The 6 Days of POFQ!(with pics): COMPLETE!

[Philadisney]

Back to POFQ, where we had been visited by Mousekeeping. We had left DBF’s toothbrush sitting in a glass. Appearantly Mousekeeping decided it deserved a better home - neat!!!!

But the real surprise was sitting on top of the TV. Now, I want to stress that Mr. Vacuum had been with us all day at Animal Kingdom. There is no way Mousekeeping would have seen him.
Are you ready for this?....check it out:

On the second day of vacation, POFQ gave to me -
a towel toothbrush holder,
a friend for Mr. Vacuum,
and a view of a magnolia tree!
I was SO excited - a towel Mr. Vacuum! We named her Lady Vacuum and the two little chicks became fast friends. We left them alone and headed out for a dip in the pool. However, the pool had been closed for an ‘emergency cleaning’. We ordered drinks from the bar - he had a beer, I had the very overpriced but tasty Sunken Treasure, which had blue curacau and sprite in it. After a while we got tired of waiting and decided we really didn’t want to hop in the pool considering what the emergency cleaning had probably been caused by, so we hopped on the boat to POR to use their pool. Glad this happened - we really liked their pool, even though it was crowded. It had a great heavy waterfall. After 20 minutes we headed back to our room to change and go to the Poly!
my plan was to leave a bit early and go to the MK. Once there, we headed for the resort monorail, and rode it around. At Poly, we checked in at Kona, and were a touch early so we walked around a bit. I love this hotel, I want to stay here someday if my budget ever allows it. Dinner was very good, I had a steak and this was definitely the best part:

Mmmm...chocolate torte. After eating, we had a few mintes before Wishes started at MK, so we walked outside and found the perfect viewing spot.

I couldn’t believe how perfectly this trip was going. The fireworks were wonderful.

Coming up next: an exhausting day at the madhouse known as MK!

 

[Beana9802]

Very well written report. You are a very optomistic, and I love it! Keep it up!

 

[mistydoodles]

I am so enjoying your report.

We stayed at POFQ last year and just loved it. I don't think I can ever stay at a value resort again.

Thanks for allowing us to enjoy your recent trip.

 

[luciloo]

Great TR, can't wait to read more.
Sorry about you and DBF

 

[Philadisney]

I believe today we slept in just a touch, heading out to Magic Kingdom around 9 - I just knew I didn’t want to be there right at opening, after the mob scene we experienced the day earlier at AK! Mr. Vacuum stayed behind today to cuddle with Lady Vacuum.
Once we got onto main street, we stopped a photopass person and had them take our picture. I managed to close my eyes in all of the shots they took - we also forgot to ask them to take one with our camera. Oops!
We headed right for Tomorrowland, and got a FP for Space Mt. For our first ride of the day, we headed onto Buzz because it had only a 15 minute wait. It was pretty hot out too, so it definitely helped that most of this queue is indoors! I bragged to DBF that I knew where a lot of the high point targets were on this ride, and pointed out the one on the back of the robot’s hand in one of the first rooms to him. He hit it, I didn’t! He ended up with a gazillion points and I came away with around 12. Clearly that is what I get for bragging. Next I noticed there was no wait for Carousel of Progress, so I dragged DBF on that. It was nice to sit and hide from the hot sun, but DBF wasn’t too into it - when we got off he was like, “why exactly did you make me experience that?” I responded by bursting into a rousing chorus of “It’s a great big beautiful tomorrow...” and we headed for one of my favorite rides, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority! We managed to get a front car and I was so excited. I just think it’s better that way.
Next onto Space Mt., which DBF loved and I absolutely hated. I have always hated this ride. I feel all scrunched in to the cars, and I’m always convinced that something is going to fall and smack me in the face, and my neck always hurts for an hour after riding. Glad to get it out of the way early, I guess! From there it was on to one of my favorite rides, the magic carpets! I don’t know why, I just find this ride so relaxing. Up and down, up and down, up and down, camel spit, up and down......ahhhhhh.

It was time for our Jungle Cruise, and we had a great time with a middle-aged driver named Jean. She was very funny - although the radio was very tinny sounding, and it was a bit hard to hear her.
Now off to Frontierland to FP Splash! While we were waiting, we peeked at BTMRR, but the line was way too long so we came to an agreement that we were both quite hungry and headed for the Columbia Harbor House. I had the kids mac n’ cheese with grapes and milk and mickey crackers. We sat upstairs and looked out over Fantasyland while we ate.
We decided to poke around Fantasyland while we waited for our Splash time. I have to admit, I was starting to get a bit cranky. It was SO crowded. Unbelievably crowded. I took a picture of what we called the ‘stroller brigade’ outside of Philharmagic

We went in Philharmagic and both loved it. It was time for another FP, so I convinced DBF to get one for Pooh. DBF was not interested in Pooh in the slightest. He is a huge fan of Wind in the Willows, and was very put out that Mr. Toad had been kicked out to make way for the residents of the 100 Acre Wood. I managed to convince him by promising that there was a Toad-related surprise waiting on the ride. We got our FPs and started to walk back to Splash, but noticing that there was a small wait for It’s a Small World, we couldn’t resist and hopped on. I loved the way they have renovated the inside to look like the Disneyland version, it was a marvelous array of sparkly goodness!

 

[Philadisney]

Onto Splash, which was going marvelously...until we hit one of the rooms, I think where they are singing the “how d’you do” song. The ride stopped. Ok, no big deal. I have been stopped on this ride a billion times - once right at the end while I was sitting directly under that little waterfall right before you go into the “zip a dee doo dah” room. I got soaked, yuck!
Only this time, about 20 minutes went by and we were still sitting there! Someone kept coming over the PA and saying “PLEASE remain seated in your log. There is NO standing up on this ride!” Eventually a cantankerous woman came out and was walking around the ride, reprimanding us all. “Was anyone standing up here?? There are some teenagers who were standing up!!” She eventually stormed off, and a few minutes later the ride started up again. Yippee! I adore this ride.
After exiting, we decided to hop on the train to Toontown, check that out and then make our way up front for the afternoon parade. We just missed the train, but figured it would only be 10 minutes or so before another one came by. About 20 minutes go by, and I’m getting antsy. I knew we only had one day at MK, and there was so much already we hadn’t done!! EEEEI! Finally, the train comes...and...doesn’t...stop! The conductor leans out and yells that there is something wrong with the engine and they are going to have to run that train all the way around the track. I start to panic. We could possibly be standing here, on this train platform, FOREVER. 9pm will come and go, MK will close for the night, but they will hold us there in our little corral for the REST OF ETERNITY. I start freaking out at the cast member - I keep telling them I know it isn’t their fault, but I need to get out NOW. He tells me I can go back through the little turnstyles that we stepped through to get into the holding pen. I go to do so, and a helpful fellow standing there says “hey, these don’t turn back. you can only go in.” AAAAAAAUGH I AM HYPERVENTILATING WE ARE GOING TO BE TRAPPED HERE IN FRONTIERLAND FOR THE REST OF OUR LIIIIIIIIIVES! I start looking around for the CM again, and then Helpful Man says “oh wait, they do go backwards.” Thank you good sir for your assistance! We are OUT of there and running through Fantasyland.

 

[Philadisney]

Off to Toontown. I had been hoping to ride Barnstormer - I know its so short and silly, but it’s fun! Huge line there though. We poke our way through Minnie’s house, but as soon as we get in it is so crowded I just want OUT. We notice that Mickey’s home looks considerable less busy, so we head through there for a lovely tour of Mickey’s summer abode. When we exit, there’s Mickey Mouse himself! We greet him and he signs a postcard for my mom and dad.
We race off, and make it to main street in time to find a decent spot for the parade. It was a bit overcast, but we had a great view considering we showed up about 10 minutes before it started. DBF was dear enough to snap a picture of my favorite little lady, miss Alice:

After the parade, I wanted an ice cream sandwich. The ice cream shop was mobbed, but the bakery was deserted, so we got on there and sat down and enjoyed the monsterous snack - 2 huge scoops of ice cream sandwiched between gigantic chocolate chip cookies. Wheeeeeee.
We headed back to Fantasyland for our ride on Pooh, and DBF was delighted when I pointed out the framed image of Mr. Toad handing the deed to Owl. We enjoyed this ride a lot, even though we got stuck at the end and had to hear the friends all shout “HOORAY!” about 7 times. HOORAY INDEED! Next we were off to the Haunted Mansion - it was shut down all day and we were worried we wouldn’t get to ride it, but it had finally re-opened! A great time, although we got stuck on that one too, right during the part where the hitchhiking ghost was in our car! That was a little odd.
At this point I am totally tired and crabby from fighting with the crowds all day. We decide to get out of the park for dinner, and hop on the monorail. We figure we’ll get off at the Grand Floridian and check out whatever CS is there.

What a beautiful place. I had poked my head in there once years ago when I worked at WDW, I helped a videographer shoot a wedding at the pavilion (i majored in video/film production in college). But I had never wandered around the place - there was a pianist in the lobby playing selections from Phantom of the Opera. We walked out and wandered around the beach and pools, eventually stumbling upon Gasperilla’s, where I had hot tea and a pizza. Afterwards, we wandered around a bit, and stumbled on an almost deserted beach. We sat down on a swing and dug our toes into the sand, looking out over the sun setting over the water.

 

[Philadisney]

We make our way back to MK, and walk in to be greeted by the absolutely stunning view of the castle at night.

We are feeling much calmer now, and in no rush to do anything. DBF was excited for the teacups, so we hopped on that line.

Then back to Frontierland, where we got another FP for Splash, and stood on line for BTMRR. I love doing those rides at night - the view of the castle at night from the top of Splash is breathtaking.
We headed over to Tomorrowland to get on the Astro Orbiter, I was excited about doing that one at night too. We also hit TTA one more time, and ran over to the Tomorrowland bridge just in time for Wishes!

Another wonderful view - Tink flew right over us! Afterwards we meandered out of MK, exhausted, saying one last goodbye to main street.

We got outside just as the water parade was starting, which I had never seen! I was so excited. It was totally silly, but we enjoyed it, before hopping on the bus and heading back to our wonderful resort. Mousekeeping must have noticed the snuggling action going on between Mr. Vacuum and Lady Vacuum....

On the third day of vacation, POFQ gave to me
a heart for Lady Vacuum,
a towel toothbrush holder,
a friend for Mr. Vacuum,
and a view of a magnolia tree!

Next up: a fabulous day at MGM!

 

[TLinden16]

You have some great pictures in your report! I love the first picture of the castle in the above post. Looks like you had a wonderful time, although I think Mr. Vacuum had the most fun.

Sorry about the breakup, though

Thanks for posting.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for the great reports. My Wife and myself also love POFQ. It is our favorite moderate resort. We will be back again in a few months. I love the boats to DD. Sorry to hear about your breakup with DBF. Looking forward to reading your next part.

 

[Philadisney]

Today we woke up and headed straight for the pool, after DBF got back from his run (did I mention he got up at 7 AM every day of vacation to go running? that’s dedication.) Going to the pool in the morning was wonderful, it was usually nearly if not completely empty. After showering, we were off to Disney-MGM studios! DBF’s eyes widened when we walked in to the park. “Can we go inside THAT??” he asked, pointing at the sorcerer hat. “Is it a ride??” “We can certainly go under the hat....it’s a pin store...” I explained. “Oh.” He lost interest quickly, and we headed for Sunset Blvd, first stopping at TOT (for a fast pass) and then to RnR. Both rides were fantastic, although I needed a bit of a break afterwards, so we began to wander around the park. We wandered past the hat where many characters were signing autographs. I was so excited to see Chip with not Dale, but that girl from the cartoon “Two Chips & A Miss”, Clarice. I had no idea that she ever came out, I was delighted, but we really didn’t feel like standing in line to meet her. Too bad, I could have serenaded them with the song they perform in that film, you know, something like “My desssstineeeee, is to be in love with you hoo hoo hoo, doesn’t matter what you say-ay or doooo...” ok, maybe I am the only weirdo that really, really likes that song. If I could find it on LP, my life would be filled with a new and exciting joy. I collect kids records, lot of Disney ones - like these gems:

BUT I DIGRESS. Anyway yeah, the lines were too long! We skipped over meeting Chicken Little for the same reason, although I would have loved to get a picture of him with Mr. V.
I am quite fuzzy on the order we did things at this park - it was a bit crowded so we did a lot of hopping around all over the place to try and find attractions with not too much of a wait. Also, I have trouble remembering how this park is set up, so there was quite a bit of wandering around going “Hmmm, I think there’s a show back here somewhere...or a dead end...maybe it is behind us. Huh.” In our search for the Muppet movie, we wandered down NY street

Beware the gigantic chicken! DBF & I are both big Muppet fans and enjoyed the show, gawsh, that Bean Bunny sure is adorable. We hopped on the Great Movie Ride, getting the gangster storyline, which disappointed me. DBF loves seeing things get set on fire, so I was hoping for the western storyline where the building burns. Oh well, it was still fun, and then it was time for lunch at the Sci-Fi! I was excited about this - I had never even been inside, and had heard lots of bad reviews of the food, but I just HAD to visit the restaurant that had a poster of one of my favorite films out front

I somehow landed a VHS copy of Teenagers from Outer Space in high school, and have watched it about 20 times since. It’s a very funny and bizarre movie, featuring a 35-year-old “space teenager” named Thor and a gaggle of killer lobster monsters, and I am glad to see it represented at WDW!
We LOVED the Sci-Fi diner, it was the most fun meal I had on the trip. I ordered the spinach dip & DBF had the reuben - they were OK, not amazing but definitely edible. We LOVED the milkshakes we got : I had the black-and-white with rum in it, and DBF had the oreo which I think contained chocolate liquor. They came with red & green glowing ice cubes inside, which were the coolest things ever. We had the front seat of one of the cars and a great waiter named Tony. After this we did some more wandering and wound up on Star Tours, which had about a 5 minute wait, and then goofed around with some busts. Here’s Milton Berle and Mr. Vacuum sharing a joke:

Oh, Mr. V! Stop perching on Walt’s head!

We checked out One Man’s Dream, which I love, I think Walt was an absolutely fascinating man. Also did the animation tour. We took the quiz that tells you What Animated Character You Are - we both got villains, Lady Tremaine & Jafar (probably because we said we would rather eat nice people for breakfast than eat breakfast with nice people). Some of the Incredibles were there but we were kinda ignoring them to play with the computer games - I think its weird that the Incredibles aren’t face characters, like the princesses. I find it very bothersome. I guess a lot of people were ignoring Frozone, because he snuck up behind DBF and stood very close to him, scaring the bejesus out of him when he finally turned around. I found this hilarious.
Afterwards it was snack time and we hit the candy shop for apples. I had a caramel & fudge apple with white chocolate chips and sprinkles, DBF had a fudge apple with reeses pieces. We kinda tried to watch the parade while eating, but it was too mobbed to really see anything.
Back to Sunset Blvd to do TOT and RnR again - DBF isn’t interested in shows, so we skipped over Millionaire, Beauty & The Beast, Playhouse Disney, Ariel, etc - I didn’t much mind, I have done them all before at least once and would be back in a month with my family anyway, so I didn’t have a ton of ‘must-dos’ on this trip.
We did the Backlot Tour somewhere in there too, this was the longest line we stood in all day, probably about 30-40 minutes. Too bad it's not a fastpass! FP is our greatest & dearest Disney Friend. If they had someone walking around the sorcerer hat dressed up like a good ol' FP, I'd happily stand in line to have my pic taken with him. I really like the Backlot Tour, I enjoy seeing all the different things they are working on in costuming and the different props they have out. Sitting behind us was a family with a tiny boy, probably about 2 years old, who for the life of him could not understand what he had done to make his parents so angry that they were taking him into a canyon where mass amounts of fire and flooding waters were crashing down on him. The poor thing just screamed and sobbed all the way through that part of the tour. I feel wicked because I kind of thought it was funny even though I felt sorry for the little guy, but his parents were giggling about it too. That kid's gonna have issues.
It was about an hour before Fantasmic at this point, so we decided to grab dinner and then head over to the stadium for a seat. We decided on ABC commissary even though I knew it was kinda gross, we both had lo mein and it was highly unimpressive. But it was nice to sit outside and people watch while eating, and then we headed over to get a spot for the show. I had only seen Fantasmic once, when I was a CP, and I had a lousy seat behind a pole then so I didn’t think much of it. I was glad we saw it this time, it was great!

We waved our little ice cubes around since we didn’t buy any flashy glow toys to play with, ha. The show was really enjoyable, and afterwards we joined to rest of the herd to shuffle out to the bus stop, for a ride home back to our lovely room at POFQ. There was another little treat waiting for us!

On the fourth day of vacation, POFQ gave to me:
a precious little bunny,
a heart for Lady Vacuum,
a towel toothbrush holder,
a friend for Mr. Vacuum,
and a view of a magnolia tree!

Next: we take on our favorite park, Epcot!

 

[averill94]

Thanks so much for a great report! Keep posting-
Sorry about DBF- onward and upward
I love your little chicken!

 

[DaisyLynn]

I'm loving reading this! I am visiting POFQ in November with my DBF for his first trip to WDW...and I'm really excited! More than him, I think...but that's just because he doesn't know how awesome it is yet!

Sorry to hear about your breakup...but you sound like a strong woman! I'm a fan!

 

[OhMari]

I'm glad you continued your Trip Report.

Sorry about your breakup.

 

[lucky978]

I really enjoyed reading your TR so far. Thanks for sharing. Love the pics. Looking forward to more.

 

[Philadisney]

hi everyone - thanks so much for all the nice replies! It delights me to know that people are enjoying this report and all my silly little pictures writing it has also helped me get psyched for my next trip in just a few weeks (yes, WDW for the 4th of July - my family's crazy!).

 

[kaysmommie]

Enjoying your trip report and pictures. Sorry about DBF. Your lucky though you get to go back to WDW for July 4. My DH is so annoyed with all my Disney planning and talking about Disney he said "hope it burns down". I wanted to strangle him. He doesn't understand I just want the trip to perfect as can be for our DS 2 and DD 6. Have a great trip with your family!

 

[Philadisney]

Today we woke up to our last full day in the World. We decided to spread Epcot over the last two days, so we wouldn’t feel rushed. We started by heading off to the POFQ pool in the morning for a swim. I also decided that today I wanted to try POFQ’s famous beignets, so we made our way through the CS at the resort - not too crowded, since it was around nine and the early morning before-the-parks rush had ended. I got a yogurt and some beignets, and they were ok. For some reason I had convinced myself that they were chocolate filled (no idea where I got that idea from...I swore I read it here ) so I was disappointed to find that they were just hollow pastries coated in very messy powdered sugar. We dusted off the sugary snowstorm and were off to Epcot for my first time at the Flower and Garden festival!

First stop was Soarin’, of course! We got fast passes and headed over to the Living Seas. I can’t wait for the Nemo ride....guess I’ll have to come back next year! We had fun poking around the aquarium, I wanted to do Turtle Talk with Crush but the line was crazy long, so we said forget it. My favorite part of this pavilion was definitely the manatees. There was no one in else there watching them so I enjoyed a peaceful bit of time peering into their tank. There were two manatees, one had been orphaned and the other had been injured in a boating accident - part of his tail was missing. It was neat to watch them swim around, and the CM tossed heads of lettuce in their tank and they would swim up to chomp on it. My notes also say “DBF was excited for those ugly fish,” and I have no idea what that means now. I guess that there were some hideous fishies there, and they brought DBF great joy. See, I told you my notes got worse and worse throughout the trip!
I’ll tell you something else that got DBF excited - the hat that looks like Nemo. It’s basically a big plush Nemo, but there’s a spot in his belly for you to stick your head in. It was the most ridiculous thing I had ever seen, and DBF agreed, but he was drawn to it. Every shop that we stopped in that had the Nemo hat, he’d put it on and study himself in whatever mirror was available, with an extremely serious look on his face. “Should I get it? Should I? I mean, I really want it, but I’ll probably never wear it again. Unless maybe I am drunk and dancing around my apartment alone.” Eventually he decided against it, but he even talked about it after we got home.
Back for Soarin, which we both loved, even though we were in the back row side and had people’s feet dangling in front of us. Next we got a FP for Living with the Land. While waiting for the boat ride we hit Figment - walked right on, it was practically empty! This is a cute ride and I enjoy it, especially because I know to hold my breath for the skunk and am prepared for the shock at the end where the wall drops and a thousand little figments appear screeching their praise of the all-powerful imagination.
Then on to Test Track for a FP, and while we were waiting, Mission Space! It only had a 10 minute wait (or 5 minute, if you wanted to go on the less-maniacal version). We rode with two guys, one of them was a military pilot of some sort and told us all about some of the insane things he has had to do for training. He said that one thing they have to do is, while flying, have the instructor mess up the plane so that it is flying at an angle, and then they have to fix it so that it is flying straight, WHILE BLINDFOLDED. something about feeling the atmospheric equalibrium something something. I usually skip over Test Track but he wanted to do it so we went. I actually enjoyed myself, but I wouldn’t want to wait in a long standby line for it.
We were getting hungry now so it was off to Morocco for lunch at Marrakesh! I always try to eat lunch there because it’s delicious, inexpensive, and I have NEVER needed a ADR. We took the boat over there, which took forever, but it’s fun.

 

[Snoopygirl]

Loving your trip report!!

Going again.....i'm so envious! Have a great time and we'll be waiting for another TR!

 

[Philadisney]

We both ordered the lunch special at Marrakesh, which was yummy - a little beef pastry appetizer, chicken kabobs and rice for entree, and wonderful apple honey crepes for dessert. I ordered a drink in a souvenier glass which was great - for only $2.50 more I got to take home a very cool looking glass. I did this a few years ago at CRT and got a neat glass mug. I think I will try to make these my souveniers from now on! They are definitely functional! Our waiter was also supernnice, and we watched the bellydancer for a while after eating. She got two little girls to come up and dance with her and it was totally adorable. When I was a CP my roommates and I ate lunch here one day and the bellydancer came over to us, my roommates wouldn’t join in so I danced with her myself. We took a picture and I sent it to my mom, I think it’s on her fridge.
We skipped out on the bellydancing before it was over because I realized that we had five minutes to get to Japan to see my favorite candy sculptress, Miyuki!

If you’ve never seen her, Miyuki is an artist who sculpts soft taffy into any animal you like, then paints it, all the while reeling off this bizarre little speech about what she is doing. If you’re one of the lucky ones she picks to make a treat for, you get to keep it! I once had her make me a pink squid - it was so cool. but I tried to eat it after about 2 weeks. That was a bad idea
We watched her for a while then poked around the Japan pavilion. We decided to go back around the WS towards Canada, so next stop was Morocco for a little more poking around - I love the little museum they have in there that most people don’t even realize you can go into! I was hoping to spot Aladdin but no luck. We did a bit of looking around France, then over the bridge to UK, where the British Invasion was playing! I was excited - when I was a CP, I worked at the food & wine festival and was stationed in the UK. I heard the BI several times a day, and became a big fan of the song “We Can Work It Out” thanks to them (I had somehow never heard it before!) We wandered through Canada, where I insisted on hosing DBF down with some Roots cologne, and I was disappointed to find that the little shop at the top of the mountain is closed - I wonder what they will put in there? Oh well, no time to dwell on that, we had a date with some characters to keep! I have a Disney Visa card, so if we went to Innoventions between 1 and 4pm, we could get a private session with some characters and a free photo. It took us about 20 minutes to find the area - it is a really well-hidden curtain way in the back of Innoventions. We stood outside for a while, then were finally let in, to find us alone with two photographers and Minnie & Donald! They took both photopass pics and pics with our own camera for us. It was a little weird being alone with the characters, but I just kept telling myself any akwardness I was feeling was worth the cool free pic Of course it was!