curealsoon
09-23-2007, 06:41 PM
My mom, DD (3) and I drove down Tuesday, September 18 from North Georgia. There is a lot of construction on I-75 but we did not encounter any delays, got to WDW via the new 429 in great time around 8 hours. Watch your speed through the construction areas on I-75, speed limits ranged from 50 to 60 and they were using radar and writing tickets. We did not get to leave as early as I had hoped so we just checked in, unloaded and got some supper from the food court. We were at Pop Century, Building 5 (60’s section) on the back side facing the lake. We had reservations for a preferred room, but were not assigned one. It took a few minutes for them to reassign us to the preferred section, still check in only took a little more that 15 minutes.
Wednesday we went to Magic Kingdom for LOMH. My DD is not a morning person so we did not get there until after 8:30. The crowd was very light as it was raining. We played with Tigger and Pooh under the awning at Mrs. Potts Cupboard and had a wonderful time. We then rode Pooh, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Carousel, and It’s a Small World all before 10 am. They were all a walk on. We had 10:20 reservations at the castle. The place was packed. It took quite a bit of time but well worth it. Probably our favorite meal. We then hopped over to Animal Kingdom, we were hoping the animals on the safari would be more active with the cooler weather and rain and we were right. We had a great safari, the wait was around 30 minutes. We also did Nemo and Lion King. Enjoyed both shows and also saw the parade. DD was getting cranky so we headed back to Pop Century around 5 for some pool time. We had dinner in to food court again.
Thursday, September 20 we had breakfast reservation at Akershus in Epcot for 10am. Breakfast was very good and the princesses were great. DD had her picture with Belle in her yellow dress which we of course purchased ($32, I think). The “appetizer” buffet was nice and the entrée was family style. The food was very similar to what is served at CRT. I like the “flow” of Akershus better that CRT. We were finished before rope drop for World Showcase. We walked thru World Showcase, DD was conductor for the day in Germany. She got to start the trains. She was thrilled. We finished strolling thru World Showcase. Did the Seas with Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush. They are both very good. I had forgotten the sunscreen so we went back to Pop before heading to MGM. It poured when we got off the bus. Fortunately I had brought raincoats. It cleared up so they were able to the parade. Then we did Beauty and Beast show, Playhouse Disney and VOTLM. DD was worn out so we headed back to our room hoping to swim. By the time we got back it was storming and the pool was closed. We had dinner in the food court again.
Friday we headed to Magic Kingdom. I had wanted to do LOMH again but DD did not get up until 8:30. We did make it just in time for the opening of Toon Town. We rode the Barnstormer first. Goofy, Donald and Pluto rode just before us. We then did Minnie’s house and had pictures with her in the gazebo, then on to Mickey house and also had pictures with him. We decided to catch an early lunch as we had a 4:30 reservation for Cinderella’s Gala Feast at the GF. We ate a CHH. Food was good and we timed it great. We then headed over to Tiki Birds and Aladdin. We liked the new Monsters Inc show and took our first ride on the TTA. DD then decided she wanted to do Splash Mountain (I don’t like water rides) but of course on I go. The wait was also only 30 minutes and it moved quickly. Thankfully I did not get very wet. We had just enough time to catch the 3:00 parade before heading to our dinner reservation. Our reservation was supposed to be at the GF Café, I thought 1900 park fare was under refurbishment. But when we got there 1900 Park Fare was open. The food was good, but it did not suit my taste. I had a hard time finding something I would eat. The stepsisters make this meal. There were so “in character”. They were great. Lady Tremaine was also very good. They definitely upstage Cinderella and Prince Charming in my opinion. We probably won’t to this one again. It just didn’t suit my taste, but if you like different type of food you would probably enjoy it. The dessert selections were beautiful and tasty. We headed back to POP to swim, thankful we didn’t have to eat supper in the food court again!
Saturday we had a 1:40 reservation at Chef Mickey’s and were heading home immediately after. I got up at 6:30, got ready, packed and loaded the car. I got breakfast in the food court and took back to the room. DD got to pick what her favorite thing to do was and we would do it again this morning before leaving. She chose Playhouse Disney. We headed over and caught the 10:30 show. We were also able to watch B&B again before heading to Contemporary. This was the only slow bus service we encountered. We waited 30+ minutes at MGM for a bus to Contemporary. (We never waited more than 10 minutes for any other bus). We did make it to Chef Mickey’s on time and were seated about 15 minutes later. I was not prepared for the birds. I have never been to the Contemporary before and did not realized there were birds inside the building from the monorail openings. I have a real hard time eating while having to protect my food and dodge birds. You kind of expect that at Animal Kingdom but not at a DELUXE resort. The characters were great, but Minnie took forever. She would do 3 or 4 tables and then disappear for 5 minutes, come back and do 3 or 4 more then disappear again. We saw everyone else 2 or 3 times before Minnie made her way around. The food was fine but I am not sure I will eat here again because of the birds. It took Minnie so long, we decided to take a cab back to Pop Century as we had a long drive home. Taxi fare from Contemporary to Pop Century was $19.50. We finished loading the car and I went to check out. We had 4 CS credits and 7 snack credit left. I used the snack credits in the food courts. I couldn’t find anything to get with the CS credits so I bought a couple’s lunch and used 2 of them. We left with 2 CS credits left.
We had a good trip home, got home just before 1 am this morning. Less that 10 minutes after we got home DD got sick. Not sure if we picked up a stomach bug or what, but she is fine now, at the park with DH.
I did not take advantage of the Bounce Back Program. We enjoyed the free dining plan but it is too much food for us. This was our first time doing table service. I know we could have gotten more “value” for our credits, but we came for the characters. It was nice to see some many of them at one time, we will definitely do character meals again. I was surprised at how many people were in the parks. The waits were not bad, but to me the parks were crowded. I cannot imagine going in the summer. I think we will try spring time for our next trip!
Wednesday we went to Magic Kingdom for LOMH. My DD is not a morning person so we did not get there until after 8:30. The crowd was very light as it was raining. We played with Tigger and Pooh under the awning at Mrs. Potts Cupboard and had a wonderful time. We then rode Pooh, Peter Pan, Dumbo, Carousel, and It’s a Small World all before 10 am. They were all a walk on. We had 10:20 reservations at the castle. The place was packed. It took quite a bit of time but well worth it. Probably our favorite meal. We then hopped over to Animal Kingdom, we were hoping the animals on the safari would be more active with the cooler weather and rain and we were right. We had a great safari, the wait was around 30 minutes. We also did Nemo and Lion King. Enjoyed both shows and also saw the parade. DD was getting cranky so we headed back to Pop Century around 5 for some pool time. We had dinner in to food court again.
Thursday, September 20 we had breakfast reservation at Akershus in Epcot for 10am. Breakfast was very good and the princesses were great. DD had her picture with Belle in her yellow dress which we of course purchased ($32, I think). The “appetizer” buffet was nice and the entrée was family style. The food was very similar to what is served at CRT. I like the “flow” of Akershus better that CRT. We were finished before rope drop for World Showcase. We walked thru World Showcase, DD was conductor for the day in Germany. She got to start the trains. She was thrilled. We finished strolling thru World Showcase. Did the Seas with Nemo and Turtle Talk with Crush. They are both very good. I had forgotten the sunscreen so we went back to Pop before heading to MGM. It poured when we got off the bus. Fortunately I had brought raincoats. It cleared up so they were able to the parade. Then we did Beauty and Beast show, Playhouse Disney and VOTLM. DD was worn out so we headed back to our room hoping to swim. By the time we got back it was storming and the pool was closed. We had dinner in the food court again.
Friday we headed to Magic Kingdom. I had wanted to do LOMH again but DD did not get up until 8:30. We did make it just in time for the opening of Toon Town. We rode the Barnstormer first. Goofy, Donald and Pluto rode just before us. We then did Minnie’s house and had pictures with her in the gazebo, then on to Mickey house and also had pictures with him. We decided to catch an early lunch as we had a 4:30 reservation for Cinderella’s Gala Feast at the GF. We ate a CHH. Food was good and we timed it great. We then headed over to Tiki Birds and Aladdin. We liked the new Monsters Inc show and took our first ride on the TTA. DD then decided she wanted to do Splash Mountain (I don’t like water rides) but of course on I go. The wait was also only 30 minutes and it moved quickly. Thankfully I did not get very wet. We had just enough time to catch the 3:00 parade before heading to our dinner reservation. Our reservation was supposed to be at the GF Café, I thought 1900 park fare was under refurbishment. But when we got there 1900 Park Fare was open. The food was good, but it did not suit my taste. I had a hard time finding something I would eat. The stepsisters make this meal. There were so “in character”. They were great. Lady Tremaine was also very good. They definitely upstage Cinderella and Prince Charming in my opinion. We probably won’t to this one again. It just didn’t suit my taste, but if you like different type of food you would probably enjoy it. The dessert selections were beautiful and tasty. We headed back to POP to swim, thankful we didn’t have to eat supper in the food court again!
Saturday we had a 1:40 reservation at Chef Mickey’s and were heading home immediately after. I got up at 6:30, got ready, packed and loaded the car. I got breakfast in the food court and took back to the room. DD got to pick what her favorite thing to do was and we would do it again this morning before leaving. She chose Playhouse Disney. We headed over and caught the 10:30 show. We were also able to watch B&B again before heading to Contemporary. This was the only slow bus service we encountered. We waited 30+ minutes at MGM for a bus to Contemporary. (We never waited more than 10 minutes for any other bus). We did make it to Chef Mickey’s on time and were seated about 15 minutes later. I was not prepared for the birds. I have never been to the Contemporary before and did not realized there were birds inside the building from the monorail openings. I have a real hard time eating while having to protect my food and dodge birds. You kind of expect that at Animal Kingdom but not at a DELUXE resort. The characters were great, but Minnie took forever. She would do 3 or 4 tables and then disappear for 5 minutes, come back and do 3 or 4 more then disappear again. We saw everyone else 2 or 3 times before Minnie made her way around. The food was fine but I am not sure I will eat here again because of the birds. It took Minnie so long, we decided to take a cab back to Pop Century as we had a long drive home. Taxi fare from Contemporary to Pop Century was $19.50. We finished loading the car and I went to check out. We had 4 CS credits and 7 snack credit left. I used the snack credits in the food courts. I couldn’t find anything to get with the CS credits so I bought a couple’s lunch and used 2 of them. We left with 2 CS credits left.
We had a good trip home, got home just before 1 am this morning. Less that 10 minutes after we got home DD got sick. Not sure if we picked up a stomach bug or what, but she is fine now, at the park with DH.
I did not take advantage of the Bounce Back Program. We enjoyed the free dining plan but it is too much food for us. This was our first time doing table service. I know we could have gotten more “value” for our credits, but we came for the characters. It was nice to see some many of them at one time, we will definitely do character meals again. I was surprised at how many people were in the parks. The waits were not bad, but to me the parks were crowded. I cannot imagine going in the summer. I think we will try spring time for our next trip!