Disney Days...

Here we are at Fort Wilderness in Orlando, FL ready to "do" five days at the theme parks here. Our campsite is heavily shaded and we are lucky that we are able to get internet but not t.v. We wouldn't be so lucky if it weren't for the fact that our site has cable! Don would NOT be a happy camper for five days without t.v.! It's very lush and should be tranquil except that we are near the bus stops (a great thing for us, but not too quiet) and right up near the marina. We can get the boat over to the Magic Kingdom in just minutes however, each time the boat comes in or leaves it toots it's horn! I'm sure it's a safety thing but it's still loud! :-) It's AMAZING to see what some people bring to "decorate" their sites! All our full-timing friends have "stuff" but this is ridiculous! The person that arrived on Friday next to us has a huge blow-up Tigger with an Easter egg...it's only the beginning of March, but... She also has a light that is Mickey shaped. It' s attached to the parks light post! On the opposite side of Tigger is this Mickey character. He looks like he might be resin, but it might be plastic! A couple of Disney flags, a Mickey light on her table and several other things as well! Crazy!!


Our first day is at Epcot. We get up early and head for the bus. It takes two buses but we get there pretty quickly. Sure beats having to try to get parking and then a tram before getting into the park! I had some pre-conceived notions of what Epcot would be and it doesn't live up to those expectations! It's still a fun day and we see lots of the park. We went back to the motorhome in the late afternoon, let Tess have some time outside, eat dinner and then it's back for the evening light show. I love fireworks, parades and light shows! Don came back for this one, but I won't get him back for any others. That's o.k. since it's so easy to get back to the motorhome I feel very comfortable getting back on my own! While we were waiting for the light show I took the opportunity to see more of Epcot. I'm sure there's more to see and we hope to come back again another time to see those things not only at Disney but in the Orlando area that we've missed. Almost forgot to mention a ride that we went on Mission: Space. Don and I had a choice of two different rides on this one. Green or Orange...orange having more "spins". By the time we got off we were both feeling very nauseated! Don got over it in about an hour. It stayed with me throughout the night! Yuck...not the way I want to feel after riding a ride!

Day two is spent at the Magic Kingdom. It looks much like Disneyland but feels smaller. The entire area of Walt Disney World is huge, but the park itself FEELS smaller! A few rides aren't there that are in Anaheim, but there are a few new ones too. We had a great time and actually never had to stand in line for too long. Most of the more popular rides have times listed on how long it is to wait. I don't think we ever waited as long as the signs might say. Many of them we walked basically right on. This was a great time to enjoy the parks of Disney! Don left in the afternoon and I stayed on to watch the parade. Made it back to the motorhome for a quick dinner and then I headed back to watch the parade at night and then fireworks. Being by yourself it's much easier to find a spot to sit. I was sitting on the curb and decided to go into a store for a quick "look". When I came back out my "spot" was gone and the streets were full! Walked a little ways and found another spot to land! The parade and freworks that followed were done in true Disney fashion and I was glad that I spent the time waiting to see them both! They were awesome!



Day three is spent at Disney MGM Studios. It was the beginning of ESPN the weekend at MGM. There seemed to be a LOT of people there for that. On Friday, there were sports games being played, lots of things to see and look at, and "stars" in the athletic field. Not into sports so they didn't mean a thing to me. We did have this picture taken by ESPN/Directv, but didn't care to stand in the mobs to see someone we didn't even know! Don and I decided to tackle the "Tower of Terror". Oh my! It was fun, but I oan't believe how scary it was! I kept hoping the ride would be over - SOON! Screams were coming out without my wnating them to! You actually lift up out of your seat! It was dun, but scary too! Another ride that we almost did (we both chickened out after Tower) was Rock and Roll Coaster. I have some trouble with my ears and equilibrium so I didn't want to mess with going upside down when it rolls! Enjoyed the back stage tour and the "performance" of "Muppets" in 3D. It's amazing what you see when wearing 3D glasses! We laughed and had a great time watching it! Once again, Don headed back to the motorhome and I waited for the "Beauty and the Beast" performance and of course, Fantasmic! I've seen it at Disneyland and wanted to see it again! At MGM they actually have a stage to see it at instead of watching along the street. You still have to get there early, but it was easier waiting while sitting than standing!

Decided that since we were actually leaving on our "5th" day, that we would spend our last day "in" Disney at the Animal Kingdom, come home early and have dinner at the dinner show at Fort Wilderness "Hoop Dee Doo". Again, it took two buses but we never had a long wait on any of our bus trips. Got into the park and headed for the "safari". One of the cast members at another park told us to get there early when the animals are up and about. That was good advice, except the weather had changed and it was cooler. Based on the previous days we were both in shorts and short sleeves. I almost went back to get a sweatshirt or jacket, but decided I could go without. Sure wish I had it several times! One of the funniest things happened while on the safari ride! We had a couple of ostriches chasing us and each other. They raced after us, turned to the right, came around, running after us again and finally turned away! It was pretty funny. Someone on the ride said that they had ridden it many times and never saw that happen! The Animal Kingdom was a small version of a zoo with Disney characters, a few shows and a couple of rides. One of the rides was a white water rafting ride where you were guaranteed to get wet. They sold rain ponchos close-by. Since it was pretty cool...we decided to skip it! This park seemed to be busier in comparison but I think it was because this was on Saturday! All the fast passes were given out early so if you wanted to get on one of the more popular rides...you had to wait in line. Everest had a 40 minute wait and we decided to forgo it. It looked like it was very similar to the Matterhorn so I don't think we missed much. Headed back to the buses and got on. Our bus had another stop "Blizzard Beach" on of the water parks. It had about 20-30 cars in the parking lot and sure wasn't very busy! A group of kids got on to head back to Fort Wilderness and asked them if it was cold. They told us only when they got out of the water! They did feel that they had exclusive treatment since they weren't at all busy! They were glad to get on the bus! Just about got back when it started to rain! Not a bad day for planning on getting home early!