stopher1's (it was) LIVE "Triple Whammy" Report - THV/AKV/VWL - Jan 11-22

[stopher1]

I'm gonna finish this thing if it kills me! There's only a couple more days and some follow-up, I promise

Day 10 – Wednesday

Our trip is getting closer to it’s conclusion – but once again we were headed to my favorite WDW park – the Magic Kingdom. I always love beginning and/or ending a trip at the MK. There’s just something about it, I guess, mainly because it was modeled after Walt’s original Magic Kingdom – the one that I grew up with, Disneyland. I love BOTH parks – they are both special and unique, even though they share many similarities. For those of you who only know the Magic Kingdom… you do have special place there at WDW – but I would definitely encourage you to take that trip west and explore and enjoy The Happiest Place on Earth for yourself. Don’t get caught up in the size difference of the castles, or the walkways, or, or, or… they truly offer wonderful, magical experiences…but Disneyland is the only one that Walt actually walked in, ate in, slept in. There’s just such a special feeling I get around those Magic Kingdoms… and someday I hope to be able to stand in the Magic Kingdoms in Tokyo, Paris & Hong Kong as well…but for now, I’m happy with Anaheim & Orlando.

We had a quick breakfast in the room, and then proceeded downstairs to catch the boat over to the MK. The walk down to the dock from our room was beautiful, to say the least

I love having transportation options at WDW. Whenever possible I’ll choose the boat or monorail anytime over a bus. You can catch a bus in cities all across the country – but how often can you take a boat to your destination or a monorail? Many areas do utilize boat transportation – but most do not. I love riding the boats while at WDW.

The journey was quick, and soon enough we were standing in that very crowded bag check line. Then we were inside the gates, and passing through the train tunnel and out into Town Square. Two things really stood out – 1) as usual, characters were all over the place, but surprisingly my DD did not even care to stop and see any of them; and 2) no more Christmas decorations! The Christmas Tree was now gone, and the garlands, swags and other holiday décor were gone. It was nice to be able to see Main Street for what it is today.

Gone also was the awful crane from behind the castle. That was a nice sight as well. Although lights do still remain on the castle (at least on that day while we were there they were still partially up).

First stop? The roller coasters! My middle son took all of our tickets and went up the road into Tomorrowland to get us FP’s for Space Mountain, while the rest of us headed for ToonTown so my DD could try out Goofy’s Barnstomer. He joined back up with the group just as we passed the Teacups...

This would be her first ride – and she was a bit nervous. Since our last visit to the MK the week prior, her brothers had been talking it up incessantly, getting her pumped and excited about the possibility of riding something new. And since she had done Test Track a couple of days before – they definitely had her in the “I can do that” column! She was excited but nervous.

My DD and DS11 rode up in the front seat, followed by my eldest and then me, each in our own rows. When the train pulled back into the station and we got off, I wasn’t sure why she was upset – but it turned out she was upset thinking that we had to leave to do something else – she wanted TO GO ON IT AGAIN! We were all stoked by that, so right back into line we got. And with a stated 5 min wait time, it was no big deal! She loved it and wanted to do it again! This time, however, we didn’t let her get back into line, as it was now time to go and try another ride – the “fast train” as she called it – Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

We hopped the train that had just pulled in, and rode it around to Frontierland. There we were able to get on BTMRR with the stated wait time of 10 min, that only took 5 – and once again – SHE LOVED IT! The grin on her face was practically ear to ear. She insisted on sitting with Daddy who would, as she said, “keep her safe” from anything bad on the ride – and afterwards, turned to me and said, “I love it, and want to go again! Thanks for taking me on this one daddy!” My baby has joined the rest of the family now at being able to go on stuff! Yay. There are only a few things left that she won’t go on – but by our next visit to WDW – even those will be diminished, I’m pretty sure.

Back on the train we hopped to ride back over to Toontown and quickly walk over to make our Space Mountain FP return time – we had to hurry, because we had a lunch ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern to get back to. I know it seems crazy going back and forth around the park like this – but it was actually quite fun…and with minimal wait times, it wasn’t so bad at all.

DD was brave this trip, but not quite brave enough for a roller coaster in the dark, and we didn’t force her. So we got a parent switch ticket, and then while the boys and my DW went inside SM, DD and I began the stroll over to check in for our luncheon. Crossing the bridge from Tomorrowland I saw that the moat was now completely empty (last week it was mostly empty).

We stopped in front of the Castle for a brief while to enjoy part of the show that had just began – I really enjoyed seeing the new generation of Characters with the articulating mouths! Those were really quite cool. It was really neat to see Donald, Mickey, Minnie & Goofy’s mouths move with everything they said! I hadn’t read about that online – so I was happily surprised. Very, very cool stuff!

Next up – lunch with Minnie, Pluto, Chip & Dale – Chip just cracked us up!

 

[arthur06]

Just out of curiosity, why do they empty the moat? and how often do they do it?

Great Pics!

 

[mikeandkarla]

Thanks for the trip report. i have really enjoyed your pictures and posts.

 

[dvczerfs]

nice pics stopher!! looks dif. w/ no water.

 

[stopher1]

Just out of curiosity, why do they empty the moat? and how often do they do it?

Great Pics!

Apparently the castle will be having an extended rehab, for about 3 months or so, so I guess they needed it dry. From what I'd read prior to our trip the rehab walls would start going up in late January. It appears we just missed it.

 

[Emma's Dad]

Woohoo!! DD made it to the big coaster!! That is such a precious moment! I still remember the first time my DD finally got over her fear of the coasters... going from fright to excited! So cool.

 

[Finkelly]

Christopher....thanks so much for this TR. I have really enjoyed it and learned alot! We are staying at SSR and then THV in 10 days. I have a couple of questions if you have time:

I printed the map of both resorts. I know you thought it was just quicker to walk to the grandstand than to wait for an internal bus. I see all the bus stops listed but the one at the Grandstand. It may have been added since the map was created. I think I read that you grabbed a bus to the MK right there. Was that one of the first pick ups? I think I may request a treehouse within walking distance of the Grandstand. Just want to make sure. Also, I know you said you could hear the buses. Was it just a background noise or were the sounds rather loud. Just wondering if I should request a villa away from the internal bus route.

Lastly, I saw you grilling. Did you get charcoal from the store or do they provide it.

Thanks so much. You looked like you had a great time. Time to start counting down until the next one!

 

[stopher1]

Christopher....thanks so much for this TR. I have really enjoyed it and learned alot! We are staying at SSR and then THV in 10 days. I have a couple of questions if you have time:

I printed the map of both resorts. I know you thought it was just quicker to walk to the grandstand than to wait for an internal bus. I see all the bus stops listed but the one at the Grandstand. It may have been added since the map was created. I think I read that you grabbed a bus to the MK right there. Was that one of the first pick ups? I think I may request a treehouse within walking distance of the Grandstand. Just want to make sure. Also, I know you said you could hear the buses. Was it just a background noise or were the sounds rather loud. Just wondering if I should request a villa away from the internal bus route.

Lastly, I saw you grilling. Did you get charcoal from the store or do they provide it.

Thanks so much. You looked like you had a great time. Time to start counting down until the next one!

Thanks.

In hindsight, the whole question of walking to the Grandstand vs. taking the internal bus is really 6 of 1 or half a dozen of the other. At the time, while on property, we didn't mind walking at all, especially since the internal bus - while frequent, was still about 20-30 min in between buses. The internal bus drops you off at The Springs stop, which is also the last stop on the park bus loop. So there you would then wait for a park bus. The Grandstand bus stop is the first stop on the park bus loop, so once on board we waited and then looped around through all the stops before heading out to the MK. In total, the time alotment was probably the same - but in the heat of the moment, we felt it was a better deal.

As far as the charcoal goes, yes, we did grill, 3 different meals. One of the 13 lb bags was sufficient for all 3 meals. I got ours right along with our Garden Grocer order. It was the simple "match light" kind that really only took a couple of matches to get it going on multiple sides. They do sell bags over in Artist's Palette, but they were smaller sized bags. If you're only grilling once, that should be sufficient. Since we'd ordered ours though, I really didn't look to see what type they sold, I just saw that they did sell it there.

Regarding hearing the buses from our treehouse, it was really just a background kind of noise. Being right next to the pool, we were also right next to the road's Y turn-around - where the road splits and then rconnects with itself in the opposite direction...so we heard them coming and going. It wasn't a big deal at all - in fact by the 2nd day we barely noticed, only occasionally would someone say, "there goes a bus". It wasn't bad at all. And the next time we stay in the trees, I'm going to request a location similar to what we had this time around, as I really ended up liking it. I wasn't so sure at first, thinking I really wanted a river view, but was quite happy with our "water view" of the pool. It was very close to all 4 things - the bus stop, the water launch, the pool and the walkway to the Grandstand.

 

[stopher1]

Woohoo!! DD made it to the big coaster!! That is such a precious moment! I still remember the first time my DD finally got over her fear of the coasters... going from fright to excited! So cool.

Oh yeah! She was thrilled beyond measure. Now to just get beyond the darkness thing, and she'll be on Space Mtn too! But I'm not rushing it. We were just thrilled that she tried several new things this trip - and liked them all. She can't wait to get out to DL later this year to be able to ride Big Thunder again... and her favorite, Splash Mtn, which of course was closed at WDW this time around.

 

[toniosmom]

Oh yeah! She was thrilled beyond measure. Now to just get beyond the darkness thing, and she'll be on Space Mtn too! But I'm not rushing it. We were just thrilled that she tried several new things this trip - and liked them all. She can't wait to get out to DL later this year to be able to ride Big Thunder again... and her favorite, Splash Mtn, which of course was closed at WDW this time around.

I showed your DD's photos to my DS5 so that he can see that he is old enough and "big" enough to go on rides like Test Track and Splash Mountain. He had told me he was afraid of them, but I think seeing her photos intrigued him. Note: I'm not forcing him to go on rides that he is afraid of. This past year, he told me he was not going to go on certain rides and then as soon as he saw them, he was begging to go on. It was actually his idea to go into the Haunted Mansion! I anticipate him doing the same thing during our next trip in March.

Thanks for your great trip report and photos!

 

[MomsGoneGoofy]

I so wish they could add in a Single Rider line like they have for TSMM out at CA Adventure at the DLR. It really does help fill in those gaps, and offers another option for those that want it.

I could be wrong, and it wouldn't be a first, but I think they did have a single rider line when it first opened. But it was changed to the fast pass line.

Great trip report and the pictures are beautiful! Thanks for taking the time to post them.

 

[JoQuo711]

Just wanted to let you know how awesome your trip report has been. Your attention to detail is great, I'm loving it. By the way, did you notice you caught Mickey with his eyes closed?...

We stopped in front of the Castle for a brief while to enjoy part of the show that had just began – I really enjoyed seeing the new generation of Characters with the articulating mouths! Those were really quite cool. It was really neat to see Donald, Mickey, Minnie & Goofy’s mouths move with everything they said! I hadn’t read about that online – so I was happily surprised. Very, very cool stuff!

 

[stopher1]

Just wanted to let you know how awesome your trip report has been. Your attention to detail is great, I'm loving it. By the way, did you notice you caught Mickey with his eyes closed?...

Thanks. I did see that after I posted it the pic online. Pretty fancy stuff. I definitely liked these faces better for the show perspective - instead of the older style where they talk & sing, but their expressions were always the same. This just felt more authentic.

 

[creativeamanda]

Thank you so much for your trip report--I have enjoyed it, especially your resort pictures. I probably will never stay at a Deluxe resort, but it's nice to see them in pictures.

You went through a lot to do this live--beautiful and thanks a million!

 

[5by5]

Wow! What an awesome TR. Now I'm more excited about our trip this Summer! Looks like we'll have to plan a stay at the THV soon.

 

[stopher1]

Day 10 – Wednesday continued (almost done…really, I am)

This is by far my favorite land in the Magic Kingdom. And as such, we had decided quite a while back that we really wanted to eat once again at the Liberty Tree Tavern.

Last year as we were planning out this trip, we were quite excited about it, since the character meals had been taken away, and our boys were going to be studying American History in depth this year – we really wanted to take the opportunity to at least let them experience a wee bit of revolutionary war culture – even if Disneyfied.

The architectural theming alone was enough for us, as well as the servers’ costumes, the various rooms of the restaurant and atmospheric set dressing that Disney is so good at.

We had fond memories of the experience from eating there on our honeymoon all those years ago, and wanted them to be able to experience it as well. (We honestly haven’t eaten there in nearly 16 year! Can you imagine that?) Then. It. All. Changed. … Crystal Palace was going to be down for rehab while we were at WDW – and the character meal would be returning to LTT! Ugh. We pondered and agonized over that realization, but in the end, decided to just go with it anyway. It turned out just fine, even if not quite the meal experience we wanted.

As we remembered, the restaurant is beautiful. The beaded glass windows, fireplaces and furnishings were definitely top notch. The food was very good. We had no complaints whatsoever about the food itself – but – we were quite disappointed at the end of the meal. Basically, it’s served family style. And they brought out enough food for probably 10 people, not five. There was just way too much. We asked a supervisor who came around to our table to inquire about our experience what would happen to all that food, and if we could just take a little of the meat and rolls with us – so we could enjoy them back in our villa for dinner (we weren’t staying in the MK all day, just another hour or so). No, sorry, she said – it all goes into the trash. Now I fully understand, having worked in food service myself for many years that prepared foods go into the trash after people leave the table, but that was just plain ridiculous. They served us turkey, ham & roast beef – in addition to mashed potatoes, green beans, mac & cheese, salad and rolls. There was enough meat on that platter alone that would have easily fed a family of 5 for 2 more meals… plus all of the beans, potatoes, cheesy pasta and salad that we didn’t eat. (This particular day was just a couple of days or so after the earthquake in Haiti, so that kind of waste was just so top of mind). I would be much, much happier if they would have brought out much less to begin with – and then add more as we asked for it – instead of just bringing dishes brimming with food and then throwing so much of it away. Honestly if it had all been dumped onto the table and then measured, my family of 5 probably only ate about 1/3 of what was served – and the rest had to go into the garbage. Just not good inventory management in my book.

Minnie, Chip, Dale & Pluto were our character visitors.

Seeing Pluto write almost up to his nose always cracks my DD up

As always, Minnie was just sugary sweet, and I got a nice new pose with her (I’ve done this going all the way back to our honeymoon).

Dale & Pluto were ok, but Chip was just plain hysterical. We loved seeing Chip. At one point, as we were beginning our dessert, there he was again at the table next to us (his 2nd time around the restaurant while we were there), except he was “hiding” from the people by climbing the stairs up to the restroom and then throwing pieces of rolls at them!

We were cracking up. Then, his handler came and scolded him to have him come back down, and he got so embarrassed – not because of what he was doing, but because he’d made such a mess on the floor! He quickly grabbed the broom and mop from a nearby custodian, and started to sweep up his mess.

Minnie then came over and got into the act, directing where he needed to sweep next.

His antics were such, such fun. In the end we HAD to get a family pic with Chip.

After our very filling meal, we decided to head on over into Fantasyland and see some of that, since we really didn’t do much while we were there with my folks the week prior. It’s a Small World

(my favorite room in IASW)

and Dumbo were my DD’s primary requests – followed by a return twirl on the Teacups.

By this point it was around 2, and we knew we wanted to get back over to the Lodge by 3 or 4 ish, so we went into to Tomorrowland one final time. I still hadn’t been able to ride Space Mtn, and really wanted to. I still had my child switch pass from earlier in the day, and so my middle son and I headed over there, while the rest just hung out and rested for a little while. I was not all that impressed with the new interactive games and such that I observed on the other side of the line (regular stand-by side), but perhaps if I were waiting in the I would have been. I can’t say. But as we kept walking forward, I kept seeing gaps between groups, as many of them didn’t want to stop whatever it was they were playing while waiting, and thus making the line longer than it really needed to be. Sure interactive stuff can be cool, but not if people get more caught up in the activity and don’t pay attention and keep the line moving forward!

We then headed out of Tomorrowland, stopping for one last Photopass pic with the castle in the background and then worked our way down Main Street. We were still ahead of the afternoon parade, and were hoping to get out before it started. But alas, no, we didn’t. We were just coming to the Emporium when the “pre-parade” began. My DD suddenly wanted to watch, and so we were in a conundrum. The boys clearly did NOT want to watch the parade (we’d already seen it the week prior), but the girl did. The boys clearly wanted to get back over to the resort to check out the resort more, and swim. So did DD, but she loves characters. So DW made the call and told the boys and I to head back to the resort, and the girls would stay and watch the parade. I wasn’t sure what to do – so we stuck around for the pre-parade part, and saw Kermit and Miss Piggy as they were touting volunteerism and the whole, Give a Day, Get a Disney Day promotion – and then before the regular parade began, the boys and I left.

That was pretty much the end of our theme park touring for this trip. There’s still some more that I might get around to posting regarding our resort stays, impressions and pictures, but I’m pretty much done with this novella now. Thanks for joining me on this wild and crazy TR that began and stayed very much LIVE while on-site up until nearly the end. Unfortunately I did get behind somewhat with daily reporting, but hey – I was on vacation, and that was ok. I can’t wait to be back at WDW in just about 5 weeks!

Some notable firsts for us this trip I will mention:

• 1st stay in a Treehouse! WOW, can't wait to do that again
• 1st stay in a 2 BR villa - very nice
• 1st stay at the Wilderness Lodge - WOW, can't wait for that again
  
  
  
  
  
• 1st time eating at the Whispering Canyon Cafe (LOVED IT)
  
  
  
  
  
  
• 1st time traveling to WDW with my folks as a family - and with for them with their grandchildren (had lots of fun)
• 1st use of Garden Grocer - that was cool, we'll do that again
• 1st time users of TIW - that worked out really well, I liked it, and we'll do it again
• My DD's first ride on Test Track, Barnstormer & Big Thunder Mountain (very, very cool stuff!)
• 1st time in Restaurant Akershus with Princess aspect (let down - no need to do that again - would much prefer they go back to the original format of just being a Norwegian restaurant)

Here are a couple of final pics from our last morning at the WL - the next day - parting shots, if you will. It is such a great resort, and has honestly quickly moved up to the top for us. We'll definitely be back to the Lodge.

Now to just get our next family trip back to WDW in 2011 figured out...

 

[Emma's Dad]

My DD would have LOVED the interaction with Chip and Dale! She probably would have climbed the stairs and helped Chip throw the bread! I love your pictures! We'll need to spend more time over in that land this year.

Thank you so much for sharing your trip with us! It's always fun and interesting seeing the World from another family's eyes... and you always seem to bring something up that sounds cool to check out! Only 33 more days until you're back... whatever will you do?

 

[FreezinRafiki]

We ate a Liberty Tree back when it actually was a Character meal (2004). My Mother in Law got a hug from Chip that had to last 60 to 90 seconds. He just kept hugging and would not let go.

Your pics of Wilderness Lodge are great. We only stayed there once, and it was only for one night. I really want to go back someday, but then again, we want to stay every DVC resort. It's good to have goals in life!

 

[stopher1]

We ate a Liberty Tree back when it actually was a Character meal (2004). My Mother in Law got a hug from Chip that had to last 60 to 90 seconds. He just kept hugging and would not let go.

Your pics of Wilderness Lodge are great. We only stayed there once, and it was only for one night. I really want to go back someday, but then again, we want to stay every DVC resort. It's good to have goals in life!

We do too! So far we only have BLT & BCV left to sample at WDW, and then of course there are VB & HH... but plenty of years to do so.

 

[karana]

I know I would love the tree houses, but not being an SSR owner, I'm sure I'll never have the pleasure. Thanks for the great pictures though!

Visit the DVC rent boards and there you will find many who do own SSR and thus can help you with a rental. They do look very peaceful and amazing!