My July 4th began at 5:30 in the AM
We awoke at the WDW Hilton and prepared for the early opening at AK. Caught the bus at 7 and had to wait til 7:45 for the AK gates to open. Saw the Awakening and then high-tailed it to the Kilimanjaro Safaris and we were lucky enough to get the back seat which made pictures waaaaaaay easy. It is true that the animals are far more energetic in the early morning, we got some great shots.
After that the plan was to head to Dinoland via the Tough To Be A Bug fastpass. We score fastpasses for 9:45 but then see that there isn't a wait yet so we slide in to catch the bugs while the gettin is good. Afterwards we go to Dinoland and wait about 5 minutes to ride both Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur. It's about 9:30 now and as we head up to the Kali River Rapids we give away our fastpasses for TTBAB (to score some good karma). The good karma pays off as there is no wait for the rapids.
We opt to take it easy and walk the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The heat is starting to build up by now so there's less action from the animals but still some great sites. We then make the big swing around to Pizzafari and with it being about 10:15 we end up having the entire back room to ourselves. We round out the AK trip with the awesome show Festival Of The Lion King.
We utilize the bus system and arrive at MGM by noon. Our first mission is to grab Tower Of Terror fastpasses which end up being for 1pm. So we head to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and arrive just as they are beginning (this good karma thing is really working out). After Millionaire we stroll over to Rock n Roller Coaster and grab fastpasses for 2:10 then we utilize the TOT passes. After that thrilling experience we move on over to Muppetvision 3D and follow that with The Great Movie Ride. We make it back to RRC around 3 and only have to wait in the fastpass line about 5 minutes.
So now it is around 3:30 and we decide if the Epcot bus is not there we will walk via the Boardwalk. It is not so off we go on a 15 minute hike. It proves to be a great walk and it is the first time I have seen the boardwalk so it was well worth it and I recommend it to anyone with the stamina. What you do is head to the buses and at the parking lot you turn left and walk until you see a path on the left which goes along the water. You follow this to the boardwalk and make a right until you get on the boardwalk. Here you can go either way, we went right which takes you past ESPNzone and then you make another right at the end and you come to the Epcot entrance by England. Very cool if you are tired of the buses.
We stroll to Future World with the hopeful intentions of scoring fastpasses for Test Track but as you are all well aware, TT fastpasses run out pretty early. We remedy our first downer of the day by noticing that Mission To Mars is open and surprisingly the line is only 10-15 minutes. I do not know how they simulate that launch or how they simulate the weightless feeling but man do they nail it. Yes you may feel a little woozy afterwards but it is sooooooo worth it for the experience.
We then attack Future World using the right side, middle, left side standard and we are pleasantly surprised that the park is not super packed. In fact, it is very comfortable. Some of the Future World highlights we conquer: The Circle Of Life, Living With The Land, Journey Into Imagination With Figment (I think I like the old Figment ride better than this new one), Honey I Shrunk The Audience 3D, Spaceship Earth, Ellens Energy Adventure and Cranium Command. It is now a little after 9pm and as we get to Test Track the wait is still 60 minutes so we hop in the Single Rider line which is posted at 30 minutes and it actually only takes about 15-20 to make our way to the pre-ride room.
After our 60mph banked turns we haul booty up to the America pavilion to catch the show of shows. Even though its about 9:50 we end up getting a decent spot and we settle in to be awed. At 10pm the lights go out and the single firework starts Illuminations. The 15 minute show is great and the finale is awesome. As the finale ends a voice comes on and says Now, we are proud to present our tribute to America. With that, fireworks go off over the America building which actually causes many people to turn and run that direction. Just as they give up their coveted positions around the water the action switches back. I have to chuckle at how silly people are when I see this happen. After 5-10 minutes of top-notch firework action, the finale of all finales happens. Now I am not even overstating when I tell you that if you add up all the fireworks I have ever seen in my life they would still not equal how many were shot up in this finale. It had to be 3 minutes of non-stop firing and the sky was brighter than the stroke of noon on a cloudless summer day. After I knelt down to pick up my chin we decided to relax for a while as the hordes made their hasty escape.
Around 10:45 we begin our stroll to the exit. Pal Mickey points out the shortcut that definitely makes a difference and we make our way to the monorail.
Yes we are going to attempt the coveted 4 parks in one day maneuver.
As we await the monorail to the TTC we get a grand view of the fury that is the Epcot parking lot and we sigh with pleasure knowing that we will not be taking part in it. The sea of brake lights is almost as mesmerizing as the fireworks. Well not really but it sure does sound good right?
We arrive at the TTC at 11:30 and unfortunately, the express monorail to MK is finito. So we must take the loooooooong way around which definitely hampers our plans to squeeze in some more rides. Luckily the wait is not too long and we magically make it to the gates at 11:40. We make a beeline for space mountain and the wait is 25 minutes. We want to get more than one ride in so we make the bold decision to make the hike to Frontierland. The decision pays off as Thunder Mountain has no wait and we even score the front row. Ive always professed that this ride is far superior at night and this night was no exception. We finish with time to spare so we head over to Splash Mountain and we get the second to last log and even get to ride it alone. As the ride begins I have no choice but to kick myself as the views are ridiculously amazing and there was one spot where Space Mountain is to the right of the Castle and it wouldve been the greatest picture of all time ever. Oh well, at least its etched into my memory.
My girlfriend and I decide to kiss for the photo op and we nail it. We are STUNNED that when we go to look for it it is blacked out and says Sorry, this picture has been washed away or something cheesy like that. That was a definite bummer as we were looking forward to purchasing the picture. This downer is instantly erased as we see that the Spectromagic parade has begun and there is virtually NOBODY this far down so it turns into a personal parade just for us. After the parade we stick around for The Kiss Goodnight and it really is moving and goosebump inducing. Quite the way to end a 16+ hour Disney day.
We awoke at the WDW Hilton and prepared for the early opening at AK. Caught the bus at 7 and had to wait til 7:45 for the AK gates to open. Saw the Awakening and then high-tailed it to the Kilimanjaro Safaris and we were lucky enough to get the back seat which made pictures waaaaaaay easy. It is true that the animals are far more energetic in the early morning, we got some great shots.
After that the plan was to head to Dinoland via the Tough To Be A Bug fastpass. We score fastpasses for 9:45 but then see that there isn't a wait yet so we slide in to catch the bugs while the gettin is good. Afterwards we go to Dinoland and wait about 5 minutes to ride both Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur. It's about 9:30 now and as we head up to the Kali River Rapids we give away our fastpasses for TTBAB (to score some good karma). The good karma pays off as there is no wait for the rapids.
We opt to take it easy and walk the Maharajah Jungle Trek. The heat is starting to build up by now so there's less action from the animals but still some great sites. We then make the big swing around to Pizzafari and with it being about 10:15 we end up having the entire back room to ourselves. We round out the AK trip with the awesome show Festival Of The Lion King.
We utilize the bus system and arrive at MGM by noon. Our first mission is to grab Tower Of Terror fastpasses which end up being for 1pm. So we head to Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and arrive just as they are beginning (this good karma thing is really working out). After Millionaire we stroll over to Rock n Roller Coaster and grab fastpasses for 2:10 then we utilize the TOT passes. After that thrilling experience we move on over to Muppetvision 3D and follow that with The Great Movie Ride. We make it back to RRC around 3 and only have to wait in the fastpass line about 5 minutes.
So now it is around 3:30 and we decide if the Epcot bus is not there we will walk via the Boardwalk. It is not so off we go on a 15 minute hike. It proves to be a great walk and it is the first time I have seen the boardwalk so it was well worth it and I recommend it to anyone with the stamina. What you do is head to the buses and at the parking lot you turn left and walk until you see a path on the left which goes along the water. You follow this to the boardwalk and make a right until you get on the boardwalk. Here you can go either way, we went right which takes you past ESPNzone and then you make another right at the end and you come to the Epcot entrance by England. Very cool if you are tired of the buses.
We stroll to Future World with the hopeful intentions of scoring fastpasses for Test Track but as you are all well aware, TT fastpasses run out pretty early. We remedy our first downer of the day by noticing that Mission To Mars is open and surprisingly the line is only 10-15 minutes. I do not know how they simulate that launch or how they simulate the weightless feeling but man do they nail it. Yes you may feel a little woozy afterwards but it is sooooooo worth it for the experience.
We then attack Future World using the right side, middle, left side standard and we are pleasantly surprised that the park is not super packed. In fact, it is very comfortable. Some of the Future World highlights we conquer: The Circle Of Life, Living With The Land, Journey Into Imagination With Figment (I think I like the old Figment ride better than this new one), Honey I Shrunk The Audience 3D, Spaceship Earth, Ellens Energy Adventure and Cranium Command. It is now a little after 9pm and as we get to Test Track the wait is still 60 minutes so we hop in the Single Rider line which is posted at 30 minutes and it actually only takes about 15-20 to make our way to the pre-ride room.
After our 60mph banked turns we haul booty up to the America pavilion to catch the show of shows. Even though its about 9:50 we end up getting a decent spot and we settle in to be awed. At 10pm the lights go out and the single firework starts Illuminations. The 15 minute show is great and the finale is awesome. As the finale ends a voice comes on and says Now, we are proud to present our tribute to America. With that, fireworks go off over the America building which actually causes many people to turn and run that direction. Just as they give up their coveted positions around the water the action switches back. I have to chuckle at how silly people are when I see this happen. After 5-10 minutes of top-notch firework action, the finale of all finales happens. Now I am not even overstating when I tell you that if you add up all the fireworks I have ever seen in my life they would still not equal how many were shot up in this finale. It had to be 3 minutes of non-stop firing and the sky was brighter than the stroke of noon on a cloudless summer day. After I knelt down to pick up my chin we decided to relax for a while as the hordes made their hasty escape.
Around 10:45 we begin our stroll to the exit. Pal Mickey points out the shortcut that definitely makes a difference and we make our way to the monorail.
Yes we are going to attempt the coveted 4 parks in one day maneuver.
As we await the monorail to the TTC we get a grand view of the fury that is the Epcot parking lot and we sigh with pleasure knowing that we will not be taking part in it. The sea of brake lights is almost as mesmerizing as the fireworks. Well not really but it sure does sound good right?
We arrive at the TTC at 11:30 and unfortunately, the express monorail to MK is finito. So we must take the loooooooong way around which definitely hampers our plans to squeeze in some more rides. Luckily the wait is not too long and we magically make it to the gates at 11:40. We make a beeline for space mountain and the wait is 25 minutes. We want to get more than one ride in so we make the bold decision to make the hike to Frontierland. The decision pays off as Thunder Mountain has no wait and we even score the front row. Ive always professed that this ride is far superior at night and this night was no exception. We finish with time to spare so we head over to Splash Mountain and we get the second to last log and even get to ride it alone. As the ride begins I have no choice but to kick myself as the views are ridiculously amazing and there was one spot where Space Mountain is to the right of the Castle and it wouldve been the greatest picture of all time ever. Oh well, at least its etched into my memory.
My girlfriend and I decide to kiss for the photo op and we nail it. We are STUNNED that when we go to look for it it is blacked out and says Sorry, this picture has been washed away or something cheesy like that. That was a definite bummer as we were looking forward to purchasing the picture. This downer is instantly erased as we see that the Spectromagic parade has begun and there is virtually NOBODY this far down so it turns into a personal parade just for us. After the parade we stick around for The Kiss Goodnight and it really is moving and goosebump inducing. Quite the way to end a 16+ hour Disney day.
