WDW Commando Club

[Disney Commando]

I"m back

 

[Disney Commando]

Hi guys!
Can I join? I really think that I belong here!
My boyfriend and I are travelling from Spain next october and it will be our first time in WDW.
I've been planning this trip for more than a year now and we are really happy. I did a lot of research, got Free Dining, 180 days ADR's, made lots of lists, everyday schedules... Even some packing!
Since we live very far from WDW we don't know when we would be able to return (hope it will be soon) so we are going to try to make the most out of our time there, that means no sleeping allowed
Can't believe it's less than 3 months

You are member #244 sorry it took so long to officially welcome you, I just got back from my extended trip to WDW

 

[Disney Commando]

Now that the trip is over here are a few things I will be bringing up

- How asking for Transportation cards can lead to unexpected Magic

- A great place to eat at DTD, reasonable with huge portions at a good price

- how at least this time of year most nighttime EMH's are not exactly fair to those staying onsite

- the new Magicbands not what they are cracked up to be

- Why when celebrating a birthday or anniversary it is important to wear buttons and let them know you are celebrating when making a ADR

 

[Disney Commando]

Guess I'll start with day 1 that will also cover why asking for Transportation cards can lead to the unexpected

- our train arrived lat around 11am by the time we got checked in and unpacked it was almost 1:30, so we drove to Epcot since my son wanted to get a couple things in the store in Japan, we did the boat ride in Mexico & Spaceship Earth at 3:30 we had to leave to meet our friends at Pop Century, so we drove over to Pop dropped off some of their extra stuff and we all got in the van and headed to the Poly, we had a 5pm ADR, and they explored the resort and got something to eat, while we were at dinner we meet a family that was from our town turns out they live about 2 miles away, Dinner at Ohana's was great as always my son played the coconut rolling game and was one of the few that were celebrating a Birthday so he thought it was great with the extra attention, after dinner the CM's came over to the table with 3 cupcakes that made up a Mickey head and sang Happy Birthday

After dinner we went to Captain Cooks downstairs for his little surprise Birthday party, there we meet up with 2 DisDads (Barry & Sean), our friends and all the kidsand it was dole whips all around or whatever they wanted, so we sang Happy Birthday and a few minutes later the CM's from Capt Cooks came over with a giant cupcake and sang Happy Bitrhday That was really cool the one CM said they don't get many BD's there and were excited to be a part of it, that was our first dose of pixie dust

Then we drove our friends back to Pop and dropped our van off at our resort, OK so what does this have to do with Tranportation cards nothing yet but it's coming

So now we board a bus to MK since they had EMH's till 2, I ask the bus driver if he had any bus cards and he did, he gave my son all 3 bus cards, when we got off the bus and were heading to the park we stopped at the Boat transport booth and asked if they had any boat cards, they did and my son got another 4 cards, walking up to the gate we see 2 boat Captains standing by the rail and we ask if they have any boat cards, they didn't answer instead they asked us if we were going to see the fireworks that night, I said yes, then they asked us if we would like to see them on the water along with the Electric Water Pagent as part of a Magical Moment, of course we said yes and we got on the boat, we were joined by 2 more families for a total of 11 passengers, during the voyage we were told all kinds of interesting things about WDW, during the fireworks we were between the Pirate Cruise and the Grand One Yacht, at the end of the cruise they gave my son and another boy a bunch of Boat Transportation cards we did notice that only people who came up to them asking a question got the chance to have this Magical Moment So with that don't be afraid to ask for the cards, you never know it may lead to a Magical adventure

That was my 1st unexpected thing that happened while asking about the cards, in the coming days I found the new mystery card and you can only get them in certain locations plus a card I never even knew existed

 

[jmm476]

Wow sounds like you had a very magical first day! Your son must have been so excited

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[kmedina]

That was an awesome day. I have never heard of transportation cards. We will have to ask on our next trip. Watching the fireworks from the boat is awesome. We did it once from the Pirates and Pals boat, and once from the celebration boats. We will rent out the yacht one day! The cupcakes in the form of Mickey's head is cool. Neither Xander nor Connor ever got that. It is a cute idea.

 

[Disney Commando]

That was an awesome day. I have never heard of transportation cards. We will have to ask on our next trip. Watching the fireworks from the boat is awesome. We did it once from the Pirates and Pals boat, and once from the celebration boats. We will rent out the yacht one day! The cupcakes in the form of Mickey's head is cool. Neither Xander nor Connor ever got that. It is a cute idea.

It is certainly no secret that trying to get Transportation Cards is like a hobby for me, The current series has 26 the breakdown now that I know what the new card is, 3 bus - 11 Boat & 12 Monorail

- 3 Bus Cards are the easiest to get, just keep asking bus drivers
- 12 Monorail Cards these are hit and miss seems like the 3 monorail resorts and Epcot station are the best spots to score them

- 11 Boat Cards these are the hardest to get since they are spread out 3 areas and can only get certain cards in certain areas (you may luck out and find a cool Captain that has them all but it is rare) the 3 areas are, The main watercraft area this would be the MK area for a total of 6 cards, the next is DTD area + a couple of resorts that uses the Water Taxi (4 cards) the last is the new card the Friendship Boats these are the boats that are used at Epcot and the Boardwalk area also HS (1 card), Basically I ask anyone wearing the white boat outfit, especially before the entrance of MK you see a bunch of them walking around

I have found the best way to get the cards is to ask - You wouldn't happen to have any Bus, Boat, Monorail ( Depends on form of transportation your on) Cards , I try to ask them discreetly without a lot of people around, also if you have a child with you, your chances increase

Not all Transportation CM's have them so if someone says no, don't give up the big score could be the next one you ask

 

[AirGoofy]

I
- 11 Boat Cards these are the hardest to get since they are spread out 3 areas and can only get certain cards in certain areas (you may luck out and find a cool Captain that has them all but it is rare) the 3 areas are, The main watercraft area this would be the MK area for a total of 6 cards, the next is DTD area + a couple of resorts that uses the Water Taxi (4 cards) the last is the new card the Friendship Boats these are the boats that are used at Epcot and the Boardwalk area also HS (1 card), Basically I ask anyone wearing the white boat outfit, especially before the entrance of MK you see a bunch of them walking around

I did the transportation cards that one trip, but just couldn't get into it. But, we rode a boat almost solo family on the Poly MK route, and we talked with the Captain while they waited. He gave my two dds a pirate doo rag each and a pink bracelet. So, they were honorary pirates I suppose. Like you said, those extra episodes of magic make the trips even more special.

 

[Disney Commando]

I did the transportation cards that one trip, but just couldn't get into it. But, we rode a boat almost solo family on the Poly MK route, and we talked with the Captain while they waited. He gave my two dds a pirate doo rag each and a pink bracelet. So, they were honorary pirates I suppose. Like you said, those extra episodes of magic make the trips even more special.

Seems like it's always those little unexpected Magical Moments you remember the most

 

[spiritsim]

Never heard of transportation cards but now I know to ask thanks for the tip...

My daughter and grands were just here for 6 days we went to Michigan for a day at the indoor water park in Dundee and the Ren faire in Holly the next day.We had a great time. Then back home for a big bbq with friends and neighbors. Whew they are back in NC and the house is quiet again but it was loads of fun.

 

[Disney Commando]

Day 2 started off great we meet up with our friends for EMH at the gate my friends had a problem with the wristband and it had to be rebooted (this was just the start of problems they encountered during the trip), Once we got in everyone left the agenda up to me So this is what we did, we headed to the safari and walked right on, and as I promised the animals were all out and about, did the trail got our Wilderness Explorer book started collecting badges and were on the 1st train to Rafiki's planet watch, collected all the badges there meet Rafiki, did the petting zoo got on the train and headed back, then headed to Asia, did the Thailand & India table then hit the trail in Asia and collected all the badges along the way, then got a FP to EE and headed to Nemo and walked right in , after the show we did Dino 2x, then it was time to use EE FP, we were going to catch FOLK's 1:30 show but heading there it poured we got soakedThis was the only time that no one listened to what I had to say, when it started raining I got us under shelter knowing it only rains about 30mins, well everyone wanted to continue to FOLK, I knew this was a bad ideal since there is no shelter on the path to Camp Mickey, needless to say once we got there and had to wait outside till the doors opened everyone agreed we would freeze once we got inside, so we left and headed toward Flame Tree for lunch within a few minutes the rain stopped and we looked like we just jumped in a pool So we had lunch and headed back to our resorts to get changed, For 2pm I was pleased with what we got done

Our friends were going to MK that night since they had a CRT ADR, and we were going to HS for EMH so we parted at the buses

We got to the resort changed and hung out for about 2 hrs before we headed to HS, At HS we hit Star Tours 1st, then Muppets (last day before they closed for refurb), did the Cars M&G then did Great Movie Ride during the ride everyone sung Happy Birthday to Hunter then stood on a 50min line for TSM, after that we did Rock n Roll Roller coaster then TOT during the start of EMH, then did Star Tours and TSM again and called it a night

 

[zianha]

Hi Commandos!!! Oh my gosh, I hadn't been on Disboards in months!! I've had some new ventures going on, but I had an awesome trip in March! I changed up my plans a bit on this trip and everything worked out great! I didn't try to get any Transportation cards though. But I'll have to get on top of that next trip! I'm for sure going in March 2014 again, and if things work out, I will go this December (but I'm not holding my breathe).

I haven't read too far back here....has anyone been selected to try the magicbands?? I'm still not sure about these things...

 

[MaMudduck]

Rule # 3 in the Mamudduck Commando Handbook- "Listen to what I (the commander ) say to do in all questionable situations"
Quote- "This was the only time that no one listened to what I had to say, when it started raining I got us under shelter knowing it only rains about 30mins, well everyone wanted to continue to FOLK, I knew this was a bad ideal"

Glad to know the rule holds true and works for all other commandos

We have specialize Disney skills that we have earned by trial-by-fire.

Can you give me more info( or point me in the right direction) for the Wilderness Explorer badges, I get the concept but how long does it take and will it be ok enough for 3,5,6 yrs olds to do in a day at AK?

 

[MaMudduck]

Hi Commandos!!! Oh my gosh, I hadn't been on Disboards in months!! I've had some new ventures going on, but I had an awesome trip in March! I changed up my plans a bit on this trip and everything worked out great! I didn't try to get any Transportation cards though. But I'll have to get on top of that next trip! I'm for sure going in March 2014 again, and if things work out, I will go this December (but I'm not holding my breathe).

I haven't read too far back here....has anyone been selected to try the magicbands?? I'm still not sure about these things...

- Just read your blog & watched your Recognizing a Disney Addicted, very cool!
I work at a bank and whenever a customer tells a coworker of mine that they are going to WDW the first thing my coworkers say is "You gotta talk to Wendy she'll tell you EVERYTHING you need to see & do there!"
I only extra comment I would have added to the video "Please send your cheques, visa or cash donations to Feed-this-Disney-addict-now fund"

 

[zianha]

- Just read your blog & watched your Recognizing a Disney Addicted, very cool!
I work at a bank and whenever a customer tells a coworker of mine that they are going to WDW the first thing my coworkers say is "You gotta talk to Wendy she'll tell you EVERYTHING you need to see & do there!"
I only extra comment I would have added to the video "Please send your cheques, visa or cash donations to Feed-this-Disney-addict-now fund"

Hahaha! Don't give me any ideas!!! Hee hee Thanks for watching!

 

[Disney Commando]

Hi Commandos!!! Oh my gosh, I hadn't been on Disboards in months!! I've had some new ventures going on, but I had an awesome trip in March! I changed up my plans a bit on this trip and everything worked out great! I didn't try to get any Transportation cards though. But I'll have to get on top of that next trip! I'm for sure going in March 2014 again, and if things work out, I will go this December (but I'm not holding my breathe).

I haven't read too far back here....has anyone been selected to try the magicbands?? I'm still not sure about these things...

I checked out your Youtube videos, Nicely Done, I was thinking of the 50 things and I can probably come up with at least 50 more

As far as the magic bands we did not have them but our friends did, seems like they had some kind of trouble with at least one of them everyday, it kind of tied things up entering the parks, the gates were loaded with CM's with laptops that were there to reboot them

 

[zianha]

I checked out your Youtube videos, Nicely Done, I was thinking of the 50 things and I can probably come up with at least 50 more

As far as the magic bands we did not have them but our friends did, seems like they had some kind of trouble with at least one of them everyday, it kind of tied things up entering the parks, the gates were loaded with CM's with laptops that were there to reboot them

Haha! Thanks! So I only found out today about A Pirate’s Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas treasure hunt. Have you done or seen it??

 

[Disney Commando]

Haha! Thanks! So I only found out today about A Pirates Adventure: Treasures of the Seven Seas treasure hunt. Have you done or seen it??

This is going to be a Yes & No answer, we signed up twice got 2 different maps (think there are 5 total), but never played the game, my son was too into the Sorcerer's game and wanted to keep playing, although we saw where all the stops were they had a pirate chest and a lantern, maybe next time he will want to play, the headquarters is between the rest rooms next to POTC and the French Fry stand over on the side of Peco's Bills

 

[Disney Commando]

Rule # 3 in the Mamudduck Commando Handbook- "Listen to what I (the commander ) say to do in all questionable situations"
Quote- "This was the only time that no one listened to what I had to say, when it started raining I got us under shelter knowing it only rains about 30mins, well everyone wanted to continue to FOLK, I knew this was a bad ideal"

Glad to know the rule holds true and works for all other commandos

We have specialize Disney skills that we have earned by trial-by-fire.

Can you give me more info( or point me in the right direction) for the Wilderness Explorer badges, I get the concept but how long does it take and will it be ok enough for 3,5,6 yrs olds to do in a day at AK?

The true starting point is on the bridge next to the Tusker House next to the little gazebo, although every station has the books so you can really start anywhere, We completed the book within 2 half days, both days we were done around 1pm, so a full day should be enough time, each station has a task (it only take a couple minutes) then they give you the badge, which is a designated sticker they put in the book, there are 31 badges and at some places you get more then one, our last badge was in the middle of the book, when we got it my son said to the CM we are done with the book The CM looked through the whole book to make s=ure we got them all, then said this was the 1st time he got to do this since his station was in the middle of the book, he asked my son's name, and then said Congratulation's Hunter you are now officially a Wilderness Explorer shook his hand and said Welcome to the troop, we then had Russell sign the book and told him that he completed it and was now a Wilderness Explorer, Russell shook his hand and patted him on the back

 

[MaMudduck]

The CM looked through the whole book to make s=ure we got them all, then said this was the 1st time he got to do this since his station was in the middle of the book, he asked my son's name, and then said Congratulation's Hunter you are now officially a Wilderness Explorer shook his hand and said Welcome to the troop, we then had Russell sign the book and told him that he completed it and was now a Wilderness Explorer, Russell shook his hand and patted him on the back

This got me thinking maybe we commandos should have our own books with speciality badges etc.?

P.S My annual passes arrived today!!!!!!