A Whirlwind Christmas Vacation with Renee and Brett...12/12-12/17..Day 3, part 1, MGM now up!!! About This Page:

[Brettchief]

Just got back from Orlando, and had a wonderful time! I could not wait to start this trip report to let you all know the happenings, highlights, etc. This will just be the intro, as I do not have time tonight to write the whole thing out..and plus it is back to reality at 8am tomorrow as I have an appointment with work! Oh well, I guess the magic had to end at some point in time. So let's get rolling!!!!



DATES: 12/12-12/17



TRAVELLERS: Brett (24) Disney fanatic, past annual passholder two years ago, finally scraped together enough money to buy annual passes for this year.

Renee (22), my equally fanatical GF, crazy about Disney, especially loves the Mouse, and is obsessed with getting pictures with characters....

So we both have been to Disney numerous times. This time we took everything in stride, not rushing, just enjoying ourselves and the magic around us.

LODGING: We went cheap this time, stayed with my friend who lives about 10 minutes away from the mouse, and my GF's parents, who live in Daytona (about 45 min from the mouse).

HIGHLIGHTS: of the trip include reviews of the newest attractions at Disney: MS, Wishes, and Philharmagic, a trip to MVMCP, a review of Pal Mickey, and a bunch of other surprises and magical moments throughout our trip.



So stay tuned as this will be continuously updated throughout the week, hopefully day 1 and 2 will be up tomorrow after work Maybe even some pictures...yes, of characters..lol

[tikibird]

Welcome back! Glad you had a fun time with Mickey!

Great start to your trip - can't wait to hear more!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start to your TR Brett Can't wait to read all about your adventures

[DouglasE]

I'm all in support of you staying with family and friends. Renee and I would have a blast together. Getting pics with the characters is something that I have in the back of my head. Don't know how successful I'll be. Last time I was so attraction focused that I missed out on a lot of that. Can't wait to hear all the exciting news of your most recent trip.

[pparm]

Great intro, Brett. Can't wait to read about the rest of the trip!

[DrDolphin]

Can't wait to read more - much more!!

[TINKN]

Welcome back and can't wait for your TR!

[Brettchief]

Pre-trip: Our trip planning to Disney began about 4-5 months ago...sitting in Tallahassee wondering how we were going to make it to the land this year before Christmas. We chose the dates we wanted to go based upon the promise of slower, lighter crowds the few weeks before Christmas. We were definitely not disappointed in that regard...but now I am rushing myself. About a month ago, we began watching the dates for MVMCP, seeing which ones were selling out, and decided about 2 weeks ago to plan on going to MVMCP on the night of the 14th. Our logic was that not many people would be willing to be up until 12am touring MK on a Sunday. I think planning the trip is most of the fun, so I spent many a nights creating the "perfect" itinerary for our week down there. While I did spend a lot of time on the itinerary, I always kept in the back of my mind that most likely we would not follow it step by step, which was fine by me.



DAY 1

We left Tallahassee around 9am Friday morning, getting into Orlando around 1pm. Went to Downtown Disney to purchase tickets, as this way we would not have to pay parking our first time into a park! (that was tip number 1). It was really easy to do, just walked up to guest relations, told them what we wanted, and we were quickly on our way to EPCOT. Our main reason for going to Epcot on day 1 was to try out MS....which turned out to be a walk-on (a common theme for all the attractions while we were there). WOW, what a ride! Everything from the outside to the queue, to the ride itself is vintage Disney: above the top in every regard. The ride itself is unbelievable. It will have you thinking for days, wondering how they do that! Caution for those who get motion sickness though..this one is a doozy! Heard on the radio leaving Disney that they are putting in motion sickness bags in the ride, we got a good laugh out of that one! The only gripe I have about the ride is it is too short, and ends abruptly. I won't go into too many details as I don't want to spoil it! Definitely one not to be missed, for those that dare!

Next up was TT, UoE, Journey, and Honey I Shrunk the Kids...all walk on, all just the way we left them last time!! We rode SE, followed by MS once more before we left. It was getting a little late (7p or so), so we bypassed the World Showcase, and skipped Illuminations, with the hopes of catching it later in the week. We had dinner plans with my friend, so we called it a day!



NEXT UP:

Day 2, AK and MK..lots of character pictures, parades, and ofcourse Spectromagic!!



stay tuned.......

[tikibird]

Sounds like a great first day!

Glad you liked MS, but I can't agree it's too short -any longer and I would have needed one of those new bags!

Can't wait for more!

[Colexis Mom]

What a great first day, and to have everything as walk-ons makes it even better Looking forward to more

[poohsgirl]

<font color="purple"> MS, twice in one day? You are a brave soul Brett! Can't wait for more! </font>

[wdwlovers]

Great first day! Waiting patiently for more!

[luvnwdwgal]

Thanks for sharing your first day with us! Looking forward to more!!

[Brettchief]

DAY 2

Renee had a rehearsal early in the am for a cantada she is performing in for Christmas, so we got a late start to AK. I believe we got through the gates at about 1-2pm. They were closing early (5pm) that day, so we didn't have much time, but we nevertheless had a blast there. One thing I love about the AK is that they always seem to have a lot of characters, either right outside the gates, or located throughout numerous places in the park at all times...usually with a very short wait, or no wait at all to get pictures, autographs, etc. So basically, it was heaven for Renee!! On our way in we got pictures with Pluto and Chip...FYI Chip has one tooth, and Dale has two!! I never knew that. Renee asked Chip this, and he pointed at his tooth, and made a "C" with his hand. Very cute

Anyways, so we entered the park and went over to Dinoland. Rode Dinosaur (walk on), and then had our longest queue of the trip (for an attraction), for Primeval Whirl, which was about 10 minutes. I love Dinosaur. I think it is very well done, great effects, and has some scary moments! I am a big fan of "dark" rides, so this one is always one I will not miss. PW was interesting.....I had never been on it before, thought it was a little cheesy, but I did like being spun around a little bit, unexpectedly at times! ITTBAB was next on our list....my fav 3D attraction, of the ones I had seen so far. The effects are cool, and when the bugs leave the theatre I just crack up laughing! KS was next, no wait. not too many animals out, guessing b/c it was late in the day. We did see the lion up close which was kind of cool. As we were heading towards the exits of the park, we decided to check out the parade at 3:30. I had not seen this one, and was kind of surprised that I really enjoyed it. Got a good picture of Mickey waving to us at the end! lol

We left AK around 4:30ish. As we were exiting, there were characters lined up dressed in their Xmas best! I got a good picture of Renee and Mickey, which I am trying to post on here. we'll see if it works. Next stop, the TTC.

We did not have high expectations to get a lot of attractions in at MK today, as 1)we knew it would be extremely busy there, and 2) we were coming there the next night for MVMCP. So when we entered the park, went over to the "sign" to see the waits posted, times for parades, fireworks, etc., and decided on what we wanted to do. 40-55 min wait posted for the mountains, 55 min wait for Philharmagic..yuck.We went over to Space M. and got a fastpass with a return time of about 1.5 hours later. So we basically just walked around, and enjoyed the festive decorations, and people watched!lol

We jumped on Timekeeper, and The Peoplemover, with minimal waits while waiting for our return time. Finally got on SM, on the left side, which I haven't been on in a while. It was nice, just how I left it...definitely in my top 5 rides to ride while on Disney property!

My main reasoning for coming to the MK so late into the day was to catch the first showing of Spectromagic. The park was open until 10pm, and had 2 shows of Spectromagic with Wishes stuffed in between. We decided to stay for the parade then bolt for the exits!!! I absolutely love Spectromagic. I love the anticipation with Jiminy Cricket announcing that there are 5 min until showtime...I love the music, I love it when the lights in the park suddenly go out, queued to the music, with everyone "ooing" and "awing"! It is just such an awesome spectacle. If you have never seen it, DO NOT miss it on your next trip. I consider it one of the few things that are worth admission price alone to see.

So we enjoyed Spectromagic, and high tailed it out of the park via ferryboat, and enjoyed a night on the town with my friend in Orlando!!



Day 3 coming soon.....highlights: day at MGM, a wet one at that...and a magical, wonderful night at MVMCP! Don't go away, don't change that dial, I'll be back soon!!

[Colexis Mom]

Sounds like another great day Brett Glad you enjoyed the parade at AK, we've yet to see it but have heard such great reviews!! Looking forward to MVMCP