Great Weather + Low Crowds + Free Dining = One great Disney Vacation!!!

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Hi All, and to my first Trip Report! I'm Reese and I will be taking you along this magical journey! For those of you who haven't seen my pre-trip report, you can read the back story to my trip there! The link for it is in my signature. So sit back and enjoy the ride... Hold on though, it may be bumpy!

Travel Dates: 9/22-9/27

Resort: Disney' Pop Century

The Cast:

Reese (Me): Loves all things Disney and can't wait to plan our next trip.



Devon (DS7): He is the most handsome little guy ever! His mommy passed on her Disney addiction at an early age! This was his 6th trip to Disney! Yes he is one lucky little boy if you as me!



Judy (DBFF): My Best Friend since 1st grade and was so happy when I asked if she liked to come with us!!! This was her first trip back to Disney in almost 10 years!!! (Judy is in the black shirt to the left of me).




Well that about covers the basics I think... Now, lets get started on this trip report shall we???

[Goofy22]

OK! I'm here! Am I actually #1? Never been yet on anyone's TR!
Can't wait to here all about your trip!!

[Chelley00]

Yay! Can't wait!

[Sarilas]

I'm in!

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Woo Hoo!!! Working on an update now!!! Check back shortly!!!

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Tuesday September 22 Arrival Day

Ok so most of you all know that I was a mean mommy and made my little guy go to school today! My thought was to have him miss the least amount of school as possible, geese I was just trying to be a responsible mom! So the day started off with me dropping Devon off at school and running home to do some last minute schoolwork for my Masters class I am taking. I actually finished up quicker then I anticipated so I quick ran to the nail salon for a mani and pedi! Boy was the relaxing! Didn't my piggy toes turn out so cute!



Once done, I ran home straightened up around the house, jumped in the shower, got ready and headed to the school bus stop to pick up Devon! The smile that was on his face was priceless!!! You could just tell how excited he was! So home we went to get ready to leave for the airport! Fed the boy a quick snack, did his homework, packed his carry-on bag (he was using his school bag), and changed him into his travel gear and we were on our way by 4:40p to pick up Judy! For once, Judy was actually ready to go! So we threw her bags into the trunk and we were on our way to my parents house so my brother could take us to the airport, after a little struggle to fit all of our bags into the car of course!

We were on the road to the airport by 5p, luckily we only live a few minutes from Philly International so, with traffic we were arrived at PHL by 5:20p for our 6:59 flight!!! Check-in was a breeze as was security, we got a bit confused at this point, the airport is undergoing extensive renovations, so when we actually had to walk to another terminal b/c the one that Air Tran usually flys out of is closed. So we headed to gate E8 and relaxed while we decided what we would get to eat while we waited!!! So what did we get??? Chickie N Petes!!! Um Um!!! So good, we love this place! Devon and I shared crab fries and buffalo chicken strips and Judy got a turkey wrap! By the time we ate, we had just enough time to run to the bathroom before boarding began.

Here's Devon waiting to board the plane to Disney



Boarding was quick and easy, we were in the front of the plane which meant we boarded last, but were off the plane first! Woo Hoo!!

Here's Devon the dude waiting for take off:



Man, the amount of planes that were in line for take off was ridiculous!!! I swear it was like we were in a traffic jam! So after after 25 minutes of taxi-ing we finally took off! The flight to Orlando was pretty uneventful. Except for the fact that I darn near punched a flight attendant in the face. Now I'm no one to make a stink of things, but this dude really pissed me off!!! So, the attendants are doing the drink and snack thing and we they get to our row, they give Judy pretzels and no one else, but they take all of our drink orders. While the flight attendant is passing out our drinks, Devon kindly asks can I please have some pretzels, to which the flight attendant rolls his eyes and says "yeah what about them"? So now I jump in and say he nicely asked you if he could have a bag of pretzels since you failed to give them to eveyone in the row but her (I was pointing at Judy). At this point the dude sighs and tosses the bag of pretzels at Devon!!! I was literally about to get out of my seat and tackle this moran for this arrogant attitude! Best part is, after we landed I received a survey from the airline asking about my flight, to which I complained about the service we receives.

Ok, now that I ranted and raved, lets move on, so the just of the flight was smooth sailing, Devon fell asleep until it was time to land.

Look at my little sleepy head!



Now here's where the fun begins!!! Devon has been flying since he has been a baby abd has never had any issues with ears popping, etc... Well, if you read in my pre-trip report, he came home from his dad's on Sunday night all congested and coughing, he has allergies, so that pretty common this time of year for him, well, I never thought that the poor kid would be in agony b/c of it when we were landing!!! He cryed and wimpered in pain the entire time we were desending! I felt so bad, all I could do was hug and kiss him and tell him it would be ok soon!

We landed in MCO at about 9:30p, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, grabbed our carry-on bags and darted to the restrooms, I gave Devon some Tylenol at that point to ease some of his pain. We then boarded the airport "monorail" and went to retrieve of baggage.

Poor Dev looks so sad in this picture!



by the time we got to baggage claim our bags were already going around the belt!! Woo hoo!!! So we went down a level and checked in with magical express, since we already had are vouchers, we did not have to go to the counter, we went right to the POP line, boarded the bus and we were on our way! We arrived at POP before 10:30P!!! Less then an hour from landing in Orlando!! Not to bad!

I did online check in before we arrives so I literally walked right up to the check-in desk and was on my way within minutes. I requested a room in either the 70's or the 50's. So was our requested granted? You bettcha!!! we were given a room in the 70's on the 4th floor! This was such a perfect location! It was convenient to everything and it was so quite!



So once we got situated, we decided to hit the pool for a bit before bed! Here are a few shots from around POP:

Our room:






continued in next post....

[DevonsDisneyMom]

View from Balcony:



Heading over to the pool:



Getting ready to jump in!





View leaving the pool before turning in for the night:



I think that about covers it, next up, our first full day in Disney!!! And an unplanned sickness for me!

Stay tuned for more to come!

[cherokeemamma]

Originally Posted by DevonsDisneyMom

G]

Now here's where the fun begins!!! Devon has been flying since he has been a baby abd has never had any issues with ears popping, etc... Well, if you read in my pre-trip report, he came home from his dad's on Sunday night all congested and coughing, he has allergies, so that pretty common this time of year for him, well, I never thought that the poor kid would be in agony b/c of it when we were landing!!! He cryed and wimpered in pain the entire time we were desending! I felt so bad, all I could do was hug and kiss him and tell him it would be ok soon!

We landed in MCO at about 9:30p, about 15 minutes ahead of schedule, grabbed our carry-on bags and darted to the restrooms, I gave Devon some Tylenol at that point to ease some of his pain. We then boarded the airport "monorail" and went to retrieve of baggage.

Poor Dev looks so sad in this picture!

Great start!
Your little guy Devon is so cute! What a great smile!

I truly feel his pain with flying. I suffer with sinus issues and when you begin the descent it can be really painful. It literally feels like your head could explode. I sure hope he got to feeling better quickly.

We had some friends just return from WDW and they kept talking about how incredibly crowded it was... Guess it is all a matter of interpretation

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more.

TTFN
Darlene

[cherokeemamma]

I forgot...
I LOVE your toenails!!! Very cute!

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Originally Posted by cherokeemamma

Great start!
Your little guy Devon is so cute! What a great smile!

I truly feel his pain with flying. I suffer with sinus issues and when you begin the descent it can be really painful. It literally feels like your head could explode. I sure hope he got to feeling better quickly.

We had some friends just return from WDW and they kept talking about how incredibly crowded it was... Guess it is all a matter of interpretation

Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to more.

TTFN
Darlene

Originally Posted by cherokeemamma

I forgot...
I LOVE your toenails!!! Very cute!

Hey Darlene! Thanks for joining in!!! I will say that the crowds did get more noticable as we got closer to the weekend and MK on Thursday night was busy b/c it was the only night that week that Spectro and Wishes were running b/c of MNSSHP! Other then that, the waits for rides were minimal and thats all the matters right?

Glad you liked my toes!!! I think the nail tech though I was a wacko when I told her what I wanted her to do!!!

[Goofy22]

Sounds like you had a rocky start ! That airplane steward was plane rude!!

So tell me how was you room location in distance from the food court and
60's pool etc? I'm seriously thinking of requesting 70's next yr just want a great standard location! We were in 60's in August and 50's last yr! Our fifties location has been the best thus far. I can't wait to hear more I hope it gets better and I hope your not sick to long!

[abbadabbadoo]

Hi Reese! Just wanted to say I'm on board for your TR! Can't wait to read about your adventures! Hoping to get mine started this week, too!

I was hoping to run into you guys at some point especially at the Ohana breakfast. They seated us there super quickly!

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Originally Posted by Goofy22

Sounds like you had a rocky start ! That airplane steward was plane rude!!

So tell me how was you room location in distance from the food court and
60's pool etc? I'm seriously thinking of requesting 70's next yr just want a great standard location! We were in 60's in August and 50's last yr! Our fifties location has been the best thus far. I can't wait to hear more I hope it gets better and I hope your not sick to long!

Hey there!!! I highly recommend the 70's section, I believe we were in building 10 on the 4th floor. It was great, it was no more then a 2 minute walk to the Hipp dippy pool and everything pop as well as the bus stops!! Will definitely request this area again if we go back to POP!!! Devon wants to do Sports next time since that is the only value we have yet to stay in!

Originally Posted by abbadabbadoo

Hi Reese! Just wanted to say I'm on board for your TR! Can't wait to read about your adventures! Hoping to get mine started this week, too!

I was hoping to run into you guys at some point especially at the Ohana breakfast. They seated us there super quickly!

I was totally looking for you all at Ohana on Thursday!!! We waited at least 15-20 to be seated there!!! But, I have to say it was one of our favorite meals on this trip! I will definitely be going back next time!!!

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Wednesday Sept. 23rd Holllywood Studios

Of course we woke up bright an early for our first full day in Disney and b/c we had 8:50a breakfast ressies at Cape May Cafe! We were out the door and on the bus to DHS to catch the ferry to BC by 8:10a. We were all super excited to get the day started, but boy was it HOT already!!!

Look at the haze as we were leaving our room!





And lines at the bus stops!! not to bad at 8a in the morn, I've seen worse!



Snapped a few pictures as we headed toward the Beach Club...







We finally arrive to our destination and are seated promptly despite the fact that the lobby was completely full with peopl waiting to be seated!!! Sure didn't see me complaining!



And this is the point that things started to go down hill!! First off, the waitress was HORRIBLE!!! We waited 20 minutes before she finally came over to the table to take our drink orders and then another 10 to bring them back!!! That was the last we saw of the waitress until I literally walked and tracked her down to pay! One mishap down, onto my drama, but first, a little back story! So I woke up Sunday the 20th with pain in my jaw, pretty nomal since I grind my teeth, but as time went on, the pain was definitely not going away like it normally does, I was popping Advil and Aleve left and right, and that seemed to be working, at least until this point!!! By the time I took my first bite of food, the pain was crazy, not only did by jaw hurt, but now my whole face hurt, especially in the sinus area under my eyes! So what did I do? Stopped eating, popped and Aleve and sucked it up!!! I'm in Disney darn it!!! I was not about to let this get me down!

Here's a few pictures from the breakfast!







Devon and Judy finished eating and we headed back to the boat launch for a fun filled day at DHS!!!

Here are a few pictures I took while strolling back to the boat dock!










Quick Review of Cape May Cafe: This was our first time eating here and we were all looking forward to it. Honestly, I was a bit disappointed! the food selection was limited and the whole ordeal with waiting forever for the waitress to show her face left a sour taste in my mouth! Don't think I will be heading back here anytime soon!

Stay tuned for our arrival to DHS!!!

[Stacie96]

Great reviews so far. Cannot wait for more. I hope you felt better quickly and could enjoy Disney!!!!