faline
05-24-2010, 06:45 PM
Before leaving the Poly, we check with concierge about dinner reservations. We’re able to get a reservation for Artist Point for 8:35 p.m. though we had asked for an earlier time. We cancel our reservations at Fulton’s.
We board a monorail and return to the Magic Kingdom. If anything, it is even more crowded now! We use our Peter Pan fast passes then walk over to Winnie and pick up fast passes there. (Though it’s still walled off, the tree from Pooh’s Thoughtful Place has been relocated to a spot in front of the Pooh ride. There are fences up around where the playground used to be.) We ride Snow White and then walk to the Riverboat. While sailing, the skies are turning very dark and it’s clear there are very unhappy clouds in the sky! We get a ride on the Carousel and are on our way to Toon Town to take a ride on the railroad when the skies open up. The standby line for Pooh is listed as 40 minutes but, since it is raining so hard, we might as well wait it out on line so we enter the line.
While we are on line, the ceiling lights go out a couple of times, then go out and stay out but the electric fans continue to work and it appears the ride does as well. Here is where I learn something new, though. Someone asks the cast member how long the line will be. He says he doesn’t know as they can’t continue unloading folks off the ride if people do not leave the shop at the end of the ride and there’s nothing they can do about that. Because of the downpour, folks are clearly NOT leaving the shop. In about ½ hour, we have only rounded one loop and are still a very long way from the front of the line. The rain has now slowed considerably so we opt to leave the line.
We walk to Toon Town to take our train ride. The train is there but we’re told it will remain down for the next ½ hour. Okay then. we decide to leave the park. On the way out, we decide to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. There’s even a line for this that extends into the plaza below! When we exit this, there is only 10 minutes left until we can use our Pooh fast passes so we walk back that way and kill some time by browsing in a few shops along the way. After we turn in our fast passes, we are at a gate waiting for our honey pot within 5 minutes.
Just because of the way things worked out in terms of numbers, we are assigned row one with no-one in row 2. The first pot that comes our way, though, is equipped for wheelchairs and the cast member doesn’t even open the gate. Another family is assigned rows 1 and 2 behind us. When our pot arrives, the woman in row 2 asks if we’re going to ride? Of course, that’s why we standing here. So instead of waiting for the next honey pot so she can ride with the rest of her family who are now positioned behind us, she gets into the back seat of our honey pot leaving the rest of her family standing at the gate?!
Okay, I’m now overloaded on people. We leave the park and I intend to return to our resort, put my feet up for a while, and perhaps take a nap before we head out to Artist Point for our reservation. Originally, we intended to arrive earlier (at opening at 5:30) to see if we could be seated earlier than our 8:35 reservation. However, neither one of us is hungry. Still, as we exit the park, Gene suggests we take the boat over to Wilderness Lodge and rest our feet in the lounge instead of heading back to Coronado Springs. Okay. We take the boat over. I’m disappointed to find someone seated on “my” couch so we take a table nearby and order a drink. I hear a server tell someone else they can order from the Artist Point menu. Hmm….maybe that’s an option?
The couple on the couch leave. Yay! I can have my couch! We move. We find we can order appetizers or sides from the Artist Point menu but not entrees. Too bad. I’m not hungry enough for us to each sit down and order an entrée but we have selected one we would be interested in splitting had we been allowed to order it in the lounge. We’re nibbly but not hungry so order nachos. Gene walks over to Artist Point to cancel our reservations there. As he approaces, the hostess asks him if we want to be seated right away and says she seems really disappointed that we’re cancelling. Yet, we continue to see many folks who are being provided beepers and steered to the lounge. The nachos are good and just enough for us – good thing we opted for the jalapenos on the side!
After our snack, we wonder through the shop and then head to the bus stop to catch a bus back to the Magic Kingdom. A family comes up behind us and asks if they can catch a boat to the Magic Kingdom. We explain how to get to the boat dock but while we are doing that, a Magic Kingdom bus pulls up. They explain they wanted a boat for the ambience but, since the bus is there, they’ll take that for the convenience.
Folks are beginning to line the streets for Spectro Magic. We head into Tomorrowland but bypass Monsters Inc because it has a 20 minute wait time (in the end, we never visit with the Monsters this trip) – then decide we must really be spoiled if we can’t tolerate a 20 minute wait! I wonder if the train is running but, somehow, we never make it to a train station. (As we are leaving the park, I hear the train’s whistle and figure it must have still been running!). We cross the park and walk through the Swiss Family Treehouse. The Jungle Cruise has a 70 minute wait! Which drops – whoa! Down to 60 minutes while we watch! No thanks! Pirates has a 10 minute wait so we join the line. Goodness, I must be getting old! There are a large number of young folks on line and they are so noisy. At one point, I need to cover my ears as the noise is almost painful! They’re not being obnoxious – just very exuberant but the cacophony of screeches, giggles, and loud exclamations is overwhelming!
When we emerge, it’s close to 9. It has been a long day. We were up late last night and up early this morning and have been on our feet quite a lot. It’s time to go home. I’m hoping we can make it out of the park before we are boxed in by the Spectromagic parade. We make is halfway down Main Street before a cast member tells us we must be on the sidewalk. We choose the sidewalk on the Tony’s side of the street; otherwise, we will not be able to cross over the street and exit the park until after the parade has passed. We are crossing in front of Tony’s when the introduction music for Spectro begins.
A bus is just about to leave our stop as we trot up. Fortunately, the driver turns the lights back on and allows us on board. We take the bus to El Centro where I pick up packages from purchases I made over the last few days. We walk back to our room. Day over!
Tomorrow is our last full day at Disney before we need to return to our real world.
We board a monorail and return to the Magic Kingdom. If anything, it is even more crowded now! We use our Peter Pan fast passes then walk over to Winnie and pick up fast passes there. (Though it’s still walled off, the tree from Pooh’s Thoughtful Place has been relocated to a spot in front of the Pooh ride. There are fences up around where the playground used to be.) We ride Snow White and then walk to the Riverboat. While sailing, the skies are turning very dark and it’s clear there are very unhappy clouds in the sky! We get a ride on the Carousel and are on our way to Toon Town to take a ride on the railroad when the skies open up. The standby line for Pooh is listed as 40 minutes but, since it is raining so hard, we might as well wait it out on line so we enter the line.
While we are on line, the ceiling lights go out a couple of times, then go out and stay out but the electric fans continue to work and it appears the ride does as well. Here is where I learn something new, though. Someone asks the cast member how long the line will be. He says he doesn’t know as they can’t continue unloading folks off the ride if people do not leave the shop at the end of the ride and there’s nothing they can do about that. Because of the downpour, folks are clearly NOT leaving the shop. In about ½ hour, we have only rounded one loop and are still a very long way from the front of the line. The rain has now slowed considerably so we opt to leave the line.
We walk to Toon Town to take our train ride. The train is there but we’re told it will remain down for the next ½ hour. Okay then. we decide to leave the park. On the way out, we decide to ride the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. There’s even a line for this that extends into the plaza below! When we exit this, there is only 10 minutes left until we can use our Pooh fast passes so we walk back that way and kill some time by browsing in a few shops along the way. After we turn in our fast passes, we are at a gate waiting for our honey pot within 5 minutes.
Just because of the way things worked out in terms of numbers, we are assigned row one with no-one in row 2. The first pot that comes our way, though, is equipped for wheelchairs and the cast member doesn’t even open the gate. Another family is assigned rows 1 and 2 behind us. When our pot arrives, the woman in row 2 asks if we’re going to ride? Of course, that’s why we standing here. So instead of waiting for the next honey pot so she can ride with the rest of her family who are now positioned behind us, she gets into the back seat of our honey pot leaving the rest of her family standing at the gate?!
Okay, I’m now overloaded on people. We leave the park and I intend to return to our resort, put my feet up for a while, and perhaps take a nap before we head out to Artist Point for our reservation. Originally, we intended to arrive earlier (at opening at 5:30) to see if we could be seated earlier than our 8:35 reservation. However, neither one of us is hungry. Still, as we exit the park, Gene suggests we take the boat over to Wilderness Lodge and rest our feet in the lounge instead of heading back to Coronado Springs. Okay. We take the boat over. I’m disappointed to find someone seated on “my” couch so we take a table nearby and order a drink. I hear a server tell someone else they can order from the Artist Point menu. Hmm….maybe that’s an option?
The couple on the couch leave. Yay! I can have my couch! We move. We find we can order appetizers or sides from the Artist Point menu but not entrees. Too bad. I’m not hungry enough for us to each sit down and order an entrée but we have selected one we would be interested in splitting had we been allowed to order it in the lounge. We’re nibbly but not hungry so order nachos. Gene walks over to Artist Point to cancel our reservations there. As he approaces, the hostess asks him if we want to be seated right away and says she seems really disappointed that we’re cancelling. Yet, we continue to see many folks who are being provided beepers and steered to the lounge. The nachos are good and just enough for us – good thing we opted for the jalapenos on the side!
After our snack, we wonder through the shop and then head to the bus stop to catch a bus back to the Magic Kingdom. A family comes up behind us and asks if they can catch a boat to the Magic Kingdom. We explain how to get to the boat dock but while we are doing that, a Magic Kingdom bus pulls up. They explain they wanted a boat for the ambience but, since the bus is there, they’ll take that for the convenience.
Folks are beginning to line the streets for Spectro Magic. We head into Tomorrowland but bypass Monsters Inc because it has a 20 minute wait time (in the end, we never visit with the Monsters this trip) – then decide we must really be spoiled if we can’t tolerate a 20 minute wait! I wonder if the train is running but, somehow, we never make it to a train station. (As we are leaving the park, I hear the train’s whistle and figure it must have still been running!). We cross the park and walk through the Swiss Family Treehouse. The Jungle Cruise has a 70 minute wait! Which drops – whoa! Down to 60 minutes while we watch! No thanks! Pirates has a 10 minute wait so we join the line. Goodness, I must be getting old! There are a large number of young folks on line and they are so noisy. At one point, I need to cover my ears as the noise is almost painful! They’re not being obnoxious – just very exuberant but the cacophony of screeches, giggles, and loud exclamations is overwhelming!
When we emerge, it’s close to 9. It has been a long day. We were up late last night and up early this morning and have been on our feet quite a lot. It’s time to go home. I’m hoping we can make it out of the park before we are boxed in by the Spectromagic parade. We make is halfway down Main Street before a cast member tells us we must be on the sidewalk. We choose the sidewalk on the Tony’s side of the street; otherwise, we will not be able to cross over the street and exit the park until after the parade has passed. We are crossing in front of Tony’s when the introduction music for Spectro begins.
A bus is just about to leave our stop as we trot up. Fortunately, the driver turns the lights back on and allows us on board. We take the bus to El Centro where I pick up packages from purchases I made over the last few days. We walk back to our room. Day over!
Tomorrow is our last full day at Disney before we need to return to our real world.