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Stephane Morrell -- March 2002 -- Walt Disney World (ASSR)Summary
March 4th (Day 1/2) We left home at 4:30am for the airport for our 6:00am flight. Flying from Montreal to Toronto, then from there to Orlando. Customs was actually a cinch as I'd had everyone's passports printed. We arrived in Orlando at 1:15pm. Took a taxi to the All-Star Sports resort. Check-in was a little long, but I think it had to do with the fact that we were renting 4 rooms and trying to get them all together. Took a quick look in the gift shop before going up and bought the kids their "Disney Hats". My oldest son got a "goofy head" hat, My daughter chose a mini-mouse baseball cap with the ears, my 3 year old chose the same but Mickey and my brother-in-law chose a simple "All-Star Sports resort" baseball cap (boring, I know ...). The luggage was already in our rooms when we got there. We headed down to the food court to check things out. Pigged out on some ice cream before heading over to Downtown Disney. It was cold! So Downtown was pretty empty. (also it was still daytime for most park goers) we looked around a little, but quickly made our way to the Planet Hollywood for supper. There was no lineup to speak of. It was a nice place; I'd actually never been to a Planet Hollywood in my life even though some of the other members of our party had. And I looove movies, so this was really great. I had some kind of cheeseburger they have there, it was quite good. We then headed back to the hotel for an early night... A big week was ahead of us!! March 5th (real day 1) Darn! It was cold! (well for Orlando anyway). We had already decided on Magic Kingdom, always the perfect starting point, especially for little kids who've never been. Had a quick breakfast of Mickey shaped waffles at the food court and headed out to the MK by bus. It was everything that I remember and more! I now know for sure that I'm still a 28 year old kid! We arrived there at around 9:15 (opens at 9:00) and immediately headed over to Adventureland. Things went VERY smoothly in the morning as the cold weather discouraged a lot of people. We first hit The Swiss Family Tree House, Pirates of the Caribbean, Aladdin's Magic Carpet, took note of the Tiki-Room show time and waited in a short line for the Jungle Cruise. All this stuff was great! I was like that kid again who loved those rides, and they really haven't gotten "old" with time. Headed to the new Tiki-room show which I had never seen. They've done quite the overhaul on this wonderful show! After that, we took the exit from Adventureland into Frontierland near Aladdin's ride, and ended up in the Country Bear Jamboree... Aaah another old favorite! Once again, just as charming as it always was... Then it was time for some thrill rides, walked on down to the far end of Frontierland, and the waits were starting. Big Thunder Railroad had a long wait, so we got a Fastpass for this bad boy, and jumped into Splash Mountain. What a fun ride. We had a couple of technical difficulties that slowed down the ride, but that final plunge is just the best! (I will do this ride a couple of more times before my vacation is over!). Still had some time before our Fastpass was up, so we decided to head over to Pecos Bill for lunch. Very good burgers with a great toppings bar! Big Thunder, I had never done before... oh! it was there when I was last here... but I was too squeamish to ride it :)... no more!! I went on! and I loved it!! Now it was time for my favorite ride in all the Magic Kingdom, we headed over to Liberty Square for the Haunted Mansion. There was a minor wait, but really nothing major, maybe 20 minutes. The people they chose to work there are perfect for ambience :). After exiting, My wife and I bought a Jack Skellington beanie (even though Disneyworld doesn't have any Nightmare Before Christmas theme outside the ride) and an Oogie-Boogie beanie. And we headed over the Fantasyland. By now, the crowds are really getting started. The Flight of Peter Pan is like a 60 minute wait and It's a Small world is 40. Sooo we get a Fastpass for PP and wait for small World (Never was much of a fan of this one, but my mother loves it and gets all emotional about it). We then were able to head on down to PP and enjoy that one. we managed to get Snow White's ride in right before the parade would start. Again, a really neat ride, with some great lighting! Now the Parade was going to be going by, so we headed to the front of the castle to catch that. It was decent, I liked the snow globes, but it wasn't the best of the parades to come. Went further into Fantasyland and waited FAR too long for the Dumbo ride (which is EXACTLY like the Aladdin ride, but older). Ariel was not present in Ariel's Grotto when we went so we moved on. Took the kids on Cinderella's Carousel, and rode the Mad Hatter's Teacups... by this time, it was getting late, and we did a quick tour of Toontown Square, rode on Goofy's Barnstormer Coaster and took a quick peak at Mickey and Minnie's houses. Then we headed to the front of the castle again for the fireworks, which were just amazing, and the Tinkerbell effect is great! (we were wondering what that cable was before the show). We didn't get to do Tomorrowland, but we were going to come back later for that (And the Spectromagic Parade which wasn't going to be until Friday and Saturday) Then we headed back to the hotel and had some pizza delivered to the room. March 6th (Day 2) Animal Kingdom Weather is getting better... gonna be warm today! We had arranged a character breakfast at Restaurantosaurus (Donald's Breakfastosaurus). It was quite good, a small breakfast buffet, complete with Mickey, Donald, Goofy and Pluto (a really good selection!!). Once that was done, we started heading right to the Kilamanjaro Safari... but the Tree of Life is in the way, and we got lured into the "It's Tough to be a Bug" show :) ... What a ***GREAT*** show!! Not to be missed! But it is true what they say about it being scary for kids... Put it this way, my NINE year old was scared :) ... but it was really fun! Then we headed out to the safari, waited maybe 15-20 minutes. The Safari was a little bumpy, but it adds to the realism, and although I've been in "drive-through safaris" here in Montreal, they don't compare to the expansive lands they give these animals! Truly trying to recreate their natural habitat... and the closeness the animals come is wonderful! (Note: There was indeed no sign of a Big Red corpse for this ongoing debate :)). Coming out of there, we wasted a little while trying to find our stroller for the baby as they had all been moved. Then we headed over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. I don't know... to me, this seemed a little boring. The train ride there was nice, as they show you the park's animal care facilities... But the actual place is not unlike any small section of any zoo I've been to... But the kids got to meet Rafiki himself AND Pocahontas... so they were happy about that. After doing this, we headed over to Asia and got in line for the Kali River Rapids! What a ride!!!!!! My father and wife got the worst of it!!!! WOW!!! I've NEVER seen a ride that gets you as wet as this one... unless it was at a water park!! We waited about 30 minutes to get into this one, and it was just great! Headed down to Dinoland USA to spend most of the rest of the Afternoon (we would come back for Camp Minnie-Mickey to see the Lion King Show). We got a Fastpass for DINOSAUR! and took the kids on the Triceratops Spin. The Primeval Whirl was still in testing but looked like it was going to open any day... much to the disappointment of everyone. Once we got out of that, we headed into DINOSAUR!. That was a pretty cool ride!! Very fast paced... and that darned Carnosaur!!! We went over to the Bone yard, let the kids play in there a little and dig up the bones. (Nice thick grain sand that doesn't get into your socks and such!). And then we headed over the streets in Asia to watch the Parade come down. It was a truly Beautifully Colorful parade!! Very nice! Finally, we left the park 20 minutes early, beating out most of the crowd and getting quick seats at the Rainforest Cafe in the Oasis. Nice Restaurant! Really fun Ambience. I ordered the Planet Watch Pasta which was quite good. But wait! That's not all. We sent the kids back to the hotel with my parents, and my wife, brother and I headed down to Epcot to catch the last open hour in the World Showcase and see Illuminations We also got a chance to see Honey I Shrunk the Audience a first time before anyone else in our group. Aaah... I love the World Showcase... it's just beautiful! March 7th (Day 3) Weather Warm Had a quick breakfast in the food court (Most kids had Mickey Waffles... AGAIN :)) and headed out to MGM Studios. Yes... I loove the movies. Headed straight for Star Tours (I am a Star Wars fan!), then to Muppet Vision 3D. I was appointed responsible for getting Fastpass for the Indiana Jones show, so I ran down to get that. Then we headed into the Back lot Tour. Interesting thing about this tour is that the props/cars/houses/planes have changed over the last 10 years and I got to see some new movie stuff that wasn't there before. Seems to be a big focus on Pearl Harbor about this ride. We were able to get in The Great Movie Ride before the Indy show, my daughter was sure she was going to be terrified ( at this point, this wasn't difficult ), but was just thrilled to pieces once we hit OZ. The Indiana Jones show was just great!!! The kids were ECSTATIC that Indiana Jones (Trent) met with them and gave them an autograph after. We headed over the Thrill portion of the park. My wife, kids, and brother went on the Aerosmith Ride (This one is too much for me :))... it was then supper time. We had made arrangements for the Fantasmic! Priority Seating. So we had supper at Hollywood & Vine. This is a buffet style restaurant. It was pretty good, and I was impressed that their mashed potatoes are ACTUALLY potatoes and not that weird restaurant freeze dried stuff! Before going to the "secret entrance" for Fantasmic!, we still had a little time left, so my brother and brother-in-law and uncle headed to the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. And we all headed over to the Little Mermaid Show. It was simply magical... very good show (a good chunk of it is "black suit" puppetry, and the puppets are VERY colorful!). It was now time for the much anticipated FANTASMIC! We got there and got great seats in the URSULA section I believe it was. WHAT A SHOW!!! I have to say maybe there was a little too much animated film projection on the water spray... but that effect alone is amazing in itself and I can understand it probably takes time to set up each segment in between these... overall though, just an AMAZING show!! And the ending just brings a tear to your eye for all of you who've grown up with Mickey and seen Steamboat Willie all the way to the Sorcerer's Apprentice! DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! After the show was over, we all headed back to the hotel. March 8th (Day 4) Weather getting hot. Day of the Lion King. We started this day later than usual, as the Lion King show we would attend wasn't till like 11:00. Had the usual breakfast in the food court, and headed over to the animal Kingdom to take in the Lion King Show. Man was it getting hot today! It was a wonderful show! With all the favorite songs from the movie. Then we had a nice soft serve ice cream right outside the show, and headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of the Park (i.e. Tomorrowland). Arrived and there were 3 rides of concern right off the bat. The kids wanted to go in Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, and we wanted to go into ExtraTERRORestrial Encounter. But FIRST, we obtained a Fastpass to Space Mountain. Then we each did the rides we wanted to do. Alien Encounter was great!! A really great immersive ride. Buzz Lightyear was cute... very colorful. We had supper at the Plaza Restaurant. I had the Steak & Cheese sandwich, and then we headed back and did Space Mountain. Fun Ride... Once again, I had never had the guts to do this one... But I'm glad I did! Then I took the kids on the Astro Orbiter which is always fun cause you can see a lot of the park from up high! Then it started getting dark, we headed over to Main Street USA to get a good spot. While the rest of them waited and held our spot, I dashed down to Frontierland to get a late Fastpass for Big Thunder Railroad (It was for like 7:00-8:00... park closing time). After the wonderful Spectromagic (I'm sorry... I will always call it the Electric Parade!) we ran down to Big Thunder... Unless you've done it, you have no idea how BEAUTIFUL this ride is to take in the dark!! The whole park is lit, and when you're climbing the hill in the train, you see the big thunder peak and the starry sky and then as you're about to go down, you see the castle, and the lit Tomorrowland!! it's just awe inspiring! At this point, people were gathering for the fireworks... so we made a mad dash next door for Splash Mountain and rode this one more time! ;) Then met up with my parents and the little ones who had stayed behind. We had had big plans that we would all go to Downtown and shop after all that... and we actually MADE it to Downtown ( one Ferry and a Bus later ) ... but by then, the kids and grandparents were just beat... so they all went home, and we proceeded to check out Pleasure Island... (After all, we had 7 day Park Hopper Plus passes!! Free Admission). Guess I'm getting old, cause it really wasn't my thing... I would've liked the Comedy Club, but the lineup was INSANE! so we walked around, checked out eh 70's club, got a quick snack at the sweets shop there, and headed back to the hotel. March 9th (day 5) Hot day... My wife has come down with a stomach flu! :( ... This was supposed to be Epcot day, but my wife was completely incapacitated, so we decided to make it our "park hopping day" which was going to be Sunday. She stayed behind. First we went into the Downtown Disney to let the kids pick out their souvenirs and see the sights. My mom started talking to a Disney Vacation Club rep. (more on that later). Once that was done, we split up into groups now as some wanted to stay behind anyway, (lazy buggers!). It was me, my brother, my oldest son and my brother-in-law. They wanted to do "Favorites". So we headed over the Magic Kingdom first and redid The Haunted Mansion, Splash Mountain, ate at Pecos Bill and then did Big Thunder Railroad. Then we headed over the MGM Studios, and did Star Tours, bought some stuff, and did The Great Movie ride. We had to leave early as it was our turn to baby-sit while the grandparents went out for dinner on the boardwalk. We ordered Pizza for the gang and went down to the food court to fill up our mugs with pop and had a little pizza party with the kids in our rooms. March 10th (Day 6) Real Hot day! Had a Character Breakfast at the Beach Club Resort! What a nice place!! what a GREAT breakfast buffet!!! WOW!!! Chip n Dale were there, as was Goofy (who'd become our best friend by now... we saw him THE most! and he even had a tickle fight with our youngest ;)) and finally a lobby appearance from Minnie Mouse herself!! We then walked over to Epcot Center. Last Disney Park on the list, walked in near the Imagination Pavilion and did Honey I shrunk the Audience again ( well, again for me and a couple others ), my kids watched it without the glasses ( sheesh ) ... well not the youngest :) ... Then the kids played in the jumping fountains... getting wet of course. Then we headed into the Kodak area, where the kids got to "play" with imaging for a little while. The Living Seas! Always thought it was kind of cool to set this whole thing in an "underwater base" theme. Really adds to the experience. My Curmudgeon of a dad says he's not doing the living seas again after this year :) ... but I like it. Then we headed over to The Land and watched the Circle of Life film... they try to reassure you on what man is doing to help the earth.... I'm still not convinced... and the tour of their research facilities was really interesting. Next was The Spaceship Earth... I seem to remember this being more about the progress of man in General... (was it always AT&T??) rather than just communications... didn't they used to have a part where they showed man growing oranges in the desert?! Anyway, it was still a nice ride. We then proceeded towards the LIFE Pavilion when the kids saw this huge fountain on the way there and got totally drenched! oh well... it's a hot day... We took in Body Wars and looked around the pavilion a bit... then people were getting hungry so we skipped the Energy Pavilion (unfortunately) and headed to our respective restaurants... half of us went to the Nine Dragons for Chinese, the other half went to the Rose & Crown (really at opposites on the World Showcase), but not before we got Fastpasses for TEST TRACK on the way. We ate a wonderful meal at The Nine Dragons, and met up with everyone afterwards for our appointment with Test Track. This is a REALLY fun ride!! it teaches you about the tests a car goes through and then whirls you through a quick thrill at the end. Then everyone was agreed on heading to Norway for the Maelstrom ride. My father and I have fond memories of this one... for some reason the kids weren't impressed (oh well... no accounting for taste). At this point, we were down to the old separation again.... I stayed behind with my wife, mother and aunt to take in the World showcase, while everyone else returned to the hotel. We walked down to Mexico and did the ride there, look around a bit. I wish I would have had the chance to eat here... it smelled wonderful! then we walked over the Canada to have us a Beaver Tail and a Molson Canadian! (Leave it to a Canadian to go and have some Canadian food when away from home :)). Then we walked over to the bridge to France to get a good look at Illuminations... It was getting a little chilly by this time. March 11th (day 7) I will not speak much of this day. We went to Universal Studios by Cab. All I'll say about Universal is that the attractions are very good... But the rest of the park lacks that "Disney magic"... I can't quite explain it... There's just something special about all 4 of the Disney Parks that Universal just doesn't have... the employees just seem like... well... employees, unlike Disney where they are out-of-their-way friendly and nice. The Disney parks are that much cleaner and I don't know if it's the color schemes or what, but they just seem more tightly integrated. If you do go, the T2 and Twister shows are not to be missed. When we get back, we find out my parents went to a Disney Vacation Club seminar and have bought into it! This means we WILL be coming back in the years to come woohoo!! March 12th (Day 8, leaving :( ) On this day, most people would take it easy, throw in the towel. and 80% of our groups did. Our plane left at 2:30, we had to leave the hotel at 12:00. Me, my Wife and my brother-in-law decided to make one last push into the Magic Kingdom. We got up real early (like 7:00), got ready quickly, had a fast breakfast in the food court and headed out to the MK. We actually got there before opening for the first time. Which was actually quite special and I recommend to anyone with kids to do it at least once as they have the "Inaugural opening of the park" every morning. Where they count down and have the crowd yell out the magic word for the day (ours was Sneezy). And two lucky kids get to wave around the "magic wands" to open the gates to the park. We rushed on in, The crowds were HUGE today as the U.S. Spring breaks were starting this week, but by now we knew exactly where we wanted to go. Headed right for Liberty Square to do the Haunted Mansion, then right to Frontierland to do Big Thunder and Splash Mountain once more. Then straight on to Tomorrowland where the lines were starting to build up and it was a 40 minute wait to Space Mountain. Got a Fastpass as we wanted to do some souvenir shopping before we left anyway. Headed for the Emporium on Main street, picked up a few things, including the TRADITIONAL Mickey ears for my 3 year old. Then My wife and Brother in law headed back to Space Mountain to do the ride, while I headed down to 'Le Chapeau' to have my son's name embroidered on the hat. Waiting for the pair to come back, I sat on a bench in the middle of town square ( this is where it gets emotional ), watching the Mayor greet visitors... seeing everyone coming with giant smiles on their faces, watching the kids with looks of awe. I couldn't help but feel very jealous and happy for them at the same time. I was leaving, they were arriving. I couldn't help but have a tear in my eye. I wish I could stay here forever. I guess it's a sign of just how great a place this really is. :'( ... But I'll be back... We head back to the hotel, talking with a very friendly bus driver on the way. And arrive in the lobby where my parents have checked everything out and all the luggage is waiting. We take a cab back to the airport, and I have trouble containing myself... geeze a 28 year old man, and I'm gonna cry cause I don't wanna go. The trip home goes even smoother than the trip out. Hardly any hassles at airport security and none whatsoever at customs. Arrive in COLD Montreal (Contrary to what many think, Montreal is NOT cold all year round... but on March 12th... it usually still is)... Arrive home. What a great trip it's been! Hints & Tips:
Stephane Morrell stephanm@groupelaurier.ca Mail a Comment to Stephane Morrell |
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