Our Grand Gathering--13 at ASMu for 8 days with DDP

[happysmyly]

Our Grand Gathering—Sept 12-20

Intros – I am “Aunt Liz” and joining me on the trip were: my mom (Gma to everyone else—she used a wheelchair on this trip), my sister, her husband, their 4 kids (Nephew 10, Niece 7, Nephew 3 and Nephew 1), and her husband’s brother, his wife and their 3 kids (Girl 13, Boy 10, and Girl 6). Making 13 of us for the majority of our time there. On Saturday we also had another one of his brothers, his wife and their 4 girls (15, 12, 10 and 4) for a total of 19 that day.

This was my 5th time to Dworld. Mom, sister, her DH and Nephew 10 had been once with me in 2000 (Nephew 10 was not yet 2 on that trip) and it was first time for everyone else. We were a Grand Gathering group—which was supposed to help with the planning stuff (which it really didn’t--but the disboards did--yeah!!!) and gave us an opportunity for a great group experience (which it did!!!).

We had been thinking of a first week of December of 2009 (my favorite week for Dland or Dworld—no crowds and all the holiday stuff is up). But when my sister got the offer for free dining we decided to bump up our date and plans were made last spring. We consider ourselves to be ‘disney people’(grew up in San Diego—so Dland people, more specifically)—at the gates before rope drop and there til they kick us out… And as kids we never got to eat in the park—always took a picnic that we would eat at the picnic tables that they used to have outside the Dland gates (anyone else remember these?) or in our car.

Now that we’re adults we’ve always tried to keep the costs low—so we’ve always been PB&J sandwiches and snacks brought in and these past several years have enjoyed eating 1 meal in the park—at a counter service. And when I have been with a best friend or on a trip with no kids, I now have a tradition, when going to Dland to try to get in a lunch at Blue Bayou—but we save up for it and it’s a real treat. So the ‘free dining’ was a golden opportunity for us to enjoy things that I doubt that we would ever ‘pay’ for—and I’m really hoping that in a couple of years they will have an offer for free dining around the same time as the Garden show at Epcot—so I can return with my DH and enjoy some of the places I enjoyed this trip as well as others that I continue to find out about.

Our big group meals were Pooh and Friends Breakfast at the Crystal Palace, Lunch at the Prime Time Café, the Grand Safari Celebration and the Spirit of Aloha Luau. Mom and I also enjoyed dinner at the Restaurant Marrakesh. Others in the group did the Princess Breakfast at Akershus and a lunch at Teppan Edo. Counter Services included Pecos Bills, Cosmic Rays, Restaurantosaurus, Yak & Yeti café, The Mara (at AKL), and lots of tasty treats—my favorites were the sweet pretzels from Kringla Bakeri and anything frozen as it was really HOT. I’m not planning on doing separate dining reviews (didn’t take pics of any foods) but will talk about them as I go through what we did—hope that’s OK.

While planning this trip we have at times been hooked on, almost addicted to, the disboards and greatly appreciate all the stuff everyone has so willingly shared… (my sister made some of THE cutest shirts for her kids with things she found here and then customized) So now it’s our turn. We had a good trip—even with as many days as we had, there was ‘more to see than can ever be seen, more to do than can ever be done’. Hope you enjoy it and that something said here can help you as you plan.

We enjoyed our trip - and I am enjoying re-living it as I write this!! Hope you enjoy your trip as well--as with most everything else - it will be as good as you make it to be

 

[happysmyly]

During the week prior to our arrival I had called to confirm that our ‘requests’ for the room were in there—first speaking with a Grand Gathering person to verify all that stuff and when it came to the rooms she told me that the ASMu had already downloaded the room requests into their system and that I would need to call the hotel directly and ask specifically for the front desk person in charge of room assignments.

So I called and was transferred twice. She checked our rooms and none of our requests were in their system—oops. We had requested a ground floor since my mom was going to be using a wheelchair for the trip. We also requested rooms in either Jazz or Broadway and that the rooms to be together. I was told that all the requests had now been entered and that our rooms, though she couldn’t tell me what they were, were as requested. (turned out to not be true—except the all together part which is supposed to be a ‘given’ for grand gatherings). She said it twice and I asked her if I would need to call again the day of arrival to make sure again since we would all be arriving at night – she said no –and unfortunately I trusted her. (I know, I know—my bad)

On Day 1 of the trip –I woke up early, drove a couple of hours and then I flew on Southwest from SLC to Orlando. Check in at the airport was incredibly smooth - I had checked in online 23 hrs 50 minutes before my flight and even then I was #47 in their line up system – but the airport part was great--drop off to the gate in about 20 minutes. So I settled in, read a book and enjoyed the flights.

Landed at 7:30 pm and was in the rental car (Alamo with a great discount found on here) with luggage by 8 and at the hotel by 8:40ish.

There were 2 tolls to pay on the way - $1 each… luckily I had read about that on the boards so I was prepared with quarters to throw into the little baskets for the booth that wasn’t staffed anymore. I seem to remember there was also one for .50 on the way out—but there was no one at the booth and there also wasn’t something to throw the coins into… so I sheepishly drove through that one… but on the way back they all had either people or baskets.

Check in was smooth for me—since I arrived alone (not with a bus load of people) it went pretty quick—they answered all my questions and those they couldn’t – they sent me to the concierge desk for. As I said - we had a Grand Gathering of 13 of us at the resort—and we were using 5 rooms. When I checked in I was told that we were in the Rock section and that we were on the 2nd floor—not pleased with that – but since it was so late in the day, even with having called ahead and being told that we had our requests, there was 'nothing they could do'… At least the 5 rooms were together. My check in person knew I was disappointed that I had been lied to just a couple of days before—so she went over and grabbed the last rose from their little tray behind the check in desks and gave it to me.

Other workers there who weren’t assisting other guests were blowing up balloon animals to give to any children that came through with parents – and I also liked that for those children that looked a bit ‘wired’ the desk CMs would hand the child a little coloring book and some crayons to keep the kid busy while parents checked in.

I got great service from the concierge desk—they checked all our reservations that didn’t show up on our check-in letter—even though some were under names of others in my group. She also asked me if we were celebrating anything… I told her birthdays in our group as well as my mom’s retirement—and she arranged for Mickey and Cinderella to sign cards to those people and the next day when we came home from the park those cards with a balloon attached was waiting for those people—very cool!

Once the rest of the group arrived—sometime around midnight, they had some trouble—so be warned if you are also arriving very late. One of their bags didn’t arrive til the next morning. We were part of a grand gathering – 5 rooms – and none of them received their grand gathering buttons and my sister didn’t even get the folder that everyone gets at check in. And then – once they all got to their rooms - my door got closed somehow when I was next door passing out our door signs (stick people sign that my sister had put together) - so I had to go to the front desk to get another KTTK… and the woman who gave me what she said was the KTTK – she was wrong… so… I can’t recommend the late night desk staff at the All Star Music.

I used the time between my check in and the others to unpack and to decorate my room. Here's another warning... I really thought that I had taken a pic of the room decorations... so I would suggest occasionally checking the photos you've taken to make sure that you have pics that you really want to have. Anyway - since my niece would be my room-mate for the trip I had gotten one of those castles from the party store and a string of purple (halloween) lights from WalMart for our window--she loved it!

Another thing we did once everyone arrived--before everyone settled down--is put on glow in the dark nail polish (well - the girls did). There are certain traditions that I am not sure how or when they started… but this is one of ours that my niece and I do for Dland—it’s great in the dark rides. Right now is the perfect time to prep for that – if you like the idea – cause the only time I can find it is during Halloween. One year I also got a glow in the dark lipstick that went on ‘clear’—and the boys even had fun with this one – drawing designs on their foreheads or arms while waiting in line. This year I also got a package of glow in the dark pony beads from WalMart and made a stretchy bracelet (doubled the cords for the stretchy part) for each female in the party—trying to use her favorite colors. I enjoyed making them and it seemed the girls enjoyed getting them—and the little ones wore theirs most of the week.

And then by about 2 am people were finally settled into their respective rooms and we all went to sleep.

 

[niclodn]

Great start! I am looking forward to reading how your Grand Gathering worked out. I am also an aunt who is planning a GG for my family in December 2010. We will have 10 -- provided there are no new additions to the family between now and then

 

[happysmyly]

Great start! I am looking forward to reading how your Grand Gathering worked out. I am also an aunt who is planning a GG for my family in December 2010. We will have 10 -- provided there are no new additions to the family between now and then

Thanks for reading--and replying
From reading others' experiences - the fact that we had more than enough space helped a lot--when needed there was room for escaping. Of course, being the 'aunt' with no children of my own and having left my DH at home (he's a teacher and couldn't get off that many days--and he's not ready for the 'intensity' of my family's disney-ness)--I wanted to spend as much time with my niece and nephews as I could (they live 8 hrs from me and I miss them terribly).

How many family groups are in that 10?

 

[VanniGirl]

Great start - looking forward to reading the rest

 

[happysmyly]

This is how my room appeared when I got there... loved the Mickey music print on the wall--and the mickey head towel on the bed.

As it turned out--this was the only 'special' thing that I got from mousekeeping... which is weird as others in my group got little washcloth animals in their windows, etc.--but it seems like the group of 5 rooms was divided between 2 different mousekeepers and from the way the rooms were done - I think we had 3 different mousekeepers during the 8 days. In fact - the last 2 days she didn't take the mousekeeping tip envelopes that were left on the bed for her (maybe a language thing???)... so that was left on the bed outside an envelope when we left.

Here is the 'product' that came with the room... a round soap embossed with mickey head and a shampoo/conditioner combo. There was also a soap by the sink.

For my mom (Gma) it was important that the rooms have an ironing board--for me, not so much, but they are there--I appreciated that each room had 2 extra pillows (I sleep with lots of pillows and even brought my own body pillow with me--flew southwest so baggage wasn't limited)--there is also a small safe--not big enough for a laptop but good for a wallet or similar sized stuff.

These are the signs that we made for the doors. These helped the little kids to know which rooms were part of our group.

My sister had gotten someone to do a stick family for her--then I took it and using a very old version of Photoshop I copied the male/female sticks and made them into sized family groups--she didn't like my arrangement so she tweaked it and came up with this design--which I printed on cardstock, laminated and then glued magnets onto it. One thing that I would do differently. I laminated them in case of rain--which was good--but I only put 2 magnets on the top--and the wind that came with the rain - well - we lost 1 sign and a couple of days they were on the ground when we got home... so I would use 4 magnets per sign--to help it stay on in the rain.

 

[starrzone]

Wow, you have quite a group! I can't wait to hear all about everyone's adventures, especially since there seemed to be a lot of "first-timers" to WDW in your group. Great start to the TR!

 

[patches07]

Great pictures,looking forward to reading the rest. My DH and I will be staying at the All Star Music in September of 2009. How did you like the All Star Music Resort.

 

[happysmyly]

Mom (Gma to the rest of the group) and I parked and rode the ferry to MK--I like the ferry and it was much easier to push the wheelchair onto it than up to the monorail. We weren't there for rope drop--but it appeared that if you were you got to draw with chalk on the ground--fun.

I put my KTTK through the little thing and was told that it was just a key to the room—oops – so off to Guest Relations (first of 2 visits to them) – where the nice man told me that even though I’d only been there for about 12 hours they had already really messed up my account—had me listed in the room as both an adult and as a child. No biggie—he was great and fixed it and was nice to me the whole time.

Since we had been up so late—we were not there for rope drop and since the rest of the group had ridden the bus and they were somewhere in Tomorrowland, mom and I just strolled (well – I pushed her so I guess I strolled) down main street—noting the differences with Dland’s. One thing that I thought I had taken a picture of (noticing a theme here?) was of the window with Walt’s name on it—I had read that Roy had put Walt’s name on the last window on main street so that he could always be facing the castle. Since I LOVE the lighted window above the firehouse in Dland – I was quite touched to see that name there and knowing the sentiment behind its placement.

“10:30” Breakfast at Crystal Palace for 15—not seated til around 11:15. Our party arrived in pieces with the last ones getting there by 10:30 – and we waited for about 45 minutes to get seated… There were 15 of us in our party and they divided us into 3 tables of 5--each table had their own waitress (which made it more difficult when it came time to settle the bill) It was OK – food was good (basic breakfast buffet stuff) but we were there for the characters and it was 4 that came by—Tigger, Pooh, Eeyore and Piglet – each was at our table (3 kids and 2 adults) for about 1-2 minutes tops. Not worth it in my book—but then I am not needing to collect signatures of characters to be happy. I've heard the non-breakfast food here is better--so you may want to try a lunch or dinner, if these characters are important to you.

OK - this is my favorite shot from this day--my sister caught it and to me it has all the excitement and looking for fun of the trip wrapped in his cute little face... just had to share (the bragging aunt thing)

As you can see - my nephew (10) really enjoyed the strawberries and whipped cream--a couple of seconds before I caught this shot the whole area between his chin and nose was covered.

Is he just the cutest nephew in the world - or what?!!! His older brothers would have been crying with a character so close--so glad my sister took this pic--it will be one of my favorites from the trip.

Another reminder to check pics--which is so much easier with digital cameras--cause Piglets head was chopped--but with the short time that they stayed--it was hard to take more than 1 shot... hmph.

You can also get a glimpse in these pics of the shirts that my sister had made for her family--most days they wore matching shirts or at least themed shirts--that day her group (6) wore mickey heads from here with their names on them--cute shirts and each mickey head had one of their favorite characters on the mickey head.

The family that joined us for the day hadn’t ever done Disney—the rest of us have done Disneyland together several times—so the goal for the day was to get them as much experience with ‘the classics’ as possible—to wet their appetites to the magic. Before we met for breakfast they had ridden the Astro Orbiter and enjoyed Stitch’s Great Escape. And had gotten fast passes for Space Mtn.

So for the next few hours they rode Space Mtn (I was with the baby swap group and the ride broke down right as we were getting into line), Swiss Family Treehouse, POTC, Tiki Room (I love the original—and my niece called this one “Verse 2”—which was a good way to put it, I guess), Splash Mtn, Haunted Mansion, Small World, Philharmagic (I had never seen this one—LOVED it!!!)

Early dinner at Pecos Bills – I got the chicken wrap—it was HUGE and by the time I added some grilled onions and mushrooms as well as some tomato slices, I could barely close it and it was more than I could eat—so I gave my carrot cake to someone else—and they said it was good. Others in our group mostly got burgers and they liked them--the fixins bar was great!! The fries were good too – from what I heard.

Since I was kind of an 'appendage' to the group (it was mostly Webbs and I am a Smyly) I thought it important for the other adults and families to be together as much as possible--so when it was needed after dinner, I took a child for a nap… we were planning on it being short (not til the end of the night) and so I took her on the bus back to the hotel and left the car so that we could use it with mom after Wishes. Well - we got back and she said that she wasn't tired anymore--but after laying for 5 minutes she was out - and out - and out some more - wow could she sleep... So - I took that time and decorated my mom's room--which was attached to mine.

I had made mickey heads in red, yellow and black with my sisters cricut (love that machine) along with white disney block letters that spelled out "Happy Retirement Grandma". I put these in the window on ribbons attached to the window with suction cups. I also put some ribbon on her mirror in the room and a little sign on her bathroom mirror. Once again - thought I had taken a pic of this--when I got home - no pic... sorry. One change I would do - I would outline the letters in black pen as the white on the yellow was hard to see.

My BIL had come back to the hotel cause he was sick - so he stayed with the still sleeping child and I went back on the bus in time to see Wishes fireworks and got there in time to see it from outside the gates—could hear the music--and help get mom back to hotel. The lines to leave MK were LONG so we decided to take the ferry again—good thing we did – that night it took those on the bus about 2 hours to get home after the park closed. This is one of the negatives of staying at the ‘value’ resorts—we found that they send the buses first to clear out the lines for those in the higher-end resorts and then work their way down—so it was a long wait and when they finally got to the All Stars – there were 2 or 3 buses at a time and then it went quickly… so – if you are at MK for a crowded day – and are staying at a value – just take your time – enjoy the goodnight kiss of the castle, stroll along main street, window shop, shop shop and then your wait won’t seem as long.

 

[happysmyly]

Wow, you have quite a group! I can't wait to hear all about everyone's adventures, especially since there seemed to be a lot of "first-timers" to WDW in your group. Great start to the TR!

Thanks! The first timers were mostly kids. All except for the 1 yr old had traveled together as a group to Dland--which made it all so much better, I think.

Great pictures,looking forward to reading the rest. My DH and I will be staying at the All Star Music in September of 2009. How did you like the All Star Music Resort.

I really liked All Star Music--very cute themes - and even though I was sad about being in Rock--it was closer to the smaller more private pool--which was great when the kids just needed a quick swim to chill at the end of the day. They are in process of some renovations--so part of the dining room was closed off--so I would guess it will be better by Sept 09. I LOVED the pool activities there--they showed a movie at the main pool every night--on this big blow up screen--way cool--and there was trivia and other games throughout the day. And with the amount of time we were in the rooms--no complaints from me...

I stayed at the All Star Movies in 2000 and liked that too--cause I am a 'movie' girl--but both resorts have great photo ops, if you are into that...

And if staying at a value means I can have 1 or 2 extra days at WDW--it's totally worth it to me to not be in luxury during my vacation... the luxury is disney to me.

 

[niclodn]

Thanks for reading--and replying
From reading others' experiences - the fact that we had more than enough space helped a lot--when needed there was room for escaping. Of course, being the 'aunt' with no children of my own and having left my DH at home (he's a teacher and couldn't get off that many days--and he's not ready for the 'intensity' of my family's disney-ness)--I wanted to spend as much time with my niece and nephews as I could (they live 8 hrs from me and I miss them terribly).

How many family groups are in that 10?

We will probably end up with 5 rooms. My parents - Mom visited for the first time with me last January, Dad has never been. My oldest brother, his wife, niece (will be 13) and nephew (will be 10) have been to MK twice for day trips but never to any of the other parks. My youngest brother and his fiance (wife by then) - bro has never been, not sure about fiance. My middle brother (single) - never been. And me (single) - have been multiple times.

I know what you mean about spending time with nieces and nephews -- mine are about 9 1/2 hours from me and I only get to see them 2-3 times per year! I fully expect that the kids will end up rooming with me and my middle brother -- if for no other reason than it means they will get their own beds

Since the others are all noobs, the planning will fall to me. So, I'm a bit nervous -- my oldest brother and sister-in-law are already saying they don't think they will be able to afford the trip, but am hoping that I have convinced them to wait and see what's available before getting too worried. It's two years away after all! And then there's having all of us together for 8 days I think we will make plans to have 1 sit-down meal together every day and then pretty much let everyone do their own thing the rest of the day -- otherwise we all might lose our sanity!

 

[happysmyly]

Since the others are all noobs, the planning will fall to me. So, I'm a bit nervous -- my oldest brother and sister-in-law are already saying they don't think they will be able to afford the trip, but am hoping that I have convinced them to wait and see what's available before getting too worried. It's two years away after all! And then there's having all of us together for 8 days I think we will make plans to have 1 sit-down meal together every day and then pretty much let everyone do their own thing the rest of the day -- otherwise we all might lose our sanity!

With the planning--we started with a monthly amount that we would each need to set aside to be able to pay for it by July... and occasionally sent emails reminding each other about saving money for the trip... that may help.

And with your going in Sept--hopefully you can get in on the DDP--do any of you have the disney visa? you'll know about the offer before others if you do. And that helps a lot with costs... we ended up with a lot of food/snacks that we had shopped for and just not eaten cause we were so full with all the DDP foods. Plus it makes it easier to have those group meals because cost wasn't an issue as it could have been.

Good luck with the planning--this board will be so helpful to help you be as prepared as you want to be--fun info - little trivia things you can send out periodically to keep everyone hyped up and saving for the trip... referring them to things here can get them hooked and involved in the planning as well. My sister did that to me... started sending me links to things she was seeing here and before I knew it, I was hooked and addicted to the boards myself... oh yeah... you've got time to get some fun stuff going Enjoy!!!

How fun to have your niece in your room... I LOVED having my niece in my room... I had planned little 'aunt' things for her - a tinkerbell bracelet, a High School Musical nightlight (from $ store), etc. Of course with your niece being 13 yours would be different--but you've got time to get little things for her that will really be great to share... It was also fun to go with her late nights and get a little treat just her and me at the hotel's food place... You'll love it... and hopefully she'll be open to fun stuff at 13

 

[happysmyly]

We slept in a bit and then got ready for church. The family that had joined us for just the weekend had their van and then I had the rental car… I had looked at the map and the directions that I had printed off from mapquest and felt OK – the brothers took the map/directions and left with some of the kids… and so our car didn’t have either map or directions (oops)—which I thought would be OK. Well outside of WDW things are not as well marked—and I was expecting an exit to be marked with one of 2 street names and it wasn’t—so we ended up getting a bit of a tour of I-4 and not getting to the church until it was almost over…oops--so we skipped it and drove back to the hotel. So – if you are driving please be aware that street names seem to change (just like they do in Vegas—drives me crazy) and sometimes not marked to match maps… so those in my car basically gave each other church lessons as we drove around looking for the church – and then we drove back. Still enjoyable for me as I learned more about them--which was fun.

We had planned to go shopping the day before (not realizing how long it would take to get home after MK closing) and that didn’t happen—so we needed to get a few basics—so I took mom and we explored til we found a grocery store for some bottled water and such. We had called to let them know when we would be back—but they didn’t check their phone and so we missed nephew 1’s birthday cake by about 10 minutes—a sore spot that hurt me the rest of the trip (the whole family but not family feeling thing… but I’m at the age where I cry at everything anyway… it’s over and OK now… but felt pretty left out--I know, whiny aunt...). As is a tradition in our family – chocolate icing is always a part of 1 yr old birthday cake—makes for cute pictures—don’t you think?

For the next part of the afternoon I went to visit a college roommate who grew up and still lives in Orlando. It was so great to see her and spend time with her and her family. She lives in a section of the city that has tree covered streets and no sidewalks—there was still some evidence of some of the damage done by storms several years ago.

Mom and I had planned to do some ‘exploring’ and find someplace for dinner… and so we drove around and arrived at AKL at around 8ish for a late meal. We went to the 2nd floor (entrance is on 3rd) and came out on the large outer courtyard – huge chairs surround a fire pit – then there was a walkway from which you can see all kinds of animals—we saw Zebra, Giraffes, Anatole Cattle (The ones with the huge long horns), several antelope type grazers of all sizes and even a little bunny rabbit. Too much walking so mom sent me to get a wheelchair while she sat and chatted with the CM posted there to answer people's questions about the animals.

Once I had the chair we 'strolled' along - lots to look at. Then we went down to level 1 and went by Boma - they said they do take ‘walk-ins’ but the wait was abt 45 minutes so we didn’t eat there—but if you planned ahead – you could sign up and then take a walk while you were waiting, in case you didn’t get ADR for it (like we didn’t--I kept trying but never found an opening at a good day/time for us).

We went to the Mara to have dinner… because of a recommendation from the boards, I tried the Chicken platter (same stuff that is served at Boma)—and that chicken was some of the best I’ve ever tasted—not sure of the spices used but it was quite tasty—as was the couscous and tomato based veggie stuff that came with it. Mom had the Mara Chicken Salad and really enjoyed it as well.

When I had to get a wheelchair for mom—the CM at their help desk gave me the AKL schedule and encouraged us to use their night vision goggles (right now from 9-11)—we wanted to but were just too tired after dinner to stay any longer. So that could be a great activity to do one late night (if your group doesn’t have little kidlets in it who need to be in bed earlier).

If we ever got to the point where we could afford to stay at anything other than the All Stars—I would definitely choose AKL over any other resort. Everything was beautiful—the woodwork, the artwork, the outside… oh my goodness… I love animals and to walk minutes from your room and watch a zebra or giraffe is just incredible to me.

 

[minmate]

Hey... we were at ASMU around the same time as you! (Sept. 16-24). You had quite a BIG group! Like reading your trip report to see how you spent the time! Sorry you missed your nephew's 1st celebration! As a mommy myself, it's great to know that aunties care about that stuff!

Waiting to see what else you did on your Grand Adventure!

 

[Cinderelly5507]

We were at ASMU Sept. 10-16!!! Jazz section though! Loving your GG TR!!!

 

[happysmyly]

We were at ASMU Sept. 10-16!!! Jazz section though! Loving your GG TR!!!

I liked the Jazz section--passed through it whenever I headed to the main bldg... I saw many folks taking pics by the fountain in your courtyard (yet another pic I didn't end up taking...).

Hey... we were at ASMU around the same time as you! (Sept. 16-24). You had quite a BIG group! Like reading your trip report to see how you spent the time! Sorry you missed your nephew's 1st celebration! As a mommy myself, it's great to know that aunties care about that stuff!

Waiting to see what else you did on your Grand Adventure!

It seems like ASMu was the place to be... while walking around there I would occasionally see people with shirts that they had made from the Dis-signer's stuff... and now to chat--how fun!!

It was a big group--but most of the time didn't feel like it--until we'd walk up to a CM and they'd ask how many in the party and get that look of "how am I going to make this work?" on their faces--figure in with that a wheelchair and we were probably a bit of a challenge to a few--but there were many CMs that rose to the challenge with flying disney magical colors... we found 2 at Disney Studios and more at Animal Kingdom... but for now... on to Epcot

 

[happysmyly]

Once again my KTTK, which had been ‘fixed’ twice so far, didn’t let me into the park—so back to Guest Relations I went—luckily we had arrived early – Not a happy or nice CM experience—she treated me like I was trying to cheat or steal my ticket—it was icky but didn’t last too long. And by the time I finished there I got to center fountain area with the rest of the group. Niece 7 was chosen to do a pick up race with another kid—using the trash picker-upper grabber stick things – and when they finished the race each child got a certificate… a great way to spend the time while waiting for the ‘rope drop’.

We headed first to Space—though not too many others were in that area for at least 30-45 minutes—so we’re guessing most people headed to Soarin—so we avoided that crowd

Space – some liked it, my sister thought it was ‘lame’ I didn’t ride it cause I tried it in 2004 and it made me really sick (spinny things leave me green as does tower of terror) so I got the best 'job' of watchin' the cute baby boy

Some of the party left to go to the Princess Breakfast at Akershus. They enjoyed it—and were surprised when the photo was included (something ‘free’?). Hopefully they will chime in with their review…

Test Track – Nephew 3 rode it 3 times in a row. While he and his dad were waiting for everyone to get out of space they walked over to see if he was tall enough to ride. Even though they had measured ahead of time and prepared him that there would be rides he wasn't tall enough for--it was still rough on him. And he ran back to me so very excited to tell me that he was going to go ride it. Then, as soon as the rest of the group got back we all rode it (saving the FP we had gotten while they were on Space for later in the day) and then he wanted to ride it again so I took him while mom fed the baby and gma rested a bit. Still no line really so we basically walked right on. He was so cute—teaching me what he had learned about as we passed things in line and on the ride.

My sister went for Soarin fast passes – while the rest of us cooled off at Club Cool. And yes – I told my nephew that he had to try Beverly… and his face says it all… (he did the same thing to someone else in the party later on in the day—and enjoyed telling me that…)

We went to The Seas while we waited for our fast pass time… I enjoyed the clamshell ride thing to get into the seas main area (though I used to enjoy all the history of sea exploration stuff as well). After looking at the aquariums for awhile, the Manatee left right as we came into its room. The kids really enjoyed the room with small aquariums where kids can look for fish like the characters in Nemo. Then we went to the Shark info room and took fun pics. Then it was Turtle Talk with Crush—there didn’t seem to be as much audience participation as others I’ve seen in the past—but it was cute like always.

In this 2nd pic--you can see what became a favorite of the shirts that they created... Sister's DH designed this with No Obama and No McCain signs on the front and a Mickey for President 08 on the back... love it!!

On to The Land – First we went to Soarin. This is one of my favorite rides in DCA—and I’m so glad it’s in Epcot now. This was nephew 3’s first time on it—so that was great… I love being there when kids are experiencing their first time on a ride—it means a lot to me for some reason—I guess cause I’m not there for a lot of their daily ‘firsts’… hmm. We then went to Living with the Land. This is one of my favorite rides—because of the greenhouse stuff at the end—I told my niece that and after a couple of the basic environmental rooms at the beginning she turned to me and asked, “Why is this one of your favorites again?” Crack me up. Once we got to the greenhouse rooms she understood and thought they were cool too. I always take too many pics of this area… and this time was no different—my DH will use some of the pics in his classroom and some are for ideas for our own greenhouse. Maybe DH can come up with a way to make one of these for me?!

We ended the Land with the Circle of Life film… it’s a bit too preachy for me—but I love the footage of animals that are in the film.

It was about 1:30 or so - we all walked over to Japan for lunch—part of the group went to Teppan Edo and the other part went to Japan Yakitori (CS)—We got there just in time to see the Japanese drummers who were fabulous!! My brave 10 yr old nephew tried the sushi (which he had been talking about trying it all day) and I had a combo plate that I thought was great—Nephew 10 didn’t really like the sushi but felt good having tried something new. We all loved the Ginger cake. My sister had an issue with their KTTK… it said they didn’t have CSs so they had to use a TS for their meal.

The group split up at this point – (they told us we were too slow to walk with… yeah – that made me feel good too)… Anyway - me and mom went to American Adventure—loving the Voices of Liberty pre-show and the ‘show’ in the American Adventure—this has been one of my must-dos since my first trip to Epcot… I have their CDs and just love to listen to them. We enjoyed the architecture in Italy (Disney magic is in the details!) and then we got a pretzel with mustard in Germany and then watched the wood carver in Africa. We then headed to China and enjoyed the 360 degree film (I remember seeing it—or one like it about China--first in Dland years ago) as well as the Chinese Acrobat group—amazing what those young men can do.

Mom wanted a treat from the bakery in Norway and since we had heard that Marrakesh had small servings we thought OK—so we got a ‘sweet pretzel’ covered with almonds and then enjoyed walking through and shopping in Mexico (neither of us was in the mood for the boat ride at that time).

We had reservations at the Restaurant Marrakesh for 6:30—took about 10 minutes to get seated. The waiter was good at explaining what was included on the dining plan and how we could pay an extra $6 and eat any of the combos instead. We had been told that the servings here were small—we didn’t think so once we got our food. Mom had the Roast Lamb Meshoui which she liked—but thought that the meat was a bit blander than she was expecting. I had a braised beef that was served with couscous and a ‘sauce’ that had grilled onions, raisins and fun spices in it—very tasty!! For dessert she ordered the Marrakesh Delight (fruit with mint chip ice cream) and thought that the fruit wasn’t very ripe—it was too hard for her to eat most of it (she has dentures). I had the Bastilla – and I really liked it – there were 2 sheets of pastry (like phyllo dough) that were covered with what tasted like a vanilla custard (menu said it was vanilla ice cream)… I thought it was quite tasty. We saw the Moroccan Symphony – assorted pastries – it was 3 small pieces of pastry on a plate—looked small and we felt we would choose the Bastilla next time too. During dinner a couple of musicians played great music and for about 10 minutes a belly dancer joined them – first she danced and then she called any little girls that wanted to – to join her in the center to learn some moves—that was quite cute and the girls seemed to enjoy themselves. Dinner ended about 8ish.

We then did some shopping in the markets around Marrakesh, enjoying the atmosphere, incredible tilework. Mom bought her ‘when I am old I will wear purple’ dress. We then headed to a good spot to see Illuminations—one of my favorite fireworks shows. I usually see it from over by Morocco or Mexico but we walked and found a place next to the wheelchair area (which was already full) by the stage for Off Kilter by Canada. The rest of our group joined us in time to enjoy it with us—which I really appreciated. I had read that the globe wouldn’t be there—but it was and I was glad—great show even though it started to rain during the last 5 minutes or so.

Tommorrow I will tell you about our great day at Disney Studios...

 

[Laneychris]

Great pics

 

[patches07]

Great pictures, EPCOT is also my favorite park

 

[happysmyly]

Day 5 – Disney Studios
Mom and I got there early and were about ½ way back in the crowd waiting for rope drop. I’ve never been there for rope drop—it was cute… being DHS there was a director, various other ‘characters’ who ‘filmed’ the opening of the park and we were all the extras. Of course once the rope dropped pretty much everyone went the same way—Toy Story Mania. I had read that there are CMs along the way to keep people from the ‘short cuts’ and it made me smile as I would watch people re-join their group saying as such. Getting through the crowd with a wheelchair wasn’t easy… but we made it by ‘swimming with the current’.

So – I parked mom in the wheelchair and I got in line for FPs for TSM. As I was in line the rest of our group caught up and gave me their KTTKs as well and some of them got in line and took mom with them—my sister waited with the baby for me. Once in line – oh how cute!! I loved this line—even had games on the ceiling. It moved pretty fast and soon we were on the ride… Of course, she beat me (THIS time…) even with a baby on her lap – but it was really fun and I am really glad that they also have this one now at DCA—definitely a ride that will become a favorite and a must do more than once.

After we all got out of this one we had some time before our FP so we divided and some went to Prince Caspian and the rest of us to Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The 2 little kids that were with us were a bit upset when they found out it was a show and not a ride—but once it started they liked it. I think it’s cute, not my favorite, but cute.

Then it was back to use the FP for TSM… we all went in together but when we got to the stair part only 6 of us could go with wheelchair—so the rest went up the stairs. I was in the wheelchair group and it was really cool—there were 3 groups ahead of us—so while we were waiting we actually got to see a CM get trained on how they take apart the wheelchair car to fit those that are not able to transfer… it was ingenious. One of the CMs also explained that in the wheel chair spot – the ‘shooter’ thing is designed to be used either with the puller like everyone else—and it also has a spot on the top for those people who can’t easily pull but can let their hands drop on top of the shooter—very cool!!! This 2nd time I rode with mom and I had the highest score of our whole group…let’s hear it for the ‘old’ lady!

We were getting pressed for time for our lunch (11:15) ADR so we hurried out of there—the rest of our group had already left for the Prime Time 50s Café. I hadn’t ever been here but it is a definite on my list in the future—great food and fun atmosphere. Since we had 13 – we had a whole back room almost to ourselves (there was 1 table for 2 that was used by someone else). It was a great meal. I had the meatloaf, others had the pot roast (lots of meat), one had ‘Aunt Liz’s Chicken’, and my nephew tried the fish sandwich (the bun was so big it was hard for him to eat as the fish kept squishing out the sides so he didn’t eat much of it even though it tasted good) . Several of us got the shakes as our drinks (I love that that was an option) and they are HUGE… filled my glass 2 ½ times with strawberry goodness. My nephew got the PB&J shake—which sounded gross—but was actually quite tasty. I’m not sure I would still like it after having that much of it—but if you split it with someone else…

As I’m sure you’ve heard – the waitress will be like a ‘mom’—and ours was fabulous!!! I think her name was Cindy—and since 3 of the 4 tables in our room were our group—she spent a lot of time with us—sitting down by each table and chatting – remembering names of the kids and having real conversations as well as the ‘mom stuff. She even gave both dads a hard time about not eating their veggies—and threatened that they wouldn’t get dessert if they didn’t—the kids (and their wives) loved that! When she left the room after that – the dads ate their veggies!! Desserts were good – I had the angel food cake with berries and it was the perfect ending—others got sundaes and the most popular in our group was the brownie sundae. The kids loved being able to make their own sundaes. With the very crowded lobby as we left – we were glad that we had made our lunch for an early time.

After lunch we headed over to see the Indiana Jones show—which I had never seen—we enjoyed it – but it was soooo hot. After that some went on Star Tours (that one can make me sick—so I skipped it and stayed with mom). At some point we also did Sounds Dangerous—OK but not a must do for me. We also saw the parade—waiting at a spot in front of Sounds Dangerous—we had enjoyed this same parade at DCA. It was still so hot – so we got a frozen lemon drink—it was VERY sour but it helped cool us down. The kids seemed to enjoy the parade – I felt sorry for the performers who were all just dripping with sweat. Some of our group then went to Jedi training while the rest of us went to Muppets—I love that show – I love the pre-show too…

We then headed over to the other side of the park and rode Rockin Roller Coaster. I LOVE this ride—so smooth, fast and fabulous. I got to ride it with my niece and it was really fun! With FP and baby swaps some got to ride this one again—I can’t handle it more than once at a time so I waited outside with my nephew 3 who needed to be distracted since he wasn’t tall enough to ride it yet. So we went to find a drinking fountain so that we could fill up the spray bottle thing—which I must say is one of the best things I bought for this trip—I used it and my microfiber cloth constantly. I was able to find the spray thing in the clearance at WalMart close to home—which helped since the ones they sell at the park are $17—we got another one at the WalMart in Orlando (with Mickey on it) for $10. The kids liked having it too. The ones that I got from the dollar store were done by the first day…

Before they went to ride RRC a 3rd time some of us headed over toward Tower of Terror—and nephew 3 went on this with dad and a couple of others while the rest of us waited for the rest of the group. Once they arrived – some of us headed over to the Beauty and the Beast show—and got our seats just before the a cappella group started to sing. I love this show too—sad it’s only 30 minutes cause I love the full broadway version. After that – everyone else headed to ToT again so mom and I went to grab a quick ride on the Great Movie Ride. I also really enjoy this one, it’s corny – but I love old movies—we actually asked to stay in line to watch the movie ads at the beginning—and I love the movie clips at the end – and was happy that they added that classic clip of jack sparrow into the collection.

We then headed over to the Fantasmic theater to get a seat. It was a long push uphill to get mom up there – and then we stood as the CMs who direct everyone (and guide those in wheelchairs to the wheelchair seats) kept asking if we were ready to be seated… We kept telling them we were waiting for the rest of our group. We called them and they were just getting their food – so we waited… and when it was 10 minutes before the show they still weren’t there and the CMs told us that they would not be able to get us a seat if we didn’t go then—but they put us right behind the VIP center section which is right next to the reserved seats for those needing closed captioning (cool machine setups, by the way). The CM that guided us to our spot told us that he would look for the rest of the group (we were mostly wearing stick family shirts that day) and he talked to the CM (Justin) who was working the reserved CC section. Just a few minutes passed and ½ of our group came—there were still seats in a sit down section and not enough room where they had me and mom so they went on and found their own seats. About 5 minutes later my sister and her family got there… because of the matching shirts the CMs at the front recognized that they belonged with us and told them where to find us. So we squeezed as many kids on our little bench as we could—Justin told the rest that didn’t fit that, with only 5 minutes to go they were welcome to sit in the back row of the CC section as long as no one showed up who needed it. I was so very glad for that—as by that time there was only standing room for the show. There was another family that he let do the same thing—so not sure if it’s policy or if he was just giving us a magical moment… but I was really glad to see the show together with my niece and nephews. I do so love Fantasmic. It’s nice to sit while watching it—usually at Dland I will park myself about 2 hrs before a show so we can get seating on the ground for it. I do miss the finale at Dland when the characters are all on the riverboat waving their flags to the music… with them standing on the island it does lose a bit—but in the end Mickey wins and looks fabulous!!!