The Not-So-Hot, But Wet and Happy Trip Report-Prologue

[jilwil]

Hello Everyone!

Well, we are back from a wonderful WDW vacation, and we have had no choice but to jump right back into life. Reality bites! My trip reports may be few and far between to begin with, so I thought I would list some observations and hit some highlights. Then I will write detailed trip reports later.

POP! Century: We have stayed at All-Star Movies, All-Star Sports (DS with his middle school band.), Port Orleans Riverside, and now POP! POP! is by far our favorite! We requested a room in the 80's section of the resort and were granted our request. I mainly wanted to stay there because the 80's were my glory days. I had read that it was inconvenient. It wasn't. Our room faced Classic Hall. We were on the third floor, room 9315. We could see Wishes! from the balcony outside our room! Mousekeeping was great! We had a very clean room all week and our first towel animals ever! We had a bear, a bee, a bird, and an elephant! The food court was a little disappointing, however, this seemed to be the overall theme of our dining experience the entire trip. We purchased the refillable mugs! WOW! Was I ever glad that we made that decision! We really used them a lot! Especially since we were on property nine days, and we bought them the first night! DH and DS loved the computer pool! It was right behind our building. We loved the overall theming! From now on, we will stay at POP! when staying at a value resort.

Crowds: The majority of the time, crowds were low. This was especially true from Friday, July 11-Monday, July 14. We couldn't believe it! Later in the week crowds were moderate. The major problem we ran into were the foreign tour groups with the guides. You know the ones. I've read about them here before on I-COT. The guides always carry the little flags. We lost count of all the different groups there were so many! In later trip reports I will address how rude they were! It became very frustrating.

Dining: Overall, we were a little disappointed with our choices. ADR's and the basic dining plan all went smoothly. Our family favorites: Wolfgang Puck's Cafe', 50's Primetime Cafe' (We had a wonderful "cousin" for our waitress! She was a hoot!), Kona Cafe', and Le Cellier. The biggest disappointment: Boma for supper! We love Boma for breakfast, but we were not impressed with our evening meal. Best snack: a cream cheese pretzel in TL in MK!

Parks: We had the most overall fun experiences at MK. However, we had some really magical experiences at Epcot and DHS! I will go ahead and share our experience on Maelstrom. When we entered the waiting area for Maelstrom, a huge thunderstorm was moving through. We boarded the ride. My family was in the front seat. We started up the first "hill", and it just seemed that the ride kept "stalling". We finally made it up the hill, and just past the vikings where the trolls pop out at you, and we completely stopped. We sat and waited, and waited. The sound went out first, and then they turned on all the lights. It sure gave everything a different perspective! We sat some more and started to get acquainted with our fellow boat mates. The family in the middle seat had also been stuck inside the COP the day before! Anyway, cast members finally came to assist us. Some of them were the CM's from Norway and some were Disney maintenance. One of the maintenance guys took our pictures with all of our cameras to capture the moment. At the point where we had stopped, there was no place to step off onto the side. They had to get a hook and pull us back. In the mean time we could still hear the thunder outside, so we were kind of glad to be stuck inside. When they finally helped us up out of the boat, we were standing right beside the viking with the horn. He is the last viking before you get to the trolls. Here is the big thrill: We actually got to touch him! I touched a real animatronic figure! Anyway, we walked all the way around to the loading area (which the CM's had emptied. It was eerie how quiet and desolate it was!), up the steps by the "hill". Upon arriving back in the que area, we were greeted by two very official looking CM's. One gave us two priority FP's for up to five guests in our party. We could use these for HISTA, Living with the Land, Maelstrom, or M:S. The other CM gave us No Strings Attached FP's. She asked what rides we would prefer. At the same time, I said Soarin', DH and DS said TT. She gave us two, one for each! It was truly like winning Dream FP's! They then escorted us out of the building. It was awesome! We would gladly get stuck on a ride or in an attraction anytime!

The Weather: YUCK! It rained "ducks and mice" the whole time we were there! Not just sprinkles mind you, but torrential downpours often accompanied by thunder and lightning. The only day it didn't rain was Monday, July 14. I developed really bad blisters just below my big toes from walking in wet shoes for so long! The upside was that it kept the temps. mild and the crowds lower than what they would have been. The highest high was probably 85 all week! I would say very mild for this time of year! The rain we experienced at AK on Saturday, July 12 was downright cold! The worst heat we encountered was in Tifton, Georgia when we stopped to eat at the Cracker Barrel on the way home. You could barely breathe!

Miscellaneous: We accomplished many firsts this trip. I will give details in future trip reports. We had an awesome time playing mini golf on Wednesday, July 16! It was a great value! We received one individual free round of mini golf with our hotel voucher. When we paid for the other two, we were told that if we saved our receipt we could all play another round for half price within 24 hours. We played at Fantasia Gardens and loved it so much, that we played at Winter Summerland later in the day. I believe it cost like $18.00 the second round for all of us to play. We also received free suckers and candy canes, a free themed golf ball each, per round (These cost $4.00 a piece if you bought them in a store on property.), and a Sharpie marker. A very good value, and we had many laughs! It was a great bonding experinence for our family!

That's it for now! I will try to type detailed reports soon, but DS starts band practices this week and band camp next week, and I am chaperoning! It may take me a while, but I will post asap! Thanks for reading!

[SuzieBell]

Great report!! Can't wait to hear more! DH got stuck on ToT several years ago! I'm curious did you use the Disney Busses or rental car? We leave in 10 days and staying at Pop! (is it too early to start packing? ) 3 years ago we were there and didn't need a car, but I've heard rumors about long lines now due to gas prices! For EMH what time should we be at the bus stop?

[Ropachs]

Thanks for the report, glad you got those great FP's! Looking forward to reading more...

[DizNee143]

sounds like a wonderful trip you and your family had..thanx for sharing the highlights and what not of the trip!!

[Lizzie]

Sounds like a great trip I am looking forward to reading your reports.

[mouseketeer mom]

Thanks for sharing! I loved reading about your experience of being stuck, it actually sounded like fun. I was also happy to hear that crowds were not that terrible for you., nor the heat. Thanks again!

[tinkerbell04]

I like the preview of the reports! Looking forward to reading more.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[dolphinmickey9170]

Wow...what an interesting report. I've never had to be evacuated from an attraction before. It sure sounds like fun. Thanks for sharing. I can't wait to read all about it. Have fun with the kiddies at band camp.

[faline]

Sounds like it was a pretty soggy trip so I was heartened to hear you describe it as "wonderful"!

I look forward to reading more of the details!

[#1disneyfan]

Sounds like you had a great vacation, despite the rain!

We went in July last year and the crowds were horrible, well the tour group crowds were horrible! I can't wait to read your thoughts on them!

Thanks for sharing!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Sounds like a great trip except for the rain

[Mackflava99]

Excellent report- thanks!
Wow we got stuck on TT a few weeks ago and didnt get any of that-

I always wondered about the mini golf- which one did you like best?

[wdwgrl377]

Great reporting! Thanks for sharing

[MauiMouse]

Wow, sounds like a great time despite the on going rain and thunderstorms. How nice of them to give you all those Fast Passes for being stuck on Maelstrom for so long.

[Mousemates]

Anyway, we walked all the way around to the loading area (which the CM's had emptied. It was eerie how quiet and desolate it was!), up the steps by the "hill". Upon arriving back in the que area, we were greeted by two very official looking CM's. One gave us two priority FP's for up to five guests in our party. We could use these for HISTA, Living with the Land, Maelstrom, or M:S. The other CM gave us No Strings Attached FP's. She asked what rides we would prefer. At the same time, I said Soarin', DH and DS said TT. She gave us two, one for each! It was truly like winning Dream FP's! They then escorted us out of the building. It was awesome! We would gladly get stuck on a ride or in an attraction anytime!

I love it when Disney makes a bad thing a very good thing.

[Bethanymouse]

So glad to hear that you enjoyed the POP. It is one of our favorites as well! Loved the story about Maelstrom. Isnt it amazing how different everything looks when the lights are on! A little creepy though I bet, with all those trolls so close! Thanks for the report and I hope to read more soon!

[ChipnDaleGal]

Sounds like getting stuck on Maelstrom actually ended up being a good thing with all those fast passes, and somewhat of an adventure. Despite your rain problems, I am glad that you had such a great trip.

[tinklover]

I am so glad someone else loves Pop as much as we do . we wer ein the 60's building facing the lake and we too could see wishes. loved your report can't wait to read more.

[yjgirl32]

well it sounds like you had a great time despite all the unfortunate events that came your way. It also sounds like you made some very special memories that you and your family will cherish always. Great report- can't wait to read the detailed reports.