Let the (Soaken Wet) Memories Begin TR- Update 12/8

[Tnkrbelle565]

I hate that when I don't get on the DIS for a while, I stop getting updates. Bummer. I am now caught up. LOVE the low light pics! Very cool. And I love Ash's HM dress. Too cute and creative Oh how I love BC. I wish I was staying there this time

Thank you!! Oh you will be fine at All Stars I'm sure. The kids will definitely like it!

Howdy! I have two updates to catch up on!

I can't believe all of the rain! Good job on the ponchos! It cracks me up when I see people that are completely unprepared. That stinks about the Laugh Floor wait time! I swear they only count the time in the outdoor queue and not the twelve years you wait in the hallway before entering. In six trips, we've never done Astro Orbiter either! I can't believe Ash didn't make into the EMH's - she is always raring to go!

Sounds like a nice sleep-in AM but still to the MK early enough to get stuff done. I have got to try a cream cheese pretzel next time! Love that you got to spend some time strolling/observing! I agree with you - how could that parent not be worried - especially with it being a 3 year old!

I already said this on FB but love Ash's hair! Looks great and so grown-up!

You haven't tried the cream cheese pretzel yet???? Oh you have to. SOOOOO yummy.

Can't believe all the people that never have done the Astro Orbiter. ANd here I was thinking we were the only ones.

I'm late but I'm along for the TR. So far it's great. Minus the wallet missing and rain. But i've lost my wallet before too, ended up in tears. That and the rain, I would take over the cold we had on our last family trip. It was soooo cold (19 degrees) in December 2010. My mom and I love sitting in Liberty Square at the rocking chairs and people watching. Especially the foreign tourists.

We've done the cold too and it's not fun. Esp during the fireworks. brrrrr.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Stupid stomach flu. Then I spent Friday night trying to upload my pics to PB and my stupid laptop kept freezing up.

Anyway...on with the show!

When I left you, were were meeting up with a new DIS friend!

Erin and Olivia!!!!

The girls got along very well and I think for today anyway, Aisling was minimally bossy to Olivia. It was lunchtime and everyone was a bit hungry but the girls were much more interested in doing some rides together and there was only one place they wanted to head

Yup, we did a little Mountain riding After Thunder and Splash, the girls decided it was time for a little Pirates so we headed over there. Unfortunately there was a bit of a wait for Pirates but we made the time pass chit chatting and I think the girls did some pin trading. After Pirates, Olivia had an appointment to have her very first haircut and us Smiths were starving so we split up and made plans to meet up later that evening.

We went into Tortuga but there was nothing that was too thrilling to Aisling on the menu so we decided to go to an old safety...Pecos Bill's. This was the first of many tears by Aisling that she doesn't eat ANYTHING that Disney has to offer. In reality, she would prefer the adult meals. And I really don't blame her. Wish Disney would give a few more options on those kids meals. The sides are horrible. Aisling doesn't eat grapes or raw carrots so it's tough to make that applesauce seem exciting at every meal

After Lunch we noticed the skies were getting a bit dark so we decided to head out. Aisling wanted to stop on the way and souvie shop on the way out. While we were in the Emporium, the heavens opened. If you were following on FB, I posted a pic of the waves going down Main St. Problem was that we had split up from Randy before the rain started and he had the ponchos. And due to the storm, our cells kept dropping the calls. So we waited in the corner outside of a shop

(don't worry, she's not drinking soda...that's my drink)

Randy finally made it over and we got poncho'd up and ran. I will comment that I am THOROUGHLY amazed by the number of people who took off their shoes to run. Disney really does lull you into a false sense of security huh?

We got the bus stop absolutely drenched (as was everyone else- which made for an interesting unveiling of very un-Disney-like undergarments ) But we at least had our ponchos. Because the rain was coming completely sideways so the bus stop roof was doing no good. We waited AGES for this bus (better part of an hour) . At some point we heard a large BOOM that sounded unlike the thunder/lightening but we couldn't figure out what it was. By the time our bus came, all the resort bus lines were filled to capacity. We learned the issue when we got on. Turns out that the roads had completely flooded out and the buses were all having to take alternate routes. MK to BCV...55 minute ride...WET

Luckily we had a little friend to cheer us up when we finally made it back to the room

Due to the transportation issues, we didn't have much of a time for an afternoon break. We all laid down and Randy and I got a catnap while Aisling watched the Disney channel. But the nap was short lived because we needed to get up and going to....

 

[ronnmel]

Flooded roads? Woah! No wonder buses were late.

I'm one of those people who will walk barefoot in the rain (or because I can't take my heels anymore), and not just at Disney. It's such a nice feeling! I guess those things just don't worry me at all.

 

[jenb1023]

Yea for meets and mountain riding!!! They both look so cute in their outfits! Jordan does not eat grapes or carrots either - we often get two adult cs meals and just share with her. I cannot believe how much rain you had - that photo is crazy! Ugh - a long wait for the bus and a long wet ride! I hope the evening gets better!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Flooded roads? Woah! No wonder buses were late.

I'm one of those people who will walk barefoot in the rain (or because I can't take my heels anymore), and not just at Disney. It's such a nice feeling! I guess those things just don't worry me at all.

You wear HEELS at WDW??? How????

Yea for meets and mountain riding!!! They both look so cute in their outfits! Jordan does not eat grapes or carrots either - we often get two adult cs meals and just share with her. I cannot believe how much rain you had - that photo is crazy! Ugh - a long wait for the bus and a long wet ride! I hope the evening gets better!

We did end up ordering Ash adult meals later in the week.

 

[justakrazymom]

You wear HEELS at WDW??? How????



We did end up ordering Ash adult meals later in the week.

My kids only ate kids meals once at a CS.. the rest of the time we left them at the tables and ordered all Adult meals..

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Aisling picked dinner for this night so we ended up at....

I really wish she would outgrow this one because frankly it's only remaining redeeming quality is seeing the Fab 5 without a line. And even that...Pluto barely slowed down for me to snap the camera

But for now, she loves it so off we went. Because we had lost so much time getting back from MK, we decided to fork up the money for a cab because it was still sprinkling out at this point and most likely the roads were still flooded...which meant another long drive plus transfer to the monorail. Sometimes at WDW, it's worth it to just take a cab.

They warned us when we arrived that they were running about 20 minutes late for ADRs so we waited awhile. I did notice that a lot more people were skipping the family portrait this time. Guess we had some seasoned CM goers in the crowd that night. No way I'm paying $35 for a picture.

The Disney channel was on one TV and a game was on at the bar and mommy had FB on her phone so the wait went fast. Randy noticed that they had added a "monorail as a decoration" in the CR. I pointed out that he clearly didn't pay attention because the monorail has run through here since it was built. Randy pointed out that it has been still the entire time we were there but finally agreed that it was the monorail that runs through the resort loop and not a new decoration

We were seated to the left of the buffet stations which I had never even realized was part of CMs before. The good thing about that section is you have plenty of warning for characters...because trust me, blink and you miss them here!

We arrived right in time for napkin twirling so Ash got right down to business

Before our waiter even came over, Pluto and Goofy arrived. Apparently they like little girls with pigtails

Tonight I had the Pineapple Upside Down Martini

Minnie came next and she was the best by far. She stayed for a second and actually admired Aisling's dress

I didn't take a pic of the food because frankly it wasn't worth it. There were REALLY slim pickings tonight for choices. I had salad bar, mashed potato, and dessert. Although when I got up to get dessert, they came over with these...I feel really bad because we only took a bite out of them just to say we did...what a waste

With dinner done, Mickey still had not appeared. So we waited. And paid our bill. And waited. And had our drinks refilled. And waited. Finally the big guy arrived just when we were giving up.

Being stuffed, we decided a brisk walk from CR to the MK would be for the best and we had time before the MSE parade started. So we hoofed it. Luckily, being the spoiled folks that we am, a friend was saving us a spot because it was BUSY

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Since the next couple of updates are mostly just pictures...I will just share them now!!!!

Erin and Olivia and new DIS friend Megan (who was a FGIT at the Castle) were holding spots for us near the hub. Us girls squeezed in and Randy went off exploring (mostly like texting friends ) Oh the way in, we learned the truth about the broken down monorail and the large boom we had heard this afternoon. The monorail was struck by lightning!!!! Insane huh? Anway, the monorail would be down for the foreseeable future.

The girls amused themselved with glow sticks

I love when the lights go out and all you can see if the glow thingies

Next up...lot's o' pics of MSE. This was our first time seeing it. Not a huge fan. Needless to say, we didn't stop to watch it again during this trip

OK people....this is Pete. Not Puff. Very confusing to the people around us


Next up was the Castle show. I have to say that I didn't love the idea of pics on the Castle but this show is A-MA-ZING. You can not describe it. A friend warned me not to watch on YouTube and ruin the surprise. I'm so glad I waited.

Lastly was WISHES. I took about 200 pics (no joke). I'll give you a selection of the fun!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

After Wishes, Erin, Megan, and Olivia decided to head out. The MK was open for another hour and Aisling had FPs from this morning burning a hole in her pocket so off we went.

At 10:50, we ended up by the Jungle Cruise. Shockingly, they let us on. And then the boat broke down. 4 skippers tried to start it. After about 15 minutes, it started. Frankly I'm shocked they didn't just kick us out since the park was technically closed. But they took us on a punny journey

On the way out, the Kiss Goodnight was going on. I've never noticed this in all our trips to WDW so we stopped to watch.

At this point, it was 11:40 according to that clock. And see all the people??? Know why they were there???? Because they couldn't get out. We walked out t he front and the mass chaos that was going on outside the gates was UNREAL. Tens of thousands of people stuck!!! You never realize how many people the monorail transports. They were trying to transport them to the TTC by boat. The line was about 10-11 people deep and it ran all the way from the Landing Docks up the ramp to the monorail, down the other side of the ramp, and back beyond the MK gates. In the meantime, they had pulled buses to bus the monorail resort guests. Guess what that meant??? 1, yes 1, bus was running back and forth to BC/YC/BW Luckily the roads were re-opened but it was taking this poor guy a full hour to drop off and come back.

We finally arrived back at BC at 1:30am. (yes almost 2 hours after we left MK). So it was immediately off to bed because we were due at rope drop tomorrow!!!

 

[kirrrby]

Great pictures of Wishes! In all the times i've went to MK in the past years and i've gone a lot. I've never watched all of Wishes, except from the Shades of Green parking deck (which doesn't show much). I'll have to make that a must-do since we have a first timer going with us in December.

 

[ronnmel]

You wear HEELS at WDW??? How????

I only wore heels once, for a dinner at Fulton's. It was only for a few hours, but I was still ready to take my heels off back at the resort (and I'm pretty sure I did ).

But I meant in general, I'll walk barefoot from my car to my home after a night out on the town, just as I will take my shoes off and walk barefoot in the rain in Disney.


The monorail was struck down by lightning! And what a mess it created!!! Wow! I would have been exhausted after such a long wait, and I doubt I would have made rope drop the next day.

Beautiful Wishes pictures!

I agree that MSEP is not that special. I prefer Spectromagic.

The Castle show is simply mind-blowing! Amazing!! And it is so true that it's better not to watch it online before. It just doesn't do it justice.

 

[DisneyTiger]

Great spot for Wishes!!! When we were there in December, I missed the show on the castle. I am SO excited to see it this time! Great pics!!!

 

[JolllyHoliday]

Coming out of lurkdom to say Hi!! I love the beach club. Seeing your pictures brings back good memories.

 

[Lady Lallie]

I have never really been too interested in Chef Mickey's, I figure when we take our future kids then it will be a must do but more for the characters than the food.

You once again took some amazing pictures!

I can't believe how long it took you to get back but I guess that shows how many people the monorail transports. My goodness!

 

[rockin2it]

I have really enjoyed reading your TR thus far!

I must add though..the dragon's name is neither Puff (lol..i cant believe people were saying that- it cracks me up) nor Pete..the little boy's name is Pete. The dragon's name is Elliot.

 

[lbuzz52]

joining in! your dd is adorable and i love the customs, especially the airplane tee worn on arrival day. did you make that one?
i can't believe all the issues the monorail created. waht a crazy transportation day!

 

[Jennifer48]

I can't believe the amount of rain that fell. You should have come a week earlier, very little rain at all!

I have read many questionable reviews about CMs but I've been a few times and haven't had a problem.

Your Wishes pics are fantastic! Did you use a tri/monopod or are you just that good?!

SO.MANY.PEOPLE! I totally would have walked to the GF or Contemporary and caught a bus to DTD and then back to the resort. I cannot wait in large crowds like that.

 

[declansdad]

The Castle show is amazing! Some really cool effects.

What day was this with all the rain?

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Great pictures of Wishes! In all the times i've went to MK in the past years and i've gone a lot. I've never watched all of Wishes, except from the Shades of Green parking deck (which doesn't show much). I'll have to make that a must-do since we have a first timer going with us in December.

Oh you have to see Wishes. And try to get there a few minutes early for the new castle show!

I only wore heels once, for a dinner at Fulton's. It was only for a few hours, but I was still ready to take my heels off back at the resort (and I'm pretty sure I did ).

But I meant in general, I'll walk barefoot from my car to my home after a night out on the town, just as I will take my shoes off and walk barefoot in the rain in Disney.


The monorail was struck down by lightning! And what a mess it created!!! Wow! I would have been exhausted after such a long wait, and I doubt I would have made rope drop the next day.

Beautiful Wishes pictures!

I agree that MSEP is not that special. I prefer Spectromagic.

The Castle show is simply mind-blowing! Amazing!! And it is so true that it's better not to watch it online before. It just doesn't do it justice.

During SWW our plane was horribly delayed. We got to the resort at 3am and made it to rope drop...this wasn't bad LOL!

Great spot for Wishes!!! When we were there in December, I missed the show on the castle. I am SO excited to see it this time! Great pics!!!

Hope you guys have an awesome trip!!!

I have never really been too interested in Chef Mickey's, I figure when we take our future kids then it will be a must do but more for the characters than the food.

You once again took some amazing pictures!

I can't believe how long it took you to get back but I guess that shows how many people the monorail transports. My goodness!

Yup, CMs will now need to be on your Disney must do list. Ah the joys of being a parent!!!

Coming out of lurkdom to say Hi!! I love the beach club. Seeing your pictures brings back good memories.

Thanks for reading!!!

I have really enjoyed reading your TR thus far!

I must add though..the dragon's name is neither Puff (lol..i cant believe people were saying that- it cracks me up) nor Pete..the little boy's name is Pete. The dragon's name is Elliot.

DUH...i know the Dragon's name is Elliot. Sorry about that. I meant to right that it was Pete's Dragon not Puff! But the people were pretty fun had I not screwed up the story.

joining in! your dd is adorable and i love the customs, especially the airplane tee worn on arrival day. did you make that one?
i can't believe all the issues the monorail created. waht a crazy transportation day!

and Thank you!!!! My friend made the shirt for Aisling. Alas i just have a regular sewing machine...can't do embroidery designs She actually has matching bows in that saw "I'm going to Disney" I should have taken better pics of those.

I can't believe the amount of rain that fell. You should have come a week earlier, very little rain at all!

I have read many questionable reviews about CMs but I've been a few times and haven't had a problem.

Your Wishes pics are fantastic! Did you use a tri/monopod or are you just that good?!

SO.MANY.PEOPLE! I totally would have walked to the GF or Contemporary and caught a bus to DTD and then back to the resort. I cannot wait in large crowds like that.

I'm THAT good!!!!

I need to get over your house. I have stuff for you!!!!

We didn't realize that there was only one bus driver until he came back the second time or i would have. I can't believe the people waiting for the boat. I"m convinced they were still there the next morning. I never would have waited in that line. I would have walked to CR and taken a cap to the TTC. When we drove by the TTC, there was then an insane wait for the tram to the cars too.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Well on Day 3 we did make it to rope drop! I probably should have mentioned that at the beginning of this TR that if you are looking for a report about a family running to rope drop every day...this is not your TR. We are not rope drop people. We've done WDW many many times so we are perfectly happy not setting an alarm on vacation. But on Day 3, we had to. Because we wanted to ride...

I'm somewhat saddened that this is still necessary for this ride after it being opened for so long. So off we went bright and early. We took the boat over to DHS which was a nice short ride. They say 8 minutes but I don't think it took that long. Being veterans, we split up once we got past the gates so Randy could wheedle his way closer to the front and head straight for the FP machines.

Aisling spent the half hour wait checking out the map to see if there was a quicker way....silly Ash

And then the dash started

By the time we got over there, Randy was 2nd in the line at the FP machines . Now, being good Disney guests, we did not get in line until he was done. I wish we had not done that. In the time it took for Randy to get the FPs (again 2nd at the machine!!!!), the line was all the way back to the Backlot Tour entrance Now, again, being veterans, I knew the line was because of all the people entering the line without their whole party and all the folks stopping and taking pics along the inside queue area holding up the traffic. By the time we entered the building, it was a 40 minute wait. I didn't think that would be accurate because it literally was only 9:08 at this point (the line between Backlot and the building had moved really fast...Randy had FPs at 9:03). It was a 40 minute wait.

But because the wait was slow, I had time to take pics

Like of my kid being fresh! Don't worry, she got in trouble for that one!

I did not have my best game and Randy ended up winning for the car. Really need to learn to put the camera down and play While we were exiting, I saw Erin and Olivia on the staircase! Aisling and I decided to wait outside for them and because the line for TSM had taken so long, we were due for more FPs so Randy went to get them for RnRC.

They took to a little after 10 to come out of the ride. By that time, the Phineas and Ferb meet and greet was starting so that is where we were heading

If you haven't seen Phineas and Ferb yet, they really entertain you in the line with a pre-show. There is audience participation and they do little musical numbers. Randy and Aisling got into the dancing with some robot action

Aisling's fantabulous custom and matching bows got her picked. Either that or because she was jumping around like an insane person (kid belongs on a stage)

Aisling's segment backstory was that they were filming a new music video for Gitchee Gitchee Goo.

Here are the PP pics of it

I do have to give it to Disney. Completely genius of them to do this. Because Phineas and Ferb are new, the line gets really long really quick but seems to go by so fast when they are entertaining you! Finally it was our turn!