Howdy, folks. Hopefully, most of you know us. You've got: me, Dave, a late 30's father of 2 (for now). Then there's Amy, my wife of almost 15 years. You know her here as @Runmyhorse. Next, we have Ashley, our soon to be 16 year old daughter. Finally, there's Justin, our soon to be 15 year old son. This trip was basically planned as a birthday trip, as Amy and Ashley share February 25th as their birthday, and Justins birthday is March 6th.
Originally, we planned on a two week trip followed by attending the Dallas Walker Stalker on March 6th. That part was what Justin wanted as his birthday trip. However, the guest list didn't look that appealing and our budget had other plans. We had a room at Pop booked for this trip, as Amy insists on using Magic Hours, but that too took a hit.
So, we booked a room along 192 and had the rental car set to go. Well, some money that we had planned into the budget hit a snag and we knew we'd be tight on money. We went to pick up the rental via Alamo at the Memphis airport, and that's when feces hit the fan. On Thursday I had noticed that the confirmation email said that drivers with a TN, MS, or AR license were subject to a $150 deposit. We've always used Alamo because of their lack of a deposit hold. So I called their customer service to get confirmation of whether there was a hold or not.
They told me that there wouldn't be so I didn't plan that into the equation. So, come Friday we went to pick it up and the lady at the counter says there's a 150 dollar deposit. I tell her that the customer service says there's not supposed to be but she says it's their new policy. Well, I wasn't pleased, to say the least, but after a call to my bank and CC company, I had the funds available right there on the spot.
Let me just say that for some reason, the Alamo counter people at the Memphis airport location seem upset and have a bad attitude. Anyways, I went to get the car and we got upgraded from a standard SUV (Huyndai Santa Fe or similar) to a fully loaded Durango that was so new that they didn't even have the plates for it yet. That thing was BOSS. So, I get to the house and my wife tells me that the money that we had coming in wasn't in yet. So, our dilemma is as such: go and hope it's in by Monday or stay and just don't go.
Well, after some deliberation, we decided to be smart and not tempt fate. I called Alamo to tell then I was returning the car. They said they weren't going to charge me, as I didn't have it long and because they had mislead me about the deposit. So, back to the house it is. So, I hit the sack around 930 or so and I'm snoozing like Rip Van Winkle, when all of the sudden Amy wakes me up around 1am. The money is in.
So, I get up and get to cracking on securing another rental for a rate that isn't borderline robbery. Did I mention that the original rental was only 310 for 8 days? Not bad for a full size SUV. Well, after our little issue with Alamo, I decided that I will no longer use them or National, or Enterprise (their main brand). The cheapest I could find on 5 hours notice was a standard SUV with Avis for 384. So, I lock it in and made sure to ask about their hold policies.
We showed up at 530, their opening time, and got a Santa Fe. Unfortunately, we couldn't leave until after 12 noon, because my wife had already sold a treadmill to someone and they couldn't get there any sooner. So after rushing the preparation phase and eating and all of that jazz, we hit the road around 3pm central. Now, as some of you know(maybe, did I mention it?), Amy is pregnant again. So, the usual 12 hour drive turned into 14 or so, due to the stops.
We pulled into the hotel around 6am and I dragged my behind into the check in office. Our original booking was for Saturday and Sunday, but technically it was now Sunday so they only charged me for Sunday and no cash deposit. Sweet! We hit the beds and got a few hours of rest before heading to the parks.
First up, we went to Hollywood Studios. My main mission on this day was to meet Kylo Ren. So we headed directly to the new Launch Bay and made a bee line for Ren. It was only a 20 minute wait, but probably only took 15. Here's me and the kids with Kyle
I was pretty stoked, as I don't normally do photos with characters, but this was a must. Next, we headed to see Chewy:
Pretty darn cool. We checked out the offerings around the Launch Bay, and the kids decided they wanted a few of the custom costumes. Do you hear that, Powerball officials? By that time, it was time for us to hit Toy Story for our FPs. Well, I guess it had been down that day because the FP return line was about halfway to the restrooms. After about a 15 minutes wait, we were playing. I managed to get the best of the hour, with 271k, but I'm sure it didn't last long.
After that, we headed to the GMR, since Amy can't ride thrill rides and Ashley doesn't like riding them without her mom/ride partner. I don't know about you guys, but the new narration, opening movie scenes in the queue line, and the ending movie are just terrible. Plus, our tour guide was not good. She was very monotone and she didn't pause during any of her lines. She sounded like a grade school kid reading their book report in a hurry to be done.
Oh well, it sill beats being back home or at work. Ater that we decided to head off site for some lunch and then to the MK. I think it was around 530 or so when we got to the MK and they closed at 10. Let me just say that we should have been listening all of this time when people said to avoid the parks with EMH. It was so nice at the MK. I think we only had one wait over 20 minutes, and that was for Pirates.
While we're on the subject of that, they have taken a big #2 on that attraction. No mermaid projections(jumping water instead), the ship vs fort room SUCKS now. No cannonball air or splashes and they moved Jack's hands on the dress. I did like the addition of the burning smell through the town. After that it was time for our HM fps. I'm glad I had picked those, because the standby was 50 minutes. I still love this ride, but it's time for a nice lengthy refurbishment, especially in the graveyard scene, where you can clearly see the netting.
Next, we went to the Speedway, which was an absolute blast. After that it was time for the Peoplemover, but it was down. So, we jumped on Buzz Lightyear for some galactic action. When that was done, the wife and kids headed to Astro Orbiter while I spent some time with the CoP family. I absolutely love the Carousel of Progress, and if they ever get rid of it I will be using bereavement time at my job...
After that we headed to Dumbo to watch Wishes while flying, but it was down so we headed to the Jungle Cruise. We almost had a boat to ourselves, but they waited for more passengers. Not a bad trip, but the crowd wasn't really into the corny jokes. After that we headed to the Little Mermaid, followed by another round of Haunted Mansion. When we exited that, it was 10:07, so we figured why not catch the second parade, right? Man, it was so empty that our favorite spot was wide open. Here's where it gets hilarious and weird. As the parade is coming across the bridge from the Hub to Liberty Square, some older lady pushing her grandbaby in a stroller ran into my foot. She says sorry and then excuse me as if she's trying to go past me. Let me inform you that our spot is right along the railing at the corner by the flags. So, there's a rope on our left side and the railing on the right. So I'm thinking, where in the heck do you plan on going, lady? She tells her party that they're blocked in....ok....
They stay a few minutes and then leave, at which point we're just like, ? It was so nice to watch the parade with low crowds. I sure do love me some MSEP!
We headed out and I don't think it took hut maybe 20 minutes to be in the car and on the way off property. We stopped at Walmart for some stuff and then grabbed some food at Steak and Shake to take back to the room. That's about all for yesterday. I'll try to post today's adventure when we get in, but no promises. I'll post a majority of pictures when we get home, but now I've figured out how to post them here without going through a photo site, so I'll make sure to add some here and there. Thanks for following along, folks!
Originally, we planned on a two week trip followed by attending the Dallas Walker Stalker on March 6th. That part was what Justin wanted as his birthday trip. However, the guest list didn't look that appealing and our budget had other plans. We had a room at Pop booked for this trip, as Amy insists on using Magic Hours, but that too took a hit.
So, we booked a room along 192 and had the rental car set to go. Well, some money that we had planned into the budget hit a snag and we knew we'd be tight on money. We went to pick up the rental via Alamo at the Memphis airport, and that's when feces hit the fan. On Thursday I had noticed that the confirmation email said that drivers with a TN, MS, or AR license were subject to a $150 deposit. We've always used Alamo because of their lack of a deposit hold. So I called their customer service to get confirmation of whether there was a hold or not.
They told me that there wouldn't be so I didn't plan that into the equation. So, come Friday we went to pick it up and the lady at the counter says there's a 150 dollar deposit. I tell her that the customer service says there's not supposed to be but she says it's their new policy. Well, I wasn't pleased, to say the least, but after a call to my bank and CC company, I had the funds available right there on the spot.
Let me just say that for some reason, the Alamo counter people at the Memphis airport location seem upset and have a bad attitude. Anyways, I went to get the car and we got upgraded from a standard SUV (Huyndai Santa Fe or similar) to a fully loaded Durango that was so new that they didn't even have the plates for it yet. That thing was BOSS. So, I get to the house and my wife tells me that the money that we had coming in wasn't in yet. So, our dilemma is as such: go and hope it's in by Monday or stay and just don't go.
Well, after some deliberation, we decided to be smart and not tempt fate. I called Alamo to tell then I was returning the car. They said they weren't going to charge me, as I didn't have it long and because they had mislead me about the deposit. So, back to the house it is. So, I hit the sack around 930 or so and I'm snoozing like Rip Van Winkle, when all of the sudden Amy wakes me up around 1am. The money is in.
So, I get up and get to cracking on securing another rental for a rate that isn't borderline robbery. Did I mention that the original rental was only 310 for 8 days? Not bad for a full size SUV. Well, after our little issue with Alamo, I decided that I will no longer use them or National, or Enterprise (their main brand). The cheapest I could find on 5 hours notice was a standard SUV with Avis for 384. So, I lock it in and made sure to ask about their hold policies.
We showed up at 530, their opening time, and got a Santa Fe. Unfortunately, we couldn't leave until after 12 noon, because my wife had already sold a treadmill to someone and they couldn't get there any sooner. So after rushing the preparation phase and eating and all of that jazz, we hit the road around 3pm central. Now, as some of you know(maybe, did I mention it?), Amy is pregnant again. So, the usual 12 hour drive turned into 14 or so, due to the stops.
We pulled into the hotel around 6am and I dragged my behind into the check in office. Our original booking was for Saturday and Sunday, but technically it was now Sunday so they only charged me for Sunday and no cash deposit. Sweet! We hit the beds and got a few hours of rest before heading to the parks.
First up, we went to Hollywood Studios. My main mission on this day was to meet Kylo Ren. So we headed directly to the new Launch Bay and made a bee line for Ren. It was only a 20 minute wait, but probably only took 15. Here's me and the kids with Kyle
I was pretty stoked, as I don't normally do photos with characters, but this was a must. Next, we headed to see Chewy:
Pretty darn cool. We checked out the offerings around the Launch Bay, and the kids decided they wanted a few of the custom costumes. Do you hear that, Powerball officials? By that time, it was time for us to hit Toy Story for our FPs. Well, I guess it had been down that day because the FP return line was about halfway to the restrooms. After about a 15 minutes wait, we were playing. I managed to get the best of the hour, with 271k, but I'm sure it didn't last long.
After that, we headed to the GMR, since Amy can't ride thrill rides and Ashley doesn't like riding them without her mom/ride partner. I don't know about you guys, but the new narration, opening movie scenes in the queue line, and the ending movie are just terrible. Plus, our tour guide was not good. She was very monotone and she didn't pause during any of her lines. She sounded like a grade school kid reading their book report in a hurry to be done.
Oh well, it sill beats being back home or at work. Ater that we decided to head off site for some lunch and then to the MK. I think it was around 530 or so when we got to the MK and they closed at 10. Let me just say that we should have been listening all of this time when people said to avoid the parks with EMH. It was so nice at the MK. I think we only had one wait over 20 minutes, and that was for Pirates.
While we're on the subject of that, they have taken a big #2 on that attraction. No mermaid projections(jumping water instead), the ship vs fort room SUCKS now. No cannonball air or splashes and they moved Jack's hands on the dress. I did like the addition of the burning smell through the town. After that it was time for our HM fps. I'm glad I had picked those, because the standby was 50 minutes. I still love this ride, but it's time for a nice lengthy refurbishment, especially in the graveyard scene, where you can clearly see the netting.
Next, we went to the Speedway, which was an absolute blast. After that it was time for the Peoplemover, but it was down. So, we jumped on Buzz Lightyear for some galactic action. When that was done, the wife and kids headed to Astro Orbiter while I spent some time with the CoP family. I absolutely love the Carousel of Progress, and if they ever get rid of it I will be using bereavement time at my job...
After that we headed to Dumbo to watch Wishes while flying, but it was down so we headed to the Jungle Cruise. We almost had a boat to ourselves, but they waited for more passengers. Not a bad trip, but the crowd wasn't really into the corny jokes. After that we headed to the Little Mermaid, followed by another round of Haunted Mansion. When we exited that, it was 10:07, so we figured why not catch the second parade, right? Man, it was so empty that our favorite spot was wide open. Here's where it gets hilarious and weird. As the parade is coming across the bridge from the Hub to Liberty Square, some older lady pushing her grandbaby in a stroller ran into my foot. She says sorry and then excuse me as if she's trying to go past me. Let me inform you that our spot is right along the railing at the corner by the flags. So, there's a rope on our left side and the railing on the right. So I'm thinking, where in the heck do you plan on going, lady? She tells her party that they're blocked in....ok....
They stay a few minutes and then leave, at which point we're just like, ? It was so nice to watch the parade with low crowds. I sure do love me some MSEP!
We headed out and I don't think it took hut maybe 20 minutes to be in the car and on the way off property. We stopped at Walmart for some stuff and then grabbed some food at Steak and Shake to take back to the room. That's about all for yesterday. I'll try to post today's adventure when we get in, but no promises. I'll post a majority of pictures when we get home, but now I've figured out how to post them here without going through a photo site, so I'll make sure to add some here and there. Thanks for following along, folks!
She was a good sport to wait out the thrill rides while the rest of you could go on. I love the thrill rides, myself, so I realize this must have been tough for her.
) commentary as well. Hope you all have a safe trip home.