[magickingdom05]

Well first of all I wanted to say that I had a great time at WDW this time around and enjoyed staying at CBR. I was able to spend lots of time at all the parks and still have time left to do stuff at CBR and that worked out great. The crowds really weren’t all that bad and the weather was great, so I was able to and see everything I wanted and some stuff more than once. I had fun on the water mice and thought it was great fun riding them.

As some of you know, I made PS arrangements at Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey’s and a couple other ones, but only did Crystal Palace and Chef Mickey’s. The food was outstanding, but they just seem to be more geared to the families and younger crowds. Plus I went stands and got a hotdogs and stuff like that most of the time anyways, so the sit down type things really isn’t my cup of tea. I’m sure I will eat at Chef Mickey’s again since I’m staying at Contemporary in May.

Also, I was very excited to find out what WDW had left in my room. I got one of the WDW red/white/blue baseball caps, a fanny pack that said WDW on it and some WDW pins. Also, I found out at check in, that they arranged it so I could have a free upgrade to a water view room at CBR, but had to wait until the 5th night there, for availability. This was nice because I went from staying at Barbados, to North Trinidad which is so close to the food court area. Also when I was moved, at night, I could see some of the Illumination fire works from the back of Port Royal which was very cool.

Here is a list of things I liked and did at each park:

Magic Kingdom

1. Cinderella’s Surprise show at the Castle (saw the last show and
new castle looks great).
2. Mickey's Philharmagic (first time seeing it and loved it)
3. Wishes (this was great)
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Jungle Cruise
6. Peter Pan's Flight
7. Pirates of the Caribbean
8. Space Mountain, Splash Mountain & Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
9. Walt Disney World Railroad
10. Swiss Family Robinson Tree house
11. Spectromagic (very cool)
12. Carousel of Progress

Animal Kingdom

1. Dinosaur
2. Festival of the Lion King
3. It's Tough to Be a Bug
4. Kilimanjaro Safaris
5. Tarzan Rocks!
6. Conservation Station - Rafiki's Planet Watch
7. Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade

Epcot

1. Ellen's Energy Adventure
2. Mission: SPACE (10 times)
3. Spaceship Earth
4. Test Track
5. The Living Seas
6. Maelstrom
7. Illuminations: Reflections of Earth
8. World Showcase (I ate my way through this)

MGM Studios

1. Beauty and the Beast
2. Great Movie Ride
3. Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular
4. Muppetvision 3-D
5. Star Tours

I really don’t have much to complain about since it was such a great trip, but I did have one problem with charging on my room card. I went ahead and put down $1000 in TC on my room card and they were happy to do that. However the lady who did this, put it in as a negative balance so I had a real hard time using it. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t. Twice I had to come back from MK to get it worked on, and the second time finally decided to have them cash it out and I would just pay cash for it. Also I had to replace my AP twice, because it wouldn't work and I had to show my DL the parks to get in. After the last replacement, it worked great.

I must say that overall, this was one of the best vacations I have ever taken and can’t wait to go back in May (Memorial Day weekend).

[Disneyfever]

It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I can tell you are a big fan of Mission Space!! We liked that ride a lot to. The good thing about that ride is that you can ride it as many times as you want to, because there is usually only a 5 min. wait.

The resort you stayed at sounds nice too. And you get to go back to WDW in May! How fun!

[magickingdom05]

Disneyfever,

Yep. I wanted to see all the new things comming out for the 50th celebration at WDW so I'm going during Memorial Day weekend. I can't wait to stay at the Contemporary and be 5 minutes away from MK not 30.

[Disneyfever]

You'll love it at the Contemporary. When everyone else is waiting for a bus at the end of the night, you can just hop on the monorail! It makes it so easy to go back to the resort in the afternoon for a swim or boat rental. I'll bet the 50th at WDW will be great!

[magickingdom05]

Disneyfever,

Yep. I love the idea of getting on the monorail and being home in 5 minutes instead of waiting in a line for an hour to catch a crowded bus. Since I was just there and did everything I wanted, there are only a couple things that I will want to see and do (all the new stuff), so I really am not going to do much planning for this trip. I am also excited to try for free the new magical express service from the airport.

[Erin]

Wonderful!! It sounds like you had an excellent time. It sounds like they treated you well!

I am looking forward to hearing how you liked the Contemporary. It gets mixed reviews!

[magickingdom05]

Erin,

That is the one thing I'm worried about, but how bad can it really be. Just because it is older than the other ones and the decor might be a little off, doesn't take away form the fact that it is so close to MK.

[Erin]

Jason,

I'm with you on that. Besides, I'm all for nostalgia. It doesn't really bother me that it's older and the theming is off. It's awesome because it's always been there! As a kid I always wanted to stay in the 'toaster'.

You can't beat a resort with a monorail going through the middle!

Not that I don't love a wonderfully themed resort. I'm a fan of CSR, myself!

[SDuncan]

I stayed at the contemporary and loved it! It is old, but I was in the tower with a MK view. Each night before bed I could sit on the balcony, stare at MK, drink a beer, talk about the day and what was to come. I would stay there everytime if I could afford too. Next trip is PC to save the money.

Location was wonderful.

[magickingdom05]

Erin,

Ever since my offsite trip 4 years ago (first trip to WDW as an adult until this trip), I have always wanted to stay at one of the monorail resorts because of how close it was to everything. When I was eating at Chef Mickey's last week, I said to myself that one day I want to stay at the Contemporary, but never thought it would be in 10 weeks.

[magickingdom05]

SDuncan,

I would love to stay in a tower room at contemporary, but that is an extra $118.25 a night.

[Erin]

I envy you that you can go back so soon! I live here in fl, and I have a really tough time getting down there! LOL!

Have alot of fun! (I'm sure you will!)

[magickingdom05]

Erin,

If I lived in Florida, I have a feeling I would be at WDW alot.

[Dana]

Thanks for sharing your adventure with us. I enjoyed reading it.

[magickingdom05]

Dana,

Thanks. I had a really really great time and enjoyed myself. I really liked eating my way through Epcot and trying new things. The only issue I had while doing this was the bird that flew down and stole my funnel cake.