I Knew You Would Eventually Get Tired of Disney World - April '12 TR - Completed 2/9

[MEK]

Oh and by the way, my kids fight over who sleeps with me-- not so much their Dad... It's a mom thing

My kids did the exact same thing. Now they don't even want me sleeping in the same house with them.

I read your update this morning so I could see pics. Now I just have to remember what I read.

Oh yeah - Your castle pics are lovely!

The pics of everyone fighting over the sword in the stone are too cute. I really wanted to point that out to my nephews so they could try, but it was so feakin' crowded the evening we were over by the carousel. A great picture opportunity lost.

The burrito looks good. I have yet to eat there. CHH or Pecos Bills always wins out. Why? I'm not sure!

I had heard that Frontier was going to fly from ABE. I hope's its direct!

BTW - I took a picture of the Martin guitar display because I actually play one. I thought that was pretty cool.

If you get a chance stop over at my NEW TR. See link!

 

[mmeb144]

Must be something about that spot. I got a pic of my DH there, too. Hey, he looks a bit gray, grey, whatever, too!

Could it be the location? "There's room for one more...."

 

[mirage0306]

Yes! Lizardlike speed walkers on a fast pass mission unite!

Tortuga Tavern was open! Wow. Every time I walk past there, I swear, it's closed.

Kristin's taco salad looks pretty good. I think that's my cue to eat my lunch.

Great update and pics!

 

[shan23877]

Maddie always wants to sleep with me too. I feel sorry for DH until I remember that he's the one that gets the whole bed to himself, then I don't feel sorry for him anymore.

You guys were getting a lot done that morning! That FP system does make things interesting.

We always seem to eat at Tortuga Tavern. DD's favorite food is cheese quesedillas and it's just about the only place to get them. The food is pretty good there though!

 

[mirage0306]

We always seem to eat at Tortuga Tavern. DD's favorite food is cheese quesedillas and it's just about the only place to get them. The food is pretty good there though!

You too?? Do we hit WDW in the Tortuga Tavern off season or something?

 

[JeanetteK]

Hey Jon - it's me. Still here and reading along. I just love your writing style. Loving all the pictures!

 

[nilla]

Oh and by the way, my kids fight over who sleeps with me-- not so much their Dad... It's a mom thing

I guess it's sort of like Bill Cosby's bit about teaching the son how to play football, then hearing him say "hi Mom!" when he scores his first touchdown on TV

I just wish they wouldn't fight. We had a reasonable system in place, but I guess it requires reasonable kids to work.

The burrito looks good. I have yet to eat there. CHH or Pecos Bills always wins out. Why? I'm not sure!

We call Pecos Bill's the "Fall Off Your Chair Cafe", because kids drop like snowflakes off those backless chairs. Decent food, but that was my last meal before I christined my "Pukeful Spot" three years ago

I had heard that Frontier was going to fly from ABE. I hope's its direct!

Supposedly direct.

BTW - I took a picture of the Martin guitar display because I actually play one. I thought that was pretty cool.

Dylan and I toured Martin two years ago with his class. Amazing how much of that is hand-crafted. It's a neat tour if you haven't seen it already.

If you get a chance stop over at my NEW TR. See link!

I'm in! Not subscribed yet and I haven't ready any of it, but in nonetheless!

Yes! Lizardlike speed walkers on a fast pass mission unite!

People just need to learn to step aside.

Tortuga Tavern was open! Wow. Every time I walk past there, I swear, it's closed.

I remember it being closed a lot under the old name. We got lucky this time, though. Really enjoyed it, too!

Must be something about that spot. I got a pic of my DH there, too. Hey, he looks a bit gray, grey, whatever, too!

There's obviously a glare coming off that plaque. That HAS to be it

I feel sorry for DH until I remember that he's the one that gets the whole bed to himself, then I don't feel sorry for him anymore.

It's why we never get involved in that battle

You guys were getting a lot done that morning! That FP system does make things interesting.

Lots of cross-park walking. Not a fan!

You too?? Do we hit WDW in the Tortuga Tavern off season or something?

Keep trying!

Hey Jon - it's me. Still here and reading along. I just love your writing style. Loving all the pictures!

Hello! And thanks! Thought of you the other day when our Disney cookbook was found to have a recipe for Hoop Dee Doo Review ribs

Ok, how about more updates? Alright, here we go!

 

[nilla]

One thing I failed to do in the last update was say how awesome the Haunted Mansion. Not only is it my favorite ride in Disney, it's my favorite ride ANYWHERE. In fact, it's one of my favorite THINGS anywhere. They had a ripoff of it in the Mall Of America, but it was a light gun game, so I'm not complaining.

Anyway, back to our regularly scheduled programming. So what did we do next? Oh yeah - we rode Space Mountain. If you don't believe us, here's proof.

Notice how I am holding Emily's head during the ride. You will see why soon enough, when future pictures of her include her head still intact.

Kristin grabs FPs for Buzz. We decide to hit the Carousel of Progress next, which is the perfect break from a hot afternoon. This is another one of our favorites, though not so much as to break the top ten...yet. The kids want front row...this should be interesting!

It was definitely different up front. You almost felt like you were on top of them. We get some giggles out of certain lines from this, and I think I have it almost memorized.

Olde Tyme picture of it from the World's Fair...

...then it's on to the Peoplemover. It's pretty easy to relax in Tomorrowland. We get a few shots during the ride, but this is really the only one worth mentioning.

Kristin tried to get a shot of the now-open "secret path to Toontow-um, I mean Dumbo's Circus", but this was the best she could get.

We only go around once this time, then it's off to ride Buzz. Not only is it easy to relax in Tomorrowland, but it's easy to kill time between FPs. Speaking of, it looks like we missed our second set of Splash Mountain FPs. Grrrrrr! We're really starting to hate this new system. If the big rides were closer together, maybe it wouldn't be as much of a problem.

Anyway, onto Buzz we go. It's Dylan and I together this ride, and as happened once before, the ride stops in the middle for us. I have my laser trained right on the big-money target on Emperor Zurg, and in about 10 seconds, I have maxed it out at 999,999. Nowhere to go from here! Last time this ride stopped for us, the scores reset when it resumed, which the boy didn't like too much. Oh well. This time, however, my score stays...which is great because it makes me even cooler than Buzz himself, but not so great because my game is essentially done. The other play on, though, until we reach the end and have to move on.

Alright, time to leave Tomorrowland. But first...

LOVE these things, even though I don't ever have the self-control to NOT get a brainfreeze. I go for full blue, while the others get various mixes. Frozen drinks attained, it's back down Main Street to get some Sorcerer's cards.

...

Wait, what? Are we nuts? Do we really want to repeat that fiasco? We're having a good day, too, so why mess it up?

Don't worry, we're not playing. We just want the cards. But first, Castle pic!

Cool tope!

 

[nilla]

We reach the Castle just as the afternoon show is starting. An interesting fact about the afternoon show is we NEVER watch the afternoon show. If we could somehow speedwalk AND watch the show, we would, but we have places to go! Attractions to see!

But not today. We're talking it easy today, so a show is in order!

The generic opening song starts again, and to this day, it's stuck in my head:

Join the party, the Castle Party
You're all invited
So come and join the fun

Again, I swear anyone could write these things. Catchy, though. Em is digging the show, and why not - dancing!

Characters!

Seconds-late photos of fireworks!

Princesses! Good lord, princesses!

I love the crossover episodes of Disney Character Theater. Therefore, I also love the Duffy Channel.

At this point, I really wanted to get a Castle shot with the balloon from the girl in front of us in it. Photo mission assigned. Let's do this.

Eh. Can't get a great one. Unlike this one, which I took last night (obviously NOT at WDW):

But that's not Disney, so it has no place in this Trip Report. Moving on now, one last try.

Nope. I was one one knee at the time and trying to not look like I was photographing the mom's backside, so I was doomed from the start. Hey, did you forget about the action?

I guess the premise of the show is that Mickey and Co. are either having a dream or daydreaming about being something else. Not sure why the face of the greatest company on the face of the Earth would want to be anything else, but anyway. Not everyone is enjoying the show, though.

It's Angelina Jolie! Or a CM pretending to be Angelina Jolie. She's here to put a stop to this nonsense, once and for all.

Donald's not having it, thought.

Wait, are the characters' mouths moving? AWESOME! Does that mean we might get to meet Mouth Movin' Mickey at some point today? Who can say?!?

Anyway, the characters dance, and Mrs. Pitt gets tired of it and leaves.

Everyone continues to dance and sing. The Big Cheese and his Main Squeeze move on up...

...and up...

...and KABOOM! Something definitely unique about mid-day fireworks.

LOVED that show after all! Really well done, though it's pretty hard to mess up Disney characters dancing and singing. Ok, off to get those cards!

 

[nilla]

More Main Steet shots along the way.

We get to the Firehouse, and I get the cards while Kristin heads over to Guest Services. She is determined to voice her opinion on the new FP system, which she does, and gets this in return.

I blocked out her name for some reason, even though everyone already knows our names and it doesn't really matter. But that's not the important part - FREE Fast Pass! Sometimes it pays to complain, I guess! She also had her voice heard and complaint logged, so who knows? Even if they extended the window by an hour, we'd be a bit more happy about it.

I asked her why she didn't play hardball and hold out for the free ice cream bar as well, but I guess she did well enough.

Comp FPs in hand, we hop the train, which has had a bit of a soundtrack replacement with the Pocohantas stuff phased out, if I recall correctly.

We reached the Frontier Land station, then went right to Splash. We got MORE FPs (which we know we won't be able to use, due to dinner ADRs), rode it, loved it, and took no pics. Moving on.

 

[nilla]

We have time for one more thing before we head to the Poly for dinner. How about we go to this place?

Not much of a line, and we're on reasonably quick. Lots of pics from the Island, such as these.

"Hey, did you take any of the actual island?"

A few. Here are some.

Hey, look! Big Thunder!

Shame it's not running. Oh well, fix it up. It has to be done sometime. Back to TSI.

Tom really needs to finish that fence. Maybe he could outsource the job to the Old Scratch?

Nah, probably not worth the hastle. One cave shot, then we're outta here.

Back to the dock, and the raft is nowhere to be found. And it's hot. And there are a lot of people.

The boat finally arrives, but we don't make it on. It looks like they're only running one raft Lovely!

12 hours later, and back it comes. We're not missing this one.

It seems a kid bumped his head on the island, so the mother asks to have him checked out back on the mainland. I wonder at first if it's a ploy to get on this raft, but it ultimately seems legit. FINALLY, we're back to civilization, and I'm not in a hurry to go back to that place. It's fun enough, but not worth the transportation. Hot as heck (and cramped) on the rafts, too. Can't imagine it in August!

The kid who got hurt doesn't look back, but it's probably best they get it checked out. Not sure if I would've. We've got ADRs!


[POST=45466712](next update)[/POST]

 

[shan23877]

Nice score on Buzz! Ride-stoppage or no.

That's nice that you were able to get an any-ride FP! I'm glad that they don't ignore complaints.

I was sad to miss BTMRR, seems like we stood in the Barnstormer line a lot because of it.

We've never done Tom Sawyer Island,and I can't say I'm in a huge hurry to get out there. Did the kids enjoy it?

 

[KatMark]

Great updates, Jon. I don't think I'm going to like this new FP rule at all. Tell Kristin I'll be stopping at Guest Relations to give my opinion as well!

Wha ta great day at the MK. And you are NOT grey. THIS is what grey looks like:

I really want to stop and see the Castle show this year...we've not seen it the last several trips.

Can't wait to hear about dinner.

 

[phineasfan100]

Looks like you did have a better day...so far! Luckily for me the FP thing started like two weeks after I left! Probably one of the worst ideas Disney ever had!

 

[HeyIt'sMe]

Hidden Mickey!

 

[orangecats2]

Still here. So was Dumbo not open or was the line too long? Just wondering why you didn't ride.

What concert was that pic from?

I have just finished reading your TR from last year and its good stuff. I'm going to read your other one soon too.

 

[ilovediznee2]

I love reading your TRs! Can't wait to continue... so... let's go!!

 

[MEK]

Hidden Mickey!

Awesome!

I usually don't comment until I get to work, but the pics in this outdate are outstanding and it sounds like such a fun day.

You mean I could have comp'd a pas if I had complained about how long I waited for a train one afternoon in the really HOT sun. Drat! Who knew?

I had the same thing happen to me on buzz so I max'd out too. But I was riding alone, so I got to max out twice.

 

[laura74]

Kristin grabs FPs for Buzz. We decide to hit the Carousel of Progress next, which is the perfect break from a hot afternoon. This is another one of our favorites, though not so much as to break the top ten...yet. The kids want front row...this should be interesting!

This is my husband's favorite.

It was definitely different up front. You almost felt like you were on top of them.

We always get the front, mostly because there's never a crowd.

Grrrrrr! We're really starting to hate this new system. If the big rides were closer together, maybe it wouldn't be as much of a problem.

Yes, I miss the old system too.

I have my laser trained right on the big-money target on Emperor Zurg, and in about 10 seconds, I have maxed it out at 999,999

Wow! I can never get a high score.

Nope. I was one one knee at the time and trying to not look like I was photographing the mom's backside

We get to the Firehouse, and I get the cards while Kristin heads over to Guest Services. She is determined to voice her opinion on the new FP system, which she does, and gets this in return.

Yay for Kristin!

Back to the dock, and the raft is nowhere to be found. And it's hot. And there are a lot of people.

The boat finally arrives, but we don't make it on. It looks like they're only running one raft Lovely!

12 hours later, and back it comes. We're not missing this one.

It seems a kid bumped his head on the island, so the mother asks to have him checked out back on the mainland. I wonder at first if it's a ploy to get on this raft, but it ultimately seems legit. FINALLY, we're back to civilization, and I'm not in a hurry to go back to that place. It's fun enough, but not worth the transportation. Hot as heck (and cramped) on the rafts, too. Can't imagine it in August!

Bummer. We had a similar transportation problem with the train going to Rafiki's at AK the first year we visited. We didn't go back for a couple years because of it. It just didn't seem worth the hassle. I don't know if they've solved the problem or if we're smarter about choosing which day to visit but it's much better now.

Great update. Love the photos!

 

[raider97]

Great update with fantastic pictures! Thankfully it looks like Day 7 is going much better than Day 6 did!