Cindy'smom
03-02-2008, 11:34 AM
Just returned from a great trip! We stayed at POR 1/24/08-1/29/08. Cast of characters included myself (5th visit), DH, DD (13), DD (9) all on their fourth visit.
We departed at 9:00pm on 1/24/08. Check in was smooth and grabbed a coffee for the plane ride. I paid for two small coffees and was given two large since they were closing. I pointed out to the DDs that the magic was already on our side! I had no idea how true that was. It’s the little things in life that matter the most.....
Southwest's new boarding system. It does cut down on standing in line. However, it still feels like a cattle call. I did online check in the night before, 15 minutes late since I fell asleep for a few minutes and we were already at the end of B group. A very helpful flight attendant was standing midway back on the plane assisting families to sit together. Very thoughtful and very much appreciated.
Magical Express to POR. We were held up a bit at the desk changing our resort information. We originally booked POFQ and changed to POR upon discovering the pool was closed. Apparently our change info didn’t cross over to Magical Express so she needed to print new information. Once this was resolved we boarded a bus and were off without any delay (more magic)! Driver announced it would be 45 minutes, however we saw the magical gates within 22 minutes. I was jumping up and down in my seat and suppressing a cheer, wondering why everyone else was sleeping. Why isn’t everyone as excited as I am?!?!?! So it is 2:00 in the morning. So what! :yay::joy::woohoo::yay:
After several stops we were “home.” Check in was a breeze without any line (one benefit of a very late check in). I had faxed a request for a building near the main building the night before and my wish was granted! Building #14! After a quick walk to the room we were quickly asleep at 3:00am. Dreaming Disney dreams….knock, knock…..castle…..knock, knock…Mickey…knock, knock….Soar’n…knock, knock….Everest….knock, knock….Tower of Terror…RING, RING. What is that noise? Make it stop! I meant to ask them to hold our bags until later in the morning, but forgot. Our bags arrived at 4:30am, and when I incorporated the knocking into my dream, they called on the phone. Ugh. Tip for the day: Request your luggage to be held until you wake up!:thumbsup:
Much to my surprise, the family was up by 8:30. We headed to the food court for breakfast. Now, keep in mind that I have vowed to not stay at value resorts anymore because the food courts are just too big and bright and loud for me. Too much stimulation. It gives me a headache. Wow! This one was packed! People everywhere. The food service area would be a very easy place to loose a child. Absolutely PACKED! We did not find other times of day to be so bad, but mid morning was definitely a time to avoid the food court!
After breakfast we enjoyed the pool for several hours. Temps in the 70s and sunny. Ahhhhhhh. I could get used to this! We didn’t get to use the hot tub as it was packed with small children the whole time we were there. It is a huge resort. One hot tub just doesn’t seem adequate. Oh well. We enjoyed the pool.
We showered, grabbed a snack at the food court, and headed to Epcot. As I feared, fast passes for Soar’n were gone and the standby line was 80 minutes. We enjoyed the refurbished Spaceship Earth. DDs really got a kick out of the screen and the interactive component. Very cool. I know this has received mixed reviews, but they really got a kick out of it. Grabbed fast passes for Test Track (we wanted to ride in the dark), embarked on a Green team mission to Mars, and then enjoyed a clam mobile ride to Turtle Talk. This is always such a riot! We enjoyed the new entrance area to Turtle Talk. The rays were very frisky and put on quite a show for us. Very cool! After the show we leisurely explored the living seas. Living with the Land was a walk on. We love the greenhouse section! DD(9) was really into the hydroponics as they are experimenting with that in school.
We leisurely made our way around the countries to Morocco for dinner. We tried Marrakesh for the first time. I’m glad we tried it, but I don’t think we would return. The restaurant was beautiful and the belly dancer talented and enjoyable. It was extremely loud when the music was playing. To the point that I had to read our waiters lips. DDs and I shared two chicken dishes, and DH tried the lamb. He wasn’t thrilled with his, wishing there was more seasoning on it. I guess he is spoiled by his mother’s version of lamb. Our chicken was good, but expensive for what it was. Glad we tried it. No regrets. It just isn’t on our return list.
After dinner we made our way over to TT to ride in the dark. Just before entering the heat room the ride broke down. We waited for about 15 minutes before the lights came on and we knew we would be evacuated. Cast members made their way alone the track releasing cars and having them join the procession. At one point a man (can’t really use the term gentlemen here) decided to break away from the pack and exit on his own. The cast member called to him several times but he wouldn’t even look back. Then a woman started swearing at the cast member because “we aren’t a pack of !@#$@#$^%#$%^@ mice. You think we need to follow you like a bunch of !@$$^#%^@#$%! Mice?” Wow. :jaw: Shocking. We were given fastpasses good through 1/29 and we made our way through the mob to the busses. We missed Illuminations while we were stuck on the ride, so we had the mob to contend with. After several busses, we loaded and were standing our way home for some much needed rest.
Thoughts: Crowds were thick but I expected this entering the park mid afternoon and considering many northeast states are on vacation. People continue to shock me. I choose to look at their behavior as teaching opportunities for my DDs. Sadly, we were afforded such teaching opportunities daily. All that aside, it is so great just to be in Disney World! It puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step. The magic is alive and well.:mickey:
We departed at 9:00pm on 1/24/08. Check in was smooth and grabbed a coffee for the plane ride. I paid for two small coffees and was given two large since they were closing. I pointed out to the DDs that the magic was already on our side! I had no idea how true that was. It’s the little things in life that matter the most.....
Southwest's new boarding system. It does cut down on standing in line. However, it still feels like a cattle call. I did online check in the night before, 15 minutes late since I fell asleep for a few minutes and we were already at the end of B group. A very helpful flight attendant was standing midway back on the plane assisting families to sit together. Very thoughtful and very much appreciated.
Magical Express to POR. We were held up a bit at the desk changing our resort information. We originally booked POFQ and changed to POR upon discovering the pool was closed. Apparently our change info didn’t cross over to Magical Express so she needed to print new information. Once this was resolved we boarded a bus and were off without any delay (more magic)! Driver announced it would be 45 minutes, however we saw the magical gates within 22 minutes. I was jumping up and down in my seat and suppressing a cheer, wondering why everyone else was sleeping. Why isn’t everyone as excited as I am?!?!?! So it is 2:00 in the morning. So what! :yay::joy::woohoo::yay:
After several stops we were “home.” Check in was a breeze without any line (one benefit of a very late check in). I had faxed a request for a building near the main building the night before and my wish was granted! Building #14! After a quick walk to the room we were quickly asleep at 3:00am. Dreaming Disney dreams….knock, knock…..castle…..knock, knock…Mickey…knock, knock….Soar’n…knock, knock….Everest….knock, knock….Tower of Terror…RING, RING. What is that noise? Make it stop! I meant to ask them to hold our bags until later in the morning, but forgot. Our bags arrived at 4:30am, and when I incorporated the knocking into my dream, they called on the phone. Ugh. Tip for the day: Request your luggage to be held until you wake up!:thumbsup:
Much to my surprise, the family was up by 8:30. We headed to the food court for breakfast. Now, keep in mind that I have vowed to not stay at value resorts anymore because the food courts are just too big and bright and loud for me. Too much stimulation. It gives me a headache. Wow! This one was packed! People everywhere. The food service area would be a very easy place to loose a child. Absolutely PACKED! We did not find other times of day to be so bad, but mid morning was definitely a time to avoid the food court!
After breakfast we enjoyed the pool for several hours. Temps in the 70s and sunny. Ahhhhhhh. I could get used to this! We didn’t get to use the hot tub as it was packed with small children the whole time we were there. It is a huge resort. One hot tub just doesn’t seem adequate. Oh well. We enjoyed the pool.
We showered, grabbed a snack at the food court, and headed to Epcot. As I feared, fast passes for Soar’n were gone and the standby line was 80 minutes. We enjoyed the refurbished Spaceship Earth. DDs really got a kick out of the screen and the interactive component. Very cool. I know this has received mixed reviews, but they really got a kick out of it. Grabbed fast passes for Test Track (we wanted to ride in the dark), embarked on a Green team mission to Mars, and then enjoyed a clam mobile ride to Turtle Talk. This is always such a riot! We enjoyed the new entrance area to Turtle Talk. The rays were very frisky and put on quite a show for us. Very cool! After the show we leisurely explored the living seas. Living with the Land was a walk on. We love the greenhouse section! DD(9) was really into the hydroponics as they are experimenting with that in school.
We leisurely made our way around the countries to Morocco for dinner. We tried Marrakesh for the first time. I’m glad we tried it, but I don’t think we would return. The restaurant was beautiful and the belly dancer talented and enjoyable. It was extremely loud when the music was playing. To the point that I had to read our waiters lips. DDs and I shared two chicken dishes, and DH tried the lamb. He wasn’t thrilled with his, wishing there was more seasoning on it. I guess he is spoiled by his mother’s version of lamb. Our chicken was good, but expensive for what it was. Glad we tried it. No regrets. It just isn’t on our return list.
After dinner we made our way over to TT to ride in the dark. Just before entering the heat room the ride broke down. We waited for about 15 minutes before the lights came on and we knew we would be evacuated. Cast members made their way alone the track releasing cars and having them join the procession. At one point a man (can’t really use the term gentlemen here) decided to break away from the pack and exit on his own. The cast member called to him several times but he wouldn’t even look back. Then a woman started swearing at the cast member because “we aren’t a pack of !@#$@#$^%#$%^@ mice. You think we need to follow you like a bunch of !@$$^#%^@#$%! Mice?” Wow. :jaw: Shocking. We were given fastpasses good through 1/29 and we made our way through the mob to the busses. We missed Illuminations while we were stuck on the ride, so we had the mob to contend with. After several busses, we loaded and were standing our way home for some much needed rest.
Thoughts: Crowds were thick but I expected this entering the park mid afternoon and considering many northeast states are on vacation. People continue to shock me. I choose to look at their behavior as teaching opportunities for my DDs. Sadly, we were afforded such teaching opportunities daily. All that aside, it is so great just to be in Disney World! It puts a smile on my face and a spring in my step. The magic is alive and well.:mickey: