The "You got a picture from WHERE?!" Trip Report

[tcoopman]

Hi everyone,

My first attempt at a trip report...hang with me a little bit. The title was meant to build suspense so...try not to skip to the end to find out!

Our trip was 2/7/10 - 2/14/10 and I have been planning since November. I was totally prepared - read The Unofficial Guide basically cover to cover, used TouringPlans.com to plan the days, watched MouseSavers, ADR's made...I was READY! It was to be the first trip for my DW and DD4. DW wanted no part of the planning, wanted to know nothing, and was basically a big downer the whole time leading up to the trip. The DW is one of these people who isn't happy unless she is miserable. I gave her the disclaimer before the trip that if she is not having fun with us, go ahead and find something fun to do - we'll see you at the hotel or meet up for something. She was NOT going to ruin this for my DD and I.

So everything was set - I'm excited for the trip, we all watched many of the Disney movies for the trip so DD is excited, DW...not so much but I was hopeful. Ok, enough set up, LEAVE ALREADY!

DAY 1
We left our place at 4:00am to make a flight out of Milwaukee at 7:35am. This was my DD's first plane ride and my wife is a little afraid of flying and has a tendency to get motion sickness so there is already potential for drama. DW carried our one carry-on bag through security - did you know that you can't bring sunscreen in your carry-on? We didn't - she got stopped and had to throw out a brand new bottle of sunscreen. That was the last time she went through a bag check with the bag. DD liked the flight (although the person in front of her didn't so much even though I did my best to keep her from kicking the seat). DW...not so much. She got a headache and was out of comission for the flight.

We arrived in Orlando around 11:00 or so and went to the Magical Express area. Hoped on the first bus after a 15 minute wait and we were on our way! I'm excited, DD's excited, DW...getting there. Got to CSR and our room was ready. First thing I had planned was a nap for all of us. MK had EMH's that night and we could stay up late. We did rest for a while but Mousekeeping woke us up once and Bell Services a second time (delivering our bags). So very little sleep was found so we decided to head to MK since we couldn't sleep.

We rode the Disney bus system all week...I loved it and I would never, ever drive there. It's just a headache that you don't need. Riding the bus was rest time that was greatly needed.

So we got to MK around 4 or so. The first thing on my plan was to see the afternoon parade - whoops, slept through that. I was determined not to be a drill sergeant about my plans though and I think that ended up for the best. We picked up a stroller and made our way through the park. I thought the crowd was fairly light. We walked past the castle and into Fantasyland. DD wanted to ride the carousel - eh, not on the plan, but whatever. Then we headed toward Space Mountain for DW to get a FastPass and DD wanted to stop and ride the Tea Cups. Spinning is not DW's cup of tea (yeah, I went there, get over it) so I rode with her. It was pretty fun, she took a little to figure out how to make it spin so it was an easy ride.

I explained to DW how to get a FastPass for Space Mountain, and DD and I rode Buzz Lightyear because the standby line was short. After our ride, DW met us outside having just ridden TTA. We ate dinner at Cosmic Ray's which was ok. I had a bacon cheeseburger, DD had chicken nuggets, and DW had a wrap which she really liked.

On our way back to find a spot for Wishes and Spectro, we rode SWSA which DW liked but she was the only one. DD was scared and I wasn't a big fan of how jerky the ride is. Found a great spot on the curb for the fireworks and parade on the hub area. DW cried for both of them...I guess that's a good thing. I was amazed by Wishes...that really is a great fireworks show. Spectro was really neat too. DD is kind of low-key but she waved at the characters and liked the fireworks.

After Spectro, it was starting to get cold and we were getting tired. We walked to SM to let DW use her FastPass and she came out excited! Finally! We headed back to CSR with the intention of coming back the next morning for rope drop.

End Day 1
Stay tuned...

 

[OhMari]

Hey
From a fellow Wisconsinite.
Wow, usually it's the wife, saying how the husband don't get "it".
Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

 

[tcoopman]

DAY 1 Addition

I can't believe I forgot some stuff from the first day! We did the Barnstormer! DD thought it was so fun she wanted to go again right away, so we did. Then we toured Donald's boat and Mickey's house...right into line to get pictures with Mickey and Minnie! About a 20 minute wait for that. Mickey gave my wife a kiss after the picture...I was tempted to let him keep her.

DAY 2

We made it to MK for rope drop and the little pre-rope drop show. DW thought it was cheesy until the train showed up.

We grabbed a stroller and headed for Dumbo. 20 minute wait already...good enough to get it out of the way. Then we hit IASW and Peter Pan on our way to the other side of the park. We did PotC which scared DD but DW liked the detail a lot. Jungle Cruise was silly, but a classic that I didn't want to miss a la IASW. DD saw the Magic Carpets and we couldn't get past that one without going on.

We hustled over to CRT for our ADR. Got DD's princess dress and tiara out of the day bag and on over her clothes while we were in line. Her picture with Cinderella was priceless. Cinderella got down to her level and took the picture. I was very pleased with the food at CRT. I had pork tenderloin with vegetable cous cous. I never had cous cous before and I loved it. My only complaint was that the princesses came by at intervals that didn't allow me to eat much until it was cold! It was worth the 2 TS on the dining plan per person, IMO. After lunch, we returned to CSR for naps.

We got back to MK around 5pm, DD takes long naps. We hopped on the train to Frontierland and did BTM which is now DD's favorite. "It was so much fun I thought my eyes were going to pop out!" she said. This was the biggest roller coaster she is tall enough to ride.

We walked over to catch Mickey's Philharmagic - this was DD's first 3D experience and she was reaching out to catch the 3D objects. We rode Pooh and the Tea Cups (for a second time - "This time I want to spin REALLY fast, Daddy!").

We ate supper during Wishes at Harbour House. It was a good use of a CS meal for sure. Then we called it a night - had to get up for morning EMH at Epcot!

Since it was close to park closing, the bus stops were crowded - except CSR! There were a bunch of us but we were all able to crowd on to the first bus.

End Day 2...er...probably.

 

[tcoopman]

DAY 3

We woke up early for morning EMH at Epcot. I checked the weather which now showed a forecast of 50's where earlier forecasts had been for upper 60's and 70's. Uh oh, we didn't really pack for that!

Anyway, we put on our jackets and head to Epcot. Arrived prior to rope drop and I was please with the size of the crowd waiting...not too bad. We made a bee-line for Test Track. DD loved it and we added that picture to our PhotoPass!

Crossed the park to Soarin', which I loved but DW was kind of so-so on. I had intended to get FastPasses for that and go on again later but the lack of enthusiasm for it changed my mind. We stayed in The Land and rode Living with the Land (DW and I enjoyed this one a lot...I love that garden being a beginning gardener myself) and the Lion King show - that one was sort of preachy and DW saw it as Disney hipocracy while I thought it was more of an apology.

We moved over to The Seas and rode Nemo. That was a neat one especially where you see the characters in the tank with the live fish. Turtle Talk was pretty cool too. One little girl was kind of shy and said she didn't know who she came with. Crush talked to her dad and asked if she asked him lots of questions like "Who are you?" Funny stuff pretty dang good improv IMO. Also, DD always talks about having "the bubbles" now...thanks a lot Crush. We also saw a dolphin demonstration in the main tank where a dolphin matched shapes.

It was time to head to our Akershus ADR, yup, more princesses (but this was our last princess meal). DW and I had...um...I can't spell it or pronounce it but it was some big meatballs and mashed potatoes. The potatoes were a little sweet which was interesting and we both liked it. It was different and (probably slightly) ethnic. DD had cheese ravioli - Mickey Mouse shaped! The princesses were all very gracious and DD started to be more open with them. DD told each princess that she (princess) was her (DD's) favorite and that she loved them. It was sweet and she got a hug each time. Dessert was very good except we weren't fans of the rice cream with strawberry sauce. The texture just threw us a bit.

After lunch, it was raining and we headed right in to Maelstrom which DD liked to my surprise. She liked the trolls and I thought she would be afraid of them. It was time to head back to CSR for naps but we stopped to ride Spaceship Earth to get out of the rain. This ride was nothing of how I rememered it from about 20 years ago. I liked the interactive screen. The ride did stop briefly at one point but got going again after a few minutes.

Back to CSR! DD and DW took naps, I went shopping at the resort store and made a couple phone calls. Of course, it stopped raining the minute we got back to CSR and the sun came out in the middle of their naps. I bought a sweatshirt, ponchos, lanyard (mainly to wear back home at work), and a watch. Then I went back to the room to figure out what we should do for supper.

I woke the sleepyheads up at 5pm to go back to Epcot. We rode Test Track again, took pictures by the cars (BIL likes Camaros) and got him a shirt. Then we went to Sommerfest in Germany for supper. DW and I got bratwurst (mine with kraut please!) and DD got a frankfurter and a pretzel as big as her head. I loved the brat! DW...not so much - it wasn't Johnsonville, it lacked the snap that she is used to. I thought it was tasty though. We both got the cheesecake for dessert - it was gigantic and pretty good for counter service cheesecake.

We were going to find a good spot with watch Illuminations but it was raining again. We were cold and wet and planned to return to Epcot later in the week so we decided to call it a day and go back to CSR.

END DAY 3.

 

[benolathe]

Nice report - sorry to hear that your wife is such a downer. Sounds like my husband! And WHERE is the picture???

 

[tcoopman]

DAY 4

We get to Animal Kingdom just after rope drop, grabbed a stroller and headed to Kilamanjaro Safari. We loved seeing the animals but most of my pictures didn't turn out. This is the last time I rely on disposable cameras. Convienent? Yes but no zoom made actually finding the animals in the pictures a little like Where's Waldo.

We had 10:30 ressies at Tusker House for Donald's Safari Breakfast so we kind of ran through the Pangani Trail - quite a few of the animals were not out though because of the cold. Got a few pictures but sort of rushed to get to breakfast...which we were about 15 minutes early for and did not get in until 15 minutes after our ADR time. From our time until we were finally called, DW (who wanted nothing to do with the planning or research remember) complained that it wasn't worth it to wait and what good was making a reservation? She wanted to leave and eat at a counter service place instead. To which I said, go ahead but DD and I are staying. She stayed.

We thought the food was good and and the character interaction was neat. The restaurant was a little loud but not unbearable. Since our ressie was a little later, we were one of the last tables in one of the dining rooms at the end of breakfast. Goofy stopped by just after the server dropped off our bill. We had our AK map out and he looked at it so I asked him what we should do next. He pointed at the bill. Naturally, I asked him if he was going to take care of the bill for us. He shook his head and put his hands on his hips. His friend told us that Goofy doesn't carry money. He wanted the pen. Goofy took the pen and map and circled the Safari, the Jungle Trek and EE and things we should do. We also told him that DD went on Barnstormer as her first roller coaster and loved it. He teared up and gave DD a big hug.

After we left, DW said that she liked that meal a lot. I told her that the last thing I wanted to hear was that she liked that after all her moaning about it beforehand.

We proceded to the Jungle Trek which was ok and DW went on EE in the single rider line. DD was just a little too short to get on the ride...tall enough on her tippy toes but the cast member wouldn't let her on...oh well. DD and I went to Tricera Topspin...or whatever it's called. The line was long but there wasn't a whole lot else for us to do.

Met up with DW after the prehistoric Dumbo and I wanted to do Dinosaur...the line was long so I picked up some FastPasses. DD about threw a fit getting close to the ride - she didn't want to go at all. We decided to hit It's Tough to Be a Bug and then go back to CSR. We liked the show...but DD did hide in my arm a couple of times. I thought the end was hilarious! I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't done it...you just can't know about it ahead of time.

We decided there wasn't enough to make us come back to AK after naps. Yes, the Dinosaur FastPasses...but DD didn't want to have anything to do with that. I had planned on Flame Tree BBQ for dinner but those couple of things weren't enough to encourage us to come back. The park got noticably more crowded around noon with huge crowds around EE and the kids' area.

Back to CSR for naps! DD took an extra long nap and had been coughing quite a bit. I told DW that I thought it was a good night to stay in and relax. She didn't feel like hanging around the hotel because she's at Disney World! (ok...so now she's excited...halfway into the vacation). She decided to pop over to Epcot and do some shopping at MouseGears and grab some tea from China. Yay! She's having fun! Mission accomplished.

DD and I hung around the hotel, watched a little TV and walked to the Pepper Market for supper. I had the ribs which were far better than I expected! I'm not a big fan of the counter service disguised as table service and I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot to tip the guy who brought our drinks. DD and I went to bed early for some extra rest. Sea World was planned for the next day and that would be a NO NAP day.

DW said she saw Illuminations and was not impressed. She also brought back some egg rolls for me!...but she didn't tell me that until the next morning. I ate them cold and that made me want to try them fresh...I never got to but I'll add that to my list of stuff I want to do on my next trip!

END DAY 4

 

[OrangeJax]

I'm enjoying your report! Sorry your DW is kind of a bummer, but it seems like she's coming around! Good for you for making plans but being flexible.

 

[tcoopman]

DAY 5

Sea World Day!

In the early stages of deciding to go to Disney, I insisted that we have a day at Sea World. The Shark Encounter is my thing, Shark Week on the Discovery channel is my favorite week...sharks are just cool!

We decided to take a taxi to get to and from Sea World and I arranged the morning taxi the night before. The taxi picked us up right on time and got us to Sea World just as it opened. One way fare was betweent $25 and $28 which was worth it to avoid the figuring and rushing it would have taken to take the bus. Not to mention walking from the bus stop across from Sea World.

It was so cold that before entering the park we stopped at shop near the entrance and bought winter hats for DD and DW. I had a cap so I was reasonably warm. You might think we were over-reacting but remember, we're from Wisconsin so cold doesn't really bother us too much. As we entered the park, we were informed that the roller coasters were not running because they do not run unless it is at least 45 degrees. It was cold.

The plan had been to have DW hit the roller coasters immediately which DD and I check out the turtles, stingrays and dolphins. No coasters meant DW is tagging along with us.

They liked the stingray pool and DW was totally pumped about the dolphins. She put her hand in to try to touch one but they were not swimming near the people too much. So we thought maybe we could come back later and try.

We spent some time watching from the underwater viewing area and DD liked that a lot, just like at The Seas in Epcot. Then we checked out the manatees. They were pretty boring so we didn't spend a whole lot of time...although the trek to that underwater viewing area is long.

All this time the park seemed virtually empty, which was very nice! It seemed it was us and a few dozen others.

Then we saw the dolphin show, the first showtime. DW cried...which is good I guess... DD had a hard time seeing because there was a goup of taller people in front of us...they sat down close to showtime. Hate it when that happens. I thought the show was ok - the animals were great but the extra parts of the show with the people, I didn't really care for. I'm there to see the animals jump out of the water, not the people jump into it.

After the show, DW and DD hit the restroom and I ran over to Shark's Underwater Grill to get a reservation. Got 1:30 and I could have had whatever time I wanted.

Met up with them back at the Penguin Encounter...phew! What a stink! The birds are cool though (get it? penguins? cool? nevermind.)

Then into the Shark Encounter...I love that. I'd like to see some of the more dangerous sharks in there too...tigersharks, great whites...something more than just the reef sharks, sandtigers, and nurse sharks. My favorite was the sawfish. DW and DD both liked it too. I could go through that 20 times but there was stuff to do!

We made our way over near Shamu Stadium and DD rode the little carousel with fish instead of horses. Then we waited for the Shamu show. The stadium was PACKED. I didn't think there were that many people in the park! We stayed well away from the soak zones at all the shows - it was just too cold. I would have liked to get closer, especially for DD - I had packed swimsuits for the occasion but sadly, they were never necessary. The show was spectacular (again, I could have done without the contrived plot) and DW cried... Shorter people sat in front of us this time so DD could see. Except when the whales came out of the water...because many people in front of us decided them meant they should stand to take pictures. I was getting pretty frustrated with people (I was hungry too so that probably contributed to my mood but still...SIT DOWN PEOPLE!

Ok, show's over, head back to Shark's for lunch. I had the surf and turf. I don't usually like shrimp very much but these were very tasty! My fillet was a tiny bit under done for me but not enough to say anything about - it was still very good. We were pretty far back from the aquarium window but still have a good view. I, of course, would have liked to press my nose up against the glass but it was good - my favorite meal of the week in terms of the food itself.

On our way out of Shark's there is a shark pool and you can feed the sharks. $5 for a tray of food. I asked the person operating the station how many trays my wife would be (thinking I could maybe recoup some money here and leave my troubles behind, so to speak). Well, either the lady didn't think it was funny or she didn't get it.

The roller coasters were finally running. DW headed to those and we agreed to meet up at the Arctic building with the intention of going to the Seymour and Clyde show right after. Well, DD and I went through the Arctic, saw the polar bear eating an empty garbage can and saw the walrus (walri? walruses?) and I did not know those things were so huge! They were pretty active too, swimming around and getting in and out of the water.

DW had a Quick Queue ticket which we had purchased before the trip - it probably wasn't necessary today but still should have cut down her wait time. So I expected to wait a few minutes for her outside the Arctic so DD and I waited...and waited...and waited. 45 minutes later I called her...she's lost in Sea World. She had a map...just couldn't get to us. :facepalm:

Finally she got there and decided she wanted to go through too even though it is getting close to the time we need to start moving toward the Seymoure and Clyde show...halfway across the park. She and DD went in and they went on the motion simulator helicopter ride and then through the exhibit when they could just have walked through. They both liked the ride portion.

We hiked over to the show and made it before the mime started getting people. He was pretty funny - I highly recommend getting to this show early. The show was outstanding too - my favorite at Sea World. It was just more fun. While the dolphins and killer whales were awesome, they weren't anywhere near as fun.

After the show, the park was scheduled to close in 45 minutes so we headed back towards the entrance. We stopped at the dolphin pool again and the Sea World folks tried to get the dolphins to slide up by the side of the pool for people to touch. I think DW was too close to a rock formation to get close enough while they were doing this. DD tried as well but the wall was too tall for her to do this comfortably. She started to get crabby - no nap day remember, and she had done remarkably well for most of the day. So she got in her stroller while DW continued trying to touch a dolphin - she even moved to a different part (albeit after they stopped giving the command for the dolphins to slide up there). DD started crying about wanting to go back to the hotel. We were there a good 25 minutes and I had to tell DW that DD was ready to go.

DW reluctantly left the dolphin pool. She began cussing angrily about why the dolphins would not come by her. I asked her to not swear (I have to do this a lot...I see you're not surprised.) because there were lots of kids around. I said that I wouldn't swim over by her either...I mean...dang!

One last stop at the stingray pool for DD. She she got to touch them quite a bit even though we didn't get any food. Then it was time to leave and you would think that DD lost her favorite toy. She bawled the whole way - we even stopped and bought her a souvenier toy. She picked a plush dolphin which she named Crabby. And she still cried all the way to the taxi. We were going to take the taxi to DTD and take the Disney bus back to CSR to save on some taxi fare but, considering our moods, I thought that all the way to CSR would be best. It was worth it.

Taxi dropped us off at El Centro and we picked up Pepper Market to take back to the room. I got the bacon cheeseburger which was ok...a little cold by the time I ate it back in the room. DW got a quesadilla which was good (I had a bite) but she wasn't very hungry. DD got the fruit plate which included a nice selection of strawberries, melon, and oranges.

We were back early enogh that I caught the first episode of the new Survivor season. Good timing!

Early bedtime because, if I didn't mention it already, NO NAPS.

END DAY 5

 

[tcoopman]

DAY 6

This day was destined to be a strange kind of day. Late morning reservation at Chef Mickey's and 5:30 dinner at Coral Reef. We chose to do Epcot all day and ride the monorail to and from the CR.

I allowed us to sleep in a little, there was no rush to get anywhere and we had already hit some of the main things at Epcot that we wanted to. Rain was forcast all day...this was the winter storm that swept through the south last week, the one that dumped snow on Dallas and such. So, yeah, it was cold and wet that day.

We got to the park around 9:30 and it was not raining yet so we rode Test Track. Then DW and DD went into Innoventions while I did some shopping in MouseGears. DW asked me to get a sweatshirt for her. I bought that and a pile of other stuff and had everything sent to the CSR shop...so it wouldn't be available until the next afternoon. OOPS! DW wanted the sweatshirt! I didn't realize that until we were at Chef Mickey's. Naturally, DW acused me of doing it on purpose. Right, like I would purposefully give her another excuse to voice her misery. It was a neat Tigger hoodie sweatshirt too. I think I did darn good except for the whole sending it to the hotel thing...

We met up after my shopping trip and took the monorail to CR. DD really liked all the Disney transportation...buses, monorail, and train (no boats for us this trip).

I did not understand the picture before going in to Chef Mickey's...just the 3 of us in front of a plate - no character or anything. I knew that was a picture we weren't going to be buying. Sears can to better for cheaper. The food at Chef Mickey's was ok. I really liked the breakfast pizza though. DW bought the Disney cookbook (which has recipes that are actually on the menus of parks, resorts, and cruises) a few days earlier and I forgot to bring it along to get Mickey to sign it - DOH! - but the breakfast pizza recipe is in there.

The characters were fun and DD was pretty used to them by now. Hugs and pictures all around! She had braided pigtails in that day and when Goofy saw them, he raised one up and raised his own ear. We got a picture of DD holding her pigtails up and Goofy holding his ears up. I asked Minnie who was really responsible for the great food at Chef Mickey's and she looked at me like the answer was obvious - HER! Fun interactions are what those meals are all about to me. Someone at another table called Pluto "Goofy" and Pluto got quite indignant. Very fun! I also asked Donald where the duck shaped waffles were...he's working on it apparently.

After we ate, we headed back to Epcot. It was pouring by the time we got there so we got out our trusty ponchos. DD did NOT want to wear hers even though I was wearing mine. After a bit of a battle and some convincing, we got it on her and got her into a stroller. She wanted to go on Maelstrom again so that was the first place we headed. It was pouring rain. After Maelstrom, I wanted to make sure we went to Japan. As a surprise, I wanted to give DD a the chance to Pick a Pearl. I hadn't told DW about this either thinking she may also like to do it (er....she didn't). I paid the $17 and the lady allowed DD to pick 2 oysters! She got a 7 1/4 pearl and a 7 3/4 pearl. Then we picked out settings, a sterling silver flower pendant and chain, and a gold dragonfly pin. They said it would take an hour to set and no, those cannot be sent to the hotel store.

Yuck! Either we wait around for an hour or come back later. Did I mention that it was POURING rain? DD loved the rain and she and DW ran around outside for a bit...I was just cold. After they got tired of running around, I suggested they head over to The Seas and ride Nemo and stuff while I waited, then I would meet them there. So off they went and I strolled around inside the store. I decided to go watch them work on the jewelry about a half hour after we picked the pearls and, WOW, they were done. I picked them up and headed for The Seas.

I walked around inside the Seas for 20 minutes with no luck...the place is not that big. I looked around the aquarium windows, the Nemo ride, Turtle Talk...no luck. Guess what, no cell service in there either, at least not AT&T. What the heck?! I went to Coral Reef to see if they checked in early, nope. Finally I found them getting off Nemo. They said they had been there a while but not as long as I had been. They left Japan at least 15 minutes before me, yet I beat them to the Seas. Apparently, DW saw Tigger and Pooh on the way and stopped to get her picture taken with them. DD was too shy to get in the picture. I must have passed them while they were doing that. Strange.

So family found, I went on Nemo with DD and DW went to the restroom. We watched the aquarium for a bit and then headed to Coraf Reef for dinner. It was a lot like Shark's at Sea World (except free because we were on the dining plan). DW pan seared rainbow trout which she LOVED. I had the NY strip because I'm more conservative when it comes to seafood. DD had the kid's Mahi Mahi. The steak was ok...I was wishing it was a fillet though. The Mahi Mahi was surprisingly spicy for a child's meal. DD could only eat a little of it but she ate her veggies well. I had the creme broule for dessert...yum!

After eating even though it had mostly stopped raining, we decided to head back to CSR having missed naps for a second day in a row! It worked out well because we were able to catch the opening ceremony for the olympics. I love the winter olympics.

END DAY 6

 

[tcoopman]

DAY 7

We went to HS for rope drop and there was a big crowd already. Also, there were many cheerleaders in their outfits which I was disappointed to see. I mean, I like cheerleaders as much as the next guy, but I was looking forward to Indiana Jones and I had read that the cheer competition takes place on that stage. DOH! Sure enough, no IJSS that day...and I thought we were going to miss the cheerleaders.

We got inside the park and DW headed straight for RnR while DD and I grab a stroller and went to TSM. TSM was a blast! I had a ton of fun. DD...she thought it was interesting but didn't really get it. I kept telling her to keep pulling the rope but she didn't really catch on. The queue area was pretty neat too. I liked it but DD didn't want to do it again so we did not get FastPasses for it. (DW is blind in one eye so the 3D stuff doesn't really work for her.)

DW met up with us after TSM (she actually called after RnR while we were still in line for TSM) and we headed to Star Tours. DD did not want to go at first, thinking it would be scary but she likes the Star Wars movies so we convinced her to go. She ended up liking it a lot. I think it could use some updating...use some of the newer footage or something, but still fun. Then we hit the Muppets which can REALLY use some updating. I do love the off-screen action though. The critics and cast member are really good.

We went on the Figment ride and to Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Again, ok stuff. Not thrilling but good for the little one.

We went to our ADR at Hollywood & Vine. This was the meal I was most disappointed in. I wouldn't go back there. The food was average at best...I mean the best thing I had was the turkey sandwich I had to make for myself. The characters left something to be desired for us too. Leo and June form Little Einsteins and Jo Jo and Goliath from Jo Jo's Circus. Those aren't shows we have watched too much so DD was very shy. I saw a thread a few days ago saying they should change up the characters in there to Toy Story characters. I totally agree with that. Woody and Buzz would be awesome in there!

After lunch we decided to do the last few things on the list. We did the Playhouse Disney show which was really fun because we DO watch those shows. DD was too shy to get her picture taken with Handy Manny and he's her favorite! If your kids watch those shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Handy Manny, My Friends Tigger and Pooh), you have to check this one out!

We had just missed the next Little Mermaid show so we went on the Great Movie Ride. So-so...once was enough on that one. The 30 minute wait was not worth it.

Then we waited for the next Little Mermaid show. I thought this was a great show! The lighting, the on stage work was awesome! Except Ariel. Ariel always seems to have to do the move from the movie where she thrusts her chest out and moves her head back a little...c'mon Ariel, mix it up a little! We saw he do that two or three times as she went by in the Spectromagic parade. I thought they would have done well to include the Kiss the Girl song in there too.

We considered ToT but DD hadn't liked the scary rides and DW wasn't excited about that one either so we went back to CSR for naps. I did want to see Lights Motor Action but the next show wasn't for 3 hours.

DW didn't want to sleep (see she's got it for sure now!), she decided to go back to MK and I told her we would meet her there. She wanted to check out some of the shops and ride a few things we had missed. She rode the Haunted Mansion which the lack of scary stuff left her wanting but she said the detail was very cool.

DD and I got to the park after 6:00pm and MK was going to be open that night until 1:00 (not EMH). It was packed! Like 30 minute wait for IASW packed.

DD and I hopped on the train to Frontierland where DW met us. We got FastPasses for BTM saying that owuld be our last ride of the trip. We walked to ToonTown to ride the Barnstormer on last time and I picked up a stroller while DW and DD rode. Then back to Pecos Bill's for supper. I thought the burger was good and the toppings bar was outstanding! It was packed though and I'm glad we were able to find a seat inside.

After supper, Wishes started and we made our way to BTM to ride standby. Our FastPasses still had over an hour until we could use them and the standby wait was only 20 minutes. We loved it. After the ride, the wait was 40 minutes which would have just about put us to our FastPass time. We decided to get back in the standby line and then we would ride with our FastPasses giving us three rides in a row. Not too far into the line, the ride broke. Darn! We were told it would probably be a couple of hours and DD bawled when she realized that the ride was broken and we couldn't ride it.

DW had a SM FastPass so we decided to head that direction, ride TTA and then she could use that FastPass while DD and I rode the Tea Cups one last time. TTA...down. DD and I rode Tea Cups and DW's FastPass was earlier than she thought so we rode those rides. Then I checked with a CM who could check on BTM for us. IF BTM was still down, we'd just leave.

BTM was running! We crossed the park (yeah, that's like 3 or four times that night of crossing the park) and got in the FastPass line. Got on BTM for our last, awesome ride of vacation! And.........got stuck at the very top. The train and two cars were on one side of the hill and the rest of the cars were on the other side. When you hear something like "Animation off, work lights on," it's not a good sign.

About 10 minutes later, a CM came up and helped us out of our cars. I was able to take a couple of pictures of the castle from there. The peak of BTM on the left and castle on the right in the picture. Yeah, that's the WHERE...the top of BTM. We had to WALK down through the guts of BTM with a CM yelling "NO PICTURES." DD took everything very well until she again realized that the ride was broken and she couldn't ride (she cried until we were past the castle on the way out). DW...not so much. DW would later say that she was on the verge of an anxiety attack worrying about DD and the heights.

So, for the trouble on the LAST RIDE of our whole VACATION, what did we get? FastPasses. We gave them to the people who walked down ahead of us...they helped DD over the tracks in a spot.

The stroller? Gone. I grabbed another empty one near the train station to walk out with.

Remember where DW was getting the whole Disney thing? Here is where it ended. Pretty much from BTM to the CSR, her...complaining - is the most polite way to say it (but not the word I would pick)- was nonstop.

SO we are leaving the park walking down Main St. and a big group of people is blocking the right side of the road. I turned the stroller to go over the trolly tracks and hit the tracks...and came to a dead stop. DD was ejected from the stroller onto the pavement. Of course, this started a brand new bout of crying. I was relieved when we finally sat on the bus back to CSR.

So, I know I sucked you all (both of you? ) in with this picture thing. Guess what...no picture. It is in a disposable camera that still has pictures left on it so we haven't gotten it developed yet. So, uh, yeah...sorry about that.

We ate the next morning at the Pepper Market where DW still did not really have the hang of it.

The flights home were mostly uneventful, DW was motion sick and slept almost the whole way. YAY!

END TRIP

 

[benolathe]

Really enjoyed reading your Trip Report. Thanks for sharing. And I still want to see that PICTURE!!

So guess you will NOT be taking your wife to WDW again? lol

 

[tcoopman]

I am making a list of things to do for the next trip already. We won't be going back for a few years, sadly. #1 on the list, leave wife at home. Not sure how that will work out though.

A lot of the things on my list are food related...

Do the Hoop De Doo Review, eat at Le Cellier, get churros and egg rolls and stuff around the WS in Epcot.

We'll especially want to ride the rides DD was too short for this time.

Overall, I'm pretty happy with the trip. It went as expected. Except the weather. Who packs for a week of 50's when they go to Florida?

 

[heaven2dc]

This was some trip!! Don't worry about the pics - we definitely could visualize the ups and downs of your trip. What a rough end to your day at MK I'm glad your wife had her ups and downs with enjoying/not enjoying the trip and I hope you and your DD enjoyed it alot. Thanks for sharing!

 

[tcoopman]

Oh, I forgot to add two more things that happened. DW lost her KttW at one point in the week and it was a breeze to get it replaced.

Then as we are about to go through security to come home, she realized that she did not have her Driver's License (or her second KttW). Luckily (or is it unluckily since she would not have been able to get through security so I could have left her there), she had another valid photo ID.

When we got home, we found her license packed in a checked bag.

I guess leaving her there would not have been the best...then she'd be waiting there EVERYTIME we went! And I can just imagine what she'd have to say about it.