MASSIVE trip report - 12! days!

[Song of the South]

Cast of Characters: Me and DD2 (35 and 21 weeks gestation), DH (34), DD1 (20 months), BFF (34), BFF's DH (32), BFF's DD (26 months), DB (32), My Mom, and My Dad! Whew! That's a lot of people to crunch into a studio...I'm sure we'll be fine. It's just for 12 days. I kid, I kid!

Twas the night before vacation and all through the house...I'll stop now. You get the idea. I'm all settled in bed having packed what I can. I still need to gather toiletries and pack pillows but that has to be tomorrow. DD is snotty and coughing. I cannot tell if it is teething or allergies. She has some zyrtec on board. Hopefully that will clear everything up so we can have a lovely vacation without a visit to/from a doctor. DH just got home from work and he doesn't leave until Thursday. He is also packed but still has dishes and odds and ends around the house to do tomorrow after we leave and he goes to work.

I think this trip will most be known for the comings and goings of the various parties. DD and I join BFF's family tomorrow for one night, then DH joins us Thursday morning. My brother (DB) joins us Thursday night. My parents arrive Saturday. DB leaves Sunday. BFF's DH leaves Wednesday. My parents leave Thursday. My DH leaves Friday. Then BFF and I and the two girls leave the following Monday morning. Epic trip for sure!

I still cannot seem to get us into Akershus for breakfast. Man, I love those lingonberry muffins! I wish they sold those in Norway along with the lingonberry creamcheese. Am I hungry again? Time for a tums either way. I am really hoping something opens up.

I cannot believe this is DD and my 4th visit to Disney since January. In total between January 2012 and January 2013 I will have 6! trips. C-R-A-Z-Y. I'm still exceedingly excited though. On this trip we have the awesomeness of having Grandparents along. As a kid I always wanted to go to Disney with my grandparents. Part of the reason we bought DVC was to make sure that our kid(s!) get that opportunity.

We have a ton of moves. It didn't have to be this way. We were all neat and tidy and set with a 2 bedroom lake view at BLT. Then I had to start stalking the online vacation booker (cannot remember what it is called!) and stumbled into a night at Beach Club in a 2 bedroom with 2 queens. Perfect! Then BFF decided on her dates for traveling and I decided to join them a day early. So, we got a room at OKW. Finally, she and I and the girls are staying a weekend at Yacht Club to do some business (she and I work together so working at Disney sure beats "go to meeting" conference calls anyday!). So, 1 night OKW, 2 nights BLT, 1 night BC, 5 nights BLT, 3 nights YC. Shew! I went to the bank today to get 1s and 5s to make sure we had good baggage handling tip money for bell services folks.

Okay, alarm is set, papers printed. Time to hit the hay for a big day tomorrow...

 

[TDluvsDaisy]

Wow!! You've got a lot going on with this trip!

Hope you stop in for some reports along the way. Have a great time!

 

[Song of the South]

Please forgive the countless typos! I am on an iPad tonight. I hate autocorrect! I will edit tomorrow when DH arrives with the laptop.

We got around this morning and finished packing, dropped off the dog and cruised on over to the airport. Southwest always does a great job and today was no exception. The flight was smooth and uneventful. Since it was just dd and I managing on our own that is a very good thing! We got to our car in good time and arrived at OKW without a hitch. I was starving so we caught the boat to DTD. We wound up at Earl and I had a tasty Italian sandwich and DD had half a PBJ. After that we wandered down the block a bit and decided we also NEEDED to split a banana hot fudge sundae at Ghirradeli. Yummy! DD must not be feeling well though because she only had one bite. My girl loves ice cream so I knew something was up. We took the boat back to OKW and changed into our bathing suits for some swimming fun. DD loves to swim and wore herself out. We showered back at the room (I was hurrying and was hot and sweaty from the days events so I didn't really think about the lack of hot water or process that that was what was going on!) and met BFF and her crew for a late dinner at Olivia's. I had the shrimp poboy and it was delicious. I didn't care for the key lime tart but that's ok. Now I know. We wandered back to the room and discovered no hot water (duh!) for BFF's family who needed to shower from their hot day at MK. Boo. Since we are only here the one night there is nothing to be done for us but I called maintenance so hopefully the next people won't have the ugly reality of a cold shower or nothing! Tomorrow's wake up call will be here soon. This is my first stay at OKW and despite the lack of warm water I really, really like it. We are in building 24 and it is super easy to walk to the boat and pool and I noticed the bus stop right there too. I would definitely stay here again!

 

[Goofy442]

Great start, my DH refuses to move where ever we land is where we stay. He just wants to kick back and relax.

 

[Song of the South]

My roommates were up with the roosters! So, I was too. I got DD dressed and we were cleaned up, room picked up, bags packed up, and out the door by 8am. It made tomorrow's EMH AM hours at DHS seem possible! We were going to take our Main St. cinnamon roll and last nights leftover yogurt over to Goods To Go to get an egg or two and a cup of coffee to go with but I put the stroller into the trunk. So, I decided to go over to BLT to try to check in.

It took 32 minutes. I was the first and only person in line. It was an amazing experience to know more about BLT and DVC then the person checking me in. The folks behind me needed to leave their OL for pick up and the check-in person was borderline rude to them, "What is that?" and basically when asked to call bell services to retrieve it had to be asked twice because after the first request she said, "You have to take that to the Contemporary for bell services." When she placed the call she said, "These people left this big purple box and said you would come get it." It was amusing. Also amusing having to point out that the paperwork she put in my folder and the car permission slip weren't actually me or anyone in my party--"That's not us." I'm hoping, for her sake, that things improve efficicency and knowledgewise very quickly. Suffice it to say, our room was not ready. I will say she called me just as we were leaving to check because I had requested even number, high floor and she said they couldn't do that. Just one or the other. I went with even number for the extra room.

I will confess to being an occasional eye roller when reading all the, "*I'm* the DVC member and the reservation was under Uncle Steve's name!" complaints. But, I totally get it now. I even laughed at myself over it! I would like to know though why I know a computer glitch results in random lead name selection but security and front desk people don't seem to. When I pulled up at BLT I gave my name, the guard checked the list and I wasn't on it. He just said, "You aren't on the list." I said, "Could it be under a different name?" He said, "Whose name would it be under?" I said, "Someone else on my reservation? Banker? Miller? Potter? Planter?" On the final name he said, "Planter? First name?" I gave it. He said, "Who is that?" I said, "My Dad. My guest." Pretty much the same thing happened at the front desk at OKW and BLT. The annoying parts? Calling and being called by Mrs. Planter even when I answer the who question with, "name on the reservation or my name"? Also, being sort of scoffed at, treated like I'm making up names to get a room. Oooh. I should try that some time!

So, DD and I left BLT and headed over to Poly for breakfast. But I missed the turn. So I decided to head out of the World at head for the Publix to get that shopping taken care of. We wound up eating at IHOP. It was terrible. Truly. We shopped at the Super Target instead of Publix because DD was complaining as we were driving about her eyes. So, I figured ST was more likely to have infant sunglasses then Publix. We picked up snacks and good breakfast choices and headed back to BLT.

We dropped ther perishables off with bell services and headed out to the pool for a swim. Then I realized DD wouldn't be able to put sunscreen on my back. I got a little burned but it was so worth it! She loves to swim and especially is fond of jumping in. She hadn't done a water slide before. The BLT little water slide was perfect! To begin with I stood at the end and set her about a foot and a half up the slide and let her slide into my arms. She loved it, "More! More! More!" By the time DH arrived 45 minutes later, fresh off ME, she was ready for him to help her climb the steps and slide all the way down it into my waiting arms. She giggled and cheered. It was absolutely awesome!

We met up with BFF and her crew and headed over to Poly. We had a slight delay when we were rushed around getting on the monorail and then there wasn't room for us. Cool. We waited for the next one and had learned to barrel through rather than assume people were going to wait their turn. Silliness!

We ate at Captain Cook's. It was good. I had a grilled cheese and soup. DH had the kahlua pork. We both thought it was good but needed some sort of sauce. We poked around Polynesian for a little while and I phoned to see if I had missed the text since I had no phone reception in Poly. Nope, no text, room not ready.

We hemmed and hawed over what to do as we were all tired, tired and need naps. Finally, we decided to split up. Just as we arrived at the monorail to go over to MK I got the text that our room was ready! Yahoo! Saved at the last moment! BFF and her crew were waiting at the monorail stop as well so I let them know the good news. It was 2:30pm. We were all fast asleep by 2:45pm. Heaven!

I woke up around 5pm and called bell services for the refrigerated/frozen foods. My brother texted he was on the bus. It started pouring rain. We watched the rain come down and come down. Around 6:30pm my brother arrived and we set about trying to figure out dinner plans. BFF and her crew decided on Epcot. DB had not bought his park tickets yet and didn't want to "waste" a day by going to eat in a park. So we got left by the boat and decided to drive our to Wilderness Lodge to check out the new menu at Whispering Canyon. They were able to seat us within about 40 minutes which for not having an ADR during free dining we felt was reasonable.

Whispering Canyone was okay. We have TIW and I told the waiteress this up front (as I usually do). I'm not saying that was why parties in our section who were seated after us were finished and long gone before we were because of the loooonnnngggg delays getting food and drinks and such but it has made me wonder before. Overall, it was okay. Whatever smoke seasoning they use burns my eyes terribly I found out about 10 minutes after being seated. The food was pretty good. I might consider going back one day.

After dinner (which took over 2 hours!) we headed back to the room and settled in for the night hoping to make EMH at DHS. DH and I are not particuarly morning people and have never on any of our trips made a rope drop let alone an early one. We'll see what happens!
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So we are in room 7444 which has a lovely, lovely lake view. I love our room! It feels big enough for all of us which I was worried about. I love the master shower!!! I want a ceiling mount rain head but I guess settling for a few weeks a year having one on vacation is okay too. Also, the third bathroom I thought was going to be way overkill but it is awesome. I highly, highly recommend the dedicated 2 bedroom unit at BLT. Next time though we might just do standard view. I am not disappointed that we cannot see the castle (because I never really expected we would) but if we were one floor lower our view would be essentially the same and the points would be fewer!

 

[mlittig]

Looking forward to more reports

 

[Song of the South]

Well, we made it! We were up at o'early thirty and were in line for DHS EMH opening before rope drop. For DH and I this was our first EMH AM and first rope drop. I'm skeptical we will do it again! We were in the park by 8:08am and grabbed fast passed for TSMM for 9:40am. DD and I sat and waited as DH and DB rode Star Tours twice. Then we all enjoyed
Muppets and then we rode Toy Story. I'm sure you are thinking that that is just pitiful touring but with a potty trained 20 month old and a pregnant me, well, we did 6 bathroom runs during that time too. That is pretty much how we expected things to be so we weren't shocked out our lack of riding.

Can I just say, like thousands of other fans, I LOVE Toy Story Midway Mania? I do! I love it! I think it is possibly the best execution of theme ride. I know, lots of people are going to say that Buzz's ride over at MK is just as good but I don't think so. (I'm pretty much video game illiterate and I cannot figure out how/where/what/when of aiming and shooting the buzz ride. I like that TSMM it is pretty clear which plate/dart/ball etc is yours. I love it!

After TSMM we went to pull fastpasses for DH and DB to ride Tower of Terror. Mission accomplished we headed to Rockin' Roller Coaster for DB could ride single rider. At that point BFF and her crew showed up and they all got to ride ToT together. We ate a quick bite in the little food court there. We left the park, picking up our MNSSHP tickets on the way out the door. We were back at BLT in the pool by 12:30ish.

We swam for about 40 minutes (DD again was googoo for the bitty water slide which was so awesome!) and then took naps.

After naptime we dressed in our costumes--DD was dumbo (she just sat on her costume in the stroller cause it is a warm one and at 85 degrees it just seemed cruel), DH was the red coated ring master, and I had on a Timothy Mouse t-shirt proclaiming our new attraction--and headed over to MK. We had ADRs for Plaza which we enjoyed. I now know I prefer to sit in the restaurant proper and not in the glass solarium part. Way over stimulating when full of people and small children and fans and parades.

Following dinner we headed to Tomorrowland so DB and BFF's DH could ride Space Mountain. The rest of us used the restroom and went through a treat line. We all rode People Mover. Then we did some more treat trails. DH, DD, and I rode Dumbo (love the new play area and how they are using pagers! Hate the play area at Winnie the Pooh because you cannot be in line and supervising your child. I think this is an awesome solution!!!) and did a third and final treat trail of the night. We saw Philharmagic to escape the heat. Then we walked over to Haunted Mansion but it was packed. The sign said 10 minutes but the line was out the queing area and not moving so I disbelieved and declined. We sat for a minute on a bench near Liberty Square and decided to split up because DH and I wanted to see the fireworks and BFF and her crew did not want to. We walked through Adventure? Land and out to right in front of the castle where we waited 6 minutes and then saw the spectacular Hallowishes show. We then grabbed a spot on the curb to wait for the 2nd parade.

I thought the 2nd parade started at 10. Although I was hot, tired, hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable, I figured I could make it 15-20 minutes until the parade began. Then I found out it wasn't until 10:30. I was just too tired to be able to stay and watch it. I actually cried big, wet tears all the way down mainstreet (laughing at myself the whole way!) over wanting to stay and see the parade but being too tired and hot. If it had been cooler I'm sure it wouldn't have been an issue but pregnancy and heat just doesn't go well together. It is also the reason that while we really love Disney we will never ever move here. As we were walking out lo and behold there is BFF and her crew. Their DD had a fireworks induced meltdown and they decided to leave. They didn't want to bother my parents (who had arrived around 8:45pm and were in the room sleeping) so they were waiting for us so there would only be one disruption. How sweet!

Air conditioning, passion tea, and cool ranch doritos were never better. Hopefully a good nights rest will help everyone feel better. Oh, but there is no rest for the weary! We have 8am Akershus ADRS in the morning which means being up and out again by 7am. Yahoo! After breakfast the only things we have to do are pack up and check out and then go lay by the pool at Beach Club. Rest. Relax. Hopefully!
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I feel like I need to stress that we are not commando folks. Dumbo or Die? No thank you! Today was rough. The rest of this trip should not be nearly this packed.

Also, this was our first MNSSHP. I'm not sure after this year we will do it again. Maybe I really should have been crying over missing the wonderful, awesome, spooky, Halloween parade. Overall though? The park was crowded. We prefer going to MK on light attendance days where people are more spread out. We didn't ride very many rides, the treat trails were okay but, for me, lacked the "magic" of real trick or treating (I don't think this was a MK issue, I do think it is my issue and I'm not sure I can even think of a way to make it less assembly line begging and more "Halloween".), and the fireworks were great but not solely worth the price of 2 adult admissions. I'll have more time to analyze and appreciate (hopefully! I really want to love this!) because we will be back next Thursday night. Hopefully better rested!!!

 

[Song of the South]

Also, I am learning that WDW with one other adult and kids is okay. Two other adults and kids, fine. But toss in that 4th, 5th, + adult? Too many opinions, "have" to rides, and conflicting ideas about when and how things should be done. Still having a good time but learning along the way. Small group is a much less stressful experience for park seeing. Can we implement what we have learned now for the rest of the trip? I'm gonna venture to say, "doubtful." We like the idea of being together too much even when that is impossible! Maybe by day 11.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

I'm enjoying your trip report so far. Sounds a little stressful though with all that resort moving and all those people involved. We were just at AKL and my son adored the tiny water slide at the Kidani pool.. Anyone know, is the Kidani little slide similar to the BLT little slide?

 

[Checkers]

We will be there soon and your TR is making me even more excited! Thanks for taking the time to share and enjoy the rest of your vacation!

 

[dvc at last !]

I am enjoying reading your TR.
How is the weather and how are the crowds ?
I also love OKW !

 

[Song of the South]

We were up and about early again to be at Akershus for 8 am reservations. *Breakfast was good and the girls participated in the princess procession for the first time. *That was neat to see. *I will admit to being a little choked up watching my 19 month old baby walk away and out of sight holding Snow White and her BFF's hands. *Very sweet and very independent. *

After breakfast Dh, dd, my mom and my dad went to ride soarin and rides. *BFF, db, and I went to checkout of BLT. *It went smoothly and everything eventually arrived over at BCV. *At 11 we checked in to BCV. *Room wasn't ready and we called our Epcot fun folks to meet us for lunch at beaches and cream. *BFF and her family were doing there own thing and checking into SaratogamSpirngs. *

Lunch was good but our service was terrible. *Again, she prefaced taking drink orders with, You have TIW. *I just cannot help but correlate the bad service we have had w the waitperson knowing we were TIW. *It is probabably coincidence- I think I am going to have to arrange a double blind trial. *The grilled cheese and soup were just as awesome as I remembered. *Which was really lovely. *You know how sometimes things become so fantastic on your mind that we you experience them again they couldn't possibly live up to your imagination. *That didn't happen here. *Yay.

I took my dad back to BLT to put his parking pass in the windshield and get their suitcase from the car. *We returned and changed into swimsuits. *Love stormalong, *Dd was just as crazy about the bumpy water slide as the on at BLT. *So much fun! *Our room was ready around 2;45 and we tucked in for naps. *

Dinner was at kouzzina and the food was great, the service was good. *The hour and 45 minute wait? *Terrible!
---------------------------
So the laptop mouse is not working so typo filled iPad reports will have to do. So sorry!

 

[Song of the South]

I fixed the laptop by cleaning the 1/4" of dust from between the battery and the mouse pad. Shew! I hate typing on the ipad!
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I missed the part on Friday where DB is whistled at and causes the lifeguard to jump into the pool to "rescue" him as he is perfectly fine but floating face down, in the BLT 3 foot deep feature pool. Yeah. Awesome.

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Sunday morning the plan changed 4? 5? 6? or more times before we left the room. I just resigned myself to the chaos and went with it. Originally, this was our Epcot/Food and Wine day- Epcot was the recommended park (or at least the "not as terrible as it is going to be!") and we were staying at Beach Club both for the pool and the simple Epcot access. DB wanted to ride Everest. Also, we wanted to ride Space Mountain. And Soarin. And maybe go back RnR too. Sigh. In the "real" world it would be possible to do 4 things one wanted to do in a day typically. But at Disney? 4 parks? 9am+ start time? NO WAY.

Finally, it was agreed that everyone but Dh, DD, and I would head over to Epcot and ride Soaring. They would grab a baby swap card so that after bell services came we could head over and ride. Our part of the plan went off without a hitch. We were out of the room by 9:30am and headed over to Epcot. On our way my Dad calls to say he is on the way to the car to look and see if his park pass is in his computer bag in the trunk. We decide to wait at the Epcot entrance for him. One thing you need to know about my Dad is that as an ex-military guy there are certain quirks about neatness and tidyness (including keeping your gear together) that he is absolutely fastidious about. In fact, I'm not sure since I have been alive that he has lost anything. He called to say it wasn't in his computer bag. I said not to worry they could issue him a new one. There commenced an hilarious 5 way conversation that went something like this: Epcot guest relations lady (ECRL): What are the numbers on the back of the pass? Me: He doesn't have the pass but my Mom has hers from the same purchase. ECRL: That will be fine. I need all the numbers in the lower right hand corner. Me: I proceed to text my brother who is at Soarin with my Mother for the numbers in the lower right hand corner. DB: Texts back the numbers. ECRL: No, those are the numbers from the upper left corner. Me: Text DB- I need all the numbers in the lower right hand corner. DB: Texts back some of the numbers. ECRL: There are 5 more numbers. Me: I need all the numbers in the lower right hand corner. DB: Finally sends back a picture of the ticket (with totally different numbers then any of the texts). ECRL: That's it! She issues Dad a new ticket. He has stopped foaming at the mouth and cursing at himself silently.

What ECRL doesn't tell us is that she didn't issue Dad a new ticket. She just reissued Mom's ticket. This increses the fun later on!

So, Dad, DH, and I go ride Soarin and then we all head over to MK for lunch and rides. DH, DB, Dad, and I all get into MK without a problem. Mom's ticket though won't work and she has to go to guest relations to find out what the issue is. There is a long line at GR because of the Halloween party ticket pickup (I assume) so we all wait. Dad starts foaming and fist clenching and Mom gets her ticket straightened out and then gets to tease Dad about his "loose gear adrift" and "being responsible with his things" and "this is why we don't have nice things because you lose them." We laugh. I reassure Dad (who is totally unfamiliar with the fact that losing things isn't the end of the world!) that it is okay.

Columbia Harbor House does not disappoint. I have the lobster roll and so does everyone else except DB who got the lighthouse sandwich (he was suprised there wasn't fish or chicken on it which I thought was really funny) and DH who ate the chicken nuggets. DD had the mac'n'cheese and grapes and applesauce and devoured every bite. It was nice to sit in the cold and dark and recouperate from the heat.

I guess BFF and her crew stopped in while I was waiting in line. I didn't see them but everyone else did. We were all wearing our matching tie dye Mickey shirts and BFF and I wanted to get a big group picture. It never happened. Oh, well. After lunch DB and Dad headed over to Space Mountain and while DH, DD, and Mom and I headed to through Fantasyland to meet up with them when they were done. We pulled some Peter Pan FP for 3:15. Sweet!

When DB called that they were done we decided to meet them at Laugh Factory. My Dad was chosen as one of the participants. It was pretty funny. We love Laugh Factory! As DH says it is absolutely Disney Magic that makes it work.

After Laugh Factory, DB suggests heading to AK to ride Everest and Safari. DH, DD, and I decline. Mom and Dad join him and off they go. We head back to Fantasyland to use 2 breakdown FP I was given on Wednesday (Dh and I are FP givers when we can't/won't use ours so it was so nice to have the gift returned!). We decide to ride Winnie the Pooh. DD seems to enjoy it.

By now we are hot and tired at it is 2:40. We stop at the bathroom and head over to Peterpan. DH and I are discussing whether to wait around for 3:15 or head to BLT for naps. I ask the FP person if we could possibly get on early. He says we are too early and to stand "over there". So we do. Another castmember asks us why we are standing there. I explain that I am not into child torture and we were deciding whether the 10 more minute wait was acceptable or not. This castmember says to the FP person to let us in. The FP Person objects. Castmember says that it is his call to make and to let us in. Yikes! Didn't mean/want to stir up workplace drama! FP person tells us that he supposed since the castmember said it was okay to go ahead. So we do. There is still a wait and we are kicking ourselves for not leaving but do enjoy Peterpan once we are on it.

Since the castle route is blocked we leave via Liberty Square but there is a parade so the only crossing is down between Liberty Square and Frontierland. We realize this route will go right by Aloha Isle. Despite the heat, fatigue, and the lure of naptime we stop and enjoy dolewhips.

DH buys me my first Mickey head balloon on Main Street as we are leaving. So sweet! DD is terribly excited too. We hoof it over to BLT and check in. It is 4pm by now and our room is ready. This time we are on the north tower (which is awesome to be away from the boat horns!) and have a bit of a castle view from the balcony. We immediately hit the hay after cool showers.

Around 5pm Mom, Dad, and DB return. They accomplished their mission of Everest and Safari. They crash out for naps.

At 6:45 Dad, DB, and DH set out to retrieve our rental car from BC. It doesn't go well. None of them have ever driven here and my directions to follow the signs for "Epcot Area Resorts" are spectacularly unhelpful without the "follow the signs for 4 to leave the MK" bit. Oh, well. By 7:30pm we are all loaded in the right cars to go to dinner off campus amid pouring rain.

We ate at Uno's which is one of my favorite pizza places. Yummy! We don't have one where we live so I have it every chance I get. Mom and Dad leave from there to take DB to the airport so he can be in Palm Beach for work on Monday morning. DH, DD, and I head over to Downtown Disney so I can scratch the chocolate covered yummy itch I have been having and we can get DD a Mr. Potatohead.

We had not been to Goofy's Kitchen before. Oh. My. Goodness. The chocolate covered insanity! We had marshmallows and pretzels (and still are enjoying some today it was so plentiful!) created and bought a premaid chocolate covered strawberry (Oh. Wow!) and a cake pop for DD. We were buzzing on sugar that is for sure!

DD was really excited about the potato pieces (this morning when she woke up and got to play with them she was ecstatic! "Grampa help me, nose!") which was neat to see. We returned to BLT and slept hard.

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DisneyRegulars- I read your trip reports! My DD potty trained in August. We were also nervous about the loud noises (she doesn't like hand dryers or autoflushers) and distractions that might cause unhappiness and/or accidents. So far things are going okay. She has had a few accidents (3 in about an hour the night we were waiting at Kouzinna as she drank 12oz of water in about 30 minutes) but we pack extra shorts and panties in her bag each morning so no worries. You gave my hope that we could do this and we are!

 

[Song of the South]

Monday- Day 6- Epcot's 30th Anniversary!

Finally, we all get enough sleep! We enjoy breakfast together and then head over to Epcot. It is crowded but I keep reminding myself that the crowd is only going to get bigger as we are here. We collect our 30th Anniversary buttons and head over to Future World. Since we all rode Soarin' yesterday we head for Nemo. Nemo has an astounding 20 minute wait but isn't even up to the building yet. I had no intention of waiting in the sun so we headed in the other door for Turtle Talk with Crush. DH loves this "ride". It was DD's first time and she behaved but clearly did not care at all. By the last few minutes she was bored enough to be asking to go to the potty.

After our bathroom stop we checked back with Nemo and the wait was up to 30 minutes. We declined again to wait outside in the sun. We headed for Figment. Even Figment had a wait although it was only 10 minutes.

(Right now DD is running laps around the kitchen island saying, "toys" over and over. It is clear she is tired! Soon it will be naps for all!)

After the ride we headed to the World Showcase for some Food and Wine bites. The 4 adults split greek cheese, spanikopita, mushroom filet with truffle butter, chicken sausage with grits (polenta), and beer cheese soup. I spilled the beer cheese soup all over DD when she asked for a bite. Awesome. We then had a Ploughman's plate from Ireland, a beligan waffle, beligian truffle, and a chocolate crepe. My Mom and Dad volunteered to take DD back to the room so DH and I could go a little further around the showcases. We headed over to America where I enjoyed a perfect lobster roll and a few sips of the chocolate stout. YUM. We continued over to Germany and bought some caramel corn and a carmel apple. So fabulous as always!

By this time it was hot, hot and humid! I was really tired and did I mention hot? I have this bad habit of forgetting to add in the time back to the car/monorail/hotel in my fatigue meter. We should have left with my parents to have the energy and constitution to make it back to the room. DH stopped to get a Hawaiian pork slider. I sat in the shade and wilted. Then we limped to the entrance.

En route we decided to take the bus back to the room rather than the monorail so we waddled over to the bus stops and discovered there was no bus to Contemporary/BLT. Awesome. We saw the cabs and decided to spend the $10 (we guessed) to go the short distance to BLT. Although we took a wrong turn which added a dollar to our fare, which was $15 total, I vascillate between thinking that is a huge sum of money for such a short trip (although it is 7 miles) and that it was worth every penny to sit in the air conditioning!

We napped. It was great. Then we swam and had 2 "whose on the first" type passings in the elevators with various group members. We rushed back to the room to change into real clothes to have BFF and her crew over for spaghetti. Mom boiled the sauce over in the oven which results in lots of smoke including the alarm going off. She said she would set the auto clean on the oven. We all said no, to wait until we were checking out. She did it anyway. Good thing we had sat and visited after she and Dad had gone into bed because we look over and the oven (inside) is on fire. Awesome. We turn off the selfclean, leave the oven door shut, let them know about the situation and head over to MK for evening EMH. (Everything in here still reeks of cooking smoke. Gross.)

We are just in time for the fireworks. We love fireworks! Oh, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Dh wants to stop and get cards for the Keys game so we do. Then we watch fireworks. We decide to play some while waiting for BFF (her DD is frightened of fireworks so they went to the Contemporary to shop instead) and although it isn't my "thing," it is a good time. We head over to Sleepy Hollow for a fruit topped waffle. DH and I don't really like hazelnut so nutella isn't our thing (more for everyone else!) so I ask for the fruit topped waffle with whipped cream instead of nutella. Then I order a cup of vanilla ice cream. Yep. I did it! I upended that cup of ice cream right on top of our waffle. SOOOOOO delicious! MMMMM.

We sat and watched the Electric Light Parade from our choice Sleepy Hollow seats. Afterward we met BFF at Aloha Isle and then all rode Pirates together. By then we were ready to call it a night and headed back to BLT. The monorail was down/done? so we hoofed it. I was very glad then we didn't try for "just one more ride". Learning! Yes! We are learning! Back at the ranch we tucked in for our beauty rest.
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I was surprised there wasn't more "celebration" for Epcot's 30th. I would think if it was MK's 30th there would be fanfare and much commotion. For Epcot? A speech by Epcot's Vice President, buttons, and special fireworks was all. Food and Wine seemed to be much more of the focus. Poor Epcot, MK's ugly step-sister.

 

[DisneyRegulars]

DisneyRegulars- I read your trip reports! My DD potty trained in August. We were also nervous about the loud noises (she doesn't like hand dryers or autoflushers) and distractions that might cause unhappiness and/or accidents. So far things are going okay. She has had a few accidents (3 in about an hour the night we were waiting at Kouzinna as she drank 12oz of water in about 30 minutes) but we pack extra shorts and panties in her bag each morning so no worries. You gave my hope that we could do this and we are!

So happy things are going great for you! Your DD is almost a year younger than my son so she's doing really really awesome. At that age my boy still had his man part confused with his belly button

We continually learn what works for us on each trip too. Epcot was so hot when we were there, I always wish there was more shade in the World Showcase. I can only imagine how tired/hot/tired/hot you were leaving that day, i think i would have taken a cab too in your situation.

 

[Song of the South]

Tuesday

We woke up and got around. Mom and Dad went for a ride on the monorail and went to MK. They were getting off the the train at MK as we were arriving. We got them started on the Keys game (My apologies if that is not actually the name of the game. While I think it is neat it is not my "thing" so I haven't paid much attention to the finer details like what it is called. ) despite Mom's initial resistance to the idea. DH decided that we would show them how to start and then do our own Main Street adventure. Predictably that exactly what happened. They did theirs and we did ours and then we headed over to Adventureland.

We pulled Jungle Cruise fastpasses, ate a dole whip float (my Mom is now a believer!), thought about riding Pirates but ate lunch at Tortuga Tavern instead. It was okay. Taco Bell is tastier but TT was more convienent! After lunch we had time to walk onto Pirates (DD sat with Grandma and Grandpa which was so sweet!) before walking on (via Fastpass) the Jungle Cruise. We split up at that point and Mom and Dad headed to Big Thunder Mountain (they rode twice in a row!) and we headed to Haunted Mansion. We went to the right (still haven't seen the cemetery) and waited just a few minutes before beginning. We debated riding another ride but decided nap time at 2:30pm would be even better.

We napped well and then watched it rain. We jumped in the car and headed over to Raglan Road. We got lost on the way (I just kept reminding myself that Disney doesn't want people to drive!) but made it eventually. Sorry, folks. Raglan Road came highly recommended on dining boards but we won't be back. It was TERRIBLE. I started with the garlic shrimp which were so spicy hot as to be inedible. I ordered the fish and chips for dinner and the fish was so over cooked it wouldn't flake. It was some of the worst fish and chips I have ever had. The music and dancing began as we were leaving. Our girls enjoyed dancing around but there really wasn't a place for them that I felt was safe from being in the way of other diners and waitstaff. Just as we were leaving the dancer came over and said if we would stay she would dance with the girls. It was too late and we left anyway.

We drove DH over to Ghiradelli to pick up 3 hot fudge sundaes (we had bananas back at the room). Instead of going in the ice cream parlor door he went in the chocolate sales door. He wound up buying a hot fudge milk shake and a jar of hot fudge for $18 jaw dropping dollars. As he was waiting for the milk shake he discovered the ice cream shop and ordered 6 scoops of ice cream for another huge chunk of change. We did get 2 sets of desserts out of the purchases and will be having hot fudge and bananas and apples several more times on this vacation. But 3 hot fudge sundaes would have been about $15. Oh, well, live and learn!

We snuggled into bed and were just about asleep when the blaring music from boat parade started. After moments of disorientation we located the noise and went back to sleep. Precious, precious sleep!

 

[DisneyRegulars]

We jumped in the car and headed over to Raglan Road. We got lost on the way (I just kept reminding myself that Disney doesn't want people to drive!) but made it eventually.

We've been to Disney a bazillion times and we never fail to get lost at least once on each trip. On our July Anniversary trip we somehow ended up at Downtown Disney when we really wanted to go to BWV, we accidentally ended up back at the MK before finally making our way to BWV. They really really don't want you driving!

 

[Song of the South]

Wednesday

With the logic that only can be described as "group think" instead of using the unusually cool and windy weather to see something we used it to swim in a very cold pool. Yep. We swam in the morning. It was fun but cool if not cold. We thought rain was coming but it didn't materialize.

We went to Earl of Sandwich for lunch and then back to the room for naps.

The plan was to head over to DHS for a ride or two, dinner, and Fantasmic! We didn't get to DHS in time for any rides but were able to be seated rather early for our reservation at Mama Melrose's. I know there are lots of MM haters but we really like it and have always had good food and good service there. We started with the tomato/mozzerella (we call it Caprese where I'm from) dish and the antipasto platter. DH and I shared the Chicken Campanelle. Lovely, lovely! I didn't have any dessert, opting for the traditional post Movie Ride churro instead.

Then I slogged through the rain over to Fantasmic while DH, Mom, and Dad rode Star Tours. I then sat and waited on the bench for them...in the rain. Then we watched Fantasmic in the rain. Then we walked out of DHS and went over to the rail to wait for traffic to die down and watch the Epcot fireworks.

Back at the ranch we turned on the debate (cause who doesn't love a good dose of politics on vacation?!?) and watched. Then we realized our 7:55am Kona Cafe reservations were going to come mighty early once we walked back the time we would need to leave by and getting dressed it turned to be early, early.

 

[Song of the South]

Well, we made it! It was early! We were so disappointed in our last Kona experience that I was really, really leery that this would be a not positive "happy vacation" send off for my Mom and Dad whose vacation got cut short by a wedding invitation acceptance. But we had good service and good food. I had the macadamia-pineapple pancakes with ham. Yummy!

And then there were 2. Just BFF and her DD with my little family. Tomorrow DH leaves for home leaving just BFF and the two girls for the weekend (and another move! Yahoo!).

After breakfast DD and I came back to the room and napped until after noon! It was great! We got up and had a few bites of snacks and got ready to go to DH's Harmony Barbershop haircut. Dh's job has pretty specific grooming requirements and he was unable to get into his barber pre-trip and he returns to work Saturday so he decided to try out MK's haircuttery. Just moments before we walked out the door DD-to-be shifted around and I lost my lunch. So, DH went to his magical grooming by himself. DD and I played and watched television.

When he got back he took DD swimming and I took a nap. What a great day! TWO naps! After swimming and naps we dressed and headed over to MK for our dinner ADR (ha! 4:15pm!) and MNSSHP Part II.

Well...all day the weather fluctuated between 100% chance of rain from 4pm-6pm (this mornings forecast) to 55% chance of rain from 4pm-midnight with variations pretty much every 15 minutes. We weren't scared! Our tickets were rain or shine so we figured that meant that even in rain the show must go on! We ate dinner and watched the dark clouds and lightening roll in. We waited for the rain to clear at the restaurant. We waited some more. We waited some more. Radar showed essentially circling clouds parked over us. Awesome! The girls did a great job waiting. Finally, we headed towards Guest Relations to see what our options were (we had been told that there would be no parade or treat trails in the lightening). Guest Relations was a madhouse! For professional line developers Disney certainly was not on the ball tonight. In the rain, up the stairs, people pushing and not queing up properly to get in the Guest Relations door.

So, we decided to head back to Sleepy Hollow to wait for a parade. BFF bought a nutella waffle which we shared a few bites on. The rain and lightening continued and none of the cast members seemed to know what was going on or when. That was okay! We were going to see a special parade! What fun! Then the announcement (garbled and unintelligible as it was) came on saying that the parade had been delayed. And delayed. And delayed. So we headed back up front again all the while debating whether getting in the GR line was "worth" it. The line, by then, had backed up into the square and almost to the other side. Still just a writhing mass of folks on the steps. It just didn't seem reasonable or safe. So, I asked one of the exit CM if the concierge at my hotel could help me. He assured me that the concierge could and said, "But don't leave! The parade is going to start in 10 minutes according to my supervisor!" We thought it over and said, "but we thought there would be no special events while it was lightening." He agreed but said 10 minutes according to supervisor. So, we headed to find a spot figuring another 10 minutes of wet wouldn't hurt anything. We really did want to see the parade. At minute 6 of 10 big chain lightening filled the sky and we decided we were "all done".

We went over to Contemporary's concierge and had no issues getting the situation resolved. The line was neat and orderly--we were the 2nd people in line. The concierge was polite and prompt. To be clear--we were happy to see special Halloween things in the rain and were very willing but it isn't a special party if the special things are canceled by Disney.

Back at the room we order some room service bites and hang out watching the girls "hide" in the curtains being so glad to be out of the rain and lightening. We throw in some laundry and discuss our moving strategy for tomorrow. We come to no firm conclusions. We ask DH what he wants to do for his last day. He doesn't really know. So, we will see what tomorrow brings!

--------------------
After the heat this September I don't think we will be back for vacation during this time period. So, I think we are all done with Mickey's Halloween Party. I am not sure it got a fair shake given the extraordinary (perhaps?) heat we experienced Friday night and the lack of anything due to the lightening tonight. BFF and I are taking a "girl's only" weekend in early December and will be attending a Christmas Party. Maybe it will be more up our alley.

 

[iuki]

[

Well...all day the weather fluctuated between 100% chance of rain from 4pm-6pm (this mornings forecast) to 55% chance of rain from 4pm-midnight with variations pretty much every 15 minutes. We weren't scared! Our tickets were rain or shine so we figured that meant that even in rain the show must go on! We ate dinner and watched the dark clouds and lightening roll in. We waited for the rain to clear at the restaurant. We waited some more. We waited some more. Radar showed essentially circling clouds parked over us. Awesome! The girls did a great job waiting. Finally, we headed towards Guest Relations to see what our options were (we had been told that there would be no parade or treat trails in the lightening). Guest Relations was a madhouse! For professional line developers Disney certainly was not on the ball tonight. In the rain, up the stairs, people pushing and not queing up properly to get in the Guest Relations door.

So, we decided to head back to Sleepy Hollow to wait for a parade. BFF bought a nutella waffle which we shared a few bites on. The rain and lightening continued and none of the cast members seemed to know what was going on or when. That was okay! We were going to see a special parade! What fun! Then the announcement (garbled and unintelligible as it was) came on saying that the parade had been delayed. And delayed. And delayed. So we headed back up front again all the while debating whether getting in the GR line was "worth" it. The line, by then, had backed up into the square and almost to the other side. Still just a writhing mass of folks on the steps. It just didn't seem reasonable or safe. So, I asked one of the exit CM if the concierge at my hotel could help me. He assured me that the concierge could and said, "But don't leave! The parade is going to start in 10 minutes according to my supervisor!" We thought it over and said, "but we thought there would be no special events while it was lightening." He agreed but said 10 minutes according to supervisor. So, we headed to find a spot figuring another 10 minutes of wet wouldn't hurt anything. We really did want to see the parade. At minute 6 of 10 big chain lightening filled the sky and we decided we were "all done".

We went over to Contemporary's concierge and had no issues getting the situation resolved. The line was neat and orderly--we were the 2nd people in line. The concierge was polite and prompt. To be clear--we were happy to see special Halloween things in the rain and were very willing but it isn't a special party if the special things are canceled by Disney.

My DH stood in line for about an hour and barely moved with people cutting in line. Someone in line asked if this could be taken care of back at the resort. The CM said that the ONLY place the refund/credit could be done was at the GR at City Hall. After standing in a lightening storm for an hour (with thoughts of the storm in Indiana), we gave up and went home. We too are done with the special parties. Although Disney has no control over the weather, they could have just said that the tickets could be used at another time or taken care of at the resorts. Considering the weather possibilities in Florida, Disney should already have had a backup plan in place.