r 31 - Apr 9

[LeafsFanNL]

Well we got back from our trip very early Saturday morning, and now that a few days have passed I figured I’d begin the trip report. I am hoping to post daily. There probably will not be many pictures as I am technologically challenged. I’ll try to emphasize the positive aspects of the trip, but we had a few not so positive issues that will be addressed.

The Cast.

We have myself, a self described Disney Geek TouringPlans.com Len Testa type park commando, my DW of a similar type to myself, and my two 8 year old boys. As mentioned, one of my sisters in laws signed on about 3 weeks ago, and last week another sister in law, her husband, and their 11 year old son, and 13 year old daughter signed on last week. These people live in Ontario, and we do not get to see them often. Our resort was the Wilderness Lodge.





Day 1 March 31st

We woke this morning all ready to go to the airport, everything had been packed in advance and the kids just couldn’t wait to go. One worry was the weather. I could tell that where the airport was located might be foggy, which is a very common occurrence up here. As it turned out it was foggy enough that I was not confident that our flight would get out.

Luckily we did, leaving St. John’s at around 12:45 pm. The 3 ½ hour flight to Toronto was pretty uneventful, except for the fact that I was stuck in steerage with the boys, while DW was enjoying salmon, red wine and coffee with Baileys up front!! I did manage to watch “Up in the Air” which was interesting. Toronto airport is crazy busy, and the 1 ½ hour connecting time that we had is tight as US customs has to be navigated before you board your US flight. It went well though, and before long we are on an afternoon flight to Tampa, where once again I am in steerage with the boys while DW is hobnobbing with the elite up front. On this leg I got to see the first half of Avatar. We arrived at about 7:00pm and was met by my mother and father, and my aunt and uncle who have places in Largo. We picked up our rental car, and drove to Largo getting there about 8:00 pm. We managed to get the kids in bed by 9:30, and we headed to bed early to get rested for the next day. SIL #1 flew into Orlando this afternoon from Ottawa, and SIL #2 and her family came in early this same morning from Toronto. They all used Magical Express with no problems. I believe they stayed in the resort that evening eating at Whispering Canyon Café.

Day 2 April 1st

DW and I were up before dawn, due to the excitement and the 1 and ½ earlier time zone (6 am in FLA is 7:30 am in NL). We had the kids up, fed, the car repacked and the GPS unit figured out early enough so that we could be on the road for 8:00 am. The drive took just under two hours, and was a pretty good drive. DW is a nervous passenger, and she did as well as she can on such a busy road. We arrived at the Wilderness lodge right at 10:00 am, got our bags on a cart and parked the car, little did I know that the car would not move again for a week until we left.

I had mentioned several days in advance to the in-laws that they should get to EPCOT as early as they could manage, and that we would call them when we got there to see if we could meet up. When we got the WL they were just sitting down for breakfast at Whispering Canyon Cafe, and I began to be concerned that this would be the pattern for the week. My brother in law, who can be very stubborn, stated that it wasn’t necessary to get there early. We were not able to get into our room but put our stuff into one of the other rooms and got ready to head to EPCOT. My family’s plan for the day was really just to have our lunch and dinner at EPCOT and probably spend the rest of the day at the pool. Having spent the last three Easter weeks in the World we knew how crazy the park would be, and we tend not to fight such crowds. As mentioned in the pre trip report, we tend to be there fore rope drop, tour heavily until about noon or 1 pm and then leave for the day.


After everyone was ready we headed to the bus depot to get the EPCOT bus. It came within 5 minutes and off we went. A point should be made here; Disney transportation was exceptional for us the entire week. The few times we got a little hung up it was the fault of our travelling companions. One point is that it was hot. Highs for the whole week were mid to high 80’s. We all got to the park just about noon, and it was pure madness. Now an extra complication had happened not long before our trip. SIL #2 has slipped on some ice and reinjured some old injuries, and she wasn’t very mobile, we suggested that she get a wheel chair in each park. This of course slowed our admission to the park.

Here is DW waiting to get rolling

My two boys are heading over to see their aunt in the wheelchair




We went to Test Track to see how bad it was. Standby was 120 minutes, and Fastpasses were quickly running out. The Fastpass time for us was no good as it was the same time as our evening ADR at Le Cellier. The other family dithered about what to do until the Fastpasses had indeed all been issued. DW and I then decided that touring was done for the day for us. I have mentioned that one of the goals of this trip was to see as many of the things we have not seen in our previous trips, so with that in mind we all headed over to Club Cool.

As it was April 1st I suggested everyone should try the Beverly, and it worked!! Man that stuff is vile, all I could think of was the worst medicine I had when I was a kid. BIL suggested it was meant to be mixed with some type of booze, I can’t imagine ruining even the worst rotgut with this stuff, Bleech!! It was decided that the families would split up. Our family along with SIL #1 and 2 went to our lunch time ADR at the Coral Reef and BIL and his two kids decided to skip lunch and brave the standby line at Test Track and maybe some other rides. BIL mentioned that having only four full days in their trip, they were going to try to get as much out of each day as they could. Silently I thought, “ouch”
Our meal was good, I remember we shared an appetizer for two we both had a fish entrée, which IIRC was fish of the day and was good, I remember having the butterscotch Crème Brulee which was great. I’d eat there again.


After finishing Lunch the four of us took the MK monorail, switched to the express monorail, and then took the boat over to the Lodge. It was an interesting trip but not as quick as the bus. We were then able to get into our room; I spent time getting our stuff, and DW gooped up the kids with sunscreen before I took them to the main pool at around 3:30. The room was the typical WL standard room with the queen beds. In 2007 and 2009 we had stayed at the two Port Orleans resorts and had liked them very much. We found the moderate rooms quite nice. When we booked the WL we were looking forward to the bigger rooms, not that we needed them, but as a perq. We found after being in the room for a week that while the rooms are bigger on paper, the arrangement of the room is not as efficient at the WL. The actual living space the beds occupy seems to be no bigger than the Port Orleans rooms. Don’t get me wrong, the rooms were very nice, just no better than the Port Orleans rooms. We then spent two or three hours at the main pool. The pool was beautifully themed, and the kids loved it. I loved the number of Disney Lifeguards around it. It was crowded, and in many respects it reminded me of the Old Man Island pool at POR. I was pretty sure that for many of the afternoons to come we would be in the quiet pool. Just before we were to get out of the pool and get ready to go back to EPCOT for dinner at Le Cellier, the rest of our party returned from EPCOT. They had ridden Test Track, and Nemo, and Journey into Imagination. They then proceeded to go to the pool even though they were getting close to their ADR time at the Biergarten.

We headed back to EPCOT and made our ADR at Le Cellier. DW had the mussels followed by the Filet, and the Mousse. I had the Caesar salad, followed by the Filet and the Maple Crème Brulee. My meal was one of the highlights of the culinary week. We left the restaurant, just in time to catch Illuminations, which I love. After the show we were supposed to meet the others at the Canadian pavilion. I was unsure if the others had even come back, and our cell phone was dead. We hung around for a while, and then decided to leave as we were all exhausted. We had found out that it was an extra magic evening, so we decided to check out future world and do a ride, just to allow the hordes to leave before we headed out to the bus. As it turned out we got onto Nemo with no wait, went to see Turtle Talk for the first time, and got into Spaceship Earth for the first time. This left Test Track and Journey into Imagination on my “to do” list, and we were scheduled to come back to EPCOT two more times. The park had mostly cleared by now, and we had no trouble getting the bus. As a matter of fact one was there when we got the assigned areas. This was to happen many times. We ran into the others back at the lodge. They got to the Biergarten just before it closed, and they managed to get some food, but the entertainment had ended for the evening. We got back to our room and went to bed, after what was a pretty good day.

 

[cmp1111]

It's hard to tour with people who don't have the same attitude - I hope the rest of the time goes a bit better that way. I'm with you - rope drop all the way - and have a hard time convincing some people how much better it is.

Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more.

 

[LeafsFanNL]

Thank you for your response. We certainly had our highlights, but we never really had the kind of days we had in 07,08 and 09.

HB

 

[LeafsFanNL]

Day 3 April 2nd


In planning our trip this year, we gave the boys more input into what we were planning to do. When presented with choice on what to do first this year, they went back to the fact that we had not gone to the Animal Kingdom on our 2009 Easter Trip, so this first full day had been planned for AK all along. Also, on previous trips we had not gotten to Dinoland until the area was quite overcrowded, so we were planning to make Dinoland our first stop. Our touring plan was to hit the three main Dinoland rides, do Kali River Rapids, then hit the Maharajah trail as we had not done this. DW just loves the shows and we were hoping to hit the Lion King show as we had not seen it since 2007. We also had lunch ADR’s at Tusker House. We figured we would finish the AK fairly early, get back to the pool before our dinner ADR’s at Artists Point. The four of us were up early, and we went down to Roaring Fork to grab some food before waiting for all hands to show up so we could head out. I was pleasantly surprised to see the other five members of our party show up pretty early as well, oh about 8 am, if I had to guess. In discussing plans for the day the other five members of our party were happy to start at Dinoland, they then hoped to do Everest, which I was not going to do, and the Safari, which I could have skipped.


Anyway we were all ready and headed down to the bus stop at about 8:30. I was hoping that if a bus came quickly we might just make rope drop or just after. We were just sitting down when SIL #2 announced that she did not have her sunglasses. Her husband then ran up to the room to get them. Just after this the AK bus came by, and of course left. A long time passed, and then SIL realized that she had them. She called up to the room to pass the news and just before BIL came down AK bus #2 showed up and left. Anyway Bus #3 showed faster than I could have expected and dropped us off at the AK about 9:25 am. As you probably have guessed I was steaming.

Here I am arriving wearing my marvelous water repellant Tilley Hat!!

Anyway, after getting into the park, SIL #2 and her husband went and got their wheelchair, while the rest of us went to Dinoland. Even with our late arrival it was deserted. All of us except the three sisters rode Primeval Whirl twice. Which was about enough for me as my stomach didn’t appreciate the second ride. Some of us rode Triceratops Spin, I then indicated that we should do Dinosaur before heading over to Everest. I realized that with our late arrival the longer we were in Dinoland, the worse the rest of the park would get. Just as we all started to go to Dinosaur, I noticed that BIL and his kids were playing the carnival games in Dinoland. I went over to him and indicated that these games would be a better choice when the rides were blocked, but he would not budge. It resulted in about a 20 minute wait outside of Dinosaur for them to show up. The actual ride was a lot more intense that I had anticipated, I was genuinely freaked out a little bit, and the jerkiness of the ride added to my stomach discomfort. After the ride, everyone decided to shop in the store at the end of the ride.

Here am I with son #2 and my niece before my second ride on Primeval Whirl


As an aside, the evening before, DW and I had decided to encourage the kids to collect trading pins this year. In past years the kids had bought a lot of stuffed toys, and we had found that we had real issues packing for the trip home. This year the kids had been saving their allowance since Christmas, and with cash gifts from relatives they both had over $150.00. Son #2 had a Disney World lanyard from 2008 that SIL #1 had purchased for him. Son #1 had a 2010 Canadian Olympic Team lanyard like mine, and they had both bought a pin the night before. The more we thought about it, the more we liked the idea of the kids getting a bunch of pins. They would be easier to pack than a pile of plush toys and Mickey hands, etc. While they did get an item or two that was not a pin, they spent most of their money over the week buying about a dozen pins, and this process really began at this store.


I had brought my lanyard with me, and purchased a little zip up clear plastic card holder for fast passes and Keys to the World. It would turn out to be a good idea. The night before when we were at EPCOT evening extra magic hours, I saw several parties turned away from the Seas pavilion as they were not resort guests, while we were still 20-30 feet away the cast member saw our keys around my neck and ushered us in. It’s a bit dorky looking, but I like it, and will take it back on the next trip.


Getting back to the activities, we then proceeded to Asia via the walkway by the Nemo theatre. It was now starting to get crowded, and I was still steaming a little from our delays. When we got to Everest, I decided to just wait in the shade while the other family decided what to do. They picked up fast passes for about noon, which was about an hour or so away. The stand by line was only 30 minutes, but I didn’t make any comment. We were about to leave when on of my sons decided he wanted to join his uncle and cousins on the ride. In a moment of sheer stupidity I agreed, and then picked up Fastpasses for the same time.


We had time to kill until we could ride Everest, so after getting a smoothie, partly to settle my stomach, we walked on to the Kali River Rapids. It was starting to get really hot, probably in the 80’s so I was rather looking forward to getting wet. My niece and nephew were getting surprisingly whiny about the prospect. The line was less than five minutes, and the ride, which I love, was fun. The previously mentioned kids got soaked, while my trusty Tilley hat kept me pretty much dry. After the ride my nephew in particular threw a hissy fit over the soaking. On our way out we noticed that the standy line was now 30 minutes. The park was really filling, I am guessing but I’d say it was about 11:00 am or so.


We still had time before lunch and the FastPass return time. We had not been on the Maharajah trail nor seen a show. I indicated to DW that we had time for either if she wished, she indicated that she would rather follow the others to the Safari, so we did. We actually rode a separate vehicle, which had its own loading area for parties with members in a wheelchair. This is one thing that Disney does really well is look after it’s guests who have mobility issues. SIL #2, who was having a hard time, and could have never made it walking really benefitted from better access.


When we came out of the ride, we got separated from some of the other family members in the ever worsening crowd and it took time to sort that out. When we did finally sort it out it was time for the five of us to go back to Everest. While the rest of the party hung out in the shade watching the drum band, we hustled back to Asia for my appointment with doom.

Here is son #2 , second from the right





I was doing ok until the ride came to a halt, and then ran backwards into the hill. Son #1 was howling with joy, and I was performing a WWII fighter pilot anti G-Force tactic which had best go undescribed. What followed was 60 seconds of sheer terror. I never got sick, but was woozy for an hour or so after the ride.

We met the rest of the gang in front of Tusker House. The five of us on the dining plan chose to eat at the buffet, and the other family grabbed counter service food before heading back to the WL. The Tusker House Buffet gets good reviews, but DW and I found it rather ordinary. To be fair, I wasn’t really in a dining mode after all the gastric tumult of the morning. After we ate we took the bus back to the lodge, again we were lucky to find a bus waiting for us.

We had a more relaxing afternoon by the pool as our evening ADR’s were at Artist’s Point, so this evening would be easier. There really is a nice atmosphere at the pool and by the Trout Pass pool bar. They even had good old Canadian Moosehead Ale on tap. Of course the two aforementioned ales were entirely medicinal after the morning!!

When it came time to eat, we all got dressed up to eat. SIL #1 sat with us as she was on the DxDP like us, while the other family was paying OOP. I had the selection of artisanal cheeses, followed by the salmon, and the Valrhona Chocolate Terrine, sort of a double chocolate mousse. DW had a salad, with the salmon and the cobbler. The appetizers were lovely, especially the cheeses. We had eaten here last year and loved how the salmon was prepared, and the selection of sides. This year the salmon was just as good but the combination of the sides was not as good. Apparently every six months or so, they change what accompanies the salmon. I also didn’t care for my dessert, but still had some!! The service was fine and the experience as a whole was somewhere in the middle of our dining experiences.

Our room was #6042 which gave a pretty good view of the Wishes fireworks show at 10 pm which we would end up seeing on many of our evenings. After the show the kids got ready for bed and headed over to SIL#1’s room, a bunk room overlooking the courtyard room #6039 to have the first of several sleepovers. This was nice as we had some time to ourselves, but as matters will turn out I believe it was something of a mistake as the week would progress. I also noted that DW and I were very much more tired then we would have been on night number two in previous years. With use of hindsight, what was beginning to happen was the later ADR’s and the kids getting older had us in bed a good two hours later then we would have been last year at POR. You can see where this is heading I think.

To sum up the day, after everything that had happened, we actually did all we had on our plan for the day, with the exception of DW’s show that she did not get to see. Little did I know that this day would be our best touring day.