6 Parks in 4 Days - May 2012 WDW PTR - Picture Guide

[TweedleMe]

This is my 1st PTR so bare with me. This probably won't exactly follow the format most of the other PTRs are using, especially since we leave on May 24th. So let's get some facts out of the way and then begin our journey...

Hotel - Pop Century
Dates - May 24 - May 29
Cast - Mom, Dad, Sister, Sister's Boyfriend, Brother, and Me.

Our family has been to Disney ~16 times. My sister's boyfriend has only been there two times and the most recent time was about 8 years ago. I am a Disney College Program Alumni Spring 2011. We are going to be using the Regular DDP for the first time ever. I am hoping to hear feedback from you guys on if something looks good or looks bad or mistakes I might be making. For some reason I am most excited for this vacation over all the others. I will be taking you guys day by day on how our journey is planned out. I will be posting pictures for almost every single thing we will be doing. Enjoy!

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 1 - Fly, Drive, Eat, Sleep.

May 24

Off We Go

We have been to WDW over 16 times and have only driven there once. It was an experience, but something we would never do again. We are from NJ and it takes around 16 hours to get there. Plus there are six of us so it wouldn't work out. We usually fly out of Philly but most recently have tried the Atlantic City airport, it was small but nothing too different. We usually fly southwest or whichever flight is cheapest. Hopefully this time around I can snatch an isle seat.

On the Road Again

Staying at Pop Century we were pretty much set on not renting a car because Pop Century buses are direct to the park and we are only staying for a couple nights and are only going off-site on one day. However we just recently found a really good deal on a minivan rental from Dollar. A car is always handy, and we have always rented one in the past, but if you can't find a good deal I personally don't think it is needed, depending on how long and where you plan on going during your stay.

Are We There Yet? Yes

Pop Century is where we will be staying for our entire time at WDW. Since we have been to WDW quite a few times we have experimented with almost all the resorts and nowadays are going with the best value. Out of all the value resorts, Pop Century is clearly the best. Their food court is great, their pools are great, and it's newish so the rooms aren't too shabby either. I like it's location too. Of course, once Art of Animation opens on May 31, 2 days after we leave that will clearly be the best of the value resorts, although it is more expensive, and you need to consider the family suites.

Dinner Time

We probably won't check-in until around 10pm so we aren't sure the exact plans for dinner, but we will probably end up eating at the Pop Century Food Court

Time to Rest Up!

We will be getting 3 rooms, 1 for me and my brother, 1 for my parents, and 1 for my sister and her boyfriend. Hopefully we can get them all next to each other or at least near each other, any tips on doing that? We don't mind how far away we are from the food court or pool either.

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - The Tasty Tonga Toast!

May 25

Breakfast

We have ressies for Kona Cafe at 8:05am and then plan on heading to the Magic Kingdom right after. We have a few options here...since we are driving, we plan on driving to Poly, taking the monorail to Magic Kingdom and then taking the monorail back to Poly for Dinner. Is this the best way to go about this? Or should we drive to poly drive to mk drive to poly then drive back to our hotel?
Also, there are 8:30am ressies open for Crystal Palace. Should we switch places and go eat there? I want to try the Tonga Toast but I've heard Crystal Palace is nice, is it worth changing our reservations?

 

[Colleen27]

I'm in! We're going at the same time, over Memorial Day weekend!

Our last two trips were at Pop and I suspect I'm really going to miss it come May when we're at All-Star Sports, but we had to go with the group rate for this one.

I wouldn't change to Crystal Palace from Kona, but I'm biased. I love Kona and our last experience at Crystal Palace was a mess. Objectively, I think the timing is better for Kona - you'll finish up and get started in the park right around rope drop, rather than spending the first 30+ minutes of the park day eating.

I'm not sure on the parking issue because we never drive. Isn't there a limit on how long you can park at the resorts for meals? Or is that only for off-site guests? If you can leave the car at the Poly all day that would be the easiest option. If you can't, you're probably better off catching an early bus to the MK and monorailing over for breakfast and dinner, because the MK lot and TTC always seem really crazy around park opening.

 

[charliesmom86]

We are going to Disney for our very first trip ever..and we are staying at Pop Century..May 21-29 Maybe we will run into each other. I'll be following your PTR.

 

[TweedleMe]

Glad to have you both on board...

Colleen, good point about time limit parking, I'm going to look into that. I'm also now thinking we might take a mid day break from like 2-5 back at our hotel, so that might effect my transportation plans too.

After thinking about it I'm going to stick with Kona Cafe...Only because I have a feeling they will seat us quicker than Crystal Palace plus the fact that if i don't go there, I'm going to regret never trying the Tonga Toast!

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - Whoever said "save the best, for last" clearly has not been to Disney World!

10am

Entering the Kingdom

How could we not start our vacation with the best theme park in the entire world. The Magic Kingdom is our first stop. It's the perfect park to start with and just walking up to the entrance is magical. But, it looks like we are going to have to wait an extra 2 minutes so the women in our group can get their bags checked

I'm walking right down the middle of Main Street U.S.A.

Gotta love Main Street. No time to shop or snack just yet, we have rides to ride.

Tomorrow Land

Tomorrow land is our first stop. Of course, we will be taking the route through Cosmic Ray's and straight to our first 2 rides of vacation...

It's not all about speed

Space Mountain. My 1st ever rollercoaster, and 4th favorite ride. Space mountain has a top speed of 28mph, if you think about it, that is really slow. But don't let that fool you, the drops, darkness, turns, stops, and everything in between is what makes Space Mountain amazing. We almost always start out Magic Kingdom on Space Mountain or Splash Mountain.

Competition at it's finest

Me and my brother love competition. We have played video games our whole lives and still compete to this day. When this ride came out, for us, it was incredible we wanted to only go on this the entire time at magic kingdom. It's been awhile since we have last faced off, and I am determined to beat him this time...of course, now I know all the spots to hit so my score should be maxed, but we will see.

Up Next: Frontierland

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - Our Favorite Ride!

11am

Ev'rybody's Got a Laughin' Place

Yes, our family's favorite ride is Splash Mountain. There is some sort of ultimate nostalgia that I get when I ride it. The drop is fantastic, the music is great, the scenery is fun, the picture is almost always hilarious, plus, it's a long ride. I love it.

Fast Pass

This is a tip that always comes in handy. Not so much, after the new fast pass policy, but it still is something worth doing. Before or After every ride, if there is a fastpass, be sure to get it. It doesn't hurt, unless you plan on getting a fast pass in the next 2 hours for something else. So we will be getting our fastpasses so we can ride again later on.

 

[MHTeacher]

I'm in---We'll be there Memorial Day weekend and the week following.

I do love Kona, but I enjoy the dinner there more than the breakfast. I happen to love breakfast at Crystal Palace though.

Colleen made the same point that I was thinking as I read your post. For some reason, I'm thinking there may be a time limit on parking, especially during holiday times.

Looking forward to reading more of your plans!

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - The Tiki Room is Back!

12pm

Jungle Cruise

I'm already crossing my fingers in hope for a good skipper. For me this isn't about seeing fake animals or taking a boat ride, it's the hope you get a good skipper that will make you laugh. But if not, it's a nice relaxing ride.

The Tiki Room is Back!!!

Ever since new management took over we have always skipped the Tiki Room. But it is back! Not all of us enjoy it, but it is a tradition and something we can't miss!

Yo-Ho

Half of my family hasn't seen the new additions, so I'm excited for them to see those, the last part of the ride is so awesome to me. Disney never ceases to amaze me. This is such a classic and must-see ride. I can't wait for the next movie!

Back to Splash Mountain

Hopefully the fastpass will work out that we can go back on Splash Mountain. We can't really prepare for this until the day of, but I think it will work out!

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - Lunch Time + Scare Time

2pm

Late Dinner = Late Lunch

At first we were planning on eating at Cosmic Ray's, I've heard it is filling and they have a good variety. But after looking through DIS, it seems as though Columbia Harbor House has quality like no other. I've been to Cosmic Ray's and Peco's and every other place to eat at Magic Kingdom, but this will be our first for CHH. I'm excited to eat here and was told to sit on the second floor so that's what we will be doing. Any suggestions on what to eat here? I heard the tuna was great. We plan to get here around 2pm, we usually don't eat this late but we are taking into account our 8:20 ressies for dinner.

Long Live the Hatbox Ghost

Haunted Mansion defines Classic Rides. I'm excited to see the new interactive line qeue they added. I've seen some pictures and think it looks pretty cool.

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - Live, Laugh, Love

4:30pm

I Love this show!

I love this show. I could see it over and over again. Idk why, but there is something awesome about it. The music is probably a huge factor, but the other effects help. So after eating a late lunch right around the corner we can go see this awesome show. Luckily with no kids in the group, all of the nearby rides can be skipped (even it's a small world). So back to tomorrowland we go...

Time to Laugh!

Again, half of my family has never been to this, and half of us have only been to it once. I for one, think it is a great attraction. When it first opened I skipped it the first couple time because I thought it was for kids. But my most recent trip I tried it out, and it was hilarious, I can't wait to go back!

Live through the past!

We have been to this ride before, and it's not thrilling or anything, but it's a nice way to relax after a long day, plus we have the time for it, so why not?!

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - Saving the best for the last...

6pm

One more time!

If it seems like we have the time and everything goes as planned, we are going to try to hop on this one more time. All we can do is play it by ear! (Another option is for someone to get Space Mountain fastpasses while we are all eating lunch, then the return time should be somewhere around this time.)


Best way to end a day at the Magic Kingdom.

The People Mover has been one of my favorite rides ever since I can remember. My family didn't know why, and sometimes I don't even know why...but it continues to be a must do for me, and I have and hopefully will ride it over and over again. No lines, Relaxing, Great Views, Nice Breeze...so many things to love. This is why we will be wrapping up our day with this. Can't wait for this moment.

 

[TweedleMe]

For anyone that is following, I updated every post with new times and switched some rides...This is because I want to account for enough time for breakfast. So as of now I have us entering the park around 10am instead of 9:30am.

 

[TweedleMe]

Day 2 - My Favorite Restaurant!

Reservations for 8:20pm

Hope

The only thing I'm nervous about is getting a window seat to see the fireworks, but I can only cross my fingers and hope. Well, that concludes our day, my favorite ride, my favorite park, and my favorite restaurant all in the first day, it's going to be great!

 

[TweedleMe]

I'm kind of running out of time because I leave Saturday for Ocean City, Maryland, then only have a 4 day break between that and leaving for Disney World.
So I'm just going to give you parks, places we will eat, and the rides in order