I apologize to everyone for the looooong delay in my final two trip reports. I have been really ill, fighting MS symptoms for the past couple weeks, and I just didn't have the strength/energy/concentration to write.
I hope this part comes out decent after all the other days I wrote about!
Cast: me: 32 DH 25 *giggle* DD 7 and Dad 62
The sixth day was so great it was going to be hard to beat, but I was so excited to have another full day still that I couldn't stop smiling!
We wanted to go back to the studios (yes again!) we were having so much fun.
Before we left I took our boxes down to the concierge for them to ship (what a great thing that was!)
We decided to see One Man's Dream, and I wish we'd have spent more time looking at the models, I thought we could get back to them after the movie (which was just about to start) and so I didn't get to look at some of them as closely as Id' have liked. Walts' office was incredible to see!!!
I loved this presentation, it made me cry, and I was so grateful to Walt for all the wonderful memories I have of WDW, many of which were with my grandfather who has now been gone 20 years.
But I can still remember hopping into the golf cart with him and driving to the "hospitality center' at the "Buena Vista Villas" to pay the room bill or ask a question. Going to the gourmet shop to get something for Gramma to cook for dinner (no priority seatings back then!) and swimming until I was red as a maine lobster from the sun "Come here and let me put on some nosekote!" he'd call. Dad and Grandpa and uncles sitting around the pool playing pinochle while we swam. Being so hungry after swimming and smelling the food when we went back inside, then going with the family into the "village" at night on the golf cart to shop and watch the lights in the trees twinkle.
I still miss him when we go back to WDW. I still have a Resort Villa id card with his name and signature on it. Going back to Disney is always like being able to have a part of him with me, maybe that's one of the reasons I'm drawn back there over and over again.
We were all misty eyed as we were headed back outside after OMD. The line was still long for Mermaid, I can't remember the exact order we did things in but I know we saw WWTBAM again (one last time, almost got DH on there but not quite!) and we saw GMR.
We had the best guide on GMR that time I've ever had. He told us so many movie facts that we didn't know. He even stopped to show me a hidden mickey on the wall after our ride was through! Very, very cool. I still love that attraction, though I wish they could refurb it and add some of the other big hit movies (though I know they couldn't add ones like Titanic (can you imagine, Rose and Jack on the bow, and her saying "I'm flying!" cause of the rights, most likely. At least add Star Wars where Alien is! The second monster hasn't even worked in years.
We wanted to see the BATB show (hadn't ever stopped to see it before) and we were really surprised by the opening act (I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it) the funny part was we were really fooled at the beginning! LOL I didn't see it coming. We even got their cd cause they were so great.
We did some shopping and I got disney artist drawn pictures of Mulan and Mushu (they didn't have the mushu one in stock, but the artist made one up for me and we picked it up later that day! That was SO cool!)
We had lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby, where I had never eaten before, and while it was nice, it wasn't a top favorite on my list. I ended up ordering chicken breast off the children's menu because it was the only thing that appealed to me at all. They had good chicken noodle soup (also off kids menu, all of us had a bowl!) and I tasted DH's thai noodle bowl, which was very good. Dad had grouper I believe, and he liked it very much.
I guess I just found the restaurant to be lacking in atmosphere. Our waiter didn't really seem to care much what was going on, and he was not the least bit interested in Disney (I had mentioned something about the names of Disney's daughters, which I knew were Sharon and Diane from when I was disney trained years ago. he said that 'didn't sound right' and went to check with others. When he came back, he said that no one knew the answer, but that he was "sure Sharon was wrong" *rolling eyes*.
Lunch was pleasant enough and filled us up nicely before the B&B show (sorry for telling this out of order!)
After the show, DD and I headed for a ladies room where we heard something that was very, very upsetting.
We were washing our hands, and the lady next to us freaked out when her little girl started to wander toward the door. She made her come stand by the sinks to wait for her mother, and I commented to the lady that I was glad to see another very vigilant parent. What she told me next made my blood run cold.
"I wasn't that way earlier in our trip, but I will be from now on after what I saw yesterday." she said. I asked what happened, and she said "I saw an attempted child abduction."
"Where?"
This is what she told me. At the magic kingdom bus stop. her family was riding the bus coming from the Carribean Beach, and there was a family on the bus with several small children. When the bus stopped, one of the kids, a small boy, got off the bus before his parents while they struggled with the other kids and strollers, etc. Apparently, a woman took him by the hand and started to casually lead him away.
When his family got off the bus and realized they didn't know where he was, the mother started frantically calling his name. The little guy stopped walking with the stranger, turned around, and looked at his mother. She was screaming so loud at this point, panicking, that the woman was spooked and ran away.
They did not catch her.
This is the first story I have heard of a person seeing an attempted child abduction first hand at Walt Disney World, but it unfortunately does not shock me. When you think about it, people really let their guard down at WDW when it comes to letting their kids get away from them, go off on their own (if they're a little older, this kid was only two or three).
I cannot stress enough the rule that my family has in effect, with DD, someone in our party has her BY THE HAND at all times. I don't care where we are. In a gift shop, waiting for a ride, someone always has her within physical grabbing distance. This is important not just because of stranger danger but also because there are people in scooters, moving vehicles like double decker busses in the parks, horse carriages, and sometimes you have to yank your kid out of the way as they are absent mindedly wandering into the path of danger only seeing the rides in the distance.
Kids are not equipped to protect themselves. Please, parents, be mindful of where your kids are at all times...
We walked across the street into a store (I forget which one) and as we were browsing, we hear yelling.
"IS THIS A RIDE?!"
We look up, and in come two Streetmosphere actors, playing a married couple, Stanley and Stella Starkowski. At first, dd thought they were really fighting (I guess she's heard my parents go at it one too many times, seriously) but I whispered to her that they were actors and she felt better.
Stella walked up to the clothing rack I was looking at and started interacting with me, she was going on about how she got her Adrien Arpel skin care stuff "From the QVC" LOL she and Stanley traded insults so hilarious that my DH was leaning against the wall, laughing so hard that he couldn't stand up on his own! I have rarely seen DH laugh that hard, he actually had tears running down his face by the end.
DD interacted with Stella, told her she thought her jacket was pretty when Stanley insulted her and Stella said "I love her! C'mere and give me a hug sweetie!" and Stanley said "Don't stand too close, she'll rob you of your youth!"
We watched them as long as they were in the store, they really played it up because we were all laughing so hard, and that is now one of my DH's favorite ever WDW memories. They were just phenomenal.
DD ended up with an autograph from Stella and a lipstick smooch in her book, and Stanley gave her a fake 50 dollar bill and said "Go buy yourself somethin' nice!" they finally went on their way, the last thing we heard Stanley say as they disappeared behind a "Cast only" barricade was "I'm gonna go ride me that tower!" which DH has taken to saying when he exits a room now LOL
He has vowed to go looking for them again next time we're there.
It was starting to look cloudy and after getting drenched the other day, we wanted to try to make it to the Boardwalk and the ESPN store before it opened up, if it was going to.
So we took yet another lovely ride on the Friendship (8 this time, and they used the ramp thank you very much!) and arrived at the Boardwalk.
This area is so pretty! I was kind of surprised by the cheap carnival games though, seemed to detract a little from the classiness to me, the prizes could've been nicer for them anyway! I know they were trying to keep with the boardwalk/carnival type theme, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
We found DH a bunch of great Baseball Tonight stuff at the store and Dad went into the bar to have a beer. He was happily resting and watching a game so DH, DD and I decided to explore some of the other shops.
I found some great Chip & Dale peanut brittle in the candy shop and after that, DD really wanted to play one of the ball toss games, so DH went back across the street to get change in the gift shop. Well, that's when the sky opened and it started raining SHEETS of water! We were literally stuck on opposite sides of the street for awhile, it was hilarious. We just laughed and waved at each other for awhile.
Finally, DD and I made a break for it (not easy to do pushing your own wheelchair) and got back to DH and the gift shop. Meanwhile we found that Dad had wandered down from the bar. I really, REALLY wanted a cup of coffee and so DH and I went into the bakery. OMG! That place smelled incredible, and the pastries didn't disappoint at all. They were incredible. DH and I had the chocolate frosted doughnuts (which were HUGE) and DH and Dad had something with bavarian creme in the middle, which were also huge. I would love to eat breakfast from the bakery every day if we stayed there!
Which brings me to another point, as much as I always thought I would really want to stay at an Epcot resort, walking around out there, I realized that it's not for me. I'd really miss the sights/sounds of the MK that you get in the resorts on the monorail track, and seems to take so long to get everywhere from the Epcot resorts. Of course, if you want to be close to Epcot instead, or want to dine in WS every night, this is the place for you. I love how the boat lets you off right at the International Gateway, it is wonderful and a lot easier to get into the park there than at the main entrance.
After we had seen all we wanted to see and the rain stopped, we headed to Epcot with the intention of staying for the fireworks. After we walked all that way, the guys were tired, and we decided not to stay. Besides, DH and I wanted to make one last run to the MK in the morning before we had to come back to head to the airport, so we didn't want to overdo it.
So we took one more nostalgic ride on SSE, which always leaves me misty eyed when I know I'm going home soon. I know that ride will probably be changing sometime in the near future, and I hope that I get back there one more time to ride it before they do whatever they're going to do to it.
We headed back to the GF, and got some snacks at the Loaf. I can't overstate how much I love that place and the folks on the staff!!! We chatted with them some more, talked about the events of the day.
I happened to see the lovely manager from the main building who had stopped in to check on something and she asked if we were having a good time, and I told her that everything was absolutely perfect
Everyone was too full for dinner, so we decided if we got hungry later we'd order some late night room service.
I really, REALLY wanted to go to DTD, and when DH said he was exhausted when we got back to the room, I seriously considered getting on a bus and going out there alone without the wheelchair. Dad and DH were bigtime against that, they didn't want me going out there alone or with my daughter because of PI being there (bad experiences we've had in the past with drunks) and I had to reluctantly agree that I wouldn't go.
Instead, I suggested that maybe DD and I could wander off to the main building for a little in-house shopping and some mommy-daughter time. That was a big hit, and soon DH and Dad were both snoring in the room and DD and I walked hand in hand from the Loaf to the main building. This is a big deal for us, because I can't drive anymore, we rarely get to go out anywhere just the two of us these days. She was loving having me all to herself, and vice versa.
I wanted to go in Summer Lace as I'd seen some slippers and a top on sale that I wanted there before, and so those purchases were made. I also found out they had beautiful gift bags and purchased a couple of those to take home.
We made the rounds to Sandy Cove, (I put back the GF snowglobe when dd looked at me and said "Mom, how on earth would we get that home?") went to M. Mouse Mercantile for some more pins for dd's budding collection.
Mostly we walked, talked, laughed, and made memories that evening that I will always treasure. Just my girl and me
By the time we went back to the room, we were starving and so was DH. Dad was still sound asleep and didn't hear a thing LOL We ordered a cheese pizza (these are HUGE and delicious!) and one burger and fries and split it all up 3 ways. We had way too much pizza, really thought Dad would wake up and have some, but we did the best we could with it and it was a blast. When we finally dozed off, we had full stomachs, happy thoughts in our heads, and were planning to get up early to be in the MK in the morning. I made sure we were all packed for the bellman the next day, I had requested late check out and they were able to accomodate us, so as long as we were back by 12:30 to call bell services and get our stuff into storage, we'd be fine.
So I fell asleep knowing that by this time tomorrow night I'd be sleeping in my own bed, but that was okay with me. I had already had more disney magic than I ever could have imagined on one trip, and we still had a half a day to go before heading to the airport
Coming soon (I hope!) Day 8 :Mk and home, and I will go back through the threads and try to find all the questions you guys have asked me and answer those...and boy I hope this made some sense. My brain is not firing on all thrusters this week.
I hope this part comes out decent after all the other days I wrote about!
Cast: me: 32 DH 25 *giggle* DD 7 and Dad 62
The sixth day was so great it was going to be hard to beat, but I was so excited to have another full day still that I couldn't stop smiling!
We wanted to go back to the studios (yes again!) we were having so much fun.
Before we left I took our boxes down to the concierge for them to ship (what a great thing that was!)
We decided to see One Man's Dream, and I wish we'd have spent more time looking at the models, I thought we could get back to them after the movie (which was just about to start) and so I didn't get to look at some of them as closely as Id' have liked. Walts' office was incredible to see!!!
I loved this presentation, it made me cry, and I was so grateful to Walt for all the wonderful memories I have of WDW, many of which were with my grandfather who has now been gone 20 years.
But I can still remember hopping into the golf cart with him and driving to the "hospitality center' at the "Buena Vista Villas" to pay the room bill or ask a question. Going to the gourmet shop to get something for Gramma to cook for dinner (no priority seatings back then!) and swimming until I was red as a maine lobster from the sun "Come here and let me put on some nosekote!" he'd call. Dad and Grandpa and uncles sitting around the pool playing pinochle while we swam. Being so hungry after swimming and smelling the food when we went back inside, then going with the family into the "village" at night on the golf cart to shop and watch the lights in the trees twinkle.
I still miss him when we go back to WDW. I still have a Resort Villa id card with his name and signature on it. Going back to Disney is always like being able to have a part of him with me, maybe that's one of the reasons I'm drawn back there over and over again.
We were all misty eyed as we were headed back outside after OMD. The line was still long for Mermaid, I can't remember the exact order we did things in but I know we saw WWTBAM again (one last time, almost got DH on there but not quite!) and we saw GMR.
We had the best guide on GMR that time I've ever had. He told us so many movie facts that we didn't know. He even stopped to show me a hidden mickey on the wall after our ride was through! Very, very cool. I still love that attraction, though I wish they could refurb it and add some of the other big hit movies (though I know they couldn't add ones like Titanic (can you imagine, Rose and Jack on the bow, and her saying "I'm flying!" cause of the rights, most likely. At least add Star Wars where Alien is! The second monster hasn't even worked in years.
We wanted to see the BATB show (hadn't ever stopped to see it before) and we were really surprised by the opening act (I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't seen it) the funny part was we were really fooled at the beginning! LOL I didn't see it coming. We even got their cd cause they were so great.
We did some shopping and I got disney artist drawn pictures of Mulan and Mushu (they didn't have the mushu one in stock, but the artist made one up for me and we picked it up later that day! That was SO cool!)
We had lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby, where I had never eaten before, and while it was nice, it wasn't a top favorite on my list. I ended up ordering chicken breast off the children's menu because it was the only thing that appealed to me at all. They had good chicken noodle soup (also off kids menu, all of us had a bowl!) and I tasted DH's thai noodle bowl, which was very good. Dad had grouper I believe, and he liked it very much.
I guess I just found the restaurant to be lacking in atmosphere. Our waiter didn't really seem to care much what was going on, and he was not the least bit interested in Disney (I had mentioned something about the names of Disney's daughters, which I knew were Sharon and Diane from when I was disney trained years ago. he said that 'didn't sound right' and went to check with others. When he came back, he said that no one knew the answer, but that he was "sure Sharon was wrong" *rolling eyes*.
Lunch was pleasant enough and filled us up nicely before the B&B show (sorry for telling this out of order!)
After the show, DD and I headed for a ladies room where we heard something that was very, very upsetting.
We were washing our hands, and the lady next to us freaked out when her little girl started to wander toward the door. She made her come stand by the sinks to wait for her mother, and I commented to the lady that I was glad to see another very vigilant parent. What she told me next made my blood run cold.
"I wasn't that way earlier in our trip, but I will be from now on after what I saw yesterday." she said. I asked what happened, and she said "I saw an attempted child abduction."
"Where?"
This is what she told me. At the magic kingdom bus stop. her family was riding the bus coming from the Carribean Beach, and there was a family on the bus with several small children. When the bus stopped, one of the kids, a small boy, got off the bus before his parents while they struggled with the other kids and strollers, etc. Apparently, a woman took him by the hand and started to casually lead him away.
When his family got off the bus and realized they didn't know where he was, the mother started frantically calling his name. The little guy stopped walking with the stranger, turned around, and looked at his mother. She was screaming so loud at this point, panicking, that the woman was spooked and ran away.
They did not catch her.
This is the first story I have heard of a person seeing an attempted child abduction first hand at Walt Disney World, but it unfortunately does not shock me. When you think about it, people really let their guard down at WDW when it comes to letting their kids get away from them, go off on their own (if they're a little older, this kid was only two or three).
I cannot stress enough the rule that my family has in effect, with DD, someone in our party has her BY THE HAND at all times. I don't care where we are. In a gift shop, waiting for a ride, someone always has her within physical grabbing distance. This is important not just because of stranger danger but also because there are people in scooters, moving vehicles like double decker busses in the parks, horse carriages, and sometimes you have to yank your kid out of the way as they are absent mindedly wandering into the path of danger only seeing the rides in the distance.
Kids are not equipped to protect themselves. Please, parents, be mindful of where your kids are at all times...
We walked across the street into a store (I forget which one) and as we were browsing, we hear yelling.
"IS THIS A RIDE?!"
We look up, and in come two Streetmosphere actors, playing a married couple, Stanley and Stella Starkowski. At first, dd thought they were really fighting (I guess she's heard my parents go at it one too many times, seriously) but I whispered to her that they were actors and she felt better.
Stella walked up to the clothing rack I was looking at and started interacting with me, she was going on about how she got her Adrien Arpel skin care stuff "From the QVC" LOL she and Stanley traded insults so hilarious that my DH was leaning against the wall, laughing so hard that he couldn't stand up on his own! I have rarely seen DH laugh that hard, he actually had tears running down his face by the end.
DD interacted with Stella, told her she thought her jacket was pretty when Stanley insulted her and Stella said "I love her! C'mere and give me a hug sweetie!" and Stanley said "Don't stand too close, she'll rob you of your youth!"
We watched them as long as they were in the store, they really played it up because we were all laughing so hard, and that is now one of my DH's favorite ever WDW memories. They were just phenomenal.
DD ended up with an autograph from Stella and a lipstick smooch in her book, and Stanley gave her a fake 50 dollar bill and said "Go buy yourself somethin' nice!" they finally went on their way, the last thing we heard Stanley say as they disappeared behind a "Cast only" barricade was "I'm gonna go ride me that tower!" which DH has taken to saying when he exits a room now LOL
He has vowed to go looking for them again next time we're there.
It was starting to look cloudy and after getting drenched the other day, we wanted to try to make it to the Boardwalk and the ESPN store before it opened up, if it was going to.
So we took yet another lovely ride on the Friendship (8 this time, and they used the ramp thank you very much!) and arrived at the Boardwalk.
This area is so pretty! I was kind of surprised by the cheap carnival games though, seemed to detract a little from the classiness to me, the prizes could've been nicer for them anyway! I know they were trying to keep with the boardwalk/carnival type theme, but it wasn't my cup of tea.
We found DH a bunch of great Baseball Tonight stuff at the store and Dad went into the bar to have a beer. He was happily resting and watching a game so DH, DD and I decided to explore some of the other shops.
I found some great Chip & Dale peanut brittle in the candy shop and after that, DD really wanted to play one of the ball toss games, so DH went back across the street to get change in the gift shop. Well, that's when the sky opened and it started raining SHEETS of water! We were literally stuck on opposite sides of the street for awhile, it was hilarious. We just laughed and waved at each other for awhile.
Finally, DD and I made a break for it (not easy to do pushing your own wheelchair) and got back to DH and the gift shop. Meanwhile we found that Dad had wandered down from the bar. I really, REALLY wanted a cup of coffee and so DH and I went into the bakery. OMG! That place smelled incredible, and the pastries didn't disappoint at all. They were incredible. DH and I had the chocolate frosted doughnuts (which were HUGE) and DH and Dad had something with bavarian creme in the middle, which were also huge. I would love to eat breakfast from the bakery every day if we stayed there!
Which brings me to another point, as much as I always thought I would really want to stay at an Epcot resort, walking around out there, I realized that it's not for me. I'd really miss the sights/sounds of the MK that you get in the resorts on the monorail track, and seems to take so long to get everywhere from the Epcot resorts. Of course, if you want to be close to Epcot instead, or want to dine in WS every night, this is the place for you. I love how the boat lets you off right at the International Gateway, it is wonderful and a lot easier to get into the park there than at the main entrance.
After we had seen all we wanted to see and the rain stopped, we headed to Epcot with the intention of staying for the fireworks. After we walked all that way, the guys were tired, and we decided not to stay. Besides, DH and I wanted to make one last run to the MK in the morning before we had to come back to head to the airport, so we didn't want to overdo it.
So we took one more nostalgic ride on SSE, which always leaves me misty eyed when I know I'm going home soon. I know that ride will probably be changing sometime in the near future, and I hope that I get back there one more time to ride it before they do whatever they're going to do to it.
We headed back to the GF, and got some snacks at the Loaf. I can't overstate how much I love that place and the folks on the staff!!! We chatted with them some more, talked about the events of the day.
I happened to see the lovely manager from the main building who had stopped in to check on something and she asked if we were having a good time, and I told her that everything was absolutely perfect
Everyone was too full for dinner, so we decided if we got hungry later we'd order some late night room service.
I really, REALLY wanted to go to DTD, and when DH said he was exhausted when we got back to the room, I seriously considered getting on a bus and going out there alone without the wheelchair. Dad and DH were bigtime against that, they didn't want me going out there alone or with my daughter because of PI being there (bad experiences we've had in the past with drunks) and I had to reluctantly agree that I wouldn't go.
Instead, I suggested that maybe DD and I could wander off to the main building for a little in-house shopping and some mommy-daughter time. That was a big hit, and soon DH and Dad were both snoring in the room and DD and I walked hand in hand from the Loaf to the main building. This is a big deal for us, because I can't drive anymore, we rarely get to go out anywhere just the two of us these days. She was loving having me all to herself, and vice versa.
I wanted to go in Summer Lace as I'd seen some slippers and a top on sale that I wanted there before, and so those purchases were made. I also found out they had beautiful gift bags and purchased a couple of those to take home.
We made the rounds to Sandy Cove, (I put back the GF snowglobe when dd looked at me and said "Mom, how on earth would we get that home?") went to M. Mouse Mercantile for some more pins for dd's budding collection.
Mostly we walked, talked, laughed, and made memories that evening that I will always treasure. Just my girl and me
By the time we went back to the room, we were starving and so was DH. Dad was still sound asleep and didn't hear a thing LOL We ordered a cheese pizza (these are HUGE and delicious!) and one burger and fries and split it all up 3 ways. We had way too much pizza, really thought Dad would wake up and have some, but we did the best we could with it and it was a blast. When we finally dozed off, we had full stomachs, happy thoughts in our heads, and were planning to get up early to be in the MK in the morning. I made sure we were all packed for the bellman the next day, I had requested late check out and they were able to accomodate us, so as long as we were back by 12:30 to call bell services and get our stuff into storage, we'd be fine.
So I fell asleep knowing that by this time tomorrow night I'd be sleeping in my own bed, but that was okay with me. I had already had more disney magic than I ever could have imagined on one trip, and we still had a half a day to go before heading to the airport
Coming soon (I hope!) Day 8 :Mk and home, and I will go back through the threads and try to find all the questions you guys have asked me and answer those...and boy I hope this made some sense. My brain is not firing on all thrusters this week.
