I've read many of the reviews of other Disney fans trips to the world and FINALLY decided to write one of my own...this is our trip report from November 3 - 10, 2017. Since our trip was a week long, and I want to be as accurate and in depth as possible, I'm going to do each day as a separate post, so please bear with me...if I'm TOO detailed, please excuse me, but I'm a perfectionist and want to get it right.
First, a little back story...my user name is Smiley/OCD...the Smiley is short for our last name, and the OCD is obsessive, compulsive Disney - plain & simple!! I'm 53, 6'3", 160 lbs. and because of multiple sclerosis, use an ECV though I don't want to use it, but to really enjoy the world now, I have to use one....I can't walk long distances anymore...I added my height and weight so you know I'm not your typical 2017 ECV user (if you know what I mean) LOL
We're a family of 4, my DW of 24 years and 2 DD's ages 19 & 17, who are STILL fanatics of the World (my 19 YO was just accepted into the Disney College Program in January and my 17 YO is going to take a road trip with several of her friends to the World after she graduates in June, 2019, so they both still have the "bug". My DW & I became fanatics after our honeymoon trip in 1993, and cemented it when we saw the looks on our DD's faces when they first saw the castle on our first family trip in 2004. ANYONE going for the first time with your kids...GET A PICTURE of their faces the first time they see the castle from the beginning of Main St. MAN, I wish we would have taken that photo!! It's a picture we will FOREVER have etched in our memories!!!
I don't consider myself a "pixie duster" OR a "doom & gloomer", I'm a Jersey guy and tells it like it is, good OR bad...
With those tidbits of information, here we go!!
We arrived at the Orlando Int'l. Airport on Friday, Nov. 3rd at approx. 8pm from Atlantic City, NJ via Spirit Airlines, a GOOD airline until our trip home (more about that on the last day's report). One thing I have to say about Spirit...yeah I know, they're no frills and charge you extra for EVERYTHING, but they fly my ECV down for free and we have it down that we can spend the whole week with just a carryon each! We picked up our rental mini-van (which was free with our c/c points that we have saved up)...we get a rental for 2 reasons...first, I LIVE on Diet Pepsi (which is not available on property, just Coke (YUK!!) so I need to be able to drive off property 10 minutes to the 7-11 on Rt. 535 to get my Super Big Gulp and several 2L bottles for the parks each day. Crazy to some, I know, but my DW will only drink Poland Spring water, so we either ship a case down ahead of time, or we have now found out that the local BJ's carries it, so my friend who lives in Orlando, bought a case for her, and delivered it to our resort (BIG SHOUT OUT MIKE!!!) The other reason is that I HATE the feeling of being confined, so if we need the car, we have it. (Which is why no cruises for us)!!
The BEST sight is always the giant sign on Osceola Pkwy. welcoming you to WDW and the road signs in purple and red....YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ARRIVED!!!
For the third time, stayed at our NEW favorite resort, Art of Animation...we've stayed in the Finding Nemo and Lion King suites, and this time it's Cars...AWESOME!!! I'm a big kid at heart, and I think AOA is the BEST themed resort on property!!! You are totally immersed in all things Disney 24/7. When the DD's were younger, our go to resort was Pop Century, but unfortunately, we have outgrown it- height wise...my girls are both tall and it's kinda hard jamming them both into one bed at Pop, so AOA it is! Pop is a GREAT resort, but it's now too small for the 4 of us in one room. Just a note on the resorts, everyone is entitled to their personal opinions on the resorts at WDW...but to US, we'd rather spend our $$$ in the parks than on the rooms, considering we're just showering and sleeping in the rooms.
We arrived at AOA around 9:30 pm, grabbed a bite at the awesome QS food court, Landscape of Flavors, went up to our room (clean and tidy as always), and unpacked. We watched a little of MY favorite "eye candy", Stacey on the TV, and planned our first REAL day at our happy place, the Magic Kingdom.
Saturday found us up and ready at 7 am for our first ADR breakfast at Crystal Palace. It's been our traditional first breakfast at CP for 2 reasons...the kids still LOVE the Pooh characters, and I LOVE Pooh's Puffed French Toast!!! I filled my plate twice, and my DD's made their own autograph books, so they got to work almost immediately! With a full tank, off we went!!
We went on the following attractions (in no particular order and with some FP+): various vehicles on Main St., 7DMT, People Mover, SFRTH, BTMRR, POTC, COP (my 19 YO DD's favorite ride), Winnie, Peter Pan, HM, IASW, Philharmagic, Muppets show at HOP, Liberty Belle, CBJ, JC and Buzz.
A few interesting things about our full day at MK...while waiting in the queue for JC, who gets on the boat before us, but Carla Hall from ABC's "The Chew"!! She was with (I assume) her daughter and a Disney Tour guide, so they didn't wait in the queue until they were boarding. NO, we didn't say anything, we just let them enjoy their ride. While in the queue, we heard one of my favorite novelty Christmas songs, "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas", the original version by Gayla Peevey....that had everyone in the queue singing!! We had a very GOOD skipper who was into it and made the trip enjoyable...AND the rhino IS BACK!!! A happy sight to say the least!!
On IASW, there was good and bad news on that attraction...the good news is that when we were there in March 2016, as you travel underneath the walkway/bridge just past the AA's saying goodbye, the side of the bridge facing the riders was FILTHY!!! I don't know if it was black with dirt, mold or a combination or both, but I'm happy to report that it was cleaned and painted!! Also, all but one of the overhead AA's were working. The disappointing news... many of the LED lights on the giant backround scene in the queue were burned out...not a few, but MANY!!! C'mon, overnight crew...cant you guys fix them?? First impressions are always the most important, so let's go!!! Also, the whole section of Irish AA's were dark and not working.
2 great T-shirts I saw...one guy was wearing a shirt (in Disney font) that read "Six out of seven dwarves are NOT happy" (LOVED IT), and another guy was wearing a shirt that read " I'm too old for the Disney College Program" Now that my oldest DD will be entering the DCP in January, I GOTTA HAVE THAT SHIRT!!! If anyone knows where to get it, (didn't look homemade), PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!
Dinner was an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern...always great!!! The pot roast is the BEST!!! Of course, a visit to the MK wouldn't be complete without a Dole whip float! MMMMM!
Just a final thought on day one...we ALWAYS use the busses...I love the voiceover saying, "Welcome to the WDW Transportation System...we're on our way to the Magic Kingdom"!!! That's when we REALLY know you're in the world!!! At night, on the way back to the resorts...the temps were in the mid 60's... bus drivers...is there REALLY a need to have the A/C cranked??? Jeez...
After an exhausting day (and night), we ended our first day at around 11:30 pm at the MK!!! The rest of our trip still to come!!
First, a little back story...my user name is Smiley/OCD...the Smiley is short for our last name, and the OCD is obsessive, compulsive Disney - plain & simple!! I'm 53, 6'3", 160 lbs. and because of multiple sclerosis, use an ECV though I don't want to use it, but to really enjoy the world now, I have to use one....I can't walk long distances anymore...I added my height and weight so you know I'm not your typical 2017 ECV user (if you know what I mean) LOL
We're a family of 4, my DW of 24 years and 2 DD's ages 19 & 17, who are STILL fanatics of the World (my 19 YO was just accepted into the Disney College Program in January and my 17 YO is going to take a road trip with several of her friends to the World after she graduates in June, 2019, so they both still have the "bug". My DW & I became fanatics after our honeymoon trip in 1993, and cemented it when we saw the looks on our DD's faces when they first saw the castle on our first family trip in 2004. ANYONE going for the first time with your kids...GET A PICTURE of their faces the first time they see the castle from the beginning of Main St. MAN, I wish we would have taken that photo!! It's a picture we will FOREVER have etched in our memories!!!
I don't consider myself a "pixie duster" OR a "doom & gloomer", I'm a Jersey guy and tells it like it is, good OR bad...
With those tidbits of information, here we go!!
We arrived at the Orlando Int'l. Airport on Friday, Nov. 3rd at approx. 8pm from Atlantic City, NJ via Spirit Airlines, a GOOD airline until our trip home (more about that on the last day's report). One thing I have to say about Spirit...yeah I know, they're no frills and charge you extra for EVERYTHING, but they fly my ECV down for free and we have it down that we can spend the whole week with just a carryon each! We picked up our rental mini-van (which was free with our c/c points that we have saved up)...we get a rental for 2 reasons...first, I LIVE on Diet Pepsi (which is not available on property, just Coke (YUK!!) so I need to be able to drive off property 10 minutes to the 7-11 on Rt. 535 to get my Super Big Gulp and several 2L bottles for the parks each day. Crazy to some, I know, but my DW will only drink Poland Spring water, so we either ship a case down ahead of time, or we have now found out that the local BJ's carries it, so my friend who lives in Orlando, bought a case for her, and delivered it to our resort (BIG SHOUT OUT MIKE!!!) The other reason is that I HATE the feeling of being confined, so if we need the car, we have it. (Which is why no cruises for us)!!
The BEST sight is always the giant sign on Osceola Pkwy. welcoming you to WDW and the road signs in purple and red....YOU KNOW YOU HAVE ARRIVED!!!
For the third time, stayed at our NEW favorite resort, Art of Animation...we've stayed in the Finding Nemo and Lion King suites, and this time it's Cars...AWESOME!!! I'm a big kid at heart, and I think AOA is the BEST themed resort on property!!! You are totally immersed in all things Disney 24/7. When the DD's were younger, our go to resort was Pop Century, but unfortunately, we have outgrown it- height wise...my girls are both tall and it's kinda hard jamming them both into one bed at Pop, so AOA it is! Pop is a GREAT resort, but it's now too small for the 4 of us in one room. Just a note on the resorts, everyone is entitled to their personal opinions on the resorts at WDW...but to US, we'd rather spend our $$$ in the parks than on the rooms, considering we're just showering and sleeping in the rooms.
We arrived at AOA around 9:30 pm, grabbed a bite at the awesome QS food court, Landscape of Flavors, went up to our room (clean and tidy as always), and unpacked. We watched a little of MY favorite "eye candy", Stacey on the TV, and planned our first REAL day at our happy place, the Magic Kingdom.
Saturday found us up and ready at 7 am for our first ADR breakfast at Crystal Palace. It's been our traditional first breakfast at CP for 2 reasons...the kids still LOVE the Pooh characters, and I LOVE Pooh's Puffed French Toast!!! I filled my plate twice, and my DD's made their own autograph books, so they got to work almost immediately! With a full tank, off we went!!
We went on the following attractions (in no particular order and with some FP+): various vehicles on Main St., 7DMT, People Mover, SFRTH, BTMRR, POTC, COP (my 19 YO DD's favorite ride), Winnie, Peter Pan, HM, IASW, Philharmagic, Muppets show at HOP, Liberty Belle, CBJ, JC and Buzz.
A few interesting things about our full day at MK...while waiting in the queue for JC, who gets on the boat before us, but Carla Hall from ABC's "The Chew"!! She was with (I assume) her daughter and a Disney Tour guide, so they didn't wait in the queue until they were boarding. NO, we didn't say anything, we just let them enjoy their ride. While in the queue, we heard one of my favorite novelty Christmas songs, "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas", the original version by Gayla Peevey....that had everyone in the queue singing!! We had a very GOOD skipper who was into it and made the trip enjoyable...AND the rhino IS BACK!!! A happy sight to say the least!!
On IASW, there was good and bad news on that attraction...the good news is that when we were there in March 2016, as you travel underneath the walkway/bridge just past the AA's saying goodbye, the side of the bridge facing the riders was FILTHY!!! I don't know if it was black with dirt, mold or a combination or both, but I'm happy to report that it was cleaned and painted!! Also, all but one of the overhead AA's were working. The disappointing news... many of the LED lights on the giant backround scene in the queue were burned out...not a few, but MANY!!! C'mon, overnight crew...cant you guys fix them?? First impressions are always the most important, so let's go!!! Also, the whole section of Irish AA's were dark and not working.
2 great T-shirts I saw...one guy was wearing a shirt (in Disney font) that read "Six out of seven dwarves are NOT happy" (LOVED IT), and another guy was wearing a shirt that read " I'm too old for the Disney College Program" Now that my oldest DD will be entering the DCP in January, I GOTTA HAVE THAT SHIRT!!! If anyone knows where to get it, (didn't look homemade), PLEASE LET ME KNOW!!!!
Dinner was an ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern...always great!!! The pot roast is the BEST!!! Of course, a visit to the MK wouldn't be complete without a Dole whip float! MMMMM!
Just a final thought on day one...we ALWAYS use the busses...I love the voiceover saying, "Welcome to the WDW Transportation System...we're on our way to the Magic Kingdom"!!! That's when we REALLY know you're in the world!!! At night, on the way back to the resorts...the temps were in the mid 60's... bus drivers...is there REALLY a need to have the A/C cranked??? Jeez...
After an exhausting day (and night), we ended our first day at around 11:30 pm at the MK!!! The rest of our trip still to come!!
