[mickey]

My life flashed before my eyes or Pop Century on $25 per hour

February 27 - 28, 2004
Our flight arrived 15 minutes late, about 10:55 PM. By the time we get the bags and the rental car, it is just shy of midnight by the time we arrive at the new Pop Century. We are assigned two connecting rooms in the 80’s section, which is appropriate since both myself and my wife are children of the 80’s (my wife still wears leg warmers to the gym). It was well after midnight, and below 45 degrees outside by the time we found a parking spot and made it to our room.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the Pop Century. The oversized yoyos and rubick’s cubes are great, and it is just plain fun to walk around and check everything out. The rooms are small, and I am not sure all seven of use could survive an entire week together in those rooms, but really, it wouldn’t be a bad option for a small family.

Our alarm went off at 6:30 AM. Funny how Mickey and Minnie can have so much energy after we have only had 5 i/2 hours of sleep. Up and at ‘em my foot. We had a PS for Cape May Café for 8:30 AM, but decided to hand around Pop Century and check out the food court. One thing I discovered is that Disney has a secret code for their food court workers. If you run out of pancakes, that means you get a 5 minute break. After over 20 minutes in line, we got our breakfast and ate it down as quickly as possible.

We headed over to the Beach Club and checked in, but our villa wasn’t ready yet. We decided to walk over to EPCOT for the day, and went directly to Mission Space. My nearly 9 year old son, Porter, doesn’t really like fast, scary rides, so he stayed off. My two young daughters, aged 5 and 7 wanted to go. Bethan (5) hated it, but Emmeline (7) loved it, and wanted to go again immediately. Of course, she draws pictures of the solar system in her spare time, so it was right up her alley. We only waited about 15 minutes to get on. We then did Test Track, Universe of Energy and a couple of minutes of Innoventions. We grabbed some lunch in Mexico, while successfully dodging the killer birds. We then did Maelstrom Journey into your Imagination and Living with the Land before going to the Ice Cream Social at the Garden Grill Restaurant. It was not crowded at all, and all the characters (Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto) came around several times, and finally took a break since they were sick of bugging us. We then decided to head back to the Beach Club to see if our villa was ready. It was, fifth floor with a view of EPCOT. Really can’t beat that, can you. We got our luggage up to the room, and I headed to the new Winn-Dixie while everyone headed to Stormalong Bay to swim. I got everything but milk.

We headed back to Mission Space, and I took the little kids on Spaceship Earth. We met at Tangierine Café in Morocco. Total cost for dinner was $19 for 7 of us, thanks to the use of two meal vouchers. We got $37 worth of food for our $22 investment. By the way, the food there is fabulous!

That was about it for all of us, ended up being a very long day. We watched Illuminations from our balcony, and headed to bed. Really, it couldn’t have been a better day. Can’t wait for Disney-MGM tomorrow.

[mickey]

Who ever told me that you could walk from the Beach Club and beat the boat is up in the night. We headed out from Beach Club Villas to Disney-MGM Studios. The boat was sitting there, but we decided to walk along the river. Well, the boat not only beat us, but passed us on the way back. It was nearly 10 by the time we hit the front gates. After grabbing a double stroller to pay the young ones back for the long walk, we headed for Tower of Terror. This was my first ride on version 4, and it was fantastic. Very fun, and even my 5 year old went, though when we were done, she turned to me and said “I don’t want to go down again!” and that was that. No tears, no screaming, she had just had enough.

We then split up and saw the Great Movie ride, several characters, voyage of the little mermaid, and then headed to 50’s Prime Time Café for lunch. The food was fantastic as usual, though our server was horrible, not one funny word, just here is the food. Fortunately, the server we had last time was doing the room next door, and he is hilarious, and loud. We got plenty of good laughs and still enjoyed it. We then split up again and went to the Muppetts 4-D, Playhouse Disney and Beauty and the Beast. After a brief visit to the villa, all of the boys headed back to MGM. We saw Indiana Jones from the front row, did Star Tours and then off to Fantasmic!

We then walked back to the Boardwalk and had some dinner at ESPN Zone. It really is a fun place, though we had a bad table for watching the tvs. Then it was back to the villa to head to bed.

Tomorrow is the Magic Kingdom, and hopefully, not nearly as tiring.

[mickey]

Third day, third different park. We were a couple of minutes late getting out the door, but the bus was just leaving, and we were at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom by 9:10 AM. I had wanted to be there for the opening ceremony, but still, it was nice to walk down Main Street without half of the civilized world. It really is just a different feeling than any of the other parks. The wonderful buildings, the castle, and of course the magic abounds. We hit Buzz Lightyear, Space Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Snow White, Peter Pan, Small World, Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean before our noon PS at the Plaza Inn. Most of this was due to judicious use of the Fast Pass system.

Mickey’s Philharmagic, for those of you who have not yet been on the ride, is a 4-D movie attraction similar to It’s Tough to be a Bug or Honey I Shrunk the Audience, but so much better. You can see, hear, feel and even smell what was going on. This has been the only ride/attraction I have ever been on where the entire audience stood after the show and clapped. I was just blown away by how entertaining and well done the whole thing was. It is now on top of my list of best Disney rides, up there with Soarin’ over California, Tower of Terror and the Matterhorn.

Lunch was at the Plaza Inn, not to be confused with the Plaza Pavilion. The menu is limited, and usually not too busy, but the sandwiches are fantastic. It ended up being only a couple of dollars more than a counter service restaurant, plus the tip of course, but was much better. Really a hidden gem of the Magic Kingdom

After lunch, we hit Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain (x2), Splash Mountain, rode the steam train around the park and then back to Buzz Lightyear for a couple of times through. I went to the barber to get my hair cut, but missed it by 2 minutes. I will have to hit it later this week when I get a chance.

We hopped on the bus and headed back to the Beach Club. We rested for a couple of minutes, and then walked over to Spoodles for dinner. The food is still fabulous, and I love the restaurant since it is noisy and I don’t have to worry about my kids being perfect.

I forgot to mention in the past how much I love the Beach Club Villas. We have never had the chance to stay here. My wife and myself stayed at the Boardwalk Villas a couple of years back, but with kids, you can’t beat the location. It is so nice to be able to walk to EPCOT or hop on the bus to Disney-MGM. Even with the Magic Kingdom, the bus ride is nice and short. The pool cannot be beat. We met a family who has been here for 3 days, and they spent exactly one hour in the parks. They have spent the other time at the pool and exploring the other areas around here. The villa is similar to the Boardwalk and Wilderness Lodge villas, and as I understand it, Saratoga Springs as well. I guess if it works, no need to change. It is large, and very well done. The only problem I have is the layout of the master bath. Way too many doors going nowhere.

Off to Animal Kingdom tomorrow. Should be early tomorrow.

[mickey]

We arrived at Animal Kingdom around 9:10, and head directly to Kilmanjaro Safaris. We grabbed a fast pass and went directly on the ride. The wait was only about 10 minutes, and we were off on our two week safari. I am still trying to figure out why they don’t use the collapsing bridge anymore, but it used to add so much to the ride. Now they just say “That doesn’t sound good, let’s get out of here!” Oh well, it still is a great ride. We grabbed some fruit after the ride for a quick break. We used our fast passes to get back on and got to see the lions a bet better than the first time, though our driver wasn’t nearly as fun. We walked through the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail prior to heading to Asia.

We walked right on the Kali River Rapids. We made it through without much wetness, except for Bethan, the 5 year old. She was pretty soaked. We decided it was so much fun, we would do it again. Of course, when I got off, it looked like I had been thrown in a swimming pool. It didn’t have one dry spot on me. Good thing I wore my swim suit and a quick dry shirt. We headed to the Maharajah Jungle Trek to see the tigers.

We then walked over to DinoLand USA to ride Primeaval Whirl. That is quite a fun ride, but I found one of the sides to be better than the other, but I don’t remember which one, so I guess you will have to try it for yourself. We rode that several times, then headed to Dinosaur. We got everyone to ride it, and most of them were mad at me afterwards, though I think it is a funny ride. Our picture was hilarious, with all the little kids and Karen looking like they were about to be eaten by a dinosaur (oh, wait, there were about to be eaten by a dinosaur!)

We walked over to Tusker House for lunch. For a fast food place, it really is quite good. We then went to Camp Minnie Mickey and saw Goofy, but the line to Mickey and Minnie were way too long. The Festival of the Lion King was just starting,, so we hoped in there. I really like the show, but it just seems like some of the dancers just aren’t enjoying themselves. We then decided it was time to go home, since most of the kids had had enough.

We stopped by Downtown Disney on the way home to shop for a while, and then went back to the Villas to swim. I have a feeling we may not be swimming in Stormalong Bay any more. We got in trouble twice with the lifeguards. Once, Bethan went out to the big boat two swim (even though it is a kids pool) and then Emmeline decided she could swim by herself in the whirlpool. The lifeguard pulled her out quickly. Apparently she was calling my name, but I didn’t care.

We grabbed a pizza at Spoodles for the kids, and then headed out for our night out. We walked over to EPCOT and grabbed a treat in the Pattiserire in France, and then went in to watch Impressions of France. We then tried to get into the new China movie, but it was closed for a private function, so we just shopped ourselves around the World Showcase. We found a nice spot in Great Britain just past the fish shop, which was open. It is often closed for private functions, but we got lucky. The view from there is very good, and you aren’t blocked by the islands at all. I like the improvements they have made to the shows, it is very good now. We then walked over to the Boardwalk for our PS at Flying Fish. Once again it was fantastic, though I didn’t have room for dessert, which is a shame. My wife had the Salmon, which was great, and I had the steak, which was fantastic. Ok, I know it is a fish restaurant, but I had heard so many good things about the steak, that I had to try it. I wasn’t disappointed at all, probably the best steak I have ever had.

That was it for a long day. The weather has been fantastic, low 80’s all week after the cool start. Should stay the same way the rest of the week.

Oh, and the crowds have been more than managable. With the exception of the Magic Kingdom on Monday, we haven't seen waits for longer than 10 to 15 minutes for any ride, and many of them have no waits at all. I understand the week between 3/13 and 20 will be quite crowded.

[mickey]

Not much to report today. We went to Blizzard Beach. The weather was perfect, low 80’s, partly cloudy with a bit of a breeze. It was a bit more crowded that I had hoped for, but not too bad. Most rides were basically no wait, but a couple of the big ones were 5 to 10 minutes at most throughout the day. We were able to hit everything more than once before lunch time, and just stayed on through closing. They really have some great slides, and most of them are fine for just about everyone in your family. The family ride, TeamBoat Springs, is fantastic, and it is quite fun to have all of your in one tube.

At closing, we headed back to the villa to shower and change. We drove up to the Ticket and Transportation center and walked over to the Polynesian to watch fireworks. I like the new show, “Wishes” better than the previous shows. We will watch it again, from inside the park on Friday. We then hoped on the monorail and rode it around to the Contemporary. We had an 8:00 PM PS for Chef Mickey’s. We arrived a couple of minute early, and were seated in about 5 minutes. Chef Mickey’s is fun, but I think that it is expensive for what you get. Our kids really enjoyed it, and at least they found plenty to eat.

We then hoped on the monorail. Our kids were able to ride up front, and they loved that. We headed back to the villa to get ready for Disney-MGM and EPCOT tomorrow.

[mickey]

We decided to hit MGM for one last time. The crowds were basically non-existent as we never waited for one ride, except when Tower of Terror broke down. We hit Star Tours, Muppets, the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playset,, saw a bunch of characters, then did Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster three times each before grabbing some lunch and heading back to the resorts for a break. We had a great time, and it was so nice to be able to just walk on any ride you wanted, and not have to worry about fast passes or long lines. Funny thing was that the lines to see characters were longer than I had seen them all week. I guess there were a bunch of people who just wanted to see the characters.

We rented a surrey bike on the Boardwalk for a half an hour. It is really fun, but you really have to work to get up the hills. After four times around, you are happy your 30 minutes are over. The kids loved it, especially the ones who sat in the front basket and wrung the bell.

We went back to the room to grab a drink and rest up, then headed for EPCOT. We hit Mission Space again (0 minute wait) and then Test Track (20 minute wait, since it had been closed for 3 days for rehab, and the inside, single line and fast pass were closed. We then walked over to Morocco for dinner again at the Tangierine Café. The lamb plate is wonderful, as our the sides.

We saw the new movie in China. It is much better now than before, they replaced all of the outdated parts, and inserted more new footage of areas that have changed. We ran over to Germany to buy candy (ok, for about the fourth time this trip) and found a place for Illuminations near Italy. Great day, wonderful weather and no crowds. Who could ask anything more?

Tomorrow is our last full day, and we are off to the Magic Kingdom.

[mickey]

One thing I discovered is that with 5 kids aboard the Disney Magic, you just don't have much time.

One 5/5, we had a couple of my sisters and their families join us in the Magic Kingdom. We let the oldest three kids head out on their own, and they rode Buzz Lightyear 13 times in a row in a vain attempt to break 1,000,000. I think they rode it over 20 times that day.

We did the usual, Fantasyland, Splash Mountain, etc. After lunch, I took the big kids over to EPCOT while everyone else went over to the Beach Club to swim. We rode Mission:Space 3 times, Test Track, did Ice Station Cool to watch the cousins drink Beverly and a couple of other rides on they way to the Beach Club. Not bad for about 2 hours in the park. That evening, the adults headed to Jiko to celebrate my sisters birthday. The food was wonderful as usual, it really is my favorite WDW restaurant now, with Spoodles a close second.

We had to be at the airport by 10 AM to meet everyone, and of course, at 9:15, our son got lost for 30 minutes. He was riding up and down the elevators looking for us. On the way to the airport, the seal on our windshield came out. Man, talk about a noisy car. Of course, we show up at the airport at 10:25, just in time for or Quicksilver shuttle to the cruise. No time to fill up the van with gas, so it ended up being an expensive rental.

We got right to the port as I finished filling out paperwork, and got checked in and on the boat by noon, which was strange, since they don't usually open the gates to get on before about 1 PM. All 29 of us were in one are on the boat, and I feel sorry for anyone around us, we were a bit noisy. We had a category 6 stateroom with verandah for the 2 adult and 2 young girls, and the 3 boys shared a category 11, inside statroom right across the hall. That worked great, since it was about the same price as 2 ocean view staterooms, and the boys weren't in their room enough to care.

As I mentioned, it is tough with 5 kids on the cruise. Getting them ready, talking them into kids club, getting food, finding their groups at the right times, etc. By the time we would get everyone in, I would get paged to come pick someone up. The food was great, the entertainment better than before, and I really think Palo has improved greatly since they increased the price. The food was on par with the nicer restaurants at WDW.

We didn't do any excursions, just walked around. On St. Thomas, we took a taxi to MorningStar Beach, wich was close to the ships, and was fantastic. It really is mostly a private beach for a Marriott there, but they do have a public entrance. It was nice, since Marriott had three restaurants right on the beach, plus some shops that sold sun screen and other beach stuff. I would do that again in a heart beat. Castaway Cay was great. One hint: Walk all the way past where the hair braiders are, near the bike rentals, and there are plenty of chairs, and few people. If you want even more quiet with the kids, head a bit further to the teen beach. There were only about 5 people over there, thought the beach isn't as good, and there is very little shade. Oh, and plan on eating lunch at 1 PM or later. We headed over around 12:30, and the entire boat was in line to get lunch. By about 1, the lines were gone and everyone was back on the beach.

Overall, it was a fantastic vacation, one we will remember. After 8 nights at WDW, and 7 nights on the cruise, we were ready to head home. We had a full day after the cruise, so we hit Downtown Disney for some souvenirs, the outlet malls and then a trip to the Cheesecake factory for dinner. All 5 of our kids said they enjoyed the cruise more, while Minnie and I said WDW. Not sure why, I really like the cruise, but WDW, there is so much more to do, better food, bigger rooms, etc.

Here are the things I learned:

Stay away from the promenade lounge, the entertainment is horrible.

Don't tell your kids the ice cream is free until at least the third day.

Play Bingo. Some lady won about $7,000 on our cruise.

Carry around a kids club schedule with you. Half of the time, the kids are in "transition", and they cannot be checked in or out during that time.

Plan out your day the night before, so you don't miss everything you want to do on the boat.

When you are getting on Mission:Space, and the guy getting off in front of you throws up, it isn't a good sign of things to come.

[LRTJS]

Hey Mickey, great trip report and I love the pic of your family! I was so glad to see you mention the collapsing bridge as it is something I have always wondered about. I saw an ad for the Safari a few years before I ever got to go on it and kept looking for the collapsing bridge but it never happened! Thought maybe I had dreamed it or something. lol

[LAURENGOLD]

Mickey-

I too, enjoyed your report. I loved the pictures of your family.....more please?????:D

You had me laughing with your "things you learned"....don't tell the kids the ice cream is free until at least the third day!!!!:laugh


Great job!!! Hopefully we'll "see" some more!!

Lauren

[tiggerlover1971]

great trip report

[monorailgoof]

Sounds like you had such a great trip!
The Beach Club/Yacht CVlub is such a nice resort!
Great Post
-MoNoRaIlGoOf!:)

[jbtoursejg]

Thanks for a great report, Mickey!! Your touring and scheduling is a lot like my way of doing Disney- nice to know I copy Mickey himself!

[Dana]

Mickey -

Thanks for the great trip report. Love the picture with you and the kids. :)

[dznygrl]

Mickey, I loved your trip report!! You have a wonderful sense of humor, and I found myself laughing out loud at many things. It sounds like you had a great trip, and I'm very envious of you. :p

[Metalfan]

Mickey-Great report! Glad you had a good time!