"It all started with a whopping price error ” 10/24 The Perfect Storm of Opportunity

[A&Bmama]

Patiently awaiting for more. I love the first day. Pixie dust does help. On our trip to Disneyland in 2008 we got to ride in the Lilly Belle. Was the best even though it was 94 degrees, no fans or ac infact the windows were closed. We were all dripping sweat when we got off but it was great. Glad your daughter experienced pixie dust.
Lee

It was really special for DD to have a little special treatment.

OK, I'm going to display my ignorance. What is the Lily Belle?

 

[MickeyT]

Just found your TR and lo and behold you are updating/commenting as I am reading. Thanks for sharing your 'story'. I enjoy TR's and yes yours is very different but by sharing we (I) feel like part of your trip. Thanks again!

 

[A&Bmama]

Just found your TR and lo and behold you are updating/commenting as I am reading. Thanks for sharing your 'story'. I enjoy TR's and yes yours is very different but by sharing we (I) feel like part of your trip. Thanks again!

Thanks for taking the time to read my TR!

I'm surprised by the number of "new" readers that are commenting. I'm glad you dropped a line to let me know your thoughts.

 

[Becx N Gav]

ANother great update - looks like you were knocking them out at Epcot, it goes to show a rope drop makes all the difference. We've done both (early mornings are no problem to us the first few days as we are still on UK time, towards the end of the vacation it gets trickier as we stay up later)

The hotel looked lovely, as were DVC I doubt we'd stay off site but it's always good to be able to recommend places to family and friends.

I'm not a fan of pineapple at all and it doesn't agree with DH so we've never tried the Dolewhip float, I do love soft serve ice cream though and would much prefer a root beer float (we don't get good root beer here )

How did you find traveling on and off site? Did it take up much of your day? We drove for the first time last Sept and it was so quick getting everywhere but then we got lost quite a few times And I felt bad as DH was the only one driving - I hate driving in this country on the correct side of the road let alone the wrong side

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

The rainbow is a really special memory. I still wish I got a decent picture though.

I hear you on that. I LOVE taking photos of everything. This last trip I was not very good at it. And I'm horrible at remembering to take pictures of the PEOPLE I am with and I do have some regrets that I don't have any pictures of some of the people I met up with on this last trip. I guess we were having too good of a time hanging out and talking that we ALL forgot to take photos of ourselves.

OK, I'm going to display my ignorance. What is the Lily Belle?

I'm not the one who posted about the Lilly Belle, but I'm pretty sure she is referring to the special train car at Disneyland. I have seen it but I did not get the chance to ride inside. There is some special significance to it, but I cannot remember what. Here's a picture of it from my 2008 Disneyland trip:

I'm surprised by the number of "new" readers that are commenting. I'm glad you dropped a line to let me know your thoughts.

I can't speak for the others, but I avoid the TR section of the DIS because it's like a black hole. I get sucked in and start reading and I'll read a report in its entirety and before I realize what has happened, half the day is gone! I only came over here to start my report (which I still have NOT yet done ) and that's all it took!

 

[Serling126]

I can't speak for the others, but I avoid the TR section of the DIS because it's like a black hole. I get sucked in and start reading and I'll read a report in its entirety and before I realize what has happened, half the day is gone!

Yes! I am supposed to be getting ready for work, but I decided to make a "quick" stop on the boards instead! Read this entire TR, I kept saying to myself "one more page" and ended up reading it all!!

Love the TR, can't wait til the next installment. I am sorry about the loss of your father, but good for you for getting back to Disney

 

[hucifer]

It was a package from Expedia. For the villa at Lake Eve and a full size car rental it was $1100.00 CAD. At the time the Canadian dollar was not strong so I estimate the US cost was probably about $900.00. I think the car portion was about $175 so I guess the room was a little better than $100.00 a night. It was a grand opening special so I think the rates are a little higher now.

How's that for a long winded answer to a simple question.

Wow! That's not bad at ALL, especially considering it had THREE FREAKING BEDROOMS! Are you like the queen of online deals or something?

That was absolutely a personal shout-out! I though I was quite clever when I thought of that.

I thought it was awesome.

Don’t worry, we had a washer and dryer at our disposal so while I might have been offensive to the eyes, I smelled lovely and fresh.

I was a little worried at first, but I'm good now.

Surprisingly DS agreed to wear his birthday button.

I'm surprised too! That's sweet that he wore it.

See my ponytail.

Yep. You have new priorities this time.

DS thrilled as usual about getting his picture taken.

That's because he was wearing the birthday button.

Tombstones and another picture of the back of my head

Husbands just love to take pictures of our backsides.

Verdict: Still cool as all get out!

Yep.

Verdict of the Dole Whip: I could take it or leave it. I should have known better. I love fresh pineapple but I don’t care for pineapple juice, canned pineapple or anything pineapple flavoured.

I'm with you. I actually talk about this on my MK day of my TR. Actually, I could leave it. It did NOTHING for me and I love pineapple.

I think the verdict of Swiss Family Tree House was it’s a cute way to kill some time, but only do it if you are killing time.

You are much nicer than me.

 

[SOnotLayuh]

I clicked on your TR because your title peaked my interest, and I've gotten nothing else done tonight! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your story, and I'm so sorry for your loss.

I can't wait to read more.

Thank you!!!

 

[A&Bmama]

ANother great update - looks like you were knocking them out at Epcot, it goes to show a rope drop makes all the difference. We've done both (early mornings are no problem to us the first few days as we are still on UK time, towards the end of the vacation it gets trickier as we stay up later)

It was hard to get up early, but so worth it if you have an agressive agenda. Next time I would like to take things a little slower I think.

I'm not a fan of pineapple at all and it doesn't agree with DH so we've never tried the Dolewhip float, I do love soft serve ice cream though and would much prefer a root beer float (we don't get good root beer here )

I was disappointed that I didn't love this as much as most people seem to. Oh well, different stroked for different folks.

How did you find traveling on and off site? Did it take up much of your day? We drove for the first time last Sept and it was so quick getting everywhere but then we got lost quite a few times And I felt bad as DH was the only one driving - I hate driving in this country on the correct side of the road let alone the wrong side

It really didn't add a lot of time. Comparing to when we were at AKL this was probably a bit better than 5 minutes more. I think it felt further though since you knew you were leaving the property.

 

[A&Bmama]

I can't speak for the others, but I avoid the TR section of the DIS because it's like a black hole. I get sucked in and start reading and I'll read a report in its entirety and before I realize what has happened, half the day is gone! I only came over here to start my report (which I still have NOT yet done ) and that's all it took!

I hear ya! I have spent an obscene amount of time here this winter.

 

[A&Bmama]

Yes! I am supposed to be getting ready for work, but I decided to make a "quick" stop on the boards instead! Read this entire TR, I kept saying to myself "one more page" and ended up reading it all!!

Love the TR, can't wait til the next installment. I am sorry about the loss of your father, but good for you for getting back to Disney

Thanks for reading. Sorry that I hijacked your morning.

I am really glad we went back when we did. I thought that when March break rolled around this year I might be sorry that we hadn't waited to go then but I wasn't. Besides, the DIS was giving me enough of a fix to keep me satisfied.

 

[A&Bmama]

Wow! That's not bad at ALL, especially considering it had THREE FREAKING BEDROOMS! Are you like the queen of online deals or something?

I'm trying! See that's the way to outsmart my economic discipline. I just think of all the money I am saving and ignore the fact that I am still spending huge stinkin wads of cash.

DH and I have to keep reminding ourselves that this is why we worked so hard and sacrificed so much in the early days, so we could get to the point when we could treat ourselves to some luxuries.

I'm with you. I actually talk about this on my MK day of my TR. Actually, I could leave it. It did NOTHING for me and I love pineapple.

Well the good thing is we won't ever be standing in a 45 minute wait at Aloha!

Zebra Domes on the other hand, I would walk a mile for.

 

[A&Bmama]

I clicked on your TR because your title peaked my interest, and I've gotten nothing else done tonight! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your story, and I'm so sorry for your loss.

I can't wait to read more.

Thank you!!!

Thanks for stopping by! I think the title is a real attention grabber.

I hope I didn't steal you away from anything that was too pressing!

 

[A&Bmama]

When we arrive at the monorail platform to hop back to Epcot I notice that there are not very many people there. Another handy tidbit I learned on the DIS was that you could ask to sit in the front with the driver.

On our first visit I kept this little tidbit of info to myself for a couple of reasons, 1) We traveled into and out of MK at peak travel times and 2) I knew only 4 can ride at a time. Since we had the 3 girls on that trip as well as DS I didn’t know how we could work this. If my family were to ride in the front I had a good hunch BFF and Friend would be very sad and upset, who could blame them? Could I suggest that DS take the 3 girls? Would they even allow DS to chaperone the girls? If so, would the girls behave for him? I knew I didn’t want DS to be the one to be left out; after all we were celebrating his birthday. I didn’t take any chances. I kept my lips firmly sealed.

This time is different. I don’t have anyone else’s feelings to consider and there is now waiting crowds in my way. Perfect opportunity to seize the moment! I am a little intimidated to ask. I don’t tell the others what I am up to when I saunter over to the CMs who are working on the platform. I casually say “I heard that sometimes you can sit up front with the driver, is that true?” The CM looks at me a little sternly and says. Who keeps telling people these things? I am momentarily shocked. My mind is scrambling for something to say when his face breaks into a big grin and he chuckles and tells me “of course your family can ride in the front, bring them right over.”

I head back to the rest and tell that we are going to ride in the front with the driver. My Family is impressed. I am feeling a little smug, like “Super Mom” knower of Disney secrets. Stick with me kiddos, I’ll take you places. Don’t be fooled by the shiny first timer button, I know a thing or two.

Here we are in the front with our brand spanking new driver’s licenses.

Seems I have created a monster. When we get to the platform to switch to the Epcot monorail DD asks if we can ride in the front again. I am tempted to tell her no so that she won’t expect this every time but I see that it is still pretty deserted so I ask again. Again, it is no problem.


Once we reenter Epcot we repeat our morning performance and head directly to Test Track to ride with our fastpasses.

We decide that we should go to WS for our Kim Possible Mission. We are running out steam so we decide to take the boat to Epcot. This is where my “Super Mom” halo gets a wee bit tarnished. Having no Idea the layout of the WS countries we take the boat to Germany.

At this point we pull out the map to get our bearings and find that we are now no closer to France than we were when we got on the boat!

I naively think I can recover from this misstep. I’m pretty sure I have read that you can ask to exchange your mission so we head to the nearest KP Kiosk to do just that.

I hand our mission slip to the CM working there and ask to exchange it for something closer. He tells me he can’t do that. I tell him I was under the understanding that you could. He grumbles a bit and goes away and does his thing. What seems like 10 minutes later he gives us our Kimmunicator for our FRANCE MISSION!

I am really running out of energy and it is making me cranky. I am tempted to argue the point some more but decide to just suck it up and go to France. We sprint to France basically seeing nothing in between. When we arrive we complete our mission in what must be record time. It’s a shame that we were cold, hungry and tired. I would have liked to take our time to savour the sights and sounds.

With the fate of the World safe once again we decide that I little food and rest would be in order. We trek back to future world and head for Sunshine Seasons. Dinner is just as good as it was the first time we were here. Crowds are really low, there are plenty of seats open.

We are enjoying our dinner when we get to witness a little happy moment for another guest. A panic stricken lady walks up to the CM who’s cleaning tables and explains that she was sitting there 10 minutes earlier and mistakenly left her purse slung over the back of the chair. The CM tells her she has the purse a gives it back to her. The lady is crying and laughing at the same time and gives the CM a big hug. Apparently her tickets, passports and all of her families money was in her purse. I was so happy that what could have been a huge disaster for her family was averted.

With our meals complete we head to Soarin to use our FPs. When I show the entrance CM he smiles and says “that’s the latest one I’ve seen all day, go right in we’ve been expecting you.”

Again, we are front row centre. Must be the luck of the Irish, we have yet to be in anything other than the first row. Soarin is still awesome but I can tell that we are so tired now that we are just not enjoying things as much as we should.

After this it is decided that we will ride The Seas. Cute ride but I’m not blown away by any means.

Here’s DD

We have been thinking of staying for illuminations, but it is still a couple of hours away. We just don’t think we have it in us to keep going so we head “home”

I have to say it is lovely to have the space we do. We enjoy lounging around having a snack or cup of tea without a “trip out.” Also with 4 TVs at our disposal there is never an argument over what to watch.

After a lovely soak in the Jacuzzi tub it is lights out. Tomorrow is another early morning.


Up Next: Animal Kingdom at long last!

 

[njtinkmom]

That is so great that you got to sit up front on the monorail . I had heard they stopped that last year after the horrific accident - which was one day before we went to MK! I will have to look into that when we go in July - but with the July crowds it is almost never deserted! Keep the reports coming - great job!

 

[hucifer]

I loved this installment! It made me smile to know you were bringing a big more magic to the trip by getting to ride up front on the monorail...especially now that they no longer offer it.

The "We've been expecting you" line was pretty funny.

Did you do Turtle Talk? That is the best attraction at the Living Seas.

 

[DisneyMom70]

i just found your trip report and I have now spent the first two hours of my work day reading this. I am frankly glad I could read through the whole thing. I am sorry for your loss and happy that you all got a chance at a redo. Great writing and I am looking forward to the rest.

 

[lbuzz52]

i just found this and have to go back and catch up but that deal, wow!!!
and that Ikea commercial cracked me up. I've totally had that feeling before!

 

[MEK]

With the day you had, no wonder you started to run out of steam. That was a pretty hard core day! Glad you got to ride up front in the monorail....not once , but twice! Glad you got to do a few more things in Epcot before heading home for a rest. Sounds like a fabulous day!

 

[lbuzz52]

What a story! I have to say, i'm so glad that it all seems to be coming around for you. I lost my grandmother last year; my son was born and she died the following day; I was in the hospital from the c-section so i was unable to tell her goodbye. it seems that you were really strong through it all. i'm glad the second portion of the trip seems to have a bit of magic for you too.