- Joined
- Aug 7, 2000
- Messages
- 24,377
Just got back from a Magical trip to the World. Our Cast consists of Myself, the planner and Disney Commando, DH, doesnt care what we do, my Mother, who has come on a few trips with us now and always loves what I have planned, Cameron 7 and Colton 4. This was their 7th & 6th trips respectively so they have a good grasp of the place. I wont go into dining reviews here as I posted them on the Restaurant Board. I also went into more detail about the resorts on the Resort Board.
Friday
This was probably the latest we got to sleep all week. Since we had been out late the previous night and we were just taking the monorail to MK we tried to get as much rest as possible. DH & I got up and got ready, then dragged the kids from DMs room at about 7:30. We got them ready and we were off to Captain Cooks for breakfast.
After breakfast, we hopped the monorail to the MK and arrived at 8:35. I know this because I looked at my watch while exiting the monorail and it was the last time I saw my watch.
The reason I checked the time was because of the huge crowds at the MK today. I couldnt believe it. From the looks of things, this was going to be a busy day and it was probably the biggest crowds we had seen yet. Ironically the next morning, Saturday, which I expected to be mobbed, wasnt half as bad.
We walked to the turnstiles and before long were let in. Thats when I noticed my watch was gone. DM and I tried backtracking and a nice CM allowed us to leave and come right back in. We had tickets anyway, but she didnt make us use them. But, we had no luck finding the watch...and at that point I didnt care and I just wanted to get into the MK. The crowds were getting me worried.
So, we saw the opening ceremony and were on our way. DH ran to get FPs for Thunder Mt, a ride Colton has been saying he wanted to do for a year now. Cam still has no interest in that one and since its sort of bumpy, and I know hes not thrilled of that type of ride, I didnt push it with him. The rest of us headed to Splasht Mt. This is another one both DSs and DM werent too sure of, but I really thought they would enjoy it so I nagged, LOL! Im a good nagger and before long we were all in a log in the Briar Patch. That was one picture I had to buy. DM was glad she did it and she would do it again she said just not on that trip, LOL! Cam got a little upset at the drop, but afterwards he had the look that I know all too well, he liked it, thought he was crazy for worrying, but wont admit that he had fun.
Colt went with his usual I hate that ride, while smiling
again, he has to be like Cam. But wait until tomorrow to see how much he hated it. 
After Splash we went on Pirates of the Carribean, then DH ran to get FPs for Haunted Mansion while we rode Aladdin. Despite the crowds we were doing ok with lines. So far those were all walk ons an advantage to getting to the parks at opening.
It was now our Thunder Mt FP time so we headed back over that way. DH, Colt, and I rode first, while DM stayed with Cam. Once again, Colt hated that ride while laughing through it. When we met up with the others and DM and I were getting ready to ride, Colton piped up with Grandma, do you want me to take you on it? yep, he hated it, LOL! So, he went on with her instead of me riding again and he hated it again.
By now it was a little before 11:00 and Goofys Jamboree was starting at 11:00 perfect! We went to there and saw the show. DM had never been in there and she really enjoyed it. My kids seem to get a little overwhelmed in there, but I had fun dancing with the characters. I mean, the other kids in there had fun dancing with the characters.
We then went to check out the wait time for the Jungle Cruise which was about 20 minutes. We noticed the Tiki Room was just starting a show so we ran a bit and made it in there, just in time. I know this show doesnt get many good reviews, but I love it. Iago always makes me laugh. And it also cracks me up that no one stands when they tell you to. A few times now Ive been the only one who does it at first and people look at me like Im nuts.
DH & the kids took a quick walk up the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House while DM and I found a spot in the shade. The kids wanted Dole Whips for lunch again, but I was waiting to get my lunch back at the Poly(take out wings from Kona Café). I did take a couple bites of the kids though. I had to help them since they were melting.
It was then time for our FPs for Haunted Mansion. After we rode that it was about 1:00 and we called it a day. DM went to DTD to get a head start on her shopping (we were going there later). We headed back to the Poly on the monorail. Unfortunately the car in front of us had mechanical problems, which made us keep stopping for quite a while. It took about ½ hour to get back to the Poly after we were on the monorail. The commando planner got a bit hyper here!
Once we finally made it back to the Poly, DH went and ordered the wings, and I took the kids to Captain Cooks to refill the mug and grab another snack for the kids. We met up in the room, had the wings on the balcony and then we got ready for the pool. DM was supposed to meet up with us at the pool, but being the shopper she is, she never made it back in time. We relaxed and cooled off, but before long it was time to get ready for the night.
Once we were all ready we hopped a bus to DTD, got off at Pleasure Island, and walked to Planet Hollywood. We had been unable to get a PS there and the CM we spoke to had told us to go to Guest Services at our resort and get a referral card. We did this and we were seated right away when we got there (about 5:00pm). We also got a free appetizer with the card.
After dinner we split up and did our souveneir shopping. We ended up meeting up a little after 8:00 near the Lego Store playground.
Heres where some of you may think I become a bad parent. Yes, I took my kids to Pleasure Island. I just wanted to check it out with the new open gate policy, mainly because of all the debate Ive heard here on the Dis lately. We were there from about 8:10-9:25pm. We saw plenty of kids there of all ages, some carriages and even 2 baby bottles parents were walking around with. The kids all seemed to be in good spirits, dancing to the music and they didnt seem to bother anyone. I didnt see any tired and cranky kids being dragged around by drunken parents or the like. And to address the other concern I see a lot, I didnt see anything there that I wouldnt want my kids seeing. I would say the worst things for them to see there at that time were some of the videos showing on the big screen, and those werent bad at all. Ill admit this wasnt the highlight of the trip for my kids, but they werent miserable there either. They had some fun dancing and listening to the music. IMO, having the open gate policy was a great move on Disneys part. We wouldnt have paid to go in there for that short amount of time, but in the end Disney made money on 3 rounds of drinks and a couple water bottles. I dont want this to turn into a debate, Im sure other people have had other experiences, and there probably are times when kids shouldnt be there, but thats what we witnessed in our short time there.
After PI we stopped at Ghiradellis for a couple ice creams for the kids. I figured we had our treats at PI so they deserved some too. They were very happy with that and we were on our way. I wanted to catch the bus at the Market Place because I wanted to take a picture of the kids with the statues of the characters at the beginning, where it says Happy Holidays. I even dressed them alike because I was thinking of Christmas Cards. We made it all the way to the end and the characters were gone!!! ACK! I dont know if they are gone for good, or maybe getting fixed up or what.
Oh well, I do have pictures of them there from December so maybe that will work.
By now we were all exhausted , went home and crashed. We had another early morning ahead of us.
This was the mornings sunrise from our balcony
The kids didn't feel or act half as bad as they look here, but check out the crowd of people coming from Main St. It looks empty right behind us, but we just happened to get a break of people there.
Our referral card for Planet Hollywood
Icecream!
Friday
This was probably the latest we got to sleep all week. Since we had been out late the previous night and we were just taking the monorail to MK we tried to get as much rest as possible. DH & I got up and got ready, then dragged the kids from DMs room at about 7:30. We got them ready and we were off to Captain Cooks for breakfast.
After breakfast, we hopped the monorail to the MK and arrived at 8:35. I know this because I looked at my watch while exiting the monorail and it was the last time I saw my watch.
The reason I checked the time was because of the huge crowds at the MK today. I couldnt believe it. From the looks of things, this was going to be a busy day and it was probably the biggest crowds we had seen yet. Ironically the next morning, Saturday, which I expected to be mobbed, wasnt half as bad.We walked to the turnstiles and before long were let in. Thats when I noticed my watch was gone. DM and I tried backtracking and a nice CM allowed us to leave and come right back in. We had tickets anyway, but she didnt make us use them. But, we had no luck finding the watch...and at that point I didnt care and I just wanted to get into the MK. The crowds were getting me worried.
So, we saw the opening ceremony and were on our way. DH ran to get FPs for Thunder Mt, a ride Colton has been saying he wanted to do for a year now. Cam still has no interest in that one and since its sort of bumpy, and I know hes not thrilled of that type of ride, I didnt push it with him. The rest of us headed to Splasht Mt. This is another one both DSs and DM werent too sure of, but I really thought they would enjoy it so I nagged, LOL! Im a good nagger and before long we were all in a log in the Briar Patch. That was one picture I had to buy. DM was glad she did it and she would do it again she said just not on that trip, LOL! Cam got a little upset at the drop, but afterwards he had the look that I know all too well, he liked it, thought he was crazy for worrying, but wont admit that he had fun.
Colt went with his usual I hate that ride, while smiling
again, he has to be like Cam. But wait until tomorrow to see how much he hated it. After Splash we went on Pirates of the Carribean, then DH ran to get FPs for Haunted Mansion while we rode Aladdin. Despite the crowds we were doing ok with lines. So far those were all walk ons an advantage to getting to the parks at opening.
It was now our Thunder Mt FP time so we headed back over that way. DH, Colt, and I rode first, while DM stayed with Cam. Once again, Colt hated that ride while laughing through it. When we met up with the others and DM and I were getting ready to ride, Colton piped up with Grandma, do you want me to take you on it? yep, he hated it, LOL!
So, he went on with her instead of me riding again and he hated it again. By now it was a little before 11:00 and Goofys Jamboree was starting at 11:00 perfect! We went to there and saw the show. DM had never been in there and she really enjoyed it. My kids seem to get a little overwhelmed in there, but I had fun dancing with the characters. I mean, the other kids in there had fun dancing with the characters.
We then went to check out the wait time for the Jungle Cruise which was about 20 minutes. We noticed the Tiki Room was just starting a show so we ran a bit and made it in there, just in time. I know this show doesnt get many good reviews, but I love it. Iago always makes me laugh. And it also cracks me up that no one stands when they tell you to. A few times now Ive been the only one who does it at first and people look at me like Im nuts.
DH & the kids took a quick walk up the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House while DM and I found a spot in the shade. The kids wanted Dole Whips for lunch again, but I was waiting to get my lunch back at the Poly(take out wings from Kona Café). I did take a couple bites of the kids though. I had to help them since they were melting.
It was then time for our FPs for Haunted Mansion. After we rode that it was about 1:00 and we called it a day. DM went to DTD to get a head start on her shopping (we were going there later). We headed back to the Poly on the monorail. Unfortunately the car in front of us had mechanical problems, which made us keep stopping for quite a while. It took about ½ hour to get back to the Poly after we were on the monorail. The commando planner got a bit hyper here!
Once we finally made it back to the Poly, DH went and ordered the wings, and I took the kids to Captain Cooks to refill the mug and grab another snack for the kids. We met up in the room, had the wings on the balcony and then we got ready for the pool. DM was supposed to meet up with us at the pool, but being the shopper she is, she never made it back in time. We relaxed and cooled off, but before long it was time to get ready for the night.
Once we were all ready we hopped a bus to DTD, got off at Pleasure Island, and walked to Planet Hollywood. We had been unable to get a PS there and the CM we spoke to had told us to go to Guest Services at our resort and get a referral card. We did this and we were seated right away when we got there (about 5:00pm). We also got a free appetizer with the card.
After dinner we split up and did our souveneir shopping. We ended up meeting up a little after 8:00 near the Lego Store playground.
Heres where some of you may think I become a bad parent. Yes, I took my kids to Pleasure Island. I just wanted to check it out with the new open gate policy, mainly because of all the debate Ive heard here on the Dis lately. We were there from about 8:10-9:25pm. We saw plenty of kids there of all ages, some carriages and even 2 baby bottles parents were walking around with. The kids all seemed to be in good spirits, dancing to the music and they didnt seem to bother anyone. I didnt see any tired and cranky kids being dragged around by drunken parents or the like. And to address the other concern I see a lot, I didnt see anything there that I wouldnt want my kids seeing. I would say the worst things for them to see there at that time were some of the videos showing on the big screen, and those werent bad at all. Ill admit this wasnt the highlight of the trip for my kids, but they werent miserable there either. They had some fun dancing and listening to the music. IMO, having the open gate policy was a great move on Disneys part. We wouldnt have paid to go in there for that short amount of time, but in the end Disney made money on 3 rounds of drinks and a couple water bottles. I dont want this to turn into a debate, Im sure other people have had other experiences, and there probably are times when kids shouldnt be there, but thats what we witnessed in our short time there.
After PI we stopped at Ghiradellis for a couple ice creams for the kids. I figured we had our treats at PI so they deserved some too. They were very happy with that and we were on our way. I wanted to catch the bus at the Market Place because I wanted to take a picture of the kids with the statues of the characters at the beginning, where it says Happy Holidays. I even dressed them alike because I was thinking of Christmas Cards. We made it all the way to the end and the characters were gone!!! ACK! I dont know if they are gone for good, or maybe getting fixed up or what.
Oh well, I do have pictures of them there from December so maybe that will work. By now we were all exhausted , went home and crashed. We had another early morning ahead of us.
This was the mornings sunrise from our balcony
The kids didn't feel or act half as bad as they look here, but check out the crowd of people coming from Main St. It looks empty right behind us, but we just happened to get a break of people there.
Our referral card for Planet Hollywood
Icecream!
