atlantamom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Sep 4, 2005
- Messages
- 4
Just got back last night from first trip since high school (am now 33) with DH, DD 11 mos., DS, 4 years old, niece (3), nephew (6), sister, brother-in-law, and mom. Stayed at the Pop which was great considering the price. Got there at 9pm check in was a breeze. Room was clean, was in 3447 4th floor, iin 50's with adjoining room which is what I requested. My nephew thought he was coming to Atlanta not Disney. He was asleep when they got there and he did not wake up until morning when he got the wake up call from Mickey. he was so shocked and said," My wildest dream has finally come true" when he realized where we were.
I would stay there again only because I don't see paying 5K for a deluxe resort Disney vacation that I spend everyday sweating and working to make sure my kids have the most magical experience. Don't get me wrong...I fully enjoyed the magic myself. But it was hardly relaxing on the beach- which is my kind of vacation!
Overall, the Pop was good but I agree with other posters about the Food Court- nightmare! DH and I got separated and could not find each other on two occassions. Mass chaos!! Also, my Coach watch was stolen from my lounge chair while I was swimming in the pool. Not happy!
DAY ONE- EMH at MK
Our first day we went to MK and were late getting started which was annoying since I really wanted to get going so we could beat the crowds and take a post lunch break. We saw the Cindarellabration show at the castle right when we came in which was fun. Question: When did they put all that gold decor all over the Castle? Has that been there awhile or is it part of the 50th celebration? I think I like it the old way... Anyway, we went right to Fantasy land and had less than 5 minutes waits to ride, Dumbo, Snow White, Carousel, Peter Pan, Small World, Philharmagic (do not miss this....awesome!) Then we went to Haunted Mansion and then had lunch at Peco's Bills. Chicken wraps were great...Pork sandwich okay..I'm snobby about BBQ though. Kids hated the two options they had though...Nasty weiners with baked beans that were weird tasting and chicken was watery and flavorless. But hey, it was free!
Then went to ride BTMRR and POC and went back to Pop for nap/swim. Came back and did Tomorrowland...Kids fav ride of whole trip was Buzz...they rode it 5 x and there was never a wait. Also, did Space Mountain....that ride is fun but very dated. Mom loved Stitch but I was expecting something different, more like a ride, not a show and thought it was okay.
Ate dinner at Crystal P. Very good food for buffet and watched the first night of Hallowishes fireworks...very cool! Alothough someone stole my baby's blankets and baby bjorn out of our stroller parked outside restaurant. I was pissed!!!!
Day 2- Epcot EMH
Again, slow getting started. Called that morning and got seat at Askerhaus for princess meal. They were great and interaction was good. Kids rode Maelstrom and loved it. Meanwhile, DH and bro-in-law went to ride Mission- Space. Both cool daddies had been drinking a bit (not too much) the night before and both were green from riding it. The heat (which was tough this day) did not help.
Parade vehicle with MM, MM, Goofy, Donald, Geppeto, C&D, Timon, Pluto, and co. stopped at Japanese pavillon just as kids were getting bored and danced, partied and signed books. Great!!!! Cruised through rest of countries and went to Innoventions, which I could not get my DS out of of. Journey to Imagination and Spaceship Earth. Did not do HISTK or Soarin which really bummed the adults out but the wait was long and we were way pushing the limits on the day. Did not come back for EMH as were all wiped out. Ate at Pop...best thing on the menu (Olive Tapenade counts as app and Chicken Mediterranean flatbread. Very good. Also, try the Orzo pasta with green beans I subbed some pork for the salmon...looked nasty.
Day 3 back to MK
Crowds were bigger today...tried to get most major parks out of way before the weekend, MNSSHP and EPCOT FOOD AND WINE began.
Did Mickey's Toontown Fair...DS rode G Barnstormer 3 x! Did stuff we missed first day (MK Train, Tea cups, Magic Carpet, Jungle Cruise, Winnie Pooh was delayed opening so missed it.) Did Indy cars...ugh the diesel smell on a hot Disney day!!! Not so magical. Did tomorrowland again and of course, BUZZ!!! Took DD to COP so she would go to sleep...should have brought other kids too...I forgot all the things that open and close. It worked...she slept like a dream. Went home and came back for MNSSHP.
****MNSSHP Report.
I will probably get flamed for this and that's okay but MNSSHP was in my opinion not worth the energy, late night or money. When we got there at 7:30 (started at 7...remember we're the 30 minute late family.) The lighting of the park was pretty cool. but there was a bottle neck right at the main beginning of main street as the streets were blocked for the parade. We sat there on the right side for 30 mins waiting for the parade to begin. CM's were letting people cross tot he other side, which we eventually did...much cooler over there. Parade took forever to get there. That said, it was the best opart of the night. The parade had all the villains and MM and MM in costume. FAvorite part was thre recreation of the Haunted Mansion. They had the graveyard guy and his dog and they dancing ghosts who looked great!!! After parade, trick or treating was sort of lame. There was only one white balloon per land. The white balloons are where you get candy from Cast Members. I was expecting all the stores and rides to have candy. Not the case...you have to seek it out which was a pain. Some candy areas only gave you like 3 pieces, others more. I was also told by a friend that you could ride the rides over and over without having to get off. Not the case. We only got to ride, Splash, Haunted Mansion and Buzz before I realized that we needed to leave before the 10 parade let out or we would be stuck in Pop bus hell!!!! Well, we barely got out in time and got home at 11:15. My kid sat in the stroller most of the night eating piece after piece of candy . I could have bought $100 worth of candy a and he would have been just as happy and not so tired the next day. Should be called MNSGreatHP
Day 4 MGM
Got going late again b/c everyone exhausted from late night. Love MGM...architecture is really nice. DH went to ride TOT while took kids to Beauty and Beast show...awesome show for kids, adults, etc. Got FP for TOT but watch was wrong and went in thinking it was time. They did not even check the time...was alot earlier than I was supposed to.
Walked up to Mama Melrose's and got our 9 person party seated at 2 tables in 10 min. Great food~and a nice repose in another hot day. I just could not do another CS meal.
Ride/Show review:
Muppets ( Pre-show is enough to bore you to tears...actual show is pretty good but nothing compared to Philharmagic)
TOT- good
Indiana- great show
Extreme stunt- Loved!
Drew carey- lame
Rock n Roller- great at first...end was kind of slow.
Playhouse Disney- Good if you're kids watch that channel
Star Tours- okay. Sort of made me sick
Had dinner at Brown Derby (last minute res.) only in disney can you eat in a nice place like this, drink grey goose martini's and have four kids with you and it be totally cool with the restaurant. Though I will say the waiter commented on how well- behaved they were. I brought all kinds of activity books and puzzles for them.
Spent our last day at the pool at the Pop. Overall, great trip, incredible deal
but I won't go back until all the kids in the party are 40" It's just too heartbreaking to see one get turned away. IT just breaks the whole group up. Also, it is 5 times the amount of work with an infant. Though I love my little stinkerbelle and would never leave her behind.
Thank you so much to all of you for your Disney board devotion. I learned much from you in my my planning and most importantly I went with the flow and did not go commando which I learned from you.
Thanks and have a magical trip!
I would stay there again only because I don't see paying 5K for a deluxe resort Disney vacation that I spend everyday sweating and working to make sure my kids have the most magical experience. Don't get me wrong...I fully enjoyed the magic myself. But it was hardly relaxing on the beach- which is my kind of vacation!
Overall, the Pop was good but I agree with other posters about the Food Court- nightmare! DH and I got separated and could not find each other on two occassions. Mass chaos!! Also, my Coach watch was stolen from my lounge chair while I was swimming in the pool. Not happy!
DAY ONE- EMH at MK
Our first day we went to MK and were late getting started which was annoying since I really wanted to get going so we could beat the crowds and take a post lunch break. We saw the Cindarellabration show at the castle right when we came in which was fun. Question: When did they put all that gold decor all over the Castle? Has that been there awhile or is it part of the 50th celebration? I think I like it the old way... Anyway, we went right to Fantasy land and had less than 5 minutes waits to ride, Dumbo, Snow White, Carousel, Peter Pan, Small World, Philharmagic (do not miss this....awesome!) Then we went to Haunted Mansion and then had lunch at Peco's Bills. Chicken wraps were great...Pork sandwich okay..I'm snobby about BBQ though. Kids hated the two options they had though...Nasty weiners with baked beans that were weird tasting and chicken was watery and flavorless. But hey, it was free!
Then went to ride BTMRR and POC and went back to Pop for nap/swim. Came back and did Tomorrowland...Kids fav ride of whole trip was Buzz...they rode it 5 x and there was never a wait. Also, did Space Mountain....that ride is fun but very dated. Mom loved Stitch but I was expecting something different, more like a ride, not a show and thought it was okay. Ate dinner at Crystal P. Very good food for buffet and watched the first night of Hallowishes fireworks...very cool! Alothough someone stole my baby's blankets and baby bjorn out of our stroller parked outside restaurant. I was pissed!!!!
Day 2- Epcot EMH
Again, slow getting started. Called that morning and got seat at Askerhaus for princess meal. They were great and interaction was good. Kids rode Maelstrom and loved it. Meanwhile, DH and bro-in-law went to ride Mission- Space. Both cool daddies had been drinking a bit (not too much) the night before and both were green from riding it. The heat (which was tough this day) did not help.
Parade vehicle with MM, MM, Goofy, Donald, Geppeto, C&D, Timon, Pluto, and co. stopped at Japanese pavillon just as kids were getting bored and danced, partied and signed books. Great!!!! Cruised through rest of countries and went to Innoventions, which I could not get my DS out of of. Journey to Imagination and Spaceship Earth. Did not do HISTK or Soarin which really bummed the adults out but the wait was long and we were way pushing the limits on the day. Did not come back for EMH as were all wiped out. Ate at Pop...best thing on the menu (Olive Tapenade counts as app and Chicken Mediterranean flatbread. Very good. Also, try the Orzo pasta with green beans I subbed some pork for the salmon...looked nasty.
Day 3 back to MK
Crowds were bigger today...tried to get most major parks out of way before the weekend, MNSSHP and EPCOT FOOD AND WINE began.
Did Mickey's Toontown Fair...DS rode G Barnstormer 3 x! Did stuff we missed first day (MK Train, Tea cups, Magic Carpet, Jungle Cruise, Winnie Pooh was delayed opening so missed it.) Did Indy cars...ugh the diesel smell on a hot Disney day!!! Not so magical. Did tomorrowland again and of course, BUZZ!!! Took DD to COP so she would go to sleep...should have brought other kids too...I forgot all the things that open and close. It worked...she slept like a dream. Went home and came back for MNSSHP.
****MNSSHP Report.
I will probably get flamed for this and that's okay but MNSSHP was in my opinion not worth the energy, late night or money. When we got there at 7:30 (started at 7...remember we're the 30 minute late family.) The lighting of the park was pretty cool. but there was a bottle neck right at the main beginning of main street as the streets were blocked for the parade. We sat there on the right side for 30 mins waiting for the parade to begin. CM's were letting people cross tot he other side, which we eventually did...much cooler over there. Parade took forever to get there. That said, it was the best opart of the night. The parade had all the villains and MM and MM in costume. FAvorite part was thre recreation of the Haunted Mansion. They had the graveyard guy and his dog and they dancing ghosts who looked great!!! After parade, trick or treating was sort of lame. There was only one white balloon per land. The white balloons are where you get candy from Cast Members. I was expecting all the stores and rides to have candy. Not the case...you have to seek it out which was a pain. Some candy areas only gave you like 3 pieces, others more. I was also told by a friend that you could ride the rides over and over without having to get off. Not the case. We only got to ride, Splash, Haunted Mansion and Buzz before I realized that we needed to leave before the 10 parade let out or we would be stuck in Pop bus hell!!!! Well, we barely got out in time and got home at 11:15. My kid sat in the stroller most of the night eating piece after piece of candy . I could have bought $100 worth of candy a and he would have been just as happy and not so tired the next day. Should be called MNSGreatHP
Day 4 MGM
Got going late again b/c everyone exhausted from late night. Love MGM...architecture is really nice. DH went to ride TOT while took kids to Beauty and Beast show...awesome show for kids, adults, etc. Got FP for TOT but watch was wrong and went in thinking it was time. They did not even check the time...was alot earlier than I was supposed to.
Walked up to Mama Melrose's and got our 9 person party seated at 2 tables in 10 min. Great food~and a nice repose in another hot day. I just could not do another CS meal.
Ride/Show review:
Muppets ( Pre-show is enough to bore you to tears...actual show is pretty good but nothing compared to Philharmagic)
TOT- good
Indiana- great show
Extreme stunt- Loved!
Drew carey- lame
Rock n Roller- great at first...end was kind of slow.
Playhouse Disney- Good if you're kids watch that channel
Star Tours- okay. Sort of made me sick
Had dinner at Brown Derby (last minute res.) only in disney can you eat in a nice place like this, drink grey goose martini's and have four kids with you and it be totally cool with the restaurant. Though I will say the waiter commented on how well- behaved they were. I brought all kinds of activity books and puzzles for them.
Spent our last day at the pool at the Pop. Overall, great trip, incredible deal
but I won't go back until all the kids in the party are 40" It's just too heartbreaking to see one get turned away. IT just breaks the whole group up. Also, it is 5 times the amount of work with an infant. Though I love my little stinkerbelle and would never leave her behind.
Thank you so much to all of you for your Disney board devotion. I learned much from you in my my planning and most importantly I went with the flow and did not go commando which I learned from you.
Thanks and have a magical trip!
