[BESUNNYSIDEUP]

We had a great time last week. This will be short (sorry I guess I lied) but if anyone has questions I will try to answer them.
We landed in orlando early 8am. The ME busses are really nice and plush. The video on the way there sure does help the ride seem shorter.
Check in at Pop was quick. There was a line but it moved really fast. They put everything on the room key and yes the dining plan credits were still lumped together.
We went to MGM and the characters were easy to get to in the middle of the park. We missed a few things because of their set times. The stunt show was good (it was hot though). We eat at Sci-Fi for dinner and got to sit down, refuel and cool off a while. The food wasn't all that but the atmosphere was great. We had PS and still had to wait about 20 min. We were tired and hot and just skipped the fantasmic show. We had seen it before so no big deal.

Day 2 was Epcot. When the gates open everyone runs toward Sorin and Test Track. I guess it is good that they are across the park from each other.
Tips for fastpass: We picked the one we wanted the most and got a fast pass first thing. We were never able to beat the crowd at the gates enough to get to the ride before there was a long wait. Still get to the one you want most and get a fast pass. Then 3 min. after your fast pass starts you can go to the other ride you want and get a fast pass for that. Then go ride the first one and you should be able to get on the second one soon. Sure beats waiting in line for an hour at each one. While we waited on our fast pass time to come around we got on other rides or went to the bakery and set down and had coffee and a pastery. Much more relaxing than running through the park to get in line and then waiting for 30+ min. Oh and another thing. We ended up here several times during the week so at 11am we headed toward the countries and loved it. That early there is no crowd back there and you can look and walk around with no problems. It is almost like you have it to yourself. Oh and don't try to eat at the Electric Umbrella right at lunch time rush. I had to wait around 35 min. in line just to get a few burgers. It was crazy!
Day 3 we had breakfast at Chef Mickeys. We allowed an hour to get there and was still 30 min. late. We took a bus to Epcot and then thought we'd hop the monorail to the Contemp. We didn't relize you had to switch monorails. And at all stops we had to wait for shift change for the drivers. We sat in the front on all of them and the drivers we not real friendly and never offered a copilot license to my son. I even dropped hints.
When we got to MK it was around 10am and everything was crowded. We were able to get fast passes for the rides we wanted the most. Peter pan was so crowded that we never road it. By the time it was time for dinner at CRT we were soooo hot and tired. We did enjoy our dinner and then kept at it in the park. We missed the first parade and waited around for the second one. It sure was a long day...but fun.
Day 4 was AK and I could have just skipped this whole day. We saw a Disney bus wrecked up in the middle of the lanes with all the people out on the grass and then going into the park we saw a MK employee laying on the grond having seizers. There were other employees with her. I just hope none of the kids on the busses that were driving right by her saw her. I said a prayer for her and went on into the park. (a police drove up and I heard the ambulance coming). We were early for Donald's breakfast and with the walk from the bus all the way to the resturant it seemed like we had walked a mile or more. It was also really hot that morning. When we finnaly got our table we all just kind picked at our food and when I went to the buffet the second time and come back my DS had gotten sick and the server and DH had his plate covered and took it away. We all left after that thinking we would get a good start to the back of the park. Nope! There was a guy standing there holding everyone in that area until he got the all clear that the park was open. By the time he let us go everyone else had already entered the park and we got in a terrible crowd back to the safari. We ended up just getting a fast pass. The rest of the day we were soooo hot and getting grumpy. We left around 12.

The rest of the trip we just park hopped back to the stuff we missed or wanted to do again.
On our last day (by the way we never got our DME papers the day before). We had until 4pm so we went back to Epcot for a last ride on Sorin and Test track and then wanted to head over to DTD to pick something up. We were told the quickest way was to hop a bus to OKW and then get the bus to DTD. We waited 20 min on the bus and then had to go through all the bus stops. By the time we got to DTD we had to rush to get what we wanted in order to get back to the room to get our bus back to the airport.

Over all we had a blast.
If anyone wants a crystal like the ones at Epcot's imagination ride they are cheaper and do a much better job at the shop at DTD. The base is better too.

We eat at Ohana's, Sci-Fi, Le Cellier - wonderful by the way!, CRT - Great seat by the windows that you CAN see out of), Chef Mickeys, Donld's and Rain forest. Saved $360 on the dining plan! Even had a extra CS and 7 snacks that we made sure we used the last day. Oh and we didn't order all the food would were allowed to order and still saved a ton!

Oh and the luggage with DME went great. No problems at all!

Sorry for it being so long. Anyone with questions?

[E&B's Mom]

Thanks for the Fast Pass tips. We are only doing WDW for one day, and we chose Epcot, and Soarin and Test Track are the ones everyone wants to do.

[BESUNNYSIDEUP]

Epcot is our favorite park and we ended up there 3 times during the week.

You can get there early but the crowdes are hard to beat. Both rides are on opposite sides so you have to pick one. We started to split up but relized that wouldn't end up so good. If you were able to get in line it would be hard for the rest of your family to get to you in the line. You can't get two fast passes at once so that wasn't an option and one person needed all the tickets to get the fast passes. We figured out it was best to get one fast pass and wait for it's time to come around and then get the other fast pass. This way you still have two at once to use around the same time. We hopped on the first one and then didn't have to wait long for the second one to start- most of the time. I was really amazed at how fast the fast passes run out. One time we were at the ride by 10:30 or so and our fast pass time was for 4pm! Still fast passes are the way to go. The people waiting in the 90 min. wait lines look so tired as you are walking right pass them to get on the ride. My DS 5 thought it was so cool and had a strut to him and he walked in. I guess he thought he was special. Even at lunch time in line and at the airport he ask if we could just get a fast pass.
Good luck!
If you work the system right you should be able to ride everything you want without much time spend in line waiting.

[BESUNNYSIDEUP]

Oh I forgot to mention... All the CM's were soooo friendly. I had read about some of them not being so nice but everyone we run up with was great and very helpful! They would even stop what they were doing to help us find something or take a picture of us. Very nice!

[Dana]

WElcome home. I am glad that the ME worked out for you and that you had a nice trip. Thanks for the report.

[dznygrl]

Thanks for the TR! Boy, it sounds like the weather was killer...it's amazing how that heat can make you grumpy, huh?

I'm glad you guys had a great trip!!

[Erin]

I'm glad you had a great trip, despite this awful heat!!!!

[Princessbaby]

Great trip report!

[CathysCAT]

Nice trip report...right to the point. It's wierd hearing how hot it was when you went to AK. What a difference 3 months makes...when we went there the end of April we were so cold we actually saw our breath when we breathed! And we only waited 5 minutes for the safari. Glad you had a great time and weathered the heat and crowds.

[Pooh Fan]

Thanks for the Trip Report. I am glad that you enjoyed your week at Disney.

[BESUNNYSIDEUP]

It was really hot but I would rather had the sunny hot weather than a hurricane. Even the CM's that had to work outside was drinking water and sweating pretty badly. Don't get me wrong we loved the trip! I think our next trip will be in January. I can't believe it was so cold you could see your breath in APRIL! I would haven't thought that about any time of the year there. Does anyone know how cold it gets in January?