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View Full Version : Tinks Xmas Trip Report Finally! Part 5



tinkerbell
16-01-2004, 22:30
Thursday 1st January 2004

We had a very lazy New Year’s Day morning! We relaxed in the pool before agreeing to go shopping (again!)! We went back to Old Navy and Gap followed by a return trip to Orlando Premium Outlets to finish what we started! Glad we did as we all found total bargains in Timberland!

We dashed home with time enough to just get changed, as we were off to the Pirates dinner show! We watched the pre-show, had a drink and then went into the main arena – very impressive! Tip-We paid for upgrades to get better seats, apparently a better chance of getting picked for taking part, and a free gift. Never saw any of it!!! Don’t fall for it!!

The set was wonderful, a huge ship was the stage, and it was surrounded by water. All of the action took place between the ship, and the ropes above us. We all really, really enjoyed ourselves, but the free beer and wine did help matters I have to say! I would definitely go again, but I would skip the tarot card reading I had done during the pre-show – what a con!

Friday 2nd January 2004

Our last full day of this trip. We all agreed that we wanted to go to the Magic kingdom as we had yet to see it in daylight! But we also had a few other things we wanted to fit in, so we made an early start.

We went first to Walmart for some tape that was apparently life or death to buy before dad got on the plane, oh dear, Walmart had sold out (what’s with this tape?!)! Then we had to stop at Mitsubishi to collect his bits he ordered. We made a fleeting visit to Gap at Belz, followed by a second stop to a different Walmart, which I’m sure you’ll all breathe a sigh of relief to know, meant that dad got his tape! Then, we finally made it to the Magic Kingdom!

It was so nice to finally see it in the daylight! The castle looked much bigger by day. We all went straight in the direction of Space Mountain which was the only main thing we had yet to do ride-wise. We got fast passes, but they were not until 5.40pm. As we made our way around the park we saw that every line was at least 50 minutes. At my absolute insistence we joined the line for Mickey’s Philharmagic. The time passed quickly as we had a family in front of us with 3 very entertaining gorgeous boys! The wait was definitely worth it! The show was a lovely concoction of Disney movies and characters cleverly interwoven. All of the other rides in the area were unfortunately 60 minute lines, so this meant no Peter Pan’s flight for me!

We moved in the direction of Pirates of the Caribbean, but that was a 50 minute line with no fast pass facility so we kept going. This is my first trip to WDW without riding pirates! We did manage to get into the Tiki room, and to climb the Robinson Family Treehouse!

It was an extremely hot day, and when the sun started going down it was lovely. We took some gorgeous photos in front of the castle before we left.

We all went home to do some packing and change our clothes ready to spend the night at Pleasure Island!

Our first stop was the Adventurers club which we all enjoyed. We saw the Mask Room presentation which was fun. We then popped in and out of all of the night clubs until midnight, when we celebrated new year again! There were fireworks and great music, but no ticker tape/confetti – I was so disappointed! I was looking forward to this the most! Had a great time though and really don’t want to leave tomorrow!

Saturday 3rd January 2004

Our flight home today…… sniff! After our seamless check-in at Downtown Disney we headed to Blizzard Beach again to finish the holiday in style! It was 80F, and we made the most of the fact that for some reason there were no lines for any of the slides! We all went down the family raft together to get in the swing of things (and to wave goodbye to the theme parks!), and then we began a bit of a tour! We used the lazy river to transport us to the downhill double dipper, where we ended up going on the downhill racers and slalom racers! I had to sit and be happy with soaking up the sun because of my ankle, it’s a hard li

DISNEYDIVA
16-01-2004, 23:28
Pirates sounds very good i think that will be a must see for us, where exactly is it?
No confetti at Pleasure Island [msneek], my camcorder was playing up last time i went there and i am desperate to get midnight recorded this year, won't be the same without the confetti.

tinkerbell
17-01-2004, 01:53
I know! it may have been a one off, it was just after the 'real' new year! So maybe they were having a quiet week! It was also extremely quiet there so maybe that could also have something to do with it?

Pirates is on the back of I-Drive, near to Pointe Orlando (which is closing!) I heard it on the news while I was there, it's being knocked down, I cn;t believe it, it's one of i-Drive's landmarks!

DISNEYDIVA
18-01-2004, 01:34
Tink, do you mean they are closing/knocking down Point Orlando or Pirates ?[:0]

tinkerbell
18-01-2004, 01:41
FAO Shcwarz (how d'ya spell it?!) is closing I'm afraid which is the large Toy store at pointe Orlando. Such a shame.

DISNEYDIVA
18-01-2004, 02:03
Tink, my 4 year old grand daughter would have loved that shop, still that will save us a few dollars ;)

orlandobabe
04-02-2004, 03:51
Was Pirates better than the Dixie Stampede.

Have you seen Arabian Nights? I wasn't terribly impressed with that.

tinkerbell
04-02-2004, 15:16
Pirates was WAY better than Dolly Parton's! I have been to Arabian Nights a few times, and it's an ok show, but I don;t really like the animal involvement in any of these dinner shows. As I posted somewhere esle, I was not comfortable with the animal activity at DP's I thought it was all a little OTT (chicken chasing, emu riding, pig racing and a guy racing a horse amongst a tiny pub like area in the preshow). Pirates was great as there was no animal involvement, just agood family fun night out! BRING BACK WILD BILL'S!!!!!!

AussieAnn
21-02-2004, 13:48
"Ross" for shopping - What is it? and Where is it? thanx

tinkerbell
22-02-2004, 21:27
Ross Dress for Less is simliar to our TK Maxx, basically an outlet selling designer ( and non-designer!) gear at slashed prices, end of line etc. There is one down the 192 a little further along than WalMart and another that we visit up the top of Internantional Drive in the Belz Designer Shopping Outlet.

You do need a good amount of time to sift through the dross you can find there, but I've found countless bargains on every trip! It's never let me down yet!

Where in Oz are you from Ann? I went travelling there 2 years ago and fell in love!

AussieAnn
25-02-2004, 13:34
Thanks for that info - hope we have the time. We are in Melbourne which is in the state of Victoria. Regards, Ann

Bazamor
25-02-2004, 16:25
G'day Ann ! I lived in Oz for 7 years(Sydney, Harbord)and am planning on visiting next year. I luv Oz and the Aussies, they call a spade a shovel!I was made to feel very welcome and met some wonderful people and made some lifelong mates.i have now got a vacation home in Florida but Oz will always be my second home as my eldest son was born there.

tinkerbell
27-02-2004, 15:59
Wow, I stayed in North Melbourne on Queensbury Street just north of Vic market for 6 months! I totally loved it, Melbourne is the best city in the world! Say hi to the Crown Casino from me! Oh, and send me some sweet woodpecker cider or Koolibah wine!!![msnwink]

TotallyAngelic
02-03-2004, 13:54
HI
My parents have just returned from Orlando, and they said that the F.A.O. Schwartz shop was gone and that most of the units in The Mercado, I-Drive were closed, and also, (shock!horror!) Damons Restaurant had gone from The Mercado....what is going on!!!!!!!!! We are going to Orlando in March 2005, after a three year break, during which we visited the Keys and the Gulf Coast, and I am really looking forward to it (at the planning stage at the mo!)! By the way, Tinkerbell, I love your report, it sonds like you had a fantastic time!

tinkerbell
02-03-2004, 23:50
Hi! I did thanks!!! I can't believe how quickly they've ditched such a massive landmark of I-Drive!!!! Wonder whats next on the agenda? Enjoy your planning, you're in the right place! [msnsmile2]