WDW Dec. 2008 Trip Report - Day 1

Alright Disney fans, it's time to take you along with me as I review my recent trip to Walt Disney World.

We drove this year (as we did back in March) and, once again, I was surprised at the general lack of major traffic as we were arriving on a Saturday afternoon. We pulled right into the front of the Grand Floridian Resort (what a resort!!! -- I'll do a resort report later) and were able to check in after only a few minutes wait.

Our rooms were ready early, so after hauling (and I do mean HAUL) our luggage to the room, we were off to the Magic Kingdom. Boy is it nice staying on the monorail loop, especially when you're just one stop again from the Magic Kingdom. As we stepped onto the monorail, the infamous "Please stand clear of the doors..." brought a shiver to me as it sank in that I was home again.

On arriving at the MK, I remembered the annual Christmas Day Parade taping was going on. As we walked into Town Square, we were asked if we were joining the crowd lining Main Street for the parade or heading further into the park. We were headed to Tomorrowland, and so the cast members directed us through a backstage shortcut to the right side of Town Square.

I happened to get a shot of this poster above what I can only assume is the center for cast members portraying characters. I thought it was pretty interesting.

After a spin on Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (yes, I hit 999,999!) and the TTA, we grabbed some lunch at Cosmic Rays and then spent a little time in Fantasyland before walking back through to the hub. There we lucked into a real treat, especially for my 1st grade daughter.

Who did we see getting ready to tape her performance by Miley Cyrus herself! My daugher flipped! Granted we were nearly at the partners statue, but she could still see Miley. It was interesting to watch the performance stop and start as crews taped different segments.

After watching Miley for a bit, we hopped over to Epcot for the evening. We took a ride on Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo and Living with the Land. Soarin would have to wait until another day.

For dinner, we had an ADR at Cape May. I'll do a more in-depth restaurant review later, but I'll say up front this was not our favorite. I expected a clam bake to have a bit more seafood on the buffet than just clams. Also Disney changed the kids menu, much to the chagrin of my older son.

After another wonderful monorail ride back to the GF, we watched the Wishes fireworks from one of the docks at the resort and then called it a night.

So there you go -- day one of our adventure (and this was really only a half day). Stay tuned for the next day. Here's a preview: "Happy Unbirthday and Jambo!"