May '06 Trip Highlights & Opinions!

lakoda

Mouseketeer
Joined
Apr 3, 2001
Messages
353
Me & DH (both 33) Our 5th trip

Okay, I am going to keep this brief. I want to include my opinions in the hope that they may help others, so please don't flame me!!! They are only my opinions!

POP CENTURY, May 12-15 Park hoppers, and magic plus

Pop Century - great theming, VERY clean, disney magic to be onsite. I wish they would provide a coffee maker, as well as more channels on TV. I know, I know, we don't spend much time in the room! But, I would like to have some channels to flip thru while recovering from busy days at parks. The info sheet provided promoted a "lounge" but it was never open. Also wish there was a hot tub by pool, as well as wireless internet in rooms.

EXTRA MAGIC HOURS - Took advantage of Epcot at night on Friday. It was surprisingly cold, so lots of people were leaving. Waited about 25 minutes for Soarin'. AK on Monday am was great! We rode EE twice in about 20 minutes, and got FP for later (Arrived at 7:45 am) Get there EARLY!

MAY DATES - If given the choice, I would MUCH prefer the first week of May, which is when we have gone in the past. There were sooo many school groups at all the parks.

NEWEST ATTRACTIONS - Loved EE and Lights, Motor, Action

DINING -
Planet Hollywood: Used free voucher for burger, DH and I split the meal. Server was great, brought 2 plates. We also ordered an appetizer, jumbo shrimp which was good, but not worth $11 for 5 shrimp. Great decor, but way overpriced.
Cosmic Ray's at MK: EXCELLENT! Had rotisserie chicken with sides, everything was great.
Flametree at AK: Had chicken again, which was good, but the BBQ beans were inedible. DH called them BBQ refried beans - they had a paste consistency and it seemed like they had been blended.

OFFSITE DINING:
Dixie Crossroads - best meal of our trip! Loved it!
5 Guys Famous Burgers - just okay, kind of disappointed but the fries were great and they had Pibb, which DH and I love but can't get at home. Giordano's - very good, lots of cheese in the stuffed pizza, would recommend getting toppings as we ordered cheese only.

OFFSITE HOTELS: Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites Orlando Conv. Center - LOVED IT! Had a fantastic Entertainment Rate of $55 a night. Very new, very clean, free internet, nice room and decor.
Seralago- acceptable for the $39 rate for a one night arrival stay.

WHAT I LEARNED: I had so much info thanks to these great boards! I did find out that the lockers are discounted at the water parks after 4 pm. After 3 pm was a great time to go to the water parks since we mainly wanted to relax in the "rivers". We also managed to get in some slides with very short waits, if any.

We had so much fun! The parks seemed very busy, lots of people, but for the most part the waits weren't bad and we utilized FP when waits were over 20 minutes.
 
I forgot a dining experience - we thought we could save time by picking up McDs for breakfast on our way to AK. We did save time, but the food was inedible. We both had breakfast sandwiches that tasted like they had been microwaved for about 2 minutes each. The biggest clue was that they were steaming hot and very chewy.
 
You described those beans at Flame Tree BBQ to a t! We were trying to think about what they were like, you were right, re-fried beans! They were just awful and we love good beans!
 

The funny thing about the beans, we almost asked for an extra order of beans since we were splitting the chicken! Thank goodness we didn't waste the money. The fries were great though!
 
Where is Dixie Crossroads in Orlando? We ate at the one in Titusville in 2004 and my DH has been dreaming about their rock shrimp ever since!
 
They opened one on I drive, in the same shopping center as the Bass Pro Shop. Check out their website for the exact address. I agree about the rock shrimp, we also had lobster, crab legs, and scallops. YUM!
 
I always wondered if school groups came to WDW for Field Trips. I wonder if these kids earn tickets by reading. I know my kids earned tickets for Great America. Or do they get a discount on their tickets? Sorry for asking you, you probably don't know.
 
I assumed they were field trips but don't know for sure. I know there were some band groups, b/c they were all wearing t-shirts.

I was a bit angry that some of the kids were not supervised very well. There were 4 young boys (probably about 8-9 years old), standing in line in front of us while waiting for the Tough to be a Bug show. They did not have an adult with them, and they starting rough housing as boys do. They got out of hand and ended up stepping on DH's already injured foot and almost knocking me over. They stopped after that.

The other thing I found mildly frustrating was that these groups tended to stop in the middle of walkways to meet, look at maps, and decide where to go next(and this was with the adults). I kept needing to yell EXCUSE ME several times just to get though!
 
What no wireless internet? I read they were getting it in April. We leave on Saturday for the Pop my DH will not be happy, he has to connect to work. Nancy
 
we were at disney the last of April into the first full week of May and there were plenty of school field trips.......they were very well behaved and mostly did things as a group of six with one adult......we were impressed.
Thanks for your report and I am ready to go back too
 











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