Four Families, One World: A Mome Rath Meets Beverly! May 29-June 5, 2011

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

they are I was just typing anything I could think of to get out of doing my hoework and look here I am doing it again, though in my defense I have finished another section taking a small break then moving on to the last large section, sadly thought I have to type this one out fro scratch since it is all new material I need a little of this ... no really its not so bad, I don't think guess I will find out tomorrow, it could be the coffee talkin' too , you may be looking at a banana dancing bit that is me on coffee ohkay Ill stop hijacking your TR and get back to my work

 

[Grace and Mickey]

Hi Jen

I guess i missed it somewhere that you had a TR Oh silly me.

I love ALL you pictures. You saw lots of characters, I going to go back and write down all those place for the special place character are. THanks

We will be attending HS on a Fantasmic nite, Does that mean we wont have the chance to meet the exta characters at Characterpolla?
The hotel you stayed was awesome. some place.

Sorry about your knee , hope it doing better.

You children are beautiful
Love the matching shirts, I planing some days of them too.

We pin tade too, where did your friend get her pins.?

Take care
Grace

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Hi Jen

I guess i missed it somewhere that you had a TR Oh silly me.

I had to share the madness somewhere!

I love ALL you pictures. You saw lots of characters, I going to go back and write down all those place for the special place character are. THanks

We will be attending HS on a Fantasmic nite, Does that mean we wont have the chance to meet the exta characters at Characterpolla?
The hotel you stayed was awesome. some place.

I'm trying to compile a list of where people are. The only one that I worry about is MK. There are changes ahead so I can't guarantee that they will be correct by the time December rolls around!

As for who is there on F! days or not, I'm not sure. Some people say you can find some super rare characters on F! days. Janet had a listing a couple pages back, it may be of some help.

Sorry about your knee , hope it doing better.

You children are beautiful
Love the matching shirts, I planing some days of them too.

Thanks and thanks! I'm in the middle of finding out what is going on with my leg. The cortisone shot has already worn off and the swelling is really popping up more and more. I know the doctor I saw said the next step is an exploratory surgery, and I'm not okay with that. I would assume that we would try physical therapy first. If he says surgery is the only option, I will find another opinion.

Norma found our shirts at a Disney outlet store, but I'm not sure which one!

We pin tade too, where did your friend get her pins.?

Ebay.

I can email you a list of sellers that Norma uses. She will not buy any from Asia - they are bad pins.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

After much deliberation, and me being told I was pushing the kids too hard on vacation, we slept in an extra hour today. The rest of the group, since they turned in early, left before we did.

We got ready to start our day and got out the door in record time! My kids wanted to get to the park. I drove the “short” way via the outlet mall and DTD. On our way in, I got a call that the resort monorail was down and that our group had been sitting on the train, just outside the station at the Poly for over 30 minutes! Leia warned me to take the ferry. I checked with the CMs and they said the express monorail was down too. EVERYONE was to take the ferry. Through the rumor mill (Lines…) the story was that the braking system was having issues to BOTH lines were shut down for the morning.

[knock… knock… you again???]

This is what it looks like when both monorails are down:
To our front:

To the side:

Behind us:

Three FULL ferry loads later and we were on the boat. We were about half way over and my phone rang again.

***Interjection for an extremely pointed opinion -

News of the numerous shutdowns of the monorail has tempted the Disney execs to pull the plug on the amount of hours the monorail runs. Starting immediately, the EP monorail will close 1 hour after park closing. Everyone will have to take the bus or boat "home". As of August 1, 2011, the MK monorail will follow suit. No monorail will run for PM EMH or ANY of the parties. The monorail system is having trouble due to age and being used way more than it can handle. In the sake of guest safety (priority #2 behind guest satisfaction), they've pulled the plug. The current trains are over 20 years old and a full replacement of the fleet is very costly. I am upset by the news - E can attest to that. I had aspirations to stay at the Poly on our next trip, but now I'm not so sure. Living through ONLY only being able to take the ferry to MK makes travelling to MK only other than bus or ferry is VERY unappealing. As much as I despise the bus system, if we DO decide to stay at the Poly and they are still experiencing shortened monorail hours we will have to make a decision on how we will get to the park. And will others follow suit? Technically, you can park all day at any of the MK resort area hotels if you valet park. Then you could take a boat launch over to the park. It's going to take time to get all of this worked out. All I can say is that the bus may be the only way to go for now, even if you have a car down there.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled TR... ***


“Where are you?”

“On the boat – it took awhile.”

“Hurry up!”

We got through the bag check and the turnstiles quickly. I had to make a quick stop at the Firehouse to purchase new autograph books. Tiana and Naveen filled up the last two pages in the kid’s books the night before, and I didn’t think to buy new ones at that time. I would have NEVER imagined that all 30 pages would have been filled – and some of them were marked back to back (so I’m going to have to get VERY creative in the scrapbook).

[ring… ring…]

“Where ARE you??”

“I’m on Main Street, heading towards the hub.”

“Get here quick! They just closed the line for Alladin and Jasmine but we’re in!”

I hauled my cookies back to Adventureland!

We got to Agrabah just in time. It was our turn to go meet the pair. Jasmine was a little underwhelming, but Alladin was amazing! He taught the boys how to stand.

After our meet and greet with the LAST princess to complete DD’s and Bella’s posters we took a spin on the magic carpets. Again. Honestly, my kids prefer carpets over Dumbo, purely for the camels. [be careful, they spit!]

We left Agrabah for slightly more treacherous waters.

 

[mom2rtk]

Hi stranger! Sorry I've been MIA. It's nothing personal though..... after all, I"ve been sort of absent from my OWN trip report recently! I hope to catch up there soon too.

I'm caught up through your AK day. I'm sorry your knee has been giving you so much trouble. That would really put a damper on a day at Disney!

I loved your photos on KS. The one of the bird on the hippo is adorable! I can't wait to get a shot at the safari again, maybe in the sun....... this December.

We never made it out to Rafiki Planet Watch on our trip, but after seeing all your photos, I'll make sure we do! That baby gorilla is too cute for words! And I know Jiminy Cricket is out ther, and we have yet to meet him.... so he's on the "to do" list for this December.

You're a braver soul than I am going on KRR. We did that once......... now I'm a picture taker for those rides........ instead of a rider. Of course, we've been going during cooler weather, so all the more reason to continue avoiding it!

I peeked ahead and see more MK on the way...... better get reading .........

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Hi stranger! Sorry I've been MIA. It's nothing personal though..... after all, I"ve been sort of absent from my OWN trip report recently! I hope to catch up there soon too.

Hey howdy there!

I'll admit, I've not made it over for a bit. July is my second least favorite month of the year because it's so busy!

Speaking of busy... guess who picked up another fair this week? Yeah, me. I can't say no. That brings the tally up to 5 for the week. And I still have to bake cupcakes for DS's party on Sunday. I know... I'm a glutton. After Tuesday next week I can rest!

I'm caught up through your AK day. I'm sorry your knee has been giving you so much trouble. That would really put a damper on a day at Disney!

I loved your photos on KS. The one of the bird on the hippo is adorable! I can't wait to get a shot at the safari again, maybe in the sun....... this December.

The hippos are my favorite part - the first shot I ever did there was JUST after a hippo ducked under water - it totally reminded me of JC, when you just see the ears flitting!

[/QUOTE]We never made it out to Rafiki Planet Watch on our trip, but after seeing all your photos, I'll make sure we do! That baby gorilla is too cute for words! And I know Jiminy Cricket is out ther, and we have yet to meet him.... so he's on the "to do" list for this December.[/QUOTE]
Rafiki, Pocohontas, and Jiminy are out there. Now I can cross him off my list.

You're a braver soul than I am going on KRR. We did that once......... now I'm a picture taker for those rides........ instead of a rider. Of course, we've been going during cooler weather, so all the more reason to continue avoiding it!

I peeked ahead and see more MK on the way...... better get reading .........

I love the raft rides, but it seems that on KRR that you either get it or you don't. It's a great chiller on a hot day though!

As for sneaking up on MK days... you still have DHS to get through!

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, I'm up through day 5. I figured you didn't make it as Family of the Day, because if it were me, I never could have held that secret so long...... sigh...... you were really up against it with such a big group though. WAY too hard to get everyone up and out when there are so many in your group.

The group DID look smashing though..... especially the little princesses. Your little redheaded Snow White is just about the cutest thing ever. Even cuter than that baby gorilla. Now if the baby gorilla had been in a Snow White costume......... Hmmmmm........

But I digress........ Man........ what stroller issues! I'd be steamed too. Don't you wish you cold find out who would uncover someone else's stroller because they thought THEY needed it more? Such a sense of entitlement these days.......

I agree with you about Philharmagic. I love that show. Pure Disney magic. No trip to WDW is complete until we've seen it at least once.

Lovely shots of the MSEP, especially Tink! And don't worry if your do-nothing friend won't see a parade with you in December. You can always catch up with us and come watch with some real parade fans!

 

[mom2rtk]

OK, all caught up. I had commented on the DHS day earlier, unless I missed something else.....

YEAH! On finding the last princess!

What a mess that monorail issue has become. It was definitely interesting to read your experience after keeping up with the 60 plus page thread on the matter on the theme park board. They have not even committed on whether they will have the monorail open to take guests back to the TTC after the hard ticketed parties. I guess I can just appreciate staying on the cheap at a non-monorail resort more and more!

 

[TarzansKat]

Treacherous waters? Would there be pirates in the offing?

 

[DISNEYaddict4evr]

Lovely shots of the MSEP, especially Tink! And don't worry if your do-nothing friend won't see a parade with you in December. You can always catch up with us and come watch with some real parade fans!

do-nothing do-nothing friend

I do tons of stuff

They just haven't opened up the disney bungi jump site yet or the throw yourself on this cliff over here site

what can I say my tastes involve more adventure than a parade has to offer me now maybe if the princesses were in distress and the princes came to rescue them from the burning floats, I might just then watch that

 

[mom2rtk]

do-nothing do-nothing friend

I do tons of stuff

They just haven't opened up the disney bungi jump site yet or the throw yourself on this cliff over here site

what can I say my tastes involve more adventure than a parade has to offer me now maybe if the princesses were in distress and the princes came to rescue them from the burning floats, I might just then watch that

OK....OK.........maybe I should rephrase........

Jenn........if your PARADE-HATING friend lets you down...... give me a call!





OK....... OK........... just kidding. I actually like your idea of more action on the parade. See what you can get them to work out by December, OK????

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

OK, I'm up through day 5. I figured you didn't make it as Family of the Day, because if it were me, I never could have held that secret so long...... sigh...... you were really up against it with such a big group though. WAY too hard to get everyone up and out when there are so many in your group.

We just couldn't get out the door that morning, despite our best efforts! I loved seeing all the characters mosey down Main Street like it was just another day.

The group DID look smashing though..... especially the little princesses. Your little redheaded Snow White is just about the cutest thing ever. Even cuter than that baby gorilla. Now if the baby gorilla had been in a Snow White costume......... Hmmmmm........

That beats the Rise of the Planet of the Apes trailers I've seen. And that other monkey movie too...

Lovely shots of the MSEP, especially Tink! And don't worry if your do-nothing friend won't see a parade with you in December. You can always catch up with us and come watch with some real parade fans!

I still have a long way to go to fully capture the parade shots I want. I just need more practice!

Treacherous waters? Would there be pirates in the offing?

MEH-BE...

do-nothing do-nothing friend

I do tons of stuff

They just haven't opened up the disney bungi jump site yet or the throw yourself on this cliff over here site

what can I say my tastes involve more adventure than a parade has to offer me now maybe if the princesses were in distress and the princes came to rescue them from the burning floats, I might just then watch that

OK....OK.........maybe I should rephrase........

Jenn........if your PARADE-HATING friend lets you down...... give me a call!

And I just literally choked on my funnel cake...

OK....... OK........... just kidding. I actually like your idea of more action on the parade. See what you can get them to work out by December, OK????

Savvy! Maybe Eugene can make a come back that way!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

What a mess that monorail issue has become. It was definitely interesting to read your experience after keeping up with the 60 plus page thread on the matter on the theme park board. They have not even committed on whether they will have the monorail open to take guests back to the TTC after the hard ticketed parties. I guess I can just appreciate staying on the cheap at a non-monorail resort more and more!

From what it sounds, it's the total smash - nothing will run.

It's not like they can reverse the trains to go just back and forth between TTC and MK - the trains have to make the whole loop or none at all, and well, if they're going to make the loop... It's bus or ferry. I can't imagine the nightmare for the capacity party nights (particularly Halloween...)

And that's my take too (about the "other" resorts)... I'd be soooooo PO'd if I had booked on the monorail right now. DH LOVES PM EMH. He'd rather stay late than get up early if at all possible.

The ferry launch was a flippin' madhouse and we were getting to the park within the first hour of opening when it's not as busy. Heck I kept with normal Disney standards of filling in all available space and had some broad #!@ch me out for "cutting" - because "can't you see there's a line here? Freakin' back off, gosh!" She was pushing for single file!

I can appreciate that Disney execs are making sure they don't run into any MAJOR problems (2009's accident was one too many) but I think I would have rather had them hold off on FLE and fix the monorail than build an amazing new land. I would gladly give up fun new things in order to get to the park in a timely manner!

 

[mom2rtk]

From what it sounds, it's the total smash - nothing will run.

It's not like they can reverse the trains to go just back and forth between TTC and MK - the trains have to make the whole loop or none at all, and well, if they're going to make the loop... It's bus or ferry. I can't imagine the nightmare for the capacity party nights (particularly Halloween...)

And that's my take too (about the "other" resorts)... I'd be soooooo PO'd if I had booked on the monorail right now. DH LOVES PM EMH. He'd rather stay late than get up early if at all possible.

The ferry launch was a flippin' madhouse and we were getting to the park within the first hour of opening when it's not as busy. Heck I kept with normal Disney standards of filling in all available space and had some broad #!@ch me out for "cutting" - because "can't you see there's a line here? Freakin' back off, gosh!" She was pushing for single file!

I can appreciate that Disney execs are making sure they don't run into any MAJOR problems (2009's accident was one too many) but I think I would have rather had them hold off on FLE and fix the monorail than build an amazing new land. I would gladly give up fun new things in order to get to the park in a timely manner!

I suggested that very thing over on the other thread and you'd think they thought I hated Fantasyland! I mean sheesh..... didn't they see the photo in my signature?????

If it's THAT bad...... they should put the money into the monorail and get it up to speed......so to speak. I think this entire thing is going to be a mess. If that monorail loop closes down at 8 any night there's a party, then it will do so more than half of the time from mid-September through mid-December because of all the parties. And that's still prime dinnertime at those monorail resorts.

And I'm not entirely convinced of how much good they can do with just diminishing the hours the way they are.

Honestly, I think this is going to fall apart. Not the monorail. Their plan.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I suggested that very thing over on the other thread and you'd think they thought I hated Fantasyland! I mean sheesh..... didn't they see the photo in my signature?????

If it's THAT bad...... they should put the money into the monorail and get it up to speed......so to speak. I think this entire thing is going to be a mess. If that monorail loop closes down at 8 any night there's a party, then it will do so more than half of the time from mid-September through mid-December because of all the parties. And that's still prime dinnertime at those monorail resorts.

And I'm not entirely convinced of how much good they can do with just diminishing the hours the way they are.

Honestly, I think this is going to fall apart. Not the monorail. Their plan.

I am so thankful I have found you on these boards... the voice of reason!

I'm still waiting for them to say fat tourists are burning the breaks!

Did you read the article E found? It really brought up a bunch of interesting points, especially if Google is in fact making some type of super train. It's so hard for me to believe, that the company who pioneered the technology behind the monorails, can't make this work. They have to decide what's more important, packing people in all hours of the day and pushing the equipment to its limit to make a buck or do the right thing and invest in the future.

Cutting the discounts and reducing "perks", I'm really afraid it's going to bite them in the butt. It just may be too much. That and tickets going up yet again this year - I half wonder what Roy would have said about all of this. I don't know if they are lacking some type of leadership or what, but I'm worried about what other inconsistant decisions they'll make.

 

[mom2rtk]

I am so thankful I have found you on these boards... the voice of reason!

I'm still waiting for them to say fat tourists are burning the breaks!

Did you read the article E found? It really brought up a bunch of interesting points, especially if Google is in fact making some type of super train. It's so hard for me to believe, that the company who pioneered the technology behind the monorails, can't make this work. They have to decide what's more important, packing people in all hours of the day and pushing the equipment to its limit to make a buck or do the right thing and invest in the future.

Cutting the discounts and reducing "perks", I'm really afraid it's going to bite them in the butt. It just may be too much. That and tickets going up yet again this year - I half wonder what Roy would have said about all of this. I don't know if they are lacking some type of leadership or what, but I'm worried about what other inconsistant decisions they'll make.

Hmmmm.... I've been called a lot of things on the theme park board........ let's just say "the voice of reason" wasn't one of them! Last week someone told me I had a problem and needed to check it out!

I LOVE what they're doing in Fantasyland. It's been fascinating to watch it all unfold. And I look forward to walking through Belle's village. But to GET to the park using a system that is supposedly falling apart just seems utterly ABSURD to me. How on EARTH is resting it a couple more hours every night going to really make much difference? I'm not convinced at all they are giving it any sort of big overhaul.

I REALLY think they want to do away with the EMH. First they cut the characters and said it was due to lack of demand (Seriously???? We were there for an EMH once and ALL the character lines were insanely long all night). Now this. And some reported on that thread that they had done a Disney survey asking what they would like if they ended EMH. So I know they have kicked it around.

I didn't read the article. Did you link it and I missed it? Not out of the question for me today.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

In all honesty... I think they should open up PM EMH to paying for it again.

Back in '98 we paid $10/bracelet for 3 more hours in the park. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Even at today's prices, it would be worth it for us.

 

[TarzansKat]

We want the pirates! We want the pirates!

 

[mom2rtk]

In all honesty... I think they should open up PM EMH to paying for it again.

Back in '98 we paid $10/bracelet for 3 more hours in the park. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. Even at today's prices, it would be worth it for us.

We didn't really start going to Disney until that had been discontinued, but everyone who went just raves about it. The problem of course is that if they started it again, the price would be much higher, as would be the "limited" number of tickets they sell. I firmly believe they don't say how many tickets they sell for the hard ticketed parties so they can nudge it forward every year.

I think the things they were offering in the survey for on-site guests if they did away with EMH or DME were things like a free tour, or a free character breakfast.

 

[okw19]

I love reading your TR! It's been great.