Birthday Splash

Posted on by Ian C.

After a morning watching F1 qualifying, and enjoying the sun & pool, we headed over to Disney Magic Kingdom this afternoon (6pm-10pm).
Disney has a special birthday offer that includes free admission – but we have an annual pass so instead we could choose a special “fast pass” card which gives us up to eight instant fast passes for rides!
So we headed to Buzz Lightyear (Margaret’s fave), then Space Mountain (which Margaret skipped), then over to Splash Mountain followed by Thunder Mountain … for the first time, I managed to keep eyes open and hands off, during the Splash Mountain big drop!
April 4 - Birthday Splash.jpg

And here’s another picture, of me wet – note my Disney birthday badge, and the special Disney “fast pass” card I’m holding!
img_0365.jpg

Disney Hollywood Studios

Posted on by Ian C.

Yesterday we spent time at Disney Hollywood Studios; we wanted to try the new Toy Story Mania ride which is very popular, so we got to the park even before it opened, but still with all the queues we didn’t get to FastPass ride for 1-1/2 hours! It was well worth the wait! The ride simulates various shooting arcades in a fun fair, with display screens and 3D glasses – you knock ducks over with shooting balls, shoot rings over alien heads, and basically try to get as high a score as possible … so far, Ian wins 🙂

Next we had lunch in the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater, then headed home for a few hours:

 

In the evening we returned to the park to repeat Toy Story Mania – but the ride was shut down! So instead we enjoyed a holiday lights special at the USA street facades, called The Osborne Family Spectacle Of Lights, with many other people; the Osborne Family originally had many of these holiday light displays in their home, and now every few minutes Disney animates them, pulsing them in time to holiday music (I should have had a video camera with me!); Disney also makes it “snow”:

Riding Disney’s Monorail

Posted on by Ian C.

Over our many visits to Walt Disney World since our first trip back in 1996, one enjoyable non-park event is to ride the Disney Monorail … one train runs round a short loop track from central parking to Magic Kingdom, while a second train runs a much longer track out from central parking to Epcot – this is a great way to see just how vast the Disney property is (and to see “behind” Epcot as the train loops around that park before entering the station).

Tonight, we decided to ride to Epcot, and just missed a train – but never mind, a conductor said, you can ride in the cab when the next train comes! That’s always been an ambition since we first learned that it’s possible (the cab has seating for 4 people, as well as the driver) – but always the cab ride is given to families with children. But not tonight 🙂
Kate, Chris, Margaret & I waited patiently for the next train, and boarded the cab … and it was excellent! Even with rain on the wrap-around screen, it’s the perfect way to travel in Walt Disney World, and one thing we didn’t know is that you are given a “co-pilot license” souvenir: