145 Middle Schoolers: Wicked Awesome or Epic Fail???DeParting-Such Sweet Sorrow p. 76

[hill6]

Oh I did find out the WiFi answer. On the WiFi thread there was a link to a newspaper article that said that the Cabins at Fort Wilderness just got wired and they were the final resort to get done.

 

[jenseib]

Hi Dee

I am Debbie, you may have seen me posting on the Beach Club thread. We just booked 4 nights at AS Movies July 18-22. I was wondering if you noticed if the internet was Wifi in the rooms or if it is still the cable?



The whole idea to go to Disney was tossed out there at 9 am yesterday morning. I am so excited.

Yes. All star Movies does have free wifi now. I had a friend stay there recently and her DH was able to work right from the room with no troubles.

 

[ddluvsdisney]

How did you like Atlantic City? I have never been.

Well like most people we really wanted to go to Vegas, but the flights were ridiculous. We settled for AC. My DH just wanted to go somewhere he's never been. It was fun. Not a place to stay for more than a few days.

 

[AprilRenee]

I have no idea how I missed that you started your TR! I'm in. Going back to catch up now!

 

[AprilRenee]

All caught up! Excited to read more.

I'm gonna have to be the odd man out here...we LOVE cosmic rays! We eat it on every trip. The turkey wrap is my favorite! And I love that they have a topping bar with cheese for my fries.
Ok...whew...got that off my chest!

 

[natebenma]

Well like most people we really wanted to go to Vegas, but the flights were ridiculous. We settled for AC. My DH just wanted to go somewhere he's never been. It was fun. Not a place to stay for more than a few days.

Glad you had a fun getaway.

Dee we have only done Backstage Magic so I can't answer how they compare. You would have to go to the descriptions for each. I can say Backstage is the longest tour and you don't require park admission like some of the other do.

We have gone to alot of concerts in recent years. We live about 10 miles from a popular arena in Jersey. We have seen Styx, Reo, Foreigner, Journey, Boston, Heart, Lynard Skynard, George Thorogood, Meatloaf, and Kid Rock there within the last five years. I know there have been others but those stick out. A number of them we have been multiple times. We have also seen Bon Jovi, Paul McCartney, and Billy Joel in the last few years as well at other arenas.

That's an awesome lineup of concerts! Love Meatloaf- he puts on an awesome show. Haven't been to many shows since the kids were born- Jimmy Buffett a couple of times and we really like Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, so we catch their concerts almost annually when they play the Club Casino at Hampton Beach.

Oh I did find out the WiFi answer. On the WiFi thread there was a link to a newspaper article that said that the Cabins at Fort Wilderness just got wired and they were the final resort to get done.

Glad you found the info.

Yes. All star Movies does have free wifi now. I had a friend stay there recently and her DH was able to work right from the room with no troubles.

Thanks for responding to this!

 

[natebenma]

I have no idea how I missed that you started your TR! I'm in. Going back to catch up now!

Well you certainly have a valid (and very cute, may I add) excuse for being late to the party.

I'm glad you are here now!

All caught up! Excited to read more.

I'm gonna have to be the odd man out here...we LOVE cosmic rays! We eat it on every trip. The turkey wrap is my favorite! And I love that they have a topping bar with cheese for my fries.
Ok...whew...got that off my chest!

I won't hold that against you!

More than the food- the crowded atmosphere at Cosmic Rays is what gets to me. Especially when my heart was set on something entirely different!

Good to know about the turkey wrap, though!

 

[AprilRenee]

Well you certainly have a valid (and very cute, may I add) excuse for being late to the party.

I'm glad you are here now!

This is true!

I won't hold that against you!

More than the food- the crowded atmosphere at Cosmic Rays is what gets to me. Especially when my heart was set on something entirely different!

Good to know about the turkey wrap, though!

Yeah. I can understand being disappointed not getting something you had been so looking forward to. Especially since it was probably your only opportunity on this trip!

 

[natebenma]

Yeah. I can understand being disappointed not getting something you had been so looking forward to. Especially since it was probably your only opportunity on this trip!

I haven't been able to talk to Ben much about this trip, because he is really missing Disney. He knew that I went to Cosmic Rays instead of Columbia Harbor House, but he didn't know until yesterday that I didn't eat at CHH-

"You didn't get to go there at ALL???"

This lead to a discussion about why it would be different during his class trip in 3 years.

 

[AprilRenee]

I haven't been able to talk to Ben much about this trip, because he is really missing Disney. He knew that I went to Cosmic Rays instead of Columbia Harbor House, but he didn't know until yesterday that I didn't eat at CHH-

"You didn't get to go there at ALL???"

This lead to a discussion about why it would be different during his class trip in 3 years.

Aww sweet boy!

 

[natebenma]

We arrived at EPCOT around 7:30 PM. It was cool and drizzly.

Unfortunately, the Innoventions buildings had closed at 7, so the boys couldn’t design their own thrill ride at Sum of All Thrills.

First order of business was to head to The Land, to see if there were still FP available for Soarin’.

Nope.

We’ll check back on the ride later.

One of the chaperones suggested a visit to Club Cool. Not my favorite place to go- it is so cold in there and the sticky floors are kind of gross, but it was definitely a good choice for the teens. The boys sampled soda, purchased some merchandise and of course, potty breaks were involved.

Once we all regrouped, I suggested we take a ride on Spaceship Earth. This was met by grumbles.

“What’s even in there?”

“The line is too long!”

“It’s going to be educational and boring”


But we went. Line was 12 minutes long. I’m not sure they would admit to it, but I think the boys enjoyed the ride, especially the “Welcome to Your Future” feature.

After the ride, there were more potty breaks while some of the boys played with the interactive games and displays in the Spaceship Earth exit area.

Once we had regrouped, it was around 8:45 and we needed to decide where to go next. The two things the group wanted to do: Soarin’ and Mission Space.

Looking back- I think we made the wrong choice.

We ended up in an hour long line for Soarin’ at 8:50. If I had thought about it, we could have gone to Mission Space, maybe seen some of Illuminations and then it would be EMH and only resort guests would still be in the park. Since we were in the Soarin line before closing time, all guests, resort and offsite, were part of the crowd.

Whatever!

The games screens were on in the queue line, but I had trouble figuring out what the kids were supposed to be doing.

While in line, a mom and her daughters struck up a conversation with members of our group. She was curious about our class trip, how it worked and she was intrigued that we came from so far away.

While we were in line, I looked down and I saw a cockroach scurrying across the floor. I’m not really the squeamish type, so I ignored it and let it continue on its way. A few minutes later, I heard some commotion behind me. I believe the roach had appeared near the mom and one of our boys “took care of it” for her.

For the rest of the time we were in the main line, she kept up a conversation with us. When it came to the point where you give the number of people in your party, and we said “Twenty”, her group was sent off in another direction. She seemed disappointed that she wouldn’t be riding with her new-found friends and exterminators.

So we are now in the loading line, where you get directed to the different take-off terminals. The line CM came through looking for one rider. A couple of our boys raised their hands, and I jokingly said “Pick me”

Well, one of the boys (not mine) said “Yeah, take her!”

Apparently, I have been too chaperone-y for some of our group.

The line CM must have felt really badly about the comment, because he started flirting with me, saying things like he would be glad to take me away from this group anytime.

At this point, I would like to send out a special shoutout to Feckless and her trip report, especially the part where she wrote about bringing a golf ball onto Soarin’ and instructing the kids to try and “catch” the golf ball during the movie. What a great idea! So I packed a golf ball for the trip and had it in my pocket. I tried to hand it over to Nate when we were being seated but he wanted nothing to do with it.

I handed it to another boy.

He played the part brilliantly! After the ride, he held up the golf ball and said

“Look, I caught the golf ball!”

And just for a second, one boy said “How did you do that???”

Which then turned into “Where did the golf ball come from?” and “Nate’s mom brought a golf ball to EPCOT?”

Everyone was blown away by the ride on Soarin’

And as we were leaving The Land, I heard one boy exclaim

“He got a golf ball! All I got was a cockroach!”

Our next stop was Mission Space. The majority of our group elected to ride the more intense Orange version of the ride. Nate, one of his friends, and this boy’s dad rode Green. Nate has some issues with nausea and he certainly remembers a couple of years ago when Ben and Mark rode the Orange version. The result of that experience: “I puked! 3 times!”

One boy elected to sit out the ride and I stayed with him. Not a big deal for me. Mission Space is ok, but not even close to one of my favorite attractions.

When everyone was back together again, we were at a crossroads. Some of the group wanted to head back to the resort, but a few of us wanted to check out the World Showcase. One boy was on a shopping mission. He is a black belt in karate and the one souvenir he really wanted was a kimono.

Next up: Braces be D@mned, We’re Going to Germany!

 

[15isto2]

Apparently, I have been too chaperone-y for some of our group.....

I think that would call for really early morning wake up calls all round

 

[MEK]

What a great idea to bring a golfball! I love that part of Soarin. My fav is the surfers in the ocean at twilight, but I love that golfball coming right towards me. I always scream, "watch out. duck!"

Last May I was on a girls trip and we had each gone our own separate ways. I rode Soarin by myself with 8 middle school boys. OMG! Where was THEIR chaperone when they were swinging the glider before it even took off?

So glad Soarin was a hit with the boys!

 

[eandesmom]

cute idea on the golf ball! But UGH on an hour long wait!

 

[ddluvsdisney]

UGH hour long wait!!
Aren't you glad somebody played along- of course it wouldn't be Nate.

My boys love love love SSE. It's definately the welcome to your future movie they can make. We need to go several times so they can make different ones.

I've never been on MS. I get nauseous easily on rides like that.

 

[pixarmom]

I can barely continue . . . an hour wait? Grumbles about Spaceship Earth? Club Cool? Take me back to Cosmic Ray's and Stitch!!! But I appreciate the honest report and the photo of Sunshine Seasons (I really have to deviate from our regular plans and ADR craze to eat that salad - goat cheese and beets are two of my favorite things!) And of course, I'm REALLY looking forward to your next update - bring on the caramel!!!!

 

[natebenma]

Apparently, I have been too chaperone-y for some of our group.....

I think that would call for really early morning wake up calls all round

I like the way you think!!!

What a great idea to bring a golfball! I love that part of Soarin. My fav is the surfers in the ocean at twilight, but I love that golfball coming right towards me. I always scream, "watch out. duck!"

Last May I was on a girls trip and we had each gone our own separate ways. I rode Soarin by myself with 8 middle school boys. OMG! Where was THEIR chaperone when they were swinging the glider before it even took off?

So glad Soarin was a hit with the boys!

Isn't the golf ball a neat thing to do. Better with younger folks, but I still thought it was fun. Of course, it just confirmed in a few more minds that I am "unconventional"

I'm always thrown off by the scene with the fishing boat at the coast. I think I am in Maine. Gets me every time!

Sorry to hear about your less-than-relaxing "solo" flight. Not cool, boys!

cute idea on the golf ball! But UGH on an hour long wait!

I don't think I have ever waited an hour for ANYTHING at Disney. There are ways around that! Or you try again another time.

UGH hour long wait!!
Aren't you glad somebody played along- of course it wouldn't be Nate.

My boys love love love SSE. It's definately the welcome to your future movie they can make. We need to go several times so they can make different ones.

I've never been on MS. I get nauseous easily on rides like that.

The welcome to your future thing is awesome. When it is just our family, we love SSE. There was definitely some gang mentality dissent going on.

I can barely continue . . . an hour wait? Grumbles about Spaceship Earth? Club Cool? Take me back to Cosmic Ray's and Stitch!!! But I appreciate the honest report and the photo of Sunshine Seasons (I really have to deviate from our regular plans and ADR craze to eat that salad - goat cheese and beets are two of my favorite things!) And of course, I'm REALLY looking forward to your next update - bring on the caramel!!!!

Well, this certainly was NOT the Best.Day.Ever for me at Disney!!! Was it the worst? Possibly. But we still have two more days of this trip to go!

You absolutely NEED to try that salad. As I said, it is my second favorite thing to eat at Disney. I try to get it at least twice during each week-long trip.

Did I get to enjoy the salad during this trip? What do you think???

I know you have been looking forward to my first visit to KK.

 

[AnjieNet]

We'll be heading to Epcot in the evening for an ADR and I don't look forward to that long line at Soarin' with no fastpass. I doubt I'll be able to talk anyone into waiting until we come back a few days later in the morning though. We will be riding Spaceship Earth regardless of any grumbling, as well. Glad to see the cockroach situation was taken care of and that it was not discovered in your room or food.

 

[Missyrose]

I know, I know, it's Florida and there are bugs. But reading about the cockroach in the Soarin queue made me go "eeeeeewwwwww!" I can't believe you, queen of the commandos, waited an hour for a ride at Disney. Talk about sacrificing for the kids. The golf ball gag is great, I've seen it on a couple of TRs now and it seems to be a real crowd pleaser!

 

[natebenma]

We'll be heading to Epcot in the evening for an ADR and I don't look forward to that long line at Soarin' with no fastpass. I doubt I'll be able to talk anyone into waiting until we come back a few days later in the morning though. We will be riding Spaceship Earth regardless of any grumbling, as well. Glad to see the cockroach situation was taken care of and that it was not discovered in your room or food.

I'm not sure if it will still be happening during your trip, but with Test Track down, I have read that Soarin' is staying open until 10 PM, even on nights that are not EMH. At first it was just word of mouth, but I believe now it is listed on the times guides.

Yup- just checked the times guide for the week I was there, and Soarin' is listed as open until 10 everynight, except on EMH night (9 for all guests, midnight for resort guests)

I know, I know, it's Florida and there are bugs. But reading about the cockroach in the Soarin queue made me go "eeeeeewwwwww!" I can't believe you, queen of the commandos, waited an hour for a ride at Disney. Talk about sacrificing for the kids. The golf ball gag is great, I've seen it on a couple of TRs now and it seems to be a real crowd pleaser!

Now if Ben was with me on this trip, we would have a picture of the bug!

I am not proud of waiting so long for a ride *hangs head in commando shame*

Definitely worth the trouble to bring a golf ball to Florida and the park. Even if it gets an eye roll or two (or 28).