Marcia takes her family to POP for a week in Aug, pics! updated 11/6, day 7, pg 8

[marsh0013]

So let's see. Originally, I planned to take a trip during Free Dining, a week just by myself, once again, a solo trip. Buuuut my mom got the great idea that we needed a family trip. See, my brother Chris goes to college in Hawaii, and he told us that this may be his last summer at home in NJ. He wants to live out there full time. And my brother Stephen is going to be a senior in college this year, and then probably move out. So my mom decided that this was our last chance to do a trip all together as a family, and what better place to go than Disney World!

The boys hadn't been to WDW since our last family trip in 2001. Okay, that's a bit of a mistruth...Chris went once for one day just to MK when he was in Florida with a friend a few years ago. But to me, that doesn't count! Of course, my mom came with me last August. When I got my annual pass. Which expired this year on August 20. So guess how we picked our dates? Aug 13 - Aug 20? That's right! Use that AP up to the last day! We figured the latest we could go in August would be best, crowdwise. And my pass was covered. So it worked out perfectly

Well, Chris decided that he wanted to work a couple extra days to make some extra money before going back to school, so he came down late August 14 instead of the morning of August 13 with the rest of us. I told him he would miss some stuff, but money sounded better to him. Oh well. It ended up being fine. We all had a blast and it couldn't have been better!

So, for the cast of characters:

Mom - her name is Anne. This was actually her birthday trip, as her bday is Aug 19. So we got her a birthday pin and she loved the attention! She likes Disney just fine, she really likes going with me since I never wait on lines. She's amazed by how I get us around the parks. At home, we don't always get along the best, but in Disney, everybody's happy!

Chris - the older of the 2 boys. He's 24. He's the one that goes to school in Hawaii. He started college a little late and he wants to stay in school as long as he possibly can. We're talking 8 year plan here. He loves it out there. Surfing, sunning, partying. What a tough life. He's not huge into Disney, but his GF loves Piglet, so he was on a Piglet mission the whole trip.

Stephen - the little baby of the family. He's 21. Yes, that's right, we're all of legal age! Made for lots of fun . He was very excited to take this trip, and he had fun remembering stuff and finding new stuff, since the last time he went, he was only 14. His GF loves Belle, so as Chris was on a Piglet mission, Stephen was on a Belle mission.

Me - Marcia, that's me, and I'm 27. I'm the Disney nut. I've been 5 times in the past year on my Annual Pass. I can't get enough. My favorite character is Bashful. If you've read anything by me before, you know that I like to run around the parks like crazy, and that I don't do lines. I'm way spoiled with my Disney trips, and I like it that way.

So there you have it. Here's a pic of the fam, from our dinner in San Angel (you'll hear about it later!)

I promise the rest of the installments will have many more pics! So please don't give up on me!

next up: Day 1, arrival and Tea at the Grand Floridian, maybe MK too!

 

[jeminni]

I'm in

 

[marsh0013]

I'm in

welcome aboard! i'm gonna type up the first installment asap!

 

[hollyluvsdisney]

Joining your trippie! I have to admit I'm super jealous of your brother... how awesome to go to school in Hawaii!

I am also eager to find out your secret to "never waiting in lines". We use FP, of course, but still seem to wait in lines.

Looking forward to reading more...

 

[marsh0013]

Day 1, Wed Aug 13, Part 1

This day started very early for the three of us (Mom, Stephen, me), as our car was picking us up to take us to Newark at 5:00am. Add to the fact that I didn't get home till 3:30am and my mom was out until 4:30am! See, my friends and I always go out on Tuesday nights...it's a tradition. Not so great planning on my part! And my mom claims she lost track of time. Aaaaanyway, so the car came at 5, and we were on our way!

We got to Newark in plenty of time for our 7am-ish flight. We were flying Jet Blue, so we could have watched TV the whole way down, but my mom and I passed out. I wonder why . I think Stephen may have actually been awake for most of the flight though, since he had gotten some rest the night before.

Our flight arrived at MCO at 10:30am, and I was thrilled to get to the DME counter and find no line! Sweet, I couldn't wait to be on our way! Oh yes, we did stop at the Starbucks to get me a latte, and my mom a cappuccino and a croissant I think. Stephen didn't want caffeine. The horror!

So we got into the Pop line, and we waited. And waited and waited some more. It seemed like it took a really long time. But I wasn't worried. Yes, we had a 2pm ADR at the Gardenview Lounge for Tea, but it was only about 11am when we got in line, so I figured we had plenty of time. Especially because I knew Pop was the first stop of DME, before AKL and CSR. Or so I thought!

We finally got called to our bus, which was a cruise line bus

Yay, we're on board and I'm camera happy!

Stephen asked me "Do you always just take the same pictures over and over?" Why yes I do! Deal with it!

Here's the DME bus that was parked next to ours

Aaaaand we were finally on our way! The driver confirmed that we would be stopping at Pop first. Just like I thought...that's how it was when I came down in April/May, so I figured it would be the same route .

We drove along, watched the video, kinda closed my eyes a few times. My mom definitely slept the whole bus ride. Before I knew it, we were passing under the welcome sign!

And then things started to go wrong. We drove right by Victory Way, which I knew was the street you turn on to get to Pop. And we started following signs for Animal Kingdom. Not good! I was getting a bit agitated at this point, as our bus driver didn't seem to know what he was talking about. And he kept looking at his map on his lap and turning it all around. Ugh. Some people were asking him questions, too, and he didn't know the answers. Don't worry, since I was sitting in the front, I knew the answers and helped the people out. My favorite was when someone asked if the Animal Kingdom Villas were at the same place as the AK Lodge. The bus driver had no idea. I assured them it was the same stop. And they didn't believe me! Hrmph. You think I'm gonna steer you wrong, people? I know my stuff! Anyway, he ended up calling someone on his radio who gave the same answer I did. Whatever. I was just not thrilled with this guy.

When we stopped at the AKL, my mom noticed what was up, and she is very outspoken, so she kinda not so nicely asked the driver guy what the heck was going on, that Pop was supposed to be the first stop. He told her that no, AKL was the first stop. Even though he had said Pop was, and that's how it was last time. He assured us that Pop would be next. I was getting a bit worried that we wouldn't make our 2pm ADR at this point. When originally, it should have been a breeze.

So we were on our way again, this time, turning onto Victory Way, and we saw this beautiful sight...

Yay, we're here!!! We can calm down now...or can we?

Oh let me just tell you, we had bad luck on our side. We ended up getting a check in person who was new and slow, and barely spoke English. I'm sorry, but I need to be able to understand you! Let's just say I was less than pleased with the front desk for the entire trip. So it took incredibly long to check in, and of course, our rooms weren't ready. And I asked if anything was available in the 60's, as I like that area, and was told we could move there tomorrow. We decided we'd take what they gave us in the 70's, and not bother moving...or so we thought. Since our rooms weren't ready, they gave us the card to call after 3pm, and we went on our way to have luggage services hold our carry-ons.

Luggage services was wonderful, by the way. They took good care of us the entire trip. More on them later.

Finally, we made it to the Magic Kingdom bus stop at 1:15pm. Not surprisingly, I was still very nervous about making our ADR. I took some pics to try to calm myself down. Here's Stephen at the bus stop

And one of me with my brother

But our luck seemed to be changing, as a bus pulled up right away. Of course I had to snap one of this gorgeous sign

Once we got to the MK, we took the monorail over to the Grand Floridian, and arrived at the check in desk to the Gardenview Lounge at *exactly* 2pm. Phew! I could breathe after that!

The beautiful lobby

And the lounge

The tea was just what the doctor ordered, as I totally needed to de-stress at this point. It was lovely and relaxing...at least for me and my mom! Stephen wasn't thrilled to be there, but whatever! This one was for the girls!

I had to try on the tea cozy hat, of course

Stephen, being all proper with his pinky sticking out! Ha, what a kidder!

This was a wonderful experience, and I will definitely do it again. For a full review, you can check out my dining review, it's linked up in my signature.

After looking around the hotel a bit, we went upstairs to catch the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom!!! I was so excited to be back in the world!!! We arrived at 3:30, just as the parade was ending. Remember how Stephen was on a Belle mission? Yeah, her float happened to be passing. Marcia, hurry up and get your camera out!

Walking up Main Street, we stopped for some pics, with my camera, and Photopass.

Think I'm a bit thrilled to be back???

First stop...Tomorrowland to grab FastPasses for Space Mountain! I was the FastPass Volunteer, while I sent my mom and brother to Cosmic Ray's to get Stephen some food. Yeah, he didn't really warm to the idea of tea sandwiches, so he was a bit hungry. While I was getting the FP, the wait time for Space was only 20 minutes, so I figured we'd go hit that standby once Stephen was done eating. But by the time we made it back, the time said 30 minutes, and the line was way out the door. No thanks! Catch you later!

So we decided to head for some amusement at the Monster's Inc Laugh Floor. I forgot that my mom and I hadn't done this last year, so it wasn't only a first for Stephen, but for her too! I think it's a cute show, so I was looking forward to their responses. We waited about 1 show to get in, and I tried texting in a joke, but they didn't use it. Oh well! Maybe next time! Stephen got a bit skiddish when he noticed that they single out people in the crowd, as he hates that kinda thing, but not to worry, he wasn't picked. It was a funny show, they liked it, and I enjoyed it as usual.

We decided that our next stop had to be Town Hall to get my mom a birthday pin. We would have gotten it on the way in, but the parade got in the way. No worries. On our way, we stopped for some more pictures.

Look at my brother's hair!!! Haha, I think it's awesome...he's not thrilled that we were taking pics when he was not looking his best. Oh well! Not my fault you look silly!

After a wonderful CM drew my mom's name and decorations on her Bday pin, we thought we'd check out Pirates, as it never seems to have a line. And of course, we were correct. Waited maybe 5 minutes, if that, and we Yo-Ho-ing our way through there before we knew it. It's so funny seeing Disney through my brother's eyes...he remembered the drop in Pirates being much bigger. He was like, "that's it?" Tee hee. Yes little one, that's it

Next, we figured we'd check out Haunted Mansion. On our way over, we stopped for this classic picture

I told them that if the line said 20 or less, we'd wait. Anything over that, we'd skip it. That's pretty much my limit. Remember, I'm spoiled. Wouldn't you know, it said 20! Perfect. We actually only waited 10 minutes, and all 3 of us squeezed into one Doombuggy. It was a tight fit, but we made it. My mom told me to sit in the middle so I'd have the hitchhiking ghost on me, as she remembered it always being in the middle. I didn't want to break her bubble and tell her that it actually moved across the buggy, so I just squeezed in. Gotta make her happy, it *is* her bday trip, y'know!

Hmm, okay, so now what? Oh, I know, let's go to Mickey's Philharmagic! That never has a line either, and Stephen's never seen it! Perfect! So we made our way to Fantasyland, walked past the 40-60 minute waits on all the rides, and walked right into the Philharmagic. Again, we waited about 1 show, and were in before we knew it. Love this show! And Stephen enjoyed it, so I was glad.

At this point, we were done. We were tired, and we were hungry. Good thing we had an ADR at Chef Mickey's for 7:35! It was about 6:30 at this point, but we figured we'd chance it going early, as we were hoping to make it back for Spectro at 9...since it was the only chance we had to see it before they shut it down.

I gave them the choice to either walk or take the monorail, and surprisingly, they chose to walk. You guys know (if you've ever read anything by me before!) that I will always choose to walk, so I was pleased. When we got to the lobby, we used the facilities, and then we called my brother Chris, who was still at home, to get some info and ask him to bring a couple things we forgot. We then went upstairs and checked into Chef Mickey's before 7...and were seated right away!

Next up: dinner @ Chef Mickey's, and will we make Spectro???

 

[donaldtutter]

Count me in!!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Looks like the trip was off to a great start (other than the bus driver and check-in person)! How nice to have the opportunity to have "one last" family vacation. And SO jealous of the brother who lives in Hawaii!!

I love your TR's and can't wait for more!!

 

[jake&samsmom]

Hi Marcia!!

Great start! Can't wait to read more!!

Jen

 

[marsh0013]

Joining your trippie! I have to admit I'm super jealous of your brother... how awesome to go to school in Hawaii!

I am also eager to find out your secret to "never waiting in lines". We use FP, of course, but still seem to wait in lines.

Looking forward to reading more...

yeah, he's pretty lucky out there! he went back 2 days after we got home, he called it coming home from vacation to go on vacation. what a life!

oh and i don't know that i really have a secret, i mean, i follow Tour Guide Mike, in theory, and kinda just role with the punches. we always have at least one FP set in hand, most of the time, 2 or more. that's just how i roll...maybe you could pick up tips as i detail it all out, lol!

Count me in!!

hi! i remember you from last time! welcome back!

Looks like the trip was off to a great start (other than the bus driver and check-in person)! How nice to have the opportunity to have "one last" family vacation. And SO jealous of the brother who lives in Hawaii!!

I love your TR's and can't wait for more!!

yup, it definitely only went up from that shaky beginning! thank you so much, i love sharing

Hi Marcia!!

Great start! Can't wait to read more!!

Jen

hi jen! i remember you too! once again, welcome back!



and sorry guys that it's taken me so long to get another installment going! i've been busy with work and life...just got home from a wonderful day with some wonderful friends at the beach. and i'm about to type up the next installment...so stay tuned!

 

[marsh0013]

Day 1, Wed Aug 13, Part 2

So last I left you, we had just checked in at Chef Mickey's, and they seated us early before our ADR time, and I was thrilled because we really wanted to catch Spectro at 9!

The meal itself was fine, see Dining Report for more details. But we really come here for, you guessed it, the Characters, of course! My mom and I did Chef Mickey's on our first night last year, so now we're making it into a sort of tradition. First came Minnie

Next was Goofy, and he sure was fun!

Donald was a sweetie

The big cheese himself...Mickey!

Last, but certainly not least, Pluto

Of course, we twirled our napkins with Minnie and Goofy!

We were out of there by 8pm, and I was absolutely thrilled, as I knew we would definitely make Spectro! So we walked our way back to the MK, and pulled up our curb spot right in front of the train station at 8:25pm, right on the bend, so we had a perfect view of all the floats coming! Yay!

Since we had some time to kill, I spent some time catching up with my friend Kristi from home, as she had some stuff going on that she needed to talk about. Before I knew it, they were turning off the lights and Jimminy Cricket was telling us we only had a few more minutes to go! And then it started! The beauty that is SpectroMagic!

Here's a few of my favorites that I took

Mickey!

love these little fishies!

Cinderella

the Dwarfs

aaaand a closer-up of my fav, Bashful

If you remember from earlier, we still had Space Mountain FP's burning holes in our pockets, but my mom was falling asleep and she wanted to go back and sleep. We still hadn't seen our rooms yet. Oh yeah, I had called Pop before dinner, when we called Chris, and finally were told that our rooms were ready. This is after calling at both 3pm and 5pm and being told they weren't ready yet. Anyway, so we didn't want to send my mom on the bus by herself, so we found some people to give the FP's to, and went on our merry way.

When we got to our rooms, there was a bit of a problem...one of the rooms was a King bed. Not so great for 2 boys. We had told them we needed 2 rooms with 2 beds each, and that they didn't need to connect. Instead, they gave us connecting rooms, one with a King. Good thing Chris wasn't arriving til the next night! But still, it was very annoying to have to move the next morning.

So I called the front desk and told them we'd need to be moved the next day, and they told us they already had us scheduled to move, even though we hadn't been informed of it until then. Ugh. This was almost too much for me to handle. I was exhausted, not really having slept, and I was on my last nerve. I almost blew up at my mom, but thankfully, she helped to calm me down, by reminding me where I was. That was all it took. I was in my happy place, and nothing could *really* get me down.

In better news, the luggage department was an absolute gem! I had placed a delivery with Garden Grocer, and while the front desk knew nothing of it, there was a message on the phone from the luggage dept informing us that they were keeping our perishables cold in a fridge and that we could pick them up whenever we wanted. We were going to rent a fridge that night and get them, but since we were moving in the morning anyway, we figured it wasn't worth it. So they told us it was no problem to hold our stuff, until whenever we were ready for it. Two thumbs up to luggage services

So I set my wakeup call for 5:45am, since I had to deal with moving, and we still wanted to make EMH Morning at the Magic Kingdom. Believe me when I tell you I was out as soon as my head hit that pillow!

Next up: more front desk fun, AM EMH MK

 

[jmskinner]

Thought I would drop in also. Great pics and looking forward to more.

Sorry about your bus driver. I would have been also.

 

[marsh0013]

Thought I would drop in also. Great pics and looking forward to more.

Sorry about your bus driver. I would have been also.

hi and welcome! thanks for encouragement, more is coming soon!

 

[Kat73]

Enjoying your TR so far!

 

[marsh0013]

Day 2, Thurs Aug 14, Part 1

So I set the alarm for 5:45am, and when that phone rang, ugh I did *not* want to get up! I knew I had to go deal with the front desk...so that wasn't rushing me out of bed. I once again dealt with a not so helpful CM at the desk, who told me we would have to come back after 3pm to get our new room. I knew it wouldn't be ready, but they wouldn't even tell us what building it was in. I was not a happy camper. Next, I went over to luggage services to borrow a luggage cart to get all our stuff and put it into their storage. Once again, they were really helpful! They told me that we just needed to leave all our stuff under the window and it would be transported for us. Now, why didn't the front desk tell me this when I told them what my plan was? I really wish I knew. But okay, so at least we don't have to take our luggage down. Thank you luggage services! Again!

Okay, enough of the bad stuff...on to happier stories! So I had my mug with me, and I stopped at the food court to make my hot cocoa/coffee combo that I would live off of. Well, that and coffee from the pot we'd get the next day...more on that later. I went back to the room, showered and then woke up my mom and Stephen, so they could get ready. And we packed up and left everything under the window. Before we left the rooms for good, I did snap a few pics of Stephen's room, since it was a handicap room, and it had a fridge included.

And here was a pic of the area we were in

We were at the bus stop at 7:05, and arrived at the Magic Kingdom at 7:35am. Since it was EMH at 8am. Once we went through the turnstiles, the other two gave me their tickets, as I would be the FastPass Volunteer, of course. Really, do you think I could give away that responsibility to anyone else??

Aaaaaanyway, I got right up on the side, readying myself for the rush to Space Mountain. Here's what I saw in front of me

If I remember correctly, they didn't do the full opening show this morning, maybe it's an EMH thing? I'm not sure. But I'm used to getting to another rope drop at each land, but this time, no second rope drop! Kinda threw me for a loop, but whatever, not a problem. Got my FastPasses, and of course, got right on line. Oh! For some reason, the FP were not good until 10:05...which I found odd, since every other park's first FP at EMH were for 9 or 9:05. Thought that was weird and threw a bit of a wrench in my plans. But I dealt with it.

Stephen was very hungry. Because he's a growing boy. So I told them to stop off at the Main Street Bakery and to meet me in the line at Space. Well, by the time they got there, they said the line was too long on the outside, and that I should just ride without them. Okay, fine with me! I'm not gonna sit out just because they're not there...I'm a seasoned solo traveler

On their stop to the Bakery, Stephen decided that one slice of French Toast Loaf wasn't enough. I had talked it up so much, that he just couldn't resist! But after finishing the first one, he realized that his eyes were bigger than his stomach. He said it was deceptively filling. Haha, silly boy! But he took the other one to go, and covered it in syrup. So I could take a picture of it. What a sweet boy! Oh, and my mom had a ham/cheese/egg croissant like she always does, but alas, no pic, as it was in her belly by the time she got to me! Here's the extra Loaf

So I met up with them and we decided we'd hit Buzz Lightyear's Spaceranger Spin. On the way, Stephen dumped the extra French Toast Loaf in the garbage. Sacrilege...I know. But no one was going to eat it. If he hadn't poured syrup all over it, I may have considered it, but I hate eating so early!

Here are our awesome red-neck shots from the ride. Which of course I won, because as Stephen says, I know all the tricks! He started following my direction once he realized I was kicking butt!

Me

Mom and Stephen

Not too shabby. I'm totally the queen of the red-neck shots. But if you've ever read anything by me before, you already knew that! I'm cheap, what can I say. Although, I still do regret not buying that one picture when I was on ToT all by myself...but I digress...

Next up, we headed toward Fantasyland to try to hit at least one ride before the lines hit. On the way, we saw Alice and the Madhatter, but no way were we wasting valuable ride time on characters, so I just snapped one as we walked by

We made our way over to Peter Pan, and it said 10 minutes, but it was actually a bit less. Fine with me! Fits under my 20 minute rule perfectly. And we all fit in one ship. Awesome. Not as tight a fit as the Haunted Mansion, thank goodness. They still put me in the middle. But I don't mind, I get to be surrounded by people who love me. Haha, yeah, no, I'm not really that mushy, it's more of a joke. Anyway...

Once we got off Peter Pan, it was 8:58, so we got behind the mass of people waiting to get into Frontierland. Once they dropped the rope, we made our way with the big crowd to the other two mountains. Now normally, it would be time for another FP, but the MK was weird with that, so we made the executive decision to ride Big Thunder and decide later if we wanted to ride Splash. We just didn't feel like getting wet that early. We walked right onto BTMRR, and waited one train for the back. Like we always do. I let the other two sit together, as I'm used to being alone. Wanna see a picture of their backs? You're gonna anyway!

Once we got off, we decided we'd just check out Splash, but seeing a 40 minute wait on the sign, forget about it! Not gonna happen. So the next stop we made was the Jungle Cruise. It was still a walk on, so that worked out well. Here's our skipper, he was funny, so I was pleased

After the Jungle Cruise, and all of my favorite jokes, Stephen discovered his soon-to-be obsession...pressed pennies! It was sort of nostalgic for him, as the two boys used to get them all the time when they were younger. So this was a pretty cool one, where you actually crank it yourself. Look how excited he is! Either that, or he likes to ham it up for me!

And crank that thing!

Once he was pleased with his new creation, we went right over to Pirates. Using the right side line...of course as all good DISers do! And we walked right on. Yay! I had to snap a picture of my man, Johnny, er, I mean Captain Jack!

By now, our FP window was up, so since we were over there, we went to get FP for Splash. Then we decided it was a good time to stop for breakfast, so it was my turn to get French Toast Loaf from the Bakery. We got there at 10:15, and of course, had to wait on a line, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. I've definitely waited on worse. And I was so nervous that they would run out of my Loaf before I got to the front...but they didn't! Woo Hoo! Luck is turning our way! I got a soymilk too, as usual. And my mom got strawberries for her and Stephen to share. Mmmm, I love French Toast Loaf. So much. It did not disappoint.

After the family's second trip to the Bakery in a few hours, we were ready to use our FastPasses for Space Mountain. My second trip, Mom and Stephen's first. On our way over, it started to drizzle...we didn't whip out the ponchos, we just hurried up a bit. We let Stephen sit in the front, as that's the best way to experience it, and he hadn't been on in 7 years! We all loved it.

After our ride through Space, the rain was really coming down. Pouring, as it were. We had a decision to make...should we use our FP's for Splash? Ya know what? I pulled out our trusty ponchos, we put them on and decided we may as well go on the water ride in the rain with our ponchos! Get ready, here comes the red neck shot

We're in the back. And how funny, even if we didn't have the ponchos on, we barely got splashed! Murphy's Law, I tell you. By now we were done. We were ready to head back to Pop to take a nice break...but would our new room be ready??

As we walked up to the bus stop, we watched our bus drive away. It was 11:50am. The next bus didn't come until 12:25! Yikes, a bit longer than the proclaimed 20 minutes, so I was a bit irritated. I know, I know, deal with it Marcia! But remember, I'm spoiled

Well, we got to Pop, and went straight to the dreaded front desk. Once again, they left much to be desired. At least this time, the lady spoke English well, but of course, our room was not ready. This really bugged me, since we really wanted to take a break, and it was raining...so we were kind of stuck. Plus, they wouldn't even give us our new keys, they told us we'd have to come back to the desk later, to get both our room location and our keys. But they did tell us we'd be in the 60's, so at least that was a positive.

So. When it's raining. And you need a break. And your name is Marcia. Where do you think you might go? I mean, come on, we were scheduled to be spending the evening at MGM anyway...so yes, Tune In Lounge, here we come! Really wasn't a hard decision to make.

continued in next post: drinks and appys at Tune In Lounge

 

[SunnieRN]

I was so happy to find your trip report!! I've been looking forward to it!

I'm so glad that despite your late night and not so helpful bus driver, that all went so well at the park!

Great pics, too bad you had to change rooms. Looking forward to more!

 

[marsh0013]

ah just got a call and i have to leave...but i'll try to put up the next installment tomorrow!

 

[adaygaby]

Thanks for sharing...looking forward to reading some more.

 

[marsh0013]

Enjoying your TR so far!

thank you!

I was so happy to find your trip report!! I've been looking forward to it!

I'm so glad that despite your late night and not so helpful bus driver, that all went so well at the park!

Great pics, too bad you had to change rooms. Looking forward to more!

aw, that's so sweet that you were looking forward to it , hope it lives up to your expectations!

Thanks for sharing...looking forward to reading some more.

you are very welcome, i love doing this!


ok, and i just got home from a late night diner run with a couple of my girls, had some soda, so the caffeine should power me through that Tune In Lounge installment....here it comes...

 

[marsh0013]

Day 2, Thurs Aug 14, Part 2

Tune In Lounge!!!!!

...So we got in the MGM bus line, and it pulled right up. Sweet! Got to MGM at 1:20pm, and I was the FP volunteer. We decided we'd FP ToT, since we could always do Rock'n'Roller Coaster singles line. So I told the two of them to head toward the 50's Prime Time Cafe, but to go to the bar. The Tune In Lounge. And to sit by David. He's my bartender. He's the one who got me to go with another CM back in May to the CM preview of Toy Story Mania. He's awesome.

So I got the FP and made my way to the Lounge. I spotted them right away, and my mom had a bone to pick with me! I had forgotten that there are *two* bartenders named David! Just by luck, she had actually picked the right one. Buuuuut, the other one is from the same town that my mom grew up in, Lodi, NJ, so we really spent time with both of them.

My mom and I both ordered Grandma's Picnic Punch, and both came with blue star glow cubes. Ooh, they're getting all fancy on us, making them stars now!

Stephen wanted to do a shot, but I wanted him to have a real drink, as a shot is so quick and done. So he compromised. He got a Gentleman's Jack Daniels, on the rocks.

Me and my baby brother

The fam, minus Chris

While we were hanging out, we met this wonderful couple from Canada, named Bill and Kathy. Seriously, they were awesome. We sat there talking to them for a few hours. We exchanged info. Bill noticed my mom's Bday pin and insisted on buying her a light up Tinkerbell, which she proudly wore for much of the rest of the trip. Here it is on her drink

We got to be such good friends, that when our FP window was up, and I was headed to grab us a set for RnR, I asked if they wanted some too, and yup, they handed their tickets right over! (I even wrote down what time it was...2:30pm at this point!) No trust issues here people! Ok, so David totally vouched for them and for me, as they are regulars as well. So no worries! Speaking of the wonderful David...

Aaaand one of us with Bill and Kathy

Let's not forget David from Lodi, NJ

I think at some point, my mom and Stephen also ordered appetizers, I know Stephen had the crab cake, not sure about my mom. Because, well, I missed taking pictures of those. Sorry, I have none of this food. I was more concerned about drinks . They only wanted a little something anyway, since we had 3:40pm ADRs at Mama Melrose for the Fantasmic Dining Package.

So sometime around 3:25 we decided it was time to start making our way toward the back of the park to get to our ADR. But not before David came out from behind the bar to give me a hug, and we got a pic too

And the lovely ladies, Kathy and Anne (mom to me!)

So our little snafu with the rooms ended up being a blessing in disguise! We never would have gotten to spend such quality time at our (yes, now our, and not just my!) favorite bar, with such wonderful people. Oh but don't you worry, this won't be our last visit to the Tune In Lounge this trip...not even close! But for now, I will leave you with that.

next up: FDP @MM, some rides and such, and Fantasmic!

 

[jessily]

Sounds like a great time! I love Tune In Lounge I've enjoyed reading your past trip reports and this one's off to a great start too!