Whats that? A Hat? No it is a Crazy Funky Junky Trip Report!!!?

[njbeachbum]

*~~~~~* TRIP REPORT PART 1 *~~~~~*

Hello every one, we are finally home and we had a fantastic time. This is going to take some time to get together but I thought I would give you a bit of a teaser for this report.

You can read our pre-trip report here if you want to get caught up: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1414489

PACKING, DEPARTURE AND TRAVEL

Well let's start out with the fact that we made the harebrained decision to have our kitchen floor replaced while we were going to be in WDW. A first this seemed like a great idea, then as we realized that Wednesday night would be a bit more difficult with our fridge and stove in the dining room and our kitchen torn up, we (well I) began to have second thoughts. My nephew arrived at my office at around 4:00 and we drove to my house where my DW was getting packed up and ready to go.

Packing was pretty simple, because my DW is a genius. Three suitcases and two carry-ons were all we needed. My DW even managed to pack the small coffee maker we have so she could get her fix. Around 10:30 or so we sent the nephew to bed and did the same a few minutes later.

The alarm rang at 3:30 so we could head out to the Philadelphia Airport. Let me now state that I hate the Philadelphia Airport, HATE HATE HATE IT. However at 4:45 am on Thanksgiving morning, it isn't too bad. We dropped off our bags with the DME stickers at the curb and headed to the screening gates.

The security lines were long, but we learned a little secret, that if the D terminal line is long, the Security gates at the E terminal are usually shorter and they dump into the same area. So we got to the gate and waited a bit. I decided to splurge and upgraded our seats to AIRTRAN's business class.

Ok I am going to stop here until I get home tonight and can post some pictures.

Here are some questions to ponder...
1) Do you think we enjoyed Business class?
2) Did any of us sleep on the plane?
3) Did my twelve year old nephew think his aunt and uncle were insane yet?

 

[lynn71092]

OMG, You're staying OFF SITE???

 

[njbeachbum]

OMG, You're staying OFF SITE???

NO!!!! We stayed at POP Century!

 

[lynn71092]

Oh, I LOVE Pop Century!!

 

[njbeachbum]

*~~~~~* TRIP REPORT PART 2 *~~~~~*

ARRIVAL!
Answers to the questions to ponder:
1) YES
2) YES (not me)
3) Somewhat, he joined in the insanity later.

So the plane landed and we went down to the Magical Express Area. I was a bit nervous that we were going to have to wait a long time, but we didn't wait more than 20 minutes and then ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH we were on our way to Pop Century!

I have to say that the whole DME experience was great! We didn't have to worry about anything at all, and the wait time wasn't more than we would have waited in getting our luggage and renting a car/waiting for a driver. So I have to disagree with the DIS podcast on this one DME was great!

I even enjoyed the silly video.

Here are some pics of our drive in:

When we got to POP Century we went right over to check in and our room was ready! WOO HOO! Could this trip get any easier? We got all our stuff and our Hoop-Dee-Doo Tickets, picked up our groceries and our fridge swap fridge from the luggage center and headed to the room. We were in the 70's (0245) so the walk was quick. Right away we loved the theming and the way the place looked.

Ok I have to admit that the size of the rooms was something I was worried about, no worries once we got there. It was big enough for the three of us without any problems at all. We got settled and decided to get something to eat. We were on the DDP, so we got our first CS meal (and tried to learn the ropes a bit). We all enjoyed the food. It was cafeteria food, but it was tasty.

Ok enough for now...

Here are some questions to ponder...
1) Would the nephew come out of his shell a bit?
2) Would I ever wipe the big silly grin off my face?
3) Would we become addicted to pin trading?

 

[Blueyed Girl]

Subscribing! Now, I need to go back and read your PTR.

 

[njbeachbum]

*~~~~~* TRIP REPORT PART 3 *~~~~~*

Day One - MGM
Answers to the questions to ponder:
1) YES! He did
2) No, I didn't
3) Yes, we did. It is sad.

After lunch we started in on the agenda and headed over to MGM. The transportation over to MGM from POP was great and in fact all week the transportation was awesome. In a few minutes we saw the Xanadu-esque facade of the bus terminal and Boom we were in the part.

I am not a huge thrill ride fan, but I was convinced to ride ToT. I rode it once before in 1997 and hated it, but not wanting to be a total wuss on the first day, I decided to jump in with both feet. We went right over to ToT and since the line was only about 45 minutes we decided to hit it right away. I think next time we head down we won't wait in a line for the first thing we do. Somehow this made us adverse to almost any line all week. However, it moved fast and in no time we were in those darn elevator seats.

Up and Down Up and Down, repeat till I am ready to die. I did manage to keep my eyes open for a few seconds on the drops but not too often. DW and DN loved the damn thing and wanted to go again. I declined so we decided to move on. We got some fast passes for the RnR coaster and then headed over to see what else we could pull off. On the way to the other side of the park they bought me a ToT pin and so the pin trading wackiness began. We headed over towards Star Tours which they rode while I recovered. Then we walked over towards Muppet Vision and the Backlot stuff.

After seeing muppetvision (which is great, but it is fun to see how they improved everything with Philharmagic. We went over to Lights Motor Action! To see the show. the DN got some great shots of the show.

After that we walked around and shopped etc. We were starting to drag and were happy that our dinner reservations were coming up. We were scheduled to have dinner at 6:05 at the 50's prime time cafe but with it being Thanksgiving they were running about 45 minutes behind which was going to cause us to miss Fantasmic. Wifey and DN headed over to RNR to use the fast pass and I had a drink or two at the bar. I was beat from the travel but having a great time.

Since we apparently forgot we had a camera we didn't take any pictures at dinner, but it was really good. We had the turkey special and were amazed at how much food the DDP plan got you. Our "mom" was Sue and she was wonderful. We had a cake delivered to the table for our nephew's birthday and he was totally shocked but loved it. After a nice dinner we took the bus back to pop century for a well deserved sleep.

Here are some questions to ponder...
1) Would I act like a complete idiot at Magic Kingdom like I usually do
2) Would I let my planning interfere with my fun?
3) Would I manage to get the song from Carousel of Progress stuck in everyone's head?

More soon!

 

[OhMari]

Here are some questions to ponder...
1) Would I act like a complete idiot at Magic Kingdom like I usually do
2) Would I let my planning interfere with my fun?
3) Would I manage to get the song from Carousel of Progress stuck in everyone's head?

More soon!

I am interested in #2. My dh had to sit me down and had to convince me to let some plans go and have fun.

 

[buffy0214]

Hi Great report so far! Pop Century looks really great. I've been wanting to stay there. I know that a lot of people don't care for the value resorts, but I love them. I like the kitchy feel.

I'm glad you braved the ToT. Sometimes it seems like that darn elevator will never stop. We usually get FP for Tower and then ride RnR. By the time you get off, you should be able to use your FPs.

Looking forward to hearing more...