|
I chose to visit WDW in September because it would be the last September I would be able to take my 4 year old daughter without removing her from
school.
We checked the Delta site and were thrilled that our flight was as scheduled. Unfortunately, due to the national tragedy our friends' flight was cancelled
the day before. We arrived at Bradley Airport in Hartford, Connecticut 2 hours early. We walked into the Delta area and was faced with thousands of
people in line. This was a fruitless exercise, because after waiting an hour, they announced our flight and we went to the front of the line. I
want to say that everyone was very friendly and no one moaned about the situation. Some people arrived 5 hours ahead, which wouldn't help.
Standing will be difficult for some people and there are limited chairs on the side. The only bad experience was the attitude of the sky caps, who
were reassigned to other areas.
We boarded on time and left 5 minutes late. The pilot went through a lengthy announcement of the security measures taken. (they are checking and
rechecking carry ons and luggage). The flight was about 2/3 full - such a shame because anyone's whose flight was cancelled probably would have faired
well on stand-by.
Half an hour into the ride we saw the smokey remains of the towers in NY and the plane became strangely quiet.
We arrived 5 minutes ahead of schedule and had a smooth, clear walk to our luggage. You would have thought it was 5am in the airport, not 5pm.
Grabbing a car was easy with the Emerald Membership at National Car Rental. All you do is take membership number, go to car lot and choose a car from the
rows marked. We drove out quickly and followed the signs to Downtown Disney.
We checked into the Courtyard by Marriott, made sure they had my Marriott Rewards Number, dropped our luggage and hopped the bus in front of the hotel.
We had prepaid for the room for two nights at $20.01 per night using a discount I had found at mousesavers.com We headed to the MK and purchased
our annual passes using our Disney Club Discount. The annual passes saved us from paying the parking rate each day we drove into the parks. Our bags and
fanny packs were checked by security personnel each day we entered the park.
Our vacation plans were smack dab in the middle between Disney's old and new. That is, we saw two different parades in the MK and the newest parade at
Epcot. The 100 Years Celebration is up and running!
We arrived at the MK at 7pm starving and had dinner. There were 2, not 1, parades scheduled and the people were already lined up for the 8pm parade.
After dinner we did Small world, winnie the pooh, teacups, dumbo, snow white, peter pan, and carousel all by the 9pm fireworks that we watched by the
castle.
Can you imagine walking onto all of these rides? The park closed after we watched the 10pm parade and we took the bus back to the hotel.
I wasn't too impressed with the Winnie the Pooh Ride. I had skipped this ride the previous visit because it always had a 60 minute wait. I expected
something a little more thrilling. It is similar to the techology in the Snow White ride except it bounces a little when your car is in front of
Tigger. I had sort of hoped for a ride a little different than others, perhaps with a 3D effect. I prefer the older Peter Pan ride to Pooh.
My four year old daughter and I passed out as soon as we got to the hotel. I can't tell you how nice this beginning was - immediate gratification for my
DD - all those rides in such a short time. I've never seen it!
Our room overlooked Downtown Disney and the staff in the breakfast buffet were out of this world! The breakfast was great and a good deal. There was
complimentary coffee available during the day, which I grabbed before heading out to the parks. This hotel might turn into my 'affordable' stop that I stay
either coming or going on a trip in order to keep lodging costs down.
On day 2 we headed to Animal Kingdom and had a great day. The Pocohontas show was cancelled due to damage from the tropical storm. My DD loved Tarzan
Rocks, the Lion King Show, and Rafiki's Island where she was able to pet a bunch of goats. She did not fare well in Tough to Be a Bug, all of the smoke
and noise bothered her. We did the Safari Ride and and watched all of the animals sleep in the hot sun. That ride is definitely best done when the
park is open later at the last possible moment when it is cooler and the animals are up! Despite my love for the Lion King show, this park is still
my least favorite park of Disney because it always seems to be the hottest and the the layout is poor.
On Day 3 we checked into our room at the Polynesian at WDW. We stayed at a concierge room and thought it was well worth the cost. The setting was
perfect for a 4 year old who grazes throughout the day. The staff were fabulous! The lush, tropical setting was NOT, however, ideal for those of us
who may suffer from allergies to mold. We enjoyed continental breakfast, snacks in the afternoon, dinner from 5 - 7pm, and desserts in the evening.
Having coffee and soda available all the time was enough to make the convenience well worth it. My daughter enjoyed watching the large screen TV
in the concierge lounge, and there were always children for her to play with. Everyone watched the water pagent from the lounge - and it seems bigger than
I remembered it.
Months of planning and trying to get the best value for the money and what ride does my daughter like best? The monorail! We jumped on the monorail
and buzzed around the Lake for over an hour, just riding from one resort to the other.
We enjoyed our dinner at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort. The food was great and included had great prime rib and a nice assortment of desserts.
I liked this character meal because no matter how many people were seated, there seemed to be plenty of character interaction. My daughter posed with
all of the characters numerous times throughout the dinner.
On Day 4 we headed to Epcot. There was no Tapesty of Nations Parade, but would get to view Tapestry of Dreams the next week. We found Princess
Jasmine and Genie in Moracco as well as Mary Poppins standing in front of the UK. For some reason the love bug population was fierce in Epcot. We enjoyed
Ice Station Cool, an area easy to miss if you don't know what to look for. We enjoyed walking into the deep freeze to the station where we sampled the
sodas from around the world. I enjoyed China's watermelon soda best. My DD enjoyed Japans vegasomethingoranother soda while DH liked the ginger ale.
Many people thought it was cute to encourage people to try Italy's bitter drink and watch as faces puckered.
We had PS for the Ice Cream Social at the Garden Grill in the LAND. My daughter did not appreciate the noise while the restaurant turns toward the
jungle/land themes. She did appreciate Chip n Dale taking her by the hand and walking her to the table. The ice cream was pretty good and the
character interaction was enhanced due to the low attendence at the parks. Before leaving the Land we did Food Rocks which cracked me up!
We didn't stay for the Reflections of Earth show because we wanted to enjoy the Polynesian as much as possible. We arrived back to the hotel where our
beds had been turned down and chocolates left for us. My daughter loved the swimming pool with the slide and I did notice the quiet pool remained empty
during our 3-day stay unless you want to count the ducks. It had been a long time since I stayed in a WDW Deluxe Resort and I missed it!
On Day 5 I had scheduled a rest day but we headed to the Magic Kingdom to watch the 3pm Magical Moments Parade. My daughter was thrilled to take part
in some of the activities such as setting the table with the Beauty and the Beast characters, and dancing with others. She does not appreciate the new
parade that we saw the soft opening for the next week, the characters are 'stuck in the balls' as she put it. I liked the parade and they are pretty
effective with their 'dreamy' image.
We had absolutely no problems seeing any characters this trip. In fact, the characters seemed bored to death and at one point instead of us being in line
to see a character, there was a line behind my daughter of characters to see her! Upon entering the park we usually saw Donald or Daisy Duck. Throughout
the day, Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, White Rabbit, Pinnocio, Gepetto and others were around for pictures and autographs. Over by Goofy's Barnstormer in Toon
Town you could spot Goofy. In Toon Town there was also a store where Cinderella, Minnie, Chip n Dale amongst others were standing by for
autographs. Exiting the MK we usually saw a few characters too and my DD was thrilled to get a photo taken with John Smith and Esmerelda.
Because Alladin is my daughter's favorite Disney movie, as well as Whole New World being her favorite song, I knew we'd be spending some time on the Magic
Carpet Ride. I had read a few complaints about the placement of the ride, as well as the colors not blending well with the earth tones in Adventureland.
All I can say is: think oasis. My daughter loved the ride and each day we went to the MK (7 days out of 14) we saw the Genie by the ride and even saw
the Genie RIDE on the ride!
There was a point during a MK day that I was a tad annoyed that the park was scheduled to close at 7pm, but the Carousel of Progress, People Mover and
Lion King Show closed several hours before the park closed. It was very frustrating.
On Day 6 we checked out of the Polynesian and went to Downtown Disney where we ate fast food to appease my DD. Some of my family would be joining us so
we had rented a 4 bedroom home in the Wydham Palms that boasts being 3.5 miles off of WDW.
On Day 7 we enjoyed MGM eventhough the Rock n Rollercoaster was being refurbished. We enjoyed a meal in Hollywood and Vine and were offered PS for
Fantasmic Show that we took. I had never seen the show before. My daughter loved the show and now refers to Mickey as, 'Mickey the Saver' because he
beat all of the bad guys. The literature said that seating for the 8pm show starts at 6pm. I would not wait 2 hours to see the show again. It was quite
a hike to get to the stadium and a tad difficult on small children and older adults in our party of 10.
The next week was filled with repeats of each park and we even managed a day at Islands of Adventure. The crowds steadily increased. On Saturday, the
day my family flew in and we hoped to see Spectro Magic and fireworks, it was very crowded that viewing the parade was not enjoyable. The crowd size
reminded me of time during summer months when I would opt for the 11pm parade in order to have some elbow room.
Some of the highlights of the trip included being hooked on Buzz Light Year's Ride. I had no clue what I was doing when we visited the World in 2000 but
made up for it this trip! We managed to see the Reflections of Earth show at Epcot several times and found myself missing all of the laser action I
remembered in other years. The best meal I've ever eaten in Epcot was this visit at the Rose and Crown in England. Fabulous fish n chips! We headed
over to the shops in England after dinner and two members of my family were in a theatrical stint that included audience participation! it was great fun!
I didn't miss the Hall of Presidents being under refurbishment. And while I now am able to sing all of the lines from the Carousel of Progress, I still
sing, "now is the time ... now is the best time...."
We plan on returning after Thanksgiving some time for another visit. I consider it my patriotic duty to contribute yet MORE money into the travel
and tourism industy ;-)
|
