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Cast of Characters: Mike & Leilani, Miranda (DD11) & Laken (DD5)
Thursday, October 21st - Days 1 ½
We decided to spend the night before at a hotel close to the airport - we chose Quality Inn & Suites. We paid $10 & parked our car there for our entire trip and they have a free shuttle to the airport. It worked out very well. We were all excited and up, showered and down for the free, hot
breakfast early - 6:15 am. Shuttle left at 6:40 and had us at the airport before 7:00. Southwest Airlines flight left KC on time - uneventful flight - and landed on time at 12:05. QuickSilver picked us up at the baggage area and we were in the car and on our way by 12:20. We arrived at
Port Orleans Riverside at 12:45. Our driver was friendly and efficient - just what I wanted. There was a l-o-n-g line for check in at POR - but still we were checked in by 1:10pm - but our room was not ready. We left our luggage at Bell Services and had lunch in the food court,
Riverside Mill - good food and purchased our refill mugs. BTW, they no longer make Pralines at the bakery here. Then we checked out the gift shop (picked up lanyards & I got a new watch because my battery died on the trip here) and walked around a bit to get the feel of things.
This is a beautiful resort and the only time we experienced ANY crowds was at check in. The food court was never over crowded - unlike the All Star Resorts we have stayed in. We thought we might go fishing - but decided to see if our room was ready instead - it was, so off we went to Alligator Bayou, building 15, room #1552. Nice corner room with a trundle bed that we did not request - but did use. Refrigerator was not in the room but was brought up that evening upon request (we were not charged for it). Bell services brought our luggage up within 20 minutes.
Cute story: When we were getting out of the car at POR my DH comments "Look, there's Alligator Bayou right there". DD5 nearly jumps out of her skin and is looking all around her thinking there was an alligator right there - by her (BY YOU)! It was hilarious and became a running joke in the family. Whenever we walked up to our building DD5 would say "There's an Alligator beside you!" We'd all laugh and say "No, BAYOU!"
We left for Downtown Disney by boat around 3:45. This was a nice, alternative trip from the regular bus service. We walked around a bit, did a little shopping and just kind of enjoyed being here. We bought Christmas ornaments at the Christmas Store and had them delivered to our resort gift shop. I looked for postcards (for the postcard program) at the World of Memories - but didn't find what I wanted or needed. My family was anxious to get to DisneyQuest so off we went.
This was our first time to DisneyQuest and we had a great time. DH can't take too much of the simulator type things. DD11 & I did Aladdin's Magic Carpet Ride and CyberSpace Mountain - twice. As a family we did Pirates of the Caribbean & Virtual Jungle Cruise. We had fun with Magic Mirror, Sid's Create-A-Toy and Living Easels. DD5 was too small for the Buzz thing - so we all opted not to do it - but I heard it's loads of fun. We parents managed to avoid the Midway and the pay games but we all had fun with the Classic Games & Arcade. There were things we didn't get to but we did go in the evening and it did start to get crowded and we were all getting tired from our early start today. We ate dinner here at Food Quest - presented by The Cheesecake Factory Express. I was disappointed in the food here - not nearly the quality of The Cheesecake Factory.
We took the boat back to POR and got a wonderful driver who sang Disney songs all the way back. Okay, so he wasn't the best singer and he didn't quite have all the words right but he was enjoying himself and the girls and I loved singing along - everyone on the boat seemed to be a good sport about it. DH laughed at me when I told him I'd just discovered my dream job. On the way back to our room, who do we hear but Bob @ the River Roost. So we sat down and had a drink and enjoyed the entertainment for awhile. He was very funny.
High Point: We're here! and doing DisneyQuest was new for us.
Low Point: Oops! I wanted to get the postcards bought and sent while at Downtown Disney and didn't get that done.
Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom
Day 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
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