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#1 (permalink) |
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Mouse Meister
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Godfrey, Ill. near St. Louis
Posts: 1,225
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Phayes' TRIP REPORT
Yes, indeed it is. Sorry for the lateness of this report, but things at home piled up while we were away at WDW for 11 days! Well, here goes with the first two days...
TODAY'S CAST MEMBERS: ASHLEY as Darling Daughter, LUCY as her college roommate from England, and ME - dedicated Disney Dad and all-around good guy and trip planner... DAY ONE/FRIDAY TRAVEL - DD, her college roommate (from England) and I left on time from STL Lambert Airport on good ol' Southwest Airlines. Rooomie had never been to FLA, much less WDW, so I had her watch the planning DVD on my laptop en route. By the time we landed, she was pumped up for some Disney! MAGICAL EXPRESS - We were leery of Magical Express, since it had just started a week earlier and we had heard all kinds of horror stories. Well, from our point of view, it couldn't have been better! We were met by the ME greeter (wth the giant "Mickey" glove), directed down to the ME arrival area, and were on the bus to Port Orleans Resort in less than 10 MINUTES from the time we arrived. Here's how quick it went: We arrived at Orlando International at 5:55 p.m. and we were IN OUR ROOM at POR at 6:53 p.m. LESS THAN AN HOUR. We couldn't have gotten there any quicker if we had rented a car! I could not believe how smoothly it went. The bus ride was first-class. We dropped some follks off at Saratoga Sps. and at POFQ first. One minor snafu was that we had requested a room in Magnolia Terrace. The CM placed us in Alligator Bayou, but I asked to please be put in the "mansions" section. DD had always wanted to stay there. He found us a room, but it was in Parterre Place - a good long walk. But all in all, it turned out fine. We got used to the walk. DOWNTOWN DISNEY - We changed clothes (having packed a change in our carry-ons) and took the boat from POR to DTD. We ate dinner at Planet Hollywood (a first-nite tradition for our family) and showed Lucy (DD's roomie) around DTD. even though she's 19, you would have thought she was a little kid. Her mouth was wide open in awe as she walked aroud DTD. At PH, we were seated fairly quickly, had a great meal and topped it off with the best (and hugest) strawberry shortcake you ever saw! One dish, three spooons, full bellies! (burp.) When we finally got back to our room at POR, our luggage had been delivered, safe and sound! So far, so good.... and good nite. DAY TWO/SATURDAY WHAT TO DO? - Since Lucy's family from England was picking her up Saturday nite and they had already purchased her Park Hopper in England, we were faced with a sort of "free day" with her. DD (Ashley) and I told Lucy she could pick any park she wanted and we'd spring for her one-day ticket. DD and I had 10-day Park-Hoppers, so whatever Lucy picked, was fine with us. She said she wanted to "save" going to MK until her little brother and she could do it together, so she picked MGM. Good choice (my favorite park, anyway). After breakfast at the food court (excellent, by the way), we bought Lucy's one-day MGM ticket at the POR concierge and boarded the bus. The Tower of Terror and RnR awaited... MGM...AND OOPS - Well... as we were waiting to go through security at the MGM entrance, Lucy got a scared look on her face. Somehow in all the excitement, she had LOST her admission ticket! We went over to Guest Relatations at MGM, waited in line for about 10 minutes and voila! She had a replacement ticket. And for her trouble, they gave her an MVP pass for RnR, good for any time that day. Wow, that would save us lots of time waiting in line. Just like a Fast Pass. Little did we know.... WAIT? WHAT WAIT? - Our plan has always been to head to ToT & RnR, check the wait times, get a Fast Pass for the longest wait ride and then wait in line fo rthe other one. HA! The wait time listed for ToT was 5 MINUTES! The wait time for RnR was about 10 minutes! And it wasn't even very early! The park had already been open more than an hour when we finally got in. But that's the way it was all day - and for most of the trip. We didn't even NEED a Fast Pass at all the first day. The biggest crowd we saw was at Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. Needless to say, it was a very relaxing day. The weather was nice - mid 80s with what seemed to me like fairly low humidity. OUR DAY AT MGM - After riding ToT and RnR over and over (about three straight times each) like little kids at the county fair, we headed for the Great Movie Ride. I know it seems lame after ToT and RnR, but I like the chance to relax a little. After a wait of about ZERO minutes, the ride started. They had changed it a bit from the last time we rode it (Aug. of 2003). Instead of our "host" being replaced by a cowboy in the old west scene, he was replaced by a gangster in the "Jimmy Cagne" mobster movie scene. Of course, he stil returned at the Egyptian movie scene, as usual. One complaint: Many of the CM's who served as a "hosts" on a ride or attraction were less-than-enthusiastic. Many were hard to understand and didn't pull off their roles very well... After the GMR, we headed to One Man's Dream. DD and Lucy rolled their eyes, but I LOVE that show. following that, we hit Little Mermaid. Again - no Fast Pass needed and we got to the que just as they were seating. DD and Lucy like dthe Little Mermaid, while I rolled MY eyes (just kidding). LUNCH at 50s PRIME TIME: We thought Lucy would enjoy eating at the Prime Time Cafe. I inquired about seating. Since we didn't have a PS, I didn't know if we could get in. Again - HA! We waited about 10 minutes. Our server/"mom" was great. DD and I had heard most of the "show" before, but it was still funny. And Lucy loved it (even though she had to have some of the American humor explained to her). The food was top-notch. BACK TO THE FUN: We enjoyed the rest of the day at MGM. We did Star Tours a couple times (that ride needs updating), saw the new Stunt Show from Disneyland Paris (it didn't do too much for me), shopped some and rode ToT and RnR again. It was plenty of fun - that is, until about 4 p.m. That was when Lucy got a text message on her cell phone from her mum. They had arrived at the airport. She text-messaged back (evidently their cell phones wouldn't connect in the U.S.) and asked when they would be ready to meet up. (They were staying at an off-site condo). Lucy told mum to give her a time to be back at POR. Evidently something was "lost in the translation." Lucy got an angry phone call about an hour later from her mum (on her brother's cell phone which for some reason worked there - I give up). They wanted to know why we weren't at POR waiting for them. Having never been to WDW, they had no idea of the layout (or enormity) of the place. They assumed you could walk from one "amusement park" to the other or to the "motels," as they called them. We got it all figured out eventually and Lucy was picked up at POR. GOOD NITE - Now on our own for a few days, DD and I decided to chill out the rest of the day. We went to the "quiet pool" near our room at POR and swam for a while. Then we had dinner at Boatwrights. Again - great food (burp again, excuse me). The next day: Magic Kingdom TOMORROW: Days 3-5.. (Betcha can't wait - lol) ![]()
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Off-site 1972, 1973, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1982, 1986, 1989, 1997, 2000 Yacht Club 1991 Old Key West (Vacation Club) 1993 Caribe Royale 1995 All-Star Sports 1997 Disneyland Pacific Hotel 1999 All-Star Sports 2000 All-Star Movies 2001 All-Star Music 2002 Dolphin 2002-2003 (Xmas) Caribbean Beach Resort - 2003 Port Orleans Riverside & Poly - 2005 Pop Century - December 2005 COMING: DECEMBER, '07: Pop Century! Last edited by phayes93; 06-08-2005 at 02:46 PM. |
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#2 (permalink) |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Seattle,WA
Posts: 316
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
Great TR...I love the part in the beginning about Lucy acting like a child when first encountering the magic of WDW...it is neat to hear about those "1st" times, funny thing is I get that way whenever I listen to the Disney music, watch a Disney movie, go to the Disney stores, Plan the next trip, come here to DC...oh i could just go on and on!!! Anyways, more...more...more...please.
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~ Always looking forward to going back to the laughing place ~ DL Jun '00 ~ Offsite WDW Aug '04 ~ SOG WDW Jan '05 ~ SOG WDW Aug '05 ~ WL DL Apr '06 ~ Candy Cane Inn |
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#4 (permalink) |
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Mouse Meister
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CT
Posts: 1,322
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
That's great about the wait times. I've never seen them that short. Sounds like a great beginning of your trip. I'm glad ME worked out for you.
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1985-Off site 1986-Off site 1988-DL-Off site August 1989-The Buena Vista Palace March 1997-All Star Music March 2000-All Star Movies January 2002-All Star Music October/Nov 2002-Off site January2005-Off site January2006-Off site September 2006-POR September/October 2007-Off site August 2008-DL-Off site: Alpine Inn |
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#5 (permalink) |
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Waiting for Happy!
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
Sounds great so far. Can't wait to read more!
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Dopey is the boss of us. Missing the madness. Peppy is still my partner in crime. ![]() Oh good grief, Boss has a secret. Fabulous avatar, courtesy of the fabulous Mr. R2Go! *´¨) x¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)xxxx¸.•*¨) (¸.•´xxxxxx(¸.•`*xxx*´¨)All you need is love!*´¨) |
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#6 (permalink) |
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Official bouncer of DC
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: 100 acre woods
Posts: 4,066
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
great trip report so far
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Cheryl ^i^ * Postcard Pixie * ^i^ ~ Sharing the Disney magic ~ woohoo only 20 more pounds to go to goal weight |
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#7 (permalink) |
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MB's British Belle
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Scotland
Posts: 1,637
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
Keep it coming. We need more.
Great trip report so far !!
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Missy H ![]() Avatar Our new home! Next Trip Jun 08 for 21 days June 1998 offsite April 1999 ALL STAR SPORTS Dec 1999 and April 2000 offsite March 2003 offsite June/July 2004 POP Christmas/New year 2005/06 POP CENTURY then AKL July 2006 POFQ Dec 2006 POP x*´¨) x¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)xxxx¸.•*¨) (¸.•´xxxxxx(¸.•`*Kerry *´¨) Proud Member of Disney overplanner AnonyMouse |
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#8 (permalink) |
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Marti suffers from MIBS
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
OOOOOh, I cannot wait for the next installment. I love your report!
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WDW Theme Parks moderator x*´¨) x¸.•´ ¸.•*´¨)xxxx¸.•*¨) (¸.•´Accordion players are sexy(¸.•`* *´¨) Limser was my first MB friend ~ Pepperstink is my cheesy friend Doughnut, HB and Limser are my Michigan Martini Madness cohorts ![]() MissDisney is the better cookie baker Llama says she craves a real, juicy discussion. Let's discuss that, shall we!? |
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#9 (permalink) |
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Hide the rum!!
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: R.L.S. Legacy, Space
Posts: 2,369
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
Well worth the wait ! Great TR so far! Can't wait to read more!!
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2003 Contemporary Resort 2005 Polynesian Resort 2005 Disney Wonder ![]() 2006 Disney Magic ![]() 2007 Polynesian Resort 2007 Disney Wonder ![]() |
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#10 (permalink) |
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MB Mommy-To-Be
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
I am so glad the ME worked out well for you. I have been really worried since I am using it in a few weeks, but with more success stories lately, I am much less worried.
Keep the trip report coming--I am really enjoying reading it!
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GingerThe List: MissyH-ddoll-MommytoMJM-Cincy-Mrspooky-Ingamba-Bali-Doughnut-HoneyBear-Erin-Cavey-Lil-Tigger-EmpressJenny-Palmickey-Disneyguru-Mickaholic4077-Janice419-Bama Rama-MissDisney-PrincessJill-Baloo85-BDavis-Princess Tessa-Daydreamer-WishUponAStar-Queensmama-Maria-Bumble-Kizzmitt-Soundgod-Catfish1999-Slartybartfest-Cousin Mike-Jen-Jenbarnwell-Ready2Go-rlander-Daisee-Lovemysons-Chastmastr-Quakercub-Val32-PrincessAlyssa-Iluvwdw-Dana-Ilama-Bosoxx65-Lurk...to be continued |
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#11 (permalink) |
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Super Mod/Packen' Kracken
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Joisey
Posts: 22,250
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
All these positive reviews of ME lately are making me want to try it. Free trasportation is sounding really good...especially since I added an extra night. Day one and 2 sound great. I look forward to reading the rest.
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82 off-site ~ 91 off-site ~ 97 ASMusic ~ 00 ASMovies 02 Wilderness Lodge ~ 04 Animal Kingdom Lodge 05 Animal Kingdom Lodge & Polynesian 05 Port Orleans French Quarter~06 Old Key West 07 Port Orleans French Quarter ~ 08 Old Key West~ 09 Port Orleans French Quarter |
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#12 (permalink) |
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Moderator/WL Tour Guide
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
What a great start to your trip! I can't believe you were in your room in an hour using ME, that's awesome! Beautiful weather and no waits on your first day, what more could you ask for?
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*~Stephanie~* 1993 Caribbean Beach Resort ~ 1996 Caribbean Beach resort ~1997 Caribbean Beach Resort ~2003 Wilderness Lodge ~2004 Beach Club Resort/Shades of Green/Pop Century~ 2005 Wilderness Lodge Resort/Beach Club Villas ~ 2006 Saratoga Springs Resort~2007 Port Orleans French Quarter/Beach Club Villas/Boardwalk Villas ~ 2007 Port Orleans Riverside~ 2008 Wilderness Lodge/Beach Club Villas~2008 Beach Club Villas |
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#13 (permalink) |
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Big Cheese
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Not far from a beach!
Posts: 963
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
I love your trip report, it sounds alot like mine! We must have been on RRC and TOT at least 20 times. Isn't it great when there are no lines?
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2002 1st Disney vacation since childhood! Port Orleans Riverside 2003 Port Orleans French Quarter 2005 Port Orleans French Quarter DGD's 1st Disney experience! 2005 1st Fall vacation and 1st MNSSHP! PopCenturySpring 2006 Back to POFQ and SOG2007 Port Orleans Riverside May 2nd-14th
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#14 (permalink) |
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Senior Mouseketeer
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Connecticut
Posts: 461
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
Sounds like an awesome start! I can't wait for the rest!!!
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Dawn Pop Century~April/May 2008 Off-Site~2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 All Star Movies~2001 Wilderness Lodge (Honeymoon)~1999 Multiple off site visits prior to 1999
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#15 (permalink) |
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it'S MEE
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Either here . . . or up north!
Posts: 1,593
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Re: Could this be Phayes' TRIP REPORT? Yes siree!
Your TR is great so far! Hurry with more!!
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"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be." Anne Frank "Middle age is when you've met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else." Ogden Nash Is there anyplace happier than Disney World? |
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