Mr. Toad's Wild (or not so wild) Trip Report

OK, here we are live from WDW. Got the laptop and the dial-up is working so here we go.

Day 1 (June 3)
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Our first ride involved going 480 MPH and zooming up to 39,000 feet and then coming back down. As exciting as it sounds, the plane ride was uneventful except for some "interesting" turbulence we hit.

My wife and I got into Orlando Airport at 6:45PM. My parents picked us up and we went and checked into the Courtyard by Marriot over by DTD for our first night. After getting the luggage to the room, we walked to DTD in search of some food. Ate at the Fulton Crab House. The meal was very good. After dinner we walked around a bit and then stopped at Ghiradellis for some dessert. A little more window shopping and then we walked back to the hotel and called it a night.
 

Mr. Toad

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 8 (June 10)
===========
With nothing really planned for today we decided to sleep in a bit so we didn't get up until 8:00 AM. We got ready to face the day and headed to the Boardwalk for some breakfast at the bakery. Since my wife has gotten into autographs this trip I suggested we head to MGM so we could go to the Lilo & Stitch Meet & Greet. With that decided we walked to the Dolphin (just missed the boat at the Boardwalk) and caught up with the MGM boat.

We entered the park and ran into the Green Army Men from Toy Story. A quick picture and autograph and we were on our way. With some time to spare we headed for The Great Movie Ride. There was a 45 minute wait so we decided not to do it so my wife and I checked out the shops on our way to the meet and greet.

We were the second people in line as we waited. First thing that we decided needed to be done better was that the very end of the queue for the Animation Tour was part of the queue for the meet and greet. This caused a bit of confusion until a Cast Member came out and started sorting out the lines. When 11:15 rolled around out came Lilo...umm, where's Stitch? "Stitch took his Star Cruiser for a spin and will be out later" we were told. Now I knew this to be a lie since:

1) If I remember correctly Stitch no longer has a working Star Cruiser (I guess he could have built one).

2) Stitch should be exiled to Earth therefore why is he out in a Star Cruiser anyway?

I didn't want to make a scene so I kept these observations to myself.

Second thing that needed to be done better - at a Lilo & Stitch Meet & Greet make sure both characters are there (or at least let us know that we might only get one of them). Needless to say there where a lot of upset people (us included). I felt bad for Lilo since it seemed no one really wanted to meet her :(. I did want to meet Lilo but I also wanted to see Stitch. I got the autograph for my wife and she took my picture with Lilo (I usually get my picture with the girls and she gets everyone else - I'm getting to meet a lot of Princesses this way :D) and we asked when Stitch would arrive and we were told in about a half hour. We went to the exit side of the queue and decided to wait for Stitch. The line kept growing and when people got close enough they kept asking "Hey, where's Stitch?" We filled them in on the half hour info and told the cover up story that the cast member had told us with a straight face. After about 20 minutes we went to the back of the line hoping the timing would be right. As we got within viewing distance of the characters again out came Stitch. A cheer went up from the crowd. Again, I couldn't help but feel bad for Lilo (especially after all she's been through). Now I don't have a problem with people and kids interacting with the characters but some of the people were taking a lot of time with the characters. I think Lilo was actually getting a little impatient since she saw the problem that was brewing. As we were nearing the front of the line the announcement was made "5 more minutes until Lilo & Stitch go on a break". Now people were getting nervous as most of us that had been there from the start and got to see just Lilo were in line to see Stitch now. And still some of the people were taking there time with:

1) Cast Member takes family picture
2) Dad takes kids picture
3) Mom wants dad with characters
4) Wait can we get one more of just Mom with the characters?
5) OK, let's go...kids want to hug Lilo and Stitch again.

AHHHHH! Please get a move on it. The cast members did their best trying to move people along but some of them were very persistent (more on this later). Finally, we got to the front of the line, got Stitch's autograph (told Lilo we already had hers to speed things along) and let the Disney photographer snap a shot for us to buy later. We decided not to use our camera for any of the shots just to keep the line moving.

With that over we weren't sure what to do so I suggested The Muppet Movie. We left the Animation Courtyard and walked into another meet and greet. We went into autograph targetting mode:

1) Pinocchio - got him already, next.
2) Eeyore - got him already, next.
3) Timon - autograph needed! Target locked!

After Timon we also got Hercules, Alice in Wonderland, and Cinderalla. We got on line for the Evil Queen from Snow White (who was also with Cruella). They said 5 more minutes and we knew it would be close. As time ran out we knew we would not make the cut but no big deal. Then the Cast Member (who was handling both the Evil Queen/Cruella line and the Cinderella line) came over and noticed that two families were standing side by side. She asked who was next. After they agreed that the family on the left was next she told them they would be the last group before the characters went in and that everyone else could come back in about 30 minutes to see them out again. At this point we got out of line. The family went up and the CM went over and finished up with Cinderella when she got back the next family was over with the Evil Queen and Cruella (who looked a bit perplexed but acted as Disney characters always do with guests) and the family after that was pushing to get in too (this was the family that had been behind us). The CM was not pleased. She politely but sternly told everyone that the characters were leaving NOW and that they would have to come back but the people kept trying to get their pictures. She finally got through the crowd and took the characters away. I thought they were going to have to call in the Green Army Men to handle the situation :). Once again I was amazed at how the CM's can deal with the crowds and not kill someone or even insult them.

We headed over to the Muppet Movie but by this time we were hot and tired and decided to just go back to the hotel. As a side note, Pal Mickey started telling us new Muppet based jokes while we were in this area of the park. We took a turn by the Sci-Fi Dine-In and I noticed that there was going to be a Monsters Inc. Meet and Greet. I knew we wanted to go back but I pointed it out to my wife and she wanted to stay. We only had a 15 minute wait until it started and we would be second in line.

As we waited the line got longer and longer. Then they let us into the official queue and we waited for the Monsters Inc. door to open. We all assumed it would be Mike and Sulley but when the door opened there was Mike all alone. No big deal as Mike would do just fine for me. As the first family moved to go into the loading bay area where the pictures are taken Sulley jumped out from the side for a good "scare" everyone laughed and was really happy to see both of them. The CM informed us that he would be happy to take family pictures with our cameras but that Mike and Sulley would not be signing autographs since they hate to do paper work. While an autograph would have been nice I must say that the meet and greet went a lot faster than the other ones. The CM took a good picture with our camera so we opted not to buy the one the Disney photographer took. A little more shopping and we were off to the room. We got back and rested a little and then we headed out to dinner (which was good since I was starving due to a lack of lunch). We ate at O'Hana for the first time ever and my parents, my wife, and myself would like to personally thank everyone on this message board that has recommended this restaurant since that is what made me strongly suggest we eat there this trip. This was one of the most enjoyable meals we have had this trip and it was quite a good value for the money. My wife and father both got the snowball but I am not a big fan of coconut so I went with the Hawaiin shaved iced. I found the ice to be delicious and a lot more than I could eat (even with my wife's help). I didn't realize how big the bucket was until we got half way through it and I realized I would burst if I ate anymore.

We took the motor launch over to MK and got some quick autographs from Suzy, Perla, Tweedle Dee, and Tweedle Dum. When asked what should we do now I gave my stock answer (The Haunted Mansion) so we headed to Liberty Square and walked right on (Pal Mickey is still a bit scared of ghosts). With just a little time left until closing we headed to BTMRR which had about a 10 minute wait. We got off and realized we only had 3 minutes until park closing so we only had one option - get back on BTMRR. We walked right on it again and when we got off the park's official hours were over and E-Ride Night had started so we couldn't get on to anything else. We took the motor launch back to the Poly, got some sodas in Captain Cook's, and headed back to the hotel (we had the car with us tonight).

Tomorrow - MK in the morning and an afternoon massage.
 

Tramp

New Member
Good report Toady! It's hard to believe how much you do when you go to the parks until you write it down.:sohappy:

Thanks for sharing your experience.:)
 

Mr. Toad

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 9 (June 11)
===========
Changed our plans at the last minute and decided to go to MGM instead of MK. Got to MGM for the park opening and headed straight to The Great Movie Ride. We got on the first ride of the day and there were some technical difficulties but once we got under way everything went well. After the ride we stopped by for a showing of Muppet 3D. After seeing the show we wandered by Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and walked right in to the 10:30 show. I had never been to the show before and found it really fun. Nobody did that well in the hot seat but it would have been nice to win the 1,000,000 points and get a free Disney Cruise. It didn't matter as I didn't even get into the top ten list :(.

After the show we were hungry so we went to the Sci-Fi Dine In and got some burgers and shakes. We walked around a bit after lunch and then headed back to the room. We rested for about 45 minutes and then my wife and I headed over to the Y&BC Spa for our massages. We went for the 25 minute massages with aromatherapy. Neither one of us had ever gone for a massage before so we didn't know what to expect. The massage was very relaxing and after about 5 minutes I was wishing we had decided on the 50 minute massage. All too soon the massage was over and I was very relaxed. My wife liked it just as much as I did.

We headed back to the room and rested for awhile. Finally, it was dinner time. My wife decided to stay in the room and relax so my parents and I drove to the Poly for dinner at the Kona Cafe. The meal was very good (I had the tuna) and we got quite a show watching the daily storm roll in. By the time dinner was over the storm was gone so we rode the monorail to the Grand Floridian and walked around. Next it was the monorail to the Contemporary for some more walking around. Finally, we took the monorail back to the Polynesian, got the car, and headed back to BCV. On the way we decided to play mini-golf so we stopped at Fantasia Gardens. I started great with a hole in 1 and went quickly down hill. I struggled to stay in the game and in the end my dad won with a score of 50 and my mom and I tied at 55. With par being 53 I guess we didn't do too bad.

After the game we headed back to BCV to call it a night.


Tomorrow - MK and EPCOT (and our last day and hopefully a M:S preview).
 

Mr. Toad

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 10 (June 12)
=============
Got up early and headed to MK. Headed over to Buzz Lightyear for some Fast Passes and then rode the ride since the line was short. The Fast Passes were already for 10:25 but the ride was a walk on. After Buzz (don't even ask how I did, it was one of my worst ever) my dad and I went to Space Mountain while my mom and my wife went to the Astro Orbiter. I like Space Mountain but it really is a pretty tame ride. Still, it is a lot of fun. After our respective rides we met up and went to Fantasyland. Peter Pan had a short line so we headed off to Neverland. While in the queue we decided that we were not going to go back to Buzz for our Fast Passes so we gave them to the family behind us. Next we headed across the way to "it's a small world" (this is a favorite of both my wife and my mother). Then we were too hungry to continue so we took the boat to the Polynesian and ate at the Kona Cafe. I had the Tonga Toast and boy was it yummy.

After breakfast (and buying some Kona coffe to take home) we walk to the TTC where we ran into Sea, Weed, and Nemo. Got a picture and hopped on the monorail to EPCOT to see what was up at Mission:Space.

Stopped at Guest Relations and asked about guest previews. I got the answer I expected (the ride will be having soft openings starting Aug 15 and will open on Oct 9) but they did say that there had been CM previews. We walked over anyway. No one was around but a CM that was sweeping up inside the wall. My dad asked him if they needed anyone for testing and he said no but after looking around to make sure no one else was near he said "if you come back around 4:00 they sometimes decided to test things out". We got Fast Passes for Test Track for 5:25 and headed back to the hotel to rest/swim.

Around 3:00 my dad and I headed back to EPCOT to check on Mission:Space. When we got there we saw some people hanging out around the wall. I met room1313 and we all just hung out waiting to see what happened. Sillyspook13 also showed up and the crowd got bigger. It became one of those times when people get in line because it must be good if all these other people are standing here. My dad even heard someone walk up to the back of the line and ask "What are you in line for?" and the person responded with "I don't know".

Finally, around 4:10 they came out and opened the door. In the hustle and bustle of everyone trying to get in we got separated from room1313 and his friend but we managed to stay together with sillyspook13. We finally got through the preshow and into our capsule and we were off. The ride was great - I really loved it. We were all really into it and all 4 of our crew were there because of WDWMAGIC. When it was over we went out as a group and played the Space Race game. In the end our team (the Triton team) won the race (woot! woot!). We finally said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.

We entered the gift shop (big mistake) and I suddenly found myself signing a credit card slip and getting a bag full of M:S stuff. My dad called back to the room and my wife and mom said they would meet us in front of Test Track in 15 minutes. Darn, not enough time for another ride. Test Track was closed due to a storm rolling in so when they finally showed up we all agreed that we would skip going over to MK tonight and go for a ride on Mission:Space. After the ride my wife wasn't feeling so good which came as a big surprise to me since she has not had a problem with any of the other rides in any of the parks. She sat down in a nice plastic lawn chair right were you get out of the centrifuge (I just realized that I she also got to ride Mission:Lawn Chair) and a CM sat next to her and asked her how she was feeling. When she said she was a bit nauseous they asked if she was up to a questionaire. She agreed and they ask her about 5 or 6 questions about the ride to try to find out when she started feeling bad and what was going on at the time. By the time the questionaire was over she was feeling OK so we headed to the gift shop. Once again I suddenly found myseld signing a credit card slip in exchange for a bag of Mission:Space merchandise.

We headed to the Rose and Crown to see if we could get in for some food but they couldn't take walk ins due to the fact that they had lost a portion of their seating to the inclement weather. We walked back to the Beach Club and went to the front desk and got a PS for The Concourse Steakhouse. One car ride later we were at The Contemporary Resort. We had a pretty good meal (the Filet Mignon was very good) and then came the worst part of the trip. We headed back to BCV to pack our bags so we can check out in the morning :(. I have to admit that I am ready to go home and see my pets (I always miss them a lot) but I really hate leaving this place. This has been one of our best vacations ever. At least our flight isn't until tomorrow night so we are going to spend the morning/afternoon at MK. I can't pass up the opportunity to ride The Haunted Mansion on Friday the 13th (pretty spooky, huh).

Well, it is really late and I have finished packing and should get some sleep I guess. I still can't believe the uncanny luck of having been able to ride Mission:Space this trip. To everyone that is coming down in the next few weeks with hopes of riding M:S I wish you luck and hope you get to experience this awesome ride.

Tomorrow - MK and MCO-EWR (those are the airport codes for Orlando and Newark in case you didn't know).
 
WOW

It must have been nice to spend so much time at WDW. It seems as though you were never rushed and were able to do some of the extra things w/o sacrificing time on the attractions. THANKS so much for posting your reports daily. It made me feel like i was there. Hope you enjoyed it as much as it sounds you did.
 

Mr. Toad

Active Member
Original Poster
Day 11 (June 13)
============
Our last day of vacation had finally come. I was up late packing so we slept in a bit (until 8:00) and then got up and got ready to check out. Our flight wasn't until 5:30 so we had the bellhop come for the luggage and decided to head to MK.

Since it was Friday the 13th I knew I had to ride The Haunted Mansion so we headed there first. After the ride we were hungry so we went to the Main Street Bakery for some danish. Next we headed over to The Hall of Presidents. I had not been in this attraction for several years (since about 1990) and I had forgotten how moving it can be at times. Noticed some changes from my last viewing (like two new presidents :) ).

After this we decided to give the Tiki Room a second chance. We had seen the Under New Management show the year it started and we were not fond of it. After the show we all agreed that it was worse than we remembered it. I guess I am just too big a fan of the original show.

With only a little bit of time left we decided for one last trip with the Pirates of the Caribbean. It was a good choice because I left WDW with "Yo Ho, Yo Ho" still in my head.

Went back to Y&BC. Since we were staying as DVC members we had free access to the health club so we had gotten lockers earlier. My wife and I went and changed into some fresh clothes and we headed for the airport.

There was a storm moving in and storms in the NJ area so when we got there they bumped us onto an earlier flight. The flight was uneventful (just the way I like them) and so was the car ride home.

Until next time (hopefully a business convention in October)

The End
 

Mr. Toad

Active Member
Original Poster
I have to say that I really enjoyed writing these trip reports. I am glad that some of you enjoyed reading them. This was the best vacation I have had in a long time (maybe ever). I actually came back relaxed :lol:. Having a long stay did make it possible to take our time and to do some of the extra things without making sacrifices elsewhere.

The highlight of the trip for me was the EPCOT Seas Aqua Tour followed closely by Mission:Space (which was my dad's favorite part of the trip). I also really enjoyed meeting some of the wdwmagic members and the Backstage Safari. Oh, and I almost forgot Pal Mickey.

The low point of the tour was the Tiki Room for me. I can't really complain about that too much as I know some people that like the show. Otherwise, I can't think of anything that was bad about the trip. If only day to day life was that consistently good.
 

careship

New Member
The report was excellent. We thank you so much. It really was like being there with you. Actually, maybe we dreamt that part. :lol: I am glad you had a safe, fun trip and were able to come home relaxed. I always feel like I need a vacation from my vacation. That's why I am going in July and October. :lol:
 

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