eandrsmom
07-28-2012, 10:42 AM
Let me first start out by saying that we just visited this past May. We usually take a family trip in late July prior to school starting in August. While planning a trip to the mountains, my husband started talking about swimming and going to the beach. From there, the kids started talking about water parks, which led us back to Disney. (We'd never done the waterparks.) We got up early on Monday, and drove straight through. (A first for us, with stops 13 hours.) The drive really wasn't bad thanks to electronic games and movies.
We're staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Since we arrived around 9:00pm, the check-in process went fairly quickly. From other sites, I learned not to agree to breakfast for "discounted" tickets. ( AKA-Timeshare Presentation) We'd wanted a lake view in refurbished Tower 2, but none were available. We ended up in Tower 4 with a lake view. The room was nice, except there were ugly wear issues with the livingroom sofa. There was a note from the manager saying that there had been issues with the sofa's manufacturer and durability, but that it had been deep cleaned. Not a deal breaker for us, but I have to say that I don't think this would be allowed on Disney property.
Day 1- I got up early and headed to Super Walmart to get supplies for the week. We decided to do Typhoon Lagoon that morning. We arrived around 11:00, and had no problems finding chairs on the beach near the surf pool. My DD13 and DS14 took off to ride some of the larger slides while me, DH, DS8, and DD5 stayed near the children's area and surf pool. There were a lot of people, but I never felt overly crowded. We did the lazy river, with no problems. There were bottlenecks at the entrance points, but other than that, it wasn't crowded. By 3:00, the expected afternoon thunderstorm hit, and the park closed. We decided to head back to the condo for showers and a nap. After eating dinner (we had Mexican Fiesta night in the condo-tacos,nachos, etc.) we headed to MK. We entered the park at 8:30, thinking that we wouldn't get to do too much since the park closed at 11:00. Boy, were we wrong!! We did the entire left side of the park by 11:00, including SM and BTMR! I am now convinced that they really exaggerate wait times near park closing. We actually watched Wishes while riding BTMR. This was our first time riding since the refurbishment, and it seemed faster. (Maybe my imagination, since it was at night.) We were one of the last ones to ride Peter Pan, then exited through the back of the castle just in time for MSEP. We were able to get front curb seats! Overall, an excellent first day! Nothing like I would have anticipated for July.
Day 2- Universal Studios. Let me first start out by saying that I really don't care for the Universal Parks, I am a Disney fan through and through. If it wasn't for DH, DS14, and DD13, I'd never go. We arrived around 10:30 and paid extra for "Preferred Parking". There was an attendant in the parking garage, but he was busy talking with someone and not directing traffic. Basically, parking was a free-for-all, and we ended up in the Jaws section, which is the section furthest from the park entrance. I think that those of us who paid extra for preferred parking got ripped off. After entering the park and renting a stroller, we checked wait times and headed to Twister. The park was very hot and very crowded. (What I was expecting for a July day.) My DH and DS13 wanted to ride The Mummy, but the line was 90 minutes. They decided to do the single rider line while I took the others to the arcade. We also listened to the Blues Brothers show, which was very good. After that, we had lunch at Finnegan's Bar and Grill. The food was good, the prices were reasonable (compared to Disney) and the air conditioning was a welcome relief. From there, we attempted Disaster!, MIB, and The Simpsons, but didn't stop because the waits were over an hour. I decided to take DD5 to Barney while my DH took the others to the Animal Actors show. Afterwards we met and rode ET. From there DH took DS14 to Terminator while we stayed in the Woody Woodpecker/ Curious George section. After that, it was nearly 7:00, and we were all exhausted. There was no chance of the crowds thinning at that point. Brazilian tour groups were everywhere, but they really didn't bother me. They could be heard chanting in some of the lines, which I'm sure could be annoying, but never near us. We left, and had a quick dinner at UNO pizza in Crossroads then headed back to the condo thoroughly exhausted.
Day 3- After a long, hot day at Universal, we all slept late. We spent the morning relaxing in the condo. After lunch we decided to check out Disney Quest. (Another first for us.) My DH and sons were in heaven. After 3 hours, me and my two DD's had had enough. We all left and decided to get a quick dinner at DtD. It was very crowded, so we grabbed a quick bite at Pollo Campero. The food was okay. I thought that my husband's burger was better than the chicken. (Which was a surprise considering their specialty is chicken.) We did some shopping and planned on going to Ghiradelli for ice cream, but were afraid to trek through the thick crowds in front of the bandstand. (More Brazilian tour groups) We got the car and headed to Baskin and Robbins near Crossroads instead. Overall, a more relaxed day. The boys want to do DQ again.- I think I'll take the girls shopping at the outlet malls that day.
Day 4- Decided to try Blizzard Beach yesterday morning. We arrived around 10:00 and found a shaded spot near Tikes Peak. We really liked this park. There was something for everyone. We all enjoyed Teamboat springs. We had lunch and stayed until 3:00. We returned to the condo for showers and naps. After dinner, we decided to go to HS. We arrived a little after 8:00pm, not expecting to be able to do much since the park closed at 10:00. Once again, we were wrong. We walked onto Star Tours and The Great Movie Ride. DH and DS14 then went to RRC while I took the others to TSM. The stand-by entrance said there was a 45 minute wait, but from previous experience, I thought that it was probably an exaggeration. Our wait time was only 25 minutes, so we were able to ride it twice before the park closed! We exited the ride and met my DH and DS14 outside of the Fantasmic! entrance at 10:25 for the 10:30 show. We got front row seats! We hadn't seen it in years, and it was my DS8 and DD5 first time to see it. We all loved it.
Day 5- Today we plan on relaxing by the resort pool then heading to AK late this afternoon.
We're staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek. Since we arrived around 9:00pm, the check-in process went fairly quickly. From other sites, I learned not to agree to breakfast for "discounted" tickets. ( AKA-Timeshare Presentation) We'd wanted a lake view in refurbished Tower 2, but none were available. We ended up in Tower 4 with a lake view. The room was nice, except there were ugly wear issues with the livingroom sofa. There was a note from the manager saying that there had been issues with the sofa's manufacturer and durability, but that it had been deep cleaned. Not a deal breaker for us, but I have to say that I don't think this would be allowed on Disney property.
Day 1- I got up early and headed to Super Walmart to get supplies for the week. We decided to do Typhoon Lagoon that morning. We arrived around 11:00, and had no problems finding chairs on the beach near the surf pool. My DD13 and DS14 took off to ride some of the larger slides while me, DH, DS8, and DD5 stayed near the children's area and surf pool. There were a lot of people, but I never felt overly crowded. We did the lazy river, with no problems. There were bottlenecks at the entrance points, but other than that, it wasn't crowded. By 3:00, the expected afternoon thunderstorm hit, and the park closed. We decided to head back to the condo for showers and a nap. After eating dinner (we had Mexican Fiesta night in the condo-tacos,nachos, etc.) we headed to MK. We entered the park at 8:30, thinking that we wouldn't get to do too much since the park closed at 11:00. Boy, were we wrong!! We did the entire left side of the park by 11:00, including SM and BTMR! I am now convinced that they really exaggerate wait times near park closing. We actually watched Wishes while riding BTMR. This was our first time riding since the refurbishment, and it seemed faster. (Maybe my imagination, since it was at night.) We were one of the last ones to ride Peter Pan, then exited through the back of the castle just in time for MSEP. We were able to get front curb seats! Overall, an excellent first day! Nothing like I would have anticipated for July.
Day 2- Universal Studios. Let me first start out by saying that I really don't care for the Universal Parks, I am a Disney fan through and through. If it wasn't for DH, DS14, and DD13, I'd never go. We arrived around 10:30 and paid extra for "Preferred Parking". There was an attendant in the parking garage, but he was busy talking with someone and not directing traffic. Basically, parking was a free-for-all, and we ended up in the Jaws section, which is the section furthest from the park entrance. I think that those of us who paid extra for preferred parking got ripped off. After entering the park and renting a stroller, we checked wait times and headed to Twister. The park was very hot and very crowded. (What I was expecting for a July day.) My DH and DS13 wanted to ride The Mummy, but the line was 90 minutes. They decided to do the single rider line while I took the others to the arcade. We also listened to the Blues Brothers show, which was very good. After that, we had lunch at Finnegan's Bar and Grill. The food was good, the prices were reasonable (compared to Disney) and the air conditioning was a welcome relief. From there, we attempted Disaster!, MIB, and The Simpsons, but didn't stop because the waits were over an hour. I decided to take DD5 to Barney while my DH took the others to the Animal Actors show. Afterwards we met and rode ET. From there DH took DS14 to Terminator while we stayed in the Woody Woodpecker/ Curious George section. After that, it was nearly 7:00, and we were all exhausted. There was no chance of the crowds thinning at that point. Brazilian tour groups were everywhere, but they really didn't bother me. They could be heard chanting in some of the lines, which I'm sure could be annoying, but never near us. We left, and had a quick dinner at UNO pizza in Crossroads then headed back to the condo thoroughly exhausted.
Day 3- After a long, hot day at Universal, we all slept late. We spent the morning relaxing in the condo. After lunch we decided to check out Disney Quest. (Another first for us.) My DH and sons were in heaven. After 3 hours, me and my two DD's had had enough. We all left and decided to get a quick dinner at DtD. It was very crowded, so we grabbed a quick bite at Pollo Campero. The food was okay. I thought that my husband's burger was better than the chicken. (Which was a surprise considering their specialty is chicken.) We did some shopping and planned on going to Ghiradelli for ice cream, but were afraid to trek through the thick crowds in front of the bandstand. (More Brazilian tour groups) We got the car and headed to Baskin and Robbins near Crossroads instead. Overall, a more relaxed day. The boys want to do DQ again.- I think I'll take the girls shopping at the outlet malls that day.
Day 4- Decided to try Blizzard Beach yesterday morning. We arrived around 10:00 and found a shaded spot near Tikes Peak. We really liked this park. There was something for everyone. We all enjoyed Teamboat springs. We had lunch and stayed until 3:00. We returned to the condo for showers and naps. After dinner, we decided to go to HS. We arrived a little after 8:00pm, not expecting to be able to do much since the park closed at 10:00. Once again, we were wrong. We walked onto Star Tours and The Great Movie Ride. DH and DS14 then went to RRC while I took the others to TSM. The stand-by entrance said there was a 45 minute wait, but from previous experience, I thought that it was probably an exaggeration. Our wait time was only 25 minutes, so we were able to ride it twice before the park closed! We exited the ride and met my DH and DS14 outside of the Fantasmic! entrance at 10:25 for the 10:30 show. We got front row seats! We hadn't seen it in years, and it was my DS8 and DD5 first time to see it. We all loved it.
Day 5- Today we plan on relaxing by the resort pool then heading to AK late this afternoon.