The Last Hurrah

Jungle Skipper · Jul 23, 2007

July 12th and 13th

Travel and Check-in at the Wilderness Lodge

Picking up where I left off, it is Thursday July 12th and the 5 of us are leaving our homes in Kentucky for a 13.5 hour drive down to Walt Disney World. We somehow managed to get all of our luggage into the van, said goodbye to our parents, and hit the road! The journey began rather uneventfully and we drove to Cordele, GA for a nights stay at the Hampton Inn before driving the rest of the way on Friday morning.

Just past Chattanooga, TN I began to get concerned that we were making very poor time on the road. By my calculations we’d lost more than an hour on the road somewhere. That was a bad thing, we eventually stopped at a rest stop in GA and I realized what had really happened…apparently the new van DA bought automatically updated the clock via the GPS system…lol…I felt like a big dummy after that but it made for some pretty good laughs.

We arrived in Cordele at the Hampton Inn at about 3:00am local time and got checked in. Nice place, great beds and soft pillows…TINY bathrooms! But a good place to lay our heads for a few hours. DA and I needed the rest after our long night of driving. We got up around 9am, hit the continental breakfast and back onto I-75. Traffic was a little congested just past Tifton do to some construction, but for the most part it was smooth sailing.

I drove the rest of the way from Cordele to WDW and we finally rolled onto WDW property at 2pm. We pulled into our first stop, the Wilderness Lodge. Wowsers! This place was magnificent! I’ve been here before for dinner and visiting friends who have stayed here, but I’ve never stayed here as a guest. The building is absolutely beautiful and the lobby is breathtaking. Unfortunately our arrival was less that amazing and would be the first problem we experiencing during this trip here is how it happened:

We pulled up to the Lodge security shack, got out parking pass then pulled up to the overhang to check in. We waited a full 15 minutes before a valet or bellhop came to assist us. I was shocked at this delay in service because it was after 2pm and we were the only vehicle in the vicinity. Instead of helping us, the valets/bellmen were gathered around the podium talking amongst themselves.

We were finally greeted by a far from welcoming and unenthusiastic “You need something?” I told the gentlemen that we were checking in and had some bags we’d like help with. Without saying anything he left and returned more than 5 minutes later with a valet card and started to park the car without removing any luggage. I stopped him and reiterated having 4 bags we needed assistance with, to which he rolled his eyes, the shouted at a bellmen to “come help them with their bags” before he tossed my keys back to me and jogging away.

DC and I pulled our own bags from the van and put them on the luggage cart ourselves, as this new bellman stood nearby without offering to help. He finally took the cart and walked away without giving us a claim number or receipt, let alone acknowledging us. I then looked for a valet to park the van, but when I asked, I was promptly told I should just park it myself and handicapped parking was right up front. At this point I gave up and parked the car myself, then returning to the lobby to check-in.

At check-in I was greeted and when asked how I was doing, I expressed my concern over the events which just occurred. The response: “I’m sorry…so you’re checking in?” I pulled out my confirmation numbers and credit cards and got checked in and sent to the 6th floor, to a room with a King bed, despite my request for a room with two beds. I called the front desk and got no answer so I promptly returned to the lobby, waited in line and was greeted by the same cast member from check-in. She laughed and before I could say anything said “I totally messed up didn’t I? I didn’t read all of the notes until you left…didn’t know you wanted two beds…I just assumed you two, well…umm…you know.” At this point I’m pretty upset, but I hold my tongue. I won’t venture to guess what she assumed, but without a doubt that response was far from appropriate.

Luckily we were able to be moved to a room with two beds and we got settled into our new room on the 6th floor. We were in room 6108 with a nice view of the Villas at WL. The room was beautiful, with the best beds I’ve ever had at WDW! I brushed off the check-in mishap and was determined to have a good time. So we moved on to the Polynesian to check the others in….

I’ll be back with more in a bit!

Cheers,
Josh

Jungle Skipper · Jul 23, 2007

July 13th

Checking in to the Poly Concierge, the HoopDeeDoo, MK EMH

We left the WL and headed to the Polynesian hoping for a better check-in experience. Unfortunately it seemed like no one at the valet/bell services area knew who was supposed to do what. We arrived and waited more than 15 minutes for someone to help us with luggage and valet of the van…it was as if no one wanted to help us. Which is sad for them, because we tip VERY well!

Eventually, a young gentleman named Christopher stepped up and took control of the situation delegating to others what to do and helped us get situated. He would prove to be the ONLY positive experience with valet/bell services the entire week. We then waited another 10 minutes for the bell captain to call Hawaii and find out our room number and then another 15 minutes to get someone with a golf cart to wisk us away to the Hawaii building.

We were pleasantly surprised to find that despite paying for our Lagoon View Room, we were upgraded to our normal room on the Lagoon View side of the building, room 3504. We took in the view, got settled in and headed to the lounge to see what Chef ________ had prepared for snacks (yes it took nearly 3 hours to check in to the WL and then the Poly). We had some delicious O’hana skewers and pineapple with caramel sauce and headed back to the room to relax a bit.

As we got settled in and I noticed the room felt warm, I initially attributed this to the travel, moving things about and getting settled in. Then I checked the thermostat and saw that in read almost 76 degrees in the room, despite being set near 70 and it felt as if not air was being circulated. DF came out of the restroom and informed us that the toilet was not only dirty (what appeared to be a dried urine stain on the back of the seat) but wasn’t flushing properly. We quite literally had to flush the thing 3 or 4 times before it would finally empty.

At this point, our group had to leave the room to head to our HoopDeeDoo Reservation; on the way out I mentioned it to a young lady at the concierge desk. I was told to enjoy dinner and if there was still a problem after we returned to let them know. So we pulled our van from the valet and headed to the camp ground and caught a bus to Pioneer Hall. There were some pretty impressive storm clouds in the distance and the heat had cooled off substantially. We enjoyed the nice breeze while we waited to be seated.

I was quite disappointed when we were seated at obstructed view seats in the corner of the room under the overhang and near the entrance to the kitchen…how these seats could be included in the most expensive price category is beyond me. That is unless we were paying more for the additional show of servers complaining amongst themselves about their jobs and discussing where to go for drinks at CityWalk after work…all during the action on stage no less! What a disappointment, one of my favorite, most anticipate, not to mention most expensive dining experiences on property was ruined.

The food was good and the show is always a lot of fun, the guy playing six-pence was fantastic…one of the best I’ve seen. Unfortunately the music and lyrics were hard to hear over the wait staff chattering, the kitchen noise and the echo of sound from the overhang. But we ate plenty of fried chicken and ribs!

After the show we filed out to the buses that would return us to the Polynesian. DC and I took the van back to the WL to pick up some things before meeting the rest at the Poly (he left his ticket in the luggage…goofball!).

We got back just in time to catch Wishes from our balcony! What a beautiful sight! I forgot just how much I loved that show. Breathtaking to sat the least! After the show DA told me that the air hadn’t been fixed and the toilet was still not working, so I headed to the concierge desk and there wasn’t a CM in sight. So I returned to the room and called the front desk….no answer….so I called maintenance….no answer….I tried the front desk again and finally got an answer. They lady on the phone sounded completely put out that we were calling with a problem. Said she would put a note in the system and send maintenance up to take a look at it, but since it was so late it probably wouldn’t happen until the next day. I told her we’d be heading to the MK for EMH and they would be welcome in the room until 2 or 3 am…we just needed some air to sleep. Her response “well, I put it in the system, what more do you want me to do?”

Frustrated I hung up and we headed to the MK for extra magic hours! Nightfall had brought cooler air to the park and we were excited to finally be at WDW! We arrived just in time to grab an awesome spot to see Spectromagic right on Main Street. After the parade we went to Adventureland our first ride on the new refurb of Pirates of the Caribbean. I enjoyed it, I’ve always been a big fan of the original attraction, and upon first glance it felt like they just through Jack Sparrow in a few times in some awkward places…I think once would’ve been enough. But I didn’t NOT like it…if that makes any sense.

We then strolled back toward Splash Mountain with a 15 min wait, then Thunder Mountain with a 20 min wait. We headed toward Fantasyland, stopping for a moment to mourn the temporary closure of the Haunted Mansion…my personal favorite attraction. We then waited 20 min for Peter Pan, walked onto Snow White and Pooh, before heading to Tomorrowland for a trip on the TTA. By this point it was 2am and time for the park to close for the night.

We retreated down Main Street to the monorail and back to the Poly. DC and I then headed back to the WL and settled into those wonderful beds. I don’t know if it was because I was so tired or because the beds were so nice, but I slept like a baby that night.
It was a beautiful nights sleep.

Unfortunately, the girls at the Poly had no such luck. No one from maintenance came to look at the air conditioner. According to DF at 4:30 am the Thermostat read 79 degrees. They didn’t sleep well at all.
I’ll be back in a while with more. No one is saying anything, so I guess no one is reading. That or they’ve nothing to say. Hope you are enjoying.

Coming up next…a full day at the MK, Dinner at O’hana and a late night swim.

Cheers,
Josh

OhioDisneyLover · Jul 23, 2007

I'm enjoying your trip report so far. I can't believe the CM's that you encountered. We've never had that happen to us ... and hopefully never will.

Sounds like you were able to enjoy yourself though.

cymbaldiva · Jul 23, 2007

I'm reading, I'm reading... keep it coming!

Ravenclaw87 · Jul 23, 2007

Your EMH wait times are amazing. I hope I find similar ones in a month!

And I'm sorry your cast members weren't magical.

I hope DF wasn't disenchanted!

Jungle Skipper · Jul 23, 2007

The First Full Day

The MK, Dinner at O’hana, More A/C troubles and a Late Night Swim

DC and I woke upon Saturday well rested and ready for our first full day at WDW! We were pumped and ready to roll. I called DF and decided we’d meet the girls at the MK and go from their, so we hopped the next available boat to the MK. I found this boat ride to be incredibly peaceful and quite the welcome start to the day. I even think I prefer the laid back boat rides to the hectic monorail journey. This WL place is growing on me!

So we arrive at the park and meet up with the ladies, first thing we decided to do was get our picture taken on Main Street with the castle in the background. It turned out beautifully, even got the fireworks going off in the background during the stage show. We took my aunt to Adventureland and started things off with a trip around the Jungle Cruise…had a good skipper, I approved. I’ve missed my old stomping grounds. There’s just something special about that Jungle River, I feel a connection with it...ha ha.

We moved from the Jungle to the Tiki Room…waited about 5 min and when the show started it seemed really loud. I don’t know if it was my seat or what, but it seems like they’ve pumped up the volume there…to the point that Iago’s voice hurt my ears. But its still fun, DF got a real kick out of the show. Next up was Mickey’s Philharmagic and we must have had perfect timing because we only waited about 5-7 minutes here as well! I really enjoy this show as did DF.

After we did a little window shopping in Fantasyland we headed over to It’s a Small World…Sigh…I love this classic, it always brings back such memories. Going through the handicapped line with DA we waited only about 10 min and enjoyed the happiest cruise in the world!

Upon exiting we ate at Pinocchio’s Village Haus…I wasn’t really hungry so I grabbed a cup of strawberry yogurt while the others ate some tasty looking sandwiches. A nice relaxing lunch, although the struggle to find a table in TS locations is absolutely ridiculous sometimes and especially with my aunt trying to maneuver that scooter around the tables while trying to avoid people jumping right out in front of her.

After lunch we stopped by the Yankee Trader store…DF flipped out, being the cooking fiend that she is, she was in Mickey heaven with all of the fun kitchen-ware…I’m still not sure what all she bought, but I know I saw some Mickey Mouse Glove Hand Pot Holders! How fun is that?

We then waited about 20 min for Pirates of the Caribbean and did some shopping in the Caribbean Plaza. The second trip through the ride I found the Sparrow addition much less distracting. I can live with it. Finally we ended up at The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor! What a hoot. I’m really impressed by this attraction. They even used the jokes DC & I texted (inspired by his nephew age 9 back home):

1) What do you call a pig that does karate? Pork Chop
2) What is an astronauts favorite meal? Launch!

We got a big laugh out or hearing the monster say our name and city…LoL we’re such goobers!

At about 6:15pm we decided to head back to the room and get ready for dinner. We were meeting some of my family who lives in the area for dinner at O’hana at 7pm. While the ladies took the monorail home, DC and I took the boat back to the Lodge to get our swim trunks so we could all go swimming that night at the Poly. As we were leaving the Poly, I realized we’d forgotten the keys to the van…I’d given them to my aunt while at the MK so I wouldn’t have them in my pockets all day. So we’re supposed to be at the Poly in 20 min for dinner and had now fast way of getting there.

So I ran down to the valet and they offered to call me a cab. I felt bad but it was the absolute only way we’d make it to dinner on time. The cab arrived and I tipped him more than the fare because I felt bad for bothering him on such a short route. We ran upstairs to O’hana and made it just in time.

O’hana has always been a staple for my family, they’ve loved it and we’ve gone there for as long as I can remember. However, I think it’s lost some of its luster since the last menu change. I miss the old shrimp skewers and the wonton. Still, a great place to eat…I still can’t get enough of those chicken wings…wowsers!

After dinner DC, DF and I took the boat from the monorail from the Poly to the CR and then the boat from CR to WL to pick up the van. Showed DF around the CR while we were there, checked out the 4th floor changes…that arcade sure looks a lot smaller!

We I returned to the room DA and the rest of the family were chatting in the room and as soon as I walked in it was like being hit by a wall of hot air. So I made a u-turn out the door and headed straight down to the concierge desk. I sat down and told the lady what was happening and that it needed to be fixed immediately. I was quite nice about it and in turn quite shocked at her apathy over the situation.

I sat at the desk while she typed in a request to send someone to the room ASAP and that we’d be up for a while as we planned to go swimming that night in the quiet pool. I asked her to please put a rush on this as the room is officially unbearable to sleep in. I returned to the room and just after Wishes ended there was a knock on the door! Thank goodness! FINALLY someone shows up to look at the problem.

I watched as the guy tinkered with the thermostat some and then lifted a ceiling tile out of to inspect the system. After about 20 minutes he realized that there was “a cooling valve that was turned off that shouldn’t have been switched off.” So he turned it on and within 5 minutes we finally had cool air circulating around the room. Wahoo! Finally things were fixed…or were they? (more on that later)

Around 10:45pm the family let and DS, DC, DF and I threw on our swimsuits and headed to the quiet pool for our much anticipated swim….(record scratch)….only to find the quiet pool was “closed for maintenance.” Disappointed, we headed to the volcano pool and climbed in…wowowwowowsers…it was frigid in that pool! LoL….took a few minutes to get used to and we ended up having a good time floating around chatting and splashing!

We were back in the room around 12:15am…finally the room felt cool and livable. I checked the thermostat, a nice cool 72 degrees. DC and I made our way to the valet to retrieve our van….but there was no one there. I went back into the lobby and they had to page the valet to come get our car….what a pain. Seriously, the valet was officially on notice for me by this point. Nothing but trouble out of them all week.

We each showered and kicked back to watch some television in the room before finally falling asleep. I’m still in awe of how comfy those beds were!

What a day…too bad the toilet is still dirty and not flushing right!

Up next….Epcot, a not so soarin’ line, Whispering Canyon Café and EMH at MK!

Cheers,
Josh

Jungle Skipper · Jul 23, 2007

Sunday Bloody Sunday

DC & I love Epcot…it is a very close number two for us…probably only number 2 because the MK is such a sentimental favorite! Point blank we love it. DF is super excited about going to Epcot as well and feels much like DC and I. Unfortunately my sister hates Epcot…she despises the World Showcase and anything where one might actually (gasp) learn something new! This is a girl who often says “I don’t like readin’ no books, they borin’!” How we come from the same gene pool is beyond me.

So with that as background information we head to Epcot with hopes of having a great morning. We had our picture taken in front of spaceship earth…seeing that awful wand coming down brought a tear of joy to my eyes! They seem to be moving along on the demolition quite rapidly. Our first stop was The Living….errr…sorry The Seas with Nemo. We waited about 35 min for the ride and then spent a good hour roaming around the pavilion looking at the fish and watching the manatees. I enjoyed the new ride...very clever and well done. It was good to see life pulsing around the Seas again. And I got a big kick out of the birds on the rocks outside! Mine! Mine! Mine! Oh and of course during that time we visited with Crush…that show is amazing….very very well done! Kudos to the creative minds and talented performers behind this one, a pure classic!

After this it was near lunch time and DC, DS and DA are all diabetics, so they needed to eat. We headed to The Land pavilion to check out FastPasses for Soarin’ but they were for way to late (clashed with our dinner plans). We ate at the Sunshine Seasons….DC had a pork chop, I had a yummy rotisserie chicken with potatoes and carrots, DS and DA had some haus sandwiches and DF muched on some Asian noodle dish. We all enjoyed it, except DS…who made it very well known she’d rather be anywhere but Epcot. Some people just can’t have fun.

After lunch we headed toward the standby line at Soarin’…listed at 80 min, we decided to give it a go….DS pouted and whined the whole time…DF and DC both sat most of the way, while DA kept falling asleep on the scooter. After about 95 minutes we finally made it to the merge point. Ten minutes later we made it to the boarding area…We were the last ones in the area, a party of 5, apparently to big for the show so we couldn’t sit together. Without asking, the CM ran back up and had them send a party of 2 and a party of 3 down…we told him we didn’t mind splitting up, but he insisted that we just wait for the next flight. So we did….they loaded up and left us behind….15 minutes later we were still waiting, and suddenly it got quite back in the queue area…I knew then something was wrong.

5 min later a very nervous looking CM came out and told us “I don’t know why, but my management team has asked me to evacuate the building…I don’t know why so if you will all just follow me I’ll escort you out of the building and back into the park. Management will be there to answer your questions. Being a former CM myself, I knew something must be going on, cause they weren’t going to run us out backstage for no reason. So we started for the door…then…I hear my irrational DS yelling and screaming at the CM about waiting for so long and she better give her a pass to get back on later…I quickly jumped to the CM’s defense and told her that now was not the time and to let it go..we’d get it taken care of outside…unfortunately this sent my DS spiraling backwards into a hellfire of anger and hatred that lasted the whole rest of the week. She was irate and didn’t think she had done anything wrong…it was quite astounding and even more so embarrassing. I apologized to the CM as we exited the attraction. We reentered the park near the bathrooms at Journey into Imagination. After chilling out for a moment and letting things settle I asked a CM about what we should do…I was brushed off and told there were too many people and they probably wouldn’t do anything.

DC and I walked the girls to Imagination and told them we’d meet them at the exit. DS went into a rage and start screaming for no reason about wanting to leave…DA and DF rode the ride while DC and I went to Guest Services. They were very apologetic and offered to give me guest service recovery passes for fast pass entry into for our whole family into any two attractions. They were good all week at any park so we saved them.

We met up with the girls outside Imagination and realized it was almost 5:30 and we’d need to be leaving around 6pm for our dinner reservations. My irrational DS continued to embarrass herself and demanded that we leave immediately. So we did…listening to her bark and scowl at us all the way. We returned to the finally cooled off room and enjoyed some snacks from the lounge. I sipped on a bottle of Bud Light and kicked back for a bit. As it was time to leave for dinner, DS threw another yelling fit and announced that she would not be joining us for dinner cause we were ‘making her angry’ (albeit in more colorful terms). Being the overly nice woman she is, DA decided she would stay with DS to try and calm her down.

This upset DF, because tonight we were meeting her cousin who lives in the Orlando area, for dinner at the Whispering Canyon Café. We arrived just in time to meet her and chatted in the lobby of the resort while waiting for our reservation to go through.

After a nice long, leisurely dinner we showed DF’s cousin around the resort. She left around 9pm and we hung out in our room at the WL to avoid DS’s outbursts. We made it back to the resort in time to watch Wishes again…3 nights in a row! Afterwards we all 5 headed out to the MK for a night in Tomorrowland!

At the park we got FastPasses for Space Mountain, then went over to Stitch. Basically walked on, I hate this show…I really think they made a mistake by removing Alien Encounter. Afterwards we walked on to Buzz Lightyear and the TTA. By then it was time for Space Mountain. We rode it relatively quickly and then met up with DA. She wanted to check out Monster’s Inc again. We waited for about 15 minutes then someone came out and said the show was experiencing technical difficulties and would not be showing….disappointed we headed back to pirates and Big Thunder Mountain (walking on both) before leaving for the night.

We dropped off the girls and got them settled in at the Poly…goodness, the room sure wasn’t hot anymore, but it felt kinda chilly….hmmm….DC and I headed back to the Lodge and hit the sack.

Next up…MGM, a romantic night for two and another late night swim.

Cheers,
Josh

DznyGrlSD · Jul 24, 2007

I'm not one to read lengthy trip reports....but this one is so well written I'm hooked!! more more more!! :wave:

stitchtastic · Jul 24, 2007

Love it! Sounds like you're having a great time with plenty of relaxation and midnight swims - a lesson for my trip in 10 days.My dream is to stay concierge at the Poly - but until we win the lotto:ROFLOL: POR is our base.
Great report and well written.

KnK · Jul 24, 2007

This is helping my 45 day wait much easier. WL is our favorite and we find we can't stay anywhere else any more.

Sorry about the all the parking issues....at least the trip sounds like fun.

CAPTAIN HOOK · Jul 24, 2007

An eventful trip to say the least - waiting for further updates

Cara1210 · Jul 24, 2007

Sounds like a great trip in spite of some minor glitches, although, I have to say that the CM that check you and your DC in...well, I thought it was kind of funny. Inappropriate? Yes, but funny.

Jungle Skipper · Jul 24, 2007

Fallen Angel said:
I'm not one to read lengthy trip reports....but this one is so well written I'm hooked!! more more more!! :wave:

Thanks..sorry I have the tendency to be long winded, always have! But glad you enjoy! There are many more installments to come.

stitchtastic said:
Love it! Sounds like you're having a great time with plenty of relaxation and midnight swims - a lesson for my trip in 10 days.My dream is to stay concierge at the Poly - but until we win the lotto:ROFLOL: POR is our base.
Great report and well written.

The Poly Concierge has been a wonderful experience for us the last few years..however, as this trip report isshowing, I think I've become disenchanted with the resort. The WL on the other hand...wow.

K&K said:
This is helping my 45 day wait much easier. WL is our favorite and we find we can't stay anywhere else any more.

Sorry about the all the parking issues....at least the trip sounds like fun.

I hope your trip goes well, hopefully you can write a trip report I can enjoy as well! I too fell in love with the WL this year....

CAPTAIN HOOK said:
An eventful trip to say the least - waiting for further updates

Thanks Captain! Unfortunately there were plenty of events on this trip....and to be honest with you, I've never been one to complain, so that should tell you how major the problems I've brought up were.

Cara1210 said:
Sounds like a great trip in spite of some minor glitches, although, I have to say that the CM that check you and your DC in...well, I thought it was kind of funny. Inappropriate? Yes, but funny.

Thanks Cara! It was a fun trip...I wasn't going to let the problems keep us from having a good time! Unfortunately it was probably the most disappointing trips I've had...but I guess a trip to WDW is a lot like pizza...even when its bad, its still pretty good.

I'm getting ready t ohead to work and should have plenty of time to finish a couple more installments while there. I'm glad you folks are enjoying! Keep the comments flowing!

Cheers,
Josh

minnie2000 · Jul 24, 2007

Great report so far! Any pictures?

tink68 · Jul 24, 2007

Great trip report. I leave in 24 days so this is getting me excited but I hope we do not have any problems like you did. Sorry those had to happen but so far you seem to have still had alot of fun. :wave:

morgan22 · Jul 24, 2007

Get typing - quick, quick i'm hooked!!!

stitchtastic · Jul 24, 2007

Waiting with baited breath..............................................

Jungle Skipper · Jul 24, 2007

Monday at MGM Studios – 7/16
We decided to sleep in a bit on Monday morning before heading to MGM for the day. This was going to make for a short day, because DF and I had planned to make that night our date night…

So DC and I drove to the Poly to pick up the ladies. DA uses one of those heavy duty scooters from Walker Mobility and we could never figure out how to take it apart easily for transportation, so being the strong muscle men we are...:ROFLOL: :ROFLOL: :ROFLOL: :shrug: ....DC and I decided we could lift it in and out of the van. That sucker sure is heavier than it looks, LoL!

We then headed for the MGM studios and headed straight to the Tower of Terror for FastPasses (only because the Rockin’ roller Coaster FP’s were down for a few days in order to update the system). Then we checked in for our lunch reservations at the 50’s Prime Time Café. Ever since I discovered this wonderful eatery several years ago, it has been a staple of our WDW dining experience. Which reminds me, DF and I purchased Annual Passes this year in anticipation of our honeymoon in May. Did the math and figured it was cheaper that way. Plus we purchased the Disney Dining Experience Card! Wowsers, what a deal! Saved us tons of money on this trip and I hope to use it again in May.

Anywho, lunch was AWESOME as always! The food is wonderful here, I love the fried chicken and mashed potatoes and there is nothing in the world quite like a Peanut Butter and Jelly Milkshake! If you’ve never experienced this, you should! DC, DA and DF all indulged in the Chicken Pot Pie….they all raved about it!

After lunch we waited about 30 min for the Great Movie Ride, that final film still gets me every time…I’m such a sucker for motion pictures! Then we visited One Man’s Dream, still an excellent exhibit and a nice tribute to one of my personal heroes. Then we realized we had just enough time to race across the park for Lights Motors Action! The show was good, as always…however in the middle of the show, right after the stunt guy falls off the building the show came to a screeching hault. The “director” told us someone had wondered backstage and set off an alarm…and since safety was number one, they had to check it out before they could continue. It was definitely not supposed to happen and the “director” seemed lost trying to ad lib his way through the awkward moment. He did well, but it was quite amusing if you ask me!

From here we headed to Muppet Vision 3D and walked straight in! I’m a Muppet fiend and love this show. Afterwards we spent some time wondering around the Muppet shop…I’m disappointed because it seems that the amount of Muppet merchandise is shrinking each trip! After this, realized it was time for our FastPasses at the Tower of Terror so we headed back toward that area for the ride.

DC and DA aunt bowed out, he doesn’t like elevators to begin with and she doesn’t do wild rides. So DF, DS and I rode then gave the extra Fast Passes away to a nice Father and Daughter who were about to get FPs…told them to go enjoy the ride now. We waited probably 5 min in the FP line, then 5 min after the preshow area, sat in the front row….I love the seatbelts…much better experience that the handlebars! The ride was good, a nice change of pace from the rest of the day.

After the ride, we met up with DC and DA who were shopping in Mickey’s of Hollywood. DC, DF and I headed for Sid’s One of a Kind Shop…one of our favorite stores. Here DC spied an Ash Trash used as set dressing on The Sopranos (on of his favorite shows) and he fell in love with it, saying he’d think about it.

By this point it was almost 5pm and time for DF and I to head back and get ready for our night out. DS had been grumpy all day (again) and threw a fit, so DA and DC decided we should just all leave. So we packed back into the van and headed back to the Poly.

Date Night
DF and I got cleaned up and changed into some clean clothes. I wore my black polo shirt and nice khaki shorts....then headed to the Contemporary to begin our night alone. We had 6:20 reservations at the California Grill and made it to the check-in just in time. A nice lady escorted us to the top and we were seated immediately. We didn’t sit at the window, but were close enough to have a nice view. About 5 min after we arrived, they opened the shades and WOW! What a view of the MK! It was beautiful.

For dinner, I had the Oak Fired Filet of Beef with Green Beans and Mashed Potatoes….I thought I died and went to heaven! That was the best steak I’ve EVER eaten…hands down, no doubt about it! Scrumptious! DF had the Gnocchi pasta, the vegetarian dish on the menu (said she needed a change of pace after all of the carnivorous meals we had indulged in to date).

To drink, we indulged in a bottle of 2003 Selback Oster Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Spatlese…We’re not wine aficionados, but we loved this wine. If anyone knows how or where I might find some of this to purchase let me know!

Finally, for desert we shared in the indulgence of a Valrhona Chocolate and Cherry. It was a warm, delicious chocolate cake filled with warm chocolate sauce and topped with powdered sugar and a cherry sauce. It was serves with a hefty scoop of homemade cherry ice cream….I’m drooling just thinking about it!

After dinner we took a stroll on the observation deck, had our picture taken by a nice lady who was playing with her daughter. Then I returned the favor, taking a picture of the two of them. The weather was nice and cool, the wind blowing…the perfect end to a wonderful meal. After a quick potty break, we went downstairs and took the monorail to the Grand Floridian to look through their shops.

DF and I were looking for a wedding cake topper, champagne glasses and any other nice wedding items. I was really surprise to find that the number of items was incredibly limited. I’d been told to check out the GF stores, unfortunately they had all the same stuff everyone else had.

After that we went to the MK and strolled down Main Street, doing some shopping and enjoying the beautiful sights on the MK at night. We then headed for the boats as the fireworks were going off and watched them as rode back to the Poly. Here we met up with the others.

While we were on our date night, the other three went to the Contemporary as well and waited almost 2 hours for a table at the Concourse Steakhouse. While waiting they played games in the new arcade, shopped and I think had a drink at the outer rim. DC and DA said they had a good time…DS just grunted at people now, some people just don’t know how to have fun!

At the Poly we changed into our swim suits and headed to the quiet pool for a night time dip! How refreshing!

When we returned to the room I was shocked at how cool it seemed, the thermostat read 68 degrees, I checked the settings, it was set for 72…I assumed I felt so cold because I’d just gotten out of the pool. DC and I left for the WL again and settled in for the night. I fell asleep watching reruns of Arli$$ on ESPN Classic.

Next up…
The Animal Kingdom, Wildlife Excursion, Boma, Jellyrolls and another night in the pool!

mouselvrmom · Jul 24, 2007

I am loving your trip report! It is very well written! Btw- I also love 50s prime time cafe, I dream of their smores!

The Last Hurrah

Jungle Skipper

New Member

Jungle Skipper

New Member

OhioDisneyLover

Member

cymbaldiva

Active Member

Ravenclaw87

Member

Jungle Skipper

New Member

Jungle Skipper

New Member

DznyGrlSD

Well-Known Member

stitchtastic

New Member

KnK

New Member

CAPTAIN HOOK

Well-Known Member

Cara1210

New Member

Jungle Skipper

New Member

minnie2000

Well-Known Member

tink68

Member

morgan22

Active Member

stitchtastic

New Member

Jungle Skipper

New Member

mouselvrmom

Well-Known Member