Just Back 8/13... APs are d.a.n.g.e.r.o.u.s!

[Zippa D Doodah]

We activated our first-ever APs in early July, with plans to be back in June 2018 and other undetermined times in between. We live a 9 hour drive from WDW. This past Thursday at 5:30pm my schedule cleared thru the weekend, so I joked with DW that we should drop everything and go to WDW. She couldn't go but told me I should go. 30 minutes later I was on the road alone. I can tell already that APs make me do crazy things. Funny thing is that me, DW, and DS17 are going down next week too.

Highlights and lowlights of my quick trip...
- DHS was delightfully manageable on Saturday morning. I arrived at exactly 9am and walked an to Toy Story. Had FP for ToT but did not need them as it too was a walk on. Single rider for RnRC took about 20 minutes. Not too bad.
- I was able to snag an 11:50am FP for GMR that morning which worked out great. I think being solo helps a great deal with FPs.
- I was able to stalk and shock/surprise my daughter and her friend who were at WDW on a trip too. I went up and tapped them on the shoulder during the parade at MK on Fridayafternoon. Screaming and hugs ensued.
- I got rained on and soaked Saturday evening at Epcot. That was not much fun.
-I did Test Track single rider. The ride broke down while I was on it. The lights came on and we were evacuated. Kind of a cool experience!
- I stayed at the Lakeside Maingate Resort, at which I got a room for $42 at the last minute. I loved the location! Room was plenty spacious and the beds were comfortable enough, but the room itself was pretty seedy. Towels were laid on the floor around the AC unit to absorb something; mold on the tiles in the shower; faucet in thetub would not stop running -not a drip but rather a steady stream. I just made the best of it for two nights instead of bothering with complaining. I would not recommend staying there.

 

[Kindermouse]

I read this

- I stayed at the Lakeside Maingate Resort, at which I got a room for $42 at the last minute.

Then I saw this coming before I even got to it

the room itself was pretty seedy. Towels were laid on the floor around the AC unit to absorb something; mold on the tiles in the shower; faucet in the tub would not stop running -not a drip but rather a steady stream. I just made the best of it for two nights instead of bothering with complaining. I would not recommend staying there.

Yikes!

Glad you had a great trip though

 

[DOOM1001]

Sounded like me up until I moved here just over a year ago,but my drive was 4 hours not 9,that's a considerable drive and a lot of miles on the car.I was doing a dozen or more yearly trips which amazingly was low when compared to how many I was doing before 2009.As far as the hotel with as many trips as I've done over the years I wouldn't be surprised if I've stayed in half the hotels in Orlando which includes the hotel you mentioned.I never really liked that hotel,I try and find hotels with the breakfast included and Maingate Lakeside didn't have one plus I never really liked how the buildings were located in that hotel.I do remember it was a pretty old hotel but I never found it to be dirty and it had really good cold a/c,lately it seems you stay in much nicer and newer hotels and the a/c just doesn't get as cold as you'd like it to be.

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We activated our first-ever APs in early July, with plans to be back in June 2018 and other undetermined times in between. We live a 9 hour drive from WDW. This past Thursday at 5:30pm my schedule cleared thru the weekend, so I joked with DW that we should drop everything and go to WDW. She couldn't go but told me I should go. 30 minutes later I was on the road alone. I can tell already that APs make me do crazy things. Funny thing is that me, DW, and DS17 are going down next week too.

Highlights and lowlights of my quick trip...
- DHS was delightfully manageable on Saturday morning. I arrived at exactly 9am and walked an to Toy Story. Had FP for ToT but did not need them as it too was a walk on. Single rider for RnRC took about 20 minutes. Not too bad.
- I was able to snag an 11:50am FP for GMR that morning which worked out great. I think being solo helps a great deal with FPs.
- I was able to stalk and shock/surprise my daughter and her friend who were at WDW on a trip too. I went up and tapped them on the shoulder during the parade at MK on Fridayafternoon. Screaming and hugs ensued.
- I got rained on and soaked Saturday evening at Epcot. That was not much fun.
-I did Test Track single rider. The ride broke down while I was on it. The lights came on and we were evacuated. Kind of a cool experience!
- I stayed at the Lakeside Maingate Resort, at which I got a room for $42 at the last minute. I loved the location! Room was plenty spacious and the beds were comfortable enough, but the room itself was pretty seedy. Towels were laid on the floor around the AC unit to absorb something; mold on the tiles in the shower; faucet in thetub would not stop running -not a drip but rather a steady stream. I just made the best of it for two nights instead of bothering with complaining. I would not recommend staying there.

What's up with Test Track? We were also evacuated off of it in July. It was early in the day (maybe 11 am?) and it was down for the rest of the day.

 

[Timmy Boy]

^There are so many computers on that ride monitoring everything from the spacing of the cars to seatbelt locking to tire wear and brakes that they all have to agree on everything, so if something seems out of wack, it shuts down itself down. It's all to prevent any unlikely accidents, but I agree, it is an inconvenience.

 

[finedice]

What's up with Test Track? We were also evacuated off of it in July. It was early in the day (maybe 11 am?) and it was down for the rest of the day.

It's been that way for as long as I can remember!

 

[FSU Girl]

I'm right there with you. My boyfriend and I bought annual passes for the first time this year and we have 6 trips planned throughout the year, with more to come. We're only a three hour drive away and I feel like we have to go to get our money's worth out of the passes lol

 

[kay1864]

- I stayed at the Lakeside Maingate Resort, at which I got a room for $42 at the last minute.

I've had great luck with TripAdvisor, since it searches multiple booking sites for you. Twice I've got a Rosen property (nice enough for our purposes) that was $99-110 on Expedia, Travelocity, etc--for $55. Plus I only stay at places with high reader ratings.

 

[Jennasis]

The year we had AP's were very similar. We went 4 times! Our last trip was a spur of the moment trip we planned in October for a December stay. I remember getting a deal in my email that was really good for an offsite place (even though we own DVC) and our passes were about to expire so i joked to DH "Wouldn't it be cool if we could just run off to WDW?" And he was like "We are adults and can do anything we want!" So we went!

 

[Micca]

If we lived only a 9 hour drive we'd being going 3-4 times a year instead of twice. APs are awesome, lots of freedom & flexibility to navigate the parks without worrying "are we burning a pass just for a few hours?"

 

[brookmey]

I bought APs for the first time in July just for DH and I. We have a trip planned for just the 2 of us in October, then a big extended family trip in July 2018 so getting APs made the most sense. A couple weeks ago I went to Disney for 4 days by myself to just get away and have a break. I wouldn't have done that if I didn't have an AP. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get a spring break 2018 trip in. It's probably not a good idea for me to get an AP again!

 

[FastPasser.]

If we lived only a 9 hour drive we'd being going 3-4 times a year instead of twice.

Anything over a 2 hour drive would be a deal breaker for me.

 

[allsaintsatx]

We have 4 trips planned already with our brand new APs and we are a 2 1/2 hr flight away!

 

[Micca]

Anything over a 2 hour drive would be a deal breaker for me.

Me too, for anything else. For WDW??? Well worth it to me.

 

[abnihon]

This is my first AP year - we've already gone 3 times with 3 more trips planned before they expire!

 

[mamamelody2]

Good for you for just hopping in the car and taking off! Sounds like a great trip!

 

[TXAKDisneyFan]

We're also first time APers. We're not going as frequently as a lot of others (also a couple hr flight away), but we have sort of long trips. 18 days in July, 9 in November, maybe a couple in Feb, maybe a day or two in March (add on to a 7 day DCL cruise), prob another 9 in June/July...

 

[CJN]

Anything over a 2 hour drive would be a deal breaker for me.

It takes me two hours just to get to the airport

 

[summerlvr]

Glad I'm not the only one who is now being controlled by my AP. I'm about 7 hours away by car or 1 and a half hours by air (with pretty cheap airfare on Southwest), so the 2 trips I was planning when I bought my pass in February has morphed into 7 trips by the end of the year. Yikes!

 

[msk]

This is also my first AP. I live 8 hours away but have been twice and have 2 more on the books. Right now I'm trying to get there for Food and Wine. You are right
APs are d.a.n.g.e.r.o.u.s! but fun!