Trip report:
10/29 to 11/3 Off site/ Disney World
11-3 to 11/6- Disney Wonder- first Disney cruise.
Cast members:
Myself- if not for me we are not going to WDW. Love the planning aspect.
Always planning for the next visit.
DS- tolerates Disney nut. Would rather spend 7 days at the beach. Will settle for two.
DD- 9 years
DD- 7 years
Bottom Line- Off Season Rocks!!!
Any questions let me know.
If you were at WDW while we there let me know. I am always interested in those
it's a small world encounters.
Saturday: October 29th
Drive JFK. Uneventful.
Had Lunch at Terminal 1- Walk in windy weather.
Fly using Song- leather seats and Flat LCD screen- neat.
First trip using Song Airlines- would use again- $155 round trip - a nice price indeed.
Had nice attendant who was in Halloween spirit- definitely made trip fun. Helped
cheer up DD-7 who was a bit apprehensive ( 4th trip on an airplane, did not remember the earlier trips).
At MCO- saved time when DS got luggage and I got the rent a car.
Always use Alamo- great price, never a problem. Like to pick our own car.
Picked a Pontiac G6- sporty, trunk about held our luggage.
Thought about going to dinner at chef Mickey's since we arrived earlier- but it was booked.
Got a reservation for Jiko's to get into Disney spirit- ended up canceling it.
Kid's ended up in pool and I picked up pizza and supplies from across the hotel.
Hotel was Comfort Inn suites- West side- great location, nice hotel.
Daylight savings kicks in tonight!!- came in handy for rest of the trip.
Sunday: October 30th
Breakfast at hotel- very crowded- will they ever add more tables- had to eat
by the pool- nice, but not convenient. Other dines were not crowded at all.
Epcot: No tram ride.
Soarin- parents and kid's loved it.
Honey I shrunk the audience- kid's missed mice- legs were on chair...
Said Szalinski enough during the movie- lady at DCL recognized the name
resemblence. ( Our last name is Zielinski)
Figment ride- kid's liked to play with the photo stuff after the ride.
Test Track- kid's hesitant- but loved it...
Epcot Ball ride- got stuck as soon as we entered- nice ride
Lunch- fast food at Innovations, kid's split foot long hot dog.
Universe of Energy- neat that Bill Nye is star ( he handed me my
diploma when I graduated from RPI). Ellen keeps dull material
interesting.
I picked up evening jackets from locker. Mickey Mouse bar time! Still $2.50.
I think it's the same price or only slightly higher than when I first went to
WDW in 1986.
Visit countries- kid's still want to go to all the countries- can't Disney
do better than the mask? Tried to get pictures of the DD's in each country with an
example of garb on the children.
Dinner at Chefs of France- not close to real French cuisine, but ok Disney wise.
Illuminations- nice spot between UK and Canada? Waited 40 minutes,
but we were tired. Best view of the show ever.
Monday 10-31-05 Halloween:
Typhoon lagoon- got nice spot in shade near kiddie beach- no way to avoid the piped
in music!!
Got to go on any ride we wished in the morning as many times we would like.
Shark lagoon- DS and DD-9 went twice. DD-7 was just happy to see the
fish from inside the sub.
Family raft ride- repeat several times. All three body slides, lazy man.
Made PB+J sandwiches for lunch.
Did remaining two tube rides.
All loved the new gusher ride- rode all three- DS did not want to leave.
Did Surf pool to we left- left at 3PM to make it to...
Chef Mickey's
Kids wore their costumes. Candy available for them. Pumpkin contest.
Ate in same spot as 1999- under the monorail- nice to avoid the crowd,
but surely kid's missed main room party atmosphere.
Rode Monorail in dark. Saw lot's of people in costumes- with kids in tow...
We skipped MNSSHP because kid's aren't great at night and did not want to
stay up so late.
Tried to go to Downtown Disney for Halloween- no parking.
Went to Boardwalk! Got there at 8PM- events ended at 8:30- kid's got handfuls
of candy from remaining candy cauldron's. Big party in square.
Got to see magician and juggler- DD-9 made a basket ball basket!
We did ok for Halloween.
Tuesday 11-1-05:
Magic Kingdom- off season rules- walk on all rides- as many times as we want.
Going the day after Halloween helped for sure.
Swiss Family Treehouse
Aladdin- how do you get wet- were sprinkler's off since it was off-season?
Pirates- DD-7 to Alladin
Jungle Cruise- opened at 10AM- did get stuck in line as we waited for
groups to board- The ship captain had lot's of energy and made for a fun ride.
Splash Mountain- Kid's loved it
Thunder Mountain- two times
Frontierland- needs more rides- River boat and Bears were being fixed up.
Had Mickey bars on rocker's in front of Liberty Tavern. It's a tradition.
Saved President's for rain that was expected later.
To Fantasyland- plenty of kids there. Saw some lines.
It's a small world.
Carousel.
Peter Pan- fast pass.
Skipped Snow White's scary adventure....
Mickey's 3D show- want to see it again- need more Mickey in the parks.
- actually need more Mickey in the World- can he run for President?
WInnie the pooh
Teacups- except for Daddy!
Back to castle for lunch with Cinderella. 2:10 reservation was on late side-
kid's were getting hungry.
Saw Fairy Godmother and Cinderella downstairs..
During lunch saw Wendy ( talkative), Mary Poppins, Belle and Snow White.
Princesses came one after another toward end of lunch.
Got about money's worth...
Rain started.
Buzz lightyear.
Web people mover- kid's like this.
Carousel of Progress- perfect for rainy evening- I like it.
Space mountain- 2x- DD-9 loved it. Cars now seat 3 people individually.
Dark outside now.
Toon town- DD-7 wants to see Minnie
Minnie House
Mickey House
No spectromagic due to rain- I've only seen it once- will I ever see it again?
Train ride - last ride of day- ended up at Train station after full loop-
left park before Wishes. Rain and chilly weather did dampen our spirits a bit
toward end.
Tuesday 11-2-05:
Animal Kingdom
Park prepped for Christmas- Christmas tree, music and decorations all over.
Would like to see WDW at holidays one year.
Tough to be a bug- "five" minute wait ended up being 15 minute wait.
Safari- WALK on- could not believe it- saw plenty of animals.
Kid's quest- kid's probably would have liked to finish this booklet by
visiting all the quests- did not plan to stay in park all day.
Saw Mount Everest- looks like a huge attraction.
Birds on Wonder- DD-9 got to feed a bird a grape. Pleasant show.
Lunch- need to try something different here for lunch
Lion King- amazing Disney production- elephant section.
Pocahontas- pleasant diversion
Left for MGM- pushing it I know
Great movie ride- DD-9 and Daddy- loved it- especially the live actors.
Beauty and Beast- only 1/2 the show- show stopped as senior citizen fell down stairs... We had to figure out what happened. They just announced the
show would not continue- it times like these we need details why the
show will not continue....
Fast food dinner.
During dinner we told DD's we are going on cruise tomorrow!
Fantasmic- maybe too much bad guys- not as wonderful as first
time- but still a great way to end the day.
Roller coaster was closed for renovation...
Daddy could not get volunteers for ToT- maybe next time! DD-9 almost there.
Thursday 11-3-05:
Breakfast at hotel- time in pool, laundry.
Arrive at Disney cruise line around 1PM.
Need people to direct newcomers- I knew from the beginning we were
going to end up in the "wrong" line and we did.
DD-7 not happy about going onto boat.
Liked when they announced our name.
Lunch at Parrot cay- I was happy- window view- Mickey "stopped" by- love
those Disney surprises.
Room was pleasant surprise- (had low expectations based on our previous cruise).
Registered kid's for Oceaneer's Lab- no problem keeping DD's together.
Did not make much use of OL this time, but very convenient.
Played shuffle board.
Had fun at going away party. Good bye stress, Hello vacation!!!
Dinner was at Animator's palate- changed our table from 35 to 42- winder why?
Kid's went to Oceaneer's lab for an hour- this is a great idea-
but to hear about kid's left there for 8 hour stretches is kind of sad-
but actually one kid actually looked forward to it- who knows...
Will come in handy on 7 night cruise.
Mommy and Daddy just walked around. Tried out the free wings in Diversions.
Saw first show- Hercules- Disney production allright- though I was ready
to fall asleep ( actually all nights- was the ship movement inducing
relaxation...)
Some boat noise at night- got used to it I think- what was it from? Ship moving?
Kid's were happy when bed was converted into bunks during dinner- liked
the chocolate also.
Friday 11-5-05:
Wake up early for Breakfast. Kid's had room service- they enjoyed
filling out the room service card. Mommy and daddy took turns
eating at the beach blanket buffet- I can see why people would like
eating outside- but seemed to busy for me- I prefer parrot cay.
Catamaran Snorkel cruise- Got to walk thru Nassau.
DD-9 was a snorkeling champ.
DD-7 got into the water- not happy about using snorkel.
Daddy got quality snorkel time.
Coral was either covered in sand or dying.
Rum punch was weak- and no snacks- oh well.
Made late lunch at Tritons. Worth it.
- forgot what we did here...
Parrot cay for dinner- pirate's night- lot's of people dressed up-
but theming seemed weak- no pirate music or Disney pirates???
Was too full to eat dinner due to late lunch.
Saw the Disney show- Mickey's- same summary as previous night.
Saturday:
Castaway Cay-
Breakfast- parrot cay?
Found nice spot in shade- moved away from loud music.
Mommy, Daddy and DD-9 went snorkeling ( two at a time)- saw Treasure chest- did not find Mickey. Not many fish. Mommy bought snorkeling gear from home- saved money.
Daddy mailed postcards- Disney ship on Bahamas stamp.
Toward end of day picked up left over floating stuff- day at CC was lots of fun.
Lunch at Cay-great BBQ fare- all you can eat soft serve cookies and cream ice cream.
Dinner at Triton's- dress up night- got family photo- need more time for photo
next time.
Disney dreams- great Disney fare- amazing it's on a boat. Quality of singer's
very high- all entertainers are good.
Sunday:
Breakfast at Triton's early- fare too simple here. Need to leave with a bang Disney!
Left boat.
Went to Kennedy Space center- too expensive to kill a couple of hours.
- need to write a note to KSC about this.
Nice ride though- 70 MPH, Saw tropical fruit trees- lemon for sure.
Stopped at Factory Outlet.
Ate at World's largest McDonald's.
Off to airport- got there early- Disney store not in Terminal B anymore-
Is Delta still Disney airline?
Song ride home- Crew more subdued.
Landing bumpy.
Ran into some rain and lots of leaves on way home. Vacation over....
Other:
DCL- lots of employees all over- service top notch. You got what you pay for- alot for alot.
DCL- menu doesn't change much- same as in book.
Disney attractions just cheer you up. Maybe you feel yourself getting down- they just end up picking you up.
After Disney dreams- maybe got a final dose of Disney that should last awhile.
Kid's want rides- disappointed in show's at times....
DD-7 wants more rides- time for Universal??
Can't give honest opinion of food- just came back from France and several gourmet
France meals- they know how to cook.
Well if you made it this far- Thanks. Hopefully you picked up a tip or two.
10/29 to 11/3 Off site/ Disney World
11-3 to 11/6- Disney Wonder- first Disney cruise.
Cast members:
Myself- if not for me we are not going to WDW. Love the planning aspect.
Always planning for the next visit.
DS- tolerates Disney nut. Would rather spend 7 days at the beach. Will settle for two.
DD- 9 years
DD- 7 years
Bottom Line- Off Season Rocks!!!
Any questions let me know.
If you were at WDW while we there let me know. I am always interested in those
it's a small world encounters.
Saturday: October 29th
Drive JFK. Uneventful.
Had Lunch at Terminal 1- Walk in windy weather.
Fly using Song- leather seats and Flat LCD screen- neat.
First trip using Song Airlines- would use again- $155 round trip - a nice price indeed.
Had nice attendant who was in Halloween spirit- definitely made trip fun. Helped
cheer up DD-7 who was a bit apprehensive ( 4th trip on an airplane, did not remember the earlier trips).
At MCO- saved time when DS got luggage and I got the rent a car.
Always use Alamo- great price, never a problem. Like to pick our own car.
Picked a Pontiac G6- sporty, trunk about held our luggage.
Thought about going to dinner at chef Mickey's since we arrived earlier- but it was booked.
Got a reservation for Jiko's to get into Disney spirit- ended up canceling it.
Kid's ended up in pool and I picked up pizza and supplies from across the hotel.
Hotel was Comfort Inn suites- West side- great location, nice hotel.
Daylight savings kicks in tonight!!- came in handy for rest of the trip.
Sunday: October 30th
Breakfast at hotel- very crowded- will they ever add more tables- had to eat
by the pool- nice, but not convenient. Other dines were not crowded at all.
Epcot: No tram ride.
Soarin- parents and kid's loved it.
Honey I shrunk the audience- kid's missed mice- legs were on chair...
Said Szalinski enough during the movie- lady at DCL recognized the name
resemblence. ( Our last name is Zielinski)
Figment ride- kid's liked to play with the photo stuff after the ride.
Test Track- kid's hesitant- but loved it...
Epcot Ball ride- got stuck as soon as we entered- nice ride
Lunch- fast food at Innovations, kid's split foot long hot dog.
Universe of Energy- neat that Bill Nye is star ( he handed me my
diploma when I graduated from RPI). Ellen keeps dull material
interesting.
I picked up evening jackets from locker. Mickey Mouse bar time! Still $2.50.
I think it's the same price or only slightly higher than when I first went to
WDW in 1986.
Visit countries- kid's still want to go to all the countries- can't Disney
do better than the mask? Tried to get pictures of the DD's in each country with an
example of garb on the children.
Dinner at Chefs of France- not close to real French cuisine, but ok Disney wise.
Illuminations- nice spot between UK and Canada? Waited 40 minutes,
but we were tired. Best view of the show ever.
Monday 10-31-05 Halloween:
Typhoon lagoon- got nice spot in shade near kiddie beach- no way to avoid the piped
in music!!
Got to go on any ride we wished in the morning as many times we would like.
Shark lagoon- DS and DD-9 went twice. DD-7 was just happy to see the
fish from inside the sub.
Family raft ride- repeat several times. All three body slides, lazy man.
Made PB+J sandwiches for lunch.
Did remaining two tube rides.
All loved the new gusher ride- rode all three- DS did not want to leave.
Did Surf pool to we left- left at 3PM to make it to...
Chef Mickey's
Kids wore their costumes. Candy available for them. Pumpkin contest.
Ate in same spot as 1999- under the monorail- nice to avoid the crowd,
but surely kid's missed main room party atmosphere.
Rode Monorail in dark. Saw lot's of people in costumes- with kids in tow...
We skipped MNSSHP because kid's aren't great at night and did not want to
stay up so late.
Tried to go to Downtown Disney for Halloween- no parking.
Went to Boardwalk! Got there at 8PM- events ended at 8:30- kid's got handfuls
of candy from remaining candy cauldron's. Big party in square.
Got to see magician and juggler- DD-9 made a basket ball basket!
We did ok for Halloween.
Tuesday 11-1-05:
Magic Kingdom- off season rules- walk on all rides- as many times as we want.
Going the day after Halloween helped for sure.
Swiss Family Treehouse
Aladdin- how do you get wet- were sprinkler's off since it was off-season?
Pirates- DD-7 to Alladin
Jungle Cruise- opened at 10AM- did get stuck in line as we waited for
groups to board- The ship captain had lot's of energy and made for a fun ride.
Splash Mountain- Kid's loved it
Thunder Mountain- two times
Frontierland- needs more rides- River boat and Bears were being fixed up.
Had Mickey bars on rocker's in front of Liberty Tavern. It's a tradition.
Saved President's for rain that was expected later.
To Fantasyland- plenty of kids there. Saw some lines.
It's a small world.
Carousel.
Peter Pan- fast pass.
Skipped Snow White's scary adventure....
Mickey's 3D show- want to see it again- need more Mickey in the parks.
- actually need more Mickey in the World- can he run for President?
WInnie the pooh
Teacups- except for Daddy!
Back to castle for lunch with Cinderella. 2:10 reservation was on late side-
kid's were getting hungry.
Saw Fairy Godmother and Cinderella downstairs..
During lunch saw Wendy ( talkative), Mary Poppins, Belle and Snow White.
Princesses came one after another toward end of lunch.
Got about money's worth...
Rain started.
Buzz lightyear.
Web people mover- kid's like this.
Carousel of Progress- perfect for rainy evening- I like it.
Space mountain- 2x- DD-9 loved it. Cars now seat 3 people individually.
Dark outside now.
Toon town- DD-7 wants to see Minnie
Minnie House
Mickey House
No spectromagic due to rain- I've only seen it once- will I ever see it again?
Train ride - last ride of day- ended up at Train station after full loop-
left park before Wishes. Rain and chilly weather did dampen our spirits a bit
toward end.
Tuesday 11-2-05:
Animal Kingdom
Park prepped for Christmas- Christmas tree, music and decorations all over.
Would like to see WDW at holidays one year.
Tough to be a bug- "five" minute wait ended up being 15 minute wait.
Safari- WALK on- could not believe it- saw plenty of animals.
Kid's quest- kid's probably would have liked to finish this booklet by
visiting all the quests- did not plan to stay in park all day.
Saw Mount Everest- looks like a huge attraction.
Birds on Wonder- DD-9 got to feed a bird a grape. Pleasant show.
Lunch- need to try something different here for lunch
Lion King- amazing Disney production- elephant section.
Pocahontas- pleasant diversion
Left for MGM- pushing it I know
Great movie ride- DD-9 and Daddy- loved it- especially the live actors.
Beauty and Beast- only 1/2 the show- show stopped as senior citizen fell down stairs... We had to figure out what happened. They just announced the
show would not continue- it times like these we need details why the
show will not continue....
Fast food dinner.
During dinner we told DD's we are going on cruise tomorrow!
Fantasmic- maybe too much bad guys- not as wonderful as first
time- but still a great way to end the day.
Roller coaster was closed for renovation...
Daddy could not get volunteers for ToT- maybe next time! DD-9 almost there.
Thursday 11-3-05:
Breakfast at hotel- time in pool, laundry.
Arrive at Disney cruise line around 1PM.
Need people to direct newcomers- I knew from the beginning we were
going to end up in the "wrong" line and we did.
DD-7 not happy about going onto boat.
Liked when they announced our name.
Lunch at Parrot cay- I was happy- window view- Mickey "stopped" by- love
those Disney surprises.
Room was pleasant surprise- (had low expectations based on our previous cruise).
Registered kid's for Oceaneer's Lab- no problem keeping DD's together.
Did not make much use of OL this time, but very convenient.
Played shuffle board.
Had fun at going away party. Good bye stress, Hello vacation!!!
Dinner was at Animator's palate- changed our table from 35 to 42- winder why?
Kid's went to Oceaneer's lab for an hour- this is a great idea-
but to hear about kid's left there for 8 hour stretches is kind of sad-
but actually one kid actually looked forward to it- who knows...
Will come in handy on 7 night cruise.
Mommy and Daddy just walked around. Tried out the free wings in Diversions.
Saw first show- Hercules- Disney production allright- though I was ready
to fall asleep ( actually all nights- was the ship movement inducing
relaxation...)
Some boat noise at night- got used to it I think- what was it from? Ship moving?
Kid's were happy when bed was converted into bunks during dinner- liked
the chocolate also.
Friday 11-5-05:
Wake up early for Breakfast. Kid's had room service- they enjoyed
filling out the room service card. Mommy and daddy took turns
eating at the beach blanket buffet- I can see why people would like
eating outside- but seemed to busy for me- I prefer parrot cay.
Catamaran Snorkel cruise- Got to walk thru Nassau.
DD-9 was a snorkeling champ.
DD-7 got into the water- not happy about using snorkel.
Daddy got quality snorkel time.
Coral was either covered in sand or dying.
Rum punch was weak- and no snacks- oh well.
Made late lunch at Tritons. Worth it.
- forgot what we did here...
Parrot cay for dinner- pirate's night- lot's of people dressed up-
but theming seemed weak- no pirate music or Disney pirates???
Was too full to eat dinner due to late lunch.
Saw the Disney show- Mickey's- same summary as previous night.
Saturday:
Castaway Cay-
Breakfast- parrot cay?
Found nice spot in shade- moved away from loud music.
Mommy, Daddy and DD-9 went snorkeling ( two at a time)- saw Treasure chest- did not find Mickey. Not many fish. Mommy bought snorkeling gear from home- saved money.
Daddy mailed postcards- Disney ship on Bahamas stamp.
Toward end of day picked up left over floating stuff- day at CC was lots of fun.
Lunch at Cay-great BBQ fare- all you can eat soft serve cookies and cream ice cream.
Dinner at Triton's- dress up night- got family photo- need more time for photo
next time.
Disney dreams- great Disney fare- amazing it's on a boat. Quality of singer's
very high- all entertainers are good.
Sunday:
Breakfast at Triton's early- fare too simple here. Need to leave with a bang Disney!
Left boat.
Went to Kennedy Space center- too expensive to kill a couple of hours.
- need to write a note to KSC about this.
Nice ride though- 70 MPH, Saw tropical fruit trees- lemon for sure.
Stopped at Factory Outlet.
Ate at World's largest McDonald's.
Off to airport- got there early- Disney store not in Terminal B anymore-
Is Delta still Disney airline?
Song ride home- Crew more subdued.
Landing bumpy.
Ran into some rain and lots of leaves on way home. Vacation over....
Other:
DCL- lots of employees all over- service top notch. You got what you pay for- alot for alot.
DCL- menu doesn't change much- same as in book.
Disney attractions just cheer you up. Maybe you feel yourself getting down- they just end up picking you up.
After Disney dreams- maybe got a final dose of Disney that should last awhile.
Kid's want rides- disappointed in show's at times....
DD-7 wants more rides- time for Universal??
Can't give honest opinion of food- just came back from France and several gourmet
France meals- they know how to cook.
Well if you made it this far- Thanks. Hopefully you picked up a tip or two.
.
