Great Experience at All Star Music! 12/13 to 12/14 Trip Report!

Hey All!

FIRST - We stayed from 12/ 13 to 12/18!!! Sorry about the misleading title!!

Just wanted to share with you that we had a WONDERFUL and MAGICAL time at All Star Music this past week! We were sad to leave yesterday!

Having only ever stayed at the Poly, we were interested to experience a value.

Check in was a breeze with a wonderful, enthusiastic gentleman greeting us and CM's were handing out stickers and balloons everywhere, putting our grumpy, travel weary children into a much better mood!!

We found the entire resort to be extremely clean (and that is saying something because I am an OCD clean freak!) We were impressed with the fact that Disney cleans and changes all the bedding, not just the sheets, after each guest. Our room was spotless and had three darling towel animals. We didn't have Mousekeeping come in each day (once again, the OCD thing in me - I can't have other people cleaning in my room - weird I know!) BUT we did hear many, many other parents talk about all the cute towel animal/ stuffed animal set ups that Mousekeeping provided for their children. Sounded like everyone was very happy with Mousekeeping!

The food court was very clean and very well run. No long wait times, no problems at all. We thought the selection was nice, but we only ate there for 2 breakfasts and 1 dinner. I suppose if you planned to eat there every meal, the menu might seem a little limited. They had a great selection of healthy foods, which we loved.

The guitar pool was huge and full of fun activities being led by CMs. I can see where it would have been a little loud if you were staying in a Caylipso (sp?) building and had a room that faced the pool. The piano pool was nice and quiet. There were plenty of washers/ dryers in the laundry room next to the Piano pool. (I was a little worried after experiencing the limited number of washers available at the Poly in March.) We were in Broadway and had no problem with the walk to the food court/ bus stops.

I will say that the rooms were small. If we ever went back we would get two rooms just for the two bathrooms, quiet room for the kids so we could stay up later, etc. But even the smallness of the rooms wouldn't keep me from going back! We decided to try the Wilderness Cabins for our trip in June 2009, but not because we didn't have a wonderful time at ASMu!!!

I will post more and hopefully add some pictures later, but for now I have to tackle a huge load of laundry and put a toddler down for her nap!

Does anyone know if you can post pictures directly from your computer? Or do you have to host them on a photo site first?

 

[Disneyfalcon]

You need to host them or upload them to your photo album here. Can't wait to see them!! I'm glad you had such a great experience at All Star!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Looking forward to seeing your pics

 

[erstwo]

Day 1

Here's my first report. I'll try my best! Please bear with me on the pictures. I'm one of those people blessed with a wonderful camera, that I know absolutely nothing about! One of these days I'm going to start actually using the manual mode!

Day 1 - Saturday, December 13

We arrive in Orlando around noon and head downstairs to the Magical Express, only to discover the LONGEST LINE EVER at ME check in. I considered taking a picture, but most people were already and I didn't want someone getting angry about a stranger taking their picture! I stand in the endless line, while my saint of a DH stays in the waiting area with our kids.

About 30 minutes later, we finally get checked in, stand in line to head to ASMu - the longest line of course! - and wait less than 5 minutes to board the bus.

Get to the hotel, enjoy the towel animals, settle in and decide to head to Hollywood Studios for the evening. For the most part, the evening was a wash. Long lines for every attraction, tired children, no fastpasses for TSM left, no ADR's, etc. etc. We did get to see the Osborne lights, but no pictures I could take could do them justice (despite the half hour tutorial from a lovely gentlemen who shared his D300 knowledge with me while I waited for DH and DS to finish the Star Tours ride.

After a little dinner (I can't even remember where we ate - it was that forgettable! :animwink We headed back to our room and decorated the window.

 

[erstwo]

Day 2

This the first trip that our entire family slept in the same room. Usually we have at least two rooms. Things went pretty well considering!

We got up on the first day and had breakfast at the ASMu food court. Mickey waffles all around -yummy! One great new addition to the menu at WDW is grapes in small plastic pouches. Last time we were at WDW, in March, they were offering grapes as a side item for kids, but they were small bunches of grapes still on the stem. This new "pre packaged" grapes are a great addition because you can throw them in your backpack/ diaper bag and they make a great snack later in the day!

We then headed to the MK arriving around 10:30. This day, Sunday, was everything you could ever hope for in a trip to the MK. Crowds were light, the weather was perfect, etc.
We were hardly in the gate when the character pictures started.

We then headed straight for Fastpasses at Splash Mountain and then BTMR, which DH and DS rode twice because there was no wait. After using the switch pass for DS and I to ride, we headed over the Splash where I managed to catch DH and DS after the "splash"

After I used the switch pass to ride Splash with DS, we had lunch in Frontierland and then continued our "walk on bonanza" with POC. After DH and DS rode POC, DS challenged Captain Hook. Here he is getting out his sword. :

The picture Photopass caught of them both "on guard" is priceless!

We then walked on most every ride in Fantasyland. Peter Pan, Winnie the Pooh, It's a Small World and more. I kept thinking that as the crowd for the impending MVMCP grew, the wait times would increase, but they never did! We did have a tiny (less than 10 minute) wait for the Jungle Cruise, but zero wait for the Magic Carpets.

We then headed for LTT and a fond farewell to a character dinner:

After dinner, we revisited just about everything in Fantasyland per the kids request, still no lines!!! By 7pm the kids were getting grumpy and we decided to head back to the hotel. I knew MVMCP was starting and I didn't want to be "swept" out of the park!

 

[erstwo]

Day 3

We woke up early on Monday to get to our 8:05 ADR's at the Crystal Palace. Since the MK didn't open until 9, it was kind of an extra magical time to be in park. There were few opportunities to photography Main Street as it was chock full of Princesses headed to CRT. I wish I had had time to roam the entire park (if that is even allowed), but we had to be near the CP to hear our name called - of course!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Wow your pictures are beautiful!! Thanks for sharing so far!

 

[erstwo]

Day 3 Con't

Our breakfast at Crystal Palace was amazing! I cannot recommend it enough. It seems like everyone enjoys this buffet. It was roughly 9:15 when we left the Crystal Palace. We headed straight for Tomorrowland and Fastpasses for Space Mountain. When we arrived we realized there was zero wait for SM so DH and DS walked on while DD and I waited outside.

We then headed for Buzz which had no wait.

Then over to TTA, which was to be the end of our "little to no wait time" dream come true saga! Boo! From this point forward we encountered waits of 10 (gasp!!!) to 30 (oh no!!!!) minutes on most rides! :ROFLOL:

We headed to the Astro Orbiter. I felt like I could have gotten some great pictures while up in the air if I knew what I was doing. Has anyone else gotten a great shot of SM or the Castle while on this ride?

I won't even attempt to post my bad, unedited shots!

We waited about 10 minutes to ride the Speedway, which was quite a bumpy ride. It seems my driver needed a booster seat:

Then, after a wonderful lunch at Cosmic Ray's it was off to Toontown, the other area of the park we had neglected on our first day. We visited Mickey and Minnie's houses first. DD was just amazed by Minnie's tea set and "baking" cake!

 

[erstwo]

We decided to pass on the Barnstormer and it's 30 (oh no!) minute wait and took the train around the park. When we got back to our strollers DD was having a little bit of a meltdown and a wonderful CM came over to see if she could help us. Turns out there was little she could do for a 2 year old tantrum (surprise, surprise ) BUT DS did engage in his first pin trading experience!!! So exciting! (for me anyway!)

We went to Winnie the Pooh for fast passes and received a "bonus" fastpass for Mickey's Philharmagic. It was almost time for Storytime with Belle, so we headed there first. It was a wonderful performance and this Belle was just amazing. We loved the audience participation too!

After, we buckled in our "twins" and headed to the Philharmagic. Loved this movie! So much fun! I can't believe we might have passed it up if it hadn't been for the bonus fastpasses.

After riding Winnie, we played on Pooh's playground for a bit and headed back to Cosmic Ray's for dinner. You just can't beat the selection!

We decided to visit Ariel in her grotto. I'm glad we didn't pass it up since Ariel did not turn up at our Akershus princess breakfast. I will say though that the wait seemed crazy long for just one princess. We waited over 40 minutes.

I do have to brag on a CM named Sam though. She was working at the entrance to Ariels grotto as we left. I asked her if she knew if we would be able to catch Prince Philip before or after the Spectromagic parade because my DS really wanted to meet him and get his autograph. She said, Unfortunately no. But if you give me your autograph book and will wait here I will be glad to go get his autograph for you. And she did! Well, that just made my DS's day! He is still pointing out that autograph to people.

It was then time for the Spectromagic parade. We tried heading toward Main Street, but it was already jam packed so we ran to Frontierland where we managed to grab a decent spot thanks to the kindness of some strangers. I took the following night shots with my Nikon D40 and just whatever lens came with this camera. I'll take any input any of you great photographers have on how to improve them!!!!!

It was a great parade, but something must have happened to the float carrying Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip which was a HUGE deal to my DD and DS. DS had been told over and over again by CM's that his only chance of seeing Prince Phillip was in the parade and when there was no Prince Phillip (combined with staying up past bedtime) there was quite a meltdown! But the promise of fireworks cheered him up and off we went to Main Street.

A great ending to a great day!

 

[erstwo]

Day 4

Once again, we started off the day with Mickey waffles at All Star Music and then headed out for Animal Kingdom. I can't remember our exact arrival time, but we were there within an hour of park opening. I really began to appreciate this park on this visit. Unfortunately, we didn't get to spend as much time here as I would have liked, but there's always next trip right??

We headed straight for the Safari and fastpasses. Fastpasses in hand we headed for the nearest "trail" and took in some wildlife. Amazing views of gorillas!

It was then time for our fastpasses, so we headed out on Safari!

The warthogs and the cheetahs were the highlights for DD and DS.

After the Safari we headed over toward Asia for some Yak and Yeti takeout. Yummy, yummy! And EE fastpasses. DH and DS rode EE while DD and I enjoyed some ice cream from the "indian van."

We caught a showing of Nemo which was excellent, as always. We even came in late and ended up with great seats about 1/3 of the way in because people got up and left (what's up with that??? It's a Broadway worthy show included in your admission - why would you leave??)

We then headed over to Dinoland, which really was a huge disappointment. I really have no idea how or who thought that this area would be a great addition to the AK, but to me it just seemed disjointed, a direct opposite of the rest of the park. Still, we rode the Dino version of Dumbo and bought some trading pins.

By now, the kids were exhausted from 2 and a half days in the parks, so we headed back to the resort for some pool time and some R & R.

 

[Monty]

Loving your report! :sohappy:

 

[One Lil Spark]

Loving your report! :sohappy:

Here, here!

 

[maggiegrace1]

Great pictures and love your little girls outfit!..She is a cutie..

 

[erstwo]

Thanks! That dress came from etsy.com and was custom made for my DD by a lady who only charged $25 + shipping!!!! It was a steal!!

I'm going to try to finish my report today, but if not it will most likely be after the New Year before I can finish.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[erstwo]

Last Day

I am so excited because I finally found our rope drop pictures from Epcot!!! I really wanted to post these pictures because I think it emphasizes the fun of rope drop (and one of the perks that I was unaware of!), but couldn't find them anywhere. I finally found them on my son's Sony Powershot. I guess DH just grabbed this camera because it was already out in the stroller. Whew! Mystery solved!

So, as you can guess we arrived at Epcot early, 8:30ish. Epcot was scheduled to open at 9 that day and we had Akershus reservations for 9:55, so we wanted to be on time. I also wanted to be sure we got fastpasses for Soarin - the only ride I really wanted to ride. After trying to go through the princess breakfast line with no luck (hey it was worth a shot!) We got in line and to our surprise were allowed into the park early?? at 8:45. We started jogging toward Soarin only to be stopped by a rope placed at the right turn toward The Land. Ahhhhh..... so this is the proverbial "rope drop!"

Okay, we thought, we'll just stand here and finish our jog at 9, we were excited to be at a rope drop! Then we were even more excited because "what to our wondering eyes should appear??" Why Mickey and crew of course!!

Then they played some fun music, the characters danced, we counted down and we were OFF toward Soarin! It was a great way to start the morning! DH and DS were on the very first Soarin ride of the day while DD and I rode Living with the Land.
We then stopped off at the Character Greeting place (what's it called again??) for even more pictures and then RAN to our reservation at Akershus. Which was silly, because the wait to get in that place is FOREVER long! Not that I'm saying that I can think of a better way to do it, I just wish I hadn't run the whole way

Time to take my little princess to meet her favs!

 

[erstwo]

The breakfast was wonderful. Most of you know, but just in case... they bring out your hot foods family style. One big plate of eggs, yummy, yummy, yummy cheesy potatoes/ hashbrowns, and something else?? All the cold things are on a buffet. Fruit, cheese, danishes (oh the danishes - I think I ate 3!), even salmon.

The princesses were wonderful. They were kind to my children who were very excited to meet them, but also very intimidated. Sort of that hero worship thing. We had a great time. Also, if anyone knows this Belle, give her our thanks. We went to see her 4 times throughout the day - both at breakfast and outside France in her blue dress. And she was so kind to my kids who kept wanting to see her again!

After breakfast DH and DS rode the Viking ride, which was really cool according to my 5 year old DS while DD and I walked around the World taking some pictures.

We spent most of the rest of the day in the World Showcase. Our kids loved filling in their Kidcot masks. We did take the boat back over to Future World to do The Seas with Nemo and Friends and Turtletalk with Crush. But then it was back to the World Showcase for more Kidcot and dinner at the Biergarten.

Dinner was wonderful. The only bummer was that as we entered the restaurant the band was playing Silent Night. They then took a one hour break!!!! We kept hanging around and hanging around, hoping for the band to come back. Finally after an hour they came back on and we stayed to dance for a few minutes, but it was entirely possible to be seated, eat your meal, and never see/ hear the band, which to me detracts a lot from the experience. Boo. But, on the other hand, I do understand that they have to eat too!

After dinner we headed back to Soarin to use my switchpass, only to discover that my DH had lost the switchpass from all those hours ago on the first ride of the day! Luckily the CM at the door to the Land took pity on us and our pitiful story and gave us another pass!! DS and I rode and I LOVED it!!! A great way to end our Disney trip!

All in all, a picture perfect Disney experience. No rain, no cold, no overbearing heat - amazing! Here's to June 2009!

 

[HollyBelle]

Great report and photos... thanks for sharing. The picture of your daughter twirling in Norway is adorable! We were at WDW the same week (12/14-12/19) and I was thankful for such great weather.

 

[DormaNesbit]

Great Trip Report and I loved your pictures! Your children are darling!:wave:

 

[rbrower]

Thanks for the great trip report!

 

[erstwo]

Thanks everyone! It was fun reporting on our trip.