BriarRose0708
03-23-2010, 04:49 PM
Hey friends! :mickey:
I've been back for a week since my trip and I really want to go back already! Here's the run down of our experiences from March 13th to 17th:
The cast was just my sister and me! This was my 5th trip but her first, so in the planning process over Christmas I made her go on INTERCOT and learn about all the different things we could do and she made a "must do" priority list that included Dumbo, The MK Mountain Trifecta, eating at Coral Reef, seeing Indiana Jones Show, Tower of Terror, and meeting characters. Despite the spring break crowds and only three and a half days we got to do all of that and more!
We stayed at Pop Century, where I have stayed every trip. This time I was super happy to not be in the 50's section! It's a great section but 4 times in a row I was placed there so it was great to jump 40 years to the 90's. The 90's seems out of the way, but like Jeff (JPL) says all you have to do is cut across the parking lot and badda bing, the buses are right there. I found it was just as close as the non-preferred 50's rooms. We didn't spend much time in the room other than sleeping so we didn't enjoy the amenities or walk around the hotel grounds. It was a little chilly for swimming too. I still had a great experience of Pop and it remains my resort of choice (until I can save enough to stay at the Poly that is).
We had planned on having dinner at Downtown Disney on Saturday, but both of us had delays (she was flying from Indianapolis and I was held up in Baltimore) and we didn't get to bed until almost 1 a.m. Add that with Daylight Savings and we were two very groggy people getting ready Sunday morning. No matter what the crowd levels are, my touring MO is always get to a park as close to opening as possible. It could be the slowest day at Disney and I will still be there at rope drop! We got to the MK in time to see the opening show and then filtered in with everyone to Main Street. I wasn't anticipating the sizable crowds at all. I had been in March at this time once before closer to Easter and it hadn't been as crowded. We got in line for Dumbo first and then worked our way around Fantasyland hitting up Pooh, Philharmagic, Mad Tea Party and Small World. We then went over to Space Mountain and surprisingly walked on! We have a friend from home who works full time at SM but didn't see her (we met up with her later in the trip though). We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's when it opened and it was yummy as always. Beating the crowds to counter service places was the best!
We then got in line for Buzz Lighyear, did Carousel of Progress, and then worked through Fantasyland again to Liberty Square. I dragged her on Haunted Mansion but it broke down after we got through the stretching room. We had to evacuate the ride but got fastpasses on the way out. We decided to use our FP on Big Thunder. Sitting in the back is the best place on that ride! We sat in the front later on and it didn't have the same thrill. We decided to save Splash Mountain for the last ride of the night, so we went ahead to Adventureland, rode Pirates and explored the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Wait times were moderate and we found we waited less time than what was posted. It was tough trying to navigate the crowds walking around, especially where paths are narrower and tend to bottleneck.
We left the MK around 1:45 and got on the resort monorail. We had an afternoon tea reservation at the Grand Floridian. It was nice exploring the resort as I had never been there before, my sister fell in love with it! She wants to save for a few years and stay there on her next trip. I'm more of a Poly person but I wouldn't be against staying at the GF either! We enjoyed the tea and it was a nice break in the middle of the day. There was also a wedding going on and we got to see the bride and groom in the Cinderella carriage go by.
It was cold! Relatively speaking. Where I am in western-ish NY it was about the same temperature as it was in Orlando. We had worn shorts this day but after tea went back to Pop to change into jeans. I foolishly didn't bring my fleece, which I will pay for later. We thought we'd try to find our friend again so we headed back to space mountain but still couldn't find her so we took the monorail over to EPCOT for an hour. It was just about as crowded there as in MK, but we walked right on Spaceship Earth and explored the Canada, UK and France pavilions. This was the only night to see Spectro and Wishes, so getting the most use out of our park hoppers we went back to the MK and went to Adventureland where we rode Jungle Cruise and grabbed some eggrolls for a snack. Haunted Mansion was back up and running so we got to do the entire ride this time! The first Spectro parade was happening so we were able to navigate a little more freely around and walk on to other attractions. After riding the carousel we went and got a spot for Wishes on the bridge from Tomorrowland directly under Tink's flight. It was a good show and I got a little misty-eyed as usual, but my sister wasn't overwhelmed (I learned later IllumiNations is more her style).
We then decided to fight through the crowd to Splash Mountain. Here's my pro-con list about Splash
Pro: iconic Disney ride. Con:you get wet. Pro: we walked on. Con: we got extra wet. Pro: The inside scenes are air conditioned. Con: this is usually good in the summer but not when you are soaked and it is 55 degrees. Pro: it's fun anyway! Con: I wish I had brought my fleece.
Cold and soaked we decided to skip the next SpectroMagic and leave. It had been a long but eventful day. There's wasn't too bad of a wait for a Pop bus and they sent about three of them to the stops so we were back in our room trying to warm up in no time.
I've been back for a week since my trip and I really want to go back already! Here's the run down of our experiences from March 13th to 17th:
The cast was just my sister and me! This was my 5th trip but her first, so in the planning process over Christmas I made her go on INTERCOT and learn about all the different things we could do and she made a "must do" priority list that included Dumbo, The MK Mountain Trifecta, eating at Coral Reef, seeing Indiana Jones Show, Tower of Terror, and meeting characters. Despite the spring break crowds and only three and a half days we got to do all of that and more!
We stayed at Pop Century, where I have stayed every trip. This time I was super happy to not be in the 50's section! It's a great section but 4 times in a row I was placed there so it was great to jump 40 years to the 90's. The 90's seems out of the way, but like Jeff (JPL) says all you have to do is cut across the parking lot and badda bing, the buses are right there. I found it was just as close as the non-preferred 50's rooms. We didn't spend much time in the room other than sleeping so we didn't enjoy the amenities or walk around the hotel grounds. It was a little chilly for swimming too. I still had a great experience of Pop and it remains my resort of choice (until I can save enough to stay at the Poly that is).
We had planned on having dinner at Downtown Disney on Saturday, but both of us had delays (she was flying from Indianapolis and I was held up in Baltimore) and we didn't get to bed until almost 1 a.m. Add that with Daylight Savings and we were two very groggy people getting ready Sunday morning. No matter what the crowd levels are, my touring MO is always get to a park as close to opening as possible. It could be the slowest day at Disney and I will still be there at rope drop! We got to the MK in time to see the opening show and then filtered in with everyone to Main Street. I wasn't anticipating the sizable crowds at all. I had been in March at this time once before closer to Easter and it hadn't been as crowded. We got in line for Dumbo first and then worked our way around Fantasyland hitting up Pooh, Philharmagic, Mad Tea Party and Small World. We then went over to Space Mountain and surprisingly walked on! We have a friend from home who works full time at SM but didn't see her (we met up with her later in the trip though). We ate lunch at Cosmic Ray's when it opened and it was yummy as always. Beating the crowds to counter service places was the best!
We then got in line for Buzz Lighyear, did Carousel of Progress, and then worked through Fantasyland again to Liberty Square. I dragged her on Haunted Mansion but it broke down after we got through the stretching room. We had to evacuate the ride but got fastpasses on the way out. We decided to use our FP on Big Thunder. Sitting in the back is the best place on that ride! We sat in the front later on and it didn't have the same thrill. We decided to save Splash Mountain for the last ride of the night, so we went ahead to Adventureland, rode Pirates and explored the Swiss Family Robinson Tree House. Wait times were moderate and we found we waited less time than what was posted. It was tough trying to navigate the crowds walking around, especially where paths are narrower and tend to bottleneck.
We left the MK around 1:45 and got on the resort monorail. We had an afternoon tea reservation at the Grand Floridian. It was nice exploring the resort as I had never been there before, my sister fell in love with it! She wants to save for a few years and stay there on her next trip. I'm more of a Poly person but I wouldn't be against staying at the GF either! We enjoyed the tea and it was a nice break in the middle of the day. There was also a wedding going on and we got to see the bride and groom in the Cinderella carriage go by.
It was cold! Relatively speaking. Where I am in western-ish NY it was about the same temperature as it was in Orlando. We had worn shorts this day but after tea went back to Pop to change into jeans. I foolishly didn't bring my fleece, which I will pay for later. We thought we'd try to find our friend again so we headed back to space mountain but still couldn't find her so we took the monorail over to EPCOT for an hour. It was just about as crowded there as in MK, but we walked right on Spaceship Earth and explored the Canada, UK and France pavilions. This was the only night to see Spectro and Wishes, so getting the most use out of our park hoppers we went back to the MK and went to Adventureland where we rode Jungle Cruise and grabbed some eggrolls for a snack. Haunted Mansion was back up and running so we got to do the entire ride this time! The first Spectro parade was happening so we were able to navigate a little more freely around and walk on to other attractions. After riding the carousel we went and got a spot for Wishes on the bridge from Tomorrowland directly under Tink's flight. It was a good show and I got a little misty-eyed as usual, but my sister wasn't overwhelmed (I learned later IllumiNations is more her style).
We then decided to fight through the crowd to Splash Mountain. Here's my pro-con list about Splash
Pro: iconic Disney ride. Con:you get wet. Pro: we walked on. Con: we got extra wet. Pro: The inside scenes are air conditioned. Con: this is usually good in the summer but not when you are soaked and it is 55 degrees. Pro: it's fun anyway! Con: I wish I had brought my fleece.
Cold and soaked we decided to skip the next SpectroMagic and leave. It had been a long but eventful day. There's wasn't too bad of a wait for a Pop bus and they sent about three of them to the stops so we were back in our room trying to warm up in no time.