Celebrating 20 years at WDW - Bonus features, A few posts from May, Updated 9/11

[Captain_Oblivious]

We had one of those bus drivers who was jaded by past idiot scooter drivers. I decided the moment he started to tell me how to drive I just got off the thing and told him he could do it since he knew better than me. Instead of letting us ride to the AK on the scooters we both took up extra seats on the bus because our driver knew better than us. God forbid we get the chance to park our own scooters and then stay on them to free up seats for others. But I can see his point. Better to just assume everyone is a total idiot than give anyone the benefit of the doubt. I might do that given the faith in humanity I have seen lately.

Of course he felt the need to direct my every move as I rolled off the bus. It was really annoying.

I can see where that act would grow tiresome very quickly!

Not the best picture, but these people are on the Wild Africa Trek, maybe someday.

I'd love to try that one!

Animatronic lion wasn't working again today.

They have the sleeping one. It's working perfectly!

The second time I was doing a poor impression of Munch’s “The Scream”

We'll give you some bonus points for that one.

We stopped at the two stores around Discovery Island. I was rather disappointed that these stores now carry hardly any unique merchandise related to AK. In the past these were among my favorites shops on property.

That annoys me to no end. I hate finding the exact same stuff in every store.

So just as we were supposed to be thinking about getting up she was laying down for her nap. You can see where I am going with this...

I'm not liking the foreshadowing...

I don't care about sunglasses, luggage, over priced clothing for skinny chicks, and all that garb.

Hey, me neither!

I even interviewed a dog!

So how does that work, exactly?

She still needs to go through the application process, but we may have an applicant before the place is even vacant!

Cool! Glad you're getting good news on the tenant front.

California has received lots of very welcome rain. As of last week only 28% of the state is in Extreme or Exceptional drought, which is down from 38% only a month before. Of course we are still in the Extreme section, but that's better than when we were in Exceptional.

Let's hope it keeps trending in that direction.

In the last round of storms we heard a strange noise in the dining room, turns out it was drops of water coming from our sky light.

Too much trending! Too much trending!

That was when I noticed the rope hanging across the gateway to the monorail. He informed us that they were having “difficulties” with the resort monorail and we would need to take the boat.

That seems to be happening more and more lately.

Disembarking was funny. The boat itself was about 4-6 inches below the deck when I was trying to get off, so the Captain asked the passengers to stand up and go to the right hand side of the boat. The weight of all the passengers was able to lift the boat deck so that I could exit easily.

Ingenious system!

Love these shots!

 

[franandaj]

Burned and not burned? What's toast two ways?

Both pieces of toast get a little butter. Then one piece with peanut butter and the other piece with a slice of pasteurized processed cheese food. The slice with the cheese food is then microwaved for 12 seconds on high to melt the cheese.

And so it begins...

I think it already had begun....

How did he react to that?

He just went about his business and hooked it up in the parking spot.

Yeah... I'm betting more than half of the people are renters for the first time.

Whenever I see folks on rental scooters, I steer clear of them. I agree that most have no idea what they are doing. However the ones on the Disney scooters are even worse. There's a reason those scooters are built like tanks.

Next time... take note of exactly how he lowers and raises the gate and the bus height.
So when you get that, you can tell the driver how to do his job!

I'm not that kind of a smart a**.

I'm a bit confused. You had two scooters, right? Where's yours? Or do you just prefer to park it by the PP photog and pose on your feet?

I park it off to the side. Although we did have one trip where we took my parents. My dad insisted he didn't need need a scooter (we had an extra at home). Halfway through the trip he threw his back out and we had to rent him one. Cost twice as much as a new battery for the one at home. But back to scooters and pictures. All three of us posed in our scooters in front of the castle. Mom stayed home sick that day.

I'm not entirely sure why, but I like that hippo photo.

Symmetry?

Oh! I wonder if they throw food to them? Would explain the pose.

Of the humans or the hippos?

No way! One of my favourite animals. Would've loved to have seen them move about.

This is the first time in many safaris where I have seen them active.

Shoulda done that early rope drop safari.

I'm not saying anything.....

Like this shot too! Not used to seeing zebras lying down.

True. Often they sleep standing up.

Rude.

I don't think he cares!

But I like that one! Shows the real you.

I like the way my hair is flying all over the place.

Not bad, Alison! Not bad!

I try.

Here we go... been waiting for this.

Now you tell me!

Well you're the one that got there first! You should have told me!

Pretty much my experience. I liked it a lot better once I peeled off the batter. Too much of that.

See now you tell me!

This was in Harambe????? How the heck did I miss that?!?!?

You even took a picture of it's wall. I believe it was the one with the bike. Just past the bike was the entrance.

Did you damage your scooter or the wall?

It was a figurative wall. So yes. I bashed up my figurative scooter.

Maybe that was the problem?

Could have been! I didn't do as much "day drinking" on this trip as I thought I would. I thought about trying one of those Bloody Marys that Liesa was so keen about.

Yeah... agreed. 100%.

There are still some unique merchandise stores at DL, so I'm a little spoiled.

Again, sorry to hear that. Glad you got your bearings in the end, though.

It took a while though. We plan to go in daylight next time.

I must try those some day.

I would recommend a platter of six different ones. They all have distinct tastes. The ones I like, I describe as briny, small, good, meaty, salty, sweet, tasty...The ones I don't like I use words like tasteless, chalky, too large, strange aftertaste, metallic. .. I have a list in my phone.

Someone was a tired girl.

So... doable. Good. It's on my bucket list.

Just after you tell me it's not good to have a bucket list!

Ah yes... pets.... They... do things, don't they?

Still you gotta love them...

Hm. Interesting. We have an electric hot water tank this time around (last house was gas... it had its own shut off too.) But we have one central furnace that heats the entire house (like every home here) and if it goes.... brrrr...

We don't have a huge problem without heat, but it would be uncomfortable. Our last home was electric (remember GE medallion home of the future) and we were told not to put in a tankless heater because it was ineffective.

Wow! Sounds promising!

Except that it is Wednesday now and no applications submitted. Although I do have an appointment at 4PM to show the place.

Sounds like a cheap repair, too.

Oh yeah.

Well, that works well. I'm kind of surprised that Disney would allow using human ballast to properly line a boat up with a dock though as super conscious as they tend to be about potential liability issues.

I know. All the other transportation systems use ramps.

I'm glad you had a nice breakfast at 1900PF and were able to get Fran her strawberry soup!

That's her one request of an ADR, so how can I say "no".

Hey now, depends on the age of the kids, but sometimes you've got to have snacks, extra clothes for the kid and potentially extra clothes for the parents. It's cheaper than buying a new shirt when you get spit up on.

True. I remember your daughters $80 new outfit. But these folks had food supplies for like a month! I suppose if the kids had some sort of strict dietary requirements, but they took forever to get through security, opening bag after bag....

 

[franandaj]

I had the same reaction. It is very disorienting the first time. I'm so used to coming in by the Christmas store.

And I had no idea that the bus stop had changed, that was the biggest thing. All of a sudden I was in this place I didn't recognize at all, and the glowing Coke building was kinda freaky!

I hear ya, sister. The only reason we hung around that area as long as we did was for the Marvel & Star Wars stores. To me, it seems like that area is more geared to locals but maybe it's just me.

I like the Star Wars Store, the Harley Store, and a few others but most didn't interest me whatsoever.

That meal at the Boathouse looks wonderful. That has just been added to our wish list.

It has a great menu. Lots of choices to please a variety of palates.

It's kind of a bummer that Alice doesn't come around anymore. I think 1900 PF got bumped from our "must-do" list after we did CP and Ohana this trip.

The only reason this is a must-do is that Fran loves the Strawberry soup.

Good luck on all the rental prospects! That awesome news. Hopefully all of your repairs at home go smoothly.

Well home repairs have gone nowhere as have the prospective tenants...

So? Any takers? Or are you still waiting?
You interviewed a dog? How did that go?
"Who's a good boy?"
"Me!"
"Who's a good boy?"
"Me! Me! I am!"
"Who's a good boy?"
"Me! Oh, God! It's me! Meeeeee!!!"

Actually it was me looking at the dog, the dog running around, them telling it to sit. And actually the dog behaved very well, I'm sorry they never called back, if they qualified, the dog passed the interview.

Repairs on the panels/sky light happening yet?

Nope. Haven't even contacted the Solar company yet.

Gas problem solved?

Nope. they are giving the contractor the cold shoulder, no calls back.

Considering you had to wait for the 2nd bus, that's pretty good.

But... do people give you dirty looks? Or do you just... feel like they are?
Surely not the former?

Perhaps it is just perceived, but I'm sure some of them are giving us dirty looks.

Uh, oh. But... glad it worked out.
Actually... other than the inconvenience of having to turn around and go back... considering this usually isn't an option for you... and it turned out to be an adventure.... maybe you're kind of glad it was shut down?

No I wasn't glad. i didn't need extra adventure, but it did give me an extra story.

You guys look pretty happy!

Fran looks cold.

I knew it! See??? The bus driver was right! You guys have an entire restaurant to drive through and what do you do? You both hit the buffet!

Is this another one of those questions like me hitting the preverbial wall? We park our scooters outside the restaurant before going inside.

I approve of this plate. No extraneous, unnecessary stuff.

Have I mentioned that I can't wait to meet you guys?

Do we look that silly?

Another thing I've never had.... but people keep talking about it.

You mean Bread pudding? Or Bread Pudding with Vanilla sauce? I make mine with Whiskey sauce and it's incredible!

Michael and our friend Bill (the one you know, he joined us for our meal and tour in California) made a huge point that I was not to look at the boats on my own when I went to the bathroom, but they were no where between the table and the bathroom, but outside. When you exit the restaurans towards the outside bar, there is a whole boardwalk with all kind of neat old boats that are on display there. One of them you can even rent for a champagne sunset cruise and it looks like that would be an amazing event!

Huh? I had no idea.

We all had sandwiches and they were really good. Bill had the steak sandwich and upgraded the normal fries to truffel fries and his portion could have easily fed two people. The truffle fries were amazing and I stole quite a few of them.

Our first time there, we had the lobster roll and split it, and it was really good. I bet the steak sandwiches were really good.

Yum! I'm glad I caught your photo spread of the breakfast buffet. I have made reservations for it based on your reviews. I am drooling over that strawberry soup! And Mickey waffles. I can't wait! Like 5 more weeks!!

I see you are dealing with 2 scooters and Disney transportation. And you seem to be handling it. I have rented a scooter and a rental car.

I don't like having to load the scooter in and out of the back of the car. That's another reason that we like to use Disney transport.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I am pleased all your efforts to regisiter for your apartment on websites paud off. What a neat idea to have an open house! I hope you get a signed contract back soon.

Sorry to hear about the issues on your own house.

How lovely breakfast at 1900 park fair. We are going to book this for dinner next time. I find I get a new kind of loathing on boats. Buses I get the oh my hear she comes in her wheelchair holding us up.. On boats it's more oh my she's a danger to us all! Get this disfigured creature of here away from my children..

Breakfast looked great lovely character photos of you both. Mary Poppins is lovely. Tigger such a lovely colour. If only I could get over my ordeal of an experience of Tigger and wondering hands in DHS once..

Cool the monorail was working again. Another mono infection.

Yeah the Pooh ride!

So did the dog sign the tenancy agreement?

 

[pkondz]

Both pieces of toast get a little butter. Then one piece with peanut butter and the other piece with a slice of pasteurized processed cheese food. The slice with the cheese food is then microwaved for 12 seconds on high to melt the cheese.

Ah. That last one... mmmmmm.... And I'm not even normally a fan of cheese toast!

Whenever I see folks on rental scooters, I steer clear of them. I agree that most have no idea what they are doing. However the ones on the Disney scooters are even worse. There's a reason those scooters are built like tanks.

So they can drive over people's ankles?

I'm not that kind of a smart a**.

Well... neither am I.

But sometimes I kinda wish I was!

Symmetry?

I like their heads up out of the water.

Of the humans or the hippos?

I'm not saying anything.....

I like the way my hair is flying all over the place.

Well you're the one that got there first! You should have told me!

Whoops! Sorry!

See now you tell me!

You even took a picture of it's wall. I believe it was the one with the bike. Just past the bike was the entrance.

Dang it!! That was there?!?!?

It was a figurative wall. So yes. I bashed up my figurative scooter.

That figures.

I would recommend a platter of six different ones. They all have distinct tastes. The ones I like, I describe as briny, small, good, meaty, salty, sweet, tasty...The ones I don't like I use words like tasteless, chalky, too large, strange aftertaste, metallic. .. I have a list in my phone.

Hmmm... I've only had a very few in my lifetime.

Just after you tell me it's not good to have a bucket list!

Hence the little "duck" smiley.

Still you gotta love them...

Yup!

We don't have a huge problem without heat

Oh.... do be quiet.

we were told not to put in a tankless heater because it was ineffective.

Really? My aunt (in Germany) has one for her tub... I loved it. Instant hot water that never ends.

Except that it is Wednesday now and no applications submitted. Although I do have an appointment at 4PM to show the place.

Too bad. good luck with today's.

Actually it was me looking at the dog, the dog running around, them telling it to sit. And actually the dog behaved very well, I'm sorry they never called back, if they qualified, the dog passed the interview.

Who's a good boy?

Nope. they are giving the contractor the cold shoulder, no calls back.

oh

Perhaps it is just perceived, but I'm sure some of them are giving us dirty looks.

Hmmm... the ones who are "They don't need scooters. See? They're standing up!" might be... I don't sweat the small stuff.

No I wasn't glad. i didn't need extra adventure, but it did give me an extra story.

So good news bad news.

Fran looks cold.

Well... yes. And I noticed that... but smiling!

Is this another one of those questions like me hitting the preverbial wall? We park our scooters outside the restaurant before going inside.

Don't take the fun out of my imagination!

Do we look that silly?

I was going to give this my usual flippant remark. Like "No. You're in Disney, you look Goofy" but...
Honestly? Looks can be deceiving, so I can only judge from what you write and the one time we spoke.
You just sound like people I'd like to get to know a bit better.

You mean Bread pudding? Or Bread Pudding with Vanilla sauce? I make mine with Whiskey sauce and it's incredible!

Whoa....

 

[Steppesister]

All in all, your breakfast looked really nice. As you know, not a big buffet fan, especially for breakfast, but I always have been intrigued about the strawberry soup. I know there's recipes online for it, I should just make it this spring.

In my experience the boats on the seven seas lagoon and Bay Lake have not been scooter accessible, however it seems that they pulled another boat out of their arsenal, Fran thinks he said larger vessel, I *think* he may have said cruiser, but either way, it could take scooters.

Good information! I had no idea the regular ones weren't accessible. Who knew!?

Super cute!

You 2 are nuts! So funny!

Gas problem solved?

Yes, I'm immature. Yes, this struck me as a funny remark out of context.

I'm not that kind of a smart a**.

Oh? Really....?

 

[franandaj]

I can see where that act would grow tiresome very quickly!

Yeah, tell me about it.

I'd love to try that one!

Me too. Fran just is not in shape enough to do it right now.

They have the sleeping one. It's working perfectly!

I guess you're right.

We'll give you some bonus points for that one.

Thanks!

That annoys me to no end. I hate finding the exact same stuff in every store.

At least at Disneyland they still have themed stores and we know where to find cool stuff.

I'm not liking the foreshadowing...

Yeah arriving at dusk/dark = panic attack.

So how does that work, exactly?

You say, "Hi Poochie!" And if the dog jumps on your legs, starts barking or running around crazed, or all three, that's grounds for failing the interview. This dog was quite well behaved, the owner said "sit" and the dog did!

Cool! Glad you're getting good news on the tenant front.

Well, none of the people who came to my open house last week have called to turn in an application yet.

Let's hope it keeps trending in that direction.

A little bit at a time.

Too much trending! Too much trending!

Long Beach set the record for the most rain in a 24 hour period. EVER.

That seems to be happening more and more lately.

That's unfortunate.

Ingenious system!

I thought so!

Love these shots!

Thanks!

I am pleased all your efforts to regisiter for your apartment on websites paud off. What a neat idea to have an open house! I hope you get a signed contract back soon.

Still not yet.

Sorry to hear about the issues on your own house.

I know, it's never ending!

How lovely breakfast at 1900 park fair. We are going to book this for dinner next time. I find I get a new kind of loathing on boats. Buses I get the oh my hear she comes in her wheelchair holding us up.. On boats it's more oh my she's a danger to us all! Get this disfigured creature of here away from my children..

So am I imagining this or are people really whispering and sneering?

Breakfast looked great lovely character photos of you both. Mary Poppins is lovely. Tigger such a lovely colour. If only I could get over my ordeal of an experience of Tigger and wondering hands in DHS once..

I'm sorry you had to have that experience.

Cool the monorail was working again. Another mono infection.

Yeah the Pooh ride!

I like it!

So did the dog sign the tenancy agreement?

Only tenants over the age of 18 have to sign, but his people didn't even sign, so he wouldn't need to.

 

[franandaj]

Ah. That last one... mmmmmm.... And I'm not even normally a fan of cheese toast!

I've been making it for her for years, and NEVER had the urge to take a bite. It just doesn't sound all that appetizing to me. Now myself, I have this concoction from my youth where it put melted cheddar on a toasted English muffin and then crispy bacon. That was GOOD!

So they can drive over people's ankles?

More like just take out anything in front of them!

Well... neither am I.

But sometimes I kinda wish I was!

I must have part Canadian blood, because I just want to be nice.

I like their heads up out of the water.

OK, I get it.

Dang it!! That was there?!?!?

Yup. You were mere steps from it and evidently missed it.

Hmmm... I've only had a very few in my lifetime.

A French gal introduced me to them back when, I was going through my divorce so around 1995, and I've been hooked ever since.

Hence the little "duck" smiley.

OK, that's what I thought, but just calling you out on it.

Oh.... do be quiet.

Well, you said that you all were born there and then to stupid to move away!

Really? My aunt (in Germany) has one for her tub... I loved it. Instant hot water that never ends.

As long as you have a gas heater. We were told that they were useless on Gold Medallion Electric style homes.

Too bad. good luck with today's.

Still no luck.

Who's a good boy?

Yes she was a good dog, but they did not submit an appiication.

Hmmm... the ones who are "They don't need scooters. See? They're standing up!" might be... I don't sweat the small stuff.

I have no idea. And yes I could walk around the park all day. And then tomorrow I would be in the room unable to move as my foot would be immobile. But you can't see that. And I can afford to own a scooter so that I don't have to suffer that fate. Hate me.

Well... yes. And I noticed that... but smiling!

She is always cold!

Don't take the fun out of my imagination!

I would never try to do that!

I was going to give this my usual flippant remark. Like "No. You're in Disney, you look Goofy" but...
Honestly? Looks can be deceiving, so I can only judge from what you write and the one time we spoke.
You just sound like people I'd like to get to know a bit better.

That's so sweet! I can't wait to meet up with you. I will do my best with Kay, but really I'm looking forward to meeting you!

Whoa....

So I don't know what you mean by this, the fact that I make my bread pudding with a Whiskey sauce or just that I make a killer one!

All in all, your breakfast looked really nice. As you know, not a big buffet fan, especially for breakfast, but I always have been intrigued about the strawberry soup. I know there's recipes online for it, I should just make it this spring.

I can give it to you, it's really easy and very good!

Good information! I had no idea the regular ones weren't accessible. Who knew!?

We only found out a few years ago when we wanted to take the boat to the GF from the WL and they said an accessible boat wouldn't be by until noon an we had a breakfast reservation at the GF (1900 PF). So we had to scramble. Ever since then, we have written off boat transportation at the MK resorts.

You 2 are nuts! So funny!

I'm glad you like us!

 

[franandaj]

So I thought I would give you another update. No bites on the apartment yet. Several showings, but still no one ready to put down their money and move. We have had several very productive days at the old house. This may seem small, but one of the things that has been bugging me is that we haven’t done anything about our shot glass collection. Well we rectified that this weekend. I took this picture after we had spent about an hour packing them up. Both the top two shelves were packed full and the shelves on the 1st and 2nd layers you see here, were very much more full than you see now.



As of Sunday, we have cleared the entire left side (top two shelves) and will begin on the right side the next time we get over there.

We have also decided to move the wine cabinet next Saturday. That means I need to get all my wine out this week. We cleared EVERYTHING out of our old bedroom yesterday and Saturday. We put ads up on Craigslist for some of our stuff for free and people were clamoring to take it off our hands! Fran has said she would like to have it done before our cruise. If we could hit that goal, it would be great, but I won't hold my breath.

I also found the picture or our breakfast the other day, on the TR. Remember I thought I took a picture of the muffins and bacon? It was on my phone and I found it clearing off old photos so I had enough memory to do a critical update.



OK so back to the next update.

When we last left our story, I had just finished riding the Winnie the Pooh ride, so we headed to our next FP+. The park was fairly crowded as you can see.









Fran said she was feeling queasy and wasn't sure if she wanted to ride HM which was our next FP+. We took a stop at the Tangled Tinkle Spot and she decided against the ride.





I took this picture while I waited for her.



She didn't want to jeopardize our plans for the evening. Not that she tossed her cookies or anything, but she is a delicate soul. So I rode HM twice.



























Then I took a couple pictures with the PP photographer.






[Continued in Next Post]

 

[franandaj]

[Continued from Previous Post]

After that it was pretty much my time to ride 7DMT which I knew I was riding twice. I’ll spare you both sets of pictures and just give you a “best of”.

















Once I had my two rides on 7DMT we started to head out of the park via stores on MS. Fran wanted a 45th anniversary t-shirt. It was only about three weeks ago, but yet they had no more T-shirts only long sleeve T-shirts. What is with Disney? Do they not want to make money off of merchandising?

We found some stuff to buy, but not as much as if they had merchandise specialized to the anniversary. I took some shots of the Halloween decorations on Main Street while she looked in the stores.















And then we headed out to the bus stop. Evidently the bus had just pulled up and all the folks in line were rejoicing that they weren't going to have to wait for any god-d****ed scooters to load and then *we* pull up. I could see the people in line shaking their heads as couples whispered to each other, “Great, now it’s going to take another 10 minutes for us to get to “_______” on this free transportation that Disney is nice enough to offer us. But since we're so entitled to get everywhere without any hassle to *us*, I'm going to sneer at these folks and whisper behind their backs. OK so not everyone did that, but I did see a few couples roll their eyes and whisper back and forth. I sort of wish Disney had a special section just for people on scooters to go for transport, but then people would complain about that. “Hey! They get private transportation service! Even though we don't have to give up our seats or wait for them to load on the bus, why can't I have private transportation service?” Sorry, rant over.

BTW there were plenty of seats on the bus and no one had to stand.

We got back to the resort just before 3PM and were going to meet Jill in about an hour to head over to Trader Sam's for some drinks. Fran got in bed for a power nap, I hung the laundry, texted Jill about meeting and sent some money through PayPal for shirts that we needed for next week's trip. Now it was my turn to feel queasy. I took an antacid, drank some water, and laid down. Within minutes I was up and heaving, all the water and antacids. I'm not sure what happened but I didn't think it was a good idea to go running out the door to drink lots of rum.

I texted Jill and told her I needed to lie down. About an hour and a half later I woke up feeling a LOT better. I had filled my water bottle before going to sleep and somehow while asleep I had drank it all. Fran says that is not uncommon. She says I do all kinds of things in my sleep, fix her computer problems, sleepwalk all over the house, break up cat fights, you name it, I don't remember it, yet I do. The fact that my water was gone, explains why I was feeling better!

Jill and friends had visited some kiosks and were on their way back to their resort before heading to DHS for fireworks. About this time Fran woke up and was happy to continue our same plan for the evening, just a little later.

So we got dressed and ready for the evening and we headed out to the Polynesian via Epcot.


Next up a little fun Island style!

 

[Flossbolna]

And then we headed out to the bus stop. Evidently the bus had just pulled up and all the folks in line were rejoicing that they weren't going to have to wait for any god-d****ed scooters to load and then *we* pull up. I could see the people in line shaking their heads as couples whispered to each other, “Great, now it’s going to take another 10 minutes for us to get to “_______” on this free transportation that Disney is nice enough to offer us. But since we're so entitled to get everywhere without any hassle to *us*, I'm going to sneer at these folks and whisper behind their backs. OK so not everyone did that, but I did see a few couples roll their eyes and whisper back and forth. I sort of wish Disney had a special section just for people on scooters to go for transport, but then people would complain about that. “Hey! They get private transportation service! Even though we don't have to give up our seats or wait for them to load on the bus, why can't I have private transportation service?” Sorry, rant over.

I have to admit that I used to be one of those who were not happy about an ECV wanting to get on "my" bus. However, mostly my unhappiness was about how inefficient the loading procedure used to be. I am not sure if busses are better now (I seem to remember some kind of old busses with stairs where it took at least 5 minutes to just move the lift), the bus drivers are better trained, the modern ECVs are easier to manoveur or the people are in general more accepting. I seem to remember incidents where people were actively blocking the ECV's ways. I thought that was really silly! Especially on my last trip I was really amazed how smoothly it went all the time. Only once an old lady had one of the old fashioned "elephant-like" ECVs (they are very large and grey, that's why I always think of elephants seeing them) and she was finding it so difficult moving it. Most other people just drove on, ECV was parked and belted down and that was done so quickly that it really made nearly no difference. The detours to go to FW from the WL first before going to MK was what drove me nuts in the busses this trip...

 

[tiggrbaby]

What great ride pics! I am so sorry that you guys had upset tummies, but glad that you both recovered enough to head out for your evening.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Several showings, but still no one ready to put down their money and move.

I continue to keep my fingers crossed that you find suitable tenants soon.

We have had several very productive days at the old house. This may seem small, but one of the things that has been bugging me is that we haven’t done anything about our shot glass collection. Well we rectified that this weekend. I took this picture after we had spent about an hour packing them up. Both the top two shelves were packed full and the shelves on the 1st and 2nd layers you see here, were very much more full than you see now.

That sounds like great news. Packing up all the glasses must take forever.

We have also decided to move the wine cabinet next Saturday. That means I need to get all my wine out this week. We cleared EVERYTHING out of our old bedroom yesterday and Saturday.

Looks like you are making good progress.

Fran has said she would like to have it done before our cruise. If we could hit that goal, it would be great, but I won't hold my breath.

Again, keeping my fingers crossed.

Fran wanted a 45th anniversary t-shirt. It was only about three weeks ago, but yet they had no more T-shirts only long sleeve T-shirts.

I was very disappointed with the merchandise offerings for the 45th anniversary.

I sort of wish Disney had a special section just for people on scooters to go for transport, but then people would complain about that.

The do have something like this at Disneyland Paris from the Disney hotels and the Good Neighbour hotels.

Now it was my turn to feel queasy. I took an antacid, drank some water, and laid down. Within minutes I was up and heaving, all the water and antacids. I'm not sure what happened but I didn't think it was a good idea to go running out the door to drink lots of rum.

I am sorry that you were both feeling unwell.

Fran says that is not uncommon. She says I do all kinds of things in my sleep, fix her computer problems, sleepwalk all over the house, break up cat fights, you name it, I don't remember it, yet I do.

Graham has that skill, too.

The fact that my water was gone, explains why I was feeling better!

I am glad that you were feeling better.

About this time Fran woke up and was happy to continue our same plan for the evening, just a little later.

That is nice that you were able to pick up the plans again later.

Corinna

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Hope you get somebody sign up for the apartment asap.

Great re the cabinet for your lovely shot glass collection!

Sorry you both ended up sick. Maybe the heat? Nice to get HM twice. I dread the day I read this is getting some Spider-Man makerover..

Yeah lovely photos of the 7DMT. Also the one of you outside HM.

Hope you have fun later meeting Gill!

 

[afwdwfan]

This may seem small, but one of the things that has been bugging me is that we haven’t done anything about our shot glass collection.

Wow... that's quite a collection. Just think how much liquor it would take to do a round of shots with all those glasses!

I'm glad you're able to make some progress with getting things moved.

She didn't want to jeopardize our plans for the evening. Not that she tossed her cookies or anything, but she is a delicate soul. So I rode HM twice.

After that it was pretty much my time to ride 7DMT which I knew I was riding twice. I’ll spare you both sets of pictures and just give you a “best of”.

Awesome! Double rides!

What is with Disney? Do they not want to make money off of merchandising?

I don't know. Honestly, either in the parks or even in the online store it seems like more often than not when I find something I like they don't have it in XL. I've wanted to buy a shirt a few different times and ended up not getting one for that reason. I kind of get not wanting to over produce something, especially if it is dated or seasonal, but it's like they always underestimate the number of XL t-shirts they need to produce.

And then we headed out to the bus stop. Evidently the bus had just pulled up and all the folks in line were rejoicing that they weren't going to have to wait for any god-d****ed scooters to load and then *we* pull up. I could see the people in line shaking their heads as couples whispered to each other, “Great, now it’s going to take another 10 minutes for us to get to “_______” on this free transportation that Disney is nice enough to offer us. But since we're so entitled to get everywhere without any hassle to *us*, I'm going to sneer at these folks and whisper behind their backs. OK so not everyone did that, but I did see a few couples roll their eyes and whisper back and forth. I sort of wish Disney had a special section just for people on scooters to go for transport, but then people would complain about that. “Hey! They get private transportation service! Even though we don't have to give up our seats or wait for them to load on the bus, why can't I have private transportation service?” Sorry, rant over.

Don't you have any idea how much I paid to be here??? I shouldn't have to wait for anybody, anytime, under any circumstance!!!!

I took an antacid, drank some water, and laid down. Within minutes I was up and heaving, all the water and antacids. I'm not sure what happened but I didn't think it was a good idea to go running out the door to drink lots of rum.

Oh no... that's never fun.

Fran says that is not uncommon. She says I do all kinds of things in my sleep, fix her computer problems, sleepwalk all over the house, break up cat fights, you name it, I don't remember it, yet I do.

I'm glad you were feeling well enough to head out later.

 

[Pinkocto]

Sounds like some very good progress with the old house.

Hopefully a nice tenant shows themselves soon.


Breakfast at 1900 looks yummy as usual. Next time we're at VGF I'm putting my foot down and making a reservation. They always seem to get cancelled...

Love love love Winnie the Pooh! I've had the newest movie on in the background the last couple hours.

Glad Fran didn't get sick, sorry you did though. Glad you were feeling better after a nap.

 

[Steppesister]

I can give it to you, it's really easy and very good!

I'd love that!! But, I want to use fresh berries; those ripen in early-May- late-June. Remind me to get it when I"m there in March, so it doesn't get buried here. I'll lose it for sure!

We only found out a few years ago when we wanted to take the boat to the GF from the WL and they said an accessible boat wouldn't be by until noon an we had a breakfast reservation at the GF (1900 PF). So we had to scramble. Ever since then, we have written off boat transportation at the MK resorts.

Another instance in which knowledge is power to make a Disney trip more smooth and fun. I can see where people who don't take the time to research stuff, get there, and just hate Disney simply because they didn't know even a little bit about how things work before going.

I'm glad you like us!

You gals are crazy, awesome fun! I am getting super excited about getting to see you again in less than 2 months now!

As of Sunday, we have cleared the entire left side (top two shelves) and will begin on the right side the next time we get over there.

YAY!! Progress! Little by little... you'll get there.

She didn't want to jeopardize our plans for the evening. Not that she tossed her cookies or anything, but she is a delicate soul. So I rode HM twice.

Good call!

Riding HM twice? Better call!

Awww, isn't she a sweet little thing?

Now it was my turn to feel queasy. I took an antacid, drank some water, and laid down. Within minutes I was up and heaving, all the water and antacids. I'm not sure what happened but I didn't think it was a good idea to go running out the door to drink lots of rum.

Uh oh!! And NO, rum on a queasy stomach is NOT a good idea. EEK!

I texted Jill and told her I needed to lie down. About an hour and a half later I woke up feeling a LOT better. I had filled my water bottle before going to sleep and somehow while asleep I had drank it all. Fran says that is not uncommon. She says I do all kinds of things in my sleep, fix her computer problems, sleepwalk all over the house, break up cat fights, you name it, I don't remember it, yet I do. The fact that my water was gone, explains why I was feeling better!

You're not on Ambien are you?!

Next up a little fun Island style!

Can't wait!!!

 

[franandaj]

I have to admit that I used to be one of those who were not happy about an ECV wanting to get on "my" bus. However, mostly my unhappiness was about how inefficient the loading procedure used to be.

I can understand that.

I am not sure if busses are better now (I seem to remember some kind of old busses with stairs where it took at least 5 minutes to just move the lift), the bus drivers are better trained, the modern ECVs are easier to manoveur or the people are in general more accepting. I seem to remember incidents where people were actively blocking the ECV's ways.

I can't believe people tried to block the ECVs, well, yes I can.

Only once an old lady had one of the old fashioned "elephant-like" ECVs (they are very large and grey, that's why I always think of elephants seeing them) and she was finding it so difficult moving it. Most other people just drove on, ECV was parked and belted down and that was done so quickly that it really made nearly no difference. The detours to go to FW from the WL first before going to MK was what drove me nuts in the busses this trip...

That sounds like the Disney park ECVs, those are hard to maneuver, but they are built for durability.

What great ride pics! I am so sorry that you guys had upset tummies, but glad that you both recovered enough to head out for your evening.

Thanks! I've been working on my ride photography. Yeah, it was no fun getting sick that afternoon.

I continue to keep my fingers crossed that you find suitable tenants soon.

Thanks! I appreciate it. We don't seem to be getting so many showings now. I'm pretty sure it's the high security deposit. But we got majorly hosed on this last apartment.

That sounds like great news. Packing up all the glasses must take forever.

Yes, it is taking forever, we've got four hours invested now and still not done.

Looks like you are making good progress.

I hope so, we will be back tomorrow and Saturday with the incentive that I get to go to the park if we do good those days!

Again, keeping my fingers crossed.

Thank you!!!!!

I was very disappointed with the merchandise offerings for the 45th anniversary.

Yeah, we were too.

The do have something like this at Disneyland Paris from the Disney hotels and the Good Neighbour hotels.

That's nice to know, but we plan to stay at the one that is right there at the opening of DLP.

I am sorry that you were both feeling unwell.

I know. It really came up on us unexpectedly.

Graham has that skill, too.

Really? Good to know that I am not alone!

I am glad that you were feeling better.

Me too. I rarely feel unwell, and don't do very well when I do!

That is nice that you were able to pick up the plans again later.

Yeah, and as you will see, it really didn't hurt our plans too much either!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

No bites on the apartment yet. Several showings, but still no one ready to put down their money and move.

Well, dagnabbit. Don't make me come out there and talk to these people.

Actually, on second thought, please do!

Fran said she was feeling queasy and wasn't sure if she wanted to ride HM which was our next FP+. We took a stop at the Tangled Tinkle Spot and she decided against the ride.

Poor Fran. That's just no fun.

Not that she tossed her cookies or anything, but she is a delicate soul. So I rode HM twice.

Hey, good for you. You have to pick up the slack.

I love this shot.

It was only about three weeks ago, but yet they had no more T-shirts only long sleeve T-shirts. What is with Disney? Do they not want to make money off of merchandising?

Wow, they must have seriously underestimated demand!

And then we headed out to the bus stop. Evidently the bus had just pulled up and all the folks in line were rejoicing that they weren't going to have to wait for any god-d****ed scooters to load and then *we* pull up. I could see the people in line shaking their heads as couples whispered to each other, “Great, now it’s going to take another 10 minutes for us to get to “_______” on this free transportation that Disney is nice enough to offer us. But since we're so entitled to get everywhere without any hassle to *us*, I'm going to sneer at these folks and whisper behind their backs.

Ugh. There are a lot of sources of frustration here. I'm sure it must be uncomfortable for you and Fran to feel like all eyes are on you. And there's nothing you can do about it--if you need the scooter, you need the scooter!

I admit, like @Flossbolna , that I used to be one of those who got annoyed with the ECV loading procedure, for the same reason--it used to be SO inefficient. If you'd already been waiting for 20 minutes, and then an ECV showed up, you knew it would be at least another 10 minutes before you got on, and if you were trying to make it to an ADR, then you get stressed, etc., etc. I also saw people clearly abusing the scooters, back when they could get to the front of the lines, etc. They would openly brag about it. So that left a sour taste in my mouth.

A couple of things changed my stance: 1. the procedure seems to have gotten much better! I don't know if the buses are more capable of handling scooters, or the drivers are more experienced, or what, but it doesn't feel like the delay is nearly as bad now. 2. We toured Disneyland with you! And I got to see firsthand how much it helped you to get around the park. That was an especially warm day when we were there, and you were able to spend most of the day with us only because you had the ride. So it just goes to show you, don't judge until you've experienced things from another perspective.

I sort of wish Disney had a special section just for people on scooters to go for transport, but then people would complain about that. “Hey! They get private transportation service! Even though we don't have to give up our seats or wait for them to load on the bus, why can't I have private transportation service?” Sorry, rant over.

We have a service like that in Delaware. The transit service that runs the bus system has a paratransit operation that does door-to-door rides for the disabled. The downside is that it's an expensive service to run. I think it could work at Disney, though, if it just used the same designated bus stops.

Now it was my turn to feel queasy. I took an antacid, drank some water, and laid down. Within minutes I was up and heaving, all the water and antacids.

Oh, yuck. Sounds like you got really dehydrated.

She says I do all kinds of things in my sleep, fix her computer problems, sleepwalk all over the house, break up cat fights, you name it, I don't remember it, yet I do. The fact that my water was gone, explains why I was feeling better!

She must have some great stories!

 

[pkondz]

Playing catch up before I run off to work... again... I've only had 5 days off this year, so far. I'm hoping I'll get my next set of three off. I know I won't work at least one of them since I'm moving MIL from her house to her new apartment then. Don't know if that actually qualifies as a day off.

Now myself, I have this concoction from my youth where it put melted cheddar on a toasted English muffin and then crispy bacon. That was GOOD!

mmmmm.... I'll take two.

More like just take out anything in front of them!

Yep. Although I've been fortunate enough not to see that yet.

I must have part Canadian blood, because I just want to be nice.

Interesting. I know a few Canadians that could use some Canadian blood.

Yup. You were mere steps from it and evidently missed it.

Dang it!!! Well, don't I feel stupid.

OK, that's what I thought, but just calling you out on it.

Oh, you can do that any time you like.

Well, you said that you all were born there and then to stupid to move away!

Stop reading what I write!

As long as you have a gas heater. We were told that they were useless on Gold Medallion Electric style homes.

I don't know if it was gas or electric. That was 12 years ago.

Yes she was a good dog, but they did not submit an appiication.

Any luck on that yet?

I have no idea. And yes I could walk around the park all day. And then tomorrow I would be in the room unable to move as my foot would be immobile. But you can't see that. And I can afford to own a scooter so that I don't have to suffer that fate. Hate me.

Can I chose to love you instead?

She is always cold!

So does that mean she always smiles?

That's so sweet! I can't wait to meet up with you. I will do my best with Kay, but really I'm looking forward to meeting you!

The feeling is mutual!
Phoenix? Meh.
Capybaras? Meh.
Universal? Okay.
Disneyland? All right.
Meeting you guys? Yay!!

So I don't know what you mean by this, the fact that I make my bread pudding with a Whiskey sauce or just that I make a killer one!

Both