So many trip reports . . . so little time. . .

[Dreamer & Wisher]

So I thought I would write one too.
But there seems to be a bit of competition on this board. Catchy titles grabbing at your attention. Some reports go unfinished for months without any updates.

I hope to write a quick report with helpful information for those planning a trip and some cute pictures.

So, here are some of the basics to get started.

The travelers.
Me Nancy age 36
DH Ron age 36 Our birthdays are only 5 days apart. DH is older

Abby just turned 8
Ethan age 4
We are celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary. As you can see by my signature we are veteran WDW travelers. My first trip was in 1976 I was only 3 years old.

Our previous trip was in March 2008 and we were itching to go back. 2008 was a very bad year for us but things were looking up by the end of the year. So we started looking into the cost. Disboards was very helpful and soon I was subscribed to the January 2009 Codes thread. See Codes and Rates board under Resorts if you are looking for a special. There was much speculation on what Disney would offer for Jan. 2009. We almost always travel during value season and had visited WDW for Abby's birthday before so we could have taken advantage of the free admission for her birthday special. We were hoping for something bigger though maybe even free dining.

 

[ilovmy3kidz]

It is hard to wade through some of the reports. I thought about writting one too, but it seems the equivalent of the great american novel!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

I was interrupted by real life so I'm sorry if I left you hanging.

We waited anxiously for the January Special to be announced from Disney.

Finally, the big buy 4 get 3 free promotion was announced. Including a $200 gift card! Just what we needed!

But DH still had to think about it. So after a couple days of trying to find a resort available I call Disney. The only thing available for Jan. 4 -11th was the Beach Club. I didn't really want to spend that much. Hmmm finally I try Jan. 4 -10 Port Orleans French Quarter comes up! We really liked staying there in 2005. It is a lovely resort. Very compact and well designed. I booked it right away. 10 days later we were paid in full. We didn't get to take advantage of the full special that 3rd night wasn't ever available to add to our reservation. But it was still a great deal. We added the Dining Plan and started making our ADR's

I wanted to go to restaurants we hadn't been before or had only tried once. DD really wanted to go to the Sci Fi Dine in Theatre. She also wanted to go to the Fantasmic show. I wanted to go to Boma and 1900 Park Fare. I also had read about the new Yak and Yeti restaurant in the Animal Kingdom and Tusker House had been redone as a sit down restaurant with a Character Breakfast.

We also were looking forward to Florida's warm sunshine and the fun of Disney. It is also great to have something to look forward to after Christmas is over.

So I made my ADR's and we anxiously waited for the big day.

Monday Morning Kona Cafe
Tuesday Dinner at Akershus
Wednesday Breakfast at Tusker House Dinner at Boma
Thursday Sci Fi Dine in Theatre
Friday 1900 Park Fare
Saturday departure day

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Hey, I wandered over from the Disboutique thread. I love trip reports! Sounds like you got a great deal on your trip. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[kimmylaj]

i am so excited i never get trip reports at the beginning and then i sit and read for hours to catch up. woohoo. cant wait to hear more. we loved 1900 park faire and the sci fi was such fun too. love to hear what you thought .

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

All of December I had been sewing. I was making bags and pajamas for customers and a couple bags for gifts. I made all my nieces and nephews pajama pants with their favorite characters.
I planned on sewing during the week between Christmas and New Years and then packing up on January 3 and 4.

Well, You know what they say about the best laid plans often go to waste. There was plenty going on between Christmas and our departure day. Including a New Year's eve party, New Years day at my Mother in law's and my DD's 8th birthday. Not to mention the general cleaning of the house washing dishes, doing laundry. I didn't get the sewing done as fast as I would have liked and on Jan. 3 I was sewing like crazy. Then my sister came to get one of the dogs and that took almost 2 hours out of my day.

I didn't finish sewing until 2:00 in the morning. I decided to sew the buttons on the various shirts when we got to WDW. Busy work while I watched Stacey! But, I was so excited and I had gotten most of the packing done. I packed up a metal 101 Dalmations lunch box with the buttons, threads and a needle and scissors. I kept thinking of things to do before I could make myself lay down and rest. I think I went to sleep at 2:30 am. Very unlike me. So at 6:30 am Abby comes my room and says "hey we are 3 hours late" She had wanted to leave at 3:00am. We just weren't ready to go. DH had worked all day on the 3rd and we don't like to drive when we are sleepy. So we got showered and packed up some last minute items. We loaded up the van and headed out at 9:00 am. Not as early as we liked but we could make good time and have dinner in WDW. I ended up forgetting my cellphone but I didn't really need it anyways.

We headed down I-75 south out of Atlanta. We love to stop at the Florida Welcome center. They give you samples of Orange and Grapefruit Juice.
It was a beautiful warm and sunny day!

Traffic was kind of heavy but we made good time. We got to the turnpike and traffic was much lighter. I love the orange trees and it wasn't long before we saw the signs for Route 429. If you drive to WDW this is a great toll road it only costs $1.00 and it is definitely the road less traveled. There are gorgeous orange trees and at one point we were at the top of a hill and over the tops of the trees we could see Space Mountain, the top of the castle and the Contemporary resort. Abby was thrilled. Ethan and Ron were asleep. We came in the back door of WDW! Passed the Coronado Springs resort and made our way to Port Orleans French Quarter.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

We arrived at Port Orleans French Quarter. Wow! It's such a beautiful resort. The Christmas Decorations were up.

We received our Keys to the World cards and headed towards the room. Is there anything more exciting than those moments until you find the room? The whole trip is ahead of you and of course you know you are hoping for an upgrade. Some pixie dust to start the trip.
Our anticipation was almost palpable. We started walking towards building five. Our room number was 5320. We walked along the sidewalk past the pool and towards the Sassagoula River. Would it be a water view room? It was!!! I love the little river and the boats cruising up and down filled with people headed to either Riverside or Downtown Disney. I loved riding the boat to DTD it is relaxing and our room was so close to the Boat Dock. Very convenient. Unfortunately we had left the camera and all the luggage in the car. We were tired and hungry so we decided to head down to the Dock and over to Downtown Disney. At the boat dock Ethan (who adores pirates especially Captain Hook and Jack Sparrow) is quite nervous about the boat. We assure him it is safe and it won't "drownd" , (his wording for sinking ships) Nervously, he boards the boat clinging to my hand. We sit on a bench together and the boat heads down the river. Eventually, Ethan is satisfied the boat is safe and he enjoys the ride. It gets dark as we cruise the river. The temperature is just perfect and we are so excited to be starting our vacation. No matter how many times we visit Walt Disney World we always have that anticipation. We don't have any ADR's for the evening so we plan to either try a counter service at Earl of Sandwich or maybe we can get lucky and get a table at Raglan Road. We really like Irish Food. The boat docks at DTD and we disembark. Ethan is excited and wants to know if we can ride the boat again! We assure him that yes we can take the boat back to the resort. Now we need to find some dinner.

The sidewalks are crowded and busy. We head towards Raglan Road to see if it is busy. There is a big crowd outside T-Rex the Lego store is also very crowded. But as we get closer to Pleasure Island the crowd thins out. The counter service next to Raglan Road isn't busy. As we approach the entrance to Raglan Road I see a policeman, a lady with a baby, and the manager from the restaurant talking. Wonder what that was about??

The restaurant itself is almost completely empty. Score!!! We are seated right away. The waitress arrives to take a drink order and asks if we are on the dining plan. Yes, we are on the dining plan but I tell her we will pay for this meal out of pocket. DH and I order a beer flight to share. I also get a glass of water with lemon. The kids each order some kiddie cocktails. I wonder how much money kiddie cocktails cost at Disney. DH says don't worry about it let them have kiddie cocktails. The waitress ignores our conversation and says nothing reassuring about the price. I decide I don't like her.

Hmm what to order... Fish and chips? Shepherd's pie? something more adventurous? I try to remember all the dining reviews I had read before we left. All I can remember is how yummy the Bread Pudding is! As I read the menu and the prices I begin to think that paying OOP for this meal is a bad idea. I wonder if there is someway to change that commitment I made to the waitress. Does she enter that in a computer somewhere? Can I change my mind. DH says just ask. The waitress recommends the salmon and the ham. I hate ham, I really only like wild salmon the farm raised stuff tastes nasty to me. Chances are it is farm raised salmon so I decide against that. I settle on Shepherd's Pie. DH orders the ham and Abby decides on the Irish Macaroni and Cheese with a salad and Ethan gets a cheeseburger with french fries and ketchup. As we wait for our food Ethan repeatedly asks me will the waitress bring ketchup. Mommy, I have to have ketchup. Will there be ketchup mommy? Yes, Ethan there will be ketchup. The beer flight is yummy. I really enjoyed the Strongbow Cider. The soda bread is excellent dipped in the oil. The oil has a Guinness reduction swirled in it which is sweet. I finally asked the waitress if we could use the dining plan for this meal and she said sure. She was an attentive waitress but not really friendly.

Our entrees arrived and are delicious. I loved the shepherd's pie. DH really liked the ham with cabbage and potatoes. Abby didn't care too much for the macaroni. I thought it was delicious. She was also disappointed that the salad wasn't made with iceberg lettuce. It was mixed baby greens with ranch dressing and some grape tomatoes. Ethan ate half his cheeseburger with ketchup of course and french fries. He shared some fries with Abby. They put the fries in a separate silver cup on the plate and Ethan thought he could bring it with him.

For dessert the kids order chocookberry
DH orders the Dunbrody Kiss and I ordered the infamous bread and butter pudding.

Of course desert is yummy. But each kid eats only about 3 bites. I don't think I have seen my kids finish anything. They always leave seem more concerned about playing than eating.
We head out of the restaurant and towards the lego store. It is super crowded in there. I get nervous about losing the kids in the crowd. Ethan is begging for some legos. I like legos they let kids be creative and they keep my kids busy. But, I don't like building things with them. It takes me forever to look at those pictures in the little books and reconstruct the little boat or house in the picture.

Ethan is driving me crazy, Mom I want pirate legos, Mom I want star wars legos. Mom look at this mom look mom look. . . He asked for a pirate ship it's $50.00. UM NO! Ron, tell him NO PLEASE! We have to get out of the store. We drag Ethan out and he pitches a fit. You said I could have Legos You said I could have Legos. Well, I did say he could have legos. I just didn't want to spend $50. I said you can have legos but you just have to pick something that is $10.00. So I take him back in while DH and Abby stand outside waiting. I pick up a box of $10.00 star wars legos and a $10.0 box of Pirate Legos and I say which one. Of course he picks
we head up to the line and pay courtesy of the $200.00 Gift Card we got at check in!
We head back to the boat dock and after a peaceful boat road (No, Ethan you can't open the legos on the boat they will get lost) DH decides to find a bellman to help with our bags. THe resort is quiet and peaceful. Bell services is calm and they find someone to help us with our bags.

Once we get to the room Ethan and Abby enjoy the legos and I unpack.
We are looking forward to the next morning at the Magic Kingdom. I tried to get a wake up call from Stitch but the button for wake up calls on the phone dials Magical Express. So, I set the clock radio for 6:30. We have an early morning ADR at Kona Cafe.

 

[3goofyboys]

Nice TR, I can't wait to read more!

 

[Rebecuberduber]

Mm, Earl of Sandwich sounds like it was pretty good. I love the Peter Pan applique on your son's shirt, first picture. Great start!

 

[kimmylaj]

i am enjoying your trip report , we are staying at pofq for the first time in november so i'd love to hear all about your trip

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Is there anything better than waking up in Walt Disney World on your first full day?

The only thing that may be better would be waking up on a Disney Cruise. But only if you like the Ports of Call the ship is headed to.

We were headed to Kona Cafe at the Polynesian resort and then to the Magic Kingdom for the day. I was looking forward to trying some new things and capping off the evening with The Spectro Magic Parade and Wishes!

Everyone must be up and dressed so we can get to our 8:00 ADR. For those of you in the planning stage here is a tip. We had a couple ways to get to the Polynesian. We could drive to the the Ticket and Transportation Center then take a Monorail to the Magic Kingdom and then get on the resort monorail to the Polynesian. This would be time consuming. Next option would be drive to the Polynesian and park there. Then either risk leaving the van in the parking lot at the Polynesian and take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom or take the van over to the TTC and head to the Magic Kingdom. Again time consuming. Third and Best choice would be
Take the bus to the Magic Kingdom and ride the Resort Monorail around to the Poly. If you are staying on property take the bus to the Magic Kingdom it drops you off in front of the park and you don't have to deal with the Ticket and Transportation Center.

We arrived at the Poly and the Kona Cafe right at 8:00 am. Check in and being seated was pretty routine. I made a mistake of assuming they had Mickey waffles. When I looked at the menu ooops they had Mickey Pancakes. Ethan didn't want Mickey pancakes. They also had Minnie's French Toast, Goofy Toast an egg fried in the middle of a piece of toast and Donald's choice a scrambled egg with Sweet Cinnamon toast. Each item came with bacon, sausage, or a Fruit cup.

DH and I ordered the Press pot of Kona Coffee. I ordered Lilokoi juice for Abby and Ethan. Ethan didn't like his. The coffee was delicious. I don't drink a lot of coffee but this stuff was yummy. I asked the waiter for water for Ethan and if there was a way to get some Mickey Waffles for Ethan. The waiter assured me that some Mickey waffles were available so Crisis was averted. DH ordered the Big Kahuna and I ordered the Tonga Toast.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

Our food at Kona was excellent. The waiter didn't charge us for the juice that Ethan didn't like.

So we had a quick bathroom break and headed to the Monorail station.

Here is DH and the kids on the Monorail. DD wanted to wake up Tinkerbell. DH wanted to go to the Barbershop. The Magic Kingdom had just opened up but usually if you want to wake up Tinkerbell you need to be at the rope drop to Fantasyland. So we wouldn't be able to get there fast enough really. So we reassure DD that we will wake up Tinkerbell later in the week and then head to the Barbershop.

Looking adorable with the faux hawk!

We decided to board the train and head to Toontown.
It's always a lovely way to start the day.

First off we check out Donald's boat

Cute theming but it's not really warm enough to play in the water. So next we head to the new meet n' greet.
We didn't have to wait long to shrink down to Pixie Hollow size maybe around 30 minutes. I liked the way the pixie dust twinkled around the hallway as we waited. We met a lovely Dis'er from Canada and her family I only remember part of her name ONT Sorry she was sweet and she had two lovely daughters.
We got to meet three fairies and Ethan was so shy. He wouldn't go near any of them. Tinkerbell forgot to sign Abby's autograph book.

After meeting the pixies we headed for Mickey's and Minnie's House. These houses are adorable but they could use a good scrubbing. Everything is looking rather dingy in them.

Here I am next to Minnie's sewing machine. I like to sew and I have made several of the kids shirts for this trip. Including the Mickey Shirt Ethan is wearing
Abby looking for a snack in Minnie's Fridge

Ethan looking in the Fridge

 

[lovesdumbo]

We had a couple ways to get to the Polynesian. We could drive to the the Ticket and Transportation Center then take a Monorail to the Magic Kingdom and then get on the resort monorail to the Polynesian.

Enjoying your TR-can't wait to read more!

Just for next time....You could have driven to TTC then take resort monorail to Poly-next stop OR you could have walked from TTC to Poly. It isn't a bad walk-DD & I got back from our 7 nights at Poly last night and we made that walk many times over that last week.

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

i am so excited i never get trip reports at the beginning and then i sit and read for hours to catch up. woohoo. cant wait to hear more. we loved 1900 park faire and the sci fi was such fun too. love to hear what you thought .

Thank you for reading!

Nice TR, I can't wait to read more!

I'm glad you like it. I can't wait to write some more.

Mm, Earl of Sandwich sounds like it was pretty good. I love the Peter Pan applique on your son's shirt, first picture. Great start!

He loved that shirt! Peter Pan sure was hard to stitch around but it was worth it, since Ethan loved it so much.

i am enjoying your trip report , we are staying at pofq for the first time in november so i'd love to hear all about your trip

You will really like POFQ. It is a great resort.

Enjoying your TR-can't wait to read more!

Just for next time....You could have driven to TTC then take resort monorail to Poly-next stop OR you could have walked from TTC to Poly. It isn't a bad walk-DD & I got back from our 7 nights at Poly last night and we made that walk many times over that last week.

Thank you for reading. A walk to the Poly would have been nice. I'll have to remember that for next time.

 

[patches07]

Great TR, I can't wait to read more!

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

After visiting the Mickey's and Minnie's house we walked out through Mickey's garage I love the tools in there. They all say Craftsmouse there was a CM at the sidewalk telling people that they were going in the exit. Many of them just ignored him and kept on going. It was so odd.

We were headed to Goofy's Barnstormer. I hadn't ridden it and Abby had only tried it once so we thought we'd give it a whirl. This is another place with great theming and only a 10 minute wait. Ethan however was not too keen on this ride. He didn't want to ride it and he told me 100 times while we waited. Hmmm what to do what to do.

Finally, it is our turn to board the little planes and Ethan loses it. He will not get in. The only way out though is to go through the plane. Thankfully the CM takes him from me and I climb over the plane and wait for Abby and Ron to come around from their ride. I am rather disappointed as I thought it looked like fun without too much jostling around. I am not that old but some roller coasters just shake you up so much. I also can't stand to go backwards so I won't ride Expedition Everest. I hate that falling feeling so I haven't done Tower of Terror either. Some day I might walk through the cue to see the theming.

Abby wants to go on the Barnstormer again and Ron and Ethan agree to wait for us so Abby and I get back in line. Still only 10 minutes. It is a great ride, a little short but a lot of fun. It's a great beginning roller coaster.

After our little ride we head to Fantasyland, stopping for our first Mickey Bars of the trip! Yummy but before lunch? DH says he is hungry and it's vacation so why not.

Fantasyland is quite crowded. We grab fastpasses for Peter Pan and look around. Philharmagic is fun and the sign says 5 minutes. We park the stroller and head in.

We waited in front of the doors for about 15 minutes I think. It is a little deceiving how they advertise the wait times for some attractions. There is nothing to look at or do in the hallway while you wait for those automagic doors to open. When they finally do though it seems like chaos. Everyone seemed to run this way and that in no particular order.

We found a row that was filling up and picked it so that we would end up in the middle. Philharmagic is a great show and we always enjoy it. Ethan decided he didn't like being sprinkled with water during the shows and hid under my jacket a few times. Silly boy.

After the show we headed over to Snow White. It didn't have too long of a line. Unlike It's a Small world the line there was incredible. They must have been giving away money on that ride. Snow white's line was only 10 minutes and so we got in line. While we were waiting these fellows came over playing some princess songs.

They were so much fun. Notice how their horns are different sizes? Very cute. The big guy has the smallest horn (sorry you can't see him very well in the picture). Everyone clapped along with them. They were such a nice little extra while waiting.

Snow White was the same as usual and we headed over to eat some lunch before our Peter Pan fastpass came up. We had lunch at Columbia Harbor house. It is along the path between Fantasyland and Liberty Square. It has fish and chips and chicken fingers. I like their tuna salad sandwich. They also have Vegetarian chili and clam chowder. Not your typical theme park food so we like it.

After lunch we used our fast passes for Peter Pan. This is one of our favorite rides we always enjoy it and of course it was great again.

We were getting tired so we decided to head back to the room for a break.

 

[Rebecuberduber]

The brass players sound neat. I've never seen that before. Sounds like a fun day, so far.

 

[Diamondintheruff]

I've got an Ethan-like personality too. His name is Eeoyre and he is 10. He hates water sprayed, he hates roller coasters and he hates 3-D. However, he does love Disney. Isn't it great how they have something for everyone?

Enjoying your report.

 

[kimmylaj]

i love your sons mickey shirt its really cute. i'm surprised there was a long line for iasw. we always seem to head there when everything else seems crowded. i dont ever think i'll be able to get ds near snow white ever again . he is petrified of that ride, but cant wait to be tall enough to ride space mtn. kids are so funny arent they?

 

[Dreamer & Wisher]

The brass players sound neat. I've never seen that before. Sounds like a fun day, so far.

It was a great day! Thanks for reading!

I've got an Ethan-like personality too. His name is Eeoyre and he is 10. He hates water sprayed, he hates roller coasters and he hates 3-D. However, he does love Disney. Isn't it great how they have something for everyone?

Enjoying your report.

Ethan loves Disney too! He was in a bad mood that morning. We were surprised later on in the trip by the rides he decided he liked!

i love your sons mickey shirt its really cute. i'm surprised there was a long line for iasw. we always seem to head there when everything else seems crowded. i dont ever think i'll be able to get ds near snow white ever again . he is petrified of that ride, but cant wait to be tall enough to ride space mtn. kids are so funny arent they?

I had never seen such a long line for iasw. I wonder if there were some of those tour groups in line together. I think there were a lot of tour groups in Fantasyland that day.

Wow, he wants to ride Space Mountain! They have it closed now for refurbishment. Maybe he will be tall enough to ride when they reopen!