Trip Log:
Started off the morning bright and early with a 6am wake up call. Grabbed a snack at the Mill and was in a cab on our way to Osprey by 6:30am. We had a 7:30 tee time and made it back to the Riverside just after 1:00pm and grabbed lunch at the Mill. The other half of the group slept in a bit then headed to the Polynesian (by way of the Magic Kingdom) for breakfast, then stopped by the Wilderness Lodge before heading to Downtown Disney for lunch. I headed out to the Studios after lunch (the others took their time and rode to the Studios then over to the Yacht Club). I wandered out to Toy Story, then out to the Streets of America. Circled around Muppets and by Star Tours. Caught the start of Block Party Bash from the end of Hollywood Blvd then Ended up making a second pass by Toy Story since I heard it was down. Waited 10 minutes or so and no signs of life so headed for the exit since there was a storm gathering. Made it onto the Friendship Launch just as it started to rain. By the time we made it to the Yacht Club dock the rain had stopped (it was a quick/hard shower). Hung out at the Yacht and Beach Clubs for an hour or so then ate dinner at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. After dinner walked over to EPCOT. Caught the tail end of the Off Kilter set then backtracked to watch some of the British Invasion. After their set started to walk around World Showcase and take some pictures. Watched Illuminations from near China (due to the wind direction) then headed for the exit. Hopped on the Monorail and transferred to a Magic Kingdom Express one. Made it to Main Street about 5 minutes before Wishes. Used the backstage walkway and then cut across to the Adventureland bridge just as the show was beginning. Watched Wishes from there then headed for the Jungle Cruise, Pirates, and the Magic Carpets before heading for the exit (and watching some of Spectro Magic along the way). Boarded a bus back to the Riverside and called it a night.
Notes: This trip we took advantage of the free Dining Plan Promotion Disney had. So we had a standard DD plan.
Thoughts & Observations:
- Started off our day with a round of golf at Osprey Ridge. Had to deal some rain on the first couple holes and then a couple of other drizzles but overall not too bad. For me I played well, so it was a successful morning. Not much visible progress on the Four Seasons development from the golf course, it looked more of less the same as December.
- After lunch and golfing headed to the Studios. This turned out to be the wrong bus choice.. I had to wait for quite a while. While waiting I saw 4 Epcot, 3 Magic Kingdom, 2 Animal Kingdom, 2 Downtown Disney busses go by (but who is counting!)
- Walked out to check out the Toy Story Midway Mania line and it was crazy! How I wish they would have kept the single rider option. On a later pass the attraction was down so I waited around a bit but due to the gathering storm clouds I decided to head for the boat.
- Made it onboard the Friendship Launch just as the skies opened. By the time we made it to the Swan the storm had passed and I talked to some folks over at the Yacht Club and they said it never rained there, just threatened. So I guess I should have stayed at the Studios and rode it out.. but I was figuring on a longer storm than 5 minutes... oh well I was an hour early for dinner.
- Our tradition is to go to Yachtsman on the last night since it is our favorite and there was no let down. The only word of warning I have is that dinner there takes a long time.. we clocked in at just over two hours and we had no appetizers or alcohol.
- After dinner walked around EPCOT for a while. Some of the Flower and Garden displays are behind walls and are being dismantled already. Overall though the park was not crowded at all.
- After Illuminations headed for the Magic Kingdom. The monorails seemed to be really spaced out. I waited a good 10 minutes for one to show up.
- I made it into the Magic Kingdom just as Wishes was about to start. Luckily the backstage walkway was open so I was able to quickly make it down the street and over to Adventureland to rejoin my group as the show was going on. After Wishes the crowd seemed to thin out in the park, An interesting note, they asked to see our resort keys to get onto a couple of the attractions, guess they are no longer doing wristbands for the extra magic hours?
Pedometer Information for the day (excluding Golf):
Steps |
29,846 |
Miles |
11.3 |
Moderate |
18,467 |
Walking Time |
164 |
|