Everyone else gets to ride the fun rides.. 1st Family Trip May2010(top 5..9/7)

[TinksThree]

I understand life getting in the way...I have felt overwhelmed the past few weeks! Congrats on passing the certification!!

 

[pinkxray]

Hooray!!! You are back!! I had guessed that the new job was keeping you busy. Congrats on the certification!! Looking forward to the rest of your report!

Thanks! I am so glad I am done with June. Hopefully this month will calm down a little. Thanks sticking with me

I understand life getting in the way...I have felt overwhelmed the past few weeks! Congrats on passing the certification!!

Thank you! It has been so nice having this weekend off and not having anything hanging over my head on my to do list. Well, there are the piles of laundry that I've been neglecting. Ugh. It never ends does it?

 

[pinkxray]

Back to SWW.

After the Little Mermaid (which really needs an update) we came across Jedi Mickey, Leia Minnie and R2. We decided to stand in the very long line to meet them.

Once we were in line the handler told us they would be leaving and Storm Trooper Donald would be out, then Mickey and R2 would come back out. Mickey and Minnie wouldn't be appearing together again.
I snapped a picture with some strangers meeting them.

The line was pretty long so I stepped out to get some drinks and popcorn.

Soon Storm Trooper Donald came out

DD wasn't thrilled to meet him, but we had already been waiting so long we decided to stick it out. They could have at least sent out Goofy too.

Finally it was almost our turn. Then, just as we were next Donald left and Mickey and R2 came back out. Yay!

We were so happy we got to see Mickey after all. I really hated the whole alternating characters thing. I understand it gets hot and they need a break but if you want to wait in line to see Mickey for an hour and then you get stuck with Donald? (nothing against Donald)

Next, we headed over to Star Tours.

DD had only since the old SW movies so she didn't know who this was. We just called her princess Leia's mom.
Once we got home we watched the first SW movie with Natalie Portman but she didn't really like it. I told her the second gets a little more exciting but she doesn't want to see it.

I should mention while heading over to Star Tours it was the only time that day we would have been able to see Beauty and the Beast. But of course I was outvoted and we missed it. I still have never seen it in the 7 times I've been to Disney!

Oh and we also passed the Darth Vader meet and greet. I would have liked to get a picture with him but the line was insane! I thought the music they played was cool and if it wasn't so hot I would have waited.

We also ran into Princess Leia leaving her station. She went right up to this guy and grabbed his arm. She talked to him the whole way until see got to her door to go inside. Pretty cool!

After Star Tours we went to see the parade. We should have gotten there a little earlier b/c there was no where to sit. We finally found a spot behind a lady sitting down. At least we could see. Then, 25 minutes later the guy standing next to her flagged down his whole family who proceeded to come over and stand infront of DD.
They could have easy sat down since they were in the very front row. But nope they decided to stand the whole time. We managed to get a little space for DD to see.

 

[pinkxray]

After lunch we headed to 50'S Prime Time for our ADR. This was were we had our longest wait. It was over 45 minutes. The place was packed and there is not enough seating to wait when it is busy.

Overall the food was just okay. I think the wait put everyone in a bad mood and that may have brought the whole experience down. I don't think we will be returning. We liked Sci Fi and Mama Melrose and would chose those on our DHS days.

After lunch we headed to the Animation Building.
We waited to see Lotso and since the movie hadn't opened yet there was almost no one waiting to see him. It was strange how he was the nicest bear ever! You would have no clue he would be so mean in the movie.

We also saw MR. and Mrs. Incredible but the Mrs. left and out came Frozone.

This was the worst meet and greet of the trip. They both seemed bothered to be there and just wanted to get it done.


We took a final look around and wanted to meet Princess Leia and Luke but they weren't there when we got there. By that time it was like 100 degrees and the place was packed to the brim with people so we decided to head off to the new hotel.

We would spend the next four nights at Lake Buena Vista Resort Village and Spa. We had a two bedroom unit.

Living Room

Kitchen

Dining Table

Master Bedroom with King Bed

Master Bathroom

Balcony

Second Bedroom

 

[Believeinfairytales]

Your SWW update was really great! You have some wonderful photo memories with the awesome characters that were out. Too bad that you couldn't get SW Minnie with SW Mickey.

Love the new hotel! It seems so spacious and lovely!

 

[KatMark]

First, congrats on the certification! That is awesome.

Love the update. I know what you mean...you wait and wait fo ra character and then they bring out someone else. Just bring out a "fresh" Mickey Mouse.

The new place you are staying looks very nice.

 

[TinksThree]

Wow the new place looks so nice! We thought 50's Primetime was okay when we went last year but I talked the kids into going back to Sci-fi. There is just something that holds me back on 50's PTC...I just can't put a finger on it!

 

[ksl5f123]

I agree about the rotating characters at SWW. It is tough to stand in a line that long not knowing who you will get.

The new room(s) look really nice. It is wonderful to stay on-site, but nice to be able to spread out too.

I would have been a little cranky after a 45 minute wait to get seated for lunch too. Sorry it brought down your experience at 50's PT.

The pictures with Lotso are cute. I love the area he is in. They did a nice job setting up the background, but after seeing the movie...um...no, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed him before we all knew.

 

[pinkxray]

Your SWW update was really great! You have some wonderful photo memories with the awesome characters that were out. Too bad that you couldn't get SW Minnie with SW Mickey.

Love the new hotel! It seems so spacious and lovely!

SWW was so much fun. I would love to go again but I doubt we'll go back in May again. I really wish we had gotten to see Minnie and Mickey together but I guess it was only for the beginning of the day and those who showed up first.

The second was huge! It was a little too big for just the three of us. The master bedroom was about the same size as the room at POR. It was nice to spread out a bit though.

First, congrats on the certification! That is awesome.

Love the update. I know what you mean...you wait and wait fo ra character and then they bring out someone else. Just bring out a "fresh" Mickey Mouse.

The new place you are staying looks very nice.

Thanks!

It is really annoying with the rotating characters. When we saw Mr. and Mrs. Incredible in DD was excited but as soon as we got up there Frozone came out. We wouldn't have even waited if it was him.

The new hotel was pretty nice. I would stay there again if I couldn't do onsite for some reason. I can see why families with a few kids would chose this option. I still have to post the pool pictures but I have to finish uploading them first. Hopefully, I'll get those up tonight. I actually have 3 days off!

Wow the new place looks so nice! We thought 50's Primetime was okay when we went last year but I talked the kids into going back to Sci-fi. There is just something that holds me back on 50's PTC...I just can't put a finger on it!

It was nice!
50's was a huge disappointment. I remember seeing it every trip when I was a kid and always wanted to try it. The food was just not good enough to justify the wait. We'll stick to Sci-fi too. We all loved it there.

The new room(s) look really nice. It is wonderful to stay on-site, but nice to be able to spread out too.

I would have been a little cranky after a 45 minute wait to get seated for lunch too. Sorry it brought down your experience at 50's PT.

The pictures with Lotso are cute. I love the area he is in. They did a nice job setting up the background, but after seeing the movie...um...no, thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed him before we all knew.

The new rooms were a nice break from being stuck in a tiny room for a week but I would still pick onsite everytime. I kind of wish we hadn't moved b/c I think DH liked the second place better. He loved the space and the pool. DH and DD said the slide was the best slide of the trip.

I just didn't like having a kitchen. I was washing cups every morning and cleaning plates from pizza. Ugh. I am on vacation. I missed my food court and refillable mugs.

I loved the area Lotso was in. The Sunnyside pictures are too cute. I was a little surprised Lotso was so sweet when we met him. He was so mean in the movie. I don't think DD would want to meet him now. I wonder why they put him in there. I really wanted to see the UP characters!

 

[mermaid764]

I'm finally caught up on TR and am loving it.

You have a beautiful family and i'm looking forward to hearing more.

Your new room looks really nice, especially the jacuzzi in the bathroom

 

[pinkxray]

I'm finally caught up on TR and am loving it.

You have a beautiful family and i'm looking forward to hearing more.

Your new room looks really nice, especially the jacuzzi in the bathroom

Thanks for joining in!
I seem to be taking longer and longer between updates. I am working way too hard and have no time for Disney fun

It is also a little depressing coming on the boards when my next trip is so far away. But I willget to the end eventually.

 

[pinkxray]

Let's see... we left off checking out our new room.

We didn't have a chance to relax b/c we had an ADR for Chef Mickey's! We left the hotel with plenty of time and went to the TTC to park. I forget if I mentioned this or not, when we went to Animal Kingdom on Thurs. we wanted to bring the camcorder for the safari. I could not find it Wed. when I was looking to charge it, but I was exhausted and sick so I just went to bed. We were running late in the morning and didn't have time to look much. Once we came back in the afternoon we tore apart everything and could not find it. I could remember having it in CRT and though I remembered DH having as we were leaving but who knows?

We decided to park at the TTC so that we could check out Lost and Found after Chef Mickey's.

I don't know what happened but we ended up being a few minutes late. It took forever for the monorail to show up.
The checkin line was huge but it moved pretty quickly. Once we checked in the directed us towards the big plate to get the group picture. No thanks. I don't need my picture with a Mickey statue when I am about to see the real deal.

We waited for a little bit right next to window over looking Bay Lake. Wow.. what a view. I always though I wouldn't want to stay at CR unless I could pay for the MK view but I wouldn't mind looking at the lake everyday. It is beautiful!

Friday was the first day I was feeling better and finally got to enjoy a passion fruit mojito.Yay!

The food was fine. I was scared of coming here after all the bad reviews but the whole family liked it and found something to eat. Anyway, who cares about the food? We're here for the characters!

I loved Chef Mickey's! DD had tons of fun and we will try to go back next time. I would love to try breakfast, but I would do dinner again if we had to.

After dinner we stopped at Contempo Cafe to use up the rest of our snack credits. I think we had 7 left.

Contempo Cafe was a pretty cool cs location. I just wonder how crazy it is in the morning? I would love to stay at CR someday and would have to head down here for my coffee each morning. Has anyone had any experiences here? I just can't imagine sitting next to Chef Mickey's every morning and DD not wanting to go in there.


After dinner we headed over to Lost and Found which is located in the kennel.

DD snapped this picture of a dog being walked. She wanted to know why our dogs couldn't come. We have two german shepherds. I can't imagine how much it would cost to bring them to Disney and then pay for the kennel. Nope, I think they are much better off with Grandma.
I have never been near this area before. The inside is so cute. Pictures of 101 dalmatians and the aristocats. There is also a huge Pluto outside the building and I thought I took a picture but can't seem to find it.
They have a display off dog bowls and accesories.

They had a mat for the food bowls with pictures of all the Disney dogs and I wanted to get it but you had to go to the little store at the TTC and I said I would go next time we came to MK. I never ended up getting it for some reason.

Lost and Found closed at 7? and we were a little late. I figured it would be open a little later.

We headed back to the resort to go in the pool.

 

[pinkxray]

As soon as we got back DD and DH headed to the pool. I headed for my jacuzzi tub.

Here are some pictures of the pool.
Taken from our balcony

I took tons of pictures so that you could see everything. In the back of the boat there was a zero entry and a little play area for kids. There were also two hot tubs away from the pool. The resort had an adults only pool in one of the other buildings. It was a little tiny pool. No hot tub and the bar is at the main pool. I think there was one couple there when we checked it out. Seemed like a good place to be if you would to be alone.

The bar area

The pool was great. It is hard to get a good picture of the slide. It looks like it would be a tiny slide that just goes through the boat, but it actually loops around in the boat and you go super fast. There is a height limit of 48" I think but they let DD go on DH's lap. I think that will depend on who is working though. Mostly everyone there seemed pretty relaxed. The slide would close for 30 minutes after lighting striked so it was closed a few times I saw from the balcony.

DH liked the pool here much better than the one at POR. He said the slide was the best pool slide he has been on. That doesn't help me at all in my arguement to stay onsite. I would love to stay at AKL or CR but AKL's slide looks a little lame. Maybe Kidani is a bit better. CR looks like it could work, but I am not thrilled the whole pool area in the back.

 

[TinksThree]

That pool looks very cool!! I love the benefits of staying on-site but that hotel looked really nice!

We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I prefer the supper to breakfast food wise, but the character interaction is so fun!!!

I saw on a Disney blog info about the new kennel...so I went to the website out of curiosity. I you take your German Sheperds next time, you could have a bisquit placed on their turned down pillow each night and have a bed time story read before they go to sleep!! Also, you can purchase bottled water for them to drink!! I can just see my Jack Russell cooperating!!

Great update!!

 

[ksl5f123]

Wow! That pool looks awesome! I imagine that I would have to plan an entire day there for my kids. I don't think they would want to leave.

I am so glad you found food you liked at Chef Mickey's. I have never had supper there and the reviews really scared me.

 

[pinkxray]

That pool looks very cool!! I love the benefits of staying on-site but that hotel looked really nice!

We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's. I prefer the supper to breakfast food wise, but the character interaction is so fun!!!

I saw on a Disney blog info about the new kennel...so I went to the website out of curiosity. I you take your German Sheperds next time, you could have a bisquit placed on their turned down pillow each night and have a bed time story read before they go to sleep!! Also, you can purchase bottled water for them to drink!! I can just see my Jack Russell cooperating!!

Great update!!

The hotel was pretty decent for staying offsite. I wish we stayed at POR the whole time b/c I know I will have a tough time convincing DH to stay onsite next time. He loved all of the space and the pool for much less money. He also likes being near all the stores and restaurants offsite. He says it annoys him that he has to go offsite to find a CVS or whatnot.
I personally love that when you stay onsite you don't have to see all of the cheap Disney souvenir shops and fast food places.

If we ever moved closer to FL and could drive I might consider taking the dogs, but we are way to far to drive with them in the pathfinder for 24 hours. Plus I kind of like having a vacation from the dogs for a little bit.

Wow! That pool looks awesome! I imagine that I would have to plan an entire day there for my kids. I don't think they would want to leave.

I am so glad you found food you liked at Chef Mickey's. I have never had supper there and the reviews really scared me.

The pool was pretty good! It never really seemed too crowded and all the kids seemed to love it. DH and I always stayed offsite before and the pools were always the regular rectangle pools, so this was a nice benefit.

I was terrified of CM dinner and was going to cancel but DD really wanted to go there and I could fit in breakfast. The food wasn't great but it was average buffet food. It was a great time with the characters though.

 

[Believeinfairytales]

I hate that you lost your camcorder. I am keeping fingers crossed that you do end up finding it.

Also, that pool area looks so awesome! I guess I only think inside the Disney box, but looking at the pictures of your room and the pool, I am could actually reconsider staying off-site!

 

[MHTeacher]

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Chef Mickey's. We'd had dinner there several years ago, but ate breakfast there this past trip in May, and we really enjoyed that one. Like you said, the characters are the best thing there.

The pool at your hotel looks awesome!

 

[pinkxray]

I hate that you lost your camcorder. I am keeping fingers crossed that you do end up finding it.

Also, that pool area looks so awesome! I guess I only think inside the Disney box, but looking at the pictures of your room and the pool, I am could actually reconsider staying off-site!

I couldn't believe we lost the camcorder. I was a little out of it on Wed. due to the cold but I could have sworn we had it when we were leaving. As we were exciting MK we saw Chip and Dale but since our regular camera battery was dead DH said we could just use the camcorder. I was feeling awful at that point and knew we would see chip and Dale at AK so we just left. When we took the monorail back to the TTC it was packed and I thought maybe we left it on there or maybe it was stolen? We were able to check lost and found one more time on our last day, but I'll save that for later.

The pool was fun. The icky water that surrounded it made me a little nervous. I am terrified of snakes and could just imagine them slithering on over to the pool from the water. Lucky we didn't see any. I did love the pool and the huge rooms but I really love being onsite.

Glad you enjoyed your meal at Chef Mickey's. We'd had dinner there several years ago, but ate breakfast there this past trip in May, and we really enjoyed that one. Like you said, the characters are the best thing there.

The pool at your hotel looks awesome!

Breakfast is on my list to try next trip. How can you go wrong starting your day with the fab five? I wish Daisy was there too. She belongs with the rest of the group.

The pool was great, although I doubt it can compare to SAB.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

The slide at AKL/V is a little lame! Just one curve but hey...the kids were fine with it. Kidani is the same but it does have the kids' splash area that was a big hit! oh and Kidani's slide has a stop light that tells you when you can go! The Pirate Ship slide looks a LOT cooler!