Jennie in TO
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2003
- Messages
- 97
Mom, Dad, Anne- 15, John- 13, Emily- 10, Mary- 8 went to Disney for the very first time.....
Day 1: We drove down from Toronto through Buffalo where it started to snow....and snow....and snow....all the way through to Wytheville, VA. We saw accidents galore and the interstates were merely two ruts through the snow. Is there no such thing as a salter or plow in WV?? Thank you God for keeping us safe.
Day 2: We made it through to St. Augustine in 23 hours. Between traffic in Toronto and snow until Virginia, it was a slow trip. Stopped at the Comfort Inn and Suites on International Golf Drive and had a nice swim. Discovered Chili's restaurant and loved it! We don't have them in Canada.
Day 3: Another two hour drive and we made it to WDW by 10 am and checked in at Pop Century (two adjoining rooms) by 10:30. Left the luggage in the car and headed off to MGM by 11 am. We did Star Tours...fun! ....3-D Muppet....hilarious!.... had lunch at Pizza Planet...really good!.... The Great Movie Ride...well, our 8 year old liked it but the rest of us found it boring. There was a long wait because somebody collapsed and an ambulance was called. It would have been kind of fun, but it wasn't worth the long wait. We also missed the parade because we had been stuck in the line up, so we were disappointed. We met Eeyore and Chip and Dale and Minnie and headed off to the Rock n Roller coaster which everybody loved! What a take off!!! The girls and I went to Beauty and the Beast (really good) while the boys did Tower of Terror. We also saw Indiana Jones which we all loved. We caught Fantasmic (the last day it was on that week) and were wowed by it. What an amazing show. I think we ate back at the hotel.....meatball subs and salads from the marketplace.
Day 4: Animal Kingdom. We loved the safari, and the Primeval Whirl. We all loved Tough to be a Bug except for the 8 year old who got scared by the bad guys part way through and ended up crying quietly on my shoulder plugging her ears. There were a few kids who ended up in tears I noticed. We had a lovely quiet day wandering throught the "jungles" and meeting characters. We saw Lion King....awesome! and Pocohontas...very sweet! We had lots of fun with the Beatnicks, then had lunch at Flame Tree and really enjoyed it. We saw Tarzan rocks but found it very loud and unfamiliar....we never saw the movie. The kids enjoyed the roller bladers and the rope act by Tarzan and Jane. We managed to catch the parade and really enjoyed it...lots of fun! We had supper at Pop (hot sandwiches, chicken soup and shrimp lo mein) which was yummy. We finished the evening by going to see the Illuminations at Epcot. The kids were all tired by then but we were all dazzled none the less.
Day 5: Magic Kingdom and off to the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Run, Space Mountain, Pirates, and Philharmagic first. Because of this board we know to do the BIG rides first and then take it easy the rest of the day! We loved Philharmagic and several of us saw it several times. We also loved SM, and Thunder Run even more. Did all of these several times. We met a few characters and I got grabbed by Hook and hugged and kissed! Lots of fun! We met Push, the garbage can, in Tomorrowland and had a riot talking with him. He and Francis, in Epcot, are brilliantly done! We also hit the Carousel and Indy speedway which the little ones really enjoyed. The Astro-orbiter and TTA, Peter Pan and Pooh were in there somewhere as well. We used our fastpasses in the afternoon when things got really busy. They work very well! We saw the parade near Liberty Square and the girls got to be part of the Bucket Brigade with the Mops. We had lunch at Pecos Bills which was good...I think we had the chicken wraps and possibly a hamburger. We caught the Spectromagic parade (the only time it was showing that week) and it was awesome!! We had some hotdogs from Casey's while we watched!
Day 6: Epcot early opening where we hit Test Track a few times...lots of fun! Spaceship earth... interesting. Mission Space... which everyone loved except the 10 year old who felt ill for an hour afterwards. I think it may have been nerves more than the ride though. She really didn't want to go on and we insisted she try it. I usually get motion sickness and I really didn't understand what all the fuss was about on this ride. It was fun, but I was expecting it to be worse than it was. While the 10 year old recovered on the bench with Dad, the rest of us went to Undersea Kingdom which was nice. We went outside to find Nemo and some very strange coral walking around outside! We also bumped into Francis, the talking robot, who shocked us with his knowledge of Canada! These talking thingummies are extremely well done! We went and saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience where the 8 year old refused to put on the glasses. It wasn't as good as the other 3-D shows. It seemed a little older. We also caught the Jammitors and Kristos which we really enjoyed. We then walked around the world showcase...or as we called it....we ate around the world showcase, stopping everywhere to get a little taste of everything. We did this by buying one or two things and sharing them between the six of us. We saw most of the live shows, but none of the movies. The live shows are excellent...we saw Serveur Amusant, The World Showcase Players, The Japanese candy artists and drummers, the Chinese child acrobats, the Statue act...etc. All wonderful fun! After all the food, nobody was hungry for supper so we just had two salads at Pop which we split along with some yogurt and other tidbits we brought from home. We took a trip home via the monorail, by way of Magic Kingdom, and the kids had fun riding up front.
The next two days we relaxed and revisited places. The older two and Dad went back to MGM where they re-did several things, several times. They went to Prime Time where the food was good but their waitress didn't act up very much and so they were disappointed. They said they needed me and the girls there to egg her on...I tend to be the ham! The girls and I went to Magic Kingdom again where we rode a lot of the kiddy rides and saw many characters as well as the show at the castle. The girls loved roaming through Tom Sawyer's island and riding the train. A very relaxing day, indeed! We finished it off by meeting at the Kingdom and watching Wishes....spectacular! It was our favourite. Tinker Bell was a real treat and a great surprise!
The last day we went to MGM where we were all persuaded to ride TOT. The girls and I hadn't wanted to....but we all loved it and went on twice! We then went and played mini-golf and then on to DisneyQuest where we had fun. A couple of the kids baled out and went with Dad back to the hotel where they had a swim. That evening we went souvenir shopping at Wal-Mart and hit a Chili's again....really delicious!
The trip back, I'm glad to say, was a dream. No snow at all! We made it home in 21 hours.
Impressions:
1. Pop Century was clean and comfortable and the housekeeping was great. Little animals made of towels and lots of soap and shampoo. We also tipped generously and left little treats for her! The beds are comfortable, the curtains worked, the heating/cooling system was very quiet! We found one room consistantly hotter than the other even though they were set at the same temperature. We just adjusted individually and we were fine.
2. WDW is kept very clean... you never saw garbage anywhere.
3. Use the fastpass machines. We saw people standing in line for 30-45 minutes and we would just walk in front of them and get on the ride. Why wouldn't they use them????
4. We had good, sunny weather ranging anywhere from a high of 58 to 79. There was only one rain storm and that was at night. The pools are heated so dive in!
5. None of the food was memorable although it was good, but we ate only at counter service restaurants. We didn't go for the food and wanted to spend most of our time in the parks. We brought our own snacks and drinks and breakfast food which worked out very well. We did the cooler trick in the bathtub to keep things cold. We would rent a locker and stuff coats, food and drinks in there till we needed them. The meals tend to be big so we often split things. We are not big eaters so we always had enough.
6. Pop Century bus transportation is excellent....USE IT!!!! If we ever go back (please, please, please!) we would definitely stay at at a resort again. The convenience and quality is awesome.
7. Epcot World Showcase is under rated. The live shows were a real highlight for us! Everybody enjoyed them thoroughly!
8. Magic Moments....PUSH, Francis, me getting "accosted" by Captain Hook, Anne shaking Peter Pan's hand at the parade, the girls getting teased by Chip and Dale, Mary finding a rare Meeko pin...her favourite character....umm...everything really! Oh, and meeting people from all over the world, both CM's and guests!
9. I don't get why people pay so much money for character breakfasts when it is so easy to meet characters? But that's just me.
10. Parade hogs....this ticks me off. We got a really good spot for the MK parade, but the adults behind us woudn't let any of the kids behind them move up front. We let one litte girl come up front and her mother took this as a cue to be a parade hog. I took great joy in dragging every child I could find and putting them up front while gradually pushing this animal further and further behind. I can't believe that adults would block a child's view even when the child is obviously straining to see around them.
11. Sad moments were noticing how many Children's Wish Foundation kids were there. We were happy for them, but sad to know what they were going through. Also sad, was the number of obese people we saw. Not just the post-baby, or hitting forty syndrome which most of us get, but grotesquely obese. I hope I am not insulting anyone here, but I found this very sad. I don't know how they can carry that weight around or enjoy the stares, or the rides. I saw more of this in the US then I ever have in Canada. Very sad.
Anyway.....we loved it! I would love to go back and my girls have decided that they would love to work there as characters for a year! I don't know if we will ever go back...I will try to persuade my husband, but it was a lot of money and a very long journey! But once in a lifetime is special, too!
Day 1: We drove down from Toronto through Buffalo where it started to snow....and snow....and snow....all the way through to Wytheville, VA. We saw accidents galore and the interstates were merely two ruts through the snow. Is there no such thing as a salter or plow in WV?? Thank you God for keeping us safe.
Day 2: We made it through to St. Augustine in 23 hours. Between traffic in Toronto and snow until Virginia, it was a slow trip. Stopped at the Comfort Inn and Suites on International Golf Drive and had a nice swim. Discovered Chili's restaurant and loved it! We don't have them in Canada.
Day 3: Another two hour drive and we made it to WDW by 10 am and checked in at Pop Century (two adjoining rooms) by 10:30. Left the luggage in the car and headed off to MGM by 11 am. We did Star Tours...fun! ....3-D Muppet....hilarious!.... had lunch at Pizza Planet...really good!.... The Great Movie Ride...well, our 8 year old liked it but the rest of us found it boring. There was a long wait because somebody collapsed and an ambulance was called. It would have been kind of fun, but it wasn't worth the long wait. We also missed the parade because we had been stuck in the line up, so we were disappointed. We met Eeyore and Chip and Dale and Minnie and headed off to the Rock n Roller coaster which everybody loved! What a take off!!! The girls and I went to Beauty and the Beast (really good) while the boys did Tower of Terror. We also saw Indiana Jones which we all loved. We caught Fantasmic (the last day it was on that week) and were wowed by it. What an amazing show. I think we ate back at the hotel.....meatball subs and salads from the marketplace.
Day 4: Animal Kingdom. We loved the safari, and the Primeval Whirl. We all loved Tough to be a Bug except for the 8 year old who got scared by the bad guys part way through and ended up crying quietly on my shoulder plugging her ears. There were a few kids who ended up in tears I noticed. We had a lovely quiet day wandering throught the "jungles" and meeting characters. We saw Lion King....awesome! and Pocohontas...very sweet! We had lots of fun with the Beatnicks, then had lunch at Flame Tree and really enjoyed it. We saw Tarzan rocks but found it very loud and unfamiliar....we never saw the movie. The kids enjoyed the roller bladers and the rope act by Tarzan and Jane. We managed to catch the parade and really enjoyed it...lots of fun! We had supper at Pop (hot sandwiches, chicken soup and shrimp lo mein) which was yummy. We finished the evening by going to see the Illuminations at Epcot. The kids were all tired by then but we were all dazzled none the less.
Day 5: Magic Kingdom and off to the Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Run, Space Mountain, Pirates, and Philharmagic first. Because of this board we know to do the BIG rides first and then take it easy the rest of the day! We loved Philharmagic and several of us saw it several times. We also loved SM, and Thunder Run even more. Did all of these several times. We met a few characters and I got grabbed by Hook and hugged and kissed! Lots of fun! We met Push, the garbage can, in Tomorrowland and had a riot talking with him. He and Francis, in Epcot, are brilliantly done! We also hit the Carousel and Indy speedway which the little ones really enjoyed. The Astro-orbiter and TTA, Peter Pan and Pooh were in there somewhere as well. We used our fastpasses in the afternoon when things got really busy. They work very well! We saw the parade near Liberty Square and the girls got to be part of the Bucket Brigade with the Mops. We had lunch at Pecos Bills which was good...I think we had the chicken wraps and possibly a hamburger. We caught the Spectromagic parade (the only time it was showing that week) and it was awesome!! We had some hotdogs from Casey's while we watched!
Day 6: Epcot early opening where we hit Test Track a few times...lots of fun! Spaceship earth... interesting. Mission Space... which everyone loved except the 10 year old who felt ill for an hour afterwards. I think it may have been nerves more than the ride though. She really didn't want to go on and we insisted she try it. I usually get motion sickness and I really didn't understand what all the fuss was about on this ride. It was fun, but I was expecting it to be worse than it was. While the 10 year old recovered on the bench with Dad, the rest of us went to Undersea Kingdom which was nice. We went outside to find Nemo and some very strange coral walking around outside! We also bumped into Francis, the talking robot, who shocked us with his knowledge of Canada! These talking thingummies are extremely well done! We went and saw Honey I Shrunk the Audience where the 8 year old refused to put on the glasses. It wasn't as good as the other 3-D shows. It seemed a little older. We also caught the Jammitors and Kristos which we really enjoyed. We then walked around the world showcase...or as we called it....we ate around the world showcase, stopping everywhere to get a little taste of everything. We did this by buying one or two things and sharing them between the six of us. We saw most of the live shows, but none of the movies. The live shows are excellent...we saw Serveur Amusant, The World Showcase Players, The Japanese candy artists and drummers, the Chinese child acrobats, the Statue act...etc. All wonderful fun! After all the food, nobody was hungry for supper so we just had two salads at Pop which we split along with some yogurt and other tidbits we brought from home. We took a trip home via the monorail, by way of Magic Kingdom, and the kids had fun riding up front.
The next two days we relaxed and revisited places. The older two and Dad went back to MGM where they re-did several things, several times. They went to Prime Time where the food was good but their waitress didn't act up very much and so they were disappointed. They said they needed me and the girls there to egg her on...I tend to be the ham! The girls and I went to Magic Kingdom again where we rode a lot of the kiddy rides and saw many characters as well as the show at the castle. The girls loved roaming through Tom Sawyer's island and riding the train. A very relaxing day, indeed! We finished it off by meeting at the Kingdom and watching Wishes....spectacular! It was our favourite. Tinker Bell was a real treat and a great surprise!
The last day we went to MGM where we were all persuaded to ride TOT. The girls and I hadn't wanted to....but we all loved it and went on twice! We then went and played mini-golf and then on to DisneyQuest where we had fun. A couple of the kids baled out and went with Dad back to the hotel where they had a swim. That evening we went souvenir shopping at Wal-Mart and hit a Chili's again....really delicious!
The trip back, I'm glad to say, was a dream. No snow at all! We made it home in 21 hours.
Impressions:
1. Pop Century was clean and comfortable and the housekeeping was great. Little animals made of towels and lots of soap and shampoo. We also tipped generously and left little treats for her! The beds are comfortable, the curtains worked, the heating/cooling system was very quiet! We found one room consistantly hotter than the other even though they were set at the same temperature. We just adjusted individually and we were fine.
2. WDW is kept very clean... you never saw garbage anywhere.
3. Use the fastpass machines. We saw people standing in line for 30-45 minutes and we would just walk in front of them and get on the ride. Why wouldn't they use them????
4. We had good, sunny weather ranging anywhere from a high of 58 to 79. There was only one rain storm and that was at night. The pools are heated so dive in!
5. None of the food was memorable although it was good, but we ate only at counter service restaurants. We didn't go for the food and wanted to spend most of our time in the parks. We brought our own snacks and drinks and breakfast food which worked out very well. We did the cooler trick in the bathtub to keep things cold. We would rent a locker and stuff coats, food and drinks in there till we needed them. The meals tend to be big so we often split things. We are not big eaters so we always had enough.
6. Pop Century bus transportation is excellent....USE IT!!!! If we ever go back (please, please, please!) we would definitely stay at at a resort again. The convenience and quality is awesome.
7. Epcot World Showcase is under rated. The live shows were a real highlight for us! Everybody enjoyed them thoroughly!
8. Magic Moments....PUSH, Francis, me getting "accosted" by Captain Hook, Anne shaking Peter Pan's hand at the parade, the girls getting teased by Chip and Dale, Mary finding a rare Meeko pin...her favourite character....umm...everything really! Oh, and meeting people from all over the world, both CM's and guests!
9. I don't get why people pay so much money for character breakfasts when it is so easy to meet characters? But that's just me.
10. Parade hogs....this ticks me off. We got a really good spot for the MK parade, but the adults behind us woudn't let any of the kids behind them move up front. We let one litte girl come up front and her mother took this as a cue to be a parade hog. I took great joy in dragging every child I could find and putting them up front while gradually pushing this animal further and further behind. I can't believe that adults would block a child's view even when the child is obviously straining to see around them.
11. Sad moments were noticing how many Children's Wish Foundation kids were there. We were happy for them, but sad to know what they were going through. Also sad, was the number of obese people we saw. Not just the post-baby, or hitting forty syndrome which most of us get, but grotesquely obese. I hope I am not insulting anyone here, but I found this very sad. I don't know how they can carry that weight around or enjoy the stares, or the rides. I saw more of this in the US then I ever have in Canada. Very sad.
Anyway.....we loved it! I would love to go back and my girls have decided that they would love to work there as characters for a year! I don't know if we will ever go back...I will try to persuade my husband, but it was a lot of money and a very long journey! But once in a lifetime is special, too!
I'm talking much, much bigger. I do understand that some people's genetics make them heavier than others....my SIL for instance. Some families run big and I have no problem with that. Our family is quite skinny, and that has nothing to do with watching our weight and exercising either....it is just the way we are. But many of the people I saw were just extraordinarily huge. I though I might offend someone with that comment, but rest assured, it wasn't intended as an insult. I truly feel badly for them. No hurt feelings I trust!
)
) Do you think there'll be some cranky Canucks at Pop Century if the air conditioning isn't working?
My kids probably felt like they were being cuddled by a pincushion with me....
