3rd Annual We are "NEVER" going to Disney in the summer again"

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Well, I didn't accomplish the "official" 4- park challenge, since the 4th park was Blizzard Beach instead of MK. But it doesn't stop me from bragging about it!

No, in my mind you are the 4-park queen BECAUSE at one of your parks you had to CHANGE your clothes to enjoy

That requires effort so yes indeedy you accomplished a 4 park challange IMO

 

[natebenma]

No, in my mind you are the 4-park queen BECAUSE at one of your parks you had to CHANGE your clothes to enjoy

That requires effort so yes indeedy you accomplished a 4 park challange IMO

Oh, I like your qualification requirements!!! We had to change clothes twice- once to enjoy BB and then before we arrived at Boma! Thanks!

 

[Queila]

What a perfect way to end your day! For a moment I thought you were going to MK to catch the fireworks but why would you of you had the Illuminations right there.

Great call!

Q
PS. I knew you would remember NKOTB! They are the best.

 

[jmskinner]

Four parks in a day!!!! Jacob and I have done it, but we didn't have a changing so I think you beat us.

Your pics of Bomas are so making me hungry. Love the BB pics, and that waterproof camera is making me want one. What type do you have?

If I go to DHS I will try to remember to get a pic for you. I've been going through withdrawals again.

 

[natebenma]

Four parks in a day!!!! Jacob and I have done it, but we didn't have a changing so I think you beat us.

Your pics of Bomas are so making me hungry. Love the BB pics, and that waterproof camera is making me want one. What type do you have?

If I go to DHS I will try to remember to get a pic for you. I've been going through withdrawals again.

What parks did you do? Was it the 4 theme parks?

I have gone through a few different underwater cameras. Before kids, so well over a decade ago, I had a Minolta Vectis GX-4. It used APS film, so I was able to take true panoramic photos as well as the underwater pics. I believe my original died on a trip to Jamaica and I replaced it a couple of times with models from Ebay before going digital.

The pictures from 2009 that I have posted so far were taken with an Olympus Stylus 1030. I will have an upcoming post about why I purchased a Canon D10 for the 2010 trip. I really like the new camera. It takes great photos. The only things I prefered with the Olympus were the size (the Canon is bulky, not easily fit into a pocket) and the ease of stitching panoramic shots within the camera.

 

[jmskinner]

What parks did you do? Was it the 4 theme parks?

I have gone through a few different underwater cameras. Before kids, so well over a decade ago, I had a Minolta Vectis GX-4. It used APS film, so I was able to take true panoramic photos as well as the underwater pics. I believe my original died on a trip to Jamaica and I replaced it a couple of times with models from Ebay before going digital.

The pictures from 2009 that I have posted so far were taken with an Olympus Stylus 1030. I will have an upcoming post about why I purchased a Canon D10 for the 2010 trip. I really like the new camera. It takes great photos. The only things I prefered with the Olympus were the size (the Canon is bulky, not easily fit into a pocket) and the ease of stitching panoramic shots within the camera.

Thanks for the camera info. I'll have to look into them.

Yes, we did the 4 theme parks. Started at DHS for TSMM and Star Tours, over to AK for the safari and I think KRR. Looked at animals. Epcot for M:S, but had to get a FP, so we went to MK for Buzz and the Astro Orbitor, then back to Epcot. Luckily Jacob doesn't ride a lot of the big ticket rides, so that made it easier, I think we did it all in about 5 hours or so. Oh, and we were even co-pilots on the monorail (this was before the accident last year). I'm hoping to do it again, computer crash caused me to lose all the pics from that day.

 

[natebenma]

Despite a marathon 4-Park Day on Monday, and reservations for the Fantasmic Dinner (which means a late night ahead) we all got up for breakfast at 7 and made it to the bus stop around 7:30. Early Extra Magic Hour at Magic Kingdom!

Is it worth it???


TOTALLY!!!

Peter Pan was a walk-on. We rode it then pulled a Fast Pass. We rode Winnie the Pooh, Haunted Mansion, Thunder Mountain and then Thunder Mountain again, this time with the boys in the front car right behind the engine!

We decided to try out the train- I don’t think I had ever been on the MK railroad before. We stayed on until the Main Street Station.

For the second time that morning, we walked right down the middle of Main Street USA. I’m not sure what time it was, but we walked over to Tomorrowland and did Buzz Lightyear twice in a row. Then another new one for me and the boys: Astro Orbiters. This was our first wait of the day, probably around 20 minutes. By the time we boarded the elevator to the ride, we were pretty hot.

Note to self: I just can’t do spinny rides anymore. I was feeling pretty nauseous by the end of the ride. Fortunately, we were close to Auntie Gravity’s, and after a few sips of my Cappuccino Smoothie, caffeine AND sugar, I was feeling better.

Next, we headed over to Adventureland, pulled a FP for Jungle Cruise and rode Pirates of the Caribbean.

I’m not exactly sure about the time at this point, but it was time for lunch, so let’s say 11. We ate at Columbia Harbor House. We had the tuna sandwich, hummus sandwich, fish and chips and whatever kids meal Ben had. CHH is our favorite MK counter serve restaurant. Food is great and the upstairs dining area is quiet and well-themed. It feels more like a table service restaurant than a quick-serve place.

After lunch, we used our FP to ride Peter Pan again. Then we crossed the park once again to Adventureland to climb through Swiss Family Treehouse and to use our Jungle Cruise FP.

Love the views from the Treehouse!!!

A few shots of Jungle Cruise

At that point, we decided to leave MK and return to the Beach Club. Mark and the boys chilled out in the room, I headed to Stormalong Bay for a swim. On my way, Teena was in the lobby, so I stopped by to talk to her again and tell her how much we were enjoying our vacation. I think this is when she told me the shuttle launch was rescheduled for the next night, Wed, at 6:03 PM, and she showed me where we should look to see it.

I returned to the room and we all changed for our next stop: Hollywood Studios and our Fantasmic dinner at Mama Melrose.

 

[natebenma]

Thanks for the camera info. I'll have to look into them.

Yes, we did the 4 theme parks. Started at DHS for TSMM and Star Tours, over to AK for the safari and I think KRR. Looked at animals. Epcot for M:S, but had to get a FP, so we went to MK for Buzz and the Astro Orbitor, then back to Epcot. Luckily Jacob doesn't ride a lot of the big ticket rides, so that made it easier, I think we did it all in about 5 hours or so. Oh, and we were even co-pilots on the monorail (this was before the accident last year). I'm hoping to do it again, computer crash caused me to lose all the pics from that day.

Missed your post, while I was doing my update.

for the 4 parks!

I didn't really set out to "accomplish" the 4 parks- it just happened. Our plan all along was to do the AK, BB and HS, because transportation-wise it made the most sense. I didn't realize I was headed to my fourth park until I pulled my cell phone to call my friend.

Oh, bummer about the photos. That is one of my big fears! I love digital, because I have photos on my laptop, backed up with Carbonite and also on picture sharing/printing sites like Ritz and Photobucket. And still I am hesitant to clear my memory cards.

 

[jmskinner]

Another great update. Somehow I haven't heard of that cappacino smoothie...and we stop there all the time. Will have to try it.

Funny, we hadn't eaten at CHH until recently and it is becoming one of our favorites also.

Love all your pics!

 

[natebenma]

Another great update. Somehow I haven't heard of that cappacino smoothie...and we stop there all the time. Will have to try it.

Funny, we hadn't eaten at CHH until recently and it is becoming one of our favorites also.

Love all your pics!

Thanks for the kind words about the pictures. If you take around 2,000 during your trip, a few of them are bound to be good!

I am always tempted by the Orange-Pineapple smoothie, which Nate gets- it is DELICIOUS- but the Cappuccino always wins out. The Tropical Smoothie is not as good as I thought it would be.

Love Columbia Harbor House. I think last year was the first time we ate there, it was definitely a place I tried based on reviews from the DIS.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

You had a great morning taking advantage of the EMH And your pictures are EXCELLENT! So clear.

I have never rode astro orbiters, read it makes you dizzy & this coming from a roller coaster lover but after reading your account I'm not convinced to try it. I don't like spinny dizzy rides, teacups is about the most I can take if we don't spin too much. Give me a coaster anyday

Have you rode Mission Space at Epcot? Just wondering if that spinning sensation compares to AO because I do like MS.

We tried Columbia Harbour House this trip & ate upstairs. You are so right about it having a TS feel to it. We really enjoyed eating there & it was a nice place to escape the crowds, although we ate early & when we were leaving at noon it was getting pretty buzy.

BTW, walk on Peter Pan is a treat. When we did EMH late at MK, PP was the only attraction that never did get a short line

 

[natebenma]

You had a great morning taking advantage of the EMH And your pictures are EXCELLENT! So clear.

I have never rode astro orbiters, read it makes you dizzy & this coming from a roller coaster lover but after reading your account I'm not convinced to try it. I don't like spinny dizzy rides, teacups is about the most I can take if we don't spin too much. Give me a coaster anyday

Have you rode Mission Space at Epcot? Just wondering if that spinning sensation compares to AO because I do like MS.

BTW, walk on Peter Pan is a treat. When we did EMH late at MK, PP was the only attraction that never did get a short line

I have no problem with rollercoasters and I am fine with Mission Space: Wimpy. I have never tried the intense version and based on "an incident" during this year's trip, I won't be trying it any time soon. Let's just say the title of that chapter is "Ben gives it up for Mission Space: Orange"

Peter Pan is one of my and DH's favorite rides. It is classic and magical. This year it was particularly meaningful to us since the boys were in a production of Peter Pan in the spring. But we won't wait in line for it! The line is hot. The line is boring. The waittime sign lies. We head straight to PP at rope drop. For some people it is Dumbo or Die. For us, it is Peter Pan or Perish.

Photos of the boys from Peter Pan. Nate is Curley, the lost boy who shoots Tinkerbelle. Ben is the croc. These costumes were all homemade by members of our theatre group (not me!)

 

[natebenma]

We arrived at Hollywood Studios about 45 minutes before our reservation for the Fantasmic dining package at Mama Melrose. We had never seen Fantasmic. We had reservations last year for the reserved seating, with a dinner at Hollywood and Vine, but we had to cancel it because Nate was sick that day on our trip.

Mark went to check to see if by some miracle there were Toy Story Mania Fast Passes available. There weren’t. I took the boys to the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. This was the first time for us.

After we met up, we headed over to Mama Melrose.

We enjoyed our meal here. With the Fantasmic Dining package, appetizers are included with the meal. The appetizers were hit or miss. The entrees were all good. Desserts were good.


Calamari for two (for one)- me, but I shared with Mark and Ben

Mussels

Caesar Salad- kind of boring and tasteless

Chicken with pasta and peas- mine

Seafood Fra Diavlo- Mark's good

Steak- Nate's- good, I think

Dessert- I didn't do a great job of remember to take a photo of all the desserts or writing down what we had.

I love when people on these boards try to criticize Mama Melrose, or Tony’s or even the new Via Napoli by comparing them to the Olive Garden. My family loves the Olive Garden! So we actually take these negative reviews as a compliment to the restaurants.


We had some time to kill before we needed to get to Fantasmic. We decided to go on the Backlot tour, and then Muppets 3D.

Finally, Fantasmic! We walked up the ramp to the theater. And walked. And walked. Boy, is that a LOONNNGGGGG entrance! We showed our passes and took a seat, somewhere near the back. We waited about an hour for the show to start. It was pretty hot and crowded. Various tour group members made up a lot of the crowd in the theater, so there was some chanting going on. It didn’t bother us very much. At least it was outside. The only time the chanting annoyed us was in the queue for Pirates of the Caribbean, where the chants bounced and echoed off of the walls.

The show was good. We weren’t blown away, but that is probably because the show started at 9 and really, this is late for us. We were pretty far back, so I don’t really have any decent photos.

Here is the view from our seats

I apologize to the folks from the BC forum who have already heard this story before but it is one of my favorite memories from last year. Just imagine for a few minutes that I am your dear old Uncle Bob (everyone has an Uncle Bob) telling a treasured family story for the 100th time.

As we left Fantasmic! at 9:30, we were debating whether to walk back to BC or take the boat. We decided to walk. Of course, we watched the progress of the boat the whole time. We walked at a regular pace and kept up with the boat for several minutes. Then it got ahead of us. But wait, the boat stops at the SWAN/Dolphin to let passengers off. We get ahead of it. Then it caught up to us again. We were approaching the Yacht Club when the boat docked and started letting off people. It was going to be close, so my 11 year old son raced ahead so he could enter the Beach Club before a couple of girls in their 20's who had come from the boat. As he entered the doors, he turned around to do a playful "in your face dance". And he tripped on the rug! The girls smiled and our family cracked up!

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

Way to go Grace


You didn't ADORE fantasmic I love it because I've not seen anything like it with the water screens, I have to see it every trip Again, your pic's are sooooo much better than mine. You have a real talent for snapping such great photos

YOU should be a photo pass CM

 

[momof3cuteboys]

Awesome updates. I wanted to try and see fantasmic on my next trip but really don't want to be out that late with my 4 yr old, so I'm not sure what we'll do but at least I don't feel like I'll be missing out if we don't make it.

 

[natebenma]

Way to go Grace


You didn't ADORE fantasmic I love it because I've not seen anything like it with the water screens, I have to see it every trip Again, your pic's are sooooo much better than mine. You have a real talent for snapping such great photos

YOU should be a photo pass CM

You know, I think we all would have enjoyed Fantasmic a lot more if it was a lot earlier. I enjoyed it the most out of everyone in the family, but I could see the boys and my DH shutting down during the show. It had been another long day, followed by about an hour long wait in the hot and crowded theater. We need to go to Disney sometime in the late fall or winter when they have earlier presentations of all the fireworks shows.

Awesome updates. I wanted to try and see fantasmic on my next trip but really don't want to be out that late with my 4 yr old, so I'm not sure what we'll do but at least I don't feel like I'll be missing out if we don't make it.

This year, we took the approach that if it was convenient for us to see Fantasmic during the trip, we would try it, but we were not going to move heaven and earth to get there. The boys pretty much hit the sack by 8:30 every night, which worked perfectly for getting them up at 6 or 6:30 in the morning to hit the parks for EMH.

 

[jmskinner]

Too funny about the dance/fall. Have you posted that on the Embarassing Moments thread?

I don't understand why the reserved seating for Fantasmic isn't in the center?

 

[ashleypmo]

There are many many reasons we love the Beach Club: Stormalong Bay, the beachy decor, comfy beds, beautiful grounds, Teena and the other outstanding CMs, great places to eat. But the thing we love most about it is how easy it is to get to and from EPCOT.

The past two years we have stayed there, I have watched Illuminations 5 times and I have made several treks over to the World Showcase to get some terrific takeout from Japan, Morocco or France.

Thanks for the kind words about the photos and about my 4 park accomplishment. I am very proud of that!

Enjoying your TR immensely! Our last trip was 2008, and we are positively JONESIN' for another WDW trip, but we're in the middle of an international adoption, so it will be a while!

We were ALL set on renting DVC points & staying at AKV next time around... but with all this talk of BC, I'm wavering. Truthfully, BC has never been one of the resorts that got me all excited...but reading about how easy it is to get to EPCOT has me thinking. Hmmmm.... Last time we stayed at VWL, and LOVED how easy it was to take the boat to MK. And we love us some World Showcase, so the prospect of getting there so easily is pretty tempting. Hmmm..... I may have some thinking to do!

 

[natebenma]

Enjoying your TR immensely! Our last trip was 2008, and we are positively JONESIN' for another WDW trip, but we're in the middle of an international adoption, so it will be a while!

We were ALL set on renting DVC points & staying at AKV next time around... but with all this talk of BC, I'm wavering. Truthfully, BC has never been one of the resorts that got me all excited...but reading about how easy it is to get to EPCOT has me thinking. Hmmmm.... Last time we stayed at VWL, and LOVED how easy it was to take the boat to MK. And we love us some World Showcase, so the prospect of getting there so easily is pretty tempting. Hmmm..... I may have some thinking to do!

Hi Ashley!!! Welcome!

I am so glad you are enjoying the report!

Best of luck with your adoption plans. I have friends and relatives who have adopted from Kenya and Russia and I know that there is a lot of work involved and it can be quite a rollercoaster. I hope it happens soon for you!

I am very biased to the BC, but all I can say is location, location, location! It is ridiculously easy to get to EPCOT, taking the monorail back from MK and walking through EPCOT to get back to the room is great in the afternoon/evening and Hollywood Studios is very convenient. I love that you can walk easily to one park and with a little more commitment, to HS.

And the pool is fantastic for all ages!

There will be lots more Beach Club stuff coming up soon. I'm ALMOST at 2010!

Too funny about the dance/fall. Have you posted that on the Embarassing Moments thread?

I don't understand why the reserved seating for Fantasmic isn't in the center?

Oh, I forgot about the embarassing moments thread!!! I'm sure Nate would LOVE it if I shared this story with more people!

It would be great if the guaranteed F! seating was in the center, but they certainly don't need it to market the dinner packages. I think they sell out pretty quickly.

 

[TwiddleDeeTwiddleDum]

It would be great if the guaranteed F! seating was in the center, but they certainly don't need it to market the dinner packages. I think they sell out pretty quickly.

True, but what I like about the F! seating section is that you are actually close to the exit - I think it gives an advantage when exiting if you're relying on the Disney bus. Well, the friendship boats too since they only hold so many at a time