Smiles, Sand and Sunstroke!! A May 2012 Beach Club Trip of a Lifetime

[Feckless]

No trip report here. Maybe some day, but right now I have too many end-of-the-year school activities to do a good report. So, I'll just enjoy yours.



Tutto was one of our best meals last year. If you had to take only one food pic, that's a good one. We missed Soarin' this year, as it was down the two times we tried to get on it.

Oh, that sucks!!! Oh well, another reason to plan another trip.

 

[Missoutandabout]

*peeks in*

Can I join in the fun? Love, love, loving your report! Love the golf ball idea.

It's taken my oversized scientific calculator the past two days to load each of these pages which I've read thoroughly.

The hubs and I aren't really into Italian food for some bizarre reason but Tutto sounds gorgeous. And, CM Angela sounds like an absolute doll; since she's new I hope she never gets jaded. It's such a pleasure to run across someone who so enjoys what they do.

Did you get to do Cape May for dinner at all or just breakfast?

 

[Feckless]

*peeks in*

Can I join in the fun? Love, love, loving your report! Love the golf ball idea.

It's taken my oversized scientific calculator the past two days to load each of these pages which I've read thoroughly.

The hubs and I aren't really into Italian food for some bizarre reason but Tutto sounds gorgeous. And, CM Angela sounds like an absolute doll; since she's new I hope she never gets jaded. It's such a pleasure to run across someone who so enjoys what they do.

Did you get to do Cape May for dinner at all or just breakfast?

Welcome!!

We had great service everywhere consistently, which is why the sweet lady at Cape May stood out so much. That really was one of the few times we weren't blown away by service! Well, with the exception of the sunstroke day, coming up... We only did breakfast, since DD can throw up at the smell of seafood. Next time she can have room service and I'm going without her! LOL

 

[Laffites Landing]

Welcome!!

We had great service everywhere consistently, which is why the sweet lady at Cape May stood out so much. That really was one of the few times we weren't blown away by service! Well, with the exception of the sunstroke day, coming up... We only did breakfast, since DD can throw up at the smell of seafood. Next time she can have room service and I'm going without her! LOL

Hi Feckless. A question and a comment:

My ? is how does Cape May smell in the morning? I know it sounds weird but while we have no problem with seafood, per se, I don't want to small it in the morning.

My comment is that my goal is to try to take a cab to Typhoon Lagoon when we go. I also want to take a cab back that day; but at the very least, based on your
advice, we are going to bring a change of clothes so that we won't be wet and uncomfortable even if we have to take a bus back.

Thanks again for your posts, I look forward to each new installment.

 

[natebenma]

I enjoyed reading about your "rest" day.

GREAT pictures from the Cape May breakfast. I think that is my favorite character breakfast- well, I have only done Cape May, Chef Mickey and Tusker House. I don't know if it is just the casual beach clothing, but Donald, Goofy, Minnie all seem to be more laid back than they are at other places. Oh, yeah, Chip and Dale were there when we did this breakfast, but they are gone now.

Sounds like you had a mixed bag at Typhoon Lagoon. Thanks for sharing the story of the super CM who helped you with your meal, and also with the dropped pizza. It is fun to read about people who go the extra mile to make a moment magical.

Sorry to hear that the wave pool took it out on your kids. It IS rough there, but fun!

I'm glad you were all able to get in at Captain's Grille. It doesn't get much more convenient than that! We really enjoyed our meal there.

 

[disneyfan61]

You didn't want a free colonoscopy?? I got a kick outta that one!

Great update! We have never been to TL. We did no to Blizzard Beach one year & that was fun but we just never seem to fit it in.

So glad to hear about that wonderful CM. She sounded great.

Water parks are NOT relaxing. I think that may be why we have not done them lately.


Great that you got an ADR at Captains Grill. Your daughter was ok with someone ordering fish for dinner?? Yes the smell is very strong at dinner time as you walk by Cape May.

 

[Feckless]

Hi Feckless. A question and a comment:

My ? is how does Cape May smell in the morning? I know it sounds weird but while we have no problem with seafood, per se, I don't want to small it in the morning.

My comment is that my goal is to try to take a cab to Typhoon Lagoon when we go. I also want to take a cab back that day; but at the very least, based on your
advice, we are going to bring a change of clothes so that we won't be wet and uncomfortable even if we have to take a bus back.

Thanks again for your posts, I look forward to each new installment.

I've got my next installment done, but I wanted to add some Photopass pictures and I'm having trouble with one of the Magic Shots. Oh well, maybe I'll just do one massive PP post later once we get it all straightened up!

There was NO smell of fish at the Cape May at breakfast, just of bacon and coffee. No worries for that! And you can't smell it until just before they start serving dinner. If you walk inside towards the Yacht Club during the dinner service time, the smell is quite strong. I didn't mind at all but like I said, DD has a strange reaction.

I enjoyed reading about your "rest" day.

GREAT pictures from the Cape May breakfast. I think that is my favorite character breakfast- well, I have only done Cape May, Chef Mickey and Tusker House. I don't know if it is just the casual beach clothing, but Donald, Goofy, Minnie all seem to be more laid back than they are at other places. Oh, yeah, Chip and Dale were there when we did this breakfast, but they are gone now.

Sounds like you had a mixed bag at Typhoon Lagoon. Thanks for sharing the story of the super CM who helped you with your meal, and also with the dropped pizza. It is fun to read about people who go the extra mile to make a moment magical.

Sorry to hear that the wave pool took it out on your kids. It IS rough there, but fun!

I'm glad you were all able to get in at Captain's Grille. It doesn't get much more convenient than that! We really enjoyed our meal there.

I think the other family liked Captain's Grille the best. We liked it a lot as well - we didn't do breakfast there because we normally ate in the lounge. We were very happy to get that reservation!

You didn't want a free colonoscopy?? I got a kick outta that one!

Great update! We have never been to TL. We did no to Blizzard Beach one year & that was fun but we just never seem to fit it in.

So glad to hear about that wonderful CM. She sounded great.

Water parks are NOT relaxing. I think that may be why we have not done them lately.


Great that you got an ADR at Captains Grill. Your daughter was ok with someone ordering fish for dinner?? Yes the smell is very strong at dinner time as you walk by Cape May.

DD has to suck up someone ordering fish at the table - she's OK with that, but the stronger Cape May smell was too much for her. I remember taking her to a seafood restaurant when she was three, and she walked in the door and immediately started retching. She has the same reaction to the smell of deli meat, although that one has reduced with age, thank God! I'm not one to cater to youngsters (I think they've heard "Suck it up, Buttercup!" so many times from me they must HATE it. LOL) but I know she just can't help it. I certainly wouldn't want to insult the staff or upset other patrons by having her urging in the restaurant! I know you guys thank me.

 

[Feckless]

Day 4 - Magic Kingdom Day! Part 1

The plan was to start today with an early morning reservation (8:05 a.m.) at Crystal Palace. We were concerned about the kids and the other family, since to my surprise our kids were already used to the time difference (we are an hour and a half later than EST) and the other family are late risers, but I really wanted to make this ADR. We had a BRUTAL time waking the kids to make the bus for our reservation and the other family was running way behind. We put the rush on and made it to the bus at about 7:45, which we knew was late... We called the other family from the lobby because my BBMs were not going through to the mom. The dad answered the phone and before I even had a chance to say hello, yelled, “All that’s on your side of the bed are cigarettes and books!” and then hung up. I was LMAO!!! Obviously there was something going on that we weren’t aware of! LOL!! When we got to the bus stop, the mom and kids from the other family was there, but not the dad. The little girl had put on her flip flops instead of her sneakers, and her feet were already hurting. The dad went back to the Villa to get her sneakers and couldn’t find them. The mom got a text that the dad had the sneakers and was on his way back. However, the bus pulled up, with no dad in sight! We told the driver that the dad was on his way and we had an ADR to make, and he was sooo kind, and said he could hold the bus for a minute or so. Next thing you know, here comes the dad from the Villas, in a full run, pink sneakers in hand. We all started cheering (since it was obvious that running is not something this dad does on a regular basis!! ) and then we started singing the Rocky theme. Soon all the other families were laughing and cheering and singing with us. It was a memorable moment for sure! May have been one of my favourites from the whole trip.

We arrived at the bus stop about 8:10 and made it to the Crystal Palace by 8:20. Going in to an empty MK was an incredible moment! Here are some pictures taken before our ADR. Unfortunately we didn’t stop and take any PP pictures, because we were rushing for our ADR:

Finally we arrived!

I was nervous that we were going to be too late for our ADR, but we got in within 5 minutes. Phew! Here are some pictures of the character interaction:

Nobody hugs better than Tigger! He's DD's favourite:

Breakfast took about an hour, and we got out about 9:30 or so. We had the four FPs for each of us from the FP test run that we got on the first day, on the following schedule (this was the email we got):

I was worried how I would work those out with the having the other family with us. There were 8 of us, after all! I managed to get everyone together for a couple of PP pictures:

Our first FP was for Splash, from 9:25 to 10:25 a.m. Since we were in an empty park, there were no lines when we left and the kids were DYING for Space Mountain, instead of going to Splash which was close, we set off for Space Mountain. The wait time was 15 minutes, and we basically just walked on. The kids loved the games in the queue. They were a bit disappointed that they had to walk past them! LOL Finally we were at the start. They were a bit excited (and blinded by the flash):

We loved it! Here is our redneck ride photo. I look hilarious! I sort of lost my voice from the ridiculous squealing that I did. LOL

When we left, I wanted to head right for Splash with our FPs, but DS had seen the Tomorrowland Speedway and was lobbying for a do-over. When we were there in 2009, DS had just hit 54” and was SO EXCITED to be able to drive the vehicle. It was “kids against grownups” and he and DD took one vehicle and we took the other. He couldn’t get the hang of it at first, and kept crashing into the center median thing. A CM came over and asked him if he needed help and DS said he did, so the CM sat on the hood and drove him around the track. When we got off, DS cried to break his heart for about a half hour! Anyway, he wanted another kick at the cat, so we lined up for the Speedway. Again, it was HOT and only one track was open, so we were there a half hour which sucked. The ride was as awful as I remembered. DD drove our car, and it was pretty painful! The other family got in a better line, and they got finished much earlier.

After leaving the Speedway, we headed over to Splash, and arrived right at the end of our one hour window. The other family stayed back to do a Stitch meet and greet, and ride the Stitch ride since their DS is a fan. Normally we would have done Buzz next and moved on to Fantasyland, but we crossed the park to use our Splash FPs. Lost the other family along the way and never ended up doing anything in Fantasyland. This was a mistake, and I think that although it was cool to have the FPs, they really weren't needed because the crowd levels were low and they dictated where we were to go, and that didn't make for a better day!

Anyway, the Fast Passes were pretty neat. When we showed them to the CM, he got kind of excited and grabbed an iPad with a hand strap. He showed us a pillar thing with a round top and a Mickey head etched in it. When I waved mine in front of the etched in Mickey, the outline of the Mickey glowed green. The CM checked his iPad after I scanned and he addressed me by name. Kind of freaky! There was another post to wave the FP in front of at the end of the line. It was a bit of a pain to then have to collect them all again before we boarded (since I’m the keeper of the cards). Let me just say that I LOVE SPLASH. I love everything about it - the theming, the drop, the animatronics... But we felt bad for using the FPs and separating from the other family, and the kids wanted to experience the rides with them. So, we texted the other family and went towards the HM. The other family wanted to ride too, so we waited for them. On the way, we had to stop at the Frontierland Shooting Arcade (not a shock if you’ve read the earlier installments! LOL). The CM there was very nice, and gave the kids a few free turns. It was HOT as hades. I dragged out the cool tie things: (http://www.coolhats.com.au/neck_tie_coolers.html) which helped a lot, as did the lemon slushie from Columbia Harbour House. LOL DS decided to check out the stocks. Some pictures of liberty being restrained in Liberty Square...

Finally, the other family showed up, and all the frustration melted away! The wait time was only 10 minutes, and we loved the new queue. No need for a FP! DD wanted to ride with the other little girl, so I rode with DS. It was so much fun. So, maybe HM is my favourite! We all decided then and there that if we were going to the parks together, then we were going to stay together from now on. So, we all headed over to POTC together. Wait time was also 10 minutes, so we pretty much walked on that one as well. We told the CM that there were 8 in our party, so they sent us to two lines, one in front of the other. At the last second, this guy got in front of our family, so that I was the odd person out. I asked him if he could move to the back row where he was originally, and he just ignored me. I didn’t make a fuss, no big deal - I just sat with the family in the back row. But then the guy took his phone out the minute the boat started moving and proceeded to text the entire time we were on the ride. I called out to him to turn off his phone once because it was annoying me, but he ignored me. He never looked up ONCE during the ride. SO GLAD that he decided to ride with us!! Grrrr...

DD had a sword fight with a CM in the gift shop:

We had some lunch at Pecos Bills - it was SO incredibly crowded that it was a bit of a nightmare. We did find a large table so we could all sit. DS dropped his hamburger (argh) and I went back to get another, but it was so incredibly busy I couldn’t get any CMs attention. I ended up buying another one. The other family had grabbed Splash FPs for themselves, and they ended up taking DD with them (DS gave up his seat when the other three kids wanted to go and couldn’t decide who would sit out. Another example of him being an awesome kid on this trip!) When DD came back, she was THRILLED that she got to ride in the front seat! At this point, DS was exhausted, and the other family wanted to go home as well. So, he went back to the resort with them, and DD, DH and I rode SM with our new FPs. It was a scream. Another redneck ride photo:

When we got back to the bus stop, I was sorry to see that DS was waiting for the bus! They had taken their time leaving, so he could have ridden SM again. He was good about it though!

We got back to the BC by 3 so that we could hit the pool. We all really had a great morning, so I was completely happy to spend the rest of the day chilling out. However, DD had other plans!!!

Next up: Magic Kingdom Day turns into Epcot night!!!!

 

[natebenma]

Fantastic update!

I love your Rocky bus story. Hilarious!!!

I'm not a big fan of the Speedway either. Could the line be any SLOWER or HOTTER? I think not.

BTW- hope PETA is not following along on your TR:

Anyway, he wanted another kick at the cat, so we lined up for the Speedway.

I don't know about the Fast Pass thing! I appreciate you sharing your experience with us.

So Haunted Mansion is a FP attraction again? All the time or just for the special tests?

What a jerk on Pirates!!!

.

 

[Feckless]

Fantastic update!

I love your Rocky bus story. Hilarious!!!

I'm not a big fan of the Speedway either. Could the line be any SLOWER or HOTTER? I think not.

BTW- hope PETA is not following along on your TR:



I don't know about the Fast Pass thing! I appreciate you sharing your experience with us.

So Haunted Mansion is a FP attraction again? All the time or just for the special tests?

What a jerk on Pirates!!!

.

Maybe I should edit to say, "Kick at the CAN" which I think is actually the proper quote!

Yes, HM appears to be FP again! I think all the time, but I can't be sure. We didn't need to use FP at all.

 

[MickeyT]

. We told the CM that there were 8 in our party, so they sent us to two lines, one in front of the other. At the last second, this guy got in front of our family, so that I was the odd person out. I asked him if he could move to the back row where he was originally, and he just ignored me. I didn’t make a fuss, no big deal - I just sat with the family in the back row. But then the guy took his phone out the minute the boat started moving and proceeded to text the entire time we were on the ride. I called out to him to turn off his phone once because it was annoying me, but he ignored me. He never looked up ONCE during the ride. SO GLAD that he decided to ride with us!! Grrrr...

This is where I usually embarrass my wife. I would take my camera out, run in front of the guy and take his picture while exclaiming loudly that "I want a picture to remember this guy".

Loving the TR Feckless. Silently following along.

 

[Lulu'sMom]

This is where I usually embarrass my wife. I would take my camera out, run in front of the guy and take his picture while exclaiming loudly that "I want a picture to remember this guy".

Loving the TR Feckless. Silently following along.

OH! Love it, Mike!

Great TR, Freakless!
Love the pic of your DS with the gun. Brings back memories of my little man (now 21) with his Indy gun when he was that age.

They grow up so fast!

Nice looking family having a great time~love reading about it! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Feckless]

This is where I usually embarrass my wife. I would take my camera out, run in front of the guy and take his picture while exclaiming loudly that "I want a picture to remember this guy".

Loving the TR Feckless. Silently following along.

Thanks for tuning in, Mike! If you did that, if I were your wife I'd say, "I'll be out in the car."

OH! Love it, Mike!

Great TR, Freakless! Love the pic of your DS with the gun. Brings back memories of my little man (now 21) with his Indy gun when he was that age.

They grow up so fast!

Nice looking family having a great time~love reading about it! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for the comments and thanks for reading along!

 

[natebenma]

This is where I usually embarrass my wife. I would take my camera out, run in front of the guy and take his picture while exclaiming loudly that "I want a picture to remember this guy".

Loving the TR Feckless. Silently following along.

I swear, Mike, I had the same exact thought!!!

 

[Missoutandabout]

You know, after that last installment, I can't for the life of me get the Rocky Theme out of my mind. Been whistling it all day.

Loving your report.

(Seriously, with that guy in Pirates. What an a**hat. )

 

[wishinon3stars]

I thought I was all caught up with your trip report but when I checked I had a couple of installments to read!

Great report! I hadn't heard about the golf ball. Nice tip.

Sometimes people just amaze me. I can't understand why someone would just cut infront of a family like that. I think that I would have take all 4 of us out of the line and gone back to the CM which would totally embarrass my children. I can hear them now, "it's ok mom really its ok"


Now back to my regularly scheduled housework . . . .

 

[JanetMom]

Another great report!

So jealous of your wait times, compared to our March trip.

Maybe I should edit to say, "Kick at the CAN" which I think is actually the proper quote!

That made me laugh. I just chalked it up to an "out east" thing. When I read you kick cats, I just thought, wow in Ontario we say kick at the can, I guess maritimers are tougher and kick cats.

This is where I usually embarrass my wife. I would take my camera out, run in front of the guy and take his picture while exclaiming loudly that "I want a picture to remember this guy".

Loving the TR Feckless. Silently following along.

Love the way you think, MickeyT! I would totally want to do that. I wouldn't have the guts, but I would think of it.

 

[333disneymom]

Great update! Love SM - 2nd favorite ride after TOT. We missed you by a day. We had CP reservations the day before you at the same time. It is great to enter the park so early.

Oh, that sucks!!! Oh well, another reason to plan another trip.

I like your thinking.

 

[Feckless]

Day 4 - Part 2: Pool and Epcot!

As I posted in the last update, we caught a bus back from the Magic Kingdom to the BC. On the way back from the bus stop DS spotted a turtle in the lagoon next to the bus stop:

The kids headed for the pool as soon as possible. DH took DS right away (he couldn’t wait!), while I took DD to get a hair wrap with beads. Here she is getting it done:

Each section of small beads was $5 and each big bead was $5. I think they have some Disney princess ones but my DD wasn't interested so I didn't look too closely. What you see here was $20 worth of beads. In addition to the beads, they charge by the inch of wrap. This one strip cost $46. Ack!!! Oh well, they stay in for several weeks to several months - it looks just the same now as when it went in, and DD loves hers.

Here’s the finished product later in the night!

After I got to the pool, I noticed that all four kids were involved in the pool games. My kids usually aren’t interested in those things, but they were having a ball. The other family’s DD made it to the “finals” of the game, and my kids got the other kids chanting her name, which was sweet! She didn’t win, but they had a blast.

I enjoyed a couple of Sunken Treasures (although not on the menu, they are the official drink of the BC/YC thread and they will make you one if you ask and you find a bartender in the know).

I chatted with the dads (the other mom was having a nap) and read my book by the pool for the afternoon. The kids were back in the room by 7 and DH and DS decided to do the movie on the beach and DD and I went to Epcot for late EMH. However, DS was asleep before we kept the room and there he remained for the night. He was exhausted! We had asked for a rollaway cot, and it was delivered sometime that day. He lay down and immediately went to sleep. It was perfect for DS! Really improved our time there. It was comfortable as well, with a actual foundation under the cot mattress. Unfortunately, it made it difficult to get on the balcony (the door swung into the cot) but the sleeping situation improvement was worth it. DH “took one for the team” and stayed in the room with DS, and ordered room service, while Amelia and I went to Epcot for evening EMH. I was shocked that she wanted to do this, but she was a dynamo on this holiday, and just wanted to go, go, go.

It was SO lovely to walk in through the International Gateway. There was a full moon, which was incredibly beautiful. I caught it on my point and shoot, but it didn’t really capture the full beauty of it, but maybe you can get a tiny idea!

Our first stop was Journey into Imagination with Figment. I like this ride fine, although I know it isn’t popular. In fact, I like ALL rides. LOL. After that, we went to Spaceship Earth. I was looking for a Photopass photographer, but there were none to be found! I have a great picture taken in the evening in front of SSE from our last trip that I have enlarged and framed in my office and I was looking for a mother/daughter version. Oh well! It was magical to see SSE in the night...

Anyway, when they take your picture on SSE I was fixing my hair for some unknown reason, so the pictures at the end all had a hand protruding from my head. It was, in DD’s words, an EPIC SPACESHIP EARTH FAIL. LOL
We hadn’t had anything to eat, so we decided to try the Electric Umbrella. DD had the Disney mac and cheese (which always looks slimy and unappetizing to me , but after the school lunch mac and cheese, I guess my kids don’t mind it! LOL) I had a veggie burger which wasn’t bad - lots of corn if I recall. After that, it was time to try Mission Space. I told DD I would only ride it on green, since I have read such awful things about it and have some motion sickness. I couldn’t believe the number of legal waivers in that ride! I know some people have died after riding it, but people have died after doing all sorts of things that have nothing to do with the reason they died... But, of course, I haven’t ridden it on orange - YET!

We were running out of steam and had sore feet from all the walking, so we headed to the Nemo ride (which was a favourite of DD’s last time). It was still charming!

We then headed to Mousegears for Duffy bears, and got some outfits as well. Loved the 3 for $30 deal, but holy moley, two bears plus outfits are very expensive! I know people hate Duffy, but they are very sweet bears.
We headed back to our room, and once we got to the International Gateway DD completely ran out of steam. It was about 11 p.m. and given that we were up at 7 she was on the go the entire day, that was understandable! I managed to drag her the last few feet and made it back to the room. DD basically crashed into the bed with DH so with DS in the cot, I got a lovely queen bed to myself! Given that I had such a horrible night sleep the night before, it was heaven.

Next up: Another scheduled rest day!! Or is it????

 

[JanetMom]

Great update!

$45 for the hair wrap is crazy, but why not when you are on vacation. I would have totally gone for it, it I had a girl with me.

Love the look of spaceship earth at night. It is so beautiful!