The Highs and Lows of our recent Disney Vacation July 2012

[blbruell]

My husband and I greatly anticipated surprising our DS 10 and DS 6 with their first Disney vacation in 5 years Now that it's over, I am definitely struggling with the "post Disney blues". We had a truely "magical" time, and we used the dining plan for the first time. I thought I would share some of our experiences with all of you

We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. We stayed there five years ago,and the decision is still up in the air on whether or not we'll stay there again. I'm not sure if the economy is affecting the resort or if my standards for Disney are just too high.

Don't get me wrong, the resort is BEAUTIFUL and there is sooooooo much to do there. When we checked in, the staff was everything that I would have expected from Disney. She even told us to "Have a magical day" which is my favorite thing to hear at WDW. However, that was the last time I heard those words from a staff member.

Our room was just "ok". When we walked in there was no "WOW" feeling that I remembered the last time we were there. No towel animals or anything. There was a hair in the corner of the bathroom floor and a couple cheerios on the floor along the side of one of the beds. After tipping "housekeeping" not "mousekeeping" everyday we were there,we did get clean towels everyday; however this was a little strange seeing that there were signs everywhere saying that if you hung your towels up they would take it as a "sign" that you would re-use them in order to conserve for the environment.

At Port Royale, the food court, I was the most disappointed. Almost every staff member that we came in contact with had a very "tired" attitude and seemed to be stressed out and bothered when you had to inform them that you were on the dining plan So, not like Disney's usual standards.....

We had a ADR at Shutters the first night an the food was EXCELLENT. I had the stripsteak, my DS10 had the ribs, my DH the braised beef, and my DS6 had the "best cheeseburger". Oh and did I mention the chocolate cake dessert?! YUMMY!!!!

Fortunately, I didn't let the staff at the resort bring me down I just soaked up the beautiful environment

In further posts I will tell you about our park experiences and the wonderful food. This includes; Tusker House at AK, Teppan Edo at Epcot, Liberty Tree at MK, Hollywood & Vine and 50's Cafe at HS, and T-Rex in DTD. Can't wait to share.

 

[blbruell]

On day 2 of our Disney Adventure we started the morning at AK. We had a 10am reservation at Tusker House for a character breakfast. We arrived to the park at 9am and proceed straight to the Safari for a Fastpass. Return time was 9:55am-10:55 am.
We arrived at Tusker House at 9:50am and got called for our picture with Donald and to be seated right away
The buffet was stocked with a HUGE variety of breakfast foods! Danish, donuts,bagels, fruit, Mickey waffles, biscuits & gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, corned beef & hash, oatmeal, cereal, bread pudding, freshly sliced ham, country fried potatoes, and more that I can't even remember!! Everything was delicious and the mango juice that they served at the table was a nice change. My boys weren't thrilled with it, but they received OJ and chocolate milk upon request.

The place was crowded but shortly after we finished eating we were greeted at our table by Daisy, Goofy, and Mickey in safari gear They each took the time to hug the boys,take pictures and sign autographs.

We will definitely be returning there on our next visit!!!!

We then made it just in time for our safari ride where we got to see soooooo many animals really close up! We just loved it!!!

We then went on the Conservation Train, I think it's called, and when we got there and were walking around, we were surprised to see Rafiki from the Lion King, and there was only 1 person in line to see him! My DS 6 was so excited!!! We then went to the Lion King show which was AMAZING as always and again the boys were "in awe".

Unfortunately we got fastpass' for the Rapids ride for later that afternoon and got rained out. There was lightening in the area so they had to temporarily shut the ride down Since we already saw everything we wanted to see, we decided to head back to the hotel to take a little break.

That night we headed to MK to get a QS meal and watch the parade and Wishes Firework show. We went to Cosmic Rays for dinner and were reall impressed with the amount of food for a QS meal. My husband and I each got a ribs and chicken combo meal with mashed potatoes and veggie and chocolate cake for dessert. The only downside was that they have 3 "bays" for food there so my husband had to wait at one "bay" to get our food, and I had to wait in another "bay" to get DS 10's food (because he wanted a hotdog). The kids meals were he same at all 3 "bays" though.

The parade and fireworks were AMAZING as usual. I especially like the "Memories" addition that was performed "on" the castle. I think this was fairly new and was beautifully put together.

The other thing I liked was that they ensured that during the fireworks there was a clear pathway for ppl to walk so that ppl weren't fighting the crowds trying to get down main street if they weren't watching the show. When we were there 5 years ago it was not like that and I thought we might be killed trying to push a stroller through the crowd!!!

Alright, I hope you enjoyed our Day 2 synopsis I'll be back tomorrow to tell you about our Epcot adventure!!! Until then, "Have a magical day!!!"

 

[Deweysgirl]

Thanks so much for sharing! We are leaving tomorrow for 5 days with Mickey, I hope the crowds are manageable! Have a magical day and also a magical vacation!

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

Joining in.

 

[blbruell]

Thanks so much for sharing! We are leaving tomorrow for 5 days with Mickey, I hope the crowds are manageable! Have a magical day and also a magical vacation!

Have a GREAT time!!! We found that the crowds weren't as bad as we thought

 

[blbruell]

Sorry I'm late,but things have been crazy!

Anyway, Day 3 was my DH's favorite since we went to Epcot. His goal was to have one beer in every country around the world. He eventually did it, but not all in one day

We arrived at the park at 10am and went straight to get fastpass' for Soarin' with a return time of 4:30-5:30pm. Since our ADR at Teppan Edo in Japan wasn't until 3pm, we decided to do some kid friendly things first. We went to the Finding Nemo ride and then to Talk with Crush. I have to say, talking to Crush was pretty cool. All of the kids sit up in the front and the parents on the benches behind them. Even the parent's were laughing during the "show". Definitely a Must See!!!

We then started our "World tour" in Canada. We saw the 360 movie which was pretty neat, but I wouldn't be missing out if I didn't see it again.

The best thing as we worked our way through the World Showcase was the surprise character spots. Be sure to look in the back of the stores. We saw, Tigger and Pooh, Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, and Marie from the Aristocats with little or no wait!!!

We also did the Agent "P" adventure in France. This was nice for the kids, but I have to warn you that if your kids are going to do this then make sure that their "mission" is in a country that you want to spend a lot of time in because it takes at least a 1/2 hr to do. The looks on the boys faces was priceless though when they saw Perry "fly" across the buildings.

Finally, we reached Teppan Edo in Japan. If you haven't eaten here I seriously think that this is one of Disney's hidden treasures. We were seated immediately and there was almost no one else there at this time of day. The chef cooks in front of you and performs all kinds of "tricks" while doing so, that the kids love. We all also enjoyed eating with chopsticks (don't worrk, thet offer forks too). I have Filet Mignon, DH had shrimp and steak, DS 10 had chicken and shrimp, and DS 6 had chicken. All served with delicious Japanese noodles and veggies. And of course I can't forget the delicious chocolate cake!!

When we finished we headed back to the Land to ride Soarin' for our first time ever. WHAT A COOL RIDE!!! After that we headed to Mission Space. Earlier the wait was 40 minutes, it was now down to 10! Just an FYI, so you don't wait forever, earlier in the day! We also went to Spaceship Earth, which line also went from 35 minutes to 5 minutes

After that everyone was exhausted so we headed back to the resort for some swimming time. We planned to return toEpcot later in the week to finish our World Tour and to see Illuminations

Tomorrow I'll fill you in on our day at Magic Kingdom with dinner at Liberty Tree!!!

 

[NoOrdinaryPrincess]

Good TR!

 

[blbruell]

Good TR!

Thanks! This site helped me a lot when preparing for my trip o hopefully I can help out others

 

[blbruell]

Day 4 was spent mostly at Magic Kingdom

This is MY personal favorite park. We arrived at 8:50am and on this particular day they opened the gates early (not extra magic hours). We proceeded down Main St USA and headed towards Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain Railroad. We arrived just as they were about to drop the ropes to get into Frontierland. We arrived at Splash Mountain and I sent my DH to Thunder Mountain Railroad to get Fastpass'.

Needless to say, we waited no longer than 5 minutes for Splash Mountain, went to Pirates of the Carribean, walked right on, ordered Dole Whips, and then went back for our Fastpass return.

This was a HUGE accomplishment for me

Next stop was Philhimagic (sp?) 3D show,which was REALLY good! Then of course, It's a Small World, then got Fastpass' for Peter Pan's Flight (the wait was 70 minutes!)

We then proceeded to see the Hall of Presidents show, which I thought was pretty cool, but my boys fell asleep during. It reminded me where/how our country started.

Tomorrowland was next, but of course on the way we HAD to see the 1:15pm castle show which we got front row for and only had to wait 10 minutes before the show started!

While we were waiting in line for Buzzlight year ride, we spotted Buzz in the corner with only 2 people in line! I couldn't believe our luck By the time we rode the ride and got pictures with Buzz we were able to get our next fastpass for Space Mountain and then head back to Peter Pan to redeem our other one.

By then we wasted sometime walking through stores and arrived to our dinner reservation at 3:50pm with a 4pm reservation. Liberty Tree Tavern we have arrived

Again, there was no one really in the restaurant. Dinner was EXCELLENT and served family style. We started with salad and dinner rolls, then our entrees included pork, beef, and turkey, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese, stuffing, gravy,zucchini, and green beans. Of course this was all you could eat!! Then the dessert which was a apple/cranberry crisp topped with vanilla ice cream. DELICIOUS!!!!! Our server was also excellent, and we made him work with all of the drink refills, since it was 100+ degrees outside.

After being completely STUFFED from dinner, we headed to Space Mountain. This was a first for both my DS 10 and DS 6. They were scared at first but then really liked the ride

After that we decided to end our Magic Kingdom day. It was HOT and started to get more and more crowded.

I'm sure you've noticed we've spent a lot of time at the hotel. Well my boys LOVE to swim, and by heading out early, we beat most of the crowds. One rule of thumb that I learned was to AVOID the parks with Extra Magic Hours. This way the crowds are lighter first thing in the morning and later in the evening.

Alright,that's all for today! Tomorrow is Hollywood Studios day/night with breakfast at Hollywood & Vine and Dinner at 50's PrimeTime Cafe.