LARRY!! 2 Pros and 2 Newbies Hit WDW Jan/Feb 2012...Update 6/3

[ronnmel]

I'm glad your friends enjoyed several things at AK, after thinking it was just a zoo. As someone who feels sick on EE, I can understand them being nervous riding it jsut after eating. I do hope they at least tried it out later, as it is pretty fun despite the G forces being too intense for me. Or gave you their FPs.

 

[Merida]

Your AK day looks so nice! The weather looks like it was perfect. Great day for exploring

Though I don't know why you wouldn't go on EE! It's a perfect ride (and.. not that intense? At least not throwing up intense, and I'm super wimpy about roller coasters)! At least they went on the Safari and to FotLK (even if it was the giraffe section. It's still better than the warthog section).

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

Ok, I'm finally all caught up! I'm loving the TR so far!

I completely understand how it feels to be on a different pace than the people you're traveling with. It is so hard to be itching to get somewhere and everyone else is moving so slowly. That stressed me out quite a few times!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Climbing aboard to join in the fun. You're off to a great start. I have never visited with a newbie but imagine I would feel the same pressure to make them fall in love with it and want everything to be perfect. And I KNOW I would be upset when they weren't doing things "right."

Looking forward to more!

 

[JenAusty]

Hello!
I have a few questions about Pop- after seeing your pictures..
1. I see that you have an 80s room- which I love the "Little Mermaid" in your picture. What other building themes have you stayed in? Do you feel any of the buildings are "far" from the main building and buses?

See the reason why I ask this is because we have decided to do a preferred room this time.. usually we just do standard but it seems like the last couple of times we have been so far away from the main building- like 5 minutes or more and its gets old.. my mom said she wanted to be closer to the pools and stuff.
And when we went last May- we stayed at ASMovies. We ended up staying in the Love Bug buildings and we were disappointed with the room. It seems really outdated- like it needed to be refurbished or something.. everything from the blankets seemed old. I've never had this experience before and I always stay at value resorts. But when DH and I went before that we stayed at Pop and we loved the quality of the rooms and everything. I don't know if its because everything was newer there because it was a newer resort. But then we returned to Movies and were thinking "what the heck?!" Are all the rooms you've stayed at in Pop similar and the same quality?

I always loved ASMovies in the past- idk what happened.. maybe it was just a bad experience... but I want to make sure that it doesn't happen again.. and we are probably staying at Pop. As of right now, we are booked there but I have been debating doing the new resort- the Little Mermaid rooms- since those are the only standard non suite rooms. I'm just waiting to get more information on the resort- location of building, dining, etc... so we will see.

I did like your room pictures- its more what I remembered.. maybe the flat screen TV and the newer furniture is what did it.. idk.

thanks for sharing your trip!

 

[tinkgurl]

Yes, AK is exactly like a zoo! Wow. Between that and not knowing what EE was, I can really tell they did not do any research before the trip.

Yum! Y&Y is a must for us! I think we had one of our favorite meals with you and Chris our 2010 trip.

Love the crazy eyes and sleeping Chris.

Yay! You found De Vine!

I love that giraffe picture you got on the Safari!

 

[MAGICFOR2]

It looks like Sam and Joe and warming up to AK and starting to feel the magic! Hopefully they can settle in and "do" Disney!

 

[mickeystoontown]

How great that you had an uneventful flight and that your rooms at Pop were ready when you got there.

It sounds like your Animal Kingdom day is off to a good start even if the newbies didn't realize the necessity for hot footing it across the park to the show.

 

[Goofy22]

Kristen- Love the Eyes in the EE pic and Chris looking like he's sleeping LOL! It must be an Amazing feeling getting those APs in your hands for the first time!!
I can't believe your friends wouldn't even try EE !! Crazy ! I hope your trip with them gets a lil better !!

 

[xoktenox]

I was in the Giraffe section the last time that I saw the FOTLK. I know, low bleating sounds? Really?

Oh no, the newbs backed out of EE at the last minute?! Argh! I would have just left them too. It's not THAT intense of a ride that you'll get sick. Well, not to me.

I'd personally much rather roar than bleat lol I totally agree, we tried to tell them they wouldn't get sick but they wouldn't listen!

I was so excited to get on and see that you had updated!

So exciting to turn in your vouchers for real AP's! Have yall decided on a Holiday trip at all, too?

I can't believe the longs were THAT long at Y&Y on a January afternoon! Luckily the food is delicious and worth the wait... even if you have to sit with birds

Why in the world did Sam & Joe not want to go on EE? They're craaazzyyy! Full bellies is NOT an excuse!

Girl, I'd be right there with rushing to the Lion King show! Gahhhh, I love that so much!

PS; Yall's Save the Date is on our fridge and the other day when my mama came over, Jake was telling her all about you two!

I loved getting APs! Yea, we're currently booked at AKV for Dec. 30-Jan. 2. Hopefully that sticks!

The food was delicious at Y&Y but the wait was crazy! I couldn't believe they didn't want to go on EE...really, I think they were just scared!!

I love FotLK too!! Luckily we made it lol

Awwwwww That is so cuteeeeeee!! Miss you guys SOOOO much!!

Great TR! I am so disappointed I missed you at AK, we left just before you got there, did EE 3 times in a row, I do not recommend this as both of us were severely sick to our stomachs from it!

Cant wait for the next installment

Oh mannnn just missed you!

OH and the picture on EE was great we made a point of doing silly things for them! the last one on EE I was bored and Chad was taking a picture! It was cute, we got a few good ones.

haha that's so cute! Chris always pretends he's sleeping as you'll see as the TR goes on.

No EE for Sam & Joe? I hope they went back and rode it later. So glad they liked Safari and FOTLK. Your redneck ride photo is great! You look like you are having tons of fun.

Lovely pictures. Your trip is really off to a good start.

We think they were just too scared to ride lol I was happy they liked the safari and FotLK though. We really were having a great time despite the few little hiccups.

AK just a zoo?! Glad Sam and Joe ended up liking it even though they did decide to ride EE!! I hope they got to experience it later!

I couldn't believe she thought that!!

Nice pictures. We didn't get to see Lion King in December. The line was so long that from where we were standing, the CM said we'd have to wait to get into the second show away.

I won't be in front of you making your line long for EE. I did it once, and I might do it again someday, but if I never do, I am good with that, too. It was a little too much for me.

Have a great weekend, girlie!

Holy moley! I'm sure that's how it will be when we go after Christmas this year, too.

Well see, at least you tried it!! Now you know you don't like it lol

Great updates! I can't believe your friends didn't want to go on EE, that's one of the best rides in Disney!

Your safari pics are great, and I love FOTLK! I'd love to sit in the giraffe section, I love giraffes! I'm not really sure they make that noise, though, they seem kind of silent to me! I'll have to google it!

Thanks! EE is definitely top 5 in WDW so I was upset they didn't go!

I love giraffes too, I just don't like their sound! haha

Your friends are stressing me out I hope they went back later and rode EE Happy that you were able to see DeVine I always love catching her and seeing people's reactions! Just so you know that on your way back to the bird section at Y&Y there is a nice little windows that sells drinks Happy that so far you are enjoying your day at the "zoo!!"

Tracy

Girl, imagine you were me then...they were stressing me out too!! haha

People were so in awe of Devine, so was I!

So how did they like the zoo?

Glad you got to ride EE. Did they ever get to ride? (I guess I can just keep reading and find out, huh?)

I'm with ya on the birds....me no likey! We don't eat outside at Casey's for that very reason. Ugh!

Great picture!

Lol, they liked it so far! You'll have to keep reading to find out if they rode EE though

Oh jeez, we did eat outside of Casey's and I had to eat with my feet up on my chair again lol Thanks!

I'm glad your friends enjoyed several things at AK, after thinking it was just a zoo. As someone who feels sick on EE, I can understand them being nervous riding it jsut after eating. I do hope they at least tried it out later, as it is pretty fun despite the G forces being too intense for me. Or gave you their FPs.

I think they realized it wasn't just a zoo after a little walking around!

Your AK day looks so nice! The weather looks like it was perfect. Great day for exploring

Though I don't know why you wouldn't go on EE! It's a perfect ride (and.. not that intense? At least not throwing up intense, and I'm super wimpy about roller coasters)! At least they went on the Safari and to FotLK (even if it was the giraffe section. It's still better than the warthog section).

The weather was amazing, so perfect! Oh, I went on EE!! I always go on EE! It was my friends that wouldn't go so just Chris and I went this time. I agree, it's not THAT intense!

Ok, I'm finally all caught up! I'm loving the TR so far!

I completely understand how it feels to be on a different pace than the people you're traveling with. It is so hard to be itching to get somewhere and everyone else is moving so slowly. That stressed me out quite a few times!

Thanks! I started reading your TR and I can see we had similar experiences!

 

[xoktenox]

Climbing aboard to join in the fun. You're off to a great start. I have never visited with a newbie but imagine I would feel the same pressure to make them fall in love with it and want everything to be perfect. And I KNOW I would be upset when they weren't doing things "right."

Looking forward to more!

Heyy, thanks for coming over! It was a little frustrating thus far with the newbies. I wanted them to love everything!

Hello!
I have a few questions about Pop- after seeing your pictures..
1. I see that you have an 80s room- which I love the "Little Mermaid" in your picture. What other building themes have you stayed in? Do you feel any of the buildings are "far" from the main building and buses?

The 80s room was a great location for us this trip because we were so close to the buses. We've also stayed in the 50s and that was much closer to Classic Hall. For a short trip, 80s was perfect. A longer trip and I would have liked to be just a little closer to Classic Hall. We weren't far from CH by any means, just not so close as the 50s section.

See the reason why I ask this is because we have decided to do a preferred room this time.. usually we just do standard but it seems like the last couple of times we have been so far away from the main building- like 5 minutes or more and its gets old.. my mom said she wanted to be closer to the pools and stuff.
And when we went last May- we stayed at ASMovies. We ended up staying in the Love Bug buildings and we were disappointed with the room. It seems really outdated- like it needed to be refurbished or something.. everything from the blankets seemed old. I've never had this experience before and I always stay at value resorts. But when DH and I went before that we stayed at Pop and we loved the quality of the rooms and everything. I don't know if its because everything was newer there because it was a newer resort. But then we returned to Movies and were thinking "what the heck?!" Are all the rooms you've stayed at in Pop similar and the same quality?

I don't think I'd bother upgrading unless it's not much more expensive. The 50s section is super close to Classic Hall, not far from the buses and has it's own pool. Still, we were less than 5 mins from the Hippy Dippy Pool. All the rooms at Pop have been refurbished in 2010. In 2010 when we stayed at Pop, we actually didn't have a refurbished room as our section hadn't been done yet. This time we did and it was nice to have the flat screen TV as well as the curtain blocking the sink and bathroom area off from the sleeping area.

I always loved ASMovies in the past- idk what happened.. maybe it was just a bad experience... but I want to make sure that it doesn't happen again.. and we are probably staying at Pop. As of right now, we are booked there but I have been debating doing the new resort- the Little Mermaid rooms- since those are the only standard non suite rooms. I'm just waiting to get more information on the resort- location of building, dining, etc... so we will see.

I did like your room pictures- its more what I remembered.. maybe the flat screen TV and the newer furniture is what did it.. idk.

thanks for sharing your trip!

ASMovies probably needs a refurb. The Art of Animation resort looks amazing so that'd be cool if you could stay there but Pop is sooo great too. You won't be disappointed.

Yes, AK is exactly like a zoo! Wow. Between that and not knowing what EE was, I can really tell they did not do any research before the trip.

Yum! Y&Y is a must for us! I think we had one of our favorite meals with you and Chris our 2010 trip.

Love the crazy eyes and sleeping Chris.

Yay! You found De Vine!

I love that giraffe picture you got on the Safari!

Totally a zoo hahaha They didn't do ANY research. We had the Y&Y CS this time and it was nearly as good as the TS! I loved that meal with you guys!

You know how Chris loves to "sleep" on rides lol Thanks!!

It looks like Sam and Joe and warming up to AK and starting to feel the magic! Hopefully they can settle in and "do" Disney!

They were starting to like Disney!

How great that you had an uneventful flight and that your rooms at Pop were ready when you got there.

It sounds like your Animal Kingdom day is off to a good start even if the newbies didn't realize the necessity for hot footing it across the park to the show.

Yes, we were having great luck! Our day was good although a little frustrating with the newbies.

Kristen- Love the Eyes in the EE pic and Chris looking like he's sleeping LOL! It must be an Amazing feeling getting those APs in your hands for the first time!!
I can't believe your friends wouldn't even try EE !! Crazy ! I hope your trip with them gets a lil better !!

haha thanks Colleen! It was great to get the APs!

 

[xoktenox]

So when I last left off we had just finished watching my favorite live show at Disney, Festival of the Lion King. Sam and Joe liked it a lot and Chris and I love it so we were doing well! At about this time it was just after 3:00 and we had 2 more hours until the park closed. I figured out the best way to hit the rest of the attractions we wanted to do without having to run all over the park again. Our first stop?

It’s Tough to be a Bug!

Chris and I hadn’t done this one since 2009. On that trip, I’d remembered the stinging and the ending where you let the bugs out first from a trip I took as a teen with my family. I was prepared and I sat up away from the back of the seat but of course, didn’t warn Chris. Sneaky, sneaky. Now Chris felt this would be an appropriate trick to play on Sam and Joe as well! We had just a few minutes to wait before the next show would start. I loved admiring all the carvings in the Tree of Life as we walked to the queue.

Lovely bug eyes

So cute and creative!

Shortly, it was our turn to enter! Well, Sam and Joe really loved the show! Like loved it a lot!! They were so shocked by the stinging and the crawling bugs as well as the “acid spray”. Chris thought he was the slyest guy ever too for pulling the little prank on them. All in all a good time!

Next stop? A must do at AK in my opinion…Dinosaur!! I think this ride is so awesome and was determined to finally keep my eyes open and look the t-rex at the end in the eye lol So, we headed to Dinoland

After a quick bathroom break by Restaurantosaurus, we walked to

We said “Hey!” to Mrs. Huxtable

And we were off! The results?

No luck with staring down the t-rex! Lol I hate loud noises too so I was plugging my ears like a small child. Oh well, I still love Dinosaur and so did Sam and Joe!! They almost wanted to ride it again but it was nearing 4:00 and we wanted to finish up the last goal for the day. Can you guess what it was??









































We wanted to ride EE some more! As we were leaving Dinosaur and Dinoland I got a close up of these cool dudes

We headed back towards Asia. Here’s poor Chris’ boot…side note: he’s finally going back to work Sunday, yay!!

Apparently I put my camera away at this point…that doesn’t sound correct but my next picture is of us before dinner so whatever! Anyway, we made it to Asia and Sam and Joe still had FPs that they didn’t use before…however, there was no need to even use the FPs because the ride was a walk on! Luckily, Sam and Joe both decided to come this time! The reason we got frustrated before was because we were pretty sure they were just too scared to ride. Come on, if you’re 21 and 22 years old and your friends are telling you it’s not that bad of a ride, just try it! So we were happy they came with us this time.

Sam loved it!! Joe…eh he liked it. He didn’t like that it went backwards and it “made him nauseous”. Ok, fine. That didn’t hold Sam, Chris and I up though…we went and rode again, another walk on! After 2 quick rides, my head was starting to bother me. Chris wanted to ride one more time so he ran up while we waited for him. It was only like a 5 minute wait though so it wasn’t bad!

After our EE marathon, it was time to head out. It was 4:40 and we had to get back to Pop to shower before dinner. On the way out of the park we had to stop at Guest Relations one more time because I’d forgotten to purchase our Tables in Wonderland card! Luckily, we had $75 worth of Disney gift cards we’d received for Christmas so we didn’t lay out any money! When we got to the buses there was one there waiting for us! Perfect bus timing once again! Unfortunately, we had to stop at Blizzard Beach again but by 5:30, we were back at Pop. We headed to our respective rooms to shower and get ready for the night! I told Sam and Joe to be ready at 7:00…would they be on time??​

 

[MeMom]

Luckily, we had $75 worth of Disney gift cards we’d received for Christmas so we didn’t lay out any money! When we got to the buses there was one there waiting for us! Perfect bus timing once again! ​

Thumbs up on both of those things.

 

[wdwgirl03]

Oh how I love DAK! But I hate that stinging feeling at ITTBAB. Ouch!

I agree about Dinosaur being a must-do. Even if it is a little loud and freaky. I'm glad your friends finally decided to try Everest. One of the best rides!

 

[Reberella]

i will defintly be following your trip report! i was actually at that hotel 2 weeks ago! i love it... so disney!

 

[Goofy22]

That's great they finally went on EE!! Im glad it's looking like their starting to let themselves enjoy it somewhat Can't wait to see if they were ready on time for dinner My kids insist on going in ITTBAB and I laughed when you said you sat up because I do the same exact thing! LOL , I see Disney Fantasy Arrived in NY so are you thinking of doing a cruise in the future yet?

 

[Nermel9]

I can't do ITTBAB! I'm SO afraid of any stinging bug that I'd probably have a nervous breakdown in there! But I like hearing about it, so I love your update!

Haha, I love your Dinosaur pic!

Ugh, Brandon had that same boot he was supposed to wear on our October trip! He said there was no way he could hobble around Disney in it, so he didn't even bring it, I'm surprised Chris didn't have a problem with it!

Yay for riding EE so many times! Love that ride!

 

[punkin413]

And we were off! The results?

That's great! I love the kid in front of you FREAKING out!

 

[Megablocks]

I am sad to say I've never done ITTBAB...I'm too scared! I have an irrational fear of beetles and I'm terrified of any bug that stings. I just can never bring myself to do it.

I love your Dinosaur picture, because I do the same thing you do. I absolutely hate loud noises, I spend pretty much the entire ride with my ears plugged!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Bahahaha, I do the same exact thing in ITTBAB! When I went with one of my good friends back in 2008, I was sitting forward with my feet up on the back of the seat in front of me and my friend couldn't figure out why. She kept asking me if I was feeling okay. She soon realized exactly why I was doing it at the end!

for so many rides on EE! Looooove that coaster so much! I'm glad Sam & Joe finally went on with yall.

You're so cute on Dinosaur!

Gahh... WE MISS YALL SO MUCH!!!