CameraGirl
Member
Well I am going to start off by saying what a fantastic trip. ; Sean and I had probably the best trip of all out of the 4 times that we have gone. ; The weather was unbelievable. ; I thought for sure that I would be freezing, but it was almost up to 30C every day and the evening cooled down a bit. ; The humidity is what made it a little sticky, but it was bearable for sure.
We were able to join in the Mousefest this year and had a great time meeting such nice people. ; It was great to finally meet up with Northern Mouse and meet all kinds of new people. ; For those of you that don’t know what Mousefest is, it is a gathering of Disney enthusiasts (web developers, podcasters, fans of Disney, message board groups). ; Most of the people were from the US, but there were many from Canada and all over the world. ; These groups then do activities together, which is a blast.
Some of the Events that we took part in the first day were MouseFest ; 101 where we got to meet the organizers of MouseFest and learn really what it is all about. ; We then walked over to Adventureland and had our first Dole Whip at Aloha Isle. ; It was very yummy! ; If you haven’t tried one, we definitely recommend it. ;
We then joined a group to find Hidden Mickeys at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. ; We all loaded on a boat and started off talking and laughing and pointing out the Hidden Mickeys. ; Then all of a sudden just on the edge of the small drop, we stopped. ; We bottomed out. ; So our group started singing Pirates life for Me and 99 bottles of beer on the wall. ; It took at least 15 minutes of us sitting in the dark before the ride attendants were able to locate us in the ride. ; They then turned on the lights. ; What a treat to see a bit of the ride while the lights were on. ; They tried pushing us free, but that wasn’t going to happen. ; They then tied the boat off and let us unload and go through a hidden door that leads us outside. ; Everyone was in good spirits and laughing and everyone wanted to go on it again. ; Only this time less people in each boat. ; They finally got the ride going. ; I guess there were a few more boats that did get stuck, but it was all in good fun. ; The ride with all of its refurbishments was great and what a way to start off our trip. ; We got off the Pirates ride and quickly made it to TMIP intro to photography. ; It jogged my memory and it really helped Sean out with taking some wonderful pictures this trip. ;
Later the first night we were lucky enough to go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. ; Only 20,000 people were able to buy tickets for the event so Magic Kingdom was not packed and it was nice to walk around and not be overcrowded. ; Sean and I enjoyed the newly refurbished Haunted Mansion, free sugar cookies and hot chocolate and the parade that was the same one that was aired on Christmas Day. ; We met up with the Mousefest Group to watch the fireworks as well. ; It was a busy first day.
By the second day, jet lag hit. ; We had planned to do so many things, but ended up enjoying the Caribbean Beach Resort for most of the day. ; In the evening we went to see the Osbourne’s Family Spectacle of Lights. ; It was amazing to see. ; With over 5 million lights on the Streets of America buildings, fake snow, and music it truly was neat to see. ; There were a lot of people crammed into the streets so you had to go with the flow, but other than that, it is totally worth checking out.
We then made out way to Fantasmic! ; Finally after 4 trips and only seeing the show once, we got to see it again. ; Truly a great time. ; We stood in line quite awhile before the opened up the theatre, but we got fantastic seats to see the show. ; And of course I went snap happy with the camera.
Saturday Dec 8 will not be forgotten. ; It was the first and probably last time I will ever get a taste of the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream. ; We met up with another Mousefest group at Beaches and Cream and they ordered two No Way Jose’s which were huge in themselves. ; Then the lights were flashing while the CM’s brought out 5 kitchen sinks. ; It was every scoop of ice cream and every topping they had all smushed into a dish that looked and was as big as the kitchen sink. Everyone grabbed a bowl and dug in. ; Sean and I both had a bowl. ; I know I thought mine was pretty gross, and I seen that Sean didn’t finish his bowl. ; Definitely at 11am in the morning, it wasn’t the greatest thing to be eating. ; But it was fun.
Also that day was the Mega Mouse Meet. ; A convention of sorts at the Dolphin where the groups were set up at tables and were giving out information, pins, and meeting everyone. ; We were lucky enough to meet ; with Steve Barrett who wrote the Hidden Mickey’s book along with many other amazing people.
For supper we went to the ESPN club to eat. ; The food was great and there was so much of it. ; On our way to the next Mousefest meet we stopped in at the Canada Pavillion and got a look at the new O Canada movie. ; It was FANTASTIC! ; It certainly was a huge improvement from the old version. ; I didn’t feel embarrassed to be living in a ‘70’s world of Canada at all. It was a great representation of Canada and its provinces. ; It was up to date and modern and Martin Short made a great host for the show. ; Sean and I then hung out at Epcot and were able to get on the soft opening for Spaceship Earth. ; It was ok, I guess I expected them to do more to refurbish the ride, but the things they did add were definitely a plus for the ride. ; After a group of us met with Tim Devine from TMIP and got some great night time photography tips which were greatly needed. ;
On the next day we went on the Splash Mountain/Big Thunder Railroad meet with a fantastic group that made us feel very welcome. ; This was my very first time going on Splash Mountain. ; Every other trip it had been closed for refurbishment or broken. ; So as much as I didn’t want to get wet for the rest of the day, we went on. ; Luckily Sean sat next to me. ; He was the one that took the brunt of all the water that was thrown our way. ; He came out of the ride soaked. ; I was pretty wet, but managed to steer clear of most of the water. ; We then hung out at the parks and had a great time.
Monday we got up bright and early and went to MGM to meet a group for the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror meet. ; Again they made us feel very welcome and part of their group. ; We went on Tower of Terror first. ; Did I ever tell you I love that ride?? ; We weren’t able to convince Sean to go on the ride that early in the morning, but it was a blast as usual. ; We made our way over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and that was my first time on that ride as well. ; While standing in line we missed the Year of a Million Dreams Team by 17 seconds. ; The people behind us got the fastpasses. ; For me it was a fun ride, but by the second upside down turn I was ready for the ride to be finished. ; I got off feeling a bit queasy, but that quickly went away.
Sean and I then went back to Epcot where we explored some of the Epcot resorts and then took park in BeverlyFest at the Cool Club. ; A few people in the group were brave enough to chug shots of Beverly. ; Whoever got the fastest would get a prize. ; I am not sure if drinking it the fastest was the smartest thing to do, but the guy who did ended up over the garbage can within minutes. ; Sean took the pictures while I did participate, but only took one shot. ; There was no way I could do 7. ; The Beverly tasted like motor oil and antifreeze mixed together it was pretty gross. ; But if you are ever in the Coke Cool Club and want to sample a coke drink from Italy, I highly recommend the Beverly. ; It is something everyone should experience just once.
We then made our way back to MGM where we caught the afternoon parade and the High School Musical Pep Rally. ; That movie really caught on and it was fun to watch the kids enjoy themselves with the songs that the group sang.
It was supper time by then and we had booked for 50’s Prime Time Cafe. We booked in advanced for Friday, but then easily changed our reservation for Monday. ; Where the parks weren’t that busy, making reservations for restaurants was hassle free. ; We really enjoy our server, Aunt Tracy, who helped us see that we should never put our elbows on the table, tattle tale, and eat our veggies. ; She was kind enough to airplane in Sean’s veggies and I managed to get the choo-choo train. ; It was pretty funny. ; The food was great, the atmosphere was fun and it was a great place to eat. ; I highly recommend the peanut butter and jam milkshake and the smores for dessert. ; My mouth is watering just thinking about it. ; We finished off the last evening of Mousefest with mini golf at Fantasia Gardens. ; It was a really neat 18 hole mini golf course and of course we had loads of fun. ;
We were able to join in the Mousefest this year and had a great time meeting such nice people. ; It was great to finally meet up with Northern Mouse and meet all kinds of new people. ; For those of you that don’t know what Mousefest is, it is a gathering of Disney enthusiasts (web developers, podcasters, fans of Disney, message board groups). ; Most of the people were from the US, but there were many from Canada and all over the world. ; These groups then do activities together, which is a blast.
Some of the Events that we took part in the first day were MouseFest ; 101 where we got to meet the organizers of MouseFest and learn really what it is all about. ; We then walked over to Adventureland and had our first Dole Whip at Aloha Isle. ; It was very yummy! ; If you haven’t tried one, we definitely recommend it. ;
We then joined a group to find Hidden Mickeys at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. ; We all loaded on a boat and started off talking and laughing and pointing out the Hidden Mickeys. ; Then all of a sudden just on the edge of the small drop, we stopped. ; We bottomed out. ; So our group started singing Pirates life for Me and 99 bottles of beer on the wall. ; It took at least 15 minutes of us sitting in the dark before the ride attendants were able to locate us in the ride. ; They then turned on the lights. ; What a treat to see a bit of the ride while the lights were on. ; They tried pushing us free, but that wasn’t going to happen. ; They then tied the boat off and let us unload and go through a hidden door that leads us outside. ; Everyone was in good spirits and laughing and everyone wanted to go on it again. ; Only this time less people in each boat. ; They finally got the ride going. ; I guess there were a few more boats that did get stuck, but it was all in good fun. ; The ride with all of its refurbishments was great and what a way to start off our trip. ; We got off the Pirates ride and quickly made it to TMIP intro to photography. ; It jogged my memory and it really helped Sean out with taking some wonderful pictures this trip. ;
Later the first night we were lucky enough to go to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. ; Only 20,000 people were able to buy tickets for the event so Magic Kingdom was not packed and it was nice to walk around and not be overcrowded. ; Sean and I enjoyed the newly refurbished Haunted Mansion, free sugar cookies and hot chocolate and the parade that was the same one that was aired on Christmas Day. ; We met up with the Mousefest Group to watch the fireworks as well. ; It was a busy first day.
By the second day, jet lag hit. ; We had planned to do so many things, but ended up enjoying the Caribbean Beach Resort for most of the day. ; In the evening we went to see the Osbourne’s Family Spectacle of Lights. ; It was amazing to see. ; With over 5 million lights on the Streets of America buildings, fake snow, and music it truly was neat to see. ; There were a lot of people crammed into the streets so you had to go with the flow, but other than that, it is totally worth checking out.
We then made out way to Fantasmic! ; Finally after 4 trips and only seeing the show once, we got to see it again. ; Truly a great time. ; We stood in line quite awhile before the opened up the theatre, but we got fantastic seats to see the show. ; And of course I went snap happy with the camera.
Saturday Dec 8 will not be forgotten. ; It was the first and probably last time I will ever get a taste of the Kitchen Sink at Beaches and Cream. ; We met up with another Mousefest group at Beaches and Cream and they ordered two No Way Jose’s which were huge in themselves. ; Then the lights were flashing while the CM’s brought out 5 kitchen sinks. ; It was every scoop of ice cream and every topping they had all smushed into a dish that looked and was as big as the kitchen sink. Everyone grabbed a bowl and dug in. ; Sean and I both had a bowl. ; I know I thought mine was pretty gross, and I seen that Sean didn’t finish his bowl. ; Definitely at 11am in the morning, it wasn’t the greatest thing to be eating. ; But it was fun.
Also that day was the Mega Mouse Meet. ; A convention of sorts at the Dolphin where the groups were set up at tables and were giving out information, pins, and meeting everyone. ; We were lucky enough to meet ; with Steve Barrett who wrote the Hidden Mickey’s book along with many other amazing people.
For supper we went to the ESPN club to eat. ; The food was great and there was so much of it. ; On our way to the next Mousefest meet we stopped in at the Canada Pavillion and got a look at the new O Canada movie. ; It was FANTASTIC! ; It certainly was a huge improvement from the old version. ; I didn’t feel embarrassed to be living in a ‘70’s world of Canada at all. It was a great representation of Canada and its provinces. ; It was up to date and modern and Martin Short made a great host for the show. ; Sean and I then hung out at Epcot and were able to get on the soft opening for Spaceship Earth. ; It was ok, I guess I expected them to do more to refurbish the ride, but the things they did add were definitely a plus for the ride. ; After a group of us met with Tim Devine from TMIP and got some great night time photography tips which were greatly needed. ;
On the next day we went on the Splash Mountain/Big Thunder Railroad meet with a fantastic group that made us feel very welcome. ; This was my very first time going on Splash Mountain. ; Every other trip it had been closed for refurbishment or broken. ; So as much as I didn’t want to get wet for the rest of the day, we went on. ; Luckily Sean sat next to me. ; He was the one that took the brunt of all the water that was thrown our way. ; He came out of the ride soaked. ; I was pretty wet, but managed to steer clear of most of the water. ; We then hung out at the parks and had a great time.
Monday we got up bright and early and went to MGM to meet a group for the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror meet. ; Again they made us feel very welcome and part of their group. ; We went on Tower of Terror first. ; Did I ever tell you I love that ride?? ; We weren’t able to convince Sean to go on the ride that early in the morning, but it was a blast as usual. ; We made our way over to Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and that was my first time on that ride as well. ; While standing in line we missed the Year of a Million Dreams Team by 17 seconds. ; The people behind us got the fastpasses. ; For me it was a fun ride, but by the second upside down turn I was ready for the ride to be finished. ; I got off feeling a bit queasy, but that quickly went away.
Sean and I then went back to Epcot where we explored some of the Epcot resorts and then took park in BeverlyFest at the Cool Club. ; A few people in the group were brave enough to chug shots of Beverly. ; Whoever got the fastest would get a prize. ; I am not sure if drinking it the fastest was the smartest thing to do, but the guy who did ended up over the garbage can within minutes. ; Sean took the pictures while I did participate, but only took one shot. ; There was no way I could do 7. ; The Beverly tasted like motor oil and antifreeze mixed together it was pretty gross. ; But if you are ever in the Coke Cool Club and want to sample a coke drink from Italy, I highly recommend the Beverly. ; It is something everyone should experience just once.
We then made our way back to MGM where we caught the afternoon parade and the High School Musical Pep Rally. ; That movie really caught on and it was fun to watch the kids enjoy themselves with the songs that the group sang.
It was supper time by then and we had booked for 50’s Prime Time Cafe. We booked in advanced for Friday, but then easily changed our reservation for Monday. ; Where the parks weren’t that busy, making reservations for restaurants was hassle free. ; We really enjoy our server, Aunt Tracy, who helped us see that we should never put our elbows on the table, tattle tale, and eat our veggies. ; She was kind enough to airplane in Sean’s veggies and I managed to get the choo-choo train. ; It was pretty funny. ; The food was great, the atmosphere was fun and it was a great place to eat. ; I highly recommend the peanut butter and jam milkshake and the smores for dessert. ; My mouth is watering just thinking about it. ; We finished off the last evening of Mousefest with mini golf at Fantasia Gardens. ; It was a really neat 18 hole mini golf course and of course we had loads of fun. ;
