Momof2Singers
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2014
- Messages
- 759
We left on Friday around 11am...got 200 miles down of our over 600 mile trip and our transmission blew up..third time in 3 years. Not the best way to start our trip. I-95 heat and our Honda Odyssey just did not agree with each other. Luckily, a mechanic was 4 miles away and we were able to hobble over there to a wonderful group of guys that undoubtedly were the best in the city. Less than 2 hours later, we were taken to the rental agency 3 miles away, got a $1200 van for $490 because they told us they had one and didn't. I think they felt sorry for us. We spent the night at the GA/FL line, arrived at POR around 2:30pm (1 hour stuck in major traffic in Orlando). Our room was great. Just what we asked for, 1st floor, near bus line and food. Had a great night at Epcot, no crowds, stayed until closing and did almost everything. Went to Magic Kingdom yesterday (Sun) ate breakfast at BOG, wonderful time, everyone got kids meals and it was just enough, got right on Mine Trail at 8:45, rode it twice before they opened. Rode space mountain twice, there was just nobody there. Saw Rapunzel in 5 minutes so we didn't have to use a FP and modified for something else. It felt like those long ago September days when we used to travel. CM at Mine Train heard about our car and gave us a free FP for any ride, just being nice.
My daughter wanted a Monsters U cap, and the distribution is out, but not before they had us running to every location at MK, saying, there's one there, go now...manager came and said NOPE, no hats, gave us 3 passes, one for free dole whip floats for all 4 of us, free FP that were good all week, and my daughter a voucher for a free cap.
Ate at BOG last night, it was totally horrible. We were all disappointed in the food, but we loved everything else about being there at dinner.
We have heard such wonderful things about the food, but it just wasn't our night for that. The steak was one piece of fat, we just got a bad one, they just took it off the bill, but I loved the rolls, so all was not lost. Not sure how a party of 4 got out of that place for so little, but we walked out still glad we went.
This morning we were at Akershus, it was great, my girls really enjoyed it DD17 and DD22. The food was wonderful and so fresh. The princesses were the best I have ever seen, totally in character and beautiful.
Lunch at Via Napoli, pizza came to us totally burned, bottom was black..but they made us a new one, so all was good.
I will write a trip report when I get back, but to be honest, it all started our a little rough, but because of very kind CM's, that just offered things, no one ever ask for anything. I felt they were really trying to give us some Pixie Dust and it definitely brightened our week.
There are very nice people still out there helping others, we owe so much to the wonderful guys at the auto repair shop who got us back on the road so quickly, our car is still there, and we will have to deal with when we get back there on Monday. But for now, we feel so blessed for all those who have shown us kindness.
UPDATE: Just got home, 2 days late
We finally arrived home, having to wait until we could get our car towed back home.
Just a few updates and then I will try to do a trip report once I have energy!
We rode the bus every morning except one, and had no problems whatsoever EXCEPT, Epcot buses are very scarce. My DH wanted to sleep in every morning and it worked out fine, we had a 4-5 minute walk to the bus stop and were picked up at the end of the day. Monorails were packed, so I guess we choose to take them the wrong time. We rode from Epcot to TC, then to MK and it took quite some time.
We LOVED Trails End, so relaxing inside and good stick to your ribs food. Tusker was great on Wednesday, CRT was a wonderful experience as far as having the best seat in the house at the window, not fond of the new appetizer plate, but you can request salad. Cheesecake was delicious. Fireworks perfectly timed right at our window.
FOR those that asked about Chip and Dale, I don't know why they changed it, but they are now in the back of the second tent on the left in the Circus area. The one past Minnie and Daisy. They are all alone, it is a nice spot, very little traffic, we waited 5 minutes. No clothing.
Let me just say, my daughter's dd17 and dd22, thought Garden Grill Breakfast was the best thing we did. We would definitely do that once or twice if we go again. So fresh and characters were fabulous. We were the first family to arrive that morning.
Crowds were low, we have been in May, June, July, September and now 1st week of August and could not believe how easy it was to get around. Princess waits never exceeded 20 minutes, but we never waited that long. The longest we waited was 20 minutes for Peter Pan, who was in our opinion, the best character interaction anywhere.
It was hot, but near the end of the week, more bearable. We walked 67 miles, very hard to believe, but with the new phone app, you can see each day your distance, one day in Epcot was over 9 miles.
Watched the parade twice, once at the front near the train station, single lines, no crowds, and on Saturday, which was supposed to be a busy day, in Frontierville, lots of open space, never have seen it like that.
We ate at Liberty Tavern on Saturday and my DD22 and I shared the Freedom Pasta with Shrimp, such a large portion and absolutely delicious. DD17 had kid's pasta with marinara, fries, drink and dessert for $7, never knew there was such a deal at WDW.
We ate at Shulas Friday night and for under $160/4 people, we had the best meal.
Only meal no one liked was Ohana, which was so disappointing, it was our last night and we were so excited about it. I thought it was pretty good, we just had a waiter that was having an off night, poor guy, I actually felt sorry for him. He seemed a little low in energy. We had to beg for food basically and my DD17 asked for chicken nuggets and fries, and ice cream sundae. So that was a pretty expensive dinner for no one to enjoy. I just think with all the seasonings, it wasn't what they liked. Our steak was very burned, but they did bring more, it just took quite some time to find our waiter. The singer came and sat on my husband's lap, which he wasn't fond of. We did take a long time both inside and out walking the resort and it was beautiful.
ALMOST FORGOT TO add, up near the beginning, you remember that Monsters U cap, well distribution was totally out, so if anyone is looking for one, none in any parks. HOWEVER, on Saturday, our last day, we ducked into every store along the way for air conditioning, and while walking thru Merchant of Venice, I noticed my daughter starting to run, right there sitting on the Monsters, Inc shelf was ONE cap. I thought she was going to pass out from excitement. We went to pay with her free voucher given to her on the Sunday before and the CM commented, I just looked for one a few minutes ago and there was nothing there....so we know without a doubt, after merchandising managers saying they are out everywhere...you can call it Pixie Dust, fate, or our higher power, but it was meant to be for her to have that cap on our last day.
If anyone has any questions, I will be happy to answer, we now have a decision to make on whether to keep our car, or start that dreaded search for another one.
My daughter wanted a Monsters U cap, and the distribution is out, but not before they had us running to every location at MK, saying, there's one there, go now...manager came and said NOPE, no hats, gave us 3 passes, one for free dole whip floats for all 4 of us, free FP that were good all week, and my daughter a voucher for a free cap.
Ate at BOG last night, it was totally horrible. We were all disappointed in the food, but we loved everything else about being there at dinner.
We have heard such wonderful things about the food, but it just wasn't our night for that. The steak was one piece of fat, we just got a bad one, they just took it off the bill, but I loved the rolls, so all was not lost. Not sure how a party of 4 got out of that place for so little, but we walked out still glad we went.
This morning we were at Akershus, it was great, my girls really enjoyed it DD17 and DD22. The food was wonderful and so fresh. The princesses were the best I have ever seen, totally in character and beautiful.
Lunch at Via Napoli, pizza came to us totally burned, bottom was black..but they made us a new one, so all was good.
I will write a trip report when I get back, but to be honest, it all started our a little rough, but because of very kind CM's, that just offered things, no one ever ask for anything. I felt they were really trying to give us some Pixie Dust and it definitely brightened our week.
There are very nice people still out there helping others, we owe so much to the wonderful guys at the auto repair shop who got us back on the road so quickly, our car is still there, and we will have to deal with when we get back there on Monday. But for now, we feel so blessed for all those who have shown us kindness.
UPDATE: Just got home, 2 days late
We finally arrived home, having to wait until we could get our car towed back home.
Just a few updates and then I will try to do a trip report once I have energy!
We rode the bus every morning except one, and had no problems whatsoever EXCEPT, Epcot buses are very scarce. My DH wanted to sleep in every morning and it worked out fine, we had a 4-5 minute walk to the bus stop and were picked up at the end of the day. Monorails were packed, so I guess we choose to take them the wrong time. We rode from Epcot to TC, then to MK and it took quite some time.
We LOVED Trails End, so relaxing inside and good stick to your ribs food. Tusker was great on Wednesday, CRT was a wonderful experience as far as having the best seat in the house at the window, not fond of the new appetizer plate, but you can request salad. Cheesecake was delicious. Fireworks perfectly timed right at our window.
FOR those that asked about Chip and Dale, I don't know why they changed it, but they are now in the back of the second tent on the left in the Circus area. The one past Minnie and Daisy. They are all alone, it is a nice spot, very little traffic, we waited 5 minutes. No clothing.
Let me just say, my daughter's dd17 and dd22, thought Garden Grill Breakfast was the best thing we did. We would definitely do that once or twice if we go again. So fresh and characters were fabulous. We were the first family to arrive that morning.
Crowds were low, we have been in May, June, July, September and now 1st week of August and could not believe how easy it was to get around. Princess waits never exceeded 20 minutes, but we never waited that long. The longest we waited was 20 minutes for Peter Pan, who was in our opinion, the best character interaction anywhere.
It was hot, but near the end of the week, more bearable. We walked 67 miles, very hard to believe, but with the new phone app, you can see each day your distance, one day in Epcot was over 9 miles.
Watched the parade twice, once at the front near the train station, single lines, no crowds, and on Saturday, which was supposed to be a busy day, in Frontierville, lots of open space, never have seen it like that.
We ate at Liberty Tavern on Saturday and my DD22 and I shared the Freedom Pasta with Shrimp, such a large portion and absolutely delicious. DD17 had kid's pasta with marinara, fries, drink and dessert for $7, never knew there was such a deal at WDW.
We ate at Shulas Friday night and for under $160/4 people, we had the best meal.
Only meal no one liked was Ohana, which was so disappointing, it was our last night and we were so excited about it. I thought it was pretty good, we just had a waiter that was having an off night, poor guy, I actually felt sorry for him. He seemed a little low in energy. We had to beg for food basically and my DD17 asked for chicken nuggets and fries, and ice cream sundae. So that was a pretty expensive dinner for no one to enjoy. I just think with all the seasonings, it wasn't what they liked. Our steak was very burned, but they did bring more, it just took quite some time to find our waiter. The singer came and sat on my husband's lap, which he wasn't fond of. We did take a long time both inside and out walking the resort and it was beautiful.
ALMOST FORGOT TO add, up near the beginning, you remember that Monsters U cap, well distribution was totally out, so if anyone is looking for one, none in any parks. HOWEVER, on Saturday, our last day, we ducked into every store along the way for air conditioning, and while walking thru Merchant of Venice, I noticed my daughter starting to run, right there sitting on the Monsters, Inc shelf was ONE cap. I thought she was going to pass out from excitement. We went to pay with her free voucher given to her on the Sunday before and the CM commented, I just looked for one a few minutes ago and there was nothing there....so we know without a doubt, after merchandising managers saying they are out everywhere...you can call it Pixie Dust, fate, or our higher power, but it was meant to be for her to have that cap on our last day.
If anyone has any questions, I will be happy to answer, we now have a decision to make on whether to keep our car, or start that dreaded search for another one.
Last edited:
I hope going forward it's all uphill!!
