Jacquelyn11
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jul 11, 2000
When I was planning this trip last year I had heard that the w/e in May were Star Wars weekends with extra characters. That was true until THIS year, when the new movie opens May 16. They will only have characters that w/e. I had also planned (since it was a 4 day trip, Thur to Sun) to fly down using Delta Buddy Passes! BAD IDEA!! The flights completely closed out to MCO both coming and going so we opted to drive down instead!!
We left at 4:30am Thursday from Atlanta. We made excellent time and had very good weather. We called Homewood Suites (off 192) to ask about check in around noon. They said they would be happy to. We were toward the inside of the building near the expressway but had no noise problems at all. They have a seperate bedroom with a king bed, small kitchen with frige/freezer. We used Hilton Honor Points for the room, so a no-cost stay! We headed for our 2:10pm ressie at the Castle for lunch. We arrived about 30 min early but still waited until 2:10 to go up. About 2pm Cinderella made an apperance!! (Prior to the parade?) So we did get to see one princess!!
I had the Major Domo Pie, my DH the barley soup and prime rib. He LOVED the soup! Having traveled to England on business several times he knows his English fare. The prime rib was so-so. The pie was good, but the big biscuit was a bit much for me! I did get one of the Cinderella glasses to take home! I stoped by the check in to inquire about my take home glass and asked about any dinner ressie availability in June (our last trip!). She said she had a 8:15pm available so we can get to see the fireworks from the castle! We also have a breakfast ressie for June there also! We still did the normal Tomorrowland rides (SM, BLY) COP/TK closed! We got a FP for BTMR and Splash Mountain. We had had trouble convincing my 8yo that he would enjoy SM. He had skipped this on previous trips. He went on it and LOVED it!!
We went back to Homewood to enjoy their evening offering of beef stew, salad and wine/beer. I fed the kids soup and sandwiches (we brought a few things from home) and spent the rest of the evening by the pool (kids) or resting in the room (ME!!)
Friday- Off to MGM, without the Star Wars extras! After a pastry breakfast at homewood suites, we got to MGM about 10am. We went to TOT and got a FP. I wanted to catch more shows this trip so MOM went off to watch BATB while the DS's did the stand by for RRC (and DH waited in the shade!) It was forcasted to be a 95+ degree day and at 11am it felt like it already! We went on TOT but Didn't really need the FP, in fact the stand by line was a walk on! We rode it 3 time in a row on a Friday!
We had a PS at Brown Derby for lunch. My DH got the Cobb Salad and really like it! I got the BBQ chicken ceasear salad and I liked it too! We did the movie ride together and then split up so I could see "One Man's Dream" and they could ride RRC a couple more times. I noticed I was close to the start of WWTBAM, so I skipped the movie part and went in w/o a wait! There was a return person who made it to 32k. The show ended on the next person. Went back to wait on DS's and people watch the folks screaming on TOT, groups taking their pics in front of the Big Gutiar at RRC while sitting on the wall outside the exit doors of RRC. It was shaded and you got a nice dose of the A/C when the sliding doors opened.
The DS's went to Star Tours while I went back to Millionare. I decided to try the "continue button press" method while answering. After 5 questions, I WAS IN THE LEAD!!!! But, alas, I choked on a couple of questions and was out of the top 10. We left MGM for a short rest at Homewood and off to DD and Wolfgang Pucks! I had the Baby spinach salad (My Favorite!) and the Fettichini w/ shrimp. My DH had the sushi (as usual). Both were good! Then off to Disney Quest. I was afraid that being GRAD night that this place would be packed! But it was really fairly light! They rearranged a few areas since I was there in January. But we had a nice time, topped off with a brownie cheese cake!! Off to the Pool/Hot tub before bed!
Saturday (5/4) we went to MK after a Waffle House breakfast. It is normally 80-87 degrees in early May, but today is forcasted to be 96!!!! Took several tilt frozen water bottles and they lasted all day! We got there about 10am and started as normal at TL! We did Alien encounter this time. My boys did fine, but forewarned them there was a not real monster at the end! LOTS of screaming girls!! I exchanged a figurine where the wings of Tinkerbell were broken at the castle gift shop. I also bought the Bride and Groom ears for a cousin of mine who is getting married in June! We did most non "E" rides with little to no wait! I finally rode the river boat and that completes all the rides at MK ridden at least once!!! We tried to do Splash Mt. but the ride kept breaking down! And it was SOOOO HOT! It was hotter today than last July! After Hall of Pres, HM, A Train ride, 3 rides on BTMR and raft over to Tom Sayer's we made it on Splash MT! We had planned to stay to watch the fireworks, but when our KIDS asked to go back to the room, we went! Charley's steak restaurant is in the plaza at the Parkway off 192 and we ate dinner there! The Filet was so tender it cut like butter!! We went back and hit the hottub for a while and went to sleep!!
Sunday (5/5) we went to our breakfast at AK, or so I thought! We had a PS for 8:40am, but after arriving at the gate at 8:30am they would not let us in! We had to wait for the "presentation" with today's host family! At 8:50 they let us in but hearded several PS familes over to the side to "wait to be escorted"! We finally arrived at the breakfast at 9AM! We did see all the characters but the buffet was not that special. We did FP's for Primeveal Whirl but they were not needed, the stand by line was 5 min! We also did Triceratops spin & dinosaur but skipped the games. Went onto the Safari to hopefully see a Rhino active. My 3rd grade DS is doing a project on them! Also went to Kali Rapids. We missed the Lion King and Pocahants shows and caught them before leaving about 3pm on the trip back to Atlanta!
Hated that we missed the extra Star Wars characters. Maybe a short visit in a year or two in May!!
Jacquelyn
We left at 4:30am Thursday from Atlanta. We made excellent time and had very good weather. We called Homewood Suites (off 192) to ask about check in around noon. They said they would be happy to. We were toward the inside of the building near the expressway but had no noise problems at all. They have a seperate bedroom with a king bed, small kitchen with frige/freezer. We used Hilton Honor Points for the room, so a no-cost stay! We headed for our 2:10pm ressie at the Castle for lunch. We arrived about 30 min early but still waited until 2:10 to go up. About 2pm Cinderella made an apperance!! (Prior to the parade?) So we did get to see one princess!!
I had the Major Domo Pie, my DH the barley soup and prime rib. He LOVED the soup! Having traveled to England on business several times he knows his English fare. The prime rib was so-so. The pie was good, but the big biscuit was a bit much for me! I did get one of the Cinderella glasses to take home! I stoped by the check in to inquire about my take home glass and asked about any dinner ressie availability in June (our last trip!). She said she had a 8:15pm available so we can get to see the fireworks from the castle! We also have a breakfast ressie for June there also! We still did the normal Tomorrowland rides (SM, BLY) COP/TK closed! We got a FP for BTMR and Splash Mountain. We had had trouble convincing my 8yo that he would enjoy SM. He had skipped this on previous trips. He went on it and LOVED it!!
We went back to Homewood to enjoy their evening offering of beef stew, salad and wine/beer. I fed the kids soup and sandwiches (we brought a few things from home) and spent the rest of the evening by the pool (kids) or resting in the room (ME!!)
Friday- Off to MGM, without the Star Wars extras! After a pastry breakfast at homewood suites, we got to MGM about 10am. We went to TOT and got a FP. I wanted to catch more shows this trip so MOM went off to watch BATB while the DS's did the stand by for RRC (and DH waited in the shade!) It was forcasted to be a 95+ degree day and at 11am it felt like it already! We went on TOT but Didn't really need the FP, in fact the stand by line was a walk on! We rode it 3 time in a row on a Friday!
We had a PS at Brown Derby for lunch. My DH got the Cobb Salad and really like it! I got the BBQ chicken ceasear salad and I liked it too! We did the movie ride together and then split up so I could see "One Man's Dream" and they could ride RRC a couple more times. I noticed I was close to the start of WWTBAM, so I skipped the movie part and went in w/o a wait! There was a return person who made it to 32k. The show ended on the next person. Went back to wait on DS's and people watch the folks screaming on TOT, groups taking their pics in front of the Big Gutiar at RRC while sitting on the wall outside the exit doors of RRC. It was shaded and you got a nice dose of the A/C when the sliding doors opened.
The DS's went to Star Tours while I went back to Millionare. I decided to try the "continue button press" method while answering. After 5 questions, I WAS IN THE LEAD!!!! But, alas, I choked on a couple of questions and was out of the top 10. We left MGM for a short rest at Homewood and off to DD and Wolfgang Pucks! I had the Baby spinach salad (My Favorite!) and the Fettichini w/ shrimp. My DH had the sushi (as usual). Both were good! Then off to Disney Quest. I was afraid that being GRAD night that this place would be packed! But it was really fairly light! They rearranged a few areas since I was there in January. But we had a nice time, topped off with a brownie cheese cake!! Off to the Pool/Hot tub before bed!
Saturday (5/4) we went to MK after a Waffle House breakfast. It is normally 80-87 degrees in early May, but today is forcasted to be 96!!!! Took several tilt frozen water bottles and they lasted all day! We got there about 10am and started as normal at TL! We did Alien encounter this time. My boys did fine, but forewarned them there was a not real monster at the end! LOTS of screaming girls!! I exchanged a figurine where the wings of Tinkerbell were broken at the castle gift shop. I also bought the Bride and Groom ears for a cousin of mine who is getting married in June! We did most non "E" rides with little to no wait! I finally rode the river boat and that completes all the rides at MK ridden at least once!!! We tried to do Splash Mt. but the ride kept breaking down! And it was SOOOO HOT! It was hotter today than last July! After Hall of Pres, HM, A Train ride, 3 rides on BTMR and raft over to Tom Sayer's we made it on Splash MT! We had planned to stay to watch the fireworks, but when our KIDS asked to go back to the room, we went! Charley's steak restaurant is in the plaza at the Parkway off 192 and we ate dinner there! The Filet was so tender it cut like butter!! We went back and hit the hottub for a while and went to sleep!!
Sunday (5/5) we went to our breakfast at AK, or so I thought! We had a PS for 8:40am, but after arriving at the gate at 8:30am they would not let us in! We had to wait for the "presentation" with today's host family! At 8:50 they let us in but hearded several PS familes over to the side to "wait to be escorted"! We finally arrived at the breakfast at 9AM! We did see all the characters but the buffet was not that special. We did FP's for Primeveal Whirl but they were not needed, the stand by line was 5 min! We also did Triceratops spin & dinosaur but skipped the games. Went onto the Safari to hopefully see a Rhino active. My 3rd grade DS is doing a project on them! Also went to Kali Rapids. We missed the Lion King and Pocahants shows and caught them before leaving about 3pm on the trip back to Atlanta!
Hated that we missed the extra Star Wars characters. Maybe a short visit in a year or two in May!!
Jacquelyn
