Disney Nomads ... 3 Resorts in 8 Nights (March '12) - ALL NEW UPDATED 9/2 About This Page:

[PrincessSharon]

Laura, you continue to crack me up! Not being a fan of squirrels, I will avoid Mr. Squid like the plague. The Top of the World lounge is not as chic as you imagined, but it is a good place to watch Wishes.

[mcc0313]

I was laughing through your whole post. Glad you had a decent view though from the lounge (even with all the drinkless people on the balcony). I am know picturing those ice cubes

[TinkRocks]

Originally Posted by njlaura

Hello Peter, what’s happening? Ummm, I'm gonna need you to go ahead and come in tomorrow. So if you could be here around 9 that would be great, mmmk... oh oh! and I almost forgot ahh, I'm also gonna need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, kay? We ahh lost some people this week and ah, we sorta need to play catch up.

Guesses? C’mon, I made it easy.

Office Space. But what is Monkston making??? A TPS report? A "Jump to Conclusions Mat?" LOL.

For the record, I always envisioned a Rat Pack - esque vibe to the "Top of the World Lounge." Don't know why. Maybe it's the word "lounge" in and of itself.

[njlaura]

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Laura, you continue to crack me up! Not being a fan of squirrels, I will avoid Mr. Squid like the plague. The Top of the World lounge is not as chic as you imagined, but it is a good place to watch Wishes.

Thanks Sharon!

You don't need to be afraid of Mr. Squid. He doesn't usually walk around with squirrels on his back.

Originally Posted by mcc0313

I was laughing through your whole post. Glad you had a decent view though from the lounge (even with all the drinkless people on the balcony). I am know picturing those ice cubes

Thanks! We should change the name to germ cubes.

Originally Posted by TinkRocks

Office Space. But what is Monkston making??? A TPS report? A "Jump to Conclusions Mat?" LOL.

She likes to design the interior of offices...cubicles, conference rooms, etc.

Originally Posted by TinkRocks

For the record, I always envisioned a Rat Pack - esque vibe to the "Top of the World Lounge." Don't know why. Maybe it's the word "lounge" in and of itself.

It is a bit loungey. Would probably be more so with a martini.

[njlaura]

I wake up at about 7:30 and feeling a bit peckish. (Isn’t that a great word? I wouldn’t use it in real life but I feel free to experiment here.) I’m staying away from those mini donuts though because we’re going to Ohana for breakfast at 10:15. Hmm… That’s almost three hours away… maybe just one donut.

I’m looking forward to this because we don’t usually have a big breakfast when we’re at Disney. We’ve always had the dining plan before and we had to use our credits wisely, hoarding them for only the most expensive meals. You don’t blow those table service credits on a measly breakfast. You save them for the steak!


I look over at sweet Monkston sleeping and wonder if I can get around her to sit on the balcony and gaze out at the concrete. Nah. Better just sit quietly with my iPad and coffee.

(Record screeching)

Josh from easywdw.com: Hold it! Just hold it right there! I have to interrupt this trip report. Here it is 8:00 am on a Recommended Magic Kingdom Day and you’re sitting around in your pajamas sipping coffee and reading about barbaric reality games in the future. You’re doing a huge disservice to your readers. You should have been standing in front of the train station a half hour ago, positioned to the left if you care to meet Rapunzel or the right to continue on to Fantasyland. I would recommend visiting Peter Pan first and then heading to Dumbo.

njlaura: Don’t you have one of your walkabouts to go on?

Josh: There’s still time to get over there before your breakfast at Ohana. You can knock out a couple of the major headliners in an hour. Just throw on a baseball hat and go.

njlaura: You don’t know me very well.

Let’s fast forward a bit and skip over the coffee drinking and musing about Panem.

Everyone’s dressed. Monkston’s got her ears on and is ready to hug some characters!

We’re running a little late so we walk quickly over to the monorail. In my mind all the resorts on the monorail are so much closer together, like a theme park map, but really the Polynesian looks pretty far away.

I just hate being late so I’m inevitably early for everything. I’ve wasted hours of my life waiting for people. Hours of boredom, hours of trying to look natural standing outside restaurants, hours of toe tapping and sighing. But nowadays I have my phone to keep me occupied. I love you iPhone!

We take the monorail over to the Polynesian and walk briskly to the podium. And it’s not there! Where did they put the podium? It was on the left hand side by the bar when we were here for dinner last year.

I look to my right and all the way at the end of the lounge I see a Hawaiian hut set up for photos. It looks like something the castaways on Gilligan’s Island would have cobbled together. That’s new…unless that’s just a breakfast thing.

We finally find the podium. I walk over. The CM gives me a withering glance and points to her right. Oh. I didn’t see the line on that side. I’m not having much luck with finding magical cast members this trip.

After getting on the back of the line I look at the time. We are officially late, or “L word” as Mr. Squid calls it. He just doesn’t have the same respect for time that I do.

Finally, it’s our turn and we’re told to go get some leis and get in line to have our picture taken. The couple in front of us is wearing “Just Married” buttons. The groom is much more petite than the bride. If you’ve seen “Sixteen Candles,” they remind me of Long Duck Dong and that big, athletic girl he picks up at the party.

The photographer is in training and as we get closer I can hear her voice. It sounds so odd. I know I’ve heard it somewhere before.

I poke Mr. Squid.

“Listen to the photographer,” I whisper. “Where have I heard that voice?”

Mr. Squid shrugs.

This is driving me mad. Where have I heard that before?

And then it hits me.

“I’ve got it!” I whisper shout. “She’s got Lucy Riccardo’s hobo voice!”

I hope the photographer training her asks us to smile because I will lose it if she talks to me. It’s actually kind of hard to smile and hold in a laugh at the same time. I guess it’ll be ok if a little giggle comes out. It’ll just look like we’re having fun.

“Smile!” the photographer says. Phew. I made it without busting up.

I wonder how much they’re going to charge for this thing?

We’re seated and I tell Mr. Squid that I put his birthday on the reservation and I wonder what amazing thing they will do for him.

Ugh. These leis are itchy. Where’s the coffee and juice?

(Record screeching)

Josh: Again with the coffee? You call this a trip report? People, if you want to read about …oh I don’t know…ACTUAL PARK TOURING… visit me at www.easywdw.com.

njlaura: You have some nerve using other people’s trip reports to get traffic to your site! I would never…um… oh, never mind.

After about an hour, the server (let’s call her Irene) comes over with our drinks. So far Ohana breakfast is a very different experience from their dinner where they just dump all 18 courses on the table at once.

Irene wishes Mr. Squid a happy birthday. I wait for the gift, the card, a special lei…something! Nothing. Why do they bother with that celebration section on the reservation if they’re not going to do anything special?

The bread basket arrives and Mr. Squid looks unimpressed. He’s the only person I know who does not dive right into the bread basket. Monkston and I had no such qualms and the coconut bread was especially delicious.

They also bring over a bowl of something that Monkston thinks is poisonous…fruit! We tell her it’s sweet, like candy. Nope, no dice. She ain’t buying it. It’s poison.

It’s actually a nice assortment of melon and berries. Very good and goes well with the coconut bread.

The last platter they bring out has scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage and waffles. All was good but the sausage was particularly tasty.

Here’s Monkston and me.



While we’re eating the characters come around and hug Monkston. Anyone else wonder about who’s under the costume? After reading The Dark Side of Disney I’m a little suspect. But go ahead and hug them anyway Monkston!

Here’s a few more pictures.










They also have a cute little parade with all the characters and the kids. We tried to get Monkston to join in but she wasn’t interested.

After all the photo taking is over, I remove my very itchy lei. Ahhhh. Much better.

And they I look down and my cute little navy shirt is covered in lei lint. Next time I go to Ohana I’m wearing yellow.

Irene comes over with our photo package. I open the folder and on the left side is Mickey in the Gilligan’s Island hut and the right is a picture of us. They’ve also included several wallet size photos. I can’t imagine that anyone would carry this photo in their wallet. And the bargain price for this? $39!

I’m a bit torn. That is a ridiculous price to pay for this thing. But on the other hand I look pretty good in this photo! I look at Mr. Squid. He gives me an “are you kidding me?” look.

Sigh. No thanks Irene. Darn. I wish it were dinner so I could say “Good night, Irene!”

Irene brings over the check and still there is no birthday card or gift. Oh well.

We pay our $647 bill and leave. Lucky we have that Tables in Wonderland card!

[dutchdisneyfamily]

Rofl @ the Sixteen Candles reference. Too funny, and what an image! Sounds like a yummy meal. That's an expensive photo!

[Annabel]

I should really try not to read trip reports in bed when hubby's snoring away but it's darn hot and I'm wide awake I gotta do something. Your Sixteen Candles reference made me laugh so much I made the hubby and the dogs jump, oops We just watched this a couple of weeks ago for the umpteenth time as we both love 80s movies. Too many places are doing this photo package stuff and it's way too pricey. We sat down instead of having photos taken at Chef Mickey's, I'm not wasting my cupcake money More please!

[mcc0313]

I am trying to picture the wedding couple, the 16 Candle reference has me hysterical, espeically since yesterday my 19 year old daughter decides we need to watch Molly Ringwald movies, our own little marathon. Started off with The Breakfast Club, then 16 Candles and the other one whose name escapes me when she is a young mom....so there I am reliving my glory years when my 11 yo says..."Wow these movies are really old, they don't look as colorful as the movies now"

So either she is going to go into movie editing and do her thesis on the quality of movies in the past or she is going to cook me breakfast for a week..."old movies really....way to make me feel like I grew up in the prehistoric ages "

Sorry for the unhappy birthday celebration and the very linty leis but sounds like a yummy breakfast.

[njlaura]

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Rofl @ the Sixteen Candles reference. Too funny, and what an image! Sounds like a yummy meal. That's an expensive photo!

Love that movie!

Originally Posted by Annabel

I should really try not to read trip reports in bed when hubby's snoring away but it's darn hot and I'm wide awake I gotta do something. Your Sixteen Candles reference made me laugh so much I made the hubby and the dogs jump, oops

Originally Posted by Annabel

We just watched this a couple of weeks ago for the umpteenth time as we both love 80s movies.

Me too! Especially John Hughes movies.

Originally Posted by Annabel

Too many places are doing this photo package stuff and it's way too pricey. We sat down instead of having photos taken at Chef Mickey's, I'm not wasting my cupcake money More please!

I figured it couldn't hurt to take a look at what they bring around.

Originally Posted by mcc0313

I am trying to picture the wedding couple, the 16 Candle reference has me hysterical, espeically since yesterday my 19 year old daughter decides we need to watch Molly Ringwald movies, our own little marathon. Started off with The Breakfast Club, then 16 Candles and the other one whose name escapes me when she is a young mom....

You're thinking of For Keeps. I hope you also watched Pretty in Pink. Love that one!

Originally Posted by mcc0313

so there I am reliving my glory years when my 11 yo says..."Wow these movies are really old, they don't look as colorful as the movies now"

Has she seen the black and white ones? I've made my daughter sit through Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life.

Originally Posted by mcc0313

"old movies really....way to make me feel like I grew up in the prehistoric ages "

They do have a way of doing that sometimes, don't they?

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry about no birthday recognition at breakfast! Great pictures though!

[Cam22]

Breakfast looks like it was fun, but bummer that they forgot the birthday!

[chezp]

Sorry they forgot about the birthday.

[njlaura]

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Sorry about no birthday recognition at breakfast! Great pictures though!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Cam22

Breakfast looks like it was fun, but bummer that they forgot the birthday!

Yes, it was fun.

Originally Posted by chezp

Sorry they forgot about the birthday.

I really put these little digs at Disney for comedic effect. We really weren't that disappointed in these trivial things. I'm just making mountains out of molehills for the good of the report.

[njlaura]

Ed Note: I forgot that Mr. Squid and Monkston went to the Magic Kingdom after our trip to the Top of the World Lounge. I guess if it didn’t happen to me, it didn’t happen, right? Mr. Squid is no help because he can’t remember anything they did but I think I can guess that they stuck with the little rides in Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. These two are afraid of anything with a hill so that leaves out most of the headliners.

Monkston and I decide to visit the Magic Kingdom but Mr. Squid is tired (see Ed Note above) and wants to head back to the room for a bit. We leave him on the monorail and head over to the gate.

I love that Monkston is ten but still wants to hold hands. We give each other’s hand a little squeeze, hand hugs we call them.

“Monko, what do you want to do?” I say.

“I think I just want to go shopping and look around at stuff, Mommy. Maybe we can play that new game too.”

(Record screech.)

Josh from easywdw.com: This is going to be the boringest Disney trip report ever!

Laura74: Boringest is not a word Josh and she wants to go shopping. Am I going to force my child to go on Splash Mountain just to put some zing in my report?

Josh: Have it your way but fast passes are only 3 hours out on Buzz.

Laura74: Do you have a real job?

Remember the confusion with our passes when our fingerprints somehow got switched and the cast member told me I’m Monkston and she’s me? Well there is more confusion because our fingers still don’t match and we have to try several combinations before we can get in.

Mr. Squid told me they had trouble getting in the night before because she had her pass and not mine and it took a bit of explaining and cajoling before they were let in.

Monkston decides she wants to go to the Emporium to buy a Perry the Platypus something or other.

I’m going to have to give up another super secret, real identity for the good of this report. Monkston shares a name with the platypus.

You may be thinking, hmmm, that’s not a very feminine name. And why would they name her after a platypus. Well smarty pants, a. there’s a story behind the name, and b. she came before the platypus.

Way back when, when I was pregnant, Mr. Squid and I knew we were having a girl and we could not agree on a name. For the longest time we called our little peanut Chop Chop because I happened to be cutting vegetables and was adamantly saying, “WE” [chop] HAVE [chop] TO [chop] COME [chop] UP [chop] WITH [chop] A [chop] NAME [chop] FOR [chop] THE [chop] BABY [chop]!

Silly, I know, but isn’t that how a lot of nicknames start, with ridiculous premises that only the people involved find amusing?

I gravitated to romantic names like Emma and Mr. Squid preferred outdated 50s carhop names like Rhonda. I kid you not! RHONDA! I read baby naming books, visited baby name web sites looking for a name that we could agree on. Every name I suggested was met with an are-you-kidding-me look.

Now, my sister, who had two boys at the time, had the name Perry on reserve if she ever had a girl. Perry is the surname of our natural father who died when I was three, and she was just a baby. She thought it would be a cool way to honor him and it is.

She generously gave up her claim to the name and we happily took it. Luckily her third child was a boy so I didn’t have to feel any guilt.

I can’t imagine another name for Perry now. Except Monkston, Monko, Monkeroo, Sweetie Beans, Baby, Sweetheart, Honey. Ok. I guess we have a few names for her.

My mother pointed out to me that my natural father’s last name was Benedict when he was born. His name changed to Perry when his mother remarried but I pointed out that Benedict would be a REALLY silly name for a girl.

Monkston has had some complaints about her name. She used to say she’d rather be Stephanie or Emma. And when the platypus came along and the kids started calling her “Perry the Platypus” she was really angry with our baby naming skills. We explained that that really wasn’t such a terrible tease but she was still very upset about it.

But in the last year, she’s embraced the name and even likes that that platypus shares it! She bought a Perry the Platypus shirt for school and I was thrilled that she could now see the humor in it.

Lucky for her that she likes this guy now because there is a ton of platypus merchandise--platypus hats, slippers, shirts, pins, mugs, pajamas. This should keep us occupied for a while because we all know Monkston does not make a spending decision easily when it’s her money she’s spending.

This a day for meandering anyway. No fighting crowds to run to the fast pass machines, no running back and forth across the park to fit everything in. We’re just going to soak up some Disney atmosphere. We’re going to stop and smell the cinnamon buns and popcorn.

After much deliberation, she decides to buy a t-shirt. I tell her she should go to the register and pay for it herself. I just love watching her carefully open her wallet, deciding whether to use her gift card or hard earned cash. She decides on the gift card. I suddenly remember that we get a discount with our annual passes and go over to work that out with the cashier.

Monkston whispers to me that she wants to change into her new shirt and could we go to the restroom after this. I ask the cashier if he can cut the tags off her shirt so she can wear it and he tells us she can change in the little fitting room right next to us.

Here she is with her new shirt.



We head across the street to look at the art. Monkston has gotten it into her head that she wants to buy a picture. I point out that she doesn’t have much room on her walls with all the Tiger Beat posters and kitten photos. Some tough editing decisions would have to be made. She ponders this and says she’ll have to think about it.

I see her lovingly caress a Dooney & Bourke bag and dash her dreams of luxury handbag carrying by showing her the price tag. She picks up the wallet.

I don’t think so Monkston.

I suggest we play the new sorcerer’s game so we head out in search of it. I cannot for the life of me remember where it starts. I know it’s somewhere on Main Street. I’ll have to ask someone for directions.

I do that a lot. Ask for directions. Neither Mr. Squid nor I have any sense of direction and we have found ourselves in many a pickle while travelling. We have most of our arguments in the car, fighting over who got us lost.

(Record screech)

Josh: Have you learned nothing from my web site? That’s www.easywdw.com for anyone interested.

Laura74: Stop advertising your site in my report!

Josh: This wandering around the Magic Kingdom aimlessly is really getting on my nerves. Where’s your touring plan? What are you doing? This is a Disney World vacation. You can’t just walk around relaxing.

Laura74: You know, you’re all full of bravado but I don’t notice you actually going on any of the rides. You just walk around taking pictures of wait boards and fastpass return times.

Several years ago, our first trip with Sheena and family, and their first trip to the World, I actually created spreadsheets of our touring plans. It was during Easter week and I was getting nervous watching the park hours changing. Magic Kingdom had extra magic hours everyday at 7am and they were open until 1am every evening (morning?).

I made Sheena very nervous handing her the spreadsheets. In hindsight, I guess I did act like a crazy person, planning out every minute of our day, rearranging schedules after every change in park hours. Sheena doesn’t roll that way. She likes to stroll, take in the details.

Today we are touring the Sheena way.

After getting directions, we head back across the street to the fire station. The cast member asks us if we’re going to play together and I answer yes. But here’s a tip. You get more cards if you say you’re playing separately. I didn’t know that was important until later.

We study the clues and it looks like we have to head over to the store with the expensive handbags. We find the window with the sorcerer symbol in front of it and hold up the card and…

Nothing happens.

Hmm… this looks like the right store to me. I run in ask the man at the counter, show him the clue, and ask him if he knows where the sorcerer’s window is.

Now this is what I love about Disney. He says he thinks he can help us and then takes the time to lead us to the correct spot. And he does it with a smile! Like he lives for playing Sorcerer’s Apprentice with clueless blondes. I live in New Jersey. I’m not used to this kind of service. If this were in my town, he’d just point in the general direction or shrug his shoulders.

As we’re playing the game, a woman in her 60s (let’s call her Helga) gets behind us and asks to see our cards. She’s a pleasant looking woman, dressed more formally than most park goers, and wearing her hair in an old fashioned up do. She looks like a Citizen of Main Street, except for her outfit, which while dressy, is modern.

“Um, ok,” I say.

“I’m still missing a couple,” Helga says.

She then pulls out a large book with plastic sleeves filled with sorcerer cards.

This strikes me as a rather unusual hobby for a woman her age. I bet she has a closet full of beanie babies too.

“You don’t have any rare ones,” she says.

“Rare ones?”

Who knew? That crazy Disney… always coming up with new things for people to obsess about. I STILL don’t understand Vinylmation.

On the other side of me is an older gentleman, maybe about Helga’s age, and a young girl of about seven talking to a cast member with a clipboard. I try to eavesdrop and get some snippets of his answers. I can’t make out much, but what I do hear is that this is his daughter and he has an even younger one at the hotel.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I waited a while myself, but this is a bit extreme. I wonder if he has grown children somewhere, possibly with kids of their own. Are these two happy accidents? Did he wait until 50 to get married for the first time? Maybe he was a Trekkie that spent his youth in his mother’s basement before hitting the dating scene. Maybe this is his second marriage and their mother is his former secretary.

Maybe I’m just reading too much into this.

We get the next clue and head to the art shop where the Sorcerer window is inside the store this time. And I kid you not, there is a woman playing the game, and her pre-school age son is sleeping on the floor. Not in a stroller, just flat out on the floor. I’m too chicken to tell her I don’t think this is a wise idea so I just silently worry and keep an eye out for any strollers heading his way.

I turn around and there’s Helga again. We must be on the same circuit. I watch as she strolls over to some other people in line, takes out her book and asks to see their cards. They all dutifully hand over their cards and I wonder if they think she works here. That she’s performing some sort of Sorcerer card quality assurance.

We stop at the next Sorcerer window, Helga not far behind us. Monkston is having a great time and I love watching her face look so earnest as she carefully holds her card up to the magic window to get her next clue. Her face lights up when the cartoon pops up, and she sees that she’s found the correct window.

After we’ve vanquished whoever it is we’re supposed to vanquish, we stop to watch the parade go by.

“What do you want to do next Monko?”

[Colexis Mom]

Great t-shirt! Very strange about Helga!