Trip Mission: Rekindle Dh's love of Disney! Oct.25-Nov.1

[Bridget68]

LOL

It didn't cross your dh's mind to take medicines against motion sickness??!!

 

[CJK]

LOL! Actually, he did take dramamine which usually does the trick for him. He hasn't found anything else that works. Those seaband things were of no use to him. Someone suggested he try hypnosis! Anyone have any more suggestions? We'd like to avoid this problem in the future!

 

[CJK]

Day Four – Part 3

We were still not allowed to leave Tomorrowland so we decided to make the best of the crowd and ride the TTA. I just love riding this one at night since you get such a great overview of Tomorrowland. Dh noticed a witch’s hat on the track and picked it up as we went by. I noticed there wasn’t much of a line to Space Mountain so I thought I would ride it next. Oh oh. What if dh wanted to ride too? I was enjoying my newfound healthy husband and didn’t want motion sickness to ruin the rest of the party. Yet, I didn’t want to tie him down either. Hmmm. What should I do? After the ride, we gave the witch’s hat to the closest CM and headed to Buzz. Buzz Light year is a favourite of dh’s so we decided to ride it despite the line. It was really only a 15min. wait but as you may have noticed, we avoid lines like the plague! Buzz Light year used to cause riffs in our marriage. Some marriages struggle with finances or division of labour - but us? We’ve got Buzz Light year! Many a fight happened here on days gone by. You see, we USED to ride together. Big, big mistake! Dh and I used to tackle each other for control of the car. I’d want to turn left and he’d want to turn right. I’d just be closing in on the volcano and dh would turn the car. The nerve! I’m still convinced that he feared my laser shooting ability would eventually exceed his and he couldn’t bear that happening. He denies it. A couple years ago we came up with the solution to ride separately. I’m quite certain that this saved us years of therapy. This was the first time we’d ridden since they installed the cameras. Our pictures were really funny. You’d think we were performing surgery rather than riding a ride in WDW. We were so intense!

I hadn’t forgotten that I wanted to ride Space Mountain at some point. Luckily, we noticed a costume contest, on a stage between the Carousel of Progress and Space Mountain. There were some adorable kids there dressed in their Disney finest! This was the perfect diversion. Dh seemed to really enjoy the little children and the contest so I knew that this was my chance! I whispered to him that “I’ll be back in a few minutes” and he mumbled something and continued to watch the show. Woohoo! Space Mountain here I come! No worrying about dh losing his lunch! I rode with a father and son duo. They heard many people wishing me happy birthday and wondered how they knew! I flashed my button for a second time that night. They were very impressed. They went on to tell me all the “must-sees” of the Halloween party. Thanks for the tips – I was pumped!

When I got out of the ride, dh was waiting for me. I worried that he’d want to go on SM, but instead, he told me all about the costume party. It was such a highlight for him! We noticed the first orange pumpkin of the night. Yes, the trick or treating had begun!! Honestly, I half expected to be turned away! We hadn’t trick or treated for almost 20yrs! Nonetheless, we managed to only knock down a few children and made a mad dash to get the first candy of the night – Snickers! Dh was happy and commenced the munching. Wouldn’t it be our luck if he got an upset stomach from too much candy?

I read on the DIS that as soon as the party officially began, we should head over to Liberty Square to avoid the massive crowds. We went directly to the Hall of Presidents to get our picture taken. There were about 15 parties ahead of us in line, but it seemed to be moving quickly. It was here that we learned we were truly in vacation mode. The CM’s handed dh a clipboard and asked him to fill out our address. Easy right? Well don’t tell dh, but he made a mistake filling it out! After all, is it REALLY necessary to write down your city’s name?? It’s amazing that we ever received our picture (though it did take longer than usual). Shhhh – our little secret!

After a bit more trick or treating and a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean, we went back to Liberty Square to listen to the storyteller. The CM did a wonderful job! I found myself repeating the line, “Poor Ichabod Crane” well after the story ended! He really set the tone for the Headless Horseman and parade. We waited and waited for the headless horseman, but he never came! We asked a nearby CM and found out he would be riding for the second parade only. Thank goodness! We never bring a camera to Disney (we figure 10 photo albums over the years is sufficient), but we did bring a camera especially for the headless horseman! We’d definitely be back for the second parade.

Next stop was the Riverboat. We usually skip this one, but we had heard there were storytellers and other entertainment on the boat ride. Were we ever glad we went! The Dapper Dans performed on board looking a little different. Basically, they were dead. One gentleman still had an arrow through his chest. They sang the Haunted Mansion theme song and Ghost Riders. They were fantastic. Their voices blended together perfectly. I’m pretty sure one of them started flirting with me. Sure he may be dead, but it was flirting nonetheless.

We were really looking forward to tonight’s special Halloween version of Fantasy in the Sky. We were not disappointed. The fireworks really were spectacular. The witch flew and fireworks appeared all around us. Dh said that he liked this fireworks display far more than Wishes! I may have even seen a tear in dh’s eye which is no small feat. Ha! I was becoming more confident that the magic was back for dh and I for one, couldn’t have been happier.

Just when things couldn’t have gone any better, we met this adorable 9yr old girl on Splash Mountain. She had come to Disney for the first time with her mother and brother from England. We looked all around but noticed her family was not there. Apparently the brother and mother didn’t want to ride so they sent the little girl on Splash Mountain by herself and would meet her at the exit. She was on the same log as us and was really excited. For some reason she thought dh and I had never been on Splash before so she was providing us with an ongoing commentary on what has going to happen next! It was adorable! She didn’t need to know that we were Disney veterans! She was delightful and enjoyed telling us about what they had seen on their trip and how sad she was to be going home tomorrow. She mentioned that she was disappointed not to have seen Sea World. I suggested she see it on another trip to America. Suddenly, the mood changed and she sadly said that this would be her first and only trip. I thought she was going to cry for a moment there. I wanted to scoop her up and hug her but settled to change the topic and keep her in “the happy place”!

We all walked out of the ride together and looked at our picture. We asked her what her mother was wearing so that we could help her locate her. She told us and we looked and looked. The happy feelings started to disappear. There was no sign of her mother or brother. We asked the little girl again if she was sure where they were supposed to meet. She said she was sure. We continued to search and keep her calm and occupied. When a few minutes went by and there was still no sign of the family, we told a nearby CM about the situation. This was yet another wonderful CM we encountered. She very cheerfully started talking to the little girl, asking questions while allowing the little girl to play with the toys she was selling (the glow in the dark ones). We had fairly good descriptions of what the mother & brother were wearing so we continued to search while the CM watched the little girl. The little girl was so brave! Had it been me at 9yrs old, I would have been sobbing uncontrollably! Actually, I’d be very upset if it were to happen to me now!!

After unsuccessfully searching, we went back to the little girl & CM and started wondering what our next step should be. Just then, the older brother (about 11) grabbed the little girl and brought her to their mother who was standing about 20ft away. The mother then started yelling at the little girl. We couldn’t believe it. The mother then yanked the girl’s arm and just glared at us (and the CM) and left. I understand that the mother was likely embarrassed, but we still couldn’t believe her behaviour. Part of us was relieved the little girl was found, but the other part of us was still very upset by the situation. I really hoped that little girl was going to be okay. In the short time we spent with her, we knew she was a very special little girl.

It took me a long while to get over the incident. I’m not sure why it affected us so deeply. We heard from a different CM nearby that the headless horseman was about to ride so we got our camera out and waited for the big moment. Boy, did he go by quickly! Dh tried to get a picture, but we still don’t know how it turned out (pictures not developed yet – 3 weeks later!!). It was exciting to see however, as he looked so real!

It was hard to believe the night was almost over. We wanted to get in a bit more trick or treating and rides. We did the Pirates of the Caribbean, Thunder Mountain (I did it solo – ya!), and we saw Cinderella’s Coach in Fantasyland. It really was beautiful. Had there not been a big line, we would have taken a picture (we only took 4 pictures all night!). My FIL, a photographer would be disgusted! We were surprised with the candy. We had heard reports that they were giving out some full size chocolate bars and handfuls at a time. We never encountered full size candy at any of the trick or treating stations and we went to every station. We’re not complaining as we certainly got a sufficient amount of candy (we still have leftovers!), we were just surprised. Maybe they didn’t give it out to adults? Dh restrained me from flashing my button for more candy! Although, I did continue to receive many, many birthday wishes.

Before we knew it, it was midnight. It was time to leave and our feet knew it. We were sore! It was a terrific night. We slowly made our way down Main Street and enjoyed seeing the ghosts and Mickey bats flying along the buildings. Although we had a great time, we both agreed that we’d likely skip this event in the future. We have been to Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party before and agreed that it suits us better. We both love music and love all the Christmas shows and music of the party. We talked about the night’s highlights but both of us couldn’t get that little girl from England out of our minds. We thought we’d never see her again. Little did we know, we’d see her again tomorrow…

 

[Bridget68]

Please, don't let us wait too long...

I want to know what happened next!

 

[Carrieberry]

AHH! You and your cliffhangers! Your killing me!! MORE MORE

 

[phamton]

Great report! Can't wait to read more!

 

[CJK]

Day 5

It really was one of my best birthdays ever. It was about 1am before we got home so we went straight to bed. Our original plan was to go to Universal Studios the next day, but we knew that wasn't going to happen! Good thing we’re flexible! Universal could wait until Saturday. We wanted to have another day of sleeping in! Ahh, vacation! After another slow start to the day, we grabbed a quick lunch at Perkin's. Our waitress was a fellow Canadian! We had a lovely chat about the homeland and then we were once again on our way.

During our last Florida trip, we stayed at Animal Kingdom Lodge and absolutely loved it. It wasn't in the budget this year, but we
wanted to visit for nostalgic reasons! The Quality Inn was sufficient, but opening up the curtains every morning and seeing garbage bins didn't quite measure up to seeing giraffes munching on trees every morning. Go figure. We made our way to the resort and entered the grand lobby. I don't think I'll ever get
tired of that stunning view. They were having a pumpkin contest that day and the carved pumpkins were all out on display. They were so creative! Our favourites were the pumpkins carved to look like Pinocchio and Stitch! The winner was going to be announced that evening, but we left too soon. My money was on Pinocchio!

I could watch the animals forever. They really do have such a calming effect on me. We decided to go out to the pool area and get a drink and watch the animals for a while. While dh was at the bar, I found a couple of chairs and sat down. Just then, a little girl ran over to the chair beside me and grabbed a towel. I smiled at the girl and then did a double take. With all the hotels and all the parks and all the restaurants in Disney, how on earth did we manage to end up in the same place at the same time as the little girl from last night?? I'm sure I pulled a Sebastian. My jaw was definitely on the ground. I didn't quite know what to do. Do I start talking to the little girl again? Before I could make that decision, she ran off again. I don't think she recognized me. I was a Gypsy last night and looked mighty different than I look in regular clothes!

Dh came back with our drinks and I told him about our little friend. It bothered me that once again, the little girl was by herself. I know that she was in a relatively safe environment, but after last night's events, I really wanted to know that she was all right and was being well taken care of. I also couldn't help but remember the little girl saying last night that they were flying home today. Was that a lie or were they on a late flight? I started to get into detective mode. Dh calls it being nosey, but
again, this is MY trip report so I say I was just being protective! Eventually, the mother came over (by herself) and started to suntan. She didn't recognize us either.

A few minutes later, the little girl came back and started to build a fort with towels and lounge chairs. It was really cute. We may have another Donald Trump in our future (but with better hair). The mother never even talked to the girl. Now I was getting angry. The little girl wanted her mother to watch her go down the waterslide, but when she got to the top of the slide, her mother was gone again. I could have cried! You could just
see the disappointment in the little girl's face. Just when I thought I couldn't take anymore, the older brother materialized. He took his sister into the pool and they started playing together. I was overjoyed. It was magical. They were giggling and having a wonderful time, even if their mother was nowhere to be found. I felt much better suddenly knowing that they have each other.

In truth, I don't know the whole story. All we know is what we saw, and what we saw, really bothered us. Sure it's great to take your kids to Disney, but what good is it without spending time together? I hope we're not coming across as judgmental or even as meddlesome!! This little girl really touched us. This all happened in a matter of a couple hours. After feeling better about the brother and sister team, we decided to bid farewell to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We will definitely stay there again. Hmm, if we're staying at the Polynesian on our 10th anniversary, maybe we should stay at AKL for our 15th (or better yet, our 11th! ).

We pulled out of the AKL parking lot and discovered a different route back to our motel on Irlo Bronson. I think the street was called Sherberth or something similar. Wow! It was such a terrific shortcut! We were back within 10 minutes! Too bad we didn't find it earlier on our trip. Just before our motel, we decided to stop in at Walgreens for a drink. FYI – they sell bottled pop for $.34cents each. Not bad!

After a quick change, we made our way to the Boardwalk. The boardwalk really comes alive at night! We walked around and enjoyed the buskers and the view. We grabbed a pizza from Spoodles and sat down at a table overlooking the water. The pizza could have tasted like cardboard and I wouldn’t have cared. It was glorious! It was just as magical as our sundae from Ghirardelli the other day. Oh wait, was that just yesterday?? We sure do pack a lot in on our trips! Disney really is so much more than just the theme parks isn’t it? Our friends, who like to tease and grunt at us for going back to Disney AGAIN, don’t see beyond the Magic Kingdom. To me, Disney isn’t just a “place”; it’s a “feeling”.

After dinner, we wandered around some more and then went to Jellyrolls! I had checked the website before our trip and found out when Scotty & Ray were playing. Thankfully it fit into our schedule!! We were very anxious to get them to sing, “I’ve Got You Babe” as I heard they did that one remarkably well. We were not disappointed! Ray played the role of Cher and was swinging his hair and rolling his tongue ever bit as good as Cher herself! It was a riot! Suddenly our office jobs seemed lacking in the fun department! They seem to genuinely have a great time and played off of each other and the crowd. The great thing about Jellyrolls is that it’s always a different experience every time you go. We happened to hit upon a great crowd full of dancers, a wedding party (with a very enthusiastic bride and a very unenthusiastic groom!) and Yankee fans. The Red Sox had just won the series and boy, were the Yankee fans bitter! The guys did a great job helping the crowd forget the world series and moved on to the alligator song! Life doesn’t get much better my friends!

The smoke started to get to us (after 3hrs that is!) so we decided to call it a night. The next two days consisted of park touring so we needed to get some rest. I didn’t say it to dh, but I was really worrying about his motion sickness. We had enjoyed a full day of health and I didn’t want to give that up! Call me crazy, but I enjoy seeing my dh with colour on his face. Could I convince him to lay off the thrill rides tomorrow or will I really have to resort to tying him down? Just in case, I’m going to buy some rope.

 

[AlisonB]

I'm really enjoying your reports! Generally the flights back to the UK go in the evening - somewhere between 5pm and 8pm from MCO...so that may explain why they were still at AKL. Sure doesn't explain why the Mom behaved the way she did though...

 

[Bridget68]

Sure doesn't explain why the Mom behaved the way she did though...

No, it doesn't explain it, but where was the father?

Where are the fathers?

Oh yes, I know: Probably in the arms of another woman...

 

[CJK]

Day Six – Universal Studios and California Grill

My original mission of rekindling dh’s love of Disney was on the back burner today. I had a new mission. My mission if I chose to accept it, was to keep dh healthy and happy all day long. I accepted the challenge. We had a continental breakfast in the motel lobby and headed to Universal Studios. As was suggested to us, we made a beeline to the Mummy as soon as the park opened. I know what you’re thinking. “What do you mean WE”??? I’m pleased to report that there was no need for me to use the rope. Dh wasn’t even considering the Mummy. I was relieved to see that there was no line inside. I got right on so dh didn’t have to wait long. What a fantastic ride! The special effects really are amazing. The ride was over too quickly. I couldn’t help but think that dh would really like it. I think I would suggest that dh ride. Before you have me committed, let me explain. In days gone by, dh has really loved roller coasters. He had heard about this particular ride and was really excited. We even rented the Mummy movies prior to our trip just so we’d have a better understanding of the storyline on the ride.
When I met up with dh, I told him about the Mummy and how thrilling it was, how real it felt and how there was so much to see. I could tell he wanted to ride. Very cautiously I said that I thought he could handle it. I told him about a couple “iffy” spots where I worried how he’d feel, but he still wanted to ride. We told each other that this was his only thrill ride of the day. With a gulp and deep breath, we went for it! We buckled in and we were off. I couldn’t look at him while on the ride. If he had been sick, I thought I would have found a way to get out of the ride and throw myself into the fire! So, I didn’t risk it! At the end of the ride, dh said “Cooooool”! The colour was still there so I knew that was a good sign. He did say he was a little shaky, but other than that, he was fine!! Heehaw!! Success! I just knew he’d be disappointed if he didn’t ride. As I promised him before, there would be no more thrill rides for him today! We were both satisfied.

The objective for today was to do the attractions at Universal that we missed a few days before and maybe redo a few favourites. Next stop was Twister. That one was very good. We stood beside a little boy who was very frightened and started crying. When the special effects finished, he looked at his dad and said he wanted to do it again! Aren’t kids precious! We walked by Shrek and were pleasantly surprised again to see no line. Our luck was continuing! Plus, we didn’t catch all of the preshow last time, so it was nice to hear it all today. We decided to do Terminator 2: 3D next. What an excellent job they did on that one! It was amazing to us how they combined real actors with the movie. Very well done! Dh is a real fan of the Terminator movies so this one got bonus points from him! Suddenly it dawned on me that I was achieving not one but TWO of my objectives for today! Dh was healthy, happy AND enjoying the magic of Florida! You couldn’t have knocked the smile off my face if you tried. Well, maybe if Elastigirl showed up to flirt with dh again my smile may have reduced to a grin!

The first Blues Brothers show of the day was next. The woman in the show was a phenomenal singer! We enjoyed the music and are glad we saw it, but didn’t think we’d see it again. Not our style of music I guess. Right around the corner we went back to the Ghostbusters show! Yes folks, we were addicted. The guys really put their all into their parts! I can’t recommend the show highly enough if you enjoy pop music and comedy. No one made lip-synching look so good!! We agreed that we’d try to catch their show one more time today before heading home. By now it was lunchtime so we grabbed a quick bite at Richters since I had read they have a good toppings bar. We got that CAA/AAA discount and dug in.

Our timing was perfect to go across the walkway to the Beetlejuice show right after lunch. We really enjoyed this one as well. Notice a trend here? Frankenstein’s wife was a phenomenal singer! Does anyone watch American Idol here? You know how Simon Cowell always criticizes contestants by saying they’d only be good enough to perform in amusement parks?? I would have loved him to hear this girl sing because she was spectacular! Plus, anytime Simon has to eat his words is just fine with me!!! As we made our way around the park, our next stop was Jaws. Our boat captain was out of this world! She really made the storyline come alive for us. She only looked about 16 too. Although, at my ripe age of 31, anyone under 25 looks 16 to me.

I knew that dh would want to ride MIB again. We didn’t realize last time, but I think you miss some kind of a preshow or info session by going through the singles line. Can someone confirm that? However, this time round, we got to see the TV in line, which explained more of the rules of the ride. We didn’t realize you were supposed to shoot the other car at one point. It made the ride that much better having more understanding of what we were supposed to do! We went on twice and both times, dh blew all the other people’s scores out of the water (as he loved to point out to me!)

We had a little time before the Animal Planet show; we decided to wander through the kid area and Woody Woodpecker. All the kids seemed to be having a wonderful time. We continued walking and ended up at the Curious George section. We thought that it was very well done. It was extremely hot today so the kids were taking advantage of the cool water! This would have been a great time to have your swimsuit. Just before we left, an unsuspecting man was standing in the “wet zone”. The bucket of water fell and absolutely drenched him from head to toe. Well, once again, I’m not proud to say I lost control! In fact, I was in hysterics. He wasn’t upset or anything; he was just caught by surprise. If by some fortunate coincidence that man is reading this report, please accept my sincere apologies. I owe you a beer.

After pulling myself together, we made our way to Animal Planet. It was a cute show. The monkey was adorable. I wanted to take him home with me. He could teach dh to keep the toilet seat down. Sorry honey. It was hard to believe we had now managed to see all we wanted in both Universal parks between today and last Tuesday. We could have risked it and gone back on some thrill rides at IOA, but we were having dinner at California Grill tonight and I was determined to have a dh who was actually hungry! We decided to watch the Horror Make-up show again (GREAT adlibbing) and then another Ghostbusters show (sigh – I will miss the cowboy!) and then we were on our way back to our motel. We really enjoyed Universal Studios on this trip. We have leftover days on our passes so we will definitely be back. I just hope we can find some solution to dh’s motion sickness before our next trip. In the meantime, I’m ready to try hypnosis! But for right now, it’s time to change for our magical evening at California Grill…..which didn’t turn out to be so magical afterall….

 

[kathymc]

how true that disney is a feeling!

I cant wait to try the Mummy - glad your DH was able to handle it

thanks for posting

 

[CJK]

So sorry for the wait between posts. Life seemed to get in the way somehow. I'm determined to finish the report this week so please bear with me! I must put my Disney report back to my number one priority where it belongs!

We were very excited to have dinner at the California Grill this trip. You may have noticed we haven't had a lot of sit-down meals this trip. That's partially for financial reasons, but honestly, dh would probably prefer a hamburger and fries most days (motion sickness aside of course! ) We also have a running joke in my family that when people travel with me to Disney, I don't let people go to the restroom, let alone have a sit-down dinner....too many shows and rides to discover! However, we always try to fit in one nice dinner per trip. We had heard how wonderful the food was at California Grill and wanted to enjoy an evening of good food with a wonderful view. We made our priority seating before we left for the trip to hopefully correspond with the fireworks display. Little did we know, we were being very naive with the hope of getting a window seat!

We changed into our dinner attire (*gasp* - I actually wore a skirt - dh sometimes wonders if I really have legs) and we drove to the Contemporary hotel. At the security gate, the CM asked for our ID and the deed to our car. That's right - she wanted our PTCruiser (better known as the ganster car)! After a few laughs, we made our way into the hotel. We were very excited!

You now check in on the 3rd floor rather than go directly to the top floor of the Contemporary. I understand why they made the change, but boy, we were struck by how rude the CM's were at the desk. We made a PS weeks before our trip and understood there was no guarantee we could get a window seat. We asked the CM when we arrived if we could wait for a window seat. Dh said that we didn't mind waiting. The woman said, "NO" in a very snarky voice saying that all window seats were booked for the night. I suppose they get that question often and that would be exasperating. But still.......where's the pixie dust?? I'm not exactly sure how PS's work exactly, but we were told there was no way to book a window seat in advance. We inquired one last time and the male CM this time said "NO", again in an equally snarky voice. We weren't being pushy at all yet were treated very rudely. Since when did Cruella De Ville and Frollo work the California Grill desk?

Determined not to let it spoil our evening, we took the buzzer and took the elevator up to the restaurant. We were told that it would be about a 30 minute wait. We thought that we'd go up for a drink in the lounge and maybe a visit to the balcony to enjoy the view. Were we shocked when we arrived! It was wall to wall people and not an available seat to be found in the lounge. We could hardly hear ourselves think. Don't panic - we were going to have a wonderful evening. Thirty minutes went by and our pager never did go off. Forty-five minutes later after desperately trying to stay out of the way of the servers, we still hadn't been paged. By now, we were ready to storm the kitchen for leftovers! Even so, our positive attitudes remained intact!

Finally, another CM came up to us and asked us our name. He said that he had been buzzing us but we didn't respond. Hmmm - I'm pretty sure we would have responded if our buzzer had gone off. He then said there was some mix-up downstairs with the pager numbers. Hmmm, me thinks Cruella & Frollo better not quit their day jobs! Thankfully, this new CM was very nice and took us directly to our table.

Here's the wonderful part of the evening. Our waiter was very accomodating and attentive. He seemed to genuinely want us to have an enjoyable evening and provided the perfect balance between being attentive and giving us privacy. I wish I remembered his name! The other wonderful part of the evening was the food. Decadent! We had flatbread to start which was ever bit as wonderful as we hoped. My pork dish was scrumptious and dh's beef dish (can't remember exactly) was equally delicious. We both agreed that it was probably the best dinner we had ever had at Disney. Hamburgers don't look so good to dh anymore!!!

Just before we received our main course, however, we received the bad news. It was approaching time for the fireworks. We were looking forward to them piping the music in and lowering the lights. Our waiter came over and told us the restaurant was no longer doing this. If we wanted to watch the fireworks, we had to go out onto the balcony. The reason? Well, our server said it was experimental. The "big guns" as he put it, want to change the clientele of the restaurant and make it more upscale and less family oriented. We were stunned! I posted this information on the restaurant board immediately upon our return home and the responses really surprised me. Some people welcomed this change and others didn't - a catfight broke out! Well, that may be an exaggeration, but the diverse opinions of people fascinated me! We definitely fell into the disappointed category!! Hmmm - positive attitudes were slipping....

Our server fell into the same category as us. He quietly told us that he thinks it's a bad idea and hopes they go back to the old way. At any rate, we took our wine and went out to the balcony with the herd. Understandably, it was PACKED out there. As many of you likely know, there are 2 balconies - one for the general public and the other seemed to be for people there for a private function. The speaker that was on the private function balcony played the Wishes music. Our balcony played the normal background music playing inside the restaurant. Come on CG! The herd needs music too! Dh talked to 2 CM's during the fireworks to try to get them to pipe the Wishes music out there instead. They insisted that "they were working on it" but it never did work. We strained to hear the speaker from the other balcony that was being drained out by our speaker. Not exactly the magical night we were anticipating. The fireworks were beautiful, but without the music, a good portion of the magic was lost.

When we went back inside after the fireworks, our server was at our table with our entrees in hand. He felt badly that our evening wasn't what we were expecting. He said that it was spooky inside during the fireworks! Very few people were there apparently and the usually noisy restaurant was eerily quiet. I do hope changes are made and they go back to the old way. Bring back the magic!! Thankfully our server and food were great so we did still have a great time. I'm just not sure if we'll ever return however. We'll have to explore the other restaurants in the meantime!

We were looking forward to enjoying the water parade after dinner. We quickly made our way to the waterfront. We grabbed two lounge chairs and were about to sit down before we noticed the bugs. I'm not talking about one or two bugs, but SWARMS of them. This particular corner was absolutely infested by them. I don't know what kind they were, but they were very much a nuisance. Dh tried to clear off some chairs for us, but just when he'd finish one side, they'd come right back down and land - mocking him! I thought the love bugs were bothersome, but they're nothing comparitively speaking!! I'm still convinced they were laughing at us. They were inescapable! We tried other locations and no success. We noticed other people having the same problem.

I admit that after the disappointment of our dinner, these bugs were not welcomed too kindly!! But still, we were determined to enjoy the parade. This is still Disney afterall!! Right on time, the parade began. The music was great and we enjoyed the first 3 floats (dragon, whale & turtle). Maybe the disappointments of the night were over. Wait a minute! The parade can't be over - there were only 3 floats! But, despite our cries, the parde ended and the boat carried the floats away. What happened!!!! What happened to the King and the playful dolphins? Did the "big guns" who decided to change the CG clientelle give the King and dolphins pink slips too?? It was now that I made a crucial mistake. I opened my mouth, widely, to say something and the bugs I mentioned before decided to go right inside! Yes, I started choking on flies!!!

I don't know what happened next as it is sort of a blur, but I think it may have something to do with me running along the beach with my hands flailing wildly. My frustration of the evening, was taking its toll. But just as quickly, my frustrations turned to hysterical giggles!!! My giggles must have been contagious because dh starting laughing too. We stood there laughing that silly-type laugh until tears streamed down my face. It suddenly seemed so silly to have such high hopes for one night when we were in Disney afterall!!! Even a not-so-perfect evening here is still much, much better than working at home!!!! Get a grip woman!

Now that we had pulled ourselves together, we held hands and slowly walked back to our car soaking in the beautiful evening. We had another day of parkhopping tomorrow (our last day already???) and we needed to get well rested. We had pleasant dreams that night since we had a wonderful evening from Cruella to flatbread and bugs to laughter - doesn't get much better now does it!

 

[CJK]

Day 7 - Halloween - AK, Epcot, Boardwalk

Prior to our vacation, I realized that daylight savings would take place at the end of our trip. My first thought was, great! We get an extra hour of vacation time on our trip!!! More Disney! More motion sickness, er, I mean more fun! For reasons I still haven't figured out, I thought that the extra hour would take place on our last day which meant, we had an extra hour to sleep before heading to the airport for our flight home.

Fast forward to our last full day at Disney...... We woke up at 7:45am. I think our long days were finally taking their toll because it was more than a struggle to get up! Not even a day at AK and Epcot could help us jump out of bed! We grabbed a quick bite at our motel continental breakfast and headed to Animal Kingdom (by way of Sherberth Rd. of course!). We arrived at the parking gate at around 8:40am. For some strange reason, none of the gates were open and so the few cars that were there, had to wait for a few minutes. We were puzzled, but did it "click" that it was the Sunday after daylight's savings? Of course not. I need to go back to school.

After a few minutes, we were allowed in and shockingly, we were able to get a very good parking spot. As we walked towards the entrance, we were struck by how small the crowds were. Did this twig our memories either? That would be too easy. We walked right up to the turnstile and it took a CM to tell us that it was only 7:55am - not 8:55am. Doh!!!! I couldn't believe it. I was so proud of myself for remembering the time change prior to our trip........too bad I didn't remember WHICH day the time change took place! I tried to take it in stride, but it didn't help having dh turn his repeat button on and continue saying, "I could have had an extra hour to sleep. I don't believe it"! I feel guilty enough dear!

Well, we tried to look at the postive. We would be practically the first ones in the park that day! We'd also have a great view of the Opening Ceremony show which he had never seen before. We parked ourselves at a turnstile and sat down. It was actually pretty amusing watching other people arrive only to discover the same news as us. The facial expressions were priceless. At least we fit right in. A couple of families parked themselves right by us and we had a great time chatting. There was a cute family from Virginia who were Disney veterans as well. They really made the time fly by and we were let in the park before we knew it. I was also thankful for this family for helping dh stop his muttering about sleep!

As usual, we headed towards the Safari at park open. However, they were blocking the path once you got to the tree of life. I thought they did the opening ceremony at the main entrance? Today, the little show was done in front of the tree of life. Well I guess I was right, we had a great view - only in a different location! After the show, we followed the truck of Goofy, Minnie & Mickey right to the Safari ride. It was here, that we saw another sad situation between a mother and daughter. It was just a few minutes after 9 so we knew there wouldn't be much of a wait yet for the ride. We were enjoying the queue when a mother came tearing by us at full speed. Her daughter, maybe 6yrs old, was lagging behind. The mother kept turning around and yelling at her daughter to hurry up. The little girl struggled to catch up, but couldn't get past all the other people shuffling in to the ride. Angrily, the mother stepped back and grabbed the daughter and lifted her over the rope so that she could skip some of the winding around in line. Well, the little girl's feet, didn't make it over the rope so when the mother let go of the girl, she fell flat on her face. It looked very painful and the little girl, naturally, started to cry. Rather than help the girl, the mother grew even angrier and yelled at the girl to hurry up yet again. The little girl, tried to stop crying and with her head down, followed after her mother. I couldn't believe it. The family we were with from Virginia were equally upset. The irony in all of this, is that even with all the hurrying this mother made her family do, they were on the same truck as us.......which was the second truck of the day! Makes that hurrying really worthwhile doesn't it. Have a Disney day.

I sure hope that little girl was able to have some fun that day. The Safari was as enjoyable as always, but many of the animals were in hiding. They probably saw that mother coming and ran to hide. After the safari, we made a beeline to the Lion King show. This was our first time seeing the show since it became an indoor theatre. We were looking forward to some air conditioning, but surprisingly, it was very warm in there. Why bother enclosing the theatre if it's not going to be air conditioned? Maybe we caught it on an off day, not sure. At any rate, the show was as remarkable as ever and left me in tears. What talented performers. In addtion to the Hunchback of Notre Dame show that used to be in MGM, this is the other show I'd love to perform in. What fantastic music and energy!

We decided to head over to Dinoland to see Tarzan next. We had a little time before showtime, so I decided to ride Primeval Whirl first. Dh was well behaved, and decided to sit that one out! Miracles really do happen at Disney. I sat with a father and son team who were deciding whether they should trip Mission: Space on that trip. I had a moral dilemma. Do I tell them about dh's experience on that ride? That may scare them from theme parks altogether! I decided to tell them that I enjoyed it, but dh struggled with it but he suffers from severe motion sickness in general. They decided that they would try it. I hope they enjoyed it and didn't spend the rest of the trip trying to hunt me down!

Dh was waiting for me when I got off the ride. We went directly to Tarzan. In the queue, you get a tremendous view of the construction for Expedition Everest. Does that ride look exciting! I could tell dh was pretty impressed too. Please let it not be another Mission: Space for dh!! I don't think our marriage could take it! Tarzan was a lot of fun as usual. Tarzan himself did not disappoint! After the show, I wanted to see how crowded Dinosaur was and was disappointed to see a 25min. wait. Just then, dh produced two fastpasses! He had gotten them when I was on primeval whirl! What a wonderful surprise! Yes, he's a keeper. This was the first time we used fastpass all trip! I didn't think he should go on this ride, but for some reason, it didn't bother him.

Before leaving AK, we went to It's Tough to Be a Bug. What a fun show! We sat beside particularly fun people who really jumped and screamed! We had done all we wanted to do in AK this trip, so we decided to head to Epcot. It was 12pm so we thought we'd grab a bite to eat at McDonald's (by the All-Star Resort) before going to Epcot. We were certainly taking advantage of our car this trip. That McDonald's was particularly fun! Dh was happy to have a burger & fries and I had a chicken sandwich. As we were enjoying our lunch, we heard a father say to his crying son, "If you don't smarten up, I'll sell you on the blackmarket". Thankfully I don't think the son knew what that meant, but what's with some of the parents we were encountering today? I should note, however, we also met wonderful parents and families who were all having fun together. I just wish these less than stellar parents would take some notes. You're on vacation - have some fun!!

It suddenly hit me, that we were flying home tomorrow. How can that be? Wasn't our vacation just beginning? I was determined to make the best of the day and enjoy Epcot and the Boardwalk halloween festivities! We drove to Epcot and enjoyed the topiaries at Epcot's entrance. Epcot really is my favourite Disney park and I couldn't think of a better place to spend our last day. Let's get going!

 

[DVCTiff]

Great reports!

Maybe it's those of us who are "child-free" who have time to see those morons who shouldn't have been allowed to reproduce. I was saddened just by reading your report. Can't even imagine what I would have done if I'd been there.

Can't wait to read the end!

 

[CJK]

Since it was now early afternoon, Spaceship Earth had no line at all. I really like this ride and dh, well, he likes it for sleeping! He says that he could recite the dialogue by heart and that's why he doesn't like it anymore. Not me. I find it interesting each and everytime I see it. After feeling refreshed from his nap, we decided to go to Honey I Shrunk the Audience next. Dh made a detour and ran into the Land to get a fastpass for the boat ride first. My feet were starting to take a beating, so I let dh do that extra walk himself!
We had yet to see the new pre-show to HISTA so I was anxious to see it.

Someone should have warned me! I would have bought a box of kleenex had I known how emotional I would be! I can still see that little boy and his lost dog. *sniff* HISTA was fun as ever. Dh sat beside a teenage girl who absolutely freaked out from some of the special effects! We thought she was having fun, but at the end of the show she turned to her parents and said she was NEVER doing that again!! I guess she doesn't like mice.

We rode the Imagination ride next. Great to have Figment back, but I still miss the Dreamfinder. 'Nuf said. By now our fastpass window had opened up so we headed to the Land. We noticed on the way in that the Lion King movie was just being let in so we decided to catch it first. Interestingly enough, dh and I have seen this show many times as well, yet he hasn't grown tired of it. What a powerful message in the movie combined with just the right amount of humour. We're very big on recycling and even credit this movie for some of our enthusiasm.

We finally made it over to the Land ride. We produced our fastpasses and basically walked right on the ride. Wow! Did we ever get dirty looks from people!! You'd think we just tackled everyone to get to the front of the line! In the greenhouses, I have never seen such large pumpkins! Wouldn't Linus from Charlie Brown love to sit there in wait of the Great Pumpkin! We noticed a lot of mist in the indoor portion of the ride which we didn't remember happening before. Anyone know if this is a new feature? Next stop was Ellen at the Universe of Energy. For those who know me, I find Ellen's humour hilarious. Dh says we share a warped sense of humour. Sorry Ellen! I always make it a point to visit the attraction each trip. In the Dinosaur portion of the ride, we were surprised by what we saw. In the scene where an animatronic Ellen is fighting off a big snake-like creature, "Ellen" wasn't working and was slumped over, motionless. It was eerie. I was tempted to jump out of my seat and try to revive her somehow! She must be tired from working daily on her talk show.

We had yet to ride Test Track yet this trip, so we made our way over, bypassing Mission: Space. As much as I loved seeing dh turn every colour of the rainbow and clutch his motion sickness bag for dear life, I decided to save that "pleasure" for next trip! As usual, we used the singles line and were delighted to find out we'd be riding in the same car. The family we were riding with noticed that dh and I were together, and offered to reorganize themselves so we could ride side by side. Thanks folks! Now they have the Disney magic!

We were finished with Future World so we headed towards World Showcase. I absolutely love the Mexico Pavillion! We were particularly interested in it this trip, since we had gone to Cancun earlier this year and toured the Mayan ruins. Having recently been to Mexico, the ride was that much more interesting for us. We had never been to the Wine & Food festival so I was excited to try some treats. We shared a couple samples and went to hear the Liberty Singers. The redhead soprano wasn't there again so we're wondering if she's no longer in the group. Life goes on! The singers were wonderful as usual. Yes, you guessed it........I'd like to perform in this group too. Sensing a theme here? We went into the American Adventure next.

It was about 6pm now so it was time to go to the boardwalk. I had read here on the DIS that the boardwalk has some special activities for halloween. We really savoured the walk to the boardwalk. It's so magical to us with all the sparkling lights and beautiful view. Who said Disney isn't romantic! We had barely touched our halloween candy from MNSSHP a few days earlier, but we were ready to do some more trick or treating tonight! We got our bag from the first station (admittedly the CM who gave us our bag did give us a funny look, but aren't we all kids in Disney)??? We only got one or two pieces of candy at MNSSHP, but here, we got handfuls. Thankfully we only had one bag between us or that would have been far too silly! My waistline can't take the handfuls of candy that I could when I was 8. Hmmm, maybe that's why people don't trick or treat after the age of 12!! I used to think it was simply because it wasn't "proper" by the time you're a teenager. Look at that - we got some romance AND eduation in one night. Why vacation anywhere else?

In the courtyard in front of the boardwalk hotel was a halloween dance party! There were lots of children and parents dancing, clapping and having a ball! The CM who was leading the dancing, taught us a halloween version to the Macarena! I found myself joining right in with an embarrassed dh off to the side! You'd think he'd be used to it by now! After a few minutes, we continued walking and discovered a cookie decorating station. Naturally, I assumed this activity was meant for REAL children, so I started to walk by. Just then, a CM handed us a couple cookies and said to "have fun"! Woohoo! They had lots of icing colours to choose from and this particular table was empty. He may as well have handed me the moon I was so excited. I started squeezing and spreading (the icing that is) and proudly showed the final product to dh...........who proceeded to laugh! Yes it's true - a 4yr old could have done a better job! I couldn't blame him for the laughter as I think that nice CM was stifling a laugh himself! Ah well, I was just going to eat it anyway!

Next stop was watching Mickey get his picture taken with the children. He was dressed as a ghost and was absolutely adorable. This was actually a highlight of the night for dh! Watching the children squeal with delight and seeing all the creative costumes was so much fun. We finished trick or treating and decided to walk back to Epcot. We were really surprised by how much fun this halloween had been. In retrospect, I don't know why we were so surprised considering this IS Disney! We walked back into Epcot and grabbed a glass of wine from Morocco (I was in heaven) and enjoyed the musical show. The acrobats show in China was about to begin so we quickly made our way over there. Absolutely unbelievable! Those children could do things that I couldn't even dream about! What discipline they have. I suddenly felt guilty about that candy we had just gotten!

There wasn't a line at Norway, so we walked right on the ride. Did I read somewhere they're about to introduce a new Norway movie? I hope Canada gets a new one too. I cringe when I watch it......so I haven't watched it in a few years! We had about an hour before Illuminations started, so I asked dh if he minded walking all the way back to France to see the movie. Even though we've been to Epcot many times over the years, I don't think we had ever seen it before. It was truly beautiful! All the extra walking was worthwhile to catch this movie. It renewed our interest to visit Europe. Before staking out a spot to catch Illuminations, we caught the end of Blake Shelton's show at the "Eat to the Beat" theatre. I must admit I didn't know any of his music, but he did put on a terrific show. We really enjoyed listening to the music enjoying all the twinkling lights around. I glanced over at dh and he was really smiling. I knew then that my trip mission to rekindle his love of Disney was working.

We found a great spot in front of Mexico and watched Illuminations. What a wonderful show. I still insist it's my favourite evening show at Disney. I enjoy Fantasmic and Wishes, but there's something special about Illuminations. After the show, we did some last minute shopping and followed the herd to the parking lot. I really couldn't have asked for a better last day at Disney. I got to enjoy my favourite park, and dh got to enjoy a lot of new things such as the boardwalk on halloween night. We got back to the motel and got ready for the journey home tomorrow. While dh went to sleep, I was brainstorming to find ways to stay in Disney.

 

[CJK]

After a night of brainstorming, I had to face that there was no plausible way to remain in Disney. Our reservation was finished at our motel and I didn't think bunking at Cinderella's castle was an option. We had responsibilities and jobs to go back to (darn reality), but there was always next time. We quickly packed our suitcases and jumped into the car. Boy was I going to miss this gangster car! I was starting to feel like a celebrity with all the stares we were getting! Instead of the continental breakfast, we decided to go to Shoney's. This is another favourite of dh's. I confess I liked this idea since this would end the trip on such a positive note for dh! It would make planning the next trip that much easier!!

After stuffing ourselves, we filled the car with gas and headed towards the airport. Funny how heading TOWARDS the airport is never as much fun as heading FROM The airport. We returned our car without incident and went to check in. As was with our flight down, our flight home had also been cancelled. Only this time, I didn't start panicking, I started rejoicing! Before I could break open the champagne however, we were informed that we were bumped onto another flight that was leaving later. We'd be heading back to Canada by way of Ft. Lauderdale. This only marked the beginning of our delays. We were delayed before loading onto the plane. We were delayed before take-off. We were delayed at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. I asked the flight attendant if I could take a dip in the ocean since we were so delayed, but she didn't seem to find that very amusing. We ended up arriving home 5hrs later than expected. Not too bad in the great scheme of things, but irritating nonetheless. Plus, I felt a cold coming on. As I mentioned in my first post, I'm allergic to coming home.

In short, we had a great trip. Motion sickness aside, we really enjoyed Universal and experiencing all the rides and shows they had to offer. We enjoyed being in Disney for halloween and experiencing all the special festivities. We enjoyed visiting with our friends and relaxing on the beach. We enjoyed meeting such lovely people from around the globe and hope the not-so-lovely people we met will take notes from them. Before planning our next trip, our plan is to try to figure out new ways to combat dh's motion sickness. I just know dh will want to go back even more if he knows he can handle some of the thrill rides without incident. Afterall, Elastigirl will be waiting for him.

Thanks to everyone for your very kind words and for sticking with me through all my long-winded posts! I wish you all magical trips in the future. Now I need to figure out what to do in my spare time since my report is finished! Maybe I should take up ballroom dancing. It might help me land a role in the Festival of the Lion King!

 

[kathymc]

I really enjoyed your reports and I hope DH wants to go back again!

 

[sskem96]

I loved your report! My DD8 doesn't like rides that spin, and we think she might have a motion sickness problem. We plan to give her Meclizine on our trip. It used to be sold by prescription only, but recently became available over the counter here in the states. Another thing you might try is a Scopalamine (sp?) patch. I believe those are still prescription here, but I don't know about Canada. People often use them when going on a cruise to prevent sea sickness. Hope you have many more wonderful trips!

 

[LuvindisCruiser]

What happened to your husband????!!!!! Where's the rest or your report....... Please tell us...........it's already December, and your report has not continued. I'm really worried about your DH now, please tell me he's not having post trip motion sickness anxiety !!!

 

[CJK]

Thanks everyone!!

kathymc- I'm pleased to say that there WILL be another trip in our future! Only this one will be with extended family! Can't wait!

sskem96 - Thanks so much for the medication suggestions. I've written them down and plan on trying it. I mentioned them to dh and he seemed pleased to know we already have a gameplan for next trip. There's nothing like getting over the post-trip blues by planning for the next one!

LuvindisCruiser - dh is fine! Yeah! The rest of my report is posted in this thread. I didn't want to start new threads for each day of our trip so it's all here for ya!

Since we will likely go back to Disney, I'd better get reading on those new Disney tickets available!