The MAGIC, the MEMORIES, the storms, and HEY! Where's Perry? Aug 2011 TR (upd: Oct21)

[beebeeryan]

We woke up Tuesday morning not really sure what to do. The itinerary said Epcot, but we'd already done that enough with the extra day. The kids wanted to go to MK so we planned on that. Now, first thing I hear before I even get out of bed, is DH saying, "umm...the bathroom floor is all wet!" We found that our ceiling was dripping by one of the sinks and the door and had been all night probably. Floors was very wet. Slippery marble tiles. Good times. I put down towels and we got ready to go have breakfast. We decided to go get waffles and stuff at Contempo this morning instead of an in-room breakfast. Before leaving, DH called the front desk to tell them about the bathroom.

We went to breakfast and came back to the room about 9am. Nobody had been by yet. We left again for MK and on the way out I stopped at the front desk to tell them again, just to be sure and ask if we needed to be there. Nope, go on have a nice day, we'll take care of it.

Walked to MK. We took a few pictures on Main Street before getting too sweaty and icky and headed to Tomorrowland. The boys wanted to ride Astro Orbitor which we hadn't done yet and there was no line which was a miracle. I took them on that and we all rode together in one ship although they told Matthew he could go alone, he didn't want to.

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DH didn't come on this one. He went off to get FP for Space Mountain or something. After that Chip and Dale were out by the stage and there were only a few people so we stopped to see them. Chip was very playful with Matthew. When there isn't a big line, they certainly goof around a lot more.

Riding Astro Orbitor

After that we all rode Buzz together and then headed across the park to the only place the boys ever want to be, Frontierland and Splash Mountain. Rode Splash. Rode Thunder. Then we went over to Adventureland to ride Pirates, but I believe it was down for whatever reason and so we continued on to the Magic Carpets. I wanted to see Jasmine and Aladdin, but the boys didn't and the line was long. We got ice cream from Sunshine Tree Terrace after riding the carpets and watched them go off on break and come back.

We wandered back through the shortcut into Frontierland and came upon an impromptu street hoedown. Or whatever you call it.

Then the boys wanted to do Haunted Mansion again, so we did. Love that ride! Saw the Steamship coming in and the boys hadn't done that yet, didn't do it last year, so we went ahead and got on. Boring, but whatever. Had to do it once. It is a great spot to get good pictures of Thunder Mountain and Haunted Mansion and Tom Sawyer Island though.

Up next...
As if the rain wasn't enough, our bathroom ceiling is leaking!

 

[Kat in GA]

My girls have never been on the river boat - and actually I can't recall the last time I was either. Does it just make a circuit?

Another thing the girls have never done is Tom Sawyer's island...with us going in some cooler weather, maybe we'll finally go over there. I think my 10 year old would like it, but I am not so sure about my teenager!

Oy vey about the bathroom...and your parting sentence tells me that it's not quite fixed while you are gone!

 

[beebeeryan]

My girls have never been on the river boat - and actually I can't recall the last time I was either. Does it just make a circuit?

Another thing the girls have never done is Tom Sawyer's island...with us going in some cooler weather, maybe we'll finally go over there. I think my 10 year old would like it, but I am not so sure about my teenager!

Oy vey about the bathroom...and your parting sentence tells me that it's not quite fixed while you are gone!

Yes the boat just goes around in a circle, you go around Tom Sawyer Island actually. Last summer we did Tom Sawyer, it's hot on the raft, but it's a quick ride, the island is actually mostly shaded so not too bad once you are there. And the caves and fort can be nice and cool. We didn't go to it this trip though. I think the thing with the island is getting on the first raft there and finding the paint brushes they hide in the morning, then you get a universal FP for the day or something to that effect. I'm not sure.

 

[Queenofallthings]

I absolutely love your pictures...everyone looks so happy! We have never been on the Riverboat, can you believe it? We really need to do it one of these years and I can't even tell you why we never have

From your previous post....I'm with you....smarties are the best! I love to keep them in the freezer and have them with a cup of coffee

 

[BerrysGirl]

We saw the hoedown too! I love that the characters get involved too. I can't imagine dancing like that dressed as a giant cow!

 

[PixieMama]

I'm pretty sure I've been on the riverboat and to TS island as a kid... but I haven't done either since.

Uh oh about the bathroom issues...

 

[beebeeryan]

So we left MK and headed back to the hotel. I believe we walked back this time. Seems every time we took the Monorail it stopped a few minutes and it just took longer. We went straight to our room first to see what was going on with the leaking ceiling. Mousekeeping had been in, but towels were still all over the floor, she had replaced them at least and the ceiling was still dripping. Not sure if anyone had come. UGh! We called again and a few minutes later someone came. The guy looked and said he needed to call a plumber, he thought he knew what was wrong. So we went off to lunch at the Contempo.

Then we headed back to the room to change and go to the pool for the afternoon. When we got back to the pool a woman maintenance worker was standing there at the door. So nobody comes by all day then they all come at the same time. We let her in and she looked around and then the other guy came back and told her he was still waiting on a plumber who should be here. soon. They left, we changed. But as I was changing into my swimsuit in the bathroom, DH "pretended" to open the door and say hi to the maintenance guy to scare me. I was all worried about people walking in. I told him he was in trouble later because I seriously jumped.

We went to the pool, but less than 30 minutes later, we got the lightening warning and had to get out and they closed the pool. Lovely, now we didn't even know if we could go to our room since they might be working in there by now. We headed back and there was nobody there. We changed quickly and the phone rang. DH answered and it was someone from the front desk telling us maintenance would not be able to fix the problem quickly and since we'd already been disrupted all day they would move us. They told us to pack up and gave us a # to call when we were ready to they could send Bell Services to move our stuff. 5 days of dirty clothes and lots of stuff, but I think we did it in less than 15 minutes. I called Linda back at Front Desk and they came a few minutes later. So we get out into the hallway with all our stuff and the bellman tells us we can go ahead to the room, he'll meet us there, he'll be slower. We tell him we don't know where to go, they didn't tell us our new room number or give us new KTTW cards or anything. He checks in his pocket and says the room is 4436, but it's the 7th floor in the tower and our own KTTW cards should work on that door. Okay. I figured they'd put us in another room in the Garden Wing, but the Tower sounded good. So we headed that way and he was right behind us the whole way and we shared an elevator. I was completely disoriented when we got out of the elevator and he pointed which direction to go in. I still didn't know what view we would have. Our door was the first door to the side of the elevator hallway, we were basically right in the middle of the building. The interior view was cool, the kids were excited to see the monorail come by just as we were walking by. We try our keys and low and behold they worked. In we go and the kids run to the sliding glass door and start screaming that they can see the castle! I'm stunned. The bell guy starts laughing. We tip him and he leaves and I pull out the camera and start taking pics and video of the new room and view. We've got 2 nights to enjoy the fireworks from our own balcony. Best view we'll get considering the views inside the park were less than stellar. After a good half hour not able to tear myself away the kids start whining about whether the pool is open again.

Waiting for bell services...

Thank you Thank you again Linda at Front Desk!

The room all neat, but really it looked exactly the same as the other one.

Check out the view Mommy!!!

iPhone photo so I could Facebook it!

Lookie how I can zoom in on Space Mountain!

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See, now when I said about the Garden Wing and our view of the pool...we'd know if it was open now. But being up here on this side we have a lovely view, but no way of knowing if the pool is open or not without going down to check. Which we do. It's not. We do some shopping. Check again, they are opening in 5 minutes they tell us. We go change and head down. I will say, I much preferred walking out of my room in the Garden Wing and going out the first door and out to the pool than having to walk around the Tower and through the lobby although the elevators are hidden from the front desk area. But I am not complaining, the view is fantastic and we are all elated to have this room now. We swim a little and then have to head back to get ready for dinner just as they are closing the pool again.

I believe it only rained a little, a quick passing storm, but the skies were still quite dark in spots and there was thunder and lightening around as you can see from the photos. It's not cleared yet.


Up next...
Do the Hokey Pokey and turn yourself around in the rain

 

[Kat in GA]

How exciting! I somehow missed that post on facebook that you had a new room - with a view

What was the noise level like in the room? Could you hear the monorail/people - or only when you were outside?

 

[Blessed_wth_Triplets]

Oh my word!!!! What an amazing view!! So happy for you guys! I will say that is the least they could have done for your troubles.

 

[BerrysGirl]

Ahhh that room right there is what made me fall in love with the Contemporary. I love that view! In the morning we would lean over the balcony and watch Chef Mickey's in action and at night I felt the building gently shaking when the monorail went through. Just love it!
I do understand how not knowing if the pool was open could be frustrating for your family though Hope the view made up for it a little!

 

[beebeeryan]

How exciting! I somehow missed that post on facebook that you had a new room - with a view

What was the noise level like in the room? Could you hear the monorail/people - or only when you were outside?

You were busy drinking around the world or something! LOL

It was pretty loud when you opened the door. For sure. Even inside the room, if it was quiet, no tv on, you could hear a little bit of noise. Not too bad, we were over Contempo and closer to Chef Mickey's although pretty much in the middle of the building. At night I heard a bit of ambiance I'll call it. Not enough to bother me or affect my sleeping, DH said he heard nothing and he usually would be the first to complain. But he also falls asleep in 2 seconds and I don't. We were up a lot the last night because Eric was whining in his sleep about his ear hurting so I did notice some noise outside when I listened for it, but once the monorail and Chef Mickey's was closed I didn't really hear anything.

The Garden Wing is very quiet. I will say that. Honestly, I actually think switching rooms for the last couple of nights might be the perfect way to do it. It was quick and easy to do and would save some money. If we stay there again I might do that, plan it that way.

Oh my word!!!! What an amazing view!! So happy for you guys! I will say that is the least they could have done for your troubles.

I think it helped that we never said a word to anyone other than calling and saying we didn't think anyone had been by yet. We never asked to be moved or complained about the issue. I won't say I wasn't secretly hoping they'd move us to a MK view room and that DH and I didn't discuss the possibility. But we weren't expecting it at all and just wanted a dry bathroom floor because the marble was slippery when wet. We would have been fine with another Garden Wing room. But knowing the hotel had every room category available I wasn't shocked when we were told we were going into the Tower.

Ahhh that room right there is what made me fall in love with the Contemporary. I love that view! In the morning we would lean over the balcony and watch Chef Mickey's in action and at night I felt the building gently shaking when the monorail went through. Just love it!
I do understand how not knowing if the pool was open could be frustrating for your family though Hope the view made up for it a little!

Yes, the view more than made up for not being able to see the pool. Watching the fireworks from there and then putting the kids to bed and sitting out there with some wine and watching MK shutdown and the husstle and bustle of the bus stops at closing. Pretty amazing!

 

[DisMomAmy]

Wow - what a bummer about the leaky ceiling but they really made it up to you! Awesome view from your new room.

 

[PixieMama]

I remember seeing that photo of the view posted on FB. Very cool!

 

[beebeeryan]

It was time to make our way to the Wilderness Lodge for dinner at Whispering Canyon although it was hard to tear ourselves from our new view. As we walked out of the Tower and down to the pier to catch the boat to Wilderness Lodge, it start to rain. The big boat was coming in to dock and by the time it got there it was POURING. We got on and headed to WL. It went straight there, not to Fort Wilderness first. We got there and it was still POURING sheets of rain. Oh this is gonna be fun. There is no cover from the dock to the hotel. We sort of run, the dock is a bit slippery when it's wet and it's all wood till you get to the pool area. We rush in via Roaring Forks and head to the lobby to try and dry off a bit. Eric remembers staying here last year, he was 4. Matthew can't remember it he says, he was 7. Really? We wander the store to dry off and then it stops raining and we have time so we wander around outside a bit. I was amazed at how small the pool area looked in comparison to the CR pool desk. We stayed here last year and it seemed big then, but we had nothing to compare it to really, we stayed at Port Orleans so many years ago. Matthew does remember the pool and slide now he says. Guess we didn't venture into the lobby too much last year.

Our ADR time came and we waited just a few minutes while the kids made a fort with the blocks on the table before being seated. There must have been a mix up because the waitress came over and asked us if we wanted to move over a table which was where we were supposed to be. We just said it was fine, not realizing that by not moving that meant we had to have another waiter, who's table this actually was. So she walks away and another guy comes to our table. So he explains what happened and takes our drink orders.

We saw our waiter from last year running around screaming for ketchup. Now, as we're waiting for our food, the antics start. We were seated right behind the check-in desk and one of the CM's there threw a crayon at DH's head and was peaking over the wall. Around the wall, tapping him on the shoulder. It was hilarious. Then she came over to talk to us for a bit. Next thing you know they are doing the horse races which my kids refused to participate in. Then they make everyone stand up and literally do the hokey pokey. Even DH did it, which is very unlike him. The kids did it too, but we all just stood at our table and did it, didn't have to go anywhere. Matthew was enthralled with the whole ketchup thing and threatened to ask a few times, but he didn't really want ketchup and was not quite sure he wanted the attention. Dinner was good, I had the skillet like last year and I can't remember what DH had, but not the skillet.

After dinner we went back to the Mercantile to pick up a few things we wanted to get. I looked for Jibbitz there since that was the only place I found them last year, but they didn't have any. A CM there said they didn't sell them anymore and didn't think they had them anywhere on property anymore.

Then we headed back to the dock where guess what...it was raining again. A boat just left, but it was going to MK, as we were running up and another boat was there waiting, it was an open boat so he had to wait out the rain I think. Another of the big boats came within 10 minutes while DH was talking to his mother on the phone. Luckily there is a covered area on the dock to wait under. The driver of the small boat waiting told the other driver we were going to CR. There was nobody else around. So instead of heading straight to MK, he said he's go to CR first since the other boat was stuck waiting. So we get on and headed home.

We made it home in time to get back to our room for Wishes at 9, stopping for a bottle of wine on the way. It was raining on and off, but we crowded our balcony and managed to stayed dry and watch. Then we put the kids to bed and DH and sat out drinking our wine watching and listening to the park shut down. Heavenly.

As the sun was setting...

Memories from a distance...a tree blocking right where the video is showed...

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Sorry, because of the rain I didn't bother to bring my camera to WL, only my iPhone.

Up next...
The final day, boohoo.

 

[Kat in GA]

Your pictures from the balcony are gorgeous! I especially like the one of the sunset. Very impressive.

I am working my way around to all the resorts - and I so need to stay there

 

[BerrysGirl]

You really do have some amazing pictures! I am jealous... and that's an interesting point the CM made about the Jibbitz... I don't recall seeing them last week either. You'd think they'd keep them around, they're so popular!

 

[PixieMama]

We really enjoyed our dinner at WCC on our last family trip (the one where my BIL, SIL, and their 2 kids came with us). I have pictures of my SIL (Heather) doing the hokey pokey... she was the only adult at our table to dance, LOL! Later, when showing the pics to my MIL, she couldn't believe Heather got up and dance! She's just not the hokey-pokey type.

 

[beebeeryan]

The last morning has arrived. Eric complained his ear kinda was bothering him yesterday afternoon and again this morning woke up saying his ear hurt. I'm thinking Swimmers Ear from all the time in the pool. He's fine otherwise. No temp or anything. So we grab our breakfast, DH walks down to get it, so much closer now just 2 floors down. LOL My tasty chocolate croissant for the last time and him a breakfast sandwich. The kids just had their room breakfast of cereal bar and nutella on bread.

So, the night before we had asked where they wanted to go the last day. Eric said DHS for Star Tours and ToT again. Matthew didn't know. So in the morning we ask again and had considered, to keep the peace, splitting up this last day if the kids wanted difference places. Matthew names his place and Eric agrees. I double checked with Eric and made sure he knew that I'd go with him to DHS if he wanted. But no, Matthew's choice was good with him too. So off we go...

We got there just as they were opening and headed straight for the Safari as usual. Gotta hit that first thing. We saw more elephants this time around and a few other animals we hadn't gotten good looks at last time. The Rhinos were great, we stopped and saw them walk to a puddle of mud and lay down in it. All the kids thought that was hysterical, "SPLAT!". Then we got to the giraffes. We stopped for a moment, we saw more of them last time, and this time within a few seconds they were getting kinda...well...frisky. The safari guide put the truck into gear and said, "sorry folks, but these guys are not following the Disney code of conduct rules, it's not very "Disney family friendly" so we better get outta here!" and she took off laughing. It was worth coming back here today just for that moment, so funny, at least to all the adults on the ride.

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After that we headed straight over to see if Kali River Rapids was working since we didn't get to see it Monday. On the way we caught Divine, who we'd never seen. Very neat.

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Nope, still not running. Are you kidding me??? I was not happy. I had my water camera and everything, all ready for that ride. We went on to EE and I wanted to ride this time, DH has always gone with Matthew. So DH and Eric waited while Matthew and I went on. There was no wait. I was nervous and pretending to be really scared so Matthew would laugh and try and convince me it was fine. It worked. He loved being the brave one. That ride was AWESOME! Best ride in the parks I have to say.

Then we headed off to Dinosaur again. After that, Eric wanted to see Goofy and Pluto but there was a long line and Matthew didn't want too. We went on and walked around the Tree of Life and did Bug's Life since we hadn't done it the other day. Oh my, I forgot about the ending, did NOT like that feeling at all. We had a snack and then headed back to check on Kali, up and running but a 1 hour line. Are you kidding me again? Forget it. (And another big disappointment was Flight of Wonder which I really wanted to do since the boys love birds, sign said is was only running on Sundays or Saturday, can't remember which. What's up with that?) Eric and DH headed off and Matthew and I went to ride EE again. Last time.

We came back to Discovery Island and met up and saw Flick out saw Eric and I waited for him. Matthew didn't want to, but I wasn't gonna let him ruin Eric's fun. It was just a few minutes. DH and Matthew headed into Rainforest Cafe for a nice sit down lunch since we never made it to TREX or Downtown Disney this trip. We met up with them after we saw FLick.

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Up next...
The Final Hours...

 

[kokotg]

Ah, your last day

We've had that experience, Kali River Rapids being closed half the day then reopening with a giant wait--more than once, I think. And that's crazy about Flights of Wonder! Maybe Guano Joe was on vacation....

 

[PixieMama]

LOVE this pic!

Sounds like your last day was off to a good start. But bummer about missing KRR and FofW.