Niarhos - June 2005 • WDW Trip Reports

Search our site

Trip Planning > Walt Disney World > Trip Reports > Niarhos - June 2005

Niarhos - June 2005

The Niarhos Family: Mom Deb N (44), Dad Tony (43), Melanie (8) and Michelle (5)

Road trip from Ohio to Orlando to St Augustine Beach to Concord NC

Michelle and I went to Melanie's school for the last day picnic. It was HOT! After lunch and playing on the playground we left for home. The van was all packed and we were on the road by 1pm.
We stopped for dinner at Bob Evan's in Summersville, WVA. The food was good. It was fast and the place was clean!
We made it to Bluefield VA Knights Inn by 7pm. It was very old hotel that had been renovated but it was very clean. Good enough for one night. We paid only $44.95 online rate with Orbitz.
Had to go to Walmart. I forgot DH's toothbrush! I forgot all of our pillows, which we usually bring, and dd's toothpaste too!!!
We were so happy to finally have AC to sleep. Our AC at home was not working the whole week before we left and it was 90+ every day!
We are a little closer to WDW!!!!

Drove to Wytheville, VA for breakfast at Cracker-barrel. The food is good but my hash browns were cold and the service is slow.
We gave in to the girls (Big Mistake) and stopped at a Mc Donald's. Exit 77 off I95. The workers were nasty and slow and the place was filthy. The bathroom was horrible. Never again. I really hate McDonald's any way.
The girls watched the WDW planning DVD on the way.
Stopped at Brunswick GA. The Park Inn. Exit 36 B off I95 used to be a Holiday Inn. We got the Entertainment rate online $49.50 for the night. The rooms were great. Everything was redone. It was very nice with a free continental breakfast.
We had some time and it had been raining so the girls couldn't swim and so we drove to Jeckyl Island. It is only 15 min drive. Very nice. It is a state park with some hotels and condos. We ate at a "boat motel" near the marina. It was fun. We ordered a bunch of appetizers and filled up on that.
Great day
Really close to WDW!!!!

Rain! Rain! Rain!!!! We did not see sun until we got to Orlando. After our free continental breakfast we headed to our first stop the Florida Welcome Center for our free OJ and we always get brochures we don't need too! There is still no sunshine in the sunshine state.
As soon as we got near Orlando the sun was shining!. We were able to check in to our RCI timeshare at Polynesian Isle Resort unit 1036 on the 3rd floor. It was nice to have the high ceilings but not so nice to lug our stuff up 3 flights of stairs. The unit was beautiful. We had a MBR and bath with a Jacuzzi tub. The girls had their own BR and bathroom. Nice full kitchen and dining area. The free W/D were right outside our door which we shared with the unit next to us. We also had a screened porch but it was too hot to enjoy it.
The best thing was that th new Walmart was right at the end of our street. They have a huge Disney area and it was a very nice store.
After unpacking we headed to DTD to but Pal Mickey. We also got golden mickey ears antenna topper and I got a nurse Minnie pin. Since we spent $75 we were able to buy an Anniversary lithograph for $5. We headed over to the toy store to get my free Pal Mickey pin. I had the coupon I got online.
This is our first time OP so we had to get creative with transportation. Our plan was to see Fantasmic that night. We had PS at 1900 Park Fare. So we drove to MGM and took the bus to the Grand Floridian.
We arrived earlier than our PS but they seated us right away. Fairy Godmother was seated in the lobby and chatted with the girls and we took pictures. We had a good experience. The food was good, Prime rib, Salmon. Carved turkey chicken marsala and my Michelle practically ate her weight in shrimp. Prince Charming was pretty cute. The girls enjoyed it very much. Some girls wore costumes but most did not.
While waiting to get the bus back to MGM it started pouring down rain and of course our rain ponchos are in the van at MGM! Got to MGM and it is still raining buckets. We got soaked but went into MGM anyway. We decide to go to 50's Primetime for a drink. The bartender Mo was very nice and we got our DDE discount on our drinks. The rain slowed down so we headed over to the Little Mermaid, it started pouring while we were waiting in line and we got soaked again. After that it kept raining on and off and we decided to leave and head to the new Walmart.
Really Great Day we are at Disneyworld!

EPCOT (Mom's favorite) No more rain!!!!!! We had a quick breakfast at our condo and were in line at 9:05. When we got through the line the character bus was there and the girls have never gotten Mary Poppins autograph so we ran to her line and the CM said 3 more minutes and she MP went back to the bus after the next family. All the other characters were still signing! I was miffed but perhaps she wasn't feeling well.
We went straight to the land for a FP for Soarin return time was 2pm! We got in line for the boat ride and it broke down. We watched the circle of life movie, which is about conservation and it, is really a good movie if you never saw it I recommend it. My girls love it because of Timon Pumba and Simba. It is good for a hot day too because it is nice and cool in there.
We decide to go to the Living Seas to check the line for Turtle Talk. The line for the Living Seas was sooooo long. I have not seen it quite that long before but we waited. The girls love to look at all the fish and sharks and Pal Mickey told us they were going to be feeding the dolphins soon. We checked out the manatees and we stopped at one of those education carts and learned about turtles. The line for Crush was too long so we decided to head to World Showcase and come back later.
We were starting to get hungry and I told DH that the MFLers rave about the fish and chips. So we went to the counter service and we got a shaded table outside in front of the Pub. The food was great. My 8 year old ate an adult meal! My 5 year old had a hot dog. I will join everyone who recommends this counter service. YUM!
We walked over to France and bumped into Belle and Aurora with no lines!!!! Very cool! Of course it is very HOT the heat index was 105 that day so we try to find cool things to do. We remembered we had never seen the movie in France and we enjoyed it very much. The music is great too.
Back to the land for our FP on Soarin' I was a little apprehensive since I am afraid of heights and DH and I both get sick on simulators. We LOVED Soarin. All of us came off that ride with a big WOW!!! It is my new favorite ride at WDW. If you go to EPCOT this is a must do. We were able to get on the boat ride after Soarin. We always enjoy this relaxing ride and seeing all the plants and veggies that they grow there.
We went back to Living Seas and there was no line and Turtle Talk was great as always.
We walked through Innovations and checked out some stuff there.
We went over to see Ellen's Energy dream. We always enjoy this. Even though there are dinosaurs, the girls are OK with it because Ellen is so funny!
We went over to Test Track but the line was too long and no more FP's were being issued so we decided to skip it.
We had PS at Le Cellier and we checked in 40 min early. I was hoping to see Chris S. and we thought they would seat us early since every other restaurant that we checked in early at did. We told the CM we were early and he said no problem have a seat and we will get your table as soon as one is available. DH says how are you going to find this MFL person and the CM called her name. We were sitting right next her! We chatted a bit and then they got seated, her PS was earlier than ours. So after 30min we asked about our table and then we are told we would be seated closer to our PS seating time. I don't mind but I wish the first CM told us that. So it was a cool place to sit so we just waited. The food was OK but it took too long and it was pretty noisy and a family that allowed their school aged children to run around and climb on chairs were sitting near us. It was much more quiet when they left. Chris S. stopped by to chat before they left. We were there almost 3 hours. I did enjoy the drink of the day; it had vodka, Chambord and pineapple juice. I t was quite refreshing.
Then it was over to England to get my Mom and my SIL some tea. They are both tea drinkers and they love the English Breakfast Tea and then I get them one other new one to try.
We walked over to Germany so I could try some wine. We sat down and the girls got out their glow sticks from the dollar store. I even wore one. We walked back to showcase plaza because we were tired and wanted to be near the exit. We watched Illuminations there but it was not a really good spot. We have seen it before on the bridge near Canada.
We left EPCOT and headed back to Wal-Mart to buy coffee and I got Disney postcards for 58cents.
Great weather day!!!

Well the plan was to get MK when it opened. We have never been to any opening ceremonies. My Michelle wanted to wake up Tinkerbell. We got up and had a quick breakfast and we were ready to go. I was so excited, we were going to get there early and our van wouldn't Dead battery. We had to wait a few minutes for a jump from a maintenance worker. Oh well we gave it a try.
We walked into the Mk and the first Performance of Cinderellabration was about to start so we watched it right up front. DH videotaped the whole thing. It was a good show. But it was really hot already.
We went to Fantasyland and walked right into Mickey's Philharmagic. It was great as always and nice and cool. Then we walked right on IASW. I am only 5'2 and the boats do seem a little small. No legroom. We enjoyed it very much. Walked over to Peter Pan and the line didn't look bad but we forgot it goes around the building so we ended up waiting 25min but I love this ride.
We headed into Liberty Square and Michelle wanted an umbrella. She wanted a paper one from China yesterday at EPCOT and I really didn't want to spend $11 on a paper umbrella. This umbrella is more fitting a princess and it is hand painted with flowers and her name. The best part is that it is functional. She got a pink one and we are to pick it up after 3pm and it cost $15. We walked right onto the Haunted Mansion.
We headed over to Splash Mountain to get FP's. By this time we are getting hungry. Pecos Bill's was not crowded but we decided that Michelle wouldn't like anything on the kid's menu. We went to the Noodle Station but it was closed. So we headed into Cosmic Rays and it was packed! We were so hungry we didn't care. We got burgers and Michelle got a hot dog. W sat outside with a great view of the Castle, which is also a primo spot watch Wishes if you get there early.
We were heading back to Splash when we stopped by Country Bear Jamboree. We got in the FP line for Splash and Michelle decided she did not want to go on so we exited and Melanie and DH road. We remember that the line for Winnie the Pooh is really bad so we decided to FP it. We headed over to the Tiki Room and Aladdin's Flying Carpets. We love that spitting camel! We walked right Pirate's of the Caribbean.
We were really hot and I want to thank whoever mentioned the Dole pineapple whip place. We had pineapple floats. They were awesome. They cool us off and tasted great. The girls went to see Rafiki who was right next to where we were sitting.
We rode Winnie the Pooh which Michelle's favorite ride. We had PS for the Crystal Palace and checked in 30 min early and we were seated right away. This is a great buffet. We enjoyed the Characters. The variety and quality of food was very good. This was our best meal yet. I would definitely go there again. DDE card has already paid for itself.
We headed to Tomorrowland and got FP's for Buzz. We rode the People mover and checked out some pins. DD's have decided they want to collect pins like Mom. I see $$$$. We went on Buzz DH always gets the most points but he is a hunter so he has an advantage.
We went to Toontown to see Mickey and Minnie. We love that Photopass. They now have the Princesses at Toontown fair also. We rode the train back to Main Street. We were going to watch Wishes from the train station. We were all hot and tired and decide to leave. We took the Monorail to the parking lot and headed t the condo.
We found driving in and out of WDW not bad at all. Our Condo is off of 535 and not in all that 192 traffic but we missed the afternoon breaks we got when staying on property.
We had a Magical Day

Had our quick breakfast at the condo and got to MGM at 9:20 am. Not many shows are open before 10 and we missed the first showing of Playhouse Disney so we went down Mickey Avenue and saw Jojo and Goliath and Donald Duck.
We went into the Art of Disney Store and talked with an animator who was coloring some cells. He was very interesting and Melanie is an artist. I want her to be and Imagineer and she wants to be a piano teacher. She is only 8 I will work on her. The animator told her he was a musician too. I would love to have some Disney art but not on this trip.
Went over to Playhouse Disney. Here is my tip of the day. Always go to the left. Most people tend to go right. Remember this for all lines. In Playhouse Disney you have to sit on the floor. DH stands in the back to video tape it. The right side was filled up and I ran over to the left and got right up front. Also try to sit near the red lines. The little ones will get a better view if they are on the edge. They also will have an easier time dancing if you are near the edge. The show was great. No more Rollie Pollie Ollie and Jojo is there! Michelle loved it and went right up front and danced with Bear.
Next we went over to Disney Animation. This is a cute show and Mushu is so funny. We got in the Incredibles line and only Elastagirl was there (That's me wife, mother super hero)! We went into the art class and DD's got to try to draw Goofy with an animator. We talked to him after and told him about Melanie's art gift and he gave her one of his pencils and told her to keep up the good work.
We did the great Movie ride next. One of my all time favorite movies is Casablanca so I love this ride too. Just about time for lunch. We checked in early at 50's Prime Time Café and had to wait about 20 min for our table but we didn't mind it was cool. We love Prime Time. We had a great server and the fried chicken was great. I got into Dad's liquor cabinet and had a beer (I never drink beer but it was so hot it just seemed right!)
We went to FP Lights Motors Action and browsed some shops. We watched Beauty and the Beast. Once again the right side was almost full and we went left and got right up front. DH stayed in the back to videotape the show. It is a really nice show. I love the music from B & B and Belle is Michelle's favorite princess right now.
We went to get in line for LMA. If you are afraid of crowds do not go to this show I did not like the way we were herded into line and there were no CM's around. Then they herd you into this huge stadium. Once again I did not feel that there were enough CM's for the volume of people in this stadium. It is really hot but getting cloudy. Since we had FP's we were seated in the 4th row. There is a partial roof over this stadium but it started to rain as soon as we were seated. We thought it would be your typical rain for 5 minutes and then get really humid kind of rain but it poured and did not stop. They had to cancel the show. We are not having good luck at MGM this year.
We decided to go back to the condo and relax. It is 5:30 and we are beat and soaked. It stormed all evening so we did laundry. We ate hot dogs in the condo for dinner.
Even a rainy day is a good day at WDW!

Once again after going through the security bag check we went to the left and the lines were much shorter. We arrived just after 9. We went straight to K Safari and got FP's. We walked the Pagani Forest. There were so many gorilla's out it was awesome. I have a great picture of one of the gorillas for Picture of the week. We browsed the stores and then went on the safari. There were lots of animals out and about.
Next we went to Tiger Trek, the tigers were all sleeping but I love those giant fruit bats. They are so cool.
We headed to Dinoland and ran right into Lucky the dinosaur. I have some great pictures of him too. We FP's Dinosaur and we were getting hungry. I was very disappointed to find out that Restaurantasauras was just more expensive Mc Donald's food. I am not a big McD's fan so we had lunch at Pizzafari! I really like this place. Not only is the pizza good but also I had a chicken parm sandwich and it was excellent. They also took our DDE card! To date we have saved $82 on food with our DDE.
We got a FP for Bug's life and Melanie and DH rode Dinosaur. Melanie still does not like it and so I didn't get to ride it. DH liked it!
Tough to be a bug is fun as always.
AK is one of the hottest parks. Most of the shows our outside and we knew that we would not stay long. We took some great pictures of Mount Everest and decided to go back to the condo to swim by 3pm.
We swan until 5pm and then a thunderstorm kicked up and we showered and went to dinner at Bahamas Breeze, which is right at the I4 and 535 exit. We had to wait 45 min for a table but we got a nice table in the outside bar and had appetizers so we did not mind waiting. The food was good and the so was the service. Prices were moderate.
Hot day at the AK

We slept in!!!! No alarm clock. We still got up around 7:30 but vegged in bed for a while and had breakfast. We spent 2 hours at the pool. Nice guy from UK gave me sunscreen because he was heading home tomorrow.
Had lunch at the condo and showered and headed to the Prime Outlets on 535. That Disney outlet is not worth a visit. It was junky and did not have much that we would want.
Went to DTD and bought stuff. The girls got lanyards and one pin each. I got wine glass charms and coaster set. Melanie got a piano book with Disney music.
Back to MK. We found the barbershop and the barber had locked the door it was 5pm and was getting ready to leave but he said we could take a look if we wanted. He was so nice he gave the girls some pixie dust and we took pictures. It was very cool and DH would like to get a hair cut next time.
We walked around Main Street and checked out the shops. We then took the monorail to the Contemporary Resort and checked out their shops. We had PS for California Grill. We checked in on the second floor early and we were seated right away. I love this restaurant. The view is awesome the food was great and the service was outstanding. We were seated right across from the sushi chef. My DH is an excellent cook and makes sushi so he enjoyed being able to watch a master sushi chef. Our waiter explained the menu in detail. We had sushi as an appetizer and the waiter told me that the roast pork loin was voted Orlando's best dinner so I had to try it. It was awesome. DH had grilled tuna and it was very good. The girls had a grilled chicken breast with mash redskins and asparagus. It was so nice for the girls to have something besides hotdogs and chicken fingers. After dinner we went out on the roof and I am so afraid of heights I was a little freaked out but the view was awesome. There are 3 viewing areas. I would love to see Wishes from up there. They pipe in the music too. You do not have to eat there to watch Wishes. Go to the bar for a drink and you can still watch. I highly recommend it. This is my new favorite restaurant. We were told we could come back later if we wanted to and see the fireworks. It was pricey, it was $83 for the 4 of us after our DDE discount and I had 2 glasses of wine but it was worth every penny!
Back to MK. Melanie has been wanting to do Stitches Great Escape so they got FP's. We rode Snow White and got to see Spectro Magic. It was EMH and it was very crowded. I have heard that EMH is to be avoided. It is so hot during the day that resort guests are waiting until EMH to go to the parks and it is very crowded.
We rode the Jungle Cruise at night very cool Chris S told us it was pretty neat and we agree. DH and Melanie rode Stitch and they hated it. They said it was very boring. While they were bored on Stitch Michelle and I watched Wishes by the Noodle Station. It still brings tears to my eyes!
This was a great day at the World.

The crowds are much lighter today than on Monday. We went right to Soarin and had only a 10-minute wait! Still Love it!!!!! While waiting in line on our last day at WDW DH and I are planning our next rip for December 2006! We are truly addicts!
Went on the Journey to Imagination ride and saw Figment. Emailed some pictures from there. Michelle does not like Honey I Shrunk the Audience so we skipped it. Right next to the entrance to HISTA there is Figments place and there are cool funhouse mirrors and you can get Figments autograph.
We got FP's for Testrack. Then we checked out Innovations East and West. The girls and I did the find the fire hazard game. Melanie played a computer game. The house of the future was being refurbed. We checked out stuff in the Mousegeers store. We went back to Testrack and it was down. They said they would honor our FP's later.
We decided to take the boat over to Morocco. The characters were not out yet. We had to have sushi in Japan even though they do not accept the DDE card. The girls had the tempura chicken kids meal, which they love. Melanie already likes sushi so we had to share some with her. They now seat in the lounge. You cannot just walk in but we were seated right away and it is still one of our favorite spots in EPCOT. We had a great window seat with a great view of the water.
We went back to Morocco and found Jasmine out front near the water. I got a glass of wine in Italy and checked out the Hummel's in Germany. We watched the movie in China. When we got to Norway the Troll ride was down---bummer it is one of our favorites.
We went to Mexico and took the boat ride and bought our good friend Linda a ceramic painted cat. She loves cats. Then we decided we had to get margaritas, DH had a strawberry one and I had the Fiesta with all the flavors it was yummy! We got Melanie ice cream and a Popsicle for Michelle and sat down to enjoy our treats.
We went back to Testrack and the FP line was long because the ride had been down on 3 separate occasions. Michelle does not like this ride so her and I checked out the store and the cool van with the flat screen TV and waited for Mel and DH to get off the ride.
We rode Space ship earth no line. Another tip. Always ride Spaceship Earth in the afternoon. The lines are much shorter or there are no lines at all. Lots of people go to it first.
We went back to the condo to freshen up and change shoes. We headed to the Belz outlet to check out The Character Corner and The Character warehouse. Both were nice and had lots of park stuff. They had the old Pal Mickey for $27. We found the Christmas shirts that we bought at Thanksgiving. I got the Tinkerbell Miss Attitude shirt for $10 and was $20 in November. We got an EPCOT beach towel and DH got a shirt for $4. It was worth checking out. We decided we had to go to Fort Wilderness for dinner. We love it there and we had to wait 45 min for a table because we did not have PS. We sat on the porch in the rocking chairs. DH got a beer and got me wine. The girls checked out the peacocks and we went through the petting zoo. Of course we had to check out the store. We had a great meal and I love the peaceful atmosphere at FW.
Our last night, but it was great!

Home	Trip Planning	Member Savings	Community	Downloads	Information
Copyright 1999-2008 by The Magic for Less, LLC Disclaimer