Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

[rteetz]

Great offer! I know I wouldn't have passed that up. As always great early morning resort photos. I can't wait to hear about your ambitious day.

 

[natebenma]

What a gracious chaperone you were to offer to buy breakfast for the guys who wanted to go to AK early! I'd have definitely taken you up on that offer because the food looks really good!

The chaperones who were there took care of their own and their sons' breakfasts, so not including Ben, I purchased 7 additional meals.

The food did look good. I believe Ben got the croissant sandwich but I don't think I got anything for myself. I was able to grab some food when I helped prep the school breakfast.

I have actually been pretty impressed with the food court offerings at Disney.



BTW- I am helping a friend plan a Disney trip for next fall (D and her husband, her mom and 3 kids and her friend, husband and 1 kid). Right now, CBR is looking like the best place for them. I will definitely send her over to the site you manage for info!

:

That was very kind of you to buy the kids' breakfasts. I would have thought more people would have wanted to get an early start like yourself. 8:00 seems quite late with the number of kids to go through the line. I take the attitude when I'm at Disney that I can sleep when I get home!

We've stayed at All Star Movies before. Even though we only ate at the food court a handful of times, never had any complaints. We had better bus service there than at POR (never again!) and my grandkids loved the giant characters in the Toy Story section. All in all, two very pleasant stays there.

I stayed at All Star Movies with Nate's class trip and we had a few meals at the food court. I was pretty impressed with the selection and quality of the food. This was the only meal we had at the food court on this trip, which surprised me.

I am really blown away by the great theming at the resort, in the lobby building, the grounds and the rooms.

I was satisfied with when we arrived at Animal Kingdom. I don't think it was rope drop, but it was close.

I love that you took pictures of all the food! And I'm going to agree with everyone else - it was really great of you to offer to pay for the boys' food. I hope you guys did make it to rope drop at AK!

I was so excited that the kids all got different breakfast choices so I was able to get pictures of a lot of the menu items. I was like

"Yay, someone got the breakfast pizza!" "Woo-hoo, a ham and cheese sandwich"

It's the little things!

We certainly were off to a good start that morning.

Great offer! I know I wouldn't have passed that up. As always great early morning resort photos. I can't wait to hear about your ambitious day.

The pros of rising early- pictures with nobody else in them!

Our day was off to a great start. Let's see if that continues!

 

[afwdwfan]

It was our last day. I wanted to be at Animal Kingdom when it opened at 9, because we didn’t have Fast Passes at AK.

What? Why no FP?

I’m willing to buy pastry for all the kids on the way out.

I just want to applaud the kid who took advantage of the offer of a pastry and got the Bounty Platter.

That's how you do it, right there!

 

[natebenma]

What? Why no FP?

Since this was a free day (no classes) for the kids, I gave each group the choice of where and when they wanted FPs.

I got them for my group at Hollywood Studios later that afternoon (RNR, ToT and Star Tours). I figured with a proper plan and early start (thus the free breakfast), we could knock out the headliners at AK in the morning.

I just want to applaud the kid who took advantage of the offer of a pastry and got the Bounty Platter.

That's how you do it, right there!

Yes, that young man (actually two) pushed the boundries and got bounty platters. Well played!

 

[afwdwfan]

Since this was a free day (no classes) for the kids, I gave each group the choice of where and when they wanted FPs.

I got them for my group at Hollywood Studios later that afternoon (RNR, ToT and Star Tours). I figured with a proper plan and early start (thus the free breakfast), we could knock out the headliners at AK in the morning.

Ah... that makes sense. I thought maybe you just couldn't get any that day for some reason or another.

 

[Wood Nymph]

The breakfast entrees look good. I'm sure that the boys enjoyed it, too.

 

[natebenma]

Ah... that makes sense. I thought maybe you just couldn't get any that day for some reason or another.

I figured if we get to AK early, and STICK TO THE PLAN, we will be able to do everything we want, and then have FP for HS later that day.

The breakfast entrees look good. I'm sure that the boys enjoyed it, too.

I think it was a nice treat. I was so glad at all of the varied choices the boys got. And I was hoping that having an early breakfast and getting to AK as soon as possible would give us a decent shot at what we wanted to do at AK.

 

[natebenma]

Yeti & Yak


From the previous post:

Everyone was fortified with a good breakfast and we were ready to tackle our ambitious day. The plans included AK, HS, a park break and then extra magic hours at MK (open to 1 am).

Let’s see how all that worked out!


After breakfast we went out to the bus stop so we could head to Animal Kingdom. This was the first time we would all be taking a Disney bus together. Our transport the previous two morning were private buses to get us to the classes. Then the other transportation we took together was a monorail from MK and the boat from EPCOT to Hollywood Studios. When we took the buses back to the resort, we were in smaller groups, leaving at different times.

Out at the bus stop, a family who was waiting asked us lots of questions about our group and the class trip. People are usually pretty interested in how it all works and they are surprised that we actually take a class trip by plane.

On the bus:

When we got to the park, I asked Ben if we could take a picture together. He agreed.

We didn’t get there quite at rope drop, but it wasn’t too long after 9 am.

Walls and Scrims everywhere

We didn’t have Fast Passes until the afternoon at Hollywood Studios, so here was my plan to tackle AK:

Expedition Everest first. There were 3 kids who didn’t ride, so my friend L. was going to take them on the Asia trails.

Then walk to Kilimanjaro Safari and hope that the wait was not too long.

Back to Asia to ride Kali, which I think opened at 10 am.

Then Dinosaur.


I specifically picked Everest first so we could get on before the line built up. My fear is if we did the safari, during the time we spent in line and then on the attraction, the line at EE would get really long.

It looms!

So far so good. The wait time at 9:22 am was 15 minutes. Not bad.

The EE line is absolutely one of the most interesting at WDW:

And the ride is one of my favorites!

OMG! It’s Double Disco Yeti!

A couple of ride photos:




Chaperoning 12 Teens (and 4 Chaperones) is Sure Exhausting!

And here was the point when my Animal Kingdom plan started to unravel. After we exited the ride the plan was to head to the Safari after meeting up with my friend L. who had the boys who were not riding. As we were going past the EE entrance, our thrill riding chaperone saw that the wait time was still 15 minutes.

“Let’s ride again!”

Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Continued from previous post


“Let’s ride again!”

Of course the boys wanted to do that, but I was concerned that if we did that, the line at the Safari would be getting longer every minute we were on Everest. But things happened very quickly, and we were back in the EE stand-by line. What do you call it when you get into the line again?

Deja-Queue!

Here’s some pics from our second ride:

Hi, Ben!!!

Yeti impression:

There were a couple of consequences of that second ride.

Remember my friend L’s son, who was not used to thrill rides but loved his two trips on ToT the previous night? He was looking a little bit green after the second ride.

Our group walked to Africa where we met L. and the boys she had near the Kilimanjaro Safari entrance. The posted wait time was more than an hour.

L.’s son was not feeling well and decided not to ride the safari. I felt really terrible that L. and her son were not riding since this is one of the rides L. would really enjoy. She said they would wait for her son while he was in the bathroom and then we would figure out what they were going to do.

While we were in the safari queue, I got a text from L. saying they were going to leave the park and go back to the resort and hopefully her son would be feeling well enough to meet us in Hollywood Studios. Unfortunately, I had forgotten to give L. the park tickets and meal vouchers for her and her son. So I headed back through the queue line while L. made her way towards me. We met at a corner and I handed over the things she needed.

I rejoined my group while we waited in the heat in the Safari line.

There was some tension as our group discussed what we would have time for after the safari. When I said probably just Dinosaur our thrill-loving chaperone asked “What about Kali?”

I said we lost the opportunity to ride Kali when we did the second EE ride.

Then the chaperone said “You never told us that!”

Then the chaperone asked if we really needed to ride the safari.

“Yes. Yes we do.”

The KS queue is not my favorite in Disney and today it was particularly unpleasant.

Was the safari worth it?


Next up: Snakes in a Stall and Safari

 

[rteetz]

Great picture of you and Ben.

EE is a fantastic attraction. I wish they could fix the yeti so that could be part of the experience again. The queue has so many details.

Of course you need to ride the safari. It wouldn't be a trip to AK without experiencing it. Can't wait to hear how it went.

 

[Wood Nymph]

I hope you didn't have a major revolt on your hands.

 

[natebenma]

Great picture of you and Ben.

EE is a fantastic attraction. I wish they could fix the yeti so that could be part of the experience again. The queue has so many details.

Of course you need to ride the safari. It wouldn't be a trip to AK without experiencing it. Can't wait to hear how it went.

Thanks- there is a picture I like even more coming up, an homage to an incident that happened on Nate's class trip.

This is the first time I was able to get a picture of Betty the Yeti! I was very excited.

I know, right? We are at ANIMAL kingdom! Seeing animals is an important part of the park and probably the closest thing to "education" that we would be doing there. This was a class trip, after all.

I hope you didn't have a major revolt on your hands.

Not a major revolt, but there was definitely a minor skirmish at MK later that night.

 

[SarahDisney]

When we got to the park, I asked Ben if we could take a picture together. He agreed.

Great picture! It's so nice that Ben agreed to be in a picture with you!

The EE line is absolutely one of the most interesting at WDW:

Totally agree on this. It's like walking through a museum!

And here was the point when my Animal Kingdom plan started to unravel. After we exited the ride the plan was to head to the Safari after meeting up with my friend L. who had the boys who were not riding. As we were going past the EE entrance, our thrill riding chaperone saw that the wait time was still 15 minutes.

“Let’s ride again!”

Uh oh. Someone's trying to mess with the schedule. That's never a good thing.

There was some tension as our group discussed what we would have time for after the safari. When I said probably just Dinosaur our thrill-loving chaperone asked “What about Kali?”

I said we lost the opportunity to ride Kali when we did the second EE ride.

Then the chaperone said “You never told us that!”

People. Listen to the master planner when she says one ride on EE!!

Was the safari worth it?

Safari is my favorite ride at AK, so I really hope that the answer to this is yes!

 

[afwdwfan]

Expedition Everest first. There were 3 kids who didn’t ride, so my friend L. was going to take them on the Asia trails.

Then walk to Kilimanjaro Safari and hope that the wait was not too long.

Back to Asia to ride Kali, which I think opened at 10 am.

Then Dinosaur.

Seems like a solid plan to me. That's exactly how I'd do it!

The EE line is absolutely one of the most interesting at WDW:

And here was the point when my Animal Kingdom plan started to unravel. After we exited the ride the plan was to head to the Safari after meeting up with my friend L. who had the boys who were not riding. As we were going past the EE entrance, our thrill riding chaperone saw that the wait time was still 15 minutes.

“Let’s ride again!”

It is hard to turn down a second ride on EE...

Our group walked to Africa where we met L. and the boys she had near the Kilimanjaro Safari entrance. The posted wait time was more than an hour.

There was some tension as our group discussed what we would have time for after the safari. When I said probably just Dinosaur our thrill-loving chaperone asked “What about Kali?”

I said we lost the opportunity to ride Kali when we did the second EE ride.

Then the chaperone said “You never told us that!”

Ok... this thrill seeking chaperone really needs to get their priorities straight. Have they ever been on Kali before? I'd take 1 ride on EE over 5 rides on KRR... simply because KRR is so short and, frankly, kind of boring.

 

[natebenma]

Great picture! It's so nice that Ben agreed to be in a picture with you!

He was really good about that. He knew what a big issue I had with Nate on his class trip- I'll recount that story in a couple of updates.

Totally agree on this. It's like walking through a museum!

The EE queue must have been such a fun one for the Imagineers to design

Uh oh. Someone's trying to mess with the schedule. That's never a good thing.

People. Listen to the master planner when she says one ride on EE!!

The sad thing is that I actually had far fewer problems with the chaperones on this trip than I did on Nate's.

Safari is my favorite ride at AK, so I really hope that the answer to this is yes!

We'll see.

 

[natebenma]

Seems like a solid plan to me. That's exactly how I'd do it!

Always like to hear positive acknowledgement of the plan.

It is hard to turn down a second ride on EE...

I know!

But I really do think the Safari line would have been 20-25 minutes shorter if we had proceeded immediately there.

Ok... this thrill seeking chaperone really needs to get their priorities straight. Have they ever been on Kali before? I'd take 1 ride on EE over 5 rides on KRR... simply because KRR is so short and, frankly, kind of boring.

I think that at least 2 of the 3, and maybe all the kids would have gone on Kali.

I missed Kali on Nate's class trip too- I was the only one who sat out with a boy who didn't want to ride.

I also felt really guilty because my friend said her son was not feeling great after the first ride and he would have passed on the second one if she had been there instead of taking the other kids on the trail. I wish he had said something to me, because I would have sat out on the second ride.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Even though I am afraid of heights, I love Expedition Everest! I am jealous that you captured a picture of disco Yeti! Was that taken during the first ride or deja queue?

Don't you just hate it when the plans change and the person/reason for the change doesn't understand how it effects the rest of the day?

 

[natebenma]

Even though I am afraid of heights, I love Expedition Everest! I am jealous that you captured a picture of disco Yeti! Was that taken during the first ride or deja queue?

Don't you just hate it when the plans change and the person/reason for the change doesn't understand how it effects the rest of the day?

It was the first ride. I was SO excited! Usually I don't even SEE the Yeti. I think I try to take a picture every ride and this was the first time it came out.

I tried to go with the flow a bit more on this trip, but there were definitely reasons I made the plans I did for that morning.

 

[glennbo123]

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear that one of the kids wasn't feeling too well and had to leave. And it sounds like another chaperone who hijacked the plans didn't realize there'd be ramifications to changing plans. Oh boy. Don't they know to listen to you at all times?!

 

[annie170]

Completely understandable that the kids would want to ride Expedition Everest twice. That's such great ride.

Sorry to hear that there is a chaperone already second guessing your plans. I feel for you trying to accommodate so many people. You just can't please everyone.

Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas!