“This is *NOT* a Family Friendly Coaster!” Labor Day Weekend 2018 [Update x2 4/20/19]

bellebookworm9

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 25, 2009
Helllllloooo! I returned from this trip almost three weeks ago now so I figured I should finally start writing this TR before I forget all of the details!

I’m betting I have some readers hopping over from my previous TRs for DLR in May and maybe even from DCL in February, but hopefully there are some new readers, too, so I’ll introduce myself, of course.


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I’m Gretchen, on the right. 27 years old, audiologist in the Pacific Northwest, travel agent specializing in Disney on the side, cat mom of three. As you can see from my trip list in my signature, I have a number of WDW trips under my belt plus four months as WDW College Program cast member and an additional three months as a seasonal (read: full time hours with no benefits) cast member immediately following the CP.

My mom, Debbie, is on the left. She is my frequent Disney travel companion but does not have quite as many trips on her list as I do. She’s 61 (I know, she doesn’t look it - may I inherit her good genes) and works in a group home in our hometown of Buffalo, NY.

I actually meant to start writing this sooner but 7 business days before I left, my office had physician #6 start seeing patients, and since I’ve returned, I’ve been averaging over 40 hours a week there, plus my TA stuff, plus my weekend volunteer with a low-cost Cat Spay/neuter Program, and I’ve just been lacking motivation!

We started planning this trip earlier this year when the initial rumors started that IllumIantions might be coming to a close. It’s our favorite show, and I knew we needed to see it one last time. I only have 8 days off this year and I have my first ABD trip planned next spring, so for a vacation of any decent length, it would have to be over a long weekend, and my office doesn’t have Columbus Day off. That essentially left us with Labor Day.

OK, it would be hot, but we can work with that. Plus we would get the benefits of Food & Wine Festival and MNSSHP! I changed our resort no less than four times (it might actually have been more).

Started off at Pop, switched to Coronado with Free Dining, finally became eligible for travel agent rates and switched to Port Orleans Riverside Royal Room with no dining, and then started panicking about the cost of this trip and ended up at Art of Animation in a Little Mermaid Room. I’ve stayed there twice before in the family suites, once with Mom, and it’s really one of my favorite resorts.

I bought myself a ticket for Disney After Hours on arrival night (Mom’s flight was getting in too late) and both of us tickets for the MNSSHP on Labor Day. Four day hoppers for both of us. No dining plan because we planned to do a lot of snacking through Epcot and it didn’t make financial sense. ECV booked for mom, rental car booked because we don’t like fighting the buses with the ECV (and I’m just a generally impatient person).

It had been 3.75 years since Mom’s last real trip to WDW and 3.5 years since mine (we aren’t counting the one night we spent before our Disney Cruise this past February/the few hours at Disney Springs post-cruise).

Speaking of Disney Springs, it was not to be included on this trip.

Our itinerary was as follows:

Day 0: Gretchen’s flight departs Vancouver to Toronto overnight after work.

Day 1: Gretchen arrives by 12pm from Toronto; ticket for Disney After Hours that night. Mom’s flight arrives around 7pm and she’ll relax at the resort.

Day 2: Late start to Epcot all day.

Day 3: Rope drop Epcot for most of the day. Happily Ever After Dessert Party at MK in the evening and then rides at MK if desired.

Day 4: Rope drop Animal Kingdom (open 8am-10pm!)

Day 5: Rope drop DHS in the morning (mostly for Toy Story Land); MNSSHP in the evening.

Day 6: Doesn’t even really count since we had to be in the car to the airport by 9am. Or at least I did - my flight was departing at 11:40am. Mom’s wasn’t until 1 something and I gave her the option of sleeping in a little and taking Magical Express but she decided she’d rather drive back with me and just hang out at the airport.

We had a lot of fun (and a few mishaps) and experienced many new things so I hope you’ll join in on the adventures!


 
I'm here joining in! I loved reading about your solo trip so I can't wait for this one!
 


Can't wait to read more! I'm from Niagara Falls, NY so basically Buffalo! So hello from a fellow Western New Yorker! :goodvibes
 


sounds fun - I'll be following along.

Yay! Come on, I love new followers! Hopefully I can keep you entertained!
Joining in as well :smickey:

Hello!

I'm here joining in! I loved reading about your solo trip so I can't wait for this one!

Welcome back! This was a lot of fun too, in a different way.

Can't wait to hear all about it!

I can't wait to relive it by writing about it!

I'm here! Can't wait to hear about your trip, the itinerary sounded great!

Hello friend! The itinerary kind of matched up with the final project but we did make a few minor adjustments because, well, it was HOT and HUMID.

Can't wait to read more! I'm from Niagara Falls, NY so basically Buffalo! So hello from a fellow Western New Yorker! :goodvibes
YAASSS Anyone that actually knows to call it Western New York is automatically a friend! "Greater Niagara Region", am I right?

Following along!

Welcome!
 
Will the Entire Trip Be Derailed via an Airport Parking Fiasco? (Day 0, Part 1 – Wednesday, August 29th and Day 1, Part 1 – Thursday, August 30th)

Well, at the time, it sure seemed like it might. After work on Wednesday, I went home to finish last minute packing, cleaning and prepping for my cat nanny, and saying good-bye to my cats, who were definitely less than thrilled with me. My middle cat was so distraught by my behaviors that he hid under the bed and wouldn’t even come out when I was walking out the door. Super sad because he’s usually my little shadow to the point that I’m tripping over him.

As I did in February for my Disney Cruise, I was flying out of Vancouver again. It’s closer to my apartment than Seattle by almost an hour, the flight times typically work a little better for me, and it tends to be a little cheaper. I know in my last TR I mentioned I had a NEXUS pass to cross US/Canadian borders and this was my first time actually using it for real (last time I still had dealer plates on my car which triggered a Spanish inquisition even as a "trusted traveler"). This time, the Border Patrol guy literally looked in my window and said, “Have a good night!” Beautiful. Into Canada in five minutes when the regular line was probably 20-30. It’s like Fastpass!

I had pre-paid for parking at the Vancouver airport because it’s a little cheaper to do so. They moved their cheapest parking lot since I was last there, and apparently the license plate reader did not want to cooperate with my plate. No problem, I had the confirmation email with QR code on my phone. Do you think I could get that to work? Nope. I held my phone at every angle possible, no dice. I pushed the help button to try and talk to a person more than once with no response. I accidentally pushed the button to take a token, which was not what I wanted to do, since I had already pre-paid. I needed the system to recognize that! By pushing the button, I opened the gate, but I didn’t go through, and the arm stayed open. If you got free parking at YVR because the entry gate was open to the Value Lot, you’re welcome. I backed up and went between both entry gates probably three times. I was so annoyed! Finally, I still have no idea how or why, but it accepted the QR code. What a mess! On the plus side, I found a parking spot right along the main walkway to the train station pretty and it was even not that far from the entrance!

Then I almost boarded the wrong train because I misunderstood the sign. One side of the rail goes into Vancouver, and the other side goes to the airport (which is a free trip). Thankfully I figured out my mistake before actually getting on board. Hot mess express, right here, let me tell you! Once at the airport, I used a kiosk to print my baggage tag, and then I got to skip a pretty sizeable line of people who were checking their bag in with a person. Canadian airport security also recognizes NEXUS and that gave me a shorter line over non-NEXUS, too! Still had to take my laptop out of both the carry-on AND its sleeve, which I wasn’t prepared for. Thinking I could leave it in (like I do at TSA Pre-Check - also included with NEXUS, FYI), I had it in the bottom of my rolling carry-on, so the bag doesn’t get top heavy and fall over. Welp, that didn’t work here, and I made a mess of all my neatly packed items. Since this flight was going to Toronto, no US Customs to cross through in Vancouver.

By that point I was hungry and my flight time was approaching, so I stopped to get a “calzone”…at least that’s what the menu called it. This was not like any calzone I’ve ever had and I definitely regretted it, but my options were kind of limited by the later hour. I had strolled by my gate in the hunt for food and it was PACKED. Air Canada boards by Zones. 1 and 2 are the Business Class and Priority Economy, I’m pretty sure. I don’t really get how they do 3-5, but I suspect it at least partially involves when the ticket was purchased. This was one of the giant planes that have rows of 3-4-3 and the zone lines were an utter mess. They started out clearly and then snaked back to one giant mob. I’m pretty sure the flight was completely sold out. They were asking people to gate check carry-ons. Usually I’m the first to volunteer for that but all I had was my rolling carry-on and my very small Disney Dooney & Bourke crossbody, so that wasn’t happening, sorry. Especially since I wouldn’t see it again until Orlando, some 12 hours or more later. Even the announcements from the gate agents in the boarding area were not able to be heard. What a crappy PA system! Eventually I made it on the plane (in zone 3). For the culmination of my hot mess experience at YVR, my “window” seat perfectly aligned with a WALL. Yup, that obnoxious gap between actual windows was all mine for the next 5+ hours. Great. I planned to at least attempt sleeping anyway but this was just the icing on the cake!

The flight was pretty uneventful. I dozed on and off without any true success. Here is a picture of the map on the seatback screen heading in to Toronto.
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In Toronto, I had to go through security AGAIN because my connecting flight was going to the US. It was still stupid early though so there was basically no one in the line. While your checked luggage is going through Customs, they hold you in a large waiting room. Once your luggage is cleared behind the scenes, your initials show up on large screens at the front of the room and you yourself may proceed to Customs. Again, my NEXUS came in very handy here because I did the retina scan and was on my way.

I had breakfast at Starbucks, and for the first time ever in my life, chose Starbucks over Tim Horton’s. I’m pretty sure I turned in my “Buffalo card”, if you will, with that move. For this next leg of the trip, my memory is frankly a little fuzzy. I think this flight was also very full and I might have actually agreed to gate check my carry on here. I’m remembering walking around with my blanket, pillow, laptop case, and purse, so I’m betting it was between here and Orlando.

Finally, we were at MCO and I was heading to the shuttle for baggage claim.
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I parked myself super close to the carousel “entrance” and one of my bags actually came out super quick, the other not far behind. Then I went down and out to the Dollar car rental garage – I’m an Express member so I don’t have to go to the counter, but can use the booth in the garage instead. I had booked the “Manager’s Special” – previously known as “Lock Low & Go” so I knew we’d be getting at least a Compact. That day it was “Get a MidSize for Compact Price”. The employee, Julie, even gave me TWO bottles of ice cold Dasani once I told her my mom would be joining me. So nice, because it was 11:30 and super hot and humid!

The options were pretty limited but I like that Dollar generally lets you select your own car from the given category. I went with a Hyundai Elantra. I have to say, I’ve been spoiled by my car. I used to drive a 2001 Plymouth Neon. Virtually anything was an upgrade from that. But I finally had to give in and get something more functional earlier this summer. I bought a 9-month-old Ford Fiesta that had previously been used as a rental car. I don’t know what agency it belonged to, but my car is FULLY. LOADED. for its class (economy/sub-compact) and I’ve become a feature snob, it would seem. I have Apple CarPlay and a decent-sized full color touch-screen that shows a map if needed and has a back-up camera, and leather seats. This car had none of those things. It did have a screen but it was small and black & white. No map, which was quite unfortunate, as you will see. Cloth seats. No Apple CarPlay integration. I have rented from Budget on one occasion but Dollar is usually my go to for price. I’ve never been disappointed with the cars I’ve gotten from them but this is the first time I’ve really thought that you are sacrificing something with that cheaper price!

It started pouring as I approached Disney property, because it was 12pm in August, so of course it was.
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And when I got onto the property via Osceola Parkway…holy cow. Construction wasteland. “Where the heck AM I?!” No recognizable landmarks. I had to turn around to even attempt to find Art of Animation because the sign to “turn right for Pop Century and AoA” was in a not great place so I missed it at first! It was at that moment that I wished I had my full color map on the car screen to guide me. I did have voice navigation active but it never seems quite as helpful as actually LOOKING at the map.

Made it!
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I pull up to the security gate and tell them I’m checking in, then give my ID as requested. Eventually the guard goes, “Oh, that’s why I couldn’t find it. It’s under ‘Doctor’.” Um, yeah, that’s my proper title. Which Disney requests when making reservations. And I felt I needed to put the title earned by my outrageous student loan debt SOMEPLACE, so that’s what I use (because I don’t actually go by Doctor at work…my last name is very long and very German and 95% of my patients are hard of hearing. It’s a recipe for disaster. Just call me Gretchen, please and thanks.). Crisis averted, I proceeded to check in parking. I had done online check in (P.S. Disney PLEASE fix your room request options that have been non-functional for months) but had no text, phone call, or room number in MDE.

All CMs were helping other guests but no one was in the queue ahead of me so it was a short wait. Check in took very little time. We declined new MagicBands this time (not a good idea as I discovered later) but this was a package booking, so I was supposed to get the cute luggage tags. They had it for me at check in. In an envelope label “Party of One”. With one tag. For a party that has had two people since the moment I booked it. Don’t know what that’s about but neither of us ended up taking the tag. The CM checking me in asked if I had a floor preference, which I did (highest). I had actually sent a nice fax a few days earlier asking for top floor, lake view, building 8, but either that didn’t get read or it wasn’t noted anywhere obvious on the reservation. He found me a room right away, 8802. Building 8, top floor, but not lake view. It ended up being a pool view and pretty darn close to the elevator, so that was nice. I headed to the room immediately to first, take photos and second, take a well-deserved nap. I was wiped after all that traveling!

First view of room 8802:
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One of the reasons we ended up at AoA was because, as enticing as the new rooms at Pop are, we really wanted to have the second bed and table not be the same.
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And I love that the sheet music for “Under the Sea” is part of the table top:
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Curtains have a nice under-the-sea-scape on them:
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The bed I claimed as mine:
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I really don’t like that Disney has done away with even the colorful runners on the beds over the years. I know they were pretty useless, but the white duvets covers are just…boring. At least the ones in this room had a fun bubble print:
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A view of both beds:
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The dresser, which quickly became covered with our stuff:
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Dresser also has a pop down “hide-away” with all this tech stuff hiding behind it:
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Cupboard with the fridge:
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Close up views of the fridge:
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Disney sometimes describes these as “beverage coolers” instead of mini-fridges (or maybe that’s the cruise line staterooms I’m thinking of). Regardless, this fridge was SO COLD. It froze multiple bottles of water that were in the door – great when you want a cold bottle to last through the day at the parks. Not great when you’re coming back at night and just need something other than the gross tap water to take a few sips of with evening medications. Another quirk is that while those holders in the door do technically fit a good old 20 oz bottle; the top row is really meant for cans. The door won’t closer with a full size bottle in place there. You’ve been warned!

Dresser drawers:
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We are not insane overpackers. We’ve both done this around a dozen times, but three drawers honestly felt a little on the cramped side, just for two adults. I took two drawers and left one for mom since she usually chooses to hang her shirts and some other items as well. I can’t imagine how a family of 4, even with kids, would be able to deal with this little space. I think I’ve been spoiled by the Family Suites at AoA where there are two WHOLE dressers for three people (in my rooms, at least). Even our DCL stateroom had more storage. Anyway, we made it work, it’s just something to be aware of.

Totally LOVED this Octopus coatrack on the back of the connecting door:
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Wall art:
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The “privacy curtain” is super cute but…not all that private. There’s a gap of several inches where it doesn’t meet the wall (on the left-hand side in this picture). I usually ended up closing the curtain and then getting changed in the toilet area with the door open.
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I can honestly say I loved how much space there was on this vanity and wish my home one was this size!
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Open closet area, iron/ironing board, extra pillow (which was great, cause I’m a pillow diva and I sleep with like 5-6 at home), luggage stand:
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The wall safe – does not fit a 15” MacBook Pro, FYI. Not that I’m worried about anyone stealing this 4.5 year old now-piece-of-crap. Still randomly shuts down without warning. Battery level doesn’t matter, plugged In doesn’t matter, I’ve reset the SCM and the PRM and I don’t know what the problem is. I’ve found a few people while googline about my problem who have the same issue, and none of them have been given a valid answer by Apple. Grrr!
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Fluffy and large, these towels were not. Adequate is an acceptable description. Slightly thin and scratchy. Don’t stay Value if you want great towels, folks.
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Oh, so the other thing about the bathroom. THE FREAKING FAN! It’s motion sensor, and you don’t even have to be in the water closet. Oh no, you could be reaching to grab a hairbrush while completely out in the vanity and, oops, you’ve triggerd the demon fan! It only runs for like 30 seconds at a time and then gets triggered all over again. There is no way to override it. And it’s so LOUD. I don’t recall having that much of an issue with a motion-sense fan in any of the other Disney resorts I’ve stayed at, or even in the suites at this resort!

Shower curtain is so great!
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Bathtub wall panorama shows the dream lair of every child of the late 80s/early 90s:
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Carpet has a fun sand/beachy pattern:
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Here is the view from outside our door, overlooking Flippin’ Fins pool, like I mentioned.
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The soundproofing here is great! Could hear virtually no outside noise when the door was closed (and I have excellent hearing). Even with the connecting door to the next room, I think I only heard the neighbors maybe once?

Info on the Skyliner being built:
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These get a big fat thumbs-down ABSOLUTELY NOT from me. The construction for them is everywhere, and the poles are massive in both size and degree of eyesoreness. They just ruin the landscaping everywhere I saw them.

In room delivery menu:
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Time for that nap now! Up next: An evening on my own at Disney After Hours!
 
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It’s like Fastpass!

woohoo - your first 'ride' of the trip.

Finally, I still have no idea how or why, but it accepted the QR code. What a mess!

Such a bummer and frustrating to be sure. Hopefully you didn't have the added stress of cars waiting behind you.

Once at the airport, I used a kiosk to print my baggage tag, and then I got to skip a pretty sizeable line of people who were checking their bag in with a person.

Another Fastpass! score.

my “window” seat perfectly aligned with a WALL.

That stinks - my DH got stuck with that seat to/from on an extended family trip a couple months ago. I booked my ticket later and secured myself a seat I knew I would be happy with.

The employee, Julie, even gave me TWO bottles of ice cold Dasani once I told her my mom would be joining me.

Nice customer service.

so I missed it at first!

You meant to do that - you wanted the scenic route.

At least the ones in this room had a fun bubble print:

That is a cute touch.

but three drawers honestly felt a little on the cramped side

That's what I first thought when I saw the picture where the mini fridge took up half. That's a pretty tight space.
 
The motion sensor fan in the bathrooms at Polynesian Villas(DVC side) also drove us nuts. And because the bathrooms are split into two and lined up side by side, I’d walk past the first bathroom multiple times daily trying to get something out of the closet or stroller which was parked right inside our door. The fan would go off whenever you walk BY the bathroom, not even into it! You could solve the problem by just keeping the bathroom door shut, but the doors(sliding door on a barn track) were pretty noisy to open, so when kids were napping it was a lesser of two evils: loud fan or loud door, arg!
 
Eeeek! I don't know what happened with the alignment and some of the photos not showing, but it's all fixed now!

Such a bummer and frustrating to be sure. Hopefully you didn't have the added stress of cars waiting behind you.

Thankfully, no, no other cars behind me. The parking lot was not particularly busy at 8pm on a Wednesday!

That stinks - my DH got stuck with that seat to/from on an extended family trip a couple months ago. I booked my ticket later and secured myself a seat I knew I would be happy with.

I selected that seat thinking it was a regular old window seat, since that's what it looks like on the seating diagram. Nope. ALSO! This is one of the newer "Dreamliner" planes and instead of classic style "shades" that pull down over the windows, they have a button that you push to "dim" the window instead. I discovered that on my return flight from Montreal to Vancouver. So weird!

That's what I first thought when I saw the picture where the mini fridge took up half. That's a pretty tight space.
That's my issue with the Bayou room at POR, too. If they have the pull-down bed, that leaves TWO drawers. And they're basically on the floor, so not practical for my mom and her bad back. I know there's that open shelving thing that they have in those rooms as well, but I just feel weird about leaving my clothes out like that.

The motion sensor fan in the bathrooms at Polynesian Villas(DVC side) also drove us nuts. And because the bathrooms are split into two and lined up side by side, I’d walk past the first bathroom multiple times daily trying to get something out of the closet or stroller which was parked right inside our door. The fan would go off whenever you walk BY the bathroom, not even into it! You could solve the problem by just keeping the bathroom door shut, but the doors(sliding door on a barn track) were pretty noisy to open, so when kids were napping it was a lesser of two evils: loud fan or loud door, arg!

Can we please just go back to the regular old fans that they have at the All Stars, where you just turn the knob for a set amount of time if you want/need the fan?!
 
Pre-“Disney After Hours” (Day 1, Part 2 – Thursday, August 30th)

After my nap, I unpacked, and then saw that Walker Mobility had called to deliver the ECV. Since they aren’t “contracted” with Disney, they can’t leave it at Bell Services, and as far as I know, they’re the only ones that have the “Pink Princess Scooter” that my mom likes so much. I timed my walk up to the main building and at a pretty fast pace, it was 8 minutes – I did this because I know there are lots of complaints about how far the Mermaid rooms are from Animation Hall and the bus stop.

While I was at Animation Hall, I also got lunch. A BBQ sandwich with chips and coleslaw. It was good, it was messy, and it was so large I couldn’t finish the whole thing. While I was attempting to check out, the machine said my PIN for my Magicband was incorrect. Ummm, it’s the same PIN I’ve been using since Magicbands first existed, and I know it’s correct. Nope, it wouldn’t accept it. The cashier was honestly just going to let me take the food and go, but I was able to reset the PIN on my phone through MDE and pay.

I also decided to hunt down distilled water for Mom’s CPAP machine. I’d been told that the resorts sell it, so first I asked in the Ink & Paint Shop. The woman there said they don’t sell any kind of water so I should go ask in Landscape of Flavors. I’d looked in all the beverage cases there and didn’t see any. I found another I&P cast member who actually came with me to look in Landscapes and he didn’t see it either. Thankfully, one of the CMs behind the counter asked if she could help us and I told her what I was looking for. She said, “Oh yeah, we have that, it’s in the back! Let me get it for you. We keep it back there so people don’t buy it thinking it’s drinking water. Go to the cashier, tell her it’s in the system under groceries, and I’ll bring it right over.”

I went to the same cashier as before and she had no idea what I was talking about. Claimed she couldn’t find it under groceries and decided to just charge me $3.75. For a gallon of distilled water. In the real world, this goes for $0.89. I was a little bit appalled, sure she’d grossly overcharged me, so I went back to the CM behind the counter who told me she thinks it’s actually $4.25! What in the world, Disney?! I should have just driven to Target to get it.

My mom was very concerned about having to walk from the main building to the room when she arrived later in the evening. I told her repeatedly to go to the front desk and see if they would transport her in a golf cart and she was still worried. I even looked in to using a locker at the Big Blue Pool to keep the key for the scooter safe and the scooter parked nearby, but alas, those lockers use keys as well and not PIN codes. I wasn’t sure if the front desk would hold on to it for me since it’s not a contracted vendor. OK, back to asking the front desk for a ride.

For Disney After Hours, I contemplated taking the car but decided against it, figuring the bus would save me time. I don’t really think it did. First there was the walk from our room to the AoA bus stop, then the wait for the bus to arrive, and then the wait while the bus just sat there for five minutes to see if more passengers were coming. At Magic Kingdom, the AoA bus stop is literally the VERY. LAST. ONE. so that was kind of a far walk to the security area. Returning at the end of the night, I probably waited 25-30 minutes for the bus to come pick up at MK and then make the walk from bus stop to room, so despite what many websites say, I really think the car would have been faster. Oh well, hindsight is 20/20, right?

I went bag-less for this night so was able to breeze right on through security. Magic Kingdom looked wonderful in all its fall glory!

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Here’s a list of the attractions that were operational during that night’s event.
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I recalled that in the reviews I’d seen of this event, people had been given lanyards with big plastic cards ID’ing that they’d paid and were participating. Tonight, it was just plain yellow wristbands. I didn’t get the lanyard until I was exiting at the end of the night. I feel the lanyards are more easily identifiable than the wristbands, though there was only one instance (that I’ll mention later) where it seemed guests who weren’t part of the event attempted to get on a ride.


It was exactly 7pm when I entered the park, as the DAH ticket allows you entry two hours before the actual event starts. I was texting with Mom, as her flight was landing around the same time. She made it to the hotel just fine, and when she went to the front desk, they brought her to the room, in her words, in “a giant white van”. So not a golf cart, but she didn’t have to walk!

Magic Kingdom didn’t necessarily feel crowded but the wait times were longer than I was willing to wait (aka more than 20 minutes). I decided to start in Tomorrowland and ride the PeopleMover because there’s almost never a wait to do that.
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For the first time EVER, in all my visits, I got to see Space Mountain with the lights on!
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I don’t know why this scene on the PeopleMover cracks me up, but it does every time.
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Next, I went around to the various photo ops set up for the “Incredible Tomorrowland Expo”.
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Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin was posting a 30-minute wait, which I figured was tolerable and at least it’s air-conditioned. Did you know that the ceiling in the queue line leaks? I didn’t either, until that night. There were these college-aged guys behind me in the line and one of them kept doing Roz impressions (from Monsters, Inc.). It was funny the first time…not so much by 30 minutes later. I kept feeling these drops of water hitting me and for a good long while I was convinced they were flinging water bottle condensation at me. Eventually I realized that no, it was actually the ceiling dripping. I have ridden this ride many, many, many times and I still never get particularly high scores, try as I might to hit the known high targets. Sigh. Maybe someday it will happen.

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After Buzz, it was starting to get dark and while I wasn’t hungry enough for a meal (and wanted to save room for the “free” treats included in my event ticket), I did stop at Auntie Gravity’s to pick up some Candy Corn Soft Serve. I didn’t even get a chance to see if the payment system would take my new PIN – the nice CM literally just handed it to me and waved me along! I thanked him and went on my way.
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This wasn’t plain vanilla flavored but it didn’t taste like actual candy corn either. I still can’t pinpoint exactly what the flavor was. I liked it, just wasn’t quite what I was expecting.


Oh, so in the meantime, Mom is back at the hotel attempting to get dinner at Landscapes and HER PIN wasn’t working either! She’s not savvy enough to have the MDE app on her phone, so they took her room number and name and said they’d charge it to the room. It never showed up on either of our charge lists. By the way, I don’t know if this is an MDE fluke or actually always happens to everyone, but we have always had separate cards linked to each of our bands, with separate PINs. MDE now has the option to show your room charges, and it would always show mine, but never hers. I thought maybe it’s because we’re two adults….but I control her account. She doesn’t have her own (she’d figure out a way to break it, I’m positive of this, especially with MDE’s constant glitches). I would expect all charges made to the people staying in the room, regardless of card, to be shown. Nope. We had to go get a printout of charges to figure out what was hers.


While I ate my ice cream, I walked to Fantasyland because it was now after 8pm, with fireworks at 8:55, park close/official event start at 9, and the attraction lines were beginning to dwindle. Ariel’s Undersea Adventure is always a good time killer, right? Right. It was a walk on. Well, a walk through maybe the longest queue known to man.

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Since I was totally decked out in my Belle t-shirt and ears, plus my yellow Magicband and white/yellow/red MagicBandits, I HAD to stop and get a photo in front of Be Our Guest.
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I stopped by Seven Dwarfs Mine Train just for the heck of it, and the posted wait was like 20 minutes so of course I hopped in line. Here’s a blurry photo (but still the best one I took) of the barrels of jewels in the queue.
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Paired with a totally random guy but that’s always part of the fun!

By the time I got off SDMT, the fireworks were about to start. I contemplated watching them from Fantasyland, right behind the castle (a new vantage point for me) but decided to just head straight to the rides and start getting my money’s worth for this $119 event!


Up next: The creepiest ride I've ever taken on Splash Mountain
 
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Yikes, sounds like a rough travel evening/morning!

Your room looks so nice, I still need to stay at AoA one day.

Looks like you were off to a great start at MK! Love the Belle theme of your outfit :)
 
Great trip report! Anxious to read about the rest of your DAH at MK and about when your mom enters the fun. Love the Belle attire. :goodvibes
 
Loving your trip report!
 
Yikes, sounds like a rough travel evening/morning!

Your room looks so nice, I still need to stay at AoA one day.

Looks like you were off to a great start at MK! Love the Belle theme of your outfit :)

You definitely need to stay at AoA, it really is my second favorite resort (after Kidani Village).

I'm convinced there is just no fast way to get to MK! Unless you're staying at BLT lol

I suspect your are correct, which is most unfortunate. I know that "the guidebooks" always say that it's faster to take the bus, but I really doubt it. Especially for us; since we park in handicapped parking, we don't take the tram. It's just "find a spot and start walking".

Great trip report! Anxious to read about the rest of your DAH at MK and about when your mom enters the fun. Love the Belle attire. :goodvibes

Your wish is my command! It's happening in five minutes (kind of...mom might not enter right away).

Loving your trip report!

Thank you for reading!
 
Super Creepy Splash Mountain (Day 1, Part 3 – Thursday, August 30th)

As it was now rapidly approaching 9pm I hustled my way over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad to start Disney After Hours. Happily Ever After started while I was walking and I honestly got chills. I LOVED Wishes and I still prefer it as a show, but the music for HAE has grown on me. I still hadn’t actually seen HAE in person at this point, but I’d watched the live stream the night it premiered and downloaded the soundtrack soon after.

Big Thunder Mountain was a total walk on AND I got to see the fireworks from this vantage point for the first time ever! Enjoy the video and a few photos (but turn your sound down because the train is LOUD)!

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After Big Thunder, I bopped over to Splash Mountain which was also a walk on. In fact, it was so empty, I had the log to myself! They asked if I wanted front or back…front, duh! I’ve ridden Splash Mountain A LOT and I’ve never been the only one in the log. There was one couple in the log ahead of me and I think a family behind me.

Oh look, another fireworks picture!
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And then, about halfway through the ride, it happened. All the lights came on, the animatronics stopped moving, and the music turned COMPLETELY OFF. Guys….I have to tell you, it was the CREEPIEST THING I HAVE EVER EXPERIENCED. What in the actual heck?! I got some nice still photos but it was so eerie.
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As I exited, the couple ahead asked if they could ride again since everything stopped, but they were told the ride was now down and they didn’t know when it would be functional again. Don’t know why they didn’t emergency evacuate (which I guess would be usual protocol) instead of keeping it moving; maybe because there were so few people?

Me in my solo log:
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The CMs at the photo area said the photo would magically appear and were shooing guests past, not allowing them to tap to scan. Keep that detail in mind, because it will pop up later.

I stopped at the cart in Adventureland, near the Jungle Cruise, to get my “free” popcorn, a strawberry fruit bar, and soda. I sat on a bench and enjoyed it, just marveling at how empty the park was. I did not actually ride Jungle Cruise because I had gone on the nearly identical version at Disneyland just a few months earlier (also at night), and I prefer it during the day anyway.

I did, however, venture a ride on Pirates, which was another walk on. This was not a “boat to myself” kind of ride, but I expected that. When I did the DCP, my roommate worked at Pirates. I’ve heard all the stories about boats needing to be balanced or else they get stuck, then everyone in the boat has to do “the pirate wave” to try and rock it back into motion, and should that fail, a CM potentially has to come wading through the water to assist everyone to evacuate. I’ll take a full boat over getting stuck on Pirates any day! There I am, way in the back.
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This ride photo is just…unnecessary. It’s not even taken at a pivotal moment, and the camera is OBVIOUS. Yes, I am also in the camp that the Redhead scene did not need to be changed. It’s not the same…”c’mon dearie, show us your flock” doesn’t have quite the ring to it. “It’s the rum they want!” NO. WE WANTS THE REDHEAD!

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Moving on, here’s a slightly blurry photo of how utterly empty Adventureland was.
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I continued to Fantasyland, where I made a quick restroom stop at the Tangled area. I’m not kidding when I say the line for the lantern Magic Shot was longer than any of the ride lines I encountered. No, I didn’t wait for it, just took this picture and was on my way to Peter Pan’s Flight.
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They routed the line through the standby queue, which was super adorable, but it moved so steadily that I didn’t really have time to take pictures! Only a 5-10 minute wait at most. I did take some pics on the ride but wow, this is a really hard ride to photograph! This is the ONLY one that even came close to being identifiable.
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A photo of the nice empty area behind the castle:
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The ride for SDMT was super short again, like 10 minutes, so I took another ride and managed a passable photo in the mine.
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I love the end here, where you’re sitting for a moment watching the happiness in the cottage, then you head back into the load station and WOAH, there’s the old hag peeking in!

And look at this, I even got my own row – when does that EVER happen?!
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Heading into Tomorrowland, I decided to give Space Mountain a whirl, even though I always end up regretting it. This is the one ride where I encountered a family who did not have wristbands and weren't even subtle about it - I'm still unsure how they managed to stay in the park for two hours without them! The CM said something to them and I heard the beginning of what I'm sure was a sob story, "Well, you see we're from Australia and we've been...." I left them behind but the other guests around me in line were DEFINITELY making comments.

This one was actually not a walk on, but had about a 10 minute wait, since they were only running the Alpha track. I’ve only ridden that side once before, on a rainy January evening back in 2012 on my college program when the park was dead. Otherwise, I always have a Fastpass and end up on the Omega track. I can confidently say that the Alpha track is waaaaaay better, but I still rank it below Disneyland’s version.


When we exited, the guy ahead of me (who I think was a current DCP participant) looked at the photo and went, “Oh dear, I don’t look like I’m having a good time AT. ALL.”
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For my final ride of the evening, I took a second ride on Buzz.

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Then, even though it was only 11pm, I decided to call it a night. I’d really ridden everything I intended and did feel I got a good value.

Empty Tomorrowland:
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Late night castle shot:
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I stopped to get a Mickey Cookies & Cream ice cream and a bottle of soda from the cart in the Hub and then continued on my way.

Pretty empty Main Street:
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Had to get a photo in front of the castle, since there were three photographers and no lines:
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See, really, no lines!
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Two thumbs up for Disney After Hours!
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Empty Town Square:

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Some of the Halloween statues:
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Good night, Magic Kingdom!
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That last photo was at 11:16pm. Art of Animation was not running from its usual bus stop, thank goodness. It was a little closer, at bus stop 20. I waited, and waited, and waited. Texted my mom at 11:50 that I had just boarded the bus, so about a 30 minute wait. I was the first one in line and a good amount of people had built up behind me by the time it finally came. Back at AoA, I made the walk back to the room, only to discover that my mom, who is constantly telling me how much she misses me and couldn’t wait to see me…WAS ASLEEP. Yup, way to make a girl feel loved, Mom.

Oh, and here are new photos I just took today of the lanyard I was given on the way out of the park.
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Soon I was in bed and asleep, too. (P.S. So my mom brought her CPAP with her, which she got after our cruise in February…I can honestly say this may have been the savior for us traveling together. She used to snore like a freight train and it drove me NUTTY, even with earplugs. If a spouse or family member is complaining about your snoring, please go get a sleep study done!)

Up next: Our ACTUAL reunion, a pre-park fiasco, and eating our way through Epcot
 
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