GaDisneyDad
06-27-2002, 03:45 PM
Cast:
Norm (me) (39); husband, father, trip planner, scribe and photographer
Robin (39); wife and mother with veto power over trip plans, wants a more relaxed Disney trip this time (Ha!)
Kent (14); teenage son, not interested if it’s not fast, loud, or scary (preferably all three)
Whitney (13); teenage daughter, into thrill rides like her brother, but will do the others with less complaining (usually)
Setting:
7 days at Port Orleans Riverside, plus 1 offsite at Islands of Adventure (son’s favorite, of course). This is our second straight year at POR, and third WDW trip in four years. Due to finding a discounted resort rate back in January, we decide to stay longer than our usual 4 or 5 days to have more time to “stop and smell the roses”.
Scene 3 – Sunday, June 16 – What happened to Mickey?
Had requested a wake-up call for 7:00. At 7:00 the phone rang, but no Mickey. I was very disappointed, to say the least! Went for a walk down to FQ – a few sprinkles. Came back to find Robin had walked over to the food court for breakfast while I was gone. Hard time getting the kids up this morning. Finally about 8:30, we headed out the door to the bus stop for MK. Still a few sprinkles, but starting to clear up. Got to MK a little after 9:00. Security lines look long, but generally move pretty fast. Had our traditional picture taken in front of the castle. We’ve gotten this same picture each of the last three years we’ve been here, same pose, and it’s been fun to see how the kids have grown each year.
Got a FP for Space Mountain then got breakfast for the kids at the Main Street Bakery. This was closed when we came here last summer, and we were glad to see it open again. Whitney had what I thought was a bowl of strawberries (turned out to be strawberry shortcake), and Kent had a couple of their awesome chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of milk (see, we don’t let our kids have a completely unhealthy breakfast). Rode Buzz. Even though Kent is a GameCube-aholic, I have always been able to beat him here. Once again, I’m the family champ.
Walked over to Adventureland for PoC but got FP for BTMRR first. Kent, Whitney and I walked through (actually up and down) the SFR Tree House, while Robin got a Dole Whip. Neither of us had tried one before, but I had read so much about them on the boards that I had to try one. It was okay, Robin liked it more than I did, but neither one of us thought it was anything to write home about. Rode PoC, then went back for FP for SpcM. We all loved it. I know speed-wise it is very slow as roller coasters go, but it is so much fun zipping through the dark. Next we went back for our FP for BTMRR. Enjoyed that too, but both the kids thought it was too tame. Starting to rain. Went back to Main Street to pick up our picture. We had already paid and were waiting for our picture to print out when the CM said, “Did anyone tell you this picture was fogged?” We looked at the printed version, and sure enough it was foggy. I guess the morning humidity had gotten to the photographer’s camera. She “comp’ed” the picture, but we’ll have to get another one later so we have one good enough to keep.
By now it’s raining really hard, but luckily we just catch a bus. Once again we manage to just miss the rain… or so we think. We now have our first bad experience with a CM. Upon pulling into FQ, the usual first stop back from a park, we are informed by our bus driver that this is his ONLY stop. “Don’t you stop by Riverside too?” we ask. “No, this is my only stop”, he replied, and waited for us to get off the bus. It’s still raining, by the way (I also lost my hat on the bus in the confusion of getting off when I wasn’t expecting it).
A word of warning – unlike all the other parks which have one bus serving both POR and POFQ, MK has separate buses. MAKE SURE YOU PAY ATTENTION WHICH ONE YOU ARE GETTING ON. The worst part of the whole situation was that the bus goes right by Riverside on its way back to the MK and we were the only ones on the bus. It would have required next to zero effort for him to drop us off at Riverside. Now we either had to wait for another bus to take us over to Riverside, or walk.
I had already made the walk this morning and knew it wasn’t far, so we decide to walk. Bad decision. We were only a minute or two into our walk when the sprinkles turned into a downpour. By the time we got back to the room we were all soaked. One interesting footnote - later in the week when we were back at the MK waiting in the CORRECT bus line, we saw the bus at the FQ stop wait for several minutes, and when only a few riders showed up compared to the sizable crowd at the Riverside stop, HE PULLED UP TO THE RIVERSIDE STOP AND LET US ON!
After a hot shower and some drying out in the room, we check the Weather Channel (our most relied upon companion for the remainder of the week) and see that the rain should move out. We decide to take a shot at Typhoon Lagoon. This is our first trip to a Disney water park – we have typically skipped them in the past since we have a water park nearby at home and couldn’t justify the extra bucks for the unlimited park hopper. We all loved it – lots of trees and shade, but not too crowded. Weather cleared up, too. Big wave pool. We tried the family raft ride (can’t remember the name), but thought it was kind of short. We all probably liked the lazy river thing (again, not sure of the name) the best. Stayed to about 4:00 then headed back to POR. Still haven’t had to wait for a bus longer than about 10 minutes yet and except for our incident with the bus driver this morning, have no complaints about Disney transportation.
Had a late lunch/early dinner at the food court. This time I tried the cheeseburger – very good. Left for Epcot after a slightly longer (20 minutes) wait for a bus. Went to Test Track but FP’s were gone. Kent, Whitney and I decide to ride as single riders while Robin shops. This ride is lots of fun, especially the straightaway outside, but not worth the wait most people have to go through to ride it. Met up with Robin and all rode Spaceship Earth, then grabbed a good seat for the parade. Kids (and Robin) weren’t impressed. Found a good spot for Illuminations right in front of Norway about 8:10. Weather looked iffy, and we got a few sprinkles, but it blew past. Good show. Wait for bus back not bad, and got back to POR about 10:00. Got Robin a pina colada (virgin – we don’t drink), and then did a little shopping in Fulton’s General Store since I now need another hat (see above). Didn’t find what I was looking for, but found a nice WDW polo shirt for work (decided to go easy on the Disney t-shirts this trip). In bed about 11:00.
Day three:
The best – Space Mountain
The worst – rude bus driver (no Mickey on wake-up call a close second)
Norm (me) (39); husband, father, trip planner, scribe and photographer
Robin (39); wife and mother with veto power over trip plans, wants a more relaxed Disney trip this time (Ha!)
Kent (14); teenage son, not interested if it’s not fast, loud, or scary (preferably all three)
Whitney (13); teenage daughter, into thrill rides like her brother, but will do the others with less complaining (usually)
Setting:
7 days at Port Orleans Riverside, plus 1 offsite at Islands of Adventure (son’s favorite, of course). This is our second straight year at POR, and third WDW trip in four years. Due to finding a discounted resort rate back in January, we decide to stay longer than our usual 4 or 5 days to have more time to “stop and smell the roses”.
Scene 3 – Sunday, June 16 – What happened to Mickey?
Had requested a wake-up call for 7:00. At 7:00 the phone rang, but no Mickey. I was very disappointed, to say the least! Went for a walk down to FQ – a few sprinkles. Came back to find Robin had walked over to the food court for breakfast while I was gone. Hard time getting the kids up this morning. Finally about 8:30, we headed out the door to the bus stop for MK. Still a few sprinkles, but starting to clear up. Got to MK a little after 9:00. Security lines look long, but generally move pretty fast. Had our traditional picture taken in front of the castle. We’ve gotten this same picture each of the last three years we’ve been here, same pose, and it’s been fun to see how the kids have grown each year.
Got a FP for Space Mountain then got breakfast for the kids at the Main Street Bakery. This was closed when we came here last summer, and we were glad to see it open again. Whitney had what I thought was a bowl of strawberries (turned out to be strawberry shortcake), and Kent had a couple of their awesome chocolate chip cookies and a bottle of milk (see, we don’t let our kids have a completely unhealthy breakfast). Rode Buzz. Even though Kent is a GameCube-aholic, I have always been able to beat him here. Once again, I’m the family champ.
Walked over to Adventureland for PoC but got FP for BTMRR first. Kent, Whitney and I walked through (actually up and down) the SFR Tree House, while Robin got a Dole Whip. Neither of us had tried one before, but I had read so much about them on the boards that I had to try one. It was okay, Robin liked it more than I did, but neither one of us thought it was anything to write home about. Rode PoC, then went back for FP for SpcM. We all loved it. I know speed-wise it is very slow as roller coasters go, but it is so much fun zipping through the dark. Next we went back for our FP for BTMRR. Enjoyed that too, but both the kids thought it was too tame. Starting to rain. Went back to Main Street to pick up our picture. We had already paid and were waiting for our picture to print out when the CM said, “Did anyone tell you this picture was fogged?” We looked at the printed version, and sure enough it was foggy. I guess the morning humidity had gotten to the photographer’s camera. She “comp’ed” the picture, but we’ll have to get another one later so we have one good enough to keep.
By now it’s raining really hard, but luckily we just catch a bus. Once again we manage to just miss the rain… or so we think. We now have our first bad experience with a CM. Upon pulling into FQ, the usual first stop back from a park, we are informed by our bus driver that this is his ONLY stop. “Don’t you stop by Riverside too?” we ask. “No, this is my only stop”, he replied, and waited for us to get off the bus. It’s still raining, by the way (I also lost my hat on the bus in the confusion of getting off when I wasn’t expecting it).
A word of warning – unlike all the other parks which have one bus serving both POR and POFQ, MK has separate buses. MAKE SURE YOU PAY ATTENTION WHICH ONE YOU ARE GETTING ON. The worst part of the whole situation was that the bus goes right by Riverside on its way back to the MK and we were the only ones on the bus. It would have required next to zero effort for him to drop us off at Riverside. Now we either had to wait for another bus to take us over to Riverside, or walk.
I had already made the walk this morning and knew it wasn’t far, so we decide to walk. Bad decision. We were only a minute or two into our walk when the sprinkles turned into a downpour. By the time we got back to the room we were all soaked. One interesting footnote - later in the week when we were back at the MK waiting in the CORRECT bus line, we saw the bus at the FQ stop wait for several minutes, and when only a few riders showed up compared to the sizable crowd at the Riverside stop, HE PULLED UP TO THE RIVERSIDE STOP AND LET US ON!
After a hot shower and some drying out in the room, we check the Weather Channel (our most relied upon companion for the remainder of the week) and see that the rain should move out. We decide to take a shot at Typhoon Lagoon. This is our first trip to a Disney water park – we have typically skipped them in the past since we have a water park nearby at home and couldn’t justify the extra bucks for the unlimited park hopper. We all loved it – lots of trees and shade, but not too crowded. Weather cleared up, too. Big wave pool. We tried the family raft ride (can’t remember the name), but thought it was kind of short. We all probably liked the lazy river thing (again, not sure of the name) the best. Stayed to about 4:00 then headed back to POR. Still haven’t had to wait for a bus longer than about 10 minutes yet and except for our incident with the bus driver this morning, have no complaints about Disney transportation.
Had a late lunch/early dinner at the food court. This time I tried the cheeseburger – very good. Left for Epcot after a slightly longer (20 minutes) wait for a bus. Went to Test Track but FP’s were gone. Kent, Whitney and I decide to ride as single riders while Robin shops. This ride is lots of fun, especially the straightaway outside, but not worth the wait most people have to go through to ride it. Met up with Robin and all rode Spaceship Earth, then grabbed a good seat for the parade. Kids (and Robin) weren’t impressed. Found a good spot for Illuminations right in front of Norway about 8:10. Weather looked iffy, and we got a few sprinkles, but it blew past. Good show. Wait for bus back not bad, and got back to POR about 10:00. Got Robin a pina colada (virgin – we don’t drink), and then did a little shopping in Fulton’s General Store since I now need another hat (see above). Didn’t find what I was looking for, but found a nice WDW polo shirt for work (decided to go easy on the Disney t-shirts this trip). In bed about 11:00.
Day three:
The best – Space Mountain
The worst – rude bus driver (no Mickey on wake-up call a close second)