MariDisney and MrsDisneyFan take their kids to WDW...

[MariDisney]

Alternate Title 1: The Reason We Can Never Go Back to the Liberty Tree (or The NEW American Adventure)
Alternate Title 2: The Reason We Can Never Go Back to Whispering Canyon
Alternate Title 3: Vomit, Lost Teeth, and The Galloping Mother

Well, here it is...7 trips to WDW and my first trip report. I can't promise that this will be all too organized, detailed, or even completely accurate...but here goes. I'll do my best to include some pictures, but resizing still is a little elusive to me.

Cast of Characters:
Me, MariDisney, Mari... I'll call me, "me", or "I", because heck, I'm not that creative.
My DD6 Caroline I'll call her "Caroline"
MrsDisneyFan, MariDisney's DSis I'll call her "Missy" or "Aunt Missy" and possibly "The Worst Mother on the Planet", but I'll save the details on that until later
Dominic, Missy's DS7 I'll call him "Dominic" or "the constipated one" or "vomit boy", again, details later
Gina, Missy's DD5 I'll call her "Gina"
Mari and Missy's Mother I'll call her "Grammy" or "The one sitting in the smoking section"

The Details
We're booked for 8 nights at the Pop Century Resort (9/23-30) and have requested connecting, smoking rooms. Missy and Grammy smoke. No one else does. I can't stand it personally, which will lead me to my only little secret pixie dust later. We have 8 day park hopper passes with the water parks and more option or whatever they're calling it these days. We have the free DDP and have made TS ADRs at the following:
Sunday: Cape May Cafe Dinner
Monday: Whispering Canyon Cafe Dinner (and a little surprise for Caroline)
Tuesday: Breakfast at Crystal Palace and Fantasmic Dinner Package at Hollywood and Vine
Wednesday: Liberty Tree Tavern Dinner
Thursday: 'Ohana Dinner
Friday: Teppanyaki Dinner

Trip day minus 1...Friday 9/22
Caroline gets out of school at 3:45 and I am first in the pick up line so we can get right on the road. My suitcase is packed and ready in the back of the van. As soon as she hopped in, we headed from Warrington, PA up the PA turnpike halfway to Scranton to pick up the rest of the crew. Missy and Grammy don't drive (don't ask me, I have no idea). As everyone piles into the van Caroline asked "Gina, can I sit by you" for the first of approximately 698 million times. Gina replied "No" for the first of approximately 698 million times. No worries, though. Everyone found a seat and we headed toward home...made a quick McDonald's stop and were back in Warrington by 7:00. Everyone bunked down for a couple hours of shut eye before we had to leave for the airport.

Day 1 Post 3 Page 1
Day 2 Post 7 Page 1

 

[mrsdisneyfan]

The worst mother ever. Thanks!!

 

[MariDisney]

Day 1
We all got up at 2:30 am. I'm not sure whether you can count that as actually going to bed and getting up. But, we all got at least a few hours of sleep. We downed some coffee and left at about 3:30 for the drive to Philadelphia Airport. We had a 6 something (6:20 or 6:50, it's escaping me now) flight on Delta. The trip to the airport was uneventful except for Caroline beginning to plan the seating assignment for every leg of our trip. Why she can't just sit down somewhere and move on with her life, I don't know. I love the kid and all, but this was particularly annoying. I dropped the crew off at the Delta curb and headed off to park the van. I didn't realize it then, but that would be the last 10 minutes of actual quiet I would have for 8 days. I treasure those 10 minutes!!

Although Delta has been much maligned in these parts, our flight took off a bit early and arrived in Atlanta about 30 minutes early. It was a great flight. Arriving early allowed us to have a leisurely walk to out next gate. We initially were only supposed to have a 40 minute lay over. So, having some extra time was nice, especially since we had to walk from one end of the airport to the other. We actually had a few minutes to kill. The Atlanta airport seemed to have some nice shops. I didn't get to look through them because I was on kid duty while the smokers went off to do their thing. Did you know that Atlanta is one of only a few airports with smoking sections in the sterile zone? Neither did I!

Delta made up for the 30 minutes we had to spare by taking off just about 30 minutes late. We did land in Orlando on time, so all was well. I'm still confused about how you can take off 30 minutes late and arrive on time, but I'll ponder that on my own.

I left the crew at the gate and high tailed it to the rental car shuttles. The plan was that I (remember, the only driver) would go get the car while the crew got the bags and waited on the curb for me. This worked out perfectly in terms of timing. The Thrifty shuttle came promptly. The ride to the off site location was less than 10 minutes, which I was thrilled about. I had a reservation for a minivan for 8 days for $191. My only worry was going offsite. I usually rent from National, which is right in the terminal. But, the best price I could get from them was more than double Thrifty. I waited just a few minutes at the counter and then got my 2006 Grand Caravan. I do believe this was an upgrade in size of van. The clerk asked if I wanted a Grand for an additional $55. I said no thanks. But, he put me in one anyway. It was gorgeous! (my van at home is a 2001 with 100,000 miles...so this beauty with only 4000 was a treat...I am easily amused). I made my way back to the airport, and in climed the crew.

We made a quick stop at Albertsons for some water, snacks, and lighters for the smokers, and then it was off to the Pop. TWe arrived around 1:15. The check in line moved fairly quickly and we waited for only about 10 minutes. Good news!! Our rooms were ready and indeed were connecting as requested. Only problem was there were no smoking rooms available. I secretly counted this as my only little pixie dust since I am really sensitive to the smoke. Missy and Grammy decided that they could smoke outside, and it seemed to work out just fine for the week.

We had some additional pixie dust in receiving a free (and not asked for) upgrade to a waterview room on the back of building 3 overlooking Hourglass Lake. This was the 50's section in the Lady and the Tramp section. We were on the 2nd floor in 3220 and 3221. We put out LGMHPCs on our doors and windows and noticed that some folks a few doors down had the same. There was a seriously decoraed lime green window at the end of our building with "Cathryn" on it. I haven't figured out who that is just yet, but I will!

We got ourselves settled in the rooms and headed off to Epcot. We grabbed some fast passes for Soarin' for about an hour later and decided to eat at Sunshine Season's. Grammy and I both had the Grilled Salmon with Mashed Potatoes with Kalamata Olive Pesto ($9.09). It was absolutely delish. Caroline had the Chicken Leg with Mashed Potatoes and Beverage ($3.99). She loved it. We had cheescake, chocolate cake, and a worm's and dirt for our desserts. YUMMO! Missy and her kids shared a fruit bowl. They weren't hungry, I guess. But, by that time the rest of us were starving!

We went on Living with the Land, and I have to say that I liked it better before the recent refurb. I think something about having a "live" tour guide added a personal touch that the recording doesn't. We still had a few minutes before our fastpasses, so we did the Circle of Life. I love attractions like this because I can get a snooze in. I gather there was some environmental message, but I can't say for sure. I do know Caroline and the kids loved seeing their beloved Lion King characters.

We rode Soarin' and it was awesome, as always. Grammy kept her eyes closed the entire time as is her tradition any time she rides a new ride. Upon exiting she announced that she loved it and could definitely do it with here eyes open next time.

We left the Land and headed to the Character Connection meeting area and the girls met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Chip and Dale, and Belle.

We headed back to the hotel to chill out from our very long day (remember, we got up at 2:30!!!). After the kids bedded down Grammy and I headed to Everything Pop to buy our refillable mugs and a couple of snacks and check things out.

My Impression of the Pop
I enjoyed exploring the grounds of the Pop a little but I have to say I'm just not a value resort gal. Don't get me wrong. I'd rather be at a value resort there than at home any day, but given my druthers I would choose a moderate every time. Since I had just been to WDW in January, I needed to do this trip on the cheap side. So, that's how we ended up at the Pop. The huge icons are not my thing, but the kids loved them. Caroline did miss not having a slide at the pool. But, again, it was fine. Our rooms were clean, and mousekeeping was fine. We didn't get any towel animals all week, and Caroline was a little bummed about that. Missy thinks it's because of the LGMHPCs, but I can't belive that. Having two rooms for the 6 of us was ok, and we had enough room. We could have used some more drawer space for sure, and I definitely like having the two sinks at a moderate. But, given the awesome package we got and the free dining, this was A-OK with me.

I set the wake up call for 6:30 so that Caroline, Gina, and I could hit the Magical Beginnings Sunday morning.

 

[Disney=Love]

Loving the report, keep it coming.

 

[pumba]

good report......sounds like the start of ours.....always get up at two and leave by three am and plane takes off at six......thanks so much for giving us the firstday

 

[BeautyNBeast]

Great report so far Cannot wait to read more, just not about throwing up, I hate hearing about that.

 

[MariDisney]

Day 2 Sunday 9/24 be

Stitch woke Caroline up right on cue at 6:30, and she could hardly believe it! She, Gina, and I got ready and headed to MK for the Magical Beginnings opening at 8:00. The ride from POP to the TTC lot was about 10 minutes. We didn't encounter traffic at all during the week. We were one of the first cars in the TTC lot at about 7:30, and that's always a good sign of crowd levels. Walking to the monorail, I was stopped by a CM and asked to show both resort ID and my regular ID before letting me through the gate. I think this is the first time I've ever been stopped like that. Caroline asked if we could ride in the front of the monorail, but unfortunately when it arrived folks were already there...this was a bummer that repeated itself throughout the trip several times.

I was so excited to arrive at the MK before 8:00 because I thought I'd FINALLy see an official opening. A few minutes before 8:00 there was even an announcement about the best viewing area. I was psyched. Unfortunately, when 8:00 arrived the "pixie dust" song played, but not characters or anything were there, so I was disappointed.

We made our way to fantasy land to find a ton of characters out and playing with the kids. Caroline and Gina got to play keep away with Wendy and Peter Pan. They played a catch game with Minnie and Daisy. They got to ride on the carousel a row behind Chip and Dale. By 8:50 we had done all the rides in FL except for the tea cups. We made our way down there adn Alice and the Mad Hatter were signing autographs, something the other characters weren't doing at that point because they were playing with the kids (which was SO fun). We were about 3rd from the front of the line when Alice's handler told her it was time to ride the tea cups. Caroline showed her best Disney footwork of all time (and I realized that 4 years of acrobatic training are paying off) as she was able to be the first one in through the queue (how do you spell that?) behind Alice before the other kids could really realize what was happening. For the record, she didn't cut anyone off step on anyone's toes...she was just quick. So, she and Gina got to ride in a PINK (all important to Gina) tea cup with Alice. See photo in my siggy. I was totally excited because Caroline, at almost 7, is still INTO the characters, but starting to wonder a bit. I am SO not ready for any magic to go away...so I was thrilled that she got to ride with Alice.

Afterwards, the Magical Beginnings was over, so we headed to the Main Street Bakery for some breakfast. I used a couple snack credits and the three of us shared a bagel and 2 Krisy Kreme donuts (yummo). This was my first stop at the bakery ever, and I was happy to check it off my list...and I can't wait to return!

We left MK and swung back to the Pop to pick up Aunt Missy, Grammy, and Dominic who had grabbed some breakfast at Everything Pop and taken a dip in the pool. Dominic is way too cook for character hunting, but had a good time waiting for us in the pool and the arcade.

We headed over to Animal Kingdom because getting on Everest was a top priority for several of us on this trip. We went over and grabbed some fast passes for an hour or so later then walked toward Kali River Rapids, which it turned out was broken down, and remained that way for at least several hours, so we didn't get on it until later in the week. We decided to let the kids get their faces painted, a favorite of all the kids, and then got in line for the Safari. We waited about 25 minutes, and this was one of the longest lines we waited in all week. Personally, I'm a little over the Little Red/Big Red thing and wish they'd redo the ride somehow with a different story. They kids, of course, were excited to see all the animals. Afterwards, we headed back to DinoLand and introduced Grammy to Dinosaur. She, of course, kept her eyes closed for the entire ride, but decided she might try it again at some other point.

It was time for our Everest fast passes, but Caroline decided she'd rather go to the boneyard with Grammy and Gina. (Gina missed the height cut off, being only 41 or so inches). So, Dominic, Missy and I rode. In a word, I thought it was AWESOME, and the other 2 agreed. I thought going backwards through the helix was pretty amazing. We had 2 extra fast passes, so Missy and Dominic rode again while I checked out the gift shop.

By this time it was mid afternoon and we decided to head back to Pop to clean up and rest before dinner. We had a dip in the bowling pin pool, which was relatively quiet and not crowded. There was a sky writer that afternoon and several other afternoons that week writing all sorts of Christian messages. I thought that was pretty interesting and wonder where it was from. At some point when we were back in the room, Caroline lost a tooth, which we all thought was pretty cool and wondered if the tooth fairy would do anything special in WDW.

That night we had ADRs at the Cape May Cafe. We arrived about 25 minutes before our time and were seated within about 10 minutes. We all are seafood fanatics, particularly clams. Everyone loved the buffet. We had a very attentive waitress who filled our drinks so often I thought we might float away. One bit of criticism is the way the lines to the buffet are unorganized. It is set up in a square, and people aren't sure whether to proceed around the whole thing clockwise or re-line up at each corner. The lines for the clam section were pretty long. That side of the buffet is set up with 2 parts exactly the same (so it went something like clams, mussels, butter, corn, clams, mussels, butter corn). So, really, the line could split in 2 here and attack the same items in half the time. If Disney is able to work out the line and wait at the buffet the dining experience here would be almost perfect.

After we were full and practically rolled out of the restaurant we headed over to Epcot for Illuminations. First, the girls each picked a pearl in Japan. They were both completely excited by this. Caroline decided to use her money to buy a second one and had a lovely pair of earrings made. Gina also picked a 2nd one and had a pretty ring made with a white and a silver pearl. beautiful!! We were able to secure an awesome bench between Morocco and Japan at about 8:20 for the 9:00 show. World showcase was literally empty during Illuminations, which made it wonderful to watch without bodies being pressed all over the place. After the show Epcot emptied pretty darn quickly and we were back to Pop by 10:00.

Everyone was pretty beat, so we headed to bed. Caroline tucked her tooth securely under her pillow, waiting in anticipation for the tooth fairy.

 

[Nite0wl71]

Hey I seen your windows We were in 3241 and my DD and her family were in 3213. I also saw the "Cathryn" window, I think it was CathrynRose.

 

[First timer]

Where's the rest?

 

[MariDisney]

Where's the rest?

Ummmm...I am lazy...and my computer was stolen out of my car a few days ago...but now I'm back online and hope to get to it soon!

 

[First timer]

Oh NO! I am sorry to hear about the theft....

 

[OhMari]

You are like the 3rd person that said something about the sky writer over WDW. One person said a CM told her that person could get in big trouble because WDW is a no fly zone.

Enjoying your report.

 

[scrap4u]

Great report so far Mari! Thanks for taking the time to write it and share it with us! Looking forward to more.

 

[c8k6k]

Great trip report! I like your writing style. We were at Pop at the same time (bldg 2 in 50's), and went to AK on the same day you did. I was disappointed Kali River Rapids broke down. It was still open when we arrived, and I made my family put on ponchos because I had learned from DIS boards how wet it could be. Husband was going ? We were heading through the line looking like the trash bag family when we learned the ride was closed. We never did get to ride KRR as we were only at AK that one day.

Looking forward to the rest of your report.