My First Disney Trip

Magic Kingdom highlights included the Buzz Lightyear ride and Alien Encounter. I loved It's a Small World, although not all of my friends did. We had lunch with Pooh & the gang at The Crystal Palace. I highly recommend that if you have kids or are a kid at heart.

We spent parts of three days in Epcot and we could’ve spent a week. Most of our time there was spent eating. We saw Illuminations one night after eating at the Moroccan restaurant. We ate in the Mexican restaurant against the backdrop of an erupting volcano. We also ate in The Coral Reef restaurant, watching the marine life of The Living Waters.

Quick Tips:

Take several pairs of EXTREMELY comfortable shoes. No matter how comfortable they are, another pair will be more comfy the next day.

Mid-May is an excellent time to go considering the lines and weather. But it is considered off-season, so they do close some of the rides for maintenance. I was very disappointed not to be able to ride The Great Movie Ride in MGM, or The Winnie the Pooh and Peter Pan rides in Magic Kingdom.

Spend some time shopping in Downtown Disney, and stop by Ghirardelli’s for a sundae. Wait in the line, you’ll be glad you did.

Go back to the hotel & take a nap when you’re tired. There’s plenty to do long into the night, so taking a break when you need it will keep everyone happy.

Best Way To Get Around:

Mears provides a shuttle service to and from the airport. This was a very confusing process, though. We were given vouchers that had to be redeemed inside the airport at the Mears counter before we could get in line to board a shuttle bus. (The way we found the desk was to go outside of the airport at baggage claim, find the shuttle area, then go in those doors to find the line that eventually leads to the Mears counter.) We arrived in the middle of the afternoon, and both the counter and the area where the shuttles arrive were very crowded. Once we got through line at the counter, we went back outside to stand in line to find out which bus we needed. It wasn’t there, so we got a pager that lit up when it arrived. The ride to the Disney resorts is about 30 minutes.

Once at the resort, take the Disney shuttle. It is the best way to get around if staying on Disney property.

(Price included Ultimate Park-Hopper Pass for length of stay)

The All-Star resorts are Disney's lowest priced accommodations. The rooms are nice, but they are set up motel-style. Each building had a theme based on a Disney movie, from 101 Dalmatians to Toy Story to Fantasia. Ours were in one of the two 'Love Bug' buildings, very far from the main entrance. This became especially annoying when we walked back to our room after being tired from walking all day, only to find a message to pick up our packages (that were to be shipped to the room from the various parks) at the gift shop during their normal business hours. We didn't think we'd mind the extra walking to the shuttle, but combined with all the walking once we reached the hotel, it was torture. One thing we came to appreciate about the room was the shower massage, which does wonders for tired backs, legs, feet, etc. I think all six of us had decided we'd definitely like to spring for the moderate-priced resort next time.

The only dining on the premises was the food court, which was as expected -- sufficient, but not gourmet by any means. They had Mickey-shaped waffles and decent (but messy) breakfast sandwiches. However, they also offered terrible and very over-priced coffee. I did wish for a coffee maker in the room. We never ate at the food court for anything besides breakfast, but I do hear they had good pizza.

I'd only recommend this resort to people on a very tight budget and more prepared to walk than we were, despite our best intentions at the outset. I'm sure a room a little closer (such as the Dalmatian building) would have been much more acceptable.

This was a unique lunch experience. The glass walls that let you see into The Living Seas aquarium are awesome. Just don't expect to see any dolphins. We were very disappointed to learn there weren’t any in there. Although kids might enjoy the idea of the aquarium, I doubt they'd find anything on the menu they’d eat. The choices contained a little of everything – seafood, beef, chicken, even some pasta – but all prepared in new ways. The atmosphere was very quiet and I thought a little stuffy, though the food was delicious and the scenery gorgeous. It's easy to forget you’re in Epcot, with the slow, quiet pace of this restaurant.

Once you step inside, The Crystal Palace transforms into The Hundred Acre Wood. At the entrance are the nicest topiaries I’ve ever seen of the characters, and in color. Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore tour the dining room at regular intervals, greeting everyone and posing for pictures.

The food was very good. It was served buffet-style and contained items from chicken nuggets and fries to sliced prime rib to a few Caribbean and Cuban dishes.

Our group of six (18- to 30-year-olds) -- all wanting a picture with favorite Disney characters -- was situated among the various families and couples. We patiently waited for each character to make his way to our table. Getting a hug and kiss from Eeyore was well worth the price of the lunch and remains one of my favorite memories of Disney.

If your kids are fans of Pooh and the gang, this is something they’ll love. If you are a fan, like my friends and me, and can allow yourself to take part in the excitement, I think you'll love it, too.

What I liked:
Being raised with The Muppet Show, I thoroughly enjoyed the 3-D display.

The Voyage of the Little Mermaid kept the audience’s attention, especially the mist that makes you feel part of the show.

Sunset Boulevard also had some nice shopping, with unique items we didn’t find elsewhere.

What I didn't:
We spent a few hours here the day it opened early to Disney guests. We got in line for Aerosmith’s Rock 'n' Roller Coaster before the park only opened. This was the longest wait we had our entire trip, though it was somewhat amusing. I think I was too short to enjoy this ride. I don’t even know what was going on, my face just kept slamming against the shoulder brace in various places. I do have this problem on other rides with this seating restraint. It was also a very short ride compared to the line. I didn’t think it was worth it, but my companion (about 5 inches taller than me) disagreed.

The other disappointment of the park was that The Great Movie Ride, which I had really looked forward to seeing, was closed.