Trip Log:

Started the day arriving in Orlando a little past 6am. Managed to get our luggage and rental car then out of the airport and on our way by 6:45ish. Stopped at an Albertsons for food and McD's for breakfast before heading into Disney. Headed for Pop Century first, checked in, luckily rooms were ready. Unpacked and then some slept while I headed out to Animal Kingdom.. managed to make it to the bus stop by 9am (missed park opening by a bus or two). Wandered through the park, heading to Africa first by way of the Tree of Life Trails. Grabbed a Fastpass for the Safari then went to Pangani. Took a slow walk through then jumped on the train to Conservation Station, stayed onboard and headed back. Road the Safari then headed over to Asia. Walked across the bridge and back toward the exit. Left Animal Kingdom and took the bus over to EPCOT. Hiked up the monorail ramps and took a over to the TTC. Jumped on the Resort Monorail line (managed to get up front) and took it around to the Contemporary. Met up with our group just in time to separate again. Grabbed lunch together at the fast food place, then some went Fishing out of the marina while the others headed over to the Magic Kingdom. Took a ride on the Steam train out to Toontown. Walked through Mickey's house and the big tent(gift shop), then wandered over to Fantasyland. Grabbed a Fastpass for Pooh and went to see Philharmagic. Walked through Fantasyland for a while then road Pooh. Strolled over to Tomorrowland to see what was going on and took a spin on Buzz since there was no line. Walked down Main Street to meet the rest of our group. Headed back down to Buzz to ride again, then grabbed some snacks and headed out to Frontierland. Caught the Country Bears then some went on Splash, but unfortunately it broke down and they did not get to ride. We all headed back through Adventurland then down Main Street and back to the busses and Pop Century to get dinner and call it an early night.

Thoughts & Observations:

• We did not quite know what to expect upon arriving in Orlando. The last hurricane just blew through over the weekend and here we were coming in on Wednesday. We were greeted by the sound of carpet dryers running, missing ceiling tiles, and boarded up windows at MCO. Not as bad as we were expecting after hearing the airport was hit pretty bad by both storms. Lots of workers around still cleanining up.
  
  
• We ventured out along 417(the southern route to Disney) and as we drove down the road you could see quite a few houses with blue tarps on their roofs, boarded up windows and doorways, blown over trees, etc.. Also all tolls were being waived still, so free driving to Disney.
  
  
• Upon entering the Disney property there were a couple signs damaged and a lot of trees blown down or leaning heavily, but no other real signs of damage on the roads. At Pop Century we noticed one of the large number signs missing, later we found out it blew down in the last storm.
  
  
• Speaking of Pop Century as we pulled into the checkin parking lot we noticed rows of utility trucks and other contractor trucks from around the country parked in the far lot. Seems many contractors were brought in for the surrounding area and Pop Century was one of the resorts they were staying at.
  
  
• Over at the Animal Kingdom the park looked surprising well. I was assuming with all the vegitation throughout it would most likely show the worst signs from the storm. You could see several trees that were cut down after falling or breaking and all that remained was the stump. Also you could see trees leaning and down throughout the park, but for the most part they blended in with the look of the park. The crowds seemed fairly light with not many guests in the park. On my walk through the Tree of Life trails I went the entire way without encountering a guest or CM..
  
  
• In the afternoon as some went fishing we headed for the Magic Kingdom. The park felt empty. Most waits were under 20 minutes. We walked on Buzz a couple of times, walk in to get pictures with Mickey in Toontown, etc..

Pedometer Information for the day:

Enough with the text.. onto the pictures

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