Shopaholic, Workaholic & Bargain Betty Take On WDW A DM/DD TR-Last Day!

[MEK]

My only last minute suggestion for you is to take lots of pictures for your TR and have an awesome time! Here's to less than 24 hours to depature!

 

[WrightFamily06]

Hope your having a wonderful time on your trip We got back yesterday and had a blast , probaly one of our best trips we had Hope to get our trip report up and running within the next couple of days , can't wait to read yours when you get back

 

[dawnbu40]

Hello Everyone! We are back from an amazing week at WDW! We had an awesome time and can't wait to share with all of you. Some of the things we can't wait to tell you are....which rare characters we met for the first time in 12 trips........what meals impressed and which one was awful...which ride we rode 8 times!!..about our Dis meet....and about some of the absolutely crazy things we witnessed! So hope you stick around and we will get our trip report started!

 

[disneygirlinnj]

welcome back! so glad you had amazing time (although I had NO doubt in my mind you would!)! get workin on that trippie!

 

[29apr00]

Welcome back! Can't wait to hear about the trip!

 

[MEK]

Hello Everyone! We are back from an amazing week at WDW! We had an awesome time and can't wait to share with all of you. Some of the things we can't wait to tell you are....which rare characters we met for the first time in 12 trips........what meals impressed and which one was awful...which ride we rode 8 times!!..about our Dis meet....and about some of the absolutely crazy things we witnessed! So hope you stick around and we will get our trip report started!

Welcome Back. Wow.... your week away flew (at least to me). Looking forward to your TR!

 

[MagicShell]

I have been following your PTR and am looking forward to hearing about your trip.

 

[dawnbu40]

Our day began very early since we had to be at the airport at 6am! Our flight was uneventful (thankfully) and we touched down in Orlando around 10am. We quickly made our way down the ME area and we were shocked by the crowd! I have never seen so many people at ME at one time and I became quite nervous about the crowds we might see in the parks! We waited about 15 min for a bus but we were entertained by an adorable 2 year old who kept shouting "bus" everytime one pulled up.(yes we are that easily entertained ) Once we boarded it took about 40 minutes to get to POFQ.

I had done the "online check-in" but POFQ doesn't have a seperate area for that and you'd still have to wait in line so I'm not sure what the advantage is but since there was no line I walked right up and quickly received our package. I was pleasantly suprised that our room was already available! We were all quite hungry by this point so we decided to eat in the cafeteria and then check out our room. The Sassagoula food court is decorated like a warehouse where Mardi Gras parade memorablia would be stored. There are big heads and things hanging from the ceiling and its really fun and colorful.

The food court is smaller than at other resorts we've stayed at and it doesn't offer a lot of choices but that was fine with us because we don't use food courts much anyway. After a quick bite we decided to fnd our room. We were so excited to find we had been upgraded to a water view! We had a lovely view of the Sassagoula River and the jogging path that runs alongside it.

Several times during the week we saw the horse and carriage out on the path and it looked very romantic. We never did take the carriage ride but its on my "someday list".

When we got in the room there was something waiting for us! One of the beds had a "Mickey head" towel animal.

Caitlin quickly claimed that bed while Dale called down to have our carryons brought up. While we waited for the bags I wiped down the room with Clorox wipes.

This isn't something I normally do but with the whole "swine flu" scare I decided it was better to be safe then sorry! Our bags arrived within 10 minutes and we quickly unpacked, decorated our window with Mickey's Clubhouse window clings and decided it was time to hit our first park!

 

[WrightFamily06]

Love all the pictures of the POFQ We stayed there last year and I so wish we would have stayed there again there this year so much better than CBR Can't wait to see more of your trip

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great first update! I wiped down with clorox wipes too - we were there just as the whole swine flu thing was heating up...

Your view looks fantastic!! Yay for an upgrade!!

 

[PrincessCaitlin]

Hey everyone!

I have been busy since we got back from vacation so I haven't had a chance to post

Our trip was amazing and we did so much on our first day I can't wait to continue!!!

I am going to be doing a dining report if any of you are interested in seeing what our food looked like! I took sooo many food pictures

 

[tink1957]

Hi Dawn & CaitlinI followed Caitlin over from her dining report & can't wait to read more about your trip. POFQ is our favorite mod so far, we haven't stayed at all of them yet, but we're trying our best.

Dawn, I can see what a proud mom you are & rightly so. My own DD is graduating college in August & has a 3.9 GPA. Our Sept trip is her reward for all the hard work she has done over the years & I have some special surprises in store for her.

I noticed that you are arriving on the day that we're leaving in Sept, maybe we will see each other as we pass under the Welcome sign.

 

[dawnbu40]

[/COLOR]

Hi Dawn & CaitlinI followed Caitlin over from her dining report & can't wait to read more about your trip. POFQ is our favorite mod so far, we haven't stayed at all of them yet, but we're trying our best.

Dawn, I can see what a proud mom you are & rightly so. My own DD is graduating college in August & has a 3.9 GPA. Our Sept trip is her reward for all the hard work she has done over the years & I have some special surprises in store for her.

I noticed that you are arriving on the day that we're leaving in Sept, maybe we will see each other as we pass under the Welcome sign.

Hi and welcome! You're right, I am a very proud mom and it sounds like you are too! 3.9 is an incredible gpa! Congrats to your DD! Sounds like she has certainly earned a vacation! Make sure she gets an "I'm celebrating" button! We got Caitlin one that they wrote "Dean's List" on and we were suprised by all the extra attention she got from CMs and guests! All their well wishes really added to our magic!

 

[thecapells]

Hey guys - made it over here to say "hi" and see your take on the week!
Looking forward to hearing someone else's point of view of the World over the same week I was there.
How was Port Orleans?
I stayed at Dixie Landing once (now Port Orleans Riverside) but never have been over to the French Quarter.

 

[MEK]

Love your first installment. How lucky to be upgraded to a water view room. Aren't they the best. DH and I had one in December and we are now spoiled forever. Love POFQ and your TR is gonna make me want to go back there!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[dawnbu40]

Hey guys - made it over here to say "hi" and see your take on the week!
Looking forward to hearing someone else's point of view of the World over the same week I was there.
How was Port Orleans?
I stayed at Dixie Landing once (now Port Orleans Riverside) but never have been over to the French Quarter.

Hi there! We're glad you came over!





A few of you have asked what we thought of POFQ so I will comment on that now, before we start on our first park. We have previously stayed at POR twice so we booked FQ for something "new to us". However, we weren't there 15 minutes when DH says he misses POR because "it felt like home". Now as the week progressed he did change his mind (I'll tell you why later in the TR) but Caitlin and I immediately preferred FQ over POR.(the size is a big factor! I also prefer the New Orleans feel) That said, we both also felt that FQ comes no where near CSR. When we were there in Dec we had a brand new refurbed room and the resort felt like a deluxe, to me the PORs both feel like mods. CSR has many ammenities of the deluxes like a gym, the H20toiletries (daily we were left not just shampoo and soap but also lotion, sun gel and toothpaste!) and CSR has its own buses. While there we never had long waits or had to stand on a crowded bus. As this report continues you will hear of a lot of bus drama (I know I talked about renting a car but I didn't.Yes, woulda coulda shoulda) So while we enjoyed our stay at POFQ I would have to say my favorite mod is CSR. I know many people on the boards dislike CSR saying it lacks "a Disney feel" but I do not understand where that comes from. The resort is lovely, has great service, a wonderful food court and even has Disney topiaries (something others don't) but to each his own. So that my friends is my take on POFQ. Stayed tuned to find out which park we hit first!

 

[thecapells]

Hi there! We're glad you came over!





A few of you have asked what we thought of POFQ so I will comment on that now, before we start on our first park. We have previously stayed at POR twice so we booked FQ for something "new to us". However, we weren't there 15 minutes when DH says he misses POR because "it felt like home". Now as the week progressed he did change his mind (I'll tell you why later in the TR) but Caitlin and I immediately preferred FQ over POR.(the size is a big factor! I also prefer the New Orleans feel) That said, we both also felt that FQ comes no where near CSR. When we were there in Dec we had a brand new refurbed room and the resort felt like a deluxe, to me the PORs both feel like mods. CSR has many ammenities of the deluxes like a gym, the H20toiletries (daily we were left not just shampoo and soap but also lotion, sun gel and toothpaste!) and CSR has its own buses. While there we never had long waits or had to stand on a crowded bus. As this report continues you will hear of a lot of bus drama (I know I talked about renting a car but I didn't.Yes, woulda coulda shoulda) So while we enjoyed our stay at POFQ I would have to say my favorite mod is CSR. I know many people on the boards dislike CSR saying it lacks "a Disney feel" but I do not understand where that comes from. The resort is lovely, has great service, a wonderful food court and even has Disney topiaries (something others don't) but to each his own. So that my friends is my take on POFQ. Stayed tuned to find out which park we hit first!

Interesting review. I've done CBR and POR (when it was Dixie Landing as I mentioned) as well as ASMo and Pop Century.
I liked POR (DL) better than CBR as we really enjoyed the boat rides to Downtown Disney and it just seemed relaxing and quiet (it was an adults only trip).
Now with the little ones, we rarely spend time at the pool or the resort and the values have made much more sense.
In the most recent trip we tried All-Star Movies and had similar bus issues but Pop Century is the one we feel is our "home" and we've only been there twice.
I imagine we'll venture back into the moderates once the kids get older and we need more space.
In fact, the Pirates rooms at CBR are enticing when thinking about our next trip...

Can't wait to read more of your report! Great Start!

 

[dawnbu40]

Interesting review. I've done CBR and POR (when it was Dixie Landing as I mentioned) as well as ASMo and Pop Century.
I liked POR (DL) better than CBR as we really enjoyed the boat rides to Downtown Disney and it just seemed relaxing and quiet (it was an adults only trip).
Now with the little ones, we rarely spend time at the pool or the resort and the values have made much more sense.
In the most recent trip we tried All-Star Movies and had similar bus issues but Pop Century is the one we feel is our "home" and we've only been there twice.
I imagine we'll venture back into the moderates once the kids get older and we need more space.
In fact, the Pirates rooms at CBR are enticing when thinking about our next trip...

Can't wait to read more of your report! Great Start!

My review is from a family of "adults" so it would be different if we had young kids. With children I think the theming of ASMo is great! We stayed there twice when Caitlin was younger. As for mods, if we had little ones (maybe someday when we have grandkids) I would want to try CBR. I think CBR seems the most "kid friendly" of the mods. I don't think CSR would appeal to most families with young children. I think CSR is more for adults or people with older teens. I think the key is knowing your own family's tastes and interests and choosing based on those things.
You are right about the boat ride to DTD. That is one of our favorite things about the PO resorts and we have enjoyed that every visit!

 

[MEK]

Interesting to hear your comparison of POFQ and CSR since we will be staying at CSR for 2 nights during our June trip. I was very excited to get a great AP rate for both nights. I am really looking forward to it since it sounds like that may be the mod the really spoils me!

 

[dawnbu40]

Interesting to hear your comparison of POFQ and CSR since we will be staying at CSR for 2 nights during our June trip. I was very excited to get a great AP rate for both nights. I am really looking forward to it since it sounds like that may be the mod the really spoils me!

I hope you enjoy CSR as much as we did! We were in 9B and it was very close to the bus stop and the main bldg. It was a short walk to the pool but since it wasn't warm enough for swimming that wasn't an issue for us.