Trip Report A tale of two Values-Split stay Pop and Aoa May 2018

We just got back early this morning from our trip after an unexpected delay so I took the day off from work. I need to unpack and grocery shop but I would rather sit on the couch and start my TR-so here we go.
Who: Myself (Erica/Mom), DH R, DD O (5), and DS Z (3)
Where: 2 nights at Pop Century and 4 nights at Art of Animation
When: May 7-13
Why: I bought my annual pass a a little over a year ago with the intention of traveling again this May. We booked this trip to be just shy of my AP expiration.
Details: I had my AP and everyone else had 5 day park hoppers that I bought from a discount 3rd party seller. I booked both rooms with room only discounts. We did not participate in the dining plan this time around even though we have in the past.
 

ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Travel Day 5/7:
I am a big fan of early morning flights to Disney and hitting the ground running but R is much better with afternoon and evening flights so I decided on an after work/school flight. It was a bit of a tense night Monday packing up-there was some repacking of bags at the last minute after R pointed out that I had packed way too much (oops?).
Tuesday seemed to be the longest day ever at work. We have had bad luck traveling in the past which I have shared in previous TR and I get anxious that something will happen and we will miss our flight so I was on edge all day. I ended up calling it quits a few minutes early so I could have my last Dunkin Doughnuts coffee for a while-it’s a New England thing I guess.
After I got my caffeine fix I picked up O and Z from school. They were beyond excited for the trip and confirmed multiple times-yes were going to go home and change and then go to the airport.
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With a quick change while R loaded up the trunk, we made excellent time. We stopped for Firehouse Subs on the way to the airport (we don’t have one near us so it’s a special treat). The airport was a breeze, no line at the ticket counter and a quick trip through security so we made it to the gate with time to spare.
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We were ready to leave the cold and rainy behind for a few days. We flew southwest and we scored A boarding so we had our choice of seats. The flight down was only 1/2 full so plenty of room to stretch out. Neither of the children slept on the plane which was surprising to me. They were content playing games on the tablets we brought for them so I was able to watch Aquaman on my tablet.

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Our flight landed a little early at around 10:05. Luckily I re-read our Magical Express paperwork and realized we would need to go to baggage claim to collect our luggage-Disney’s pickup service ends at 10:00pm. We were able to get it and get to the Magical Express area without too much hassle. We saw others there who ended up having to go back to baggage claim to collect their luggage because they didn’t read the fine print.
We were soon aboard a bus to POP Century. The driver listed the stops, Boardwalk then Carribbean Beach then POP. I told R to brace himself for a longer ride while the kids were entranced with the Goofy cartoons that were playing. They were both asleep by the time we reached the gates to WDW. I was refreshing the MDE app constantly hoping for a room ready text so we could avoid the front desk. We finally got the text at 10:45-building 9 in the 80s section on the 4th floor. To my surprise our bus soon pulled up to POP-I guess the bus driver had it backwards and we were the first stop. The kids woke up as we exited the bus and were so excited to be at POP century. We had the choice of bell services delivering our luggage later or just taking it ourselves and we decided to just bring it along.
When we reached our room, we got a green light :). I didn’t take pictures but here is one from online of what we were greeted with:
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I had a moment of panic that there was only one bed and I started to look up our reservation on my phone before my sense kicked in and I realized that the table was a Murphy bed. We turned it into its bed form and I went to town unpacking while the kids and R found some Disney cartoons on TV so they could unwind a bit. Once I was satisfied that we would have what we needed for the morning we turned off the tv and lights and said good night to Disney world.
 
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ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster

ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1-Part 1 May 8:
I am normally too excited to sleep when we go to Disney but this morning I was wiped out. I had talked with R about the morning plans the night before and we planned that I would bring him breakfast around 7:15 so he could eat and shower while I got the kids ready for the day (I don't usually eat breakfast because my tummy is weird in the morning but he needs to eat). We planned to be out the door at 8. My alarm went off and I couldn't get out of bed, I spent some time reading trip reports here before I convinced myself to get up. There was a coffee pot in the room (the pod type I believe) but no coffee, cups etc. Is this normal for POP?
I had to get ready for the day sans caffeine so I was a little slower than I would have liked. I took off from the room and snapped this picture on my way out of our view.
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Coming in the night before it had been dark and I had been pretty tired so I didn't get a good lay of the land. I thought I was heading towards the main building but I somehow got turned around and it took a while to get there but I eventually found my way and made it to Everything Pop Dining by 7:15 (Guess I wasn't getting R his breakfast on time but I figured everyone else could use more sleep). I first got myself an iced coffee, and then got a Bounty Platter with waffles for R and the kids to share with an extra side of bacon that I almost forgot to take with me.
I went on a mission to secure condiments and creamer for my coffee and then make the trek back to our room. This was my first experience with the paper straw and it was not pretty. It was covered in my lipstick immediately and began to get soggy by the time I was halfway through and broke in half before I was finished. I love sea turtles and I understand that plastic straws are dangerous to them but there has got to be a better way. I guess I should get a reusable straw next time.
For some reason while juggling the tray of food and my coffee I decided to take on the 4 flights of stairs to get to our room (this was my first time not on the first floor at WDW-I was not prepared for this). I swear I have stair-induced asthma if that is a thing. I was not a happy camper when I got to the top and I vowed no more stairs for the rest of the trip (and I wish I had stuck to that!).
I really like the Murphy beds as I was able to move both kids into bed with R and then flip the bed up into a table. It seemed to be a nice wake up call for everyone. It was 7:30 when I woke them up and I was still hopeful that we might yet make it out by 8:00.
Everyone ate-R tried to get me to eat but I was not having it. Then R got ready. He took his time to make sure he was going to be good to go in the park and I was trying not to be too antsy (aka pushy) so I just said no worries we are not in a rush. There really wasn't a reason to be but I was anxious to get to the park.
We made it out the door around 8:30 and I felt pretty good about our chances of making the 9:00 park open or close to it-until we saw the bus line. All of the other busses had a handful of people in line but the one we needed extended well past the designated queue area. I got a little panicked but one of the extended busses arrived and once it was filled we felt like we had a good chance of making the next bus and we did. Up next first park of the trip and way more pictures (sorry for text heavy post)
 
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ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1-Part 2 May 8:
Our first park of the trip was: Magic Kingdom!
There were a ton of security lines open so despite the crowds pouring in we made it through fairly quickly. R was wearing a shirt that said “My other ride is a magic carpet” and the CM checking our bags asked where it was and I replied “We are about to go find it”. We got Mickey to turn green x3 (Z never did and the CM brushed it off-more on this later) and we were on our way. The park opened at 9 and it was now 9:26. The kids were quick to point out the details on Main Street but we didn’t stop for any pictures today. We passed by the Trolley and let them have a quick peek before veering off towards Adventureland.
My original plan was to rope drop Jungle Cruise and Pirates-two rides Z has never done at WDW and O hasn’t done since her first visit (we did pirates at Disneyland which is definitely better and they loved it there). Since we were behind schedule I scrapped that plan and we hopped in line for a meet and greet instead. I think you can tell by our attire that this was a priority.
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Aladdin and Jasmine were so sweet with the kids and quick to make a comment about R’s shirt and O’s purse (which she sadly lost later that day and we were unable to find-I’m stalking eBay for a replacement at a reasonable cost I paid only 10$ for it but the ones listed are 50$+ :banghead:)
We said goodbye to our new friends and headed over to find that Magic Carpet. Another first for Z and he enjoyed the ride. I’m pretty sure the camel was back in action after reports of him being gone on Instagram a few weeks ago, but I don’t have photographic evidence so I’m not 100% sure.
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After we found a whole new world our first FP were coming up. I had made split FP for BTMRR, and Splash. For anyone who followed my pre trip report, this was sadly due to the fact that Z didn’t quite measure up for either of these rides (not that he would do Big Thunder but he wanted to try Splash so badly).
The plan was for R and O to ride Splash and then for her to join me and ride BTMRR (which I don’t remember ever riding although I must have when R and I came pre-kids?). I was about to point him in the direction of Splash with the app when I realized it was down and we had a multi-experience FP in its place. I decided that he should just take O on Big Thunder.
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Meanwhile I took Z to the treehouse-there was a train of people in front and behind us so I felt bad for stopping and taking pictures but we managed a few.
Then we had something (or really two things) to cross off my bucket list. I wanted to put Dole Whip and Citrus Swirl to the test. I prefer Dole Whip floats so we went with both in float form. Don’t worry we shared with O and R when they got back from their ride.
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This picture is a highly embarrassing attempt at a selfie (while trying to not let the ice cream drip on me and also corralling Z) but the only proof I have that we had a dole whip float 😖.
In case you were wondering here were the verdicts:
Me: Dole whip
R: Dole whip
Z: Dole whip
O: Citrus swirl (where did she come from lol)
 

Spash007

Well-Known Member
Day 1-Part 2 May 8:
Our first park of the trip was: Magic Kingdom!
There were a ton of security lines open so despite the crowds pouring in we made it through fairly quickly. R was wearing a shirt that said “My other ride is a magic carpet” and the CM checking our bags asked where it was and I replied “We are about to go find it”. We got Mickey to turn green x3 (Z never did and the CM brushed it off-more on this later) and we were on our way. The park opened at 9 and it was now 9:26. The kids were quick to point out the details on Main Street but we didn’t stop for any pictures today. We passed by the Trolley and let them have a quick peek before veering off towards Adventureland.
My original plan was to rope drop Jungle Cruise and Pirates-two rides Z has never done at WDW and O hasn’t done since her first visit (we did pirates at Disneyland which is definitely better and they loved it there). Since we were behind schedule I scrapped that plan and we hopped in line for a meet and greet instead. I think you can tell by our attire that this was a priority.
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Aladdin and Jasmine were so sweet with the kids and quick to make a comment about R’s shirt and O’s purse (which she sadly lost later that day and we were unable to find-I’m stalking eBay for a replacement at a reasonable cost I paid only 10$ for it but the ones listed are 50$+ :banghead:)
We said goodbye to our new friends and headed over to find that Magic Carpet. Another first for Z and he enjoyed the ride. I’m pretty sure the camel was back in action after reports of him being gone on Instagram a few weeks ago, but I don’t have photographic evidence so I’m not 100% sure. View attachment 373003View attachment 373002
After we found a whole new world our first FP were coming up. I had made split FP for BTMRR, and Splash. For anyone who followed my pre trip report, this was sadly due to the fact that Z didn’t quite measure up for either of these rides (not that he would do Big Thunder but he wanted to try Splash so badly).
The plan was for R and O to ride Splash and then for her to join me and ride BTMRR (which I don’t remember ever riding although I must have when R and I came pre-kids?). I was about to point him in the direction of Splash with the app when I realized it was down and we had a multi-experience FP in its place. I decided that he should just take O on Big Thunder.
View attachment 373004View attachment 373006
Meanwhile I took Z to the treehouse-there was a train of people in front and behind us so I felt bad for stopping and taking pictures but we managed a few.
Then we had something (or really two things) to cross off my bucket list. I wanted to put Dole Whip and Citrus Swirl to the test. I prefer Dole Whip floats so we went with both in float form. Don’t worry we shared with O and R when they got back from their ride.
View attachment 373007View attachment 373008
This picture is a highly embarrassing attempt at a selfie (while trying to not let the ice cream drip on me and also corralling Z) but the only proof I have that we had a dole whip float 😖.
In case you were wondering here were the verdicts:
Me: Dole whip
R: Dole whip
Z: Dole whip
O: Citrus swirl (where did she come from lol)

Oh no, stories to come about MBs are never good. This sounds familiar to what we ran into with C - the first CM didn’t make a big deal, and then it just kept happening...
 

ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 Part 3 May 8:
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O and R met back up with Z and myself outside the Tiki room and we finished our floats in line. It was a 15 minute wait until the next show so we may have hit it at the wrong time but soon enough we were watching the pre-show. The kids enjoyed singing along and Z was keen on pointing out some of the details to us. While the show wrapped up I was busy putting in a mobile order for our lunch as it was 11 and our destination had just opened.
We worked our way over to Columbia Harbour House and as soon as the sign was in view I hit the “I’m here” button. By the time we walked in and I sent R with the kids to find a table, our order was ready. I didn’t snap a picture but I had ordered a shrimp combo basket and a grilled chicken lighthouse salad with a side of Mac and cheese for the four of us to split. Everything was good and hit the spot and wasn’t too heavy. I gave O what I thought was a chicken tender to eat and halfway through she said “Mom this tastes really Fishy”. She had never had fish before so I thought it was odd that she would say that and decided to take a bite- sure enough it was Fish :hilarious: I accidentally ordered shrimp and fish instead of shrimp and chicken.
Everything was devoured regardless. It was our first time dining here and I felt like it was a place my Dad would appreciate. If we ever get him to go back to WDW (last time I was 12) then I want to take him here.
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After lunch we had 2 more things on our agenda before heading out of the park for the day. First up was an appropriately timed FP for Haunted Mansion. This was another first (we were on a roll with them this day) for the kids and they had both been prepped by watching YouTube videos. They are huge fans of “spooky” stuff especially Nightmare Before Christmas so I didn’t think they would have a problem. The FP queue was basically a walk on so we were soon in the stretching room. At this point O started to say that she didn’t want to be there and that she didn’t want to ride. I calmed her down and convinced her to get into a Doom Buggy when the time came. She ended up being fine with the ride but didn’t love it, Z only said he would like to ride it again next time. They both thought the hitchhikers were funny.
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I may have been a bit annoyed with O’s complaints about the ride....

Our next and last FP was for SDMT. Z was back and fourth about riding this in the weeks leading up to the trip. He was super pumped and then said he didn’t want to but he really did want to see the Dwarfs in the mine. As we walked over he was insisting that he wouldn’t be riding but I carried him through the FP queue and put him down only when we got to the front of the line and was told by a CM that he needed to walk on. He had no time to hesitate as we were quickly in a ride vehicle and we were off. I will let the pictures speak for themselves on his feelings:
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O also looks afraid but she loves this ride.
With SDMT done R was ready to head out of the park but I wanted to stay a little longer so we decide to split up.
 

DisneyGigi

Well-Known Member
Yes magic band trouble is never fun :/
I bought one awhile back, and it worked perfectly Day one, for room-fp, charging and FP (we did a split stay- it continued working for everything but letting me enter room- the batteries were dead in our door lock, they came but it never did recognize my band. Meant to fix it but just used B’s or the Ap, which did work. They are iffy at best. :-/ Eapecially if you have a bunch floating out there.
 

ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 Part 4 May 8:
I knew that R needed a break back in the room at this point, and I was really hoping for a couple more rides. I checked MDE and Splash was running so I asked O if she wanted to stay with me and ride it (we still had the FP from the morning). She was not interested and really wanted to take a break with R but Z piped up and asked to ride more rides. He may not like the thrill rides (yet) but he is always willing to stick it out in the parks for more time on his favorite rides. We said goodbye to O and R and then I soon realized that we had forgotten that the FP we needed was on Os magic band (they had used Z’s first FP for BTMRR earlier). Z asked for teacups as his first ride and I decided to try for a 4th FP for him while in line.
I quickly found a FP for his second request-“Ariel Ride” that was opening up soon. This is both of my kids favorite ride in WDW and DL and they would probably ride ten times in a row if I let them.
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We had about a ten minute wait to join Alice’s tea party but sun was getting brutal and I regretted leaving Z’s hat in the stroller R had taken with him. Luckily other parents of littles in line were sympathetic and we worked together to try and let the kids have some shade.
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Z always enjoys a spin on the Teacups. He was insistent that I look at the mouse every time he popped up but at least he didn’t spin me too fast.

We finished up with a few minutes to spare before our next FP. I decided to go get one of my favorite Disney snacks, apparently it’s not universally appealing but to each their own.
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With my cotton candy secured for later we made our way to see Ariel. I was confused to see a huge line coming from her Grotto-Something I hadn’t seen other than on New Years Eve. I didn’t realize what it meant until we got to the ride entrance and the CM informed us that it was down and suggested we visit Ariel in the grotto (no thank you). Z was pretty disappointed but I assured him we would ride another day.
We were now both in possession of multi experience FP and I decided there was really only one place to use them at this point as we were both feeling ready to go.
I decided we should go visit Buzz as our final ride on the way out. Z started protesting at once (I was confused as this is his second favorite ride). I think the heat and the disappointment of the ride closure got to him a bit. By the time we got to “Pew Zurg” as he calls it, he was a little better but he didn’t enjoy it as much as he normally would.
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I tried and failed to get Z to look in the right direction for this picture, I look like I am trying but I actually didn’t even shoot anything other than here I was trying to help Z so I ended up with 300 total. With that we were both tired and hot so I decided to say goodbye to Magic Kingdom for the day and head back to POP.
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ELeigh

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Day 1 Part 5 May 8:

Z and I made it back to the room by 2:00 and everyone relaxed just a bit and then began getting ready to go back out dinner. I had budgeted so that we would be able to take a Minnie Van up to 4 times this trip and R and I decided this would be the first. With the two kids needing car seats other ride share services are not a choice so it’s worth the money for us in some cases. It was nice knowing that we could take our time getting ready after a long morning in the park.
We were out the door around 3:20 (maybe the red door is the new purple wall?).
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We took some pictures while waiting for our ride.
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Our driver was really friendly and played some songs from Moana for the kids since we were headed to the Poly. We checked in and barely had time to sit before we got a message that our table was ready.
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Our reservation was for 3:55, our table ready text came at 4:05.
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The food was great and the service was friendly. I am not a fan of the changes to the salad But I don’t usually eat much salad at Ohana. I’m there for the potstickers and the bread pudding.

The kids participated in the coconut race and enjoyed it and they were able to eat enough of their dinner to earn a little treat.

We left Ohana at 5:05 so exactly an hour from being seating to getting out the door. It was a good pace for us and despite some recent reports of rushed meals we didn’t feel rushed at all.
 

LeighM

Well-Known Member
I wasn't happy with the changes to the salad either but I actually eat most of the salad at 'Ohana. For me, the meal is all about the salad, noodles, veggies, pot stickers, and shrimp. My husband is all about the meats, breads, and desserts. So together, we can complete a meal LOL.
 

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