Rides, Rainclouds and mishaps....Disney Style About This Page:

[emtpej]

Looks like you had a great day! I love seeing the WL! It reminds me of the great hotels I have been in out west. The Great Wolf Lodge also mimics the WL.

[CinderAbby]

What a great update!!! Sounds like a great lunch even though the poor server was in such pain. I agree that TSM is more fun than Buzz and so much easier for me to get my targets! Glad you got back to the hotel at a decent time, you need that every once in a while!!!

Great photos too, I forgot to add!!

Thanks. The lunch really was good so food wise I really recommend going there. I'm not sure how our server made out because I was hesitant to ask in case we as guests weren't suppose to know. I didn't want to risk getting him in trouble for telling us. TSM is so much fun next time I might skip Buzz altogether. And yes, it was nice to be back at the hotel early for a change.

Another great day!! Glad Lenny got his scooter fixed And that you had some great meals (even with the sick server )!! Great pictures of DHS More please

Thanks. Lenny assured me he'd be able to fix the scooter so I didn't worry. If he couldn't have, we would have just rented one from Disney for the last few days. We don't really have complaints about any of the meals we had this year. I didn't take too many pictures of the studios so I'm glad most of what I took came out well.

Just passing my evacuation time by reading TR's !!!!! Glad I'm finally caught up on yours; sounds like a wonderful time(even with the scooter repair!). I can remember all those angst-filled posts with you worrying about the Lauren/Paula situations, and so glad to see all that is over and you had a GREAT time with your family. And tell Abby if we're ever in WDW at the same time, I want her to take our pictures too

I can't tell you how absolutely happy I was that Paula and Lauren didn't go with us. It really was so enjoyable just being the 3 of us. There were no awkward moments or times of aggravation that normally come with travelling with people you know, but aren't that close to. Abby loves taking pictures so you wouldn't have to ask her twice.

Glad he got the scooter fixed, sounds like a great day at HS!

Thanks. Lenny was too. And we did have a great day.

Oh My Word!! You must have timed it just right, because at 7pm there was over a 100 minute wait for TSM. We didn't get to ride becuase of Fantasmic. Next time I 'll do rides right before fantasmic like you!!

We were there somthing like 8:30ish (I looked at my pictures to double check the time). I know the backlot / Streets of America section was closed too for whatever reason and it seemed like no one was back there.

I the topiary pictures. I have never seen those before. Great update!

I don't remember seeing them before either. I wonder if they were left over from the Flower and Garden Festival and then transplanted. Someone I know was at Epcot (she only went to Epcot, no other parks) during it and she took pictures of the Topiaries and I thought she had a shot of those exact 2. And had I not stopped for the character pictures, I probably would never have seen them either.

[CinderAbby]

Glad to hear you loved the new Toy Story ride! I'm anxious to ride it in October - a little worried about the crowds! It seems like you didn't have big wait times - did you use fast pass? or were you just real lucky to have short lines?

I think part of it was luck. I think another part was the fact that I don't wear a watch anymore. No watch means not knowing how long you're truly in line. Plus with TSM, part of the line involves stairs. Because Lenny uses a scooter, we were sent a different route, but I don't truthfully know if it added or subtracted from our wait time.

more please

Coming up tonight.

Glad Lenny was able to fix his scooter and that you had such a great meal at WCC. Sorry that your waiter was not feeling well but glad that you had that Disney service anyway....(hope that everything was ok with him).

Sounded like a great day at DHS....we love 50's PT (the chicken is so good). Guess Abby's decision to go back to swim paid off as you all got to hit the sace earlier in preparation for Lenny's birthday tomorrow...

Thanks. It certainly made it easier that he could fix it and not have to use an unfamiliar scooter. And for the most part, we had nothing but great meals and we certainly had Disney service at every restaurant this year (unlike 2 years ago). I'm not sure how he made out as I didn't want to potentially start trouble if we weren't suppose to know about him not feeling well and leaving. He actually only had 2 tables to wait on at lunch - us and another one that left before us.

We did have a great time and Abby wanting to swim really was a good decision. Other than the GMR, everything else we were thinking of doing was already closed (backlot tour, B&B, PHD again) and I don't know that she would have waited for TSM again.

What lovely photos at the Wilderness Lodge and of Playhouse Disney - I don't think I've ever seen any photos of that show before

Thanks Cheryl. It was pouring out so I didn't venture outside for more pictures at WL like I wanted. Maybe I'll do it next time (we all know there'll be another time, it's just a matter of when). As for PHD, I took a bunch of photos, but those were the best. I don't know if it was me or the puppets onstage that were shaking and making the photos blurry.

Another great day!!

Thanks. It's hard (for me at least) to not have good days in Disney.

Looks like you had a great day! I love seeing the WL! It reminds me of the great hotels I have been in out west. The Great Wolf Lodge also mimics the WL.

Thanks EJ, we did have a great day. And I'm glad the photos brought back some good memories for you. I haven't ventured too far from the East Coast so I have to see other parts of the world the "Disneyfied" way (but I don't mind). I think I've heard of that lodge though. Doesn't it have a small waterpark inside of it?

[Princess_Wantabe]

Just getting caught up, all the pictures, especially from the auto train. I would like to do that sometime, just to say "I did it!".

Looking forward to more updates!

[CinderAbby]

Just getting caught up, all the pictures, especially from the auto train. I would like to do that sometime, just to say "I did it!".

Looking forward to more updates!

Thanks. It is kinda cool to ride the train knowing we also have transportation at the end that's not costing extra money.

As for more updates, here we go.

[CinderAbby]

Sunday August 17th - Lenny’s Birthday

Today everyone was up early and it was Lenny who was rushing everyone. For me, it just wasn’t a good start to the day and it just threw me for a loop I didn’t really recover from. Things got left in the truck, I did things backwards and I just couldn’t seem to get my thoughts straight. We were at the MK for park opening and Lenny recorded the opening show for Abby. When that was done, our first stop was City Hall to get Lenny a birthday pin. From there, I went to Tony’s to see if anyone could help me with info about a cake. No one was there, but the CM I talked to sent me back to City Hall.

When I got back there, they gave me info (FYI unpersonalized cakes are now up to $21 plus tax) but told me I had to talk to the CM’s at Tony’s. Hello, why couldn’t the other person tell me that? I felt like I was on a wild goose chase. Kinda aggravated at having to run back and fourth needlessly, I said forget it and we headed to Fantasyland. First stop would have been the carousel but I saw the Fairy Godmother had no line. I took Abby over to her and we got some pictures.


I love this photo. When we were at Disney, I forgot about the tip to get a "child's eye view" of the mural on the wall behind Cinderella to see her "wear her crown". How surprised I was to get home and find out I got that view without even knowing it

Then we went back to the carousel. We waited in what little line there was and when we got up to the gate, the CM closed it. Since we were first in line for the next time and I wanted to make things special for Abby, I asked the CM when it was our turn where exactly Cinderella’s horse was and she walked us right over to it. I showed Abby how it was different and she climbed right on.

Next came Small World (again - I’ve lost count of how many times we rode it). There was absolutley no line!! None - it was literally walk right on.

By the time we got back though there were lines. Peter Pan then the Riverboat followed.

Trying to get back on an even keel, we went past the HOP to the place that sells funnel cakes and ordered some drinks. Lenny got the iced cappucino hoping to wake up. I should have gotten a coke with some caffeine but I opted for orange soda.

Picture of the crane for the bridge work - by Monday the bridge was completely gone but I forgot to get a picture.

We sat for a few minutes then headed off for Abby’s last ride choice before lunch: Snow White. I don’t know why Abby liked this ride so much this year. 2 years ago she only rode it once and told me she didn’t like it. This year she rode it multiple times. I would have preferred to do other rides over this one, but it’s the one she wanted so we got in line. After, we took the long way around the castle again to get back to Main Street. We stopped for a minute and had some photopass pictures taken in the rose garden then continued onto Tony’s.

Topiaries by the rose garden

We checked in and got seated right away. There wasn’t much to the lunch menu so we ordered right away. Lenny got the chicken parm, I got the baked ziti and Abby got plain spaghetti with butter and ketchup on the side. These must be popular items because in about 5 minutes, I kid you not, our server came back with our lunch. The meal was fine, but what we had 2 years ago was much better. Abby ate up her salad and spaghetti really well and Lenny enjoyed his meal. My ziti was okay, but compared to 2 years ago, it looked like a pile of mush. It wasn’t very cheesy either. It didn’t take us long to eat so when we were done, I told our server that we were just going to have Lenny’s cake for dessert. He went and got it and brought it out with a candle. He had everyone in the restaurant wave their napkins and yell Happy Birthday to him. The cake, I found was like a typical store cake (which I don’t care for). The cake itself was kinda dry and the frosting wasn’t that good either. For the $21 plus tax and tip we paid, I left thinking we should have just gotten Lenny a cupcake instead. Maybe it was an old cake, maybe my tastes have changed, but I didn’t enjoy the cake. Again, the one from 2 years ago was far better IMO. That one tasted like it had whipped frosting, this one tasted like it had lard frosting. Abby ate hers but didn’t ask for more which she usually does when she likes it. Lenny didn’t say one way or the other. From Tony’s, because it was Lenny’s choice today, we headed to the monorail and the TTC. At the TTC, we boarded the monorail for Epcot instead of driving and we were there about 1:15ish.

Streamers from the MK opening that I tied on Lenny's scooter

Our first ride was Spaceship Earth. This was Lenny’s first time on it and he enjoyed it. I’ve been on it before and I know the narration is different but I couldn’t quite place my finger on what was different with the scenes. They seemed different but I don’t quite know if it was my imagination of if they had been changed as well. I liked the end portion with the little video. I thought it was cute and it kept my mind off of us going backwards. I really dislike that portion of the ride and tend to get panicky so the video kept my mind occupied. Abby actually wanted to ride it again but she said we could do other things first. Next we went to Universe of Energy. Years ago, you used to be able to walk right in and wait for the preshow. Now you wait entirely outdoors until something like 4 minutes before the show. Because the ride vehicles can’t accommodate scooters, the CM had Lenny pull up next to him under the shade umbrella and wait there until he went and opened the doors. The sun was out that day and it was extremely hot. When he opened the door, he told us to go in and that he would bring Lenny his key. We did so and sat down in the nice AC and waited for the show. Soon the show started and I was kicking myself. Not thinking, we had left Abby’s headphones on the scooter. For anyone who doesn’t like loud noises, this is a must avoid attraction. Every bit of it seemed loud to me and Abby kept her ears covered for just about the whole ride (45 minutes worth). She did good and didn’t complain but I still couldn’t believe I left the headphones.

After UOE, Abby wanted to do Test Track. I’m still not impressed with the ride, but did it for Abby. By the time we got off the ride and to the ride photo section though, our picture had disappeared. I saw it as we came around the corner, but it was gone before I could even get my photopass card out. It wasn’t a problem though. The CM told me to go where you purchase the pictures and they would help me there. Within something like 2 minutes, I had the picture and we were on our way to Imagination. It was a ride I wanted to skip as I think the ride is absolutely terrible (I’m not the only one though - there was no line whatsoever and it was only like 4 in the afternoon) but I did it for Abby. Next we did the 3D movie. It was interesting. Abby wore her headphones because the preshow said it gets loud but it didn’t warn about the 4D effects. I told Abby all of the show was pretend, that there weren’t any mice in the room and if she was bothered by what she saw, just to close her eyes or look at me. She sat there and giggled at some of it. I think she was fine with it because the movie was so short. When we left there, both Abby and Lenny wanted to do Living with the Land. It had no line, it was a boat ride and Abby liked it. It was interesting and I’m glad I went on it, but it certainly wasn’t a ride to repeat. Now came my ride, the one that I absolutely wanted to do again - Soarin. This time, we sat in the front row. I don’t like heights at all, but it didn’t bother me here. Probably because the seats are big enough that I don’t have the fear that I’m going to fall off and it’s dark so I can’t tell how high I am. When we got off, I wanted to go again, but Abby wanted the Seas with Nemo. It wasn’t just my vacation so we went to do what Abby wanted to do. Maybe next time I won’t.

We got to Nemo and everything was fine. She wanted to do the Clammobiles again. Okay, we got in line and because my eyes must be messed up, I was still wearing my sunglasses. Just like I’d worn every other day on this vacation, morning till night, including on most rides. We boarded the Clammobiles and once we got past the area where you board (where it’s really bright) , I took off my sunglasses and put them in my pocket, just like I did every other time we went on this ride. But this time, when we stood up to get off, guess what I heard? My glasses dropping. And they didn’t drop inside the ride vehicle. They fell outside, hit the wheel area and then dropped in the gap between our vehicle and the next. To a service area 6 feet below where we were I learned. The CM I approached was not very helpful. I understood that they couldn’t just stop the ride and get them but instead of helping or getting a ride manager, she sent me all the way to the front of the park to Guest Relations to file a claim. Fine, I went there and waited for something like half an hour because there were only 2 CM’s.

It was finally my turn and I ended up with the CM who didn’t speak Engish very well. I explained my problem and his solution? He handed me a business card for Guest Relations with a phone number that’s only in service Monday to Friday. It was Sunday and I was leaving Tuesday morning. I needed to talk to somebody then. If it were just a pair of regular sunglasses, I would have just replaced them but they were $100 plus prescription sunglasses that are darker than most you can buy. Really ticked off that nobody seemed to care (and that Lenny said it was all my fault) I just wanted to leave but I had promised Abby after Guest Relations, we could go back to Nemo so she could look in the fish tanks. So we headed back there. I stayed with Abby and Lenny went back to the Clammobiles. There was a different CM at the exit and Lenny approached her. She told him the same thing - go to Guest Services. He must have explained we already had because a few minutes later, the ride manager came over to him. Seeing this, I headed over to hear what she had to say. She explained the same thing - the ride can’t be stopped, you need to go to Guest Relations and file a claim, etc. I told her I understood the ride couldn’t be stopped, but I told her Guest Relations did absolutely nothing except hand me a business card. I also told her I needed those glasses as they’re prescription and are costly to replace. I needed a way to get them back if it was possible. She said it was, but not until the ride was shut down for the night. She told me as soon as the ride was shut down, she would have maintenance go into the service area and look for them. When (not if) they found them, she would personally walk them to Guest Relations and put them with my claim card. I told her I wasn’t given one to fill out, just the card with the phone number. She apologized about that and said I should have been given a yellow card to fill out. She said if we went back to Guest Relations (not again I was thinking) and filled one out, she would make sure the glasses got back to me. I wasn’t happy, but at least she listened to me and appeared to care about my dilemma.

I didn’t want to go back to Guest Relations again. I couldn’t see anything coming from it except more aggravation. But Lenny said he would deal with it, so we headed that way again. Once we got there, Lenny waited in line. I sat in a chair until it was our turn. This time we got the CM who spoke English. She was going to do the same thing - hand us the business card. Not happy with that, I said to her that I already had the business card but I was suppose to be given a yellow claim card to fill out about the glasses. When I said that, she got it right away and I started filling it out. Under description, I filled out dark sunglasses, etc but I also listed the serial number (or whatever you want to call it) listed on the temple for the frame size and color. She was surprised I gave so much info on them. "Not everyone is this descriptive with sunglasses." I just told her that they were prescription sunglasses and an exact match to my regular glasses with the exception of the darkness of the lenses. She input all the info into her computer and gave me a claim number. She also gave me a different phone number to call - it was a direct number to Epcots lost and found. She said between 9 PM and 11 PM is when they start getting things turned in. She told me to give them a call and if they get the glasses, they would be able to tell me if they had an item matching the description. She told me "we’ll never tell you we definitely have the item, just that we have something that fits the description." That was fine with me because nothing else they could find would fit my description. She also told me what number to call on Monday to call and double check as well. "You need to call us though. Even if we get your item, we won’t call you." Feeling only a little better that at least someone was trying to help, we decided to call it a night and we headed back to AS Sports and some dinner at the food court.

Back at AS Sports, we went to the food court, got our dinners and we took them back to the room to eat. It wasn’t as bright, nor as noisy, for us - two things I wanted to avoid that night. For dinner, I had a burger that I didn’t think was very good. Abby had her nuggets and fries which she ate right up. And Lenny had Penne pasta and chicken with alfredo sauce, a breadstick and a salad which was awesome (I had gotten it one other night to know how tasty it was). I really don’t remember what I did after we ate but I’m pretty sure I double checked our credit card slips and money while Abby and Lenny went swimming. Between 9 and 11, after Abby had gone to bed, Lenny called Epcot Guest Relations twice for me, but all he got was a voice mail so he left a message both times. I still wasn’t happy and I wasn’t even hopeful that I would get my glasses back before we left so in an effort to shut off my brain for the night, I went to bed.

[CinderAbby]

We saw the Fairy Godmother and took Abby's picture with her this time (in previous post). We also saw the same ones we'd been seeing all week:

Chip and Dale
Daisy
Gepetto
Pinocchio
Jiminy Cricket
Pluto was new though, we hadn't seen him in the parks much

[MMMD]

I'm so sorry about your sunglasses.

[B.M.]

Hope you got your glasses back!

?--You mention Abby wearing headphones at some of the loud attractions. My oldest has sensory issues and even though I bought him earplugs for our last trip, they just didn't do the trick and we were forced to miss all the night time shows because he just cant deal with the loud noises. Do the headphones truly muffle the noise? Is there a particular brand or anything? I'd like to get him something that majorly blocks out noise and I was curious about what you were using with Abby.................

[Wolfy6688]

Ok, got caught up - I love it so far! Can't wait to read more.

Really hope you got your glasses back.

[CinderAbby]

I'm so sorry about your sunglasses.

Hope you got your glasses back!

Really hope you got your glasses back.

Thanks guys. You're just going to have to wait and see how it turned out.

?--You mention Abby wearing headphones at some of the loud attractions. My oldest has sensory issues and even though I bought him earplugs for our last trip, they just didn't do the trick and we were forced to miss all the night time shows because he just cant deal with the loud noises. Do the headphones truly muffle the noise? Is there a particular brand or anything? I'd like to get him something that majorly blocks out noise and I was curious about what you were using with Abby.........

For Abby, I have a pair that I bought at our local Home Depot. I believe they're considered "Noise Reduction headphones" - basically the type you see landscapers wearing. They do muffle the noise. Not completely, but enough that she's comfortable and willing to watch things like fireworks and fire truck parades. Lenny was with me when I picked them out so he helped me determine which blocked out the most noise but I don't remember what level I got (I know there were 3 or 4 choices.) I don't even remember what aisles I got them from but I'm sure that whoever works in the store can give you specifics on the levels.

Ok, got caught up - I love it so far! Can't wait to read more.

Thanks. I'll post more tomorrow.

[mcc0313]

So sorry about your sunglasses Darlene but even worse was that no one really helped. True they could have stopped the ride but all that going back and forth...

Hope that Lenny had a good day though for his birthday....(even though the cake was less then spectacular)...

[DyanKJ130]

Just catching up!!! It sounds like the 3 of you are having the time of your lives! I'm so glad you decided to keep the 1900PF meal....Abby looks soooo happy in those photos! And, Lenny is cracking me up in some of his. how 'into it' he got with the Captain Hook duel and this one.... .....

He is too much!! You've definitley had a great couple of days!! Can't wait to hear more

[chezp]

I'm glad you finally got someone who cared about the loss of your sunglasses and that you get them back.

[bitterchickey]

OH the suspense! I wanna know about the glasses!!! Seriously, that rush in the morning---oh do I know the feeling. It's like you don't get your "footing" for the day and then nothing seems to go right, or like everything is just a little "off".
But sounds like a great birthday day for Lenny and that you all did have fun, even with a few mishaps.