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Darin Meadows -- June 2001 -- Walt Disney World (ASMuR)June 16th thru June 21st 2001 The Cast
I booked the rooms a few months in advance using a discount code I found at Mousesavers.com. We booked two rooms at $65.00 a night, since the maximum occupancy is four in a room at the All Star Resorts. The codes were taken without question, and I was never asked about the price or codes at check-in. I requested connecting rooms due to the small children and also to be close to the bus area. We drove from our home in Georgia on June 16th. The drive was about 4.5 hours including the quick stop for the children about half way. We stopped to eat lunch at the McDonalds just inside Disney property. We then drove into the All Star Music to check-in. This was fairly smooth. Our room was ready at 1:00 p.m., but they had placed us at the back of the property. I brought it to their attention that we had requested to be close to the bus transportation. After just a few phone calls, we were given another set of rooms in the Jazz buildings. I also purchased our tickets and had them added to our room cards. We also requested late checkout and received it without a problem. I also booked a Fantasmic Dinner Package for the next day at Hollywood and Vine. They were not ready yet, so we hopped on a bus for Downtown Disney. We shopped there for a while until the rooms were ready. We arrived back in time to take a quick swim in the pool, and then get ready for supper at Chef Mickey. We decided to drive to the Contemporary Resort for our supper. We arrived about 15 minutes prior to our reservation, which was 7 p.m. We were seated within 5 minutes. The restaurant was very alive with families and children. This was fine with us and we thought it added to the excitement. Goofy and Donald were at the entrance greeting guests as they entered the restaurant. The buffet was nice with a variety of food. The deserts were fabulous. They had key lime pie, chocolate mouse pie with chocolate Mickey's, brownies, cookies, carrot cake, chocolate cake, ice cream with toppings, and a table where children can decorate their own cupcakes. There was also fresh fruit, and a variety of small finger deserts. I think we tried about one of each item. During the meal each character came to our table for pictures and to meet the children. We had Chip, Dale, Mickey, and Minnie. The waitress seemed a little slack in her work. She was not very attentive and came back very few times to check on us. After the meal we decided to ride the monorail. We took a trip all the way around back to the Contemporary. We did some shopping and then went back to the resort for some late night swimming. Sunday was our first day at the parks. We decided to do Disney Studios since it was an early entry day. We got up around 6:15 and arrived at the bus stop around 6:50 a.m. Our bus arrived just before 7:00a.m. There was a line waiting to get in, but it wasn't very long. Once they opened up and we were inside, we went straight for the Star Tours ride, since this is what my son had been waiting to ride. We rode it two times without any waits. We then went to Muppet 3D, and then to Millionaire for a fastpass. While we were getting the fastpass for Millionaire, one of the cast members called me over and asked if I wanted to be a phone a stranger (they use this instead of phone a friend), on the Millionaire game. I did and was able to answer the question correctly. I got a button for playing. We then went over to the Rock and Roll roller coaster. My son was too short to ride, so I sat outside with him while my wife rode with the girls. The CM at the entrance gave me a fastpass to ride next since they don't have a baby swap. My nine year old loved the ride, but the seven year old got scared. When they came out I rode it with the nine year old. It was an excellent ride, and one of the best roller coasters I've been on in a long time. A word about the fastpass. We never waited more than five minutes at any park using fastpass. It seemed like a great system. My wife felt guilty walking by all those people in the long stand bye lines. I just didn't understand why more people didn't take advantage of it. And one tip for people who will use fastpass. If you get the fastpass for say 11:00 to 12:00 Star Tours, once 11:00 arrives you can go to the Star Tours and enter the fastpass return line. What you can also do prior to returning for your Star Tours ride is get another fastpass for another ride such as Tower of Terror, as long as it is past 11:00. You can only get one fastpass at a time, but when the time for your fastpass has arrived it frees you to get another one. If that was just too confusing then email me with any questions Everything else went pretty smooth for the day. We went to see Millionaire, Little Mermaid, Movie Ride, Back lot tour, and others. My 4 year old loved Indiana Jones. The park was busy, but not overly full. The lines were never long even during peak times of the day. Around 5:00 p.m. it started to rain. Our PS for Hollywood and Vine was 6:00 p.m. and we were seated within 5 minutes of arrival. We took our time eating due to the weather. I thought the food was better than Chef Mickey, although the deserts were not as good. The service was definitely better, which was reflected in the tip. It rained off and on for the next few hours. We got to our seats for Fantasmic about 45 minutes in advance of the show. The seats were good, and the show was wonderful. Afterward we raced to catch a bus back to the resort. The line was long, but several buses arrived at once. We made it back by 10:00p.m., which was time to catch a late swim with the kids. The next day, Monday, was early entry to Magic Kingdom. We took the buses again and arrived at the park at just about 7:30. Our first stop was Buzz Lightyear. We loved it and so did the kids. We rode three times in a row without any waiting. We then made our way around the park riding everything. We found the Turkey legs about 11:00 a.m. and made a small meal for our entire family. It really tasted like smoked ham to me, and was very moist. We also did the Dole pineapple float in the afternoon when it got hot. It was incredible. We had PS for lunch at Crystal Palace for 2:45 p.m. This is also a character lunch/buffet. The food was good and comparable to Hollywood and Vine. We were a little disappointed when none of the characters came to our table throughout the meal. When we asked the waiter, he quickly called the manager over and had all the characters come by for a visit. The manager and the person in charge of the characters both came to our table and apologized for the mess up. In the afternoon we rode everything in the park except Dumbo and Space Mountain. We decided to leave around 5:00 p.m. after the group got tired, and clouds started rolling in. We went back to our room and took a nap. A large thunderstorm broke loose, and I am not sure if they even had the fireworks that night. We decided to get a pizza at the All-Star. It was very good and fed the entire family for only $17.00. The next morning, Tuesday, we went to Typhoon Lagoon. We made it to the park a little after it opened. My nine year old decided she needed a new bathing suit, so we stopped to buy her one in the gift shop when we got there. It was on sale, and only $18.00 so I didn't mind. We rented a locker and put our towels on a group of chairs for the day. We went to explore the children's area, which was cute. It didn't really hold my kids attention very long. We then went to the family raft ride. It was okay, but kind of short. After that we rode the lazy river ride, which was very nice. It takes about 30 minutes to go all the way around the park. We went back to our chairs, which were near the beach and wave pool area. I got into the wave pool and enjoyed jumping waves with the children. I took turns swimming out to the deep area with each one and then jumping over the waves. We ate lunch at one of the dining areas, but I don't remember the name. The kids meals are very reasonable and come with a pale and shovel. They also have very large refillable drinks, which are about three times larger than the ones at the resort. We spent the rest of the day in the wave pool and trying out a few of the faster slides. My wife and I also did the snorkeling with the tropical fish. We couldn't get the kids adjusted to do it, but maybe next time. I thought the snorkeling was very nice and we took our times swimming across the large pool. We were not hurried by anyone, and it was a very relaxing time. We left Typhoon Lagoon about 4:00 p.m. after thunderstorms moved into the area. Shortly afterwards they closed the park due to the bad weather. We went back to the room to get ready for supper at 'Ohana. We drove to the Polynesian resort because the bus system makes it difficult to get there any other way. The entire family thoroughly enjoyed our dinner at 'Ohana. The appetizers were great, especially the chicken wings. All of the meats were fantastic and the seasoning was unbelievable. My wife enjoyed the shrimp a lot. I recommend the peanut sauce with the steak. It has a little kick, but a great flavor. The desert of fresh pineapple and caramel sauce was heavenly. After dinner we walked around the Polynesian resort. The children played in the sand and my wife started talking with some of the resort guests. Before I knew it she had disappeared into someone's room. A family invited to show her their room. She really liked it and says we will have to stay there on our next trip. Our last full day was Wednesday at Animal Kingdom. We went straight for the Safari and got a fastpass. We then relaxed a little and found the fruit stand for some fresh pineapple. **Note** we found the fruit stands in each park. The kids really loved it and it was better than buying junk food. The Safari was very good and we saw all the animals. Our tour guide was from South Africa. Afterwards we went to the rapids ride. We rode it three times in a row. The kids really enjoyed it. We also saw Tarzan, Pocahontas, Lion King, and Bugs Life. The kids like Tarzan the best. We ate lunch at the Pizzafari. The food was good, and I would recommend the hot ham and cheese sandwich. We left the park around 5:00 p.m. We returned to the room for a nap, and then drove to Jungle Jims for supper. I had the fajitas, which were excellent and my wife had the ribs. We had an Internet coupon for a free appetizer. I don't know the name, but it was baked potatoes, which were cubed. They were put on top of ranch dressing and topped with bacon bits and two cheeses. It was great. We did a little shopping after dinner, and then we drove to the Polynesian resort. The kids swam in the volcano pool and then we sat on the beach and watched the fireworks at Magic Kingdom. The rooms were cleaned very well every day. We never saw the staff, but I would guess that is the norm. The last morning we slept late and then went swimming at the resort. Afterwards we packed up and left heading back to Georgia. We stopped at Downtown Disney on the way out and did more shopping. We ate lunch at the Rainforest Café. The food was good, but expensive for lunch. A kids meal was $6.00 plus $2.00 for a drink. That was just for macaroni and cheese. I had the Chinese stir fry and my wife had the pot roast. They were both excellent. If you are driving to Disney understand that gas was running $1.77 a gallon for regular unleaded inside Disney. It wasn't much cheaper outside the property. I would suggest filling up just prior to getting into the Orlando area. That's most of my comments on the trip. If you have any specific questions you can email me. Darin Meadows darin2@att.net Mail a Comment to Darin Meadows |
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