A Manly Man Limps through Disney - A Very Late May 2010 TR

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Since this would be our first non-commando tour (and, no, I’m not talking about the state of our underwear, I’m talking about our touring style – get your mind out of the gutter), I hoped we’d stay rested and injury-free. So much for that plan, but you’ll hear more about that later.
This was our 2nd trip as a family, but I had made many trips with my mom and sister before I got married. Our last trip was in 2007 when the kids were 3 and 6, so neither one remembered too much.

First off, our cast of characters.

Me, DisneyDreamerMom or DDM for short. I’m a 40 yr old mom who is blessed enough to telecommute so that I can be here when my kids get off the bus. I’m a Disney-aholic who is in the process of trying to infect my family. So far, I’m not having much luck, but I’m holding out hope for my youngest. One of my favorite things about Disney is the restaurants, but my son is super picky and my dh has a severe shellfish allergy so I really struggled with making ADR’s. We had two amazing meals, three good meals and one no one liked but my picky son. Go figure.


My husband, Manly Man. I wanted to call him Grumpy, but Manly Man is the necessary name for later on in the tr. He’s 45 and, other than one prior trip with my whole family, which was an interesting experience, his only other Disney experience was his honeymoon. With his first wife. Not such good memories, but I’m working on overcoming that bias. Besides, he loves me and his kids so he’ll do just about anything to make us happy. I’m so lucky!

My son, Goofy. He was 8 on the trip. Oddly enough, he rode all the big rides – ToT, EE, Space – on our big family trip with no problem but a trip to Dollywood and a ride on a major roller coaster called Mystery Mine had scared him off fast rides, maybe for good. Would he get brave enough to try a roller coaster at Disney? Stayed tuned.

My dd, Princess. My dh hates, hates, hates when I call her that, but I can get away with it on these boards because he’ll never see it. Tee hee. She was 6 when we went and would be riding the big rides for the first time. I was a little worried she wouldn’t try them if her older brother chickened out but she’s normally up for any type of adventure so I was hopeful.

Sorry for the delay in this report. Our trip was actually early May 2010 but I just got up the nerve to try my first trip report. I hope I don’t fall flat on my face, but if nothing else I’ll have a written reminder of our trip.
I hope you enjoy the ride!

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Saved for trip links...

Travel Day - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39171778&postcount=3
Arrival & Epcot Day ~http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39180551&postcount=7
Arrival & Epcot Day - Part 2 ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39180687&postcount=8
Arrival & Epcot Day - Part 3 ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39191400&postcount=11

Day 2 - DHS ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39204647&postcount=12
Day 2 - DHS Cont. ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39237062&postcount=23

Day 3 - MK ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39268705&postcount=26
Day 3 - MK more pics ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39293015&postcount=31
Day 3 - MK cont. ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39528526&postcount=37

Day 4 - Epcot ~ http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=39595252&postcount=47

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

I’ll keep this part brief since I didn’t take any pictures on travel day. We always drive since ManlyMan hates to fly. We live in East Tennessee, just 15 min from the Virginia line, so the trip takes around 10 hours. We talked about driving straight through but worried if we hit traffic or had any problems we’d arrive really late, so we decided to stay at a Hampton Inn right where you merge onto I-4 from I-95. We’d have about 1 ½ hour drive the next morning with plenty of time to spend in the park on our first full day.

We picked up the kids from school at exactly 11:35. Yep, if it is after 11:35 they still get counted for a full day so I worked the system. Don’t judge. Neither of my kids had missed a day all year and they get straight A’s. They only had one week of school left when they got back, so it wasn’t like they were going to miss too much.

We managed to make good time. I have to add here that we borrowed my mom’s GPS for the trip and my dh fell in love. Not with the directions. No, he loved the little time thingy at the bottom that predicted what time you would reach your destination. He loved seeing if he could shave a minute or two off every hour. Despite the multiple potty and food breaks necessary with two kids (and a mom who has a bladder the size of a grape), the GPS estimated we’d get to the Hampton Inn by 10pm. Woo hoo! A good night’s sleep would be had by all before the first day. Until…

(Do you hear the music? Dum dum dum…)

We hit construction. Okay, we slowed down to 45 mph. No big deal. I understand working on interstates at night. It’s safer for the workers and causes fewer problems. Then two trucks with flashing yellow lights and a police car pull out of the median right in front of us. They slow traffic down to a crawl and then a stop. Giant signs on the back of the trucks declare we’ll be stopped for a short period of time while construction equipment is moved on the interstate.

Short period of time.

One hour later we were still sitting there. My husband was fuming since he had the chance to speed up and pass the trucks and cop like a few other cars did right before they stopped us, but he wanted to be safe with the kids in the car.

We finally got to go again but by the time we arrived at the Hampton Inn, it was 11:30 and we were all grumpy and tired.
Would the next day be better or did this foretell a horrible Disney vacation?

 

[lledman]

subscribing - can't wait to read more

 

[Holly324]

We are going in may 2011, so I look forward to hearing how your trip went...crowds, weather, things like that. Makes me even more excited (if that were even possible!)

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

subscribing - can't wait to read more

Welcome lledman!

We are going in may 2011, so I look forward to hearing how your trip went...crowds, weather, things like that. Makes me even more excited (if that were even possible!)

Holly, you will love going in May. The weather is wonderful, the crowds are low and it just a perfect time to go.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

We all woke up early and raring to go. After a quick continental breakfast, we hit the road and before we knew it we were driving under the sign. I was really excited about my first stay at Pop. This was the only value I hadn’t stayed at and I’d heard great things about the resort. I will say it didn’t disappoint. At 9:00am, I didn’t expect our room to be ready but wanted to get our KTW so we could hit our first park. Our first taste of pixie dust – our room was ready and we got the request I’d sent it! Woo hoo!

Our room was in the 70’s section. It was a quick walk to the Classic Hall and the pool and, bonus, it was one of the newly refurbished rooms. We parked the car and loaded up the pack mules, I mean the kids. After taking the long way, we found our room next to the giant Mickey holding the phone. We threw the bags in the room and jogged to the bus stop.

About the time we arrived, a bus pulled up for Epcot. Since the kids were so young last trip, we never tried Epcot so everything in this park would be new for us. We climbed on the bus and make the short trek to the park. I couldn’t believe how short the ride was from Pop. After clearing security we had to take the mandatory pics in from of the ball.

I just love the topiaries in Epcot during the Flower and Garden Festival. Everyone was hungry so we moseyed over to the Sunshine Seasons in the Land. One word – yum! So many options and the desserts were amazing. Manly Man got the Smoked Ham and Salami sandwich while I got the Turkey and Monterey Jack Cheese on Foccacia. Both were so big we couldn’t hardly finish them. The kids got the make your own mini sub. For dessert we decided to all pick a different item. Based on DIS reviews, I got the strawberry shortcake, MM got the key lime pie, Goofy got the brownie and Princess got the fruit tulip. The winner of the best dessert? The key lime pie. Even the kids loved it. A perfect blend of sweet and tart.

After lunch we grabbed some fast passes for Soarin’ and decided to try a ride.

Very cool. I’m glad I tried it but it won’t be a must do for the next trip. Still, it was a nice break to let our food settle in the AC. Afterwards, we walked over to Nemo.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

We loved the aquariums. Princess especially, since animals are really her thing. We saw a huge crowd over to one side and walked over. Right when we got there, they opened the doors for Turtle Talk with Crush! We settled the kids in the front and found seats on the middle aisle on the back. During the show, Princess got called on to talk to Crush! She was so excited. Not only did she chat with the cool turtle, he asked Manly Man some questions and offered some parenting advice. Always a good thing from a dad with as many kids as Crush has.

Can't you just hear them saying "Mine. Mine. Mine"?

A fuzzy clamobile shot.

After Nemo, we cut through the butterfly house. I think this is only up during the F&G Festival, so we were really lucky to see it.

You have to look hard to see the black butterfly but I promise it is there!

In the little house are tons of cocoons.

The kids loved it so much we had to drag them out, promising to bring them back on the next scheduled Epcot day.

We were able to get new FP at this point, so we walked over to Test Track. Of course, the kids took the opportunity to cool off a little and pose with a new friend.

The standby wait was too long but we got our FP for later. Now the first big decision. Who was up for Mission Space? Since both kids were nervous (as was I since I get motion sickness – I was trying Bonine for the first time), we decided to go Green.

I forgot to write down who got what, but I do remember my 6 yr old daughter got pilot. That’s when her dad started to get nervous.

It was fun and I would definitely do it again, but I don't think I'm brave enough to try the orange side.

We made it back from our space adventure and decided to try Journey into Imagination with Figment. Again, eehh. The kids had a good time playing with all the stuff at the end but I think this is a ride we can skip next time. I pushed for Who Shrunk the Audience next since I knew it had a limited lifespan. I’m glad we saw it since it’s gone forever. Plus, we got to rest in the AC a little longer.

We only had a little time left before we need to leave the park for our ADR. Would we have enough time to use our FP for Soarin’ and Test Track? We hotfooted it over to Soarin’ and walked right through the line. I was so excited and had talked this up to the kids so much they were as giddy as I was waiting in line. We filed into the second row (darn, not the first) and settled into our seats. My heart skipped as the seats lifted and Princess grabbed my hand. Now, she and Goofy both loved it but Manly Man and I were disappointed. I think we just overinflated our expectations. If we hadn’t heard so much, we probably would have been much more impressed.
We decided not to take the chance on being late for our ADR and gave away our FP for Test Track to another family on the way out. We’d be back to Epcot on Tuesday, so we promised the kids we’d hit that ride first.

We exited and climbed on the monorail for the ride to dinner.

Where to, you ask?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Joining in the fun! Great start to your TR. We used to go in early/mid May, it's such a beautiful time of year down there.

What a lovely family you have!

I can't believe you like Mission Space and didn't like Soarin!! I am the opposite, you couldn't pay me enough to get back on MS. But I could ride Soarin all day.


Looking forward to more. . .

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Joining in the fun! Great start to your TR. We used to go in early/mid May, it's such a beautiful time of year down there.

What a lovely family you have!

I can't believe you like Mission Space and didn't like Soarin!! I am the opposite, you couldn't pay me enough to get back on MS. But I could ride Soarin all day.

Welcome and thank you! I liked Soarin' but I think I just had my expectations too high. I'm looking forward to trying it again. I do like MS but don't think I'll ever upgrade to orange - green is just fine for me.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

We had breakfast here in 2007 and LOVED it. I was nervous about dinner, based on DIS reviews, but dinner just worked with our touring plans better. We checked in and got our buzzer. We passed on the plate picture and settled on the cushioned benches. Two minutes later our buzzer went off. Seriously, they were right on time. We got a great seat and our waitress (don’t have her name but she was wonderful) took our drink orders. We all chose pomegranate lemonade that tasted so good after the day in the park.

Now, Manly Man had suffered a severe allergic reaction on our anniversary dinner the year before and found out he couldn’t eat shellfish. Severe to the point that the ER doc told him the next exposure could possibly kill him. I worried about the buffet, since I knew they had shrimp on it.

However, this being Disney, I should have known not to worry. Our waitress brought our drinks and said the Chef would be right out to talk to us. He walked my dh through the buffet to identify anything that might have shellfish (just the shrimp and a chowder type soup). I couldn’t believe how great they were. We loaded up our plates just in time.

They were wonderful with the kids. They signed autographs and posed for pics with each child. They moved through fairly fast, so our food was still warm even after we’d met all of the fab five. I was happy that my fears about the food were unfounded. Don’t get me wrong – the choices were not fancy nor would they probably please a true foody, but for my basic food family, we loved it. The carved beef was cooked perfectly and I think we all got two helpings of the mashed potatoes. Even the broccoli was perfect – not too raw and not too mushy. The kids loved the sundaes.

Our tummies full and our feet starting to drag, we walked over to MK and caught the bus back to Pop. I planned on walking around the resort but decided instead on a shower and early bed time. The next day would be a long one at Hollywood Studios since we planned to stay for Fantastic. I think we were all in bed asleep by 10pm with sweet dreams of the Fab 5.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Let me start this day off by saying I’d told my family about the fun wake up calls. Of course, I was too excited to sleep late so I was up by 6:30. I’d gotten dressed and was putting my hair up in a ponytail (I love the new curtain separating the sink area from the bedrooms in Pop) when the phone rang. I raced for the phone, planning to hit the speaker button, but my son answered it first. He listened with a big grin on his face. He hung up and jumped on the other bed to wake up his sister.

He told her, “Stitch says it’s time to get up.” She sat up and they both started chattered a mile a minute. I wonder if I can get Stitch to call every morning for school – I’ve never gotten them out of bed so easily!
We had a quick breakfast in the room and walked out to the bus stop.

The bus came within a couple of minutes and we were on our way! I’d never seen the rope drop ceremony for HS so this would be a first for both me and the kids. We waited in line at the turnstiles and a woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was a mom (the two kids hanging on me must have been a dead give away). I said yes and she handed me a carnation! I completely forgot it was Mother’s Day. My dh felt bad that he hadn’t done anything special that morning but I told him that just being at Disney was more than enough for me.

They let us through the gates and we waited in the crowd for the ceremony. We were too far back to get good pictures but the skit is hilarious. As soon as the rope dropped, we headed for TSM.

Thanks to advice I’d gotten on the boards, we skipped the FP line and walked right into standby. We cruised through, pausing to pose with Mr. Potato Head,

walked through the line (I love these monkeys)

Then boarded our cars.

This may be our new favorite ride. Before the trip was over, we rode it three times! We got off, grabbed our FPs for later (this worked great. I took Princess to the bathroom right by the FP machine and by the time we got out, MM and Goofy had the passes. Almost no line and our return time was early afternoon) and strolled over to…

This was one I was worried about with my son. He grabbed my hand as soon as we walked in (still no line, thank goodness). He never said anything but the closer we got to the elevator, the whiter his face grew. I bent over and asked him if he wanted to skip it but he shook his head. I think he was scared but he really wanted to try it.
Did he like it?

Yes! Did he want to ride it again? Absolutely not.

I'm just happy he tried it.

We passed on RNR since Princess wasn’t tall enough and Goofy decided he wasn’t up for a roller coaster that went upside down. We checked out Little Mermaid, but they’d just let in a show and we didn’t want to stand in line for twenty minutes. We thought we’d have time to sneak in the Great Movie Ride before the next show.

Loved it! Unfortunately, by the time we got back over to the Little Mermaid the line was way too long and I knew we wouldn’t get in. Checking the show schedule, we decided to walk over to Indiana Jones. We were one of the first ones seated, which meant we got great seats, but we had to wait about 30 minutes for the show to start. Not a big deal but it was starting to get hot (one of the few times I really got hot all week) and Princess was starting to whine about being hungry.

Soon, though, the show started and we forgot about all our complaints.

Goofy loved it and Princess like it more than she would admit. Since she was STARVING we decided to eat some lunch.

 

[IheartDDuck]

I'm joining!

TSM is my favorite ride too! I love it and can go on it over and over again.

The refurbished rooms at POP turned out really nice. We had one two and were very happy with it.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

I'm joining!

TSM is my favorite ride too! I love it and can go on it over and over again.

The refurbished rooms at POP turned out really nice. We had one two and were very happy with it.

Thanks for joining. I'm glad to find someone who loves TSM as much as we do! Doesn't POP rock? I think we're going to stay there again next trip. I'm looking at your ticker - do you really go back in 2 weeks? I'm so jealous. I hope you have a great trip.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Chef Mickey's looks great! We usually go there, but skipped it this year. I am looking forward to it next time!

Looks like a fabulous day at DHS - my favorite park!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Thanks for joining. I'm glad to find someone who loves TSM as much as we do! Doesn't POP rock? I think we're going to stay there again next trip. I'm looking at your ticker - do you really go back in 2 weeks? I'm so jealous. I hope you have a great trip.

The most I've ever done TSM in one day is 4 times. The only reason we were able to do that is because we had gone on the DVC tour, and got the instant fastpass cards with three fastpasses per card. Those were beautiful....

I do really go back in two weeks. Kind of unbelievable. This is truly going to be my year of Disney.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

4 times??!!! You are truly my hero. I think my arm would fall off.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Looks like a fabulous day at DHS - my favorite park!

This is quickly becoming my favorite too. It used to be AK (I know everyone hates that one but I love animals) but the rides at DHS are so hard to beat and the shows are top notch.

 

[Mrs T 2009]

Joining in!!!! Sounds like your off to a fun start and your first TR is going great!!!! Take it from another first time TR'r (?) haha!!!
Can't wait to hear more!

 

[Mrs T 2009]

This is quickly becoming my favorite too. It used to be AK (I know everyone hates that one but I love animals) but the rides at DHS are so hard to beat and the shows are top notch.

DHS is my favorite park, MK is second, then EPCOT and AK haha!
DHS has great rides (Toy story mania is one of my FAV rides) and LOVE the shows!