Disney World Report About This Page:

[camskid]

First, I wanted to say that my Passporter was a big help in our first WDW vacation. I took it along and read it in the hotel room before the next day's activities. Thanks! We visited the WDW from 10-21 to 10-28 and were surprised at how many people were there with us! We were told that crowds were smaller this time of the year. I would hate to see what it's like when it's busy!

Saturday - We awoke early (3 a.m.) to get our flight to Orlando. We arrived in Orlando at around noon and joined all of the other people waiting to board the Mears Shuttle. We became a little frustrated over the wait, but we eventually got to our resort, the Caribbean Beach. Although we were there before check-in time, we were given a room and escorted off to our rooms by one of their staff members. After briefly getting settled, we ventured over to the Old Port Royale to purchase our refillable mugs (a definite must!) and to check things out. During our stay at the CBR, everyone was great. The only drawback that we found was that there were soooooo many people staying here that at times it was a long wait for food or drinks at the food court, plus the fact that it was a good jaunt from our room (Aruba), although not unbearable. On our first evening we headed to the Magic Kingdom to watch the electrical parade and the fireworks since this was the only night during our stay that they were doing this. It was VERY crowded and we ended up leaving right before the fireworks as we were all very tired from the trip.

Sunday - Our first day took us to Epcot which ended up being our favorite park of the trip. Our 8 year old really enjoyed going to the different countries and getting his passport signed. I would highly recommend doing this if you go to this park. What we found so amazing is that everything is so authentic. If you go to France, you see French people. If you go to China, you see Chinese people. It was really enjoyable. He also enjoyed the Test Track ride, although there were long waits. This is when we the Fastpass was very helpful. We also found a great place to see characters in a quiet environment. It was right next to a Disney gift shop close to the main fountain. The day we were there, Mickey and Goofy were there. We were escorted into a private room where the kids could get autographs and their pictures taken. They loved this and it was a lot less hectic. I would recommend checking this part out for the future. Unfortunately, there is just way too much to see at this park and we didn't have enough time to do it justice. The laser light show and fireworks were spectacular, as was the parade.

Monday - Today we headed to Magic Kingdom where we were greeted by large crowds. We spent the day combating the crowds, but for the most part, enjoyed the day here. Since this is the park with the most rides, I had anticipated that our 8 year old would like this park the best, but I think the crowds and waiting were a big drawback to our experience here.

Tuesday - We awoke early to attend our first character breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contemporary Resort. This was a great experience and gave the kids a wonderful opportunity to get autographs and pictures with their favorite characters, although they don't give you much time to eat. Following breakfast, we were off to Typhoon Lagoon where my family spent most of the day in the wave pool. We really enjoyed this park and would recommend it for families since there is a little bit of everything here for different ages.

Wednesday - We went to MGM today where the highlight of the day for our son was the Tower of Terror. Mom passed on this ride. We also saw the Lion King show, the Indiana Jones show, and took a backlot tour (which we were disappointed in). We ate at the 50's Prime Time Cafe which was very good, but a very long wait. We weren't that thrilled with this dining experience. Of all the parks, this was probably our least favorite. I don't know whether it was the layout of the park, or the fact that you had to schedule certain times to do certain things, but at the end of the day, we felt like we hadn't accomplished anything.

Thursday - Today we headed to the Animal Kingdom where we spent about 1/2 day. Although it is a great park, the kids were most interested in swimming on this day, than going around this park. They did like the Dinosaur ride, as well as the safari ride. We opted to not go on the raft ride since we didn't want to get completely soaked before our Rainforest Cafe reservation. We had been to several other Rainforest Cafes and this one was definitely the biggest and best of them all. There were 19 people in our party and we were seated at the back of the restaurant in our own little section. The food was great, as was the atmosphere. I would highly recommend dining here.

Friday - We considered this our "free day" where we could go back to the parks we really liked, or just hang out and relax a little bit (like that's possible on a Disney vacation). We started the day with breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. This was a wonderful breakfast in a very elegant surrounding. I also thought it was better organized than Chef Mickey's in that they gave you plenty of time to eat before the characters visited your table. Even though we have a son, he still enjoyed this breakfast and the characters.

Saturday - Our Disney vacation came to an end. Checkout at the CBR was delightful. Upon awakening that morning, an itemized bill was on our door showing the charges we had made during the week. This was a great time saver and although we went and paid the bill that morning, we could have left and it would have been automatically billed to our credit card without ever having to visit the front desk.

Closing thoughts - I would recommend to anyone going to Disney to not schedule yourselves too strictly. We found that although it is vital to have a game plan, many of those plans simply go out the window when you get there. Even though we had planned and prepared for this trip for 18 months, once we arrived, we were totally overwhelmed. I had read and researched every possible Disney book and website and once we were there in the thick of things, I couldn't remember anything. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that although it is good to be well informed before you go, you need to keep an open mind and "go with the flow" depending on what happens to you along the way. All in all, we had a great time. It's definitely a magical experience.

[tinkerose]

Hi camskid! Welcome to the boards. Sounds like you had a good time. so glad you shared it.
I have to agree with everything you said about planning. The same thing happened to me. It's definitely overwhelming when you finally arrive BUT I think research before the trip is necessary. Otherwise you'd waste too much time just floundering around.
Also, just curious - why didn't you like the Backlot tour?

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tinkerose

[camskid]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Comic Sans MS, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by tinkerose:
Hi camskid! Welcome to the boards. Sounds like you had a good time. so glad you shared it.
I have to agree with everything you said about planning. The same thing happened to me. It's definitely overwhelming when you finally arrive BUT I think research before the trip is necessary. Otherwise you'd waste too much time just floundering around.
Also, just curious - why didn't you like the Backlot tour?

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Cinderbrella]

I enjoyed reading your trip report, camskid! Now I'm a little nervous about the crowds for next week. Hopefully I will remember to be flexible when our week arrives. Your experience at Cinderella's Table sounded wonderful! Glad you had a great vacation.

[Dreamer1]

Cinderbrella,
This trip is a repeat trip, time wise from 2 years ago and I have to say no crowds!! I mean it, that is the reason we are going back again the same time this time. We went to MGM on that mon. and during the Hutchback show my DD then 5 had a meltdown so we went out of the arena and played with the
singing in the rain umbrella no
one was out there, even looking down New York street. Now Fantasmic was crowded but that seem to be the norm. Relax I almost
garantee it will be good!!!

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Karen

Aug-85 off-site
Aug-97 0ff-site
GOT SMART
Nov-98 BWV W/Grandparent
Nov-00 BWV W/Grandparents

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 11-04-2000).]

[wdwlovers]

camskid, thanks for the report! I enjoyed reading about your experiences! What did you think of Aruba, besides the somewhat long walk to food court? We are staying there in Dec. Just wondering. Thanks again!

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A dream is a wish your heart makes...
June 1991-stayed outside of Disney
Sept 1998-WL (honeymoon)
Dec 1-10, 2000-CBR