jlima
Beep Beep!
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2000
- Messages
- 2,270
Cast - myself, age 35, work in hotel industry; DH age 36, self employed tax consultant; DS age 7 and DS age 16 mos. 4 days in Orlando and 7-day Disney Magic Cruise.
7/2 Valet park at airport & fit all luggage onto 1 cart!! Get bags checked & we're off. But crisis as we approach security checkpoint; we realize we left carseat in our van. No wonder all the bags fit on one cart!! DH hustles back to valet parking area; valet parkers have not yet parked van. Gets seat & meets us at playground at D Gates. Leave Las Vegas approx 11pm and arrive Orlando approx 6:15am.
7/3 - Weird experience getting rental at National. We requested a mini van; and she said to just go to the mini van aisle and pick the one we wanted, and give paperwork to the attendant. Never rented a car like this before. We pick a blue Grand Caravan & we?re off.
I asked Dolphin to check us in on Monday & run the room vacant that night so we don't have to beg for early-check in. Arrive at Dolphin & valet park, then get room keys. Woohoo, we have a room with a balcony on Epcot side!! (7031). Small service issue; had to call 2x for crib to be delivered. Dolphin is just beautiful. Hotel is mix of tourists and convention attendees. Don't understand what convention checks in on the 4th of July; this sales dept must have really given these guys a deal. Pool just beautiful. Didn't know they turned off the waterfall at 7pm.
Slept; then left to make Target run for diapers, soda & water. As we left, we discovered that we had taken keys for minivan with us to room!! Hotel was in the middle of the biggest checkout I've ever seen (FBLA convention); our minivan sat in the Dolphin's porte cochere for almost 5 hours with all the craziness (busses, taxis, limos, etc) going on around it. When we got in the van, however, the card with DH's name was filled out & sitting on the front seat. All they had to do was look up the last name in the hotel system and they could have found us; no one ever called the room.
After Target run, returned to Dolphin to swim, then met KinderCare sitter at 5pm. (Small crisis just before sitter's arrival; dropped room key into drain of ice machine! DH had to retrieve it. Thank goodness it still worked.) Her name was Ashley and she was GREAT - came in KinderCare uniform with a duffel bag of toys (legos, army men, etc). We left cash and our room key with her as she took him to dinner. Then we left to go check into PBH at Universal (will use room key for line pass at IOA tomorrow). Their rooms are beautiful and their beds looked quite inviting. Leave PBH and return to WDW; park at Boardwalk (directed by CM at guard shack to employee parking lot for some reason) and sightsee until it's time for . . .
THE ILLUMINATIONS FIREWORKS CRUISE!!
Do whatever you have to do to experience this. Eat macaroni & cheese for a month, get a new credit card, whatever - it is worth the $$$. I called on April 4th to make the ressie; set alarm for 3:50am (hit snooze 1x!) then started to call. Got through on 4th call & made ressie. Met skipper Scott at approx. 8:15; had sandwich tray & sodas on the boat. Tooling around the lake was so relaxing. Front seat for fireworks was sooo cool. Puzzled looks of those in the park wondering what those people were doing on a boat were priceless. Scott offered to drop us off at Dolphin's marina; wish we had known or we wouldn't have parked at Boardwalk. Up to room to pay sitter & called it a day.
7/4 - up at 6am. Drop off little one at KinderCare center by 7:15 and we're off to IOA.
KinderCare center was the best option for our little guy (16 mos). Our last trip in 11/99 I was pregnant for him; at IOA I rode around in an electric cart and did NOTHING while DH & DS age 7 (5 back then) had all the fun. We didn't want our little guy to spend the day in a stroller; it was too much for him to be in the heat all day and we felt KinderCare was the best option. Their staff was great, especially Hilda, their afternoon manager. If you use this center bear in mind that your child is a drop-in at a regular day care center. But he was well cared for and I would use them again, if my little guy is young enough on our next trip.
At IOA valet parking was shut down (probably due to holiday). Parked in garage and made it in at exactly 8am and rode Spiderman 2x, Cat in the Hat 2x and 1Fish 1x by 9am. Didn't need PBH room key until about 10:30. Although the park wasn't as crowded as we expected, it was worth every penny of paying for the PBH room (got entertainment rate). Longest wait I saw posted was 45 mins for Spiderman, at 1pm. One of the Dragon rollercoasters was also shut down (due to holiday?) DS age 7 LOVED the Flying Unicorn, and the Pteradon Flyers. We rode Unicorn 5x and Flyers 3x. Left park at 5pm & picked up little guy at KinderCare. Swam at Dolphin, then to DTD. Dinner at Captain Jacks, then some shopping & called it a day.
7/5 - up at 6:30. Disney desk opened early at 7:15 (thank goodness!). We pick up park tickets, then off to GF for character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Much better than I expected. Little guy LOVED the characters!! Done with breakfast by 8:30. Needed to kill some time, so strolled around hotel grounds; rode monorail around lake, then returned to GF marina by 9:30 for the . . .
PIRATE CRUISE!!!
Made this ressie same day as fireworks cruise. Phone agent said it would be no more than 15 kids, but I counted 21. This was a surprise for our 7-yr old. They gave them a bandana and a snack, and each kid had a treasure bag with their share of the pirate loot (similar to birthday party favors). Each child also received a 1-day pass to River Country. I had to sign a release when you paid; you had to sign off on the usual liability mumbo jumbo and also on allowing the snack, as part of it was a peanut butter sandwich. After they were off, we went into MK and did some shopping. The CMs asked parents to come back at 11:45.
He had a blast. When they returned they were singing the Yo Ho song. Don't hesitate to sign up your kids for this!!
Into MK by 12:30. Did the Hall of Presidents; try to do Magic Carpets but began to rain & did Tiki Birds instead. Still raining; went to Small World & waited approx 30 mins (ceiling had leak!!). Went to WalMart in Kissimee, then returned to hotel; had room service for dinner. Little guy was done for night; I stayed at room and DH and DS age 7 went to Quest & were back at room by 1pm.
7/6 - up at 7am. Got 2 loads of laundry done, but not without chasing my tail for 20 mins to get tokens for the laundry. (Game room, laundry and pool tables on main level all take the same tokens. Machines out of tokens in laundry and game room; and machine upstairs by pool tables only took cash!! 3 trips to front desk before I finally had tokens to finish laundry).
Off to MGM & ride Rock N Rollercoaster & TOT. REALLY miss the express pass! But DS age 7 & I wait in line; ride, and DH waited in baby swap area with little guy so 7-yr old rides 2x. LUCKY! Left MGM, & off to Blizzard Beach. Little guy loves Tikes Peak. We're back at hotel by 6pm; meet friends at Pizzaria Uno for dinner, then drop off DH & DS age 7 at GF. They ride monorail into MK and barely make it by 10pm for E-ticket night. I return with little guy to room; get him bedded down & pack like a tornado - tomorrow we're sailing on the 7 DAY DISNEY MAGIC CRUISE!! DH & DS age 7 back at room by 1:30am.
7/7 - up at 7:30am; DH has agreed to get rid of himself & children so I can finish packing. They go to breakfast & buy Swan & Dolphin pins for pin trading on the cruise; I'm too nervous to eat. They're back at room by 9:30; bell desk runner comes for bags & we're off. Asked at Cruise Desk if I can get KTTW card for ship (hotel and cruise booked separately); they say I need to check in at terminal. Leave Dolphin by 10:15. Read my trip report on the cruise board!!
MY TIPS:
The fireworks cruise is worth every penny. Do whatever it takes to go on this. If you are staying at any of the Epcot resorts, ask if the skipper can drop you at your hotel at the end. Also, they can cater almost anything on these boats (beer, wine, party trays, etc).
The pirate cruise is a great activity. Don't hesitate to give your kids to these CMs for a few hours. This makes for a relaxing morning as you get a few hours to yourself while the kids do this cruise. The GF also has other program for kids, including fishing and cooking programs.
The WalMart in Kissimmee, IMHO, is the craziest retail establishment, and had the craziest parking lot, that I have ever been in. It was quite a drive from WDW and the traffic wasn't the best. The Target near the Florida Mall was a much better shopping option; it was smooth freeway rather than stop-and-go surface street traffic and time-wise, just as far from WDW.
Bring your AAA card if you plan on spending any time at Universal! We used it for discounts on souvenirs and meals; and I believe you get a discount on park tickets also. 10% adds up in a hurry. And before your trip, pick up free Orlando maps at your local AAA office. Also, get an Entertainment Card - the Universal hotels honor this discount if it's available. The Entertainment Book has coupons that rebate $4 for adult and $3 for child park tickets (the coupons say you get their version of Disney Dollars). It doesn't matter where you buy the Entertainment book; we got ours in Las Vegas and were able to get the Entertainment Card discount at PBH.
Don't dress in anything that has Velcro, if you're going on water rides of any kind. DS age 7 wore shorts with a velcro fly (good deal at Old Navy, but bad deal if they get wet!) that refused to stay put after the water rides at IOA.
That's it! Any questions, please ask.
7/2 Valet park at airport & fit all luggage onto 1 cart!! Get bags checked & we're off. But crisis as we approach security checkpoint; we realize we left carseat in our van. No wonder all the bags fit on one cart!! DH hustles back to valet parking area; valet parkers have not yet parked van. Gets seat & meets us at playground at D Gates. Leave Las Vegas approx 11pm and arrive Orlando approx 6:15am.
7/3 - Weird experience getting rental at National. We requested a mini van; and she said to just go to the mini van aisle and pick the one we wanted, and give paperwork to the attendant. Never rented a car like this before. We pick a blue Grand Caravan & we?re off.
I asked Dolphin to check us in on Monday & run the room vacant that night so we don't have to beg for early-check in. Arrive at Dolphin & valet park, then get room keys. Woohoo, we have a room with a balcony on Epcot side!! (7031). Small service issue; had to call 2x for crib to be delivered. Dolphin is just beautiful. Hotel is mix of tourists and convention attendees. Don't understand what convention checks in on the 4th of July; this sales dept must have really given these guys a deal. Pool just beautiful. Didn't know they turned off the waterfall at 7pm.
Slept; then left to make Target run for diapers, soda & water. As we left, we discovered that we had taken keys for minivan with us to room!! Hotel was in the middle of the biggest checkout I've ever seen (FBLA convention); our minivan sat in the Dolphin's porte cochere for almost 5 hours with all the craziness (busses, taxis, limos, etc) going on around it. When we got in the van, however, the card with DH's name was filled out & sitting on the front seat. All they had to do was look up the last name in the hotel system and they could have found us; no one ever called the room.
After Target run, returned to Dolphin to swim, then met KinderCare sitter at 5pm. (Small crisis just before sitter's arrival; dropped room key into drain of ice machine! DH had to retrieve it. Thank goodness it still worked.) Her name was Ashley and she was GREAT - came in KinderCare uniform with a duffel bag of toys (legos, army men, etc). We left cash and our room key with her as she took him to dinner. Then we left to go check into PBH at Universal (will use room key for line pass at IOA tomorrow). Their rooms are beautiful and their beds looked quite inviting. Leave PBH and return to WDW; park at Boardwalk (directed by CM at guard shack to employee parking lot for some reason) and sightsee until it's time for . . .
THE ILLUMINATIONS FIREWORKS CRUISE!!
Do whatever you have to do to experience this. Eat macaroni & cheese for a month, get a new credit card, whatever - it is worth the $$$. I called on April 4th to make the ressie; set alarm for 3:50am (hit snooze 1x!) then started to call. Got through on 4th call & made ressie. Met skipper Scott at approx. 8:15; had sandwich tray & sodas on the boat. Tooling around the lake was so relaxing. Front seat for fireworks was sooo cool. Puzzled looks of those in the park wondering what those people were doing on a boat were priceless. Scott offered to drop us off at Dolphin's marina; wish we had known or we wouldn't have parked at Boardwalk. Up to room to pay sitter & called it a day.
7/4 - up at 6am. Drop off little one at KinderCare center by 7:15 and we're off to IOA.
KinderCare center was the best option for our little guy (16 mos). Our last trip in 11/99 I was pregnant for him; at IOA I rode around in an electric cart and did NOTHING while DH & DS age 7 (5 back then) had all the fun. We didn't want our little guy to spend the day in a stroller; it was too much for him to be in the heat all day and we felt KinderCare was the best option. Their staff was great, especially Hilda, their afternoon manager. If you use this center bear in mind that your child is a drop-in at a regular day care center. But he was well cared for and I would use them again, if my little guy is young enough on our next trip.
At IOA valet parking was shut down (probably due to holiday). Parked in garage and made it in at exactly 8am and rode Spiderman 2x, Cat in the Hat 2x and 1Fish 1x by 9am. Didn't need PBH room key until about 10:30. Although the park wasn't as crowded as we expected, it was worth every penny of paying for the PBH room (got entertainment rate). Longest wait I saw posted was 45 mins for Spiderman, at 1pm. One of the Dragon rollercoasters was also shut down (due to holiday?) DS age 7 LOVED the Flying Unicorn, and the Pteradon Flyers. We rode Unicorn 5x and Flyers 3x. Left park at 5pm & picked up little guy at KinderCare. Swam at Dolphin, then to DTD. Dinner at Captain Jacks, then some shopping & called it a day.
7/5 - up at 6:30. Disney desk opened early at 7:15 (thank goodness!). We pick up park tickets, then off to GF for character breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. Much better than I expected. Little guy LOVED the characters!! Done with breakfast by 8:30. Needed to kill some time, so strolled around hotel grounds; rode monorail around lake, then returned to GF marina by 9:30 for the . . .
PIRATE CRUISE!!!
Made this ressie same day as fireworks cruise. Phone agent said it would be no more than 15 kids, but I counted 21. This was a surprise for our 7-yr old. They gave them a bandana and a snack, and each kid had a treasure bag with their share of the pirate loot (similar to birthday party favors). Each child also received a 1-day pass to River Country. I had to sign a release when you paid; you had to sign off on the usual liability mumbo jumbo and also on allowing the snack, as part of it was a peanut butter sandwich. After they were off, we went into MK and did some shopping. The CMs asked parents to come back at 11:45.
He had a blast. When they returned they were singing the Yo Ho song. Don't hesitate to sign up your kids for this!!
Into MK by 12:30. Did the Hall of Presidents; try to do Magic Carpets but began to rain & did Tiki Birds instead. Still raining; went to Small World & waited approx 30 mins (ceiling had leak!!). Went to WalMart in Kissimee, then returned to hotel; had room service for dinner. Little guy was done for night; I stayed at room and DH and DS age 7 went to Quest & were back at room by 1pm.
7/6 - up at 7am. Got 2 loads of laundry done, but not without chasing my tail for 20 mins to get tokens for the laundry. (Game room, laundry and pool tables on main level all take the same tokens. Machines out of tokens in laundry and game room; and machine upstairs by pool tables only took cash!! 3 trips to front desk before I finally had tokens to finish laundry).
Off to MGM & ride Rock N Rollercoaster & TOT. REALLY miss the express pass! But DS age 7 & I wait in line; ride, and DH waited in baby swap area with little guy so 7-yr old rides 2x. LUCKY! Left MGM, & off to Blizzard Beach. Little guy loves Tikes Peak. We're back at hotel by 6pm; meet friends at Pizzaria Uno for dinner, then drop off DH & DS age 7 at GF. They ride monorail into MK and barely make it by 10pm for E-ticket night. I return with little guy to room; get him bedded down & pack like a tornado - tomorrow we're sailing on the 7 DAY DISNEY MAGIC CRUISE!! DH & DS age 7 back at room by 1:30am.
7/7 - up at 7:30am; DH has agreed to get rid of himself & children so I can finish packing. They go to breakfast & buy Swan & Dolphin pins for pin trading on the cruise; I'm too nervous to eat. They're back at room by 9:30; bell desk runner comes for bags & we're off. Asked at Cruise Desk if I can get KTTW card for ship (hotel and cruise booked separately); they say I need to check in at terminal. Leave Dolphin by 10:15. Read my trip report on the cruise board!!
MY TIPS:
The fireworks cruise is worth every penny. Do whatever it takes to go on this. If you are staying at any of the Epcot resorts, ask if the skipper can drop you at your hotel at the end. Also, they can cater almost anything on these boats (beer, wine, party trays, etc).
The pirate cruise is a great activity. Don't hesitate to give your kids to these CMs for a few hours. This makes for a relaxing morning as you get a few hours to yourself while the kids do this cruise. The GF also has other program for kids, including fishing and cooking programs.
The WalMart in Kissimmee, IMHO, is the craziest retail establishment, and had the craziest parking lot, that I have ever been in. It was quite a drive from WDW and the traffic wasn't the best. The Target near the Florida Mall was a much better shopping option; it was smooth freeway rather than stop-and-go surface street traffic and time-wise, just as far from WDW.
Bring your AAA card if you plan on spending any time at Universal! We used it for discounts on souvenirs and meals; and I believe you get a discount on park tickets also. 10% adds up in a hurry. And before your trip, pick up free Orlando maps at your local AAA office. Also, get an Entertainment Card - the Universal hotels honor this discount if it's available. The Entertainment Book has coupons that rebate $4 for adult and $3 for child park tickets (the coupons say you get their version of Disney Dollars). It doesn't matter where you buy the Entertainment book; we got ours in Las Vegas and were able to get the Entertainment Card discount at PBH.
Don't dress in anything that has Velcro, if you're going on water rides of any kind. DS age 7 wore shorts with a velcro fly (good deal at Old Navy, but bad deal if they get wet!) that refused to stay put after the water rides at IOA.
That's it! Any questions, please ask.
