Another rainy trip report

[tgoralski]

Just returned from trip to the YC May 18-25. If you've been reading other trip reports you know that it rained. I just checked NOAA.gov and found out out that it they recorded 8.5 inches during our six days. Any place other than Disney and the trip would have been a disaster. Instead it was (as always) a magical week. I've never done a trip report so I'll try to come back a few times a day to give the details. I think I learned a lot this trip so I'll try to pass along some tips.

First a little about my Family. Me and DW have shared a love of Disney for a while. I never went as a kid but she did several times. Our previous trips together: 1991 (holiday Inn), 1994 (DL), 2001 (First time with kids)(POFQ), 2003 (embassy Suites), 2005 (poly, club level), 2007 (AKL, club level). DS1 is 14 and DS2 is 12. We were a little worried about living up to our last trip which included the sunrise Safari and Aquaseas behind the scenes tours. The boys are also getting older and we were worried about the loss of magic. They did say absolutely no characters (including meals) and no pin trading, activities that they had enjoyed even at 10 and 12.

Then just before we left I saw the forecast. The way I understand it there was a cold front that came down to Florida and ran up against two low pressure systems south and east of the peninsula. Later in the year either of these low pressure systems would be tropical storms that would move in and out pretty quickly. Instead, they didn't have enough energy to push the cold front away and everything just stalled right over central Florida. The storms produced by all this followed a circular path right into Disney. Central Florida went from drought to flooding in a manner of days. Those days just happened to coincide with our vacation.

Well I've gotta go now so I'll give away the ending. As they say at Disney, "No worries." If we were staying anywhere else there would have been nothing to do. Instead we had a fantastic time

Next up Travel day and day 1: The Studios in the rain.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Signing on for more. I hope you'll be posting pics too.

 

[tgoralski]

I'll try to get around to pics. We really didn't take too many. Us in ponchos wasn't a look we wanted to record but here goes.

We originally were going to go for a shorter stay but got sucked into 4/3. The boys had off from school Thursday and Friday so against our better judgement we took them out of school for Tuesday and Wednesday. That can be a subject for another thread but I'll report in another day or two how that turned out. That meant a late flight on Monday. 6:30 from Islip airport on Long Island. This meant we could driove to the airport and leave the car long term. DW is a substitute teacher so she worked Monday also. We all converged on the house after school and piled in the car hoping to avoid traffic. We sailed, and with no line at security waited two hours for the plane. Better safe than sorry. Dinner at the airport, movies on the ipods made time fly and before you knew it we were on our half filled Southwest jet.

That means a bit of a hike in the airport in Orlando. We had to pick up our own bags because the late arrival means ME won't deliver bags until the next day and Southwest comes in on the B side instead of A (or is it the other way around) Anyway the long walk wasn't so bad because the airport at 9:30 was empty. No line for the bus and hardly anyone else on the bus when it left. At the front desk by 10:15. Of course, no one else checking in. All in all, I loved the experience of coming in at night instead of the morning the way we always have in the past.

At th YC, I had booked a standard room and requested a daybed so that my two sons wouldn't be kicking each other all night. The CM at the desk noted it without me asking and said the room that we were assigned didn't have one. So much for that fax I sent to the room assignor. No worries though. She stepped away and came back with our upgrade to a "waterview" room with a daybed. This is good because my sons generally get along and this would go a long way towards ensuring that would last all week.

For those of who don't know about "waterview" let me say that this was really a courtyard view overlooking the rear entrance to the lobby. Yes admittedly if I leaned over the balcony rail and looked to the right I could see a little bit of the lake behind the lighthouse. If I had booked a waterview and got this I would have been pissed but since it was an "upgrade" I was practically popping champagne corks.

So we were in the room and unpacked by 11:00, just in time to turn on the TV and watch the local news for the weather...

 

[castmemberb4]

YAY Another rain report ! I love rain reports!
I know you said you didn't take many pictures, but I hope you post what you did take.
Lynn

 

[tgoralski]

Sooo...

We decicided (based in part on responses from the Dis) that the studios would be a good park in the rain. We were a little tired from traveling late so we decided to wake up without an alarm and therefore, missed the rope drop. Its a nice boat ride from YC but it does stop at the Swan and Dolphin. DS2 doesn't like ghosts so he and DW went to RnRC while DS1 and I did TOT. Even though it was @ 9:30 it was still walk on for both so we next did standby for RnRC as a foursome. DW had grabbed FP for RRC which was already up but we decided to save it for later and headed to TSM for FP after the CM at RRC told us not to wait (good tip). The boys and I rode Star Tours (no wait and the CM on the ride was a dead ringer for Morty Sienfeld) and then Killed some time at the muppet 3D movie(no wait)and then back to TSM now that FP was ready. Walked right up to the end of the line where the CM directed us down the handicapped ramp instead of up the stairs and we walked right on to the ride. It is a lot of fun. no wonder we weren't able to get on it when we came back ater in the week. Good thing that we got to ride twice. When we finished the first time and the CM asked DW how she liked it DW answered "Great but I didn't beat my husband." So CM looked around saw that noone was coming down the ramp and said "well why don't you try again?" So we rode again. Those are great Disney moments.

So after getting half a dozen rides in basically before 11 we were feeling good. We took in Great Movie ride (no wait) and went over just in time for the start of the first Indiana Jones show which was cut short because they couldn't do the airplane scene in the rain. Oh did I mention it was raining? Yes this whole time it was raining but we really didn't care at that point. We had not waited for a single ride. We found a table at Backlot Express and had lunch.

New Disney experience alert: My boys are old enough to help find a table order lunch carry the tray get condiments and feed themselves it all makes everything much easier.

OK then it started While walking over to the Animation courtyard and realizing that we were almost done since the boys really have no interest in most of the shows it started to pour. I'm talking biblical rain, the type of stuff you only see in Catastrophe Canyon. We were soaked. We took in the extended commercial for "Up" (which looks like it will be good) but mostly just tried to figure out what to do for the rest of the day. Too bad the boys don't like characters anymore because Sorcerer Mickey was there with almost no line. So we used the "expired" FP for RRC and headed out. Not really unusual for us to leave the parks by 2:00 but we usually head straight for the pool (or, more accurately, the poolside bar). We peeled ourselves out of wet clothes and just sat down in our room. We had early ADR's for Biergarten so we showered and took the boat to EPCOT. It is a fun show and DS2 (notoriously picky eater) actually tried some new food. Oh the pretzel rolls are the best. The only problem was that DW had put on flip flops which were flipping water up her back and by the time we got there her butt was soaked. She was starting to lose it at this point. Sitting with strangers was probably key because it focused conversation on small talk other than whining about the weather. After dinner we headed in to Future world and rode Soarin', a family favorite. At 15 minutes it was the longest wait of the day. The utter lack of any lines was probably the only thing that made the fact that there was not a dry momment berable. We walked past illuminations in the rain for the first of many times during the week. back at the YC we hit the pillows early. Yes it had rained all day but hey it was only one day. We never should have turned on the local news, the weather report was not promising and our patience would not be holding out.

 

[mickeystoontown]

YAY Another rain report ! I love rain reports!
I know you said you didn't take many pictures, but I hope you post what you did take.
Lynn

Me too!

 

[wannago2disney]

Great start! Looking forward to reading more.

 

[tgoralski]

At this point the weather report was not improving. Quite the contrary, this was just about the time that the news transitioned from "Sorry tourists but we have been having a drought and we need the rain." to "We are experiencing a unique event with terrible flooding." At least it wasn't actually raining when we woke up. It was now 36 hours since we touched down at MCO and we were finally able to walk outside without getting wet. Of course, the Sun still wasn't out. No matter. We were there for a little magic and by gosh ( I'm trying to keep it clean) we were gonna have some magic.

Sit down Breakfast at the Captain's Grille was quite good and then walked to to EPCOT. I must say I really like the International Gateway. If you walk there is never a line. There is only a line when the boat lets off 50 or 60 people. It makes it feel like your own park and everyone else is visiting. DS2 wanted to to Mission Space and no one else did but we agreed anyway. So we started with test Track (walked on) and then the boys and I did single rider while DW went to get FP for Soarin' (We really love that ride, it's best when you do it barefoot). We all met back at Mission Space and walked right on. Two visits ago before they toned it down DW felt lightheaded and queasy for three hours. I had gone with the boys a second time (macho stupidity) and felt crummy for about an hour, so we decided to be on the "green team." I thought that was a lot of fun. Same ride with all the efects except the crazy cetrifuge. We then hit Ellen's Energy Adventure. (I've always had a crush on Jamie Lee Curtis) we lucked out and walked in on the pre show. Voila! that whole side of Future World was finito. On to Spaceship Earth where oddly enough we encountered our first significant line in two days. Go figure! I explained to the family that people tend to ride Spaceship Earth when they arrive so we would go back another time. We rode soarin' and when we came out it was raining. Ponchos on, umbrellas up but lets go "home."

Still it had been a good morning. On the boat back to the hotel though first mate had to be the grumpiest CM I've ever met. Granted, he was being peppered with questions as if he was Al Roeker or Jim Cantore but his prediction was "it will rain all week." Back at the YC the boys went to explore (with a loaded Arcade card) and that was when DW broke down crying. This was the low point, and a first for us at Disney. My macho side wanted to go find that boat and toss that CM into the lake. We collected ourselves and a couple of hours later during a break in the rain headed back into the park only to be confronted with the heaviest rain we had seen. DW (being at the end of her rope) stopped under the awning outside the park entance and announced that we should go in and she would join us when the rain let up. I felt like Lonardo Dicrapio leaving kate Winslet on the ice flow. I may never see my wife again. the boys and I took in Canada circlevision and when we came out the torrent had slowed. DW1 had traded some texts with DW and we met in England (with a beer in her hand, now we were in business)and began to travel the world in a light drizzle. Crepes and wine in france, followed by another downpour which we passed with Impressions de France, More beer in Italy, another downpour during the American Adventure and then a beer in germany. By this time we didn't care if it was raining or that Maelstrom closed while we were on line. We headed to future world for Spaceship Earth (we liked the new interactive part on the way down) and then walked back to YC past a rainy Illuminations.

Credit goes to DS1 and DS2. They never stopped having fun. It struck me so odd that they were enjoying the country movies but had passed earlier in the day on Honey I shrunk the Audience and everything in "the Land." I guess they are getting older. Still, We were in some serios need of some Sun. Itcould only get better...

 

[wannago2disney]

a good beer can sunny up a rainy day!

 

[tgoralski]

Day three: Thursday. We have gone to the World the week before Memorial Day three times before so we knew that it was now or never for the Magic Kingdom. The weekend crowds are huge. It happened to be EMH so we put in for an early wake up call from Mickey. The boys used to love waking up to Mickey. Now they just groaned. We rolled out of bed, caught a bus (straight to MK, no other stops) and went to Main Street Bakery while we waited for the rope drop. I highly reccomend this. Very good pastries, decent bagels (nothing is like a new york bagel) and got a table no problem. I ran into a couple of rookie mistakes. I never checked what was open for EMH so our plan to go to tomorrowland was foiled. Really easy to deal with though. I saw the CM's diverting people at the bridge and didn't hesitate to ask for a list of EMH attractions. It was the mountains wewere headed for. Did I mention that the Sun was actually shining? Well sort of. There were a lot of passing clouds so we still didn't need sunblock, or especially the ponchos. THE PONCHOS??!!?? Sh--, I left the bag in the bakery. I realized this just as we were entering Frontierland. You know those people that you see running through the park and you think "Wow, that guy really needs to relax, doesn't he know he's on vacation?" That was me. The bag with all the ponchos and umbrellas was right where I left it hanging on the chair. The people sitting there looked genuinely relieved that the bag had been reunited with it's owner and I heaed back to meet the family. That was when I realized I really didn't need to panic four umbrellas and four ponchos were pretty easy to replace. I hadn't had ID, money or anything else in the bag for that matter. It had just been the thought of being separated from our raingear made us feel like we weren't wearing any clothes. What would people think? The other killing joke was that this was the first park that, as it turned out, we didn't need them.

Oh well lets see BTMRR, still a little cool for SM (why get wet when we were finally dry?)over to pirates (our first time since the rehab, Good job we felt mixing the old with the new), No interest in tiki room, the bears or alladin. Couldn't pass up the tree house though (I was kind of amused by the little boy who kept asking his Mom "why are we doing this?" and she kept answering "Because it's here" I felt like giving a better answer but I kept my mouth shut). We hesitated at Jungle cruise but there was a 15-20 minute wait and we decided that We should get over to Buzz Lightyear. Rode it like three times and then a line started to build so we took in the Laugh floor. That was our first time and we thought it was cute. My son tried texting a joke in but it wasn't used. I told him that he probably should have sent one that didn't involve a blind man swinging a dog by the tail over his head. (Wait for it...."I'm just looking around" he says). Has anyone actually had their joke used? I didn't see anyone react when they told those jokes.

We wanted to move along Carosel of Progress (another old favorite was closed so we we did the speedway. We usualy pass that because the line moves so slow but it was short and the bays liked that they could go alone. Then into Fantasyland for some harsh reality. We hit Philharmagic first bu then saw that wait times for peter pan and pooh were at 50 -60 minutes. we like them but not worth the wait, we settled for Small World. I even had to wait on line for the bathroom. So we got out of there and headed for the haunted house. Good timing too. We were coming up on lunchtime. we had a 15 minute wait and by the time we came out the wait was up to 50 minutes. We starting to get hungry and hot. Lunch at Columbia Harbour house. While the boys got a table and DW waited on line I went for SM FP. Lunch was good and we figured we could ride BTMRR and then Splash mountain and take it from there. Foiled again. the ride was closed. Boys showed no interest in Tom Sawyer Island, Riverboat or Country Bear Jamboree (again) so we went back to the Pirate gift shop. DW wanted some stuff for her nieces and actualy found some glasses for her sister. And then we were ready to FP SM. Just as we were going down the steps towards the entrance I looked over and they were reopening BTMRR. We were on it and rode with almost no wait. Back to SM and by that time everyone agreed: although there were several rides we had missed the pool was the place to be.

Great decision! SAB is awsome. It is by far the best slide we have seen. The little kid in me loved the sinking sands and like all the pools we have been to you gotta love poolside bars. The decision really seemed smart after an hour when the clouds rolled in and the heavens once again opened up. Don't be fooled by the timing Even though it came in like a regular Forida afternoon shower, it didn't go away like one. It rained for the rest of the night. DS1 is a swimmer and he was missing his workouts so he wanted to excercise. He asked me to bring him to the Fitness center. He loved that 14 to 18 could go in with an adult. I think it made him feel mature. Since I hadn't excercised all week and I am training for a half marathon in july to benefit Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, this sounde like a good idea. DW was feeling better (what with finally getting some sun and of course a poolside cocktail). She decided that if our sneakers weren't going to dry on their own she would find the dryer. Apparantly she ran into some very nice British Gentleman named Andy and Jason who were doing the same thing. They offer to wath the dryer for her (the sneakers knock the door open every once in a while so someone has to stay. The laundry room is a WIFI hotspot so they didn't mind staying). DW showered, We all reconvened and headed into EPCOT for dinner at the Coral Seas. I made those ADR's because our boys have always loved aquariums, still do. When we swam in the tank last visit it was fun waving to the diners so I thought it would nice. Best decision of the trip becuse I thought dinner was fntastic. I definitely feel this restaurant is underrated. Great food, good service, the whole package. We did have a screaming child at the next table but that is expected at Disney. I still don't understand though how some parents don't have the common courtesy to take a child out of a public space like that when the decible level of the child is doubling that of the room. Oh well, it didn't come close to ruining dinner. We rode Nemo after dinner. Very cute although I miss the Hydrolators. Then we hung out in the aquarium until closing time. walked out passed a rainy Illuminations (oh yes it was aining the entire evening) for the third time and back to the room after a great day. 24 hours had made all the difference in the world.

 

[wannago2disney]

great update! Glad to hear the sun made an appearance to brighten everyone up! pun intended

 

[wheatenwalker]

we were there the same time and I agree, it was discouraging, we had fun but the weather was something else!

 

[castmemberb4]

for you for running the Crohn's Colitis Foundation half marathon. I have a close friend who suffers with Crohn's, it warms my heart to see someone supporting this 'not as well know' disease foundation.
Lynn