Our Attempt to See the "World" in 4 days

[missymouse]

June 19th - Flew out of BWI at 6:05 am arrived in Orlando around 11:30 after a short stop in Atlanta.
Checked into Caribbean Beach Resort. Rented some small motor boats and DH and the kids toodled around in those for a while. Went to Animal Kingdom for the evening and had advanced dinner reservations at the
Rainforest Café. The nice thing about that was that we had the Disney Premium (all inclusive) plan, so we found ourselves choosing the most expensive thing that sounded good, instead of the least expensive thing
that sounded good. It was fun to see how high we could make our dinner expenses go. After that we wandered around and rode several rides. DD and I decided to wait to ride Expedition Everest while the boys
returned to the resort, however the ride ended up closing unexpectedly , so the girls returned to the resort as well.

June 20th- Woke up at 6 am to go to Magic Kingdom. Wanted to be there for Extended Magic Hours from 8-9 but didn’t get there until 8:30 am. Did the Family Magic Tour at Magic Kingdom – this was a scavenger hunt/
guided tour of the park which included riding the “It’s a Small World” ride with Peter Pan and Wendy characters. After that, we went to the “Crystal Palace” for lunch with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore.
Wandered around a bit but DS7 wasn’t feeling too adventuresome with rides and the crowds were getting bad. We definitely did not see or do as much at Magic Kingdom as we would have liked to. Returned to resort and switched rooms to a better location. DW and the boys took a quick swim in the village pool then we got ready to head to downtown Disney. Went to dinner at Wolfgang Puck’s café and then to Cirque de Soleil La Nouba show. It was a really amazing show unlike any we’ve ever been to.

June 21st – Up at 6 am again and to Typhoon Lagoon (Water Park) by 7:40 we were the first people there so DS7 was chosen by the life guards to be the “Big Kahuna” for the day. As the “Big Kahuna”, he got
to turn on the waves in the wave pool and got to “control” the intensity of the waves for the day. He got free drinks and doughnuts and we had a special private seating area on the beach with a table and umbrella
and a free locker. He loved being the big Kahuna since all the cast members made a big deal over him every time he walked by. The wave pool was a huge hit with all of the kids. Unfortunately we had made Para-sailing reservations so we had to leave early in the day. After we left Typhoon Lagoon we went the Contemporary Resort to catch a quick lunch and then go Para-sailing. It was definitely an experience to see all of Disney World from a bird’s eye view. After para-sailing we returned to our resort and “rested”
briefly then off to MGM studios. We ate at the Sci-Fi Dine-In which had great ambiance however the food was only marginal. After eating dinner, DW, DD, and DS11 rode the Rock-n-Rollercoaster which was really cool, and the Great Movie ride while DH and DS7 went on some other rides. Then we stayed late for the 10:30 Fantasmic Show. Fantasmic was an absolutely exquisite show consisting of fireworks, water and light and other special effects as well as many of the Disney characters themselves.

June 22nd- Up again at 6 am to make it to Blizzard Beach (the second water park) by 8 am. Checked out everything we could until about 10:30 then headed back to the resort to change and go to Epcot. Ate lunch
at the Garden Grill and rode the rides and explored Epcot. We found Epcot to be the most relaxing park. The pace seemed much more laid back and less congested. We rode Test Track, Mission Space (less intense version), Soarin’, and checked out “Innovations” and the Coca-Cola exhibit that included samples of Coke products from other countries. Ate dinner at the Biergarten in “Germany”, then strolled around the World showcase and then saw the “Illuminations” fireworks display.

June 23rd- Slept a little later 8 am then had our luggage picked up and checked for our return home. Went to eat breakfast at Wilderness Lodge and explored a few of the other deluxe resorts. Then back to Caribbean Beach. Rented the Water Mice (motor boats) again for another half hour and then caught the bus back to the airport.

We were amazed at the high quality of everything at Disney World from the rides and exhibits to the shows and the facilities. It was well worth going. We had a good time, and came home with many happy experiences.
Since we had the premium package, almost everything we did was included – only had about $50.00 in out-of-pocket expenses, not including souvenirs. We figured it would be much less painful to just pay one fee up
front than to be nickeled and dimed to death. It worked out fine, and we figure if we did not come out ahead, we at least broke even on the deal.

Five days was not enough time to really see and experience everything. We really needed a whole day at Magic Kingdom, and a whole day at Epcot. I think you could do Animal Kingdom and MGM-Studios in one day,
then have some down times or more time at the Water parks. The kids loved both of the water parks.

 

[nataliz]

How cool that your son got to be the Big Kahuna!

It sounds like you had a great time and did a lot during the time you were there. Thanks for sharing your report!

 

[averill94]

Wow you guys really packed it in! Great report. We went for 4 nights in Oct 2004 and while we had a fab time it just wasnt enough or was it too much b/c we tried to pack it all in.

How lucky your Big Kahuna son was! Those waves are awesome.

Thank you for reporting

 

[lisaross]

How did you like the CBR?? we'll be staying there late August. Also how did your 7 year old do going to sleep late and waking up early?

lisa

 

[pooksma]

Wow thats 4 very intense days! Glad you had a good time.

 

[essmom]

Can you tell me about Blizzard beach- we plan to go on a Thursday also- what time did it get really crowded- did you leave b/c of crowds or you had planned to leave that early- trying to decide whether to go in am or in afternoon but I hear if it's full they don't let anyone in.

 

[IWISHFORDISNEY]

Sounds like a fun time.

 

[missymouse]

We went for the EMH at Blizzard Beach. We did just about everything once except Slush n Gush. I would definitely recommend going first thing in the morning since by 10:30 the things closest to the gate had about a 30 minute wait. We did not leave early because of the crowds. We had planned to go to Epcot for the majority of the day. With only 4 usable days it was a matter of packing in 4 parks + 2 Water parks + Recreation activities into a short amount of time. But everyone had things they really wanted to do and we couldn't agree on anything to give up so we just went with the attitude that we see and do what we can and maybe if "Dad" has a good time he will let us come back someday. DH is not too into Amusement parks. The only thing he wanted to do was Epcot so we had to make sure we got there in plenty of time for him to see as much of that as possible so that is the only park that we spent significant time in.

 

[missymouse]

CBR was fine once we got moved to the second room. The first room was in Trinidad South Building 39 which is the farthest building away from everything else. In addition we had the two rooms on the farthest away side of the building on the 1st floor. We initially didn't think it would be too bad with the internal shuttle and thought it wouldn't take all that long to walk it. It took 30 min. to get from check in to the room, 30 min. to walk to Old Port Royale, and we never had the timing right for catching the shuttle so it always took at least 20-30 min. waiting for the internal shuttle as it always seemed it was just pulling away as we would round the corner of the building going to the bus stop. We requested a move to Jamaica which happened the second day so then we were able to walk across the island to get to OPR which was perfect. We ended up in Jamaica Building 45.

 

[essmom]

We went for the EMH at Blizzard Beach. We did just about everything once except Slush n Gush. I would definitely recommend going first thing in the morning since by 10:30 the things closest to the gate had about a 30 minute wait. We did not leave early because of the crowds. We had planned to go to Epcot for the majority of the day. With only 4 usable days it was a matter of packing in 4 parks + 2 Water parks + Recreation activities into a short amount of time. But everyone had things they really wanted to do and we couldn't agree on anything to give up so we just went with the attitude that we see and do what we can and maybe if "Dad" has a good time he will let us come back someday. DH is not too into Amusement parks. The only thing he wanted to do was Epcot so we had to make sure we got there in plenty of time for him to see as much of that as possible so that is the only park that we spent significant time in.[/QUOTE


Thanks- my plan was to go in the morning at 8 but we don't have a morning for MGM so i guess we'll just have to wait in line for RNR and TOT- we plan to be there on Tuesday afternoon and Thursday night-not EMH nights

 

[OhMari]

Wow, you really planned your days-and did a good job. Give your husband a few days and then tell him you want to go back. As your son gets older-he won't get so tired out and there is so much more to do in the parks. My husband hates amusement parks too, but after I started showing him other things, he came around.

 

[heaven2dc]

You guys packed alot of not only park sightseeing but extras as well. Great planning on your part!

Did you use any Fastpasses on this trip? We're going for 6 days/5 nights and I was concerned about getting as much in as possible without seeming rushed to jump from one attraction to another.

 

[missymouse]

Actually my husband had a great time and is more than willing to go back as long as it is only every few years.

We got a few Fastpasses but only used one in the end. We did figure out that the entire week we only rode 12 rides but we had a blast and that is what proved to my husband that it isn't all about the rides.