Best cure for post-Disney depression? A trip report! Spring Break 2015

[awalker1015]

Following along. Sounds like a great trip so far. I noticed your son's camp shirt. We are from the Nashville area too. Nice to see a neighbor here.

Thanks for joining! We are big Camp Widji fans. Nice to see a fellow Nashvillian!

 

[OThopeful35]

Following along!! Off to a great start minus the dinner at Boatwrights. We have stayed at POFQ on our last two trips and we love it for it's size. We were upgraded to a riverview room and it was nice to look out the window and see the boats coming and going. On our upcoming trip, I am celebrating being accepting to our local nursing program . I want to have a fun trip because I know my life will be the RN programs for the next 2 years. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

 

[HumblePie]

Following along! Our kids are similar ages so your trip is bringing up lots of great memories...

 

[bbak30]

Joining in!
We are staying at POFQ in a couple of weeks. Like you, we loved POR and are looking to try something new.

Wow, those crowds on Main Street, ahhhhh!

Fellow RN here as well, although I have zero desire to go back to school ever again

 

[Wendy5055]

Luv your updates and your kids are absolutely adorable!!!!

 

[awalker1015]

Following along!! Off to a great start minus the dinner at Boatwrights. We have stayed at POFQ on our last two trips and we love it for it's size. We were upgraded to a riverview room and it was nice to look out the window and see the boats coming and going. On our upcoming trip, I am celebrating being accepting to our local nursing program . I want to have a fun trip because I know my life will be the RN programs for the next 2 years. Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

Thanks for joining in! You will not regret going to nursing school. It was the best decision I ever made. It was a second career for me, I didn't start RN school until I was 35. It is such a wonderfully versatile field. If you don't like where you are or get bored, there are dozens of other options. Best of luck to you!!!

 

[awalker1015]

Following along! Our kids are similar ages so your trip is bringing up lots of great memories...

Welcome! Isn't this the greatest age to take kids to WDW? Part of me is a little sad we never went when they were really little, but we have so much fun now that they are tall enough (and brave) enough to ride everything.

 

[awalker1015]

Joining in!
We are staying at POFQ in a couple of weeks. Like you, we loved POR and are looking to try something new.

Wow, those crowds on Main Street, ahhhhh!

Fellow RN here as well, although I have zero desire to go back to school ever again

You won't regret it. And honestly, we walked/boated to POR several times to use the pool, eat, etc. It is very convenient to access. Best of both worlds. And I cannot believe I am about to plunge headfirst into this degree. While I am somewhat excited and know I need it, it is giving me massive anxiety the thought of attending school full time, working full time AND being a mother/wife, etc. When I went through the RN program, I wasn't working and could concentrate on it full time

 

[awalker1015]

Luv your updates and your kids are absolutely adorable!!!!

Thank you so much!!

 

[awalker1015]

Animal Kingdom 3/23/15!!!

Expedition Everest is a favorite of mine and Ben's so this was a big day for us. I had made an ADR at Tusker House for 8:05 with a 9:00-10:00 FP for the safari. We woke up early and I was out of the shower and getting dressed when I started paying attention to the local weather which called for rain all day, heavy at times. Sure enough, I looked outside and it was gray and drizzling. Oh well, it would not spoil our fun.

We headed out and arrived at the park and it was POURING. We were allowed in early and headed to TH, where we waited about 10 minutes before we were called to our table. I really liked TH, this was our first time. The food was hot, fresh and varied and my kids LOVED the jungle juice. We may try brunch or lunch next time to mix it up, but we really enjoyed breakfast. The characters came with regularity, the service was great and we were in and out in under an hour.


After breakfast we headed over to the safari, where we really didn't need the FP. We had a nice guide and because it was rainy and cool, a lot of the animals were out.

After we checked out the Pangani trail. We saw the baby gorillas, which were so cute! I didn't get a picture (I told you I am terrible at remembering to get photos). The trail was nice and the rain had diminished to a light mist.



Next up we decided to hit EE and see what the wait was. 30 minutes, so we decided to do it despite our 12:00p FP. Last time (which was the first time) we had a FP and we breezed through the queue. This time I was actually glad for the wait as the queue is awesome! And it moved quickly. We waited about 20 minutes. For some reason, though I love it, I get massive anxiety with this ride. Here we are - I will remember next time to sit in the back of the car or wear different shorts/pants:


We still had a FP for EE at noon. I got on MDE and moved it up as I wasn't seeing we would stay at AK all day given the weather. I got us changed to 11:00. Up next we had a fast pass for Kali River, which given the rain and cool air, I wasn't feeling. Ben really wanted to ride it so he and Mark headed over and Cate and I walked over to Dinoland where we rode Primeval Whirl 4 times with no wait. The we met back up at EE for another ride. So fun.

The rain was coming down pretty hard at this point so we decided to cut our losses and head back to POFQ. In typical form, as soon as we got there, the rain stopped and the sky started to clear. We decided to walk over to POR to swim and check out the fishing hole, which closes at 1:00p, so no fishing. Kids had fun at Ole Man Island and Mark and I decided to enjoy a few poolside beers. . We hung out for an hour or so then the sun came out and we decided to round out the day at Epcot. Took the boat back to POFQ and kids and I changed and headed to Epcot while Mark took a nap.

Next Up: Epcot and WS!

 

[awalker1015]

Epcot - 3/23/15

Kids and I arrived at Epcot around 4 and went straight to WS. We wandered through UK, France and then hit Japan - which was the one thing my son had been talking about since we started planning the trip - the Pokemon section of the store at Japan. He went off to find his souvenir and Cate got in line to get a pearl. This is a cute activity and for $17 a relative deal at Disney. She waited about 15 minutes for her number to be called and ended up getting a decent size pearl, which to date I have no idea what to do with. After Ben picked out his Pokemon souvenir, we headed over to the American Pavilion and listened to Voices of Liberty in the amphitheater a bit. I was really looking forward to this and I thought they were pretty good. We sat through the show then took the boat over to Future World so Ben could do Sum of All Thrills. I think this ride is such a cool, undiscovered gem. Sadly, he could not design a coaster that did inversions since he was under 9, but he enjoyed it all the same. He loves engineering concepts and was really intrigued with the whole attraction. Some pictures from WS:





About this time Mark arrived and found us at Innoventions. We needed to eat dinner and had no ADR. Everyone wanted pizza but we already had an ADR for Thursday at Via Napoli. I got out my phone and was able to cancel our Thursday ADR and secure a 7:00p ADR for Via Napoli that night.

So Via Napoli - this was a big winner for us for the week. We were seated relatively quickly. Mark and I ordered wine and some calamari to start (we sort of lied to the kids as to what it really was- they loved it). We ended up sharing the big family size pizza - half Quattro Fromaggio, half pepperoni. It was awesome. Perfect crust, tangy sauce. Loved it. They service was fun, too. Somehow it came out that my husband was born in Brindisi, Italy (army brat) and we had a number of staff come over and talk to him. All in all an A+, which we will definitely do again.

Left VN and decided to head back to hotel to let kids swim and go to bed early - we had HS next and planned to get there early for Jedi sign ups. We weaved through the crowds as Illuminations was starting. This is a very cool fireworks show that I intend to stay for the entirety of at some point. As we were approaching our bus stop I realized my phone was missing. I had it out at the table and knew I had left it at VN. UGH!!! Mark said we could get it the next day, but I really didn't want to mess with a pit stop to find a phone the next day, so I sent them on and headed to Guest Services. Illuminations was just ending and I was literally fighting a horde of people.

I will give Disney props here. One I explained what I needed, a rep CM had the restaurant on the phone, had located my phone and another CM was en route to retrieve it. Ironically, a man sitting next to me had left his backpack at VN and they were retrieving his item as well. 20 min later we had our items an headed to the buses. Coincidence again - we both end up in line for POFQ. Ended up chatting and found out our kids are close in age. We talked about the resort, crowds, Disney in general and in our conversation, it turns out he is a good friend of Josh from easywdw.com, someone I followed religiously while trip planning. Fun coincidence. Ultimately, arrived back at the resort around 10pm.

Up Next: Hollywood Studios!

 

[CQuinn]

For some reason, though I love it, I get massive anxiety with this ride.

Oh my gosh I'm glad I'm not the only one. I get so nervous I break out in hives but after the first ride I want to go on again. The nerves must be part of the fun

 

[JDUB]

Great TR so far. Love how your DD overcame her fear in HM. My DD10 freaked out outside ToT during our last trip in Dec. It was during the night and the spooky atmosphere got the best of her. My two younger DS rode with me while my DW stayed with her. But she did ride it the next morning during the daylight.... Kids these days
We also loved POR as family of 5 have limited options. My kids loved the slide and hot tub.

 

[awalker1015]

Oh my gosh I'm glad I'm not the only one. I get so nervous I break out in hives but after the first ride I want to go on again. The nerves must be part of the fun

I know! I even get anxiety my first run on Splash. Then I'm good. I guess it's part of the thrill.

 

[awalker1015]

Great TR so far. Love how your DD overcame her fear in HM. My DD10 freaked out outside ToT during our last trip in Dec. It was during the night and the spooky atmosphere got the best of her. My two younger DS rode with me while my DW stayed with her. But she did ride it the next morning during the daylight.... Kids these days
We also loved POR as family of 5 have limited options. My kids loved the slide and hot tub.

Thanks for reading!!! Cate still won't ride ToT. So glad yours eventually did! I was so glad she rode HM. It's a classic ride. The reason she was afraid is because a few years ago we went to a local amusement park that had a haunted house ride. It was really cheaply done and was all about grossing you out with bloody hatchets and werewolves. She freaked out. But she loved HM once she figures out it was cute scary, not gross scary.

 

[bbak30]

OMG, losing my phone is my worst nightmare. I wouldn't be able to function, glad they were able to get it back for you.
We usually love VN, but it was a disappointment last trip. We are sitting it out for April but will likely go back in October. Hopefully it won't let us down again.

 

[KathyM2]

Sounds like a great day!! The phone thing would give me a heart attack but so glad it all turned out ok. And your kids...are SO BRAVE! My DD (age 9) wouldn't go on 7DMT!!! Forget about SM, Splash or BTMRR lol...Your meal at VN sounds amazing! You are making me want pizza!

 

[mercydisney]

I am enjoying your trip report. I miss the days when my kids were young and we were able to go back to the room and rest.

 

[awalker1015]

OMG, losing my phone is my worst nightmare. I wouldn't be able to function, glad they were able to get it back for you.
We usually love VN, but it was a disappointment last trip. We are sitting it out for April but will likely go back in October. Hopefully it won't let us down again.

I had heard mixed reviews before we left. Was glad we had a great experience - hope your next one is better!

Sounds like a great day!! The phone thing would give me a heart attack but so glad it all turned out ok. And your kids...are SO BRAVE! My DD (age 9) wouldn't go on 7DMT!!! Forget about SM, Splash or BTMRR lol...Your meal at VN sounds amazing! You are making me want pizza!

I still crave that pizza! It was so good! We have decent pizza places here in Nashville, but this was a style you don't find here. I only regret we didn't try that dessert everyone raves about. The zeppoli, I think?
They are much braver than I was. My son has always been like that, but it has taken Cate some time to come around. It does make the trip more fun!

I am enjoying your trip report. I miss the days when my kids were young and we were able to go back to the room and rest.

It is good and bad. They don't really rest. Once we get back there, they get bored quickly. The breaks are really more for my husband, who moonlights as a professional napper@! I will say the shoe change midday is a lifesaver!

 

[awalker1015]

Hollywood Studios -3/24/15

HS - admittedly not my favorite park but we have never done more than headliners here, so I was looking forward to exploring. Ironically, on the ride over a woman struck up conversation with me and as it happens, she was the wife of the man I ended up at Guest Services with the night before. Very nice couple and our sons had the same birthday. We exchanged phone numbers and have texted a bit since the trip.

We got there around 8:20a with the idea of going straight to Jedi training signups. But as we were headed to the park, Ben emphatically told me he didn't want to do it. He doesn't like to do things in front of a crowd. So I think that was what that was about, thus I didn't press the issue. Now our touring plan would change as we would head with the masses to Toy Story Mania. I had used our one good FP tier for RnRC.

The park officially opened right at 9 and we quickly (and safely! lol) walked to Pixar Place and got in line. The queue moved quickly (love this queue!). This is such a cute ride. And listening to the music from the movies in line makes me so emotional - I have no idea why, maybe that I miss the time when my kids loved these sweet movies.

Afterwards we got on Star Tours, since the line was 5 minutes then headed to Starring Rolls for bagels. We had a lunch ADR, but it wasn't until 1:45p.

After breakfast, we walked back over to Star Tours for our FP and all of a sudden we heard someone calling my son's name. It was a friend of his from school and his basketball team. SO fun to run into someone from home! We ended up running into several folks we knew from home over the week. We stood around chatting while the boys watched the Jedi training show then as it happens, we all had a FP for Star Tours, so we rode it together. So fun for Ben to have a friend. This time Ben was the rebel spy on the ride! We love this ride - I think it is really innovative and fun.

After Star Tours, we all walked over to RnRC for our FP. Our friends from home had a FP for later, so we said good bye and got in line. I LOVE RnRC!!! I love, love Aerosmith, and have since I started listening to music (more fun info on that later) and the ride is so fun. This was a first for Mark, as last time he went to WDW there was no HS. This is another one that I get major tachycardia anticipating. But it is such a rush afterwards. I rode with Ben as he is my coaster riding buddy.:


After RnRC, we would be splitting up. I originally booked us all on ToT, but a week or so before the trip, Cate informed me it wasn't happening. This was ok. I rode it last trip with Ben and it was fun and the queue was awesome, but the drops took a toll on me and I didn't feel right the rest of the day, so I was ok to skip it. So the boys headed over to ToT and Cate and I headed over to the Frozen Sing Along. We had a little time to kill so we walked the Streets of America and browsed around the Muppet store. The sing along was cute - the snow at the end is a nice effect. Cate is on the cusp of not being into princess stuff, but she isn't ready to admit it I am glad we did it, but it's a one and done for me, probably won't do it next trip if it is still around.

After the show, we had a little time to kill, so I let Cate wander around in the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground for a bit. Soon it was almost time to meet the boys at our Sci Fi ADR so we headed that way. We waited a few minutes for our table and I took a few pics while we waited:



This was our first visit to Sci-Fi. I give it a B. The atmosphere is pretty cool. My entire family loves Mystery Science Theater 3000 and the clips remind me of that show. We ended up in a car, which was cool, but I didn't like not being able to talk to each other. The kids were STARVING and Cate was in a horrible mood, which happens when she gets hungry. We ordered milkshakes and buffalo popcorn chicken. Milkshakes were really good. Chicken was fine, we were starving, though, so anything would have been good. Cate and I split a burger and Ben and Mark split a picnic burger. I thought they would be larger, but they were surprisingly small, so not a great choice to split. And not a great value at $17.99, but it is Disney and that is the norm!! It was nice being in a cool, dark space. Had it been a really hot day, we would have especially enjoyed it. Bottom line, we will likely skip next visit, but I am not sorry we tried it.

Mark was losing steam after lunch (he cannot do the commando touring thing). The kids weren't ready to leave, so he headed back and we walked around a bit:


Cate really wanted to do the Animation Academy. We got in line for the 3:00 class. This is an awesome attraction - we loved it and it is a must do our next trip. We ended up getting Merida from Brave. But really enjoyed this and will do again!

After the class, we decided to head back to POFQ. Our Orlando friends were coming over tonight to hang out and watch the movie on the lawn. Tonight's dinner would be off property pizza (brought by our friends) and lots of wine for the grownups! Got back to the resort where I did a load of laundry while the kids swam (the pop up laundry hamper was the best thing I brought on the trip). Kids had a roasted marshmallow or two at the roast - I like this feature at the resort. Next trip we will have Garden Grocer deliver graham crackers and Hershey bars, as the resort only provides the marshmallows.

Had a great time with our friends. We have stayed in touch via phone, text, Facebook, but this trip was the first time we had actually seen each other since 1997. We really enjoyed catching up and they are going to join us on our next trip!

Next up: Magic Kingdom again!