apnep
Disneyworld Rocks
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2010
So, here’s my trip report to Disney World the week of June 6-11.
We arrived on the 5th and stayed at the Best Western in the Disney Resort area. Nice hotel, but I wouldn’t pay more than I did and still feel like I paid too much. It older and the room was small and did not accommodate 5 so I had to get a rollaway, but luckily, they did not charge us for it. We did get a view overlooking the fireworks and the pool was refreshing after driving for 2 days. We ate buffet by the pool.
Awoke early the next morning to check into POR and get our tix. Didn’t think the rooms would be ready until 3pm, but lucked out and got a room right away at 8 am. I requested the Magnolia rooms with a rollaway. The CM told me it would cost $16/night extra but then decided to waive the fee! That was really nice. We got GAD, Birthday, Anniversary, First Time, and I’m Celebrating buttons. (We were celebrating a lot, there are 5 of us.) Dropped off our luggage and were surprised to see a lovely, first floor, corner room, very close to the north bus depot. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus either. I think we had great timing. The resort is gorgeous, the pools, the setting, everything. I would highly recommend it to everyone the property is lovely.
Went to DHS for the last day of the Star Wars event. It was DHs bday and he loved it! We got a pic with the storm troopers, and a great view of the parade. We all enjoyed the Rockin’ Rollercoaster. I am NOT a Star Wars fan, but even I enjoyed seeing the CMs dressed up as the characters and loved the females workin’ their costumes and staring down the kids. LOL! I got picked as an “extra” in the Indiana Jones stunt show and had tons of fun!
OK, seriously, the only place I've seen this guy is in DH's toy collection.
The next day was spent at AK. We got up late—very unlike us, but we were tired-- and lucked out because it had poured that morning. We got to the park around 10am. It was really nice; we did get rained on, but enjoyed it. DS12 and I loved the Expedition Everest; DD9 and DS6 not so much so we used their GAD passes and rode it again, and then when the park closed, there was no waiting so we rode it again 4 times more consecutively. I LOVED that ride! We all loved the raft ride too and got soaked. Most notable pic...the baby gorilla of course! I think she is 3 months old...
Left and went to Downtown Disney via boat from POR to eat at Wolfgang Puck’s Express. BEST use of our QDS plan. We ate in the kitchen where there was ONE table and were waited on like table service. Food was great! Hit the Lego store prior where my DS6 blew most of his cash. He was going bonkers there. It's hard not too, Legos are too cool. Hundreds of Lego people on the wall...
Next morning our first day at MK. Hit the EMH and was INSIDE the park at 7:45am and first in line for Tomorrow Land. We were the first family to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride and so we got all our pictures for free! That was great! We rode it again, and then Space Mountain twice. The park was practically EMPTY when we arrived so we had some fun before it got crowded.
By the time we headed to Fantasyland, not much later, it was pretty packed. We used our GAD passes for some rides and then hit the Haunted Mansion. It was about 2:30pm when we got out of there the park was SO packed that there was no room to move. We left to go swim and returned later to hit the rest of the rides and see the Electric Light Parade and fireworks. We caught the later show of the parade so we could take advantage of getting on un-crowded rides in Adventureland—Pirates of Caribbean and Aladdin Carpets—then we positioned ourselves for the fireworks. We kind of got stuck just outside of Adventureland and while we had a nice side view of the castle, the fireworks went off behind a building we were in front of.
I got over it as soon as the parade started. 
I hadn’t seen it since my folks took my sister and I to Disneyland when we were teens and it was a highlight for me. Especially because when Prince Charming rolled around I extended my foot in the air (thank you yoga!) as he gestured to me if I wanted to try the slipper. The step sister in blue bickered with me for a few moments as we fought over the shoe. LOL! "That's MY shoe!" she mouthed and I said, "NO, it's MINE!"
LOVE that parade. I am AMAZED at how the CMs get people off the streets so the parade can go down. My kids basically slept on the street because they were too tired but DH and I wanted to see the parade so too bad for them. We woke them up when the parade started.
The next day we took the shuttle to MK for another day, but decide last minute to hit Epcot. That was a good decision because we got to ride the monorail. It was a nice day, no pressure. We used our GAD passes to do the rides and then hit the countries later. We stopped at the 3D shows, and the space centers and all that, but because we started late and wanted to view the countries, we decided to give the rest of our GAD passes away to another family of 5 and they were SO excited to be able to use the passes on Soarin’ and Test Track. It made their day and ours. Mission Space made us all sick by the way even though it was cool. We did the more strenuous ride. The fireworks show at Epcot is really good. We picked up dinner and then sat by the water and enjoyed the show. Closed the park down. In hindsight, I think we were not excpecting to enjoy Epcot as much and we wish we had gotten there a little earlier to enjoy looking at the countries more.
We finished our last day at MK by 2:30. We stopped by Main Street Bakery and got an ice cream cookie sandy. They are huge. We caught the volunteer parade. The first day we did the Bakery DD9 got a free cupcake for her bday. The second time we got a huge cookie for our anniversary.
Because we had the GAD fast passes for each day, we really didn’t need a touring plan for the parks even though it was very crowded. We were given 6 immediate Fast Passes for rides. We made sure to arrive as early as possible but because we could get on the rides immediately, it was Godsend and we could tour the parks as we pleased. We rode every single ride we wanted to ride, which was mostly everything, and shopped, and ate. Because we arrived early at MK we were able to ride Buzz and Space Mountain at least once, if not twice without our GAD passes. So, by the end of each day, we used a couple of the passes and then picked out lucky people who were waiting and gave them the GADs. They were really excited and it really made us happy to do it especially when it was people at the end of the stand-by line. I don’t understand why people would want to spend 1 ½ hours in line and not use the Fast Pass system. If I didn’t have the GAD fast passes, no way would I do Disney World in the summer again. It’s too crowded even using the regular fast pass system. If we go again, we’ll do it off-season like we did the week before Thanksgiving many years agao and no one is there and the weather is awesome.
A comment about the QSD plan. I don’t know if I would do it again, even if it were free. DD9 and DS6 got tired of eating chicken nuggets, burgers, and macaroni. No matter where we went, no one would let us do a child portion of an adult meal and that stunk. PLUS, there is NO way we would be eating all those desserts. When I could, instead of desert I would get a krispie treat (mostly at the resort) and use our drinks for breakfast since we got the free drink cups. It took us 3 days to figure out the dining plan even though I researched it a lot before we went! While the adult menu offered many satisfying choices, the kids menu is not that great. I think I would rather take the discount on the room and just pay for our own food. We would also not get a table service option because that would be a waste of good touring time to us. I think we could eat for way less $$.
The last thing I will add is that after seeing all of the gardens at the parks, I feel like I need to step it up A LOT at my house. Beautiful displays of flowers everywhere.
Sorry for the long report. Overall it was a fantastic time! SO much to see, so much we did, too much to cover in one report! We did a RCCL Bahamas the week after and are just getting home, so I probably can't remember everything at Disney!
Thanks to everyone for all the help provided prior to the Disney trip. It was much appreciated. By the way, we paid for the hotel and got the free QSD plan. Hope you enjoy the report!
Angela
We arrived on the 5th and stayed at the Best Western in the Disney Resort area. Nice hotel, but I wouldn’t pay more than I did and still feel like I paid too much. It older and the room was small and did not accommodate 5 so I had to get a rollaway, but luckily, they did not charge us for it. We did get a view overlooking the fireworks and the pool was refreshing after driving for 2 days. We ate buffet by the pool.
Awoke early the next morning to check into POR and get our tix. Didn’t think the rooms would be ready until 3pm, but lucked out and got a room right away at 8 am. I requested the Magnolia rooms with a rollaway. The CM told me it would cost $16/night extra but then decided to waive the fee! That was really nice. We got GAD, Birthday, Anniversary, First Time, and I’m Celebrating buttons. (We were celebrating a lot, there are 5 of us.) Dropped off our luggage and were surprised to see a lovely, first floor, corner room, very close to the north bus depot. We never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a bus either. I think we had great timing. The resort is gorgeous, the pools, the setting, everything. I would highly recommend it to everyone the property is lovely.
Went to DHS for the last day of the Star Wars event. It was DHs bday and he loved it! We got a pic with the storm troopers, and a great view of the parade. We all enjoyed the Rockin’ Rollercoaster. I am NOT a Star Wars fan, but even I enjoyed seeing the CMs dressed up as the characters and loved the females workin’ their costumes and staring down the kids. LOL! I got picked as an “extra” in the Indiana Jones stunt show and had tons of fun!
OK, seriously, the only place I've seen this guy is in DH's toy collection.
The next day was spent at AK. We got up late—very unlike us, but we were tired-- and lucked out because it had poured that morning. We got to the park around 10am. It was really nice; we did get rained on, but enjoyed it. DS12 and I loved the Expedition Everest; DD9 and DS6 not so much so we used their GAD passes and rode it again, and then when the park closed, there was no waiting so we rode it again 4 times more consecutively. I LOVED that ride! We all loved the raft ride too and got soaked. Most notable pic...the baby gorilla of course! I think she is 3 months old...
Left and went to Downtown Disney via boat from POR to eat at Wolfgang Puck’s Express. BEST use of our QDS plan. We ate in the kitchen where there was ONE table and were waited on like table service. Food was great! Hit the Lego store prior where my DS6 blew most of his cash. He was going bonkers there. It's hard not too, Legos are too cool. Hundreds of Lego people on the wall...
Next morning our first day at MK. Hit the EMH and was INSIDE the park at 7:45am and first in line for Tomorrow Land. We were the first family to ride the Buzz Lightyear ride and so we got all our pictures for free! That was great! We rode it again, and then Space Mountain twice. The park was practically EMPTY when we arrived so we had some fun before it got crowded.
By the time we headed to Fantasyland, not much later, it was pretty packed. We used our GAD passes for some rides and then hit the Haunted Mansion. It was about 2:30pm when we got out of there the park was SO packed that there was no room to move. We left to go swim and returned later to hit the rest of the rides and see the Electric Light Parade and fireworks. We caught the later show of the parade so we could take advantage of getting on un-crowded rides in Adventureland—Pirates of Caribbean and Aladdin Carpets—then we positioned ourselves for the fireworks. We kind of got stuck just outside of Adventureland and while we had a nice side view of the castle, the fireworks went off behind a building we were in front of.
I got over it as soon as the parade started.
I hadn’t seen it since my folks took my sister and I to Disneyland when we were teens and it was a highlight for me. Especially because when Prince Charming rolled around I extended my foot in the air (thank you yoga!) as he gestured to me if I wanted to try the slipper. The step sister in blue bickered with me for a few moments as we fought over the shoe. LOL! "That's MY shoe!" she mouthed and I said, "NO, it's MINE!"
LOVE that parade. I am AMAZED at how the CMs get people off the streets so the parade can go down. My kids basically slept on the street because they were too tired but DH and I wanted to see the parade so too bad for them. We woke them up when the parade started.
The next day we took the shuttle to MK for another day, but decide last minute to hit Epcot. That was a good decision because we got to ride the monorail. It was a nice day, no pressure. We used our GAD passes to do the rides and then hit the countries later. We stopped at the 3D shows, and the space centers and all that, but because we started late and wanted to view the countries, we decided to give the rest of our GAD passes away to another family of 5 and they were SO excited to be able to use the passes on Soarin’ and Test Track. It made their day and ours. Mission Space made us all sick by the way even though it was cool. We did the more strenuous ride.
The fireworks show at Epcot is really good. We picked up dinner and then sat by the water and enjoyed the show. Closed the park down. In hindsight, I think we were not excpecting to enjoy Epcot as much and we wish we had gotten there a little earlier to enjoy looking at the countries more.
We finished our last day at MK by 2:30. We stopped by Main Street Bakery and got an ice cream cookie sandy. They are huge. We caught the volunteer parade. The first day we did the Bakery DD9 got a free cupcake for her bday. The second time we got a huge cookie for our anniversary.
Because we had the GAD fast passes for each day, we really didn’t need a touring plan for the parks even though it was very crowded. We were given 6 immediate Fast Passes for rides. We made sure to arrive as early as possible but because we could get on the rides immediately, it was Godsend and we could tour the parks as we pleased. We rode every single ride we wanted to ride, which was mostly everything, and shopped, and ate. Because we arrived early at MK we were able to ride Buzz and Space Mountain at least once, if not twice without our GAD passes. So, by the end of each day, we used a couple of the passes and then picked out lucky people who were waiting and gave them the GADs. They were really excited and it really made us happy to do it especially when it was people at the end of the stand-by line.
I don’t understand why people would want to spend 1 ½ hours in line and not use the Fast Pass system. If I didn’t have the GAD fast passes, no way would I do Disney World in the summer again. It’s too crowded even using the regular fast pass system. If we go again, we’ll do it off-season like we did the week before Thanksgiving many years agao and no one is there and the weather is awesome.A comment about the QSD plan. I don’t know if I would do it again, even if it were free. DD9 and DS6 got tired of eating chicken nuggets, burgers, and macaroni. No matter where we went, no one would let us do a child portion of an adult meal and that stunk. PLUS, there is NO way we would be eating all those desserts. When I could, instead of desert I would get a krispie treat (mostly at the resort) and use our drinks for breakfast since we got the free drink cups. It took us 3 days to figure out the dining plan even though I researched it a lot before we went! While the adult menu offered many satisfying choices, the kids menu is not that great. I think I would rather take the discount on the room and just pay for our own food. We would also not get a table service option because that would be a waste of good touring time to us. I think we could eat for way less $$.
The last thing I will add is that after seeing all of the gardens at the parks, I feel like I need to step it up A LOT at my house. Beautiful displays of flowers everywhere.
Sorry for the long report. Overall it was a fantastic time! SO much to see, so much we did, too much to cover in one report! We did a RCCL Bahamas the week after and are just getting home, so I probably can't remember everything at Disney!
Thanks to everyone for all the help provided prior to the Disney trip. It was much appreciated.
By the way, we paid for the hotel and got the free QSD plan. Hope you enjoy the report!Angela
you got a lot accomplished. Great report. Enjoyed reading about your trip.
