Terra Nova Guy and the Raiders of the Lost Park - an August 2018 TR *COMPLETE* 4/28

[Terra Nova guy]

Hi Jeff! Glad you and your family were able to make a return to WDW! I look forward to hearing about your trip

its great to have you here. I was so desperate to get back, especially reading everyone's trip reports over the past few years and seeing all the new things!

Following along. I haven't been on a proper Disney trip since 2008 so I am loving all the recent reports to get me prepped for my anniversary trip next year.

wow, that's quite a long time between trips. There will be so many new things for you to experience!

 

[Lesley Wake]

Following too!

 

[docsoliday1]

That's a toughie. It's only the GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. (seriously, it's my favorite)

INCONCEIVABLE!

I enjoy that movie very much. I have a hard time picking favourites.

INCONCEIVABLE!

Well, I didn't buy the patented @pkondz transportation pass, I can tell you that

INCONCEIVABLE!


Those responses might, just maybe, be a hint to my favorite movie of all time.

 

[DisneyAndrew]

Wow..I already feel super late.

I will definitely skip answering question 1 since it's been quite figured out by now.
However, on with the others..

2. Duh, of course
3. I'm gonna go with building 9

 

[Jenny Sanders]

Following right along...

 

[fallonkendra]

There’s me, Jeff (44), the husband and Dad (and yes, DISDad #811). (Hint: I’m on the right in the picture)

I'm so glad you clarified that!

I live in Newfoundland, Canada. Some of you may have heard of this place, others may be not. It’s in Eastern Canada, about as far east as you can go in fact until you run out of land and head across the Atlantic.

Surprisingly, it's the only Canadian province I've never been to, I should probably change that one of these days - I actually have a few friends who live there now. Also - random fact - I grew up in New Brunswick, but I was 19 before I ever stepped foot in Nova Scotia.

Also - your introduction post didn't have a single by'da'jesus in it. Are you sure you're a Newfie?

We have two girls. My step-daughter Brianna is 18, just finished high school and off to start university. She is a Disney princess at heart, and in fact in her spare time performs as a princess at kid’s birthday parties. She’s mainly a “friend” of Elsa, but has also been a friend of Ariel, Cinderella, and Aurora.

My daughter Katie just turned 11 right before this trip. She’s all about the princesses too, and has a soft spot for Stitch. We may have bent the truth just a little and pretended she was celebrating her birthday during our trip, even though it was a week earlier.

You have a beautiful family!

The last member of our family is our cat, Shelby, who we adopted from the city humane services this past January. She’s 9 months old now and stayed at home with my parents during our trip. It was out first time being away from her since we got her, so the girls were a bit sad about that. Me on the other hand, it didn't bother me to leave her, cause I'm a guy, and we don't care about furry little things that meow and have pretty little eyes and a pink wittle nose and a fuzzy wuzzy tail and cute little teeny itty bitty paws and...wait...what was I saying...Oh right. Cat. Left it. Didn't care.

What a pretty kitty! And I can definitely tell you're not a fan of her at all...

1. My trip report title is a play on a movie title. Which one?

I believe Han Solo was in it.

2. Do we meet and get the autograph of every official Disney princess this trip? (OK, you will have to wait a while for that answer)

There's a lot of them - I'm going to say no (but to you, I'm sure it felt like you did!)

3. In what building is our room located at All-Star Music?

Building 7

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Following too!

wonderful to have you here!

Wow..I already feel super late.

better late than never! I'm just happy to have some readers for my first report

Following right along...

and thanks for following!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I'm so glad you clarified that!

Well, I figured I should, just to be sure

Surprisingly, it's the only Canadian province I've never been to, I should probably change that one of these days

Yep, you'll have to change that someday, especially if you have some friends here. And you have a DIS friend to help you plan!

Also - your introduction post didn't have a single by'da'jesus in it. Are you sure you're a Newfie?

Yes by. I didn't want to scare off the CFAs. I did have a picture taken at Signal Hill though (the "friend" of Elsa pic) so I figured that was pretty good. Fine day on clothes when I took that picture.
Need any translation help?

What a pretty kitty! And I can definitely tell you're not a fan of her at all...

Thanks, she a charmer for sure. It's funny, before we got her I was telling the DISDads that I wasn't too sure I wanted a cat. I've really warmed up to her though.

 

[Wayland10]

Following along! My husband also doesn't care for cats the way you don't care for cats. As a result, we have two. I've never been to Newfoundland, but I have friends who worked on the digs at L'Anse aux Meadows and brought back a lot of very good music by some gentlemen with whimsical accents. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

 

[pkondz]

(Hint: I’m on the right in the picture)

Geez, thanks!
I was staring and staring and staring at that picture trying to figure it out.
I should have read the caption first, but since I was only going to look at the photos and not read anything, it made it too difficult.

Now I have to read everything. Dirty trick.

I’ve enjoyed everything Disney as long as I can remember.

My first trip to Walt Disney World (just Magic Kingdom and a 1 year old Epcot back then!) was in 1983 when I was 9 years old.

Very similar to me.
I was a couple years earlier and a couple years older.

I live in Newfoundland, Canada. Some of you may have heard of this place, others may be not.

Never heard of it. I hear you rock out there, though.

She is a Disney princess at heart, and in fact in her spare time performs as a princess at kid’s birthday parties.

This I knew.

Wow... just.... dang, that's good.

Me on the other hand, it didn't bother me to leave her, cause I'm a guy, and we don't care about furry little things that meow and have pretty little eyes and a pink wittle nose and a fuzzy wuzzy tail and cute little teeny itty bitty paws and...wait...what was I saying...Oh right. Cat. Left it. Didn't care.

Through the jigs and the reels, things were finally looking brighter this year.

That's got to be a Newfie saying. I've never heard that one.

We also go to MNSSHP.

Woot!

Hey, since this is my trip report, why don’t I have a little fun? I won’t call it a contest, but I’ll ask a couple questions every update. Or maybe not. You can answer. Or not. I’ll probably give the answers eventually. Who knows? I’m new at this. I don’t know what I’m doing.

Okay.

1. My trip report title is a play on a movie title. Which one?

Star Wars? Blade Runner? The Fugitive? Witness? Patriot Games? Air Force One?

2. Do we meet and get the autograph of every official Disney princess this trip? (OK, you will have to wait a while for that answer)

Gonna go with... nope.

3. In what building is our room located at All-Star Music?

Oh, Lord. Please. Please, not Country Fair. That is the longest walk..... ever.
So I'll go with Broadway.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Following along! My husband also doesn't care for cats the way you don't care for cats. As a result, we have two. I've never been to Newfoundland, but I have friends who worked on the digs at L'Anse aux Meadows and brought back a lot of very good music by some gentlemen with whimsical accents. Can't wait to hear about your trip!

it's great to have you along. Good to hear there's another "cat guy" out there
We do have whimsical accents and pretty good music around here! (although me not so much - I'm a townie and never picked up an instrument)

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Now I have to read everything. Dirty trick.

It's my evil plot to get you all to read the hidden subliminal messages.

That's got to be a Newfie saying. I've never heard that one.

I expect jigs and reels is a Newfie saying. I guess it's meaning is similar to "ups and downs" or "trials and tribulations", but isn't necessarily negative.

Anyway, long may your big jib draw, me son!

Star Wars? Blade Runner? The Fugitive? Witness? Patriot Games? Air Force One?

You may have missed a rather important one

 

[pkondz]

It's my evil plot to get you all to read the hidden subliminal messages.

What do you mean by that?

I expect jigs and reels is a Newfie saying. I guess it's meaning is similar to "ups and downs" or "trials and tribulations", but isn't necessarily negative.

I figured that's what it meant since I've done some fishing with a pickerel rig (which you can jig) and a reel.

Anyway, long may your big jib draw, me son!

OMG. Is this whole TR going to be nothing but Neufanisms?

So... how do you spell "boy"?
by? looks more like you're by something
bye? no, couldn't be. Looks like you're saying goodbye.
buy? nope. Not buying that one.
bi? Gives off a sexual orientation vibe.

You may have missed a rather important one

Of course! Clear and Present Danger!

 

[Wayland10]

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...70DFB25C89483FE98F5670DFB25C8948&&FORM=VRDGAR
Allan Hawco on "How to speak like a Newfoundlander".

As a public service!

 

[fallonkendra]

So... how do you spell "boy"?
by? looks more like you're by something
bye? no, couldn't be. Looks like you're saying goodbye.
buy? nope. Not buying that one.
bi? Gives off a sexual orientation vibe.

I believe it’s b’y. Lord thunderin’.

 

[Steppesister]

I’ve enjoyed everything Disney as long as I can remember.

Me too!

after many years I was happy to start bringing my family to WDW, starting in 2008.

Hey, now it's just like you're a copy cat or something!

(It’s free, no charge)

Well, thank goodness! Otherwise I'd be outta here!

1. My trip report title is a play on a movie title. Which one?



2. Do we meet and get the autograph of every official Disney princess this trip? (OK, you will have to wait a while for that answer)


3. In what building is our room located at All-Star Music?

1. Indiana Jones

2. No, it's hard to catch them all.

3. I've NO idea. I don't even think I could name them all without cheating.

Okay, okay, I did cheat and looked at them and will go with: Calypso. ?? No idea.

 

[pkondz]

I believe it’s b’y. Lord thunderin’.

Perfect! Makes total sense over d'er b'y.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

August 17, 2018 – Travel Day (a.k.a. the boring post before we get to the good stuff)

Well, our trip starts as many do, trying to force yourself up out of bed when your body is saying “Why, why are you attempting to move vertically at such an inappropriate hour?”

I suppose the trip started earlier in the week as we slowly tried to get a head start on the packing. We would be in Florida for 11 days. There’s the age old question – do we pack enough clothes for the entire 11 days, or do we do laundry part way through? We were able to fit 11 changes of clothes into one suitcase each, with a little room to spare for souvenirs on the way back, so we decided to forget the idea of doing laundry. Who really wants to do that on vacation anyway? There’s enough of that at home.

Despite trying to get a head start on packing, inevitably there are still things to be done late into the night before. I ended up getting to bed around 11:00pm with the alarm set for 3:15am. Our Air Canada flight to Toronto left on time at 6:30am and all went fine, we slept most of the way up. Once in Toronto, we had a 6 hour layover. I was not looking forward to that. I can’t remember all the details now when I was checking into flights. I did try flying via Montreal and looked at Westjet too, but the flight we chose was the best price and most practical at the time. (Side note: I know a lot of Canadians who despise Air Canada. I have never personally had any major issue with them, so I’m kind of indifferent; I just choose the flights that work best for me)

Everything went smoothly with US customs pre-clearance in Toronto. When I did this years ago, you used to have to collect your bags for customs. They have improved the process since and now you don’t see your bags again until Orlando, a much better set up.

We settled ourselves near the gate for our Orlando flight. It’s not a bad set up in Toronto. There are clusters of tables between the gates, each table has iPads that you can order food from the nearby restaurant, or browse the web, plus charging stations for your devices. If you have to be stuck for a while, it’s not a terrible place to do it. Since we had only a small snack before leaving home and it was now after 9:00am, we all needed breakfast. We ordered from a place called Apropos which seemed good enough, despite the ridiculous airport prices. The girls all had waffles and I had a ham and cheese omelette. It was surprisingly good, which made the high price tag a little easier to swallow.





Tish and Brianna passed the time by planning a baby shower for my SIL. Katie and I took several walks around the airport. Not exactly fun, but we managed to pass the time.

Our Orlando flight boarded at 2:30pm, got away a bit late for a reason I can’t remember and we landed in Orlando around 6:00pm, about half an hour late. I was only in the airport at this point, but I was still excited – I was finally back in Orlando!

From this point, I needed to get our rental car, drive to ASMu to check in, have supper, get a few supplies like water for the week, and I even had a thought, if we weren’t too tired, to possibly go to the Polynesian to watch Hallowishes, since this was the first night of MNSSHP. That would have been cool since I’ve never seen the perimeter fireworks from a distance.

Here’s where things come off the rails a bit. The half hour flight delay had put us a little behind. But the next delay, I never would have expected. We got down to the baggage belt and waited. Then waited some more. And some more. Finally about three bags came out, then stopped. Then nothing. Everyone was getting annoyed at this point, and there was no information coming from the Air Canada baggage services – supposedly they didn’t know either. After nearly an hour (!!) they finally said they were moving us to another belt – this one had broken down. It took another half hour before our bags came out. This was definitely not something I expected, and by now we were starving. So plans had to change. We got our rental car fairly quickly and we decided to go straight to supper. Although I could have stopped near the airport, we went down to highway 192. We have stayed in the area before, so we knew it and felt comfortable doing that. We were really looking forward to our planned restaurant – Olive Garden. Now, some of you may be thinking, what? But here’s the thing. We’re not fancy, and Italian is our favourite food. We don’t have Olive Garden where we live, it would be our only meal off Disney property the whole trip, and it seemed like a good way to start off the vacation. We had about half an hour wait to get in, but got our food quickly. Three of us got the Tour of Italy – lasagna, chicken parm, and fettucine alfredo because we like it all, and Katie – who doesn’t like alfredo sauce – got corkscrew pasta (cavitappi?) and meatballs. We all enjoyed it, although we all probably ate too much. But that’s how you know vacation has started.





After supper, we made a quick stop at the Target nearby for water, a few toiletries, and some small breakfast items like muffins and granola bars. My plan was to get an early start and be in MK for rope drop the next day, so we didn’t want to spend time in the food court.

We finally made our way to All-Star Music via a “back road” that I had no idea existed, but had checked out on Google Maps before leaving home. It’s convenient if you are staying in the AK resort area and want to get to highway 192. By this time, it was nearly 10:00pm, so the fireworks at Poly were out. In truth, that was a long shot and even had there not been a delay with the baggage, we likely would have been too tired anyway. Check in went smoothly and I was happy with our room location – Calypso, building 1, room 1633. I had opted to get a Preferred room with the free dining package – I had heard about the loooong walk from some of the other sections. A preferred room would have put us in either Calypso or Jazz Inn. I had faxed a room request the week before and asked for a top level room in Calypso that was near the parking lot. Why? Well, Calypso is the building closer to Melody Hall. I think the top is quieter with less foot traffic, and the parking is closer to our car but also away from the noisy pool. You can see from the map below, the room met all our requests.



After getting all the bags into the room, Katie and I went on a very quick reconnaissance mission to check out the pool while Tish and Brianna unpacked the suitcases and settled in. I also picked up our refillable mugs that came with the dining plan. I found it a bit disappointing that they only had four colours available (what do families of more than 4 do?) and they removed the coloured handle, so there is no way to identify the base unless you always had the lid on. Not a big deal, but I would rather know which is which.

With that, we fell exhausted into bed. Tomorrow was a big day. After four years of waiting, I did not want to miss a minute of park time at Magic Kingdom!


Answers to last questions:

1. My trip report title is a play on a movie title. Which one?
Of course, it’s” Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark”. I just thought it made for a cool title that kind of fit our situation.

2. Do we meet and get the autograph of every official Disney princess this trip?
Well, you will have to wait to find out if we meet all the Princesses. I’ll have to count them down as I go. For the record, there are 11 official Disney Princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Pocahontas, Mulan, Tiana, Rapunzel, and Merida). Curiously, Anna & Elsa, and Moana, have not been officially added.

3. In what building is our room located at All-Star Music?
Calypso, building 1.

Next update - Questions for Fun:

1. Do we make rope drop at Magic Kingdom?

2. I had not been to Magic Kingdom in four years. What ride did we absolutely have to do first?

3. We hop to Hollywood Studios in the evening. I see something pink that had me running up Hollywood Boulevard. Any idea what or who that could be?


NEXT TIME: Main Street is a little dusty, and hey, Florida is a little hot in August!?!

 

[Steppesister]

“Why, why are you attempting to move vertically at such an inappropriate hour?”

I'm about to have to make that judgement call myself- hotel or Dark 'O Thirty... ? Both options suck.

I suppose the trip started earlier in the week as we slowly tried to get a head start on the packing.

I'm almost embarrassed to say I'm packed. And still have almost 2 weeks.

There’s the age old question – do we pack enough clothes for the entire 11 days, or do we do laundry part way through? We were able to fit 11 changes of clothes into one suitcase each, with a little room to spare for souvenirs on the way back, so we decided to forget the idea of doing laundry. Who really wants to do that on vacation anyway? There’s enough of that at home.

Valid question- I've done both each having real pros and cons. Laundry stinks- quite literally sometimes, but heavy bags are not fun. Nor are extra bag fees.

but the flight we chose was the best price and most practical at the time.

This will win every time.

There are clusters of tables between the gates, each table has iPads that you can order food from the nearby restaurant, or browse the web, plus charging stations for your devices.

SUH-WEEEET!

After nearly an hour (!!) they finally said they were moving us to another belt – this one had broken down.

What the WHAT?? They waited an HOUR to tell you? I"d have been fuming!

We all enjoyed it, although we all probably ate too much. But that’s how you know vacation has started.

Oink! Good for you guys!

By this time, it was nearly 10:00pm, so the fireworks at Poly were out. In truth, that was a long shot and even had there not been a delay with the baggage, we likely would have been too tired anyway

While the baggage debacle would have upset me, you guys have a good attitude about missing them. It'd been a long day and you may have been right. Best to get to bed for an another early day.

Calypso, building 1.

Poop.

1. Do we make rope drop at Magic Kingdom?

Not quite

2. I had not been to Magic Kingdom in four years. What ride did we absolutely have to do first?

HM or BTMRR

3. We hop to Hollywood Studios in the evening. I see something pink that had me running up Hollywood Boulevard. Any idea what or who that could be?

Boo? No clue. None.

 

[MeghanEmily]

I'm with you about the Toronto airport setup. Not a bad place to hang out for a while, relatively speaking. I noticed the sections of tables with iPads set up when I was there a few weeks ago, and there were even signs around some of them that you could use them during your wait even if you didn't order from the restaurant, etc.

We finally made our way to All-Star Music via a “back road” that I had no idea existed, but had checked out on Google Maps before leaving home. It’s convenient if you are staying in the AK resort area and want to get to highway 192.

I know exactly the back road you're talking about! It was the quickest way for us to get from the timeshare to Animal Kingdom—a shorter drive than the bus rides to AK from a lot of the Disney resorts, for that matter!

1. Do we make rope drop at Magic Kingdom?

Yep! Everyone is enthused, and you have the benefit of being used to an earlier time zone.

2. I had not been to Magic Kingdom in four years. What ride did we absolutely have to do first?

Hmmmm....

I'll guess you ducked left while everyone else barged into Fantasyland. Maybe Pirates!

3. We hop to Hollywood Studios in the evening. I see something pink that had me running up Hollywood Boulevard. Any idea what or who that could be?

Hmmm...I wonder what would cause that...