Despite a few negatives like aches and ailments, a couple of closed attractions, a few bratty moments, and some late starts-the trip was a very positive thing indeed! I'd even venture to say it was a rousing success and a blissfully busy time that we'll never forget. No, it wasnt a relaxing vacation by any means. It was a challenge always and I've never worked so hard to have fun! But it was beyond fun; it was a huge hoot that I feel inclined to share in my typical wordy and overly expressive way. I'm providing this trip report partly as a personal diary and partly as a travel-guide of sorts for my readers. After all, going to Disney with three children takes guts and frankly, I feel it qualifies me for some kind of title. So here I am, Mistress of Magic Kingdom Mayhem, to spout off about the little adventure my family and I had during the past week.
Day 0-Sept 27th, Arrival Day : Originally, our trip was supposed to be Sept 28th thru Oct 4th but as Southwest would have it, the only affordable flights leaving Nashville on that day were late, which would have wasted us an entire day of touring. So we got an inexpensvie room at Disney's All Star Music Resort (one of their budget picks)and chose a flight that would put us in Orlando at about 10pm. Incidentally, this was Nathan's first plane ride and he was understandably chatty about it. Once we were in the air, he really didnt believe we were going anywhere and got bored w/ the whole thing pretty fast. Luckily, the flight is less than 1 and 1/2 hrs total so it's a breeze. When we arrived, we utilized Disney's Magical Express service-a bus service that provides free transportation to any of the Disney Resorts and a definite bonus to staying on property. As most of you know, I won't go to Disney unless I can stay at one of the property hotels. Due to the details provided by the Disney folks, the feel of the parks stays w/ you even when you go to your room. And I love that.
Anyway, our room was in the Country Fair (Yeehaw!) section of the All Star Music Resort. For those of you who don't know about the All Star Resorts, they are Disney's answer to a Motel 6 and cost a mere 69.00 a night on average. The buildings are horribly garish and ugly, adorned with giant replicas of Disney Characters, Musical Instruments, Football Helmets, or Pop Culture Icons as the theme of the hotel demands. Our building was in the 'Country Western' wing of the All Star Music resort and was predictably horrible. Huge Cowboy Boots, Fiddles, and Banjos against a backdrop of concrete buildings painted the color of baby poop. On the plus side, all the resorts including this one have immaculate landscaping that encompasses the theme. So as you can see in the photo below, the cacti and Yucca plants were really lovely.
Day One-Sept 28th Our night at The All Star Music was okay. The room was so tiny that I felt claustrophobic when I was pacing the floor w/ Victor at midnight. But we all got a little sleep and were ready to change hotels the next day. Our hotel of choice, The Beach Club, was not available for all six nights so we opted to stay one night at the Boardwalk so we could still stay at the Beach Club for most of our trip. Both resorts are within walking distance of our favorite park, Epcot, and both have New England beach-y themes. After breakfast at the All Star Music food court (which was really a nice surprise and had lots of fresh options to choose from), we left our luggage w/ the Bell Desk for them to transfer to our new Resort and took the bus to The Hollywood Studios, not to go to the park yet but instead to catch the boat to our new hotel, The Boardwalk.
The Boardwalk hotel is a cheerful and beautifully decorated place decked out in crisp pastels and ornate details. The lobby is one of Disney's most memorable, featuring a giant golden chandalier with all sorts of fantasy sea creatures cavorting about on it. There are also glass cases containing detailed models of carousels, roller coasters, and the like. The furniture is 'upscale' oceanside, some of which is very elaborate. Even the muted seaside paintings are framed in heavily carved gold frames that really stand out.
We checked in and gathered up our hotel packet, which included your Key To The World Card-a card that can be used for room charges, entry to you room, and if you have your park passes added to it, can also be used for park entry. Everything went off w/out a hitch and we hurried to our room to get our bearings. The Studio villas have only one queen sized bed but also a fold out couch, which is where the boys slept for the duration. There is also a small kitchenette, a single sink vanity area, and a seperate toilet, bathing area like most hotels. Room decor was again, very bright and cheery boasting muted tones of reds, greens, and yellows and a well placed mirrored section on one wall that made the room seem huge. Our balcony looked out over the Pool and grounds as well as a distant view of the Hollywood Studios Tower Of Terror.
Our luggage had not yet arrived so I visited The Boardwalk itself, a real 'board' walk on the backside of the resort that offers lots of dining/shopping options as well as bicycle rental and funny street performances. It's right on the water, which makes it very picturesque so I was in no real hurry to get back to the room. I ordered some typical junk food staples (cheese sticks, corn dogs, meatball subs) from a little vendor . After lunch, I took the boys down to the playground while daddy rested and when our luggage finally arrived that afternoon, we all got dressed to go to Epcot for dinner reservations.
Sept and Oct are 'Food and Wine Festival' at Epcot. I've never been able to go during this event but I doubt I'll ever go at any other time now! In addition to the already huge array of foods and wines available from the different 'countries' of World Showcase, there is an additional number of vendors that offer food and drink options from another 20-30 countries! It was late so we didnt have time to sample anything then, but we made a mental note of all the drinks/ snacks that looked yummy for future reference.
We had only about an hour and a half until our dining reservation in 'France', so we took the boys on the only two World Showcase rides-In Mexico and Norway. The Mexican ride is sweet and cool w/ a great Three Caballeros theme. Nathan loved it and he got to have his picture taken w/Donald afterwards. The NOrway ride is just a little more intense and dark and has a few 'Trolls' to contend with so he was a little timid of that one. Victor rode in my lap for the Norway ride (called Maelstrom) and enjoyed it thoroughly. It's also a boat ride but has a few faster segments so it's a good test for kids to see what they'll be able to handle later on. Nathan didnt like the trolls but he did fine w/ the speed of the ride so I knew he would do great on some of the big rides of the next few days.
Our dinner was at Les Chefs De France and it was delicious. We utilized the Disney DIning Plan this time so all of our food was paid for in advance, w/ our hotel check-in, and was also placed on our Key to the World Card. The Dining Plan gives you one table service and one counter service meal per day as well as one snack. We planned to eat breakfast in our room since we had a fridge. Table Service meal credits allow you to choose one Entree, One NOn Alcoholic Beverage, and one desseert each. I had the Tiger Shrimp w/ scallops as my entree and Creme Brulee for dessert. both of which were wonderful. Disney is one of the only places on earth where you can enjoy fine dining at a white tablecloth establishment and still bring your smacking, shouting, roll-tossing children along w/ you without being sneered at.
After dinner, we strolled outside to watch Illiminations, the nightly firework presentation at EPCOT that features the music of the different nations on display. It's very nice but not as moving as it used to be due to the cheesy 'inspirational' song tacked onto the end. Nathan thought it was way too loud so I gave him some earplugs and he was just fine. I also had some noise reduction earmuffs for the baby. A very pleasant and even somewhat relaxing day one.
Day 2-Sept 29th We woke up happy that today was our last day of having to play 'musical resorts'. We were careful not to unpack anything the night before so it was relatively easy to call bell services and have them, once again, transfer our luggage to our new home-The Beach Club Villas. Then we all caught the boat to The Hollywood Studios, even though we were running a bit late due to the moving situation.
I swear by the Unofficial Guide to WDW. It's full of useful information, the prime piece of which is to 'Arrive Early! Arrive Early! Arrive Early!'. Try as we might, we just couldnt get to any of the parks prior to opening for the whole trip. I had also planned the days according to the Guide's statistics for crowd levels at each park so Monday was supposed to be an ideal day for the Studios. Unfortunately, w/ our late arrival, crowds had already gotten pretty bad, even for the slow time of year. We just made it a point to relax, rent strollers ( I paid for four days of double stroller rental with my Disney Rewards Card which came to about 105.00. It's alot but well worth it since those strollers are super easy to push and turn on a dime. Just make sure to bring a brightly colored bandana or scarf to tie around the handle so you can find it in the crowd after rides.), and enjoy some coffee before attempting to see anything. Star Tours (Star Wars themed simulator ride) was first and had only a five minute wait so me and the two older boys took advantage and enjoyed the ride. It's a little rough but Nathan loved it and was especially enamoured of the gift shop called Tatooine Traders at the end. We spent a good hour in there.
Because of the crowd, not much was accomplished in the way of attractions. THe longest line of the trip was The Great Movie Ride, which Jonathan and Johnson waited for while I watched the younger two. Our friends from La, Craig and Sarah, were there w/ family and they caught up w/ us for a quick visit before lunch. The newest ride at The Studios, Toy Story Mania was at a sixty minute wait for the whole day and fastpasses (special feature for park guests that allows you to come back at a certain time for little or no wait on a ride) were already out by noon. So no Toy Story for us that day.
For lunch, we visited the Toluca Legs Turkey Co. I had read on Allears.net that this place was a great option for counter service lunch because there is no kids menu so kids get adult portions which can be useful if you want things to take with you for later in the day. We got two adult sized salads, one pulled pork sandwhich, and a turkey leg as our entrees. These things were so filling that we took our chocolate chip cookies and chips w/ us for later and saved our snack credits that way. Also, instead of a fountain beverage for all four of us, we got a couple of bottles of water that we could take along. Thanks Allears!
Next was the ROck N Roller Coaster-the Aerosmith themed super-fast indoor coaster at The Studios. I talked Johnson into riding it w/ me and he hated me afterwards! heh heh. No, he didnt like it. I purchased the photo they took of us on the ride because his face was so priceless. THe ride slingshots you into action w/ the best takeoff ever and I don't think he expected it to be so fast. My favorite ride at WDW! By then, Johnson was not about to try Tower of Terror yet so we opted to head back to the hotel and swim before going to Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours. Extra Magic Hours are hours before or after official park hours for Disney Resort guests only. We love the Evening ones because Magic Kingdom is so cool at night.
One word about the pool at The Boardwalk: It's excellent for kids! There is this great 'carnival' feel to the pool area, complete w/ beautiful red and white striped circus canopies over the snack vendors and restrooms. The slide is called the Keister Coaster and it replicates a Coney Island Roller Coaster, the exit of which is a giant clown mouth. Johnson and Nathan both enjoyed the slide and Johnson even learned to swim that day! Yay!
Because of Extra Magic Hours, we decided not to do a Table Service meal that day. Instead, we went to the Magic Kingdom and grazed on snacks while we rode the rides. The park closed at eight o' clock so we used the time everyone else was watching the fireworks show, to get at least four rides under our belt. We knocked out Fantasyland in no time and this is a blessing because its the 'land' that gets the longest waits during the day. There are lots of cycle rides there (think Dumbo and Cinderella's Carousel) and those are the ones w/ the longest lines since they arent 'continous loaders' like Peter Pan and Small World. I can't say enough about Magic Kingdom at night! It's so much more fun due to the lights; the castle changes colors continuously. Big Thunder Mountain is lots more fun in the dark, for some reason, not to mention the Haunted Mansion. We hadnt intended to stay so late but we were having so much fun and riding so many rides w/ absolutely no wait that we decided to just hang out until 11 pm and sleep late the next day.
The kids were exhausted but super happy. And so were we.
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