Trip Reports
01-06-2007, 11:42 PM
Time of Year: Summer
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: BIR, ASMR, Offsite
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Tina packed a lot of information into this summary-style report. She and her family really enjoyed their trip...and it won't be the last one this year. The Cook's stayed at the All-Star Music Resort, the Boardwalk Inn, and offsite in between.
Trip Report…from Tina and Duane Cook <aka Poppins and Fix-it Fellow>
Since we didn't keep any copious notes during the trip <er, we were on vacation!!> and the blow-by-blow details are getting fuzzier by the minute, we decided that a trip report might be more interesting if it hit the highlights. See for yourself and let me know what you think.
General Comments:
Dates: Arrived Friday night, June 20; departed Saturday afternoon, June 28
Lodging: All-Star Music (Country Fair), 4 nights; Best Western Maingate, 3 nights; Boardwalk Inn, 1 night
First attraction: "It's a Small World," to insure that the children would feel comfortable going on rides again <bad first-ride experience last year on HISTA taught us a lesson>
Best new <to us> attraction: "Ellen's Energy Adventure." It was a hoot! It was entertaining and educational at the same time. Here's yet another Epcot attraction that I wish were on video for science teachers' use…..Bill Nye the Science Guy rules!!!
Most interesting dining experience: Restaurant Akershus in the Norway pavilion. When one is not a fish-eater, this is not high on your list of top choices, but we browsed the lunch koldtbord menu and found some non-fishy options on there for me (plus the lunch prices are better than dinner). Their CMs' traditional costumes are beautiful as well as the Norwegian people themselves who work there. Ask for Ragnhild…she's great.
Movie that will always remind us of this trip: "HERCULES"!!!! <We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we go home happy, whaddya say??!">
Top Ten List of "Non-Attractions" that we enjoyed doing just as much (if not more!) as riding rides, in no particular order:
Meeting the Dapper Dans…we've been trying for the past three years but always missed them. We ended up being treated to a private performance inside the Harmony Barbershop at MK. If you ever do this and they sing "Old MacDonald," they'll give you an opportunity to suggest animals for the song. Duane gave them "armadillo"! They thought a couple of seconds and sang, "with a 'splat-splat' here, and a 'splat-splat' there….!" Our Texas friends can appreciate this best of all!!
Eating "around the world" at Epcot!!! This is cost-prohibitive for a family of five to do large quantities of food around the showcase pavilions, so we'd stroll from one country to another, sampling one or two items at shops where inexpensive things were available. We tried Bavarois au Framboises and an Éclair du Chocolat at Boulangerie Patisserie; a much-fabled Rice Cream and a Snow Puff <A VERY ELEGANT MALLO CUP!!!!> at Kringla og Bakeri in Norway; a soft pretzel in Germany; and Duane had his eye on a half-yard of ale at Rose & Crown, but never got back there...
Strolling World Showcase and Main Street USA for our "date" without the kids on our last night. The kids went to the Harbor Club at Boardwalk and had a blast!
Listening to a very convincing group of Beatles soundalikes called "British Invasion" at the UK pavilion.
Meeting the Head Chick of Chat, Queen Radp-Friends herself, our own Gardenia!!!! We finally managed to connect with each other at Marketplace as we were getting ready to leave and we played in the water fountains together.
Being entertained by a wonderful group of young people called "Singing Hands" at Cosmic Ray's. They reminded me of why I teach.
Visiting Wilderness Lodge….just because. Aaaahhhh, someday…..it's the resort of our dreams. <as if Frontierland Fix-it Fellow would want to stay anyplace else???!>
Visiting Shades of Green…our next stop in October!!
Participating in the "Remember the Magic" Parade with oldest daughter Katie…how could we have known we'd be part of a can-can line singing "Be Our Guest"? This was a very clever idea on Disney's part to get the audience involved this way.
Frozen lemonade!!!!!!
Ok, so it's more than ten. So sue me! I have to mention my brief frolic with the Voices of Liberty…..Truly some of the finest a cappella singers to be found anywhere. When the group did "Oh Susanna," the featured singer came to me and took my hand, kissed it (oooh, la la!), and pretended to help me up….only to act as if that was not his intention. The whole crowd enjoyed it when the director said to me, "You're supposed to LET GO!!!"
You may know that at one time, Disney was planning "Disney's America" in my neck of the woods here near Washington, D.C. The opponents of that project argued that Disney would only glorify the dark parts of our history with absurd things like Goofy on a slave ship (yes, they actually said that). I'll tell you that those opponents surely never heard the Voices of Liberty or experienced the American Adventure, because they are unparalleled.
Other Thoughts:
Castle reaction: "Could be worse." We'll be glad when it returns to normal, though. Think of the Pepto-Palace as a part of Disney history that we lived to see.
25th Anniversary Festivities: The whole World has been splashed with color and spruced up even more than usual, making guests feel even more welcome. It starts at the gateway on World Drive.
Most daring feat by a six-year-old: Big Thunder Mountain AND Splash Mountain, consecutively, by daughter Amy!!! <with dad, of course…Poppins doesn't do thrill rides>
Most daring feat by a timid eight-year-old: Big Thunder Mountain, by Katie <with much prodding from Daddy and Amy) Poppins STILL isn't riding. And that's that.
Most daring feat by a four-year-old: Haunted Mansion, hanging on to my neck for dear life, after which proclaiming loudly, "I was BRAVE, Mommy!" And he really was. Sort of. Well, he rode it without tears. He WANTED to do Star Tours and did it like a champ!! Last year, I gave him a pin to represent "courage" after the HISTA experience that flipped him out. This year he said he didn't need his "courage."
Sentimental favorite ride: "Peter Pan's Flight"
Best Character Encounters: We hit the jackpot, as usual, in Epcot, particularly at the UK pavilion. I went to ask which characters were due to appear, hoping for a chance at meeting Mary Poppins herself, when the Practically Perfect One waltzed through the gates!!!!! She was charming and I was enchanted….pictures to appear to a web page near you very soon! At this same time, we met with Alice, White Rabbit, Tigger, and someone else that I can't remember <I was much too busy hobknobbing with Mary Poppins, you know>. I wore 3 of my Poppins pins on that day and SHE was jealous!!!
You have to play with the characters to really have a good time. I told Tigger that we came to bounce with him, and we literally jumped and bounced together! My kids thought that was so cool that Mom would bounce with T-I-GG-R!!!! We told Chip and Dale that we had lots of oak trees in our yard that make lots of nuts…and they were ready to go home with us! Pure magic for preschoolers.
Duane's favorite character encounter: Esmeralda!!!!!!!! What a totally gorgeous girl she was!
Best Fast Food Meals-Magic Kingdom: Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, Epcot: The Land food court, MGM: Hollywood and Vine
Best Character Meal that didn't totally break the bank: Soundstage at MGM character lunch (again, spend the $$$ at lunch when prices are lower) Good, family-friendly selection on their buffet and the characters were some of my kids' favorites: Genie, Aladdin, Quasimodo, Belle, and Meeko. I realize that I'm very easy to please when it comes to service, but I thought our server, Sakda, was outstanding. Anybody who brings me my own carafe of Coke is a good guy…..
Smartest thing we did: We bought Annual Passes! Folks, if there's a chance you'll be back within a year (i.e., carefully timing next year's vacation!), seriously consider this as an option. With APs we knew we had the flexibility to do only as much as we FELT like doing on any given day-we didn't have that "do it or die" mentality that you sometimes get with a park-hopper pass and a finite number of touring opportunities. The cost of an AP is not significantly more than the gate price of a world-hopper ticket. Consult WDWIG ('cause Deb and her cohorts know ALL!) for the full scoop on ticket prices and options.
Something we won't do again: We won't ever deal with an organization called Travel Opportunities again!!! It's a long story. We toured a resort facility here at home that promised 3 free nights in Orlando as compensation for taking the tour. We followed the steps to the letter, requesting a reservation in writing and putting down $100 deposit to be refunded at the end of stay, and then appearing at the Vacation Break Travel Center for picking up our motel voucher on time. Turns out that THEY want us to take another tour, to which we said NO WAY-that wasn't part of the deal. We got our 3 nights in a "okay" room in Kissimmee, but the deposit is yet to be refunded by mail in "30-45 days." Their contract is nebulous enough to permit that. As I see it, the worst-case scenario is that they don't refund it and we got 3 nights for $33/night.
Lessons learned:
Things we could have done better:
We should have set a time to be "out" each day for a rest, instead of pushing it too long some days and throwing off the rest of the day.
Wish we had stayed at Boardwalk longer, or at least earlier so we could have enjoyed it more!! Wowwww….Interestingly enough, though, Duane and I felt a bit out of place there. As nice and as beautiful as Boardwalk is, we're just "All-Star-kind-of-people!" Our next stay is already booked at Shades of Green.
Wish we had brought MORE SHOES!! Sneakers got squishy-wet and pretty painful on one of our last nights. Somehow, however, we managed to dodge most of the rainstorms.
Exit the MK at some time OTHER THAN immediately after fireworks!!!! Total mob scene.
Most pleasant thought to take home with us:
We'll be back <relatively> soon!!!!! This trip was a completely magical vacation time stocked with great memories for our kids.
Tina H. Cook
Travel Method: Personal Car
Resort: BIR, ASMR, Offsite
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent
Comments: Tina packed a lot of information into this summary-style report. She and her family really enjoyed their trip...and it won't be the last one this year. The Cook's stayed at the All-Star Music Resort, the Boardwalk Inn, and offsite in between.
Trip Report…from Tina and Duane Cook <aka Poppins and Fix-it Fellow>
Since we didn't keep any copious notes during the trip <er, we were on vacation!!> and the blow-by-blow details are getting fuzzier by the minute, we decided that a trip report might be more interesting if it hit the highlights. See for yourself and let me know what you think.
General Comments:
Dates: Arrived Friday night, June 20; departed Saturday afternoon, June 28
Lodging: All-Star Music (Country Fair), 4 nights; Best Western Maingate, 3 nights; Boardwalk Inn, 1 night
First attraction: "It's a Small World," to insure that the children would feel comfortable going on rides again <bad first-ride experience last year on HISTA taught us a lesson>
Best new <to us> attraction: "Ellen's Energy Adventure." It was a hoot! It was entertaining and educational at the same time. Here's yet another Epcot attraction that I wish were on video for science teachers' use…..Bill Nye the Science Guy rules!!!
Most interesting dining experience: Restaurant Akershus in the Norway pavilion. When one is not a fish-eater, this is not high on your list of top choices, but we browsed the lunch koldtbord menu and found some non-fishy options on there for me (plus the lunch prices are better than dinner). Their CMs' traditional costumes are beautiful as well as the Norwegian people themselves who work there. Ask for Ragnhild…she's great.
Movie that will always remind us of this trip: "HERCULES"!!!! <We dance, we kiss, we schmooze, we go home happy, whaddya say??!">
Top Ten List of "Non-Attractions" that we enjoyed doing just as much (if not more!) as riding rides, in no particular order:
Meeting the Dapper Dans…we've been trying for the past three years but always missed them. We ended up being treated to a private performance inside the Harmony Barbershop at MK. If you ever do this and they sing "Old MacDonald," they'll give you an opportunity to suggest animals for the song. Duane gave them "armadillo"! They thought a couple of seconds and sang, "with a 'splat-splat' here, and a 'splat-splat' there….!" Our Texas friends can appreciate this best of all!!
Eating "around the world" at Epcot!!! This is cost-prohibitive for a family of five to do large quantities of food around the showcase pavilions, so we'd stroll from one country to another, sampling one or two items at shops where inexpensive things were available. We tried Bavarois au Framboises and an Éclair du Chocolat at Boulangerie Patisserie; a much-fabled Rice Cream and a Snow Puff <A VERY ELEGANT MALLO CUP!!!!> at Kringla og Bakeri in Norway; a soft pretzel in Germany; and Duane had his eye on a half-yard of ale at Rose & Crown, but never got back there...
Strolling World Showcase and Main Street USA for our "date" without the kids on our last night. The kids went to the Harbor Club at Boardwalk and had a blast!
Listening to a very convincing group of Beatles soundalikes called "British Invasion" at the UK pavilion.
Meeting the Head Chick of Chat, Queen Radp-Friends herself, our own Gardenia!!!! We finally managed to connect with each other at Marketplace as we were getting ready to leave and we played in the water fountains together.
Being entertained by a wonderful group of young people called "Singing Hands" at Cosmic Ray's. They reminded me of why I teach.
Visiting Wilderness Lodge….just because. Aaaahhhh, someday…..it's the resort of our dreams. <as if Frontierland Fix-it Fellow would want to stay anyplace else???!>
Visiting Shades of Green…our next stop in October!!
Participating in the "Remember the Magic" Parade with oldest daughter Katie…how could we have known we'd be part of a can-can line singing "Be Our Guest"? This was a very clever idea on Disney's part to get the audience involved this way.
Frozen lemonade!!!!!!
Ok, so it's more than ten. So sue me! I have to mention my brief frolic with the Voices of Liberty…..Truly some of the finest a cappella singers to be found anywhere. When the group did "Oh Susanna," the featured singer came to me and took my hand, kissed it (oooh, la la!), and pretended to help me up….only to act as if that was not his intention. The whole crowd enjoyed it when the director said to me, "You're supposed to LET GO!!!"
You may know that at one time, Disney was planning "Disney's America" in my neck of the woods here near Washington, D.C. The opponents of that project argued that Disney would only glorify the dark parts of our history with absurd things like Goofy on a slave ship (yes, they actually said that). I'll tell you that those opponents surely never heard the Voices of Liberty or experienced the American Adventure, because they are unparalleled.
Other Thoughts:
Castle reaction: "Could be worse." We'll be glad when it returns to normal, though. Think of the Pepto-Palace as a part of Disney history that we lived to see.
25th Anniversary Festivities: The whole World has been splashed with color and spruced up even more than usual, making guests feel even more welcome. It starts at the gateway on World Drive.
Most daring feat by a six-year-old: Big Thunder Mountain AND Splash Mountain, consecutively, by daughter Amy!!! <with dad, of course…Poppins doesn't do thrill rides>
Most daring feat by a timid eight-year-old: Big Thunder Mountain, by Katie <with much prodding from Daddy and Amy) Poppins STILL isn't riding. And that's that.
Most daring feat by a four-year-old: Haunted Mansion, hanging on to my neck for dear life, after which proclaiming loudly, "I was BRAVE, Mommy!" And he really was. Sort of. Well, he rode it without tears. He WANTED to do Star Tours and did it like a champ!! Last year, I gave him a pin to represent "courage" after the HISTA experience that flipped him out. This year he said he didn't need his "courage."
Sentimental favorite ride: "Peter Pan's Flight"
Best Character Encounters: We hit the jackpot, as usual, in Epcot, particularly at the UK pavilion. I went to ask which characters were due to appear, hoping for a chance at meeting Mary Poppins herself, when the Practically Perfect One waltzed through the gates!!!!! She was charming and I was enchanted….pictures to appear to a web page near you very soon! At this same time, we met with Alice, White Rabbit, Tigger, and someone else that I can't remember <I was much too busy hobknobbing with Mary Poppins, you know>. I wore 3 of my Poppins pins on that day and SHE was jealous!!!
You have to play with the characters to really have a good time. I told Tigger that we came to bounce with him, and we literally jumped and bounced together! My kids thought that was so cool that Mom would bounce with T-I-GG-R!!!! We told Chip and Dale that we had lots of oak trees in our yard that make lots of nuts…and they were ready to go home with us! Pure magic for preschoolers.
Duane's favorite character encounter: Esmeralda!!!!!!!! What a totally gorgeous girl she was!
Best Fast Food Meals-Magic Kingdom: Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe, Epcot: The Land food court, MGM: Hollywood and Vine
Best Character Meal that didn't totally break the bank: Soundstage at MGM character lunch (again, spend the $$$ at lunch when prices are lower) Good, family-friendly selection on their buffet and the characters were some of my kids' favorites: Genie, Aladdin, Quasimodo, Belle, and Meeko. I realize that I'm very easy to please when it comes to service, but I thought our server, Sakda, was outstanding. Anybody who brings me my own carafe of Coke is a good guy…..
Smartest thing we did: We bought Annual Passes! Folks, if there's a chance you'll be back within a year (i.e., carefully timing next year's vacation!), seriously consider this as an option. With APs we knew we had the flexibility to do only as much as we FELT like doing on any given day-we didn't have that "do it or die" mentality that you sometimes get with a park-hopper pass and a finite number of touring opportunities. The cost of an AP is not significantly more than the gate price of a world-hopper ticket. Consult WDWIG ('cause Deb and her cohorts know ALL!) for the full scoop on ticket prices and options.
Something we won't do again: We won't ever deal with an organization called Travel Opportunities again!!! It's a long story. We toured a resort facility here at home that promised 3 free nights in Orlando as compensation for taking the tour. We followed the steps to the letter, requesting a reservation in writing and putting down $100 deposit to be refunded at the end of stay, and then appearing at the Vacation Break Travel Center for picking up our motel voucher on time. Turns out that THEY want us to take another tour, to which we said NO WAY-that wasn't part of the deal. We got our 3 nights in a "okay" room in Kissimmee, but the deposit is yet to be refunded by mail in "30-45 days." Their contract is nebulous enough to permit that. As I see it, the worst-case scenario is that they don't refund it and we got 3 nights for $33/night.
Lessons learned:
Things we could have done better:
We should have set a time to be "out" each day for a rest, instead of pushing it too long some days and throwing off the rest of the day.
Wish we had stayed at Boardwalk longer, or at least earlier so we could have enjoyed it more!! Wowwww….Interestingly enough, though, Duane and I felt a bit out of place there. As nice and as beautiful as Boardwalk is, we're just "All-Star-kind-of-people!" Our next stay is already booked at Shades of Green.
Wish we had brought MORE SHOES!! Sneakers got squishy-wet and pretty painful on one of our last nights. Somehow, however, we managed to dodge most of the rainstorms.
Exit the MK at some time OTHER THAN immediately after fireworks!!!! Total mob scene.
Most pleasant thought to take home with us:
We'll be back <relatively> soon!!!!! This trip was a completely magical vacation time stocked with great memories for our kids.
Tina H. Cook