PETE FROM NYC
09-23-2009, 03:30 PM
OK.
We left NYC on 8/31,our Expedition all loaded up.
First stop:
King's Dominion in Virginia.Not our type of park.TOO many roller coasters, not enough tamer attractions. Then when we were leaving, DW found out that some low-life stole the big magnetic deer decal off of our vehicle. We reported it to security and was told that that park gets a lot of riff-raff the last few years. I should have expected something when we had to go through a metal detector before getting into the park.
Second Stop:
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. More coasters, but some tamer things too. I recommend the Dark Castle attraction.It was better than anything we saw at any other park.
Arrived at WDW Friday, 9/4 and checked into Pop Century. My complaints about Pop are that the ice machine on our floor never worked, and the water pressure in the sink was extremely low. Mousekeeping was fine, the food court was acceptable, and the bus service was better than expected. All of the bus drivers were extremely helpful in loading/unloading our ECVs.
That first night we went to MK at 4:30 for MNSSHP, which was the first hard ticketed event we ever did. Can't wait to do it again next year.
The next eight days we did two days at each park. For the most part, crowds were light to moderate. I found out that EPCOT is the only park where we could find chilled water fountains. Toy Story Mania and Soarin' were always crowded.We were not allowed on Universe of Energy with the ECVs, and Pirates had a long walk back to the ECVs.
Our last day on WDW property was Sunday, 9/13, which we spent at Downtown Disney Market Place and had a late lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe, and did a bunch of shopping. BTW, Rain Forest Cafe has great food, even if it is a bit pricy. We used up all of our DDP credits for a change.
Then we spent an additional four days at Best Western Kissimmee Inn to visit Sea World, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens in Tampa. Sea World had no water ski show, and a bunch of the stands and kiosks were closed. Universal almost did me in. DW and I are both handicapped, she has her own ECV, but I had to rent one. The walk from handicapped parking is TOO LONG to get to the ECV rental, and they would not allow me to take the ECV back to the parking lot. I knew that I could not do the long walk back at day's end and complained at Guest Services. They arranged for a car to take me back to my car. Still, I do not think I will ever return to Universal as long as they have that long hike, I just can't do it until I have my own ECV. Other than that, Universal was enjoyable.
We also enjoyed Busch Gardens.
After we were theme parked out, we went to Clearwater to visit my aunt for two days before heading back up north.
For the duration of our stay at Pop, I rented an ECV from Apple Scooters and was very happy with both the scooter and the price. I whole heartedly give them my endorsement.
This is the first time we have ever driven to Florida. It took two and a half days each way without killing myself, and I look forward to doing the drive again next year.
Oooh! One more thing. DW and I are now DVC members, so now I know we will be coming home each year.
We left NYC on 8/31,our Expedition all loaded up.
First stop:
King's Dominion in Virginia.Not our type of park.TOO many roller coasters, not enough tamer attractions. Then when we were leaving, DW found out that some low-life stole the big magnetic deer decal off of our vehicle. We reported it to security and was told that that park gets a lot of riff-raff the last few years. I should have expected something when we had to go through a metal detector before getting into the park.
Second Stop:
Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. More coasters, but some tamer things too. I recommend the Dark Castle attraction.It was better than anything we saw at any other park.
Arrived at WDW Friday, 9/4 and checked into Pop Century. My complaints about Pop are that the ice machine on our floor never worked, and the water pressure in the sink was extremely low. Mousekeeping was fine, the food court was acceptable, and the bus service was better than expected. All of the bus drivers were extremely helpful in loading/unloading our ECVs.
That first night we went to MK at 4:30 for MNSSHP, which was the first hard ticketed event we ever did. Can't wait to do it again next year.
The next eight days we did two days at each park. For the most part, crowds were light to moderate. I found out that EPCOT is the only park where we could find chilled water fountains. Toy Story Mania and Soarin' were always crowded.We were not allowed on Universe of Energy with the ECVs, and Pirates had a long walk back to the ECVs.
Our last day on WDW property was Sunday, 9/13, which we spent at Downtown Disney Market Place and had a late lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe, and did a bunch of shopping. BTW, Rain Forest Cafe has great food, even if it is a bit pricy. We used up all of our DDP credits for a change.
Then we spent an additional four days at Best Western Kissimmee Inn to visit Sea World, Universal Studios, and Busch Gardens in Tampa. Sea World had no water ski show, and a bunch of the stands and kiosks were closed. Universal almost did me in. DW and I are both handicapped, she has her own ECV, but I had to rent one. The walk from handicapped parking is TOO LONG to get to the ECV rental, and they would not allow me to take the ECV back to the parking lot. I knew that I could not do the long walk back at day's end and complained at Guest Services. They arranged for a car to take me back to my car. Still, I do not think I will ever return to Universal as long as they have that long hike, I just can't do it until I have my own ECV. Other than that, Universal was enjoyable.
We also enjoyed Busch Gardens.
After we were theme parked out, we went to Clearwater to visit my aunt for two days before heading back up north.
For the duration of our stay at Pop, I rented an ECV from Apple Scooters and was very happy with both the scooter and the price. I whole heartedly give them my endorsement.
This is the first time we have ever driven to Florida. It took two and a half days each way without killing myself, and I look forward to doing the drive again next year.
Oooh! One more thing. DW and I are now DVC members, so now I know we will be coming home each year.