1 crazy family+2 resorts+5 parks+1 snake+1 surprise=A Mickeystoontown report 4/3x2

[cmaee]

Oooooh you are just the person that I need to talk to. Not about Disney but about Gatlinburg. We are going to see Lacey & Jesse over Thanksgiving. Short but sweet trip. We usually stay in Pigeon Forge but are thinking Gatlinburg. Pass on any tips that you have pleeeease!

I hadn't thought about the hands in the air trick in a while. I need to try it here and see if it works. We have mosquitos everywhere!

Mama and my kids are super super close and I wouldn't trade it for anything. She loves them with all her heart and it's mutual.

I have stayed in a cabin in Gatlinburg just below Ober Gatlinburg and then in a cabin off stop light 10 in Pigeon Forge. If I were going to stay in a hotel, I would love to stay at one along River Road in Gatlinburg. Somewhere I could park my car and walk to all the shops, etc. but not feel as though I was in the thick of it all. I really wanted to explore the shops in Gatlinburg more, but with my kids ages, it doesn't really work so well. The place my kids would like to stay is called Bear Lodge or something similar to that. It is on River Road near the Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tram. It looks neat to us, but might be a little too young for your family.

 

[jusero]

PO is really beautiful. HOWEVER! I could never stay there. Those giant faces everywhere give me the creeps and would give me nightmares.

 

[MissLiz]

I'm guessing he forgot something at POFQ...but what???

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I've got it!!! They made it through the whole day without a "John on his cell" picture!

John forgot his cell phone at POFQ!!!


Did I guess it? Is there a prize?

 

[mickeystoontown]

Caught up again. Sorry you didn't care for POFQ. Two years ago we stayed in our first moderate, Port Orleans Riverside(we had always stayed in a value) and fell in love with POR. I'm a runner so I would alway use the pathways linking POR & POFQ for running days. Last year we went over to check out AoA and while we thought the decor was cute, the food court seemed so chaotic! We too noticed the messiness of the food court. There were plenty of people working hard but it's just big and busy! After having stayed at POR for 2 years now, and visiting AoA, I just don't thin we could go back! Anyway, thanks for the updates and looking forward to more! Oh yeah...I saw John's moonshine shirt! We live only about 1 1/2 from Gatlinburg so it's pretty close to home!

I wish that we had taken the time to go ahead and go over to POR but we were ready to get to our home away from home...the CBR. The AoA food court was simply chaotic. Don't get me wrong, I can handle chaotic but I didn't care for the messiness.

John has several of the moonshine shirts and loves them. We go there every time we go to Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg.

Wow! Thanks for all the great pictures! That resort is adorable!

I hope you all get some relief from the heat and can enjoy your park day.

The AoA is a very cute resort and the theming is very well done. Just no shade at all!

I loved seeing your photos from Art of Animation. We stayed there one night in Dec. Our free dining package was starting the next day at Pop Century, so we spent one night in the Little Mermaid wing. We loved the resort and wished the Little Mermaid rooms had been included in the free dining promotion. Oh well, maybe next time we go it will be included in the special offers. The pool was so much fun for the kids that they didn't mind not having a slide at the pool. Your are right on though about the lack of shade. When we made it around to the Cars section, we were hot and it was December. I can imagine how hot and sticky it was at the end of May.

Maybe when the newness of the AoA wears off, they'll offer more discounts especially in the Little Mermaid rooms.

There was absolutely no shade anywhere it seemed. And, yes, at the end of May, it was quite hot.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Another great update!

Art of Animation looks very cute and colorful. Someday maybe we'll journey over there to check it out. I doubt we'll be staying there, though. I just can't do the smaller rooms at the value resorts. I've already got 2 high maintenance girls at 4 and 11, so that's just asking for trouble.

Okay, so what hit John? A bird? A plane? Superman?

Or did he forget something back at FQ?

It can't be that he forgot something at home because you've already been gone for 2 days almost.

Just imagine trying to get two high maintenance girls getting ready with one sink at the value resorts. I can only imagine.

I promise that I won't keep ya'll in suspense any longer than I have to.

I'm guessing he forgot something at POFQ...but what???

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

Getting warm!

All caught up!

I loved the last update! Your tour around AoA was amazing! Beautiful pictures!

Thank you! The AoA was so cute!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I have stayed in a cabin in Gatlinburg just below Ober Gatlinburg and then in a cabin off stop light 10 in Pigeon Forge. If I were going to stay in a hotel, I would love to stay at one along River Road in Gatlinburg. Somewhere I could park my car and walk to all the shops, etc. but not feel as though I was in the thick of it all. I really wanted to explore the shops in Gatlinburg more, but with my kids ages, it doesn't really work so well. The place my kids would like to stay is called Bear Lodge or something similar to that. It is on River Road near the Ober Gatlinburg Aerial Tram. It looks neat to us, but might be a little too young for your family.

I'm thinking along the lines of staying right on or right off the main strip so that we can walk to everything. Our last trip to Pigeon Forge, we took the trolley from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg and I will never ever ever ever ever (can't stress the ever enough) do that again. It took us almost 2 hours to get from the last stop light in Pigeon Forge to the first stop in Gatlinburg. We took a cab back and that was the best $25.00 I've ever spent. (with the exception of our Disney trips)

I looked at the Bear Lodge whateverit's called that you are talking about. They require a three night stay over the holidays and we only need two since we'll be in Knoxville on Thanksgiving night.

The kids have said that they will probably be coming for Christmas so we may not go over Thanksgiving and save that money for Christmas gifts. However, by that time of the year, I'll be itching to go somewhere.

 

[mickeystoontown]

PO is really beautiful. HOWEVER! I could never stay there. Those giant faces everywhere give me the creeps and would give me nightmares.

The giant faces didn't creep me out at all but I can see how they would give some people the heebie jeebies.

I've got it!!! They made it through the whole day without a "John on his cell" picture!

John forgot his cell phone at POFQ!!!


Did I guess it? Is there a prize?

Not quite right! Keep guessing!

 

[rndmr2]

Love the photo tour of A of A! It really does look like a cute resort, but I don't think I would ever stay there. At this point we really don't need a suite and those Little Mermaid rooms are just too far away from what I've heard.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Love the photo tour of A of A! It really does look like a cute resort, but I don't think I would ever stay there. At this point we really don't need a suite and those Little Mermaid rooms are just too far away from what I've heard.

That's exactly how we feel. If we were in need of a suite, it would be different story. The suites are fairly close to the food court. The Little Mermaid rooms were quite a hike.

 

[francis6306]

We LOVED AoA, but we never made it over to LM! I wanted to, but it just never happened! Love your pictures though!!!

 

[ronnmel]

Thanks for the tour of AoA! It brought back great memories. :

The not-a-playground elephant graveyard is the only thing I was disappointed about with regards to AoA. As for the bus stops, yes they might not be fully covered, but I love the fact that you get into the specific line of where you want to go, instead of having a mob of people waiting for different buses all at the same time. Plus, in my experience since there are more people staying at value resorts that use the bus, buses run more often and you don't (usually) wait as long.

Yes the walk is long, but you can't compare doing a full tour of the resort to walking back to your room after a day in the park. Even with the furthest room, you would have only had to cover about a third of that distance. Just like when you walk around CBR, it obviously takes way longer than just going to the food court for lunch or something. I've stayed in Aruba at CBR and though I was super close to the bus stop, the walk to the food court was very long.

I did not notice any problems with dirtiness in the food court while I was there, so maybe it was just an off day for them?

 

[mickeystoontown]

We LOVED AoA, but we never made it over to LM! I wanted to, but it just never happened! Love your pictures though!!!

The theming of the AoA was outstanding!

Thanks for the tour of AoA! It brought back great memories. :

The not-a-playground elephant graveyard is the only thing I was disappointed about with regards to AoA. As for the bus stops, yes they might not be fully covered, but I love the fact that you get into the specific line of where you want to go, instead of having a mob of people waiting for different buses all at the same time. Plus, in my experience since there are more people staying at value resorts that use the bus, buses run more often and you don't (usually) wait as long.

Yes the walk is long, but you can't compare doing a full tour of the resort to walking back to your room after a day in the park. Even with the furthest room, you would have only had to cover about a third of that distance. Just like when you walk around CBR, it obviously takes way longer than just going to the food court for lunch or something. I've stayed in Aruba at CBR and though I was super close to the bus stop, the walk to the food court was very long.

I did not notice any problems with dirtiness in the food court while I was there, so maybe it was just an off day for them?

For just John, Hunter and I, the walk wouldn't have been that bad but for Mama, it would have been out of the question. Had there been more shade, then it might not have felt so bad.

Isn't it funny how the bus lines/situation is different for everybody? I would rather have the multiple bus stops than have the one designated line for each park. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[shan23877]

Loved the photo tour of AoA! Until we booked and cancelled a stay at AoA, I never realized how much the landscaping of the mods really means to me. I love the all of the green garden space at the mods. While AoA looks amazing and cute, I just don't know if I'm ready to stay there.

 

[racefanof88]

Thanks for posting all the pix of AoA; it doesn't look like anywhere we would want to stay. I can also understand how Mamaw felt; I'm not much for the heat either and that is why we like going in November or December.

I can't wait to hear what hit John!!!...........

 

[FancyNancy]

AOA looks cool. My DD9 is really wanting to try it out. How did you think the walk from the main building to the Little Mermaid section was? Also, I was just on the AOA thread and someone was giving a recap of their stay and mentioned the food court seemed dirty to them too.

 

[Bethislucy]

Loved the AOA pictures.

 

[cmaee]

I'm thinking along the lines of staying right on or right off the main strip so that we can walk to everything. Our last trip to Pigeon Forge, we took the trolley from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg and I will never ever ever ever ever (can't stress the ever enough) do that again. It took us almost 2 hours to get from the last stop light in Pigeon Forge to the first stop in Gatlinburg. We took a cab back and that was the best $25.00 I've ever spent. (with the exception of our Disney trips)

I looked at the Bear Lodge whateverit's called that you are talking about. They require a three night stay over the holidays and we only need two since we'll be in Knoxville on Thanksgiving night.

The kids have said that they will probably be coming for Christmas so we may not go over Thanksgiving and save that money for Christmas gifts. However, by that time of the year, I'll be itching to go somewhere.

2 hours?!? Wow. We thought about parking in Pigeon Forge and riding the trolley to Gatlinburg this past week. Boy, am I glad we decided against it. I would have gone with a cab ride too.

I hope your kids can come home for Christmas. But if you still go over Thanksgiving, I think any of the hotels on River Road would be worth it if they didn't have a three night minimum. But I would figure over Thanksgiving, most hotels will have that requirement.

 

[tink65]

I'm thinking along the lines of staying right on or right off the main strip so that we can walk to everything. Our last trip to Pigeon Forge, we took the trolley from Pigeon Forge to Gatlinburg and I will never ever ever ever ever (can't stress the ever enough) do that again. It took us almost 2 hours to get from the last stop light in Pigeon Forge to the first stop in Gatlinburg. We took a cab back and that was the best $25.00 I've ever spent. (with the exception of our Disney trips)

I looked at the Bear Lodge whateverit's called that you are talking about. They require a three night stay over the holidays and we only need two since we'll be in Knoxville on Thanksgiving night.

The kids have said that they will probably be coming for Christmas so we may not go over Thanksgiving and save that money for Christmas gifts. However, by that time of the year, I'll be itching to go somewhere.

Hey Lisa,

We stayed at the Fairfield Inn & Suites the last time we were in Gatlinburg. If you are coming out of Gatlinburg into Pigeon Forge it's almost at the foot of the mountain. It's really nice and clean. It's also right beside of a putt putt course. I think it's called Davy Crockett mini golf. Course, putt-putt and December might night be a good combination It is a good hike though up into Gatlinburg..... Be sure to really look online at your options and read reviews. Alot of the hotels on the main road are older and a little neglected!

 

[Mommy Poppins]

Nice pics of Art of Animation. We hope to do a walk-through over there when we are at WDW in September.

Can't wait to read more......

 

[deedeew80]

Hi Lisa! Got a little behind, so had some catching up to do! Can't wait to see what "hit" John!!!!