Just got back from a fantastic 2 weeks in the USA. This was our second time to WDW (last trip was in March 2007) and I think it was even better the second time round! I went with my husband (no kids, but we are like 2 big kids really!).
Day 1 - Long trip from Melbourne, via Brisbane to LA. Qantas flight arrived 2.5 hours late, so we missed our connecting United flight to Orlando and waited one hour in line before Qantas could put us on a Delta flight via Atlanta. Eventually arrived in Orlando at about 11pm....but no luggage! Not the greatest news when you have been travelling for over 30 hours, but I was still very happy to have finally arrived! Took the Magical Express Bus to Port Orleans - French Quarter and was happy to be given a room close to the main building. Was surprised that the room seemed about the same size and very similar to the room I had a Pop Century last time. Not really sure is the Moderate resorts are worth the extra $$s. In hindsight, probably not.
Day 2 - Relieved to find out that the luggage arrived at 5.30am. Went to Animal Kingdom and was amazed at how low the crowd level was compared to my previous visit in March 2007 during Spring Break. It was so much more enjoyable without the crowds. I love how AK feels like being at a zoo. Went on Everest (very scary, was too scared to do it last trip, glad I did it, but probably never again!). Fav rides are the Dinosaur ride and It%26#39;s a Bugs Life 3D. Did the rapids ride and got TOTALLY drenched! Enjoyed the new Nemo show, but the jet lag was kicking in by 3.30pm and we were both falling asleep during the show!
In the evening we took the boat ride from PO-FQ to Downtown Disney and had dinner at Wolfgang Pucks Cafe. Nice but nothing special. Was great to be on the free Disney Dining Plan, but after eating an appetizer and entree, we couldn%26#39;t fit in dessert!
Day 3 - Was raining in the morning so we bought ponchos, which was a very smart move, as we needed them quite often during our stay. Went to Epcot, again very quiet, probably because it was very wet. Tried Mission Space (the green version - that was scary enough for me). Last time we gave it a miss after reading the guide book, but now that they offer a milder green version, we thought we%26#39;d try it. Again, glad I did, but never again! Went on Test Track using the single rider queue, since it was 10 mins compared to 40 mins for the normal line and we ended up riding together anyway. Went on Soarin%26#39; twice. It%26#39;s definately one of my favourite rides at WDW. Had lunch at the bakery in France, which had lots of yummy cakes, then went back to the hotel for a nap.
Back to Epcot in the evening for dinner at the Nine Dragons Chinese restaurant, which again was ok, but nothing special. I was really looking forward to the dinner I had booked at the Japanese teppanyaki restaurant, but on arrival at WDW I was told that it was closed for renovations, so I was disappointed. Went back to Test Track to settle a USD$100 bet that I had with hubby. He insisted that the cars sit 9 people, I said it was 6. I won.....but I still haven%26#39;t seen any of that USD$100! Saw the fireworks at night, but we didn %26#39;t realise that the show included light displays on the lake, and since we were far back from the fence, I think we missed a lot of the show.
Day 4 - Took a shuttle to Alamo to pick up a hire car. Also hired a sat nav system which was the best $50 I have spent in long time. Definately came in handy.
Drove up to Mall of Mallenia, which was full of fancy brand name shops. Since we don%26#39;t buy Prada and Chanel, we found this mall to be very boring. The only good thing about it was the Cheesecake Factory (which is one of my fav restaurants in the whole wide world!). Hubby bought a cover for his new i-pod, then we went over to Target and then the Prime Outlet Mall, which was also a bit of a disappointment.
Drove home down International Drive, which looked very tacky and touristy. I wouldn%26#39;t want to stay there.
Day 5 - Up early and drove to Universal Studios. The park was EMPTY! We walked onto every single ride, absolutely zero wait time, what am absolute dream! We finished the whole park in 4 hours. Went on the Mummy (which we were too scared to do at US in LA back in 2005). We must be getting braver in our olfdage, as this trip we were doing a lot more scarier rides!
At lunchtime we went over to IoA, which was much busier. We aren%26#39;t into the big rollercoasters so we skipped them. We loved Spiderman (a 3D simulation ride) and Jurassic Park. Again there was hardly any wait for the rides, except for the water ride which had a 40-60 min wait. We did it and got absolutely drenched! Saw the Posiden show which was one of the worst shows I%26#39;ve seen at a theme park, definately give that one a miss.
After US and IoA we went back to Mall of Mallenia as the i-pod cover didn%26#39;t fit my husband%26#39;s i-pod, so he wanted to return it......he was pretty embarrassed when they pointed out that there was another size case in the packaging that fit his i-pod, but because it was clear colored he didn%26#39;t see it!. No doubt the salesman would have been talking about how dumb Aussies are!
For dinner we went to PO - Riverside food court, which was much much better than the PO-FQ food court. We had made to order pasta, the quality a lot better than at PO-FQ.
Day 6 - Went to PO-Riverside food court for breakfast and had made to order omlettes. The food court was much more crowded than at PO-FQ. Went to Typhoon Lagoon, our first wter park, and had a great time, although hubby accidently elbowed me in the wave pool when a wave came threw and left a massive bruise on my hipbone. Thought the snorkling was very disappointing, just doesn%26#39;t compare to snorkling in the Great Barrier Reef.
In the afternoon we went to the outlets at Lake Buena Vista and both bought heaps of clothes. We both thought these outlets where much better than the Prime Outlets and were so handy to WDW too. I am surprised that they don%26#39;t get much a mention on the forum. I only found them by accident.
Dinner was at ESPN at The Boardwalk. Had to wait 40 mins for a table, even though there seemed to be heaps of empty tables when looking into the restaurant. Food was very disappointing. Wouldn%26#39;t recommend it. Really wanted to go to Jellyrolls, but we were both too tired, so went home to bed at about 10pm instead (we are obviously getting too old to stay out late anymore!!).
Will continue the rest of the trip in another post.....
Trip Report - Sept 17-30 - Part 1
Great report! Glad you had a great time, and hope to read more.
I%26#39;m in Orlando now, and heading to Epcot today. We%26#39;re so looking forward to Soarin. Grandson is in love with the ';scary'; rides so I suppose we will be heading to Mission Space, and I think he will love Test Track, too.
Gettin%26#39; those ponchos dried off from yesterday as the forecast doesn%26#39;t look much better today.
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