DaveInTN's Lame Attempt At A Trip Report - Nov 2009

[dvccamper 32]

Awesome idea to repost an old trip! Love seeing the pics of the kids so much younger. I have to say I love going through our photos from old trips to see how the kids change from trip to trip.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

In on page 2. I'll take it  :rofl3:

 

You know what they say about page 2.  It's the new....something or other. 

 

Awesome idea to repost an old trip! Love seeing the pics of the kids so much younger. I have to say I love going through our photos from old trips to see how the kids change from trip to trip.

 

INC and I spent some time last night going through pictures from a big 3 week RV trip we took in 2009.  Love seeing the old pics of our girls. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Animal Kingdom and Not-So-Fantasmic!

 

Hitting Hollywood Studios at rope drop worked out so well, in that we hit several rides before any lines or crowds built up, that we decided to do the same thing on Sunday with Animal Kingdom.

First, a little background on our past experience with Animal Kingdom. We visited this park just once before, about 3 years ago for only a few hours. We were very disappointed and happy that we were able to “hop” over to another park. I’m not sure why, but we really didn’t do much other than ride the River Rapids, go on the train and walk around a bit. That was in March 2007.

I was intrigued about visiting again though, especially due to some comments BDR made about the park after his recent visit. Rog and others indicated how beautiful the park is and how they had gained an appreciation for it. So I was determined to get there early and give it our all. Worst thing that could happen would be we would hop again.

We arrived just a few minutes before the 9am rope drop. They do a really cool rope drop here, with Mickey and the usual characters, including Minnie up in the Tree of Life. TCD posted pics of this a while back…..I don’t have any to share as we had the camera packed away in preparation for our sprint to Expedition Everest! Remember, if you want lots of great descriptive photos, read a TCD trip report. You ain’t gettin them here!

So after rope drop, DW, DD9 and DD3 wandered over to the safari ride to check things out, while DD13, DD12 and me bolted for that big white mountain. Along with everyone else. Even with the mad rush of humanity, we arrived there with just a 5 minute wait. And we really enjoyed this ride! I’m the geeky type that likes to read all the displays in the queue and get immersed into the experience, and I think Disney did a nice job setting this one up. The whole “lost expedition” thing where the rescuers discovered their camera with ominous photos of the Yeti reminded me of Blair Witch…very spooky. This was fun.  :thumbsup2: 

We were able to get 6 fastpasses afterward for later in the day. We ran over to meet up with the rest of the family, and all of us rode the safari ride together. That was great! Only, after the ride we were talking about our guide. I said “yeah, she was great!”. Then DW and the daughters said “that was a man”. Huh??      I swear I was convinced this was a woman in her 50’s. They swear it was a guy in his 20’s. Poor guy. But he/she did a nice job!

Next up, the River Rapids ride. This is one of the only pics I have of the park. I was so pathetic on this trip about taking pictures. Thank goodness DW took some. Here I am with DD3…who LOVED it!



After lunch, we used those EE fastpasses, while DW and DD3 played at the Dinosaur dig site:

 

 

We then left AK. My verdict? I am now firmly in the "Pro-AK" camp! It truly is a beautiful park, and we enjoyed the rides and attractions.

We then headed back to the Fort to check out the pool. I had last been at the Fort in late March when the pool was under construction, and watched the progress each day on the slide. So I’d been excited to try it out. And I love it! I think they did a very nice job. The slide is nice and fast, and the kid splash area is great too.

In the evening, we went back to Hollywood Studios. I wanted to see Fantasmic and then check out the Osborne Lights.

Ok, I hope I don’t offend anyone here. I understand everyone has different perspectives on things. Even within my family we disagree on the following. But personally, I think Fantasmic was HORRIBLE. My older daughters liked it, but DW, DD3 and I absolutely hated it. It was pretty scary for my little one. Both DW and I think that the production of it was cheap by Disney standards. I was really looking forward to it, and left feeling almost angry. The show is so “dark”, it scared the heck out of DD3, and it just seemed weird. I mean, they spent a whole segment on John Smith?? I understand the connection to Disney with Pocahontas…but of all the great stories Disney has told and the villains they have created over the years, this segment seemed really misplaced to me. Oh well, enough on that. Time to check out the Osborne Lights.

This was our first time seeing the lights. WOW! So beautiful, and it was nice hearing Christmas tunes and watching it “snow”. Very festive. And a good way to end our day.

 

 

Next up….Back to the Magic Kingdom, including that story about Snow White…

 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I remember this trip.

 

I was on the 900 loop for the first part of Thanksgiving week that year.

 

I remember seeing you on the 700 loop.

 

I can't believe that it was four years ago.  Seems like barely a year.

 

Great report!

 

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I remember this trip.

 

I was on the 900 loop for the first part of Thanksgiving week that year.

 

I remember seeing you on the 700 loop.

 

I can't believe that it was four years ago.  Seems like barely a year.

 

Great report!

 

 

TCD

 

Good memory.  I was on 700....backing up to the old RR tracks.  We had a lot of rain toward the end of that trip, and the sites across from ours that back up to the main road flooded. 

 

ETA:  i just realized I had said earlier in this report what site I was in.  So I take back my comment on your memory.  Your's is as bad as mine.  That's what happens when you are posting a 4 year old trip report. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Snow White is an Elusive Biotch

 

Ok, time to get this story behind us, as I don’t want to create high expectations for a story that isn’t really funny….it was just beyond belief to us.

On this trip, 2 of my 4 DD’s were really into the character interactions. DD3 is completely into the princesses, to the point that we actually broke down and bought her a Sleeping Beauty dress at the Toon Town Gift Shop! Cha-ching….funny how we do things for our "baby" that we never did for our older 3 DD’s. Oh well.

DD9 was into the character interaction by way of an Autograph Book. She used her own money to buy a book when we arrived our first day….notice how I dropped $54 on DD3’s dress but made DD9 buy her own $6 autograph book? Life just isn’t fair, is it?  :rofl3: 

So we were pretty focused on seeing and meeting characters. We did some character meals, including Chef Mickey’s and 1900 Park Fare. We went to the Princess greets in Toon Town, and stopped in the lines throughout the parks when characters were there. We met and got autographs from Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Ariel, Tinkerbelle and other Fairies, and a host of non-princess characters. But we were determined to meet Snow White….the fairest of them all.

On our first park day….last Friday, as we were making our way out of the Magic Kingdom, what should we stumble across underneath the Main Street train station? It’s Snow White! And the line to see her is not TOO long. So we move to get in it. And a CM comes up to us and announces “I’m sorry, but Snow White is done for the day”.   :gaah: 

Ok, that’s understandable. She does have to go home and cook for those 7 dudes at some point. So we moved on.

So Monday came, and we were back at the MK. We did our thing…met some characters, but still no Snow White. And as we were leaving the park in the early afternoon, who should be in her spot again near the train station??? Jackpot! We’ve got her now. So we moved toward the line and…what’s this? Another jackazz Cast Member?? And he came up to us and, pointing to the last family in line, said “this is the Johnson family. They will be the last family to meet Snow White today.”. What?? That seemed like a pretty condescending way to tell us Snow White was leaving. And at 2:00 in the afternoon no less. Must be nice.   :smartass:    Oh well. We left and went on with our day.

Forward to Wednesday. We were at EPCOT, strolling around the World Showcase. We were tired, and starting to think about leaving, when who should be holding court near the German pavilion but Her Heinous herself….Snow White! Finally! So we dashed toward the back of the line and….uh oh. A Cast Member is approaching! “I’m sorry, but Snow White is going on break. She’ll be back at 3:30.” You have GOT to be freaking kidding me!!! I said to the CM “wow, this has happened 3 times to us now”. She wasn’t moved. “I’m sorry”. Yeah , sure you are.   :banghead: 

Ok, so as unbelievable as this all was, we did get one more opportunity to meet the elusive biotch. Our last park day, Friday 12/4, was a very rainy day. We spent a short time at the MK. And as we were leaving the park to head out, like a gift from above….holding court in her spot near the train station…..was SNOW WHITE!!! Yea, dreams DO come true. We went to get in line…and…..

Well, you know what happened. They don’t call her the Elusive Biotch for nothing. Just how many breaks does this chick get, anyway??

So we left. Empty handed. For now. I will make it my personal mission on our next trip to stalk that girl and get my picture with her. And I will post that picture here on these boards for all to see. It could be the makings of an all-new Disney movie....Dave and the Elusive Biotch!

So for now…this is all I have to show:



Yeah, keep waving girlfriend. Keep waving....

Next up...our magical Magic Kingdom Monday!

 

[Beckers 1,136]

It's odd to see a report without Anna!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Ok. Now I understand the the whole DIT and Snow thing.

Just remember Dave. The more a women ignores you the more she really wants you. Snow must have it for you something terrible!

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

It's odd to see a report without Anna!

Agreed. But did you see the pix of Stella at the dig site?

She is adorable! Boy they grow up way to fast!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

It's odd to see a report without Anna!

 

It seem strange to me that this trip happened at a time just 2 months before we began the adoption process.  Looking back, I can't believe how much our lives changed after this point.  When we took this trip, our family was complete in our minds.  We were homeschooling all of the children, and had a motorhome that we enjoyed traveling in.  We bought AP's for this trip and had 2 more trips planned for 2010.  Little did I know that, on 2/7/10, everything would be turned upside down.  That's the day INC's heart was opened to DS adoption.

 

Ok. Now I understand the the whole DIT and Snow thing.

Just remember Dave. The more a women ignores you the more she really wants you. Snow must have it for you something terrible!

 

She won't admit it, but you are correct.  

 

Agreed. But did you see the pix of Stella at the dig site?

She is adorable! Boy they grow up way to fast!

 

Yes they do, which you well know.  

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Magical Magic Kingdom Monday

 

Ok, on this trip there were two days in particular that I had planned months in advance, and I was most excited about. The first was Monday, our big MK day…where I had planned a morning at the park, a late lunch at Tony’s (mixed reviews not withstanding), a break back at the Fort in the afternoon, and then culminating with an evening at the park including the Wishes Dessert Buffet!!! So, let’s get to it. 

 

The first thing we noticed upon arriving at the park on Monday morning was how un-crowded it was compared to the day after Thanksgiving. It was awesome!   :banana: We were getting on rides like BTM, Splash Mountain, and Pirates with 5 minutes waits. Even Dumbo only had a 10-15 minute wait. Space Mountain, being recently reopened and all, required fastpasses…no big deal there. 

 

We did the usual Small World, Peter Pan and Pooh rides in Fantasyland. Did not ride Snow White’s Scary Adventures. I am, of course, boycotting her. 

 

We saw lots of characters.

 

Sleeping Grandmother (my kids call her the Fairy Godmother....I like my name better)

 

 

Sleeping Beauty

 

 

 

Cindy

 

 

Belle

 

 

Hmmm, any princesses missing? Nope, we got to see all the good ones.

 

We rode the train around the MK, ending back at Main Street for our Tony’s Town Square ADR. Our plan was to eat a big lunch, so we could skip dinner and stuff ourselves with desserts at the Wishes party that night.

 

I know Tony’s gets mixed reviews on the dining boards, so I was a bit nervous about this meal. But, we really enjoyed it! DW comes from an Italian family in NY, so she knows good Italian food. This wasn’t the best…but it was pretty darn tasty! We enjoyed ourselves. And I highly recommend the Tomato and Mozzarella Salad. Yummo!

 

Notice my little one...all those princesses tired her out. This is why we take afternoon breaks...

 

 

 

After lunch, there were a couple character interaction opportunities in the town square along Main Street. We met Daisy! She’s a sweetie. 

 

 

 

We then had one of our Snow White close encounters as I previously posted about, and headed to the boats to go back to the Fort and rest up for our big night. 

 

 

Around dinner time, we headed back to the MK. We had Space Mountain fastpasses to use, before having to check in for the Wishes Dessert Buffet at 6:45. Check in was smooth, and everyone is given a wristband for access to the party, which is held at the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. We could see the CM’s setting up the buffet inside….and it looked great! We were getting excited! Remember, we skipped dinner so we could pig out here. And we were up to the challenge!   :dance:

 

Next up…The Wishes Dessert Buffet….and She Looked Like She Hit A Wall! 

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

She Looked Like She Hit A Wall

 

Ok, at just before 7:00 we were let into the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station to find our tables. They assign tables, and we had a great one right near the railing. We enjoyed this party a lot! The desserts were very good, and there was a nice selection. They had a variety of beverages to choose from, including milk! (a must with dessert for me!) And we had great seats for Wishes. What more could you ask for?  :jumpforjoy 

 

The party started at 7pm, which allowed us to get some dessert and take our seats to watch Spectromagic. You see the parade from a distance, but it was close enough to see the floats and make out individual characters. It was SOOO worth it to me when DD3 jumped out of her chair yelling “Goofy! Goofy! I see Goofy!”. The look on her face was priceless. There is nothing like viewing the Magic Kingdom through the eyes of a child.

After Spectromagic, we had a little time to chill before Wishes, so I worked my way back through the buffet 2 or 7 times…I had to try it all! Most everything was delicious. Finally, when I couldn’t stuff anything else in, I made a couple cups of tea for DW and me and settled in for the fireworks. DW snapped some castle shots.







 

We were very excited about the prospect of seeing Tinkerbell come down, as the wire comes right to the roof of the Noodle Station building. We would have gotten an up-close and personal view. Wishes started….but no Tink! Oh well, the show was awesome as usual. We watched the fireworks, and when they ended there was the usual mad rush of people to leave. We decided to stay put for a few minutes and help clear our table. A very nice CM, an older gentleman, came by to collect our plates. He told us to stop helping him as he needed the job! And then, we mentioned how it was too bad Tink didn’t fly that night.

He proceeded to tell us some things we didn’t know. Now, the biggest revelation to me, and I realize I’m probably the only dope in the world that didn’t know this, is that Tink is a real person! I always thought it was just some Disney lighted animatronic thingy. I had NO idea a real person came down on that wire. Holy crap!

He then told us some other tidbits….which I realize must be filed right there in my box of things I’ve heard from bus drivers and the lady behind the counter at Trails End. But they are interesting nonetheless. First, there are 3 girls that take turns being Tink. They have to weigh 125 pounds. No more. They get weighed each time they arrive to perform, and if any less than 125 pounds the ballast has to be adjusted. There are no brakes, but there are guys that “catch” her at the end, and there is a foam wall to crash into if need be.

They get paid $700 each time they perform. They sign a waiver and cannot get insurance. Not sure how much of that I believe!

And he was a funny old guy. He said “they have to be skinny, but if don’t matter what they look like. I saw one coming down the stairs once…she looked like she had hit the wall! Good thing she performs 185 feet in the air. Can’t see the face up there.”. This guy was a hoot!

Ok, so after that enlightening conversation, we headed out to hit some more rides before our evening came to an end. The Dumbo line wasn’t too big, so DW and DD3 went there while the rest of us hit Space Mountain.





We then all rode the Peoplemover, or TTA or whatever they call it now. That was actually more interesting than I ever realized. I insisted we all hit the Carousel of Progress, and that too was more interesting than any of my family expected. And it was a blast from the past for me. We closed out the night with Buzz Lightyear. This has been one of my faves in the past, but I think it now pales in comparison to Toy Story Mania.

So, that was it for our Magical Magic Kingdom Monday. We needed to get back to the Fort and get to bed to rest up for our Tuesday morning ADR at Chef Mickey’s……

 

 

 

[Beckers 1,136]

No pood forn?!?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I am fascinated by the fact that you did not know a person zip-lined from the castle for each Wishes show.

 

I think this may have been the beginning of the TinkerBill discussion that continues to this day.

 

TCD

[DaveInTN 3,247]

No pood forn?!?

 

A lot changes in 4 years.  It's amazing....if you look back to the old place in those days, there are very few pictures of food on the camping boards.  I started getting into it throughout 2010.  I looked back at my photos for the next two trips after this...and the first one there are a handful of food pictures.  Then, for my October 2010, all food hell broke loose.  So what you will see as I post these reports here is the Evolution of DIT. 

 

 

I am fascinated by the fact that you did not know a person zip-lined from the castle for each Wishes show.

 

I think this may have been the beginning of the TinkerBill discussion that continues to this day.

 

TCD

 

Until 2009 I was not really paying attention to those details.  Just didn't care that much.  We started staying at the Fort with our kids in early 2007, but didn't always do parks.  And yes, this is the trip report that started the TinkerBill discussion, much to Lou's dismay. 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Chef Mickey's

 

We had a strange Monday night, due to the excessive amounts of sugar we all ingested at the Wishes Dessert Party. Had a tough time going to sleep, and then crashed and slept like the dead. And not surprisingly, after our bodies burned through that sugar and worked hard all night storing it away as nice new fat deposits, we awoke HUNGRY! Good thing I had planned for this!  :dance: 

We had 9:30 ADR’s at Chef Mickey’s! Now, I wasn’t excited to be going for the food. That was secondary to getting some quality face time with the Big Cheese. Minnie that is. Don't forget, I have 4 girls. Minnie is the Queen Bee.

So as far as the food, we had heard that Chef Mickey’s food left a bit to be desired, but that breakfast was the better of the meals. At least this seemed to be the consensus on the DIS dining boards. And you know what…that wasn’t far off. We certainly ate enough, but I can’t say it’s the best breakfast I’ve ever had. Sort of like a really high priced Shoney’s buffet. But as I said, we weren’t here just for the food. So let’s get to some character pics.

You will notice something in the above pictures. I am holding DD3 for all the character shots. Not surprisingly, she was afraid of all the "non-princess" characters...except she finally agreed to be photographed with one of them minus Dad. Guess who??



You just can't beat Minnie.

Ok, so all the characters came by, we stuffed ourselves, and paid the bill. Our plan was to hop the boat back to the Fort after breakfast for some downtime. That was the plan at least. But, after ingesting 3 or 4 plates of mediocre food, a walk seemed in order. And it occurred to me that there is a certain walking path from the Contemporary to a certain theme park. And we had AP’s just sitting there in my wallet. So, we WALKED!

We’ve never stayed at the Contemporary, but being within a 10 minute walk of the MK is certainly one of the compelling reasons to do so. In fact, the walk was so short it barely was enough to burn off one ear of one Mickey Waffle. But, at the end of the path we were standing at the gates to the MK, so all was well.  :jumpforjoy 

Immediately after entering, we climbed the steps to the train platform and boarded a waiting train. The three older DD’s and I got off at the Frontierland station, while DW and DD3 continued on to Toon Town to track down some fairies.

The girls and I rode BTM together, and then jumped over to Splash Mountain. It was a chilly day, so I really didn’t want to get wet. So, we were pleased to get seats in row 3. Hopefully we would be shielded on the big drops. Unfortunately, good fortune was not on our side on this day. We were in the wrong place at the wrong time when a nearby log went down the big hill, throwing a plume of water right up onto us. We were soaked. And cold. But, it was fun.

We then headed over to Toon Town to see what DW and DD3 were up to. Well, we found them in the gift shop. Trying on princess dresses. And as I mentioned in an earlier thread, we bought one. We don’t get sucked in too often, but every once in a while it happens. This was one of those times. But, nearly a week after arriving back home, DD3 still hasn’t stopped wearing that Sleeping Beauty dress.



Check out DD9's shirt in this shot. We made those for our last trip. All 6 of us wore tshirts with this design to the HDDR on that trip. Thanks again to Rog for that one! 

 

Well, that was our Tuesday. Next up....a little EPCOT, and a little DTD.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

And on Wednesday, We Ate Some More

 

As you might be able to tell from reading my trip report, while the Fort is my number one love at WDW, eating is a close number two! I grumble about the food quality overall at WDW, but there are enough things I enjoy, and enough things I haven’t tried yet, to keep me interested. So, despite how much we had eaten that past couple days at the dessert party and Chef Mickey’s, I was ready to sample some foods from around the World.  :jumpforjoy 

So, on Wednesday, we decided to hit EPCOT.



Considering we had never ridden Soarin’, and considering how hard it can be to get fastpasses, we decided it would be another good rope drop opportunity. We opted to drive again, and headed out to the park early. We were at the gates in line by 20 minutes before opening. They open EPCOT a bit differently from the other parks, in that they let us through the gates about 15 minutes before rope drop, and they then allowed us to stampede to a rope about halfway between the giant golf ball and the Land pavilion. They did have characters present, which was nice but since everyone was completely focused on beating everyone else to the Soarin’ queue, nobody really seemed to give a mouse’s azz about the characters.

We decided that I would run ahead and grab fastpasses while the rest of my family moved toward the standby line, in case we wanted to ride twice. So, upon rope drop, I bolted along with the sea of humanity for the pavilion. What a zoo! I wound my way into the building, toward the escalators, where the giant mass has to squish its way onto the elevators and stairs. I began to fantasize about being a super hero and being able to lead over the railing and down to the floor below, bypassing the crowd. I actually considered doing it briefly, before coming to my senses. Broken legs do not make for good trip report material.

I made my way down and got in line for fastpasses. Just one guy ahead of me at the machine I chose. And it turns out he had MANY MANY tickets to process. He took forever, and I watched the fastpass clock ticking ahead at a rapid pace. Finally he was done, I took my place, and got my 6 passes. And I turned around and there were my 3 oldest DD’s. “Where’s Mama and Stella??” I asked. “Why aren’t you guys in line?”.

“Stella had to tinkle.”. And with those four words my entire plan was beginning to crumble. How is it that 3 year olds have to use the bathroom at the worst possible moments? So, we waited. And waited. I was beginning to think this had turned into a #2 session,  :panic:  when they came out of the ladies room and we took our place in the standby line. It was still only a 20 minute wait, so not too bad.

So, we finally got to the front of the line, and we got front row!    :jumpforjoy  And we LOVED Soarin’!! It was so cool. So, all was well, and we had fastpasses to ride again within the hour. Which we did. 2nd row the next time, which was almost as good as first row except being able to see all the feet dangling down from the front row folks above you. Which was fine when I was in the front row, but when you are in the second row you wonder why those idiots have such long legs.    :banghead:   Anyways, we enjoyed it.

Enough about Soarin’. After doing Mission Space and the Nemo ride, it was time for the World Showcase to open. So we headed there. Hungry.

The girls rode the Maelstrom while I scoped out food options. I decided it would be fun to try a few quick service things at various countries. I wanted a pretzel from Norway but the line was too long. Guess everyone was trying to get into the Norwegian spirit what with the Nobel Prize being handed out and all. So we started with China. Had some orange chicken, egg rolls and dumplings. Actually pretty tasty, although somewhat “food court” tasty.

Next, we hit the country of my ancestors, Germany. Tried a Beck, bratwurst, and black forest cake. That was fun, and the Beck helped me through our encounter with the Elusive Biotch a couple pavilions over. After that, we hit Japan. Now, I like sushi, but my family doesn’t, so I tried to order some things they might like. Teriyaki chicken, udon noodles and ginger cake. I have to say that all of it pretty much stunk. We didn’t eat it all. But, at this point we were pretty much full, so we were ok. And we were tired, so it was time to head back to the Fort for more fun at the pool.

That evening, I think we headed to DTD to hit Earl for dinner. My memory is fuzzy at this point, and it's possible we had hit DTD the night before. And based upon my kids' clothes in the pic below, that may well be the case. The dating on our camera was off the entire trip. Whatever....in any case, I HAD to have the holiday sandwich. It was awesome…just like I would make at home if were there for Thanksgiving. After dinner, we went to see Santa outside the World of Disney store.



And we closed out our night with a visit to Goofy’s Candy Co. for the make your own treats. They have changed the approach to this a bit since April, and I wasn’t as impressed as on past visits. Still good, just not rock your world good. Oh well, what’s new?

Coming up….The Candlelight Processional Dinner Package

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Candlelight Processional Dinner Package

 

I had mentioned in an earlier thread how there were two days in particular I had planned months ago, and was most looking forward to. The first was our Magical Magic Kingdom Monday, where we attended the Wishes Dessert Buffet. That was everything I had hoped it would be. The second was Thursday…which I had planned to be a big day at EPCOT culminating in the Candlelight Processional.  :jumpforjoy   I had booked one of the dinner packages, where you book one of three “tiers” of restaurant for dinner, and you get preferred seating at the Candlelight Processional, as well as access to a preferred viewing area for Illuminations. I chose the Rose and Crown in England for dinner (I like Black and Tans  :beer:  …that was the deciding factor!)

Well, after spending about half of Wednesday at EPCOT, we were really in the mood for just a quiet day at the Fort, and then going over to EPCOT in time for the dinner and processional. So, we hung around the pool, rode bikes, and relaxed. Until around 3:00 or so, when we headed over to EPCOT. I didn’t feel like driving (puts a crimp on the drinking  :cheers: ), so we took the bus. We rode Spaceship Earth after arriving. I didn’t realize there was an option to select different languages when boarding your ride vehicle, and mine defaulted to German. So, all my ride narration was in German. Which I don’t speak. Or understand. Except certain words, like lager, pilsner, stout, etc. I assume those are German. Oh, and Siemens, which happens to be the ride sponsor. And a large German conglomerate. Hmmm, I’m seeing a conspiracy.    

After my trip through the Fatherland, we wandered over to Canada and saw the Circlevision movie there. By the time that was over, it was time for our dinner reservation, so we made the short walk to England.

England happens to be one of my favorite sections at WS. I like how they designed it like London streets, and how the pub interacts with the street scene, including the beer stand out front. Which happened to be my first stop after checking in for dinner. DW wanted to share my first beer with me, and she’s not a Guinness fan, so I chose a Stella Artois. Not sure why they were selling Belgian beer at the English pavilion  :faceplant2: , but it was good. And since my youngest DD is named Stella it has always been a fave of ours. In fact, when she was born I handed out bottles of Stella Artois instead of cigars.

We waited about 30 minutes for our table, but it was worth it. We were seated on the back patio next to the lake. Beautiful! Since we were doing a dinner package, DD13 and DD12 were considered adults and could choose anything off the menu. It’s not too often I let then pick anything regardless of cost. In fact, this may have been the first time ever. They were both pretty happy with their selections (Surf and Turf, and Fish and Chips). We tried some interesting appetizers I would never have selected under normal circumstances, such as Scotch Egg. And our desserts were included as well. And, I did get my Black and Tan!   :doublebeer: 

After dinner, we had time to stroll around England. We found a quiet little spot behind the shops where a pretty Christmas tree was set up.



We then headed to the theater for the Candlelight Processional. I had selected this night as Steven Curtis Chapman was narrating. He is a personal favorite of ours, and happens to live just a couple miles down the road from us. We were seated down in front, which was ok. This was our first time seeing CP, and we were so moved. It was beautiful, from the scenery to the images of the choir proceeding in by candlelight, to the music and narration. Steven Curtis Chapman did a great job, and he interjected a bit of personal wisdom at the end. We loved it.



After it was over, we hightailed it to the other side of the lake for Illuminations. The viewing area was pretty full by that point, but we found a nice spot and watched the show. Again, this was our first time seeing Illuminations. Holy cow! I love Wishes, but Illuminations is on a whole nutha level! It’s amazing. We loved it, except DD3 who was scared witless and beyond tired by this point. So, I held her, and left a bit early to begin the trek to the bus while the rest watched the remainder of the show.

Of course, after Illuminations was over the buses were PACKED! The Fort shares a bus with WL, so it was standing room only. But we made it back in one piece, and went to bed to rest up for our final day at the Fort.

Coming up…A RAINY Final Day, and I’m Not Drinking Enough for this to Taste Good

 

 

[alexwyattmommy 181]

Whew, what a trip so far.  Loving it all.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Whew, what a trip so far.  Loving it all.

 

Thanks for reading about my old trip!  

[DaveInTN 3,247]

RAIN! And I'm Not Drinking Enough For This To Taste Good 

 

After the excitement of the Candlelight Processional on Thursday evening, we had another exciting day lined up for Friday, our last day at the Fort. We originally had no real plans for daytime on Friday, and had a character dinner planned for the evening before heading home. However, early in our trip I received a surprise visitor at our campsite....none other than TCD himself!  I had the pleasure of meeting Andrew in person during our last trip in March, and was happy to see him drive up in his GC while I was out decorating the site. And he had a surprise for us! 

 

TCD offered us passes to the MK Christmas Parade taping to be held Thursday-Saturday! He had tickets to all three days, and I opted for Friday. Enough passes for the 6 of us! I was blown away by his thoughtfulness!! Thank you again, Andrew, for thinking of us!  

 

Unfortunately, Friday arrived and it was raining. POURING in fact. We didn't have high hopes for the parade taping, but decided to brave the rain and head over to the MK anyways. So, we hopped the boat and went. 

 

The MK was fairly quiet. That was actually quite nice, even with the rain coming down hard. We were told at the gate that taping was postponed until Sunday.   :faceplant2:   Not surprising, but unfortunately we were leaving Saturday! That was a shame, but what can you do. We walked around a bit and rode BTM in the rain. That was actually kind of fun. Like Big Thunder Splash Mountain. But DD3 was tired, and we didn't want to be soaked, so we decided to leave. But not before making a stop at the Main St Bakery. 

 

We had heard about those cinnamon rolls before, but hadn't tried. So I stopped in and bought one, along with a Caprese Sandwich and a Chocolate Chip muffin. We took them back to the RV to eat....devour in fact. It was all so good! The Main St Bakery will be a usual stop for us now!  

 

So, what to do during a cold and rainy afternoon at the Fort? Well, besides napping, we caught up on laundry. Lots of laundry. And we waited until it was time for our trip over to the Grand Floridian for the Cinderella's Dreams Come True Dinner at 1900 Park Fare!

 

So the question was, how to get to the GF in a cold, pouring rain, with getting completely cold and wet? I had already loaded up our toad with bikes and stuff for the trip home, so driving was out of the question. We could play hop the bus, which could take forever, or we could boat it. We boated it. 

 

We took the MK boat as its indoors. That was fine. But when we arrived at the MK, the monorail line was HUGE, so we decided to hop the GF/Poly launch. That was ok, although the seats were soaked. But then, upon arriving at the GF dock, we had a long walk up to the lobby. So, we ended up WET and COLD. Oh well. 

 

We checked in for dinner, and it took about 30 minutes to be seated. They wanted to take our picture before getting our table, but we politely declined. At this point we looked like something the cat dragged in, so what was the sense?    So, we got our table. Almost immediately, we were visited by Lady Tremaine.

 

 

Soon thereafter, we saw Drizella. 

 

 

 

And Anastasia.

 

 

The three of them were the highlight of the dinner. They were HILARIOUS! The way Lady Tremaine spoke to DD9 was priceless! It was a great memory.

 

If only the food was half as good. Donnie had mentioned GF food in an earlier post:

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by stacktester

I'm sure Grand Floridian has some good food but I don't have any interest in V & A. I hear 1900 Park Fare is decent as well but haven't tried it.

 

...and I promised some details based upon our experiences here. Let me just say...not good. I understand this was a character buffet, but being in the GF I expected something a bit different. The food just stunk! There were a couple of tasty items, but overall everything was a mushy, bland piece of crap. And oily. Yeah, not very appetizing. Don't get me wrong, I ate it. I eat almost anything. But it wasn't good. Had I had a few beers...or 4 or 8, it might have tasted better.  

 

But the character interaction was great. And worth the expense and effort for us. DD3 was SO excited! And, according to DW and my daughters, Prince Charming was a "dish". 

 

 

 

And Cindy arrived.

 

 

DD3 was in awe.

 

 

 

 

And that was it. 

 

We headed back to the Fort, and finished packing up for our morning departure.   :-[

 

Coming Up....The Final Post, including Rubber and Bricks Don't Mix. 

 

 

[DaveInTN 3,247]

The End, and Rubber and Bricks Don't Mix 

 

Well, this trip report is coming to an end. On Saturday 12/5, we pulled out of site 729 and started the long trek north in cool, rainy weather. Due to the SEC Championship game that afternoon in Atlanta, and the forecast which called for the chance of snow on Monteagle in TN, I opted to take the route up 231 through Alabama. We overnighted (in the COLD!) south of Birmingham, and then made it home on Sunday around noon. 

 

Something remarkable happened to us on that Sunday morning that I wanted to share. After our overnight in Pelham, we headed up I-65 and stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House north of Birmingham. The six of us can't usually enter a Waffle House in a small town unnoticed. We are unfamilar faces...and lots of them. We took one booth and three counter stools, and proceeded to order and eat our breakfast. (Yummy as usual). 

 

After we finished up, I waited a few minutes for the check. Finally, our waitress came by and said "you're free to go, it's been taken care of". I must have looked shocked, because she repeated herself. I didn't know what to say...the first thing that came out was "Thank you!". She said "not me". I looked around the restaurant, and she said that he was gone. Someone anonymously paid for our breakfast! 

 

That simple and gracious act gave us so much food for thought for the final 3 hours of our drive. We are so blessed as it is, and still someone bought our breakfast. But the really amazing thing is the gift he gave us beyond breakfast. That act reminded us that the simple things we can do for others, family, friends and strangers alike, can make all the difference. We explained to our kids the idea of paying it forward. These days it is so easy to just dismiss every stranger you encounter and focus on your small circle of family and friends, but this reminded us that the vast majority of people in this world do have good hearts, and they are no different than any of us. 

 

Ok, after that final deep thought, this report is finished...well, except for one last headline to wrap up. After getting home, unloading the motorhome, cleaning it, winterizing it, getting laundry squared away, packing away food for the winter, etc etc, it was time to put it into storage for the winter. It was dark, rainy and I was exhausted, but I wanted it done. So, I pulled it out of the driveway like I have dozens of times before, only this time I cut it too close and hit the brick headwall at the edge of my driveway. And those bricks are sharp! I sliced open the sidewall of my rear, outer tire like a hot knife going through butter. So, back in the driveway the MH went. And out came my checkbook. 

 

Coach Net paid for the mobile repair service to swap out the spare, but I ended up putting two new tires on the front and rotating those to the rear. I now have an extra spare in case I ever get stoooopid again. So, our Disney vacation cost $800 more than I had anticipated. But, I didn't pay for my breakfast. I'm ok with that. 

 

Well, that's it.   :whew:  I tend to get longwinded at times, so hope I didn't bore you too much. Thanks for reading!

 

 

[Beckers 1,136]

So, have you paid it forward yet or should I send you my bill next time I go out to eat

:)

Man I love Waffle House!

[PureTcrazy...rita 380]

Dave, thank you for sharing this with us! I especially enjoyed your last post, but sure hate the tire part of the story!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

So, have you paid it forward yet or should I send you my bill next time I go out to eat

:)

Man I love Waffle House!

 

Ha!  We've actually done this a couple times, and have done the drivethru thing paying for the person behind us too.  

 

Dave, thank you for sharing this with us! I especially enjoyed your last post, but sure hate the tire part of the story!

 

That tire thing was an expensive lesson not to get overtired (no pun intended)!    The sad part is....we only had the RV out twice after that happened and then sold it when we were adopting Anna.  Our buyer got some new tires in the deal!