[missymouse]

Originally Posted by KarenWDWCP

In cheesy Karen fashion, I popped in a CD and played "A Dream is Wish your Heart Makes" as we drove under the WDW sign. My dad just shook his head and laughed at my ridiculousness.

This is so me! I do things like that too, and my whole family thinks I am so goofy! (And I am a mom of 3! My parents still think I'm ridiculous!)

[missymouse]

Originally Posted by KarenWDWCP

My one issue here was that there was a family behind us where the parents were completely lying to their kids about the intesity and actuality of the ride. The kids truly wanted no part of the Tower but the parents kept saying "Oh, it is not really scary or intense at all! They are just trying to psych you out in the waiting area." At one point one of the kids said something like " I don't even like to ride elevators" and the mom said "Oh, it is not like an elevator at all!" Now, I am all for trying to convince kids to go on some things they might be leary of but out and out lying to your kids to get them to ride something they obviously want no part of is NOT okay. By the time we got to the actual ride, one of the kids must have completely bailed on it because just the dad and one son ended up on the actual ride. At the end of the ride, a different kid sitting next to him (who he had been talking to in line) asked him if he liked it and I thought the kid was going to throw up he was so scared from the ride. He hated it and practically pushed his way off the thing. I felt so bad!

That makes me so angry! Why would a parent do that? DS isn't big on thrill rides, and we really want him to at least try things before he says no, but I would never lie to him to get him to ride something! We are always very up front with him about what to expect, and for a parent to say, "Oh, the Tower of Terror isn't like an elevator at all!" is ridiculous! That's just mean!

Okay, tirade over . . .

[Willbegone]

I think it is great your dad loves Boston so much! I think people should be proud of where they come from. I tend to talk to much about South Carolina but it is because I love my state. Still lovin' the TR! TRs are the only thing keeping me from losing it waiting on the November hours!

[ssn]

Great TR!!! I'm glad you liked your room at the BC. When we stayed in April I found that the room we stayed in needed major updating. It could be b/c we had just stayed 3 nights at the brand new rooms at the Contemp, but I really felt that the room was rundown. The walls were thin too, I heard the man in the next room every morning going to the bathroom!!!

The gift store/food area confused me alot too! Since it was the only CS for breakfast I though it was very small.

The best part of course is the location and that I loved! We also had a great time at the pool.

I love that you still enjoy going away with your parents. That makes me hope that DD7 will still like going to WDW with DH and I when she growns up!

[KarenWDWCP]

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten!

Anyway, I left my parents at Raglan Road to head to the Virgin Megastore and buy a charger for my Ipod and some different headphones since mine kept falling out while I was trying to fall asleep. I left my dad happily singing Irish songs and drinking Guiness so all was well with them.

It was weird walking through PI to get to the Virgin Store because it was SO dead there. It was actually kind of sad, but in a way I was glad that I didn't have to deal with major crowds of drunken people. I was pretty much in and out of the Virgin Megastore and discovered that I didn't have to rush to get there before 11 since they were staying open late for a CD release party for the new Madonna CD at midnight. Oh well. It brought back fond memories of buying the 2nd NSYNC cd at that store when it was released during my college program in 2000.

I bought what I needed (pretty reasonably priced too, I was afraid it would cost me a lot) and headed back out. I stopped at Haggen Daz to get a milkshake since I left before dessert at Raglan Road and was still bitter over Ghiradelli not being open from its refurb. I then spent $7.50 on a milkshake (WHAT?) and enjoyed it as I made my way back through PI to DTD.

I called my mom but they were still waiting for dessert so I told her I would go ahead back to the Beach Club on my own and meet them there. I had been trying to get to sleep before them to avoid the Darth Vader breathing/snoring harmony they create.

Here is where my ridiculous WDW adventure happened. I was waiting for a bus at DTD and even though I KNEW that more than one bus stopped at the stop I was at, when the bus pulled in without its sign on, I heard someone else ask (or so I thought) if it stopped at the Beach Club and heard the driver say yes so I got on. Big mistake. It turned out it was NOT stopping at Beach Club or Yacht Club only the Swan and Dolphin (in all my days at the Beach Club I could never predict or know when the bus was going to shared with another EPCOT resort and when it wasn't). Not a huge deal since I know you can walk from any of those EPCOT resorts to the other resorts and I have done it many times. Plus it was a nice night and I love that area so I figured that I would just get off at the Dolphin and walk back to the Beach Club. Fine.

So I get off, cut through the lobby and head to the small path that wraps around the front of the Dolphin and heads to the Yacht Club. I don't know why I went that way instead of heading over the bridge, but whatever, it is what I did. All is fine until I turn one corner and realize the sprinkers are on. Okay, no problem again as they are aiming towards the grass not the path so I am just being hit with a slight mist from them. Then I turn another corner and see the sprinklers are on all the way down the rest of the path. At this point I figure, I'm halfway along the building I might as well just continue. So I keep walking through the sprinklers though these ones are not aimed as well so I am definitely getting wetter than is really necessary.

I finally turn the last corner and I am met with a gigantic piece of construction equipment blocking the rest of the path. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it was huge and placed directly in front of the path to prevent people from walking on it. So now I have no choice but to turn around and walk BACK through all the sprinklers again. I looked like a fool. By the time I got back around to the main entrance of the Dolphin I was soaked and irritated. Ha. I then took the bridge over and walked back by the Yacht Club and onto the Beach Club. I had just settled into the room when my parents arrived back as well. My mom was confused that I wasnt already in bed and then she said "Wait, did you get on the wrong bus??" and I said "Yes, how did you know??" and she said that they had almost done the same thing because the bus was not labeled but she got worried after they sat down and asked the bus driver and sure enough they were on the wrong bus. So they got off and waited for another one.

She did enjoy my story about the sprinklers though. But the bottom line is, they have got to get those buses labeled better as they pull into DTD where several resorts share stops.

[missymouse]

Originally Posted by KarenWDWCP

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten!

Anyway, I left my parents at Raglan Road to head to the Virgin Megastore and buy a charger for my Ipod and some different headphones since mine kept falling out while I was trying to fall asleep. I left my dad happily singing Irish songs and drinking Guiness so all was well with them.

It was weird walking through PI to get to the Virgin Store because it was SO dead there. It was actually kind of sad, but in a way I was glad that I didn't have to deal with major crowds of drunken people. I was pretty much in and out of the Virgin Megastore and discovered that I didn't have to rush to get there before 11 since they were staying open late for a CD release party for the new Madonna CD at midnight. Oh well. It brought back fond memories of buying the 2nd NSYNC cd at that store when it was released during my college program in 2000.

I bought what I needed (pretty reasonably priced too, I was afraid it would cost me a lot) and headed back out. I stopped at Haggen Daz to get a milkshake since I left before dessert at Raglan Road and was still bitter over Ghiradelli not being open from its refurb. I then spent $7.50 on a milkshake (WHAT?) and enjoyed it as I made my way back through PI to DTD.

I called my mom but they were still waiting for dessert so I told her I would go ahead back to the Beach Club on my own and meet them there. I had been trying to get to sleep before them to avoid the Darth Vader breathing/snoring harmony they create.

Here is where my ridiculous WDW adventure happened. I was waiting for a bus at DTD and even though I KNEW that more than one bus stopped at the stop I was at, when the bus pulled in without its sign on, I heard someone else ask (or so I thought) if it stopped at the Beach Club and heard the driver say yes so I got on. Big mistake. It turned out it was NOT stopping at Beach Club or Yacht Club only the Swan and Dolphin (in all my days at the Beach Club I could never predict or know when the bus was going to shared with another EPCOT resort and when it wasn't). Not a huge deal since I know you can walk from any of those EPCOT resorts to the other resorts and I have done it many times. Plus it was a nice night and I love that area so I figured that I would just get off at the Dolphin and walk back to the Beach Club. Fine.

So I get off, cut through the lobby and head to the small path that wraps around the front of the Dolphin and heads to the Yacht Club. I don't know why I went that way instead of heading over the bridge, but whatever, it is what I did. All is fine until I turn one corner and realize the sprinkers are on. Okay, no problem again as they are aiming towards the grass not the path so I am just being hit with a slight mist from them. Then I turn another corner and see the sprinklers are on all the way down the rest of the path. At this point I figure, I'm halfway along the building I might as well just continue. So I keep walking through the sprinklers though these ones are not aimed as well so I am definitely getting wetter than is really necessary.

I finally turn the last corner and I am met with a gigantic piece of construction equipment blocking the rest of the path. I wish I had taken a picture of it because it was huge and placed directly in front of the path to prevent people from walking on it. So now I have no choice but to turn around and walk BACK through all the sprinklers again. I looked like a fool. By the time I got back around to the main entrance of the Dolphin I was soaked and irritated. Ha. I then took the bridge over and walked back by the Yacht Club and onto the Beach Club. I had just settled into the room when my parents arrived back as well. My mom was confused that I wasnt already in bed and then she said "Wait, did you get on the wrong bus??" and I said "Yes, how did you know??" and she said that they had almost done the same thing because the bus was not labeled but she got worried after they sat down and asked the bus driver and sure enough they were on the wrong bus. So they got off and waited for another one.

She did enjoy my story about the sprinklers though. But the bottom line is, they have got to get those buses labeled better as they pull into DTD where several resorts share stops.

That was a funny story--it sounds like something that would happen to me! Can't wait to hear more about your trip.

[dancing4disney]

I hope the new earphones worked better since you couldn't get to sleep before they arrived.

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by KarenWDWCP

My one issue here was that there was a family behind us where the parents were completely lying to their kids about the intesity and actuality of the ride. The kids truly wanted no part of the Tower but the parents kept saying "Oh, it is not really scary or intense at all! They are just trying to psych you out in the waiting area." At one point one of the kids said something like " I don't even like to ride elevators" and the mom said "Oh, it is not like an elevator at all!"

This reminds me of something I heard while waiting in line for ToT: "It's just an elevator! Let's go!!!!!!!!" said by a mom to her family, who seemed to be a bit concerned about going on this attraction. I don't know how it ended, but it did seem to me to be a bit of an understatement. "Just an elevator"? I think not!

Originally Posted by KarenWDWCP

It got to be a family joke when we would check in somewhere my dad would look in the bathroom and say "Your room looks nice, Karen!"

Oh my, this made me laugh out loud! I do wish I had run into your family while we were there; your dad sounds like quite a character!

[dancing4disney]

So are you going to live up to your trip report?

[KarenWDWCP]

Ok, it is taking me ages, I know, but here is the next part!

TUESDAY, April 29

So we woke up Tuesday morning and got up and out to the bus stop and hopped on a bus to Animal Kingdom. We had an ADR for breakfast at Boma at 10:30. We got there in good time and enjoyed a delicious breakfast (as always!) at Boma. I probably ate a pound of bacon by myself. We were slightly disappointed that they seem to offer 2 kinds of premade omelettes now as opposed to the cooked to order omelettes we've had on past trips, but other than that it was great!

After breakfast we headed over to Animal Kingdom. I should confess that Animal Kingdom is my least favorite of the the parks and if I had to skip one on a short trip, this would be it. However, my dad had never ridden Everest and he wanted to do that and we love the Festival of the Lion King so we wanted to see that. The plan was to do those two things and maybe the Safari or the Nemo show and then head out.

We got to the park just as the Festival of the Lion King was starting at 11:30 so we raced over there to catch that show. It was great as always! No matter how many times I see that show, it always makes me oooh and aahh. (a funny side note is that on the trip I took with my aunt and her kids in 2006, she had been so excited about the Festival of the Lion King show and when it was over I asked if she liked it. She said yeah, but seemed kind of reserved. Later she confessed that she had thought there were real lions in the show so she was confused and slightly disappointed when there weren't any! I'm still not sure where she got that idea from.)

After Festival of the Lion King we consulted the tip board to see if we should FP Everest or just wait. The wait time was posted for 30 minutes so I suggested we just wait since the line there is so great anyway. We did and our wait was probably closer to 20 minutes. My parents both enjoyed going through the regular line and checking out all the neat stuff at the "museum." We had a great ride on Everest. My dad said he felt like he was falling down a rabbit hole when we were going backwards in the dark! Try as I might to keep my eyes open the whole time, I once again chickened out and closed my eyes just before the Yeti. I've ridden Everest 4 times but have only actually seen the Yeti once due to my own chickenness. Ha. My dad was pretty impressed with the ride but said once was enough for this trip!

After Everest, we decided that we would try to catch the next Nemo show. We had a little bit of time so we rode Primeval Whirl first, which I haven't ridden in ages! It was only a 10 minute wait and we had a good time though we were definitely in the mood for a respite from all the spinning, dropping and jerking after the Everest/Whirl combo!

We settled in for the Nemo show. I had only seen it once and my parents had never seen it. I saw it last August and it was at the point in our WDW trip where we had reached the proverbial wall. We were hot, hungry and tired when we got there so I hadn't really loved the show that much. I decided to give it another chance this trip and see if I enjoyed it more this time around. Well, my dad LOVED it. He thought it was great. And I think Crush is his new favorite character as he was beside himself laughing at Turtle Talk the day before and was pretty much laughing it up during Crush's musical number in this show as well. My mom fell asleep and I pretty much felt the same as I had last time I saw it. It was good, but definitely not a must do for me.

We left Nemo and had a snack (popcorn for me, ice cream for mom and dad) and then my dad really, really wanted to ride Dinosaur before we left. He really likes that ride for some reason. I hate being startled more than anything else so that ride somewhat tortures me but I am pretty much up for anything so we headed over there and took a ride back in time. I screamed and kept my eyes closed for most of it and my dad laughed the whole way through.

We started heading out of the park at this point. The wait for the Safari was at about an hour so we opted to skip it this time. We stopped to meet up with Pooh and his friends at their character spot and then headed for the exit. My mom was stopped for the 2nd time this trip to take a survey on the way out (this would become a recurring theme. Every time my dad and I lost her for a minute, we would look around and find her in the midst of a survey. It was hilarious!)

We went to the bus stop and hopped on a bus to Wilderness Lodge to make our ADR at Whispering Canyon Cafe!

[faerie dust]

great reprot and keep it coming.. I love dinasaur sp also .. my favorite ride at ak.

[dixie]

Tr is really good Karen and I am so enjoying reading it

[timkelmom]

really good TR so far. Your Dad sounds like quite a character. Glad you had a good time. Can't wait for the rest.

[KarenWDWCP]

We were on a bus to the WL in no time and we still had about half an hour before our ADR. We decided to relax and grab a drink in the Territory Lounge. My mom also wanted to sneak a peak at the Artist Point dining room since my aunt and uncle had just eaten there the week before and loved it.

We were pretty much the only people in the lounge. My mom and I both had some sort of berry martini which was quite strong. I felt a little loopy afterwards, It's amazing how your tolerance for alcohol drops preciptiously once your college days end.

Once we checked in at Whispering Canyon we were seated in just a few minutes. Our server was great. She did the basic amount of harassing which was good for us since we were really there to eat and enjoy the hijinks of everyone else. We all got the skillet which was delicious! I could eat my weight in pulled pork, I think. Though I did feel slightly guilty about the sheer volume of pork I ate that day between the bacon at Boma and the pulled pork at WCC! We watched the pony rides and all the fun. AFterwards my dad confessed that he would have liked some ketchup for his baked beans but he didn't dare ask.

My dad and I took coffee to go and then the three of us explored the resort a bit and took some photos. My cousin and her kids had been there the week befor so we spent some time talking about their trip. Then we headed to the bus stop and off to EPCOT to stroll around and then head back to the room from there.

At Epcot, we went headed straight into the World Showcase, Mexico first and rode El Gran Fiesta. I always enjoy the first part of that ride by the San Angel Inn. We then made our way around the World Showcase. We stopped at the America Gardens theater for some of the BJ Thomas show. I could only watch so much of him (he looked like Bruce Jenner from afar!). When he busted out with some song he had written himself (after confessing that he didn't really write many songs) about how he was basically a jerk when he was famous but has now come to realize that he shouldn't have been, I had to bolt. It was too much for me. I really only wanted to hear Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head.

So I left my parents to enjoy the rest of the show and I headed to the American Adventure gift shop. I was looking for merchandise and display ideas since I have recently been put in control of my museum's gift shop. I
figured that they probably carried some of the same historic souvenir type stuff at the American Adventure Shop and I was curious as to how they were displaying stuff. At any rate, I was kind of disappointed in my reconnasiance mission and didn't really come away with any great new (or stolen) ideas!

The three of us met up when BJ's set was over and we started making our way out of the park. We debated sticking around for Illuminations but all of the good spots to watch were gone and we had plans to really stick around and watch it the next night. We did get to see some of it on our way out of the park (I walked backwards most of the way out - I love Illuminations!)

On our way back to the Beach Club, my mom got a call from my Aunt Carol who was back at home flipping between watching American Idol (I'm so mad I missed Neil Diamond night!) and the Red Sox game. She told us that the Red Sox were either scoreless or tied 1-1 in the 8th inning. So, as we were walking to the Beach Club I asked my dad if he wanted to go to the ESPN Club to catch the end of the game. Despite our many trips to the World, my parents still get confused with the exact setup over at the Epcot resort area and my dad hadn't even realized that we could just walk back from the ESPN Club when the game was over. On our last trip, we had ended up at ESPN several times (it was September and we were in a somewhat tight race with the Yankees at the end of the season so we didn't want to miss any games.) and had to take a cab back to POR. My dad was thrilled that we were now staying so close that we could walk back to our resort.

We headed to ESPN Club which was packed with lots of hockey fans, I forget what games were on that night. I shopped in the store a bit and mentioned to my mom that there was a shirt there that would be cute for our little cousin if we were going to buy them souvenirs. At this point, she was still saying that we weren't buying anything.

I watched the Sox win in somewhat dramatic fashion but then the ESPN Club was a little too crowded for me, so I walked down to the Seashore Sweets to get an ice cream and enjoy it out on the Boardwalk which has to be my favorite non-park spot in all of WDW. My dad had made some new Red Sox fan friends (no surprise there) so I left the two of them there chatting with a very friendly man who was in town on business.

We met up a little bit later, headed back to the Beach Club and went off to bed (me with my new Ipod headphones in my ear!)

Another great Disney day!

[KarenWDWCP]

We didn't take too many pictures on this day. Most of the AK pictures we took were on our photopass. But here is one of my dad waiting to be seated at the Whispering Canyon Cafe.