Crystal_27
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2007
- Messages
- 3,215
We just returned from our wonderful vacation at Disney World. We have previously gone in slower seasons (September and early December), and picked early March in an attempt to again thwart the crowds. You'll see how we fared as this report progresses - LOL.
For this trip, since we are going on a cruise in September, in an effort not to deplete our vacation budget entirely, we decided to stay at Pop Century. We have previously stayed at the Poly and are, self-admittedly, monorail-spoiled. I was a bit worried about the impact that not having a monorail would have to our trip, and, I hate to say it, but I will never stay at a non-monorail resort again. The Pop Century was a *great* resort in most aspects, but having to build in an hour of travel time each way (when we were used to hopping on the monorail) was a huge nuisance for us. And, in fairness to the Pop, the busses were always very prompt and efficient, and we never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus during our entire trip (even at the MK after Wishes). To give you an idea of what I mean, to make a 9:00 a.m. rope drop meant that we had to leave the Pop by 7:30 a.m. every day (which meant that we had to wake up by 7:00 a.m. to get showered and dressed). Thats a big difference in previous years where we would leave our room at the Poly at 8:30 a.m., meaning we could wake up at 8:00 a.m. And, keep in mind, it was an hour on the back end as well to get back to the Pop by the time we walked to the bus stop, waited for a bus, and got back to the Pop. Also, we have enjoyed park hopping in the past, but this trip, with travel times what they were, hopping was a no-go for us. This also means that DH and I were in a constant state of were late, were late, were late" (hence the title for my Trip Report).
Anyway, that should be the extent of my griping. Onto the fun stuff:
Saturday, March 7th
Since we drive to Orlando, we always stay at the Howard Johnson located 3 miles outside of Disney the night before we check into our Disney resort. Our drive to Orlando was quite uneventful, but we had a difficult time locating the Howard Johnson via our Mapquest directions, and nothing was looking at all familiar. Upon a closer review of my AAA hotel confirmation, I realized that I had booked the wrong Howard Johnson DUH. My mistake actually ended up being a good thing in that the Howard Johnson we stayed at this trip was much nicer than the one we usually stay at, and it also was only about 3 miles from the Disney entrance (on the west end opposed to the east end). Anyway, after we swam for a bit at the HoJo, we decided to go to Downtown Disney for the night and eat and hang out. We have made it our tradition to eat our first Disney meal at Earl of Sandwich and we found the sandwiches to again be fabulous. After we ate and shopped (World of Disney was having incredible sales, by the way), we came upon the Disney Vacation Club kiosk. Now, DH and I had already decided to buy into Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary when we returned from our vacation, but the guys at the DVC kiosk told us that if we booked a tour at SSR, we could preview the model rooms at BLT and also receive some VIP FastPasses. Enough said: we booked for the next morning at 8:00 a.m. (me thinking we could still hit rope drop at Animal Kingdom). Anyway, we were assured that a DVC van would meet us at the Pop at 7:40 a.m. on Sunday to take us to SSR for our tour. Do you all see how I am already setting the tone of our vacation lateness??
Thanks for reading!! I will have pictures at some point, I promise!!
Up next: The most expensive bag we ever purchased.
For this trip, since we are going on a cruise in September, in an effort not to deplete our vacation budget entirely, we decided to stay at Pop Century. We have previously stayed at the Poly and are, self-admittedly, monorail-spoiled. I was a bit worried about the impact that not having a monorail would have to our trip, and, I hate to say it, but I will never stay at a non-monorail resort again. The Pop Century was a *great* resort in most aspects, but having to build in an hour of travel time each way (when we were used to hopping on the monorail) was a huge nuisance for us. And, in fairness to the Pop, the busses were always very prompt and efficient, and we never waited more than 15 minutes for a bus during our entire trip (even at the MK after Wishes). To give you an idea of what I mean, to make a 9:00 a.m. rope drop meant that we had to leave the Pop by 7:30 a.m. every day (which meant that we had to wake up by 7:00 a.m. to get showered and dressed). Thats a big difference in previous years where we would leave our room at the Poly at 8:30 a.m., meaning we could wake up at 8:00 a.m. And, keep in mind, it was an hour on the back end as well to get back to the Pop by the time we walked to the bus stop, waited for a bus, and got back to the Pop. Also, we have enjoyed park hopping in the past, but this trip, with travel times what they were, hopping was a no-go for us. This also means that DH and I were in a constant state of were late, were late, were late" (hence the title for my Trip Report).
Anyway, that should be the extent of my griping. Onto the fun stuff:
Saturday, March 7th
Since we drive to Orlando, we always stay at the Howard Johnson located 3 miles outside of Disney the night before we check into our Disney resort. Our drive to Orlando was quite uneventful, but we had a difficult time locating the Howard Johnson via our Mapquest directions, and nothing was looking at all familiar. Upon a closer review of my AAA hotel confirmation, I realized that I had booked the wrong Howard Johnson DUH. My mistake actually ended up being a good thing in that the Howard Johnson we stayed at this trip was much nicer than the one we usually stay at, and it also was only about 3 miles from the Disney entrance (on the west end opposed to the east end). Anyway, after we swam for a bit at the HoJo, we decided to go to Downtown Disney for the night and eat and hang out. We have made it our tradition to eat our first Disney meal at Earl of Sandwich and we found the sandwiches to again be fabulous. After we ate and shopped (World of Disney was having incredible sales, by the way), we came upon the Disney Vacation Club kiosk. Now, DH and I had already decided to buy into Bay Lake Towers at the Contemporary when we returned from our vacation, but the guys at the DVC kiosk told us that if we booked a tour at SSR, we could preview the model rooms at BLT and also receive some VIP FastPasses. Enough said: we booked for the next morning at 8:00 a.m. (me thinking we could still hit rope drop at Animal Kingdom). Anyway, we were assured that a DVC van would meet us at the Pop at 7:40 a.m. on Sunday to take us to SSR for our tour. Do you all see how I am already setting the tone of our vacation lateness??
Thanks for reading!! I will have pictures at some point, I promise!!
Up next: The most expensive bag we ever purchased.
