Me,my Man and a Mouse....

[kvogel11202]

A little background- My husband and I have been married almost 5 years and we have 3 children, a daughter 13, and two sons 11 and 8. We usually travel to Disney with my parents and various other people. Our last trip was in October for the Halloween party. I am addicted to Disney World and am constantly trying to come up with ways to go back!


Ok, so this trip was a kind of last minute “I need a Disney fix” trip that I talked my husband into, though it didn’t take much convincing! Now, our last couple trips we have stayed at the Yacht Club, our only other Disney Resort experience was the Port Orleans Riverside, which we enjoyed. This time we were trying to not break the bank, since I have another Disney trip in September with my cousin, and that one includes the Beach Club. I looked and settled on the All Star Sports for our trip. Booked it, bought our airline tickets from Southwest (another first) and had my annual pass voucher in hand. My husband opted to get the 3 day PH pass. Before you knew we were off.


My brother dropped us off at the airport in Manchester NH for our 8:40 flight. Right. Due to severe storms in Orlando we actually ended up leaving about 9:40. We hit Orlando around 12:40, go to baggage claim and pick up our luggage, head to the Magical Express station. We were escorted to our bus by a very nice Disney employee, and on we went. We waited a bit for others to show up, no big deal, we were off that plane; we would soon be at our resort. It ended up we had 6 different resorts to visit before we got dropped off. This was totally understandable as it was very late at night, but I was pretty cranky at this point and at the time was aggravated. We were the second to last drop off, and by the time we arrived at the hotel it was almost 1:30 in the morning. We checked in at the front desk, were told the computers were down so if we wanted to put a credit card down for charging we would have to come back in the morning. We were given a map, and told where our room was, Hoops Building 3 room 3206. Unfortunately they failed to give us any park hours or a sherpa to help us find our room. We took the long trek and upon reaching our room quickly changed our clothes and went to sleep, after all, tomorrow is another day!

Day One

We awoke at about 8:30 and realized we were not going to make our 9:00 Kona Café ressie, so a quick call to Disney Dining and that ressie was cancelled. We showered and dressed and headed to the food court for a quick bite. My husband got a sausage egg and bacon croissant and I got the Mickey waffle with bacon, he had juice and I had a coffee. I used my Disney Dining Experience card and saved some cash- SCORE! After breakfast we head to MGM to ride ToT and RNRC. Once we arrive I realize I forgot it was Star Wars weekend, a fact my husband was very happy to discover. We went and FP ToT , and RNRC was down, as it would be all day, so we wandered over to the Star Wars area, and got in line to get our picture with Jedi Mickey. While in line we watched the Jedi Training Academy (at least that’s what I think it was) and marveled at how many people were dressed up – I mean it was high 80’s to low 90’s and people were in these big heavy costumes. How did they not melt? All in all we thought it was a pretty cool event, and might plan to return again. After that we went towards ToT, stopping in at the Magic of Disney Animation. We had not done this attraction in some time, as it isn’t something to hold the kiddies attention, but it was a nice little show. Afterwards we did the “Which Disney character are you?” I was Belle, my hubby was Jafar. After that we meandered over to ToT to use our FP. There is always that moment when the vehicle enters the elevator shaft that I have a second where I think- I don’t want do this anymore. Once we start the drop I’m fine, it’s just that moment! My husband decides he would like to head over to Jabba’s Hut to get the Star Wars weekend pins for the kids. On our way he spots the Chronicles of Narnia walk through, and since they are starting a show in we go. We see the show and head towards Jabbas Hut right up the street. It was interesting how they had this set up- they hand you a sheet for the limited merchandise and you follow a que through (although most people kind of ignored that) and at the end you pay a cashier. Since we had already gotten the boys t-shirts on our earlier cruise through at Tatouine (no idea if that is spelled correctly) Traders we just got the pins. After that we were pretty done with MGM, since we had only really planned to spend about an hour there! It was time to think about lunch- and again I had to call and cancel our ressie at Crystal Palace since it wasn’t until 3:30 and we were starving at 12:00. We hopped a bus to Saratoga Springs, since my folks had just come back from a trip to the World and they bought points at SSR, so we have a 2 bedroom villa reserved for next April. The resort itself was very pretty, nicely landscaped. We walked over to the main building, walked through to take a boat to Downtown Disney. We waited for a boat, there were about 40 people in line with us. A boat pulls up, unloads some people. The driver says he can’t pick up, only drop off, but the boat we need will be coming from the other direction in a few minutes. Ok. Off he goes. True to his word another boat pulls up, mostly full from the OKW resort stop he made. He tells us he can take 10 people max, the rest of us can either wait for the next boat (the previously departed boat that couldn’t pick us up) which will be back in about 30 minutes, although most likely it will be mostly full like his, or we can take a walk to the path, or the bus. One woman points out she had already waited over an hour for bus, and none came. He again suggests walking. Off we go. And we walked and we walked. And we walked some more. We finally found the path that takes you out to the main road and around to where the busses let you off for the Marketplace! It had now taken us an hour and forty five minutes to get from SSR to DTD. We were hot, and we were hungry. We stopped in at the first place we came to- Cap’n Jacks. They seated us immediately. I ordered up a big tall glass of water with lemon, my husband got a lemonade. I ordered the chicken sandwich, he a portobello mushroom sandwich. I finished up my meal with a blue glowtini, purely to get the glowcube for the kids. The food was tasty and the service was given with a smile. We again used the DDE card. After that we went to World of Disney where I had purchased a Mickey martini shaker for my parents, and the home goods place (no idea what the name was) for Mickey martini glasses, two for the lady I work with who is retiring, and four to replace the ones my father smashed while washing dishes just before we left! We stopped and had a Hot Fudge sundae at Ghirardelli’s then grabbed a couple of margaritas at the stand near the marina. It was time to head to the resort and drop off our bags. We planned to freshen up and head out to the MK, since it was open for EMH that night. We hiked to our room, put down our stuff, and promptly fell asleep. We awoke about 4:30, and groggily headed out to the bus stop. Our first stop at the MK was Splash Mountain for FP’s, our return time was 10:25 -11:00. It took me some time to figure out that the park closed at 11:00 to non resort guests, that’s why no full hour return window! We decided to backtrack and do Pirates of the Caribbean, then head to It’s a Small World. We got off IASW and opted to hit Pinocchio’s Village Haus for dinner. This was a new place for us. I got the Figaro Fries, my husband the Turkey panini with fries. We both had cokes to drink. Partway through dinner my husband declares he must have contracted malaria during our IASW cruise, because he feels not well. He heads off to the bathroom; I make a quick call home to check on the kids. Upon his return he states he feels much better. We walked over to Mickeys Philharmagic and it’s pretty much a walk right in! On our way in the door the fellow directing us notices my hubby’s Red Sox hat and tells us he’s from New Hampshire, Go Sox! I like this movie, it may be my favorite. I especially like the song choices. We walked out and it was close to time for the fireworks, so we wander over to Tomorrow land to get a spot. I managed to get a pretty good spot. We stand there for a few minutes, and next thing you know a woman comes along with her whole family and stands right in front of us. Not a little ways up so you can still see the fireworks in the sky, but literally her husbands head was so close to my face that’s all I could see. And shockingly enough they were all talking to each other- not in English! I politely asked the man to move forward or to the side so I could see. I was much nicer than I wanted to be. He no sooner moves than the daughter fills in his spot. She was so close she was literally standing on my toes. I tapped her on the shoulder lightly- I wasn’t trying to be insulting, and ask her to move as well. I got a WHOLE lot of attitude back, and it was hard to not shove her out of my way. I think the look I gave her was sufficient, because she moved pretty quickly. My husband is laughing through the whole mess, since when most husbands might step in to help, he knows there is no need at all. Once the fireworks started and Tinkerbell flew we decide to head towards Splash Mountain since our FP time will be coming up. Slowly strolling our way through Fantasyland we hit Splash Mountain a little early, so we wander the gift shop, then head in. We are still getting used to saying “2” when asked how many- usually we are at least 7 ! Since my husband’s case of IASW malaria was still acting up we ride BTMR and head for the exit. However we notice there is no wait for POTC , so we HAVE to ride. We ended up with our own boat! We dubbed it the love boat. Then we notice there is hardly any wait for Jungle Cruise, so of course we ride. Then it’s time for a Dole Whip. OK, now we are REALLY heading out! There weren’t too many people at the bus stop for ASSp, we figure maybe one or two busses and we’ll be on. Sure enough the first bus comes and fills up so that we are now second in line. Whew—we should end up with a seat. Now, at ASMu there is a huge line, and there has been no bus. So when our second bus showed up apparently the other line started to boo. I felt bad until a man from the other line came over and was screaming at the poor bus driver, who I give credit to, she told him not to scream at her. It was just so odd. As we were leaving we saw security flocking around this man and his family. What a magical memory for those kids. We decide on the bus ride back that we are not enjoying our value resort stay. It’s just not for us. We load up the camels and begin our long nomadic trek to our room where we promptly fall asleep.

That's it for day one- I'll post day two soon.

 

[DisneyDadFaNaTic]

Holy Cow! MGM on a Star Wars day! I bet the crowds were insane! You both must be patient people!

I can't wait to read more!

 

[kvogel11202]

It actually wasn't too bad- while it was heavy traffic right around Star Tours the rest of the park was pretty bare. It was a lot of fun though.

 

[kvogel11202]

Day 2

Awaking slightly refreshed for our day at Epcot I hop in the shower, then it’s my husbands turn. We decide to head to Epcot, since it’s already 9:15 and we want to FP Soarin’. Out to the bus we head, hop on the Epcot bus and notice that clock says it’s 8:32. Hey, wait a minute. Our clock in our room is 1 hour off! AAAHHHH! (we could have made that Kona Café ressie yesterday!)We get to Epcot and head in. Straight to The Land, FP Soarin’ for 10:32-11:32, then walk over to Living with the Land . After we ride here we had a pastry and some coffee at Sunshine Seasons food court while we wait for our FP window. We get into line for Soarin’ and I’m all set to ask for the first row, but it turned out I didn’t need to. I asked hubby if he was interested in any other Future World attractions, but he wasn’t so we went off to World Showcase. We wandered slowly through Canada, went to see the movie which we had never seen. I enjoyed the movie, but when they showed the grand resort in the mountains, was there an American flag flying over it? Or am I crazy? Maybe both? Regardless- it was a nice movie and I was glad to finally see it. We headed to the UK, and the street performers were out so we stopped to watch, but after a few minutes I decided I needed a frosty beverage so we thought it would be nice to try the “adult” slushes in France. Sadly, the slushes were not ready yet, we’d have to wait until after lunch! Since we were having lunch at Chefs de France we hung out there checking out the shops. Once it was close to 12:00 we checked in and sat outside the door, occasionally catching a nice breeze of air-conditioning from inside. Now, what we found funny was people were coming up to the podium to see about getting seated or whatnot, and they were speaking so fast that the poor girl couldn’t understand them, and they were getting upset with her like she was stupid or something! People, she’s French, English is not her first language and you are speed talking with a southern drawl! I didn’t understand half of what was being said- and I speak the same language! Cut the poor girl some slack! Our waiter was Manuel, he’s was very handsome, and did a great job waiting on us. I ordered the Kir Royal, Champagne and Black Current, my husband stuck with lemonade, although this was fancy french lemonade. For an appetizer we had Tarte a la Flamme Alsacienne - Alsace specialty - flat bread baked with creme fraiche, onion and bacon and for our entrees we had Gratin de Macaroni - Baked macaroni with cream and gruyere cheese andPlat de Cote de boeuf au cabernet sur un lit de polenta -
beef short ribs braised in cabernet on a bed of polenta and baby carrots . Since this was a french restaurant I expected small portions, boy was I wrong! I was so full I could not even finish! Throughout the meal I was playing a game with Manuel to see if I could finish my water before he could refill it- of course he had no idea it was a game, but he certainly won! I had no fears of dehydration after this meal! Of course we passed on dessert, as it was waiting right outside at the slushie stand. When we left the building there was a street performance going on, acrobats of a sort who piled up chairs and balanced on them. It was very impressive. We stopped to watch, then got our treats. I got the Grand Marnier Orange slush, and the hubster got the Grey Goose Lemon slush. Both were excellent, and we sat over in front of Morrocco to drink them. It was at this point we figure out we should wander around the World Showcase towards Canada, visit the two gift shops on the other side and come around past Mexico, since we are eating dinner in Morrocco! We found a PoTC towel to come back and purchase for our daughter and went to Mexico where we got to ride the new river ride. It was very cute with the 3 Caballeros, but I kind of missed the whole 70’s Love Boat visits Accapulco feel you used to get. After, we wandered out through the lobby and I saw the cutest little piece of artwork, it was a crab carved out of wood and painted in a very colorful way. I would have loved to buy it, but I could not think of one place to put it in my house where it didn’t chance getting broken! Oh well, maybe once my kids are a little older. Hubby decides he’d like a margarita, so we stopped at the stand and got the Fiesta- it has a layer of each flavor. As we sat in Norway, in front of the big Viking ship, we watched people go by. One particular group was coming through and the dad says “oh look, a Viking ship” to which the teenaged daughter immediately says “are in Spain now?” Of course we found that very funny, and commented on the Vikings “Conquistadors of the Sea”. There was a short wait for the Maelstrom ride so hopped in line. While on the ride I realized that the narrator on this ride sounds like the Jim Carey captain character from the “Series of Unfortunate Events” movie! Now we are laughing like loons …. This was probably the most fun we’ve had in Norway yet! From Norway it was on to China. Here we went through the exhibit hall and had some photopass pics taken in front of the terra cotta warriors. We wandered the shop for a bit, even caught a little bit of the acrobats here. My husband needed a bathroom break, so I sat outside and waited for him. While I was sitting there I saw a family mom, dad and two little girls. One of the little girls is crying, and mom says to dad that the girl lost her bag. The father starts yelling at this sobbing child that he asked if she wanted him to carry the bag, she wanted to and now she lost her souvenir, on and on. I felt so bad. I wanted to tell him, buddy she’s a kid, it’s Disney, she’s over stimulated, probably overtired. You are the parent, tell her you will carry the bag, she can have it back at the room. No, it’s easier to yell at an already sobbing child. Now, I’ve lost my patience with my children, I am a far from perfect parent, but I know going in that my kids are going to be overwhelmed at Disney. I plan around it. I know when they buy something we either ship it to the resort, or I carry it. My hubby comes out and we continue on. Next up is Germany, and the Mr feels like a pretzel. We grab one and sit at a table next to the door of the Biergarten so we can hear the Oompah band play. They are really fun! We did not really linger in Germany too long. We also bypassed Italy, as I wanted to head to the American pavilion to see the American Adventure show. I had never seen this one, but I loved it! My spouse on the other hand fell asleep. After a brief sojourn into what remains of Japan we found ourselves back at Morrocco. We spent some time wandering the marketplace, and I pointed out to my husband that I love the Moroccan lanterns that were hanging up. He is now determined that I will get one of them when we drive down in April. It makes him crazy that I don’t buy myself stuff while we are there, but I like to buy presents for other people, especially the kids. We had some time, so we hung out in the courtyard of the pavilion for a while. We were sitting around enjoying the day when this boy, maybe 11 or 12, came by and was obviously upset. He was followed shortly by a person I assume was his mother. Now I am expecting her to try and calm him down, maybe a hug or something of that sort. No, she sat down next to him and starts pinching the underside of his upper arm. Then came a couple smacks off the back of his head. And I don’t mean light taps. The kid is now in a totally defensive position. After a bit I said to my husband that if she laid one more hand on that child I was going to get security. Turns out her group was sitting right near us, and they must have heard me say that because as soon as I said that two others from the group joined them and tried to help the kid. At this point we thought maybe we could get in about ½ hour early for dinner, and sure enough we could! This meal our roles were reversed, my husband got a beer and I had a coke. He ordered the Shish kebabs and I got the chicken bastilla. He said he thought the kebobs were good, but he expected more spices. I like the chicken bastilla, and it was just enough after my HUGE lunch. After our meal we head for Future World via the friendship launch, purchase our daughter a Captain Jack beach towel, and head for the exit. As we are walking to the bus stop my DH mentions just how far we are walking, another strike against the All Stars. We end up arriving back at the resort about 8:00. Our plan was to bring my father in law some coffee, as he loved the Mickey coffee we got him last time, and I wanted to pick something up for the ladies at work. I ended up getting them each an antenna topper. I paid for these and realized we had a package to pick up as well. Heres where the resort really shone. I mentioned to the young lady behind the counter about the package, and she says “Oh I don’t think I can get that for you.” I thought she was joking, until she started to ring up my DH. I again requested my package. She rolled her eyes at me and headed for the book to see if they had arrived. It had (after I pointed out my name to her) and she literally threw the pen at me to sign. It bounced off my chest. I kid you not. We finally head out to our room, just laughing at this point. This was absurd. We fell asleep probably about 9:30. At some point my brother called to let me know he checked us in online and we were in the A group for boarding. I vaguely remember this.

 

[betsywdw]

Count me in! Enjoying your TR

 

[kvogel11202]

Our plan for today is to check our luggage with Bell Services and head to the Animal Kingdom. We finish packing up and walk the million mile march to the lobby. Upon our arrival at the bell services desk the two people working the desk look at us and promptly go inside the luggage storage area. After about 5 minutes they finally came out and checked our bags. While we were waiting we notice about 6 other suitcases just laying about in front of the podium. I stood there and watched them take the bags inside. We got to the bus stop just as the bus pulled up. We were a lot quicker than I thought we’d be and ended up getting there before the park opened. Once inside we went to EE and got a FP, then wandered down to Dinosaur. There was really no wait, so we got right into the pre-show. As the preshow wrapped up we were told we had won YOMD Lanyard sets! Woohoo! We won Dream FP twice last visit! From Dinosaur we went and got some breakfast. I got an iced latte and cinnamon roll, hubby got a lemonade which we sat and ate in a small corner alcove, all by ourselves. It was nice. We had some time before our EE FP time so we walked the Maharaj Jungle Trek. We witnessed a man banging on the glass at the tiger viewing area, getting upset because the weren’t “doing anything”. I’m not sure what the tigers were supposed to do. While we were walking to EE the monkeys were screaming overhead. It was almost unnerving. There wasn’t a huge line for EE so FP line basically walked on. Now our plan was to go walk the Pangani Trail, then have some lunch, maybe watch a show. As we approached Africa we saw the Kilamanjaro Safari had a return window of 11:30-12:30, so we FP that and walked the trail. The Gorillas were out in full force, and the large silverback actually came right down to the glass. We still had some time before our FP so we ride the train to Conservation Station. On the train there was a family behind us, and the little girl was so cute, she asks her mom in this tiny little voice “Are there going to be T-rex on this ride too Mommy? “ Apparently someone had ridden Dinosaur! We didn’t stay long out there, and decided we’d ride the Safari and then actually head out. We thought we’d head to the Boardwalk and eat lunch at the Big River Grille. This was probably the best safari ride we’d been on. We saw so many different animals, baby giraffes, baby elephants (even one cutie playing in the water) and right in front of the Lion area an Ostrich walked out into the road and proceeded to walk right up the middle of the road as we slowly followed behind. Very cool. We stopped at Island Mercantile on the way out and got my mother in law a new KS fanny pack for her to use on our trip together in November. I also got my sis in law a Pirate Mickey plush. Again we score as the Boarwalk bus was sitting there waiting when we got to the stop. Since the bus was slated to go around the whole Epcot resort area I decide that we should get off at the Swan and just walk- it’s actually faster! As soon as we got to the Boardwalk my husband declared “I just feel better being here”. I had to agree. It was so much more relaxing and peaceful. Not that there were fewer children or anything, they were just quieter, the parents too. We were seated right away at Big River Grille. We placed our orders, a Pomegranate Mojito, beer cheese soup for an app and pulled pork sandwich for my entrée, DH had a Coke, chips and salsa, and also the pulled pork sandwich. Everything was very good and we cleaned our plates. We slowly wandered the Boardwalk, then took the boat over to the Yacht Club. I wanted to see if the had the PoTC pin case I had seen at Downtown Disney, and also I had seen people with a clip on bottle holder shaped like a Mickey head. We walked into the Yacht Club, and it was like coming home. People were smiling at us, we were asked how our day was going, it was wonderful. In the gift shop we found exactly what we were looking for. When the cashier rang us up she smiled, talked about the weather in the northeast, as she was from Pennsylvania, and was just so pleasant. Didn’t throw anything at us. Once our purchase was complete we went to the Crews Cup for a drink, and the bartender gave us a HUGE smile and greeted us warmly. We ordered drinks, me a Blue Glowtini and DH a mojito. Since I know had two glowcubes I had to have another since there were three children at home, and all parents know, you can’t come home short! While we were sitting there a woman came in and asked if he could make her a tea. He stated that he couldn’t there, but if she could wait a moment he would go get her some, and that he did. See, that’s what we are looking for on vacation- service with a smile. All in all we spent 3 ½ hours hanging out a the Yacht Club before heading back to the All Star Sports to catch our ME bus to the airport.

Wrap-up – for a quick weekend trip we certainly did more than I had anticipated! We gave the value resorts a try, and they just aren’t for us. To me (and therefore, my hubby) it really is worth the extra money to stay at a Deluxe resort. We found at the value that the staff was less than friendly, very unwilling to assist the guests, and most importantly, we enjoy a nice relaxing break midday, and there really wasn’t any place to relax except the room. The pool was crowded and loud and in no way inviting, and the only other place to go was the food court. I guess everything is relative, and this is just my opinion. Next trip is in September at the Beach Club, then my MIL and I are bringing my 12 year old son down as his birthday gift. We had planned to just stay value, but my husband has decided he will help us pay for a deluxe. We enjoyed our time at Disney without the kids, and I highly recommend this to any parents out there thinking of going alone. It was a whole different trip without our babies. I did miss them, but I will go again without them!