The Allan Family does Disney - 1/8-1/14 - COMPLETE!! - UPDATED 2/14 About This Page:

[dmallan]

The Allan Family Does Disney – January 8-14

This is my first attempt at writing a trip report. What I started out doing is writing a report for ourselves, to help us remember the trip. But after reading some of the other reports, I decided to post it for others to read as well. It’s not as detailed as some I’ve read, so I hope it’s not too boring. I’ve also decided not to include the pre-trip stuff, as I really didn’t record too many pre-trip things.

Cast:
Me – Donna (49), DH – Jeff (50), DD – Liz (26), DD– Kate (23) and DS - Tom (20)
We’ve been to the World a few times…It’s been 3 years since Jeff and I went on our 25th Anniversary trip (2004) and 13 years since Liz, Kate and Tom have been to Walt Disney World. We went twice when the kids were younger (1991 and 1994).

Our Journey:
We leave on Tuesday, January 8th at 7:20am from Buffalo Airport. Grandpa picks us up at 5:15 and drops us off at the airport at 5:35. We check our bags, (with the yellow ME tags on) and go through security, which takes about 25 minutes. While we wait at our gate we chat with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Loraine who have a flight to Tampa at 7:40. Imagine that! Katie doesn’t feel too well, but we are hoping she’ll feel better once we’re on our way. We board our flight and are on our way to Orlando by 7:20.
Luggage includes 1 checked bag for each of us plus one very large suitcase which contains a 4-cup coffee maker, a soft-sided cooler, coffee bags, tea bags, creamers, sugar, cereal, plastic bowls, plastic spoons, Styrofoam cups, pop tarts, and lots of pre-packaged snacks to last us 7 days.

One thing I did before the trip that I will share is planning our dining costs. I looked at the menus extensively and figured out what we would likely spend at each TS and CS restaurant. For 7 days, I estimated the total cost of meals to be around $1200. I had $900 on my Disney rewards card and three $100 Disney gift cards that we used for our meals. In order to stay on track with the budget I came up with a plan. I figured out the maximum each person could spend for each meal and this was the “magic number.” Each person can order whatever he or she wants as long as it doesn’t exceed the magic number. It worked very well for us, and everyone really got into it! (When I told them about my magic number plan Kate said “Mom, is this a Disney thing, or did you make it up?”)

Day 1 – coming up…
(hopefully I can figure out to post pictures - i've not done that before!)

[dmallan]

DAY 1 – Tuesday, January 8th
We arrive in Orlando shortly after 10am and make our way to Disney’s Magical Express counter. Within a few minutes we are on our bus and headed for Disney’s All Star Music Resort! On the way we eat some of our pre-packaged snacks that we’d put in our carry-on bags since we really haven’t had anything to eat all morning. It’s so nice that we don’t have to worry about our luggage!
When we arrive at All Star Music, we are one of the first in line and are waited on almost immediately. Check-in takes some time because we have two connecting rooms, and also because we had requested the Jazz building, but were assigned to Country Fair. After talking with a manager, the CM explains that they are not able to get us into Jazz, but they have moved us up to the Rock Inn. They are connecting rooms and they are ready now! We’ll take it! I am also hoping to put my rewards points and the gift cards onto our room tab, but am told that is not possible. Not a big deal – we will just use the rewards card and gift cards for our meals instead of charging them to our room.
We find our rooms and take a few minutes to freshen up and change into shorts and sandals. The temperature is 80° and sunny – we can’t wait to get to Epcot! And fortunately, Kate is feeling better by now. It is almost Noon when we head out to the bus stop. We wait only a few minutes for an Epcot bus. The excitement is building - the realization that we are finally here is overwhelming! Soon we are entering the gates at Epcot.
Wow! We haven’t been in WDW since they do the fingerprint check when you enter. It takes a few tries before some of us get it right. And another surprise - Spaceship Earth is open! So we decide to take advantage of that and hop on. Well, not exactly…there is about a 15-minute wait. Nice to get on though, since originally we’d thought it would not be open during our trip.
Then we head over to do Ellen’s Energy Adventure. After that we make our way over to the World Showcase for our 2:40 ADRs at Rose and Crown. Along the way we stop in Canada to take some pictures and see the shops. We also have a chance to browse through the shops in the UK and take some pictures with Mary Poppins.



At about 2:30 we check in at the desk and are given a “beeper.” We are able to hear and enjoy the music of Off Kilter, from the Canadian Pavilion, while we wait. After about 10 minutes we are seated in the interior porch area, off the main building. (I wish we could have been seated inside. But after lunch we go inside to use the restrooms, and end up taking some great pictures.) Jeff orders the Shepherd’s Pie, I have the Ploughman’s Lunch, Liz orders the roasted mushroom appetizer and the vegetable curry, Katie orders a salad and the smoked salmon appetizer, and Tom has the open faced roast beef sandwich which comes with mashed potatoes and leek soup. (Our magic number is $18).



Everything is delicious and the service is excellent. The meal comes to $84.14 and with tip it’s an even $100.
Even though we are planning on spending the rest of the day in Future World, we make our way around to Morocco to check out the Henna tattoo stand. Since Liz is a henna tattoo artist, she is interested in seeing what kind of designs they have and how much they cost. Unfortunately, she is disappointed because the designs they display are nothing special. So, we head back to Future World and the Imagination pavilion. We wait about 10 minutes for Honey I shrunk the Audience and then another 15-20 minutes in the pre-show room before it starts. It’s a little annoying because they keep making the announcement about moving all the way to the front and standing up so that there would be room for the people entering, but there are still people sitting and laying on the floor. We figure out that they are a tour group from out of the country. Maybe they can’t understand the announcement! Finally we get into the theater and people do not move all the way down, as instructed. (I guess they can’t understand English either.) So we crawl overtop of them to the end of the row, and find a seat. The theater is pretty full! – This is supposed to be a slow season! The show is hilarious, and even though Jeff and I have seen it and know what to expect, it is still startling! Lots of screaming and lifting of legs! When we get out of the theater, we make our way to the Imagination pavilion. A quick ride through, not much of a wait, and now we have that darn song stuck in our heads! It’s now about 5:00 and we head over to Test Track to see what the wait time is and decide to get a fastpass. This is our first time using fastpass, and we don’t realize that the return time is posted overhead, we just go ahead and get them. Yikes! We have to come back at 7:15. We may not be here that long – afterall we’ve been up since 4:30 this morning! So, we head over to Mission Space to see how much time that will take. There is no wait at all and before you know it we are on our way to Mars. Jeff, Katie and I are on the green team, and Liz and Tom are on the orange team. It was a first time for all of us, and it was a lot of fun. Now we head back over to Test Track and find that the wait time is not as bad as it was before – I think 30 minutes. We decide that’s not so bad and better than hanging around until 7:15 to use our fastpasses. Time goes quickly, and there is quite a bit to look at as we are waiting. And the ride is awesome! When we start going on the track outside, we realize that it is now dark - that is one of the best parts - speeding around the track in the cool night air!
Well, it has been a long day and we decide to head back to the resort. It is getting a little chilly, so we are glad we brought along our jackets for the wait, and the bus ride back. Finally we get to our room and are happy to see our luggage has arrived! We take some time to unpack, and then 4 of the 5 of us go to Intermissions Food Court for some ice cream. (Liz has already fallen asleep.) Three cones and a hot fudge sundae – yum! We also go to Maestro Mickey’s to get a half-gallon of milk and some juice for breakfast tomorrow. When we get back to the room, we make a mini-fridge with our soft-sided cooler, and some Ziploc bags of ice. Then we sit on the beds, plug our cameras into the TV (we have 4 cameras between the 5 of us!) and show of all the pictures we’ve taken today.

The best thing today was…Test Track & lunch at Rose and Crown
The worst thing today was…Katie feeling sick at the airport
The most magical moment today was…getting our picture taken with Mary Poppins & riding Spaceship Earth

[travismom]

Great start!! I love the idea about packing a suitcase with all the extra things. Pretty cool idea!!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Donna I'm glad you guys had a great first day More please

[dmallan]

DAY 2 – Wednesday, January 9th

I am awake by 6:30 and cannot get back to sleep. About 7:00 I decide to get up and get ready. By the time I am out of the shower, Jeff is awake as well. When I open the ironing board (squeeeeeek) at 7:30 Tom wakes up too! I iron my outfit and coax Jeff and Tom into letting me iron their shirts as well. They don’t care how wrinkled they are – but hey – we want to look good in the photos! Then I decide to take a walk around the resort and get some good pictures of the other buildings. Broadway is my favorite! When I get back to the room, I discover that Liz and Kate are just getting up. They think sleeping in is part of a vacation! So, to kill some time Jeff and I take a walk over to the All Star Sports and take some pictures of their buildings. By the time we return everyone is showered and has eaten breakfast. We are on our way to the bus stop for Disney’s Hollywood Studios by 9:00.

As soon as we arrive we head over to Rock N’ Roller Coaster. We wait for about 20 minutes in the stand-by line. The ride is fantastic and we all want to do it again. We grab fast passes, and head over to Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Again about a 20-minute wait here. We have not ridden Tower of Terror since the 1994 trip, so this is the first time to experience the random drop effect. I hate the sensation of falling, but this is not as scary as I had expected. Then we head back to Rock n’ Roller coaster to use our fastpasses. Interesting that the stand-by line is now much shorter than before. Oh well.

It’s almost time for our ADRs at 50s Prime Time Café, so we head over that way and check in. We have about a 15-minute wait and then hear “Allan kids! Time for lunch!” This is such a fun place! We are seated in a great corner booth and soon our waitress, Helida, appears and informs us of all the rules: no elbows on the table, always remember the magic words and no dessert unless we eat all our lunch. (The magic number here is $16) Jeff orders a Char-grilled chicken sandwich with a salad, Mom and Katie split a turkey sandwich, Liz gets the stuffed pepper and an order of onion rings, and Tom orders the golden fried chicken. We are all happy with our meal, except that Tom remembers he doesn’t like eating chicken off the bone. For dessert we order a hot fudge sundae, apple cobbler and 5 spoons! Very good choices! Total for lunch was $83.28. With the tip it comes to $100.



After lunch we head toward “Sounds Dangerous” to get a good spot for the Stars and Motor Cars parade. We like to try and get a bench right along the path. That way no one can come along at the last minute and stand in front of us. Unfortunately, there are no vacant benches, but we grab a spot in the shade along the fence. Jeff and Tom head over to “Honey I shrunk the kids movie set.” This was Tom’s favorite when he was a kid and he wants to revisit for old time sake. While they are gone, the people next to us (who are sitting on a bench) are having a discussion about what their next plan of action will be. It sounds like there may be some dissension and I quietly say to Liz and Kate “If they get up and leave, we are on that bench!” Sure enough, in another minute they get up and we slide onto the vacant bench. Jeff and Tom are pleased when they return and find that we’ve acquired a seat. The parade is fantastic and we take lots of pictures of all the cars and characters.

After the parade we scoot over to Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular to get a seat for the 4:00 show. After Indy we do Star Tours, Muppet 3D, and walk through the Streets of America. We then find our way to the Studio Backlot Tour and find that it closed at 5:00. And since there is a blockade between here and Mickey Ave we wind our way back through the Streets of America and head for the Great Movie Ride. There is quite a long wait both outside the pre-show area and when we finally get into it. We watch the same movie clips three times before we finally get through the doors and onto the ride vehicle. Our guide is nice, and she plays her part pretty well, but the gangster who takes over our vehicle is a lousy actress and has an odd accent (not sure if it is real or something she made up) that is difficult to understand. It certainly doesn’t go well with her gangster persona.

By the time we get off the ride it’s a little after 6:00 and we head to Fantasmic to get a seat for the 7:00 show. We have not been to Fantasmic before and are amazed at the size of the amphitheater! About 5 minutes before show time, a wave begins in the stands and continues on and on until show time. The show is incredible! The characters, water screens, fountains, music…all of it contributes to one great Disney show. I guess we would not have expected anything less! After the show we stay in our seats for 15 minutes to let the crowds die down. Then we get up and leisurely head around toward the exit. By the time we get back to Sunset Blvd, we are in the midst of the crowd and we slowly make our way to the exit. The line of people waiting for a bus to the All Stars is huge and we wait for quite a long time for a bus to finally come along.

We are exhausted and hungry when we get back to the resort, and so we stop at the food court for dinner. I have the chicken orzo soup and some breadsticks, Jeff and Tom each get a pepperoni pizza, Liz gets a steak salad, and Katie gets a chicken quesadilla. That, along with a few drinks, comes to $39.18. Then we make our way back to the rooms. Another great day!

The best thing today was…Rock n’ Roller Coaster
Today we tried…Fastpass
And the result was…success!
The most magical moment today was…Fantasmic!

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great time at MGM (sorry, DHS) More please

[tammyd_rn]

Great update. Looking forward to the rest of your trip.

[nursemacair]

Great job!!! Can't wait to read more !!

[Lemap760]

I like the "magic number" idea for budgeting. Seems to have worked well for your family.

[dmallan]

DAY 3 – Thursday, January 10th

We have another long day planned for today, starting with breakfast at 1900 Park Fare. We get up around 8:00 and are on our way to the bus stop by 8:45. We take a bus to the Magic Kingdom, then the monorail to the Grand Floridian. We have some time before our 10:00 reservation, so we walk around outside a bit. We are disappointed to see that they are renovating inside and the entire lobby area is covered from ceiling to floor with huge plastic tarps. We had hoped to take some pictures inside, but outside pics will have to do. Once we check in at the desk, our wait is under 10 minutes and we are seated. Our server, Joan, is very pleasant. She takes our beverage order and points us in the direction of the buffet. Before we know it Mary Poppins comes over to visit and we take some great pictures.
The food is wonderful – the selection is fantastic – and the characters stop by often. In addition to Mary Poppins, we have our pictures taken with Pooh, Tigger, Alice and the Mad Hatter. Total cost for the 5 of us is $101.13. We add the tip and make it $120



After breakfast we make our way back to the Magic Kingdom via the monorail, and head for Adventureland. We get a fastpass for Jungle Cruise and scoot over to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Then we head back to ride Jungle Cruise. The captain has all the usual corny jokes and Tom and Jeff are just loving it, but unfortunately he is having problems with his microphone. It only works half the time and is breaking up the other half. But he makes it through and gets a round of applause for his perseverance from everyone on board. We then head to Frontierland to ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The wait time is listed as 20 minutes, but it ends up being more like 45 minutes and the whole time we have a very large foreign tour group in front of us (henceforth known as the blue-shirts) who are loud and obnoxious. It makes the 45 minutes seem like hours, but we are finally on the ride. We find out later that Tom and Liz were taking some awesome videos of the ride! Very fast and fun! Now we go to Liberty Square to see the Hall of Presidents and the Haunted Mansion. It’s always fun to see the old favorites! Not too long of a wait for either one. The line for Haunted Mansion seems long, but it moves along pretty quickly. Then we head for Fantasyland. We get fastpasses for Peter Pan’s flight and then Jeff, Katie and I ride It’s a Small World. We all go in to see Mickey’s Philharmagic, and then Jeff and I ride Cinderella’s Golden Carrousel and Liz, Kate and Tom ride the Mad Tea Party.



Then we walk into Tomorrowland. The first attraction we hit is Space Mountain. The wait is not too long – under 20 minutes, I guess. Then we do the Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin and Stitch’s Great Escape. We then head back to Fantasyland and ride Peter Pan’s Flight. It is almost 6:00 and we are getting hungry, so we go back to Frontierland and eat dinner at Pecos Bill’s. Jeff and Liz have a cheeseburger, Tom has a bacon double cheeseburger, and Katie and I split a chicken wrap. With drinks the total comes to $37.09. We find a table outside and then decide it would be a good spot to watch Spectromagic. After we finish eating, we get a spot right behind the stone planter near the steps. There are already some people sitting on the side facing the street, but from where we stand, we can see right over their heads. The parade starts at 7:00, but by the time it gets around to us, it is almost 7:30. After Spectromagic we walk toward the castle and find a spot to watch Wishes fireworks, which is just about to begin. We are not in front of the castle and so the fireworks are off to our left, and there are some trees in front of us, but we don’t mind because we’re in our own little space and not in the middle of a huge crowd. After the show we wait for a bit in the hub, take some pictures of the castle and then make our way down Main Street to get to the busses. Again, we wait for some time for a bus. We finally end up taking a bus that only goes to All Star Sports. When we get there, we get off and made our way across the parking lot to our resort and then head to the food court for some ice cream. It is 10:15. We get a couple sundaes and tom gets a salad. Total is $14.81. Another fun day!

The best thing today was…Thunder Mountain & Space Mountain
The worst thing today was…waiting in line for Thunder Mountain
The funniest thing today was…Tom and Tigger at breakfast & the Jungle Cruise tour guide
Today we tried…Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare
And the result was…fun and delicious!
The most magical moment today was…Mickey’s Philharmagic and Spectromagic

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you had a great day at MK, and a great breakfast at 1900 Park Fare

[Tiggerbelle]

Sounds like a great trip so far! Looking forward to more!!

[pparm]

It sounds like you're having a great time so far. Looking forward to reading more!

Paula

[tammyd_rn]

Sounds like a great day to me.

[mcc0313]

Great fun so far...love your magic number idea...