I do love Riviera but we so far have not rented a car so no parking lot for us lol. Maybe that will change without ME but we'll see.Crazy times for sure, but I do what I can for my girls.
Stay away from parking spot 219 on the East side of the resort.
Honey lets take the kids out of school - First December visit 2021, and last Disney trip.
- Thread starter tehSAC
- Start date
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
Oddly enough I just saw a video on IG of someone who found roaches in an older minivan (not a rental). The person lifted the plastic piece that covers the screws that attaches the seat to the carpet and a crap ton of roaches came out. They did it on a few places in the car and the roaches were everywhere. They vacuumed them up! It's a good thing you got a new car since it's likely the roaches were hiding in other places of the car.
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
Shudders. UGH
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
I left off with us having our bellies filled with Sonny Eclipse, and headed back towards Fantasyland. Our next attraction would be Seven Dwarfs. I have done this attraction once, and wanted the girls to finally experience it. That was another reason I purchased the ILL. Well that and not wanting to wait in such a long queue and missing out on other attractions. Its pushing 3PM at this point as well. We checked in, and waited less than 5 minutes and standby was at 70 minutes. If we were AP holders, or visited more often, I would have not paid the $9 per person to do this. Heck we might even skip it. Thirty Six dollars for a ride that is around 2 minutes is insane to think about now, but alas we chose this route. We were placed in the back of the train, which I wasn’t too excited about, but Lorelai loved the idea. However I found out that I loved it! My first experience was in the front, and the back was so much more enjoyable. Everyone seemed to enjoy our trip through the mine, and we hoped to enjoy it again later during after hours.
Even though we just ate, the family was craving some ice cream. So we stopped at Story Book treats for some treats.
Lorelai chose the Heigh-Ho Sundae, Ella had the Snow White cone, and Mom had a dish of vanilla soft serve. I chose not to order anything, because I knew Ella would not finish hers, and I was correct. After a few minutes with the lemon dole whip cone, Ella passed it off onto me. This was definitely a flavor of dole whip I wanted to try, so I was happy to take it off her hands. Speaking of hands, she had sticky ones. So mom asked me to get into her bag and grab the wipes for Ella. I’m digging with my right hand, and holding a cone in my left. Well my hulk like grip, crushes the cone in half while looking for the wipes. Well that’s wonderful….. I find the wipes, scarf down the remaining cone, and then proceed to ask for wipes for myself. LOL Other than that the lemon dole whip was tasty, but not a go-to. Pineapple is where its at, or is it? Hmmm…
Before handing it off to Dad
Off to the Haunted Mansion we go. We had almost a half hour to get there and tap in, so no rush. However when we get close to the attraction there is a sea of people. Where is the line for LL I ask a CM. He points me in the direction of the Liberty Square Riverboat entrance. The end of the LL line was past this, and curving towards Liberty Tree Tavern.
Crap, are we going to make it before 3:45? I tell Mom and the Girls to chill out, and I will wait in line. They do a little shopping in Momento Mori while I am in line. Said line moved at an okay pace, but it still took us 25 minutes before we were in the stretching room. After I tapped in, I went ahead and made our next LL reservation. We would have to cross the park again, but it was the only option. My wife said, “okay this is the last time, if there is nothing available in the area we are in, then don’t make the reservation.” You got it boss! Our next stop would be Buzz in Tomorrowland.
While we were waiting we also noticed that the sun was starting to fade away, and it was starting to become overcast. The radar showed some showers, but I was hopeful they would stay away. Mainly because there was two outdoor rides that we wanted to do, that may be effected by a storm. Two rides that were on Lorelai’s list of to-do’s. Okay back to the Mansion. I love HM, but I could tell that this might be something Ella wasn’t going to enjoy. She chose to ride with Mom, and Lorelai and I rode together. We had 3 ride stoppages during our trip though, but overall a great time. Ella asked as we left, “Can we not do that again? I really did not like that dad, there were REAL ghosts in there!” You got it kid, maybe one day when you bring your kids, you will enjoy it.
Next up was Buzz, with a reservation of 4:25. It is 4 PM by now, making great progress, and I am 1 attraction away from meeting my quota. We still have 4 hours to go, before fireworks, and 5 before afterhours. 3 hours in, and we have experienced 4 attractions, and also had lunch and ice cream.
An experienced WDW park goer would have turned right, and then left past Hall of Presidents to head towards Tomorrowland. Us, nope, we turned left. Not because I wanted too, but because Ella wanted to go through the castle. Okay kid, we can do that! She enjoyed looking at the murals, and being able to go though the castle. It’s the little things right? As we got to the hub we took a couple pictures, and then off to Tomorrowland. We parked the stroller near the old Stitch attraction, and went to tap into Buzz. We tapped in 5 minutes early, and the girls decided to ride together. They were determined to beat us, but I knew the secrets. My goal was to finally score 999,999, and I let mom in on the secret. The wait was less than 5 minutes. Basically the time it took us to walk onto the ride is how long we waited. The standby was at 45 minutes FYI. I wasn’t able to get the high score, and I blame mom. She would spin the car at the wrong time! Ugh I’m still disappointed with her, LOL. I did end up scoring 721,700. Lorelai was floored, asking how I did that. I didn’t let in on my secret, but she found out later at dinner, because she looked it up on Youtube. Hahaha.
When we exited Buzz the wait for Astro Orbiter was 40, and the People Mover was 30 minutes. Pass, we will go sit in the Laugh Floor theater in 15 minutes. The skies were gray, and it was starting to spit a little rain, so I was happy the stroller was in covered parking. While waiting for the Laugh Floor I booked our next reservation. Peter Pan was sold out, Dumbo was a late return, Splash had none, and Big Thunder was late as well. So it was Small World for us. The wait time for Small World did not go under 30 minutes all day, so that’s why we chose this one. At this time, we had only ticked the boxes of three “Must Do” attractions for us. Lorelai was bummed that Splash was gone for the day, and asked why I had not tried to get one earlier. This had put me in the dog house with her, but I promised her, we would experience it. I even said to mom, “If I need to add another day to our ticket, and come for a half day tomorrow I will do that for her.” She was on board, but we both agreed we would do our best to get it done today.
It was a short wait for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and the girls chose the back row. While we were waiting for the show to begin, a bright light shined on us. Nothing was said to the girls, but I believed that one of us would be a part of the show. The show began, and sure enough Ella was one of the audience members shown on the screen. She was “Boo”, and thankfully no speaking parts, because she was very shy. She just waved and nodded her head. Haha. The show was a nice break for our feet, and when we exited the show, it was still overcast, but the sun was trying to peek through. I asked Ella what she wanted to do next, and she mentioned Dumbo, so to Storybook Circus we went. We had time to kill, as our next LL reservation was at 6:25, and it was right around 5 PM at this time.
Upon entering Storybook Circus, we noticed the wait for Dumbo was 40 minutes, but the wait for the Barnstormer was 15. The plan was to hit this up first, before going back to Dumbo. Now for the past couple of years my weight has fluctuated a ton. Basically right now I’m Pete, but wishing I was Goofy. Because I’m ol Pete, ive been suffering from Meralgia paresthetica. Basically I have a pinched nerve, and the side effect is a numb thigh. Too much activity I have shots of pain go up my thigh to my hip. Basically feels like a white hot knife cutting up my thigh. This week, I had not dealt with it other than a numb outer thigh. However waiting for the Barnstormer, that pain reared its ugly head. It was awful, but I pushed through. However it would get worse as the night went on. SO I had that going for me, yay!! Anyway, we were placed in the back of the “Plane” and off we went. A quick and simple ride. In the amount of time it took to experience this, the wait for Dumbo dropped to 20 minutes.
The ladies headed towards the Standby entrance, and I ran and grabbed a diet coke and sprite for them at Big Top Souvenirs. I caught up to them a few minutes later inside the tent area. The line moved fast enough to skip the play area, so the wait was way lower than 20 minutes. For the most part during this trip, the wait times seemed to be inflated. Doesn’t surprise me, those shareholders want a part of everyone’s wallet these days. It was fun to ride dumbo in the early evening. The lights are beautiful for this attraction. It’s a must see if you never have.
We have a few hours left in the MK, but for now this is where I leave this report.
.
Even though we just ate, the family was craving some ice cream. So we stopped at Story Book treats for some treats.
Lorelai chose the Heigh-Ho Sundae, Ella had the Snow White cone, and Mom had a dish of vanilla soft serve. I chose not to order anything, because I knew Ella would not finish hers, and I was correct. After a few minutes with the lemon dole whip cone, Ella passed it off onto me. This was definitely a flavor of dole whip I wanted to try, so I was happy to take it off her hands. Speaking of hands, she had sticky ones. So mom asked me to get into her bag and grab the wipes for Ella. I’m digging with my right hand, and holding a cone in my left. Well my hulk like grip, crushes the cone in half while looking for the wipes. Well that’s wonderful….. I find the wipes, scarf down the remaining cone, and then proceed to ask for wipes for myself. LOL Other than that the lemon dole whip was tasty, but not a go-to. Pineapple is where its at, or is it? Hmmm…
Before handing it off to Dad
Off to the Haunted Mansion we go. We had almost a half hour to get there and tap in, so no rush. However when we get close to the attraction there is a sea of people. Where is the line for LL I ask a CM. He points me in the direction of the Liberty Square Riverboat entrance. The end of the LL line was past this, and curving towards Liberty Tree Tavern.
Crap, are we going to make it before 3:45? I tell Mom and the Girls to chill out, and I will wait in line. They do a little shopping in Momento Mori while I am in line. Said line moved at an okay pace, but it still took us 25 minutes before we were in the stretching room. After I tapped in, I went ahead and made our next LL reservation. We would have to cross the park again, but it was the only option. My wife said, “okay this is the last time, if there is nothing available in the area we are in, then don’t make the reservation.” You got it boss! Our next stop would be Buzz in Tomorrowland.
While we were waiting we also noticed that the sun was starting to fade away, and it was starting to become overcast. The radar showed some showers, but I was hopeful they would stay away. Mainly because there was two outdoor rides that we wanted to do, that may be effected by a storm. Two rides that were on Lorelai’s list of to-do’s. Okay back to the Mansion. I love HM, but I could tell that this might be something Ella wasn’t going to enjoy. She chose to ride with Mom, and Lorelai and I rode together. We had 3 ride stoppages during our trip though, but overall a great time. Ella asked as we left, “Can we not do that again? I really did not like that dad, there were REAL ghosts in there!” You got it kid, maybe one day when you bring your kids, you will enjoy it.
Next up was Buzz, with a reservation of 4:25. It is 4 PM by now, making great progress, and I am 1 attraction away from meeting my quota. We still have 4 hours to go, before fireworks, and 5 before afterhours. 3 hours in, and we have experienced 4 attractions, and also had lunch and ice cream.
An experienced WDW park goer would have turned right, and then left past Hall of Presidents to head towards Tomorrowland. Us, nope, we turned left. Not because I wanted too, but because Ella wanted to go through the castle. Okay kid, we can do that! She enjoyed looking at the murals, and being able to go though the castle. It’s the little things right? As we got to the hub we took a couple pictures, and then off to Tomorrowland. We parked the stroller near the old Stitch attraction, and went to tap into Buzz. We tapped in 5 minutes early, and the girls decided to ride together. They were determined to beat us, but I knew the secrets. My goal was to finally score 999,999, and I let mom in on the secret. The wait was less than 5 minutes. Basically the time it took us to walk onto the ride is how long we waited. The standby was at 45 minutes FYI. I wasn’t able to get the high score, and I blame mom. She would spin the car at the wrong time! Ugh I’m still disappointed with her, LOL. I did end up scoring 721,700. Lorelai was floored, asking how I did that. I didn’t let in on my secret, but she found out later at dinner, because she looked it up on Youtube. Hahaha.
When we exited Buzz the wait for Astro Orbiter was 40, and the People Mover was 30 minutes. Pass, we will go sit in the Laugh Floor theater in 15 minutes. The skies were gray, and it was starting to spit a little rain, so I was happy the stroller was in covered parking. While waiting for the Laugh Floor I booked our next reservation. Peter Pan was sold out, Dumbo was a late return, Splash had none, and Big Thunder was late as well. So it was Small World for us. The wait time for Small World did not go under 30 minutes all day, so that’s why we chose this one. At this time, we had only ticked the boxes of three “Must Do” attractions for us. Lorelai was bummed that Splash was gone for the day, and asked why I had not tried to get one earlier. This had put me in the dog house with her, but I promised her, we would experience it. I even said to mom, “If I need to add another day to our ticket, and come for a half day tomorrow I will do that for her.” She was on board, but we both agreed we would do our best to get it done today.
It was a short wait for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and the girls chose the back row. While we were waiting for the show to begin, a bright light shined on us. Nothing was said to the girls, but I believed that one of us would be a part of the show. The show began, and sure enough Ella was one of the audience members shown on the screen. She was “Boo”, and thankfully no speaking parts, because she was very shy. She just waved and nodded her head. Haha. The show was a nice break for our feet, and when we exited the show, it was still overcast, but the sun was trying to peek through. I asked Ella what she wanted to do next, and she mentioned Dumbo, so to Storybook Circus we went. We had time to kill, as our next LL reservation was at 6:25, and it was right around 5 PM at this time.
Upon entering Storybook Circus, we noticed the wait for Dumbo was 40 minutes, but the wait for the Barnstormer was 15. The plan was to hit this up first, before going back to Dumbo. Now for the past couple of years my weight has fluctuated a ton. Basically right now I’m Pete, but wishing I was Goofy. Because I’m ol Pete, ive been suffering from Meralgia paresthetica. Basically I have a pinched nerve, and the side effect is a numb thigh. Too much activity I have shots of pain go up my thigh to my hip. Basically feels like a white hot knife cutting up my thigh. This week, I had not dealt with it other than a numb outer thigh. However waiting for the Barnstormer, that pain reared its ugly head. It was awful, but I pushed through. However it would get worse as the night went on. SO I had that going for me, yay!! Anyway, we were placed in the back of the “Plane” and off we went. A quick and simple ride. In the amount of time it took to experience this, the wait for Dumbo dropped to 20 minutes.
The ladies headed towards the Standby entrance, and I ran and grabbed a diet coke and sprite for them at Big Top Souvenirs. I caught up to them a few minutes later inside the tent area. The line moved fast enough to skip the play area, so the wait was way lower than 20 minutes. For the most part during this trip, the wait times seemed to be inflated. Doesn’t surprise me, those shareholders want a part of everyone’s wallet these days. It was fun to ride dumbo in the early evening. The lights are beautiful for this attraction. It’s a must see if you never have.
We have a few hours left in the MK, but for now this is where I leave this report.
.
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
I wish! Oh how I miss that shower. LOL
Updates will be coming soon. Busy day in the office, but I'm glad you are enjoying so far. Plenty yet to come, so please stick around.
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
The last post had us riding elephants, with large ears, in a continuous circle for a few minutes. Time was around 6, and we had 25 minutes to kill before Mom’s favorite, It’s a Small World. The wait for Little Mermaid was around 20 minutes, so we hopped in line. Ella teased Lorelai a little, saying the ride was going to stop right in front of Ursula. If you remember, Ursula is Lorelai’s dreaded enemy. Well fictitious enemy, LOL. While we were in the queue, I checked the app for wait times using the Tip Board. Now what happened for me, may not happen for everyone else. I saw there was a LL for 7:45 at Big Thunder, and I just tapped to see if it might work. Well the seas parted, and the Genie gods allowed me to book another LL. Unfortunately no Splash passes were available, so I’m hoping some magic happens later in the night. As far as the Little Mermaid, well its just what it is. There is some great animatronics, but I really don’t feel like it’s a must do. However Ella did not remember this ride from our 2017 trip, so we went for her. The funny thing, the ride did stop, but not in the right spot. We were two “Shells” past Ursula when we stopped. Haha Lorelai was still a bit peeved as she could still hear Ursula behind her. 
Next up was Mom’s favorite. I could put her on this ride and she would ride it over and over, and not get bored. I enjoy it for her. The wait was 35 minutes, but our overall wait was just over 5. Again LL was working out for us. It just SUCKS that I had to drop $60 plus tax just to accomplish things I used to be able to do before COVID, and corporate greed. Eh, we will get back to that at the end….. Our cruise was great, Ella was pointing out all kinds of different things she enjoyed. Personally my favorite is the Cactus playing the guitar. Mom took a photo on her phone just for me.
We popped out of Small World around 6:40, and we are hungry. Stomachs rumbling, and need theme park food now! Mom says “What’s that place where I got nachos last time? Is that place still open? Can we go there?!” Yes honey, Pecos Bills is still open, and that sounds good to me! However I had other plans…. Open up the App, scroll to Aloha Isle, place order. Yes, my dinner was going to be Dole Whips. Don’t judge me, I’m on vacation. Okay judge me, cause I ordered two. Yes you read that right, two. The Tropical Serenade and the OG Dole Whip float. Here this part of the night gets a little messy. I waited to place the order until we got to Bill’s, cause mom wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted on the app. So she went ahead and ordered in person. She told me to go ahead and head off and grab my “Dinner” so off I went. Walked right up to the window, picked up my order and back towards Bill’s I went. Now it was close to 78 degrees, and the coconut whip started to melt like it was on the surface of the sun. I’m holding this one in my left hand, the pineapple in my right. Here I look like super dad bringing his kids a cold treat, but little do these people know, these are for my lard butt! LOL
Now here is where I screwed myself. I had pulled my mask down underneath my chin, and I have to have it up going into a building. There is a CM by the main door, but I can’t walk up to him and say “hey my man, can you pull up my mask for me?” Yea I think CM’s are great, but no way will that be happening tonight. So next step is find a trash can, place melting Whips on it, use non sticky hand to pull up mask, and head indoors. I should have went in the back entrance near Golden Outpost, but then again your reading a trip report from a guy carrying two dole whips for himself! That says a lot. As I start to walk towards the entrance I hear “hey are those Dole Whip’s? Where did you get them from?” from some guy across the way. I say “Oh yea buddy, and just down the way past Country Bears!” I sure hope that guy got his Dole Whip. Okay, so I make it in, find the table, and head back to the main counter to help mom with our food. Oh and to grab some straws. By the time I get back to the table, there is a puddle around the Tropical Serenade whip, but nothing around the OG whip. The coconut soft serve was amazing, and with that POG juice, it was an amazing treat. Boy would I love to have one right now. The pineapple was great, but Disney has changed the formula. It’s not as creamy as it once was, and that was a let down. Oh well, a sweet dinner, but it hit the spot. This wasn’t supposed to be my only Dole Whips of the trip, but that’s how it worked out. On our first day, we were planning on going to the GF and Poly to check out decorations, and I was going to get a whip that night too, but other things got in the way.
The family enjoyed their nachos, and I had a couple bites too, and then we cleaned up our mess and took a bathroom break. While we were sitting at dinner, we discussed skipping fireworks, and trying to accomplish Big Thunder and Splash while crowds were lite. However Ella and I were starting to pull the chicken card. Again I am not a huge fan of drops, and Splash has always been that ride that I’ve avoided. On past family vacations I would wait for family to ride not only splash, but Big Thunder too. My time would be spent exploring Tom Sawyer Island on my own, and this was something I missed doing this trip. As for me, my first go round on Big Thunder was in May of 2018 with my sister and I was eager to go again. Ella was excited to ride as well! We loaded up, and off we went. As we were headed up the second lift hill, the fireworks began. A very awesome thing to see, but hard to take good photos. Riding at night is an experience, but having those flashes of light from the fireworks was an added bonus. As far as the ride, Ella had her hands in the air the whole time, and loved every second. So much she expressed a desire to ride it again.
So now onto the topic of Splash Mountain. Ella was certain she did not want to ride, almost defiant she wasn’t riding. Honestly I was okay, it gave me an out. LOL As we watched the fireworks, Lorelai and Mom decided to go ahead and get in line. Ella and I went back onto Big Thunder, and sat in the front this time. We saw the end of the fireworks this ride, but the front flipped my insides all around. Wow was it a rough ride in the front. The middle of the train is my preferred spot. Anyway, we were not even done with the third lift hill and Ella was asking to go again. It was starting to sprinkle at this time as well. I remember this because she almost fell running back up the hill to ride again. Anyway we rode Big Thunder 4 times in a 25 minute period. As we were climbing the second lift hill I received a few photos from my wife, and her pleading that we needed to ride Splash with them. The both loved it. Lorelai said it was the best attraction of the trip!
It’s close to 8:45 by now. It’s now or never for us, because Splash is not an attraction open for EMH. Mom and Lorelai convince us to hop in line with them. My stomach is in knots, not only from my anxiety, but you know… Dole Whips. LOL Will I chicken out? Will I evacuate the Dole Whip in an unpleasant way? Will I enjoy the attraction? Those questions will be answered in the next post.
.
Next up was Mom’s favorite. I could put her on this ride and she would ride it over and over, and not get bored. I enjoy it for her. The wait was 35 minutes, but our overall wait was just over 5. Again LL was working out for us. It just SUCKS that I had to drop $60 plus tax just to accomplish things I used to be able to do before COVID, and corporate greed. Eh, we will get back to that at the end….. Our cruise was great, Ella was pointing out all kinds of different things she enjoyed. Personally my favorite is the Cactus playing the guitar. Mom took a photo on her phone just for me.
We popped out of Small World around 6:40, and we are hungry. Stomachs rumbling, and need theme park food now! Mom says “What’s that place where I got nachos last time? Is that place still open? Can we go there?!” Yes honey, Pecos Bills is still open, and that sounds good to me! However I had other plans…. Open up the App, scroll to Aloha Isle, place order. Yes, my dinner was going to be Dole Whips. Don’t judge me, I’m on vacation. Okay judge me, cause I ordered two. Yes you read that right, two. The Tropical Serenade and the OG Dole Whip float. Here this part of the night gets a little messy. I waited to place the order until we got to Bill’s, cause mom wasn’t entirely sure what she wanted on the app. So she went ahead and ordered in person. She told me to go ahead and head off and grab my “Dinner” so off I went. Walked right up to the window, picked up my order and back towards Bill’s I went. Now it was close to 78 degrees, and the coconut whip started to melt like it was on the surface of the sun. I’m holding this one in my left hand, the pineapple in my right. Here I look like super dad bringing his kids a cold treat, but little do these people know, these are for my lard butt! LOL
Now here is where I screwed myself. I had pulled my mask down underneath my chin, and I have to have it up going into a building. There is a CM by the main door, but I can’t walk up to him and say “hey my man, can you pull up my mask for me?” Yea I think CM’s are great, but no way will that be happening tonight. So next step is find a trash can, place melting Whips on it, use non sticky hand to pull up mask, and head indoors. I should have went in the back entrance near Golden Outpost, but then again your reading a trip report from a guy carrying two dole whips for himself! That says a lot. As I start to walk towards the entrance I hear “hey are those Dole Whip’s? Where did you get them from?” from some guy across the way. I say “Oh yea buddy, and just down the way past Country Bears!” I sure hope that guy got his Dole Whip. Okay, so I make it in, find the table, and head back to the main counter to help mom with our food. Oh and to grab some straws. By the time I get back to the table, there is a puddle around the Tropical Serenade whip, but nothing around the OG whip. The coconut soft serve was amazing, and with that POG juice, it was an amazing treat. Boy would I love to have one right now. The pineapple was great, but Disney has changed the formula. It’s not as creamy as it once was, and that was a let down. Oh well, a sweet dinner, but it hit the spot. This wasn’t supposed to be my only Dole Whips of the trip, but that’s how it worked out. On our first day, we were planning on going to the GF and Poly to check out decorations, and I was going to get a whip that night too, but other things got in the way.
The family enjoyed their nachos, and I had a couple bites too, and then we cleaned up our mess and took a bathroom break. While we were sitting at dinner, we discussed skipping fireworks, and trying to accomplish Big Thunder and Splash while crowds were lite. However Ella and I were starting to pull the chicken card. Again I am not a huge fan of drops, and Splash has always been that ride that I’ve avoided. On past family vacations I would wait for family to ride not only splash, but Big Thunder too. My time would be spent exploring Tom Sawyer Island on my own, and this was something I missed doing this trip. As for me, my first go round on Big Thunder was in May of 2018 with my sister and I was eager to go again. Ella was excited to ride as well! We loaded up, and off we went. As we were headed up the second lift hill, the fireworks began. A very awesome thing to see, but hard to take good photos. Riding at night is an experience, but having those flashes of light from the fireworks was an added bonus. As far as the ride, Ella had her hands in the air the whole time, and loved every second. So much she expressed a desire to ride it again.
So now onto the topic of Splash Mountain. Ella was certain she did not want to ride, almost defiant she wasn’t riding. Honestly I was okay, it gave me an out. LOL As we watched the fireworks, Lorelai and Mom decided to go ahead and get in line. Ella and I went back onto Big Thunder, and sat in the front this time. We saw the end of the fireworks this ride, but the front flipped my insides all around. Wow was it a rough ride in the front. The middle of the train is my preferred spot. Anyway, we were not even done with the third lift hill and Ella was asking to go again. It was starting to sprinkle at this time as well. I remember this because she almost fell running back up the hill to ride again. Anyway we rode Big Thunder 4 times in a 25 minute period. As we were climbing the second lift hill I received a few photos from my wife, and her pleading that we needed to ride Splash with them. The both loved it. Lorelai said it was the best attraction of the trip!
It’s close to 8:45 by now. It’s now or never for us, because Splash is not an attraction open for EMH. Mom and Lorelai convince us to hop in line with them. My stomach is in knots, not only from my anxiety, but you know… Dole Whips. LOL Will I chicken out? Will I evacuate the Dole Whip in an unpleasant way? Will I enjoy the attraction? Those questions will be answered in the next post.
.
Hubie
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2016
- Messages
- 609
I left off with us having our bellies filled with Sonny Eclipse, and headed back towards Fantasyland. Our next attraction would be Seven Dwarfs. I have done this attraction once, and wanted the girls to finally experience it. That was another reason I purchased the ILL. Well that and not wanting to wait in such a long queue and missing out on other attractions. Its pushing 3PM at this point as well. We checked in, and waited less than 5 minutes and standby was at 70 minutes. If we were AP holders, or visited more often, I would have not paid the $9 per person to do this. Heck we might even skip it. Thirty Six dollars for a ride that is around 2 minutes is insane to think about now, but alas we chose this route. We were placed in the back of the train, which I wasn’t too excited about, but Lorelai loved the idea. However I found out that I loved it! My first experience was in the front, and the back was so much more enjoyable. Everyone seemed to enjoy our trip through the mine, and we hoped to enjoy it again later during after hours.
Even though we just ate, the family was craving some ice cream. So we stopped at Story Book treats for some treats.
Before handing it off to Dad
Off to the Haunted Mansion we go. We had almost a half hour to get there and tap in, so no rush. However when we get close to the attraction there is a sea of people. Where is the line for LL I ask a CM. He points me in the direction of the Liberty Square Riverboat entrance. The end of the LL line was past this, and curving towards Liberty Tree Tavern.
Crap, are we going to make it before 3:45? I tell Mom and the Girls to chill out, and I will wait in line. They do a little shopping in Momento Mori while I am in line. Said line moved at an okay pace, but it still took us 25 minutes before we were in the stretching room. After I tapped in, I went ahead and made our next LL reservation. We would have to cross the park again, but it was the only option. My wife said, “okay this is the last time, if there is nothing available in the area we are in, then don’t make the reservation.” You got it boss! Our next stop would be Buzz in Tomorrowland.
While we were waiting we also noticed that the sun was starting to fade away, and it was starting to become overcast. The radar showed some showers, but I was hopeful they would stay away. Mainly because there was two outdoor rides that we wanted to do, that may be effected by a storm. Two rides that were on Lorelai’s list of to-do’s. Okay back to the Mansion. I love HM, but I could tell that this might be something Ella wasn’t going to enjoy. She chose to ride with Mom, and Lorelai and I rode together. We had 3 ride stoppages during our trip though, but overall a great time. Ella asked as we left, “Can we not do that again? I really did not like that dad, there were REAL ghosts in there!” You got it kid, maybe one day when you bring your kids, you will enjoy it.
Next up was Buzz, with a reservation of 4:25. It is 4 PM by now, making great progress, and I am 1 attraction away from meeting my quota. We still have 4 hours to go, before fireworks, and 5 before afterhours. 3 hours in, and we have experienced 4 attractions, and also had lunch and ice cream.
An experienced WDW park goer would have turned right, and then left past Hall of Presidents to head towards Tomorrowland. Us, nope, we turned left. Not because I wanted too, but because Ella wanted to go through the castle. Okay kid, we can do that! She enjoyed looking at the murals, and being able to go though the castle. It’s the little things right? As we got to the hub we took a couple pictures, and then off to Tomorrowland. We parked the stroller near the old Stitch attraction, and went to tap into Buzz. We tapped in 5 minutes early, and the girls decided to ride together. They were determined to beat us, but I knew the secrets. My goal was to finally score 999,999, and I let mom in on the secret. The wait was less than 5 minutes. Basically the time it took us to walk onto the ride is how long we waited. The standby was at 45 minutes FYI. I wasn’t able to get the high score, and I blame mom. She would spin the car at the wrong time! Ugh I’m still disappointed with her, LOL. I did end up scoring 721,700. Lorelai was floored, asking how I did that. I didn’t let in on my secret, but she found out later at dinner, because she looked it up on Youtube. Hahaha.
When we exited Buzz the wait for Astro Orbiter was 40, and the People Mover was 30 minutes. Pass, we will go sit in the Laugh Floor theater in 15 minutes. The skies were gray, and it was starting to spit a little rain, so I was happy the stroller was in covered parking. While waiting for the Laugh Floor I booked our next reservation. Peter Pan was sold out, Dumbo was a late return, Splash had none, and Big Thunder was late as well. So it was Small World for us. The wait time for Small World did not go under 30 minutes all day, so that’s why we chose this one. At this time, we had only ticked the boxes of three “Must Do” attractions for us. Lorelai was bummed that Splash was gone for the day, and asked why I had not tried to get one earlier. This had put me in the dog house with her, but I promised her, we would experience it. I even said to mom, “If I need to add another day to our ticket, and come for a half day tomorrow I will do that for her.” She was on board, but we both agreed we would do our best to get it done today.
It was a short wait for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, and the girls chose the back row. While we were waiting for the show to begin, a bright light shined on us. Nothing was said to the girls, but I believed that one of us would be a part of the show. The show began, and sure enough Ella was one of the audience members shown on the screen. She was “Boo”, and thankfully no speaking parts, because she was very shy. She just waved and nodded her head. Haha. The show was a nice break for our feet, and when we exited the show, it was still overcast, but the sun was trying to peek through. I asked Ella what she wanted to do next, and she mentioned Dumbo, so to Storybook Circus we went. We had time to kill, as our next LL reservation was at 6:25, and it was right around 5 PM at this time.
Upon entering Storybook Circus, we noticed the wait for Dumbo was 40 minutes, but the wait for the Barnstormer was 15. The plan was to hit this up first, before going back to Dumbo. Now for the past couple of years my weight has fluctuated a ton. Basically right now I’m Pete, but wishing I was Goofy. Because I’m ol Pete, ive been suffering from Meralgia paresthetica. Basically I have a pinched nerve, and the side effect is a numb thigh. Too much activity I have shots of pain go up my thigh to my hip. Basically feels like a white hot knife cutting up my thigh. This week, I had not dealt with it other than a numb outer thigh. However waiting for the Barnstormer, that pain reared its ugly head. It was awful, but I pushed through. However it would get worse as the night went on. SO I had that going for me, yay!! Anyway, we were placed in the back of the “Plane” and off we went. A quick and simple ride. In the amount of time it took to experience this, the wait for Dumbo dropped to 20 minutes.
The ladies headed towards the Standby entrance, and I ran and grabbed a diet coke and sprite for them at Big Top Souvenirs. I caught up to them a few minutes later inside the tent area. The line moved fast enough to skip the play area, so the wait was way lower than 20 minutes. For the most part during this trip, the wait times seemed to be inflated. Doesn’t surprise me, those shareholders want a part of everyone’s wallet these days. It was fun to ride dumbo in the early evening. The lights are beautiful for this attraction. It’s a must see if you never have.
We have a few hours left in the MK, but for now this is where I leave this report.
.
It finally looks like your family, including you are having some fun. Glad you had at least one good day.
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
Boiling it all down we had some really great moments. Moments I will cherish for life. However this trip really showed me Disney isn’t the best way to spend our money. As much as I love being on property, a vacation that costs a
1/4 of this trip is just as fun. I’m getting ahead of myself, again we will touch on this in the future.
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
Okay, two dole whips in my belly, four rides on Big Thunder Mountain, and now we are in line for Splash Mountain. The dole whips are not bothering me, its this ride. Just something about it that makes me a ride wuss. Anyway, Lorelai is having a good time ribbing me. She keeps saying “dad its not that bad” while she is snickering behind my back. During the wait we are talking about other attractions we want to experience, and how mom wants to do a little shopping. Unfortunately we missed out on the Christmas Shop, and she wasn’t happy about that. I asked the CM before she gave us our seat assignments if The Emporium would be open during the EMH hours. She assured me that they would be open, and then gave us our seat assignments. Lorelai and I rode together, and Mom and Ella had the back. The ENTIRE ride Lorelai giggled and kept telling me the drop was coming. She loved seeing my reaction. Anyway, I honestly don’t remember much about the ride, as my nerves were getting the better of me. My chin was in my chest for the final drop, and my eyes were closed. As I write this, I still regret how I treated this attraction with Lorelai. If there is anything I’d wish for is one more go around with her. 
Ella was not a fan, and says this was the worst ride of the trip, she was ready for another round on Big Thunder. While we were in the show building for Splash there must have been a quick shower as the ground was wet, and the cover over Ella’s stroller was holding some water. After Splash, we were now in EMH’s and CM’s were scanning bands. Ella hustled to the entrance of Big Thunder and we were quickly on for our 5th and final ride of the night.
So we were at the point that Mom and Lorelai’s must-do’s have been accomplished. Ella and I both had one more attraction on our list, Pirates and Peter Pan. The crowds had dispersed, and man was that so nice to not have to dodge people standing in the middle of walkways, or scooters cutting you off. It was almost as nice as the shower at the Riviera. It was a short stroll to Pirates, and not a single person was too be seen in Adventureland from Tortuga Tavern to Tiki Room. I have never seen a land or the Magic Kingdom so empty. Parked the stroller, scanned in, and walked to the boat. I know there are far better versions of this attraction, but I’ve never experienced those, so this is my favorite. The area where the Pirate is with the Cat, there is a scent that Lorelai and I found familiar. If you are ever lucky enough to visit Tokyo DisneySEA, ride Sinbad. There is a part of this attraction where they pump in the smell of ripe bananas. Now the smell on Pirates isn’t as strong, but we both mentioned Sinbad’s as we passed this area of the ride.
We left Pirates, and its close to 9:50 by then. Time files in the Magic Kingdom! We decide to take the path past Tiki Room towards our final attraction, Peter Pan. However Lorelai noticed the entrance and asked if we could see her favorite show in the MK. I looked at my watch and said I was good with it. We waited for a few minutes and then we were ushered into the show room. Now I ask, who has had the entire show room to themselves? I’m sure someone has, but we all thought it was pretty cool. The 4 of us, and a CM. However that show was much longer than I remember. LOL
So, its 10:20, Ella wants to ride Peter Pan, mom wants to shop, and I really want to do Seven Dwarfs again. The wait time for Peter Pan was 25 minutes, and Seven Dwarfs was 60. Guess it’s Peter Pan, and my feet were okay with that. I had not seen the new queue, so that was pretty neat to see, and soon enough after that we were on our ship to neverland. Ella and I enjoyed riding together, and she especially thought the part with Hook at the end was funny. So that’s it, our last attraction of the trip finished, damn that’s a bummer then and now. On our walk towards main street, its starting to hit me. I’m heading towards the exit of my favorite park, a park full of so many memories. Somewhere where all of my stresses of work, and life melt away. A place that brings me its own stresses, but the joy outweighs them. Pushing that stroller through the castle, I’m trying to soak up every second. We stop for a few photos, and then make our way to the Emporium.
Nothing is really on our “must have” list, but we spend a good half hour in here. The girls purchase some pins, Mom finds a couple odds and ends, and I purchase an awesome water bottle. It’s pink, but I don’t care.
We tried out the mobile checkout option, which worked awesome! I suggest you give it a go next time you are in the parks or Disney Springs. Man, if I said that on camera, and posted to youtube could I be a famous vlogger? Nah, don’t need this mug on Youtube. Anyway, mom’s doing some final shopping, and I head over to the main Christmas tree, and look back down mainstreet at the castle. Here I am a grown adult man finding myself teary eyed. I’m remembering all of the vivid memories made in this park over the past 35 years. Riding the Skyway in 1996, witnessing the inflatable candles on the 25th anniversary castle sway in the wind. Grandma sitting in the Hub hours before Spectromagic because she knew how much I loved that parade. She would sit there and people watch and we would bring her water and snacks while my sisters and I crisscrossed the park during the day. The first time we took Lorelai and Ella to the parks. A day in the park with my sister in 2018. So many memories I wont clog this report with, but each hold a special place in my heart. Disney has to make some major changes in the next few years for us to consider coming back, and I knew that may never happen. So instead of thinking of the negative, I decided to think positive and remember all the great times.
When I leave the MK I always have to give one last look back down main street, then a glance back at the train station, and then ride the ferry to the TTC watching the castle become smaller and smaller. This time it would be different. No looking back, only looking towards the TTC. Mom made her way out of the Emporium, and we headed out of the park. It was 11:20 when we started the walk to the ferry. There was a total, not including us, 10 people on the ferry going back. Most would head off towards where uber and other busses pick up/drop off. I spoke with the guy next to us, and he mentioned he was a local. Said he just walked around during the after hours event and people watched after a day in the park. He knew he couldn’t experience any attractions, but also knew the CM’s wouldn’t push him out. It seemed like the perfect night to me if I was a local.
I knew the walk from the ferry was going to be a long one, and we all guessed how long. I said 12 minutes, Lorelai said 20, and Mom and Ella said 25. When we disembarked, I started the timer. It was 11:32 and my goal was to be back to the Riviera by 12:15 at the latest. When we passed security, they had a tram there, but maintenance was working on it. Not sure what was going on there, but it gave me a false sense of hope….. After we went through the tunnel, I realized we might be one of the last cars in the lot. As we left the area of Aladdin, and crossed the bridge into Simba, I was pretty much spot on. There were more wheelchairs in the parking lot than cars. To be exact, there was our rental, and one other. The other left a few moments before we reached our car. So we were the last car in the parking lot and had to take a photo to mark the occasion. Well unless you count the trams you can see behind the trees. 
Oh and I was closest without going over. From ferry to car, it was just over 14 minutes. Paul from Indiana, COME ON DOWN!!!!
We made it back to the Riviera around 12:10 AM. We made it up to the room, and I let the girls clean up and get ready for bed. While I was in the shower (Shower tally 12) Mom and Lorelai packed a few bags for me to take down in the morning. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and we decide to set the alarm for 8:30 AM.
It will be a few days before I continue this report. Have a wonderful holiday however you choose to celebrate!
.
Ella was not a fan, and says this was the worst ride of the trip, she was ready for another round on Big Thunder. While we were in the show building for Splash there must have been a quick shower as the ground was wet, and the cover over Ella’s stroller was holding some water. After Splash, we were now in EMH’s and CM’s were scanning bands. Ella hustled to the entrance of Big Thunder and we were quickly on for our 5th and final ride of the night. So we were at the point that Mom and Lorelai’s must-do’s have been accomplished. Ella and I both had one more attraction on our list, Pirates and Peter Pan. The crowds had dispersed, and man was that so nice to not have to dodge people standing in the middle of walkways, or scooters cutting you off. It was almost as nice as the shower at the Riviera. It was a short stroll to Pirates, and not a single person was too be seen in Adventureland from Tortuga Tavern to Tiki Room. I have never seen a land or the Magic Kingdom so empty. Parked the stroller, scanned in, and walked to the boat. I know there are far better versions of this attraction, but I’ve never experienced those, so this is my favorite. The area where the Pirate is with the Cat, there is a scent that Lorelai and I found familiar. If you are ever lucky enough to visit Tokyo DisneySEA, ride Sinbad. There is a part of this attraction where they pump in the smell of ripe bananas. Now the smell on Pirates isn’t as strong, but we both mentioned Sinbad’s as we passed this area of the ride.
We left Pirates, and its close to 9:50 by then. Time files in the Magic Kingdom! We decide to take the path past Tiki Room towards our final attraction, Peter Pan. However Lorelai noticed the entrance and asked if we could see her favorite show in the MK. I looked at my watch and said I was good with it. We waited for a few minutes and then we were ushered into the show room. Now I ask, who has had the entire show room to themselves? I’m sure someone has, but we all thought it was pretty cool. The 4 of us, and a CM. However that show was much longer than I remember. LOL
So, its 10:20, Ella wants to ride Peter Pan, mom wants to shop, and I really want to do Seven Dwarfs again. The wait time for Peter Pan was 25 minutes, and Seven Dwarfs was 60. Guess it’s Peter Pan, and my feet were okay with that. I had not seen the new queue, so that was pretty neat to see, and soon enough after that we were on our ship to neverland. Ella and I enjoyed riding together, and she especially thought the part with Hook at the end was funny. So that’s it, our last attraction of the trip finished, damn that’s a bummer then and now. On our walk towards main street, its starting to hit me. I’m heading towards the exit of my favorite park, a park full of so many memories. Somewhere where all of my stresses of work, and life melt away. A place that brings me its own stresses, but the joy outweighs them. Pushing that stroller through the castle, I’m trying to soak up every second. We stop for a few photos, and then make our way to the Emporium.
Nothing is really on our “must have” list, but we spend a good half hour in here. The girls purchase some pins, Mom finds a couple odds and ends, and I purchase an awesome water bottle. It’s pink, but I don’t care.
We tried out the mobile checkout option, which worked awesome! I suggest you give it a go next time you are in the parks or Disney Springs. Man, if I said that on camera, and posted to youtube could I be a famous vlogger? Nah, don’t need this mug on Youtube. Anyway, mom’s doing some final shopping, and I head over to the main Christmas tree, and look back down mainstreet at the castle. Here I am a grown adult man finding myself teary eyed. I’m remembering all of the vivid memories made in this park over the past 35 years. Riding the Skyway in 1996, witnessing the inflatable candles on the 25th anniversary castle sway in the wind. Grandma sitting in the Hub hours before Spectromagic because she knew how much I loved that parade. She would sit there and people watch and we would bring her water and snacks while my sisters and I crisscrossed the park during the day. The first time we took Lorelai and Ella to the parks. A day in the park with my sister in 2018. So many memories I wont clog this report with, but each hold a special place in my heart. Disney has to make some major changes in the next few years for us to consider coming back, and I knew that may never happen. So instead of thinking of the negative, I decided to think positive and remember all the great times.
When I leave the MK I always have to give one last look back down main street, then a glance back at the train station, and then ride the ferry to the TTC watching the castle become smaller and smaller. This time it would be different. No looking back, only looking towards the TTC. Mom made her way out of the Emporium, and we headed out of the park. It was 11:20 when we started the walk to the ferry. There was a total, not including us, 10 people on the ferry going back. Most would head off towards where uber and other busses pick up/drop off. I spoke with the guy next to us, and he mentioned he was a local. Said he just walked around during the after hours event and people watched after a day in the park. He knew he couldn’t experience any attractions, but also knew the CM’s wouldn’t push him out. It seemed like the perfect night to me if I was a local.
I knew the walk from the ferry was going to be a long one, and we all guessed how long. I said 12 minutes, Lorelai said 20, and Mom and Ella said 25. When we disembarked, I started the timer. It was 11:32 and my goal was to be back to the Riviera by 12:15 at the latest. When we passed security, they had a tram there, but maintenance was working on it. Not sure what was going on there, but it gave me a false sense of hope….. After we went through the tunnel, I realized we might be one of the last cars in the lot. As we left the area of Aladdin, and crossed the bridge into Simba, I was pretty much spot on. There were more wheelchairs in the parking lot than cars. To be exact, there was our rental, and one other. The other left a few moments before we reached our car. So we were the last car in the parking lot and had to take a photo to mark the occasion.
Well unless you count the trams you can see behind the trees.
Oh and I was closest without going over. From ferry to car, it was just over 14 minutes. Paul from Indiana, COME ON DOWN!!!!
We made it back to the Riviera around 12:10 AM. We made it up to the room, and I let the girls clean up and get ready for bed. While I was in the shower (Shower tally 12) Mom and Lorelai packed a few bags for me to take down in the morning. Tomorrow will be a busy day, and we decide to set the alarm for 8:30 AM.
It will be a few days before I continue this report. Have a wonderful holiday however you choose to celebrate!
.
Wood Nymph
DIS Legend
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2012
- Messages
- 20,876
I have really been enjoying your trip report. I can see how Disney has made it harder for families to enjoy their vacations. The crowds and all the options make it hard to enjoy the parks.
This is like something from a horror movie. Wow! I would be totally disgusted by this. I'm glad that you were able to get a replacement but they should have refunded all of your rental car expense because of the cockroaches.
This is like something from a horror movie. Wow! I would be totally disgusted by this. I'm glad that you were able to get a replacement but they should have refunded all of your rental car expense because of the cockroaches.
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
It was an interesting evening for sure! Yep MK was the best day of the trip!
Thank you! I will he adding the final few post next week.
MinnieFan4ever
<a href="http://www.wdwinfo.com/dis-sponsor/" targ
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2003
- Messages
- 3,169
Great trip report!
Isabelle12345
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 9, 2019
- Messages
- 1,096
Thanks for the report! Looks like you managed to have a good time despite all the hiccups!
The cockroach story makes me so scared about renting a car in Orlando now…
I may have missed it, but would you mind sharing which car rental company you went with? I get that it’s not their fault but still… it’s a story for horror movies!!
The cockroach story makes me so scared about renting a car in Orlando now…
I may have missed it, but would you mind sharing which car rental company you went with? I get that it’s not their fault but still… it’s a story for horror movies!!
tehSAC
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2011
- Messages
- 437
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