Trip Report: Max's Dad 6\1 - 6/7

xsupaxmanxsfnex · Jun 11, 2008

I could only read your day one because I have to go eat but it sounds like your first day was an amazing first day!

MaxsDad · Jun 11, 2008

Thanks for your patience/encouragement, readers!

We are back now, obviously. Took a day of rest of Sunday. Caught up on work Monday. Son came back from Mission Trip Tuesday. SO I am just now getting back to this. Sorry to leave ya hangin'.

A couple of finer points I wanted to mention before we procede. I realized later that wife's uneasiness @ DS coincided with son's flying overseas.
(BTW, he had a great time, and did many wonderful things for the people of Nicaruga). When he found out that I was more laid bcak this time, he got excited about his time to go later this summer.:king: Also, I wanted to talk more about the ToT. First off, I noticed some things I had not noticed before. They may be changes, or just things I hadn't picked up on before. First, in the Library, the Bellhops are saying a line I hadn't heard before. I won't mention it to protect the fun, but I heard it everytime, and don't recall it before. Then in front of the elevators, the bellhops say something like, "And now a word from our management.." and press a button for a recorded safety spiel. New? And lastly, I remember a screen in the shaft before, but I never remember seeing clear images displayed in the middle of a sequence before, esp. not seeing the family again with the bellhop from earlier. It was cool! And now about our bellman. It seems I get a different one every time I ride. (Saw TJ out front on this trip. HE IS A ROCK STAR!) Only one bellman stood out on this trip, and he was our first this time. You know how they are all kind of creepy? Creepy like Zombie or ghoulish. Well this kid was a different kind of creepy, more like creepy like "that kid back in Jr High who had no friends and always brought his Star Trek Lunch Box to School, and sat on the front seat of the bus"-creepy. So he tells daughter and I to stand on "2". Well we go over there, and there are only two other people over there, and he is not loading anymore people onto the dots, but he is staring intently at me. At any other place on earth, it would have made me uncomfortable, ya know. So I finaly say, "Am I standing in the right place?" cause he's just staring at me. So he asks me to move back, looks at the number "2" uner my feet, and says, "Yup, thats a two alright." Then he stares at me some more, and generally messes with me the rest of the time. It was great. I hadn't seen anyone play the role that way before. He was good.

Now on with the show.

Day 4
We had not been using the Alarm clock on this trip, which is a big difference from before. But we have been waking up in time anyway. We had discussed whether or not to get ready for the Water Park before breakfast or not. We ended up deciding that we would be taking a cooler with us to the parks, and taking a cooler in a restaurant is uncool, so we would come back to the room later anyway. Remember this decision. We have a 7:30 this morning at Whispering Canyon, which appearently is their first seating time. We have been for dinner before, but this is first breakfast. I am wondering if it will be the same ... vigor in the service. I start a log cabin while we wait, and we are seated. Similar to the ToT, our server is a bit different than the norm. Oh, he's wacky, but his angle is more one of ... disinterest than overtly in your face extroversion. The two "Sisters" serving nerarby however, provide plenty of verbal fireworks for the whole resteraunt... and the lobby, and them some. But, he was good, just different. He asked where we were headed, and them gave us the maps for the Water Parks we told him about, which was a nice touch. So, yes, the are still pretty amped early in the morning (takes a special person for that shift at that job), but the crowds are smaller, so it is more intimate. We all got the Skillet, so we were stuffed.

When we get back to the room, stuffed, all of a sudden the water parks aren't looking so good, and the resort pool is looking attractive and easy. (Remember, we had planned on Epcot opening this morning, but felt that we had done FutureWorld enough to skip the Epcot today. I really like FW, so this was a sacrafice in my eyes) So we skip BB, and stay at WL to hang out, thinking besides, we have the P&P party tonight, need to rest. I mention that, since we were planning on staying on resort a lot on the next day, maybe we can spend more time in DS tommorrow anyway, and less at the resort. As you can tell, all this relaxing and not go-go-going is starting to ... bring up feelings I am missing out. But its cool. No worries.

I am seriously considering going to Epcot just to ride M:S (only one that likes it) when wife says, "We could go to Downtown Disney, you know we have to buy that gift anyway." So next thing I know, Epcot morning had changed to BB slides, to Resort Pool, and now is shopping. :zipit: Free Epcot had changed to minor expense BB, to free resort, to who-knows-what DD! So we go. I drive. Now when leaving WL, as best I can tell, you have to swing all the way around the speedway to get back to World Dr. Then on World drive, I swear, I see a sign that says DD this right. We take it and it is not hte way to go. We shoudl have taken the second right, but we do get there eventually. Get third spot form front over by the McD's. Walk by Lego's and into "Princess Land" at WoD store. The gift we are looking fro is for my neices birthday, which will be this Saturday. It is an Areil party, so we get here a pillow and some clothes. We get our son a Graduate Mickey. Wife and I get our traditional T Shirts. Daughter has not yet found that right gift for neice, so we continue. End up in the Christmas store, wher I am informed we have a tradition of getting a disney ornament each year. This is news to me, but I go along. I really like the set that has the park icons, but I think she gets the prince and princess set. We then head to Toy Store. They have these neat collectors sets there. They are minature Park figures(doom buggys, tea cups, time rovers, etc) The come in "blind" packs of three, for $5 each. I pass, but I would really like to have some. But not knowing what i am getting bothers me. Also, where would I put them? Daughter finally decides on a doll, a doll which was in WoD to begin with. I inform them that we will pay less at WoD due to a discount we get there, so we decide to purchase it there. But first, LUNCH. Now there's something I can relate to! We walk over to Cap'n Jacks, and are seated immediately (about 1 PM). REview: just so so. Not totaly awful, but not very good either. I don't think I would go back. Service wasn't great either. Since it is already called cap'n Jacks, they should retheme it to Sparrow. Then I would go back. After lunch, purchase doll, and drive "home".

We rest for tonights party until about 5:30, then make our way over to will call via boat. Boats are nice, BTW. Party features red carpet entrance, and smoke machine. I look at the map with 2 things in mind. 1 - Last time at MK this trip, and 2- what rides won't be open during the after hours party. Ride them now. Oddly Splash is not listed on one of the documents we have, but we are told it will be in fact open. So we do Snow White, Pooh, and Its A Small World, all with very little wait. CM are rounding up the stragglers, and annoucements are bing made park wide. The wait to see Cap. Jack Sparrow is 75 minutes, and the party just started! Girls say "no thanks", maybe if it was Johnny D, but otherwise, nah. We catch a glimpse of Cindy's Stagecoach. Nice! Decide to eat, so we go to Cosmic Ray's and get food and watch the Dance Party. It is so loud in there that a mother can not hear her baby cry four feet away. Wife lets her now about it after it is evident she isn't going to hear her. She is thankful. Food was pretty good for counter service, but selection was limited. We walked over to Space, and got on pretty fast("Which ever side you want, sir"). Walked straight to load on the Omega side. We decided that HM was good enough to warrant a second look, so we walked over there. First time I was looking for the differences, this time I am trying to appreciate them. After this, we just plopped down just past the river boat, listened to the band for a moment, and sat on a bench waiting for the 8:30 parade. We are not "parade people", but this one was good according to all 3 of us. After the flow of people walking behind the parade passed, we went back to BTMR for one last ride in the dark. After that, decided ice cream was in order, and head to Aloha Isle. Sidenote: I am notorious for picking the wrong checkout line at the grocery store, or any line anywhere for that matter. As soon as I pick the line with only one person in it who is getting out his wallet to pay, the cashier gets on the mic and says something like, "We have a code 2, 15, and 761 on isle 4. Please send three mangers over. Thank you." and the line comes to a screeching halt. Well, tonight was no exception. I got the same dude for a server, and the other ones were blowing him away, speedwise. Now it is getting darn close to Fireworks time, and I hear it is the highlight of the evening. So I am getting antsy. We are talking like 10 minutes away, and I am not even up there yet. Well, we get it in time, and head over to the hub, and get great spots between Main St and the Hub. I am standing next to a guy who is standing in the middle of the train tracks, so we are prety much centered. We all love the show. It ends around 10, and daughter had said she was not 100% before, but we can tell she doesn't want to make us unhappy by leaving early. So after the fireworks, I assure her that her long term health is more important than "fighting through it", that we need her in good shape for the rest of the week to, so we head back then. Party is good overall. Hard to give an accurate, fair rating when you don't stay for the whole thing, but I liked it. I was disappointed there was no food goodies at the treasure spots. I was expecting gold coin chocolates for some reason. Crowd was small, but crowds were small (relative) for the most part anyway. Daughter said the best part was all the guest in customes. And there were some eloborate ones. Saw some good pirates, and princesses of all ages.

When walking out, I turn back and look at the train station aglow. I try to burn the image in my mind. "Good bye. See you in two months. DON"T GO ANYWHERE!"

Yet tommorrow is DS at opening, and that means Toy Story Mania for the first time. YES! I'll make it, somehow....

LetsGoAgain · Jun 12, 2008

Great report! So, is the P&P party worth the extra expense?

NewfieFan · Jun 13, 2008

I'm loving your TR - the detail is great. Makes me feel like I went on vacation with you!

I love those collector packs that you're talking about. My 3 year old son discovered them on our last trip and thought they were the best things ever. He wanted soooo many packs - always trying to get the one he didn't have. Actually, my husband and I (like the fools that we are) spent 10 mins feeling all the packs for the monorail figurine - our son wanted that one the most! (The things we'll do for our kids!

) We lucked out on them though and didn't get too many doubles. We saved our doubles and gave them to his cousin who went to WDW just after we got home.

MaxsDad · Jun 13, 2008

LetsGoAgain said:
Great report! So, is the P&P party worth the extra expense?

I don't think there is a simple blanket answer to that question. Do your kids enjoy dressing up, meeting characters, getting little trinkets? Do you all enjoy parades? Do you appreciate a really good fireworks show? Are you going during a busy time when the smaller crowd would be beneficial? For us, and our budget, it was worth the risk. We got the DVC discount, so it was $120 for 3 people. I don't regret it, and we left early too. This was our first after hours party. Now I am considering MVMCP.

Day 5
We didn't use the alarm clock again, ate Pop tarts etc. in the room again, and left for DS. We drove this time, as we had a less than expedious experience with bus transportation last time at DS. I made all the right turns this time, and we got to the Parking Lot around 9 AM(opening). So we missed rope drop again... (Maxwell Smart) by that much. No biggie, we were just behind the big crowd, parked in row 24 (like the show).

We went straight to Toy Story Mania, which was down first thing in the morning. So we got a FP for about 10:45. We walked over to RnR and got on in about 20 minutes or less. Once again, there was someone behind us when we came out of the recording studio who had not been in here before, and once again they launched one as we were making our way around the alley to the back of the Q. I love people's reactions to that! It gets me pumped. We were seated in the front. I yielded and let the ladies up front, and me in row 2 with a solo rider. You likely know the rest from here. Speed, turns, neon, and Rock-N-Roll.

Next Daughter and I went to ToT, since we were right there anyway. Bless my wife for waiting on us during this guilty pleasure. After this, we went to check out TSM, and it was up. Wait said either 30 or 40, and from what I had gathered, that is relatively short, so we jumped in. ALso, I had read that the Q was good enough to wait Stand BY just to experience it. I was not dissappointed in the Q. There's material on here that is desrciptive enough about TSM, but in case you want to avoid it until you ride it, I will withhold here. But its cool! Most will like this ride a lot. I scored about 59,000 on my first try, with an accuracy figure of 51%. The girl beside me smoked me, she was over 100K. I then realized that the gun will fire much quicker than I anticipated, and you are just supposed to go nuts in there, not try and be perfect. Thank goodness for FP, I will get another chance.

So we next went to Voyage down the street. Got in the waiting room just as they were opening the theater doors. I told my group to hang back, and I watched the crowd file in. Then I pick the row at the last second based on the number of people moving down the rows, and got us in the middle about six rows back. Wife missed this show last year, and it had been a while since she saw it, so it was good. Last time I saw it, I had to endure an adult singing the whole show out loud in the seat behind me. "Hey Lady, American Idol opens in 2009! Give us a frickin' break, eh?":drevil:

After that we went to see Belle at the Beauty and the Beast show. But first, we grabbed some popcorn and drinks to tide us over. Wife said they let you take food in this show, and her memory was correct. It was not long after we sat down, that the sound check began. I tell you what, you have to be talented to work at Disney, even if you are just some backstage helpers.

Something more amusing than normal happened during the show. Beast wears a cape, as you know. It latches under his chin in the front. Well, that part of his cape got stuck on one of his horns/ears on his head. So that part of his cape was draped around his head, covering one eye, ala a pirate. So as he is acting out his part, he is playing to cheap seats, swingin' his head around violently this way and that trying to get it off his had and back in the right spot. It was giggle funny.

After the show, we head over to TSM to use the FP's. This time I get to ride with my wife, daughter gets to ride with the single rider. I now am blasting away. Score about 150,000 this time. Yahoo! But I still want to come back and try again, but FP's are for like 7 PM by now. Will have to wait til departure day, Saturday, when we come back during Star Wars Weekends.

We head back to WL to eat lunch, rest, pack somethings, and hang out by the pool. At the Food Court, I got the Roast Beef Blue Cheese Sandwhich. I am a big fan of these two items, but this sandwhich was not that good, and certainly not worth the 8 bucks. The other two liked their chicken nugs and pizza. That'll teach we to try and eat healthy on vacation!

I'll take this moment to mention the pool. It's fun. Amongst our group, the quiet pool is even favored. Like the "springs" in the middle. The privacy. The heavy wooded area. The availability of chairs. The ducks that hang out with you and swim in the pool too. The nearness to our room.

About a month ago, I made a ressie for the Hoop Dee Doo Musical Revue. I went ahead and paid for Cat 1 seating, using the DDE discount. WE went over at about 9 for our 9:30 show via boat launch. Picked up our tickets at the booth, checked in at the barrell, passed on the pictures, and got in line. We were given table number .... 24. Then they seated us at our table which was second row, middle of the floor. SWEET!:sohappy: I had always heard this show sold out quickly, so I was expecting to be seated near the back of the Cat 1 section, since seating is based on booking time. Well, after everyone was seated, I noticed taht no one was upstairs at all (Cat 3 and 2). So it appears they move all people downstairs if they can. So if are going to the HDDR, and buy at the last second, (month or so) and they tell you they have CAT 1, 2, and 3, you might want to consider 3, you could end up with pretty good seats anyway. But ours were awesome. WE had never seen this show before, and we LOVED it. Laugh out loud good. The food was above average for this type of venue too. Esp. liked the cornbread and mashed Potatoes. Ummm. Only problem now is that Son has not seen it, and of course he wants to now hearing this, and we want to take him too.

After the show, we hustled over to the docks, as the boats stop at 11:30, and had a boat waiting there. Lovely, short ride in the cool dark back to the Wilderness Lodge uner the moonlight.

Tommorrow is check out for the WL

, but we are checking into the BWV for 1 night first :animwink:before we go. Have always wanted to stay there, and since we couldn't book it on points, this gives us the chance to try it out to see how much we like it. Got a great AP rate of $250 + tax, about 33% off.

bayoumoon · Jun 14, 2008

Love the report! Sounds absolutely wonderful. I'm also glad to see that I'm not the only one who enjoys planning almost as much as the trip. Our first trip was Feb 07 and my other half really thought it was "magic" how we could just catch shows by walking up to it and getting seated at restaurants while so many others had to wait forever. He called me "queen commando" numerous times. So this trip I plan on not planning so much, if that makes since.

MaxsDad · Jun 16, 2008

Plan to plan less makes perfect sense to me!

That's what I've been experiencing. It's great.

One correction. We didn't get the "Princess Collection" ornaments @ DD the other day. We got 1 princess ornament. The collection was "Mickey Through The Years". Like I said, shopping is not my bag.

Day 6
Check out day at the Villas @ WL.

We had packed a good bit the day before. So we just got ready, ate a small bite, and called bell services and Vallet. We only had $5 in room charges from that Sour Apple Icee drink by the pool, and that was it. So we could by pass the front desk. The girls went down to look in the gift shop, while I waited on the bellman. It wasn't Arnie, but he was nice too. Also, I really like having Vallet services. It really adds to the reosrt experience, and simplifies things a great deal. I am pretty tight though, so I don't know if I would pay 10/day or not, but since it is "free" w/ DVC, I'll use it. Picked up the car, and saw Steven, Super Vallet, out front, and bid him farwell. Somwhow, I feel we will see him another day.

Loaded the car and drove to Disney's Animal Kingdom. This was the plan since it is so far away anyway, and we were going to need to move the car anyway too. It just seemed to "fit". We arrived after opening(9AM), again, but also once again, not by very much. Less than 15 minutes or so. Caught a tram right away, and used what apparently is a secret turnstile on the far right, as nobody else seemed to want to use it. Oh well. :animwink:

So we head toward Asia, and E:E. Get a FP and get in Stand By. Its been over a week now, but I would guess the wiat was less than 15 minutes, and the return time was 10:30 or so. Had a great ride in the next to last row. This time, I saw the steam from the train very plainly. BTW, i also finally noticed the waterfall between the lift and the drop on this trip. I also saw the mist from the top of the mountain. And at the peak, I hear a bird. (This message has been brought to you by the effects status watch thread, and the letters Y, E, T, and I.) Am I the only one who reaches out and tries to high five the Yeti as he swipes his massive paw at our speeding train car?

It's shaping up to be a warm day. So we convince my loving, thoughtful, adventurous, and least we forget, forgiving, water-magnet-of-a-wife to ride Kali River Rapids. You know sometimes you hear people make woes-me-type statements, and you think, "Oh, your making more to this than there is" or "You are not being objective, it happens to everybody." Well, my wife has always said that she always "gets it" the worst (or the best, depending on point-of-view). I no longer question her on this, yes she gets wet, very wet in fact, on this ride. Much worse than anybody else in the raft. The ride is possessed, and it has it in for her, as she gets squirted by the jets in the stream, and is dead center at the bottom of the raft on the drop. That's right, the River Kali The Double Whammy. Daughter is sitting right beside, as she requested. I don't know if she wanted to tempt fate or what, but she asked for it, and she got it too! I was beside them, on the other side of the enrty steps, and was only wet on the side of me nearest them.

So as you know, there is no "gift shop" at the exit of this ride, but the marketing geniuses at WDW know good and explecitive well that this is the place to sell towels and, as I would find out later in small talk, up to and including full outfits of clothing! Yes socks, underwear packs, shoes, hair bows. You name it.

So we buy a towel, and my daughter gets a sundress/coverup type thing, that she would probably have liked anyway. So they are gone for like 15 minutes drying off and changing in the Ladies room. Daughter comes out changed and pretty much OK, wife is still soaked and miserable. Side note: If you know enough to put the "Old Navy Cart" here at this exit, shouldn't you know enough to have hand dryer in the Can w/ directional aiming capabilities like most dryers have? Wife tried drying off, but it was just ... a drop in the bucket. :lookaroun (ducks)

So we watch the Monkeys in the sunshine. While usually, going ape, today they are quite domicile. She's still unhappy. What could be better then than Mickey Bars in the Sun? So we relax in the sun and eat ice cream at about 10 something in the morning. Funny how that doesn't seem odd there, but I wouldn't dream of doing that here at home. Re-apply sunscreen, and it is time for the FP at E:E, round 2. I see many young kids with full Dream Fastpasses, get this, standing in the single riders Q. One of them rode with me. I didn't ask him what they were thinking, but I can only imagine they really liked E:E, and wanted to ride it many times, and didn't want to "burn" the FP right now.

Next, we rode a Time Rover to some period that I can't spell. Daughter says this time, she will be on the look out for the Carno, won't be surprised by it, and will even take its picture. Yeah, right :drevil:. That didn't happen, she was to busy cowering to capture. Wife is still uncomfortable. We want to see Nemo show, but she fears A/C. We go in the Q about 15 minutes before start time, and are some of the first people seated in the far rear section of seats in the theater. We enjoy the show, and she is not blue and purple afterwards, but I am sure the sun felt good to her. No kidding she is STILL wet. It is after 12, and we decide to forgo lunch here, and stop by the McD's PetriFry stand near Dinoland. We get a fry and split it to tide us over until lunch at the Boardwalk. Side note: I bought the DDE card. There are few discounts on counter service places on the card, most are table service. I was unsuccessful at getting us to go to the ones at AK. It would be nice if they took DDE at more counter service places in the parks.

The gas light is on in the car. Our last gas stop was in SC, so I can't complain. We go to the Hess station between the DS and the BW resort. I go to, I believe, pump 13. I slide the card, and begin filling up. It is going slow. I look at the car on the other side of the pump, and it is some business yuppie in a hummer, but he is on his phone, and not even pumping, so it can't be that slowing it down. It is still at a crawl. It hits 11 gallons. "Wow I must have been low, I've never seen it hold over 10.5", i think to myself. Then, .... splash! Gas is on my car and the pavement. The explecitive pump didn't shut off when the gas filled the tank because the explecitive pump was running so explecitivly slow!

(I suppose) So I go in, and tell them what has happened, and ask for a carwash since there is gas all over my paint, and they oblige, without any argument or hassle (to give them some positive words). So think about this, the pump was slow, the car(A/C) is off, it is FL,in the afternoon, in June, and I have now stormed off into the store for no apparent reason to the 2 passengers in the oven, err...I mean car. So when I get out there, my daughter, who is seated in the rear of the car, right beside the gas cap, has her door open just sitting there. I say, what are you doing, huffing fumes? She is unaware there is anything wrong! I let her know what has happened and that she is filling the car's cabin w/ a noxious odor that is unhealthy (in so many terms). She says, "well it was burning up hot in there", and well, who can argue with that. So we go through the CarWash, which appears to me to malfunction, so now I have soap drying on my car's finish instead.

I will not go back to that Hess, unless absolutely neccessary.

We cross the street to BW, and pull up front, and there appears to be painting going on right at the front door. I advise Vallet of the gas fumes issues, and ask him to keep the car doors open as long as possible. Bell Services take sthe bags, and we are in the door. This is our first taste of staying at the boardwalk. Wife and I "toured" the BW one night for fun, daughter has never been to it before. We are impressed with the lobby. It is not giant in scope like AKL & WL, but is beautiful none the less. We see the castles, etc. We are having fun, and awed. First in line at check in, so that was quick. Our room is ready! I forget to show my DVC card, because we are staying on cash here for one night. (I had first thought off-site for one night, but since it is just one night and discounted, we thought this would be a good way to try out BWV) The room is on the second floor, which is the lobby level. And it is just about three doors down from the lobby, too (2072?). Room decor is bright and cheery. we like the room. The balcony view is the back side of the "Libations" pool bar at Luna Park, so it was a good location with a decent view. I had requested Epcot or Boardwalk view, but I suppose most every one does. So we are happy. Wife is still wet, by the way. It's like after 1 o clock now. Bags aren't up yet, but we planned on the contingency that the room wouldn't even be ready when we checked in, so we had packed a "bathing suit bag" back at WL to change into while we waited for the room to be available. So we changed into our suits, and decided to go get some lunch on the Boardwalk. We walk around and decide on this stand over by the ice cream place, but on the water side of the boardwalk. I can't remeber the name, but it was pretty good. We ate by the water front. I got the Hot Dog basket, wife the chicken strips, daughter the Cheese Sticks basket(yes, a meal of cheese sticks and fries!). One thing I like about here, is the drinks are included in the combo prices. And the prices don't seem inflated to compensate for it. Bad thing: Cash only. Quality was good.

After eating, we went to the pool, and found a table with some shade by the hot tub. The pavement was HOT! Love this pool! Lots to see and do. (Amazing how there can be an elephant "in the room" and you not even notice it at first. ) Slide is real long, and fun. Did it twice, and started a rush of older "kids" getting on the slide. The Hot Tub felt cool it was so hot. Started to doze off after smiwwing, and decided it was time to go back up to the room. So the bags come, and we all take a nap, a long nap. Hours. :snore: After the nap,...

That evening, we head over to , obviously, Epcot.

I will pick it up from there when I come back.

MaxsDad · Jun 17, 2008

Day 6 Continued

I don't recall the exact time, but it was around six when we left the room to walk to Epcot. When we came down the steps outside the lobby, I saw the boat at the dock loading. Now, I had poked around here and asked some questions, and somone (TigsMom?) was kind enough to inform me of the exact routes the boats took, so I knew that the next stop was Epcot for the boat that was sitting right there waiting. So I encouraged our group to come along, and they let us on right before pulling out and we were there in no time, with out having to make the short walk even.

After entering thru International Gateway, we went right. We had yet to explore this side (Canada - USA) of WS on this trip. Most times, I am all about trying new things. Recently on this site, I had asked about which film to see, France or Canada. (got responses for each) Well I was hoping to get both in tonight, so we head to France, and tour the shops some, including the pastry shop. Mmmm. Then we wait just a few minutes, look around the pre show, and watch the film. I enjoyed it, it had shades of Soarin'. Music was familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. Is it from a movie? Anyway, glad I did it. Wife says the flight sceens made her stomach squimish. So we head over to Canada, and when we get there, she doesn't want to chance it w/ the next film. I am thinking with a 360 theater, and no seats to sit in, she is probably making the right choice. So we look around the gift shop. (Is there any other thing to do here?) I had found a hidden mickey on a totum pole here before, but couldn't find it again.

We decide to head back to the UK, and I hear the Beatles playing. We walk in that direction and see them play 1 or 2 numbers in the Sgt Peppers attire. They have drawn a good crowd. We are standing near a gift shop entrance (imagine that!), so we walk on in to look around. Towards the back of the store, I see Pooh. (the bear, silly) So I ask Pooh's friend if he knows a guy named Tigger, and if he might be around soon. He says 5 minutes. Now before the trip, my 20 year old daughter had said the only character pictures she wanted was one with Tigger (a family tradition), and one with Chewbacca (Don't ask me, I have no idea. Apparently she likes hairy men). Well, there is no line here to meet these characters, so I let her know, discretely, across the store. So I get the loook and the lip.

You parents now what I'm talking about. I'm just a daddy tring to make his girl happy. :brick:After a while another girl comes and seats down beside me. She is about my daughter's age, and she is alone, no little kids. She even has an autograph book, has it out and ready and everything. Later, Pooh, Tigger, and Eyore all show up, and my daughter is back to her cheerful self again, and gladly gets here picture with Tigger, and we all get a big group shot (Sorry, I think we forgot to give them our camera for a shot of it, just Photopass). Afterwards, she would say that she was .. self conscious, unitl the other girl showed up with the autograph book. So thanks to you, whoever you are, for being mature enough to know that you don't need to be.

Toured some more shops on our way out, mostly china, plates, teas and the ilk. Checked the prices on some of the plates, etc ....

. Then it was about itme for our ADR.

We had a 7:50 @ The Rose and Crown that I snagged just a couple of weeks before. We checked in with the Host at the stand, I believe his name was Aaron. We were just a tad early, but he was very nice about it. I joked to him that I wanted a Lagoon view table, and that I am sure he hadn't heard that before. He gave me a beeper thingy, but we only waited 2 or 3 minutes. Then they started to seat us, but then they stopped seating us. There was some mix up. They were discussing things about which party got which server or something. They told us not to worry that they would seat us soon. I said something like, we aren't in a hurry, we'd rather it be good than fast. we want to stay for the show. That type of thing. So they seat us in the very first table on the left when you go under the overhang. So we were not close to the water at all, but they assured us that they would provide us with a great viewing area later.

Our server was named Laurie, I think, or something that started with an L. She was very good. Nice. We asked about where she was from and how much longer she had. She said this was her last few months, and she had enjoyed her time here a lot. Very pleasant, much like was "Mathias" over in Germany. Wife was having a hard time finding something on the menu. Daughter asked for the F&C's. I was favoring that, but was wandering around the other selections too. Then I offered to split the Steak Fish dish with her(wife) so she could get the steak, which was a safe entree choice for her, leaving the fish for me, which I had heard many great things about. So we had an accord. I also ordered the cheese/fruit plate appetizer. It was real good. I don't know what the names of the cheeses were, but both were good, and one was a HIT with the table. I also enjoyed whatever the coated walnut? things were. Excellent! It was a good decision, and shared amongst 3 people quite nicely for $10.

The F&C's were as good as advertised, maybe better. Everyone in our party at least tasted them, and we all agree. I tasted the steak, and it was good as well, but you can get a good steak a lot of places. And maybe you can get fried Cod many places too, like at your groceries freezer sectiom, but it isn't going to be like this.

Bill time and the start of RoE were coming together at about the same time. The were very accomodating with this issue. They had an area roped off for the dinning guest down by the water, and we were able to get good views. They even gave us cups for ours drinks to take down there. They patiently waited until after the show for me to finish paying. No rush, no pressure. Like I stated, very accomodating and pleasant.

Show was great. The view here is pretty good. There was a tall guy in front of me with his kid on his shoulders, so I had to do the "head weave" to see parts of the show, but, hey, I had seen it before and likley more times than them. Plus this was still a way better view than the last time I watched it, over by Odessey. So I was happy for them. I was a bit concerned about those behind me though, with their height and my head bouncing from side to side to see effects, it had to be annoying to those behind us.

Great thing about staying at BW? Epcot after RoE. We just walk a few short steps, and we are outta there! If I am remembering correctly, there was a boat there this time too. But we wanted to walk it off so to speak. It is an easy walk, despite the smokers. I don't know the ruling, but I know there are designated smoking areas in the parks, and I know there are designated smoking areas at the resorts. Can I get a Rules Offical for a ruling on the bridge from BC to BW? :shrug:

I was hoping to get to see some street performers at BW because our daughter had never seen them before, and we were not dissappointed. First, we saw the $20 trick guy. It was great, eventhough I think we only caught the end! Then we saw the Knife Guy. That looked good, but I know we only caught the very end. We started backtracking to the ice cream place. On the way I see another performer setting up, using the rope as a stage line. I almost sat down right there like a little kid, but thought better of it. I had seen this performer before and he was great. I think of him as "Squeeky", and if you've seen him, you know who I am talking about. Later, he let me shoot and basket, and I made it. There is some debate whether he had to move it or not. While wife was set on going straight into ice cream parlor first, both were glad we stopped for this show.

Ice cream had a line, but it wasn't out the door or anything. We got some single cones and they were tasty, but I think our eyes were bigger than our appetities. I noticed the pictrues of the Beauty Queens, and someone said they were all the Ms. America winners, but I wonder if the are real or "show pieces" because I know who won one year, and that wasn't her in the picture? It would kind of make sense because wouldn't disney have to pay all of them royalties to use their likeness? Wouildn't it just be easier to fake it?

Well, this was the last night in Disney. I went out and sat on the balcony alone for a while, thinking, "We have got to pay off our AKV DVC so we can get 25 points or so here. This is awesome!" BTW, I said the same thing at VWL! We didn't bother unpacking much this afternoon, so there wasn't a lot of prep needed tonight, just some sleep.

Daughter says BW sofa bed was more comfortable than VWL.

Sidenote: WDW sent me a survey postcard, so I let them know about this trip, and the great people involved at the resorts.

MaxsDad · Jun 19, 2008

Day 7 - Departure DAy

No alarm setting again. Most of our bags were packed already, but we worked on final preparations. We had a goods night's rest here at the BWV. I looked at the bill that was on the door, and they had charged us for Vallet parking. This was incorrect as we are DVC members, but remember, I didn't show the front desk my card. I called down front, and they told me to take it to the conceirge desk. So I called vallet/bell services, and the girls went on ahead, taking the tip cash with them. The Bellman showed up right away. I mean within 2 minutes of when we called easy. I know we were close to the front desk, but I was impressed! I helped him load it up on the cart, and told him I had to drop by the front desk. He asked what kind of car it was, and he was of.

At the desk, the service was steady. They erased the charge w/out any hassles. So I go out the front door, and there sits the car, all loaded up and everything! These guys were good! I asked my wife if the bellman loaded the car up for us(it is a civic, and the trunk is small and packed to the gills. It is a tight fit, almost like some kind of Chinese puzzle). It isn't east to figure out how to place everything in there to get it to fit, but the guy did it. She tipped him well for this service. It was worth it. Also, the gas from the Hess station fiasco seemed to have left no lasting impact or smell.

So we cross the street and go to DS for Star Wars Weekends. We get there about the same time as Thursday, two days ago, but the parking lot we parked in last time is already full. Also, we park in row 55 today (the speed limit I remember saying), where as before it was 24 (the show I remember saying). So as you can tell, the crowd level had increased significantly. Obviously, this is due mostly to Star Wars weekend, but I felt also that the summer crowds that seemed to be missing all week, were finally showing up now.

So we head for Toy Story Mania first thing. Sure we missed opening again, but we are still looking at the first 30 minutes of the day. When we get to TSM, it is down, again, at opening. It seems that this is not unusaul. I get in a FP line while the girls look around. And as usual, I pick the wrong line. I have no problem with people who have a lot of tickets to put in, I have traveled with a party of nine before. But this machine was malfunctioning as often as it worked right. Two other people in front of me had problems with it. When i got to the third ticket, it didn't put out a pass. The nice CM came over and got one to come out, but I could tell while waiting she was constanty having to service people at one machine or the other. Isn't this brand new?

I (and them too for that matter) don't quite rememebr the exact order we did things for the rest of the day. I know we asked about where Chewy was, and was told the good guys were over by Star Tours. I do know we got in the line that alternated Ewok/Chewy every 30 minutes. I know we got out of that line after giving up (after about 10 minutes) on the likeliness to catch the flow right and get Chewy. I do know we later saw Chewy come out, and got back in line in time to see the people that were originally in front us get to see meet Chewy. Then we saw Chewy go back inside before we got up there. :brick:

I do know daughter and I rode the ToT again, thank you wife.

I do know we went to see Muppet Vision. Again I used the "hang back and watch people rush in in front of you, then pick the optimal row" approach.
I do know that we got back in line for Chewy a third time, using the info we got from a nice handler earlier in the day about his return time. In front us in line this time was a family deacked out in Star Wars Merchandise, accompanied by two Dream Squad members. I think they must have won some kind of special tour or something. So we are feeling good about our chances, because you know Chewy isn't going to "bail" on these VIP's in front of us. So she finally gets her picture with him!:sohappy:

We walk around a little deciding on a place for lunch. We end of at the Commissary. We haven't eaten here since 1999. I had heard some bad things about it, but I thought it was good, and with the exception of some funky "chips" wife got, they agreed.

FP time for TSM is here, so we head over. I get to ride with my wife this time! Once again, I shot like there is no tom morrow, and better my personal best, 169,000. Comeone had just scored over 300K that day, and their score was listed in all three top positions somehow.

As we walked the slow dreadful walk of exiting the last park of the trip, Daughter decided which (a 2008)T Shirt she wanted for this trip, so we were re energized with a new mission. We found it in a store on the left side of the street as you exit the park.

Next we caught a tram at the last second, and rode to the car, and I drove home while they slept most of the way. Once again the ride was peaceful, smooth, and without hinderances.

Overall, we had a great time. I liked taking it easy, and not having to worry about if I would get to see everything I wanted to see this trip, since I know I will be back soon. When we had a park plan, it went well. When we had no plan, it seemed aimless, and that can be frustrating to me, but we still had fun. The plans I did have in adavance that we followed seemed to work really well. Crowds seemed lower than in previous trips during Memorial Day week.

I like a party of three. I have gone with a party of 2,3,4,7, and nine now. August trip will be a party of 4, as we are bringing a guest, our son's best friend, who also went on a mission trip to Nicaragua for his "Senior Trip". I am unsure if I will bore this forum with again another trip report in August, and I seriously doubt I will attempt the "Live" report. Once I fell behind due to technical difficulties, it was more of a distraction than I care to have on vacation trying to catch up. Perhaps maybe just a quick summary of the high points next time, or any unusaul circumstances. I would hate to repeat myself. That makes me think of this: I hope our WDW vacations never get to be like Clark Griswald in Europe, going around the same traffic circle over and over, saying, "Look kids,Big Ben, Parliment!"

Great thing about our "guest", he hasn't been since he was 3, and doesn't remember any of it! I love taking first timers! And he is almost as good, maybe better, in that he will have some memories of his childhood come rushing back at him, just like they do with me. I will leave you with this quote from writer Thomas Mann, slighty modified to dramatize a conversation Walt may have had one day with his Brother:

"Roy, people will come Roy. They'll come to Florida for reasons they can't even fathom. They'll turn up your highway not knowing for sure why they're doing it. They'll arrive at your gate as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won't mind if you look around, you'll say. It's only $20 per person. They'll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they'll walk out to the park; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They'll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the curbsides, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they'll watch the show and it'll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they'll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Roy. The one constant through all the years, Roy, has been Disney. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But Disney has marked the time. This park, this dream: it's a part of our past, Roy. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again. Oh... people will come Roy. People will most definitely come."

I hope you enjoyed our time together. See ya real soon....

bayoumoon · Jun 20, 2008

Sounds like a perfect ending to a most wonderful trip. Thanks for "taking me there" with you. I'm always in need of a "mental vacation".

UKHelen · Jun 20, 2008

Thank you MaxsDad for a fantastic trip report

- I have enjoyed every word you have typed. I would certainly love to read another of your reports in the future.

The only thing I didn't enjoy was the feeling that it is still 4 months until our next trip and I don't want to wait that long!!!!!:ROFLOL:

DisneyPhD · Jun 20, 2008

I wanted to say Thanks to MaxsDad too for the great TR. Even though we had just been ourselves (in May) I had lots of fun reading and was amazed at how similar your trip and attitudes (past and present) were similar to mine (even though I'm a dad to younger kids who won't/can't ride the big rides with me yet). I'm definitely going to try the "hang back" method for the big theater shows next trip.
I'll be looking for the TR for August!:wave:

MaxsDad · Jun 21, 2008

Thanks Bayou and Helen.

Doc,

They'll be 48" before you know it. That seems to be the "magic" number. At least you aren't doing what I did. We didn't go until 1999 thinking, "I want my kids to be big enough to ride everything." I regreted it later. You got a whole world of brand new experiences awaiting you.

Hang Back is a fluid process. You have to use your judgement based on past experiences, which it seems you have. Then throw in a little bit of timing, and trust. I would imagine that July 4, Easter, and Christmas-NYE, it wouldn't work as well.

Does anyone know if they sell "Chelsea" merchandise in the UK pavilion? Our Guest traveler is a big Chelsea fan.

PoohBear119 · Jun 21, 2008

Absolutely great! I am psyched now for my trip in 43 days!

DisneyPhD · Jun 21, 2008

MaxsDad said:
Doc,

They'll be 48" before you know it. That seems to be the "magic" number. At least you aren't doing what I did. We didn't go until 1999 thinking, "I want my kids to be big enough to ride everything." I regreted it later. You got a whole world of brand new experiences awaiting you.

I know what you mean. We've had so much fun watching our girls take their first rides. Two years ago my oldest (now 7) was finally tall enough and brave enough to try Goofy's barnstormer which led us into Big Thunder Mountain. Next trip we tried Splash Mountain which I haven't been able to get her on again because of the big drop. She absolutely loves Soarin' and Test Track. This past trip was her first trip on Mission Space Green and Space Mountain. She can't get enough of those, but won't do Star Tours with me again, once was enough apparently. Same thing with Haunted Mansion, ghosts and ghoulies are not her thing. My almost-4-year-old was tall enough for Barnstormer this trip and managed two rides with me. It's not her favorite, but I think she'll be dragging me onto it next time. The both still love all the kiddie rides. We spend lots of time in Fantasyland as Dumbo is our first ride every trip. That way if there's a huge line for it later in the trip we can say we did that and can come back later if the line isn't so long.

Trip Report: Max's Dad 6\1 - 6/7

xsupaxmanxsfnex

Well-Known Member

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member

LetsGoAgain

New Member

NewfieFan

Well-Known Member

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member

bayoumoon

New Member

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member

bayoumoon

New Member

UKHelen

Member

DisneyPhD

Well-Known Member

MaxsDad

Well-Known Member

PoohBear119

Active Member

DisneyPhD

Well-Known Member