Cast of characters: Nemo14, DH, DD (21) , and DS(16)
Trip dates: 5/18 – 5/21
Staying at Pop Century
We left RI Thursday evening for a quick weekend trip to the World after enduring a week of cold, pouring rain. Our plans were to celebrate DD’s 21’st birthday, DS’ completion of 2 AP classes, and basically to get away – just the 4 of us! We made some meal ressies, and DH, DD, and DS were booked for the Saturday 9:30 Segway tour at Epcot, but other than that we left things pretty open, so the kids could decide where to go. We’ve been to WDW several times in the past 15 years, but this would be our first visit with no car – entirely dependent on Disney transportation. Our plane was about 20 minutes late leaving Providence, but other than that, we had a great flight down, and upon landing headed for the ME counter. We immediately boarded our bus for PC, and within 10 minutes we were on our way. So far, so good! The little boy sitting behind us was soooooo cute, and obviously on his first trip to WDW. He was entirely enthralled by the cartoons they were showing, and had hundreds of questions for his very patient Dad.
At check-in, our CM was fascinated by DH’s Dale Earnhart shirt (she offered to trade a paper light saber for it), and started a long conversation with DH about NASCAR. DH offered to trade it for life-time Disney passes, but that deal fell through. Anyway, since DD was celebrating her birthday, they gave her a pink balloon and directions to our connecting rooms and we finally settled in for the night.
Friday:
With 8:00 breakfast reservations at Boatwright’s at POR (one of our favorites), we headed out to the busses, planning to go to either MGM or Epcot, then change busses to POR. We figured this should take 30 - 40 minutes, so we were out at the bus stop at 7:15. About 10 minutes later a bus for Epcot arrived, and we climbed aboard. The driver (Brad) was very friendly, and asked us why we were heading to Epcot so early, so we told him our plans. He stepped off the bus, made a phone call, and came back on and told us since we were the only 4 on the bus, that he’s take us directly to POR. So we arrived in style at POR right on time for a delicious breakfast (I had my favorite – Banana stuffed French Toast, DH and DS had the Sweet Potato Pancakes, DD had French Toast).
DH has the nasty habit of embarrassing each of us no matter where we are by telling the wait staff that one of us is celebrating a birthday (generally when we are not), so we get sung to on a regular basis. The humor of this wore off years ago! Naturally, he "discreetly" excused himself from the table, but while he was gone, we summoned our waiter, and told him that DH was probably going to tell them that it was DD's birthday, but that in fact it was HIS, so no matter what he says, don't believe him! This worked like a charm, and the entire restaurant sang to him as the waiter brought over a brownie with a candle in it. It was so hilarious..... we finally got him!!
At DS’ request, from POR we took a bus over to MGM, where the first day of SWW was beginning. Storm troopers on top of the entrance gates greeted us with blasts from their weapons, and it was cute to see all the little kids dressed up as SW characters (the adults who came that way were another story though!) Since DD is a college student and not used to eating much other than Ramen, breakfast wasn’t sitting too well with her, so we decided to do a couple of tame rides. We started with TGMR, which was fun, then our old favorite Muppet movie 4D. It still makes me laugh, and I love to watch the kids during the pre-show. We made our way through the Star Wars crowds, and did a little shopping there, then headed over to the other side of the park. With DD feeling better, we headed over to ToT and RnRC. We fastpassed ToT, then waited 20 minutes for RnRC. Great fun, even though DS chickened out of ToT again. Time to head out, and this time DD picked MK.
Our first stop at MK, other than to pick up another birthday button for DD, was for Dole Whips – our favorite WDW treat! It was getting hot, and they really hit the spot. I talked the family into doing Jungle Cruise since there was no line there, and we all really enjoyed our guide (Steve). This is such a classic Disney ride, one of the things I always dreamed of doing in Disneyland as a child. After a quick browse through the Pirates gift shop while DH and DS got fast passes for SM, DD and I met them at BTMR and walked right on. Since we had to wait for our FP time for SM, we headed over to HM, where DD got a spooky birthday serenade. Finally we got over to SM and boarded right away, thanks to FP. We just got to the first uphill when the ride stopped for quite some time, while every 30 seconds or so, a CM would remind everyone to stay seated. As it turned out, someone near the top of the ride had climbed out, and they had to get him out of there. At long last we were on our way, and the ride was awesome. Everything was working again, and the family in front of us got totally soaked on the big drop, sparing us.
By this time, it was time for us to go to LTT for our 2:45 lunch reservation. We were seated promptly, and greeted with a table full of Mickey confetti and streamers for DD’s birthday. Our food was great – DH, DD, and I had the turkey dinner, while DS had the William Penn Pasta. While we dined, the afternoon parade passed right by our window – it was so neat! We shared an absolutely delicious strawberry/blueberry shortcake for dessert, even though we were really stuffed – we just couldn’t resist it!
With our tummies full and our feet a little tired, we decided to head back to the hotel for a break. DH and I went for a swim in the Computer Pool, while DS and DD took a nap in the air conditioning. I was a bit surprised that the pool had no lifeguard on duty, and some of the shenanigans going on there made me a little nervous, so we didn’t stay long – just enough to cool off and refresh ourselves.
We headed back to MK later that evening, just in time for Wishes, then hopped the monorails to Epcot to take advantage of EMH there. We rode SSE and walked around a bit, and DD and I went shopping while DH and DS headed for MS. We got in the 50 minute line for Soarin’, but decided to just FastPass it the next day, since we’d be back in Epcot that morning. Since Saturday was going to be a busy day, we decided to head back to the hotel.
Saturday:
My Christmas present to DH, DD, and DS last year was a reservation for the Around the World on a Segway Tour for Saturday morning at 9:30. I have a problem with my wrist, so I did not go, but I now wish I had gone. They had an absolute blast with it, and rode all around WS in Epcot, with the Flower and Garden show going on. Since the tour takes about 2 hours, I got to take in a lot of the flowers and topiaries myself, and took a lot of pictures for others who wanted to be included in their photos. I also picked up our FastPasses for Soarin’ then too. We had lunch reservations at LeCellier, where we had a fabulous meal. We shared a bowl of their famous Cheddar Cheese soup to dip our bread sticks in, then DD and I each had a tasty steak burger, while DH and DS each had the Prime Rib French Dip. This was by far the best food and service we’ve ever had at WDW. We’ll definitely go back!
After using our FP’s for Soarin’ we headed over to Mexico for one of our traditional rides. It was not busy at all, so we had our own boat for the 4 of us. Who can resist singing after that?!!!!
With DD having turned 21, one of her goals for this trip was the to “Drink Around the World”.The plan was that DS and I would split up from she and DH for the remainder of the day, then meet that evening for Illuminations. I have to admit that I was not too crazy about this whole idea, but who better for her to be with than her Dad I suppose if she were “imbibing”? So DS and I headed for Norway, and she and DH headed for the Cantina. Much to my surprise, she called us while we were waiting for Maelstrom, and she had changed her mind after 2 sips of a very strong Margarita. Now I’m not stupid enough to think that this means that she never has or never will touch the stuff again, but believe me, for that day, I was greatly relieved!!
By this time, it was quite hot (92 – 94?), and having come from 40ish degree weather, the heat was really getting to us. So we left Epcot, and took the boat over to Beach Club for ice cream at Beaches ‘n Cream, then headed back to our hotel, via MGM. We had planned to go to AK for Everest, but basically, we were just too hot, and we had done it twice in February, so we decided to just skip it this time. After cooling off and rehydrating, we tried to make plans for the evening. DS and DD planned to go back to MK , then maybe go to DTD to shop and visit House of Blues. DH & I wanted to go see Illuminations, while DD and Ds planned to go back to MK, since it was open ‘til 11, and possibly DTD to shop at House of Blues. We all turned on our cell phones, and headed off to the parks. Illuminations was fantastic, as always, and once it was over, DH and I caught the monorails over to MK for a few final rides. Much to my surprise, Wishes was going on when we arrived, so we watched that again, then rode Buzz Lightyear, where I was soundly defeated. No trip to MK is complete without at least one ride around on the TTA, so we headed there next, and stayed on for 2 laps. CoP was our next destination, then one final attempt at Peter Pan. Unfortunately, we had lost track of time, and when we got over to FantasyLand, everything was closing. We took our time walking out, and said a fond farewell to the castle before catching our bus back to PC.
Sunday:
After sleeping in a little and a quick breakfast at the food court, we reluctantly waited for our bus back to the airport. Our driver seemed to be pretty mad about something, and when we got to CBR to pick up guests, he made a rather nasty phone call to his dispatcher about one of the other drivers. The entire ride to the airport was pretty uneventful after that, and he barely spoke to anyone. We flew SW, and had our boarding passes printed up at the hotel, so checking in was pretty easy, and security went very smoothly. Once we got to the gate, they announced that they might need to “bump” 4 people, so we volunteered, as long as we could get home that same day. As it turned out, they only needed to bump 2, so DD and I waited an extra 3 hours at the airport, but got $620 worth of SW credits for it!
Our trip was really fantastic – exactly what our family needed. Those of you with older children will understand how rare it is to have quality time alone with them, so to have it at a fabulous place like WDW was even more special!
Trip dates: 5/18 – 5/21
Staying at Pop Century
We left RI Thursday evening for a quick weekend trip to the World after enduring a week of cold, pouring rain. Our plans were to celebrate DD’s 21’st birthday, DS’ completion of 2 AP classes, and basically to get away – just the 4 of us! We made some meal ressies, and DH, DD, and DS were booked for the Saturday 9:30 Segway tour at Epcot, but other than that we left things pretty open, so the kids could decide where to go. We’ve been to WDW several times in the past 15 years, but this would be our first visit with no car – entirely dependent on Disney transportation. Our plane was about 20 minutes late leaving Providence, but other than that, we had a great flight down, and upon landing headed for the ME counter. We immediately boarded our bus for PC, and within 10 minutes we were on our way. So far, so good! The little boy sitting behind us was soooooo cute, and obviously on his first trip to WDW. He was entirely enthralled by the cartoons they were showing, and had hundreds of questions for his very patient Dad.
At check-in, our CM was fascinated by DH’s Dale Earnhart shirt (she offered to trade a paper light saber for it), and started a long conversation with DH about NASCAR. DH offered to trade it for life-time Disney passes, but that deal fell through. Anyway, since DD was celebrating her birthday, they gave her a pink balloon and directions to our connecting rooms and we finally settled in for the night.
Friday:
With 8:00 breakfast reservations at Boatwright’s at POR (one of our favorites), we headed out to the busses, planning to go to either MGM or Epcot, then change busses to POR. We figured this should take 30 - 40 minutes, so we were out at the bus stop at 7:15. About 10 minutes later a bus for Epcot arrived, and we climbed aboard. The driver (Brad) was very friendly, and asked us why we were heading to Epcot so early, so we told him our plans. He stepped off the bus, made a phone call, and came back on and told us since we were the only 4 on the bus, that he’s take us directly to POR. So we arrived in style at POR right on time for a delicious breakfast (I had my favorite – Banana stuffed French Toast, DH and DS had the Sweet Potato Pancakes, DD had French Toast).
DH has the nasty habit of embarrassing each of us no matter where we are by telling the wait staff that one of us is celebrating a birthday (generally when we are not), so we get sung to on a regular basis. The humor of this wore off years ago! Naturally, he "discreetly" excused himself from the table, but while he was gone, we summoned our waiter, and told him that DH was probably going to tell them that it was DD's birthday, but that in fact it was HIS, so no matter what he says, don't believe him! This worked like a charm, and the entire restaurant sang to him as the waiter brought over a brownie with a candle in it. It was so hilarious..... we finally got him!!
At DS’ request, from POR we took a bus over to MGM, where the first day of SWW was beginning. Storm troopers on top of the entrance gates greeted us with blasts from their weapons, and it was cute to see all the little kids dressed up as SW characters (the adults who came that way were another story though!) Since DD is a college student and not used to eating much other than Ramen, breakfast wasn’t sitting too well with her, so we decided to do a couple of tame rides. We started with TGMR, which was fun, then our old favorite Muppet movie 4D. It still makes me laugh, and I love to watch the kids during the pre-show. We made our way through the Star Wars crowds, and did a little shopping there, then headed over to the other side of the park. With DD feeling better, we headed over to ToT and RnRC. We fastpassed ToT, then waited 20 minutes for RnRC. Great fun, even though DS chickened out of ToT again. Time to head out, and this time DD picked MK.
Our first stop at MK, other than to pick up another birthday button for DD, was for Dole Whips – our favorite WDW treat! It was getting hot, and they really hit the spot. I talked the family into doing Jungle Cruise since there was no line there, and we all really enjoyed our guide (Steve). This is such a classic Disney ride, one of the things I always dreamed of doing in Disneyland as a child. After a quick browse through the Pirates gift shop while DH and DS got fast passes for SM, DD and I met them at BTMR and walked right on. Since we had to wait for our FP time for SM, we headed over to HM, where DD got a spooky birthday serenade. Finally we got over to SM and boarded right away, thanks to FP. We just got to the first uphill when the ride stopped for quite some time, while every 30 seconds or so, a CM would remind everyone to stay seated. As it turned out, someone near the top of the ride had climbed out, and they had to get him out of there. At long last we were on our way, and the ride was awesome. Everything was working again, and the family in front of us got totally soaked on the big drop, sparing us.
By this time, it was time for us to go to LTT for our 2:45 lunch reservation. We were seated promptly, and greeted with a table full of Mickey confetti and streamers for DD’s birthday. Our food was great – DH, DD, and I had the turkey dinner, while DS had the William Penn Pasta. While we dined, the afternoon parade passed right by our window – it was so neat! We shared an absolutely delicious strawberry/blueberry shortcake for dessert, even though we were really stuffed – we just couldn’t resist it!
With our tummies full and our feet a little tired, we decided to head back to the hotel for a break. DH and I went for a swim in the Computer Pool, while DS and DD took a nap in the air conditioning. I was a bit surprised that the pool had no lifeguard on duty, and some of the shenanigans going on there made me a little nervous, so we didn’t stay long – just enough to cool off and refresh ourselves.
We headed back to MK later that evening, just in time for Wishes, then hopped the monorails to Epcot to take advantage of EMH there. We rode SSE and walked around a bit, and DD and I went shopping while DH and DS headed for MS. We got in the 50 minute line for Soarin’, but decided to just FastPass it the next day, since we’d be back in Epcot that morning. Since Saturday was going to be a busy day, we decided to head back to the hotel.
Saturday:
My Christmas present to DH, DD, and DS last year was a reservation for the Around the World on a Segway Tour for Saturday morning at 9:30. I have a problem with my wrist, so I did not go, but I now wish I had gone. They had an absolute blast with it, and rode all around WS in Epcot, with the Flower and Garden show going on. Since the tour takes about 2 hours, I got to take in a lot of the flowers and topiaries myself, and took a lot of pictures for others who wanted to be included in their photos. I also picked up our FastPasses for Soarin’ then too. We had lunch reservations at LeCellier, where we had a fabulous meal. We shared a bowl of their famous Cheddar Cheese soup to dip our bread sticks in, then DD and I each had a tasty steak burger, while DH and DS each had the Prime Rib French Dip. This was by far the best food and service we’ve ever had at WDW. We’ll definitely go back!
After using our FP’s for Soarin’ we headed over to Mexico for one of our traditional rides. It was not busy at all, so we had our own boat for the 4 of us. Who can resist singing after that?!!!!
With DD having turned 21, one of her goals for this trip was the to “Drink Around the World”.The plan was that DS and I would split up from she and DH for the remainder of the day, then meet that evening for Illuminations. I have to admit that I was not too crazy about this whole idea, but who better for her to be with than her Dad I suppose if she were “imbibing”? So DS and I headed for Norway, and she and DH headed for the Cantina. Much to my surprise, she called us while we were waiting for Maelstrom, and she had changed her mind after 2 sips of a very strong Margarita. Now I’m not stupid enough to think that this means that she never has or never will touch the stuff again, but believe me, for that day, I was greatly relieved!!
By this time, it was quite hot (92 – 94?), and having come from 40ish degree weather, the heat was really getting to us. So we left Epcot, and took the boat over to Beach Club for ice cream at Beaches ‘n Cream, then headed back to our hotel, via MGM. We had planned to go to AK for Everest, but basically, we were just too hot, and we had done it twice in February, so we decided to just skip it this time. After cooling off and rehydrating, we tried to make plans for the evening. DS and DD planned to go back to MK , then maybe go to DTD to shop and visit House of Blues. DH & I wanted to go see Illuminations, while DD and Ds planned to go back to MK, since it was open ‘til 11, and possibly DTD to shop at House of Blues. We all turned on our cell phones, and headed off to the parks. Illuminations was fantastic, as always, and once it was over, DH and I caught the monorails over to MK for a few final rides. Much to my surprise, Wishes was going on when we arrived, so we watched that again, then rode Buzz Lightyear, where I was soundly defeated. No trip to MK is complete without at least one ride around on the TTA, so we headed there next, and stayed on for 2 laps. CoP was our next destination, then one final attempt at Peter Pan. Unfortunately, we had lost track of time, and when we got over to FantasyLand, everything was closing. We took our time walking out, and said a fond farewell to the castle before catching our bus back to PC.
Sunday:
After sleeping in a little and a quick breakfast at the food court, we reluctantly waited for our bus back to the airport. Our driver seemed to be pretty mad about something, and when we got to CBR to pick up guests, he made a rather nasty phone call to his dispatcher about one of the other drivers. The entire ride to the airport was pretty uneventful after that, and he barely spoke to anyone. We flew SW, and had our boarding passes printed up at the hotel, so checking in was pretty easy, and security went very smoothly. Once we got to the gate, they announced that they might need to “bump” 4 people, so we volunteered, as long as we could get home that same day. As it turned out, they only needed to bump 2, so DD and I waited an extra 3 hours at the airport, but got $620 worth of SW credits for it!
Our trip was really fantastic – exactly what our family needed. Those of you with older children will understand how rare it is to have quality time alone with them, so to have it at a fabulous place like WDW was even more special!
