MrPeetrie
10-01-2012, 11:41 PM
This is my first trip report so please bear with me if I do it incorrectly. Any insight on future reports would be greatly appreciated.
Our Magical 10-Day Voyage began at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. (Since I always want our first full day to be at Magic Kingdom, we chose Thursday for departure because Friday had a MNSSHP and I had an idea the crowd level would be light. It was.) We stayed at the Hyatt attached to the airport so we wouldn't miss our 6:05 a.m. flight. A bellman came and took our luggage (11 pieces) straight to the Southwest counter for us. We checked seven pieces and carried-on the other four. No extra charge. (Gotta love Southwest!) Last year, AirTran KILLED us on luggage fees.
We arrived in Orlando around 8:15 and immediately boarded a Magical Express bus. No wait whatsoever. My DD9 was about to bust with excitement. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and checked in, using the online check-in line. Very little wait again. Our room was ready and we went there to freshen up.
My thoughts on Port Orleans French Quarter: It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The resort was so fresh looking. Rooms were very well maintained. Contractors were replacing shudders with new ones as we were there. Another group of contractors was painting poles and benches late each night. The staff was very courteous. It definitely became our favorite moderate. (Last year, we had a completely different experience at the Caribbean Resort.)
After we changed outfits, we hopped on a bus to Animal Kingdom. (On the advice of Magical Journeys, we purchased a Tables of Wonderland card at Guest Services.) We entered AK and went straight to our ADRs at Rainforest Cafe. Timing was very good. Walking up to the Cafe from the park side, my DD2 threw two of his matchbox cars straight into the fountain. We were mortified. We told a manager so they'd know and their filters wouldn't become damaged. Later, as we were about to sit down to eat, he approached us with the "newly cleaned" cars. That was the first of many great efforts by CMs on this trip.
After lunch, we rode Kilimanjaro Safari then shopped a bit. Since we were all tired from the early start, we cut our day short and went back to the room for a "power snooze."
We woke up around 6:00 p.m. and dressed for Downtown Disney. We took the Sassagoula Steamboat Co., boat to DTD and did some more shopping. We had our dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe in the Marketplace. Delicious. After getting some t-shirts and toys for the kids, we took the boat ride back to POFQ. After tubbies and tooth-brushing, we "cozied up" in bed and watched Stacy's Must-Do Disney before falling asleep. For an arrival day, it was a very enjoyable experience. (I'd like to relive that day again...and again.)
Our Magical 10-Day Voyage began at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday morning. (Since I always want our first full day to be at Magic Kingdom, we chose Thursday for departure because Friday had a MNSSHP and I had an idea the crowd level would be light. It was.) We stayed at the Hyatt attached to the airport so we wouldn't miss our 6:05 a.m. flight. A bellman came and took our luggage (11 pieces) straight to the Southwest counter for us. We checked seven pieces and carried-on the other four. No extra charge. (Gotta love Southwest!) Last year, AirTran KILLED us on luggage fees.
We arrived in Orlando around 8:15 and immediately boarded a Magical Express bus. No wait whatsoever. My DD9 was about to bust with excitement. We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter and checked in, using the online check-in line. Very little wait again. Our room was ready and we went there to freshen up.
My thoughts on Port Orleans French Quarter: It was beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. The resort was so fresh looking. Rooms were very well maintained. Contractors were replacing shudders with new ones as we were there. Another group of contractors was painting poles and benches late each night. The staff was very courteous. It definitely became our favorite moderate. (Last year, we had a completely different experience at the Caribbean Resort.)
After we changed outfits, we hopped on a bus to Animal Kingdom. (On the advice of Magical Journeys, we purchased a Tables of Wonderland card at Guest Services.) We entered AK and went straight to our ADRs at Rainforest Cafe. Timing was very good. Walking up to the Cafe from the park side, my DD2 threw two of his matchbox cars straight into the fountain. We were mortified. We told a manager so they'd know and their filters wouldn't become damaged. Later, as we were about to sit down to eat, he approached us with the "newly cleaned" cars. That was the first of many great efforts by CMs on this trip.
After lunch, we rode Kilimanjaro Safari then shopped a bit. Since we were all tired from the early start, we cut our day short and went back to the room for a "power snooze."
We woke up around 6:00 p.m. and dressed for Downtown Disney. We took the Sassagoula Steamboat Co., boat to DTD and did some more shopping. We had our dinner at Wolfgang Puck's Cafe in the Marketplace. Delicious. After getting some t-shirts and toys for the kids, we took the boat ride back to POFQ. After tubbies and tooth-brushing, we "cozied up" in bed and watched Stacy's Must-Do Disney before falling asleep. For an arrival day, it was a very enjoyable experience. (I'd like to relive that day again...and again.)