Ellie May and Jethro - Springbreak at WDW - Update on Page 3 with more pictures

[jjarman]

Well, we made it and we had so much fun. I am going to try to get this trip report done quickly as I hate to read reports that are months old.

Cast of characters

Me - Ellie May - mom to one son age 16

DS - Jethro - 16 year old boy that really could eat his weight in food every day at WDW.

Day One - Saturday - Airport trauma, EE and Sore Feet

I was so excited I could not sleep the night before. I finally went to bed about 11:30 after checking, and rechecking and rerechecking our luggage but woke up at 6:20 when the dog wanted out so I just stayed up. Got the shower done and finished up the last minute packing and we are on our way by 8:30. DH, who does not do Disney and can’t understand why I do, dropped us off at the Jackson, MS airport with no problems. We actually arrived about 2 and a half hours early but I was afraid of some unforseen problem so wanted to allow plenty of time. On the way we stopped for donuts at our favorite place so we had plenty of sugar and carbs onboard. Did the curbside baggage check which is wonderful. We were luggage free in just a matter of minutes. On to security. The line was not too long and I figured we would sail right through. Wrong. DS’s drivers license was expired. I knew this and called Southwest ahead of time and they said it would be no problem but bring his birth certificate just in case. DS is 16 but is 6'2" and looks older so I guess they figured the drivers license was a fake or something. They said they may have to pat him down which was fine with me. He was not too excited about it. Anything to get me on my way to Disneyworld. But they didn’t and we got through with no other problems. More on this on our return flight though. Got on the plane and took off only 10 minutes late and landed 5 minutes early. Whoohoo. We are here.
Now how they expect us to know how to get to the Magical Express place when we arrive is beyond me. The map they gave did me no good whatsoever. I found out we had to take a tram to another part of the airport and then went downstairs following the herd and finally there are the white gloves. Checking in only took a few minutes and our bus was ready for us in just another few. The bus was nice and there is a cute video for you to see telling you about all the stuff you will get to do if you ever arrive at the resort. Our bus driver was very nice and sounded like Ricky Ricardo. Some rude people on the bus were making fun of him and laughing at his accent but I thought he was very nice. Made it “home” to Pop Century and only one person in front of me for checkin. I had reserved a preferred room in the 60s section but did not want to face the pool. The CM said all the preferred rooms face the pool but he would try to get me a room facing the lake. After a little running back and forth by the CM checking on things, talking on the phone, consulting with the higher ups, I got the perfect room. 60s building, 4th floor, nonsmoking, facing the lake. I was 3 rooms down from the elevator and ice machines too. And it was not preferred so I got an $80 credit on my account. We went to the room to drop off the back pack and hurried to the buses. It was about 5:00 by now but AK didn’t close until 7:00 so we had some time. We got to AK at 5:30 and found out it closes at 6:00. We hotfooted it over to Expedition Everest just to see what the wait might be. Hardly any wait at all and we got to ride twice. This ride is awesome and my favorite ride now. I swear it feels like you go upside down at one point but I know you don’t. Hint: Ride in the back if you can. It was well worth it to rush over there. By this time DS is starving. This is a continuing theme in this report. You cannot fill up a teenage boy at Disneyworld. It is a known fact. We decided to try out Rainforest as we had never been to one before. The wait was about an hour but we found seats at the bar within minutes which was fine with us. DS got the stuffed shrimp and I got the crab cake meal. Both were very good and very filling, at least for me. I had planned on taking pictures of our food to post in my trip report but with DS acting like he had not eaten in a week it was nearbout impossible. I liked the restaurant but don’t think it is one I would choose to go to again. It is cute and has some great theming but it is very loud and there were several children crying when the animals started up. After supper about 7:30, we decided to go to MK and decided to go to the Contemporary to catch the monorail. We were the only ones on the bus and I was kinda hoping he would drop us off at MK gate but he just suggested we go to the TTC and catch the express monorail from there so that is what we did. Very crowded at MK as they were getting ready for a parade. DS truly hates parades and complained about that the entire trip. We got to ride Splash and BTMRR twice each though with little wait because of the parade. On the way out we were very tired after having been up since 6:20 and losing an hour. Plus we would lose an additional hour with the time change overnight. We did manage to drag ourselves into the ice cream shop on the way out and get a treat. My feet were killing me by this time. I wore Crocs but they were hurting my feet. More on the feet later. Got back to the resort about 10:45 and no luggage. Called downstairs and it was on its way and arrived in about 15 minutes so all was right with the world. After a long hot bath to soak my feet I crawled into bed and went instantly to sleep. The beds are very comfortable by the way. Oh, I did call maintenance when we returned from the parks and got him to adjust the thermostat so we could get it cold at night. I don’t really like cold weather but I can’t sleep if I am hot. It was nice all week to be able to turn the thermostat down to 55. I ended up at times having to turn the temp back up because it worked so good.

Tomorrow - DTD, MK

 

[NMAmy]

Welcome back! Sounds like you had a great time. I agree about EE, it DOES feel like you go upside down.

Can't wait to read more!

 

[NEVERENOUGHWDW]

So far a fun report!!!!

 

[betsywdw]

Enjoying the report! Can't wait for more!!!

 

[B&Lmom]

We were there at the same time last week! Can't wait to hear more.

 

[disneyaddicted]

I am on board and ready to hear more. So far so fun.

 

[ILMICKEY]

I have a 15 and 16 year old. I know how hard it is to keep them fed. I think they eat dinner 4 times a night. Were you on the DDP?

 

[jjarman]

I have a 15 and 16 year old. I know how hard it is to keep them fed. I think they eat dinner 4 times a night. Were you on the DDP?

No. We were not on the DDP. I think in the future I will get it though. Surely that would be enough food to fill him up. At home he takes medication for ADD during the week so he is not nearly as hungry. He doesn't take it when he is not in school so he was famished all last week. I was afraid though if we got it that we would not want to commit to eating at a TS every night. I know now that it would not have interferred with our plans.

 

[praisehisname]

Great start--can't wait to hear what happens next!

Denise

PS: I've got a 13DS who eats his weight in food each day. What does the future hold???

 

[jjarman]

PS: I've got a 13DS who eats his weight in food each day. What does the future hold???

Start saving now.

 

[jjarman]

Cast of characters

Me - Ellie May - mom to one son age 16

DS - Jethro - 16 year old boy that really could eat his weight in food every day at WDW.

Since we have now lost 2 hours what with the trip east and the time change and with us being up the night before until 11:00 or so, we decided to sleep in this morning. We really needed it. We did get going by 9:30 so we went over to DTD to get some really good sandwiches at the Earl of Sandwich and we were not disappointed. Sorry but I don’t remember exactly what we got but any sandwich you get at the Earl of Sandwich is going to be good. We didn’t have a lot of spending money for this trip so I resisted the urge to walk around and look at stuff. We got back on the bus to the Contemporary and caught the monorail to MK. We love MK. I had forgotten to get a map at the resort or at the entrance at the park but found some near the bathrooms that are to the left when you go under the train. These were not in english though. Well, I didn’t need to read any details just needed to find the quickest way to get somewhere so I picked up a Portugese one. This comes into play later. It was already very crowded but we got Fastpasses for Jungle Cruise and hopped on POC. I love the new version. It is so much better. The beginning scene with the fog stuff was really cool. It was not time for our FP so we went through the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. DS had not done this before and I had not done it since I was 10 so it was new to me too. After that did the Jungle Cruise with the FP and our guide was very funny. This is another that I had not done since I was 10 and DS had never done. I thought him being 16 he would think it pretty silly but he liked it. Having a good guide makes all the difference. Then on to Splash, DS favorite ride. Standby said about 40 minutes so we decided to jump in. Well, that was wrong. It took about an hour. One group of about 15 kids tried to butt in front of us by following the leader who was in front of us. No, not gonna work. This was a problem the entire trip and it got old pretty fast. I didn’t say anything but this one time I blocked the walkway and the girl ended up joining her friends behind us. We did meet this nice family, mom and twin boys about 10, from Brazil. Mother spoke fairly good english but the boys didn’t speak English at all. After a few minutes of talking I remembered from my history classes that people in Brazil speak Portuguese. I confirmed with her and showed here the Portugese map I had gotten earlier. She was so excited so I gave it to her. She and the boys were so excited. The boys especially liked it and didn’t put it down the rest of the time in line. Now they could read what all the rides were about, the restaurants, etc. Rode Splash and I got wet. I got wet just about every time we rode this ride usually by the water cannon that blows beside the big drop. It Was now about 4:00 and by this time the lines were getting a little long so we decided to hop over to Epcot since we had reservations at San Angel at 5:30. Got the monorail for this which is so much fun. Soarin had a 75 minute wait and, of course, no FP so we skipped it. DS is hungry, again. We went to The Land and got him a snack at the food court there. He got soup I believe and some bread with that. I got a small bowl of mac and cheese. The soup was good but the mac and cheese is just a little too bland for me. We then walked over and rode Mission Space which was fun as always and only a 20 minute wait. We did the intense version and the wait was longer for it than the less intense. Then it was time to mosey on over to San Angel. We took our time and I watched the fountains some. Sat on a bench in the shade to do a little to people watching. Still, DS is ready to eat again so we went in a little early. Still had to wait about 10 minutes so we walked around the market inside. I was disappointed that the wall was up blocking the view of the river and the volcano. I knew they were refurbishing the boat ride but did not realize it would affect the restaurant. Not that bad though and I didn’t have to worry about getting a good seat. In case you are going when the ride is out of commission just know that you can’t see anything much except the very top of the volcano. Our food was good. DS got the Mexican plate which had a little of everything on it and I got what amounts to shrimp and mexican spaghetti. I get this dish every time and it is always good. Got a great marguerita too. Our waitress was very good and the service was excellent. I have heard people complain about the service and sometimes in the past our server would evaporate but this time she was very attentive. After supper we headed back to the hotel for a little rest then back to MK for EMH. Got there about 10:00. Very crowded but we did ride Splash, Small World (another that DS had never done and I had not done since I was little), and Haunted Mansion. Still just too crowded to do much and the lines were so long so we got some ice cream and went back to the resort. I found on this trip that EMH at MK and MGM were just not worth the trouble. We got to bed around 12:00 and hoped to get up early the next day for a better start.

Plan tomorrow - MGM

 

[praisehisname]

We did meet this nice family, mom and twin boys about 10, from Brazil. Mother spoke fairly good english but the boys didn’t speak English at all. After a few minutes of talking I remembered from my history classes that people in Brazil speak Portuguese. I confirmed with her and showed here the Portugese map I had gotten earlier. She was so excited so I gave it to her. She and the boys were so excited. The boys especially liked it and didn’t put it down the rest of the time in line. Now they could read what all the rides were about, the restaurants, etc.

That is so cool! You probably made their day!

Great report so far; keep it coming! Will there be any pictures?

Denise

 

[jcc0621]

Subscribing. Looking forward to the rest

 

[nts4wdw]

Great trippie so far! I have 13 year old. Do you really mean it's gonna get worse?!?! I'm going have to take a second job just for groceries. Looking forward to more of your report.

 

[jjarman]

I hope to have some pictures soon on this report. I have some interesting ones.

Yes, take out a loan or get a second job to feed the teenager.

 

[KimAshton]

Subscribing. Love it so far.

 

[jjarman]

Don't give up on me. I have been swamped at work but hope to have another installment tonight and hopefully with some pictures.

 

[betsywdw]

Don't give up on me. I have been swamped at work but hope to have another installment tonight and hopefully with some pictures.

Not giving up at all! Just patiently waiting

 

[jjarman]

Cast of characters

Me - Ellie May - mom to one son age 16

DS - Jethro - 16 year old boy that really could eat his weight in food every day at WDW.

Day Three

We are already so tired what with losing 2 hours, going going going and staying up the night before until 1:30 (I went back and checked my notes) so we slept in again but managed to get to MGM by 10:30 so not so bad. Went by ToT and got Fastpasses and wouldn’t you know it DS, again, is hungry so we went by Backlot Express to get him something to eat. Yikes. It is not open yet. Will he survive? Star Tours only had a 10 minute wait so we rode it. I remembered it from our trip 4 years ago and was not that impressed then. Well, it must have been totally different then because I really liked it this time. It killed a little time too so we went back and got DS some food, a flatbread turkey sandwich which was good and seemed to tide him over for a bit. DS really liked Backlot Tour last visit so we did it again. What DS really liked about the ride was my reaction to the water. You know when it comes crashing down the canyon? I had not read anything about this ride apparently because it totally caught me off guard last trip. I was prepared this time but it was still fun. Got this great picture of the guy being drenched in the movie filming sequence.

Went to use our ToT Fastpasses and got more FP for ToT and then rode RnR. Sign said the wait was 50 minutes but it was only 35 so we waited in line. DS is hungry again. I told you it was an ongoing theme in this trip report. Got him a turkey leg and at hotdog for me. While he was getting the food I found a table but while I was waiting I noticed this woman eating an orange at a table all by herself. I guess after thinking about it she could have bought it at the fruit stand in the park but at the time it really pissed me off.

Then while we were eating her husband comes up and sits down but she gets up. They took up a whole table for one person.

We at least offered to share our table with this couple from Germany. By the way, they did not like Epcot. It was not Disney enough for them. Because of the language barrier I didn’t try to explain anything about there being some Disney stuff there and that Epcot was designed differently so I let it go.

After eating we did the Great Movie Ride which is always fun. Went back and did ToT again. By this time we are a little tired and my feet are killing me. Went back to the room and decided that we were just not up for Chefs de France that night so cancelled that ADR. We were lucky though and got Boma instead. I had ADRs for Boma later in the week but we decided we were in the mood for it now. We took the bus to DTD and then to AKL. Boma was very good and if you haven’t eaten there it is a buffet with african dishes. I was surprised at how many of them seemed so familiar to me. But then I am from the south and I guess I should have expected that some of our dishes would have migrated from Africa. The ones that were familiar was something that was just like cole slaw, something like cornbread and something very close to hushpuppies. Also the fufu was sweet potatoes and they had gumbo. We ate our fill and it was worth the money. I don’t know if I would do it again but I am glad we did it this time. I was not overly impressed with AKL. It is pretty. Don’t get me wrong but it is so dark. It is just not for me. If I am paying that much money I think I would stay at the Poly. I know they have the animals you can see from your room but after a day or so that would not be that great anymore. Just my opinion.

After eating we took the bus to Epcot to try to ride Soarin. It had an hour wait so we skipped it. There were EMH at MGM that night so we went there. Again, so crowded that the waits for RnR and Tot were very very long so we decided we had plenty of time left this week to ride them and went back to the room.

I told DS then we had to get back on our plan of getting up early to hit the parks at opening and he agreed. It was only about 10:00 so we got some good sleep that night.

Tomorrow - BB (maybe)

 

[Sweedee]

This former MS gal is appreciating your tales! Keep 'em coming!