MontyMon's June Adventure to WDW - 6/24-6/29

Travel and Day One:

I picked up DS12 after school on Friday, 22 June and we started south. My goal was to carry enough reading material to get him from Ottawa to the Auto Train in Lorton, VA. Well, he’s a more voracious reader than I thought and the three books I brought weren’t quite enough!

We drove as far as Clarks Summit, PA the first leg. My goal had been Scranton, PA, so we were close, but I was tired and it wouldn’t have been safe to push further. We found a Comfort Inn that was passable and crashed for the night. The hotel provided a self-serve breakfast that included fresh waffles! Gonna have to get me a waffle iron… LOL

We had a relatively short drive to Lorton on Saturday, 23 June. The cars were already lined up when we arrived, but weren’t actually being let in yet. Turns out the train had been late arriving and hadn’t finished off-loading yet. They finally finished around 1230 and by that time we’d checked in and gotten everything else ready, so the loading went smoothly and we departed on time.

The trip was made bearable by the digital movie thing they rent to passengers, best $35 invested ever. DS was content and I wasn’t bombarded with “Are we there yet?” and “What now?” the whole trip. The evening meal was great! Excellent food and service. Then we tried to sleep… OMG! I was thrown back and forth all night. It was a noisy and rough ride all the way. If I managed to doze off during the night, I didn’t notice. I’ll avoid the train in future, but only because of trying to sleep. The rest of the experience was good. Well, except that our vehicle was second-last off the train! DS was starting to joke that they’d left it in Lorton.

DS enjoying a sandwich while watching a movie on the rental viewer:

Obligatory picture for Mom of DS in front of our train car:

And me:

A quick trip down I-4 [including a stop for gas] and we were checked in and into our room at the Contemporary by noon. Beautiful room, great view of MK and we were quickly organized and out the door.

View from our room:

Next… An afternoon in the Magic Kingdom

 

[Monty]

Sunday – MK

We arrived in the park around 1PM and headed for Space FPs. Then we headed for our Dole Floats… stopping for a quick PotC ride since the line wasn’t too long. Had our first Dole Floats and were happy! Then we went back to Pirates for another go. We went and rode Space on our FPs and then headed to BTMRR/Splash. We grabbed FPs for Splash and did two back-to-back rides on the Big Thunder since the line was quite short. Then we wandered a bit and had to duck into some shops because of a sudden downpour. Then we headed back to Pirates for a third ride, it was surprisingly a short wait – we thought everyone would go there to avoid the rain. We rode TTA and then headed to Splash to use our FPs.

DS at Pirates’ Crows Nest:

MMmmmmm… Yummy Dole Floats:

By this time we were getting very tired and quite hot, so we headed back to our hotel for a shower and a change of clothes before our ADR at California Grill. DS12 is not a cheap date! He ordered Sushimi, Ravioli appetizer and Free Range Chicken! I had the Corn Bisque and the Filet. Fortunately, the waiter forgot the Ravioli [DS couldn’t eat all of what he did get]. I forgot to ask them to cut my steak for me but it was so tender it cut with a fork and was absolutely delicious! A different waiter saw me cutting the steak with my fork and insisted on cutting it up for me – he cut it into pieces that a baby wouldn’t choke on – but I appreciated the thought. Then it was back to our room to watch Wishes. I took lots of pictures, but very few turned out at all, let alone well!

DS and I at California Grill:

Wishes through the poor camera work of yours truly:

Tommorow - EPCOT

 

[Monty]

Monday – EPCOT

Monday started with a shared order of Tonga Toast at the Kona Café and then we were at EPCOT for the day. I made DS wear a Birthday pin [his birthday was in April, but this trip was part of his present], he got a few “happy birthday” wishes from CMs, but that was it. No big deal, he wasn’t really ‘into’ the idea of celebrating his birthday anyway.

Ever-popular EPCOT Golfball pic:

We started with a ride on SSE. Then headed to Soarin’ to get FPs. Since it was early, we got into Stand By and rode, the wait was about 20 minutes despite the posted 60 minute wait [the park had only been open for half an hour, how could they post a 60 minute wait?]. Then we did Living with the Land and Circle of Life before heading back for our FPs on Soarin’. When we got to the back of the FP line, it was right beside the back of the Stand By line [now posted as a 70 minute wait] just before the wall that splits the two lines. There was no way that it could be 70 minutes from there, so we crossed over to Stand By and saved our FPs. We waited an extra 15 minutes by doing so but could [and did] use our FPs for another ride right away. So we squeezed in three rides on Soarin’ in one morning! On our way out I bought a Soarin’ T-shirt for each of us and a ball cap for myself from the merchandise kiosk outside the ride. I decided to wear the hat and send the shirts to our resort. We rode JIIWF as well.

We then headed to Mission: Space to get FPs. The wait for Orange was posted as 30 minutes, so we got in line. We headed to Test Track, but about ten minutes into what looked to be about a twenty minute wait [posted as 60] the ride suspended operations because of a storm moving into the area. We waited about a half hour and gave up. We went to Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Then we returned to M:S. The wait for Orange was posted as 30 minutes, so we did Stand By first [only waited 15] then we rode again using our FPs. Then we headed into Mouse Gear to look around. We ordered a 3D image of DS above Sorcerer Mickey 2007 in a plexiglass block as a gift for my Ex [$100 but really worth it]. The CM said we could pick it up after 9:30 that evening [more on that]. We headed into World Showcase and rode Gran Fiesta [we both enjoyed the new version] and Maelstrom [the movie at the end wasn’t showing – which is good for us, we hate waiting for the doors to open so we can bypass it]. Then we just wandered the WS looking in different shops. We caught a bit of the British Invasion in UK, I was enjoying it, but DS got bored quickly. We had a while until our ADRs so we wandered some more and then I convinced DS to watch Off Kilter. He wasn’t happy about it, until they started playing and then he got right into it! We both loved the show and I had to drag DS away so we could eat!

DS – A Canadian outside the Canadian Pavilion:

Dinner at Le Cellier was perfect [as always]. DS had Shrimp and I had Cheddar soup as appetizers and we both had the 7-ounce Filet in Maple glaze. DS had the Moose Mousse for dessert while I had Cherry Shortcake. I was a bit disappointed that they didn’t make any fuss about DS’s birthday, but since he didn’t care I wasn’t going to let it bother me. Leaving the restaurant, I forgot the Soarin’ ball cap I’d bought earlier… Oops.

Then we headed back to Test Track. The wait was posted as 80 or 90 minutes [I don’t remember] and since they had said FPs from the rain delay earlier would be honoured all day we figured we’d have a long wait. The line moved well and we were in and out in less than 30 [I don’t think we ever had a Stand By wait that was anywhere near as long as posted all week]. We went back to Mouse Gear around 9 hoping our 3D thingy would be ready early… It wasn’t, in fact he said he’d made a mistake and it wouldn’t be ready until late the next day! I wasn’t crazy about coming back to EPCOT just for that, but he said they could send it to Contemporary, so it wasn’t too bad. I filled out the form and he said it would be there either Wednesday or Thursday. After that we were pretty tired, so we skipped Illuminations and headed to our room and watched Wishes again.

Next up - MGM

 

[Monty]

Tuesday – MGM

Tuesday we went to MGM. The CM on the turnstile where I entered didn’t know how to clear me to not use the fingerprint scan [one must have fingers for that] but managed to let me in. First stop was RnRC to get FPs, but the lines for FPs were insanely long so we jumped into Stand By. The wait was about 20 minutes and when we came out the FP lines were two or three deep instead of the 20 or 30 they’d been earlier. Unfortunately, DS’ AP worked for an FP but mine said I wasn’t in the park yet! So we headed to Guest Relations to correct that [they issued a new AP]. They were also nice enough to give me an FP that I could use at the same time as DS’.

DS and my Hat shots:

[and yes Steve, that's my WDWMagic golf shirt... no-one commented, except someone who said she preferred AllEarsnet but liked this one too. :shrug: ]

We grabbed a snack for breakfast [this was our only morning without Breakfast ADRs]. We rode Star Tours twice in a row. The ride isn’t as rough as I remember, it was almost too smooth. Then we rode GMR and did the Back Lot Tour before riding Star Tours a third time. Then it was time for our FPs on RnRC. The Stand By was posted as 40 minutes so we went in line first [about 20 minutes wait] and then used our FPs.

Then we saw Beauty and the Beast. We sat dead centre right behind the sound engineers and had a great view of the show and got to watch a bit of the ‘magic’ of behind the scenes in the booth. Four for a Quarter did the pre-show, they were really good! They finished by singing to a girl for her birthday, it was very nice. The show was great as well. From there we headed to Hollywood and Vine for our Fantasmic Dinner ADRs, we both really like the buffet there..

After dinner we watched Voyage of the Little Mermaid followed by Muppet Vision. We went through the Animation Studio, shopped for a bit and then went to Fantasmic. We were there for about an hour before the show, but having had little or no sleep for three nights, I needed the rest. The show has changed somewhat, no fire breathing dragon and a few other things seemed different, but excellent show still. We were back in our room in time to watch Wishes. Having an MK view from the tower was a great Idea.

Back to MK next…

 

[Monty]

Wednesday – MK

[I didn’t make notes for Wednesday or Thursday; lack of sleep impeded my brain function…]

Wednesday was our full MK day, but first we shared another Tonga Toast at Kona Café:

We managed to ride Space, Splash, Pirates and BTMRR a number of times each. We had Dole Floats again:

I badgered DS all day to ride IASW, but he kept saying no [he hates that the song gets stuck in his head]. Finally he succumbed, but was none too happy:

We enjoyed CoP again as well. Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern. The Characters all seemed to come in a burst, which was a change from previous visits when we had to wait a while after we’d finished our meal to see one or two characters that hadn’t made it to us yet. Our waiter was horrible. He swung past the table after we’d been seated for ten minutes and grabbed the slip that said who we were and that we were using DDE and said he’d be right back to take our drink order, it was another five minutes before he returned. He took our drink order [DS ordered the frozen punch drink in a commemorative glass, I ordered milk], and then disappeared for another five. He brought our food, but no drinks [he’d forgotten what we’d ordered]. We finally got everything, but he only checked with us once during the meal for refills and to ask if everything was OK, he didn’t actually wait for an answer. I tried to catch his eye three separate times to get a milk refill without success [I’m a hard guy to ignore, but he managed quite well]. Then when he came with the bill he hadn’t charged for the specialty drink or deducted our 20% discount [he also hadn’t asked if we were ready for our bill, at which time I’d have provided the DDE card and asked about buying a second commemorative glass]. I asked about DS’ glass and he said he doesn’t get the glass! I showed him on the menu where it says the drink comes in a commemorative glass and his reply was “Oh, people don’t want that.” I explained that we did want it and indeed that was why we’d ordered it and also we wanted a second one. He wasn’t remotely apologetic, but added two mugs to the bill [one at $5 and one at $3 – both the same mug] and deducted our DDE discount from the food. I was absolutely stunned at his poor service, we’ve never had anyone else that was less than wonderful.

Dale recruited the dad from a nearby family for a group shot:

Chip just showed attitude!

After dinner I couldn’t take any more, so we used the back route to avoid the Electrical Parade and associated crowds and went back to our hotel. The parcel pick-up couldn’t find one of my packages [the Soarin’ T-shirts] and after much back-room fuss and a long wait they assured me they’d find the package or replace its contents the following day. DS watched the fireworks from the room again while I crashed.

Finally, AK is next…

 

[Monty]

Thursday – AK

Thursday started at Chef Mickey’s. We didn’t get a visit from Donald, but Daisy, Mickey, Goofy and Pluto made it. Minney came by while DS was gone to the washroom and promised to come back, but didn’t [understandable, given how rushed they are and how many tables she must visit]. A great buffet, as usual. Then we were off to AK. This time we drove, since we had ADRs at Boma, I wanted a smooth travel plan.

Pluto liked my WDWMagic shirt:

These two are up to no good!

AK was our last park for the trip. The obligatory pic in front of the Tree of Life:

We headed for EE and grabbed FPs, the line was already stretched out behind the FP machines, so we didn’t bother trying Stand By this time. We headed for Kali and got into line. It wasn’t too bad a wait, but still took a while. We didn’t get terribly wet… Usually, I seem to be the heaviest on the raft and as a result gravity has me at the front at the bottom of the drop and I get drenched. This time, there were more adults opposite me and they got the brunt of the water! I got damp enough to cool off a bit, but not to require wringing out any clothing. We went to the safari and DS took a number of good pictures then we headed to EE:

This guy was resting his chin on a rock…

The only giraffe we saw:

Heffalumps!

A nice shot of Zebras:

And a gorgeous shot of the lions, particularly for the time of day:

We grabbed new FPs before riding using the first set, the new set were good for 2:15-3:15. As always, a great ride! Then we went back and rode Kali. We got FPs for another go on Kali on our way out. We went and got in line for the Finding Nemo show, the line was moving and we got in and had fairly good seats off to the right side of the lower section. We were both pleasantly surprised by the show [we were both Tarzan Rocks fans, so we had a negative view of this “pretender”] and came out very happy.

We rode Kali once Stand By and then with our FPs and then headed to EE for our second ride. I tried to get FPs after the 2:15 start of the previous set, but it wouldn’t issue more! It said we couldn’t get more until the end of the previous set’s window at 3:15. Since they were issuing FPs for park close at that point, I knew the FPs would be gone before then [I was right], so we only rode twice this trip, bringing our total to 29 rides each!

We watched Tough to be a Bug and then headed to AKL for our Boma ADRs. We were about an hour and a half early, so we went out to watch animals from Arusha Rock. There weren’t very many to view, the construction around AKL has them acting a bit weird according to the CM we talked to. So we ended up waiting a while in the lobby, DS watched Disney cartoons to pass the time and I just relaxed.

Dinner was as wonderful as ever and we stuffed ourselves with way too much food! Topped off with Zebra Domes we waddled back to the car and headed to our room. Again, we watched Wishes from our room, this time punctuated by a car alarm that was set off repeatedly by the fireworks. I hope the owner used his car every day, I imagine two or three nights of Wishes setting of his alarm would drain the battery.

Tomorrow, DTD and start heading home…

 

[Monty]

Friday – DTD

We had ADRs for more Tonga Toast, but canceled them last night so we could sleep in today. We still ended up awake and checked out by 9. We drove to DTD to finish off our vacation. We had breakfast sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich and headed to the Lego Store to feed DS’ habit. Then we went to World of Disney to feed my habit… After some shopping we loaded our goodies into the car and went to Ghirardelli’s for two Decadent Drinking Chocolates for our final treat before hitting the road home.

The Drive Home

We made fairly good progress out of Florida, stopped for dinner at place that said it was a Steakhouse, but was a buffet instead [and a not terribly appealing buffet at that] but it was food and served its purpose… We drove a while longer and stopped at a Days Inn in NC for the night. This was probably the worst choice of motel I’ve ever made, the room was pungent with the smell of disinfectant, the bathroom fan was noisy and the room faced I-95 and had little or no soundproofing at all. If I dozed off at all, I didn’t notice, but I rested anyway and we headed out yesterday morning.

DS and I had planned to take advantage of the long weekend [today is Canada Day, so tomorrow is a day off] and visit Hershey, PA, but he decided he’d rather sleep in his own bed than another motel room, so we drove home instead. We stopped near Hershey at a Perkins and had a nice lunch then we stopped again at a Tim Horton’s in Canada for a bowl of soup and a doughnut each before finally getting home around 10PM.

All in all, a great vacation, but I don’t think I’ll drive again, it just took too much out of me…

Hope you’ve enjoyed my trip report, another one coming in early September for our 27 August to 1 September trip.

 

[garyhoov]

:sohappy:

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

I had the same problem sleeping on the train.

I may have warned you back when you were talking about taking the train way back when, but I can't remember. You seemed so excited I may have avoided saying anything so as not to ruin your fun.:lookaroun

 

[unkadug]

I liked your photo's from your room so much that I stitched them together! :wave:

 

[garyhoov]

:sohappy:

Great report! Thanks for sharing.

I had the same problem sleeping on the train.

I may have warned you back when you were talking about taking the train way back when, but I can't remember. You seemed so excited I may have avoided saying anything so as not to ruin your fun.:lookaroun

Here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showpost.php?p=2128559&postcount=2237

Don't say I didn't warn you.:lol:

 

[figmentmom]

Great trip report, Monty! You and your son looked like you had a terrific time together. :sohappy: And you're quite a pair of handsome guys.

 

[CaptainMichael]

I liked your photo's from your room so much that I stitched them together! :wave:

Awesome!:sohappy:

Glad you had a good time Monty...I'm jealous of that view

 

[Monty]

I liked your photo's from your room so much that I stitched them together! :wave:

Cool!

Here: http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showpost.php?p=2128559&postcount=2237

Don't say I didn't warn you.:lol:

I remembered during the night... I had nothing better to do at the time, since sleep seemed out of the question. :ROFLOL:

Great trip report, Monty! You and your son looked like you had a terrific time together. :sohappy: And you're quite a pair of handsome guys.

Aw, gawrsh...

Awesome!:sohappy:

Glad you had a good time Monty...I'm jealous of that view

It was really nice, not sure I'd pay that much every trip though....

 

[maggiegrace1]

Great Report Monty!

Love the pictures..You two are the cutest!..

 

[MaXXimus]

Great report and man I would give a million bucks to enjoy a 1 on 1 trip with my daughter.

If you dont mind me asking how long of a trip was it by train? I hate to think about losing the extra time but after this time flying I just dont think my heart can take it and would feel much more confortable taking a train and being able to use my own car if needed.

 

[Monty]

Great report and man I would give a million bucks to enjoy a 1 on 1 trip with my daughter.

If you dont mind me asking how long of a trip was it by train? I hate to think about losing the extra time but after this time flying I just dont think my heart can take it and would feel much more confortable taking a train and being able to use my own car if needed.

The train leaves Lorton, VA at 4PM and is scheduled to arrive the following morning at 9:30. You have to arrive before 3PM to have time for them to load your car and it can take as much as two hours to unload the cars [like I said, ours was the second from last unloaded, after an hour and a half]. For me, the timings were what worked best... Had we driven through, we wouldn't have arrived at WDW until much later Sunday and despite not sleeping, I got some rest and was able to go to the park for a while on Sunday.

One on one time in the World is the best time with DS. We spend a lot of time together anyway, but at Disney we're just closer.

 

[minnie2000]

Great report and pictures!

I loved the pictures of the 2 of you. It made me think that when we go in Oct (dh, me and 2 dds) perhaps we will split up sometimes - dh and I could take one child each, and do what they want, just for a hour or two. Eldest DD is always saying she likes to be alone with me, and we don't seem to be just the two of us very often.

Your son sounds as if he has a very good appetite! My DD is 10 and wouldn't finish a child's meal! It's great to see kids enjoying their food.

 

[Adventure]

Thanks for taking the time to write your report. I've heard so much about Tonga Toast but had never seen it before your photo. Was that a split order? It looks huge! Hope to try it myself in October.

 

[KnK]

Thanks for the great report and pictures!

 

[LuLaSue]

Looks like you boys had lots of fun. Thanks for a great reaport! :wave: