Throwback Thursday: Walt Disney World-September/October 2008 - Part 1

By Nick

Back before I got on Facebook, which led to blogging, which led to Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and now Podcasting, my only form of socializing via the internet was a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) forum called Mouseowners and then The DVC News Forums.

I met a lot of wonderful people through these forums, many of whom I am still friends with, and many I wish I had met and never got an opportunity to.

While going through the DVC News Forums WDW Planning and Trip Reports page to find some information for a blog article, it was a real trip back in a time machine to see my posts, and to see friends and acquaintances comments.

I thought I'd attempt to share my reports here. Some are very lengthy, so I'll be breaking them up into multiple parts, as I did when I initially posted them.

I hope you enjoy! I was newjerseynick on the forums by the way, if you were ever on these forums.

We begin with a trip on September 27, 2008 at 1:45 AM!  I couldn't sleep and got a grand total of 3 hours. Our flight left at 710am.

We used Magical Express and got to Pop Century by 10:20am. Our room wasn't ready so we checked our bags, and headed to Animal Kingdom.



We got FPs for Everest, and went to the 11:30am Finding Nemo the Musical.

Rode Everest. Even then, motion sickness made it a once a day event for me. The backwards part is a killer.

We had ADRs at Yak and Yeti for 1:PM, but we showed up about at 12:30, and were promptly seated.

We started off with the pot stickers, which were very tasty. For our entrees, Barbie ordered the Crispy Mahi Mahi, I had 2 appetizers, the Mussels, and the Sesame Ahi Tuna. The mussels were good, but the broth they came in was phenomenal.





After lunch we rode Dinosaur twice, with no wait.
After Dinosaur, we went on Kilimanjaro Safaris. I always enjoy the safari, but on this trip we wound up being held up for about 15 minutes, in an area that had no wildlife, because a pelican was blocking the road and another vehicle up ahead. And it was in the sun. And hot.

After that ride, we decided it was time to head back to Pop and take a swim.

I called ahead on the bus ride back, and our room was ready. We got back to the hotel about 4, and we were put in the 1990s section.



We swam and relaxed till about 6, then headed to the food court for dinner. I had the Fried Chicken Special, and a couple Coronas. I had not discovered "craft beer" at that point.

Barbie had the Greek Salad and OJ.

We were in bed by 9PM, party animals that we are. 

Please stop back next Thursday for Part 2!

Evening at the resort

by Gaylin

Most of the resorts at Walt Disney World offer some kind of evening entertainment. I stay at Disney's Pop Century Resort both for the value and because I love the place. My last vacation I was in a premium room in the '60s section, overlooking the Hippy Dippy Pool.

The evening entertainment every night at 9 p.m. is a movie on the pool deck (weather permitting). I noticed a lot of families gather for the movie, I think to give there kids a chance to wind down from a sometimes overstimulating day. You can also watch the movie from the pool, if you are so inclined, like I was!

Here is the view of the pool deck from my 3rd floor room. While the soundtrack from the movie can be quite loud, it is usually over by 10:30 p.m., the pools close at 11 and time to sleep.

Walt Disney World: Getting There!

by Gaylin

Getting there after the weeks or months of planning a Walt Disney World vacation. I started planning this trip last October and my travel date was May 6-15, 2014.

It seemed like a long way away when I first booked it but I have a countdown widget and would check it every single day. Travel day arrives and after 2 flights and many hours, I am finally there!

First step in feeling like the vacation has started is the Magical Express. How lovely is it to walk through the airport, get in my first line-up with less than a 5 minute wait and about 10 minutes sitting watching cartoons before the bus pulled away. The trip to Disney's Pop Century takes about 1/2 hour and the video is fun enough that I forget to look outside when I am riding the bus.

One thing I always do is take a photo of my door number! It may seem like a silly thing but after a 14 hour theme park day, remembering that number can be difficult. I was very fortunate, with the help of a friend, I got upgraded to a room in the 1960's section of Disney's Pop Century Resort, which means a much shorter walk to and from the bus stop in the morning and evening. Again, after many hours in a park, that last little walk being shorter is wonderful.

I also got upgraded to a king-bed room. That little bit extra floor space is lovely to have and having a whole king bed to myself is decadent. I was also impressed that I remembered to take this photo before I unpacked and made a mess.

My room was on the third floor overlooking the hippie dippy pool! While it was a bit noisy in my room when the pool deck movie was playing from 9 to 10:30 p.m., it quieted down as soon as the movie was over and the pool closes at 11 p.m.

And this was my staircase of choice, I love the 4 storey high yoyo's, their only purpose is to cover the stairwells and they do a great job of it.