Trip Report Live from the World - or close enough...

I guess I can't really claim that this is live from the parks, because I will posting from our room, but it's close enough!

We have just arrived this morning for a 12 night, 13 day visit to the World! After an exhaustive, but also quite fun, 24 hours of driving, stopping to rest and eat, meeting up with old friends, we found ourselves pulling into the parking lot of Bay Lake Tower at about 6:30am. If you want to know our full plans, check out the Pre-Trip Report: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/2-weeks-in-the-summer-heat-ptr.867381/

So, we got checking in at the Contemporary. We didn't get that amazing moment of luck when your room is already ready at 6:30am, but we never expect that to happen! So, a little after 7am we found ourselves walking up to Guest Services at Magic Kingdom to pick up our annual passes. We were lucky enough to score the Premium Annual Passes back at the beginning of the year when they offered the great DVC sale.

Anyway, APs in hand, we tapped to enter early and get to our 8:35am ADR for Crystal Palace. Took a few pictures around the hub (which will be posted later, computer is still working on communication with new camera). We checking in at CP and got seated at 8am - there's some luck working for us! An excellent breakfast and nice visits with Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore, and Pooh (again, pics to come). From our seats it looked like the opened the gates about 10 minutes early. We left the restaurant at about 9:15am and went back to Town Square for some Long Lost Friends - first we met with Dr. Facilier and Louis and then the Brer crew. DD9 didn't really want to wait in the lines for the Robin Hood or Chicken Little characters, so we headed back to Adventureland.

In Adventureland about 9:45am, we met with the Fairies, rode Pirates, did one of the new Pirates Adventures, rode Jungle Cruise (with FPs I had picked up while the girls were in line for the Fairies), visited the Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki room (sing it, you know you want to!) and made a quick dash to Splash to pick up FPs for later. All of that added up to a little under 2 hours of touring, so we picked up some frozen drinks at Sunshine Terrace and a Mickey pretzel and sat for a few minutes in Frontierland and relaxed and ate.

It was about 12:15pm, so it was off to the mountains. As we went to enter Splash Mountain, we got FPs for Big Thunder (for 1pm). Splash was quite enjoyable - most of the animatronics were working great, but a few effects were not on (noticeably the jumping waters which did not jump over the ride). After that, we were going to meet Woody and Jessie, but the line was a bit long and we had just gotten a text that our room was ready, so we decided to do BTM and then head out for a little rest. Obviously the almighty lords of room check-in were pleased with us since the text came at 12:45pm and after BTM and a train ride to the front, we were in room getting that rest by 2pm.

The room is very nice - officially a standard view studio in Bay Lake Tower, but we do have a partial MK view which is excellent (although we may not be able to take advantage during this stay since we have fireworks plans for both nights already). DD watched "Secret of the Wings" and rested, while DW and I both slept for between half and hour and an hour. Now we are all cleaned up and changed and getting ready to head to 1900 Park Fare for our dinner reservations!

 

[brifraz]

I'd like to send out a big thanks to @Allen C, @NowInc, @Grumpy-Fan, and @PhotoDave219 who gave me some much needed help in getting a replacement camera for the rest of the trip. It is so nice that folks on here (within about 5 minutes) saw my post and quickly gave excellent advice on where to rent from. I should have it by tomorrow morning and will be in a much better state of mind!

 

[NowInc]

I'd like to send out a big thanks to @Allen C, @NowInc, @Grumpy-Fan, and @PhotoDave219 who gave me some much needed help in getting a replacement camera for the rest of the trip. It is so nice that folks on here (within about 5 minutes) saw my post and quickly gave excellent advice on where to rent from. I should have it by tomorrow morning and will be in a much better state of mind!

Glad its working out! Let us know how it all goes!

 

[brifraz]

Back to your regularly scheduled Live-ish Trip Report. It is now Friday evening and we are all getting ready for some much needed sleep. Decided to drive to DTD Westside for tonight's activities (as opposed to our usual boat ride from OKW). Upon arrival we headed right to Wolfgang Puck Cafe. You know, I don't hear a lot of people mentioning it in reports or reviews, but we have consistently had some of the best food on Disney property there. And tonight did not disappoint. After dinner we considered a number of different options before deciding to at least stop into DisneyQuest and play a couple games. To our great surprise (since today was excessively hot) it was not very crowded and we could enjoy quite a few activities - the girls even got 2 times through Cyber Space Mountain with almost no waiting at all. I got my Ms.Pac-Man fix and we all played a decent bit of pinball. I expect there will be one more visit before we leave next week.

Now it is time for sleep and tomorrow morning, getting a new loaner camera and then over to Studios for at least some portion of the morning EMH.

 

[brifraz]

Saturday is here. And it has been a great half a day so far. Up early and ready to go by 8am. Loaner camera in hand, we were at the Studios at 8:30am...


...and quickly ran over to get Toy Story Midway Mania FPs. They were already for 12pm, but that is really no surprise! We then headed down Sunset Boulevard and got a ride on Tower of Terror (about 15 minute wait). First chance to try out the new camera!


After the Tower, we went back to the big hat (ugly as it is) and found the park Weinie behind it. Oh, look - Grauman's Chinese Theater! And rode the Great Movie Ride with DD keeping her eyes open during Alien for the first time: "A little bit icky, but not scary" was her assessment. Then back in front of the most beautiful architecture that Disney hides we met with Donald and Daisy in their classic Hollywood garb. By that point we were all a bit hungry, so it was over to Starring Rolls for some pasties and drinks. While the girls finished up, I ran down the road and got RnRC FPs for 12:45pm. Perfect!

We headed over to the Animation 'studio' for the Mushu character presentation (Drawn to Animation) and some wandering and then went to do the "Animation Academy." Since the wait was about 30 minutes for the next session, DD asked the CM at the entrance what character was being drawn (she didn't want to wait for someone she already could draw). They asked her who she wanted to do and her response was Tinkerbell. The CM said she would ask if that was a possibility and we went in to wait. After about 5 minutes another CM (Jenn) came to tell us that the next class would not be Tinkerbell, BUT we could come back to the 1pm class and Heather (the artist) would do Tinkerbell for DD - and we would be VIPs for that session!

So, off we went to do other things - a slow walk through One Man's Dream (no film, just museum time) and then it was time for our Toy Story ride. Fun as always! After the ride we got a small bite to eat at Backlot Express and then it was back to the Animation Studio for our class. We were admitted through the back door before the room was opened up and DD got to chat with the animator quite a bit. Heather (and Jenn) were both excellent with her. After the session, we got to talk some more and get pictures and DD got to keep the drawing that the animator had done, PLUS two other drawings that she had done previously!


With that precious cargo in hand, it was time for RnRC. Being a bit afraid that we might wrinkle or fold the artwork, the girls rode while I waited outside with the art very carefully rolled up in a plastic bag (some raindrops had made their daily appearance). After the ride it was time to head out (with a few Photopass stops along the way). Of course with a new camera, DW and I feel the need to be artsy a bit. This is her shot with a little of my editing:


In just a little bit we do the transportation adventure that is getting to the Backyard BBQ (bus to boat if the storms stay away, or bus to bus if not). And afterwards we will likely mosey into Magic Kingdom for...hmmm....not sure what we might do!

 

[brifraz]

Good morning one and all! Sunday morning and that means laundry time. Obviously the universe had to even out the score from us getting into all three of our rooms early...I was up at 6am and headed to the laundry (that's the flaw with being in a studio, no laundry in room). Both machines were open and I was ready to go - oops, left the detergent up in the room. So, back to the room to get it and by the time I got back, both machines were in use. So, here I am trip reporting for about 15 minutes until those loads are done and I can get our 8 days of dirty clothes taken care of. But enough of that nonsense and back to the fun from last night!

So, about 4:15pm we were headed to the BBQ. Whenever we get out early to the BBQ, we catch a bus almost immediately and don't have to wait for the boat - whenever we are running late everything takes twice as long. Thus, we were at Ft. Wilderness around 4:45pm! Did some shopping at the outpost (no buying, just shopping) and then headed to the BBQ. We always have a great time at this event and this was no exception. The saga of the Itzakadoozie continued...


And, DW and I are convinced that we may be the first people to ever ask the bartender at BBQ to pose with us for a picture, but Karen was excellent and took care of us well (and we responded in kind with a generous tip).


After the BBQ, we took the boat back to MK and went in for our usual quick visit post BBQ (it was right at 9pm). That means, Haunted Mansion! But first, one the way back, DW checked the lines app and saw that Big Thunder still had FPs, so the girls decided to go see Philharmagic while I dashed back to get an FP. Of course, by the time I got there, they had stopped distributing, but that was OK. Met the girls and went on Haunted Mansion. Then we decided we might as well do Big Thunder and to our amazement it was a walk-on! No wait at all and DD got the back row, which she loves, courtesy of an off duty CM who traded with her.


But that wasn't the last surprise of the evening - we then check Splash Mountain and it listed a 10 minute wait, so why not? Well, we were on it within 2 minutes and were all 3 squished into the front of a log (I know this isn't the best quality pic - iPhone not the new camera, but it gets the idea across!)


So, from 9pm until about 10:45pm we managed to get Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder, and Splash Mountain all in. Oh yeah, and DD did Magic Carpets of Aladdin on the way out. Obviously, MK was far less crowded last night than it has been for the past week. Woo-hoo!

OK, it should be about time for me to score the washers, so....until we meet again.

 

[jhoff3405]

Still following along, I can't believe a week is over already. I am in education as well, but due to a change in job title now work for 12 months....how you are making me miss the summers off and the opportunities presented by it!!

Your daughter and the picture with Belle is priceless!

The energy your family has in admirable, you guys are my heroes!

 

[brifraz]

Well, one week is fully in the books (or the blog in this case). Today was actually day 8, and again, a great day.

This morning was fully occupied with my doing laundry while the girls slept in until 8am or so (would have been later, but our next door neighbors are quite loud). Then we enjoyed some breakfast and decided to play some Miniature Golf. Off to Winter Summerland at Blizzard Beach. We played both course in about an hour and a half and had a lot of fun!


After mini-golf, we discussed a number of different options and decided to go with a quick run into Epcot to pick up FPs for later tonight and also to maybe do a ride or two. We ended up doing Living with the Land (one of my personal favorite rides in the World, even without a live guide) and getting FPs for Test Track that would fit with our planned evening visit. It was a little before 1pm at this point so we headed back to our room to have some lunch and some rest. And, for the first time on this trip, I actually napped - much to my daughter's delight "Daddy is really napping!!"

Dinner was at Whispering Canyon and was a lot of fun. DW finished off her water within the first couple minutes of sitting down, so she got a 64oz mason jar of H2O delivered. By the end of the meal our waitress was quite surprised when DW had finished it entirely!


After dinner we headed to Epcot to see what we might do! And, again, we did more than expected. We entered the park at about 6:45pm. Much to our shock, Sum of All Thrills had almost no wait, so that was first. Then Test Track with the FPs we had gotten earlier. A few raindrops were in the area, so this happened:


Then the girls did 2 rides on Mission:Space. I'm not a huge fan, so I wandered and took pictures. They did the green side first and DD decided it was about time she tried the orange side. And so, she did, and loved it! Such ride junkies the two of them are.


We had thought about doing Universe of Energy as well, but it was down at the time. Which lead me to this rather sad picture of Epcot. Not sure what is sadder, the fact that half of the UoE sign is without power/light (not a great testament to the solar panels on the roof) or the fact that they have cut so much from the lawn mowing budget (please realize that is a joke).


Originally, Magic Kingdom EMH were in the plans for tonight, be we decided that sleep was a better choice since we are getting up early in the AM for Animal Kingdom and last time we tried that (last Sunday to Monday) a certain 9 year old was not willing to get up!

 

[brifraz]

Here's the Reader's Digest version of today. Too tired to go into full detail and only 7 hours until we need to be in the car headed to Epcot for opening.

Up early and at Animal Kingdom around 7:40am for the 8am EMH. Here's the rundown of our 1 hour before the regular guests arrived.
Get Expedition Everest Fastpasses (for 8:40am)
Ride Expedition Everest

Ride Expedition Everest again (just the girls as my stomach can't do it twice in a row, so I get Kali FPs for later)
Ride Primeval Whirl
Ride Expedition Everest again (just the girls once more, with me taking the following photo)

Ride Expedition Everest again (this time with FPs and with me riding again)
Yup. They rode E:E 4 times this morning in the EMH, plus a ride on Primeval Whirl in the middle. Never waited more than 2-3 minutes. That is such a great feeling!

Now that the park was open, we met with Explorer Mickey and Minnie and then went to Pizzafari for some breakfast. After breakfast, back to Asia for Flights of Wonder. While waiting outside the theatre, there was a short bird show and DD was chosen to throw grapes for one of the birds. But that was nothing compared with inside the show, when she was chosen as the guest volunteer!


After the show, it was over to Kali to ride. In case you don't know, there are FREE lockers (for 2 hours) next to the bathrooms across from the entrance to Kali. What a great find those were. The ride was good, but always seems a bit short on both thrills and length to me. Then it was time for Finding Nemo: The Musical. In our opinion, that's THE best show on property. We own the CD (DW went to college with Bobby Lopez, so we have an affinity for his music) and have it playing in the car often. Well, with the new loaner camera, I felt obliged to take too many pictures, so I'll just share one with you.


Following Nemo, we headed out of the park (I should mention that in between a number of those things, DD was doing the Wilderness Explorer booklet and collecting stickers, which meant a decent visit to the Boneyard and some stations along the way out). We were back in our room by 1:30pm for a short, but much needed break. No naps today, just some down time.

3pm and heading to Studios for 50s Prime Time dinner and our evening visit - hopefully highlighted by CharacterPalooza (where a large number of random characters show up on the Streets of America just for kicks). Early dinner at 3:30pm was fun as always, Uncle Dale was quite entertaining. Then we went over to the Animation area so DD could give Heather (you remember her....artist who did Tinkerbell for DD) a present to thank her. DD did a drawing of Mickey here in the room to give her. Sadly, she had just left for the day, but the gift was left for her to pick up later with another CM. Since we were there, we did the Animation lesson and drew Winnie the Pooh. Then, back to the Streets of America to hopefully catch some characters! Alas, we had no such luck tonight. We sat from about 5:30-6:30pm hoping for the visits, but for some reason they didn't come out tonight. There was an off-duty CM also waiting (and about 15 or so other folks) and she said she did not know why they didn't come out. Oh well!

We went over to the Backlot Tour (for me, very depressing as I loved that attraction back in the 90s when it had something to it) and then Little Mermaid. After that, it was across the park to visit Star Tours. For those that like to keep score, we got Stormtroopers-Tatooine-Yoda-Naboo (and I played the nerdy Star Wars guy who got mad at the continuity flaws with the Star Wars film universe). We stopped for some snacks before going back over to Animation for 2 more lessons - Woody and Grumpy. Always enjoyable. After the art, we were planning to leave (it was 11:30pm after all), but DW and DD heard music coming from Playhouse Disney and we went in for the last half our of the character dance party (which we had no idea existed). What a blast!


The crowd was very small, so DD got significant time dancing alone with Goofy, Pluto, and Minnie - but mainly Goofy who had great interactions and pretty impressive moves as well. DW even got in on the act toward the end and was dancing with Goof while DD danced with Pluto. What a cool event. So, now it is 1am, the girls are both falling asleep and it's about time I did the same. See you tomorrow!

 

[brifraz]

Good evening, all. Another fine day in the World! If you read my pre-trip report, you will find that today did not really follow the plans at all (at least the first half of the day), but we had things we wanted to do!

So, we were up and at Epcot around 8:15am to wait for opening. We bring a deck of cards everywhere and just sit in line and play to keep ourselves entertained. At opening, it was right to Soarin' to get FPs and also to ride, which we did. FPs were for 9:40am, so we headed to Innoventions to do the Great Piggy Band Adventure. It may not be the height of excitement, but we do enjoy that little diversion...


We also visited THINK! and played there for a few minutes. Then we went back over and did our Soarin' FPs and headed into World Showcase around 10am. You might ask why did we do that when it doesn't open until 11am (this is where you say why did you do that when....). Well, the new and improved Boulangerie opens at 9am and we needed some food! That place has to rival Wolfgang Puck Express for best value for Counter Service credits. 2 credits and we had a Quiche Lorraine, a huge Garlic/Cheese roll, an Apple Turnover, a chocolate chip brioche roll, a latte and a strawberry smoothie. Nice. By the time we were done eating it was 11am so we headed to the UK for DD to do a Perry adventure and for us to visit with Carl at Rose and Crown one more time. DD saved the world twice and DW and I each enjoyed 2 pints. That's a nice way to spend an hour or so.

Then back to the room for a little rest from 2pm-5pm. I guess that would make it a big rest. At 5pm it was time to head to Magic Kingdom. Upon entering, we went to get FPs for Buzz (they were available and before our dinner ADR). Then, the plan was to do some Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. But somebody (who shall remain nameless, but might be typing this blog) forgot to put the SoMK cards in the bag. So...we went on a slow cruise (of fatherly guilt) on the riverboat and then back over to Buzz.

About 7:30pm we headed to Be Our Guest for our dinner reservations. Despite the volume and crowded-ness of the ballroom, we really enjoyed our meal and the fact that it was snowing right behind our table. By this point, we were solidly back on plan and took the monorail to TTC for the distant view of Wishes! which was well worth while (yeah, 6 W words in a row). This has not been an ideal trip for photography (what with the camera dying and all), so it was no surprise that the tripod I had just could not hold steady enough to get good fireworks shots (I have a heavy one at home in Maryland as I thought the new lighter camera would be OK on a lighter tripod, except that camera broke and blah, blah, blah) so I ended up using the closest railing and my hand which never is perfect by does yield some decent results.

 

[AJ's B]

Thoroughly enjoying your report so far! I can't wait for more. I"ll be at BLT on 8/21.

 

[ginadee]

This is fantastic and your pics are amazing. Lovin it!

 

[brifraz]

Sadly, we are getting close to the end. But NOT YET (he yells adamantly). Today was another amazing day (can you tell this trip has just be pixie dust-tastic?).

Despite quite a bit of grumbling from DD, we were at Animal Kingdom at 7:30am for 8am EMH opening. When we arrived, we were shocked to see the lines already to the ticket booths! What was up? Well, 4 pairs of the tap-stiles were not on and thus had no line, so I kept a very close eye on them...when they lit up, we made our move and were the first in line at the far right tap-stiles. Upon entry, we made our way to the rope drop in front of the tree and while there, DD started her usual polite conversation with the CMs in the area. This time it was Steph and after a couple minutes of talking, she pulled us aside and asked if we wanted to the be the first family on the safari. Heck, yeah! Little did we realize that meant that we led the slow walk to the ride and got our very own private truck with Steph as our personal guide (in addition to Josh the driver).


The ride was amazing. I have over 100 pictures to prove it. All the animals were still out and being brave (no trucks had come through yet) and we got one extra special surprise...yesterday, they introduced the new baby giraffe to the savanna and it had been staying in hiding pretty much all the time. Well, here it is - not totally out to greet us, but good enough!


I'm not going to upload the other 99 pics from the safari, but they were great and I'm very happy with them! After the safari, we did the Pangani jungle trek and visited with the gorillas and their other friends (with TONS of stops along the way for the Wilderness Explorers badges - a nice new addition for the kids, in our opinion). Then it was time for a different kind of wildlife - breakfast with the characters at Tusker House. Always a good time and nice to have some different options at the buffet.


After breakfast, the plan was to do the Lion King show, but we decided that we'd rather do the Pangani Jungle trek and then It's Tough to Be a Bug. While the tigers were all sound asleep, this little guy was out and having a good time and I just liked the look of him, so...


Tough to Be a Bug is always fun and I get a great kick out of the people who are screaming in terror at the giant plastic spiders! We then headed out of the park and back to our room for a short break. Around 1:30pm we went over to the Boardwalk for Welcome Home Wednesdays - that's the show/games/meeting for DVC members that they do each week. We enjoy it quite a bit and it is a nice change of pace. Of course, DD got chosen for one of the games and came back with a unique DVC pin. After that, we were back in our room for another quick break and then the nice, relaxing boat ride to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping.

Walked the majority of the complex and shed a tear (or thousand) walking through Pleasure Island (but that discussion is for other threads). Enjoyed shopping at the Lego store and World of Disney and then had dinner at Raglan Road. It was our first time (quite a shock given our love of British culture and beer). Suffice to say, we loved it. A great dinner and entertainment to boot (and a few of the aforementioned beers). After dinner, DD wanted one last visit to DisneyQuest, so we stopped in for a quick ride on Aladdin's Magic Carpets and the Cyber Space Mountain before finally catching a bus back to OKW. Once back at OKW, I started typing my blog post for today and that brings us up to now.

 

[ginadee]

Again...amazing pics and sounds like a fantastic day. I absolutely cant wait to go.

 

[coachwnh]

Sadly, we are getting close to the end. But NOT YET (he yells adamantly). Today was another amazing day (can you tell this trip has just be pixie dust-tastic?).

Despite quite a bit of grumbling from DD, we were at Animal Kingdom at 7:30am for 8am EMH opening. When we arrived, we were shocked to see the lines already to the ticket booths! What was up? Well, 4 pairs of the tap-stiles were not on and thus had no line, so I kept a very close eye on them...when they lit up, we made our move and were the first in line at the far right tap-stiles. Upon entry, we made our way to the rope drop in front of the tree and while there, DD started her usual polite conversation with the CMs in the area. This time it was Steph and after a couple minutes of talking, she pulled us aside and asked if we wanted to the be the first family on the safari. Heck, yeah! Little did we realize that meant that we led the slow walk to the ride and got our very own private truck with Steph as our personal guide (in addition to Josh the driver).


The ride was amazing. I have over 100 pictures to prove it. All the animals were still out and being brave (no trucks had come through yet) and we got one extra special surprise...yesterday, they introduced the new baby giraffe to the savanna and it had been staying in hiding pretty much all the time. Well, here it is - not totally out to greet us, but good enough!


I'm not going to upload the other 99 pics from the safari, but they were great and I'm very happy with them! After the safari, we did the Pangani jungle trek and visited with the gorillas and their other friends (with TONS of stops along the way for the Wilderness Explorers badges - a nice new addition for the kids, in our opinion). Then it was time for a different kind of wildlife - breakfast with the characters at Tusker House. Always a good time and nice to have some different options at the buffet.


After breakfast, the plan was to do the Lion King show, but we decided that we'd rather do the Pangani Jungle trek and then It's Tough to Be a Bug. While the tigers were all sound asleep, this little guy was out and having a good time and I just liked the look of him, so...


Tough to Be a Bug is always fun and I get a great kick out of the people who are screaming in terror at the giant plastic spiders! We then headed out of the park and back to our room for a short break. Around 1:30pm we went over to the Boardwalk for Welcome Home Wednesdays - that's the show/games/meeting for DVC members that they do each week. We enjoy it quite a bit and it is a nice change of pace. Of course, DD got chosen for one of the games and came back with a unique DVC pin. After that, we were back in our room for another quick break and then the nice, relaxing boat ride to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping.

Walked the majority of the complex and shed a tear (or thousand) walking through Pleasure Island (but that discussion is for other threads). Enjoyed shopping at the Lego store and World of Disney and then had dinner at Raglan Road. It was our first time (quite a shock given our love of British culture and beer). Suffice to say, we loved it. A great dinner and entertainment to boot (and a few of the aforementioned beers). After dinner, DD wanted one last visit to DisneyQuest, so we stopped in for a quick ride on Aladdin's Magic Carpets and the Cyber Space Mountain before finally catching a bus back to OKW. Once back at OKW, I started typing my blog post for today and that brings us up to now.

Thats awesome about the Safari!!!!

 

[G8rchamps]

We will be there tomorrow night and your posts are one of the few things keeping me functional until I get there. Thank you for the photos and constant updates (I think you and I would get along due to your writing with humor, sarcasm(there should be a font for that), and affinity for beer. Awesome thread!

 

[brifraz]

Again...amazing pics and sounds like a fantastic day. I absolutely cant wait to go.

Thanks for the compliment. I am having fun with this loaner camera, but still a bit out of sorts about the other one...

 

[brifraz]

We will be there tomorrow night and your posts are one of the few things keeping me functional until I get there. Thank you for the photos and constant updates (I think you and I would get along due to your writing with humor, sarcasm(there should be a font for that), and affinity for beer. Awesome thread!

Excellent! We are heading out tomorrow night. After late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, we will do some Magic Kingdom time (and maybe meet up with some good friends there if they arrive in time). Should we be looking for you?

 

[G8rchamps]

Excellent! We are heading out tomorrow night. After late breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, we will do some Magic Kingdom time (and maybe meet up with some good friends there if they arrive in time). Should we be looking for you?

We are from Florida and leaving after work. Hoping to get to MK in time for wishes and then get to bed for Rope Drop Sat AM. Hope your trip finishes up strong, safe travels, and thank you again for your time and effort in posting.

 

[brifraz]

So, the last 'full' day is complete. Busy as ever, but quite enjoyable, of course. Sorry to say I have no pictures for today's blog. AM at Typhoon Lagoon (no camera there) and PM at Epcot with steady light rain (not willing to take out the rental camera in the rain) makes for a picture-less day. The only shots we have were with the iPhone and taken at the Gurgling Suitcase in Old Key West. Those pics can be found on the Facebook page for Friends of the Gurgling Suitcase (plug completed).

Up, fed, and in the car to Typhoon Lagoon at 8:15am. Almost first in line and after a quick locker rental and stashing all our stuff, we were the first on Gangplank Falls at 9am. After that it was right back up that side of the mountain for Keelhaul Falls and then Mayday Falls. DD loved the first two, but Mayday was a little bit much for her. We then took the Ketchakiddieadoodlethingy lazy river around the park to the front right side to do the Crush 'n' Gusher. We did the Coconut route as a trio and then Banana as a duo (DD and I). By then, the line was really starting to build, so we didn't do the Pineapple route and headed over to the Shark Reef. DD was very brave and ready to rock, but within about 5 seconds of snorkel time, she got some salt water in her mouth and was pretty much done. She bravely tried to put her face down a couple more times, but to no avail, and needed the lifeguard to help out with a floaty to help her across the tank. To recover from that, we did another full circuit on the Ketchupandmustardfiddlefaddle lazy river, let her play some games at the Teen Beach Movie party, and then had some lunch at Typhoon Tilly's.

12pm means the crowds are getting seriously large, so we are getting out! Back to OKW for DD to continue watery fun at the pool and DW and I to enjoy some time with Roberto at the Gurgling Suitcase. Nice way to spend a couple of hours. At 3pm, though, it was back up to the room to get ready to head out. We were going to the 4pm Open House for DVC at the Grand Floridian - not that we can in any way afford to buy more points, but we wanted to see the rooms and free food and drink is always a draw. It was a nice presentation and the rooms are huge and stunning. Maybe someday????

We then were off to Epcot for 5:30pm reservations at the Biergarten. Always a great time and food we definitely enjoy. After dinner, it was time for some boat rides - Maelstrom and Gran Fiesta Tour. Both fun. I think I am one of the last defenders of the Norway movie. Despite the obviously 1980s hair, clothing, and computers, I love that film. Don't ask why...I just do! Then Reflections of China, which I find to be equally entertaining (and also equally a bit dated). Then we went back to the back and did The American Adventure. This was DD and DWs first time doing this attraction. I had thought that I hadn't done it before either, but as soon as I saw it, I remembered it from a trip back in the 90s. We were exiting that just before 9pm, so we decided to slowly walk around the lagoon and watch Illuminations from different perspectives (we almost always watch from UK or between US and Japan) in Italy through Mexico. It was interesting. We might have to try that side of the lagoon a little more often!

That brings us back to our room and getting ready for our last sleep at the World. I doubt that I will post tomorrow or even Saturday, so it will likely be until Sunday that you get to read the final day of our trip (which also will not have too many pictures as we have to return the camera tomorrow after lunch). But until then, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars.

 

[brifraz]

Alright, I may be only just barely awake at this point, but I need to finish up the trip report!

So, Friday morning we decided to just sleep in a little bit (for me that means waking at 6:30am, but the girls made it closer to 8am), get everything packed up, and have a casual breakfast from Goods-to-Go before hitting the parks. As you might recall, we had some DDP issues on BOTH of our previous check-out days with our cards getting de-activated, so we were a bit concerned about the future of this day.

About 9am we had the car and our bellies packed full and were heading to Magic Kingdom with DD in her Alice dress (listen, I know you care more about the pictures than the text, but I still have to load the ones from the borrowed camera - they are on a SD card somewhere in the luggage. Soon, I promise.) and our first task was to get a FP to use after our 1900 Park Fare meal. BUT, nothing was on FP after noon, so we rode Carousel of Progress (still fun, but I'd rather the last scene was restored back to the older vision of the future or fully modernized - don't like the half way between that it is now) and then Space FPs were for 11:05-12:05. Perfect.

Out of the park at 10:30am and on the monorail to GF for a meal with our Alice and the real Alice, Hatter, Pooh, Tigger, and Mary Poppins. It was great. Having the latest ADR time possible at 11am, the place was almost empty and we got a ton of character time. Excellent. UNTIL, as we go to pay (11:35am) ...yup, cards are de-activated. Manager has to call OKW to verify. Colossal pain and time waste. At 11:55am we are finally out, but concerned about our Quick Service and Snacks for the rest of the day, so we stop at GF concierge to try to figure things out. They talk to some high up muckety-muck on the phone who gives us a phone number to call each time we buy anything and they will verify over the phone....yeah, don't see that working so well. The GF folks feel bad that we are now there after noon, so they give us some courtesy FPs to use in case ours don't work any more.

Back in MK at 12:15pm and Carlos (yes, I'm name dropping the folks who helped us) at the FP line at Space Mountain lets us in late with our original FPs (after a very brief explanation of our plight, he was sympathetic to our vibrations). After the ride, we grab some FPs for Buzz and then head back to Fantasyland to do some Sorcerer's of the Magic Kingdom and complete a couple missions before hanging out with the Presidents of the USA (not the band, early 90s friends) which we haven't seen since Obama was added. After that a quick finish of another SoMK adventure and then Buzz with FP. But, of course, on the way to Buzz we decide to get an ice cream sandwich (ice cream parlor) and snack (tomorrowland terrace). Neither had any capacity to deal with calling the number or dealing with the DDP issues, so both basically comp'ed us the food - which is very nice, but not how things should work and definitely not going to work when we try to get dinner.

So, after a ride on Buzz we head back to OKW to get this thing resolved. Anthony (manager/concierge) dealt with us and was the first person to actually understand what was going on and deal with it in a manner that made the rest of our last day easier instead of more difficult. Supposedly the issue is known and is getting resolved in the upgrade - it only happens to DVC members who purchase DDP, but seems random other than that - on next Tuesday.

So, once we leave OKW we are headed to Studios (5pm) for our final evening. And what an evening it was! Upon entering we headed right back to the Streets of America for....Characterpalooza. If you aren't family with that event, check out the Kenny The Pirate website for the details. It is a random event where a large number of characters come of for a quick round of meets prior to show prep for Fantasmic. So, at 6pm we got to meet: Gepetto, Pinocchio, Stitch, Capt Hook, Mulan, Jasmine, Mary Poppins, Green Army Man - we did not meet with Chip, Dale, and Minnie who were also out. Lots of great interaction - beginning with Hook convincing us (through pantomime) to do a family self-portrait with him.


And a strange interaction between a Green Army Man, Jasmine, and our DD.


It was brilliant to say the least and I highly recommend it, although for us it was 50% accuracy as it did not happen the first evening we tried. I think that is what is cool about it - if you get it, awesome - and if you don't, well, they didn't promise it so you really didn't lose anything! After that, we decided to stay on the character thing and visit with Phineas and Ferb which is well loved by all of us - we have all the music and almost all of it memorized, so this is a family meet and greet!

(hopefully the Photopass shot will be in a little better focus, darn iPhone)

Then back down Sunset Boulevard for our final ride - RnRC with our 'special' FPs from the Grand Floridian. DD and I got the first row, which for her was awesome and for me was thankfully before dinner. Speaking of which, we decided to finish our our Quick Service credits by stopping off at Old Port Royale in Caribbean Beach Resort for dinner before hitting the road.

For those who care about these things...we hit I4 at about 8:15pm. Made a short nap stop at the GA welcome center and a longer nap stop at the SC welcome center and finally made it home to far northern Maryland (NW of Baltimore) at 2:15pm. 950 miles in 18 hours is certainly not our best time ever, but given our level of exhaustion and the extended stop in SC (almost 3 hours of sleep which is rare for me in the car), I'll take it! Our plan was to leave at 8pm and get home at 2pm, so we were right on for that.

More pics and DDP wrap up and other thoughts will come as my brain gets into more focus later this week!