Pictures from South America (see page 2)

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 4:00pm

Greetings from Disney World!! I'm making my twice-annual trip down to "the World." We arrived last evening, and began our touring today. We visited the Animal Kingdom most of the day today, and are currently recharging before headed to Hollywood Studios this evening. OF the many times I've been down here, this is the first time we've stayed at the Boardwalk Resort, and I have nothing but fabulous things to say about it thus far. We have a great view and it's a short walk to Epcot from our resort. That's Rafiki and I above. He made me act like a monkey, just like him. It was hilarious.

More updates to come!

PS- how do you upload multiple photos into one post?



Updated On: 10/27/08 at 04:00 PM

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 4:08pm

Adam, glad you're having fun.

To upload more than one photo in a post, just copy and paste the "image location url" into the message box. You don't need any special code...just paste the url and the image will appear. You can add as many as you want.

As far as "the World" goes. I'll be headed down in September for a a four month internship down there and am so excited to go.

[supportivemom]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 4:58pm

Are you on the right or left in that picture- just kidding! Glad you're having fun! I live just a couple of hours north and yet, I have never been to Animal Kingdom. I hear the Lion King Show is really good. One of my daughter's friends is in the Nemo show! I love the whole Boardwalk area as well! Enjoy!

[SpellingBeeFan4Ever]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 5:00pm

Hey, I stayed at the Swan And Dolphin last night. My grandpa works for Best Western so, we got the rate of $89 a night.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 5:56pm

Hey Adam !!!! Glad you're enjoying !!! We cant wait to go back !!! PLEASE report back if/when you ride "Toy Story Mania" !!!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 6:00pm

Cute photo! I am glad that you are having a blast! If youre using a mac, let me know? and I will forward you the instructions on how to post multiple photos!

Have a fun time and enjoy your v-kay!

J*
Updated On: 7/18/08 at 06:00 PM

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 7:29pm

Ooh! Yay! Make sure you eat at the Coral Reef Restaurant in EPCOT. They redid it and it's really excellent.

[harris007]

Posted: 7/18/08 at 9:09pm

and be sure to hit big river brew works on the boardwalk



and he he foa's gonna be a cp he he

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 12:40am

Back and TIRED!!! (as one would expect to be after a day here).

Still loving the Boardwalk. We had dinner at Spoodles yesterday, and it was very good. We're going to the brew pub later this week. I also have to plug the Boardwalk Bakery. The Apple Cinnamon Muffin I had for breakfast was fantastic.

And yes, Festival of the Lion King is a fantastic show. We see it every time we come down. Other tan Fantasmic, it might just be the best live show on the property.

We had a pretty god lunch at Tusker House, which just recently became a buffet instead of counter service. My favorite was the bread pudding with the warm vanilla sauce.

After a break (and a HUGE down pour) we visited Hollywood Studios this evening. Didn't get on Toy Story Mania (70 minute standby wait, and all fastpasses were gone), however, we'll hit that one on Sunday when we go there in the morning.



We did, however, take in The Tower of Terror, twice. Once at dusk, and once at night. I love the nighttime experience on this attraction




After taking in some of the more minor attractions (Star Tours, Muppets, Mermaid), we caught the late show of Fantasmic, which, typically, is never crowded (the 9:00 PM show tonight was packed to the gills). The ampi-theater was maybe half full for the second show, which makes exiting a lot easier. I never get tired of this show, and it gets my vote for best live show on the property.













Off to bed now...tomorrow morning we're headed to Epcot and then the Magic Kingdom tomorrow evening (I'm hoping to take some good pictures of Wishes).




Updated On: 7/19/08 at 12:40 AM

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 12:41am

I'm not doing the CP it's something completely different.

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 1:41am

Love the Fantasmic pictures! I agree it is terrific, though I do also love the fireworks show at Epcot. I think it's beautiful.

[Testing1232]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 8:54am

LOVE "Fantasmic!" !!!!!!!!!!!!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 9:30am

Wow! Nice photos.. Thanks for posting those! I am glad that my instructions work for you..post more photos..yay!

J*
Updated On: 7/19/08 at 09:30 AM

[clever name]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 9:52am

I LOVE Tower of Terror!! If you see Cpt.Jack Sparrow, give him a kiss for me.

[Glebb]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 9:52am

Thanks for posting pics!
Would love to go back.
When I was a kid we went to Disney World and it was only the Magic Kingdom! I've been many times since and need to get back!
I love the Dolphin Hotel and would really like to stay at the Grand Floridian some day.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 6:07pm

When I was a kid we went to Disney World and it was only the Magic Kingdom! I've been many times since and need to get back!

When I was a kid in the 80's, it was just Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I remember spending three days at Disney, and the rest of our week we drove to the beach. Now, you spend the whole week right in Disney. It's amazing how this place has grown.

Anyway, this morning and most of the afternoon we were at Epcot. Got there just before opening, and headed immediately for Soarin'. While walking into The Land just after rope drop on our way to Soarin', the food service workers were all dancing around with tambourines and maracas. As we were walking by, one of the ladies holds a tambourine in front of me and starts dancing with me. It was something I would never do, but it seemed ok here. Thankfully, I had the camera so this "magical moment" was not captured.

Test Track was down most of the morning, but we were able to do Soarin', Mission: Space, The Seas, Turtle Talk with Crush, Ellen's Energy Adventure, Spaceship Earth, and eventually Test Track by about 2:00. We're getting ready to head to the Magic Kingdom now, where I'm sure it's going to be packed, but I want to see Wishes tonight. If we don't get on many attractions, so be it, we're going back there Monday morning.

I didn't take to many photos today, but here are a couple of shots of the geosphere:





I'll leave you with a picture from yesterday of Tigger and I:

[DG]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 6:50pm

Adam - that is SUCH a cute picture!

[philly03]

Posted: 7/19/08 at 9:17pm

Yes Great photos! Thanks for posting...glad to see you're having a great time (& weather!

[Chrissy*J]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 12:01am

Ooh, too bad you didn't do Animal Kingdom today, you would've seen me! I'm working there now. Looks like you're having TONS of fun! Fantasmic at Studios is my favorite thing ever, I see it like 2x a week. You're going to have lots of fun on Toy Story, it's really cute!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 12:19am

Time for the nighttime update....

This is Viki and I just before dinner:



For a Saturday night, the Magic Kingdom was surprisingly not that crowded. We waited 15 minutes for Jungle Cruise, 5 for Pirates, 10 for Splash Mountain, and about 20 for Big Thunder Mountain. Space Mountain was 70, so we'll get that one, and the other attractions we didn't do tonight, on Monday.

When we walked in tonight, Chip and Dale were on duty at City Hall. Chip and Dale are my favorite characters to interact with, because they're so playful. You'll notice I had a Spring Awakening t-shirt on tonight, and Dale kept pointing at it and making gestures like I should be singing. Then Chip caught on and started conducting in the air. I was really tempted to break into Totally F*cked, but that probably wasn't really what they had in mind.



Pluto was right behind Chip and Dale, and quite lonely (I don't think anyone could see him around the corner)



And here's the obligatory Cinderella Castle photo



Here's the Partners statue. My goal in life is to one day be important enough to be in that statue:



And here's Splash Mountain, my favorite Magic Kingdom attraction, which stopped three times while we were on it. I've been on this attraction so many times that it didn't bother me, and I was actually hoping we'd have to be lead out, because I'd love to walk through the backstage portion of Splash Mountain.



This was ON Splash Mountain, where I kept making fun of Viki for wearing such a ridiculous blue looking poncho because she was afraid to get wet.



We watched Wishes at 10:00, which never fails to make me tear up. We had a great spot, which we only claimed about 5 minutes before the show. Tinkerbelle flew right over us, and we had a great view of the castle and the fireworks behind it. My camera took horrible photos, because it never takes good nighttime photos like that, so I'll have to upload the others we have from the other camera later. Fantasmic may be my favorite show with live actors, but nothing, I mean nothing, tops Wishes in terms of fireworks and the music and story.

Tomorrow we're headed back to the Studios in the AM to ride the new Toy Story Mania (uber-excited for this!!) and then back to Epcot tomorrow night to tour World Showcase and watch Illuminations.


Updated On: 7/20/08 at 12:19 AM

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:27pm

Here's your friendly afternoon update...

This morning and part of the afternoon we were at Hollywood Studios, where we finally got to ride Toy Story Mania. Happily, it's everything it was hyped up to be and more. We rode three times today (once with Fastpass, twice on the single rider line) and I want to go back again and again to try and beat my high score. The game self-adjusts based on your ability, and provides a different experience each time you go. The technology at work is really pretty incredible. A very well-done attraction.

Hollywood Studios is the ideal place to meet Mickey, because no one seems to know that he is on patrol inside of the animation gallery. We were the ONLY people down there with him this morning. It was really cool to have what was basically a private encounter with Mickey.



I also encountered Wall-E. He's being replaced by a newer, mobile, more interactive Wall-E very soon, who's currently being tested. For now, we had this fellow.



We took the Backlot tour again (we had already done most of the headliners on Friday, so today was a chance to catch up on the smaller stuff), and it was, sadly, a shadow of its former self. They really should either completely re-imagine, or just eliminate this attraction since the Studios are no longer a working production film studio. Catastrophe Canyon is still there, and is not nearly as impressive as it was in the 1990's. Also, seeing the house from Ernest Saves Christmas (!!) just isn't very exciting anymore.

We had a great lunch at one of my favorite dining experiences, the Primetime 50's Cafe. Cousin JL served us, and he had one of the sharpest senses of wit and great improvisational skills that I've see from the servers there. We had a good time with him, and he seemed to enjoy tormenting us.

Now it's off to Epcot for the evening!

Tonight is our last night here (but we'll be in the parks until about 2:00 tomorrow), and I'm already VERY depressed. I don't want to leave.

[DG]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:34pm

Adam - I REALLY hope you eventually share some pics from the second part of your trip - ESPECIALLY the Galapagos! I would LOVE to go there!

[adamgreer]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 4:42pm

DG, I absolutely will!! However, you may have to wait until August to see those, because I doubt I'll be able to access the internet from the Amazon Jungle!!

[DG]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 5:50pm

Yeah, I figured there would be a time lapse - but some things ARE worth waiting for

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 7/21/08 at 11:50am

Awwww...I love WDW so much! I'll probably be back there again in a couple of years. I will say that Fantasmic was probably my least favorite of the nighttime shows. I got sick of all the clips from animated movies (at least 50% of the show) that I've already seen. And the rest I found underwhelming, especially when compared to the firework shows of Magic Kingdom and EPCOT. I guess it's fun for kids, but I was mostly bored.

We stayed at All Star Movies, which was great for the price (except for the noisy Brazilian tour groups, but if you go in the summer, it is to be expected). And we got the meal plan, which afforded us the opportunity of getting some really fantastic meals at a fraction of the cost. If you really like fine dining, rather than just typical theme-park fast food, it is absolutely the way to go. We had incredible meals at Le Cellier Steakhouse (EPCOT), Restaurant Merrakesh (EPCOT), Teppan Edo (EPCOT), Crystal Palace (Magic Kingdom), Raglan Road (Downtown Disney) and Jiko (Animal Kingdom Lodge), all included in our package (plus snacks and counter meals). And we made a special trip daily to the Magic Kingdom just for the Dole Pineapple Floats, which are scrumptious (across from the Swiss Family Treehouse).

I did go to Disneyland Paris this year and that was so weird. The park was pretty empty for Easter weekend (which is a HUGE holiday weekend in Europe). Disney Studios was so tiny, it really doesn't need to be a separate park (and why is the Tower of Terror so much smaller in Paris?). But the overall theming and appearing of Disneyland (aka Magic Kingdom) in Paris I found to be much prettier. The Indiana Jones coaster is embarrassingly bad and needs to go. I didn't ride the Nemo coaster, but it looked like fun (did anyone here ride it and can share the experience?).