Who Turned Up The Heat?! - TR May 2011 - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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There are other changes as well.
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We go on to the joy and through the tears
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Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
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To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
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If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Our first morning waking up in Disney, we had scheduled breakfast at ‘Ohana at 8:25am. I think DW had set her alarm for around 7:00am, DD and I were less enthused about getting out of bed. Despite the room clock/iPod dock being set 13 minutes fast (side note, does anyone know how to adjust those? I couldn’t figure it out, and gadgets are my thing!) we were 10 minutes late getting to the GCH. We took our picture and had a 15 minute wait before we were seated. We were on the window, just one table over from where we were three years ago. The benefit of being a family of 3 I guess! There was a maraca left at our table, so of course I had to make sure it worked:
Our food was as good as we remembered. DW & DD really like the small Mickey waffles. But what we really like is the juice. I could drink gallons of that stuff! Mickey, Pluto, and Lilo came around while we were eating, but we had a long wait for Stitch. On our last day they actually told us when we sat down that it takes the characters 1:15 to make the complete circuit. Stitch is DW & DD’s favorite character, so we waited.
Stitch reacting to Alex having her Baby Stitch with her.
After breakfast we went back to the room to apply sunscreen and got to the monorail platform at 11:10am. Off to the Magic Kingdom for the first time this trip! I love that feeling of anticipation as you walk through the tunnel under the railroad, and then the feeling as you round the corner and see Cinderella Castle for the first time! There was a show finishing up in front of the castle, so we headed left towards Adventureland. The Jungle Cruise sign said 20 minutes, but when we got to the line the ride was stopped. We decided not to wait, and headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean. That also said 20 minutes so we walked on in. Our wait was 19 minutes – perfect! I did note that they were making the announcement about no flash photography, and it worked here. Unfortunately, what didn’t work so well was the ride itself! We stopped in the auction scene. I can’t tell you how many times the auctioneer had to tell the buyer that it was gold he was after and not rum, but I could have used some rum at that point! They even turned the lights on after about 10 minutes. People were pretty cool about it though, and it did allow us to take a few pictures:
The boats stacked up.
Here we are…still smiling!
When we finally got back under way and finished the ride, it was 12:20pm. We had spent 30 minutes in the ride – 10 minutes longer than the wait to get in! LOL We knew we would be singing "Yo Ho!" for the rest of that day! A note about that last picture: You can see I was wearing my Birthday button. When I made our package reservation and they asked if we were celebrating anything, I told them my birthday was the previous week and our anniversary is June 1st. That morning at ‘Ohana, they gave me the button and I wore it at MK the whole day. I don’t think I have been told “Happy Birthday” by so many people in my entire life as I was that day. And just when I would forget I had the button, somebody else would say it. lol So that was the last day I wore it, but at every meal all week since it was on all the tickets they would still celebrate my birthday!
From PoTC we made our way over to Frontierland. The park was quite crowded at this point. For our first trip in 2008 we were spoiled. Crowds were light, and we had one late EMH night and one Pirate & Princess Party night. So our memories were of short lines and easy walking. This trip was definitely going to be different. Splash Mountain had a 50 minute wait, and Big Thunder Mountain Railway was at 30. So we decided to skip both for now. Somehow we got turned around and ended up going back through Frontierland, where we had to stop and get spit on:
From there we headed to Liberty Square. I had never been to the Hall of Presidents, so that was our next stop. We had almost the full 20 minute wait before the next show, but it was nice to sit in the A/C and one of the Cast Members was entertaining everyone with Presidential trivia. I like U.S. history, so I actually enjoyed the wait. The HoP show was interesting too. I have to admit I got goosebumps during the 9/11 part. Despite the announcements about flash photography and any lit up video screens, there was someone who just had to take pictures towards the end.
We then walked over to Tommorowland and got FastPasses for Space Mountain. At 1:45pm our return time was 4:40pm. We had lunch ressies at Tony’s Town Square at 2:30, so there was plenty of time to ride the People Mover. For some reason, DD was really excited by this ride this trip. Maybe because it was a walk on with no wait? On this day, the part inside Space Mountain was completely dark. I of course was facing backwards and I don’t like going backwards not being able to see where I am going, but it was ok.
By now it was time to head to Tony’s and we made it at 2:15pm. We were seated at 2:30pm and had the best meal of our trip. We shared the calamari and garlic bread apps (we all like calamari). DW and I both had the chicken parmesan, and DD ordered the meatball sliders. She was less than thrilled with them, so we each gave her some chicken and spaghetti and had some of her sliders. I had the chocolate gelato for dessert, the girls had the ice cream bomb and cheesecake. Everything was really tasty! Grand total, $102.97 plus tip – thank goodness we were on the DxDP! While we were eating I could see the parade outside. DW couldn’t see, but I don’t think she appreciated my play-by-play.
At this point we were full of food, hot, and tired. So we took the monorail back to the Poly to swim and take a break. Our plan was to return in a couple hours, hit more rides, eat dinner, then the Tomorrowland Terrace Dessert Party, then EMH till 2:00am. Note that I said “plan”. DD and I hit the volcano pool. I bought a Kodak PlaySport waterproof video camera prior to the trip. This was my first chance to try it out in the water. It worked beautifully. I ended up only carrying that camera the whole trip, leaving my regular digital camera in the safe. The PlaySport takes ok still images, and at only 5MP you can see a difference. But DW had her camera so we were covered. Here is a screen capture from an underwater video:
Because it is an HD video camera, even the still pictures are in widescreen format.
We swam till 5:00pm, and caught the monorail at 5:45 back to the MK. Our first ride was BTMR. At 6:10pm the wait said 20 minutes and our actual time was just under that. We really like this coaster, but it did seem to be rougher than we remember from 2008. DW and I were laughing because as we were riding DD would let out little screams and we would both grunt as we went over the bumps. Either we’re getting older or the ride is!
At 6:40pm, the line for Haunted Mansion was all the way down past the Columbia Harbor restaurant. Yikes! So we passed on that for now. DW & DD wanted to use the FP’s for Space Mountain, so we headed that way. When we got there the ride wasn’t working. But while deciding what to do next it started up again. So they went to do that and I went to find a shady spot to sit down. My hip and back were starting to act up, so I chose to sit this one out. I sat outside for a few, but the fiberglass benches retained a lot of heat and the exhaust from the speedway forced me to head inside the Power Company store. Air conditioning and pressed pennies – perfect! LOL
After SM, we decided we weren’t getting hungry for our planned dinner at The Plaza, so I called to cancel that ressie and we walked into Fantasyland. We ended up at Mickey’s Philharmagic. The actual wait time was just 12 minutes and soon we were watching Donald chase that hat. I actually had to close my eyes a couple times at the flying carpet part. I avoid iMax movies and such, but this was the first time one of the 3D movies affected me. But it was only that part so that was good. We then rode It’s A Small World, which said 20 minutes but was a little less. We were doing pretty good at this point. After implanting that song in our heads, it was after 8:00pm so we decided to walk back towards Main Street, grab hot dogs at Casey’s and then be in the area for the dessert party. Main Street was very crowded. We ate on the bleachers and then quickly made our way across the street to avoid getting stuck behind the Main Street Electrical Parade. We got a spot over by The Plaza to watch what we could of the parade, and then got in line for the dessert party.
Here’s where things started to go bad. The CM’s manning the line checked us off, gave us our wristbands, and a ticket with our table number. But when we got inside, the CM that was walking us to our table couldn’t find it. Back & forth he went, then left us to try to figure out what had happened. I’m not sure what the problem was, but eventually they set up a table on the far end of the lower level. He apologized and said because of the mixup they were seating us there. I was fine with that. We had a good view of the castle, and Tink would fly right over our heads. DW and DD went to fill their plates, and when they got back I went and made my choices.
Yummy!
This is what our view would have been. I say “would have” because shortly after I sat down, DD says “Mom, I’m going to throw up.” Dang! I looked around, and we were trapped in the Terrace. So I jumped up and found the nearest CM and asked where the nearest restrooms were. DW hustled her over to them and I sat down…just as Memories, Magic, and You started. Except now I can’t really enjoy my desserts, and am starting to try to figure out what we are going to do. After a couple minutes I got up and found another CM and asked how we can get out through the crowd if my daughter is sick. They showed me where they had CM’s stationed at a Cast Member exit, which was next to the restrooms. So after a few minutes I sent a text to DW and met them outside the restrooms. DD had not gotten sick, but wasn’t feeling well. She didn’t want to leave, but didn’t want to just go back and sit down at our table. So I had a choice – try sitting it out and possibly get stuck with a sick kid waiting for the crowd to clear after Wishes, or head out now. I decided we were better off leaving. Even if DD didn’t end up getting sick, she was beyond tired. DW wasn’t happy about missing the fireworks and EMH. It was interesting taking that CM exit. We walked behind the Plaza and shops on that side of Main Street, by a parking lot. They then routed us (and we weren’t alone) back into Town Square by Chapeau. We headed for the monorail and the Poly, where we put DD to bed with Cinderella on the netbook. I stayed up and got internet access to send some emails back home. And now that we had missed our planned 3 hours of EMH, we knew we might have a hard time getting our rides in on our other planned MK day.
Something that we saw at the Dessert Party that really bothered us. I noticed the mom of the family at the next table putting chocolate covered strawberries into a Ziploc food container, filling it, and then put it into a soft-sided cooler. I looked at DW to see if she saw it, and she said, “That’s the second container!” I couldn’t believe it. This family of 4 had all filled their first plates – more than 1 each - just to take with. Then after the sickness thing, while I was waiting I saw her put more stuff (what they didn’t eat) into a Ziploc baggie and add that to the cooler. I was torn with whether to say anything to a CM about it or not, because I figured they probably wouldn’t do much anyway. And then we made the quick exit so I ended up not. As I’m writing this I am still shaking my head at how someone can feel so entitled. Thankfully, it was the only time I saw anyone do anything that wrong. Even with the heat and crowds people were polite and well behaved.
So it was a mixed result on our second day. We did a fair amount, but missed the late night EMH that we had been looking forward to. Especially with as crowded as the park was, we were really figuring on making the most of those hours. On our first trip, the lack of lines after midnight was a highlight of the trip. I was amazed to see how many people were just getting to MK on the monorail as we were leaving at 10:00pm! I’m sure the park would have been busier than we experienced back then. The heat was also starting to become a bit of a problem. I think that probably contributed to DD not feeling well, and I don’t cope with heat all that well either. And the forecast for the rest of the week was for even higher temps.
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So sorry your DD ended up not feeling well but it was probably a wise idea to leave when you did.
You mentioned the Pirate & Princess Party from 08. Wasn't that a blast?!? I don't think I've ever had so much fun at MK!! It is the reason I bought a ticket to MNSSHP this year.
I hope that your DD is feeling better! It sounds like most of your day was pretty productive!
Thanks everyone for the well wishes. She was fine the rest of the trip. I think it was a combination of being tired, hot, too much sugar, and lack of water.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jennie622
So sorry your DD ended up not feeling well but it was probably a wise idea to leave when you did.
You mentioned the Pirate & Princess Party from 08. Wasn't that a blast?!? I don't think I've ever had so much fun at MK!! It is the reason I bought a ticket to MNSSHP this year.
That was a blast. We were so happy we decided to add it, that was the best night of our trip. I would have done it again in a heartbeat if they still had it. And now after this trip I'm thinking maybe we should do an October trip next time and do MNSSHP.
So sorry that your DD was not feelin well, at least she did not get sick! Really hate that yall missed Wishes too, but I think you made the right choice, as I would have done the same thing!
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Despite the room clock/iPod dock being set 13 minutes fast (side note, does anyone know how to adjust those? I couldn’t figure it out, and gadgets are my thing!) we were 10 minutes late getting to the GCH. We took our picture and had a 15 minute wait before we were seated. We were on the window, just one table over from where we were three years ago. The benefit of being a family of 3 I guess! There was a maraca left at our table, so of course I had to make sure it worked:
Stitch reacting to Alex having her Baby Stitch with her.
The boats stacked up.
Here we are…still smiling!
Because it is an HD video camera, even the still pictures are in widescreen format.
So we passed on that for now. DW & DD wanted to use the FP’s for Space Mountain, so we headed that way. When we got there the ride wasn’t working. But while deciding what to do next it started up again. So they went to do that and I went to find a shady spot to sit down. My hip and back were starting to act up, so I chose to sit this one out. I sat outside for a few, but the fiberglass benches retained a lot of heat and the exhaust from the speedway forced me to head inside the Power Company store. Air conditioning and pressed pennies – perfect! LOL 
The CM’s manning the line checked us off, gave us our wristbands, and a ticket with our table number. But when we got inside, the CM that was walking us to our table couldn’t find it. Back & forth he went, then left us to try to figure out what had happened. I’m not sure what the problem was, but eventually they set up a table on the far end of the lower level. He apologized and said because of the mixup they were seating us there. I was fine with that. We had a good view of the castle, and Tink would fly right over our heads. DW and DD went to fill their plates, and when they got back I went and made my choices.
Yummy!
This is what our view would have been. I say “would have” because shortly after I sat down, DD says “Mom, I’m going to throw up.” Dang! I looked around, and we were trapped in the Terrace. So I jumped up and found the nearest CM and asked where the nearest restrooms were. DW hustled her over to them and I sat down…just as Memories, Magic, and You started. Except now I can’t really enjoy my desserts, and am starting to try to figure out what we are going to do. After a couple minutes I got up and found another CM and asked how we can get out through the crowd if my daughter is sick. They showed me where they had CM’s stationed at a Cast Member exit, which was next to the restrooms. So after a few minutes I sent a text to DW and met them outside the restrooms. DD had not gotten sick, but wasn’t feeling well. She didn’t want to leave, but didn’t want to just go back and sit down at our table. So I had a choice – try sitting it out and possibly get stuck with a sick kid waiting for the crowd to clear after Wishes, or head out now. I decided we were better off leaving. Even if DD didn’t end up getting sick, she was beyond tired. DW wasn’t happy about missing the fireworks and EMH. It was interesting taking that CM exit. We walked behind the Plaza and shops on that side of Main Street, by a parking lot. They then routed us (and we weren’t alone) back into Town Square by Chapeau. We headed for the monorail and the Poly, where we put DD to bed with Cinderella on the netbook. I stayed up and got internet access to send some emails back home. And now that we had missed our planned 3 hours of EMH, we knew we might have a hard time getting our rides in on our other planned MK day.
This family of 4 had all filled their first plates – more than 1 each - just to take with. Then after the sickness thing, while I was waiting I saw her put more stuff (what they didn’t eat) into a Ziploc baggie and add that to the cooler. I was torn with whether to say anything to a CM about it or not, because I figured they probably wouldn’t do much anyway. And then we made the quick exit so I ended up not. As I’m writing this I am still shaking my head at how someone can feel so entitled. Thankfully, it was the only time I saw anyone do anything that wrong. Even with the heat and crowds people were polite and well behaved.
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