"It's Fast! It's a Blast! It's in the Past!" - A Nov Solo Trip - The Finale

Edited to add: My previous entry was WRONG; I didn't take the bus to YC this day, I took it the next day. This day, I waited at the BWV bus stop. I now continue with my previously recorded TR.

Once at BWV, I went to my room, admired my ears (along with everyone else, who were watching them change colors - I had several people comment on how cool they were), and changed into a sweater, jacket, and gloves. Yes, folks, it was that cold.

I then walked over to the Swolphin to catch a boat to DHS!



It didn't take long to get over there, but a boat was leaving right before I got there. The chilly wind was pretty awful, but I knew I'd be glad I went so I tightened up my GWTS ears so they didn't blow off and waited.





I was so grateful to get on a boat.

And then I was here!



You could tell how cold everyone was; I felt nice and toasty warm, mostly because of my gloves. I was so glad I'd had the forethought to bring them!

I journeyed through the park and finally got to the Osborne lights. I heard a lot of comments on my ears, and also ended up seeing quite a few of them as well. One CM asked me if I was ok as I approached her; she then said I looked a bit light headed. :laughing:





I got there right as one of the shows were starting. These lights are just the coolest. I can't imagine how much they cost to run!





It was neat to see all the people with GWTS ears that were pulsing in time to the music. They had a place in there that you could buy them as well.



It was now 6:30 and I was pretty tired, but I wasn't leaving without a ride or two. So where did I go?

Well, first I went to TSMM to see if the line was in the first room. The line was all the way out the door, so I decided not to ride.

For me, that just leaves:



I rode ToT two times through standby; lines were low, <15 minutes per ride, regardless of all the people milling around.

I headed back to BWV via boat; yet another boat was pulling away as I walked up. Everyone was cold and silent, and my part in the line was just off the plank over the water, so I struck up a conversation with the two guys behind me as we speculated whether we'd make it on the next boat (we hoped so!). Then they started talking about my ears and how cool they were, so we discussed GWTS for awhile. Soon after, a boat arrived and we thankfully ended up on it!

Once arriving at BWV, I was STARVING. I had been all over WDW that day but hadn't eaten much at all, regardless of how hungry I was! My biggest meal had been BOG, and that was hours earlier. I walked down the Boardwalk and found the pizza window - I don't eat pizza much in my day to day life, but it sounded DELICIOUS and I hopped in line.



I had already eaten about half of it before I decided to take a picture. It was SO GOOD and this was not the last time in my trip that I'd eat it! (I think it was $4.75 for a very large slice; I got cheese, and it was good good good! You could also order a full pizza.)

It was now after 8. I wandered around the BW a little more and found the market area, where I bought a bag of cool ranch Doritos. Yep, I was waaaay off my normal diet!

I didn't even think about heading to Epcot for the fireworks show; I wasn't thinking clearly by this point. I was too tired. I dragged myself upstairs, put on Stacy, and chilled out in the big jacuzzi tub for awhile before climbing into bed. I heard some loud gunshot-like sounds and for just a moment wondered what the heck was going on - before I realized it was Illuminations at Epcot!

I fell asleep moments after that realization.
 
"I didn't even think about heading to Epcot for the fireworks show; I wasn't thinking clearly by this point. I was too tired. I dragged myself upstairs, put on Stacy, and chilled out in the big jacuzzi tub for awhile before climbing into bed. I heard some loud gunshot-like sounds and for just a moment wondered what the heck was going on - before I realized it was Illuminations at Epcot!"

- Sounds like a great way to unwind and chill after such a wild day! 4 Parks - 1 Day! Done!!
 
How awesome!!! 4 parks in one day!! One day when my boys are older we will do that!

We were so thankful to have our gloves on our trip as well. It seemed that even when it was chilly, if we just kept our hands warm, our bodies stayed fairly warm as well.
 
Another Clerks quote....

We were at DHS that whole day and were probably looking at the Osborne Lights at about the same time you were. Boy, it was chilly. Not upper midwest cold but "darn, I didn't come to Florida for this kind of weather" cold.

I liked your assessment of TLM ride. I seemed to remember hearing that this was going to be an E-ticket attraction back when they were planning the Fantasyland expansion. Certainly not an E-ticket attraction more like C or D ticket. I don't know if I would have graded this as harsh as a D+ but I don't know if I would have graded it much higher than a low B. I admit the quality of the audio animatronics is probably better than Peter Pan and POTC but it doesn't hold 40 years of nostalgia like those do. I also felt like the ride could have been a bit longer or more involved. Maybe more Ursla? Then again. I'm sure they didn't want a repeat of the Wicked Witch horror house that was the original Snow White ride.

Anyway, great update and I too could drift off to Stacey's voice any night of the week.
 


I messed up on my days - my experience with the YC bus wasn't until Thursday, not Wednesday! I went back and changed it; it will come into play tomorrow - with more pictures. :)

How awesome!!! 4 parks in one day!! One day when my boys are older we will do that!

We were so thankful to have our gloves on our trip as well. It seemed that even when it was chilly, if we just kept our hands warm, our bodies stayed fairly warm as well.

That's definitely the way it was - warm hands keep you happy! Same with feet - if I have cold toes, I'm cold. It doesn't matter what else is warm, cold hands and feet make you miserable. Gloves are a must-pack for this time of year - just in case.

"I didn't even think about heading to Epcot for the fireworks show; I wasn't thinking clearly by this point. I was too tired. I dragged myself upstairs, put on Stacy, and chilled out in the big jacuzzi tub for awhile before climbing into bed. I heard some loud gunshot-like sounds and for just a moment wondered what the heck was going on - before I realized it was Illuminations at Epcot!"

- Sounds like a great way to unwind and chill after such a wild day! 4 Parks - 1 Day! Done!!

It was! I loved that tub and was in it EVERY SINGLE NIGHT. I filled it up sometimes and just put my feet and calves in.

I rode a major headliner in every park that day; it was a lot of fun, but I was truly beat - as you can tell, since I was in bed at 9 p.m.!
 
Another Clerks quote....

We were at DHS that whole day and were probably looking at the Osborne Lights at about the same time you were. Boy, it was chilly. Not upper midwest cold but "darn, I didn't come to Florida for this kind of weather" cold.

I liked your assessment of TLM ride. I seemed to remember hearing that this was going to be an E-ticket attraction back when they were planning the Fantasyland expansion. Certainly not an E-ticket attraction more like C or D ticket. I don't know if I would have graded this as harsh as a D+ but I don't know if I would have graded it much higher than a low B. I admit the quality of the audio animatronics is probably better than Peter Pan and POTC but it doesn't hold 40 years of nostalgia like those do. I also felt like the ride could have been a bit longer or more involved. Maybe more Ursla? Then again. I'm sure they didn't want a repeat of the Wicked Witch horror house that was the original Snow White ride.

Anyway, great update and I too could drift off to Stacey's voice any night of the week.

I'm with you - not upper midwest cold but not Florida weather! At least, not exactly what I was expecting, and not even how it had been the week before.

I just didn't like the LM ride. I thought that the big under the sea room was ok only, which was the most extensive room in the ride. I thought Ursula was super cool and well done, but other than that, nothin'. I didn't even feel happy riding it! I was happier walking through the queue. I rode it on MVMCP night, but only for my surprise visitor.

You're right, the AAs are well done, but it just didn't engage me like POTC or PP would. I don't like the Pooh ride at all, but I would still give it a higher grade. I was so disappointed! Especially in the final scene - it didn't even look like Ariel to me!

I did drift off to Stacey every night but the first night. Time to do the must-do's! :laughing:
 


Because I'd gone to sleep so early the night before, I was up bright and early this morning.

Today was originally a MK day, then became a DHS day, but I decided to change it up instead and go ahead and go to MK again. I knew I'd be there for the party that night, but I wanted to bask in the glory of EMH at MK and changed my mind.

I was going to MVMCP tonight, and I had a DIS meet set up as well, so it was going to be a big day! Here were my FP+ for today:



I set them up so that I could go to HS in the morning and then go to MK later and still get in some rides.

I felt bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with a full night's sleep behind me. Little did I know how exciting the day would end up becoming!



What a lovely view from my bedroom at 7:30 in the morning. ToT was calling to me, but I was still going to head to MK.

My feet were hurting me some, but I wasn't going to slow down for anything. At the elevator, someone had tossed a pizza box from the Boardwalk pizza window I'd eaten at the night before.



Isn't that cute!



Let's go let's go!!!



I loved the little store on the left and bought a shirt here later.

It was a gorgeous day, but was marred a little early on by yet another late bus. I was walking out of the lobby at 7:42 a.m., but even heading straight to the buses and waiting, no MK buses came and the next picture didn't get taken until 8:48 a.m. *sigh* I was hoping for more time at EMH, but the buses thwarted me again.



Oh well, I was here now and I wasn't going to worry about whether or not I made EMH - it was too late to worry about that anyway! So I headed further into the park.



Ring ring ring goes the bell!

Where to go early? SM of course!



After SM, I decided to pull a FP-, which had me returning in about an hour, so I hopped on the TTA.





I can't help taking a bunch of pictures on this ride; I love it!



OK, one more go around on SM!



I guess a picture of the sign is my reminder that I rode this again! ha!

I decided to wander towards HM, heading through Fantasyland on the way and grabbing a ride on IASW.





Can't wait for this to open!:



Painting the roses red....:



What lovely bathrooms; probably my #3 favorite on all of the property!



I walked on to HM, and then felt a rumbling in my tummy. It was 10 a.m. and I hadn't had breakfast at all - I'd jumped up and headed out the door, so I was starving. Know what sounds good? Columbia Harbor House!





One of my most favorite menus in all of Disney. I love their broccoli here. I eat here every trip; the upstairs is very nice to relax in, and there are some outlets if you need to charge electronics.



Only two families ahead of me! It's 10:16, so they're opening in less than 15 minutes. I start feeling a little nostalgic here - my mom and I usually eat at CHH when we come to the park together, and I'm wishing that she was there with me, so I called her to chat.

It just so happened that this week my stepdad and she was in Key West, but they were driving to Palm Beach when I reached her on the phone. Turns out they were supposed to go out on a fishing boat but the windy weather was going to keep them from being able to do so. They were disappointed, but had to be at Palm Beach the next afternoon for business so they were continuing on. About that time, the restaurant officially opened, and I was ushered over to Luis, so I got off the phone.

I got the chicken fingers with a side of fries, plus a Mickey straw!



A few crowd photos around 11 a.m.





Up next? Pirates!:





Well that's my limit for photos, so I'm on to the next post.

Continued...
 
I had just left POTC and decided that the weather was nice enough that I wanted to go back and get in the pool. Weather was only going to get colder back home, so I needed pool time if I could get it. Sunny and bright this day, I was ready to go for a swim. But first? A little shopping.



My favorite store with my favorite purses in my favorite pattern!



I thought long and hard about buying the letter carrier, but in the end decided that since I already have two pieces in this pattern, if I was going to buy something I needed to buy something NEW.

I headed out of the park.



When I got to the bus station, I made an executive decision. The BW bus was nowhere to be seen, and the YC/BC bus was just letting people on. I veered right instead of veering left, and hopped on to the bus.



I was ready to head back to BWV and get in the pool. The temperature was much nicer on this day and I was looking forward to basking in the sun.

But first, I had to get back to BWV and so far that wasn't looking too great. We were told once the YC/BC bus started moving that the roads had closed!

Our bus driver sounded pretty confident, however; he was still going to head to YC/BC and "see". I could get behind that; he seemed more proactive than other bus drivers I'd had so far!

He kept us updated, and as we closed in on YC/BC...

...

The roads were reopened!

We proceeded directly to YC, and I happily got off the bus and headed through the lobby to get out to the boats.





While walking towards the lighthouse, I saw a boat... was it MY boat? To BWV?

As I got closer, I saw it WAS. It was unloaded and almost completely loaded up, and I wasn't even on the pier yet.

I started to jog a bit - the CM saw me moving quickly and pointed at me and then at the boat. I nodded and gave them the thumbs up, and kept heading toward the boat as fast as I could. They held the boat for me!

I literally walked off a bus and onto the boat! I was at BWV right away.





I went upstairs and changed, then headed to the pool.





Of COURSE I went down the clown slide, and it was FUN! I like that clown more today than I did on day one, that's for sure.

Look at this gorgeous sky.



It was so lovely here.



I had been at the pool for about an hour when my phone went off. I picked it up, read the text, then sat straight up and started to dial a number. Looked like my night at MVMCP might suddenly change!!
 
We have never eaten at Columbia Harbor House. Crazy I know......

Hmmm....I bet I know who your surprise visitor is!!! Maybe.....
 
We have never eaten at Columbia Harbor House. Crazy I know......

Hmmm....I bet I know who your surprise visitor is!!! Maybe.....

Aw CHH is the best!! I actually came back later in the week for the broccoli alone, and my enthusiasm for it caused a woman in line behind me to use a snack credit on an order of broccoli herself! :laughing:

Surprise visitor was a surprise to me, that's for sure!
 
Curse those busses that week.

The weather was a welcome relief from the day before. We did MVMCP that night and spent the morning at AK. We also had the pool in mind, especially for our kids. The sun and warmth were too much to pass up.

Look forward to your next installment.
 
The official abbreviation is......LM. :lmao:

I agree with your assessment that BTR and SM lines are the most memorable for the same reason! I think we waited the longest in those lines back in the day.

Awesome scoring the Glow with the Show ears!

I always take pictures of signs! It's actually exactly how I remember what I ride when I'm writing the trip journal at the end of the day.

I know who your surprise visitor is! But that was so awesome too when I saw it on FB!
 
Curse those busses that week.

The weather was a welcome relief from the day before. We did MVMCP that night and spent the morning at AK. We also had the pool in mind, especially for our kids. The sun and warmth were too much to pass up.

Look forward to your next installment.

Never had such a time with the buses! An hour door to door in this instance. *sigh*

It was so nice that day! And I knew rain was supposed to be coming in sometime soon, so I thought this might be my only chance!

The official abbreviation is......LM. :lmao:

I agree with your assessment that BTR and SM lines are the most memorable for the same reason! I think we waited the longest in those lines back in the day.

Awesome scoring the Glow with the Show ears!

I always take pictures of signs! It's actually exactly how I remember what I ride when I'm writing the trip journal at the end of the day.

I know who your surprise visitor is! But that was so awesome too when I saw it on FB!

LM! Well, it makes sense! :laughing:

Those two lines seemed to never end. I at least remember as a child being excited to get to the part where you could "see" the rockets go overhead. It was at least something to do. We also brought MadLibs.

Ah yes, you saw my surprise visitor on FB! Hope to get to the MVMCP section of this TR tomorrow afternoon.
 
Subbing to your TR.

Love the view from your room. I had a similar view last October and absolutely loved it. You really did have a Disney angel with that awesome room!

Glad you had an uneventful flight there and how great to get away from the snow.

Nice start to your afternoon at HS.

Cat lover here and your cat is so cute.

Be back later to catch up.
 
Subbing to your TR.

Love the view from your room. I had a similar view last October and absolutely loved it. You really did have a Disney angel with that awesome room!

Glad you had an uneventful flight there and how great to get away from the snow.

Nice start to your afternoon at HS.

Cat lover here and your cat is so cute.

Be back later to catch up.

:welcome: I've read your trip reports before, so thanks for stopping by mine!

Thanks for stopping by! Yes, the view was amazing!! This was my first time at BWV and while the buses were driving me nuts I still loved it. It's always awesome to get away from bad weather - my last solo trip was the same, snow and ice both before and after my trip, but Florida was nice weather in January!

My cat is a riot. Everyone who meets him says "he thinks he's a dog!" He has turned a few cat haters into cat admirers - he's just great. Thank you for the compliment!
 
I am also a huge fan of CHH. It is an absolute must for us on every trip. (Interesting fact: I actually grew up on the Columbia River. Yep. Little town in Washington state. So for me, it has added meaning.) I always get their sandwich with broccoli slaw and hummus - but I swear it has never been as good as the first time I ate it. I might have to consider trying your version of the broccoli. Why do you love it so? What makes it special? We also sit upstairs - it's always a nice respite from the craziness outside. If possible we try to sit at a window - I love people watching from there!

I feel horrible that your bus situation was a bust! Really stinks. I guess that's the price we pay for location, eh? I'm glad you have more appreciation for the clown side after riding it! Lol! :-) I have a picture on my wall of my children, my sister and her fiancé in the hottub at that pool. It's the day after my sister was proposed to at Disney. I also have some pics on my wall of my son wrapped up in a towel at the bar - missing his front tooth that he'd just lost. So many great memories there! :-)

I'm absolutely dying to know who your surprise visitor is!!! More, more, more! Lol!!!
 
I dialed my phone and my Mom picked up right away.

"Why are you asking how much MVMCP tickets are?"

She told me that my stepdad had said since they couldn't go out in the fishing boat he'd be willing to drive to Orlando so she could go to the party with me. They were about 3 1/2 hours away from Orlando at the moment. I told her I thought tickets were around $70 (with no prepurchase available since the party was THAT NIGHT) and that she'd have to contact Disney to see if any more were available.

"Oh, ok," she said.

We hung up.

I waited a couple of minutes, then texted her: "You come to WDW, I'll buy your ticket."

She texted me back: "Buy the ticket."

I jumped up, still soaking wet from the pool, and tossed on my pool dress. Then I ran for the Concierge. Was my mom really going to end up going to MK with me for MVMCP tonight!?

I called her again from the line for Concierge. "Are you sure you're coming?" I asked. "Because I'm about to pay for a nonrefundable ticket."

"Buy the ticket," she said. "We're on our way."

I walked up to Concierge and told them what was going on, what room I was in, and asked if this was even possible. Could I add two people on to my room for that night only? Was there an extra charge? Were there MVMCP tickets left at all? Was I going crazy?

The answers to these questions were yes, no, yes, and "a little".

"Alright, give me an adult ticket for MVMCP tonight," I said, still in disbelief.

I had to run back up to the room for my actual credit card - they couldn't charge it to my MB - but soon everything was in order and I had a room key for my stepdad, who would happily NOT be attending MVMCP that night, and a parking pass for the car as well.

I spent the time waiting for mom by pacing, pacing around the resort, and bemoaning the loss of my FP+ (I couldn't go to the park since I was waiting for them - there wasn't too much bemoaning though).

Finally, they were in Orlando and I went to the lobby to wait.





The seats in the lobby were very comfortable, and I was just sitting and soaking it all in.



My momma was coming to visit me at WDW!







I went out front to wait for them and struck up a conversation with a CM who was greeting people. He told me I might want to mention to them that valeting could be a good idea since they would be leaving by 8 a.m. in the morning to head back to Palm Beach. That way, they could skip the parking lot, which was far away, and just valet.

Then I got the call; they were pulling up! I saw their rental car pulling into the porte cochere; my mom jumped out and gave me a big hug. I told them about the valet and my stepdad opted to do that instead of parking

I walked them upstairs and we stored all their luggage (brought by a CM). I showed them around the room; they were suitably impressed. MK was letting people in for the party now (it was 5 p.m.) so I told my stepdad where to find food on the boardwalk and after handing her the ticket (and giving her my extra travel purse!), Ma and I headed for the buses! It was MVMCP time!!

 
So cool. So, so cool! :goodvibes

Clearly you paid your dues with the buses this trip in order to garner all the other great pixie dust! So glad this part went off without a hitch. :)
 

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