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

[ReneeDisney]

I just found your trip report and it is wonderful!
I can't wait to read more.
Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[sulleyfan]

Hi Shelly!!

Lovin' the trippie. Great pics!

 

[JoBird]

YAY!!!!!!!

"Shel's got a trip report, Shel's got a trip report!!!"

Love it!!!

I am really having a hard time down here in SC, knowing I'm thisclosetoDisney and I am not getting a trip out of it.

Heading home Sunday. Can't wait to read it all. Your pics are helping with my withdrawal.



and ,


Jo

 

[rlduvall]

Great trip report. Can't wait to hear the rest. I have an 8 year old son and I love seeing all the things little boys enjoy.

 

[huggiebear23]

Great Trip report and pics, My fellow Mayer!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MousekaMaddi]

super job, great reading!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

to Mari, Sulley, JO, & Huggie !! My fellow MAYers

I got to missing Disney and thought it was a good time to start a trip report!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

ReneeDisney !! I just finished reading your TR! Very nice. What a cute couple you are. Congratulations on the baby!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

rlduvall & Mousekamaddi !!

Thanks for reading, glad you are enjoying it!

 

[ReneeDisney]

ReneeDisney !! I just finished reading your TR! Very nice. What a cute couple you are. Congratulations on the baby!

Thanks for reading and you well wishes!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Okay, where was I. . . Ah yes, MGM
After the Backlot Tour we needed to get to Hollywood & Vine for our 5:00 ADR - Fantasmic package. Got there right at 5:00 and checked in.

We were called and seated about 10 minutes later. We had a very nice older gentleman for a waiter. The food is a buffet. It was just okay. Nothing great. We ate our dinner and got our voucher for Fantasmic seating and were on our way! We still had a few of those fastpasses left, so you know where I was headed - RNRC!! DS 8 & I took another spin on that!! Very cool! Then it started to sprinkle a little and then rain a bit. Nothing major. We just ducked into some shops for awhile. I was worried it would rain harder and Fantasmic would be cancelled. It was calling for thunderstorms everyday we were there, but we didn't even get one! The kids bought some pirate swords and we got a couple little souveniers. By the time we went back out it had stopped raining. It had cooled off a bit too. I was in a tank top and was a little chilly! Next we went to the Disney Animation Tour. Very nice. I wanted to do the Voyage of the Little Mermaid, but the boys weren't interested. Maybe next time! So we just went and sat near the big hat and I got out the glow necklaces I had gotten for the kids at the dollar store before we left. They put those on and really wanted to play with their new swords. So we let them get them out and they had the best time. And we got to sit there and rest!
We were to be at the Fantasmic entrance by Oscars around 8:15, so we started to slowly head that way. Went in and were seated in the reserved section on the right. As we sat there awhile I realized that there were still people coming into the stadium on the left and there were plenty of seats. So the Fantasmic dinner voucher wasn't really necessary on this particular evening. Oh well, better to be safe than sorry! Right at 9:00 the show started. The kids were speechless!! They just loved it. Very cool!

As soon as it was over we ran to the bus stop and got right on the bus! Got back to POFQ in no time and made a stop at the resort gift shop. DS 8 got a Disney character playset and DS 5 1/2 got a Peter Pan character playset. Went back to the room and played with those awhile and went to bed.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Day 6 - Friday May 18th - Animal Kingdom

Today would be our last day in the parks. And a short one at that. We only had a handfull of things we wanted to do and see at AK. We got up at 7:00 to catch the AK bus around 8:00. Got to AK by 8:30 and lined up! Were let in at 8:45 and then stopped by the rope! Some of the characters rode by singing and dancing, couldn't really see too well though. So we anxiously awaited rope drop and had a plan. We had a character breakfast at Donald's Breakfastosauras at 10:00. That way DS 8 & I would have time to ride Expedition Everest before the line got huge. I told DH & DS 5 1/2 to go to Dinosaur and get some fastpasses and we would meet them there after we rode EE. Okay it's 9:00 and we are on our way!! DS 8 & I are running for EE, along with many, many other people. We made pretty good time. Got there and waited maybe 10 minutes. Great ride!! It ranks right up there with RNRC and SMtn!!

So now we head for Dinosaur to meet up with DH & DS 5 1/2. They are standing there with nothing in their hands. . . So I say - where are the fastpasses??? DH says the fastpass machines aren't opened, there's no wait! No wait for Dinosaur??? Awesome! So we all go on it together. A first for DH & DS 5 1/2. They say they like it, but aren't really interested in riding it again. Of course in the picture they take of you on the ride DS 5 1/2 is covering his face. But says he wasn't scared!

So now it's only about 9:35. Everybody is hungry, so we head for our breakfast a bit early. And they get us right in!! Very nice buffet. Not as good as Crystal Palace, but still very good. And the characters are great! Donald, Mickey, Goofy, and Pluto all came by the table! This was the first time the boys got to meet Donald!

After breakfast we went to Camp Minnie Mickey in hopes that Minnie would be there. And she was! Her line was the longest, but still only waited about 15 minutes. DS 5 1/2 finally got to meet Minnie!! He was very quiet, but all smiles. I think the safari outfit threw him off a bit. He was expecting her to have on her red & white dress.

Now we were headed for Kilamanjaro Safari! We didn't get to ride this on our previous trip to WDW because the wait time was like 70 minutes. So we make our way there and wait time says 40 minutes. Since it was the last thing we wanted to do at AK we got in line. Actual wait time - 20 minutes!! Very neat safari!

I would have liked to have seen the new Nemo Musical, but no one else was really interested. Maybe next time! Boy, that list for next time is getting pretty long!! So we got a frozen lemonade and started to slowly head for the exit. Stopped at a few shops along the way and were on the bus by 12:30.

More later on our last evening at Disney. . .

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

When we got back to the resort DH & I were a little tired for some reason, I think we were starting to realize that we were going home tomorrow and the depression was setting in. So we decided to lay down and rest a bit. The kids weren't interested in that at all! They wanted to play with their pirate swords!! So we let them step out in front of our room and fight with the swords, and of course they wore their eye patches! We had a corner room so we had 2 windows and we left the door propped open a little so we could hear them too. People would walk by and laugh at them and tell them they were just like real pirates! They just had the best time!!

By about mid-afternoon we were getting a little bored so we decided to take a strool around the resort grounds. Well that took about 20 minutes! POFQ is very small. Very nice, but very small.

Our last ADR was at tonight 5:00 at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary. So we started getting ready. We headed out at about 3:30. We were going to catch either the MK bus or the Epcot bus, whichever one pulled up first so we could transfer to the monorail. The MK bus came first so we got on and were on our way! The bus was pretty empty this time of day and the bus was playing some Country Bears songs. It was an enjoyable ride!

We boarded the monorail and made our way to the Contemporary.

Very nice resort. It would be DH's choice if we are ever fortunate enough to stay at a Deluxe resort! (I would pick the Poly!) We went in and explored the resort a little. Thought maybe we could check in early and went to try, but they don't open until 5:00 and there wasn't anyone there yet! So we explored a bit more and went to check out their gift shop. We were waiting until the last day to pick out our Disney shirts, so we would make sure to see all the choices. They had a lot of them, so we each got a shirt there. They kids got a few little toys with what money they had left at this point! At about 4:40 we headed back to Chef Mickey's and there was a line of people waiting to check in. We made our way to the front and checked in and waited about 10 minutes and were seated.

The kids were excited as soon as they saw that sundae bar! So was I!! Our waitress came soon after to take our drink orders. She was great! She even took our camera and took our family picture without us even asking. It is one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip!

Then she informed us which characters were going to be there. I wasn't really paying attention because I already knew that it was going to be Mickey, Goofy, Pluto and Donald. So she runs through that list and then says - AND MINNIE!! DS 5 1/2 was very, very happy!! The characters weren't out yet, so we headed for the buffet. A very nice dinner buffet. Lots of choices. Very good food. Will definitely go there again! Then the characters started to make their rounds. Pluto somehow missed our table, but that was okay, we had seen him many times already. We were more concerned with Minnie!

Finally Minnie makes her way to our table. She's in her red & white dress!! We told DS 5 1/2 to talk to her this time. So he says - "I have a Minnie and she looks just like you, but she is a stuffed animal and I sleep with her every night!" How cute! And of course Minnie doesn't talk, but she gestures her hands in front of her mouth like she is surprised and happy and then gives him a big hug! It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it!!

I told DH I feel like I'm in one of those credit card commercials: Flight to WDW - $600, WDW Park tickets - $700, Hotel at WDW - $1000, watching DS with Minnie - PRICELESS!!!!!

At this point we had 12 snack credits left on the DDP. There was no way we were going to let them go to waste! So we caught a bus from the Contemporary to DTD. Yes, our third trip to DTD!! We went to Goofy's Candy Co. again and got some snacks & candy to take home with us. The kids thought that was just great being able to pick out whatever they wanted! (anything under $4 is included on the DDP) We got some more of the dipped pretzel rods, a giant Mickey sucker, Chip & Dales peanuts, Mickey head rice krispie treats dipped in chocolate, chocolate coins, etc. After we came out of the candy store it really felt like it could rain any second so we headed for the bus stop. Got on the bus and it just poured. The first really hard rain we had seen all week. It was still raining when we got back to POFQ, so we ran back to our room. It rained for maybe an hour and that was it!
We stayed at the resort the rest of the evening and packed and got things ready for morning, as Magical Express was picking us up at 6:10AM for our 8:55AM flight home.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Day 7 - Saturday May 19th - Going home

Up at 5:00AM to catch the Magical Express bus at 6:10AM. The bus came right on time. It made stops at about 3 other resorts and then onto the airport. Had some time to waste at the airport so of course I went into the Disney store. Got a very cute Mickey head cookie cutter! Stuffed it in one of our already bulging suitcases and proceeded through security. Got to our gate and they had already begun loading the plane. Had a smooth flight back to Pittsburgh in about 2 hours.

Overall May is a very nice time to go to WDW. Temps in the mid 80's and wait times right around 10-15 minutes. Plus the flower and garden festival is going on in May! On our last trip it was the first week of October and it was much hotter and much busier. Since we've gotten back we have talked about going next May, after all it will be our 10th anniversary! But have decided that we better wait a little longer to go. That way we will be more ready financially! We were kicking around the idea of Dec. 2008, but I think we have decided on Jan. 2009. (for now!) Looking forward to cooler weather and even lesser crowds!

POFQ was a nice resort. What we liked about it was the size, it is small, only one bus stop, and you really couldn't be put in a bad building. Everything was close to everything! And the pool is really nice. What we didn't like about it was that it just seemed to lack the Disney magic. Not sure how to explain it. . . Just didn't seem to be much going on there, not much to see. A little boring I guess. And the food court was just okay. We really liked the CBR much better. We are planning on trying Coronado Springs next time. Although we are tempted to go back to CBR. Or have even thought about trying a value and getting 2 adjoining rooms so we could have 4 beds, 2 tv's and 2 bathrooms. Pricing it out that would only be a little more than one room at a moderate. But something tells me we will try CSR.

I closing, I would like to thank all my readers!! I hope that you have enjoyed my TR and that I have helped you in planning your trip in some way!

ONLY 18 MONTHS UNTIL JANUARY 2009!!!!!

Have a magical day!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Here are my dining reviews from this trip! I will rate them on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best. Ratings are based on an overall experience, not just the food.

Table Service:

Garden Grille 3
Coral Reef 4
Crystal Palace 4
Hollywood & Vine 2
Breakfastosauras 4
Chef Mickey's 5


Counter Service:

Wolfgang Puck Express 4
POFQ food court 3
Sunshine Seasons 3
Casey's Corner 5


Snacks:

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor 5
Dole Whips 5
Goofy's Candy Co. 5


Still unsure if the DDP is for us. We paid $600 for it for 6 nights/7 days. All the food we ate would have cost us $875. But had we not had the plan we wouldn't have gone to all those places, and definitely wouldn't have gone to 4 character meals. It sure was nice for the convenience and not having to carry much cash. And it was nice to be able to see all those characters without having to stand in line forever! Probably will do the DDP next time since the kids will still be considered kids by Disney. After that, certainly will not pay the adult price for a 10 year old picky eater!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

 

[mari360]

GREAT TRIP REPORT..... I finally just finished it.

Just reading you report makes me want to jump on plane and go to disney. I miss it.....

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

Thanks Mari! I know, I miss Disney SO MUCH too!

I look at our pictures almost everyday and come back here and read my TR a lot too!!

Now I'm thinking that there is just no way I can wait until 2009 to go back. So I think I've talked DH into next May again!! Now I just need to come up with the funds to get us there!

 

[lklasing]

Hi Shelly - I stumbled on your TR just today and read the whole thing. I'm so glad you had a great time. I was particularly interested in your report because we are going back late next May and, depending on a lot of variables, will be staying at either WL, FW cabin, or POFQ. I know you said that POFQ was lacking something - some Disney magic somehow. Do you have any other thoughts about the resort? The size really appeals to me for this particular trip. How did you find the busses? Was it a big inconvenience to have to stop at POR each time? Any other words of wisdom?

Thanks!

Leslie

PS - You said you loved the Poly - it's where we have stayed the past two trips and it is just as wonderful as you think it is.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey there!

I found your report today and read the whole thing. You have such a lovely family and you look like you had such a fun time together. Your sons encounter with Minnie at Chef Mickey's sounds so cute! I hope that your next trip is just as magical and filled with lots of