Monday, October 06, 2008

Disney Report 4 - The Final One

Yes, that's right. I am going to get the last two days of my Disney trip done even if it kills me.

But before I move on to Saturday, I do need to make a point about Friday for those who haven't been to Disney World. It isn't like Disneyland where you can walk from Disneyland's main entrance to CA Adventure in two minutes. The parks are miles apart. You have to take shuttles (or monorail) do get from one to the other. And yet I was extremely blessed with that. I walked onto every shuttle or monorail I needed on Friday. I had had to wait up to half an hour earlier in the week. But this time, when I was ready, there was the shuttle.

Okay, so on to Saturday.

Saturday started very early in the morning. We had a group photo at 7:15 AM. That meant I had to get up and get going earlier than I would have liked. But we were all there and ready on time. The photo went quickly, giving us some time before we had to get on a bus and head to EPCOT.

Our next group event of the day was Mouse Quest. We were broken into teams and then given a series of clues or questions we had to find the answer to somewhere in EPCOT. We did one set in Future World and one in the World Showcase. Basically, it was a glorified scavenger hunt. But it was lots of fun. That took all morning, and we ended in the America portion of World Showcase, so I went to see American Adventure again. Yes, I loved it so much I did it two days in a row. From there, I wander through the rest of the countried I hadn't made it to yet and watched the two films - one in France and a Circle Vision one in Canada. That one is hosted by Canadian Martin Short and it is so funny.

At one point, I was going to wander over to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon, but I just didn't have enough time to make it worth while. Instead, I spent time in the Future World part of EPCOT. I rode a Segway in one of the Innoventions pavillions. That was fun yet challenging. And I rode Test Track several times in a row. And I found most of the Christmas ornaments I was planning to buy in Magic Kingdom, so I bought them there.

Even with staying in EPCOT, I was the last one to make our dessert event that night. We had a roped off (and therefore) private patio area to watch the fireworks that night. And we had delicious desserts to enjoy, too. The fireworks were neat, although they did spend too much time focusing on the ball or Earth. It is only cool to watch it rotate so many times.

But no, the day wasn't over yet. About 10 of us headed over the Magic Kingdom after the fireworks. We were hyped up on sugar and adrenialine, so we had a blast making fools of ourselves. We sang Disney songs at the top of our lungs on the monorail. Then we sang along with Pirates and Splash Mountain. We had lost some of our spunk by the time we hit Small World. And we ended the night with Space Mountain. It was around one by the time I got home and to bed. It was totally worth it.

But that didn't mean I could sleep in Sunday morning. I only had a few hours left. I packed, checked out, and headed back to Hollywood Studios. I rode Toy Story a second time (after waiting in an hour long line), Rockin' RollerCoaster, and Tower of Terror before heading to the next park.

And here's where I really blew it on several fronts. Before I left, Mom and Dad had told me to be sure to see the totum poles at Wilderness Lodge. For some reason, I was thinking they were impressed with Fort Wilderness Campground. So I took the shuttle there, planning to take the ferry over to Magic Kingdom. So I ride the shuttle from Hollywood Studios to Wilderness Lodge to the Campground, going right past what I was supposed to see. Then, after getting out, I discover I am at the opposite end of the campground from where I need to catch the ferry. So I set out walking. It was at least a mile away. I must admit I did enjoy the campground. It made me want to stay there. Although I'd be at the parks the entire time and never truly enjoy the campground. I just enjoy camping that much, I guess.

Anyway, I did finally make it on to Magic Kingdom, where I went to PhilharMagic one more time. I wish I had gotten there early enough to do it twice because I had a tall guy sitting in front of me, blocking part of the screen. But I needed to move on. I bought the castle Christmas ornament I couldn't get the day before, then headed back to my motel where I had just enough time to grab lunch before it was time to catch the UnMagical Express (hey, it can't be the Magical Express if they are taking you away from Disney World toward your real life) to the airport.

And I'll give them this on the Magical Express. I checked my bag onto my flight from my hotel before I went to the parks. It was great to not have to worry about that all day.

Angelique and I were on the same flight back to LA. I was flying with Delta this time, and I didn't have nearly the had times I did with the flight out on United the week before. Everything went according to plan. I made it home a little before 11, tired.

As you can tell, it was a great trip. Yes, I'd go back, although I don't know if I would rush back. We already have the majority of the stuff I loved there here in California. And it's much cheaper to do Disneyland for a day. Still, there are enough differences and enough things we don't have here that I would like to go back at some point in the future. We'll just see when that winds up being.

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