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

[englishrose47]

Hi Peeps!

Thanks for hanging in there! It's been crazy around here with the kitchen remodel. We're on the home stretch, now!

Seriously I've got another update just about finished, I just need to upload the pics and I'm ready to rock!

Again, thanks for hanging around!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Day 2 – August 1st

Today was going to be a FUNTABULOUS day! Why? Because it’s Evan’s 5th Birthday & we’re in Disney World with our family and friends!!

I set the alarm rather early, as I wanted to get up and have everything ready before I woke the kids and Andy. As soon as everything was ready, I opened up the curtains to find the gorgeous sun and pretty blue sky. What a perfect day! I sat and reflected for a moment on how at this very hour 5 years prior, I was holding my precious newborn baby boy! Where had the time gone? It still gets me all verklempt.... give me a minute..



Whew! OK.

I woke Andy and Maddie up and the three of us woke Evan up with the “Happy Birthday” song. Yeah, he wasn’t down with that. The grumpy kid was tired and he was NOT in the mood for birthday fun, yet.

We had a quick breakfast in our room and headed down to the bus stop to meet our friends at the MK!

TE and Waldo called to say they’d just meet us there later, as they were having a slow start this day. They are both well versed in AIS and are perfect accepting of it.

We arrived at the bus stop by 8:05 and I swear I think we missed the first MK bus. We waited and waited while every OTHER park bus came by TWICE, before FINALLY getting a MK bus. I texted with V and LL and they were actually ahead of us! They pulled an AIS time with me, since we missed rope drop, they went ahead into the park without us. We could hear the “Welcome” song as we walked up to the bag check area.

For some reason, Andy, who did NOT have authorization to do so, sent my brother and his family to Splash to meet us there. Umm. Nope. According to RideMax, we’ll be doing Pooh, first. In fact, Pooh was our meeting spot with LL and V. I knew I had to get Evan is Birthday gift card from Guest Services, so I stopped and did that, since there was no line. He had the option of the Birthday gift card or the Birthday FP, which I thought was better. We were told the Birthday FP was only good for the birthday person and 5 guests. BUT, the paper they gave you didn’t STATE that. Rather than take a chance, we opted for the gift card and made our way into the park and up Main Street. We still could not get a hold of my brother to tell him change of plans. Oh well.

Maddie closed her eyes as we rounded the corner because she was just so excited! She opened her eyes and gazed at the castle like she’d never seen it before. It was so sweet!

As we headed towards Fantasyland, we spied LL, Tony and Michael taking a ride on the trolley, going the opposite way. Hmmm… I wondered what that was about.


We found V and Leo waiting for us at Pooh, but V had a freaked out look on her face, as she had a bee on her shirt or bag and she’s very allergic to them. We walked over to her and smacked the bee away and all was well.

We took a spin on Pooh and then decided to bypass Peter and head toward Buzz. Yeah, that Ridemax plan went out the window again. AGAIN! Honestly I don’t know why I make these plans. I never stick to them. Sure, they give me an idea of what we like to see, what we’ve already seen and what we still need to see. But really – I don’t need to be so hard core about it.

Anyway, we met up with LL and crew at Buzz and we all headed in for a ZERO minute wait. Buzz sucks. Sorry, but it sucks. How the heck can you possible shoot targets if your gun isn’t detachable? Want to ride a REAL Buzz Lightyear ride? Come to Disneyland. ‘Nuff said.

Somehow we decided to head towards Frontierland/Liberty Square side of the park and ran into my brother and his family on the bridge. They wanted to ride HM, so we all went that way. I knew Leo doesn’t ride and neither does Maddie, so we became the FP runners for BTMRR for the group.

V & Leo and Maddie & I headed towards BTMRR to grab FP’s and then we went to sit at the play area in the nice cool shade. Mads and Leo had a great time playing in that cute area. It’s so awesome down there. Also it’s a great place to people watch. Flat Kate enjoyed herself.

The others finally joined us and after everyone peed, we kinda chlled until our FP time opened up and we grabbed FP’s for SM to use later on. We all hit up the FP line for BTMRR and got our ride on! Since Evan was the birthday boy, he wanted to ride with Mr. Tony and Michael, so the 3 of them jumped in a seat together, high-fives and fists pounds all around!

I sat with LL directly behind Tony and the boys and Maddie and Andy rode right behind us. The whole time we could hear Maddie and her blood curdling scream. It was hilarious!

We arrived back to he loading area clapping, hootin’ and hollerin’! It was so much fun! Again one of the reasons I love traveling in a large pack! We all had a great ride, except poor Leo. He was mighty upset, so we all kind of moved along and let V be with her boy, they'd catch up in a bit. Poor little dude.

It was all kinds of hot at this point and we were all melting fast. Waldo, Rick, Debbie and TE and her wacky soap box racer were all waiting for us at HoP. We needed that ride. Sure, this was prime touring time, but there was no way we were going to make it without some AC, so HoP it was.

The girls had yet to see Waldo and TE and hugs were given all around. My folks love these girls and their families like they’re … well, like they’re family. Heck, TE even almost ran over V with her scooter, if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is!

HoP was redone so well, I highly recommend taking a peek at it. Some of the new scenes will bring tears to your eyes, no doubt.

Once we exited the theater, we all decided to grab some Magical Tuna at our new favorite CS, Columbia Harbor House. V and I mentioned the Magical Tuna to Rick and was skeptical about it. “How magical can tuna be?” he asked. We couldn’t explain it, but we insisted he try it. We all ordered our food and found a quiet spot to sit, relax and enjoy the Magic. Tuna, that is.

The Fab Four!

Rick and Debbie ordered a tuna sammy and a salad to share and well it was a good idea, it didn’t go over well once the magical tuna was sampled. Rick wanted the whole sammie to himself, and Debbie wanted the whole sammy to herself. A tuna war broke out and Debbie eventually gave in and headed back to order herself her OWN sammy. More Magical Tuna lovers were born that day. We’ve yet to figure out what makes that tuna so darn magical!

Up next we decided hit up some POTC. LL, Tony and Michael headed off to the restrooms and a butt break, I think and we met up with them a few minutes later and literally just about walked right on. That was great! I still think WDW’s POTC is all out of sync. Weirdness.

Mi Familia!

We got out of the dump shop with minimal damage and decided to part ways. Pool-thirty was quickly approaching and we were all hot and tired and in need of an adult beverage. My family decided they wanted to do one more attraction, so we headed to JC. The line was 40 minutes at this point, but a very nice CM herded us over to the handicap entrance and we only waited about 15 minutes. The CM at the assistance line was so nice. We chatted with him, as he was from Mexico and currently a college program employee. He was leaving in a few weeks, and was very sad as he loved his job at Disney and wished he could stay longer. He told us a lot about his experiences and that he was pre-Med, back at the University in Mexico. He spied Evan’s birthday button and gave Evan a special card that he was to give the driver of our boat and we would be allowed to drive the boat. Evan was ecstatic!

Captain Howdy

We finally climbed aboard our pontoon and made our way through the jungles. Evan and Maddie were so wrapped up in the ride, they didn’t hear the guide when he asked “Anyone want to drive the boat?” Oh well! We’ll save it for another time!

It was way past time to leave, as we need to rest and get ready for the party, party… OH PARTY tonight!

We headed back to the room and the kids the wanted to do some swimming, so we headed down to the Grandstand pool, which was literally down a flight of stairs and up a tiny path from our room. I loved our room location! Ok, now I'm not sure if we met up with LL and V or not this day, as I didn't take my camera and have ZERO notes!

We had dinner reservations that night at Chef Mickey’s at 5:10 pm. Now if you read V’s PTR, you’d know all the drama about this particular ADR.

FLASH BACK:

Knowing that CM’s was a coveted ADR, and knowing her 90 day window opened up a day before mine, V graciously offered to make our CM’s ADR for a party of 12. She called on the 90th day and secured us a perfect ressie for 5:10pm. This was before we knew LL was going to pull the wool over the Mouse’s eyes and score herself a vacation, got it? So once LL was in, V called to add LL to our existing ressie and was able to do so without a hitch. So, a few weeks before our vacation, I find out Andy’s sister, her DH and their DS would be in WDW at the same time. They asked to be added to the ressie and since the ressie was in V’s name, she called to see if she could make our party of 15 into a party of 18. Well, when she did that, the CM told her that the ressie was for a party of 3, not 15!! OMG! It was craziness and poor V felt horrible – she called spoke with management at Dining and at CM’s and was told finally not to worry, everything would be just fine. V luckily had save the voicemail from a CM, Stephanie stating the ADR would show 3, but the notes would say 15. Whew! So it was impossible to add my SIL and her family at this point and Andy told his sister, no dice. Or so I thought.

FLASH FORWARD: (In trip report time, which is still actually the past, but you KWIM)

So, I’m in the shower and Andy gets a call from his sister asking what time they should be at CM’s. Como say WHAT??!!! I asked if she had gotten a ressie for her family and she said no. I told her we could TRY to get her in when we checked in, but there was no guarantee. At this point, I’m freaking out not only about our existing ressie of 15, but now I’ve got to somehow add another 3 to that! Oy Vey!


I decided we’d better get to CM’s super early to take care of bidness. V and I met up rather early, and so did everyone else. In fact, I believe all 18 were there by 4:50. We sent everyone to sit whilst we headed to the podium. You could almost hear the song from Dirty Harry playing in our heads. We’re standing in line and now it’s our turn … I glance at V. V glances at me. We glance at the nice CM manning the podium. V takes a huge breath and just throws it all out there. The CM looks at us and says, “I’m sorry, it says here PrincessV, party of 3.”


UP NEXT:
Do we get our grub on with the Mouse?

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Bwuahahahaha!!! That would be like the cruelest cliff hanger EVER! I would never do that to you guys!


Ok, so the CM says “I’m sorry, it says here PrincessV, party of 3” and then she does a little clickety click on the computer and says “Oh yes, here I see, in the notes, Party of 15.” Whew! Sooooo then, I tell her how it’s my son’s 5th birthday today and that we had some surprise family members show up and could we please, please, pleeeeeease add them to our party of 15. She did another little clickety, click and voila! Evan’s birthday dinner, party of 18!

Here’s our pic to commemorate the event:

Top Row: BIL, Michael, Waldo, Me, Andy, DNeph, Rick, Tony
Middle Row: Max, TE, SIL, Debbie, V, LL
Front Row: Little Michael, Evan, Leo, Maddie

And some pics from dinner.

Waldo all doped up on booze!

V and Tony and the Big Cheese! I love V’s look it’s almost as good as Leo’s…..

Here’s Leo – he’s SOOOO not into the Goof!


Most of you have been to CM’s, right? Well the characters started going around the minute we sat down.

Minnie came sauntering over to my brother, very flirty. It was too funny. My brother puts his hand around her waist, and Minnie kicks up her heel – very saucy. They pose for the picture and my brother says to her through his teeth, “There better be a girl in here.” Minnie giggled and just then Tony walks by and tells her “Lookin’ good, Minnie!” No joke, Minnie turns around and shakes her shimmy. I about died, it was hilarious! She walked by me and gave me the sister hip bump.

Happy Birthday, Evan!

We all finished up dinner, hopped on the Monorail for some nightime fun at the MK.


And that's the day the scooter died.....

Some say it was a suicide. Personally, I think it was a homicide.

But trust me, it takes it revenge on the innocent.

 

[HomeschoolMama]

What a fun update! Thank you for not stopping at that cliff hanger!

We've never been to Chef Mickey's but I look forward to going in March with our whole family.

 

[DisneyJo]

OMG T I think there would have been trouble if you'd left us with that cliffhanger

So glad they managed to fit you all in and love the photos

 

[Lauralee131]

Alright! A nice long update!!

What WERE we doing on the trolley going in the opposite direction of the Magic?? Hmmm....

I'm not sure if we hung out at the pool that day or not...I'm thinking we probably did as it seemed to be a daily thing with us...maybe between my cell phone messages and my camera I can figure it out...

Well, I better go work on my next update...you girls are putting me to shame!

 

[Sleepingbooty]

Lovin your TR - very funny! I started with PrincessV's, which led me to Lauralee's, then started on yours. Hmmm, you seem to be a bit ahead of the other girls on your updates!

 

[ncsjodi]

Hey!!! I'm not too late in starting this one, am I??? I've been MIA for quite a few months, but I HAVE to keep up with the latest adventures of Waldo!

By the way, DD8 was looking over my shoulder this afternoon and said, "Hey Mom!! There's that girl you met in California!" I'm really thinking that we need to get those girls together!

 

[PrincessV]

Today was going to be a FUNTABULOUS day! Why? Because it’s Evan’s 5th Birthday & we’re in Disney World with our family and friends!!

We arrived at the bus stop by 8:05 and I swear I think we missed the first MK bus. We waited and waited while every OTHER park bus came by TWICE, before FINALLY getting a MK bus. I texted with V and LL and they were actually ahead of us!

Ahem... because WE DROVE!

Maddie closed her eyes as we rounded the corner because she was just so excited! She opened her eyes and gazed at the castle like she’d never seen it before. It was so sweet!

Aaawww, I can totally picture her!

We found V and Leo waiting for us at Pooh, but V had a freaked out look on her face, as she had a bee on her shirt or bag and she’s very allergic to them. We walked over to her and smacked the bee away and all was well.

Did I look freaked out?! I was trying to just stay still and wait for it to leave... but it took a liking to the floral pattern on my VB bag! Stupid bee.

Flat Kate enjoyed herself.

Yes, we had a lovely chat kate!

We all had a great ride, except poor Leo. He was mighty upset, so we all kind of moved along and let V be with her boy, they'd catch up in a bit. Poor little dude.

Ye-ep, BTMRR strikes again.

Heck, TE even almost ran over V with her scooter, if that isn’t love, I don’t know what is!

And Waldo nailed me with the wheelchair, too! I felt so loved! All joking aside, I'm sooo glad we got more time with your family this time around - I just adore them.

We had dinner reservations that night at Chef Mickey’s at 5:10 pm. Now if you read V’s PTR, you’d know all the drama about this particular ADR.

No they don't, because I never included it - I was saving it for the TR! But that's okay, my version's just a little different.

I decided we’d better get to CM’s super early to take care of bidness. V and I met up rather early, and so did everyone else. In fact, I believe all 18 were there by 4:50. We sent everyone to sit whilst we headed to the podium. You could almost hear the song from Dirty Harry playing in our heads.

OMG, yes - the tension was palpable!

Here’s our pic to commemorate the event:[/SIZE]

It came out so nice!

Here’s Leo – he’s SOOOO not into the Goof!

Shoot, I can't even comment on that - just read my next or next-next installment folks!

ETA: Nope, no Pool-Thirty that day - LL and I weren't at SSR yet. Soon!

 

[englishrose47]

Awesome update !! We are doing CMfor the fist time in 2 weeks !!!!I am excited !! Your pix look great !!

 

[Lauralee131]

ETA: Nope, no Pool-Thirty that day - LL and I weren't at SSR yet. Soon!

Oh yeah, that's right...we were at a totally different pool!

 

[Mom2Brooke]

OMG I love your report...Off to read the other Waldo trip reports while waiting for more on this one.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Here’s our pic to commemorate the event:

This is such a fantastic picture! I was wondering how you managed to get all those people onto the reservation. Come to find out, it was the power of the stare down.

I don't think I've ever seen anyone give Goofy skunk-eye before.

And that's the day the scooter died.....

Some say it was a suicide. Personally, I think it was a homicide.

But trust me, it takes it revenge on the innocent.[/SIZE]

 

[Lauralee131]

Here’s our pic to commemorate the event:

This is such a fantastic picture! I was wondering how you managed to get all those people onto the reservation. Come to find out, it was the power of the stare down.

OMG - it took SOOO LONG to get everyone in and looking at the same place and smiling and fitting in the lens...TOO FUNNY!!

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

I love the CM's ADR story. I guess the magical tuna from lunch worked.

 

[cmp1111]

Ha, ha! Caught up!!!

I didn't quote because I wanted to read all the chit-chat and didn't know I hadn't missed too many installments.

Suffice it to say that you are one funny mama. Tread marks on your feet? Priceless.

Chefs de France sounds fantastic, glad you got the CM thing worked out, sorry about the lame Buzz ride...

So... is it time for another installment?

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Oh my gosh! I'm in love with your trip report so far! YOU'RE HILARIOUS! And your family is way too cute!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

What a fun update! Thank you for not stopping at that cliff hanger!

We've never been to Chef Mickey's but I look forward to going in March with our whole family.

You're welcomed. Oh and for the record, CM was really fun!

OMG T I think there would have been trouble if you'd left us with that cliffhanger

So glad they managed to fit you all in and love the photos

It took forever, but they did manage a decent pic, no?

What WERE we doing on the trolley going in the opposite direction of the Magic?? Hmmm....

That's why I didn't believe it was you. It's so un-mominator like.

Lovin your TR - very funny! I started with PrincessV's, which led me to Lauralee's, then started on yours. Hmmm, you seem to be a bit ahead of the other girls on your updates!

Aww... thanks for joining along!

Hey!!! I'm not too late in starting this one, am I??? I've been MIA for quite a few months, but I HAVE to keep up with the latest adventures of Waldo!

By the way, DD8 was looking over my shoulder this afternoon and said, "Hey Mom!! There's that girl you met in California!" I'm really thinking that we need to get those girls together!

Hey there! So glad you've caught up on our Wacky Waldo adventure! Yes, we need to get our trips coordinated so our girls can meet - I know Mads would love it!

Did I look freaked out?! I was trying to just stay still and wait for it to leave... but it took a liking to the floral pattern on my VB bag! Stupid bee.

Yes, you looked totally freaked out.

And Waldo nailed me with the wheelchair, too! I felt so loved! All joking aside, I'm sooo glad we got more time with your family this time around - I just adore them.

Yup, that Waldo he kept forgetting about the foot pedals and running into us with them.

No they don't, because I never included it - I was saving it for the TR! But that's okay, my version's just a little different.

You didn't? Oh SNAP! Different, eh?

Awesome update !! We are doing CMfor the fist time in 2 weeks !!!!I am excited !! Your pix look great !!

Hi Rosie! YOu're going to love CM!

Oh yeah, that's right...we were at a totally different pool!

OMG I love your report...Off to read the other Waldo trip reports while waiting for more on this one.

Thank you! And thanks for reading!

Come to find out, it was the power of the stare down.

Naturally.

OMG - it took SOOO LONG to get everyone in and looking at the same place and smiling and fitting in the lens...TOO FUNNY!!

It was funny! It came out pretty good, except for ANdy's nephew...

I love the CM's ADR story. I guess the magical tuna from lunch worked.

Ooh.... maybe it WAS the magical tuna!

Ha, ha! Caught up!!!

I didn't quote because I wanted to read all the chit-chat and didn't know I hadn't missed too many installments.

Suffice it to say that you are one funny mama. Tread marks on your feet? Priceless.

Chefs de France sounds fantastic, glad you got the CM thing worked out, sorry about the lame Buzz ride...

So... is it time for another installment?

Hi CE! Long time, no see. Another installment coming up... although it's a shorty.

Oh my gosh! I'm in love with your trip report so far! YOU'RE HILARIOUS! And your family is way too cute!

! Thanks for joining the craziness!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

So I last left off, where my family was disembarking from the Monorail platform and heading into MK.

There were gobs and gobs of people coming down that ramp. Rick thought it would be funny to throw TE’s scooter in reverse. Yes, my 42 year old brother has the IQ of a popsicle. Well, in doing so, TE’s scooter stalled and she was stranded. See, Rick had been messing with TE and either the speed of her scooter or the direction in which it traveled all week. I was getting more and more aggravated with him and his antics and after this little episode, I flipped out at him, telling him to freakin’ grow up and quit acting like a fool. Not my best moment, but I was feeling bad for my mother. Poor thing could barely handle the thing without people messing with her.


They got her scooter up and running and we headed up Main Street. Evan, Leo and Maddie wanted to hit Barnstormer, and to be honest, I don’t know WHAT happened to LL her boys.

We got in line for Barnstormer and waited a good 30 mins for our turn. I was disgustingly hot and sweaty and slowly becoming more and more crabby. I hate that feeling of sweat just rolling down your neck or a sweaty upper lip. That’s so gross.

I was finally our 30 seconds to ride and our group took up the whole plane! It’s such a short ride, but oh so fun! I just love it! We thought we’d hit up Philharmagic, and since Leo isn't into it, we parted ways with V & Leo and made plans for pool-thirty the next afternoon.


I got a hold of LL and they were heading over to SM meet some friends and to use the FP’s from that afternoon, so we agreed to meet up. Someone had to make a pit stop, so we pulled over somewhere near CBJ. It was taking so long that someone else needed to take a pit stop.

Pretty soon we wasted over 40 minutes waiting for everyone to hit the potty. I was so flustered that apparently we walked right past LL and her friends. We had FP’s, but with TE in the scooter, the CM manning the FP entrance sent us through the GA line where the next CM didn’t ask for our FP’s. Sweeeeeet. We could ride again, if we wanted!

TE and Waldo, who's still buzzed from all the booze at CM.

We exited the ride, and Waldo and TE decided they’d wander back to the hotel. The rest of us were too tired as well, so we found a huge group of people to give our 10 FP’s to. They were so excited as they were about to skip SM due to the line. We told them to have fun and we booked it outta there before Wishes could start, unfortunately we ran right into Spectromagic. We zig zagged our way down Main Street via the never ending gift shop and came to a dead stop, inches from the curb. Well most of us did. TE’s scooter went Cujo on me and she ran me down as I tried to stop her from jumping the curb. I ended up with bumper rash from knee to ankle and my poor croc was ripped from my foot and tangled somewhere under that evil scooter. Thankfully, Andy was able to get my croc and we were on our way, but not before TE almost took out a MK security guard. Turtle power, TE! Turtle power!


We finally got to the bus depot and the line to SSR was crazy long! TE and Waldo entered through the wheelchair/ECV entrance and got on the next bus. TE waved us on, but I didn’t all 8 of us to jump ahead of everyone who’d been waiting in line. I refused and the rest of us agreed, it really wasn’t fair to do that.

It had been a long, fun-filled, action packed day and we were exhausted. Everyone that is, except Evan. He was on cloud nine. He looked over at me and said he had the best birthday with all his friends and cousins. Sweet dreams were in order tonight.

UP NEXT: EVAN VS. EXPEDITION EVEREST - WILL HE CONQUER IT ALONE OR WILL MAGIC SHOES COME TO THE RESCUE? ALLEGEDLY.

 

[sharkB8HooHaHa]

Yes, my 42 year old brother has the IQ of a popsicle.

Well, in doing so, TE’s scooter stalled and she was stranded. See, Rick had been messing with TE and either the speed of her scooter or the direction in which it traveled all week. I was getting more and more aggravated with him and his antics and after this little episode, I flipped out at him, telling him to freakin’ grow up and quit acting like a fool. Not my best moment, but I was feeling bad for my mother. Poor thing could barely handle the thing without people messing with her.

Poor TE. I would have freaked if I were her.

We exited the ride, and Waldo and TE decided they’d wander back to the hotel. The rest of us were too tired as well, so we found a huge group of people to give our 10 FP’s to. They were so excited as they were about to skip SM due to the line. We told them to have fun

And there you go spreading the magic I bet you made their day.

TE’s scooter went Cujo on me and she ran me down as I tried to stop her from jumping the curb. I ended up with bumper rash from knee to ankle and my poor croc was ripped from my foot and tangled somewhere under that evil scooter. Thankfully, Andy was able to get my croc and we were on our way, but not before TE almost took out a MK security guard.

I'm glad you got your shoe back but your foot! You weren't kidding about those tire marks.

We finally got to the bus depot and the line to SSR was crazy long! TE and Waldo entered through the wheelchair/ECV entrance and got on the next bus. TE waved us on, but I didn’t all 8 of us to jump ahead of everyone who’d been waiting in line. I refused and the rest of us agreed, it really wasn’t fair to do that.

That's because you're nice, T