GPC0321
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 1, 2015
Well, Easter with the Mouse and Company was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that as you can see by my updated avatar and signature, another trip is in the works. This one's a secret too.
Regarding the Easter trip, we were blessed with good weather for most of it, until the heavens opened up and it rained like nothing I've seen before on our last day. We had just hopped from Epcot (thankfully a nice day in the World Showcase prior to the storm) to the MK, and man did it rain/blow/thunder! We took shelter in the shops with several hundred of our closest friends (LOL) and watched the people running down Main St. in a mad panic. Anyway, it cleared off in time for us to hop back to Epcot for IllumiNations.
Which brings me to my list of THE BEST THINGS WE SAW at Disney. Top honors go go La Nouba. WOW! I don't even know what else to say. That was 90 minutes of absolutely mind-blowing entertainment. My eyes hurt from looking so hard, my face hurt from smiling so much, and my hands hurt from clapping so often. If anyone hasn't seen that show yet, DO IT! Just...just do it.
The fireworks were next on the list, in this order: Symphony in the Stars (OMG!!), Wishes (AWWW!), and IllumiNations (Wow!). We didn't watch Fantasmic! as that was the only nighttime show we'd actually seen.
Finally, the parades. Festival of Fantasy edges MSEP out slightly, probably because we were sitting on the curb right in front of the castle with the parade RIGHT in front of us and it was spectacular! Sooo much fun. We didn't jockey for position for the MSEP and chose to sit at Casey's and watch it come by from afar. Still saw it fine, and loved the little tune, and it was a good place to rest while the masses exited the MK afterward.
Otherwise, the Coronado was much like i remembered it, only I finally got to get in that awesome pool. We only managed this once as every chair and table were full when we tried again (hard to find a spot the first time), so we had to retreat to the quiet (boring) pool. Meh. But our sole trip to the Dig Site pool was great. At one point as we were sitting there drinking from our resort mugs, eating our Mickey ice cream bars, watching the kids play games, etc. I remarked that life didn't get much better!
The last thing that REALLY stands out to me was rope drop at Animal Kingdom on Easter morning. We hadn't planned to get there before the park opened, it just happened. I had no idea what they do for their rope drop and it turns out they release about a dozen BEAUTIFUL macaws that sweep out over the crowd to some stirring music and the opening announcement and then perch (and eat) on their special place. When the announcement comes to an end, the voice says something about letting your imagination "soar" (or maybe "take flight"?) and the music crescendos and the birds all take off and swoop out over us again and then fly off into the park. It was so great!! Really sets the mood for the experience you're about to have. We loved AK, because we're big animal lovers, and really enjoyed our time there. We were even at Flame Tree BBQ when it opened and got to witness their happy little chanting and clapping routine they do to open the restaurant! Good food and cool place to sit!
With all of this said, I learned some very valuable things about WDW and how I'd like to attack it in the future. Money was wasted (QSDP), time was wasted, and I know I would not want to revisit the park again to do all the same stuff we did during that trip any time soon. I made mental notes the whole time of what I'd do differently.
With THAT said, the absolute best place on the whole property to me and my mom was Magic Kingdom, specifically the Main Street and hub area in front of the castle. We just loved it so much there Ate lunch at Casey's as I'd been fantasizing about! Favorite meal the whole trip! My mom's birthday is in December (23) and she loves Christmas. She's also been suffering severe withdrawals since returning. So! I've been at it again, and I've about got us a very quick trip planned for December 17-19 just to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I've booked an extremely reasonable off-site hotel, plan to drive, and will purchase the tickets for MVMCP when they go on sale. I know my mom is going to absolutely love it, and I cannot wait to tell her. She turns 74 this year, and as far as I'm concerned, this can be our new tradition!
As for staying onsite and all of that, I'm not sure I'd ever do that again. It was fun to revisit that way of doing WDW, but I think there are cheaper ways that will afford us more opportunities to go.
I guess this turned into a sort of trip report, so if it needs to be moved, I understand.
Regarding the Easter trip, we were blessed with good weather for most of it, until the heavens opened up and it rained like nothing I've seen before on our last day. We had just hopped from Epcot (thankfully a nice day in the World Showcase prior to the storm) to the MK, and man did it rain/blow/thunder! We took shelter in the shops with several hundred of our closest friends (LOL) and watched the people running down Main St. in a mad panic. Anyway, it cleared off in time for us to hop back to Epcot for IllumiNations.
Which brings me to my list of THE BEST THINGS WE SAW at Disney. Top honors go go La Nouba. WOW! I don't even know what else to say. That was 90 minutes of absolutely mind-blowing entertainment. My eyes hurt from looking so hard, my face hurt from smiling so much, and my hands hurt from clapping so often. If anyone hasn't seen that show yet, DO IT! Just...just do it.
The fireworks were next on the list, in this order: Symphony in the Stars (OMG!!), Wishes (AWWW!), and IllumiNations (Wow!). We didn't watch Fantasmic! as that was the only nighttime show we'd actually seen.
Finally, the parades. Festival of Fantasy edges MSEP out slightly, probably because we were sitting on the curb right in front of the castle with the parade RIGHT in front of us and it was spectacular! Sooo much fun. We didn't jockey for position for the MSEP and chose to sit at Casey's and watch it come by from afar. Still saw it fine, and loved the little tune, and it was a good place to rest while the masses exited the MK afterward.
Otherwise, the Coronado was much like i remembered it, only I finally got to get in that awesome pool. We only managed this once as every chair and table were full when we tried again (hard to find a spot the first time), so we had to retreat to the quiet (boring) pool. Meh. But our sole trip to the Dig Site pool was great. At one point as we were sitting there drinking from our resort mugs, eating our Mickey ice cream bars, watching the kids play games, etc. I remarked that life didn't get much better!
The last thing that REALLY stands out to me was rope drop at Animal Kingdom on Easter morning. We hadn't planned to get there before the park opened, it just happened. I had no idea what they do for their rope drop and it turns out they release about a dozen BEAUTIFUL macaws that sweep out over the crowd to some stirring music and the opening announcement and then perch (and eat) on their special place. When the announcement comes to an end, the voice says something about letting your imagination "soar" (or maybe "take flight"?) and the music crescendos and the birds all take off and swoop out over us again and then fly off into the park. It was so great!! Really sets the mood for the experience you're about to have. We loved AK, because we're big animal lovers, and really enjoyed our time there. We were even at Flame Tree BBQ when it opened and got to witness their happy little chanting and clapping routine they do to open the restaurant! Good food and cool place to sit!
With all of this said, I learned some very valuable things about WDW and how I'd like to attack it in the future. Money was wasted (QSDP), time was wasted, and I know I would not want to revisit the park again to do all the same stuff we did during that trip any time soon. I made mental notes the whole time of what I'd do differently.
With THAT said, the absolute best place on the whole property to me and my mom was Magic Kingdom, specifically the Main Street and hub area in front of the castle. We just loved it so much there Ate lunch at Casey's as I'd been fantasizing about! Favorite meal the whole trip! My mom's birthday is in December (23) and she loves Christmas. She's also been suffering severe withdrawals since returning. So! I've been at it again, and I've about got us a very quick trip planned for December 17-19 just to attend Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. I've booked an extremely reasonable off-site hotel, plan to drive, and will purchase the tickets for MVMCP when they go on sale. I know my mom is going to absolutely love it, and I cannot wait to tell her. She turns 74 this year, and as far as I'm concerned, this can be our new tradition!
As for staying onsite and all of that, I'm not sure I'd ever do that again. It was fun to revisit that way of doing WDW, but I think there are cheaper ways that will afford us more opportunities to go.
I guess this turned into a sort of trip report, so if it needs to be moved, I understand.
