Trip Report A trip that never was - And always will be

My emotional state towards writing this trip report is somewhat unique and calls for a different kind of introduction. How so, @wdisney9000 , you may ask? Well, many trip reports begin with people explaining how sad they are to be home and no longer in Disney World. I have had the old "Disney blues" many times myself. It is a gut wrenching feeling. But...not this time. I am not going through that emotional roller coaster of reminding myself that 48 hours ago, at this time of day, I was walking into Epcot heading towards Soarin'. I am glad to be home and leaving Disney World was not difficult nor sad, but not because it was a bad trip or because Disney World is getting old,.... No, no, no. It was one of the best family trips I have ever had, which would make one think that leaving would be even more depressing, yet it wasnt.

We have all experienced that sadness that begins to creep in the last day of your trip. You wake up excited to get to the parks but you are quickly reminded that when you wake up the next morning it will be time to take the walk of shame through the lobby with your luggage and your forced to see cars pulling up and families hop out whose trip is just beginning. You think to yourself, "that was ME just a week ago!!!:bawling::bawling::bawling:!!!!!" But in a strange twist of fate, that did not happen when we checked out. I was actually excited for the families whose Disney journey was just beginning. Normally I would want to smack that ear to ear smile right off their faces so they would be in pain like me. But nope. Not this time. I will explain why in just a bit. But I digress....lets get to the report already, shall we?

My parents decided it best to pick me up around 5 a.m. This would put us in Orlando around noon and we had an ADR for Biergarten at 2:55. I was up at 4:00 am and awaiting their arrival.

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Here is me at 4:55 waiting on the patio. I called my sister as I waited and they were just hitting the road as well. Keep in mind, my father still had no idea they were coming. My parents arrived at 5 and we were off!

We cruised though the city and had good traffic for most of the ride. Aside from my mom having to stop and pee every hour, we were making great time. Even saw some hot air balloons on the way which reminded me of soarin.

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There were about 10 hot air balloons, but this was the photo I got, lol.

I was texting my sister every hour or so to see where they were at and surprisingly we were only about 30 miles ahead of them.

Soon we were in Florida. As we passed all the anti-abortion signs it sparked a small debate on the subject which led to several other small debates, (remember, my father is a lawyer so debating/arguing is what he lives for). It helped pass the time and before we knew it we were pulling up to the toll booth. I texted my sister as we waited to pull up and she tells me they are at the toll booth as well!!!!! I look to my right and there they are.....right next to us!!!! What are the chances? --- We had rented a car, so had my sister, so luckily my dad didnt notice them, but still, we got a little nervous. I will NEVER forget the look on my brother in laws face, who was driving. It was a look of sheer helplessness, lol. We got through first and they slowed down to give us the lead. It was the first of many tense moments to keep it a secret that they were joining us.

Fast forward an hour or so aaaaaaaaand........

BINGO!

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We got to AKL around 12 (noon) and checked in, but the room was not ready.

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Such a great lobby and the smell wafting up from Boma makes it even better when you first walk in.

The CM noticed we had three separate DVC reservations. I explained we had to make 3 separate ones since not all days we available when we first booked so we added the days when they became available. He told he would link the three together so we would not have to change rooms. I thanked him, and then we cleaned up a bit and headed to Epcot for our Biergarten ADR.

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Mom and Dad at the bus stop.

On the bus ride to Epcot my dad started talking about the grand kids and how much fun they would have if they were there. He had even called my sister called my sister a few days before we left and offered to bring them and even pay for them but my sister told them the boys had Lacrosse camp and it was non refundable, (good one, sis!). He stared telling stories of all the memories of prior trips with the young ones. As my dad as deep in thought during his story telling, my mom gave me a quick look with a grin as if to say, "we got him right where we want him", and I slightly nodded back to confirm.

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We arrived at Epcot and there was a light sprinkle of rain which really cooled of the air. IT felt great outside.

Remember in my introduction of the TR when I said I wasnt sad to leave WDW? Well, thats because I did something I havent done in nearly three years. I picked up one of these little beauties ..........

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Yippie!!!!!!! Now I can return often which makes me not sad. Im sure some (or most of you) already figured this out when I said I wasnt sad to leave, lol. Now I can live that @Tuvalu life !!!


It felt like Christmas morning as the CM scanned my band and then proceeded to hand me the pass. Now all I need was a frosty cold one in my hand!!!!

But first...a picture with my old friend...

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I was able to move up the time on reservation at Biergarten so we only had about 20 minutes before it was a time to eat. I stopped off in Karamell-Kuche to tease @sheriffwoody and ser her a few photos of where I was.

Soon it was time to eat, and I had my had 1 liter hefeweizen in hand, cheers @lostpro9het !

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to be continued.........











 

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wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Your family looks like so much fun!
Thanks! We enjoy being silly:D
I'm dying for a number of reasons...

1. Dancing with the Jawa
2. The dead bellhops
3. The resort phone :hilarious: I recall you doing this on past trips (I think it was you??) and it never stops being funny.
The Jawa was my favorite part of Launch Bay. And we love taking pictures with hats on. We have lots of fun with the resort phone. Even while waiting in line it is useful. I will have the cord coming out of my back pack and one of the kids will pretend to be talking on it and people will give us the most odd looks, but I can tell that they are also wondering if its a "real" phone. We will often hand it to a CM and tell them "Bob Iger is on the phone for you" and most of them play along with it or do something silly. Except at Haunted Mansion,....they dont play games, lol
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 3 contd.....


After our snack/lunch we made our way over to Star Tours. But a quick back story before we get into that. I see more and more "Service Dogs" in the parks these days which is a good and a bad thing. The good part being that people with actual disabilities or needs for assistance can bring their fury helpers into the park and enjoy Disney World, but the bad part being that I (as a professional trainer), witnessed several dogs that were far from actual Service/Working Dogs.

The problem I have with this is that the dog has not been acclimated to these environments and it is extremely dangerous for the dog to be put in that situation and also completely foolish of the dogs owner. There are certain criteria that a service dog must have and it is easily and almost instantly recognizable to a trained eye. A dog walking 5 feet in front of the handler, (human holding the leash) at full extension of the 5 foot leash is usually a good sign it is not trained, unless it is a tracking/detection dog which Disney has their own therefore there is no need for a guest to provide those services and I doubt Disney would allow that anyway. A dog sniffing other people and wandering a few feet from the handler is not exactly performing a "job/task for the handler either. Another sign is the gear that the dog has on. There is a big difference between a proper harness and emblems/patches that a true working dog wears versus the ones you can buy on Amazon. Thats not to say a real working dog cant have the amazon gear, but most organizations that train real working dogs provide the gear and proper patches depending on the dogs task orientation. It is not uncommon for working dogs to have "fun" patches such as a football team logo or a cartoon character but they will definitely have their working patches as well. In actuality, most true service dogs have lots of fun patches and decorations on their vest or leash which is a good sign they are a working dog because the owners take pride in their gear. But a red harness that looks like its fresh out of the wrapper and still has creases in it from where it was folded (as in they just purchased it for their Disney trip) for $21.99 from Amazon with one patch that says "service animal" , will make me take a second look.

We saw about ten dogs in the parks on our trip and from what I could tell, only 2 of them seemed legit. Well, three actually but it was two dobermans with two people in wheelchairs that were together and the other was a Labrador. It became a game of sorts for the kids and/or my sister or parents to spot a dog and then ask me if I thought it was legit or not. We would take a few seconds to watch and then I would give my answer, which was mostly a "no" with the exception of the two dobermans and the lab. We saw the Dobermans several times on our trip. Which brings me back to the TR. Sorry for the rant, but the people who simply bring their dog into Disney for fun are not doing any favors for the service dog community and when their dog freaks out or barks uncontrollably at people or stops to poop in the middle of the pathway, ...well, it doesnt give a good impression for real working dogs and the people who need them and the trainers who work with them.

So as we are in line for Star Tours, we noticed the two dobermans in a crate on the upper level of the area prior to the boarding area where you receive your 3 D glasses. There was a CM standing there to monitor them. These two dogs were actual service dogs and apparently their handlers were riding Star Tours and Disney was/is kind enough to allow them to be crated while they ride. I think it's great Disney will allow this. The two dogs were very calm and just hanging out.

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Beautiful pups!

Soon we were boarding and blasting off into space! O tried putting my camera behind the 3 D glasses and filming to see it worked. It actually did. Not exactly 3 D , but it's not fuzzy

Then we got some pics in the gift shop
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After Star Tours we decided it was time for afternoon break. My parents headed back to AKL and I went to BC with the my sister and them. The kids and my sister fell asleep so my brother and I snuck off to Epcot for a few brews and to try and squeeze in a few rides.

As we entered the park, my phone was low on battery and I remembered watching a Tim Tracker (YouTube channel that is awesome) episode and they paid for a charging rod for their cell phone that is exchangeable. We entered the gift shop right near the International Gateway and they had the machine to buy one. If you are not aware of these, they are awesome! You pay a one time fee of $30 and the machine dispenses a fuel rod that looks like this
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It has a USB port and mini port that can adapt to any charger for.your phone. It also gives you a cable for Droid and iPhone . You simply plug into your phone and it takes about 30-40 minutes to fully charge your phone. And you can still is your phone will it charges. Once it is spent, you simply insert it back into a machine and it spits out a brand new one. According to the CM, you can exchange it as often as you like and it there is no expiration from the date of purchase. At least thats what she said. It was a great decisions as I probly exchanged two or three times per day. I still have theast one I got and they told me when I return I can just swap it out . I'll be back on August so we shall see of I still can. Even if I can't, I'll pay another $30. It's worth it (for me at least).

We grabbed two 1774's at France pavilion and made our way towards Soarin' . We took the breezeway behind club cool to grab some a/c and it was completely with the exception of Snow White just dancing around in the hallway. It was odd to see her just prancing around like he was in a Forrest. Of course we decided to chat with her and she was very nice. The princesses often comment about my tattoos and she was no exception. She even got in a few strokes on my bicep, which I didn't mind at all, hahaha. I hope I was flexing, lol.
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She was awesome and played the character very well. And it's never a bad thing to have an ego boost from a Disney princess when she comments on your muscular arms, lol (I'm sure she says that to all the guys) but I'll take it!

As we exited, we got right up to the entrance to The Land and my sister calls. She requested we return to the room as the kids were up and ready to go. We decided it best to return and avoid any arguments. When we got back the kids wanted to got to AKL lodge and swim in the pool. So we called my parents and the plan was for the kids to spend the night with them at AKL and I would crash at BC. We dropped the kids off at AKL and as we pulled I was able to snag a ADR at Trattoria al Forna on the Boardwalk.

We started with some drinks of course

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I ordered a meat lovers style pizza and it was delicious!
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My sister had the lasagna I think and my brother ordered some type of pasta dish that I can't remember the name.
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We had another off drinks and then headed back to the room and passed out.

Day 4 up next. MK rope drop in the morning. Have a great day everybody and thanks for following along!
 

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lostpro9het

Well-Known Member
And here is a little SB! Action from last night. This was a good one, @lostpro9het
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Nice!

I was a busy bee too yesterday. I started things out with a custom blend of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel mixed with Cherry Street's Coconut Porter, it was GOOD
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I finished my night off with a brew officially licensed by Daenerys Targaryen
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wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Nice!

I was a busy bee too yesterday. I started things out with a custom blend of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel mixed with Cherry Street's Coconut Porter, it was GOOD
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I finished my night off with brew officially licensed by Daenerys Targaryen
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Man, you love those darks and stouts and porters. If I had a higher metabolism, I would drink them more often, lol.
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 4

It was nice to sleep on a bed at BC but my brother left the tv on and it played infomercials all night. When I awoke, I really wanted to buy the Samsung Powerbot (robot vacuum) since I had been subliminally advertised by it ALL NIGHT LONG.

My sister and brother were fast asleep, but I wanted to make rope drop at MK so I hit the showers. My parents and the kids were up and heading there as well. It was a nice cool morning. I snapped a pic from the balcony before I headed out.

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Hit the bust stop and in about 20 minutes I was at MK.
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It was pretty crowded at the hub but I managed to find my parents and the kids right up front by the castle.

Soon after we met up, the show started.

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I agree with others that the old rope drop ceremony was much better but I also didnt hate the new one. It was a fun show and good use of the castle. Being so close to all the lands was a bonus too. A few years ago I would have moaned and complained about the new show and the changing of location, but not visiting WDW for over a year possibly has changed my level of doom and gloom. I was just excited to be back and even more excited to have an AP again. Perhaps my D&G will rise again after a few visits within a year. We shall see. But for the time being, I enjoyed the show and then we all raced to Fantasyland. I suggested we go to Frontierland and work our way back over but the kids wanted to ride Pooh, Barnstormer, and Barnstormer 2.0 (7DMT). Pooh was first.

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Today we were rocking our custom Disney t-shirts, designed by yours truly.

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My dads shirt originally had the actual color image of Hook and the alligator but the design shop told me they could not print a Disney image. Oddly enough they did not care about the Porsche logo, ??? So I ahd to make the image of Hook a silhouette. It still came out ok. My moms shirt was an already existing design on Etsy or somewhere she found online, so it was pretty easy to recreate it.

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After Pooh, we hit Barnstormer.

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wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
Day 4 contd....


Next up was Barnstromers big (but younger) brother.

We had FP for this and my sister and her husband met up with us prior to riding. Mom and my sister had some tiff about a bag so my mom gave her some of that famous "mom snark", that would have made @Tuvalu proud. And by the way, my mom finally joined the forums ( @luvinthemajik ) and has started her first PTR! I told her just stick to the TR forums so she wouldnt have to deal with the mud slinging over in News and Rumors, but knowing her, she will dive right into the deep end, lol. Anyway, mom and sis had made up before we rode and we had a great time for the entire 48 seconds that 7DMT lasts, (see, I still have some Doom and Gloom in there). I barely had enough time to make a call before the ride was over.

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Next we rode IASW. I took a short video but I dont feel like screenshotting a picture from it and lets face it.....its just IASW and do you really want to see a picture of it? lol

Next was Pan.
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Next we headed over to Splash as the wait time was not bad. On the way, we ran into this guy

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When we arrived at Splash, it was down but they said it shouldnt be long. We decided to hop on the train and take a ride around the park. Of course our section in the train had a phone.

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When we arrived at MSUSA, the conductor allowed my nephew to make the "All Aboard" announcement.



By the time we arrived back in Frontierland, Splash was back up.

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Afterwards it was time for some lunch. It was too early to do the Secret nachos at Pecos Bills but we decided to eat there so we could ride to Ferry Boat after lunch.

I had the hunger for nachos so......

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They were very good.

I will get back to day 4 later on. Have a great day everybody!
 

wdisney9000

Truindenashendubapreser
Premium Member
Original Poster
I especially like yours with the special "white font " lettering.

;)

Max
I had mine in the back pack so I could put it on a little later after I got sweaty an needed to change shirts.

Wow
Your Dad ran out onto the conveyor belt for a pic then ran back behind your Mom , who then walked out on the conveyor while your Dad stayed behind???

Nice!!

Max
That was the exit. My mom was ahead of him and he slowed down to get a picture.
 

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