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

[SoonerGirl]

Why did Zach pose with Lotso?? I don't like Lotso. Grrrr....

Me either! He's an evil, evil bear!

I did online check in one time and found that it didn't really make things go any faster so I've never done it again.

Zach's motion sickness issues must not be as bad as mine, I can't even do the green side of Mission: Space

 

[disneybarbie]

looked like a fun first evening!

I always think about buying the Lotso plush toy.. so cute looking (and lovely smelling!) and then I remember what an evil bear he was to Woody & the other toys!

Did the CMs at the Rose & Crown say anything about Zach's England football shirt?

It is funny to hear other guests sometimes to try to get walk-up reservations.. knowing that I've booked our meals up to 180 days out! .. I'm sure a quick search on the internet for anyone would make it clear that WDW restaurants need to be booked? hmmm.
One time we were waiting to be seated at the Crystal Palace, and I overheard a guy trying to get a table for his family.. when the CM said she had nothing for a party of four, he said "what about a table for three?" - I wondered who wasn't going to get to eat!



Look forward to reading more!


Emma x

 

[jenny105]

Me either! He's an evil, evil bear!

He is! Does he still do the character meet & greets? I want to tell him how evil he is & see how he reacts.

 

[Joyciemc]

When we tried online check in, the website came up with an error message. So when we arrived at the resort, we tried to check in. But the online HAD worked, so it took forever to track down our package. Long story short; it was annoying.

Glad you enjoyed dinner! We love the Rose and Crown!

 

[MEK]

Well, even though you trip started out a little rough, it sure got a lot better. You needed a limo to take you right from the airport to Epcot - your happy place! That would have fixed everything.

I think your cell phone pics turned out pretty well! They are nice and clear (more than I can say about mine). Did you start to like the Acadia house better? I used that bus stop when I stayed at POR. My first night there I caught the bus at 7pm and no one was around. It was a little freaky.

Glad you finally got your car back!!!

 

[Nermel9]

Ugh sorry online check in didn't go very well! I've used it twice and I like it, so I'll probably use it again in a couple weeks. I just REALLY want our rooms to be ready early, and I feel like checking in online kind of helps with that!

Yay for Epcot, Epcot is my happy place too! I mean, all of Disney is, but there's just something about Epcot that is so magical!

Yum I love Rose and Crown, glad you guys liked your dinner!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[SOUTHERNtinkerBELLE]

I completely agree about the other people on the ride! The right group can definitely make or break the experience.

Glad to hear you enjoyed R&C. I am hoping to try it out on our next trip. And yay for a dining report! I will definitely be following along there!

 

[Queenofallthings]

I am so happy that I'm not the only one that thought WPE has gone downhill in a big way! I was extremely disappointed! Can't wait for your dining reviews to start too!

 

[klacey1]

I'm sorry that online check-in didn't go as planned. I've only done it once and it didn't really expedite the process so I haven't done it again.

I love the first ride on the monorail. It's just so exciting to go around Epcot. Get a nice view of things. Spaceship Earth is my favorite Epcot ride, for sure.

I also agree that your ride partners make things much better, especially on a ride like Mission Space. Last time I rode it was with my dad and two brothers, and we were just crazy in there! Taking our roles very very seriously.

I think that's the route we're going to take from now on-- checking in at the hotel. Much easier. Haha, I love when people take their roles seriously on MS-- and act like if they DON"T push the buttons, something terrible will go wrong!

Sorry the online check in process didn't go smoothly. Bummer

Why did Zach pose with Lotso?? I don't like Lotso. Grrrr....


I don't understand the people that don't make ADRs either. Then they get mad they can't get a table anywhere decent. Do your research people!

Haha, I don't like Lotso either but he's so pretty! When we were shopping for a young cousin of Zach's for Christmas, we saw a deluxe (like $50+) Lotso in a box that was made to look like one the "real" Lotso would have come in. I wanted it so badly until I remembered what a evil bear he is!

Me either! He's an evil, evil bear!

I did online check in one time and found that it didn't really make things go any faster so I've never done it again.

Zach's motion sickness issues must not be as bad as mine, I can't even do the green side of Mission: Space

Oh wow-- I've never had any kind of motion sickness. That must be awful!

looked like a fun first evening!

I always think about buying the Lotso plush toy.. so cute looking (and lovely smelling!) and then I remember what an evil bear he was to Woody & the other toys!

Did the CMs at the Rose & Crown say anything about Zach's England football shirt?

It is funny to hear other guests sometimes to try to get walk-up reservations.. knowing that I've booked our meals up to 180 days out! .. I'm sure a quick search on the internet for anyone would make it clear that WDW restaurants need to be booked? hmmm.
One time we were waiting to be seated at the Crystal Palace, and I overheard a guy trying to get a table for his family.. when the CM said she had nothing for a party of four, he said "what about a table for three?" - I wondered who wasn't going to get to eat!



Look forward to reading more!


Emma x

You know, only the girl who sat us commented on Zach's jersey and she didn't know it was the national team's. She was just like "that looks like an British jersey." Um...yeah! The waiter and hostesses didn't say anything-- I think Zach was disappointed He loves to talk football (English national team and Arsenal)!
Haha, that story about the Crystal Palace made me laugh! Maybe one of the people in the family was a baby and he figured they didn't really need a seat? Still quite odd!

He is! Does he still do the character meet & greets? I want to tell him how evil he is & see how he reacts.

Haha-- it must be hard for him to convey anger without being able to speak!

When we tried online check in, the website came up with an error message. So when we arrived at the resort, we tried to check in. But the online HAD worked, so it took forever to track down our package. Long story short; it was annoying.

Glad you enjoyed dinner! We love the Rose and Crown!

Augh, that is annoying! Yeah, online check in isn't something we need to do again. Rose and Crown was fantastic! Definitely a must-do from now on.

Well, even though you trip started out a little rough, it sure got a lot better. You needed a limo to take you right from the airport to Epcot - your happy place! That would have fixed everything.

I think your cell phone pics turned out pretty well! They are nice and clear (more than I can say about mine). Did you start to like the Acadia house better? I used that bus stop when I stayed at POR. My first night there I caught the bus at 7pm and no one was around. It was a little freaky.

Glad you finally got your car back!!!

Thanks-- for a camera phone, I thought they were pretty decent! I thought Acadian house was pretty...and I did appreciate the fountains/low crowd levels at the North Depot (although this was a negative later in the trip-- foreshadowing!). However, I was really looking forward to getting the mugs and grabbing snacks in Riverside Mill after the parks, etc. which wasn't practical being so far away. If we stayed at POR again (which won't be for awhile), I'd definitely pay for a preferred location.

Ugh sorry online check in didn't go very well! I've used it twice and I like it, so I'll probably use it again in a couple weeks. I just REALLY want our rooms to be ready early, and I feel like checking in online kind of helps with that!

Yay for Epcot, Epcot is my happy place too! I mean, all of Disney is, but there's just something about Epcot that is so magical!

Yum I love Rose and Crown, glad you guys liked your dinner!

Can't wait to read more!

THat's what I was hoping for-- our room being ready early. Oh well, it worked out fine. This trip was just so different from our first together-- that trip, MK was the star and gave us that magical feeling. I obviously still love the MK, but Epcot was more special this trip (I have a feeling why, too, which'll come up later in the TR!)

I completely agree about the other people on the ride! The right group can definitely make or break the experience.

Glad to hear you enjoyed R&C. I am hoping to try it out on our next trip. And yay for a dining report! I will definitely be following along there!

Rose and Crown was delicious! Dining TR is in my signature if you want to follow along!

I am so happy that I'm not the only one that thought WPE has gone downhill in a big way! I was extremely disappointed! Can't wait for your dining reviews to start too!

Oh wow, WPE wasn't good for you guys either? I already reviewed it in my dining TR in my signature! I'm curious to hear what you guys thought!

 

[Aussiesalad]

Joining in! The title of your TR made me laugh as Space Mountain has claimed 3 pairs of my sunglasses over the years. You think I would have learnt my lesson but no.
What a terrible start to a trip! You poor thing!! Glad your dad was ok, but your poor little car. Sorry if you posted this already but what kind of car is it?
And the burning hot coffee as well! Ugh such a bummer!
Yay for starting on spaceship earth! Such a classic!
And I totally agree about having an enthusiastic team on Mission Space, it makes it so much better. It's a serious mission people, none of this slacking off and not pushing the buttons!
Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

 

[Nairnyn]

Oooh, I love staying in the Acadian house.

Just passing through to subscribe!

 

[DrMomof3]

Sorry about the car crash. Not a good way to start vacation!
How annoying that your online check-in was a waste of time.
Hooray for Epcot!

Amanda

 

[klacey1]

Joining in! The title of your TR made me laugh as Space Mountain has claimed 3 pairs of my sunglasses over the years. You think I would have learnt my lesson but no.
What a terrible start to a trip! You poor thing!! Glad your dad was ok, but your poor little car. Sorry if you posted this already but what kind of car is it?
And the burning hot coffee as well! Ugh such a bummer!
Yay for starting on spaceship earth! Such a classic!
And I totally agree about having an enthusiastic team on Mission Space, it makes it so much better. It's a serious mission people, none of this slacking off and not pushing the buttons!
Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

My car is Saturn Ion-- which is a problem with it crashing. Saturn is no longer in business, so certain parts can be really expensive. Augh. I finally got it back, though, so all is well.
Thanks! Glad you have joined in!

Oooh, I love staying in the Acadian house.

Just passing through to subscribe!

Acadian House was definitely pretty, but I missed being close to the food court!

Sorry about the car crash. Not a good way to start vacation!
How annoying that your online check-in was a waste of time.
Hooray for Epcot!

Amanda

I don't think either of us had fantastic starts to our trips!

 

[klacey1]

Day 2: I woke up this day feeling refreshed. After all, we were in Disney! Our first full day was going to be spent at MK (AM EMH)-- how could I let a busted car that I could do nothing about (at least at that moment) ruin my trip??
We usually plan to be at the bus stop an hour before park opening-- definitely a good thing this time!

We watched a ton of Epcot buses go by-- and a ton of people get on them. So many so that I started worrying that I had mixed up our days and maybe it was EMH at Epcot! Nope-- just POR buses being annoying. We made it to the MK about ten minutes before rope drop. Just the sight of the train station gave me a lump in the throat. I was so happy to be there!
As usual, both of us choked up as soon as the fire chief. “Good Morning!” Forget it, I was gone!
Once I got over that and we were let into the MK, I grabbed Zach's hand and practically dragged him to Tomorrowland. We had a mission. My favorite younger-years ride, Space Mountain, was being refurbbed our last trip, so Zach had never ridden it. I hadn't since 2006! Of course, the line was non-existent, so we briskly walked through. I told Zach we'd come back late afternoon to play all of the cool games, when there'd actually be a line. He was a bit nervous (as he is of all unknown rides), but since he's a huge Apollo 13 fan, I knew he'd love the theme!
We got into our rocket and blasted off for our wild ride. I loved it as always, laughing the whole time. As soon as we docked, I put my hands on Zach's shoulders (I was in the back seat), and asked “What'd you think?!” excitedly. The response?
“I lost my glasses.”
My stomach dropped. We hastily searched the car to no avail and alerted the ride attendant, who was GREAT! He said they would shut down the ride for five minutes and was sure they'd find the glasses quickly. I felt a little better until his supervisor showed up and the CM explained where Zach said they fell off. He snorted and replied “Seriously? That's a new one. I can't believe this!” When he realized we were right there, he embarrassingly cleared his throat and said hi.
He asked for a description of the glasses and instructed us to wait in the drop-off area. After a short while, he returned-- no glasses. $500 glasses just disappeared. When we were leaving Space, I glanced at my phone and saw it was 8:35. Half of EMH over.
At this point, I thought our trip was cursed. I couldn't believe how much was going wrong. We had a little fight then-- I wanted to hop in a cab and get to the nearest Lens Crafters. Zach said he was fine and only his distance was a bit blurry. I played mock-eye doctor and made him read me letters from far-off signs. We got over our tiff quickly, but I was still really upset for him. Those were the first glasses he ever enjoyed wearing! Not only were they pretty expensive (even with insurance), but I was afraid he wasn't going to be able to enjoy the trip properly. Despite calling the Lost & Found every day, I knew we'd never find them (no suspense needed-- we've been home for three weeks. They were never found).
To cheer us up, we rode Buzz, always a favorite. Despite compromised vision, Zach still beat me (as always!). Guess he was okay after all!

This was a re-do of a picture we took in 2009-- this time sans glasses.
I was feeling a bit better after that, but spent most of the morning with a bit of a cloud overhead. Trying not to show it, I suggested we ride Snow White's Scary Adventures before it's closed for good. We only waited about 10 minutes and I was glad. I'm totally okay with them replacing this with the awesome-looking mine coaster! SWSA was just kind of sad to me.

Check out the view of the Fantasyland construction! It's really moving along!
Next up was HM! This is one of Zach's favorites and I love it too-- the detail and music is just great! The line additions are fun, too-- I liked the musical instruments best.
We then hit BTMRR (in the back-- score!) and the new (old) Tiki Room! I know I'm probably alone here, but I preferred the Under New Management version! I loved Zazu and Iago ribbing each other and the cover of “Never Had a Friend like Me.” This was fun, but I have no need to see it again.
By the time we had done Philharmagic (I always only see this once a trip and always wonder why-- I love it!) IASW, and TTA (a new ride for us that we both found relaxing and fun), we were starving.

Since we were in Tomorrowland, we decided to eat at Cosmic Rays. You can see my DR for a full review, but this was probably my favorite CS of the trip! The food was fresh, hot, plentiful, and yummy!
Despite just eating half a chocolate cake (dessert at Cosmic Rays), I needed a sweet treat immediately after lunch. Only only dessert could satisfy that craving...a Dole Whip!! At this point, I had totally forgotten about the events of the past few days. I was full, with my favorite person in the world, and in my Disney groove!
After my treat and a spin on Pirates, we decided to visit Tom Sawyer Island. I once took the raft there and then immediately back, but had never really explored the island. I knew Zach would love shooting off the guns, so we lined up for the raft. A PP photographer joined us in line and I asked if he was on duty (he had a camera). He simply shook his head-- no “Sorry, not yet” or “Sorry, I have to take pictures of everyone coming off the raft first.” That he did. Despite there being a couple of minutes between when I asked him to take our picture and a raft coming back, he simply turned his back until guests returned and simply held his camera up in their face. One family handed him their card-- the rest either ignored him or waved him off. Once we were on the raft, he took literally everyone else's picture before finally holding the camera in our faces. Again, most families on the boat waved him off. He took pictures of one family and then handed them a card, at which they looked confusedly. Maybe I wasn't in as good of a mood as I thought I was, because when he held up the camera, I said “Forget it” and turned away. Clearly, I was being a snit. And now, home and not upset about a vacation being potentially ruined, the rational part of me is surprised I let that bother me. However, I'm still as confused as I was then! I just don't get why he totally ignored us twice-- even when he knew we wanted our picture. I also wasn't crazy about his personality. I couldn't get why he didn't politely ask people if they wanted their picture instead of just shoving his camera a foot away from their faces.
TSI was fun-- as predicted, Zach loved the guns!

It's a nice change of pace, but I can't see us returning trip after trip. By the time we took the raft back, it was 2:00 p.m. and we were both beat. It was time for a midday break to relax and recharge for our night at Epcot!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Oh no! What a bummer that Zach lost his glasses and never got them back! I sure hope that is the last bad thing to happen on this trip

I've never been out to TSI, you'd think with 2 boys that it would be something we would do, but we've just never made time for it.

 

[MEK]

I am so sorry Zach lost his glasses. That totally stinks. I can definitely see you being a "little" snitty after the events of the past 24 hrs. In fact, I think I would be " a lot" snitty and the PP guy would have gotten under my skin, too. The only thing I can think of is maybe he was new and really not trained well on customer service. Hopefully he gets some experience with that - really soon, too! Because he is selling a product - and not very well!

 

[Nermel9]

Ughhhh, that's awful how Zach lost his glasses, I would have freaked out!!! I'm SO paranoid about losing things on rides, I put everything in my purse and hold it with a death grip the whole time!

That PP photographer sounds obnoxious. I've come across a few of them that have bad attitudes, some of them make you feel like you are really bothering them if you want a picture, I don't like that.

TSI is fun once in a while, it's a nice place to relax and escape the crowds, but you're right, it's definitely not something you have to do on every trip!

 

[jenny105]

Oh no! Your vacation got off to quite the rocky start! That stinks about his glasses.

It seems like you ran into some snippy CMs. I hate when the photogs MAKE you stop. Just ask. Don't force me to take a picture if I don't want to.

I was thinking of getting the PP cd when we go next year but I never stop to take enough pictures. Maybe I'll stop at every single one I see next year!

 

[klacey1]

Oh no! What a bummer that Zach lost his glasses and never got them back! I sure hope that is the last bad thing to happen on this trip

I've never been out to TSI, you'd think with 2 boys that it would be something we would do, but we've just never made time for it.

Thanks for the sympathy ! It was the last out of the ordinary bad thing, definitely. We had some long lines and bad weather, but that was it! I bet your boys would enjoy TSI-- lots of little nooks to explore!

I am so sorry Zach lost his glasses. That totally stinks. I can definitely see you being a "little" snitty after the events of the past 24 hrs. In fact, I think I would be " a lot" snitty and the PP guy would have gotten under my skin, too. The only thing I can think of is maybe he was new and really not trained well on customer service. Hopefully he gets some experience with that - really soon, too! Because he is selling a product - and not very well!

Honestly, I hope he was new! It's not hard to be polite-- and when that's part of your JOB, it should be a given that that's how you treat people!

Ughhhh, that's awful how Zach lost his glasses, I would have freaked out!!! I'm SO paranoid about losing things on rides, I put everything in my purse and hold it with a death grip the whole time!

That PP photographer sounds obnoxious. I've come across a few of them that have bad attitudes, some of them make you feel like you are really bothering them if you want a picture, I don't like that.

TSI is fun once in a while, it's a nice place to relax and escape the crowds, but you're right, it's definitely not something you have to do on every trip!

I actually lost my wallet on BTMRR our last trip (thankfully just in our car and it was recovered immediately upon me realizing where it was) and that was IT to me-- I wrap my purse strap around my leg three times and check it's zipped 100 times! I never thought we'd have to watch Zach's glasses, though!

Oh no! Your vacation got off to quite the rocky start! That stinks about his glasses.

It seems like you ran into some snippy CMs. I hate when the photogs MAKE you stop. Just ask. Don't force me to take a picture if I don't want to.

I was thinking of getting the PP cd when we go next year but I never stop to take enough pictures. Maybe I'll stop at every single one I see next year!

Most of the CMs this trip were great, but the first two days were chockfull of people who were angry at the world! We got the CD this year and I was very proactive in making us stop at every photographer we saw. I especially wanted some "unique" shots-- our ones taken in France are my favorites!

 

[IheartDDuck]

Nothing worse than lost glasses in Disney World. My brother lost his glasses on the Skyway at Disney World. My fault though. We were kids, and he was messing around and hit me. Well, I couldn't let that stand, so I hit him back and knocked the glasses of his face. Needless to say, they fell to their end on the Tomorrowland Speedway.

I love Comic Rays. I think it is definitely one of my favorite CS locations at Disney. I just love the fact that they have so much to choose from. Never been disappointed there.