The AP Gang Salutes the Presidents - Intro thru Day 3

[Ibelieveinfairies]

Introduction
I feel it's important for you all to know a little about us...hell, I wouldn't want to go on a trip with complete strangers without knowing at least a little something about them!
So, let's see...let's start with my darling DH. He's an overworked man. He has two speeds normally: 90-a-minute-gotta-get-it-done-now and zzzz-on-the-couch. He does work hard, folks...and thanks to all that hard work, I can spend his money on my dates with The Mouse! He swore to me in April 2005 that that trip would be our last to WDW...and here we were again in February gettin' ready for another go 'round! Hee Hee...he doesn't even know what hit him! His goal for the trip is to sit by the pool and relax (hasn't he learned what a WDW vacation planned by little ol' me is like...relax...yeah, right! We have places to be, pixie dust to catch!) DH will be herein known as "Goofy"...what we continued to call him on our trip because that is the character on his AP...lol...how did they know? My DDs are convinced that Mickey Mouse himself wanted him to have that AP...and took great joy in doing a "roll call" at every turnstyle!
Then we have my two wonderful DDs. The oldest is 8 going on 9 soon...and is soooo dramatic about everything. She and her sister (6 going on 7) talk as if they live in a sitcom...which is entertaining for, oh, say...30 minutes or so. At least the television comes with remote to change the channel or mute the damn thing! lol DD8 is really a special girl, though...very bright...always tries to do the right thing...DH and I are sure when she grows up that she'll shy away from trouble. She's the one that has been tall enough to go on all of the "big" rides for sometime now, but freaks out at the last second. Her goals for the trip are to trade some pins and get some autographs. DD8 will herein be known as "Minnie"...you guessed it...the character on her AP!
DD6, however, is a daredevil...will try anything once and with gusto. She never sits still long enough to watch the sitcoms, so how she learned to dialogue one is a mystery to us. She's enrolled in a dual language program, so she is bi-lingual...well...that makes since, right? lol She speaks and reads more Spanish than I do after 8 years of classes in Jr. High, High School, and College after only one year in the program! Her goals for the trip are to ride Rockin' Rollercoaster for the first time (thank God she had a growth spurt!) and Expedition Everest. DD6 will herein be known as "Donald"...yes, her AP...she prefers it to her other moniker "Stinkerbelle" it is a lot nicer than the names I have been known to mumble under my breath as she attempts to do things like ride the ceiling fan at home.
Then there's little ol' me...along for the ride...not! I plan the ride, I pack for the ride, I manage the ride....I become the ride! lol I'm an overstressed third grade teacher (redundant, yea?) of an inclusion classroom gone wrong. I have more new grey hairs on my head than I thought ever possible. Oh, the stories I could tell....Chapter One...If They Say "Difficult Classroom" in the Interview, Is That Normal?....Chapter Two...Ask For It, You've Got It! Inclusion!...Chapter Three...And Then There Were Lice. Oh, I digress...any teacher out there knows what it's like to deal with 21 or more students on a daily basis, administrators, parents, and then come home to your own family...needless to say, I NEEDED this vacation in order to survive until June!
My goals for this trip...forget I have any other life other than the one I lead in WDW! I will herein be known as "Mickey"...oh, yes...the other man in my life...the one I would sell my right arm to go visit...and you guessed it...the character on my AP!

 

[BlueBayou]

Sounds like a fun cast of characters. I look forward to hearing about your trip.

Sher

 

[javamom]

subbing

 

[TheSecondTerror]

great cast of characters! I can't wait to read more!

 

[Ibelieveinfairies]

So the limo arrives to pick us up...surprised the family with that one....had them convinced that my BIL was going to bring us in (you know the one: he always knows the better way to do something or knows someone who knows the better way to do something) Popped in Ella Enchanted, munched on our deli delights and enjoyed the hour and a half ride into LGA.

Pull up at the curb and realize that Spirit has no curbside checkin...okay folks...heeee're we go! I tell the family that this is the time we get to practice all the waiting in line. We assume our lemming mentality and get on line, through security, and arrive at our assigned gate.
OMG! Are we lost? I think we should be at an airport gate, not a Disney Store...everyone had Disney t-shirts, Pal-Mickeys, princess suitcases...it looked like a we were on the exit end of an attraction. DH begins to freak. I calmly tell him: "Listen, I told you it was President's Week and that the good people on the DIS said to expect big crowds...relax, man...here's your opportunity to get me to sit by the pool for once...I refuse to wait on a line longer than 30 minutes" Those words came back to haunt me, friends...they did!

The flight was uneventful...DDs were p.o'd that we wouldn't spend $4 on the world's smallest bag of tortilla chips...I tell them that if Mickey ain't selling it, we ain't buying it. Funny now that I think of it...I would've spent $10 on a bag with a Disney character on it! lol

Arrive at MCO, reassume lemming mentality and find ME just as it was explained...all excited, see another line to get on (Yea! We must really be on vacation if we're in a line!)...oops...wrong line...have to "check in" first.

The bus was nice and on the trip we watch a DVD that lets me know that yes, I have done too much planning. Even my DDs are like "tell us something we didn't know." Thought to myself...might've been more magical had I not drilled them with all the minute details that make WDW so special.
Our ME made four stops...CBR....BW....YC...then finally...BC!!! Little did we know that when traveling around the world from the BC we would be sharing a bus with most of these people from the other resorts yet again! Yea! Had I known, I would have made more of an effort to make nice, nice and smile a little more at the people around me. Oh, well! Too late now!

When we check in, I always get all goose-bumpy and flustered. Usually I have a bit of a line to get myself together in...but today...no line! I notice right away that our CM is "Earning Her Ears"...figure out that probably no pixie dusted, unasked for upgrade is in store for us this trip. If I had had that time to get over myself while waiting in line to check in, I might have asked if an upgrade was available...but I didn't. Besides, I want to just let the magic happen...it wouldn't mean as much if I had to ask for it (that's what I keep telling myself now so I don't feel like such a dope). I make up for it by immediately calling Mousekeeping to request turndown service for the length of our stay. Thanks, DIS! I didn't know I could do that when we stayed at the WL!!

Room 2604, here we come! I reassure DH that our luggage will arrive magically in our room within the next four hours or so...I hope! The girls are chanting "swimming! swimming! swimming! swimming!" and running around pulling off their clothes. Hold your horses, girls...we are going to go eat first...I hear some B&C onion rings calling me!

We head down, get a table relatively quickly, and eat our dinner all grins because we're finally here! We watch with amusement as a gentleman sweats (and yes, we saw beads of sweat on his forehead) his way through an attempt at finishing the Kitchen Sink...alone! This man was there when we sat down...looked as if he had been there awhile...and was still there when we left. I don't know if he ever made it, but the look of pain on his face made me wonder if it was worth it. I couldn't help but wonder what drove him to try it...was it a bet? Was it a Mission:Impossible thing where his wife and kids were being held hostage in Splash Mountain and they'd be sent down into the brer patch without a boat unless he finished it all? I'll forever wonder!

We changed into our suits (no luggage yet, though) and head down to SAB...have no problem finding a lounge right up by the front...this, of course, lulls us into believing that it is easy to find a place to park our patooties by the pool...DH and I stick one toe in the water and brrrr....too cold for us, even by our from-NY-just-had-a-blizzard-last-weekend standards. We let the girls swim until about 7:30 and decide to call it a night...we have things to do tomorrow!

We return to our room and find our Mousekeeper finishing up our turndown service. Thank her profusely, remind her to take the tip we had left, and then realize...yep, you guessed it...no luggage yet! I packed the suits, pool stuff, and bathroom stuff in our carry-on luggage...but didn't think we would need our pj's in there! Oh, well, kids...sleep in your undies tonight. Was that a knock at the door? Yea! Luggage! Think again...Mousekeeper returning with 5 towel animals and a handfull of mint-melt-in-your-mouth-just-what-I-wish-magically-appeared-on-my-bed-at-home chocolates. Yea! Chocolates...WDW knows how to keep MY mind off our missing luggage! DH...not so much. Finally, about 8:30 the luggage is delivered and all is well with my world. I have my DH, my two DDs, and my chocolate...and I'M IN WDW!!! Lay my head down to have my Disney dreams...and end up not being able to sleep, thinking about stuff going on with some of my students. Crap! Didn't I come down here to forget that stuff? Oh, well...the night slowly turns into Day 2....and that, my friends, is another installment!

 

[lauren_elizabeth]

Subscribing! Can't wait to read the rest!

 

[fizz13]

Oh dear, never promise to relax and not stand in lines, these non-disney getting people will hold you to it every time great start will look out for more,

Claire xx

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent start ~ Can't wait to read more.

 

[Ibelieveinfairies]

Well I "woke" up at 6:30 a.m. to the phone ringing and the girls fighting over who was going to answer it. Duh! Should have thought of settling that one before letting them fall asleep. I was in some sort of stupor after having tossed and turned all night worrying about one of my students and heard Goofy (my DH) announce that Minnie (DD8)would get to answer it...she's older and that's just the way it was.

We get up and are all excited to go have breakfast with THE Minnie at Cape May. Just about to walk out the door when Donald (DD6) announces she has to go poop. Send Goofy and Minnie off to get our table and pace as I wait. I let the sleepless night get the better of me as I grit my teeth and encourage her to "Hurry up! We're missing the fun!" God love her, I realized as soon as I said it that she couldn't help it. Needless to say, about 20 minutes later, we arrive at the table and find out that we have missed all the characters but that they will be back around. Food was good and the characters (Chip, Minnie, and Goofy) were great. Dale, according to Chip, was in the back eating acorns. We never did see him...maybe he had to make a bathroom trip, too.

We gleefully walk to the International Gate to wait for opening time and were surprised to see a decent crowd growing back there. We purposely arrived about 20 minutes early, so we were not too far back. We chit chat, kid each other, and do the AP "Roll Call" and realize that it's 2 minutes til opening...when...you should have guessed it...our Minnie then has to go poop! Thank goodness there is a bathroom right there (rather clean and never crowded, either) and off we go. Goofy and Donald make their way through the gate and wait for us. I stew in the bathroom about how we will have to ride Soarin' at 4 o'clock in the afternoon at this rate. Oh, well!

Lo and behold, we're off to FW and go right to Soarin'...15 minute wait...what an awesome ride...each time I see something I hadn't before. We do Living with the Land for the first time...interesting...and then the Circle of Life.

Head over to Journey into Imagination with Figment...and lament that my DDs don't remember the original. We start to go into Honey, I Shrunk the Audience, but Donald doesn't want to...she didn't have to talk too hard to get us to say "nevermind". That's one nice thing about having made so many trips...you can say "been there, done that" to the attractions you don't mind missing without any hurt feelings.

We had planned on staying on this side of FW before our ADR for Coral Reef, so we head over to the Living Seas, thinking that we would wait for Turtle Talk with Crush to kill some time. Well, there was definitely a line...one that looked longer than 30 minutes...one that looked somewhat as long as the Great Wall of China. Remember my pledge? I swallowed hard and decided I would break it, if Goofy would...we did have some time to kill, right? And it is a great attraction... and the competiveness in me wanted Crush to talk to one of my DDs this trip...they had questions and everything ready...so, we reassume lemming mentality and jump on the line. After about 5 minutes, DDs totally catch us off guard by saying, "You know what, we don't want to wait this long for Turtle Talk." What? Did I hear them correctly? After asking them 500 times if they were sure...we weren't going to come back today to see it...you might not get to see it at all this trip...take advantage now because we won't want to wait this long any other moment than now...we got out of the line. You all know that if Goofy and I had made that decision, we'd probably still be there dealing with the pouting, crying, whining, etc.

We then experienced an OCD Disney Planner's nightmare...the "what do we do now?" moment. Hadn't I spent all those hours planning to avoid this very question? It didn't take me long to come out of the momentary loss of reason and decide to walk over to get FPs for Mission:Space while we waited for our ADR time.

We gleefully do, walk back a little early for our lunch time and as we check in, overhear the CM say something about not wanting to ride M:S right after eating. The lack of sleep has definitely done something to my Disney Planning abilities...hadn't even thought of THAT! We lament the poor choice of a FP as we enjoy our meal. "V" our waiter was wonderful and the food was better than we expected. We decide between bites that we will walk over to see how long the wait is for Test Track after lunch and attempt to use our FPs later that day even after their time window is up.

Well, Test Track had a 60 minute standby line...no way, Jose! I pipe up..."I know! Let's hop to MGM and try out Rockin'Rollercoaster!"

Haul our butts over there to find it's a 60 minute wait, too...Duh! By this time, Donald is worked into a frenzy...she has wanted to ride this ride since she can remember...and she is finally tall enough. We assume lemming mentality and get on the line...at what seems about 70 minutes into the line we reissue the family pledge: no line longer than 30 minutes will eat up our time!! None! We do get some entertainment as some woman gets thrown out of line...we couldn't hear exactly what happened...but it made for some good speculation all around us.

After waiting seemingly 80 minutes, we are walking into the "parking garage" when our Minnie begins to freak out...she likes rollercoasters but until she rides them the first time, she looks and acts as if she is terrified and we are about to put her out on a ledge as a human sacrifice for some horrible monster. I lean down in true Mommy Dearest fashion and tell her quietly in her ear that she has two options: ride the ride quietly without freaking out and making a scene or ride the ride after I carry her butt to the car and strap her in kicking and screaming. Either way, she is getting on this ride whether she likes it or not. She keeps the freak out to a minimum and came off the ride singing the song at the top of her lungs and saying "let's do it again!" Not today, thank you!

We go hit the Great Movie Ride and then realize...we have to get back now if we are going to ride Test Track and M:S before our ADR at Teppanyaki. We make it back to FW ask the CM at the FP return to M:S if our FPs are still good...they are...and we loved it yet again. Hop over and see that TT is only a 20 minute wait...get on and somewhere about the acid test realize that we're going to be pretty late for our ADR time by the time we can get to Japan.

Hustle over to Japan with Donald riding piggyback...we also made a pledge that we would do no stollers (that, my friends, was heaven...even if I did piggyback my little one a few times). We make a game of it...Donald and Mickey vs. Goofy and Minnie...they were way ahead most of the race to Japan...we throw a wrench in their win by choosing to walk up the side steps to the restaurant...we saved a couple of minutes by not having to walk through the crowd watching the drummers! Hee hee!

Arrived about 20 minutes late and were glad to have the chance to sit and wait after our race. We loved our meal at Teppanyaki, as always, and then head to find a spot for Illuminations on the bridge between France and the UK...right above the spot for the Grand Gatherings dessert function...it was an awesome spot and the show was, too. Nothing was better, however, than just walking "home"...no bus, no boat, no line, no crowd...just a delightful stroll with the three people I love the most in the world. I really think it was at that moment that I truly relaxed and realized that the reason I love this place so much is for moments like that.

 

[WDW Poly Princess]

Ooh, I have to start requesting turndown service, just for the chocolate!!

I was there the same week, and I did a lot of the "Ooh, I'll go ride this!", get there, see huge wait time, walk to something else, see that *it* has a huge wait time, walk to something else... lather, rinse, repeat!

 

[Disney owl]

great start thanks for sharing

 

[tinawv]

Enjoying your trip report. I agree with you about the special moments such as the one you mentioned walking back from EPCOT. I am absolutely crazy about WDW, and my family thinks I am crazy for being so crazy about WDW.

 

[Ibelieveinfairies]

After passing out the night before from lack of sleep and all the exercise the day before (OT, but why is it that I am willing to walk 40 miles to find some little treat at WDW yet will scour the grocery store parking lot like a shark to park so that I only have to walk a few steps?), I awoke the next morning to shouts of "It's MY turn! It's MY turn!". Donald answers the phone, grumbles that Stitch is still taking over the wake-up calls, and proceeds to dress herself at lightning fast speed. She will tell you flat out that at WDW, she likes to be the first one dressed. At home, I am pulling out of the driveway and she is still locating her underwear...the place is pure magic, I tell ya!

We are waking up at an unGodly hour because I managed to get ADRs for the CP at MK at 8:05 a.m. Do my girls love characters? Yes! Do they love their breakfast? Yes! Do they like the Winnie the Pooh characters at breakfast? Well...Donald will say yes, but Winnie will say she is much too old for Pooh and his friends. I just wanted to experience having Main Street almost to ourselves...so yes, I used you, Pooh!

We are taken right into the CP and were actually delighted...lots of character interaction...no crowds...and DELICIOUS deep fried puffed french toast. Donald and I couldn't get enough of it. We had our fill and everyone had a much better time than we thought. We were amazed at a group of Japanese young women who as our Minnie said "must REALLY love Pooh"...it was fun to see them behave as if they were meeting Justin Timberlake or the like.
The only negative was a large family that got split up into different tables and they let everyone in the restaurant know that they were unhappy. I felt badly for all involved...the family because it was obvious that they were told that they could be together when they made the ADR, the manager because it wasn't her fault the CM told them wrong, and even the characters who were interjecting when possible to try to make these people happier. I just hate to see people upset at WDW!

We finished up, went outside and said, "Hey! Who let all these people into our park?" We walked over to Tomorrow Land, got a FP for Space Mountain and gave Stitch's Great Escape one more try. The last trip, we rode this twice and each time they were handing out FPs to come back later because something wasn't working right. We were underwhelmed each time and were hoping that the third time would be the charm...it wasn't. We were going to go to Buzz Lightyear when Goofy notices that the Indy Speedway has hardly any line...I have never seen it so short before and we've always had to have the "but the line is so long and it moves so slow...can't we do it another day?" conversation. We practically skip over to the ride, wait about 10 minutes, and were "speeding" away with the children at the wheel. Side note: why does my DH encourage my children to disobey the rules? Why?! Donald and I were in the front car and Minnie and Goofy were behind us...bumping us the entire way and laughing hysterically. Of course, by the end of the track, we were all laughing.

Anyway, we head over to Space Mountain next for our FP time followed by a lovely trip through Buzz Lightyear. DH tells me he got XXX points, knowing I only got XXX points...and glad to know someone is teaching our girls values...Donald rats him out and says, "Dad! You only got XXX points! Mom won!" I substituted XXX because I am anal...but not so anal to take out my notebook and write down our actual scores right after the ride! lol

We decide to make our way over to Liberty Square to see if the Christmas Shoppe is open. We've opened the Magic Kingdom on a prior trip...we've woken up Tinkerbelle...we've never decorated the tree, though. As we walk through the hub, we realize that Cinderellabration is just about to start and lo, and behold...we can actually find a decent spot to watch! We do and we watch. DDs are satisfied, but I truly miss the Castle Forecourt show where Peter Pan chases Captain Hook and such. I hope they bring it back!

We arrive at the Christmas Shoppe a little early, so we sit and enjoy the sun for a bit. The doors open and we wander inside. I don't want to seem like a crazed WDW nut, so I am hoping one of the CM will ask DDs to decorate the tree without me having to ask...nope...nothing. Goofy and I even go so far as to say "Wow, this tree has no ornaments on it!" and "I really like the Tinkerbelle tree-topper they have on this one...do you think they are going to put all Tinkerbelle ornaments on it?" Finally, sick of being subtle, I ask the CM right next to the tree, "Can my daughters decorate the tree?" She looks puzzled and has to go get someone...aha! She wasn't deaf...she wasn't aloof...she must be new! The girls decorate the tree, we take pictures, and the nice but new CM learns all about Magical Moments certificates. DH uses this moment to point out how sick I am that I know more about these things than even the people working in the store...I tell him it's all thanks to my DIS friends...he rolls his eyes.

While we were chatting with the new CM, she notices the DDs pin lanyards and mentions there is a new pin being released just for Presidents Day and that they are selling them at the Trading Post. We hustle toot-sweet over and buy two...they are nice. Because it is President's Day, we decide to take in the Hall of Presidents for the first time ever. It was a nice presentation despite the gentleman making political comments to W. I felt like saying, "You do know that it is an animatronic figure, don't you...that's not really him." Oh, well, even if I did agree with what he was saying, I wish he had kept it to himself...there's a time and place for everything, folks!

We walk over to Frontier Land and decide it's still too chilly for Splash Mountain right now. We see the wait for Big Thunder Mountain is 40 minutes, so we stick tight to our pledge and get a FP. I notice that El Pirata y el Perico is open! We have wanted to try this place since the fifth of never...mostly because it is never open when we are there and it's that elusive meal...it must be sooo good! We go and are well...disappointed. At first, I am overwhelmed with the size of the tacos...they are huge! At first bite, though, I realize that the shell is not only mostly full of lettuce, but it is terribly stale, as well.

We make up for our meal by stopping to get a Mickey Ice Cream bar...anything is better when washed down by one of those! We breeze onton BTMR and are bummed to find that Splash Mountain has a 60 minute wait by now. We decide to ride the train to Main Street just as we hear the train pull in...Run! Run!...whew! make it! We detrain at Main Street and head out of the Magic Kingdom.

We go back to the BC to hit the pools. Goofy is ecstatic...his goals are being met after all...we discuss how he can go get something fruity, frozen, and most importantly...alcoholic for us to drink while I look for a place to light. Well, he disappears for what seems like hours...no worries...I still haven't found a place to park our rears after about 30/45 minutes. I do my best shark imitation...stalking people that even vaguely look as if they are about to leave. Finally, a nice family lets me know that they are leaving and won't need their table or chairs. Enjoy drink, dip in pool, laugh at how uncoordinated Minnie is in the hula hoop contest (she gets it from me, folks!). She comes back, happy as a clam, with her oversized sunglasses she "won".

We go back to the room to get ready for our big night at the Hoop-de-doo...this time I am prepared with matching outfits and all (didn't know last time that they take your picture!). We arrive about an hour early, check in, and make friends with a nice family from Seattle. Our DDs talked their poor ears off in between committing multiple counts of larceny...they have this cart there that the girls kept looking through, picking something up, and running across the walkway to show us. We smile for our picture and make our way inside.

At first, I am really bummed to learn that we'll be in the balcony...but the night turned out to be wonderful. Goofy got picked to be the Indian in the show and I thought we would all just burst with pride and laughter. It will be a moment that none of us will soon forget. The show ends, we boat and bus it back to BC and Minnie literally falls asleep mid-sentence...something about "Can we go to the arc..." I am assuming she was going to say "arcade"...not tonight, dear...we have more Disney dreaming to do before we take off on another adventure tomorrow!