Leaving October 17th... need opinions and advice

[wardpr68]

Hello everyone, so my mother surprised me with the best present i could ever dream of, a 10 day trip to disneyworld with her. The family has been going through some rough times and i think the trip will be better almost for her than me. But we do leave on Oct 17th.. MY BIRTHDAY! its gonna be awesome.

A few things i was wondering.

How is that disney magical express program? Supposedly they pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel room and deliver our luggage. Sounds EXTREMELY convenient. My mom was worried about getting a taxi so this just helped ease her stress a ton. IS IT GOOD?

We are staying at the pop century resort... last time i went about 4 years ago maybe this resort did not exist. Anyone else stayed there? how was it? clean? convenient for getting to the parks?

Last thing i can think of for now. My mom doesn't want to be spending a fortune on eating... i told her i would definitely help out with that part. So where is some good places to go for daily food? nothing special, pizza and stuff like that? And whats a good fancy restaraunt for our last day maybe?

Thanks so much for any help. I cant wait to go :sohappy:

 

[Nemo14]

Congratulations! what a great surprise!
ME is great -you'll catch the bus right at the airport and they bring you and your luggage right to your hotel. We've used it and it was great - no hassels at all!
Pop Century is a great hotel, and many people here consider it the best of the Values. There are many threads here about it - just do a search. The food court there has a good variety of food - be sure to buy a mug - you'll get free refills for your entire stay there.
I'm not sure what type of restaurant or how pricey you want, but there are several great ones. You'll need to make your reservations ASAP to get your first choice.

 

[wardpr68]

good to hear Magical Express is good. Thats awesome.

Thanks for the tip about the mug... thats the kind of info i need

For the fancy restaurants not something ridicilous with $60 entrees... but something fun. I remember a long time ago we went to some restaurant that was on a rotating platform and the characters came around.. it was kind of cool. But quality of food would be highest priority i think.

Thanks for the response Nemo14

 

[Nemo14]

good to hear Magical Express is good. Thats awesome.

Thanks for the tip about the mug... thats the kind of info i need

For the fancy restaurants not something ridicilous with $60 entrees... but something fun. I remember a long time ago we went to some restaurant that was on a rotating platform and the characters came around.. it was kind of cool. But quality of food would be highest priority i think.

Thanks for the response Nemo14

That was the restaurant at the Land (in Epcot) that you're thinking about. I'm pretty sure that's still there.
The Hoop-Dee Doo Revue at FW is a fun night out - it's a dinner and a show, so it's a little pricey.
We always go to the Biergarten in Germany. It's a buffet - great German food and desserts, and a German band with a little audience participation. We like the way you're seated at big tables with other people, so you pretty much have to talk to other people.
There are menus on this site as well as on AllEars.net that can give you a good idea of what's available, and people here can be very helpful too!

 

[slappy magoo]

Others can explain it better, but there is a dining plan you may be able to add on to your tickets for each night of your stay. It's like 38 bucks per adult (11 bucks for kids 3 to 9), but for that price, you get one table-service meal each day, one counter-service meal, and one snack (popcorn, pretzel, ice cream, bottled water, stuff like that). It still leaves you, theoretically, with one meal a day, but if you choose wisely, you can eat so heartily for the 2 meals you DO get, you might not even need a third meal, or if you do, it might be something small and simple, like a bagel for breakfast.

Go to allearsnet.com. There's a page that describes the Magic Your Way Dining Plan, and then you & your mom can see if, for some odd reason, your tickets don't apply to get this deal. There are also current menus for ALL of the resturants in WDW there, from food courts & stands in the theme parks to all the full-service resturants. That might be an even better indicator of where you'd like to eat than our suggestions, being that most of us have deep-seated emotional issues, and would steer you towards the crappiest resturants so that our faves will be less-crowded when we get there!

If $38 a day for food was still more than you or your mom wanted to spend, I totally understand and sympathize. But look at the menus first, check out the prices. When you consider that even a fast-food type of meal can run more than 10 dollars a day, it's nice to know that you can get some really good meals, plus eat at some really fantastic resturants, for just a few bucks more than 3 fast-food meals a day.

 

[Disneysue]

Get The Dining Plan!

CONGRATS! What a fantasMIC :lol: surprise! The dining plan is the BEST option to go with! There is no way you can eat for less than $38 a day at WDW. Plus, by getting the Dining plan, you pay for it up front, and then dont have to worry about budgeting out for food when you get there. The rest fo your $$$ can be saved and used for the most important thing.....................souvinEARS :lol: . Have a GREAT TIME!:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Craig & Lisa]

On DME, the one thing I would say is what time is your plane landing? If it's late in the day I would say register for DME but don't put the tags on your bags, pick them up yourself and put them on the bus then they are with you the whole time. We did this last month because we came in at about 10:30 11ish, so we just wanted to go to sleep and not have to wait for them to show up, I didn't really mind though, WE WERE AT DISNEY!!!!! And we're going again in 50 days :sohappy:.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Since others have gone into length about DME (which I do love! It is a very easy way to get to and from the Disney resort and airport) I will discuss Pop Century.

I absolutely love Pop Century! I have stayed at Pop twice in the last 2 years and think it is wonderful and while I have never stayed in the other Value resorts, and I don't know if I will, since I like Pop so much. It has great theming and it is extremely clean (although it's been since January since I've been there...but I'm assuming it's still the same.) The food court is nice and has quite a bit of variety...and some interesting items on the menu as well. There is also a lounge area located in the main hall, as well as a store.

The rooms aren't fancy, but if you don't spend a lot of time in your room, it doesn't matter much what they look like as long as they are clean.

I think that it is one of the most convenient hotels to stay at to get to and from the parks. Since they only have one section of it open right now, it has it's own bus pick people up. So, you don't have to share a bus with people staying at other resorts.

But the main test is would I stay at Pop again and the answer to that is yes. I am planning a trip to Disney right now for next September and that is exactly where I'm thinking about staying again.

I hope you have a wonderful time and enjoy your birthday trip.

 

[wardpr68]

I LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

I am sooo excited. Checking the weather though and there seems to be a fair amount of rain.

What are the best parks on rainy days? Clearly not AK

 

[coltow]

I LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

I am sooo excited. Checking the weather though and there seems to be a fair amount of rain.

What are the best parks on rainy days? Clearly not AK

Any time we know it's going to rain for an entire day, we usually head to EPCOT as the attractions are lengthy. You can spend a good amount of time in all the attractions which keeps you out of the rain. There's also plenty to do in all the countries in World Showcase. No matter which park you choose don't let the rain stop you. Just put on a poncho and go, that's our motto.

I loved Pop, the themes were cool, it was clean and the rooms were just fine and the buses worked out great for us. Counter Service meals are fine and will save money. I recommend a character meal though. They are not overly expensive.

 

[metscool]

I LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

I am sooo excited. Checking the weather though and there seems to be a fair amount of rain.

What are the best parks on rainy days? Clearly not AK

No they always say that it is going to rain. You have to look at the chance of rain the % is usaully low the last couple of days now. They said it was going to rain on the Nemo preview on Friday and it did not rain.

One question are you going to be at the meeting on Saturday at MGM?

 

[Nemo14]

I LEAVE TOMORROW!!!

I am sooo excited. Checking the weather though and there seems to be a fair amount of rain.

What are the best parks on rainy days? Clearly not AK

Have a fantastic trip, and tell us all about it when you get back!

PS - Say hi to Nemo for me....

 

[daverube]

CONGRATS!!!! That's a fantastic gift!!!

As for food and restaurants, you can always check out:

http://www.wdwmagic.com/menus.htm on this site

or

http://www.allearsnet.com/menu/menus.htm

for current menus (including prices and selections:

Personally, we really like Chefs de France in the WS. Everyone here raves about Le Cellier (WS) and the California Grill (in the Contemporary) so we're eating there in 2 weeks.

We also like the Sci-Fi Cafe and 50s Prime-Time Cafe at DS.

I hope this helps.

Have a great trip!!

dave

 

[wardpr68]

No they always say that it is going to rain. You have to look at the chance of rain the % is usaully low the last couple of days now. They said it was going to rain on the Nemo preview on Friday and it did not rain.

One question are you going to be at the meeting on Saturday at MGM?

What meeting are you talking about??? As of now no... but if its interesting... maybe? :lol:

 

[luna99]

congrats! I was sitting here at work imagining that I was leaving to WDW tomorrow..haha. you must be so excited!

wish I could give you advice but everyone else has pretty much covered it so yeah! have a great time!! :sohappy:

 

[davinakb]

So where is some good places to go for daily food? nothing special, pizza and stuff like that? And whats a good fancy restaraunt for our last day maybe?

Lucky you have fun!

For fancy: try something unusual like Jiko: go to AKL, look around as it's a beautiful hotel, then enjoy an exotic dinner. Or do the California Grill at the Contemporary, and watch Wishes from the viewing deck. Can also recommend Artist Point, Bistro de Paris, Victoria & Alberts (though we're getting more expensive).

For daily, still consider some of the sit-down places and sharing. Mama Melrose at MGM has flatbread pizzas that are a bit nicer that what's at the Toy Story place and large enough to share, and you can relax with comfortable table service. Same with Le Cellier at Canada: not sure how many are in your party, but my sister and I have each had a soup then split a steak and dessert there. It was plenty of food, not too much money and yummy.

Check out the menus as others have posted, then call ASAP to make priority seatings. Be flexible as to times and places (regarding which parks, which days, etc.) and hopefully you'll get something.

 

[goofyfamily]

First of all Magical Express we love it. Second the Pop stayed there the first year they opened and no complaints there. Third a few quick food tips, Peco Bills in MK is our favorite for fast food hamburgs and fries they are pretty big and filling. Also if you want to try a neat place for atmosphere and not spend alot of money try the SCi-Fi in MGM or the Primetime 50s in Mgm. One year we just went to each for lunch and the atmosphere is great you can even get a aundae or something like that without spending a lot of money but try to make a reservation even for lunch. We like the dining plan anymore. But if you dont need a lot to eat you can still eat affordably. Also we at at the polynesian Ohana restaurant our last night and timed it for the Hallowishes and that was a great way to end our trip. You can see the halloween fireworks and they pipe the music in also. I believe the dinner was around 27 a person. It was way to much food you can look at the menus on line and see what you like. But it was nice atmosphere and the fireworks were a plus.

 

[metscool]

What meeting are you talking about??? As of now no... but if its interesting... maybe? :lol:

The link below that is on every Saturday. The other day we had wdwishes, Slade, Masteryoda, firefox, myself, and wannabebelle. If I forgot anyone just tell me. O and we met MKT and alicia over at the Adventures Club that night.

 

[Tinkrbell]

I remember a long time ago we went to some restaurant that was on a rotating platform and the characters came around.. it was kind of cool. But quality of food would be highest priority i think

I just got back yesterday. Everytime I was in the Land, it didn't appear as though the Garden Grill was rotating. Each time I walked past it, the littlwe walk way to get from the outside of the restaurant to the inside was in the exact same spot. I did see the characters there though.
I stayed at Pop Century. It's a great hotel & it was my second time staying there. Just a warning though, if you plan on going to Downtown Disney on a Friday or Saturday night, be prepared to wait for a bus to downtown Disney. While we were waiting for a bus to Downtown Disney 3 or 4 stopped at the MGM stop & pulled away completely empty. We ended up waiting for a bus for almost half an hour. That was probably the only part about the hotel we weren't hapy with.
I hope you have a great time. Be sure to do Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. I think it is well worth the money. You can practically walk right on the rides. (Or at least I did on Thursday night.)