The Twelve Days of Swinter: From Castaway 'Key' to a Partridge in a Palm Tree!

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Thanks everyone for the continued well wishes. I feel MUCH better today and we were actually able to go to MK as planned yesterday. The heat seems to be gone and the humidity is much less than it was. We haven't had too much rain so that has been great.

I really can't believe how crowded everything is though. I just don't know where all these people keep coming from! And it's not just Epcot with the F&W Festival... MK was just as crowded. I'm not sure what's so different about this year unless people were coming in with the hopes that the new FL would be open??? IDK, but it has been really crowded. The resort pool, restaurants and busses have been insanely packed with people. DH stood in line for 45 minutes in the food court to get his meal yesterday! I think we've gotten a taste of what you summer travelers go through!

The best part of the trip so far has been the food. Every meal we have had so far has been a 12 on a scale of 1-10! La Hacienda (Mixed Grill for 2) was AWESOME and we got a window seat too and Illuminations was fantastic as always! Yesterday we ate a Liberty Tree Tavern (lunch) for the first time. I got the pot roast and DH got the Pilgrim's Feast (Turkey and fixins) and they were both excellent! And that ooey gooey toffe cake... oh my goodness!!! YUMMM! Today we had breakfast at Kona for the first time and it was fantastic also. DH had the Big Kahuna and I got the Tonga Toast. YUM YUM YUM! So stinkin' good!

Oh, and we saw Yeehaw Bob last night and that was a really good time. DD LOVED it! She had a blast!

I feel much more positive about things now. The weather is starting to cooperate, I feel good, we've had some good meals... maybe we've turned the corner for this trip! Now if all these people would just go back home!

We're being lazy and taking a break in the room right now, then we're off to DTD, eating dinner at WPE (one of our favorite CS places), grabbing something chocolately from Ghiradelli's (I know I butchered that spellling), and then we're taking a carriage ride around POR and POFQ at sunset! I can't wait!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Oh, I'm so glad things are better for you now! You're not the first person to say there are bigger crowds this fall! I guess the economy is picking up again!? We thought it was still less than spring break or summer if that makes you feel any better! The only time we had really low crowds was in late January 2009!

So glad you are having fun with the resort happenings - Yeehaw bob sounds like a hoot! Some day we'll have to go check him out too.

Take care and continue to enjoy your trip! Here's some pixie dust to help the weather and crowds improve!

 

[Tiggerrn2]

So glad things improved for you and that you are feeling better.
Awesome that you made it to the show!!! That is one of our favorites! Hope you have continued good luck with the weather.
Wishing the crowds away for you now!

 

[sjs314]

Rinky

Happy to hear you are feeling better and it sounds like your having a great time even with the crowds. I am hopeing it is not to crazy busy when we get there. Getting ready for the big storm I think it is by your house in NC from what they were showing on the news. Eat some yummy chocolate for me.

 

[sharonW]

sigh....it all sounds so wonderful....and you do deserve the best after the start to this trip!!!! So glad your popping on to share the magic. I get very excited when I see your posts. When ya can't be there its so nice to live it through someone else!!!!

 

[mom2rtk]

I'm so glad you're finding the magic again.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Oh, I'm so glad things are better for you now! You're not the first person to say there are bigger crowds this fall! I guess the economy is picking up again!? We thought it was still less than spring break or summer if that makes you feel any better! The only time we had really low crowds was in late January 2009!

So glad you are having fun with the resort happenings - Yeehaw bob sounds like a hoot! Some day we'll have to go check him out too.

Take care and continue to enjoy your trip! Here's some pixie dust to help the weather and crowds improve!

I don't know if the economy is better or what, but there are droves of people here. I really have never seen anything like it! DTD was N-U-T-S tonight! I have been to NYC and not had to deal with hoards of people like that. People are just everywhere... in your face, on your heels, bumping into you, it's crazy. We still had a good time, but it's nothing like our last 3 trips have been.

We have spent a lot of time at the resort (something I was determined to do this time), and I'm hooked! I'm really getting into this lazy bum thing!

So glad things improved for you and that you are feeling better.
Awesome that you made it to the show!!! That is one of our favorites! Hope you have continued good luck with the weather.
Wishing the crowds away for you now!

Thanks for reminding me about Bob. We really did enjoy the show. DD got up and did a bunch of stuff that I never thought she would do in front of a bunch of people. It was pretty darn funny!

Rinky

Happy to hear you are feeling better and it sounds like your having a great time even with the crowds. I am hopeing it is not to crazy busy when we get there. Getting ready for the big storm I think it is by your house in NC from what they were showing on the news. Eat some yummy chocolate for me.

I hope the crowds are gone for you too. They are really bad right now. I mean REALLY bad!

I sure hope that storm hasn't caused problems for me at home. I tried calling my mom today and couldn't get her on the phone, so that is worrying me.

sigh....it all sounds so wonderful....and you do deserve the best after the start to this trip!!!! So glad your popping on to share the magic. I get very excited when I see your posts. When ya can't be there its so nice to live it through someone else!!!!

I love reading live updates too! I can just see myself there and part of the fun! I won't be able to do anymore updates once we get on the ship though, but i'll try to post a few more before then.

I'm so glad you're finding the magic again.

Me too! I was starting to wonder if I had wasted a bunch of money on a disaster trip! Things have been much better today though.

 

[sjs314]

I don't know if the economy is better or what, but there are droves of people here. I really have never seen anything like it! DTD was N-U-T-S tonight! I have been to NYC and not had to deal with hoards of people like that. People are just everywhere... in your face, on your heels, bumping into you, it's crazy. We still had a good time, but it's nothing like our last 3 trips have been.

We have spent a lot of time at the resort (something I was determined to do this time), and I'm hooked! I'm really getting into this lazy bum thing!




Thanks for reminding me about Bob. We really did enjoy the show. DD got up and did a bunch of stuff that I never thought she would do in front of a bunch of people. It was pretty darn funny!



I hope the crowds are gone for you too. They are really bad right now. I mean REALLY bad!

I sure hope that storm hasn't caused problems for me at home. I tried calling my mom today and couldn't get her on the phone, so that is worrying me.



I love reading live updates too! I can just see myself there and part of the fun! I won't be able to do anymore updates once we get on the ship though, but i'll try to post a few more before then.



Me too! I was starting to wonder if I had wasted a bunch of money on a disaster trip! Things have been much better today though.

I have been to Disney at some of the busiest times our first 4 trips were over Easter Week but our Spring Break trip in 2009 didme in, I just can not deal with being in crowds like that any more and I can not do the heat and humidity any more either so I have to pick and choose my dates more carefully but the opening of FLE has me worried that the crowds will me bigger than I bargained for. Hope you are able to talk to your Mom to put your mind at rest I know how worried you must be . ((( hug)))

 

[sharonW]

Is the soft opening going on at MK..mermaid ride etc??
Hope so so you can experience even more magic!! Have fun!!

 

[jenseib]

I am so glad you are feeling better. I was sick once many years ago when we went to Universal. That was a long day. Luckily my Mom was with me and took the kids out for the day.

 

[Lovemy3babes]

I'm so glad things are improving Rinky! We just got back from POR and I agree that it is beautiful!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I have been to Disney at some of the busiest times our first 4 trips were over Easter Week but our Spring Break trip in 2009 didme in, I just can not deal with being in crowds like that any more and I can not do the heat and humidity any more either so I have to pick and choose my dates more carefully but the opening of FLE has me worried that the crowds will me bigger than I bargained for. Hope you are able to talk to your Mom to put your mind at rest I know how worried you must be . ((( hug)))

I know what you mean with the crowds. I hate it too. And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the crowds have been awful still. Today was the first day that I saw any relief but it was still crowded.

I finally got my mom and all is fairly well at home, so that is a relief. I hope all of you are doing well with this storm.

Is the soft opening going on at MK..mermaid ride etc??
Hope so so you can experience even more magic!! Have fun!!

It wasn't open when we were there last week. We are headed back tomorrow so maybe we'll get lucky then.

I am so glad you are feeling better. I was sick once many years ago when we went to Universal. That was a long day. Luckily my Mom was with me and took the kids out for the day.

It is the worst to be sick away from home. I'm just so thankful that it was only a 12 hour thing and then it was gone.

I'm so glad things are improving Rinky! We just got back from POR and I agree that it is beautiful!

Enjoy the rest of your trip!

I thought you were staying at CBR! What in the world!?!

POR is really beautiful and we have enjoyed it. The only problem is that EVERYONE else at Disney thinks POR is great b/c they are ALL staying here!

_______________________

Well, a quick update and then I'm off to sleep. I'm pooped!

DTD was INSANE! I've never ever seen hoards of people like that. We could not move without bumping into people! We ate at T-Rex that night (Saturday) and that place was nuts! It was so packed and loud... I just don't even know what to say about it. It was so loud that we could not even have a conversation at the table. DH and I just kept looking at each other like what the heck have we gotten into here! Even DD said, "It's neat, but I don't want to come back here." The food was very good though so all wasn't lost.

Yesterday we went to HS and it was just as crowded as EP and MK had been. 110 minute wait for ToT, 70 minutes for RnRC, and 90 minutes for TSM with no FPs left by the time we got there. So of the 3 we only got to do RnRC (well, I was too chicken, but DD and DH went). We did some other fun things though and tried to make the best of it. I've just been shocked at the crowds.

Had dinner at Flying Fish last night and it was excellent! We REALLY enjoyed the BW area and took in some of the entertainment. It was a very nice evening. I think FF gets overlooked a lot, but we thought all the food was exceptional!

Today we went to EP. Crowds were a little better but still heavy. We got some MAJOR pixie dust though from the most awesome CM ever! We struck up at conversation with the guy working Soarin' and out of the blue he asks if we want to ride twice! YEEEEESSSS! We definitely want to ride twice! So he put us on the front row, dead center, and after the ride told us to just stay seated and ride again! I just love that kind of stuff!

We had more good food today also! If nothing else, we have eaten GOOD! We did the F&WF and had some really yummy stuff. Our favorites were the Lobster Roll (America), Shrimp Taco (Mexico), and Mushroom Filet (Canada), but all the stuff we tried was great! No duds!

Dinner tonight was at Via Napoli. We just got the mushroom pizza and shared. We thought it was really good. Very authentic though, not Americanized pizza at all. But it was really fresh tasting... the tomato sauce was especially good.

We strolled around POR tonight and took in all the sights at night. It is just beautiful here. Very romantic if your taking a couples only trip. We obviously are not though so we took DD to the marshmallow roast and she loved that. My only complaint about POR is that it is just too crowded. The food court is nuts all the time and we have had to stand on the buses everyday. It's apparently a very popular place. When we left Epcot today, all the bus stops were practically empy except for POR... it was packed! I don't get it! Because of that, I would say that we like CBR better. And we think the pool at CBR is way better than the one here (which also has not been heated and has been really cold).

The weather has done a total 180!! It went from soupy hot and humid to almost cold and very breezy overnight! I think it feels fantastic though! The high today was 68! That is my kind of weather!

Well that's all for now! Only 2 Disney days left! Tomorrow is MK and Wednesday is AK. Where does the time go!

 

[sharonW]

glad your enjoying your trip, sorry about those crowds. Boy does disney sound good to me now, these wind gusts we are having are mighty scary, YIKES I had some exciting news today, won a 3 night trip to universal studios, made my day, heck made my year!!!!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Thanks for updating Rinky! I'm glad your mom said things are okay at home - one less thing to worry about!

Sorry about those crowds! I would have thought they all left with me! Fall must be the new popular time now. I figured out when we were there a lot of UK schools were on break and they get a week or two off in October. We heard a LOT of British accents.

It's so great that you are enjoying good food and finding the bright side to the crowded parks. DTD at night was nuts for us too. I don't remember going there at night much, so I thought it was just busier at night, but it was to the point where while DH stood in line at Wolfgang's, we girls shopped quickly as possible! I didn't dare go into World of Disney. Too scary!

Hope the nice cool weather continues for you and you enjoy the rest of your time at WDW!!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

glad your enjoying your trip, sorry about those crowds. Boy does disney sound good to me now, these wind gusts we are having are mighty scary, YIKES I had some exciting news today, won a 3 night trip to universal studios, made my day, heck made my year!!!!

Wow! That is awesome! What a nice prize!!! I'm sure you can slip in some Disney time while you are down here for US! Congrats!!!

I've been through those hurricane rains and winds many times so I feel for you. Just stay inside and wait for it to pass. Don't be tempted to go out and check on things. It's just not safe. You never know when something might go flying or a tree might come down. Stay safe and try not to stress too much. I know that's easier said than done though.

Thanks for updating Rinky! I'm glad your mom said things are okay at home - one less thing to worry about!

Sorry about those crowds! I would have thought they all left with me! Fall must be the new popular time now. I figured out when we were there a lot of UK schools were on break and they get a week or two off in October. We heard a LOT of British accents.

It's so great that you are enjoying good food and finding the bright side to the crowded parks. DTD at night was nuts for us too. I don't remember going there at night much, so I thought it was just busier at night, but it was to the point where while DH stood in line at Wolfgang's, we girls shopped quickly as possible! I didn't dare go into World of Disney. Too scary!

Hope the nice cool weather continues for you and you enjoy the rest of your time at WDW!!

Yes, we have heard a ton of British accents... I think they outnumber the Americans! That may have something to do with it. It also occurred to me that maybe POR is crowded b/c the new Royal Rooms just opened in the spring. IDK though, it's a mystery to me. But if it's like this now, I can't imagine what this place is going to look like after the new FL opening! I was really hesitant about doing the cruise again this year after I got seasick last time, but now I think I am looking forward to it so I can get away from all these people!

I agree that DTD is worse at night. We have been during the day and at night on this trip and it was WAY worse at night. And you're right, WoD was too scary for sure. There is no way I could've kept up with my kid in there! It was so packed with people that all we ended up doing was going straight to T-Rex and then getting out of there! T-Rex was even so jammed up that the servers could barely squeeze around and get to their tables. It was unbelievable! But I guess after 3 trips in a row with very low crowds, it was bound to catch up with us. I am very curious to see if the parks will be empty this year on Halloween like they were last year. I remember us being in Epcot last year and it seemed like we had the place to ourselves! Somehow, I'm thinking we won't be so lucky this year, but we'll see. We'll be at AK tomorrow and it would be nice to get a break from the crowds.

 

[jenseib]

I think it's so busy because people had planned trips in hopes of the new FL being open.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

I think it's so busy because people had planned trips in hopes of the new FL being open.

That's what I'm thinking too. The crowds were better yesterday at MK, but still much worse than any of our previous trips. We didn't have to wait too long for any of the rides though, so it wasn't too bad.

____________________________________________

Well, the crowds were better yestersay while we were at MK. It was a party day, which I am totally convinced is the best day to go to MK during MNSSHP and MVMCP season. It was the best day of our trip so far for crowds. We rode pretty much everything we wanted without any long waits and only used FP once for BTMRR. We even rode Space Mount. without FPs so I thought that was pretty good. It was still packed with people though. People, people everywhere!

POR buses are still standing room only, and by this point, I am really sick of it. And somehow, we are always the ones standing. I've really enjoyed this resort, but I have to say that the crowds here may be a deal breaker for me staying here in the future. Maybe it's just this trip being more crowded overall and this is unusual for the resort... IDK.

But we got more pixie dust yesterday!!!!!!! We we're just about to leave the park and DD noticed that her Ipod was saying there was a 30 minute wait for the Little Mermaid ride. Well I thought that was odd since it wasn't supposed to be open so we walked over to that area to ask a CM. Sure enough, it was closed. They were only letting in CMs and their families for a preview (same as on our other MK day). Well, we were just chatting with the CM at the rope (not even trying to talk our way in, I promise... we just like talking to the CMs), and out of the blue again, she says... "Well, do you think you guys could maybe tell us if we got anything wrong on the attractions? Ya know, maybe if Belle's hair was the wrong color or something like that?" I still didn't get what she was saying... duh! DD told her yes that she had seen LM and B&tB millions of times. So then she told us to casually walk in and have a great time! I couldn't believe it!!! We were so stinkin' excited!

We got to do Enchanted Tales with Belle, which is going to be fabulous, and we rode the Little Mermaid twice!!! Enchanted Tales with Belle is an impromtu play sort of thing. They give all the kids parts to play (and draft some adults). DD was chosen to be Mrs. Potts and DH even got snagged to be a knight! I got it all on video! It was great! The special effects are fantastic! We also got to walk through the new Be Our Guest restaurant (absolutely gorgeous!) and Gaston's Tavern (CS place). There was also a gift shop back there and Ariel's Grotto meet n' greet. The theming was out of this world! We loved it! I took a bunch of pictures and videos that I'll share when I get home. I'm sure some of you have already seen lots of that stuff from others who have been back there, but some of you might like to see it. It was really awesome!

After that, we had dinner at Ohana and it was just as perfectly wonderful as ever. DH had been, not so patiently, waiting for that meal all week and it was worth the wait! Sooo good!

This is our last day at Disney. We're headed to AK in a bit. No dinner reservations for today. Unfortunately, I'll have to come straight back to the room and pack. But we leave tomorrow to get on the Dream, so that is a pretty good deal!

I hope everyone weathered the storm ok. I'm been thinking about all of you a lot. I hope everything gets back to normal for all of you as quickly as possible.

 

[MeMom]

Jambo, friend! Oh, how I wish I could be with you going to Animal Kingdom this morning!

The new Fantasyland stuff is very nicely done. The only negative I saw to the whole thing was not having fans in the queue to Ariel's Grotto. It is going to get very warm in that place in the summer. Did you get anything to eat at Gaston's? The pork shank was delicious! It filled me up there, and then I took the rest back to Pop, put it in the fridge, and made two sandwiches out of it during the next two days!

Enjoy your day, and happy cruising to you!!!

 

[jenseib]

How awesome. I hope I get some of that pixie dust too!

Keep that Dream nice and safe for me!

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Jambo, friend! Oh, how I wish I could be with you going to Animal Kingdom this morning!

The new Fantasyland stuff is very nicely done. The only negative I saw to the whole thing was not having fans in the queue to Ariel's Grotto. It is going to get very warm in that place in the summer. Did you get anything to eat at Gaston's? The pork shank was delicious! It filled me up there, and then I took the rest back to Pop, put it in the fridge, and made two sandwiches out of it during the next two days!

Enjoy your day, and happy cruising to you!!!

I remember how hot the old Ariel's grotto was too. We stood there for about an hour on our first trip and it was pretty bad!

I'll be thinking of you while I'm at AK.

We didn't get to eat anything in the new FL since we had a ressie for Ohana. You know firsthand that you need to go there hungry, so we didn't want to eat anything. We actually could have eaten at Be Our Guest too but there was no way DH was giving up Ohana after waiting all week to eat there. I sure wanted to though! He did comment that the pork shanks looked and smelled wonderful so I'll have to let him know that you like them!

Oh, we did get to make the trek between POR and POFQ and it is really beautiful! I told DH how much you love that area and that you once mentioned that you'd like your ashes spread there! He just looked at me like I was nuts! Men... they just don't get get the depth of our Disney love!

How awesome. I hope I get some of that pixie dust too!

Keep that Dream nice and safe for me!

Well, as we were talking to that very nice CM at the FL rope, I did mention to her that recent change to my life that we have discussed recently in PMs... if you know what I mean. Not sure if that was why she let us in or not, but you could certainly mention that and see if that's the key.

I guess if all goes according to plan, I'll be seeing you soon! Are you sure you don't mind meeting that early in the am? I guess we'll be leaving the port around 8-9??? I can't remember exactly what time it was last year? We have 1st seating for dining so I know we have to be at breakfast that morning at like 6:30 or so.