Trip Report The Day is Hot and Full of Beers *Completed

Winter is not coming (yet), but Summer is here! Lets get right to it!!! This is a TR with my Mother and I at WDW in August. For anyone who did not read my PTR, we planned on 4 days at Bay Lake Tower. My Father was in the original plan but had to stay home for work. My mother ( @luvinthemajik ) was rushed to the hospital for heart problems just days before we were scheduled to leave. She spent two days there and it was bit tense waiting for the test results, but the Dr cleared her for travel as long as she did not drink wine (which she LOVES, especially at WDW) and she had to take it VERY slow since it would be hot.

After my Mom was released and had a few days home to rest,we definitely needed a couple days at WDW to unwind and take it slow. She was also ordered not to drive so I would be manning the wheel. We decided to take her Mini Cooper which is turbo charged and convertible (rain drop). I drove to my parents house at 5 am to pick up Mom and we hit the road!

On our last trip, my parents picked me up and had concerns that I would not be awake at 5 am when they arrived. As you know from my last TR, I was up and ready. I figured I would not have to give my parents the "you better be awake" speech for this trip. I called Mom as I pulled in their subdivision. She was asleep!!! hahahahahaha!!! I was ready to read her the riot act, but then I remembered that it wouldnt be wise to get her heart rate up. Dad woke up and we had her stuff loaded in he car within a few minutes and we hit he road.

Smooth sailing to Florida. We stopped for fuel and that when I realized I Forgot my pith helmet. The gas station had some unique hats, but it didnt feel right.

Some Illuminati one eyed symbolism, lol. Grabbed a quick selfie with Mom and we were back on the road

We were in Florida a few hours later and I realized I had a check in my pocket that a client had written to me. I meant to give my dad to deposit for me but in all the haste of loading the car, I forgot (shocker). We pulled of in the city of Windermere, Fla so I could deposit it. Such a beautiful town to drive through. We left the bank and Mom wanted to go topless!! Of course Im talking about dropping the top on the car....stop with your dirty thoughts, thats my Mom!!!!!

Such a fun car to drive. It hauls serious a$$ with the turbo. I made a quick pit stop for beer near Downtown Disney and soon we were on property!

Mom took the pic of the Disney sign since I was driving. We arrived at BLT and gave the bags to bell hop. She has a handicap plate so I got an excellent parking spot. It was around 130 pm and to my surprise, the room was ready! We headed straight up to unload the bags since we had a 2:25 ADR at BoG.

As @lostpro9het had told me, the lobby smell is AMAZING. Almost as good as YC (IMO). Our room was on the 12th floor. Here is a view from exiting the elevator

That view could never get old!

We had lake view for our room but could still the main building

Mom had decided to get a scooter since walking in the heat would be tiresome. As @fractal mentioned in his current TR, you really get a better understanding of scooters when you visit with someone who needs a scooter. I have a COMPLETELY different and tolerant view of "scooter folk" now.

Up next...waiting on Moms scooter and a completely horrible experience with concierge desk at BLT. Thanks for following along!

@DisneyDogMom57

 

[sheriffwoody]

So sorry about your rough start at BOG. I would have been livid! I'm glad you were able to keep going and had some good food anyway

Looking forward to the rest!

 

[wdisney9000]

Dy one cntd....


I arrived back at the room to freshen up and have a quick beer while enjoying the balcony. Definitely needed it after the BoG fiasco. Thanks everyone for your comments in regards to the situation. I can only say this,....those CM's were lucky that Mom let me handle it since she cant get her heart rate up. They definitely would not have been ready for the wrath that a Bostonian Irish Catholic raised woman could unleash upon them. But as I said, we did not let it get us down. We had a new ADR at BoG for lunch in two days and plenty of vacation ahead of us. With that said, back to the TR!


I passed an unattended maids cart and grabbed a few Disney pens. That puppet show that the concierge desk gave me will come at a price!!!!!

The view from the balcony was awesome. Being 12 floors up was definitely cooler (temperature wise) than on the ground.

I decided to catch the Monorail over to Poly to have a beer at Tambu. I ended up snagging a Kona Longboard at the gift shop in the top of lobby and for about the fifth time I attempted to force myself to enjoy the "new" lobby. It gets a little easier each time.

I headed out to the bust stop to catch a ride to AK. I was chatting with the family who had told me they had been sitting there for 20 minutes waiting for a bus to HS. About ten minutes later, (30 minutes now for them) the bus to AK pulled up. They were not happy but the mom at least made a joke about just spending the night at the bust stop waiting for HS bus.

This may sound snobbish of me, but I seriously think that for the price you pay for the deluxe resorts, you should NOT have to share a bus with other resorts. It makes the wait times longer and its just frustrating when you have to stop at another resort on the way home from the parks or seeing a bus pull up at 85% capacity from picking up at the other resort.

Anyway, I boarded an empty bus with the exception of a guy on his scooter.

Upon arrival, I headed straight to Pandora to put a green grog ale in my paw

I walked back towards Dinosaur for my first ride. Yes, it may be silly to walk all the way to Pandora then back across the park to Dino, but hey, I knew what I wanted. This mentality would soon catch up to me though. I had injured my leg a few days prior to the trip when Akira and Winnie were running around the back yard and I was looking at my pone. They collided with the back of my knee at full speed. Akira is appx 60 lbs and Winnie is about 85 lbs. combine that with full throttle running and it was very painful.. They literally sent my flying up in the air and landed on my back. The next morning I felt more pain in my groin area than my knee. Mom (retired RN) said the force of the blow caused injury to the entire muscle area sending it all the way up my leg. That is life with two Dutch Shepherds, lol.

Ok, I keep getting error messages when trying to upload photos so I will stop it here and continue later. Plus the weather is cool and I wanna get these dogs trained before it gets hot! More to come soon! How many times will I ride Everest in the rain? And will the haters get dabbed on in the on ride photos? I think you already know the answer to that one!

 

[Swissmiss]

Following along as well. Will there also be an @luvinthemajik TR to give us her perspective on the trip? (Maybe there already is and I haven't noticed it yet )

 

[luvinthemajik]

Following along as well. Will there also be an @luvinthemajik TR to give us her perspective on the trip? (Maybe there already is and I haven't noticed it yet )

Hi @Swissmiss , I am going to do a TR after @wdisney9000 is through with his., as I had a completely different experience on thiis trip than any other time I've been, but, that could take a LONG time.LOL

 

[gdisneyfans]

This may sound snobbish of me, but I seriously think that for the price you pay for the deluxe resorts, you should NOT have to share a bus with other resorts. It makes the wait times longer and its just frustrating when you have to stop at another resort on the way home from the parks or seeing a bus pull up at 85% capacity from picking up at the other resort.

Following! I completely agree with this! We were at the Beach Club this past August and buses are shared with the Yacht Club. Every single time a bus came, it was almost full no matter what time of day because of picking up another resort prior (nothing against the Yacht Club guests). But one morning, we were waiting for a MK bus and there was a huge line (surprise) and we knew there was no way we would be on the next bus. A bus pulled up and they let FOUR people on! At this point, why even stop at BC and just take the Yacht Club guests directly to MK and send an empty bus to Beach Club. We would have had no problem filling up one whole bus!

 

[LowesChevy]

Makes me wonder what kind of lashing you were to expect if you hadn't had an ADR for BOG. At that point they had already made their decision to be rude and offer no resolution to you in the first place. Why lead you on in the first place? What a meanie.

BLT is our home resort and the CMs can be hot and cold. Several times we could not get into our room till after 5PM and just excuses after excuses for different problems. We have had some wonderful CMs that have gone above and beyond too. Training and professionalism is huge and not just Disney suffers from a lack of employees with these skills unfortunately. Customer service is an attitude, not a department.

Don't get me started about bell services at BLT either! Weird policies that do not make sense about who can is handling your luggage. lol

I love the place, but try to avoid scenarios that will cause me grief. Thank goodness for Yuengs, Stella & Long Board!

 

[wdisney9000]

Makes me wonder what kind of lashing you were to expect if you hadn't had an ADR for BOG. At that point they had already made their decision to be rude and offer no resolution to you in the first place. Why lead you on in the first place? What a meanie.

BLT is our home resort and the CMs can be hot and cold. Several times we could not get into our room till after 5PM and just excuses after excuses for different problems. We have had some wonderful CMs that have gone above and beyond too. Training and professionalism is huge and not just Disney suffers from a lack of employees with these skills unfortunately. Customer service is an attitude, not a department.

Don't get me started about bell services at BLT either! Weird policies that do not make sense about who can is handling your luggage. lol

I love the place, but try to avoid scenarios that will cause me grief. Thank goodness for Yuengs, Stella & Long Board!

You are definitely correct about the hot and cold customer service. I dealt with another CM at the check in desk who was absolutely magical. Im curious now about the bell service rules you mentioned. We had a nice gentleman grab our bags and walked to the room with my mother. I believe this was the first time we ever had a our bags come to the room with us.

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 1 evening contd....



Took a ride on Dinosaur and dabbed on them haters....

From here I headed over to Everest. There was a light rain beginning which basically cleared out AK (except for Pandora). Everest was a walk on. I was seated with a girl who was very excited to ride. I joked with here that I was scared and she was so reassuring and telling me it would be ok. I told her I was joking and we had a good laugh. We then agreed that we were surrounded by haters so we dabbed on them.....

We exited and her mom was in the gift shop and the girl asked if she could ride again and the mom agreed. The mom was telling her to be safe and dont run in line. I had the feeling she was bit worried about the girl being on her own and I told her I was going to ride again and I would accompany her and she thanked me. I was worried she would think I was some weirdo but I didnt get that vibe at all. So we breezed back thru the line and it was raining a bit more now. If you have never ridden Everest in the rain, it feels like tiny daggers stabbing your face when you speed down the hill. The CM gave us the back row.

Even though nobody was sitting directly in front of us, we could still feel the presence of haters and quickly agreed that we had no option but to dab upon them. we decided a double dab in opposite directions would provide sufficient coverage...

We had fun. Such a great spirited kid. I said goodbye to my sidekick and decided that since the park was empty I would head back to Dinosaur for another trip. I had a FP for FoP but it wasnt for awhile. I spotted a photopass guy near the entrance to Dinoland. My sister would be proud of this guy as he took a photo that lends very little information to the fact that Im at WDW, lol

Without my sidekick I was now fighting the haters on my own. I was not surprised that I was once again surrounded by them on Dinosaur. I drew strength from Dr Seeker and Dr Marsh watching the pre ride video and I had only had two words for the haters...."Access Denied"!!!!

Take that!!

I trekked over to Pandora for my FoP FP. Pandora was "hater-free" which put me at ease. I grabbed a fresh beer for the long journey to Pandora.

I was parched after arriving on Pandora and there was only one beverage that I had in mind.

My green grog ale replenished my energy and I took a ride on FoP.

I headed back to the resort and hit up Contempo Cafe. The Mara (at AKL) has long been my favorite late night spot to munch (and ESPN Zone when staying at BW resorts). Contempo Cafe is definitely on my list of favorites now! The same way Dad and I got the pizza EVERY NIGHT at Thge Mara on our last trip, I ordered the same thing every night at Contempo. The Braised Beef grilled cheese!!! And just like last trip, I dont think I took any photos of it, lol. I am seriously creature of habit and If I find something I like, i stick with it. Im sure other items on the menu were great, but maybe next time ill try them. Of course i did grab a Jai Alai IPA while i waited and got a photo of that.

I headed back to the room, gobbled down my food and passed out.

Day 2 up next! Rope Drop at MK and I get the urge to go full on Park Commando and see how many rides I can get in by noon!

 

[fractal]

Day 1 evening contd....



Took a ride on Dinosaur and dabbed on them haters....

View attachment 227841

From here I headed over to Everest. There was a light rain beginning which basically cleared out AK (except for Pandora). Everest was a walk on. I was seated with a girl who was very excited to ride. I joked with here that I was scared and she was so reassuring and telling me it would be ok. I told her I was joking and we had a good laugh. We then agreed that we were surrounded by haters so we dabbed on them.....

View attachment 227840

We exited and her mom was in the gift shop and the girl asked if she could ride again and the mom agreed. The mom was telling her to be safe and dont run in line. I had the feeling she was bit worried about the girl being on her own and I told her I was going to ride again and I would accompany her and she thanked me. I was worried she would think I was some weirdo but I didnt get that vibe at all. So we breezed back thru the line and it was raining a bit more now. If you have never ridden Everest in the rain, it feels like tiny daggers stabbing your face when you speed down the hill. The CM gave us the back row.

Even though nobody was sitting directly in front of us, we could still feel the presence of haters and quickly agreed that we had no option but to dab upon them. we decided a double dab in opposite directions would provide sufficient coverage...View attachment 227842

We had fun. Such a great spirited kid. I said goodbye to my sidekick and decided that since the park was empty I would head back to Dinosaur for another trip. I had a FP for FoP but it wasnt for awhile. I spotted a photopass guy near the entrance to Dinoland. My sister would be proud of this guy as he took a photo that lends very little information to the fact that Im at WDW, lol

View attachment 227845


Without my sidekick I was now fighting the haters on my own. I was not surprised that I was once again surrounded by them on Dinosaur. I drew strength from Dr Seeker and Dr Marsh watching the pre ride video and I had only had two words for the haters...."Access Denied"!!!!

View attachment 227846

Take that!!

I trekked over to Pandora for my FoP FP. Pandora was "hater-free" which put me at ease. I grabbed a fresh beer for the long journey to Pandora.

View attachment 227851

I was parched after arriving on Pandora and there was only one beverage that I had in mind.

View attachment 227852

My green grog ale replenished my energy and I took a ride on FoP.

I headed back to the resort and hit up Contempo Cafe. The Mara (at AKL) has long been my favorite late night spot to munch (and ESPN Zone when staying at BW resorts). Contempo Cafe is definitely on my list of favorites now! The same way Dad and I got the pizza EVERY NIGHT at Thge Mara on our last trip, I ordered the same thing every night at Contempo. The Braised Beef grilled cheese!!! And just like last trip, I dont think I took any photos of it, lol. I am seriously creature of habit and If I find something I like, i stick with it. Im sure other items on the menu were great, but maybe next time ill try them. Of course i did grab a Jai Alai IPA while i waited and got a photo of that.

View attachment 227858

I headed back to the room, gobbled down my food and passed out.

Day 2 up next! Rope Drop at MK and I get the urge to go full on Park Commando and see how many rides I can get in by noon!

So freakin' funny! I love that you found a sidekick so much!

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2


I slept on the pull out sofa so Mom could have the bed. I must say that between AKL and BLT, they have quite comfy pull out sofas. The extra pillows they store in the closet at BLT were seriously soft. I slept very well each night on the pull out bed.

I was up bright and early. MK was opening at 9 (no emh). Another aspect I LOVED about BLT is that whether you take the sky walk to Contemporary or the pathway to MK you have AMAZING sight lines. It NEVER gets old. I really enjoyed stepping outside to see this.....

The pathway to MK is a pleasant walk (for anybody who has never experienced it). It was good weather that morning and the heat had not yet set in. More views from the pathway...

Having a security and bag checkpoint on the pathway also makes entrance easy once you reach MK. I breezed thru the AP entrance...

Moments later i was on MSUSA

I skipped getting a coffee at the resort and kept my hopes up that Starbucks would not be slammed. I was glad to see a short line when I walked in. Of course there were several people who decided to approach the register then stare at the menu with no idea of what they wanted to order. I just stepped around them and told the CM I wanted a Pikes Place. A few of the menu glancing zombies gave me the "how rude of you" look. One in particular continued to stare at me and I almost activated my snark mode to tell her she should not approach the register until she had actually made a decision. Lucky for her I was in a good mood and she was spared the @luvinthemajik / @Tuvalu snark attack

Ordering the Pikes Place can save time as they will occasionally just pour it and hand it to you right away rather than having to wait for your name to be called. Coffee in hand, I headed back outside to enjoy the "Walking Right Down the Middle of MSUSA" show.

I saw a group of people who were dressed up and I think they were bounding. They looked pretty cool. I asked if I could get a photo and they happily obliged.

Just another reason why WDW is such a great place to visit. There is always such a fun and positive vibe, especially at MK. I took my coffee and grabbed a seat over by the entrance to Adventure Land. Rope drop was still a good 15 minutes away so i took advantage of the spare time to return some emails. It was very peaceful and quiet (for about 5 minutes, lol) then a small crowd formed as the rope drop show started near the castle. I originally had no plan for the day aside to enjoy MK but as I sat there, I saw how many people had lined up near the castle and the entrance to Tomorrowland. There was a much more small crowd lined up at Adventure Land and I figured if I started all the way back at BTRR and I worked my back around, I could get some serious ride time since there would be so few people on that side f the park. So as they show finished, we all prepared to race to our attractions! There was a VIP tour group that was allowed in a few minutes prior and people were mumbling in an upset manor about the group getting special treatment. I wanted to tell a few of them that the VIP tour group paid a handsome price for that treatment and all those complaining could do the same thing if they ponied up the dough. But no time for that, I was formulating my strategy!!!

Up next....rides, rides, rides!!!!

 

[Songbird76]

Day 1 evening contd....



Took a ride on Dinosaur and dabbed on them haters....

View attachment 227841

From here I headed over to Everest. There was a light rain beginning which basically cleared out AK (except for Pandora). Everest was a walk on. I was seated with a girl who was very excited to ride. I joked with here that I was scared and she was so reassuring and telling me it would be ok. I told her I was joking and we had a good laugh. We then agreed that we were surrounded by haters so we dabbed on them.....

View attachment 227840

We exited and her mom was in the gift shop and the girl asked if she could ride again and the mom agreed. The mom was telling her to be safe and dont run in line. I had the feeling she was bit worried about the girl being on her own and I told her I was going to ride again and I would accompany her and she thanked me. I was worried she would think I was some weirdo but I didnt get that vibe at all. So we breezed back thru the line and it was raining a bit more now. If you have never ridden Everest in the rain, it feels like tiny daggers stabbing your face when you speed down the hill. The CM gave us the back row.

Even though nobody was sitting directly in front of us, we could still feel the presence of haters and quickly agreed that we had no option but to dab upon them. we decided a double dab in opposite directions would provide sufficient coverage...View attachment 227842

We had fun. Such a great spirited kid. I said goodbye to my sidekick and decided that since the park was empty I would head back to Dinosaur for another trip. I had a FP for FoP but it wasnt for awhile. I spotted a photopass guy near the entrance to Dinoland. My sister would be proud of this guy as he took a photo that lends very little information to the fact that Im at WDW, lol

View attachment 227845


Without my sidekick I was now fighting the haters on my own. I was not surprised that I was once again surrounded by them on Dinosaur. I drew strength from Dr Seeker and Dr Marsh watching the pre ride video and I had only had two words for the haters...."Access Denied"!!!!

View attachment 227846

Take that!!

I trekked over to Pandora for my FoP FP. Pandora was "hater-free" which put me at ease. I grabbed a fresh beer for the long journey to Pandora.

View attachment 227851

I was parched after arriving on Pandora and there was only one beverage that I had in mind.

View attachment 227852

My green grog ale replenished my energy and I took a ride on FoP.

I headed back to the resort and hit up Contempo Cafe. The Mara (at AKL) has long been my favorite late night spot to munch (and ESPN Zone when staying at BW resorts). Contempo Cafe is definitely on my list of favorites now! The same way Dad and I got the pizza EVERY NIGHT at Thge Mara on our last trip, I ordered the same thing every night at Contempo. The Braised Beef grilled cheese!!! And just like last trip, I dont think I took any photos of it, lol. I am seriously creature of habit and If I find something I like, i stick with it. Im sure other items on the menu were great, but maybe next time ill try them. Of course i did grab a Jai Alai IPA while i waited and got a photo of that.

View attachment 227858

I headed back to the room, gobbled down my food and passed out.

Day 2 up next! Rope Drop at MK and I get the urge to go full on Park Commando and see how many rides I can get in by noon!

Having never been on EE, perhaps this is a dumb question, but in the first EE pic in this post, there are 2 guys in the front, and they both look like they are protecting the family jewels. Is there a reason for this? Is it a necessity for men in the front seats? Just curious, because no one else seems to be doing this...only the front seaters.

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2 contnd.......



The rope was dropped and we all took off! I made my way to BTMRR first. A quick side note relating back to my comment about seeing a trend of younger CM's that were rude. I was the fifth person who entered the line and as we made our way to the loading area, there was a younger couple (mid 20's) in front of me. They were French (I could hear them speaking as we walked to the loading area). As they reached the load area they were attempting to ask the CM if they could sit in the front. The female was asking the CM and her English was not great but it was good enough. She was asking the CM "can we have car number one"? He replied with, "what"?! with a very disgusted look on his face. She asked again to which the CM replied (still with a ridiculous look on his face), " I dont know what you want". It was very obvious they wanted to sit in the front. The man with her spoke up and asked, "we get number one"? and he even pointed at the first spot. The CM gave him the stupid look as well. The man and woman were now both pointing at the first spot to load the train. I was about to chime in and tell the ignorant CM what they were asking. He looked at them and said "I dont understand what your saying but if you want to sit here, go ahead". He said it with the most rude tone and expression I have EVER seen a CM use with a guest. He was young (maybe 19 or 20 at best). It was clear he understood them but decided to be a jack a$$ about it. The couple did not detect his rudeness and even said thank you with a smile on their faces as they took their spot, to which the CM still gave them a stupid look and did not even say your welcome when they thanked him. I was about to tell the CM that I would be reporting him and that if were not at WDW I would have smacked that look off his face for being so rude. I decided to let it go and add the incident to my email about the concierge and BoG experience. I have the date. time, location and description of the CM , so if Disney cares to do anything about it, they can. I also knew that if I had words with him it would have just put me in a bad mood. I wanted to enjoy the day.

Back to the TR! All Aboard!

After BTM I headed to POTC and walked right on...

expose that super structure!!!!

Up next was Aladin. Had not rode this in years. Nice views from the top. I headed over to JC for ride number 4

It was 9:45 and I had 4 rides in! Moving right along I ad to trek over to Tomorrow Land for my Space Mtn FP. and ride number 5...

dabbed in case any haters were in the area.

After Space I hit a small snag. I tried calling my wife to check in but my phone would not make a call. I tried several numbers and it wasnt working. I could text still, so I asked my wife to try and call me. It never rang. Now I knew I could not make or receive calls. I normally wouldnt care, but I needed to make a few quick calls for work. I am part of the Google Fi project which is Googles cell phone company. It is really terrific and their customer service is amazing. We left AT&T about a year ago and have had a great experience with Google Fi. We were paying AT&T about $200 a month for both phones, now we pay Google about $100-$120 per month. If you dont use all your data, Google deducts it from your next bill which is pretty sweet. Anyway, sorry for the sales pitch, lol. But one reason I love Google Fi is their customer service. You dont have to call them for help. Your phone has an icon you can tap and THEY call or open a text with you. It is really convenient. I opened a chat and while they worked on it I hopped on People Mover for ride #6

By the time I was done with People Mover, Google had resolved the issue. Their phones use several networks and even wifi to make calls. It will use the strongest signal and at the time the strongest signal was the Disney wifi and my phone had somehow gotten locked onto the wifi and wouldnt switch networks. They did something on their end and all of a sudden I could make calls again, ...yay!

I headed off to my next attraction with my now fully armed and operational battle statio.... I mean cell phone. Next up was 7DMT!

Ok, computer acting funny (It really only does this on wdwmagic when i upload photos) does anybody else get this issue? It kinda freezes for a few seconds , gonna close it down and restart

 

[wdisney9000]

and we're back!

It was fitting that my 7th ride was 7DMT.

Number 8 was Little Mermaid. Wait times were still pretty short and it was about 5 minutes.

Ride number 9 was Barnstormer

I will say this, as a grown man with no children standing in line for Barnstormer it felt a bit weird, then the CM gives me the front seat while all the parents and kids are behind me. It was an odd moment when the CM operating the switches looked at me as I loaded, lol.

Next up was Dumbo for ride #10!

I was now at double digit ride count and it was only 11:30 am! My brother is an extreme park commando and had been keeping the family back home apprised of my ride count. He was seriously excited that I was getting so much done.

Mom and I had a 2pm reservation at Sci Fi Dine In and I wanted to have enough time to make a quick stop at the room before I headed to HS. I was able to snag a FP for Poohs Honey Hunt so I made one last stop before heading out.

As I headed out of Honey Hunt I saw a FP available for HM and I seriously debated getting in one more attraction but I was satisfied with my ride count and head back to BLT. I had done 11 rides before noon. Not too shabby.

 

[12in12]

11 rides is very impressive, personally I would have gone for the HM as it is my favorite in MK. I might try and beat your score next time I am there.

 

[wwmmd]

LOL on dabbing all those haters. Nice work!

 

[Tuvalu]

I was able to snag a FP for Poohs Honey Hunt so I made one last stop before heading out.
View attachment 228410
As I headed out of Honey Hunt I saw a FP available for HM and I seriously debated getting in one more attraction but I was satisfied with my ride count and head back to BLT. I had done 11 rides before noon. Not too shabby.

You also time-traveled to Tokyo Disneyland? Now that's impressive!!

 

[Courtney6682]

There was a VIP tour group that was allowed in a few minutes prior and people were mumbling in an upset manor about the group getting special treatment. I wanted to tell a few of them that the VIP tour group paid a handsome price for that treatment and all those complaining could do the same thing if they ponied up the dough. But no time for that, I was formulating my strategy!!!

When in August was this lol?? My daughter and I did a VIP tour on Aug 20th and all the people waiting at Adventureland boo'ed our group when we walked ahead of them lol...

 

[LowesChevy]

You are definitely correct about the hot and cold customer service. I dealt with another CM at the check in desk who was absolutely magical. Im curious now about the bell service rules you mentioned. We had a nice gentleman grab our bags and walked to the room with my mother. I believe this was the first time we ever had a our bags come to the room with us.

They have changed the bell services now to the person helps you unload the car and then tags your bags and moves to the hotel storage. Once you get to your room you call down and they bring them up. It isn't only Disney we have noticed this system, but it is truly annoying because I want to go to my room and get settled and not have to wait for my bags to show up.

Logistically it is better for the resort because they have the same amount of staff on duty out front, but if it is busy check in time you will wait a while. It works well with Magical Express since your bags arrive later, but for guests arriving via car it is annoying, especially at BLT because it shares services with the Contemporary.

The Polynesian and Grand Floridian used to unpack your car, load you right in a cart and the CM would take your right to your room after check in. I think they moved to a 3rd party system years ago.

 

[wdisney9000]

You also time-traveled to Tokyo Disneyland? Now that's impressive!!

It is an up charge that Disney now offers. Comes with a cup cake too!

11 rides is very impressive, personally I would have gone for the HM as it is my favorite in MK. I might try and beat your score next time I am there.

Game on!!!!

LOL on dabbing all those haters.

Its a tough job, but somebodies gotta do it!

When in August was this lol?? My daughter and I did a VIP tour on Aug 20th and all the people waiting at Adventureland boo'ed our group when we walked ahead of them lol...

We were there end of August. What a shame that people actually booed. I heard a few folks rumbling about it. Cracks me up that they think a VIP group of 10 people getting in first are gonna affect wait times, lol

They have changed the bell services now to the person helps you unload the car and then tags your bags and moves to the hotel storage. Once you get to your room you call down and they bring them up. It isn't only Disney we have noticed this system, but it is truly annoying because I want to go to my room and get settled and not have to wait for my bags to show up.

Logistically it is better for the resort because they have the same amount of staff on duty out front, but if it is busy check in time you will wait a while. It works well with Magical Express since your bags arrive later, but for guests arriving via car it is annoying, especially at BLT because it shares services with the Contemporary.

The Polynesian and Grand Floridian used to unpack your car, load you right in a cart and the CM would take your right to your room after check in. I think they moved to a 3rd party system years ago.

We got lucky I suppose since it was pretty slow when we arrived. Bell hop to the bags directly to the room with Mom while I parked the car. But we have had that happen on most other stays. With the exception of staying club level, we usually have to wait, which can be annoying.

 

[wdisney9000]

Day 2 afternoon...


After my park commando morning, it was time to slow things down a bit.
I hadnt gotten to sweaty so I figured there was no need to stop at the room and freshen up so I grabbed a bus to HS. Mom was already there catching a few shows and I was able to snag a FP for ToT. I had time to spare before lunch so I headed down Sunset to check in to my room at ToT

Perfect timing as I exited with 20 minutes to spare until our reservation at Sci Fi.
It started raining and I found Mom in the lobby of sci fi. It was pouring by the time I got there and Mom had covered her scooter with a poncho but was worried it wasnt secure enough so I ran out to tighten it up a bit. We had a short wait until they called our names and then were escorted to our car.

I had been a few years since I dined here and I had been really looking forward to it. Mom ordered the Oreo Milkshake and I had a Napa Smith Imperial IPA (Hoppageddon).

We started with the spinach dip for an appetizer.

IT was excellent. A nice crusty baked top with ooey-gooey cheese and spinach underneath. We devoured it!

For our entrees Mom had a salad. It was specific type of salad but I cant remember which one ( what was it @luvinthemajik )

One of the chefs special for the day was a blue cheeseburger (with bacon). I jumped right on that!

It was great. As we ate, we watched the old short films and discussed trips from our past to WDW and all the changes over the years. It was very pleasant.

Another bonus was when our waitress brought out paper FP's for everyone out our table/car. She explained it was for the long wait for our food. Mom and I did not feel that the wait was long at all but heck, we'll take a free FP! We skipped dessert as we both were full and had our sights set on particular dessert items elsewhere for later in the day.

After lunch, we had made our way over to Toy Story

I won, but in all fairness, Mom cant get her heart rate up so she wasnt going full til, but she still did well!

After Toy Soy, Mom headed back to the room to relax at the pool. I was able to get a FP for Star Tours.so I headed that way.

The CM that boarded us was a bit over bearing. In each row she did not want anything sticking out AT ALL from under the seats. She got onto people in every row (myself included for a tiny part of my backpack strap hanging out) One womans storage under her seat was full and she had a small bag on the floor which the CM was not happy about. The woman put it on her lap and the CM would not allow that. The man next to her said he would put it under his seat which seemed to bother the CM for some reason as she sighed when the man took it. Then the CM moved to the next row. There was very heavy set lady who had a refillable mug in her lap. Of course the CM demand she store it. The woman was wearing a long dress that was draped over the storage bin beneath and she was a very large woman. She tried to reach beneath the seat but she was not physically able to because of her size. The CM just stood there and told her she had to get it underneath. You could see the woman was somewhat embarrassed as for several moments she struggled and finally told the CM she couldnt. The woman behind her said she would take it. As the woman passed it back, the CM kinda freaked out and said, "no you cant do that", by the time she said it, the woman had already passed it back. The CM shook her head and said "fine". It was very odd how strict she was. She finally closed the doors and we enjoyed our tour with a spotless floor. The CM was not exactly rude in any way, just very overbearing about the storage bins. I understand she was just doing her job though.

After my odd Star Tours ride I headed back to the room to freshen up.

After I cleaned up and changed, Mom returned from the pool and we hung out for a bit.

Up next......evening at Epcot