Finding Waldo and Dodging an ECV: Multi-tasking in WDW! NEW 11/11 AGAIN!!?? WOW!

[englishrose47]

I'm all ears for thenxt Waldo Adventure !!!!!!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

With the “mechanical problems” corrected, we were about 40 minutes behind schedule, not a big deal since we’ll now arrive at 7am. Still way too early to think.

I noticed when we took off, our plane didn’t bank left, as they usually do when we head to Florida. I didn’t put much thought into it, as sat back to try to get some rest. About 20 minutes later, I felt the plane make a series of turns. Weird, I thought. Not weird enough to panic, but weird enough to look over at my brother, who was listening to the pilot and tower conversation. He said the plane was headed up to northern California, the Salinas area to be exact. DUH! The freakin’ pilot wasn’t aware the plane was supposed to go to ORLANDO! Dude. Strike 3.

We arrived in Orlando at 6am; AHEAD of schedule. Como say WHAT? How the heck was that possible? We left 40 mins late, and arrived 20 minutes early? Dude, the math was fuzzier than FDM.

I didn’t really care, I was in Disney, BABY! Well, almost.

We headed downstairs after much debate about whether or not ME was on the “A” side or the “B” side, even though there were freakin’ signs everywhere that said “Magical Express – Side B”.

We were so early, the counter wasn’t even open. There was just come guy at a podium who checked us in and threw us on a bus, which magically left within minutes of boarding. Our driver was Roland Steel, seriously? Roland Steel had a lot to say and he talked my ear off.

For the whole 20 minutes.

About Tropical Storm Fay.

Even though I was there for it.

He was like a Californian talking about earthquakes. YAWN. But he was a nice guy. He gave me lots of tips about making the most of our stay and a bunch of must-dos, etc. I didn’t have the heart to tell him we’d been before. He finally caught on and asked us, “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?” We all busted out laughing… he was a good sport.

Mads enjoying the ME ride - she looks catatonic, no?

Wait for it ... wait for it ...

Hello, Gorgeous!

We finally pulled up to SSR and I was going to do my brown peeps dance, but there was a family of brown peeps sitting waiting around bell services, so I didn’t. Didn’t want to embarrass the peeps.

I took advantage of the new on-line check in, but at 7am, there was no sign up or anything, so I just asked a very crotchety old bird where I could get my folder. She gave me a big crotchety old *sigh* and reluctantly said she’d help us. I could tell she wasn’t down with the brown, so I put on my sickly sweet voice and killed that bird with kindness. Until she pissed me off.

First she said she couldn’t find my reservation and then she tried to tell me that when I did online check-in, I added a 5th person to my brothers room. Anyone who’s done online check in, knows you cannot add people to an existing reservation. I pulled out my print out and shock it around her face telling showing her I DID NOT ADD A 5th PERSON! Well, she kept saying under her breath that I messed everything up. I wanted to reach across the counter and put her out of her misery, but I wasn’t going Disney jail, so I flagged down a VERY nice CM and asked him to help us because wing nut here was completely clueless.

Mr. Patrick Helpyhelperton was awesome! He quickly found my reservation and got our Welcome Home folders, informed us all my requests had been granted (Grandstand section, close to the bus stop), however our rooms were not ready. We would be text messaged when our rooms were ready. Lastly, he handed Evan a Birthday button, both kids lots of stickers and crayons and coloring books and we were on our way to find some grub!

We headed out toward the crappy food court, but not before Patrick yelled out to us “Welcome Home and Have a Magical Day!” And of course, I gave the crotchety old bird the evil eye. Just because.

We grabbed a smorgasbord of grub, Mickey waffles, breakfast flatbreads (hello, yummy!), croissant breakfast sandwich and kind of shared all around. I texted Lauralee to let her know we’d arrived.

Next on the agenda was scoring us some AP’s. V had sent me one of those referral discounts, and it just so happened to expire on our first day, so off to DTD to grab those double discounted AP’s.

We dropped our carry-ons at bell services, parked TE on a comfy couch and jumped on the first bus to DTD. As we made our way around SSR, I realized I’d forgotten the discount card in my notebook. D’Oh! Michael and I stayed on the bus whilst everyone else got off to browse DTD. As I walked into bell services, I ran into the Garden Grocer guy who had our order. He told me he’d leave it in bell services and they’d bring it up later. Works for me. Discount card in hand, we ran to the Grandstand stop hoping to catch the same bus. We waited, and waited and waited. I guess we missed it, and I’m still not sure of the SSR/DTD bus routes?

We met everyone at Guest Services and they cooled off whilst we took care of business. It was blazing, scary hot this day and we really just wanted to head back. We made a quick peek into the new Tren-D store. I was super excited to see the merchandise after hearing all about on the podcast
+, but we’ve had all the same crappy stuff at DLR for months now. Oh well.

We made our way to the boat launch only to find out we had 20 minutes before it opened, so we decided to stay cool and kill time in Goofy’s. Waldo said he was going to sit near the boats and wait for us.

TE called and said her scooter still wasn’t there, so I called the scooter guy and he said he was having trouble with a scooter at GF and that’d he be there within the hour. M’kay, scooter guy.

About 10:32 we headed to the boat launch only to find Waldo missing and the boats all gone. Dang that Waldo’s fast. We waited for the next boat which took us all over the stupid place before getting us to SSR. Upon arrival, we found TE getting acquainted with her scooter. Yay!!!

Teenage agnst.

Mmmmm... sugar!!!

Umm... Mads? The camera's over here!

Ahh, that's better.


I had received a text message that our room was ready and the room number, but it didn’t tell me whose room was ready. I made call on the house phone and they asked me a million security questions before revealing it was in fact, Waldo and TE’s room. D’Oh!

They scooted off to find their room, as Waldo swore he knew exactly where it was. Must be the GPS system we had implanted in his noggin before we left.

We all decided we didn’t want to sit in the lobby, so the 8 of us all followed them and busted in on their studio. We were all so tired, everyone just claimed a spot anywhere they could to rest. Five sweaty bodies jumped on the bed, 2 on the couch and 2 on the chairs. Lucky Evan had his own bed/chair and he made good use out of it.

My nephew offered to take everyone’s refillable mug to the Carriage House and refill our drinks. We sent him in TE’s scooter and loaded him down with mugs. It was hilarious!

This is better than meals on wheels!


About an hour later, I got another text saying the other 2 rooms were ready and we all bailed out on Waldo and TE and hit up our rooms to get some real rest and informed everyone AIS time was 3pm.

‘Ohana doesn’t apply in WDW, we will leave you behind. TFI.


UP NEXT:
A Special Meal with a Special Rat and Reunited And It Feels So Good!

 

[cmp1111]

he talked my ear off.

For the whole 20 minutes.

About Tropical Storm Fay.

Even though I was there for it.

You were?
Ahem. Sorry, continue.

Mr. Patrick Helpyhelperton was awesome!

Woohoo!

Upon arrival, we found TE getting acquainted with her scooter. Yay!!!

Woohoo, again!

They scooted off to find their room, as Waldo swore he knew exactly where it was. Must be the GPS system we had implanted in his noggin before we left.

I never asked if you were giving out prizes this year...

‘Ohana doesn’t apply in WDW, we will leave you behind. TFI.

 

[Lauralee131]

With the “mechanical problems” corrected, we were about 40 minutes behind schedule, not a big deal since we’ll now arrive at 7am. Still way too early to think.

Phew - finally on your way!!

I noticed when we took off, our plane didn’t bank left, as they usually do when we head to Florida. I didn’t put much thought into it, as sat back to try to get some rest. About 20 minutes later, I felt the plane make a series of turns. Weird, I thought. Not weird enough to panic, but weird enough to look over at my brother, who was listening to the pilot and tower conversation. He said the plane was headed up to northern California, the Salinas area to be exact. DUH! The freakin’ pilot wasn’t aware the plane was supposed to go to ORLANDO! Dude. Strike 3.

NO.......WAY.

Seriously? How can that happen?

And did your brother YELL that info out to the entire plane or did he take his headphones off first?

We arrived in Orlando at 6am; AHEAD of schedule. Como say WHAT? How the heck was that possible? We left 40 mins late, and arrived 20 minutes early? Dude, the math was fuzzier than FDM.

Wow - that is some seriously fuzzy timing. I can't imagine how in the world that could happen, but hey - who cares...YOU MADE IT!!!

We were so early, the counter wasn’t even open. There was just come guy at a podium who checked us in and threw us on a bus, which magically left within minutes of boarding. Our driver was Roland Steel, seriously? Roland Steel had a lot to say and he talked my ear off.

Roland Steel? Was he like Pierce Brosnan or something?

For the whole 20 minutes.

About Tropical Storm Fay.

Even though I was there for it.

UGH - Fay. That beyotch... Let's not go there again...

Wait for it ... wait for it ...

Hello, Gorgeous!

Ahhhhh...I love that sight. It's the wallpaper on my cell phone in fact!

We finally pulled up to SSR and I was going to do my brown peeps dance, but there was a family of brown peeps sitting waiting around bell services, so I didn’t. Didn’t want to embarrass the peeps.

What makes you think that if you'd started the brown peeps dance, that they wouldn't have gotten right up there you? The lobby version of Thriller or something. Now THERE is something I'd like to see!

First she said she couldn’t find my reservation and then she tried to tell me that when I did online check-in, I added a 5th person to my brothers room. Anyone who’s done online check in, knows you cannot add people to an existing reservation. I pulled out my print out and shock it around her face telling showing her I DID NOT ADD A 5th PERSON! Well, she kept saying under her breath that I messed everything up. I wanted to reach across the counter and put her out of her misery, but I wasn’t going Disney jail, so I flagged down a VERY nice CM and asked him to help us because wing nut here was completely clueless.

Disney Jail...ugh - not cool. Just ask my son.

He'll tell ya.

That ride is lame.

We headed out toward the crappy food court, but not before Patrick yelled out to us “Welcome Home and Have a Magical Day!” And of course, I gave the crotchety old bird the evil eye. Just because.

Ahhhhh...I love hearing that...just makes me feel all fuzzy inside...

Next on the agenda was scoring us some AP’s. V had sent me one of those referral discounts, and it just so happened to expire on our first day, so off to DTD to grab those double discounted AP’s.

Wooo Hooo for those discount cards!! V hooked me up too! Swwweeeeeet!!!

We made our way to the boat launch only to find out we had 20 minutes before it opened, so we decided to stay cool and kill time in Goofy’s. Waldo said he was going to sit near the boats and wait for us.

Uh oh - whenever I hear that Waldo said he was going to sit and wait...well, that is the last thing I'd actually expect him to do!

About 10:32 we headed to the boat launch only to find Waldo missing and the boats all gone. Dang that Waldo’s fast. We waited for the next boat which took us all over the stupid place before getting us to SSR. Upon arrival, we found TE getting acquainted with her scooter. Yay!!!

I like the boats, but not if I'm in a hurry, which is usually the case. Where the heck is Waldo now???

Umm... Mads? The camera's over here!

Ahh, that's better.

Wow - Maddie's got those iPhone eyes...

We all decided we didn’t want to sit in the lobby, so the 8 of us all followed them and busted in on their studio. We were all so tired, everyone just claimed a spot anywhere they could to rest. Five sweaty bodies jumped on the bed, 2 on the couch and 2 on the chairs. Lucky Evan had his own bed/chair and he made good use out of it.

I can totally see all of you crashing in the room! Look how sweet Evan's little face is...awwwww....

My nephew offered to take everyone’s refillable mug to the Carriage House and refill our drinks. We sent him in TE’s scooter and loaded him down with mugs. It was hilarious!

This is better than meals on wheels!

AWESOME!!!

‘Ohana doesn’t apply in WDW, we will leave you behind. TFI.

Love it!!!

UP NEXT:

A Special Meal with a Special Rat and Reunited And It Feels So Good!

 

[mrsksomeday]

First she said she couldn’t find my reservation and then she tried to tell me that when I did online check-in, I added a 5th person to my brothers room. Anyone who’s done online check in, knows you cannot add people to an existing reservation. I pulled out my print out and shock it around her face telling showing her I DID NOT ADD A 5th PERSON! Well, she kept saying under her breath that I messed everything up. I wanted to reach across the counter and put her out of her misery, but I wasn’t going Disney jail, so I flagged down a VERY nice CM and asked him to help us because wing nut here was completely clueless.

Bill and I always wondered if the horrible person that checked us in at POR in 2006 was still working for Disney. It sounds like she is at SSR now. Someone that unfriendly, that combative does NOT need to be working at Disney. You handled it so much better than I would have.

Ahh, that's better.

I have gotten that pose from my son many times .

UP NEXT:
A Special Meal with a Special Rat and Reunited And It Feels So Good!

Oh I can't wait to hear about the rat!!

 

[PrincessV]

The freakin’ pilot wasn’t aware the plane was supposed to go to ORLANDO!

Call me crazy, but if he can't remember where he's going, should he really be DRIVING?!

Discount card in hand, we ran to the Grandstand stop hoping to catch the same bus. We waited, and waited and waited. I guess we missed it, and I’m still not sure of the SSR/DTD bus routes?

LAST year, the DTD bus went the opposite direction of the park buses, starting at Springs and ending at Grandstand. This year, the DTD bus we picked up at Grandstand hit all the other stops before leaving. I don't get it.

It was blazing, scary hot this day

Um, just this day?!

Ahh, that's better.

Hey, I know that look!

‘Ohana doesn’t apply in WDW, we will leave you behind. TFI.

So I noticed.

Wow - Maddie's got those iPhone eyes...

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

Looking forward to another one of your great trip reports! I love AIS time I taught it to my Mom on our last trip.

 

[askelton]

Our driver was Roland Steel, seriously?

That adult film career didn't work out?

so I flagged down a VERY nice CM and asked him to help us because wing nut here was completely clueless.

I have decided that my new job needs to be parking Natzi at the airport since apparently most people don't understand the phrase "no parking or standing, loading and unloading only". Maybe she'd like to work there too.

‘Ohana doesn’t apply in WDW, we will leave you behind. TFI.

They should really know the plan by now.

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

We headed to our room for a little R&R – I had ordered some gift baskets for the kids and was told they’d be in our room when we arrived. They weren’t. Neither was our Magically Expressed luggage. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. In the 4 trips we’ve made to WDW, the only time our luggage was actually in our room when we arrive was at The Poly. Figures.

Flat Kate relaxes.​

Anyway, I called down to bell services and asked for our luggage and our Garden Grocer order and I was told our GG order hadn’t been delivered yet. I told the very nice lady on the phone that yes it had, as I had been down there when it was delivered. She called over again and did in fact find our stuff and everything would be delivered in a few moments.

I got to work trying to organize the itsy bitsy room, and that’s when I noticed we got a “little person” room. It was not a HA room, as there was no roll-in shower, but there was a peep whole about 3 feet from the floor and a strange short shelf thingy in the closet. Also missing was the handy dandy hat/purse rack thing. Dang it! I got V’s little person room! Naturally I texted her and LL, as I knew they’d get a good chuckle out of that.

Bell services arrived, dropped all our crap inside the door and took off. Not before waiting for his tip, which was sitting in Andy’s misplaced wallet. Yeah, that was awkward.

Ahhhh! Time to relax and check out the eensy teensy, little crappy Studio…. Bleh!

If those trees were smaller I’d have a great view. Foiled again.

See? We’re already cramped!​

Ok, I have to admit, I do like SSR, but once you’ve stayed in a 1 bedroom, a studio blows. Seriously. Our drawer space was a joke, our clothes space was even worse - oh and the trash baskets were ridiculous!

I wondered where the heck the gift baskets were, and no sooner had I finished the thought, there was a knock on the door and standing there was a CM with our baskets. I thanked him and closed the door. I know, I should have tipped him right? I completely forgot as I was so excited to give the kids their baskets!

Kids enjoying their goodies!

AIS time was fast approaching, so we grabbed a quick shower. Separately, of course. And we headed out to the bus stop, which was conveniently located 50 feet from our building. I had a Ridemax plan that started at 4pm and I wanted to be sure to be on time.

We sat and waited for Waldo and TE and an Epcot bus. Pretty soon we heard the most hilarious sound ever! It was TE flying over in her scooter! She looked like she’d just robbed the food court, she was flying so fast! She didn’t realize she had several speed choice and not just “Rabbit” and “Turtle”. Seriously, there was a picture of a rabbit for “FAST” and a turtle for “SLOW”. I told her she could put the speed anywhere between those 2 to find her comfort zone. Sadly, she never found her comfort zone. She either flew off in one direction, way ahead of us, or she was bringing up the rear.

A bus arrived in no time, and everyone was present and accounted for we boarded the bus and headed off to Epcot.

Ok, so it wasn’t that easy.

In fact, it was quite difficult.

Not for the rest of us.

But for TE.

And Waldo.

You see, the Disney buses have 2 wheel chair, ECV loading options. One option is there is a ramp, in which said rider simply ride up the ramp and then parks on the bus. The other option is the lift gate, in which the rider must back onto the lift and is then lifted in the bus and parks the scooter.

Sadly TE never really got the hang of going forward or reverse. And stopping? Yeah, that pretty scary, too. Trust me, I’ve still got tire tread implanted in my foot. And my leg. And my ankle.

I have to say, I have a new found respect for people who live their everyday lives in a wheelchair or ECV. You never really know what it’s like for them or their families until you’ve experienced it. It’s not easy, for sure. We only had to do it for 8 days, and it was frustrating and infuriating at how disrespectful some people are. Grrr!

About 20 minutes later, we were finally en route to Epcot! Yay!

Ahhhh… nothing says Disney World like the big ol’ golf ball!

Turtle mode….​

Our Ridemax plan said we were to send a Fastpass runner to TT and then head to Innoventions East.

Ok, at 4pm, there were no more FP’s for TT, so we decided to scrap the plan and check out Innoventions East. When Evan was a baby, he was obsessed with Garbage trucks, so I knew he’d love doing the Trash game. And he did.

On our way out, we grabbed a Fast Pass for the new Kim Possible Mission for later. We had to report to Germany just after 6:00 pm, which happened to be a perfect time!

Since we’d skipped lunch, we headed to Chefs de France to see if we could get in a little early as we were all starved. We made a quick stop in England for beers for the boys and then we arrived in France. I checked us in around 4:30, and I looked around for my much needed adult beverage. Ah, here it is, my Grey Goose slushie! I grabbed one for me and one for Debbie.

Ah, frosted goodness!​

Our name was called rather quickly, which was good as the skies looked a bit intimidating and I knew it was going to let loose soon.

Tonight our server was Maximillon and he was superb! We all know bad service really can make or break your meal. I mean, if you don’t enjoy the food and you have great service, it’s a decent experience, right? But if you enjoy the food and the service sucks, then the whole experience is ruined. Well, we got lucky. We enjoyed the food, we loved the service and we were happy campers!

We started with the cheese plate, which was fabulous. I loved the selections and Maximillon was so gracious to show us the best way to enjoy each cheese. This one with a little fresh ground pepper, that one with a little buttered bread, etc. He was really nice. Of course, my brother thought we was making it all up at our expense and laughing his *** off at the stupid Americans.

Between courses we had a visitor of the rodent kind … REMY!

My kids were soooo excited, they were jumping in their chairs and just completely enchanted. Remy was so cute! He even flirted a bit with TE and got a chuckle out of Waldo! It was really cute and Remy is definitely one of our favorite characters. I do hope they bring him back after his Asian debut.

Next up I had the Grilled Tenderloin with peppercorn sauce and Andy had the fancy Mac and Cheese. Both were fantastic. In fact, the tenderloin at Chefs was better than the tenderloin at Narcoossee’s. Interesting, huh?

Grilled Tenderloin – Mmmm… I heart meat!!

Fancy Mac

Short Ribs – bones w/ meat… ew.​

For dessert I had the Apple Crepes. OMG. Those were fabulous! The caramel sauce was just lovely and nothing like American caramel. It was light and not too sweet.

Andy had the Profiteroles. Meh. They were ok. I liked them better when they served them with cinnamon ice cream.

Maddie had just a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream and I told Maximillion that Evan doesn’t really eat desserts.

At one point whilst he was handing out desserts, Maximillion kept gesturing to me if it was Evan’s birthday. I couldn’t understand him as lip reading “Birthday?” in French is quite different than in English. Finally I caught on and I nodded my head, “Yes”. He understood that. ;-)


All of a sudden, the lights in the restaurant dimmed and the entire wait staff started singing “Happy Birthday” in French to Evan. (Or at least I thought it was Happy Birthday?) The entire restaurant was wondering what was going on! OMG, his face was of complete surprise and utter amazement! I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I was caught up in the moment and just watched my little boy’s face light up like I’ve never seen. I may have even shed a tear it was THAT amazing!

The best part? They brought him a little bowl of fruit with a candle, instead of a cupcake. He really loved that! And they also brought him a card, signed by all the wait staff. It was just too sweet for words!

Here’s a picture, when I finally remembered.

We finished up our desserts, and I think I had texted with V and LL and understood they were having dinner in China. During dinner, Waldo asked if LL and Tony would be here and I told him they were in China. He looked at me and said, “WTH are they doing in China?” We all started because we all knew they were at Nine Dragons having dinner and not REALLY in China.

Waldo and TE headed back to the hotel, they were pooped. We said our good-byes and I gave them our AIS time for tomorrow.

Ricks reaction when I said we were heading over to Germany.​

The rest of us made our way over the Germany for our KP Mission. Maddie was so excited to do this, and you’ll soon see this attraction was requested every time we entered Epcot. We did our mission, and I have to admit, I had a blast running around Germany with the kids. Disney hit the nail on the head with this one!

Everyone wanted to hit Maelstrom, (which is a FP, TFI ), so I texted V and LL and told them we were in Norway and would meet them there. The boys, big and small hit up some Vikings, whilst Debbie, Maddie and I had a meeting in the ladies room. NO Klymaxx.

We headed back around to the ride entrance when I spied V and her lime umbrella. I wanted to text her “I’m watching you, Focker!”, but she spied me! I ran over and gave my girl a big hug! She told me LL was in the gift shop stalking me – I’m not hard to spot, especially in Norway. I headed in the gift shop to surprise LL, but she went out the other door. I came out and found her with V and hugs all around.

We remembered a picture this time!

It was soooo great to see my girls! I’d been so long – almost a year, but since we chat just about everyday, we picked up right were we left off. I also spied Michael and Leo – who both seemed to have grown from little boys into little men! And last but not least, LL’s other half, Mr. Tony! Tony’s just a great guy!

The kids were waiting for Evan to come off the ride and went he did, the gruesome foursome was together again! They really have fun together, just their momma’s!

We chatted for a bit, and made our AIS plans for tomorrow. We had all planned to tour MK together for awhile and then meet up with a Mouse for some birthday fun!


UP NEXT: Celebrate Good Times, C'Mon! NO Cool and The Gang

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

We finished up our desserts, and I think I had texted with V and LL and understood they were having dinner in China. During dinner, Waldo asked if LL and Tony would be here and I told him they were in China. He looked at me and said, “WTH are they doing in China?” We all started because we all knew they were at Nine Dragons having dinner and not REALLY in China.

OMG! That is so funny, I can see somebody in my family having the same reaction.

 

[mrsksomeday]

I have to say, I have a new found respect for people who live their everyday lives in a wheelchair or ECV. You never really know what it’s like for them or their families until you’ve experienced it. It’s not easy, for sure. We only had to do it for 8 days, and it was frustrating and infuriating at how disrespectful some people are. Grrr!

Thank you so much for sharing this. It can be very difficult to manuver around WDW in a wheelchair/ECV. The rudeness and disrespect still amaze me. Bill just ignores it, it bothers me so much more.

I checked us in around 4:30, and I looked around for my much needed adult beverage. Ah, here it is, my Grey Goose slushie! I grabbed one for me and one for Debbie.

Ah, frosted goodness!​

Oh thanks, now I want a Grey Goose Slushie . I just have to wait 85 more days .

Between courses we had a visitor of the rodent kind … REMY!

He is so adorable!

All of a sudden, the lights in the restaurant dimmed and the entire wait staff started singing “Happy Birthday” in French to Evan. (Or at least I thought it was Happy Birthday?) The entire restaurant was wondering what was going on! OMG, his face was of complete surprise and utter amazement! I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I was caught up in the moment and just watched my little boy’s face light up like I’ve never seen. I may have even shed a tear it was THAT amazing!

This was so wonderful to read about. I love Disney CM's!!

We finished up our desserts, and I think I had texted with V and LL and understood they were having dinner in China. During dinner, Waldo asked if LL and Tony would be here and I told him they were in China. He looked at me and said, “WTH are they doing in China?” We all started because we all knew they were at Nine Dragons having dinner and not REALLY in China.

Too funny!!

The rest of us made our way over the Germany for our KP Mission. Maddie was so excited to do this, and you’ll soon see this attraction was requested every time we entered Epcot. We did our mission, and I have to admit, I had a blast running around Germany with the kids. Disney hit the nail on the head with this one!

I can't wait to try this with Christian! I am so happy you had fun doing this.

It was soooo great to see my girls! I’d been so long – almost a year, but since we chat just about everyday, we picked up right were we left off.

Three beautiful Fockers. You are all beautiful inside and out .

I can't wait to read about your next day!
​

 

[Lauralee131]

We headed to our room for a little R&R – I had ordered some gift baskets for the kids and was told they’d be in our room when we arrived. They weren’t. Neither was our Magically Expressed luggage. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. In the 4 trips we’ve made to WDW, the only time our luggage was actually in our room when we arrive was at The Poly. Figures.

That was just dumb luck...had nothing to do with the fact that it was the Poly...just sayin'....

Anyway, I called down to bell services and asked for our luggage and our Garden Grocer order and I was told our GG order hadn’t been delivered yet. I told the very nice lady on the phone that yes it had, as I had been down there when it was delivered. She called over again and did in fact find our stuff and everything would be delivered in a few moments.

​

I can just imagine that conversation!​

I got to work trying to organize the itsy bitsy room, and that’s when I noticed we got a “little person” room. It was not a HA room, as there was no roll-in shower, but there was a peep whole about 3 feet from the floor and a strange short shelf thingy in the closet. Also missing was the handy dandy hat/purse rack thing. Dang it! I got V’s little person room! Naturally I texted her and LL, as I knew they’d get a good chuckle out of that.

Too funny - can't believe you got that room!

Ahhhh! Time to relax and check out the eensy teensy, little crappy Studio…. Bleh!

See? We’re already cramped!​

Ok, I have to admit, I do like SSR, but once you’ve stayed in a 1 bedroom, a studio blows. Seriously. Our drawer space was a joke, our clothes space was even worse - oh and the trash baskets were ridiculous!

I'm right there with ya Sista...it's like slumming, isn't it? Now you know why Tony's always all over me about staying in a studio. He HATES staying in a studio. I'm not a big fan either, but you know how I like to work my points...I've tried to explain that we really don't spend a lot of time in the room, so we can suffer with a studio, but the bedroom is nice to have. A bedroom would have been especially useful this past trip... I just need to buy more points. Plain and simple.

We sat and waited for Waldo and TE and an Epcot bus. Pretty soon we heard the most hilarious sound ever! It was TE flying over in her scooter! She looked like she’d just robbed the food court, she was flying so fast! She didn’t realize she had several speed choice and not just “Rabbit” and “Turtle”. Seriously, there was a picture of a rabbit for “FAST” and a turtle for “SLOW”. I told her she could put the speed anywhere between those 2 to find her comfort zone. Sadly, she never found her comfort zone. She either flew off in one direction, way ahead of us, or she was bringing up the rear.

The scooter's are hard to get used to...it was tough for my Nana. Plus there were no directions, it was just dropped off for us at AKL before we got there so we had no idea how to use the thing.

I'm glad TE had it though. Either she wouldn't have been able to leave the room for most of the trip or she'd have been miserable. I'm really happy she was able to have freedom of movement and enjoy herself.

A bus arrived in no time, and everyone was present and accounted for we boarded the bus and headed off to Epcot.

Ok, so it wasn’t that easy.

In fact, it was quite difficult.

Not for the rest of us.

But for TE.

And Waldo.

You see, the Disney buses have 2 wheel chair, ECV loading options. One option is there is a ramp, in which said rider simply ride up the ramp and then parks on the bus. The other option is the lift gate, in which the rider must back onto the lift and is then lifted in the bus and parks the scooter.

Sadly TE never really got the hang of going forward or reverse. And stopping? Yeah, that pretty scary, too. Trust me, I’ve still got tire tread implanted in my foot. And my leg. And my ankle.

It's hard! Think my Nana finally got the hang of pulling onto the buses on the last day...Tony did it for her most of the time, and there were a lot of inconsiderate guests who'd complained about having to wait to load the buses, but all the CM's were fabulous.

I have to say, I have a new found respect for people who live their everyday lives in a wheelchair or ECV. You never really know what it’s like for them or their families until you’ve experienced it. It’s not easy, for sure. We only had to do it for 8 days, and it was frustrating and infuriating at how disrespectful some people are. Grrr!

True that!

About 20 minutes later, we were finally en route to Epcot! Yay!

Ahhhh… nothing says Disney World like the big ol’ golf ball!

The closest poor ole' Andy would get to a golf ball this trip...but not for lack of trying on Tony's part...just sayin'...​

Our Ridemax plan said we were to send a Fastpass runner to TT and then head to Innoventions East.

Ok, at 4pm, there were no more FP’s for TT, so we decided to scrap the plan and check out Innoventions East.

Hmmm...wouldn't ya think Ridemax would know that by 4m the FP's would be most likely be gone?​

I checked us in around 4:30, and I looked around for my much needed adult beverage. Ah, here it is, my Grey Goose slushie! I grabbed one for me and one for Debbie.

Ah, frosted goodness!​

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Mmmm....yummy...slushies.... Hi Deb!!​

Our name was called rather quickly, which was good as the skies looked a bit intimidating and I knew it was going to let loose soon.

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Must've been nearing 5:00...dinner-bell/thunder time...​

Tonight our server was Maximillon and he was superb! We all know bad service really can make or break your meal. I mean, if you don’t enjoy the food and you have great service, it’s a decent experience, right? But if you enjoy the food and the service sucks, then the whole experience is ruined. Well, we got lucky. We enjoyed the food, we loved the service and we were happy campers!

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Hmmmm...Ok, you have my attention...I'm taking notes...​

We started with the cheese plate, which was fabulous. I loved the selections and Maximillon was so gracious to show us the best way to enjoy each cheese. This one with a little fresh ground pepper, that one with a little buttered bread, etc. He was really nice.

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Of course, my brother thought we was making it all up at our expense and laughing his *** off at the stupid Americans.​

Rick was pretty funny talking about that! I enjoyed that story!

Between courses we had a visitor of the rodent kind … REMY!

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My kids were soooo excited, they were jumping in their chairs and just completely enchanted. Remy was so cute! He even flirted a bit with TE and got a chuckle out of Waldo! It was really cute and Remy is definitely one of our favorite characters. I do hope they bring him back after his Asian debut.​

Ok so I must've missed that - they're sending him to Tokyo? Man, they send all the cool stuff there...I would have liked to have checked him out...do you know when?

Next up I had the Grilled Tenderloin with peppercorn sauce and Andy had the fancy Mac and Cheese. Both were fantastic. In fact, the tenderloin at Chefs was better than the tenderloin at Narcoossee’s. Interesting, huh?

​

Grilled Tenderloin – Mmmm… I heart meat!!​

Fancy Mac​

Short Ribs – bones w/ meat… ew.​

For dessert I had the Apple Crepes. OMG. Those were fabulous! The caramel sauce was just lovely and nothing like American caramel. It was light and not too sweet.​

Andy had the Profiteroles. Meh. They were ok. I liked them better when they served them with cinnamon ice cream.​

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Wow - everything looks so yummy! I've never once eaten there. In fact I've never even considered eating there till you talked to me about it this trip...I always think "France" and "snails" all in one big, combined, oogied-out thought so I don't even know if I have even once perused the menu...perhaps next time...looks yummy....and you say the tenderloin's better than Narcoosee's? Seriously?

All of a sudden, the lights in the restaurant dimmed and the entire wait staff started singing “Happy Birthday” in French to Evan. (Or at least I thought it was Happy Birthday?) The entire restaurant was wondering what was going on! OMG, his face was of complete surprise and utter amazement! I wish I had a picture to share with you, but I was caught up in the moment and just watched my little boy’s face light up like I’ve never seen. I may have even shed a tear it was THAT amazing!

[

Awwwww...how sweet for Evan!!

The best part? They brought him a little bowl of fruit with a candle, instead of a cupcake. He really loved that! And they also brought him a card, signed by all the wait staff. It was just too sweet for words!

Here’s a picture, when I finally remembered.

Very sweet...wish M could celebrate his b-day at WDW...perhaps another year. This year all he wants (allegedly) is to "go home". I, on the other hand, am dying to go back "home"....heh heh...his b-day this year is the Tuesday after Labor Day...long weekend would be perfect...

We finished up our desserts, and I think I had texted with V and LL and understood they were having dinner in China. During dinner, Waldo asked if LL and Tony would be here and I told him they were in China. He looked at me and said, “WTH are they doing in China?” We all started because we all knew they were at Nine Dragons having dinner and not REALLY in China.

I just love Waldo...heh heh....

Waldo and TE headed back to the hotel, they were pooped. We said our good-byes and I gave them our AIS time for tomorrow.

The rest of us made our way over the Germany for our KP Mission. Maddie was so excited to do this, and you’ll soon see this attraction was requested every time we entered Epcot. We did our mission, and I have to admit, I had a blast running around Germany with the kids. Disney hit the nail on the head with this one!

I wanted to do the KP Mission so bad ever since they started testing it last year...glad to so it's so much fun. I'll be sure to do it next time...

We headed back around to the ride entrance when I spied V and her lime umbrella. I wanted to text her “I’m watching you, Focker!”, but she spied me! I ran over and gave my girl a big hug! She told me LL was in the gift shop stalking me – I’m not hard to spot, especially in Norway. I headed in the gift shop to surprise LL, but she went out the other door. I came out and found her with V and hugs all around.

We remembered a picture this time!

It was soooo great to see my girls! I’d been so long – almost a year, but since we chat just about everyday, we picked up right were we left off. I also spied Michael and Leo – who both seemed to have grown from little boys into little men! And last but not least, LL’s other half, Mr. Tony! Tony’s just a great guy! ​

The kids were waiting for Evan to come off the ride and went he did, the gruesome foursome was together again! They really have fun together, just their momma’s!​

It was so exciting to finally be all together again!! It had been wayyy too long!!​

We chatted for a bit, and made our AIS plans for tomorrow. We had all planned to tour MK together for awhile and then meet up with a Mouse for some birthday fun!

UP NEXT: Celebrate Good Times, C'Mon! NO Cool and The Gang ​

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[englishrose47]

Just caught up !! My favorite dessert at Chefs is those apple crepes !!!!

 

[DisneyJo]

Why didn't you walk to DTD from SSR??? It's not far and would have saved all that waiting

Your food looks delicious and how cute that the kids loved Remy, oh did they sing Bon Anniversare? We had to learn that in French class when I was little, how cool they bought Evan fruit instead of cake!

Love all the stalking that went on, you all look so lovely

 

[debraW76]

Pfft… read on, my friends. This trip was none of the above.[/COLOR]

It never is

He said the plane was headed up to northern California, the Salinas area to be exact. DUH! The freakin’ pilot wasn’t aware the plane was supposed to go to ORLANDO! Dude. Strike 3. I would have freaked

Our driver was Roland Steel, seriously?
OMG

We finally pulled up to SSR and I was going to do my brown peeps dance, but there was a family of brown peeps sitting waiting around bell services, so I didn’t. Didn’t want to embarrass the peeps.

Now this I would pay money to see


Mr. Patrick Helpyhelperton was awesome!
Now you are just making these names up aren't you?

Next on the agenda was scoring us some AP’s. V had sent me one of those referral discounts, and it just so happened to expire on our first day, so off to DTD to grab those double discounted AP’s.
Any more of those discounts that aren't expired V?

They scooted off to find their room, as Waldo swore he knew exactly where it was. Must be the GPS system we had implanted in his noggin before we left.
HA! HA!

My nephew offered to take everyone’s refillable mug to the Carriage House and refill our drinks. We sent him in TE’s scooter and loaded him down with mugs. It was hilarious!

LOL!


About an hour later, I got another text saying the other 2 rooms were ready and we all bailed out on Waldo and TE and hit up our rooms to get some real rest and informed everyone AIS time was 3pm.

‘Ohana doesn’t apply in WDW, we will leave you behind. TFI.
I am sure that was funny but I don't get what AIS and TFI is

Dang it! I got V’s little person room! LOL

Bell services arrived, dropped all our crap inside the door and took off. Not before waiting for his tip, which was sitting in Andy’s misplaced wallet. Yeah, that was awkward.

I wondered where the heck the gift baskets were, and no sooner had I finished the thought, there was a knock on the door and standing there was a CM with our baskets. I thanked him and closed the door. I know, I should have tipped him right? I completely forgot as I was so excited to give the kids their baskets! And you wonder why they gave you the small room
J/k


She either flew off in one direction, way ahead of us, or she was bringing up the rear.
Poor TE!

The best part? They brought him a little bowl of fruit with a candle, instead of a cupcake. He really loved that! And they also brought him a card, signed by all the wait staff. It was just too sweet for words!
That is awesome!

He looked at me and said, “WTH are they doing in China?”
Poor Waldo

Sounds like a great trip so far. Glad you got to see LL and V. Waldo and TE are cracking me up. I can't wait to be old and say and do silly stuff just because I can. I am going to ride my scooter in turtle mode and make everyone wait on me!

 

[rentayenta]

I

• brown peeps
• SSR
• Grey Goose slushies

I'm in!

 

[askelton]

Next year I'm going to France for my birthday! How cool for Evan. And you're right about the mac & cheese. I'm sorry I didn't get to see Waldo & TE this time. We'll plan better next time.

 

[Lauralee131]

Next year I'm going to France for my birthday! How cool for Evan. And you're right about the mac & cheese. I'm sorry I didn't get to see Waldo & TE this time. We'll plan better next time.

I just had a Waldo moment Ang...I was just thinking how cool to go France for your birthday...

WTH is she doing in China???

I blame it on V since she's always talking about actually going to France...

 

[englishrose47]

I have been to France !!!!

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

I'm so glad you gave Flat Kate a chance to rest. Rumor has it she gets really crabby when she's tired.

Remy is too cute, as is Evan I'm glad they gave him a special treat for his birthday. And I can't wait to try the Kim Possible thing. It sounds so cool.