sarobison
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 13, 2007
- Messages
- 146
Let's start by introducing the trippers:
That's the family. We started our trip on Friday afternoon, driving down from NC to Orlando. We stayed at an off-site hotel on I-Drive (which we won't do again for a variety of reasons) mainly b/c we wouldn't be getting in until after midnight. The drive went well, the boys had toy boxes that kept them occupied until they went to sleep.
DW was up first Sat am AND SHE LET US SLEEP IN! I was mildly upset b/c I didn't want to rush to be at MK (why start elsewhere?) but we made it to CBR and got our keys to the world and drove over to the TTC. Since it doesn't cost us anything to park as Dis Resort guests we drive to several places instead of waiting on the buses. Took the monorail around the lake and made it in time for the official opening of the park. Since DS 4 isn't tall enough for Space Mtn we decided to "head left" (I know that's what some tour guides say to do anyway, personally I have success going both ways) and start with Splash Mtn. This turned out to be a big mistake, but not b/c of any lines, etc. We knew that JM might be a little freaked out by the drop but hey, you gotta start somewhere right? He made it through okay, a little upset but he said he liked it, not enough to ride it again, but he liked it. We thought "Give him a day or so and he'll be begging to get back on." Boy would he prove us wrong......
We followed Splash with Pirates, again JM made it through but was a little scared by the drop in the dark. Afterwards we pretty much went where there were no lines or where we could fit in a ride while waiting for FP's. We rode Peter Pan, Pooh, Small World, Indy Speedway (cool for the kids), Buzz (twice I think, we rode it several more times on return trips, this was JM's favorite ride by far, incidentally I like it too, probably b/c I always outscore anybody else with me and usually can break 200,000 with no problem), and visited several of the stores. We didn't wait in line longer than 15 minutes for anything. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's (check the dining review for more when I do that, DW and I shared, each DS got their own, so 3 CS on DDP). We also got Coke floats at the ice cream shop on our way out (2 snacks on DDP).
We ended up leaving the park about 1:30, thinking our room would be ready at CBR, WRONG. We called while on the monorail back to the TTC and were told it would be 3:00 so we decided to go to DTD for a little shopping.
The World of Disney store at DTD was packed, I mean like sardines in a can. You could barely walk through the store. We spent an hour or so walking around and back and forth across the store, finally getting the boys autograph books and pirate hats (for the P&P party Wednesday).
We finally got into our rooms at Trinidad South (DW wanted something "quiet", well we got it....) on the ground floor. Apparently since WDW resorts are now smoke free everyone sits in the courtyard and smokes. This leads to the ground floor rooms smelling like smoke when you open the door. I thought about complaining and asking for another room but with two kids it was nice having a ground floor room.
Everyone went swimming in the village pool for a while before we got ready for dinner at Boma (dining review). After dinner we went to Epcot for a few hours before heading off to bed. Apparently since Future World closes at 7pm everyone thinks that Nemo and Crush close as well, bad for them, GREAT FOR US! We got to ride Nemo (which I think is neat, if simple) with absolutely no line and we spent an hour or so in the other areas around the aquarium in addition to Turtle Talk. If you haven't done Turtle Talk then it is a must with kids! Munchkin got to ask Crush a question, he thought it was cool to get to talk to him!
Well, that pretty much sums up day 1. More later, gotta start on the dining report. I'll add pictures eventually....
Me- Dad, Mid 20's, planned the trip, convinced DW it would be fun, like 10th or 12th trip
DW- Mid 20's, loving, caring, does need alone time occassionally, GP's live outside ORL so has been numerous times
DS 4- just turned 4, tall enough to ride most stuff, sometimes needs pm naps, first trip, hereafter "Jr Munchkin or JM"- DS 7- uber-smart, observant, tends to overthink stuff, 2nd trip, hereafter "Munchkin or just M"
That's the family. We started our trip on Friday afternoon, driving down from NC to Orlando. We stayed at an off-site hotel on I-Drive (which we won't do again for a variety of reasons) mainly b/c we wouldn't be getting in until after midnight. The drive went well, the boys had toy boxes that kept them occupied until they went to sleep.
DW was up first Sat am AND SHE LET US SLEEP IN! I was mildly upset b/c I didn't want to rush to be at MK (why start elsewhere?) but we made it to CBR and got our keys to the world and drove over to the TTC. Since it doesn't cost us anything to park as Dis Resort guests we drive to several places instead of waiting on the buses. Took the monorail around the lake and made it in time for the official opening of the park. Since DS 4 isn't tall enough for Space Mtn we decided to "head left" (I know that's what some tour guides say to do anyway, personally I have success going both ways) and start with Splash Mtn. This turned out to be a big mistake, but not b/c of any lines, etc. We knew that JM might be a little freaked out by the drop but hey, you gotta start somewhere right? He made it through okay, a little upset but he said he liked it, not enough to ride it again, but he liked it. We thought "Give him a day or so and he'll be begging to get back on." Boy would he prove us wrong......
We followed Splash with Pirates, again JM made it through but was a little scared by the drop in the dark. Afterwards we pretty much went where there were no lines or where we could fit in a ride while waiting for FP's. We rode Peter Pan, Pooh, Small World, Indy Speedway (cool for the kids), Buzz (twice I think, we rode it several more times on return trips, this was JM's favorite ride by far, incidentally I like it too, probably b/c I always outscore anybody else with me and usually can break 200,000 with no problem), and visited several of the stores. We didn't wait in line longer than 15 minutes for anything. We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's (check the dining review for more when I do that, DW and I shared, each DS got their own, so 3 CS on DDP). We also got Coke floats at the ice cream shop on our way out (2 snacks on DDP).
We ended up leaving the park about 1:30, thinking our room would be ready at CBR, WRONG. We called while on the monorail back to the TTC and were told it would be 3:00 so we decided to go to DTD for a little shopping.
The World of Disney store at DTD was packed, I mean like sardines in a can. You could barely walk through the store. We spent an hour or so walking around and back and forth across the store, finally getting the boys autograph books and pirate hats (for the P&P party Wednesday).
We finally got into our rooms at Trinidad South (DW wanted something "quiet", well we got it....) on the ground floor. Apparently since WDW resorts are now smoke free everyone sits in the courtyard and smokes. This leads to the ground floor rooms smelling like smoke when you open the door. I thought about complaining and asking for another room but with two kids it was nice having a ground floor room.
Everyone went swimming in the village pool for a while before we got ready for dinner at Boma (dining review). After dinner we went to Epcot for a few hours before heading off to bed. Apparently since Future World closes at 7pm everyone thinks that Nemo and Crush close as well, bad for them, GREAT FOR US! We got to ride Nemo (which I think is neat, if simple) with absolutely no line and we spent an hour or so in the other areas around the aquarium in addition to Turtle Talk. If you haven't done Turtle Talk then it is a must with kids! Munchkin got to ask Crush a question, he thought it was cool to get to talk to him!
Well, that pretty much sums up day 1. More later, gotta start on the dining report. I'll add pictures eventually....
