Voicetek Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Last week I was honeymooning down in Hilton Head, SC when I realize that we were only 4 1/2 hours from Walt Disney World. Being the Disney nut that I am, I couldn't help but be drawn towards the park. I talked to the wife and we decided that it would be really fun to plan a spur of the moment trip down to the Magic Kingdom for a day. I booked us a room at a place called Seralago Hotel and Suites for a night. We had stayed there before and they have great prices and it's pretty nice place. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone, especially families, who are trying to see Disney on a budget! Along with great prices, they have free transportation to the Disney parks, or if you want to drive yourself, they are located only about 10 minutes from the parks. Very convenient either way. We arrived Wednesday evening around 6. We checked into our hotel and headed to Downtown Disney for the evening. We had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and took in all the Disney shops. The weather was great and the atmosphere was amazing as usual. Thursday morning we woke up bright and early and went down to the hotel restaurant where we enjoyed 2 complimentary breakfasts at their fully stocked breakfast buffet - another perk of staying at Seralago! After breakfast it was straight to the park. For me, as an animation fanatic, the Magic Kingdom has always been one of my favorite parks so this is the one we decided to do since we only had one day. We arrived at the park around 10 am and started scoping out the place. We noticed that the crowds were very light. This would definitely help us get more out of our day at Disney. The first thing we did was grab one of their free buttons that they give out to guests who are celebrating something special. They have buttons for first time visitors, for people celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. We got one that said "Happily Ever After - Honeymoon." These buttons are great and the Disney staff are very quick to congratulate you all day long as you make your way through the park. First thing was first though - it was straight to the New Fantasy Land to try to snag a Fast Past to the new Journey of the Little Mermaid ride. However, it was pretty much a walk on. The line didn't even stop long enough for me to take pictures of video of their amazing queue areas. Oh well! We do enjoy walk ons! Next, it was back to Tomorrowland for a ride on Stich's Great Escape. I hadn't ridden this ride since it was Alien Encounters, so I was excited to check it out. Stitch is also one of my favorite characters and my wife and I have kind of adopted him as a sort of "mascot" for our relationship since we started dating on June 6, 2006 which would be "6-2-6." Get it? After "Stitch" it was on to a Disney classic - Space Mountain! This was as walk on as well. Once we got off this ride, we decided to take a break from Tomorrowland and head over to Liberty Square for a ride on The Haunted Mansion. And surprise, this was a walk on as well! My wife hadn't ridden this ride before, so it was a lot of fun to experience it with her. Next we took a little lunch break and had a picnic lunch in a little area designed like the world of "Tangled." We find a nice little spot under some trees with a great view of Rapunzel's tower. After lunch we walked around the corner and caught a show of Mickey's Philharmagic. If you've been to the Magic Kingdom lately and haven't seen this show, then you've really missed out! If you're planning on going to the Magic Kingdom in the near future, make sure this show is on your list of things to do. You won't be disappointed! Next it was over to take in a show of the Bear Country Jubilee. I love this show because I'm just so dang fascinated with animatronics - it's a weakness really. Now it was into Frontierland for a ride on one of my favorite rides in the park Splash Mountain. This ride had one of the longer lines in the park that day, but still, it was only about 15-20 minutes. Not even worth Fast Passing really. Next it was a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. This is a nice little coaster and it's always great to take a ride on this runaway train! It was time to slow things down a bit, so we next enjoyed a nice leisurely ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. This is another of my favorites because it is an amazingly themed dark and loaded with animatronics! Next, we took in a fun-filled show at the Enchanted Tiki Room. Now some people are thrilled that it's back to it's original form, however, I got to see it back in 2000 when it was the "Under New Management" version starring Iago and Zazu. I have to say, I enjoyed that version a lot better. I thought the songs were great and I especially loved the part with the Tiki God towards the end of the show. After this we decided to head back to Tomorrowland for a ride on Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. This ride should be the reference for what a dark ride target shooter should be - hint hint Kings Island! Finally it was over to Fantasyland for a ride on the classic Small World and Peter Pan's Flight rides. We were planning on heading towards Main Street to do a little shopping before the park closed, but we had a little surprise in store for us and we didn't even know it. Just out of curiosity we decided to check out the new Be Our Guest restaurant inside the Beauty and The Beast castle. We we informed that you could not even see inside unless you had a reservation to eat. We were a little disappointed so we thought we see, just by the grace of God, if there was an opening. We asked and we were surprised to find out that they had a cancellation which left them with one extra table for 2! We were very fortunate enough to be able to go inside the castle and grab some dessert! This castle is amazing and you really feel like you're in the movie. This is a must do even if it's just to get dessert. Now it was time to leave. A quick trip down Main Street and some last minute shopping and we had to head out. Unfortunately the night we were there they were having a special "Mickey's Christmas Party" event which came with an additional $66 upcharge if you wished to stay an particpate, if not, you were booted from the grounds - no questions asked! I tried to go into a store to buy a last minute souvenir before leaving. There were two cast members at the door and they asked if I had a wrist band. I said no and they said "park's closed." Obviously the park wasn't closed because there were still tons of people and also people shopping. It was just closed to us because we didn't want to fork over another $66 per person to stay around after 7 pm. That sucked a little and I didn't quite care for the attitude we got from the cast members guarding the doors to the store. If Disney didn't want my money in that store, then I will take it elsewhere! All in all though, it was as fabulous day at the Magic Kingdom. The weather was nice, the crowds were light, and we got to do pretty much everything we wanted to do. This was a great addition to an already great honeymoon! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoraX Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Congratulations. I think that sounds like a great honeymoon! (Aside from the last bit of course,) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Great trip report. The only problem I see is Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are in Frontierland not Adventureland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Great trip report. The only problem I see is Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are in Frontierland not Adventureland. Thanks for the info, I went ahead and made the edit. I had checked the location online while writing this trip report since I couldn't quite remember. I guess the got wrong information. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outdoor Man Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 great trip report. Have they changed up Downtown Disney yet? At some point its supposed to be rebranded as Disney Springs. I noticed that the rates for Saratoga Springs (our family's usual spot) has adjusted their pricing accordingly- It used to be a "moderate" level resort, and is now "deluxe"... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 great trip report. Have they changed up Downtown Disney yet? At some point its supposed to be rebranded as Disney Springs. I noticed that the rates for Saratoga Springs (our family's usual spot) has adjusted their pricing accordingly- It used to be a "moderate" level resort, and is now "deluxe"... No, so far Downtown Disney is the same as it's been the last couple of times I've been there. However, there are a lot of walls up and you can definitely tell they're doing some work. I had forgotten about the whole "Disney Springs" thing and kept saying to my wife that it looks like they're doing a bunch of work around here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Great trip report. The only problem I see is Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain are in Frontierland not Adventureland. Thanks for the info, I went ahead and made the edit. I had checked the location online while writing this trip report since I couldn't quite remember. I guess the got wrong information. Thanks!Not a problem. As a former cast member I'd always prefer working adventureland zone over any of those mountains. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 Great TR! Just a few things: 1. It's Country Bear Jamboree, not Jubilee (that's a topless show at Bally's in Vegas!). It has been edited down by about 5 minutes in recent years. 2. The Tikis too have been edited down by about 5 minutes since the original has been brought back. 3. Saratoga is offically a DVC resort, so it was never a part of the moderates. 4. As for BOG, you are most certainly welcome to walk in and look around even if you didn't have a reservation. It isn't Club 33 after all. 5. Did you go through the cemetery at the HM? It's a lot of fun before you actually enter the ride! 6. Disney Springs will be done in 2015. They are basically removing the surface lots, re-theming it, building two huge garages at the edge of the Disney Springs area and adding/subtracting some shops here/there. Now, about PI.... Glad you had fun! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 I was lucky enough to work mansion the day the added queue opened. Man that was fun trying to find the trash cans and play at the same time. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I547 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 Great TR! Just a few things: 1. It's Country Bear Jamboree, not Jubilee (that's a topless show at Bally's in Vegas!). It has been edited down by about 5 minutes in recent years. 2. The Tikis too have been edited down by about 5 minutes since the original has been brought back. 3. Saratoga is offically a DVC resort, so it was never a part of the moderates. 4. As for BOG, you are most certainly welcome to walk in and look around even if you didn't have a reservation. It isn't Club 33 after all. 5. Did you go through the cemetery at the HM? It's a lot of fun before you actually enter the ride! 6. Disney Springs will be done in 2015. They are basically removing the surface lots, re-theming it, building two huge garages at the edge of the Disney Springs area and adding/subtracting some shops here/there. Now, about PI.... Glad you had fun! Thanks for the response! To answer your questions/comments: 1. Did I say jubilee? I totally meant jamboree lol. It's a Monday and I'm sitting here at work after being on vacation for a week. My brain isn't quite functioning normally yet! 2. I wasn't fortunate enough to see the original "Tikis" show. The first one I ever saw was "Under New Management." So when I saw the show last week it seemed pretty close to what I could imagine the original show was like. From what I've read online, people are saying it is close to the original show. I think I had read something about it being slightly shorter though. 3. What is Saratoga? I don't believe I mentioned anything about Saratoga. 4. They had two people outside of the Be our Guest restaurant the day we were there and they wouldn't let anyone go in. I heard them tell multiple people that the only way you were allowed to go in and look around was if you were eating and had a reservation to do so. 5. The cemetery was open, but we didn't go through. I didn't realize it was open until we passed it up. I thought we might come back and do it again later, but we got busy with other things. Maybe next time! 6. They had some concept art (or what looked like concept art) posted around what looked to be construction areas. Disney Springs looks like it will be nice place when it's all said and done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 The tiki show was originally about 15 minutes long. They cut out the enchanted fountain song from the orig show (which was brought over from DL). It was basically an instrumental song so it didnt add much to the show. The bear jamboree cut out Big Al's song (Blood on the Saddle) because I guess in today's world its just not PC to talk about that lol. When I worked there the tikis oftten would break down, so instead of singing, youd hear a lot of hissing from the birds like their air tubes were broken lol! I was sad to see the bear jamboree xmas show go too as I always enjoyed that as well. Cost cutting move. Of course as Terpy would say, be glad WDW still has its Grizzly Hall, as DL razed theirs for the Winnie the Pooh ride some years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 25, 2013 Author Share Posted November 25, 2013 The tiki show was originally about 15 minutes long. They cut out the enchanted fountain song from the orig show (which was brought over from DL). It was basically an instrumental song so it didnt add much to the show. The bear jamboree cut out Big Al's song (Blood on the Saddle) because I guess in today's world its just not PC to talk about that lol. When I worked there the tikis oftten would break down, so instead of singing, youd hear a lot of hissing from the birds like their air tubes were broken lol! I was sad to see the bear jamboree xmas show go too as I always enjoyed that as well. Cost cutting move. Of course as Terpy would say, be glad WDW still has its Grizzly Hall, as DL razed theirs for the Winnie the Pooh ride some years back. I was unaware that they had cut the "Blood on the Saddle" song at one time. It was actually a part of the show when I saw it last week. I guess they put it back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted November 25, 2013 Share Posted November 25, 2013 And congratulations to you both! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RailRider Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Congratulations and spontaneity in a marriage is a beautiful thing. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedevariouseffect Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 Married eh? Congrats, can we see engagement/wedding pics? Have a fun honeymoon & whatnot, hopefully more spontaneous things in the future, those are the best 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 We don't have our wedding pics back yet, but I will try to post a few engagement pics on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Here are a couple of my engagement photos I found on Facebook 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoraX Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 You all are so cute! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Voicetek Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 You all are so cute! LOL thanks! I appreciate the compliment 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted November 26, 2013 Share Posted November 26, 2013 The tiki show was originally about 15 minutes long. They cut out the enchanted fountain song from the orig show (which was brought over from DL). It was basically an instrumental song so it didnt add much to the show. The bear jamboree cut out Big Al's song (Blood on the Saddle) because I guess in today's world its just not PC to talk about that lol. When I worked there the tikis oftten would break down, so instead of singing, youd hear a lot of hissing from the birds like their air tubes were broken lol! I was sad to see the bear jamboree xmas show go too as I always enjoyed that as well. Cost cutting move. Of course as Terpy would say, be glad WDW still has its Grizzly Hall, as DL razed theirs for the Winnie the Pooh ride some years back. I was unaware that they had cut the "Blood on the Saddle" song at one time. It was actually a part of the show when I saw it last week. I guess they put it back in. Glad management listened to what were obvious complaints. Still, the christmas bear show was the best. The interior of the theatre smelled like hot chocolate and the bears all had funny versions of traditional xmas carols and were dressed in their holiday finest. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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