Our Disney Trip to Sara-topia! Sept/Oct MNSSHP & F&W trip(link to dining review 11/1)

[jecskc]

Day 1 – Part One

So I wake everyone up at about 7:30 AM. I have everything ready and DH had packed some of the car the night before. He and DD loaded up the dog and took her to the kennel while I ran a load of laundry and started the dishwasher. I cruised Disboards and facebook while I was waiting and finally DD and Dh were back and we went to Waffle House for breakfast. I would have been fine with a bagel in the car, but the kids wanted waffles so we went. Plus, a big breakfast held us over to dinner time as I had snacks packed for the ride down.

We finally leave at 10:30 AM and our GPS said that we would arrive at 5:15 PM. But I was pretty sure we would arrive before that. We stopped for a bio break in Georgia and as we were approaching the State line, we saw splat, splat, splat on the windshield. For a split second, we thought, “Well, it is raining ..” But no. It was bugs. Lots of bugs. Everywhere. The windshield was a mess. We stopped at the Georgia Welcome Center and when I got out I could see …. It was love bugs. They were everywhere. Gross. DD was a little freaked by it. We stopped for gas and to clean off the bugs and then got closer to our destination.

See the bugs all over the windshield ?? You can’t really see it good in the photo.

DD and DS not into getting their picture taken yet.

DH was OK with it.

DD warming up to the camera

Some more boring highway shots. Actually, these were the highlights ….

DS finally giving us a happy face

Getting closer

And finally …… (scroll through these next three fast)

 

[jecskc]

Day 1 – Part Two

We arrived at about 4:35 PM. And our first night would be spent here

I love this place. It has such a positive vibe. I checked in and our room was ready – YAY !! We were in the 50’s section.

Oh, and by the time we got here, the love bugs were all gone. I assume they were in season in Georgia but had passed their season in Florida. We saw some. But they weren't crazy

View from our room. It was a nice quiet room.

Inside. Very small beds.

Bath area.

Bedspread detail

Towel animal.

Carpet detail.

 

[mimiecp]

Hi! I'm so happy I found your trip report and can't wait to read it. We were at the POP on 9/24 too but we were way over in the 90s. It was a great location too though and very quiet. We were only there one night too before moving to the Coronado. Looking forward to hearing the rest. We had a fantastic time and, frankly, I'm having trouble adjusting to real life.

 

[jecskc]

Hi! I'm so happy I found your trip report and can't wait to read it. We were at the POP on 9/24 too but we were way over in the 90s. It was a great location too though and very quiet. We were only there one night too before moving to the Coronado. Looking forward to hearing the rest. We had a fantastic time and, frankly, I'm having trouble adjusting to real life.

Hey girl !! Welcome back !!! I hate that we missed each other. I would have loved to have met you !! I am having a tough time adjusting to reality as well. Life is rough outside the Disney bubble ....

 

[jecskc]

Day 1 – Part Three

Views.

More photos near the room.

So for this night, we were on the dining plan. DH and I LOVE the dining plan. I love not having to cart food around and DH loves not having to think about how much everything costs. So we did our best to make the dining plan work for us for this one night we are staying at Pop Century. So on the way to dinner at Everything Pop.

We decided to use three counter service credits on this night and use the remaining one for breakfast the next day. So DH and I shared the Chicken Penne Alfredo

DS got chicken nuggets

DD just got Penne Alfredo – or as she calls it “noodles with white sauce”.

For dessert, DH and I had tie-dye cheesecake.

DD had a Oreo Cupcake

DS had some yogurt.

DD LOVES kettle corn so I had to buy her some of this

I really liked this as well.

Our food was good and filling and we enjoyed our dinner at Everything Pop.

Up next …. Shopping !!

 

[jecskc]

Day 1 – Part Four.

After dinner, we went to explore Everything Pop !! I really like this store. It seems to have a little of everything. I got this shirt,

Here’s some other ones I liked but didn’t buy.

I think this was a lantern, but the popcorn buckets looked exactly like it.

Both of the kids had birthday money in the form of Disney gift cards and DD’s was burning a hole in her pocket. She got a charm bracelet.

Some more Halloween Merchandise

 

[jecskc]

Day 1 – Part Five

After shopping, the kids wanted to play in the arcade. DH went back to the room to watch football.

Then the kids wanted to swim so we went back to the room so they could change. Some photos on the way …

We watched football until everyone fell asleep.

Coming up !! Day 2 - Animal Kingdom !!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Joining in!! Can't wait to read more about your trip! Day one looked like lots of fun!

 

[jecskc]

Joining in!! Can't wait to read more about your trip! Day one looked like lots of fun!

Stringbean !! I have so enjoyed reading your trip and dining reports and I am so happy you are here and following along !!

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 1 – Sunday September 25, 2011

So we get up about 7:30 AM and head over to Everything Pop for breakfast. Some morning photos.

DH and I shared the bounty platter.

DS had French toast

DD had a Pop waffle and some bacon

And I had a chocolate croissant.

All of the food was OK. It was breakfast. It filled us up. The chocolate croissant was really good though and DH fussed at me for not sharing any of it with him.

So I check out and we head over to Animal Kingdom. When we went through the parking gate, the CM looked at our parking pass for Pop and said, “Do you know what that means?”. I said “Um, no.” He replied, “It means you can go play now. And be careful, it’s a jungle in there.” It was pretty funny. Anyway, we got to the park right after rope drop.

We got through the turnstiles and DH headed over to the safari to get FP’s. I stopped and bought a pouch for my lanyard to store all my cards and money and DD wanted some sunglasses.

Some more photos as we made our way over to Expedition Everest

So we met DH at EE and there was no wait for the ride. DS and I got right on it. DH and DD won’t ride this. I am not sure why. I don’t think this is a really scary coaster. While we were on the ride, DD conned DH into buying her a Yeti Cat.

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 2

After EE we headed over to ride the Kilimanjaro Safari. We waited about 15-20 minutes in the Fast Pass line. I was pretty sure that everyone in the park was waiting in line for this ride. The standby line was LONG.

Safari photos.

Right after we saw this gorilla taking a nap.

After the safari, the kids needed a snack, so DD got some ice cream and DS got a root beer float.

After that we got Kali River Rapids FP’s and then went over to ride Dinosaur. It was walk-on. No wait.

Then DD and I rode Triceratop Spin. About a 5-10 min wait.

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 3

Primeval Whirl wasn’t running so we went over to play in the Boneyard.

The kids played while DH and I rested and had some water. It had cooled down some here and the humidity had really backed off before we left. But NOT in Florida. It was mid 90’s with 90% humidity and it was oppressive !!! It didn’t feel this hot when we went in June. The temps were the same then, but the humidity this time was horrible. We dealt with it though.

After the Boneyard, we went to the Noon showing of The festival of the Lion King. We have never seen this and it was on our must-do list for this trip. Our camera takes terrible pictures in the dark. But here are some.

We really enjoyed this show and we were really glad we took the time to see it. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it.

After the Lion King, we went over to Pizzafari and had some lunch.

DH and I split a cheese pizza and so did DD and DS.

We got some photos at the DVC booth.

I can’t remember where this was, but I like the photo.

Then the kids and DH went over to ride Kali River Rapids

They got soaked !! I wasn't into getting soaked down to my underpants, so I just chilled on a bench and caught up on E-mail and facebook !!

At this point my camera quit working. I was hoping that the problem was just that the battery needed recharging.

After Kali, the kids wanted some more snacks, so DD got some popcorn and DS and I got some frozen drinks. I got Raspberry Lemonade and DS got a coke slushie. These were so good and refreshing. After our snack, we were tired and decided to leave to check in at our NON-Disney resort – Silver Lake.

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

Disney chocolate croissants really are extra delicious, aren't they? It's okay, I don't like to share mine either!

The Yeti cat is so cute! Definitely a good purchase!

Can't wait to hear about Silver Lake!

 

[jecskc]

Disney chocolate croissants really are extra delicious, aren't they? It's okay, I don't like to share mine either!

The Yeti cat is so cute! Definitely a good purchase!

Can't wait to hear about Silver Lake!

YES !! Those croissants are soo good and they go so well with your morning coffee. DD sure loves stuffed animals. There will be many more pictures of her with her stuffed animal purchases. Silver Lake coming up !! And also - and you will love this - dinner at the Grand Floridian Cafe .....

 

[mimiecp]

I wish we would have run into each other too! It would have been great to meet you. We left POP on Sunday by 7:30 because we were trying to make the opening show at MK and wanted to check into CSR first. We didn't get to spend as much time at POP as I had hoped and never got to the arcade which was to the great disppoinment of DS. I like POP. The rooms are small, but the price is great and it's a fun place to be.

Great updates from AK. We were there on 9/24 and I agree about the heat. It was brutal. We did get frozen cokes based on your recommendation from the last TR and they were great. Very refreshing! I rode EE twice, once as a single rider and once with my dad. I agree it's not a scary coaster. I think my kids would ride it if we went back. We didn't get to do all the things I had hoped at AK, mainly because of the heat. By 2:30, everyone was ready to leave and head to the pool.

Look forward to reading more!

 

[jecskc]

I wish we would have run into each other too! It would have been great to meet you. We left POP on Sunday by 7:30 because we were trying to make the opening show at MK and wanted to check into CSR first. We didn't get to spend as much time at POP as I had hoped and never got to the arcade which was to the great disppoinment of DS. I like POP. The rooms are small, but the price is great and it's a fun place to be.

Great updates from AK. We were there on 9/24 and I agree about the heat. It was brutal. We did get frozen cokes based on your recommendation from the last TR and they were great. Very refreshing! I rode EE twice, once as a single rider and once with my dad. I agree it's not a scary coaster. I think my kids would ride it if we went back. We didn't get to do all the things I had hoped at AK, mainly because of the heat. By 2:30, everyone was ready to leave and head to the pool.

Look forward to reading more!

It was seriously hot at the beginning of the week. I was glad we were used to it or it really would have been miserable. I can't imagine how the guests from up north were handling it. We like Pop, too but the rooms are really small and so are the beds. It really is a good place to stay just for that one night when you get in and just need a place to sleep. I think it is worth it to switch to another resort the next day. You can really save some money for sure.

The frozen drinks really do help with the heat. But you have to make sure you don't drink them too fast so you don't get brain freeze I LOVE EE and want to try to get DH and DD to ride it, but so far I have not been able to. We were always done by 2:00 or 3:00 as well and went back to rest or swim.

 

[jecskc]

So I was super excited about today thinking that it would be my 180 day mark to start making ADR's for my April trip. But NO !! I have to wait three more days . So now I am bummed. The sad life that I lead .....

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 4

Here’s the story about Silver Lake. We currently own a time share through RCI which we purchased in 2008. About a year ago, someone from RCI got DH (who can’t say no to people sometimes) on the phone and talked him into a cruise package. With it we got two 7 day cruises and a free 7 day resort stay. After several months, we decided to book and come to find out, the cruise didn’t include the kids unless we combined the two cruises. This was fine, because I didn’t want to go without the kids and we don’t have anyone who can keep them while we are away for that long anyway. So we ended up booking a 5 day Disney cruise for April of 2012 and using the resort stay for this trip.

BUT …. In June we bought into Disney Vacation Club and I really didn’t want to stay at Silver Lake. DH didn’t want to bag Silver Lake all together because we “paid” for it. I guess we did, but the resort stay was marketed as “free” with the cruise package. So we compromised and agreed to stay at Silver Lake for 4 nights and then stay at a DVC resort for the remainder of the trip, which was only three nights AND we could get the dining plan. And then later on, we decided to add a night at Pop Century.

So anyway, we have stayed at Silver Lake resort two other times and we really liked it. It is very close to everything, quiet and we got a two bedroom unit which had tons of space. The two previous times, we stayed in the newer section and it was updated with granite counter tops, etc. But this time we got a room in the older section and it wasn’t as nice. We still had lots of space, but the décor was definitely late 70’s early 80’s. Clean, but pretty bad in the décor department. An example is they had WALLS of mirrors. The whole entire wall. DD said to me, “Momma, what is with all of the mirrors ??” Anyway, it wasn’t the nice Silver Lake that we remembered. So, if you ever stay there, ask for a room in the NEWER section. It really is very nice and updated.

I guess we could have asked for another room, but I knew we were checking into Saratoga in a few days. And despite the bad décor, the beds were really comfy and we had tons of space, so it was fine. I knew we would never be back because we were DVC members now, so I decided just to stick it out for a few days. I was so indifferent to this resort, that I didn’t even get photos of the room. Something that I regret now because I would love to see what everyone thought about the décor.

So we unload the car and as soon as we get done, it starts pouring down rain. We rest, get a shower and get ready for dinner at Grand Floridian Café. AND I charged the camera and it was working again !!! YAY !! Food porn coming up !!

Even though we had checked out of Pop Century, we still had our dining plan until midnight that night. And we still had 4 table service credits. I had made this ADR beforehand. I have read many dining reports and this place always got good reviews. Oh, and it stopped raining just in time for dinner – YAY again !! So we hop in the car and head on over to the Grand Floridian.

DH didn’t want to spring $12 for valet parking, so we parked in self parking across the street.

Walking in to the resort.

Did I tell ya how bad I want to stay here one day ?? Well, I do. Bad. I was happy to hear that they were building a DVC section. I bet the points will be crazy for it though ….

We go there early so we could cruise all of the gift shops. We hit them all, but didn’t buy anything. I was tempted to buy a bath pillow at Basin and now I wish I had because the Basin in DTD didn’t have them in stock.

More resort photos.

I just love these luxurious touches. Towels right inside the door in case you get all wet when it rains

We checked in for our ADR and we were given a buzzer. We waited a good half hour before our table was ready. Some photos while we waited.

Then finally ….. dinner. We were starving. Our server was Geoff and he was amazing !! He brought us drinks. Sodas for the kids and a Magical Star Cocktail for me.

I just love the Magical Star Cocktail. I thoroughly enjoy its tropical goodness and that light up ice cube in the drink. I think I have 6 of them now. They are so much fun.

DH and our waiter got into a cerebral discussion about red wine. I can’t drink it because it always gives me a migraine, but DH ordered a red wine our waiter suggested. It was a blend. I don’t remember the name of it and I can’t find a wine menu for this restaurant online.

In any case, DH really liked it. A fresh rose on the table.

Our waiter brought this basket of bread. Some plain sourdough rolls and these AMAZING whole grain rolls with currants in them. And they we soooo good !!

For starters, our waiter highly recommended the French Onion soup. Which was the BEST I had ever tasted.

It had four different kinds of cheeses on top ....ohmigod ...... it was so good !!

For dinner DD ordered the kids pizza.

DS got the burger, but he ordered it plain. And the waiter suggested the fries, which were perfect !!

Dh and I ordered the New York Strip

It came with potatoes, carrots and edamame. THIS was amazing !! Cooked perfectly. And it came on the bone and it was huge. The carrots could have been cooked a little more, but other than that, a most excellent meal.

DH ordered another red wine – a Cabernet this time. He liked it but he said the blend was better. For dessert, DD got the worms and dirt which she loved.

DS got vanilla ice cream

And DH and I got the sampler for two.

And it was sooo delicious. There was key lime pie, Boston cream pie cake, a fruit tart and lemon cheesecake. And to top it all off a dark chocolate Mickey.

We very much enjoyed our dinner here and would definitely go again.

 

[jecskc]

Day 2 – Part 5

After dinner, we decided to try to catch the MK fireworks from the Poly. But DH took forever to settle the bill at GFC. He gets the receipt and looks over it for like 15-20 minutes. I’m not sure why. I guess he is looking for some kind of mistake ?? Anyway, I adore him, but this drives me crazy. So by the time we got on the monorail to get over to the Poly, Wishes had started. We made it down the beach to watch the last few minutes.

Some really bad night photos of the volcano pool.

We went back inside to look around the gift shops. I got some Mickey Mouse head scrapbook scissors and a pink sparkly wine stopper.

DD got a Baby Pluto doll

Some photos around the resort

Then we called it a night and went back to our resort to get some sleep.

Up next ….Epcot !!

 

[Stringbean&Wingnut]

I'm so glad you guys had a great dinner at GFC!! I've only ever had breakfast there, but the lunch and dinner menus look really good too! (I'll admit, that dessert sampler might be the thing that gets me to make an ADR there! )

Wishes from the Poly beach sounds so nice and relaxing! I've actually never seen Wishes from any location except on YouTube (I know, right? ) - I'm DETERMINED to see it (live! in person!) on our upcoming trip!