Princess_Kirky
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2007
- Messages
- 145
Just back from our trip. Stayed at POP 8/24-8/29. We had a wonderful and magical time! The group consisted of two adults age 32 (myself and my BFF) and one child age 6 (her son).
We arrived around 11:00am at MCO and got right onto the Magical Express. We requested early check-in but did not get an e-mail with a room number so we went to the front desk to get one since we wanted to drop our things, freshen up and get to the park. We were assigned to a room in the 80’s section facing the parking lot with easy access to the buses which is what we wanted and requested. Our original room would have been back in the 70’s (which wasn’t ready yet) and not nearly as close to the buses so good thing we stopped at the desk!
I will start this by saying I was nervous about the heat. Being from MN we don’t have the type of heat and humidity that FL gets. We basically get one week of that type of weather a year so aren’t really used to it. I think we did pretty well and managed to cool off in the AC. I brought a mini fan with a sprayer that helped while waiting in line or walking from building to building. I also found that a Ziploc with a hotel washcloth (wet or with ice) was great to have to wipe our faces, necks and arms with. We drank plenty of water and always got ice water at the QS meals. We had the free dining QS plan this time around and found it to work out great. We had a few meals leftover but used them to get Goofy Gummies at the end of the trip. No biggie – it’s free!
Our first park stop was DHS. We had FP’s for Star Tours, TSMM and TT. We watched the two Star Wars shows right when we got there. March of the 1st Order and the other one. They were cute and awesome to see the storm troopers march in. It was hot so we stood in the shade over towards the Brown Derby. We had dinner at Backlot Express (Vader Waffles and BB8/Vader cupcakes – I had the salad – very yummy!). As we ate we watched Jedi Training which we were looking forward to participating in later in the trip. It was nice to see the full show before we took part so we knew what to expect. The whole day flowed seamlessly – used our FP’s and even met Olaf with a 10 minute wait! Then we went right over to F!. It was already pretty full but we managed to get a good spot off to the right side. As soon as it was done we got the heck out of dodge and made it on the second bus to POP. I was amazed! I was thinking back to how horrible the lines were for the POP buses at HS last November when we visited. I was happy! They finally are running enough buses to POP at night! Nope, not really the case as we came to find out later in our trip… L
The next morning we had BOG breakfast reservations at 9:40am. We got to the park a little later than expected but being our first morning we did pretty well. Went straight to our reservations. One observation, a change from the last time we were at BOG. Now they have yellow roses for pre-order and they have a line that skips the “order room” with the fireplace completely if you have pre-ordered. It helps things move even faster. I highly suggest a pre-order! Food was good. My friend’s first time eating there and had higher expectations but she enjoyed it overall. Higher in the fact that yes, this is a QS and we do have to get our own drinks, find our own tables, get our own dinglehoppers (forks) etc. After we ate we rode Dumbo with no wait, Barnstormer with a 10 minute wait and Philharmagic with no wait. Then it was time to use our FP’s for Peter Pan, after that we got Dole Whip, rode the boat in Liberty Square (name escapes me), visited the Hall of Presidents (to cool off a bit), then rode the Little Mermaid before our FP for 7DMT. First time for that ride as I was unable to get a FP 90 days out last November for that. It was so cute! Wish I could have gone again but not worth a 90 minute wait. Lastly, we had a FP for Ariel’s Grotto M&G. So fun! We caught Festival of Fantasy parade on mainstreet as we walked towards the exit. Awesome parade! Happy that Tangled has a float as I much prefer Tangled to Frozen… We also rode the Teacups somewhere in there too!
Back to POP for some pool time. I had originally left this night open for resting and relaxing but since the Star Wars fireworks coincide with F! we decided to go to HS just for the fireworks. We were pretty tired so we sat on the other side of Echo Lake and watched from there. We couldn’t see all of the graphics but it was fine. The music was great too. The buses home were not as magical this time around. We waited… waited… The line was huge. We decided to use the old AA bus method since that line was about ¼ of POP’s and the buses seemed more frequent. Yep, at least we were moving…
The next morning (Friday) we woke up early to go sign up for Jedi Training. Now, I am not a morning park person. Normally, I am the one staying until park close and riding Splash at midnight… We did our best to get there – we made the mistake of going back to the temple and not getting in line near Indiana Jones. Had to walk back and get in a 30-40 minute long line. We waited, then when we got up there the earliest we could get in was 2:40pm. Ugh! Not ideal and screwed up our AK plans later that day. We decided to take the last show at 7:40pm and go to AK during the day instead of at night. We’d miss the Jungle Book but not a big deal – heard it’s just and ok show. So off to AK. I was happy that we can now add and change FP’s on our phones! Switched up all of ours with no issues at all. We went to Dinoland first and rode Primeval Whirl twice with no wait at all. We met Goofy and Pluto and rode the Dino (Dumbo-like) ride with no wait. There was a DJ party happening there too and it was fun to dance with Goofy and Pluto during the M&G. It was HOT but fun. There isn’t a lot of shade in Dinoland. We ate a quick snack in Dinoland and hit Finding Nemo. AC felt so great. Then FP’s for Everest. Then over to Bug’s Life and met Minnie and Mickey with a 5 minute wait. By far the best interactions of the trip too! Lastly, we rode the safari. Then back to POP for a quick rest before Jedi Training.
We arrived at our 7:10pm time to get ready for JT. I went over to Backlot Express to get a beer and get a spot for taking photos while my friend stayed with her son until it was time for the show. Well, the show started but it rained lightly for about 30 seconds and they announcement came on that the show was being cancelled due to inclement weather. Super sad! Fast passes were given out to compensate. I think my friend was more disappointed than the kid.. LOL! He admitted he was nervous to face Darth Vader, anyways. We tried to use our FP for Star Tours right after but they CM said keep them and use them later (they were good thru 8/31 – although we didn’t have any other time planned at DHS at that moment we kept them). Then we went over to the Launch Bay and told the CM at the front what had happened and she called ahead and got us right in to see Chewbacca (there was no wait at that time of night but the CM greeted us by name when we got there). Super nice and magical! We spent quite a bit of time at the Launch Bay as it was empty and met Kylo as well. We tried trading with the Jawa’s (pins) but they didn’t want them. Kind of annoying, actually… At least trade with the little one. Maybe not us adults but the kids for sure! Oh, well. Better luck next time! We left to another terrible bus situation. Grrrr… We waited, waited. Send more buses or send double buses! It was EMH that night so we went back in and rode the GMR to miss some of the wait at the bus stop. Then we rode Star Tours one last time. The bus situation was better when we left for the final time.
The next morning we were able to take our time getting ready. We had a BOG lunch reservation at 12:05pm. We arrived at the park just in time to ride the train over to Fantasyland and walk to our reservations. We encountered a magical mistake at lunch. Our server brought us 3 Grey Stuff cupcakes and we had only ordered one. It was a mistake but he said to keep them! We each had our own and yes, they all got eaten. It is delicious. MK was super packed by the time we left BOG. We rode TTA and CP and then left. Ick! Buzz Lightyear had a 60 minute wait upon our departure. Nope, no thanks! We noticed the arrival of the bug spray stations this day but did not use them. I’ve never seen a mosquito at Disney. I guess you can’t be too careful, though, and it is a nice service. Basically, there are stations set up with a few cans of OFF for people to grab and apply. A CM is standing by to answer questions.
Then we went for a quick break at our room and then off to EP for the rest of the day. We had FP for the character meets (Mickey, Goofy, Minnie), Spaceship Earth and Frozen. The character meets felt a bit rushed, imo. We ate dinner in the WS (shwarma at Morocco – very good!), lobster bisque at France (needed a baguette on the side but otherwise yummy). Then we hiked over to Froway for the new Frozen ride! It was cute and really well done in the amount of space and time given. It does not feel like you are in Norway, though. Lost a bit of the charm but it is very popular and brings some excitement for the little ones. Then we went over to Soarin’ for the last flight of the night. We could have stayed at WS for Illuminations but I’ve never been a huge fan and I really wanted to see the new Soarin’. The last ride of the night was not even full! We rode in B2 which is the best view for the screen. Nobody was in B1 so no feet were hanging in our view. The CM suggested we move our entire row to B2 from B1. I have to agree B2 is the best for the screen. As we left the theater the CM’s cheered for us and gave us high fives for being the last flight of the night. Very fun! The bus line was super long so we took AA, again. Seriously, was AA empty during our stay? Worked out great!
We did the GG for breakfast at 10am the next day. We got to EP at RD and headed straight to Soarin’. We rode twice with no wait before our reservations. The line was a 30 minute wait after our first two rides. We were happy to have had a chance to ride it twice in a row. Then we FP the Land (did not need it but I was nervous as the wait last November was topping out at 40 minutes). Then we met a character and FP Test Track and MS. We finished up the WS countries that we missed. Mexico for a margarita, shopping, boat ride. Germany for a white wine flight, cheese plate, grapefruit beer. Italy for gelato and shopping and then took the boat to HS to catch the bus back to POP. We were considering using our JT FP’s for RR but did not because of a downpour. We relaxed at POP until about 6pm – we had a FP that booked via phone for Space Mountain. First we decided to update our hoppers to add another day. It wasn’t much $ to add it and we still had those pesky FP’s for DHS to use. We had a late flight so went for it. We rode that and snagged a FP for Pirates before the parade. We didn’t really need it as there was only a 10 minute wait. We got to Frontierland by 8:00pm to get a good spot for the 9pm parade. We rested our feet while waiting and then after the parade got a great spot for Wishes. Wow! The crowds were much lower than last November. We could breathe! Bus situation leaving MK was so much better than DHS or EP. They send double buses! We only had to wait about 10 minutes.
The next day we woke up, packed, checked our bags, ate a quick breakfast and headed to DHS for RR and TT. Then left to do AK for a couple more hours which was cut into by a super long wait (over 30 minutes) for the bus at DHS. We waited forever in the heat and had a wasp incident. It wasn’t near us but the little one had a heart attack seeing it. We did Rafiki’s Planet Watch (fun for the little and nice AC to cool off), ate at Pizzafari (really enjoyed the Shrimp Flatbread) and watched the Lion King. Got caught in a downpour leaving and ran through a puddle on the way to the bus. Ugh! Bought new mickey shoes to wear home. Note to self: pack extra shoes or sandals in your carry-on in case of rain! The Magical Express experienced issues with the wheel chair lift which made us about 30 minutes behind schedule. They should have sent another bus. It took much too long and some may have been on a time crunch. We were fine, though. I was a little irritated. I needed a nap which I got when I was finally allowed to board.
Now we are back home! Wishing we were back at Disney. Thanks for reading!
We arrived around 11:00am at MCO and got right onto the Magical Express. We requested early check-in but did not get an e-mail with a room number so we went to the front desk to get one since we wanted to drop our things, freshen up and get to the park. We were assigned to a room in the 80’s section facing the parking lot with easy access to the buses which is what we wanted and requested. Our original room would have been back in the 70’s (which wasn’t ready yet) and not nearly as close to the buses so good thing we stopped at the desk!
I will start this by saying I was nervous about the heat. Being from MN we don’t have the type of heat and humidity that FL gets. We basically get one week of that type of weather a year so aren’t really used to it. I think we did pretty well and managed to cool off in the AC. I brought a mini fan with a sprayer that helped while waiting in line or walking from building to building. I also found that a Ziploc with a hotel washcloth (wet or with ice) was great to have to wipe our faces, necks and arms with. We drank plenty of water and always got ice water at the QS meals. We had the free dining QS plan this time around and found it to work out great. We had a few meals leftover but used them to get Goofy Gummies at the end of the trip. No biggie – it’s free!
Our first park stop was DHS. We had FP’s for Star Tours, TSMM and TT. We watched the two Star Wars shows right when we got there. March of the 1st Order and the other one. They were cute and awesome to see the storm troopers march in. It was hot so we stood in the shade over towards the Brown Derby. We had dinner at Backlot Express (Vader Waffles and BB8/Vader cupcakes – I had the salad – very yummy!). As we ate we watched Jedi Training which we were looking forward to participating in later in the trip. It was nice to see the full show before we took part so we knew what to expect. The whole day flowed seamlessly – used our FP’s and even met Olaf with a 10 minute wait! Then we went right over to F!. It was already pretty full but we managed to get a good spot off to the right side. As soon as it was done we got the heck out of dodge and made it on the second bus to POP. I was amazed! I was thinking back to how horrible the lines were for the POP buses at HS last November when we visited. I was happy! They finally are running enough buses to POP at night! Nope, not really the case as we came to find out later in our trip… L
The next morning we had BOG breakfast reservations at 9:40am. We got to the park a little later than expected but being our first morning we did pretty well. Went straight to our reservations. One observation, a change from the last time we were at BOG. Now they have yellow roses for pre-order and they have a line that skips the “order room” with the fireplace completely if you have pre-ordered. It helps things move even faster. I highly suggest a pre-order! Food was good. My friend’s first time eating there and had higher expectations but she enjoyed it overall. Higher in the fact that yes, this is a QS and we do have to get our own drinks, find our own tables, get our own dinglehoppers (forks) etc. After we ate we rode Dumbo with no wait, Barnstormer with a 10 minute wait and Philharmagic with no wait. Then it was time to use our FP’s for Peter Pan, after that we got Dole Whip, rode the boat in Liberty Square (name escapes me), visited the Hall of Presidents (to cool off a bit), then rode the Little Mermaid before our FP for 7DMT. First time for that ride as I was unable to get a FP 90 days out last November for that. It was so cute! Wish I could have gone again but not worth a 90 minute wait. Lastly, we had a FP for Ariel’s Grotto M&G. So fun! We caught Festival of Fantasy parade on mainstreet as we walked towards the exit. Awesome parade! Happy that Tangled has a float as I much prefer Tangled to Frozen… We also rode the Teacups somewhere in there too!
Back to POP for some pool time. I had originally left this night open for resting and relaxing but since the Star Wars fireworks coincide with F! we decided to go to HS just for the fireworks. We were pretty tired so we sat on the other side of Echo Lake and watched from there. We couldn’t see all of the graphics but it was fine. The music was great too. The buses home were not as magical this time around. We waited… waited… The line was huge. We decided to use the old AA bus method since that line was about ¼ of POP’s and the buses seemed more frequent. Yep, at least we were moving…
The next morning (Friday) we woke up early to go sign up for Jedi Training. Now, I am not a morning park person. Normally, I am the one staying until park close and riding Splash at midnight… We did our best to get there – we made the mistake of going back to the temple and not getting in line near Indiana Jones. Had to walk back and get in a 30-40 minute long line. We waited, then when we got up there the earliest we could get in was 2:40pm. Ugh! Not ideal and screwed up our AK plans later that day. We decided to take the last show at 7:40pm and go to AK during the day instead of at night. We’d miss the Jungle Book but not a big deal – heard it’s just and ok show. So off to AK. I was happy that we can now add and change FP’s on our phones! Switched up all of ours with no issues at all. We went to Dinoland first and rode Primeval Whirl twice with no wait at all. We met Goofy and Pluto and rode the Dino (Dumbo-like) ride with no wait. There was a DJ party happening there too and it was fun to dance with Goofy and Pluto during the M&G. It was HOT but fun. There isn’t a lot of shade in Dinoland. We ate a quick snack in Dinoland and hit Finding Nemo. AC felt so great. Then FP’s for Everest. Then over to Bug’s Life and met Minnie and Mickey with a 5 minute wait. By far the best interactions of the trip too! Lastly, we rode the safari. Then back to POP for a quick rest before Jedi Training.
We arrived at our 7:10pm time to get ready for JT. I went over to Backlot Express to get a beer and get a spot for taking photos while my friend stayed with her son until it was time for the show. Well, the show started but it rained lightly for about 30 seconds and they announcement came on that the show was being cancelled due to inclement weather. Super sad! Fast passes were given out to compensate. I think my friend was more disappointed than the kid.. LOL! He admitted he was nervous to face Darth Vader, anyways. We tried to use our FP for Star Tours right after but they CM said keep them and use them later (they were good thru 8/31 – although we didn’t have any other time planned at DHS at that moment we kept them). Then we went over to the Launch Bay and told the CM at the front what had happened and she called ahead and got us right in to see Chewbacca (there was no wait at that time of night but the CM greeted us by name when we got there). Super nice and magical! We spent quite a bit of time at the Launch Bay as it was empty and met Kylo as well. We tried trading with the Jawa’s (pins) but they didn’t want them. Kind of annoying, actually… At least trade with the little one. Maybe not us adults but the kids for sure! Oh, well. Better luck next time! We left to another terrible bus situation. Grrrr… We waited, waited. Send more buses or send double buses! It was EMH that night so we went back in and rode the GMR to miss some of the wait at the bus stop. Then we rode Star Tours one last time. The bus situation was better when we left for the final time.
The next morning we were able to take our time getting ready. We had a BOG lunch reservation at 12:05pm. We arrived at the park just in time to ride the train over to Fantasyland and walk to our reservations. We encountered a magical mistake at lunch. Our server brought us 3 Grey Stuff cupcakes and we had only ordered one. It was a mistake but he said to keep them! We each had our own and yes, they all got eaten. It is delicious. MK was super packed by the time we left BOG. We rode TTA and CP and then left. Ick! Buzz Lightyear had a 60 minute wait upon our departure. Nope, no thanks! We noticed the arrival of the bug spray stations this day but did not use them. I’ve never seen a mosquito at Disney. I guess you can’t be too careful, though, and it is a nice service. Basically, there are stations set up with a few cans of OFF for people to grab and apply. A CM is standing by to answer questions.
Then we went for a quick break at our room and then off to EP for the rest of the day. We had FP for the character meets (Mickey, Goofy, Minnie), Spaceship Earth and Frozen. The character meets felt a bit rushed, imo. We ate dinner in the WS (shwarma at Morocco – very good!), lobster bisque at France (needed a baguette on the side but otherwise yummy). Then we hiked over to Froway for the new Frozen ride! It was cute and really well done in the amount of space and time given. It does not feel like you are in Norway, though. Lost a bit of the charm but it is very popular and brings some excitement for the little ones. Then we went over to Soarin’ for the last flight of the night. We could have stayed at WS for Illuminations but I’ve never been a huge fan and I really wanted to see the new Soarin’. The last ride of the night was not even full! We rode in B2 which is the best view for the screen. Nobody was in B1 so no feet were hanging in our view. The CM suggested we move our entire row to B2 from B1. I have to agree B2 is the best for the screen. As we left the theater the CM’s cheered for us and gave us high fives for being the last flight of the night. Very fun! The bus line was super long so we took AA, again. Seriously, was AA empty during our stay? Worked out great!
We did the GG for breakfast at 10am the next day. We got to EP at RD and headed straight to Soarin’. We rode twice with no wait before our reservations. The line was a 30 minute wait after our first two rides. We were happy to have had a chance to ride it twice in a row. Then we FP the Land (did not need it but I was nervous as the wait last November was topping out at 40 minutes). Then we met a character and FP Test Track and MS. We finished up the WS countries that we missed. Mexico for a margarita, shopping, boat ride. Germany for a white wine flight, cheese plate, grapefruit beer. Italy for gelato and shopping and then took the boat to HS to catch the bus back to POP. We were considering using our JT FP’s for RR but did not because of a downpour. We relaxed at POP until about 6pm – we had a FP that booked via phone for Space Mountain. First we decided to update our hoppers to add another day. It wasn’t much $ to add it and we still had those pesky FP’s for DHS to use. We had a late flight so went for it. We rode that and snagged a FP for Pirates before the parade. We didn’t really need it as there was only a 10 minute wait. We got to Frontierland by 8:00pm to get a good spot for the 9pm parade. We rested our feet while waiting and then after the parade got a great spot for Wishes. Wow! The crowds were much lower than last November. We could breathe! Bus situation leaving MK was so much better than DHS or EP. They send double buses! We only had to wait about 10 minutes.
The next day we woke up, packed, checked our bags, ate a quick breakfast and headed to DHS for RR and TT. Then left to do AK for a couple more hours which was cut into by a super long wait (over 30 minutes) for the bus at DHS. We waited forever in the heat and had a wasp incident. It wasn’t near us but the little one had a heart attack seeing it. We did Rafiki’s Planet Watch (fun for the little and nice AC to cool off), ate at Pizzafari (really enjoyed the Shrimp Flatbread) and watched the Lion King. Got caught in a downpour leaving and ran through a puddle on the way to the bus. Ugh! Bought new mickey shoes to wear home. Note to self: pack extra shoes or sandals in your carry-on in case of rain! The Magical Express experienced issues with the wheel chair lift which made us about 30 minutes behind schedule. They should have sent another bus. It took much too long and some may have been on a time crunch. We were fine, though. I was a little irritated. I needed a nap which I got when I was finally allowed to board.
Now we are back home! Wishing we were back at Disney. Thanks for reading!
