have gotten so used to California's cooler weather that the heat sure wore me down! After lunch, we backtracked to Norway and rode Maelstrom. It was about a ten minute wait. I love that ride! Jill and I like to quote the opening line, "You are not the first to pass this way." After the ride, we browsed in the shops and Jill started a day long event of taking pictures of her brother wearing hats in each country. Of course, it was the Viking helmet with horns in Norway! I love the Norway shops, but I didn't buy anything.

Then we continued our trek around the world. Next stop, Germany! I was amazed that all the shops had been completely switched around and changed! The old Hummel store now was a bakery and Werther's candy shop! The old candy store now had t shirts and other stuff. The toy store was still in the same place, but they did not have the big section of dolls anymore. I was sad about that because I loved those dolls. I also noted that at the Kidcot stops, they no longer have the mask to color, but a Duffy bear on a stick. There was also Duffy merchandise, with outfits from each country. And they added the German candy bars to the toy store. I got a couple, because I always like to try chocolate from other countries. Also in one store, I saw a Mickey ear hat themed to Germany. The main hat had the German outfit with suspenders and the ears had the German flag on one and a pretzel on the other. One other thing, when I bought my chocolate, I saw that they had the park maps in German at the checkout line. I thought that was clever, so I got one!

Continuing on our way, we passed Italy and stopped in America. We all love the American Adventure show, so we stopped in to see it. We had about half an hour before the next show, so we took advantage of the cool AC inside the building and sat on a bench. Then the Voices of Liberty came out and performed, they are always so good! Then it was showtime. We always sit in the very front and watch for the no touch handshake at the end! This came about many years ago. We had sat in the front row once and from that angle could see that when Ben Franklin and Mark Twain shake hands at the end, their hands don't actually touch! After that, we would often imitate the no touch handshake for a joke, so now we always sit in front and laugh at it! But besides that, we love the show and it always makes us cry!

By the time that show was over, it was time to go back to Soarin to use our fastpasses, so we headed around. Ah, love Soarin! I call it my aromatherapy ride, it's so relaxing. After that, we rode Living with the Land, one of my favorites! I love the whole thing, the rainforest, desert and farm, and then the greenhouses. Love it!

Then we went over to Spaceship Earth for a ride. Although I do not like the new version as much as the old, I still enjoy it, and Jill and I do have fun with the computer ending. But I still miss the old narration and the lights at the end.

It was close to 5PM and we were thinking of dinner. I wanted to eat at the Rose and Crown, so we headed over there to see if we could get in. Somewhere along the way, we passed a group of college age boys who were all talking about drinking as much as possible, and then one said, "But can we get a pretzel first? I really want a pretzel." This made us all laugh, and for the rest of the day, whenever anyone said, let's go here or do this, one of us would say, But can we get a pretzel first?

We arrived at Rose and Crown and signed in. We had about a 15-20 minute wait, so we browsed the UK shops. They have been changed around too! The toy shop has been greatly downgraded, which is too bad. I always liked their selection of toys before.

Dinner was very good. I got a Scotch Egg for an appetizer and had Bangers and Mash for dinner. It was way too much sausage, so I only had a little of the bangers, but the mash and cabbage were good. Then we walked over to France and looked around in the shops. I always enjoy the one big shop there. Then we saw the movie, Impresions de France. Jill and I both love this movie, and it was nice to sit in the cool theater. Then we browsed through Morocco a bit then to Japan.

We always love looking around the big store in Japan, so we were in there for quite awhile. Jill and I used to like the Hello Kitty section, but it is mostly clothes now and boring. And they don't have Chococat stuff, which is what I liked. I enjoyed looking at the books and some wooden dolls, and we always like the Japanese foods and snacks. I got some chocolates to try.

Then we walked on and stopped in Norway for a snack. I decided to run over and get another mango margarita, which I did. I had wanted to go into Mexico and do the ride, but decided not to in the end. I miss the old ride and anyway, I get plenty of Mexico here in San Diego! Although I do like the inside of the pavilion.

It was getting late and we wanted to get out before Illuminations, so we headed out. We briefly shopped in Mouse Gears, where I found some cool retro Epcot shirts, then we went to the bus. We actually saw the fireworks from the bus!

[cheshirecatgirl]

Sun May 22: We got up early and did park opening at MK so we could hit all the Fantasyland rides with no lines. It was nice to see the opening show again, haven't seen that in a long time! When the park opened, we went straight to FL and hopped right on Snow White. I hadn't heard that it is due to disappear with the new Fantasyland, and I am sorry, as I like this version better than DL's. So I videotaped it! Then we rode Winnie the Pooh. It was weird to see the tree at the entrance. Last time I was there, Pooh's Playful Spot was still there! The new interactive queue is very cute. I also love this version much better than DL's, so I was glad to go on it! One thing that irked me, though, was they changed the name of the Pooh shop. It used to be called Pooh's Thotful Shop and now it's called something with honey, I can't remember, but it wasn't as good.

Then we went to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz and PeopleMover. I was surprised to see they had changed the name back to PeopleMover, as it was called TTA for so long. Then Carousel of Progress, which I really love!

We headed out, browsing through Main St shops on the way. I missed all the cool window displays and store decor that DL shops have. When we left, we hopped on the monorail around to the TTC and caught a bus to Animal Kingdom. I do like the monorail!

First thing at AK was lunch at our favorite Flame Tree BBQ. I got my usual excellent pork sandwich! We went down to the water and sat. A mother duck and two little ducklings were walking around! They were soooo cute! They walked around and around the seating area, stopping to nibble on things. We watched them the whole time and took pics and videos of them. Several times they came right up to us and were right by our feet!

Then we went to Asia to see the tigers. It was sooooooo hot! A lot of kids were basically swimming in that big fountain in Asia, getting completely soaked! We walked the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which I love. All the tigers were sleeping!

Then we went to Dinoland. We rode Dinosaur, which I actually like better than Indiana Jones. Jill and I know every speck of dialogue and yes, we recite along with the ride! Then we browsed in my favorite Dinoland shop, and they have completely changed it around! The stores in MK were all different too. It seems like they have changed a lot of shops around in the past year!

It was getting extremely hot and we left, but first had to stop by to see my favorite flamingos!

We took the bus back to AsMu and rested in the AC for awhile. Then I decided I really wanted to go to Publix, because it's my favorite grocery store and I miss it. Jill thought that was weird, but I insisted! So I took her car and went to Publix, while she went back to Epcot! Amazingly enough, I had a wonderful time. It was so nice and cool inside Publix! I got my favorite chicken from the deli, as well as Publix brand iced tea and a few other things. Then I dropped stuff back at the hotel and went on to Downtown Disney, where Jill I planned to meet. On my way to car at the hotel, I saw a cardinal hopping around on the hedges!

I drove to DD Marketplace and parked near World of Disney. I browsed the whole store before meeting Jill. We went over to the Once Upon a Toy Store. I wanted potato head stuff and pony stuff. The selection of Potato head stuff has decreased since last time, but they still have a LOT more than Disneyland, so I got a box for my nieces. This store, too, has been changed a bit, and much to my dismay, no more My Little Ponies! They used to have a big round thing for pony accessories like the potato head stuff. Oh well, I have lots from before. I was just hoping for new stuff.

We were going to have dinner at Earl of Sandwich, but the line was mega long. It was about 8PM, and I recalled MGM (oh, I mean DHS) was open till midnight, so I suggested we go there. So we did. We drove over and parked and went in.

At MGM, we decided to have dinner at Mama Melrose's. We got in with a short wait and had a nice dinner there. Then we checked out the newly opened Star Tours. It was a Star Wars weekend, but by this hour Sunday night the crowds had died down. We waited about 20 minutes in line and the ride was awesome! Much better than the old version, which always made me queasy. We rode again with no line! And a third time! Each time was different except the second half of our third ride was the same as the second half of the first ride. But all were very cool!

After that, we rode Great Movie ride, which I love. Jill and I can quote all the lines from the movie clips they show in the preshow area! Then we went on Rockn Roller Coaster, just before the park closed at midnight. Jill had hit all four parks, plus DD in one day! I would have if I hadn't gone to Publix instead!

[lola2009]

Great trip report! Cant wait to read more

[cheshirecatgirl]

Well, that's pretty much it. Monday, I did not feel like dealing with the heat any longer. I had done everything I really wanted to do, and I just wanted to relax and hang out with Jill for awhile. My flight wasn't until evening, so we had all day to hang out. We packed up and left the room by 11 and then sat outside by the fountain in front of the Jazz Inn building. I love that fountain! We just sat and talked and people watched, then went to the food court for lunch. Jill left for home around 1:30, and I spent the next few hours mostly reading and walking around a bit. I caught the Magical Express at 4:30 and had a looooong flight to LAX, then a short flight home. Got home at midnight, Pacific Time!

So, thoughts on this trip. Fun, but strange. WDW is no longer my home. So many things had changed, I felt like I didn't know it anymore. I used to know every nook and cranny, every shop layout, every detail. Now, ride queues are new, shop layouts are completely different, restaurants have new menus and even some with new names. It was just weird for me to see all that.

But, the good things were good! I made a list of all the things I love at WDW that DL does not have, or that I just like better. Here it is:

Country Bear Jamboree ( I love all the songs!)
Pirates queue AND ride ( I would say I like the rides equally)
Citrus Swirls
Winnie the Pooh ride
Snow White ride
Sonny Eclipse at Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe
People Mover
Carousel of Progress
the castle (so beautiful in all lights!)
monorail (DL's twists and turns too much for me)
the fountain at All Star Music
Spaceship Earth
the light up sidewalks at Epcot
The Land
Living with the Land ride
Nemo ride and the Seas
World Showcase shops and buildings
France movie
American Adventure show
Maelstrom
Animal Kingdom, esp Asia and Dinoland
Dinosaur ride ( I know most people think Dinoland is stupid, but I really love all the details in the theming)
Flame Tree BBQ
MGM layout and buildings esp New York area
Great Movie Ride
Rock n Roller Coaster

I think those are the main things! I also made a list of things I love at Disneyland that are better than WDW, or unique. And they are:

Main St shops, esp the decor and details
Window displays
Penny Arcade
Frontierland's store
The Billy show
New Orleans Square
Pirates ride (equalish)
Haunted Mansion Holiday
Small World reg and holiday
Tiki Room with preshow
Mr Toad
Pinocchio
Alice
Matterhorn
Toontown
Princess Fantasy Faire
general Fantasyland layout
Sleeping Beauty walk through
Space Mtn
Mint Juleps
Royal St Bachelors
the cats under the Hungry Bear
DL railroad
DL compactness and prettier trees
Toy Story zoetrope
Monsters Inc ride
Aladdin show


Everything else I like equally at both parks. So my WDW vs DL love is just about equal when considering everything. But DL is definitely home now, and I am glad!

Did I mention I am so over FL weather?

Thanks for reading!

[bennette]

Did I mention I am so over FL weather?

I feel you on that!

I'm glad you had fun. Thanks for the bonus feature on Harry Potter World!

P.S. Billies rule!

[wwomant]

Great trip report CCG! I'm glad DL is feeling like home.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter sounds so fun. I think I want to see that as much as I want to see WDW.

[EJ4Disney]

Great trip Report!! I have taken a bit of a vacation from WDW and your report does have me a bit nervous. I hope I don't not like it. WDW has so been my happy place I just hope it still is. I am not real good with change. LOL

Thanks so much for sharing.

[cheshirecatgirl]

Oh don't be nervous! The changes were more pronounced for me I think because I have gotten so used to how DL is. Most of the changes were shop layouts and restaurant names. And some changes were good, like the new ride queues for Pooh and HM. WDW is still an awesome place!

Oh yes, Wizarding World was very cool! I'm glad we went there! The rest of IoA didn't appeal to us, but that section alone was worth the visit!

[Drince88]

I'm surprised you didn't try out Spiderman at IOA. It's quite fun, and not too wild or anything.

I'm glad you were able to get into TS restuarants without any ADRs. (It didn't sound like you had ADRs, anyway).

And what, no Figment? I thought you were a huge Figment fan!

[cstephens]

Finally, we left those shops and decided to go over to the Jurassic Park section for a bit. Jill was into Jurassic Park in high school, so she wanted to see it. The ride was closed, but we went into the Discovery Center and looked around. Not much to it.

I did like being inside the Discovery Center. It was cool to wander around inside the replica of the building. I think I only played with a few of the things when we were there several years ago. While we were there, I got a call from work, so I ended up spending about 20 minutes sitting inside talking a co-worker through a work problem. It was kind of surreal to be doing that there, but it was fun, and the husband wandered around and played with more of the exhibits while I was on the phone.

Sat May 21: Jill and I slept in, since we'd had a late night. Then, Jill's brother met us and we headed off to Epcot for the day.

I loved reading about your Epcot day. Epcot is my favorite WDW park.


Sounds like you had a great time!

[relaaxedwheniamthere]

So the new star tours was not as rough ?

[cheshirecatgirl]

No, the new Star Tours is much smoother!

I love Epcot the best too!

Cathy: yeah, I do like Figment, and I wanted to go there, but we just didn't get around to it. There were quite a few things I would have liked to do, and I meant to spend Monday doing the things we'd missed, but I was just soooo tired of being hot and sweaty all day, I changed my mind!

Also, we were going to go check out Spiderman and some other stuff, but after lunch and a bunch of beverages, we were so full we didn't want to do any more rides! And it was getting hot and crowded, so we were ready to head back for a midday break. I'm sure I will go back sometime, when I've lost more weight, so I can do Forbidden Journey. I'll try some other stuff then. But really, we were there for Wizarding World. The other areas just didn't appeal much.

Pictures from Islands of Adventure are up on my Facebook page, if anyone wants to see them! The rest will follow soon.

[DisneyFunFamily4]

Great trip report CCG! So glad you had fun. But I hear you on being over FL weather, It's getting hot and humid up here and I'm already over it. And you can not beat SoCal weather, even with the june gloom that goes in to July, and you dont get the bugs! Yay, DL is home for you now! I still get sad missing DL. We were at the MK a few weeks ago and DD10 say's "mom, I miss DL". I'm so ready to go home!

[dahunter1129]

Great trip report!!! I would love to see you IOA pix, but sadly, I am not your FB friend. We are trying to decide if we will hit this during our trip in September.

[cheshirecatgirl]

Alas, only Friends of Friends can view my pics for that album, because I had to do a custom setting. But my WDW pics will be viewable to everyone. I'll let you know when I post them.

[cheshirecatgirl]

WDW pics up on Facebook, should be viewable to everyone. Just find me under Susan Edgington.

[Guardboy21]

that's funny, you left on the 23rd and I arrived on the 23rd

[TinaMouse]

Great trip with your friend! I am amazed and happy that you did those walk ups for the Table Service places. Reminds me of the "old days." LOL!

[cheshirecatgirl]

Yeah, we always do walk ups or sometimes same day reservations. We went often while we were in college and that was before the Disney Dining Plan, so it was easy. And I guess we just retained the habit. It doesn't always work out, but we are usually there not at peak season and we try to dine not at peak times, so it often does work just fine!