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

[ZehnJahren]

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!!!

Their broccoli is just steamed with some kind of flavoring on it. It's not salty; it's more like almost a lemon pepper, but light on the pepper. It's such a nice light flavor and I am a HUGE broccoli lover (I eat 2 cups pretty much every day at lunch). I always have to get it. Plus it's CHEAP!

The location was so nice it was hard to get too mad at the buses! Plus when you're not waiting for two park buses (HS and Epcot), it makes it a little easier.

So cool. So, so cool!

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.

I was so excited! And my mom was over the moon. We really never expected this to happen!

 

[wrighter]

Can't wait to hear all about your GNO at MVMCP!

 

[MEK]

Slowly getting caught up.

Hmmm - lots of comments.

"Not our Dino" is my favorite line. I use it all the time and no one ever knows what I'm talking about.

I think of Danielle whenever I see the Yeti, too.

I can't believe you got all that done at AK in 90 minutes. Then it took you an entire hour to get to the Boardwalk. My DH & I drove everywhere when we stayed at the BWV. I hate the bus. Yup, we even drove to MK except when we went in at night because driving is just plain dumb then.

Great view for Illuminations. Cool that you got to hang out with your CM friend.

There are really people in the globe barge? What? That makes no sense because a lot of times it IS sitting out there by itself. Hmmmmm. The behind the scenes info is so interesting. I love that show.

So the week after F&W you can score night time Fps for Soaring? Good to know.

Oh - and you cat acts like a dog? I had a boy cat like that. I recently had to put him to sleep. He was the best cat EVER and totally acted like a little cat dog. It's fun when a cat can turn the heart of a hater.

 

[BridgetR3]

Awesome!!! I was right!

How cool that your mom could meet you there! I hope you had a wonderful time that night at MVMCP!

 

[teekathepony]

Busses strike again, eh? Yikes! That's a lot of time gone, but glad you didn't let it get you down. And you got a lot done too! And they made up for it on the way back! Lol
Creepy clown slide does look fun.
I knew of course that your mom made it there but hearing the story around it is so fun! I'm so glad she came for the party.
Can't wait to hear about the parts I don't already know!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[jwgm2012]

just found your report! You had a great room at BW - that's a place on my bucket list and like usual, looks lovely - could there be a better view? TOT? no, don't think so... Love that mom is with you - your relationship sounds much like mine and my moms and I'd be equally thrilled if she suddenly joined me! Can't wait to read the rest...

gina

 

[ZehnJahren]

Can't wait to hear all about your GNO at MVMCP!

We had a good time, of course!

Slowly getting caught up.

Hmmm - lots of comments.

"Not our Dino" is my favorite line. I use it all the time and no one ever knows what I'm talking about.

I think of Danielle whenever I see the Yeti, too.

I can't believe you got all that done at AK in 90 minutes. Then it took you an entire hour to get to the Boardwalk. My DH & I drove everywhere when we stayed at the BWV. I hate the bus. Yup, we even drove to MK except when we went in at night because driving is just plain dumb then.

Great view for Illuminations. Cool that you got to hang out with your CM friend.

There are really people in the globe barge? What? That makes no sense because a lot of times it IS sitting out there by itself. Hmmmmm. The behind the scenes info is so interesting. I love that show.

So the week after F&W you can score night time Fps for Soaring? Good to know.

Oh - and you cat acts like a dog? I had a boy cat like that. I recently had to put him to sleep. He was the best cat EVER and totally acted like a little cat dog. It's fun when a cat can turn the heart of a hater.

I'm a big fan of "not our dino". I LOVE that ride! I always spend the whole thing grinning like a fool, laughing my head off. Something about the dark and the dinosaurs is so exciting!

I felt bad for the sober Yeti when Danielle's Yeti gets to go EVERYWHERE.

Usually, I'm happy with the buses. They are what they are, but I always found them to be fairly efficient (except I ALWAYS have trouble at AK). This trip was something different. I am not saying I hate them now, but I am saying that I'll be glad to have a break from them on my next trip.

The globe barge tidbit made no sense to me either. Maybe he was pulling my leg; he is a kidder, that's for sure. I wish I could remember everything that the guy was telling the family next to me.

I couldn't believe Soarin' still had FP- at 6:30 p.m. It was surprising and I felt awful that I couldn't ride, but we had to be at Illuminations early to get down on the dock.

My cat is a boy cat too; I had a girl cat for my entire childhood through my late teens and she was not anything like my current cat. I loved her very much, but my boy cat is so friendly and loving and funny and different from her. They both have their good points, but my girl cat just wasn't friendly or very loving. She could do without you where the boy cat can't possibly live a moment longer without you petting him... I love cats!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Awesome!!! I was right!

How cool that your mom could meet you there! I hope you had a wonderful time that night at MVMCP!

Spoiler: we did! Of course! It was her first time seeing the new Fantasyland too.

Busses strike again, eh? Yikes! That's a lot of time gone, but glad you didn't let it get you down. And you got a lot done too! And they made up for it on the way back! Lol
Creepy clown slide does look fun.
I knew of course that your mom made it there but hearing the story around it is so fun! I'm so glad she came for the party.
Can't wait to hear about the parts I don't already know!

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

I did get irritated while waiting sometimes, but let it go the moment I got on the bus. There was just no point in ruining my vacation by being unhappy. Plus, what luck getting off the bus and directly on the boat!

Creepy clown slide WAS fun, and I DID like him more afterwards. I would have gone down a few more times but I got sidetracked by Mom!

Yes, I told my Mom we'd be meeting some people from "my Disney forum" that night and she was like "strangers??"

just found your report! You had a great room at BW - that's a place on my bucket list and like usual, looks lovely - could there be a better view? TOT? no, don't think so... Love that mom is with you - your relationship sounds much like mine and my moms and I'd be equally thrilled if she suddenly joined me! Can't wait to read the rest...

gina

I was super lucky with the room; it was EXACTLY the view I was hoping for. I can't imagine a better one! I took so many pictures of ToT! Probably TOO many; can't fit them all in the TR.

My mom is in two of my other TRs too; she's my Disney buddy. She'll ride anything! Can't wait to take her to "the dark side" next September; I'll be interested to see if she does Forbidden Journey, but I'm sure she will. She's fearless!

 

[MEK]

I felt bad for the sober Yeti when Danielle's Yeti gets to go EVERYWHERE.

Yeah - Danielle's yeti does have a lot of fun!

My cat is a boy cat too; I had a girl cat for my entire childhood through my late teens and she was not anything like my current cat. I loved her very much, but my boy cat is so friendly and loving and funny and different from her. They both have their good points, but my girl cat just wasn't friendly or very loving. She could do without you where the boy cat can't possibly live a moment longer without you petting him... I love cats!

That has been my experience too. My girls cats are like "what have you done for me lately", where my boy cat was just awesome. He followed me all over and slept curled up right near me. Then he got diabetes and died about 6 months later. He was 13. I still miss him and I want another boy cat but my DH says "no", so I'm trying to focus on my two girls. They're nice, but they're just not the same.

So, still not completely caught up, but I just can't believe how much park hopping you did your first day. That's so much easier when you are solo. No distractions. I just can't believe how cold it was for you. We literally left on 11/4 and we had really nice warm weather for 10 days straight. Those gloves make a huge difference.

BOG is so cool inside. Good thing you did have the reservation all pulled up in your phone. Your sandwich looks yummy!

I love the Osborne lights.

 

[IheartDDuck]

Ooohh, my Yeti has some reputation! His reputation will only continue to grow if I have anything to say about it. LOL.

That was so sweet of your stepdad to drive your Mom to Orlando so she could go to MVMCP with you. I would have freaked out if something like that happened to me.

 

[ZehnJahren]

Yes, today's quotes are from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Love that movie!

When I left off, Ma and I were happy and together, and sitting at the bus stop waiting for a bus! The people around us said that they'd been waiting for at least 15-20 minutes for an MK bus, so we thought that it couldn't be too long.

And we waited.

And waited.

About 20 minutes into our wait, an MK bus pulled up! There was already an AK bus there at the stop, so he pulled behind them... and unloaded an ECV... Hm, didn't know they could do that if they weren't at the stop, but ok. Then, he just took off. He didn't let anyone on.

So we waited. Again.

I won't go into more detail than that because frankly, it's like beating a rock with a bat and expecting it to say "ow", but suffice it to say that about 40 minutes later, we were here:



My mom was so amazed that she was even AT the park; we never expected to be reunited in Florida of all places - we both live in IL!

I was watching the clock at this point, because we had a dismeet to get to at 7:30, but so far it was only 5:30 so we had plenty of time to wander around and take in all the sights and sounds. There was still 1 1/2 hours until the park closed to the public, so Mom and I headed into the park to see new Fantasyland (she hadn't yet).

Crowds were fairly thick, but we still managed a few rides! IASW is one of my mom's favorites, so of COURSE we had to ride first.



We decided to wait on HM because the line was so long and we knew lines would die down during the party.

We wandered.



Mom and I both were very impressed with this bathroom area, especially at night. How nice to have all that seating as well!

We ran over to Tomorrowland next; TTA and possibly COP were on the slate for our next rides - and we needed to be in Tomorrowland to meet Wendy (teekathepony) and her husband! (See Wendy's current TR HERE)



(I know this picture is blurry but I still love it!)



Now it was pretty much 7:30 on the dot, so we walked towards SM to see if we could spot Wendy and her husband Johnny waiting for us.

I know the old adage - pics or it didn't happen. Here's the only pic I have:



Yes, the four of us went on a walk-on Space Mountain and I got this RRP (Redneck Ride Photo)! We were lucky; we had planned to meet up with me solo and them being two and fill out a SM car - as it worked out, they let my Mom and I go in rocket 1 and Wendy and Johnny go in rocket 2, so we still had a DISmeet DISride!

We ended up chatting for 10 minutes or so, but I didn't want to hold up their party time and they didn't want to hold us back either, so after an awesome meet up with the author of one of the first TRs I ever read on this site (Wendy's "Disneyelicious innards on a sandwich of Panic!" TR!) we parted ways. It was so good to meet Wendy and her husband too! Can't wait to see how her MVMCP, went as well!

We were hungry now, so we decided to stop in at Ray's Starlight Cafe and see about some dinner! More soon!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Yeah - Danielle's yeti does have a lot of fun!

That has been my experience too. My girls cats are like "what have you done for me lately", where my boy cat was just awesome. He followed me all over and slept curled up right near me. Then he got diabetes and died about 6 months later. He was 13. I still miss him and I want another boy cat but my DH says "no", so I'm trying to focus on my two girls. They're nice, but they're just not the same.

So, still not completely caught up, but I just can't believe how much park hopping you did your first day. That's so much easier when you are solo. No distractions. I just can't believe how cold it was for you. We literally left on 11/4 and we had really nice warm weather for 10 days straight. Those gloves make a huge difference.

BOG is so cool inside. Good thing you did have the reservation all pulled up in your phone. Your sandwich looks yummy!

I love the Osborne lights.

Ugh, talking about your cat being 13 and passing away makes me a little nervous. My old man will be 13 this Easter and I do worry something will happen to him, sometimes. I hope he's around for many years yet. I don't know that I could get another after him, but I've seriously thought of fostering kittens and cats after he's gone. I nursed him to health when I first got him; he was being treated for a respiratory infection as well as an ear and eye infection when I brought him home from the shelter, but I had to take him home right away once I met him. I always think that the experience bonded us. He's definitely my friend.

I love to park hop, so hopping makes me happy. My mom is the same way, so we're good Disney travel partners. I can't wait for our week-long trip together next fall!

That sandwich was DELICIOUS.

Ooohh, my Yeti has some reputation! His reputation will only continue to grow if I have anything to say about it. LOL.

That was so sweet of your stepdad to drive your Mom to Orlando so she could go to MVMCP with you. I would have freaked out if something like that happened to me.

Your Yeti is well known for his shenanigans!

I thought it was pretty cool of him too. He's one of those guys who drives all the time for work and he likes to do it, so I didn't think it was too out of character, but it was really something that he agreed to do it spur of the moment like that. He's getting what he asked for for Christmas this year.

 

[dreamseeker9]

Catching up after being in SoCal for a week. Had a great trip - wineries, Disneyland, and a surprise advanced screening of "Saving Mr. Banks" at the Walt Disney Studios!

I agree about the LM ride, I wasn't impressed. I thought it could've been so much more... something, I don't know. It was underwhelming.

How long did LM stop? I think with some attractions that have the moving conveyors, they will stop for awhile when loading or unloading someone who needs help. We experienced Spaceship Earth stopping for a few minutes twice one night, as well as another ride (I'm blanking right now).

Can't wait to hear more, so cool that your mom & stepdad got to come meet you!

 

[geckodani]

Aw! Yay for MVMCP with your mom!!! That's so great!

 

[teekathepony]

I'm so glad we got to meet up that night! It was a great party for sure, and especially awesome that your mom was there. Sounds like you guys had great luck with the rides!

 

[wiigirl]

Great update!

 

[ZehnJahren]

Catching up after being in SoCal for a week. Had a great trip - wineries, Disneyland, and a surprise advanced screening of "Saving Mr. Banks" at the Walt Disney Studios!

I agree about the LM ride, I wasn't impressed. I thought it could've been so much more... something, I don't know. It was underwhelming.

How long did LM stop? I think with some attractions that have the moving conveyors, they will stop for awhile when loading or unloading someone who needs help. We experienced Spaceship Earth stopping for a few minutes twice one night, as well as another ride (I'm blanking right now).

Can't wait to hear more, so cool that your mom & stepdad got to come meet you!

Oh wow, your vacation sounds excellent! Wineries, DL, and "Saving Mr. Banks"? How was the movie? I want to see that!

It was definitely underwhelming, and that's a good word for it. Nice animatronics, but the story was lacking.

LM was stopped for >12 minutes according to my pictures. I know SE and also HM may stop to load disabled Guests, but this was definitely longer!

It was fun to have my Mom arrive; they had to leave super early the next day, but it was fun while it lasted. Wish I could do the whole thing over again!

Aw! Yay for MVMCP with your mom!!! That's so great!

We thought so too!!!

I'm so glad we got to meet up that night! It was a great party for sure, and especially awesome that your mom was there. Sounds like you guys had great luck with the rides!

We did! Much better than the MNSSHP she and I went to two years ago. I know most people like it better than MVMCP but I think I liked seeing all the characters in their "winter clothes" more than their Halloween ones. However, both parades are pretty darn cool!

 

[JulieODC]

Great updates!

I'm scanning all your pictures to see if we appear -- no sightings yet!!

Great luck with the bus/boat!

 

[B&WMickey]

Way cool that your mom came 3 1/2 hours just like that to hang out with you at MVMCP!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MEK]

How cool that you got to meet Wendy and Johnny. I just missed them this past trip and I was SO bummed.

How nice that your mom came to meet you at the Christmas party. I love the Christmas party. It really is such a fun time.

And yay for a DISmeet on Space Mountain!

I have two girl cats that are 13 and are in great health, so I am sure your boy has many more years in him. My guy, Max, just had a lot of health problems right from the start - FUS, a ruptured anal glad, several resp infections and several bites (cause I let him out from time to time and he was a hunter). I knew when he got diagnosed with diabetes he wasn't going to live much longer. Supposedly cats can and I took care of him meticulously. I even checked his blood sugars twice a day and dosed his insulin much like a human does. But all along I had this sense that he wasn't going to live much longer, even though he seemed stable most of the time. And then *bam* he suddenly got sick and the vet said his one kidney was terribly enlarged, most likely from cancer. It didn't matter what the cause, I knew it was time. Thanks for letting me babble about my cat. I doubt I'll ever find another as great as him.

My neighbors just fostered two preemie kittens. When their last cat died they said "no more", but the foster kittens won them over and now they have two adorable brothers.