http://www.intercot.com/discussion en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:22:26 GMT vBulletin 30 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/images/misc/rss.jpg http://www.intercot.com/discussion http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164180&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:24:28 GMT Day 6 11/20--Back to Reality

I have no idea what I was thinking, but when I had to change our flight home due to an AirTran schedule change, I picked an 8:47 AM flight home...never realizing that we would need to leave the resort super-early. We were pretty much up & gone before the food court opened. Thank goodness for Chick-fil-a in the airport!

Prior to this morning, I just wanted to extend our trip one more day. But then I knew that one more day would be another day...and another...and another...lol! It was so bad that when I found out there was a Christmas party on 11/19, DH had to practically hold me back because I wanted to run to the ticket window & get tix. What stopped me was us needing to be up & ready to leave by 6:15 AM the next morning,

Just a few things:

1. I swear that Disney is trying to encourage back-sleeping with the super-fluffy pillows they provide--us belly-sleepers can't handle those pillows! I might need to bring my own pillow next trip.
2. This is a great time of year to go. The weather was great, crowds were great, the Disney holiday decorations prepped me for the holiday spirit (though I was irrationally annoyed when I got home & saw a few neighbors already have Christmas decorations up on their lawns).
3. I think POFQ is my "home". That said, DH is really interested in checking out the Beach Club on our next trip.
4. Um, no more early going home flights for me. It's nice to be back in my own home a little earlier than usual, but...meh. I have no problem hopping on a 7 AM flight going to Disney, but the 8:47 AM flight back home just killed me, lol.
5. I love when you get a ferry boat CM that is knowledgeable in things other than Disney. Last night's captain told us all about the birds & other wild life that hangs out at Port Orleans.
6. I didn't take as many pictures this trip. I don't know if it's because I took so many pictures previously or what, but it was just nice to be able to walk around & not feel like I had to take pictures.

That's all I have for now. Thanks for reading, everyone. And for anyone gearing up for a trip to the World...enjoy! ]]> Trip Reports Carolanne http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164180 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164179&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:14:50 GMT Is it worth 2 TS credits? We've never experienced it. Skip or must do once? We have done Spirit of Aloha a few times which we enjoyed. If you had to pick which would you go with? ]]> Dining DVC2004 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164179 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164178&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:57:06 GMT Day 5, 11/19. This was our last full day :(

This report technically isn't "live" as I'm already home. As I'm sitting here watching TV & typing my report, I can't help but think I should be back in my hotel room, getting some R&R for the next park.

Anyway, this was our last day. We totally took it easy. I needed to get names put on the snowmen ears I picked up for our nephews, so we went to the MK. We had lunch at Peco's Bills (I don't know about anyone else, but I loooove the pulled pork sandwiches there). After lunch, we rode PotC, HM, and Space Mountain (they were still doing test runs as of yesterday). The stand-by wait for SM was listed as 20 minutes, but it seemed more like 10. I don't know, I like that they haven't majorly changed this attraction. It definitely feels like a cleaner run.

We were going to go to Epcot after, but yesterday we felt tired a little earlier than usual--maybe because it felt warmer than the previous days, I don't know. We headed back to our room. We were supposed to start pre-packing, but I ended up taking a 90 minute nap instead. I needed that nap, lol!

We had an ADR at the Turf Club, so after the nap we took the ferry over to Downtown Disney & took a nice walk to the restaurant. DH had the chicken, I had the salmon salad--both were very good! I normally go with the tuna, but this time I went "crazy", went for something a little different, and really enjoyed it. Dessert was the apple pie for DH, the chocolate espresso torte for me (chocolate lovers, if you haven't tried this yet I do recommend it).

The Turf Club: I always enjoy this restaurant. There normally isn't a crowd here & the service is usually pretty quick. That last dinner, the service was a little slow but that could be because it was our CM's 3rd day and her first "all by herself". I can't remember her name but she was very nice.

The CM I do remember: Christian. He wasn't even our CM but OMG, he had to be the hardest CM I encountered during this trip. He was dealing with about 4 tables and you would swear each of those tables was his only table--very nice, very professional, very courteous, very efficient, just wow. My husband said he heard who he assumed to be a lead CM tell Christian that his day was over & he could go home, but Christian just kept right at it. I need to remind myself to send an email to Disney about him.

After our dinner, we decided to walk off some calories & walked back to Downtown Disney. We rode Characters in Flight (wow, really nice at night, I can't imagine what it's like during the day), popped into a few stores (I ended up treating myself to the D&B Disney wristlet), then called it a night & got back on the ferry to POFQ. Once we got back to the room, it was time to do what I had been dreading all week--packing up to go home. ]]> Trip Reports Carolanne http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164178 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164177&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:41:25 GMT This is my first visit to WDW since 1984.
Obviously things were ALOT different back then!

From what I understand, the best place to catch Pocahontas is in Animal Kingdom. She is supposed to be near the Conservation Station???

Is this still accurate? I don't want to miss her!

Also, I know that the characters don't come "out of character" for anything.
Is there a handler or CM with the face characters that could answer a question about Pocahontas's schedule?

I know Disney employs many Pocanhontases at once. I want to get my picture with more than one if possible.

I've seen some pictures friends have brought back and the actresses have ranged from a reall adorable Filipino, to an obvious caucasian, to an obvious transexual black male.

So if the first Pocahontas I see is not all that great I want to know if there is a CM who could tell me when another Pocahontas is working????

Weird I know. ]]> Disney Characters Lelandmm http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164177 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164176&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:08:46 GMT Myself – 44 loves all things Disney – 11th trip DH – 46 loves Disney about a notch below me DD – 14 loves Disney about the same as DH DS – 11 mini me in “getting” Disney We decided not to get up to an alarm today since yesterday was a long day as we all worked and went to school before we hopped... Myself – 44 loves all things Disney – 11th trip
DH – 46 loves Disney about a notch below me
DD – 14 loves Disney about the same as DH
DS – 11 mini me in “getting” Disney

We decided not to get up to an alarm today since yesterday was a long day as we all worked and went to school before we hopped on the plane.

We awoke at around 9 and surprisingly out the door by 9:45. We traditionally eat at the Kona Café for our first breakfast. Good food and we paid about $60 out of pocket. Now onto the place that I love more than anything, the Magic Kingdom!!! We usually start and finish with this park but I decided to be crazy and not do that this trip…As we are riding the monorail I just want to cry I’m so excited!

No need to use our finger today when entering the park.. have no idea why! I just wanted to stroll down Main Street but of course the kids were in a full sprint! I believe HM was our first ride (10 mins) and all came out excited saying there is no better Haunted House then this.. Onto POC (followed by frozen lemonade) and then we got FP (1 of 2 times the entire trip we needed them) for TMR. We actually didn’t really need them.it was only a 25 min wait but we are impatient! As we are getting our FP, a very nice person came up to us and asked if we wanted his 4… YES! We will pay it forward later… Splash 10 mins (very wet trip this time) Thunder 2 x and we are on our way to see if Space Mountain is open…before we get there we hit a family favorite COP…

Wander over to Space Mountain and its in “test mode” and I asked the CM if it would be open later this week.. the first and only unfriendly CM sternly stated “could close at any moment”. We get into the line and it was long.. We did the interactive game for a minute (not really a big deal for us) and as we are waiting, they close it down put the lights on and everyone has to leave. We did what every sensible person would do.. we head over to the Wedway (you know what I mean) and saw SM with the lights on.. pretty cool.. I did not tell the kids that they changed the voice track on the people mover, they did notice very quickly.. My son does a good impression of the original track so we had to settle for that…

We head back after a ride on Buzz (10 mins) For the life of me I can’t remember where we ate CS this day… I think it was Captain Cooks at the Poly…

We are due to meet friends in Japan at 8:10 so we take a quick rest and then head over around 6 pm. Meet up with friends early and rode Spaceship, Land and Figment…We ate a good meal at Teppan and happy that it was not crazy busy as it has been in the past.. Decent meal, I think the cook could have done a better show. My husbands favorite meal, so we did it because it was his only request for the week…

Said our goodbyes and off to the Poly. So happy that Capt Cooks is open all night long, purchased a brownie and ate it on the balcony listening to the quietness, counting my blessings that we could take this trip and enjoying the warm (well warmer than New England) air…

Tomorrow – AK, Studios and Osbourne lights

Overall impressions

MK – I want to live on Main Street!!! Saturday at MK is usually pretty crowded, we found it very manageable and most Christmas decorations were up.
Poly – The pool slide was down all week which was one of a few disappointments in the trip.
Epcot – Love Epcot but its such a tiring park…. Really need to take it slow and easy
Christmas tree was up but few other decorations. Christmas music was being played and its nice. I did miss the usual music a little.. ]]> Trip Reports DisneyBarb http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164176 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164175&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:37:44 GMT What are your holiday faves? Mine have to be A Christmas Story, most versions of A Christmas Carol (love the Muppets one!), and more recently [i]Elf[i] has really grown on me. What do you like? ]]> Movies, TV, Music and Musicals DVC2004 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164175 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164174&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:22:39 GMT Just got back from a fantastic trip to Disney. For those of you who missed my many pre-trip reports, we planned this 6 weeks ago and had the free dining. My hubby has a bad back and was hesitant to go… Glad I talked him into it! Last trip was 2 years ago in early November. Myself – 44 loves all... Just got back from a fantastic trip to Disney. For those of you who missed my many pre-trip reports, we planned this 6 weeks ago and had the free dining. My hubby has a bad back and was hesitant to go… Glad I talked him into it! Last trip was 2 years ago in early November.

Myself – 44 loves all things Disney – 11th trip
DH – 46 loves Disney about a notch below me
DD – 14 loves Disney about the same as DH
DS – 11 mini me in “getting” Disney

Overall an almost perfect trip… low crowds (sshhh don’t tell), perfect weather..

Leading up to the trip, my kids came home everyday with news of a different person (classmate, teammate etc) having swine or a terrible bronchial sickness. I kept thinking, please don’t get sick!! So with antibacterial and spreadsheet in hand (with all my planning) off to the airport we go.

Car Service to Logan and a quick drive in for our on-time 4:15pm JetBlue flight. It was Friday the 13th and my daughter was freaking a little about that… however it was pretty smooth flight (and a great view of the sunset).

After we landed, we found our way to Magical Express and went right on the bus. We waited, and waited and waited… not sure for how long but there were only 6 people on the bus. I was starting to get a little aggravated but then another passenger went and talked to the bus driver. He came on and did his spiel, but then threw his paperwork (in a folder) onto the dashboard, mumbling under his breath, clearly aggravated he had to transport just 6 people. Not a very magical moment for him.. We were in the front so could see him clearly.

A quiet ride and we are the first stop. We checked in (did on-line but didn’t need it this day, there were no lines). Asked for a top-floor room, and she said sure, how about Tuvalu and I said “great!” thinking it was Tokelau! Oops!! :blush:Once I saw where it was I was a little disappointed. However, it was a corner room and had a view of the water and beach (who knew there was a beach on this side of the Poly!). We just did not walk to the TTC…

We had 9:30 pm ressies at Ohanas, went at 9 and were seated quickly. I was a little nervous about the food as DH and DD are very picky eaters. We LOVED it!!! I personally could not get enough of the noodles and dessert. We could see the fireworks as we were finishing up. What a nice way to start a vacation!

My son and I decided to go to EMH at Epcot (we walked to the TTC and realized it was just that much longer from the other side of the Poly) and saw TT was a 40 min wait. However, it was about 10 and we also got on Soarin (20 mins) and Spaceship Earth. We hadn’t seen the new ending and got a chuckle over it…

We headed back and were laughing that the workers had winter parkas on. We were in light sweatshirts and too warm at times!

We transferred monorails at the TTC and I thought of the July fatal monorail accident and felt a little sad…

Luggage had arrived by this point and we all fell fast asleep…

Coming up tomorrow, MK and Epcot

Overall impressions of 1st day

JetBlue – love this airline and fly them whenever we can
Poly – nothing like walking into the lobby for the first time and smelling that smell…
Ohanas – would go again in a heartbeat!

Good to be "home".... ]]> Trip Reports DisneyBarb http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164174 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164173&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:01:22 GMT Anyone know if they started the Holiday Tag on Illuminations yet? I have friends there tonight and want to give them the heads up. Anyone know if they started the Holiday Tag on Illuminations yet? I have friends there tonight and want to give them the heads up. ]]> Theme Parks SorcererJim http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164173 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164172&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:55:27 GMT What did you think? Worth the money? We have two boys ages 10 and 12. What did you think? Worth the money? We have two boys ages 10 and 12. ]]> Accommodations DVC2004 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164172 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164171&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:54:43 GMT Which you would you pick and why? We have never stayed at any moderate before. Which you would you pick and why? We have never stayed at any moderate before. ]]> Accommodations DVC2004 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164171 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164170&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:46:19 GMT I am so excited:yay: my job is sending me to WDW for 3 days. I work for a University in NJ in the admissions department. There is a college fair at the swan and dolphin resort that I will be attending. They will pay for my airfare, and hotel. All I will have to worry about is the park tickets. ... I am so excited:yay: my job is sending me to WDW for 3 days. I work for a University in NJ in the admissions department. There is a college fair at the swan and dolphin resort that I will be attending. They will pay for my airfare, and hotel. All I will have to worry about is the park tickets. The is super exciting because I did not get to go to disney this past year b/c I was pregnant. And then I get to go with my family in June. OOOOOO I can't wait. Sometimes I love my job:thumbsup: ]]> Mousellaneous EpcotChic23 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164170 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164169&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:41:17 GMT We've been to WDW 5 years straight and always stayed at the Poly and love it there.
Our next trip, I am thinking of upgrading to Club Level at the Poly. Any thoughts on this?

I'm one of those compulsive planners. Planning our Disney trip is like a hobby to me--I start planning for the next years trip as soon as we get home. Every year I have found different experiences for us, and we've had a great time! How does it feel to hand over some of the planning and letting the Club Level people make all of your ADRs? Do you have a better chance of getting a hard-to-get ressie? ]]> Accommodations marlaine http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164169 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164168&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:27:04 GMT Ok, now the highly anticipated conclusion to day three! We said good-bye to Bucky Greenhorn and went to see Beauty and the Beast. After the show was over we wanted to go use the fast passes for Toy Story but stopped by Tower of Terror again! We literally walked on this ride alllll day. Remember... Ok, now the highly anticipated conclusion to day three!

We said good-bye to Bucky Greenhorn and went to see Beauty and the Beast. After the show was over we wanted to go use the fast passes for Toy Story but stopped by Tower of Terror again! We literally walked on this ride alllll day. Remember that we only had three passes because Kim and Zulela got to the park after we did and didn't pick up fast passes. Well at this time of course there weren't any left and the standby line was 80 minutes. Since the three newbies have never ridden it I gave my pass to Z and Kim and I went into One Man's Dream. I was sad we weren't coming back to this park Kim and I missed out on TSM this trip. But the good news is I still have the high score crown from our trip last year!

Karen, Vicky and Z had a great time on TSM though! We went over to Indiana Jones stunt show a little late, and couldn't find seats in the middle so we were over to the left and down front. It turns out this is a great place to sit! We saw everything really well and got some great views of the indy stunt guy :heart: It took a while to file out of the theatre so we had to go across the street to Sci Fi Drive In for dinner. After eating we checked out the Great Movie Ride and then went over to get seats for Fantasmic! We went on TOT again of course, but since the show started in 15 minutes we had to sit in the very front row on the right. This was a decent place to watch Fantasmic but I prefer a more holistic view from the middle. We got some amazing video of the floats and character boat because as they passed by about 10 feet in front of us.

We decided to leave the park since it was closing and made our way to Downtown Disney for more shopping. The original plan was to hit MK but since we hadn't been shopping very much the majority was for Downtown. We took a Saratoga Springs bus and half an hour later arrived at the Marketplace. I spent the whole time in World of Disney and got a couple mugs, ears, some pencils as treats for my student employees and a few other small things. I really wanted a purple zip up hoodie but it was $50 so I couldn't justify it to myself! The others had good luck though, and we left to go back to POP and hit our beds!

Day four coming up this weekend. The trip is almost over already. Thanks again for reading! :mickey: ]]> Trip Reports BriarRose0708 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164168 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164167&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:22:49 GMT Hey guys! Sorry if this is long, but I just HAD to share this story with you guys (my fellow Disney lovers). If you don't want to read the whole story, skip to Step 5. :)

Here we go. I know she's the one and I know it's time to propose and make the eternal commitment. Best part? She has no idea it's coming! So now, how to go about it? My first plans was I bought tickets to Radio City Spectacular and was going to do it in NYC in front of the Rockefeller tree. I got the tickets and the more I thought about it, the less I was excited for it. Why am I not excited? What do I need to do? If you're a Disney romantic, proceed to read. :blush:

So I regroup my thoughts and of course what's better than a Disney proposal? But, all the legwork that needs to be done can be daunting being that I need to plan this trip for Dec 17th weekend...that's so close (I normally plan my Disney trips at LEAST 6 months in advance)...but so what!? she's worth it! So let's make this happen!

Step 1: She is a dental hygienist so I have to pick a weekend that she's not working a Saturday. Okay, got it. Now I have to call her boss (who I've never met) and ask them kindly if they can 1. let her out of work early on Thursday and 2. hire a temp to fill her appointments for Friday. I call and the Dr. is SO nice and is all for it! Step 1? Check!

Step 2: I have to call my parents and ask if we can use their DVC points that weekend to book a room. Turns out my parents are all for it and also want to go down with us to celebrate (they are very close to my DGF)! This is going to be a surprise and I'm going to have them meet us at the airport. So they book us a 2 bedroom for the weekend. Step 2? Check!

Step 3: Book a flight. This part scares me as I know flights can be dauntingly expensive. I hope online and what's this? Round trip the exact times I wanted for $200 a piece?! SOLD! Step 3? Check!

Step 4: Tell her parents. I call her parents and I could hear the smile on her mom's face when I told her that "I'd like to take you and Mr. L out to dinner to talk about me and your daughters 'future engagements'." I could feel the smile through the phone. Step 4? Check!

Step 5: This is where I need all your help! How do I do it?! I bought us tickets to go see Mickey's Very Merry Xmas Party and I was thinking of doing it right before Holiday Wishes or just as we get to mainstreet with the snow falling. Or I could do it first thing in the morning at Cinderella's Wishing Well. We always take a picture at that fountain and I was thinking of giving her a penny and saying "close you eyes and make a wish." and when she closes her eyes for that second, I'll be on one knee when she opens them. :blush:

Does anyone have any proposal ideas?

Also, what's the best way to travel with the ring through airport security? I really don't want to risk her seeing it... ]]> The Water Cooler AmBo http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164167 http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164166&goto=newpost Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:27:49 GMT We did the Disney Cruise two years ago and loved it!!!! Kids are 7 and 9 and are ready for a trip to Disney. We will be going Spring Break (yikes) and think we want to stay at a Moderate Hotel. Depending on price, it may even be a Value. I think at this age, Deluxe accom. is unnecessary, not to... We did the Disney Cruise two years ago and loved it!!!! Kids are 7 and 9 and are ready for a trip to Disney. We will be going Spring Break (yikes) and think we want to stay at a Moderate Hotel. Depending on price, it may even be a Value. I think at this age, Deluxe accom. is unnecessary, not to mention cost prohibitive right now. They will be more about the oohs and aahs of what they "see".
So any recommendations or "stay away from" will be appreciated!

Thanks for your help!! ]]> Accommodations Trakar http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=164166