mitchsfan
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2010
Hello Humans! My name is Jim. I am a married 47 year old father of 4. My Mrs. Incredible, Sarah, and I have been married for 21 years. We have 4 wonderful children, Jr who is 19, Abs who is 14, and the twins, Josey and Danny who are 9 years old. This is my 3rd trip report (the first was All In and the second was 10-20-50). This trip report is called The First Timers.
When we had the twins, our days of staying on Disney property pretty much ended. With 6 of us, we would have to stay in two rooms and financially that would really set us behind the 8 ball. We were kicking around the idea of a smaller trip, so that the twins could stay on property, ride the buses, swim in Disney pools, when a cousin offered us some DVC points to help us out. Since the POP has been our home away from home, we stayed there from Saturday August 12 to August 16. You will see that this might be our 11th trip together, it was the 1st time for a lot of things!
Saturday August 12. The Lagoon that ate my glasses….. We boarded our 10 am flight from Philly. Got to the airport around 7:15. No problems with TSA. Arrived around 1230. We were originally booked through Sunshine Flyer but Mears bought them out. We had about a 20-25 minute wait to get on a bus and get going and then a good 20-30 minute bus ride. Pop was the second stop behind AoA.
Rooms were not ready right away but we desperately wanted lunch. We ate at Everything Pop. Last year, when we celebrated our 20th the food there was awful. They must have listened because it was much better now. The Bacon cheeseburger was good. The pulled pork was good. Jr. liked the pasta primavera with meatballs. Chicken fingers and Mac and cheese were the other two dishes. Our Instacart order came during this time and then we were notified that our rooms were ready 2313 (end room facing parking lot) and 2315. Our rooms were separated by another room. Wife said 2313 had a musty smell but no one else could really smell it. Room request was for adjoining rooms in building 3. We received Building 2 and even though it was only one building over it made for some very long walks back with tired kids. We went swimming in the bowling ball pin pool and then went to Typhoon Lagoon for After Hours Glow. In our 11 other trips, we have never done a Disney water park. We needed to hop on a bus to Disney Springs and then to TL. Did the wave pool, Lazy River, and the kids wanted to do the different slides. Older ones wanted the fast ones while the twins wanted the slowed paced ones. So off went the older ones and the 4 of us did some of the rides including the GangPlank Falls. I went looking for the free snacks. Here’s one of my complaints: the snacks are all over the place. It’s dark and not the best lit place in the world. Felt I walked forever for ice cream bars and popcorn. We were tired and everyone was getting a little snippy with each other. We should have went home but was talked into the Lazy River again. Danny got stuck between a ton of floats at the waterfall. I went to push him out and the waterfall pushed my glasses off my face. They were my good pair but they aren’t new by any means. Put a claim into Lost and Found but still haven’t heard anything. Not sure how a Lazy River that is supposedly cleaned out at night can eat a pair of glasses. Thankfully I had a backup pair with me. Left the water park around 11. Back to the resort around 1145/12.
Sunday August 13. Shop and Drink Day. 25 years ago today, Sarah and I made our first trip to Disney World. I cant remember when she says to pick up milk but I can remember that nugget of information. We had a 11 am breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Took the Skyliner - what a game changer- to Epcot and walked to the Beach Club. Breakfast was awesome. Characters were great. The bread lived up to the hype. Walked to the bus stop and took their bus to DS. Walked around DS hitting the Photo Pass place first. We got nice family photos and some fun shots. Went to the World of Disney. The kids had gift cards so we knew we were in for a long hour or so there. Wife looked at a Disney 100 sweatshirt and said “I can’t believe they are going to sell this for the next 49 years.” I couldn’t stop laughing even after I explained that WDW was 51 but the Disney Production company was 100. Thank God she is cute.
Told the kids if they were hungry to get something now, there was no big dinner plans. Jr order Chicken Guy. He’s a big fan of CG. I ordered the truffle chips from Wolfgang Puck. I never ate them. After about 25 minutes walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, and then the ride back to Pop, the sauce was not looking good. So, I threw the sauce out but did eat the chips. Ordered a Blaze Pizza. That was pretty good. On the way out stopped at the Coca Cola Experience. Here’s another complaint. I know they want to make money but $30 for a 5x7 of you and a bear? If they would lower the price to $10, I wonder how many more people would buy the picture? Ours was a great picture. The rest of the night we sat by the HIppity Dippity Pool banging back Blueberry Lemonades and Long Island Iced Teas while Frozen was the movie by the pool. The kids did the brownies, sugar cookies and ice cream from Everything Pop.
Monday August 14. Hollywood Studios Day. Today was our day at a Disney Park. The kids picked the Studios. We got to the Studios and the two older kids wanted to bang out Tower of Terro and RocknRollerCoaster first. They were waiting with Sarah to do the RnRC but after about a 30 minute wait the ride shut down. While they did those two rides, the twins and I met Pluto, Darth Vadar, BB8, and Chewie. We then went and met Olaf. We walked over to where Chip and Dale were but they weren’t meeting guest at that time they were just “having a picnic.” We did the Disney Jr. Dance Party, and then Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railroad before our 1:30 reservation at Sci Fi Café. Sarah and Jr really liked it but I thought it was just okay. I know you go for the ambience but it’s so dark and the films are so old that young kids don’t really know what they are watching. Food was okay. Got the onions rings and fried pickles, three cheeseburgers, the beef skewers and Mac and cheese. The beef skewers were disappointing. They were very small. We went and met the Mouse himself and Minnie. The older kids went and used their fast passes to ride RnRC. Sarah, the twins and I went and met Frozone and the Incredibles. We did Slinky Dog Dash and then we met Woody and Jessie. We walked over to Galaxy Edge and did Rise of the Resistance. Got some photos in front of the Falcon. We walked back to Slinky Dog Dash and waited for one of our daughter’s friends who was also down in Disney. The oldest had enough and he went back to the hotel. The girls went off to do ToT and RnRC while the twins and I did Toy Story Mania, got pictures in front of the big Woody statue and we rode MMRR one more time. Other than Rise, MMRR is my favorite ride. Met up with the girls and headed back to the hotel.
Tuesday August 15 Party Day Danny and I went and got breakfast and ate it in the food court. We brought food back to the girl’s room. Went swimming and then showered and got dressed for MNSSHP. The oldest asked if he had to wear the matching t-shirt. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom around 1 and then the monorail to Poly for lunch at Cpt Cooks: Our Josey loves nachos and Cpt Cooks is famous for their nachos. She hated them. I wish someone would have tried the meatballs. I should have asked them for one meatball. I’m not a rice eater or I would have gotten it. Got in line for MNSSHP at about 3. We were approximately about 30-50 people back. They had us all corralled in one area and then moved to the turnstiles. We were first at one turnstile. 3:55 in to the park. Got our Trick or Treat bag and our first treat. Got pictures in the Sleepy Hollow picture frame. Walked to the WDW Train and took that to Frontierland. And everyone but me rode BTMR. I mourned Splash Mountain while they were on BTMR. We got pictures in front of the boat and then headed to Haunted Mansion. After becoming #1000, we got pictures outside of the Mansion. Walked to Peter Pan and had about a 45 minute wait. While at Pan, the queue for Tron opened and I was placed in group 170. Did our first two trick or treat stops. Walked to Space Mountain which had about a 20 minute wait. The dark overlay was pretty cool. But I am realizing that I am getting old. Walked over to Tron. Had 6 virtual passes for Tron. Only the two older kids wanted to do it. The littlest one was hesitant. Sarah and Josey walked to the tea cups while Danny and I waited for the 2 Tron-ers to come off. Danny was upset he chickened out. After only a 20 minute wait, they came off and said how good it was so. Danny talked himself into it. Danny Abby and Jr went back on using Sarah and my magic bands. About another 20 minute wait. The twins rode the tea cups while I went searching for a normal soft pretzel. Couldn’t find one.
We all rode 7DM. The two oldest went to find a pretzel while the twins wanted to ride it again. So they did. We walked over to Liberty Square to get a spot for the parade. Got a few pictures on Main Street USA and we were out right around midnight. After the mass exodus we were the 3rd bus for Pop. And got into our room around 1.
Wednesday August 16. Checkout was at 11. Just hung in the resort until about 3 when Mears picked us up. Daisy and Chip and Dale made an appearance at Pop.
Final Thoughts: The TL After Hours was a one and done for us. It was alright. Didn’t live up to the hype that I saw on some of the YouTube videos.
The Pop is good. It’s a good resort. Nothing fancy but serves its purpose. Food was much better than last year. The Skyliner is a game changer. Halloween Party was cool. Though with 6 of us, there are 6 different agendas. Wish some of us would have just gotten our agendas together. Have a plan and stick to it. We did for the most part. If something is a must then prioritize that. Finding food after the party or even snacks may be harder than you think. It took an act of perseverance to find a soft pretzel. Waits for rides were not too bad. Riding the 7DM with fireworks going off was pretty neat. And don't mess with the MNSSHP wristband, its a killer to take off. Sarah had to take two of the kids to the front desk because it was too tight
If you have any questions, ask away.
I love my wife….I love my life and I wish you my kind of happiness.
When we had the twins, our days of staying on Disney property pretty much ended. With 6 of us, we would have to stay in two rooms and financially that would really set us behind the 8 ball. We were kicking around the idea of a smaller trip, so that the twins could stay on property, ride the buses, swim in Disney pools, when a cousin offered us some DVC points to help us out. Since the POP has been our home away from home, we stayed there from Saturday August 12 to August 16. You will see that this might be our 11th trip together, it was the 1st time for a lot of things!
Saturday August 12. The Lagoon that ate my glasses….. We boarded our 10 am flight from Philly. Got to the airport around 7:15. No problems with TSA. Arrived around 1230. We were originally booked through Sunshine Flyer but Mears bought them out. We had about a 20-25 minute wait to get on a bus and get going and then a good 20-30 minute bus ride. Pop was the second stop behind AoA.
Rooms were not ready right away but we desperately wanted lunch. We ate at Everything Pop. Last year, when we celebrated our 20th the food there was awful. They must have listened because it was much better now. The Bacon cheeseburger was good. The pulled pork was good. Jr. liked the pasta primavera with meatballs. Chicken fingers and Mac and cheese were the other two dishes. Our Instacart order came during this time and then we were notified that our rooms were ready 2313 (end room facing parking lot) and 2315. Our rooms were separated by another room. Wife said 2313 had a musty smell but no one else could really smell it. Room request was for adjoining rooms in building 3. We received Building 2 and even though it was only one building over it made for some very long walks back with tired kids. We went swimming in the bowling ball pin pool and then went to Typhoon Lagoon for After Hours Glow. In our 11 other trips, we have never done a Disney water park. We needed to hop on a bus to Disney Springs and then to TL. Did the wave pool, Lazy River, and the kids wanted to do the different slides. Older ones wanted the fast ones while the twins wanted the slowed paced ones. So off went the older ones and the 4 of us did some of the rides including the GangPlank Falls. I went looking for the free snacks. Here’s one of my complaints: the snacks are all over the place. It’s dark and not the best lit place in the world. Felt I walked forever for ice cream bars and popcorn. We were tired and everyone was getting a little snippy with each other. We should have went home but was talked into the Lazy River again. Danny got stuck between a ton of floats at the waterfall. I went to push him out and the waterfall pushed my glasses off my face. They were my good pair but they aren’t new by any means. Put a claim into Lost and Found but still haven’t heard anything. Not sure how a Lazy River that is supposedly cleaned out at night can eat a pair of glasses. Thankfully I had a backup pair with me. Left the water park around 11. Back to the resort around 1145/12.
Sunday August 13. Shop and Drink Day. 25 years ago today, Sarah and I made our first trip to Disney World. I cant remember when she says to pick up milk but I can remember that nugget of information. We had a 11 am breakfast at Cape May Cafe. Took the Skyliner - what a game changer- to Epcot and walked to the Beach Club. Breakfast was awesome. Characters were great. The bread lived up to the hype. Walked to the bus stop and took their bus to DS. Walked around DS hitting the Photo Pass place first. We got nice family photos and some fun shots. Went to the World of Disney. The kids had gift cards so we knew we were in for a long hour or so there. Wife looked at a Disney 100 sweatshirt and said “I can’t believe they are going to sell this for the next 49 years.” I couldn’t stop laughing even after I explained that WDW was 51 but the Disney Production company was 100. Thank God she is cute.
Told the kids if they were hungry to get something now, there was no big dinner plans. Jr order Chicken Guy. He’s a big fan of CG. I ordered the truffle chips from Wolfgang Puck. I never ate them. After about 25 minutes walking to the bus stop, waiting for the bus, and then the ride back to Pop, the sauce was not looking good. So, I threw the sauce out but did eat the chips. Ordered a Blaze Pizza. That was pretty good. On the way out stopped at the Coca Cola Experience. Here’s another complaint. I know they want to make money but $30 for a 5x7 of you and a bear? If they would lower the price to $10, I wonder how many more people would buy the picture? Ours was a great picture. The rest of the night we sat by the HIppity Dippity Pool banging back Blueberry Lemonades and Long Island Iced Teas while Frozen was the movie by the pool. The kids did the brownies, sugar cookies and ice cream from Everything Pop.
Monday August 14. Hollywood Studios Day. Today was our day at a Disney Park. The kids picked the Studios. We got to the Studios and the two older kids wanted to bang out Tower of Terro and RocknRollerCoaster first. They were waiting with Sarah to do the RnRC but after about a 30 minute wait the ride shut down. While they did those two rides, the twins and I met Pluto, Darth Vadar, BB8, and Chewie. We then went and met Olaf. We walked over to where Chip and Dale were but they weren’t meeting guest at that time they were just “having a picnic.” We did the Disney Jr. Dance Party, and then Mickey and Minnie Runaway Railroad before our 1:30 reservation at Sci Fi Café. Sarah and Jr really liked it but I thought it was just okay. I know you go for the ambience but it’s so dark and the films are so old that young kids don’t really know what they are watching. Food was okay. Got the onions rings and fried pickles, three cheeseburgers, the beef skewers and Mac and cheese. The beef skewers were disappointing. They were very small. We went and met the Mouse himself and Minnie. The older kids went and used their fast passes to ride RnRC. Sarah, the twins and I went and met Frozone and the Incredibles. We did Slinky Dog Dash and then we met Woody and Jessie. We walked over to Galaxy Edge and did Rise of the Resistance. Got some photos in front of the Falcon. We walked back to Slinky Dog Dash and waited for one of our daughter’s friends who was also down in Disney. The oldest had enough and he went back to the hotel. The girls went off to do ToT and RnRC while the twins and I did Toy Story Mania, got pictures in front of the big Woody statue and we rode MMRR one more time. Other than Rise, MMRR is my favorite ride. Met up with the girls and headed back to the hotel.
Tuesday August 15 Party Day Danny and I went and got breakfast and ate it in the food court. We brought food back to the girl’s room. Went swimming and then showered and got dressed for MNSSHP. The oldest asked if he had to wear the matching t-shirt. We took the bus to Magic Kingdom around 1 and then the monorail to Poly for lunch at Cpt Cooks: Our Josey loves nachos and Cpt Cooks is famous for their nachos. She hated them. I wish someone would have tried the meatballs. I should have asked them for one meatball. I’m not a rice eater or I would have gotten it. Got in line for MNSSHP at about 3. We were approximately about 30-50 people back. They had us all corralled in one area and then moved to the turnstiles. We were first at one turnstile. 3:55 in to the park. Got our Trick or Treat bag and our first treat. Got pictures in the Sleepy Hollow picture frame. Walked to the WDW Train and took that to Frontierland. And everyone but me rode BTMR. I mourned Splash Mountain while they were on BTMR. We got pictures in front of the boat and then headed to Haunted Mansion. After becoming #1000, we got pictures outside of the Mansion. Walked to Peter Pan and had about a 45 minute wait. While at Pan, the queue for Tron opened and I was placed in group 170. Did our first two trick or treat stops. Walked to Space Mountain which had about a 20 minute wait. The dark overlay was pretty cool. But I am realizing that I am getting old. Walked over to Tron. Had 6 virtual passes for Tron. Only the two older kids wanted to do it. The littlest one was hesitant. Sarah and Josey walked to the tea cups while Danny and I waited for the 2 Tron-ers to come off. Danny was upset he chickened out. After only a 20 minute wait, they came off and said how good it was so. Danny talked himself into it. Danny Abby and Jr went back on using Sarah and my magic bands. About another 20 minute wait. The twins rode the tea cups while I went searching for a normal soft pretzel. Couldn’t find one.
We all rode 7DM. The two oldest went to find a pretzel while the twins wanted to ride it again. So they did. We walked over to Liberty Square to get a spot for the parade. Got a few pictures on Main Street USA and we were out right around midnight. After the mass exodus we were the 3rd bus for Pop. And got into our room around 1.
Wednesday August 16. Checkout was at 11. Just hung in the resort until about 3 when Mears picked us up. Daisy and Chip and Dale made an appearance at Pop.
Final Thoughts: The TL After Hours was a one and done for us. It was alright. Didn’t live up to the hype that I saw on some of the YouTube videos.
The Pop is good. It’s a good resort. Nothing fancy but serves its purpose. Food was much better than last year. The Skyliner is a game changer. Halloween Party was cool. Though with 6 of us, there are 6 different agendas. Wish some of us would have just gotten our agendas together. Have a plan and stick to it. We did for the most part. If something is a must then prioritize that. Finding food after the party or even snacks may be harder than you think. It took an act of perseverance to find a soft pretzel. Waits for rides were not too bad. Riding the 7DM with fireworks going off was pretty neat. And don't mess with the MNSSHP wristband, its a killer to take off. Sarah had to take two of the kids to the front desk because it was too tight
If you have any questions, ask away.
I love my wife….I love my life and I wish you my kind of happiness.
