"Insert Snazzy Title Here" ** Grumpy & The Turkey's July 2007 Trip Report !

[marivaid]

Alright so I spent the last 2 days trying to come up with a great title for this TR and I give up. By the time I find one we'll be back in Disney again !

This was our 2nd trip, the first one being in December 2006. Yep the dreaded post-Christmas week - and if I had not found the DIS we would have woken up at 10am and expected to walk on every ride. Bless the DIS.

Starring in this Fabulous Trip Report are :

DM aka Grumpy; short and short-tempered. Told me recently that she thought Disney would be cute but that she didn't expect to have FUN.
She celebrated her 58th birthday at Chef Mickey's! Her favorite character is Goofy.

Me aka The Turkey (thanks to my dear sister for that lovely nickname.It's retaliation for me calling her Big Bacon).
Stitch Lover. Scared of anything dark.

--------------------------------

Arriving at the Poly, DTD & Epcot
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20023553#post20023553

Day 2 : Magic Kingdom EMH
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20088340#post20088340

Day 2 : Whispering Canyon
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20157356#post20157356

Day 3 : 'Ohana breakfast with Stitch! and more MK
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20237094#post20237094

Day 3 : Even more MK & Liberty Tree Tavern
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20372572#post20372572

Day 4 : Lazy at the Poly & Ohana race dinner
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20397845#post20397845

Day 5 : Leaving the Poly, Epcot, and a surprise at the Boardwalk
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20472859#post20472859

Day 6 : Shopping in Epcot
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20594693#post20594693

Day 7 (Part 1, Try 2) : MGM
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20734499#post20734499

Day 7 (Part 2) : MGM
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20734728#post20734728

Our last day : no parade... - Part 1
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20763037#post20763037

Our last day : ...and a Haunted Room - Part 2
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=20763067#post20763067


If you're interested, dining reviews are here :
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1530059

Alrighty, let's get started!

 

[averill94]

Thank you for sharing!
Awesome AP move

 

[my3disneygirls]

Enjoying the trip report. Can't wait for more!

 

[marivaid]

Our trip was originally supposed to be in early July, just 4 days at the Poly. Things came up (exams) and it had to be moved a little bit. Then we learned about the different season rates. I'm not going to give you the details again but let's just say we changed dates and resorts about 12 times.

In the end, this is what we had waiting for us :

July 16-24
4 nights at the Polynesian
3 nights at the Boardwalk
1 night at POP Century

We'd already been in the US for a week by then, staying in Ft Lauderdale at the beach. The good thing was that we'd gotten used to walking in the heat. The bad thing is that they have GREAT malls in Lauderdale and that when we left, we already had 3 big duffle bags, 2 carry-on suitcases and a laptop to drag along with us. So much for packing light.

We left our beach motel around 8am for a 10.50 Southwest flight to MCO. DME was a breeze - we landed at noon and I checked my cell as soon as we got to the Poly : 12.52PM !!! Disney really does a good job with DME.

The excitement of getting to the Poly was too much for Grumpy though. She missed a step when she came off the bus, tripped on the curb and went flying!
If it wasn't for the driver catching her she would have started her vacation by landing flat on her face on the pavement - and she was wearing a skirt !



This resulted in both of us literally running inside the lobby, dragging our suitcases, laughing our heads off in search of the restrooms before it was too late.And we made it - barely.

We checked in, I didn't expect our room to be ready at 1pm and it wasn't. But we knew which building : Tokelau, the one I had requested.
I had things to do anyway. See, when Disney announced the AP rates for July, we decided it'd be a great opportunity for us to try the Boardwalk for a reasonable price. It also allowed us to purchase the Disney Dining Experience card. Just one problem : you need an AP to buy the DDE card in advance.

But once again thanks to the DIS and in particular Cheshire Figment I knew what to do. Off to take the monorail I go ! But first we had to leave our stuff with Bell Services. I wasn't too thrilled about leaving my laptop behind, however this thing is HUGE and I didn't want to take it to MK either.
Before we left our luggage I asked DM 3 times if she had her bathing suit with her. I knew she didn't want to go to MK right away and would rather stay at the pool while I took care of the AP. She assured me that, yes, she had it.Great.

So I tell her that I'm going to go to MK now and get my pass upgraded to an AP like we planned, so that I can order the DDE card today. "By yourself?" she asks... "but what am I supposed to do?".
"Don't you want to go to the pool ?"
"Yes,but I don't have my bathing suit!"
"BUT I ASKED YOU THREE TIMES!!!"
"I thought you meant, did I have it in my suitcase!".

Alriiiiight. This is MY MOM,people. Brunette on the outside, beach blonde on the inside. Often, I tell her something and she looks at me with that half-smile on her face... and if I ask her if she understood me she'll say "yes", but if I ask her WHAT she understood she'll usually respond ".. nothing!".
We call that the Elmira Syndrom from an old cartoon we used to watch. It started about 10 years ago with a popsicle...

Sorry,sorry, back to Disney.

Our first monorail ride this trip ! At MK we went straight to Guest Relations and upgraded my pass to an AP. We had 8-day Park Hoppers and the price difference was $188.50. Not bad considering it got us about a $130 discount/night at the Boardwalk.
As soon as I got the AP (with the Incredibles on it - YUCK! - it's okay, I didn't keep it long) I found a bench and called Dining Experience.

The whole process (monorail+AP upgrade+purchasing DDE) took about half an hour at most. I asked DM if she felt like going into MK for a little while, but she wanted to get some lunch and check on our room so we went back to the Poly.

We made a stop at Captain Cook's. The place was fairly busy, but had a few tables available (we shared a big table with another family).
First things first, we got our refillable mugs. I love the new design but they could have at least made them so that the top and the handle matches.. oh well, it's just a mug.
DM got sushi and I got a fruit & cheese plate. Good, cheap and fast.

It was well past 2pm by now and I thought our room would be ready. Nope. I asked the lady if we should come back by 3pm and she said the room may not be ready by 3 either.

Not sure what to do, we checked out the shop Boutiki. I saw the cutest little Stitch with glitter ears and paws and knew I had to get it later. That reminded me that I wanted a Stitch cup from Goofy's Candy Company. So I asked DM if she minded going to DTD for an hour until our room was ready. But I knew that if I told her I wanted to go to a candy shop and buy a cup she'd never go for it.

Instead, I told her that we could go to Disney Tails and get some stuff for our cats and my sister's dog; that did the trick and we were on our way.

I've read a lot on the DIS that bus service at the Poly isn't that great, especially to go to Downtown Disney. So imagine my surprise when, 2mns after we got to the bus stop, a DTD bus pulls in !!

First stop was Disney Tails where we spent a bunch of moolah on our "babies" : we got bowls, treats, collars, a little pink princess cap that we noticed later is actually made for STUFFED dogs. Oops. Well, it fits Tequila and that's all that matters. Saskia, my sister's dog, is deathly afraid of anything that squeaks. A couple years ago we brought back a squeaky Shamu toy from SeaWorld - she heard it once and refused to go into the bedroom for a month. Hence all dog toys have to be de-squeaked before we give them to her.

Yep even our pets are wackos.


Right next door to Disney Tails is Mickey Mart, the discount store, so we checked it out but it really wasn't that interesting. How is $4 for a pencil a good deal ?? Most of the stuff there was old Holiday things and we weren't in Christmas mood.Probably because it was July.
So our next stop was Goofy's Candy Co. where I purchased my beloved Stitch Cup, only $8 including the glacier - a sort of frozen drink that tasted somewhat like strawberry.

It was 4 now and we wanted to relax in our room. It better be ready. The bus didn't take long to come, however it first made a stop at Blizzard Beach (I thought there were no direct buses from DTD to a park???) and then had some trouble at Contemporary unloading some wheelchairs so it took a lot longer to get back.

Good news, our room was ready !! We raced (ok fine, we dragged ourselves) to Tokelau, took the elevator to the 3rd floor and soon were opening the door to room 3909.

Oh, Boy!
Wow,look!
Toto,we're not at All Stars anymore!
Check this out!
I could get used to this.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHhhhhhhhhh - laying on the bed -

The rooms are gorgeous. And BIG. I mean BIIIIIIIG. Which is generally not such a good thing with me, if you give me space I tend to fill it. And remember, we're in Stitch Land here at the Poly!

Our luggage had already been delivered.I called Bell Services and had them bring up our carry-ons and laptop.

Grumpy finally had her bathing suit and went straight to the not-so-quiet pool while I relaxed on my huge bed and called my buddy (she's a Disney nut too) to brag.

Initially I had wanted to go to Epcot around 4 and do a couple attractions (Maelstrom, Caballeros..) before taking a table at Cantina de San Angel and waiting for Illuminations. Well that was not happening.

Instead we waited 'til about 6 to take the monorail to Epcot and stopped by GR to pick up the DDE card then went straight to Cantina. Most of the tables were taken already but we found one outside. And waited. And waited. And waited.. for the sun to go down and Illuminations to start.

When they lit up the torches we were right underneath, it was really neat !

The food at Cantina was pretty bad, but we didn't care because THIS is the view we had for Illuminations !!!

I just can't get enough of Illuminations. Heard they're gonna change it sometime in 2009 and it better be good!!!

Here's a little video too :




After Illuminations we took our time leaving Epcot, went in the shops and just walked slooooooowly to the entrance. Soon we were back at the Poly for a quick swim and good night's sleep.

Next up : Getting lost in the dark, MK morning EMH, and Crystal Palace!

 

[averill94]

Beautiful pics!

 

[mousescrapper]

eager to hear more about your trip especially at the Poly that is where my family is planning to stay next year.

Just love your nighttime pictures at Epcot they are gorgeous!

Question: How long did you wait at the mexican QS till Illuninations? Thinking about doing that, but more difficult with 4 small kids in tow.

 

[marivaid]

Hi again !! I know my TR is not as entertaining as some others so I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to read & leave comments

eager to hear more about your trip especially at the Poly that is where my family is planning to stay next year.

Question: How long did you wait at the mexican QS till Illuninations? Thinking about doing that, but more difficult with 4 small kids in tow.

The Poly is GORGEOUS. We're absolutely in love. If only it wasn't so expensive we'd never stay anywhere else again.

We waited a little over an hour & a half at Cantina. It could be hard with 4 little kids but you could take turns, the Mexico pavilion is only a few steps away and maybe your husband can take 2 of the kids to the Gran Fiesta Tour while you wait then switch ? That's what the families at the next table seemed to be doing.

 

[marivaid]

Day 2, Part 1 : Magic Kingdom morning EMH

After a great night at the Poly we were ready to really start doing RIDES !

I woke up very early (side story here, DM thought it would be a good idea to give me half a sleeping pill on the plane on our way to the US. Not only did I sleep for the entire flight (8 hours) but once we got to Ft Lauderdale I went right back to bed for a little 10 hour-nap. For the rest of our trip I would be wide awake every day at 4am ! I'm never letting her give me medecine again!!!).

So, anyway. I'd been lying in bed for a while when I decided it was "late" enough to get up, make a little bit of noise and go the Grand Ceremonial House to fill our mugs.

Only problem was we'd only been there for less than a day and I didn't really know my way around yet. And it's VERY dark. There' no lightning besides the torches. I kept going around & around the quiet pool and always ending up at the same spot near the Neverland Club (only I didn't know it was the NC because it was too dark to see the sign!).
There was no one in sight. I tried to look at the directions on signs but even with those I kept getting lost. It felt like a bad Twilight Zone episode.

No kidding, I must have been walking around that ******** pool for half an hour. Soon was bawling, got back in the building and back in our room only to find DM laughing her butt off - she'd been looking at me walking round and round and round from the balcony !!!!!!!! Oh I could have strangled her.
She said it was just payback because I laughed at her when she flew off the bus.

So I sent her to fill our mugs and got ready.

Around 7 we couldn't wait anymore and got on the monorail to MK. Went around twice since we were in no hurry and liked the view. Once we got to MK we got to hear the Opening Ceremony (audio and pixie dust only on EMH!).

I'd done with my itinerary with RideMax and for ONCE we actually did things exactly the way I'd planned them.

First was Buzz LightYear. Tomorrowland was DESERTED and we walked right in. DM thought it would be stupid and only went in for me, but she ended up loving it ! So much that we did it again right away. We both made Space Cadets

I took our pic redneck style, it actually came out pretty good :

Next on our itinerary was Mad Tea Party (yep, it IS open for morning EMH despite what the Disney site says). I wanted to do this before Crystal Palace.

DM refused to get in the same teacup with me and got in her own. She didn't spin at all. Me, I spin like a crazy person. Everything was still spinning long after we'd left the ride.

At that point I wanted to get FPs for PhilarMagic to use after CP. Something was wrong with BOTH our cards. We'd gotten into the park with no problem but they wouldn't work in the FP machines. A CM checked our cards and told me they were probably demagnetized - I'd have to go to Guest Relations and the front desk to get news ones, and keep those away from credit cards.
But for now she gave me the FPs.

I was stunned to see that it was only 8.20 !!! I thought we'd only have time to do Peter Pan OR Small World but we had time for both. I love Peter Pan.
It was our first time on Small World and it became a joke for the rest of the trip. Every time we went into something new one of us would ask the CM if there were any singing dolls in there

It was cute though, but gawwwwwwwwwd that SONG !!!!!! I don't even want to think about it or it'll come back

After Small World we waited a bit - the way to Frontierland was roped off. Once they let us go through we were very close, and lined up for Big Thunder Mountain - with only a dozen persons or so in front of us.
Bad luck though, it was down and they had no idea when it'd be back up. We decided to go to Splash Mountain instead. The wait time was about 20mns but felt like more because we hadn't waited at all for a ride yet and it was getting hot already.

Oh not to worry we'd feel a lot cooler later. See, we ended up in the front row. A first time for us and while we expected to be "splashed" more than usual we didn't expect to be soaked that way. I'm not quite sure how it happened but when we came out of the log the CM looked at us and exploded "Oh you guys got WETTTTTTTTTTT".

No kidding.

My pants were creeping up in places I didn't know existed. We went to the restrooms to try & make ourselves look a little more human. If you've ever tried to put wet underwear back on, you can imagine what I went through. I was in that stall so long DM knocked on the door asking if I was okay. Yeah, I'm fine, just trying to put my pants back on !

When we finally came out, BTMR was still down but we got FPs for later. The lady in front of me was with one of the Brazilian tour groups and must have gotten 100 FPs. It took forever and of course our cards were not working so I had to ask the CM for help. She gave us each a Fastpass card, which is good for 1 day (not valid for admission yada yada).

It was already time to go to Crystal Palace for our 10.25ADR.

When our server first came to our table she looked surprised and asked us if it was really hot out there already. Huh ? Oooh yea that's true, we're dripping. We explained to her that we'd just gotten off Splash Mountain and that gave her a good laugh. She then turned to the next table and said to one of the girls there, "You think you won't get wet at Splash Mountain? Look at these guys !!".

CP was great. I definitely like breakfast better than lunch. The puffed french toast was to die for. DM first asked for ice tea, then realized she was freezing in her wet clothes and asked for hot tea instead. They didn't charge us for the extra drink which I thought was nice! Our server Katy was the sweetest, she chatted with us about the characters and rides.

I was glad that we'd managed to do Buzz twice, Teacups, Peter Pan, Small World and Splash already - and we had FPs for more !
Thumbs up for morning EMH

After CP we went to PhilarMagic and used our FPs. We got there just as the show was starting so we had to wait for the next one. PhilarMagic is without a doubt my favorite attraction in Fantasyland. It's so cute and energic and never fails to make me smile; most of the people in the room must have been new to the show because at the end we were the only ones who turned around and looked to see Donald at the back of the theater. The guys behind us thought I was looking/talking to them until I pointed Donald out.
One thing about PhilarMagic is I always want to do it over & over & over again

After that, we decided to go back to the Poly for a break, but we took our time walking down Main Street, checking out the shops and taking pics. Also had to make a stop at Guest Relations to get a new AP - this time, it had Cinderella on it.

When we got close to City Hall we saw that cute statue of Goofy on the bench (never noticed it before, we usually rush past that area). DM sat next to it so I could take her pic and all of a sudden she jumped up

"He talked to me !!!!!"

Apparently that "statue" talks to whoever sits on the bench It was unexpected and really cute !! One of my favorite pics this trip

We got back on the monorail - it was almost empty, everyone was going TO Magic Kingdom instead.

Back at the Poly, our room was done and our housekeeper had made a cute thing with towels and pillows and my new baby glitter Stitch :

Looks like he's riding an elephant or something

We'd left an enveloppe with a tip but it was still sitting there untouched.
DM went to find the housekeeper and she explained that unless it says "housekeeping" on the enveloppe they are not allowed to take them. So we made sure to write it down after that.

The afternoon was spent at the quiet pool and relaxing on the balcony of our beautiful room.
I miss the Poly soooooooooo much

....

rest of our day later
More MK and WCC !

 

[averill94]

Really enjoying this! Love breakfast at the CP!

 

[my3disneygirls]

Your mom is a riot! I could see my mom watching me going around in circles without giving me any assistance, all the while snickering at me. My mom is always messing with me.

 

[mousescrapper]

Hi again !! I know my TR is not as entertaining as some others so I really appreciate everyone who takes the time to read & leave comments



The Poly is GORGEOUS. We're absolutely in love. If only it wasn't so expensive we'd never stay anywhere else again.

We waited a little over an hour & a half at Cantina. It could be hard with 4 little kids but you could take turns, the Mexico pavilion is only a few steps away and maybe your husband can take 2 of the kids to the Gran Fiesta Tour while you wait then switch ? That's what the families at the next table seemed to be doing.

I agree on the cost (for the Poly) my DH and I feel this probably is the only time (unless sans kids) we can stay at the poly during a WDW stay since our 4th diz kid will be under 2 for the trip. Next time it will probably be 2 rooms at an AS resort or we may try the family suite at the ASM.

I think we may try the Cantina table thing, we ate there in 05 and all are mexican food lovers, and that's true with bouncing kids over to the new boat ride my DM will be with us too.

PS I'm going to look for the Stitch cup when we are there next yr, my DS is a big Stitch Fan.

Thanks for good trip reporting, get all the good ideas that way

 

[marivaid]

Your mom is a riot! I could see my mom watching me going around in circles without giving me any assistance, all the while snickering at me. My mom is always messing with me.

Sounds like you have Grumpy for a Mommy too !!! I hope you get revenge once in a while though

I agree on the cost (for the Poly) my DH and I feel this probably is the only time (unless sans kids) we can stay at the poly during a WDW stay since our 4th diz kid will be under 2 for the trip. Next time it will probably be 2 rooms at an AS resort or we may try the family suite at the ASM.

PS I'm going to look for the Stitch cup when we are there next yr, my DS is a big Stitch Fan.

Thanks for good trip reporting, get all the good ideas that way

Thank you You can also find the Stitch cup at Club Cool. You pick the "head" and "feet" and they put a Goofy's Candy CO. in between. It's cute - but kinda big.

For February the Poly rate is $515 - that's just not going to happen. We're actually looking at offsite hotels because the rates for WDW resorts in February are wayyyyyy to high for what you get, even at value resorts IMO.

 

[marivaid]

Day 2, Part 2

We'd been spending a lazy afternoon at the Poly, alternating between the balcony, the pool and our beds. As you can imagine, we were exhausted.

The thing with us lazies is that once we get comfortable, it's very hard to get us moving again.

But here's the thing : we had DOUBLE FP now. See, the CMs gave us a Fastpass card because our tickets were demagnetized. But we'd gotten that fixed, DM had a new KTTW and I had a brand new AP with Cinderella on it

I dawned on me when I was in the pool - double FPs, baby !!!!

And we also had saved a couple sets from this morning, for Big Thunder Mountain and Jungle Cruise.
The plan was to go back to MK around 6, get more FPs and do a couple rides. Then we'd take the boat to WL for Whispering Canyon and come back later for more rides. That double FP thing doesn't happen every day, so I really wanted to enjoy it.
DM didn't really feel like going all the way to WL for dinner, and I wanted to get more FPs so by the time we left we'd pretty much decided to pass on Whispering Canyon...

But Elmira came to visit again.
I had told DM about the Double FP Plan, several times. What we wanted most of all was another ride on Splash Mountain. I explained to her that we could get 2 sets of FPs now since we had our tickets AND the FP cards.

When we got to MK we took the train to Frontierland, crossing our fingers that there would still be some FPs left for Splash. I was surprised to see that, at 6.30PM, the machines were still open and the return time was 8 ! That was a BIG change from our post-Christmas trip when Splash would run out of by 2pm every day.

I distinctly remember telling DM "I'm going to get us some Splash FPs now, okay?". And so I went. Using the FP cards I got us one each.

I come back to DM and she's holding a ticket in her hand.

"What's this ??"
"A Fastpass!"
"Where did you find it ??"
".. I just got it, with my room card!"

OH NO SHE DIDN'T.
Second time in one day that I had to keep myself from strangling her.

To be honest, I was mad. The plan was completly messed up , we couldn't get any more fastpasses 'til 8. I had told her several times what I intended to do and she knows that I always, always get FPs for both of us at the same time.

I ended up punishing her, though it wasn't planned. We decided that since the double FP plan was out the window, we'd go to WCC. That meant we wanted to do Big Thunder Mountain now and not after dinner. We used our FPs from this morning with no problem at all even though the return time was 11.30am.

On our last trip, DM got majorly scared on Everest. Ok, ok, fine, I almost peed my pants as well. But she was the one who vetoed all trains for the rest of the trip after that, hence we hadn't been on Big Thunder yet. I'd done it at DLP though, a long time ago, and remembered it to be rather tame.

So we went. And while it's nowhere near as scary as EE, it still was pretty fast and we screamed a lot, which really amused the 3 kids sitting in front. The youngest one kept turning around and telling us in the sweetest voice, "it's okay,don't worry, it's almost over!".

After BTMR we had nothing to do and decided to go to WL now and take the time to check out the resort.

We were approaching the boat dock when we saw our first (and, thankfully, only) WDW Heelie attack.

A tiny boy, maybe 3 years old, was walking towards the entrance, and crossed the path of a "tween" girl who was skating around on her Heeleys. She went right into him at full speed, and the little boy went flying, landing on his arm a couple feet away.
Seriously, it was violent. I've read a lot about these Heeleys on the DIS but didn't think they could be that bad - how hard can a little kid hurt someone ? Turns out, very hard.
Of course the boy was crying and we could see his tiny little arm already turning blue. A few CMs came to check on him, called for first aid, and tried to distract the boy with stickers. He was more scared than hurt though - one of the CMs tricked him into "high fiving" her which he did happily, so his arm wasn't broken. But he was in for a big bruise.

After this incident we took the boat to WL and discussed it with a family from Michigan. Their 8yo DD had not been allowed to bring her Heeleys to Disney and now she understood why! They were staying at the WL for the 5th time and didn't want to stay anywhere else (I think they were DVC members).

We were very impressed by WL. We're not really "country" people but it's hard not to love this resort. Calm, cozy and unique. The pool seemed a little small compared to the Volcano pool though.

I took some pics in the lobby while we waited to be called for WCC.

We were called for our table and had a great meal at WCC. It was much quieter than I expected, but it was about 8.30 already so we must have missed the antics. Next time we'll get an earlier ADR and ask to be in the main room. We were seated next to a (fake) fire. Our server, Suzan, was soooo funny and kept us laughing all through our meal.

We both really enjoyed our food (ribs for DM and chicken pasta for me) and discussed staying at WL for our next trip.

We were almost at the dock when we saw the boat to MK was getting ready to leave, so we screamed to please wait for us and started to run, but the captain either didn't hear/see us or decided not to wait. Either way, it left without us.
DM had had 2 beers with dinner, which is way too much for her even when it's Bud Light. She looked about to pass out. I told her that we didn't HAVE to go back to MK tonight, that we were going to be there tomorrow anyway. Just then the boat to Contemporary came and we decided to take it & see once we go to CR if we'd take the monorail to MK or back to the Poly.

The boat back took much longer than expected - we made a stop at Fort Wilderness first - and by the time we made it to Contemporary, we were both too tired to head back to MK. So we took the monorail back to the Poly, gave our FP sets and the FP cards to a couple of cute guys who were on their way to MK, and crashed into bed.

The next day :

What did Stitch do to Grumpy to get THIS face ???

 

[my3disneygirls]

Day 2, Part 2

But Elmira came to visit again.
I had told DM about the Double FP Plan, several times. What we wanted most of all was another ride on Splash Mountain. I explained to her that we could get 2 sets of FPs now since we had our tickets AND the FP cards.

When we got to MK we took the train to Frontierland, crossing our fingers that there would still be some FPs left for Splash. I was surprised to see that, at 6.30PM, the machines were still open and the return time was 8 ! That was a BIG change from our post-Christmas trip when Splash would run out of by 2pm every day.

I distinctly remember telling DM "I'm going to get us some Splash FPs now, okay?". And so I went. Using the FP cards I got us one each.

I come back to DM and she's holding a ticket in her hand.

"What's this ??"
"A Fastpass!"
"Where did you find it ??"
".. I just got it, with my room card!"

OH NO SHE DIDN'T.
Second time in one day that I had to keep myself from strangling her.

The next day :

What did Stitch do to Grumpy to get THIS face ???

OK, This is the first trip report I have read, but I was hooked after reading your food reviews. With the way you write I feel as if I was there. Again, your Mom is so much like mine. With me it's in the car. I will drive and give her the directions. EVERY time she changes the directions and gets us lost. I'll keep asking, "are those the directions?". Then wham, where lost!

You two are so cute and funny, I can't stand it.

 

[OhMari]

You take great pictures. I really enjoyed your Illuminations picture and video.

So much for Heeley's allowed in parks. I think there should be a check before kids enter parks, just like soccer games, the ref looks at your shoes.

 

[CPer'sMom]

Your TR is so much fun to read!! Thanks for sharing ~ looking forward to more!

 

[dolcezena]

Yep even our pets are wackos.

OK, that's where you REALLY hooked me!

We have 1 dog who's scared of certain television commercials, another that luvs her beer & a cat that plots to take over the world. They're actually weirder than us.

Thank you for providing another WDW fix for me, you're doing a great job!

 

[scrap4u]

I'm really enjoying your trip report! You're doing a great job and are very funny! Keep up the good work and thanks for giving me a taste of Disney. Only 31 days until our first stay at the Poly too!

 

[marivaid]

We have 1 dog who's scared of certain television commercials, another that luvs her beer & a cat that plots to take over the world. They're actually weirder than us.

Oh the stories I could tell you... the dog thinks she's a cat. One of the cats is afraid of her own paws. Another opened doors and turned on the answering machine every morning... Wouldn't trade them for the world though Normal pets must be so boring !!

Only 31 days until our first stay at the Poly too!

Only 28 days left for you now !!! Have you packed yet

 

[marivaid]

Day 3, Part 1

What does Disney put in their A/C ?? I was sick as a dog after 2 days at ASMO in December, and by our 3rd night at the Poly it was starting again. Waking up choking every couple hours, and of course waking up my mom too, who - as she delicately put it - wanted to "check if I was croaking".

By 4am she was probably hoping I was.

We had a hard time getting up the next morning but we had a reservation for breakfast at 'Ohana with my favorite character, Stitch that I wasn't about to miss.

The place wasn't very busy, and we didn't have to wait to be seated even though we were about 20mns late. Our server brought us a skillet full of scrambled eggs, potatoes, biscuits etc.. and another server brought Mickey waffles. Grumpy went straight for the pineapple & coconut bread.

The characters came by very quickly and we took photos. I asked Stitch to sign my book, he was all excited because I had a Stitch notepad and a Stitch pen.. oh yeah, and I was wearing my Stitch ears too (what do you mean, I'm a freak???) !

Grumpy hugging Stitch

Grumpy & Lilo

We watched the parade (Grumpy didn't participate this time as there wasn't any kid to borrow) and took our time savoring our breakfast. While we do like buffets, it's also nice to have food brought you to so that you don't have to get up & worry about missing the characters.

The characters went for a break after the parade, and when they came back out a few minutes later it was like someone had just given them shots of caffeine !! Stitch was jumping around, stealing food, and when he started messing around with the table close to ours I decided to film them.. then THIS happened :



(Yes I know, I scream like a girl. But first, it's scary to have a lifesize blue alien run to you and grab your fake ears. Plus despite what you may have heard I am a girl. Sort of.)


Now, do you understand why Grumpy is making this face ?

That's because, after he drank all the coffee and "hugged" her, Stitch burped loudly in her face - twice. If you listen closely you can hear part of the 2nd one.
I don't know about you guys, but that made us feel special
Stitch doesn't burp into just anybody's face!

After this lovely breakfast we hopped on the monorail to MK. We got there just in time to see the end of the opening ceremony.
We took the railroad to Frontierland, and tried to grab FPs for Splash.. guess what, my AP was demagnetized *again*. The CM gave me a Fastpass card for the day and we were on our way to Pirates of the Caribbean, which was a walk on.

Yo ho, yo ho, a Johnny Depp for me

After Pirates we checked out the shop and bought a few things for my sister the big PoC fan. Then we rode Carpets of Aladdin twice in a row - no wait. We don't have quite the hang of that thing yet. Either DM tips us all the way backward or forward, or I put us all the way up then can't get us back down.
And we still haven't figured out how to make the camels spit.

We headed to Tomorrowland next, and saw a little bit of the Dreams Come True show. DM kept her distance - after all there were princesses in there and who knows what they could do to her !

Daylight fireworks !! Nice and unexpected.
The show is cute, but what is it with the moving mouths and eyes ? Cree-py.

I didn't want to expose DM too long to the sight of princesses so we made our way to Tomorrowland. Push the trash can was there and since DM didn't know what it was, I asked her to go put my bottle of water in it. It asked her how was her Dasani water, and she thought it was hilarious. First the statue, now a trash can was talking to her

I had intended to get FPs for Stitch's Great Escape but it was only a 5mns wait so we decided to go now. I read a lot about lame this attraction is supposed to be and how uncomfortable.. I used the DISers trick for the restraints and it wasn't too bad. DM must have been sitting at the wrong place because when Stitch burped it went straight in her face - THIRD time today that she gets burped on by that thing, she wasn't too pleased.
I didn't smell a thing.
It's dark in there and I don't do so good with dark... hence I must confess that all through Stitch's Great Escape, I was holding my mommy's hand.

After reading all the bad reviews I was really expecting it to be atrocious. It was just dumb, really. The Stitch animatronic is well done, and it was a little funny when Stitch is supposed to be walking on you in the dark (well funny as in, hold your mommy's hand and cover your eyes). But basically it was just stupid. I'd do it again though, I'm rather keen on stupid stuff.

We crossed the street and went into Laugh Floor that showed a 5mns wait. We didn't make it to the next show, so the wait was more like 15mns. No big deal. I just hate when they make you go in the "waiting room" and you have to stand there for 10mns. We'd already had to do that for Stitch and my feet were starting to hurt.

Before entering the room, DM warned me that if anyone burped on her again, she was going back to the pool at the Poly.
The show was cute. "That guy" they picked was sitting right in front of me, so every time they showed him on the screen I could see myself behind him. Noooooot a good sight. The show was really fun, we had a laughed our butts off even though we didn't get all the jokes. When we were waiting some people were sending in jokes.. this is when I realized that sadly, every single joke I know in English is dirty.

When we left, a young lady came to me with a big smile and asked me how we were doing. I had no idea who it was. A DISer ?? How would she know me ? Did I have anything lime on me ?? It was our server from CP, Katy. Boy did she look different without the CP costume ! I would have NEVER recognized her. She did however recognize the 2 weirdos who came in her restaurant dripping wet and shivering.
She was SO nice and asked us if we liked the show, she thought it was pretty fun herself. It was so nice of her to remember us & take the time to chat with us. I hope when we go back to CP she'll be there again

DM had seen the TTA and thought it would be fun to do, but we couldn't find the entrance. We ended up in the restrooms

We saw something that seemed to be moving and didn't have a line, so we went there thinking it must be those little moving cars. When they let us in, we were in a theater. What the heck??
It finally dawned on me : Carousel of Progress
Blah.
Oh well, we're in already and we can seat. Let's just pretend it's American Adventure and take a nap.

WE LOVED IT !!
No special effects, no screens, no "technology"... but it was one of the things we enjoyed the most at MK. It was educational and fun, and just plain nice. We were really glad we'd found it by mistake.

When we came out I finally found the entrance to TTA and it was cute - except after seeing Space Mountain Grumpy declared there was no way she was going to go on THAT. Not that we planned to anyway.

We got off the TTA and considered doing Buzz Lightyear again but the wait was over 40mns ! Stitch's wait by now was 35mns and Laugh Floor 30mns. Just goes to show you it really pays to be at MK for opening.

It was getting really hot too, so we decided to go back to the Poly.
The horse-drawn trolley that goes up & down Main Street was at the castle and we thought it'd be fun to try it. It was cute. For some reason I've always wanted to take a pic of the balloons they sell at MK. No idea why, but they really say "Magic Kingdom" to me - even more than the castle.

Had to make another stop at Guest Relation to get a new AP. I found it odd that the lady didn't ask me for my ID. She was busy chatting with someone next to her. She handed me my ticket and I was glad to see it had Tinkerbell on the front - but I should have looked at the back....

Back at the Poly we stopped by BouTiki to buy some gifts and took a few pics of the lobby, since we were leaving soon

This little guy was in front of Tokelau

Our room had already been cleaned. We'd been stashing away the facial soaps since we got there and our housekeeper must have noticed, because she left us 4 of them that day !! Plus another towel animal, a tiny little bunny that I brought back with me.

We turned off the A/C and the fan, opened the door to the balcony to get some air in the room and took a long nap.

Next : More MK and Liberty Tree Tavern