My last installment (relieved??) On Monday we slept in then met Don & Diane at Downtown Disney. I was remarkably good
I think I only spent about $50! Dana & Ryan found a few items at ESPN. Danas long-sleeve tee was on sale for $6.98! That was great and unexpected! Next stop: Ghirardellis. Danas favorite thing is their non-pareils so we always buy a container. They were all out! Not to worry, I called on Friday and they are shipping some
heaven forbid he wait another year! LOL! Getting back to any resort from Downtown Disney is never fun, imo. It took us a while, but we managed to get back to the Lodge. We decided to have lunch at WCC. It was fairly busy for lunch. In fact, WCC was busy during our entire stay. Last summer when we had lunch there, there may have been to other parties there! Our server, Raphael was a hoot, we had a lot of fun, and I enjoyed my strawberry milkshakes (yes, I had 2, but they are smalllllll!!!
)
We rested and swam and then met Don & Diane and headed to Epcot. We needed print our Southwest boarding passes at exactly 9:00PM (I am a freak, what can I say) so we headed to guest services. Diane & I had a wonderful conversation with Tim, a recent college graduate and a professional intern. He talked about how he had worked for Disney during several breaks while he was in college, and now hopes to be an event planner. We told him how we were once CMs at TDS and how we would love to work there someday
.he encouraged us! Once boarding passes were safely in my hands, we decided that we would take the monorail over to MK (again, hahahhaa). Since we typically stay at the BCV, we rarely ride the monorail from Epcot to MK. It was nice, especially once we could see the fireworks from Illuminations. The MK was packed that night. Diane needed a MM bar and I needed a strawberry slush from Enchanted Grove. We never did see them again that night! We stopped at Fantasyland and watched Wishes from the tables by Pooh. There were several families around us, one magical moment for me was when a little girl gazing up at the sky said, I believe! Oh man! How precious!!! After Wishes, we walked around a bit, stared at the beautiful castle (well, I did
) and said goodbye to the MK one last time!
On Tuesday morning we headed down to the lobby. For some reason, Express Checkout was not noted on our account so we needed to go to the front desk. While I was being waited on, I glanced over at the end of the desk where several CM's and managers were. I realized one of the managers was Mike, my asst. manager from TDS! I called his name and he came over. He moved down about 7 years ago and started out working behind the desk at Coronado. He now is a Resort Sales Field Manager. Dont know exactly what that means, but he is very happy! What a wonderful surprise, it was so great to spend some time with him!
Diane & Don were just finishing their breakfast at WCC. They had an earlier flight so we were going to spend a little time with them in the lobby and then say our goodbyes.
We then headed to DHS for the day. We got there around 10:45 and sprinted to Toy Story Midway Mania. I was really not expecting to be able to ride it this trip, but we were lucky the Fast Passes had not all been distributed for the day. Our return time was 4:05. The ME bus was picking us up at 6:00 so we had plenty of time. The standby wait was 30 minutes and I think we only waited about 25, if that so we decided to wait. We dont usually wait for anything but we thought why not, we have all day! I have to say, TSM is so much FUN!
It did not disappoint at all! It is so much easier than Buzz, and not as hard on your hands! I was so excited to finally be able to ride! We had a wonderful lunch at Mama Melroses, we love it there. We went to One Mans Dream <sigh> I really enjoy this. Walt was surely an amazing man. When the doors opened at the end of the show we saw the rain and thunder waiting for us! I cannot complain because we really did not have any bad weather the entire trip. The boys then went to ride RnR and I went over to the Art of Animation store. We shopped, rode a few more things and then headed back to TSM.
We got to Toy Story Mania a few minutes prior to our return time. While we waited, we were people watching. It is so funny to hear people try to get their way inside without a FP! Another interesting note, the Single Riders line opens/closes quickly. When we first arrived the CM was telling people the single riders line was closed. About 10 minutes later they were letting people back in. So if you really want to ride, and you are told the single riders line is closed, ask again a little later if you are still in the vicinity. After we rode my new favorite ride
we headed back to the WL for the last time. We had a wonderful time (albeit too short) but we will definitely go back to the VWL. I think the biggest surprise this trip was the fact that I was not missing the BC the entire time! The BC is still Dana & Ryans favorite, and I think it is still mine too, but I am definitely a WL lover, and we will certainly be going back! I am happy it is our home resort because we want to go during the holiday season, so the 11 month window will help! Thanks for reading, everyone!
It's the first time we are boarding the little one and I hope she doesn't think we are abandoning her!
I feel like I am leaving my baby! I also feel bad leaving my older dog with him being sick and his time being limited. Fortunatly I have a good friend who will be there if needed. She even said she will take him home and take care of him if it is needed. I would just hate for him to take a bad turn and not have someone around who loves him. So I would appreciate some moose dust for my furbabies! 
to you and your doggies! I know how that is. I did not vacation for the first three years I had my dog because I was scared to leave him. A lot of moose dust coming your way...I'm sure they will be ok 
So true! If we did not have a good rate we would not be staying there because there isn't much of a difference in my opinion of the rooms than a lot of other resorts. My SIL loves the ambiance of it all 
Betsy to the Groupies! Enjoy your trip to the GF.
