Live from Saratoga Springs - 9 days and 8 nights - 3/20 - 3/28/2011

[photobob]

Must have had a busy, fun day since we haven't heard from you today! Can't wait to hear about it.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Must have had a busy, fun day since we haven't heard from you today! Can't wait to hear about it.

Photobob, you're right! We just got in about 1/2 hour ago from driving up to Apopka to the Beef O'Brady's there - our friend Beth hosts trivia there every Thursday night at 7:30, so we went out to see her and her family. It was a blast! It is about 45 minutes away by way of 429. It was fun and we had a great time. They are going to join us after work tomorrow and spend some time with us on Saturday, too - they are friends from home who moved to this area about 5 years ago. There are two daughters who are just about the same age as the boys - they have all known each other since birth!

The short version of today is that it started mighty early as it was split-apart day. DS14 and DH headed for DHS for Toy Story Mania rematch while DS13 and I headed to Epcot. We were at our respective parks in time for "rope drop." DH and DS14 did TSM (DS14 is STILL the reigning family champion!), Great Movie Ride, and One Man's Dream before heading over toward the Beach Club where they met DS13 and me for lunch at Beaches and Cream. DS13 and I were in the first wave at Test Track, then walked through a bit more of the Flower festival (the Pixie Hollow area, particularly), stopped at Club Cool so he could try Mezzo Mix (which he liked), then off to Innoventions to collect his Kim Possible start ticket. While there, we played the Great Piggy Bank game. We always enjoy the games they have in Innoventions!

We had tried to do Living with the Land a couple of days ago but were too late, so we rode it this morning, followed by Journey into your Imagination and then a walk through Bambi's Butterfly House.

Because we were meeting the guys for lunch, we headed towards the International Gateway about 10:40. It was nice to take a leisurely stroll by Canada and the United Kingdom and get a few pictures without a ton of people in the way. I don't have time to upload them tonight but I'll share a few tomorrow.

We got over to the Beach Club a little before 11 (they open the restaurant at 11) and waited for DH and DS14 to make their way from DHS. The boat doesn't come over to the Beach Club right now - although reports are that it will resume on March 28th. The guys got off at the Swan/Dolphin and walked over. We love Beaches and Cream, so hamburgers, hot dog, milk shake, fries filled our table (and 20% off with our Tables in Wonderland discount!).

After lunch, DS13 and I headed to DHS by way of the bus while DS14 and DH went over to the MK for a Buzz Lightyear challenge (do you see a theme here?). They got fast passes and then rode the Riverboat while awaiting their return time. DH won at Buzz. They rode the People Mover and then about 2:45 were headed back to SSR where they spent the afternoon taking naps and working on the jigsaw puzzle.

In the meanwhile, DS13 and I went to see how much time there was for Rock N Roller Coaster - he thought he might be brave enough to try it - but the standby was 45 minutes and the FP return was 5:40 p.m. which we knew wouldn't work. So we skipped that. But our real purpose was to get to the American Idol Experience - he had been wanting to see it while the other two males in our family didn't, so this was the perfect opportunity. I have to give a big shout out to the three contestants we saw perform today - what great courage and talent they have! The show is well produced, too, and doesn't feel contrived like I thought it might.

After the AIE, we considered the Great Movie Ride but we still had a Kim Possible mission or two to complete. The 20-minute wait plus 22 minute ride encouraged us to just head over to Epcot. We took the boat - about 1/2 hour which was good to give my feet a rest Once there, we had to go to Italy to get started - we went to France for our mission. After we saved the world in France, we had the option for another mission -the only country DS13 hadn't already done was Norway, so we opted to go for it. We took the boat from Morocco to Germany even though we had to wait about 15 minutes for it because the crowd was thick and the sun was hot from Morocco on around to at least Italy as we'd already been walking that way.

We saved the world in Norway, too, and then headed back to SSR. Because we were going out tonight, I insisted on showers for everyone so we wouldn't be stinky. We got ready to go out for Trivia (as mentioned above) and had a great time out.

Tomorrow (Friday) is our second "split apart" day and as DS14 wants to be at Toy Story Mania at opening, that means I have to post this, then hit the hay. Thank goodness for a comfortable bed!

 

[Ms. WDW]

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us! I'm really enjoying reading it.

I have a 8 night stay coming up in June and I'm so anxious that it's killing me!! I wanna be there now! I'll be in a studio for the very first time. Usually when I make my solo trips (DH is not a "Disney Nut" like I am so he only comes down once a year ) I get a 1 BR. But since this was a spur of the moment trip I opted for the studio. DH and I will have a 1 br in October. The only downside I see in having the studio is no laundry facilities. So the first day I know Ill be scouting around for the washers in the Springs Section!!

Can't wait to get back home later and continue reading about your wonderful trip!!!

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

Thank you so much for sharing. It sounds like a fabulous trip home.

 

[photobob]

Wow, Thursday was a wide open day!

 

[nzdisneymom]

I have a 8 night stay coming up in June and I'm so anxious that it's killing me!! I wanna be there now! I'll be in a studio for the very first time. Usually when I make my solo trips (DH is not a "Disney Nut" like I am so he only comes down once a year ) I get a 1 BR. But since this was a spur of the moment trip I opted for the studio. DH and I will have a 1 br in October. The only downside I see in having the studio is no laundry facilities. So the first day I know Ill be scouting around for the washers in the Springs Section!!

Linda - the laundry for the Springs is right by the main pool area, so depending on which section of the Springs you're in, it can be convenient. There might be another one, but that's the one I've seen.

I am happy to report that it seems like whatever was going on with the hot water has resolved itself. It was slow coming in yesterday - slower than it had been, so I was going to call about it this morning. But as soon as I turned on the hot water tap in the sink, it was instant hot water this morning, and has been the case this afternoon as well. I am a firm believer in reporting things in the villas that don't seem "right" because I know maintenance and housekeeping don't stay in them so they don't know if we don't tell them (beyond what they can routinely check like light bulbs, etc.).

Here are the pics from yesterday:



This is DS13 (the second one is by Canada on the way to the International Gateway before 11 a.m. - perfect time to get a photo!):


Another thing to report - the internet connection is super slow in the mornings, but in the middle of the afternoon (like it is right now), it's super quick!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Because the internet is actually quick right now and part of the family is napping, I thought I'd go ahead and post today's report. At least the morning's adventures.

Today was split-apart day #2 which meant DS14 and I spent the day together while DH and DS13 had their time. DH's one request was to NOT start the day at the crack of dawn, which DS13 was happy to grant. DS14 and I left them sleeping as we headed out just after 8 a.m. for the opening of Hollywood Studios. Yep, another round of Toy Story Mania DS14 got his highest score ever riding with me so I may become his TSM partner. Next up was the Great Movie Ride which I had managed to not do this trip yet it was DS14's 4th time on. Good planning, Mom! I like the ride, but am scared by the Alien portion, and usually doze off in the movie montage at the end.

From DHS, we took the bus to Epcot. While on the bus, we got a call from the others who were just leaving for MK around 10:15. We opted for the bus instead of the boat because we wanted to do some things in Future World. When we arrived, about 14,000 other people were also arriving - ugh. The line for Spaceship Earth was wrapped around several times, so we just went to the back entrance to have a go at Power City USA. The sticks were dragging on the floor a bit today and not working very well, so we didn't have as good of a score as we have in days gone by.

We stopped in Innoventions for the Great Piggy Bank game and to grab some free wifi to download a podcast, play a game on the iPod, and check for texts (we use TextFree which is usually great but at WDW not so much since we can't get the wifi - but thanks to Photobob's tip, we'll be all set next trip!). By the time we'd saved for our "ultimate vacation" it was just after 11, so we headed on up towards the American Adventure. We didn't rush, so it was nearly 11:30 by the time we made it that far around the world (by way of Mexico). The show didn't start til noon, so we got kid-meal hamburgers/fries for lunch which is really a perfect portion. DS13 and DH were simulataneously having Casey Dogs at the Magic Kingdom.

DS14 enjoys history so watching the American Adventure is something that interests him more than a lot of 14 year olds. Afterwards, we began our trip back towards Mouse Gears, pausing to take a picture:



We bought souvenir 2011 t-shirts and a bag of character gummies before riding Spaceship Earth (no line!) and heading back to SSR for the afternoon. DS13 and DH were back ahead of us having done Buzz Lightyear, Pirates (walk on by going on the right side while the left side had a backed up line), Country Bears, and lunch.

Our friends are coming over for dinner and then we're heading out to MK for the night.

Thanks for reading and your kind comments!

 

[nolanboys]

Sounds like a great day. How nice that you split up to have some special time with your boys. Wish I was there your week - the weather looks like it has been great. Too many storms next week when we go - hopefully they'll be just afternoon showers. Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

[a742246]

Good for you guys. Glad you are having a great time!

 

[Ms. WDW]

Linda - the laundry for the Springs is right by the main pool area, so depending on which section of the Springs you're in, it can be convenient. There might be another one, but that's the one I've seen.

Thanks Cindy for that info!! I've requested a buliding right behind the bus stop. I've stayed in that section before and it's directly across from the main pool and Carriage House!

 

[nzdisneymom]

It's so nice that this is Saturday morning and we are NOT checking out tomorrow! The boys' school system skipped having President's Day off in order to let them have Monday after spring break for a teacher planning day, so we still have two full days before we have to depart! That relieves a bit of a sense of "urgency" that we might otherwise have felt and allowed us to have a sleep-in this morning... which was good since we were up later than usual last night.

So we spent Friday afternoon at the villa, just hanging out, resting, doing paperwork things I needed to do - after all, just because you're at the World doesn't mean bills don't have to be paid, etc.

Our friends came over to the villa for a while and then we all seven headed out to the MK. We arrived about 7:30 and had a specific agenda. While it was busy just as we were getting into the park, as the first parade ended, the park started emptying out.

First stop: Jungle Cruise. We had intended to get fast passes but the wait time said 25 but the line looked more like 15, and since part of the point of getting together with our friends was to visit, this worked out well. Our Jungle Cruise skipper was just ok, not as good as some we've had. But we still had fun. The hippos were sleeping apparently because they didn't try to attack

Next stop, Haunted Mansion as they hadn't seen the interactive queue - which was closed off. Boo. But then they also hadn't see what they are doing with the hitchhiking ghosts at the end - which I hope they aren't finished with because I am not a fan of this version of them.

Small World was almost a walk-on and was fun to tell the four teens about how they were just that size as the dolls when they each made their first trips to WDW.

Snow White's Scary Adventure was next - and this one was also pretty much a walk-on. You may remember that we want to ride this one as much as possible because it's going away. We have been looking for a SWSC trading pin - I googled and found they made one years ago but we've had no luck in finding one for trade (or even to purchase), but as an alternative, we thought we'd look for an attraction poster like they have coming under the train station bridge - we have one of the Railroad ones. It's similar to this one:

The kids all wanted to ride the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh so they could do two things: play in the interactive queue, and bounce in their Honey Pot with Tigger. I love that none of the four think they are "too cool" to enjoy the Fantasyland attractions. While in line, one of the CMs had a pin lanyard. I am looking for two pins to complete two sets and she had one that was part of the set so while I was looking closer to see if it was one I needed, DS14 spied the Miss Dee Vee Cee pin on her lanyard, so we traded for that one (the other one was one I already had). Score!! We didn't even know they had them but when I googled just now, I got a link to a DISBoard thread that mentioned it

The Mad Tea Party was a walkon, so the four kids rode in one tea cup while the three adults rode next to them. The kids spun so fast I thought they would either puke or pass out; the adults didn't touch the wheel and just were along for the ride.

Next up was the Indy Speedway. With two in our group turning 15 in the next three months, we figured they could drive by themselves. DH took a seat in the Grandstands while my friend rode with DS13 and I rode with her DD12. None of us needed a neck brace when all was said and done so I guess the driving was ok!

Buzz Lightyear was also a walk-on - in fact, the wait time changed from 10 to blank while we were walking up. I rode by myself and when the ride stopped at one point, I maxed out one blaster's score and got over 700,000 on the other In fact, most of us were able to get close to being maxed out which was pretty fun because then no one was the "winner" and no one was the "loser."

The People Mover was our last ride of the night - a tradition we do with these friends - kids in one car, adults behind them, usually hoping to be in a completely different vehicle (LOL). Gosh, I keep typing "kids" but you know what we mean - they aren't kids any more!

While we were walking out, the Castle Show started - that was one thing my friend wanted to do but because they live here, she had said let's skip it when it was scheduled for 9:45 - but it was about 10:30 as we were heading out and they were doing it again. We had seen the end of it the other night in a logjam of people, so I was less than impressed, but let me tell you, watching it from Main Street last night - even as far back as we were, was something else. There is one part where a rocket ship blasts off from the top of the castle - it was purely delightful! I'm amazed at what the Imagineers do with the Castle as their screen! Definitely worth watching for the light show on the Castle even if you don't / can't see the photos.

Bus ride back to SSR was hysterical - it was nice to not have over-tired, grumpy people in our party, although I think the other people in the back of the bus with us were wishing they had sat in the front

And today we're having a lazy morning and will meet up with our friends around lunch time to go see American Idol Experience for those who want to. I've enjoyed just being in the villa - my dad once said if you're going to pay a lot of money for a hotel room, you might as well stay in it and use it for more than just a place to sleep! And we really have!

Thanks for reading along!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Cindy,
I have really enjoyed reading your trip report. I must say, though, that I would have expected more shenanigans from your boys. You must have raised them better than my parents raised me. Well, not really. I'm hard to keep in line. Koala and I leave for SSR in 35 days and we can't wait. We'll keep you posted about our adventures.

Thanks for the great report and hope you have a safe trip home!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Cindy,
I have really enjoyed reading your trip report. I must say, though, that I would have expected more shenanigans from your boys. You must have raised them better than my parents raised me. Well, not really. I'm hard to keep in line. Koala and I leave for SSR in 35 days and we can't wait. We'll keep you posted about our adventures.

Hi SSRMonkey - we remember meeting you and your parents a few years ago at the Beach Club... and I believe it is because of your love for Wetzel's Pretzels that we make sure to get over to DTD to get one at least once a trip. We had one earlier this week and will probably make the trek to get another one before we leave.

 

[nzdisneymom]

It's been another great day here at WDW! We managed to avoid most of the crowds, mostly by staying at the villa until about 1:15 when we finally ventured out to DHS for the 2 p.m. American Idol Experience. DH, DS14 and friend's DD14 went to Muppets while the rest of us went to see AIE. The 3rd performer did a great job and moved on to the next round. I really like the whole idea of this and can see how you could spend your whole day chasing this dream.

We stopped in for another go at the Great Movie Ride. Because DS14 has done this one 4 times already and each time had the gangster interruption, I asked the cast member if we could be in the first vehicle so we could have the cowboy experience, so he was able to accomodate us. I loved being able to make that happen for DS14.

From there, we headed over to Animal Kingdom. We were divided about who wanted to do what, so I sorted us into mutually exclusive groups. The Finding Nemo group went off to wait for the 4:45 show - they had about a 45 minute wait, but none of them had anything else high on their list of things to do here. The other three of us went to ride Dinosaur (10 minute wait which was mostly watching the video) and then Expedition Everest (20 minute wait). When we finished EE, we still had 1/2 hour til the rest would be done with the Finding Nemo show, so we did the single rider line for a second turn. We were on in about 10 minutes. Afterwards we just waited for the others, about 10 minutes.

We had planned to go on the Safari but with a 45 minute wait and people getting hungry, we decided to go for an earlier dinner at Rainforest Cafe. After dinner, we bussed over to POFQ for dessert - beignets - and a boat ride over to DTD to get the bus back to SSR. While at DTD, we stopped in at the Art of Disney store so I could ask about the Snow White Scary Adventure's attraction poster - I showed the picture to the CM. She didn't know that they had one in the store, but showed me their "art on demand" computer so I was able to find what we were looking for AND order it, pick our frame, and have it delivered in 2 to 3 weeks. So I had DS14 look at it and he picked out the framing he wanted and he'll have an early b'day present by the middle of April!

We made it back to the room via the bus - what stinks about the bus from DTD when you're using the congress park bus stop is that you go right by your stop and have to go around the entire resort. We didn't mind though because we were still enjoying our visit. Our friends stayed another hour or so visiting before they had to head for home.

And there it is... another fun day at WDW! One more full day before we head for home - I'm excited about NOT having to pack tonight!

 

[nolanboys]

Enjoy your last day. The weather looks like it's going to be great. So glad to hear about the wait times. We've never gone during spring break and are a little nervous about the lines. Good to hear that that's not always the case. Are you going to stay out late at MK EMH hours tonight? We've never done that, but plan to next Sunday before we leave Monday mid morning. Tomorrow's weather doesn't look great for our arrival - so much for a pool day. We'll have to find something else to do. Can't wait to hear about your last day. Safe travels home.

 

[nzdisneymom]

Enjoy your last day. The weather looks like it's going to be great. So glad to hear about the wait times. We've never gone during spring break and are a little nervous about the lines. Good to hear that that's not always the case. Are you going to stay out late at MK EMH hours tonight? We've never done that, but plan to next Sunday before we leave Monday mid morning. Tomorrow's weather doesn't look great for our arrival - so much for a pool day. We'll have to find something else to do. Can't wait to hear about your last day. Safe travels home.

Nolanboys - have a safe trip - today is starting off beautifully. We are making our list of "must do" today - our first one was "sleep!" Not sure yet if we'll stay out super late because we do have to pack tonight. We are meeting friends for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern (the ones we met earlier this week at Whispering Canyon - today is their going-home day). We each have a couple of MK things we want to do, and DS14 wants to see the Main Street Electrical Parade. DH doesn't like standing around for parades so he may ditch us early tonight. We do want to get to Epcot for Spaceship Earth (DS14 made a pictorial scavenger hunt several weeks ago and there was one that neither DS13 nor I could tell him where it was - well, I saw it clear as a bell on our split-apart day when I was with DS14 so I told him we should take DS13 on the ride and see if he spots it and thinks about it), and they want to do Figment, too. So we think once we get out this morning, we'll MK it for a bit, have lunch, scoot over to Epcot, come back for a rest and first round packing, then head out when it gets cooler. If I get a lot of the packing done this afternoon, then I won't feel so rushed tonight - I want to be able to just relax a bit tonight before heading home. We have breakfast at Cape May in the morning, not too early, so we won't be running out the door - one nice thing about driving here - no flight schedules to make the last day crazy!

 

[Chellymouse]

Love your TR Cindy! Makes me wish we were going home sooner! We have 47 days and will be able to see the end of F&G at Epcot. Your pics are amazing! Hope you all had a safe journey home!

 

[photobob]

Cindy, thanks so much for taking the time to write a live TR. I am going to make myself do one in June!

 

[nzdisneymom]

Cindy, thanks so much for taking the time to write a live TR. I am going to make myself do one in June!

It's always fun to share our adventures with other Disney lovers, and it helps me chronicle what we do. You know how when you're on vacation that a single day can feel like three or four? That's how it has been! If I hadn't been doing the TR, I wouldn't be able to tell you what we did or when we did it (without a receipt or picture - LOL).

We had a nice morning / afternoon today. We headed out for MK about 10:30 and when we got there, we gave the boys their passes and told them to just be sure to get a FP for Peter Pan and then meet us at 12:30 for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Off they went! Me? I had to go through the bagline. What is it that makes people bring everything they own with them??? Seriously, I do understand some of what you bring in, especially with little ones - it is so nice to not have to carry so much, but I have the worst luck sometimes on gauging how many zippers will have to be opened and pockets searched before being cleared to go. I have a DCL cross-shoulder bag that I use and barely have anything in it - mostly carry it so if we buy something, I'll have something to put it in!

DH and I got our FP's for Peter Pan and then walked around some of the shops. We rode Haunted Mansion (10 minute wait which was really 7) and then did some more looking around the shops from Adventureland to Fronteirland and up to the Christmas shop in Liberty Square. I bought a couple of pins and continued looking for the Wanted: Jafar pin I need to complete my set of Wanted Villians pins. As we came out of the Christmas shoppe, the Main Street Philharmonic band was just beginning to play in Liberty Square and right behind them was Princess Tiana and "the frog" (I can't remember his name) and they did a dance right there in the middle of Liberty Square! It was so fun.

Oh, we also met the Fire Chief while on Main Street.

We met for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. I had the Colony salad while DH had the Pilgrim's feast. DS14 had rolls and ice cream; DS13 had mac/cheese, rolls, half of the chicken from my salad, and ice cream. We enjoyed catching up with our friends to hear about their adventures since we had last seen them on Tuesday.

After lunch, we got FPs for Big Thunder and then decided instead of going on Peter Pan then, we would take the train around to Main Street and head over to Epcot. Epcot wasn't too busy at the front, so we rode Spaceship Earth (and DS13 didn't spy the scavenger hunt item) and then the boys went to Figment (we overheard someone coming down the monorail ramp asking about "you know, that Filament ride with your imagination" so we have now decided that we all have a filament of our imaginations I went into Innoventions and grabbed some wifi for a few minutes while DH strolled around. The boys met back up with us and we went to Club Cool (love the Mezzo Mix) and then to the other Innoventions to play the Waste Management game (our team name? The Dumpers!).

Then time to head back to the resort to have a rest - I haven't thought much about packing yet but DS13 is thinking about dinner so as soon as I post this, I'll be heating up the pulled BBQ chicken. We're going back out to MK tonight for our last hurrah.

 

[photobob]

Sounds like another great Disney Day, you guys have really had a nice trip!