DAY 3 ADDED - POFQ and the World 10 days of hot hot fun 5/5-5/14

[JerseyDevils]

UPDATED WITH DAY 3

Well i guess ill give this a try. Definitely won't be the most detailed or largest trip report ever but i just wanted to share with everyone what a wonderful time we had.

On the trip: Me, DW, DS8, DD3, DSbaby, and Father-in-law(FIL).

We had 2 rooms at Port Orleans French Quarter and were on the regular dining plan.

DAY ONE - Thursday 5/5:

We stepped off the plane at exactly 10:38am and headed right for Magical Express after grabbing the stroller and a restroom stop. There was no waiting here as we got in a very short line for Port Orleans and were immediately ushered onto a bus. We were on a bus with others going to OKW and SS. Lucky for us, we were the first stop! We stepped off the bus at exactly 11:25am.

From here we headed right to the online check-in line, or should i say no line. Having 2 rooms, my FIL checked in first....and his room was ready to go!!! We checked in right after him....our room was not yet ready but we were informed that we would have the requested connecting rooms. So we headed up to my FIL's room to freshin up and drop off our carry ons. We were assigned rooms on the 3rd floor of building 6….and to our surprise when we got the the rooms…we had 2 river view rooms…Whoo hoo! Already some Disney Magic! The new room decor is great, simple, clean, and comfortable. Definitely nice to have 2 queen beds.

So, we headed down to the Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory for a quick lunch. (i will only comment on the food that i had, as i am doing this strictly from memory and its difficult enough remember all i ate) I had the shrimp po boy with beignets for the dessert. This was a delicious and large sandwich…and the beignets were great as well.

After lunch we headed out to the buses to get to MK. As we walked up to the stop the bus was pulling up. So we got on right away.

Now there is nothing like the magic of hitting Main street, seeing the shops and the castle and just feeling that sense of happiness full you right up.

We headed first to the new Meet and greet at the Town Square Theater. My DM and DD headed to the Princess line and me and DS8 headed to the Mickey line. we had a 5 min wait and the princess line was posted as a 10 min wait. To our surprise it wasn’t just Mickey, but Minnie as well! Got some great photos and interaction with both. I was not in the princess room but DW said that it was great and they were able to meet Sleeping Beauty, Belle, and Cinderella. sidenote: One of the best quotes of the trip comes here from DD3 - While meeting with Cinderella after already meeting Sleeping Beauty and Belle, Cinderella asks DD3, "So, have any of your dreams come true yet?" and i great 3year old fashion DD3 responded. "i got to meet Sleeping Beauty." - Well Cinderella laughed out loud and just said through her laugh, "I'm so happy for you." - So, anyway…this was a great expirence for both kids and adults.

Despite the short wait times for the M&G…the park was pretty busy. So we kept mostly to Tomorrowland. I nabbed Fast Passes to Space Mountian, then rode Buzz, the Peoplemover, the Speedway, and then the Carousel. By then we went back and used up our Space Mtn FP's and then headed back to the resort for dinner over at Boatwright's. Less than a 5 min wait for the bus and it was a FQ only bus. When we arrived back to FQ our room was ready and our luggage delivered...so we were able to unpack and everything before heading to dinner.

So Boatwright's….YUM YUM YUM!!!! We had eaten here in October 2008 and thought it was pretty good, but this time around it was extra delicious. I believe that they have some new items on the menu here, as the menu that i found on the DIS did not list what i had for dinner. I don’t remember exatly what it was called, but it was a pork chop in a whiskey bbq sauce with mashed potatoes. Definitely cracks the top 3 meals of the trip. Pecan pie for dessert-basic but good. As an added bonus the waiter informed us that we could get a berrie smoothie as our drink with the Dining Plan-super refreshing and tasty.

So that’s it for day one!!! We were one tired crew having been up since 5am to get to the airport. We all crashed after dinner to prepare to hit rope drop the next day at Epcot.

…..more to come….

 

[Bella213]

very nice! I look forward to reading more!

 

[disney2mom]

I'm in Great start to your TR! Your son is super cute...can't wait to hear more

 

[JerseyDevils]

DAY 2 - Friday 5/6:

Epcot day. I woke up at 7am to shower and get some coffees for me and DW. Got back to the room and the family was starting to stir. So we got the kiddies ready and were off to the bus for Epcot at about 8:15. The bus arrived within 30 seconds and we lucked out for a second straight day. We were at Epcot in minutes! Off the bus and thru the gate at 8:40. My DS8 and i headed toward the smallish crowd awaiting the rope drop. DW, FIL, DD3, and DSbaby headed slowly towards the Test Track Side while we waited in the larger crowd to rush towards Sorin'. Rope dropped at 9 and off we went in the mad dash...well it was more like a brisk walk lead by the CM's and kept very much under control. DS and i grabbed up 5 FP's and headed over to Test Track to meet up with the fam. We found them on the way, just outside the Character Spot...they had just come out after meeting Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto and Goofy...with no line at all...amazing, since we have never done this before as the lines have always been like 30+ minutes. DD3 was so excited and could hardly contain herself. So after that we jumped on TT a few times with no wait, headed over to Mission Space and rode that a couple of times. Went back to TT to snatch some more FP's before heading over the Nemo. DD3 loved Nemo, so we rode that a couple of times with no waits. We then took off for Sorin' and used up our FP's there before heading to Germany for lunch time at Biergarten. At this point we caught about a 5-10 minute drizzle, nothing to even blink an eye at.

Oh by the way, the flower and garden displays were beautiful as was the butterfly garden...here's a few shots.

We hit some shops on the way through France and the UK as we strolled towards Germany. Did a little shopping in Germany and then it was time for lunch. We arrived at Biergarten at 12:35 for our 12:45 ADR. We were called within 10 minutes and joined with a family of 3 and lead to our table right next to the stage. Now i LOVE this place. The food is awesome and the service was fun and happy. I ordered a refreshing Root Beer and headed off to the buffet after my wife and kids returned. Boy did i pig out!!! Sausages, potatoes, schnitzel, breads, and OMG the Bavarian Cheesecake!!!!!!!! Our last visit to the Biergarten was in May of 2009, oh how i love the cheesecake then....i had been dreaming about it for 2 years!!!! i took full advantage and devoured 5 helpings. I know, big time piggy...but i had to be sure to get my fill!!! Everything was great. The show started at 1:15 and lasted about 15-20 minutes. We did not see the show in 2009 so i was excited to get a chance to see it this time. IT was fun, but i thought that it would be a bit longer...no biggie...the kids had a total blast dancing it up to the polka music! What a fun time!

After lunch it was time to slowly stroll through the remaining countries, as the park was now noticeably more crowded. We headed back to TT to use the last of our FP's and then headed out to the buses to go back to FQ for a little swimming. Again, the bus arrived within a couple minutes and we were back to the resort in no time.

We hit the pool and took it easy relaxing until dinner time. I actually did not have dinner this evening as i was insanely stuffed from my Biergarten rampage. Kids and DW had dinner at Sassagoula, i think she had the cajun burger and very much enjoyed it. i just had a couple sodas in my newly purchased refillable mug.

After that it was back to the room for some relaxing and sleep to prepare for Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom tomorrow.

....stay tuned for more....

 

[JerseyDevils]

Just and FYI all these pics were taken with my cell phone...so for now they are just a very small sample of all of our pictures. I think DW took about 900 with her super cool fancy camera. But since im sneaking these reports in at the office between some real work, the phone photos is all i have. Thanks though for stopping by.

 

[cocofifi]

Super cute kids!

 

[JerseyDevils]

DAY 3 - Saturday 5/7:

It was up at 7am again today for Animal Kingdom RD. Today is the day of our Fantasmic Dining Package but Hollywood Studios was expected to be a busy park this day. So we figured that more would be accomplished if we started the day at AK. Great decision!!!

After getting the troops up and ready..we made it to the bus stop by 8:20 and a bus arrived in about 5 minutes. We were at the AK gate at about 8:50.

The plan was to get fast passes to the safari and meet at Kali River Rapids. So i took all 5 tickets and ran to the safari for the fast passes. After that i ran to meet the fam at the Rapids. Somehow i won. After a few confusing minutes of looking for them and wondering were they were, they finally strolled around the corner and into view. We all thought it was pretty funny how i beat them there. Anyway, FIL decided he didnt want to be soaked so he stayed with the baby as me, DW, DS8 and DD3 went on the rapids. We ended up riding 3 times without even getting off!! It was awesome!!!

The 4 of us finally declined a 4th go around and got off the ride and headed for some sun to start the drying process. We walked slowly towards Expedition Everest hoping to dry a bit and we grabbed a few breakfast type snacks. At this point me, FIL, and DS8 got in the 10 minute line for EE. After riding we were able to get FP's...so i snatched up 5 FP's for EE. From here we headed to the Safari to use our FP's.

Along the way we ran into Flick, Baloo, and this mysterious tree woman. I wish i had the pictures on my phone to post here but i didnt have my phone in pocket since i didnt want it on the rapids earlier. She was amazing! It was pretty mesmerizing watch her glide from one position to another then bled in with the trees flawlessly. Really cool!

So, we rode the safari (my favorite) headed back to EE to use up our FP's, Stopped over at the Dinosaur ride and did that 2 times with no wait. At this point it was time to head back to FQ to rest for a lil bit and get ready for our late F! night.

This was the first time that we had any wait for a bus. It took about 20 minutes for a bus to arrive and to add to it, this driver decided to do the Riverside stops before the FQ stop. That was the one and only time that i have ever experienced that. So, it ended up taking us longer than expected to return to FQ. We had planned to hit the pool for a 1/2 hour before heading out to HS but that had to be scrapped. Quickly changed, reorganized and headed back out to the bus for HS. The bus arrived just as we walked up to the stop and off we went.

We had an ADR for the F! Dining Package at the Hollywood Brown Derby at 3:15. Now normally with our regular dining plan we get a main course, drink and dessert...But the waiter informed us that because we were doing the F! package each person was entitled to an appetizer as well as everything else. That was a pleasant surprise. I ordered the Crab Cake Appetizer, the Char-Grilled Filet of Beef, and the cheesecake. WHAT A DELICIOUS MEAL!!!! the crab cakes were perfect and the beef was even better with the white truffle potatoes to accent it. YUM YUM YUM YUM!!! Totally work the 2 points to eat there. My wife order the Famous Cobb Salad as her appetizer....this was one of the largest and most delicious salads that i have ever seen/tasted. The salad has been the number one thing since returning home that i have craved daily. What a great dining experience...and reserved seating for F! as well.

We left the Derby super full and looking for something to do....however, there was nothing, not a thing, without at least a 50 minute wait. The park was packed!!! It was the most crowded that i have ever seen. We did manage to get into the Muppets, however EVERY SEAT was FULL...i have never seen that before. We decided to simply stroll the shops a bit and see if any characters were at the animation studios. We lucked out and were able to see Jafar, Mr. Incredible, and Chip and Dale. Magic Mickey was also there but the line was forever.

At around 7:45 we decided to head to the show and grab our seats in the reserved section. The rest of the theater was COMPLETELY FULL at this point, so i was so glad that we did the package. Sure they had added a show at 10:30 that probably would have been less crowded, but with the baby and DD3, i dont think they would have made it.

This was our first time that we have been able to see F! (we tried in 2009 but got rained out). What a fun and beautiful show! everyone loved it. DD3 was a bid scared in parts but she just kept repeating..."Mickey always wins, right Dad?"....and that seemed to get her through it just fine.

I have a video of DD3 dancing before the show...but i dont know how to get the video int he post. any help?

After the show we headed for the buses along with the rest of the masses. WE lucked out and got right on a bus and got a seat. We were back to FQ in no time and ready to hit the sack for the next day...Mother's Day - Mom's choice!!!

.....much more coming!!....

 

[JerseyDevils]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoRRn4TWzb0&feature=player_detailpage