Suzanne Payne - March 2006 - Boardwalk Villas

Time of Year: Winter
Travel Method: Plane
Resort: BWV
Accommodations: Studio
Ages Represented in Group: Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Frequent, Veteran


Suzanne Payne -- March 2006 -- Walt Disney World (BWV)

Cast of Characters

Suzanne, me – 37, 12th trip to WDW
Lloyd, my husband – 38, 4th trip
Lauren, daughter – 9, 6th trip

Dates: March 8th – 18th

Introduction:

I love WDW and don’t get to go near as much as I would like to! We’ve been on a schedule of visiting every other year. Lloyd is indifferent and would really like to visit other places, Lauren loves it, although I don’t think she’s quite as obsessed as I am. Unfortunately, airfare from our part of Timbuktu, Texas is quite expensive. I had originally seen airfare for about $850 for the 3 of us in June, but wasn’t ready to buy. Then the hurricanes came and prices seemed to skyrocket. I was only finding prices around $1000 EACH!! That would be using the entire budget for the trip! The fact that we were going at prime spring break time also made prices higher. I waited for SWA fares to come out and they weren’t any better, so I started digging. The original plan was to go from Friday, March 10 – Sunday, March 19th, but I found some great fares by leaving on Wednesday, March 8th and returning on Saturday, March 18th. Of course the times were awful, but we were getting there. The final total came to just over $1000 for all 3 of us. I like to plan and have my little color coded spreadsheet that we take with us. Lloyd always complains that I turn into Superwoman at WDW, racing all around. So, my plan this trip was to take it easy. We had just been to Disneyland in November and would be going again in June, so I think that helped me not have the feeling that I needed to see and ride everything.

Wednesday, March 8th

Plan: Flight to Orlando 6:30 pm, Magical Express to BCV, sleep!

Everything went very smooth with our flights and we arrived in Orlando about 1:00 am. Because we were arriving so late (or is it early??), we had to collect our own baggage. We were at the Magical Express counter by 1:30. I don’t remember what time we pulled out, but we were the only ones on the bus and reached BCV by 2:15. Check in was obviously quick and easy. Our room was 261 a dedicated, nonsmoking studio. A little further down the hall than the room we had the last time, and a view of the service road. We were hoping for a view of the pool, but we were in WDW and I was happy! We unpacked a little and were in bed by 3:00 am.

Thursday, March 9th

Plan: Sleep late, lunch at Beaches & Cream, swim, evening at Epcot

We woke up about 10:00. Since we didn’t get a rental car, we wanted to get a few groceries, especially Dr. Pepper. Lloyd and Lauren love their daily DPs, so we had to get some to keep in the room. I called Garden Grocer to give them our room number and we finished unpacking. Our groceries were supposed to be delivered between 10:30 & 11:00, but it ended up being closer to 11:30. No big deal, we weren’t in a big rush. We headed out to Beaches & Cream and were seated immediately. Lloyd decided to have the roast beef sandwich and Lauren and I were going to share a hamburger, but she really wanted to go ahead and order a chocolate sundae. Needless to say, she didn’t touch a bite of the hamburger, but ate every bite of the sundae. She also ate some of my French fries. I had already decided that we were not going to worry about nutrition and just enjoy ourselves. We hung out at the pool for a couple of hours, got a refillable mug, then went back to get dressed. Lauren is in choir this year and I knew she would enjoy seeing the Voices of Liberty, so we wanted to make their final performance at 5:00. We got to Epcot at 4:30, where we picked up our tickets from Guest Relations. We made our way around to the American Adventure, but they weren’t letting us into the building. I was really disappointed. Voices of Liberty sang out front and we entered the American Adventure through the exit. I was really hoping to get to go in and look around. Does anyone know why the building is closed early in the evening??? After seeing Am. Adv., we went around to Norway to ride Maelstrom. The plan was to head back around to Canada to watch Off Kilter, but as we came by China, the acrobats were just starting so we grabbed a spot and decided to catch the last show of Off Kilter. The acrobats were amazing! I love catching the shows throughout World Showcase, they are so great. We continued making our way back around to Canada, stopping in some of the countries for a bite to eat. Lloyd loves Sommerfest in Germany, so he ate while Lauren and I browsed some shops. Lauren wanted a hamburger from Liberty Inn, which she ate on the go. Side note, Lauren is VERY picky. She finally ate her first hamburger last year, but still doesn’t eat them too often. Well, she thought the Liberty Inn hamburger was awesome. (Poor sheltered child…) We kept working around and I stopped at the Yorkshire Country Fish Shoppe for some fish and chips, Lloyd & Lauren went ahead to get some spots for Off Kilter. The fish was good, a little greasy, and Off Kilter was so fun!! Lauren was anxious to ride something, but we really didn’t want to go way into the park. We decided to go over Journey Into Your Imagination. Well silly me, I forgot that parts of Future World close early. We went back to World Showcase to get desserts from Boulangie Pastierre to tide us over till Illuminations. The line was long, but it moved very quickly. Lauren got crème brulee, Lloyd got some type of cream puff thing, I got a Napoleon, and we got a few elephant ears to snack on. We found a table in the back of the shop next door and enjoyed sharing our treats. Next, we searched for the perfect viewing spot. Previously we sat in front of the Japan pavilion, but this time we stayed in front of Morocco. The crowds were light and we found a bench about 10 minutes before showtime. We had a wonderful view and the show was fabulous with the fire barge in full force. We went back to the room and were in bed by 10:00.

Friday, March 10th

Plan: Crystal Palace breakfast, Magic Kingdom, Downtown Disney

We had an 8:05 PS at Crystal Palace, and were running right on schedule. On our previous trip, 2 other family members, who shall remain nameless, were a little hard to get moving and we ran late. Well, this trip I promised them this would be the one really early morning and I knew we would get to bed at a decent hour the night before, so I didn’t want any moaning or complaining. We were at the bus stop at 7:15, and the bus arrived about 10 minutes later (of course in WDW time that seems like 40 minutes). Once we got to the Magic Kingdom, we had time to take a few pictures in front of the flower Mickey and train station. When the gates opened we were on our way. We were not the first family to check in, but we were the first ones seated after they did the “Chef of the Day” ceremony. Piglet was the first to come around, and then we got some food. Because Lauren is 11, she was considered an adult, so it was difficult to watch her eat some bacon and a muffin, then be charged $20, but, she and I both love the Pooh characters, and I think CP is the best breakfast, so we had a good time. Eeyore, Pooh, and Tigger all made there way around and we were ready to hit the park. It was still about 8:45, so we went over to Main Street to have our picture made in front of the castle. We took a few more pictures, then decided to break tradition and start the day by going over to Splash Mountain. When the rope finally dropped, we were met at the Frontierland entrance by a CM who told us that Splash was not running. We went on around, got fastpasses for later and rode Big Thunder. Splash wasn’t expected to open for a while longer, so we started making our way back around. With Pirates closed, we cut over to Aladdin’s Magic Carpets. Lauren and I took a spin and Lloyd sat it out due to his motion sickness problems. We moved on to the Haunted Mansion, then I forced my family to ride It’s a Small World. It’s one of those rides I have to do. Next, we walked right into Mickey’s PhilharMagic. This show is so cute!! It’s my favorite 3-D show. We wanted to go back to Splash, but didn’t want to walk all the way back around there if it wasn’t open, so I stopped at the film booth by Pooh and the CM called to see if it was running. It was, so we decided to catch the train at Toontown. We always enjoy a trip on the train, so this was a good excuse to ride. Before catching the train, I grabbed us FP for Space Mountain. On the way, Lauren and I stopped to get our picture made with the White Rabbit by the teacups. I was really surprised how uncrowded the park was. The FP time for Space Mountain was only about 45 minutes later. We made our trip back to Frontierland and rode Splash. I’m not a big fan of getting wet so I always dread the part where you go in front of the briar patch and it makes the big splash. Thankfully, it just missed me and I could enjoy the rest of the ride. We caught the train back around to Toontown and walked the path by the train tracks to Space. After the ride, we got FP for Buzz and decided to eat at Cosmic Ray’s. Lloyd and I eat got a chicken Caesar salad, Lauren got vegetable soup, and we all shared a large coke. We ate out on the patio overlooking the castle. We were admiring the gold figures and there was one we couldn’t figure out. It looked like a large ball with arms and from where we were sitting it didn’t look like any character we knew. As we left, we walked by the castle and a photo CM was standing there. We asked him and he told us it was King Louie. Once we walked around to the front we could tell it was him. We visited with him (the CM, not King Louie) for a while, then walked on to Buzz. As we exited, I wanted to ride the Peoplemover (aka Tomorrowland Transit Authority to you newbies), but it was stopped, so we decided to go back to the hotel for a swim. We walked through some of the shops on Main Street and got a rice krispie treat from the Confectionary. This would start an evil obsession with rice krispie treats that would last the entire trip. We went for a swim at Stormalong Bay and Lauren joined in a game of water volleyball. The pool was absolutely freezing. I did get in the hot tub for a little bit and then went back to rest in my chair. Downtown Disney was on the agenda and we had the longest bus wait of the trip. It took 45 minutes for it to show up. We went over to the Earl of Sandwich. Lloyd stood in line while Lauren and I went to the Pin Trading shop. Lauren got “into” pins on our last trip and acquired even more on our trip to Disneyland in November. There was a pin trader outside and Lauren wanted to trade him for a Fox and Hound 20th Anniversary pin. We adopted 2 cats last summer and named them Copper and Tod. Unfortunately she had left her pins at the room, so we made a deal for him to pick out a pin, we would buy it, then trade for the Fox and the Hound pin. Pin trade complete, we met Lloyd to eat. The sandwiches were very good. Lloyd also got some potato salad, but wasn’t too crazy about it. Lauren doesn’t eat sandwiches, so she chose a soft pretzel from the Wetzel’s Pretzels stand. We also looked around the World of Disney and Once Upon a Toy store. Our last stop was in Goofy’s candy store. Lauren got a made to order caramel apple with chocolate and nuts. We were ready to go back and once again were in bed at 10:00.

Saturday, March 11th

Plan: Epcot, Le Cellier for lunch

We grabbed some breakfast in the room and were on our way to Epcot. I had been hearing reports that they weren’t even starting bag checks at the IG until nearly 9:00 and I was nervous that there would be a wait when the park opened. No worries, we were let through and waited at the rope at the top of the hill. We noticed some people sitting by the gazebo in the UK pavilion and the CM told us they were having a wedding. How cool!! I’m sure that doesn’t cost much. The bagpiper from Off Kilter was there in his Sunday best and had obviously played in the wedding. Once the rope dropped, we hoofed it over to Soarin’. Lauren and I had ridden it on our Disneyland trip in November and absolutely loved it! We grabbed FP for later and went on into the standby line. We were so excited to be on the front row middle for Lloyd’s first experience. I love the feeling, I love the music, it’s a great ride! We went over to Living With the Land. This is always fun for us since Lloyd is a farmer and we’ve had gardens in the past. Next, we were a little hungry, so we stopped in the Fountainview Espresso & Bakery where Lauren had a chocolate croissant and Lloyd and I shared a cream cheese pastry. I ran over to Test Track to get FP for later and also received the Surprise FP for Mission: Space. I had heard that was happening and was glad since Lauren was dying to give M:S a try for the first time. I met back up with Lloyd & Lauren at the Character Connection. Okay, if you haven’t gone in here, you’re missing a fabulous character opportunity. There was maybe 2 other people in there. We were able to take our time and get lots of pictures with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Donald, Goofy, Pinocchio, and Robin Hood. After that we went back around to the Cool Club. Lauren thought the watermelon was pretty good. Everybody knows about Beverly so I didn’t get to have any enjoyment at someone else’s expense. We went back to Journey Into Your Imagination. From the first time I visited Epcot in 1983, I loved Figment and JII was my favorite ride. On Lauren’s first trip, we rode it 5 times. As we walked right up and boarded, Lloyd looked over and said, “this ride isn’t that popular.” I told him how wonderful and fun it used to be….sad. We sent a few e-mail postcards, then decided to go back to Spaceship Earth. On the way, we got sidetracked at the Pin Station. Lauren was wearing 3 lanyards filled with pins and looked like a pack mule. We looked around and decided to buy the small purse that she could wear over one shoulder. She also found a few more pins and we bought some of the metal backs that don’t come off easily. After we got her situated, we were back on our way to SE. After our ride, it was time for M:S. We were having lunch at Le Cellier and I was sure hoping I wouldn’t get sick. It was a neat ride, but I really had that “been there, done that” feeling when it was over. Thankfully, neither of us felt any motion sickness either. We took off for Canada for our ADR at Le Cellier. Lauren started off with a Cappuccino Freeze and of course we had the cheese soup with our breadsticks. Lauren loved the pretzel bread, but didn’t dip in the soup. Lloyd and I both preferred the other breads. I ordered the filet mignon, Lloyd the New York strip, and Lauren ordered the steak off the kids menu. All were good, but not fabulous like on our last trip. We’ll probably take a break from Le Cellier on our next trip, not that it was bad, but just to try something different. After lunch, we took some pictures around the gardens in Canada, then went back for Test Track. This is another one of our favorites. The ride was great and we picked up FP for later. We decided to go back to the room for our afternoon swim and rest. Lauren was hoping there would be another game of volleyball, but they didn’t get another one going. I still never got hot enough to endure the freezing, cold pool, so I just hung out and napped in my chair. After resting up, Lauren and I went back to Epcot to use our Test Track FP. We went back with our Soarin’ FP and had another great ride, although on the 2nd row. We were getting hungry so we looked through Sunshine Season’s. Now remember I had already decided we weren’t going to stress about nutrition and I knew junky eating for 10 days wouldn’t kill any of us. So we didn’t really see any “real” food we were interested in and decided on a rice krispie treat, worms and dirt and some other pastry I can’t recall. All were sooo good. I really wanted to see the British Invasion, but Lauren wasn’t interested and ready to get back to the room. Lloyd had passed on going back to Epcot and went over to the Boardwalk instead. He had a sandwich from the Boardwalk Bakery and watched a magician before going back to the room. Again we were in bed by 9:30 or 10:00.

Sunday, March 12th

Plan: MGM, Sci-Fi Dine In for lunch

The big day!!! We’ve ridden Tower of Terror before, but Lauren really got hooked after our California trip, so she was hyped up! We also had convinced Lloyd to finally ride it as well. Before riding, we got FP for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, then were ready for ToT. I know we are probably in the minority here, but we like the ride in California better. Call us crazy! Lloyd thought it was neat, but I don’t think he’ll ride it again. We went on over to RNR and they tried to put us in the back. Well, we did that on our last trip and all 3 of us felt sick afterwards, so we requested to sit more in the front. It was an awesome ride and we decided to pick up another FP for ToT. Then, we went over to the Animation building. We saw the show with Mushu and it was really cute and somewhat interesting, although we won’t need to see it again. As we came out, Lauren saw Rabbit from Pooh and had to stop for a picture with him. Then, I saw him. I had wanted to see him in California, but never got the chance, my man, Chicken Little was out!! We went over and took quite a few pictures with him. Again, there wasn’t anyone around so we had lots of fun. He went in and we went over to the kiosk to see what Disney character we were most like. I can’t remember what anyone was, but out came Abby Mallard. Lots more fun ensued, with me getting the best picture of the trip. Lloyd is leaning over kissing Abby. She’s got the best pose struck and it is hysterical! By this time, Lauren was anxious to go to the Animation Academy or whatever it’s called, but it was time for Lights, Motors, Action. The next show was during our ADR for Sci-Fi and I knew we wouldn’t want to hang around for the 3rd show, so we convinced Lauren that we would come back after LMA. The show was really neat and lots of fun. I’m not sure of its repeat value, but it was really cool. When it was over, Lloyd wanted to do the Backlot Tour, so Lauren and I opted to head back to the Animation building. The next show was about 10 minutes away and Lauren was excited. She had drawn Goofy & Mickey at California Adventure and really wanted to give it another shot. I thought our instructor wasn’t as good and seemed a little rushed, but it was fun. Lauren was disappointed with her drawing of Mickey, but she’ll get to try again in June when we go back to Disneyland. We checked in at Sci-Fi, but Lloyd hadn’t made it yet. Lloyd is still a newbie and just not familiar with WDW terminology and of course being male, not one to ask directions, so I tried to give him good directions back to Sci-Fi. We also had our 2 way radios and I told him to call me as soon as he got off. He did and made it to Sci-Fi without any problem. We were seated once Lloyd got there. We ate here about 6 years ago and although the food doesn’t get rave reviews, I thought Lauren was old enough to really get a kick out of it. We started off with the spinach artichoke dip and a chocolate milkshake for Lauren. The dip was so good! We tried to get Lauren to try a little, but no success. Lloyd ordered a chicken Caesar salad and Lauren and I shared a bacon, swiss burger. It was good and Lauren actually liked the bacon and swiss. The movies were hysterical and some of the CMs were really hamming it up. I think we’ll have to come back again next time. We were on our way out when I saw Mike and Sulley. I was dying to get my picture made, but Lauren wanted to go on. So, Lloyd and I hopped up there and Lauren took our picture. We caught the boat back to BCV and headed to the pool. Lauren saw them playing water volleyball, but they had quit by the time she got back. We were getting tired, but this was our last day at SAB and Lauren wanted to swim more. A water polo game got started, so she joined in. Lloyd went back to the room to sleep, so I moved to a shaded chair and dozed a little. Lauren did not want to go back to MGM, but Lloyd and I really wanted to see Fantasmic. We decided to grab sandwiches from the Beach Club Marketplace and in another example of great parenting, we allowed Lauren to have a chocolate sundae. I also indulged in a vanilla milkshake. We took our food out by the pool to eat. Sandwiches were good and Lauren again devoured her sundae. After reaching MGM, Lloyd went on into the stadium and Lauren and I went for our second ride on ToT. There were 2 showings of Fantasmic and we were there for the later show, so the crowd wasn’t heavy at all. ToT was awesome at night and we met up with Lloyd in the stadium about 15 minutes before showtime. The show was fabulous and I think the soundtrack is great. We rode the boat back and were in bed again by 10:00.

Monday, March 13th

Plan: Move to Boardwalk Villas, Typhoon Lagoon, pick up rental car, Pepper Market for dinner

We didn’t set an alarm this morning, but still woke up fairly early. We packed up our groceries and a few other things and called bell services for our move. During our last trip, I had a conference in the middle of the vacation so we stayed on site, off site, and on site again. This would be our first experience with letting bell services move our things. They took our bags, gave us our slip, and we were on our way. We decided to check in at BWV and catch the bus to TL from there. Check in went smoothly and of course our room wasn’t ready. We love water parks and were especially excited to ride the new Crush ‘n’ Gusher slides. We got our locker, found some chairs and hit the slides. Luckily, the lines weren’t long. Lauren and I rode in a 2 person tube first (I think it was coconut) and it was great!! We’ve ridden the original Master Blaster slides at Schlitterbahn in Texas, but these were so much better, although shorter. Next the 3 of us rode pineapple (I think) and it was a blast. It wasn’t too hot and I was a little cold, so Lloyd and Lauren went back for another ride and I went to warm up. Lloyd and Lauren hit the wave pool and I took lots of pictures. We decided to get some lunch from Leaning Palms. Lloyd got a foot long, Lauren a kid’s dog, and I got a hamburger. We brought a cooler with some drinks and some chips & dip. That helped on the cost of the food. Lauren and I took a lap around the lazy river and then she was ready for Shark Reef. Now, if you haven’t noticed by now, I don’t like cold water. Obviously, I’ve never experience Shark Reef. I have no doubt that my chattering teeth would scare off any marine life. Lloyd kept giving me dirty looks as he eased into the water, but I truly believe the bonding he and Lauren experienced will be something they remember for the rest of their lives. ;) Lauren then decided to give Humunga Cowabunga a try. The line was really short and she loved it, wedgie and all, so she went back for another. They got back in the wave pool for a little more time before we had to leave. We were renting a car from the Dolphin and the desk closed at 4:00, so we wanted to be sure to leave in plenty of time. When we turned in our locker key and got our deposit back, we had to buy a ½ dozen of those sinful donuts. Oh my! Those are so good!!! We also stopped to buy a beach towel. We spend a lot of time at the pool in the summer, so that is something I buy each trip. Well, we got the cutest towel! It’s pink with hibiscus flowers and TL on it and the best part is that it’s shaped like a surf board!!! I can’t wait to use it! Lloyd got off at the Dolphin and Lauren and I rode on around to the BWV. Our room still wasn’t ready and it was about 3:30, so we went and sat out on the porch. Lloyd arrived a little later and went to check on the room’s status, still not ready. I went back in…still not ready. I went in again and the room was clean, they were just replacing a curtain rod. We finally got our room assignment and it was 1105 a standard, dedicated 1 bedroom. I was nervous about being on the first floor and didn’t think I’d like it, but the room was in a great location! We were just past where the hall splits into a Y. We had easy access to the Luna Park Pool with the door just a few steps away and in the opposite direction the door to the quiet pool and community hall, plus the sidewalk over to the bus stop was not that far either. We called bell services and had our things brought to the room. I wasn’t sure if I would like switching resorts halfway through the trip, but it was a snap and we did a few things that really made it simple. Before leaving home, I made everyone plan what they wanted to wear the first five days and I packed those things plus other essentials in 2 suitcases. I packed the clothes for the 2nd half of the trip, plus a pair of jeans and a jacket for each of us (just in case a cold snap came through) in another suitcase. I also packed a really big, cloth drawstring laundry bag. We threw all of our dirty clothes in there as we wore them. That morning, we packed our groceries in the empty suitcases and just had a few other items to throw in. Once we got in the 1 bedroom, I was ready to throw on a load of laundry. Lloyd was having Mexican food withdrawals and was determined to find the Don Pablo’s that he and Lauren ate at during my convention on the previous trip. He was sure he knew where it was and I kept reminding him that we were over at the Orange Co. Convention Center when they ate there. Well, we get over by the Crossroads and he couldn’t find it. I realized that he was remembering Chevy’s which we also ate at on our last trip. I convinced him to give up and just go to Chevy’s again. He finally relented and we went inside. We were seated right away and ordered fajitas for all. Lauren will actually eat fajita meat, hold the tortilla. Everything was good and we went back to the Boardwalk for some fun. We rented a Surrey bike and took off. I was in charge of steering, braking, pedaling, and ringing the warning bell. So much pressure! We built up lots of speed and made it over the first hill leading to the Beach Club. When we got around to the bridge by the Swan/Dolphin, Lloyd finally got out and pushed us up the hill. We were finished in a little over 10 minutes and decided to take another lap. Lloyd still had to push us over that 2nd hill, but we had fun. We stopped to watch the magician, then went over to the Boardwalk Bakery for tiramisu and cheesecake. We took it back to the room and went to check out movies from the Community House. Lauren chose Snowball Express and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Snowball Express was one of my favorites when I was growing up. If you haven’t seen it, rent it! Dean Jones is in it and it’s hysterical. We started it and ate our desserts. It’s not very long, so we went ahead and started Something Wicked This Way Come. Creepy, not too scary. I gave up and was too exhausted and finally Lloyd and Lauren gave up as well.

Tuesday, March 14th

Plan: Animal Kingdom, Flame Tree for Lunch, Magic Kingdom for a late night

We had been watching the weather and it appeared that Wednesday was going to cool off a little. Not too much, but enough that I didn’t want to be running around wet at a water park, so we decided to switch our AK and BB days. I wouldn’t normally do two water parks in a row, but this seemed to be the best plan. We drove the rental car and arrived at BB about 9:30 taking advantage of Early Entry. Lauren had decided to ride Summet Plummet. We could see there was already a line, so we sent her on up. Lloyd went to find some chairs and I got in line to rent a locker. Our plan was to meet Lauren at the exit of the ride and hopefully see her to get a picture. It took us a little longer than expected and when we reached the end of the slide, there was Lauren. I was so upset and she played along for a minute, then finally admitted that she had chickened out. Once she saw the board that posts how fast people are going down, she decided that she didn’t want to go 55 mph down a slide. Instead, she went down Slush Gusher. She had ridden it before when she was 7, so it wasn’t a threat. We wanted to get a picture and the line wasn’t too long, so she caught the ski lift back to the top and we snapped the perfect picture. After that, we all rode the ski lift to the top to ride Teamboat Springs. This was a little frustrating. There was absolutely no one in line and no one coming behind us, but the CMs put our family of 3, 2 adult girls, and an adult man all in the same boat. We were packed in there!! It was too tight! Then, Lauren went over to the Ski Patrol training area. She went across the ice bergs and the T bar. Then, she got back in line for the T bar and waited about 6 -7 minutes. When it came her turn, the lifeguard starts saying she can’t go and won’t send the bar back. To make it even more confusing, the lifeguard is sitting in the splash down pool talking through a speaker into the hut where they load. None of the kids can understand her and are all looking at each other. The lifeguard then tells another lifeguard walking by to tell she is too tall to ride. I tell the lifeguard that she’s already ridden it once and she replies, “I know and I told her when she got out that she was too tall!” Well, I was standing there when she got out and the lifeguard didn’t say a word to her. Lauren was totally embarrassed with how mean the lifeguard was reacting. We told her to blow it off and move on. Next, we went to the Downhill Double Dipper. I love this ride, it is so fun, and you catch some great air!! The Toboggan Racers were next and Lloyd was bragging about winning. We reminded him that he wins because he’s the heaviest! We went back around to the wave pool and there weren’t any tubes except for 2 that we sitting near a woman on the beach. I went over and asked if she was using them, and of course she was saving them for her kids, who weren’t even at the park yet!! Three more people tried to get them and she kept telling them they were taken. Finally the lifeguards started throwing more in the pool and Lauren was able to grab one. Lloyd and I aren’t fond of the bobbing waves, so we partook of a funnel cake instead. After that, we took a spin on the lazy river. Thankfully, we didn’t have any sightings like last time. I won’t say exactly what we saw, but it was long and it was black. We were about ready to go and Lauren decided she was hungry. We figured it was just as easy to go ahead and eat before leaving, so we stopped at Lottawatta Lodge. Lloyd and Lauren both had foot longs and I had a soft pretzel, then we went back to the room and rested. Lauren finished her movie, while we napped. Later, we drove over to the Grand Floridian to ride the speedboats. I planned for us to do our resort hopping once we got the rental car. We rented our boats and took off toward the Contemporary. I took Lauren by River Country and told her about Discovery Island. When I was younger, we always rented at the Contemporary, so driving around Bay Lake and the Seven Seas Lagoon really brings back memories. When our time was up we were ready for dinner. We hadn’t made any ADRs and weren’t really sure what we wanted. We thought about going over to Port Orleans, but we wanted to ride the monorail, so we knew it would be easiest to choose something on the monorail. We checked out the Grand Floridian Café and it had some good choices, but we were thinking about the Kona Café. We approached the monorail and were able to ride in the front. When we got to the Contemporary, we debated eating at the Concourse Steakhouse, but we decided to keep going to the Poly. The wait for the Kona was about 30 minutes at 5:30, but we didn’t mind since that gave us a chance to walk around the grounds. We took a few pictures, checked out the pool, then went back in to wait. Right at 30 minutes, we were called. Our server was very personable and nice. I ordered filet mignon medallions and Lloyd got the Teriyaki steak. Lauren decided just to eat off of us. The bread that was brought out was wonderful and it was served with some dipping oil. We were all over it and wiped it out in no time. Our server brought us more when the meal arrived. My filet medallions were awesome and Lauren and Lloyd thought the teriyaki was very good as well. The best part to me was in addition to mashed potatoes (my favorite), they served my steak with asparagus. Nobody else in the family likes it, so it’s rare that I ever get to eat it. It was so fresh and good!! The food was plenty for all of us and we left stuffed. We caught the monorail back to the GF and got the car to head back to the BW. We ran into Seashore Sweets when we got back and got Lauren a chocolate sundae, Lloyd a rice krispie treat, and I had some peanut butter fudge. We also returned the movies and got The Watcher in the Woods and Haunted Mansion. We watched The Watcher in the Woods that night before hitting the sack.


Wednesday, March 15h

Plan: Blizzard Beach, rent watermice, Whispering Canyons Cafe



Today was our Animal Kingdom day and we were really excited to ride Expedition Everest. It was a little cooler, so we were glad we had switched our days. Once we arrived at the park, we made the mistake of choosing the wrong bag check line. The lines on the right had 2- 3 checkers and our side had 1. The other side was definitely moving along, but we just stuck it out in our line. We headed over with the masses to get FP for EE. When we got to the end of the FP line, they weren’t scanning the tickets, just giving you the number you needed. This allowed us to go over to Kali and get FP as well. Next, we went standby for Kilimanjaro Safari. The line was long, but continually moved. Sadly enough, we don’t have a zoo in our hometown, the nearest is 2 hours away, so we always enjoy the animals. There were lots of elephants and a giraffe got very close to the jeep. Afterwards, we went to see the Flights of Wonder show. Lauren really likes birds and animals, and we had never seen the show before. It was interesting and fun. I do recommend sitting down in the front section. We were in the bleachers to the right of the stage and it was difficult to view some of the birds as they flew around. After that, it was time for EE, but first I walked over to Dinoland to get a FP for Dinosaur. We boarded the train for EE. I had warned Lloyd that it goes backwards because I knew we were risking him getting sick if he wasn’t prepared. He had also taken a motion sickness pill just to play it safe. We were going through the ride and get to the point where it stops. I say, “Here’s the part where we go backwards.” Lauren says, “BACKWARDS?!?!” Oops! I guess I forgot to warn her. She can be somewhat of a daddy’s girl when it comes to rides and motion sickness. She handled it okay and the Yeti was great! I will admit that both Lauren and I felt a little queasy after riding. We checked out our ride picture and got a kick out of the look on our faces. We went back to Kali to let Lauren ride. Neither Lloyd nor I prefer to take a bath while touring the parks, so we sat this one out and took joy in spraying Lauren with the elephants when she came by. We always make sure to have her wear flip flops, some type of wind shorts and tee with her swimsuit underneath. She takes off her tee while riding then she’s not too uncomfortable for the rest of the day. As we were coming across the bridge back toward the Tree of Life, we stopped so Lauren could take our picture in front of the tree, and standing next to us on the bridge was a girl from her school. We knew she was going, but never dreamed we would run into her, especially at AK when it was like a zoo! (Okay, bad joke) We visited with her family for a minute and moved on to get something to eat. The one kink in changing our AK & BB days was that we had an ADR at Whispering Canyons Café for this night and I couldn’t get it changed. We had been looking forward to eating at Flame Tree, but since we were having barbecue that evening, we knew we needed another option. We had eaten at Tusker House before and it wasn’t our taste, so we decided to give Pizzafari a try. Lloyd ordered pepperoni pizza, Lauren the kids’ quesadilla, and I had the Italian sandwich. My sandwich was very good and Lauren ate every bite of the quesadilla. Lloyd ate all of his pizza, but felt it was adequate and nothing special. We sat in a room that seemed more like a porch. Lauren found the table and radioed back that it was the room with the butterflies. It was very nice and removed. It was time to head back to Dinosaur for our last AK ride of the day. We hadn’t ridden it in about 6 years, so we were semi familiar with the story, but the dinosaurs were still scaring us to death! After we got off we looked at our ride picture. There’s Lloyd, eyes wide, there’s me, screaming my head off, and where’s Lauren?? There’s an empty space between us where she was sitting. She was so scared, she was completely bent over! We were laughing. We even had to take a picture of the picture so we could laugh about it later. We were making our way to the bus and encountered some characters outside the entrance. We saw Chip & Dale, Brer Bear, Meeko, and Friar Tuck. We boarded the bus and headed back to BWV. We went for a swim (no, I didn’t get in the water…it was cold, too) and rested up. Lauren took the time to watch the Haunted Mansion. We left a little early for our ADR at WCC so we could drive over to Pop and check out some of the icons and see if they had any Pop license plates for my brother who collects them. We looked around a bit and took some pictures, then headed over to Wilderness Lodge. We were there about an hour early, so we walked around the grounds, took some pictures, and explored the shop. Cue the Small World music….we were looking at the pin cart in the lobby when a guy walked by. He looked familiar, but I didn’t think too much about it. Then I see him walk back by really looking at Lloyd, then he walks back by again and asks Lloyd if they went to college together. They did and were in the same fraternity. We hadn’t seen him in about 8 years. It was wild! It never fails that we run into someone unexpectedly at WDW. We said our good byes and went to check in at WCC. It was still about 30 minutes till our ADR time, and we weren’t called till then. We were seated right in the middle of the dining room. Lauren loves beef brisket, but not much else as far as barbecue goes. We looked over the kids’ menu and she didn’t see anything she was interested in there. She really wanted some corn on the cob. We asked the server if she could get a side order. He said she could just get one off the skillet and he wouldn’t charge us. She also ordered a bottomless chocolate milkshake; Lloyd and I stuck to ice tea. The salad was wonderful, I loved the dressing. The first round of ribs was a little tough, but everything was good. I got more salad and Lloyd got more of everything else. He said the second round of ribs were better. Lauren had her one cob of corn and we made sure to tip our waiter extra well. The antics were lots of fun and we really enjoyed ourselves. After we left WL, we had to run to CVS, as the Dr. Pepper supply was getting low and we didn’t want any blood shed over the remaining few. We headed back to the room and Lauren watched No Deposit, No Return and we all hit the hay soon after.

Thursday, March 16th

Plan: Princess Storybook Breakfast, World Showcase, return rental car

Lauren and I had an ADR for the PSB in Norway. Lloyd isn’t a big breakfast eater so he passed, even knowing that Jasmine was probably going to be there! He decided to hit the Ralph Lauren store at the outlet mall instead. We had originally plan to go at park opening and ride Soarin’ and Test Track again, but we decided later to sleep in. Our ADR was for 10:15 and we went to the Boardwalk souvenir shop before walking over to Epcot. As we entered Epcot, we stopped along the way to take a few pictures in the UK and Canada. We were called fairly quickly, had our picture made with Belle, then were taken to our table. I had some orange juice and Lauren got chocolate milk. I started on the cinnamon rolls, which were still warm. I couldn’t convince Lauren to try them. Our server brought out the fruit, eggs, and bacon. The bacon was good and crispy like we like it. The scrambled eggs weren’t good at all. Lauren did ask for a fried egg and they were able to make her one. It took a while, but the princesses finally came around. We saw Ariel, Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, and Lloyd’s favorite, Jasmine. Next, we backtracked to the Mexico pavilion and rode the boat ride. Parts of it remind me so much of If You Had Wings. Lauren was ready to start her Kidcot mask so we grabbed one in Mexico and she added some details. We continued through the countries, stopping at each station. Lloyd met up with us in Germany so he could eat at Somerfest again. Lauren worked on her mask while he ate and I visited with him. We stopped at the American pavilion so I could watch the Fife & Drum. I think they are so awesome. Lauren went on ahead to Japan so she could get a front row spot to watch Miyuki the Japanese candy artist. We joined up with Lauren just before show time and she was the first person picked. She had a blue tiger made. Miyuki is just fascinating to watch! We continued on our mask adventure, but didn’t make it too far, before we were sidetracked by the pastries in France again. We shared a Napoleon and got some elephant ears for later. Lloyd went back to return the car and head to the pool and Lauren and I were determined to finish the mask. We stopped in the UK and saw Rabbit again, then continued on to Canada. I really wanted to see O Canada!, but couldn’t convince Lauren, so we went back to the room to swim and rest. Lauren got interested in The Happiest Millionaire starring Fred McMurray that she had checked out from the Community Hall. It’s a cute movie. I met Lloyd at the pool and we never convinced Lauren to join us. MK was open late this evening and Lloyd had never seen Wishes except from ‘Ohana on our previous trip, so that was the plan for the evening. We grabbed a bite to eat on the Boardwalk and we won’t do that again. Lauren had a corn dog that was passable and we had pizza from Spoodles. It was swimming in tomato sauce and we just didn’t really care for it. After we got to MK, we went to the Hall of Presidents. Next, we got FP for Pooh since we didn’t get to it earlier in the trip. We went back to ride the Haunted Mansion, then I watched the Country Bear Jamboree while Lloyd & Lauren looked in the pin shop. We went on around to get FP for Splash and rode the train to Toontown to get to Pooh. After our ride on Pooh, we walked right into Mickey’s PhilharMagic. When we got out SpectroMagic was making its way toward Frontierland, so we got behind the crowds and made our way to the Sleepy Hollow to buy a funnel cake. Then, we made our way to Main Street. Lloyd did not understand why we had to be right in front of the castle, but I kept telling him to trust me. Once the show got underway, he understood. It was absolutely magical. Wishes is the best fireworks show ever. Remember at Disneyland doesn’t hold a candle to it. We decided we were too tired to go back to Splash and walked through the Emporium to pick up a license plate for my brother and a couple of scrapbooking stickers. We caught the bus and headed back to BWV and bed.

Friday, March 17th

We didn’t really have much of a plan, except that we wanted to go back to Typhoon Lagoon. We had thought about going back to MK, we kicked around going back to MGM to ride ToT, and finally decided to sleep late then go straight to TL. We arrived about 10:00, got a locker and saw that our favorite seats were still available. Our first stop was Crush ‘n’ Gusher. We rode it 3 times and once on the 3 person tube. That is awesome! You can really fly over the hills!! Next, we went to the wave pool and swam way out. We love catching the waves in the deep area. After that, Lauren wanted to go back and swim with the sharks again. Lloyd and I chose to watch from the sides. We went back to Leaning Palms where Lloyd got a chicken Caesar salad and Lauren a foot long hotdog. I ate some of the chips and dips we brought from the room. We took a lap around the lazy river then headed back to the room to rest and pack. Later, I wanted to go back to MK to ride the PeopleMover, then go to Epcot to see O Canada! Lloyd and Lauren decided to stay behind and eat at ESPN. I caught the bus to MK and started toward Tomorrowland, but first I saw the Confectionary. I had to stop and get a rice krispie treat. As I walked by Buzz, I noticed that the FP return time was just about 30 minutes away, so I grabbed one. I also decided to see the Carousel of Progress. I loved this show when I was growing up. One thing I really miss since the change is how the dog used to have different names in each scene. I remember Rover and Sport, but not the others. After the show, I made my trip on the PeopleMover, then took my trip on Buzz. I seem to do really well now that I know the secret about hitting the red robot’s arm. I was ready to make the trip to Epcot and was walking back down Main Street when the Confectionary caught my eye again. I decided to bite the bullet and buy one of those really large Mickey head rice krispie treats! It’s so large they packed it in tissue and a box!! As I was leaving I saw a few characters and had my picture made with Baloo and King Louie. I caught the express monorail to the TTC, then went over to the Epcot monorail. I noticed 3 girls (not young, my age, wait I’m not old, okay, mid 30s) waiting to ride in the front. I asked if I could crash their party and ride with them. They were super nice and we had a great time visiting. Once I entered Epcot, I was running ahead of schedule and decided to ride the Universe of Energy. We hadn’t ridden it this trip and on our previous trip it had broken down just as we were about to enter the dinosaur room. As I approached the ride, there was a rope up because the ride was broken again. Oh well, I’ll catch it next time. I walked through Mouse Gears and looked around a little, then decided to go over to Season’s in the Land for a sandwich. I decided on the turkey & Muenster cheese on foccacia. Right as I sat down, I realized it was almost 7:00 and the British Invasion was about to start. I wrapped up my sandwich and hoofed it over to the UK. I found myself a spot on the curb and ate my sandwich while enjoying the band. They were really fun! Next, I went back to Canada and saw O Canada! After that, I went around to watch the American Adventure. Once it was over I found a spot on the bridge between France and the UK to watch IllumiNations. The spot in Morocco was so much better and I was disappointed to see that the fire barge wasn’t in the show. Afterwards I headed back to BWV. Lloyd and Lauren were not impressed with their visit to ESPN, apparently the service was quite bad and they were now watching National Treasure that they had checked out from Community Hall. I showed them my gigantic Mickey rice krispie treat that was now missing an ear. We did a little more packing, then got to bed about 11:00

Very, very early on Saturday, March 18th

We woke up at 2:45 am because Magical Express was picking us up at 3:00. That is a time of night/morning that I don’t care to see. I just kept reminding myself that we saved lots of money!! Our flights went smooth, but I was shell shocked when it was 43 degrees and rainy when we got home. I am ready to go back!

Thanks for sticking with me! I love living vicariously through other’s reports and hope you enjoyed ours!

Suzanne Payne