A Mid-Winter Getaway ~ My First PTR!! ~ 4/13: TR update - pg. 8

[*DisneyDreamer]

Hey guys! I'm working on the next update. I should have it up today or tomorrow.

 

[RachelNinja]

WOOT

Sidenote: Haha, I don't normally say "woot" in real life. I used it a lot on Virtual Magic Kingdom, so now my DBF and I use it for really exciting things. THIS is an exciting thing!!!

 

[wdwgirl03]

Hey guys! I'm working on the next update. I should have it up today or tomorrow.

YAY! It's about time!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Here’s the next update! Enjoy!!

Day 2: Monday, January 25, 2010

The next morning, we all awoke early in anticipation of our first full day at Disney World! We planned to spend the morning at the Magic Kingdom, because it’s our tradition to start our first day there. When we woke up, though, we were greeted with less than ideal weather – heavy rain. Would our first day in Florida turn into a washout? We wanted to know how long this rain was going to be sticking around, so Dad had tuned into the local news broadcasts to hear their forecasts. It turns out that it was not predicted to rain all day, and it appeared from the radar maps that the rain would be passing shortly. And to makes things better, the rain would also give way to full sunshine later in the day. What a relief! So we went about our morning, and continued to get ready.

By the time we were ready to go, the rain had stopped. The Magic Kingdom opened at 9:00, so we left the Boardwalk at around 8:15. We didn’t have to wait too long for a bus, so before long we were on our way! Before getting to the Magic Kingdom, we had to make stops at the Swan and Dolphin. As a side note, when we stopped at the Swan, there was this mother who got on with her son (who was probably about 5). The father I guess had a conference at the resort, so the mother was taking the kid to the Magic Kingdom for the day. It was so special seeing that kid on the bus, because it was his first trip to Disney World and he was obviously so excited about his day. That’s one of the things I love about Disney World – seeing the faces and reactions of all the kids (and other first-timers). It’s so awesome.

Anyway, moving on. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at about 7:45, and made our way through the bag check and towards the gates. We could tell immediately that it was probably not going to be too busy in the morning. The earlier rain and cloudy skies were obviously keeping people away. Because it didn’t seem like there were too many people, we opted to pick out a good place to watch the Welcome Show instead of waiting in the middle of the groups of people waiting to go through the tunnel under the railroad.

A little before 9:00, the Welcome Show began.

After being greeted by Mickey Mouse and the residents of the Magic Kingdom, we did a quick countdown. The park was now officially open! As the welcome song continued to play, we made our way in toward Main Street. As we rounded the corner, we got our first glimpse of Cinderella Castle.

Such an exciting moment. Anyway, for our first stop, Dad and I made our way over to Tomorrowland to ride one of our favorite attractions – Space Mountain. Mom is not a fan of the thrill rides, so she went her own way and stopped to grab something to eat quickly. When Dad and I got to SM, we were able to walk right in. During our walk to the boarding area, we noticed some of the changes that were put in during the refurbishment. There are now interactive games in the queue area to keep people occupied while waiting. We didn’t get a chance to play them obviously, since it was first thing in the morning and it was not busy, but they looked fun. Soon, we got to the boarding area, and we almost immediately got onto our rocket and began our journey into space.

After riding Space Mountain, we met back up with Mom and headed over to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Even though I am horrible at this ride, I love it so much. It was another walk-on, so instead of riding just once, we rode it twice. I did so awful our first time that I needed to try and get a higher score!! In case you’re wondering, I did do better the second time. And here’s a picture I took while walking through the queue.

After Buzz Lightyear, we made our way over to the Tomorrow Indy Speedway. This ride had a little bit of a wait, but it was still nothing unbearable. Probably about 10 minutes at the most.

By the time we got off the Speedway, it was getting close to 10:00. 10:00 is the time Pixie Hollow opens, so because I wanted to do it and we were in the area, we decided to head over there. When we got to Mickey’s Toontown Fair, there was already a bit of a line to meet the Fairies, but it was not too long. So we joined in the line and waited for our turn to travel to Pixie Hollow. We probably waited about 20-25 minutes before we were taken with a group through a doorway into a “magic” hallway. In this hallway, we were all shrunk down to fairy-size so we would not be too big when we met them! After we were all shrunk, families were taken one by one into Pixie Hollow. When it was finally our turn, we were taken through a door, and we saw that we would be meeting Tinker Bell, Faun, and Rosetta. Sadly, I don’t have a picture with Tinker Bell, because the Photopass photographer took one and we didn’t get one with our camera. Oh well.

After meeting the Fairies, we left and headed over to Fantasyland. Here, we took a ride on The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (minimal wait – probably 5 minutes) and also caught a show of Mickey’s PhilharMagic. We had to wait a bit here, because we had just missed a show. But we spent the time just relaxing, and I also had an opportunity to take my first picture of our trip mascot! I introduce you all to Steve, my Marquette bear! Here he is looking oh so cool in his 3-D glasses.

And here’s another picture of Steve from later in the day – posing in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

After seeing Mickey’s PhilharMagic, we decided to leave Fantasyland. We knew we’d be back at the Magic Kingdom in the morning later in the week, so we’d do some of the other attractions there later. So we made our way over to Liberty Square, where, because it had no wait, we went into the Haunted Mansion. I used to be terrified on this ride when I was little, but now I love it so much. It’s such a classic.

We got out of the Haunted Mansion at around 11:20ish, and by this time we were all hungry. So we decided to go grab some lunch. Our traditional first day lunch at the Magic Kingdom is Cosmic Ray’s, so this is where we went. While we were making our way through the hub and towards Tomorrowland, we caught the end of the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Parade. I thought it looked cool, so we made it a point to catch the 12:30 show that day.

We got over to Cosmic Ray’s and ordered our lunch, where we all had chicken sandwiches. We also got some fries and apple slices to share. When we finished lunch, we still had some time before the parade, so we headed back into Tomorrowland and took a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. After hearing about the changes they made to the spiel, we were all interested to see what it was like. We were pretty disappointed with it, and I think we all agreed (well, at least Dad and me), that the old one was better.

By the time we got off the TTA, we decided to head back to the hub for the street parade. We picked a spot by the curb, and waited for it to start. Right on time at 12:30, the music started up and the floats made their way down Main Street toward us. I loved all of the floats – they were so colorful and festive!!

By the way, in the pictures, you can tell that the clouds cleared up and the weather inproved as the morning went on. Look how blue the sky was in the picture with Mickey as opposed to the picture of me on the Speedway. What a difference. <3 Anyway, after the street parade, we decided that we were ready to call it a morning. So we made our way out of the park and took a bus back to the Boardwalk. We did not spend too much time there, though, before heading out again. After all, we had a fun and exciting afternoon ahead of us!

Coming up next: Secret Agents, Acrobats, and Fireworks

 

[wdwgirl03]

And did you tell everyone where you got Steve from?!

Acrobats? Hmm, I don't think I know about this...that is going to be interesting!

 

[wisblue]

One quick correction to your report. There were not EMH at the MK that morning, so we didn't leave the Boardwalk until about 8:15 to be there for the 9 AM opening. It's just as well becuase it rained like crazy from about 6:30 to 7:15 and there were even tornado warnings in some areas not far from Orlando. But the weather forecasters and the radar all told us that the rain would be moving out by 8AM, which it did. And, that was the last rain we saw for the week.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I can't see your pics from work, but your morning sounds great. I can't wait to see Steve! I'll post again when my internet is back up at home.

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Quick question I am wondering about. What do I have to do to get this thread moved from the PTR to the TR board?

And did you tell everyone where you got Steve from?!

Acrobats? Hmm, I don't think I know about this...that is going to be interesting!

Oh yes, Steve was a gift from my awesome older sister.

Ooh, something we didn't tell you about? So you will learn something from this TR!

One quick correction to your report. There were not EMH at the MK that morning, so we didn't leave the Boardwalk until about 8:15 to be there for the 9 AM opening. It's just as well becuase it rained like crazy from about 6:30 to 7:15 and there were even tornado warnings in some areas not far from Orlando. But the weather forecasters and the radar all told us that the rain would be moving out by 8AM, which it did. And, that was the last rain we saw for the week.

You're right. I realized that last night while reading through it again. I'm going to go correct it.

I can't see your pics from work, but your morning sounds great. I can't wait to see Steve! I'll post again when my internet is back up at home.

I can't wait to hear what you think of Steve.

 

[Mickey_Mom]

I introduce you all to Steve, my Marquette bear! Here he is looking oh so cool in his 3-D glasses.

And here’s another picture of Steve from later in the day – posing in front of Cinderella’s Castle.

Oh my gosh I love LOVE IT!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Here's the next update!! I'm sorry there aren't too many pictures this time.

Day 2: Monday, January 25, 2010 – Part 2

After a quick break in the room, we headed out for the afternoon. We decided that we would go to EPCOT. So we went out to the Boardwalk and made the short walk over to the International Gateway. As a side note, I just have to say here that the location of the Boardwalk is amazing. It was so nice to be within walking distance of two of the four theme parks. It made getting out of the parks very easy, since we never had to wait for a bus. Anyway, we quickly arrived at the International Gateway, and entered EPCOT. We weren’t quite sure what we going to do there that afternoon, but because Mom loves World Showcase, we thought we might just hang out and walk around there for a while.

On the way in to World Showcase, we passed one of the Kim Possible kiosks. My dad and sisters did a couple KP missions on their August trip, and I thought it sounded like fun. So I made it a must-do on this trip. Since we were right by the kiosk, we decided to get a ticket to do it. The way it works is that you get a FastPass-like ticket that tells you a time and location to report to. It was apparently not too busy in the park that afternoon, because we got a ticket for a 3:30 time to report to the United Kingdom (which was where we were anyway). It was already about 3:15, so the lady at the kiosk decided to just give us our Kimmunicator right then so that we could immediately begin our mission.

After a quick rundown of how to work the Kimmunicator, our mission in the United Kingdom began. I am not going to give away details so as not to spoil the mission for anyone who wishes to do this in the future, but basically we were instructed to search through various shops and parts of the pavilion in order to find clues and complete tasks. It was so much fun! At one point, our mission took us into the little toy shop, where we saw Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. There was not a line to meet them at all, so we decided to take a quick break from our mission and get a picture.

Not the greatest picture. My stupid eyes are closed. :/

Anyway, after meeting Pooh and Tigger we completed our United Kingdom mission. Although, even though we stopped one bad guy, there were still a lot of evil-doings going on! Kim asked us if we wanted to help on another mission, and we decided that we would. We had our choice of any of the other pavilions to go to, and we chose Japan. So that would be our next stop. We immediately began heading over there, as we were instructed to do by our Kimmunicator, but along the way made a quick stop in France. We grabbed an ice cream cone as a snack, which we enjoyed while watching a French Chefs performance. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of this, but for those that have no idea what I’m talking about, it was a little show with this guy who built up some chairs and starting climbing up them. Kind of hard to explain, but it was interesting.

After our stop in France, we finally made it to Japan. Dad and I began our Kim Possible mission, while Mom looked around in some of the shops. Now, once again, I don’t want to give away specific details so as not to ruin it for anyone, but after some stops at a bonsai tree and in one of the shops, we completed our mission and freed Japan from the clutches of evil! However, there were still more bad guys out there. At this point, I was having so much fun and was really enjoying the missions, so we decided to take on one more. Because we wanted to continue around all of World Showcase, we chose the mission in China.

We headed over to China, and just like in Japan, I worked on the mission with Dad while Mom looked around. The mission in China took us a while, as it proved to be a bit more challenging than the previous ones. We actually had to get a hint at one point because we could not figure one of the locations out. But eventually we got it, and we completed our mission. Although there were still more to do, we decided to call our secret agent job a day, so we turned in our Kimmunicator at the top secret location in China.

After dropping off our Kimmunicator, it was getting close to the time the Dragon Legend acrobats show was scheduled to start. Mom was interested in seeing this, so we found a spot to hang out and we watched the show. All I can say is that it was amazing, and really impressive. The things those people can do with their bodies is crazy. I wish I had taken some pictures, but I didn’t think of it at the time.

After watching the acrobats show, we were getting a bit hungry. We grabbed a quick snack of egg rolls at the Lotus Blossom Cafe before continuing on our way. Because we planned to go to SpectroMagic and Wishes that night, we decided to begin heading towards Future World. We passed by Mexico on the way out, where a Mexican Donald was hanging out. We couldn’t pass him up, so we stopped for a quick picture.

After getting our picture with Donald, we continued through Future World and towards the main gates. We didn’t plan to stop anywhere else, but as we went past Spaceship Earth, we noticed there was absolutely no wait. So we decided to go on. Mom wasn’t interested, though, so she waited outside while Dad and I went on. The best part of this ride is definitely the very end where you can design your own future. So much fun and we got such a kick out of it. On our way out, we also noticed something I had never seen before. While answering the questions on the ride, they ask you where you are from. I didn’t know what this was for right away, but on the way out, we saw this big board with a world map. On this map, the pictures they take on the ride pop up, and then they zoom towards the place on the map where you are from. It was so cool! So we had to wait around until we saw ourselves come up.

After riding Spaceship Earth, we decided to head out. Since we were going to the Magic Kingdom, we went up to the monorail station to catch the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center. We thought it would be a quick trip, since a monorail came almost immediately, but boy, were we wrong. There was apparently some kind of issue with it, because we sat on the monorail for several minutes, listening to the doors opening and closing over and over again. Now, I like the whole “Please stand clear of the doors…” spiel, but hearing it 20 times gets kind of irritating! Anyway, eventually the doors finally closed for good, and we were on our way.

We finally arrived at the TTC, and we got off the monorail and headed towards the Magic Kingdom express one. Once again, a monorail came right away, so we thought we’d be on our way. Again, this was not the case. There was a problem with this monorail too, so they directed everyone over to the Resort loop. This wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but as it turns out, just as we got on that monorail, the one on the express loop started taking people. It was slightly frustrating, because we had to stop at 2 resorts before getting to the Magic Kingdom, while some people who got there later got on the express line. Also, it turns out that two monorails from that loop got to the MK before we did. :/ But oh well, we still got there, so it turned out to not be a big deal. Just irritating.

Once we finally made it to the Magic Kingdom, we headed in. We didn’t really plan to do anything there, since we had just been there that morning. I did, however, want to try a Dole Whip, so we headed over to Adventureland. After getting my Dole Whip, we went back to Main Street and found a spot to sit and eat while waiting for SpectroMagic. My thoughts on the Dole Whip? It was good, and something different, but not something that I’d need to have all the time.

Before long, it was 7:00, and the lights in the Magic Kingdom dimmed. The music piped in over the sound system, and the parade was beginning. I didn’t take many pictures, since I can’t take night pictures well, but I’ll share one with you.

After SpectroMagic, we had about 40 minutes until Wishes started. We spent this time looking through a couple shops on Main Street, and also relaxing on the balcony outside Tony’s. Then, at about 7:50, we went to try and find a good spot to watch the fireworks. The show did not start on time (about 10 minutes late), but we all still enjoyed it. I love Disney World fireworks shows, mostly because I love the music. That’s what makes Disney so special.

After Wishes, we joined the crowd of guests leaving the MK. While of course fun, it had been a long day, so we ready to go back to the hotel. It had obviously been a tiring day for a lot of other people as well, because once on the bus, we noticed some people falling asleep. I guess that’s what Disney World does to you!

Once back at the hotel, we called it a night, while looking forward to what the next day would bring us.

Coming up next: A safari, a mountain expedition, and a trip back in time

 

[wdwgirl03]

Aww I wish you had pictures of the acrobats too! Dad was saying how they were pretty cool.

I had to go back and reread, I thought Pooh and Tigger were part of the mission. I was like we didn't have Pooh and Tigger when we did it!

 

[Mickey_Mom]

First of all.... Happy Birthday!

What a full day you had! I'm envious of your park hopping.... I always consider it when getting our park tickets, but I always end up going the one park a day route.

I loved the Kim Possible missions! We did China too and it definately took us into a few sections of the pavillion we hadn't seen before. I think we needed a hint in there too.

 

[jwwi]

Happy Birthday. Had to catch back up with your TR. I love how you started at MK, then went to Epcot then back to MK for parade and Wishes. I like your mascot bear too. I am enjoying your trip report, the KP missions sound fun, maybe I will have to try it.

 

[brookelizabeth]

I have been off the DIS, so I just read your last few updates. THAT VIEW! Absolutely beautiful! I can imagine just sitting on that balcony, soaking in the sun and watching everything going on. So, so peaceful.

What a lovely way to end the day - Spectro and Wishes.

 

[RachelNinja]

Wow, you were able to do 3 KP missions! I was hoping that we'd get that prompt since I had read about it on some TRs, but I guess because it was so crowded, we were told to return it right away. I'm hoping to get to do more next time. It was funny because we'd end up watching other people doing their missions just so we could see the effects.

 

[wdwgirl03]

 

[brookelizabeth]

 

[wdwgirl03]

Sadly I think this TR is dead. Come on Claire, you need to finish it!

 

[*DisneyDreamer]

Wow, I have a couple recent replies to this? lol

If you really want me to finish, I'll try. I don't know how much I remember since it's been 5 months since the trip.

 

[wisblue]

Wow, I have a couple recent replies to this? lol

If you really want me to finish, I'll try. I don't know how much I remember since it's been 5 months since the trip.

I can help. You don't have to go into too much detail.