Our Ten Day Adventure w/ NO Lines!!!!

[AmyBennett]

And here is Me and PP in the pool!

 

[AmyBennett]

HAPPY HOUR AT CARRABAS

We climb into our high stools(ok, Bubba sat, PP and I climbed) and are greeted by our perky server. Honestly, I don’t remember her name, but we’ll call her Cindy. Seems like a perky name to me.

Cindy informs me it is happy hour and house wine is buy one get one free. Whoa…jackpot, two nights in a row!!! I’m in…..I don’t remember if I had red or white(I love both, as long as it is dry wine) but I do know it didn’t come out of a box! Bubba got an iced tea, and PP got……A COKE. PP has a funny look on her face….I ask her if she is ok, “Yes, mom, but you know you still owe me two pins” I know, I know….two pins….with all this wine hoopla you may be able to blackmail me into more than two pins….but her 8 year old craftiness has yet to catch on to the “Mom’s drinking and will probably give me anything I want phase”

Cindy returns with our drinks and magically our pasta chef named Chris hands over a few bowls of “samples”. What did you say???? It’s free? I give Bubba the “Now we don’t have to order appetizers look” And he nods in agreement. Our sample was chicken/ricotta/spinach ravioli in a tomato cream sauce. Yummy! PP got a sample of the kids ravioli, but wasn’t a big fan. Cindy comes back with my “free” glass of wine and asks if we are ready to order. I have a question, “The lobster ravioli sounds good, but I don’t much like white cream sauce, would it taste good with the tomato cream sauce?” She replies, “Many customers ask for it that way, but it’s just not the same….oh wait, I’ll have Chris make you a sample, with the tomato cream and the white cream”

Can you believe all this free food? Really people, we don’t get out much. We test the lobster ravioli with both sauces and agree with Cindy, it is much better with the white cream sauce. Cindy comes back to take our order and we tell her we’re pretty full from all the free samples, we’ll just take our check…KIDDING.

We finally order. Bubba orders a shrimp and scallop dish, that I try to tell him he has ordered every time we go to Carrabas, but there is no telling that man anything. PP orders pizza, which I tried to tell her she didn’t like all that much on her first visit, but she is insistent. Bubba and PP order salad, I don’t because I know PP will not eat the entire salad….so we share!

Cindy brings yet another glass of wine while we’re working on our free appetizers, salad and bread and she also brings PP a piece of pizza dough to play with. Here’s the weird thing: I’ve worked in the pizza business for 12 years on and off. PP has been on the make table of Domino’s and Pizza Hut more than some employees….she has seen pizza dough, she has played with pizza dough….but Carraba’s pizza dough was better….That kid had a ball playing with it! Go figure. All those pins and all we really needed to do was give her some pizza dough.

Ok, I’m on my third glass of wine, so now I have to have a fourth….It is free you know. Our dinners arrive…..and Bubba says, “Hmm…I think I’ve had this before” Duh….I told you. PP picks at her pizza because it is only ok, in her words. I on the other hand inhale my lobster ravioli, in the white cream sauce. Wow, this stuff is good! Half way through dinner Cindy brings me my fourth glass of wine….Ok Cindy….We are overtippers to begin with, you do not have to get me drunk!!!! Chris is chatting with us and what a fun time we had watching the cooks orchestrate all the meals. Like I said, I’m in the food business(currently going back to work to start saving for our next adventure), and I love watching any “behind the scenes in a restaurant” I decide I could totally be a line cook….Or maybe it’s the wine talking.

Check please….I’m having trouble staying on the high stool. I attempt to clean the mess PP made(Maybe I made some of it, but it is so much easier to push it all over in front of PP) we pay Cindy, obscenely overtipping her and ask about tipping Chris…he was after all, part of our entertainment….and he saved us about 10 bucks on apps. She thinks we are wonderful people to tip Chris….after she checks her tip to make sure we didn’t take it out of there! Bubba hands Chris 5 bucks and we’re off….Mom in a wine induced haze!

Wait a second….why are all these people waiting outside? There were no people waiting outside when we came in. Oh, they’re waiting for a table? It’s our restaurant karma in full swing!!!!!

We had agreed to golfing. I wasn’t all that thrilled about this, I am a park person….not a golfing person, but we had made a deal. In light of my wine induced haze, however, it probably wasn’t the best idea to be around thousands of people. I’m sure that is what Bubba was thinking.

There happen to be a nice looking miniature golf place right next to our hotel. This part is going to be minus details: First, because of all that wine(I may drink a wee bit too much, but still 4 glasses in like 1 ½ hour…my liver was crying!) Second, because I didn’t play. I chatted with some British folks behind us, and I took a lot of odd pictures! Sorry if you were the British family behind me….I’m sure I said or did something embarrassing.

Oh, the one thing I do remember is that PP made up her own scoring system. It went something like this: Every time PP got the ball in the hole, no matter how many strokes it seemed she got 6 or 7 points. Every time Bubba sunk his ball….no matter the strokes, he got 4 or 5. Guess who won? I think we still have the score card with my drunken hand writing and PP’s goofy scorekeeping system…Now there’s a memory I want to cherish.

We head back to the hotel after returning their clubs….in a gift shop…Imagine that. We did some shopping….don’t know what we bought, but I’m sure we really needed it at the time. Upon our return, PP realizes mom is a good time after 4 glasses of wine and wants to go swimming. It’s dark, it’s late and tonight is Spring Ahead, so we lose an hour of sleep….But, sure, of course I’ll go swimming with you. Down to the pool we go for some more quality mom and PP time!

This is when PP created the best memory for me. We are swimming around the pool like fish….doing flips, handstands, etc…the usual mom and daughter pool Olympics and PP grabs my neck, in an attempt to drown me and says “I’m glad we went swimming at night….I’m cold, but when I think of our trip, I will remember swimming at night with you” PP is not the most sentimental child, so that little comment made our golfing, pin buying swimming drunk at night all so worth it.

Then we had to pee, so we called it a night and head up to bed. Bubba set the clocks ahead, and asleep we went!!!! I guess sometimes it’s the little things….and in hindsight, I’m glad we didn’t do a park that night.

Here is a pic of PP and I at the miniature golf place that I love:

 

[OhMari]

You sound like a great mom and you are not long winded. Glad you got the picture thing straightened out.

I love swimming too, but my youngest dd-could take it or leave it. I offered to take her to a Water Park Resort in WI Dells in WI and she told me to save my money, she wasn't interested.

Thanks for sharing your report.

 

[Mamiamjo]

I just caught up on your TR and really enjoyed it! BTW, did you ever mention which hotel you stayed at?
I anxiously await the next installment.
Mike

 

[AmyBennett]

I just caught up on your TR and really enjoyed it! BTW, did you ever mention which hotel you stayed at?
I anxiously await the next installment.
Mike

We stayed at the Best Western Lakeside. I think I mentioned it at the begining. Especially how much we enjoyed it, for the price I paid!

Thanks for reading! I hope to do more today.

 

[AmyBennett]

DAY 4 SUN. 4/2 or WILL WE EVER FIND TYPHOON LAGOON?

This is to be our relaxing day per my itinerary. I know, TL, relaxing? However, we live 15 minutes from a gigantic water park with just about any thrill slide you could want. Camel Beach for those of you who are familiar with this area. Every year I say we are going to get season passes and every year I don’t. But we still manage to go a few times a summer. PP has been tainted by this water park with all the thrilling slides.

I knew this could be a relaxing day, because we were just going to hang out and take a look around. It came with our magic your way plus a billion extra passes, so it was as if it was free!

Our plan was to sleep in today, being that TL didn’t open until 10am. I think we all slept until about 7am. Wow….what a late morning. I didn’t even have to do my light turning on, coffee making, door slamming ritual to wake everyone. No showers for anyone because, really, who takes a shower before going to a water park? Oh, I do hope some people so, because there isn’t enough chlorine to kill some types of funk! But we are clean people….so we don’t shower.

We pack our bag of beach towels and water and we’re off to find breakfast. We decide to change things up a bit. Lets try Ponderosa breakfast buffet. We love Golden Corral, but really, we need a change.

We pull into the Ponderosa parking lot, and it is jammed. OOPs, it is a Sunday, and it is much later that we had been eating all week. Ok, no Ponderosa for us.

We all decide we aren’t really that hungry, so lets just hit Mcdonalds for some grease and cholesterol. We have plenty of time, so we go into Mcds, do the zig zag dance….Why are these people even in Mcds???? We order some sandwiches and a few cokes and eat our delicious and healthy meal.

Off we go to a gift shop on 192. It is only about 8:30am and we don’t need to get to TL that early. I insist I need a new beach towel, as does PP. Poor Bubba, walking around with us tourists looking for beach towels. We find two that we love and we’re off.

Ok, time to take the quick drive to TL. Just follow the signs, right? Ha!

Thus far in our trip we have had no problems finding anything. Bubba is excellent with directions, no matter where we are. It also doesn’t hurt that the roads within WDW are marked extremely well. Except on Sunday April 2nd.


If anyone else was driving around the WDW complex on Sunday April 2nd, they will totally know what I’m talking about. Cops everywhere, roads closed, etc….Being the alarmist that I am, I insisted there was some type of terrorist trying to sneak a bomb into my WDW.

We drive around in circles, from one detour to another, seeing more cops and more roads closed….That’s it…I’m officially freaked. However, if we can find TL, we will probably be ok, because that is not the first place a terrorist will hit. Maybe the 5th or 6th, but not the first. I told you, I have issues….but I still want to get to a park! Any park.

We are mindlessly driving on an unknown Disney road, when we see some folks rollerblading on the other side….And the road is closed for them. Whew….not terrorists after all….just a rollerblading competition.

We have no idea where these detours have put us, so we will just follow the signs…There is a big Disney bus in front of us and next to us. Ever tried to read signs with two buses blocking you in???? Difficult right? We come to a stop light, “Go left” I tell Bubba. Why did I tell Bubba this??? First, because you always go left, Second, because the bus was blocking the signs. Duh. The funny thing is, he actually listens to me and turns left.

Oh look, there is the MK. What? How did that happen? Please, Please nice parking attendant, do not make us pay 9 bucks to park here, when all we really want to do is get to TL(where the parking is free I might add). Oddly enough, he gave us directions out of the MK and back to TL. A little pixie dust for us. Thank you nice man!

Remember all that time we had? Yeah, now it’s like 9:40am, and I really wanted to get there early. I have that disease that gets you to all parks ½ hour before opening. If we are not there ½ hour before, I get a little panicky.

We eventually find TL! Wow, that was the most round about trip ever! We pull into the empty parking lot and park in the 6th closest spot to the entrance. Our luck is changing. This is going to be a relaxing day after all.

After we head through the turnstiles, I remember a little tid bit of DIS info. A plastic holder to wear around your neck to avoid getting a locker. Bubba thinks this is a great idea and we find a booth selling them. Bubba puts the passes and money in his handy little water park necklace and looks at me with the “Thank you for being so informed, you amaze me look” 1 more point for mom.

We line up for the opening and into TL we go. We look at the map and try to figure out where we want to sit. We go left….why? Because you always go left. We get our chairs off to one side of the wave pool, strip down to our suits and go in search of some slides.

We stumble upon the family raft ride first. At Camel Beach, the family raft ride goes a little something like this: The more weight you put in the tube, the closer to death you get. I’ve been on that ride, w/ three adults and two children….Lets just say it is usually the scariest 5 minutes of my life and the children are screaming “I think we are going to die” It appears you are going to go over the edge of the slide, however we have yet to fall to our deaths. I needed to preface our TL family raft ride experience with that. Sorry.

We roll/carry our tube up the steps…Ok, Bubba did, we watched. After I catch my breath from all those stairs, we hop in and hold on tight. We even distribute our weight so we will get the most bang for our buck. We meander on down the slide, taking a few slow curves…Ok, this is going to pick up any second…hold on for your life. Why did we just end up in a pool? The ride is not over yet. Oh, that’s the end? Ok.

I told you we were tainted. Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining about TL. We really thought it was decorated beautifully and had some nice attractions, it just wasn’t Camel Beach.

We decide to do a few more of the tube slides. We are not body slide people, so we avoid them. The tube slides are a good time…except I always have a problem getting out of the tube at the end. At least at Camel Beach. So, I say to Bubba “At the end, stay in the pool, you may have to help me out”. Not so much. In this particular slide, you shoot out into the pool like a bullet….hence thrusting my not so little rear out of the tube. Wow, I wish the slides at Camel Beach did that….it is a lot less embarrassing flying out of the tube, than awkwardly hopping out.

Have you noticed I have not mentioned any of the slides by name? I didn’t do nearly as much research for TL, because I knew we just wanted to hang…so please forgive me for calling things generic names. Such as, The lazy river. I can’t remember the name, and I don’t feel like looking it up. So, it is the lazy river to us. We hop in…PP in a tube of her own and Bubba and I in a double.

It was still early, so we have almost the entire river to ourselves. We go around twice(Thank goodness Mom remembered what entrance we got on….another point for me) and enjoy the scenery. I enjoyed the music playing in the park. Jimmy Buffet. Not quite as big of a parrot head as my crazy mom, but I enjoy him all the same.

We did get accosted by a crazy photo pass lady….What is she doing in the lazy river? Other than that….we relaxed and soaked up some sun!

Bubba had heard about Crushin Gusher and wanted to try it. We head over there and decide it will be fun for the three of us to go together. There was no line, as it was still early on a Sunday and walk right up with our three person tube. Bubba carried it up all those stairs…Thanks Bubba…it’s enough work getting myself up those steps, never mind a three person tube.

Ok, now we are in for a thrill ride, right? The three of us hop on…PP in the front, Bubba in the middle and mom in the back. Thank goodness I was in the back…PP and Bubba didn’t get a chance to see the graceful way in which I plopped myself into that tube.

The light turns green and the conveyor pushes us down. The last words I remember hearing the lifeguard say were “Try to keep your bottoms from touching the slide” WHAT? Has she seen my bottom? I actually manage to do a great job of keeping my bottom off the slide, all the while screaming my lungs out…Don’t know why, it’s just what I do when I go down hills, I scream. We shoot out into the pool and Bubba and PP gracefully remove themselves from the tube. I, on the other hand, have to twist my body in such a distorted way and awkwardly throw myself into the pool. I really do hope no one was watching. Yeah right.

Apparently, Bubba had a hard time keeping his bottom off the slide and said it was a bit uncomfortable. So a warning to all you TL goers….Keep your bottom off the slide on Crushin Gusher. I wanted to go again, because there was no line, but boring PP and Bubba did not. We are a democracy, so I was out voted….and I certainly wasn’t going alone. There is something more embarrassing about plopping into a tube alone than with your family.

We go back to our chairs and PP is hungry and I need a smoke. I find a shack selling treats and PP gets a frozen root beer float. I find a smoking area down a hundred steps, around a bend and behind a huge bush. I have an addiction, I am not a leper. Actually, it was really close to our chairs. I joke, because it was so secluded!

PP finishes her frozen treat and we decide to check out the shark reef. I had been to TL as a kid and did the shark reef, so I was looking forward to taking PP in there. Well that wasn’t going to happen. She didn’t want to go. I think if they called it something like “Snorkeling With you Fish Friends”, she would have went, but no way that child was getting into a shark tank. No matter how often I explained that she would be in no danger. Oh well, I had more important, scary rides to get her on in the days to come….I’ll let this one be.

We did hang out there for a bit, watching from above and below. That PP enjoyed. Bubba told me I could go if I wanted, but I had this odd rationalization that if I went with PP and the people above were looking at my rear, it would be smaller. You know it would have looked larger if I were alone. Don’t ask. I have issues.

On the walk back from our chairs, I decide I need a pretzel. The nutritious breakfast is wearing off. We stop to get a pretzel, with cheese and head back to our chairs. We all share the pretzel and relax in our chairs.

Bubba and PP want to do the wave pool, so they go without me. We are all good swimmers, however wave pools scare me. Not only is it too much of a workout for myself…I have anxiety that PP is going to get separated from me, get sucked under and someone is going to step on her and nobody will know until the waves stop. I have the same fear at Camel Beach’s wave pool. I let her go, as long as I don’t have to witness it. Bubba takes her in and they frolic in waves. I stay far away and have another smoke.

They return all safe and sound and we call it a day. It is about noon, but we have done everything we wanted to. We gather our stuff and walk out….Oh, you have to walk through a gift shop to get out? No, really? Well, PP must look at the pins. I know she bought a TL pin, and I think two others(remember, we owe her two pins). Ok, now we can leave!

Back to the hotel. PP still has some homework to do, so she works on that. I decide we are going to run out of socks and underwear and need to do some laundry. PP finishes up her work and we all walk in search of the laundry area. We find it and throw our load in. PP and Bubba go to use the internet, and I make my way over to one of the pool side bars. There is nobody there, so I chat a bit with the female bartender.

Two Bud lights later, I go switch my laundry and look for PP and Bubba. I look in the game room and the business center…not there. Oh well, I’ll just head back to the bar. They know where to find me. I have two more beers and chat with the nice bartender. Bubba and PP find me and we all sit at the bar and chat. This is why I love pool side bars…I’m pretty sure it is ok for kids to sit at them. Anywhere else, that is frowned upon, but not at a pool side bar.

We pick our laundry up and decide on Red Lobster for dinner. We all shower(I can’t be positive PP showered….but I seem to think she at least washed her hair) and we go to Red Lobster. I had been spoiled, so when our server didn’t mention happy hour, I was disappointed. I still had two glasses of wine….but had to pay for both. I can’t even begin to tell you what we had to eat here, except that it was a ton of food. I know PP got mussels as an app and that they were delicious. I think we skipped on dessert(The same way we’re not parade/firework/line people….we’re not dessert people either) We ate, we made a mess, we overtipped, we left. Oh my goodness….look at all those people waiting for a table. Restaurant Karma at its finest.


Our night is not over yet, but I have some errands to do, so you will have to wait!

Up next….MGM and how to be the last ones on ToT!

 

[DonaldsDaisy]

My DH and I go every year to Camel Beach and love that raft ride. It really does feel like you will plumit to your death. I am not much of a water park fan(I go for DH. I stick to the lazy river and wave pool) but must admit Disney does a great job with both TL & BB

 

[sadiwest]

I finally caught up on your TR....and realized (once I had) that you were on day 4. LOL


Can't wait for the rest. Very entertaining. I can only hope DH and I have as much fun as (it sounds like) you did.
Thanks for the TR!
Sandi

 

[bbump]

Our families have alot in common, as I am 29, Hubby is 31 and DD is now 10.
We have always stayed offsite on our trips to save $$$ and have a little more freedom. (We were in the "World" last on 3/18 - 3/25)

My DD also became a "Pin Princess" on our trips and has become SO addicted to pin collecting and trading!!!
2 trips into it, and she is on her 3rd lanyard!!! (how sad is that???)
I think pins are great keepsake souveneers, as the girls can always remember a happy memory to go with each pin.

Can't wait to read more on your Disney Adventure!

 

[burly]

Loving your TR...keep them coming.

 

[AmyBennett]

Our families have alot in common, as I am 29, Hubby is 31 and DD is now 10.
We have always stayed offsite on our trips to save $$$ and have a little more freedom. (We were in the "World" last on 3/18 - 3/25)

My DD also became a "Pin Princess" on our trips and has become SO addicted to pin collecting and trading!!!
2 trips into it, and she is on her 3rd lanyard!!! (how sad is that???)
I think pins are great keepsake souveneers, as the girls can always remember a happy memory to go with each pin.

Can't wait to read more on your Disney Adventure!

I think that is why we got sooo sucked into the pin thing. They really are great keepsakes. There is so much junk in some of those gift shops, that would be forgotten before we even got home, that it makes pin collecting that much more special.

I'm glad I found another offsiter. I was afraid not too many people would read my TR when they realized we were not resort or disney dining people(although, I would love to try the dining plan for just a few days).

Thank you all for reading thus far, and I promise to have more done hopefully tonight or tomorow morning.

 

[dismom9761]

I think that is why we got sooo sucked into the pin thing. They really are great keepsakes. There is so much junk in some of those gift shops, that would be forgotten before we even got home, that it makes pin collecting that much more special.

I'm glad I found another offsiter. I was afraid not too many people would read my TR when they realized we were not resort or disney dining people(although, I would love to try the dining plan for just a few days).

Thank you all for reading thus far, and I promise to have more done hopefully tonight or tomorow morning.

I just saw your trip report and have really enjoyed it.I like the fact that it is a report about someone staying offsite.So far we have only stayed onsite but I know we will be staying offsite when we don't have extended family with us.Six people do not fit well in Disney resorts.

..Can't wait to read more!

 

[AmyBennett]

THE REST OF NEVER ENDING DAY 4

Since we had such a relaxing afternoon our plan was to hit MGM tonight. This was not in my original itinerary, however, I only had one day planned at MGM later in the week, and we wanted to get a head start.

We pull into the MGM lot around 6pm. The lot seems empty and so does the park once we are inside. In fact, looking back, I could not have planned this night any better if I had tried(Which I didn’t…it was a last minute thing…and sometimes, they are the best!)

When we arrive we don’t even go towards ToT and RnR, because that is what our “MGM day” was for. We decided to do the things that are not as popular but still get jammed up during the day.

Over to Great Movie Ride we headed and jumped right on. It was almost exactly as I remembered it and Bubba and PP loved it. Although PP kept asking if things were going to jump out at her. I’m not sure where this child got this fear from, but I have a similar fear…Only I have the knowledge that almost nothing jumps out at you in WDW. PP’s eyes lit up during the Wizard of Oz scene (probably her favorite movie from age 4-6) and we were a happy little family.

Next we moved onto the Back Lot Tour….Spring Break??? Where? I’m assuming everyone was eating their Fantasmic Dinner Package and lining up….not us Non-parade/firework folks! We had full bellies compliments of Red Lobster and not one line to contend with. Yeah us!!!!

Is it just me, or could they spruce the Back Lot Tour up a bit? Despite the fact though, we enjoyed it….PP especially loved catastrophe canyon….but kept waiting for something to jump out at her. She also expected to get wet and didn’t. Did I mention PP loves getting wet? And our dumb luck: It didn’t rain once on our trip. That would have been the icing on the cake for her….In WDW, jumping in puddles and getting wet. Oh well… better luck next time.

After the Back Lot Tour we wandered into Muppets 3-D….with about 20 other people…This is soooo nice! PP enjoyed this as well….mainly because no bugs ran under her rear and no mice ran under her feet. I think next to Mickey’s Phillharmagic, this is our next favorite 3-D film!

I’m realizing I do not have many humorous anecdotes to share about this evening…but looking back, it was the most fun we had….running from attraction to attraction with no lines….and very few people. It was more relaxing than anything….which seems to make for a boring TR.

After our visit with the Muppets we head to Star Tours…and by that I mean…we ran all the way through the queue and jumped onto the ride….literally. I remember waiting forever when I was a kid for this….before FPs…..This too was exactly what I had remembered…..I’m not sure if we are actually enjoying the attractions, or not waiting in lines more! Do you think you appreciate the rides more when you have waited an hour??? Didn’t think so.

It is now very late and the DIS freak I am knows Fantasmic is starting soon….But wait…if all those people are in Fantasmic, that means ToT will not be crowded…..Another point for mom. But wait….The rides are closing soon….and ToT is on the other side of the park. Bubba starts jogging with PP and I behind…Luckily the park was so empty, otherwise he would have lost us….probably at the closest smoking area. (Anyone notice I haven’t had a cigarette since we’ve been in MGM?...Sometimes I do have self control…) And my lungs would be happy to be nicotine free after the “run” we had to do to get to ToT.

Bubba is running in front of us(did I mention Bubba is athletic, and I am not?) He gets to the gate of ToT about two days before PP and I….and the CM is just about to close the gate for the night, when Bubba did some type of Bubba magic and she let him in. Oh but wait…I have two more people coming….”Tell them to hurry up she says, it’s the last ride of the night” “Oh, they are back in Epcot…they’ll be here any minute”, he replied.

We race to the gate, with Bubba yelling at us to hurry up and zoom all the way in. I will say, doing attractions this way does make you lose a bit of the pre-ride “show”. It was a rare backstage look at the CMs when they are about to get off work. They didn't even do their little spiel. They were kinda like "Would you weird, non-parade/firework people please get your out of shape selves in this elevator"

PP has seen the movie ToT(it is a movie on the Disney channel and she insists this ride is based on it) I seem to think the ride is based on the Twilight Zone and the movie came much later…but whatever…we had better get our behinds on that elevator before it takes off without us.

Well, first we went into the study/library room and PP of course needed to know nothing was going to jump out at her. Up we go with about 8 other people for the last ride of ToT of the night. Woo Hoo…..aren’t we cool? I have loved this ride since the first time I rode it and always will. Bubba on the hand, apparently does not like the “falling” feeling….and says he will never do that again. PP is her mother’s daughter and loves it. The only downside to “closing” ToT, is that you can’t ride it again….until you come back later in the week. Our pictures were hysterical….I almost thought of buying them…..ALMOST…..we’re offsiters people….do you really think I am going to buy a picture???

We leave our free falling elevator ride and realize the time. Fantasmic will be ending in about 5 minutes.(Actually we do not have a watch, so we don't realize the time, but I hear what sounds like the "end" of Fantasmic coming from the theater! ) Run, people Run!!!!! We book it out of the park…because, when you are non firework/parade people, the last thing you want to do is exit a park with the “firework/parade people”.

We take another leisurely jog to our car and high tail it out of that parking lot. Whew….by the skin of our teeth!!!! But we made it and had, what I seem to remember one of the nicest nights of our trip. And of course we are smitten because we just knocked out like 4 major attractions, which will free up an extra 4 hours for us to play Millionaire on Wed.!!!!

We head back to the hotel, PP is out before her head even hits the pillow and Bubba and I watch Desperate Housewives. Bubba falls asleep and I have a bout with insomnia. The only reason I mention this, is because it will play an important role in my mood tomorrow. That and the fact that we were going to a non-disney park. SHHH…don’t tell anyone!

 

[nicolemarie]

I just got caught up on your report. And, I enjoy hearing the offsite perspective. I also just realized that you were the one that posted to my report about being at AK and MK on the same day. DUH! We probably did pass each other on our very similar itineraries! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[frankenpooh]

It's so hard to keep up with all these TR's. I think I will post two more segments on mine, then I can get back to reading!

Sorry your DD didn't get a paintbrush. When we were there, I wondered how long it would be before they were all found.

We used late fastpasses, too. I knew you must have when I first saw the title to your TR. Spring break + no lines = savvy fastpass management

 

[byoung]

Good report.

 

[allysmom1218]

I think this is the best trip report I've ever read. I can't wait to get the rest, I am soooo hoooked. I can totally relate to some of the thinking on the moms side of the story. I am also addicted to DIS, but it really helped alot on our first trip to WDW 4/06.

Keep up the great work on the report, can't wait to read the rest!!!!!

MOM and Trip planner Alan DH Allyson DD
Josh DS Karissa DD Luc DD boyfriend

Next trip to the World 9/10/06 at Pop thanks to FREE dining
Just returned from 1st trip to the World 4/06

 

[AmyBennett]

I think this is the best trip report I've ever read. I can't wait to get the rest, I am soooo hoooked. I can totally relate to some of the thinking on the moms side of the story. I am also addicted to DIS, but it really helped alot on our first trip to WDW 4/06.

Keep up the great work on the report, can't wait to read the rest!!!!!

MOM and Trip planner Alan DH Allyson DD
Josh DS Karissa DD Luc DD boyfriend

Next trip to the World 9/10/06 at Pop thanks to FREE dining
Just returned from 1st trip to the World 4/06

Thank you so much! I am currently working on Day 5. and should have it up sometime today.

I will say though, that you must read some of the "great" trip reports before you start calling mine the best! But still, I appreciate the compliment! I would direct you towards those "great" reports, however, I am self-centered, and would worry you would stop reading mine!

 

[AmyBennett]

DAY 5 MON. 4/3 or OUR NON-DISNEY, NON-MAGICAL DAY!!!

I am not going to make excuses for visiting a Non-Disney park, because chances are, next trip we will hit Universal *gasp*!!! I will preface this day, however, with how much PP LOVES animals. Especially sea animals. Any mom and dad of a sea loving child would of course take this opportunity to visit SEA WORLD. I may not be winning any mom of the year awards, but to not take her would just be cruel! So, our plan today was to do Sea World! Think what you want….I’ve probably already offended you by staying offsite and not watching parades/fireworks!!!

Bubba woke a little before me this morning. Mainly because I had a bout with insomnia, and maybe partly because we were not going to a Disney park today. PP got up with little cajoling, we were going to see animals you know! She did her “get dressed under the covers” thing and we were off by about 7:30am.

We wanted to try something different for breakfast…just for the heck of it….Golden Corral fit our needs…but what if we were missing something? We went to Ponderosa….I will just say, We were not missing anything. Back to GC tomorrow.

Sea World opens at 9am today, so our plan was to be there at 8:30am because we still had to buy our tickets. Now I know what you are thinking: “How could a DIS obsessed freak, not have her tickets?” The answer is simple. What if it was pouring today, and/or we didn’t want to go? $200 bucks down the drain, as I had no other day planned to do SW.

We arrive at the parking gates and get stuck in a traffic jam. What? A traffic jam at the gates of SW. I’ve never heard of such a thing. It turns out, it was only 8:20am, and the parking gates do not open until 8:30am. Why, oh why does it matter what time you open the freakin parking lot???? But we are not at Disney, so it is our own fault really.

Finally, they decide to let us in….$10 to park???? I’m already soured by this place.

We get a prime parking spot….and we take the short walk to the ticket counter.
Bubba had researched the best prices for Sea World and decided that using the Orlando Magicard was the best way to go. So that was our plan. But first we have to wait 7 minutes(It was only 8:43 and the windows do not open until 8:50…or something equally ridiculous) We wait as the slowest cashier on earth counts his drawer and finally opens. Oh goody, there is a family of 19 in front of us buying tickets.

But wait, the window next to him is open….I’m so there. Before Bubba and PP even know what hit them. I tell the nice non-CM: two adults, one child, and here’s my magicard for that stellar discount you offer. He looks at the magicard for what seems like ten days and replies “Oh, we don’t accept this anymore, sorry, that will be $187 please”

Ok, only our third little annoyance about SW, but we are here for PP, so we will grin and bear it. Now all we have to do is get all 300 people into the park. How is it possible that the MK gets in thousands of guests every morning with very little hassle, and SW can’t even manage to get 300 guests in???? Anybody know the answer to this?

We wait an eternity at the turnstiles and are finally allowed to enter. Thank you….I’ve gotten into bars at 19 easier than that!

We grab a schedule and realize quickly it is going to be impossible to see all the shows. We were not planning on staying at SW until close, maybe just like 3 or 4….and that makes it 100% impossible to see everything we want. So, we pick the ones we definitely want to see and make a plan.

We also were planning on getting reservations at Sharks Underwater Grill for lunch. I had called in the months before to get reservations, but the only way to get into that place is to go to the podium at 10am. Ok, no problem. We are going to see the Sea Lion and Otter show at 9:45am, and that is not too far from the Shark’s Underwater Grill.

I will say, as we first began walking around the park, it was very clean and well kept. Bubba kept mentioning that, as if Disney is dirty…Which is not what he meant…but it was just really clean!!!

I really wanted to do Kraken, so we walked to the back of the park to check it out. It was opening at 10am, due to technical difficulties…Hmmm…ok….don’t think I’ll be doing that today.

We saw the turtles, penguins and the pacific point preserve, all of which PP enjoyed immensely. I went in search of a smoking area, and found one, up a hill and behind some bushes(Apparently, all of Florida makes it difficult to smoke…not just WDW) Has anyone else been horribly confused by the smoking “boxes” they have at SW? I wasn’t sure what this contraption was….and if I was supposed to put my cigarette out in it…But I didn’t see any other type of ashtray, so I went for it….and then worried the rest of the morning, that SW would burn down, and I would be the cause.

SW did not burn down and we had a Sea Lion/Otter show to see! We walked into the stadium about 15 minutes before the show and choose to sit at the top. We wanted a quick exit to make our reservations. This show was cute….and we all laughed and enjoyed it….Ok, things are looking up here at SW!

We were the first ones out of the stadium and took the short trek to Shark’s Underwater Grill(I really wish I could abbreviate that…it’s getting tiresome to type it…so from now on it’s “SUG” ) We arrive at the podium and there are two families in front of us. Angry British families.

It is about 10:20 and the time they want for lunch is taken already. We knew we would be ok, because we want to eat at 11:30….they on the other hand, wanted to eat at 1pm. Prime eating time at SUG apparently. They were extremely rude to the girl at the podium, but I have to say…when I called for information, they said “Just come to the podium at 10 am or so, and you will have no problem getting in” I guess I would be upset as well. Why can’t you make ressies a few weeks before??? I just don’t understand some of SW’s policies.

The hostile Brits went on their way with a 3pm lunch ressie and a few choice words for the girl at the podium. We got our 11:30 with no problem and breathed a sigh of relief…PP really wanted to eat here!

We tried to get into the Dolphin show about 20 min. before it started but they stopped letting people in. Today is not so magical…but we’ll deal!

We headed over to see the Dolphin Cove and a Dolphin almost bit me….My fault for sticking my hand in his mouth. We then wandered through the Alligator exhibit and also checked out the Manatees. PP was not a big fan of the Manatees…not sure why….but she loved the Dolphins and Alligators. It was time for lunch, so back to SUG to check in!

There was a line at the podium to check-in…No problem, we’ll just wait. As we were standing in line, I notice a man behind me, doing the “The closer I move to her the sooner I’ll eat” dance. You know what I’m talking about. It is most predominant in line for major attractions….But for attractions at WDW it is more like “The closer I move to her the sooner I will ride SM” dance. I am a patient person…and nothing annoys me more than people crowding my space and pushing me forward when there is nowhere to go.

This mans begins bordering on “pushing”. I finally check in…quickly, for fear of “pushy” man knocking me over and we sit and wait to be called. I tell Bubba about “pushy” man and he laughs. Whatever….it’s not funny. I like my personal space.

We are finally called after a few minutes(What another ruckus…I will not go into details, but the way they seat people here….is unorganized and doesn’t make much sense…but, I’m complaining enough, so I will spare you the details)

We get seated at a booth in the back….but the restaurant is small, so we still have a good view of the shark tanks. For those of you who have never been here, it is almost identical to Coral Reef, except it is Sharks only. But they have the same overpriced food!

A few months before we had researched the menu and thought it looked ok. We also found a “Young Adult Menu” online for kids aged 11-15….The selection was good and it seemed more like “lunch” portions. I called to ask if adults could order off that menu(about two weeks before we left) and the girl said, “Yes, that is no problem”.

After perusing our menu, we realize the young adult menu was missing. We asked our server and he replied “We took that away a few months ago, and you wouldn’t have been able to order off it anyway”. Ok…it seems here at SW they advertise things for fun…and when you get there it’s “Oh, we stopped doing ______ months ago”….Without so much as an apology. Very un-disney like. We knew this was to be an expensive lunch, so it is ok. We’ll just order off the regular menu. But why do they not have a lunch menu?? I just don’t understand.

I ordered crab cakes, Bubba ordered salmon and PP had some type of pasta….Which I’m convinced she ordered because it came with garlic bread. I had two beers…mainly to shake the “We are getting ripped off vibe” and we had a nice meal. The food was only average, but we did enjoy it. We were hot and hungry, so you could have put a grilled cheese on a plate and charged us $22 for it….we would’ve eaten it and been happy.

We complained a bit about how SW operates and PP got a weird look on her face. We immediately reassured her we were having fun, that some of the things they do here are odd. But we really loved it and were having fun. See….we are good parents!!!

As we were eating “pushy” man got up from his table to use the restroom. Bubba didn’t actually see “pushy” man, so I felt the need to point him out. What I didn’t realize at the time was that “pushy” man was a body builder. I am not kidding. And he was wearing a wife beater…If you don’t know what that is….google it. .I pointed him out to Bubba and said “There’s “pushy” man…aren’t you going to stick up for me?” Maybe it was the heat, maybe it was the beer, but we got hysterical over this….You’ve seen pictures of Bubba….I’ll leave it at that.

We ate, we made a mess…but we didn’t overtip….I don’t know why…but our server was a bit less than enthusiastic….I don’t even remember his name. Before all the overtippers get on my case….Our not overtipping is like 20%. So the waiter did ok…we just didn’t go totally overboard like we usually do.

After lunch, we looked around outside the restaurant at the Shark encounter. Then I perked up….I remembered reading that they give away free beer at SW. I began thinking this was a mirage of my drunken imagination, but we found the hospitality center, looked at some Clydesdales(I know horses at SW…but if they are going to give me free beer, they could put ants dressed up like clowns in there) and I got myself some “free” beer!!! Now we’re talking. I could really fall in love with SW. Only problem was, that it was very hot today(90), and I had two beers with lunch and now I was walking around in the heat. I finished my first beer and Bubba suggested getting another. I don’t think so….I may have a drinking problem… but even I can’t drink beer all day and walk around in the sun!

Our plan was to see Pets Ahoy, but we had some time to kill. PP drove a little speed boat for a $1…..Wow, that lasted an entire 45 seconds…now what are we going to do?

I thought the Sea Tower looked cool…..Little did I know that was extra. Did I mention everything is extra at SW? The paddle boats were extra, the sea tower was extra, the trampoline things were extra, and driving a plastic boat for 45 seconds was extra. We only did the 45 second boat drive thing.

Next we went to do Wild Artic. This was truly one of the best rides/exhibits at SW….and included with admission…imagine that. We rode the simulator to the Artic and visited with the Polar Bears for a bit. Of course we wound up in a gift shop at the exit to our icy adventure and PP wanted to look around. I checked the time and realized Pets Ahoy had started already. We were very disappointed to have missed it, but we did really enjoy the Wild Artic. PP bought some rocks…why rocks you may ask? Because they were there, they were multi-colored and the kid likes rocks.

We knew we were going to see Shamu at 3. (This is the first Shamu show…which I also thing is odd…but hey, I guess they want to keep you as long as possible to keep buying their rocks) I had read to get to the stadium about 30 minutes prior to the show. PP and I found a bench to smoke(Me, not PP) while Bubba went in search of some ice cream. I smoke about 43 cigarettes when finally Bubba came back….with no ice cream. Poor Bubba had run around almost the entire park looking for ice cream and came up with nothing. All of our nerves were a bit frazzled by now…it was hot, crowded and not what we expected at all. Lets just see Shamu and call it a day!

We walk into the Shamu Theater only to find it packed. It is only 2:30…what time did these people get here? We walked down below looking up towards the top for seats….all the while a man with a child on his shoulders walked behind me…..with the child kicking me in the head with every step. Looking back, I’m not sure how I didn’t lose it.

We finally found seat….in the very last row about 2 miles from Shamu. The good part was there was a wall to sit against. The bad part was that we were right by an opening with the 3pm sun beating on us! You win some you lose some.

We watched Shamu….I think PP enjoyed it a lot…but we all thought Shamu would have done some more tricks. Maybe we were just cranky. Or maybe Shamu needs to do more than splash the audience.

At this point we were done with SW. Even PP. Has anyone ever tried to get out SW after the 3pm Shamu show? I think this is what many of the guests that arrived at 9am were doing….and now there were 3,000 of them….not 300. I will not bore you with the details…but it took us about 40 minutes to get out of that park! Finally to our sauna of a car…but we didn’t care…we were in our car and not in SW. I feel bad that we didn’t have such an enjoyable time as we could have….it was just one of those days. PP loved all the animals, but I don’t think we will have to go back in future trips.

I may even write them a letter explaining all the little things that made our day so “un-magical”.

We go back to the hotel, because all PP and I want to do is SWIM. We change into our suits….Bubba goes to use the computer and we head to the pool.

We realize the pool is much more crowded than it had been earlier in our trip…but it is 4pm….and we have been swimming around 1 or 2. Maybe that is it…or maybe the biggest foreign family just checked in. I wish I knew what nationality they were…not that it matters….all that matters is that they took up the entire shallow end of the pool and insisted on throwing balls as hard as they could to splash the other guests in the pool. They found this extremely entertaining….after our day at SW, PP and I were just not in the mood.

We hung out in the deep end…dodging balls flying at our heads and just relaxed. We did find a quiet corner in the pool and the “no pool etiquette folks” were not such a nuisance anymore!

We swam for a while….I needed another Pina Colada and PP wanted a strawberry smoothie. We relaxed in the sun and decided we were hungry. We had nothing planned for dinner and PP wanted Chinese. In the room. I couldn’t have planned that dinner better if I tried. We were wiped from SW and swimming and we got Chinese delivered right to our room. We chowed down… I had a few glasses of my box o’ wine and we were sound asleep by 9pm.

I know I complained a lot today about SW…and looking back it wasn’t so bad. But we really just wanted the entire day to end! We had a castle in our future tomorrow anyway…who needs fish! Or mammals…PP just informed me, dolphins and whales are mammals…..I guess she didn’t miss that much in school after all!

Up next: Day 6 Tue at the MK and Bubba looses his mind!!!!

 

[AmyBennett]

Here are some pics. of us at SW.

PP driving her boat for 45 seconds!




Me and Bubba at SW (PP took this and did a fine job!)




The dolphin that almost bit me