puffkin
DVC Owner- SSR & AKV
- Joined
- Apr 30, 2001
- Messages
- 9,848
Cast:
Woody- planner, 23-year Accountant/Disney nut- 4th trip
Buzz- 25 year old fiancé and Billing Coordinator/night college student- 3rd trip
Dates: July 19th July 26th, 2003
Wednesday July 23rd:
Finally, a day to sleep in. Buzz and I had been doing a good job of relaxing during the afternoons, but this was our first morning to sleep in. We had originally planned on going to a water park, but after passing through them several times on the busses, we decided against that idea. They were always mobbed, and we decided to take a break from the crowds for the day. So, the Mickey wake up call came at 9:15 a.m. today. Buzz showered, and we were at the bus stops by 10 a.m.
Now, we had been doing a great job of getting to the parks before opening all week. While we still had to contend with some crowds, we got a head start on a lot of late risers. Well, we were totally unprepared for how crowded the busses were at 10 a.m. Both bus platforms were wall-to-wall people. We were going to the Kona Café at the Polynesian for breakfast, so we had originally planned on grabbing a bus to the MK. Well, there were at least two busloads of people waiting, so we decided to take the shorter ride to Epcot and then grab the monorail. We ended up waiting 10 minutes for an Epcot bus, but at least we got a seat.
Once at Epcot, we transferred to the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Wow, what a mob! I can definitely see why a lot of people avoid traveling to WDW in the summer. The Ferry and Monorail areas were packed! It probably took those people at least 30 minutes to get to the MK. Buzz didnt want to walk, so we hopped on the resort monorail instead. I dont understand why more people dont use this to get to the MK!
We got to the Poly at 10:40 a.m. and were seated right away for breakfast. The whole reason for coming here was for the Tonga Toast, which I ordered. Buzz ordered the combination platter called the Big Kahuna. Our meal was very good, and I was stuffed. My only complaint about the Kona Café was our waitress. After our meal, she disappeared. We waited 20 minutes after we were finished eating and she never reappeared. We just wanted to pay and get on with our day. I finally asked the hostess, and finally our waitress came out apologizing because she was filling mayonnaise containers or something like that. Now, fine, I realize she had other things to do, but 20 minutes! I found this to be unacceptable, and therefore only tipped $2. Our total w/ tip came to $24.
After breakfast, we walked down to the marina to rent some water mice. This had been one of Buzzs favorite things from our trip last year, so he was looking forward to driving them again. We rented 2 water mice for 30 minutes, which came to $40 with the AP discount. We explored the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake and we had a great time. I especially enjoyed this because my boat was slightly faster than Buzzs.
After returning our water mice, we headed to the bus stop to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. We had been window shopping all week, and we waited until today to make our purchases. We waited 5 minutes for a bus. Once at Downtown Disney, our first stop was the Christmas Shop, which is my favorite store. We ended up buying a Pluto stocking for our dog, Murphy, and a Mickey Mouse head ornament. We got both items personalized. Just a tip, but if you are going to get things personalized, do not wait until the last minute. Often times, they cannot do personalizations on the same day. We were making use of the resort delivery option, and our package wouldnt be ready until Friday.
Our next stop was Once Upon a Toy to get Mr. Potato Head parts. For those of you not familiar with this store, they sell boxes that you can fill with various potato head parts for $16. They have some very unusual parts, including parts specific to Walt Disney World. We managed to fit almost every part into our box except for one of the hats and two pairs of shoes. Another tip is to not buy the actual potato head. It takes up a lot of room in the box. We filled our box with all the parts, and then bought a Mr. Potato Head at Kmart for $5 when we got home.
We then headed to World of Disney and stocked up on some general souvenirs including a football Mickey and Pluto bobble heads for Buzz. We had finished most of our shopping, so we decided to head back to our resort for a break. We waited about 5 minutes for a bus to POR. This was also a Typhoon Lagoon bus, and we pulled in just as a thunderstorm hit around 3 p.m. The traffic backed up leaving Typhoon Lagoon and we ended up waiting 30 minutes to leave the parking lot. When we got to the light, there was a traffic cop manually controlling the light.
Once back at the resort, we rested for a bit and then headed to the bus stop at 5 p.m. to catch a bus to Epcot. A bus was just pulling away when we got to the stop, and we ended up waiting a full 20 minutes for the next one. Once in Epcot, we rode Spaceship Earth, which is one of my favorite rides. I just think the narrators voice is so relaxing.
We had a PS for Restaurant Akershus in Norway for dinner, so we headed to the pavilion. We decided to grab Maelstrom fast passes before heading into dinner. We were seated right away, and were shown the cold buffet. At this restaurant, there is a cold buffet with cheeses, salads, and various meats. You order the hot entrees off the menu. Everything is included in the buffet price, and you can order as many hot entrees as you want. Buzz ordered the sausage and I ordered the chicken. I did not care for the selections at this restaurant, but Buzz thought it was good. Our total was $52 with tip.
We were now in our fast pass window, so we decided to ride Maelstrom. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes in the fast pass line. We had ridden this ride two years ago, but it had broken down last year, so I was anxious to ride again. The ride is enjoyable, but it is very short! I dont remember it being so short. We decided to stay for the movie following the ride, which isnt very good. I prefer the movies in the other pavilions, because they actually show you things in that particular country and dont just talk about the people.
We then walked through the Mexico pavilion and rode El Rio de Tiempo without a wait. I especially like the folk art animals, and I hope to buy one on our next trip. We left Mexico and walked around to Canada. We made it in time to see the last showing of OCanada for the day. This is also a circlevision movie, and it was pretty good. I was very annoyed at all the people who started leaving in the middle of the movie because of Illuminations. By the time the movie ended, there were only a handful of people left.
Buzz refused to stay for Illuminations, so we headed over to the Boardwalk. We were both ready for a snack, so we headed to Seashore Sweets and had waffle cones for $7. Buzz wanted a rematch of Miniature Golf, so we walked back down to Fantasia Gardens. This time we decided to play the Fairways Course and the total was $10.40 with the AP discount.
This course was MUCH more challenging than the Gardens Course. We ended up skipping the first hole because there was a party of 8 in front of us and they were taking forever. Even though we only had minimal waits at all the holes, it still took almost 1 hour 15 minutes to finish the course. We were both well over par, but Buzz ended up beating me by several strokes. We will have to have a rematch on our December trip. I enjoyed the Fairways course much more than the Gardens course, and I thought it was in much better shape. Unless you are playing with small kids, I would recommend the Fairways Course.
We walked back to the Boardwalk Inn to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. By this time, the Marketplace was closed, so we were dropped off at Pleasure Island. We waited about 5 minutes for a bus back to POR. I showered and we were in bed by 12:30 a.m. after another busy day.
Stay tuned for Buzz and Woodys Summer Escape-Day 6
Best and Worst of the Day:
Best
Woody- Driving the water mice
Buzz- Having a break from the parks
Worst
Woody- The waitress at the Kona Café and the Typhoon Lagoon traffic jam
Buzz- Woodys attitude at miniature golf (she was tired and miserable)
Woody- planner, 23-year Accountant/Disney nut- 4th trip
Buzz- 25 year old fiancé and Billing Coordinator/night college student- 3rd trip
Dates: July 19th July 26th, 2003
Wednesday July 23rd:
Finally, a day to sleep in. Buzz and I had been doing a good job of relaxing during the afternoons, but this was our first morning to sleep in. We had originally planned on going to a water park, but after passing through them several times on the busses, we decided against that idea. They were always mobbed, and we decided to take a break from the crowds for the day. So, the Mickey wake up call came at 9:15 a.m. today. Buzz showered, and we were at the bus stops by 10 a.m.
Now, we had been doing a great job of getting to the parks before opening all week. While we still had to contend with some crowds, we got a head start on a lot of late risers. Well, we were totally unprepared for how crowded the busses were at 10 a.m. Both bus platforms were wall-to-wall people. We were going to the Kona Café at the Polynesian for breakfast, so we had originally planned on grabbing a bus to the MK. Well, there were at least two busloads of people waiting, so we decided to take the shorter ride to Epcot and then grab the monorail. We ended up waiting 10 minutes for an Epcot bus, but at least we got a seat.
Once at Epcot, we transferred to the monorail to the Transportation and Ticket Center. Wow, what a mob! I can definitely see why a lot of people avoid traveling to WDW in the summer. The Ferry and Monorail areas were packed! It probably took those people at least 30 minutes to get to the MK. Buzz didnt want to walk, so we hopped on the resort monorail instead. I dont understand why more people dont use this to get to the MK!
We got to the Poly at 10:40 a.m. and were seated right away for breakfast. The whole reason for coming here was for the Tonga Toast, which I ordered. Buzz ordered the combination platter called the Big Kahuna. Our meal was very good, and I was stuffed. My only complaint about the Kona Café was our waitress. After our meal, she disappeared. We waited 20 minutes after we were finished eating and she never reappeared. We just wanted to pay and get on with our day. I finally asked the hostess, and finally our waitress came out apologizing because she was filling mayonnaise containers or something like that. Now, fine, I realize she had other things to do, but 20 minutes! I found this to be unacceptable, and therefore only tipped $2. Our total w/ tip came to $24.
After breakfast, we walked down to the marina to rent some water mice. This had been one of Buzzs favorite things from our trip last year, so he was looking forward to driving them again. We rented 2 water mice for 30 minutes, which came to $40 with the AP discount. We explored the Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake and we had a great time. I especially enjoyed this because my boat was slightly faster than Buzzs.
After returning our water mice, we headed to the bus stop to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. We had been window shopping all week, and we waited until today to make our purchases. We waited 5 minutes for a bus. Once at Downtown Disney, our first stop was the Christmas Shop, which is my favorite store. We ended up buying a Pluto stocking for our dog, Murphy, and a Mickey Mouse head ornament. We got both items personalized. Just a tip, but if you are going to get things personalized, do not wait until the last minute. Often times, they cannot do personalizations on the same day. We were making use of the resort delivery option, and our package wouldnt be ready until Friday.
Our next stop was Once Upon a Toy to get Mr. Potato Head parts. For those of you not familiar with this store, they sell boxes that you can fill with various potato head parts for $16. They have some very unusual parts, including parts specific to Walt Disney World. We managed to fit almost every part into our box except for one of the hats and two pairs of shoes. Another tip is to not buy the actual potato head. It takes up a lot of room in the box. We filled our box with all the parts, and then bought a Mr. Potato Head at Kmart for $5 when we got home.
We then headed to World of Disney and stocked up on some general souvenirs including a football Mickey and Pluto bobble heads for Buzz. We had finished most of our shopping, so we decided to head back to our resort for a break. We waited about 5 minutes for a bus to POR. This was also a Typhoon Lagoon bus, and we pulled in just as a thunderstorm hit around 3 p.m. The traffic backed up leaving Typhoon Lagoon and we ended up waiting 30 minutes to leave the parking lot. When we got to the light, there was a traffic cop manually controlling the light.
Once back at the resort, we rested for a bit and then headed to the bus stop at 5 p.m. to catch a bus to Epcot. A bus was just pulling away when we got to the stop, and we ended up waiting a full 20 minutes for the next one. Once in Epcot, we rode Spaceship Earth, which is one of my favorite rides. I just think the narrators voice is so relaxing.
We had a PS for Restaurant Akershus in Norway for dinner, so we headed to the pavilion. We decided to grab Maelstrom fast passes before heading into dinner. We were seated right away, and were shown the cold buffet. At this restaurant, there is a cold buffet with cheeses, salads, and various meats. You order the hot entrees off the menu. Everything is included in the buffet price, and you can order as many hot entrees as you want. Buzz ordered the sausage and I ordered the chicken. I did not care for the selections at this restaurant, but Buzz thought it was good. Our total was $52 with tip.
We were now in our fast pass window, so we decided to ride Maelstrom. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes in the fast pass line. We had ridden this ride two years ago, but it had broken down last year, so I was anxious to ride again. The ride is enjoyable, but it is very short! I dont remember it being so short. We decided to stay for the movie following the ride, which isnt very good. I prefer the movies in the other pavilions, because they actually show you things in that particular country and dont just talk about the people.
We then walked through the Mexico pavilion and rode El Rio de Tiempo without a wait. I especially like the folk art animals, and I hope to buy one on our next trip. We left Mexico and walked around to Canada. We made it in time to see the last showing of OCanada for the day. This is also a circlevision movie, and it was pretty good. I was very annoyed at all the people who started leaving in the middle of the movie because of Illuminations. By the time the movie ended, there were only a handful of people left.
Buzz refused to stay for Illuminations, so we headed over to the Boardwalk. We were both ready for a snack, so we headed to Seashore Sweets and had waffle cones for $7. Buzz wanted a rematch of Miniature Golf, so we walked back down to Fantasia Gardens. This time we decided to play the Fairways Course and the total was $10.40 with the AP discount.
This course was MUCH more challenging than the Gardens Course. We ended up skipping the first hole because there was a party of 8 in front of us and they were taking forever. Even though we only had minimal waits at all the holes, it still took almost 1 hour 15 minutes to finish the course. We were both well over par, but Buzz ended up beating me by several strokes. We will have to have a rematch on our December trip. I enjoyed the Fairways course much more than the Gardens course, and I thought it was in much better shape. Unless you are playing with small kids, I would recommend the Fairways Course.
We walked back to the Boardwalk Inn to catch a bus to Downtown Disney. By this time, the Marketplace was closed, so we were dropped off at Pleasure Island. We waited about 5 minutes for a bus back to POR. I showered and we were in bed by 12:30 a.m. after another busy day.
Stay tuned for Buzz and Woodys Summer Escape-Day 6
Best and Worst of the Day:
Best
Woody- Driving the water mice
Buzz- Having a break from the parks
Worst
Woody- The waitress at the Kona Café and the Typhoon Lagoon traffic jam
Buzz- Woodys attitude at miniature golf (she was tired and miserable)
