The Maul Gang Goes To WDW

[jmaul 65]

It's too much of a pita to quote just the one part, but Mama is okay with teacups but not other stuff?!? Teacups are on my no way in hell list. Teacups are thrill rides in my opinion

 

Same here.  I'll ride RNR coaster, ToT and EE all day long, but no way am I getting on those vomit cups. 

 

Ditto X1,000,000. Nothing that spins for me.

 

F&G is so beautiful. Great pictures.

 

I've never explored the Boardwalk area. 

 

I ride the teacups.... I just don't let anyone spin.

 

Clarification needed.  Mama Deuce will NOT go on Tea Cups with me or anyone that spins.  I rode with Harry, and when he let me spin, I gave him the ride of his life.  Got some G-forces out of those puppies...

 

I'm a little late to the game but...great trip report!  Looking forward to reading what comes next!   :)

 

Your daughter, by the way, is a beautiful girl and your son cracks me up! :)

 

Thanks.  Welcome to the TR.

[sherryberry 35]

Loving your report! Sucks about all of the rain earlier, but it sounds like y'all made the best of it. I love breakfast at Kouzzina - haven't been in a while and I guess it'll be gone before I head back down.

I don't know what they'll do about the names and scanning Magic Bands. Would the guys that have girl names or the girls with guy names have to show ID to prove their name? Kenneth has a great aunt named Kenneth (she was never a he, by the way - lol), so I'm sure she would raise some eyebrows every time she went through.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Thank you for the Gator and Squirrel photos.

 

Well done.

 

Did you walk or take the boat to Boardwalk?  That's a big detour.

 

Sorry about your bad bus luck.  On the bright side, your criticism of the Disney Transportation System riled up our resident bus pilot enough that he emerged from lurking and posted.  That's always a good thing.

 

You got some excellent photos of the Flower and Garden Festival, even a real live butterfly in the butterfly garden.  That's almost as rare as the bus pilot posting on a trip report.

 

TCD

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

I noticed your son was giving the block M sign on the teacups. I am going to choose to believe that was not by accident and he is a huge Michigan fan.

Teacups rule.....i dont know what is wrong with all of you?

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Stop by anytime.  Just 4 miles from Seaside Heights.  You could stay in our camper.

 

Been following that GG.  May just have to do it next year.

 

Jeff

Oh, I do miss the Jersey Shore.  My husband never went much growing up, so I don't think he understands how much I miss it.  But I do.

 

Or maybe I just miss the way I remember it.  maybe I miss being 8yo and only having to be sure i could find my way back to our umbrella every once and while for a pb and jelly sandwich and some pink lemonade.  Then, after laying in the sand for an hour, I could back to body surfing the wonderful Jersey waves.

 

:waycool:

[jmaul 65]

Just happen to see the photo of the bus and thought I'd respond.

 

Thanks for clarifying a few things.  Glad also that you posted on my TR.

 

Loving your report! Sucks about all of the rain earlier, but it sounds like y'all made the best of it. I love breakfast at Kouzzina - haven't been in a while and I guess it'll be gone before I head back down. I don't know what they'll do about the names and scanning Magic Bands. Would the guys that have girl names or the girls with guy names have to show ID to prove their name? Kenneth has a great aunt named Kenneth (she was never a he, by the way - lol), so I'm sure she would raise some eyebrows every time she went through.

 

It was on again, off again rain all the way til the weekend.  No big deal.

 

Later in our trip at HS I noticed a young couple going thru the second FP scanner.  He came up as her and she came up as him (I suppose). 

 

I think the CMs don't care as long as the MIckey turns green.  You very well could show up with a plethera of MBs on your arm(s), and as long as one works, you're in.

 

Thank you for the Gator and Squirrel photos.

 

Well done.

 

Did you walk or take the boat to Boardwalk?  That's a big detour.

 

Sorry about your bad bus luck.  On the bright side, your criticism of the Disney Transportation System riled up our resident bus pilot enough that he emerged from lurking and posted.  That's always a good thing.

 

You got some excellent photos of the Flower and Garden Festival, even a real live butterfly in the butterfly garden.  That's almost as rare as the bus pilot posting on a trip report.

 

TCD

 

You are most certainly welcome for the pics.

 

It was a walk to the Boardwalk.  Yes, it took the wind out of the kids. 

On the bright side, it was perfect timing, as when I was lounging on the veranda off the lobby, my boss called with a small crisis.  I was able to handle it in a relaxing atmosphere.

 

Tell me you are joking about the butterflies.  They were everywhere.

 

I noticed your son was giving the block M sign on the teacups. I am going to choose to believe that was not by accident and he is a huge Michigan fan.

Teacups rule.....i dont know what is wrong with all of you?

 

Just a fluke on the sign.  You are right... Tea Cups rule.

 

Oh, I do miss the Jersey Shore.  My husband never went much growing up, so I don't think he understands how much I miss it.  But I do.

 

Or maybe I just miss the way I remember it.  maybe I miss being 8yo and only having to be sure i could find my way back to our umbrella every once and while for a pb and jelly sandwich and some pink lemonade.  Then, after laying in the sand for an hour, I could back to body surfing the wonderful Jersey waves.

 

:waycool:

 

Never lived more than 10 miles from the shore.  Sometimes I take it for granted, but for the most part, love it.

 

When I was young I would make my way down to the beach (only 3.5 blocks) and stay there from 9-10 in the morn til 6pm at night.  Every day.  All summer long.

[jmaul 65]

 We Broke Fast Pass +

 

 

It's now Thursday April 17.  Time for Animal Kingdom.  None of us have been here before.

 

Had FP+ for Kilimanjaro Safari, Expedition Everest, & Dinosaur.

 

Safari was first, and we did not have much time from entering the park to get there for our alotted time.  Yeah, we got to the park later than expected, forget when tho.

 

 

 

Customary Tree Of Life picture:

 

Made it to the Safari in time and loaded.  Let Harry and K Bear get the outside seats, which meant K Bear was in charge of picture taking.

 

She did a great job, taking many pics.  I'll only post a few.

 

 

 

Selfie alert:

 

 

 

 

 

Pumba:

 

It was drizzling a bit, so we decided to hop on the train to Rafiki's:

 

Harry was all excited he found a hidden Mickey:

 

Rain paused in time for the petting zoo.  They were feeding at the time we were there.  Funny to watch the hierarchy of the goats.

 

Bacon:

 

 

On your knees goat:

 

Back to Asia and a quick stop at Yak & Yeti quick serve.

 

The mandarin chicken salad and egg rolls were yummy.

 

While eating, I couldn't help but notice the scenery:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Off to EE with our next FP+ selection:

 We did EE once more and I have more pics later.

 

I just love the theming of AK.  I really feel they did an excelent job and it gets under-rated:

 

 

 

 

Monkeys lurking:

 

 

 

 

 

Into the Jungle Trek:

 

Those is some big a$$ bats:

 

 

Caught a couple monkeys on the high wire when we got out:

 

And a few monkeys on the ground:

 

 

Well, I have tried to keep each day down to one post and a max of 30 pictures, but I have failed.  Next up (and quick) will be the remainder of our AK day and the breaking of the FP+ system.......

 

TTFN

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Great pix of AK.

I think its a beautiful park.

[jmaul 65]

We Broke Fast Pass +    (Part Deux)

 

Ok, so here's the deal.  We didn't really break FP+.  It was already fubar before we used it.

 

What did happen was this:

I origianlly had FP+ for Dinosaur and while we were in Asia, I checked the MDE app for wait times.  20 minutes.  Not bad.  Let me try to change my experience to Kali River Rapids. 

 

Check the app, nothing available.  Check again in 10-15 minutes.  Nothing.  Check again, score.  Kali for the same time as we had for Dino.  IIRC it was for 3:20-4:20.  Awesome. 

 

Hang out in Asia, hit Kali Rapids, then off to Dinoland for standby.  Getting up to the time our FP+ where valid, I checked the MDE app again.  It did show Kali, but it showed it for 6pm. 

What the Fort? This will not do.

 

Off to the FP+ kiosk to try to straighten this all out.  First CM line of defense was no help.  She was only there to schedule FP+, not change or authorize modifications.  Had to wait for the CM with the super-duper ipad. 

 

Spoke to him and explained my dilemma.  He was very accommodating and offered a time of 3:40, but NO window.  We had to be there at that time and not 5 minutes past.

 

I had no problem with this and thanked him for his time.  Off we went.  Funny thing is when I checked the MDE app again, it showed Kali for the ENTIRE DAY.  Not just the little window afforded to us.

 

Whatever....we went at the exact time and were on.  Only me and Harry went on the ride as the girls were afraid of getting wet.  We had our ponchos for pete sake.  Their loss.  Kali was fun.  I got a poncho hoodie full of water just after the first climb.

 

 

 

Hangin wit tea.....

 

 

Off to the Tree Of LIfe.

 

 

 

This is my favorite:

 

 

Then to Dinoland.  Kids went on Primeval Whirl while Mama Deuce and I hung out at the Dino Diner sipping on frozen adult beverages.  Life is good.

 

Checked the wait time for Dinosaur and it was now either 30 or 40 minutes standby.  Mama Deuce did not want to go on it, so we decided that if we were to wait, better for EE.

 

 

Off we went, back to Asia\, and EE:

 

 

 

 

Scary.  You cannot see me in the free photo:

 

It was time for dinner.  Mama Deuce spotted Rainforest Cafe on the way in.  Guess where we were going.....

 

Harry being Harry:

 

 

Nice hat K Bear:

 

Mama Deuce was in her happy place:

 

 

That's it for AK.  We probably were out of there around 9 or so.  A full day.

 

Next up.......Hollywood Studios.  We lose a customer tho.....

[Beckers 1,136]

I like Harry chilling with the frog.

I see you got suckered on the giant cups. My son loves them too. Told my DH it's a sad day when the kid's drink cost more than mine! We like Rain Forrest cafe, we go to the one in AC.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You did great in AK for first-timers.

 

K-Bear did a good job handling the photographer duties on the safari.

 

That FP+ fiasco is ridiculous- and I think everyone who has experienced it can share at least one similar story.

 

What a mess.

 

Looks like they saw you coming at the Rainforest Cafe'  I have quite a collection of kid's collectors cups from there myself.

 

TCD

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Looks like you had a great day in AK!

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Awesome day at AK !   Nice finish at Rainforest....  

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Great time at Ak.

Looked like a great time was had by all.

[jmaul 65]

I like Harry chilling with the frog.

I see you got suckered on the giant cups. My son loves them too. Told my DH it's a sad day when the kid's drink cost more than mine! We like Rain Forrest cafe, we go to the one in AC.

 

That's our Happy Harry.

 

Hey.  We're on vacation.  Money is no object.  It's an object now.

The server was real nice also.

 

 

You did great in AK for first-timers.

 

K-Bear did a good job handling the photographer duties on the safari.

 

That FP+ fiasco is ridiculous- and I think everyone who has experienced it can share at least one similar story.

 

What a mess.

 

Looks like they saw you coming at the Rainforest Cafe'  I have quite a collection of kid's collectors cups from there myself.

 

TCD

 

Couldn't take on these parks the way we did if not for the knowledge gained on FF.

 

FP+ is like DC traffic......

 

We do not frequent restaurants all that much, so when we do, we go for it.  LOLO.

 

Looks like you had a great day in AK!

 

 

Awesome day at AK !   Nice finish at Rainforest....

 

 

Great time at Ak.

Looked like a great time was had by all.

It was a great day.  I think because I went in with low expectations the experience was all the much better.  It really is a nice park.

 

Going camping over Mother's Day weekend.  Not sure if I'll be able to post another update.  May have to wait til Monday.

 

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there.

 

Jeff

 

[superloopers 2]

I'm a little tardy, but great trip report so far!

[jmaul 65]

I'm a little tardy, but great trip report so far!

Welcome...

[jmaul 65]

We Broke Mama Deuce

 

It's Thursday 4/17 in the evening.  We've just finished a nice day at AK.  I am going over the next day's plans with the family.  We're to go to Hollywood Studios.

 

I mention that there are EMH for the morning.  I think it was 7am.

 

K Bear then concocts the grand plan for the day.  She will set her alarm for 5:30.  We will get up and prepare ourselves, hoping to arrive just at or after rope drop.

 

Have I mentioned that 3/4 of the family are not morning people?  She is one of the 3.

 

5:30 rolls around.  I hear the alarm.  It goes off for 10 solid minutes and stops.  10-20 minutes later it goes off again.  For ten solid minutes with no interaction from K Bear. 

 

I think it happens again.  I go back to sleep.

 

I get up later and talk to K Bear.  Plan B.  Let's just get there.  But, there's a problem.

 

Mama Deuce is not feeling well at all.  We must have broken her.  She decides to stay back and rest.

 

Weather was not promising, so I figured she wouldn't miss much, except maybe getting stuck in a deludge.

 

Besides, her big brother and his wife are due in this evening for the weekend.  She want to rest up for that.

 

Now, I say it again.  We were not expecting good weather this day.  Forecast was for rain to start around noon and continue steady throughout the day.

 

I decided not to take my camera, so there are few pictures and they are all from cell.

 

Bus time says just before 10am and we are entering park:

 

We had FP+ for Tower Of Terror, Lights, Motors, Action, and Toy Story in that order.  First stop TOT.  I liked it.  The kids got a bit wigged out.

 

Hit the Backstage Ride next, then got some lunch:

 

We got the real streetscape 1.5 hours away from our home:

 

We had time to kill.  Lights, Motors, Action was for the 2:30 show and Toy Story FP was for the 4pm area. 

 

We walked into the Movie Ride, 5 minute standby.

 

We then managed to go thru One Man's Dream and then it was time for Lights...

 

The rain has held out so far.  We were planning to go to Lights on our second visit to HS later, so I decided not to use the cell. 

 

Bad move on my part as I'll find out later.  Our seats were fairly nice, with unobstructed views.  Our second day we stuck stuck further up with a pole in the way.

 

Oh, well.  At least it's not raining.

 

 

 

I think we did Star Tours next. Standby was 30 IIRC. Thumbs up from the whole group.

 

Then, dark skies and wind started coming in.  We made our way to Pixar Place just in time to seek shelter and wait 20 minutes for our FP time to Toy Story.

 

We absolutely loved this ride, as I think everyone does.

 

 

Got out and it was still raining.  We had relatives coming in.  Figured we'd call it a day and boogie back to the Fort.

 

Mama Deuce was feeling a bit better, so we decided tonight was the night for the Giddyap and Go.  She and I carted our way to Trails End to place our order.

 

Waited with a cocktail til it was ready:

 

Holy Food!  As mentioned by TCD and many others here,  this is THE best bargain on Disney property.  $28 and change got us all this:

 

Now, TCD congratulated me in his trip report for all white meat, among other things.  Read it here;  http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/12598-day-trippin/?p=359117

 

I have to confess.  We did not order all white.  They gave it to us.  Ain't complainin'.

 

Big brother and wife arrived around 8 and we had a wonderful evening together.

 

I brought the kids down to the Settlement and Clementine's to view the fireworks and water pageant.  No pics, sorry. Cell doesn't take good night or flash pictures.

 

That's it for now.  Small installment.

 

Next up, we enjoy the weekend at the Fort.  And, we visit a couple other resorts.

 

Jeff

[Beckers 1,136]

I've said this before but it's worth repeating. That's the best looking GAG I have seen.

[jmaul 65]

Just Forting Around

 

Well, It's Saturday April 19.  Plan is to take it easy for the next 2 days. 

 

No parks.  Just the Fort.  And a trip to Polynesian.  And a trip to Downtown Disney.  And a trip to Wilderness Lodge.  And a trip to Contemporary.

 

I should name this installment 'Just Resorting Around'. 

 

Did you notice the installment name theming has changed?  Seems we have broken something each day and that was the going theme.

 

Well, you could say we broke me.  Mama Deuce was laid up the day before not feeling well.  Now it's my turn.  I was in the early stages of a bad head cold.  And, I am still not 100% back.  More on that later.

 

Going thru my photos, I realized I didn't take that many FW pics.  I feel now that I short changed myself.  Oh well.  Excuse to go again?

 

The day started slow.  We poked around the campsite and then got up the energy to go to the pool.  It was a bit crowded.  No chairs/tables/lounges to be had.  I wound up at the pavilion while the kids took a dip.  I was OK.  I had beer.

 

Earlier I had put Harry's name on a waiting list for the archery course.  I had promised him I'd do this for him.  Didn't realize it was so popular.  I had called earlier in the week and was told it was booked thru June.  Crap.  At least we had a shot with the waiting list.  Hopefully someone won't show up.  Had to be at the Bike Barn 20 minutes prior to start time to see if we could get in.  Luck would have it.  Harry was in.

 

It was very well done. Lasted 90 minutes and focused heavy on safety, which is what I wanted. Well worth the $$. If anyone is thinking about doing this, call as soon as you can.

 

 

 

 

OK, so archery doesn't end til 4:30.  We have an ressies at Kona for 5:20.  I have yet to shower.  Big brother to the rescue.  He took over hanging with Harry while I left to get cleaned up.

 

Made it to the dock around 5.  Had to take 2 trips with the cart to get evryone there.  We're pushing it.

 

 

 

Over to MK, then a ride on the monorail:

 

 

 

Did you notice my beet red face in the last pic?  I was trying bad to make the best of it, but I was fading fast.

 

I originally wanted to go to 'Ohana, but there were no times available.  So, Kona it is.

 

Big brother enjoying his cocktail:

 

The crew.  That's our lovely niece on the right with her boyfriend.  Sibling to nephew who we've met earlier.  Nephew had to work this night.

 

 

Another of niece and her bo:

 

Kona was nice, except for one thing.  By this time my head cold has taken away my sense of smell and taste.  What good is that?  I could have eaten anything and wouldn't have made any difference. 

 

Time to check out the Poly:

 

 

I took this shot of one of the resort rooms right off the beach.  I thought "This is where I would like to be.  Right off the beach, with a view of Seven Seas Lagoon and the Cindy's Castle in the background."

 

NOT.  Seems the new DVC Villas have blocked the view:

 

Well, at least there is beautiful flora:

 

 

 

That's it for Saturday.  Big brother and sis-in-law were scheduled to stay with us one more night, but they looked at us (primarily me) and decided it was best they leave for home.

 

Easter Sunday has arrived.  He Has Risen.  We have not.....

 

The original plan was to go to Disney's Easter service.  It was at 9am at the Contemporary.

 

How cool would that be to take a boat to Easter Service?  That opportunity doesn't come along too often.  And, I could have a nice write-up about it for you Fiends.

 

I was shot.  It never materialized.

 

At least the Easter Bunny made an appearance :

 

 

I'm not going to just lay here all day, cooped up in the camper, feeling sorry about my illness.

 

We're on vacation.  Suck it up Jeff.  I did the best I could.

 

Time for Downtown Disney:

 

Thought about getting this for Lou, but my sources say he's got a whole case in the garage:

 

 

 

DTD was nice.  Spent money.

 

Time for a visit to Wilderness Lodge:

 

 

 

 

 

Back at the Fort I managed to make my way to the Outpost for some pictures:

 

 

 

 

At this time I was done.  So tired from being sick.  Really haven't eaten anything.  I needed sleep.

 

Mama Deuce and the kids headed to the campfire without me.  She took along the camera so I could somewhat enjoy their time spent.

 

Here's a few photos of what I missed:

 

 

Chip was working their side of the room:

 

 

 

That's it.  The weekend comes to an end.  We only have 3 days left.  It's going fast.

 

Next up, we revisit Epcot and then a special treat at the Hoop-Dee-Doo.

 

Jeff

[Beckers 1,136]

Sorry to hear you were (still are?) sick. That SMB

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Being sick at Ohana is a shame.  

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

Hope you're feeling better.  Really enjoying your pictures!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Nice job scoring 'Ohana reservations for the day before Easter.

 

I haven't seen those huts they're building at the Poly from the beach.  From your photo, they look closer together and closer to the beach from what I expected.  Not nearly as much privacy as I thought they would have.  Dumb.

 

Extra points are awarded for visiting WL.  It still boggles my mind that there are Fiends who haven't been.

 

TCD

[Beckers 1,136]

Kona, he ate at kona! Details people!