Trip Report 1st Timer Spring Trip Report - A Disney Odyssey

We just got back this past weekend and phew.....what a trip! I am still exhausted, but not too exhausted to post a report and pictures commemorating our first ever trip to the World (a first for every member of the family, to boot).

The Cast: Me, my husband, and 6-yr old daughter
Trip Dates: March 27 - 31st
Resort: Port Orleans Riverside

Day 1 Summary: Epcot
Dinner ADR @ Akershus

Day 2 Summary: AK & HS
FastPasses for Star Tours, Frozen Ever After, and Toy Story
Dinner ADR @ Hollywood & Vine with Fantasmic Package

Day 3 Summary: Magic Kingdom
FastPasses for 7DMT, Peter Pan, and Winnie the Pooh
Dinner ADR @ the Hoop de Doo Revue

Day 4 Summary: Epcot
FastPasses for Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and The Seas w/Nemo & Friends
Mid-Day ADR @ Beaches & Cream
Dinner ADR @ San Angel Inn

Day 5 Summary: Magic Kingdom
FastPasses for Big Thunder Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Haunted Mansion
Breakfast ADR @ Chef Mickey's


Day 1............

We arrived in Orlando around 5pm on March 27th and luckily I had already gotten a text saying our room was ready so we headed straight to our room at Port Orleans Riverside. We had been placed in the Alligator Bayou section, which we thought was lovely (although I would love to stay in one of the "mansions" next time!). We even got a towel Mickey, which you can see on the bed below!

I had arranged to have Disney Floral & Gifts send a special Easter "basket" to our room for my DD since we would not be spending Easter with family this year. She LOVED the monogrammed backpack, Minnie Mouse, and special treats.

We had packed 2 princess dresses, princess shoes, and a whole megaton of glow jewelry so as soon as we got settled in and got our first-timer pins we lost no time giving my DD the royal DIY - BBB treatment. With that completed, we headed off to Epcot to make our dinner ADR at Akershus in Norway.

As soon as we arrived at Epcot I paused to take a photo of my husband and daughter in front of the fountain and someone came right up and offered to take the picture for me so I could be in it. I'm not including the photo, because I look dreadful, but it was an awesome start to the trip to see that everyone was so amazingly friendly and helpful. That was a theme that would continue throughout the trip.

Dinner at Akershus was awesome. I was a bit worried about the quality of food in Disney in general after reading so many less than stellar reviews, but I was pleasantly surprised. I love food, but am definitely not a food snob so maybe that helped.
In any case, DH had the meatballs and I had the salmon. DD just had pizza.

Then we had some fun goofing off at the table until the princesses started to arrive.......
(Don't worry, they were just playing in the shot below. No one was angry. )

First up was Cinderella:

Then Snow White.....

And we also got to see Princess Aurora and Ariel, although I've hit my limit of photo uploads on this post. Just know that DD was adorable and the princesses were lovely as always.

After Akershus, we started to watch IllumiNations, but the loud fireworks and fireball scared my daughter a bit. She was jonesin' to try out the hotel pool so we left while everyone else finished watching fireworks and headed back to Ol' Man Island at POR. After that we were all pretty pooped from travelling, walking, princessing, and swimming so we slept like zombies.

More on Day 2 in Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios to come.............

 

[MinnieM123]

Enjoying your report! You also took some very nice pictures in the parks, and your daughter is adorable. I'm happy to hear that everyone had fun at WDW.

What wonderful family vacation memories you all will have for years to come!

 

[anaitis4]

Thanks, everyone, for following along. I think planning the trip, reading these boards, and posting my trip report was almost as much fun as actually going on the trip! I appreciate all of you chiming in to like the post or give a comment. Now I'm just waiting on my Shutterfly photo book I created with all the photos (all 264 of them) to come in...........

 

[Figment Forever]

Loved your TR! Your daughter is adorable! LOVE the Merida costume. Your SM photos are too funny! I'm so glad you had a Dole Whip before you left. I never knew they had a Dole Whip air freshener. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that on our next trip!

 

[gobstoper27]

Great Report!! Short and sweet. Mia is adorable, I love how she wrote letters to all the characters, I've never heard of anyone doing that before. I'm glad that you enjoyed your first trip. The first one is always a learning experience.

 

[anaitis4]

Loved your TR! Your daughter is adorable! LOVE the Merida costume. Your SM photos are too funny! I'm so glad you had a Dole Whip before you left. I never knew they had a Dole Whip air freshener. I'll have to keep my eyes open for that on our next trip!

I don't know if or where you can find them in the parks. I got mine at the general store inside POR.

 

[bebert]

What did you think of POR?

 

[anaitis4]

What did you think of POR?

I liked it for the most part. We stayed in the Alligator Bayou section and I found the room to be clean, well-maintained, and had enough space considering that we were only there to sleep and bathe. The theming was ok, but that's not really why we chose to stay at this resort.

The food court was pretty good, the general store was pretty cool(any last-minute items you might need as well as last-minute souvenirs). Their pool and pool bar were pretty great. All the various CMs I encountered on the property were extremely friendly and helpful. The grounds and buildings in general were beautiful. We did not go to BoatWrights or to the regular bar and sadly, we missed Yeeha Bob, so I cannot comment on any of that. We also didn't get a chance to take advantage of any of the auxiliary things the resort has like carriage rides, movie nights, campfires, fishing, bikes, the ferry, or boat rentals. We just didn't stay long enough to get to do any of that. I'm sure it would have been great, though!

My only complaint (which is really very minor) was that the resort was definitely very spread out. That would not necessarily have mattered, except that we tended to be walking the grounds the most in the evening after very busy days in the parks. Our legs and feet were typically killing us at that point and we were dragging. It would have been nice to have things be a little closer, but it wasn't a big deal and not something that would keep me from staying there again.

I can't really comment much on the buses. My entire family HATES being crammed in with strangers and knowing that we would be going at a very crowded time, we chose to drive to literally everything in our own car rather than use Disney transit.

The only exception to that was the first day that we went to MK. We did get on a bus, and I regret it. The bus came quickly (we were at the west depot), which was great. But then we stopped at several other depots and no matter how crowded the bus was they let everyone on. It was overwhelming and intense to have that many people crowded into a space that was too small for them all. Body odor was an issue at the end of the day (hot/wet/humidity caused it) and strollers were an issue going AND coming. They were just in the way and people were not very considerate in how they got them on and off and whether or not they were in someone else's way (one of the strollers caused a large bruise on my leg because its owner wasn't paying attention to who he was hitting with it). My recommendation: if going at a crowded time don't use bus service. Drive yourself if at all possible.

I would definitely stay there again. Lovely resort, great CMs, nice rooms, good food.

 

[minnie2000]

Great report. Your little girl is lovely.

 

[bebert]

I liked it for the most part. We stayed in the Alligator Bayou section and I found the room to be clean, well-maintained, and had enough space considering that we were only there to sleep and bathe. The theming was ok, but that's not really why we chose to stay at this resort.

The food court was pretty good, the general store was pretty cool(any last-minute items you might need as well as last-minute souvenirs). Their pool and pool bar were pretty great. All the various CMs I encountered on the property were extremely friendly and helpful. The grounds and buildings in general were beautiful. We did not go to BoatWrights or to the regular bar and sadly, we missed Yeeha Bob, so I cannot comment on any of that. We also didn't get a chance to take advantage of any of the auxiliary things the resort has like carriage rides, movie nights, campfires, fishing, bikes, the ferry, or boat rentals. We just didn't stay long enough to get to do any of that. I'm sure it would have been great, though!

My only complaint (which is really very minor) was that the resort was definitely very spread out. That would not necessarily have mattered, except that we tended to be walking the grounds the most in the evening after very busy days in the parks. Our legs and feet were typically killing us at that point and we were dragging. It would have been nice to have things be a little closer, but it wasn't a big deal and not something that would keep me from staying there again.

I can't really comment much on the buses. My entire family HATES being crammed in with strangers and knowing that we would be going at a very crowded time, we chose to drive to literally everything in our own car rather than use Disney transit.

The only exception to that was the first day that we went to MK. We did get on a bus, and I regret it. The bus came quickly (we were at the west depot), which was great. But then we stopped at several other depots and no matter how crowded the bus was they let everyone on. It was overwhelming and intense to have that many people crowded into a space that was too small for them all. Body odor was an issue at the end of the day (hot/wet/humidity caused it) and strollers were an issue going AND coming. They were just in the way and people were not very considerate in how they got them on and off and whether or not they were in someone else's way (one of the strollers caused a large bruise on my leg because its owner wasn't paying attention to who he was hitting with it). My recommendation: if going at a crowded time don't use bus service. Drive yourself if at all possible.

I would definitely stay there again. Lovely resort, great CMs, nice rooms, good food.

Thanks for the detailed info on POR. I avoid the buses at all costs. We usually drive to WDW so I always have my own transportation anyway. For your next trip, look into POR French Quarter. The resort is smaller and you can take the water taxi to the Riverside dining hall and shops. French Quarter is our preferred and favorite resort.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

Sounds like you had an awesome time. I really enjoyed your trip report!

 

[LilWalt]

Great report! Looks like your daughter had a blast. I, too, will have to look for the Dole Whip air freshener.

 

[DiSnEyF@n]

Thanks, everyone, for following along. I think planning the trip, reading these boards, and posting my trip report was almost as much fun as actually going on the trip! I appreciate all of you chiming in to like the post or give a comment. Now I'm just waiting on my Shutterfly photo book I created with all the photos (all 264 of them) to come in...........

I thoroughly enjoyed reading your TR!!! Sounds like you all had an awesome time!

 

[hanwill]

What a great trip! We have all suffered from those feelings with our legs... oh the tired legs! We can all commiserate. Glad that you had a great trip!... Start planning the next one.

 

[ScarletBegonias]

Great trip report!!! I can't wait to stay at PO one day.. We stayed a Caribbean beach and this is a very spread out resort too. I can relate to aching feet and having to walk around the resort!