Spending xmas in Bahrain and lookin forward to it!!! thanks all for the reads and comments by the wa...
Spending xmas in Bahrain and lookin forward to it!!! thanks all for the reads and comments by the way much appreciated!!! :)
Got engaged there as well ~ so happy running away to gibraltar in March 2010 to get married woop woop :D
Member since:29.12.2006
Reviews:42
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We visited Orlando in August of this year and the Magic Kingdom was our first port of call. All I can say is I'm so glad our hotel ran shuttle buses to the place as it would be quite confusing to get to via driving, although it doesn't take long, about 10 minutes from International Drive. I cannot really comment on the prices as I purchased my tickets online before I left home, but I can recommend the place where I got them:
It cost £163 for the Disney 14 Day Ultimate Ticket which gives unlimited access to:
• Magic Kingdom Park • Epcot • Disney-MGM Studios • Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park • Disney's Blizzard Beach • Disney's Typhoon LagoonWater Parks** • Downtown Disney Pleasure Island • Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex • DisneyQuest Indoor Interactive Theme Park
With this ticket you can visit these places as many times as you want within the 14 days. Please note they finger scan you on first use and every use thereafter so you cannot transfer these tickets on to anyone else if you don't need them before the time runs out.
Anyway on to the park!
When we arrived at the Disney Travel Centre, which has numerous buses and monorails to take you to the various parks, we decided to take the boat/ferry over to the Magic Kingdom and I would highly recommend doing this, especially if you
have children as they will love it. You go on an old steam boat type ferry and can stand on the upper or lower deck, this is great for taking pictures or filming with your camcorder.
Once there, it is better to already have tickets as the queues are quite long for buying them. Once set you have to go through security, which is not much, just a couple of friendly guys who look in your bag to make sure you don't have anything you shouldn't.
You enter the park at Main Street USA and upon our arrival there was a show going on at the castle, it was very pretty with all the princesses, etc dancing and singing and then some fireworks. After we watched the show we went on up the street for more singing and dancing from more characters, it is a bit cheesy, but you can't help but get into the Disney spirit.
There are various gift shops and loads of places to eat throughout the park and the good thing is you can take bags and things onto the rides with you in this park, so don't worry about renting lockers unless your arms hurt. I would advise going round the park backwards (anticlockwise) as everyone else goes clockwise so you can get onto some of the rides without queuing too much.
Okay onto the different areas, note I will only point out the rides we actually went on ourselves:
Main Street USA:
This does not have any rides, as it is a street lined with shops and eateries, along with information booths and photopass centres, etc.
Adventureland: This place has a separate area for character greeting and getting your photo took with them. Be warned Disney take the pictures and charge you for them and it is a long wait, especially if you have little ones with you. Be prepared for pushy parents and sore feet waiting and a lot of wasted time as you can see characters in the park throughout the day.
There is the swiss family treehouse, which if you ask me was quite boring and way too hot. This is a walkthrough exhibit of the swiss family treehouse there are lots of stairs and twists and turns and too many people walking on it at once so it's kind of claustraphobic.
The Enchanted Tiki Room is an excellent show, there is even a mini show while you wait to go in. Once inside you get to take a load of your feet and sit down to watch this. I will not spoil it for you, you'll just have to see for yourselves, but it is worth it the characters are wonderfully made/controlled.
Pirates of the Carribean - This has recently been updated to go alongside the new relase of the film. This is an indoor boatride. It is very well made and quite enjoyable for people of all ages. Loads of priates arrr me hearties!
Frontierland: Splash Mountain - I'm sure you will have heard of this one. It is great, a nice relaxing log flume ride, with each log holding around 6 - 8 people. The main ride is very well set out with a few bumps and twists and turns throughout. The splash at the end of this ride is awesome, and you WILL get wet.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - Another favourite of the park. This is a great ride. You sit in a kind of runaway mineshaft train and go through a well laid out track and tunnels, don't worry it doesn't go upside down. This ride goes very fast and is great for everyone of all ages.
Liberty Square: Children get to meet the characters here once again and you can take your own pictures this time so you won't have to pay, but you still have to queue.
The Hall of Presidents - this is an audio animatronics show. It is quite boring, although the animatronics are very well done.
The Haunted Mansion - This is a great ride. When you arrive you get into a round train type chair and go around on the track,
Pictures of The Magic Kingdom, Disneyworld
On Steamboat To The Magic Kingdom
with a guy telling you a story along the way. This is not too scary for kids, unless they are scared of the dark. Thre's a lot of hollograms and special effects. This is fun for people of all ages, there is great stuff in the shop afterwards as well.
Fantasyland: (mostly for small children) Mickey's Philharmagic - This is an indoor 3D Movie with lots of music and a lot happening on screen. This is very good and one not to be missed. You also get to sit and relax your weary feet.
Mad Tea Party - Everyone's favourite, Disney's version of the spinning teacups, decorated like alice in wonderlands tea party with the mad hatter. Dizzy fun for all the family - don't eat before going on.
Mickey's Toontown Fair: This place is set out like a fairground and has a lot of fairground stalls and games, like hoopla, catch a floating duck, etc. These stalls are not included in your ticket price, therefore you have to pay a couple of dollars each one you play, the more people playing the multiplayer ones, the better the prizes.
Toontown Hall Of Fame Tent - Again this is another place to meet and greet the disney characters.
Judge's Tent - This is the place to meet the mouse famously known as Mickey himself and get your picture taken. Beware the queues.
Tomorrowland: Tomorrowland Indy Speedway - This is great, you get to dirve and steer an indy car. Don't worry though there is bar running under the cars on the track so they cannot veer to far off course. They even have the start up lights before you race. And yes kids get to drive as well as mums and dads!
Space Mountain - Another one of the famous 'mountain' rides. This is an indoor rollercoaster in the dark. It could be scary for small kids, but it is an excellent and very very fast ride. Can leave you disorientated, I loved it.
Walk Disney's Carousel Of Progress - Audio Animatronic's ride through time. Great for kids and actually quite interesting, especially if you eat, sleep and live Disneyland.
There is also Disney's Railroad which is a steam train that runs throughout the whole park, with various train stops along the way. Great to relax on and get lovely pictures from.
As you can see this park is mostly aimed at small children. We didn't enjoy it as much as anticipated, but then we're not kids. It was very hot and clammy and there are loads of kids running around and mum and das with strollers, who will not move out of your way so be warned.
The queues are endless so I would recommend getting fast passes for the rides you really want to do (for example the 'mountain' rides) then you can come back at your appointed time and go straight on the ride without waiting.
We went here in the early morning at like 9am, I would recommened going in the afternoon if you are wating to see the nightly fireworks, because I assure you it is way to warm to stay all day and night. We never got to see the fireworks because of this, we were so hot and tired we just had to get back to our hotel for some relaxation.
Holiday Tips:
Have a huge breakfast before you arrive, it will keep you full throughout the day and you'll spend less on the expensive food. Wear comfy shoes as there is a lot of walking and a lot of queuing.
Rent a buggy if you have small kids, there are numerous buggy areas to leave them when using the rides. Don't let staff take your pictures, as you have to pay for them later if you want them and they are not cheap.
Bring plently of water in a cooler bag because you will drink loads and will not want to keep forking out your hard earned holiday cash. Do not fill water bottles from the drinking fountains, this water tasted quite salty/full of flouride.
Do not buy the water assisted mist spraying fans, they cost $12.50 or 2 for $18. Go to Walgreens before you go and pick up one for $1.99. The ones in Walgreens are better as well because they come in different shapes and sizes, like footballs, basketballs, etc.
Have fun whenever you are going :)
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Thanks for letting me know about the changes, I re-read and it now flows nicely. Have uprated it now that you've taken out bits that made it longer but not necessarily better because you didn't actually do on those rides.
lesa60 30.12.2006 23:31
Some good tips here, not that I'll get a chance to go though! :)
ghost_w1 30.12.2006 23:00
Oh, they're all scrooges on here arent they lol! I think you deserved better than helpful as it seems you put effort into your review and I really enjoyed reading! Happy New Years ♥
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Advantages: Excellent trek leader, activities, flexibility and facilities. Disadvantages: Expensive pre-trek hotel night, cooking and cleaning for yourself and putting up tents
Renza 03.10.2009 (03.10.2009)
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