Day One: WDW Trip November 2007

Lake Buena Vista, Florida: Our annual passes for Walt Disney World were about to expire, so we decided to take extended weekend trip to the house of the Mouse. In our quest to stay at each of the Disney resort properties at least once, we chose the All-Star Sports Resort. The value resort was offered a great rate and since it was one we had not stayed at yet, I jumped on the deal.

As we arrived at Walt Disney World, our first duty was to drop out dog off at the Disney kennel at Fort Wilderness. When we visit Disney, we always leave our dog at one of their kennels. The one at Fort Wilderness is our preferred choice because of its property. You are away from the hustle and bustle of the parks and there is so much to do at Fort Wilderness after you walk your pet.

Then we headed over to the All-Star Sports and checked into our room. Although it was early and our room was not ready yet, we checked in early to avoid the crowds of traditional check-in time.

Then it was off to the park. We decided to start the trip off with Epcot. We made it to the park just in time for the opening ceremony. After the ceremony concluded, we headed over to Test Track to start the day. We chose rider swap since our son did not meet the height requirement of the ride. No matter how many times I ride Test Track, I still get an adrenaline rush on the speed test.

Since the lines were not intense yet, I decided to ride Mission Space. Yes I will admit, I did chicken out at the end and rode the green version without the motion simulator. However, even with the green ride, the other three people I was assigned to ride with backed out at loading time, so I had the entire ride to myself. It was a great experience, maybe I will try the orange version in the future.

After I returned from space, we embarked on another journey, this time around the world via World Showcase. We started the clockwise tour from Mexico and made our way around the lagoon, visiting all of the countries along the way. In the process, we rode the Grand Fiesta Tour in Mexico and Maelstrom in Norway. Because we are getting close to Christmas, each of the countries were decorated in their native holiday decorations. It was interesting to see how each of the countries celebrate. We grabbed lunch at the American pavilion, just because we were hungry and that was where we were when we decided to take a break. We also made a stop at each of the Kidcot stations where our son made a mask and got it stamped by each of the counties. When we made it to Canada, he showed it to them and got a certificate from Disney for completing the project.

As the crowd began to thicken and our toddler began to fade away with exhaustion, we started to head towards the exit. But before we left the park, we took a ride on Spaceship Earth, a personal favorite of my wife. Then it was back to the hotel for us to take a break.

Once back at the hotel, our room was ready so we grabbed the suitcase and headed to the room. When we arrived at the room, it was nothing spectacular. It is the oldest value hotel on the property and definitely showed its age, but it was clean and sufficient for a family of three on a weekend trip. We were given a room in the Surf’s Up building. Its close proximity to Stadium Hall (the main building housing the restaurant) made it a plus.

After a break in the room for a while and a nap for the little guy, we headed over to Fort Wilderness to walk the dog. Afterwards we headed to downtown Orlando for a trip down International Drive to look for dinner. We decided to go to our favorite Italian restaurant in Orlando, Sal’s located at Universal Orlando’s Portofino Bay Hotel.

Afterwards it was back to the hotel to get some sleep and get ready for our next outing tomorrow….the Magic Kingdom.