mic_key_mouse's trip report, err...outline report

[mic_key_mouse]

Cast: Me and my two boys, ages 12 &13

Sat. 6/5: Off the plane at 3 PM (used frequent flyer miles for tix) and went to Emerald Isle to get car- rate of $260.00 (total) for 2 weeks, midsize. Used a code from mousesavers.com for Mastercard Priceless Vacations. Got to POP (see resort thread for my review of POP), checked in and went for groceries at Publix and lunch at Wendys. Returned to the room and unpacked and swam a while, checked out the resort, got refillable mugs- then had dinner at WCC (see review in dining thread).

Sun. 6/6: Bfast in room, Epcot at opening (last day of Flower and Garden Festival), did TT, MS, Living Seas, and part of WS. Checked out the flowers a bit, did some pin trading/ buying then headed to Pagoda Chinese Buffet (terrible food and way overpriced for lunch- avoid). Went to TL around 2:30 and stayed till closing. Ate dinner at Wendy’s/Subway and rested in during the evening.

Mon 6/7: Bfast in room, AK EMH. Won’t ever do this again- too few attractions open for too many resort guests. Some of the longest waits I had during the 2 weeks were during EMH here. Primeval Whirl was having technical difficulties. We did safari twice, dinosaur, the forest trail, some pin trading/buying- ate lunch at Pizzafari and left for swim/nap. The AK coupon for food/ ice cream/ water is a good deal- buy it. Went to MK for PS at LTT at 8- waited about 30 min to be seated- not too bad. Food was very good (see review on restaurant boards) and characters were great- will do again (my oldest was having a bday- they did something nice for him, too). Spectros were cancelled due to thunderstorms, they did do Wishes around 10:30. We watched with a couple hundred other people in the park- was great. Did E ride night and rode and rode and rode with no waits- the storms cleared the parks. Home around 3 AM.

Tues 6/8: Slept till noon or so, went to Macaroni Grill at Crossroads (one of my favorite offsite places) for lunch, stopped at DTD for some pins/shopping and Ghiradelli sundaes, then went to TL again and closed the park. Rested in again that night.

Wed 6/9: EMH at MK- hit the stuff not open on E ride nights. Early lunch at Pecos Bills (great ‘fixins’ bar), then left for a swim/nap. Cirque at 6 PM, as usual a great show. Did E ride night afterwards at MK.

Thurs. 6/10: Slept in, then off to Epcot. Did TT (singles line) and headed to WS to see what we missed earlier. Around 3-4 PM it started to POUR and we got caught in it. Went home and chilled out, then did Illuminations Cruise with families of 2 fellow Disers (it FINALLY stopped raining around 8:30 PM)

Fri 6/11: Star Wars Weekend at MGM. Got there at 8:30 and the lines were huge. Managed to score some FP for ‘movie star’ autographs, then spent the day doing Star Wars stuff. The boys loved it- got pics with all the major characters, got Ltd. Ed. Pins, did ‘Star Wars’ millionaire, pics with Jedi Mickey. Ate lunch at ABC Commisary- long waits and food was mediocre. We had PS for H&V and Fantasmic but bailed after the parade because my youngest wasn’t feeling well. Grabbed some fast food for dinner and went to bed early.

Sat 6/12: Slept in till almost noon cause both boys needed some rest. I got up and did laundry and hung out, then we ate lunch at Macaroni Grill. Did DQ all afternoon, ate dinner at NY Chinese Buffet (very good- recommended) and went home for a swim then early to bed.

Sun 6/13: TL at 9 until around 11:30, then did Gospel Brunch at HOB (1 pm seating). Food was great and so was the music. We got pulled up on stage to sing- was a blast. Went to DQ for a few hours afterwards, then went back to POP and swam and hung out.

Mon. 6/14: Back to MGM at 9 AM to actually visit the park, since we did nothing there except Star Wars on Friday. Hit all the major attractions by midafternoon, ate at the Backlot (food just OK…) then went home to swim. Boys felt like resting in, so we just hung out.

Tues 6/15: AK for opening. Did all major attractions (except Safari), including 6 times in a row on Kali. Stayed until early afternoon, grabbed a fast food lunch, then hit DQ again. Stayed until 6ish, then went to Giordanos for dinner.

Wed 6/16: Slept in till around 10ish, then hit TL until 1 or so. Don’t ask- that is what the boys wanted to do. Grabbed lunch at Steak and Shake (just OK food…) then home for a swim, nap, and to get packed up. Went to MK for our 3rd E ride night. Saw Wishes and Spectro, ate at Columbia Harbor House (terrible food- I would avoid this place like the plague). Got home around 3 AM.

Thurs 6/17: Got up at 11 AM. Went to Epcot for a character lunch at GG (see review in dining forum), then did TT and MS a couple more times each. Back to DQ for an hour or so, then to Macaroni Grill for dinner and Ghiradelli’s for shakes and sundaes. Home early to finish packing and very early to bed.

Fri 6/18: Up at 4:30 AM for a 7 AM flight and home. Time to start planning next trip.

Plusses: Character meals were very good. Cirque and Gospel Brunch were outstanding. Feel like we got plenty of downtime. Boys got to pick what they wanted to do quite a bit, which included lots of swimming, going to TL lots of times, and doing DisneyQuest a lot.
No one got sick, no one got too much sun (used SPF 50 sunscreen), and we weren’t ready to come home until maybe Wednesday. No one got on each other’s nerves- we had a relaxing vacation.

Minuses: Food at WCC- yuck! Didn’t get to see Fantasmic- had plenty of opportunities, just didn’t work out. Didn’t eat at a lot of nice restaurants. I was a solo adult this time, so eating was on the fly a lot of the trip. Not enough time in Epcot- teenage boys just aren’t into it all that much, but we still saw pretty much everything there. EMH at AK (or any park for that matter)- don’t say I didn’t warn ya’.

I never write things down, so hopefully this is pretty accurate. I am happy to answer any questions.

Blessings.

 

[sk!mom]

The Gospel Brunch is one of my families favorites. My DH and DS19 went to 1:00 pm show on Sunday 6/6. Thanks for your report.

 

[mic_key_mouse]

I love the Gospel Bruch too sk!mom. One of the best kept secrets at WDW IMHO. Great food, reasonable prices, and excellent music.

Blessings

 

[jennymouse]

I enjoyed reading your report! We were at WDW 6/6-6/13 as well and I enjoyed see where our trips overlapped. We must've been at LLT at the same time on Monday 6/7 as our PS was at 7:35. We sloshed around MK in the rain that night but didn't do Enight until Friday 6/11. We didn't get to see Fantasmic this trip either as the night I had it scheduled, the group voted to stay in and swim at Stormalong Bay. The other night we tried to see it was Thursday night and it was raining so I knew it wouldn't be shown so we didn't even bother going to MGM.

 

[tinkerbeth]

THanks! I had to smile reading this - it will be a very different trip with one ds, 2!

Beth

 

[mic_key_mouse]

Hi Jenifer. The rain did kind of get in the way at times, didn't it? We tried very hard to ignore it- and were fortunate to have as many days as we did for added flexibility.

I hated to miss Fantasmic, but we saw Wishes twice and that is far and away the best fireworks display Disney has ever put on IMHO. When we saw Illuminations I was kind of 'let down'- it would have been interesting to see how I felt about Fantasmic after seeing Wishes. The whole experience with the Illuminations Cruise was great- but the show just didn't do it for me this time

I forgot to put in my report that the best thing Disney has done in years is Philharmagic (if you haven't seen it yet sit in the back as 3-D movies are better in the back row). We saw it 3 times and would have gone more if the boys hadn't vetoed it.

Beth, I don't envy you with a toddler. My kids have been there 5 times- and the early trips were definitely more difficult than these past couple of times. Take it in small doses and I am sure you will have a woonderful time. I love your signature, BTW

Blessings

 

[Minniespal]

Great report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[minmate]

Wow! You guys sure sounded like you had a great trip! You were able to do so much and still have a lot of down time! Just the kind of trip I'm looking forward to in a couple of years! I am savoring every minute of my children's young years, but I gotta admit, things like vacation have got to get a little easier as they get older... to hear all you were able to do and still have a good time and be a solo adult gives me encouragement that someday our trips will include fewer potty breaks and more relaxation! Glad you had a great time!

 

[mic_key_mouse]

Hi Minimate.

The single most important thing I have learned over the years is to stop looking at WDW as a bunch of theme parks, and instead look at it as a resort vacation.

My first trip with the kids was too 'touring intensive' (by the second I was beginning to learn what it was going to take to keep everyone rested and happy), and it wound up being a miserable trip for one or more of the people in our party most every day. Now, if someone looks tired or wants to go leave the parks (I check in often with how they are feeling) we throw the itinerary out the window and relax. The days of trying to fit everyone into what I think is best have gone out the window. Every opinion now has equal weight, and because of this it results in lots of down time and swimming.

Never again will I do WDW with a plan that isn't totally flexible. It just isn't worth the dissapointments of someone getting cranky, or an argument starting over something, or something coming up that throws a wrench in our plans. The 'magic' disappears real quick when someone isn't happy or over-tired. We spend just enough time in the parks to enjoy most of the attractions, then we 'get the heck out of Dodge'. That said, no attraction is worth someone not having a good time- I would rather stay home than tromp around the parks with someone being cranky. Some of our best memories from WDW happen outside the parks when we are relaxed and just enjoying our time together.

Blessings