Walt Disney World – Day 1 (4/30/16) Recap/Summary

Trip log:

Arrived at Orlando International Airport just before 5am.   Grabbed some breakfast in the food court then boarded a waiting Magical Express bus to Disney’s Pop Century Resort.  Checked in and had a minor hiccup with the room but eventually sorted it out and was in a room with my carryon bags dropped off and unpacked by 7am.  Spent some time roaming around a peaceful resort then met a friend just after 8am and headed for Disney Springs to check out the latest construction.   Walked through the Market Place, by the Town Center and out to the pedestrian over crossing for Buena Vista Drive then back to the bus stop.  Waited for a bus to the Epcot Resorts.  Disembarked at the Swan and walked around the Boardwalk and into Epcot at the International Gateway.  Stopped by France for a snack then made my way to the American Adventure area to meet up with the rest of my group.  Decided on a quick lunch at the Liberty Inn and then caught a performance of the American Music Machine.  Continued on past Italy, Germany, China, Norway, and Mexico on my way to Future World.  Stopped by the Festival Center then over to Innoventions West to pick up the April annual pass holder lithograph.  Decided to go for a cruise on Listen to the Land then made our way to the front of the park.  Boarded a Monorail to the TTC and took the ferry across to the Magic Kingdom.  Strolled up Main Street USA and through the Castle to Fantasyland.  Some of the group used a Fastpass+ for the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train then we walked through Fantasyland and Tomorrowland and took a ride on the Peoplemover.  Once back on the ground headed for the hub.  Some left for the rooms at this point and the rest of us continued on to Liberty Square then out to Frontierland.  Hopped on the train and took it to Main Street Station.  I opted to head back to the hotel at this point to unpack a few things before heading over to the Studios for the evening.  Arrived on Hollywood Blvd around 8pm and made my way out to Pixar place before they closed that are for the evening.  The doubled back and around to the Muppet Courtyard.  Strolled along Echo Lake and then decided since Fantasmic was to start in under 5 minutes to head down Sunset Blvd to see if there was space.  Was in the standing section with an ok view of the show.  After Fantasmic took Sunset Blvd to Hollywood and looked for a spot for the fireworks.  Ended up near the corner to Hollywood and Prospect.  After the show walked out to a waiting bus to return to Pop Century to call it a night.

Pedometer Stats:
Steps – 35,596
Miles – 13.4
Moderate Pace walking steps – 26,860
Moderate Pace time – 240

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.  Here are several posts with multiple images:

• A Quick Evening Walk Around Disney’s Hollywood Studios
• An Afternoon @ Epcot (several pictures)
• A Morning Visit to Disney Springs
• A morning walk around Disney’s Pop Century Resort (several pics)