Griswold Family Moments at Disney

[Robo]

Wait wait wait.
I'm seriously confused.
If I have an 8:05 ADR and I'm staying offsite how do we get from TTC to MK?
We haven't had a pre-park meal in a lot of years.

Get aboard the Resort Monorail at TTC and ride to MK.

 

[Iowajes]

Get aboard the Resort Monorail at TTC and ride to MK.

The OP said that monorail service did not begin until 8:30.

 

[grimgrinnin]

Oh my gosh, this is so funny (now that's it over with)!!! This reminded me of the time I bought one of those frozen strawberry pops for my DD when she was little and I noticed it was covered with ice so I attempted to lick some of it off so it wouldn't freeze to her tongue and it ended up becoming frozen to my lip! I was trying to pull it off while she started reaching and whining for it. I finally yanked it off but spent the next half hour with a tissue on my lip. Kids!!!

The exact same thing happened to me at California Adventure. My daughter thought it was hilarious and kept trying to pull it off my tongue. I wish I had it on video.

grim

 

[GatorMama]

We stayed at the Poly for a full week and never failed that we were in a hurry to get to Epcot. Literally every single time we went, we would forget how short the walk from Poly to TTC was until we had already stopped at the GF. Ugh. And then when we were getting close to our GG ADR, we missed TWO Epcot monorails from TTC because of crowds ahead of us. DH was almost running through the park with the stroller to make it in time. I was walking as fast as I could with a baby strapped to me and since he had to drop the atroller at stroller parking, I still beat him.

Guess who's stroller was SOAKED from the evening rain shower that night? But we made our ADR with three minutes to spare!

 

[Robo]

Wait wait wait.
I'm seriously confused.
If I have an 8:05 ADR and I'm staying offsite how do we get from TTC to MK?
We haven't had a pre-park meal in a lot of years.

Get aboard the Resort Monorail at TTC and ride to MK.

 

[Robo]

The OP said that monorail service did not begin until 8:30.

The resort monorail begins at 7:00AM.

If the monorails are not running their usual schedule, there will be special buses dispatched to cover those routes.

Guests will not be stranded at TTC.

 

[Alesia]

The OP said that monorail service did not begin until 8:30.

The resort monorail start running at 7:00. You get on the resort monorail at the TTC and get of at MK.

 

[linana514]

I was worried about being late to our 8am CP breakfast, so we were out at the bus stop at 6:30am. By 7am, we were the only people standing outside MK, it was cold, and the kids were not happy. Another time I insisted we go back into MK one evening specifically so we could eat at Tortuga Tavern, which was closed.

This is exactly my kind of luck!

Ok, here is my "Could'a been a Griswold moment but wasn't":

We were booked for 6 nights onsite back in May. At some point before our vacation I added an additional 2 nights on the front end of our stay (so now a total of 8 nights). Since our tickets were purchased with our original 6 night stay, the tickets would not be effective until day 3 of our trip (which was day 1 of our 'original' trip dates). Day 1 of our actual trip was spent traveling and we didn't get in town in time to go anywhere, but on day 2 we wanted to go to one of the water parks.

So prior to our trip I found out (thanks to this board) that I could go to guest relations and "pick up" our tickets early. That morning, I tried convincing my family that I would get up early and take a bus to Epcot, go to their guest relations desk, and have our tickets "activated". No no, wait, we'll all go, they said. So I waited, and waited. When everyone was finally ready and our water park bag was packed, we headed to the bus stop. My DH was very confused as to why we had to go to Epcot in order to go to the water park. No amount of explaining would do, and he was beginning to get grumpy about it, which usually transfers over to the kids as well.

Of course there was a long wait for a bus to Epcot, and once we were on board the bus ride was very quiet because DH was grumpy and the kids were bored, and I was anxious. As soon as we got to Epcot it started raining. POURING. I could feel the mood of our trip turning very sour. I told everyone not to worry; I'd heard that showers are common here and usually pass by quickly. But at that moment my anxiety got the better of me, I began to feel like I was on trial and that if this didn't work I was going to have a very unpleasant DH and kids to deal with. I didn't want to inconvenience them any more than I already had to so I tried to get them to take shelter and sit while I went to take care of business. They weren't having that either. "We stay together" seemed to be the mantra of the day.

I made it up to the guest relations booth and after an "agonizing" 3 or 4 minute wait in line (felt like a lifetime), it was my turn. I explained what I needed to the CM and he was SO helpful and knowledgeable. He affirmed what I had been told here on the board and what I in turn had been telling my family, gave us a big smile and a no-big-deal-we-do-this-everyday-and-we-love-it attitude, and completely changed the attitudes of all 4 of us. We practically all skipped away then toward the buses, and of course it had stopped raining. Gosh now that I think about it, I wish I had taken that CM's name so I could have given him a rave review.

Oh, and we had a blast at the water park that day and for (most of) the rest of our vacation. The end.

 

[momof2n2]

Get aboard the Resort Monorail at TTC and ride to MK.

Get aboard the Resort Monorail at TTC and ride to MK.

LOL. I only asked once but you answered me twice. I think it's time you have a vacation?

 

[jaccceee]

I can't remember if I had to beg, borrow, or steal this chair at Cosmic Rays. At least the kids had proper bar chairs. This lovely picture is 1 of the 3 only pictures of me on my April vacation.

 

[wilkeliza]

This is exactly my kind of luck!

Ok, here is my "Could'a been a Griswold moment but wasn't":

We were booked for 6 nights onsite back in May. At some point before our vacation I added an additional 2 nights on the front end of our stay (so now a total of 8 nights). Since our tickets were purchased with our original 6 night stay, the tickets would not be effective until day 3 of our trip (which was day 1 of our 'original' trip dates). Day 1 of our actual trip was spent traveling and we didn't get in town in time to go anywhere, but on day 2 we wanted to go to one of the water parks.

So prior to our trip I found out (thanks to this board) that I could go to guest relations and "pick up" our tickets early. That morning, I tried convincing my family that I would get up early and take a bus to Epcot, go to their guest relations desk, and have our tickets "activated". No no, wait, we'll all go, they said. So I waited, and waited. When everyone was finally ready and our water park bag was packed, we headed to the bus stop. My DH was very confused as to why we had to go to Epcot in order to go to the water park. No amount of explaining would do, and he was beginning to get grumpy about it, which usually transfers over to the kids as well.

Of course there was a long wait for a bus to Epcot, and once we were on board the bus ride was very quiet because DH was grumpy and the kids were bored, and I was anxious. As soon as we got to Epcot it started raining. POURING. I could feel the mood of our trip turning very sour. I told everyone not to worry; I'd heard that showers are common here and usually pass by quickly. But at that moment my anxiety got the better of me, I began to feel like I was on trial and that if this didn't work I was going to have a very unpleasant DH and kids to deal with. I didn't want to inconvenience them any more than I already had to so I tried to get them to take shelter and sit while I went to take care of business. They weren't having that either. "We stay together" seemed to be the mantra of the day.

I made it up to the guest relations booth and after an "agonizing" 3 or 4 minute wait in line (felt like a lifetime), it was my turn. I explained what I needed to the CM and he was SO helpful and knowledgeable. He affirmed what I had been told here on the board and what I in turn had been telling my family, gave us a big smile and a no-big-deal-we-do-this-everyday-and-we-love-it attitude, and completely changed the attitudes of all 4 of us. We practically all skipped away then toward the buses, and of course it had stopped raining. Gosh now that I think about it, I wish I had taken that CM's name so I could have given him a rave review.

Oh, and we had a blast at the water park that day and for (most of) the rest of our vacation. The end.

Just for future reference I'm pretty sure you can have those activated at the hotel and don't have to go to a GR to have it done.

 

[linana514]

Just for future reference I'm pretty sure you can have those activated at the hotel and don't have to go to a GR to have it done.

While we were checking in at CBR, I asked if we could do that at concierge but was told it had to be a guest relations office. But who knows!

 

[wilkeliza]

While we were checking in at CBR, I asked if we could do that at concierge but was told it had to be a guest relations office. But who knows!

Oh boo! You would think concierge could do it since they can sell tickets as well! I see now in the FAQ it says that if you are picking up early it has to be done at GR. Is there not a guest service or GR at the water parks at least?

 

[Pigletpal40]

After the Hoop Dee Do I closed the stroller and got an a bus to TTC. My wife was with her Dad and had our son in her arms and they didn't get on the same bus. I'm waiting for them to arrive at TTC for 45 minutes with an empty stroller getting asked the same, "Where's your baby?" My FIL talked their bus driver into dropping them off at Poly. This was 15 years ago, no cel. phone, waiting on a bench with the guy who got kicked out of MK for trying to sell pins he made. He couldn't understand why Disney didn't want him to "make a living". I finally gave up and walked back to Poly to find everyone in the room relaxing. Now, every trip since, they all ask if I want to hang out with my "friends" at TTC.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

The resort monorail begins at 7:00AM.

If the monorails are not running their usual schedule, there will be special buses dispatched to cover those routes.

Guests will not be stranded at TTC.

There was no running monorail to be seen at the TTC between 7:00 and 7:15 (my kids love the monorails and notice them when they pass- and we were specifically looking for one that morning), but maybe they were just running a bit late on that day. There were also no other guests at the TTC. When I don't know where to go, I usually follow the other guests, but there were none to follow. Just us, a few bus drivers, some CMs on their way to work, and a ferry captain.

Totally agree about not leaving guests stranded. That is probably why they found a van to shuttle us over to MK. I am sure that Disney will help out anyone who looks lost and needs help. I was just embarrassed to be lost and unsure of what to do, since I pride myself on being the Disney expert in the family. My husband will never let me forget that.

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

oops

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

I had gathered everyone's ticket to be the runner for FastPass. BUT, I didn't give anyone their ticket back when I regrouped with them. Of course, my sister, mom and dad decided to go back to the resort for an afternoon rest except NO Ticket/Key entry. Thus the hassle of having to deal with front desk, getting new cards reissued. I felt bad

 

[ljl22]

Last trip, we had park hopper tickets and we just had to go to EMH at Epcot in the morning before breakfast at Ohana. I thought it would be quicker to drive than take the monorail, but didn't count on leaving Epcot late, getting lost and driving past the Polynesian. We were 15-20 min late and I was so worried we wouldn't get in. They were so great about it though.

This is the same trip we tried to do too much too soon and wore everyone out early. My (then) 7 year old ended up having a tantrum in the lobby of AKL and throwing her cup across the floor. She was only acting out how we all felt at that point.

 

[famy27]

Back in 2007, we went to WDW with friends and stayed at the Dolphin. It was two couples and three small children: our 20 month old DD, their 3 year old DS, and their 6 week old DD. We decided to take turns having adult night out, with the other couple watching all three kids. On our night out, we went to dinner at Chefs de France while our friends took the children to MK to watch the parade and fireworks. Our friends wanted to be leisurely and not rush back after the fireworks, and they decided to take the monorail and cut through EPCOT to the International Gateway, because they figured it would be so much easier to push the strollers onto the monorail than to break them down and carry them onto the busses. Well, they got back to EP, and the park was closed. There is no bus from EP to Dolphin and no easy way to walk, so they had to take the monorail back to MK and then catch a bus back to the Dolphin. It took them more than two hours total to get from MK to Dolphin. Oops. Meanwhile, we had a lovely and relaxing dinner.

 

[Sparkie]

Not my Griswold moment but on our recent trip we were chatting with a mom and daughter on the Epcot monorail who were supposed to be meeting other family for an engagement proposal..... At Magic Kingdom. They asked, "this does go to Magic Kingdom, right?" I unfortunately told them no and told them how to get back to Magic Kingdom.