10 days of Magic, Mickey, and Memories

Hi all!

And so it has come to an end. All the months of planning and preparing resulted in the best 10 days for my husband and I! Here are the basics:

Who: My DH and I
What: 10 days of Memories and Magic at Walt Disney World
Where: Port Orleans Riverside
When: September 13 to the 22
Why: A trip for resting and relaxing after a very long and hard year and in preparation of starting another personal journey.

Some background: My DH and I have traveled to Disney every year since we were married. So this marked our 8th trip in a row. Now the last two trips, I went solo. I went to Disneyland in 2010 and went for a girls getaway with my mom in May 2011. Since we started going to WDW together, a lot has happened. We moved twice, went through some very hard times, and have struggled with infertility. So this trip was focused on reconnecting and putting all of that "stuff" behind us. In the past, we have stayed either offsite (in 2005 and 2006) and then onsite at Deluxe Resorts. Since 2007, we have been able to drive to WDW since we lived only 4 1/2 hours away from the World. Okay, we are pretty much up to speed so now, on with the show! Or as Peter Pan would say...Here we go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was the first time we stayed at POR as well as using DME. I will say to both, I would definitely recommend and stay/use again. We left very early on Thursday, September 13 and flew AirTran. It was a great flight and we got exceptional prices! We will definitely fly with AirTran again! The flight was smooth and on time so we arrived around 10 am at MCO and DME was ready and waiting for us! We did not have the fancy blue and cream DME bus which I was a tad disappointed about as I had never ridden on one! But we had a Mears bus and we were just ready to get to WDW!

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Excited to get to WDW!

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Super happy!

We arrived!
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Arriving at POR!
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We went ahead and did the online check in which didn't seem to make a difference. It was not busy, we still had questions, and we still talked to an agent. I will do it again, but didn't really notice that it made that much of a difference. We had called and requested a corner room on a higher floor and paid for garden view Royal Room. We got everything we asked for, except, our corner room faced a parking lot and was as far from everything as possible. So immediately called the front desk and I explained that I paid for garden view and would like garden view. We were moved to another room, that was near the pool, and a good location. It was not a corner room. The reason for the request for the corner is that I understand that the rooms can be quite dark so a corner room would let in more natural light. It would have been nice for that corner room but it didn't really bother us much at all.

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View from the room

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We first ate lunch since we were starved! We headed down to Riverside Mill. The DH tried to the pasta bar with cheese cake and I the burger and red velvet cake! All were delicious!!!!

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The Royal Rooms were so nice! We really liked them a lot! They were beautiful!!

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Yep, that's Stacy! The Must-Do's! Unt Beer???

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OswaldTheRabbit

Well-Known Member
I love the trip report! So great! The Halloween party pics are awesome! Sorry to hear about the buses. That is awful. I have always wondered about the port Orleans resorts. We have only stayed at the value resorts and have wondered if the bus situation is any better at the moderates.

Looking forward to reading more!
 

OswaldTheRabbit

Well-Known Member
Just saw your update about your feet and I had the exact same thing happen to me last year in Disney. It was awful. I had blisters all over my feet (especially my toes). I had to buy crocs (the cute Mickey ones) out of pure desperation and wear them with socks.... I know.... Awful. I was on my first day too. The crocs helped so much. I am not sure what I am going to do this trip. Maybe a new pair of crocs?!?!?!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Just saw your update about your feet and I had the exact same thing happen to me last year in Disney. It was awful. I had blisters all over my feet (especially my toes). I had to buy crocs (the cute Mickey ones) out of pure desperation and wear them with socks.... I know.... Awful. I was on my first day too. The crocs helped so much. I am not sure what I am going to do this trip. Maybe a new pair of crocs?!?!?!
I highly suggest Under Armour flip flops. Wore them the entire 11 day trip last year and we are on day 11 and the only days I've had issues are the days I've worn sneakers..the flip flips are gel like cushioned and are awesome!
 

Alison1975

Well-Known Member
Some additions to the day 2 trip report:

I wore my sneakers - the ones I have worn for a year and half. I am not sure what happened but seriously - my tootsie toes were in pain! After 16 hours on your feet, nothing feels good on your feet but I ended up with blisters on my baby toes and that started the downward spiral of my tootsie toes. It got worse! Just when it would get better - it got worse. So my question - what shoes do you wear? Later, the rain and wet shoes made things impossible for my tootsies. So i'm curious on what everyone does in regards to this.

Under Armmour flops..the cushioned ones.. they dry fast...2 trips with them (different pairs) and no foot issues!
 

nngrendel

Well-Known Member
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The flags were still lowered, i'm assuming but not sure that it was due to Sept 11th as this was the 14th. It was haunting to see them lowered though.

Were were there for Sept 11th and the flag on top of the train station and the flag in the square were at half staff. The next day we noticed the flags at half staff again so I asked why.

I was told that they were still at half staff due to the attacks at the U.S. Consulate that killed an American Consulate officer in Libya. This of course happening the day before. We also got to see the flag retreat that same day and it was awesome. If you have never seen the flag retreat there you should stick around.

By the way great TR. Hard to believe our vacations have come and gone. :(
 

RickP330

Well-Known Member
Great TR! Thanks for all the photos and sharing the experience! Hey, a couple of weeks apart but my DD and I were nearly your neighbors! We were also at PORS RR. PP room 9530!
FWIW I learned your bus lesson a few years ago. We rented a car at the airport. Only $90 for the week and well worth it. If you are not going to stay in a Delux resort I would highly reccomend it. The only down side is you have to park at the TTC for the MK which would not be of much help in your opening ceremony case, but we simply drove to the Poly and took the monorail from there. Plus, I got to have Tonga Toast before we left and rode the Monorail with Kona coffee to go ;)
RickP
 

nngrendel

Well-Known Member
Great TR! Thanks for all the photos and sharing the experience! Hey, a couple of weeks apart but my DD and I were nearly your neighbors! We were also at PORS RR. PP room 9530!
FWIW I learned your bus lesson a few years ago. We rented a car at the airport. Only $90 for the week and well worth it. If you are not going to stay in a Delux resort I would highly reccomend it. The only down side is you have to park at the TTC for the MK which would not be of much help in your opening ceremony case, but we simply drove to the Poly and took the monorail from there. Plus, I got to have Tonga Toast before we left and rode the Monorail with Kona coffee to go ;)
RickP

One thing I have heard about parking at the Poly when you are not staying at the Poly is that it could get your car towed. Depending on the Poly crowd level. Parking lots at resorts are reserved for resort guest. If you are eating there they do allow you to park there but not for a full day. I used to park at the Poly and visit the MK after bfast at Ohana until I read about this. I dont gamble with it anymore.
 

OswaldTheRabbit

Well-Known Member
I highly suggest Under Armour flip flops. Wore them the entire 11 day trip last year and we are on day 11 and the only days I've had issues are the days I've worn sneakers..the flip flips are gel like cushioned and are awesome!
Great I will try them! I am a flip flop girl which is why I think I do so bad with sneakers! Thanks!
 

Gojira ゴジラ

Well-Known Member
Hi all!
We did not have the fancy blue and cream DME bus which I was a tad disappointed about as I had never ridden on one! But we had a Mears bus and we were just ready to get to WDW!
Ah bummer :( could it be because it was in the morning? We always arrive late afternoon and it's always been the DME bus.

Here is the link to the opening ceremony! (I figured out how to do this! YEAH!)


You mentioned you barely managed to make it on time yet you got a very good spot to shoot the video. I wonder if 8:3ish would be an ideal time to come for the ceremony and get a good spot because I'm planning to shoot a video too.
 

ExtinctJenn

Well-Known Member
Loving the report! You guys are so cute! You've also officially convinced me that even though I have tried and failed in the past, I must try and succeed in getting R&C ADRs next trip! LOL
 

CB2@disney

Active Member
Love the report so far. We are at the 99 day mark and reading your report is making me just that much more excited about going. Time always seems to go faster after the 100 day mark. I can't wait.
 

DisneyFan1003

Active Member
Great report! We haven't been down in the fall for years - heading back at the end of October! Attending MNSSHP on October 31st - it will either be really cool or a huge mistake!
 

tink65

Active Member
YEAH!!! You have started you TR and may I say "awesome so far"? I can't believe you have already been and are back! Where did September go? Anyhoo.....can't wait to read all your updates! BTW....I wear birkenstocks. Love, love them and have never had any trouble at all!
 

disneygirl76

Carey Poppins - Nanny and Disney Enthusiest
Original Poster
Ah bummer :( could it be because it was in the morning? We always arrive late afternoon and it's always been the DME bus.



You mentioned you barely managed to make it on time yet you got a very good spot to shoot the video. I wonder if 8:3ish would be an ideal time to come for the ceremony and get a good spot because I'm planning to shoot a video too.

I literally got to the park, opened up the camera and waited about 5 mins and the open ceremony started. The park was nearly dead this entire day, which was awesome! We literally walked on everything - 5 min wait to no wait the entire time. However, once the MNSSHP started, the crowds flooded in!
 

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