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

[DisEye]

I have to say that I get irritated with how long it takes to enter the MK when you drive there.

The trip to MK from the hotel is definitely the best part of staying on property! It takes forever to get there when you stay elsewhere. My family really loves MK, so I don't think we'll ever stay off property again! It's worth it!

 

[A&Bmama]

Thanks also for sharing your trip report with us. Add me to the list of folks who lost my dad suddenly from a distance. That phone call is engraved in my memory; only those of us who have received it can understand that.

It is certainly a moment that is burned into my memory. It is such a helpless feeling when you are far away. I live close enough to my parents home to be able to jump into a car and be there in less than 2 or 3 minutes. What were the chances that this would happen while we were away.

Your picture of the cheetah is very special; most of us only get to see them way far away, hiding in the underbrush!

The picture is nice. I wish they would have stopped for even 5 seconds so that we could get a better focused shot but I guess they like to keep things moving along.

 

[A&Bmama]

The trip to MK from the hotel is definitely the best part of staying on property! It takes forever to get there when you stay elsewhere. My family really loves MK, so I don't think we'll ever stay off property again! It's worth it!

Next time we stay on property I will give the busses a try, especially for Magic Kingdom!

 

[gatormommy07]

I have to learn to relax about the crowd. I have to start trusting that I do know what I am doing in the parks and know how to use fastpasses effectively so I will be fine. Yet somehow I know that when the time comes that we are able to go back I will stress over crowds and wait times anyway.

It gets easier to get over that kind of thing, eventually!!

 

[hel1304]

I'm so glad to hear that you are enjoying my TR. I've gotten so many compliments on my writing that I am starting to think I should try my hand at a short story. On the other hand, maybe I should just take another trip so I can write a new TR.

What a good excuse to book up again

We sat for nearly 2 hrs for Spectromagic & must admit I am so glad we did! Pluto was tickling my toes & my DD's were screaming the character names so much with excitement it was another magical disney experience when most of the characters did single them out

Thanks again for sharing your report with us. I have also cried & laughed throughout

 

[A&Bmama]

It gets easier to get over that kind of thing, eventually!!

I hope so.

What a good excuse to book up again

We sat for nearly 2 hrs for Spectromagic & must admit I am so glad we did! Pluto was tickling my toes & my DD's were screaming the character names so much with excitement it was another magical disney experience when most of the characters did single them out

Thanks again for sharing your report with us. I have also cried & laughed throughout

One good/bad thing about writing a TR is it keeps the memory of what we did and how we would do it differently next time, fresh in my mind.

 

[smithpack]

Love it!Love it!Love it!!

You had me laughing in several spots. First of all, I love how can whip up a digiorno pizza. To be honest, it was probably better than some of the pizza's you get in WDW.

The whole airplane bit and how you thought only people with mink coats would get on them. I used to think the same thing. Of course, my parents had eight kids so it definitely would have been expensive for us to fly anywhere. The first time I got on an airplane was on my honeymoon. Now my dad has his pilot's license and a six seater airplane, so he flys us around on occasion. My husband doesn't like to fly at all as he usually turns pretty green, but my kids love it.

Alright, if A&B mama says a balloon is worth 10 bucks, then it must be worth it. I mean, you had a Digiorno pizza and a $10 balloon in the same night. You are going out on a limb, girl. I am going to have to get one of these balloons on our next trip just so I can check it out. My only problem is that I then have to get four balloons to make everything fair and then I end up spending $40. My kids have always asked for them though, and I think it will be something they can get the next time. I am starting to find myself saying that a lot, "next time. Next Time. NEXT TIME!" I loved your comment about the guy being a scout knot expert!!

You are such a good writer!!

 

[chartle]

Wanted to write this over the weekend but got sidetracked.

I have to say that I get irritated with how long it takes to enter the MK when you drive there.

-Park the car
-Wait for shuttle
-Take shuttle to first monorail
-Wait for monorail
-Ride monorail
-Wait for second monorail
-Ride second monorail
-Wait at bag check
-Wait at turnstile

Finally, we are in!

First a quick question.

I'm confused a little on your trip to the MK. Why two monorails? It sounds like
you parked in the lot at Epcot.

I hear “When you wish upon a star” and am transported back to when I watched The Wonderful World of Disney as a child. I can see my living room with the intro playing on our small TV. I can even feel the texture of the fabric on our chocolate brown hide-a-bed.

I remember longing to go, but people like us didn’t go places like that. My mother explained to me that you need to travel on an airplane to get there. In my childish mind I believed that only people who were very rich traveled on an airplane. These same people also wore mink coats, diamonds and smoked cigarettes from a long holder.

A trip to Disneyworld was about as attainable as a trip to the moon. Like the moon, I knew that somewhere out there it existed and was real, but still completely out of reach.

Yet here I am standing in front of the actual castle, watching real life fireworks. It took awhile, but the dream did come true!

I'm a little older so for me its was Disneyland. I really hadn't heard of WDW until my father heard about it at his work and people started to go down around 74-75. We tried to get a res for Fort Wilderness in December 74 for late July early Aug 75 and everything was booked up. Ended up making a res for July 76.

We never made reservations for campgrounds and never paid more than $15 a site. Usually it was more like $3-$5 a night at a state park and if they had flush toilets it was like a night at the GF.

FW was I think $25-30 a night. We stayed 3 full days because at the time thats was like a 2 week stay today. You only had the MK, River Country and Discover Island.

We did two days at the MK and one at River Country.

As for your story about only rich people flying. For me I never wanted to go to Hawaii because when you got off the plane. You went down the big stairs on to the tarmac and there was a hula girl putting flowers around your neck and giving you a kiss and i didn't want a girl kissing me*.

My only experiences with Hawaii was Hawaii 5 0 and the Brady Bunch Episode arc when Greg found the Tiki Idol and almost drowned.

*BTW do they still do that.

 

[hucifer]

I won’t embarrass myself by posting any bathing suit pics

I hear ya.

I have to say that I get irritated with how long it takes to enter the MK when you drive there.

-Park the car
-Wait for shuttle
-Take shuttle to first monorail
-Wait for monorail
-Ride monorail
-Wait for second monorail
-Ride second monorail
-Wait at bag check
-Wait at turnstile

OR...

Park at the Contemporary and walk over.

I remember longing to go, but people like us didn’t go places like that. My mother explained to me that you need to travel on an airplane to get there. In my childish mind I believed that only people who were very rich traveled on an airplane. These same people also wore mink coats, diamonds and smoked cigarettes from a long holder. A trip to Disneyworld was about as attainable as a trip to the moon. Like the moon, I knew that somewhere out there it existed and was real, but still completely out of reach.

We were the same way...middle class, but we couldn't afford to go there. So when we did finally go when I was nine years old, it felt like the richest place in the world.

I ask how much for the Mickey-balloon-in-a-balloon balloon. He replies 10 dollars. I gulp.

Because it's the kind of balloon that only people who wear mink coats, diamonds and smoked cigarettes from a long holder can afford.

I squelch the economically disciplined beast within me and fork over the 10 bucks.

I’m going to do something you won’t see often.

I’m going to defend Disney’s pricing on that little puppy.

First, there are the 3 reusable heavy Mickey weights that came with it. Second, The outer clear balloon is thick, immpermeable and TOUGH! That balloon looked exactly the same as it did the night we bought it on the day we left. No comma-in-a-balloon balloon for us. In fact, DD only broke it after 10 minutes of bouncing on it like an exercise ball the morning we were leaving!

Do I think they should sell them a little cheaper? Yeah probably. Did I regret paying the 10 bucks? Not for a second.

If my little guy wanted one, I wouldn't hesitate to shell out 10 bucks, either.

I'm impressed with its durability, though! Holy cow!

 

[A&Bmama]

Love it!Love it!Love it!!

You had me laughing in several spots. First of all, I love how can whip up a digiorno pizza. To be honest, it was probably better than some of the pizza's you get in WDW.

Thanks. As a matter of fact, the pizza was better than the pizza I had at Pinnochio's.

Of course, my parents had eight kids so it definitely would have been expensive for us to fly anywhere.

Big family! That would have been a fortune to go on vacation.

The first time I got on an airplane was on my honeymoon. Now my dad has his pilot's license and a six seater airplane, so he flys us around on occasion. My husband doesn't like to fly at all as he usually turns pretty green, but my kids love it.

I'm not crazy about flying myself and there is NO WAY I would get in a six seater plane! Where did you go for your honeymoon?

Alright, if A&B mama says a balloon is worth 10 bucks, then it must be worth it. I mean, you had a Digiorno pizza and a $10 balloon in the same night. :

What can I say? Only the best for us.

I am going to have to get one of these balloons on our next trip just so I can check it out. My only problem is that I then have to get four balloons to make everything fair and then I end up spending $40. My kids have always asked for them though, and I think it will be something they can get the next time. I am starting to find myself saying that a lot, "next time. Next Time. NEXT TIME!" I loved your comment about the guy being a scout knot expert!!

$40.00 I feel for ya. At least I only have the one kid that asks for stuff.

DS didn't want anything. He came home without so much a single souvenir! I would have bought him just about anything he wanted but he just didn't care to bring anything back.

He had never been a kid that want a lot of stuff. When he was 6 you could ask him what he wanted for Xmas and he would just say "Oh I don't know."

You are such a good writer!!

[/QUOTE]

Thanks! All these compliments are starting to go to my head but I like it!

 

[A&Bmama]

Wanted to write this over the weekend but got sidetracked.

Happens to me all the time.

First a quick question.

I'm confused a little on your trip to the MK. Why two monorails? It sounds like
you parked in the lot at Epcot.

Are you saying the Magic Kingdom has it's own parking lot?

NOW you tell me.

Seriously though, I think my memories are getting a little mixed-up and I am thinking of the day we hopped from Epcot to MK. Maybe it just took so long it seemed like I must have been on 2 monorails!

I'm going to fix it but in the meantime I refer you to my earlier disclaimer.

I am going to tell this story to the best of my ability. It may, or may not be the truth, but it resembles the truth. It’s the best I can offer almost a year later.

As for your story about only rich people flying. For me I never wanted to go to Hawaii because when you got off the plane. You went down the big stairs on to the tarmac and there was a hula girl putting flowers around your neck and giving you a kiss and i didn't want a girl kissing me*.

BTW do they still do that.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you have probably gotten over your fear of being kissed by hula girls.

My only experiences with Hawaii was Hawaii 5 0 and the Brady Bunch Episode arc when Greg found the Tiki Idol and almost drowned.

I remember that one! Wasn't that storyline done over at least 2 episodes?

 

[chartle]

I remember that one! Wasn't that storyline done over at least 2 episodes?

First three of season 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_The_Brady_Bunch_episodes#Season_4_.281972.E2.80.931973.29

 

[A&Bmama]

Park at the Contemporary and walk over.

I like the way you think

We were the same way...middle class, but we couldn't afford to go there. So when we did finally go when I was nine years old, it felt like the richest place in the world.

I think it is so much more common for families to visit Disney now than it used to be 25 years or so ago. When I was a kid I only knew of one family that went. I don't think kids are nearly as impressed by being able to visit as I would have been. Sure, they love it, sure they will be in awe sometimes. I would have been over the moon to just get there. Anything I actually saw or did would have just been gravy.

Boy, I sound old and crotchety don't I?

Because it's the kind of balloon that only people who wear mink coats, diamonds and smoked cigarettes from a long holder can afford.:

I was puttin' on the ritz.

If my little guy wanted one, I wouldn't hesitate to shell out 10 bucks, either.

I'm impressed with its durability, though! Holy cow!

I thought it was a bit steep at first but it was really good quality so I would absolutely buy DD another if she wanted it.

 

[lbuzz52]

Absolutely loved your description of folk. I'm so glad you found some magical moments after the rough start

 

[A&Bmama]

Day 3, April 3

Buzz, buzz, buzz. I roll over with a groan and wish that I could just stay in bed. Each day it gets just a little harder to get up.

It is especially important that I get out of bed this morning. We are going to DHS! I had suggested to DH that we should skip TSM this trip since we rode it last time but DH is adamant that we must ride it.

I’m not fond of the idea of taking part in the TSM stampede. I think it would be better to head for RnRC and TOT and do a FP, standby combo there then tour at our leisure. DH is having none of that. Toy Story is non-negotiable.

One thing I am looking forward to is our lunch ADR at 50’s Prime Time. Last time we were here I really wanted to eat there but we were on the QSDP. The economically disciplined beast within me would not allow me to spend money on a TS dinner when I already had more than enough QS dining credits to cover us. Also, I thought it might be a bit of a nightmare getting an ADR for 11 people.

If we are going to have to take part in the stampede I decide that it is in our best interest to be at rope drop early…really early…touching the rope early.

My goal is to be there by 8AM for 9AM opening.

I wonder why it I find it acceptable to wait for an hour for park opening but not acceptable to wait for the ride. I keep reminding myself that waiting at rope drop will cut down the wait at multiple rides, not just the first.

I force myself out of bed and get that first cup of coffee. I feel better. I always do.

I wake the rest of the family. DD is up for about 5 minutes when she tells me she doesn’t feel well. She has a headache and her stomach hurts. I do the Mom method of taking a temperature without a thermometer by pressing my lips to her forehead. She doesn’t have a fever.

I debate what to do.

Should we go to DHS and hope that she will feel better when she is up and about?

If she is sick and we have to leave we will have all but wasted a park day and we only have the two left.

If we don’t go we’ll miss our ADR at 50’s Prime Time.

We decide we will play it safe and use this as a day off. Bye bye 50’s Prime Time, I’ll miss you.

Everyone goes back to bed.

Except me…I drank that dang coffee and now I am wide awake! No one else is having that problem, they all fall back to sleep immediately. I putter around for awhile, throw some laundry in the washer and drink some more coffee. Might as well, the damage is already done.

Once everyone wakes up again we make some breakfast and discuss what we should do for the day. Once DD is better rested and once she had something to eat she feels better. I suspected she might. My instinct was that she was more tired than anything else.

We decide that we will visit Old Town in Kissimmee and head out. I thought this might be a fun area but my overall impression is that it is quite seedy. We wander around in the shops for awhile. It amazes me that they sell single bottles of beer along side of the pop, water and juices. Is that common all in the US? In Canada the sale of alcohol is tightly controlled by the government. You can’t buy it in the grocery store or at a corner store. It is only sold in liquor stores or in licensed bars and restaurants.

I have a confession to make. I don’t like beer. Many of you are thinking “so what.”

The problem is I am Canadian.

There are two things Canadians take great pride in; beer and hockey.

I’m not fond of either. I am usually pretty quiet about this fact since I love Canada and would hate to have my citizenship revoked.

DH loves a good beer and hockey. DS is absolutely hockey obsessed since he is underage he better not have an opinion on beer…

They're good Canadians.

Hopefully, they could plead my case to the authorities should my “national pride” ever called into question.

As I am wandering the shops perusing beer, a Bud Light Lime sold in an aluminum bottle catches my eye. I am transfixed by the aluminum bottle. I have never seen one. I decide I will buy it. It’s not everyday that we can buy a single beer in an aluminum bottle and drink it as we stroll the streets.

It is such a novelty that DD takes this picture of us.

I feel like I should audition for a part in “Trailer Park Boys.”

Did I mention that it is only 11AM?

As we are wandering we spot a hair salon that has mannequin heads to display examples of the hair braiding they offer. BFF came home from a trip to Mexico with her hair braided 2 years ago and ever since DD has wanted to have hers done. Perfect opportunity! We duck into the shop and are able to get in a half hour. Fantastic!

We wander a little longer and take a few pictures then return to the hair salon.

The braiding takes over an hour.

By the time we are done DH and DS are chomping at the bit to get out of there. We decide a little lunch is in order. Guess where we are going? Wolfgang Puck Express!!! Yay me!

Since I had wanted to go there so badly you would think I would remember every detail of what we ordered. I don’t. I remember I ordered a flat bread of some kind and that it was delicious. I couldn’t tell you which one though, and I couldn’t tell you what the others ordered.

I do however, remember how much we enjoyed sitting outside eating our leisurely lunch. Great food, perfect weather, no rushing, no stress equals pure bliss. DD enjoys throwing bits of the crust of my flat bread to the birds.

We window shop our way from one end of DDD to the other.

Once we arrive at the Westside we take the boat back to the marketplace.

A pit stop is made at Goofy’s for the kids to get a make your own treat before heading back to the hotel for a swim.

I cook pork chops with caramelized onions, rice and peas for dinner. I love being able to cook some meals!

We have a moonlight swim followed by a soak in the Jacuzzi tub. Then it is off to bed. Tomorrow will be our second attempt to get to DHS well before rope drop.

Up Next: The Frightening Flip Flop Fiasco.

 

[A&Bmama]

Absolutely loved your description of folk. I'm so glad you found some magical moments after the rough start

It was a very different trip the second time around. Thanks for reading!

 

[chartle]

It amazes me that they sell single bottles of beer along side of the pop, water and juices. Is that common all in the US? In Canada the sale of alcohol is tightly controlled by the government. You can’t buy it in the grocery store or at a corner store. It is only sold in liquor stores or in licensed bars and restaurants.

Its by state.

For non by the drink purchases, in Pennsylvania you can only buy Spirits in state run State Stores. Wine is mostly sold in State Stores but you can buy it from stores run by the winery themselves. Beer is sold by the case only at Beer Distributors which are licensed by the state.

Bars can sell you up to a 6 pack of beer to take out and of course individual drinks that have to be consumed on the premises.

No beer or wine in supermarkets or convenience stores.

A Sheetz convenience store tried to get around the law and sell 6 packs of beer by getting a Bar liquor licence. The PALCB (PA liquor control board) told them they couldn't do it unless they also sold drinks by the glass.

 

[Kewz1]

I'm so glad your day turned out nicely! Sometimes we just need some extra downtime when visiting the Mouse.

Kristen

 

[Dugette]

Sounds like a super-relaxing day! No TSM stampedes for you!

 

[smithpack]

Darn, I am bummed that you didn't get to do 50's Prime Time. Your dinner of Pork Chops sounds good though. I am glad that you love to cook. I don't mind cooking, but when I am on vacation that is the only opportunity I have to get a break from it. Like you guys, we don't go out to eat a lot. I just hate spending the money for my whole family to eat out. So when I am on vacation, I absolutely refuse to cook. That is my break. I would like to try some of those pork chops with caramelized onions. Maybe I should just take you with us, and you can do the cooking!!

I love your DD's hair with the braids. Super Cute!! How long did they stay in? I hope you make it to DHS the next day!

Oh and in answer to your previous question of where did DH and I go on our honeymoon, it was Jamaica.I was really wanting to do a cruise, but my parents love Jamaica and go twice a year now that their kids are all grown. Anyway, they talked me into Jamaica by saying they would pay for half of our honeymoon if we would go there and try it. It was nice, and we enjoyed it, but I always wish we had done a cruise because I have never been able to get rid of the desire that I have to do one. I am begging my DH to do one this year for our 10 year anniversary, but he is insistent to pay off my car first. I know he is right about us getting it paid off, so I will just wait. Hopefully we can go next year.