emacat
Polishing up my ears
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2010
- Messages
- 482
So, I'm ashamed to admit it's taken me almost a month to sit down and right our trip report. 
This was our first trip to WDW, although we have visited DL three times previously. On this trip was my very tall, very busy thirteen year old, Emma, and myself.
We flew into Sanford, where we had a rental car service pick us up. The chauffer was waiting with our name on a card, which the teen thought was cool, and we were on our way in just minutes! It was a very stormy afternoon, and it took longer than normal (I'm told) to get to Port Orleans Riverside, where we had a garden view room reserved for seven nights. On arrival at the airport, we checked in with very little trouble (we had done the pre-check in online). Then she gave us a map, and off we trudged through the pouring rain with our luggage. **Here I have to say that I found out the night before we left that they offer complimentary baggage service to your room upon check-in. This would have been much nicer than lugging two carry-ons and a large suitcase over two bridges in the pouring rain. I was a bit annoyed that no one mentioned this to us at check-in.
**
The room was pretty basic, but we were thrilled to note that they had Mickey ears soaps and shampoos! It's silly, but we've always wanted some, and the Paradise Pier at DL does not have them.
https://sphotos-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/9048_10151750707336303_1373996140_n.jpg
(I'm probably putting these pics on wrong....I'll fix if I can!)
The storm had faded to a drizzle after a bit, and we headed out to the water ferry to Downtown Disney. The ride takes about 15? minutes, but it's pretty scenery, and we enjoyed it! We headed to Little Mismatched, always a favorite, and the World of Disney is huge! We wandered about a bit, listened to some outdoor entertainment, and then took a water taxi back to our main dock, with a great kid that played fun music and joked around a lot. The water taxi back to the hotel was great too, and my daughter and the cast member captain spent the whole ride back discussing the original Twilight Zone. Two great young guys.
We ate dinner at the hotel food court that night, and fairly often throughout. It's okay. not the most exciting fair, but something for everyone, and Emma though the turkey was great. They did overcharge us later in the trip, and it was a bit of a mess, but it finally got sorted out. I did think the outfits were terrible! Those poor cast members. Yuck!!
Our first full day was Saturday, and we headed over to MK and watched the show at the train station before rope drop. Cheesy, but so fun!! Our first stop was Space Mountain. For those of you who have done the DL version, Emma tells me that this one is far more bumpy, but she really liked it! So she rode it, and again, and again. Very little line, and then used a FP. (If you don't know what FP are, we always love those! Definitely a good thing to use.) We hopped the train over to BTMRR, where we, and many others, were bummed to find that it was down for the day. Oh well. We hopped on down to POTC, and literally got on the ride after no more than a two minute wait. Now here, I like the DL version a bit better, but this was fun, and I thought the walk in had some great decorations. We walked on down to Jungle Cruise, and waited about fifteen minutes before riding. Our cast member was great fun! I can't imagine having to tell the same story over and over again each day, but she made it sound fresh and fun.
Then it was time for a pineapple Dole Whip. Don't throw bananas at me here, but despite this being our fourth Disney trip, I have never tried one of these. I was determined to break the trend there...... And, it was great! Very delicious on a very hot day.
On to HM. Now, this is always one of my favorite DL rides, and I loved it here as well! The cemetery was great fun to walk though, with interactive "memorials." (There is no outdoor cemetery in the line at DL) On a side note, you do not have to walk through here, you can continue straight on through the main line if you choose.
Since it was so darn hot, this seemed like a good time to check out the Presidential show. The air-conditioning was great, and the show was interesting. Emma enjoyed it, too.
In this area of Liberty Square, there is a great Christmas Shoppe, and I fell in love with the Christmas Slippers! Just too adorable!
We stopped around the corner from the Presidential show, and tried the waffle sandwich with the chicken. Very good, VERY HOT. Pack some extra water for this one.
On to Fantasyland. We waited in line for It's a Small World. As a four year old, I rode this at WDW, and I hear all the time how I wanted the dolls. News flash for the family, I still do. And yet, there are still none for sale. I mourn this lost marketing opportunity at DL, and now at WDW as well.
The whole day had been amazingly quite for a Saturday in the latter part of June. But the busiest area was definitely Fantasyland. We headed up to Be Our Guest about 1:45, since I was determined to visit this! Very little line, and the interior of the castle is gorgeous! This is definitely a must for any B&B fans. We had the chocolate cupcake (delicious!) and some drinks, since we'd already had our waffle sandwiches earlier. We ate in the library, and the pictures around the walls, and the dancing Belle and Beast were beautiful.
We swung by Gaston's, and the statue of him is hilarious! Though we weren't hungry, we did take some quick pics in his tavern, which was just like the movie. Then it was off to LM. I tried this ride shortly after it opened at DL, and I enjoyed it just as much here. If you are looking for a scary, jaw-dropping ride, this is not it. But it is well-themed, and we love it!
Then we decided to head back to the hotel and relax. We strolled back through Main Street, stopped at the candy store and looked at souvenirs, then off we went for the day. (This is definitely the fun thing in traveling with a thirteen year old. She picks what she wants, and we skip the busy parades!)
We went back to the hotel and hit the pool! There is no slide at the main pool at Riverside, which is a bit of a bummer, but the pool was a good size and Emma had a good time. I like the bar area.
And in the evening, they roast marshmallows. Some mom was awesome enough to drive off to Walmart and pick up chocolate bars and graham crackers, so the kids had smores that night! The hotel also has a nightly movie on the lawn, although we just chilled back in the hotel room after dinner.
Alright, that's Day One. I'll pop back in a bit later to discuss the other days. I love to do a trip report, because it's something I can look on a year or two later and be reminded of all the fun we had!
This was our first trip to WDW, although we have visited DL three times previously. On this trip was my very tall, very busy thirteen year old, Emma, and myself. We flew into Sanford, where we had a rental car service pick us up. The chauffer was waiting with our name on a card, which the teen thought was cool, and we were on our way in just minutes! It was a very stormy afternoon, and it took longer than normal (I'm told) to get to Port Orleans Riverside, where we had a garden view room reserved for seven nights. On arrival at the airport, we checked in with very little trouble (we had done the pre-check in online). Then she gave us a map, and off we trudged through the pouring rain with our luggage. **Here I have to say that I found out the night before we left that they offer complimentary baggage service to your room upon check-in. This would have been much nicer than lugging two carry-ons and a large suitcase over two bridges in the pouring rain. I was a bit annoyed that no one mentioned this to us at check-in.
**The room was pretty basic, but we were thrilled to note that they had Mickey ears soaps and shampoos! It's silly, but we've always wanted some, and the Paradise Pier at DL does not have them.
https://sphotos-a-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/9048_10151750707336303_1373996140_n.jpg
(I'm probably putting these pics on wrong....I'll fix if I can!)
The storm had faded to a drizzle after a bit, and we headed out to the water ferry to Downtown Disney. The ride takes about 15? minutes, but it's pretty scenery, and we enjoyed it! We headed to Little Mismatched, always a favorite, and the World of Disney is huge! We wandered about a bit, listened to some outdoor entertainment, and then took a water taxi back to our main dock, with a great kid that played fun music and joked around a lot. The water taxi back to the hotel was great too, and my daughter and the cast member captain spent the whole ride back discussing the original Twilight Zone. Two great young guys.
We ate dinner at the hotel food court that night, and fairly often throughout. It's okay. not the most exciting fair, but something for everyone, and Emma though the turkey was great. They did overcharge us later in the trip, and it was a bit of a mess, but it finally got sorted out. I did think the outfits were terrible! Those poor cast members. Yuck!!
Our first full day was Saturday, and we headed over to MK and watched the show at the train station before rope drop. Cheesy, but so fun!! Our first stop was Space Mountain. For those of you who have done the DL version, Emma tells me that this one is far more bumpy, but she really liked it! So she rode it, and again, and again. Very little line, and then used a FP. (If you don't know what FP are, we always love those! Definitely a good thing to use.) We hopped the train over to BTMRR, where we, and many others, were bummed to find that it was down for the day. Oh well. We hopped on down to POTC, and literally got on the ride after no more than a two minute wait. Now here, I like the DL version a bit better, but this was fun, and I thought the walk in had some great decorations. We walked on down to Jungle Cruise, and waited about fifteen minutes before riding. Our cast member was great fun! I can't imagine having to tell the same story over and over again each day, but she made it sound fresh and fun.
Then it was time for a pineapple Dole Whip. Don't throw bananas at me here, but despite this being our fourth Disney trip, I have never tried one of these. I was determined to break the trend there...... And, it was great! Very delicious on a very hot day.
On to HM. Now, this is always one of my favorite DL rides, and I loved it here as well! The cemetery was great fun to walk though, with interactive "memorials." (There is no outdoor cemetery in the line at DL) On a side note, you do not have to walk through here, you can continue straight on through the main line if you choose.
Since it was so darn hot, this seemed like a good time to check out the Presidential show. The air-conditioning was great, and the show was interesting. Emma enjoyed it, too.
In this area of Liberty Square, there is a great Christmas Shoppe, and I fell in love with the Christmas Slippers! Just too adorable!
We stopped around the corner from the Presidential show, and tried the waffle sandwich with the chicken. Very good, VERY HOT. Pack some extra water for this one.
On to Fantasyland. We waited in line for It's a Small World. As a four year old, I rode this at WDW, and I hear all the time how I wanted the dolls. News flash for the family, I still do. And yet, there are still none for sale. I mourn this lost marketing opportunity at DL, and now at WDW as well.
The whole day had been amazingly quite for a Saturday in the latter part of June. But the busiest area was definitely Fantasyland. We headed up to Be Our Guest about 1:45, since I was determined to visit this! Very little line, and the interior of the castle is gorgeous! This is definitely a must for any B&B fans. We had the chocolate cupcake (delicious!) and some drinks, since we'd already had our waffle sandwiches earlier. We ate in the library, and the pictures around the walls, and the dancing Belle and Beast were beautiful.
We swung by Gaston's, and the statue of him is hilarious! Though we weren't hungry, we did take some quick pics in his tavern, which was just like the movie. Then it was off to LM. I tried this ride shortly after it opened at DL, and I enjoyed it just as much here. If you are looking for a scary, jaw-dropping ride, this is not it. But it is well-themed, and we love it!
Then we decided to head back to the hotel and relax. We strolled back through Main Street, stopped at the candy store and looked at souvenirs, then off we went for the day. (This is definitely the fun thing in traveling with a thirteen year old. She picks what she wants, and we skip the busy parades!)
We went back to the hotel and hit the pool! There is no slide at the main pool at Riverside, which is a bit of a bummer, but the pool was a good size and Emma had a good time. I like the bar area.
And in the evening, they roast marshmallows. Some mom was awesome enough to drive off to Walmart and pick up chocolate bars and graham crackers, so the kids had smores that night! The hotel also has a nightly movie on the lawn, although we just chilled back in the hotel room after dinner. Alright, that's Day One. I'll pop back in a bit later to discuss the other days. I love to do a trip report, because it's something I can look on a year or two later and be reminded of all the fun we had!
