eeyore2001
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2001
- Messages
- 9
They just keep getting better. Our 4th time here. One camping 1986 outside Disney, 3 times at Contemporary Tower 1991, 1999, 2001. Reason for motel---biggest game room.
In our group...my MIL, age 79, hubby and myself, age 46, and 16 y/o son.
Strategy...I'm a BIG planner and HATE lines. My goals this time were to deal well with the big age differences and have a VERY relaxed time yet doing all we wanted to plus a few new things. I'm a true believer in the "first in the park" theory. In "getting up" times, I counted on about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for all of us to get ready. I know we missed ALLOT but you can't do it all anyway. My 16 y/o didn't care to do allot that he's already done except for his favorites, and we tried to hit the "best of the rest", but keep it "light" for Grandma.
IMPORTANT NOTE---It was VERY hot, and that made the most difference for Grandma. On our own we would have been able to do much more, but we took FREQUENT breaks. Which was fine. Also, when we might have "crossed the parks" to grab a ride with no line or rode our favorites MUCH more often, we opted for FP's to save Grandma steps.
DAY 1, SATURDAY---we always stay at a "Main Gate" motel the night before, so that we can take full advantage of our first ticket day.
Up about 5:30
To motel by 7:00 for check-in and to get tickets, made reservations for Monday night at Brown Derby for Fantasia Package and also had breakfast at the snack shop.
Took monorail to EPCOT, and arrived about 20 minutes before gates opened.
Road Space Ship Earth
While Grandma and I took our time walking to "Honey I Shrunk the Audience", hubby got FP's for Test Track, saw HISTA
At this point we had some extra time and I let my son pick what he wanted to do and he chose Innoventions, which we had never been through. I guess we didn't care for it too much and next time I would pick Living Seas, we enjoy that one.
FP time and I was leary for Grandma to do TT, but she LOVED it. You should have seen the looks she got as she got in. It was cute.
Took a much needed lemonade break while we waited for WS to open.
Kind of skipped over Mexico. Did ride at Norway and had lunch there. We LOVE thier bakery and I KNOW frequent stops at the Norway counter will be made in future trips. GREAT NEW DISCOVERY. Walked through the shops and took pictures in countries on our way to the American Adventure. Saw AA. Grandma had been "wilting" fast and we had to make frequent stops in WS, so we decided this was enough. We took the boat back across, went back to motel. It was about 2:30, they let us into the room early and we took a 3 1/2 hour break swimming and napping.
Drove to Boardwalk about 6:00. Hoping ESPN club might show the first Green Bay Packer preseason game. ANOTHER GREAT NEW DISCOVER---we REALLY enjoyed the ESPN club, while we ate they did a TV show and interviewed ex-NFL football player, Kevin Green. One of those neat "Disney surprises" that was neat even though they couldn't get the Packer game in. Then walked around the Boardwalk. Beautiful evening. Back to motel by 9:30 and watched the lagoon light show, "can't remember name", which we LOVE.
DAY 2---SUNDAY---MGM Early Entry
Arrived for gate opening---Boys and I rode TT, and boys rode RNR. First time on TT for me, they've been trying to talk me into this for 2 years now. I'm afraid of hieghts and easy motion sickness. I survived )barely, with my eyes "squished" shut. Had to buy the funny picture.
Boys road RNR and TT lots more, easy with FP's and Grandma and I did 3 Millionaire shows.
Saw the Drew Carey show, first time, which was "OK". Probably won't do it again, but good to do at least once.
Had lunch at one of our favorites, "Sci Fi Dine In Theatre". 12:30 and back to motel for 3 1/2 hour break, swimming and napping.
5:00 Drove to Downtown Disney for "Cirque du Soleil". This show was VERY good. I only wish that people wouldn't have talked it up to be so totally FANTASTIC. I think I was expecting something out of this world and therefore was a little disappointed. If it wouldn't be talked up to be so "magical" and "unbelieveble", I would have come away thinking it was GREAT!!! Too bad. We probably won't go again. Maybe if they have a new show, but I don't know.
7:30 Back to motel. Dinner at "Chef Mickey's" which was DELICIOUS. And back to room in time for the wonderful little lagoon show.
DAY 3---MONDAY
Able to sleep later.
8:15 Drove to Blizzard Beach for slides. I don't care for them so Grandma and I did lazy river.
About 11:00 we went over to Typoon Lagoon for wave pool. Grandma and I sat on some little ledges on the shallow end and when the big wave came we got wet almost to waist. Grandma almost got "thrown" away with it. It was perfect for her and kept her cool, but yet a little fun. Went back to motel about 1:00 for break.
4:00 took bus to MGM for Fantasia package.
We decided Grandma could do TOT. Again some more looks, which was cute. AGAIN she LOVED it. AGAIN my eyes were "squished" shut. Had to buy that picture too!!!
Ate at Brown Derby and nobody liked the Cobb Salad and nobody really cared for the meal. Won't eat there again. Grandma and I saw Fantasia (I"ve already seen it, Grandma liked it). Hubby and son did more TOT and RNR. JUST A NOTE---Rides close at 8:30. So our son went back to motel while hubby waited for us. THEN was our big mistake of the week---we should have driven ourselves as we waited forever for the bus and would have been back to the motel LONG before we were. Lesson learned.
DAY 4---TUESDAY---OUR 25TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Slept a little later and headed down for 8:45 breakfast at "Chef Mickey's", which was delicious. About 10:00 we drove over to Downtown Disney to get to Disney Quest upon opening. Able to do tons of things before it got busy.
Walked down to the big Disney Store. Had some DELICIOUS chocolate covered strawberries at a little candy shop in Disney's West Side. Kind of in the middle between Pleasure Island and Disney Quest. They were awesome. ANOTHER NEAT DISCOVERY!!! The chocolate covered strawberries at Giherdellis (SP?) don't even compare. About 1:00, back to motel for swim and nap break.
About 5:00 Drove to Epcot for 6:45 reservation at Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada. If it was only us we would have taken the monorail, but we wanted to save Grandma from walking the ramps. We LOVED dinner, Grandma and I had filet mignon, I also had lobster and the boys had prime rib. It was all DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! We had no room unfortunately for thier wonderful looking desserts. Then we found a bench to wait for illuminations, we only waited 1/2 hour. While we waited, hubby went over to Norway to get a Sweet Pretzel with Almonds, YUM, to go with coffee when we got back to the motel. LOVED Illiminations as usual. Hubby and I decided that next time we would walk around the World Showcase and just walk over to the fence and stand and watch Illuminations. We just don't feel it's worth a 2 hour wait holding a front row seat and would see just fine doing this. Waited for crowd to subside and took a relaxing walk back to car which was MUCH better than the buses at MGM the other night. Again back in time to see lagoon show. And hubby and I took a wonderfu evening swim with an almost empty pool. Another thing I'll make a note to do more often.
DAY 5---Our last day
Up early and packed up car. Really sad to leave this time. We had SUCH a good time.
To Magic Kingdom upon opening. Road Splash Mountian, again my first time, I liked it allot, and again Grandma LOVED it. Had to buy that picture too. Boys went to Runaway Railroad and Space Mountain. I was going to do another ride with Grandma on the Splash Mountain side of the park, but I think she just needed to sit and rest. We all did Pirates of the Carribean, and then the boys had gotten FP's for another ride on Splash Mountain.
Well, it was about 11:00 and that was the end of my "plan". Our son wanted to go back to the World Showcase for a bit, so he did that while we had breakfast at the Main Street Bakery. We all got apple desserts and didn't care for them allot. The muffins looked good though. We all met up about 1:00 and we left to get a start on our trip home. We drove and its about a 2 day trip back to MN and its nice to get a start.
GENERAL NOTES: When traveling with someone much older, again, my MIL is almost 80, keep in mind to be VERY flexible and if you don't get everything in, BIG DEAL. What we did do was PLENTY for her to take in and she just LOVED the trip. I had The Great Movie Ride, It's Tough to be a Bug, the Kali River Ride, Small World and Alien Encounter all planned, but it was much better and more relaxing to get those breaks in. Not only in the afternoon, but many in the parks too.
I would have also liked to fit in the night time parade at Magic Kingdom, and she would have liked to go to the Millionaire show more, but we just had to decided whether the extra walking and standing in the heat was worth it. Even though we missed allot of stuff that we would have been able to fit in if we were on our own, this was our BEST time yet, and I can't wait to start planning for our next trip to my favorite place!!!
In our group...my MIL, age 79, hubby and myself, age 46, and 16 y/o son.
Strategy...I'm a BIG planner and HATE lines. My goals this time were to deal well with the big age differences and have a VERY relaxed time yet doing all we wanted to plus a few new things. I'm a true believer in the "first in the park" theory. In "getting up" times, I counted on about 1 hour to 1 1/2 hours for all of us to get ready. I know we missed ALLOT but you can't do it all anyway. My 16 y/o didn't care to do allot that he's already done except for his favorites, and we tried to hit the "best of the rest", but keep it "light" for Grandma.
IMPORTANT NOTE---It was VERY hot, and that made the most difference for Grandma. On our own we would have been able to do much more, but we took FREQUENT breaks. Which was fine. Also, when we might have "crossed the parks" to grab a ride with no line or rode our favorites MUCH more often, we opted for FP's to save Grandma steps.
DAY 1, SATURDAY---we always stay at a "Main Gate" motel the night before, so that we can take full advantage of our first ticket day.
Up about 5:30
To motel by 7:00 for check-in and to get tickets, made reservations for Monday night at Brown Derby for Fantasia Package and also had breakfast at the snack shop.
Took monorail to EPCOT, and arrived about 20 minutes before gates opened.
Road Space Ship Earth
While Grandma and I took our time walking to "Honey I Shrunk the Audience", hubby got FP's for Test Track, saw HISTA
At this point we had some extra time and I let my son pick what he wanted to do and he chose Innoventions, which we had never been through. I guess we didn't care for it too much and next time I would pick Living Seas, we enjoy that one.
FP time and I was leary for Grandma to do TT, but she LOVED it. You should have seen the looks she got as she got in. It was cute.
Took a much needed lemonade break while we waited for WS to open.
Kind of skipped over Mexico. Did ride at Norway and had lunch there. We LOVE thier bakery and I KNOW frequent stops at the Norway counter will be made in future trips. GREAT NEW DISCOVERY. Walked through the shops and took pictures in countries on our way to the American Adventure. Saw AA. Grandma had been "wilting" fast and we had to make frequent stops in WS, so we decided this was enough. We took the boat back across, went back to motel. It was about 2:30, they let us into the room early and we took a 3 1/2 hour break swimming and napping.
Drove to Boardwalk about 6:00. Hoping ESPN club might show the first Green Bay Packer preseason game. ANOTHER GREAT NEW DISCOVER---we REALLY enjoyed the ESPN club, while we ate they did a TV show and interviewed ex-NFL football player, Kevin Green. One of those neat "Disney surprises" that was neat even though they couldn't get the Packer game in. Then walked around the Boardwalk. Beautiful evening. Back to motel by 9:30 and watched the lagoon light show, "can't remember name", which we LOVE.
DAY 2---SUNDAY---MGM Early Entry
Arrived for gate opening---Boys and I rode TT, and boys rode RNR. First time on TT for me, they've been trying to talk me into this for 2 years now. I'm afraid of hieghts and easy motion sickness. I survived )barely, with my eyes "squished" shut. Had to buy the funny picture.
Boys road RNR and TT lots more, easy with FP's and Grandma and I did 3 Millionaire shows.
Saw the Drew Carey show, first time, which was "OK". Probably won't do it again, but good to do at least once.
Had lunch at one of our favorites, "Sci Fi Dine In Theatre". 12:30 and back to motel for 3 1/2 hour break, swimming and napping.
5:00 Drove to Downtown Disney for "Cirque du Soleil". This show was VERY good. I only wish that people wouldn't have talked it up to be so totally FANTASTIC. I think I was expecting something out of this world and therefore was a little disappointed. If it wouldn't be talked up to be so "magical" and "unbelieveble", I would have come away thinking it was GREAT!!! Too bad. We probably won't go again. Maybe if they have a new show, but I don't know.
7:30 Back to motel. Dinner at "Chef Mickey's" which was DELICIOUS. And back to room in time for the wonderful little lagoon show.
DAY 3---MONDAY
Able to sleep later.
8:15 Drove to Blizzard Beach for slides. I don't care for them so Grandma and I did lazy river.
About 11:00 we went over to Typoon Lagoon for wave pool. Grandma and I sat on some little ledges on the shallow end and when the big wave came we got wet almost to waist. Grandma almost got "thrown" away with it. It was perfect for her and kept her cool, but yet a little fun. Went back to motel about 1:00 for break.
4:00 took bus to MGM for Fantasia package.
We decided Grandma could do TOT. Again some more looks, which was cute. AGAIN she LOVED it. AGAIN my eyes were "squished" shut. Had to buy that picture too!!!
Ate at Brown Derby and nobody liked the Cobb Salad and nobody really cared for the meal. Won't eat there again. Grandma and I saw Fantasia (I"ve already seen it, Grandma liked it). Hubby and son did more TOT and RNR. JUST A NOTE---Rides close at 8:30. So our son went back to motel while hubby waited for us. THEN was our big mistake of the week---we should have driven ourselves as we waited forever for the bus and would have been back to the motel LONG before we were. Lesson learned.
DAY 4---TUESDAY---OUR 25TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY
Slept a little later and headed down for 8:45 breakfast at "Chef Mickey's", which was delicious. About 10:00 we drove over to Downtown Disney to get to Disney Quest upon opening. Able to do tons of things before it got busy.
Walked down to the big Disney Store. Had some DELICIOUS chocolate covered strawberries at a little candy shop in Disney's West Side. Kind of in the middle between Pleasure Island and Disney Quest. They were awesome. ANOTHER NEAT DISCOVERY!!! The chocolate covered strawberries at Giherdellis (SP?) don't even compare. About 1:00, back to motel for swim and nap break.
About 5:00 Drove to Epcot for 6:45 reservation at Le Cellier Steakhouse in Canada. If it was only us we would have taken the monorail, but we wanted to save Grandma from walking the ramps. We LOVED dinner, Grandma and I had filet mignon, I also had lobster and the boys had prime rib. It was all DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!! We had no room unfortunately for thier wonderful looking desserts. Then we found a bench to wait for illuminations, we only waited 1/2 hour. While we waited, hubby went over to Norway to get a Sweet Pretzel with Almonds, YUM, to go with coffee when we got back to the motel. LOVED Illiminations as usual. Hubby and I decided that next time we would walk around the World Showcase and just walk over to the fence and stand and watch Illuminations. We just don't feel it's worth a 2 hour wait holding a front row seat and would see just fine doing this. Waited for crowd to subside and took a relaxing walk back to car which was MUCH better than the buses at MGM the other night. Again back in time to see lagoon show. And hubby and I took a wonderfu evening swim with an almost empty pool. Another thing I'll make a note to do more often.
DAY 5---Our last day
Up early and packed up car. Really sad to leave this time. We had SUCH a good time.
To Magic Kingdom upon opening. Road Splash Mountian, again my first time, I liked it allot, and again Grandma LOVED it. Had to buy that picture too. Boys went to Runaway Railroad and Space Mountain. I was going to do another ride with Grandma on the Splash Mountain side of the park, but I think she just needed to sit and rest. We all did Pirates of the Carribean, and then the boys had gotten FP's for another ride on Splash Mountain.
Well, it was about 11:00 and that was the end of my "plan". Our son wanted to go back to the World Showcase for a bit, so he did that while we had breakfast at the Main Street Bakery. We all got apple desserts and didn't care for them allot. The muffins looked good though. We all met up about 1:00 and we left to get a start on our trip home. We drove and its about a 2 day trip back to MN and its nice to get a start.
GENERAL NOTES: When traveling with someone much older, again, my MIL is almost 80, keep in mind to be VERY flexible and if you don't get everything in, BIG DEAL. What we did do was PLENTY for her to take in and she just LOVED the trip. I had The Great Movie Ride, It's Tough to be a Bug, the Kali River Ride, Small World and Alien Encounter all planned, but it was much better and more relaxing to get those breaks in. Not only in the afternoon, but many in the parks too.
I would have also liked to fit in the night time parade at Magic Kingdom, and she would have liked to go to the Millionaire show more, but we just had to decided whether the extra walking and standing in the heat was worth it. Even though we missed allot of stuff that we would have been able to fit in if we were on our own, this was our BEST time yet, and I can't wait to start planning for our next trip to my favorite place!!!
I can`t believe grandma went on Tower of Terror!!! She sounds like a fun lady.
