Dr. Jones and the Spitting Camel - Link to Alaska Cruise TR 9/18

[vamassey1]

Why can't they stay little girls?

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

all i can say is i cant believe that was your first ride on TTA, it is slow but ohh such a classic.

glad you guys liked it.

hope it becomes part of your routine on future trips

 

[englishrose47]

Hi Everyone!! Am I enjoying my DAY off NOOOOOOOO!!! Kyle is home from school supposedly sick !!!

Oh well he did wash my car and find someone to put air in my tire !!!!!

 

[eandesmom]

Why can't they stay little girls?

Oh I don't know, there is an awful lot I like about this age too! If nothing else I get my vampire fix between tv, books and movies that we can share together!

all i can say is i cant believe that was your first ride on TTA, it is slow but ohh such a classic.

glad you guys liked it.

hope it becomes part of your routine on future trips

It was actually our 2nd, Buzz was first. TTA will probably be part of the routine but not necessarily a destination for the first ride.

Hi Everyone!! Am I enjoying my DAY off NOOOOOOOO!!! Kyle is home from school supposedly sick !!!

Oh well he did wash my car and find someone to put air in my tire !!!!!

hmmn, that doesn't sound very sick!

 

[KatMark]

Hi Everyone!! Am I enjoying my DAY off NOOOOOOOO!!! Kyle is home from school supposedly sick !!!

Oh well he did wash my car and find someone to put air in my tire !!!!!

He washed your car, but he is sick?!?!?! That sounds a little fishy to me.

 

[FauntleroyFAN07]

It was actually our 2nd, Buzz was first. TTA will probably be part of the routine but not necessarily a destination for the first ride.

opps my bad, i must have gotten confused.

 

[brookelizabeth]

You guys got a ton done for the morning after a red-eye! How very nice that the rooms were ready at the same time everyone started to drag, serious pixie dust there!

I'm a big fan of the TTA, so I was happy to see you all enjoyed your first ride on it! I think it's a nice chill ride, but entertaining and incredibly creative.

It was great as always. The best part though was the CM at the exit queue. I so wish I’d have thought to record him or write down what he said. I cannot recall what his exit instructions were but we were busting up laughing. He was SO in character and having fun with it, it was fabulous.

Did he sing the directions? Something like "Yo ho ho, it's time for you to go. Get off the boat...." ours did that, it was hilarious!

 

[Angies1274]

Yay! You arrived!!! Sorry that online check-in took so long though. We've usually had such good luck with everything being all ready to go.

Thanks for posting the pics of your breakfast at WCC. I'm still trying to decide if it would be someplace we would like to try on our next trip. The food looks yummy and the kids skillet looks huge!! I have a feeling Nick would love it!

Aww...the boys haircuts turned out really great!! How cool that you saw Push!! After 4 visits, we still haven't managed to see him yet. Can't wait to see if you got that upgrade!!

 

[glennbo123]

I'm a little slow in commenting on your last installment. Sorry about that.

Looked like a great morning at MK. Great idea to get haircuts done first-thing. I should've gotten James a haircut there...he was so shaggy.

on racking-up the Z-points when Buzz stopped. I'm with you -- keep firing away!

And great idea to duck into PoTC while it's raining. Perfect!

 

[eandesmom]

He washed your car, but he is sick?!?!?! That sounds a little fishy to me.

Fishy to me too!

opps my bad, i must have gotten confused.

It was the first ride we took pictures of! Understandable confusion. And our first time on it (that I can recall)

You guys got a ton done for the morning after a red-eye! How very nice that the rooms were ready at the same time everyone started to drag, serious pixie dust there!

It was very good timing on the rooms, just knowing they were ready was a relief. While no one was on the verge of a melt down, those things can come up quickly and knowing we could escape to the rooms at a moments notice now settled everyone

I'm a big fan of the TTA, so I was happy to see you all enjoyed your first ride on it! I think it's a nice chill ride, but entertaining and incredibly creative.

It was a chill ride and entertaining! I'm glad we did it

Did he sing the directions? Something like "Yo ho ho, it's time for you to go. Get off the boat...." ours did that, it was hilarious!

Yes, something like that, it was hysterical. Cracked all of us up!

Yay! You arrived!!! Sorry that online check-in took so long though. We've usually had such good luck with everything being all ready to go.

It was odd to say the least, no idea why it took so long. I swear the CM made 10 trips back and forth gathering things and checking things.

Thanks for posting the pics of your breakfast at WCC. I'm still trying to decide if it would be someplace we would like to try on our next trip. The food looks yummy and the kids skillet looks huge!! I have a feeling Nick would love it!

It really was yummy, if I was staying at WL I'd eat there again in a heartbeat and would likely pick breakfast again. It was fun, simple, good food and reasonable prices.

Aww...the boys haircuts turned out really great!! How cool that you saw Push!! After 4 visits, we still haven't managed to see him yet. Can't wait to see if you got that upgrade!!

PUSH is so much fun! We actually saw him twice and I couldn't believe our luck either. Eric and I saw him in 04 but only I remember that.

 

[eandesmom]

I'm a little slow in commenting on your last installment. Sorry about that.

No worries!

Looked like a great morning at MK. Great idea to get haircuts done first-thing. I should've gotten James a haircut there...he was so shaggy.

It's funny, I wanted it to be the first thing, the boys wanted it to be the first thing, I really didn't expect it to actually play out that way.

Fit it in next time if you can, it's wonderful.

on racking-up the Z-points when Buzz stopped. I'm with you -- keep firing away!

Exactly! That's like ride 101!

And great idea to duck into PoTC while it's raining. Perfect!

Well not sure anyone gets credit for it as an idea, more of a fortuitous opportunity that presented itself.

 

[englishrose47]

Talked to Judy about Kyle getting his haircut !!!We are gonna look into the MSB!!!!Also PUSH was a huge hit with Kyle in 2007 !!Push followed him around and visa versa and Push kept saying Lookout here comes Kyle !!!It was sooooooo funny!!!

 

[eandesmom]

Talked to Judy about Kyle getting his haircut !!!We are gonna look into the MSB!!!!Also PUSH was a huge hit with Kyle in 2007 !!Push followed him around and visa versa and Push kept saying Lookout here comes Kyle !!!It was sooooooo funny!!!

You will really enjoy it!

 

[that's nice]

Love the haircuts! And no wait at 10:30am? that is a score! We waited in line for 30 minutes last October about 10:30 and the line barely moved, so we got out. (we were meeting someone anyways)

I think Buzz needs a refurb.. or an entire overhall. (But it is still fun!)

Seems like a great morning in MK! I'm curious to see if you got the UPgrade...

 

[GreatBiscuit]

Well, it took a couple of days, but I'm finally all caught up.

Fantastic start Cythia!

I'm glad the red eye went much more smoothly this time around. Your first day is already sounding like a blast! Can't wait to see where you go next.

Personally I think they need a biscuits and gravy breakfast that isn’t as giant as that skillet, it would do well.

Well that just goes without saying!

 

[TexasBelle]

Enjoying your trip report... Looking forward to reading more.
TexasBelle

 

[eandesmom]

Love the haircuts! And no wait at 10:30am? that is a score! We waited in line for 30 minutes last October about 10:30 and the line barely moved, so we got out. (we were meeting someone anyways)

we waited 30-40 minutes last year too, this was shocking! In a very good way.

I think Buzz needs a refurb.. or an entire overhall. (But it is still fun!)

Seems like a great morning in MK! I'm curious to see if you got the UPgrade...

Yeah, it's just too much of the same thing and feels "old" on the technology side. There is a lot I love about it though. It would be fun if they somehow incorporated Buzz in Spanish mode and you could shoot Lotso as well as Zurg.

funny though as in 2004 I thought it was the coolest thing since sliced bread.

It was a great morning!

Well, it took a couple of days, but I'm finally all caught up.

Fantastic start Cythia!

I'm glad the red eye went much more smoothly this time around. Your first day is already sounding like a blast! Can't wait to see where you go next.

It was a blast! I think everyone was really enjoying everything!

Well that just goes without saying!

I knew you'd agree

Enjoying your trip report... Looking forward to reading more.
TexasBelle

Thanks and

 

[eandesmom]

When I left you we were steaming dry after our deluge and escape with pirates. The time change was catching up with us and our rooms were ready. It was about 1, maybe a little later.

So what should we do? Head back and hit the pool? We were all feeling hot and a bit slimy between the heat and the rain. Or…use those Space Mountain Fast Passes and then BTMRR?

Pool

Or

Flying through Space?

It really wasn’t even a question.

Flying through Space!

We just couldn’t leave without hitting Space Mountain! We were all curious to see what the refurb had done to the ride. Flying throught the FP lane we saw the new interactive that were added to the standby queue. They looked cool and a great way to stand in line if you had to. But we didn’t. Very soon we were off. I’d hoped it would be a bit less jerky.

Nope.

I can’t say I noticed much of a change though both Jeff and I thought it seemed darker. And the dark added to the jerkiness as you can’t brace yourself for anything. I didn’t tweak my neck though, which I have (mildly) in the past so that was good. All in all we loved it, as always. Thankfully no one was in the mood to shop, we had something else on our minds, something we’d promised the kids on the way over to SM.

The first official SNACK of the trip! Eric wanted a Mickey Bar, the rest of us wanted smoothies so we did a quick stop at a cart and then headed to Auntie Gravities for the rest of us. This was our first time at Auntie Gravities.
It would not be the last! 4 of us got smoothies (3 cappuccino and one mango) and Kendall opted for a sundae. Oh did they hit the spot! By now it was about 1:40. Our FP’s for BTMRR were for 2pm. Could we stick it out another 20 minutes?

Nope.

And I was ok with that.

In the text that said our rooms were ready, it had included room numbers. My room request had been for the North Building, floors 3-5, view of otter pond. My TA had told me she’d gotten us upgraded to a lake view, upper floor.

These rooms stared with a 2.

Beyond that I didn’t know what the numbers meant, just that we were on the 2nd floor .

We took our time walking out, soaking in Main Street, enjoying our drinks, and stopping to check out these guys.

As we strolled out, our FP time came up for BTMRR. Oh well, another time. We really should have given them away but at the time thought we might actually go back after the pool. We took the boat back, made a stop at Roaring Forks to get our refillable mugs and fill them up and I went to get our keys.

Our room was on the lobby level on the South side. Pretty much exactly the opposite of what I’d requested. But supposedly a lake view.

Heading to the rooms, which were connecting as requested we checked it out. It was a Courtyard and Pool view. And if you looked just right off the balcony you could kind of see the lake. You did have to be standing and turned that way to see it, but if you did, it was lovely. I didn't think you could see it right away but at an angle, definitely. Doubtful that we'd see much in the way of fireworks but it wasn't out of the question either.

It was a nice view. It wasn’t ground level though which I’d been worried level 2 was. But it very close to what I feared would be a lot of pool noise given that it was on the 2nd floor. Which might be a non-issue but I just wasn’t sure. I decided to go back and just see if that upper floor woods (nice and quiet) view might be available. I realize that might sound crazy but with Jeff’s supersonic hearing, the last thing we needed was him not being able to sleep. I had no idea how much sound might, or might not carry into the room. I told everyone to sit tight and not unpack and I’d be right back.

Here is where it got interesting for me. According to the desk, we’d been upgraded NOT because my TA had somehow arranged something special but because it was literally the only set of connecting rooms available. Connecting was more important than anything else so…there you go. It was disappointing that she’d tried to take credit for something, misstate what it was (though how she could “know” it was lake and upper floor had been beyond me at the time she said it and I’d gone into it skeptical) and all that. But, it was in fact a perfectly lovely room and that’s all that mattered. The location and room actually was outstanding and I’m very glad we didn’t move. It might have been better for me not to know and her to get the credit.

By this time it was going on 3:30 pm and we were ready for the pool. Well the kids and Jeff were, I needed them out of there so I could unpack and get things settled. It’s so much easier for me to just boot them out and then unpack myself and the E’s. I am a “full” unpacker, closet, drawers etc. It just keeps the room much tidier! Before they headed to the pool though we had a decision to make. We had 2 different dinner options that night. We could do a 7:35 at Tusker house if we were starving or an 8:55 at Sanaa to try and keep people up and really make the change.

We took a vote.

It was unanimous. More pool time, no rushing to get ready, try to hit AK prior to dinner for EMH and Sanna. I’m not sure which was a bigger factor, AK EMH before (versus after) dinner or Sanaa versus Tusker but Sanaa was the clear winner. We’d never been to either so it was interesting. Had they picked Tusker we would not have made it to Sanaa at all on the trip and they knew that, I’d been unable to get a later trip ADR on any night that worked. They also knew we did have Tusker scheduled for later in the week so we would still be able to go there. At that point I wanted to rush and get to the pool too! So I focused on unpacking and getting my behind down there instead of taking pictures, which I did, and was there by 4:30.

Hello pool!

Everyone was in the pool and I quickly joined them! However it became quickly apparent that now…everyone was hungry! Literally the minute I got in, Taylor asked for his key so he could go get food.

Wet and dripping, off to Roaring Forks I went to get a few CS meals to share. I really should have checked before I went in. Oh well. Taylor got his own meal. I picked up 2 pizza flatbreads for the rest of us to share with chips and veggies so we didn’t totally fill up and ruin our dinner. Of course Taylor chose the giant brownie as his side. Just as I arrived back and got the food to the table, it started to rain. And RAIN.

You can see the rain!

But it was relatively warm, no lightening so kids kept swimming in between pieces of pizza. Which was quite tasy, one pepperoni and one “special” a pulled pork pizza flatbread. The rain wasn’t inspiring Jeff or I to swim, we decided to read at the table and Jeff decided this would be a good time to make our first “drink” of the trip, using the rum we’d packed and filling our mugs with coke from Roaring Forks. We huddled under the umbrella, backs and towels getting soaked, and ate the rest of our meal. While soggy, it did let up and didn’t really slow us down other than the food huddle. We were able to enjoy the pool for about another hour. We wanted to actually get to AK prior to our reservation and hit some EMH rides so herded the cats up around 5:30 or so to get ready (and Jeff to unpack) or we would end up without enough time to hit AK and then head over to AKL. Our thought was if we got there by 7:15 or so we could have maybe an hour of park time before heading over to AKL. Which meant we had a goal of hitting the buses by 6:30 to allow for wait time.
We refilled our mugs and headed up and everyone showered and got ready.

Finally.... a picture from our balcony. Our view. The perfect perfect spot for a drink while others are getting ready, reading during a rainstorm or morning coffee. These were taken while having my first official balcony drink.

At 6:30

Yeah, I know, we aren't THAT close. Why I initially worried about noise I have no idea.

Will we make it in time to AK? Can everyone really stay up for an 8:55 dinner reservation?

Next. Don't lay down!

 

[MRYPPNS]

Wow you have really packed a lot into this travel day! Way to work the plan!!

 

[vamassey1]

Your view is just lovely!

I'm glad you got to relax by the pool even though it was soggy. It least it wasn't too hot.

I hope you made it to dinner. I really want to get a review of Sanaa.