Julie's Epic WDW Ongoing Trip Report!

12/1 - An Evening at Epcot

12/2 - RADP Day at Animal Kingdom

12/3 - Epcot

12/3 - RADP Big Meet and Greet

12/3 - The Mega Mouse Meet

12/3 - An Evening in the Magic Kingdom

The Adventurer's Club

12/4 - RADP Day at Magic Kingdom

12/4 - Raglan Road and the Adventurer's Club

12/5 - RADP Day at the Disney-MGM Studios

12/6 - Islands of Adventure

12/6 - Universal Studios Florida

12/7 - Busch Gardens Tampa

12/7 - Dinner at Ohana and Adventurer's Club

12/8 - Wilderness Lodge Breakfast and going home

Every year for the past 7 years, I've made an annual pilgrimage to Disney World in December. In the fall of '98, I started reading RADP (rec.arts.disney.parks) on usenet, and quickly became a part of the ever-growing family. By December of '99, I was headed to my first official December meet, where I met tons of the people that I now count as close, life-long friends.

So fast forward six years, and that brings us to December 1st-8th of 2005...my 7th annual meet, and 10th RADP December meet ever! This meet was really more than just a meet...it's almost like a family reunion! People from all over north America coming together in one spot at the same time, and we all get to talk about the year we had, and what we have planned before next December! Most are people I only get to see once a year, but the friendships never change. Kevin says the annual meet is like summer camp for adults, and I agree! Seeing all your friends and getting to have a great time with them!

Kevin and I decided to room together again, so we procured an annual pass discounted room at Pop Century. I also decided to get Kevin a pass to Busch Gardens Tampa as a Christmas gift, so we'd both be having a fun day of coastering too. We made a few plans ahead of time, but not many...lunch at Biergarten, lunch at Beaches N Cream, dinner at Ohana and breakfast at Whispering Canyon were a few, and everything else, we were just gonna wing.

I will try to introduce everyone as I see them in pictures, else I will surely forget someone really important! And I apologize in advance if I use any inside jokes that TPR may not get...I'm still relatively a newbie here, but am one of the old-timers there! haha

And now...on to the TR! I am sparing you the long boring text trip report, but it will be posted on my website once it's written for anyone who wants to read it.

December 1st - Getting there, and the room

In an attempt to adjust my sleep patern in one day, I ended up staying awake until 3:00pm on the 30th, then waking up at 10:30pm to get ready to leave. I was on the road at 11:38pm on Wednesday the 30th, with plans of driving through the night to get there before lunch time on Thursday...

And the bathroom. Kevin arrived at the room around 1:00pm, and we were both starving by that point, so we hopped on the first bus to Epcot we found!

I got to WDW at 10:48am...10 hours and 10 minutes after leaving home! Record speed for me! I got us checked into our Pop Century room, 6167. Pretty standard, but very nice.

Here is a nice random photo of the light playing with my windshield and my hand.

I was near Valdosta when the sun rose. It didn't photograph very well since the car was moving, but the sunrise was beautiful...a perfect blending from color to color. I don't think many things get prettier than that!

By about 5:00am, I was hungry again, so I ate the sandwich I'd packed. It was nummy, as always.

I had a quarter pounder and fries for dinner. I also decided to try and take a picture of every meal I ate, since TPR loves food pictures so much! I did pretty well, and only missed a few meals.

I made a food stop at McDonalds in Murfreesboro, which is the tradition on my Florida trips.

This is all the luggage I took on my 9 day trip! In hindsight, I didn't even use the cooler and could have easily done without it!

Julie! You're alive! I was convinced you dropped off the face of the Earth after not seeing you on the site for so long!

This should be a sign to all Floridians which school is the TRUE university of the state of Florida. As you near Florida, the sky turns blue and orange. Go Gators!

An Evening at Epcot

Then this viking tried to sell Kevin some weed! Do you believe that? Some vikings really have nerve.

I narrowly escaped being axed to death by a viking.

We get sidetracked by the Stave Church in Norway, where we get to learn about...VIKINGS!

As we passed through Mexico, we noted that "Wunder-Bar" seems to be the only flavor of margaritas they sell.

Finally it was time for lunch, so we headed to Germany. *insert random picture of Mexico pavilion here*

Disney, take note...this is the kind of picture you get when your photographer poses you facing into the sun! Horrible! Who would buy a picture that looked like this?!?!

...and we both had multiple glasses of our mutual favorite, Kinley Lemon.

We stopped at the newly redone Club Cool next. I loved the new design...it was bright and pretty, but did feel a little smaller than before. We both drank the Beverly...

Never fear! A maintenance man was there quickly, and fixed whatever the problem was.

Did we bee-line for the Biergarten? Of course not since we were too early! So we rode Spaceship Earth first. As you can see, Kevin got kinda spooked when the ride e-stopped on us.

Kevin had never seen my Leave a Legacy tile, so I took him to see it. I got it in 2000, with my friend Nick who lived across the hall from me at Vista Way, and who still keeps in touch regularly.

Helloooooo Epcot! Long time no see!

More photos

OMG and it even looks like a butt in the back!!! Someone nominate this woman for a make-over! Quick!

Wow...this woman had the hugest hair either of us had ever seen!

I don't know about you, but I think this trip report NEEDS MORE COW BELL!!!!!

Two of the men even played Alpenhorns. Riiico...no, no, I won't do it! Must resist!

Oktoberfest Musikanten was the entertainment during lunch. They were quite good, and gave the restaurant a very festive, if stereotypical, feel.

Here I am doing my best Robb impersonation while I eat.

I take a sip of the beer, and once again decided that I'd rather be drinking urine.

Still appearing haggard from the long flights, Kevin dives into a liter of beer like a real man.

*Homer voice* Mmm...German food... Clockwise from the top, we've got tomato salad, chicken schnitzel, potatoes, a roll, spelt, rice and spaetzle (sp?) in the middle.

Finally our pager goes off and it's time for lunch. Hey Soren, see all that crap behind me? That's what you'll be selling next year!

Neither of us had eaten at the Biergarten in years, so we decided that it was time to go there again.

Finally we arrive for lunch in Germany.

Here I am doing my best Robb impersonation while I eat.

Wow! That is a very good impression! I give it a 9.8!

I guess you can call that lady a butt-head....hehehe (sorry, I had to say it).

Well...it looks like you are having an awesome time so far! Keep up the good pics!

Yet more pictures

Kevin stayed in Epcot for a bit more, and I headed off to Walmart with Peter since I'd forgotten my hairbrush. Earlier, Kevin had paid $10 for 4 AAA batteries at Epcot, and at Walmart we found them 20 for $8.87!

On our way out, we paused to watch a bit of IllumiNations.

It was freezing cold by this time, so the boys stopped for some hot mint tea in Morocco, while I had a fruit tart, which was very yummy. Thanks to my TPR hoodie, I wasn't as cold as either of them!

Peter went in a gift shop to get some batteries for Kevin's digital camera (another reason we like Peter, his cast discount! hehe j/k) so we amused ourselves while we waited.

And this is Rob. He's Kim's boyfriend, and lives near Tampa. I've know him since I started on RADP, and he's the only person I know who could rival Wally in beer knowledge and consumption.

It's Kim! Kim is one of my closest friends. She's a respiratory threrapist in Pittsburgh, but owns a house in Florida and is in the process of relocating. She's also recently lost 140 pounds! Wow!

We got a call from my friend Kim wanting to meet up also, so we wandered a bit before meeting up. After watching the Lights of Winter for a bit, we headed back to Rose and Crown.

Hey TPR, check it out...now you can start rumors that I am dating Peter, so you can get off Kevin's back!

We hit O Canada next, then got a call from Peter wanting to meet up! Peter is one of my closer friends in the group. He just graduated from CMU, and is working in Imagineering! Yep, he's gotten too cool for his own good! We love him anyway though.

The liter of beer finally kicks in in the France pavilion, where Kevin dons his beret and paints a lovely still life.

I can't think of a caption that would even come close to doing justice to this picture.

As we walked, we caught Miyuki performing. She makes intricate little sculptures out of candy, and she is absolutely amazing to watch!

Everyone can rest assured that eventhough RADP will always be my family, I don't have any intention of leaving TPR any time soon

Here is the standard Spaceship Earth photo that everyone who's ever visited Epcot has taken.

Gotta love those beer mugs

Nice TR! I can't wait until I get to go to Walt Disney World with my band during spring break. I haven't been to Disney for more than seven years.

"Disney, take note...this is the kind of picture you get when your photographer poses you facing into the sun! Horrible! Who would buy a picture that looked like this?!?!"

If they took it with the sun behind you, they wouldnt even be able to make out your face because you would be backlit.

Sun + behind subject = no detail on subject.

It sucks, but its life. They could use a flash, but that would look horribly unbalanced with two dominant light sources and using a flash in the daytime is ALMOST as stupid as people using flashes in stadiums when they are like 200ft from the subject. I wonder how many pictures from say, the super bowl turn out with the back of someones head fully illuminated and nothing else...

Yes, your mega trip report is here! Nice pics so far. So glad I was able to be a small part of the history!

_six

I totaly for got you were going To FL I thought you dit wast to talk to be Im happer now

Dude, awesome!!!!

The robb impersonation is a bit too realistic! I mean with the hoodie, the food, the fact that Robb has large breasts too!!! Wow, right on!

LOVE the impersonation! I ALWAYS love trip reports that doesn't show just coasters! Keep 'em coming!!!

Great photo TR so far, Julie! It looks like you had a good day at Epcot. I can´t wait to see all the stuff at the German Pavilion with my own eyes! Anyway, I am looking forward to your next update!

--Sören

Nice to see you posting again! You still make the best PTRs!

The robb impersonation is a bit too realistic! I mean with the hoodie, the food, the fact that Robb has large breasts too!!!

:shock: Umm, did I missed something?

--Sören

Nothing like a bag of table nuts to spice up a TR.

Can't wait to read the rest.

OMG, that woman's hair had a hard on! LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HARD ON!!!!!!! lmao!!!!! BUTTHEAD LMAO!!!! That hairdoo is SOOO wrong on so many levels!!!!! :shock: :shock:

Loool!!

Great TR Julie - That woman's hair is awesome!

I always love your awesome Photo TRs Julie. Thanks for posting. Sure made my day since we had to cancel our Disney visit today due to us being sick.... Keep em coming!! Did you happen to stop at our local Whataburger on this trip??

Sorry Erik, no Whataburger this time as I was in Gainesville around 9:00am or so! And on the way home, I was too stuffed from my Whispering Canyon all you can eat breakfast to even think about food that soon out of Orlando! I did see signs for it both times though, and wished I had one near me

-Julie

MORE COW BELL...LMAO

Awesome pics!

RADP's Day at Animal Kingdom

Every year, each park gets it's own day full of meets, and the first of this year's festivities was Animal Kingdom.

I had the chicken parmesan sandwich, and it was very good! Pretty big too, by my standards! After lunch, the ladies were off for some salon time and Kev and I continued on in the park.

Donna and Andrea had to leave soon, so we decided to all grab a quick lunch at Pizzafari. Of course we all had to use the restroom and wash our hands first, in the Pee-Safari.

As you can see, Kevin was thrilled.

I said that Triceratops Spin was the only ride in Disney World I hadn't ridden, so I wanted to do that too, since we'd already seen Flights of Wonder and were planning on Pocahontas later.

Kevin on a pole. If you can think of a better caption, EMAIL DAN!

Expedition Everest. Yep, not done yet. Bummer.

Hurricane...O RLY? hahaha After the show they let us get really close to a couple of owls too.

Afterwards, Kevin, Donna, Andrea and I went off on our own and saw Flights of Wonder for the first time. After hearing the audience gasp at the eagle, Kevin made the observation that Canadians never react that way to maple leaves.

Me with Deb Wills. Robb and Elissa, this is the lady you have to overtake to become #9 on that "most popular park website" ranking. I also find it so weird that she has attained such celebrity in the last few years!

And here are two rhinos having a scuffle. Now that wasn't so bad, was it?

There were so many of us that we filled up two entire safari vehicles! I know that no one wants to see tons of animal photos, so I will keep it to just two. Here is a giraffe.

As we were about to board the Safari, the ride op noticed Mickey's button that said "Worship me like the goddess that I am"...so he did! Wonder where I can get one of those buttons?

It's Dave and Brian! Dave Marx is the co-author of the Passporter's Guide to WDW, and an active RADPer for years now. Brian was the first RADPer I ever met, back in 1998!

This is Jan and Mike. They come from outside of New Orleans and are some of the nicest people you'd ever want to meet. They weren't hit too hard by the hurricanes, and all of RADP was very grateful for that!

Kevin and I arrived at park opening, and headed straight for Deb Wills' meet at the Kilimanjaro Safari. Once we got there, we ran into just about every mutual RADP friend we have!

More AK Photos

As we left, Rafiki tried to get Kevin to "worship him like the goddess that he his" but Kevin just wasn't buying it!

As the train started off for Plantet Watch, it nearly jerked Kevin out of his seat. Either that or he is demonstrating "How not to act on this train ride" like the little stick people in the safety sign.

So should I tell the truth, and let TPR know that Kevin was doing the Conga here, and I just snapped the camera at a weird time, or should I let them think this is how he normally looks? Decisions decisions.

The last stop of the day was Rafiki's planet watch.

After Bugs, we hiked it up to the Pocahontas and her Forest Friends show. It was pretty lame, to be honest, even to be geared towards little kids. And am I the only one that thinks costuming shouldn't shop at Old Navy for footwear?

Kevin and I are too sexy for these bug eyes. Too sexy for these bug eyes.

We bid a farewell to Dinorama, and headed for It's Tough to be a Bug next.

I have entitled this photo "Self Portrait in Clone Queue." After riding these, I have ridden FIVE of the exact same clone in four different parks this season alone!

Primeval Whirl. Soak it in folks, because coaster photos are few and far between in this TR!

Ok, time for the first coasters of the trip!

Ya mon, we be jammin'...no worries here in the Animal Kingdom. It's Nahtazu mon.

As you can see here, Kevin just LOVES all things American, especially oversized, silly, patriotic hats.

Thinking of you too Eric. Now get off my hands and go back to Kentucky.

Thinking of you Mike. Now get of my head and go back to Long Beach.

After the ride, it was funny hat time in the gift shop! Kevin models the lovely Chernabog hat here.

Kevin is just as scared of Dinosaur as he is of a broken down Spaceship Earth.

In case you ever needed to know the chemical compositions of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise...here ya go!

This has always cracked me up. Try pronouncing Carnotaurus the way it tells you to...you end up having the thickest southern accent ever! Car-nuh-TAW-rus. Little things amuse me so.

As we approached Dinosaur, we encounted a woman using one of those new fangled "Seeing eye kids." I believe the man is teaching the "Seeing Eye Kid" to avoid any movies starring the dinosaur in the background.