Two Then Three - Our latest trip report

[disneymom2one]

The players -
me - mid 30's, Disney veteran
Hann - our nine year old one and only daughter (we got it right the first time), a complete Disney nut who loves hearing her dad read trip reports.

And later ...

the husband - the above mentioned dad

I'm keeping this all in the same thread. Here's Part I.

Day 1 : Hann and I arrived sixteen hours late after a rather ridiculously long, crazy, chaotic 24 hour odyssey on Amtrak. I shall spare the readers the whole story but suffice it to say we were rather glad to get off the train. Love you Amtrak - mean it (inside joke). Anyway we arrived to not one but TWO Tiffany Town car guys picking us up. Yes we got two for the price of one. Unfortunately neither was especially pleased to see the other and some momentary confusion ensued. Our luggage was placed in one car, then the other, and finally the first car again. Calls to dispatch were made and eventually life was good again.

We arrived at Old Key West just after noon and checked in. Of course our room was ready because we were supposed to be there about SIXTEEN hours ago. Again - love ya Amtrak - mean it. Anyway, the room location was perfect. Building 14 right across from everything at OKW. I love, love, love OKW. It's my favorite DVC resort. We quickly unpacked and headed over to Epcot for a late lunch at the Garden Grill. We had a wonderful meal. We love the new menu. The breadsticks are wonderful and fondue is just one of our family's favorites. My steak wasn't cooked correctly (too rare) twice in a row and without me asking it was taken off the bill. We had great service and Hann saw all the characters. We rode "Living With the Land" and "Imagination" and then headed back to the resort for some rest time. The folks from "Wegoshop" came during that time. This was our first time using them and it was good experience. Everything arrived just as expected and he was even nice to bring the items in. We'd certainly use them again if we didn't drive in.

Later that evening we went over to the Magic Kingdom. We did Tiki Birds (for the first time in a long time) and the Jungle Cruise. Hann loved the Tiki Birds and it reminded me again of far she has come. A couple of years ago the noises and sounds would have bothered her but she had a great time. The Jungle Cruise is always one of our favorites and we had a good time on that. The park wasn't too crowded and we strolled back towards Main Street. Since we're frequent visitors we never do too much in one visit and we were ready to head out. Our main goal was to find a hat and a shirt for later in the week but we didn't have any luck. We soon were on a bus to OKW for a very late dinner at Olivia's. Hann's not a big eater but a grilled cheese and fries pretty much disappeared before my eyes. I had some conch fritters (okay but I loved the sauce) and a crab cake (perfect). Before we knew it we were back at the room asleep, still recovering from Amtrak but extremely happy to be home again.

Day 2 to follow ...

 

[Nanajo1]

Sounds like you had a very long trip down but you had a good first day! Looking forward to the rest of your report.

 

[disneymom2one]

Day 2 ...

Hann and I were up early and it was raining. That was definitely a theme last week. We had more rain than I've ever seen but honestly that's Florida summer weather for you. Anyway, we munched on some bagels in the room and then caught the bus to Animal Kingdom, arriving right at opening. We had a GREAT safari, seeing almost every animal including both the male and female lion. Hann then wanted to do the Maharaja Jungle Trek. I have to admit I wasn't too keen on it because I'm not a bat fan but decided to try it and I'm so glad I did. We had a wonderful time. The best part was the tigers. They were all so active due to the cool rain. In fact, Hann disappeared around one corner and called me and I screamed (much to her enjoyment) as a tiger was right there behind the glass. I wasn't expecting that at all and she got a kick at the look her mom's face. After I recovered we took the long way around to check on the progress of Everest. We take pics almost every time and were really pleased to see a small section of the "skin" on the top of the ride. Our next stop was Dinoland where Hann played and won her two favorite games. I know a lot of people aren't pleased with this area but we personally like it. Hann collects stuffed animals and she always wins one or two whenever we visit this area. That was all we really needed so after a stop at the gift shop for a Princess t-shirt we headed back to OKW. We had lunch reservations at 11:30 at Olivia's. I love Olivia's just like I love everything else about OKW and we had a nice lunch. Hann had a kid's hot dog and I had the special which was a terrific open faced steak sandwiches. Then it was back to the room. We spent the afternoon at OKW with Hann doing a kite at Community Hall and me catching up on some laundry. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. Hann loves the Community Hall aspect of some of the DVC resorts and we've always had good experiences.

We had dinner p.s. at Prime Time at MGM so we quickly headed over there. This was a first for us. What a great experience! I had the grilled chicken and Hann had pasta. Both were wonderful. And our waitress "got" immediately that Hann didn't want the teasing and was extremely attentive to her in a good way. We had planned to go to Epcot for dessert but instead decided to just get something here. I'm glad we did. Hann had the kid's "build your own sundae" and I had a terrific Snickers cheesecake that came with some fudge sauce. Total yum.

From MGM we caught a bus to Blizzard Beach for a round of mini-golf. With our AP this was really inexpensive and we had a good time. Hann won and was under par. From there it was somewhat of a pain to get back to OKW since BB had closed. We had to wait a long time for an Epcot bus and then go from there to OKW. It took almost an hour and if I had had my cell with me I probably would have caught a cab but it worked out fine and we soon were back in the studio in time to watch a little tv and then head to sleep. Tomorrow was a big day - dad was arriving!

 

[disneymom2one]

Day 3 ...

We woke up and again grabbed a bagel in the room before a quick trip over to the MK. We arrived right when I like to - about two minutes after opening. First up was my favorite - Buzz. We then quickly did Pooh, Peter Pan, and IASW. We had 10:30 p.s. at Ohana for breakfast so we grabbed the resort monorail. We all enjoy Ohana for supper but this was our first breakfast. It was really good. I don't like buffets at all and this one was family style - perfect! We liked everything except for the eggs which just didn't look good at all. The bread was great and Hann loved the waffles. The highlight was Hann parading around with Goofy during the big parade. She loved it and I loved the look on her face. Too cool.

She had the Wonderland Tea Party at 1:30 so we just resort hopped for an hour or so. We grabbed some Father's Day gifts at each of the monorail resorts and had a nice time before going over to the GF. The Wonderland Tea Party was really neat. Hann loved it. I spent the hour in the lobby quietly reading the newspaper. I knew my dh was on the road by then and I was getting anxious to see him again. We had departed on Sunday and for our family, five days or so is a long time to be apart. Although there are "only" three of us (plus two dogs and an ever growing family of fish) we are very close. You rarely see one of us without the other two. It's always been like that. Anyway, Hann had a great time. We took the monorail over to the MK and since it was close to time for the 3:00 parade we headed in. Much to my surprise we got great seats right on the curb by the candy shop. The parade was great and after getting some Dasanis and a snack for the kiddo we rode the train around one loop before heading back to OKW.

We had p.s. for Olivia's but I wasn't feeling so great so I just got Hann something at Goods to Go. My husband was a couple hours away but unfortunately had forgotten his swim suit. We were hoping for better weather and no way did he want to spend major $$$ for a swimsuit. In the end we decided to just meet at the outlets across I-4. After calling a cab, we went over to the front area. Some folks also needed a cab and we gladly shared with them. We got a nice ride over to FW and then headed out to the outlets. The cab fare wasn't too much and Hann and I eventually found a Hilfiger swimsuit for $15 - a great deal. I looked in the Disney outlet but there wasn't much and we really didn't need anything. Anyway, finally my dh pulled up. YAY! It was great to see him and we drove back to OKW. He was hungry so I grabbed a sandwich for him at Goods to Go while he and Hann played on the playground. We walked around the main area and then went to the room to catch up and unpack his things. We all fell asleep pretty easily. More to follow ...

 

[disneymom2one]

Day 4 ...

We had planned on doing MK emh but in the end decided to skip it and do Olivia's again for breakfast before loading to car to head to POR. Olivia's was fine. We had a very relaxed breakfast and then checkd in over at Riverside. Riverside is pretty much our favorite moderate and we were really looking forward to it. Our room was ready. It was in the farthest of the plantation buildings but the walk wasn't took bad. We got everything in and unpacked and then did the fishing. Hann was really looking forward to this. We had a nice time (didn't catch anything but that was okay). It was still raining but that was fine. We went back to the room and cleaned up and then went over to Epcot. Our first stop was Fastpasses for Soarin for dh and I. We then went over to Norway for the Princess lunch. We had a great lunch. It was really raining and we were glad to get inside. We loved this lunch. We're adventurous eaters as is the kiddo. We can take her almost anywhere. She loved the food and we all enjoyed the princesses. There was one VERY strange moment though.

The couple next to us had a daughter or granddaughter. With every princess they would ask that the princess hold a stuffed animal ("Fluffy") for the pictures. While this seemed wierd to us, we didnt really care ... until ...
Cinderella went to them first, did the pictures (including "Fluffy") and the whole thing and then Hann was next. So she signs Hann's autograph book and then Hann poses with her and this guy TOOK a picture. Of MY daughter with Cinderella. I about lost it. I thought it was rude and honestly more than a little creepy. We have no way to know if Hann was in the shot or not but it was still strange to me. It was just wierd. Anyway, we retook the picture and then tried to keep Hann quiet. She didn't like it either and was pretty much going to let him know (I haven't said this but Hann has Asperger's). Asperger's is truly of the many things that make our kiddo the incredibly special person that she is but she does tend to speak her mind. Anyway, I was pretty incensed too. I hope the guy got that just isn't cool to take pictures of a character when they're posing with another child. It's one thing in the crowds at the parks but this was different to me. Anyway ...
we went back over the Land for the FP for Soaring. I went first (Hann had no intention of riding). I loved it! Just loved it. Then we swapped and Hann and I headed back to POR while dh would meet us later. He rode and also liked it although he really wanted each scene to be longer.

Anyway, Hann and grabbed dinner from the POR food court for later (not a great idea in retrospect but it seemed so at the time) and we met up with my dh after awhile. We rested, ate dinner and then headed to the MK for the evening. Actually I ended up going back to the resort while they rode a few things because Hann forgot her light stick. All was well that ended well though. They rode JC, Tike Birds, and then we all met at Casey's. I snagged a good spot for Spectro and they went and rode Buzz. When they returned Hann and I grabbed dessert and drinks at the bakery and before too long it was Spectromagic time. We love that parade and had a great time. We stayed for Wishes and then slowly headed out of the park. I think we waited for three buses but that was only because we didn't want to do standing room only on the second. With Hann it's just impossible. It was better to just wait and relax (she has a nice special needs stroller so the line was no biggie). Anyway were back to the room soon enough and asleep.

More to follow ...

 

[kimwim8]

Great report so far! I love that you take your time and only see a few attractions at a time. I wish we could slow down a little when we're there.

 

[disneymom2one]

Day 5 ...

We got up relatively early from the late night and then headed out to give the fish of POR some breakfast. Actually we went fishing but Disney fish are smart! Four times they grabbed the worm but not the hook. Anyway, Hann had a great time . She likes fishing and we may try to do it around here some time. She and my dh went over to MGM and I watched some of the French Open and then went to meet them at Epcot. Unfortunately there was a major smoker at the main bus stop so I decided to just grab a bus to MGM and meet them there. They had a nice time, doing Indiana Jones, Muppets, and the Imagineering exhibit before meeting me. We took the Friendship boat to the Beach Club and then walked over to Epcot (it's quicker for us and we were in a hurry somewhat). Anyway, we quickly walked through Epcot over to Hann's favorite ride - Figment. We had a nice ride and then it was time for another meal at the Garden Grill. Hann and I had liked it so much that we wanted to do it with my husband. The food was again nice but we had ridiculously bad service. The manager was very apologetic and sent all the characters back to Hann which was sweet. It all worked out. After a quick ride on "Living With the Land" went back to POR.

The weather still wasn't great but Hann really wanted to swim so she did. I think she went down the slide about 22 times in a row. She just loved it. We had wanted to go over to the MK one more time but all she wanted to do was swim so that's what they did. I was proud of her because she didn't used to be able to handle "big" slides but she loved this one.

We then drove over to CBR. CBR was our first "real" Disney resort experience many years ago and we hadn't been back since. Hann really didn't remember it at all. We had a good meal at the food court there which was so peaceful compared to the craziness of Riverside. We walked around a little and pointed out to Hann where she had played as a three year old. Next we drove to DTD and actually got a parking space! I have to admit I don't like Downtown Disney at all and either does my dh. It's always crowded and just sort of miserable. But Hann really wanted a 50th anniversary set of Ears and hadn't been able to tell us until today really. We got that and then found out they couldn't do the name - no biggie. A quick stop at both the candy shop and the under $10 place (I always get a grab bag) and we were out of there. Our last big thing of the trip was a carriage ride at POR. This was really, really nice.

Next up ... final thoughts ...

 

[disneymom2one]

We headed home the next day. My dh had spent the week doing some major work on the house and it looked great. It was extremely sad to be gone but good to be home - especially to the house! We're never back soon enough but will have a week or so in August at both WDW and Vero and possibly a long weekend before that. We love WDW and if more than a couple months go by we really miss it (actually we miss it way before that).

Final Thoughts ...

***This was one of our better trips in spite of the rain. We had better than usual meal experiences as well as great resort rooms.

***OKW is everything I want in a DVC resort. My dh loves SSR and Hann is a big fan of the Beach Club Villas but OKW is just "home" to me.


***The guy at the Norway thing was creepy. It just shouldn't have happened but it's not the kind of thing we would let bother us for more than a couple of minutes.

***It'll be awhile before I venture on Amtrak again but it was fun to be on the train with the kiddo.

*** And speaking of which I really enjoyed the mom/kiddo time with Hann. And it was great when my dh got there and we were three again.

Hope you enjoyed reading and a special hello to my kiddo whose dad will read this to her real soon! How'd I do Hann?

 

[Nanajo1]

I really enjoyed your posts. Thanks for posting. Your trip sounded great.