Lost Moms, SPF 80, and RideMax Plans, Oh My! A May 2010 Trip Report-FINAL Update 8/23

[bellebookworm9]

I stopped to take some pictures along Sunset Boulevard.

Now, as I was walking down Hollywood Boulevard I saw a Photopass photographer in a wheelchair. Everyone was just passing him by, in a hurry to get wherever they were going. Well, I had two thoughts: 1)You're in a wheelchair, which automatically makes me want to be nice to you and 2)I'm in no big hurry, since I definitely had a head start on the crowds exiting Fantasmic! So, I handed my card to him, and he took my favorite photos of the trip. Mom pointed out later that since he was at a different height than the other photographers, he was able to get a different perspective.

I'm calling these my "model shots." I just love the way the lights are, how you can see the beams from the Great Movie Ride, everything! I thanked him and continued out to the bus stop. Even thinking about it now, it makes me sad that everyone was just walking right passed this guy, but I'm kind of happy about it, because that meant he got to take great pictures of me.

I approached the stop and the trend continued, I waited about 2 minutes for a bus to show up. I headed towards the back and was shortly joined by a mom, dad, and two little boys, Oscar and James, who I would guess to be about 4 & 2. Oscar gave me my two favorite quotes from this trip. The family had a conversation that went something like this:

Mom: Wow, we didn't have to wait for the bus at all. It was right here!
Dad: Makes up for this morning when we had to wait forever.
Oscar: Every day we make progress.

He said this completely serious in his little 4 year old way. I just cracked up. What child talks like that? As the ride continued, Oscar said something that sounded like "I want two vodkas." Mom said "Oh you do, do you?" Then she looked at me and said "That's really not what he said." I laughed along. She said to him "So one's not enough, you want two?" I never did find out what he actually said, and I don't think his parents knew either. I arrived back at Kidani, and found out I had made excellent time. From the time Fantasmic! started until the time I arrived back in the room was just about an hour. I know this because GLEE was just ending. I thought they were wearing very strange costumes, and didn't find out until later that it was the Lady Gaga episode. Mom said she had come down with a stomach bug and spent most of her evening in the bathroom. She also said that since she spent so much time in the little toilet room that she decided they really need a picture or something in there, because looking at the plain brown walls is just boring. We watched some TV and went to bed kind of late.

Up next: Will Boma live up to the hype? Will Mom be feeling better? Would I have a repeat of the atomic wedgie from the previous week at Typhoon Lagoon? AND the great bus fiasco!

"Are you sure this bus is going to Typhoon Lagoon?"

 

[bellebookworm9]

That brownie dessert at 50's Prime Time looks delicious! I'm glad you had a good server there, that always makes it so much more fun . I've found it to be kind of hit or miss there--when my family went there this year, we had a waitress who was really into it, which was great, but last year when I was there with my friends, our waiter didn't do ANYTHING, which was upsetting . Glad you liked it!

Oh, and I so agree with what you said about being glad you didn't meet Lotso after seeing Toy Story 3. When I saw the movie and how evil he was, I was so confused as to why they have the meet and greet with him and everything there now...won't little kids be scared of him? I know I wouldn't want to meet him after seeing the movie...

Mark was great because he was funny without being over the top or rude. It definitely enhanced the atmosphere. There's a whole debate about Lotso, and somebody said that Lotso the bear is quite loveable. Lotso the character is the sinister one.

 

[Kellybelly777]

That's too bad that you weren't able to get on Rockin Roller coaster, that's one of my favorites. At least you got to do TOT (my personal favorite) and Fantasmic!

Oh and we had gotten the lemonade shocks thinking it was frozen lemonade too. Let me just say, it was soo gross but me and my sister both took HUGE first sips and the look on our faces was hilarious!!!

 

[bellebookworm9]

That's too bad that you weren't able to get on Rockin Roller coaster, that's one of my favorites. At least you got to do TOT (my personal favorite) and Fantasmic!

Oh and we had gotten the lemonade shocks thinking it was frozen lemonade too. Let me just say, it was soo gross but me and my sister both took HUGE first sips and the look on our faces was hilarious!!!

I wasn't too heartbroken about Rock 'n' Roller Coaster because I'm really not a big fan of that launch, but it did ruin my goal of making it onto every thrill ride except Dinosaur! That lemonade shock was gross, but it did help my throat feel better, so I kept drinking it and just tried to ignore the flavor.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Wednesday morning we had a breakfast ADR for 9:50 at Boma. Mom was still not recovered from her stomach bug, so I headed over alone. I took pictures, really I did, but when I went to upload them it told me the card was corrupted. I did the scan thing to fix it, and somewhere in there, the pictures disappeared. Anyway, I'll be honest, the food was pretty good, but it didn't blow me away. I arrived about 15 minutes early for my 9:50am ADR and only waited about 3 minutes to be seated. There was no problem changing the party size from 2 to 1. My server was Edna, and while she was friendly, she seemed rushed and distracted. I waited a bit longer than I should have for her to come after I was seated. It also took nearly 15 minutes after I was done eating for her to bring the check. Then I had to wait for her to process it. Finally, this was the only restaurant that did not acknowledge the birthday celebrations that I saw were noted on the slip they place at the table for the server.

The jungle juice was very good.
My first trip to the buffet consisted of:
-Fruit Loops
-Cinnamon Bun
-Banana Macadamia Muffin
-Strawberries & Watermelon

The fruit loops were good and so was the watermelon. The strawberries were juicy but not very sweet. The cinnamon bun was just okay. They're better at my school, I think. The muffin was tasty but seemed dry.

My second trip included:
-Goat Cheese and Chive scrambled eggs
-Bacon
-Sausage
-Brioche French Toast

The bacon was good. The sausage was a bit too spicy. The toast was very good-I liked the raisins. The eggs were the best thing I ate this morning. They were perfectly done and the chives added a lot of flavor.

My third trip was:
-Grapes, Cantaloupe, & Watermelon
-Chocolate Croissant
-Regular Croissant
-Blueberry Muffin

The grapes were mushy, but the cantaloupe was good. I didn't care for the chocolate croissant. The muffin was good, but the sugar crystals on top were a bit too much. The regular croissant was perfect: light and fluffy.
I really don't know if I'd come back here for breakfast. I was just disappointed overall.

When I got back, Mom was sleeping, so I did the laundry and worked on my dining reviews. She woke up at some point but was still not feeling well, so it looked like I'd be going to Typhoon Lagoon on my own as well.

I left the room at 1:15. I waited 20 minutes for a bus, which thankfully had already stopped at Jambo House. Now, we had gone to Downtown Disney earlier in the week and stopped at Typhoon Lagoon first, so that's what I was expecting. I'm just now remembering that I think I read somewhere that in the afternoon Downtown is the first stop, then Typhoon. Well, anyway when we got to the intersection of Buena Vista Drive and Bonnet Creek Parkway, we should have continued straight to get to TL. However, the driver turned left onto Bonnet Creek. We then took a detour down DVC way, past Saratoga Springs and Old Key West. Then we turned right, back onto Buena Vista, and finally arrived at Marketplace. I asked the driver "This bus is going to Typhoon Lagoon, right?" He said yes, and we continued onto Pleasure Island. Where there was a driver switch. A bunch of people got on and seemed confused as to where they were going. I think they were attempting to get to Animal Kingdom Park, via transfer at AKL. The driver said "This bus stops only at AKL." Um what?! So I asked again, "You're going to Typhoon Lagoon first, right?" He said yes. Phew. I arrived at Typhoon Lagoon an hour after I left the hotel room. Ugh. I went into the park and began to search for some seating.

"You got the wine & dine plan, right?"

 

[bellebookworm9]

I managed to find a kiddie size chair in the shade kind of near a smoking area (yuck) not far from Crush 'n' Gusher. The park seemed more crowded than I expected, because I had read that late afternoon is a good time to go. I put my stuff down and decided to head for Crush 'n' Gusher, since it was right there. Here's a picture.

For Crush 'n' Gusher, they offer three person and two person tubes. One person is allowed in a two person tube. There are three slides: Pineapple Plunger, Coconut Crusher, and Banana Blaster. Pineapple Plunger and Coconut Crusher are open to both types of tubes. Banana Blaster showed a double tube with two people ONLY, so I didn't know if I could ride it, since I had a double tube, but only one person. So I went for Pineapple Plunger. The line wasn't terribly long, but I found the slide itself to be boring.

Next, I attempted to find Gangplank Falls. (I found the signs at TL to be very confusing. I thought they were much clearer at Blizzard Beach.) Now this is a family tube ride, but Unofficial Guide made it seem like if you were single or a couple they would pair you up with other people. I didn't see this happening, as each family grabbed a tube while in line. Also, the families directly in front of and behind me were speaking Spanish, so I couldn't ask to ride with them. I got out of line and went to Keelhaul Falls, which appeared to have a shorter line than Mayday Falls. The line was fairly short, but I found the slide itself to be "slow" and I collided with the rider in front of me at the bottom. She wasn't quite out of the slide and here I come, and we both look at each other, eyes wide as saucers, going "Oh no!" It wasn't too bad though and we didn't get hurt.

I decided to go try out Humunga Kowabunga. I got a little lost looking for it, even when I stopped at one of the posted maps. Luckily, another family had just come from there, and directed me the right way, and I told them how to get to the "Falls". Again, the line wasn't too long. There was a couple in front of me, and when the woman went down, she just screamed "Oh my God!" and of course, those slides kind of echoed. When I got to the bottom she asked if everyone had heard her. I said yes, and she said something like "I'm so embarrassed" but I told her it was okay, as everyone had laughed. The slide did not give me a wedgie, thank goodness, but it did kind of hurt my back. I decided some floating was in order so I set off to find an entrance to Castaway Creek.

The river was dirty, and there were lots of leaves and grass in the water. I did manage to get a few Photopass pictures taken.

When I got out (I didn't stay in for the whole circuit) I landed near the Happy Landings Ice Cream Shack, and got to see one of the giant sundaes served in a sand bucket with shovel. If mom was with me I would have gotten one. I managed to find my way over to the surf pool. The first wave that I experienced was no fun: the water I was in was kind of shallow, so it knocked me down and I scraped up my toe, as well as taking off the nail polish/top layer of nail on my left foot. When the wave calmed down, I got a few Photopass pics. The photographer asked me if I wanted the wave behind me. I said "NO!" She replied, "Yeah, some people don't want to turn their back on those waves!" Gee, I wonder why?

I'm very entertained by the woman behind me who has my bathing suit, just in a different color.

I went back to my seat to get my water proof camera and came back to take pictures in the pool. Once I went into water that was over my head when the waves came I was fine, since they couldn't push me down far enough to scrape anything.
Here it comes!

The aftermath:

I stayed in the wave pool for quite some time, then I headed back for one more ride on Crush 'n' Gusher. On the way I saw Lilo.

Here's a sign at the entrance to the slides:

This time I chose to go on Coconut Crusher. I liked it much better than Pineapple Plunger; it was faster and had better drops.
Just enjoying the ride:

Now how do I get out of this thing?

Over the last few days, I had gotten some bug bites on my feet, which were sooooo itchy. I determined they were from black flies, to which I am mildly allergic. (In 3rd grade I got bit on the eyelid and it swelled ridiculously, and in the summer of 2008 I got bit on the back of my hand, which became at least twice it's normal size. People were disgusted. ) I asked a CM to direct me to first aid for some anti-itch gel, which I had first encountered the previous night at DHS. They can only give two packets at a time, but that stuff works wonders!

I waited for a bus for at least 20 minutes. When I first got there, it was pretty empty, but by the time the bus finally arrived the stop was packed. I sat in the back again, and I heard this interesting conversation from a family near me. It was Mom, Dad and their 3 or 4 kids, then Mom's sister and her two kids. From what I gathered, they were staying in a 2 bedroom villa. They had dinner ADRs in ONE HOUR and needed to get everybody showered and changed, plus take the bus to wherever they were going in that time. Mom said "It's okay, we'll just make an assembly line." Dad said "We got the Wine & Dine Plan, right?" Mom said yes, and Dad replied "Good, we might need to crack open a bottle to get through this!"

When we arrived back at Kidani, I found Mom relaxing on the balcony. She was feeling a little better and was ready to try some food. After I got dressed, we walked over to Mara. On our way down the hall I saw this proverb:

"Children are the reward of life."

When we got to Mara, we decided on a cheese flatbread, watermelon, and I went back for a slice of cheesecake as well.

The flatbread was very good, hot and fresh. It was definitely big enough for the two of us. The watermelon was fresh, juicy, ad sweet. The cheesecake was perfect and it was also very large.

After dinner, we stopped at the Zawadi Marketplace. Mom was looking for books, as she had finished the ones she brought with her. She didn't find any, but we did see these cool rice crispy treats.

Mom did find some chocolate caramel popcorn for one of her friends back home. Remember on our first day at Magic Kingdom I mentioned that one of the stores in Adventureland had chunks of rock, including amethyst? Well, on one of our earlier trips to Zawadi, we found that they sold the same thing. I forgot to mention that after breakfast at Boma I stopped at bought a chunk for Grandma.

We saw another beautiful sunset:

We went to bed fairly early in preparation for our last full day.

Up next: Would we make rope drop? Would I go on Mission: Space? What attraction would unexpectedly capture our attention? Will we make it on Soarin' (which we'd never done before)? Would we see IllumiNations again?

"This is our future?!"

 

[bellebookworm9]

Thursday was our last full day in Disney World. We woke up around 7:30 or so, and were at the bus stop by 8:15. We waited for awhile but no bus came. I think I caught a minor form of what Mom had, because I sort of needed the restroom, but decided I could wait. Two minutes later, I decided I had to go NOW. I went back into the hotel to use the public bathroom off the lobby, and of course, in the short time I was gone, a bus came. We waited a bit more and finally another bus came. Artie was our driver and he was very funny, telling us jokes the whole way there. We really lucked out with our Epcot drivers!

We arrived at the park about 10 minutes after rope drop, but decided to continue on with the RideMax plan as it was listed. That meant our first ride was Spaceship Earth. There was no wait for it. We had been on it before the rehab in 2007, but couldn't really remember it. We did enjoy this new version. The ride paused for a few minutes as we were coming down, giving us more time to laugh at our "future".

When we exited the ride we were deposited into "Project Tomorrow" which we skipped in the interest of time. Our next stop was The Land, where we picked up our FPs for Soarin', good for two minutes after RideMax predicted! I should mention that this was one of the first times of the day that Mom wandered off, not knowing where she was going, but I grabbed her and pulled her towards the FP machines. Next, we took our boat tour of Living with the Land, which Mom had done last trip but I had not. We walked right on. The tour was very interesting and we especially enjoyed the greenhouses.

On our way back upstairs, I took this picture.

Our next stop was "The Circle of Life" movie. I think we waited about a minute to be let into the theater. The Lion King is tied with Beauty and the Beast for my favorite movie, so I really liked this show, as did Mom. It was really loud though. The theater isn't that big, there's no need to bust our eardrums!

With most of The Land completed, we went next door to The Seas with Nemo and Friends.

"I'm going to put you on a leash!"

 

[bellebookworm9]

We found the line for the Nemo ride. The line didn't seem to be too bad, but that was before we really got into the building. That queue just goes on forever! The wait wasn't awful, but it was longer than predicted and we really didn't think the ride was that interesting once we got on it. It was cute, but boring. I was really looking forward to Turtle Talk with Crush, so we walked over there next. We were the last family admitted for that show, so no wait. This is also where we caught up to ourselves on the RideMax plan! Whew! We managed to find seats in the back row, because the theater was very crowded. What a cute show! The kids were so adorable with their questions. After we learned how to speak turtle, we walked upstairs to the aquarium exhibits.

First we stopped in to the manatee area, where we listened to a CM talk about how they rescued the manatees, their daily activities, and feeding schedules. Very interesting. Next we walked over to the main tanks. We must have spent half an hour there! It was such an unexpected thing to capture our attention. We watched the dolphins, sea turtles, and sting rays. The pictures aren't very good, but you get the idea.

It was time to get our Test Track FPs, so I told Mom to meet me at the wait times board near the Land (which we had passed/looked at several times that morning) at 11:45. I walked across the park, grabbed the FPs, and walked back. Mom wasn't there. Oh, no not a repeat of Monday! I didn't have my phone, so I waited a few minutes, then walked around the area looking for her. I walked back towards The Seas, and finally found her exiting the building. I said, "This is not the sign at 11:45!" or something similar. She said, "Sorry, I got confused. I didn't know which sign." Really? We've walked past it about 4 times this morning, and each time I've looked at it, and read wait times OUT LOUD! Anyway, moving on.

We walked back in to the Land, and headed for Soarin'. This would be the first time either of us had ridden it. Now, neither of us are crazy about heights, so this would be interesting. We walked through the FP line and probably would have walked right on, had we not requested B1, as per RideMax. I think we waited about 15 minutes. Finally, we were admitted to our waiting line. We were placed with a bunch of high school students who kept making comments during the safety video, such as, "Who wears crocs? Ew."

We really enjoyed the ride! It was so cool! I was peeking through my fingers for the errant golf ball, but of course I removed my hands before it actually came, so I flinched anyway. I liked the fireworks at the end, too. As we were walking down the exit ramp, I said, "That was a great ride, but I don't think it's worth a 70+ minute wait." Mom agreed. Then again, I don't think anything except parades/fireworks are worth more than a 15 minute wait.

We were getting hungry, so we stopped at Sunshine Seasons, a favorite from last trip. We ordered the Turkey & Monterey Jack sandwich, which we had gotten last time. It now comes with a side, which on that day was potato salad. We also got a strawberry shortcake. There wasn't too long of a wait to pay, and while we were getting our utensils I spotted a table that a family was vacating, so we hurried over to claim it.

The sandwich was very good, but seemed a little smaller than I remembered. I thought the potato salad was just okay, but mom said she really enjoyed it; it reminded her of classic German potato salad. The strawberry shortcake was amazing: perfectly smooth, light, and fluffy, with large chunks of strawberry throughout.

After lunch it was time to head over to the other side of Future World. On the way, we caught the Jammitors. They were awesome!

We also stopped to take some obligatory fountain pictures.

Around this time Mom started to wander again, prompting me to say, "I'm going to put you on a leash!" She replied, "I'm sorry! There's just so much to see!" We made it over to Ellen's Energy Adventure and walked inside. We caught most of the preshow, and then onto the ride we went. I think we were in one of the last rows and we were the only ones in our row. There was a family in front of us: Mom, Dad, and small boy. Now, this kid clearly didn't want to be on this ride AT ALL. He was carrying on and his mom was bribing him with candy and toys for later. Mom and I just looked at each other thinking "If we have to listen to this child fussing for the next 45 minutes, there will be hell to pay." He calmed down after awhile though. Some parts of the ride were entertaining, some were boring, but the whole thing was very loud. I don't remember it being that loud last time. Upon exiting we grabbed FPs for Mission:Space and headed for the exit. We stopped at an ice cream cart on the way. Mom got a Mickey bar and I got an Itzakadoozie. I may be committing blasphemy, but I hate Mickey bar type things. I just really hate the chocolate coating. Mom didn't really care for it because she said it was too rich. There wasn't too long of a wait for a bus, and we returned back to Kidani for a few hours nap before an evening of fun, including our second viewing of IllumiNations!

"My arm does not bend that way!"

 

[bellebookworm9]

We headed back to the park in the early evening, I think around 6. We had about a 15 minute wait for a bus and when we arrived at Epcot we went straight to Test Track. We had a pretty long wait (to me) even with the FPs. There was quite a wait to get into the preshow room, and then a wait to get into a car. We were seated in the front row with a random guy. It was a great ride, as usual. That part with the truck always scares me! Mom almost broke my arm on the track outside, because she was gripping it so hard and pulling it towards her. I said, "You're going to break my arm! It doesn't bend that way!" At the end of the ride we sat for several minutes in the tunnel before the dock and it was SO hot in there. We got the picture added to our Photopass account.

Does anybody know when they take this? In most pictures, everybody looks bored, and I can't figure out why I'm laughing.

Next up was Mission: Space. Mom still wasn't feeling well, so she decided to sit this one out. I had never done it before, but went with the green team because I absolutely cannot deal with spinning. They didn't collect my FP because there really wasn't a wait. I waited a few minutes in the initial queue, then about 7 minutes in the preshow room, and then another 5 minutes outside the capsule. I rode with a mom, dad, and teenage son. The mom was really worried because she thought it would spin, and even though her family told her it didn't I don't think she believed them. So I said, "This side doesn't spin. If it did, I wouldn't be here." I think she listened to me. I was also a little worried because I hate small spaces, but this wasn't too bad. I was engineer, so I was in charge of putting us into hydrosleep and dealing with the wing landing. We made it safely to Mars after a few mishaps.

We were getting hungry so we went back to Sunshine Seasons. This time we had no trouble finding a table because it was around 8pm. For dinner we got the 1/2 Rotisserie Chicken meal with mashed potaotes and glazed carrots. We also got a fruit tulip and a key lime tart for dessert.

This was soooo good. The mashed potatoes were delicious, fresh and garlicky and just awesome. The carrots had just a hint of sweetness. The chicken was mostly moist, with just a few spots being dry.

The desserts were just okay. The fruit tulip was very bland. I expected the custard to be sweet, but it really had no flavor. The strawberries were okay. Mom ate the peaches and kiwi and said they were bland as well. The key lime tart was not what I was expecting. I'm used to the Red Lobster Key Lime pie, which is almost like cheesecake. This was like a mousse and what I thought was meringue on top was almost like a heavy cream. It wasn't meringue and it wasn't whipped cream, and we're still not entirely sure what it was. It was good, just not what I was expecting.

Now, this was at least the third time we were in this building today. We'd done everything there was to do, so knew how it was laid out. While we were eating, we needed napkins or something, so Mom went to get them. We were in the section closest to Soarin' across from the escalator. She exits our section and starts walking towards Soarin'. I told her she was going the wrong way, but she didn't hear me. She finally realized she wasn't getting any napkins from the FP machines and turned around. I did one of these when she returned to the table. Of course I made fun of her for it.

When we left The Land and were heading towards World Showcase, we encountered some Photopass photographers, so we stopped to get some nighttime Spaceship Earth & fountain pictures.

(This is the one we had printed for our picture frames).

Our next stop was First Aid for more anti-itch gel. Mom also had some nasty bites that she had acquired but we weren't sure what they were. We thought maybe spider bites. Well, the nurse told us they were ant bites! He said he'd seen quite a few people that day with similar ones. We explained that she must have gotten them in her bed at the hotel because she hadn't left the room for 24 hours or so and didn't have them before that. He asked us where we were staying and when we told him AKL, he said "Oh yeah, they can't do as much with pesticides over there because of the animals. Add that to the fact that we're basically in swampland and there's all sorts of bugs and critters there. Just get a change of sheets." Not reassuring.

We exited the Odyssey building and walked over to the Lagoon. We found an excellent viewing spot about 20 minutes before IllumiNations, diagonally in front of the Odyssey near the temporary Mexico food area. Not a lot of people and a pretty clear view. Once the show started, I began narrating the beginning along with Jim Cummings. There was a woman nearby who was looking at me in amazement, as if she couldn't believe that I had this intro memorized, but also thinking it was cool that I did. We played around with different settings on the camera, including the fireworks setting, and some of the pictures turned out better than others, and come turned out really cool.

(cont'd in next post)
"Another thousand circles round the sun, we go on"

 

[bellebookworm9]

After the show, we hightailed it to the exit, stopping briefly to take pictures of the fiber optic sidewalks and Spaceship Earth.

I also took pictures of the crowd in front of and behind us.

Judging by the music, we made it to the exit more quickly this time. There was a brief wait for a bus, and when we returned to the resort we stopped at the front desk to inquire about getting the sheets changed. They said they would send somebody up, but did not seem at all concerned about the fact that ants were more than likely in the bed. Not long after, a mousekeeper came up to the room with fresh sheets, and though she offered to change them for us, Mom insisted that she was able to do it. I was happy that we weren't charged, because if you are staying on DVC points and need linens changed more than once during your stay, they normally charge you an extra fee. With that taken care of, we did some packing and headed to bed because we had to be up early the next morning to check out and catch Magical Express back to the airport.

 

[glennbo123]

Nice updates! I had quite a bit of catching up to do.

I thought the Crush n Gusher was a pretty good ride, but I can't remember which slide is which. Regarding bus rides, it killed me whenever they had to change drivers. Tack on another 10 minutes to your travel time.

 

[bellebookworm9]

Nice updates! I had quite a bit of catching up to do.

I thought the Crush n Gusher was a pretty good ride, but I can't remember which slide is which. Regarding bus rides, it killed me whenever they had to change drivers. Tack on another 10 minutes to your travel time.

Glad you caught up! Crush 'n' Gusher was probably the best things besides the surf pool that I did at either water park. I think that was the only driver switch I endured, because most of our travels were direct, but it was quite annoying.

 

[Picota26]

First time reader and i love it! really nice pics! I am hungry with all the food pics!

 

[bellebookworm9]

First time reader and i love it! really nice pics! I am hungry with all the food pics!

So sorry you're joining in at the end, but I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it! The food was definitely one of the best parts. I'm currently categorizing all the pictures from the Food Photo Thread on the restaurant board and everything looks so good! There are so many restaurants that I want to try!

 

[bellebookworm9]

Friday morning we woke up around 8:30. We ate breakfast and finished packing. Our boarding passes and express checkout stuff was left on our door overnight. I had signed up for the Early Bird Check In via Southwest and found that our boarding passes were A35 & A36. Okay, but not much better than if I had done them myself (if you remember that when I did it myself on the way down, we had A40 &41). Wanting to take advantage of not dealing with our own luggage, we took it down to the resort airline check in desk. I was a little nervous at first because there appeared to be a family of 3 adults in front of us that literally had about 12 bags between them. However, we were called before all their bags were tagged, so no big deal. We checked our luggage with no hassle and then went back up to the room to clean it up a little. I know, you're probably thinking, "Mousekeeping is coming later you fools!" but we had spilled some cheese crackers earlier in the week and then they got smushed into the carpet, so we wanted to vacuum that up. After we were done, we said good bye to our room for the final time.

It was still a little early to go wait for the bus, so we checked out Community Hall. Mom had been in there for a few minutes earlier in the week, but I hadn't visited it at all. It was really cool. There were all sorts of games and things, free coloring pages, and inexpensive crafts. (DVC members get a discount. I should also point out that the gift shop had DVDs for rental. These are free to DVC members, which we were simply because the person I rented points from hadn't told them we were not members, and I believe it's about $1 for non members. They must be returned by 10am the next morning. There was a very large selection to choose from.) Since the Magical Express info told us to be outside 15 minutes before our scheduled pick up time, we headed out around 9:40. A valet CM was kind enough to take our picture.

There were a few benches near the stop, on the other side of the Porte Cochere. While we waited we chatted with another family that consisted of a mom, dad, and young daughter, plus mom's mom, and dad's parents. They were very interesting. The bus showed up at about 10:06, a few minutes late. I was hoping we would make it to the airport on time. Mom wondered if Disney would compensate for missed flights if it was their fault you were late, and I told her probably not. Does anyone actually know the answer to this? There were a few people on the bus already, and we proceeded to make stops at Jambo House and Pop Century. I took a picture of the bus, since it was a real Magical Express bus this time.

Our driver was Scott and he was awesome. He made jokes the whole time. They included:

(to the family I mentioned earlier)"There's only two reasons anyone would travel with in laws. Either they're paying for it or they're babysitting. No? Neither of those reasons? Really?"

"I see a bunch of kids here. You all have Monday off, right? Well, since your parents must not care about you missing school, take Tuesday off too. Heck, take Wednesday! Actually kids, you should stay in school. Otherwise you end up like me, driving a bus and spending your vacations driving up to Michigan to spend holidays with your mother in law."

"The airlines are really skimpy these days. When you get on your flight, they might give you a snack. This snack will consist of exactly 4.5 pretzels."

This is my favorite. "Now, there's a mountain outside the Orlando airport. Don't believe me? Does anyone live near mountains? What are they made of? Right, rocks and dirt. Look to to your left." We all look. There is a small mound of rocks and dirt about 7 feet tall. "See there's a mountain. You can't tell me it's not; you just said mountains are made of rocks and dirt. Well so is that."

I think we were on side A of the airport, so the second stop. We got off the bus with no trouble and went inside. It was about 11:15, and our flight didn't leave until 1. We had plenty of time to spare! We got a little confused looking for security, but once we found it there was no wait, surprisingly. They were much more thorough here than in Buffalo. They actually made me take my laptop out of my backpack; in fact, I was surprised they even asked if I had one. However, I found out later that the terror alert was at orange, so that may have explained it. There were announcements about "If you see any luggage that looks to have been abandoned, call 911 immediately." We took the fake monorail out to our terminal, and got lunch at McDonald's and Sbarro. We also got a frozen yogurt from Freshens. We lingered over lunch and made it to the gate about 15 minutes before boarding.

When it was time to get on the plane, everyone went for the front, of course, leaving the back open for us. We got the exact same seats as we had coming down. Now, excuse me while I rant for a little while. The last group of people to board was a group of about 30 Indian people, most of whom seemed to be related. Naturally, they came back our area since that was the only place left. That would be fine, except these people had clearly never heard of deodorant. Not okay when you're in a confined space for 2.5 hours. They stored their carryons but they wouldn't sit down. Then they started yelling (not in English, in fact their English seemed to be very poor) and tearing apart the overhead compartments. Well, it turned out that a purse had been left in the terminal. That's right folks, we couldn't take off because they had forgotten a purse. Well, one of the flight attendants or someone went and got it. Finally, we were cleared to go. The flight itself was boring. The Indian people were not. They were very loud the whole time. They did not believe in following the rules. They were standing in the aisles chatting when the seatbelt sign was on. (I feel slightly hypocritical because at one point I myself got up to use the restroom, but I thought my bladder was going to explode, and I immediately sat back down when I returned). When we were back in the Buffalo area, Mom and I had fun pointing out buildings that we were familiar with. It was time to descend. Except one of the Indian men was still standing. The flight attendants were making the announcement and said "Sir, you need to sit down" several times, getting progressively louder. He either was ignoring them or couldn't understand. Finally one of his family members told him to sit and he listened. Now, I consider myself to be a pretty accepting, non-racist person but this was just ridiculous. I was very glad to get off that plane.

I think we stopped at the bathroom and then hightailed it to baggage claim to beat the Indian family. We were successful and thankfully, our luggage had made it home with us. We went outside and Grandma picked us up. We had fun telling her about the trip, and when we got home I took a picture of most of the souvenirs we had gotten.

We took Grandma to Applebee's for dinner, because for an end of the year gift, my bosses had gotten me a $50 Applebee's gift certificate to use before/after the trip (They spoil me. It's rather ridiculous). After dinner, Grandma left, we did a little unpacking, and went to bed early. Mom says the days of travel are more tiring than the days in the parks.

We were glad to be home. As much as I loved Disney, 12 days is a long time to be away from home. At the time, I was fine, but a few months later I started getting the itch to go back...

Stay tuned for final thoughts and some details of our next trip...

 

[bellebookworm9]

My thoughts are in purple, Mom's are in blue.

MAGIC KINGDOM
Favorite Rides: Splash Mountain, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Big Thunder Mountain-1st time ever!

Least Favorite Ride: Enchanted Tiki Room-Under New Management, Snow White's Scary Adventures-dark and scary.

Best Character Interaction: Fairies, Ariel & Eric, Tiana & Naveen

Comments: The Magic Kingdom is still my favorite park. There’s so much to do and it never gets boring. Wishes and Spectro just make me infinitely happy, and I wish I could see them every night. There were only a few things we didn’t do here that we wanted to, and they were minor: Swiss Family Treehouse, Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and a second ride at night on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. The character interactions I had here were some of the best. Unofficial Guide says to visit MK last because nothing else lives up to it, but a reader pointed out that many people just have to go there first because it *is* Disney to so many visitors.
In general Magic Kingdom never gets old! Lots of fun rides and millions of great gift shops.

EPCOT
Favorite Rides: Test Track, American Adventure, The Seas Main Tank and Exhibits, Soarin! Test Track! IllumiNations!

Least Favorite Rides: Maelstrom, Gran Fiesta Tour,some of the countries are boring.

Best Character Interaction: Belle

Comments: My opinion of Epcot has totally changed since the last trip, and it is a close second for my favorite park. We barely skimmed the surface of World Showcase. We didn’t get to do Innoventions, or see Morockin’ or Off Kilter. We’ll definitely try to do that next trip. I definitely fell more in love with IllumiNations and am currently trying to get my hands on a copy of the score. Epcot has an interesting mix of things to do.

STUDIOS
Favorite Ride: Tower of Terror, Toy Story Mania, Backlot Tour

Least Favorite Ride: The Magic of Disney Animation, Don't really have one.

Best Character Interaction: Goofy & Pluto, Buzz & Woody

Comments: There was so much we didn’t get to do here: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Muppets, Indiana Jones, Lights, Motors, Action!, and Block Party Bash. Unfortunately, we probably won’t get here next trip, so there’s that much more to do on future trips! Fantasmic was enjoyable, but still my least favorite of all the nighttime spectaculars. Toy Story Mania is worth the hype, but not worth more than 20 minutes wait. ARRIVE EARLY AND GET FASTPASSES!! The Studios is always entertaining, always something to see and do.

ANIMAL KINGDOM
Favorite Show: Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Festival of the Lion King

Least Favorite Attractions: Maharajah Jungle Trek, Kali River Rapids, Maharajah Jungle Trek

Comments: I really wanted to like Animal Kingdom, and I just didn’t. There didn’t seem to be many animals out when we took the Jungle Trek, though we did see a ton on the Safari. Kali was just lame. I wanted to see the parade, but only got to see a snippet of it. We also really enjoyed Finding Nemo and wouldn’t hesitate to see that again. Not too fond of Animal Kingdom-very congested with people and all the foliage holds in the heat and humidity.

BLIZZARD BEACH & TYPHOON LAGOON
Favorite Attractions: BB-Cross Country Creek, Melt Away Bay; TL-Surf Pool, Crush ‘n’ Gusher

Least Favorite Attractions: BB-Snow Stormers; TL-Keelhaul Falls

Comments: I just wasn’t that impressed with the water parks. I think I was just expecting too much, having watched the singing and dancing fun on video since age 4. That’s 15 years worth of hype. The view from the top of Summit Plummet was so amazing, but the slide down wasn’t pleasant at all. Same for Slush Gusher. I found many of the slides to be just plain boring; I’ve had more fun at my un-themed local water park. I probably won’t be in a hurry to revisit the parks anytime in the near future. Blizzard Beach-Interesting! Lots to see. Not being a real water fan it wasn't really for me. Loved Cross Country Creek and people watching.

DOWNTOWN DISNEY
Downtown Disney was a lot of fun; even just window shopping there could be great fun. We enjoyed looking around the Christmas Store, as well as World of Disney. I would have liked to make it into the toy store and the Lego store, but it’s not a big loss that we didn’t. Also, the food alone is worth the visit! Goofy’s Candy Co. and Wolfgang Puck Express are so awesome! DisneyQuest wasn’t worth the admission; maybe for younger kids or those who like video games it would have been better, maybe if there weren’t two groups of school kids we would have wanted to stay longer.DisneyQuest was a major let down-too many schools there when we were and we couldn't get to anything. The shopping was fun. Goofy's Candy Co. was amazing.

KIDANI VILLAGE
I cannot rave enough about Kidani. It was fantastic, stupendous, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. If I were to buy into DVC I wouldn’t hesitate to buy in there (but why buy when you can rent for so much cheaper-and many more options, since you can find an owner at any resort 11 months out!?). We loved watching the animals through the windows while waiting for the elevators or walking down the hallways to Jambo (much more pleasant than the marsh and super Target on the other side of the windows). Our standard view wasn’t bad at all, and for all the time we spent on the balcony, it was fine that we didn’t have a savannah view. Like I said, I much prefer Kidani over Jambo. The pool was awesome! I love that slide!

Just an anecdote and some info about the buses:
~MK and Epcot share a "waiting area" but each has their own bus. Both stop at Kidani, then Jambo.
~Animal Kingdom, Typhoon Lagoon, and Downtown Disney share a waiting area. Animal Kingdom has it's own bus which stops at Kidani then Jambo. Typhoon Lagoon and Downtown Disney share a bus, which stops at Jambo, then Kidani. On our way to Downtown Disney it stopped at Typhoon Lagoon first; on my way to TL it stopped at Downtown Disney first.
~Hollywood Studios & Blizzard Beach share a waiting area AND a bus. It stops at Kidani, then Jambo, then Blizzard Beach, and finally the studios. On the way back from the studios, it stops at Blizzard Beach as well (AKL & BB share a stop at the Studios).

We didn't mind that Kidani & Jambo share buses. However, it amazed me how many people didn't know which building they were staying at. I even heard one woman say "Is this Kidani or Jambo?" and another woman answered "It's Animal Kingdom Lodge."

The walk to Jambo was not bad, maybe 10 minutes, but obviously if you were coming from the very end of the far side of Kidani it would be significantly longer.

THE GOOD:
~Staff was very friendly and responded to anything we needed quickly. Bell Services even remembered our last name, telling us our ME luggage had just arrived when we inquired about our grocery delivery and said everything would be up momentarily, which it was!
~Our studio was awesome! It was more than big enough for the two of us. We loved having the kitchenette to make sandwiches or have cereal in the morning. We had requested a higher floor room near the lobby and our requests were met. We were in room 7509, on the top floor in the bead to the left of the lobby when facing the resort. We had a standard view, but the view was still nice and we could see the sunset. The curtains did an EXCELLENT job of blocking out light, which was good when we came back for our afternoon nap.
~We loved the pool area. It was not too crowded, perfect depth, the slide was GREAT!, we thought the Uwanja Camp kids water area was cool, we made good use of the hot tub, and some nights they had movies playing on a blow up screen (we caught parts of Country Bears and Tinker Bell). There was also a ping pong table and every afternoon there was a pool party.
~Free laundry room!
~Community Hall: we went in once while waiting for our ME bus and it looked like fun. There was a pool table, computers with games, a TV, coloring pages set out on the table, as well as crafts for a small fee ($1-$11). I even saw a few toys for toddlers, like a Fisher Price vacuum.
~Transportation ran very smoothly. Buses ran every 15-20 minutes as advertised, sometimes sooner.
~We were very pleased with Mara. The staff was friendly and the food was good.
~The refillable mug station at the Johari Treasures gift shop and at Maji Pool Bar had enough variety to keep me happy, though not as extensive as Mara.
~Animal viewing was plentiful. One night we went out to the fire pit area, but there weren't many animals out. We saw them mostly from the windows by the elevators and the glass windows connecting the beads.

The Bad:
~On arrival, my credit card was already on the room from online check in. I asked if Mom's could be added only to her key and have only mine and my key. I was told no, although others on the DIS told me beforehand this would be allowed.
~Upon arrival in our room, we found that only 2/3 of our trashcans were emptied. We called mousekeeping and they emptied the third while we were at dinner.
~The constant drum music that runs from 7am to 10pm everyday gets a little annoying after awhile.
~We didn't like that the thermostat would reset itself after awhile. We would set it for 68 or so when we left in the morning and when we returned it would be back at 72 or 73.
~Another minor annoyance was the TV. Whenever you turn it on, no matter what you were watching before and the previous volume, it had reset itself to "Stacy's Must Dos" at a blaring volume.
~We found the chairs and table to be too big for the room. Also, when the sofabed was pulled out, there wasn't much room to walk.
*These were only minor annoyances, nothing to ruin the vacation.

The Ugly:
~The main walkway to and from the buses is also the smoking area. Yuck!
~The ant bites that Mom got when she was in the room sick. Not fun under any circumstances, but especially on vacation at a high end hotel.

Overall, I absolutely would stay here again, and if it weren’t for my desire to try every resort, and the convenience of location of other resorts, I don’t know if I’d stay anywhere else!

I would stay here again in a heart beat! Very homey, comfy, quiet rooms. The view was great, even though we were in the front overlooking the parking lot. The front desk was always helpful. The gift shop was small; no counter service on sight. Hopefully no ants next time-I'm still healing!

FAVORITE TABLE SERVICE RESTAURANT
Tie between Ohana and Crystal Palace. Liberty Tree Tavern also ranks up there. Mom said she doesn’t know if she’d do Ohana again simply because it’s expensive and she doesn’t feel we ate enough to justify the cost. Crystal Palace was a great value, had excellent food, and the characters can’t be beat. While Le Cellier and 50’s Prime Time were very good as well, they just didn’t make me say “Wow, I’d love to come here on the next trip!” Boma was just disappointing and it will be several years before I venture back there. In fact, Crystal Palace is the only restaurant we’d want to do repeatedly. Everything else can be replaced as there are many other restaurants we’d like to try.
-50's Prime Time: Good food, great service.
-Le Cellier: Awesome food & service.
-Crystal Palace: Awesome food, ambience, and characters.

FAVORITE COUNTER SERVICE RESTAURANT
Sunshine Seasons, hands down. There are just so many choices, and it’s all fresh and delicious. Mara was also good (African Stew), as was Cosmic Ray’s. We will absolutely be visiting Sunshine Seasons again next time.
Sunshine Seasons-still has the best foccacia turkey sandwich! (Even though I kept getting lost in the maze like seating area).

OVERALL THOUGHTS ABOUT THE TRIP
It was great. I had an amazing time and it totally made up for the last trip. We had enough time to take it easy and still see everything we wanted. I wouldn’t change a thing (minus the illness, bites, and getting lost). I can’t wait to go back!
This was my 6th trip to Disney-but by far the best! Gretchen had everything well planned out. I was concerned about this as I like to just see what my mood will be. It turns out the pace was perfect-and she allowed for downtime during the hottest part of the day. The reservations she made were for places I'd never been before (with the exception of Crystal Palace) but most places I'd definitely go again. This trip is what dreams are made of! (Cue "This is what dreams are made of" from The Lizzie McGuire Movie). We're going back together for the Food & Wine Festival 2011! Can't wait! Which brings me to:

FUTURE TRIP!!!
We are currently planning to return to the World over Columbus Day Weekend 2011 (the 7-11). I have contacted a DVC owner at Beach Club Villas who has set aside the points we would need for a studio. We can’t wait to try Stormalong Bay! Going off this year’s hours, dates, and parties, our plan looks something like this:

FRIDAY OCTOBER 7TH
-Arrive in Orlando in mid-afternoon
-Explore resort
-Dinner at Beaches and Cream (try the No Way Jose!)

SATURDAY OCTOBER 8th
-Epcot rope drop for Test Track, Soarin, and whatever else we want to do until World Showcase opens
-Food & Wine Festival until we get tired, or the park becomes too crowded/filled with drunk people for our liking
-Break at hotel
-Dinner at counter service, probably Sunshine Seasons
-ILLUMINATIONS!!

SUNDAY OCTOBER 9TH
-Epcot when World Showcase opens for more F&WF
-If we finished Epcot on Saturday, head to a different park instead, either DHS or MK
-Afternoon break
-Counter service dinner
-IllumiNations/Wishes/Spectro/Fantasmic! Depending on which park we are at and what is playing

MONDAY OCTOBER 10TH
-Sleep in(ish)
-Breakfast at Cape May Café
-Lounge around resort
-Head to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party around 3:30, stay until we want to leave, but definitely see Hallowishes and the Boo to You Parade

TUESDAY OCTOBER 11TH
-If we have time, go to Downtown Disney
-Flight leaves mid-afternoon or evening

I have decided that I definitely want to buy a Dooney & Bourke purse. I cringe at the thought of spending $155-$160, but I know I would use it until it died, which hopefully won’t be for a very long time. Now, I just have to decide between this:

And this:

So that is all folks. Thanks for reading along and I hope you had as much fun reading as I did reliving this trip! Goodbye until next year! I leave you with two quizzes from the addictive website “Sporcle”
Guess the attraction from the music
Guess the attraction quote

 

[Kellybelly777]

You had a great trip!!! It was a lot of fun to be a part of both your PTR and TR!!! Can't wait for you to start the PTR for the food and wine festival!!! Yay for beach club!!!

 

[alisonwonderland64]

I really enjoyed following along with your trip report! Your trip sounds like it was so much fun and your next trip sounds like it'll be amazing as well! I must say, I'm pretty jealous that you get to go to Food and Wine while being in college (I couldn't unless it was just for a weekend).

And yay Sporcle quizzes! That site is wayyy too addicting.

 

[Vwdiva93]

I really loved reading your TR!! It sounds like you and your Mom had an amazing time. Can't wait to start reading your PTR for your next trip!

 

[999ghostslover]

Spent just about the entie day reading your whole TR. So glad you had a great trip. You and your mom are too cute together. I'm so glad you wee able to have a great week like that. Thanks for sharing all of the cool pics and your detailed desciptions are so helpful!
I can't believe you two shared every meal together. We are not good food sharers around here. In fact, we always quote friends "Joey doesn't share food!" So I am very impressed with you both.

Sorry I wasn't on the boards for most of the summer but now that our trip is planned I have updated my PTR and it is back to normal. See you around the boards Geneseo!!

PS-I hear you on the deodorant thing. I used to go to RIT and you could not study in the library for the odor from all of the Indian men. I has several Indian female friends and they hated it about the men too!