The Moore Family's March Vacation: A Full Trip Report

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_6945 by qtley428

Southwest Airlines just came to Greenville the week of our flight, and thanks for our Aunt Lori’s fast fingers she was able to get us all round trip tickets for $77 each, taxes and fees included!

101_6948 by qtley428

101_6952 by qtley428

We took off on time at 10:20am and had a great flight. For those of you who read my Pre-Trip Report know that I have a fear of flying, and thanks to my wonderful doctor who gave me anxiety medicine (only for flying), I handled the flight just fine. We were offered snacks and drinks which was a surprise because I can’t remember the last time I was on a flight that supplied refreshments.

We landed at MCO at 11:28 and headed for Disney’s Magical Express (DME).

101_6953 by qtley428

We were met here with a bit of confusion. First, it took a while to figure out where to go. Secondly, I forgot my, Connor, and Andy’s DME tickets and lastly, Terri forgot to tag the luggage she and Don had, with their DME tags. Can you tell this was our first time using DME?

After getting Terri and Don’s luggage off of the conveyor belt, getting new tickets printed and finding the line for the bus, we finally sat down and considered ourselves on “Disney Property.”

101_6955 by qtley428

The bus ride was nice, although different for us, because we always drive to WDW. It was nice to have someone else do the driving and worry about our luggage. I have nothing but good things to say about using Disney’s Magical Express and we will surely take advantage of it anytime in the future that we may fly to Walt Disney World.

We got to All-Star Sports a little before 2. Checking in was not a problem and all of our requests were met. These requests would wind up backfiring on us, but you’ll have to keep reading to find out why! Connor, Andy, Dad and Terri went to the souvenir store while Don and I checked in. When Don and I had our key cards and were ready to go, Connor had already purchased a Pin Trading starter set with 4 pins and a lanyard and a Buzz Lightyear toy. Connor’s 4th birthday was in January and we had saved ALL of his birthday money, he had received $75 in Disney gift cards and he had 3 grandparents with him…he pretty much got anything he wanted over the course of our vacation!

101_6956 by qtley428

Don and Terri were in a room and Connor, Dad, Andy and I had an adjoining room. We had bottom floor rooms in the baseball section of the resort (both were our request). Around 2 we freshened up, it was time take a bus to head to the park we thought Don (who is a History teacher) would like the most: Epcot

101_6959 by qtley428

101_6960 by qtley428

We knew we’d have no chance of getting on Soarin’ this day because of the late time we got to Epcot and we had dinner reservations later that night. So, first on the agenda was Spaceship Earth. This is a ride Andy and I go on at least twice a trip, if not more. Don and Terri got hooked on it and rode it more throughout the trip. Terri is so cute; she can never remember what it is called and refers to it as “Mother Earth.” Too funny.

We had dinner reservations just about 3 hours later at Rose and Crown, but we were all starving from a long day of traveling. So, we went to one of our favorite quick service restaurants in Epcot: Sunshine Seasons.

101_6962 by qtley428

I am an admitted picky eater, Andy is the polar opposite and Connor lately only eats breakfast foods, fruit and veggies, anything chocolate and pizza. I tell you all this because if you’ve never been to Sunshine Seasons, you MUST go. There is food for any kind of eater and there are options for people who just need a snack or want to fill their tummies! We discovered this back in ’09 and eating here is a must from now on. I got the chicken with a side of mashed potatoes and beans, with a chocolate cake (we were on the Plus Dining Plan-more on this later). I normally don’t like chicken with the bone in, but this is the ONLY exception I ever make, it’s that good! The potatoes were delicious, I asked for two sides of potatoes because the other sides did not appeal to me but the server told me that wasn’t allowed. I wish it would have been because I didn’t like the beans I choose very much, but the cake was fantastic and Connor had some as well. Andy had sushi and crème brulee, both of which he liked very much, but he said the crème brulee did not compare to Le Cellier’s.
We have a lot of teachers in our family so I’ll rate the restaurants we ate at on a typical grading scale.

Service: B
Atmosphere: A
Food: A

Tummies full, we weren’t sure we’d be hungry for Rose and Crown. I tried to change our reservations for later that night, but they were booked. We all decided it was vacation and we’d just stick to it and eat dinner twice that night! In the meantime, we wanted to ride some rides.

101_6969 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

Both The Land and Nemo had 0 wait. Once done with those, we made it over to World Showcase where we saw Alice for the first time. I thought she was so stinking cute and had Alice’s personality down perfectly.

101_6975 by qtley428

Before we knew it, it was time for dinner #2 at Rose and Crown.

101_6978 by qtley428

101_6982 by qtley428

101_6983 by qtley428

101_6984 by qtley428

We sat by the water, but it was a bit chilly so the drapes were pulled down to block out the slight wind. Our waitress was very aloof from the moment we sat down and seemed to be flustered with the crowds (the restaurant was packed). She forgot refill requests, my husband’s beer had something unidentifiable floating in it and she actually got orders wrong. My husband eventually got a new specialty beer on draught called the “Golden,” which is a blend of Bass and Stella Artois. I tried it and thought it was pretty good for a beer, which I am not a big fan of in general. I had steak and potatoes, although I am not sure what they refer to it as on the menu. Connor had pizza and apples and he cleaned his plate, easily. For dessert, our table (I can’t remember who individually ordered what for dessert) ordered a strawberry sundae, chocolate cake, and an apple cake.

101_6989 by qtley428

101_6990 by qtley428

101_6991 by qtley428

This is where the story gets interesting. On our past trips to WDW we’ve traveled with no more than 5 people. This trip we had 6 and we were unaware of the automatic 18% gratuity. When we saw the available space to put a tip at the bottom of our receipts (keep in mind, we were 2 separate reservations based on our rooms) we simply left cash. After leaving the restaurant, I went into a shop while everyone else waited outside. When I came out, everyone’s faces were red and I wondered what on earth could have happened in the maybe 10 minutes I was gone. My husband told me our server and 2 managers went up to my family and asked them why we didn’t leave an 18% tip. When my husband explained we were not aware of that policy the manager told my family they had to pay it. Of course my family immediately pulled the difference out of their wallets and there was no reluctance to it, however when my husband told the manager he didn’t feel the service we received warranted that amount, he was told it was automatic.

There are several issues I have with this. First, later in the trip we told another manager at our resort about this and we were told this is not automatic. All of the restaurants are the same in that if you have 6 at your table, separate reservations or not, the tip is 18%, however it is up to the guests if they feel the service warranted that amount. Second, our 4 year old son counted as the 6th “person” at our table. I have to roll my eyes at this. Again he is 4, eats little compared to us adults and has to sit in a booster seat. Thirdly, after telling the manager our order had been messed up, something gross was in a drink, etc. we did not even get an apology. I think they were fresh out of manner s that night! And lastly, the embarrassment. This was the first night of our vacation, my in-laws first EVER trip to WDW and the workers walked out of the restaurant to the shop across the street to talk to my family about this. I was mortified when my husband told me about this and could not believe this was what my in-laws were dealing with on their first trip. We made sure we paid the “automatic”, “guaranteed” 18% gratuity at all the other restaurants we went to throughout the week, and honestly they deserved it. But, in this instance the amount we were “required” to tip, was not a reflection of the poor service we had.

Service: C

Atmosphere: A

Food: B+

After dinner, Don and Terri were exhausted and offered to take Connor back to the resort. They wanted to go to bed early, so they would be well rested for the following day. Dad, Andy and I strolled around World Showcase for a little while and did some window shopping. When we got to the Japan Pavilion, I decided to try my luck with Pick A Pearl. I am not big into jewelry but I thought I’d get a cute little pearl and have it set into a necklace or a simple ring and it would make a pretty cool souvenir. When it was my turn to pick an oyster I went for the hairiest, grossest one I saw. I got that tip from reading another trip report. Well, reading that tip paid off, because when the woman who works there opened my oyster, there wasn’t one pearl, there were 2! They were so pretty!

101_6992 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_6994 by qtley428

101_6998 by qtley428

Now that I had 2 pearls I had to figure how to get set 2 set, instead of 1. I had a tough time figuring out the setting I wanted. One would think the simple thing to get would be earrings, but I am in my mid-twenties and don’t have pierced ears. I saw necklaces and rings that had the option of having 2 pearls in them, but they just weren’t my taste. My dad offered to buy one setting (ring or necklace) and I’d buy the other one, that way I’d have a set and a gift from my dad. But, when the woman with my pearls measured them, they were the exact same size and I knew I needed to make them earrings, it just made the most sense. My dad and husband tried to talk me out of it, because they knew I wouldn’t wear them (I am terrified of needles, so no way would I EVER pierce my ears). But, I was determined and now I have a pair of gorgeous pearl earrings. Those beautiful things made me get over my fear of needles and the weekend we came home from Disney I got my ears pierced! I felt like such a kid, a 7 and 13 year old were in line to have theirs done too! HAHA I am so happy I got them done, I still have a few weeks before I can take my studs out and wear my pearls but now they are even more special to me than just a simple souvenir.

101_7001 by qtley428

101_6999 by qtley428

My dad thought me getting 2 pearls was probably not that rare and asked the woman who works there what the odds were. She said “Very rare, 1 in 100”. My dad said no way, he did not believe that. It took about 30 minutes to get my earrings in their setting, so while Andy and I browsed the store, my dad watched as others “Picked A Pearl”, and in that 30 minutes, NO ONE ELSE picked an oyster with 2 pearls. I guess it really must be that rare. Hands down this is the best souvenir I bought. It was fun, strangers cheered for me, and my earrings are something special I’ll have for a long time, to remind me of that fun night.

Right after getting my earrings, Illuminations was about to begin and we were planning on seeing it another night (we never did this trip, a reason to go back!). Magic Kingdom had Extra Magic Hours (EMH) until 3 am, so the 3 of us decided to take the monorail over there. On the monorail we decided to head straight for Space Mountain once we got in the park. When we went to WDW in 2009, Space Mountain was closed for refurbishment so our trip in 2008 was the last time we had ridden it.

Once we got to the park, we hurried down Main Street, walking on the sidewalk because the Electrical Parade was going through.

101_7003 by qtley428

Once we got to Space Mountain, the standby line we 30 minutes. We thought about getting Fast Passes, but Dad said he knew he would be in bed by the time they were good so we decided to wait in line.

The wait was actually about 20 minutes. We were impressed with the queue, although we felt like the lines never ended. Not the wait, in the line, but actually walking to the ride. All 3 of us, loved this ride. It is by far one of our favorites in all of WDW. My dad started going to WDW before Epcot was opened. He has seen Space Mountain since the beginning of its days at Magic Kingdom. He (Andy and I as well) were a little worried about what a refurb would do to “change” the ride. But, in our opinion this was a well-executed refurbishment and it was very much for the better. We loved how smooth it was. Terri, wound up not liking it too much when she later went back to ride it, but I think it’s because she never knew what it was like before the refurb.

My dad left after that and went back to our room for the night. Andy and I went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, saw Philarmagic and took a ride on Space Ranger Spin. After target practice with Buzz and Zurg we went back to Space Mountain and there was a posted 10 minute wait, which turned out to be no wait, so we went back for another ride. After that, it was 1am and though we wanted to stay until the 3am closing, we just could not will ourselves to stay any longer.

101_7022 by qtley428

101_7019 by qtley428

101_7020 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_7026 by qtley428

101_7017 by qtley428

On our way out we took a picture of the castle and the clock “proving” how late we stayed at Magic Kingdom, for the scrapbook I’d make when we came home. (I am currently working on it!). We got on the bus at exactly 1:16am, then as soon as we got to our room we immediately went to bed.

101_7030 by qtley428

101_7035 by qtley428

Monday, March 21st

This morning we hopped a bus for Hollywood Studios.

101_7037 by qtley428

We got there right after opening, but we did miss rope drop. Andy grabbed all of our park tickets and ran to Toy Story Mania to get us Fast Passes, while the rest of us went to Starring Rolls so Terri could get some coffee. Andy wasn’t gone for very long and when he came back we went to visit the Streets of America.

101_7046 by qtley428

101_7051 by qtley428

101_7049 by qtley428

101_7053 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

We finished our sightseeing then went on the Backlot Tour. Andy and I volunteered to be in the Pre-Show. We thought of volunteering Don and Terri as well, but with it being their first visit I wanted them to see what it involved first. After seeing it, Terri said she’d volunteer if we did it again, but we never got around to it. Another reason we all have to go back again!

101_7054 by qtley428

101_7059 by qtley428

After our tour, the men went to use the restroom I believe, and Terri, Connor and I queued up to meet these guys:

101_7062 by qtley428

101_7065 by qtley428

Andy, Don, and Terri went to ride Tower of Terror while Dad and I stayed behind with Connor to grab lunch at Fairfax Faire, although I am wondering now if that is the right name. This was the agreed upon spot to meet, but after sitting there waiting, the smell of the food pressured us to go ahead and order some lunch. I got the pulled BBQ Pork sandwich, baked beans and cake, while Connor got the macaroni and cheese. I had seen so many other visitors eating the BBQ and I figured I’d give it a try, but when I went to order it I was told they had just ran out. Fortunately for me, my cashier double checked and they had just enough to make one last sandwich for me.

101_7066 by qtley428

As a “Carolina Girl”, I can find a BBQ restaurant in just about any town nearby and I have no doubt it’s going to be good. With this sandwich coming from Florida I was a little unsure of how good it would be, but am I glad I tried it! This was excellent, and rivaled some of the local BBQ places in town I used to call favorites. This was some of the best BBQ I’d ever had.

Service: A

Atmosphere: B (wish there were more fans and it is very crowded)

Food: A+

Up next, it was time for Connor’s favorite ride: Toy Story Mania

101_7079 by qtley428

101_7090 by qtley428

101_7089 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

I was beating Andy up until the 2nd to last scene. He looked down and realized I was ahead of him and then he randomly started shooting. And this strategy worked for him, because our final score was 138, 300 for him and 121,800 for me.

Afterwards, everyone who originally went on Tower of Terror, rode it again. Then, everyone except Connor and I got Fast Passes for Rock ‘n Rollercoaster to use later that night. We all went to see One Man’s Dream or as I like to say, we “paid our respect to Walt and Roy.” Don and Terri left soon after to take a nap in their room while Connor and I met this guy:

101_7091 by qtley428

The rest of us were starting to get tired, but Andy and I wanted to take the animation class we had heard so much about on the forums. Unfortunately, there was a 30 minute wait before the next class and even then we might not make it in due to the line. We felt in that time we could already be back in our room, and possibly napping. Before heading back to our resort, Dad bought Connor an ice cream, and he was asleep soon afterward.

101_7094 by qtley428

101_7095 by qtley428

We tried to get some sleep, once we got to our room, but there was a nagging, constant banging outside our door. We checked it out and the people in the room to the right of us had their door propped open and people were going in and out, in and out slamming the door against the jam. My husband asked the group (turned out to be a youth baseball team and a Coach who seemed to miss being the age of 15) to be mindful of us having a 4 year old who often took naps in the afternoon. They apologized, but instead of being quiet, they hung out in the grassy area in front of our window and were rambunctious.

Since taking a nap was out of the question due to the noise, we took showers and freshened up for our dinner reservations at ‘Ohana for 5pm. We took a bus to Magic Kingdom and from there we rode the monorail to the Polynesian resort. Don and Terri met us there and had already checked us in. There really are no words to describe the Poly. What a breathtaking place, it is absolutely stunning.

This was the first time any of us had eaten at ‘Ohana. After reading so many wonderful reviews on the forum I thought it would be a place my family would enjoy. Once again, the boards did not fail me. My dad and I each ordered a Lapu Lapu to drink. It was good, but man; it was strong at the bottom. Andy had a 12-year-old Macallan Scotch. Don asked how much a Mudslide would cost and our sever brought him one, without telling him the price.

101_7100 by qtley428

101_7099 by qtley428

101_7101 by qtley428

101_7104 by qtley428

The food was delicious, I especially liked the bread. I asked our waiter if I could possibly take some back with me in a to-go box. That was a no-go and he kind of laughed at me. Maybe he thought I was joking, but I seriously was not. The meats were awesome, really all of it was. Our server got confused splitting our bill between our two rooms, but we all left tired and with an expanding waistline.

Service: B (but maybe because it was busy, he seemed flustered)

Atmosphere: A

Food: A

Following dinner, we boarded the monorail to explore the Magic Kingdom for a little bit.

101_7108 by qtley428

We took some photos, then we were off to see the Hall of Presidents. Don teaches U.S. History, so Andy and I were curious to hear Don’s opinion on it. Other than that, the 2 of us would not have gone. We appreciate what it is, but for us once is enough. Dad has seen it since the changes were made and President Obama was added, however Andy and I have not and we didn’t mind seeing the changes. Before going in, we met Mickey:

101_7117 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

The show was good, although the booing and cheering from the audience was a bit annoying. Regardless of someone’s political preference, I don’t think it is necessary to boo or cheer while seeing the Hall of Presidents, especially when it is so loud you miss some of the show. Such was the case with us.

We followed Hall of Presidents with the Haunted Mansion. We didn’t see a lot of the changes as there were curtains up in the queue. However, both Andy and I did not like the new hitch hiking ghosts. I wish Don and Terri could have seen how they used to look. After taking a ride with our ghost friends, Dad went back to our room for the night, with Connor. Don, Terri, Andy and I went to Hollywood Studios to finish were we left off earlier in the day.

101_7122 by qtley428

Don, Terri and Andy used their Fast Passes for Rock ‘N Rollercoaster that they got earlier in the day. Andy and I planned to stay until the park closed that night and I knew I’d need a Coke to keep me awake, so I grabbed one and waited for my family at the ride’s exit. Soon they came out, but Don’s stomach was upsetting him, so he and Terri left for the night. There wasn’t much else that Andy and I wanted to do other than take the Animation class, so off we went. This was something we had never done before and we were both looking forward to it. When it comes to drawing, Andy is good at it, me on the other hand…eh, not so much. So, we thought this would be interesting for us to try.

101_7151 by qtley428

101_7146 by qtley428

101_7145 by qtley428

101_7144 by qtley428

We enjoyed the class so much that we actually stayed in our seats and participated in 3 classes total. We drew Jiminy Cricket, Pluto and Piglet. Like I said, I am not good at drawing at all, and I referred to my drawing of Piglet, as “Stitchlet”. My character had the face and ears of Stitch but the shirt and body of Piglet. The animator and the rest of the class got a kick out of this and I wound up receiving one of the Animator’s drawings of Piglet, with a note she addressed to me. We are planning on framing it and hanging it up in Connor’s room. After the class, we took several pictures throughout the park and we were on a bus headed for All-Star Sports around 1:15am.

101_7154 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

Tuesday, March 22nd

101_7156 by qtley428

We started out this morning at Animal Kingdom, but before we left I took a shot of our room number because for the life of me, I never could remember it.

101_7157 by qtley428

First up, we decided to do It’s Tough to be a Bug. Dad passed on this and offered to get us all Fast Passes for Kilimanjaro Safari.

101_7158 by qtley428

Much like the first time Connor saw this show in ‘09, he didn’t like it. However, Don and Terri seemed to if you base that on the number of photos Terri took of the Tree of Life. We were glad they enjoyed it, we think it’s a pretty cute show.

We then made our way over to Asia and did some sightseeing.

101_7160 by qtley428

We shopped and walked around to see all of the little details that I think Animal Kingdom does better than any other park. (Although, it is mine and Andy’s least favorite of the parks.) Don was looking for a shirt that had Goofy’s body on it but his head was missing, so the shirt wearer fit the cutout. It took a while and going into several stores, but later in the day he eventually found it.

After our shirt hunt, we headed over to Dinosaur. Connor was too short to ride this in 2009, but this year he made the cut. We decided to let him try it and he would be the judge if it was too scary or not. We just made it in the queue where the dinosaur skeleton is and he was done. It was too scary for him. Dad took him outside and they both stayed behind with Don.

101_7161 by qtley428

After Dinosaur, Dad, Andy, Terri and I rode Everest as single riders while Don and Connor stayed behind. I was sat beside a man who was with the two people in front of us. They had never ridden before so it was kind of cool to see the reaction of people who have not been able to ride it as often as I have.

Our Fast Passes were ready for our safari ride, but first Connor spotted a Pluto plush he wanted. That purchase made, we queued up for our 2 week exploration.

101_7163 by qtley428

Soon after our ride began we came to a halt. There were about 5 safari Jeeps in front of us and apparently an animal decided to cross in front of it and stop. Our journey was stalled for around 15 minutes, but it was nice because we were in the shade and had a great view of the animals around us.
Connor kept talking to a little boy who was sitting behind him. He looked to be about Connor’s age but he wasn’t saying a word. He just kept looking at Connor. After about 10 minutes of Connor talking this little boys ear off, the little boy started speaking to us. Connor said “whoa, you can talk!” It was hilarious and had both of our families cracking up.

101_7175 by qtley428

101_7179 by qtley428

101_7178 by qtley428

Once we said goodbye to the animals we all got a little hungry so some of us had lunch, while some of us settled on a snack.

101_7196 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

We’ve never had a Table Service meal in Animal Kingdom, although we are not against it. There are just other Table Service restaurants we want to try at other parks first. One tradition we do have in Animal Kingdom is to make sure we order chicken fried rice as a snack. No other place makes it better and it is the perfect size for Andy and myself to split. It’s cheap too, only $3 and some change. On my grading scale, this scores an A+.

After eating, I took Connor back to our room to nap and shower. Again, the nap thing didn’t happen thanks to our neighbors who were behaving just like the day before. Don and Terri stayed in Animal Kingdom to try to find the Goofy shirt, while Dad and Andy were not far behind Connor and me: They were ready for a swim.

Dad and Andy took Connor to the pool, while I tried to nap. I was absolutely exhausted but could not rest because of the guys next door, so I showered. Even in the shower I felt like I might drop to the floor with exhaustion and I could not figure out why. I love to go, go, go at Disney World and I leave the exhaustion for when I get back home, this was the first time I remembered being totally overcome with fatigue at Disney. However, once I stepped out of the shower and looked at myself in the mirror for the first time since that morning I knew what was making me so tired: I was burnt. Red as a lobster. Thankfully, I was not hurting from my sunburn, but I put some lotion on just to protect my skin. It was probably a little late for skin protection seeing as how I was burned, but I was pleased when we returned from our vacation and my skin had a nice golden brown glow to it.

While our group of 4 was either swimming or showering, Terri had returned back to her room to rest and Don went to the ESPN Center to get tickets for the both of them to go to Spring Training the next day. Around 5, all of us got ready for our 6pm dinner reservations at Coral Reef. Before we left though, Terri surprised Connor with a huge toy dinosaur which he loved.

When we made it to Coral Reef we had just a short wait before we were seated. Connor took that time to take a short nap.

101_7198 by qtley428

We made a request for a booth near the tank and we had no trouble with our request being fulfilled. This was the first time any of us had eaten at Coral Reef. We loved the décor and the genuine feel of being inside an aquarium. However, the noise was a bit shocking when we went into the dining area. We got used to it, once were at our table for a while, but it was a bit “in your face” when we first walked in.

101_7200 by qtley428

My dad surprised me by ordering a “Glowtini” for me. He remembered how much I enjoyed the one I ordered at 50’s Prime Time Café back in 2008. It was a nice surprise and it is the best alcoholic beverage I’ve ever had at WDW.

101_7202 by qtley428

For our entrees Andy ordered scallops over risotto, which he liked very much but he felt the portion was too small to be filling. I had the New York Strip over mashed potatoes with horseradish sauce. I told our server I’d prefer to not have the horseradish sauce and he convinced me to try it, promising he’d have them remade if I didn’t like them. Turns out, I LOVED them and I HATE horseradish. He said that happens all the time, but if it was gross it would not be on the menu. I thought that was a funny point, but true I guess. The steak was good, but something I could get back home. So, nothing too special in my opinion.

101_7211 by qtley428

101_7212 by qtley428

101_7213 by qtley428

Up next, dessert. Andy ordered butterscotch crème brulee and I had the chocolate wave. Andrew and I both thought our desserts were fantastic. The chocolate wave turned out to be my favorite dessert of our trip, probably all of our trips now that I think about it. I wound up getting the recipe and I’m hoping it will taste just as good when I make it.

101_7219 by qtley428

101_7220 by qtley428

Overall, we were impressed with Coral Reef. I had read bad reviews about this restaurant, but Andy wanted to try it out on this trip and I’m glad we did. Our server was attentive and good, a bit sarcastic but it was in good fun. The food was all around good, the atmosphere was impressive and fun…I think we’ll go back again.

Service: A

Atmosphere: B (A, if not for the noise)

Food: A-(would be a B for me, but the chocolate wave made it an A)

After dinner there was not much time before the park closed so Dad wanted to make sure Don and Terri were able to ride the rides in World Showcase. Our first stop was in Mexico where we caught a boat to tour the country with Donald. I personally could go without seeing this, but we wanted Don and Terri to see as much as possible and I do think the view of San Angel Inn is beautiful from the boat ride. After our voyage, we spent some time looking around the shops, taking pictures and goofing off.

101_7228 by qtley428

101_7225 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

We then made our way to Norway to ride Maelstrom. Connor was a little scared, but he did like the little drop. We were a little surprised the ride scared him, because in 2009 he seemed to love it. Back then he was 2, so I guess with him being 4 he is now more aware of what he likes and doesn’t like.

We stopped by the gift and pastry shops on our way out and Don, Andy and Terri bought a snack to have for breakfast the following morning. We thought about watching Illuminations but decided to put it off for another night. On our way to the buses an announcement was made that Illuminations was delayed. We never found out why or what time they ever started for that matter. The weather was nice that night and not windy or cloudy so whatever the problem was, I doubt it was weather related. We had a bus waiting on us when we got to the stop and we officially left the park at 9:18pm.

101_7232 by qtley428

Everyone went to their rooms while I took Connor shopping at the gift shop at All-Star Sports. He picked out sugar covered marshmallows that were decorated as Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. They were individually wrapped so he took one and we saved the other two to bring back to my little brother (he is only 9, so he and Connor are very close).

We went back to our rooms and settled in for the night and then Connor started saying “I want to sleep in Granna’s room, I want to sleep in Granna’s room!” So, off to Don and Terri’s room he went, where she made the bed up for him with all of his new toys so he could sleep with them. None of us got much sleep that night, because our neighbors disturbed us again. Around 1am we called security. This was a first for us. We’ve NEVER called security or complained to management in any way while at Disney. We hated doing this but it was getting ridiculous. Don had asked the coach to keep it quieter, Andy had asked the teenagers to cool it down and it seemed the more we asked the louder they were, the coach included. We wound up calling security twice that night…not a good sign of things to come, but more on that later.

Wednesday, March 23rd

We woke up early enough to make Rope Drop at Epcot this morning, another Disney first for all of us. On our way to the bus, I took some pictures of the resort and found a sweet little bunny. We saw several of them on property and they were not timid at all. In fact, I’d say they posed for our pictures.

101_7235 by qtley428

101_7236 by qtley428

101_7238 by qtley428

Once we went through the turnstiles, Andy grabbed all of our cards and made his way to Soarin’ while the rest of us headed toward Test Track. We actually had to wait a few minutes at the rope and we saw a family that was chosen to ride a Test Track car to the ride. Once we got to Test Track there wasn’t much wait at all, just the 5 minutes it takes you to go through the queue and watch the movie. The funny thing was after Andy got our Fast Passes for Soarin’ he ran over to Test Track to get on as a Single Rider and we actually met up with him, but he wound up being a car ahead of us! He later said he had an advantage breaking up from us to get the Fast Passes, because there were so many families trying to get them at Soarin’, it was so easy for him to squeeze by since it was just him. We would have waited for much longer to get Fast Passes, if all 6 of us went.

101_7241 by qtley428

101_7245 by qtley428

101_7249 by qtley428

Test Track is quickly becoming one of my favorite rides at WDW, for some reason I find it relaxing. I don’t think that was the intent when it was designed and others would probably disagree with me but I like to lounge back in my seat and enjoy the ride, literally. Andy says it is unreal that I think that since it goes as fast as Rock ‘n Rollercoaster when it does the loop outside. But I still say it is relaxing.

We checked out the cars in the showroom afterward and then made our way toward Mission: Space.

101_7251 by qtley428

Dad, Andy, Terri and Don rode Green, while Connor and I hung out at the gift shop. They all rode Green because Andy and Dad had ridden Orange before and they wanted to see how Don and Terri did on Green first. I rode Mission: Space in 2005 when you didn’t have a choice and it was “orange” only. The simulation and spinning didn’t bother me, but I did not like the tight space and closed quarters at all. So, I’ve ridden it once, and that was enough for me.

Instead Connor and I looked at pins. We just started Pin Trading and collecting on this trip and Connor and I decided what we would be looking for. I would collect Princesses and he would collect their respective Princes. Plus, Connor wanted a Bolt and a Pluto since those were the plushes he got on this trip.

After everyone got off the ride (which they all loved) Connor made a trade for an “Eric” pin to go with my “Ariel”.

101_7255 by qtley428

101_7256 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

We were then in need of a refreshment so off to Club Cool we went. We enjoyed sampling the drinks, but Andy and I were disappointed Don and Terri couldn’t try “Beverly”-they were out!

101_7258 by qtley428

101_7260 by qtley428

Our Soarin’ Fast Passes were ready and we were so excited: Connor was tall enough to ride! Make that, Andy, Terri and I were excited. My dad did not want Connor to ride it. He was afraid Connor would be scared. But, Andy and I decided that if he was tall enough for something we’d let Connor queue up and if he got scared we’d take him out. Dad refused to sit near Connor because he was afraid he’d cry, so Connor sat between Andy and I. (Don sat this out to rest).

101_7263 by qtley428

101_7267 by qtley428

Well, guess what? Connor has a new favorite ride at WDW and it is no longer Toy Story Mania. It’s Soarin’! He LOVED it. He never seemed worried or frightened. Instead he was screaming “kawabunga” when we went over the water and “This is AWESOME” throughout the ride. Connor was so hooked we took all of our park tickets back over to get more Fast Passes for later that night. My dad was thrilled and so relieved that Connor liked it, he bought him a bag of cotton candy.

We then walked over to World Showcase because we had lunch reservations at 11:30 for Le Cellier. We took pictures around the UK and then it was time for the best steak we’ve ever had in our lives-we all agreed to this statement.

101_7269 by qtley428

When I talk (or type) about Le Cellier, I literally become sick. My mouth waters, my stomach aches in hunger and my heart breaks because I don’t know that next time I will get to eat there again. It is so good, I am craving it as I write this. We first ate there for dinner in 2009 and now it is a Moore family requirement to eat there on all of our trips. We started out with the breads and some of us ordered the beer cheese soup. Pretzel bread dipped in that soup is heavenly. Don, Terri, Dad and I ordered the New York Strip with potatoes while Andy ordered the filet with mushroom risotto. My theory is that both are delicious and the filet slightly better, but the Strip is bigger, so I go with that one. Connor, unsurprisingly, ordered pizza. Andy also ordered a glass of wine (Chateau Des Charmes) for the both of us to share, but I didn’t care for it, he did though. All of the steaks were so tender you could cut it with a butter knife. The seasoning was perfect; the outside was nicely charred, while the inside was moist. I do not like mushrooms at all but I tried Andy’s risotto, because it looked so good. It did not disappoint. It was just as good as everything else and he didn’t mind letting me have several more bites. We all cleaned our plates and agreed that hands down we had just eaten the best steaks we’ve EVER had.

101_7275 by qtley428

101_7277 by qtley428

101_7278 by qtley428

101_7276 by qtley428

I don’t know how we had room for dessert, but at Le Cellier (and Disney for that matter) it is easy to convince yourself to make room. Andy, Terri and I ordered the maple crème brulee. Don had the chocolate mousse and Dad had some sort of chocolate cake. Andy and I love the crème brulee and order it each time we go to Le Ceiller, but Terri said if the topping from Coral Reef’s crème brulee was on Le Cellier’s version it would be perfect.

101_7282 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_7283 by qtley428

101_7284 by qtley428

Getting our checks took quite a while, our server told us the computer froze and apologized for the issue. This seemed to happen several times when we were at Table Service restaurants throughout the week. But, our sever was great and attentive and like I said about the food, it was perfect. Can you tell this is my favorite restaurant that we’ve tried on property so far?

Service: A

Atmosphere: A

Food: A+

After our lunch, Don and Terri went to the ESPN Center to watch the Spring Practice game. Dad, Andy, Connor and I decided to finish browsing through the countries in World Showcase. While strolling, we saw Mary Poppins and one of the sweetest things we’ve ever witnessed.
While we were walking we saw this couple kissing heavily and a Photo Pass photographer encouraging them to continue as he snapped their picture. At first we were put off by it, but then the woman broke away from the man and looked down at her hand and was crying. He had just proposed! She then started hugging him and kissed him some more, so we literally walked up on them as he asked her to marry him. It was so sweet to actually watch someone become engaged; only at Disney would we see something like that.

101_7301 by qtley428

101_7305 by qtley428

When we crossed over the bridge towards France we saw Sleeping Beauty. Out of all of the characters we saw during the week, she looked the least like the character she was representing and it wasn’t even her fault, it was Disney’s. Her wig was TERRIBLE! She was beautiful but her wig was terribly obvious and looked like if it was tugged in the slightest it would fall off. I actually felt bad for her, because she was gorgeous and then she had this hideous wig on her head that did not make her look very much like a princess. Perhaps Disney should invest in wigs made out of real hair.

101_7308 by qtley428

After seeing Aurora we found My Insolence perfume and took a picture. If you read my Pre-Trip Report you know the significance behind this reference. Then we passed by Belle and the Beast. We thought we’d get in line for Connor to meet him but Connor said “It’s the Beast, we must kill him.” Andy and I realized then, that meeting them was probably not a good idea. Connor has been addicted to watching Beauty and the Beast since it was re-released on DVD. He can quote it and sing the songs, his favorite is “Kill the Beast” and he likes to pretend to be Gaston with a plastic knife. I don’t think the Beast or Belle would appreciate Connor’s adoration of Gaston.

We bypassed them and went to Morocco, where we tried on different things and Connor took a rest.

101_7316 by qtley428

101_7318 by qtley428

101_7317 by qtley428

As we continued our tour Connor traded pins with a Cast Member from American Adventure, we saw gorgeous topiaries and spent some time in the shops.

101_7319 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

All of that walking made us thirsty so we stopped by the outpost for a frozen lemonade and frozen Coke.

101_7331 by qtley428

101_7333 by qtley428

The 4 of us decided to head back to our resort and go swimming, but first we wanted to take one more loop around Spaceship Earth.

101_7350 by qtley428

We went straight to the pool after getting to All-Star Sports. For some reason we like the Grand Slam pool so much more than any of the pools we have used at any of the All-Star Resorts. Connor loves swimming under Goofy’s fountain and us adults like it because it is always less crowded than the pool at the center of the resort.

101_7356 by qtley428

101_7358 by qtley428

101_7363 by qtley428

After swimming Dad, Andy, Connor and I came back to our room to shower and get ready for the rest of our night in the park. There was a ton of noise coming from the room next door and out of nowhere I heard a BANG on our window. I thought it was Connor, because I got to our room a little bit ahead of the rest of my family. I pulled back the shades and I saw 2 of our teenage neighbors and their coach. Once they saw me they took off to their room. I was furious.

That was the last straw for me and I immediately called security. In the process of talking to security there was a constant banging on my door. I put security on hold and went to the door and when I opened it, I again saw our neighbors and their coach run back to their room. I explained this to security and they immediately came to my room, along with a manager. By this time my dad, Connor and Andy had returned to our room and had no idea what was going on. I gave the manager a statement of all of the problems we had been having with the group next to us. Instead of an apology, I was told my entire family could move to All-Star Music. I told the manager that my family would not be switching resorts, because we were not the guests who were being disruptive. My dad, Andy and I explained to her that we did not believe we should be moved, if anything the guests in the room beside of us should be placed somewhere else. However, the manager literally told us that is was easier to move our family, instead of the group that was misbehaving because they had a larger “total” party. So, the outcome of our conversation was pretty simple. Security said they would patrol our area better and management offered to move our family to another resort. I told them we would not be moving unless it was to the Polynesian resort, for no additional charge!

Unbeknownst to us, Don and Terri were back in their room at that time and had called security themselves around the same time I did. Once I found this out I became more upset. I hated that my in-laws were experiencing Disney the way that they were. We have stayed at All-Star resorts (Music once, Movies once and Sports twice) and while they are not moderates or deluxes by any means, we’ve never had any problems. What was more upsetting to me was management’s lack of concern and how they wanted to handle the issue in a way that was more cost effective for them. If they moved the noisy baseball team to All-Star Music, they would be losing 14 guests but if they moved us, they would only lose 6.

After realizing my in-laws had called security as well, I went to the lobby to speak to management again. My family followed behind, because we were heading to the busses to go to Epcot afterward. I was hoping to speak to the same manager I spoke to in my room, however a different manager met me. I explained the situation to her and that my in-laws were facing the same problem we were. Again, this manager did not apologize instead she suggested we move to All-Star Music. Again, I told her my family did not agree with this policy and I even requested to speak to someone above her. She gave me a card with the e-mail address of who to contact (more on this later). I was very polite to her (and all of the managers and security guards we wound up talking to), so I don’t want anyone to think I was ever rude. I explained to her that I simply did not understand the policy of moving the guests who are complying with the posted “quiet time” and not saying anything to the guests who were behaving in ways that caused countless complaints.

For about the 3rd time, this same manager offered to move us to All-Star Music. Along with moving, she offered to comp both of our rooms for the night and give us Fast Passes. While I appreciated the offer I again told her I thought it was absurd to suggest we move, but we’d gladly take the room comp and Fast Passes. We did not want the inconvenience of moving to another resort; to us it was a matter of principal and again inconvenience. We felt that the ones causing the trouble, should be the ones that were offered to leave.

We got a comp (around $80 cash) for each of our rooms that night, along with Fast Passes for the park we were going to that night (Epcot) and for the park we were going to the next day (Magic Kingdom). The Fast Passes were different than the usual ones, they were made out for 6 people and had the specific day that they were to be used, but not a certain time. We had 4 for the 2 parks we were going to over the next night and day.

101_7383 by qtley428

After dealing with management we finally went to Epcot. Connor fell asleep in his stroller so Dad stayed behind with him while Don, Terri, Andy and I used our Fast Passes for Soarin’.

101_7381 by qtley428

101_7382 by qtley428

By the time we were off the ride the park was near closing. My dad wanted to get back to our room before the crowd made its way to the busses, so he went on back with Connor. None of us had eaten dinner, so Don and Terri went to World Showcase for a bite to eat in Mexico. Andy and I decided to try to use at least one more of our Fast Passes then get something to eat afterwards. We made our way over to Test Track, but instead of getting in line, we tried to find a group of 4 to join us. We saw a group walk by and we stopped and invited them to join us. They had not ridden it yet on their trip, so they were thrilled to be able to use our Fast Passes.

We all queued up for the ride but once we got to the holding room to watch the video an announcement was made that the ride was temporarily down. We were all pushed out of the room and had to sit in the loading area. Some people got out of line, but it was already 9 o’clock at the point and we knew the other rides were closing so we stuck around. The wait turned out to last about 15 minutes, which we didn’t mind. We used this time to rest our feet and get to know our new “friends.” Turns out they were from Alabama and were on their senior class trip. We introduced ourselves and they told us their names were Sam, Abby, Josh and Nate. We actually got along great and wound up inviting them to have a very late dinner with us after our ride was over.

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_7384 by qtley428

As you can see in this picture I am relaxed when I ride Test Track. Josh is to my right and he seems to be studying the ride and Abby, to my left seems to be holding on for her life! To Andy’s right, Sam is screaming her lungs out and to his left Nate is getting the low down on the inner workings of Test Track.

We all enjoyed this ride a lot. This was the first time Andy and I had ridden it at night and to me it is totally different than a ride in the day time. Night time rides on Test Track are by far the best.

We were all very hungry by this point, but all of the restaurants were closed by the time we got off the ride. We all agreed to go to Magic Kingdom together to eat at Pecos Bill’s, but the line for the monorail was insane. So, on to Plan B: We’d have dinner at their resort, All-Star Music. This didn’t work either because the line for their bus was pretty long, while All-Star Sport’s bus line had no wait. So, on to Plan C: We would have dinner at the All-Star Sports food court and afterward they would walk to Music.

101_7387 by qtley428

For food court food, it was pretty good. I had the spaghetti and meatballs and Andy had the chicken alfredo with penne pasta.

Service: B- (not too bad, not too good)

Atmosphere: B- ( I know it’s a food court, but the tables are so close together and crowded)

Food: B- (we thought it was good, but nothing special)

After dinner we all agreed to meet up the next day at Magic Kingdom and our Alabama friends made their way to All-Star Music while we made our way to bed. And once again, security was called that night, due to our wonderful neighbors.

Thursday, March 24th

This was the last day we had in the parks and we wanted to spend it at Magic Kingdom. On the bus we met a family who told us they were having the same problems at Sports that we were having. They were even comped for their night like us. They agreed with us that we would never stay at Sports again, I am hoping we’ll swear off Values but that all depends on finances in the future.

101_7391 by qtley428

We got to the park right after rope drop. Don and Terri got in line with Connor to meet Pluto, but Connor flat out refused to get out of his stroller and see him. Instead we took him to see Roy and Minnie, or as I like to say we “paid our respect” to Roy.

101_7394 by qtley428

101_7396 by qtley428

We had a Photopass photographer take a group shot of us in front of the castle and then we made our way down Main Street. We went to a few shops and I bought a birthday present for our 2 year old niece. It was a sweet little necklace with her name on it in pink and blue colors with a tiny Mickey head dotting the “I” in her name. On our way out the store we ran into the Mayor.

101_7401 by qtley428

101_7402 by qtley428

This was another “Disney first” for us and it was great. He was perfectly in character and the perfect gentleman as well. We then took a few pictures in front of Cinderella Castel and then made our way over to Adventureland.

101_7404 by qtley428

101_7400 by qtley428

101_7405 by qtley428

There was not a line for The Magic Carpets of Aladdin so Connor, Dad and I took a spin while Andy, Don and Terri watched. (There stomachs don’t do well with rides that circle or spin). If I’ve ever ridden the “carpets”, it would have been when I was a little girl, because I don’t remember it. I know this was the first time Connor has been on them and he loved it. He loved keeping our carpet as high as it would go and was disappointed when the ride stopped and we lowered to the ground. I actually dropped my sunglasses under the ride, while we were getting on, but the CM was very nice and grabbed a “claw” to be able to reach them for me.

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_7408 by qtley428

Up next we decided to board the Jungle Cruise. I cannot remember the last time I rode this, maybe it was in 2008. I am not that big of a fan of it, but there was no wait and we wanted Don and Terri to see as much as they could and judge for themselves if they liked something or not.

101_7427 by qtley428

101_7426 by qtley428

This was the best “cruise” we had been on and our Skipper was great. Her jokes were on point and she didn’t miss a beat.
We were off to Pirates next. Connor wasn’t that impressed with it, he curled up on the floor of our boat and covered his ears with his hands. He liked it in ’09. Again, I guess he is now more aware of what scares him. After the ride we went into the gift shop where Connor wanted a sword. We told him he could have the biggest one, but he actually wanted the smaller one. To this day he is still “stabbing” people with it at home. It was the cheapest thing he purchased, but probably one of his favorites. Terri and Don bought our young nephew (their grandson) and cousin (their nephew) matching leather bracelets with their names engraved on them.

101_7434 by qtley428

We went on it’s a small world after that. I love this ride but something was off this time. The music was only working on the right side of the ride and the left had no sound. Also, when we went under the bridge at the end of the ride spider webs were hanging down. It was disgusting. When we got off I overheard 2 CMs talking about the sound messing up. Hopefully, it was just a temporary issue.

We decided to split up for lunch after that. Don and Terri went to Columbia Harbor House and Dad, Andy, Connor and I went to Pecos Bill’s.

101_7435 by qtley428

Service: B

Atmosphere: A- (very crowded, very close tables)

Food: A (we LOVE Pecos Bill’s food)

While we were eating lunch our “Alabama friends” texted us and said they were on Splash Mountain and wanted to meet up with us once we got off. We actually had Splash Fast Passes that we got earlier that morning; we planned on using them after we finished our lunch. Our plan was to meet them after riding. So, after lunch we met back up with Don and Terri to ride Splash. I sat it out because steep drops kill my stomach. Plus, I did not like the idea of walking around in wet clothes all day. Dad swore to me you didn’t get wet, but I told him there was a reason it is called “Splash Mountain” and I stuck to just watching. Connor was tall enough so he went on along with Andy, Don, Terri and Dad. While they queued up, I used a snack credit to get a box of popcorn and I stood at the bridge to seem them after they hit the drop. Josh sent me a text saying they were off Splash and were now at Pecos Bill’s. They were going to eat there and then meet us.

101_7438 by qtley428

Connor loved Splash Mountain and turned out to be one of his favorite rides. We met up with our “Alabama friends” then. Don and Terri decided to head to Epcot to do some last minute shopping and finish their tour of World Showcase. Dad went to Fantasyland while Josh, Nate, Abby, Sam, Andy, Connor and I went to see Captain Jack Sparrow and have some pirate training.

101_7454 by qtley428

101_7453 by qtley428

Sam, Abby and Connor got picked to go up on the set and learned how to fight like a pirate. Connor copied everything Captain Jack Sparrow said Jack refereed to Connor as “Echo”. It was hilarious and I’m glad my little boy felt extra special for being singled out. Sam was singled out at well. She kept flirting with Captain Jack, and he flirted right back at her by winking at her constantly. It was so cute to see them both acting “in character” for the show. We will definitely do this again on a future trip.

We split up with the Alabama gang after that. They had Fast Passes for Space Mountain and we wanted to go to Fantasyland to hang out with my dad. We agreed to meet each other again sometime that day. Once we met Dad we went to see Philarmagic.

101_7458 by qtley428

This is a must for us on all of our trips, although we did not discover it until 2009. We always walked right passed it without giving it a thought but after reading great reviews about it on the forums we tried it out and loved it. We always see this show at least twice on all of our trips and this was the second time Andy and I had seen it on this present trip. After the show we took a ride on the Carousel.

101_7469 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

We then decided to use our Fast Passes to ride Winnie the Pooh, but once we went through the queue a CM told us that the ride would be down for some time and we’d have to come back later that night. However, we took a little time for Connor to play in the tree.

101_7477 by qtley428

101_7478 by qtley428

When Connor finished playing, we walked by the Teacups and saw the White Rabbit with only about 2 people in line. Connor did not want to meet him, but Andy and I had never met him before so we had our picture made.

101_7479 by qtley428

Connor was getting tired so I offered to take him back to our room for a nap. But first, we needed to get his Mickey ears embroidered with his name.

101_7481 by qtley428

101_7483 by qtley428

101_7484 by qtley428

101_7482 by qtley428

After that Andy and Dad stayed behind in the park and Connor and I went to the busses. There was a long wait for an All-Star Sports bus, but no line for the All-Star Music bus that was idling with NO ONE ON IT. I decided we’d hop on that one and walk back to Sports from Music. Connor fell asleep as soon as we sat down.

Once Connor and I got back to our room, we were immediately met with the same problem we had been having: our neighbors. They were banging on walls, on our window and kept going in and out of their room, causing their door to bang against the jam. Again, I knew a nap would not happen so I figured I would just take Connor to the Food Court to get a snack. I did a little packing and then on the way out of my door the neighbors started heckling me. “Be quiet or she’ll tell on us”, “Sorry we’re we too loud?” They kept saying. Finally, I looked over and told them that we appreciated the comped rooms and Fast Passes we had received because of them. Instead of going to the Food Court I went straight to management (again a different manager met me) and once again reported the issue of our neighbors. This manager again did not apologize and suggested that we move to All-Star Music. By this point, I had had enough with being offered to move to Music.

Again I explained to her that I was not moving my family of 6, which included a 4yr old and 2 adults that are nearly 60. Especially since our family was not in the wrong. I told the manager that after nearly a week of complaining our family thought the staff should have had the situation handled by then. Up until this point I believe I had dealt with this situation calmly. But now I was becoming flustered and red in the face.
I told management how our family knew that other families had complained and had to be comped as well. To that I was told that All-Star Sports was a “group” resort and we should have known that before booking with them. I let it be known that we would not be booking with Sports ever again. At this point, we did not like what our neighbors were doing at all, but we were more upset with management. The entire situation was not handled properly and to this day we never got an apology. Eventually our family was comped for that night, around $100 cash this time.

At this point, Connor and I were running late for our dinner reservations for Chef Mickey’s at 5:05pm. I didn’t have my phone with me, Andy had it, so I could not tell anyone to expect us a little late. I had no time to go back to our room to freshen up, so after taking a bus to the Magic Kingdom then walking to the Contemporary Resort, Connor and I arrived a bit disheveled.

101_7486 by qtley428

When I finally arrived the rest of my family was waiting on me. I told them the story of what had transpired and they were none too pleased to say the least. Andy was glad I stuck up for us, since I was by myself when the problem happened and I had been fairly calm earlier in the week about it, I seemed to surprise him a bit by getting us a comp and dealing with management.

Once we sat down to dinner we decided to not talk about the room situation anymore and enjoy our last night together. Dad surprised Connor with a Bolt plush he had been looking for all week. Don ordered a mudslide from the bar. I tried it and thought it was one of the best I had ever had. Andy went to the bar to order one for me, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. We all liked our food at dinner, it was pretty good. Andy enjoyed the salmon more than anything. I think I would have enjoyed the food better, if I wasn’t ill from earlier in the day. However, we very much enjoyed why everyone comes to Chef Mickey’s…meeting the characters.

101_7487 by qtley428

101_7490 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_7496 by qtley428

101_7505 by qtley428

101_7503 by qtley428

101_7513 by qtley428

101_7512 by qtley428

We had great interactions with the characters. We didn’t feel rushed and they paid special attention to Connor. I would say this was Connor’s favorite meal.

Service: B

Atmosphere: A

Food: B

After finishing our meal and hanging out with the characters we did a little shopping at the stores in the Contemporary. I bought a few things and my dad got some things as well and if we paid for them together the total would be enough to qualify us for a discount on a beach towel or throw blanket. Andy and I purchased the blanket and Connor has been sleeping with it almost every night since we got home.

We then took the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. Andy, Terri and I went on Space Mountain (Terri’s first time, she wasn’t too crazy about it) and Don, Connor and Dad went to ride the cars at the Speedway.

After our rides, Terri went to shop on Main Street while Dad took Connor to ride the Teacups and Don, Andy and I went to see Carousel of Progress. This is mine and Andy’s favorite show in all of Disneyworld and I believe Don liked it as well. Next up, we met Dad and Connor to ride Pooh and Peter Pan.

It was getting a little late so Dad took Connor back to the room. Andy, Don and I picked out an excellent view for Wishes! Terri met up with us and we sat down in front of the castle to watch the show. It was absolutely breathtaking and as I said, we had an incredible view.

101_7557 by qtley428

When the fireworks were over, Don and Terri called it a night and went back to their room. Andy and I met up with our “Alabama friends” and we rode Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Space Mountain.

101_7568 by qtley428

Our new friends had a curfew they could not miss so after riding Space they had to go back to All-Star Music. We all hugged goodbye and promised to stay in contact through Facebook. Andy and I wanted to do something that was special to us so we rode the Peoplemover. This ride is special to us, for reasons that can’t even be explained. We always only ride it at night, and only with each other, no one else. When we ride this, it is our time to unwind together and catch up on our day. We can ride it the whole way through without uttering a word and it can still be our favorite experience of our trip.

101_7576 by qtley428

101_7573 by qtley428

When we got off of the Peoplemover, we took a rode Space Ranger Spin. All of the rides were closed once we got off, so we slowly made our way toward the front of the park to take pictures.

101_7591 by qtley428

Southern_Tink · Apr 10, 2011

101_7594 by qtley428

After taking photos we went to the bakery. We ordered a chocolate croissant and Coke to share and I bought a super huge cinnamon roll to eat at the airport the next morning, or later that morning to be more precise. We tried to drag out the time by slowly enjoying our croissant, but eventually we knew we had to get up to leave. We stopped by the Confectionary and I used the rest of the snack credits we had left to buy a couple cookies and chocolate covered marshmallows (those marshmallows were delicious). There were only about 5 people (including the 2 of us) left in the shop and a CM gave all of us Mickey and Minnie Mouse candy apples. It was such a nice surprise. Those things sell for $9.95 each!

Unfortunately for us, it really was time to leave after we were done in the Confectionary.

101_7602 by qtley428

We were in bed and asleep by 2am. Around 7am we woke up and finished the rest of our packing. Andy, Connor, Dad and I had breakfast in the food court.

101_7603 by qtley428

We met up with Don and Terri and checked our bags with DME. Terri, Connor and I went to the gift shop to look at last minute things, I bought Andy a coffee cup and got a sippy cup for my friend’s son. When we walked out of the store I saw Andy, Dad and Don with our Alabama friends. They came over to tell us goodbye. It was so nice of them to take the time to send us off on our way. We spent a little bit of time with them and then we were off on our way to the airport.

I ate some of my cinnamon roll from the night before and Connor snacked on some Confectionary cookies.

101_7606 by qtley428

101_7605 by qtley428

Eventually our plane arrived and it was time to board.

101_7607 by qtley428

101_7609 by qtley428

Our trip was over and it was time to go home. We were so grateful Don, Terri and Dad decided to go on this trip with us.

Final thoughts:

Family: We are so thankful our families came with us. They helped us out with Connor so much, and because of them, Andy and I were able to have some time alone we otherwise would not have had. This was Don and Terri’s first trip to WDW and we are so glad they decided to give it a try. There were parts we were disappointed about, but I think overall it was a success.

All-Star Sports: Simply put, we will not be staying there ever again.

CMs: Some were great, some were off. It really depended on the person and what kind of day they were having, I suppose.

Food/Restaurants: All around they were very good. We try to go to new restaurants on each trip, with the goal that eventually we will have tried every restaurant on property. Some of the restaurants we went to on this trip, I am sure we will visit again, others probably not.

Rides: Great, as always. The construction of Fantasyland did not bother us at all, although the scrims on the castle were tacky, in my opinion.
Plus Dining: The dining plan works for our family but I can see where it doesn’t for others. We always wind up with way more food than we can eat. Without fail we wind up using our left over snack credits on our last day, and take home those goodies to eat later.

For those interested, when we came back home Andy sent an e-mail to the address we were given by a manager, regarding the problems we had at All-Star Sports. We received a generic reply saying someone on Disney’s end had received Andy’s e-mail and they would be e-mailing us back after reading it.

About 2 weeks Andy got a reply saying that they wanted to contact us by phone and asked for our phone number. We got a phone call this past Friday and actually received an apology. We were told that Disney was working on a system that would let guests know when “groups” would be visiting. Also, the woman we talked to was forwarding our original e-mail to her boss. Currently, we are awaiting a reply from that person. When we receive it, I will include all of the e-mails to this trip report.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed hearing about our trip!

Raven66 · Apr 11, 2011

Great trip report and the pictures were awesome! It looks like you had a super time. That really sucks about your resort neighbors. And to have an adult encouraging them and even particpating in it. I think you all handled it very well. My husband wouldn't have been so kind if he had to go over and talk to them more then once. Glad you all had such fun.:wave:

The Moore Family's March Vacation: A Full Trip Report

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Well-Known Member