Great Adventure Outpost
Industry => Trip Reports and Meeting Plans => Topic started by: WadeJ on February 16, 2008, 11:25:54 AM
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This will be a short trip report with some pictures. To be honest, I almost never finish the novels and there were just too many parts of this trip that I'd prefer to forget 8).
Long story short - we had too many people with us that I think were just overwhelmed by the overall size of WDW and just weren't used to handling the all of the walking, heat, etc.
So while we all had a good time and it was nice spending time there and doing various things with grandparents, cousings, brothers and sisters, it also resulted in some stressful moments and maybe not always seeing or doing everything you wanted to do.
Of course for us, that wasn't really a big deal since we've already seen and done everything several times over. It was just difficult for me to deal with because I knew what they were "missing". Oh well, maybe next time. This was more of a learning experience I think.
Anyway, aside from some illness with some members of the family, all 13 of us made it there and back safely and had a relatively good time all things considered. And Faith was 100% great all week long which was a huge relief. She even started sleeping through the night while we were there! Must be the Magic :D
Onto the pictures :)
Ready for her first day. Hard to see but there is a Mickey on there
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"the boys"
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It's been years since we have done a character meal so this was fun
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Why am I in this thing?
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Couldn't use the flash but this was our 1st ever ride in the front of a monorail!
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Daddy screwing with taking night shots with new camera and wide angle lense
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Character Spot rocks!
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more to come....
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Front of the monorail is definitely fun. I can't believe you haven't done that in all that time. Cute pink outfit on Faith.
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/\ tell me about it. I think they are leary letting the little ones in there. In fact, the CM actually made it a point to say the "4" of you can ride up front if you like. He actually made it clear that Faith and mommy were not welcome. And I can see why. We've tried countless times and never made it so this was VERY cool. Plus, riding through all of Futureworld in the front is really amazing.
BUT, not as amazing as the other big highlight of the trip.... Going to Disney World with a GM employee has it perks :D
We got to visit the General Motors lounge at Test Track!
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It gives you a great view of the final high speed turn
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I always wanted to see behind these windows :)
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You can also see into the indoor portion of the ride
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Not the greatest picture but these were taken through glass into a dark room
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Free soda!
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There were awesome photos everywhere
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The best part was the VIP door to hop right on the ride whenever you want :)
more pictures to come...
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That is just one awesome disney trip! WOW!
The pic of Faith in the sunglasses is priceless
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They were still building Test Track the last time I was there...:(
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Wow. Your family is just adorable. No other word comes even close!
And what an experience at Test Track!
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Here is one more picture from Test Track in the post-show
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You can't go to Port Orleans Riverside without seeing Bob Jackson. Seriously, this guy is amazing. We've been going to see Bob since January of 1999. Matt even got his autograph lol Sorry for the blurry shot. It is a flashless photo to be polite.
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Always need to stop by and play the drums in Africa
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Luke's favorite park
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Luke is finally big enough for the water slide! Port Orleans has some great pools btw
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More to come ...
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Thanks for the comments guys. Were really blessed to have such awesome kids. All I can say is that while my boys are...well, lets just say, energetic, they definately do know how to have fun. So even though its incredibly tiring taking them, we have such a blast because they have such a good time which makes it fun for all. New this time around was having Luke walk everywhere since we would need to push Kyle and Faith in their strollers (NO double stollers! - they are torture lol) and he would make it through a whole day of park hopping with almost no complaining.
More pictures to come later tonight...
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Adorable pictures, Wade!
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Okay, this should do it. It is such a pain going through hundreds of photos to try and find the few decent ones lol
The next two are important to me because each and every time we go (which I guess is rather frequent), I get a picture of each of them. Its just one of those things that is neat to compare as they grow.
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Their cousin Sunshine liked it to but somehow, I don't think I'll be getting many future photos to watch here grow lol
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Fortunately, the safari vehicle decided to wait until the day after we left to burst into flames. I'm seroiusly not sure how we would have done getting off the thing with 5 kids and the grandparents. We had a great tour - cold, rainy and overcast brought out all the animals.
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The boys are now in love with Dole Whips thanks to their dad lol
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Not sure what happened to this photo. Maybe its the strap? Anyway, this is the queue for Indiana Jones stunt show. While I've seen the show tons of times, this was the first time I've waited in the regular queue which was actually really neat!
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Sometimes when we wanted to get somewhere quickly, I'd put Luke in the stroller and have Kyle stand on a support bar on the back. I think it slightly exceeded the weight limit but it worked lol. On the right is Matt (gorf1000 on updates)
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Extra-cost parties (Pirate and Princess Party) = early park closings :(
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Getting ready to go home, the kids actually laid still by playing graveyard lol
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Bye Port Orleans :(
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One of my neighbors worked at Port Orleans. I almost stayed there, but chose Caribbean Beach in the end when my gf came to visit. Staying on property is awesome period!
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Everyone is smiling in the photos until the very ending. If that doesn't sum up a Disney vacation!
Wade, that tour looks cool. Every time Siemens comes to work I can't stop looking at their trucks with a huge grin on my face.
Dixie Landings sure is nice and the Riverside name sure is better.
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Nice pictures Wade . Faith is so cute in her little Mickey outfit . The boys look cute too.
We loved the Riverside but as the kids get older think of the All Star Suites . They are amazingly roomy .
Love WDW can't get enough of it there . :)
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I'm not a big fan of pimping my kids on youtube but I had to post this :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snynQlpcptg
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Nice Pride Rock Mural ! WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORRRRRRRRRRRRRLD.
Wade I'm still checking school dates and talking with the boss about June. I'll let you know soon.
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Crap, I hope the Disney corp doesn't demand I paint over it LOL
Its still Feb bubs, that is why I figured we should start now :D
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Very cool Wade! :)
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OMG that is the cutest video . Your boys were so funny I give that video a 10 .
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Is Port Orleans the one next to Dixie Landings?
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Port Orleans Riverside is the former Dixie Landings. DL is no more. Port Orleans French Quarter is right next to Riverside.
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I haven't been to Disney in Years (more then 10 years)
and may try to get there by the end of the year or early next.
What.where is the best place to stay to get to see as much as the parks in say 4-5 days and a reasonable price.
Disney property is so big now since i been there.
would most likely do MGM.Epcot,Animal kingdom and a little Magic.
i was looking at maybe a 10 day pass for say 2 visits (this looks like the best deal)
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Port Orleans Riverside is the former Dixie Landings. DL is no more. Port Orleans French Quarter is right next to Riverside.
No way! Damn...You can tell I haven't been down there in a long time. If the slide is still the same from when I went, I can vouch for Wade that it is a good slide. =] I love Dixie Landings Port Orleans.
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I haven't been to Disney in Years (more then 10 years)
and may try to get there by the end of the year or early next.
What.where is the best place to stay to get to see as much as the parks in say 4-5 days and a reasonable price.
Disney property is so big now since i been there.
would most likely do MGM.Epcot,Animal kingdom and a little Magic.
i was looking at maybe a 10 day pass for say 2 visits (this looks like the best deal)
We bought a 10 day hopper and will get THREE trips out of it . We used two days on the first trip and five on the next . We still have three days left. I figured we would combine it with a USF trip in a few years. It really was the best price wise deal if you get the never expire option with it .
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Unfortunately, they have really jacked up prices for the no-expire option. It's almost as much for a 10 day no-expire as it is for annual pass.
So I'd only go with that if you only plan on going back once a year for a few days, etc. Just be sure not to book it with your room so that you have seperate media for park passes. Once you hit 6 or more days it become insanely cheap to add more days. I think something like $2 more a day or something.
Port Orleans Riverside IMO is the best of all the moderates and values. And trust me, we've stayed at nearly every one of them lol. However, as Coastermom pointed out, if you have a larger family, the suites at the All Star value resorts are a great deal. They will soon be adding the same thing at Pop Century. For a family of four, Port Orleans can't be beat.
Sorry RJ, we couldn't stand CB. It was waaaayyyy to spread out and the cafeteria doesn't come close to competing with Riverside. Nicely themed though and nice rooms.
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what are the Perks for staying onsite ?
do they have a Boat ride or Bus transportation ?
If I go it would just be me and my Wife
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IMO, don't go to WDW if you can't stay onsite. Besides the illusion of being in another world (isn't that the point of going?!?) and the overall theming, service, amentities, etc., the 2 main reasons for staying onsite are extra magic hours in the morning and night at one park a day and the Disney Transport service. Stay at a park til closing during a holiday and try DRIVING back to your hotel and let me know how it went ;)
The busses do get packed but you are still back in 30 minutes instead of 3 hours. The ability to leverage the busses is probably my number one reason and Magic hours is the number 2 reason. Just imagine being able to stay in a park from 12AM - 3AM :) I'm sure the CM's hate it (RJ? lol) but its like ERT on everything! They switch between morning and night but its worth it. Animal Kingdom in the dark is simply amazing to!
edit: I should add that if you are just passing by and have, say, an annual pass then YES it is still worth going even if you aren't staying onsite lol. I'm speaking for those of you that plan to go for 3+ days.
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Wow 3am :o We can sleep late and go to the park late.
Yes on site sounds better
Just returning from the Royal Pacific at Universal it does make a difference and worth it with the extra perks.
SO its better to buy tickets separate then from a whole package ?
Now just to find time to get the time away/off
edit: did you notice handicap access like electric scooters etc.
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I agree with Wade. I could not imagine staying anywhere else but onsite. My experience at Port Orleans was awesome. If you ever needed anything about tickets or reservations, you just call the front desk and they were able to do everything. And they also have the Mickey Mouse pancakes which are so cool.
Also, the Whoop-Dee-Doo Review was awesome. I never saw so much chicken and potatoes in my life! Plus the show was entertaining. I miss River Country though.
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Thanks to EMH, my girlfriend and I got to the parks around 2-3PM every day, yet still did almost everything in every park. I'm never going back to WDW and not staying on property. It's just amazing.
Caribbean Beach is pretty spread out, but we didn't mind since we had a preferred room that was a building over from Old Port Royale. Next time I go back, I'm going to try one of the Port Orleans resorts. They were already on my list, but that endorsement bumps it up a notch. I have a feeling we're going to be one of those couples that go around and stay in every resort, lol.
3AM EMH isn't too bad since we get off at 3:45. It's the 4AM closings that are the real killer. LOL. At least the Mouseketerria opens at 3AM, so you can grab breakfast after work if you want. The strangest part of that though is that you usually start your shift at like 7PM. It's like having the day off...then having to work.
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edit: I should add that if you are just passing by and have, say, an annual pass then YES it is still worth going even if you aren't staying onsite lol. I'm speaking for those of you that plan to go for 3+ days.
So, are you saying Annual Pass holders get EMH too? If that's the case, AWESOME. If I misread that, wishful thinking?
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I will certainly say that this was an extremely memorable trip, and most of it was awesome fun ;)
The pic of you guys in the line for IJ was messed up because the shutter was stuck half shut, it happens every now and then with that camera.
You have to put up that video of Luke in Epcot before ROE that was completely YouTube worthy! If nothing else you have to hold on to that for blackmail purposes when he gets older ;)
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LOL, well, unfortunately even with the night vision it was tough to see because of being next to the torch. The flickering from the flame kept throwing off the night vision. So I'll need to edit it to make it brighter. I guess it can be titled Luke's Rave LOL