Because it just wouldn’t be a party **New 1/17/11 Finally a link to the TR**

[mrsksomeday]

I so want to see the pictures form the suite!!!

I will take as many pictures as I can.

Tracy, that's AWESOME news!! Magic & Merriment sounds amazing and OMG a tour of the Castle Suite!!!

Sooooo happy for you guys... you deserve it!!


Kathy

Thanks Kathy, I still can't believe we actually got the tickets. I keep reading the confirmation and checked to make sure they took the money out of the account .

 

[20thingamabobs]

I'm her and subbing! Your plans sound awesome so far. We'll be at MVMCP on the 30th, Fantasmic! On the 2nd, and Epcot on the 3rd. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to meet up with you at some point! Can't wait to read the rest of your plans!

Oh, and the Magic and Merriment event sounds amazing! I can't wait to see all your pics and read your TR about it!

 

[brookelizabeth]

WOW! That Magic and Merriment event sounds INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!

The Castle Suite?!?!?!? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! SO AWESOME! Everything on that list...wow! What an event! Congrats on getting the tickets!

I love too that we got a info little leak there on the new film at One Man's Dream.

 

[ddstratton]

Wow! I can just feel your excitement!!! I can't wait to see your pictures of the castle suite...

 

[jenseib]

Binders are a funny thing. Some DISers swear by them, some DISers think they are silly, and some DISers love looking at others ideas. I never did a binder until the trip with the kids. I wanted somewhere to keep all our stuff in one place and I enjoyed making things for it. I thought long and hard whether to do one for this trip. Bill thought we didn’t need one (SILLY MAN), but I had decided I NEEDED one since we were doing two trips. Well that went out the window and my little binder just stared at me wanting me to stop neglecting it, so I decided I would still use it for this trip.

Here is the long discarded Ip Dip Cover:

I'm catching up using the cheat links!

I love your IpDip cover. Can I ask where you got the graphic of the ears/castle. I would love to make a t-shirt out of that. Can you direct me to it, or send me it alone?

 

[mrsksomeday]

I'm her and subbing! Your plans sound awesome so far. We'll be at MVMCP on the 30th, Fantasmic! On the 2nd, and Epcot on the 3rd. Hopefully my mom and I will be able to meet up with you at some point! Can't wait to read the rest of your plans!

Oh, and the Magic and Merriment event sounds amazing! I can't wait to see all your pics and read your TR about it!

Thanks for joining us. We would love to meet some DISers.

WOW! That Magic and Merriment event sounds INCREDIBLE!!!!!!!!!

The Castle Suite?!?!?!? Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! SO AWESOME! Everything on that list...wow! What an event! Congrats on getting the tickets!

I love too that we got a info little leak there on the new film at One Man's Dream.

Hi Brooke, we are so excited about Magic and Merriment. Bill talks about the Castle Suite every day.

As for the film, according to Disney's Blog the same film with Julie Andrews will be shown when One Man's Dream opens back up. I think the film for Magic and Merriment is just for that night but I am not positive on that .

Wow! I can just feel your excitement!!! I can't wait to see your pictures of the castle suite...

Darla, it still doesn't feel real to me that we got tickets to this event. I am going to take as many pictures as I can.

I'm catching up using the cheat links!

I love your IpDip cover. Can I ask where you got the graphic of the ears/castle. I would love to make a t-shirt out of that. Can you direct me to it, or send me it alone?

Hi, the graphics I got online. They are parts from 2 different scrap kits, but I don't have them anymore, my laptop crashed . I am sorry.

 

[mrsksomeday]

More daily plans

So on our 5th day in WDW we finally get to AK. I know some people seem to skip this park altogether, but not us. It is gorgeous, the design is amazing, and we love seeing the animals.

There are a couple of must dos in this park for us: Kilimanjaro Safaris, The Festival of the Lion King, and Nemo. Bill and I love the way Walt Disney World brings these shows to life.

I am determined to find Devine, we ran into her on the first trip and I don’t think we have seen her since. How sad is that?? Also, I have a confession, I have never stepped foot into Dinoland. Yes, you read that right, I have never been there. Why you ask?? Bill has been on Dinosaur with his parents and doesn’t want near it again. He doesn’t have good trunk control and it was too rough and too loud for him. I have no desire to ride it and the other things there don’t intrigue me either, but we have decided to at least go and look around.

We will be leaving the park before closing going back to Pop Century. I want to freshen up and relax in the room for a bit. We are having dinner late with TnT at Hoop Dee Doo Review. None of us have done this before, but we are looking forward to it, how could you not with free booze?? I am not sure when we are meeting up with them, we will work that out at some point.

Here is the plans:

December 4, 2010​

Park hours/Itinerary:
Animal Kingdom 9am – 5pm
- Sleep in
- Kilimanjaro Safari (fastpass or ride), Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Flights of Wonder, Festival of the Lion King
- Back to room to freshen up
Dining:
- Something in the room
- Flame Tree BBQ
- Hoop De Doo Revue 9:30pm
Meets:
- TnT
Activities:

- Possibly DTD

Guess where we are going next???

Epcot again!!

Again ???

Who made these plans anyway???

For those not keeping count this will be our 3rd time this trip. Why you might ask?? Because we can LOL. This is going to be a sleep in, heading to the park when we feel like it kinda day.

We are doing some Future World stuff again and exploring.

December 5, 2010​

Park hours/Itinerary:
Epcot 9am – 9:30pm
- Sleep in
- See if Soarin’ fastpasses are still available, do Living with the Land, Seas with Nemo and Friends, Talk Turtle, Figment, see if they still do the dolphin demonstration, then back to Soarin if FP’s are ready, if not do other Future world stuff
Dining:
- Something in the room
- Sunshine Seasons
- Garden Grill 6:55pm
Meets:
- TnT for Garden Grill Dinner
Activities:
- Downtown Disney???

This is our first time at Garden Grill and Bill and I are really looking forward to it. I was on the internet talking to Toni (as usual), messing with the ADRs one night after the Candlelight Processional packages started booking and said “wow Garden Grill has an opening finally” we talked and decided to eat there together. I think it will be fun!

We aren’t staying for Illuminations tonight, I don’t know if we will hit DTD or just go back to Pop.

All these Epcot days have me worried lately. It seems that on October 1st they changed the way the wheelchairs/ecv’s load at Epcot. As far as I know the others are still the same way they have always been. There have at least two posters on the DISabilities board that have had discrimination issues on the busses at Epcot around or after closing time and I think both were staying at Pop Century. They want wheelchairs/ecv’s to go through the regular line. Ok, that is fine, the problem happens when they ask the wheelchair/ecv user to split off from the regular line to be boarded.

I know there are people out there that complain about wheelchairs/ecv’s getting preferential treatment when it comes to getting on the busses. Let’s look at the equality and fairness in this equation.

Approximately 60?? People could load on a bus, probably more if the driver packs it. Of those spots 2 or 3 are wheelchair/ecv accessible. So this means approximately 98% of the bus is taken up by able bodied people.

Here are quotes from those two posters:

However one night returning from EPCOT after watching Illuminations I decided to hang back a bit to let the crowd thin out some. I arrived at the Pop Century bus stop at 9:45 and saw 5 ECVs in the line in front of me. I watched a couple buses leave with no tie down spots in use while we made it through the line. Then I saw the first 2 ECVs reach the front of the line. They were not loaded onto the bus that was there(that's 1 bus with no tie downs). A second bus pulled up and double parked next to the first(that's 2 buses). In the mean time 2 more ECVs reach the front of the line. Now we've got 4 ECVs waiting. These buses finish loading and pull away and we wait a while for a third bus to pull up, it's one of the new 3 tie down spots so 3 ECVs start loading. While they're loading the fifth ECV and I both pull up into the front of the line. So 3 ECVs loading, 2 ECVs waiting and a wheelchair. Another bus pulls up and double loads(3 buses pulling away without tie downs in use). The second set of buses pull away and we wait again for a new bus. A new bus eventually pulls up and it's got 2 tie down spaces so the 2 ECVs load. Of course another bus starts double loading(4 buses total with no tie downs in use while ECVs and wheelchairs are waiting). After all of these buses are loaded I'm left at the Pop Century bus stop by myself. Every single person boarded and left. There were 4 buses worth of people in line behind me who I got to watch leave. This really isn't right.

The above scenario has actually happened to us where we were the only people left because everyone double loaded.

Here is the other one:

We got the part of the line where it splits off and my line mates got on that bus (I will call that bus #1). There were 2 ECV's already waiting.

Then a 2nd bus pulled up beside the first (in a way that it was not able to load wheelchairs at all) letting another large group of the line while I continued to wait behind 2 ECV's.

A third bus pulled up and loaded the 2 people in the ECV's that were in front of me. As that bus was loading a 4th bus came and loaded more people, but NO wheelchairs, because it was parked beside bus #3.

So I got on the FIFTH bus. Five buses after the people I had gotten in the main stream bus line. And yes...this took a good 40 minutes longer than it would have if I had been walking.

Here is where it upsets me. (**Clarification this is just an example, I can board with Bill in the back of the bus**) If Bill and I go through the regular line together and got to the split off point and I continued with the regular line while he went to the designated spot, I would have gotten back to Pop 4 busses before him?? How is this fair and equal access? I am all for them having extra busses at closing or after but why not let the 2nd bus stay a little behind and just wait for the 1st bus to leave? Why double load so there is no way a disabled person can get on the 2nd bus?

I would say the policy changed because some able bodied people complained that some persons with disabilities were getting on the bus while they had to wait in line. Bill would gladly stand in line if he could, but he can’t. We will gladly stand in the regular line, but he needs fair and equal access when we get to the front.

Many people tend to forget that wheelchair/ecv users might get on the busses first, but are last getting off. They have to wait until the bus is unloaded and the driver comes back to unhook the restraints. I know those two posters contacted Disney with their concerns, I don’t know if anything will come from it, but I will report on how things went when we get back.

Now comes a Good day/bad day

We finally make it back to MK after our party night. I am looking forward to this day and dreading it at the same time.

It will be our first time seeing the Main Street Electrical Parade. Bill and I are going to miss Spectromagic, but are going to give MSEP a chance.

This will be the last full day of vacation for TnT, we are having lunch with them, I haven’t even met them and am already dreading saying goodbye, isn’t that odd??

Here are the plans for this day:

December 6, 2010​

Park hours/Itinerary:
Magic Kingdom 9am – 1am
- Sleep in, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Small World, Monsters Inc., Carousel of Progress, Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion, Country Bear Jamboree, Possibly Pirates??
Dining:
- Something in the room
- Whispering Canyon Café 1:30pm
- Pecos Bill’s
Meets:
- TnT for Whispering Canyon Café lunch
Activities:
- Castle show, Main Street Electrical Parade (1st time), Wishes

Wishes always makes me cry, but I know I will be crying for other reasons too.

Next installment… seeing Ariel

 

[oregonmommyof2]

Love this update... It's a big one...

I am really looking forward to our meals together these days!! And I too am dreading saying good bye... In fact, I think we should not call it a good bye, but more of a see ya later... Flights to Portland to St. Louis are not bad...

I hope that Disney finds a good way to handle loading the buses...

 

[Tinker_Tam]

Sounds like some great plans!!

I will keep my fingers crossed that the bus issues are cleared up before you and Bill have to deal with it. My thoughts on the whole thing is I would rather be able to physically wait, standing in line, and have to wait then to deal with the issues that come along with a disability that wouldn't give me that option. I would rather wait, standing, even several hours longer to just not have to deal with the pain that many people in wheelchairs and ECV's have. I don't think a lot of able bodied people think about that. They just want what is easiest for them.

 

[KathyRN137]

It seems that on October 1st they changed the way the wheelchairs/ecv’s load at Epcot. As far as I know the others are still the same way they have always been....They want wheelchairs/ecv’s to go through the regular line. Ok, that is fine, the problem happens when they ask the wheelchair/ecv user to split off from the regular line to be boarded.

I had no idea... why did they have to go and change it?

I know there are people out there that complain about wheelchairs/ecv’s getting preferential treatment when it comes to getting on the busses.

pffft! Even if they did/do, who cares? People can be so mean-spirited.

Hopefully the kinks will be ironed out soon... you know how it can be the first few weeks after any new policy goes into effect... widespread confusion and misinterpretation.

It does seem kind of dumb to go through the regular line. Just think of all those toes you have to watch out for, not to mention the tired kids that tend to stretch out on the ground at the end of the night like mine do!

On a lighter note, I'm glad you're going to try Garden Grill and see Farmer Mickey and Company! We really liked the food here... reminds me of LTT but without the Thanksgiving-style dinner!


Kathy

 

[Mickey_Mom]

Whew! Big update!

I know there are people out there that complain about wheelchairs/ecv’s getting preferential treatment when it comes to getting on the busses.

I never quite understand why people feel the need to complain about things like that. My hackles go up and George needs to calm me down.


I'm trying to catch Devine this time too! I so can't wait to explore AK without the summer heat beating us down. Just commented on Toni's PTR how I can't wait to hear how you guys like Hoop Dee Do!

Does Garden Grill still rotate? I'd love to hear what you think about that one too.

We're at Epcot and MK those two days too.

 

[DisMomAmy]

Great plans!!

First of all... the dolphin show is still going on.

We didn't stand over where they were doing the show, but we could see parts of it through the glass in a different area.

Second - I'm sad to hear that Disney has changed the way they handle the buses... I totally get what you are saying about there only being a limited number of ECV/wheelchair spots on each bus, but it hadn't occurred to me that no ECVs/wheelchairs can load when the buses double park. I've only stayed on-site a couple times so I don't usually have to deal with buses, but I would be furious if either of those scenarios you posted happened to me or anyone I was traveling with! An ECV/wheelchair user should never have to separate from their party - that just doesn't make any sense at all! I hope things settle down & you don't have any bus problems during your trip!

 

[Tinkermom76]

Great update but I am still waiting for updates on the days I will be there

Why would they change the loading procedure, that is ridiculous. I would be pissed if I had to sit there for 5 busses... is that just at Epcot or all the parks?

I am kinda excited to see MSEP since I have never seen it before!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Love this update... It's a big one...

I am really looking forward to our meals together these days!! And I too am dreading saying good bye... In fact, I think we should not call it a good bye, but more of a see ya later... Flights to Portland to St. Louis are not bad...

I hope that Disney finds a good way to handle loading the buses...

I like the "see you later" idea. I hope so too about the busses, maybe it will be straightened out before we get there.

Sounds like some great plans!!

I will keep my fingers crossed that the bus issues are cleared up before you and Bill have to deal with it. My thoughts on the whole thing is I would rather be able to physically wait, standing in line, and have to wait then to deal with the issues that come along with a disability that wouldn't give me that option. I would rather wait, standing, even several hours longer to just not have to deal with the pain that many people in wheelchairs and ECV's have. I don't think a lot of able bodied people think about that. They just want what is easiest for them.

Thanks Tammy. I feel the same way you do about standing. Even when they load us first on the busses I stand about 50% of the time just so others have a chance at my spot.

I had no idea... why did they have to go and change it?

pffft! Even if they did/do, who cares? People can be so mean-spirited.

Hopefully the kinks will be ironed out soon... you know how it can be the first few weeks after any new policy goes into effect... widespread confusion and misinterpretation.

It does seem kind of dumb to go through the regular line. Just think of all those toes you have to watch out for, not to mention the tired kids that tend to stretch out on the ground at the end of the night like mine do!

On a lighter note, I'm glad you're going to try Garden Grill and see Farmer Mickey and Company! We really liked the food here... reminds me of LTT but without the Thanksgiving-style dinner!


Kathy

I am not sure why they have decided to change the loading procedures .

I am not worried too much about Bill going through the regular line, he is a fantastic driver, but what about the ecv users that are new that have just rented an ecv for their trip? What about the person that has a service dog and a wheelchair, how will they maneuver through the line?

Whew! Big update!

I never quite understand why people feel the need to complain about things like that. My hackles go up and George needs to calm me down.


I'm trying to catch Devine this time too! I so can't wait to explore AK without the summer heat beating us down. Just commented on Toni's PTR how I can't wait to hear how you guys like Hoop Dee Do!

Does Garden Grill still rotate? I'd love to hear what you think about that one too.

We're at Epcot and MK those two days too.

I am happy to be going through AK when it isn't as hot. I am so looking forward to Hoop. I think the Garden Grill still rotates , we will report about it . Woo hoo for being in the same parks on the same days. Shows what great planners we all are .

Great plans!!

First of all... the dolphin show is still going on.

We didn't stand over where they were doing the show, but we could see parts of it through the glass in a different area.

Second - I'm sad to hear that Disney has changed the way they handle the buses... I totally get what you are saying about there only being a limited number of ECV/wheelchair spots on each bus, but it hadn't occurred to me that no ECVs/wheelchairs can load when the buses double park. I've only stayed on-site a couple times so I don't usually have to deal with buses, but I would be furious if either of those scenarios you posted happened to me or anyone I was traveling with! An ECV/wheelchair user should never have to separate from their party - that just doesn't make any sense at all! I hope things settle down & you don't have any bus problems during your trip!

Thanks about the info on the dolphins.

As for me talking about staying in the regular line while Bill went toward the back of the bus was just an example of how unfair it is that able bodied people can get back to Pop sometimes 5 busses before a wheelchair/ecv user could at closing. The party can stay together, that is not a problem. I think some people complained saying that the wheelchair/ecv user would get on first and 10+ people would get on with them. The rule is the wheelchair/ecv user plus 5 in their party.

Great update but I am still waiting for updates on the days I will be there

Why would they change the loading procedure, that is ridiculous. I would be pissed if I had to sit there for 5 busses... is that just at Epcot or all the parks?

I am kinda excited to see MSEP since I have never seen it before!

I am getting ready to post some more updates, I need to get in gear.

As far as the reports I have read it is just Epcot right now.

I have not even tried to watch MSEP on youtube. I want to be surprised.

 

[oregonmommyof2]

I like the "see you later" idea. I hope so too about the busses, maybe it will be straightened out before we get there.

"See ya later" has a much better ring to it...

 

[Rozz]

The bus change doesn't sound well thought out or not well implemented or something. I hope it's straightened out when you get there!

Find Devine! That's on my list too. We won't go to Disney until next year but I have our touring plan outline almost complete and finding Devine is on THE LIST! I've never seen her. I love to read in trip reports where people have seen her and they've posted photos of her. I expect you to FIND her and get us some photos!

 

[mrsksomeday]

"See ya later" has a much better ring to it...

Still wished we lived close to each other .

The bus change doesn't sound well thought out or not well implemented or something. I hope it's straightened out when you get there!

Find Devine! That's on my list too. We won't go to Disney until next year but I have our touring plan outline almost complete and finding Devine is on THE LIST! I've never seen her. I love to read in trip reports where people have seen her and they've posted photos of her. I expect you to FIND her and get us some photos!

Hi Rozz!! I hope the situation is straightened out too.

I will find her and I will take a ridiculous amount of pictures of her . I have to be positive!

 

[mrsksomeday]

Today TnT are going home, back to their great kids to be there for Tailor’s birthday on the 8th. We hope to meet up with them to say goodbye, I will be a crying mess

.

We will be going to the Boardwalk area to check out the resorts, the holiday decorations, eat lunch there somewhere then head to Epcot. We have dinner plans at Lecellier and the 6:45pm Candlelight Processional show with Jodi Benson aka Ariel’s voice from The Little Mermaid. I CAN’T WAIT, which means she will probably back out, but I am going to try to stay positive.

Here are the plans for this day:

December 7, 2010​

Park hours/Itinerary:
Epcot 9am – 9:30pm
- Tell TnT goodbye L
- Bus to DHS, boat to Boardwalk area, explore the Boardwalk/Beach Club/Yacht Club areas
- International Gateway to Epcot
Dining:
- Something in the room
- Counter Service
- LeCellier 4:05pm
Meets:
- ??
Activities:
- Candlelight Processional

I don’t know if we will stay for Illuminations again or not? We will just go with the flow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day we decided to go back to AK.

Here are the plans for this day:

December 8, 2010​

Park hours/Itinerary:
Animal Kingdom 9am – 9pm EMH
- Nemo, walking Trails, finish up what we missed on the last AK day
- Not sure if we are sticking around AK to see it at night or park hopping to MK to catch the MSEP and Wishes again
Dining:
- Something in the room
- Tusker House 1:20pm (gets us a ticket to the Nemo Show that afternoon)
- Counter Service
Meets:
- ??
Activities:

- Main Street Electrical Parade and Wishes??

I can see us park hopping if we have been to DTD for any amount of time before this. We can't get enough of Wishes and just looking at the castle. We miss seeing it so much.

Next installment…Tracy’s birthday

 

[oregonmommyof2]

Just wanted to say that I am not a fan of this update...

 

[mrsksomeday]

Just wanted to say that I am not a fan of this update...

Me either, but I had to get through it .