Inching My Way Closer to the Castle Final thoughts/future trips 4/2p90 The End 4/4p92

[MEK]

When I woke up on Day 6 the first thing I remember thinking is, "Boy did I drink a lot last night" I seriously don't remember much about the monorail ride home. I think we just missed one at Epcot and then basically had the whole car to ourselves. I don't think I passed out, but only Jen can answer that for sure.

Since it was my last day at Disney, I knew I had to run one more time on my private path. I was a tad hungover, but I find that a good run in the morning actually makes me feel better and hastens my hangover time.

It was a perfect morning. I set out just as the sun was rising, so when I got to the end of the path I was able to sit there and watch a perfectly gorgeous sunrise. It was one of those times when I really, really wanted my camera. I remember thinking, "Someday I will come back here to stay at BLT and I will walk all the way to the end of this path so I can take a picture of the sunrise over the Seven Seas Lagoon.

I could have sat there for awhile, but a major rule in running is Never Stop Too Long! Once that adrenaline is gone, its a heck of a lot harder to get back. So I took a few cell phone pics, turned on my heels, and headed back to the room.

I don't remember much about packing, but I do remember that Jen's special battery had finally arrived and could be found in the business center. Wherever the heck that was? I managed to get packed a lot quicker than Jen, because she still had her owner's locker to pack up. I offered to go look for the Business Center, which proved not to be an easy task.

I asked someone at concierge, but their directions were terrible and I ended up walking in circles until I found someone else to ask. Their directions led me to an entrance near, what I can only assume, was the conference center. There were lots of suits in there - boy suits and girl suits - and I suddenly felt WAY out of place. It was strange. There I was in my Disney crocs, casual shorts and top, around all these finely dressed people.

I think I asked directions one more time and then, finally, I found the business center....I mean the closet called the Business Center. Without much of a wait, at last I had that elusive battery in my hot little hands.

When I got back to the room Jen was still packing. What had she been doing for the 45 minutes I was on a wild goose hunt? No, seriously, I wasn't gone that long but it seemed like it took forever.

Jen called to have her Owner's locker removed and then we took all our luggage to be stored. Finally, at around 9:30 or so we headed to the bus stop. There was one park that we hadn't visited yet and that was HS. We were late, but you know what they say about Better Later than....oh, never mind.

I do believe that just as we were walking up a bus pulled away, leaving for HS. Bummer. Talk about bad timing! I didn't mind at the time because my older son had just sent me a text that said "I feel really sick. I need to leave school". Ok - that is not the text you want to get when you're on vacation. So there was a lot more texting involved so I could figure out whether my son had bacterial meningitis or simply the common cold. In actuality, his illness was somewhere in between death and the sniffles, but I ended up having to call the school and getting him dismissed early. That was after I was sure he was safe to drive home. ugghhhhhh! KIDS! Notice that I get the call 1000 miles away while his father was having an uninterrupted work day.

So We sat and started to wait....and wait....and WAIT!

I passed the time by taking random pictures of....



and



and



and



and



As More time passed and I started to get increasingly bored, so I took pictures of ......



and



and





What Can I Say? I am not a patient person and I get bored very easily.

Finally, approximately 15 or 20 buses later, heading to every other destination in Disney, a HS bus showed up. I think we waited just shy of an hour. By the time the bus came there were not enough seats for everyone. It was just WRONG! Say what you want about the value resorts, but I have never waited anywhere close to that long for a bus. When we finally got into the park it was 11am! Yikes!

So where did we run when we finally got to HS? Did we stand in a 45 minute line for TSM, did we get FP's for ToT? RnR?

I'll save you the agony of figuring out that answer. We went to ......Are you ready?????








GUEST SERVICES.

Yes, that's right. You see, as I was staring at my AP on the bus ride from hell I noticed that my AP expired September 21st. I remember thinking how great this was and I wondered why I had actually given been 10 extra days on my AP. That is, until I realized my expiration date was September 2010, NOT 2011!!!!!?????!!!!!!

Oh crap.... What the heck was that all about?????


Up Next....Did my AP get straightened out and where did we finally head first in HS?

[jenjolt]

LOL..why yes you did get bored LOL!! Some VERY interesting pictures LOL! Although I do have to say the tattoos were very cool!!!

Glad you finally made it to HS, wow an hour wait for a bus that is just crazy!!!

OY...hope you were able to get everything worked out on your AP!!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by jenjolt

LOL..why yes you did get bored LOL!! Some VERY interesting pictures LOL! Although I do have to say the tattoos were very cool!!!

I had my camera already in my hand and was fooling around with it when the tattoo people arrived. That's how I managed to get those pictures inconspicuously.

Originally Posted by jenjolt

Glad you finally made it to HS, wow an hour wait for a bus that is just crazy!!!

It was bad and very annoying. We really should have been walking into that park at 10am, not 11.

Originally Posted by jenjolt

OY...hope you were able to get everything worked out on your AP!!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[dawnbu40]

Almost an hour for a bus on your last morning?! That is just wrong! Between that, our sick son and your hunt around the resort your day isn't off to a great start! I hope it gets better!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by dawnbu40

Almost an hour for a bus on your last morning?! That is just wrong! Between that, our sick son and your hunt around the resort your day isn't off to a great start! I hope it gets better!

OMG Dawn - I just noticed your tickers and they are beautiful. I love them!!!!

Yeah - my day did not start off well and I was a bit of a grumpy-grump when we first got into the park. I hated having that feeling, but after lunch I felt better and our day actually turned out to be a good one. We had considered just hoping the monorail and going back to Epcot, but we had waited SOOOOOOOO long that we kept thinking that the bus would come any moment.

[Charleston Princess]

At least you getting bored provides us with lots of fun pictures!

I am so confused by your AP dates...

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

At least you getting bored provides us with lots of fun pictures!

I couldn't help it. Those tattoos where just calling to me. Look at that last shot. I zoomed in to the point where I got the hair follicles on his legs. I think I would make a great paparazzi!

Originally Posted by Charleston Princess

I am so confused by your AP dates...

I will explain what happened in my next update, but seriously, if I had not realized those dates were screwed up I'm not sure if I would have been able to fix it for my May trip. I learned a very valuable lesson. Always check your dates!

[Nermel9]

LOL, love the pictures you took when you were bored, I do the same thing, but I never get anything interesting! I can't believe you had to wait so long for the bus!

Hope you got your AP situation straightened out!

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Nermel9

LOL, love the pictures you took when you were bored, I do the same thing, but I never get anything interesting! I can't believe you had to wait so long for the bus!

:

I think I just lucked out on getting some interesting subject matter. I couldn't let that go to waste now, could I?

Waiting for the bus was ridiculous. No other word for it. All these other buses pulling up and no one getting on them. Weird.

Originally Posted by Nermel9

Hope you got your AP situation straightened out!

I did, but it had some interesting twists!

[All7OfUs]

Is that REALLY someone scratching their hiney.??!! REEALLY!!! OMG! I can hardly contain my belly laughs!

AP drama!! This I can't wait for!...

[glennbo123]

I like the picture of the guy who was seemingly parasailing into BLT (is that BLT in the picture?).

And that one guy's leg tattoo was Alice in Wonderland!

[brookelizabeth]

I like tattoos - even sleeves on the ams and legs, but the demented Alice tattoo is a bit scary!!

The butt picking one though...oh, no you didn't! Mary Ellen!

What a mess with the bus! Did they have a CM working there??? What was going on?! Ugh. And then to have to go straight to Guest Services...annoying.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by All7OfUs

Is that REALLY someone scratching their hiney.??!! REEALLY!!! OMG! I can hardly contain my belly laughs!

AP drama!! This I can't wait for!...

Can you believe it? Crowded bus stop. Perhaps no one will notice. I can't believe I got the picture so perfectly. I really should be a paparazzi stalking celebs!

Oh the AP Drama! All I can say is Thank God I checked those dates!

Originally Posted by glennbo123

I like the picture of the guy who was seemingly parasailing into BLT (is that BLT in the picture?).

I had an obsession with parasailers this trip. I took so many pictures of them. Yes, he does look like he's ready to crash into BLT.

Originally Posted by glennbo123

And that one guy's leg tattoo was Alice in Wonderland!

Seriously, Glenn, you are GOOD! I never would have figured that out. It looks like some crazy dutch girl to me.

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

I like tattoos - even sleeves on the ams and legs, but the demented Alice tattoo is a bit scary!!

demented Alice! Why would you ever want that on your leg? Seriously?

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

I
The butt picking one though...oh, no you didn't! Mary Ellen!

Oh, Yes I did. I guess it was pretty wrong of me and I hope its not an innocent DISer who recognizes themselves.

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

What a mess with the bus! Did they have a CM working there??? What was going on?! Ugh. And then to have to go straight to Guest Services...annoying.

We started telling the other bus drivers, but it seemed like there was nothing they could do or where even interested in. I really don't know what the problem was, but I hope it doesn't happen to you in a few weeks.

[All7OfUs]

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

The butt picking one though...oh, no you didn't! Mary Ellen!

Oh, YES SHE DID!!

[Ducky4Disney]

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

I like tattoos - even sleeves on the ams and legs, but the demented Alice tattoo is a bit scary!!

The butt picking one though...oh, no you didn't! Mary Ellen!

What a mess with the bus! Did they have a CM working there??? What was going on?! Ugh. And then to have to go straight to Guest Services...annoying.

There is a slight story to the butt picking picture: she was sitting on a bench with a "wet paint" sign on it, and guess what happened? She got paint on her butt - surprise!

D4D