The PhD's Do Disney Aug 13-22

Grumpy56 · Aug 27, 2003

Enjoying your report. Can't wait to hear more!

DisneyPhD · Aug 27, 2003

Next day Aug 14, our 10th wedding anniversary we woke up early (didn’t sleep well since the busses started at 7:00 am) and was at MK by 8:40 (early entry day.) Starting with Fantasyland, we made the rounds and it started to rain before 10:30. We ended up hungry and tried at Frontier Land at 11:00. We asked at Liberty Tree Tavern for PS at 11:30. We got right in and had a great meal. Got a special card for our anniversary. Soggy and wet it was back to the room for nap time. (we all took one.) When we woke up hubby who was watching CNN said that there was a mass power loss in NY, with outages all the way to Detroit. It didn’t register to us that ALL of Detroit would be out too. Off to Epcot in the rain for a nice dinner at Garden Grill. Little PhD did much better with Mickey, Pluto and Chip and Dale then in the past. We did the re-hitching, I wasn’t prepared for how embarrassed I would feel, but it was lots of fun. Talked to a women outside of the Land that was going on about her freezer at home and asked where she was from, turns out she was just a few miles from our house. All of SE Michigan was out of power along with half of the North Eastern country. After our very good all-we-could-eat dinner the rain stopped and it was off to MS. We had to ride separately since we had the wee one, but the line was short (20 min) and the play area at MS was fun. Didn’t get sick after all that food! Send video post cards from MS, but wasn't sure if they would make it since the power was out where we were sending them. (turns out they did!)

More later.

Sally_doll · Aug 27, 2003

Can't wait to read more!

DisneyPhD · Aug 29, 2003

Here's the next installment!

Friday Aug 15, Disney Studios. Arrive a few minutes after 9am. Got FP for Little Mermaid show then went to the Playhouse Disney Show. While waiting for Playhouse, the people in front of us were from the same city as us and talking about the Blackout! (Small World moment) After seeing Bear and Friends, we went right to Little Mermaid for Little PhD’s favorite song (Part of Your World). Then went to Milionaire, Play It. Mr. and Mrs. PhD were in the Top Ten at the 1000 pt mark. First time we were both on the list! Note: Suckers work really well for keeping a 2 year old quiet during a game show!! Stood in the spray from the coke bottle and had a picture taken with Sorcerer Mickey near the Backlot. Over to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playset. Had lunch at Pizza Planet (with no wait, very different from our March experience). Skies started to look gruesome and Little PhD was ready for nap so we headed back to OKW. (Unfortunately we never got back to MGM the rest of the trip, oh well, we saved Muppets and Beauty and the Beast for next time) Hit the pool at OKW then went to MK for the evening. Made the rounds of Adventureland and Fantasyland. After the park closed we sat on Main Street, USA sharing a Mickey Mouse Ice Cream Sandwich.

Saturday Aug 16.
AK. Long wait for the bus, then the bus driver ended up taking us to the parking lot and was waiting in line with the cars instead of the bus stop. Security had to come and escort the bus back around the parking lot. All the time Little PhD was jumping up and down excited wanting to get there. We never did get let off at the Bus Stop but somewhere in the Handicap Parking area. That was frustrating. AK was nice, (at least no rain.) Went to see Pooh and Friends at the Boatlaunch then did Triceritops Spin (3 times in a row) and Dinosaur. Little PhD did great in Tough to Be a Bug although on Mom’s lap and without the glasses she didn’t get all the effects. Did the train to conservation station (aka Rafiki’s Planet Watch) for the 1st time with little PhD. She liked the goats, the inside area there was nice (and cool!) Stanley from Play House Disney was inside. She had fun tossing pennies into the pool that makes noise when the coin hits the bottom. Tusker house is always a good place to eat. Back to Room for nap (another long wait for the bus back to OKW) Mr. PhD did laundry at the pool and got caught in a 2 hour thunderstorm, thank goodness for walkie talkies to pass the time.
After being warn out we decided a relaxing evening at DTD would be good. Dinner at Cap’n Jacks. Found shopping to be pretty crowded, we won’t go on a Saturday night again.

MonorailBlack · Aug 29, 2003

Your trip report is great!!! It is amazing my fiance and I were in the same parks on the same days as you at the same times. Remember any of the questions from Millionaire? We did it three times and I made it to the top 10! One time they asked the songs in order from Mulan, and boy I blew that! On the day you did AK, I did also, but when that huge storm rolled in, I had just got to Epcot and it was raining horizontally.....I did Mission Space then.....glad the ride spins.....good for drying your clothes! :hammer:

DisneyPhD · Aug 30, 2003

The fastest finger question was about putting the presidents who went to Yale in order from most recent on back. There was a question about which character from Alice in Wonderland wore a pocket watch. What kind of fish was Dory from Finding Nemo. That's about all I can remember from two weeks ago.

That's hilarious about Mission Space. No wonder so many people head there when it starts raining!:lol:

DisneyPhD · Aug 30, 2003

And the Adventure Continues...

Sunday Aug 17, Early Entry at MK, we arrive by 8:30am and head to Grand Prix to see if Little PhD can drive. It was sooooo hot standing in the sun hitting you from the side that early in the morning. It made the 20 minute wait seem much longer. Little PhD loves driving the car and trying to catch up to Mom! Over to Adventureland for the Treehouse, Magic Carpets, Tiki Room and Pirates. Had lunch at the Castle. While waiting for the elevator up to the restaurant, the doors open and Cinderella walks out and starts up a conversation with LittlePhD who is in awe. We stop by after lunch to chat more with Cinderella who shows LittlePhD some of the hidden characters in the waiting room. We had planned on Pool Hopping to Poly (we are DVC members so it’s ok) but LittlePhD fell asleep on Main Street so its back to OKW for the rest of naptime. Head to Epcot for the evening, the waits at MS and TT were 45-60 minutes so we passed. Went to Yacht and Beach Club for dinner. We walked around Beach Club Villas (where we stayed in March) with LittlePhD yelling “I remember this! I remember this!” after seeing the Ariel statue and TV room. Had some good burgers at Beaches and Cream and then we had some Diaper issues. Let’s just say we got caught unprepared. We forgot to throw in the ziplock with the extra diapers and wipes. We start looking around for families with 2 year olds … how can you be anywhere in Disney and not be within sight of a 2 year old? We head to the store at Beach Club. The only options are a pack of 14 diapers that are too small for $9, swim diaper for $1.50 or 3 pull-ups for $2.50. Mrs. PhD makes a command decision … it’s time to try pull-ups! LittlePhD thinks this is the greatest invention ever! By the time we get back to Epcot, Illuminations has started. We stop for the Finale, that is one Awesome show! This was the ONLY day without significant rain. The only rain the entire day was a very light sprinkle at 10:30pm on our way back to the room from the bus stop.:sohappy:

MonorailBlack · Aug 30, 2003

Originally posted by DisneyPhD
The fastest finger question was about putting the presidents who went to Yale in order from most recent on back. There was a question about which character from Alice in Wonderland wore a pocket watch. What kind of fish was Dory from Finding Nemo. That's about all I can remember from two weeks ago.

That's hilarious about Mission Space. No wonder so many people head there when it starts raining!:lol:

Oh my gosh! I was in the same seating as you! It was a guy who got the question wrong about Dory, right? Yeah, and i remember the Presidents. That is just too cool, what a small world! (No pun intended!~)

DisneyPhD · Aug 31, 2003

Monday Aug 18, Blizzard Beach, Sunny and nice (during the day) Get to BB a bit late due to the poor AK/BB bus system at OKW. Find some chairs set near the kiddy area and the very nice family next to us gives up one of their chairs so we have 2. (Thank you!) Little PhD LOVES BB. She had a ball playing in Tikes Peak area and the shallow parts of the wave pool. She learns the phrase “I’ll meet you there” as she tells mom or dad to go down one slide while she goes down another. Got some good pics with the three melting snow tourists. Head back to the room around 3pm for nap. LittlePhD is asleep before we leave the main gate of BB. Brother and Sister-in-Law arrive at OKW around 5pm. 5:30 the skies open up and the Deluge begins. We decide to take their car to the Grand Floridian for our 7:10 PS at 1900 Park Fare. Good choice because a tornado in the area has all the buses shut down for the moment and lightning has stopped the monorails. Had dinner with Cinderella, the two mice and Prince Charming. Had a dance in the lobby of the GF then took the monorail around to Poly to walk around. Still a light rain. We saw a little bit of the fireworks at MK as we pulled into the GF monorail station. Took the car back to OKW.

Tuesday Aug 19, Epcot, Head straight to Mission: Space to get FP. Go over to WOL ride Body Wars. Now back to MS. Mrs. PhD waits with the 2 year old while everyone else rides. Then she takes BIL and SIL back on while Mr. PhD waits with the little one (and to recuperate from MS). SIL should have sat the second time out too and is very woozy when she’s finished with the second mission. We then head over to Living Seas, a LittlePhD favorite. “FISHIES!!!” Head over to The Land for lunch. Grab FP for Living with the Land so we can get right on when we finish lunch. Perfect timing! BIL and SIL head off to see more of the park while we head to Spaceship Earth. LittlePhD falls asleep on the way down out of the sphere so we head back to the room. It starts raining while we’re waiting at the bus stop. The parking lot is a river. OKW bus shows up and we go back to the room. It rains hard the rest of the day so we hang out in the room and order pizza from Papa Johns that takes 90 minutes to arrive.

Katherine · Sep 1, 2003

Great trip report! Can't wait for the next instalment!

Lil'mermaid · Sep 1, 2003

Very Cool!!!!!

DisneyPhD · Sep 1, 2003

This day got a little long but we did a lot. It started a little rocky but had a great ending!

Wednesday Aug 20, AK, The original plan was to do Typhoon Lagoon today but the weather forecast scares us off so we decide to do AK, first time for BIL and SIL. We wait around 45 minutes for the bus to arrive (people around us had been waiting an hour). Finally we see a AK bus but it leaves the resort before coming to the last stop. Another bus arrives in a few minutes and only comes to our bus stop and one other. When we arrive, we head to Africa and Tusker House for breakfast, Mr. PhD gets FP for Kilimanjaro Safari. After breakfast there is still time before FP can be used so we walk around the Tree of Life garden. We get on the safari and stop almost immediately behind two other trucks for some birds in the road. We haven’t reached any animals yet so our driver has nothing to tell us about to pass the time so he starts giving touring advice for AK. After sitting for 5 minutes (seemed longer in the heat) they finally send a CM out to chase the birds off the road (yellow billed stork or pelican). Almost no animals in the grassland area, no Tommies or Giraffe just the thrilling termite mounds!!! We do see some Giraffe farther down the road that we pass within a few feet of. We go on Pangani Trail next, first time for all of us. We just never took the time before. LittlePhD got to see more Fishies!! Head off to Dinoland for Triceritop Spin, Dinosaur and digging in the Boneyard. It’s near naptime and the storm clouds are gathering so we head back to OKW while BIL and SIL go to see more of the park. Another 40 minute wait for a bus back to OKW. When BIL and SIL get back to the room, Mr. and Mrs. PhD head to Animal Kingdom Lodge. This will be our first night away from LittlePhD and a much needed night off for both of us. After checking in and getting upgraded to a savannah view room we check out the resort for a few minutes then head to MK. At the AKL bus stop we see a MK bus just leaving and flag him down, hop on and we’re off to MK. At MK we do a little shopping which is much easier without a 2 year old hopping out of the stroller every few minutes grabbing toys. We then take the monorail to the Contemporary for our PS at California Grill. We’re like little kids on the 15th floor. It’s so cool being on top of the “World”. After dinner there’s a little time before the fireworks so we go down to the Concourse to shop then back up for the fireworks. There are two little girls the same age as ours squealing with delight throughout the fireworks. It makes us miss our LittlePhD. After the Fireworks, we go to MK which is still open for another 30 minutes. We make contact via walkie talkie with BIL and SIL who are with LittlePhD at MK. Everything is ok with them so we head over to Tomorrowland to ride Space Mountain together for the first time in a few years. The queue takes up the rest of our time in MK so afterwards we head back to the hotel for a late night swim and to soak in the hot tub. When we get back to the room there is a box with two bottles of perfume and a letter that says “Happy #10 Anniversary! May all your dreams come true … Isn’t Love Swell? Your Pal, Mickey Mouse; Love and kisses Minnie Mouse xoxo” It was probably the most magical part of our trip. :sohappy:

DisneyPhD · Sep 2, 2003

Thursday, Aug 21 Typhoon Lagoon We wake up at AKL, we thought about Boma’s for breakfast but we didn’t want completely full stomachs on the way to TL so we grab a small bite to eat at the Mara. Like going to MK the night before we get a last second bus to TL. Once there, we see BIL, SIL and LittlePhD in the parking lot unloading their car. We meet up with them and head into the park. We spend most of the day chasing around LittlePhD. Around 3pm we were on the lazy river and happen to look at the sky behind us. Very dark clouds approaching. Nearly everyone in the place starts heading toward the exit including us. No sooner do we get in the car and the skies start dumping rain. We head back to the room for nap but LittlePhD has other plans. She’s doing somersaults in her bed and is not in a mood to sleep, no matter what we try. Plus, we’re trying to get all our stuff packed up so we can get up and go in the morning. Finally the rain lets up after a couple of hours and we’re tired of waiting for her to go to sleep so we head to Epcot while BIL and SIL go to Downtown Disney. About 5 seconds after we sit down on the bus, LittlePhD falls asleep. At Epcot, there’s still a light rain but Test Track is running so we baby swap while she sleeps. The sign says the single rider wait is 50 minutes but it only took 20 minute till the ride was done. It took just as long for Mr. PhD to get through the FP line. It’s now nearly 9pm and we’re a little hungry so we walk over to Mexico for some nachos and a decent view of Illuminations. We do some leisurely shopping while we wait for the crowds to subside. LittlePhD wakes up so we play around in the shops under Spaceship Earth then it’s back to OKW for our last night.

DisneyPhD · Sep 4, 2003

Friday, Aug 22 MK Once everything is packed up we call for bell services to get our bags. We say good bye to BIL and SIL who are heading to the Studios for the day while we’re going to MK. We arrive just before the opening and see the characters arrive on the Train, another first for us! We head over to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz and go on AstroOrbiter 3 times without getting off. There are fewer people at MK today than on the Early Entry days. We also walk right up to Ariel in the Grotto. While still awestruck, LittlePhD is much more interactive with Ariel than she was in March. We make our way around Fantasyland and over to Adventureland by 11am. Once again storm clouds are approaching so we cover the stroller and walk into the Tiki Room. When we come out, it’s pouring but we manage to get around to Country Bear Jamboree without getting too wet. By the time we get through with the show the rains have stopped so we head to Crystal Palace for our 11:30 PS. While waiting on the porch at CP the skies open up again, but then our name is called so we head in for lunch with Pooh and Friends. By the time we finish lunch the rains have stopped and then started again. We wait about 20 minutes and things let up enough to grab the stroller and put on the ponchos. We were the ones in Blue Ponchos. LittlePhD quickly falls asleep in the stroller so we head over to Splash Mountain since we’re prepared to get wet anyway. Some of the drains in the queue area were clogged with leaves so everyone in line had to wade through 3-4 inch deep water. Finally a few CMs came and cleared the drains but a lot of people had very squishy shoes for a while, I was wearing sandals so it didn’t bother me. After baby swapping at Splash Mtn, it’s approaching 3pm and time to head back to the hotel for a quick swim and the ride to the airport. LittlePhD wakes up in time to say good bye to the Magic Kingdom then we board the bus back to OKW. It’s sunny and hot when we arrive at OKW so we put our swim suits on and hit the pool. After 30 minutes of swimming though, another storm approaches and everyone is asked to leave the pool area. Reluctantly we hit the showers and get ready to go home. We wait out the rain in the lobby. A different Youride driver from the one that picked us up arrives in the middle of the torrential rain. We ask if he has a car seat (not seeing one in the back seat) and he replies that he wasn’t told that we needed one. There’s no way we’re driving all the way to the airport in a thunderstorm without a carseat for our 2 year old. He leaves and we call for a cab with a carseat. After 20 minutes a cab arrives with a booster seat for a 4 year old, we start to get in when the guy from Youride shows up with a proper car seat. We pile in with him and head off to the airport. At the airport, it’s still pouring rain so the driver pulls into a lower level that’s covered so we don’t get soaked, however he lets us off at one end of the terminal while Spirit Air’s ticket counter is at the other. The driver did not get a tip. We wind up hauling our luggage from one end to the other pushing LittlePhD in the stroller. Upon arriving at the ticket counter, the woman working there recognizes Mrs. PhD as her daughter’s preschool teacher from 5 years ago. Another “small world” moment. Fortunately there are no delays heading to Detroit and so we are back in our own beds by midnight.

Well, that’s it. Thanks for reading. See you real soon… in January!

:wave:

marypopmom · Sep 4, 2003

Great trip report. Too bad we never met you. I think that it would be a good idea for the people on the boards to just pick one time and location and see how that works. Looks like you braved the rain as we did. It sure was so much more rainy then all the other augusts that we have gone. Looks like little phd had a great time too. Glad you had a great anniversary.Congratulations.

DisneyPhD · Sep 5, 2003

Originally posted by marypopmom
Great trip report. Too bad we never met you. I think that it would be a good idea for the people on the boards to just pick one time and location and see how that works. Looks like you braved the rain as we did. It sure was so much more rainy then all the other augusts that we have gone. Looks like little phd had a great time too. Glad you had a great anniversary.Congratulations.

Thanks. We had a great trip. Fortunately, when the biggest rains hit we were back at the room for nap or under some cover. When we go in March, usually an umbrella is sufficient but in August you've gotta have ponchos and a rain cover for the stroller!

The PhD's Do Disney Aug 13-22

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