Walt Disney World – Day 1 (12/07/15) Recap/Summary
I hit the ground running with a full day 1 covering over 15 miles and all four parks.
Trip log:
Arrived at Orlando International Airport just before 6am. Stopped for a quick breakfast in the food court and was on a Magical Express bus by 6:30am. By 8am we were at the Beach Club, checked in and on our way to catch a bus to our first park of the morning. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom just after 8:30am and made our way up Main Street USA. I explored the new hub expansion that had opened since my trip last December as we waited for some other members of our group that were already in the park, having arrived yesterday. We all headed for the Jingle Cruise which was a literally walk on. We actually had to speed up to make the boat. After our cruise some had Mine Train FastPasses so we headed that way for them to use them and then doubled back for the Haunted Mansion as a group. Wandered through Adventureland back to the hub on our way to Tomorrowland. They had Buzz Lightyear FastPasses so some went to that, others back to the room to unpack and I headed for Epcot. Took the Resort Line to the TTC since the Express was not allowing boarding. Then transferred to an Epcot Monorail. Arrived at Epcot just past 11am and met up with a Friend near MouseGear. Walked out to Mexico to check out the new additions to the attraction then strolled around World Showcase Lagoon stopping at some of the countries along the way. Eventually made it to the international gateway and exited the park. Just before 1pm. Bid my goodbyes since they were heading home and I made a quick stop by our room at the Beach Club Villas to pick something up and plug in some batteries for later. Was back on a bus and arrived at the Animal Kingdom just after 1:30pm to meet up with another friend. Walked around Discovery Island checking out the new additions. Went out to the Flame Tree dining area to see the Rivers of Light construction then walked by Asia and over to Africa to see the new Marketplace. The Standby line for the Safari was 40 minutes so went online and snagged a FastPass+ for later. Did another lap of Discovery Island checking out the Avatar construction along the way and ended up in Asia. Walked the Jungle Trek then returned to Africa to visit Pangani. Time to use our FastPass+ for the Safari. After the Safari strolled back to the park entrance and bid farewell before I headed back to the Beach Club to find the rest of my group. Some were grocery shopping, others fishing, and the last one at the Spa at the Grand Floridian. We decided to go see the Osborne Lights… Walked out to the boat dock and just missed a boat.. then realized there was a large line so we really did not but would have to wait a couple boats probably. Instead took one across to the Boardwalk with no wait then walked over to the students. Along the way learned most of the Counter Service dining was closed or closing by 6:30pm.. so picked up the pace and made it to Pizza Planet just before it closed at 6:30. Others went to the ABC Commissary. Others were stuck on a bus from the Riverside that took forever due to the traffic to get into the Studios. After eating we all joined up and walked through the Osborne Lights. Looked around and inched through the crowd. At 8pm, park closing, the crowd started to thin but my group had lost their patience and were heading for the exit so I picked up the pace and met them on the walk back to the Beach Club. Stopped by the room to drop off some things and then headed to Epcot with some that were on their way back to the Riverside and others called it a night. Walked past the UK and Canada to the Christmas tree then to the Fountain of Nations. Got caught up on some emails then walked back to the lagoon to catch the 9:30 Illuminations show. After the show walked back to the Beach Club to call it a night.
Pedometer Stats:
Steps – 40,331
Miles – 15.2
Moderate Pace walking steps – 31,492
Moderate Pace time – 277
Images from today:
Here is an archive/listing of the live pictures posted to the blog today. Be sure to follow along for more pictures in the coming days. Below are a selection of the highlights. Once I return home I will be posting full picture sets.
