mittelst
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2001
- Messages
- 268
Itinerary - WDW 10/4-10/8, Gulf Coast 10/8-10/12
Persons - Mom (me, AKA Pack Mule) and Daughter (7)
Quest - Sleeping Beauty's autograph (daughter), relaxation and book reading (me)
Lodging - All Star Movies 10/4. Beach Club Villas studio 10/5-10/8. Bungalow Beach Resort, Bradenton Beach 10/8-10/12
Saturday 10/4 - Planes, No Trains, and Automobiles
Noon-ish flight from Rochester, NY to Sarasota. 40's and rain when we left. 80's and sun when we landed at 6pm in Sarasota. Cozy, compact, uncroweded airport in Sarasota. Bags claimed and in the rental car by 6:15pm.
2hr drive to Orlando. Contruction on I-4 was kind of a pain. Quick check-in at All Star Movies. Ended up with smoking room, even though non-smoking was specified. Could have been due to the late check-in. Front desk quickly switched us to a non-smoking preferred-view room without fuss or extra charge. A little shopping in the gift shop - Daughter enjoyed picking out charms and getting new charm bracelet. I got a Mickey-ghost antenna topper. It made it easy to spot the rental car in parking lots.
Sunday 10/5 - Hotel Switch, Mickey's Very Crowded Halloween Pary
Sunny, Hot and humid today.
Breakfast at the food court, then off to Beach Club Villas with hopes for an early check-in. No such luck. Stored the bags and drove to Winn-Dixie for groceries. Hint - don't valet-park the car until you know whether you can get into your room. - pull up outside of the overhang. Saved $5 by using the Winn-Dixie "rewards" card I applied for on the internet (http://www.winndixie.com). Back to Beach Club - room not ready yet. Put groceries in storage - cold stuff in fridge in storage area, and grabbed swim suits out of suit case. Swam in Stormalong (great pool!) and had lunch at H. Hannahs. The salads here are huge! Could have fed 2 people. First beer of the trip! (I'm sounding like Kevin Stringer now!).
Room was ready at 3pm. Bell services delivered bags in 15 min with a mere phone call. Well worth the tip! Unpacked and tried to rest for the late night at the Halloween party. Didn't happen. Dinner was sandwiches and chips (from groceries purchaed) in the room.
Mickey's Not So Scarey Halloween was kind of a bust. Crowded and hot. Was able to walk on Jungle Cruise, Buzz, and Pirates, but the trick-or-treat lines were long. Treats were standard fun-size candy. Would have been more special had they been special WDW treats. 20min wait for Haunted Mansion, so didn't do that. Parade was OK- liked the story and the Headless Horseman. For the price, they should limit the number of tickets to a smaller amount to make it more special. Kept us out *way* too late - didn't get back to the room until 12. Daughter was hot and itchy in princess costume. Luckily brought change of clothes stuffed in my pack-mule lumbar pack. After we watched Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, we walked out of the park, and Daughter saw Mickey and Minnie in Halloween costumes at Exposition Hall. "Mommy, how did they change clothes and get up here so quickly?" I didn't have an answer
.
Monday 10/6 - Epcot, Cape May, Boardwalk
Late start. Not even out of bed until after 9am. Breakfast in the room. Short walk to International Gateway and into WS a little after 11am. Sunny, hot and humid today. Epcot WS was fun! My daughter enjoyed getting her passport stamped and the mask craft. Saw acrobats in China, singers and fife & drum in USA, mime in France, living statue in Italy. Saw the show and had lunch in USA. Autograph from Mulan in China. Didn't get all the way around - too much for our feet and legs! Saw Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) on the way out via the International Gateway. Got the coveted autograph, and this made my daughter very happy. I was dissapointed that Aurora's mannerisms were not very regal-like. Other than the costume, she didn't act very regal at all.
Nice swim at the Villas quiet pool. Made last-minute PS for Cape May from pool phone. Had a nice dinner. Beer #2, some kind of local micro-brew ale. As many have commented in the past, the desserts were great! Oreo truffle something-or-other, dusted with cocoa - yum!
Walked to Boardwalk to work off fullness. Loved the many-colored M&Ms at the Sweet Shop. More squished pennies - did I mention we were collecting these? Another one of Daughter's favorites. Somewhere along the way we purchased a new album for them. Cool Mickey-pilgrim antenna topper in Boardwalk hotel gift shop. Should have bought it when I saw it. Never saw it again.
Tuesday 10/7 - AK
Awakend last night at about 2:30 am by the boom of fireworks ???
Sunny, Hot and Humid again today. Late-ish start - at AK by 9:45. Did Bug first (daughter saw stink bug comming a mile away and plugged her nose). Kali River was walk-on. Got soaked on 2nd ride - forgot to pack the change of clothes. Spent the next 20 min buying shirt and towel for daughter. I just drip-dried. Lunch at Flame Tree. Lion King, autograph from Minnie, Primevil Whirl, and carnival games. "Won" stuffed triceratops. Wanted to do more, but daughter was tired and her feet hurt. My legs and feet were a little achey too. I was amazed at quickly that happened.
Another swim in the Villas quiet pool. Chased out by thunder. Dinner in the room. Walk in the rain to Boardwalk Sweet Shop for a pixie stick - make your own from about 10 different flavors. No beer today :-(.
Daughter was asleep by 9:30 (her earliest of the trip). Checking out tomorrow, so I packed up.
Wednesday 10/8 - MK, Epcot WS, Drive to Bradenton Beach
Fireworks noises again last night - 2:30 and 4:30 am. ????
Sunny, Hot, and Humid today.
Actually set an alarm for this morning in an effort to get to MK at opening. Daughter had something else in mind. Let her sleep. Had bell services take the bags to storage. We had quite a few lefterover groceries, but we'll use them at the beach.
Daytime visit to MK was great. 5min wait for Haunted Mansion. Same for Small World (another fav of daughter). Managed fastpasses for Peter Pan and Philharmagic for short waits to those. No wait for Carrousel. Caught the sword & stone ceremony. Autographs from Cinderella and Mary Poppins. Lunch at Village Haus. Multiple Mickey bars today.
Caught the monorail over to Epcot. Made our way to WS with a few "tired feet" stops. Funny, her feet weren't too tired to shop at MouseGears! Struggled through the remaining countries for the passport. More squished pennies.
Rode the boat from the International Gateway back to Yacht club dock. By this time, the walk from the dock to the Beach Club seems verrry looong. Got the car loaded by the Valet, and it was off to the beach. We leave at 7pm, and it's after 9pm by the time we get to Bradenton Beach. Daughter falls asleep on the way. We don't even look at the beach when we get there. I toss the groceries in the fridge, and we fall into bed!
Look for Part II - Fun and Sun at the Beach
Persons - Mom (me, AKA Pack Mule) and Daughter (7)
Quest - Sleeping Beauty's autograph (daughter), relaxation and book reading (me)
Lodging - All Star Movies 10/4. Beach Club Villas studio 10/5-10/8. Bungalow Beach Resort, Bradenton Beach 10/8-10/12
Saturday 10/4 - Planes, No Trains, and Automobiles
Noon-ish flight from Rochester, NY to Sarasota. 40's and rain when we left. 80's and sun when we landed at 6pm in Sarasota. Cozy, compact, uncroweded airport in Sarasota. Bags claimed and in the rental car by 6:15pm.
2hr drive to Orlando. Contruction on I-4 was kind of a pain. Quick check-in at All Star Movies. Ended up with smoking room, even though non-smoking was specified. Could have been due to the late check-in. Front desk quickly switched us to a non-smoking preferred-view room without fuss or extra charge. A little shopping in the gift shop - Daughter enjoyed picking out charms and getting new charm bracelet. I got a Mickey-ghost antenna topper. It made it easy to spot the rental car in parking lots.
Sunday 10/5 - Hotel Switch, Mickey's Very Crowded Halloween Pary
Sunny, Hot and humid today.
Breakfast at the food court, then off to Beach Club Villas with hopes for an early check-in. No such luck. Stored the bags and drove to Winn-Dixie for groceries. Hint - don't valet-park the car until you know whether you can get into your room. - pull up outside of the overhang. Saved $5 by using the Winn-Dixie "rewards" card I applied for on the internet (http://www.winndixie.com). Back to Beach Club - room not ready yet. Put groceries in storage - cold stuff in fridge in storage area, and grabbed swim suits out of suit case. Swam in Stormalong (great pool!) and had lunch at H. Hannahs. The salads here are huge! Could have fed 2 people. First beer of the trip! (I'm sounding like Kevin Stringer now!).
Room was ready at 3pm. Bell services delivered bags in 15 min with a mere phone call. Well worth the tip! Unpacked and tried to rest for the late night at the Halloween party. Didn't happen. Dinner was sandwiches and chips (from groceries purchaed) in the room.
Mickey's Not So Scarey Halloween was kind of a bust. Crowded and hot. Was able to walk on Jungle Cruise, Buzz, and Pirates, but the trick-or-treat lines were long. Treats were standard fun-size candy. Would have been more special had they been special WDW treats. 20min wait for Haunted Mansion, so didn't do that. Parade was OK- liked the story and the Headless Horseman. For the price, they should limit the number of tickets to a smaller amount to make it more special. Kept us out *way* too late - didn't get back to the room until 12. Daughter was hot and itchy in princess costume. Luckily brought change of clothes stuffed in my pack-mule lumbar pack. After we watched Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, we walked out of the park, and Daughter saw Mickey and Minnie in Halloween costumes at Exposition Hall. "Mommy, how did they change clothes and get up here so quickly?" I didn't have an answer
. Monday 10/6 - Epcot, Cape May, Boardwalk
Late start. Not even out of bed until after 9am. Breakfast in the room. Short walk to International Gateway and into WS a little after 11am. Sunny, hot and humid today. Epcot WS was fun! My daughter enjoyed getting her passport stamped and the mask craft. Saw acrobats in China, singers and fife & drum in USA, mime in France, living statue in Italy. Saw the show and had lunch in USA. Autograph from Mulan in China. Didn't get all the way around - too much for our feet and legs! Saw Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) on the way out via the International Gateway. Got the coveted autograph, and this made my daughter very happy. I was dissapointed that Aurora's mannerisms were not very regal-like. Other than the costume, she didn't act very regal at all.
Nice swim at the Villas quiet pool. Made last-minute PS for Cape May from pool phone. Had a nice dinner. Beer #2, some kind of local micro-brew ale. As many have commented in the past, the desserts were great! Oreo truffle something-or-other, dusted with cocoa - yum!
Walked to Boardwalk to work off fullness. Loved the many-colored M&Ms at the Sweet Shop. More squished pennies - did I mention we were collecting these? Another one of Daughter's favorites. Somewhere along the way we purchased a new album for them. Cool Mickey-pilgrim antenna topper in Boardwalk hotel gift shop. Should have bought it when I saw it. Never saw it again.
Tuesday 10/7 - AK
Awakend last night at about 2:30 am by the boom of fireworks ???
Sunny, Hot and Humid again today. Late-ish start - at AK by 9:45. Did Bug first (daughter saw stink bug comming a mile away and plugged her nose). Kali River was walk-on. Got soaked on 2nd ride - forgot to pack the change of clothes. Spent the next 20 min buying shirt and towel for daughter. I just drip-dried
. Lunch at Flame Tree. Lion King, autograph from Minnie, Primevil Whirl, and carnival games. "Won" stuffed triceratops. Wanted to do more, but daughter was tired and her feet hurt. My legs and feet were a little achey too. I was amazed at quickly that happened.Another swim in the Villas quiet pool. Chased out by thunder. Dinner in the room. Walk in the rain to Boardwalk Sweet Shop for a pixie stick - make your own from about 10 different flavors. No beer today :-(.
Daughter was asleep by 9:30 (her earliest of the trip). Checking out tomorrow, so I packed up.
Wednesday 10/8 - MK, Epcot WS, Drive to Bradenton Beach
Fireworks noises again last night - 2:30 and 4:30 am. ????
Sunny, Hot, and Humid today.
Actually set an alarm for this morning in an effort to get to MK at opening. Daughter had something else in mind. Let her sleep. Had bell services take the bags to storage. We had quite a few lefterover groceries, but we'll use them at the beach.
Daytime visit to MK was great. 5min wait for Haunted Mansion. Same for Small World (another fav of daughter). Managed fastpasses for Peter Pan and Philharmagic for short waits to those. No wait for Carrousel. Caught the sword & stone ceremony. Autographs from Cinderella and Mary Poppins. Lunch at Village Haus. Multiple Mickey bars today.
Caught the monorail over to Epcot. Made our way to WS with a few "tired feet" stops. Funny, her feet weren't too tired to shop at MouseGears! Struggled through the remaining countries for the passport. More squished pennies.
Rode the boat from the International Gateway back to Yacht club dock. By this time, the walk from the dock to the Beach Club seems verrry looong. Got the car loaded by the Valet, and it was off to the beach. We leave at 7pm, and it's after 9pm by the time we get to Bradenton Beach. Daughter falls asleep on the way. We don't even look at the beach when we get there. I toss the groceries in the fridge, and we fall into bed!
Look for Part II - Fun and Sun at the Beach
