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

[mickeystoontown]

The flowers look very pretty, even if you can't see them well on the pictures!

Good job on keeping the new car smell! The "no eating/takeout food" rule went out the window after only a few weeks for us.

They really were beautiful. They were in the median and on the sides of the roads. Every time, we'd see a big patch of them, Mama and I would ooh and ahh over them.

I'm so glad that we have stuck to the no eating in the car rule. Our car looks and smells brand new still.

I was looking at the CBR picture thread and came across a photo of John and Hunter. Hunter was just a little boy It is so cool seeing all the photo's way back then and the ones now taken at CBR and Disney of how he has grown.

I know! He's grown sooooo much!

Joining in. Had a busy week/weekend and just getting over here. Great start! Love having Disney reading materials to help pass the time til we get to go.

Hey! Welcome! Won't be much longer for you!

Great start to your trip! Glad you were able to get a good rate at the hotel. The wildflowers were pretty from what I could see in the pictures. There are some really pretty patches of them along a few highways I have driven on, too.

John is always good at sweet talking the front desk into giving us a good rate. Throw in one old lady and the rate went down even more.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Glad to hear that after the stress before you left, so far your journey there sounds pretty good!

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Once I was out the office door, the stress was gone! G-O-N-E! D-I-S-N-E-E-Y took it's place.

Awesome start! Love to see that wonderful Florida sunshine!

Love that Florida sunshine!

Great update! I just love reading your trip reports. Mostly because I live in the North but my father and bonus mom live in the South and quite often reading your updates makes me think of stuff that they would say and the way they say it which is really so sweet!

We do have some crazy sayings here in the South! You should hear some of the stuff that my Papaw used to say.

I remember taking pictures from the car of the wildflowers on our last trip!

Hunter looks pretty happy with his birthday loot!

Hunter was very happy with the loot! The sandbucket was kind of a gag gift from my niece but it had some really nice goodies in it that came along on the trip. We were going to stuff the sandbucket into the SCAR and take it with us just so we could built a sandcastle and send the pic to my niece but we forgot.

 

[mickeystoontown]

How did you like driving with the carrier? I mean besides the dive bombing part?

I'm excited you are on your way.

Honestly, unless I knew that it was up there and to listen for the wind resistance, I would have never known. We had to really listen closely to hear it. Our gas mileage was good too.....27.7 miles per gallon.

Loving your report so far! Can't wait for more!

Thank you! More is coming soon!

Not yet. Next Friday is their last day. They can't wait!


We were considering (actually still are...) staying at POR next year. The bug situation makes me nervous though....yuck!

Yay! You are on your way! I can't wait to read more!

I'm betting the boys are counting down the hours until they are out for Summer break!

I now wish that we had stuck with POR instead of FQ although I'm not really sure that it would have made a difference on the "feels like home" factor.

 

[mickeystoontown]

The trip has started! We just got back from Orlando - just a Seaworld and Busch Gardens trip ---We did drive to Downtown Disney to eat at T-rex (our first time, very good food - I thought of you while we were there) I missed Disney terribly though. Especially seeing Tower of Terror from the road and not being able to ride it ! We will be back either next year or the next though! Looking forward to more of your trip report!

Welcome home! We visited Sea World too and, all the while, I was thinking "this certainly ain't Disney". Not saying that we didn't like it, but it was definitely different.

Great start!

Love the Spaceship Earth/Epcot Ball/Big Golf Ball look alike.

Isn't that building neat!?! It's some sort of sporting arena.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Are we there yet? You better believe it! Don't even say it Mamaw!

Quite a few hours into our second day of driving, we were nearing Clermont, Florida, home of the Citrus Tower. See it up there in the distance....I know, its blurry, squench your eyes and pretend its clear. Now, see The Citrus Tower:



When we got a little closer, it became less blurry and we could see it in all of its glory. Glory might be a stretch but it is pretty impressive standing among all of the little buildings:



Right beside the tower is the Presidential Museum and the pictures are, once again, blurry.....get ready to squench:





When we first started going to Disney, the Clermont area was nothing but orange grove after orange grove. Now its retirement villages and home after home:





Im betting with all of those nearby homes, this little ice cream stand making a killin:



Everywhere you look, there are more and more rooftops peeking from the hills:





Ahh, there are the orange groves that we love to see :





A large fruitstand alongside the road:





I forgot to mention that, along I-75, we drove through scattered thunderstorms which I hate because I-75 is a busy busy interstate. We kept our fingers crossed that it wouldnt be raining that evening and we could explore French Quarter. Lucky for us, the closer we got to Disney, the less rain we saw.

Just ahead in the distance, we saw it....the exit to Disney!



Its not exactly the exit directly to Disney but its to Hwy. 192 and we feel like weve made it to Disney once we turn onto the highway. My mother, on the other hand, refuses to say that weve arrived until we are officially on Disney property as in when we pull into the resort entrance. Oh no mam! Dont even say it Mamaw! Are we there yet? You better believe it! Just look:





Okay, Mamaw......are we there yet? You better believe it!



About a week, maybe two, before our arrival, we received a letter from Disney informing us that the check-in area of Port Orleans French Quarter would be under construction/refurb. I wasnt familiar with the French Quarter at all but we saw the main building and figured that wed ask somebody where the temporary check-in area was located. Hunter was in control of the camera and he took pics while we walked.

I think that he was taking a picture of the pretty flowers and the bus stop in this one:



**Continued in next post

 

[mickeystoontown]

This was just outside the main building:



I looked to my left and saw a castmember standing near a desk. I approached her and asked if this was where I needed to check in. I guess that I totally missed the sign that Hunter snapped in this picture:



The castmember who checked us in wasn’t the cheeriest that I’ve ever met. As a matter of fact, she was almost gruff in her way of talking. I gave her my name and she asked for my I.D. which I had ready for her. She tapped around on the computer and then asked my name again and had I done online check-in. I told her that I had.

She asked if it were room only or a package. I didn’t know that had anything to do with finding our reservation but I told her a room only for one night. She asked “why just one night?” and I told her that we were trying out the resort before switching to our package at Caribbean Beach. She looked at me and said, this time in a snide uppity kind of tone, “Are you sure? Why would you want to stay there?”. I told her that this was our first time at French Quarter, that we were from Louisiana and we were trying it for one night to see how we liked it. It was a possibility that we would want to return in the future. We had stayed at Caribbean Beach many times and had family meeting us there. She did a “harumph” type of breath and went off to somewhere else to get our packet. It was really off-putting. I didn’t care for it at all.

While I was waiting for Miss Personality to return, Hunter continued taking pictures and Mama and John looked around:











The castmember returned still in a crappy mood and had our packet in her hand but she couldn’t find a pen for me to sign or initial or whatever it was that I had to do. She harumphed again and went off grumbling. I need to introduce her to my boss....both have winning personalities. NOT! She returned again with a pen in hand and circled the map of the resort and showing me what building we were in. She didn’t really give any other info and I didn’t ask ‘cause I was ready to be rid of her.

A potty break was in order for some of us and I took a couple of pictures while waiting:







**Up next: Outta my way people! I'm gonna give you cookin' lessons!

 

[Koh1977]

Can't wait for the next part!! And looking forward to your CBR stay and pics!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[Valgoof]

Yikes! That CM really knew how to start off your trip! Maybe she needed a reminder that she works at Disney World!!! . POFQ was on our short list until DH saw the food court masks. They freaked him out so we had to look at other resorts.

 

[clrklady]

I just have to take the time to say I love reading your trip reports. I've been lurking on the boards for quite some time, and have been following you and your family on your Disney vacations. I love to read other people's stories because I can't afford to go as often as I'd like, and though I usually just open up the Dis and randomly choose a report to start on....I feel kind of creepy and stalker-like because I searched for yours knowing you had just returned. Your trip reports are always so much fun to read, and I feel like I'm actually there myself! Keep the posts coming .... You and your family are great!

 

[Sparkly]

Another good update

The Citrus Tower..I expected it to be orange or something!

POFQ looks a beautiful resort..but ick at the CM's attitude. Just because you're a popular resort, lol.

 

[pwdebbie]

I am so disappointed in the lack of professionalism you encountered at check in. I wonder if it was the first day they were working in the temporary area? We have only ever stayed at POFQ (because of the size) and we love it. I sure hope this was the low point of your trip!

 

[naomiatx86]

I just got done reading the road trip portion- we're in Texas and I absolutely can't wait for us to drive again.

Thanks for the pictures!

 

[Aurora1972]

When I first started reading the DIS (about a year ago) I read a lot of positive reviews of POFQ. Lately, everything has been very negative. I've always thought that would be at the top of my list if I stayed at a Mod. But now, maybe not.

 

[Andreak0428]

wow! I dont think I have ever been to Disney and had an experience like that... its a little disheartening. It seemed like she really had a deep connection with French Quarter...

Cant wait for your next post!

 

[ronnmel]

I can understand how you would be a bit unimpressed with POFQ, when your very first impression is that of a grumpy CM!

 

[maryj11]

Well geee didnt she put a damper on the Disney excitement ! I thought she was suppose to be trained to make you feel welcome

 

[teekathepony]

I'm not a fan of long drives, but I do have to admit that it would be awfully exciting seeing the signs for the exit to Walt Disney World! I can see that making me squeal. DH would want to say "we're here!" early, but I would be with Mawmaw and not say it until we were on Disney property.
Wow, what a winning personality on that one checking you in. Not a fun way to start your vacation! Hope you forgot her fast and started having fun right away!

 

[FancyNancy]

Wow what a grumpy CM! You would think she would have a pen with her since part of her job is getting people to sign paperwork

 

[lovethattink]

That's a bummer that check in was far from stellar. I know how the rest of POFQ went.

I just recently noticed that those ice cream places are a chain. We have one near us and have been to one off of I-4 and 27.

It's so sad to see the orange groves disappearing. Our town was all orange groves too when we moved here in 2000. Now it's house after house, shopping plaza after shopping plaza, and bank after bank.

 

[francis6306]

Awe& I'm so sorry that you had such a bad "welcome" to POFQ! But YAY!!! You are at DISNEY!!!!

And clearly, you have Hunter trained!!! Look at all those great shots he got!!!!