PDA

View Full Version : April Vacation 13-22



c&d
04-26-2007, 10:50 AM
Leaving Boston: Friday afternoon
Let me start by saying that if I ever say I’m flying on US Air, just come hit me upside the head. :bang: I’ve always had problems with them and this time was no different. When I booked our flights their website crashed and said start again, so I did. Imagine my surprise when I find I’m the proud owner of 6 tickets to Orlando instead of 3. To make a long story short when they rebooked my flights they had me leaving on April 13th to DC and then flying out the night of the 14th to Orlando. It all worked out, they got us on standby on the 13th and we made it to Orlando.

I have to say that I’m worse then a little kid, I get so excited that I’m back at Disney and it starts as soon as I get off the plane. I just can’t get there fast enough. :joy: So we quickly got off the flight and head over to ME and there was no line at the counter. We get thru check in and the bus was there so we hopped on board. We had about at 10 min wait and we were off.

We’ve only stayed once at a value (Sports) and the experience was not that good. The room was dirty, there were kids running up and down outside the rooms banging on doors and cursing. We had reservations for our first 2 nights at AS Movies and I have to say I was a little leery about staying in a value after our experience at Sports. So we arrived at AS Movies around 10:45 and once again no line. The CM checked us in and we were off to Toy Story building. I must say that AS Movies has changed my impression of the values. It was great when we walked out and saw sorcerer Mickey above the pool all lit up. When we got over to the Toy Story building I loved the big Buzz and Woody and the bucket of soldiers stairs. When we opened up our door, the room was clean and all the lights were working. I thought to myself this is what I thought a value would be. We dropped off our overnight bags and headed over to the bar for a :wine: and then off to bed.

Day 1: Saturday
We slept in and then headed over to the food court for a late breakfast. After breakfast DH went to see if our luggage had arrived and they said it was being sorted and should be either in our room or on it’s way. After a quick stop in the gift shop we jumped on the bus to AK. I love AK, but for some unknown reason DS can never get thru the park without a meltdown. I have no idea why but I have a funny story later in the week about that.

We headed over to EE and got fastpasses. It was over to Dinosaur for a quick ride. After that it was Primeval Whirl. OK they have turned up the spinning on that ride. DH and I were not expecting that. I was getting dizzy hoping it would stop spinning it was like being on a teacup. We then walked over to EE and waited in line (25 min). We rode it in August and I don’t remember the backwards part being that fast. I thought it was much more fun. When we got off the ride, DS started to have his AK meltdown. Don’t know why, so we grabbed a bite to eat at Pizzafari. We then did a bug’s life and then headed over to EE to use our fastpasses. We got almost up to the ride when it stopped and after about 10 min. you could see them starting to walk people off the ride. We were so close to being walked off a ride. Are we the only people who think this would be cool? It was about 5 so we headed back to our for a swim.

Day 2: Sunday, changing resorts and MK EMH
The only other time we’ve changed resorts we’ve had a car so it no big deal. After having read here how easy it was I figured, no big deal. So was I surprised when things did not go the Disney way. We got to bell services and I told the women we were moving over to the VWL. I’ve never seen at Disney such a deer in the headlight look as I got from her. I told her again that we needed our luggage sent over to the VWL and again I got a blank stare. She then started pulling out tags and said put my name and room number on them. I told her that I don’t know my room number because I hadn’t check in at VWL yet. She then went in the luggage storage room and came out and said fill out the tags and they will get the luggage over there. So we do and we jump on the first bus that comes so we can head over to WL and check in.

We get over to WL and there’s a room ready. Granted it’s as far away from the Lodge as you can get in the Villas but it’s at the end of the hallway so no one will be walking by our room. This will be wonderful as the week progresses. We ask about our luggage and we’re told it will arrive between 1-3. So we hang out in our room and around 3 we go to bell services and ask about our luggage. They said they don’t have it. I said when we were checking out that the CM I spoke to really didn’t seem to understand what I was asking. The person at bell services then said, that’s not surprising, they are not Disney employees. She said they are contractors.

I was shocked. It then explained why everything just seemed a little off at Movies. We waited almost 15 min before someone helped us with our luggage and during that time no one acknowledged our presence, which I thought was odd. I’ve always found that no matter how busy a CM is they always looked at you and said I will be with you shortly. Not this time, we were the only ones at the counter and everyone was just running back and forth. They would look at us and just duck into the luggage room. DH made a very good point after we found this out. You never want a non Disney employee “touching” a guest and it’s a mistake for them to outsource that part. He’s in marketing and I guess that’s a term for interacting with guests. He said guests don’t differentiate between employee or contractor they just see it as Disney. I have to agree I was disappointed in how we were treated. OK done with my little rant.

Back to my luggage, the CM then sent a van over to retrieve our luggage. Yeah.

We had reservations at the Trail’s End buffet that night. What a hidden gem it is. It was quiet the food was good, DS I think had 90 pieces of cornbread. OK may 10. We will definitely eat there again. After dinner we hopped on the boat to MK for EMH hours. The park was fairly empty. We did Laugh Floor and DS was on camera. He loved it. I really enjoyed it. After that it was over to Stitch, DS loves this ride, I think it’s all about the chili dog smell for him, he is 8. We then walked onto Buzz and then over to Space Mtn. which had a 60 min wait. Yikes. We headed over to Astro Orbiter and were on it for Wishes. That was cool, DS wanted to ride in his own orbiter, but about half way thru he got nervous because he was sliding around in his orbiter. We then went over to Indy. This is the first time DS got to ride in his own car, having finally made the height requirement. He was so excited about it. Then over to Philharmagic, another walk on. And then only a 10 min wait for Peter Pan, had to do it. After that we went on Splash. As we’re going around I noticed none of the figures are moving, they’re all slumped over. We’ve done Splash a bizillion times and I’m thinking to myself, I thought those moved maybe not. Anyway we get really excited because just before the laughing place we stopped and all the lights went on. We thought this is it, finally a walkoff, but no such luck. After about 5 min. lights off and off we go, but during the entire ride none of the characters are moving. It was strange with everyone just slumped over. We got and headed over to Thunder Mtn. and got the last seat. DS thought it was great when he was momentarily airborne on one of the drops. It was about 1:30am so we decided to head back, as we walked passed Splash the ride was closed. No water coming down the drop, it was neat to see the drop with no water. We headed back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow: DH’s Christmas Present: Richard Petty Driving experience.

BriarRose0708
04-26-2007, 11:08 AM
Great start to your report!:thumbsup:

Sorry about the snafu with your luggage, but thankfully it worked out in the end! Looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip :mickey:

SBETigg
04-26-2007, 11:11 AM
Great report! I'm trying to imagine how weird it would have been to ride Splash like that. We had a long wait right before the big drop once and it made my daughter really nervous. The water wasn't running. But for the figures to be slumped? That must have been an experience! Looking forward to more reports.

offwego
04-26-2007, 11:14 AM
Sorry about your luggage. It sounds like you had a great time at the EMH though.

Can't wait to read more about your trip.

January-2007
04-26-2007, 11:29 AM
Oh my gosh that is too hilarious that you actually want to be walked off a ride! I'm sorry you had trouble with your bags, but it sounds like you will enjoy the VWL. I'm so glad to know how much of a walk on everything was for you at the Evening Extra Magic Hours at the Magic Kingdom, sounds like you got sooo much done! I love riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at night, it's so neat! Thanks for reporting, can't wait to read more! :thumbsup:

Oh, yeah, and I'm glad your son enjoyed the 100 pieces of cornbread at Trail's End. That stuff is so good! :mickey:

pogo
04-26-2007, 11:47 AM
Good start minus the luggage snafu ! I can't wait to read more. :D

magicman
04-26-2007, 11:49 AM
Even with the SNAFUs I can feel the fun.

I can't say that I have the hidden dream of walking off a broken ride, but I wish you luck in your quest for ride failure.;)

It sounds like the crowds weren't bad at all for you to get to do so much at MK. It sounds like you had several very special times (the laugh floor & your son's first solos on Astro Orbiter & on the Speedway.) I actually agree with your son that the Astro Orbiter can be a bit more intimidating than given credit for.

Great report...thank-you.

KylesMom
04-26-2007, 11:52 AM
A rocky start, but a great first couple of days! Can't wait to read more!

faline
04-26-2007, 11:54 AM
Well, you've encountered a few glitches but, overall, a good trip so far!

I had heard that Disney was outsourcing its luggage handling. I also believe this might be a mistake on Disney's part!

pdrlkr
04-29-2007, 11:03 AM
Thanks for the report! :smickey:

Bethis26fan
04-29-2007, 10:22 PM
Thanks for sharing.

sleepingbooty
04-30-2007, 12:17 PM
Sounds like a great start - thanks for sharing:thumbsup:

Bethanymouse
05-03-2007, 08:04 PM
You guys are having a blast! I bet your DS loved driving those Indy Cars! Thanks so much for sharing!:mickey:

ChipnDaleGal
05-05-2007, 09:33 AM
Sorry about that luggage issue, but otherwise a wonderful start, I really enjoyed reading about your Splash adventure. Thanks for reporting. :mickey:

pdrlkr
05-05-2007, 01:33 PM
Thank for the report! :smickey:

mrsgaribaldi
05-05-2007, 02:31 PM
Sounds like a great start in the parks. Thanks for sharing:thumbsup:

MissStyles
05-05-2007, 03:06 PM
The next best thing to being "walked off" a ride:

riding Splash with the characters slumped!!! :laughing:

Thanks for reporting!