Around the World & Universal in 9 Days!!!

[gogo]

Hi everyone,

I'm happy to join the Dis forum today. I've been reading for months everyone's trip reports. They are always a lot of fun and very informative. My son (12) and I just returned from nine days at Disney and Universal Studios yesterday (8/26/07). I don't have pictures to post but hopefully you will find our experiences helpful for your future trips.

Here was our schedule: Day 1 - arrive at Disney's Port Orleans Riverside (Alligator B) for one night.

Day 2 - Arrive at Royal Pacific Resort for two days

Day 4 - Transfer to Disney's Wilderness Lodge (Courtyard view) room for 6 days

I just have to get some notes in order and I'll be back.

 

[gogo]

Day 1 - Part 1

A little history: I've been to Disney about 8 times in the last 20 years. I'm in my mid forties. My son has been to Disney and Universal about 5 times. Our last visit was in January of 07. This was a shorter trip (5 nights - 4 days).

Anyway on to day l of our most recent trip (August 17th to August 26th). Our flight was scheduled to leave Pittsburgh at 9:45 a.m. When checking in to get our boarding passes the screen flashed "There are seats available in first class for $50.00 a ticket". When my son saw this he really wanted me to upgrade to first class. I wasn't sure I wanted to spend the extra $100.00 but the check in employee stated this was a great deal because there was a glitch in the system. Normally, the upgrade costs $l00.00 a ticket but because of the glitch, it would only cost us $50.00 a ticket. The deciding factor besides my son's insistence was the fact that we had a direct flight. So, I went for it

Our flight departed on time. My son sat in front of me in the first class section. (Side Note: We travelled to Naples, FL in June of this year. The flight was delayed several hours due to thunderstorms. But, the airline upgraded us for free to first class.) Back to current trip. I knew what to expect from flying first class on US Air. The seats were great. Very comfy. The snacks they served were not much better than those served in coach class. The only difference is they offer you as many as you want and they offer drinks more often. In my opinion, what you are paying for are the comfortable seats.

Unfortunately, even though the seats were great, I could not fall asleep. I only had about 2 hours sleep the night before. After arriving in Orlando (on time) at about 12 noon, I wished I would have saved the $100.00 because I didn't sleep a bit.

After landing we went straight to Disney's Magical Express. I remembered where it was since we were just there 7 months before. We didn't have to wait very long before the bus filled. Another impression on this trip. I like saving the money using the Magical Express system especially when arriving in Orlando and going to your resort. But, I seriously considered taking a taxi back to the airport. ME doesn't check in luggage for US Air when flying home and leaving 3 hours prior to take off really rushed us. In the end, we did use Magical Express to return to MCO.

Anyway, we made two stops before reaching Port Orleans Riverside. We stopped at PO French Quarter and also stopped at Saratoga Springs. We arrived at PO Riverside about 1:30. I was excited to check out Port Orleans riverside. We previously stayed at French Quarter. I know a lot of people like French Quarter but I wasn't impressed with the grounds. I thought it was very plain.

I requested the Alligator B. section. I didn't request a specific building since we were only going to be there one night. Upon check in, I was told our room was not ready. I was given a card with a number to check back with. I wasn't too concerned because I packed our swimsuits in our carry on just for this reason. After checking in and my son playing in the Arcade, we went to the food court for lunch. My son had chicken tenders and a sundae. I had the choose your own pasta with marinara sauce and chicken. The chicken tenders were fine (hard to mess those up) and my pasta was good but I disliked the chicken.

After lunch I called to see if our room was ready - no luck. About this time, I started feeling a headache coming on. With hardly no sleep, this didn't surprise me.

It was really hot outside so I told my son he could swim. We found the main pool and off he went. I didn't feel like changing into my bathing suit so I found a great spot at the Muddy Rivers bar. I have to say that I thought the theming around the pool and bar were great. I felt a little strange lugging my carry on suitcase around the pool. I tried calling the number to check on our room and after about the fourth call it was finally ready. I told my son he could continue swimming while I located our room.

This is a large resort but the paths were marked well. We were given the Alligator B. section Building 28. This location wasn't as close to the main building as I would have liked but it wasn't the farthes either. Our room was in the back of the building. When I opened the door, I was happy with the look of the room. I think the room was absolutely adorable. The room was very clean and spacious for just the two of us. And what else did I see but three towel animals In all of my trips, I've never had any of these cute creations. The beds were also fun. I liked how they appeared to be made from tree branches.

It was now nearing 4:00 p.m. I hurried back to the pool. My son was having fun and did not want to get out. I told him he could swim about another half hour. We had reservations at the California Grill at 6:00 p.m. I wanted later ADR's but this was the only time available.

As my son swam, I ordere a Pina Colava from the bar. The drink was really too sweet for me. But, it was cold so I drank it all I finally got my son out of the pool and we headed to our room. On our way back to the room I was really hoping our luggage would be there. I didn't want to go to a nice restaurant in the clothes we travelled in. When we entered the room, I was relieved that the suitcases were there.

By this time, I was really starting to feel the lack of sleep. I didn't want to cancel our reservations because I had to leave a credit card and I didn't want a hassle. We decided to take a taxi to the Contemporary to save time.

Next up, our dinner and the longest ride ever back to the resort.

 

[gogo]

Hi, I'm back. I left off at our getting ready for our ADR at California Grill for 6:00 p.m.

Before I continue I forgot to add something to the background. I'm the mom. My husband did not go on this trip with my son and I. He also did not go in January. Although he has enjoyed many previous trips to Disney and Universal, he decided to stay home on these trips. We have three dogs and he does have to work. Sorry I didn't add this info at the beginning. I guess I was anxious to get started.

Anyway, we got a taxi at the lobby at POR to take us to the Contemporary. We arrived on time. We checked in on the second floor and were then escorted to the top floor where the restaurant is located. The last time I dined here was approximately 7 years ago. We were given a table one row away from the window. I wish we were seated by the window but we still had an incredible view. I can't remember our waiter's name but he was very nice and professional. We decided we'd split a flatbread pizza for an appetizer. I let my son choose one. I can't recall the name but it was one that had a mango ketchup sauce, pineapples and chicken on it. I have to admit I was not thrilled with his choice but he said he wanted to try something different. All I can say is WOW, it was great. So much better than it sounded. It was spicy, though. It was so good my son wanted to know if we could come back just to order the pizza. For dinner, I had the steak (filet) and my son had the snapper. I also had a glass of wine. The food was very good. Even though we were full, we both ordered the chocolate lava cake. It took a while for dessert to arrive and in the meantime my headache was becoming much worse.

After dessert, I really wanted to walk out on the roof. They have a walkway/observation deck. The view was spectacular! We snapped a few pictures and headed to the monorail to take us to the Magic Kingdom so we could catch a bus to POR. By this time, my head felt like it was going to explode. All I could think of was geting back to the room and grabbing the asprin I had packed.

We located the bus stop for POR and it didn't take too long to be on our way. My head hurt so bad I could only close my eyes and wait for our bus stop. This is where the problem started I didn't ask the bus driver which bus stop to get off at. I knew how to locate our room from the lobby so I just figured we'd get off at the lobby bus stop. Well, we stopped at three bus stops and I didn't see the lobby. By this time, I said to my son maybe I should ask the bus driver which stop was the lobby bus stop. I should have realized something was wrong because instead of people getting off, people were actually getting on the bus. As we pulled away from the third stop the announcement was made "NEXT STOP, MAGIC KINGDOM"

I couldn't believe it, we were heading back to MK. There was nothing I could do. I knew the bus driver was not going to turn around and we were at the main road. My son started to become really upset and I had tears in my eyes. We finally made it back to MK. After everyone got off, I approached the bus driver and he told me which stop I needed to get off at. Then, he said we needed to change buses because he was now going to Wilderness Lodge. We changed buses and eventually made our way back to POR.
We ran to the gift shop and grabbed some water. I immediately took my asprin and laid on the bed for about half an hour. The Bayer kicked in and I started to feel human again. We had an ADR for Boatwrights in the morning for around 8:30a.m. We both decided to cancel it. The thought of getting up early and eating was the farthest thing from my mind. We fell asleep immediately.

Side note: I paid OOP for the food court lunch, Cali Grill and breakfast. We had the dining plan but it did not start until we checked into Wilderness Lodge on the 20th.

I woke up around 8:00 a.m. I felt pretty good considering how bad I felt last night. We had transportation booked for 11:00 a.m. to take us to the Royal Pacific Resort at Universal. After getting dressed and packing the few things we unpacked for the night we headed to the lobby around 10:00. We asked the bellman to hold our bags for the hour. We actually felt like getting something to eat and instead of waiting in line at the food court, I thought we might have enough time to go to the sit down restaurant, Boatwrights. Even though I cancelled our 8:20 adr they had room for us. It was now almost 10:15 and we were seated immediately. After we ordered, I mentioned to the waitress we had a car waiting for us at 11:00. She was great at getting our food out quickly. I had the french toast and my son had an omelette. The portions were huge and the food was very good. We finished right at 11:00. I had my son run to the bell desk to retrieve our bags while I paid the bill.

As soon at I got outside, I saw our driver walking towards us. We used Sunray Transportation I thought their service was great. Very prompt and friendly. We had a very large SUV which was comfortable. I wouldn't hesitate to use them again! We also used them for our return trip from RPH to Wilderness Lodge.

Summary of the first day: I really liked POR. I would have enjoyed one more day there to explore the entire resort. Very peaceful atmosphere. Also, I don't think it was wise to schedule a large/expensive meal on our arrival day. I usually only get a few hours sleep the night before any trip and I was way too exhausted to fully enjoy the meal and atmosphere not to mention the headache

Next up: Royal Pacific Hotel, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios

 

[gogo]

Day 2 - August 18th

Hi, I left off with the driver from Sunray Transportation approaching us. After loading our suitcases, we were on our way to Universal's Royal Pacific Hotel. We have never stayed at this hotel although we have had dinner at one of their restaurants (Emeril's Tschoup Chop) Sp? We have previously stayed at Portafino Bay and Hard Rock. We booked a standard view room.

We arrived around 11:30 a.m. I was hoping our room was ready cause I didn't want to leave my new camera with bell services and I didn't want to have to take all my money to the parks. In hindsight, I could have asked if they had a safe deposit box to store my valuables til the room was ready.

I have to say that I think this hotel is really beautiful/ The lobby and open courtyard with the elephant fountains is georgous. Out of the three Universal Hotels, this is my favorite. It's actually the least expensive of the three which is a bonus. Although Portofino is very pretty it is a lot bigger, which = more walking and it's the most expensive of the three.

Moving on to checkin...there was only two people ahead of me so this didn't take long. The woman at check in said there was a room ready but it was on the ground floor. If we wanted to wait, they would have a room higher up later. I told her I'd take the ground floor because I wanted to leave my things in the room safe (next time, I'll wait for a higher floor). I asked her what the view was like and she said "it's good - it's facing IOA".

When we opened the the door to our room, I immediately noticed how dark it seemed. When I opened the curtains what did I see but a wall of bamboo plants and other foilage. It was unbelievable how dense these plants were. It really was not an ugly view just so thick and dense and dark. My son and I had to laugh because we weren't expecting this. It really wasn't a big deal cause I knew we'd be spending the majority of our time at the parks.

I thought the room was decorated very nicely and it was clean. The only small drawback was the vanity only had one sink. The vanity was located outside the bathroom.

After we loaded up on the sunblock, we were off to Islands of Adventure. The plan was to do IOA the first half of the day, take a break and head to Universal in the evening. The parks were open til 10:00 p.m. that night.

We took the walkway to IOA instead of the water taxi. Very pretty strool but did I mention it was HOT! First ride was Hulk then on to Dr. Doom's. (Love that front of the Line room key advantage) After that on to Spiderman, my favorite! Moving on...Popeye's water ride, and Deuling Dragons (Fire). We had previously ridden on the Ice side and the Fire side was much much better. Our driver from Sunray told us Fire was better and he was right.

 

[StarCruiser]

Great report so far. Looking foward to hearing more.

 

[gogo]

Next up was Jurassic Park River Ride. This ride was fun. We rode it twice in a row. Next up Seuss Landing. I made my son go here cause I think the Cat in the Hat ride is so cute. He was a good sport and even rode the new, since the last time we were there, Seuss Trolley. The trolley was cute for young children but since it was new, I wanted to try it and besides with the FOTL access, why not? After getting off the train, there was a counter with the biggest cookies. They looked so good we had to get a couple. I got the sugar and my son got the chocolate chip. Mine was really fresh but my son's tasted a couple of days old. We ate most of them which really messed up our appetite.

It was getting late and we were really hot so it was time to head back to the hotel for a break. Since Hulk and Dr. Doom's Fearfall are at the front of the park, we rode Hulk one more time and Dr. Doom's 2 more. I think the Hulk is okay. I'm fine riding it once but it's been my experience that more than one time gives me a headache.

I forgot to mention that on my first Hulk ride earlier in the day I didn't get my seat buckled and the ride started to take off. The overhead harness came down but I didn't get it locked in place. I started screaming for the girl to stop the ride but everyone was screaming because they were excited. My poor son was petrified that his mother(who was riding because he wanted to) was going to fly off the coaster. Eventually, the girl noticed me waving my arms and yelling so they stopped the ride just as we were making our ascent for the first hill. She buckled me in. I don't know if the other riders were mad because they stopped the ride but too bad. I have to wonder what would have happend if she didn't see me. It seems like the harness is locked and the buckle is just an added precaution but I certainly didn't want to find out.

We made it back to the room a little before 4:00 p.m. I was happy to see a little sunlight streaming into the room from above. My son watched television and I was able to fall asleep. Around 5:30 my son woke me up. He said he was bored and wanted to head over to Universal.

Our plan was to eat at NBA. My son likes this restaurant because they have the basketball hoops to shoot and he wanted a jersey. Neither one of us was hungry because we had that huge breakfast at Boatwrights and the cookies late in the afternoon. We decided we'd eat after leaving Universal. I should have realized this was a mistake. It was a Saturday night and CityWalk would be packed as we later discovered.

We wanted to do Shrek first but the line was enormous. It looked long even with fastpass so we did Jimmy Neutron first. We've ridden this ride before so I knew what to expect but for those who don't, it's very jerky. There's one part towards the end where they play the chicken song and they jerk you to the music. It is kind of funny but make sure you don't have any back or neck problems.

Next up we rode the Mummy ride. We rode this at least 3 times in a row. This is a great ride. Very fast and in the dark! We got in line for Jaws but it was down for technical reasons. At this point, I was getting hungry and wanted something to hold me over til dinner. Nothing looked good so we grabbed some candy after the Men in Black ride. I hated the fact that the junk food was messing up our appetite for real food.

I told my son I wanted to see the Beetlejuice show. The next showtime was 8:30. Last time we saw this, we had to stand outside but now its located in a theater. We made it over and got front row seats. I really enjoyed the show. They play good music and it's fun watching the monsters dance and sing to it.

After the show, it was about nine and we wanted to head out. The line for Shrek was still long so we decided to do it tomorrow.

We headed over to NBA for dinner. The wait time was at least an hour The hostess said part of the dining room was closed for some reason. My son looked around the shop and found a jersey he wanted. I bought him a basketball t-shirt as well. He really wanted to eat there but we decided the wait was just too long. We headed over to Margaritaville to check out the line there. And there was a line...the line had about 15 people just trying to reach the podium. At this point I was frustrated and hungry.

We left Citywalk and headed back to the hotel. I didn't think we'd find any restaurants open there but to my surprise they were open. We got a seat right away at Jakes American Bar. Service was good and so was the food. I got a hamburger and my son ordered a spicy chicken sandwich. Great - now off to sleep.

 

[gogo]

Day 3, August 19th:

I set a wake up call for 7:00 a.m. this morning. I decided to let my son sleep in. There's really no reason to get up super early to get to the parks like at Disney because we have the room key fast pass.

When we arrived yesterday, I noticed a sign that indicated the lobby served a continental breakfast in the morning. I headed upstairs to get my morning fix The continental breakfast looked very nice. There appeared to be a good variety of muffins, pastries, cereal, etc. It wasn't very crowded at that hour so I got my coffee and wondered around the lobby. Again, I really like the decor of this hotel.

After finishing my coffee, I went back to the room. My son was starting to wake up. So, back to the lobbyto get some pastries and more coffee for me. It was much busier now but there was still plenty of seating in the large seating area.

Our plan for the day was to finish Universal, then go over to IOA to repeat some of our favorite rides. The parks closed at 8:00 p.m. that night and we had a 7:30 p.m. dinner reservation at Tschoup Tschoup restaurant.

Before heading to the park my DS stopped in the arcade and I browsed in the gift shop by the pool. I purchased a pretty pony tail holder The shop had a lot of nice things and the prices were reasonable.

We didn't use the pool but it looked nice. I knew we would be checking out the Disney water parks later in the week so if we didn't swim at the hotel, we'd make up for it at the water parks. In all of our trips to Disney, we've never been to the water parks. My DS really wanted to see them and I promised him in January we'd go on our next trip

It was really hot out so we decided to take the water taxi instead of walking. Wow, there was a long line waiting for the boat We probably waited about 15 to 20 minutes for that boat.

Once we got to Universal we headed straight to Shrek. Even with our fastpass, there was a bit of a wait. After Shrek, we rode the Mummy again. I literally lost count of how many times we rode. There was no line for the fast pass so we went off and on quite a bit.

After that we spotted a restaurant that served gelato. Very good Some of the attractions we bypassed such at Twister, Fear Factor, Terminator and Earthquake because we have done them in the past and in my opinion, they're not that great. We did ride on Jaws and MIB again. And of course we had to do ET. Before heading out of the Universal park we stopped in to see the Horror Make-up Show. We saw this last time and thought it was funny so we went again. We had front row seats and both DS and I got picked on a little. It really is a funny show but some small children may be frightened. On our way out of the park we spotted one of the characters from the Simpsons. Can't remember which one (they all look the same to me) but my DS wanted his picture taken with him.

Before we went over to IOA, we decided to eat lunch at Margaritaville. We both had the cheeseburgers and fries. It doesn't seem like this restaurant gets very good reviews but I think its pretty good for hamburgers.

We were both getting pretty tired but decided to still go to IOA since this was our last day at the park. Did Dr. Doom several more times. This was now my DS new favorite ride. I do think it is fun and the views are great but it is a very short ride. Next, was Spiderman. We scored front seats. I really think the front seats on this ride are better than the back. We made our way over to the Popeye water ride. I knew from past experience that you get drenched on this ride. I opted to sit out while DS rode twice.

We really wanted to ride Deuling Dragons again but it was on the other side of the park and we were too tired. On our way out we had to do, you guessed it, Dr. Doom's two more times. And, of course, we couldn't pass up the Hulk. After Hulk, it was back to the hotel. It was now going on 6:00 and we had to get ready for dinner. We walked back instead of waiting for the water taxi.

I felt really rushed trying to get ready for dinner. I had made reservations a week prior to our trip. When I made the reservation, I was told I needed to call and confirm the day of the reservation (never heard that one before). If I didn't confirm, they would cancel the reservation So, needless to say, I felt that I better be on time or they wouldn't let us in. As we were walking out our door, ten minutes late, our neighbors were leaving their room. The man asked me where we were going to. Told him we had reservations at Tschoup Tschoup and we were late. He just laughed and said that is where they were going but they didn't have any reservations. He said he didn't think they were busy at all. I felt a little silly because we were rushing around so much.

Sure enough the restaurant was half empty when we arrived. I'm sure if we were an hour late we still would have gotten in. DS wanted a booth seat but we didn't get it. The family with no reservation got that seat

We have eaten here twice before and I enjoyed it both times. However, this meal was disappointing. The service, however, is very good. There is one waiter/waitress and several bus boys clearing things, etc. The appetizer, included, with meal was very good. Some sort of fried puffy crispy thing served with a delicious peanut sauce. We ate two servings of those, mostly my DS. For dinner my son got the snapper again with mashed potatoes and I go some type of combination platter. My platter was rather dry. There were ribs, chicken and some type of pork noodles. I tasted my DS and his was better than mine. Of course, we had to get dessert. I had a piece of pecan pie with ice cream. This was very good but very small portion. DS had a chocolate cake and it was supposed to have a Banana Foster Sauce. My son told the waitress he didn't like the sound of the sauce but he liked chocolate cake. I wanted him to order something off the children's menu but she said get the cake and I'll leave the sauce off. This was not a good recommendation. The cake was extremely dry. I'm sure if the Banana Foster sauce was on it, it would have been better.

After paying the bill, we went back to the room and collapsed into bed. A couple hours later, I heard my son get up. He was standing in the bathroom for a while. I became concerned, so I got up and sure enough he had lost some of this dinner. I thought, please don't be getting sick or worse I hoped his food was not bad. Fortunately, he went back to sleep and felt fine in the morning. All we could figure is he had too much of the appetizers with peanut sauce.

Day 4 coming up with my much anticipated Wilderness Lodge Courtyard View room or so I thought

 

[dizneyrules]

Great trip report so far. Anxious for more!

 

[daisy hughes]

Glad your son was ok! Looking forward to reading more...

 

[gogo]

Thank starcruser for reading!
dizneyrules - glad you like the TR so far
daisyhughes - Thanks!!!

On to Day 4 - Leaving Royal Pacific and onto COURTYARD VIEW Room at WL

Scheduled my wake up call for about 7:30 a.m. this morning. I really wanted to try the Island Dining room breakfast. They offered a buffet and also you could just order off the menu. But, my son was still sleeping and I didn't want to overdue the food since he didn't feel good during the night. I was just relieved that he wasn't up all night.

I decided to go up to the Lobby (I believe it's called the Orchid Lounge) to get a couple cheese danishes, coffee and some milk to bring back to the room. The Lounge was unbelievably packed. There were
people everywhere. I finally got through the line and went back to the room. DS still asleep. It was now getting close to 9:00 and our transportation was scheduled to pick us up at 10:30. It's amazing how much stuff we unpacked for our two day visit.

Time was moving very quickly and I needed to get to the front desk because there were a couple of charges on my bill (they attached to the door during the night) that weren't mine. Plus, about 4:00 a.m. I woke up extremely thirsty. I reluctantly took a can of Sprite from the mini bar. I hate using the mini bar. I even lurked the halls at that hour looking for a vending machine just not to use the mini bar. No luck. So, I wanted to let the front desk know about my purchase of Sprite.

I was regretting my choice to leave at 10:30. Anyway, DS woke up but didn't want to eat anything. We finally had everything packed and headed u to the lobby to check out. It was already close to 10:10 and I know that the transportation is always on time and they would not appreciate having to wait for me to check out. Good timing - as soon as I got to the front desk a big line formed behind me.

The extra charges on the bill were two local phone calls. The cost was minimal. I can't remember exactly but it was a couple of dollars. The cost wasn't a big deal but it does irk me that hotels make these mistakes. I never used the phone except for the wake up calls. I always use my cel phone. It took the girl quite a while to figure out the problem with the local calls. Finally, she said she removed the charges. I asked her how they got on my bill and she said they were probably from the previous guest. I asked how much my can of Sprite cost and she said $4.85

OFF TOPIC: I always check my bill. When I was in Naples, FL in June, we stayed at the Ritz Carlton on the beach. Great hotel, by the way. When I was checking out there the girl didn't want to show me the bill. She said, "its all been taken care of". I thought for a minute, Great, someone paid my bill. But, actually, it was put on my husband's credit card and I didn't need to sign. I told her I wanted to check my charges because DS played quite a few video games and rented movies on the TV. When checking the bill there were 2 valet parking charges. The hotel charges $23.00 a day. I told her, "I don't even have a car here, these are not mine". She eventually took them off, but if I would have noticed them when I got home, she admitted it is more difficult to do it then. Lesson learned.

Back to RPR: It was exactly 10:30 when I finished with check out. Sure enough our driver was there. We loaded our suitcases and were on our way to see

We arrived at WL about 11:00 a.m. There was a minimal line at check in. I was happy when the girl said your room is ready. She said they won't deliver our suitcases to the room unless we're in it. Okay, I told her give me a few minutes to drag DS out of the arcade. I also wanted to get some change for the bellman. I located DS and we went to the gift store to make a small purchase so I could get some one's.

There was really nothing I needed but I knew that the rooms had refrigerators in them. I saw they sold beer in the gift store. So, I picked up a six pack for the room. I envisioned relaxing on my balcony with a cold drink at the end of long days spent in the parks admiring my courtyard view. When my DS saw me purchasing the beer, he looked at me with the strangest stare. Why are you buying beer at 11:00 o'clock in the morning???

A little background regarding the WL. About 6 years ago, my son, myself, sister and mother stayed at the WL. I booked two standard view rooms. I enjoyed the Lodge but the rooms were overlooking the loading docks/delivery stations at the rear of the hotel. Just awful I even asked to be moved but was told they couldn't. The delivery trucks would start beeping between 5 and 6 a.m. every morning. I felt bad because I'm the one who booked these rooms. I didn't do my homework. So, I decided to give WL another try. I went all out and booked the courtyard view. Usually, views aren't a big priority. A parking lot or woods would not be terrible but those beeping trucks and constant noise was something I did not want to experience again. So, this is why I was excited to relax on my balcony enjoying the best view in the house.

After my purchase, we headed up to our room on the 6th floor at the end of the wing. Great, I told my son. We'll be close to the water. While walking to our room, I looked out the window in the hallway and spotted the rooms located at the back of the hotel where we had previously been. I smugly thought to myself, not this time, I was moving up. When we arrived at our room the bellman was already there. When we opened the door, I thought the room seemed pretty dark. So, I went to the balcony door to pull back the curtains and what did I see but the dreaded enclosed balcony. I had read about these but I thought what were the chances of us actually getting one. I told the bellman, look at this view, it's just awful. Sure, if you stood up you could see the pool and courtyard but who wants to stand after walking around all day in the heat and sun. If you sat on the balcony, all you saw was three cement walls, yuk! So much for my view, plus, there was a big tree on the one side of the balcony because we were at the end of the hall. Even standing up the view wasn't great.

The bellman left and I told my son there was no way I was staying in this room. If nothing else was available, they could just move us to another hotel. I called the front desk and simply said, "We booked a courtyard view room and I'm not happy with the view. She said all the rooms on the 6th floor had enclosed balconys. Maybe, some people don't mind these, but I thought they were ugly. She told me they gave us this because it was ready. She found us another room on the 4th floor but it wouldn't be ready until later in the day. I said that was fine.

Only after I knew we could move, DS and I did laugh at the irony of the situation. I sat on the enclosed balcony pretending to enjoy my view. In my opinion, I really don't think these rooms should be classified as strictly courtyard view. The only way I would want a room like this is if you have small children.

Off to the lobby to turn in our room key.

 

[gogo]

Day4 Continued:

We left the room and returned our room key to the front desk. We planned on spending the afternoon at the MK. After storing some thing in the safe deposit box by the front desk, we were off to visit MK.

We took the boat to MK. The boat never went directly to MK - it always stopped at the Campground first then headed to the MK. We discovered the only direct route was from the WL to the Contemporary Resort. After a couple of boat trips, we started taking the bus to MK, it really seemed a lot fater.

Anyway, it was close to 12:30 when we actually made it to the MK. We originally planned to visit this park first, then go to Animal Kingdom because they had extra magic hours this night. In the end, we just stayed at MK a little longer and decided not to go to AK.

First stop was at the Bakery to get an ice cream cooked sandwich. Vey good and one was big enough for both of us. (1st snack credit down)

After that we went to Space Mountain. There was a long line, about a 40 min. wait time posted, but actually it was closer to an hour. We decided to wait in line and grab a fast pass for later. One good thing about the Space Mountain line is it's nice and cool.

We've ridden Space Mountain many many times but we were in for a surprise on this ride

 

[gogo]

We finally boarded Space Mountain. About 3/4 of the way into the ride it suddenly stopped. We sat in the dark a couple of minutes. The ride apparently had a problem and stopped. After a few minutes, all the lights came on. Oh my, I've never seen Space Mountain with the lights on. Apparently, this has happened to others and they reported the mystery was gone. I actually found it interesting.

Everyone in our ride vehicle was becoming a little apprehensive about no one showing up to explain what the problem was. Everyone was wondering if anyone knew where we were. After what seemed to be about 5 minutes a guy showed up. He told us that they were calling in another person to unlock the ride vehicle to let us escape (I mean out).

As we spoke to the others, we all wished for some compensation for our interrupted ride. Finally, two men appeared and helped everyone out. It was neat to walk along the tracks with the light on. We all agreed that we got a behind the scenes tour without having to pay for it. Sometimes it's good to look on the bright side of things

As we exited the ride, everyone was given a fast pass for any ride in the park. Good enough!

Because it was so hot outside and the lines were long for most attractions, we decided to go on Splash Mountain with our fastpass. After that, we grabbed a fast pass for BTMR.

We had an ADR for Liberty Tree Tavern Character Dinner . It wasn't quite time for that yet so we went over to the Jungle boat Cruise. The wait time was approx. 25 minutes. I didn't enjoy this ride as much as usual. I think because it was so HOT outside and the boat was packed.

After the Riverboat cruise, we still had about a half hour til our dinner reservation. As we sat in the shade, I noticed we were close to the Enchanted Tiki Room. I haven't seen this attraction in close to 15 years and my son has never seen it. Plus, I figured the Tiki room would be nice and cool I thought the show was cute and it didn't last to long to be boring. Now it was time for dinner.

Once we checked into LTT they kept calling people to be seated who had arrived after us. After watching this for about 25 minutes, I approached the podium. Apparently, they forgot about us but quickly seated us ater I approached them.

We were both very hungry at this point. The food came out quickly and the characters were good. After stuffing ourselves were were ready to move on.
Dinner was good, also.

Next up, BTMR to use our prior fast pass. After doing a couple more rides, we decided to head back to Wilderness Lodge to check out our new room and go swimming.

I was hoping our room would be nice and I'm happy to report that the veiw and room were great. Good location (close to where people exit from the Roaring Forks restaurant and a good view of the pool.

It was dark out, but we wanted to check out the pool. DS son did the slide a couple of times and we used the hottub. The pool was still crowded even though it was getting late, about 9:00 p.m. I read that WL guests could use the Villas pool. So, we headed over to that pool. This pool was nice but not as big at the main one. There were a couple of bubbling spots in the pool and the hot tub next to it was large. My DS became friendly with some folks from England. They had a ball and looked like they were having fun. I started to fall asleep, when DS came over and was ready to go back to the room. It's now going on 11 o'clock and we have a big day tomorrow. Chef Mickey's breakfast (first time) and the Pirate and Princess Party at the MK

 

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Day 5 - Part l

We had an early ADR at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort for 7:50 a.m. I would have liked a later time, but this is all they had. It 's a popular place. We've tried several times on past visits to get reservations but were unable.

My plan for the day was to go to a park after breakfast and return to the hotel early for a break. I bought tickets for the Pirate and Princess party at the MK for tonight. The party hours were 7:00 to midnight and DS and I are always so tired in the evening that I knew we'd need a break. I also had an ADR for the Plaza restaurant in the MK for 5:00. I wanted to be at the MK before the party started.

Side Note: I was hesitant to buy tickets to the P&P party. I thought we're already paying for tickets to the MK why should I spend more money to go again Plus, my son is older and I wasn't sure if the party was just for little kids. Anyway, I decided to go for it My logic: I wasn't sure how crowded the parks would be so by attending the MK during the party we may get to see more than during regular hours. Afterall, after spending so much money on the vacation, what's another $80.00

Off to Chef Mickey's...I was surprised how busy it was at this hour. We waited in line for our family picture. After a few minutes, we were shown to our table. I think there were 5 characters at this meal. We placed our drink orders and were off to the buffet. DS was excited when he saw the brownies Loves his chocolate. Overall, I was not impressed with the food at this buffet. They seemed slow in putting new fresh food out when it got low. Some of the other buffets we visited later in the week were better as far as the food goes.

We saw 2 characters rather quickly. Another one came shortly after the first two. But, the remaining didn't appear for close to 45 minutes. Our waitress told us it takes an hour for the characters to make a complete rotation of the restaurant...she wasn't kidding. We wanted to see all the characters so we did wait. It is a fun atmosphere and I'm glad we tried it but I like some of the other character meals better.

After breakfast, we decided to go to MGM for about half a day. As soon as we got there, we made a quick dash over to Rock and Roller Coaster. We didn't get to ride this in January because it was closed for refurb. Got the fast pass and decided to wait in the standby line. The line moved rather quickly(about 30 min. wait) The lines always seem to move quickly when you have conversations with others waiting in line.

(SideNote): We encountered very nice people on this trip while waiting in lines for the attractions. That was definitely a plus on this trip. Other trips have not always been so good as far as encountering rude people. A recurring conversation my DS had with everyone he came in contact with was "how is Summit Plummet, at Blizzard Beach"? Of course, we received varying responses. Some said it was great, or it was scary, or I got black and blue from the force of the water, etc., etc. DS only seemed to hear the positive responses and say "see, it's a fun slide", and I only seemed to hear the more negative responses. 0E As I mentioned earlier, we were planning on the water parks this trip, and DS really wanted to try Summit Plummet. I gently tried to discourage him. I kept telling him there were other slides to try...maybe try Summit Plummet on another visit. I knew if I came out and said you cannot try it, that would cause constant nagging, LOL. Don't get me wrong, we really enjoy thrill rides. DS even got me to ride Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point this summer. This ride goes from 0 to 120 mph in 4 seconds and travels as high as 420 feet. There was just something really scary about water slides, afterall, you're not in any type of vehicle. I read that you can go as fast as 55 to 60 mph on Summit Plummet and that seems pretty fast to me on your backside. End of SideNote.

Rock N Roller Coaster was fun but now onto my favorite rides Tower of Terror. Standby wasn't too bad, maybe 20 minutes. For some reason, ToT never had too long of a wait this trip, which was great

After ToT, we went in the direction of Star Wars. I haven't ridden this ride the last couple of visits to MGM, so we went for it. The line was relatively short. After that, we spotted Pizza Planet. I never knew where this restaurant was, so DS wanted to try out the arcade. We didn't eat, just got water. We saw some characters and got pictures. I also saw the umbrella from Singing in the Rain. We got a picture but then the water sprayed out and my camera got wet, enough of that.

I wanted to do the backlot tour. This was another attraction we haven't done for a number of visits. DS didn't want to but I persuaded him to come. The ride is okay but it was way too hot...

We wanted to leave shortly but went back to RNR coaster to use our fast pass and I wanted to do ToT again.

When we got back to WL we wanted to use a couple of our counter service credits at the roaring forks counter service restaurant. They give you so much food at this place. We are not dainty eaters but even this place was too much. And the desserts were huge. A good variet of brownies, cookies and other delicious things

It was close to 3:00 and I really needed a nap. I knew my plan to eat at the Plaza Restaurant in MK before the P&P party was not going to work. I cancelled the ADR and decided to just get to the MK around 6:30 for the party. The counter service meal from the Roaring Forks ended up holding over for the rest of the evening.

As I drifted off to sleep DS watched

Next up: Pirate and Princess Party

 

[zigzagzerr]

Only we were at the Royal Pacific and Universal on 8/17, then off to Disney and Port Orleans.

Maybe we bumped into each other somewhere along the way.....

 

[gogo]

Hi, Zigzagerr: Maybe we did bump into each other somewhere. As I mentioned earlier, we ran into nice people on this trip

August 21st - Continued...

I didn't wake up from my nap until 6:15 p.m. This was later than I wanted to. We got ready quickly and were out the door in about 15 minutes. We raced down to the boat dock to get to the MK. The boat transportation from WL to MK always went to the campground first then to MK. We didn't get to the gates until 7:15. I really wanted to be there earlier to get a jump on the party. I guess it could have been worse and slept til 8:00 or 9:00. FYI: the boat transportation usually took between half an hour to 40 min to reach MK

Anyway, we arrived and were happy to be there We were handed a treasure map and bag for the candy we collected at all the spots marked with an X. We decided to go towards Toontown to look for some characters to get pictures with. The park was still crowded but it appeared the CM's were checking wristbands and ushering people toward the front gate.

We got in line at Toontown and wait for pictures wasn't too bad...maybe 20 min. We got our pictures and decided to go to Fantasy Land. Now, I like FantasyLand but I wouldn't want to make my DS stand in line for the rides there. But, because the park wansn't very crowded, we did Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Dumbo, Teacups with no wait.

As far as collecting the candy, we only went to a few locations for this. We ate what we wanted and then just quit collecting it becaues it would melt. Next up we visited Mickey's PhilHarMagic What a wonderful attraction. After this, onto Splash Mountain and BTMR several times. It was now time for the fireworks. These were really fantastic

After that it was time for the parade. (I can't remember which came first the parade or fireworks but I know they were right after each other) The parade was nice also but it didn't last very long. But, it was so nice not to have to try to locate a good spot for viewing. Right up to the time of the parade, we found a nice location

We then were off to Tomorrowland. We did Space Mountain, Buzz
and then headed over to the laugh floor comedy club. I thought this was cute. And, the good thing is, it will always be a little different because the audience constantly changes.

Where had the time gone ??? It was now midnight. We had a really good time. It was really cool to be at the MK at night with so few people there. I would certainly consider this party again but one has to wonder that if in the future it will become more crowded.

By this time, we figured out we preferred the bus to WL rather than the boat. WL is very close to MK and this would now be our mode of transportation.

BIG DAY TOMORROW - My Birthday and the waterparks (I guess I put them off long enough)

 

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Wednesday, August 22

Well, today was our first trip to a Disney Waterpark. The parks opened at 8:00 a.m. for extra magic hours. I was hoping to get there by at least 8:30. It was difficult to get moving this morning cause we were out late at the P & P Party last night. We didn't wake up til about 7:45. By the time we arrived at the bust stop it was close to 8:30 and boy was it crowded I asked my son which park he wanted to go to first Typhoon Lagoon or BB. He said whichever but came first and I agreed.

Finally the BB bus came and luckily we were able to get on that one. Finally we arrived at BB but it was already close to 9:20. The park was pretty crowded even at this time. After renting a locker and towels we found two chairs to put our stuff on. It seemed that most of the lounge chairs were already taken but there were quite a few small chairs. It really didn't matter cause all we needed was a place to lay our things.

It took a few minutes to get our bearings. It really wasn't too difficult to navigate cause they have a lot of signs with arrows pointing to the different slides.

We decided to go to the ski lift. The ride on the ski lift was enjoyable. What great views When we got to the top we decided to ride slush n gusher ( I think this is the name) This ride turned out to be my favorite It was long and really fast and not too rough. We decided to ride it again. When we got back in line an older man got behind us and my DS started talking to him. The man just finished riding Summit Plummet. He said it was fast but wasn't too scary (Just the answer DS was looking for) After riding slush n gusher again, we headed over to the raft ride. I can't remember the names but one was the tobaggan racers and the other one was where you rode the raft inside a tube on your stomach. We rode the tobaggan racers a couple of times and it was fun but next up we tried the other raft ride. These slides used the flat mat-type thing not the big round innertube. When I laid on my stomach, apparently I was not positioned correctly. This is the type of slide that moves you up onto the sides of the enclosed tunnel. When I went up on the side I banged the side of my head really hard Panic set in. I knew that if I didn't position myself better, my head would keep bouncing off the sides of the wall. I scooted back on the mat hoping I wouldn't fall off and kept my head up high. Finally, I reached the end of the ride. I certainly wouldn't be going on that again.

I was really getting hungry by this point. DS didn't want to stop and eat but I reminded him I didn't even get my morning coffee in our rush to get to the park so he agreed.

We went to the Lottawatta Lodge (sp?) All I can say about the food was YUK. I got the hamburger and fries and DS got the chicken wrap. The hamburger was cold and had absolutely no taste and the chicken wrap was cold It tasted like it just came out of a very cold refrigerator. The fries weren't much better. The best part was the ice cream for dessert. They give you a ticket to get the ice cream after you're finished eating.

My head was still hurting after hitting it on the wall, so I suggested the lazy river ride. This was okay. It would have been better if it wasn't so crowded. After the lazy river ride, we headed over to the purple or red slopes. Can't remember which one. These slides are the big, round innertubes that you sit in. One slide is for double riders and the other slide is for single riders. We did both several times and they were a lot of fun. We would have ridden more but the steps to the top were terrible. There were so many and carrying those big innertubes was very difficult.

It was very hot and we really needed something to drink. DS went to the chairs to wait for me while I got our drinks. I also found the donut stand. These were really good After our break we went to the melt away bay area. We couldn't find a tube to sit on so we left. I asked the lifeguard where the tubes were and he said they only allow a certain amount in the pool and just grab one when someone was finished. We never were able to get one.

At this point I was about ready to leave. I thoug.t I had talked my DS out of riding Summit Plummet, So, we decided to do the Slush n gusher one more time. Before we rode the ski lift to the top we watched some riders on SP. One man went 65 mph.

Anyway, while standing in line for the ski lift we started talking to a family behind us. There was a mother, father, daughter early teens and son about ten. When we got to the top everyone got in line for slush n gusher but at the last minute the father said he was going on Summit Plummet. His son followed and to my surprise my DS ran behind them. Their son came back, he decided not to do it. I tried to make my son come back but all the other guys said leave him alone...he'll be fine. I know I shouldn't embarrass my son this way he is such a big kid but I just couldn't help myself. So after my tongue lashing by the others in line (all in good fun) I went back to the crush n gusher line. I finished before my son so I waited at the bottom to watch him come down.

When he made it to the bottom he said it was fun. He almost chickened out at the top but was glad he didn't. I have to admit it was so nice to see how all the people in line cheered for each other and gave high fives to each other at the bottom. The father he got in line with waited at the bottom to watch and cheer and there was another nice family who came down after my son and gave high fives. My DS said they were encouraging him at the top. That was really a wonderful moment.

It was now going on 4:00 and we had reservations at Kona Cafe for my birthday dinner at 6:00 p.m. This was cutting it close so we'll have to hurry

 

[gogo]

Wednesday, August 22 - Part 2

I left off with us leaving Blizzard Beach around 4:00 p.m. This was much later than I had anticipated leaving. We had dinner reserevations at Kona Cafe for 6:10. As I mentioned earlier, today was my birthday and I was looking forward to a nice meal. SideNote: When we were at Disney in January, we really enjoyed the Kona Cafe, so this is where I wanted to eat on my birthday.

I was sooo tired when we left BB that I knew that getting to Kona for our ADR would be really difficult. I needed a nap. So, I called reservations to see if I could schedule a later time for dinner. The only time available was at 8:55 p.m. This was a lot later than I wanted but I felt I had no choice cause we wouldn't have made the earlier time. Plus tonight was extra evening magic hours at MGM and I was hoping to go there.

After catching some zzz's we were out the door by 8:15. We took the boat to the Contemporary and then the monorail to the Poly. We waited about 10 minutes for our table. I was slightly disappointed in the meal this time. Although it was still good, it was not as good as our last visit. I had the charrgilled filet and DS had the strip steak. My steak was overdone and everything else was okay. Even though it was late and I was still tired my real complaint is how fast everything is brought to the table. We weren't finished with our appetizers when dinner came and the same with dessert. Plus, this restaurant is very expensive. If I wasn't on the dining plan I would be disappointed with how fast everything is brought out and you feel rushed. I still like the restaurant and would go back

After dinner we were both too tired to go to MGM. I always want to go to the evening magic hours but am always to exhaused. Anyway, back to WL for the night.

Tomorrow, Thursday, our plan was to go to the Magic Kingdom cause we had early lunch reservations at the Crystal Palace. I decided to cancel those reservations and try to get a lunch reservation at Epcot instead. Tomorrow was Thursday and our trip was winding down. I really wanted to try and spend more time at Epcot especially World Showcase. The only lunch reservation that fit our schedule was at the Norway Princess lunch. I have to admit DS wasn't too thrilled with this but he's a good sport so I made the ressie for 1:00 p.m. Now, I also had ressies at the Grand Floridian Cafe for 6:00 for dinner. I felt this was cutting it close so I cancelled that and got an ADR for Crystal Palace at 7:30 p.m. Not bad for scheduling the day before.

We up and at the park a little after opening. We made a quick dash to Soarin. We grabbed fastpasses for later and decided to wait in the standby line. The wait was only 30 minutes. We were seated in front row middle. Great seats This is one of my favorite rides...it's so relaxing.

After Soarin we made our way to Test Track. The standby line wasn't too long maybe 40 minutes but we decided to try the single rider line. This was a good choice cause we only waited about 15 minutes. I like this ride but it is not worth an hour wait as we've done in the past.

On our way to Test Track we noticed the character connection. The line was very long but it was inside a building and (nice and cool) and the chacters were too cute to resist We were probably in the building for an hour but we didn't mind...

We still had a little time before our lunch reservation in Norway so we headed to Mexico. I really like the inside of this pavillion. Especially because it was so hot outside and Mexico is so nice and cool. We rode the refurbished boat ride. There was no wait and the ride was relaxing. After, I wanted to look around a little at the merchandise especially the jewelry. After a few minutes, DS started complaining that he was bored let's go. I told him next time we come to Disney I want to stay close to Epcot so I can look in all the stores and he can stay at the hotel. I know that the guys just don't like to browse in shops.

We decided to see if we could check in early for our ADR...it was about 12:30The girl at the podium said to come back so we decided to ride the Malestrom boat ride.There was a short line so on we went. Afterward, we stayed to watch the film. It was very short but enjoyable. It was now almost 1:00 so we went back to the restaurant podium and WOW was it crowded. I took 5 minutes just to give the girl our name it was hot and people were complaining

After about 20 minutes we were seated. This was a very enjoyable meal. Before your main entree is served you can go to the cold buffet where there is lunch meat, cheeses, crackers and I think salad. I went but my son doesn't care for this food so he didn't get anything. We both had the chicken over pasta with vegetables. DS had his veggies on the side. I can't remember everything on the dessert plate but there were 3 types and it is to be shared. I do remember that the rice pudding was really good. The dessert portions were small but a nice complement to the meal. DS does not drink pop so we were able to get 2 large bottles of Voss bottled water. Even though we were on the dining plan there was no charge for the extra water. Almost forgot, the princesses were great too! This was a nice meal and wouldn't hesitate to go again.

Up next, we went to China. I really enjoyed looking in the store. I had limited time because, after all, it was a store and DS dislikes shopping but there were tons of neat items in there. When we exited the store, we spotted Mulan and the red dragon. There was a very short line, so we took a couple of pictures. We decided to stay and watch the chinese acrobats. The were good but it was getting extremely hot outside.

We wanted to use our fastpasses for Soarin and then head out. I would have liked to see more of WS but it was just too hot. On our way to Soarin, I got a frozen Margherita (sp.) and DS got water. I don't usually like to drink in the afternoon, it makes me too tired, but boy that was good
After Soarin, it was back to WL to rest up for our evening at MK.

After taking my afternoon Siesta, it was time to get to MK for our 7:30 p.m. reservation at Crystal Palace. We took the boat and it was so slow we didn't get to the MK until almost 8:00. Should have taken the bus...so much quicker.

Anyway, when we arrived at Crystal Palace it was packed. I asked the woman at the podium how long of a wait and she scolded me because we were a half hour late. I tried to explain how slowwwww the boat was but I think she's probably heard all the excuses before...

We actually waited about 20 to 25 minutes but at least we got seated. This restaurant always seems really crowded but it has a fun atmosphere. I thought they did a good job keeping the food replenished. Our waiter was fine but the one thing that bothered me is he said we would have to pay out of pocket for DS's bottled water. He could have at least said I'll try and put it through and see what happens but he didn't. I don't know why at some restaurants the water was included and in others it wasn't. Anyway, we had a good time and that was what was important

We saw a little of the SpectroMagic parade and decided to leave before the crowds. Back to WL, by bus.

Plans for tomorrow, Friday, were Typhoon Lagoon and dinner at Le Cellier in Epcot...

 

[sherabby]

Hello! I'm enjoying your trip report! I see you left from Pgh airport. Are you local? I'm near Pgh too!

 

[gogo]

Hi SHERABBY:

I'm glad you are enjoying the report. I live in Steubenville, OH, which is about 45 min. to an hour outside Pittsburgh. A new connector was built off of Rt. 22 and now it take only about 30 min. to reach the airport. I like to tell my husband that since the airport is practically in our backyard, I need to take more trips

Thanks for reading

We spend a lot of time in Pittsburgh so I feel like we're a suburb.

 

[sherabby]

Hi SHERABBY:

I'm glad you are enjoying the report. I live in Steubenville, OH, which is about 45 min. to an hour outside Pittsburgh. A new connector was built off of Rt. 22 and now it take only about 30 min. to reach the airport. I like to tell my husband that since the airport is practically in our backyard, I need to take more trips

Thanks for reading

We spend a lot of time in Pittsburgh so I feel like we're a suburb.

That is great! I am from Canonsburg, PA which is about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.

How old is your son? that is great that you two go together! I would love it to do something special like that with my son when get gets a bit older. He is only 7 and this was his first trip to disney this August. He had a blast!
I cannot wait to hear how you liked typhoon Lagoon. We loved it!