Just Hold On, We're Going Home...All 11 of Us Are Going to Mickeystoontown's Home! Update 10/27

[mickeystoontown]

The Man, The Myth, The Legend!

We were at the bus stop probably 15 minutes before a Downtown Disney (it was still called that at the time) bus came but, given Old Key West's location, it didn't take long at all before we were being dropped off at The Marketplace in Downtown Disney. We had absolutely no goals this evening other than to spend some time strolling and looking around. There were still walls up everywhere but it didn't feel as crowded or walled in this time.

We stopped here and there and walked through what used to be called Pleasure Island and then on to Westside. The quality of these pictures is horrible...sorry.













After going through a couple of the stores, we turned back around and saw that this guy had set up and was playing both his guitar and his didgeridoo.



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

The Man, The Myth, The Legend!

Performing with him was The Man, The Myth, The Legend! Eddy Maserati! He's become an Orlando legend of sorts — locals and tourists have taken to the Web to post videos and pictures with hopes of finding out about "Ferrari." As the Orlando Sentinel reported he is very well known and apparently very well off. And he is is very good shape. He was dancing and clapping the entire set.









Again, sorry for the blurry pictures but he was moving the whole time. Afterwards, Hunter and several others asked to take pictures with him and he happily obliged. The only picture that we took was on Hunter's phone and I don't have it here so you'll just have to take my word for it. Someone asked him how old he was and he said something like 29 and counting. He was so very kind and took the time to talk with everybody. I'm so glad that we actually got to talk to The Man, The Myth, The Legend!

For the rest of the evening, we continued our wandering, stopping here and there and John ended up getting coffee from Starbucks again. After a while we figured that we needed to head on back to the resort. As is always the case, the lines at DTD bus stop were confusing. The CBR and another resort had the same bus stop number but the cast members were very good about heading folks in the right direction. We looked to our right and saw a loooooooooooooong line and it was for Pop Century. I shuddered and said "those poor people". Well, for our upcoming trip, we will be part of "those poor people" as we are now doing a split stay. Six nights at Pop and eight at Caribbean Beach. Y'all keep your fingers crossed that we like the resort.

**Coming up: Crush 'n It! Oh look there's Tilly's!

 

[Bethislucy]

We are staying at pop this December you'll have to let us know what you think.

 

[BarbieGal457]

We are staying at pop this December you'll have to let us know what you think.

We were at Pop last December about 10 days before Christmas and had a wonderful time! It was our second stay there but first during a busier period and we never once really had any long waits for buses or food, and this was while a cheer group or two were there. I hope you have a wonderful time! Hopefully Lisa had a wonderful stay there as well!

 

[Amy&Dan]

We love Pop Century! If I may suggest, if you are getting a standard view room, ask for a lake facing room in the 50's. We love that section, from our last room we could see Tower of Terror and the Swan Dolphin in the distance. Its quiet back there. Also we often took Art of Animation busses back at night, for some reason they were never crowded! And being in a lake facing room, you are an easy walk across the bridge that connects the two resorts. We also had nice views of Wishes and Illuminations from our walkway.

And that concludes my Pop Century tutorial lol.

 

[mickeystoontown]

We are staying at pop this December you'll have to let us know what you think.

You know that I'll come back with a super thorough review with lots of pictures.

We were at Pop last December about 10 days before Christmas and had a wonderful time! It was our second stay there but first during a busier period and we never once really had any long waits for buses or food, and this was while a cheer group or two were there. I hope you have a wonderful time! Hopefully Lisa had a wonderful stay there as well!

Thanks for the reassurances! I'm hoping that we'll enjoy it.

We love Pop Century! If I may suggest, if you are getting a standard view room, ask for a lake facing room in the 50's. We love that section, from our last room we could see Tower of Terror and the Swan Dolphin in the distance. Its quiet back there. Also we often took Art of Animation busses back at night, for some reason they were never crowded! And being in a lake facing room, you are an easy walk across the bridge that connects the two resorts. We also had nice views of Wishes and Illuminations from our walkway.

And that concludes my Pop Century tutorial lol.

Thank you for the tutorial! It is very much appreciated. Oh my gosh! I requested exactly what you suggested AND I even said that we could take the AoA buses back and walk if we needed to.

 

[Amy&Dan]

Gr

You know that I'll come back with a super thorough review with lots of pictures.



Thanks for the reassurances! I'm hoping that we'll enjoy it.



Thank you for the tutorial! It is very much appreciated. Oh my gosh! I requested exactly what you suggested AND I even said that we could take the AoA buses back and walk if we needed to.

Great minds think alike!

We have stayed in all the sections but 90's and done preferred and by far our most favorite was that lake facing 50's room! We have done four people in one room at Pop for as long as 10 nights. Yes they are smaller but I really only notice the bathroom sink area being tighter and it is still fine.

Its such a fun resort! And while the busses can get crowded our experience over five stays in the past 11 years is that they really send the busses when those lines are long. Sometimes two at once. Last trip virtually every time we left MK it was on one of the new double length busses.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Gr


Great minds think alike!

We have stayed in all the sections but 90's and done preferred and by far our most favorite was that lake facing 50's room! We have done four people in one room at Pop for as long as 10 nights. Yes they are smaller but I really only notice the bathroom sink area being tighter and it is still fine.

Its such a fun resort! And while the busses can get crowded our experience over five stays in the past 11 years is that they really send the busses when those lines are long. Sometimes two at once. Last trip virtually every time we left MK it was on one of the new double length busses.

You are certainly calming our fears of staying at a value resort. Other than one night at French Quarter, we have never stayed in any resort other than CBR.

 

[BarbieGal457]

We stayed preferred in December and I want to say we were in Surf's Up, but things are a little hazy since we didn't take photos at the hotel and the days were impossibly long. We really loved the ability to take the AoA buses if we needed to but we never found the Pop lines to be too long in either direction all week. Our room faced the pool and yet it was still really peaceful even during the day, and we were probably 2 minutes at most from the main building/buses (we are fast walkers though). We were in the first building to your left-hand side when you exit the main hall.

The food court is also particularly good and unique! I misread and thought you'd already stayed there Lisa but I think you guys will really like it!

 

[jdd]

Lisa, I haven't been posting much, but always follow along on your fantastic trip reports!! Just wanted to pop in and say two things: first, we're going back to CBR in 44 days!!!

And second, we stayed in Pop for the first time at the beginning of December, and it was great! Obviously not the lush landscaping of CBR, but my morning walks around the resort were still fun, and we really enjoyed being so close to Art of Animation - we walked around there, and ate in their food court a couple of times. Can't give an opinion on the buses, since we had a car (spent a day at Universal for Harry Potter), but it was a really nice stay, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. Looking forward to seeing how you like it!!

 

[rndmr2]

Nice night at DTD (I will have a hard time calling it Disney Springs, heck, I had a hard time not calling it "The Village" for the longest time, LOL)

We have stayed at POP twice and loved it both times. We were in a preferred room in the 60's both times (not intentionally but the standard rooms were booked when I made both reservations) It is really nice being right next to the main building and close to the pool and we never heard any noise from the pool, or were bothered by it. It is a nice resort to walk around, not real lush landscaping like JDD said but there are gardens and all the neat decorations in each section, there is even a twister board! And the lake is a pretty walk, there are signs all around it with dates of different happenings.

 

[addictedtothemouse]

We don't really want many ADRs, Olivia's, Beirgarten, Via Napoli and Big River Grille are the only ones we were thinking of trying for. We'll be there for F&W and want to try the yumminess at EPCOT.

 

[jenseib]

Dinner looks great.
I wonder what is wrong with your camera....did it end up dying or did you get it fixed..or a new one completely....or do I need to shut up and you will tell us later?

I can't remember if you came over to my new trip report but I did start the cruise portion and it's in my signature.

 

[toomuchtv]

Whew...I'm all caught up (reading a bunch of TRs as I wait a little over a year for our next trip)! Enjoying your TR a lot! I hope you like POP. I love it, but there can be a million people waiting for a bus sometimes!

 

[mickeystoontown]

We stayed preferred in December and I want to say we were in Surf's Up, but things are a little hazy since we didn't take photos at the hotel and the days were impossibly long. We really loved the ability to take the AoA buses if we needed to but we never found the Pop lines to be too long in either direction all week. Our room faced the pool and yet it was still really peaceful even during the day, and we were probably 2 minutes at most from the main building/buses (we are fast walkers though). We were in the first building to your left-hand side when you exit the main hall.

The food court is also particularly good and unique! I misread and thought you'd already stayed there Lisa but I think you guys will really like it!

Y'all are all so helpful with the Pop Century info! I love my Dis friends!

Lisa, I haven't been posting much, but always follow along on your fantastic trip reports!! Just wanted to pop in and say two things: first, we're going back to CBR in 44 days!!!

And second, we stayed in Pop for the first time at the beginning of December, and it was great! Obviously not the lush landscaping of CBR, but my morning walks around the resort were still fun, and we really enjoyed being so close to Art of Animation - we walked around there, and ate in their food court a couple of times. Can't give an opinion on the buses, since we had a car (spent a day at Universal for Harry Potter), but it was a really nice stay, and I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. Looking forward to seeing how you like it!!

Woo hoo! I'm so glad that you are returning to our home away from home! We are going into our stay at Pop Century with wide open eyes and aren't too terribly worried about whether or not we'll like it. We are going to walk over to AoA just so that Hunter's girlfriend can see the Cars section of the resort.

Nice night at DTD (I will have a hard time calling it Disney Springs, heck, I had a hard time not calling it "The Village" for the longest time, LOL)

We have stayed at POP twice and loved it both times. We were in a preferred room in the 60's both times (not intentionally but the standard rooms were booked when I made both reservations) It is really nice being right next to the main building and close to the pool and we never heard any noise from the pool, or were bothered by it. It is a nice resort to walk around, not real lush landscaping like JDD said but there are gardens and all the neat decorations in each section, there is even a twister board! And the lake is a pretty walk, there are signs all around it with dates of different happenings.

Another great Pop Century review! We have walked the grounds before just to say that we had and I remember it being super cute.

We don't really want many ADRs, Olivia's, Beirgarten, Via Napoli and Big River Grille are the only ones we were thinking of trying for. We'll be there for F&W and want to try the yumminess at EPCOT.

We do too! I'm talking about not many ADRs this trip and wanting to try the Flower & Garden booths. I'm excited!

Dinner looks great.
I wonder what is wrong with your camera....did it end up dying or did you get it fixed..or a new one completely....or do I need to shut up and you will tell us later?

I can't remember if you came over to my new trip report but I did start the cruise portion and it's in my signature.

Oh no need to have to wait. The camera's flash went haywire on me. It wouldn't take a single flash picture after that day. Still don't know what the heck is wrong with it. Stupid camera!

Whew...I'm all caught up (reading a bunch of TRs as I wait a little over a year for our next trip)! Enjoying your TR a lot! I hope you like POP. I love it, but there can be a million people waiting for a bus sometimes!

Yay for being here and being caught up! I'm so slow writing this report. I usually have my reports almost done by the time we leave for the next one. I'm really slacking this year.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Crush 'n It! Oh look there's Tilly's!

One of the things that I like about longer trips is having the time to work the water parks into our plans. Today, we were going to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon! We put our suits on underneath our shirts and shorts and put all of our other things in a big tote. The wait for the Downtown Disney and Typhoon Lagoon bus was a little bit longer than what we had experienced so far in the trip but, still, it was only a fifteen minute wait. The bus dropped us off at Typhoon Lagoon first and then continued on to Downtown Disney.

The first thing on the agenda was to rent a locker. The tote that I had was a large tote and not only would we be putting our shorts in the locker but I also had some toiletries and our valuables were going in as well. So, I wanted to rent a large locker so that we didn't have to cram cram cram to get everything in. But, first, we'd have to make our way into the park. Hunter's Magic Band wasn't working for some reason. Every time that he tried to scan his fingerprint, it wouldn't work. We had to go over to the side, have his picture taken and the cast member pushed a couple of buttons and we were good to go. The park WELCOME sign.




As you can see, it wasn't crowded at all.



If you want to rent a locker, you can stop at Singapore Sal's Souvenirs. You'll pay for the locker rental, are given a key and then told that you will get your deposit back when you return the key.



There are plenty of lockers at Typhoon Lagoon! Lots and lots of them.



We grabbed the sunscreen, beach towels and camera and set off further into the park. We were in search of a good spot to set up for the day. This is the first beach area if you were to take the path to the right of Singapore Sal's. We continued on around that curve you can see in the picture below.



And came upon the refillable mug station:







which was located on the side of the Snack Shack. Oh look there's Tilly's...Typhoon Tilly's that is!


We found a nice quiet beach area a little further down and to the right. There were some shaded picnic tables and lots and lots of lounge chairs. Once we dropped off our things, we were off to hit the Storm Slides! You see the wait time? It says 5 minutes from that point. Well, "this point" was the end of the line. We didn't stop until we reached almost the very top of the mountain.



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Crush 'n It! Oh look there's Tilly's!

As I said, we didnt' stop climbing until we reached almost the top of the mountain. There are three storm slides: Jib Jammer, Stern Burner or Rudder Buster. Unless you are willing to wait for a specific slide, you take the first one that becomes available, sit down and wait for the green light. Once the green light comes on, you are off!





The lifeguards ask that you immediately exit the pool so that they can give the green light for the next rider. When I got to the steps, I turned and took a picture so that you could see the depth of the pool.



We weren't stopping at just one slide. We were going to take on all three so back up we went. Always thinking of my next trip report and article for the other website, I took pictures of everything that I could think of...even the steps.





As we neared the top, Hunter and I spotted what we thought might be a hidden Mickey in the rock formation but, for the life of me, I can't find it.




After we had done all of the Storm Slides, I tried to talk the guys into going on Humbunga Kowabunga. John wanted to go lay around in the sun and Hunter, even though he had done it multiple times the year before, said that he wasn't sure that he wanted to tackle it. I'm usually the scaredy cat of the group but I wasn't going to just sit around and let my fear of heights get the best of me. Hunter kept the camera and snapped pictures of me when I was done. Yeah, not the best pictures but pictures nonetheless.





If I am remembering correctly, Hunter finally agreed to go up with me and give it a go. I took a picture of one of the other slides below us.





**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Crush 'n It! Oh look there's Tilly's! Continued






After Humunga Kowabunga, we went back to where John was lazing and asked him to go on the Storm Slides with us again. After a bit of whining....on all three of our parts....he agreed.





There's John!





And Hunter soon followed from the middle slide.



We did the storm slides three or four more times with little to no wait before John decided that he was done. Hunter and I were ready to hit another of our favorites:







This is the way that it works at Crush N Gusher. You enter the line and wait for the other Guests to give you their tube when they exit the pool. Those guests exit to their left and you go to your left to the tower. As you can see from the next picture, there was a line but it wasn't long at all as you simply went underneath that sign and the line curved a bit to your right where you came upon the pool.



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Crush 'n It! Oh look there's Tilly's!

Once you have your tube, you walk towards the tower and there are three options when it comes to the “fruit chutes”—the Pineapple Plunger, Coconut Crusher or Banana Blaster—or “go bananas” and crush it solo.





This is the tower and steps that you must climb in order to reach the start of each slide. Now y'all know me and my heights "issues" and open steps like this make me nervous as all get out. But Crush N Gusher is well worth the effort so up we went. There are the initial steps that you can see in the bottom picture and then you turn to your right and climb the next set (which you can see only the back of in the picture) and then you turn again and go up another set.



Once you get to the top, you'll have to choose your chute. If it is not busy that is. If it is super busy, they may direct you to the next open slide. No matter what, you must remain behind the yellow line and wait for them to call you forward.




At this point, I was trying to set my camera to movie but I couldn't figure out how to do it. I thought that I had it figured out but I was just taking random pictures all the way down and this is the only one that turned out. Yes, that is one single picture taken while I am about to dump out of our inner tube. But you can see how the other guests are taking their tubes out of the pool and then the line to the right of other guests waiting to take them.



There was hardly any line and we were ready for more so we hopped back into line. Look bananas growing. How appropriate!



Those are part of the Crush N Gusher chutes above our heads:



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

Crush 'n It! Oh look there's Tilly's!

Once again, we started the climb up the tower. Oh look, you can kinda see the other steps in this picture. See the guests and inner tubes?



Our wait was minimal but I did spend the time taking a couple of pictures:





You can see the cast member in the above picture explaining how to sit down in the tube. You turn your back to it and then ease down and spin forward. Super easy to do and they are there to hold the tube. The tube is actually sitting on a conveyor belt that the cast member activates once you are in place. I love this method as it is so much easier than trying to sit in a tube that is already in the water. They were just waiting on us to come on over and take a turn!


This was our view as we were waiting for the green light.





Here we go!






I turned to take this one picture (which turned out blurry) as Hunter handed off our tube.



The line was still short so we went again and again. I think that we went on Crush N Gusher a total of six times in a little over a half hour! Talk about perfect timing!

**Up Next: Making a pit stop and calling Mayday!