Trip Report 5/3-5/12

sbkline, I hope you don't mind but I thought your preposting of your schedule was fun, so I'm going to try it too. I am going with my DH, DSIL, and DS4. It will be DS first trip, and DH and I haven't been down since our honeymoon in Oct. 2002. We're staying at Pop Century and are on the Deluxe Dining plan. We're celebrating my gradution. DH called Central Reservations and told them that when he requested the 50's or 70's at POP. Here's our itinerary as much as we've planned it. We haven't planned what parks we want to hit after dinner when we're eating at a resort.

Sat May 3: Official beginning of vacation. We will be leaving home 10:30 and 11 AM after DS Dance class, and Driving up to Dominican University for my graduation. My Graduate School is hosting a reception from 12:30-1:30. Then I get my Masters in Library and Information Science at the ceremony at 2. My parents are treating us to Dinner at Trattoria Peppino afterwards. Then DH, DS, and I will go to the Super 8 O'Hare and check in. DSIL is staying witha friend in Chicago.

Sunday May 4: Lazy day at the hotel swimming pool and dinner inn the city at Uno's. Early to bed because we have a 6 AM flight out of O'Hare in the morning.

Monday May 5: Going to Disney World. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:30. Hoping to be at POP to check-in by 11. Since room will probably not be ready, we will store our carryons and head to the Magic Kindom. Will probably either snack or grab a quick service lunch. Dinner at Liberty Tree at 6:05.

Tuesday May 6: Epcot. Lunch at Teppan Edo. Afternoon at DTD and POP. DSIL is keeping DS that night and DH and I are going to Yachtsman Steakhouse for supper at 6:10 and then Boardwalk, DTD, and PI.

Wednesday May 7: 8:05 Breakfast at Tusker House. Animal Kingdom till early afternoon. Snack or QS for lunch. Resort to swim or nap. 5:30 dinner at Artist's Point. Probably MGM after dinner.

Thursday May 8: DS is doing GF Pirate Cruise from 9:30-11:30. DH is staying at POP in morning to work on schoolwork. DSIL and I will hop the monorail resortd to shop and check them out whil DS is on Pirate Cruise. After Cruise spend the day in Epcot. DH meeting us for lunch at 1 at Coral Reef. (I know DS gets food on cruise, but he refuses to eat peanut butter.) Dinner at Restuarant Marrakesh at 6. Since DH will have internet access today from the morning, this is the night that DH will try to get DS to bed relatively early while DSIL and I go to PI.

Friday May 9: 8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace. Then spend an hour or two in the MK. Go to POP and change into suits fot Typhoon Lagoon. Leave TL by 1 or 2 and go back to POP for rest and clothes. Back to MK for Tony's at 4:30 and then the Pirate and Princess Party.

Saturday May 10: DHS. Lunch at Sci-Fi at 11:30. Afternoon is up in the air. Mickey's Backyard BBQ at 6:30. Probably an early night back at POP after the BBQ.

Sunday May 11: Mother's Day Brunch at Epcot at 9. DisneyQuest and/or Mini-Golf in the afternoon. Dinner at Jiko's at 5:30. We left the evening open.

Monday May 12: We left the day open to do anything we missed or really want to do one more time before leaving. If we're not exhausted we will take advantage of AK moring EMH that day, then hop to MK, Epcot or both. Use up any remaining meal and snack credits. Fly out of Orlando at 7:05 PM.

 

[UKHelen]

Sounds like fun! Look forward to reading your trip report and seeing how it compares to the pre-trip report!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Looks like a well thought out itinerary - Hope you have fun and all goes to plan

 

[disney21]

your itinerary looks great! you've chosen great places to eat. cant wait for the TR.

 

[cinderellafan6]

Congratulations on graduating!!! wow ur masters...Im graduating in summer and it took me 8 years to get my BA... It sounds like the delux dinning plan is going to work out great for you. have fun!!

 

[baz212]

Original Itinerary

Sat May 3: Official beginning of vacation. We will be leaving home 10:30 and 11 AM after DS Dance class, and Driving up to Dominican University for my graduation. My Graduate School is hosting a reception from 12:30-1:30. Then I get my Masters in Library and Information Science at the ceremony at 2. My parents are treating us to Dinner at Trattoria Peppino afterwards. Then DH, DS, and I will go to the Super 8 O'Hare and check in. DSIL is staying witha friend in Chicago.

Sunday May 4: Lazy day at the hotel swimming pool and dinner inn the city at Uno's. Early to bed because we have a 6 AM flight out of O'Hare in the morning.

What we actually did

Saturday May 3rd: DS4 went to dance class and recieved his recital t-shirt. We picked DSIL up in Dayton and drove to Dominican for my graduation. I got my MLIS and my dad took lots of pictures(don't have these yet). We went to Trattoria Peppino in Elk Grove for dinner. Her is the change in plans. DSIL's friend couldn't get the weekend off so she stayed at the hotel with us.We stopped at the Borders in Oak Park for paperbacks for the trip on the way to the hotel.

My son waiting for the graduation ceremony to start.

Sunday May 4th: This was a change. We went swimming in the morning then went to Brookfield Zoo. We have a family membership and went to do Stingray Bay which opened yesterday. DS loved being able totouch the stingrays. We decided we won't go into the city. We're just gonna eat at a Bakers Square by the hotel, swim for a half hour, then pack and go to sleep, since we have a 6 AM flight tommorrow.

Stingray Bay

At the zoo

 

[baz212]

We just got back home last night. We had a lot of fun and discovered that DS4 is a daredevil. I loved the Deluxe Dining Plan. We used all of our snack credits and all but 3 of our meal credits. We actually should have used those 3 credits, but the CM who checked us in at the Mother's Day Brunch only used 1 credit per person instead of 2. We didn't notice until we got back to the hotel that night.

This trip report will probably be detailed and included a lot of pictures so be warned.

Her is what we had planned for Monday:

Monday May 5: Going to Disney World. Our flight is scheduled to arrive at 9:30. Hoping to be at POP to check-in by 11. Since room will probably not be ready, we will store our carryons and head to the Magic Kindom. Will probably either snack or grab a quick service lunch. Dinner at Liberty Tree at 6:05.

Here is what we actually did:

Our flight landed a few minutes early at 9:25. We took the Magical Expressand POP was the first stop. Our room in the fities was ready when we checked in and we were in the room by about 11:30. DS immediately made himself comfortable on the bed while DSIL, DH, and I unpacked.

We had a counter service lunch at the food court.

DS liked the tv in the food court.

We got to the Magic Kingdom just in time to see the Family Fun Day Parade. I knew one of CM in the parade. Then we went to the Emporium and bought DS a hat and sunglasses.

Then we walked to ToonTown to do the Barnstormer and DS saw the face painting, so DS and DSIL got there faces painted.

Sorry about the sideways pictures, I'll try to fix them later.

 

[baz212]

Fter facepainting, we went on Barnstormer, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Winnie the Pooh twice. DS loved them all.

We had dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern and DS loved meeting the characters. Then we went back to POP for a swim and bed.

DS, DH and I on our way out of the park

I have to do more unpacking, but I'll try to post another day or two later tonight.

 

[k.hunter30]

*sigh* I love Brookfield Zoo...

 

[cinderellafan6]

Very nice. I love the cute pics!!

 

[Lightyear]

Great report! Do I see new Mickey stickers?!

 

[baz212]

Great report! Do I see new Mickey stickers?!

DS got those from the hotel, but I have no clue if they're new or not, I haven't been since 2002.

 

[baz212]

Here was our itinerary for day 2:

Tuesday May 6: Epcot. Lunch at Teppan Edo. Afternoon at DTD and POP. DSIL is keeping DS that night and DH and I are going to Yachtsman Steakhouse for supper at 6:10 and then Boardwalk, DTD, and PI.

Here is what we actually did:

We were all tired from getting up at 3 AM the day before so we slept late and didn't get to Epcot until about 11:30. We got fastpasses for Soarin' on our way to Japan for lunch. We all really enjoyed our meal at Teppan Edo. The chef did my filet first because I'm allergic to mushrooms. The show was very good. DS loved the onion volcano. DSIL liked her scallops, DH liked his shrimp,and DS devoured his chicken. The green tea martini was wonderful.

We walked back towards Soarin while DS did the Kidcot stops in Morrocco, France, England, and Canada. Then we went on Soarin'. It was the first time on it for everyone except DSIL and we all loved it.

After Soarin' we split up DSIL and DS went to The Seas and then back to the hotel to swim. DH and I went on Imagination and then headed to the Boardwalk resorts.

DH and I had dinner at Yachtsmen Steakhouse. THe food was absolutely wonderful. I had the filet and DH had the porterhouse, one was well-done and one was medium-rare and both came out cooked to perfection and at the same time. My dessert was heavenly, it was a tasting of white chocolate, although it didn't look very white. One was orange, one was banana and the other was mango.

DH hubby and I went to DTD after dinner and bought DS birthday presents and shipped them to my parents house. DH and I were too tired and decided to skip Pleasure Island and head back to POP for some sleep. WDW is an entirely different experience as a parent than it is as a newlywed. Good, but different

 

[baz212]

Our original itinerary:

Wednesday May 7: 8:05 Breakfast at Tusker House. Animal Kingdom till early afternoon. Snack or QS for lunch. Resort to swim or nap. 5:30 dinner at Artist's Point. Probably MGM after dinner.

What we did:

We got to Animal Kingdom before they opened up the breakfast line and ended up being the first ones in line. It was really cool having an unobstructed view walking up to the tree of life.

DS loved the breakfast. He had a ball with all of the characters and the food was very good too.

After breakfast we were one of the first in line for the safari. The rhinos were literally rubbing against the vehicle. it was very cool. On the way over to Kali DS and DH played with the drums.

Everyone but DH went on Kali. We got soaked and then headed over to Everest. We knew DS was close, but we weren't positive. No one stopped to us to check his height so we just walked on. It was only about a 10 minute wait. DS loved it. Then we headed over to Dinoland to ride Dinosaur. DS loved that too. See why we call him a daredevil now. He's not even 5 yet. We watched the Nemo musical, which I really liked and then went to do Everest again. This time the cast member stopped to check his height. She would'nt let himon even though it was like a 16th of an inch. The only temper tantrum of the trip except for the last day ensued. Mostly because he had beenon it earlier and didn'y understand why he couldn't. We went to the Boneyard playground. That cheered him right up. Then we had lunch at Restaurantosaurus and headed back to the hotel for a rest.

 

[disney21]

Great pictures!

 

[baz212]

Great pictures!

Thanks. I took most of them, but DSIL took the date stamped ones and the ones with me in them, and DH took the ones at my graduation.

 

[baz212]

After our rest time we took a bus to MK and then a boat to Wilderness Lodge. DS liked the stream through the lobby.

DH and DSIL had the buffalo which they both really liked, and I had the salmon which was very good, although I had it without the sauce and dipped in drawn garlic butter instead. They made DS a grilled cheese even though it wasn't on the menu because he asked for it, and then gave him just strawberries for his appetizer when he didn't touch any of the other fruit in the bowl.He got very spoiled this meal. He really liked the paint your own chocolate puzzle.

The paint was originally in a Mickey head shape.

After dinner DSIL went out with a CM friend of hers and DH, DS and I went to DHS. DS wanted to ride Tower of Terror. When we got off he said he didn't like it, and didn't want to ride it again (remember this). Then we did a little shopping and headed back to POP for bed.

 

[baz212]

Our Itinerary:

Thursday May 8: DS is doing GF Pirate Cruise from 9:30-11:30. DH is staying at POP in morning to work on schoolwork. DSIL and I will hop the monorail resortd to shop and check them out whil DS is on Pirate Cruise. After Cruise spend the day in Epcot. DH meeting us for lunch at 1 at Coral Reef. (I know DS gets food on cruise, but he refuses to eat peanut butter.) Dinner at Restuarant Marrakesh at 6. Since DH will have internet access today from the morning, this is the night that DH will try to get DS to bed relatively early while DSIL and I go to PI.

What we actually did:

DS did the GF Pirate Cruise and loved it. The only thing he didn't like was the sandwich (he hates peanut butter). DH stayed at the hotel to try and do homework, but he could not get the internet working. It changed IP addresses about every 5 minutes and kept freezing his computer. DSIL and I wandered the GF for a little while and then hopped on the monorail to Poly for a Dole Whip. Then we hopped the monorail back to GF to pick up DS.

The DSIL and I took DS to the MK for a haircut. He decided on green hair gel.

We hopped a monorail to Epcot for our lunch at Coral Reef. I don't remember what we had, but it was good. Then we did the seas with Nemo and walked over to Test Track. FastPass on this attraction really screws up the standby line. And the single rider line gets abused badly. The ride was good though. DS loved it. He's even more of a thrill junkie now.

We let him play at Pluto's Play Zone before we walked to Marrakesh for dinner. He was climbing better than some of the older kids.

We did Spaceship Earth on the way out of the park. DSIL and I decided we were too tired to go to PI and the internet wasn't working for DH anyway so DS and DH went for a swim and DSIL and I did a little shopping at POP. Then we went to bed.

 

[baz212]

Our Itinerary:

Friday May 9: 8:05 breakfast at Crystal Palace. Then spend an hour or two in the MK. Go to POP and change into suits fot Typhoon Lagoon. Leave TL by 1 or 2 and go back to POP for rest and clothes. Back to MK for Tony's at 4:30 and then the Pirate and Princess Party.

What we actually did:

We went to MK for our breakfast at Crystal Palace. The food was very good. The chef made me an omelet in the kitchen because of my mushroom allergy, and it was perfectly crispy on the outside and nice and cheesy on the inside:slurp: DS loved seeing Tigger.

After breakfast we did Pirates, Big Thunder and Splash then headed back to the hotel. DH had a headache so only DSIL, DS, and I went to Typhoon Lagoon. Ds loved all the slides but chickened out in the shark reef. Then we went back to the hotel and all took a nap before the DPPP that night.

After our nap it was off to Tony's for supper and then the party. dinner was good but the party was better. DS wasn't interested in meet and greets, but we did Jungle Cruise before the party started and then worked our way over to Tommorrowland getting treasure along the way. We were able to do Buzz, ,Stitch, and MILF before the parade.
I knew a friend in the parade, so that was pretty cool.

After the parade we squezzed in astro orbitors before the fireworks. The fireworks were amazing. Then we did HM, BT, Splash, and more treasure spots before calling it a night about 11:30.

 

[baz212]

Our Itinerary:

Saturday May 10: DHS. Lunch at Sci-Fi at 11:30. Afternoon is up in the air. Mickey's Backyard BBQ at 6:30. Probably an early night back at POP after the BBQ.

What we actually did:

We slept in after the late night at MPPP. We got to DHS just in time for our lunch at Sci-Fi. DS loved watching the trailers and eating in a car. The food was good, but nothing spectacular. At least the burgers were on white buns instead of the nasty wheat ones you get at counter service.

After lunch DH went back to the hotel to try the internet again so that he can do his homework. He still had no luck, but DSIL, DS, and I had a much better afternoon. DS asked to ride Tower of Terror first. This surprised us, but after the ride, he said he liked it and wanted a Tower of Terror T-shirt. Then we went on GMR adn walked to Animation Courtyard to try and find DSIL's friend who was working there. We did the Animation thing and found DSIL's friend. He got us VIP seating for the Lights, Motor Action Stunt show at 4:30:sohappy:

We had some time so we did Star Tours and DS liked that a lot too. He really is a thrill ride junkie. He's now been on every thrill ride at the parks that he's big enough for, and one that he wasn't quite. DS liked the stunt show, especially the fire parts. The VIP seating was awsome. Right in the center and high enough up to see everything without being too high.

After the show we met DH at Fort Wilderness for the BBQ. THe BBQ was cool. The food was really good and DS liked dancing with characters and watching the rope trick artist. After the BBQ we went back to POP for a swim and bed. Tommorrow is our last full day at the parks.