Just Embrace It...Disney the Premium Way TR - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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I am trying to post pictures from photobucket, but they are previewing way too big (I did resize them, just not sure why so big). ANYWAY, maybe by next post I'll have some pictures for you!
I woke up just before 8, and Elizabeth Frances and William (my roommates) woke about 8. I unpacked a bit and waited for the rest of the family to stir. We got ready and had our room service breakfast of waffles, pancakes, sausage and juice. Today was our Magic Kingdom day, so we left for the ferry at about 9:30, making it to the Magic Kingdom by 9:45.
We always head left to Adventureland, and this trip was no exception. We did the Aladdin ride first, which had about a 15 minute wait, and Elizabeth Frances loved it. Then we went to Jungle Cruise, which had a 10 minute wait, and got an exceptional guide. He told all the same jokes they all do, but was excited and enthusiastic. After that, we did Pirates, which also only had a 10 minute wait.
Then we went to Splash Mountain. This ride, too, had a very short wait. We got to the front and waited for them to load a family from the handicapped entrance. It was a family of four, with a severely disabled son of about 18. It broke my heart to watch the father carry the son out of the wheelchair and place him in the log. But oh my goodness, the smile on the boy’s face when he was in the ride! Brilliant!! I think just thinking about his smile brightened my whole day.
I tell this story to contrast it with the next family. After the family of four, a very large group of about 10 people also got on through the handicapped entrance. An elderly woman was helped on the ride by another family member. They sat down immediately. Then the remaining family got on. They all sat down and pushed their lap bars down. THEN they decided to all change seats and had the CM lift the bars. The elderly woman and her companion stayed put. THEN THEY DID IT AGAIN!! They had the CM lift the bars again and switched seats while the elderly woman and her companion stayed in their seats. I just thought that was completely inconsiderate, especially since the changes were not being made to help the person who needed assistance. I looked at the woman next to me, who smiled and said, “All you can do is smile about it, right?” I agreed. It would do no good to get upset and let it ruin our vacation.
This was William’s first time to ride Splash Mountain, and he did not like the drops. He said he liked it after the ride was over, but if you asked him to ride again he would not do it. Then we went to BTMRR, which had a 20 minute wait. William didn’t like how fast this one was, and cried. I felt bad for him, but at least we know now, right? We went to HM next, and the boys loved the new queue. I didn’t like the end as much. It was hard for me to see what the ghosts were doing because it moved so quickly. But I was the only one. The rest of our group liked it.
We decided to have lunch at Columbia Harbor House. I have always really liked this restaurant because it’s quick, there aren’t a lot of people, and it’s a nice change from hamburgers. I got the Anchors Away sandwich, and it was good. My parents, on the other hand, had a very difficult time with the service. They had to wait 20 minutes for their meal, and when they got it, it was wrong. By the time they realized it, they didn’t feel like waiting to get it corrected.
After lunch and at about 1:30 I took the ferry back with my dad and Elizabeth Frances so she could take a nap. Elizabeth Frances did not nap well or long, so we headed back around 4:00. My dad had gone back earlier, so it was just me and Elizabeth Frances. When we got into the MK, there was only a 10 minute wait for the princesses, so we went! She was wearing a pretty pink smocked dress with Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rapunzel on it. She didn’t like the princesses to hold her, so we had to sit down. Now, I am not used to taking pictures with the talking (not mascot) characters, so I was totally unprepared when I met Cinderella. I asked if we could sit down because that was the only way Elizabeth Frances would take the pictures. And she said, “Of course! You know, Jaq and Gus and I didn’t get along so well at first, but now we are the best of friends.” I kind of looked at her like, “Um, I’m an adult and I know you aren’t really Cinderella. And the baby doesn’t really know who Cinderella is.” But then I realized that she has to stay in character or she could lose her job. I’ll have to remember this next time!
After the princess pictures, I met up with the rest of the family at Space Mountain. Patrick had just ridden it for the first time, and was literally bouncing up and down. He begged and begged me to go with him, and the wait was only about 25 minutes, so my dad and I went with him. He really like the new video game queue. Right before we got on, we saw a little boy and his dad make a fast exit. As we were getting on the ride, I stepped in something wet. I didn’t think anything of it until we were right in front of the ride and I smelled throw up. There was vomit on the ground right before you got on the ride. The little boy had vomited right before he got on the ride. And I stepped in some of it. Gross. But I felt really bad for the little boy. That stinks (literally).
After Space Mountain, Phil took the boys on the Tomorrowland Speedway, and my parents and I took Elizabeth Frances on It’s a Small World. She LOVED it. She couldn’t stop looking at everything.
This day (Sunday) was also the night of a MNSSHP. We weren’t attending tonight; we were coming back on Tuesday. We had to be out of the park by about 7. I had dinner reservations at LTT for 6:45. At about 6:15, I decided to check in and just see if we could get in early. They seated us right away. Dinner was very good, and we left about 7:15. We were herded out of the park very quickly. I was wearing a LSU t-shirt, and as we were leaving, Phillip went up to one of the Halloween party balloon venders. I called him back, telling him we had to leave. I thought I heard the CM say to Phillip in a very curt manner, “Exit is that way.” I said (well within his earshot), “That was rude. We are obviously leaving. There was no need to be mean about it.” Then I saw Phil laughing. I asked him why he was laughing, and he said the CM actually had said to me, not to Phillip, “LSU fan? The exit is that way.” So I turned back to the CM and smiled so he would know I knew he was joking.
We rode the ferry back to hotel, and my parents came up to our rooms so we could get their Universal tickets and transportation vouchers. I showered and then put Elizabeth Frances to bed about 9:00 while Phil took the boys swimming.
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Great day at MK! We had to live and learn with Stefanie on Space Mountain as it made her very scared even though she originally thought she wanted to ride it. Great pictures!
You folks had quite a full first day, even without entering a park!
I still have no idea why the ferries were so packed. There was a Halloween party at MK that night, but these were not the ferries going to MK, just Ft. Wilderness and Contemporary. The rest of the trip the ferries were just fine. It was really weird.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lazanya
Glad you're having a great time so far!
Thanks! We did have a good trip.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Grammy Grumpy
Great start of the trip. Sorry about the stinky situation on Space Mt. though. Keep it coming.
Yes, we saw a couple of times where someone had thrown up. This was the only time I stepped in it, though.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kingfamily1129
just found your TR. Sounds like you all have had a great start to your trip! Can't wait to read more!!
Thank you!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cam22
Great day at MK! We had to live and learn with Stefanie on Space Mountain as it made her very scared even though she originally thought she wanted to ride it. Great pictures!
Yes, William was so excited to ride all the rides he had been too small for previously. Did not go as well as he had hoped. Or maybe they weren't as fun as he had hoped.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mushu22
Great start
Thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by chezp
Great time so far - sorry about Space Mountain. Ugh.
Yeah, that was probably the grossest moment. But poor baby for being sick.
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This was one of our worst days. Phil left to go golfing at about 7. I was up shortly after he left. We were all out the door by 7:45, as we had 8:30 reservations at Chef Mickey’s. I met my parents by the ferry, and we headed out. My dad and I have a playful relationship; we tease each other a lot and sometimes he will pretend to pinch me and then I tell on him to my mom, etc. It annoys Phil, but it’s just how our family works. Anyway, I had said something teasing to him and my dad started hitting me with his hat. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal, except he accidentally hit me with the metal buckle on the back of his hat. And it HURT. Brought me to tears hurt. I had to excuse myself for a minute to compose (my dad is feeling terrible), and while I do that the boys start completely misbehaving. Fighting, yelling, out of control misbehaving. So not only do I have a headache, but my kids are wild. I pull them aside and have a come to Jesus with them. They seem to pull it together. We go upstairs and wait for our table to be called. While we are waiting, I decide to take the older boys to go get autograph books at the gift shop. I ask my mom to take Elizabeth Frances and the camera bag with her when they get seated. I am gone for a while (they didn’t have any of the autograph books the boys wanted on the floor so they had to go look in the back), and when I get back the family has been seated. I meet up with my parents, and go to take out my camera. But no camera bag. I turn to my mom and ask her where the camera bag is. She gives me a blank look and says, “I don’t know. Did you tell me to bring it?” I sigh and go back out. Thankfully it is right where I left it. We had a so-so breakfast there, and then go out to wait for a bus to Hollywood Studios.
While waiting for the bus, I check the Touring Plans app and see that Epcot has a much lower rating for crowds today. We change our plans and head to Epcot. Patrick is then not happy, and pouts the entire way to Epcot. We took the monorail, and got to Epcot at about 11. My dad took Elizabeth Frances (who was napping) to get FP for Soarin’ while the rest of us rode Spaceship Earth. This is one of my favorite rides. After we met back up with my dad, who had our FP with a return of 4:00. So my parents took Elizabeth Frances and walked around the countries while I took the boys on some rides. First we went to Club Cool, but I could not convince the boys to try Beverly. Then we went to Captain EO (can you say cheesy?), Journey into the Imagination (yawn, but boys seemed to like it), and had lunch at Electric Umbrella. I did not enjoy our lunch here. I think we all got hamburgers, and they were pretty tasteless. I took Patrick on the orange Mission: Space while Phillip waited in the waiting area with William. While in line, I got a text from Phil saying he was on his way back and wanting to meet us. I told him to go see Phillip and William in the waiting area. Phil has pretty moderate motion sickness, so Mission:Space is out for him. After our ride (it seemed a bit more intense to me this time than it has in the past. Maybe I’m just getting old), we met Phil and waited in a 55 minute line for Test Track. I went to go meet my parents in the Land Pavilion, while Phil took the boys back to Captain EO. After EO, we all rode Soarin’ with the exception of my dad who stayed with Elizabeth Frances. William loved it; it was his first time to ride it and probably his favorite. I don’t love heights, so there were a few times when I really grabbed on to the handles on the side of me. We had originally had dinner reservations at Brown Derby, but I cancelled those and made new ones at Via Napoli. After leaving Soarin’, we headed to Italy, stopping at Mexico to take pictures with Three Caballero Donald and in Germany for a chocolate covered caramel. At Via Napoli, we were seated with a very short wait. The food was excellent. I had arancini appetizer (very good) and the margherita pizza. For dessert I had the zeppole di ricotta which I was unsure about but chose based on the recommendation of my server. And they were amazing!! So delicious. Our server had some trouble processing our dining plan. One of the problems with the Premium plan is that so few people use it, so many times the servers are unfamiliar with it. After dinner, Phil said there was a Sugar Ray concert about to start. Now, I would never pay to see a Sugar Ray concert, but since we were there, why not? It was a short, 30-minute concert of just their hits. William was hilarious dancing around. It was so much fun, and definitely one of our little unplanned Disney magic moments.
We left about 8:15, and in our walk back to the buses, we were almost run over by a crazy scooter driver. I don’t know if he had had too much fun at the Food and Wine Festival, but he literally almost ran us over. I saw him do the same thing to the people ahead of us. Our entire trip we had no trouble with either carts or strollers, except for this guy. He was going way too fast and driving very erratically.
When we finally got to the bus stop, our bus had just pulled up, and we were back at the hotel by 9:00. I put Elizabeth Frances to bed, then went to concierge to get our Halloween Party tickets. The weather was fine tonight, but the next day it was supposed to be horrendous with at tropical depression hitting. That night, the forecast was for up to 5 inches of rain, with thunderstorms starting at about 7. I asked the concierge lady what would happen to the party if it rained all day, and she said it would still go on. She said it would have to be very major weather for them to cancel the party. The fireworks might be canceled, and the headless horseman might not ride, but other than that it was a go. She said that we could possibly switch our tickets to Thursday night, but that many people might be doing that as well, and it might be more crowded. And she said something else that stuck with me the rest of the trip. She said, “You know, you can’t control the weather. So you might as well embrace it, right?” I agreed.
Talking to the concierge next to me was an elderly man who wanted to get tickets to La Nouba. We had received 5 vouchers as part of our Premium package and I knew we weren’t going to use them. I offered them to the man, and he took 2 of them. He was very grateful and I was glad they weren’t going to go to waste. I don’t know if he was able to use them or not (the fine print said they were not transferable), but I hope so. After getting our tickets, I bought myself the Mickey Boo t-shirt (very popular, in fact it sold out while we were there) and a lanyard for William to use for his pins. I also stopped by Roaring Fork to refill my drink. We were all in bed by 10:30.
oh boy....your day sounds a little less magical than I'm sure you hoped. But, no Disney trip is without its so-so days..at least you got yours out of the way early on day 3
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The elderly woman and her companion stayed put. THEN THEY DID IT AGAIN!! 
They had the CM lift the bars again and switched seats while the elderly woman and her companion stayed in their seats. I just thought that was completely inconsiderate, especially since the changes were not being made to help the person who needed assistance. I looked at the woman next to me, who smiled and said, “All you can do is smile about it, right?” I agreed. It would do no good to get upset and let it ruin our vacation. 
I felt bad for him, but at least we know now, right? We went to HM next, and the boys loved the new queue. I didn’t like the end as much. It was hard for me to see what the ghosts were doing because it moved so quickly. But I was the only one. The rest of our group liked it.
She was wearing a pretty pink smocked dress with Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and Rapunzel on it. She didn’t like the princesses to hold her, so we had to sit down. Now, I am not used to taking pictures with the talking (not mascot) characters, so I was totally unprepared when I met Cinderella. I asked if we could sit down because that was the only way Elizabeth Frances would take the pictures. And she said, “Of course! You know, Jaq and Gus and I didn’t get along so well at first, but now we are the best of friends.” I kind of looked at her like, “Um, I’m an adult and I know you aren’t really Cinderella. And the baby doesn’t really know who Cinderella is.” But then I realized that she has to stay in character or she could lose her job. I’ll have to remember this next time!
I didn’t think anything of it until we were right in front of the ride and I smelled throw up. There was vomit on the ground right before you got on the ride. 
The little boy had vomited right before he got on the ride. And I stepped in some of it. Gross. But I felt really bad for the little boy. That stinks (literally).
We were herded out of the park very quickly. I was wearing a LSU t-shirt, and as we were leaving, Phillip went up to one of the Halloween party balloon venders. I called him back, telling him we had to leave. I thought I heard the CM say to Phillip in a very curt manner, “Exit is that way.” I said (well within his earshot), “That was rude. We are obviously leaving. There was no need to be mean about it.” Then I saw Phil laughing. I asked him why he was laughing, and he said the CM actually had said to me, not to Phillip, “LSU fan? The exit is that way.” So I turned back to the CM and smiled so he would know I knew he was joking. 
Tricia
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