Canadave & family to WDW- An overview of our trip to WDW, 2004 edition

[Canadave]

The CAST: DD1 (Brittany, 15 yrs. old), DD2 (Emily, 11 yrs. old), DW (Marylynn, let's just say early 40's) and myself (Dave,same)

I was trying to figure out how to do a synopsis of our trip reports, so I thought I would include the good, the bad, (no ugly), and a mini ratings review of our dining experiences...since the dining is one of my favourite parts of WDW, I'll start with them...so here goes:

Boma: Price 4 stars; Atmosphere 4 stars; Food 4 1/2 stars; Service 4 stars; Overall (value) 4 1/2 stars.
Enjoyed the experience immensely...will go back.

Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki: Price 3 stars; Atmosphere 4 stars; Food 4 1/2 stars; Service 3 stars; Overall 4 stars.
Was a lot of fun, but could have been more fun with a different chef. DD2 LOVED this place...would go again.

50's Prime Time Cafe: Price 4 stars; Atmosphere 5 stars; Food 4 stars; Service 3 1/2 stars; Overall 4 stars.
Fun place, but server makes all the difference in how much fun.

Sci-Fi Diner: Price 3 1/2 stars; Atmosphere 5 stars; Food 4 stars; Service 3 1/2 stars; Overall 4 stars.
Experience this as an attraction as well as a place to eat.

Bongo's Cuban Cafe: Price 4 1/2 stars; Atmosphere 4 stars; Food 5 stars; Service 3 1/2 stars; Overall 5 stars.
Loved the Cuban food.

Ohana's (breakfast): Price (we had free breakfast coupon); Atmosphere 4 stars; Food 3 1/2 stars; Service 4 stars; Overall 4 stars.
Great interaction with the characters.

Liberty Tree Tavern: Price 4 1/2 stars; Atmosphere 4 1/2 stars; Food 5 stars; Service 5 stars; Overall 5 stars.
Was a delight to eat here...tasty food with good character interaction.

Chefs De France: Price 1 1/2 stars; Atmosphere 5 stars; Food 1 star; Service 4 1/2 stars; Value 3 stars.
Maybe we just hit a bad night...I was very disappointed with my meal...might try it again because the atmosphere and service were wonderful. Price rating is reflected in the quality of the food on this night.

Olivia's: Price 4 1/2 stars; Atmosphere 5 stars; Food 5 stars; Service 4 stars; Overall 5 stars.
Was a perfect place for lunch. Loved the relaxing atmosphere.

Planet Hollywood: Price 3 1/2 stars; Atmosphere 3 stars; Food 4 stars; Service 3 stars; Overall 3 1/2 stars.
Too noisy when busy...but food was good.

We also did a lot of non-table dining and was not disappointed at any one...I thought the pricing was very reasonable considering we are dining at WDW and most were fast. A quick rating for each (based mainly on the quality of the food):
Cantina San Angel: 4 stars
Lotus Blossom Cafe: 4 stars
Tusker House: 4 stars
Cosmic Rays: 4 1/2 stars
Chakranadis: 5 stars
Pop Century Food Court: 4 stars
Peco's Bills: 5 stars
Columbia Harbour House: 4 1/2 stars


DISAPPOINTMENTS

Snow storm and ice rain on trip down; no captain's chairs for kids in rental van; Casements at Ormond Beach in Daytona; Rain; Cancelled parades because of rain; Ride breakdowns - Primeval Whirl, Space Mountain, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, and Rock n' Roller Coaster (twice!!); Mission Space (may be better next trip); Haunted Mansion Movie set; No doves at Beauty & the Beast or at Cinderella's Surprise Celebration; The emptiness of the Disney Animation attraction; DD2's sore feet; The mother and daughter (physically) fighting at Blizzard Beach; DD2's first time on Splash Mountain; Figment's Journey In to Your Imagination; The "attraction" in the AFI building at MGM; Pop Century bus service (at least on the night we used it); My 'timing' screwup at MK on our last day/missing the first 5 minutes of Wishes; and having to leave WDW

But thankfully the joys far exceed the disappointments...

HAPPINESS IS...

Staying one step ahead of the ‘storm of the winter’ when driving to WDW; a DVD player in the van; the Atlanta HOV lanes (driving 80 mph...er, with the flow of traffic...during rush hour); the Guesthouse Inn in Valdosta, Georgia - pleasant surroundings with good service; driving on the beach and sticking your feet into the Atlantic Ocean; cruising down a Florida highway with everyone singing to the Shrek soundtrack; entering the 'gates' at WDW; seeing Pop Century for the first time; giant Disney (and other) icons; looking at the faces of all the children at WDW; flavoured coffee creamers; strolling around Animal Kingdom Lodge; 'Early Entry' (or extra magic hour...or whatever they call it now); meeting DeVine for the first time; watching the active gorillas on the Pangani Trails at Animal Kingdom; meeting Lilo and Stitch; watching your child play the 'tag game' at Innovations in Epcot; Epcot passports; 80* and sunny; meeting The Queen from Snow White; the family raft ride at Blizzard Beach; seeing the Carousel of Progress again (reminds me of Walt); Mickey's Philharmagic; Wishes; treats from World Showcase countries; buying souvenirs representing the WS countries; watching the candy artist at the Japan Pavilion; seeing DW's face when the bridge "collapses" on the Kilimanjaro Safari in AK; Tower of Terror!!!; the Adventurer's Club at Pleasure Island; Mickey's 75th anniversary statues; and of course...the restaurants!!!

MAGICAL MOMENTS...extra special times during this trip

Visiting the original Kentucky Fried Chicken; sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean...awesome; watching the National Dance Team Championships at MGM...especially for DD2; our mini DIS meet with Ziggie and her husband (Linda and John); the surrey bike ride around Boardwalk; watching the Super Bowl outside at the poolside bar at PC with my new American friends; DD2 conquering both Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain (3 times!); buying the poster of our first family trip down Splash Mtn.; DD1 carrying DD2 on her back (DD2 had sore feet); the living statue in Italy grabbing DD2's pigtail...and not letting go!; DD1 and her Italian 'boyfriend' at the masquerade in the Italy Pavilion; DD2's face painting at AK; chasing Merlin to get his autograph after the Sword and the Stone ceremony; and finally meeting Jafar!

So overall, our trip to WDW this year was a resounding success. We really enjoyed our time at Pop Century. The resort was very neat/cool/groovy/keen. I think that if we were to have to pick our favourite value resort, All Star Movies would be number 1, but PC would be a close second. We have some great memories...and lots of photos and video and souvenirs!

I hope everyone enjoyed my reports...it was fun sharing them with you all and reliving our trip. I apologize for taking so long to finish them, but it's surprising how long it takes to write one of these. The great thing about these reports, at least for me, is that it forced me to do it sooner. On my past trips to WDW, I have written about the events in my journal...but it took me almost 2 years to finish...even though I made some brief notes during the trip, I didn't get around to journalizing until just before my next trip

I'm working on posting some photographs of our trip...and with Dan Murphy's help, it should be sooner than later.

Although after every trip, we say "next holiday, let's try somewhere different"...well, stay tuned for my next WDW report ...after all, my name is Canadave, and I'm a Disneyholic

 

[tinawv]

Thank you for sharing your trip reports. I have really enjoyed reading them. We are hoping to make a trip in September if I can get the money saved up. We were just there in December, and the only way I can convince my husband to go again is to show him that I can save money when I have too - lol. Right now I am hoping to stay at PC, and keeping my fingers crossed for some AP rates. Looking forward to viewing your pictures. Again, thanks for the great trip reports. Made me feel like I was there again. Take care.

 

[bigbabyblues]

Thanks for the reports Dave! I read and enjoyed them all.

Sounds like you had a great trip!

~Steph

 

[djm99]

Originally posted by Canadave



DISAPPOINTMENTS

The mother and daughter (physically) fighting at Blizzard Beach;

You must give details. This sounds interesting!!!! DETAILS, DETAILS, AND DETAILS..........

 

[Doctor Tigger]

I loved your trip recap, it's simple yet informative but I find my self wanting more In the Dissapointment section you listed your DD2's first time on Splash Mountain...........as this is my favorite ride in the world, I was just wondering why it was a dissapointment? Was she scared of the ride???

Thanks again for the great recaps

 

[tmq2766]

More details on the cat fight......

 

[Canadave]

I've posted individual trip reports for each day over the past couple of months (it took me that long...you know, busy, busy)...so I had longer explanations in those reports...however, here are some snippets about the mentioned situtions:


tmq2766 & djm99...

Day 8 was Blizzard Beach day for us and this is what happened when we got there that morning...

"When we arrived at BB and we were just about to enter the gates, there was a teenage girl and her mother having a fight (lots of yelling and the girl actually pushed her mom ... it was a pretty sad sight to see...I know tempers can flare when you're on a long holiday, but you hope it won't deteriorate to this...they both had a pretty strong British accent, so I assumed they were on a major holiday...so sad...it shook us all up for a little while..."

There isn't a whole lot more to say...other than our entire family were saddened by the situation...no one got hurt, but the young girl stormed off and her mother was pretty well steaming when we walked by.


Doctor Tigger...

As for Splash Mountain, it is now the favourite attraction for me and my two DD's (DW is still not sure ). As you'll see from the below quote from my original post on Day 9, it was only the first ride that my DD was afraid...I think it was just the fear of the unexpected...

"We had grabbed FP's for Splash Mtn earlier, so after many years of me bragging about how SM was the best attraction in the park, it was time for the whole family to give it a try...DD1 and I had done it twice before on our first trip, but DD2 and DW had yet to experience it...I kept telling them that it was more than just the plunge at the end...that there was a great show and some smaller drops...and that the plunge was not as scary as it looked from the bridge.....when we arrived at the front of the line, I requested front seats for us because I was hoping to buy the picture and didn't want anyone's raised arms in our faces...DD2 and I sat in the front seat and DD1 and DW were behind us...everything was going along 'relatively' smooth, but I could sense a great deal of tension beside me...she handled the short drops pretty good (I love the drop in the dark more than the final plunge, but that's just me)....now the moment had arrived...we're heading up to the final plunge...DD2 is now in major panic mode..."I don't want to do this, Dad", she says to me, through her tears...she says it again, only louder and with a great deal of more panic....now I've done it ...I try to console her and tell her it will be over very quickly and that she'll love it...not working...DW is in the back, I think having her own panic attack, but at least she's not crying...we drop................of course, being in the front seat, we get soaked...the second seat, mildly wet...I'm watching DD2 the whole way down and now I'm checking her reaction......things are quiet...we watch the end of the ride in silence...we get off the boat and DD2 is all smiles..."that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be"..."let's do it again" ...DW was still pretty quiet...she said she liked it...I guess that was a good sign...so on to check out our picture...it was perfect...DD1 with a "having a great time" smile... DW with her eyes closed and a mild look of panic...myself, I was pretty straight faced, staring at my frightened daughter...and DD2, mouth wide open, screaming, and a true look of terror on her face...priceless...we have to get the large picture...but wait...the CM tells us we can get it poster size...DD's do their begging act, but it was not needed...we order it and have it sent to our hotel...SM, another highlight of our trip"

See, now everyone has experienced the best attraction at WDW