Lyndarella
All my dreams are coming true
- Joined
- Jan 24, 2002
- Messages
- 660
I went with my cousin instead of DH and kids, as they are not Disney repeaters, and they think vacation is a time to rest! She & I are Disney addicts, and go commando style, so it was way different from the last trip! Also, this was my first trip without a car.
We stayed off-site at a timeshare DH and I own. We had a near new 2 Bedroom unit with all the amenities, similar to DVC. We were as far from the resort bus and store as we could get, but enjoyed the walk. The bus was always prompt and uncrowded, but maybe just because it's a slow time of year.
Arrived late Sat., too tired to eat, too dark to see much. We did walk to the store to get a few food items and stopped at the Bar & Grill for a drink on a punch card from a previous trip. We only saw the resort in the day light once -- looked at the rec. areas as if we were going to work out - very amused with the idea of treadmills on a trip to WDW!
Sun.- Animal Kingdom - got to see everything we wanted to with very little wait. Carried our lunch with a plan to supplement with a salad. Got a kid's meal instead - for a small crowd, I have never seen such slow food service, except the last time I was at the AK at the same restaurant... We accidentally saw the parade twice, just happened to be where it was coming back around! Had to buy rain ponchos as we were leaving. A guy from the UK said he'd been there 2 weeks, and it rained at 5:00 EVERY DAY!
Mon. - Epcot - Saw nearly everything (Norway's closed) with little wait, including parade and fireworks. No crowds til late. Took almost an hour to get to the bus!
Tues. - MK - I haven't been early at WDW for years, so was surprised that Main Street wasn't already open, and they wouldn't let us in. We headed right for Fantasyland and rode Pooh, Peter Pan, & Snow White before lines formed. We rode everything we wanted to, with little wait (TMtRR said 25 minute wait, and we were finished in 20.) I thought the WDW's website said the MK closed at 6:00 all week, so we were ready to leave when we discovered there would be fireworks at 8:00. We were near the gate when it started to rain hard, so we left anyway, glad to have the ponchos.
Wed. - Used DVC points to stay overnight at the Grand Floridian, her dream. The room seemed very cramped, and the resort no fancier than the timeshare or DVC (except the piano player, live orchestra, and dressed up guests) I kept wanting to get on the monorail and go to the parks, but she wanted to stay there and enjoy. In the morning I went to the MK by myself (a first!) and rode Space Mt. and shopped.
Thurs. - Took our overnight bags on WDW bus to DTD and used a locker. Bought most of our souvenirs that day. We were really loaded up on the way back. Took the wrong bus, ended up on the monorail to the main trans. center, couldn't get off because the monorail doors wouldn't open, almost missed the last resort bus!
Fri - MGM - Again rode almost everything in the park and saw shows with little waiting. However, Fantasmic was packed an hour ahead! Where did those people come from?
Sat. - Our flight out was changed to 7:30 am. Do you know how early you have to get up to ride to the airport & get there ahead of time???
Summary - Low crowds, happy CMs, not all the disrepair you read about. Carried food & cooked a little in the room. Used the washer/dryer a lot, especially for shoes after rain! Planning to do it again next year as well as a trip with family!
We stayed off-site at a timeshare DH and I own. We had a near new 2 Bedroom unit with all the amenities, similar to DVC. We were as far from the resort bus and store as we could get, but enjoyed the walk. The bus was always prompt and uncrowded, but maybe just because it's a slow time of year.
Arrived late Sat., too tired to eat, too dark to see much. We did walk to the store to get a few food items and stopped at the Bar & Grill for a drink on a punch card from a previous trip. We only saw the resort in the day light once -- looked at the rec. areas as if we were going to work out - very amused with the idea of treadmills on a trip to WDW!
Sun.- Animal Kingdom - got to see everything we wanted to with very little wait. Carried our lunch with a plan to supplement with a salad. Got a kid's meal instead - for a small crowd, I have never seen such slow food service, except the last time I was at the AK at the same restaurant... We accidentally saw the parade twice, just happened to be where it was coming back around! Had to buy rain ponchos as we were leaving. A guy from the UK said he'd been there 2 weeks, and it rained at 5:00 EVERY DAY!
Mon. - Epcot - Saw nearly everything (Norway's closed) with little wait, including parade and fireworks. No crowds til late. Took almost an hour to get to the bus!
Tues. - MK - I haven't been early at WDW for years, so was surprised that Main Street wasn't already open, and they wouldn't let us in. We headed right for Fantasyland and rode Pooh, Peter Pan, & Snow White before lines formed. We rode everything we wanted to, with little wait (TMtRR said 25 minute wait, and we were finished in 20.) I thought the WDW's website said the MK closed at 6:00 all week, so we were ready to leave when we discovered there would be fireworks at 8:00. We were near the gate when it started to rain hard, so we left anyway, glad to have the ponchos.
Wed. - Used DVC points to stay overnight at the Grand Floridian, her dream. The room seemed very cramped, and the resort no fancier than the timeshare or DVC (except the piano player, live orchestra, and dressed up guests) I kept wanting to get on the monorail and go to the parks, but she wanted to stay there and enjoy. In the morning I went to the MK by myself (a first!) and rode Space Mt. and shopped.
Thurs. - Took our overnight bags on WDW bus to DTD and used a locker. Bought most of our souvenirs that day. We were really loaded up on the way back. Took the wrong bus, ended up on the monorail to the main trans. center, couldn't get off because the monorail doors wouldn't open, almost missed the last resort bus!
Fri - MGM - Again rode almost everything in the park and saw shows with little waiting. However, Fantasmic was packed an hour ahead! Where did those people come from?
Sat. - Our flight out was changed to 7:30 am. Do you know how early you have to get up to ride to the airport & get there ahead of time???
Summary - Low crowds, happy CMs, not all the disrepair you read about. Carried food & cooked a little in the room. Used the washer/dryer a lot, especially for shoes after rain! Planning to do it again next year as well as a trip with family!
