"Space Mountain, Can I Please Have My Glasses Back?" FINAL UPDATE-1/31!

[Tracy161]

So sorry to hear about all these things

Oh a more cheerful note, I am definitely in holiday spirit mode myself... I've been Christmas shopping here and there and LOVE hearing Christmas music at the mall! It's such a great time of the year... despite the cold!

 

[klacey1]

CONGRATS on the new job!
Glad you had such a great day at AK!

Amanda

Thank you! AK was terrific-- loved the lack of crowds!

I love all your pictures...the magic ones are my favorite! We were excited to TTBAB too when we were there although my oldest niece hates bugs and was crying by the time it was over!

I love going on the safari! It's never the same ride twice

Aww-- we did see a few upset kids during ITTBAB. I definitely understand why!

Oh honey...I am so sorry for all you have been going thru

I have been on holidays since last Wednesday and don't go back until Nov 14 so I am totally getting into the holiday mood. Jasmine and I spent Wednesday shopping and just listening to the Christmas music and checking out all the decorations really got me in the mood for the holidays! Hoping to spend a little more time at the mall this week....I'd at least like to get Jasmine a few things!

We have plans on Saturday to get the tree up and the house decorated! I do enjoy getting everything up early .... my favorite time of year

Thank you for your well-wishes. I really appreciate it. Yay! I love to hear that other people are getting into Christmas already, too! I hope you do get to go to the mall this week and get in some shopping!!

(((HUGS))) I am sorry to hear about all the bad news you've been dealt lately I hope within the next few weeks things turn around for the better and you all will be okay.

I LOVE christmas season!!!!! MY husband won't let me put our tree up and decorate until after thanksgiving though! Last weekend I spent time with a dear friend and we decorated her house and put up her tree, lights, ornaments and and watched ELF I dislike the cold as well, but LOVE christmas

Hope your week gets better and next weekend is a much better weekend for you all

Thank you very much.
DBF won't let us buy a tree until after Thanksgiving, too! He's also not crazy about watching holiday movies until Thanksgiving night, but that hasn't stopped me from listening to Christmas music on my way to work!

I'm so sorry about your friend's mom and Zach's uncle, how terrible. I hope things start getting better soon!

I love this time of year, I can't wait to start listening to Christmas music!

I really appreciate it-- thank you. Girl, what's stopping you?! I've already started listening to my Christmas playlist!

Oh Kylie, I'm sorry for all you've been going through We got lucky out here on the island and barely had any snow, just some sleet and lots of winds leaving little damage. Upstate and CT though got it so hard. I hope everything it getting better up by you!!

I am definitely getting into the Christmas spirit, too! Chris and I are going light on presents this year since we're going to WDW in Jan. but the whole holiday season just puts the biggest smile on my face! Are you planning on going in NYC to see the tree and stuff this year?

Thanks, Kristen! I'm so glad you guys got lucky with the storm! Everything is better up here but we still see downed trees and everything. Crazy!
Yes-- even though I work in the city, we MUST make a special trip every year to see the tree and windows and stuff-- and have a cupcake at Crumbs! What about you guys?

I am so sorry for your mom's friend. That is absolutely tragic and I have heard of more people dying by falling trees and limbs lately. Just horrible.

I am also very sorry to hear about Zach's uncle. Even though it sounds like some of his health problems may have been self inflicted, it does not make it any easier for the family.

Thank you so much for your sympathy-- it is truly appreciated.

I'm so sorry to hear all of the bad news. I will keep both Zach and your friend's families in my thoughts and hope that they all find peace soon.

Thank you Courtney!

I am so sorry for your losses.

Thank you Joyce-- really appreciate it.

Catching up!

I didn't even think about whether it would be convenient to have the refillable mugs based on room location. Oh man, I hope that we get one that's close!

I love the picture of the jumping fountains in Epcot from the monorail. I cannot wait to ride that monorail line!!!

Oh boo for the glasses incident! That stinks.

I strangely think that I'm going to enjoy the Under New Management version of the Tiki Room too. It's not that I actually like Iago and Zazu, but I'm thinking that without that [annoying] plot line, isn't it just singing birds? I get kind of bored during that part.

I enjoy watching the people around me too even though I'm thoroughly enjoying the moments with Howard. Besides, those moments like the Test Track girl and the angry man at Coral Reef just makes for more interesting stories in a TR, haha.

Oh man, that mom pushing the girl in the stroller??? THAT'S INSANE!!!

I'm curious to know whether or not Howard and I will utilize PM EMH very well. I hope we do, but I think it'll just be fun to have the option of staying late even though we'll probably still be very efficient during the day like you guys are!

Congrats on your new job! I hope you're enjoying it

I love how much you got done at AK so quickly. I'm hoping for low crowds because the one time I've been to AK, it was sweltering hot an crowded. I'd like to enjoy the trails in some cool weather. And I agree with you about that creepy ostrich with his eyes!

Awww, I hate reading that stressful and sad real life update. Will be keeping you in my thoughts!

Hey, girl!! I was really excited about the mugs, but it just didn't seem the most practical. I think next trip we'll just get them no matter where our room is!
I'm glad you understand my people-watching haha. I can be having the best time ever, but other people just catch my eye lol. It is really fun staying late for EMH and soaking in the atmosphere, even if we usually don't ride much.

So sorry to hear about all these things

Oh a more cheerful note, I am definitely in holiday spirit mode myself... I've been Christmas shopping here and there and LOVE hearing Christmas music at the mall! It's such a great time of the year... despite the cold!

Thank you. I love the Christmas music, too!! I just wish our mall played better songs! Not a huge fan of Bieber's take on classic songs!

 

[jenny105]

OMG. I'm sorry to hear about Zach's uncle. And the friend that lost her mom to the storm. That's terrible! We were lucky enough not to lose power but there were trees & wires down all throughout the neighborhood. I can't believe we had a snowstorm and it wasn't Halloween yet. SO looking forward to winter.

Hope you're both doing ok

 

[klacey1]

OMG. I'm sorry to hear about Zach's uncle. And the friend that lost her mom to the storm. That's terrible! We were lucky enough not to lose power but there were trees & wires down all throughout the neighborhood. I can't believe we had a snowstorm and it wasn't Halloween yet. SO looking forward to winter.

Hope you're both doing ok

Thank you-- Zach's much better now and I'm happy to have things back to normal. I know-- I still can't believe we had snow before Halloween! I'm so glad you guys didn't lose power-- it was such a pain!! I just hope this is it for the winter. I don't really mind being snowed in over a weekend (especially before Christmas. Kind of hate it after Christmas)-- but no power, no heat-- no thank you!!

 

[klacey1]

I gave Zach a rundown of the CS places I knew of in AK and he said he could eat wherever. Since we were pretty much done with AK (I had an EE FP but it was about 9000 degrees at this point and the idea of walking from Rafiki's planet watch over to Asia was NOT in the cards!), I suggested that we leave the park and go to one of the resorts for lunch! We had had a reservation at California Grille that I swapped out for Artist Point-- pretty much the only reason we were going to eat there in the first place was because Zach loves the CR. With this in mind, I suggested we take a bus over to the CR and eat at Contempo Cafe.
Well, apparently buses at AK aren't exactly flooding in at noon! We waited seemingly forever for a CR bus when finally a GF one pulled up. Since we enjoy visiting there, too, we decided to hop on and take the monorail over to the CR.
We chatted with a couple while waiting for the monorail-- so sweet. They go to the World often and had two young children that they had left at home. In the mom's words, their son was at the age where he'd interfere with others' good time. However, they didn't want to stop going to WDW, so they decided to sneak in a weekend at the CR!
I'm not super familiar with CR, so it took us awhile to find Contempo. I love this resort, too, so wandering aimlessly was fine by me!
When we finally found it, we loved ordering by touch screen. Both of us enjoyed our lunch, but my dessert, a giant red velvet cupcake, was AMAZING! Their bakery is fabulous!

While we were enjoying our food, each other, and the atmosphere, we couldn't help but notice this super obnoxious family. The kids were all over the place, running around other people's tables and making a huge mess. The adults weren't any better-- super loud and messy. When they got up to leave, they left all of their trash on the table! This woman who had been waiting for a table with her daughter looked at me in disbelief. She helped a CM clear off the table and muttered under her breath that some people are ridiculous. I completely agreed!
After we finished up, we hopped on a monorail to the MK and connected there to a bus for POR. This bus stopped at the South (main) Depot first, with the trusty automated voice saying “The next stop is the East (or whichever) Depot.” Since Acadian House is right by the North Depot, we stayed on (of course). Everyone except us and one woman got off-- I think a lot of people can't figure out that they might be closer to a bus stop that's not the main one. I find it hard to believe that all of those people were staying in Alligator Bayou buildings 14-16, 18, or 27!
Zach and I zoned out a bit to our surroundings, chatting about how much we love CR and really want to stay there, as well as the evening ahead of us. Our conversation lulled for a second and I glanced out the window-- the bus was exiting the resort!! I obviously freaked and called out “Excuse me, did you stop at the other depots?!” Her response? “No, I didn't think I had to.”
What?! The other woman started panicking-- she had an ADR at a resort and needed to go back to POR to grab her daughter and meet the rest of her family. During all of this, the bus driver kept saying she needed to go to DHS and pick up people from Saratoga Springs, THEN she'd drop us off. At this point, it was just plain funny. I can't believe she didn't notice us on the bus-- or immediately turn around and drop us back at POR! Oh well. We had plenty of time to make our ADR, but I felt really bad for the woman. At least it was only DHS, which is a short ride from POR-- imagine if she said she had to drive to AK! I would have demanded to be let off the bus!
Our sad, empty bus...

After picking up the people going back to SS, she dropped us off at the North Depot (where the woman was going too) and we finally made it back to our room (around an hour and fifteen minutes since we boarded the bus at the MK). At this point, we had some decision making to do. We were switching hotels for that one night! Originally, I thought we'd just take the stuff we needed for that night and the next day with us to Epcot (where our ADR was) and then take a taxi straight from the park to save time. We decided we didn't really want to carry all of that with us, though, and would return to POR to pick up our stuff/grab a cab.
Back on a bus!

Our evening at Epcot was just lovely-- we rode Test Track, of course!

I said “let's do bored faces” but I think we both look pretty angry! Oops!

We then made our way into the WS for some PP pictures.

Our final stop before dinner was to Japan, to pick a pearl for Zach's mom. He thought she'd like a necklace for her birthday. It was a fun experience as always, but as we were leaving the pavilion, this kid just RAN into me. Like literally sprinted and head-butted my arm. It actually really hurt my elbow and I was pretty pissed. He was like eight or nine-- a bit old to just pummel into strangers. The father helpfully asked the kid if he was alright and didn't apologize or make the kid apologize...
After that, it was around 5:45, so we decided to check in for our 6:00 ADR at Chefs de France. Surprisingly, they could take us right away!
We had a lovely window seat-- a great view! It's so pretty inside here and felt pretty fancy for a 1-credit ADR.

This was Zach's second favorite meal, but I only thought it was okay. (I ordered the macaroni.) Our waiter was adorable, of course-- Julien! Zach was even more in love than I was! The restaurant was packed, but Julien was very attentive. Immediately after dinner, we headed to the POR bus stop. Most of you probably know this, but where were we going? Why were we switching hotels for a night? Find out in my next update!

 

[Where'sPiglet?]

Oh, no! I am so sorry to hear about all your recent bad news.


Wow on the buses! I can't believe he didn't stop at the other depots! What if people were waiting to get on the bus to to go DHS?!

I am very curious where you are going for just the one night!

 

[jenny105]

What a long bus ride you guys had! Way to pay attention Disney driver!

That is one huge cupcake.

People and their kids. I know they're kids and they run all over the place but seriously, keep an eye on them! Don't let them run wild throughout WDW. You need to read Snodgrass Vacation.

I know where you're going, I know where you're going!!!!!

 

[disneybarbie]

Great update!

I'm intrigued where you're heading to stay this night... !

Sorry to hear about the bus journey, like you say - at least you weren't in a rush.. we've had the opposite experience to this before, when we were the only people on a bus once, the driver just asked us where we wanted to go.. radioed to check with the bus coordinator, and just took us straight to our destination!

That's pretty bad about those kids at the Contempo cafe.. we witnessed a very similar thing a few weeks ago, but at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Claridges Hotel London!! - a family were eating there with three children, under the age of 5 I'd guess.. the kids were running all around the restaurant, crawling under tables & taking photos of other guests?! very odd, seemed so out of place & the parents didn't see bothered by it lol


Hope you're having a great weekend & looking forward to the next update!



Emma x

 

[xoktenox]

Thanks, Kristen! I'm so glad you guys got lucky with the storm! Everything is better up here but we still see downed trees and everything. Crazy!
Yes-- even though I work in the city, we MUST make a special trip every year to see the tree and windows and stuff-- and have a cupcake at Crumbs! What about you guys?

CRUMBSSSSS! We will never make another trip to NYC without getting one of these delicious treats!! My personal favorite is the red velvet...for my mom's bday I ordered her a "colassal" sized red velvet cupcake from there and had it delivered to my house

Yes! We are going in to see the tree and all on December 17...any chance for a DIS meet?!

 

[xoktenox]

Ok I'm commenting again lol I just read your update and see you got a red velvet cupcake from the Contempo Cafe so I'm sure you love Crumbs red velvets too!

I can't even believe that bus driver didn't turn around and let you off the bus! I'm glad you laughed it off...I probably would have freaked out!

I'm anxious to see where you are switching to for one night!

 

[a pirate's mama]

I am loving your trip report! Well, except the not-so-great parts in the beginning and, of course, being rammed into by a speeding kid!

I can't wait to hear where you stayed.

 

[Joyciemc]

I can't believe a kid ran into you! And to not apologize on top of it, sheesh!

I had the opposite problem a long time ago, when I ran over a baby at Crystal Palace. (it was an accident and and did apologize, profusely. I think I may have cried a little. The dad was very understanding, the mom was mean. FTR, baby was just fine!)

 

[Mrs T 2009]

That cupcake looked delicious!!!

I can not believe that bus driver didn't notice there was still people on the bus! Bet that was the longest bus ride you had!! LOL

I guess when we go, I zone out on the rude people so I don't remember those encounters when we get back!

I can not remember whoch resort you are going to, so I'm excited for your next post!!!

 

[Nermel9]

Great update! I visited Contempo Cafe on our trip, to check out the cupcakes, they all looked so good!

LOL at that bus driver! I wonder if she was new? Glad you had time before your ADR!

Hmmm, you just gave me such a great idea about what to get Brandon's mom for Christmas, I bet she would love if we did Pick a Pearl and gave her a necklace or something, like you guys did for Zach's mom!

I loved Chef's de France, I think it's so pretty in there!

 

[Queenofallthings]

Great update! Ooooh that cupcake looks so delicious....must add that to my list to try next trip!

I can't believe that family letting their kids run around like maniacs...oh wait, yes I can, seen it many times! Don't you wonder when they leave a mess like that what their house must look like? That thought always enters my head!

I had to laugh at the bus story too, how can you not notice all the people in the back of your bus??

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

That cupcake looks amazing! Your bus story is one of the reasons we try to avoid the busses! Too much confusion sometimes!

I love the PP picture of the two of you with Spaceship Earth in the distance. You both look so happy!

 

[klacey1]

Oh, no! I am so sorry to hear about all your recent bad news.


Wow on the buses! I can't believe he didn't stop at the other depots! What if people were waiting to get on the bus to to go DHS?!

I am very curious where you are going for just the one night!

Thank you-- much appreciated. I KNOW! I just couldn't figure out why she didn't stop at the other depots-- or make some sort of announcement that she was only stopping at the South?

What a long bus ride you guys had! Way to pay attention Disney driver!

That is one huge cupcake.

People and their kids. I know they're kids and they run all over the place but seriously, keep an eye on them! Don't let them run wild throughout WDW. You need to read Snodgrass Vacation.

I know where you're going, I know where you're going!!!!!

At first, I wanted to be angry about the bus ride, but it was just so ridiculous, I had to laugh it off! So crazy!
It was huge and delicious! What is Snograss Vacation?!

Great update!

I'm intrigued where you're heading to stay this night... !

Sorry to hear about the bus journey, like you say - at least you weren't in a rush.. we've had the opposite experience to this before, when we were the only people on a bus once, the driver just asked us where we wanted to go.. radioed to check with the bus coordinator, and just took us straight to our destination!

That's pretty bad about those kids at the Contempo cafe.. we witnessed a very similar thing a few weeks ago, but at Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in Claridges Hotel London!! - a family were eating there with three children, under the age of 5 I'd guess.. the kids were running all around the restaurant, crawling under tables & taking photos of other guests?! very odd, seemed so out of place & the parents didn't see bothered by it lol


Hope you're having a great weekend & looking forward to the next update!



Emma x

Wow-- what luck with the bus! Yeah, definitely the opposite of what happened to us!
I hate when people let their kids run all of the place-- especially in a fancy restaurant! Kind of off topic, but how was the food there?! We love Gordon Ramsey!
I did have a lovely weekend-- got some Christmas shopping done! I did text Zach though at one point that the lines were worse than Disney rides-- stood in line for 35 minutes to purchase something!!

CRUMBSSSSS! We will never make another trip to NYC without getting one of these delicious treats!! My personal favorite is the red velvet...for my mom's bday I ordered her a "colassal" sized red velvet cupcake from there and had it delivered to my house

Yes! We are going in to see the tree and all on December 17...any chance for a DIS meet?!

I've seen pictures of the colossal cupcakes!! Crazy! Bet it was very appreciated
Yes, a DIS meet is very possible!! We usually decide closer to the date about when we're going down, but it's usually around the middle of the month! We'll chat as the date nears!

Ok I'm commenting again lol I just read your update and see you got a red velvet cupcake from the Contempo Cafe so I'm sure you love Crumbs red velvets too!

I can't even believe that bus driver didn't turn around and let you off the bus! I'm glad you laughed it off...I probably would have freaked out!

I'm anxious to see where you are switching to for one night!

I do love Crumbs red velvet, but my favorite is the Oreo one. The brownie one is delish, too!
I think at any other time, I would have freaked out about the bus situation, but in the context of the other stuff that happened to us, it was laughable!

I am loving your trip report! Well, except the not-so-great parts in the beginning and, of course, being rammed into by a speeding kid!

I can't wait to hear where you stayed.

Thank you!! I'll update soon about where we went!

I can't believe a kid ran into you! And to not apologize on top of it, sheesh!

I had the opposite problem a long time ago, when I ran over a baby at Crystal Palace. (it was an accident and and did apologize, profusely. I think I may have cried a little. The dad was very understanding, the mom was mean. FTR, baby was just fine!)

Oh, no! I mean, I understand accidents happen, and if the kid or dad had apologized I would have forgotten about it. But they just walked away without a word!
Augh, I'm sure your guilt was much worse than anything that happened to the baby. That's the worst feeling!

That cupcake looked delicious!!!

I can not believe that bus driver didn't notice there was still people on the bus! Bet that was the longest bus ride you had!! LOL

I guess when we go, I zone out on the rude people so I don't remember those encounters when we get back!

I can not remember whoch resort you are going to, so I'm excited for your next post!!!

It was soooo long! We spent most of it trying to calm down the woman freaking out about potentially missing her ADR! I felt really bad for her!

Great update! I visited Contempo Cafe on our trip, to check out the cupcakes, they all looked so good!

LOL at that bus driver! I wonder if she was new? Glad you had time before your ADR!

Hmmm, you just gave me such a great idea about what to get Brandon's mom for Christmas, I bet she would love if we did Pick a Pearl and gave her a necklace or something, like you guys did for Zach's mom!

I loved Chef's de France, I think it's so pretty in there!

The cupcake was amazing! Such a great dessert option!
For her sake-- I hope she was new! Hopefully it was a learning experience for her!
She really loved the pick a pearl-- I definitely recommend it as a Christmas/birthday present!

 

[disneybarbie]

Wow-- what luck with the bus! Yeah, definitely the opposite of what happened to us!
I hate when people let their kids run all of the place-- especially in a fancy restaurant! Kind of off topic, but how was the food there?! We love Gordon Ramsey!

I did have a lovely weekend-- got some Christmas shopping done! I did text Zach though at one point that the lines were worse than Disney rides-- stood in line for 35 minutes to purchase something!!

hehe - off topic - Gordon Ramsey's was amazing! The meal was a wedding gift from some of my friends (they know how much DH & I love good food & dining experiences, which definitely started from visiting WDW! ) - it was a similar style meal to Victoria & Alberts, we picked three dishes each from a set menu and then there were little dishes inbetween that the chef had prepared
At one point, the dining room was really quiet, we could hear the chef shouting really loudly at the other cooks! I doubt it was Gordon himself, but obviously another chef with a firey temper ... all the diners & waiters were looking around, trying not to laugh!

I've done a little Christmas shopping this weekend too, I like to get as much done as I can in November, before the shops get too crazy!


Emma x

 

[klacey1]

That cupcake looks amazing! Your bus story is one of the reasons we try to avoid the busses! Too much confusion sometimes!

I love the PP picture of the two of you with Spaceship Earth in the distance. You both look so happy!

As much as we would hate to drive at Disney-- it certainly would have been easier this time!!
Aww, thank you! We definitely were happy then!

hehe - off topic - Gordon Ramsey's was amazing! The meal was a wedding gift from some of my friends (they know how much DH & I love good food & dining experiences, which definitely started from visiting WDW! ) - it was a similar style meal to Victoria & Alberts, we picked three dishes each from a set menu and then there were little dishes inbetween that the chef had prepared
At one point, the dining room was really quiet, we could hear the chef shouting really loudly at the other cooks! I doubt it was Gordon himself, but obviously another chef with a firey temper ... all the diners & waiters were looking around, trying not to laugh!

I've done a little Christmas shopping this weekend too, I like to get as much done as I can in November, before the shops get too crazy!


Emma x

Oh, that sounds amazing! We love great dinners, too! That's so funny about the angry chef, haha. I mean, I feel bad for the sous chefs, but still-- very funny!!
I totally agree-- I hate when the stores get so packed! Worse than that-- the parking lots! I don't care how far I have to walk, I just want a spot at all!

 

[xoktenox]

I've seen pictures of the colossal cupcakes!! Crazy! Bet it was very appreciated
Yes, a DIS meet is very possible!! We usually decide closer to the date about when we're going down, but it's usually around the middle of the month! We'll chat as the date nears!

She loved the cupcake! Ok, sounds good

I do love Crumbs red velvet, but my favorite is the Oreo one. The brownie one is delish, too!
I think at any other time, I would have freaked out about the bus situation, but in the context of the other stuff that happened to us, it was laughable!

Hmmm, an Oreo one may have to come home with me next time...and the brownie...and a red velvet...