The Great Breakey Disney Trip of 2008

So, this is my first time ever posting a trip report. Please bear with me if it isn't exactly what others do for trip reports.

The first 2 days are taken from notes written by our oldest daughter (Eliza age 8) while the rest were written by me. The trip was a surprise trip for the girls so the beginning says that it is "our trip to Daytona Beach." Yes, we are horrible parents but we have so much fun surprising them. We have done this twice now and will probably do it again in the near future.

I hope to have pictures posted as soon as I sift through the 700+ photos to find the good ones.

Our Trip to Daytona Beach

Day 1

We got up early to drive to Daytona Beach in Florida for vacation for the week. It was a long drive. We checked in to our hotel and went and played on the beach and in the pool. After we got cleaned up, we went to dinner at the Lighthouse Restraunt. I counted a lot of palm trees. I also counted a lot of hotels. There was cool mini golf courses. There were some pretty big beach houses. I saw a beach house that was pink, purple and yellow! I saw a fake yellow palm tree. My sister and I had chicken nuggets for dinner. My Mommy had shrimp and my Daddy had a fish sandwich. We ate dinner outside. We sat at a blue table. We saw 5 little black crabs. The crabs were climbing the trees! We all thought that was awesome. I saw the sun set, it was bright orange. It was really cool! Then we went back to the hotel. We went on the beach and little white crabs were digging holes. We watched the crabs dig their holes then we went back inside and got our p.j.s on and got in bed. We watched a little TV and went to sleep.

Day 2

We went to IHOP for breakfast. After breakfast, we went to a car magazine place (Grassroots Motorsports Magazine.) Then to 2 malls that had Disney Stores in them. At the second store, I bought a HSM shirt that said “I Love Troy.” Then we drove for a while and went under a sign that said “Walt Disney World.” After that we pulled into a parking lot for the Port Orleans – Riverside hotel and checked in. That was when we found out that we were going to Disney World!!!!! After we checked in and found our room, we went to the pool which had a cool water slide. Eliza and Emma only went on the slide once but Mommy and Daddy went on it twice. That night we went to Wilderness Lodge and had dinner at Whispering Canyon. It was really fun and Daddy got a refill in a HUGE jar.
We really loved Whispering Canyon. The food was great and our server, HumbleAlley, was a lot of fun. We will definitely recommend this restraunt to others and we will definitely be back. I think it will be a “must do” for all of our trips from here on out.

Day 3

First thing this morning was breakfast at the Boardwalk Bakery at the Boardwalk hotel. We got some bagels and breakfast sandwiches. Then we went to Epcot. Here is the list of rides we went on at Epcot and the wait times.

Spaceship Earth – Walk On – Both girls loved this ride. I think Rebecca and I were both amazed by how much better the ride looks and how well we liked the Judy Dench version.

Soarin’ – Walk On – We absolutely loved this ride. Eliza’s reaction alone was worth the price of admission that day. She ooh’d and aah’d at everything she saw. We picked up Fast Passes to ride it again later.

· Hidden Mickey found during the fireworks over Disneyland towards the end of the ride. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

Living with the Land – Walk On – It was fun going on this ride after not riding it in so many years (15 – 20?) Unfortunately they didn’t have any of the Mickey shaped pumpkins growing because they had a mold problem recently. A good think however, was that they still had some in storage and were able to have one on display. I think they are so cool. We got a photo of the girls with one.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends – If they were going to do an overlay to incorporate a movie into the ride and make it attractive to younger kids, this was the way to do it. Though I miss the old Sea Base Alpha part of the ride, the new animations that you see while riding in the clam shells was really quite cool. I do feel like the aquarium part of the ride and especially the lobby part is lacking some tie in to the movie. It does feel much more open now though.

· Hidden Mickey found on the floor of the main aquarium made up with dark rocks on the light floor. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

Turtle Talk with Crush – Walk On – This is a VERY cool attraction. The fact that they figured out a way to get the animation to interact with the audience is awesome. Emma asked Crush what it felt like to live in the ocean. His answer, “Wet. Yep, mostly wet.” It was really funny and got a chuckle out of the whole audience.

Soarin’ – Fast Pass – Walk On – This time we were split up, Rebecca in the front row and Eliza, Emma and I in the back row. The front row is definitely where you want to sit.

Journey into Imagination – Walk On – The girls enjoyed this ride; I personally don’t think it will ever be as good as the old Imagination ride.

· Hidden Mickey found in the upside down open house scene. A plate on the table has some toast (French?) with 2 scoops of something forming the classic Mickey. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

Character Spot – 15 minutes – Characters met: Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Belle, and Marie.

Club Cool – We tried all of the soft drinks and the consensus was that the Beverly should stay in Italy.

Maelstrom – Walk On – The ride was much as I remembered it. I was surprised at the amount of stuff in the gift shop from the Northwestern of Deadliest Catch fame.

· Hidden Mickey found in the painting of the Viking ship. One Viking was wearing Mickey ears. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

Lunch – Askerhaus Royal Banquet Hall – Princess Storybook Lunch– Lunch was fun. We met, Belle, Aurora, Snow White, Cinderella, and Ariel. Lunch was good. There is a buffet for the appetizers with lunch meats, cold salads, cold herring (yes I tried it, probably won’t have it again) and cheeses. Lunch was a Norwegian meatloaf type of dish (Kjottake) for Rebecca and I and ravioli for the girls. It was very good but the portion was surprisingly small. The winner was dessert which is served family style. It had a rice pudding that was delicious, and a couple of other things that I thought were good but not fantastic.

Test Track – 30 minutes posted, really more like 15 minutes – I think the girls liked this ride because I told them it would be like an autocross.

Gran Fiesta Tour – Mexico – Walk On – Again exactly as I remembered but now with the Three Caballeros.

· Hidden Mickey found in the banner flags hanging over the canal. Several have cut outs of the Three Caballeros but the cut outs on one made the classic three circle Hidden Mickey. Unfortunately I didn’t get a photo of it.

After Gran Fiesta Tour we set about visiting all of the countries on the World Showcase. We also bought passports for the girls to get stamped and messages written in the native language of the country. They loved that and made a game out of finding the Kidcot locations. They also got their Kidcot masks stamped and tagged with a symbol from each country. During our tour we met Senor Donald Duck, Mulan, Aladdin, Jasmine, Genie, and Alice.

· Hidden Mickey found on the door of the merchant shop that Aladdin, Jasmine and Genie were in front of. It is made up of 3 gold plates forming the classic Mickey. I got a photo of that one.

During the day we sampled a couple of the drinks from the Food and Wine Festival. Some wine, beer and sangria. All of which were good. I think next time we will get one of the gift cards that they have for the F&W Fest and sample more of the food along with the drinks. We just didn’t go in prepared and informed like we will next time.

Dinner was from the Tangerine Café in Morocco. Rebecca and I had a Sundried Chicken salad wrap and the girls had chicken strips. All were good. We ate dinner while staking out our spot for Illuminations at the arch in Japan. Illuminations will always be one of my favorite night time shows.

Day 4

Animal Kingdom – We got there early for when the park opened at 9:00 a.m. We actually ate breakfast in the car on the way to the Animal Kingdom. We decided not to use a snack or quick service meal voucher for this morning.

Kilimanjaro Safaris – 25 minutes, it would have been a walk on if not for the Giraffe that decided to stop in the middle of the ride track. Since the animals have the right of way and they are not prodded to move, the ride stops until they do. This made the wait more like 35 minutes.

Rafiki’s Planet Watch – Walk On – this was our first time taking the train out here. The coolest part was seeing the night houses for the animals. We didn’t spend much time as we wanted to get over to DHS later that day.
Grabbed Fast Passes for Expedition Everest

Finding Nemo the Musical – This was a very cute show. Our first time seeing it. The actors were great and had great singing voices. I really liked how even though it was a puppet show, you could still see the actors and how their facial expressions and actions added to what the puppet was doing.

Expedition Everest – Fast Pass – Walk On – Eliza and I rode in the front car and Emma and Rebecca were right behind us. This was the girls’ first “big kid” roller coaster. Rebecca and I thoroughly enjoyed it but I think we may have caused our kids to end up in therapy in a few years. Eliza and Emma got scared on it but were proud that they rode it afterwards.

Kali River Rapids – 35 minutes posted but more like 20 minutes – We love this ride and got completely drenched. Rebecca took the brunt of the water with Eliza a close second. Emma was barely wet at all.

Pizzafari – Lunch – Not too much to say about this. Even though they say, “don’t get pizza at Disney.” We did. We actually liked it. It wasn’t great, but it was much better than a burger.

Leave DAK for DHS (it’s not Disney’s MGM Studios now, it’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios.)
Grabbed Fast Passes for Toy Story Midway Mania for later in the day.

Toy Story Midway Mania – 50 Minutes posted, actual was about 40 min – This was our favorite ride of the trip. We love the interaction that you have on the ride and the games were fun and challenging. We all really liked the 3-D usage also. Disney has really perfected the 3-D movie. Eliza and I rode together and Emma and Rebecca rode together.

Muppet Vision 4-D – Walk On – Now that I have heard so much about some of the hidden gems on this attraction, I enjoyed it much more. We found the “a net full of jello” and the “key under the mat.” The key would be impossible to find if there was a crowd waiting to enter because it is so close to the turnstiles. Unfortunately this ride has become dated. The 3-D isn’t nearly as good as Philharmagic or Toy Story Midway Mania. Disney has really been pushing the Muppets on the Disney Channel lately so I hope that brings new life into the franchise and this attraction can get a much needed refurb.

Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 10 minutes posted but really a Walk On – While Rebecca and I really like this ride, the girls were scared out of their minds with just the pre-show area. The Rod Serling video did nothing to calm their fears that this ride would scare them. Due to that, Rebecca and I did the baby swap with me riding first. While Rebecca was riding, the girls and I set about finding some hidden treasures in the room where the ride photos are displayed. There is so much cool stuff there that we almost missed what appears to be a Hidden Mickey.

· Hidden Mickey found in the open drawer in this room. It is made up by one large pressure gauge and two smaller gauges. I got a photo of this one.

Rockin’ Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith – 20 minutes posted but really a Walk On – Emma was just barely too short so the girls decided not to ride this ride. Rebecca and I did a modified baby swap with me going on first and then Rebecca riding second. In retrospect, it was a good thing that the girls didn’t ride it as they would have surely vomited or sent completely over the edge and into the looney bin.

Voyage of the Little Mermaid – Walk On – After making the kids neurotic with thrill rides, we toned things down a bit and saw the Little Mermaid show. I forgot how much I like the music from this show. And the black light puppetry is fun.

Dinner – ABC Commissary – Dinner was a Cuban Sandwich for me, a hamburger for Rebecca and probably chicken nuggets for the girls. After dinner it was back to Toy Story Midway Mania to use the fast passes.

Toy Story Midway Mania – 60 Minute wait posted – Fast Passes – Walk On – This was even more fun the second time around. This time Emma rode with me and Eliza rode with Rebecca. We all increased our scores from the first time. This was the best use of a fast pass for the whole trip.

Fantasmic – After getting ice cream for everyone, we found our seats for the best live action show on Disney property. I absolutely love this show, the music and the use of characters, film, pyrotechnics and hydrotechnics. The girls actually enjoyed it this time and didn’t cry at all during the villains act.

Day 5

Magic Kingdom – Morning Extra Magic Hours – We were in the courtyard before at about 7:40 for the 8:00 opening of the park. When we entered, we went straight for our favorite breakfast establishment in the parks, the Main St. Bakery. We ordered 4 sinful pastries, including the cinnamon bun!! Once we got our stomachs full, we made our way towards Fantasy Land.

Ø Saw Dream Squad members but didn’t get awarded a prize.

Ariel’s Grotto – Walk On – This was our first time meeting Ariel in her grotto. The lines are normally 60 minutes long. She was gracious and posed for photos with our girls.

Peter Pan’s Fight – Walk On – I have never seen the line so short for this ride. I still love it. They seem to have changed the very beginning where Peter Pan says “Come on everybody, Here we go!” We, Eliza and I, actually got a different message but the people behind us go the classic one. I’m not real sure why.

Ø Talked to a Dream Squad member who was from Fayetteville, NC but didn’t get awarded a prize.

It’s a Small World – Walk On – By now the parks are open to the public but crowds are still at personal lows.

Ø Saw the partner to the previous Dream Squad member but still no prize.

Cinderella’s Golden Carousel – Walk On – Got some goofy photos of the girls riding the carousel.

Ø Saw the Dream Squad again but still nothing!!!

Snow White’s Scary Adventures – Walk On – Still a scary ride but no crying from the girls.

Ø Again, saw the Squad and they didn’t deliver the goods!!!!! Arrgh!!!

Mickey’s Philharmagic – Walk On – I love the 3-D animation in this attraction and the music that goes with it.

· Hidden Mickey found in the French horn on the right side of the stage. I got a photo of this one.

Ø Saw the Dream Squad one more time and still nothing from them. I’m beginning to think they don’t like us.

Dumbo – 10 minutes – Emma rode with me and Eliza rode with Rebecca.

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 5 minutes posted but really a Walk On – We saw the handing over of the deed from Mr. Toad to Owl. Still sad in my book.

Ø Again, the stupid Dream Squad hates us.

The Mad Tea Party – 5 Minutes posted but really a Walk On – We had not ridden this ride in MANY years. The girls wanted to go on so we did. I spun the cup so fast that the whole world was a blur.

Ø Stupid Dream Squad!!!!

Met Alice and the Mad Hatter.

Story Time with Belle – This is a great little hidden gem in the park. You are so removed from the hectic pace of the rest of the park that it makes for a great way to relax for a few moments. The story was fun and the use of audience members made it magical for those picked. Unfortunately our girls were not picked to be a part of the show. Mostly it was younger kids that they chose.

Goofy’s Barn Stormer roller coaster – 5 minutes – Finally a roller coaster that the girls can enjoy. It is a fun ride, if a little short.

Minnie’s House – Walk On

Mickey’s House – Walk On

· Hidden Mickey found in the garden made up with rocks

Tomorrow Land Speedway – 20 Minutes – This was not a bad wait for a ride that routinely gets over an hour. The girls had fun driving the cars while Rebecca and I pushed the gas. Emma rode with me and Eliza with Rebecca. The girls got driver’s licenses from the cast member as we left.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 5 minutes but really just a Walk On – This ride is a close second to Toy Story Midway Mania in the fun department. This one is a little harder for the younger guests to score high points on though.

Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor – Walk On – What a cool attraction. The jokes were funny and even the texted jokes were funny. I think this attraction will have a long life at Disney World.

Lunch – Crystal Palace – Our favorite place to sit down while at the Magic Kingdom. Lunch was great. Our original plan was to go back to the resort for a nap before the Halloween party, but by the time we were finished, it was almost 3:00 p.m.

Dreams Come True Parade – Curb on Main Street – The best thing that Disney has done lately is to include a diversion for the kids before the parade. The Main Street Operations Cast Members play games (red light/green light, duck duck goose, etc,) had hula hoops and just plain had fun with the kids in the middle of Main Street before the parade started. This is a GREAT idea and I hope they keep it up.

After the parade, we headed up Main Street towards the train station and told the girls that we were going to take a little bit of a break and just slow things down a bit. We walked through a couple of shops and I listened to the Dapper Dans and their organ chimes for a few minutes. After that we headed towards the locker to “get some things out of it.” On the way there we stopped and got our wrist bands for the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party. Then Rebecca got the girls costumes out of the locker and we surprised them with the party. They were extremely surprised and excited. Then as we were coming out of the locker area, Krista, Rebecca’s sister, was coming through the turnstiles and that was the girls’ final surprise for the day. Krista hadn’t been to Disneyworld since the early ‘80’s so everything was new to her. Once we got the girls changed, we headed up to the train station to go to Frontier Land. I noticed that they were just getting ready to do the Flag Retreat at town square so I told the girls to go on ahead and I would meet them in just a few minutes. I hadn’t seen the retreat before so I didn’t want to miss it. The Veteran that was honored with the retreat was a WWII vet who also served in Korea. He was at the parks with 22 family members celebrating his 63 anniversary with his wife. It was a pretty cool thing to see.

Splash Mountain – 5 minutes posted but really a Walk On – The girls rode this while I was watching the retreat.

Pirates of the Caribbean – 5 minutes posted but a Walk On – This was the second time we have been on since the refurb and I have to say that we REALLY like it.

· Hidden Mickey found in the hat of the pirate sitting on the bridge.

Jungle Cruise – 10 minutes posted – Our skipper was funny and didn’t do a lot of the normal spiel. His spiel had a lot of references to the Halloween party coming up.

Aladdin’s Magic Carpets – Walk On – Eliza and I rode in the front of the carpet and Emma, Rebecca and Krista rode in the back. We got spit on by the camel.

· Hidden Mickey found in the charm in the pavement between the Magic Carpets and the shop.

· Hidden Smilie found in the pavement between the Magic Carpets and the shop. I got a photo of this one.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 5 minutes/ Walk On – This will always be a family favorite. Eliza and Emma just love this ride. I rode by myself, followed by Eliza and Rebecca and Emma and Krista.

Splash Mountain – Walk On – Always a favorite and it shows since the girls wanted to ride it again. Krista by herself, Emma and Rebecca followed by Eliza and me.

· Hidden Mickey found in the clouds in the final scene.

Haunted Mansion – Walk On – This was our first time riding since the refurb and I have to say that it is the best refurb that Disney has ever done. Every scene received an enhancement and even the parts between the scenes were redone. I wish we would have ridden it a second time.
Eliza was scared to ride it at first so she wanted to ride with me. I kind of ruined the magic to make the ride enjoyable for her. We talked about how they make the ghosts and some of the illusions that are done in the ride. This worked like a charm. But when we got to the birthday party scene and I wanted to show her the Hidden Mickey made up with the plates, it wasn’t there!!! This was the first time I have been on that ride without seeing that Hidden Mickey.

Dinner – Cosmic Ray’s Café – The girls liked it because they had Stitch as Elvis on stage singing and dancing to all the old wedding dance along music. YMCA, the Chicken Dance, all the favorites.

Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor – Walk On – Great show again and with the canned jokes being different than the first time we saw it. Again we laughed hysterically.

Hallowishes – What a great fireworks show. The music and pyrotechnics are incredible. I dare say that this is better than the regular Wishes show. One thing that set it apart was the use of fireworks all around the park. Not just from the top of the Fantasyland buildings.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – Walk On – Eliza, Emma and I rode this while Rebecca and Krista rode Space Mountain. We swapped so that I could ride Space Mountain also.

Space Mountain – Walk On – This ride is great and I am glad I got to ride it once more before the refurb. I hope they refurb it to the same degree that they did the Haunted Mansion.

Mickey’s Boo To You Halloween Parade – Curb on Main Street – I still have the song going through my brain a month after seeing it. It was a very fun parade with the regular Disney characters all wearing costumes. Pooh was a superhero, Tigger was a pirate, Eeyore was a clown, etc. Mickey and Minnie were in their purple and orange tux and dress. The grave diggers were my favorite part of the parade. The sparks from their shovels were really cool.

Villains Mix & Meet – Stage show in front of the Castle – this was a fun show but the highlight was getting to get pictures with Maleficient, Frodo, the Queen of Hearts, Cruella DeVille, Jafar, The Wicked Queen, and Captain Hook.

Monorail back to the TTC – I arranged for the Krista, Rebecca and the girls to sit up in the cockpit of the monorail for the trip back to the TTC. This brought about one of the funniest lines from the whole trip. While talking about our trip to the monorail pilot, the girls told her that they had ridden Expedition Everest. When the pilot asked if they bought the ride photo to prove to people that they had in fact ridden it, the girls said no. The pilot replied with, “Well at least you and your Moms know,” implying that Rebecca and Krista was a couple. Now, knowing Disney, and there level of tolerance for all lifestyles, this wasn’t surprising. But when Rebecca told me this, I got a good laugh from it.

This was the end to one of the best days I have ever had in the Magic Kingdom. The girls had fun and didn’t complain at all. Even after being in the park for 16 hours. I have never seen the crowds so light. While that isn’t too good for Disney’s check book, it was great for us and the other guests who were able to walk on to just about every ride on the property. I have determined that October is the best time of the year to go. Also, Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is definitely worth the money. Even if you don’t spend the whole day in the park and just come for the party, you stand a very real chance of getting on every ride that you want to. As a matter of fact, I would recommend using the beginning part of the day to relax by the pool and then make you way to the park at 4:00 p.m. You can enter then with just the party admission.

Day 6

Breakfast – Kona Café at the Polynesian Resort – I had Tonga Toast and Rebecca had the Pineapple & Macadamia Pancakes and the kids both had French toast. The Tonga Toast was REALLY good and the Pineapple & Macadamia Pancakes were incredible. We will definitely do breakfast here again.

Kennedy Space Center – This was fun if expensive. $140 for our family was rather expensive for something that our tax dollars paid for. No longer can you visit the Astronaut memorial or the rocket garden for free. You must pay to get to them. However, you now get a tour included in your admission. On the tour we saw pads 39A and 39B. Both of which had Shuttles on them. 39A had Atlantis, which was supposed to go to the Hubble to make some repairs before being scrubbed due to Hubble failing. 39B had Endeavour, which was to be the life boat in the event of a problem with Atlantis. It will now be moved to 39A and readied for a launch to the International Space Station in November. From there we went to the Saturn command center. This was pretty cool because they have a mockup of a Saturn V lying on its side in the center. That was a HUGE machine. Leaving there we saw the mate/demate gantry for putting the shuttle on the back of the Boeing 747 and getting it off again. It looks like an erector set gone haywire. Also we got to see the Shuttle’s runway and the center line that they use to tow the Shuttle back to its hangar. The next stop was the completion center for modules going to the ISS. This was a real working lab with modules from Italy and Japan being readied for their missions.
After our time at the KSC, it was time to say goodbye to Krista so she could drive back home and we could find a hotel. We were able to get a great rate for a Days Inn by using the information desk at the KSC.

Day 7

The drive home. We did stop by another Disney Outlet in St. Augustine and got a couple of shirts and trinkets for a fraction of what they are in the parks. If I have one secret that I would share with everyone, it would be to hit the Disney’s Character Premiere stores. There are 2 in Orlando and now one in St. Augustine. It will save you tons on souvenirs in the parks.

We got back home at around 8:00 p.m. and pretty much went straight to bed.

We had a great trip and are ready to do it again.

Thanks for sharing, very in depth! Makes me wanna go back now!

Thanks Nick. Yea, it was a little, er, detailed. I mostly made it for my own memory. But I didn't think anyone would believe just how empty the parks were while we were there. All of the parking lots were EMPTY. The parks felt like we were there for a private party. And getting fast passes for Toy Story at 2:00 pm was unheard of earlier this year.

Thanks for taking the time to read it. It's kind of like listening to Lou's podcast. You kind of have to commit to it. :) Not like listening to WDWToday where you only have to worry about 15 minutes of you day instead of the whole day!!! :) Just kidding Lou, you know I love your show!!!