Cheers, Fears, and Tears - a completed trip report

[SavvyMom]

After all the excitement, we went to ride Kali River Rapids and Dinosaur. After Dinosaur, Critter and I took a break while Cookie and JJ rode Primeval Whirl. We then returned to Everest to use our fast passes. JJ was not under any circumstances riding that ride. So Cookie and I rode then Critter and Cookie rode. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It wasn’t as intense as we expected, but it was fun. We then headed back to the hotel for a break.

By this time, my blood pressure went up every time I got off the bus to go to our room. Okay, I’m a spoiled, rotten brat. I’m out of shape, and my attitude needs work. I admit all this. But they gave us the exact opposite of our room request. I know, I know, they don’t guarantee anything. But, gee whiz!!! Yes I am going to write a letter. We are law abiding, rule adhering, glass half full kind of citizens.

<<Here’s where I go off on a DSA rant>>.
I smoke. Critter smokes. We should quit. It’s bad for us. We know all of this. We’re trying but have not been successful yet.

ASMu is a Value resort, but it ain’t cheap by any wild stretch of the imagination. We don’t complain about the money because when you go on a WDW vacation it’s going to be expensive. Deal with it or don’t go. That’s just the way it is. Having said that, I find it difficult to believe that they couldn’t have put as a little closer to a DSA. I felt that we were being punished for asking. Our money is as good as anyone else's. Did all 40,000 of the other people make the same request we did before we did? I think not. In fact, the DSA that was closest to our room was impossible to get to without circling the back of the resort because of construction. And it was just a trash can with an ashtray on the top. No cover and no bench. The next one was halfway back to the bus stops. The last one was near the door to the main building. We did find an ashtray in our building next to the elevators, but we didn't want to use it because people had to walk through there. Plus, we knew it wasn’t an ‘official’ DSA. Now that I know about the policy ahead of time I will research carefully and make sure to choose an appropriate resort. Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.
<<Back to the regularly scheduled programming>>

 

[SavvyMom]

After waiting for what seemed like a lifetime, we took the bus to MK then rode the monorail to Epcot. It did take longer, but we were moving . We had ADRs at the Rose and Crown for 7:50 so Epcot was the park for that afternoon. Yes, we planned our parks around food. Due to some complaints, we won’t do it again. We did get to eat at some places that we normally wouldn’t have (without the DDP) and enjoyed it. We rode Mission Space again, and survived again . The girls checked out Innoventions and that lasted about 5 minutes. We saw the Circle of Life show . I wish I had a copy of it to show my students. It has a great message and excellent delivery.

By now it was beginning to rain – hard. We headed for Mexico and took the boat ride. It wasn’t anything like I remembered it, but is was enjoyable and dry. We headed for Norway to ride Maelstrom. While we were in there, the rain turned into a storm. Frankly, I thought it added to the ride’s atmosphere. We really enjoyed it. It was kind of funny when we went backwards. Cookie announced, “We’re about to get wet!” I turned around and we were approaching what looked like a drop-off outside! I scrambled to protect the camera and other stuff , then we stopped and moved forward. WHEW! They really fooled me on that one . We got a big kick out of that ride.

We went from a Maelstrom to a monsoon! We bought rain gear and shopped in various gift shops. We stopped at a little café in China and had smoothies and coffee. The temperature went from 110 to 60. Boy that coffee was yummy! We trotted back to Future World and shopped some more, watched the fountain then headed for the United Kingdom.

This is my favorite country. I was a huge Dr. Who fan as a kid, and took a liking to all things British. We checked in at Rose and Crown and, of course, looked around in the gift shops. The wait was only 20 minutes here. Critter and I tried the beer. Wow, it was bitter. But after the first 10 sips we didn’t care . We were seated on the patio and had the most darling CM as our server. I think her name was Anna or something like that. We all immediately fell in love with her . She was funny and efficient. Yep, she got an extra tip. We wanted her to pull up a chair and just talk. The girls did not like the food. Illuminations started while we were there. We didn’t have a good view, but it was nice to just sit there and enjoy the music and the snippets we could see. We were tired. We slowly made our way back to the bus stop. Thankfully, it had stopped raining.

 

[SavvyMom]

Really enjoying your report!!

Poor Johanna, I wonder what happened to her, so sad you will never know

Thank you very much!

I do still wonder about her. She was so skinny and helpless. They assured me she would be all right, so I'm taking it on faith that she's back to work and all well now.

 

[IATink]

Just got caught up today! I also love the Maelstrom. I'll never forget when we took my dad on it for the first time. We told him it was a very laid back ride. When the boat went backwards he thought he was in for it!

Can't wait for more!

 

[SavvyMom]

It’s hard to believe with all our luggage, but we were running out of clothes. We had decided to give Stitch the day off and sleep until we woke up. Then we ate breakfast and headed for the pool. I threw a load in the washer with no respect for colors or textures . If it was in the pile, it went in. We watched the girls swim and we swam and just generally played relaxed vacationers. When I returned to the laundry room, I took my clothes out and threw them in an open dryer. Oops. Apparently, that one was taken. I was not aware of proper laundry room etiquette. It seems that if it’s open, it’s taken. A lady informed me that her dryer sheet was already in there. I paused to admire her for remembering dryer sheets then moved my stuff to another open dryer – that was also hers. So I checked around and found one that wasn’t taken. I put my stuff in one piece at a time to find her dryer sheet which of course fell to the floor. I bent to pick it up then stood up directly into the open dryer door. Ouch. I didn’t cry. I didn’t even curse, though I wanted to. I just handed her the elusive dryer sheet and started my very own dryer. I got out of there as soon as I could to go lick my wounds .

After laundry and lunch it was time for Downtown Disney. It didn’t occur to me until now that we paid for a park day we didn’t use . Such is life. We didn’t have an ADR for tonight, but we did plan to eat at Planet Hollywood. We stopped by there and were told there was usually very little wait on Monday night with the weather like it was. More rain. We wandered around and checked out the Virgin Megastore. They sell movies, CDs, and clothes, not, well, you know. Anyway the plan was for Cookie and I to shop while JJ and Critter went to DisneyQuest. Cookie had 2nd thoughts and said she kind of wanted to go too. I don’t like DisneyQuest that much, but I was willing to go. She decided to keep to the original plan and I was glad . We made our way back to Planet Hollywood and were seated immediately. We sat at the training table. We had 3 people waiting on us – two trainees and a trainer. We’ve never had such attentive service! We wandered around after dinner and checked out the exhibits. Ahhhh, good times.

After that we split up. Cookie and I shopped around then stopped for a Sundae at Ghirardelli. Yummmmm. She had hot chocolate and I had coffee. Yummmmmmm. We split the Sundae and still couldn’t eat it all. We checked out all the shops as the rain started – with a vengeance. Fortunately, we remembered to bring the umbrella, which we shared. Why do people try to duck under your umbrella instead of walking around it? (((sigh))) He didn’t lose an eye, but he gave us the stink-eye .

We wore ourselves out and ended up back at the Virgin Megastore in the café there. We sat and waited for JJ and Critter. They arrived and we shared our stories. JJ had a great time. They didn’t get to do the POTC thing or make their own roller coaster, but they did have a good time. JJ fussed about teenaged boys hogging the games. Back to the bus stop we went. We had to wait for 3 buses before we could go. Then, of course, we had to walk 27 miles back to the room.

 

[SavvyMom]

Stitch woke us up at 8. I finally had the brainstorm that we should drive to the front of the resort instead of walking . I insisted. We can no longer say, “We park when we get there and don’t touch our car until we leave.” I’ll get over it. I simply refused to make that walk again . We ate breakfast and headed back to MGM.

Our ADR was for Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge at 8:20, so we had plenty of time to play. Cookie and Critter rode Tower of Terror. While they did that, JJ and I watched Beauty and the Beast. I cried. “Be Our Guest” was what set me off. I don’t know why, and I tried to be discrete, but I cried like a baby for the rest of the show. I’ve seen the movie 629 times, but the show did me in . I loved it.

We all met back up again and got fast passes for the Rocking Roller Coaster. We then went to watch the Muppets 3D show. We moved all the way down the row as instructed, but another family didn’t. One woman and her mortified daughter parked it right in the middle. The rest of their family left. The CM was not a happy camper. She was not giving up. I was waiting for ninja Mickey to come in and forcibly remove them . Alas, that never happened, but the woman did finally move. She proceeded to loudly complain that her family was split up and they wanted to sit together. I won’t repeat what some of the other guests were saying, but I’m sure you can well imagine. The CM begged people to move so the family could all sit together. People did, but if looks could kill…you know the rest. I was glad nobody took it out on the CM. After that minor Jerry Springer moment, the show began. It was wonderful. It was more impressive before Mickey’s Philharmagic came out, but it was still a great show. I still remember the old 3D movie with Michael Jackson in it back in the day . That was the 1st 3D movie I had ever seen.

We ogled the characters and had lunch at the ABC Commissary. I have a confession, we are seat savers. Critter and I get the food while Cookie and JJ scout out and save a table. This sometimes requires Kung Fu skills according to Cookie .

We took the Back Stage tour. It was fun, but I wish they had slowed down a bit going past the POTC costumes. We somehow managed to survive the gas truck accident then looked at the exhibits on the way out. Isn’t it time to update that exhibit? Maybe it’s just me. We rode the Great Movie Ride again and took turns riding the RRC again. Like I said, JJ was no way no how riding that again.

We decided to head over to the Wilderness Lodge. We had plenty of time, but we wanted to look around and check it all out. Big mistake .

 

[IATink]

Wow! Great cliffhanger. Now I can't wait to find out why it was such a big mistake.

I'm enjoying your report. I appreciate how you update so often! It leaves me excited to read more!

 

[KathyRN137]

We only stopped once on the way. With 3 ladies in the car, that is a miracle. When we finally arrived at ASMu, we did take off to the bathroom in the lobby. No children or animals were harmed in that mad dash, but it was a close one.

If Critter thinks his road trips are bad, he should talk to my Dad (the father of six girls.)

Keep it coming!

Kathy

 

[SavvyMom]

Wow! Great cliffhanger. Now I can't wait to find out why it was such a big mistake.

I'm enjoying your report. I appreciate how you update so often! It leaves me excited to read more!

Coming up!!! Stay tuned...

 

[SavvyMom]

If Critter thinks his road trips are bad, he should talk to my Dad (the father of six girls.)

Keep it coming!

Kathy

Good grief!! I picture a station wagon dragging a port-o-potty on a trailer.

 

[SavvyMom]

Wow. I mean, Wow. What a beautiful resort! We wandered through the lobby and around the pool. We checked out the bus stop and boat launches then found a wonderful area looking out over the beach (a DSA by the way). Critter and I sat under an umbrella, in a chair, drinking..um.. lemonade while the girls chased ducks and bunnies and walked on the beach. As we sat there, two bunnies started fighting! Yes, fighting. Fur was flying and a several people stopped to watch. I never imagined such violence from sweet, furry little bunnies. They finally hopped off to, er, get married . That was the general opinion of the crowd.

A couple of minutes later, the geyser erupted. We sat there in awe watching that. We chatted with other guests and Cookie finally caught a baby duck. She only held it for a second, but it made her whole day. I can’t tell you how beautiful my children looked as they frolicked with the animals. This is where the “Big mistake” comment comes in. We really liked it there. We could’ve spent a whole day right there in that spot. We did not want to go back to ASMu. We wanted to stay THERE. DVC was starting to look pretty attractive. Cha-ching.

I admit, I was a little afraid of Whispering Canyon. I can take a joke, but I’m really pretty shy. We had a ball. The kids loved it. They’re still talking about it. The food was good and there was a lot of it. Atkins fans would love it. I got the skillet with enough meat to feed two grown men. We ordered a ‘yard’ of beer in the souvenir cup. Why do we order those things? I still haven't figured out where to put them. They really are a yard tall. Yikes! Critter almost had to ride around on a horse because he asked for a to-go cup. Oops. The souvenir cup is the to-go cup. Heh heh. Live and learn.

We took a lovely, relaxing boat trip to DTD where we caught the bus back to our hotel. That would be the resort that is most decidedly not the Wilderness Lodge. All we could talk about was Wilderness Lodge. Here's a tip. If you're staying in a value resort, think hard before visiting a Deluxe Resort. I sure makes you look at things differently when you return. We got off the bus and drove back to our building. Much better than walking.

 

[betsywdw]

Thanks for the latest installment! Your TR is no nice to read! I agree about visiting a Deluxe. On our last trip we were supposed to stay at POFQ but it was the first time taking DD who at the time was almost 11 months. I talked DH into checking out how much a Deluxe would be so that we could have some more room and possibly a monorail. Well, we got the Poly at a pretty good rate and when I changed it, the CM said that we would have a hard time ever going back once staying in a deluxe. Well....to make a long story short, we are now DVC members

 

[SavvyMom]

Congratulations!! We're talking about it, but there's a lot to consider - as you well know. It's a lot of money, but boy do we love WDW! Hey! Maybe I could talk Critter into taking a weekend to take the tour. Hmmmmmmmmmm.

 

[IATink]

Another great installment! We also visited the Wilderness Lodge once when we stayed. It is beautiful, and we could easily imagine ourselves there. I just love the whole ambiance there. But, we would need to save a lot more money to be able to afford it there!

 

[SavvyMom]

Here is the geyser at Wilderness Lodge.

Here is the gyser again at WL. These views are from our little seating area we enjoyed so much.

Here are the duckies.

Here are my sweeties trying to pet the ducks while Mama duck keeps a watchful eye.

These pics were taken with my $50. one time use, Pirates of the Caribbean digital camera from Disney World. I am disappointed. A lot of pictures didn't come out. Here's a tip: Make sure your camera works BEFORE you go on vacation.

 

[SavvyMom]

Here is a pic of the Leave a Legacy tile in Epcot.

Cookie and JJ were not thrilled with it, but Critter and I thought it was awesome! Our babies are part of Walt Disney World. What could be better?

 

[IATink]

Thanks for the pics!

 

[SavvyMom]

Today was Magic Kingdom day. We were not leaving without seeing the Captain Jack tutorial. When we arrived at the park, the show was to start in 20 minutes. Not taking any chances, the girls and I snagged a bench near the CM gate in that area while Critter went to get fast passes for Splash Mountain. Cookie and JJ tried to peak through the cracks in the CM door.

A CM let them back there! I, being mother of the year rolleyes2 NOT), was sitting and chatting with some other people waiting for Jack and didn’t even notice. I refuse to even think about what could’ve happened. They ran back and told me they saw a trailer with pirate stuff on it. Cookie asked if that was where Jack was, but the CM winked and said he couldn’t tell. They offered to “hold the door” for several CMs, but they all politely refused. The show started a bit late, but we got right up front. He was great!! We all thoroughly enjoyed the whole show. It was funny and very entertaining. Definitely not to be missed!! Cookie took the pirate pledge and got her certificate. Mom was/is jealous. Hmmm, she has to sleep sometime .

 

[IATink]

I am looking forward to seeing the pirate tutorial. We also have not seen POTC since it was updated. I'm excited to see both.

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to more!

 

[SavvyMom]

It won't be long for you IATink - 1 month!

I would watch Captain Jack (or someone Captain Jack-ish) just sit in a chair and breathe - swooooonnn. The tutorial was great fun. I hope it's still there when we go next year. Please let it be there, please let it be there...