Arrival (Day 1)
We arrived on Monday, December 7th around 1pm.. I went with my mom (DM) and myself, who is 29. Upon arriving, we took the Magical Express to our hotel, Caribbean Beach. We requested a room that was close to the eatery, because in previous trips, I stayed in Aruuba which was a hike to the main building. This time we stayed in Martinique, which was hardly super close, but closer than Aruba. We were famished, because by the time we got to the hotel, it was already 3:30pm. We put our carry on bags in the room and immediately ran to the eatery. We were on the free
Disney Dining plan, which we loved, and my mom had a big roast beef Panini which she loved. She chose a carrot cake as her dessert. I decided to eat Buffalo Chicken, which was an odd choice since I dont really like VERY hot food. It wasnt so great. The sandwich was super spicy, and it was kind of small and not very filling. I picked the chocolate cake for dessert and it was delicious. After we ate, we took the bus to Downtown Disney.
Downtown Disney
Ive always loved making this the very first stop on my trip, its a tradition that Ive kept for the last three trips. My favorite store is probably the Art of Disney, which I know they have in all of the parks, but for some reason, this one is my favorite. I had anticipated buying the Splash Mountain Gallery of Light shadowbox and made a beeline for the shelf. When I brought it to the register, they rang it up as 94 dollars. But the price tag said 65! My mother, being the pushy woman that she can be, told them this, and they had to honor their mistake! Woohoo! We wandered around going to the various shops, and eventually, we got bored and didnt know what to do. It was very early (around 6), and we had a very late lunch, but I really didnt want to eat at the hotel for dinner, so we ended up sitting around under an umbrella while it rained and then ended up eating at Wolfgang Puck Express for dinner. My mother had a salad, and she didnt care for it that much. I ordered the three cheese macaroni and cheese and it was really good. It came with a small Caesar salad, and for dessert, we both had brownies, although my mother saved hers for breakfast the next day. We went back to the room, pretty tired and excited for the parks the next day.
Day 2: EPCOT
It was Extra Magic Hours that day, so we got to EPCOT at 8am (Im one of those people who likes to get there when the parks first open). Spaceship Earth was CLOSED! We were annoyed by that (it later reopened but still, thats usually the first ride), so we made a beeline for Soarin only to discover that there was already an hour wait. We got a Fastpass and decided to ride Listen to the Land, which I enjoy a lot, even though its not the most exciting ride. After we finished that, we went on Test Track, which is always a lot of fun. We went back to the Land pavilion and rode Soarin, which I always found to be overrated. I rode Soarin in California Adventure back when it first opened, and to me, its fun but its hardly in my top 10. Afterwards, I convinced my mother to avoid Ellens Energy Adventure which was very crowded, and I wasnt in the mood for. We breezed through Innoventions, having been disappointed that the House of the Future seemed to be closed. We spent a few minutes playing Up: the Video game, but it was kind of boring. Afterwards, we went back to Spaceship Earth, which is probably one of my favorite rides in all of Disney. It reminds me so much of the old Horizons and World of Motion which filled my childhood with fond memories.
We went on the disappointing as always Journey into Your Imagination (With Figment). I really miss the old ride!!! We skipped over Mission Space because my mother had a bad experience before they opened the two versions. I went on it for the first time in Jan of 2009 and wasnt terribly impressed with the tame version. And Im not a big fan of motion simulators. We arrived for our ADR at Marrakesh where we both ordered the Sultans Platter. I found the food to be probably the best meal of the trip. We both had chicken, and it came with a chicken bastilla, which is a sweet pastry filled with minced chicken and cinnamon. It sounds gross but its really not! And it came with a chicken kabob. For dessert, we had more bastilla, this time with vanilla ice cream melted on top. It was really a very filling and scrumptious meal. After we ate, we made the tour of the countries, fully exploring Morocco.
We also saw the American Adventure movie, which I hadnt seen in about 15 years. It wasnt a bad show by any means. The next several hours were spent completing the worldshowcase going counterclockwise. We rode Maelstrom which is SO short but fun, and did El Rio Del Tiempo. By the time we made it to Canada, It was time for our ADR at France. We ate downstairs and had a semi decent meal. We both ordered the three course meal, having Lobster Bisque, which was so good! I had a chicken dish and my mother had the salmon. The chicken was tasty, but I had a couple of bones appear in my mouth which was kind of gross. When I cook at home, I dont like to cook with meat on the bone. My mother said her salmon was okay. For dessert, my mother had a bunch of pastries filled with ice cream, and I had a chocolate mousse cake, which wasnt as good as I thought. We stopped at the bakery in France to use some of our snack credits to get some chocolate croissants for breakfast. On the way out, we stopped at England and Canada and then exited the park before closing, around 8pm. A 12 hour day! I did not care to stay for Illuminations, Im not a huge fan of the crowds after the fireworks.
Day 3: Magic Kingdom
We woke up pretty early and ate our Chocolate Croissants, which werent as good as expected! The first ride I HAD to go on was Splash Mountain, which is probably my favorite in all parks. My mother doesnt like huge drops so she waited this one out. Afterwards, we went on Thunder Mountain, which is a tradition as well. From there, we went on Pirates, and then trekked over to Tomorrowland. I got a Fastpass for the NEW Space Mountain, which had a pretty long wait. Afterwards, we went on the TTA, saw Carousel of Progress (another personal favorite), and then I ended up going on Space Mountain sans Fastpass (Which is still in my wallet as a keepsake). My mother didnt want to go on, so she went to Laugh Factory alone (the last time I was there, I got picked on so I didnt want to do it this time). Then we went on Buzz Lightyear together (I beat my mom).
From there, it was around lunchtime, so I decided to treat my mom to Liberty Tree, which was SEVERELY disappointing. I went to Liberty Tree a LOT in my youth and I really have very fond memories, so I thought it would be fun to go back there. My mom had a burger, and I ordered the turkey, which is what I had ordered when I was younger. It was like high school cafeteria food, the stuffing was mushy, and the potatoes were bland. We didnt have dessert. After lunch, we did the MK staples: Haunted Mansion and Hall of Presidents. My mother got pissed at the people who were sitting behind us, they were speaking very loudly in Spanish and we couldnt hear the dialogue. It was quite rude! We ventured over to Fantasyland which was quite crowded. We went on Snow White, which never has a long wait, and Fast passed Pooh. Then we saw Mickeys Phillharmagic, which was new to my mom. She thought it was amazing! Then we went on Small World and then on Pooh. Peter Pan had a very long line, and I am not a fan of the teacups or the Carousel. Afterwards, we wondered what we had missed and decided to go back to the hotel for dinner. I ordered grilled salmon with mac and cheese and cornbread. It was really good! My mom had chicken. And for dessert, we had giant cupcakes. It was nice out that night so we ate outside.
Day 4: Hollywood Studios
We got to Hollywood Studios a little after opening. In past years, I made a beeline for Twilight Zone. Every time I go there though, I get very nervous, and while I do think I enjoy the ride, I just get myself very stressed about it. So this time, I decided to skip it, and my mom agreed. We also didnt go on Rock n Roller Coaster (I never have). So the first ride we went to was Toy Story, which had a long wait already. We Fast Passed it, which I was glad about because later in the day, they were completely out. The first thing we did was see the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, which is a sweet and beautiful show. I love the effects even though the rain was icky (it was raining). We ran to the Great Movie ride, which needs updating in the worst way, but still is a Must See. Then we went to our ADR at Sci Fi, which has so so food but so fun atmosphere. We got to have delicious Milkshakes as part of our Dining Plan! I had a chicken sandwich and my mom had the Shrimp Pasta. For dessert, I had the chocolate Peanut butter cake.
After lunch, we rode Toy Story, which is such a fun and interesting ride, but so short. If it was like Buzz, Id ride it multiple times, but sadly it is super popular. We saw the new American Idol show, which my mother enjoyed much more than I did. I thought the singalong part was extremely cheesy! We did the also must see, MuppetVision 3D. Then we rode the very dull Backlot Tour, and saw some of the Animation galleries. By this time it was dark out and we went to our ADR for dinner which was at Hollywood and Vine, which I always enjoy. The best thing of the day, especially for my mother was the Osbourne Spectacle of Lights. Its just simply amazing and I would highly recommend you go to see it at least once. By the time the day was over, and we had to wait a long time for the bus, I was cranky.
Day 5:
Animal Kingdom
This was our last day, and we arrived extra early at AK, before opening. I made a beeline for Expedition Everest, and my mother sat that one out. It seemed more intense than normal. Its not my favorite ride by any means, but for some reason, I do enjoy it. After exploring Asia, we went to Africa and Fastpassed the Safari. We went through one of the animal trails at a very quick pace, and then rode the Safari, which had very few animals. Animal Kingdom is my least favorite park, for the record. We really didnt do a heck of a lot there. We saw Its Tough to be a Bug, which I dont like much either. It was too cold for the rapids, and I didnt really care to go on Dinosaur. By the time our lunch rolled around, at Tusker House, I was ready to go back home. Tusker House was delicious and reminded me of Boma, which I went to the last time! We left, we back to the hotel, then flew back to Long Island. And despite some of my grumblings, I had an awesome time and miss it already!!
I didn't mind the lack of pictures. You're writing and descriptions more than made up for it!
. Better get a few more boxes of corn pops because there's more to come! Since I started it out as a dining report, I have to go back and fill in all the missing details from the first few days. Lord knows how long this'll take...
