mariolatry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2004
- Messages
- 599
I just got home today but wanted to give a quick review of my trip. I stayed at Pop Century 12/2-12/9 with my mother (age 63). We're probably wimpier than your average guest, so our reviews will skew that way. Our trip was arranged by Cissy with Small World Vacations. She did an awesome job!
We flew from Chicago to Orlando Thursday afternoon. We used Quick Transportation as a shuttle from the airport. I think it was $72.00 and $17.50 for the grocery stop. My mom's on a kind of restricted diet so we bought some yogurt, small bottles of water, fruit, etc. and rented a refrigerator from Pop Century for $10.65/night. This enabled us to skip breakfast and eat in our room. In the long run, I don't know if the food savings offset the fridge rental but it made my Mom happy.
We arrived at Pop Century at about 5:30 pm. There was a pretty long line but they got us checked in less than 20 minutes. There was some Pop Warner cheerleader run-over but they were all kept in one of the far buildings and seemed well-behaved. Pop Century was fine for what we paid for it. Very spread out; we got lost trying to find our room the first time. The rooms are a little small but fine for 1-3 adults. There is only the one food court but they provide a wide variety of foods, including soy burgers, fresh fruit, hummus. Things are a little expensive but what do you expect?
We did Animal Kingdom Friday due to Early Entry. I was surprised at home many people chose NOT to participate in Early Entry. None of the attractions were closed. We saw Kilimanjaro Safaris, all of Rafiki's Planet Watch, all of Asia, It's Tough to Be a Bug, and Festival of the Lion King by 1:00 pm. We waited less than 5 minutes for every attraction; it didn't start filling up until about 11:00am. Really enjoyed the stir fry at the Chakranadi Chicken Shack. We loved Flights of Wonder. Saved Kali River Rapids for last due to warnings about getting soaked. We figured out that whomever went backwards over the hill got soaked but you can't plan who it is due to vessel rotation. I was the lucky one and was indeed soaked to the bone. We went back to the room, layed by the pool, napped.
In the evening, we visited Epcot to meet some friends for dinner. Really enjoyed the buffet at Akershus in Norway. We saw part of Illuminations but too cold to stay too long.
Saturday was Early Entry at MGM. Once again, the place was just about empty with waits of 3-7 minutes for most rides. None of the attractions were closed. We saw everything but Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster by 1:30. The temps dropped to the high 40s at that time so we left for the hotel to rest and recuperate.
In the evening, we saw Cirque du Soleil. Without a doubt, this was the best thing we saw. I cannot recommend this show enough; it is totally worth the money. I have to note, though, that many people brought small children who were terrified by the show. It's loud, has kind of a dark tone at times. I would not recommend this for the under 8-year-old set. BTW, totally not impressed with Wolfgang Puck Express.
Sunday was Early Entry at Magic Kingdom. We didn't tour as aggressively that day as we knew we would be returning another day. Small World, Timekeeper, and Carousel of Progress were all closed We saw our favorites by about 1:00 with waits of 5-10 minutes until about 11:30. We enjoyed Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear, which were new to us. We went on Stitch's Great Escape, which was plastered with warnings but still full of young kids. I swear, every child in there was screaming in fear after about 2 minutes. It becomes completely black with Stitch jumping out at you from everywhere. Even with a non-threatening character, it was kind of freaky. Definitely, not for kids under the age of 8.
Once again, we returned to the hotel to swim and nap. We attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the evening, which was a total waste of money. The crowds were 2-3 times what they were midday at Magic Kingdom. The attractions that were open were posting 45-60 minute wait times. It was so crowded that I saw cast members standing between Stitch and the Timekeeper, guiding traffic with flashlights ("Keep moving people, don't stop in the middle of the pavement"). There were several different shows going but it was too crowded to see most of them. Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas filled up in less than 5 minutes with standing room only stacked 20 or 30 people deep in back. The fireworks were 25 minutes late. This was my first experience with MVMCP but the woman next to me said she had been coming for years and complained that there were about twice as many people this year with fewer attractions and decorations to make up for the price.
Bus service was efficient; usually did not wait more than 10 minutes and most routes seemed to be about 10-12 minutes. Also noticed that there were far more characters present on this trip. I saw all of the Alice in Wonderland characters stay almost the whole afternoon by the Tea Cups. Also saw Chip and Dale, Timon and Pumbaa, Mickey, and Goofy several times each day.
More to come....
We flew from Chicago to Orlando Thursday afternoon. We used Quick Transportation as a shuttle from the airport. I think it was $72.00 and $17.50 for the grocery stop. My mom's on a kind of restricted diet so we bought some yogurt, small bottles of water, fruit, etc. and rented a refrigerator from Pop Century for $10.65/night. This enabled us to skip breakfast and eat in our room. In the long run, I don't know if the food savings offset the fridge rental but it made my Mom happy.
We arrived at Pop Century at about 5:30 pm. There was a pretty long line but they got us checked in less than 20 minutes. There was some Pop Warner cheerleader run-over but they were all kept in one of the far buildings and seemed well-behaved. Pop Century was fine for what we paid for it. Very spread out; we got lost trying to find our room the first time. The rooms are a little small but fine for 1-3 adults. There is only the one food court but they provide a wide variety of foods, including soy burgers, fresh fruit, hummus. Things are a little expensive but what do you expect?
We did Animal Kingdom Friday due to Early Entry. I was surprised at home many people chose NOT to participate in Early Entry. None of the attractions were closed. We saw Kilimanjaro Safaris, all of Rafiki's Planet Watch, all of Asia, It's Tough to Be a Bug, and Festival of the Lion King by 1:00 pm. We waited less than 5 minutes for every attraction; it didn't start filling up until about 11:00am. Really enjoyed the stir fry at the Chakranadi Chicken Shack. We loved Flights of Wonder. Saved Kali River Rapids for last due to warnings about getting soaked. We figured out that whomever went backwards over the hill got soaked but you can't plan who it is due to vessel rotation. I was the lucky one and was indeed soaked to the bone. We went back to the room, layed by the pool, napped.
In the evening, we visited Epcot to meet some friends for dinner. Really enjoyed the buffet at Akershus in Norway. We saw part of Illuminations but too cold to stay too long.
Saturday was Early Entry at MGM. Once again, the place was just about empty with waits of 3-7 minutes for most rides. None of the attractions were closed. We saw everything but Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster by 1:30. The temps dropped to the high 40s at that time so we left for the hotel to rest and recuperate.
In the evening, we saw Cirque du Soleil. Without a doubt, this was the best thing we saw. I cannot recommend this show enough; it is totally worth the money. I have to note, though, that many people brought small children who were terrified by the show. It's loud, has kind of a dark tone at times. I would not recommend this for the under 8-year-old set. BTW, totally not impressed with Wolfgang Puck Express.
Sunday was Early Entry at Magic Kingdom. We didn't tour as aggressively that day as we knew we would be returning another day. Small World, Timekeeper, and Carousel of Progress were all closed We saw our favorites by about 1:00 with waits of 5-10 minutes until about 11:30. We enjoyed Winnie the Pooh and Buzz Lightyear, which were new to us. We went on Stitch's Great Escape, which was plastered with warnings but still full of young kids. I swear, every child in there was screaming in fear after about 2 minutes. It becomes completely black with Stitch jumping out at you from everywhere. Even with a non-threatening character, it was kind of freaky. Definitely, not for kids under the age of 8.
Once again, we returned to the hotel to swim and nap. We attended Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in the evening, which was a total waste of money. The crowds were 2-3 times what they were midday at Magic Kingdom. The attractions that were open were posting 45-60 minute wait times. It was so crowded that I saw cast members standing between Stitch and the Timekeeper, guiding traffic with flashlights ("Keep moving people, don't stop in the middle of the pavement"). There were several different shows going but it was too crowded to see most of them. Mickey's Twas the Night Before Christmas filled up in less than 5 minutes with standing room only stacked 20 or 30 people deep in back. The fireworks were 25 minutes late. This was my first experience with MVMCP but the woman next to me said she had been coming for years and complained that there were about twice as many people this year with fewer attractions and decorations to make up for the price.
Bus service was efficient; usually did not wait more than 10 minutes and most routes seemed to be about 10-12 minutes. Also noticed that there were far more characters present on this trip. I saw all of the Alice in Wonderland characters stay almost the whole afternoon by the Tea Cups. Also saw Chip and Dale, Timon and Pumbaa, Mickey, and Goofy several times each day.
More to come....
