Trip Report "The Best Disney Trip EVER"

Hello, hello everyone!! A warm welcome to everyone reading--I'm so glad you're here!!

WHEN: Tuesday, November 5th - Tuesday, November 12th

WHERE: I think you know us well enough by now!!

WHO: I'm sure you know most of us(don't worry--I'm not going to confuse you all like I did in June;)). In case you don't though, there's me, my nephew J, & my sister E. Besides us usual 3 Musketeers, E's husband/J's dad/my BIL joined us for the fun!! To keep confusion to a minimum for this TR I will refer to him as JSR.
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You could also call us "The Red Family". When E asked J what color MB he wanted he said that he wanted red & that we should all get that color so we could be "The Red Family". I know you can't see E's but trust me, her's was red also.

Looking forward to reliving "The Best Disney Trip EVER" with you all!!

Tuesday, November 5th

The plan was to leave E & JSR's at 7:00. I went to work for 5:30 to get a few last minute things done--also so that I could say to my boss that I was only off for 7 days, not 8. He teases me that "vacations are 7 days not 8". After doing some work & him teasing me a bit I was off on my merry way!! I got to their house only to find out that JSR was still packing!!:jawdrop: E was not thrilled in the least. He must have been close to being done though b/c we were only delayed a few minutes.

Then came the next delay. It was Election Day and E & JSR wanted to due their civic duty. I sat in the car with J & we talked Disney while we waited.
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And, in typical Pittsburgh fashion, it was raining.
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Rush hour traffic + heavy rain = a slow commute to the airport. I don't know what it is with this town but it seems like no one can drive in the rain around here. Trust me, we get more than our fair share of it so you think people would be used to it.
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As we were waiting to check our luggage in the woman behind us noticed our luggage tags & said that she was going to Disney also and was staying at Caribbean Beach. She asked if this was our first time going which prompted JSR to throw in a few digs about us & the frequency of our trips. I think he's just jealous ;)
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The Southwest agent was slower than molasses but after 10 minutes or so it was our turn.
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JSR made fun of me all week b/c of this. I had two suitcases. The small one weighed 20 lbs & this one was 36.5. He kept saying, "How did you manage to bring 56 lbs. of clothes?" As it turned out, due to his last minute packing there were quite a few things that he forgot so I told him at least I didn't have that problem. He also told me not to tell E about what he had forgot b/c he didn't want to hear her say "I told you so".
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E went to park the car while the J's & I proceeded to security. But wait, I couldn't go just yet. For whatever reason the Southwest agent left one of the suitcases behind. After unsuccessfully trying to get his attention for about 5 minutes I finally interrupted him & asked him to please put it on the belt. I was getting nervous that it would somehow get forgotten. He looked at me with a surprised look on his face & said he didn't notice it there. Really??
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On the "monorail" we go!!
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riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

We headed back to our rooms to get our luggage. Notice the "must do's" on one last time.
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I was nervous thinking I would forget R's suitcase since I'm not used to having two.
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I headed to airline check-in & dropped off the suitcases.
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I still had quite a bit of time so I went back to the room in the hopes of seeing some animals.
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This was pretty cool. A CM was calling for animals to go through that gate. I'm assuming it was feeding time.
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Happy to have seen some action I decided to walk around & check out more of the resort.
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The pool area looked very nice.
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riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

I was really enjoying my time walking around the resort.
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J's favorites!!
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It was a beautiful day & I was wishing the trip wasn't coming to an end.
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I really enjoyed the atmosphere there.
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I headed back inside to meet the rest of the crew.
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They were at airline check-in having a bit of an issue that I'm all too familiar with. They would only issue a boarding pass for JSR. Because him & J have the same name they would only issue one. J would have to get one at the airport. That is so ridiculous IMO. To this day I still don't understand it. You may recall from one of my previous TR's where that happened once to my mom & I. Then another time they issued 2 boarding passes but both for the same person so that when I went to board they wouldn't allow me b/c they said I was already on the plane!! Then they ended up delaying the flight to sort out the mess!! I just don't get it--you have 2 people each paying for a seat. What is the problem??
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After unsuccessfully trying to get J a boarding pass we decided to wait outside for the TE. We wanted to take in the warmth as much as possible since we were going back to 15 degree weather!
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SharonD

Well-Known Member
Crazy ... didn’t know about the problems getting a boarding pass when you have two with the same name. You would think it is obvious when it is Dad and son. I wonder what happens if there are 3 ”Jane Smithson a flight.
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
Crazy ... didn’t know about the problems getting a boarding pass when you have two with the same name. You would think it is obvious when it is Dad and son. I wonder what happens if there are 3 ”Jane Smithson a flight.

You would think the airlines would be able to use the birthdate to distinguish between two passengers with the same name ...
 

riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

All too soon our TE arrived.
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J & Fago led the way.
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It was a short stay at AKL but an enjoyable one. I'm so glad we took advantage of the restaurants at the resort. Honestly, they are some of the best on property!!
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We stopped at AOA to pick up more people. J was so excited when he saw the larger than life Disney pictures!!
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I was trying to point out the little bit of The Cars section that we could see from the bus.
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My best pictures of the welcome sign are always when we're leaving.
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You know it!!:happy:
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E went right to a kiosk to print J's boarding pass. BTW--in the past when we've questioned what the problem is regarding the same name situation Disney blames Southwest & Southwest blames Disney:rolleyes: I'm sure we'll never get a straight answer.
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Rista1313

Well-Known Member
We sorta have a similar problem with hubby's boarding pass. If you have a wheelchair request, southwest requires the boarding pass to have it printed on it. However, Disney doesn't print it on theirs... so we also end up going up to the kiosk and reprinting.
 

riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
Crazy ... didn’t know about the problems getting a boarding pass when you have two with the same name. You would think it is obvious when it is Dad and son. I wonder what happens if there are 3 ”Jane Smithson a flight.
I've said the same thing to them. Don't tell me my mom & I were the first people with the same name to board the same flight. And furthermore(here's the scary part), how did both of us make it through TSA with the same boarding pass? When they wouldn't allow me to board it was totally ridiculous. My mom had boarded with E & J for family boarding. I was further back & they told me I couldn't board b/c I was already on the plane. I kept trying to tell them that I wasn't. They kept paging me on the plane & E kept telling them I wasn't on it & they said I had to be there somewhere. Finally, they delayed the flight & I had to explain to them over & over again what was going on. Once they finally got it(they had already delayed the flight) they wouldn't let me on until they issued me a new boarding pass. Can you imagine my embarrassment when I got on the plane?? You know everyone on that flight was irritated with me!!
You would think the airlines would be able to use the birthdate to distinguish between two passengers with the same name ...
Not to mention our frequent flyer & TSA pre-check info!!
 

lindawdw

Well-Known Member
The food at Captain Cook's was excellent!! I wouldn't hesitate to eat there again. Yes, the lines were crazy but I knew that was the only place we would be guaranteed to get another one. I'm glad we did though b/c we were able to be there for the flag retreat then. I was excited to get a window seat--esp. after seeing how excited J was!! I was more than excited to see the bus area!! This was E, JSR & J's first time there so that was extra nice to have that view!! So, you can go to the bar just to get a drink? I have to get to The Wave one of these days. I've had reservations there twice & have cancelled them both times.
Yes, they have a few tables open for guests that are just ordering drinks (some with window views) along with the bar seating. You must try The Wave for dinner because not only is the food great, the service is usually very good too! It's always so sad when your TR's are coming to an end but we know there is always one on the horizon at Disney! :)
 
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Spash007

Well-Known Member
I've said the same thing to them. Don't tell me my mom & I were the first people with the same name to board the same flight. And furthermore(here's the scary part), how did both of us make it through TSA with the same boarding pass? When they wouldn't allow me to board it was totally ridiculous. My mom had boarded with E & J for family boarding. I was further back & they told me I couldn't board b/c I was already on the plane. I kept trying to tell them that I wasn't. They kept paging me on the plane & E kept telling them I wasn't on it & they said I had to be there somewhere. Finally, they delayed the flight & I had to explain to them over & over again what was going on. Once they finally got it(they had already delayed the flight) they wouldn't let me on until they issued me a new boarding pass. Can you imagine my embarrassment when I got on the plane?? You know everyone on that flight was irritated with me!!

Something similar happened to an old boss of mine a few years back. Someone who he did not know had the same name as him on his flight, and they wouldn't let him on, claiming he was already on the plane. He already had a short temper (to put it mildly) so I felt really bad for the flight attendant who had to deal with him then!
 

riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
We sorta have a similar problem with hubby's boarding pass. If you have a wheelchair request, southwest requires the boarding pass to have it printed on it. However, Disney doesn't print it on theirs... so we also end up going up to the kiosk and reprinting.
Unbelievable!! Do they play the blame game on each other like they do with me?
Yes, they have a few tables open for guests that are just ordering drinks (some with window views) along with the bar seating. You must try The Wave for dinner because not only is the food great, the service is usually very good too! It's always so sad when your TR's are coming to an end but we know there is always one on the horizon at Disney! :)
I am going to make it a point to eat there soon. We've cancelled twice now & I'm regretting it.
Thank you--I'm disappointed that it's coming to an end also😢 but, yes there will be another one soon!!
I get just as sad seeing the TE in your TRs as I do in real life. Thanks for sharing. Really hard to believe the problems with the boarding passes. So silly that they can’t differentiate by DOB! When is you next trip? Seems like you’ve mentioned a trip coming up pretty soon.
Thank you for reading!! Not only is it ridiculous that they can't differentiate by DOB but for security reasons it's really scary!! The other thing is there's never an issue when they're taking the money for two people!!🤔
Yes, we're heading down next Friday for a long(which already feels short to me) weekend!!
Something similar happened to an old boss of mine a few years back. Someone who he did not know had the same name as him on his flight, and they wouldn't let him on, claiming he was already on the plane. He already had a short temper (to put it mildly) so I felt really bad for the flight attendant who had to deal with him then!
I'm sure it has to happen quite often--esp. for people that have common names. That is crazy!! I don't blame him for being aggravated. At least in my situation I knew what the issue was. He was probably baffled at what was going on!! I have to admit when they wouldn't let me on the plane & said that they were closing the doors I got quite irritated & was not very nice--esp. b/c it wasn't my fault. It was the last flight of the night & I really put up a stink so that could have been why they delayed it instead of taking off without me!!
 

mmnw

Active Member
I would have been ssso ticked if they took off without you and you understood the reason why. You are right. You are not the first person to share the same name as a relative you are traveling with.
 

sheriffwoody

Well-Known Member
I just jumped into your report, but I forgot that I wanted to show you something!
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LP was very interested in playing with the safety instructions on our fight 😆 she looks mad, but hey she’d been constricted on a plane, who can blame her? Thought you and J would appreciate that.

speaking of J, he looks so grown up! So excited to read the whole report!
 

riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
Honestly it's not even worth trying to figure out... it's faster and easier to just get a new boarding pass from the kiosk.
Unfortunately, you're so right.
I can’t wait to stay at AKL on our next WDW trip. I want to try all of the restaurants :)
They were excellent!! I can't say enough about them. I would stay there again just for the convenience of being able to eat there!!
I would have been ssso ticked if they took off without you and you understood the reason why. You are right. You are not the first person to share the same name as a relative you are traveling with.
I still get irritated when I think about it!! It makes absolutely no sense to me!
LP was very interested in playing with the safety instructions on our fight 😆 she looks mad, but hey she’d been constricted on a plane, who can blame her? Thought you and J would appreciate that.

speaking of J, he looks so grown up! So excited to read the whole report!
OMG--LP is getting so big!! She's adorable!!😍
I definitely appreciate it!! That's so funny!! What is it about kids & those safety instructions!!
It seems like he got so tall all of a sudden!! He may pass his mother up soon!!🤣
Wonderful trip report thank you, made me remember our family trip to riverside in the summer, lots of wonderful memories
Thank you so much!! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I have so many fond memories of Riverside too!!❤
 

riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

I believe this was covering the Disney store.
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We headed to the other Disney store & looked around for a bit. I thought this scarf was cute.
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I was really admiring the earrings in the center. JSR said he liked the other ones. I told him those were the ones I was wearing. He said that mine looked different. My response, "Probable b/c those are clean!!":hilarious:
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We were held up for a bit at security.
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Someone(JSR) left a water bottle in the stroller!! E got irritated--I felt like it was the popcorn bucket all over again!!:hilarious:
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I honestly can't remember why I took this one.
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J & I went to Starbucks while E went to check the stroller in.
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We sat down to wait for them & I let out a little scream. J asked me what was wrong. I told him I got startled b/c a bird flew by us(remember, I'm afraid of birds). It was so cute, he jumped up & ran over to scare it. He came back to me & said, "I chased it away for you." How cute is that!!
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Pumpkin cream cold brew:hungry: So good but I can only get a small one b/c there's some serious caffeine in it!
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I decided to get something small from here.
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riverside

Premium Member
Original Poster
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 12TH

J became the owner of his own Southwest plane.
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I went with vegetable fried rice.
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J & I were playing a game that involved kicking each others feet. We had fun!!
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They got in line for family boarding & were going to try to save me a seat.
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I wish they wouldn't have. I ended up sitting in the aisle seat right across from them. In my row was a mother & her (I'd say) 10 year old daughter. My patience was tested for the entire flight.
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I finally wrote this note & passed it to E. She looked at me like I was crazy for handing her a note. I needed to vent somehow!!
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Later she told me that she could hear her too!! And, the girl had the window seat!! It was so obnoxious!!

@sheriffwoody believe it or not--no safety instruction reading this time!!:jawdrop: He fell asleep as soon as he got on the plane!
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Watching my favorite show still couldn't drown out the sound. It was a long flight....
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At least J slept through it!!
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BTW--as the plane landed mom took a kleenex out of her purse, blew her nose, then put it in the seat pocket!!:hungover::hungover::hungover:
 

Swissmiss

Premium Member
I was impressed with the speed of the security lines at MCO this weekend. There was a TSA agent repeating over and over « you do not need to remove ANYTHING from your bag and you can keep on your shoes ». Our only hold up was the guy who had to put back the removed shoes and laptop (despite the repeated messages :banghead:
 

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