Drince88
04-21-2007, 06:11 PM
Travel dates: March 31 – April 4, 2006
Travel method: Plane, DME and rental Car
Resort: Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ)
Accommodations: 2 standard connecting rooms
Ages Represented in Group: Adults and kids, first timers to lucky 13th trip
The Krewe:
Drince88 – Auntie extraordinaire and tour guide
Mom – My sister, Mom to 3 great boys – 3rd trip to WDW, both other times just to MK
Dad – My Brother in Law, Dad to those three great boys – 1 other trip, MK only
Nephews – 10, 8, and 3. – first trip for each
(Krewe is the ‘New Orleans’ spelling of Crew, used for Mardi Gras parading organizations)
Planning:
Yippee, my sister and her family decided they were going to go to WDW for their spring break, and then finish off the week visiting our brother and his family in Southern Georgia. With 3 boys, they were limited in the locations they could stay in one room, unless, of course, their loving Aunt joined them, and had a boy or two in her room. Shucks, I guess that’s just what we’ll have to do! Another sister and her husband really wanted to come along too, but with the anticipated arrival of another nephew, or a niece at the end of April, we didn’t think that would work too well, with traveling from Portland, OR!
I let them decide the ‘level’ of resort (value, moderate, deluxe) and then I planned on adding my 2 cents to the decision. They decided moderate, because they wanted a slide on the pool, and we settled on Port Orleans French Quarter, because it’s a smaller resort, the ease of visiting Downtown Disney on the first day, and the pool.
I figured there would be very few, if any, discounts available for our stay, since we were going the week before Easter, and I was right. They had discounts available for arrivals as late as March 30. We were arriving March 31st! We decided to use Small World Vacations to book the room so that we could get them easily ‘associated’ with each other in Disney’s books. Our great Travel Agent (LeslieM) suggested that there WAS a AAA discount available to us, but we’d both have to be AAA members (since there were two reservations). No problem, the cost of the AAA membership was less than the savings, plus now we both have AAA for a year!
My sister decided on 3 days in the parks, so that they still had time to spend with our brother. They knew that they were not going to see everything, and that it would be crowded, and maybe hot, so we were not going to over schedule ourselves, and were going to make sure we knew what the ‘must dos’ for everyone were so that we met those expectations. I also told them I’d be a task master the first 2 hours in the parks, and then we’d play it by ear after that.
For planning, they had a version of the Unofficial Guide, and I got the boys a Birnbaum’s For Kids, By Kids, which really helped with the 8 year old who ‘needs to know’ what’s going to happen.
We decided on Crystal Palace to have lunch with Pooh and his friends, and another character meal at Donald’s Breakfastosaurus. Other than that, we didn’t make any ADRs, knowing full well that we were unlikely to be eating at any location other than counter service. But we did NOT want to make any reservations after about 1:00, since we didn’t know how late we’d stay in each park and how long of a break we’d be taking. We decided NOT to do the dining plan based on our decisions about reservations, the anticipating eating levels of the group, and the requirement that everyone in the room(s) have the same tickets to be able to get it (especially since I have an active AP)
We looked briefly into the ‘Veteran of the Day’ for my brother in law, but with our desire not to have something scheduled in the late afternoon, this was soon discarded. He would have really liked to have been part of the flag retreat, though.
Initially, they were going to fly from Portland, OR (PDX) to Orlando (MCO) on Saturday the 31st, but they ended up doing a red eye Friday night. They were scheduled to arrive about an hour before I was, on my non-stop from New Orleans (MSY). Because they were going to visit Southern Georgia after the WDW portion, they rented a car from Payless through Travelocity. There was a little concern about the off-site location and some unfavorable reviews, but everything worked out ok. They were also going to stop by a grocery store and get a few munchies, and Pepsi for my brother in law, since he’s not a Coke drinker.
I’d decided that we needed to wear ‘matching’ shirts one day, and everyone agreed to humor me. So I let everyone pick their own ‘front’ and had shirts made up at zazzle.com. It was nice, because all the shirts were the same exact color. There’s no way I could have found that locally with the range of sizes involved. I then added a saying to the back using Ink Jet printer iron-on transfer paper. The boys all said “Storming the Castle for the First Time”. Dad’s shirt said “Storming the Castle for the Second Time” and Mom’s said “Storming the Castle for the Third Time” Mine matched and celebrated my 13th trip!
Transportation, meals, lodging, matching outfits – that’s about all the heavy planning we did, aside from me pouring over ‘touring plans for busy days’ trying to decide the order of those first two hours in the park, and trying to figure out how MUCH we might be able to do before the parks got crowded. I used what I knew about the popular rides, what we really wanted to do, and touring plans from www.touringplans.com. I felt it was worth the little cost to just get a little more information for the very busy time of the year. I debated about subscribing to Tour Guide Mike, but in all honesty, there was something that made me uncomfortable about the ‘double pinky swear secrets’ that seemed to be required if you did subscribe to his site. Also, I didn’t want to have to worry about ‘did I read that on Mike’s site or somewhere else’ when I was sharing tips in this report and when posting elsewhere on the pad.
March 31, 2006
Well, it really started March 30th for everyone else, since Continental changed their flight from early early Saturday morning to late late Friday night. Due to delays in Houston for them, and for my plane in Houston before arriving in New Orleans, we were both delayed, but not significantly, in our arrival at MCO. I called them when I was on the DME bus, and they had JUST gotten the car, so I knew I would have a little bit of a wait at the resort for them I had essentially no wait to check in at DME, and just a short wait for a bus, and then the bus took off from the airport shortly after the first wave of people loaded. I fully expected to have had to wait a little longer for the bus to fill up before leaving, but we left with it about ½ full. Stopped at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs before my stop at POFQ, with continued service to POR and the FW Campgrounds. I guess they count POFQ and POR as one resort, since I didn’t think they had any routes with more than 4 resorts on them.
I grabbed a water at the food court, and went out to the entry to await their arrival. I hadn’t seen them since Christmas, and was looking forward to those first hugs! RIGHT as they pulled into the parking lot, a big bus came in, blocking my view, so I couldn’t be sure it was them until my Brother-in-law came bounding across to give me a hug! He went back to help get the kids out of the car, and I soon got 4 more big hugs.
We went to check in, hoping that our request for connecting rooms would be granted. There was no line (this is early afternoon) and our rooms were ready, and were connecting! Yea! Disney will only guarantee connecting (door in between, without having to go outside) if there are 2 or fewer ‘real’ adults in 2 rooms. I walked to the rooms with two of the boys, and the other boy and the parents took the car around to the nearest parking lot. We ended up with a really nice location – building 2, 3rd floor, on the end nearest the main building, room 2348 and the connecting room. It was nice being on the end, since the room had 2 windows and therefore a little more light. The only down side was that the elevator was in the middle of the building, which was a little bit of a hassle when checking in and out.
When we checked in, other CMs gave each of the boys about 10 stickers – the youngest decided he wanted to wear all of them right then! We also got ‘first time’ buttons for the boys.
After a swim (including the youngest going down the slide exactly once – he was happy at the top, and then decided about half way down that he wasn’t sure how this was going to end!) we changed, and hopped the boat to DTD to do a little shopping and have dinner. I’d checked about getting an ADR for Raglan Road before I got to the pool, but they were not taking any more ADRs. I figured that was code for ‘all booked up’ but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
We stopped for pirate tattoos for the boys, and then stopped at the Lego store and shopped there for a bit (the boys were a little bummed they didn’t have a bigger selection of some item, though). We decided it was time for food, and since it wasn’t far away, went to Raglan Road to check it out. I think it was about 5:00 at the time, and they were able to fit us in without any wait! Dad and I had the pork loin stuffed with sausage, and Mom had the Shepherd’s pie. I don’t recall what the boys had – at least one order of chicken strips and fries, though. The soda bread and Guinness reduction with oil was very yummy, too. We didn’t have any appetizers, or any dessert, and were plenty full (even given how little everyone had eaten that day with the traveling).
After getting fueled and hydrated, we walked through the World of Disney store, walked through the Mickey sports store, and made our way to ‘Once Upon A Toy’ for one of the planned highlight of the evening: Build your own Lightsaber! I was mentally pretty wiped at that point, and the thought of the task of putting together parts in a specific order with an excited boy was putting me on mental overload – so I went and filled a Potato Head Box with Disney specific items while they put the sabers together. I could have fit more small parts in, but Mom had sent me off with instruction of not getting a bunch of eyes and ears that weren’t Disney specific!
I think that was all we did there, and we made our way to the dock and back to the resort. Magic Kingdom was first up in the morning, with an 8:00 opening, and Dumbo was calling a few names, so we knew it would be an early day.
Sunday April 1st – MK and Epcot!
After a wakeup from Stitch and Mickey (gotta love the Speakerphone option!) we stopped by the food court for a bit of a bite. The Beignets were proclaimed ‘not as good as Café du Monde’ (but they did get all eaten!) and the rest of the food (Mickey waffle, bacon and sausage, bagel, banana, I think) was inhaled quite well by the group. We’d used some of our eating time getting ready, and did quite well getting food into everyone in a short time. We were soon on the bus and at the Magic Kingdom. Here’s one area where I failed in my Tour Guide duties. I totally forgot that we needed to keep track of who’s park ticket was who’s for the 3 older ones (that use biometrics) until after I’d collected the last ticket. Oops! Fortunately, we did get them redistributed correctly for the next time, and then they signed the backs so we didn’t have to worry about that!
We were through the gates and waiting in front of the train station when they opened the parks – wearing our matching shirts. We walked down Main Street together. It was nice seeing the boys’ faces when they turned that corner and saw the castle for the first time! We parted ways at the hub, and I went to Space Mountain to get Fast Passes. By the time I was back in Fantasyland, they were just getting ready to board Dumbo, so I was able to be there for them to wave to! We were then going to hit Big Thunder Mt Railroad, but as we walked past Peter Pan, there was absolutely no line. NONE. So we rode that first. The boys probably could have used a little back story (We’re going to ride pirate ships and go over London to Never Land and see Peter Pan fight Capt Hook), but no problems with it. We got a rider swap pass for BTMRR, and used ‘both parts of it’ right away. Fast Pass returns hadn’t even started yet, so they just had us go through the regular queue, which wasn’t a problem. We then hit Splash Mountain, again using both parts of the rider switch. It’s nice having the small kids area right there, with the restrooms nearby for waiting!
For those not familiar with rider switch passes, you go to the CM at the entrance to any attraction with a height requirement, ‘show them’ the kid that’s too short, and they give you a pass. After the first group goes, 3 people (the one that stayed behind, plus up to two others) can go on the ride, usually using the Fast Pass return line. You don’t have to use them right away, but they are only good for the day that you got them. You can also combine them with Fast Passes, which we did for Expedition:Everest.
Right as we’re walking off from Splash Mountain to go use our Space Mountain Fast Passes, the train arrived, so we did a 180 and rode the train to the Toon Town/Tomorrowland station. While the first group was riding Space Mountain with the Fast Passes, the three year old and I went to get Fast passes for Buzz. Buzz is a ride that I will almost NEVER do without a Fast Pass. The ceiling in the queue is too low and makes the din almost unbearable to me. As soon as they were done with Space, we went to ride the Indy Cars. I didn’t really feel like riding Space, and Dad didn’t feel like riding the Cars, so (unknownst to the boys) he used one of the other Fast Passes to hit Space Mountain while we did the Indy Cars. Timing was just about perfect!
We then used the FPs for Buzz (I “won”, thank you very much!) and then got ice cream. While they were taking pictures at the Indy Car outside the Speedway and getting the ice cream, I walked over to get FPs for Pooh. After ice cream we hit the Teacups, and then used the FP for Pooh. Yes, the return times were fairly close to the time for getting the Fast passes, especially for the ‘minor’ attractions. At this point it’s about 11:30, and we haven’t taken our pictures in our matching shirts in front of the castle yet. And I did NOT want to risk another eating session! (A little bit of chocolate was spilled on one, but it was well camouflaged by the design). So we did that, then went to go see about Pirates. The wait was going to be pushing it with our ADRs, and we knew there would be some required time in the Pirate shop (the boys all got some Disney Dollars and Gift Cards at Christmas for their souvenirs). While everyone was shopping, I went back out to where I thought the Pirate Tutorial would be held, and asked a CM when the next show would be. He gave me times about an hour out, and 2 hours out. (For some reason, it wasn’t listed on the Times Guide this week, nor could the custodial CMs in Tomorrowland find it on their entertainment guide). As we were finishing up our transactions, the CM in the store said that Capt Jack Sparrow would be outside in just a couple of minutes. YEA! That means we could do that before lunch! I guess the first CM forgot about that show.
Mack (Mac?) came out and started the tutorial in the little alley way beside Pirates, towards the hub. After a bit, Capt Jack joined him, and they used 3 kids to ‘train’ in the fine art of pirate dueling (touch, touch, touch – “Oh look, it’s the Governor’s Daughter” – and flee!) then they drafted most all of the kids into future service as pirates, and they received their draft papers (which I never did look at!)
We then headed to the Crystal Palace and a LONG check-in line for our 1:00 ADRs. I’m not sure when we got seated, but it wasn’t too long of a wait (but plenty long enough with the crowded porch, warm temps, and hungry bodies). We had a great server who did a decent job of keeping our drinks filled, but he was a little off in his advice that we could get a round of food after the first character came to visit, but before the second. We were the first table in the route in our half of the restaurant, so it made it a little harder to judge when they’d be at our table. We got to meet everyone (Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet) and the boys (including the biggest one) got to ‘Bounce’ with Tigger! The food was pretty good, too. I especially enjoyed the curried noodle dish and the cucumber salad. And the desserts weren’t too bad either!
The three year old was REALLY concerned during the character meal. We had told him we were going to eat with Pooh and his friends, but then they weren’t eating with us! Fortunately, he was able to notice when they took a short break, so he could relax a little bit about them ‘not eating’.
We used Fast Passes we’d gotten before lunch for the Jungle Cruise, and the oldest got to drive the boat at the end! He got a license and everything! The boys then went to the shooting gallery (boys will be boys) and when they were done it was well past time to go back to the resort for a nap.
Throughout the day, we got quite a few nice comments on our shirts, including ones from CMs, so I was happy that everyone had agreed to do it!
After a swim and nap, we decided to try Epcot and see what we could do there. There was no line at Spaceship Earth, so I ‘made’ them do that. We had an extra long stop just after we started going back down, I think something besides loading a guest needing a little extra time was going on. We then decided it was time to get some food, so we went to the Cantina in Mexico. It was pretty crowded, but it didn’t take long from when we finally ordered, to when we got our food. Probably is helped by the fairly limited menu.
We had a little bit of time before Illuminations, but not a whole lot (it was a long swim and nap), so we walked towards Norway and found a good spot to wait it out. Everyone really liked the show (which was good, because I hadn’t earned too many points with Spaceship Earth – none of them really liked it much), and then we hung out waiting for the rush of the crowds to leave.
We didn’t have an excessive wait for the buses, but I think we did end up standing on this one, as the last group to get on the bus. They seemed to be pulling two buses into each stop (starting at the last one the buses got to) so that they could load the outer bus while a guest in a wheelchair was being loaded into the first, so the lines were moving pretty swiftly.
We were ready for bed at this point, and glad we had an extra hour to sleep in the next morning (since Epcot didn’t open until 9).
Monday, April 2, 2006 – Epcot, then MK
Just a planning point I wanted to mention here. MK had evening EMH on Sunday, and it was getting pretty crowded that afternoon, so we decided to NOT go back to the MK after our rest and relaxation. I think that did pay off, since MK was not all that crowded after the fireworks on Monday, when we did stay until midnight. This also made the decision to buy Park Hoppers a worthwhile one.
This morning we were going a little slower, and since everyone had seen what was in the food court the morning before, I ‘took orders’ and went down to fill it. This worked out great, as the boys then had a little more time to wake up. We rode the bus to Epcot, and Mom took the boys the ‘short way’ (no bags) while Dad and I went through the centralized bag check. We were waiting in line (although not at the front) when they started letting people into Epcot. We did take a minute to sign the back of the park passes (after everyone successfully getting through the gates with the ones we thought!) but went pretty directly to The Land to ride Soarin’.
Since we got right there, and there was no ‘Fast Pass merge in’ going on yet, we decided to actually just ride the attraction (using rider switch). The little guy and I waited and waited and waited. Oh my. If I’d realized we were going to be waiting an hour for them, we would have agreed to meet at the kidcot station and not just right at the exit. We decided at that point to use the second half of the kid swaps at a later time, since there were two other attractions we ‘needed’ to do before it got to late. We decided to get Fast Passes for Mission:Space and do stand-by for Test Track. That was a good decision, since they had the same standby wait, but Mission:Space had a much earlier Fast Pass return time. The little guy and I got the Fast Passes, and then went to the kidcot station ‘to color’. We had fun doing that, and it wasn’t too busy of a station, so we were able to chat with the CM a little bit too. We also ‘shopped’ (there’s lots of cars that make noise there) and looked at the big cars.
By the time they’d exited, it was time for Mission:Space. We decided I should ride it first with Dad and the two older boys, and they decided they were all up for the full intensity version. I have no problems with it, so I was cool with that decision. When we were done with our astronaut training session, Mom went with one of the boys, while the youngest continued to play in the tunnel area at the exit. The attraction got a thumbs up from all but the youngest, since it was now fairly late in the day, and he hadn’t gotten on any attraction yet. Time for Nemo!
We went over to the Seas and the line seemed quite long, but the CM said it wasn’t too long of a wait (he gave us a time, I just don’t remember it). It is really amazing how the line keeps moving when you have an omnimover ride and no Fast Pass merge in. The boys enjoyed it (I can’t decided if I like the angler fish, jelly fish, or the starfish (Peach?) at the end the most). We went to see about Turtle Talk with Crush, but there was a show going on, and the queue was full for the following one – so we went to eat! We decided on the Electric Umbrella. The previous night as we were walking by, I finally realized WHY it was called that. I had NEVER seen the umbrellas inside before. I’ve never eaten there in the evening, and I guess I usually go out the other side toward the exit? I’m not sure why, but it was kind of a lightbulb when I saw them.
After some refreshment (it was fairly crowded, but we didn’t have too long of a wait for the food), we headed back to talk with Crush. The show seemed a little ‘flat’ to me – I’m not sure if it was because of the bigger theater, if the kids weren’t as ‘cute’ as they sometimes are, or what. After that, we split into two groups. Mom, Dad and the 2 younger boys went to MouseGears, and then back for a swim and a nap, while the oldest boy and I decided to see the American Adventure, and use the second half of the kid swaps for Soarin’ and Test Track.
I also really wanted to listen to the Voices of Liberty, and so we went directly there to catch the 3:30 show, and the American Adventure show after that. We didn’t saunter too slowly around the World Showcase, but I did stop a couple of times to snap pictures of the displays being set up for the Flower and Garden show opening later that week. We then did Test Track and Soarin’. As we’re heading out of the park, I decided we better check in with Mom & Dad – it was almost 6:00 at this point! If I’d been thinking faster, I would have arranged to meet them at the Magic Kingdom, and we would have monorailed over there (the boys never did get to ride the monorail), but as it was, we went back to the resort and met up with them there.
Oh, we did do one small time-killer in between Test Track and Soarin’. We were going by Club Cool, and I just HAD to get the 10 year old with Beverly. “Here, try this, it’s my favorite drink”. He didn’t appreciate it. (And then I gave him some of the watermelon to wash away the taste).
We headed off the Magic Kingdom with 4 things on our list, 3 that were absolute Must Dos. As we arrived, I booked it to Big Thunder Mountain, and was able to get Fast Passes for later that evening! We weren’t sure they would still be available, but they were good for after the fireworks! I met up with the group at Casey’s (the middle boy was hungry for hot dogs) and then we went to attack the first ‘must do’ on our list: Pirates! It wasn’t an excessively long wait, and everyone enjoyed it.
We had a little bit of time yet, so walked up the Swiss Family Treehouse (request) – I think this was the 2nd time I walked up this attraction in all my visits, and the previous trek would have been when I was 17 with the whole family! There was a very short line at the Aladdin carpets, so we did that, too. Unfortunately, the 3 year old decided he didn’t want to do that, so he and Dad sat it out. Fortunately, Dad caught the start of Spectromagic out of the corner of his eye through the ‘shortcut’ by the Country Bears, so they watched just about the whole parade, and when we were through with our Magic Carpet Ride, we joined them and saw most of it.
On our way into Epcot that morning, the boys made wishes in the fountain, with the youngest ‘wishing he could meet Mickey Mouse’. We knew his wish would be granted the next morning, but we were surprised it was granted that night when he saw Mickey in the parade!
We had the ‘brilliant’ idea to watch the fireworks from the Swiss Family Treehouse. Well, not such a brilliant idea. Although there is a great view of the castle from there, the fireworks are enough behind and above it, that the overhang of the treehouse and the tree itself blocked much of the view. So down we went, and back over to Frontierland to watch the rest of the show. That knocked number 2 off of the must-do list! (Fireworks)
At that point, we hit the Haunted Mansion (number 3 on the list), with absolutely no wait, and by then our Fast Passes for BTMRR were ready to be used. We did that, and still had time to ride the Carousel and got in on the last show of Mickey’s Philharmagic (the 4th item on our list to hit that night). Afterwards everyone understood why I really wanted them to see that movie.
It’s finally midnight, so we made our way to the bus stop. Some of the Dream Squad CMs were at the train station, waving to us as we were leaving. They caught the ‘first visit’ buttons, and tried to get the 3 yr old to wave to them. One even got his name to try to get his attention, and then blew him a kiss.
There wasn’t much of a wait for the bus, and we were quickly all snug in our beds.
Tuesday, April 3, 2006 – Animal Kingdom
The good news about having breakfast ADRs at park opening is that you don’t have to eat breakfast before you get on the bus. The bad news is that you have no choice but to be at the park at opening, even if you were in the parks at midnight the previous day! Stitch and Mickey woke us up that morning, but later we were questioned about ‘why didn’t they call?’ The boys were so tired they didn’t recall getting the call!
I was surprised that they didn’t have the extra entrance open for people with early ADRs – I guess they just do that when they start seating people BEFORE the park opens. We watched the opening of Animal Kingdom, and made our way to Donald’s. We did the photo, and ended up buying it. We hadn’t seen the photopass photographers much, and never did take advantage of them, so it was nice to have a picture with all of us.
Breakfast was good, and the characters were nice to see, even if the last one was supposedly a little rushed. I don’t know for sure, because as soon as I’d finished eating, I’d gone to obtain Expedition Everest Fast Passes. We rode Triceratops Spin (except for the youngest who didn’t want any of that. I think I sat out with him, but I don’t recall what we did while they rode!) I would not let them do Primeval Whirl at that point – not right after a big breakfast! We did the Safari, and the wait wasn’t too bad. The middle boy was NOT interested in doing it (not quite sure why) but after we got off, all three adults got ‘You were right’ acknowledgements from him!
It was now time for E:E. This was the only attraction we did the Fast Pass, kid swap maximization of rides. We went up to the FP return with 4 of the passes, and the kid, and got the kid swap card. The youngest and I waited in the little courtyard area, actually on the step area for the rest of them, but we were clearly on the ‘wrong’ side of the small wall, because the rest of the group was looking for us for a while before we decided to go into the store and they saw us go in!
At this point, we’re holding 2 Fast Passes and 1 kid swap (good for up to 3 people). So Mom stays behind with the little guy, and the rest of us go off to ride again. The picture turned out REALLY good – the oldest boy and Dad were in back, and clearly happy, I was clearly happy (all of us had our hands up, I think) – and the 8 year old was holding on for dear life and look terrified. When another sister saw the picture, she was surprised to hear that was the second time in a row he’d ridden that! Obviously he liked it, because he didn’t HAVE to ride it a second time, though!
We headed to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl, after stopping to chat with the CM at the Nemo show. They were starting to let people into the show, so I asked if we had a shot at getting in if we got to the end of the line, and he basically told us not to bother, and to come back at least 45 minutes before the next show. We weren’t willing to wait 45 minutes for that, so they’ll just have to do it on their next visit. The 4 rode Primeval Whirl, and the youngest and I went to play in the Boneyard. We ended up in the dig area, and I don’t think they were looking for us too long before I figured they’d be done (but they were looking for a little bit, that Boneyard is quite large)! I still really like the dino-footprint sound areas, and I’m a few years past the target audience for the area!
At that point, we decided to get Fast Passes for Kali River Rapids. Oh boy, I sure picked the wrong line. I think the Fast Pass return went forward 35 minutes while I was in line! Finally got the passes, after my brother-in-law came to look for me. He asked what I needed, and I knew I needed to get some water RIGHT THEN if I was not going to bite off a head or two. Fortunately, we had a bottle in the backpack still (we brought two bottles in, and my Brita sports bottle, so I knew at least I could use that). While they were waiting for me, they went to go measure the youngest. He was not in the mood to ‘stand tall’ and when the CM put her hand on his head to see if it fit between his head and the sign, he ‘squished down’ a little more. So it looked like we wouldn’t all 6 get to ride.
We decided it was time for lunch and decided on Pizzafari. GREAT choice. The boys all ate really well, I had the chicken salad, and there wasn’t a huge line, even though it was right at noon. As we were leaving, the line looked to be about twice as big! Because we were all not going to be able to ride Kali, we decided we didn’t want to do it, so we gave the Fast passes to a family of 6, so that at least someone would benefit from my dehydration!
We did a little shopping, had ice cream, and walked up to the Tree of Life. Nobody was up for doing the whole trail, but I think they would have really enjoyed it. It ended up being one of the hottest days of the year so far in Orlando on that day, and we were really all showing the signs of that, and of our early mornings/late nights.
So we headed out of the park, and just as we’re arriving at the resort, I ‘broke’ the 3 yr old who was sitting on my lap. He was OUT like a lightbulb.
The rest of the crew was heading to my brothers to visit with their cousins that afternoon, so they’d already checked out of their room. We just put all their luggage in my room, so it didn’t have to sit out in the back of the mini van, or with Bell Services, for the day. The little guy and I took a nap, while the other 4 went for one last swim and to play a few video games. ONLY because he was already asleep did the 3 yr old start his nap before me. I am not even sure the rest got out of the room before I was in dream land.
We got their car loaded, and shared hugs all around, and they headed off into the sunset. Now, time for doing only what I wanted to do!
I changed, and headed over to the Magic Kingdom. I hadn’t had a chance to do Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor Comedy Club, and wanted to do that this evening. It’s a cute show, but if you want to see the well-themed bulletin boards, make sure you stay to the left as you go into the second holding area (through the ‘activated door’). I rode the TTA and did another show of Monsters Inc. It wasn’t much different from the first, with the exception of the jokes text’ed in by the audience.
I browsed a little on my way out of the park (bye bye Castle, until next time, whenever that will be!), and then made my way to the Contemporary. I had a 9:20 ADR for California Grill. I checked in a little after 9 (after chilling on the 4th floor for a little while) and went up to the lounge area to await my table. I was seated a little after 9:20 in the back room, just about as far away from the castle as could be. It took a while for a waiter to come talk with me, and when one did, I got the impression he was the ‘backup’, but he’s really the only one of the two that I really interacted with. I could have had them hold my order so that I could go to the balcony to watch the fireworks (at 10), but by that point I was in need of real food, so decided to skip that part of the evening. I was kind of bummed, but it was the best decision for the situation. I started out with the asparagus and had the halibut with a duck ravioli for my entrée. I knew I wanted wine, but really couldn’t figure out what would go with that, so I did what any smart person would do in this situation – I asked my waiter! He suggested a fantastic Syrah that I unfortunately didn’t write down the name of, I and I didn’t take a picture of the wine menu! It was Room something. I even went to my local wine shop to ask them, and they had no clue, so I’m going to have to email the restaurant and see if they can help me. (Unless one of you smarties out there knows it!) I finished off with the Banana Fosters-like dessert, at the suggestion of my waiter (he grew up in Louisiana, so we’d chatted about that through the evening, and said it reminded him the most of New Orleans!)
I did not feel like taking the monorail and then bus back to the resort, so I got a cab. He made a wrong turn, though, and it ended up almost $20. He went clear around by the Poly, and I think he could have followed the signs to the Wilderness lodge and gone on the ‘back’ road. But oh well.
I slept REALLY well that night!
Wednesday, April 4, 2006 – Epcot and home
When I’d booked my trip, the Southwest schedule wasn’t out, but the current schedule did not allow for park time on my last day if I was going to catch the last non-stop to MSY. When they opened up the next set of flights, the last flight was moved back, and that meant I could do something besides a big breakfast on my last day!
So, I hit Epcot! I’m glad I did, because they had even MORE Flower and Garden stuff up, including the Pirate Ship out front, with Peter Pan, Capt Hook, Tinkerbell, and the Crocodile – and Stitch along for a ride in the dinghy. I did the Imagination ride, tried to find the Jamminators, and waited for World Showcase to open. Alas, I didn’t read the schedule quite right, as the Jamminators were only out on Thursday, of the Wed/Thurs Times Guide. I REALLY wanted to see the 12:30 show of the Voices of Liberty, but considering I was supposed to catch the 1:20 DME bus, I didn’t think that would be a safe thing to do. I PROBABLY could have made it, but it wasn’t worth the headache if I just missed a bus to the resort. So I finished up walking World Showcase, took lots of pictures, and a bus was there, just waiting for me when I got to the bus stop. I had lunch at the resort food court, and had plenty of time to catch the bus.
Uneventful flight home (those are the best kind!) and I was ready (sort of ) for work on Thursday morning.
Final comments
I’m really glad we didn’t do the dining plan. It would NOT have made sense for us, especially since even our counter service meals were not ‘full’ dining plan meals. Additionally, we would have had to get packages, with everyone getting the same type of ticket, and I already had an Annual Pass, so I would have had to buy a 3 day park hopper.
I was really glad we didn’t have any other ADRs. We did JUST FINE with the counter service meals we had for the non-character meals, and having another timed thing would have added extra stress to the vacation that we did not need. And it’s a lot quicker to eat at counter service, and when you only have 3 park days, that makes a big difference.
I highly recommend the ‘First Visit’ buttons (we got them at the resort check-in desk, I’m pretty sure Guest Services at any park has them as well). A lot of CMs used it to ask how the boys were enjoying their first trip.
We did NOT get a stroller for the 3 year old. He’s a fairly lightweight kid, and he did get carried some, but the stroller would have been more trouble then the effort of carrying him a little created.
The first time I was taking the 3 year old to the restroom, his Mom told me I needed to cover the ‘eye’ so it didn’t flush right when he was finished. Yep, another thing I’d forgotten until presented with the problem. I’d read here that you can use a post it note to cover the eye and then take it off when the KID is ready for it. Since I generally don’t travel to Disney with post it notes, we used one of the stickers the boys got on the first day and just peeled the backing off a little, and it worked just great. By not pulling off the whole backing, it was easy to remove the sticker.
I had been going through a little bit of a crisis because I didn’t have any more trips to WDW planned (even though I am going to Disneyland at the end of the month for ‘research’ before participating in MouseAdventure). It had been a LONG time that I’d left WDW without another trip fairly well planned, if not actually booked (and my AP doesn’t expire until November!). Well, I’m getting ready to book at trip in October, so that I can use the Tower of Terror run as a ‘carrot’ to get on my treadmill on a more consistent schedule.
Travel method: Plane, DME and rental Car
Resort: Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ)
Accommodations: 2 standard connecting rooms
Ages Represented in Group: Adults and kids, first timers to lucky 13th trip
The Krewe:
Drince88 – Auntie extraordinaire and tour guide
Mom – My sister, Mom to 3 great boys – 3rd trip to WDW, both other times just to MK
Dad – My Brother in Law, Dad to those three great boys – 1 other trip, MK only
Nephews – 10, 8, and 3. – first trip for each
(Krewe is the ‘New Orleans’ spelling of Crew, used for Mardi Gras parading organizations)
Planning:
Yippee, my sister and her family decided they were going to go to WDW for their spring break, and then finish off the week visiting our brother and his family in Southern Georgia. With 3 boys, they were limited in the locations they could stay in one room, unless, of course, their loving Aunt joined them, and had a boy or two in her room. Shucks, I guess that’s just what we’ll have to do! Another sister and her husband really wanted to come along too, but with the anticipated arrival of another nephew, or a niece at the end of April, we didn’t think that would work too well, with traveling from Portland, OR!
I let them decide the ‘level’ of resort (value, moderate, deluxe) and then I planned on adding my 2 cents to the decision. They decided moderate, because they wanted a slide on the pool, and we settled on Port Orleans French Quarter, because it’s a smaller resort, the ease of visiting Downtown Disney on the first day, and the pool.
I figured there would be very few, if any, discounts available for our stay, since we were going the week before Easter, and I was right. They had discounts available for arrivals as late as March 30. We were arriving March 31st! We decided to use Small World Vacations to book the room so that we could get them easily ‘associated’ with each other in Disney’s books. Our great Travel Agent (LeslieM) suggested that there WAS a AAA discount available to us, but we’d both have to be AAA members (since there were two reservations). No problem, the cost of the AAA membership was less than the savings, plus now we both have AAA for a year!
My sister decided on 3 days in the parks, so that they still had time to spend with our brother. They knew that they were not going to see everything, and that it would be crowded, and maybe hot, so we were not going to over schedule ourselves, and were going to make sure we knew what the ‘must dos’ for everyone were so that we met those expectations. I also told them I’d be a task master the first 2 hours in the parks, and then we’d play it by ear after that.
For planning, they had a version of the Unofficial Guide, and I got the boys a Birnbaum’s For Kids, By Kids, which really helped with the 8 year old who ‘needs to know’ what’s going to happen.
We decided on Crystal Palace to have lunch with Pooh and his friends, and another character meal at Donald’s Breakfastosaurus. Other than that, we didn’t make any ADRs, knowing full well that we were unlikely to be eating at any location other than counter service. But we did NOT want to make any reservations after about 1:00, since we didn’t know how late we’d stay in each park and how long of a break we’d be taking. We decided NOT to do the dining plan based on our decisions about reservations, the anticipating eating levels of the group, and the requirement that everyone in the room(s) have the same tickets to be able to get it (especially since I have an active AP)
We looked briefly into the ‘Veteran of the Day’ for my brother in law, but with our desire not to have something scheduled in the late afternoon, this was soon discarded. He would have really liked to have been part of the flag retreat, though.
Initially, they were going to fly from Portland, OR (PDX) to Orlando (MCO) on Saturday the 31st, but they ended up doing a red eye Friday night. They were scheduled to arrive about an hour before I was, on my non-stop from New Orleans (MSY). Because they were going to visit Southern Georgia after the WDW portion, they rented a car from Payless through Travelocity. There was a little concern about the off-site location and some unfavorable reviews, but everything worked out ok. They were also going to stop by a grocery store and get a few munchies, and Pepsi for my brother in law, since he’s not a Coke drinker.
I’d decided that we needed to wear ‘matching’ shirts one day, and everyone agreed to humor me. So I let everyone pick their own ‘front’ and had shirts made up at zazzle.com. It was nice, because all the shirts were the same exact color. There’s no way I could have found that locally with the range of sizes involved. I then added a saying to the back using Ink Jet printer iron-on transfer paper. The boys all said “Storming the Castle for the First Time”. Dad’s shirt said “Storming the Castle for the Second Time” and Mom’s said “Storming the Castle for the Third Time” Mine matched and celebrated my 13th trip!
Transportation, meals, lodging, matching outfits – that’s about all the heavy planning we did, aside from me pouring over ‘touring plans for busy days’ trying to decide the order of those first two hours in the park, and trying to figure out how MUCH we might be able to do before the parks got crowded. I used what I knew about the popular rides, what we really wanted to do, and touring plans from www.touringplans.com. I felt it was worth the little cost to just get a little more information for the very busy time of the year. I debated about subscribing to Tour Guide Mike, but in all honesty, there was something that made me uncomfortable about the ‘double pinky swear secrets’ that seemed to be required if you did subscribe to his site. Also, I didn’t want to have to worry about ‘did I read that on Mike’s site or somewhere else’ when I was sharing tips in this report and when posting elsewhere on the pad.
March 31, 2006
Well, it really started March 30th for everyone else, since Continental changed their flight from early early Saturday morning to late late Friday night. Due to delays in Houston for them, and for my plane in Houston before arriving in New Orleans, we were both delayed, but not significantly, in our arrival at MCO. I called them when I was on the DME bus, and they had JUST gotten the car, so I knew I would have a little bit of a wait at the resort for them I had essentially no wait to check in at DME, and just a short wait for a bus, and then the bus took off from the airport shortly after the first wave of people loaded. I fully expected to have had to wait a little longer for the bus to fill up before leaving, but we left with it about ½ full. Stopped at Old Key West and Saratoga Springs before my stop at POFQ, with continued service to POR and the FW Campgrounds. I guess they count POFQ and POR as one resort, since I didn’t think they had any routes with more than 4 resorts on them.
I grabbed a water at the food court, and went out to the entry to await their arrival. I hadn’t seen them since Christmas, and was looking forward to those first hugs! RIGHT as they pulled into the parking lot, a big bus came in, blocking my view, so I couldn’t be sure it was them until my Brother-in-law came bounding across to give me a hug! He went back to help get the kids out of the car, and I soon got 4 more big hugs.
We went to check in, hoping that our request for connecting rooms would be granted. There was no line (this is early afternoon) and our rooms were ready, and were connecting! Yea! Disney will only guarantee connecting (door in between, without having to go outside) if there are 2 or fewer ‘real’ adults in 2 rooms. I walked to the rooms with two of the boys, and the other boy and the parents took the car around to the nearest parking lot. We ended up with a really nice location – building 2, 3rd floor, on the end nearest the main building, room 2348 and the connecting room. It was nice being on the end, since the room had 2 windows and therefore a little more light. The only down side was that the elevator was in the middle of the building, which was a little bit of a hassle when checking in and out.
When we checked in, other CMs gave each of the boys about 10 stickers – the youngest decided he wanted to wear all of them right then! We also got ‘first time’ buttons for the boys.
After a swim (including the youngest going down the slide exactly once – he was happy at the top, and then decided about half way down that he wasn’t sure how this was going to end!) we changed, and hopped the boat to DTD to do a little shopping and have dinner. I’d checked about getting an ADR for Raglan Road before I got to the pool, but they were not taking any more ADRs. I figured that was code for ‘all booked up’ but that didn’t turn out to be the case.
We stopped for pirate tattoos for the boys, and then stopped at the Lego store and shopped there for a bit (the boys were a little bummed they didn’t have a bigger selection of some item, though). We decided it was time for food, and since it wasn’t far away, went to Raglan Road to check it out. I think it was about 5:00 at the time, and they were able to fit us in without any wait! Dad and I had the pork loin stuffed with sausage, and Mom had the Shepherd’s pie. I don’t recall what the boys had – at least one order of chicken strips and fries, though. The soda bread and Guinness reduction with oil was very yummy, too. We didn’t have any appetizers, or any dessert, and were plenty full (even given how little everyone had eaten that day with the traveling).
After getting fueled and hydrated, we walked through the World of Disney store, walked through the Mickey sports store, and made our way to ‘Once Upon A Toy’ for one of the planned highlight of the evening: Build your own Lightsaber! I was mentally pretty wiped at that point, and the thought of the task of putting together parts in a specific order with an excited boy was putting me on mental overload – so I went and filled a Potato Head Box with Disney specific items while they put the sabers together. I could have fit more small parts in, but Mom had sent me off with instruction of not getting a bunch of eyes and ears that weren’t Disney specific!
I think that was all we did there, and we made our way to the dock and back to the resort. Magic Kingdom was first up in the morning, with an 8:00 opening, and Dumbo was calling a few names, so we knew it would be an early day.
Sunday April 1st – MK and Epcot!
After a wakeup from Stitch and Mickey (gotta love the Speakerphone option!) we stopped by the food court for a bit of a bite. The Beignets were proclaimed ‘not as good as Café du Monde’ (but they did get all eaten!) and the rest of the food (Mickey waffle, bacon and sausage, bagel, banana, I think) was inhaled quite well by the group. We’d used some of our eating time getting ready, and did quite well getting food into everyone in a short time. We were soon on the bus and at the Magic Kingdom. Here’s one area where I failed in my Tour Guide duties. I totally forgot that we needed to keep track of who’s park ticket was who’s for the 3 older ones (that use biometrics) until after I’d collected the last ticket. Oops! Fortunately, we did get them redistributed correctly for the next time, and then they signed the backs so we didn’t have to worry about that!
We were through the gates and waiting in front of the train station when they opened the parks – wearing our matching shirts. We walked down Main Street together. It was nice seeing the boys’ faces when they turned that corner and saw the castle for the first time! We parted ways at the hub, and I went to Space Mountain to get Fast Passes. By the time I was back in Fantasyland, they were just getting ready to board Dumbo, so I was able to be there for them to wave to! We were then going to hit Big Thunder Mt Railroad, but as we walked past Peter Pan, there was absolutely no line. NONE. So we rode that first. The boys probably could have used a little back story (We’re going to ride pirate ships and go over London to Never Land and see Peter Pan fight Capt Hook), but no problems with it. We got a rider swap pass for BTMRR, and used ‘both parts of it’ right away. Fast Pass returns hadn’t even started yet, so they just had us go through the regular queue, which wasn’t a problem. We then hit Splash Mountain, again using both parts of the rider switch. It’s nice having the small kids area right there, with the restrooms nearby for waiting!
For those not familiar with rider switch passes, you go to the CM at the entrance to any attraction with a height requirement, ‘show them’ the kid that’s too short, and they give you a pass. After the first group goes, 3 people (the one that stayed behind, plus up to two others) can go on the ride, usually using the Fast Pass return line. You don’t have to use them right away, but they are only good for the day that you got them. You can also combine them with Fast Passes, which we did for Expedition:Everest.
Right as we’re walking off from Splash Mountain to go use our Space Mountain Fast Passes, the train arrived, so we did a 180 and rode the train to the Toon Town/Tomorrowland station. While the first group was riding Space Mountain with the Fast Passes, the three year old and I went to get Fast passes for Buzz. Buzz is a ride that I will almost NEVER do without a Fast Pass. The ceiling in the queue is too low and makes the din almost unbearable to me. As soon as they were done with Space, we went to ride the Indy Cars. I didn’t really feel like riding Space, and Dad didn’t feel like riding the Cars, so (unknownst to the boys) he used one of the other Fast Passes to hit Space Mountain while we did the Indy Cars. Timing was just about perfect!
We then used the FPs for Buzz (I “won”, thank you very much!) and then got ice cream. While they were taking pictures at the Indy Car outside the Speedway and getting the ice cream, I walked over to get FPs for Pooh. After ice cream we hit the Teacups, and then used the FP for Pooh. Yes, the return times were fairly close to the time for getting the Fast passes, especially for the ‘minor’ attractions. At this point it’s about 11:30, and we haven’t taken our pictures in our matching shirts in front of the castle yet. And I did NOT want to risk another eating session! (A little bit of chocolate was spilled on one, but it was well camouflaged by the design). So we did that, then went to go see about Pirates. The wait was going to be pushing it with our ADRs, and we knew there would be some required time in the Pirate shop (the boys all got some Disney Dollars and Gift Cards at Christmas for their souvenirs). While everyone was shopping, I went back out to where I thought the Pirate Tutorial would be held, and asked a CM when the next show would be. He gave me times about an hour out, and 2 hours out. (For some reason, it wasn’t listed on the Times Guide this week, nor could the custodial CMs in Tomorrowland find it on their entertainment guide). As we were finishing up our transactions, the CM in the store said that Capt Jack Sparrow would be outside in just a couple of minutes. YEA! That means we could do that before lunch! I guess the first CM forgot about that show.
Mack (Mac?) came out and started the tutorial in the little alley way beside Pirates, towards the hub. After a bit, Capt Jack joined him, and they used 3 kids to ‘train’ in the fine art of pirate dueling (touch, touch, touch – “Oh look, it’s the Governor’s Daughter” – and flee!) then they drafted most all of the kids into future service as pirates, and they received their draft papers (which I never did look at!)
We then headed to the Crystal Palace and a LONG check-in line for our 1:00 ADRs. I’m not sure when we got seated, but it wasn’t too long of a wait (but plenty long enough with the crowded porch, warm temps, and hungry bodies). We had a great server who did a decent job of keeping our drinks filled, but he was a little off in his advice that we could get a round of food after the first character came to visit, but before the second. We were the first table in the route in our half of the restaurant, so it made it a little harder to judge when they’d be at our table. We got to meet everyone (Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet) and the boys (including the biggest one) got to ‘Bounce’ with Tigger! The food was pretty good, too. I especially enjoyed the curried noodle dish and the cucumber salad. And the desserts weren’t too bad either!
The three year old was REALLY concerned during the character meal. We had told him we were going to eat with Pooh and his friends, but then they weren’t eating with us! Fortunately, he was able to notice when they took a short break, so he could relax a little bit about them ‘not eating’.
We used Fast Passes we’d gotten before lunch for the Jungle Cruise, and the oldest got to drive the boat at the end! He got a license and everything! The boys then went to the shooting gallery (boys will be boys) and when they were done it was well past time to go back to the resort for a nap.
Throughout the day, we got quite a few nice comments on our shirts, including ones from CMs, so I was happy that everyone had agreed to do it!
After a swim and nap, we decided to try Epcot and see what we could do there. There was no line at Spaceship Earth, so I ‘made’ them do that. We had an extra long stop just after we started going back down, I think something besides loading a guest needing a little extra time was going on. We then decided it was time to get some food, so we went to the Cantina in Mexico. It was pretty crowded, but it didn’t take long from when we finally ordered, to when we got our food. Probably is helped by the fairly limited menu.
We had a little bit of time before Illuminations, but not a whole lot (it was a long swim and nap), so we walked towards Norway and found a good spot to wait it out. Everyone really liked the show (which was good, because I hadn’t earned too many points with Spaceship Earth – none of them really liked it much), and then we hung out waiting for the rush of the crowds to leave.
We didn’t have an excessive wait for the buses, but I think we did end up standing on this one, as the last group to get on the bus. They seemed to be pulling two buses into each stop (starting at the last one the buses got to) so that they could load the outer bus while a guest in a wheelchair was being loaded into the first, so the lines were moving pretty swiftly.
We were ready for bed at this point, and glad we had an extra hour to sleep in the next morning (since Epcot didn’t open until 9).
Monday, April 2, 2006 – Epcot, then MK
Just a planning point I wanted to mention here. MK had evening EMH on Sunday, and it was getting pretty crowded that afternoon, so we decided to NOT go back to the MK after our rest and relaxation. I think that did pay off, since MK was not all that crowded after the fireworks on Monday, when we did stay until midnight. This also made the decision to buy Park Hoppers a worthwhile one.
This morning we were going a little slower, and since everyone had seen what was in the food court the morning before, I ‘took orders’ and went down to fill it. This worked out great, as the boys then had a little more time to wake up. We rode the bus to Epcot, and Mom took the boys the ‘short way’ (no bags) while Dad and I went through the centralized bag check. We were waiting in line (although not at the front) when they started letting people into Epcot. We did take a minute to sign the back of the park passes (after everyone successfully getting through the gates with the ones we thought!) but went pretty directly to The Land to ride Soarin’.
Since we got right there, and there was no ‘Fast Pass merge in’ going on yet, we decided to actually just ride the attraction (using rider switch). The little guy and I waited and waited and waited. Oh my. If I’d realized we were going to be waiting an hour for them, we would have agreed to meet at the kidcot station and not just right at the exit. We decided at that point to use the second half of the kid swaps at a later time, since there were two other attractions we ‘needed’ to do before it got to late. We decided to get Fast Passes for Mission:Space and do stand-by for Test Track. That was a good decision, since they had the same standby wait, but Mission:Space had a much earlier Fast Pass return time. The little guy and I got the Fast Passes, and then went to the kidcot station ‘to color’. We had fun doing that, and it wasn’t too busy of a station, so we were able to chat with the CM a little bit too. We also ‘shopped’ (there’s lots of cars that make noise there) and looked at the big cars.
By the time they’d exited, it was time for Mission:Space. We decided I should ride it first with Dad and the two older boys, and they decided they were all up for the full intensity version. I have no problems with it, so I was cool with that decision. When we were done with our astronaut training session, Mom went with one of the boys, while the youngest continued to play in the tunnel area at the exit. The attraction got a thumbs up from all but the youngest, since it was now fairly late in the day, and he hadn’t gotten on any attraction yet. Time for Nemo!
We went over to the Seas and the line seemed quite long, but the CM said it wasn’t too long of a wait (he gave us a time, I just don’t remember it). It is really amazing how the line keeps moving when you have an omnimover ride and no Fast Pass merge in. The boys enjoyed it (I can’t decided if I like the angler fish, jelly fish, or the starfish (Peach?) at the end the most). We went to see about Turtle Talk with Crush, but there was a show going on, and the queue was full for the following one – so we went to eat! We decided on the Electric Umbrella. The previous night as we were walking by, I finally realized WHY it was called that. I had NEVER seen the umbrellas inside before. I’ve never eaten there in the evening, and I guess I usually go out the other side toward the exit? I’m not sure why, but it was kind of a lightbulb when I saw them.
After some refreshment (it was fairly crowded, but we didn’t have too long of a wait for the food), we headed back to talk with Crush. The show seemed a little ‘flat’ to me – I’m not sure if it was because of the bigger theater, if the kids weren’t as ‘cute’ as they sometimes are, or what. After that, we split into two groups. Mom, Dad and the 2 younger boys went to MouseGears, and then back for a swim and a nap, while the oldest boy and I decided to see the American Adventure, and use the second half of the kid swaps for Soarin’ and Test Track.
I also really wanted to listen to the Voices of Liberty, and so we went directly there to catch the 3:30 show, and the American Adventure show after that. We didn’t saunter too slowly around the World Showcase, but I did stop a couple of times to snap pictures of the displays being set up for the Flower and Garden show opening later that week. We then did Test Track and Soarin’. As we’re heading out of the park, I decided we better check in with Mom & Dad – it was almost 6:00 at this point! If I’d been thinking faster, I would have arranged to meet them at the Magic Kingdom, and we would have monorailed over there (the boys never did get to ride the monorail), but as it was, we went back to the resort and met up with them there.
Oh, we did do one small time-killer in between Test Track and Soarin’. We were going by Club Cool, and I just HAD to get the 10 year old with Beverly. “Here, try this, it’s my favorite drink”. He didn’t appreciate it. (And then I gave him some of the watermelon to wash away the taste).
We headed off the Magic Kingdom with 4 things on our list, 3 that were absolute Must Dos. As we arrived, I booked it to Big Thunder Mountain, and was able to get Fast Passes for later that evening! We weren’t sure they would still be available, but they were good for after the fireworks! I met up with the group at Casey’s (the middle boy was hungry for hot dogs) and then we went to attack the first ‘must do’ on our list: Pirates! It wasn’t an excessively long wait, and everyone enjoyed it.
We had a little bit of time yet, so walked up the Swiss Family Treehouse (request) – I think this was the 2nd time I walked up this attraction in all my visits, and the previous trek would have been when I was 17 with the whole family! There was a very short line at the Aladdin carpets, so we did that, too. Unfortunately, the 3 year old decided he didn’t want to do that, so he and Dad sat it out. Fortunately, Dad caught the start of Spectromagic out of the corner of his eye through the ‘shortcut’ by the Country Bears, so they watched just about the whole parade, and when we were through with our Magic Carpet Ride, we joined them and saw most of it.
On our way into Epcot that morning, the boys made wishes in the fountain, with the youngest ‘wishing he could meet Mickey Mouse’. We knew his wish would be granted the next morning, but we were surprised it was granted that night when he saw Mickey in the parade!
We had the ‘brilliant’ idea to watch the fireworks from the Swiss Family Treehouse. Well, not such a brilliant idea. Although there is a great view of the castle from there, the fireworks are enough behind and above it, that the overhang of the treehouse and the tree itself blocked much of the view. So down we went, and back over to Frontierland to watch the rest of the show. That knocked number 2 off of the must-do list! (Fireworks)
At that point, we hit the Haunted Mansion (number 3 on the list), with absolutely no wait, and by then our Fast Passes for BTMRR were ready to be used. We did that, and still had time to ride the Carousel and got in on the last show of Mickey’s Philharmagic (the 4th item on our list to hit that night). Afterwards everyone understood why I really wanted them to see that movie.
It’s finally midnight, so we made our way to the bus stop. Some of the Dream Squad CMs were at the train station, waving to us as we were leaving. They caught the ‘first visit’ buttons, and tried to get the 3 yr old to wave to them. One even got his name to try to get his attention, and then blew him a kiss.
There wasn’t much of a wait for the bus, and we were quickly all snug in our beds.
Tuesday, April 3, 2006 – Animal Kingdom
The good news about having breakfast ADRs at park opening is that you don’t have to eat breakfast before you get on the bus. The bad news is that you have no choice but to be at the park at opening, even if you were in the parks at midnight the previous day! Stitch and Mickey woke us up that morning, but later we were questioned about ‘why didn’t they call?’ The boys were so tired they didn’t recall getting the call!
I was surprised that they didn’t have the extra entrance open for people with early ADRs – I guess they just do that when they start seating people BEFORE the park opens. We watched the opening of Animal Kingdom, and made our way to Donald’s. We did the photo, and ended up buying it. We hadn’t seen the photopass photographers much, and never did take advantage of them, so it was nice to have a picture with all of us.
Breakfast was good, and the characters were nice to see, even if the last one was supposedly a little rushed. I don’t know for sure, because as soon as I’d finished eating, I’d gone to obtain Expedition Everest Fast Passes. We rode Triceratops Spin (except for the youngest who didn’t want any of that. I think I sat out with him, but I don’t recall what we did while they rode!) I would not let them do Primeval Whirl at that point – not right after a big breakfast! We did the Safari, and the wait wasn’t too bad. The middle boy was NOT interested in doing it (not quite sure why) but after we got off, all three adults got ‘You were right’ acknowledgements from him!
It was now time for E:E. This was the only attraction we did the Fast Pass, kid swap maximization of rides. We went up to the FP return with 4 of the passes, and the kid, and got the kid swap card. The youngest and I waited in the little courtyard area, actually on the step area for the rest of them, but we were clearly on the ‘wrong’ side of the small wall, because the rest of the group was looking for us for a while before we decided to go into the store and they saw us go in!
At this point, we’re holding 2 Fast Passes and 1 kid swap (good for up to 3 people). So Mom stays behind with the little guy, and the rest of us go off to ride again. The picture turned out REALLY good – the oldest boy and Dad were in back, and clearly happy, I was clearly happy (all of us had our hands up, I think) – and the 8 year old was holding on for dear life and look terrified. When another sister saw the picture, she was surprised to hear that was the second time in a row he’d ridden that! Obviously he liked it, because he didn’t HAVE to ride it a second time, though!
We headed to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl, after stopping to chat with the CM at the Nemo show. They were starting to let people into the show, so I asked if we had a shot at getting in if we got to the end of the line, and he basically told us not to bother, and to come back at least 45 minutes before the next show. We weren’t willing to wait 45 minutes for that, so they’ll just have to do it on their next visit. The 4 rode Primeval Whirl, and the youngest and I went to play in the Boneyard. We ended up in the dig area, and I don’t think they were looking for us too long before I figured they’d be done (but they were looking for a little bit, that Boneyard is quite large)! I still really like the dino-footprint sound areas, and I’m a few years past the target audience for the area!
At that point, we decided to get Fast Passes for Kali River Rapids. Oh boy, I sure picked the wrong line. I think the Fast Pass return went forward 35 minutes while I was in line! Finally got the passes, after my brother-in-law came to look for me. He asked what I needed, and I knew I needed to get some water RIGHT THEN if I was not going to bite off a head or two. Fortunately, we had a bottle in the backpack still (we brought two bottles in, and my Brita sports bottle, so I knew at least I could use that). While they were waiting for me, they went to go measure the youngest. He was not in the mood to ‘stand tall’ and when the CM put her hand on his head to see if it fit between his head and the sign, he ‘squished down’ a little more. So it looked like we wouldn’t all 6 get to ride.
We decided it was time for lunch and decided on Pizzafari. GREAT choice. The boys all ate really well, I had the chicken salad, and there wasn’t a huge line, even though it was right at noon. As we were leaving, the line looked to be about twice as big! Because we were all not going to be able to ride Kali, we decided we didn’t want to do it, so we gave the Fast passes to a family of 6, so that at least someone would benefit from my dehydration!
We did a little shopping, had ice cream, and walked up to the Tree of Life. Nobody was up for doing the whole trail, but I think they would have really enjoyed it. It ended up being one of the hottest days of the year so far in Orlando on that day, and we were really all showing the signs of that, and of our early mornings/late nights.
So we headed out of the park, and just as we’re arriving at the resort, I ‘broke’ the 3 yr old who was sitting on my lap. He was OUT like a lightbulb.
The rest of the crew was heading to my brothers to visit with their cousins that afternoon, so they’d already checked out of their room. We just put all their luggage in my room, so it didn’t have to sit out in the back of the mini van, or with Bell Services, for the day. The little guy and I took a nap, while the other 4 went for one last swim and to play a few video games. ONLY because he was already asleep did the 3 yr old start his nap before me. I am not even sure the rest got out of the room before I was in dream land.
We got their car loaded, and shared hugs all around, and they headed off into the sunset. Now, time for doing only what I wanted to do!
I changed, and headed over to the Magic Kingdom. I hadn’t had a chance to do Monsters, Inc Laugh Floor Comedy Club, and wanted to do that this evening. It’s a cute show, but if you want to see the well-themed bulletin boards, make sure you stay to the left as you go into the second holding area (through the ‘activated door’). I rode the TTA and did another show of Monsters Inc. It wasn’t much different from the first, with the exception of the jokes text’ed in by the audience.
I browsed a little on my way out of the park (bye bye Castle, until next time, whenever that will be!), and then made my way to the Contemporary. I had a 9:20 ADR for California Grill. I checked in a little after 9 (after chilling on the 4th floor for a little while) and went up to the lounge area to await my table. I was seated a little after 9:20 in the back room, just about as far away from the castle as could be. It took a while for a waiter to come talk with me, and when one did, I got the impression he was the ‘backup’, but he’s really the only one of the two that I really interacted with. I could have had them hold my order so that I could go to the balcony to watch the fireworks (at 10), but by that point I was in need of real food, so decided to skip that part of the evening. I was kind of bummed, but it was the best decision for the situation. I started out with the asparagus and had the halibut with a duck ravioli for my entrée. I knew I wanted wine, but really couldn’t figure out what would go with that, so I did what any smart person would do in this situation – I asked my waiter! He suggested a fantastic Syrah that I unfortunately didn’t write down the name of, I and I didn’t take a picture of the wine menu! It was Room something. I even went to my local wine shop to ask them, and they had no clue, so I’m going to have to email the restaurant and see if they can help me. (Unless one of you smarties out there knows it!) I finished off with the Banana Fosters-like dessert, at the suggestion of my waiter (he grew up in Louisiana, so we’d chatted about that through the evening, and said it reminded him the most of New Orleans!)
I did not feel like taking the monorail and then bus back to the resort, so I got a cab. He made a wrong turn, though, and it ended up almost $20. He went clear around by the Poly, and I think he could have followed the signs to the Wilderness lodge and gone on the ‘back’ road. But oh well.
I slept REALLY well that night!
Wednesday, April 4, 2006 – Epcot and home
When I’d booked my trip, the Southwest schedule wasn’t out, but the current schedule did not allow for park time on my last day if I was going to catch the last non-stop to MSY. When they opened up the next set of flights, the last flight was moved back, and that meant I could do something besides a big breakfast on my last day!
So, I hit Epcot! I’m glad I did, because they had even MORE Flower and Garden stuff up, including the Pirate Ship out front, with Peter Pan, Capt Hook, Tinkerbell, and the Crocodile – and Stitch along for a ride in the dinghy. I did the Imagination ride, tried to find the Jamminators, and waited for World Showcase to open. Alas, I didn’t read the schedule quite right, as the Jamminators were only out on Thursday, of the Wed/Thurs Times Guide. I REALLY wanted to see the 12:30 show of the Voices of Liberty, but considering I was supposed to catch the 1:20 DME bus, I didn’t think that would be a safe thing to do. I PROBABLY could have made it, but it wasn’t worth the headache if I just missed a bus to the resort. So I finished up walking World Showcase, took lots of pictures, and a bus was there, just waiting for me when I got to the bus stop. I had lunch at the resort food court, and had plenty of time to catch the bus.
Uneventful flight home (those are the best kind!) and I was ready (sort of ) for work on Thursday morning.
Final comments
I’m really glad we didn’t do the dining plan. It would NOT have made sense for us, especially since even our counter service meals were not ‘full’ dining plan meals. Additionally, we would have had to get packages, with everyone getting the same type of ticket, and I already had an Annual Pass, so I would have had to buy a 3 day park hopper.
I was really glad we didn’t have any other ADRs. We did JUST FINE with the counter service meals we had for the non-character meals, and having another timed thing would have added extra stress to the vacation that we did not need. And it’s a lot quicker to eat at counter service, and when you only have 3 park days, that makes a big difference.
I highly recommend the ‘First Visit’ buttons (we got them at the resort check-in desk, I’m pretty sure Guest Services at any park has them as well). A lot of CMs used it to ask how the boys were enjoying their first trip.
We did NOT get a stroller for the 3 year old. He’s a fairly lightweight kid, and he did get carried some, but the stroller would have been more trouble then the effort of carrying him a little created.
The first time I was taking the 3 year old to the restroom, his Mom told me I needed to cover the ‘eye’ so it didn’t flush right when he was finished. Yep, another thing I’d forgotten until presented with the problem. I’d read here that you can use a post it note to cover the eye and then take it off when the KID is ready for it. Since I generally don’t travel to Disney with post it notes, we used one of the stickers the boys got on the first day and just peeled the backing off a little, and it worked just great. By not pulling off the whole backing, it was easy to remove the sticker.
I had been going through a little bit of a crisis because I didn’t have any more trips to WDW planned (even though I am going to Disneyland at the end of the month for ‘research’ before participating in MouseAdventure). It had been a LONG time that I’d left WDW without another trip fairly well planned, if not actually booked (and my AP doesn’t expire until November!). Well, I’m getting ready to book at trip in October, so that I can use the Tower of Terror run as a ‘carrot’ to get on my treadmill on a more consistent schedule.