The cast:
Me- 24 the planner
DH- 25 So NOT the planner
We had a blast! This was our very first trip to the world as a married couple... both of us hadn't been since our childhood. Here's how it went:
Day 1 - Travel and MK
We were up and out the door at 5:30am and headed to the Birmingham airport. We were there and all checked in by 6:15. Soon we boarded our flight departing at 7:00am for Orlando. What a relief this was to have a direct flight this time to MCO. Really makes it worth it. We land and have our bags by 9:30. Make a dash through Alamo Rent a Car... no lines or anyone to be seen (is this a sign of things to come??). We pick up our Pontiac Grand Am and head for POFQ. I must say we did quite well since we had NO directions with us (very uncharacteristic of me, but hey this is Disney how hard can it be?).
We make it there by 10:15 and alas, our room is not ready. We buy our refillable mugs for the trip and we head to MK. Where else for our first day!?
No lines at all at MK. The place is deserted. Got our picture taken with the mayor on an empty main street. Walk on to Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear... did TTA and CP. Always a classic. However I kind of miss the former version of what things would look like in the future. I know they changed it to keep up with everything, but I wished it hadn't. Ate lunch at the Plaza Pavilion... I had chicken fingers/fries and DH had a burger. Came to about $20... we decided next time we'd try to share lunch to save some $$$. Plus the portions are so huge. Off to fantasyland... did peter pan and snow white both within 10 minutes of each other. Walked right in to Mickey's Philharmagic-- LOVED this! Definitely a must see! Skipped over Splash Mtn. and Big Thunder. DH was getting antsy to get back to the room for a break. We quickly did the Pirates of the Carribbean and Jungle Cruise for heading out. Since it was only 2:30 and they didn't guarantee our room to be ready until 3:00-5:00 somehow I managed to talk DH into doing a quick monorail tour of the resorts. We skipped the Contemporary since we'd be eating there later in the trip and toured the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. We loved the Poly... maybe next time we'll try and stay there. The GF was a little stuffy for our taste but we'd still try it if given the opportunity. Called from the Poly to see if our room was ready and it was... so off we go back to POFQ.
I had faxed our room preferences exactly 4 days before... we had a king room, needed it to be non-smoking and would love a view of the river. Well... we had all these, except only a "partial" river view. Maybe if you lean out over the balcony and squint. But no big deal. It's not like you have a private balcony there anyway. Our room was very nice, and there was a fridge in there that we were never charged for. The new mattresses are very comfy. I liked the newness it seemed, I know it just got renovated. We rest a bit and decide to head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner. We put our names in at RF Cafe... 2 hour wait... great. So we do some shopping. Come back about 20 mintues before the time stated on the card they gave us to find out that they had called our name and we missed it. We were then seated immediately. I had the shrimp platter, DH had salmon. Both delicious. Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Day 2 - Epcot
After sleeping in we drove to Epcot about 10:00am. Again, no lines anywhere. We did have to get a FP for TT since it was broken down, but we returned within the hour and walked right on. Loved this ride... my favorite at Epcot. Ate lunch at the food court in the Land pavillion. DH and I split a plate of Chicken Parmesean and it was wonderful. Did Innoventions before heading to MS. I am prone to motion sickness but tend to know my limits. I love riding rides so I take Dramamine and have it pretty much down to a science. I've never had any big problems as long as I prepare. But this ride still made me sick! I did like it, but the point in the ride where we started dodging asteriods did me in. We both walked off loopy and I had to sit down and get some cold fluids in me. I was back to normal in about 30 mintues. I don't think I'll ever need to ride it again. Walked through World Showcase. Did the boat rides in Mexico and Norway. WS wasn't the same to me this time. I don't know why. Maybe because it was a little more crowded with the F/W festival. We breezed through and headed back to the hotel for a rest. Headed over to the Boardwalk to the ESPN club so DH could watch the game. This was his only request for the entire trip. I did enjoy the place although I'm not a big sports fanatic. I had the club wrap and DH had the classic burger and fries. Afterwards we walked the boardwalk and I tried to talk DH into renting a Surrey bike. He said he was too full and afraid any physical activity might ruin it. We said we'd come back later in the trip.
Day 3 - MGM
Took our time getting up and headed to MGM. Walked on to ToT and RR. ToT was my absolute favorite! I love the random drop sequences. RR was great also, didn't make me sick at all. We loved the take off. Ate at Pizza Planet for lunch. DH and I split a cheese pizza meal deal. Did Muppets, the GMR, Backlot Tour, Little Mermaid, and Indiana Jones all before the parade. Decided to make a quick PS for Sci-Fi. Went and did ToT again and bought a photo. By the way, Disney isn't afraid to sell you some photos!! Wow they aren't cheap! Headed to Sci-Fi to find out we really didn't need a PS but oh well. We loved this restaurant. Both of us had the burgers (what else at a drive-in!) and they were great! After all the complaints I'd heard of the food here I was pleasantly surprised. Missed Fantasmic by choice... didn't want to wait for a seat. So we headed back to the hotel. We walked over to Riverside to check it out. Very big but quite picturesque. Nice atmosphere. I would stay here. Took the boat back to POFQ.
Day 4 - OUR 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY at Discovery Cove
We arrive about 8:45 and check in. We loved how they really try and pamper you here. We were given our dolphin swim time of 9:55 so we snorkeled a bit around the tropical river and checked out the sting ray lagoon. Very cool. (And the water too!) Head over to the starfish cabana for our dolphin swim orientation. About 10 minutes later we are in the water with our dolphin, Hutch. I was not prepared for how massive and powerful these animals are. It was incredible. We were in the water with him for about 30 minutes. We got to give him a kiss and do other commands and then do the dolphin pull. Awesome. After it was over we went to view our pictures. Wow... I thought Disney was all about selling pictures. Boy was I wrong. You can get a CD of 10 photos for ONLY $150!!! And the video was $60... which we did end up buying but I must say the quality isn't that great. We went back and snorkeled in the coral reef area for a while. That was spectacular. The lunch provided was very good also. I had the chicken fajitas and DH had (drumroll please.... a burger). He should be turning into a burger by now!
We leave about 3:00 to rest. Our PS at the CG in the Cont. was for 7:50. I wasn't pleased with this time originally, but it worked out well and we got there in time to see the fireworks from the observation deck. Beautiful. We were then seated immediately and given a coveted window table! With a perfect view of the castle! So what if the fireworks were over, this is breathtaking. I hadn't even mentioned it being our anniversary since I called to make our PS so I thought this was great. The castle was beautiful, we loved watching it change colors. We both had the beef filet and agree hands down this was the best meal we've EVER had. It was indescribable. We reluctantly ordered the molten chocolate cake dessert and were pleasantly surprised when it came out with a big piece of chocolate in the ice cream that said "Happy Anniversary from the California Grill". Wow--- magical. I loved this place.
Day 5 - Sea World
I'd never been to Sea World, and our admission was included with our Discovery Cove package so we tried it out. It was fun, but unfortunately the dolphin show wasn't running or the water ski show. We fed the dolphins and sting rays and loved the Shamu Show. Journey to Atlantis is the best ride there... I don't really see what Kracken was all about. Still fun... but didn't seem to fit. We were getting tired of all the walking and left about 4:30. Overall it was impressive, but no Disney. That night we headed to Downtown Disney and went to DisneyQuest before the Cirque Show at 9:00. At DisneyQuest DH kept saying "how come we are JUST now coming here!?!?" Needless to say, he'd found the mother ship. I liked it myself. I steered clear of some of the virtual reality stuff, but still managed to stay entertained. We ate a quick dinner at FoodQuest (split the chicken strips and fries) and looked longingly at the cheesecake but decided against it for now. We headed over to La Nouba and LOVED it. Very interesting. Kind of wish I knew the story behind it all... not sure what some stuff was really supposed to mean but it was very entertaining. Nice not having an intermission.
Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
Got an early start to be at AK at opening. Walked right on to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Did see lots of animals... but they were almost all SLEEPING. It wasn't even that hot this day. Overcast and breezy. Oh well... we loved Kali. However, we weren't the ones to get drenched. The two across the boat from us got it bad and we had a few drops. This ride was incredibly short we thought. Good thing we had no wait. Ate lunch at Restaurantosaurus and spit the burger and fries. Did Dinosoar (loved it) and Primevil Whirl... wow this ride beats you to death. I even had a bruise from it. Did ITTBAB-- best part of the day. I love all the Disney 3D shows with the extra effects. This one was the best. We were out by 3:00 and went back to rest. Had a 7:40 PS at O'hana. Got seated immediately BY THE WINDOW with a view of the castle. Enjoyed our appetizers while watching Wishes again. Wonderful. O'hana was great. So much meat! It was all wonderful. I LOVED the pineapple and caramel dipping sauce. Took a walk on the beach before heading back.
Day 7 - back to MK
Slept in and went back to MK to hit Splash Mtn. and big Thunder. We encountered VERY LARGE crowds at MK this day. Found out that all three mountains were broken down -- isn't that great. Did Tiki Birds, Hall of Presidents and finally made it on Splash after it was back up with a 45 minute wait. Did FP for Big Thunder. Did PhilharMagic again... still great. Didn't even dare to attempt TomorrowLand with the crowds. Pecos Bill Cafe was so crowded... we waited nearly 40 minutes in line for lunch. It was a mess. Must have been due to the holiday weekend... or maybe it was EE day and we didn't realize it. But we were definitely spoiled the whole trip with no lines and made us want to get out of there quickly! Headed back to rest (this had become a must) before heading to dinner at Cafe Tu Tu Tango on Int'l Drive. We met some friends there and loved the atmosphere and the food. I highly recommend it. Afterwards we went and played Mini golf at Winter Summerland. No lines, we played the summer course. Loved the surprises! Some of the holes were quite difficult to maneuver. Headed back for our last night (sigh) at POFQ.
Day 8 - Check out and pass some time before travelling
Express check out was wonderful. Went and refilled our mugs one last time and went to check out some resorts. We went to Wilderness Lodge which was wonderful and saw the geyser erupt. Got a little wet! Then went to Carribbean Beach-- we HATED it. So glad we didn't stay there. May be fine for some folks, just not our cup of tea. Much prefer the Poly. Went back to Downtown Disney to DisneyQuest. Ate at FoodQuest again and finally split that long awaited piece of Snickers Bar Cheesecake! To die for!! Saw a movie at AMC before heading to the airport for our 8:00 flight back to B'ham.
We absolutely loved this trip. We loved POFQ... however probably won't stay there again. Nothing wrong with it, we just want to try other places. We weren't prepared for the heat. It was 90s daily and at times almost intolerable for us. The crowd levels were wonderful. All the cast members we encountered were nice and friendly. Next time of course we would like to stay in a deluxe... but if we can squeeze a few more days out of our vacation to stay in a moderate or value we still would.
Me- 24 the planner
DH- 25 So NOT the planner
We had a blast! This was our very first trip to the world as a married couple... both of us hadn't been since our childhood. Here's how it went:
Day 1 - Travel and MK
We were up and out the door at 5:30am and headed to the Birmingham airport. We were there and all checked in by 6:15. Soon we boarded our flight departing at 7:00am for Orlando. What a relief this was to have a direct flight this time to MCO. Really makes it worth it. We land and have our bags by 9:30. Make a dash through Alamo Rent a Car... no lines or anyone to be seen (is this a sign of things to come??). We pick up our Pontiac Grand Am and head for POFQ. I must say we did quite well since we had NO directions with us (very uncharacteristic of me, but hey this is Disney how hard can it be?).
We make it there by 10:15 and alas, our room is not ready. We buy our refillable mugs for the trip and we head to MK. Where else for our first day!?
No lines at all at MK. The place is deserted. Got our picture taken with the mayor on an empty main street. Walk on to Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear... did TTA and CP. Always a classic. However I kind of miss the former version of what things would look like in the future. I know they changed it to keep up with everything, but I wished it hadn't. Ate lunch at the Plaza Pavilion... I had chicken fingers/fries and DH had a burger. Came to about $20... we decided next time we'd try to share lunch to save some $$$. Plus the portions are so huge. Off to fantasyland... did peter pan and snow white both within 10 minutes of each other. Walked right in to Mickey's Philharmagic-- LOVED this! Definitely a must see! Skipped over Splash Mtn. and Big Thunder. DH was getting antsy to get back to the room for a break. We quickly did the Pirates of the Carribbean and Jungle Cruise for heading out. Since it was only 2:30 and they didn't guarantee our room to be ready until 3:00-5:00 somehow I managed to talk DH into doing a quick monorail tour of the resorts. We skipped the Contemporary since we'd be eating there later in the trip and toured the Polynesian and the Grand Floridian. We loved the Poly... maybe next time we'll try and stay there. The GF was a little stuffy for our taste but we'd still try it if given the opportunity. Called from the Poly to see if our room was ready and it was... so off we go back to POFQ.
I had faxed our room preferences exactly 4 days before... we had a king room, needed it to be non-smoking and would love a view of the river. Well... we had all these, except only a "partial" river view. Maybe if you lean out over the balcony and squint. But no big deal. It's not like you have a private balcony there anyway. Our room was very nice, and there was a fridge in there that we were never charged for. The new mattresses are very comfy. I liked the newness it seemed, I know it just got renovated. We rest a bit and decide to head to Downtown Disney for some shopping and dinner. We put our names in at RF Cafe... 2 hour wait... great. So we do some shopping. Come back about 20 mintues before the time stated on the card they gave us to find out that they had called our name and we missed it. We were then seated immediately. I had the shrimp platter, DH had salmon. Both delicious. Back to the hotel for some much needed sleep.
Day 2 - Epcot
After sleeping in we drove to Epcot about 10:00am. Again, no lines anywhere. We did have to get a FP for TT since it was broken down, but we returned within the hour and walked right on. Loved this ride... my favorite at Epcot. Ate lunch at the food court in the Land pavillion. DH and I split a plate of Chicken Parmesean and it was wonderful. Did Innoventions before heading to MS. I am prone to motion sickness but tend to know my limits. I love riding rides so I take Dramamine and have it pretty much down to a science. I've never had any big problems as long as I prepare. But this ride still made me sick! I did like it, but the point in the ride where we started dodging asteriods did me in. We both walked off loopy and I had to sit down and get some cold fluids in me. I was back to normal in about 30 mintues. I don't think I'll ever need to ride it again. Walked through World Showcase. Did the boat rides in Mexico and Norway. WS wasn't the same to me this time. I don't know why. Maybe because it was a little more crowded with the F/W festival. We breezed through and headed back to the hotel for a rest. Headed over to the Boardwalk to the ESPN club so DH could watch the game. This was his only request for the entire trip. I did enjoy the place although I'm not a big sports fanatic. I had the club wrap and DH had the classic burger and fries. Afterwards we walked the boardwalk and I tried to talk DH into renting a Surrey bike. He said he was too full and afraid any physical activity might ruin it. We said we'd come back later in the trip.
Day 3 - MGM
Took our time getting up and headed to MGM. Walked on to ToT and RR. ToT was my absolute favorite! I love the random drop sequences. RR was great also, didn't make me sick at all. We loved the take off. Ate at Pizza Planet for lunch. DH and I split a cheese pizza meal deal. Did Muppets, the GMR, Backlot Tour, Little Mermaid, and Indiana Jones all before the parade. Decided to make a quick PS for Sci-Fi. Went and did ToT again and bought a photo. By the way, Disney isn't afraid to sell you some photos!! Wow they aren't cheap! Headed to Sci-Fi to find out we really didn't need a PS but oh well. We loved this restaurant. Both of us had the burgers (what else at a drive-in!) and they were great! After all the complaints I'd heard of the food here I was pleasantly surprised. Missed Fantasmic by choice... didn't want to wait for a seat. So we headed back to the hotel. We walked over to Riverside to check it out. Very big but quite picturesque. Nice atmosphere. I would stay here. Took the boat back to POFQ.
Day 4 - OUR 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY at Discovery Cove
We arrive about 8:45 and check in. We loved how they really try and pamper you here. We were given our dolphin swim time of 9:55 so we snorkeled a bit around the tropical river and checked out the sting ray lagoon. Very cool. (And the water too!) Head over to the starfish cabana for our dolphin swim orientation. About 10 minutes later we are in the water with our dolphin, Hutch. I was not prepared for how massive and powerful these animals are. It was incredible. We were in the water with him for about 30 minutes. We got to give him a kiss and do other commands and then do the dolphin pull. Awesome. After it was over we went to view our pictures. Wow... I thought Disney was all about selling pictures. Boy was I wrong. You can get a CD of 10 photos for ONLY $150!!! And the video was $60... which we did end up buying but I must say the quality isn't that great. We went back and snorkeled in the coral reef area for a while. That was spectacular. The lunch provided was very good also. I had the chicken fajitas and DH had (drumroll please.... a burger). He should be turning into a burger by now!
We leave about 3:00 to rest. Our PS at the CG in the Cont. was for 7:50. I wasn't pleased with this time originally, but it worked out well and we got there in time to see the fireworks from the observation deck. Beautiful. We were then seated immediately and given a coveted window table! With a perfect view of the castle! So what if the fireworks were over, this is breathtaking. I hadn't even mentioned it being our anniversary since I called to make our PS so I thought this was great. The castle was beautiful, we loved watching it change colors. We both had the beef filet and agree hands down this was the best meal we've EVER had. It was indescribable. We reluctantly ordered the molten chocolate cake dessert and were pleasantly surprised when it came out with a big piece of chocolate in the ice cream that said "Happy Anniversary from the California Grill". Wow--- magical. I loved this place. Day 5 - Sea World
I'd never been to Sea World, and our admission was included with our Discovery Cove package so we tried it out. It was fun, but unfortunately the dolphin show wasn't running or the water ski show. We fed the dolphins and sting rays and loved the Shamu Show. Journey to Atlantis is the best ride there... I don't really see what Kracken was all about. Still fun... but didn't seem to fit. We were getting tired of all the walking and left about 4:30. Overall it was impressive, but no Disney. That night we headed to Downtown Disney and went to DisneyQuest before the Cirque Show at 9:00. At DisneyQuest DH kept saying "how come we are JUST now coming here!?!?" Needless to say, he'd found the mother ship. I liked it myself. I steered clear of some of the virtual reality stuff, but still managed to stay entertained. We ate a quick dinner at FoodQuest (split the chicken strips and fries) and looked longingly at the cheesecake but decided against it for now. We headed over to La Nouba and LOVED it. Very interesting. Kind of wish I knew the story behind it all... not sure what some stuff was really supposed to mean but it was very entertaining. Nice not having an intermission.
Day 6 - Animal Kingdom
Got an early start to be at AK at opening. Walked right on to Kilimanjaro Safaris. Did see lots of animals... but they were almost all SLEEPING. It wasn't even that hot this day. Overcast and breezy. Oh well... we loved Kali. However, we weren't the ones to get drenched. The two across the boat from us got it bad and we had a few drops. This ride was incredibly short we thought. Good thing we had no wait. Ate lunch at Restaurantosaurus and spit the burger and fries. Did Dinosoar (loved it) and Primevil Whirl... wow this ride beats you to death. I even had a bruise from it. Did ITTBAB-- best part of the day. I love all the Disney 3D shows with the extra effects. This one was the best. We were out by 3:00 and went back to rest. Had a 7:40 PS at O'hana. Got seated immediately BY THE WINDOW with a view of the castle. Enjoyed our appetizers while watching Wishes again. Wonderful. O'hana was great. So much meat! It was all wonderful. I LOVED the pineapple and caramel dipping sauce. Took a walk on the beach before heading back.
Day 7 - back to MK
Slept in and went back to MK to hit Splash Mtn. and big Thunder. We encountered VERY LARGE crowds at MK this day. Found out that all three mountains were broken down -- isn't that great. Did Tiki Birds, Hall of Presidents and finally made it on Splash after it was back up with a 45 minute wait. Did FP for Big Thunder. Did PhilharMagic again... still great. Didn't even dare to attempt TomorrowLand with the crowds. Pecos Bill Cafe was so crowded... we waited nearly 40 minutes in line for lunch. It was a mess. Must have been due to the holiday weekend... or maybe it was EE day and we didn't realize it. But we were definitely spoiled the whole trip with no lines and made us want to get out of there quickly! Headed back to rest (this had become a must) before heading to dinner at Cafe Tu Tu Tango on Int'l Drive. We met some friends there and loved the atmosphere and the food. I highly recommend it. Afterwards we went and played Mini golf at Winter Summerland. No lines, we played the summer course. Loved the surprises! Some of the holes were quite difficult to maneuver. Headed back for our last night (sigh) at POFQ.
Day 8 - Check out and pass some time before travelling
Express check out was wonderful. Went and refilled our mugs one last time and went to check out some resorts. We went to Wilderness Lodge which was wonderful and saw the geyser erupt. Got a little wet! Then went to Carribbean Beach-- we HATED it. So glad we didn't stay there. May be fine for some folks, just not our cup of tea. Much prefer the Poly. Went back to Downtown Disney to DisneyQuest. Ate at FoodQuest again and finally split that long awaited piece of Snickers Bar Cheesecake! To die for!! Saw a movie at AMC before heading to the airport for our 8:00 flight back to B'ham.
We absolutely loved this trip. We loved POFQ... however probably won't stay there again. Nothing wrong with it, we just want to try other places. We weren't prepared for the heat. It was 90s daily and at times almost intolerable for us. The crowd levels were wonderful. All the cast members we encountered were nice and friendly. Next time of course we would like to stay in a deluxe... but if we can squeeze a few more days out of our vacation to stay in a moderate or value we still would.
It's become a tradition to dine there on arrival night. 
