WDW - Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. – My August 2011 Trip Report

WDW - Rumors of my demise have been greatly exaggerated. – An August 2011 Trip Report

Welcome to my trip report! First, about the title. Reading the WDW boards lately one would think that Disney World was coming apart at the seams; Overrun by vicious gangs of Brazilian tour groups, Pop Warner boys and cheerleaders. Filled with broken down, outdated rides run by snarly cast members. The resorts infested by bedbugs, nasty housekeepers, and moldy shower curtains. The Restaurants serving up Dogfood burgers and steaks served with the leather hides still attached. The fireworks shows reduced to open fire pits and a few boxes of sparklers.

To be totally honest and sarcasm aside (kinda), I was really getting concerned about this trip. I had gone to great lengths and compromise ( see my Pre-trip report) to make this trip a reality. Now I was worried that once my family would see first hand the crumbling vestige that was once our favorite place on earth; this would seal this trip’s fate as our last one to the World. Well, I’m happy to say, with photos as proof – the rumors of Walt Disney World’s demise have been greatly exaggerated.

First Day and intro to our family;

Our countdown was over. The paper chain in Toni’s room that started at day 178 was now down to day zero. It was 4 in the morning on August 6th and I woke up Toni and we tore up that last chain and started to get ready for our trip. By 4:30, Toni and her brother Sterg, were ready and waiting.

I have a good friend that happens to own a limo business, so we hired him to drive us to Philadelphia International. The limo came at 5:00am. This is my wife Val and my oldest child, Alexandra, getting spoiled in the limo.

Sterg and I on the other seat…

While Toni caught a few z’s.

Everything was going fine. We were making great time on the Turnpike until we were detoured off of it an exit too soon. Unfortunately, this was only the first of our several delays that morning.

 

[fractal]

Toni used to enjoy the "DinoDig Site" - but not this trip. My little girl was growing up! We spent a ton of time in AK but absolutely no time in Dinoland except for the area around Dinosaur.

On the way to our "Countdown"...

My what big teeth you have!

We made our way through the queue ( way underrated IMO ).

Would Toni be able to keep her eyes open the entire ride? We boarded our time vehicle and sat in the front row with a small boy and his parents.

"I'm really nervous" Toni said looking at me.

"Oh, it's not too bad" the boy's father said ( he was a really nice guy ). "If you get scared, just close your eyes." he added.

"Dad, he thinks this is my first time" Toni whispered to me.

"I'm gonna try to keep my eyes open the whole time" she responded to the father.

"OK, good luck." he said smiling.

Man, this ride could be so awesome. Again, there was a chunk of time when you are in complete darkness and just getting tossed around. We have to be missing some meteors and meteors strikes!

Well, Toni did great with her challenge until the last Dino that comes right at you.

"I forgot about that one" she explained "and it was too scary!"

Something to shoot for on the next trip.

Out of Dinosaur and over to Everest to use our fast pass. Once again in the front row. EE ride #3 of the day. We exited the ride and Toni asked if we could go in the single rider line. Hmmm? I don't know about this. Entering that line, we walked right up and were 3rd to go. I decided to be first, figuring that I didn't want Toni dumped into the crowded gift show before me. Right after I exited, I made my way through the gift shop and looked into the single rider line to see that she was on the coaster. I then went back through the gift shop and waited for her right when you enter from the ride. After a few minutes, she was there.


EE ride #4 of the day.

"Let's do that again!" Toni said.

Alright, one more time.

Same routine - single rider line, I was first but this time we went the same time. In fact she was two rows in front of me.

EE ride #5 of the day.

I kept thinking how much more awesome that would have been with a fully operational Yeti. Disney - fix Yeti and Hopper already. Please!

We slowly started to make our way out of the park, taking a few pictures along the way...

Not a bad morning. EE 5 times. Dinosaur, ITTBAB, FoTLK, and Pangani Trail. Job well done!

So long Animal Kingdom. See ya next trip!

 

[fractal]

The "teenagers" and Val had a great time at Typhoon Lagoon. Next trip we are definitely planning a day there. Sterg and Alex loved "Humunga Kawabunga". They didn't realize TL had slides that extreme. Sterg asked if Toni went down that slide.

"She did" I told him. "In fact she went down with absolutely no fear."

"Wow" he said. "Because I almost chickened out."

What's this? An admission of some degree of respect for your younger sister? Maybe there is hope for them.

After some time in the BC pool we all got ready for dinner. That evening dinner was at The Flying Fish. This was the meal I was looking forward to the most. FF seems to be near the top of many people's list. We strolled over to the boardwalk and claimed our reservation.

Waiting for our table.

The decor is difficult to describe. It's has some modern touches as well as classic accents. You get a strong sea/water theme but at the same time it
provides scenes of the sky and life on land. The dinning room is sectioned off into different areas but at the same time has a "airy" feel. Overall I found it a pleasant atmosphere to dine in.

The "kitchen" is open and exposed.

Our waiter's skills as a food server was much better than his photographic composition skills. Nevertheless, we have a photo placing the entire family at the Flying Fish.

 

[HouCuseChickie]

More "fishies".

This one really make me miss my old aquarium. I had a breeding colony of fish like this for some time. Also sad this it's your last day! LOVE the gorilla pictures! That was one of my big regrets from our Dec trip...i.e. we didn't make it back there to see them. Can't wait to read more!:wave:

 

[fractal]

Sesame and Togarashi-scented Calamari and the "Crispy Maine Coast Jonah Crab Cake" were our appetizer orders. The crab cake was awesome and the Calamari was very good ( though I've had better ) with the best part being the spicy dipping sauce it came with.

We approve of the food, but learn how to focus kid!

We all started to get into a silly mood for some reason. Not sure why but it was fun having the whole family laughing it up. Our waiter ( wish I could remember his name ), lost the credit card for the table next to us. He asked us all to look under our table and move our chairs, etc. The way he handled it was kinda funny and fed fuel to our "silly mode" fire.

After a good ten minutes of him searching for the credit card, Sterg asked him to check his shirt pocket for it. He said, no way it's in there but he checked anyway and guess what - it was in his shirt pocket! As he pulled it out we all started laughing hysterically, as did the table next to us. Goofy, stupid stuff but very funny at the moment.

Toni having fun...

Alex and Sterg

Then posing for Val's Iphone -

yeah, they're a bit silly. Alex thinking "please get him away from me"

 

[fractal]

Next thing you know, the manager shows up to thank us for helping find the credit card and to apologize for the hassle it created.

We told him that it was no big deal. He asked if we were celebrating anything and Toni immediately blurted out "my birthday". Sterg then added that her birthday wasn't until September, right before his birthday.

The manager saw Toni's pin but noticed that Sterg didn't have a pin so he asked Sterg his name - when he said and spelled it, the manager said "no way!" My name is Sturg. This matched the name on his name tag that we didn't notice until then. His name was Scandinavian and we explained Sterg's Greek name. Great name buddy! He said. He gave Sterg his Bday pin and complimented Val and I a round of drinks.

Sterg with his BDay pin - not really sure what he's eating here.

I must apologize. No pictures of our meals. I guess I was having too good of a time and simply forgot my duties.

I ordered the scallops. Val ordered the potato wrapped red snapper, while Sterg once again ordered the NY strip. Alex had the grilled Kurobuta Pork Tenderloin. It was all very good!

Everybody skipped dessert except for Toni - she ordered a Mickey's chocolate puzzle. It was a puzzle made of white chocolate with "paint" to color in the pieces. Pretty clever but it did take a bit of time to complete.

On the way out I snapped a picture of the chefs.

They then volunteered to pose for a pic.

My rating and the family rating was the same - 9.5 for Flying Fish. The best was indeed saved for last. Flying Fish took the crown as our most favorite restaurant of this trip.

Up next - Illuminations and - can we make it to 3am at Magic Kingdom?

 

[HollyBelle]

Huzzah!! Three cheers for the Flying Fish. I'm excited to hear that it lived up to expectations, as it's probably my favorite of all the signature dining options on property.

 

[Uncle Lupe]

Seems like you are on track to squeeze everything possible out of this last day. That many trips on Everest, pool time and a fine meal. It's not over yet!

 

[accord99cutie]

I sure hope you can finish this report before we leave Wednesday!!! All the dining reviews/pics, adventures with your daughter solo, and overall day by day report have me sooo ready for this trip!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share it!!

 

[PartOfYourWorld]

Oh no! I will miss the end of the report while I'm away! Leaving tomorrow! Hopefully one day I can get to the Flying Fish after the rating you gave it!!!!!

 

[fractal]

It was a full moon that night on the way to Epcot's International Gateway - we were moving fast so not to miss Illuminations.



There were no good spot available - we were too late. We parked ourselves somewhere in front of Canada. It was a view, but nowhere near the best.

April 2000 was the first and last time I saw Illuminations. Illumination & parade of Nations. It was an amazing show. The narration, the music, the pyros, the fireworks and the parade, with the costmes and music- it blew my mind. Val love it as well. In fact she started asking me if we should check into DVC. Our tight money situation at the time prevented us from joining - but I did have enough money to buy the Illuminations CD that evening. It is still one of the 6 CDs in my car and is constantly played.

Not the best view, but it will do.

Here comes the globe.

As I was watching the show, I started to think of Walt Disney. Many people say they tear up when they watch Wishes - I didn't - but watching Illuminations started to bring a lump in my throat. This night, the fireworks, the music, would not exist without the ideas and visions of one man. We are still fortunate enough to live in a society were ideas and dreams are not only powerful - but can manifest themselves in grand scale. Without Walt Disney, Epcot would not exist. The beautiful and moving music written and composed for Illuminations would not exist. The experiences and memories created by countless families would not exist. It's truly mind boggling when you spend time thinking about it, and for some reason I was thinking about it that night.

The musical theme shifts and the corresponding fireworks kick in.

We currently live in a pessimistic world. The "Great Recession" is really our version of the Great Depression. Every current movie or TV series based on the future is dystopian. It seems all we have to look forward to is some post apocalyptic world filled with nuclear fallout, economic collapse, alien invasions, killer viruses, natural disasters or flesh eating zombies. The vision of Walt Disney's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow - a world made better by human innovation and technology is all but dead.

EPCOT, despite not being what Walt originally wanted, is still a symbol of how great the future can be. It helps keep that flicker of a hope; that our tomorrow will be better than today, from extinguishing.

All of these thoughts raced through my mind as Illuminations reached the climatic finale. Is it naive to think that one man and some theme parks can mean that much? Maybe. At a minimum though, Walt and his Worlds clearly demonstrate the power of positive thinking and perseverance.

Keep moving forward. That to me was the message Illuminations was sending that evening.

 

[fractal]

After being illuminated by Illuminations, we "swam upstream" through the crowd to exit EPCOT through the International Gateway. The kids ( and I ) wanted to go to Magic Kingdom for extra magic hours. MK was open till 3am that evening.
Val decided to stay back, do some wash and get a head start on the packing. ( what a good wife ).

We immediately went to Tomorrowland. The line for Space was too long so we decided to do another first. Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. I had to sell this to get the kids to go. While in line, Sterg submitted a few jokes, none of which were used. The pre-show is OK if not too corny. The "theater" itself is done is a modern cartoony way. We sat up front on the left side. Since this was our first time we were not really sure how things worked. The crowd as a whole, however was really into it! There were many in the crowd that had seen the show before, which made the attraction much more fun. None of us were "that guy", but we had fun laughing at his expense. Overall, we all enjoyed MILF. Since it's a new show each time, I can definitely see us doing it again next trip.

Next up was another first for us. Peoplemover TTA. Wow! how did we miss this one before? Thanks to all the TTA fans out there that inspired me to ride it. We enjoyed it so much, we rode it twice.

Great ride - and I can text on it!

Spinning the ball.

Buzz was next - then we all had a great ride on Space so we rode it twice.

Everyone was tired after our second flight through the galaxy so we made our way out of the park. Only made it until 1:30.

Goodbye Magic Kingdom! For now.

One of my favorite pictures of the trip. Toni was the only one that would pose for this.

 

[fractal]

WAIT! Let me take a few more pictures before we leave.

One last picture of the castle -

We made it back to Beach Club sometime after 2am. Before we settled down for our last slumber in our villa, I took some late night shots.

The villas

Toni walking down the trail "home".

so long BCV pool! You're not Storm-along-Bay, but very convenient for a quick dip

At this point we were officially in our last day at Disney World. The good news was we had a late flight (8PM) so still plenty of time for more fun!

 

[Disneyfalcon]

Sadness, your last day!

Flying Fish sounded great, and I loved loved your Illuminations recounting. That was just awesome.

 

[plaz10]

Sad it's your last day - but happy you have a late flight meaning the trip report is not over yet! :sohappy:

I love the words about Walt and EPCOT. Simply amazing what one man can do. It really made me miss Disney World even more and that feeling I get when I walk into EPCOT.

 

[echovictor]

I don't know who is more depressed about your trip coming to an end - you or me

Thank you for letting us vacation with your family! It has been a treat.

 

[fractal]

You got some really great pics in AK!! I've never seen FOTLK before but I always say I want to..I should really go huh?

Pizzafari is always a good choice! Even when it's crowded they move the lines very quickly in there!

You have to see FoTK. It won't dissapoint. Thanks for following along, and yes we enjoyed Pizzafari.

This one really make me miss my old aquarium. I had a breeding colony of fish like this for some time. Also sad this it's your last day! LOVE the gorilla pictures! That was one of my big regrets from our Dec trip...i.e. we didn't make it back there to see them. Can't wait to read more!:wave:

I'm not good with aquariums but I love looking at them. I'm glad we took the time to do Pangani trail. Thanks for sticking with the report!

Huzzah!! Three cheers for the Flying Fish. I'm excited to hear that it lived up to expectations, as it's probably my favorite of all the signature dining options on property.

FF was great! Thanks for helping me decide to try it out.

Seems like you are on track to squeeze everything possible out of this last day. That many trips on Everest, pool time and a fine meal. It's not over yet!

+ Illuminations + MK till 1:30am. Yes it was a busy day. A glorious busy day!
Thanks for reading.

 

[fractal]

I sure hope you can finish this report before we leave Wednesday!!! All the dining reviews/pics, adventures with your daughter solo, and overall day by day report have me sooo ready for this trip!!! Thank you so much for taking the time to share it!!

Sorry I couldn't finish in time - I hope you are having a wonderful trip! Looking forward to your report!

Oh no! I will miss the end of the report while I'm away! Leaving tomorrow! Hopefully one day I can get to the Flying Fish after the rating you gave it!!!!!

I'm jeolously hoping you are having a great time! FF will not dissapoint.

Sadness, your last day!

Flying Fish sounded great, and I loved loved your Illuminations recounting. That was just awesome.

Thanks! As you know last days are bitter sweet. That was a memorable evening.

 

[fractal]

Sad it's your last day - but happy you have a late flight meaning the trip report is not over yet! :sohappy:

I love the words about Walt and EPCOT. Simply amazing what one man can do. It really made me miss Disney World even more and that feeling I get when I walk into EPCOT.

Yep, we got a lot in that last "half-day".

You can certainly enjoy and appreciate WDW on several levels. Thanks for following along!

I don't know who is more depressed about your trip coming to an end - you or me

Thank you for letting us vacation with your family! It has been a treat.

Thanks. It was bitter sweet.

Thank you for reading along!

 

[fractal]

Saturday morning, we all got up later than we planned. Despite Val doing some packing the night before, we had to scramble to get out of there on time.

I decided to take advantage of being able to check our bags at the resort through ME vs. the airport. This was the first time I did this so I pulled out the instructions. The first thing they tell you to do is call ME and obtain a confirmation number. The instructions clearly stated that a confirmation number was required in order to check in the bags. It also clearly stated that you call and obtain the number before going to the check your bags. I called the number and after about a 15 minutes wait, got my number.

Sterg and I took our bags to the bag check area - which is located right outside the front entrance of BC ( to the left if you are looking at the front of BC ). As we approached there was one person having their bags checked and a couple waiting next in line. Great, I thought. This shouldn't take long.
After a few minutes, the couple in front of me was up. Guess what they didn't have? Yep - they never called for their confirmation number.

Ok - too bad for them I thought as I was waiting for the CM to tell them to come back with a confirmation number. That didn't happen. The CM said she would happily call to get a number for them. Are you kidding me? By this time a few more people entered the line behind me.

There were actually three CMs working. One checking the bags in - one tagging the bags and one guy stacking the bags in a big cage on wheels. The "check in CM" was making small talk while on hold with ME express to get the unprepared couple's number. It was a 20 minute wait. Then she had to check in the bags and print out the tickets. After about 10 minutes of that, the CM tagging the bags told the CM at the cage to replace him while he opened another line. The waiting line was now 7 people deep. My bag check took about 5 minutes - I was almost done before the couple.

Now, that couple may have thought this was wonderful service and an example of how Disney goes out of its way for guests. But that "wonderful" service came at the expense of many other guests. I think they should have told them to come back with a confirmation number but other might say that would be "unDisney" like. I really felt bad for the people at the end of the line.

After that fiasco, Sterg and I met Val in the lobby and we headed to the dock for our boat to DHS. It was another hot, sunny day.

Waiting for the boat.

As we boarded the boat we sadly discovered that Codie the co-captain was not on this one. No Michael Bolton jokes, but we still had fun. My bag check frustration was now a fading memory...

 

[fractal]

DHS was looking great that day.

We decided to go see American Idol Experience.
Val and the kids enjoy the show and I watch it from time to time. I really wanted to do this because of Val. I was hoping she really enjoy it. We got in just in time for the next show.

The guy hosting the show was a bit annoying in an "over the top" kinda way. I did think the judges did a good job. The were sometimes funny, sometimes corny, but they weren't afraid to criticize where needed.

There were some "canned" segments that included Ryan Seacrest, Kelly Clarkson and other stars. These segments were supposed to feel like it was happening in real time but anybody over age 7 knew it wasn't. It felt awkward. Here is Kelly Clarkson giving one of the contestants a pep talk and advise - eh, ok.

Now to the best part of the show - the performers. The first one was really good - 15 year old girl with a nice voice, but a bit nervous on stage.

Up next was a middle aged sales guy that absolutely had no fear of the stage and really hammed it up with the guest and crowd. His voice, unfortunately was not up to the challenge.

The last contestant was a woman from the UK - and she knocked it out of the park. Her voice and stage presence was amazing. The crowd loved her as did the judges. She easily won, and I'm sure would be tough to beat in the final show that evening.

Overall, it was entertaining and fun. Val did enjoy it, which was the most important thing ( working on the next trip :animwink: ). After our little taste of Hollywood, we headed to a galaxy far-far away.