BrerMama
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2000
- Messages
- 2,205
To read Day 8, click here
Our last full day. Surprisingly, we weren't feeling too sad about it. In fact, I think we were ready for the day and determined to enjoy it to the fullest, while not minding that it was time to get home.
We ate breakfast in the room again and headed for the bus stop. We arrived at 7 to meet Wendy and her kids, along with a lot of other people. I was not feeling good about this situation. This morning was definitely going to be more crowded than any other morning we'd experienced, just judging by the number of people at the bus stop. We waited until 7:30 for a bus to appear and by that time there were so many people waiting that over half of them were left at the bus stop. Not a good way to start the day.
Originally, I had planned to meet up with Wendy and her kids to watch the Country Bears, but I went ahead and told her that we probably wouldn't stay at MK past EMH. I'm just not a crowd person and I thought if we park hopped, we'd probably miss a lot of crowds.
Since the bus was so late, there wasn't much of a wait before we were let into the Magic Kingdom, where we once again headed straight for Dumbo. After Dumbo, it was off to Peter Pan, then Winnie the Pooh. Since we were going to try to do everyone's favorite rides this morning, Buzz was on the agenda for Mykiah. We walked over to Tomorrowland to find a 30 minute wait for Buzz, and it was still EMH. Fastpass time was too far out; we didn't want to be in the park long. So we got on the Transit Authority while we discussed our plans for the rest of the day. Chesney had a minor fit going onto the TTA; not sure why, but she was crying for the first few minutes. By the time we got off the TTA, the wait for Buzz was down to 15 minutes, so we jumped in line. I think the inside queue had just been opened up and the line moved very steadily the whole time. Peter Pan had been my favorite, so we still had 3 favorites to hit. Fortunately, Dan and Brady agreed on their favorite... Philharmagic! So that was our next stop. On our previous multiple visits we had always just walked straight through the outer area and into the preshow area, but we had quite a wait this time. I knew then that we were definitely getting to another park today. If you have a long wait for a show that holds hundreds of guests, it's time to move on. So we did that, then walked over to the "Spit Camels" for Chesney's last ride. Only a 15 minute wait for this one, but it's all in the sun and had us majorly cranky by the end of the wait.
We stopped for Cheetos and water on the way out of the park (not a very imaginative snack but the line at the bakery was so huge and so slow that we had to settle). As we exited, I asked how to get to the Studios and was told we had to get to the TTC and hop a bus from there.
It was steaming hot by this time and of course, once at the TTC, there was a lengthy wait for a bus. Some high school group had apparently just dropped off a bus load at the TTC and they were all trying to catch busses to wherever they were going. They were loud and stinky. Again, we left half of them waiting at the bus stop as the bus was crowded, standing room only. Yes, the crowds had arrived.
We had decided during the trip to the Studios to try Pizza Planet for lunch. Definitely not the right choice. The pizza was bland and not even any parmesan or crushed red pepper available to spice it up. We got 4 pizzas for the 5 of us, which was too much food. Total was $34 for the pizzas, a side salad for me (best part of the meal, in my opinion) and drinks.
I was so ticked about the money we wasted on the food that I wouldn't let the kids play any games in the arcade. Not their fault, but they actually were OK with it. We walked out without a real plan for the afternoon. Dan and the kids decided to do Star Tours one last time, so we got fastpasses for them. Then we did something radical.... we split up. I just told Dan to stay at the park and have fun with the big kids and I'd head back to the hotel with Chesney to relax. So I sent them off towards the Great Movie Ride and Chesney and I headed for the exit.
Until I remembered Starring Rolls Bakery had just reopened. I could stop for a baked good, right? I was still mad that I hadn't gotten anything good for a snack at MK and that Pizza Planet was a disappointment. So I wandered towards where I thought the bakery should be. As we're walking that way, there are cast members in the street, trying to get an audience for Beauty and the Beast. We'd missed it earlier in the week and I knew Chesney would enjoy it, so we walked in. I had no idea the theater wasn't air conditioned! Talk about sweaty heat! It was awful, but made better by the nice gentleman sitting beside Chesney who had an fan/mister he was using for his daughter. Every once in awhile, he'd give Ches a shot of it, too, which kept me from worrying too much about her.
While waiting for the show to start, I decided that I could leave Dan a voice mail to let him know I hadn't left the park. Although we had carried our cell phones all week, he had never turned his on when we weren't together. So I knew I'd need to do the voice mail thing and then maybe when he tried to find us later, he'd turn it on and hear my message. What a shocker when it was on and I could actually talk to him! Brady had reminded him that it was supposed to be on when we were separated (whether by choice or chance).
I hung up with Dan just as Four for a Dollar started the preshow. I thought this was amazing! Very talented group. Then it was time for Beauty and the Beast and watching Chesney's face, I knew the hot, humid wait had been worth it.
On the way out, I once again tried to stop and get some baked goods but this time got annoyed with a cast member that was far too slow at filling orders (and there was only one person ahead of me!) and decided we'd just go back to the resort. Once there we could get our mugs (free drinks!) and then spend more on baked goods!
While we were waiting for the bus, who should come walking up but the rest of our family. It was actually a nice wait, during which I talked to another visitor about bus service at Port Orleans. She was a frequent Disney visitor and was not impressed. I had been fine with it until that day. And even then, we always got on the bus. I was just feeling sorry for those who were left. I think maybe the crowds grew a little too quickly and bus service still hadn't caught up.
Of course now that Dan and the kids were back with us, my plan for baked goods was shuffled aside. Instead, swimming became a priority. We played in the quiet pool for an hour or so, then went back to the room and started packing up. We'd really spread out in our 7 nights, so it was a task.
We left for our final dinner at 4 pm. For the first time during our trip, we walked up to the bus stop to have the bus we wanted sitting there waiting for us! We took a bus to MK, then caught the monorail over to the Contemporary. Because we'd been so lucky with transportation, we were way early for our 5 pm priority seating for Chef Mickey's. We spent some time browsing the shops. Mykiah and Chesney decided to buy Brady a "Happy Birthday" pin for his lanyard since his birthday was in 2 days. Mykiah still had about $12 to spend and was really indecisive about it. I ended up telling her to think about it while we were eating and we'd stop on the way out and she would have to buy something. Quickly.
We checked in at Chef Mickey's about 4:40 and had our picture taken. We were early enough that we were able to get a place to sit while we waited and then we were called right at 5 pm for our table. We had the best waiter of our trip here. His name was Dan, but his nametag said "Jo." Go figure. He was so attentive, quick to bring refills, and handled a minor crisis with another group very calmly (they had a group of 14 but a table for 12).
I wasn't as impressed with the food here as I was at Hollywood and Vine, but I did enjoy the salad bar. The girls had 3 hot dogs each! Brady, Dan and I pretty much had desserts. But hey, it was our last night at WDW and a girl can treat herself!
To back up a bit, we were seated in the dreaded back room of Chef Mickey's. After we were seated, but before Dan (the server) arrived, I told Dan (my husband) that this might not be a good place to sit. It turned out to be great! We were just up the steps by the buffet and the characters all came up the stairs and right to us. Quick trips to the buffet were easy and I could even let the older kids go alone because I could keep an eye on them. Also, as soon as Dan (the server) arrived, he mentioned that we must have beat the storm. The blinds in our corner were still pulled so we couldn't see out, but we were told it was really storming outside. In fact, the electricity did flicker once during our meal and this was probably the worse storm of our trip (and it stormed every day/night, so that's saying something).
After buying our picture package, we paid our bill ($105 plus tip, which was good!) and went to the gift shop, where Mykiah chose a small photo album after I told her I would let her pick the pictures for it. Then it was on to the monorail and back to MK to catch a bus.
Did you know that there is a horrible, nasty drainage problem at the Magic Kingdom? Yes, if you're walking from the monorail to the bus station (or from the ferry anywhere) there is an amazingly deep stand of water when it's raining. I was wearing capris and got wet up past my knees. There just wasn't any way to avoid the water. I was carrying Chesney, so she avoided most of the wet. We had our ponchos on, but that didn't exactly protect our feet! Here it was, the night before we were leaving, and we'd just dunked our feet in rain water! Ick, ick, ick. I was not at all happy and the security guards were downright rude about directing people through the water. Yes, there was a major pile-up of people and no, the water wasn't going to go down anytime soon. But you don't have to be rude about it.
Once again, we had bus problems. We didn't make the first bus, although we were 2nd in line for the next bus. By the time it arrived, there were so many people leaving, that many were left waiting. Chesney fell asleep on the bus, so we just headed straight back to the room. We took off our wet stuff and I tried to set up the shoes over the air conditioner, hoping they'd dry out some before we had to wear them tomorrow for our very long last day. Dan ran a hot tub for the kids, they got in their pajamas and we turned on the Disney cartoon channel. We were already packed, so we just sat and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
It had been a fun trip, but with the crowds building and weather not cooperating, we were ready to go home.
To read Day 10, The End, click here
Our last full day. Surprisingly, we weren't feeling too sad about it. In fact, I think we were ready for the day and determined to enjoy it to the fullest, while not minding that it was time to get home.
We ate breakfast in the room again and headed for the bus stop. We arrived at 7 to meet Wendy and her kids, along with a lot of other people. I was not feeling good about this situation. This morning was definitely going to be more crowded than any other morning we'd experienced, just judging by the number of people at the bus stop. We waited until 7:30 for a bus to appear and by that time there were so many people waiting that over half of them were left at the bus stop. Not a good way to start the day.
Originally, I had planned to meet up with Wendy and her kids to watch the Country Bears, but I went ahead and told her that we probably wouldn't stay at MK past EMH. I'm just not a crowd person and I thought if we park hopped, we'd probably miss a lot of crowds.
Since the bus was so late, there wasn't much of a wait before we were let into the Magic Kingdom, where we once again headed straight for Dumbo. After Dumbo, it was off to Peter Pan, then Winnie the Pooh. Since we were going to try to do everyone's favorite rides this morning, Buzz was on the agenda for Mykiah. We walked over to Tomorrowland to find a 30 minute wait for Buzz, and it was still EMH. Fastpass time was too far out; we didn't want to be in the park long. So we got on the Transit Authority while we discussed our plans for the rest of the day. Chesney had a minor fit going onto the TTA; not sure why, but she was crying for the first few minutes. By the time we got off the TTA, the wait for Buzz was down to 15 minutes, so we jumped in line. I think the inside queue had just been opened up and the line moved very steadily the whole time. Peter Pan had been my favorite, so we still had 3 favorites to hit. Fortunately, Dan and Brady agreed on their favorite... Philharmagic! So that was our next stop. On our previous multiple visits we had always just walked straight through the outer area and into the preshow area, but we had quite a wait this time. I knew then that we were definitely getting to another park today. If you have a long wait for a show that holds hundreds of guests, it's time to move on. So we did that, then walked over to the "Spit Camels" for Chesney's last ride. Only a 15 minute wait for this one, but it's all in the sun and had us majorly cranky by the end of the wait.
We stopped for Cheetos and water on the way out of the park (not a very imaginative snack but the line at the bakery was so huge and so slow that we had to settle). As we exited, I asked how to get to the Studios and was told we had to get to the TTC and hop a bus from there.
It was steaming hot by this time and of course, once at the TTC, there was a lengthy wait for a bus. Some high school group had apparently just dropped off a bus load at the TTC and they were all trying to catch busses to wherever they were going. They were loud and stinky. Again, we left half of them waiting at the bus stop as the bus was crowded, standing room only. Yes, the crowds had arrived.
We had decided during the trip to the Studios to try Pizza Planet for lunch. Definitely not the right choice. The pizza was bland and not even any parmesan or crushed red pepper available to spice it up. We got 4 pizzas for the 5 of us, which was too much food. Total was $34 for the pizzas, a side salad for me (best part of the meal, in my opinion) and drinks.
I was so ticked about the money we wasted on the food that I wouldn't let the kids play any games in the arcade. Not their fault, but they actually were OK with it. We walked out without a real plan for the afternoon. Dan and the kids decided to do Star Tours one last time, so we got fastpasses for them. Then we did something radical.... we split up. I just told Dan to stay at the park and have fun with the big kids and I'd head back to the hotel with Chesney to relax. So I sent them off towards the Great Movie Ride and Chesney and I headed for the exit.
Until I remembered Starring Rolls Bakery had just reopened. I could stop for a baked good, right? I was still mad that I hadn't gotten anything good for a snack at MK and that Pizza Planet was a disappointment. So I wandered towards where I thought the bakery should be. As we're walking that way, there are cast members in the street, trying to get an audience for Beauty and the Beast. We'd missed it earlier in the week and I knew Chesney would enjoy it, so we walked in. I had no idea the theater wasn't air conditioned! Talk about sweaty heat! It was awful, but made better by the nice gentleman sitting beside Chesney who had an fan/mister he was using for his daughter. Every once in awhile, he'd give Ches a shot of it, too, which kept me from worrying too much about her.
While waiting for the show to start, I decided that I could leave Dan a voice mail to let him know I hadn't left the park. Although we had carried our cell phones all week, he had never turned his on when we weren't together. So I knew I'd need to do the voice mail thing and then maybe when he tried to find us later, he'd turn it on and hear my message. What a shocker when it was on and I could actually talk to him! Brady had reminded him that it was supposed to be on when we were separated (whether by choice or chance).
I hung up with Dan just as Four for a Dollar started the preshow. I thought this was amazing! Very talented group. Then it was time for Beauty and the Beast and watching Chesney's face, I knew the hot, humid wait had been worth it.
On the way out, I once again tried to stop and get some baked goods but this time got annoyed with a cast member that was far too slow at filling orders (and there was only one person ahead of me!) and decided we'd just go back to the resort. Once there we could get our mugs (free drinks!) and then spend more on baked goods!
While we were waiting for the bus, who should come walking up but the rest of our family. It was actually a nice wait, during which I talked to another visitor about bus service at Port Orleans. She was a frequent Disney visitor and was not impressed. I had been fine with it until that day. And even then, we always got on the bus. I was just feeling sorry for those who were left. I think maybe the crowds grew a little too quickly and bus service still hadn't caught up.
Of course now that Dan and the kids were back with us, my plan for baked goods was shuffled aside. Instead, swimming became a priority. We played in the quiet pool for an hour or so, then went back to the room and started packing up. We'd really spread out in our 7 nights, so it was a task.
We left for our final dinner at 4 pm. For the first time during our trip, we walked up to the bus stop to have the bus we wanted sitting there waiting for us! We took a bus to MK, then caught the monorail over to the Contemporary. Because we'd been so lucky with transportation, we were way early for our 5 pm priority seating for Chef Mickey's. We spent some time browsing the shops. Mykiah and Chesney decided to buy Brady a "Happy Birthday" pin for his lanyard since his birthday was in 2 days. Mykiah still had about $12 to spend and was really indecisive about it. I ended up telling her to think about it while we were eating and we'd stop on the way out and she would have to buy something. Quickly.
We checked in at Chef Mickey's about 4:40 and had our picture taken. We were early enough that we were able to get a place to sit while we waited and then we were called right at 5 pm for our table. We had the best waiter of our trip here. His name was Dan, but his nametag said "Jo." Go figure. He was so attentive, quick to bring refills, and handled a minor crisis with another group very calmly (they had a group of 14 but a table for 12).
I wasn't as impressed with the food here as I was at Hollywood and Vine, but I did enjoy the salad bar. The girls had 3 hot dogs each! Brady, Dan and I pretty much had desserts. But hey, it was our last night at WDW and a girl can treat herself!
To back up a bit, we were seated in the dreaded back room of Chef Mickey's. After we were seated, but before Dan (the server) arrived, I told Dan (my husband) that this might not be a good place to sit. It turned out to be great! We were just up the steps by the buffet and the characters all came up the stairs and right to us. Quick trips to the buffet were easy and I could even let the older kids go alone because I could keep an eye on them. Also, as soon as Dan (the server) arrived, he mentioned that we must have beat the storm. The blinds in our corner were still pulled so we couldn't see out, but we were told it was really storming outside. In fact, the electricity did flicker once during our meal and this was probably the worse storm of our trip (and it stormed every day/night, so that's saying something).
After buying our picture package, we paid our bill ($105 plus tip, which was good!) and went to the gift shop, where Mykiah chose a small photo album after I told her I would let her pick the pictures for it. Then it was on to the monorail and back to MK to catch a bus.
Did you know that there is a horrible, nasty drainage problem at the Magic Kingdom? Yes, if you're walking from the monorail to the bus station (or from the ferry anywhere) there is an amazingly deep stand of water when it's raining. I was wearing capris and got wet up past my knees. There just wasn't any way to avoid the water. I was carrying Chesney, so she avoided most of the wet. We had our ponchos on, but that didn't exactly protect our feet! Here it was, the night before we were leaving, and we'd just dunked our feet in rain water! Ick, ick, ick. I was not at all happy and the security guards were downright rude about directing people through the water. Yes, there was a major pile-up of people and no, the water wasn't going to go down anytime soon. But you don't have to be rude about it.
Once again, we had bus problems. We didn't make the first bus, although we were 2nd in line for the next bus. By the time it arrived, there were so many people leaving, that many were left waiting. Chesney fell asleep on the bus, so we just headed straight back to the room. We took off our wet stuff and I tried to set up the shoes over the air conditioner, hoping they'd dry out some before we had to wear them tomorrow for our very long last day. Dan ran a hot tub for the kids, they got in their pajamas and we turned on the Disney cartoon channel. We were already packed, so we just sat and relaxed for the rest of the evening.
It had been a fun trip, but with the crowds building and weather not cooperating, we were ready to go home.
To read Day 10, The End, click here
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