Our Trip From Hell-o Disney! We missed you!

[Jimmy Mouse]

Our trip was from may 25th - June 1st 2022.
Lots to talk about! Many ups and a few downs.
Stay tuned!!!

Day 1. School's out, Let's get going!
Day 2, Part 1. Animal Kingdom.
Day 2, Part 2. Pool time and Dinner.
Day 3, Part 1. Epcot!
Day 3, Part 2. Epcot!
Day 4, Part 1. Hollywood Studios.
Day 4, Part 2. Hollywood Studios.
Day 4, Part 3. Hollywood Studios.
Day 5, Part 1. Magic Kingdom.
Day 5, Part 2. Magic Kingdom.
Day 6, Part 1. Epcot.
Day 6, Part 2. Epcot.
Day 7, Epcot. Last day.

 

[suse66]

I'm in! Great TR title!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 1. Schools out! Let's get going!!

Well, "Let's get going" WAS the plan but that got changed. Our original plan was to wake up, take the girls to school, come home and pack and when they got out of school at 10:30 we were going to load up and head out. less than a week before we were informed that 5th grade graduation would be at 2:00. So we picked up the girls, came home and loaded our luggage and headed back to school for graduation. We then stayed for the after party so Hollis could say her goodbyes to her friends. Most of them she won't see next year as she is in a program called CFIT and will be going to a different school with smaller classrooms and focused learning. We are so proud of her for that.


After returning home for a quick bathroom break we are on the road by 4:30.
At 8:18 we hit the Florida state line! We would have made better time but we had to stop a Buc-ees. It's a must do lol.


At 10:57 we are here!


Now for the first adventure of our trip. We pull into AKL Jambo House, Climb out, stretch a little and are greeted by a CM with a bell cart. We unload and let him know we have our room number and ask if he can just follow us up to the room. He says he cannot do that and he will have to take our bags to storage till we call. I said again that we are going "right now" so there is no need to call as he can follow us. He says its "policy" which I have never heard of. I tell him no worries, I will just take our bags up and he says I can't do that. I said policy? and he said yes. I said don't worry about it, I can handle our bags so I start to unload the cart and he says just go up and call and we will bring the bags right up. My wife tells me to just go park and she will head up and call right away so I do and she heads to the room.
I arrive at the room some time later after finding a parking spot in the middle of nowhere and the bags are not there. Ashley tells me she has called over and over with no answer so I head downstairs to the lobby. It's now after midnight and I approach the front desk and am greeted by a CM and after explaining she says "Well, I'm not bell services and I say you can take your own bags" Se also says the so called "policy" the bell guy told us about is not true. I also inform her that our so called Savanna View is nothing more than a view of the observation deck, a huge post and a sliver of the savanna. She looks for another room and finds one on another floor but no better. It was basically right above us. I suggest we get refunded the difference of a savanna view vs. standard view but she says she cannot do that. I thank her for trying and take our bags up, unpack and get to sleep.

Next post, AK day and a pleasant surprise!

 

[Daddy's 'lil Princess]

Part 1. Schools out! Let's get going!!

Well, "Let's get going" WAS the plan but that got changed. Our original plan was to wake up, take the girls to school, come home and pack and when they got out of school at 10:30 we were going to load up and head out. less than a week before we were informed that 5th grade graduation would be at 2:00. So we picked up the girls, came home and loaded our luggage and headed back to school for graduation. We then stayed for the after party so Hollis could say her goodbyes to her friends. Most of them she won't see next year as she is in a program called CFIT and will be going to a different school with smaller classrooms and focused learning. We are so proud of her for that.
View attachment 673744

After returning home for a quick bathroom break we are on the road by 4:30.
At 8:18 we hit the Florida state line! We would have made better time but we had to stop a Buc-ees. It's a must do lol.
View attachment 673745

At 10:57 we are here!
View attachment 673746

Now for the first adventure of our trip. We pull into AKL Jambo House, Climb out, stretch a little and are greeted by a CM with a bell cart. We unload and let him know we have our room number and ask if he can just follow us up to the room. He says he cannot do that and he will have to take our bags to storage till we call. I said again that we are going "right now" so there is no need to call as he can follow us. He says its "policy" which I have never heard of. I tell him no worries, I will just take our bags up and he says I can't do that. I said policy? and he said yes. I said don't worry about it, I can handle our bags so I start to unload the cart and he says just go up and call and we will bring the bags right up. My wife tells me to just go park and she will head up and call right away so I do and she heads to the room.
I arrive at the room some time later after finding a parking spot in the middle of nowhere and the bags are not there. Ashley tells me she has called over and over with no answer so I head downstairs to the lobby. It's now after midnight and I approach the front desk and am greeted by a CM and after explaining she says "Well, I'm not bell services and I say you can take your own bags" Se also says the so called "policy" the bell guy told us about is not true. I also inform her that our so called Savanna View is nothing more than a view of the observation deck, a huge post and a sliver of the savanna. She looks for another room and finds one on another floor but no better. It was basically right above us. I suggest we get refunded the difference of a savanna view vs. standard view but she says she cannot do that. I thank her for trying and take our bags up, unpack and get to sleep.

Next post, AK day and a pleasant surprise!

Yes i run scenarios through my head frequently. at 11 pm I would not be in the mood for shenanigans. But to be fair I have read somewhere that bags are not handled any more (policy) and collectively could be the policy of any CM going to rooms? Room service not an option either. so probably a catch all policy. (for now).

Sorry I was laughing when you were describing the issues. I am a big Bill Burr fan love his comedy just made me respond the same way he would have with the bell hop guy. (not sure what i mean ) its ok if i hear policy I wouldn't even have listened to the excuse (at that hour) I would say "%$#@ It! " I'll do it myself. XD Now in no way im agreeing with them or the policy just saying rest assured some one will hear or deal with these issues first thing in the morning. and a policy shield wont make any difference.

I really hope the rest of the vacation runs smoothly and you and your family have a great time.
It is a great post as we have never been to disney and somewhat prepare for these unforeseen hicups.

 

[Hubie]

Never heard of such a policy. Sounds like the CM didn't want to bring up the bags. Probably was looking for a tip?

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Never heard of such a policy. Sounds like the CM didn't want to bring up the bags. Probably was looking for a tip?

I had a $20 in my pocket. I left it on the bed for Mousekeeping the next morning

 

[Nickylv]

Hope all goes smoothly the rest of your trip.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 2, Part 1. Animal Kingdom

As always, I am the first one up and I turn on the TV, open the curtains and turn all the lights on before I get a shower. My wife hates that lol. We have a leisurely breakfast in the CL lounge and take a bus over to Animal Kingdom.
First ride, Dinosaur! Well, Just for me and Hollis. Kendall said she didn't want to ride so oh well!






We had to stop at Dinoland USA and of course Kendall just has to ride this every single time lol.


We were so glad that Expedition Everest was open! Last time we were here is was down. Again, Kendall and mommy won't do this one. I have my coaster buddy so it's all good,


Oh yeah, I forgot about the surprise! or at least one of them! .. When we got to AK I opened up my MDX and was shocked to find that I had the multi experience passes for every day of our visit! All the good ones. For today we had a FOP just waiting on us!


So we rode! This is one ride Kendall and mommy love so we rode as a family. I filmed it by propping my phone in the storage cubby and grabbed a screen shot.


By now it's a little past 1:00 and it's hot! The girls want to go back to the resort and head to the pool. I'm good with that so we head out. As we are leaving they stop me and say they didn't get a picture when we arrived so yeah, let's do it!


So this trip was what Hollis wanted for her birthday. Her sister always gets to go to Legoland or Disney for her's since it's at Christmas time. We did note it on our reservation but really haven't been thinking too much about it. Well, when we got back to the room, surprise! She was beyond happy!





This made for one very happy little girl plus one jealous one lol.

Continued.......

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 2, Part 2. Pool time and Dinner.

So we get changed and all go down to the pool. We all get in and wouldn't you know, I didn't take a single picture. I did drink a beer or 6 but totally forgot to take pics. After a few hours in the pool we all get showers and head to our favorite place for dinner. California Grill!

The Kazan Roll. My absolute favorite sushi roll on property. It never disappoints.


For the first time ever, I did not order a steak. I ordered the pork tenderloin and pork belly. OMG! This was so so good!


Ashley and Hollis both ordered steak. I did get a small bite.


Perfect timing! Just as we finished dinner the fireworks started. I really do prefer watching from here vs. on Main Street simply because we don't have to fight the crowds.


And now for the third surprise of the day. A Mickey dome birthday cake!


So after a very good day, we head back to the resort. We need to get a good night sleep. I have to be up to grab a Guardians ILL or VQ. We are all super excited for this new ride! But I did want to point out a few things about today. There are so many complaints on these boards about Disney service, dirty parks, rude guests etc. etc. I was one of them at one time. This day was about as perfect as a day could get. Every CM was polite, no rude guests and the park was clean. Even the bathrooms. After just one park day we all agreed that it feels like we were wanted and appreciated.

Next Day, Epcot!

 

[alohamom]

After just one park day we all agreed that it feels like we were wanted and appreciated.

This is such an interesting comment to me.
It really resonates with me and how I view Disney.
I am really reluctant to go back to WDW any time soon because I have always felt like an appreciated guest and when I read about all the changes, the price gouging, unhappy cast members etc it scares me.
i am so glad you all had such a great first day, it gives me hope, LOL!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 3, Part 1. Epcot!

I am up and out of bed at 6:00am. I take advantage of a bathroom without 3 girls and get ready for 7:00am to come! I restart my phone, make sure the time is right, restart my MDX account, Turn off WiFi and do a speed test on 5G and the speed is over 400mbps. I get the screen on GotG at 6:59 and watch my watch which is synced and at 6:59:57 I start refreshing. 2nd refresh its here! I select join group and what? The spinning wheel then the error message. I quickly hit it again and they are all gone!
..........................

I am floored!!!! I quickly go to the ILL and grab a later time just to be sure and again I get the error!!! It will not let me buy it! I close the app and restart and there are still times but it still will not let me purchase! Then they are all gone.
I turn on the TV and Ashley ask me if we got it and I tell her no we didn't but we will try again at 1:00. She says it will be fine as we did book 2 more Epcot days just in case. I then open up the app to see what was booked for us, As I said earlier, someone (probably the CM at the front desk) put some multi experiences on our account. I look at the app to see what we can ride (we did have one just for Remy also) and the multi one had GotG as a selection!!!!! what????? I am beyond happy now! Maybe that's why I couldn't purchase it.
...................

We all get ready and head to the lounge for breakfast and then to Epcot!


And there it is!!



For the very first time ever and I mean ever, we all clapped at the end of the ride. Even my wife who really does not like coasters that much. We were all totally blown away! This is an amazing ride! Good job Disney! You did great!

Alright, This pic deserves a laugh! At the end of the launch it took my stomach so bad I actually covered my face lol. I didn't even realize it till I seen the pic pop up in MDX LOLOL. I wasn't gonna share it but here it is .


After a quick drink stop we headed to Mission Space, I caved in and we did green as a family. usually me and the girls do Orange while Ashley does green by herself but green was walk on. After MS we rode Test Track. Posted 70 min, took about 40.


Frozen was a looooong wait and we had a Rat pass and a reservation at Crepe De Paris so we headed to France.

Continued ......

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 3, Part 2. Epcot

So we are not Crepe people lol. Actually, I cannot remember ever eating one. These were surprisingly good!






After lunch we rode the Rat and then headed towards the front of the park.
No G+ (never purchased it yet) today and it was getting pretty crowded. Had to stop for a few pics on the way. Epcot is the best this time of year!


We headed back to the resort and stopped to watch this guy carving wooden animals. Very talented!

We freshened up and headed to the bar to wait for our dinner reservations at Boma. The bar was great. Boma is a Buffett and not good. Not good at all.


After dinner we all hit the sack. We had a long day but so worth it! Next post Hollywood Studios and for the first time ever I purchased G+ and it was worth it!

 

[alohamom]

Ohhh I cannot wait to ride the new Guardians ride!
We are toying with a one Epcot day only trip just to ride it, that is how much I want to ride.
So glad to hear it was good, your pic from it is hilarious!

 

[igrsod]

I loved all the pixie dust you are getting besides all your frustrations here and there. When we were there last time, we noticed that type of pattern too... we would have bad luck, then something good would happen... so in the end it all balanced out.
It was so nice that your daughter got the birthday surprise at the hotel. That's the Disney I have been missing. Surprise and delight. My kids still talk about coming back to the room to find their stuffies having a party on the bed, or sitting in the window sill in a fun tableau, or the best was the time stuffed Monkey was sitting on the toilet (seat down) with my razor shaving his legs.... lol. It's sad they don't value the extra staff and time to make that happen anymore. It meant so much to my kids.

 

[footballmouse]

 

[MickeyReeds]

Reading along--looking forward to hearing more about your trip!

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 4, Part 1. Hollywood Studios.

It's a beautiful morning at Animal Kingdom Lodge!


Showing up late for breakfast in the lounge is the way to go! We were able to grab a plate each just before they cleaned up but having g an empty lounge is totally worth not getting seconds lol.



Full bellies and we are on our way to Hollywood Studios! For the very first time, I decided to purchase G+ but I did not have to purchase any ILL due to the fact that the CM from the front desk took care of us for today also! Plus I was able grab plenty in the morning then stack them in the evening to where after just one back track we made a single loop around the whole park and rode every ride. I do like when a plan comes together!


We arrived at HS at 11:30 and we were surprised that it is not crowded any all.








We watched the Mickey film then headed to Star Tours we had to backtrack to MMRR after and before lunch so it just made sense to do those first.


Continued ....

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 4, Part 2. Hollywood Studios.



After Star Tours we headed to MMRR then rode Tower of Terror and Rock'n Roller Coaster before lunch.






Then it was time for one of my favorite meals. The Brown Derby has the best salad. Period. It also pairs great with this beer.




After full bellies we headed on over to SW:GE for Rise.




Then immediately to MF:SM. Our kids pilot of course. They have gotten pretty good! One day I will be able to fly. I will probably have to come without the kids though lol.



When I took the above picture it was 5:12. We have done so much so far considering our 11:30 arrival and our 1 hour lunch. I am really digging this G+!

Continued .....

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Day 4, Part 3. Hollywood Studios.

We continued out of SW:GE and headed into Toy Story Land for a ride on AS2, SDD and TSMM in that order with no wait due to stacking our G+.




I am horrible at this ride!


After TSMM we head out of TSL and was able to grab another ride on MMRR so we did that, was able to grab another RnR G+ and while in line it went down. We did a little shopping before dinner at 50's prime time and at dinner we had such an amazing time! Our server was the best! Once we finished dinner we got to exit a pretty much empty park.


A few take-a-ways about today. G+ made this day seamless. We rode so much and could have rode more but we were satisfied with what we were able to do and never felt rushed. The CM's were all great! Not once did we ever encounter a rude CM. The park was spotless! And we didn't encounter any rude guests. The highlight was at dinner, our server turned over the basket with our flatware and napkins and told us to set the table then walked away. it was great!! I haven't seen them do that in a very long time! Today was another great day at WDW and the first time in a long time we closed down a park. The Magic is back.

Next post, Magic Kingdom.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

Sorry I was laughing when you were describing the issues.

We all laughed at it once we settled in. It was a little ridiculous but we never focus on the negative as it just makes for a bad trip. If your reading along, you can see how great this trip actually is!