The "No In-Laws" Do-Over Trip of September 2010

[kaetra]

Aaaah, time to settle in and re-live the memories of our last Disney World trip! This special trip was our 2nd trip of 2010, and our 2nd trip ever. Our 1st trip in January was encroached upon by my wonderful but patience-testing In-Laws. The good news is I got a Do-Over trip! Yay! And here is the story.....

The Cast -

• Me, Traci. Age 41 - IT Admin (a.k.a. Computer Nerd) and Super Mom
• DH, Brad. Age 36 - Geek Squad Manager (a.k.a. Computer Nerd) and Fun Guy
• DD, Kythe. Age 7 - 2nd Grade Jr. Computer Nerd and Smarty Pants

The Classic Disney World Family Pose

Links to Chapters
Day 1 - Arrival and off to Epcot
Day 1 Continued - Les Chefs, Illuminations and Tinkerbell's Grand Welcome
Day 2 - WE GOT THE YETI PICTURE!
Day 3 - Magic Kingdom and our first Crystal Palace Breakfast
Day 4 - Hollywood Studios and our First Fantasmic
Day 5 - Rare Magical Phenomenon at Magic Kingdom!
Day 5 Continued - Electrical Parade and Wishes
Day 6 - Kidnapped by Norway, Goodbye Mickey

Trip Info -

• Dates - 9/23/10 through 9/28/10
• Resort - Pop Century
• Dining Plan - ADRs for Les Chefs Dinner, Tusker House Lunch, Cape May Dinner, Crystal Palace Breakfast, Grand Floridian Dinner. Plus 1 OOP Le Cellier Lunch (walk-up)

I wasn't sure how well late September was going to work out, hurricane-wise that is. Though we didn't get a hurricane, we were quite damp. And though this trip report will not have all the drama my last one did, it will have lots of fun, excitement, special rare phenomenon and loads of photos!

 

[Angelrose]

Sounds interesting. Can't wait to read more.

 

[kaetra]

Day 1 – Arrival at Pop and Off to Epcot

We landed in MCO at 10:30 am, and scurried down to the Magical Express. This was our first time on the ME, and we were pretty tickled when we saw the ME CM directing us to our coach with a giant Mickey hand. Our stroller and carry-ons were loaded up, we sat in the very front seat, and we were off to Pop Century! The love-bugs were out in force, and the windshield was quickly covered. I didn’t know anything about them, so it was pretty weird to me. At least the pesky love-bug-guts didn’t interfere too badly with the photo I’ve been dying to get –
We're Here!

By 11:30 we were at Pop. The driver got our things from under the coach, 2 duffels and a umbrella stroller, and I tipped him $4. (*blushing* my 7 year old normally doesn’t use a stroller anywhere, but she’s extremely petite so I thought I could get away with it just one more time, and they do make things convenient!) We loaded up the stroller with our things and went inside. I had done the Online Check In and there wasn’t a wait in that line at all, but there was a small wait in the other lines, so I was glad I used it. Our room was not ready, no big deal. The CM took my cell phone number and said he would text me when our room was ready. We left our bags with Luggage Service, and I tipped the CM in advance because I wasn’t sure if you tipped before or after. He had written his name on the claim ticket, so for some reason that made me think I should tip ahead of time instead of after - I gave him $5 for 3 bags.

Then we headed straight for the Epcot bus with us, our stroller, my waist bag (No, DH it is NOT a “fanny pack”), DH’s mini camera backpack and a Tinkerbell tote bag slung over the stroller handle containing our misting-fan and other day necessities. It worked out really well and I am dreading going without a stroller next time.

Epcot is a super fast trip from Pop and we’re there in no time! We head straight to the Character spot.

I missed you sooo much Mickey!

Goofy likes to goof round!

Next to the Character Spot is the Cool Zone and you KNOW what I did to my poor unsuspecting husband –
Beverly Gotcha!

We actually hadn’t been in the Land Pavilion at all on our last trip, so we headed there next. I loved the balloons on the ceiling. We did Living with the Land, which was pretty neat and good to do once. I thought Soarin’ was going to be just OK, I should have known better! Soarin’ was really awesome and we all enjoyed it immensely! It’s my new favorite ride at Epcot!
Land Pavilion Balloons

Next... Day 1 Continued – Les Chefs, Illuminations and Tinkerbell’s Grand Welcome!

 

[kaetra]

After some exploration of the Land Pavilion, it’s time to see The Seas with Nemo! The queues were very, very short for everything and the Nemo ride wait was about 2 minutes – practically a walk up. I love, love this ride – especially the jellyfish! And the song they sing at the end!

JellyFish

Mr. Ray!

After Nemo, Turtle Talk with Crush was starting in just a few minutes. DD was reluctant at first because she remembered how nervous she was last time. But we helped her prepare a question to ask Crush if he talked to her, and that helped a lot. She sat right up front and really enjoyed it, though he didn’t ask her if she had a question.

We spent quite a bit of time in The Seas exploring and watching the dolphins. So relaxing and wonderful!

No Figment Mama! – No Way!
Much to my shagrin, DD flatly refused to go to Figment! The fart and the horn had put her off completely last time. I was pretty disappointed as I loved Figment last time, but she was steadfast in her refusal, and there’s so much to do that I didn’t see any reason to push it on her. DH teased her the rest of the day about it – “Let’s go do Figment next!” – “No way Daddy, forget about it!”

Dinner Time Already?
We stroll on over to the World Showcase and walk around for a tiny bit, pick up a few pressed pennies and buy the Tinkerbell pressed penny book. Then we stop and get a Kim Possible phone (awesome idea by the way, DD LOVED the KP thing). I look at the clock and can’t believe it’s 6pm already! So we start walking to Les Chefs for our ADR and DD falls asleep in the stroller. Not just dosing either – she’s totally gone, snoring away.

We get our table and DH carries sleeping DD in. They put us at an all chair table, so we ask if there is a ½ booth available. A quick check and there was, so we move and DD has a place to lay down and sleep while DH and I have a semi-to-ourselves private dinner. Coincidentally next to us is another family with one of their little ones also snoozing away in the ½ booth side – so his little feet and DD’s little feet are right next to each other. It was pretty adorable! We ordered food for DD just in case she woke up starving. (I know we ate somewhere Quick-Service before this but I can’t at all remember where it was! Sorry)

Wow, the food at Les Chefs is awesome! We just love it, it’s our absolute favorite and it’s 100x better than Le Celier IMHO. No Remy appearance this time, but that wasn’t a big deal since DD only woke up in time for dessert. The little Kim Possible phone kept sounding off it’s reminders every five minutes, and we didn't want to risk shutting it off, so I wrapped it in spare clothes to muffle it. I had the beef again, DH had the chicken and his chicken was so tender and moist I kept eating it. I’ll get the chicken next time for sure, it’s just so darn good!

Kim Possible is Awesome!
We didn’t do KP last time, so we didn’t know what it was all about. After dinner, DD was refreshed and excited to start her KP adventure. The special effects clues are so cool! She had a blast with the France adventure and we had a lot of fun too, helping her. We’re big fans of Epcot anyway, so this was just another reason to love the World Showcase!

Illuminations
I wanted a good seat for Illuminations, so a whole HOUR before it started I insisted we move over to a good camp out spot. DD made some friends with other Illuminations Camper Kids (LOL) so she wasn’t bored. I sat right on the ground, wishing I had thought to bring my beach towel. DH was guarding our space from encroachment, he was cute. He balanced his SLR camera up on the fence and was wishing for his tripod. He got a few good pics –

Tinkerbell’s Grand Welcome
When it was time to go back to POP, I reminded DH that he needed to take DD on a little tour of POP so Tinkerbell would have time to set up her Grand Welcome in our room. DH gave Tinkerbell only about 10 minutes, which didn’t give her nearly enough time to put up all the decorations she spent HOURS making. In fact, she barely had time to put the gift basket together! So I firmly explained to DH the next day that Tinkerbell had to finish decorating and that they should explore Pop LONGER this time! OMGosh, it was cute though! Door decorations, welcome banner, pixie dust, balloons, streamers and a HUGE gift basket STUFFED with Tinkerbell themed goodies, toys, jammies, sweatshirt, candy. It was so cool. Well, I thought it was really cool, anyway. Of course DD thought it was cool, but she wasn’t nearly as thrilled as I thought she’d be about it. I blame not having enough time to put together the full effect all at once! She does still talk about it though!

Our room at POP was not nearly as small as I thought it would be. I could barely tell the difference in size between it and our Port Orleans room. It was very clean, no bedbugs (I checked!) and the beds and pillows were very comfy. We were in the 50’s next to the record machine. The love-bug swarm seemed to gather on our door more than anywhere else, wow they were thick. And we couldn’t avoid getting at least 1 or 2 in our room when we went in and out. I do not like love-bugs I decided. The two headed look is really creepy!

Next: Day 2 – WE GOT THE YETI PICTURE!

 

[kaetra]

Good Morning Disney World
We wake up early, well rested and refreshed. I pack our day bag, remembering everything in the world except a change of clothes. The weather throughout this trip is my least favorite kind of weather, 90-95 degrees and 100% humidity. So basically you’re wet all the time, and very hot, and getting more wet with a misting fan doesn’t cool you off. The only real relief is air conditioning or a pool. I love Disney World, but no more Septembers for me. The heat, humidity, subsequent chafing and love-bugs were enough to put me off any September dates ever again. The low crowds definitely didn’t make up for the weather factor.

Breakfast and a few Words about Water Bottles
We do breakfast at Pop, and the lines are really crazy. It’s at least a 15 -20 minute wait in line to pay, which means cold food by the time you sit and eat it. I filled our water bottles with ice and water at the soda station – didn’t see any harm in that. We also brought the Crystal Lite Fitness packets to mix in, and this worked out very well. We stayed well hydrated refilling at park fountains, and the water even without the Crystal Lite tasted fine to me. No sulfur or weird taste that I’ve heard people mention at any of the fountains, except the one on Tom Sawyer’s Island. I ordered a case of water bottles from Costco to be delivered to Pop, however those didn’t arrive until our last day. Turned out we really didn’t need them anyway.

Animal Kingdom
We arrive at Animal Kingdom right as it opens, and hustle directly to the Safari first, to catch hopefully less sleepy animals. DH gave the camera to DD, so all our Safari pictures were by her. Which amounts to lots of Rhino butt pictures and every duck and plant in the place. A very young Giraffe decided our Jeep was a tasty morsel, so we got to enjoy a very close up view of her for a very long time. It was quite awesome! And nearly all the animals seemed to be out and about and looking at us. It was my best Safari yet!

Giraffe Capers

Rhino Butt (one photo of I think about 12 versions we somehow wound up with)

I really wanted to have DD’s face painted again, but it was so very steamy and a bit drippy and rainy I thought it would probably just melt off. So we skipped that this time. We also skipped the Bugs Life movie and instead went to DinoLand.

I am Terrified of the Ride DINOSAUR
I wish I had gotten the picture of us from the Dinosaur ride. I was truly and absolutely terrified for some reason. Maybe it was the darkness closing in all around me, but every time a light flashed on a big old Dinosaur I screamed so loud, and not the “I’m having fun scream” but the “I gotta get out of here!” scream! Pretty funny really, DD was not phased at all and wanted to go again and again, but only if I went too and promised to still be terrified. I seriously thought I was going to be eaten by dinosaurs! Disney Magic at it’s Best! Ha! Sorry honey, but mommy forgot to bring a change of clothes and I’m only peeing in one pair of shorts today.

We Got the Yeti!
Expedition Everest is our favorite roller coaster in all of Disney World, so we went on it A LOT. Twelve times in fact, and we would have gone more if he park didn’t close. And within one of those twelve journeys, DH managed to actually get a discernable photo of the illusive YETI! Look at those teeth!

YETI! YETI! YETI!

It’s Raining and I Don’t Care!

Tusker House and Lion King
Lunch at Tusker House was really wonderful, as it was last time. I love their bread pudding and the hummus is so so good here! DD also has a huge selection of things she loves at this buffet, which is somewhat rare. DH is a big fan of the carving station

After lunch we wander down to the Lion King. None of us have seen it before, and I must admit I got tears in my eyes a few times simply because of the pure beauty and wonder of the show. I even got real live actual goosebumps several times during the singing. The entertainers are so very talented! Even DD was mesmerized by its splendor!

The Lion King

Kali River Rapids and the Chafing from Hades
It was so hot and humid, we thought a wet ride on the Kali River Rapids would cool us down. Though we did get very wet, I’d give the ride about a 6 maybe overall? I was soaked through the skin, and the wet clothes just made the humidity more unbearable. Also, my wet shorts began to wear down my skin in certain areas as I walked. It was quite uncomfortable both then and for the next few days! For the life of me I couldn’t find anything in the shops to buy to wear, so I walked with my feet spread way apart for almost the rest of the AK day. That’s what I get for not bringing a change of clothes!

Downtown Disney
We left AK about 20 minutes before the actual closing time, to avoid the big rush out. We then headed back to Pop, had a swim, showered and changed, then went to Downtown Disney. Here we ate at the Earl of Sandwich, and though the line was incredibly long it only took about 10 minutes to get through it.

We did some shopping and hanging out, and left earlier than we thought we would because frankly the humidity and weather that day had left us all feeling like wrung out washcloths.

Lego Woody

Candy Castle

Next….. Day 3 – Magic Kingdom and our first Crystal Palace Breakfast

 

[DizFan101]

I read your trip report. LOVED it so far.
If you do go back to Les Chefs I recommend the duck with the sweet potato dish. It is OUT of this world good! I 'm going to Les Chefs De France 2x's on my upcoming trip just for that dish. lol. It's THAT good.

I'm glad to read that the yeti might be working again. the last time i was there he was a no-show. . So hopefully he'll be awake. lol.

 

[kaetra]

I love the early breakfast ADRs! There’s something very special about walking through a nearly empty park when it’s all quiet and feels like it’s all yours! We had a 9:05 reservation at Crystal Palace, and DD and I were very excited to see Pooh and the gang. We checked in and were given the buzzer, then we got some pictures outside of Crystal Palace while we waited –

Good Morning Magic Kingdom!

The buzzer went off and they called our name about 20 minutes later. It is so gorgeous inside! A perfect morning place I think, with the sun streaming in, the high ceilings and the lightness/brightness. I see now why so many people have Crystal Palace breakfast as a “must-do-every-time” thing. The food was really incredible, much better than the Liberty we did last time. My favorite was the veggie frittata, I couldn’t get enough! And the Pooh Paws from the kids buffet, wow! I’m drooling just thinking about it! DD had so many choices that she loved, it was perfect. They even had white gravy with sausage which is a guilty pleasure of mine and one I don’t get to enjoy often.

DD and The Luckiest Mom in the World!

Tigger!

The Beautiful Crystal Palace Foyer

First Space Mountain Voyage and The Buzz Lightyear Champion
After breakfast we immediately made our way to Tomorrow Land. We missed Space Mountain last trip and I was not going to miss it again! We got FP’s and also jumped right in the queue as it was only a 5 minute wait. DD and DH absolutely love this ride, and I like it a lot too, though I think it’s a bit rough! Here’s my favorite part – the launch!

Power Up!

We also had our very first Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger experience, and wow DH can rack up the points here! I don’t know how he does it! My hands were completely worn out by the end and he had quadruple the points that DD and I had put together! (He also proved to be extremely good at Toy Story Mania, no surprise there). The queue looked pretty long from the outside, but it was really only about a 15 minute wait. We wound up doing Buzz a couple times this day, trying to beat DH’s score! We never even came close though!

At Monsters Inc. DH got put on the big screen a couple times! And the audience was told that he would be buying Churros for everyone after the show! DD about fell out of her chair laughing at that one!

Fantasy Land
Believe it or not, we skipped Dumbo. I know, I know. But the line was really very long every time we went by it. And somehow I also didn’t get to do Peter Pan! I don’t even know how that happened! However, we did see Mickey’s Philharmagic at least three times on this day, it’s one of our very favorites. During our first visit the people in front of us refused to move down the isle, and when I very politely asked them to move down or at least let us get by them they actually looked blankly up at me and pretended to not speak English! (Even though I heard them clearly speaking English just moments before.) How irritating! So we squeezed past them and headed to the next available seats which were very nearly at the end of the row – and I can tell you the show is just as good there as they are anywhere else in the theatre. (Is it OK to mildly taze people like this, or at least step on the backs of their shoes as they walk in front of you on the way out?)

DD had her first every meeting with the Fairy Godmother! Which was very cool!

Bibbity Bobbity Boo!

Frontier Land/Adventure Land
Off to Frontier Land where we had yet another first, Slash Mountain! We didn’t get to do it last time as it was closed in January. We all really loved this ride, and went on it a few times each MK day. I had DD watch the animated parts of the Song of the South movie before we came on this trip so she would be familiar with the story and characters, and to refresh my memory as well. What a great ride! I hope it’s open on our next trip in February!

Zip A Dee Doo Da!

We of course did Big Thunder Mountain as often as we could, even though the line for it was very long as well. Seemed like everyone was doing Frontier Land today as it had the longest lines in the whole park.

I can’t find any pictures of the rest of our day! I do remember I had my first Dole Whip, and the line for it was nearly as long as the line for Splash Mountain! Seriously, it was like a 25 minute wait! And I’ll probably get hung for saying this, but even though the Dole whip was very good it wasn’t really that much better than the similar pineapple float they have at the place by Aladdin’s Magic Carpets! (Please don’t hurt me for saying that!) I’ve had both and they are equally good, IMHO. And the other place’s line is practically non-existent. Maybe my taste buds were tainted by the 25 minute wait.

We skipped the Jungle Cruise, and skipped the Tiki House as I wasn’t quite that desperate for air-conditioning. Pirates of the Caribbean broke down almost immediately after we got in the queue, but we came back later and the line was really short so it worked out well.

We had a very late lunch at the Main Street Bakery – which was very, very good and a great option for Quick Service grub in MK. Also, MNSSHP was scheduled for that evening, so around 3 pm we started seeing lots of people walking around in their costumes which was really neat to see!

To MNSSHP or Not to MNSSHP?
The question of this day and the day before was, are we going to go to the Halloween Party or not? The weather during our trip was very unpredictable, so I decided to not get tickets until the day before the party. We had brought our costumes, but the day before the party the weather report said a big storm was coming during the party. So I didn’t get tickets. And wouldn’t you know it, all day on party day there was barely a cloud in the sky. And it DIDN’T rain even a drop that evening. I would have loved to see Boo to You! and Hallowishes, but it just didn’t work out this time.

Sooooo we went back to POP at 7pm, swam for a while and then settled in for an early sleep – which we all needed badly!

Next …Hollywood Studios and our First Fantasmic

 

[kaetra]

Let me say right from the start that by the end of the day at Hollywood Studios, I decided that this park would be skipped on my next visit. It’s just not my thing. There were a couple attractions that we enjoyed, but overall we found it to be well…actually kind of boring. If I had a park hopper, I might go for a few hours. But I will never again plan on spending an entire day there.

Tower of Terror was pretty good but really short, and I did enjoy the Little Mermaid show quite a bit. We also really enjoyed the Block Party Bash. Toy Story Mania was fun but the line was a ridiculous 1 and ½ hours long. Even though we arrived at rope drop and headed straight to Toy Story Mania for a Fast Pass, the Fast Pass callback time was 6:30 PM! 6:30 PM!

Most of the day we found we were actually just trying to kill time. Star Wars was closed, which I think we would have liked a lot. But frankly the stunt shows, High School Musical and American Idol just plain didn’t interest any of us. The Muppet Movie was eh, OK. Not up to Disney standards I don’t think. The Beauty and the Beast stage show was eh, OK too. Not big and amazing like you expect to see in Disney World.

Here are a few pictures –

Muppet Fountain

Block Party Bash – Best Part of the Day!

Our ADR was at Cape May at 5:20pm, so we had plenty of time take the boat, enjoy a leisurely dinner and then come back for Fantasmic. Cape May’s seafood buffet was really excellent, and had lots of things everyone really liked. And the Beach Club resort is gorgeous! Here is DD in the Beach Club courtyard –

Butterfly Topiary

At Beach Club we stopped at a little beachside shop and opened a Pearl oyster. DD got a beautiful and nice sized pink pearl. Mine was a fairly large blue pearl. I had purchased the Cinderella carriage pearl cages before we came, originally planning on doing pick-a-pearl in Epcot. I’m glad we did it at Beach Club though, it was a nice experience on the sandy beach and doing the little Aloha ceremony with the bamboo tongs before opening the oyster.

After our pearls we took the boat back to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic. The temperature was about 93 degrees and the humidity was quite literally 100%. We arrived one hour before showtime, and there were already a ton of people there, piling into the theatre. We got a seat all the way on the left side, sort of down near the front. The venue was completely packed, and the sweltering heat and humidity seemed to sink down into the basin shape of the theatre, the wet air holding the heat down on us all. Add to that the thick crowd of closely set people and the air became nothing short of oppressive. The show really was good, but the environment was truly miserable. And leaving the theatre was pretty scary – “The Who" concert scary if you get my meaning. Thousands of people were herded like cattle through an increasingly smaller and smaller walkway. Near the end it was really crushing, with multiple ECV drivers honking constantly, like there was anywhere for the people in front of them to move to or even anywhere to move aside to for them to get by . The show to me was simply not worth the hassle. If we ever go again, it will have to be with a better plan.

Next … Day 5 - Rare Magical Phenomenon at Magic Kingdom!

 

[kaetra]

Back to Magic Kingdom today, hurray! Today is going to be a very VERY special day! You’ll see!

It started out as a normal WDW day. Day bag preparation, breakfast at Everything POP, hop on the bus, arrive at MK early but not quite in time for rope drop.

The Blister Factor
By this time blisters are slowing me down quite a bit, even though I have taken every precaution known to the Internet to prevent them. Such as – expensive, well broken-in walking shoes/alternating with Crocs, Thorlo walking socks, moleskin, foot version of Body Glide, etc. etc. The super high humidity is definitely a contributing factor here. I really thought the $$ shoes, $$ socks and glide stick was going to be enough for prevention, but by the beginning of day 2 I already had 4 enormous and excruciating toe-bottom blisters. I’m thinking the next trip I will start wearing moleskin on all my toe bottoms from minute 1 of day 1 in hopes that I can truly prevent them. Blisters have been serious impediments to both of my WDW trips thus far. Now, back to the fun!

Whoso Pulleth out this Sword
As we walk into Fantasy Land, we notice a little boy trying to pull the sword out of the stone. Pulling with all his might, his smiling mother snapping photos and his father shouting words of encouragement, but the sword will not budge.

My DD Kythe pauses to watch, and when the boy steps away from the sword she approaches to give it a try.

As the boy, his family and the gathered crowd watch intently, my tiny daughter places her hands on the sword. I glance away at something else for a moment and I hear my husband shouting Oh My God LOOK LOOK!!!!

Lo and behold! I turn and look and DD has raised the sword from the stone! The little boy gasps! And points! I fumble for the camera and click off a few pictures! The little boy yells “How are you doing that?” and DD says, “You just have to pull it slowly, and you have to believe!” She lowers the sword. The boy says “Let me try!” and she steps aside. He pulls and tugs his brains out, but the sword will not budge. He stares at it, confounded! DD says, very slowly, “Watch carefully” and she grabs the sword with both hands and slowly raises it AGAIN! I turn around discreetly and glance around (but I can’t actually see “anyone”, if you know what I mean), and mouth to no one in particular - “Thank you sooooo much!” Needless to say, DD is thrilled beyond imagination!

Magic is Real!

To celebrate my daughters astounding achievement, we buy her very first pair of Mickey Ears – her choice, any pair she wants –

First Mickey Ears!

We spend some more time in Fantasy Land, but with the construction going on I try like crazy to find the entrance to Peter Pan – and I CAN’T find it anywhere! DH is in a big hurry to get to Frontier Land, so I don’t have a chance to ask a CM where Peter Pan is, and I’m pretty bummed about missing Peter Pan.

Frontier Land
It’s off to Splash Mountain for FP’s, and then a rather long wait at Big Thunder Mountain. Then we pop over to Tom Sawyer’s Island where I decide to sit at the boat dock in the shade and take a break while DD and DH explore the island. After a bit, I check out some of the island myself, and it is much more fun than I expected it to be after what I’ve read. (Don’t believe everything you read and to each his own and so on, so forth!)

Funny Fan Hat Lady
After more Splash and Big Thunder mountain adventures, we meet a grumpy but sweet lady all alone in her ECV, sitting next to the penny press, wearing a very peculiar bright yellow baseball hat. The hat has a tiny fan on it. I remark how clever that is and she says “No, it’s actually the stupidest thing ever because the fan only runs when you’re in the bright sun and then it’s so hot all it does is blow a faint trace of hot air on your forehead”. I’m thinking to myself, ‘then why are you wearing it?’. DD starts to press a penny to add to her collection and grumpy sweet lady says “Oh, that’s what that thing does. Another money-sucker huh? Ya, this place sure knows how to bleed you dry by getting everyone to collect a bunch of crap.” My, my. Just full of sugar sunshine today, aren’t we? We wish her a great day and she wishes us the same with a big smile. I’ve never met someone before who could be so grumpy and so sweet at the same time. Ah, the interesting characters you meet at the World.

Those Derelict Bums you saw at the Grand Floridian? Ya, that was us!
After Pirates of the Caribbean, it was time to navigate towards the main gate boat docks to embark upon a leisurely cruise to the Grand Floridian for our 5:10 ADR. The boat we took was truly beautiful, with lovely, rich, shiny cherry wood seats and the breeze felt wonderful. We arrive at the luxurious resort and head inside to its truly Grand Lobby, complete with a pianist in tails at the baby Grand Piano. Looking around I start to feel very gross and grimy from the long day at Magic Kingdom…. and terribly out of place. There is apparently a wedding going on, and I start to worry that this poor bride will get some grimy looking derelict tourists (us) in the background of her wedding photos.

I take DD to the marble bathrooms, and we wash our faces, brush our hair, even change into the spare clothes I brought (which were really just more park clothes), anything to help me feel like we were less of a scourge on the beautiful palace. DH was annoyed that we took so long, and said our table had been ready for 10 minutes.

The restaurant was practically empty. The food was wonderful, I had the steak and DH had the chicken. I would definitely go again, as long as we all went to a spa first, and got some smart outfits from Givenchy, and maybe a personal stylist.

The Ears that Nearly Drowned and the Hero Who Saved Them
After dinner as we waited on the dock for the boat back to MK, a huge gust of wind came up behind DD. Her brand new Mickey Ears were blown right into the drink! Aaaah! The child’s screams echoed across the water! DH leapt into action, and risking life and limb (and drowning), chased the ears across the water, sprawled down flat and hung his entire body over the dock, stretched to his limit and managed to rescue the ears with the very tips of his fingers! Wow! My hero! And DD’s Hero indeed! I absolutely love that man of mine! He totally rocks and is the best dad ever.

Next …. Day 5 Continued - Electrical Parade and Wishes

 

[clayfolks]

I finished reading your first trip report and then HAD to come read this one!! Thank you for writing them. Please post some more.

Sue

 

[kaetra]

On our last trip in January we caught the tail-end of Spectromagic and I was completely awe-struck by it. I couldn’t wait to see the parade this time! I didn’t realize that Spectromagic had been substituted with the “Electrical Parade” and that they are totally different floats. The Electrical Parade was very cute and cool, but for me not nearly as awesome as Spectromagic, as I don’t have any sentimental attachment to the original Electrical Parade. I did enjoy it of course! But I was pretty disappointed that it wasn’t Spectromagic since I only got to see ¼ of it on my first trip. But not disappointed enough that I couldn’t appreciate and enjoy the Electrical Parade for what it is, and it is quite lovely!

Electrical Parade!

Wishes, however, did not disappoint – how could it? We had the best seats ever on our beach towel, directly in front of the castle at the apex of the circle drive. Yay! I laughed – I cried (again) and despite being humidity-soaked to the bone and completely overheated I was emerged once again in the Magic that is Wishes.

Next …. Day 6 – Kidnapped by Norway

 

[kaetra]

Disclaimer – the following section about Norway is written in the “tongue-in-cheek” style!

One of the things I love about Epcot is we can visit a tiny taste of countries I will probably never actually travel to. Take Morocco for example, I absolutely love the atmosphere, the smells, the food, the items in the shops, the clothing. But I will never ever go to the real Morocco. Mexico is really cool too, and close. But I would never go to the real Mexico either. And if I ever went back to France, I would seriously tell everyone there I’m Canadian so I would get treated better than if they thought I was an American. It’s not that I totally lack a sense of adventure. I just don’t want my adventures to include any real danger…. or discrimination….. or dysentery.

One country that I would not have had any of these issues travelling to would be Norway. At least that’s what I used to think. Until I was kidnapped by Norway.

We had never been on Maelstrom before. We entered the queue, loaded on to the log boat and had an enjoyable ride through the mystical troll land inside. All was well. As we came close to the end we heard a voice repeating at frequent intervals “Please wait for a short film about Norway”. We exit our boat and find a small group of people gathered in a tiny and very dark replica of a Norwegian village. The voice continues repeating his announcement at what seemed like about 30 second intervals, over and over. I can see Exit signs, but no one is using these Exits. Everyone is just waiting. More boat people join us. More waiting. As even more people join, the crowd is getting bigger and bigger and I’m starting to get a tad claustrophobic. I also have no idea what is going on, and why they won’t open the doors (because I’ve never been here before). I just, I dunno, kind of feel like I’m being held against my will. FINALLY, 15 minutes later, the doors open and I can see it’s a theatre inside. Two people sit down, but the rest just keep walking through to the other side where you can see an open door with some LIGHT. I quickly step straight for the light, thinking I’ve finally made my escape! But, no I’m still in Norway. I’m in a Norwegian store, which is very long. We keep walking, I see more Exit doors on the side but they are all locked. You have to keep walking forward. After what seemed like a very long walk, I finally see at the very end of the store the open exit doors with SUNLIGHT! I burst out into the light panting and squinting, with my hand over my eyes to shield them from the sun. I turn to my husband and say “I think we were just kidnapped by Norway”.

Honestly, I think there were problems with the film or something because we were trapped in that Norwegian village for way longer than 5 minutes. Now that I know what it’s about, I won’t of course feel like I’m being kidnapped by Norway. Especially since I will be sitting outside in China waiting for anyone in my party who chooses to repeat the experience! Ha! Take that Norway!

Goodbye Mickey
We had a lovely last day at Epcot, and actually managed to walk through and see all the pavilions in the World Showcase. DD had a lovely time in China, and enjoyed the tiny railroad town in Germany.

And after a last fling on Test Track it was time to head back to our resort to catch the Magical Express to the airport.

So sad. I hate this part of the trip report. It’s so sad for me that I can’t really say much about it. Because even now I’m getting all teary even thinking about leaving Disney World. And I’m not even there right now. You know the feeling. The one that can only be cured by booking another trip! Which I did, rather quickly, after we returned home.

Thank you for reading! Until next time…. Magic and Wishes to you all!

 

[SEPTBABIES02]

We are going on our "do over trip" in September. We went in 2009 and had some issues with our family on our trip also. We will never travel with anyone else again! I hope our do over trip is as special as the one you shared!!!!

 

[Disneybuckeye]

Lovely report and your daughter is precious. Thanks for sharing!