PoohFanKCs 2002 Family Trip - Part 2
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom / Epcot / Honey, I've lost a Pass!
Cast: PoohFanKC, 39, dad and husband (me);
DW, 39, lets me do the planning, but has veto power;
DD, 11;
DS, 9;
DS, 7.
Dates: June 1 - June 8, 2002
Resort: Port Orleans Riverside (Dixie Landings)
Trip: Second trip for all of us, first was in 2000.
We got started late. Somehow we lost about a half hour while getting ready. I trekked to the Food Court for milk for DS7 and hot tea for DW, and we all had in-room breakfast. We showered, gathered snacks for the morning, packed the waist packs, applied sunscreen, found hats and before we knew it, it was 8:15 and we hadnt left the room. We got on a MK bus at about 8:30 and made it through security and through the gates by about 9:20. I had wanted to be there for rope drop so we could head for the mountains, but it just was not to be this morning. We had used Early Entry every day during our first trip, enjoying a less crowded and less hot and humid hour in the park before the commoners were admitted. We wouldnt have made it this morning!
We made up for lost time, I headed quickly to Splash for Fast Passes and the family went to Thunder for standby. I got the FPs and joined my family at Thunder. Thunder Mountain was a great first ride for the trip. DS7 had taken the chicken exit last trip, but rode this time. We were now fully in the Disney mood.
Since the FP time window had opened for Splash, the family went on toward Splash and I grabbed FPs for Thunder so that we could ride it again later. As I was leaving, I thought there was something wrong with the FP machine, because as I gathered my FPs, there were only four of them. I counted again - still only four of them. As I stood there, I figured it out - I only received four FPs because I only had four park passes! I must have lost one of them - and we less than an hour into our first day in the parks! I counted the park passes again and did a thorough search of my pockets and waist pack. Still only four! All I could think was that we would need to pay another $200 to replace the lost pass. I was suddenly sweating, and it wasnt from the heat and humidity. The Disney mood had come on gone for me in a matter of minutes.
Level headed thinking soon returned and I headed over to Splash. I hoped that in my excitement and hurry to get Splash FPs and join my family in line at Thunder that I had left one of the park passes in the machine. If I had dropped it on the ground, I had little hope that it would be found. I told DW what had happened (Honey, Ive lost a Pass) and went to the Splash FP Distribution Point while the family waited by the return entrance. The CM on duty was different from when I had gotten the FPs - the original CM was now working as the FP return entrance bouncer. I asked the new CM if anyone had turned in a hopper pass that morning. She opened a cabinet near the machines and showed me a small stack of lost park passes. We matched the purchase date with the other four I had and we found it! I was much relieved! I told her that if it wasnt improper I would have kissed her right there. She looked at me kinda funny and agreed that it was indeed improper. I found the family and then explained what had happened to the kids. They were unfazed. After normal circulation of blood had resumed in my body, I told DW that it was her pass that had been lost and suggested that she could have enjoyed the resort all week while we toured the parks. Taking pity upon me, her response was more kind that I deserved.
Lesson learned - make sure you count your passes (both park passes and fast passes) before leaving the FP stations. I got into a routine of cycling through the passes while getting FP and then counting them again when finished. Usually you can put them on top of the machine, but if its windy, you best keep your hands on them. Same for the FPs, which can blow away or simply fall out of the dispensing tray. I also counted the park passes at the gate to make sure that I always had five. I later learned that when the FP machines switch return times in the middle of my acquiring five FPs, that sometimes one FP request fails to register. You can then cycle back through the Park Passes until the unused pass gets a FP. This happened to me more than once. I had seen some advice posted about making photocopies of the park passes in case anything happened to them. We had thought that we would get the passes transferred to the room keys upon check-in and did not make photocopies. This could have been a huge mistake. Sometime later in the trip, I found a park pass in the FP Distribution machine and took it to the nearest CM. I hope that person came back for it. I knew too well how they were feeling. I always tried to put the passes in the same pocket in the waist pack, too. I was paranoid the rest of the trip, but we never lost any passes again. DW would check on me every once in a while to make sure I had everything. I even wrote our names and resort room number on the back of the passes just in case I lost one again.
Once the panic was over, we resumed the MK tour. We rode Splash twice (FP); Thunder again (FP this time); Pirates - DS7's favorite (no wait); Jungle Cruise (FP); tried Tiki Birds, but it was temporarily closed; Alladin's Magic Carpets (the kids all wanted to wait in the sun for 20 minutes); Swiss Family Treehouse (no wait); Haunted Mansion (FP); and had our pictures taken with Snow White near the old Fantasyland Skyway stop (one with the kids, one with just me) before leaving pre-parade. Our Jungle Cruise boat captain described most of the animals as follows: The (insert species here) weighs 5000 pounds and can jump 25 feet in the air. Isnt that amazing! After endowing several different animals with these characteristics, everyone on the boat starting finishing her sentences with her. We repeated this line among our family for days.
Although it may look pretty commando-style, we rested, drank lots of water, took potty breaks, and did a little shopping. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for an attraction that morning, except the aforementioned 20 minutes for Alladin. Much of this was due to getting there early and getting new FPs just after the return window for the old FPs opened. It did require that we plan ahead and stay ahead of the crowd a bit, but it allowed everyone to ride more things in less time. We felt that we had done over half of the things we were interested in doing at MK. We had concentrated on the left side of the park and were pretty thorough. Also, we were not planning around the afternoon parades - just not our thing, especially in the heat of the day. In our opinion, staking out a good spot just takes up ride time. The longest wait we had was for the bus back to the resort.
In addition to my losing a park pass, DS9 lost his hat, sometime between getting pictures taken with Snow White and departing the bus at POR. Despite a few telephone calls to Disney Transportation and Lost and Found, it remained lost. Disney Transportation updated us a few times through telephone messages on their efforts and were helpful, even if ultimately unsuccessful. No one else lost anything the whole trip.
We had lunch in the room and spent the rest of the afternoon at the quiet pool and napping. DW went to refill the mugs with lemonade and fruit punch. Meanwhile, we got kicked out of the pool for an emergency cleaning - Can you get retroactively sick after learning you have been swimming in dirty water?
We wanted to catch the last day of the Flower and Garden Festival and had planned to go to EPCOT in the mid to late afternoon, but were running late. We arrived at about 6:30. The official closing time for Future World is listed at 7:00, but several attractions are kept open until 8:30 or 9:00. This info was available on the Time Schedule that was sitting with the park maps. When planning the trip, I had assumed that 7:00 oclock closing meant it would close at 7:00. Silly me. Perhaps this showed some extension of the hours for the beginning of Summer season. We considered it a bonus.
We had no wait on Spaceship Earth and headed to Journey into Imagination. We had not ridden the previous versions of this ride and knew that this version had officially opened the day before. I was shocked that there was no line and we just walked on. Figment was a big part of the show. I am a Monty Python fan and enjoyed Dr. Nigel Channing, but does anyone else think that Eric Idle is starting to look a bit old? After Honey I Shrunk the Audience (walk on) we did Figment again (still a walk-on).
We next tried to get a FP for Test Track (DDs favorite), but they were long gone for the day. A family that must have seen our failed attempt at getting FPs approached us and asked if we had ridden TT before. They had one extra FP and offered it to us. I called DD over and had her thank the family. DD rode TT, I ran to the bathroom and DW and DSs went up to Mexico for El Rio del Tiempo. After what seemed like a lifetime (and after the first Tapestry of Dreams parade had come and gone), DD emerged from TT with another girl about her age that she had paired up with on the ride. DD and I rejoined the rest of the family in Germany. We were supposed to meet there and watch TOD, but TT took too long. DW and DSs caught some of the parade from Mexico. We wandered back from Germany, rode the Maelstrom (10 minute wait) in Norway and worked our way back to Ice Station Cool. The CM had been attaching the rope to close the attraction, but we talked our way in. In exchange for letting us in, the CM made DW and me try Beverly. It was not very pleasant, but apparently serves to cleanse the pallet between courses. It definitely removes any other taste from your mouth! It stuck with me for several minutes. We quickly picked our favorites. Mine is the entry from Israel (Lemon), DD liked the Chinese entry (Watermelon) best. DS7 liked the Ginger Ale. We would return to Ice Station Cool several more times during our trip, trying them all and enjoying the cool air, if not the Beverly.
We emerged from Ice Station Cool as Illuminations was starting and watched from a distance. We were among the first to the bus stop and were back to the resort before 10:00 for a well deserved rest. DW put the kids to bed and I headed to the Food Court for cup refills. We sat outside the room on a bench and enjoyed rum (from home - not from the food court) and cokes in our refill mugs. Meanwhile, as we realized the next day, the bugs enjoyed our ankles.
Best Experience of the Day: Finding the lost Hopper Pass.
Worst Experience of the Day: Losing a Hopper Pass.
Next Report - Day 3 - MGM / MK / Honey, I Lost my Stomach
Day 2 - Magic Kingdom / Epcot / Honey, I've lost a Pass!
Cast: PoohFanKC, 39, dad and husband (me);
DW, 39, lets me do the planning, but has veto power;
DD, 11;
DS, 9;
DS, 7.
Dates: June 1 - June 8, 2002
Resort: Port Orleans Riverside (Dixie Landings)
Trip: Second trip for all of us, first was in 2000.
We got started late. Somehow we lost about a half hour while getting ready. I trekked to the Food Court for milk for DS7 and hot tea for DW, and we all had in-room breakfast. We showered, gathered snacks for the morning, packed the waist packs, applied sunscreen, found hats and before we knew it, it was 8:15 and we hadnt left the room. We got on a MK bus at about 8:30 and made it through security and through the gates by about 9:20. I had wanted to be there for rope drop so we could head for the mountains, but it just was not to be this morning. We had used Early Entry every day during our first trip, enjoying a less crowded and less hot and humid hour in the park before the commoners were admitted. We wouldnt have made it this morning!
We made up for lost time, I headed quickly to Splash for Fast Passes and the family went to Thunder for standby. I got the FPs and joined my family at Thunder. Thunder Mountain was a great first ride for the trip. DS7 had taken the chicken exit last trip, but rode this time. We were now fully in the Disney mood.
Since the FP time window had opened for Splash, the family went on toward Splash and I grabbed FPs for Thunder so that we could ride it again later. As I was leaving, I thought there was something wrong with the FP machine, because as I gathered my FPs, there were only four of them. I counted again - still only four of them. As I stood there, I figured it out - I only received four FPs because I only had four park passes! I must have lost one of them - and we less than an hour into our first day in the parks! I counted the park passes again and did a thorough search of my pockets and waist pack. Still only four! All I could think was that we would need to pay another $200 to replace the lost pass. I was suddenly sweating, and it wasnt from the heat and humidity. The Disney mood had come on gone for me in a matter of minutes.
Level headed thinking soon returned and I headed over to Splash. I hoped that in my excitement and hurry to get Splash FPs and join my family in line at Thunder that I had left one of the park passes in the machine. If I had dropped it on the ground, I had little hope that it would be found. I told DW what had happened (Honey, Ive lost a Pass) and went to the Splash FP Distribution Point while the family waited by the return entrance. The CM on duty was different from when I had gotten the FPs - the original CM was now working as the FP return entrance bouncer. I asked the new CM if anyone had turned in a hopper pass that morning. She opened a cabinet near the machines and showed me a small stack of lost park passes. We matched the purchase date with the other four I had and we found it! I was much relieved! I told her that if it wasnt improper I would have kissed her right there. She looked at me kinda funny and agreed that it was indeed improper. I found the family and then explained what had happened to the kids. They were unfazed. After normal circulation of blood had resumed in my body, I told DW that it was her pass that had been lost and suggested that she could have enjoyed the resort all week while we toured the parks. Taking pity upon me, her response was more kind that I deserved.
Lesson learned - make sure you count your passes (both park passes and fast passes) before leaving the FP stations. I got into a routine of cycling through the passes while getting FP and then counting them again when finished. Usually you can put them on top of the machine, but if its windy, you best keep your hands on them. Same for the FPs, which can blow away or simply fall out of the dispensing tray. I also counted the park passes at the gate to make sure that I always had five. I later learned that when the FP machines switch return times in the middle of my acquiring five FPs, that sometimes one FP request fails to register. You can then cycle back through the Park Passes until the unused pass gets a FP. This happened to me more than once. I had seen some advice posted about making photocopies of the park passes in case anything happened to them. We had thought that we would get the passes transferred to the room keys upon check-in and did not make photocopies. This could have been a huge mistake. Sometime later in the trip, I found a park pass in the FP Distribution machine and took it to the nearest CM. I hope that person came back for it. I knew too well how they were feeling. I always tried to put the passes in the same pocket in the waist pack, too. I was paranoid the rest of the trip, but we never lost any passes again. DW would check on me every once in a while to make sure I had everything. I even wrote our names and resort room number on the back of the passes just in case I lost one again.
Once the panic was over, we resumed the MK tour. We rode Splash twice (FP); Thunder again (FP this time); Pirates - DS7's favorite (no wait); Jungle Cruise (FP); tried Tiki Birds, but it was temporarily closed; Alladin's Magic Carpets (the kids all wanted to wait in the sun for 20 minutes); Swiss Family Treehouse (no wait); Haunted Mansion (FP); and had our pictures taken with Snow White near the old Fantasyland Skyway stop (one with the kids, one with just me) before leaving pre-parade. Our Jungle Cruise boat captain described most of the animals as follows: The (insert species here) weighs 5000 pounds and can jump 25 feet in the air. Isnt that amazing! After endowing several different animals with these characteristics, everyone on the boat starting finishing her sentences with her. We repeated this line among our family for days.
Although it may look pretty commando-style, we rested, drank lots of water, took potty breaks, and did a little shopping. We never had to wait more than 10 minutes for an attraction that morning, except the aforementioned 20 minutes for Alladin. Much of this was due to getting there early and getting new FPs just after the return window for the old FPs opened. It did require that we plan ahead and stay ahead of the crowd a bit, but it allowed everyone to ride more things in less time. We felt that we had done over half of the things we were interested in doing at MK. We had concentrated on the left side of the park and were pretty thorough. Also, we were not planning around the afternoon parades - just not our thing, especially in the heat of the day. In our opinion, staking out a good spot just takes up ride time. The longest wait we had was for the bus back to the resort.
In addition to my losing a park pass, DS9 lost his hat, sometime between getting pictures taken with Snow White and departing the bus at POR. Despite a few telephone calls to Disney Transportation and Lost and Found, it remained lost. Disney Transportation updated us a few times through telephone messages on their efforts and were helpful, even if ultimately unsuccessful. No one else lost anything the whole trip.
We had lunch in the room and spent the rest of the afternoon at the quiet pool and napping. DW went to refill the mugs with lemonade and fruit punch. Meanwhile, we got kicked out of the pool for an emergency cleaning - Can you get retroactively sick after learning you have been swimming in dirty water?
We wanted to catch the last day of the Flower and Garden Festival and had planned to go to EPCOT in the mid to late afternoon, but were running late. We arrived at about 6:30. The official closing time for Future World is listed at 7:00, but several attractions are kept open until 8:30 or 9:00. This info was available on the Time Schedule that was sitting with the park maps. When planning the trip, I had assumed that 7:00 oclock closing meant it would close at 7:00. Silly me. Perhaps this showed some extension of the hours for the beginning of Summer season. We considered it a bonus.
We had no wait on Spaceship Earth and headed to Journey into Imagination. We had not ridden the previous versions of this ride and knew that this version had officially opened the day before. I was shocked that there was no line and we just walked on. Figment was a big part of the show. I am a Monty Python fan and enjoyed Dr. Nigel Channing, but does anyone else think that Eric Idle is starting to look a bit old? After Honey I Shrunk the Audience (walk on) we did Figment again (still a walk-on).
We next tried to get a FP for Test Track (DDs favorite), but they were long gone for the day. A family that must have seen our failed attempt at getting FPs approached us and asked if we had ridden TT before. They had one extra FP and offered it to us. I called DD over and had her thank the family. DD rode TT, I ran to the bathroom and DW and DSs went up to Mexico for El Rio del Tiempo. After what seemed like a lifetime (and after the first Tapestry of Dreams parade had come and gone), DD emerged from TT with another girl about her age that she had paired up with on the ride. DD and I rejoined the rest of the family in Germany. We were supposed to meet there and watch TOD, but TT took too long. DW and DSs caught some of the parade from Mexico. We wandered back from Germany, rode the Maelstrom (10 minute wait) in Norway and worked our way back to Ice Station Cool. The CM had been attaching the rope to close the attraction, but we talked our way in. In exchange for letting us in, the CM made DW and me try Beverly. It was not very pleasant, but apparently serves to cleanse the pallet between courses. It definitely removes any other taste from your mouth! It stuck with me for several minutes. We quickly picked our favorites. Mine is the entry from Israel (Lemon), DD liked the Chinese entry (Watermelon) best. DS7 liked the Ginger Ale. We would return to Ice Station Cool several more times during our trip, trying them all and enjoying the cool air, if not the Beverly.
We emerged from Ice Station Cool as Illuminations was starting and watched from a distance. We were among the first to the bus stop and were back to the resort before 10:00 for a well deserved rest. DW put the kids to bed and I headed to the Food Court for cup refills. We sat outside the room on a bench and enjoyed rum (from home - not from the food court) and cokes in our refill mugs. Meanwhile, as we realized the next day, the bugs enjoyed our ankles.
Best Experience of the Day: Finding the lost Hopper Pass.
Worst Experience of the Day: Losing a Hopper Pass.
Next Report - Day 3 - MGM / MK / Honey, I Lost my Stomach
!! Can't wait to hear how you lost your stomach.
