Sept. 2 to Sept. 9

My wife and I are in WDW for a week, staying at POR for first time, and using DDP Deluxe for first time also. We came down Saturday night, driving half way that evening. Let me just say that the Quality Inn in Richmand Hill near Savannah, GA is a dump, and I'll leave it at that.

So Sunday morning we got out of bed (not woke up, as that would imply sleeping(see above)) and drove the rest of the way to WDW. We got here at about 11am. I missed a turn or we would have gotten here a few minutes sooner. I try to explain to her that there is a dirrence between "Next Right" and "This Right" and that the purple sign was wrong, not me! Anyaway, Riverside looks nice, service is very good, and we are all giddy to be back in WDW again. Room is not ready, so we go to the Studios. Use snack credits to eat snacks at Starring Rolls, and split a large sandwhich. Everything looked so good here. Surprised to see FP still available this late at toy Story, but return time conflicts with dinner. We ride Star Tours, RnR, and watch Beauty and the Beast. OK, so Tower Fast Pass says 80, yes 80, minutes. I call No Way and get in stand by. We walk all the way up to the end of the Pergola, essentially standing right next to the Hotel. I am thinking there is no way this is 80 minutes. But after 5 minutes, the line has not moved. (This is when we go to Beast). When we get out of Beast it says 30, but when we get in Stand by, the line is only about 20 paces from the linew entrance! Now that may be 80, I think. So we go towards gift shops to wait on RnR FP return. We start watching Streetmosphere characters Lenny, Sparky, and Co. These guys are great! Reallyady funny.So after RNR, room is ready, and we head back.

Room is great. We have been given a good Garden view. We rest and go to our dinner at Boatwrights. This was our first time here and it was excellent. Server (Rick) was great, as was the food. She had the Shrimp app, I had Crawfish bites. Then she had Pork chop, I had Prime Rib. I had the Butterscotch Creme Brulee for desert. All was really, really, good. I would go out of my way to eat here again. As I taste everything, I would recommend the shrimp app, Prime Rib entree, and the Creme Brulee. After dinner, we took a carriage ride, as we are celebrating our Anniversary, and we rode carriages in Charleston on our honeymoon!

We were so tired we sleep for like 12 hours taht night!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Happy Anniversary to you both!!!! Sounds like a full, wonderful day! Enjoy your vacation

 

[wiigirl]

Happy Annicersary! Sounds like its going to be a good one!

 

[MaxsDad]

We are having a great time. Very little time to post. I will finish this when can!

 

[MaxsDad]

Next Morning, Monday, we awoke and went to Epcot. We are usually Rope-Droppers, but we came stragling in around 10. Parked in Journey row 10. We have never parked so close before, we thought. Never even been put in this lot. We are psyced. Go in and check wait board in center. Side Note: I still prefer the old ones that could be read from a far. I have to walk all the way up to this board to read it! Soarin' still had good FP times available (11:20) so we start that direction. On the way up the Land ramp, a nice English fellow gives us two FP that are good right then! We FP and ride on the blessing we recieve, saying we will pay it forward. At load, we ask for and get B1 seating, and have a wonderful flight. We check out Innoventions East, but decide against Sum of all Fears and go to SSE instead. (Side note: Ever try a different language just for fun? Your ending future is much more random that way! Also, if you choose the Asain language(I assume mong or Chinesee), does it still say the bit about learning your ABC's and thanking the Phoenicians?) After the SSE eath ride, our FP time is coming up. My wife spots Newlywed Mickey Ears on a couple at the previously mentioned Wait Board, so we give them our FP. They are, of course, really happy and grateful. This is funner to me than riding the ride itself.

We have a lunch ressie at Le Cellier, so we start to make our way around World Showcase. Ride 3 Cab's at Mexico, whose pavillion informs me that the world will not end on Dec. 21, 2012 as previously announced, that merely a whole new Mayan cycle will start. Relief. Then we ride Maelstrom, partly. You see the ride goes down and we get stuck one boat from the big drop. Have to be evaced after about a 20 minute wait. Meanwhile, I am watching that clock seeing my ADR get closer and closer. They walk us out back through the scenes we rode in through. Pretty cool overall. Funny thing is, we were evaced on the last night of our trip last April. It was Pirates that night and we were stuck in the YO HO scene for about half an hour. That night was posted about on these boards, somehting like "a bad night at the Magic Kingdom", by someone else. Anyway, back to this week, we get the reconcilatory FP's for Maelstrom, M:S, of Living with the Land! We decide going all the way around may make us late. So we swing back around the front of WS, and make our ressie at Le Cellier. Seated quickly. Apps: Tomato thingy and cheese soup. I found both to be great, wife found her soup had a "kick", but said it was good. She orders the burger for lunch and I get the Filet. AS always, the filet taste awesome. I eat mine Medium rare. It is tender, juicy, and nice seasoned. Deserts: Moose and Creme Brulee. I love the Creme Brulee here. Service was OK, she was nice, but if I had to rank the weeks servers, she would be last.

After Lunch, went back to POR to rest, relax, and get ready for the Evening: MK and Citrico's.

So we take bus to MK,see entrance to Golden Oak (Fantasize, Fantasize, ok back to reality) and go get a picture with Mickey since we are "dressed up" (for WDW anyway). 5 minute wait. Then ride Monorail around loop to GF. Look around some shops and check in at Citricos. It is very, very empty at 7pm. Our server, I think his name was Paul, was excellent. And by excellent I mean, very attentive to our needs, very knowledable about the menu, made great suggestions. Apps: got cheese plate and sauteed shrimp. Wife got Filet, I got Veal shank. I have never had veal before to my knowledge. It was good. Very tender, just poke with the fork and it came right off the bone. A lot of it too! Wife enjoyed filet too. Deserts: wife got granny apple sorbet. She didn't care for it too much. It is basically ground up apples and ice. If you were on a diet, i could see it as an alternative to a real desert. I had the Chocolate Banana Torte, it was delicious. Listened to the live band in GF, and went home to POR to rest via monorail>bus.

In case you haven't guessed, we upgraded to the Deluxe DDP on this trip. So there is much more dining to come. Tuesday is buffert day! How were crowds? What is new? This questions and more are ahead.

 

[MaxsDad]

BTW, sorry for typos.

 

[minnielaw]

Thank you for the "live" updates! That's really cool to feel like we are right there with you guys! Great TR and looking forward to photos.

Awesome on the Deluxe DDP....my husband and I really want to try that if we ever make it to WDW without the kiddos.

 

[MaxsDad]

Tuesday: Buffet Day! We get up a little earlier today, and go to French Quarter, with our mind set on trying the beignets we have read about. I was surprised that they were hollow. They were OK, but I guess I had over hyped them in my head. However, looking around FQ, it looked pretty nice. Overall, a good foodcourt too, for future reference. Drive to AK, park and start walking on what I now read is a new walkway? I didn't notice it as being different from previous trips, but OK. On the way in, I realize I did not take note of our row number, so I ask the couple in front of us and thankfully they knew. We get in just after 9am. Go to Safari and walk on all the way straight through to our jeep seats with out stopping. Saw a croc actually moving, saw Trekkers, saw new girrafes, saw the Lion actauly up and moving also. Saw baby warthogs. I noticed that the grasslands have grown up much higher than I remember. It is like waist high in many places. I wonder if this has to do with the departure of the tommies? We walk to Everest, and FP it and go to stand by. Wait says 5 minutes. We walk on all the way straight to the load gates of row 13, next train. Both waterfalls falling. Yeti is in a better position than in April, when he was turned to left so far he looked like a RH baseball pitcher on his follow through. Walk over to Dinosaur, little wait. The "Guzzling Dino" is not moving at all. Off to "Bug's Life", Hopper is working better than I have seen in a while. Small crowd in theater. Flick is getting a little -eyed. Check it out. I never noticed before, but it appears the white of his eyes are a liquid. His right eye is about a quart low. Went back to Everesat for our FP return time. AS we get to the merge, there is NOBODY in the stand by side of the merge room. This is like at 11. Ride closer to front and notice the lack of vegetation and visible service building. This can't be a long term situation, can it? Go and do another Safari, walk on all the way to merge where the people counter thingys are. Then walk Pangani trail. Then go check in at Tusker house. This is first time for us here. (As was Citricos and Boatwrights). The mix of food options is good here. Good choices for the "mainstream" eater and the adventurous eater. Fun character interaction. Good server. We leave full and head back to POR, looking forward to spending time at MK tonight.

 

[MaxsDad]

Sneak peek from Saturday: I noticed yesterday (Friday night) that the construction wall around the eastern Castle Wall (turret?) has moved from in front of it to behind it. In short, when walking through Fantasyland, you know walk behind the wall instead of in front of it, and thus actually get to walk between the two walls.

 

[MaxsDad]

Thank you for the "live" updates! That's really cool to feel like we are right there with you guys! Great TR and looking forward to photos.

Awesome on the Deluxe DDP....my husband and I really want to try that if we ever make it to WDW without the kiddos.

In my opinion, your thinking about when to try DelDDP is right on. We are now Granparents, and we have been trying to look at WDW through those glasses all week. I don't think kids would enjoy the ADR's we made. However, if you went character meal/show heavy with the ADR's, it might be worth it.

I like to take pix, hopefully I can get ya'll some on here.

 

[MaxsDad]

After resting, (it is hot here this week, and at this point in the story, it has not rained) we head over to the MK via bus. BTW, we found bus service at POR to be very good. We only waited more than 5 minutes once. Posted wait times were very short this afternoon. We enjoyed Monsters Inc. We rode Buzz. I maxed out at 999,999 for the first time ever. (It only took my like ... 8 years) We did a lot of strolling on this day. Just looking around, enjoying being here. Saw were Philharmagic is now distributing FP for dumbo and Pooh, even posting stand by wait times here too. Pretty cool. Wait times at Splach and Thunder were like 20 and 25, and this was after 3 in the afternoon. We FP Thunder and go ride Pirates, walking on to the front seat of a boat. Brings back memories of Evac in April, but a great ride. When we ride Thunder, wait is still short, and they are only running one side. As we near load, "sorter" ask for a party of two, we say we are two. She asks the people between her and us to let us through. They do not move. I say excuse us, they still do not move. I say it again, but it appears more loudly, and they go to one side. I may have been rude, but hey, if you can't hear, the best option I see is to say it louder. Sorry, I get excited and lost in the magic of the moment sometimes.

Our dinner ressie is at Crystal Palace. They seat us quickly. I like to sample everything, so at buffets I get small servings. This uses a lot of plates, and our server had cleared my plates everytime I left before I could come back with my fresh plate. Also, he had one of those great servant-heart attitudes. Really nice people person. You know, I think I said our server at Ciricos was Paul, but I think now that was this guys name. It was Lonzy at Citricos. Nice meal. Buffet day concerned me before the trip. I thought it may be too much food to have two buffets in one day, however, I found it to be a nice break from the three course culinary experiences we had on other days. Since we had had breakfast and lunch here before, I considered changing it pre-trip, glad I didn't. Good times.

Next we headed over to one of our favorite MK expereinces: a late night Jungle Cruise. If you have never ridden around the rivers with a skipper who has head his head fried in the Florida heat all day long, going around in circles over and over again, you are really missing it. Poor guys and gals, they start to lose it after awhile. It can be hit and miss, but when you get a good one, it is great. This guy was great (Kyle?). The second best I have had, and very similar to the best, may even be the same guy. Walk on to a boat half full. Lots of modified material. Nice delivery.

After the ride, get a dole whip and make our way out of the park. This was the last day on our AP's. I have been going back and forth rather to renew or not, as we have no definite plans to return in the spring or summer. Have a two day base ticket that will need to be modified to add Hopper at least.

Another teaser: There is a resort hop in our future!

 

[MaxsDad]

So Wednesday morning we sleep in a bit again. This morning we head to Epcot, via automobile. A good thing about POR is you can park very close to your room. To me the biggest drawback of driving to the parks is the temprature in your vehicle when you go back in the afternoon compared to the temprature of the bus. This time we get to park in Journey again but this time it is row 8! Have never parked this close. This is a good sign. Walk to gate, and stroll in the park. It is after 10am. Lunch is at noon in France at Les Chefs. So we walk to the Land, and the wait at Soarin' is some ridiculous number like 10 minutes. We FP it and walk on, with the idea of giving the FP out later. Wait time is accurate as we walk past the merge point before we stop in line. This time we are seated in C1, but have a good ride. The guy beside us is really into it. I ususally don't like a lot of jabber on rides, but his was appropriate and didn't detract from the experience. So after the ride, she needs a break. Over the last day, one of her eyes has started watering, and by that, I mean most of time. Really weird. So after the break, we head up the stairs and our son calls. He had a job interview that morning, and says it seemed to go well. After I talk to him, I give her the phone and we sit on the benches just inside The Land, up next to the walls. As she is talking to him, I feel something hit my head. I look up and there is water droplets forming on the ceiling. It appears that the ceiling does not "connect" to the wall. In that small (1 inch?) gap, I see water forming all along the ceiling. At first I think, "that's bad." So I look at the rest of the ceiling, and notice there are no A/C vents as one is accustomed to seeing in the ceiling "tiles". So it seems that this gap is in fact where the cold air is blowing out for the A/C, and hence the water forming above the bench. Then I take a look at the wall, and it is a pebble-in-"concrete" wall. This material would seem suited to absorb the coldness of the air and act as a cooling device in of itself. Great design by Disney, WDI I assume.

after the end of the call, the FP time is almost up, so we give it to a couple entering the Land. It is not like the Stand By was 60 or anything, but appreciated. So being a husband, I am on a mission to "fix" my wife's "problem". So I insist we go to the gift shop on the Canada side of the WS entrance. No first aid/toiletries sold here. (I am hoping for eye drops) Go to UK gift shops, nothing. Go to International Gateway shop, none. Offer to go inside and see France movie so she can rest, maybe evven close it and sleep. Refuses. Check France shops, notta. So we have a few minutes to kill before ADR, so we just hang up, and I take pictures. I notice Marie, (the White Cat), is standing out in the open near the posted bills pole, and no one. I mean no one at all, is lining up to meet and greet her. That is how slow it is. Kind of sad really. I start taking landscape photos. About 15 til, I check in with the French Host. I have always heard it is a good idea to arrive a few minutes before your ADR. The guy is a bit ...... snooty. Very authentic! I whisper to my wife the reputation/stereotype we may be encountering today. After everyone has been so nice all week, a little self-righteous rudeness may actually be good for a change, to cleanse the pallette so to speak. However, our server Kevin was everything but. Yes he still had that French confidence, but he was really nice, very attentive, patient, and informative. Made good suggestions. He even shared a little of his story, and future plans. Added to the experience. During our meal, I see Belle outside leading a small "Princess" around by hand, giving her a personal tour of France. Did I mention it is slow? they even come in the restaurant for a few seconds to look around. About 4 minutes later, we see Beast outside looking for them, so they can come back to the M&G line.

So I can get a bit silly at WDW. I can embarass those with me on occassion. Well, I started to film Remy, and his handler, got me good. I turned a bit a red. It was funny. So we order the flatbread and pate for our apps. She gets the burger and I order the short ribs, mushroom, pasta thing. Deserts are the Choc Mousee and Creme Brulee. Very positive experience, exceded expectations. Would return. Impressed with Kevin.

So after meal, I got to go. Wife wants to get out and stretch, so I stay behind to pay the bill, etc. When I go to the bathroom in France, something occurs to me: In all the years I have been going to WDW, over 60 nights on property since 1999 I haven't really counted, I have NEVER seen a customed CM use a urinal, or even go into a stall other than to clean it. It must be against the rules. They must have their own. I can't believe I didn't think of this before. It is so Disney.

We are full and heading back to POR. Ride SSE again. I stop at the exit Gift shops thinking they may have what I am looking for, but no luck, just sunscreen. Car is close, but hot. Open all doors to air it out, roll down all windows, start it up. This has become our SOP.

Used 2 day base package ticket to get in today. Have to either add hopper or upgrade to AP to get into Studios tonight. Wife is currnelty pretty miserable: tired, eye watering uncontrollably, feet hurting/blistering. Back at room, she lays down in dark, I do google search for "Stye". That's not it, thankfully. I head over to POR gift shop and find a tiny bottle of drops for $4. Take some photos here, and head back to room. Drop off drops, but she is out. Since we are checking out tomorrow, i head out to look for good shots. After taking pictures, I want to experience the main pool, so i go for a short swim. It is nice. I over hear while in line for the slide, one kid tell another kid, "Yea, we've been here ten days, so we'll be here another week and a half". Lucky kid. I sure would like to come back in the spring. I have been every spring since .... 2008. I know I start getting the urge to return to WDW after being away for 30-60 days. Still, life has gotten complicated back home. Little certainty. ??????? I go back to room to rest myself.

BTW, the server that was so good at Citricos was Lonzy. I looked on receipt. I ordered a smoothie and he asked if I would like water too. I said yes. He brings out a carafe (sp?) of tap water. And he refilled from this as needed. Water tasted better than normal, may have been filtered first. Just an example.

 

[MaxsDad]

BTW, we are home safe now. I may be able to get a good bit posted Tuesday.

 

[MaxsDad]

I just realized the photo album feature of the site has been removed for non-premium subscribers. Sorry.

 

[MaxsDad]

Welcome to Wednesday night. We get ready and drive over to Studios. Get directed to park near the front of the lots, in the spots emptied by those who have already left. Decide to walk in, and go down the sidewalk that leads to the Lonely Guard, all by himslef, waiting to check bags. I prefer this to the other bag check that is fed by the buses and boats. Wife's eye is doing fine tonight. Drops seemed to help.

We go to Guest Realtions window just past bag check. We go ahead and upgrade tickets to renew AP's. DVC is getting us a discount that off set most of the summer price increase, so might as well renew for $410 a year when a 7 day hopper is getting up to about $345 or so now. Right everyone? The chances we won't go back, at least by next September, seems really small to me. Also, given our weekend plans, I want to have the freedom not to woory about it. Our long range plan is to return in the summer of 2014 with us two, our two kids, their two spouses, and the two grandkids. That means 2BR villa, so we need to be banking 2013 points, not using them next year. I even called about the bounceback offer the night we checked out, but after holding 10 minutes, decided to let it go. So back to Wednesday night, now that I have AP in hand, I feel happy, and free. No worries as I scan it in the turnstiles for first time.

Our ressie is at Brown Derby at 7pm. At tip board, it says that Toy Story FP are still available. What??? It is like 6pm. The CM is looking at something near the end of the FP machines. She says there are 15 left. Party in front of me has a stack of tickets. But they are about done, as he has already put most of them in the machine. Still 11 left when we get to machine. Whoo Hoo! We stroll around and shop (Art of Animation, etc.), but don't buy. Just relaxing.

We check in at Brown Derby and are seated fairly quickly. Our server is Stanley. Talk about going above and beyond. He says that they had no shows for Fantasmic Package ADR's, and gives us Fantasmic Package seating passes. (We have FP at Toy Story, it would be tight to eat and not have a conflict, but appreciate the thought) Then he brings us champagne with strawberries (we don't drink, and my wife is allergic to strawberries). This guy was really trying to create a great experience. We really appreciated his efforts, regardless of their applicability. I get a Cobb salad and wife gets the potato leek soup. The Cobb is good, the one I remember from other visits was better, but you know how nostalgia can be. Wife likes soup, I taste it and agree it is good. We both order the filet,and as usual, it is excellent. Stanley is saddened to inform me that they have ran out of my desert choice, the Creme Brulee, as it seems some one has been all over property eating them all up! (j/K) So I go ballistic, again just kidding. I had it with lunch, so I can be flexible. Order Chocolate 3 ways. We also get a Grapefruit cake to go. Overall, a great meal and a great time. Impressive service. Leave happy around 8:05. We were told we needed to be at Fantasmic by 8, and on top of that, it is cloudy. I have been to F! at least twice when it was called for weather at the last minute. No thanks. We walk over to One Man's Dream. We check out the displays, especially the Fantasyland model. I try to get a perspective shot from the castle walls into the new land, but angle is blocked by Carosel. Our FP is for 8:30, so we head over.

Go through FP line and notice that there is no one standing in the standby line at merge point! Toy Story is a walk on! So after we ride, we walk right on again. I really like the part where parties of two get to jump to the front of the line after merge. After two rides, arms are getting sore. Also, wife is a lefty and i am right handed. On second ride, we sat with me on the left and her on the right, so we elbowed each other repeatedly during the ride. Make mental note on how to load on this ride in future. Could have walked on again but start to head out. I still have not broken the 200,000 point barrier on this game. I know some of the "bonus" type things, but appearently not enough. High score this month is over 550,000. I don'e see how I could score higher unless I gain new intell. Park is empty, as F! is in fact showing. Oh well. Park is cool looking at night when empty.

We check out tomorrow morning. But it is OK, cause we aren't leaving WDW. Very little packing to do. I really enjoyed POR. Do I like it more than Coronado? (BTW, CBR is not even close) Each has its pros and cons. I think I like CSR if on the QS DDP, or if traveling with adults. I like POR if with family/kids or paying out of pocket for meals, or on regular DDP. Transportation is about equal. Themeing is close, but i would give edge to Orleans's.

 

[MaxsDad]

I just lost three, four paragraphs, about half an hour, trying to back space in the body of my post. I am mad at myself and my computer system. (The backspace button sent IE back to Forum listing ) It is after 1 am and I am not starting over this late sorry. Will try Thursady morning.

 

[Justin Doggett]

Needs more pictures

 

[MaxsDad]

On Thursady morning we move over to another resort we have never sayed in, Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort. We are using points for the weekend stay, so this is the last day of the DelDDP. We have ressie at Chef Mickey's for breakfast, also a first for us. I have wanted to stay here for a long time so i am pretty pumped.

Check in at BLT is now in its lobby. It is a small desk manned by two people. CM asks about floor preference, we respond that we want a higher floor. She says that she knows what room she would want, so I say I trust your judgement. She says it is not ready, we say we would rather wait and have a better room. We get the packet and begin to explore. The packet has our room keys, and they are the new kind that you wave near your door and it unlocks it (RFID?). Pretty neat. Same mechanisms are also on some resort doorways.

We have time to explore before Chef M's, so we look around BLT and the Contemp. Some interesting decor, plants, features, and views. We are looking at everything on this trip through the lens of a future trip with kids and grandkids, "Will this work? Will they like this?" (Primarily the Grandkids, as they will be 2-3 years old, but also the son/daughter-in-laws, as they have not Disney'ed-my-way before). BLT gives me a good first impression, I will comment on our final impression later, as she and I talked about it later in the trip.

We walk over to the main building via ground sidewalk. See the Concierge desk, so we decide to go over and buy our Night of Joy tickets for Friday and Saturday night. CM says they can now be put on our resort keys. As far as I know, this is a new capability for Special Event tickets, as they have not done this in the past. I mention the new functioning of the room keys, and he begins to tell me about the new system coming up. Guest will be able to make FP ressies before their trip, by selecting a ride/time from given choices. When arriving at the park that day, they will be able to go to a machine and print their FP. Did not give much more specifics. He is able to use three different cards for payment on one transaction (thank you Rewards Visa), which I have had CM balk at before. Overall, great service form desk at CR.

We head up to the fourth floor to check in at Chef M's. We are 15 min early for our 11 am ADR, so I expect to wait. We opt not to be photo'ed by a statue. Couches are comfortable. And its a good thing. We notice people are being seated that arrived after us. Pretty soon, all the people around us were not here when we sat down. I go to the desk to make sure we are in fact in the "line" at 11:15. They say they are just now seating 10:55. So at 11:25 they finally take us back to an area of the DR that is almost completely empty. The few others left in waiting with us are eventually seated here too. Food is decent, but I am not much of a breakfast person. Breakfast pizza is good. We always get Turkey bacon at home, so I do enjoy the real bacon. Honestly, I was already a little put off by the experience. Most everyone is our area was done eating, and still no characters had arrived. You could see families staring towards the entrance of our area of the dining room, just waiting. Finally, they started coming around. Then a handler comes to our table, and says that they know we have been waiting for a while, and she takes us to another area of the restaurant to meet Goofy. When we pose for a photo, Goofy puts his arm around me and I could feel the body heat through the costume. This guy is on fire. Overall, they are obviously running behind, and the characters are staying out trying to get it done. Server, Ellen, has done what she can, but she can't help that they are behind. Whether they are behind cause they overbooked, or because guest lolly gagged I don't know. Oh, here comes Goofy to our area. Are you ready? Let's get out of here.

We look around main building, mostly gift shops. Bay View Gifts has some delicious looking treats. A nice quilted balnket. I have heard the arcade here is nice, and it does look good. We have many snack credits to use by the end of the day, and i am trying to figure out a way to get stuff we can eat tomorrow and the next day that are more than just deserts.

We want to go to the MK, so we go up to the monorail, and wait. And wait. Mono is having issues, so we go down stairs and walk it. It is a short, comfortable walk. Is Disney the place where wishes come true? I wish they had a separate bag check for this sidewalk like they do at Studios, or even better, a separate entrance like they do at Epcot! Excited to be in MK. It hasn't rained all week. I think we saw Monsters, Inc, maybe Pirates and Pan. Just chillin and enjoying being there. Then we get in line for Thunder. It is a short wait, as has been all week. "Party of two?" Right here ma'am. "Row 1,please." WooHOO!! Our train comes. Hmm, there are a few wet dots on the engine. We get in and go up the lift hill. I raise my arms wide open to try and get a splash from the top of hill water fall to cool off. Just a misting though. But its Ok because as we exit the cavern, it is pouring down rain outside. Heavy. Train's passengers reactions are funny. People are scrambling in their bags and what not. Covering up cameras. Some are diggin' it though. And I am one of those. When we pull into the station, we are soaked thoroughly. Those in load area see this. Good facial reactions. We decide at this point that the ponchos we carry around are pretty pointless, as we are already wet. So we don't put them on. We haven't gotten this wet on Splash or Kalli, which my wife avoids because of the water. I have been wetter. Like two years ago when we rode Juraasic Park, Dudley Do right, and Popeye back to back to back. Ya, that day I might as well have been completely submerged. (back to today) We make our way out of the park, trying to take cover. We are getting wetter. I am beginning to regret the no-poncho decision. We go into casey's side entrance, and are dripping on the floor. People have sought shelter everywhere. I ring out my shirt over a floor mat. We meander through Emporium. Guy at front door looks on phone says it will pass in next 10 min. We look around some more. Still has not passed. We walk quickly to train station cover. Stop. Look at Mono tracks. No movement for a few minutes. It is down again. Oh well. Here we gooooo! We walk the sidewalk. When we get to BLT, some one is at the door to meet us with dry towels. Thank you.

We have our room number. 10th floor. Near elevator. View is awesome. Space, castle, Splash. All straight ahead. On the agenda for the afternoon: 1. Unload car. 2. Dry clothes on. 3. Laundry 4. Use up snack credits. 5.Get ready for dinner, our last ADR. This is the one I have been looking forward to, maybe the most. Never eaten here before either.

Where will it be?

 

[MaxsDad]

Getting ready for dinner. Small problem doing laundry. Twice I swear I pressed the button to start the washer or dryer, but when I went back down stairs, the machine was not running. I set it again, shower up, and go back downstairs. Load of shorts is almost dry, but we are out of time. Time to leave as it is 30 min until our ADR tiime. Wife has doubts we can get there in time. I say we should be good, we only have to ride the monorail. I have been watching it and it is running consistently now. Go to main building and ride over to the GF to eat at Narcossee's! When we get off the mono, we have about 5 min until our ADR time. Look at signage for main building, but don't see it listed anywhere. I ask a CM for directions. It is in another area of the resort. We go out into courtyard, and see a map. We walk over quickly.

It is right on the water of 7 Seas lagoon. (Citricos has a nice view of the GF Courtyard. This one has a great view of the Lagoon.) There is a line at Podium. CM move it quickly, but very hospitably too. We have time to explore the outside deck over the water and watch the kitchen a little. Everything looks good there. Views from deck of other resorts are nice. Sun's reflection is glaring off of the BLT in a golden-orange hue as it is near sunset.

We are seated fairly soon. We are assigned what the hostess says is a great server, Chevy. (Of course, my mind goes to visions of Chevy Chase as a waiter on SNL, doing a pratfall.) Interior of dining area is very dimly lit, but attractive. the pictures I had seen were much brighter. Chevy lives up to his reputation (not Chase's BTW, no spills). The table is so wide, wife and I decide to sit on the same side after about 5 minutes. I get a smoothie, she gets a bottle of water. Chevy brings me some water too. Wife orders cheese plate, I order a new item on the Narcossee's menu, Fries North Carolina Oysters! Served on a toasted bread, with slaw. They are good, very "fancy" to be North Carolinain. Cheese is hit and miss with her, they are all good to me! She orders the filet, I get the Filet/Lobster Tail! I have been looking forward to this since I saw it on the menu. It retails for $65. No way i would order this out of pocket, so this is my chance. I even have my doubts up until the last second that they may tell me that you can't get that on the DDP, but they do not! We notice it is brighter in here now. Appears it was dim when the sun was up, but the lights grew brighter as the sun went down. Nice touch. Notice another waiter working his tail off. He has got to be everybit of 65 years old. Really moving. Gotta respect that. Wonder how long he has been here? Entrees come. Justifiably, wife's filet is larger. Everything looks and tastes great. Not disappointed at all. For desert, I get almond crusted cheesecake, cheesecake being my desert of choice prior to my fundness for Creme Brulee. Wife gets Mousse. Both are great. We stroll back to mono, and stop at Basin to pick up some gifts.

Back at our room, we tune to Channel 105, and watch Wishes from our balcony. Nice to not have to fight crowds afterwards, but miss being with the crowd during the show.

At some point during the day, I realize, and mention, that it is Thursday, and we have yet to ride Space Mountain or Tower. As you read this report, you are maybe wondering, the crowds are low, why are you not telling us about riding more rides? Well, we have been blessed enough to be able to come about two weeks a year for the past few years, and some before that too. While I love the attractions, it is not like we haven't ridden most things many, many, times. And we will be back soon too i am sure. So I am not too saddedned by this, but still, a part of me wishes we had ridden more. This trip has been more about rest , relaxation, and recovery from our day to day lives. Also, Wife's feet have been hurting, and that has limited us a bit.

She puts in a movie and falls asleep. I can't so I watch the movie she puts in, "Fever Pitch" with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore. This is a movie that deals not only with relationships, but also Obssession. This causes me to take an objective look at myself, my life, my choices, and this WDW thing. Is it going to far? Is it effecting my relationships with others? Am I perhaps missing out on something better in life?


Must be bad oysters. I am going to sleep.

 

[MaxsDad]

I awake to discover I have a headache. Perhaps I should have ordered a Coke for dinner last night, as I get caffeine withdraw headaches. So I take an Advil Cold Sinus, wash it down with the start of a 20oz. Throwback Mountain Dew, and head down to the pool for a morning swim for fun and relief, while wife gets ready for day. Sidenote: Just one pack of Regular Coffee for 3 days? Really? Is the Dues Budget that thin? Thank goodness I am stocked with Dew.

The slide is not open, as I notice that the Lifegaurds are not there yet. It is almost 10 am. Somewhat disappointed as I wanted to try out the slide. I go to the Hot Tub. This is helping. After about 10 min, still no slide open, no gaurds. Need more Dew. Dry off and start back up to the room to get dressed for day. It is just after 10 now, and here come the guards. Oh well. Head ache is improving. I must admit, the bedding at POR was far better than the one we had at BLT. Of course, POR was just renovated too.

We drive over to the Studios. We have some shopping we want to finish over there. We have to park in the lot in the Southeast section of the parking lot this time, furthest all week, but we are in like the fifth spot from tram. When we go in, we make our way down Sunset first. Wife needs to "go", so I head over to ToT FP machine while she goes in what I think of as the Stone Restrooms between Beast and Tower. Return time is 10:55 i see on sign. I walk up to a machine, but wait. What's this?? Two 10:50 ToT FP's laying on top of the machine. 'They have been heartlessly abandoned, as no one is near but the CM on duty. Well this will not do. They need a good home. Some one who will put them to good use. Some one that can take care of them and help them fulfill their purpose in life. I, MaxsDad, will take the burden of that responsibilty. So I walk back towards the Restrooms. She is not out yet. OK,'ll wait. Hmmm, Hm, Hm, Hm, Hm, Hmmmm. Oh wait a minute! I didn't scan our tickets in the FP machine. We are still FP eligible! Duh! But hold on, she is still in the Stone Cavern, and I have both phones. But RnR is just around the corner! But we could get separated. Well that's just a chance I am gonna have to take! I "walk quickly" under the inverted Caddy, and grab 10:55 FP's for RnR, and "walk quickly" back. I see her in the street looking around. She had not been out long, and is excited to hear about our good fortune.

We go do our shopping for soft Buzz's and Cars Bath Toys. As we walk by Toy Story, I notice FP still available. Perhaps I should have held out before greedily going over to RnR. Oh well. We are eligible again at 10:55. Also, we got some good quick rides the other night. We walk around Shrunk Kids playground for a bit to see if the grandkids would like this. We haven't been in here since 1999. It looks different to me. Did it not have a statue of Flick back then? I could have sworn that the picture I have of my son with Flick was taken here, as there are giant grass blades around. I think the kids would like it, but it seems you could lose track of them easily also. We shop at the gift shop near the playarea. (Studio Props?) The CM there named Austin is really good. The kind of guy you can tell is loving his job. Now i need to "go". So we go to the restrooms near the Mermaid Fountain. When I get out, she is on the phone with home. We are now eligible for FP again, so I head over to Tory Story. They are still available, with a 2:45 return time, but wait! The stand by says 20 minutes! To quote Glen, "I am crappin' you negative." Grab FP and go to talk wife into going stand by. She is on phone still. Can we do this and still make our other FP return windows? I know it will be tight, real tight. (I miss the old days!) We have something like 35-40 min until the end of our first FP window. We say go for it. Stand by is fairly accurate. Still loving the "party of two skip to the loo" line jump. I still don't break the 200,000 mark. We have about 15 min left after the ride. The ToT window ends earlier, so on one hand that says head there first. But if you had to miss one and go stand by, the ToT usually has the shorter wait, so that says go RnR first, then take your chances at ToT. (did I mention I miss the old days?) We decide to go with first instincts and go to the one that ends earlier first, ToT. Library is filled with two large groups, and us. At the split, they both go right, so we go straight, and straight into the elevator at that. It is a good sequence. It actually drops first, before it ever rises, which, i don't remember happening to me before. It was great. I love this ride. From the exterior themeing, to the exit. So we go ASAP over to RnR. Walk up to FP. We are about 3-5 minutes late. CM says, "I'll let you go this time." We are thankful for his massive generousity. This ride has a special place in my heart. In June/July 1999, we were heading toward ToT, when a CM motioned us in the direction of what was now RnR. We got to ride it before Grand Opening. Back in the days when, yes Joe, Chris will get your Black Les Paul for you. You may remember I said I am known to embarass some people in my party at WDW. Wife hates it when I say the line in the recording studio. Sometime you will get a CM who will say it, but most times not. There is a group of guys in our studio who by the remarks they are making, have not been on the ride before. Joy! I love getting peoples reactions to things at WDW, and this is one of the best. So we are in the alley. Comments are like, "I am not scared", etc. Then they see the launch for the first time. "Mild Explicative!" Everyone laughs. Good times. The only thing better is when you don't see a launch before you get to load area, where you don't see the launch. Then riders are surprised by it. This is what happened the first time I rode it. We had no idea. Had never even heard of Linear induction or whatever it is. Surprise!

After RnR, we take a Star Tour, then eat at the QS place near there, between it and Jones. Never eaaten here in all the times we have come. Quite a change from our lunches so far this week, but a good ol' burger is like an old friend.

Just before we exit the studios, I see a younger couple heading into the park. Just came through the gate. "Here you go, here are two fast passes for Toy Story, they'll be good by the time you get there." She lets out a shout and jumps for joy.

Good times.

Time to go rest and get ready for the first night of Night of Joy: Needtobreathe, Chris Tomlin, and Casting Crowns in front of the Castle. Pumped.