"We Want to Be as Cool as VelociGranny" and "I Now Have a Fear of Housekeeping"

[angryduck71]

You two are having such a blast!!!!

Glad you got to ride VC! And I aspire to be a Velocigranny someday, lol!

My DD was the same with rides, loved them all at an early age....cried when she wasn't yet tall enough to ride Rock n Roller Coaster!

We did have a blast! Even with the couple of weird things that happened (all at Disney!). I will never be VelociGranny dang it!!! LOL

 

[schumigirl]

Day 3

Thursday, June 3.

I asked Davy whether he wanted to sleep in or go early again to get to Hagrid's (or, go to early entry on the Universal side). Davy said he'd like to do Hagrid's again. We had to drop our luggage off at the lobby as today we were moving to the Disney side later in the afternoon.

We got to the parks about the same time but this time were a little farther back. As we were sitting there, there was a family behind us who knew nothing about the parks. I heard, “Why isn’t this park doing early entry? Where do we go first? How do you get there?” I helped this poor family and they seemed grateful. Meanwhile, Davy was just chillin':

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Right before gates opened, I told Davy to take our backpack and hustle to the lockers for Hagrid's as he has longer legs and moves much faster. I'd meet him in front of the ride. He was shocked when I was there. "Mom, you're faster than I thought!" LOL. We had a bit of a wait today, but not much. One mom was cutting through the line saying, "my son is up there." I MAY have said something like, "my son is better. He waits for me." Davy then said, "well, you actually move too!" LOL. We can be evil when we want to be....I did see a lot of that -- one person gets in line and the other catches up. I mean, if it's a long line and someone went to the bathroom, sure... but, this was something else. Anyway, I felt a little motion sick this time on the ride. But, it was still fun. I felt kind of like I was motion sick all day but not too bad. I think I was just hungry.

When we got off, Velocicoaster was open! With a small wait (30 minutes). We decided to do single rider to make it even shorter.

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"Look out kid behind you!"

I sat by a dad who was with his two boys. The two boys were arguing and didn't want to sit with each other but Dad convinced them to and he sat by me. He had been on the ride before and warned me it gets REALLY FAST in the middle. Boy, howdie, did it! I took off my glasses for this ride. I THINK you see velociraptors at some point on the ride itself, but between the speed, my lack of sight, and trying to keep my stomach in my body, I didn't see them. Davy THINKS he did but even he isn't sure.

Davy, meanwhile, sat by a grandma who had been on the ride multiple times. She LOVED it. Davy got off and it even got to him. He said, "yet, that granny was LOVING IT! Why aren't we like her? She's VELOCIGRANNY!" Thus, we deemed this nice lady VelociGranny. I'm really hoping she happens to read this. We referred to her throughout the trip and her awesomeness. <3

Next up, Davy wanted to stop in Honeydukes for some candy to eat on Hogwarts Express. I am never one to say no to chocolate! We grabbed some stuff and then took the train over to Universal and Davy commented that it was better going the other way. We decided to make it a point to go back the other way too.

We rode Mummy. Love it! Then, Davy wanted to do Fallon again with me (why does he love this so much?). I was still feeling a little motion sick so I kept my eyes closed the whole time (didn't help). Then, he wanted to do Rip Rockit Ride. Man... I was NOT feeling it, but he begged. We both played "I Will Survive" (Carole!). It wasn't so bad on my motion sickness.

Then we headed to Gringotts.... and we were passing the Fast and the Furious ride talking about how everyone says it's horrible and we've never ridden it... so, we decided we had to try it once. We joked how it was so atmospheric ... better than Harry Potter area and Galaxy's Edge (NOT!). We actually had a lot of fun making fun of it. I will say, there are two little areas where some live folks tell jokes with the "stars" on screen. That was pretty funny honestly. But, the ride itself -- STINKO. But, we had so much fun at how awful it was, it kind of was a highlight of our trip that we still talk about. So, glad we tried it! And... we'll likely never do it again but will mention our one try every time we pass by it.

Went on Gringott's again. Yay! Around this time, a mom with a kid who looked about 8 asked if the ride was scary... I said not really... but I'm used to my fearless kid who wanted to ride the Hulk at age 3 or 4. I asked the kid if he'd seen the movies. He had. I said, "well, Voldemort DOES make an appearance..." He said, "then, nope. Not riding it. I HATE that guy." Davy and I chuckled at that. Again, I'm so lucky as my kid wants to ride everything and always has (except for Tower of Terror -- wasn't afraid of the drop, just the story! That was when he was 4 or 5. It's one of his favorites now!) I'm not sure if I'd be one of those parents who begs their kid to ride something he doesn't want to (he's usually begging me). We had one big instance later of that right behind us....

Anyway, moving on, Davy tried one other time to call Ministry of Magic a couple of years ago, said it didn't work and that was that. Well, today, he tried again.... and then I saw this:

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... and then, heard this, "Help Mom! You're old! How do I use a rotary phone?" BAWAHAHAHAHA. I almost barricaded him in there. Anyway, I taught him how (today's kids!). Now I know why it "didn't work" last time. So, he finally heard the message from the Ministry of Magic. And, he almost got spanked for the first time in his life.

We made it to Platform 9 and 3/4. There he goes!

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We finally got to experience this trip what Davy thinks is the "best ride" on the train.

Davy decided to ride Hulk. I declined. Last time we rode, although it had be refurbished and "smoother," it knocked both of our heads around. Davy said this time it did not. He's also now much taller -- and taller than me now. I'm wondering if that made the difference?

I had reserved lunch at The Kitchen at HRH. We took the boat there. I had eaten there many years ago and loved it. I had their signature hamburger this time and I think it's the best one I have ever eaten. LOVED IT. I can't remember what Davy had but he just thought it was OK. We then walked back to PBR to grab a Lyft to the Animal Kingdom Villas....where I was destined to go head to head with grumpy grandpa.

I'm not sure whether to just include the Disney side here, or post a link here and do the report on the Disney side... I'll try to figure that out today... or tomorrow...

And.....loving Gloria Gaynor being chosen!!!

I`m so glad you enjoyed the VC!! And yes, Velocigranny sounds fabulous. Everything I`ve heard about that ride makes me want to go on more each time......and yes, why does Davy love Fallon ride so much??? tut tut......it`s up there with F&F on the dreadful scale!

You did do a lot today, and so much fun! Glad you could help the lady early doors, it amazes me how little some folks know before they go somewhere for the first time.....I like to research everything....but so many don`t, and it shows.

Can`t believe your Universal time is up already...it went past too fast for sure.....

 

[AuroraluvsPhillip]

Haha, that's great. I'll bet everyone reading this will be on the lookout for their own version of "Velocigranny" at the parks.

 

[angryduck71]

You did do a lot today, and so much fun! Glad you could help the lady early doors, it amazes me how little some folks know before they go somewhere for the first time.....I like to research everything....but so many don`t, and it shows.

You sound just like me! I'm always amazed at this... anywhere I go, I'm checking out EVERYTHING!

 

[angryduck71]

Haha, that's great. I'll bet everyone reading this will be on the lookout for their own version of "Velocigranny" at the parks.

Truth! I wish I had actually seen her/talked to her! My son was lucky!

 

[angryduck71]

Day 3 Continued -- Disney portion

I've decided to write about the Disney portion here and maybe copy it over to the "other side."

We caught a Lyft from PBR to AKV, our next stop for the night. I think I mentioned this in the pre-trip report... but, I went online to see how much a one-night room might cost at the Animal Kingdom Resort with a savannah view. I saw what was an EXTREMELY reasonable price for a villa and tried to book it. It showed in my cart, but wouldn't let me check out. I called. They could see I had it in my cart... there was some sort of glitch. The thing I THINK I got was this was supposed to be a DVC discount that I did not qualify for but they sprinkled some pixie dust and I got the price. I also had enough rewards points on my Disney card to pay for the room. So, basically, I got it for free. I have been wanting to stay here since it was built but just never could find a reasonable price (plus, with its isolated location, it didn't seem feasible for most trips).

Anyway, as we were in the Lyft, I could not remember if I had packed my meds. Nothing I couldn't absolutely live without for a time, but it concerned me. When we got to AKV, before the bell service took my luggage, I looked in the bag I thought they were in, but couldn't find them. No worries. I told him just bring the luggage up and I'll check then. He said ok and he'd be right behind me.

We get to the room - much smaller from what we came from, but nice theme and the view was INCREDIBLE. We had planned on just watching the animals this afternoon/evening and taking it easy. We were near a feeding spot too and just saw tons of animals.











After a couple of hours of watching animals, I started getting concerned that I still didn't have my luggage. Well, there had been a misunderstanding and they were waiting for me to call to bring it up. I said they said they were right behind me and bringing it up when we checked in. In any event, they came up very quickly, were completely apologetic (I'm sure it was just a miscommunication), and I gave a nice tip which the bell lady seemed incredibly grateful for after the mix-up. I told her it wasn't her fault (she wasn't the one who said the luggage would be right up when we arrived). And, she had really hurried to get it to us. Mix-ups happen, I know they're stressed, and it was no big deal. (I just wish this was the worst issue that happened with our luggage....) Anyway, I DID remember to pack my meds. Yay!!!!

Eventually, we got hungry. We got Sanaa to go. I honestly can't remember how this worked. I think it was similar to mobile order and was easy. In any event, I had some time to kill and looked in the really small gift shop they had to grab some drinks for us for dinner. The shop was EXTREMELY small but there was hardly anyone in there. Because there were no masks at Universal (and we're vaccinated), it was a little difficult to get used to masks again (and I was very pro-mask... I saw no social distancing). I saw they had a Villains clue game. Davy has really been into Disney villains lately so I texted him a picture. This boy hardly ever asks for ANY material thing. He said he'd like to spend some of his money on this. I said he and/or I could come down after dinner to get it so we could play a round.

So, grabbed our dinner. I was REALLY excited to try Sanaa even if the menu was more limited than usual (at least, I think it was....). I thought it was ok. Davy liked his. Overall, I was a little disappointed as I had really built up the food in my head.

Davy wanted to shower or something so I said I'd run down to the gift shop because I kind of wanted to go and I knew Davy hates going into shops when I (usually) love to. At this point, the shop was limiting how many could be in this small space and there was a line. I had nothing else really planned, so I waited. I chatted with the employee handling the line and she was really nice. The game was up front near the registers. There was a refrigerated section right in front of me. No one was standing in front of it (this is important). She let me in, I grabbed the game that was right there, and headed to the cashier. I stood where everyone had stood when I was in there previously. About three feet back from the customer at the cashier. The cashier asked for the next customer. I smiled and started to go up... and this old guy ("grumpy grandpa") says, "I am actually next as I stood where you were SUPPOSED to stand." There was a marker on the ground I had not noticed that was about 10 feet away from the cashier. It was in front of the refrigerated section where no one had been when I got in what I thought was in line. Now, I knew there had been markers at Disney, but really didn't notice this one so far from the cash register. And, if you knew the configuration of this store, folks from the other side of the store had no such sticker on the floor. I hadn't been used to socially distancing since I came from Universal and really, hadn't seen any in the hotel before this. I would have happily stood where I was supposed to but totally missed it.

So, this guy had not been in line before me, but was standing in the "correct place." Did he say to me earlier while I was waiting, "ma'am, you're actually supposed to stand back here"? Nope. I was kind of miffed. He then said he should go first since he stood where he was supposed to. I was tired and probably abnormally emotional.... so, I MAY have blurted out, "by all means... you are an old white man and therefore your time is MUCH more important than mine. Please, go first." He looked at me like I was insane. (He looked like Malcom McDowell -- now, not when he was in Clockwork Orange.) So, he did go in front of me. He asked the cashier loudly, I am right, right? The line SHOULD have been back there. The cashier said, "it does say that but...." and left it hanging. I knew he meant, "but, she really was in line first." I realized the poor cashier didn't need this stress and certainly didn't need to mitigate between me and the old guy, so I quietly put the game back and left. I came back to the room and said, "well, Davy... I may have gotten into a bit of a fight..." Davy laughed and said, "what did your mouth do now?" LOL. He knows me. I told him the guy was totally rude, but I should not have spouted off and certainly should not have caused stress to the cashier (not sure I did -- he seemed more amused by what I said). I really was in no hurry, but this guy seemed so privileged and mean with the "gotcha, you're doing it wrong!" I could not stand it in my current state of mind. Anyway, I walked away. I told Davy I was sure the game would be at Boardwalk Villas too (it was) and I would get it for him there (I did).

Davy HATES sleeping in pull-out beds. We had had two very comfortable full beds at PBR. This room had a full bed and a pull-out. I didn't mind giving him the bed for the first time when we've stayed at a place that had a pull-out. I was miserable. No wonder Davy hates them! SO uncomfortable. Reminded me of the Seinfeld episodes where George's parents pull-out in Florida caused everyone who slept on it to have their back go out. My back was indeed killing me in the morning.

We went to bed early as we were getting up early to head to Animal Kingdom for its 8 am open.

Tomorrow... a bit of pixie dust after the hellish effort to get our tickets upgraded to park hopper....

 

[schumigirl]

Day 3 Continued -- Disney portion

I've decided to write about the Disney portion here and maybe copy it over to the "other side."

We caught a Lyft from PBR to AKV, our next stop for the night. I think I mentioned this in the pre-trip report... but, I went online to see how much a one-night room might cost at the Animal Kingdom Resort with a savannah view. I saw what was an EXTREMELY reasonable price for a villa and tried to book it. It showed in my cart, but wouldn't let me check out. I called. They could see I had it in my cart... there was some sort of glitch. The thing I THINK I got was this was supposed to be a DVC discount that I did not qualify for but they sprinkled some pixie dust and I got the price. I also had enough rewards points on my Disney card to pay for the room. So, basically, I got it for free. I have been wanting to stay here since it was built but just never could find a reasonable price (plus, with its isolated location, it didn't seem feasible for most trips).

Anyway, as we were in the Lyft, I could not remember if I had packed my meds. Nothing I couldn't absolutely live without for a time, but it concerned me. When we got to AKV, before the bell service took my luggage, I looked in the bag I thought they were in, but couldn't find them. No worries. I told him just bring the luggage up and I'll check then. He said ok and he'd be right behind me.

We get to the room - much smaller from what we came from, but nice theme and the view was INCREDIBLE. We had planned on just watching the animals this afternoon/evening and taking it easy. We were near a feeding spot too and just saw tons of animals.

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After a couple of hours of watching animals, I started getting concerned that I still didn't have my luggage. Well, there had been a misunderstanding and they were waiting for me to call to bring it up. I said they said they were right behind me and bringing it up when we checked in. In any event, they came up very quickly, were completely apologetic (I'm sure it was just a miscommunication), and I gave a nice tip which the bell lady seemed incredibly grateful for after the mix-up. I told her it wasn't her fault (she wasn't the one who said the luggage would be right up when we arrived). And, she had really hurried to get it to us. Mix-ups happen, I know they're stressed, and it was no big deal. (I just wish this was the worst issue that happened with our luggage....) Anyway, I DID remember to pack my meds. Yay!!!!

Eventually, we got hungry. We got Sanaa to go. I honestly can't remember how this worked. I think it was similar to mobile order and was easy. In any event, I had some time to kill and looked in the really small gift shop they had to grab some drinks for us for dinner. The shop was EXTREMELY small but there was hardly anyone in there. Because there were no masks at Universal (and we're vaccinated), it was a little difficult to get used to masks again (and I was very pro-mask... I saw no social distancing). I saw they had a Villains clue game. Davy has really been into Disney villains lately so I texted him a picture. This boy hardly ever asks for ANY material thing. He said he'd like to spend some of his money on this. I said he and/or I could come down after dinner to get it so we could play a round.

So, grabbed our dinner. I was REALLY excited to try Sanaa even if the menu was more limited than usual (at least, I think it was....). I thought it was ok. Davy liked his. Overall, I was a little disappointed as I had really built up the food in my head.

Davy wanted to shower or something so I said I'd run down to the gift shop because I kind of wanted to go and I knew Davy hates going into shops when I (usually) love to. At this point, the shop was limiting how many could be in this small space and there was a line. I had nothing else really planned, so I waited. I chatted with the employee handling the line and she was really nice. The game was up front near the registers. There was a refrigerated section right in front of me. No one was standing in front of it (this is important). She let me in, I grabbed the game that was right there, and headed to the cashier. I stood where everyone had stood when I was in there previously. About three feet back from the customer at the cashier. The cashier asked for the next customer. I smiled and started to go up... and this old guy ("grumpy grandpa") says, "I am actually next as I stood where you were SUPPOSED to stand." There was a marker on the ground I had not noticed that was about 10 feet away from the cashier. It was in front of the refrigerated section where no one had been when I got in what I thought was in line. Now, I knew there had been markers at Disney, but really didn't notice this one so far from the cash register. And, if you knew the configuration of this store, folks from the other side of the store had no such sticker on the floor. I hadn't been used to socially distancing since I came from Universal and really, hadn't seen any in the hotel before this. I would have happily stood where I was supposed to but totally missed it.

So, this guy had not been in line before me, but was standing in the "correct place." Did he say to me earlier while I was waiting, "ma'am, you're actually supposed to stand back here"? Nope. I was kind of miffed. He then said he should go first since he stood where he was supposed to. I was tired and probably abnormally emotional.... so, I MAY have blurted out, "by all means... you are an old white man and therefore your time is MUCH more important than mine. Please, go first." He looked at me like I was insane. (He looked like Malcom McDowell -- now, not when he was in Clockwork Orange.) So, he did go in front of me. He asked the cashier loudly, I am right, right? The line SHOULD have been back there. The cashier said, "it does say that but...." and left it hanging. I knew he meant, "but, she really was in line first." I realized the poor cashier didn't need this stress and certainly didn't need to mitigate between me and the old guy, so I quietly put the game back and left. I came back to the room and said, "well, Davy... I may have gotten into a bit of a fight..." Davy laughed and said, "what did your mouth do now?" LOL. He knows me. I told him the guy was totally rude, but I should not have spouted off and certainly should not have caused stress to the cashier (not sure I did -- he seemed more amused by what I said). I really was in no hurry, but this guy seemed so privileged and mean with the "gotcha, you're doing it wrong!" I could not stand it in my current state of mind. Anyway, I walked away. I told Davy I was sure the game would be at Boardwalk Villas too (it was) and I would get it for him there (I did).

Davy HATES sleeping in pull-out beds. We had had two very comfortable full beds at PBR. This room had a full bed and a pull-out. I didn't mind giving him the bed for the first time when we've stayed at a place that had a pull-out. I was miserable. No wonder Davy hates them! SO uncomfortable. Reminded me of the Seinfeld episodes where George's parents pull-out in Florida caused everyone who slept on it to have their back go out. My back was indeed killing me in the morning.

We went to bed early as we were getting up early to head to Animal Kingdom for its 8 am open.

Tomorrow... a bit of pixie dust after the hellish effort to get our tickets upgraded to park hopper....

lol....I`m guilty of saying similar if someone jumps in front of me....and oh yes, oh go ahead, your time is so much more important than mine usually works......or depending on the person it might be more salty......haha.

It`s so rude. So many people are unaware I think, but looking like Malcolm McDowall amused me somewhat......

Never slept on a pull out bed, but, i`m sure Davy was incredibly grateful he didn`t have to sleep on it. And shame you didn`t enjoy the food at Sanaa.....is that where we were supposed to meet you last year?? I forget.......

I think I`m looking forward to reading more, but don`t like to think of you having more stress Alice......vacations are supposed to be relaxing and stress free......look forward to your pixie dust.......

 

[angryduck71]

lol....I`m guilty of saying similar if someone jumps in front of me....and oh yes, oh go ahead, your time is so much more important than mine usually works......or depending on the person it might be more salty......haha.

It`s so rude. So many people are unaware I think, but looking like Malcolm McDowall amused me somewhat......

Never slept on a pull out bed, but, i`m sure Davy was incredibly grateful he didn`t have to sleep on it. And shame you didn`t enjoy the food at Sanaa.....is that where we were supposed to meet you last year?? I forget.......

I think I`m looking forward to reading more, but don`t like to think of you having more stress Alice......vacations are supposed to be relaxing and stress free......look forward to your pixie dust.......

I'm so glad you can be salty like me.

Hmmm... it may have been Sanaa. Davy would have rather gone to Boma -- his favorite -- but it was closed this year.... not sure if it was Boma or Sanaa... Oh! I think it was Sanaa because I don't think Boma has a lunch (just breakfast and dinner). I hear it's a great place... maybe I just chose poorly or something when I picked my meal.

Well, one or two glitches are going to happen in a trip, so stress here and there are expected. The one glitch was just a pain... there is something later that really affected Davy though.... and, I was an idiot at one point. But, I try to tell Davy that the bad things make for good stories later.

Overall, it was an amazing vacation with just a few "oh man!" moments.

 

[disneyseniors]

I'm intrigued, can't wait for more
I'm a grandma, but will never be a veloci granny, LOL. I'm too afraid of that ride

 

[angryduck71]

I'm intrigued, can't wait for more
I'm a grandma, but will never be a veloci granny, LOL. I'm too afraid of that ride

It was INTENSE.

 

[schumigirl]

I'm so glad you can be salty like me.

Hmmm... it may have been Sanaa. Davy would have rather gone to Boma -- his favorite -- but it was closed this year.... not sure if it was Boma or Sanaa... Oh! I think it was Sanaa because I don't think Boma has a lunch (just breakfast and dinner). I hear it's a great place... maybe I just chose poorly or something when I picked my meal.

Well, one or two glitches are going to happen in a trip, so stress here and there are expected. The one glitch was just a pain... there is something later that really affected Davy though.... and, I was an idiot at one point. But, I try to tell Davy that the bad things make for good stories later.

Overall, it was an amazing vacation with just a few "oh man!" moments.

That`s so true.......somethings can make a fabulous story....later....sometimes much later lol......

Look forward to hearing about them........

 

[angryduck71]

Day 4, June 4

I forgot to mention in the last post, my meds WERE in my bags. Whew.

Anyway, we woke up early to get a start at AK. I think we were up at 5:30 or 5:45. We grabbed our bags and took them to the bell desk. No one was there at first but one of the front desk folks helped us out until the bell desk guy got there. We were moving to Boardwalk Villas that afternoon.

We got to the bus stop at 6:40. There were a few other people there but they were all going to MK. We were the first ones there for AK. We got to the park and they opened it 7:15 am. We zipped back to Flight of Passage (WHY are all the best rides far away from the entrances!) We had only ridden this once with fastpasses so we got to see the entire line. Pretty cool but Davy wanted to move on with the line and I got some very blurry pics of the line. LOL. Rode it again... this one does get me a little motion sick but the patch REALLY helps. Beautiful ride.

When we got done... nothing else was open. But, I got this great pic:


I just noticed above it looks like someone is being held up on the right side. Don't THINK anything bad was really happening! We figured Navi River Ride would open soon and it did after about 5 to 10 minutes. We had ridden this one once too but it was a really long line then and not worth that. Davy wanted to skip it this morning too but I insisted.... I think it's really pretty. And, of course, we got stuck on the ride for a bit. Not too long though. We've done the safari many times -- and I love it but could skip it. Davy wasn't feeling it today. So, we decided to zip over to Expedition Everest. Stopped for another pic as no one was around:



Expedition Everest was walk-on. We then went to Dinosaur -- walk-on again. After that, I was ready to hit the trails. Davy wanted to do Everest again... it was a 10 minute wait. I asked if he'd mind doing it alone. He didn't but the line started outside and he asked for help finding it. He was a little testy at this point from lack of sleep -- he also had been running every day a mile or two on top of our walking about 10 miles a day. I could tell he needed a break soon. He agreed. I waited while he rode and then he seemed in a good mood. I thought seeing an old friend would cheer him up:



...and then we ate said friend. That got us raring to go again. I wanted to see a couple of the trails. Davy wasn't TOO excited but knew it was something I really wanted to do. He actually enjoyed himself.






We had tons of fun with these birds:








And then the Gorilla trails (next post)...

 

[J'aime Paris]

These are some really great photos!!
A Mickey bar always works wonders!

 

[klfay80]

How do you follow the trip reports

 

[angryduck71]

Day 4 continued

This thing was beautiful!



Then, GORILLAS!

This is how I felt after I got back from vacation:







I cannot remember when or which trail we were on when we spotted this guy but there was a great roofed/shaded cool area we could sit and watch him. I could tell Davy was winding down. He did not want to leave his spot.



I did not take good notes around this time and after... but, it was about this time I decided to finally try AGAIN to get hoppers added to my park tickets. Let me give you the background... in 2019, I worked for the Army Corps of Engineers as a civilian. We could get discounted military tickets. I usually got them either from Shades of Green or the nearby army installation. I got them from the military installation this time. I was being heavily recruited to go to another federal agency at the time so I knew my time was limited to get discounted tickets and to stay at Shades of Green. So, knowing we were going in May 2020, I bought 4 day one-park tickets. Well, then COVID of course... We wanted to get on Rise of the Resistance a couple of times... and, well, just decided park hoppers were best to do what we wanted to do. So, I called Shades of Green first. Since I didn't buy the tickets there, they couldn't do anything. I then called and was on hold FOREVER with Disney. They couldn't do it over the phone and even if I did, because I had military tickets, I would have to pay the difference in the amount of the ticket AND tax AND the upgrade to park hoppers and it would be EXPENSIVE. I had gift cards and credit card points, so I was ok with expensive (not THAT ok, but ok). So, they said they could do it at my resort. So, I had asked Friday when we got to AKV if they could do it. They could not either. Said it had to be at the parks. So, finally, we're at the parks and we go to a kiosk near Flame Tree BBQ. They said it could only be done at Shades of Green (nope) and that it would cost even more than buying new park hoppers at this point. So, then they told me to go to the customer service at the front entrance and ask for a manager (they used a different term, but that was basically what they meant). I had to wait for 45 minutes for this. Davy was was really tired and cranky by this point. He was sitting in the shade outside but it was still getting hot. FINALLY, I was told by the cast member (before I got to talk to the manager) that they could not do it. But, the manager DID do it and not only that -- they only charged me the difference between a day ticket and a park hopper. I didn't have to pay all the extra charges and still had my "discount." I was THRILLED.

But, Davy was DONE. And hungry. So, we mobile ordered at Flame Tree BBQ. He ended up not liking it (I thought it was ok). I think he just wanted to be at the hotel resting at this point. So, we caught the bus to Boardwalk Villas..... where the worst hotel issues happened on the trip....

We got there and had not gotten a text yet that our room was ready. We sat in the lobby a bit playing on our phones. It is a beautiful lobby. I decided to go check out some of the shops. The gift shop downstairs had the Villains board game. They were so nice there. And, it was a big shop... no stickers on floors... but hardly anyone was in there anyway. I bought some souvenirs for my guy Jason's kids too. They usually go to Universal/Disney in California where their aunt lives. One day I really need to bring the whole crew.

I still didn't have a text that our room was ready so I finally went to the front desk just to see if we could get into a room. They said yes! I was thinking this was going to be wonderful (little did I know...). We walked FOREVER to our room but it turned out to be about the closest room you could get to DHS, so that part worked out great for me. I called to check on our luggage. Nope, wasn't there from AKV yet. Ok.... It was around 2 pm I think. They said it should be there before 3.

So, Davy and I played a couple of games of Villains clue. We each won once. Then we goofed off until a little until after 3 and called again... not there yet. Sigh. I think we rested for an hour or so. I took a nap. Davy played on his phone. Finally, we were getting hungry for dinner. I called AGAIN about the luggage. No dice.

It was sprinkling a little but we decided to go to DHS. We decided to go to Docking Bay 7 and mobile order in Galaxy's Edge. Davy hated it. Hated we had to sit on barrell and did not like the food. I thought the atmosphere was cool. The food was OK.

We decided to do one of Davy's favorites -- Tower of Terror. The pre-show was shut down but that was ok. We didn't really have a wait as it had been sprinkling I think. Anyway, we rode twice in a row and Davy was happy as a clam. But, still a tad tired.

I had snagged a last-minute reservation at Savi's. Davy had built a lightsaber here a couple of years ago and wanted me to build one. I'm a Star Wars NUT. I want to make a lightsaber display at the house so my boyfriend bought some holders and will be making this for me for my birthday. I was torn between building a lightsaber for this or getting a legacy saber of one of the characters. When I ended up getting a reservation, I figured a built one it was.

We had some time before our reservation and Davy just wanted to sit. We went to Galaxy's Edge and he plopped down. I went shopping. I have a good buddy, Bill, who has a Star Wars museum at his house. He wanted to facetime me and have me pick up some things for him. I couldn't get a facetime connection, so we just talked as I looked around about what was there and we settled on what he wanted and what I wanted. The "shop owner" cast member said she was impressed how I knew "all of the creatures' names." What? I'm an almost-50-year-old woman who plays with Star Wars toys. What's unusual about that? I picked up a couple of things that day for me:




Then, on to building my lightsaber.


And I of course had to strike a pose:




Davy was pretty much tired all day but my back started kind of hurting on the walk back. Davy offered to carry my bag of goodies since I also had the lightsaber. He's a sweetie when he wants to be!

Walking path back to Boardwalk:




At some point right after this, it REALLY started raining. We were drenched. Which we wouldn't have minded.. if we had had dry clothes to change into!!! I called for a 4th time about our luggage. It was now around 8 pm I think. Maybe later. It had FINALLY arrived, which was great BUT, the guy said to me, "Oh, you're the one who kept calling about the luggage from Animal Kingdom. Yeah, I talked to your husband about what the issue was...." !!!!! I said, "um, I don't have a husband." He said, "then the guy you are with." I said, "the only 'guy' I'm with is my 14 year old son and he didn't talk to anyone." Davy was looking at me like, "what????" He said, "well, we'll bring it right up." "Right up" ended up being like 45 minutes later. We were NOT HAPPY. It was nearing 15 hours since we had dropped it off at the bell stand in Animal Kingdom. You know, I never did find out "what the issue was" that he talked to my "husband" about. LOL. We were never so happy to see our luggage! We changed for bed and zonked out as we wanted to get up to get a Rise of the Resistance boarding group and rope drop HS.

Tomorrow... our only day WITHOUT a Boardwalk hotel issue... and, where were those indoor fireworks?!??!?

 

[angryduck71]

These are some really great photos!!
A Mickey bar always works wonders!

Thanks! And, truth! about the Mickey bars.

 

[angryduck71]

How do you follow the trip reports

YOu can hit "watch" on the top of the thread.

 

[klfay80]

YOu can hit "watch" on the top of the thread.

thank you so much

 

[J'aime Paris]

That really stinks about the luggage.
Pretty much beyond acceptable....I hope they made up for it....

 

[angryduck71]

That really stinks about the luggage.
Pretty much beyond acceptable....I hope they made up for it....

Nope… and something much worse happens later….