WDW 1/22/18 - 1/31/18

asumom

Mouseketeer
Joined
Nov 23, 2011
Recently returned from a nine night stay at POP. Stayed in a refurbished room, which was great for just my husband and I as we left the murphy bed up and had lots of room. Great storage; great shower; housekeeping was excellent; busses were very good. We came in on 1/22 and left on 1/31. We had an 8 day park hopper. This is what we accomplished with larger than expected crowds. I dreaded all the pre-planning, but so glad I did because you really needed a plan (and back-ups) to get through these crowds.

Day 1: travel day; magical express to POP; on line check in so straight to room (9456); dinner at Everything POP and then walked over to AOA and had a drink at their pool bar

Day 2: Magic Kingdom (rope drop). Nothing much to do for an hour on main street unless you like to shop. We could have got there 30 minutes later. We got a coffee and pastry at Starbucks, sat for awhile, then lined up near the rope drop to Tomorrow Land. Saw the opening show from the side; wasn't a priority for us. We toured until 3pm and did 13 attractions (Space Mountain, Haunted Mansion, It's A Small World, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train w/FP, Tom Sawyer Island, Big Thunder Mountain w/FP, Pirates, Hall of Presidents, Peter Pan w/FP, Winnie the Pooh w/FP, Little Mermaid w/FP, Dumbo w/FP, Railroad back to main street and out. Lunch was at Peco's Bill. The fajita platter is big enough for 2. After our break and dinner at POP, we went to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic w/FP, Movie Magic and Star Wars Spectacular.

Day 3: Hollywood Studios (rope drop). Toy Story Mania, Little Mermaid, Tower of Terror (FP), Beauty and the Beast, Rock n Roller Coaster (FP), Star Tours (FP), Muppets 3D, Indiana Jones (FP), March of the First Order. Left at 2:30pm for a rest at POP. In the evening, went to AK for NAVI (FP), ROL, Dinosaur and Primeval Whirl. The fast pass for ROL was down all afternoon (it wasn't showing that all fast passes were booked, just that it wasn't "available" at this time) so we went standby. Since we were able to get a NAVI fastpass at the last minute for 6:45, we arrived at ROL just about 15 minutes before starting and it was full, but they told us to wait around and they might let us in. We did get in to the standing room only section. I don't know if that's why the projections weren't as clear as Fantasmic, but we did see the show and didn't feel the need to try again another night.

Day 4: EPCOT (EMH rope drop). Soaring, Test Track (single rider), Mission Space, Nemo/The Seas. Left around 10:30am to get to MK. Country Bears, Jungle Cruise (FP), Pirates (FP), BOG for lunch, Parade, Space Mountain (FP). Back to POP around 4pm and took the night "off". If my husband didn't have a bad knee, we could have gone to Frozen, Test Track, Mission Space, Soaring and Living with the Land in that first hour of EMH....for those of you who are able to walk fast, this is do-able)

Day 5: AK (rope drop). Arrived around 8am for a 9am opening. Turn styles opened at 8:30am and we were able to get to the next rope. From there, we were walked to the FOP queue at 8:40am. We were off FOP at park opening and the walked on to NAVI. From there, we did Everest (FP), Asia Trek, Safari (FP), Gorilla Trails, FOP again (FP), Tough to be a Bug (FP), and Safari again (FP). In the evening, we went to EPCOT for dinner and then saw Illuminations with a FP. FP viewing was great, right in the middle and a sloped area so we stayed in the back and saw everything.

Day 6: Took the morning off from park touring and took the bus to MK and then the boat to Poly for Tonga Toast at Captain Cooks. Then took the bus from there to Disney Springs to look around, get sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich and pastries (to go) from Amorette's Patisserie ($8 each but totally worth it, they are delicious and look like works of art). In the evening, we went to MK, which we knew was going to be a zoo, but we had fast passes for Space Mountain, Peter Pan and Mine Train and were able to get another for Thunder Mountain. We also watched HEA fireworks and projections.

Day 7: EPCOT. Living with the Land (FP..didn't need it), Figment, Spaceship Earth (FP), Mexico Boat Ride, Frozen (FP), world showcase (saw all the films and shops), Soaring (FP), Mission Space. It was a long day, so we went back to POP for the evening and ordered a pizza.

Day 8: AK EMH Rope Drop. FOP, NAVI and Safari all done in first hour. Then over to Everest (single rider), Festival of the Lion King and Rafiki Planet Watch. Bus to AK Lodge/Kidani Village for lunch at Sanaa (had a window table, bread service is huge so we had that and shared an entrée; delicious and great service). Since we were able to get so much done with the EMH, I dumped my Fast Passes for AK and made 3 for Hollywood Studios that evening (Star Tours, Rock n Roller Coaster, TOT).

Day 9: Last day of park touring. AK for FOP FP, then bus to MK. We focused on getting all the minor attractions done that we had missed. People Mover, Buzz Lightyear (FP), Carousel of Progress, Barnstormer (FP), Muppets America Show at Hall of Presidents, Philharmagic, Carousel, Speedway (FP), Astro Orbiter, Swiss Family Treehouse, Magic Carpets (FP), Tiki Room, Haunted Mansion (FP), Tea Cups. We tried to stay to watch the fireworks again, but it was soooo cold, so we called it a night around 7pm.

Day 10: Check out day. Left luggage with Bell Hop service and took bus to Disney Springs to get food at the Earl of Sandwich for the airport. Magical Express at 2:05.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top