Parrotheader
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2002
- Messages
- 178
This covers the 7-day land/sea vacation of Keith and Holly from Birmingham, AL as told by Keith (Parrotheader.) Were both 26 with kids still a couple years away. Holly had previously been to Disney World twice (one trip she was too young to remember) and Keith had been 5 times. We're BOTH cruise rookies. Pictures of our trip can also be found at:
http://www.luckie.net/disney/
Day 2 On to Port Orleans and Disney World
Sunday, May 26
We check out of the beautiful Cypress Harbor around 9:30 and drive over (with a carefully planned out route this time) to our Disney resort at Port Orleans Riverside. The resort was crowded for Memorial Day weekend, but we were finally able to get all our check-in work handled (including the check-in for the cruise which was handy since it saved time later.) We checked our bags, parked the car at our building and took a few pictures.
My family has always stayed at Fort Wilderness in the 5 times Id previously been to Disney World. But we always used to go pool and dinner hopping and explore the various resorts so I was very familiar with a lot of them. This was my first time at Port Orleans and I must say I was VERY impressed with the grounds. The resort was beautiful! More beautiful grounds than any of the other resorts in my opinion even though the rooms were nothing fancy. If Wilderness Lodge sprawled out like this one it could probably be more beautiful, but I liked the sheer size of the resort. After walking around for a bit we hopped the bus to MGM right at noon.
At MGM, we hop off the bus and after working our way through the front gate crowds quickly punch in for the Fast Pass at the Tower of Terror (which had us come back at roughly 1:30.) We then had lunch at the Sci-Fi drive in. Wed eaten there before and love the atmosphere with the parked cars/tables and big drive-in movie screen in front of you. After eating, its back to the Tower of Terror (we LOVED it) and then we get a Fast Pass for Aerosmiths Rocking Roller Coaster. Then it was off to Star Tours (only a 10 min. wait) and then off to our favorite show of all, Muppetvision 3D. After the Muppets, we relaxed in the shade, had some ice cream and people watched for about 30 minutes. Then it was off to the Rocking Roller Coaster. It was great, although over VERY quick.
By the way, this was our first time using Fast Pass and we definitely agreed it was the ONLY way to go for major rides. We never waited more than 10 minutes with Fast Pass our entire trip.
We then hopped the bus from MGM back to Port Orleans where we found out our room number (why they couldnt give this to me before was one of my few pet peeves on the trip since we had to stand in line again to find out) and took a nap for about two hours. We got up later than we meant to and tried to rush to a resort near the Magic Kingdom to have dinner and watch the fireworks. We ended up at the Contemporary, but the restaurant up top with a view (California Grill) was too crowded. You could tell people were milking their meals ordering dessert and coffee so they wouldnt have to give up their table for the show. Weve seen the fireworks before so we ate at the restaurant in the main atrium. It was FANTASTIC. The ribs I had were truly amazing.
By the time we got out of dinner, the bus to Port Orleans from the Magic Kingdom was no longer running (Im used to the parks staying open later, another of my few pet peeves on the trip) so we had to take a roundabout route back to Port Orleans. We hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge from the Transportation center, then from Wilderness Lodge we caught the bus (just as it was pulling up) to Pleasure Island. GREAT timing. From THERE we hopped the bus back to Port Orleans since we didnt as yet know if the boat to Port Orleans was running. By this time it was about 11:30 and we were pretty tired so it was off to bed.
Up Next:
Day 3 - Three Parks in One Day
http://www.luckie.net/disney/
Day 2 On to Port Orleans and Disney World
Sunday, May 26
We check out of the beautiful Cypress Harbor around 9:30 and drive over (with a carefully planned out route this time) to our Disney resort at Port Orleans Riverside. The resort was crowded for Memorial Day weekend, but we were finally able to get all our check-in work handled (including the check-in for the cruise which was handy since it saved time later.) We checked our bags, parked the car at our building and took a few pictures.
My family has always stayed at Fort Wilderness in the 5 times Id previously been to Disney World. But we always used to go pool and dinner hopping and explore the various resorts so I was very familiar with a lot of them. This was my first time at Port Orleans and I must say I was VERY impressed with the grounds. The resort was beautiful! More beautiful grounds than any of the other resorts in my opinion even though the rooms were nothing fancy. If Wilderness Lodge sprawled out like this one it could probably be more beautiful, but I liked the sheer size of the resort. After walking around for a bit we hopped the bus to MGM right at noon.
At MGM, we hop off the bus and after working our way through the front gate crowds quickly punch in for the Fast Pass at the Tower of Terror (which had us come back at roughly 1:30.) We then had lunch at the Sci-Fi drive in. Wed eaten there before and love the atmosphere with the parked cars/tables and big drive-in movie screen in front of you. After eating, its back to the Tower of Terror (we LOVED it) and then we get a Fast Pass for Aerosmiths Rocking Roller Coaster. Then it was off to Star Tours (only a 10 min. wait) and then off to our favorite show of all, Muppetvision 3D. After the Muppets, we relaxed in the shade, had some ice cream and people watched for about 30 minutes. Then it was off to the Rocking Roller Coaster. It was great, although over VERY quick.
By the way, this was our first time using Fast Pass and we definitely agreed it was the ONLY way to go for major rides. We never waited more than 10 minutes with Fast Pass our entire trip.
We then hopped the bus from MGM back to Port Orleans where we found out our room number (why they couldnt give this to me before was one of my few pet peeves on the trip since we had to stand in line again to find out) and took a nap for about two hours. We got up later than we meant to and tried to rush to a resort near the Magic Kingdom to have dinner and watch the fireworks. We ended up at the Contemporary, but the restaurant up top with a view (California Grill) was too crowded. You could tell people were milking their meals ordering dessert and coffee so they wouldnt have to give up their table for the show. Weve seen the fireworks before so we ate at the restaurant in the main atrium. It was FANTASTIC. The ribs I had were truly amazing.
By the time we got out of dinner, the bus to Port Orleans from the Magic Kingdom was no longer running (Im used to the parks staying open later, another of my few pet peeves on the trip) so we had to take a roundabout route back to Port Orleans. We hopped the bus to Wilderness Lodge from the Transportation center, then from Wilderness Lodge we caught the bus (just as it was pulling up) to Pleasure Island. GREAT timing. From THERE we hopped the bus back to Port Orleans since we didnt as yet know if the boat to Port Orleans was running. By this time it was about 11:30 and we were pretty tired so it was off to bed.
Up Next:
Day 3 - Three Parks in One Day
