MAY 2007 Disney Anniversary Trip at POFQ, with kids! And LOTS of pictures!!

[Momof2Disneyboys]

HI! Welcome to my trip report. This is my first one, so please be patient with me! Will do my best. . .

This was our second Disney trip ever. The first was more of a learning experience for us. We had missed so much. But we had a plan and were determined to see so much more this time!! So we added an extra day and were patiently awaiting our December 2007 vacation. . . Yep, that's right, I said December!! That was the original plan. . . Until about January 2007 and we got our tax return and I started thinking there is no way that I can wait that long!!! So I started running dates by DH and going over and over it in my head. Then I come across the "May Your Way" deal on the internet. WOW, they are giving FREE park hopper and water parks and more add ons. . . Hmm. . . Does that justify going in May and paying "regular" season rates instead of going in mid December when it is "value" season??? SURE IT DOES!!!!! Plus May 15th was our 9th anniversary. So that was easy to decide which week in May to go!

So I book everything online and am very excited!! We are even trying the dining plan this time! MAY 13-19 here we come! Okay, now I'm a little worried, here it is the middle of January, only 4 months until our trip and I need to make dining reservations!! Oh no, will I get in where we want??? Will I get the times we want??? Maybe this wasn't such a good idea??? So I call the dining reservation line and get EVERY single place and time I want with no problem! Awesome!! Now I know it is meant to be.

CAST:

ME 34 - Stay at home Mom to 2 very active and wonderful little boys. Former bank teller, waiting to get back to work but enjoying the time at home with the kids while they still want to spend time with me!

DH 40 - Hard working Welding Inspector. Great guy, great father and provider. A little hard to get onboard at first with the whole traveling to Florida thing, but after 2 wonderful Disney trips he can't wait to go back!

DS 8 - Great little guy! Very active all the time. Great soccer player. Loves going to Disney, but doesn't like the "long" plane ride! (2hrs.)

DS 5 1/2 - My baby! Very stubborn, but very sweet too. Loves Minnie Mouse, wants to "marry" her when he grows up!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

So here they are, our dining reservations:

Mon May 14 - Garden Grill 11:00am
- Coral Reef 5:00pm

Tues May 15 - Crystal Palace 8:00am

Thur May 17 - Hollywood & Vine 5:00pm (Fantasmic package!)

Fri May 18 - Donald's Breakfastosauras 10:00am
- Chef Mickey's 5:10pm

With the exception of Crystal Palace all of these were going to be new to us and we were excited and ready to eat!!!

 

[disneynewbeemom]

Great start! I am also the mother of two boys (7 and 5) and have many of the same reservations for our trip in October!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, so now let's fastforward a bit! It's March and I discover The DIS !!
Wow, how did I miss this the last few years since I've become such a huge Disney fan??? It is a mystery. . .

Now I come across a thread with a whole bunch of people going the same time as we are! How exciting!! Most of them had been to WDW several times before so they were a great help to me. We "talked" every single day right up until our trips!! We even came up with our own signature - . If this was in your signature line you were officially a MAYer, as we called ourselves. Along with wearing our LGMH's we all made up these - to wear and recognize each other in the parks. Some even made buttons! While several of the MAYers met at the World, I am sad to say that I didn't run into a single one of them. But most of us still stay in touch on our thread:
MAYers!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Great start! I am also the mother of two boys (7 and 5) and have many of the same reservations for our trip in October!

to my TR disneynewbeemom! Will this be your first Disney trip?

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

DAY 1 - Sunday May 13th - Mother's Day!

What an awesome way to celebrate Mother's Day - Going to WDW!!! Wish I could do it every year!

Had a morning flight. 10:09 AM out of Pittsburgh. Not quite as early as I would have liked, but the best price for a non-stop flight I could find. DS 5 1/2 was grumpy that morning and was really grumpy by the time we got to the airport. . .

But was feeling a little better by the time we got on the plane!

DS 8 and I were ready to go!

Arrived in Orlando around 12:00 noon. Checked in at Magical Express and waited in the POFQ line for nearly 20 minutes. Finally got onto the bus and we were on our way to the beginning of a magical week!

Arrived at POFQ around 1:30. Check in line was long but there were lots of people working so we didn't wait long. Got all checked in and had received all of our room requests! Building 3, 3rd floor, corner room. Great!!

Checked out the resort real quick and unpacked a bit and headed to DTD!! The kids had been saving there money for over a year and were anxious to get it spent! So we hoped on the boat to DTD and were off.

 

[seacrestpromo]

Hi Shelly - good start on the trip report! Can't wait to hear more of your adventures at WDW.

Seacrest

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Seacrest! Thanks for visiting my TR!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

While most people say the boat ride to DTD from POFQ is a nice relaxing break from the buses, we thought it was hot and loud! Maybe it was the time of day that it seemed so hot, by now it was nearing 3:00. And we sat near the back of the boat and the motor was really loud. Not very relaxing to us. The scenary was about the only nice thing about the whole ride. We knew we'd be taking the bus back to the resort later!

We are pretty hungry by now. So let's start using our DDP!! We had decided on a counter service meal at Wolf Gang Puck Express before we even left for Disney. So we unload from the boat and make our way to WGPE. The cashier isn't the friendliest woman we've ever met! She seemed annoyed that we were asking what we could get with the DDP. But we made it through that and went outside to find a table. It was very hot that day, probably the hottest day of our whole trip. So the outdoor seating wasn't very pleasant, but that's all they have. Waited on our food about 10-15 minutes. Everything was very good! Will probably go there again next trip.

Okay our belly's are full and now we are ready to shop!! We went to Mickey's Groove, Mickey's Mart, World of Disney, Disney's Days of Christmas, Team Mickey's, The Art of Disney, Disney's Wonderful World of Memories, Orlando Harley Davidson, Once Upon a Toy, and Goofy's Candy Co.

The boys finally got to "Build their Own" Lightsabers at Once Upon a Toy Store after months and months of waiting to do this!!

Our last stop at DTD was Goofy's Candy Co. We got to use the first of many snack credits on the DDP! 3 pretzel rods dipped in chocolate and rolled in candy - all for one snack credit, you can't beat that!

Then we took the bus back to POFQ and decided to check out the pool!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

The best part about POFQ - The Pool!!!!!

We spent our first evening at the pool. The kids loved it! It really is very nice and a lot of fun.

After the swim we went to our room and had some yummy snacks we had gotten at Goofy's Candy Co. and turned in early. We had a big day at Epcot ahead of us on Monday!

 

[GoofyBaby]

Hey fellow MAYER!

What an excellent start to your trip report! I am loving it and I can’t wait to hear more! I really want to stay at POFQ in the future. It is beautiful!

I still can’t believe we didn’t run into each other as we both were in the MK twice in the same week!

Happy 9th anniversary! You have such a beautiful family!

 

[ChrisLei]

LOving your trip report! We will also be staying that the POFQ in Oct/Nov I can't wait!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Goofybaby and Chrislei !!

Hopefully I will be able to do my next installment later tonight or tomorrow!

Stay tuned. . .

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Day 2 - Monday May 14th - EPCOT

We wanted to be to Epcot before opening so we were at the bus stop at POFQ by 8:00AM. Waited about 10 minutes for a bus and got to EPCOT before 8:30. Got in line and waited. . . Alright it's 8:45 and were off!! We run through the front of the park and past Spaceship Earth just to be stopped by the rope! We had one goal in mind - to get to Soarin before the line got long! On our previous trip my youngest DS was too short for this so I was very excited for him to be able to experience it! It would be the first time for DH too. Some nice people let the kids get up to the front by the rope and out come the characters! Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale! Awesome!! Goofy pats the boys on the head as he runs by!

The rope drops!! About half the people head left for Mission Space (I assume) and the other half head right - to Soarin! We make pretty good time and get to ride with hardly a wait at all!! DH and DS 5 1/2 LOVE IT!! As do DS 8 and I. After the ride we get a fastpass to ride it again later. Thinking that the line for Nemo is probably huge and we only have until 11:00 before our lunch ADR at Garden Grill we head to The Living Seas. Walk right on to Nemo. No wait! I'm thinking this is quite strange, no wait and it's nearing 9:30. . . But come to find out, we hardly had to wait on anything that day!! What a great day to go to EPCOT.

After riding the very cute Nemo ride we explored the Living Seas pavillion for awhile and then went back over to The Land and rode Living with the Land. It was a little after 10:30 now so we went and checked in for our lunch at the Garden Grill early and sat and waited for them to open. About 11:05 we were finally called and seated. Our waiter then came and informed us that we had been chosed as The Family of the Day!! We received a Magical Moment Certificate and had our picture taken with Pluto, Chip and Dale!

We were also given a free appetizer. The food at the Garden Grill was just okay, but the characters were great. A great way to see Chip, Dale, Pluto, and Mickey. They each came to our table twice. Our waiter was nice, but a bit slow. It was nearly 12:30 by the time we got our bill! But when he came back with our receipt he also gave us a Fastpass good for all four of us for one attraction for that day!! We never knew if it was for being the Family of the Day or if it was because we had to wait so long ??? But we really didn't care! We had a fastpass and were headed for Test Track!! First we used the fastpass we previously got for Soarin and then made the journey to Test Track. The standby line was only 30 minutes but we used our fastpass anyway! Another first for DS 5 1/2 and DH. They loved it too!!

So we start our trip around the World Showcase. First stop - Mexico! Again, no line for the new Mexican Boat Ride!! Very relaxing and cute. Stop for a little shopping and head on.

Made our journey the rest of the way around the world. Pretty uneventful. We don't get to spend too much time doing this because other than Mexico the kids still aren't very interested. Maybe next time!

Stop to play in the fountains a bit and do a little more shopping. Went back for another spin on Test Track!! As great as the first time!! Made our way to Innoventions West where they hold the Disney Visa cardmembers meet & greet. Line wasn't too long there either. Had our picture taken with Mickey and Pluto!

Walked around and explored Innoventions a bit. Rode Spaceship Earth with no wait. Stopped by the picture place under Spaceship Earth and picked up our free Visa cardholder picture. Now it's about 3:30 or so and we need to head back to the resort to get ready for our anniversary dinner at the Coral Reef at 5:00. . .

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Got back to the hotel and got everyone cleaned up and changed into some nicer clothes. Went to the bus stop at POFQ around 4:30. The one time we really needed the bus to come in a hurry and we had to wait forever!! Well, about 20 minutes. By the time the bus made it's 4 stops at POR and made it to Epcot it was about 5:05. So we ran to get to the Coral Reef for our 5:00 ADR!! Finally made it and checked in. Waited about 5 minute and were seated. Very nice place. Kind of dark and really loud though. The food was very good. And there was plenty of it!

After dinner we walked around Future World a little bit. We took the boys back to Mouse Gear to get their "Fill your own Pirate Skulls"!

We took another ride on Spaceship Earth on the way out and headed back to the resort for the evening. Yes, we missed Illuminations. It had been a long day and my family is not one to open and close a park on the same day! I had hoped to make it back later in the week to see Illuminations, but never did. It's on the top of my list for the next trip!

Up next: Two days at Magic Kingdom!!

 

[IATink]

Great trip report so far! It looks like you had a lot of fun.

What was in the "loot" that you could fill your skull with? Was it candy or toys? I was just wondering because $19.95 seems like a lot! I might have to try and avoid that one!

Can't wait for more!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

The pirate skulls are very cute! I read about them before we left and thought they were just at the pirate store that you exit into after the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, but they were actually at a lot of stores. I don't know if it was just because the new Pirates movie was coming out at the time we were there or if the pirate displays are going to be up for a long time. . . We saw it at stores at DTD and Epcot and MGM and Magic Kingdom of course. Yes, $20 is a bit much for them, but my kids had saved their own money and had 2 things they knew they wanted to get before we even left for WDW - Build your own Lightsaber and Fill your own Pirate Skull!!

Let's see, you could fill them with. . . gems and crystals, compases, rings, rubber pirate skulls, dice, eye patches, necklaces, and rubber "parts" - tongues, ears, brains, ears, eyeballs, etc. . . I know, it sounds a little gross, but really it's not!

 

[meloneyb21]

Very fun trip report so far. Can't wait for the rest .

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

to IATink and Meloneyb21 !!

 

[nessz79]

Can't wait for your next entry!