Welcome Home, You've Arrived!!!!! A June 2014 Trip Report and Video

[Teknik_DC2]

Hello Everyone. I'm back with a different type of Trip Report. You can view all my previous recaps on the links in my signature below.

This is a different type of recap as this trip was a bit different. For one we traveled with Family for the entire trip. It was also a trip of many firsts as we tried to make the most of what would likely be a once in a lifetime trip for some of those family members.

After having completed my 10th trip report (which will actually be posted along with this one over at the Universal Trip Report board) I decided to change up my trip reports. I do not plan to go in to great detail as it became very time consuming. Instead I plan to post whatever I can whenever I can with little writing. We will see how that works out. I thought I was done with writing all together but Honestly I can't resist not doing it.

And finally for the first time ever I used a video camera on this trip. More specifically a GoPro and have made a 30 minute video to share to kick off this trip recap.

With that said on to the introductions.



On this trip we traveled with Kiera's Parents, Siblings, and Grandma. So those you will be seeing in this recap from Left to Right is Stirling, Kena, Logan, Myself (Jeff), Our Son Daniel, my Wife Kiera, Pauline, Ken, and Debbie.

We were in Orlando for 15 days. From June 2nd to 16th 2014. We Stayed in 5 different locations, and visited the 2 resorts including staying 1 night onsite at each. It was a busy trip but it was amazing.


So now its on with the recap.


Table of Contents:





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[Teknik_DC2]

The first update will be the preview of whats to come with the Video. As I said it was filmed with a GoPro Hero3 Black Edition. It was so convenient to have something I could slip into my pocket when it wasn't in use. In total I recorded over 5 hours worth of video footage and then for the past month since we've been home I have edited it down to the 30 minute video that is linked below. Needless to say I have a new found respect for those who do videography regularly.

So check it out the link below and let me know what you think. Thanks.


http://vimeo.com/100929998







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[Teknik_DC2]

Day 1: Travel to Florida

It was finally June and time for another vacation. For Summer 2014 we were returning to one of the Happiest Places on Earth. Universal Orlando Resort. Oh and Disney World too. This trip was a few months in the making and we looked forward to sharing this adventure with Kiera's family which we planned to make the most out of this trip for them.

The trip officially began where all our trips seem to. The Salt Lake Airport where after getting our bags checked we were off to our terminal. It sucked that Daniel is now over 2 so we had to buy him a seat as well. However it was nice that we didn't have to deal with showing his Birth Certificate.









We had a long day of traveling ahead of us again but soon enough it was time to board for our 11:35am flight to our first layover in Pheonix, Arizona. The flight was short and uneventful and Daniel actually slept for most of it. We flew over the Grand Canyon which was kind of cool before arriving in Pheonix. We've only layed over here once before and it was after dark. It isn't the prettiest of places to be. And very hot.











Our connecting flight was in a completly different terminal so it took some time to get to it. Kiera accidentally ran the stroller into the side of the wall though and one of the wheels popped off. This wasn't a good sign. We hoped this new stroller would hold up for the length of the trip. After grabbing some lunch from a Mexican Cantina type place we were soon boarding our flight again to travel to our second Layover in Houston Texas.








This plane was actually one of the newer Southwest planes with the redisigned SkyCabin interiors. It looked much nicer and felt bigger then the older planes. The flight once again seemed short but this time we didn't get off the plane as it would continue on to Orlando. However we were stalled up here for nearly an hour before finally continuing on so we were given the option to exit the plane if we wanted. But we never did.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Soon enough we were finally on the final leg of our journey and shortly after 11pm we finally landed and arrived at the Orlando Airport. The airport was pretty quite since it was later and all the stores and shops were closed. Still Daniel got pretty excited though to see the Disney Store and some of the other Theme Park stores.





After retrieving our bags we made our way to the Alamo Rental Car counter to pick up our Rental car for the next 2 weeks. I love Alamo since they have Kiosks that you can use to pick up your rental instead of dealing with pushy agents. I also love that we get to pick what car we want out of whats avalible in that class. Oh and speaking of the vehicle class. We scored a Premium Vehicle thru Costcotravel for cheaper then a Standard which we usually get. Unfortunatly since we arrived later in the evening we only had a choice a 2 vehicles in the Premium section. A Hyundai Genessis that was loaded with everything, or a Nissan Maxima that seemed stripped down. Needless to say we picked the Hyundai which was a great vehicle that I didn't want to give back. Although its gas mileage did suck.





It was pushing Midnight now and we were starving. Its a good thing I decided to book our Hotel for the night out near the Airport for this night. After grabbing Drive Thru Wendy's (which we had to go back to cause they forgot stuff) we finally arrived at our Hotel which was the Wingate by Windham. I think I got this hotel for like $55 for the night thru Priceline Express Deals. It was simple but we were satisfied with it. It was clean and comfortable and after traveling all day it was nice to make only a few minute drive to our Hotel. Especially this late at night. Its a hotel we would diffenitly stay at again.










Daniel suprisingly went down to bed quicker then we thought he would since it was a 2 hour time difference from home. That was great because that ment we too could go to sleep quickly as well. We would have a very early morning tomorrow as we had reservations for the O'hana Character Breakfast at the Polynessian Resort at Disney.




And thats it for today. Now that I've officially got the recap rolling I hope to keep it updated a bit more regularly. Even if its with shorter updates. I appreciate those who take time to read and comment. Feel free to ask any questions. Thank you.



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[Nanaji]

Hi there,

A great start. It looks like your little guy is a pretty good traveler. That's nice. I am anxious to see how he (and you) make out as I'd love to take my grandson when he is a little older. He is just 18 months. I will be on a solo trip in October so I am gearing up, enjoying other folks trip reports. I am looking forward to the rest of your adventures.

 

[Nanaji]

Double post error - sorry.

 

[kimbee]

I did 9 day red centre and top end tour,which is actually 3 tours joined together, therefore you are with different people at each step. It also included an overnight drive from Alice to Darwin. Overall, the amazing scenery and landscape is always going to make this an excellent trip. However, it's pretty guide dependent, and while all were very knowledgable, and did impart some very interesting facts, I was disappointed in a lack of enthusiasm at times. with limited information between each step in the tour. The drive from Alice to Darwin in particular did not really add anything to if I had driven myself. For future tourers I would recommend doing the 4 day tour at the top end to include Katherine and Edith falls, and just fly in between Alice and Darwin yourself.

Also, one of the highlights was the cultural walk around Uluru with an aboriginal guide, although this almost didn't happen due to numbers, so aim to confirm first!

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 2, Part1: Our Very 1st Character Breakfast

Our first full day in Orlando would start very early as we had a packed day ahead of us. Most importantly was we had a 9:30am Breakfast at O'hana with Stitch and friends. But before we could go to our breakfast we needed to head to our next Hotel. That ment we needed to be out of the Wingate by 8am. We weren't packed up and leaving until a little after 8:30.



It took us nearly a half hour to get to Disney Property but we finally arrived at our next hotel on this trip. For the first time ever we would be spending a night on Disney Property. We would stay at Disney's All Star Movie's resort. I ran in to the lobby to check into our room and luckly that went very quickly. I was surprised to hear our room was even ready already. But I'll talk more about that later. With the Check In finished our MagicBands were now active which is why we had to come here first since we had purchased Memory Maker and waned to be able to use it at the Breakfast. Right now we were still in a rush to get to our Breakfast Reservation in time.





It took us nearly 15 minutes to get from the All Star Movie's to the Magic Kingdoms gate. But it looked like we would barely make it in time. When approching the Magic Kingdoms Parking gate make sure you stay to the Right. I went to the left and it wasn't fun having to cut across so many lanes of traffic to get to the Resorts. Soon enough though we parked at the Polynessian and made our way around a maze of Construction walls to find O'hana. It seemed like there were a lack of signs though as we didn't even know O'hana is on he 2nd level.





This was the first time i've done a Character Breakfast so we were really excited to see how Daniel would react to it. Especially since he hasn't been a fan of Characters on our last few trips. Our name was called and within a few minutes we were getting our Photo taken and then led to our table. Thats when Daniel caught his first glimpse of the Characters and he was not happy. He dug his head in to our laps as if he was hidding.




The Characters did the little parade thing shortly after we arrived. So I took Daniel with me to do it and even that he wasn't happy with clinging on to me for life. It already started to seem like maybe this was a waist as he didn't want anything to do with it. Our food soon came though and it was awesome. It was served on a big platter and you just dished what you wanted. Pretty much everything on that platter was delecious. What really surprised us though were the Mickey waffles. They were probably our favorite part of the breakfast as they were very good.








And then the Characters made there way to our table for pictures. Oh and Daniel had a little freak out. First up was Lilo and he was not going to have anything to do with her.




Then next was Mickey. Who is like his all time favorite character. And even with Mickey he wasn't too happy. That was until Mickey started to be cute with him. Although Daniel still didn't seem to amused he at least calmed down enough to give Mickey a kiss on the nose.




Stitch came next and Daniels little fear of the Characters was fleeding from him. He also gave Stitch a kiss and overall was happy around him.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

The last character at the O'hana breakfast was Pluto and Daniel was completly fine with him. You would have never guessed that not even 5 minutes earlier he was having a spaze out with Lilo.




We were there long enough for another parade to take place so Kiera took Daniel with her to do it this time and since he no longer hated life he was happy to do it and participate. We then paid our bill and left the restaurant to continue on with our day.










What we thought was starting off as a waist at the Character Breakfast ended up being a great time. Yes Daniel didn't like the characters at first. But he warmed up to them by the end. Ultimatly we think he was just too tired. He had a long day of travel, went to bed late, and woke up very early. Once he woke up and got some food in his belly he was fine. It was a ton of fun it was also very expensive. I don't know how people do these on every trip. Some even multiple times. And we didn't even have to pay for Daniel. So although the Character Breakfast was fun. We don't know if we will ever do one again do to its high cost. And if we do it diffenitly will not be the day after we arrive again lol.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 2, Part 2: A Hotel Tour Around the World

Since our whole party wasn't in town yet. We really didn't have any big plans for today after the breakfast. So with so much of the day ahead of us still we decided to ride the Monorail around to the Contemporary. Its just a hotel i've never acually stepped foot in before that I figured it would be fun to see.






Of course it was also fun passing by the Magic Kingdom to help build that excitment since that would be the park we would be visiting tomorrow.




I still think its so cool how the Monorails pass thru the inside of the Contemporary. We did get off and took a look around the shops and what not. But we really didn't spend much time here as there wasn't as much to see as I thought there would be.





So back on to the Monorail we went and looped back around to where we started at the Polynessian. But before leaving we decided to also take a look around the resort. The Polyessian's grounds are beautiful. Kiera said at times it actually felt like Hawaii. The pool area looked so cool and Daniel loved playing in the Sandy Beach. Although it would be really cool to stay here theres no way that we could ever justify the cost of it. But the views of the Magic Kingdom and its Fireworks sure are great.












After walking the Polynessian's grounds we finally decided to leave. We still needed to run to Universal to upgrade Kiera's Annual Pass but Daniel fell asleep fairly quickly after getting in the car. And knowing that our Hotel Room was actually ready we decided to go back to the All Star Movies and unpack the car and let Daniel Sleep for a bit. Once we returned to the resort we found the Toy Story wing where our room was located and parked. I ran up first though to find our room to see if another parking lot would actually be closer to it. Plus it gave me a chance to take some photos of the room before I cluttered it up.

First I must say that I thought it was pretty awesome that the Magicbands opened the room doors. It was nice not having something else taking up bulk in my wallet. The room itself was decorated pretty cool but I could not believe how small the room was. I mean we usually stay in cheaper hotels but we've never stayed in a room this small before. Oh well it was Disney so it was still fun.






The room was closer to another parking lot so we drove the car over there and parked. Kiera took Daniel up to the room while I got the car unloaded and then it was nice to just kick back and relax a bit as we were on vacation. Although we were soon disapointed that we had not been left any of the bathroom Amenities. Kiera really wanted them as the bottles with the Mickey ears were cute. Later I would call Housekeeping where the promptly brought us up some.



We relaxed in the room for nearly an hour until Daniel finally woke up at which time we decided we would walk around and check out our little resort before heading over to Universal. We were excited to see Daniels reaction to the Toy Story decor of our wing as he loves Toy Story. And he was on cloud 9 when he saw the huge Toy statues. He thought they were so cool.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

After walking past the Fantasia Pool area we walked in to the Main Lobby area of the hotel where the check in counter, Food Court, and shop are located. We looked around the store to try and get an idea of things we would eventually want to buy but then left empty handed. In the end though I swear some of the items were cheaper at the Hotel then they were in the Parks or World of Disney.





The next wing we walked passed was the 101 Dalmations Wing. Daniel loved seeing the dogs.




Then next we were in the Mighty Ducks wing with the smaller Mighty Ducks swimming pool. We kinda felt bad for the lifeguard on duty though as there was nobody in the pool. Seriously the whole pool area was completly empty besides us, another couple, and the lifeguard. He looked to be so bored out of his mind.





Next up was the Herbie the Love Bug wing. Next to Toy Story this is probably where else I would have wanted to stay as I loved the Herbie movies growing up. Although I was sad to find that the actual Herbie Volkswagen is gone.






Finally we walked past the Fantasia wing which honestly didn't interest us at all. The pool area is cool but really the rest of the wing didn't have anything interesting.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

As we walked past the pool we noticed a small Pool and Splash Pad though so let Daniel run around and play in it a bit. Once he was done we went back to the hotel and got him changed and then we were on our way to our next destination. Universal Orlando Resort.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 2, Part 3: Welcome Home, You've Arrived

The Drive took about 20 minutes but soon we were pulling in to the Universal Parking Structure. If you look at my signature you can see that we got to Universal Orlando. Alot. Infact I actually like it more the Walt Disney World (But not the Disneyland Resort). We've gone so much infact that we are even Annual Pass Holder even though we live in Utah.



Our first stop today would be at the Studios. We checked Daniels Ride Height where he hit is first milestone. He was finally taller then 34 inches and could go on E.T. Then it was over to Guest Services. I had a Preferred Annual Pass but Kiera only had a Power Pass. Since our vacation would trickle in to the Power Pass blackouts we decied to upgrader her to an Preferred Pass as well. Then her parents could also get Free Parking if she rode to the parks with them.






Since we were in the park and had a few hours still until Kieras Family would arrive we figured we'd spend the chunck of the Day here. Plus we really wanted to See the Wizarding World expansion construction with hopes that we would see Soft Openings some time in the next 2 weeks. First off though we swung by to take a ride on one of my Favorites in the park. Transformers the Ride. Which is awesome. Just not Spiderman awesome. We again used our Single Rider with Child Swap strategy that put us on the ride in about 12 minutes bypassing the 60 minute wait.



With a spin on Transformers under out belts we continued on to the back of the park to the London Consturction. Everything was just framed up when we visited back in September so it was awesome seeing the London Facades being practically finished. It just built our exictment in hopes we would get to see the Wizarding World expansion on this trip. We could even see Kretcher peeking thru the window over the Construction Walls. Our Fingers were crossed that we'd see Diagon Alley on this trip.







As we passed thru Springfield we noticed a 5 minute wait for the Twirl and Hurl and since its a ride Daniel can do we decided to take a spin on it. He still wasn't completly sold on the ride but he did do much better on it this trip then he did last year where he really wasn't a fan. I really like the whole Springfield expansion and the ambience it adds to the park.







Then we came to the KidZone. And we figured it was time to take Daniel on E.T. (for those who don't know the title of my Trip Report is from the E.T. Adventure ride). He was remeasured in front of the attraction and he was tall enough (he was barely too short last year). This would be the first Height restricted ride that he was tall enough to go on. He did great thru the dark forest que and was even excited when the lab bars came down and got to hold on like he was riding a bike. But then the ride started and he was not a happy camper. He never cried or screamed but he dug his head into Kieras lap and was scared. Which I can kind of understand as the first part of the ride is dark and loud. When we got to the Green Planet though where the ride is bright and fun Daniel really enjoyed that part. Overall he did fine with it. As a reward for going on E.T. we then let him play in the Fivel Play area afterwards for a bit which is one of his favorite things at Universal.





We were now pretty much done with the Studios. We walked passed Central Park where if you stand in the right place we were able to see the newly installed Dragon being worked on in Diagon Alley. Also they had a photo thing set up for the Pantages theater that we've never seen before. Usually we come in the fall when its taken down for Halloween Horror Nights.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Then we were off to Islands of Adventure. Cause we needed our Butterbeer fix lol. And of course we wanted to see the Construction progress in the Wizarding World over there. To accomediate the new Hogwarts Express station some more of the Lost Contenant was ripped out and a small forest type Courtyard area was installed. It actually looks really nice and I like his transistion to the Wizarding world more then just walking thru the Arch. It will be even better when the trees grow in over the coming years. There was a small crack in the fence for the Hogwarts Express station where we saw many employees training which raised our hopes that we would see Soft Openings.







Since we were in the Wizarding World we had to take a spin on the Forbidden Journey. So up to Hogwarts we went first thing and once again used Child Swap with Single Rider where we practically walked on to the ride. The ride profile felt the same as last time we rode but it was now evident that in addition that the first Screen Carousel the 3rd had now had its projectors upgraded as well so the picture is much more clearer and brighter. Which makes it easier to see the non working dementors that hang out in the rafters of the ride.





Then it was time for Butterbeer. We usually like to get it from the Three Broomsticks. You will typically find a shorter line here then the cart outside and the mixture its typically thicker for the Frozen Butterbeer which we prefer. We drank it on the Patio of the Three Broomsticks where we actually haven't been since our very first visit to the Wizarding World nearly 4 years earlier.






After finishing our drinks we stopped in the Honeydukes that had been expanded since our last visit. With the new Weasley's Joke shop coming to Diagon Alley the Zonkos shop in Hogsmead was closed down and Honeydukes expanded into the space. Which makes the shop much bigger now with more room to get around. After looking around we were now done with the parks for the day so we made our way back out to the car to head back to the hotel.






Before getting back to Disney though we stopped in to Chick-Fil-A to grab some dinner and then swung by Walmart to get a few things. Mainly so I could try to rig up that stroller wheel that broke the day before at the airport. After walking around the Disney Resorts all morning the stroller was no longer holding up at Universal and every bump the wheel fell off again. We got a lot of odd looks with only 3 wheels on the stroller as this became easier then fighting the wheel.

Back at the Hotel I got to work on fixing the stroller wheel. Which I ultimatly realized the wheel problem was user error when I found I had put the wheels on upside down. Kiera's Mom, Dad, and Sister finally arrived and after chatting with them we decided to head down to the pool to take a swim while the night was till young. Word of advice though make sure you bring your own towels. They do not provide them at the pool like most hotels. Also keep in mind the Value's do not have Hot Tubs and the water can be a little cold. They do provide free life jackets though. We then walked around the our Hotel wing again to take some photos at night before returning to our room for the remainder of the evening. At nearly midnight Kiera's 2 brothers and her Grandma finally arrived from there flights. They just took the Magical Express bus to the resort which worked out great.






We had a lot of fun staying at the All Star Movies. It felt so Disney and was so fun being surrounded by the Magic. Although in all honestly i'm not sure if the extra cost would be worth it. We've stayed in other Hotels for 1/2 the price with larger rooms, hot tubs, and free breakfast. Yeah they are off property but not by much. The Main reason we stayed on site one night was so that we could book our Fastpass+ selections 60 days out and get the Magicbands for free. Since this may be Kiera's families only trip we wanted to make the most of it for them. Some things changed though and I changed 3 of our 6 days Fastpass selections about a week prior to our trip. And we were still able to get all the Fastpasses we had before for the exact same times. So in all honesty I don't think the 60 day perk had any advantage over the 30 day booking window that non resort guests get for there Fastpass+ selections.

It was another late night going to bed but we had to get the rest we could. We would be at the Magic Kingdom tomorrow with a goal to be there at park opening.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Day 3: Magic Kingdom

The 3rd day of our vacation started early in the morning as we hoped to make it to Magic Kingdom right when it opened. Unfortunatly after dropping our Luggage off near the guest check in area of the All Star Movies resort and then checking out of the Hotel we left a little later then planned. We grabbed some quick drive thru from the McDonalds near the All Star Resorts and after a short drive we were parked at the Magic Kingdom.

We were actually a little behind the rest of Kiera’s family when we parked as they had a Handicap parking pass for Kiera’s Grandma. And so they were already on the Monorail heading to the park. We got to the Transportation Center just in time to catch a Ferry though before it pulled away and we rode that over to the park.





Our goal was to be at the park for rope drop. But we ended up missing it by about 15 minutes. Still we were making good time. We used our Magic Bands to enter the park for the first time and I have to admit I liked it. It was so much more convenient having the tickets linked to the Bands instead of having to pull out tickets just to put back away. Main Street was still crowded though as it seemed like everyone was heading in 1 of 2 places. The Frozen Meet and Greet or the new Mine Train Coaster. Luckly for us neather of those were our plan this morning.








Instead we meet Kiera’s family at the Peter Pan ride which was in the area of Fantasyland that no one was going to. The wait time said 35 minutes. We waited maybe 12 before getting on the ride. Due to the short wait though Kiera’s Dad didn’t make it back in time from the restroom. Still it was a fun ride that I’m glad we didn’t have to wait long for. I still think the Disneyland version is better though.






We then went across the walk way to it’s a Small World where there was practically no wait at all. We walked right in to the boat and took our magical journey around the world. Daniel of course really enjoyed the ride and loved every moment of it. Once again though this is a ride that Disneyland did better.













After a quick restroom break at the Tangled E-Ticket restrooms we made our way towards the Mine Train Coaster as that’s what I set up our 1st Fast pass + for and it was now time that we could ride. When we got to the Mine Train though it was down at the time with no ETA on when it would be running again.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

Since we could now use our Fastpasses any time today we moved on to the Winnie the Pooh ride that had a 35 minute wait posted. It turned out to be about 20 which wasn’t bad. Especially since Daniel enjoyed playing with the toys in the Interactive Que. This is another one of Daniel’s favorite rides. I honeslty used to prefer this to the Disneyland version but I’m honeslty not so sure any more. We will call this a draw.











After Winnie the Pooh the Mine Train was still down so we continued further in to the New Fantsayland area to the Little Mermaid ride. In total we waited about 15 minutes to ride. Not bad especially since the Que is so well themed and detailed. This is the 1st time on this trip I could say that Disney World version is better then a Disneyland version. Although the rides in Magic Kingdom and California Adventure are identical the que is what really does it for Florida. it’s a fun rid that I don’t think should be missed. This ride gets more hate then it should.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

When we finished with the Little Mermaid the Mine Train was finally up and running again so that’s where we went. With the new Fastpass+ system we were still able to double up Rider Swap with Fastpass+. The new System worked a little better since the Rider Swap pass now expired at the end of the month and not the day it was issued. Kiera’s family went and used there Fastpass+ first while Kiera, Daniel, and I looked around New Fantasyland. When they returned it was Kiera and I took our turn on the Mine Train and got a 2nd Rider Swap card for later. The Mine Train isn’t a bad ride. It’s a solid attraction for Fantasyland. Its not too thrilling or intense but its incredibly smooth and one of the best themed coaster in the world. Its diffenitly worth checking out at least once. I don’t think its worth the ridiculous waits that it gets. But its not horribly like so many seem to claim. Its probably the funnest Kiddie coaster I’ve been on. And its so smooth.









After the rides on the Mine Train we left Fantasyland and started to head towards Liberty Square. We stopped to ride the Haunted Mansion that had a posted 35 minute wait but we waited about 25 instead. This was the first we’ve been thru that Interactive Que and once again Daniel really enjoyed it. The ride though not so much. It was a little too dark and scared him. However for the rest of us it is one of our favorite and diffenitly a Do Not Miss attraction. This is another Disney World attraction that is better then the Disneyland version.










We were still about an hour away from our 2nd Fastpass+ for Splash Mountain but we made our way in to Frontierland anyways. Eventually getting to Big Thunder Mountain. We didn’t have a Fastpass for this ride so with time to kill anyways until our Fastpass time for Splash Kiera’s Family got in the 45 minute line for Thunder Mountain. Not before we grabbed a Child Swap card For Kiera and I first though.







While they waited to go ride Thunder Mountain Kiera and I waited in line to have Daniel meet Woody and Jessie from Toy Story which is one of his favorite movies. After waiting nearly a half hour we finally meet the characters where Daniel had the same reaction to them as he did a couple days earlier at the Ohana Character Breakfast. He wanted nothing to do with them. At first anyways. Jessie then started to play with him and tickle him and that did the trick for the rest of the trip. He loved Woody and Jessie the rest of the time as well as any character the rest of the trip. The Hug he gave Woody was on our favorite photos from the whole trip. We finished out our wait for Kiera’s family by letting Daniel run and play in the play area near Splash Mountain under the Railroad Station.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

When Kiera’s family finished with Thunder Mountain it still wasn’t time for our Splash Fastpass so Kiera and I as well as Kena took the Rider Swap card to go ride Thunder Mountain. This was closed last time we came so I really looked forward to riding it as its one of our favorites. It didn’t disappoint and we had a blast on it. Once again it’s a must do ride and another one that’s a draw for me compared to the Disneyland version.






Finally it was time for our Splash Mountain Fastpasses so we again grapped a Rider Swap card while Kiera’s parents waited out with Daniel and the rest of us bypassed the 60 minute wait for the ride. Splash Mountain is my all time favorite Disney ride so I always look forward to it. I even had the GoPro running to get some good video of us on the ride. Again this is the best version of this ride. Disneyland may have more Animatronics in there’s but the longer ride and extra scenes make this one better in my opinion. I love the ride so much that when we were done we immediately used the Rider swap Card (and got a 2nd one) so that Myself and Kiera’s siblings could ride again with her parents. Of all the rides this is the one to not miss in my opinion. Keep in mind you may get wet as this was probably the wettest that I have ever got on Splash Mountain.

















After the rides on Splash Mountain everyone was getting hungry. So we grabbed a few Turkey Legs from a cart nearby and sat down to share the Turkey Meat for Lunch. We also got a bunch of cups of water from one of the nearby Counter Service restaurants. Believe it or not the leg was pretty filling.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

With stomachs full we continued on in to Adventureland and to Pirates of the Caribbean. This is another do not miss ride although this version really pales in comparison to the much better Disneyland version. We waited about 35 minutes and I believe Daniel fell asleep while waiting. Which was fine as he probably would have been scared anyways lol. The ride was fun and when Daniel woke up in the gift shop he liked looking at all the cool Pirate stuff.












After the longer waits and thrilling rides we were in need of another sit down and relax attraction. So next we went to the Enchanted Tiki Room. I’m not the biggest fan of this attraction but Kiera’s family seems to like it and Daniel did too. For me it was nice to rest my feet for a bit. Honestly its been so long since I’ve seen the Disneyland version that I’m not sure which of the two are better.








Next it was time for a little treat. You can’t go to the Magic Kingdom and not get a Dole Whip. Unfortunatly this was one of our longest waits of the day. While I waited in line everyone else went and walked thru the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. After getting our Dole Whip and Dole Whip Floats and upon finishing mine I went up and thru the Tree House as well. This still beats out Disnylands Tree House that now has a Tarzan theme to it. The Dole Whips are amazing and totally worth the wait. it’s a must have on any Disney Vacation.

 

[Teknik_DC2]

At this point we only had one land left to visit and that’s where it was approaching our time to use our final Fastpass+. As we entered the hub though we stopped and too the time to take some family photos since we did have Magic Maker.








The final land to go to was Tomorrowland where we went strait to Space Mountain to use our final FastPass+. Kiera’s family went first while we got the rider swap card and waited out with Daniel and also Kiera’s Grandma. This ride would just be way too rough for her. While we waited there was a dance party thing going on with the Incredible. Daniel enjoyed watching from a Distance but he didn’t want to get too close.







It was soon our turn to go on Space Mountain and we made our way in and were directed towards the Right track. The ride was fun as always but its still not as good as the Disneyland version. This one is just so rough still. Dispite that though its still a Do Not Miss ride when going to the Magic Kingdom. Just be ready for whats in store. Its one that will shake you up enough that you’ll want to take it easy for a bit afterwards.







Sense all the Fastpasses had now been used it ment we could finally get a 4th Fastpass from one of the Kiosks. So I went to see what was available. I really wish they would make booking a 4th fast pass available thru the App because the kiosk is ridiculous. It was so hard to work and get it to respond to my touch. Eventually though I was able to secure us all FastPasses to the Jungle Cruise just 20 minutes from this time.



With a little time to kill we hoped in the 10 minute wait for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. This ride is simple and fun but again isn’t as good as the Disneyland version and differently not as good as Toy Story Mania which is also a shooting game. Still the ride is a lot of fun and brings out mine and Kiera’s competitive sides. She has never beat on a shooting ride at any Florida Park. However I have never beat her on a shooting ride at a California Park. We let Daniel control the spinning of the ride vehicle which was interesting haha. In the end though. We tired. That’s right now even one point difference. We tied across the board. I guess I can say I still haven’t been beat in Florida though.