1200 pics, 1100 miles, 15 deluxe dining meals, 1 great time at POR *Completed 9/5*

[KatMark]

Alan, so glad you got a chance to see Yee Haw Bob. We only saw him once but really enjoyed his show.

And how nice that you and your daughter got in an early morning swim, and then you and DW brought every one breakfast. That's a LOT of snack credits. Wow!

 

[maryj11]

We totally forgot to go see Yehaa Bob when we were there

 

[annie170]

Hi Alan! I'm really enjoying your trip report!

Overall, what are your thoughts on the Deluxe Dining Plan? Did you feel it was worth it? Did you use up all of those snack credits?

It's nice to see a 14 year old that smiles a lot! This is coming from someone who raised three daughters and teaches high schoolers!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

HAHAHAHA, I have always joked about teens texting each other even when they're in the same room. So the fact that she texted you from a few feet away just cracked me up.

But 3am MK? YES PLEASE!!!

Good to know... phone/camera in ziplock bag = not so good pictures. Got it.

 

[sunnysideup3]

The beignets are soooo good! Worth the drive/walk over!

That sounds like the perfect MK day!

 

[alan_renfroe]

Just subscribed. Love the trip so far! Can't wait to hear more.

Hi Elandon! Welcome! Glad to have you here!

Alan, so glad you got a chance to see Yee Haw Bob. We only saw him once but really enjoyed his show.

And how nice that you and your daughter got in an early morning swim, and then you and DW brought every one breakfast. That's a LOT of snack credits. Wow!

Oh yes, Yeehaw Bob was an absolute treat! I hope he doesn't intend to retire soon because I would love for my DW to see him next time. CMs at POR told me that folks come from DTD to POR just to see his shows. What a great thing to do for night time entertainment!

Yeah, when you realize that we had a total of 48 snack credits it becomes clear that there's no way we will use them all. Or will we?

We totally forgot to go see Yehaa Bob when we were there

I almost missed him too. I had originally thought I would check him out on Friday night after we got back from our dinner at Raglan Road, but I was so tired and disappointed that night. On that Saturday night, the rest of the family went to bed but just out of shear determination I made myself go alone. SO glad I did! I didn't stay all that long but I will next time.

Hi Alan! I'm really enjoying your trip report!

Overall, what are your thoughts on the Deluxe Dining Plan? Did you feel it was worth it? Did you use up all of those snack credits?

It's nice to see a 14 year old that smiles a lot! This is coming from someone who raised three daughters and teaches high schoolers!

Thanks annie170! My overall thoughts on the Deluxe Dining Plan will be detailed later in the report, but the fast version is that it's really TOO much food and I think we would've come out better out of pocket. However, my DS LOVES to eat and he's budget conscious, so if we weren't on the dining plan he would be hesitant to order whatever he really wanted off the menu. He would order what was cheapest, not what he really wants. So in that regard I'm glad we did it. If DW and I go back by ourselves we will pay out of pocket for sure.

HAHAHAHA, I have always joked about teens texting each other even when they're in the same room. So the fact that she texted you from a few feet away just cracked me up.

But 3am MK? YES PLEASE!!!

Good to know... phone/camera in ziplock bag = not so good pictures. Got it.

Lol! My DD is quite a character anyway! She saw that my eyes were open and she didn't want to wake the others. It's always hilarious getting a text from her when she's in the same room. She's hilarious!

Oh yes! The plan on this day is to experience MK until the wee hours. This is going to be a good one!

Yep, on past trips I've had a digital camera and you could take pics with it in a ziplock bag. With the iPhone, not so much. But I just had this fear of dropping the iPhone in the hot tub. So I'll sacrifice not getting a good hot tub pic for a well protected iPhone!

The beignets are soooo good! Worth the drive/walk over!

That sounds like the perfect MK day!

They are great! Even better than I expected them to be honestly. And huge!

 

[alan_renfroe]

It was about 10:50am on Sunday morning, June 1st when we got in our van, drove to the main POR parking lot and waiting for a bus to MK at the South terminal. (The East terminal was nearest to our room but I wanted to go to the South terminal to check out the bus arrival monitors. Those are neat! Hope they will soon have them at all bus stops!)



DD figured it was time for a few selfies while we waited:









A very nice lady who didn't speak English offered to take a picture of all of us. She did a great job!



Within five minutes or so the bus to Magic Kingdom arrived:





and we were on our way!



I still get excited every time the bus pulls into the Magic Kingdom and the music starts playing! We have arrived!

















Coming up next: Main Street USA

 

[teedee]

I totally agree with you abut the school bread. I tried it years ago and didn't care for it. Gave it another try this trip and still don't care for it. I'm glad you enjoyed Ohana. I don't know that we'll go again anytime soon. The chicken was one of our favorite things, we really missed it this time. We also had a not so good server. While she wasn't rude, but she seemed to be in to big a hurry to refill our drink glasses when needed and just didn't seem to care if we were enjoying ourselves. It seems petty when I read that now, but it was just not the experience we'd had in the past there.

Terri

 

[PrncessA]

Just caught up on a few updates:

Hilarious about the women having a picnic in the 'Ohana hallway.

Glad your family enjoyed your meal at Ohana. We were there the next night and we weren't too impressed. The food was good, but we were set away from the entertainment and didn't have a great server. We probably won't go back, just not our vibe I guess. Your right, it really does depend on your server at a lot of restaurants.

Isn't Yeeha Bob amazing?! He is just a great entertainer. I am not even kidding when I say that I am literally just out of your camera's frame to the right. I saw you standing there, but I wasn't sure that it was you so I didn't say anything. It is a wonderful family experience. Our entire family, from ages 7-42, have it on our list as a must do for every trip from now on.

Yay! The 3am MK day! This was our favorite day at MK. It's funny, we keep just missing each other. We missed you at the POR bus stop by about 30 minutes.

 

[dsnydiva2]

Just finished reading all posts. Your trip is during the dates we usually visit & is very informative. We have stayed at POR twice now & LOVED it both times. Have never seen Yeehaw Bob, but from what I've read on DIS, it's a must do on our next long trip. We'll be taking short trips in Oct for MNSSHP & Nov for MVMCP. Hope the rest of your trip was as great as your posts thus far minus the RR appetizer incident!

 

[DisneyKid4Life]

Ah, I do love those monitors. They do seem to be spreading, so maybe they will eventually arrive at all resorts.

 

[alan_renfroe]

I totally agree with you abut the school bread. I tried it years ago and didn't care for it. Gave it another try this trip and still don't care for it. I'm glad you enjoyed Ohana. I don't know that we'll go again anytime soon. The chicken was one of our favorite things, we really missed it this time. We also had a not so good server. While she wasn't rude, but she seemed to be in to big a hurry to refill our drink glasses when needed and just didn't seem to care if we were enjoying ourselves. It seems petty when I read that now, but it was just not the experience we'd had in the past there.

Terri

Hi Terri! I think part of my issue with the school bread is that I don't like cake at all, which means I'm also a little leary of sweet breads. But then again the Ger's Bread Pudding is the best thing ever...go figure!

Ohana always seems sooo busy, it seems to be hit or miss depending on what server you get and how your experience goes. Fortunately we were all in a good mood that night and Lukus was getting it done!

Just caught up on a few updates:

Hilarious about the women having a picnic in the 'Ohana hallway.

Glad your family enjoyed your meal at Ohana. We were there the next night and we weren't too impressed. The food was good, but we were set away from the entertainment and didn't have a great server. We probably won't go back, just not our vibe I guess. Your right, it really does depend on your server at a lot of restaurants.

Isn't Yeeha Bob amazing?! He is just a great entertainer. I am not even kidding when I say that I am literally just out of your camera's frame to the right. I saw you standing there, but I wasn't sure that it was you so I didn't say anything. It is a wonderful family experience. Our entire family, from ages 7-42, have it on our list as a must do for every trip from now on.

Yay! The 3am MK day! This was our favorite day at MK. It's funny, we keep just missing each other. We missed you at the POR bus stop by about 30 minutes.

Hahahahaha I couldn't WAIT for you to see this post! I was hoping you or someone in your family were in it.....that's just amazing how close we were! Gosh I sure wish you would've come over and said, "are you Alan?" I would've freaked out, but then I would've known exactly who it was! I'm still looking forward to making the cameo appearance in your TR!

That was our favorite day at MK also. Right after Wishes there was a little rain shower and it cleared out the park. Not the Renfroes! We had a blast!

Too bad our families were so close and never got to meet. Maybe next time!

Just finished reading all posts. Your trip is during the dates we usually visit & is very informative. We have stayed at POR twice now & LOVED it both times. Have never seen Yeehaw Bob, but from what I've read on DIS, it's a must do on our next long trip. We'll be taking short trips in Oct for MNSSHP & Nov for MVMCP. Hope the rest of your trip was as great as your posts thus far minus the RR appetizer incident!

Hey there and welcome! If you love POR, you've gotta go see Yeehaw Bob...what a treat! And it's funny because if you've ever been to New Orleans there are tons of bars and entertainers there. Yeehaw Bob just really adds to the "Orleans" element of Port Orleans. Very old school, almost vaudeville type of entertainment....and very Disney!

Best of luck on your upcoming trips! DW and I want to go for Food & Wine...perhaps in 2015.

Ah, I do love those monitors. They do seem to be spreading, so maybe they will eventually arrive at all resorts.

Hey Rob! For someone like me (impatient), the monitors are absolutely awesome! I don't mind waiting....I just like having an idea of about how long my wait is going to be!

 

[alan_renfroe]

It was about 11:40am on Sunday, June 1st and we had arrived at the Magic Kingdom for the first time in five years! It was great to be back!

It was pretty crowded and apparently we just missed Pluto.



No matter. We had lunch reservations coming up shortly. Back in 2008, DW took DD to Cinderella's Royal Table for dinner one night, so DS and I went to Tony's Town Square. Since then, it is our tradition that at some point on each trip he and I must go to Tony's. So DS and I had reservations for Tony's at 12:15pm and DW and DD had reservations at 12:15 for Crystal Palace.

We made our way around the square and down Main Street USA:









Our MemoryMaker photos:















Coming up next: the girls go to Crystal Palace for lunch and the guys go to Tony's Town Square.

 

[annie170]

Great family photos! Definitely Christmas Card worthy!

That's a nice tradition of dining at Tony's with your son.

 

[DisneyLifer87]

Just caught up and am joining in. you have a lovely family!

 

[ashleymrush]

I'm finally caught up! We've been at WDW for the last week so I took a break from the boards. I'm still loving your TR! It helps to take away the sting that I'm not there anymore. I've thought about doing a TR myself but don't really know if I want to or not. I'm not sure anyone would want to read about my DS5 and DS2. I look forward to the next post!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I laughed when you said that your daughter sent a text when in the same room. John will text Hunter when Hunter is just down the hall in his room.

The breakfast choices that you made sound and look like an excellent use of your snack credits. Wanna know a secret? I live in Louisiana and I'm not a big fan of beignets. I like them but I don't go ga-ga over them.

On our first bus ride to the Magic Kingdom, Hunter was saying "Wait for it! Wait for it! Cue the Magic Kingdom music!" Love hearing that play for the first time every trip.

Great family pictures! Oh and we were in the Magic Kingdom that same day.

 

[andrewilley]

On our first bus ride to the Magic Kingdom, Hunter was saying "Wait for it! Wait for it! Cue the Magic Kingdom music!" Love hearing that play for the first time every trip.

LOL, I'm the same - just as you turn left at the lights outside the Contemporary ready to enter the MK bus stop area.

Andre

 

[dsnycrzy]

Im here and enjoying

 

[alan_renfroe]

Great family photos! Definitely Christmas Card worthy!

That's a nice tradition of dining at Tony's with your son.

Awww, thanks! But I think DS would shoot us if we sent these out as Christmas Cards. (He's 17...and he's good at it!)

Yeah I love that he and I always have a little time together at Tony's. I hope that will last for years to come and that he'll always remember those times.

Just caught up and am joining in. you have a lovely family!

Hi DisneyLifer87! So glad to have you join us! Thanks for the compliment!

I'm finally caught up! We've been at WDW for the last week so I took a break from the boards. I'm still loving your TR! It helps to take away the sting that I'm not there anymore. I've thought about doing a TR myself but don't really know if I want to or not. I'm not sure anyone would want to read about my DS5 and DS2. I look forward to the next post!

You should DEFINITELY do one! There are tons of DISboard readers with small kids and they can gain a lot of insight from your trip report. Also, it's quite a therapeutic way to relive your trip and get over post Disney depression.

I laughed when you said that your daughter sent a text when in the same room. John will text Hunter when Hunter is just down the hall in his room.

The breakfast choices that you made sound and look like an excellent use of your snack credits. Wanna know a secret? I live in Louisiana and I'm not a big fan of beignets. I like them but I don't go ga-ga over them.

On our first bus ride to the Magic Kingdom, Hunter was saying "Wait for it! Wait for it! Cue the Magic Kingdom music!" Love hearing that play for the first time every trip.

Great family pictures! Oh and we were in the Magic Kingdom that same day.

Hahahaha! My daughter will text me if we're in a school meeting together or something. "This guy's boring!" (She has her father's patience!)

I'm usually not a big fan of sweet baked goods (particularly cake and cupcakes), but I'm a sucker for a good glazed donut, funnel cake, or beignets. As you'll read in the next chapter, I think we over did it on beignets a little!

Hahahaha..."Wait for it!" Love that! But no matter how many times you hear it, it's always magical!

Gosh it seems like I just missed several DISers on this trip. Wish we could've met up and had our families' pictures made in front of the castle.

LOL, I'm the same - just as you turn left at the lights outside the Contemporary ready to enter the MK bus stop area.

Andre

Yep! You hear the sound of those horns blowing...and then, "Welcome to the Magic Kingdom Theme Park!" Love that!

Im here and enjoying

Hi dsnycrzy! Glad you are here! A new update is on the way.