The "crew" was Moi (34), DH (41), and DS (6), and to put this trip report in proper perspecitive...DH had just (JUST) returned from a military deployment to the Middle East..so we were all on cloud nine 
before we ever boarded the Magical Express. That being said....
Magical Express: We received our tags a few days before leaving. When the plane arrived in MCO it was a little confusing finding the Disney Welcome Center for the ME bus because there was no Mickey Hand CM to direct us. That only slowed us down by about 5 mins. There was 3 families ahead of us in the check in line and from the time we de-boarded the plane until we were checked into our room at Pop Century it was only 70 mins (I timed it for you nice folks). ME Driver was nice, funny, entertaining, and helpful.
Pop Century: Checked in around 10:00am, room was ready, and was granted all requests (70s building on Goofy pop-jets end, lakeside). We needed to go to Shades of Green for special military rate tickets, and the luggage assistance CM immediately got a cab for us. Overall impression of resort was "a unique, novel place to crash after full days at the park". Normally we stay at business class hotels/motels and the rooms were at least as big and comfortable as those. It is just the right size for 2 adults and 2 kids that don't plan to spend much time lounging in the room. The pools were all great, and the Hippy Dippy pool had quite a social/festive atmosphere...especially at night. Grown-ups were sipping drinks from the Petals poolside bar, and kids were tossing around mini beach balls and playing in the giant flower sprays. The Everything Pop food court and shopping area was much better than what I expected. There were nice food selections, the dining area had comfortable seating, and we used the refillable mug station for more than our money's worth . (The mug probably wouldn't be worth it if your room is in the 80s/90s and you don't intend to eat many meals at the resort). Transportation from the resort was timely, and the only issue we had was the expected crowding and long wait getting back after EMH parks at closing. It was nice that the Pop buses only served that resort, and if the lines got too long extra buses were sent.
Magic Kingdom: We spent all the first day Mon 8/8 (including night EMH), and returned 1/2 day on 8/10 for morning EMH. Temps were lower 90s with 70-80% humidity, afternoon thunderstorms. The park on the first day was very crowded when we arrived around noon. People all around us were grumpy and roasting with bunches of cranky kids in 90-120min standby lines for "mountains" rides. Somehow, this did not affect us. We were able to move smoothly from ride to ride with Fast Pass. We started in Tomorrowland, which would seem like the worst possible place...but FP'd Buzz, rode Tomorrowland Transit, walked onto Carousel of Progess, was able to get another FP for Stitch, and then ride Buzz. By this time, we had ADR for LTT (great themeing, food, and service) at 2:45. Was seated by the window and able to watch the whole parade while waiting for food. Afterwards we went back and rode Stitch and FP's Space Mountain. Was handed FP for Peter Pan by generous strangers, so got right on...then walked onto Small World. By 5:00-ish pm we were hot and tired, so we headed back to the resort. Decided to get DS a haircut, and found no line at barber. DS got the military "high and tight", with green gel mickey and plenty of pixie dust. When he saw the back of his head in the mirror his eyes lit up with delight. The barbers were comical and good about posing for pictures with funny props. Napped back at the resort until 9pm. Upon returning for EMH, I was speechless to see how much the crowds had multiplied. Even though I had read the reports, I wasn't ready. It was totally insane....elbow to elbow on Main St and Tomorrowland. We didn't even try to do any super popular rides beyond the FP we already had for Space Mountain. Not to worry, there was plenty of magic to be had.
On the Adventureland side of the park it was almost deserted. We rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates (x2), Haunted Mansion(x2), BTMR, Aladin Carpets, and Swiss Family Treehouse...all less than 10 min waits. Spent time walking around and enjoying park at night, eating decadent snacks, and searching for hidden Mickey's. By 1am most of the EMH crowd was gone, but we were tired and planned an early morning next day so we decided to leave also. When we came back for the morning EMH on Wed, we walked on and FP everything else we wanted to see, and did the good stuff a few more times. I know it has been said before, but I can't express enough the advantage of getting to the parks at opening. Not only are they cooler and less crowded, but you get in an advantageous FP rollover cycle (ie...it is less time between when you can get additional FPs, and end up legitmately holding several FPs at once). Oh, yes...we did see a group of teens cheating a FP machine through mechanical means, and a CM quietly escorted them away from the area (never to be heard from again 
). Overall, I can see where the horror stories about MK in the middle of summer come from...but we somehow kept lucking out and fun just found us time after time. Concerning the heat, we used the gel bead neck coolers (Walmart $2.98), shared a mister fan, wore hats, sunscreen, and kept asking for cups of ice water from counter service places to fill our water bottles. Hot, but not as bad as I expected when all "devices" were employed.
Stay tuned for more.....MGM, Wishes Cruise, Ohanas, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Typhoon Lagoon....
before we ever boarded the Magical Express. That being said....Magical Express: We received our tags a few days before leaving. When the plane arrived in MCO it was a little confusing finding the Disney Welcome Center for the ME bus because there was no Mickey Hand CM to direct us. That only slowed us down by about 5 mins. There was 3 families ahead of us in the check in line and from the time we de-boarded the plane until we were checked into our room at Pop Century it was only 70 mins (I timed it for you nice folks). ME Driver was nice, funny, entertaining, and helpful.
Pop Century: Checked in around 10:00am, room was ready, and was granted all requests (70s building on Goofy pop-jets end, lakeside). We needed to go to Shades of Green for special military rate tickets, and the luggage assistance CM immediately got a cab for us. Overall impression of resort was "a unique, novel place to crash after full days at the park". Normally we stay at business class hotels/motels and the rooms were at least as big and comfortable as those. It is just the right size for 2 adults and 2 kids that don't plan to spend much time lounging in the room. The pools were all great, and the Hippy Dippy pool had quite a social/festive atmosphere...especially at night. Grown-ups were sipping drinks from the Petals poolside bar, and kids were tossing around mini beach balls and playing in the giant flower sprays. The Everything Pop food court and shopping area was much better than what I expected. There were nice food selections, the dining area had comfortable seating, and we used the refillable mug station for more than our money's worth . (The mug probably wouldn't be worth it if your room is in the 80s/90s and you don't intend to eat many meals at the resort). Transportation from the resort was timely, and the only issue we had was the expected crowding and long wait getting back after EMH parks at closing. It was nice that the Pop buses only served that resort, and if the lines got too long extra buses were sent.
Magic Kingdom: We spent all the first day Mon 8/8 (including night EMH), and returned 1/2 day on 8/10 for morning EMH. Temps were lower 90s with 70-80% humidity, afternoon thunderstorms. The park on the first day was very crowded when we arrived around noon. People all around us were grumpy and roasting with bunches of cranky kids in 90-120min standby lines for "mountains" rides. Somehow, this did not affect us. We were able to move smoothly from ride to ride with Fast Pass. We started in Tomorrowland, which would seem like the worst possible place...but FP'd Buzz, rode Tomorrowland Transit, walked onto Carousel of Progess, was able to get another FP for Stitch, and then ride Buzz. By this time, we had ADR for LTT (great themeing, food, and service) at 2:45. Was seated by the window and able to watch the whole parade while waiting for food. Afterwards we went back and rode Stitch and FP's Space Mountain. Was handed FP for Peter Pan by generous strangers, so got right on...then walked onto Small World. By 5:00-ish pm we were hot and tired, so we headed back to the resort. Decided to get DS a haircut, and found no line at barber. DS got the military "high and tight", with green gel mickey and plenty of pixie dust. When he saw the back of his head in the mirror his eyes lit up with delight. The barbers were comical and good about posing for pictures with funny props. Napped back at the resort until 9pm. Upon returning for EMH, I was speechless to see how much the crowds had multiplied. Even though I had read the reports, I wasn't ready. It was totally insane....elbow to elbow on Main St and Tomorrowland. We didn't even try to do any super popular rides beyond the FP we already had for Space Mountain. Not to worry, there was plenty of magic to be had.
On the Adventureland side of the park it was almost deserted. We rode Jungle Cruise, Pirates (x2), Haunted Mansion(x2), BTMR, Aladin Carpets, and Swiss Family Treehouse...all less than 10 min waits. Spent time walking around and enjoying park at night, eating decadent snacks, and searching for hidden Mickey's. By 1am most of the EMH crowd was gone, but we were tired and planned an early morning next day so we decided to leave also. When we came back for the morning EMH on Wed, we walked on and FP everything else we wanted to see, and did the good stuff a few more times. I know it has been said before, but I can't express enough the advantage of getting to the parks at opening. Not only are they cooler and less crowded, but you get in an advantageous FP rollover cycle (ie...it is less time between when you can get additional FPs, and end up legitmately holding several FPs at once). Oh, yes...we did see a group of teens cheating a FP machine through mechanical means, and a CM quietly escorted them away from the area (never to be heard from again ). Overall, I can see where the horror stories about MK in the middle of summer come from...but we somehow kept lucking out and fun just found us time after time. Concerning the heat, we used the gel bead neck coolers (Walmart $2.98), shared a mister fan, wore hats, sunscreen, and kept asking for cups of ice water from counter service places to fill our water bottles. Hot, but not as bad as I expected when all "devices" were employed.Stay tuned for more.....MGM, Wishes Cruise, Ohanas, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Typhoon Lagoon....
