No Rest for the Weary: A Trip Report

[Aurora63]

The title of this trip report is “No Rest for the Weary” for good reason, as you can probably already guess, and you’ll clearly see throughout the report! It was a five day trip, just me (29) and my DS(32) who had not been to WDW since she was in high school. She’s also a little nuts!!

We’ll start with day 1…

We left South Florida at about 7am. We were driving to WDW. Our first plan was to just hang out at our resort that day (POR) and go to DTD in the evening, but the day before, we decided to leave early and make this our MGM day. We took the FL turnpike north. The rest stops along the way are great, because they have the Disney maps…a nice way to get you a little more excited! Anyway, we got to Disney at about 10am. I got a little lost trying to find POR, somehow I wound up at the cast member Epcot parking lot, but we eventually found it.

Got checked in, our room was actually ready! We were in rm. 8911, which is in Magnolia Terrace. I would recommend this building to anyone, it’s close to the bridge to Old Man Island, which in turn is close to the main building. Our room was clean, not a problem to be found. I have to say, I was really knocked out by this resort…beautiful grounds!!! We spent a few minutes unpacking and taking pictures around the resort, then we were off to MGM!

Our first experience with the buses here was okay…we got to sit! This would not always be the case, but today it was. At MGM, we first decided to get my sister the fast pass for RNR (which I will not ride…I am a chicken at heart) then headed over to Star Tours. I was a little nervous before hand, remembering my harrowing experience on Body Wars at Epcot a few years ago, but I found this to be much easier to deal with!

Next we went on to the Great Movie Ride, then the Backlot Tour, by which point it was time for our lunch ADR at Sci-Fi (which we both really enjoyed, btw). After lunch we saw Muppet Vision, DS rode RNR (she loved it!) and we walked back to see the Lights Motor Action Extreme Stunt Show. It was a full house here, and we would up hiking all the way to the top of the theater for the show. This is where we realize we have a few aches and pains in our feet and legs. I am feeling pretty tired myself, and my crazy sister, who really wants to stay for Fantasmic, admits she’s tired too. So after the show, we go to the Narnia exhibit (not really worth the wait to me) and to the Magic of Disney Animation. While inside, it really starts to pour outside, a major thunderstorm. Luckily I had invested in dollar store ponchos, (i.e., colorful garbage bags with a hood and holes for your arms) so we are okay as we make our way to the bus stops to make our way back to POR. I think it was about 7pm by the time we made it back, we ate at the food court and I think we just showered and hit the sack after that. I was out cold when my head hit the pillow.

Next: Day 2: Animal Kingdom, a chickens guide to Everest, and fun with Disney buses!!!

 

[OhMari]

Thats a new one, can't wait to find out what you you found humorous about the busses.

 

[Aurora63]

Day 2 – Animal Kingdom

We got up at 7:30 this day, in order to get to the bus stop by about 8:15 or so and be at AK at opening. We had brought cereal fro home and milk at the store at Riverside, so we ate b-fast in the room. Big time and money saver. Anyway, we head to the main bus stop, and when the bus arrives, it has already been to the FQ and has lots of people already on. My DS and I wind up standing, along with many other people. She keeps making jokes about how hopefully everyone remembered their deodorant this morning! I just keep feeling the aching in my legs and back.

When we finally get to AK, it had not yet opened. We start first at the line to check our bags (which is a mob scene) and then the line to get in. Our first stop is Everest. The wait is already pretty long, so we get a fast pass and head to Dinoland USA, where we ride Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl, and Triceratop Spin, all with very little wait (looks like everyone else heads straight for Everest or Kilomanjaro) By then it was time to use our fast passes for Everest.

Now let me state for the record (again) that I am a roller coaster wimp. My DSis will ride everything and anything, but the sight of the drop on Everest had my stomach doing flip flops. Still, I wanted to at least be able to say that I had done it, so I sucked it up and got on. In all honesty, the scariest part of this ride was the big hill, it is very steep and as you get to the top you can see everything. Not a good idea to look down if you are afraid of heights at all. Soon you get to the point where the tracks are broken and you are going backwards. This part is not as bad as some people have described it, but I did feel a bit dizzy afterwards. Then the drop, which is over before you know it, and into the Yeti’s cave. The yeti is huge!! Much bigger than I had anticipated. Overall I was surprised at how short this ride was. Definitely try it, even if you are a coaster wimp like me…it’s not so bad.

Anyway, after this we headed over to Africa to get fast passes for the safari, then back to Discovery Island for It’s Tough to be a Bug. Then it was time for the Safari. After that, we ate at Tusker house. We then were very very hot, so we decided to try to ride Kali now, but it had a very long line (something like 50 minutes) so we got the fast pass and went to the Conservation Station and then to see Flights of Wonder. By now it is time for Kali, and we get soaked!!! Completely soaked to the bone. Felt good, at first, until you start to walk around in wet clothes for awhile. DS wanted to ride Everest again, but thankfully for me, it had an hour long wait, so we head over to Festival of the Lion King (dodging the parade along the way). We see the beginning of the show, but right after the meer cats do their acrobatic act, they ask everyone to leave. When we ask a CM why, he says that something had broke…not sure exactly what, but he said we should try to catch the 6:30 show. DSis and I are both exhausted, so we decided to head back to POR at this point.

More bus fun!!! More standing, hanging on for dear life, and by this point, many people desperately need their Sure (nothing like the smell of sweaty, sunscreen covered people packed into a bus, now, is there?) But we make it back to Riverside in one piece. We eat at the food court, I hit the pool and hot tub for those aching muscles, and after showering, I am sound asleep by 10pm.

Next…Day 3…Magic Kingdom marathon day!!!

 

[jaycns]

thanks for sharing your Disney days! I just love trip reports!

 

[averill94]

Wow you did Everest?! You just might inspire me
Please keep posting .

 

[TLinden16]

Hmm. I never noticed the sweaty stinky sunscreen smell on the bus. That had me LOL.

Everest is a great ride. Going backwards is very intense

Thanks for posting.

 

[Aurora63]

Day 3 – A Magic Marathon

It was Tuesday, and thankfully had gotten a good nights sleep the night before, as this day was going to be a doozy…morning extra magic hours at the MK, and a plan that kept us at the park until 10pm!!! What were we thinking? Anyway, I woke at 6:30 to the same aches and pains, but once up and moving I felt okay. We ate breakfast in the room and then we were off. We were one of the first groups at the bus stop, but were soon joined by many others. But, we had learned to position ourselves to get on the bus close to first…so, when the bus came, we did get a seat!! Funny the little things that make your day.

This bus was not going straight to the MK…it was stopping at the Poly, GF, and Contemporary for those people with b-fast ADR’s…so we decided to get off at the Poly and take the monorail the rest of the way. I’m not sure if it saved us any time, but it was a nice way to see the inside of the Poly (which I’d never seen before) and ride the monorail, which we’d not get another chance to do.

So, the day begins much like the others. Since the park is not yet open, it is a mob scene to get bags checked and at the ticket lines. Once they let us in, we have to wait again (it’s like their teasing you!) until official opening. So we saw the MK opening show, and finally we got in.

We head over to Frontier land first, then a nice CM at the rope let us know that they don’t open FL for EMH…so we head back to Tomorrowland, Space Mountain has what looks like along line, so we get fast passes for it and ride Buzz. Next we head to Fantasy land and ride the teacups, Pooh, Peter Pan, and Small World, all before the park opens for everyone else. Those morning EMH’s are very useful for getting a lot done!

Next we head to Thunder and Splash. I think we did Thunder first (which I call a roller coaster for people who don’t like roller coasters – it’s my favorite) then to Spalsh, which gives me butterflies in the tummy!! Oh, we got soaked on this one too…when another boat was going down the chute, ours was right next to the water cannons. Drenched again! Oh well.

Next back for Space. I was not sure why I was riding this. Last time I did, it really scared me. But I knew that after Everest, it would be a cake walk. Plus I wanted to see if it really was just a wild mouse in the dark like I had heard. So we got on (fast passes are wonderful things!) and I keep my eyes open through most of it, and I had a blast! It was so much fun that I convince my DSis to get another fast pass for later.

Lunch was at LTT…decent lunch, with an extraordinary dessert. I will be eating here again if only for this:

It's called the Chocolate Liberation Cake, it's warm with raspberry sauce and cherry ice cream. Ahh, this made everything right with the world.

Anyway, the rest of the day is kind of a blur…I know we did Philharmagic, HM, Country Bears, Tiki Room, Space once more and Thunder twice more. Also Stitch (I don’t like this one but DSis wanted to experience as much as she could) and TTA countless times. Snow White later as well. I really just remember walking back and forth a lot. Dinner was at Cosmic Rays’s was okay. I was deliriously tired by this point and making fangs with French fries.

By eight, we got a spot on Main Street to watch the parade and then the fireworks later. Honestly, I could have happily skipped both in favor of my bed, but did I mention my DSis is nuts??? We watched the parade, then sat another half hour for wishes, then tried to make it to the bus stop before the rest of the crowds. Of course this is not possible, as people have been trickling out of the park for quite awhile. When the bus arrived, we were standing again, but I figure, why care at this point? We had already spent about 14 hours walking around a theme park, what would ten more standing on a bus matter???

Anyway, I think we got back to the room by about 11:30, showered and in bed by about 12:30. I was exhausted, but we had two more theme park days to rest up for.

Next – Day 4 at Epcot, sleeping in, and crankiness really starts to set in.

 

[Kimberly815]

I'd rather be tired at WDW than well rested anywhere else!!

Bring on day 4-5!

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

I love your trip report! Can't wait for the rest.

 

[Aurora63]

Day 4 – Epcot

Okay, when I left Day 3, I mentioned ‘sleeping in.” This is a relative term of course, on this particular day it meant sleeping until 7:30! Woo-hoo! We couldn’t keep Epcot waiting! When I wake up, I am even achier than normal. Even moving around a little doesn’t help much. I get ready, and then lie on the bed like a slug waiting for my sister. She keeps looking at me asking, “Are you alright?” I’m like yeah, just tired and I ache all over. I did. I don’t think there was one muscle in my body that didn’t hurt. But Disney mania knows no bounds, so we went to the bus stop. Onwards to Epcot!

Luckily for us, not many people were waiting for the bus for Epcot. In fact, just about everyone had a seat! Not typical, but a pleasant surprise. We encountered the same long lines for bag checks and tickets, but apparently we were a little late and missed the morning show. Oh well. I was grumpy for some reason at this point. My sister kept doing something (what I don’t remember now) that was getting on my aching nerves. So we just agreed not to talk for awhile.

Over to Soarin’ first, which already had a 30 minute wait, so we grabbed a fast pass and headed to Test Track. Waited standby for this one, took longer than the posted wait time – said 20 minutes, turned into 40. No big deal. Somehow we were able to get the fast pass to ride this again right after we got off. We still had time before Soarin’ so we went to Spaceship Earth, but it, as the CM said, “was broken.” So we checked out the aquarium at the Living Seas. Now I have no idea what Turtle Talk with Crush is, but it certainly has a very long line. We skipped it.

Now for Soarin’. I have ridden it before, but DSis had never been on it. It’s always so much fun to ride with someone who has never experienced something. This ride is awesome, I highly recommend it. Very relaxing and uplifting.

We ate lunch at Sunshine Seasons in the Land after this, this has got to be the best counter service in all of WDW. At this point I believe we had some time to kill before our second go round on Test Track, so we got on Journey Into Imagination, which is just silly. Then Test Track again. At this point DSis wanted to check out Mission Space. Thankfully we both agreed that we had no desire to do the ‘orange’ (spinning) side of the ride, I have done it before and paid the price, we hopped on the green side with little wait.

Having done both sides of Mission Space, I will say that the green side still left me feeling a little dizzy! But nothing like I’d ever felt on the orange side. You still feel like you’re being launched, and like you’re flying through space, you just don’t feel the heavy duty, face-peeling G-forces. Which was fine by me. I recovered from the dizziness within five minutes, no problem. If you’re prone to motion sickness, go for the green!

Checked Spaceship Earth again, now it was working, so we rode it!

We headed over to the World Showcase now. It was about 3 when we headed there. Our Soarin’ fastpass was for 5:00, and we had a dinner ADR for Teppanyaki at 6pm. I would say this was the most relaxing part of the day, just strolling through the countries and shopping. We rode El Rio de Tiempo and the Maelstrom, hardly any waiting for either. In Norway I bought myself some of that Laila perfume, then in Japan some good luck kitties. Of course in America I had to have a funnel cake. Yummy!

We walked all the way around and got back to Soarin’ in time to use our fast passes. I’m glad we had them…this ride now had a 120 minute wait!!! We were on pretty quickly, and headed back to Japan by 5:30.

Dinner was at Teppanyaki…it was good, but not great. My favorite part of the meal was the frozen peach drink that I had, ah, it was awesome. As far as the food…it wasn’t bad at all, but I was just expecting something a bit more exciting, tastier. It just didn’t have much flavor, and the sauces they give you are extremely salty!! I think I’ll try something different next time.

Next off to France for dessert (chocolate mousse)…by now it was past eight, so we headed back around the WS toward Mexico to find a spot for Illuminations. We found a nice spot in China, so we plopped down and waited. Illuminations was awesome as usual…what made it even better was, again, seeing it with someone who has never seen it before.

After Illuminations we made our way (with everyone else) to the exit. It was at least 10 before we got on a bus. We did get to sit (!) and we had a very funny, animated bus driver. I don’t remember her name, but she was from Brazil and all her comments just made the bus ride feel a lot shorter!

Back to POR by about 10:30, I was asleep by 11:30 or so.

Next – Our last park day!!

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reports ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[Aurora63]

Day 5 – More of the MK

We had done just about everything there was to do at the MK on Tuesday, but we had a breakfast ADR at Crystal Palace today at 8:05, so we planned to spend at least the morning here. My aching body rebelled getting up at 6:30. “More sleep! More sleep!” my muscles screamed. “I need a break!” chimed in the feet. But I really wanted to see Pooh. Imagine, a 29 year old woman excited to see Pooh. That’s me! We quickly got ready and out the door.

Our bus was not too crowded this morning, and went straight to the MK. We wondered how we were going to get in to get to our b-fast on time, when we discovered the special line for folks with breakfast ADR’s. Great! They let us in at about 7:45. I snapped this once in a lifetime photo:

I don’t think I’d ever been on Main Street when it was quite so empty! The rest of the b-fasters were right behind us!

So, we get to CP, and once they start seating, we are seated pretty quickly. The breakfast buffet here is wonderful, there are waffles, pancakes, all kinds of meat, tons of fruit, and the infamous “breakfast lasagna” (which I did not try.) Anyway, we dug in, and I got some cute pics with Pooh, Piglet, and Eeyore. Here’s me and Eeyore:

After b-fast, we head over to Space Mountain and grabbed a fast pass. Since we had time to kill, we ride Buzz and Thunder mtn. again. We then head back to Tomorrowland and ride TTA and the COP. By that point it is 10:50, perfect timing for Space.

When I first get into the car on SM, I realize how exhausted I am. You know you’re tired when even the excitement of Space Mountain is not waking you up! So after getting off, we decide to head back to POR to take a nap (“Yea!!! Cheers every muscle, bone, and organ in my body.)

We are back to the resort by about 12:30, and from 1-3 I took the most refreshing nap the world has ever known. I was dreaming about rides with 120-minute waits, but otherwise, it was great. Probably the best decision we made.

We wake up at about 3, get out the door again by 3:30. Ahh, I feel good now. I highly recommend a mid-afternoon nap, it will completely change your attitude.

Now, my DSis had first said she wanted to go back to MGM to see Fantasmic, but after the nap, she thinks she’d rather spend the rest of our last day at the MK, since to us, this is Disney. I’m a-ok with that!! So we head back to the MK.

We ride lots of our favorites again…Space 2 more times, Thunder 2 more times, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Pooh, TTA, Buzz (somehow I scored 100,000 points at the very beginning of this ride! Not sure what I did, though!) Others I can’t remember. We ate at Pinnochios, it was pretty good.

The highlight of the evening (besides that the crowds for rides were lighter) was that we discovered pins! I had seen them many times before, and silently debated getting involved, but when we wandered over to Toontown, both my DSis and I decided to start. I got the Pooh starter kit, she got the Mickey starter. Each set came with four pins, two of each kind, so we traded with each other! I’m really glad I didn’t discover pins until the last day, or I would have gone broke!

The park closed at 11:00 that night. Since we had that nap in the afternoon, it was very easy to stay until about 10:30, then we headed out to the bus stop. Lots of people! We got a seat (Hooray!) and got back to the resort, where we sadly began packing for our journey home the next day.

Next – Day 6 - missing bags, DTD, and going home.

 

[roberrl187]

Great trip report. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Aurora63]

Hi all, I will be finishing this trip report soon! Just been super busy!!

 

[OhMari]

Hi all, I will be finishing this trip report soon! Just been super busy!!

We know, life gets busy. Love the picture of the almost deserted mainstreet at the MK.

 

[DHester917]

Loved your TR and the part about the French Fry Fangs cracked me up!
Your advice about an afternoon nap is too true. I am becoming very jealous of little kids that get to take an afternoon nap.

 

[Aurora63]

Okay, here we are, the long awaited Day 6 – The Last Day

So, DSis and I had packed up the night before, so we leisurely slept in until 9am!!! After we got up and made ourselves presentable (because after five days at Disney, it’s starting to show!) Then we headed to the Riverside Mill for breakfast. Before we left, we decided to put our bags in the car. We put everything in the car except for my sister’s souveniers. She had bought some Goofy gummy candy for her boyfriend, and didn’t want it to melt in the heat. So for that reason, she decided to leave all the souveniers in the room and put them in the car when we left. Not the most logical reasoning, but whatever.

So we ate some b-fast, I had the pancakes and bacon, which was pretty good! And coffee, in my refillable mug, of course. After we ate, we stopped by Fulton’s General Store to buy some pins…I added two more to my collection, a POR pin and a Space Mountain slider…in celebration of conquering my fear of it!

So we go back to the room to relax for a bit, to get DSis’s bags, and to check out. As I’m vegging on the bed, she goes into a mad panic as she realizes her bag are missing!! She was panicking so much that she walked out of the room to look on the balcony, and locked herself out. I remained calm, but inside I was a little worried…was the door locked when we left? I now wasn’t sure, so I called the front desk. They connected me to someone higher up, who contacted housekeeping and promised to call me back in a moment. Anyway, before she called back, the bags were returned…turns out, housekeeping had been in the room, saw that it was totally empty except for the souveniers, and assumed we had checked out and left them by mistake. So they were taking them to lost and found. Makes perfect sense. Crisis averted! We checked out and were off.

Before we left for good, we wanted to take the boat to DTD and explore it a bit. It was super hot! But the boat ride was nice, since you’re in the shade. I got myself two more pins at DTD (!), Chip and Dale with gold ears and a basic Donald. We walked the entire thing, shopping more and just taking in what they have. Mostly, I felt like we were darting from one air-conditioned shop to another…it was that hot!!! We ate lunch at Earl of Sandwich before getting back on the boat to come back to Riverside.

I was so sad to be leaving, but it was a wonderful trip. Beyond awesome. I can’t wait to go back, stay at Riverside again, and maybe go at a slower pace next time.

Some things I learned:

1.Don’t leave thing behind in your room on the day you are checking out!
2.Schedule a few rest days.
3.Take a mid-afternoon nap if you think you need one…especially in the summer.
4.Don’t be afraid to try new and exciting things, or to go full force, morning to night, if you are up for it!

That’s it! Hope you enjoyed the No Rest for the Weary trip report! Have a magical day!

 

[KathyRN137]

Whew! I was tired after reading about your MK day! You must have been exhausted!

We always take a mid-afternoon break....I use the kids as an excuse!

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Lunch was at LTT…decent lunch, with an extraordinary dessert. I will be eating here again if only for this:

It's called the Chocolate Liberation Cake, it's warm with raspberry sauce and cherry ice cream. Ahh, this made everything right with the world.

We love lunch at LTT, but have never tried dessert... maybe we should, next time!! YUM!

 

[Philadisney]

I am really enjoying your report!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip. What day were you at AK? The same exact thing happened to us at the Lion King show - they shut down and kicked everyone out right after the meercats. maybe we were there at the same time! glad to hear you liked EE - we only had time to do it once on our trip and I was so scared of the Yeti i closed my eyes and missed it entirely!