I Paid Someone $5 for a Catchy Trip Report Title, and This is All I Got-Updated 12/29

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

I'm in!!!

I can't wait to see your pics of AK!!! I was a CM for the past yr 1/2 and seeing the Villas for a CM preview was one of the last things I did before I moved to OH. It's going to make me super disney homesick but I can't wait to see what they are like fully finished!!!!

 

[glennbo123]

Signing on! I'm a PA native too

Your TR title did draw me in

Glad to have you with us.

Very cool Report, staying at POR in November, Cant wait. Thanks

Welcome and thank you! I think you'll like POR.

Thanks for the info on Yeehaw Bob Jackson. I had never heard anything about him and DH saw the pictures while I was reading this (which means he's impatiently awaiting use of the laptop and wants to see what I'm making him wait for LOL).
Love it, keep it coming!

Well he'll appreciate it one day when he's entertained by Yeehaw, thanks to you spendin' time on the DIS.

I'm in!!!

I can't wait to see your pics of AK!!! I was a CM for the past yr 1/2 and seeing the Villas for a CM preview was one of the last things I did before I moved to OH. It's going to make me super disney homesick but I can't wait to see what they are like fully finished!!!!

Welcome! I remember when the CM preview happened. Some photos leaked onto the DIS and we were all clamoring for them because all we had seen were shots taken from Jambo House across the savanna.

I'm curious -- what does FGIT stand for in your sig?

 

[MEK]

The bob jackson show looks pretty cute. What a nice beginning to your trip. Nice pics. Can't wait to hear what you thought of Kidani.

 

[CW4DW]

Great update - we have stayed at POR 3 times and have yet to catch the show... We hear it in passing but never stop to enjoy it. It is on my list to do this next trip ~ which is only 70 days away!!!

We are also going to do the AP holder thing since we are going to be going in September and December, and then maybe again for one of our birthday's next year! I haven't ever heard about the TIW card but will have to do some research to see if it is something we should get.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

fgit means fairy godmother in training..i worked as one at bibbidi bobbidi boutique at MK.

 

[Tink3Bell]

Enjoyed your report - I will have to check out the River Roost show.
Thanks!

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

oh haha the pictures. Ya it wasn't so much a leak. I had a report going where people could follow my journey as a CM since I was there on internship programs so a lot of people wanted to hear behind the scene type things and all the discount things I got to do ie: parasailing, gf spa, special ride/show previews. So I had put the pictures on that thread and somehow a master link to the thread ended up on the front of dis!!! and it crashed it I wish I could have taken the tree houses but they would not let us since they were not all finished and sadly I left before a preview of Bay Lake but I still get on our CM site from time to time so I'm hoping they will have a preview of some sort on there!!!


CAN'T WAIT TO READ MORE!!!

 

[glennbo123]

I haven't ever heard about the TIW card but will have to do some research to see if it is something we should get.

Tables in Wonderland. As an Annual Pass holder you can buy it for $75 and it gets you a 20% discount at most WDW eateries, including drinks . They do tack on 18% gratuity with it, but that's no big deal, that's basically what we do anyway. You just have to watch that you don't double-tip. It will cover 8 or 10 people (I forget exactly) per meal (all on one bill) so you probably only have to buy one for your party/family. It doesn't apply on major holidays, so we couldn't use it on July 4th. It's good for a year. You just have to do the math to determine if it's worth it, considering that you may have other discounts already (annual passholder, DVC, etc.).

 

[glennbo123]

Enjoyed your report - I will have to check out the River Roost show.
Thanks!

I'm working on another installment....maybe soon.

 

[glennbo123]

oh haha the pictures. Ya it wasn't so much a leak. I had a report going where people could follow my journey as a CM since I was there on internship programs so a lot of people wanted to hear behind the scene type things and all the discount things I got to do ie: parasailing, gf spa, special ride/show previews. So I had put the pictures on that thread and somehow a master link to the thread ended up on the front of dis!!! and it crashed it I wish I could have taken the tree houses but they would not let us since they were not all finished and sadly I left before a preview of Bay Lake but I still get on our CM site from time to time so I'm hoping they will have a preview of some sort on there!!!


CAN'T WAIT TO READ MORE!!!

That was you?!! Thank you!!
Like I said, for a long time we had no idea what it was looking like, except from across the savanna, or even if it was on schedule. I showed your pictures to my wife and kids to show them what was awaiting us. I may have crashed it all by myself.

 

[TinkerbellLuvr7]

Tables in Wonderland. As an Annual Pass holder you can buy it for $75 and it gets you a 20% discount at most WDW eateries, including drinks . They do tack on 18% gratuity with it, but that's no big deal, that's basically what we do anyway. You just have to watch that you don't double-tip. It will cover 8 or 10 people (I forget exactly) per meal (all on one bill) so you probably only have to buy one for your party/family. It doesn't apply on major holidays, so we couldn't use it on July 4th. It's good for a year. You just have to do the math to determine if it's worth it, considering that you may have other discounts already (annual passholder, DVC, etc.).

I have TiW also bc we could get them as CMs and I love it!! We can't always get the DDP when we stay on site as a CM so the card has helped!! I have totally paid it off in the 6 months that I used it. I was able to split mine with another roomie so it was cheaper. We also accomplished eating at all the restaurants at Epcot with the card so for us it was a real save!! You do have to be careful to not double tip although sometimes we would leave a little extra if our service was amazing ie: China's Nine Dragons!!!

 

[Deberlee]

Oh, this is awesome! We're staying at POR in late August and we're really looking forward to it! Your photos are an excellent addition to the TR. Thanks for taking the time to post your story!

 

[ScotsMinnie]

Loving your report so far and am all caught up. That show sounds great fun! Can't wait for more.

 

[glennbo123]

Oh, this is awesome! We're staying at POR in late August and we're really looking forward to it! Your photos are an excellent addition to the TR. Thanks for taking the time to post your story!

Loving your report so far and am all caught up. That show sounds great fun! Can't wait for more.

I'm glad you're enjoying it!

 

[glennbo123]

We awoke on Sunday, July 28th to a pretty hectic morning. We would be checking out of POR and checking into AKV-Kidani later in the day. We’d spend the day at the Magic Kingdom while our luggage made its way to Kidani through bell services. So, the five of us all tried to go through our morning routines as well as pack our luggage, pack what we needed for the parks, and pack swimsuits and things we’d need at Kidani as we expected to get there before our luggage did. I wanted to call bell services as soon as possible because I was afraid that they might take a while to send someone to our room, and I wanted to make rope drop at MK. But, I didn’t want to call before our luggage was at least close to ready, in case they showed up right away. We got ready and bell services showed up just a few minutes after I called. We loaded the bellman down with our luggage, and strapped-on the rest of our gear and headed for the bus stop at the back of the resort. We found the bus stop and a bus showed up within a minute. We were doing great for time! We piled onto the bus and started out. I exhaled a sigh of relief to be sitting down and on our way, and half-joked to my wife, “you do have your and the girls’ park passes, of course, don’t you?” There was a long pause as she just stared at me. I could tell she was going through in her mind, trying to remember where she had put them. She opened her purse and frantically started going through it and through her wallet. “No, they’re not here! I must have packed them in my suitcase somewhere!” So I went up to the bus driver and asked if he could let us out – I didn’t want to have to go all the way to MK and back, and I didn’t want our luggage to leave POR before we had a chance to get into it. He said he still had to go to the stop at the front of the resort, so he could drop us off at bell services on the way. We got to bell services, found our baggage claim ticket, and DW started going through her suitcase. She was really in a panic , and the girls were upset that their tickets were lost . I was standing outside of bell services, trying to stay out of the way, and realized that somehow I ended up holding her wallet. So I thought I might was well do something useful and take a second look through it….and voila, there they were right behind her drivers license. Now I must interject that we are like 99% of the rest of the population I imagine, in that I, as a male, can never find anything and need my wife to come and point out the item I’m looking for, which is usually about 6 inches from my face. But this time, in her panic, she just could not see those passes in her wallet. Anyway, relieved, she packed her suitcase back up and we went over to the bus stop at the front of the resort. DW suggested that I hold all of the park passes from now on -- I was going to be the fastpass volunteer anyway, so the only time they’d need them would be when they went through the turnstiles. That sounded like a plan, and was the system we used for the rest of the trip.

Even with all of that, we made it to MK in time to catch the opening ceremony, believe it or not. Judy went to rent a locker for the backpack that had all of our swimsuits in it and met us in front of the train station. Standing there for a few minutes, waiting for the opening ceremony to begin, the kids reminded us that we hadn’t had any breakfast and they were starving. I was kicking myself because that morning as I was lying in bed, trying to wake up, I had the thought: “remember to get the granola bars out of the luggage to take to the park with you”, but in all the rush, I had forgotten. So we made a quick short-term plan: They’d go to Main Street Bakery to get something to eat, and I’d go to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and get our first fastpasses. With Space Mountain out of commission due to refurbishment, I had heard that BTMRR and Splash Mountain were busier than usual, so I wanted to get fastpasses for BTMRR first thing.

The opening ceremony began.

A family from Scotland got to throw out the pixie dust.

I took a shot of the castle as I made my way to Frontierland.

I got BTMRR fastpasses with a 10:05 return time and headed back to Main Street Bakery. Here’s a shot of Marlene. I had forgotten to turn the flash on, but I like it because you can see what the inside of Main St. Bakery looks like better than in the other pictures.

Here’s one with the flash, so Marlene isn’t so blurry.

Lauren enjoying a cinnamon coffee cake.

James making a strange face.

I think right around this time they informed me that James and Marlene wanted to ride the Tomorrowland Speedway. This threw a wrench into my plans because I was not planning on heading into Tomorrowland, but instead going to Adventureland and then to BTMRR when our fastpass time arrived. And for Tomorrowland Speedway, you want to get there soon after the park opens as the lines can get real long real fast. So, we changed plans and went there next.

I rode with James and he started out doing the driving. He was really going back and forth, hitting the rail and overcompensating until he hit it again from the other side. I looked ahead and Marlene was doing the same thing. After a little while he had me take the wheel.

Marlene looking back as we were waiting to unload. (Judy was in the car directly in front of us but didn’t look back at us.)

Then we went to the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party; we always call it “The Teacups”. There was almost no line. I was fine while I was taking these pictures, but then I put the camera down to just “enjoy” the ride. Let me tell you, it ended none too soon. I had never had trouble with spinning rides before, but this time…..I was feelin’ a little queasy.

Continued in next post….

Link to next post

 

[glennbo123]

After our teacup ride it was time to head over to Frontierland. I got fastpasses to Splash Mountain, with an 11:20 return time I think, and then we rode BTMRR with our fastpasses. Now I should mention that my oldest daughter loves rollercoasters, but my younger two are a little apprehensive of them. We thought we’d work up to some of the bigger ones. So, BTMRR was a good place to start since they had both been on it on our last trip, a couple of years before. Here are some shots on BTMRR.

I really love this ride, just the right amount of "thrill". And it seemed to be longer than I remembered.

After that we decided to go to the Haunted Mansion since it still wasn’t time to use our fastpasses for Splash yet. I reminded James that it would all be pretend, just to scare you, but nothing was real. He said he knew that. The line was pretty short, and here are some shots on the way in.

You gotta love Good ‘Ol Fred.

Here are a couple of shots in the “Stretching Room”.

Then, as you probably know, the lights went out. There were screams. We thought it was from some teenagers, but I think I’ve read on here that it may be the CMs. I don’t know, but that did James in. There was no way he was going on the doom buggies. When we left the Stretching Room a CM directed Judy and James to an exit door that is right there when you leave. Who knew? It must happen a lot.

I took a few pictures on the ride, but this the only one that is sufficiently non-blurry.

Then I waited outside of the ride with James while Judy went on and took the girls for a second trip through. I took this while waiting.

While I waited for them to come out I was kicking myself that I didn’t tell them I’d go get another fastpass while they went through. I needed to be more aware of my fastpass windows! When they finally emerged we went back to the Splash/BTMRR area. I got fastpasses to BTMRR (12:50 return time) and we rode Splash standby. Marlene and James had never been on it before, so we kind of “snuck in” another thrill ride without making too much of a deal out of it. They loved it, though!


In the next installment: Two kids develop the most sudden case of cheese allergy ever.

Link to next installment

 

[disneymomof2boyz]

Hi Glenn! I'm enjoying your trip report, and love reading about families going to Disney, having fun and of course their mishaps! Makes me happy to know my family is somewhat normal!

Patiently waiting for another installment....

 

[glennbo123]

Hi Glenn! I'm enjoying your trip report, and love reading about families going to Disney, having fun and of course their mishaps! Makes me happy to know my family is somewhat normal!

Patiently waiting for another installment....

I'm so glad you are coming along for the ride. I think we definitely had more fun than mishaps.

 

[dd50]

I love HM but some kids do get scared.

 

[rentayenta]

Terrific HM photos. Your kids are just darling!!!! Looks like a great day.