kimmar067
TAGS?? It's all about the 'likes' now!
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2001
- Messages
- 154,986
Saturday, August 3 ~~
Well, the end of our adventure is almost upon us, so we really want to make the most of our time. The "lazybones" of our crew just can't seem to get themselves out of bed early, so we were resigned on meeting them somewhere in MK (we could easily be reached, since my DH and DSis-in-L both have cell phones
) Looking back, we should have taken this plan of action throughout our entire vacation, instead of "endlessly" waiting for family members who were not at their happiest in the AM.
We took the ferry to MK ~ and, thank goodness, the ferry was going directly there, so it only took 8 minutes (I timed it
) Our first stop was the train, so that we would exit it at Frontierland. Now, keep in mind that my DMom-inL has been using one of those "scooter" thingies (you can rent them at all the parks, but we decided to rent one for the week ~ it was delivered to WL and recharged every night by [I'm not sure] valet??) We hurried up the ramp to get to the front of the train, where the "handicapped" area is. The conductor informs my DM-in-L that she will have to keep the scooter parked there at the train station if she is to get on the train. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the scooter???!?!? How is she to get to the other side of MK by train without the scooter? So, she made a 180 degree turnaround and decided to fight the crowds and meet us at Splash Mountain. At Frontierland, we rode SM with absolutely NO WAIT, followed by BTM, another fave, with about a 2 minute (oh, boo,hoo!
) wait. Since we hadn't heard from the rest of our family, we decided to enjoy some other rides, including HM, our perennial favorite. Somehow, I never noticed before, that the stone (verde) face on the last tombstone before entering the doors periodically moves! Sometimes the mouth moves, sometimes the eyes move, or both! (KEWL!!)
Now, almost 11:30, we finally DID encounter the rest of the family, so we headed back to get DRENCHED at SP (and did we ever!) and thrilled at BTM. My DH, girlfriend, and her family wanted to see HofP, but my youngest DS wanted to ride Aladdin's Magic carpets, while the rest of the gang just wanted to shop, so in the best interest of everyone, we split up for about 45 minutes, making plans to meet up again at "Pirates of..." My DS and I did manage a quick ride on "Snow White" followed by a soft drink, before heading to Adventureland. After "Pirates", the temperature was really heating up, so my DH and DS headed back to WL, while the others ventured towards Tomorrowland, to experience Alien Encounter and Buzz Lightyear. My DS and I, meanwhile, headed to Main Street for some souvenir shopping. It was a good thing, too, because just as we were reaching the dock of WL, it began to sprinkle. However, by the time we reached our room, the skies "opened up"! It continued to DOWNPOUR (I mean, like "time-to-build-an-ark-and-gather-the-animals" downpour) for another 2 hours, which gave us a chance for much-needed relaxation. We had made tentative plans to attend mass at "Our Lady of the Shrine", but my girlfriend and I decided to visit DTD for some quick shopping at the Christmas store and "World of Disney" store.
Here is where the nightmare begins:
We didn't want to be late for church, so we were sure to return to the bus depot at the Marketplace by 4:15 PM, figuring it would give us enough time make 6PM mass. My DH really wanted to go to church on Sat. so we would have Sun. (our last day) free to do "whatever" (sorry, I'm from the NY area and ya just GOTTA use "whatever" at least once in a conversation!) We hurried to the depot by 4:15, figuring it would give us ample time to get back to WL in time to get a taxi to church (on Vineland Ave) Well, we sat at stop #4, waiting for our WL~Ft W bus and talked. Now, there is only ONE WAY IN AND ONE WAY OUT. Several buses, S/D, Epcot, CSR, DxL, etc. passed us and picked up other guests. Suddenly, a bus was leaving (it had already turned by that "cul-de-sac" thingie) and was on its way out when I noticed it said "WL~Ft W". It stopped momentarily, and kept going!!! ARRRGGGHHH!!!!We just looked at each other in utter surprise. We had been reading each bus as it passed, and NO WL/FT W BUS EVER PASSED US! Now what? Well, a woman standing on the other side of our stop politely said to us not to worry, cuz' a few of them had just arrived and another one should be there soon. So, we sat, and we sat, and we sat some more. If fact, we sat for about 25 minutes!!! What was really odd, was that NOT ONE SINGLE BUS TO ANY RESORT APPEARED!!!! We felt like we were in the "Twilight Zone" or something. When our bus finally did arrive, of course it made its first stop at PI. Guess what? Nobody on and nobody off. Okay, so that wasted 6 or 7 minutes...we are back onto the main street again, on our merry way. I noticed that the bus was on the far left lane, though. OH NO, we're stopping at Typhoon Lagoon!!! Now, it was about 5:20PM(TL closes @7:30) so the likelihood of anyone getting off was slim-to-none and, of course, there wasn't a soul to be seen at ANY of the depots! So, now we've wasted another 9-10 minutes and I'm thinking, "Boy, is my DH gonna be ANGRY!!!" Okay, on the road again (Willie Nelson plug!) but, NOOOOOO, we're not going to WL.....we'll just waste more time and stop at Ft W first!!! Do I have to spell it out??? Of course I do. Again, nobody on and nobody off. You would think that the bus driver could have asked the guests on the bus (7 or 8 of us) if we were going to WL or not. Did I also mention that we hit EVERY RED LIGHT that we possibly could??? This was our last stop and we are heading to WL. Final arrival time: 5:42PM!!!! We could have walked faster!!!! WDW has got to do something about the transportation situation for WL. You would think that bus and ferry frequency/routing would be better, considering WL is considered a deluxe resort. The look on my DH's face was one of sheer anger, so I just didn't say anything for at least an hour. (Actually, the "Bus Incident" turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as you will read in "Day Ten"...)
We returned to MK around 8PM, since we had PS's to Cindy's Table at 9PM, where, hopefully, we would time it right to view the fireworks while still in the castle. We had a few minutes to spare, so my 2 younger DS's and I decided to ride the "Blue Line" (Wedway People Mover) in Tomorrowland. I don't know why, but this is one of my favorites. I guess, it's because there is never a line, it's very relaxing, and you get to see all of Tomorrowland with little effort. Once at the "Castle", we let the CM know that our party was there, but there had been a mix-up with our PS's. Apparently, they neglected to book our party of 13 as a party at one table, so they gave us the option of being seated sooner, but at 2 separate tables, next to each other. Of course, that wasn't a problem, so within 10 minutes, we were seated at our tables, on the "upper section" of the dining room, with a perfect view of the windows. We DID time it right; just as dessert was served, the lights suddenly dimmed and we watched the spectacular display before us! It was wonderful ~ a terrific meal (the prime rib was EXCELLENT!), ambiance, a courteous server, and a super show!
We didn't realize how late it was (about 11PM) as we exited the last shop on Main Street. Of course, we missed the last ferry, but not worry ~ we hopped aboard the monorail to TTC and boarded a bus to WL. Thoroughly enjoying the day, but thoroughly exhausted, we headed to our rooms to begin our packing.....
Well, the end of our adventure is almost upon us, so we really want to make the most of our time. The "lazybones" of our crew just can't seem to get themselves out of bed early, so we were resigned on meeting them somewhere in MK (we could easily be reached, since my DH and DSis-in-L both have cell phones
) Looking back, we should have taken this plan of action throughout our entire vacation, instead of "endlessly" waiting for family members who were not at their happiest in the AM.We took the ferry to MK ~ and, thank goodness, the ferry was going directly there, so it only took 8 minutes (I timed it
) Our first stop was the train, so that we would exit it at Frontierland. Now, keep in mind that my DMom-inL has been using one of those "scooter" thingies (you can rent them at all the parks, but we decided to rent one for the week ~ it was delivered to WL and recharged every night by [I'm not sure] valet??) We hurried up the ramp to get to the front of the train, where the "handicapped" area is. The conductor informs my DM-in-L that she will have to keep the scooter parked there at the train station if she is to get on the train. Correct me if I'm wrong, but, doesn't that defeat the purpose of the scooter???!?!? How is she to get to the other side of MK by train without the scooter? So, she made a 180 degree turnaround and decided to fight the crowds and meet us at Splash Mountain. At Frontierland, we rode SM with absolutely NO WAIT, followed by BTM, another fave, with about a 2 minute (oh, boo,hoo! ) wait. Since we hadn't heard from the rest of our family, we decided to enjoy some other rides, including HM, our perennial favorite. Somehow, I never noticed before, that the stone (verde) face on the last tombstone before entering the doors periodically moves! Sometimes the mouth moves, sometimes the eyes move, or both! (KEWL!!)Now, almost 11:30, we finally DID encounter the rest of the family, so we headed back to get DRENCHED at SP (and did we ever!) and thrilled at BTM. My DH, girlfriend, and her family wanted to see HofP, but my youngest DS wanted to ride Aladdin's Magic carpets, while the rest of the gang just wanted to shop, so in the best interest of everyone, we split up for about 45 minutes, making plans to meet up again at "Pirates of..." My DS and I did manage a quick ride on "Snow White" followed by a soft drink, before heading to Adventureland. After "Pirates", the temperature was really heating up, so my DH and DS headed back to WL, while the others ventured towards Tomorrowland, to experience Alien Encounter and Buzz Lightyear. My DS and I, meanwhile, headed to Main Street for some souvenir shopping. It was a good thing, too, because just as we were reaching the dock of WL, it began to sprinkle. However, by the time we reached our room, the skies "opened up"! It continued to DOWNPOUR (I mean, like "time-to-build-an-ark-and-gather-the-animals" downpour) for another 2 hours, which gave us a chance for much-needed relaxation. We had made tentative plans to attend mass at "Our Lady of the Shrine", but my girlfriend and I decided to visit DTD for some quick shopping at the Christmas store and "World of Disney" store.
Here is where the nightmare begins:
We didn't want to be late for church, so we were sure to return to the bus depot at the Marketplace by 4:15 PM, figuring it would give us enough time make 6PM mass. My DH really wanted to go to church on Sat. so we would have Sun. (our last day) free to do "whatever" (sorry, I'm from the NY area and ya just GOTTA use "whatever" at least once in a conversation!) We hurried to the depot by 4:15, figuring it would give us ample time to get back to WL in time to get a taxi to church (on Vineland Ave) Well, we sat at stop #4, waiting for our WL~Ft W bus and talked. Now, there is only ONE WAY IN AND ONE WAY OUT. Several buses, S/D, Epcot, CSR, DxL, etc. passed us and picked up other guests. Suddenly, a bus was leaving (it had already turned by that "cul-de-sac" thingie) and was on its way out when I noticed it said "WL~Ft W". It stopped momentarily, and kept going!!! ARRRGGGHHH!!!!We just looked at each other in utter surprise. We had been reading each bus as it passed, and NO WL/FT W BUS EVER PASSED US! Now what? Well, a woman standing on the other side of our stop politely said to us not to worry, cuz' a few of them had just arrived and another one should be there soon. So, we sat, and we sat, and we sat some more. If fact, we sat for about 25 minutes!!! What was really odd, was that NOT ONE SINGLE BUS TO ANY RESORT APPEARED!!!! We felt like we were in the "Twilight Zone" or something. When our bus finally did arrive, of course it made its first stop at PI. Guess what? Nobody on and nobody off. Okay, so that wasted 6 or 7 minutes...we are back onto the main street again, on our merry way. I noticed that the bus was on the far left lane, though. OH NO, we're stopping at Typhoon Lagoon!!! Now, it was about 5:20PM(TL closes @7:30) so the likelihood of anyone getting off was slim-to-none and, of course, there wasn't a soul to be seen at ANY of the depots! So, now we've wasted another 9-10 minutes and I'm thinking, "Boy, is my DH gonna be ANGRY!!!" Okay, on the road again (Willie Nelson plug!) but, NOOOOOO, we're not going to WL.....we'll just waste more time and stop at Ft W first!!! Do I have to spell it out??? Of course I do. Again, nobody on and nobody off. You would think that the bus driver could have asked the guests on the bus (7 or 8 of us) if we were going to WL or not. Did I also mention that we hit EVERY RED LIGHT that we possibly could??? This was our last stop and we are heading to WL. Final arrival time: 5:42PM!!!! We could have walked faster!!!! WDW has got to do something about the transportation situation for WL. You would think that bus and ferry frequency/routing would be better, considering WL is considered a deluxe resort. The look on my DH's face was one of sheer anger, so I just didn't say anything for at least an hour. (Actually, the "Bus Incident" turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as you will read in "Day Ten"...)
We returned to MK around 8PM, since we had PS's to Cindy's Table at 9PM, where, hopefully, we would time it right to view the fireworks while still in the castle. We had a few minutes to spare, so my 2 younger DS's and I decided to ride the "Blue Line" (Wedway People Mover) in Tomorrowland. I don't know why, but this is one of my favorites. I guess, it's because there is never a line, it's very relaxing, and you get to see all of Tomorrowland with little effort. Once at the "Castle", we let the CM know that our party was there, but there had been a mix-up with our PS's. Apparently, they neglected to book our party of 13 as a party at one table, so they gave us the option of being seated sooner, but at 2 separate tables, next to each other. Of course, that wasn't a problem, so within 10 minutes, we were seated at our tables, on the "upper section" of the dining room, with a perfect view of the windows. We DID time it right; just as dessert was served, the lights suddenly dimmed and we watched the spectacular display before us! It was wonderful ~ a terrific meal (the prime rib was EXCELLENT!), ambiance, a courteous server, and a super show!
We didn't realize how late it was (about 11PM) as we exited the last shop on Main Street. Of course, we missed the last ferry, but not worry ~ we hopped aboard the monorail to TTC and boarded a bus to WL. Thoroughly enjoying the day, but thoroughly exhausted, we headed to our rooms to begin our packing.....
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