Surprise trip for DD

[bettyann29]

Well we are back from our short 3 day surprise trip for DD9.. all in all we had a great time.. we got there Friday night and I actually kept it a surprise from DD9 until we arrived in Orlando and went to the ME desk.. ..

We stayed at Pop Century.. I picked this resort for several different reasons.. Ive been there 4 times but I think its the last time.. I think in future we will try some other resorts.. First I really like the theme and in past the bus system seemed to work better as they have their own bus and we didnt have to share with any other value resort.. it was so busy this time and last time that the wait times werent fun.. they werent so bad but longer than I would have hoped.. We were a little bummed as one day we were waiting for the MGM bus as we took a rest in the middle of the day and as we were walking up the bus had just left so we were the first in line for the next bus.. It took 50 minutes for another bus to come.. all our plans for that evening were ruined because we didnt have time to do anything but one ride when we went back as we wanted to see Fantasmic.. It was worth it though to see Fantasmic .. This was my second time to see this but DH's first.. Its so amazing how they do that..

All I can say is that the parks were packed!! Ive been over 4th of July and Labor Day weekend before but I think this takes the cake.. I've personally never seen it that busy before.. We did MGM, MK and Epcot.. MGM was a breeze.. it was crowded but very manageable.. we rode everything we wanted to there... We got to ride RnR coaster 3 times that day.. We ate lunch at Hollywood and Vine.. DD loved eating with Jojo, Goliath, June and Leo.. Dinner was at Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney.. we went straight there once Fantasmic was over..

MK was crazy... I know its always busy but Ive never seen anything like it before.. it was wall to wall people!! we utilized fast pass where we could and we actually rode everything we wanted to surprisingly enough.. One thing that we did was about 30 minutes before the fireworks was we headed to The Noodle Station and grabbed a bite to eat.. we found a table in the front with no chairs and found some chairs and sat there and ate dinner and watched fireworks.. We stayed until midnight and were so tired by the end of the night although we did stop half way thru the day and took a break..

Yesterday was Epcot.. we were a little disappointed because it was a little busier than I thought it would be as I figured alot of people would head home but it was pretty busy and lines were extremely long.. we got a late start which contributed to it.. I was a little disappointed in the Flower and Garden Festival.. I guess I just had things pictured differently in my head and thought it was something so much more than what it was.. What they did have was wonderful.. I would have loved to see more topiaries though..

All in all it was a good trip.. my feet and legs did good with my crocs the first 2 days but by yesterday they hurt so bad.. I did start pin collecting this trip..and look forward to collecting these on each trip.. DD started on her first trip with a few pins and bought some more on her last trip.. well she really was into it by this trip and she now has 30 pins I think .. She also started collecting the pressed pennies and almost filled up a book this trip alone

We headed back to the resort at 4 yesterday afternoon as we were supposed to be there by 4:45 for our 7:20 flight last night.. well.... we got to the airport only to find our flight was changed to 7:50.. then it was changed back to 7:20.... then changed to 8 something.. then changed to 9:00 ... then we were told our flight was cancelled!! then they found us another flight that was leaving at 10:00 ... then that flight was changed to 9:15.... it actually left around 9:45.. by the time we got home from the airport (we only live about 7 minutes from the airport) it was around midnight.. That was definitely a nightmare..

Not a great experience with American Airlines.. but other than that it was a nice trip..

 

[OhMari]

Hi,
What days were you there, April or May. I know the parks were exceedingly busy over Easter, but I thought the crowds would let up by the middle of May. I think it is getting to the point that WDW is always going to be packed, the best times are to be at the parks at opening. WDW isn't a place to sleep in for a vacation.

I enjoyed the Rose Garden at the Flower and Garden Show. The rose garden was actually in full bloom and I wondered what it would look like in a few weeks, you could tell the roses were hitting their peak growing season and would be finished soon. Plus it was all yellow, I would of enjoyed seeing other colors of roses.