Just back! 9/23-29

[Alice28]

Whoa, what a trip! Myself, my 3 kids and my parents went and stayed at POFQ. It was HOT- uncomfortable hot for us Oregonians (even though we are originally Californians- that humid heat is something we are not used to).

The crowds were really quite light- the longest line I saw was 30 minutes for Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh during the midday. With FPs, everything was totally doable. We had the free dining package and had some pleasant eating experiences. We got a sneak peek of the Halloween fireworks on Weds night and they were GREAT! FP times were never any more than 90 minutes away, usually just 60 minutes away.

Didn't *love* POFQ, but I think that's because I have only stayed at the WL and the CR before; I got used to a little more space in the room and queen beds. The resort itself is pretty, but again, we were spoiled by the different modes of transportation that the CR offers (that's where we stayed the last two times and we LOVED walking to the MK and taking the monorail back and the monorail to Epcot). The busses got a little tiring, esp with a big bullky stroller I had to have for DD.

We ate at: 50s Prime Time, Sci Fi, Cape May, Whispering Canyon, Marrakesh & Cinderella's Royal Table (all lunch or dinners). We had our quick service meals at Cosmic Rays, Pecos Bills, Yakitori, the food courtat POFQ, Tusker House and Earl of Sandwich. I would say our only disappointing meal overall was Cape May- the food was not nearly up to par with our last two visits. And it was hard to do a buffet with the kids (ages 7, 4 and 6 months). Our best meal was Whispering Canyon- we just love that place and it's a must do for us. Marrakesh- food and service were GREAT- atmosphere- LOUD----the music literally was hurting my ears. But I'm glad we tried it.

I'll try and write more details on the respective food and resort boards. Please feel free to ask any questions!

 

[Miller1412]

Did you try to get CRT breakfast reservations? I'm just curious if it is still hard when the crowds are a little lighter. How were the park hours?

Thanks for the report. We'll be there next year around this time, so I was curious!

 

[danny1649]

Thank you for posting,looking forward to your reports.

 

[Alice28]

No, I did not try and get the breakfast, just dinner.

The dinner was quite yummy by the way- really tasty food.

Park hours were good- MK was 9AM- 8PM most nights; until 11 on extra magic hour nights. MGM was 9AM-8PM. AK was 9AM-5PM. Epcot was 9AM-9PM.

 

[Leota]

Thanx! Looking forward to reading your dining reviews.

We did POFQ for the free dining program too, in Aug. I thought it was a nice enough resort, but we really missed the Dolphin where we usually stay. It's hard once you get used to a really convienent location (for us, Epcot is the best. It's our favorite Park) to go to all busses.

 

[hanncam]

Alice 28 I noticed your children are the exact same age as mine even the six month old! This will be our first trip since the new baby and I want to ask someone whose just done it, how was it managing all three?

 

[Alice28]

Alice 28 I noticed your children are the exact same age as mine even the six month old! This will be our first trip since the new baby and I want to ask someone whose just done it, how was it managing all three?

Let's just say I do not want to go on any major trip again without DH! It was hard at times. My 7 year old was A-Ok- he was a trooper and was willing to go on everything except Haunted Mansion (he'd been on it before and really didn't like it) and Dinosaur. Did fine with the walking.The baby did pretty well most of the time- she got a bit tired and hot, but as long as we found air conditioning (like a counter service restaurant) to sit down and feed her (I both nurse and bottle feed her) she would settle down, eat, and fall asleep for 1-2 hours. My 4 year old is who rocked the boat most of the time- he is the most strong willed child and gets quite "vocal" if things aren't going his particular way. He tried everyone's patience almost daily- he was why I really wished DH was here cause he has a lot more patience with him than I do. (DH is in Iraq). I just hated seeing my parent's get frustrated with him too- I didn't want Josh's attitude getting them down too!

I will say this- even at light crowd times, doing baby swap at the fast rides is a time killer. Even with fastpass or a 5-10 minute line, count on 30-60 minutes for everyone in your party to get through the ride, etc. Test Track esp took quite a long time- I think my parents got bogged down in a line for this one, even with FP. Oh, and definitely do the Kidcot funstop masks for your kids- I had forgot about them til we were halfway thru the World Showcase & my boys LOVED doing this- they were bummed I would not go back and get the rest of the countries (it was getting late and we wanted to exit before Illuminations to avoid the mob scene at the busses).

 

[Carrieberry]

We just got back as well and I have to agree- it was hot an humid! We just moved to Texas from AZ and we are used to a drier heat and we were very uncomfortable. The Halloween fireworks were SO neat! We got to ride in the from of the monorail and got to see the start of them on the way to MK and made it to Main Street by the time they were finishing up! Really neat! The driver of the monorail said they do a dress rehearsal before the party starts. We were so excited to see them since we were heading home the day the MNSSHP started. The crowds were nice and manageable and the longest line we saw all week was over at Epcot for Soarin which was 50 minutes ( I think it was on Thursday).

 

[hanncam]

Thank you so much for your comments. My older two are pretty laid back and used to going to Disney....But my sixth month old is a handfull and a half! I love her to death but she is very high strung and I am hoping that she will do okay during the trip. Thanks...