Trip report: Oct 11-18 2003
Myself, Hubby, Mother in Law (67?), Aunt in law (70?) (collectively referred to as the ladies), DS (5) DD (4)
Background: Upon becoming DVC members a year ago we extended the invitation to my mother in law and her husband to join us. Neither are Disney people, they are both late risers, slow moving, easily overwhelmed and dont like commercialism. Neither got Disney but we thought that MIL in particular would value the time with the kids, would want to understand why wed made this investment. My step father in law bowed out. We decided that MIL needed someone to travel with because she wouldnt be able to keep our pace and would have different interested than our preschoolers. I was afraid shed have a lousy time and take us with her or Id be too concerned about making sure she didnt have a bad time to do things the kids would enjoy. So, as we had intended to pay for two, we asked if she would be interested in bringing her sister along a lovely woman who lives out of state. The two of them could split off and poke through shops at a turtles pace at Epcot while we took the kids on the Barnstormer.
Oct 10 (Friday): Took the afternoon off to pack but as I was driving home, I got a call from daycare. DD had slipped and hit her head and was vomiting. Got to daycare in time to get into the ambulance with her and meet hubby at the hospital. They gave her a CAT scan, sent her home with mild concussion, she can travel careful with the big rides no Mission:Space (but she is barely 40 inches anyway). She threw up a few more times and we had to wake her every few hours throughout the night. BTW, she is fine and did fine on the Teacups and the Barnstormer and even Body Wars.
Oct 11 (Saturday): Caught a 7:30 flight out of MSP. We had six seats two of them together (check the guest list and see if you can find the problem). One was close enough for an easy trade, so I sat with the kids while the rest of the party was scattered. Hint if using NWA e checking with more than four people, get seats for four, than add two it wont let you ticket six which is how I got into this mess. But the guy I traded seats with kindly filled me in on the trick, which I successfully used from the BW web phone terminal to e-checking for the return trip and get six seats together.
Cartier was waiting for us when we landed. We stopped at Kash and Karry (?) for groceries (not impressed mold on bread, not what we consider clean in a grocery store). (Business idea for someone living in Orlando grocery delivery to hotels.) We got to BWVs about 2:00 and immediately were able to check into our lovely 2 bedroom Boardwalk view (there is a description over on the DVC board a few days old if anyone is interested in it).
We were starving, so we wandered into Epcot and ate at Biergarten. It was good food, not the best we had, but good. We had to wait 30 minutes for a table and when we were seated the restaurant was half empty ..
Rode Imagination and SpaceShip Earth and saw Food Rocks (which is going away after Christmas) and headed back to sleep.
Oct 12 (Sunday): Got my mother in law (a late riser) and her sister (also a later riser) up early for a MK EE morning. My aunt is doing Atkins, so we started each day with eggs in the room a tradition I think Ill continue. We caught the second bus, which was very crowded (the first was pulling away not nearly as full as I was headed to the bus stop), but kind people let the seniors sit. Got all of Fantasyland done (Philharmagic is my daughters new favorite attraction), ate at Cosmic Rays, did the Haunted Mansion (which my son almost didnt make it on, but did, and enjoyed himself he hid his eyes if it got too scary as did my daughter) and the Tiki Birds (one of my kids favorites they couldnt wait for the Tiki Birds). We moved a lot slower with the ladies along than I am used to (we pop the kids in a double rented stroller and can move through Disney fairly quickly, but not this trip). By 1:30 or 2:00 we were out of there (and we probably should have left earlier, it was crowded and hot!) and went back to the pool where the kids discovered the wonder of the swim vest (our community pool at home doesnt allow floatation devices).
Ate dinner at Marrakesh, which didnt seem up to its usual standards, although I think that may have been more a matter of poor service (we had the bad luck to be a party of six stuck in the back corner of the restaurant, seated behind a loud party of twenty), than bad food.
Oct 13 (Monday): Another EE morning at AK. Not sure if EE was worthwhile there. We did take a cab over a habit we firmly established this trip whenever it was too much of a bother to deal with buses (which was anytime we had two seniors and two children on crowded buses). It was hot, and the ladies were tired (Id hoped to get them into all four parks the first two days to give them a feel for the lay of the land, and then let them go). We got fastpasses for the Safari and spent the wait time going down the Pangini trail. Everyone really enjoyed the Safari, although the animals werent nearly as active as they are on cooler days). We then went over and caught the Festival of the Lion King, sending my hubby for fastpasses for ITTBAB. Lion King was great and everyone enjoyed it. We had lunch at Tusker House (a very long wait for the food, although it was delicious could they put a few more restaurants in AK please!) and then saw ITTBAB. Even with the Fastpasses, the wait was around twenty minutes and the show wasnt worth it. The kids were not the least bit frightened.
Wed hoped to head over to MGM and get a taste of that park (really only interested in The Great Movie Ride and the Indy show the kids are too little for thrill rides the Tower of Terror building fascinated them but it was down this trip and too scary for kids who barely made it through HM). But we all agreed we were too tired. We headed for the pool again, canceled our 50s Prime Time PS and made one at Spoodles. We did make it over for Fantasmic, and caught a late boat out of MGM back to the Boardwalk. We never did make it back to MGM (which isnt our favorite park anyway).
Oct 14 (Tuesday): The weather started cooling down and was perfect for the rest of the week the reason we like October when the weather is good its hot enough to swim, without leaving you feeling like you are swimming when you arent in the pool. My mother in law and her sister were now off the hook. DH, kids and I headed over to MK, rode Buzz did much of Fantasyland a second time, rode the Barnstormer, got autographs (my son, who was 3 ½ last trip and wouldnt get close to the characters, discovered the autograph book. He wouldnt get close to them without the book, but with the book we even got a picture of him with Captain Hook! BTW, he discovered the autograph book by watching other kids and asked for one). Lunch at Cosmic Rays again and back to the pool. This time we took advantage of Luna Parks pool slide being under repair and SAB extending an invitation to BW guests to use their pool to head over to SAB.
My understanding is that the ladies also ended up at the MK at around 10:30, where they saw the Hall of Presidents, rode the train and the riverboat, had a leisurely lunch at LTT
We met the ladies at Narcoosees at 6:00 for dinner. I had sort of intended to go to the Halloween party that night, but my kids were too tired to get any value out of it. They dont nap at home, and sure arent going to nap at Disney, so we are asleep by 9:00.
Oct 15 (Wednesday): The kids took went on the Pirate Cruise from the Grand Floridan while DH and I ate Tonga Toast and Eggs Benedict over at the Kona Café. Its still a mystery what happens on the Pirate Cruise a four year old and a five year old dont put together a very understandable story - but the kids had a great time and came off with bags of junk, peanut butter sandwiches, juices boxes, rice crispy bars. (BTW, they didnt eat these on the boat, they ended up eating them waiting for the monorail).
Book the Pirate Cruise early there were disappointed potential pirates hoping for cancellations (which are rare). And Im not sure Id do it for a first trip unless it was a long trip it does consume an entire morning. The pirates were mostly four to seven and lots of girls.
The ladies managed to cover about three countries worth of the World Showcase.
We then went over to Epcot where we spent the afternoon in Future World and met the ladies at Teppanyaki for dinner. Teppanyaki was a big hit (although its not a place for conversation). My husband, who wasnt sure about the whole thing, really enjoyed the experience .I love to surprise him. My husband stayed back for Illuminations and the rest of us headed back to the room.
Oct 16 (Thursday): It was our character breakfast morning. We had booked a late breakfast so our late risers could have a leisurely morning which was a mistake I should have just booked lunch or dinner because the morning was lost. Id hoped my hubby and I would be able to get through EE at MK again and spend Friday at AK or MGM, but he bailed on me as not worth it. We had ours at Ohanas and they were running late and everything was rushed. The worst character meal Ive been to (and I normally like Ohanas this was just rushed). The nice thing was that the ladies took the kids over for us, so DH and I walked into Epcot at 9:00 and rode Mission:Space which was cool.
We then took the kids and headed over to Blizzard Beach. Which they really enjoyed. The family raft ride is quite the hike up the stairs, and was a good fifteen minute line once we reached the top, and no one regretted it.
The ladies headed back to Epcot and got through three or four more countries.
Thursday nights dinner was Le Cellier which was fantastic. The kids now think all desserts should be a chocolate moose. This was another my husband wasnt sure about, and its his new favorite restaurant.
The ladies stayed behind for a little more Epcot, and to watch Fantasmic.
Oct 17 (Friday): It being our last day we stayed together as a party again and headed back to the MK. Another trip on the Barnstormer. My DS wanted to ride on the Speedway. Another trip through Philharmagic for DD. We then headed over for Pirates and the Jungle Cruise, eating lunch between the two at Pecos Bill. I handed the Fastpasses for Splash Mountain still a half an hour away, to another family as we were walking out the door the kids would rather spend more time in the pool.
Dinner was at Boma. The Lodge is fantastic although I was a little disappointed with dinner it didnt live up to my expectations (the soups are very good .its the entrees that leave something to be desired, and for all the raving about the dessert buffet, it wasnt that good).
Oct 18 (Saturday): DH spent the morning with the kids in the pool while I packed up. Cartier was supposed to pick us up at 10:30, but was late or early, the dispatcher claimed the driver had been there at 10:00 (if so why didnt he call, he had two cell phone numbers for us) and left when we werent there at 10:20 (which was just about the time we arrived under the porticullus. I had confirmed out time the day before. Then the driver was slow, took the long way out of the Epcot Resort area, and we ended up with a rushed airport experience the very thing I had really hoped to avoid.
Summary: MIL and her sister had a really good time. Im glad I pushed them through the first two days it got them familiar with the scope, how to move around, and helped them make some decisions about how they wanted to spend their days. But Im very glad I didnt push hard and then did the meet for dinner thing. My mother in law was a little overwhelmed and she isnt a Disney convert, but she did come to understand that Disney is more than a bunch of rides and did really appreciate some of the same things we did the food, the gardens, the logistics, the friendliness of the CM, the atmosphere (she said even the other guests are pleasant!)
Lessons learned:
When traveling with a mixed party, make sure the party can divide up easily into different interests.
When traveling with first timers (especially ones that are easily confused some first times are very capable!) take time to give them the lay of the land. Show them how the transportation system works, how to get from here to there.
When traveling with reluctant guests, try and tailor some of your trip to their interests we spent a lot of time in restaurants we like good food and we know my mother in law likes good food, so I did a lot of research to pick restaurants shed enjoy.
Be flexible, we got most of the stuff done I wanted to get done, but certainly not all of it. However, only I (the one holding the list) knew what we were missing it really seemed that no one else cared if we didnt get through Maelstrom. (and I didnt care either, I just didnt get to check it off from my list).
Understand the benefit of the cab! For resort to resort travel cabs are wonderful! They also work well when you want to make it to a park at opening, but want to save yourself 15 minutes in your morning routine (which with two late risers, that 15 minutes was lost every morning) or dont want to worry about having to stand on a crowded bus.
Myself, Hubby, Mother in Law (67?), Aunt in law (70?) (collectively referred to as the ladies), DS (5) DD (4)
Background: Upon becoming DVC members a year ago we extended the invitation to my mother in law and her husband to join us. Neither are Disney people, they are both late risers, slow moving, easily overwhelmed and dont like commercialism. Neither got Disney but we thought that MIL in particular would value the time with the kids, would want to understand why wed made this investment. My step father in law bowed out. We decided that MIL needed someone to travel with because she wouldnt be able to keep our pace and would have different interested than our preschoolers. I was afraid shed have a lousy time and take us with her or Id be too concerned about making sure she didnt have a bad time to do things the kids would enjoy. So, as we had intended to pay for two, we asked if she would be interested in bringing her sister along a lovely woman who lives out of state. The two of them could split off and poke through shops at a turtles pace at Epcot while we took the kids on the Barnstormer.
Oct 10 (Friday): Took the afternoon off to pack but as I was driving home, I got a call from daycare. DD had slipped and hit her head and was vomiting. Got to daycare in time to get into the ambulance with her and meet hubby at the hospital. They gave her a CAT scan, sent her home with mild concussion, she can travel careful with the big rides no Mission:Space (but she is barely 40 inches anyway). She threw up a few more times and we had to wake her every few hours throughout the night. BTW, she is fine and did fine on the Teacups and the Barnstormer and even Body Wars.
Oct 11 (Saturday): Caught a 7:30 flight out of MSP. We had six seats two of them together (check the guest list and see if you can find the problem). One was close enough for an easy trade, so I sat with the kids while the rest of the party was scattered. Hint if using NWA e checking with more than four people, get seats for four, than add two it wont let you ticket six which is how I got into this mess. But the guy I traded seats with kindly filled me in on the trick, which I successfully used from the BW web phone terminal to e-checking for the return trip and get six seats together.
Cartier was waiting for us when we landed. We stopped at Kash and Karry (?) for groceries (not impressed mold on bread, not what we consider clean in a grocery store). (Business idea for someone living in Orlando grocery delivery to hotels.) We got to BWVs about 2:00 and immediately were able to check into our lovely 2 bedroom Boardwalk view (there is a description over on the DVC board a few days old if anyone is interested in it).
We were starving, so we wandered into Epcot and ate at Biergarten. It was good food, not the best we had, but good. We had to wait 30 minutes for a table and when we were seated the restaurant was half empty ..
Rode Imagination and SpaceShip Earth and saw Food Rocks (which is going away after Christmas) and headed back to sleep.
Oct 12 (Sunday): Got my mother in law (a late riser) and her sister (also a later riser) up early for a MK EE morning. My aunt is doing Atkins, so we started each day with eggs in the room a tradition I think Ill continue. We caught the second bus, which was very crowded (the first was pulling away not nearly as full as I was headed to the bus stop), but kind people let the seniors sit. Got all of Fantasyland done (Philharmagic is my daughters new favorite attraction), ate at Cosmic Rays, did the Haunted Mansion (which my son almost didnt make it on, but did, and enjoyed himself he hid his eyes if it got too scary as did my daughter) and the Tiki Birds (one of my kids favorites they couldnt wait for the Tiki Birds). We moved a lot slower with the ladies along than I am used to (we pop the kids in a double rented stroller and can move through Disney fairly quickly, but not this trip). By 1:30 or 2:00 we were out of there (and we probably should have left earlier, it was crowded and hot!) and went back to the pool where the kids discovered the wonder of the swim vest (our community pool at home doesnt allow floatation devices).
Ate dinner at Marrakesh, which didnt seem up to its usual standards, although I think that may have been more a matter of poor service (we had the bad luck to be a party of six stuck in the back corner of the restaurant, seated behind a loud party of twenty), than bad food.
Oct 13 (Monday): Another EE morning at AK. Not sure if EE was worthwhile there. We did take a cab over a habit we firmly established this trip whenever it was too much of a bother to deal with buses (which was anytime we had two seniors and two children on crowded buses). It was hot, and the ladies were tired (Id hoped to get them into all four parks the first two days to give them a feel for the lay of the land, and then let them go). We got fastpasses for the Safari and spent the wait time going down the Pangini trail. Everyone really enjoyed the Safari, although the animals werent nearly as active as they are on cooler days). We then went over and caught the Festival of the Lion King, sending my hubby for fastpasses for ITTBAB. Lion King was great and everyone enjoyed it. We had lunch at Tusker House (a very long wait for the food, although it was delicious could they put a few more restaurants in AK please!) and then saw ITTBAB. Even with the Fastpasses, the wait was around twenty minutes and the show wasnt worth it. The kids were not the least bit frightened.
Wed hoped to head over to MGM and get a taste of that park (really only interested in The Great Movie Ride and the Indy show the kids are too little for thrill rides the Tower of Terror building fascinated them but it was down this trip and too scary for kids who barely made it through HM). But we all agreed we were too tired. We headed for the pool again, canceled our 50s Prime Time PS and made one at Spoodles. We did make it over for Fantasmic, and caught a late boat out of MGM back to the Boardwalk. We never did make it back to MGM (which isnt our favorite park anyway).
Oct 14 (Tuesday): The weather started cooling down and was perfect for the rest of the week the reason we like October when the weather is good its hot enough to swim, without leaving you feeling like you are swimming when you arent in the pool. My mother in law and her sister were now off the hook. DH, kids and I headed over to MK, rode Buzz did much of Fantasyland a second time, rode the Barnstormer, got autographs (my son, who was 3 ½ last trip and wouldnt get close to the characters, discovered the autograph book. He wouldnt get close to them without the book, but with the book we even got a picture of him with Captain Hook! BTW, he discovered the autograph book by watching other kids and asked for one). Lunch at Cosmic Rays again and back to the pool. This time we took advantage of Luna Parks pool slide being under repair and SAB extending an invitation to BW guests to use their pool to head over to SAB.
My understanding is that the ladies also ended up at the MK at around 10:30, where they saw the Hall of Presidents, rode the train and the riverboat, had a leisurely lunch at LTT
We met the ladies at Narcoosees at 6:00 for dinner. I had sort of intended to go to the Halloween party that night, but my kids were too tired to get any value out of it. They dont nap at home, and sure arent going to nap at Disney, so we are asleep by 9:00.
Oct 15 (Wednesday): The kids took went on the Pirate Cruise from the Grand Floridan while DH and I ate Tonga Toast and Eggs Benedict over at the Kona Café. Its still a mystery what happens on the Pirate Cruise a four year old and a five year old dont put together a very understandable story - but the kids had a great time and came off with bags of junk, peanut butter sandwiches, juices boxes, rice crispy bars. (BTW, they didnt eat these on the boat, they ended up eating them waiting for the monorail).
Book the Pirate Cruise early there were disappointed potential pirates hoping for cancellations (which are rare). And Im not sure Id do it for a first trip unless it was a long trip it does consume an entire morning. The pirates were mostly four to seven and lots of girls.
The ladies managed to cover about three countries worth of the World Showcase.
We then went over to Epcot where we spent the afternoon in Future World and met the ladies at Teppanyaki for dinner. Teppanyaki was a big hit (although its not a place for conversation). My husband, who wasnt sure about the whole thing, really enjoyed the experience .I love to surprise him. My husband stayed back for Illuminations and the rest of us headed back to the room.
Oct 16 (Thursday): It was our character breakfast morning. We had booked a late breakfast so our late risers could have a leisurely morning which was a mistake I should have just booked lunch or dinner because the morning was lost. Id hoped my hubby and I would be able to get through EE at MK again and spend Friday at AK or MGM, but he bailed on me as not worth it. We had ours at Ohanas and they were running late and everything was rushed. The worst character meal Ive been to (and I normally like Ohanas this was just rushed). The nice thing was that the ladies took the kids over for us, so DH and I walked into Epcot at 9:00 and rode Mission:Space which was cool.
We then took the kids and headed over to Blizzard Beach. Which they really enjoyed. The family raft ride is quite the hike up the stairs, and was a good fifteen minute line once we reached the top, and no one regretted it.
The ladies headed back to Epcot and got through three or four more countries.
Thursday nights dinner was Le Cellier which was fantastic. The kids now think all desserts should be a chocolate moose. This was another my husband wasnt sure about, and its his new favorite restaurant.
The ladies stayed behind for a little more Epcot, and to watch Fantasmic.
Oct 17 (Friday): It being our last day we stayed together as a party again and headed back to the MK. Another trip on the Barnstormer. My DS wanted to ride on the Speedway. Another trip through Philharmagic for DD. We then headed over for Pirates and the Jungle Cruise, eating lunch between the two at Pecos Bill. I handed the Fastpasses for Splash Mountain still a half an hour away, to another family as we were walking out the door the kids would rather spend more time in the pool.
Dinner was at Boma. The Lodge is fantastic although I was a little disappointed with dinner it didnt live up to my expectations (the soups are very good .its the entrees that leave something to be desired, and for all the raving about the dessert buffet, it wasnt that good).
Oct 18 (Saturday): DH spent the morning with the kids in the pool while I packed up. Cartier was supposed to pick us up at 10:30, but was late or early, the dispatcher claimed the driver had been there at 10:00 (if so why didnt he call, he had two cell phone numbers for us) and left when we werent there at 10:20 (which was just about the time we arrived under the porticullus. I had confirmed out time the day before. Then the driver was slow, took the long way out of the Epcot Resort area, and we ended up with a rushed airport experience the very thing I had really hoped to avoid.
Summary: MIL and her sister had a really good time. Im glad I pushed them through the first two days it got them familiar with the scope, how to move around, and helped them make some decisions about how they wanted to spend their days. But Im very glad I didnt push hard and then did the meet for dinner thing. My mother in law was a little overwhelmed and she isnt a Disney convert, but she did come to understand that Disney is more than a bunch of rides and did really appreciate some of the same things we did the food, the gardens, the logistics, the friendliness of the CM, the atmosphere (she said even the other guests are pleasant!)
Lessons learned:
When traveling with a mixed party, make sure the party can divide up easily into different interests.
When traveling with first timers (especially ones that are easily confused some first times are very capable!) take time to give them the lay of the land. Show them how the transportation system works, how to get from here to there.
When traveling with reluctant guests, try and tailor some of your trip to their interests we spent a lot of time in restaurants we like good food and we know my mother in law likes good food, so I did a lot of research to pick restaurants shed enjoy.
Be flexible, we got most of the stuff done I wanted to get done, but certainly not all of it. However, only I (the one holding the list) knew what we were missing it really seemed that no one else cared if we didnt get through Maelstrom. (and I didnt care either, I just didnt get to check it off from my list).
Understand the benefit of the cab! For resort to resort travel cabs are wonderful! They also work well when you want to make it to a park at opening, but want to save yourself 15 minutes in your morning routine (which with two late risers, that 15 minutes was lost every morning) or dont want to worry about having to stand on a crowded bus.
