MizMissy
05-31-2010, 04:38 PM
Who:
Me - Planner - 40
DH - 43
DD -9
DS - 7
Staying at The Contemporary – check-in Sunday, May 23rd, check-out Friday, May 28th.
Arrival Day – Sunday, May 23rd
Plans today were to arrive at the hotel, check our luggage and hit the parks at opening. The kids picked MK as their park of choice. I assumed we could hit MK and Epcot today, but I quickly learned that with crowds and wait times, everything takes much, much longer to accomplish. MK had evening EMH until 2 a.m. so I expected that the park would be very crowded, but we are on vacation and I’m trying to “go with the flow.” Besides, I LOVE MK and the idea that we can walk over from our hotel.
Woke up early at the DoubleTree – well, I didn’t actually sleep very well that night, so at 6:00 I climbed out of bed and into the shower. I had hoped to arrive at The Contemporary by 8 a.m. to give us plenty of time to arrive at MK for park opening. However, not that anyone was dragging behind, by the time we all dressed, re-packed the carryon luggage, re-arranged the big bags in the truck (nothing was missing ;-)), and drove to Disney, we were closer to 8:45 arriving at The Contemporary. Oh well, so much for park opening. DH unloaded the luggage, I went in to check-in. We had checked in online, but I’m still not sure how that saved any time. It took awhile to have someone assist me, then it seemed to take awhile to get my package to me. Also, DH moved the truck after he unloaded the luggage and I realized I had my purse with me … not something I wanted to drag around all day at the parks, so it took a little more time to arrange a lock box for me to store my purse (another delay, but my fault). However, the kids were happy lounging and watching cartoons and DH was happy because he found the coffee bar right next to the check in desk. I would like to note that Judy (I think from Pittsburgh?) was our greeter when we walked through the door – she was very friendly and let us know that she would be there all week and to find her if we needed anything. Because there was no one at the online check in desk when we arrived, Judy went to find someone to assist us. She was great! What a nice CM to begin our trip. Of course, our room was not ready, but I left a number for them to text us when it was ready.
Off to MK – walked under the train station at 9:45 a.m. Ahhhh, Main Street and the Castle and of course, we were all excited to see Space Mountain on the walk over. The kids were not interested in standing in line to get pictures with the characters (no autograph books for us this trip), but they were excited to see all of the different characters in the square right when we walked in. Where to start??? Let’s hit our favorite Splash Mountain, but stopping by a few other favorites along the way. I know from past trips that it is best to cover Fantasyland in the morning because it quickly gets overcrowded (even in September … or maybe especially in September because there are lots of young pre-school age children in the parks during that time). We walked straight up Main Street, through the castle and saw that Peter Pan had a 5 minute wait. I told DH and the kids that we needed to do PP first because that line would only grow. After flying over London and across Neverland, we looked across at IASM and saw what appeared to be a line. No thanks, kids want to go right to Haunted Mansion anyway. However, the CM outside of IASM must have heard our conversation because she said that the line moved very quickly and that HM was down right then anyway. Okay … let’s see the little dolls. Then onto HM … it was open and no line at all … we walked right into the stretching room and then onto our doom buggies. I love this ride, the details are amazing. The kids love this ride also. Finished with HM, we walked towards Splash Mountain. At this point, I’m really starting to notice lots and lots of people. Oh well, I knew the crowds would be high this week, but I was hoping Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday would be less … boy, was I wrong!
Both Splash and Thunder Mountain had 40 minute posted stand by times, but Splash’s FP was a couple of hours away and TM’s FP was only 40 minutes out. So, FP TM and get in line for Splash … the line snaked all the way around outside, I think the entire queue area was opened to accommodate the crowds. The wait was about 45-50 minutes … DS is getting a little antsy at this point, he’s Disney-spoiled because he’s never stood in line (and is used to riding Splash over and over without getting out of the log), but he makes it through. DH is on the phone most of the time (as per usual … even though it is a Sunday … I will admit I was very surprised that he seemed to keep most of his business phone calls to a minimum – for him – most of the trip … I’m very proud of him for allowing himself a much needed break). Soon enough, we are loaded in our log … kids are very happy to be in the front seat because they LOVE getting splashed/soaked on Splash. Sure enough, they were soaked. DH and I were a little wet, but managed not to be dripping wet like the kids. When we left Splash, it was time for our TM FPs … FP … now this is much more to DS’s liking … he didn’t understand why we couldn’t just FP over and over every ride. After TM, we start heading towards Adventureland.
I had hoped to eat at Cosmic Ray’s because DS loves Sunny Eclipse, but we all skipped breakfast and the kids and DH were starved … DH gets very grouchy when hungry so we need to feed him on a regular basis to keep everyone happy. It was around noon and I assumed Pecos Bills would be crazy crowded, but I stuck my head inside and was pleasantly surprised that it was fairly full, but no big lines. That is the difference with going to Disney in busy times vs. September. It seems in September, not that many people are in the parks, but that means that only a few registers are open so you wait in long lines for food (but short lines for rides). At least this time, there were lots more people but all the registers were open and we waited much less time for food. DH and I had bbq pork sandwiches, DD had a “plain” hamburger – meat and bread only please, DS had a cheeseburger. Not bad, pretty good. However, the desserts were not good – I think I had a carrot cake and cookies. The cookies were not that great and the carrot cake appeared to be 3/4ths super sweet icing. Dole whips anyone???
Bellies full … onward to POTC. We waited about 10 minutes, but it was nice and cool inside. A good break from the scorching heat. Now, we live in Louisiana … so I know all about heat and humidity and the temps were about the same as home. But, you add in all that concrete and all those people with the heat and humidity??? Wow, the heat drains you. After POTC, we headed across to Space Mountain. I installed a WDW wait time app on my iphone so we knew in advance it was a 70 minute wait time. We FP (about 3:30 return time, it was maybe 1 at this time) so we hit TTA and COP. Buzz was also a very long wait, so we decided to skip it. DS wanted to see Sunny Eclipse. Upon entering Cosmic Ray’s, there were CMs directing us to the line, she would not let me cut through the dining room to head towards the exit to see Sunny….even though I tried to explain …. NOPE not allowed. So we circled through the lines, weaving around people and then to the other side to see Sunny. Once again, CMs were blocking the way, he said “Ma’am, I do not see your tray, you need to wait to enter the dining area until you have a tray.” I explained that we came in only so that my son could watch Sunny – I promised not to sit, only to stand near the exit so he could watch Sunny. “Are you sure you aren’t going to sit? You really are only going to stand out of the way to see Sunny?” “Yes, sir, I promise.” Wow … I know they are doing their jobs and I appreciate it, but that was a little over the top. So, after we watched Sunny for a few minutes, we headed out the exit. There was a little refreshment stand near the tea cups that was selling frozen slushie lemonades … Raspberry Lemonade for DH, DS and me, plain lemonade slush for DD. Still waiting on Space FP time, we headed towards Fantasyland … packed … strollers everywhere, difficult to move. Pooh had at least 50 minute wait, I didn’t dare look at Dumbo. Snow White had a long wait, ditto for Tea Cups. But Philharmagic was walk in. We waited for the doors to open and enjoyed the show. I think this is my favorite 4D picture at Disney … the colors are bright and beautiful, the effects great … I still love to watch my kids and others grabbing for the screen … that’s almost my favorite part of the show. We still had some time and I was determined to see HOP. In all my Disney visits, I’ve never managed to stop by. We were sitting outside finished our drinks and visiting with a custodial CM when he received a “Code V” at HOP … uh oh. He said he was right next door and would grab the needed “equipment.” Hmmm, the opening of the doors in HOP were delayed a bit. Upon entering the theater, we carefully inspected our seats to make sure there was no Code V in our vicinity.
Me - Planner - 40
DH - 43
DD -9
DS - 7
Staying at The Contemporary – check-in Sunday, May 23rd, check-out Friday, May 28th.
Arrival Day – Sunday, May 23rd
Plans today were to arrive at the hotel, check our luggage and hit the parks at opening. The kids picked MK as their park of choice. I assumed we could hit MK and Epcot today, but I quickly learned that with crowds and wait times, everything takes much, much longer to accomplish. MK had evening EMH until 2 a.m. so I expected that the park would be very crowded, but we are on vacation and I’m trying to “go with the flow.” Besides, I LOVE MK and the idea that we can walk over from our hotel.
Woke up early at the DoubleTree – well, I didn’t actually sleep very well that night, so at 6:00 I climbed out of bed and into the shower. I had hoped to arrive at The Contemporary by 8 a.m. to give us plenty of time to arrive at MK for park opening. However, not that anyone was dragging behind, by the time we all dressed, re-packed the carryon luggage, re-arranged the big bags in the truck (nothing was missing ;-)), and drove to Disney, we were closer to 8:45 arriving at The Contemporary. Oh well, so much for park opening. DH unloaded the luggage, I went in to check-in. We had checked in online, but I’m still not sure how that saved any time. It took awhile to have someone assist me, then it seemed to take awhile to get my package to me. Also, DH moved the truck after he unloaded the luggage and I realized I had my purse with me … not something I wanted to drag around all day at the parks, so it took a little more time to arrange a lock box for me to store my purse (another delay, but my fault). However, the kids were happy lounging and watching cartoons and DH was happy because he found the coffee bar right next to the check in desk. I would like to note that Judy (I think from Pittsburgh?) was our greeter when we walked through the door – she was very friendly and let us know that she would be there all week and to find her if we needed anything. Because there was no one at the online check in desk when we arrived, Judy went to find someone to assist us. She was great! What a nice CM to begin our trip. Of course, our room was not ready, but I left a number for them to text us when it was ready.
Off to MK – walked under the train station at 9:45 a.m. Ahhhh, Main Street and the Castle and of course, we were all excited to see Space Mountain on the walk over. The kids were not interested in standing in line to get pictures with the characters (no autograph books for us this trip), but they were excited to see all of the different characters in the square right when we walked in. Where to start??? Let’s hit our favorite Splash Mountain, but stopping by a few other favorites along the way. I know from past trips that it is best to cover Fantasyland in the morning because it quickly gets overcrowded (even in September … or maybe especially in September because there are lots of young pre-school age children in the parks during that time). We walked straight up Main Street, through the castle and saw that Peter Pan had a 5 minute wait. I told DH and the kids that we needed to do PP first because that line would only grow. After flying over London and across Neverland, we looked across at IASM and saw what appeared to be a line. No thanks, kids want to go right to Haunted Mansion anyway. However, the CM outside of IASM must have heard our conversation because she said that the line moved very quickly and that HM was down right then anyway. Okay … let’s see the little dolls. Then onto HM … it was open and no line at all … we walked right into the stretching room and then onto our doom buggies. I love this ride, the details are amazing. The kids love this ride also. Finished with HM, we walked towards Splash Mountain. At this point, I’m really starting to notice lots and lots of people. Oh well, I knew the crowds would be high this week, but I was hoping Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday would be less … boy, was I wrong!
Both Splash and Thunder Mountain had 40 minute posted stand by times, but Splash’s FP was a couple of hours away and TM’s FP was only 40 minutes out. So, FP TM and get in line for Splash … the line snaked all the way around outside, I think the entire queue area was opened to accommodate the crowds. The wait was about 45-50 minutes … DS is getting a little antsy at this point, he’s Disney-spoiled because he’s never stood in line (and is used to riding Splash over and over without getting out of the log), but he makes it through. DH is on the phone most of the time (as per usual … even though it is a Sunday … I will admit I was very surprised that he seemed to keep most of his business phone calls to a minimum – for him – most of the trip … I’m very proud of him for allowing himself a much needed break). Soon enough, we are loaded in our log … kids are very happy to be in the front seat because they LOVE getting splashed/soaked on Splash. Sure enough, they were soaked. DH and I were a little wet, but managed not to be dripping wet like the kids. When we left Splash, it was time for our TM FPs … FP … now this is much more to DS’s liking … he didn’t understand why we couldn’t just FP over and over every ride. After TM, we start heading towards Adventureland.
I had hoped to eat at Cosmic Ray’s because DS loves Sunny Eclipse, but we all skipped breakfast and the kids and DH were starved … DH gets very grouchy when hungry so we need to feed him on a regular basis to keep everyone happy. It was around noon and I assumed Pecos Bills would be crazy crowded, but I stuck my head inside and was pleasantly surprised that it was fairly full, but no big lines. That is the difference with going to Disney in busy times vs. September. It seems in September, not that many people are in the parks, but that means that only a few registers are open so you wait in long lines for food (but short lines for rides). At least this time, there were lots more people but all the registers were open and we waited much less time for food. DH and I had bbq pork sandwiches, DD had a “plain” hamburger – meat and bread only please, DS had a cheeseburger. Not bad, pretty good. However, the desserts were not good – I think I had a carrot cake and cookies. The cookies were not that great and the carrot cake appeared to be 3/4ths super sweet icing. Dole whips anyone???
Bellies full … onward to POTC. We waited about 10 minutes, but it was nice and cool inside. A good break from the scorching heat. Now, we live in Louisiana … so I know all about heat and humidity and the temps were about the same as home. But, you add in all that concrete and all those people with the heat and humidity??? Wow, the heat drains you. After POTC, we headed across to Space Mountain. I installed a WDW wait time app on my iphone so we knew in advance it was a 70 minute wait time. We FP (about 3:30 return time, it was maybe 1 at this time) so we hit TTA and COP. Buzz was also a very long wait, so we decided to skip it. DS wanted to see Sunny Eclipse. Upon entering Cosmic Ray’s, there were CMs directing us to the line, she would not let me cut through the dining room to head towards the exit to see Sunny….even though I tried to explain …. NOPE not allowed. So we circled through the lines, weaving around people and then to the other side to see Sunny. Once again, CMs were blocking the way, he said “Ma’am, I do not see your tray, you need to wait to enter the dining area until you have a tray.” I explained that we came in only so that my son could watch Sunny – I promised not to sit, only to stand near the exit so he could watch Sunny. “Are you sure you aren’t going to sit? You really are only going to stand out of the way to see Sunny?” “Yes, sir, I promise.” Wow … I know they are doing their jobs and I appreciate it, but that was a little over the top. So, after we watched Sunny for a few minutes, we headed out the exit. There was a little refreshment stand near the tea cups that was selling frozen slushie lemonades … Raspberry Lemonade for DH, DS and me, plain lemonade slush for DD. Still waiting on Space FP time, we headed towards Fantasyland … packed … strollers everywhere, difficult to move. Pooh had at least 50 minute wait, I didn’t dare look at Dumbo. Snow White had a long wait, ditto for Tea Cups. But Philharmagic was walk in. We waited for the doors to open and enjoyed the show. I think this is my favorite 4D picture at Disney … the colors are bright and beautiful, the effects great … I still love to watch my kids and others grabbing for the screen … that’s almost my favorite part of the show. We still had some time and I was determined to see HOP. In all my Disney visits, I’ve never managed to stop by. We were sitting outside finished our drinks and visiting with a custodial CM when he received a “Code V” at HOP … uh oh. He said he was right next door and would grab the needed “equipment.” Hmmm, the opening of the doors in HOP were delayed a bit. Upon entering the theater, we carefully inspected our seats to make sure there was no Code V in our vicinity.