Just back from our first trip (4/30-5/5)

truppcma

Earning My Ears
Joined
Feb 18, 2007
Messages
40
Just back from our first ever WDW trip, and I will try to fill you in on all the details, both good and bad. If I seem to slur or mispell, its because I am still only half awake from utter exhaustion...

I will try to list what we were able to accomplish each day, and pros and cons of each.

Monday April 30th, Day 1

Up bright and early (4:00 am) for our flight from MI to Orlando. Our family consists of me, DH, DS6 and DD4. Wouldn't you know, we get selected for additional screening at the airport. Board the plane, ready to leave right on time, and I get the worst anxiety attack ever. I have flown about 10 times before, I am not afraid of flying, turbulence, etc. , but I am very claustrophobic. I was miserably ill the entire flight. Felt much better after we landed, and after just a short wait, the Magical Express pulled out for our resort. (Caribbean Beach) The kids are sitting in the front seat, as excited as can be.

We check in about 10:30 am, room is not ready yet. We decided to head over to the food court for some lunch, and then hang out at the pool, as we had packed our swimsuits in our carry on bag. Didn't realize just how large our resort was, and that getting from point A to point B meant either a lengthy walk or a bus ride. More on that later...
I had a huge delicious Cobb Salad at Old Port Royale, hey, the meals might just be good here after all. The pool was crowded, but we did find two seats, and it just felt great to cool off. We kept calling to see if our room was ready yet, nope. It was ready at 3:00, so we finally headed over to Trinidad South. Bell services brought our carry on luggage, and said that our checked bags from the airline would be directly behind it. After an hour wait, still no luggage. I am starting to get concerned, since we have dinner reservations at the Wilderness Lodge at 5:30, and we need a change of clothes. I call for the luggage again, and this time am told that they have no record of any of our luggage, even though over an hour ago, bell services called someone on his walkie talkie and was told it was here. Anyway, after quite some time on hold, it was located and was to be sent to our room ASAP. (ASAP must mean another hour) My husband kept telling me to just relax, but now its 5:00 and we still aren't ready to leave for dinner.
We opted to spend $$ for a cab, since we were running so late, and thankfully the Whispering Canyon still fit us in. This was one of our fave meals, we shared the skillet, DH said they were the best ribs he has ever had. The kids had a great time, did the stick pony race, the ketchup deliveries, etc. , and our waiter was very nice.
Back to the hotel for a good night sleep for our first day at the parks,
tomorrow its off to MGM....

Pros: Whispering Canyon meal, so far everyone has been very helpful, despite the luggage fiasco

Cons: Our resort, although very beautiful, is very spread out, we can't just scoot over to the food court for a quick snack (I did have a few snacks packed in our luggage, so that helped)
 
Tues, May 1 - MGM Studios

We are up by 7:00 am, had some cereal in our room for a quick breakfast, and headed out to the bus stop for MGM Studios. Excited to begin our adventure. We arrived at MGM just after 9:00 am, rented a double stroller. (pay for the week up front, it is cheaper than paying each day) The kids wanted to go on Tower of Terror, so we headed that way first. Stopped for our first Photo Pass, and here we are. I am not feeling all that great at this point, and am not sure I really want to start my stomach off with this ride, so I walk with the family to the queue room and head back out. (only a 10 min wait standby, but they walked right on) I sat with the stroller and waited. DS is all smiles, DD is not. The common theme will turn out to be that she wants to go on each ride, but by the end is scared. I thought is would be the other way around, but my DS6 loved everything.
Then we headed to Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and after about a 15 min wait, saw the show. Very enjoyable. Playhouse Disney just across the way was starting in 5 min, so we jumped over to that next. very cute show, but with no seats, it is hard to see if you are not near the front...
We then started walking to the other side of the park to Star Tours. Along the way, Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater were out in the street, surrounded by a huge crowd of people, but I did manage to get pics with the kids. Again, we are lucky with the lines, and there is only a 5 min wait for Star Tours. We all loved it, including DD, yeah! How we are having such perfect timing, I don't know, but as we exit and continue on to the Muppet Show, they are announcing that it is about to start. So we park the stroller, and head on in and sit right in the front row. Again, another good show.
By now, its around noon, so we have lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet. DH and I each had the greek salad, which I thought was very good, and the kids enjoyed the pizza. We let the kids play a few arcade games, and headed bak out.
We asked the kids if they wanted to keep going, or go back to the hotel for a break, and they both said they wanted a break. So we went back to the pool and then rested in the room. Oh!, on our way past Al's Toy Barn, Buzz and Woody were out so we stopped for pics and autographs.
We did not have park hopper, so our ADRs were back at the park. I chose Hollywood & Vine because of the buffet, I wanted to give the kids some variety from the limited kids menu. When we got back to the park, we wanted to see the Indiana Jones show, so we decided to take our chances and be 15 min late for dinner so we could see the show. The CM saw that we had on "1st time visit" pins, and seated us right down front. The kids loved the show. We had to wait awhile for a table at dinner, the buffet was average. Probably would have had more fun at Sci-Fi, but again, I was going for the buffet.
After dinner, we had to go back to the Star Wars gift shop, I had promised DS that he could pick out a souvenir there. Then we walked back down to the Rockin Roller Coaster, but DS wasn't tall enough to ride. He was very disappointed. I wanted to go on the Great Movie Ride, so we did that instead, again, a 5 min wait.
Back to the bus stop, and to the room..

Pros: I am very pleased with the wait times for rides, things are off to a good start

Cons: Wish the kids could have seen more characters, but you can't be everywhere at the same time

Afternoon breaks turned out to be great for us, but we did miss the parades as a result....

Next: Animal Kingdom
 
Wed May 2 - Animal Kingdom

Again, we are up and ready to catch the bus for park opening. The kids had cereal again, and DH and I decided to get a banana at AK to start the day. Since I have prepaid for a stroller for the week, I don't have to wait in that line again, but the prepaid line is just as long, and not moving. They are waiting on those that have yet to pay, filling out their name card for them, and getting them a stroller, leaving us prepays just standing. A lady in line behind me is getting furious and complains to the CMs twice. After at least 30 min, we get a stroller. This whole area is nuts. It is so congested with people getting their strollers, that the walkway isn't wide enough for the visitors who don't need a stroller to just filter by on into the park.
We head straight back to Africa to get on the safari. (I've done my research, have the Unofficial Guide and Touring Plans) The line for the safari ride is huge, why?, well, it seems that they are doing maintenance work on the FP machines for this ride, and there will be none available for that day. So waiting in line is the only option. The line seems to at least be moving in an orderly fashion, so we go for it. Wow, is that a long queue back to the ride. We got to see quite a few animals, but they were all laying down, seemed lethargic, it was warm, although still early in the morning.
After the safari, we walked the Pangori Trail (sp?), and then headed over to Camp Minnie-Mickey. We waited in line for Goofy, Minnie and Mickey. It was almost time for the FofLK, so we didn't have time to get in Donald's line. The FofLK was a great show! The effort that they put, gosh just in costumes alone is unbelievable. We all really enjoyed this, the kids loved Timon!
Went back to catch Donald, he was gone, but Pluto was there, so we saw him. More later....
 
Enjoying your TR. First time visits to the world are very
special. Sorry about your disappointment with caribbean
resort. I have heard it is very spread out. Next time you
will choose another resort. Will there be a next time?? The
mouse has a way of drawing you back for more magic!:goodvibes
 

I am enjoying your trip. Can't wait to hear the rest.
 
sharonw- as of right now, no, there will be no next time, unless we do a one day trip to Epcot, we did not visit that park this time. I will continue my trip report, and hopefully convey why the "magic" just seemed to be lost on us...
 
Animal Kingdom cont.

After visiting Pluto, it was time for some lunch. We started making our way over to DinoLand. DS is a huge dinosaur fan. The lines looked pretty long at Flame Tree Barbecue, so we headed on to Restaurantosaurus. How bad can it be, its McDonalds right? At least the kids will love it. Well, in hindsight, we should have been all too happy to wait in the line at Flame Tree, the lines were just as bad at Rest. and it was honestly the absolute worst burger I have ever tasted in my life! Yuck! I couldn't eat it, neither could DH. Thankfully the kids had chicken nuggets. The place was a madhouse. Ok, I know, not every meal is going to be great.
Off to ride Dinosaur. My son is geeked, I tell DD that I think it is like Star Tours ride, so she agrees to go on. Sorry, honey, but mommy was wrong. Quite a bit scarier. DS loved it, DD was bawling at the end, I didn't like it so much because of being in the dark, but that seems to be a common theme among alot of the rides here. Next I took the kids on Triceratop Spin while DH hunted down our stroller. DD was still feeling timid after Dinosaur, but enjoyed the ride.
By this time it is about 1:30 or so, it is getting very hot, and the crowds are getting heavy, so we opt to take our break at this point.
Back at 5:15 for dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Never eaten in one before, excited to check it out. But I guess after seeing real live gorillas, an animated one just isn't too exciting, eh? The kids loved looking at the fish, but then the thrill was over. I had a turkey wrap, DH had a huge salad, both were good. A lady and her daughter were seated next to us, the girl was about 7-8 yrs old, and she had a complete screaming meltdown, her mother was chasing her around the table trying to grab her to leave. Sometimes a full day of this type is just too much for young kids.
After dinner, we went to see Its Tough to Be a Bug. Why doesn't anyone want to sit in the front row of these 3D shows?? What do they know that we don't? Anyway, another great show. The "bugs" crawling along your seat at the end was really a surprise!
Then DH took DS on Expedition Everest. I am much more of a coaster enthusiast than DH, but I had a tummy ache. (are you noticing a pattern of me never feeling quite up to par?) Once again, my little daredevil loved it.
I should mention that AK had EMH this evening so the park was open later. No wait to ride EE.
As I mentioned before, taking midday breaks was good for us. But, in doing so, we missed some of the shows because the last show of the day was usually around 4:40. So, we did not see Nemo, Pocahantas, or Flights of Wonder. Yesterday at MGM, we did not see Beauty and the Beast.
Decided not to walk the Jungle Trek to see the tigers, walked around the Tree of Life. (I thought you could get right up close to it?)
Back on another bus ride to the hotel room...

Pros: Meeting the characters, FofLK, my son enjoying EE
Cons: stroller pickup, hard to manuever thru the crowds and the winner by far: Restaurantosaurus

Up next: Magic Kingdom
 
Thurs May 3 - Magic Kingdom

I am most excited for today, hope the kids enjoy Magic Kingdom. EMH this morning, so we get to the park by 8 am. Stroller pickup today is a piece of cake, and we are on our way. Well, almost. DH had his cell phone near his key card, and it de-magnetized, so he had to get a temp card for the day from guest services.
We head straight back to Fantasyland, and get on Peter Pan, about a 10 min wait. DD really enjoyed this one. No wait for Its a Small World, so we go right on that one. Very inventive, but everyone was right, this song will stick with you all day. We had 9:10 ADR at Crystal Palace for breakfast, it is now 8:45. We decided to get a FP for Pooh so that we could ride after eating.
DH loved the buffet at CP. I had been dying for fresh fruit, so I was in my glory too. Piglet was standing near the buffet with no wait, so we saw him right away. After a short while later, Eeyore then Pooh made it to our table. Tigger was on the other side of the restaurant this whole time, so we just are waiting for him. Waiter was very friendly, and we enjoyed this meal. Tigger makes it over to our side, but starts at the opposite end, so we have quite a wait ahead of us. It was about a 30-40 min wait for him, but I didn't want to disappoint the kids.
Afterward, we went to use our FP for Pooh, another kid favorite. Decided to skip Dumbo, it is the same ride as the Triceratop Spin that we had rode the day before, why wait in another line. A 60 min. wait to meet Ariel, so we passed on that as well. The kids begged to go on the carousel, I figure why ride anything that you can ride at the local zoo or carnival, but hey, if that is what they want to go on, ok. So we rode, and then snuck in to Philharmagic. Very entertaining, and again, we are in the front row.
We were going to be coming back to MK again tomorrow, so we decided to do one side of the park one day, and catch up on the other side the next.
Headed into Toontown, very busy. Went thru the houses, cute, and checked out the lines to meet characters. 60 min. to meet the princesses, we don't want to wait that long. We'll come back later to meet Donald, Chip/Dale, and check out the princess line then.
Next we rode the Speedway cars, kids had fun. Whew is it ever hot today. I get FP for Space Mtn, and we get in line for Buzz (20 min posted wait time)
DS enjoys this ride, and he totally wipes the floor with my score. Also a good ride for DD, not scary. Then we head over to Stitch, wow, only a 5 min wait. Well, after having gone thru it now I know why. No one else is crazy enough waste their time. My kids love Lilo and Stitch, but I don't even think they thought much of it. And again with the pitch black!!! Stop putting me in the dark, I have issues!!
Time for FP for Space Mtn. Oh lucky me, another ride in the dark. But I am not going to let my DS down. Suck it up mom! We get all the way up there and the CM is telling everyone that the ride is brokedown. We can come back with our FPs at any time today. DS is sad, but I tell him we will be back for sure. The standby line is very long, 40 min wait, so as we are heading back out, I decide to be nice and let all these people know that the ride is down. They were too far back in line to have heard this news. So every few feet, I tell some people- "the ride isn't running right now, its down". And they all just look at me like I am an idiot, and they continue to stand in line. Hey, waste your time people, I'm just trying to be courteous.
Before our midday break we get in line for Astro Orbiter. I think this was our longest line, and really not worth it. But, live and learn.
Again, swim in the pool and take a rest.
Back to MK for dinner at Tony's Town Square. Seated right away, very nice waiter. I thought the food was good, DH said it was just ok. But, he makes his own homemade spaghetti sauce, so I am sure he was just comparing.
We had the DDP, and have yet to eat a dessert. We just don't have huge appetites, I am sure from the heat, and we don't finish our entree, let alone have room for dessert.
Back in the stroller and back to Tomorrowland for another try at Space Mtn. This time the ride is up and running, but I an not too thrilled with the possibility that it may shut down again while I am on it. Wish the seats weren't just singles, so I could keep a watch on DS. Here we go! Suck up being in the dark, and it was really a fun ride. Almost lost my hat, it flew up off my head, and I caught it just in time. Is DS scared, screaming, crying, I don't know, I can't see him! Hope he's ok. Of course, he is, and again loved the ride. I am happy that we got to do this together.
Back to Toontown. The wait for Barnstormer is less now, so we go on that, DD says is was fun. 20 min wait to meet Donald/Daisy/Chip/Dale, so we do that. But its a 75 min wait for the princesses. We'll pass. DD isn't complaining about missing them anyway.
Still have some time so we walk over to the other side of the park. DS wants to do Haunted Mansion, DH and DD have no interest, and I'm not too keen on it right now, so I talk him out of it. It's starting to get windy and seems like it may rain. We decide to do BTMRR and then head out. Splash Mtn wait was 40 min. BTMRR was only 10 min. Since DD liked Barnstormer, we figured she would do ok. DS and I are loving it, she is crying. I feel bad, even though I thought it was great fun.
We'll try to catch the rest tomorrow, time to head out.
It is close to 8:30 pm at this point. We are marvelling at all the people staking out their spots for the parade. I know the parade is supposed to be awesome, but we are tired and we don't feel like fighting to get out of here afterwards. So we walk down Main Street, or should I say, bob, weave and dodge our way down the street to return the stroller and exit.
Now here is where I am going to rant a bit...
Since we have a stroller, we aren't going to push it up on the curb, we are going to use the walkway, right? Besides, there are masses of people sitting on the curb anyway. We get to where the walkway it, you know where, right near the train station, to get up on the sidewalk and head up to stroller rental? Well, there are women sitting there, right in the middle of the walkway, and they glare at us when we politely say "excuse me". Now are we in the wrong here? We should be able to get thru here, right? It IS the walkway. They begrudgingly move over JUST ENOUGH for DH to BARELY SQUEEZE the stroller through. One says "Thanks for hitting my knee, I really appreciate it". ooooo, I am steamed! I turn and say "How else are we supposed to get through??" Maybe it wasn't too "magical" of me, but as we were exiting the park I told DH that I hoped it poured rain on them just before the parade started.
Bus back to the resort is standing room only. Fine for me, but I thought that a few of the adult males could have offered their seats to my young kids. On a different trip, my DH and DS gave up their seats to a mother and her 8 yr old daughter. Guess I had hoped for the same courtesy from others.
Made it back to the room by 9:10 pm, so I get to catch Greys Anatomy, my night is looking up.

Pros: DD enjoying Peter Pan/Pooh, DS and I on Space Mtn., Crystal Palace

Cons: rude people, I am starting to tire of crowds in general
 
Fri May 4 - Day 2 at MK

Another quick bkfst and back for our second day at MK to catch what we missed. The line to pick up a stroller was much longer today, but we get thru with no difficulty. Head on over to Adventureland. There isn't much wait for Aladdin, but DH says the kids can ride that at the local carnival, keep moving. We can walk in to PoTC, DD doesn't want to ride, think she is still spooked from BTMRR last night. So I wait outside with her and DH and DS go on. DH isn't too impressed, says its another Small World, only with pirates instead. Jungle Cruise doens't start till 10, so we go up to Splash Mtn next. Again, a 10 min wait only. DD insists she wants to ride, although DH is skeptical about her. We head on, and she loves it until the big plunge at the end. DH gets a big squirt of water in the face just before the plunge, so he is soaked. By then, its time for the Jungle Cruise, so we get in line for that. About 15 min. I would say. Our guide was good, quite a few corny jokes. And hey, hardly any darkness, yeah for me!!
We decide to try to catch a few of the shows, so we walk over to the castle to see the stage show. We watch most of that and then head to Storytime with Belle. Not much shade in this spot, and we are 20 min early, but need to get a seat. My son is chosen to be Gustafson up on stage, he is a little timid, but goes up. So even though we are sweating bullets, it is a treat for me.
Lunch at Cosmic Rays. Decent Chicken Strips. DS wants to go on Buzz again, so we get in line for that. Considered seeing the Monsters Inc show, but decide we are just out of energy, and want to spend the afternoon at the pool.
We have ADR at The Plaza in MK, but really don't want to go back again, so we make a ressie in Downtown Disney instead.
I get a quick nap, from which i wake up with a sore throat.
Time to catch yet another bus to Downtown Disney. Hoping to do a little shopping after dinner. We get there and walk over to Raglan Road Pub. I am starting to feel ill, dizzy, weak, etc. DS is starving so I force myself to stay. The kid loves burgers. Decent meal, opt not to stay to shop, because of how I feel. Back to the room and in bed early.
Heading home tomorrow night. Brkfst at Ohana is next...
 
Great report.

We never did the stroller pickup in AK. Never had a problem at Epcot or MK.

Sorry to hear about your Restaurantosaurus meal. We ate at Tusker House and that was probably my favorite CS meal of the entire trip. I have heard that Flame Tree BBQ is good as well.
 
Sat. May 5 - Last Day Activities

After sleeping off and on throughout the night, I wake up not feeling too well once again. Dry heaving starts off my morning. Ugh. We pack up and decide to check out before leaving for our bkfst ADR at Ohana with Lilo and Stitch. Bell services arrives promptly to pick up our luggage, we had charged any expenses to our credit card, so we were set to go. Our Magical Express return trip to the airport wasn't until 5 pm, so after breakfast we intended on Downtown Disney and/or the hotel pool.
The last thing I wanted to do was get on another bus, make that two. Sorry to complain so much, but the bus rides do tend to get old. We opted to pay for a cab to the Polynesian. The place is packed, and even with ressies, and arriving early, we waited 45-50 min. for a table. We are told that "Lilo" is out surfing today, so the characters will be Stitch, Mickey and Pluto. The kids are just happy to see Stitch, so that's ok, but I couldn't help but think "isn't there any other employee that can put on the Lilo costume for a few hours?"
Oh well, the juice and fruit are delish, its a family style meal, so we are eating right away. A good, satisfying meal. Not too long of a wait to meet the characters, like we had at CP with Tigger either.
Cab ride back to Caribbean Beach to use the Airline check in service. At this point, we have decided not to go to Downtown Disney, we are out of energy. A little disappointing, since I had hoped for a few souvenirs, but that's ok. Turns out after waiting in line back at the resort that we can't use the check in anyway, and have to do it at the airport.
Even though he just ate an hour ago, DS is hungry again. So we hop the internal resort bus to the food court, where DS eats a cheeseburger and fries, and I nibble on a fruit bowl. We spent the afternoon at the resort pool until it was time to catch the bus to the airport. Now, one nice feature about this resort is that each set of buildings has its own pool, and they are much less crowded than the main one.
I downed some Dramamine and forced myself back on the plane. (after tearing up and begging DH to rent a car instead) :) I was SO happy to be home!!!!

My final thoughts on the trip in general:
WDW has excellent customer service. Every employee, from the bus driver to the guy emptying the trash is very friendly.
My hat is off to the creativity that has been put into each attraction. The engineering involved, the set design, artistry, animation, is amazing. Nothing is small scale here, folks.
Never encountered a dirty restroom, or an overflowing stinky trash can.

And now, don't hate my fellow DISers, don't ban me from these boards, but I feel like "been there, done that". I guess I didn't feel the "magic" that many of you have, that make you want to go back year after year. Sure, there were a few things we didn't get a chance to see, but I don't fell compelled to go back to catch those.
Never did I go with any false assumption that we would have the place to ourselves, I fully expected to experience crowds, to wait in lines, etc. I feel that we were very fortunate that the lines were as light as they were. But I STILL had my fill of crowds, trying to manuever every which way around people, feeling like cattle being herded thru every turnstile. You can't walk at your own pace, you can only move at the pace of the crowd. And how about those that stop dead in front of you in the middle of the walkway to decide where to head next? Am I being terribly cynical? Maybe so. I think that I am just not a good traveler. And that's not WDW's fault. Not feeling well for parts of the trip didn't help either. Maybe I would consider another trip in the future to visit Epcot, didn't do that this time. But I would probably want my own vehicle, no more buses.

Again, I apologize to the diehards out there who are hating my attitude right now. But it just wasn't all I had hoped for it to be. Any opinions on what we could have done differently to have garnered more enjoyment, I would appreciate. My kids enjoyed themselves, and that is all that matters in the end.
 
I'm glad your children had fun :)
I'm sorry you weren't feeling well, I know that can really cut down on the fun, and goodness knows I hear ya about trying to maneuver a stroller through the crowd. Some people act like they don't even see you standing there..
Anyway, thanks for the trip report! Sounds like you did have some special moments with your little ones :)
 
I must say for a first trip you sound like you did an excellent job with this trip. Many veterans would not accomplish what you did. I think the early AM really helped you out and you should be commended. You dont mention a lot about the night shows-did you see those? I assume you were pretty shot by then. If you have a been there done that after all you did-you may just be in that category. You gave it a fair shot. You may start to think about it more later on and as the kids grow you should think of going back one day and hit the evening shows and maybe sleep in a couple days to catch up. The more we went, the less important racing around became. We always hop and usually stay at BWV or BCV so you can just walk back to your room for a rest break/swim. Also EPCOT for a drink and dinner followed by Illuminations is just a great evening and a 5 minute walk. Great report and fun to read.:thumbsup2
 
Thanks for the comments! Jade1, we did not see any evening shows. We had hoped that some of the shows like Nemo, or Beauty and the Beast would have had an evening time so that we could see it after dinner, but those ended by around 5 pm.
We also did not stay late enough to see any fireworks.
We have already talked about whether we would consider a return trip in the future. So far what we have come up with is that we would do a "Florida vacation", but not a total "Disney" vacation. We would stay off-site by renting a house, do Epcot one day, maybe Universal or Sea World another, maybe hit the beach for a day in between. Maybe being able to come and go as we pleased would help.
 
Thurs May 3 - Magic Kingdom

Maybe it wasn't too "magical" of me, but as we were exiting the park I told DH that I hoped it poured rain on them just before the parade started.

You are right. It was very un-magical of you. I was in Frontierland waiting for the parade. I only had two days in Disney, and this was my only chance to see Spectromagic. Before each trip to WDW, I start mentally prepairing myself for the fact that there will be rude people down there. Just ignore them. A very large woman ran over my foot with an ECV. She didn't even say excuse me as she barrelled through. I didn't let it ruin my day, and I didn't wish that it would rain on anyone because of it. Next time someone thanks you for hitting there knee, just say very sweetly "You're welcome." That will fry them.
 
DisneyTripper, you have a much better attitude than me. Defiinitely more patient, wish I could have been. I certainly would never begrudge anyone wanting to stay and enjoy the parade, just hoping for some common courtesy.
You mentioned "each time you go". How many times have you been? If you don't mind my asking, what is it that you enjoy most that keeps you wanting to come back again?
 
You mentioned "each time you go". How many times have you been? If you don't mind my asking, what is it that you enjoy most that keeps you wanting to come back again?

Sorry to highjack but I would like to add.

We have been 15 times or so. We are not Disneys freaks at all, we are however Disney WORLD freaks. We do also enjoy the west coast and US as well. Its hard to explain but I will try. I think its a combination of what WDW offers (mostly transporting to a magical place I can forget about real life), the weather and the DVC. Watched the Disney show every Sunday night growing up but never realized there was an actual place to visit or it just seemed impossible. Fast forward to 1997 with kids old enough to try it once and we went with another family (DSIL) we are very close to and their kids. Went in January so we were instantly amazed at the weather in the middle of winter? So in fairness our first visit was dramatically skewed positive by our first winter trip to warm weather. At the same time everything seemed so magical (and less busy than today) and we had a great time. Everyone in the group had a great time. When we got home (never planning to go again ever) my DW and DD12 cried like babies realizing how fun it was and that it was "over". We all went again the next January-even more fun to plan ahead and leave that damn winter weather. Then we really piled on by going the next XMAS/NY. OMG how beautifull the place was decorated. Well after 2 stays at Dixie Landings and one at CBR, we actually looked into DVC we had been seeing and suddenly the pool at BC and the BW we "will never be able to stay there" were arguably less expensive than the moderates and we could have wonderfull 2BR Villas (we split with DSIL) with full kitchens, W&D, etc walking distance from the parks. We bought BCV and VWL-both have grown in resale dramatically but in general have just been incredible to stay at (as well as BWV). The AP is $100 off so we always work in 2 trips per year (4 this year) and never tire of great weather, sleep in at a beautifull comfortable resort, swim in great pools, walk over and grab a FP or do a couple attractions we like, sit down to dinner and watch a night show after that or stroll through the EPCOT countries. I could spend months (especially in the winter) at these resorts if I had the time off. For now we reserve Spring Break at BCV and VWL for XMAS and usually BWV for August. :wizard:
 
Sorry you did not have such a great time at WDW.

Okay, now it is amateur psychiatrist time, LOL. Since you have asked for ideas on why you did not feel the magic, do you think part of it was the stress from flying there which triggered anxiety for you? The reason I ask is that some of my family members have anxiety issues, one specifically related to flying, and it can definitely ruin a trip by anticipating the flight home or just starting things off on the wrong foot. Stomach problems can also occur with anxiety issues. Maybe working on some of these issues would help for a future trip, since a WDW trip is certainly not very relaxing even when things go exactly as planned.

Or maybe you are just not a Disney person, which is fine too, LOL! :goodvibes

Good luck! Thanks for the trip report.
 
Thanks for the trip report! Even though there were some bumps in the road, I'm glad you still seemed to enjoy much of your trip! It will be my first trip to WDW this Sept, as well as both my dd's. Dh hasn't been there since he was a child and we are just so excited! I really enjoyed reading your trip report and I'm glad that mid-day breaks worked well for your family. We have breaks scheduled into every one of our days...and I know that means we will miss out on some things also, but two rested children(and adults ;) ) is a good trade-off I think. Thanks again! :goodvibes
 
afcgirl, I think you may be right about the anxiety issues. Although it wasn't in my immediate thoughts each day, I am sure that in the back of my mind was the fact that I still had to get back on another plane to get home. Don't know why the anxiety hit me so hard this trip, as I have flown about 8-10 times before this.
That anxiety is probably why I didn't feel so comfortable with so many of the rides being in the dark for some part of the time.
Thank for the input. There were definitely some things that we enjoyed about WDW, I am probably just not a good traveler.
 












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