When we received our travel documents (our travel agent held onto them because she wanted to get us a direct flight to Orlando from Toronto instead of the stopover in Pittsburgh as originally scheduled...I told you we have a great travel agent), it looked like that with the hotel check-in we wouldn't be able to go to the parks until early afternoon. So we decided to do Epcot on the first day.
We woke up at 5:00 AM as our limo to the airport was arriving at 5:30. Our limo arrived on time and away we went. Our limo driver talked the whole trip to the airport which we found pretty funny. We got to the airport at around 6:30...plenty of time for check in as our flight wasn't scheduled till around 9:00 or so. We checked our bags and went through US customs without problems and got some breakfast while we waited. After some time, we got on our plane for Orlando. We basically slept for an hour or so and just went over the Unofficial Guide during the flight. Our plane made a smooth landing at Orlando International Airport and it finally struck us...we were going to Walt Disney World.
According to our travel documents, we had to find a Disney Cruise Line representative in the arrival rotunda, so we just followed the crowd and sure enough, there was a rep in the blue jacket and beige skirt waiting. After checking in with her, we waited with a group of other people for about 15 minutes or so (apparently there was a huge group coming from Minnesota). In the meantime, another representative came over to escort us to the buses. She was really excited at the large crowd waiting for her! Typical Disney Cast Member
! She walked us right through the airport to the buses! We got on the bus heading to the Dixie Landings Resort where we would be staying and away we went!!
During the bus trip E.T. (our driver) told us that the parks were currently at 50 to 60% capacity as well as some other tips on how to get around the parks once we get settled away at the resort. Afterwards, they played a video talking about the resorts and parks. When the video finished playing, we looked up....and we were there! Is it just me...or do Disney have everything planned out so much that they time the playing of the video with the travel time? Pretty slick....
We stopped off first at the Port Orleans Resort before we went to Dixie Landings. Another Cruise Line Representative came out to greet us and mentioned that on the morning of us traveling to the cruise ship, we could go to DisneyQuest and they would pick us up there. She gave us the necessary information and we went to the main lobby.
The check-in process went very smooth (and our room was ready
). I have to say the resort was beautiful....not to mention huge. We were located in the Oak Manor with a garden view! We went to the room to drop off our carry-on bag. (Our luggage hadn't arrived yet...with this package they get your bags at the airport and deliver them to your room). After calling our folks to let them know we arrived safely, it was off to Epcot!!!!!!!! 
Our plan for Epcot was to play it by ear since we were arriving in the middle of the day and not knowing what to expect in terms of crowds. We got the bus from the resort to Epcot at around 2 o'clock without a hitch and went to Spaceship Earth.....NO LINEUP! Needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised. Next, we went to Universe of Energy and again there was no lineup. I have to say that the new Universe of Energy attraction with Ellen and the Science Guy is more entertaining than when I went back in '92. Afterwards, we went to the Wonders of Life pavilion for Body Wars...no wait again. I was getting a little puzzled as there was plenty of people around but there were no waits for the attractions. After Body Wars, we explored the pavilion a bit before heading to Test Track. We approached Test Track expecting huge lineups and only found a 25 minute wait in the standby line. Regardless, we decided to get Fastpasses anyway. We only had a short wait so we did some souvenir shopping (and had the bag sent back to the room) before we rode Test Track. This ride was awesome...definately worth the hype. We then decided to go over to the other side of Future World and go to the Imagination Pavilion. My wife had heard that you could send an email home from there so off we went! We created the picture and sent home to friends and family and went to the Honey I Shrunk the Audience attraction....no wait again! We then did the new Imagination ride...personally I prefer the old one with Figment better than this one.
We didn't have much interest in the Land or the Living Seas plus we were getting pretty hungry. We hadn't made any PS, so we decided to just check out some of the restaurants and see if they had any openings. We didn't have any luck in Mexico but we got in the Nine Dragons restaurant in China. The food was very good despite what the review in the Unofficial Guide said but it was a little expensive. Personally, I don't care about price when I'm on vacation.
After dinner, we walked around the World Showcase and browsed the stores in the various countries. We went on the ride in Norway (minimal wait) but bypassed the movie. We listened to a gospel choir before going to the American Adventure. After that, we walked around the rest of the World Showcase (including a stop in the Millenium Village) before staking out a spot for Illuminations.
Illuminations was fantastic and my wife was in awe of the fireworks display. We left during the grand finale to get the bus back to the resort. After Epcot, my wife was really looking forward to the rest of WDW.
Next day: Animal Kingdom
We woke up at 5:00 AM as our limo to the airport was arriving at 5:30. Our limo arrived on time and away we went. Our limo driver talked the whole trip to the airport which we found pretty funny. We got to the airport at around 6:30...plenty of time for check in as our flight wasn't scheduled till around 9:00 or so. We checked our bags and went through US customs without problems and got some breakfast while we waited. After some time, we got on our plane for Orlando. We basically slept for an hour or so and just went over the Unofficial Guide during the flight. Our plane made a smooth landing at Orlando International Airport and it finally struck us...we were going to Walt Disney World.
According to our travel documents, we had to find a Disney Cruise Line representative in the arrival rotunda, so we just followed the crowd and sure enough, there was a rep in the blue jacket and beige skirt waiting. After checking in with her, we waited with a group of other people for about 15 minutes or so (apparently there was a huge group coming from Minnesota). In the meantime, another representative came over to escort us to the buses. She was really excited at the large crowd waiting for her! Typical Disney Cast Member
! She walked us right through the airport to the buses! We got on the bus heading to the Dixie Landings Resort where we would be staying and away we went!!During the bus trip E.T. (our driver) told us that the parks were currently at 50 to 60% capacity as well as some other tips on how to get around the parks once we get settled away at the resort. Afterwards, they played a video talking about the resorts and parks. When the video finished playing, we looked up....and we were there! Is it just me...or do Disney have everything planned out so much that they time the playing of the video with the travel time? Pretty slick....
We stopped off first at the Port Orleans Resort before we went to Dixie Landings. Another Cruise Line Representative came out to greet us and mentioned that on the morning of us traveling to the cruise ship, we could go to DisneyQuest and they would pick us up there. She gave us the necessary information and we went to the main lobby.
The check-in process went very smooth (and our room was ready
). I have to say the resort was beautiful....not to mention huge. We were located in the Oak Manor with a garden view! We went to the room to drop off our carry-on bag. (Our luggage hadn't arrived yet...with this package they get your bags at the airport and deliver them to your room). After calling our folks to let them know we arrived safely, it was off to Epcot!!!!!!!! Our plan for Epcot was to play it by ear since we were arriving in the middle of the day and not knowing what to expect in terms of crowds. We got the bus from the resort to Epcot at around 2 o'clock without a hitch and went to Spaceship Earth.....NO LINEUP! Needless to say, we were pleasantly surprised. Next, we went to Universe of Energy and again there was no lineup. I have to say that the new Universe of Energy attraction with Ellen and the Science Guy is more entertaining than when I went back in '92. Afterwards, we went to the Wonders of Life pavilion for Body Wars...no wait again. I was getting a little puzzled as there was plenty of people around but there were no waits for the attractions. After Body Wars, we explored the pavilion a bit before heading to Test Track. We approached Test Track expecting huge lineups and only found a 25 minute wait in the standby line. Regardless, we decided to get Fastpasses anyway. We only had a short wait so we did some souvenir shopping (and had the bag sent back to the room) before we rode Test Track. This ride was awesome...definately worth the hype. We then decided to go over to the other side of Future World and go to the Imagination Pavilion. My wife had heard that you could send an email home from there so off we went! We created the picture and sent home to friends and family and went to the Honey I Shrunk the Audience attraction....no wait again! We then did the new Imagination ride...personally I prefer the old one with Figment better than this one.
We didn't have much interest in the Land or the Living Seas plus we were getting pretty hungry. We hadn't made any PS, so we decided to just check out some of the restaurants and see if they had any openings. We didn't have any luck in Mexico but we got in the Nine Dragons restaurant in China. The food was very good despite what the review in the Unofficial Guide said but it was a little expensive. Personally, I don't care about price when I'm on vacation.
After dinner, we walked around the World Showcase and browsed the stores in the various countries. We went on the ride in Norway (minimal wait) but bypassed the movie. We listened to a gospel choir before going to the American Adventure. After that, we walked around the rest of the World Showcase (including a stop in the Millenium Village) before staking out a spot for Illuminations.
Illuminations was fantastic and my wife was in awe of the fireworks display. We left during the grand finale to get the bus back to the resort. After Epcot, my wife was really looking forward to the rest of WDW.
Next day: Animal Kingdom
