KatGat
05-01-2007, 04:08 PM
Myself-middle aged mother of 4 (travleling w/o them)
Buddy & co-worker-CC-middle aged mother of 3 and grandmother of 1.5
__We were a bit worried about grad nights, but we only saw a few teen groups and they were not an issue. Most were well-behaved and just having a good time.__
We just got back yesterday (4/30/07). I know some had their doubts, but my friend and I managed to see all of our must-see attractions (plus some) in this weekend. And we had a GREAT time doing it! Here's how it worked (which was surprisingly close to my spreadsheet agenda...):
Saturday, April 28:
Flight 20 minutes early but spent 40 minutes in line for the ME bus, which ate up our time savings there.
Arrived at Pop @ 1:00 - room ready, checked in & put stuff in room. Never stayed there. It was fun & bright. Quickly made sure our park bag/fannypack was ready w/essentials.
Hopped on bus & got to AK @ 2:00.
We knew FP would be gone, so we got in line for EE (40 minutes), split the best hot dog I've ever tasted from a cart between EE & Rapids. Line for Rapids was 25 minutes. We got SOAKED, even though we had ponchos across & under us. We sloshed over to the safari (35 min.) and saw more animals up close than ever. Many were in the road way. Baby giraffe walked slowly along side our jeep for a good ways. We had to stop for a duck and then a zebra. After popping into a few shops (my favorite shops are in AK), we headed to Dinosaur. Walked on, no wait. The CM said for the last hour of the day, this ride is usually very quiet. We spent a little more time here than planned since my buddy (CC) had never been. Then, off to EP. Soarin wait was 95 so instead we walked onto Spaceship Earth. It was delayed 10 minutes because there was a "breach". The CMs were scrambling and a manager-type person appeared from nowhere. Apparently a guest hopped off the ride and out of an exit door inside the attraction. Crazy. It was impressive to watch these young people keep their composure while quickly assessing the situation. It's definitely time for a rehab. The audio skipped a bit, cut out,etc. Then we went through single rider line at Test Track. *This is where I had my magical "Now I know I'm in Disney & life is good" moment as I rounded the curve @ 60 mph, hands up high in the air on a beautiful day!*
Taco at Mexico's cantina. we had ressies for San Angel but didn't want to comit to that much time. However, it took 30 minutes to order at the cantina w/ only 4 people in front of us. The employee, from Mexico City, couldn't understand me when I ordered a Taco. with only a handful of items on the menu, you'd think she would've figured it out, but I guess my southern drawl was just too much for her. Then, onto boat ride in Norway. 25 minute wait, but seemed like longer. Drunk man arguing with his girlfriend in front of us. The foul language was flying. Luckily, there weren't many children in line near us. Then we spent time in Italy looking for decorative plates and wine. We milled around and got a spot hear UK for Illuminations. I'd never seen it. It was very cool. Probably would've been too loud if my sensitve toddler were along. We flowed out to the buses with everyone, but were loaded up quickly. The transportation seemed to be very managable this trip. We stood a few times, but were happy to be on board.
Got back to Pop @ 10:00pm
Debated going to DTD. Nixed that. Went to the pool, got a drink, decided it was too windy/chilly outside and retreated to a hot bath with bath salts.
By 11:45pm it was lights out. I learned first hand what others had said about thin walls at the values. I heard a kid laughing at midnight, jumped every time I heard a loud banging on what i thought was our door. Turned out to be neighbors door. I heard a ball rolling across the floor above us, & highway traffic noise. (we requested ground floor & to be far from pool-so 70's building.) But life was good and we were at Disney, so all was right with the world! :D
For our 4 parks-in-one-day tour, see next trip report....
Buddy & co-worker-CC-middle aged mother of 3 and grandmother of 1.5
__We were a bit worried about grad nights, but we only saw a few teen groups and they were not an issue. Most were well-behaved and just having a good time.__
We just got back yesterday (4/30/07). I know some had their doubts, but my friend and I managed to see all of our must-see attractions (plus some) in this weekend. And we had a GREAT time doing it! Here's how it worked (which was surprisingly close to my spreadsheet agenda...):
Saturday, April 28:
Flight 20 minutes early but spent 40 minutes in line for the ME bus, which ate up our time savings there.
Arrived at Pop @ 1:00 - room ready, checked in & put stuff in room. Never stayed there. It was fun & bright. Quickly made sure our park bag/fannypack was ready w/essentials.
Hopped on bus & got to AK @ 2:00.
We knew FP would be gone, so we got in line for EE (40 minutes), split the best hot dog I've ever tasted from a cart between EE & Rapids. Line for Rapids was 25 minutes. We got SOAKED, even though we had ponchos across & under us. We sloshed over to the safari (35 min.) and saw more animals up close than ever. Many were in the road way. Baby giraffe walked slowly along side our jeep for a good ways. We had to stop for a duck and then a zebra. After popping into a few shops (my favorite shops are in AK), we headed to Dinosaur. Walked on, no wait. The CM said for the last hour of the day, this ride is usually very quiet. We spent a little more time here than planned since my buddy (CC) had never been. Then, off to EP. Soarin wait was 95 so instead we walked onto Spaceship Earth. It was delayed 10 minutes because there was a "breach". The CMs were scrambling and a manager-type person appeared from nowhere. Apparently a guest hopped off the ride and out of an exit door inside the attraction. Crazy. It was impressive to watch these young people keep their composure while quickly assessing the situation. It's definitely time for a rehab. The audio skipped a bit, cut out,etc. Then we went through single rider line at Test Track. *This is where I had my magical "Now I know I'm in Disney & life is good" moment as I rounded the curve @ 60 mph, hands up high in the air on a beautiful day!*
Taco at Mexico's cantina. we had ressies for San Angel but didn't want to comit to that much time. However, it took 30 minutes to order at the cantina w/ only 4 people in front of us. The employee, from Mexico City, couldn't understand me when I ordered a Taco. with only a handful of items on the menu, you'd think she would've figured it out, but I guess my southern drawl was just too much for her. Then, onto boat ride in Norway. 25 minute wait, but seemed like longer. Drunk man arguing with his girlfriend in front of us. The foul language was flying. Luckily, there weren't many children in line near us. Then we spent time in Italy looking for decorative plates and wine. We milled around and got a spot hear UK for Illuminations. I'd never seen it. It was very cool. Probably would've been too loud if my sensitve toddler were along. We flowed out to the buses with everyone, but were loaded up quickly. The transportation seemed to be very managable this trip. We stood a few times, but were happy to be on board.
Got back to Pop @ 10:00pm
Debated going to DTD. Nixed that. Went to the pool, got a drink, decided it was too windy/chilly outside and retreated to a hot bath with bath salts.
By 11:45pm it was lights out. I learned first hand what others had said about thin walls at the values. I heard a kid laughing at midnight, jumped every time I heard a loud banging on what i thought was our door. Turned out to be neighbors door. I heard a ball rolling across the floor above us, & highway traffic noise. (we requested ground floor & to be far from pool-so 70's building.) But life was good and we were at Disney, so all was right with the world! :D
For our 4 parks-in-one-day tour, see next trip report....