catherines_mama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Sep 3, 2003
- Messages
- 1,950
HELLO! Okay, I am a 1-day trip freak! I have family in Bradenton (about 2 hrs from WDW) and each time I'm down there I MUST have a day trip to WDW. Last Oct, it was MK, this year with the Holiday crowds, it was AK.
Cast & Crew:
ME - 28 yr old single mom to the DD below, Disney Fanatic
Jenn - 31 yr old, my sister who isn't a ride fan at ALL but it great at keeping DD busy
Andi - 32 yr old, my bestest friend who lives in Bradenton
DD - my sweet little 4 1/2 yr old, who slowly is becoming a fanatic like me.
TourPlanning.com said 12/28 was a STAY AWAY FROM AK day. Well, Sorry Mike, I was still going. We drove over on the 27th and did some GREAT resort hopping. 1st we took the boat to MK then over to WL. WOW WL is a beautiful resort. One day when I have more $$ I will definetly stay there, and the boat was not a bother at all! Great transportation. Back to MK we went -- WOW it was crowded -- and jumped the Monorail to Contemp. yeah.. I was not at ALL impressed with anything at Contemp. I know some people LOVE it, and that's okay if its your taste, it just isn't mine. Next stop on the monorail was Poly. Love the Poly, but wasn't that excited by it. We grabbed some food there and had a nice meal. NEXT was the GF. Andi was really excited about seeing GF thanks to the FOOD and HGTV channels. WOW, this is THE most beautiful resort I've ever seen. On a girls only spoil weekend, this is where we'd stay. WOW! Here DD got some time to sit on the beach and play while we rested. Back on the monorail to the car and off we went to the Comfort Suites Maingate East (no complaints) and Outback for dinner
YUMM!
Up at 6am!!! I got up and started getting ready. We had 3 women here.. yikes. DD started slow, she was a bit grumpy. Ready, car packed and checked out we headed to McDonalds for breakfast then onto AK! WOOHOO! We got there at about 7:20 and while the crew finished off breakfast with the heater on (wooses) I went up to get tickets. I knew it was an AK EE day so I wasn't surprised to see the crowd. Tickets in hand I head back to gather the crew. At this point I told them "ya'll its gonna be crowded, it will be tough to walk BUT trust me, and we'll never wait in a line" I have a friend named Tourguide Mike SOOO Off we went. We stopped at Guest Services to get Andi a FL Resident discount, and the guest services guy told her to say my DD was hers and I got a discount for her too!
My DD SO does not get the finger thing, neither does Jenn so we all laugh and while they do a potty trip I (the knowledgable one) speedwalk to TTBAB and get Fast Passes. I meet them right at the tree and head to the Safaris. On the way we stop to see Pluto & Meeko. DD and Meeko have always had GREAT interaction, and he's just as great this time. Jenn loves the characters as much as DD so she's up in the pictures with her LOL
NEXT its the Safaris! Andi was alreading thinking AK would be "lame" but she was starting to 'get' it. KS was a walk on I think we stood still for maybe 1 minute. The Safari really won her over! EVERYONE loved it! No elephant sightings 
but we had some GREAT views of the lions actually up and active. Off the Safari we visit the tigers & Gorilla (he's so grumpy). Then back in Africa I dip off to grab FP to Dionsaur while they watch a street performance. I'm a bit sad I did this. I left DD her book but not the camera. They brought her in to play instrument and the king signed her book. No pictures though.
Oh well.. Dino FP in hand I meet them at the Discovery Trails where DD is in line for Flick. YEAH.. I made it just in time. GREAT interaction with Flick & DD. He pretended to drop her book in the jungle and I really was like "umm was he supposed to do that" HA I'm gullible. DD LOVED it! After a quick visit with Stitch who was another GREAT interaction we headed to Lion King! We were just in time for the 1st show of the day 9:40 (we got there around 9:30)
I LOVE this show! Its really my favorite ever! Everyone agreed! We visited with Donald and Goofy after Lion King. Minnie & Mickey were just too long, and we have them anyway. As Camp Minnie / Mickey was REALLY crowded we got out of there quickly. Nobody was hungry yet, so we scooted over to TTBAB. Using our FP we walked right in as the theater was loading and REALY enjoyed the show. This was a 1st time experience for us, as last time at AK I thought DD was too young for it. She liked it a bunch. Philarmagic is STILL our favorite though.
TTBAB done, and we headed to DINOLAND. After a stop at Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore & Piglet (busy so not GREAT interaction, but still really good), we were off. Jenn & DD went to the Boneyard while Andi & I did Dinosaeur. A+++ for this one. This was a 1st again b/c it was just DD and I last time. We scooped Jenn & DD up from the Boneyard (btw, every park needs one of these) we headed to TriSpin (cannot spell it). While Andi and DD ride it (maybe 10 min wait) Jenn decides where to eat.
Lunch was at Pizzafari. YUM, DD and I ate here last big trip (2/04) It was crowded but we found a great seat on the back porch. We enjoyed lunch and really forgot where we were for awhile it was so calm back there.
After Pizzafari DD konked out in the stroller. We were going to see Flights of Wonder, but oh well. We just walked around looking in the stores etc. Andi and I drooled at Exploration Everest and began counting the days until our June trip. DD woke up and we decided to do Rafikki's Conservation Station. We enjoyed it back in '04 but DD was much younger then. She only enjoyed the comfort station and we didnt even go inside for autographes. It was about 2:30 by now and we really wanted to head back for a good parade spot. HOLY COW!!! Everyone in Rafikki's had the same idea. It took us 20 min to get on the train. YUCK! Our only mistake of the day.
Back to reality we walk towards the hub and get a really good spot in front of the info board. DD and Jenn settled in while I ran for a surprise and Andi ran to get a gift for a friend back home. I went to Rainforest b/c DD loves the Water Wiggles. I got her 2 (you all KNOW one will break or be lost w/in the hour). Back at our spots the parade started about 10 min later. This is my FAVORITE afternoon parade. Its so colorful and lively!
Parade over, out we go! We stopped at Guest Services to upgrade our tickets. During our day we'd decided a week at WDW is needed. Andi (FL Resident) got an Annual Pass, while I got a 10day Non-Expiration Hopper. I wanted to get DD the same, but since we'd changed her ticket to FL Resident it was cheaper to do Annual Pass. AP RATES HELLO! SO our June trip was born. Andi's mom and her neice will be there in a condo that week too, so it'll be a great time!!
As always I loved AK! As I've only been before in Feb, the crowds were CRAZY! but if you stick to your plan, waits are minimal!
Off to plan my June trip!
Cast & Crew:
ME - 28 yr old single mom to the DD below, Disney Fanatic
Jenn - 31 yr old, my sister who isn't a ride fan at ALL but it great at keeping DD busy
Andi - 32 yr old, my bestest friend who lives in Bradenton
DD - my sweet little 4 1/2 yr old, who slowly is becoming a fanatic like me.
TourPlanning.com said 12/28 was a STAY AWAY FROM AK day. Well, Sorry Mike, I was still going. We drove over on the 27th and did some GREAT resort hopping. 1st we took the boat to MK then over to WL. WOW WL is a beautiful resort. One day when I have more $$ I will definetly stay there, and the boat was not a bother at all! Great transportation. Back to MK we went -- WOW it was crowded -- and jumped the Monorail to Contemp. yeah.. I was not at ALL impressed with anything at Contemp. I know some people LOVE it, and that's okay if its your taste, it just isn't mine. Next stop on the monorail was Poly. Love the Poly, but wasn't that excited by it. We grabbed some food there and had a nice meal. NEXT was the GF. Andi was really excited about seeing GF thanks to the FOOD and HGTV channels. WOW, this is THE most beautiful resort I've ever seen. On a girls only spoil weekend, this is where we'd stay. WOW! Here DD got some time to sit on the beach and play while we rested. Back on the monorail to the car and off we went to the Comfort Suites Maingate East (no complaints) and Outback for dinner
YUMM!Up at 6am!!! I got up and started getting ready. We had 3 women here.. yikes. DD started slow, she was a bit grumpy. Ready, car packed and checked out we headed to McDonalds for breakfast then onto AK! WOOHOO! We got there at about 7:20 and while the crew finished off breakfast with the heater on (wooses) I went up to get tickets. I knew it was an AK EE day so I wasn't surprised to see the crowd. Tickets in hand I head back to gather the crew. At this point I told them "ya'll its gonna be crowded, it will be tough to walk BUT trust me, and we'll never wait in a line"
I have a friend named Tourguide Mike SOOO Off we went. We stopped at Guest Services to get Andi a FL Resident discount, and the guest services guy told her to say my DD was hers and I got a discount for her too! My DD SO does not get the finger thing, neither does Jenn so we all laugh and while they do a potty trip I (the knowledgable one) speedwalk to TTBAB and get Fast Passes. I meet them right at the tree and head to the Safaris. On the way we stop to see Pluto & Meeko. DD and Meeko have always had GREAT interaction, and he's just as great this time. Jenn loves the characters as much as DD so she's up in the pictures with her LOL
NEXT its the Safaris! Andi was alreading thinking AK would be "lame" but she was starting to 'get' it. KS was a walk on
I think we stood still for maybe 1 minute. The Safari really won her over! EVERYONE loved it! No elephant sightings but we had some GREAT views of the lions actually up and active. Off the Safari we visit the tigers & Gorilla (he's so grumpy). Then back in Africa I dip off to grab FP to Dionsaur while they watch a street performance. I'm a bit sad I did this. I left DD her book but not the camera. They brought her in to play instrument and the king signed her book. No pictures though.Oh well.. Dino FP in hand I meet them at the Discovery Trails where DD is in line for Flick. YEAH.. I made it just in time. GREAT interaction with Flick & DD. He pretended to drop her book in the jungle and I really was like "umm was he supposed to do that" HA I'm gullible. DD LOVED it! After a quick visit with Stitch who was another GREAT interaction we headed to Lion King! We were just in time for the 1st show of the day 9:40 (we got there around 9:30)
I LOVE this show! Its really my favorite ever! Everyone agreed! We visited with Donald and Goofy after Lion King. Minnie & Mickey were just too long, and we have them anyway. As Camp Minnie / Mickey was REALLY crowded we got out of there quickly. Nobody was hungry yet, so we scooted over to TTBAB. Using our FP we walked right in as the theater was loading and REALY enjoyed the show. This was a 1st time experience for us, as last time at AK I thought DD was too young for it. She liked it a bunch. Philarmagic is STILL our favorite though.
TTBAB done, and we headed to DINOLAND. After a stop at Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore & Piglet (busy so not GREAT interaction, but still really good), we were off. Jenn & DD went to the Boneyard while Andi & I did Dinosaeur. A+++ for this one. This was a 1st again b/c it was just DD and I last time. We scooped Jenn & DD up from the Boneyard (btw, every park needs one of these) we headed to TriSpin (cannot spell it). While Andi and DD ride it (maybe 10 min wait) Jenn decides where to eat.
Lunch was at Pizzafari. YUM, DD and I ate here last big trip (2/04) It was crowded but we found a great seat on the back porch. We enjoyed lunch and really forgot where we were for awhile it was so calm back there.
After Pizzafari DD konked out in the stroller. We were going to see Flights of Wonder, but oh well. We just walked around looking in the stores etc. Andi and I drooled at Exploration Everest and began counting the days until our June trip. DD woke up and we decided to do Rafikki's Conservation Station. We enjoyed it back in '04 but DD was much younger then. She only enjoyed the comfort station and we didnt even go inside for autographes. It was about 2:30 by now and we really wanted to head back for a good parade spot. HOLY COW!!! Everyone in Rafikki's had the same idea. It took us 20 min to get on the train. YUCK! Our only mistake of the day.
Back to reality we walk towards the hub and get a really good spot in front of the info board. DD and Jenn settled in while I ran for a surprise and Andi ran to get a gift for a friend back home. I went to Rainforest b/c DD loves the Water Wiggles. I got her 2 (you all KNOW one will break or be lost w/in the hour). Back at our spots the parade started about 10 min later. This is my FAVORITE afternoon parade. Its so colorful and lively!
Parade over, out we go! We stopped at Guest Services to upgrade our tickets. During our day we'd decided a week at WDW is needed. Andi (FL Resident) got an Annual Pass, while I got a 10day Non-Expiration Hopper. I wanted to get DD the same, but since we'd changed her ticket to FL Resident it was cheaper to do Annual Pass. AP RATES HELLO! SO our June trip was born. Andi's mom and her neice will be there in a condo that week too, so it'll be a great time!!
As always I loved AK! As I've only been before in Feb, the crowds were CRAZY! but if you stick to your plan, waits are minimal!
Off to plan my June trip!
