IloveJack
12-16-2013, 11:23 AM
Me, Susan, 33, obsessive planner, 8th trip
DH, David, 28, along for the ride, 6th trip
ODD, Sammie, 5, has begged to return for 18 months, 4th trip
YDD, Lily, 2, thinks WDW is the castle, 2nd trip
DS, Joey, 6 mo, 1st trip
Thursday, December 4, 2013
The alarm went off at 7:10, but we still were late meeting the DVC van out front. We weren't late enough to reschedule, just 7-8 minutes. The driver was a talker, and he explained that he was a snowbird from the north that had gotten stuck in FL. He had worked for Disney for about 3 years, and loved it.
We signed in and dropped ODD off in the kid's club. YDD was upset that she couldn't go play, too, but she's 6 months too young. We enjoyed the free muffins and OJ before our guide came out. He asked if there was anything we knew about DVC (all I know I've learned from Intercot), and then asked what we wanted to know. I asked him to explain the points, and he said he would, then we went back to his office, where he showed us points and how they work.
He then offered to run our credit and get the ball rolling. I stopped him there, saying I just wanted info, as I know we can't financially do it right now. I mean, obviously, the guy had just told us it'd take 15 years to start saving money, vacationing as we do now. He was nice about giving info, but it was obvious that once he realized he wasn't making a sale that day, he changed tones and was all about getting us out of there.
He gave us 15 "immediate" FPs to use whenever we wanted over the next two days, which we were happy to have, and led us back to pick up ODD. Once he saw our family as a whole, he returned to friendly chatting, and we found out he'd grown up close to where we live. We chatted for a while, while waiting for the van, and he left us in the ice cream parlor, where DH and the DDs enjoyed a treat.
Our van driver took us to the MK, explaining that he, also, was a snowbird from Colorado, and he'd worked for WDW for 10 years, as a part-time help to his retirement. DH asked him if he visited the parks often, and he said that he and his wife only visited when family came in. He saw it as too much of a job. Hmm... I'd love to move to Orlando, and would hope that if I worked for WDW, it wouldn't lose the magic. If so, I'd have to quit working for them.
The screw had fallen out of my sunglasses at the hotel, so I left them, hoping I'd be able to make it. However, I have retinopathy, and have had 4 laser-eye surgeries, so I am incredibly sensitive to sunlight. I didn't make it back on the van before knowing I'd be buying a pair of sunglasses at the shop at the entrance of MK. I found a pair of black ones with Mickey heads on them in little rhinestones. I figured, if I was going to "waste" $20, it'd be something that was an obvious souvenir.
We entered the gates at 9:15, having lost only morning EMH with the open house. I changed two of our FPs, as we'd met the princesses during EMH on our first night, and ODD mostly wanted to ride the bigger things. We started the morning off by splitting up; ODD and DH to drive the go-carts, I mean cars, and myself with the little ones to ride the tea cups. Neither of those would have been our choice, but we'd promised ODD she could drive the car before we left.
Then we headed to new FL, and walked right on to Under the Sea. The DDs wanted to ride again, and since it was still showing walk-on, we got back in line. I thought it was a cute enough ride to ride twice, so I was game. However, we didn't even get inside before the line stopped dead still. We didn't stick around to find out the reason, and after about 3 minutes of waiting, we walked off the line.
I had FPs for Belle's Tales, but we were 10 minutes early. We decided to take a break in the shade and wait for them. However, in those 10 minutes, the FP line didn't move at all. I asked the CM what the wait was, and she said, "60 minutes." I said, "For Fast Pass?!?" And she said, "No, 30 for FP." No thanks. We gave up and decided to change the FP. As luck would have it, the app wouldn't work again today, and we ended up losing those. Oh well, we still had the DVC ones.
I wanted to check out the rest of NFL, so we went to meet Gaston. I saw a quasi-line, with a college girl and autograph book standing by a PP photog. I asked the guy behind her if he was in line, and he said no, and walked off. I then asked the dad behind him if he was in line, and he said no. I said, "Well, then we're second in line." The dad then said, "Should I be in line?" I explained it was to see Gaston, and he jumped in line with us, while waiting for his wife and daughter to return. His DD was about the same age as my ODD, so they passed the time easily together.
Oh my word, Gaston is amazing!! (And I'm sure he'd agree). Easily the best character interaction of the trip. He asked for people to kiss his bicep, or he would. He held out his hand, then kissed hands of guests, followed up by kissing on up his own arm. He said things like, "I can't blame you for looking at me; I'd do it, too," and "I'm so glad you had the pleasure of meeting me. The pleasure was all yours." ODD thought he was funny, but YDD laid her hand on his bicep and stood there dazing into his eyes for a very, very long time. I'm talking, people were laughing about it, and then started taking pictures of the two of them; not Disney people, random strangers. It was hillarious! I wish I'd videoed it instead of just taking pictures.
Then it was time for lunch at Be Our Guest. Thanks to Intercot, I'd gotten FPs for lunch. It's a good thing I did, because walking from Gaston's Tavern back to the entrance, DH said, "There's no way I'd wait over an hour for lunch. I'm glad you found this, or I'd have said forget it." The line was at least an hour long, maybe two, and it was 11am.
This is counter service?!? Wow, beautiful, amazing, gorgeous! DH loved the West Wing, but the DDs won out, and we ate under the dancing couple. We did get pictures, and I videoed the picture of the prince. Watch it, if you get to go, until the lightning strikes. It's pretty cool. We didn't believe ODD that anything happened at first.
DH got the pot roast and proclaimed it the best meal of the trip, easily. I got the carved turkey sandwich and two strawberry cheesecake cupcakes for all of us to split, and the DDs split the Mrs. Potts meal, but ate very little of it. They were more interested in their surroundings (hence the reason we've tailored back on character meals; our kids are tiny as is, they don't need an excuse to not eat). Our total was $52, and by the way, it's free refills here. You'd better believe I took advantage of that!
After we finished eating, we headed to ODD's request and rode BTMRR with two of our DVC FPs and a rider switch pass. As soon as she was off, she begged to hop on Splash, so they used two more of the FPs for Splash, while I took the two others to wander about for a while. Our plan was to meet at Pirates, since we'd yet to ride what is usually the first ride at MK for us. However, I knew it'd be a little while before they were off the ride, so I got in line for Tink, and told them to ride twice.
YDD loves, loves two characters: Minnie Mouse and Tinkerbell. I kept her busy while in line, and did my best to keep DS busy, as he was getting a little fussy by this point. I was getting a little tired of constantly having him wrapped to me by now, and so was he (there was too much to see), but he also wasn't happy sitting in the stroller, so I had to hold him the entire time.
As soon as we got to the "pixie dust," YDD yelled, "Momma, I see Tik-a-bell!" I kept her from peeking in the room, but as soon as she could, she ran to Tink and gave her a huge hug. Keeping with tradition by this point, she hugged on Tink for a solid minute before backing up to talk to her. Once she'd had her fill, I took DS over for a picture, too. It made YDD's day to see her, and I thought it was cool that she was dressed in her winter fairy attire, something I'd never seen there.
We finished up at almost the exact same time as DH and ODD walked up to Pirates. I figured ODD would be upset that YDD and DS had gotten to see Tink, but that didn't seem to be the case. I guess she was content being a big girl. Man, where did my baby go?
I'd tried to change the FPs from Buzz to Pirates, since we'd ridden it already, but the app still wasn't working, and the CM at the Pirate gate said it was a walk-on. It would have been, had they let us board on the closest side of the boats. However, they sent us around to the other side, and we ended up with a 5 minute extra wait. Oh well. We did see the mermaids (meh), and for once, we didn't get stuck on the ride. I think this is the first time in 3 trips that we didn't get stuck. We did have to wait in line to disembark, but it was right beside Capt. Jack, so I didn't mind at all.
It was right about 2:30, so we headed back to the busses to catch at nap at our resort. I wanted to make sure we were back in the park by 6pm to watch the castle lighting. The kids got a full 2 hour nap, and DH and I packed up, since we'd have to check out the next morning, before getting about 1.5 hours of a nap. For once, I actually slept the whole time.
DH, David, 28, along for the ride, 6th trip
ODD, Sammie, 5, has begged to return for 18 months, 4th trip
YDD, Lily, 2, thinks WDW is the castle, 2nd trip
DS, Joey, 6 mo, 1st trip
Thursday, December 4, 2013
The alarm went off at 7:10, but we still were late meeting the DVC van out front. We weren't late enough to reschedule, just 7-8 minutes. The driver was a talker, and he explained that he was a snowbird from the north that had gotten stuck in FL. He had worked for Disney for about 3 years, and loved it.
We signed in and dropped ODD off in the kid's club. YDD was upset that she couldn't go play, too, but she's 6 months too young. We enjoyed the free muffins and OJ before our guide came out. He asked if there was anything we knew about DVC (all I know I've learned from Intercot), and then asked what we wanted to know. I asked him to explain the points, and he said he would, then we went back to his office, where he showed us points and how they work.
He then offered to run our credit and get the ball rolling. I stopped him there, saying I just wanted info, as I know we can't financially do it right now. I mean, obviously, the guy had just told us it'd take 15 years to start saving money, vacationing as we do now. He was nice about giving info, but it was obvious that once he realized he wasn't making a sale that day, he changed tones and was all about getting us out of there.
He gave us 15 "immediate" FPs to use whenever we wanted over the next two days, which we were happy to have, and led us back to pick up ODD. Once he saw our family as a whole, he returned to friendly chatting, and we found out he'd grown up close to where we live. We chatted for a while, while waiting for the van, and he left us in the ice cream parlor, where DH and the DDs enjoyed a treat.
Our van driver took us to the MK, explaining that he, also, was a snowbird from Colorado, and he'd worked for WDW for 10 years, as a part-time help to his retirement. DH asked him if he visited the parks often, and he said that he and his wife only visited when family came in. He saw it as too much of a job. Hmm... I'd love to move to Orlando, and would hope that if I worked for WDW, it wouldn't lose the magic. If so, I'd have to quit working for them.
The screw had fallen out of my sunglasses at the hotel, so I left them, hoping I'd be able to make it. However, I have retinopathy, and have had 4 laser-eye surgeries, so I am incredibly sensitive to sunlight. I didn't make it back on the van before knowing I'd be buying a pair of sunglasses at the shop at the entrance of MK. I found a pair of black ones with Mickey heads on them in little rhinestones. I figured, if I was going to "waste" $20, it'd be something that was an obvious souvenir.
We entered the gates at 9:15, having lost only morning EMH with the open house. I changed two of our FPs, as we'd met the princesses during EMH on our first night, and ODD mostly wanted to ride the bigger things. We started the morning off by splitting up; ODD and DH to drive the go-carts, I mean cars, and myself with the little ones to ride the tea cups. Neither of those would have been our choice, but we'd promised ODD she could drive the car before we left.
Then we headed to new FL, and walked right on to Under the Sea. The DDs wanted to ride again, and since it was still showing walk-on, we got back in line. I thought it was a cute enough ride to ride twice, so I was game. However, we didn't even get inside before the line stopped dead still. We didn't stick around to find out the reason, and after about 3 minutes of waiting, we walked off the line.
I had FPs for Belle's Tales, but we were 10 minutes early. We decided to take a break in the shade and wait for them. However, in those 10 minutes, the FP line didn't move at all. I asked the CM what the wait was, and she said, "60 minutes." I said, "For Fast Pass?!?" And she said, "No, 30 for FP." No thanks. We gave up and decided to change the FP. As luck would have it, the app wouldn't work again today, and we ended up losing those. Oh well, we still had the DVC ones.
I wanted to check out the rest of NFL, so we went to meet Gaston. I saw a quasi-line, with a college girl and autograph book standing by a PP photog. I asked the guy behind her if he was in line, and he said no, and walked off. I then asked the dad behind him if he was in line, and he said no. I said, "Well, then we're second in line." The dad then said, "Should I be in line?" I explained it was to see Gaston, and he jumped in line with us, while waiting for his wife and daughter to return. His DD was about the same age as my ODD, so they passed the time easily together.
Oh my word, Gaston is amazing!! (And I'm sure he'd agree). Easily the best character interaction of the trip. He asked for people to kiss his bicep, or he would. He held out his hand, then kissed hands of guests, followed up by kissing on up his own arm. He said things like, "I can't blame you for looking at me; I'd do it, too," and "I'm so glad you had the pleasure of meeting me. The pleasure was all yours." ODD thought he was funny, but YDD laid her hand on his bicep and stood there dazing into his eyes for a very, very long time. I'm talking, people were laughing about it, and then started taking pictures of the two of them; not Disney people, random strangers. It was hillarious! I wish I'd videoed it instead of just taking pictures.
Then it was time for lunch at Be Our Guest. Thanks to Intercot, I'd gotten FPs for lunch. It's a good thing I did, because walking from Gaston's Tavern back to the entrance, DH said, "There's no way I'd wait over an hour for lunch. I'm glad you found this, or I'd have said forget it." The line was at least an hour long, maybe two, and it was 11am.
This is counter service?!? Wow, beautiful, amazing, gorgeous! DH loved the West Wing, but the DDs won out, and we ate under the dancing couple. We did get pictures, and I videoed the picture of the prince. Watch it, if you get to go, until the lightning strikes. It's pretty cool. We didn't believe ODD that anything happened at first.
DH got the pot roast and proclaimed it the best meal of the trip, easily. I got the carved turkey sandwich and two strawberry cheesecake cupcakes for all of us to split, and the DDs split the Mrs. Potts meal, but ate very little of it. They were more interested in their surroundings (hence the reason we've tailored back on character meals; our kids are tiny as is, they don't need an excuse to not eat). Our total was $52, and by the way, it's free refills here. You'd better believe I took advantage of that!
After we finished eating, we headed to ODD's request and rode BTMRR with two of our DVC FPs and a rider switch pass. As soon as she was off, she begged to hop on Splash, so they used two more of the FPs for Splash, while I took the two others to wander about for a while. Our plan was to meet at Pirates, since we'd yet to ride what is usually the first ride at MK for us. However, I knew it'd be a little while before they were off the ride, so I got in line for Tink, and told them to ride twice.
YDD loves, loves two characters: Minnie Mouse and Tinkerbell. I kept her busy while in line, and did my best to keep DS busy, as he was getting a little fussy by this point. I was getting a little tired of constantly having him wrapped to me by now, and so was he (there was too much to see), but he also wasn't happy sitting in the stroller, so I had to hold him the entire time.
As soon as we got to the "pixie dust," YDD yelled, "Momma, I see Tik-a-bell!" I kept her from peeking in the room, but as soon as she could, she ran to Tink and gave her a huge hug. Keeping with tradition by this point, she hugged on Tink for a solid minute before backing up to talk to her. Once she'd had her fill, I took DS over for a picture, too. It made YDD's day to see her, and I thought it was cool that she was dressed in her winter fairy attire, something I'd never seen there.
We finished up at almost the exact same time as DH and ODD walked up to Pirates. I figured ODD would be upset that YDD and DS had gotten to see Tink, but that didn't seem to be the case. I guess she was content being a big girl. Man, where did my baby go?
I'd tried to change the FPs from Buzz to Pirates, since we'd ridden it already, but the app still wasn't working, and the CM at the Pirate gate said it was a walk-on. It would have been, had they let us board on the closest side of the boats. However, they sent us around to the other side, and we ended up with a 5 minute extra wait. Oh well. We did see the mermaids (meh), and for once, we didn't get stuck on the ride. I think this is the first time in 3 trips that we didn't get stuck. We did have to wait in line to disembark, but it was right beside Capt. Jack, so I didn't mind at all.
It was right about 2:30, so we headed back to the busses to catch at nap at our resort. I wanted to make sure we were back in the park by 6pm to watch the castle lighting. The kids got a full 2 hour nap, and DH and I packed up, since we'd have to check out the next morning, before getting about 1.5 hours of a nap. For once, I actually slept the whole time.