The Holidays Are Over So Let's Get This Trip Report Rolling!

[mariezp]

Day 7, December 8, 2009

There is still rain in the forecast for all the rest of the week but….. today we finally have a beautiful day! AND we are heading to our favorite park, Magic Kingdom. We stopped to grab a coffee at the booth at the TCC. The CM gave back an extra $10 in change. DH told him he had made a mistake and gave the money back. The CM thanked him for his honesty. It just made me wonder how many mistakes are made by employees who do not know how to make change properly. As you may recall, he was not the only one we ran into with this problem on our trip. So folks, be sure to count your change!

DD had decided to bring Pal Mickey with her today. She kept us entertained with his corny jokes on the ferry ride. She loves carrying one of her stuffed animals to the parks with her everyday but this is the first time she had one that talked to her. He was a little hard to hear sometimes because the crowds are just so noisy but I do think she enjoyed him. I think she took him a second day too but his batteries must have started getting weak. All he would do was vibrate. That wasn’t much fun so he stayed home the rest of our trip.

Anyway, continuing on, as we passed through the turnstiles we were given “high fours” from the CMs wearing their Mickey gloves. We made it into the park about noon. It looked like it was going to be a pretty crowded day. DD was ready to split up from the guys upon arrival so the girls could do what SHE wanted and the guys could do their thing. We agreed to meet back up at 2:30 for lunch and went our separate ways. Our first stop was at City Hall to pick up our “First Time at WDW” buttons. Then we were off to Fantasyland.

I must say WDW’s Fantasyland is certainly a lot bigger than at DL. However, I felt it lost some of it’s charm. With the brightly painted buildings it looked more cartoonish or carnival like. We rode the carousel 2 times because once never seems to be enough.

Then we headed for Mickey’s Philharmagic. DD was a bit nervous about it being a 3D show. She hasn’t yet come to realize that as she gets older some things will not be quite as scary as when you are younger. She made it through just fine. I loved it! It is the first thing I have thought would be a really great addition to DL. We are still making quotes from the show.

We grabbed a FP for Peter Pan and headed to stand in line for Dumbo. I see some things are the same at both parks….. always a line for Dumbo here too. Oh well, we never think of it as anything other than something you gotta do if you want to ride the ride. We talk, people watch and take pictures and before you know it you are on the ride. While we were waiting my DD pointed out that Dumbo did not have any water underneath him here.

Next we headed to Small World.

By the time we got off it was time to meet the guys for lunch so we made our way over to Cosmic Ray’s. Not our best meal. The food was expensive and bland. We also were not too impressed with Ray. He was loud and ugly.

 

[mariezp]

Continued.....

After lunch, we sent the guys on their way and we decided to ride the Speedway since it was right across the walkway. Dang, those pedals are hard to push! Mickey Helped drive.

We took a ride on the Transit Authority.

Next, The Carousel of Progress. DD took these photos.

Next we went to the Laugh Factory. While waiting in line we had a conversation with a CM. He asked me which park I liked better and I told him DL. He said he heard that a lot. DD and I both thought the show was funny. This was the 2nd thing we wouldn’t mind seeing come to DL someday.

Afterwards we rode Buzz. I always do terrible on this game. I have a huge list of cheats but always forget to read it before we go so never get around to improving my score. Of course, I have a new excuse this time. The guns were a little tricky…. Not really so bad once you figured them out… but still a little hard to aim at the lower targets. It also did not help that DD did not like me turning the car. I came out with 167,000. Can’t believe they don’t let you e-mail your photo home. They actually expect you to pay for it! The horror!

I grabbed a strawberry banana smoothie because it sounded so good but it just ended up being over priced and not very good. On we went to the Teacups. I suppose the cover is very nice when it rains but I did not think it looked very pretty.

I missed Alice's ride not being nearby. They did use some of her leaves and include her in the topiaries.


Next was Pooh. I am a Pooh fan so I always love this ride. The WDW version did seem a little longer maybe.

It was time to put our FPs to use so we headed to Peter Pan. Some of the scenes were different but I don’t know that they made the ride any better than the DL version. It would be really nice if DL have a FP system since the lines are always so long.

I thought by now that the boys were probably getting tired but DD still wanted to ride Pirates so I called to see if they wanted to meet us. My son was finally on Space Mountain. It had been down most of the day. My husband said they would head our way when he got off. For some reason when they started making their way towards us my hubby lost his sense of direction again and headed to Fantasyland instead of Adventureland so we had a long wait. So we sat at the entrance to Pirates and rested our feet while listening to Pal Mickey tell us Pirate jokes. They finally made it and we sailed off among a bunch of scurvy pirates. After that we took another boat ride on Jungle Cruise. We had another excellent skipper.

We decided to call it a day. On the way out of the park we stopped in at the candy store and spent way too much on fudge, turtles and chocolate covered cherries. We found the car tonight without incident, thanks to Smiley. When we got in the car my phone rang. It was Santa calling to talk to DD. He talked to her the entire ride home, right until we pulled into the driveway. Pretty cool that he knew how to find us in Florida!

 

[mariezp]

Day 8, December 9, 2009

We should certainly be getting well rested on our trip. Each day we seem to keep slipping into the park later and later. Today we finally started our journey to Magic Kingdom at 1:00. No big deal because my main goal for the day was to watch the Spectromagic parade in the evening.

In our original plans we thought one of DS’s friends would be coming with us so I had purchased an additional 10 day ticket prior to our trip. The friend didn’t end up coming so we now had a spare ticket. We knew that the family whose house we had been to last Saturday would be coming with us on the upcoming Sunday so we decided to stop at the TCC to see if we could possibly trade the 10 day ticket in to apply towards 6 one day tickets. I knew my chances were iffy from asking around here on the board and having called guest services but I still figured I had nothing to lose. The first lady I tried just said flat out “No. You can’t do that.” Not satisfied with her answer I thought I would try just one more time so I picked another window. This time, after going through my long story, the man's response was that he did not see why there would be any problem but that he could not do it at the ticket office. He told me to go to one of the guest relations booths right outside the park entrance.

We arrived at the building and I stepped up to Steve from Indianapolis’s window where I explained my situation. He was all business, didn’t have much to say but after a few questions he promptly credited me for the 10 day ticket and handed me a new set of 6 tickets. Yippee! So it looks like it never hurts to ask more than once. I do know that Disney is generally very accommodating in their commitment to keep their customer happy and this time turned out to be no exception.

In the meantime, at another window, DH was trying to resolve a problem we had all been having with our FPs. Steve from Indianapolis had immediately issued me a reprinted ticket that solved my problem. However, DH had gotten a hold of Debbie from Indianapolis and she was not making it easy on him. She was one of those sticklers for rules and she was just not one of those out to share any Disney magic. I don’t think she had any in her personality. She gave him the third degree and scrutinized his tickets for about 15 minutes before finally reprinting his tickets. He was not happy by the time he was through. Guess he should have stayed in line with me.

Once inside the gates, we hopped on the train bound for Frontierland for lunch at LTT. The food was good but again expensive. When we were through we rode HM together. Then DS and I rode Splash. DD and I decided it was time to check out Toontown so we took the train around to that station. While I was on the train I received a phone call from M&N, one of our fellow Disboard members. I could barely hear her because of the noise from the train so I told her I would call her back shortly. I called her when we got off the train but ended up having to leave a message. In the meantime, DD and I went to Mickey’s house and then wandered through Toontown.

M&N called back. We both just happened to be heading to Fantasyland so we made plans to meet her at Dumbo. We got a hug, met her mother and friends, chatted a bit and took a photo. Learned something from that photo…. Never take a full length shot with a wide angle lens. GASP! Thank heavens my photo editor has a crop button!

DD enjoyed visiting with her too and got a sweet surprise. M&N gave her a Mickey pin. Would have liked to visited longer but we didn’t want to keep her companions waiting on her too long. Since we were already close we parted ways and got in line for Dumbo.

 

[mariezp]

Continued....

We had a parade to go watch so we grabbed a drink and headed towards the Spectro route in front of the Hall of Presidents. We were 45 minutes early and it was already crowded. We found a spot on the side of one of the planters, called the guys so they could meet us and settled in to wait for the parade. The spot we chose was right next to a group who had a large spot reserved for the rest of their group. After we had been sitting for at least 20 minutes another family showed up. They started to sit on the ground and one of the ladies from the large group, who looked very familiar, politely told them it was being saved. They moved over towards where we were sitting and again the lady said it was reserved too. Instead of moving along the family sat right down on top of the jackets and stuff that was scattered to hold the spots. They were obviously foreigners because they started speaking among themselves in a foreign language with apparent contempt that anyone would think to say they could not sit there. They apparently thought they deserved to sit down more than anyone who had been staking it out for an hour or more. I felt so sorry for the poor woman who had tried to direct them elsewhere. She was in total shock and frankly so was I. It was quite uncomfortable for awhile. When the rest of the large group arrived they had to squeeze in. I have to admit that I really hoped they would end up standing in the other families view. As it turned out the squatter family really did not end up having a viewing spot that was worth their being so rude. We did end up enjoying the lights of the parade. There were quite a few characters that I did not recognize or realize how they related to Disney. I have not gotten use to my new camera so my picture taking is sorely lacking.

 

[mariezp]

Continued...

When the parade was over rather than fight the crowd we ducked into the Hall of Presidents.

I had intended to possibly watch the fireworks but we ended up staying inside too long. When we got out the fireworks were over so all we had left to do was work our way out of the park through the hoards of people. We exited the park among a herd of cheerleaders who kept erupting sporadically with Spanish cheers. When we finally made it out the turnstiles, DH failed to mention that he would rather ride the monorail until we were already stuck in the mass working their way to the ferry. It was too late to change our direction. We ended up making it on the first ferry so I doubt the monorail would have been any faster but I do agree that riding back to the TCC crammed in like sardines is really way less than magical.

 

[DL55]

I'm glad to see someone else ride the teacups. I love the teacups and being dizzy. It was nice to see you got to meet M&N. I chuckled over your starting hour (1 pm). That's usually when we take our break for the day. I always enjoy the parade pictures. We seldom watch as we don't want to stake out a place an hour before.

 

[travelmel]

I love hearing your take on the differences between DL and WDW. Great pictures, as usual!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

Hi Marie!!! I finally made it and read up on everything!! Looks great so far!!! I am having trouble seeing your pix, though?

Waiting for more!!!!

 

[mariezp]

It's about time I got back around to work on my report some more and respond to some of the folks who have been gracious enough to follow along with me while I relive our trip.

DL55, we always have to ride the teacups! It's not because it is really that much of a fantastic ride but I always have to ham it up and make my daughter laugh. Can't help it. Being a clown runs in my family!
I know, it is ridiculous how late we kept making it to the parks everyday BUT considering how uncooperative the darn weather was being and the fact that my guys love to sleep late I finally just decided to go with the flow instead of fretting about what time we actually got to the park. It was my DH's vacation too after all so he might as well have some part he really enjoyed too.
When we go to DL it is a totally different story! First off, we gain an hour on our time zone clock so it is much easier to get up early. Also, we stay right across the street so DD and I often get up in time for park opening.... I know, hard to imagine... and leave the boys in the room while we get an early start in the park.
I am not a big parade watcher either. We usually stop if we happen to be passing by in the middle of one but seldom ever stake out a spot. However, the Disneyland Electrical Parade is our all time favorite so I was hoping Spectro would be similar, otherwise, we probably would have been off doing something else.

Hi travelmel! Glad to see you again! I was seriously hoping someone might enjoy my comparisons. On the other hand, I am probably boring some others right out of their minds with so many comparisons.... but it was how things looked from my perspective on our trip. Gotta say having been to both it is extremely hard to not look at everything with a skewed view.

LOVEMY3KIDDOS, hmmm, not sure why you are having trouble.... maybe because I put in too many pics? Sometimes it may just take a long time to load them all. At least I hope that is the case. Anyone else having any trouble?
I have been keeping up on your report. Can't wait for a new installment. Some lovely weather we had, huh?

 

[mariezp]

Day 9, December 10, 2009

Another dreary day outside. We left the house today at 12:30 so we were able to make my goal of getting to Epcot by 1:30 for our lunch at Teppan Edo. I kept changing my mind back and forth on whether we really should go here when I was planning. I was glad we kept our reservation. When we checked in at the front desk I found that the sweet little Japanese ladies were very difficult to understand because of their accent but even more than that because they talk very quietly. We were promptly seated at a table with another family of 4 who ended up being very pleasant. Our chef’s name was Ken. He was very entertaining! Everyone loved it! He was fantastic and so funny. He showed us how he could make butter fly, flipped shrimp into his hat and made an onion volcano. DD had fun with her chopsticks. She even ate all her rice! The food was excellent, especially the shrimp. The guys shared the Sushi Sampler.

DH gave a demonstration for the camera of just how hot their wasabi was.

After lunch we ducked into the American Adventure show and hoped that the rain would let up while we were inside. We all thought it was a very good show.

We made our way back over to Norway. While we were already in a movie watching mood we decided to stop in and see their show. We all came out shaking our heads and agreed that this movie was really lacking something. Hoping that there had to be something better to offer, we decided to see what the Maelstrom was like. It was interesting with the unusual turns but was much too short. The gift shop at the exit was too much for my DD to pass up. She had to pose with one of the Viking hats. She took her new role very seriously.

I really wanted to see the candy lady so I bribed DD with a souvenir and we made our way back to Japan while the guys went in search of something more exciting. When we arrived we found a spot right In front of the cart. There was a lady setting up to entertain the crowd by telling the story behind the Japanese New Year, as well as how Karate had been invented. She did a good job of educating us and was very funny too.

Before long Miyoko came out. She started out by making a monkey. Then she picked my DD who requested a pink Pegasus which came out also part unicorn. Miyoko had a very stong accent and spoke very quietly too. We could not understand a lot of what she had to say but we did hear her often say “shiny, shiny”, “nice, nice” and “I present to you”. It was amazing watching her mold those little balls of candy so we stayed and watched her finish her show. While we watched she made a seahorse, a brown horse, a swan and a panda.

It was so cool when she snip, snip, snipped with her scissors and his mane suddenly appeared!

Next we headed to the Mexico pavilion building. The restaurant inside looked very cool and somewhat similar to Blue Bayou since it was dark and along the edge of the water. However, I could not find anything on the menu that I thought my kids would like. Considering that and the fact that I have read so many not so good reviews we passed on dining there. It was interesting to see as we made our way to the line for the Grand Fiesta Tour. It was a fun little ride but I could not decide it I really liked the movies projected on the walls or not. I did like the spot where Donald appears in the little pond. And, it was fun trying to keep up with where Donald was going to pop up next. DD did seem to enjoy it.

We had made plans to meet up with the guys at the Universe of Energy but after we arrived DD changed her mind while we were waiting in line. She was worried that it would be scary. It was getting colder so we all just decided we would rather finish anything else we had missed in Epcot on another one of our days so we headed home for the night.

 

[DL55]

The first pic of the candy Pegasus I thought WTH? looks more like a picasso. 2nd picture looks fine, must have been the angle.
We've never eaten in the Mexico pavilion because I can eat Mexican at home much cheaper. We are a bit fussy about Mexican food, must be spicy.

 

[ladybugmom]

Your pics of American Adventure came out beautifully!! And how cool that your DD was chosen by Miyoko!! How magical!!

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

We were in Epcot that same day. I didn't remember it raining that day. I'm sure we were out the whole day. Guess we must have thoughed it out since it was our last full day.

 

[Canyon girl]

Looks like you had the same problem heading east that we did. Rope drops just did not happen; although, we knew that it would be rough. I do plan on changing the kids to FL time a few weeks before we go this year, though. It doesn't affect DH as much; since, he normally gets up around 3 am our time. It sure was nice to be more laid back. Other than our leaving day ADR of 8:05 am, our other early breakfast was 9:30. At least you probably went home somewhat rested. I am happy to report that I have FINALLY finished my photo book. I've been working on it on my Mac ever since I got my Photopass CD. I would never have gotten it done on Photopass! I just have to have DH proof it before I order it. Marie, did you get much from that ice storm that went through last week? I know it paralyzed the panhandle. I just wondered if anything got down to you.

 

[Gordon Bombay]

Really enjoyed reading the OP's trip report. In all the times I've been to Disney I still have yet to actually go into the Swiss Family tree house, really appreciate the pictures from there.

 

[QueenDoOver]

Hi Marie,
I'm still reading and enjoying. I honestly never knew there was so much to do at Epcot. I admire your williness to sleep in and go with the flow. Not sure I can be that kind.

 

[Sherry E]

I'm still here too, Marie! I have been reading it all and looking at all the photos, but sometimes I have just enough time to read the installments but not enough time to comment (I am sure everyone here understands that dilemma). In fact, I have been neglectful of my own TR (and I have Photopass pics to post, but I have been lazy!)! So I keep trying to make mental notes to comment on certain things in your TR when I get time later, but by then you will probably be on day 250 in WDW or something and will have moved on from the day I am commenting on!!!

Anyway, just wanted you to know I am still here (albeit silent most of the time) and thoroughly engrossed and enjoying your TR. By the way - Smiley was a great idea!!! I remember in the old, old days of the original DLR parking lot (which is no longer there now), we would have a heck of a time finding the car. Smiley could have helped!

And a big THUMBS UP (inside joke from my TR for those of you who don't know what I mean) on being able to do the good ol' ticket switcheroo and apply the 10-day ticket (it was 10 days, right) monetary value towards the other tickets for your friends!! That's a great feeling, isn't it? I was SO thrilled when I got to do that at DLR to get my AP in 2008, and again last year to get the 3 Hoppers, although it seemed like the CM almost didn't want me to do it (either she didn't know that they view the unused tickets "as money" or DLR is starting to get more strict in not allowing that sort of thing).

 

[MadilynnsMomma]

I'm here, hiding in the woodwork - life has gotten a bit crazy and I am just getting caught up! Super cool that DD got picked by Miyuki!

 

[mariezp]

Anyone out there ready for another update? Let me make a few responses and I will see if I can get another installment posted for you!

DL55, DD's Pegasus did have a sort of Picaso Quality to it didn't it. My photography doesn't help at all. It looked much better in person and is pretty amazing how fast she whips a chunk of goo into a shape.
Do tell! I love Mexican food but have no idea how to cook it. I would love to hear some of your favorite recipes!

ladybugmom, thank you for the compliment on my American Adventure pictures. I even did real good at keeping my flash turned off!
My DD enjoyed Miyoko's show but probably not as much as I did. The things we make our kids do!

LOVEMY3KIDDOS, we had so many days of less than perfect weather that I think I was actually thinking of the next day when I said it was drizzly in the evening. (went back and changed that to just cold!) I did take notes everyday otherwise I would not have been able to remember anything! I know it was at least dripping when we started out and watched the American Adventure but you may be right that it cleared up some the rest of the afternoon. I know it was still cool for sure.

Canyon girl, I think you are exactly right! It is much harder adjusting to the time zones when you go east than when we go to Disneyland. We never did make the adjustment!
I definitely enjoy the laid back approach so much more than having to hurry. We did probably end up missing a lot in the parks because we wasted a good portion of our day but I think if we had pushed much harder everyone would have just been that much more tired. My DH ALWAYS ends up with blisters on his feet so getting him to the park everyday is a miracle in itself! He swears next time he is going to go have some insoles specially made. Anyway, glad you got to try out the laid back approach too.
Congratulations on getting your photobook done! It is a major project just to sort through all the photos when you get home, isn't it?
Thankfully, we just missed the ice storm in my area. It was bitterly cold and windy but the moisture did not accumulate as bad as we were bracing ourselves for. Did it affect you any?

Gordon Bombay, thank you for reading along with me and taking the time to post. The Swiss Family Treehouse is pretty neat. It is A LOT of climbing! I would have liked to go through at a slower pace but my bunch is always in a hurry. There is lots to see and lots to photograph. I'd love to have one of those treehouses in my backyard!

QueenDoOver, thanks for sticking around! At least I have a few readers I am not boring to tears!
I don't think I even hit the tip of the iceberg on all we could have done at Epcot. One morning we were walking in and I had my "list". My DH said we must have done just about everything and I started reading off things we could still do. I think I stunned him because he had no idea of all the things that could be done. He had the camera rolling and I must say that I did indeed spout off a wealth of information!
Willingness? I am not sure I was really willing but it was a matter of preserving my sanity. I could have been the wife from you know where and demanded that we get up at the crack of dawn but that would have really resulted in a crappy vacation.. So even though I went along with everyone else my preference would have been to be in the park MUCH earlier everyday! Just wait til we go to Disneyland! I will be walking across the street at park opening while the rest of the bunch sleeps their day away!

Hi Sherry! Glad to see you posting around some of these trip reports.... both mine and yours! I know what you mean. I read and have to confess that I do not post all the time either. Some days I am just in the mood to write a long winded posted.... other days not so much. Plus sometimes life just has a tendency to interrupt. My kids have no understanding of me having a life outside of doing things for them!
Thank heavens I am not going to have to write up 250 days at WDW. Can you imagine how long that would take me!!!!?
Yeppers, I owe my ticket switcheroo knowledge all to you! Hopefully, I have just helped to pass the word along that Disney really does try to work with you... in most cases.

MadilynnsMomma, life does tend to get crazy like that. Guess so long as we all show back every now and then and remember where our priorities are, right?

 

[mariezp]

Day 10, December 11, 2009

This gloomy weather really had apparently started getting to me. This morning when I woke for awhile I considered not even going to any park. DH quickly snapped me out of it when he went on a rant about how he only had 4 days left of HIS vacation. Anyway, we’ll not even get into that. Since DD’s big AK day had been a bust we decided to rework the plans a bit. I had originally scheduled Monday for The Hoop-De-Do-Review but decided to switch it to this evening (Friday) so we can get in a full day at AK on Monday. So far the weather looks best in the forecast on that day to make up what we missed. If I had kept HDDR on Monday we would have only had a half day as we were booked for the 5:00 show. Though I hated to stay out late tonight the 9:30 show was all that was available. DH said it would be fine so I went ahead and made the switch.

In the meantime we decided to head back to Epcot again to finish up a few things that we still wanted to see. We made it to the park today about noon and started towards the back of the park to find some lunch. Along the way we stopped off at Club Cool. I, of course, knew to be careful but the rest of the crew was unsuspecting. Mu-ha-ha! I watched their faces as they tried the Italian beverage. DS was first and then DH just had to try it too. Why in the world they would actually bottle something that tasted the bad is beyond me! We stood around for quite some time talking to a couple of CMs while watching other people’s reactions. They shared with us some of their stories and really made our visit quite memorable. After we had amused ourselves we set off for World Showcase.

DS wanted to try some German food but I wanted to try the Fish and Chips so we headed in separate directions with plans to meet back up somewhere in between the two countries. Good grief the lines for food where horrible today! Certainly speaks volumes on just what an advantage there is to having ADRS! We waited probably a full 20 minutes or more for our meal.

The guys were stuck in a long line of their own so we secured a table at the American Pavillion, which was no easy feat in itself. The guys showed up finally. They enjoyed their Bratwurst but I found the fish to be disappointing. Very bland.

Oh well, that was a good excuse to stop off and enjoy dessert so we made our way to the Norway Bakery to try some of the goodies I had heard so much about. We arrived to find yet another very long line. We weren’t doing a very good job of making up our minds so we tried decided to grab a Rice Dream, a couple School Breads and a couple Cream Horns to split among the 4 of us. All were good but the unanimous vote was that the School Bread was the best.

After wasting most of our day so far on food we decided we should probably get around to getting on a ride. DD suggested that we take the guys on the Grand Fiesta Tour since it was right there so that is what we did. For ride number two DD decided she really did want to do the Universe of Energy today so we headed there next. Of course, there was another line to wait in which turned out to be way worse than all the others but I did not have any idea at the time. Let’s just say for now…. keep your kids out of the bushes! Anyway, I thought the Universe of Energy was somewhat funny. However, the moment the show started with the “Big Bang Theory” it was destined to receive negative reviews from the rest of my family. If they had left off that part I think everyone would have thought it was a pretty neat ride.

Next we headed over to Nemo. We all liked it and thought it was very cute.
When we got outside we could not make up our minds where to go next . Since it was cold and drizzly we decided to head home and just rest before show time.

We got home and DD was itching like crazy. Pulled off her shirt and she was covered in blotches. Evidently when we had been standing in line she had been touching the plants and one of them set off an allergic reaction in her. Thankfully after a while she cleared up. When we went to HDDR I had not figured out what it was yet so when she wore the same coat it set it off again. I was glad we had discovered what had caused the rash but I did feel bad for not figuring it out before she had to go through another round of itching. Needless to say, the coat went immediately into a hot washing machine. (never to be worn again because she refuses to put it back on)

Later in the evening we set out to embark upon, thankfully, our one and only experience with Disney’s resort transportation. We had a little confusion driving through the campground which resulted in a wrong turn but we eventually found the bus depot. When I got on the bus I asked the driver if we were in the right one that stopped at the HDDR. The rude jerk said in a VERY annoyed voice “Settlement last stop”. I asked what does that mean to which he replied “Settlement last stop”. Never having been to WDW before I had no idea what it meant. A simple yes or no would have been greatly appreciated. Needless to say, I was NOT impressed with out bus trip and was in a pretty fowl mood by the time we actually reached our stop.

Thankfully, we had been talking with a man and woman at the bus stop so we hoped by following them we were on the right track. We made it to the ticket booth with only 10 minutes to spare. We continued talking with the man from Massachusetts. DS found a guy to talk Jiu-Jitsu with so he was happy. With our tickets finally in hand we made our way inside to table 85. I don’t think they could have crammed in another single table. It was a very tight fit between tables but with a little rearranging we managed to all get squeezed into our seats. The show was very fun and the food was fantastic. It was so worth it just to hear my usually serious teenage son let out some good belly laughs. He said he laughed til his sides hurt. Six Bits and Clara, the girl with the crazy laugh, were our favorites. Sorry about the crummy pics. At least I did not use my flash!

When the show was over we made our way back to the buses and crossed our fingers that we would find our car again. We lucked out and didn’t have any problem. We got back to the house and stumbled into bed early so that we could meet our guests, the N family, tomorrow morning with rested and smiling faces. Thankfully, they called to say that they wouldn’t be here until sometime between 11:00 and noon so we won’t have to get up too early.