"How come Cinderella's feet don't hurt?" Romantic Weekend TR Updated 12/11/09

[PrincessRora]

Chapter 1: The Cast and Errands, errands, and oh guess what, More errands!

Home sweet, home… not. I would so much rather be back in my wonderful happy place. Short Disney trips are fun, but I definitely don’t think I have had enough. I’m sitting in the airport in Atlanta and in my mind, I’m already planning our next trip, although my darling fiancé doesn’t know it yet.

But I’ve gotten ahead of myself. For those of you who didn’t read my pre-trip report, Hi, I’m Nikki, or rather, for this trip, I was known as the Disney Commander. My lovely fiancé decided that that was to be my nickname the whole time, I think on the morning of our first day when I made him get up before 7:00 am (but more on that later). I’ve been to WDW more times than I can count. I have vague memories of a trip to DL once when I was younger, and I know I stayed at the CBR when I was really little, but I don’t remember it well. Therefore, for all intents and purposes, this trip was my first on property. My first time taking advantage of everything WDW offers to its resort guests.

The other member of our tiny cast is my wonderful fiancé Stephen, without whom, this trip could not have been remotely possible. He was the lovely financial resource. LOL. And it was his idea to stay on property. His nickname on this trip was the over sized 6 year old. . Ok, so the goal of the trip was to get him to enjoy WDW the way a child would. I just didn’t realize that he would take it so seriously. Stephen’s been to Disney a few times with his family, and now, 3 times with me. He’d never stayed on property either, so it was a big deal to both of us.

Here's a pic of us from our day trip in January 2009 since I don't have this trips pictures uploaded just yet.

So it was just Me, Stephen, and 3 days at the All-star Movies hotel (which I absolutely love). It was a short trip, but it was by far my absolute favorite trip. We did so much this trip that neither of us have ever done before (which is hard to come by because I’ve been so often). But it was great. No matter how many times you go, WDW never ever gets old and it never will, although I’m pretty sure our next trip there won’t be till at least our honeymoon, but I could so live with a nice romantic disneymoon . Now, if only the internet at ATL was free .

If anyone is interested in reading the PTR, here’s the link: "You Just Did What?"

Ok, now that I’ve bored everyone to death, I’ll move on with the TR. Please keep in mind, this is my first actual TR, so I’m not exactly sure how to make it non-coma inducing boring (I hope to be able to figure it out soon). I’ve spent a while trying to come up with a title. Oh, and if you are reading, please say hello. I don’t bite and I like to know I’m not totally crazy because I’m talking to myself. It gets kind of lonely just doing that sometimes. So… where was I… oh yeah, the start of the trip.

Even though our trip was technically Friday-Monday, I considered Thursday part of the trip, because at least for me it included travel. Stephen was supposed to drive from his home in Charlotte, NC to my apartment in Boone, NC where I’m a master’s degree student on Wednesday evening and spend the night so we could leave the minute I got out of class on Thursday. Of course, since his job doesn’t have set hours per week, he got a phone call at noon Wednesday asking him to come in that night. So, plans had to change. They wanted him to work Thursday night too and get off at 6:00 am on Friday morning, an hour and a half before our flight was supposed to leave… um… No. Flat out No. There was absolutely no way I was letting him work and make us possibly late for our flight. Wasn’t happening. Sorry buddy, tell your boss you just can’t do that one.

Back to the change of plans. After Stephen told his wonderful psychotic boss that the world would need to be in immediate danger that only he could fix for his fiancé to let him work the night before our trip to WDW, we set about rearranging things. So Stephen went to work Wednesday night till 6 am, went home and slept for 3 hours and then left for Boone at 10:00 am. He made it to the parking lot at my university at noon, and had to wait 15 minutes for my professor to release our class. I’m pretty sure I sprinted from the room. People must have thought I was crazy.

Quick kiss hello, since I hadn’t seen him in 2 weeks and we were off to my apartment to pack liquids in quart sized bags and load his car with my stuff. I think it took all of 15 minutes before we were grabbing lunch at the local McDonald’s drive through and getting on the road back to Charlotte. I hated that he had to drive 2 hours to Boone, just to turn around and drive 2 hours back, but really it was his jobs fault. So my guilt didn’t last long.

Approximate two hours later, our crazy tour of the city of charlotte began. First stop Pineville Mall. My job has kept me on the payroll and gives me occasional hours, so I actually had a paycheck waiting for me there. And I wanted to check the Disney store to see if there were any t-shirts on sale. (Boone has a mall, but it is pathetic. No Disney store. Barely any type of stores besides your average department stores.) No cheap t-shirts though, so we shopped for a bit and visited a friend who works there currently. Of course, that’s when Stephen realizes he need contact lenses for the trip. Well, his prescription is expired, but his eye doctor can give him a trial pair for our trip. Problem is, his Doc is at another mall on the other end of town and they close at 7. It’s 3:30 now, and we still have a bunch of other things we need to do.

Now I’m in panic mode. He needs these contacts. I don’t want the possibility of leading a blind man around WDW. Though it would have been funny until it got annoying. So, we left the mall very quickly. Next stop, my parents house to check on things (they were out of town for 2 weeks and were due back that Sunday. Dad asked me to check on our pets who were being watched by a neighbor). So, we got there, check our cats first, then went across the street where the dogs were currently playing with there best puppy friends and my neighbors 3 yr old son. We were there for 2 hours!!! . Ok, so now it’s 5:30 pm.

One more errand on this side of town. My little cousin wanted to show me something he made for school before he turned it in. Now, this wasn’t a necessary stop, but he’d asked several weeks prior, and it wasn’t his fault that Stephen forgot he needed to get contacts until the day before we left. So we were in and out of there by 6:00 pm. Stephen stayed in the car, and as soon as I was back in it, we were off to Northlake Mall.

Got the contacts, just as they were closing the gates to close. I love my fiancé, but I was very close to killing him at that point. And very hungry. We were supposed to be able to eat at my parents place and now we were spending more of our Disney money. Ok, not much, but still. So, contacts in hand, we got back in the car and drove to Concord Mills mall. (Yes! We went to three different malls in one evening! It was crazy). Straight to the Disney Outlet, grabbed 2 t-shirts. A new one for me and an actual Disney one for him. YAY! Then we grabbed food and were at his place around 8.

I wanted to be in bed at 9-10 the latest. Now, we get there and Stephen decides to tell me he has to have something faxed to the NC state government about taxes by noon the next day, but that he’s gonna ask his mother to do it. Alright not a problem… at least not a problem until she gets home at 9:00 pm and doesn’t want to do it. Now I’m trying not to get upset. I was tired. He was tired, and we needed to be up at 4:30 am. I wasn’t upset with his mom. She had every right to say no. He should have done it himself several days before. So it’s 9:30ish and we’re now having to drive to Kinkos to fax in a form. Stephen is not allowed to wait until the last minute ever again. I will be asking him from now on what he needs to do, about a week before hand from now on.

We got home around 10:30, showered, and finally got in bed around 11:30 pm. And we had 3 full days of Disney. Stephen hadn’t slept since 3:00 pm Wednesday afternoon, and he was out right away. I on the other hand didn’t get to bed till at least 12:30… so 4 hours of sleep right before an early morning flight and a full day at the WDW resort. Oh boy. What had we gotten ourselves into.

TR Contents:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2 - Day 1
Chapter 3 - Day 1 Part II
Chapter 4 - Day 1 Part III
Chapter 4: Part 2 - Day 1 Part III
Chapter 5: Day 2
Chapter 6: Day 2 Part II
Chapter 7ay 2 Part III

 

[Minxe]

yay!! i'm first!!

hi there hon, so lovely to meet you two gorgeous people!! reading your trip report made me so excited because my fiance and i will be going to WDW this dec! it'll be his first ever trip, so i'm both nervous and excited! he starting to give me the alarmed look when he looks over my shoulder and goes, "what's that spreadsheet for?!!" oh, the men in our lives are so funny when placed in the disney context.

i can't wait to read more!!! *subscribing*

 

[PrincessRora]

yay!! i'm first!!

hi there hon, so lovely to meet you two gorgeous people!! reading your trip report made me so excited because my fiance and i will be going to WDW this dec! it'll be his first ever trip, so i'm both nervous and excited! he starting to give me the alarmed look when he looks over my shoulder and goes, "what's that spreadsheet for?!!" oh, the men in our lives are so funny when placed in the disney context.

i can't wait to read more!!! *subscribing*

Congrats on your own trip to WDW. They are funny indeed. They don't quite get that you can't do disney without some sort of plan. I got asked during the planning if we could "just wing it?" But once he's there, he'll understand why all your planning was necessary and thank you for it. You both will have an amazing time.

 

[Disneymoon09]

My DFi is the same way. sooo frustrating, he's lucky i love him cant wait to read more!

 

[PrincessRora]

My DFi is the same way. sooo frustrating, he's lucky i love him cant wait to read more!

LOL. They are all indeed lucky that we love them. Congrats on your disneymoon and of course, your wedding.

 

[PrincessRora]

Sleep finally did come somewhere around 12:30 am and before I knew it, both mine and Stephen’s cell phones were playing two different tunes waking us up at the same time. Now, here’s where we differ. I sat straight up, despite the fact that it was 4:30 am and I had 4 hours of sleep. I was smiling. I was happy. I was finally going to Disney World . And on the other side of the bed… Mr. Morning Grumpy Pants was still laying in bed, eyes shut after having turned off the alarm clock . I believe the conversation went like this:

“Are you going to get up?”
“I will.”
“When?”
“When you’re ready to go.”
“Um… Stephen, all I have to do is put on clothes, brush my hair and teeth and I’m ready. When are you going to get up?”
“I’ll be ready, I promise.”
“If you make us late…”
“I won’t.”

I finally let it go, grumbling to myself about how slow and lazy he was being. It was Disney morning and I wanted to get moving. I could already hear his mother down stairs as she was taking us to the airport. So, I grabbed my clothes which I’d already laid out, changed, and packed my PJs, then went to the bathroom to finish. I came back and he was still in bed!!

So I grabbed my bags and carried them downstairs without a word to him. The boy got the point, and he was downstairs five minutes later, with the “I’m sorry” pout on his face. I gave him a good morning kiss to know he was forgiven . While I had been waiting for him, I pulled out my computer and posted one last post on my PTR here on the DIS. But that was it for the internet for the next few days.

Stephen loaded our bags in the car while his mom and I played with the three furry children. Lucky, Orange, and Ice are Stephen’s three cats who have just learned what the outside is and are very keen on making a break for it if you let them. So while Stephen was moving in and out we kept them distracted.

We were out the door and on the way to the airport by 5:00 am, which was actually the time I wanted. Stephen drove his car, and his mom was going to take it back to the house and pick us up on Monday. The car ride was uneventful, and when we pulled up at the curbside drop off area, everything looked quite and peaceful. We pulled the bags out of the truck, said goodbye to his mom, and wondered into the airport.

What happened to the peaceful?? The place was packed. We finally made it up to a kiosk to check in, then climbed in line to go through security. I think we waited a half hour there. Seriously people, they have signs everywhere telling you what to do, and what needs to come off and go in bins. I swear one of the TSA officers had to tell a man 5 times that he needed to take off his coat before going through security. He finally got it. I can understand families with small children having trouble with security. Kids don’t understand it. And they’re little. I don’t blame them. But adults who can read and should be able to follow directions. 5 times to be told something is a little much.

Ok, away from my airport rant. We finally got through security, collected our belongings, put our shoes back on, and walked to the main concourse for breakfast. YAY Cinnabon. It is heaven on earth. And very fattening, but really, at 6:00 in the morning I didn’t really care. I was hungry and it smelt so good. So, cheerfully (and maybe a little grumpily on Stephen’s end) we got in line for the yummy gooey goodness and then made our way to gate A1, which wasn’t all that far of a hike.

When we sat down I noticed a woman and two young children. They called her Aunt Sheela. I smiled at them because I could hear them talking about their destination: WDW. Stephen and I took our seats and ate our breakfast.

Here are the 6 o’clock in the morning, must take pictures in the airport photos. Can you guess who’s happy to be there and who isn’t?

Anyway, we ate breakfast and my eyes kept darting over to the little family a few seats away. They had gone and gotten juice and biscuits from the nearby store. And that’s when the pixie dust hit. The kids were so cute and I just had to do something, so I dug into my purse and pulled out my lanyard and grabbed the two tiny pins I had – Sebastian and Flounder. I was planning on trading them for something I wanted when I got to Disney, but I had a few others with me, and well, the kids didn’t look like they had any. So, I knew what I wanted to do.

I told Stephen I’d be right back and I walked over to the family. I spoke to the adult first so she could decide that I wasn’t a stranger going to hurt the children. It’s a bit sad, but I knew safety first and I know if I was a parent I’d want to be addressed first before a stranger gave something to my children. So I smiled and asked if I’d heard right and they were going to Disney world. “Aunt Sheela” responded that they were. It was all of their first visit and they were going because it was the kids 6th birthday. Twins! So I asked if they had heard of pin trading. They hadn’t. So, I offered the pins to “Aunt Sheela” and explained how it worked. I told the kids that if they didn’t really like the pin I gave them it was ok, because they could trade it for one they did like as soon as they got to WDW. “Aunt Sheela” thanked me and pinned Flounder to the little girl, and Sebastian to her brother. I waved goodbye and returned to Stephen. Smiling the whole way because of the way the kids were smiling, and I got to give them their first bit of pixie dust for the trip. This must have been how the fairy god mother felt when she gave Cinderella her ball gown and slippers. It was such a magical feeling.

Anyway, we boarded the plane shortly and had to walk past our seats to find space for our carry ons. Really people, they tell you to put one in the over head compartment and one by your feet. Why must you argue and decide you need to put both in the overhead? Have courtesy for your fellow man. Luggage finally stowed, we took our seats and had a very fast, very uneventful flight to Atlanta.

Now, for those of you who have never been to the Atlanta airport, it’s big and set up in separate terminals that are connected by underground walk ways and a subway. We arrived 5 minutes early and had an hour before take off to go from terminal B to terminal T (which is 2 terminals). So, we managed to push our way back down the plane, get our luggage, and get off the plane. And here’s where we instated a new rule. I get to plan and be in control when we’re at Disney. Stephen gets control at the airports. I flew a lot when I was younger, but not so much recently. Stephen has flown a lot more. In fact he had to take 4 planes in one trip: Charlotte, NC, to Denver, CO, to Auckland, to Christchurch, to McMurdo Station in Antarctica. (Yes, he has been to Antarctica. He likes to be cold, unlike me. Temperature is a huge battle for us constantly as you’ll see soon). So I relinquished command and followed him through the airport. He got us to our terminal with little hassle and in enough time to not be late for our connection. 5 minutes later we saw “Aunt Sheela” and the kids arrive. And they had a new member to their group. Funny, I hadn’t seen the other adult woman at the Charlotte airport.

Once again we boarded the plane and this time were lucky enough to find a place for our luggage right near our seats. We sat down and waited. And waited. And waited a bit more. Everyone was on, we were almost running late, and yet the pilot hadn’t left the gate. The cause: A woman wouldn’t take a seat because her husband was looking for a place for her and him to sit with their son together. She kept saying her husband was going to make someone switch seats with her. And she wouldn’t stow her bag. Finally the flight attendant told her quite forcefully to put her bag up and sit down. She did, and then her husband sends their two year old son running up the aisle to her. She straps herself in and places the child on her lap. Now, I know lap children are allowed, but aren’t they supposed to be under the seat belt? I could be wrong. Stephen worked for US airways when he was younger and he said they were. So I was a bit worried about the child. I couldn’t help being scared he would fall and get hurt without the seat belt. And then he pulled the tray table down, and his mom ignored him, even after they had already given the please put your tray tables and seats in the upright position speech. I was glad when the flight attendant noticed and told her to put it up, but they didn’t say anything about the child’s lack of seat belt.

The flight was a bit longer than the first, and uneventful for Stephen and I. I can’t say the same for the man sitting in front of the woman and her child. He kept kicking the seat and whining, and mom would do nothing but hold him tighter or sending him running down the aisle to his father. It was an interesting flight. But we finally made it to MCO 15 minutes early! And I mean we were off the plane 15 minutes before we were scheduled to land. Our pilot didn’t play. LOL.

So YAY for being in the land of sunshine and warmth. It was now time to find our way to the ME! With a couple of pit stops on the way.

 

[PrincessRora]

Chapter 3: ME and the best hotel EVER!

So, the last time I left you, were had just landed at MCO. YAY! I could already feel the warm air radiating through the walkway that connected the airplane to the terminal. Stephen, was not as excited about the hot air as I was, nor was he excited about the presence of the bright sun. Halfway between Atlanta and Orlando, he figured out that he’d forgotten his sunglasses back at home. So I could already see trouble coming. Stephen works nights, and he absolutely hates having the sun in his eyes. I knew we would be miserable without something to shield him. I swear, not a day goes by at home where he doesn’t have a pair sitting on his head, ready to pull down to cover his eyes at the first hint that the sun was going to come out.

The moment we were off the plane, out comes Stephen’s cell phone. His mom was supposed to have left a message because apparently in the short time since we left home, Stephen’s car was broken. The latch on the driver’s side door to keep it locked and unlocked was broken. The door would not open. His mom was taking it to the Kia dealer. So the message entailed that the part that was needed would be in Tuesday and it would cost $190. So much for saving when we got home. Anyway, his mom volunteered to lay out the money. Which was very nice. (At present, the part just came in yesterday, and I believe Stephen is taking the car to get fixed today).

So, now that we knew what was going on with the car we made our way to the ‘fake’ monorail. I heard a few kids asking their parents if they were at Disney yet. It was really cute. After our quick monorail ride, it was time for a bathroom break in the main terminal, and a stop at the little magazine store where I bought Stephen a cheap pair of sunglasses to last him through the trip. Aren’t I sweet?

Then it was down the escalator to find the Magical Express. Ok, so I remembered that it was side B, and we had to go down, but I kind of forgot what floor. So we ended up on the baggage claim level and wandered around for a couple of minutes before I realized we had to go down one more. So, quick hop on the elevator, and then what seemed like a half mile walk along the ground, we finally reached the place for the magical express. I got a bit confused because some people had to go to the desk, but we didn’t? I guess we already had vouchers and they didn’t. Anyway, we got up to the first line and the lady looks at our vouchers and directs us into the line for the All-star resorts. Who just happens to be in front of us?

It was ‘Aunt Sheela’ and the kids. We said hello, and introduced ourselves. Sheela met up with her best friend Shirley in Atlanta. She was coming along for the twins birthday vacation. And the children were Spencer and Ashley. I asked if they liked the plane ride, and Spencer asked how we got there. He seemed amazed when I told him we flew on the same plane as they did.

We were on the bus and leaving the airport within twenty minutes. Not bad. I expected a much longer wait. Anyway, Spencer and Ashley were seated right up front with their adults behind them. Stephen and I slid in next to them, and we had a wonderful conversation the whole way. As it turns out, Sheela and Shirley didn’t know anything about Disney. They had park hoppers and such, and were even on the dining plan, but had not made a single ADR!! They were there from Friday-Wednesday. 5 nights of meals that would possibly go to waste. They also had no idea about Wishes, Fantasmic, Illuminations, or Spectromagic. So, needless to say our conversation involved must dos. I gave them the Disney dining phone number and a few suggestions for the kids, since Spencer and Ashley were really excited about seeing Mickey and all the other characters for the first time.

I took a few pictures on the bus, and Sheela took a really nice one of Stephen and I.

It was about 12:45 when we pulled through the gates to the All-star resorts. First stop was All-star sports. I think one family got off here. Next was All-star music, and we increased our drop off to 2 families. All of a sudden Stephen says “I don’t believe it.”

“Don’t believe what?”
“You were right.”
“I was right about what?”
“Your itinerary said we’d get to the hotel at 1.”

Sure enough just as we pulled into Disney’s All-star Movies resort, both our watches said 1:00 pm. I just started laughing. Of course I was right. Why wouldn’t I have been?

We were the 2nd ones off the bus, right behind Sheela and her family. We grabbed our carry ons from under the bus, and I made it a point to walk back around and make sure I got to walk the red carpet. Yes I know I have issues. But Stephen loves me anyway. We got in line for check in, and I got a little bit camera happy, but I wasn’t the only one, so it was ok.

The line for check in was long and slow. Online check in wasn’t open in a separate line, so I’m not sure what benefit those people had. Anyway, the couple a few groups in front of us was up at the desk arguing. Apparently they hadn’t gotten the first floor connecting rooms that they had requested. The rest of their family was seated by the cartoon area at that point. The CMs found them some first floor rooms that weren’t connected, but it got them even more upset. Stephen noticed the man was wearing compression socks and his ankles looked very swollen, which from an EMT stand point apparently indicates signs of heart failure, so wanted first floor rooms was completely understandable. I felt bad for the poor CM getting yelled at though. She finally called her manager out.

Now, while this is all happening, the line behind us is growing longer. Another ME bus just showed up. Suddenly a woman a few families behind us starts yelling. She’s tired of waiting in this line, and a bunch of swear words fly from her mouth. In front of her children, and many others children. It was definitely not appropriate. I normally stay out of confrontations, but Stephen is different. We don’t have kids of our own yet, but we both know its not right to act that way in front of children. I squeezed his hand to try and get him to let it go. He leaned down and whispered that all he was going to do was ask the woman to be quiet and tell her she was being rude. Luckily the CM manager got to it first. “Ma’am I’m sorry for your wait. We’re going as fast as we can, and we promise to be with you shortly. Have a magical day.” Funny enough the woman turned beat red and shut up. I wonder if she didn’t know how loud she actually was.

Finally it was our turn. The CM manager directed us to a CM down at the concierge desk since it was empty. She explained all about the meal plan and asked if we had any questions. I asked how EMH worked because I still had no idea. I was finally happy to know that they have indeed done away with wrist bands. You need to show your resort ID at each ride before you can go on. However, if it’s 2.5 hours into a 3 hour EMH, they usually stop making you show it. She added that most guests would purchase the clear pouch in the gift shop and attach it to a lanyard so they could carry their key around their neck. We only had one night of EMH so we just went with leaving them in Stephen’s wallet.

Then our CM asked if we needed anymore park tickets since we only had one day park hoppers. I explained about my tickets and told her they had D23 designs on them. She got really excited and asked to see. I was happy to show her. I love them. Mine is tink, and Stephen’s was Baloo. At this point, she pulls up our room and explain that we had requested a king but that all the king rooms were special access rooms and they usually went first. The manager over heard and asked us if we wanted them to check Music and Sports. I explained that it was not a big deal at all and that I understood a request is not a guarantee, but that they would totally make my day if they could get us a room in the Dalmatians building because it was one of my favorite movies. The CM smiled and I think I saw her sigh in relief that we hadn’t caused a whole lot of trouble.

At this point the manager asked if there was anything else she could do for us. That’s when the kid in me popped out. I had spotted her lanyard while waiting in line while she was helping the connecting rooms family. She had a pin I have been looking for since I first saw it in 2004. At the time I didn’t collect pins. I got my lanyard in 2008 and went on a full resort search and could not find it. It was of Princess Aurora and Prince Philip dancing. No background, just the figures. Well, there it was, and I was so not going to let disappear. I reached into my bag, and pulled out my lanyard and grabbed my Ursula pin off it and bid it farewell. I had my beloved pin. Stephen just laughed, but he knew how much I wanted this pin. He had found a similar one in March on ebay and bought it for me.

By the time my new pin was securely in place, the CM was giving us our room number and our map to find it in the Pongo building. I think I may have actually squealed out loud in excitement. At Disney world even adults can squeal when happy. Confident that we could find it, follow the giant bones on the ground until we passed the massive dogs, we set off to find the exit to cinema hall, waving goodbye to Sheela, Shirley, Spencer and Ashley on the way (I believe they were making dining reservations).

The pool area was beautiful, but there wasn’t time to take it in. We had passed the food court and we were starving. The sooner we got to the room the sooner we could eat. It took us only a couple of minutes to figure out which way the room numbers went, but finally we were at our room. First floor, Pongo Building 1, courtyard view. WOW! All I’d requested was a Dalmatians building. I know there are people who request certain floors, and views, and even locations on buildings. We had a great spot. I was very happy.

Stephen let me open the door, laughing at me the whole time. We walked in and WOW! I love this hotel. Everything was perfect. Although the mickey on the bed was the last towel creation we would get the whole weekend. Oh well, it was cute while it lasted.

For those of you who will be staying at All-star Movies and may have heard negative things, let me assure you everything was absolutely perfect. There wasn't a speck of dust anywhere. The beds were clean, the bathroom was nice and shiny, and there wasn't even a streak on the window or mirror. Also, our carpets had been shampooed and Mousekeeping even left a note about why the carpet was a bit damp. And the room smelled good too. No musty or mildewy smells. So yeah, even though Movies hasn't been refurbished like the other two, I couldn't find anything wrong with it. It was perfect.

It was now time to find food and then explore the hotel.

 

[PrincessRora]

So it was off to find food, which wasn’t that hard, since the only place for food was the food court. LOL. The walk from our room wasn’t too long. On the way I called my mother and let her know that we had arrived safely and I would call her on Monday when we got back to Charlotte. She wished us a great trip and then went back to her last couple of days of her own vacation.

So we reached the food court, which I can’t remember the name of at the moment, and we were walking in and a really friendly CM was at the entrance and he saw my tinkerbell shirt.

“I tink that’s a really cool shirt, what do you tink?”
“I tink it’s cool too.” I answered, trying not to laugh hysterically.
“What about you, sir. Do you tink its cool?”
“Ehh… it’s alright,” Stephen responds. I gave him a little hand smack.

We had a nice conversation with the CM about how long we’d been there, if we were enjoying Disney (even though we’d literally just gotten there), what our plans were for the day. Stephen had a surprise for me that night, and had already told my two best friends, my mom, and my neighbor what it was. Now he was telling the CM after sending me off into the food court to look for a meals.

He caught up to me a couple minutes later, a smug look on his face, which meant that another person had liked his idea for a surprise. I just laughed and shook my head and we went into the food area together. In his absence, I had decided on a cheese burger at the grill area. Stephen decided to follow. I ordered a cheese burger and fries, and Stephen had a cheese steak and pasta.

Now we’re both really new to the dining plan. I knew what our Table services comprised, but I didn’t know what we could get with a counter service, so we did what any resourceful Disney goers would do. LOL. We asked the CM at the register. Found out we got lunch, a drink, and dessert! YAY! Dessert! Stephen got a brownie, and I got a chocolate, chocolate chip muffin. We paid, or rather we let the CM swipe our room key and take 2 of our counter service meals, got our drink cups and made our way to a table.

My wonderful fiancé distributes the food off the tray, then takes the cups, puts the tray up and goes to fetch our drinks. Without even asking me, that boy knows exactly what I want to drink. A coke with no ice. Awww, he loves me. So we sat for about an hour, just eating and talking about flight, and wondering what every happen to the diva lady and her child from the plane. And then we talked about the plan for the rest of the day. I wanted to try out the pool, wander the hotel a bit, then get ready for his surprise that I knew was at 6:30, watch Wishes from the Polynesian beach, then we had dinner at O’hanas at 9:40.

So we tossed our trash and went to the gift shop to pick up a few things. I tried on ears that I want one day.

And walked back out into the sunshine. Stephen’s sunglasses came down. We explored the Dalmatians area on the way back to our room.

Then we changed for the pool. It was about 3:00 pm by the time we left the room and made our way to the pool. Our room was closer to the Mighty Ducks pool, but I wanted to swim in the fantasia pool, so Stephen obliged. Unfortunately, as much as I love to swim, the water wasn’t heated enough for me. So we dipped our feet in and decided to explore the hotel instead.

We went to the fantasia area first, and met the Disney bunny. I swear it’s a special breed. You could get within three feet of it and it wouldn’t run away. Here are the pictures of the fantasia buildings.

Next was the love bug. It was cute too. For anyone curious, there is a pop jet area at the winner’s circle, but it was not on.

Following the love bug we made our way to the Toy story section. I will admit, this was the coolest decorated place, but only because there was so much to look at. We took a bunch of pictures here.

We walked back through the pool area and I snapped a couple pictures of the baby pool. After that we headed towards the room. Stephen went inside and I walked just a bit further and took a few pictures of mighty ducks area, before joining him.

By this point it was 4:30. We needed to leave by 5:15 to take the bus to the Magic kingdom, which was all he would tell me. We had to be at his surprise by 6:15 to check in. So, we showered, and dressed for dinner, and were out the door on the way to the bus stop by 5:00.

To be continued...

 

[PrincessRora]

The bus showed up quickly, and we were on our way. When we got there, Stephen grabs my had and leads me towards the main entrance. Ok, now I was confused. We didn’t have park tickets for Friday. Suddenly he stops. He’s standing in front of the resort boat launches looking up at the sign. He then shakes his head and groans.

I asked what was wrong. He doesn’t know where to go. The sign says Ft. Wilderness Resort and Campground and the Wilderness Lodge Resort. He didn’t know there were two hotels with similar names and while a moment before he’d been 100% sure he knew where we were going, and now he didn’t. So Stephen gets on the phone with the reservations people and I wandered around taking pictures. Finally he comes to get me and steers me onto the boat towards the Ft. Wilderness resort.

He then leads me to the gift shop and tells me to stand outside while he checks in. I take more photos. It keeps me busy.

And back comes Stephen, he takes me by the hand, smiling, and leads me by the hand towards a giant horse. It finally clicked. He had booked us a horse and carriage ride. I never would have guessed because he’s terrified of horses. When he saw that I realized it, he leaned down and brushed my hair out of my face and said “I love you.”

I just melted. He told me that at first he was going to do it at the Port Orleans Riverside, but that one has lots of bridges to cross, and he knows I’m not a fan of bridges. They make me nervous for some reason. But I melted even more because he had thought about me the whole time. Stephen helped me into the carriage, and climbed in beside me. Our driver took a picture for us.

I didn’t take my camera out for the rest of the ride because it was really dark, and also because I snuggling up beside Stephen the whole time, just happy to be in his arms, and totally loving my amazing surprise.

A half hour later, our horse Ralph dropped us off and we took a goodbye picture of him. I was totally smitten with Stephen at this point and wouldn’t let go of his hand. He just had the “I did good” smile on his face. And that was ok, because he had done very well.

We got back on the boat and headed to the Polynesian. We found our way to the beach which was already starting to be staked out by people. We grabbed two lounge chairs and pulled them next to each other, and with only 5 minutes remaining, we cuddled up close with a great view of a purple Cinderella’s castle.

And then the music started. And Wishes was amazing. I loved watching Wishes at the magic kingdom with Stephen last year, but this was amazing. More private. More romantic. People not stepping or bumping into you. If you ever have the chance to try it, go for it. You won’t regret it.

Once wishes ended, we wandered around the Polynesian for a while.

Both our tummy’s were getting rumbly, so finally it was 9:00 pm and we went upstairs to O’hana’s to check in. I saw Kona Café on the way. It looked cool, but I don’t know if I’d want to eat there because every table was in open view of the lobby and people walking by. Not my idea of a peaceful mean. Anyway, we went up to the desk and checked in.

The CM at the desk checked us in and then “You can have a seat over there and come back here as soon as I call Miller party of 2… and… excuse me.” A ticket popped up on his printer and he looked down and smiled. He looked back up at us and laughed. “Miller party of 2.”

I laughed 2. 9:40 dinner and seated at 9:00. Worked for me. I was hungry. We were seated towards the back of the restaurant but in the perfect spot to watch the little dinner show that the Hawaiian lady had the kids do. Then she asked for anyone in love, celebrating anniversaries, etc, to come up and danced. So we went. And we got lays. YAY.

Dinner was delicious. I highly recommend this meal. They will keep bringing you food until you can’t fit anymore in and then they bring you dessert. And the bread is to die for. It is definitely worth a Table service credit. We checked out and made our way back to our hotel. We had to take a bus to DTD, and then one from DTD to the All-Star Movies. Funny enough our Driver on the way to DTD got a change of route and ended up switching from a Poly bus to an all-stars bus as soon as we got to DTD so we didn’t even have to get off. It was nice. We made it back to our room by 11, and crashed. It had been a long day.

And with that I’ll leave you with some pictures from dinner. Up next, Day 2: Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.

 

[PrincessRora]

6:50 am and the wake up call is ringing for the first time. I leaned over from the bed and picked up the handset then hit the speaker button. And I got to hear Mickey and Stitch for the first time every. “Wake up! No sleepy!” It sent me giggling like a child. Ok, so I know most people are tired of the same wake up call year after year, but I’d never heard it before so it was great. Stephen just laughed at me but he did get up and started getting ready too, after calling me the Disney Commander for having him awake so early.

Once we were dressed it was time to head out to the bus stop. We stopped at the food court on the way to use yesterdays snack credits for breakfast since we hadn’t yet. I got an apple and Stephen got a jelly filled pastry thing. Both which we ate at the bus stop for Disney’s Hollywood Studios with no one in line, which surprised me because this morning was an Extra Magic Hour. I figured out why very quickly as first the bus for Animal Kingdom, then Epcot, and then the Magic Kingdom went by. We had managed to just miss the bus for Hollywood studios. So at about 7:40 the bus finally shows itself. YAY!

And we’re off; along with tons of other people, including two families who were running to catch it. So about 10 minutes to 8 we finally make it to Hollywood Studios. And it’s crowded. And what surprised me is that the CMs weren’t watching the turn styles. I saw a bunch of people use paper tickets to get in. Stephen and I even used my bonus tickets this day, but we had our room keys out ready to be checked, but no one even asked to see them. It makes me wonder if CMs let people take advantage of Extra Magic Hours in the morning, because when we got to the rides, no one asked to see them either.

Anyway, away from my rant, we made our way towards the rope that kept people from going any further, found an open spot and waited. Stephen looked at me like I was insane. But I had a plan today. A big plan! I went to WDW for vacation with my family in June 2008 right around when Toy Story Mania first opened. We had no idea about the line for it and when we got there in the afternoon the fast passes were gone and the wait was 75 minutes. We had an 18 month old, and really none of us wanted to wait in line for 75 min. The second time I was at HS was in June 2009 when Stephen’s father took us for a day. We didn’t get to the park till just past 10 am and the rest of the family wasn’t interested in it, so I didn’t even mention. When we passed it the line was 80 minutes long and the fast passes were gone.

So, this time I was riding TSM. No matter what I had to do. I was there by rope drop and I was riding. Stephen just told me he’d follow my lead. He’s usually the fast walker so I didn’t think this would be a problem at all. What I forgot is that I’m small and I know how to duck and weave and tended to leave him behind a bit. So, that said, the rope was dropped and the people were off walking fast at the speed mandated by the CM reading the group. It was funny to see a small crowd of people turn right on Sunset Blvd towards RR and ToT. That used to be me. That’s still my family. But the rest of the crowd was still moving straight until we got to the huge circular area by the hat where the CMs formed a line and just started pointing, laughing and shaking their heads. I thought it was hysterical that they knew where EVERYONE was going. Plus they were sending everyone through the Animation area so no one would take the stairs down into the Pixar area directly. Truthfully I think that was smart thinking on Disney’s end. Stairs and large crowds where people are racing to get to a ride can lead to accidents.

The crowded entered the Pixar area and suddenly I feel someone grab my shirt. It’s Stephen and he’s laughing and panting. Apparently he hadn’t been able to keep up with me as well as he thought he would. The only thing he said was why couldn’t I walk that fast normally. I just told him I need the right motivation. So the line splits in two, one group is headed for the Fast Passes and the other is headed for Standby. I recommend getting in the stand by line and getting fast passes after you’ve already ridden once, because at first the line for the Fast Passes is really really long, but if you’re there at rope drop and ride first, there are plenty of Fast Passes left when you get off, and the line for them is not horrible.

I knew Stephen and I weren’t going to be at HS very long so Stand by line it was. I was so amused by the decoration here. It was great. And I even found a hidden Mickey. I wonder if they’ve added it to the book of hidden mickey locations yet. If they have people are going to need to buy updated books. (side note: I’m not hugely into the hidden mickeys. I don’t have the book. I just get amused if I accidentally find one). And the best part was, I was finally getting to ride.

I think we waited all of 20 minutes for the ride. 25 if you count the walk from the rope drop to the ride. We had a blast, and this picture is blurry but the scores say $85,000 to $129,100. Stephen beat me but my accuracy was much higher. Apparently I was taking time to aim and he was just pulling the string as fast as he could. His strategy works better. This ride is so much fun. If you haven’t ridden yet, Do it. It’s so worth the extra planning it takes to get there.

When we stepped out into the sunlight at 8:35 the fast passes were up to 11:45-12:45 which wasn’t bad. And there was no line for them. So it is do able to ride twice in a day. Stephen and I by passed by it and walked through the animation area for a quick bathroom break. Then it was off to sunset blvd. Tower of Terror had a nice 10 minute. We met a father taking his daughter on for the first time, and you could tell she was scared. The father handled it great, and we helped too. Encouraging the girl and letting her know it wasn’t scary, just exciting and fun. 5 minutes later we were at pre-show. And then finally we found the line, which wasn’t long at all. All of a sudden we run into a group of people where the line splits. There’s part of the gating that opens right in front of one of the elevators, but it’s not the load area. The load area is still a bit farther up.

So I say “excuse me” three or four time to try and tell them that they’ve got it wrong, but no one answers. So fine, I’m not going to wait in the wrong place for god knows how long. I walked right past them. I did not line cut. They refused to listen! And the best is, NO ONE follows us. They’re all waiting in behind those people and the line is getting back up big time. By the time the CMs realize what’s going on, Stephen and I are being loaded onto the elevator.

I always get nervous at this point. I have no idea why. I just do. So I’m holding on for dear life. Anyway, the ride was good, but I didn’t really like our combination of drops. We didn’t have a really big one, so it wasn’t as much fun.

We got our picture taken by a photopass person

And then proceeded to our last ride of the day at HS: Rockin Rollar coaster which had a 20 min wait. We were at the pre-show in 10. As we’re getting closer to the CM who asks how many are in your party, I turned to Stephen and said could we ask to sit in the front? I didn’t mind waiting, and neither did he, but we still decided against asking. We just wanted to ride. We get up to the CM, say there’s 2 of us, and she sends us down to row 1! I got to ride the front of RR for the first time ever, without even asking! YAY!

We found a nice couple to take our picture on the way out and we took one of them.

And now it was 9:30 and time to head out. We stopped at a gift shop on the way and got two of the free kids movie tickets for the princess and the frog, got a quick obligatory hat picture from the photopass person, and left the park.

We debated taking the bus or the boat to Epcot, and I snapped a few photos of the entrance to HS and the Christmas tree, and then we made our way to the bus stop. Unfortunately, we got our directions wrong and went the wrong way towards the Epcot stop and ended up running, and missing the bus, and then realizing that we went the wrong way. LOL. We finally made it to the right bus stop and were on the bus by 10:15. We were finally on our way to Epcot.

 

[PrincessRora]

Last time I left you we’d just arrived arrived at EPCOT. The park had been open for an hour and a half so I was expecting lines. This is the park where I’m pretty sure I earned my Disney commander nickname. Stephen hasn’t been to EPCOT in a long time, and when he had been, it was his favorite park. So I wanted him to get to ride all the new stuff as well as experience all the old things too.

First thing we did was take the obligatory big giant ball pictures. People were rude. The saw the photopass guy, and ever time he tried to direct us to a spot on the wall, another family would jump into the space. Finally he just had us stand in the middle. The picture came out good, I think.

First stop was fast passes for Soarin. We got a return time of 11:45-12:45. Then we hiked across future world for a five minute wait for Mission Space. For weeks we’d been going back and fourth as to whether or not Stephen should do the real version or the mild version. He gets motion sickness easily. I told him I got dizzy on the real version, but if he wanted to do it, I’d join him happily. So we got in line and I left the discussion up to him. He chose the mild version and I’m glad he did. He got dizzy. In line we met a nice family of five who were riding 3 and 2. We ended up being the other two with their group of 2. The kids were a little nervous, and the adults had never ridden before, so I reassured the kids there wasn’t anything scary about the ride. It was just fun.

So we got our roles. I got to be the commander and Stephen was our engineer. I enjoyed the ride like I always do, but I did miss the G forces a bit. Oh well, I was glad Stephen wasn’t sick, because that would have ruined the rest of our day. We exited Mission space and walked over to Ellen’s Energy Adventure. I’d never ridden this ride. Not even when it wasn’t Ellen’s. So I had no idea what to expect. The pre-ride movie had already started, but we figured out what was going on pretty quickly. Stephen asked me if we stood the whole time, and I told him I had no clue. We almost left, but then the doors were opening and we saw the ride.

We ended up in the front row of the first vehicle. It was a fun ride, but considering Stephen was already dizzy, the big round screens probably weren’t the best idea, but we enjoyed it. Next it was time for my second surprise which wasn’t a surprise anymore because he figured it out. We walked into Innovations and set out to find Sum of all Thrills.

Found the ride, and it looked just as cool as it sounded. The CM at the entrance told us it was a 45 minute wait. I just shrugged and got in line. This was a Raytheon thing, and something Stephen loved. We were doing it even if the wait was 2 hours. We talked and watched the ride while we waited. They have you pair up when you get close to the briefing room. There are two height requirements for this ride. The lower one allows you to do a bobsled. The higher one allows you to do bobsled, rollercoaster, or jet. If one of the party members only makes the lower requirement, they give you a purple card. Otherwise you get an orange one. My guess is that the purple card limits what you can make.

Anyway, you go into the briefing room for about 5 minutes, and then you have five minutes to make your ride. You’re given a team number in the briefing room and you go to the design table that matches your number. We made a jet with a couple of loops. I think we went upside down about 3 times. It was another five minutes or so before we got on, but it was worth the wait. They let you put your stuff in a locker and give you the key. You then get on the ride and they close the helmet. The ride starts and it’s really cool. We got a Thrill number of about 800, which is pretty cool. You can take the card that you saved your ride to home with you, but we haven’t checked it out online yet.

After Sum of all Thrills, we decided it was time for a snack break. It was also almost about an hour away from our Soarin return time. So we went to a snack cart near Mission Space and grabbed two Mickey bars with our snack credits of the day and Stephen bought a water. He found a seat and I walked over to Test Track and got us fast passes for it. The return time was about 5-6, so that worked out well. We ate our ice cream, stopped at the restrooms quickly and made our way to the other end of future world again. And on the way I snapped a photo of the dancing fountain.

We entered the land pavilion, looked around a bit while we waited the last few minutes before we could use our fast passes. Then we got in line for Soarin. We ended up in the second row on the end of the C side which was actually right near the center so it was a decent location. Stephen loved it just as much as I did. Soarin really is my favorite ride at the whole World. I love the way it feels, sounds, and smells. I wish I could fly for real.

Once we got off Soarin we went over the Seas, and Road Nemo and friends, checked out some of the aquariums (especially the manatees) and saw Turtle talk with Crush.

And we still had time left till our 3:30 lunch in Norway. So we went to the imagination pavilion. We rode the new version of the figment ride, as I have always called it, and then went to all the after ride stuff. This was a must for this trip. I wanted to do one of those photos in front of the green screen where they put your picture into a Disney background. We did one where we’re on the stairs of the castle with Cinderella and Prince Charming. Stephen was down on his knee as if he was proposing and we’re looking at each other smiling. I love it.

Last stop before we made our way to the World Showcase was Honey I shrunk the audience. I always enjoy the show. It’s a classic. We followed the crowd towards the world showcase, and hung a left towards Mexico, passed through and arrived in Norway at 3:15. We located Askershus and were shown inside almost immediately to have our photo taken with Belle.

Then it was time for lunch. Out of all the places we ate, this one was my favorite. I loved the food. The cold bar was delicious and the hot stuff was even better. I ate the entire chocolate thing for dessert. And then the princesses started coming. First was Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Ariel. I was a bit disappointed that Jasmine wasn’t there because she’s my favorite, but it was ok. I got over it. LOL. Stephen didn’t want his picture taken, so he took all of the photos for me. At the end of the meal, our waiter took a photo of us together. I will definitely eat there again.

With dinner finished I snapped a few photographs of the restaurant and it was now on to figure out what else we wanted to do in Epcot.

 

[PrincessRora]

Once we left Askershus, our main idea was to ride Malestrom and the ride in Mexico before heading to Test Track. Unfortunately, Malestrom had a 45 minute wait. The good news was that we were within our window to get another fast pass. So we fast passed Malestrom and headed back over to the Mexico pavilion.

I have never been inside this pavilion before. It was really cool. Stephen liked the look and the atmosphere of the restaurant inside, but he knows I’m not a fan of Mexican food. So, I’m gonna do some research and see if there’s sometimes I might eat and book it as a surprise for him the next time we go.

Anyway, we proceeded into the 10 minute wait line for the ride. I was very excited. I loved the three caballeros movie when I was little. Here’s my attempt at a photo of the inside of the pavilion from the line.

The ride was cute, and had me giggling the whole time, which tends to cause Stephen to laugh at me, so a good time was had by all. We departed the inside and stopped for our picture with the pyramid in the background before heading back to Future World.

After the hike back across the bridge, and a stop at a restroom, it was time for our fast passes for test track. Stephen loves cars, and driving fast, so this was the perfect ride for him. We hopped into the fast pass line and bypassed the 50 minute wait, and amused ourselves with the inside of the line.

We loved the whole ride, except I hate the cold part, and Stephen declared he was not a happy camper during the hot part. We’re complete opposites when it comes temperature.
After our ride on test track it was time to return for fast passes to Malestrom. So we hiked back the way we came, and reentered Norway. Like the hordes of people that were with us, we skipped the movie. And then headed back out to the world showcase.

We made our way through the countries rather quickly stopping only in Italy and Paris to pick up gifts for out little siblings. I got my brother a shot glass in Italy, I can’t remember what he got his sister in Paris. We would have liked to explore it more, but it was the last weekend of the food and wine festival, which meant it was wall to wall people. You couldn’t move without walking into someone, and neither of us do well when crowds are that bad.

I snapped this photo once back in future world.

We made it all the way around and then proceeded to Spaceship Earth for our last ride of the night. It was walk on. I love the refurbished version. And we both got a kick out of the little video at the end. Stephen wanted to push all the buttons. Now, he swears the female scientist with the big hair and the short skirt and knee boots winked at him. I think he was sleep deprived.

We played in the game room following it for a little bit. Well, we kind of just watched other’s play and then it was time to head out. We had plans to meet Stephen’s dad at DTD for dinner at 8:30 and it was 7:50.

We snapped some photopass photos in front of the ball on the way out.

We hopped the bus and headed for DTD. We got there well before his dad, and decided to eat at Rainforest Café. There was an hour wait, but none of us really minded. We put our name down and waited for his dad. I took a few photos, then went in search of the rest rooms.

His dad finally arrived and took a picture of us by the restaurant and then we headed over to once upon a toy for a few minutes before heading right back to the restaurant. We were seated 20 minutes earlier than we though we’d be. They needed people to fill tables.

I took a bunch of photos of the décor. The food was great. I’ve never eaten at this Rainforest café, but I have eaten at the one in animal kingdom. We were seated right next to this guy.

After dinner we went to visit Goofy’s and get desert. I did the make your own pretzel sticks. Stephen got pecans covered in chocolate, and his dad got a rice krispie treat. His dad kindly drove us back to our hotel. It was about 11:30 pm by this point, so we said our good byes and Stephen and I trooped back to our room and showered before passing out. My feet were hurting really really bad by this point. And I just wanted to be in bed. I did remember, however, to set our wake up call for the next day.