How do I go back to a world that doesn't have fireworks every night?

[solana131]

Subbing!
My 9yo DD and I are heading down to DW in just 36 more days! We are staying at the Poly too (as you can see by my siggie) and I am sooo excited! Like you, I haven't been to DW in over 20 years, and I am eager to see all of the changes.

It was so neat seeing it from that unique perspective. I had been, so I knew all about the magic, but didn't remember much and most of what I did remember wasn't there or was closed (Thunder Mtn, etc). So I felt like a newbie too. But kinda knew what to do. It was so awesome staying at the Poly for the first time. And what a way to introduce Bradey and Bill to it! You are going to have a great time.

Did I see the name of your PTR is "My parents gave us the world"? How cool a name....I should've used that too since they paid for about half of it adn without them we would've been stuck at a value resort Oh the horror!

Anyway...welcome and I am heading over to check out your PTR now!

 

[abcangie87]

I'm here and reading! We are counting down to our late April/early May trip! (One night beach club, six nights bay lake tower)

We've done Kona for dinner but not for breakfast. i'm the only breakfast fan in my house, so I haven't gotten to try tonga toast yet!

I hear mixed reviews on WCC. That it's obviously not as good as like, Ohanas (the best place ever! ) but that the atmosphere makes up for it. Of course, if you are squished into a table, that might squelch the atmosphere a bit!

looking forward to your next update!

 

[mommy2mrb]

made it over from D~s thread!

your little guy is so cute! looks like everyone was having a magical time together, how great Bradley got to experience his first trip with grandma and grandpa

We stayed at POFQ in Oct and LOVED it...hope to stay again on our next trip...my DD wants to stay at the Poly too, so might sneak a night or two in there! you had a great spot and view!

Sorry you didn't have a good experience at WCC, we've always had great food and service in the past.....and you didn't go to EofS....such a bummer we usually eat there twice if we can swing it, so yummy!

love seeing all the character photos with Bradley, so sweet!

 

[NiniMorris]

LOVE your TR! I am supposed to be down sewing... instead,,,D~ told me to come and read your report...so glad I did!!

I know it is too late now...but if you find something you want to buy...like at Epcot, you can have it sent to your resort...and pick it up there! Next time...shop away!!!


Seriously...your little one is so cute! Can't wait to read the next installment!


Nini

 

[jennyjinx3]

You hit upon one of my BIG pet peeves. Why is it adults seem to always try to stand in front of small children who are already at the curb for the parades? I just do not get that, and would've reacted the same as you. In fact I think I did a couple of times on our last trip. GRRRR
Anyway, keep it coming! Your little boy is just so cute! My girls would love him!

 

[denvergirl]

Just joining in! What a fantastic TR. . .Your son is DARLING! I cannot get enough of that sweet face especially the one of him asleep! You've got awesome photos. . .nice work! I'm dying laughing at the Captain Cooks. I can't say we've gotten to stay at the Poly but you make me want to head over there to try the CS!!! Too funny! Can't wait to see how the week ends

 

[solana131]

I'm here and reading! We are counting down to our late April/early May trip! (One night beach club, six nights bay lake tower)

We've done Kona for dinner but not for breakfast. i'm the only breakfast fan in my house, so I haven't gotten to try tonga toast yet!

I hear mixed reviews on WCC. That it's obviously not as good as like, Ohanas (the best place ever! ) but that the atmosphere makes up for it. Of course, if you are squished into a table, that might squelch the atmosphere a bit!

looking forward to your next update!

BC/BLT? What a great combination! Beach Club is on my must stay list. It just looked so beautiful. Probably when Bradey is a little older and can appreciate Epcot more. Or if I can ever get hubby to go just us.

Tonga Toast was just so-so for me. And I love sweet and bananas, so it was weird. But once I had those mac-pine pancakes I was hooked! Yum yum yum. Just book a breakfast for one and tell them all you will meet them at the park later

I would try WC again, just prob wouldn't order the skillet. Bad service sucks, but maybe she was just having a bad day. It wasn't busy, so that wasn't it.

made it over from D~s thread!

your little guy is so cute! looks like everyone was having a magical time together, how great Bradley got to experience his first trip with grandma and grandpa

We stayed at POFQ in Oct and LOVED it...hope to stay again on our next trip...my DD wants to stay at the Poly too, so might sneak a night or two in there! you had a great spot and view!

Sorry you didn't have a good experience at WCC, we've always had great food and service in the past.....and you didn't go to EofS....such a bummer we usually eat there twice if we can swing it, so yummy!

love seeing all the character photos with Bradley, so sweet!

Hey! Thanks for joining! Gotta love that D~

Bradey loved the characters. I just wasn't sure since it was his first time, so I didn't book anything. Can't believe I didn't go to Town Square to meet Mickey and Minnie though Silly me!

LOVE your TR! I am supposed to be down sewing... instead,,,D~ told me to come and read your report...so glad I did!!

I know it is too late now...but if you find something you want to buy...like at Epcot, you can have it sent to your resort...and pick it up there! Next time...shop away!!!


Seriously...your little one is so cute! Can't wait to read the next installment!


Nini

Oh, I knew that about the package delivery! Duh, can't believe I forgot it! Oh well, it wasn't a big deal. Thanks for skipping over here. She's no fun right now cause she is too busy playing Disney style Can you tell I'm jealous?!

You hit upon one of my BIG pet peeves. Why is it adults seem to always try to stand in front of small children who are already at the curb for the parades? I just do not get that, and would've reacted the same as you. In fact I think I did a couple of times on our last trip. GRRRR
Anyway, keep it coming! Your little boy is just so cute! My girls would love him!

Thanks! I think he's pretty cute, but then again I might be a little prejudice...

Just joining in! What a fantastic TR. . .Your son is DARLING! I cannot get enough of that sweet face especially the one of him asleep! You've got awesome photos. . .nice work! I'm dying laughing at the Captain Cooks. I can't say we've gotten to stay at the Poly but you make me want to head over there to try the CS!!! Too funny! Can't wait to see how the week ends

Welcome! He's my little angel thats for sure
I can't take credit for all the pics, my mom probably took more than me
Oh Capt Cooks was great! I will make it a point to stop there at least once from now on. And Kona is a must do from now on too!

Well thanks everybody! It feels good to know I have some readers Or should I say Thanks to D~?

 

[Moodyzblu]

I'm still here too !

I'm enjoying your updates and pics.

I can't stand the parade pushers either! One time my ds was in a wheelchair and these people stood in front of him like he didn't exist. Luckily a lady standing next to us chimed and told them to MOVE ! I could have kissed her.

We're going to WCC next month but I doubt we'll order the skillet. Although my oldest might .. I know I won't. I hope our experience s better than yours !

 

[Lidian]

I'm here! Just got back last night, so still trying to catch up.

 

[dara00]

ugh the same thing happened to us with someone who didn't speak english (or pretended not to) sitting practically on top of my ds at the parade. luckily she got told to move by a cm!

 

[solana131]

I'm still here too !

I'm enjoying your updates and pics.

I can't stand the parade pushers either! One time my ds was in a wheelchair and these people stood in front of him like he didn't exist. Luckily a lady standing next to us chimed and told them to MOVE ! I could have kissed her.

We're going to WCC next month but I doubt we'll order the skillet. Although my oldest might .. I know I won't. I hope our experience s better than yours !

I'm sure if your waitress is better than ours was, it will be a great meal!

I'm here! Just got back last night, so still trying to catch up.

Yay Liddy! I hope you had an awesome trip Welcome home!

ugh the same thing happened to us with someone who didn't speak english (or pretended not to) sitting practically on top of my ds at the parade. luckily she got told to move by a cm!

This one kept trying to put her kid up on top of the trash can and the CMs told her about a dozen times that it wasn't allowed, so she kept shoving at me. I was "dancing" to the music and a couple times my hip just got away from me

 

[solana131]

Okay, I am leaving to visit my parents in FL tomorrow night, so I am going to try to finish this up before I go. We'll see, because I have alot to do here at work today and tomorrow. Yeah right Like I would ever have alot to do at work

So Friday was our last full day and last park day of the week. We were going to skip Hollywood Studios because I just really didn't think there would be much there that Bradey would like. But we decided to take a walk around it anyway since we had hopper passes and it wasn't "wasting" any days.

We took our time in the morning, I didn't really care about the Buzz Lightyear mad dash, so we didn't have to be there at opening. We ate at my beloved Kona again and those pancakes were just as amazing the second day

Then we headed to the bus stop. Boy, you get spoiled with the monorail and the buses seem like they take forever! But eventually we caught one. It was about 10am when we arrived at the Studios and most of the crowd had already gotten there, so the Photopass guy out front wasn't busy.

I think this is one of my favorite of the whole Photopass CD. This whole day was rather relaxing. We didn't have anything specific we needed to do, so we just walked around and soaked up the atmosphere. Bradey pretty much stayed in the stroller and just rode around.

I am so glad we had this stroller for the week. My mom tried to tell me that I didn't need one, that Bradey was old enough and it would just be a pain. Other than later this day when it gets soaked, we loved having it. He only rode in it sparingly, but it was nice to be able to put our junk in it and have it when the crowds got bad and we just wanted to push through. Highly recommend bring a small stroller even with a 5 year old.

So we found these guys...

And they are two of Bradey's favorites, so we had to spend some time with them. The PP guy kept telling him to lean up next to MacQueen, but he didn't think he could touch them, so he kept looking at me for reassurance He is such a sweetie!

Then we found the Shrunk the Kids playground and he was in heaven! This was the one thing I wanted him to experience, but I had thought it was being refurbed while we were there, so we were pleasantly surprised.

He kept checking over his shoulder to make sure the spider that made that big web wasn't coming to get him I have to admit, it kinda freaks me out too.

My favorite! I have the same picture of me when I was 5 on this thing! I have to dig it up sometime.

Then we came across the Backlot Tour and this was a hit! Both guys loved it. Although Bradey was a little freaked out when the big tanker truck came at us and blew up, but he wasn't on the outside thanks to a little thing called Mommy's memory

And after that we decided to head out since it was getting close to lunchtime and I wanted to hit up Beaches N Cream. But on our way out we saw these guys...

And since at the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor show Grampa played Sully, I thought Bradey should meet the real Sully. At this point he hadn't watched that movie, but since we got home he has watched it several times.

And we got one more PP on the way out.

So we walked up the path along the river to the Beach Club. They were doing construction around the pool and it wasn't obvious where to find Beaches N Cream, so we just continued on to Epcot instead. We stopped at this little place called the Refreshment Port. Have you ever tried this little place? Wow! We got Bradey the fried shrimp basket and Bill and I shared these things called Spicy Chicken Poppers. Yum yum yum! This was one of the best meals we had all week! I can't believe it. I saw nothing about this place in all my planning, it was just a happy accident that we stumbled across it. I was just looking for a drink, and we decided to try it. Very glad we did.

Then we walked back through to Future World and rode Figment again. While we were in there it poured outside and our stroller got soaked! So at this time we decided it was a good time to head back to the Poly.

 

[solana131]

After the stroller got soaked and we were hot and tired we went back to the Poly to relax a bit. I kept asking Bradey if there was anything else he wanted to do and kept stressing that this was the last day we had at Disney for a couple of years. He just wanted to play on the beach I guess Disney beaches are better than our beaches at home?? Oh well. We finally convinced him to take a boat ride over and check out the campground. We are a camping family and I thought we would all enjoy it. So we hopped on the monorail and transferred to a boat at MK. One more shot of the Contemporary as we went by...

You can see it wasn't a very beautiful day. But luckily the showers were over and we didn't get wet again.

We got to Fort Wilderness (it was a longer ride than I thought it would be) and looked around down by the store and restaurants. It looked like a ghost town. I was hoping we could take a carriage ride around the campground, but they weren't running them until 6pm and it was only 4. So we played a little at their playground then headed back. We had dinner at Capt Cooks again and then just relaxed and played at the beach again. We were pretty down because it was the last day and we didn't want to leave. I wanted to go over to MK and see Wishes up close again, but neither of them did, so we just watched them from the big beach with music again.

So here we are at departure day

I was pleased to see that they had printed our boarding passes already and included them with our check-out stuff. We took our time packing things up and brought our luggage out to the airline checkin at the Poly. This is an awesome feature they offer guests. To be able to spend your last day without bags in tow was great! We had breakfast at Kona again, then went back to the room one last time to clean it up and get our carryons.

Our Magical Express bus was going to pick us up at 1pm, so we had the whole morning to just relax. We played at the beach for a bit, but it was real windy, so that didn't last long. We sat in the Great Ceremonial House for a while looking at the hidden Mickeys...

Then decided to go over to the Contemporary and see if they had any pressed penny machines. They had a few and we spent a little time over there, then it was time to go

Our ME bus on the way there was very empty and we didn't wait at all. This one was pretty full by the time we stopped at the Grand Floridian, and we waited a really long time at both the Poly and GF. But eventually we made it to MCO and since we were so early, we took our time looking around. They had a Harley shop there too, so we had to get a shot of Bradey on the big boy.

Then it was off to our gate. The ride home was uneventful, just like I like them. And it was a very late night for us. Our plane landed in Manchester at about 7pm, then it was a 2 hour drive home and an extra 40 mins to drop my Grandfather off, so we weren't home until around 10. But we made it with tons and tons of great memories.

Can't wait to go back. I am plotting constantly on how to make that happen sooner rather than later. We will at the very least go again in Nov/Dec of 2013, but I want to go sooner than that. I'll keep you updated

Thank you for reading along and re-living my trip with me. I am very excited about our upcoming trip to see my parents and I might just have to post a few pics from that on here too, so stay tuned

 

[204charity]

Awesome TR! So glad to hear you all had a wonderful time. I can't wait to head there in just 33 days!!!!!

 

[Moodyzblu]

Sorry to see your trip end ! But glad to hear you are going to see your parents.

Wonderful job on the TR !

 

[solana131]

Awesome TR! So glad to hear you all had a wonderful time. I can't wait to head there in just 33 days!!!!!

Sorry to see your trip end ! But glad to hear you are going to see your parents.

Wonderful job on the TR !

Thanks Ladies! You both are leaving real soon Have a great time!

 

[dara00]

I enjoyed reading along! I'm the same way, trying to plan more trips as soon as possible!

 

[solana131]

I enjoyed reading along! I'm the same way, trying to plan more trips as soon as possible!

I had 20 years in between the two last ones, I am NOT letting that happen again! And because of rehabs and closures, there is so much we missed this time around. We have no choice but to go back

Trying to work out a long weekend over my birthday with a girlfriend. But its hard to get someone that has never been to come up with $600. I keep telling her that $600 for 4 days in Disney is NOTHING! That includes room, tickets, and flight. We'll see....

 

[dara00]

wow, when is your birthday? dh and I are planning on going for my birthday, it's Nov. 10, and doing the wine & dine marathon. I'm afraid we're going to have to pay way more than $600 though!

 

[solana131]

wow, when is your birthday? dh and I are planning on going for my birthday, it's Nov. 10, and doing the wine & dine marathon. I'm afraid we're going to have to pay way more than $600 though!

My bday is in early June. They have a 30% off thingy going on then. So if we stayed at POP, the room would be $407 (so $200 a piece). 4 day base ticket is $243 (so around $200). And the flight out of PWM would be $262 a piece. I told her if she paid $600, I would make up the difference. She is still thinking ummm....sorry but whats to think about?

Anyone on here wanna go?