Let me start out by giving a description of the people and reason for the trip. It was a 28-year old married couple, huge Disney fans, a 22-year old dating couple, 2 26 year old men, and a 40-year old dating couple. We did this as a kind of family and friend reunion. None of us had ever been on vacation with each other before.
April 18th, we left from Newark at 6:35 a.m. and flew into Tampa. We got to EPCOT around noon. Not a lot of people, rode Mission Space, had lunch at Sunshine Seasons, their spicy shrimp sushi was pretty good. Walked around until about 6, the park was not too crowded. We had the alcohol slushies in France, great as always. We met up with the rest of our party that night.
April 19th
We woke up early and got to Universal Studios by 9. Parking is a mess. The rides were pretty good in Universal, not too many people. We paid the $41 for Express Plus, what an investment. We did not wait more than 15 minutes for any ride, even in Islands of Adventure. IoA was lots of fun, but super-crowded. All lines were about an hour or more, but we did both parks by 6 because we bought the Express Plus pass. My brother-in-law did not, and was only able to do Universal Studios. We went to Citywalk that night, and had a really good time. The new Karaoke bar is a lot of fun, but got pretty crowded after about 9:30. Mardi Gras was ending that night, and I was surprised to see how many cops were there. The crowd and atmosphere of Universal as a whole was definitely not Disney, and was actually a little ghetto. I havent been there in over 10 years, and will probably not go back for another 10. The rides were pretty good, especially all of the roller coasters.
April 20th
EPCOT! We started the day off at rope-drop, and went right to get a Fastpass for Soarin. We got the Fastpass, and then did Mission Space and Test Track, both with 5 minute waits. We also did Spaceship Earth, I really like the new ending. Nemo was okay, nothing special. We had lunch at Le Cellier, what a meal! I had the cheese and beer soup, tremendous, and the filet, which was great. Others at our table had the strip steak and prime rib sandwich, both of which were also very good. We did almost every ride in the park, and then got started on Beers Around the World. This was so much fun! We had a Labatt Light in Canada, Harp in England, Slushies in France, different sluhies in Morocco, sake in Japan, Sam Adams in the USA, wines in Germany and Italy, beer at the Outpost, plum wine in China, beer in Norway, and margaritas in Mexico. We were all feeling pretty good after this, and ate dinner in Mexico. The food was pretty good, the lines were a bit long, but what would you expect, right before Illuminations. Overall, a great day!
April 21st
MGM Day. We did not get up early for today, as we knew we had all day because we were going to the 8:30 Fantasmic showing, and that this park does not take all day. We did lunch with an imagineer at the Brown Derby, and was disappointed by the food. We have eaten there before, but the steak was extremely fatty, and the salad was just okay. We did all of the rides that we wanted, including the stunt show, which was amazing! We ended the night at Jellyrolls, which is always a good time and is our favorite bar in the world! We got back pretty late, almost 2 am, but the day was great.
April 22nd
We decided to do Animal Kingdom on its tenth anniversary and Earth Day. As expected, it was a little crowded, but not too bad. We got everything done that we wanted to do. We ate at Yak and Yeti, but the lines were long 20 minutes for takeout. We left around 3:30, and headed back because we had dinner reservations at Jiko for 5:30. As usual, the food was amazing. Ostrich weinerschnitzel, flatbreads, and lamb for apps, and the filets, short ribs, pork tenderloin for entrees. We all had dessert, from lemon curd to the special to crème brulee. Weve never had a bad meal there, our favorite restaurant in Disney. We went to the Adventurers Club that night, also one of our favorites. A great time.
April 23rd
Finally, Magic Kingdom! We woke up early, as we wanted to get to the park, come home, rest and shower, and head back for Pirate and Princess. The park was a little crowded, but none of the lines were that long in the morning, so we did a lot of the rides before noon. Lunch was at Caseys Corner, and then we left. We got back around 6:30, and had some turkey legs for dinner. The P&PP was awesome, no lines whatsoever, we actually walked onto the cars on most of the rides. The parade was good, and the fireworks were outstanding. We will definitely do this again!
April 24th
Pretty much a relaxing day, we all split up until that night. We shopped at Downtown Disney for a few hours, and then headed back to get ready for Victoria and Alberts. What a meal this was. I had the wine pairings, which were all fabulous and complemented the meal very well. This is a review in itself, maybe I will put it up in the dining section.
April 25th
Our last day in the parks. We went to the character breakfast at Ohana, which was really not worth the money, and then to Typhoon Lagoon. The park was not that crowded, in fact, only one water slide had over a 10 minute wait. We left around 3:30, after spending time doing every other slide and relaxing in the lazy river for a while.
Now comes the disappointment of being back home, but no worries, we are already planning another trip for the winter! Any questions just ask!!!
April 18th, we left from Newark at 6:35 a.m. and flew into Tampa. We got to EPCOT around noon. Not a lot of people, rode Mission Space, had lunch at Sunshine Seasons, their spicy shrimp sushi was pretty good. Walked around until about 6, the park was not too crowded. We had the alcohol slushies in France, great as always. We met up with the rest of our party that night.
April 19th
We woke up early and got to Universal Studios by 9. Parking is a mess. The rides were pretty good in Universal, not too many people. We paid the $41 for Express Plus, what an investment. We did not wait more than 15 minutes for any ride, even in Islands of Adventure. IoA was lots of fun, but super-crowded. All lines were about an hour or more, but we did both parks by 6 because we bought the Express Plus pass. My brother-in-law did not, and was only able to do Universal Studios. We went to Citywalk that night, and had a really good time. The new Karaoke bar is a lot of fun, but got pretty crowded after about 9:30. Mardi Gras was ending that night, and I was surprised to see how many cops were there. The crowd and atmosphere of Universal as a whole was definitely not Disney, and was actually a little ghetto. I havent been there in over 10 years, and will probably not go back for another 10. The rides were pretty good, especially all of the roller coasters.
April 20th
EPCOT! We started the day off at rope-drop, and went right to get a Fastpass for Soarin. We got the Fastpass, and then did Mission Space and Test Track, both with 5 minute waits. We also did Spaceship Earth, I really like the new ending. Nemo was okay, nothing special. We had lunch at Le Cellier, what a meal! I had the cheese and beer soup, tremendous, and the filet, which was great. Others at our table had the strip steak and prime rib sandwich, both of which were also very good. We did almost every ride in the park, and then got started on Beers Around the World. This was so much fun! We had a Labatt Light in Canada, Harp in England, Slushies in France, different sluhies in Morocco, sake in Japan, Sam Adams in the USA, wines in Germany and Italy, beer at the Outpost, plum wine in China, beer in Norway, and margaritas in Mexico. We were all feeling pretty good after this, and ate dinner in Mexico. The food was pretty good, the lines were a bit long, but what would you expect, right before Illuminations. Overall, a great day!
April 21st
MGM Day. We did not get up early for today, as we knew we had all day because we were going to the 8:30 Fantasmic showing, and that this park does not take all day. We did lunch with an imagineer at the Brown Derby, and was disappointed by the food. We have eaten there before, but the steak was extremely fatty, and the salad was just okay. We did all of the rides that we wanted, including the stunt show, which was amazing! We ended the night at Jellyrolls, which is always a good time and is our favorite bar in the world! We got back pretty late, almost 2 am, but the day was great.
April 22nd
We decided to do Animal Kingdom on its tenth anniversary and Earth Day. As expected, it was a little crowded, but not too bad. We got everything done that we wanted to do. We ate at Yak and Yeti, but the lines were long 20 minutes for takeout. We left around 3:30, and headed back because we had dinner reservations at Jiko for 5:30. As usual, the food was amazing. Ostrich weinerschnitzel, flatbreads, and lamb for apps, and the filets, short ribs, pork tenderloin for entrees. We all had dessert, from lemon curd to the special to crème brulee. Weve never had a bad meal there, our favorite restaurant in Disney. We went to the Adventurers Club that night, also one of our favorites. A great time.
April 23rd
Finally, Magic Kingdom! We woke up early, as we wanted to get to the park, come home, rest and shower, and head back for Pirate and Princess. The park was a little crowded, but none of the lines were that long in the morning, so we did a lot of the rides before noon. Lunch was at Caseys Corner, and then we left. We got back around 6:30, and had some turkey legs for dinner. The P&PP was awesome, no lines whatsoever, we actually walked onto the cars on most of the rides. The parade was good, and the fireworks were outstanding. We will definitely do this again!
April 24th
Pretty much a relaxing day, we all split up until that night. We shopped at Downtown Disney for a few hours, and then headed back to get ready for Victoria and Alberts. What a meal this was. I had the wine pairings, which were all fabulous and complemented the meal very well. This is a review in itself, maybe I will put it up in the dining section.
April 25th
Our last day in the parks. We went to the character breakfast at Ohana, which was really not worth the money, and then to Typhoon Lagoon. The park was not that crowded, in fact, only one water slide had over a 10 minute wait. We left around 3:30, after spending time doing every other slide and relaxing in the lazy river for a while.
Now comes the disappointment of being back home, but no worries, we are already planning another trip for the winter! Any questions just ask!!!
