RosieRosie
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 16, 2001
- Messages
- 144
Background: Im a single mother of a 15- year daughter. We had visited WDW last March for two weeks staying at Shades of Green. I wanted to see if I could visit again by myself (first time solo) and to see if it would be too hot during June to visit there in two years when hopefully my daughter and I will again go back. It was too hot and all future trips will be during spring break, March. Weve stayed at Shades of Green twice, a couple of the downtown Disney hotels and Caribbean Beach Resort. I was excited about staying at Port Orleans-Riverside after reading so many good things on this board about it.
Monday, 3 June
Arrived at Port Orleans-Riverside. It is a beautiful resort I loved having a food court and lounge where I would be able to sit and read the newspaper at my own pace. There is no food court at Shades of Green. I had asked for a room in the Alligator Bayou section, building 14, for the first three nights and Magnolia Bend for the last three nights. At checkout they told me to just come down when I wanted to move and request it. I thought it would be nice to stay in both types of rooms during one visit. Room 1449, Alligator Bayou, was the closest you could get to the main building. I had a corner room but the room to include the bathroom was pretty dark-very low watt light bulbs. I always bring a 75- or 100- watt bulb with me so that helped when I read in bed. I had prime rib for dinner at BoatWrights, which was good. But by this time, I figured I had made a mistake coming to WDW alone. It didnt seem rightmaybe if my daughter was an adult and not living at home, but most of the magic I felt at WDW was being with my daughter. She was busy this summer so it seemed like a good idea at the time. After dinner, I went back to my room to relax and go to sleep. I planned on taking the first bus in the morning that came by, hoping it would be MGM, my favorite park.
Tuesday
Ive read about how good Henris Pancakes were so I had that for breakfast at BoatWrights-they were good. MGM was the first bus I never had to wait more than two minutes for any bus I was waiting for which was nice as it was pretty hot. I saw Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage!; Millionaire; had meatloaf at Primetime for lunch-ate at the counter. I would have not eaten there otherwisenot by myself, anyway. In the past, Ive had the pot roast and fried chicken, which were both delicious! I did not care for the meatloaf. Next was Sounds Dangerous and Little Mermaid. It was too hot for me so I took a mid-day break, which I did everyday and went back to POR for a nap. I went back to MGM that afternoon to see the parade and had a hamburger for dinner at Sci-Fi. I also got to see Millionaire again.
Wednesday
Wanted to start at AK before the day got too hot. I jumped off POR bus and hopped right on the AK Lodge bus to have breakfast at Boma. Ive eaten here before and its very good. I walked around the resort and seen some giraffes in the back area. Animal Kingdom was soooo hot so all I decided to do was see the Lion King Showwonderful! Back to POR for a nap and then back to AK to see the parade. This would be the only day I visited AK because of the heat. Had dinner at Chef Mickeys, one of my favorites, took the monorail to MK and walked right onto Pirates of Caribbean. It was then back to POR for bed. The heat took a lot out of me.
Thursday
Had breakfast at POR food court and off to MK for the Keys to the Kingdom tour. It lasted about four hours and was very interesting. I would recommend it. We rode Pirates of Caribbean and Haunted Mansion and had lunch together. Guess where I went after the tour? Back to POR for a nap. After which off to Epcot where I saw Journey into your Imagination-I liked it. I walked around the counties and took the International Gateway boat to have dinner of a hamburger and fries at Beaches and Cream. I took the boat to MGM to see Fantasmic but it was filled so I went on the Movie Ride, which had no line. Back to POR for bed.
Friday
Since I was still wishing at times that my daughter was here, I decided to save the last day on my pass for the next trip. I wanted to visit all parks today but the thought of going to AK again was too much to bear. It seemed like the hottest park to be at. First was MGM to see Millionaire. I walked around and then back to POR to change rooms to Manor Oak, room 9044. I liked these rooms better. Instead of one light over the beds, there were two, which made the room so much brighter. I then went to Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth and to watch The Living Statue and Mime in France. Both were soooo funny! I had a craving for Chef Mickeys again so I took the monorail there but it started to rain at the end of my dinner so I went back to POR for the night.
Saturday
Since I was not going to go back to any of the parks today, I decided to relax at POR and visit Downtown Disney. It was going to rain again anyway. I had lunch at Portobellos-they bring you out some bread and a dish with a huge roasted garlic grove and butter. You stick a knife into the grove and pull out melted garlic to spread on the bread. It was very good! I had a pasta dish with seafood, which was also good. It started raining again so I ran to the Disney store and shopped for about an hour. I brought an umbrella and a Disney book, Walt Disney-An American Original, I figured it would be a good book to read while at WDW and took the bus back to POR. I watched TV for a little while and then out to explore POR. Very pretty especially walking about the river. I want to rent a bike or boat next time. I had a ½ pound hamburger at the lounge and called it a night.
Sunday
Got a wake-up call from Mickey, which was cute. Breakfast at BoatWrights of eggs and bacon and off to the airport by way of Mears. A good ending was that I got bumped off the first flight so I walked away with $300 credit from American Airlines and only had to wait an extra two hours.
Miscellaneous:
Joke told by bus driver: Why didnt Cinderella make the basketball team? She kept running from the ball!
Tidbit from tour: The more people that enter MK, the louder they play the park music.
My tips: Bring one or two 75-100 watt bulbs if staying in Alligator Bayou. Do a tour-they are probably all good. Visit AK on the coolest day. Bring your own Wal-Mart poncho (88 cents). Wear sleeve-less shirts if really hot. Bring two pairs of sneakers. Wear no make-up or jewelry if you are one to get really hot. Put on blister buster or moleskin before blisters appear. Thero socks are wonderful. Use foot powder. Spend time at resort-this was the first time I ever did this and enjoyed the down time. If you use the Mickey wake-up call, to answer the phone, press the speaker button so everyone in the room could hear it.
Not too good: The grounds around Alligator Bayou 14 needed to have the trashed picked up. I reported it to the front desk. If you have any complaints, please report it so things can always get better for future visits. A couple of smokers in main building doorway and walking around. Lots of cigarette butts along walkway to main building. Resort needs sleep timer on TV. Was too hot for me to go back during JuneI dont know how some women could actually put on make-up during this weather-I didnt even wear earrings or any jewelry! I paid $2.50 for a bottle of water and over $1 for a banana at POR-Wonder bread was selling for 50 cents a slice. I missed my daughter and the fun we have there together.
Monday, 3 June
Arrived at Port Orleans-Riverside. It is a beautiful resort I loved having a food court and lounge where I would be able to sit and read the newspaper at my own pace. There is no food court at Shades of Green. I had asked for a room in the Alligator Bayou section, building 14, for the first three nights and Magnolia Bend for the last three nights. At checkout they told me to just come down when I wanted to move and request it. I thought it would be nice to stay in both types of rooms during one visit. Room 1449, Alligator Bayou, was the closest you could get to the main building. I had a corner room but the room to include the bathroom was pretty dark-very low watt light bulbs. I always bring a 75- or 100- watt bulb with me so that helped when I read in bed. I had prime rib for dinner at BoatWrights, which was good. But by this time, I figured I had made a mistake coming to WDW alone. It didnt seem rightmaybe if my daughter was an adult and not living at home, but most of the magic I felt at WDW was being with my daughter. She was busy this summer so it seemed like a good idea at the time. After dinner, I went back to my room to relax and go to sleep. I planned on taking the first bus in the morning that came by, hoping it would be MGM, my favorite park.
Tuesday
Ive read about how good Henris Pancakes were so I had that for breakfast at BoatWrights-they were good. MGM was the first bus I never had to wait more than two minutes for any bus I was waiting for which was nice as it was pretty hot. I saw Playhouse Disney-Live on Stage!; Millionaire; had meatloaf at Primetime for lunch-ate at the counter. I would have not eaten there otherwisenot by myself, anyway. In the past, Ive had the pot roast and fried chicken, which were both delicious! I did not care for the meatloaf. Next was Sounds Dangerous and Little Mermaid. It was too hot for me so I took a mid-day break, which I did everyday and went back to POR for a nap. I went back to MGM that afternoon to see the parade and had a hamburger for dinner at Sci-Fi. I also got to see Millionaire again.
Wednesday
Wanted to start at AK before the day got too hot. I jumped off POR bus and hopped right on the AK Lodge bus to have breakfast at Boma. Ive eaten here before and its very good. I walked around the resort and seen some giraffes in the back area. Animal Kingdom was soooo hot so all I decided to do was see the Lion King Showwonderful! Back to POR for a nap and then back to AK to see the parade. This would be the only day I visited AK because of the heat. Had dinner at Chef Mickeys, one of my favorites, took the monorail to MK and walked right onto Pirates of Caribbean. It was then back to POR for bed. The heat took a lot out of me.
Thursday
Had breakfast at POR food court and off to MK for the Keys to the Kingdom tour. It lasted about four hours and was very interesting. I would recommend it. We rode Pirates of Caribbean and Haunted Mansion and had lunch together. Guess where I went after the tour? Back to POR for a nap. After which off to Epcot where I saw Journey into your Imagination-I liked it. I walked around the counties and took the International Gateway boat to have dinner of a hamburger and fries at Beaches and Cream. I took the boat to MGM to see Fantasmic but it was filled so I went on the Movie Ride, which had no line. Back to POR for bed.
Friday
Since I was still wishing at times that my daughter was here, I decided to save the last day on my pass for the next trip. I wanted to visit all parks today but the thought of going to AK again was too much to bear. It seemed like the hottest park to be at. First was MGM to see Millionaire. I walked around and then back to POR to change rooms to Manor Oak, room 9044. I liked these rooms better. Instead of one light over the beds, there were two, which made the room so much brighter. I then went to Epcot to ride Spaceship Earth and to watch The Living Statue and Mime in France. Both were soooo funny! I had a craving for Chef Mickeys again so I took the monorail there but it started to rain at the end of my dinner so I went back to POR for the night.
Saturday
Since I was not going to go back to any of the parks today, I decided to relax at POR and visit Downtown Disney. It was going to rain again anyway. I had lunch at Portobellos-they bring you out some bread and a dish with a huge roasted garlic grove and butter. You stick a knife into the grove and pull out melted garlic to spread on the bread. It was very good! I had a pasta dish with seafood, which was also good. It started raining again so I ran to the Disney store and shopped for about an hour. I brought an umbrella and a Disney book, Walt Disney-An American Original, I figured it would be a good book to read while at WDW and took the bus back to POR. I watched TV for a little while and then out to explore POR. Very pretty especially walking about the river. I want to rent a bike or boat next time. I had a ½ pound hamburger at the lounge and called it a night.
Sunday
Got a wake-up call from Mickey, which was cute. Breakfast at BoatWrights of eggs and bacon and off to the airport by way of Mears. A good ending was that I got bumped off the first flight so I walked away with $300 credit from American Airlines and only had to wait an extra two hours.
Miscellaneous:
Joke told by bus driver: Why didnt Cinderella make the basketball team? She kept running from the ball!
Tidbit from tour: The more people that enter MK, the louder they play the park music.
My tips: Bring one or two 75-100 watt bulbs if staying in Alligator Bayou. Do a tour-they are probably all good. Visit AK on the coolest day. Bring your own Wal-Mart poncho (88 cents). Wear sleeve-less shirts if really hot. Bring two pairs of sneakers. Wear no make-up or jewelry if you are one to get really hot. Put on blister buster or moleskin before blisters appear. Thero socks are wonderful. Use foot powder. Spend time at resort-this was the first time I ever did this and enjoyed the down time. If you use the Mickey wake-up call, to answer the phone, press the speaker button so everyone in the room could hear it.
Not too good: The grounds around Alligator Bayou 14 needed to have the trashed picked up. I reported it to the front desk. If you have any complaints, please report it so things can always get better for future visits. A couple of smokers in main building doorway and walking around. Lots of cigarette butts along walkway to main building. Resort needs sleep timer on TV. Was too hot for me to go back during JuneI dont know how some women could actually put on make-up during this weather-I didnt even wear earrings or any jewelry! I paid $2.50 for a bottle of water and over $1 for a banana at POR-Wonder bread was selling for 50 cents a slice. I missed my daughter and the fun we have there together.
