Day 16: Tuesday, May 11: MK; Good bye, for now
Weather: Muggy and overcast.
Its our last day and our kids dont believe us. I had packed the car the night before, leaving us only with our day bag. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the lounge and then said goodbye to the concierge. Our goal was to be on the road for 3:00.
We got to MK a little after 9:00. It was amazing how small the line was for strollers. We got a double again. As we headed up MainStreet, we told the kids that Mom and Dad were each going to pick one ride and that they could pick two each, since it was our last day. I could hear them whispering in the stroller that they thought I was only kidding.
DD picked HM and Peter Pan as her two last rides for the trip. DS chose Buzz and, of course, Space Mountain. DW picked PhilarMagic. I sketched out a quick plan and away we went.
We went to Tomorrowland and grabbed FPs for Space. It was 9:20 and the return time was 10:10 to 11:10. Then we hit Buzz Lightyear (walk on). DWs score was frighteningly close to mine - a scary thought since I have about 25 years video gaming over her. Next we hit Astro Orbiter, which was also a walk on. When the ride started, DW thought her spaceship was broken when it tilted out and scared the **** out of her.
I like AO, but the heights do scare me. Of course, the boy was merciless with the controls. After Astro, we went to Mickeys PhilarMagic. Loved it just as much the second time. Afterward, since we were within our FP window for Space, we grabbed FPs for Peter Pan. There was already a line for that. At that point, DS and I went to ride Space Mt. while DW and DD stayed behind and rode Snow White and the Carrousel. Of course, the boy insisted on riding Space twice since we had four FPs. I was glad to see he already had the concept of division down; I was less pleased that it landed me into Space two times instead of one. To be honest, by this time I had been on so many roller coasters and flume rides that I was starting to like them. .
After Space Mt., we went back to Fantasyland to pick up the girls and rode Peter Pan and then it was off to the Haunter Mansion. HM was only a five minute wait (it was about 11:00). This time, I specifically told the CM that we were parties of two and two so that he wouldnt stick us in one Doom buggy again. Didnt matter. He shoved us in one again. We had to put DD on my lap to fit comfortably. If there are any HM CMs out there, am I doing something wrong? The ride was pretty uncomfortable. We still loved it.
My choice for my last attraction was POTC. I know its getting dated, but it will always be my favorite. Now, I dont know how many attractions we had been on by this point, but I wouldnt be surprised if it was over 100. And not one had broken down while we were on it. In fact, with the exception of TT having a brief breakdown while we were on line (about 15 minutes) and Dudleys Ripsaw Falls at IOA, not one attraction was down that wasnt scheduled to be. Well, you guessed it, Pirates breaks down right in the middle. Thirty minutes of watching the women chase the pirates around is about 25 minutes too long. .
I am sure that there were a lot of frustrated people in there with us for that half hour. But I was not one of them. We had been in WDW for 11 days (14 if you include Universal), had perfect weather, did everything we wanted at least once and were about as relaxed as you can be after a two week vacation in Central Florida. We had 12:30 PS for The Plaza (which is old Latin for milkshakes) and plenty of time to get there. And, wed be on the road by 3:00 and we would see our dog again (a 12 year old yellow lab) in two days. The vacation had been an overwhelming success. I was content, despite being a captive in a boat in the middle of POTC. After the 25th bar of Yo-ho, yo-ho, its a pirates life for me, I dozed into a state of compelte peace.
I was abruptly jolted from my nirvana when the ride started up again and my wife said, for a second, I thought we were going to eat up all of my shopping time.
I had forgotten that the last few days I had promised her we could shop on MainStreet before we left. I quickly looked at my watch and realized it wasnt even twelve yet. We werent planning on being on the road until 3:00, a fact that DW was aware of. Even if I dragged my butt through lunch, that would leave more than two hours. I did some quick math, two hours times that amount she could spend per fifteen minutes,
.. I felt a cold sweat begin to develop on my brow as I prayed for another breakdown. No luck. We were sitting in the Plaza and it was just noon. They took us early. The Plaza is quickly getting into my top five WDW restaurants. Great shakes and malts. The kids loved there food. I got the steak sandwich, which was great. Grade: A.
Lunch was great, but hard to enjoy. Its kind of like your last meal on death row. Sure, the meal's great, but its the after dinner show that's a killer. Before leaving the restaurant, I asked the kids if they needed to go to the bathroom (Im going with anything I can here), and they decide that the Plaza has the only public restaurant in WDW that they dont wish to experience. Its at that point that it occurs to me how quickly and efficiently they had eaten their meals - none of the usual delays. Then it dawns on me that they have already been recruited by DW with a promise of souvenirs and toys.
DW hits MainStreet like a seasoned professional. I am sure it is the only map she has studied. Two weeks ago she thought Back to the Future was at MGM and that BTMR and Splash Mt. were the same ride. Now she knows the name and location of every shop on MainStreet. Its at that point that she reaches into her bag and I realize its all over. SHE HAS A LIST!!! Half the names on the list I dont even recognize.
I know I am quickly losing the battle but I was determined not to let things get out of control. As we pulled up to the Emporium, I turned to her to discuss a reasonable budget (surrender negotiations if you will). Like a seasoned battle general, she anticipated my move and before I could even open my mouth, she had already applied the strollers break and told the kids to hop out. The last thing I heard was, youve got the kids and she was gone. As angry as I was, I had to admire the move. She had saddled me with the two brats, who had no doubt been promised toys for being good in the park and for downing their lunch. (Come to think of it, why didnt Sarah scream to ride Aladdin as we walked past it?). DW knew I would need all my resources to control the kids in the stores, leaving her unchecked at the register. I tried to keep up with DW, but she went straight through the picture frame and snow globe section. Breakables, another brillant move. With a five and a four year old in three aisles of fragile merchandise with Mickey and friends, there was nothing I could do. It was all a blur after that.
To be honest, I dont even remember what stores we hit, and I am pretty sure I still dont know what we bought. We left MK around 2:00. I could not believe how many bags we had. That DW could purchase that much stuff in just over an hour is proof that this had been a well planned, precision strike. We boarded the monorail back to the Polynesian. We said good bye to the resort. DW decided to say goodbye to the stores individually, stopping in the shops on both the second and first floors to make some last second purchases. I was beaten, and she knew it.
Somehow, we got everything into the already-packed Cherokee and we were off at almost exactly 3:00. DW looked over at me and said, See, I told you Id have you out of there by three. I wanted to say that I thought our money would be out of there by three along with us. But I knew better. Our trip had been flawless. And she was a big part of the reason for that. She kept her promise to get to the parks early and she never once complained about being at the parks as much as we were.
Final Word:
I wont bore you with the details of the ride home. Anyone who read all of these reports already deserves a medal. We did the trip back in two days, stopping in South Carolina for the night. We pulled into our driveway around 7:00 on Wednesday Night.
Our vacation was awesome. Having a full two weeks was fantastic. Unfortunately, this will be the last time we have that luxury in the off season, since DS starts school next year.
I couldnt have scripted better weather. It rained two of the nights we were at Universal, which was not a big deal since there is nothing to do at UO at night anyway. Other than that, it only rained half a day when we were at the AKL. That was the day we had scheduled a rest day anyway. Even then, it only rained half the day, so we got plenty of swimming and animal watching in. On the way back home, it started raining in South Carolina. DD asked me, Dad, does it ever rain in Florida?. If she only knew.
Universal Orlando is a blast. I could not have been happier with the RPR and everyone loved IOA. Disney was almost perfect as usual. Not a rude CM the whole trip. I also thought the place was spotless. If you read some of the threads on these boards, you get the impression that WDW is going down hill in both areas. I am happy to report that it is just a great as it has always been, and I have been there in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Is there some litter here and there? Sure. Was every CM perfectly pleasant? No. In 1971, WDW was a fraction of its current size and I doubt it was one of the largest employers in the world. So it was a lot easier to maintain and staff. Despite its size, WDW is still the cleanest, happiest place I know.
Just by way of example, when we ate lunch at Caseys, I watched the same CM empty the garbage cans three times in 45 minutes - even though they were not full. We were sitting near it, so he had to kind of scoot around us a bit. Each time, he smiled and thanked us for indulging him. On the way home, we stopped at a McDonalds. When I went to throw our garbage out, the can was so full stuff was falling out. I had to put my stuff on top of the can. When I did, the employee at the register actually shot me a dirty look, like I should have replace the bag my self.
Food is definitely improving at the World. Sci-Fi, Le Cellier, and Liberty Tree Tavern have gotten some bad reviews lately. We thought they were great. The character meals seemed much less rushed this time and my kids really looked forward to them. When we stopped at a Cracker-Barrel for breakfast in Virginia, my DD asked me what characters would be there. When I explained that we were about 700 miles away from WDW, DS said, no problem, we will just go back for dinner. I wish, I said, I wish.
Thanks for reading.
Weather: Muggy and overcast.
Its our last day and our kids dont believe us. I had packed the car the night before, leaving us only with our day bag. We grabbed a quick breakfast in the lounge and then said goodbye to the concierge. Our goal was to be on the road for 3:00.
We got to MK a little after 9:00. It was amazing how small the line was for strollers. We got a double again. As we headed up MainStreet, we told the kids that Mom and Dad were each going to pick one ride and that they could pick two each, since it was our last day. I could hear them whispering in the stroller that they thought I was only kidding.
DD picked HM and Peter Pan as her two last rides for the trip. DS chose Buzz and, of course, Space Mountain. DW picked PhilarMagic. I sketched out a quick plan and away we went. We went to Tomorrowland and grabbed FPs for Space. It was 9:20 and the return time was 10:10 to 11:10. Then we hit Buzz Lightyear (walk on). DWs score was frighteningly close to mine - a scary thought since I have about 25 years video gaming over her. Next we hit Astro Orbiter, which was also a walk on. When the ride started, DW thought her spaceship was broken when it tilted out and scared the **** out of her.
I like AO, but the heights do scare me. Of course, the boy was merciless with the controls. After Astro, we went to Mickeys PhilarMagic. Loved it just as much the second time. Afterward, since we were within our FP window for Space, we grabbed FPs for Peter Pan. There was already a line for that. At that point, DS and I went to ride Space Mt. while DW and DD stayed behind and rode Snow White and the Carrousel. Of course, the boy insisted on riding Space twice since we had four FPs. I was glad to see he already had the concept of division down; I was less pleased that it landed me into Space two times instead of one. To be honest, by this time I had been on so many roller coasters and flume rides that I was starting to like them. . After Space Mt., we went back to Fantasyland to pick up the girls and rode Peter Pan and then it was off to the Haunter Mansion. HM was only a five minute wait (it was about 11:00). This time, I specifically told the CM that we were parties of two and two so that he wouldnt stick us in one Doom buggy again. Didnt matter. He shoved us in one again. We had to put DD on my lap to fit comfortably. If there are any HM CMs out there, am I doing something wrong? The ride was pretty uncomfortable. We still loved it.
My choice for my last attraction was POTC. I know its getting dated, but it will always be my favorite. Now, I dont know how many attractions we had been on by this point, but I wouldnt be surprised if it was over 100. And not one had broken down while we were on it. In fact, with the exception of TT having a brief breakdown while we were on line (about 15 minutes) and Dudleys Ripsaw Falls at IOA, not one attraction was down that wasnt scheduled to be. Well, you guessed it, Pirates breaks down right in the middle. Thirty minutes of watching the women chase the pirates around is about 25 minutes too long. .
I am sure that there were a lot of frustrated people in there with us for that half hour. But I was not one of them. We had been in WDW for 11 days (14 if you include Universal), had perfect weather, did everything we wanted at least once and were about as relaxed as you can be after a two week vacation in Central Florida. We had 12:30 PS for The Plaza (which is old Latin for milkshakes) and plenty of time to get there. And, wed be on the road by 3:00 and we would see our dog again (a 12 year old yellow lab) in two days. The vacation had been an overwhelming success. I was content, despite being a captive in a boat in the middle of POTC. After the 25th bar of Yo-ho, yo-ho, its a pirates life for me, I dozed into a state of compelte peace.
I was abruptly jolted from my nirvana when the ride started up again and my wife said, for a second, I thought we were going to eat up all of my shopping time.
I had forgotten that the last few days I had promised her we could shop on MainStreet before we left. I quickly looked at my watch and realized it wasnt even twelve yet. We werent planning on being on the road until 3:00, a fact that DW was aware of. Even if I dragged my butt through lunch, that would leave more than two hours. I did some quick math, two hours times that amount she could spend per fifteen minutes,
.. I felt a cold sweat begin to develop on my brow as I prayed for another breakdown. No luck. We were sitting in the Plaza and it was just noon. They took us early. The Plaza is quickly getting into my top five WDW restaurants. Great shakes and malts. The kids loved there food. I got the steak sandwich, which was great. Grade: A. Lunch was great, but hard to enjoy. Its kind of like your last meal on death row. Sure, the meal's great, but its the after dinner show that's a killer. Before leaving the restaurant, I asked the kids if they needed to go to the bathroom (Im going with anything I can here), and they decide that the Plaza has the only public restaurant in WDW that they dont wish to experience. Its at that point that it occurs to me how quickly and efficiently they had eaten their meals - none of the usual delays. Then it dawns on me that they have already been recruited by DW with a promise of souvenirs and toys.
DW hits MainStreet like a seasoned professional. I am sure it is the only map she has studied. Two weeks ago she thought Back to the Future was at MGM and that BTMR and Splash Mt. were the same ride. Now she knows the name and location of every shop on MainStreet. Its at that point that she reaches into her bag and I realize its all over. SHE HAS A LIST!!!
Half the names on the list I dont even recognize. I know I am quickly losing the battle but I was determined not to let things get out of control. As we pulled up to the Emporium, I turned to her to discuss a reasonable budget (surrender negotiations if you will). Like a seasoned battle general, she anticipated my move and before I could even open my mouth, she had already applied the strollers break and told the kids to hop out. The last thing I heard was, youve got the kids and she was gone. As angry as I was, I had to admire the move. She had saddled me with the two brats, who had no doubt been promised toys for being good in the park and for downing their lunch. (Come to think of it, why didnt Sarah scream to ride Aladdin as we walked past it?). DW knew I would need all my resources to control the kids in the stores, leaving her unchecked at the register. I tried to keep up with DW, but she went straight through the picture frame and snow globe section. Breakables, another brillant move. With a five and a four year old in three aisles of fragile merchandise with Mickey and friends, there was nothing I could do. It was all a blur after that.
To be honest, I dont even remember what stores we hit, and I am pretty sure I still dont know what we bought. We left MK around 2:00. I could not believe how many bags we had. That DW could purchase that much stuff in just over an hour is proof that this had been a well planned, precision strike. We boarded the monorail back to the Polynesian. We said good bye to the resort. DW decided to say goodbye to the stores individually, stopping in the shops on both the second and first floors to make some last second purchases. I was beaten, and she knew it.
Somehow, we got everything into the already-packed Cherokee and we were off at almost exactly 3:00. DW looked over at me and said, See, I told you Id have you out of there by three. I wanted to say that I thought our money would be out of there by three along with us. But I knew better. Our trip had been flawless. And she was a big part of the reason for that. She kept her promise to get to the parks early and she never once complained about being at the parks as much as we were.
Final Word:
I wont bore you with the details of the ride home. Anyone who read all of these reports already deserves a medal. We did the trip back in two days, stopping in South Carolina for the night. We pulled into our driveway around 7:00 on Wednesday Night.
Our vacation was awesome. Having a full two weeks was fantastic. Unfortunately, this will be the last time we have that luxury in the off season, since DS starts school next year.
I couldnt have scripted better weather. It rained two of the nights we were at Universal, which was not a big deal since there is nothing to do at UO at night anyway. Other than that, it only rained half a day when we were at the AKL. That was the day we had scheduled a rest day anyway. Even then, it only rained half the day, so we got plenty of swimming and animal watching in. On the way back home, it started raining in South Carolina. DD asked me, Dad, does it ever rain in Florida?. If she only knew.
Universal Orlando is a blast. I could not have been happier with the RPR and everyone loved IOA. Disney was almost perfect as usual. Not a rude CM the whole trip. I also thought the place was spotless. If you read some of the threads on these boards, you get the impression that WDW is going down hill in both areas. I am happy to report that it is just a great as it has always been, and I have been there in the 70s, 80s and 90s. Is there some litter here and there? Sure. Was every CM perfectly pleasant? No. In 1971, WDW was a fraction of its current size and I doubt it was one of the largest employers in the world. So it was a lot easier to maintain and staff. Despite its size, WDW is still the cleanest, happiest place I know.
Just by way of example, when we ate lunch at Caseys, I watched the same CM empty the garbage cans three times in 45 minutes - even though they were not full. We were sitting near it, so he had to kind of scoot around us a bit. Each time, he smiled and thanked us for indulging him. On the way home, we stopped at a McDonalds. When I went to throw our garbage out, the can was so full stuff was falling out. I had to put my stuff on top of the can. When I did, the employee at the register actually shot me a dirty look, like I should have replace the bag my self.
Food is definitely improving at the World. Sci-Fi, Le Cellier, and Liberty Tree Tavern have gotten some bad reviews lately. We thought they were great. The character meals seemed much less rushed this time and my kids really looked forward to them. When we stopped at a Cracker-Barrel for breakfast in Virginia, my DD asked me what characters would be there. When I explained that we were about 700 miles away from WDW, DS said, no problem, we will just go back for dinner. I wish, I said, I wish.
Thanks for reading.
.
