Pre-Trip Report: Our Last Trip to Disney…for a Really Long Time - Page 7 - 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.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
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.
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So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I've heard alot of people who have said no Disney for a while because of the economy. You'll just have to make this trip count and visit these TRs alot!
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Great update. Sounded like a wonderful day. Love your view too!
Has anyone told you that your DH resembles Brett Farve?
No, but I can see that! Should I tell him? If I do will he get a big head?
My son's teacher has a thing for Brett Favre...I'll have to make sure nothing funny happens at our parent teacher conference.
No, but I can see that! Should I tell him? If I do will he get a big head?
My son's teacher has a thing for Brett Favre...I'll have to make sure nothing funny happens at our parent teacher conference.
You may not want to tell him. You don't want him to get too sure of himself.
Watch that teacher! You may have to fight her! LOL
Our Last Trip to Disney…for a Really Long Time - The Trip Report!
June 23, 2009, Day 5: (Our first trip to Typhoon Lagoon, plus The Wave and MK)
This trip was our first summer visit to WDW, and our first time to add the Water Park Fun and More option (is that what it’s called?) to the tickets. We found the WPF/M tickets were well worth the money, especially in the heat of the summer.
Morning: After a quick breakfast in our room, we drove to TL and arrived prior to rope drop. I mentioned in an earlier installment that we really liked Aquatica. TL is even better! It is the most beautiful water park I’ve ever seen, and the theming is marvelous! I love all of the shade at this park! It was another scorcher, but we barely noticed due to the trees and the fact that we were in wet bathing suits all day. Since the crowds didn’t arrive until a bit later, we were able to ride everything in the first 90 minutes. My favorite ride was Mayday Falls, and Peter and Chris loved the Lagoon itself. It’s so big, and the waves are enormous! They had a blast playing in the water. I like wave pools for a little while, but then I like to get out, walk around, and take pictures.
My other favorite attraction was Shark Reef! It was very cool to snorkel with fish. It took me a minute to feel comfortable with the mask and breathing tube, but once I figured out how to pace my breathing, it was amazing.
A strange fact about my son: he will ride any water slide without fear, but hates roller coasters. I don’t get it! He rode every major slide at TL, but avoided all of the coasters this year.
Lunch: We grabbed lunch at Leaning Palms. It was pretty good, though I don’t recall what we ate. (Anyone want to bet that DH had a salad with grilled chicken??) We sat at a pleasant, shaded, outdoor table. I wonder if the B-Teams are sent to run the CS restaurants at the water parks. It seemed like the CM’s were very confused and disorganized behind the counter, and their system of filling orders seemed inefficient. We didn’t notice this level of confusion at the resorts or at the “big 4” but it seemed to be the norm at the water parks. I’m not complaining. We were very relaxed, and looked at the map, discussing our morning while we waited for our food. I’m just stating an observation.
Afternoon: For some reason, Peter is quite taken with Stitch. He always has been. Lilo and Stitch is among my least favorite Disney movies, and the characters do nothing for me. But whatever! We were able to take pictures with Lilo and Stitch at TL, which was fun. Just because I don’t get it, doesn’t mean that I don’t enjoy seeing my son have a good time.
As the temperature rose, more and more people arrived at TL. This was our cue to exit. Back at BWV (love the valet parking!) we took a short nap, wrote in our journals, and Peter took a swim at the Luna Park pool. He loved the pool and Keister Coaster, but soon dark clouds began to move in. Aside: I read that it rains for a little while almost every afternoon in FL in the summer. The result of the brief shower or storm is supposed to be lower humidity and slightly cooler temperatures. Until today, day 5, we hadn’t experienced this phenomenon. Finally, it rained!
During the storm, we did a little shopping. We tried on hats, and I bought Peter one of those small, stuffed animals with magnetic paws – Stictch, of course!
I also bought postcards and a Disney 2009 magnet. We got to know a married couple who work in the stores along the Boardwalk, as well as the store in the resort. Peter took up pin trading on this trip, and his goal was to get as many Stitch pins as he could. The couple kept their eyes open for Stitch pins, and were able to trade a few with Peter. In fact, on the last day, the wife was so impressed with Peter’s manners that she brought him a Stitch pin from her own personal collection. He had run out of pins to trade, so she gave it to him. It was so sweet! Even without this thoughtful gesture, we appreciated the attention and kindness shown to us by this couple. They treated us like old friends, or like family, and contributed to the magic of our trip.
We drove to the Contemporary for our ADR’s at The Wave. Since we arrived a little early, we walked around the resort and shopped. I had seen a WDW shirt at the gift shop called Fantasia on our first evening, and I hadn’t seen it anywhere else. I bought it! The other souvenir I had hoped to find was a Chamilia Disney bead for my Pandora bracelet. They seemed to have run out everywhere I looked. I didn’t find one here either. (I bought one on line after the vacation.)
Dinner at The Wave: ( I wonder if WDW will name more restaurants after emoticoms?) We loved our dinner at The Wave. I began with a Blue Glow-tini, and the glowing cube lent a festive air to the evening. It ended up in Peter’s lemonade. The drink was just enough to scramble my sun-baked brain. I ordered the petite sirloin, which was excellent. Chris had lamb with couscous, which he loved, and Peter ordered kids’ pasta. Dessert was terrific as well. Peter made his own sundae, Chris had a trio of small but tasty treats, and I asked our waitress if there was any way to make all three of my tasty treats of the chocolate mousse variety. She was able to accommodate my request, which earned her a generous tip.
After dinner we took the monorail to MK. Maybe it was due to the drizzle, but the park was not overly crowded. We weren’t alone, but we could navigate our way around comfortably. We took in PoC, HM, Philharmagic, and a few other attractions. I especially love riding PoC and HM at night! I made the mistake of “dragging” my son onto BTMR. OK, “dragging” is strong. But I convinced him to ride it (as he had 3 years earlier) and I think he is still mad at me! Weird!
We watched Wishes and walked back to the Contemporary. It was a pleasant walk, and much quicker than the public transportation options. We talked about our day. I apologized repeatedly for taking Peter on BTMR, and we decided that collectively, our favorite park is TL. We then drove back to the BWV and called it a night.
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We didn’t notice this level of confusion at the resorts or at the “big 4” but it seemed to be the norm at the water parks. I’m not complaining. We were very relaxed, and looked at the map, discussing our morning while we waited for our food. I’m just stating an observation.
( I wonder if WDW will name more restaurants after emoticoms?) We loved our dinner at The Wave. I began with a Blue Glow-tini, and the glowing cube lent a festive air to the evening. It ended up in Peter’s lemonade. The drink was just enough to scramble my sun-baked brain. I ordered the petite sirloin, which was excellent. Chris had lamb with couscous, which he loved, and Peter ordered kids’ pasta. Dessert was terrific as well. Peter made his own sundae, Chris had a trio of small but tasty treats, and I asked our waitress if there was any way to make all three of my tasty treats of the chocolate mousse variety. She was able to accommodate my request, which earned her a generous tip. 
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