Trip Reports
02-21-2007, 08:58 PM
WDW — January 2007 (OKWR) by Sue Holland
Sue gets in five days at WDW, mixing some couples time with some solo time.
Sue Holland -- January 2007 - Walt Disney World (OKWR)
Dates: January 11 - 16, 2007
Travel Method: Personal car, Airplane, Disney’s Magical Express
Resort: Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Experience: Frequent Guest
INTRODUCTION:
When I booked this trip 11 months ago I wasn’t sure whether it would be a solo trip or a couple trip. It ended up being a combination of both, and about 2 weeks before the trip I added the final night. SB needs to be out of state on the 12th and can return on the 13th. Flights were more reasonable and more plentiful from Orlando, so it made sense for him to fly round-trip from there rather fly up from home and then make the return trip into Orlando. He could have just gone home, but then he would have missed time at WDW!
I have to work Thursday (1/11), but I’ll get out early. We’ll drive to Orlando, where I’ll drop him off at the airport before returning to check in at Old Key West. When he returns on Saturday night he can take Disney’s Magical Express from the airport and join me at OKW. That will leave me with 2 days being solo and then we’ll have 2 days as a couple. I’d booked 2 meals – lunch at LeCellier and lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. LeCellier is clearly for me, although he likes it too. That one’s scheduled for Friday, so I’ll dine solo. The other one’s scheduled for Sunday, so unless he doesn’t want to visit the Magic Kingdom that day (he might prefer Epcot or Animal Kingdom – since he won’t be back until fall I figure he can decide where we go these 2 days), we’ll both be there for that. They have a pot roast on the menu, and I figured he’d like that. I added the Monday night so we’d have a 2nd full day once he got there – we’ll be on the road by 4:30am so I’m at work on time at 7:30!
The weekend of January 7th we were relaxing on the beach (living in Florida has it’s perks sometimes) and discussed what he wanted to do during the 2 days he’d be here with me. As expected, he’s interested in Animal Kingdom and Epcot, and doesn’t care if he goes to Magic Kingdom at all. So, I decided to get my MK time in during the first 2 days, and I cancelled the Liberty Tree Tavern lunch. We also decided to book a weekend in February, before he begins spring training and baseball season.
On January 9th I learned my friends Tom and Leanne will also be at WDW for the weekend, with some additional family coming in for the day on Saturday. I called Disney Dining and added a LeCellier lunch for Saturday, in case I join them on Friday and miss LeCellier on that day. I asked for an early lunch, and they had 11:40 available – not bad for less than a week before arriving! However, I found out later that day that they wouldn’t be arriving before my Friday LeCellier ADR so I ended up keeping that one and canceling Saturday. I’ll make Friday more of a parks day, and leave myself Saturday afternoon for the pool if the weather permits.
On January 10th he decided he wanted to eat at Cape May Café during this trip, saving Puck’s for next time. Once I read the menu on allearsnet.com he changed his mind <g>. Instead we thought about ‘Ohana, so I’ll call on the 11th to see if anything is available. If not, there’s always next month.
Strangely enough, when I called to add the last night (on 12/22/06 for 1/15/07), they said there was nothing but a 2br available at OKW. However, they offered a studio at either Saratoga Springs or Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Saratoga wasn’t really a surprise, but VWL was since it’s so small! In any event, I wasn’t interested in packing up and moving for 1 night. I asked about finding the last 3 nights available anywhere in a studio or 1br, figuring I’d keep OKW in the studio for my solo nights and then move before he flew in on Saturday. The cast member said “nothing” was available. I had a funny feeling that she might not have really checked, or checked very carefully, so 5 minutes later I called back and got another person. I said I had 4 nights at OKW and wanted to add the 5th but it wasn’t available, so I’d like to check some other scenarios. This person said “we have a studio at OKW for that night”. Huh??? It’s possible somebody called during the preceding 5 minutes and canceled an OKW studio for that night, but I’ll never know for sure. In any event, we booked my 5th night – the lesson I guess is to call back a 2nd time if the first person seems to say “no” too quickly.
As for specific plans there really aren’t any. A lot will depend on the weather, as January is very hit-or-miss when it comes to spending time by the pool. Crowds should be moderate at the worst, as even a holiday weekend in mid-January isn’t as bad as regular weeks in many other months. I hope to get over to Comedy Warehouse, hit my usual favorite attractions in the parks, enjoy some good meals, and just relax and soak up the atmosphere of being in this wonderful place!
The plans so far are:
Thursday 1/11: Work, SB to Orlando airport, Check in OKW, Comedy Warehouse
Friday 1/12: Epcot or MK, LeCellier?
Saturday 1/13: Epcot or MK, Pool, SB arrives
Sunday 1/14: AK, Flame Tree Barbecue
Monday 1/15: Epcot, Puck’s Café?
Tuesday 1/16: Drive to work
DAY 1 – Thursday 1/11/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
Plan: Work, SB to Orlando airport, Check in OKW, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I worked until SB showed up just before 3pm. Since I was going straight to work from WDW on Tuesday, we left his car at my work so he can go home after dropping me off. I called Disney Dining to inquire about a reservation at ‘Ohana for Sunday night. LOL – the earliest they had for 2 people was 9:20 pm, which is way too late for us to be eating like that! I tried Monday, but the earliest was 8:45pm, so we won’t be doing that either!
When SB asked what time we were leaving, I said he should leave the house around 2 for my workplace so we could be on the road by 3. So, when does he stroll into my office? Just before 2pm <g>! Oh well – we ended up leaving a minute or 2 before 3 and had a very easy drive up. I was expecting more traffic, but it was really quite pleasant! Since we had time, we stopped at Premium Outlets first. I gave him the wrong directions and we ended up entering Disney property near Epcot and exiting down by Crossroads to get to the outlets!
We stopped in the Coach store to look for an ipod holder for his Valentine’s Day gift but they didn’t have anything decent. We tried Kenneth Cole across the walkway but they had nothing either. Next stop was the Character Premiere, as I wanted him to get a Disney sweatshirt to wear on cool evenings. I should have realized that they’re still selling them in the parks at this time of year, so the selection at the outlet was pretty pitiful. So far we were batting zero, so we stopped at the information booth to check the map of the shopping center (thinking there might be some other store with an ipod case). I suggested Wilson Leather, so we walked over there and lo and behold – in the sale bin was the perfect black leather ipod holder for him! Even more bizarre, I think it was marked down to something like $5 – unreal. We did find something else he’d been wanting, so we bought both items and headed back to the car.
Traffic on I-4 was still light, so I decided to drive to highway 528 to get to the airport. It was an easy drive, with 2 tolls of $.75 each. His flight was on Southwest so we followed the signs to terminal A and I dropped him off around 7 for his 8:25 flight. From there I took the south exit (417) to WDW, and found no traffic there either. I went straight to OKW and was checked in by 7:30.
Normally I request and receive top floor, but this time I was given a first floor studio. However, I was secretly glad for that, as my suitcase weighed a ton with both of our stuff (plus bottled water) crammed in there! I ended up in one of the new buildings - #64. This building is the one that doesn’t have it’s own parking lot, but I think I can deal with that. The studio itself looked fine, and I quickly dropped off most of my stuff before rushing back out to the car to try to make the first Comedy Warehouse show!
I was impatient and drove somewhat aggressively when there were slower cars ahead of me. I was almost to Pleasure Island when I saw the sheriff deputy’s lights flashing in my rear view mirror. I pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car, then heard him on some speaker thing ordering me to step out of the vehicle with my license, insurance and registration. He looked over my documents and asked me if I knew the speed limit was 35. I was honestly able to say no – I figured it was more like 45. He said it was clearly marked but maybe I didn’t see the signs as I passed him going over 50 mph back there (oops). In any event, I was clearly in the wrong here, but he decided not to ticket me! I promised to slow down and thanked him – boy, talk about lucky! Going home to OKW later I kept it at the speed limit!
When the deputy left I pulled into the nearest parking space and walked quickly to Pleasure Island, entering down by Planet Hollywood. I was surprised to see only about 10 people in line, and would have figured everyone had been seated already except the door was not open! Yikes – we ended up with maybe 40 people in the audience by the time the show started. I sat with David and his lady friend, who I hadn’t seen for a while. They now serve a smaller box of popcorn free with the purchase of a drink at Comedy Warehouse, which is a nice touch. Carol Stein was on the keys tonight.
The 7:45 cast was Krista, John, Brian, Lisa and Philip. Krista rang the bell in Should Have Said, where Brian was an Amway recruiter in the union hall. John was a disgruntled customer and Philip was the coworker being recruited to sell Amway. Next Krista did a Forgotten Song called “Women who won the west” – doing a beautiful job as always. They did Up Your Alley, using an audience volunteer who was an expert in cowboy shooting. John hosted as Witherspoon Smith. Lisa was a female named Billy who shoots male cows (cow boys) to make them girl cows (cowgirls). Philip was a native American called Falling Rocks – the last member of his tribe not shot by cowboys.
Overall it was a pretty good show – especially considering the small audience! I left right after the show and walked over to the Marketplace to find some dinner. Earl of Sandwich had a long line but it appeared to be moving pretty quickly, so I stopped there. The line really didn’t take as long as I’d feared, which was a good thing! I ordered the caprese salad and brought it back to the studio. It was a long walk back to the car, and a short drive back to OKW.
I unpacked, ate the salad, updated the report, and watched General Hospital on SoapNet before SB called to let me know his plane had landed safely. I stayed up to watch some of the local news, then called it a night.
Today was a bit stressful, between being pulled over for speeding and having to drive out to the airport before checking in. I’m glad I got the outlets visit out of the way, as now I can just stay on Disney property until it’s time to go to work on Tuesday (SB will use Magical Express to get here Saturday). It’s good to be back here, and I’m looking forward to relaxing more tomorrow!
DAY 2 – Friday 1/12/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
Plan: Epcot or MK, LeCellier?
Actual: I slept really well last night, and woke up on my own about 6:45. The alarm was set for 7, so that was pretty much perfect timing. I just wish the sun came up earlier, as it was still pretty dark at 6:45. Breakfast was cappuccino and half of a toasted cranberry bagel brought from home. I can’t see spending time to get breakfast here, and since SB isn’t here today there won’t be any reason to stop for breakfast in a park. Around 8:30 I left the studio to make the short walk to the main building for a bus to Magic Kingdom. One nice thing about this location is you’re the last stop so you don’t have to circle the resort before heading to a park. Returning, I’ll just get off at the first stop and walk back (it’ll be much faster than riding the bus until we get to the last stop).
The last MK bus must have just come through, as it was a good 15 minutes before one arrived. When it did, there were only a handful of guests on board. We got to MK right at 9am (missed the opening ceremony) and although the security and entry area looked really busy it didn’t take long to get through there at all. I headed first to Space Mountain and picked up a fastpass for 10:10. The standby time was 20 minutes, which could have been an overstatement, but I wasn’t willing to risk that much time since I only planned to be in this park for a short while.
I decided today to concentrate on my favorites in Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and the Haunted Mansion only. Tomorrow (assuming I decide to come back again) I’ll start on the other side of the park. The Pooh ride had a very short wait – not more than a couple of minutes. The only annoying thing was the woman seated behind me kept taking flash pictures throughout the entire ride! Give me a break – who wants or needs a dozen photos of the inside of a ride???? When I got to the exit I hightailed it away from them so I wouldn’t be stuck with them at my next destination! Next stop was Peter Pan’s Flight, which had no wait at all. I love the slow season!
I went next to the Haunted Mansion, and enjoyed that with very few other guests. It looked like a group of new cast members were being toured through the park, and it was a big group! There were more of them than there were guests in the area. After Haunted Mansion I backtracked over to Tomorrowland and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (or WEDway People Mover for the old-timers). The ride ended at 10, and Buzz Lightyear had a 10-minute standby time posted, so I decided to try my luck at shooting alien targets. I was actually off the ride within 10 minutes, so the wait time was slightly overstated. My score sucked – around 29,000 points but that was no surprise. I was back over at Space Mountain by 10:15 and heading out of the park at 10:30.
I was a bit aggravated to see the entrance to the express monorail was closed off to guests. When going to Epcot, that’s so much faster and easier than taking the resort monorail, and I hate when they do that! Since I had no choice, I went up the ramp to the resort monorail and was glad to see it was sitting in the station so I didn’t have a wait there. After a stop at the Contemporary we continued to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). Once there I had to take the long way around to the Epcot monorail, which was also already in the station! I thought I’d really lucked out, but then there were problems with the monorail. Whenever it would attempt to go forward, it would shudder and shake, then stop. They claimed it was undergoing a“routine maintenance check” – yeah, maybe, but I’ve known Disney to lie about this stuff quite often in the past <g>. We sat there a while, then finally started on our way, getting to the first curve before it shuddered and died again. We sat some more, then slowly made our way backwards to the station (going a couple feet before shuddering to a stop, then repeating that over and over again). Ugh – I’d hoped to get to Soarin for a fastpass before showing up at LeCellier for my 11:30 lunch but now it was looking like I might not even be at Epcot by then!
After another period of sitting there, we were finally ready to go, and the monorail operated normally (yay)! It was about 11:15 by now, so I wasn’t going to bother with the Soarin’ fastpass.
SB called just as I got off the monorail, so I talked to him on my way to the security/turnstile area. Once inside the park I went straight to Canada and checked in at LeCellier a little before 11:30. I also informed the cast member I had a reservation there for tomorrow, which could be canceled. I no sooner went to sit on the bench when they called my name, and I was the first one seated for the day.
The meal and the service were both excellent – and thankfully the atmosphere was not ruined. As my server was taking my order a family of 7 (5 adults, pre-teen boy and school-age boy) were being seated nearby. You could hear them long before you could see them – the younger boy (around 8-10 years old) was LOUDLY doing one of those obnoxious cries like Lucy Riccardo did on I Love Lucy. He was definitely not happy to be at LeCellier, and it truly was so loud everyone in the restaurant was disrupted and was quietly looking around with a “what the hell???” look on their faces. Finally the mother took him screaming into the restroom and they stayed in there until he was able to stop acting that way. He continued to be very loud and repetitive, and I realized he must have a developmental disability that was causing this behavior. In any event, the rest of the meal was pleasant, and that family was able to all enjoy their meal (without one of them having to leave with him). The one time I took my son out of restaurant due to his behavior was LeCellier when he was almost 2 years old (waited for the rest of the family outside with him). I can’t imagine having to deal with stuff like that routinely, no matter how old the child gets.
For lunch today I had the usual wine and the cheese soup, but also ordered the appetizer beef tenderloin kabob for my entrée. I never would have tried this if I hadn’t done the Disney Dining Plan when it was free in September, and I was really impressed with this item. It’s a bit expensive ($10.99) for a tiny portion of beef over a couple tablespoons of orzo, but it’s really good. Everything was perfect, and I didn’t feel rushed at all yet I was walking out the door just after noon. I walked one lap around World Showcase, and then entered Future World. Today was a gorgeous day, with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-70’s. A little later more clouds built up, but it’s still pretty nice!
I went to the Land pavilion and picked up a fastpass for Soarin’ (approx 3-4pm), figuring I’d most likely be back in Epcot later today. Since the Sunshine Seasons Food Court was right there I decided to pick up something sweet for later. I ended up with 2 things – a chocolate chip cookie and a rice krispie treat. I was surprised the krispie was only $2.29, but I guess that’s because it’s much smaller than the big ones I see at some other places. In any event, it’s plenty for me!
Spaceship Earth didn’t have a wait, so I rode that before leaving the park. The OKW bus was at the bus stop, so I had no wait again! The driver asked if anyone was wanting the Hospitality House, and most of us (about 5 people) said yes. She stopped just past the intersection and let us off at the sidewalk so we wouldn’t have to wait for our stop – very nice! I spent some time relaxing in the studio, instant messaging with SB, updating the report, and watching General Hospital. I tried to reach Leanne, but she didn’t have her phone on, so I didn’t know where they were. I knew once it started getting dark it would get cooler very quickly, so I decided to hang out at the resort until late afternoon and then return to Epcot dressed for the evening. The low is supposed to be 59, which for me is jeans and sweatshirt weather. SB wanted to know our plans for tomorrow night, but since his flight doesn’t get in until after 7 I’m not expecting him to get to the resort until somewhere between 8 and 9. We thought about a Comedy Warehouse show, but eventually decided to have a drink in the room and spend a quiet night together. I’ve got a couple of his new favorite beers (Heinekin light) in the fridge, so I’ll just need to pick up an individual serve bottle of wine for me.
At 4 I walked over to the OKW store but they only had full-size bottles of wine and since it’s just me drinking the wine that didn’t make any sense. I browsed in the shop a while, then returned to the studio to dress in jeans/sweatshirt and add some thick socks since I was wearing my Disney Crocs. From the porch I can see what buses go by and not leave until I see an Epcot bus. By the time it goes to Miller’s Road and back I’ll be at the final bus stop.
My bus strategy worked really well, and is something I’ll keep in mind for tomorrow. At Epcot it seemed like there were an awful lot of people arriving, but I guess it’s due to the extra magic hours for resort guests tonight. I’d heard the park gets uncomfortably crowded during that, and I soon found out those reports were accurate. I got into the park quickly, despite a rather anal security cm who was determined to question every item in every pocket of people’s bags. The whole security check thing is ridiculous in my opinion, so I much prefer the ones who give a quick and cursory glance before sending you on your way. I don’t for a minute believe this security façade would deter anyone who truly wanted to cause trouble in the parks – it only slows entry down for ordinary people. Oh well, enough of that rant!
I headed over to Soarin’ first, to use my fastpass from earlier today. The standby time was 60 minutes, and all fastpasses were gone for the day. Near the boarding area they needed a party of 3, so they pulled me and a party of 2 from further back. I figured I’d probably get stuck with row 3, but I figured if I didn’t go now I still had a 1 in 3 chance of still getting that row. As it turned out, we were put in row 3, but it was in the center section so it wasn’t really bad at all. The woman from the party of 2 spoke to her date and I recognized the voice as belonging to Bonnie – a somewhat regular at PI and Comedy Warehouse. I turned around and we chatted until the attraction started. It was a great ride/movie/whatever – I always enjoy Soarin’.
Living with the Land had only a 5-minute wait, so I got in line for that. I ended up being seated directly behind one of the biggest men I’ve seen in my life. I swear his shoulders were as wide as a garage door, and he was way over 6 feet tall. He was riding in a power scooter, and even in that he looked huge. I couldn’t see a thing from behind him, but luckily they didn’t put anyone else in my row so I scooted over behind one of the women with him. This time once we got to the greenhouse part an announcement came on 3 times warning people to keep their hands, arms and feet inside the boat – and to not touch the sand. Evidently they monitor us and some jackass on my boat was doing something they shouldn’t be doing. It’s always amazing that people will be in such a nice place and not respect it.
I went over to Test Track next, but it was not operating and the lines inside had really backed up. The fastpass return line extended outside of the building, and the single rider line was much too long for me. I ended up turning around and walking out, then went to check out the cars at the exit briefly. Sunset was approaching so I decided it was time for World Showcase. The sky was really pretty, and the remaining daylight reflecting off the lake was just gorgeous. I started in Mexico and walked around enjoying the beautiful atmosphere. It definitely was busier than I would have expected, no doubt due to extra magic hours later tonight.
In Italy I stopped at the wine store to try another white wine, and decided on the Le Rime blend of chardonnay and pinot grigio. I hated it! It just tasted awful to me, and I thought about just dumping it out. The wine wasn’t spoiled or anything – it just wasn’t to my taste. From here on out I’ll stick with Germany! I sat on a bench in Italy for a while and choked down the wine. The line of people checking in for dinner at Alfredo’s was huge! I saw the same thing later (twice) at Chef’s de France, so evidently Epcot restaurants are mobbed at dinner tonight.
Eventually I started walking again and stopped to browse through the shops in France. Several of the shirts were on sale, and some pretty ones were as low as $8.99! I didn’t really need any though, so I passed. For some reason I went into the Guerlain shop, even though I never wear perfume. SB was going to get me some for Christmas, but didn’t know what to get so I ended up with jewelry instead (much better, in my opinion). They gave me a sample of a scent that was absolutely wonderful – I think it was called Insolence. I kept sniffing the paper strip for the next hour or so, it smelled so nice. I tried one of the men’s colognes too but that was horrible! SB can stick to what he already uses!
I decided to return to Future World, and this time Test Track was operating. I used the single rider line and it went pretty quickly. They actually pulled us out before the preshow ended, which didn’t bother me at all. I thought about getting a bracelet for the extra magic hours, but the line was pretty long and I realized there wasn’t much chance I’d still be in the park at 9pm anyway! I wandered around a bit, then returned to World Showcase, starting again in Mexico.
This time I stopped in Germany to get a glass of wine – this tasted so much better! I sat on a bench in Germany for a while, once I found a bench that had no view of the lake. The benches closer to the water were already claimed by people waiting 2 hours for Illuminations! Yikes – fireworks are nice, but I just don’t like the current version of Illuminations. Eventually I continued walking, browsing through a few shops here and there, ending up back at the Guerlain shop in France. I wanted to try the perfume on me to see if I still liked it, so the guy sprayed some on my wrist and put some of the matching lotion on my other hand. I definitely like it, so if SB likes it when we’re in Epcot later this trip we’ll get it.
Epcot was really busy by now, and there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do badly enough to put up with the crowds, so I walked back through Future World and left the park. At the bus stop I waited and waited and waited some more for the OKW bus. An elderly couple with 2 power scooters were already waiting when I arrived. Once the bus finally arrived the driver parked too far forward, so after a big delay he shut the doors and pulled the lift up and then went to back the bus up. We repeated the earlier process, and he realized he still wasn’t far enough back, so we waited some more while he went back to the driver’s seat to back the bus up again. Finally he’s in the right spot, and I swear he had more trouble tying down those scooters (the guy stayed in his, but grandma walked onto the but and one of the grandkids rode it on) than any driver I’ve ever seen. We were easily there 15 minutes after the bus arrived, and I was surprised the next OKW bus didn’t arrive while we were there. By now the line was long, and not everybody was able to get a seat on the bus either – that’s somewhat unusual for an OKW bus before the park closes.
To my surprise, the bus stopped first at the Hospitality House, which worked out great for me. I was back in the studio about 9 – despite leaving Epcot around 8! I had some cappuccino and a piece of biscotti in lieu of dinner. After the big lunch I wasn’t hungry for a real meal, but I wanted something. Later I may finish the cookie or eat part of the rice krispie treat – there always seem to be room for sweets <g>.
I got comfortable and settled in for the night – watching a little tv, finishing the report, talking to SB, and sniffing my terrific-smelling wrist <g>! I did learn something today – although people swear by their Crocs as being incredibly comfortable, my feet were hurting by the time I got back tonight and I took a very long break mid-day. They certainly would not work if I was an all-day park visitor, but they’re fine for a partial day.
Overall today was really terrific. Lunch at LeCellier was excellent, I got to ride some favorite attractions but also spent time relaxing at the resort, and I found a perfume that I actually like! The only bad part was that Italian wine – yuck!
Tomorrow I’ll probably head back to Magic Kingdom in the morning to at least ride Big Thunder, maybe Pirates, and repeat a few other favorites. Assuming the sun is shining I may take some time for the pool also, and maybe return to Animal Kingdom in the hour or so before it closes to ride Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur (not SB’s favorites) before getting ready for his arrival.
DAY 3 – Saturday 1/13/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
SB (49), Sexy Boyfriend
Plan: Epcot or MK, Pool, SB arrives
Actual: This morning I woke up around 4:30 due to some bird chirping really loudly and repeatedly! Who would have thought I’d be woken up by a bird at WDW?? I dozed again but then it started making noise again, then finally at 7 I got up. Breakfast today was an English muffin I’d brought from home, and a cup of cappuccino. I watched for the Magic Kingdom bus from the room, and left to catch it at the main stop around 8:30 or so. I’m really liking the convenience of this location for bus transportation, although I would prefer being closer to a quiet pool rather than the main pool.
The bus arrived just after I got to the bus stop – imagine that <g>! We got there before the opening show started, and could see the characters sitting on the parked train waiting to ride into the station. I got through security and the turnstiles quickly, then waited just under the train station for the show to begin and end so guests would be let onto Main Street. Of course there were those who felt the need to run like fools, but they were held up at the entrance to Adventureland. I simply walked, and was among the first 10 people to arrive. It seems so dangerous when mom, dad, and 2 kids are all running while holding hands, when the pavement is soaking wet, and it’s all to be the first on a damn ride! At Adventureland the cast members walked slowly and formed a line across the entire street so the runners had to walk like the rest of us. When we ducked into the walkway to Frontierland the runners once again started running – only to be met by another wall of cast members holding us there <g>. Those cast members walked us right up to Big Thunder (Splash was closed for refurb) and the runner family made one last dash to ensure they were the first ones in line – give me a break! We were all on the first train to leave the station, and it was barely half full.
Each time we got back into the station there were hardly any people waiting to board so I rode 3 times in a row without getting off. I enjoyed looking at some of the many details that get missed when you’re zooming along the track! After 3 rides I could have stayed on, but decided it was time to try other things. I walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean but saw that even though it was only 9:20 there was a 25-minute wait posted (and hordes of people entering). There’s no way this attraction is worth a wait for me, so I skipped it. Instead, I went over to Tomorrowland and picked up a fastpass for Space Mountain before walking back to Fantasyland.
I walked right onto the Snow White ride, which is nothing special but I was in the mood for it. At Peter Pan the wait was listed as 10 minutes and I figured what the hell – and got in line. I think it was a little shorter than that, but either way 10 minutes would be ok. From there I went across to Small World and was very happy to not have any flash photographers in my boat! I know the song can be annoying, but this attraction is so visually appealing – I just love the colors, costumes, etc.
Next on my “to do” list was a repeat of the Haunted Mansion, and the doors were open when I got there! It was much more crowded than yesterday, but since I know where to stand in the stretch rooms I’m always first in line to board the doom buggies. By now it was time for Space Mountain, so I went back to Tomorrowland to ride that. I swear the left side seems a little faster most of the time, although it could be my imagination. When I went to enter the fastpass line a group of teen girls ran in ahead of me and literally ran the entire inside queue. Of course, I caught up with them at the turnstile so they didn’t really get ahead by running! However, one of the girls was gesturing to some of their friends further back in line to come up and join them. I’ll note these girls were from a foreign country (is it Brazil season?) and seemed to not have a concept of “line cutting”. Their friends passed several parties to join the ones in front of me – and the twit calling to them was flapping her arms around to get their attention and ended up hitting me in the face with her hand. It was an accident, but it wouldn’t have happened if she was not sneaking her friends up the line in the first place! I was pissed – she apologized, and I didn’t make a federal case out of it, but she knew I was pissed at her (more for having her friends cut in line than for accidentally hitting me).
Oh well, some things you have to just let go. After riding Space Mountain it was about 11am and the park was really getting busy! It is Saturday after all, and it’s a holiday weekend! I went over to Cosmic Ray’s and had to stand in line to buy lunch! I got the kids’ mini corndog meal and ate it at a sunny table outside. The meal costs $3.99 and consists of 4 mini corndogs (all combined probably less than a whole hotdog), and for my sides I got fries and grapes. It comes with a beverage, so I got the small bottled water. I’d gotten this once before, and it’s a perfect size meal for me. After eating I decided to just leave the park since it was so crowded, without bothering with one last ride on the TTA.
I poked through a couple of the shops on Main Street, and inside the candy store I saw a small Mickey-shaped rice krispie with a Mickey-face made of milk chocolate on top. It was so cute, I had to buy one – I think it was $5.25 or so plus tax. Hopefully it’ll taste as good as it looks!
I left the park and just as I got to the bus stop the OKW bus pulled up! I have to say, this trip my experience with the buses has been mostly much better than average! The bus was freezing, though – they must hire drivers from Antarctica or something! Back at OKW I changed into my swimsuit, grabbed a couple magazines and went over to the main pool. I don’t like that you have to show your room key to get towels here, when they’re available freely at the quiet pools. I realize it’s a way of keeping outsiders out, but are locals really going to come spend the day at this pool???
I spent a couple of hours reading and relaxing in the sun, but never went into the pool. At one point a couple set up camp a few chairs away and asked me to watch their stuff while they went to the bar. Evidently yesterday they went to get a drink and while they were gone staff removed their towels! Today nobody came by, so their stuff was safe. When I left I offered my magazines to the woman, and she was thrilled. It’d be nice if they had a place by the pools for people to donate/recycle magazines – not everyone thinks to bring something to read.
I went back to the studio and spent an hour talking to SB (he arrived at the airport around 2 for his 4:50 flight – didn’t want to risk missing it, lol) and updating the report. I took another shower, finished yesterday”s rice krispie from Epcot and decided to drive over to Animal Kingdom to possibly ride a couple things he doesn’t care much about. They had most of the parking lot blocked off, so even though there were undoubtedly lots of empty parking spaces you were stuck in the Dinosaur section! I went down a row and the only empty spots were at the far end, so I went a few rows closer and backed down the row to one of many empty spots near where the trams travel. I ended up walking in to the park, as I didn’t feel like waiting.
Once I got into the park I was shocked at just how mobbed it was just 2 hours before closing! Lots of people were heading out, but way too many more were still in the park. People were lined up waiting for the 4pm parade, but even that didn’t ease the crowds everywhere else. I headed into Dinoland and saw the standby time at Primeval Whirl was 60 minutes! There is no freakin’ way, lol! I was able to get a fastpass for 5:05 (didn’t understand why so many people were in a 60-minute line when the fastpass return was about 45 minutes <g>). Since I was in the area I figured I ‘d wait for Dinosaur no matter how bad it was. The posted standby time was 30 minutes, and the line extended outside and was snaked around inside. However, I was boarding my ride vehicle within 15 minutes so it wasn’t that bad at all.
After Dinosaur I just wandered around a bit – over to Expedition Everest for a while, through Asia, then back to sit on a bench for about 10 minutes until 5:05. Even with the fastpass, there’s still a fair wait to get on Primeval Whirl. It was a fun ride, though. At this point I was finished with the crowds and worked my way back out of the park. I drove over to the Polynesian but missed the entrance and had to turn around and go back! I parked in the 30-minute parking area since I knew I wouldn’t be there long.
My first stop was ‘Ohana, which was very busy, with lots of people waiting. I inquired about a table for 2 tomorrow night, and the very nice cast member directed me to the concierge desk downstairs. He also told me they take walkups at 5pm and if concierge says the restaurant is full to come back at 5pm tomorrow and he’d get us in if we’re willing to eat that early. I went downstairs – the earliest time available was 6:50 so I booked it. I figure once I check with SB we can cancel it if we’re not going to keep it. From there I went to Captain Cooks, where 2 of the 3 computerized ordering terminals had guests who were having nothing but trouble. I don’t think anything was malfunctioning – 1 lady wanted a single burger rather than a double (so she was told to order the kids’ meal) and the guy in front of me I think accidentally hit the button for a language other than English even though he only spoke English. Needless to say, it took a while!
I ordered the turkey club for us to share, then picked up an oatmeal cookie, yogurt parfait and the single serve bottle of wine. I was shocked to see on the receipt they charge $6.10 for that little tiny bottle!!! At Publix the 4-pack is usually $5.99 so that’s really ridiculous! But, I guess it’s my fault for not thinking ahead and bringing better wine from home.
I drove back to OKW and found the parking lot was almost full already. Holiday weekends are tough here, since I guess more people drive in (perhaps FL residents). In any event, I’m in the last space before you cross the street to the Hospitality House (the other side of the building next to us). If we do have dinner at the Poly tomorrow I don’t want to be stuck relying on Disney transportation, but we most likely will have trouble parking if we take the car.
After putting the food away I checked Southwest’s site to see the status of SB’s flight. It looks like he’ll get in about 20 minutes early, which is a nice surprise. He only has a carryon bag and he’ll take Magical Express to OKW. The 2 little brats next door were yelling and screeching – how their parents could stand it over there is beyond me! It has to be ear-splitting within the same villa, for it to be so loud over here.
SB called once he got to Magical Express. I was going to meet him at the Hospitality House, but he’s such an OKW expert now he insisted he could find the room himself <g>. I gave him the room number and told him which direction to head and watched some tv until he got in. We spent the rest of the evening in the studio – the turkey club was good, and my very expensive little bottle of wine wasn’t bad either.
Today was a nice relaxing day, although looking back I managed to spend time in 2 parks plus the pool – all before 6pm. It’s great having SB back, even though there’s a football game playing on the tv now <g>. He liked the 6:50 time at ‘Ohana so unless we change our minds and show up at 5, I guess we’ll keep the reservation. Tomorrow we’re headed to Animal Kingdom, and I sure hope it’s not as busy as it was today while we’re there!
DAY 4 – Sunday 1/14/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
SB (49), Sexy Boyfriend
Plan: AK, Flame Tree Barbecue
Actual: I didn’t sleep well at all, and neither did he. There weren’t any birds chirping <g> but for whatever reason we both were awake a lot. Oh well – such is life. I got up just after 7 and took my shower, then made some cappuccino for breakfast. I tried a few bites of the yogurt parfait, and it was really good. I just wasn’t in the mood to eat much since I knew we’d be having lunch very early. He got up about 8 to take his shower, and we were out the door a little after 8:30. His razor broke so he used mine – saying he could live with hairy legs if the razor was ruined, lol! Luckily I have another in my bag <g>.
At the OKW bus stop SB asked bell services if they knew the score of last night’s football game, but they did not. A few minutes later though, one of the bellmen had found the answer and came over to us to give SB the score – very nice. The bus arrived shortly, and we got to Animal Kingdom shortly after 9 (thanks to an unnecessary stop at Blizzard Beach even though that park didn’t open for over an hour at 10).
The sky was very dark and gloomy, and by the time we got into Animal Kingdom it had started to rain. It was more of a mist at first, but it didn’t stop and got heavier as time passed. Poncho sales were brisk, and I was glad I had my umbrella in my bag. We stopped at First Aid briefly so I could pick up a few bandaids for the blister I got from my Crocs. Yes, these things aren’t the perfection (for me) other people claim them to be! Also, when it rains, with all the holes in the Crocs your feet just stay wet inside them. I guess it’s better than getting my sneakers wet, though.
We went to Harambe and picked up a couple safari fastpasses for 9:55 and decided to also get in line now since the standby time was posted at 20 minutes. Plus, with it raining I didn’t really want to be wandering around and with our early lunch plans I didn’t want to go get breakfast at Tusker House like we normally do. The line moved quickly, and soon we were on our safari. SB was surprised by how many animals were out in the rain – we saw just about everything except the lions. The baby giraffe was standing right by our side of the road, and it was so cute! It was watching it’s parents across the street eating from palm trees.
When we got off the safari it was time for the fastpasses, but he didn’t feel like riding it again. We had about 30 minutes before Flame Tree opened, so we decided to ride the train to Conservation Station since we were right there. SB had never done this before, and therefore had never seen the buildings where the animals are housed after hours. We saw several – a big black rhino, and also saw the female lion watching us from up on the rocks. When we got to Conservation Station we just stayed on the train for the ride back (along with several other people). By the time we got off the train and walked to Flame Tree Barbecue they were just about ready to open.
A cast member asked a family if they would help open the restaurant, but they declined (what the heck??). She asked for another volunteer, and I said I would – I figured we’d get our order taken first that way <g>. Basically the cast member calls out each type of worker and when she does, I ask them “Are you ready”. I thought it would be just once, but it happened about 6 times, lol. Finally they opened, took our order first, and gave me a magical moments certificate.
I knew SB would prefer a combo ribs and chicken plate, but they don’t have that here. So, we ended up with the ½ slab of St Louis ribs (with baked beans and corn on the cob), an order of onion rings, and a kids’ chicken wing meal. The kid’s meal was only 2 wings, but they were huge – and very messy. For the 2 sides we got grapes and more grapes. I had the small bottled water from the kids meal and he got a light lemonade. Everything was good, and between us we didn’t quite finish it all. We sat down by the water, and found a boy scout troop there working on a project so we sat off to the side of them. These 2 ducks came over and started pecking at SB’s sneakers, lol! It got to the point he wasn’t able to enjoy his meal because they were just stalking us! We finally shooed them back far enough – and when we were almost ready to leave (nobody else was around) we did feed them some leftover grapes and chicken. I know you’re not supposed to, so sue me. After the food was gone they left – waddled down the path to the water and probably went to find some other people with food somewhere else!
By now the rain had stopped, and it looked like the sun might break through the clouds. We decided to leave the park, since there was a football game he wanted to see. Sunday is always our day to lay around and do nothing in the afternoon (after a morning at the beach usually), so I wanted to respect that and not push him to go to another park. We left the park and found the OKW bus waiting for us! After yet another Blizzard Beach stop – what’s up with that?? – we were back at OKW.
We got comfortable and he found the football game channel on tv. I updated the report and then decided I could live without football <g> - so I changed into my swimsuit and headed over to the pool for a while. He ended up falling asleep before the game even started, lol.
The pool was wonderful – bright and sunny but with enough clouds to give short breaks from the sun. There was a nice breeze, too – and a nice crowd. At one point they started playing music and did some pool games. I didn’t participate, but it sounded like everyone was having fun. After about 1.5 hours or so I walked back to the studio, where SB had mostly been watching the game. He was ready for a snack, so we decided to try the 5pm ‘Ohanas seating and would cancel our 6:50 reservation over there.
We laid around the rest of the afternoon with the door to the porch open – the breeze from outside felt great! About 4:30 we drove over the Polynesian, and got upstairs to ‘Ohana around 4:50. There were lots of people waiting (already checked in) and Bill was working again. He canceled our 6:50 reservation and said he was sure we’d get right in. We went over to the lounge and sat while we waited for the blinking thing to go off. We ordered a Lapu Lapu and shared it – it tasted ok and it’s certainly appealing in a whole pineapple, but at $12.75 it’s not something I’d do very often! There’s also not a heck of a lot inside the pineapple for $12.75, lol!
We were called to be seated just after 5, and ended up with a great table right by the window. We had a perfect view of the castle and the Grand Floridian – if we were going to be here later for the fireworks or Electrical Water Pageant it would have been the ideal location. Each table has 2 servers, and we met our people. To start they bring a bowl of salad and some wontons with 3 different dipping sauces. The salad was excellent – I loved the dressing. The wontons were no big deal – just fried chips really. Next came the chicken wings and the shrimp. I don’t eat shrimp, but SB enjoyed them. We both liked the chicken very much – I was ready to be finished eating after a few of those! Next they brought out a plate of delicious scalloped potatoes and a bowl of vegetables (he had to eat those alone). Soon the skewers starting coming around – first turkey and sausage, later steak and pork. It was all good, but the turkey is still my favorite. SB loved the restaurant, but by the time we were leaving he was saying it was too much food to do again!
The food really is excessive – even just trying a few bites of each item is overkill, and there’s so much food wasted. They did coconut races, a limbo contest, celebrated birthdays, etc. At times it was quiet but other times it was rather noisy – it’s not a romantic place, but it is fun. For dessert we had the bread pudding a la mode with bananas foster sauce. I expected to hate it, but it was delicious! As full as we were, we ate most of it. We rolled out of there after taking care of the check, too stuffed to go anywhere but back to the studio.
We spent the rest of the evening in the studio – he watched the rest of the latest football game while I finished up the report and spent some time online. Hopefully we’ll both sleep better tonight, and I know I need to get to bed earlier tonight as I’m kind of tired.
Today started out rather questionable – with the clouds and miserable rain. However, we made the best of it with a good safari, and I enjoyed my pool time while he was watching football. I’m glad we tried ‘Ohana, although I think it’ll be quite a while before we return for such a huge meal.
Tomorrow is Epcot – and Soarin’, then we’re meeting friends later in the afternoon.
DAY 5 – Monday 1/15/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
SB (49), Sexy Boyfriend
Plan: Epcot, Puck’s Café?
Actual: I slept better last night, and once again got up just after 7. Breakfast was cappuccino and biscotti for me; nothing for him. He was trying to figure out why aol kept opening up on his computer without his doing anything, so at 8:30 I was ready to go and he hadn’t gotten out of bed yet! It’s a beautiful sunny day today – it would be a shame to waste it sitting in the studio for much longer.
He was still tired and didn’t feel like moving. I considered going to Epcot myself and waiting for him to meet me, but decided against it since these 2 days were planned to enjoy WDW together. We really should have talked last night about what time we each wanted to head out this morning, so there wouldn’t have been the mis-communication and differing expectations. He was in the shower by 9:30, which wasn’t bad. I’d asked him this morning if he was going to want any breakfast when we went out – it was only after he said “no” that I ate my biscotti. Now he’s saying he wants pancakes and sausage (argh). I guess I’m a bigger anal-planner-type than I’d realized, because I was going nuts <g>. He also said he wanted to go to Magic Kingdom, but by the time we’d get there would be the time I always want to leave the park, lol! I’m pretty sure the only thing he really wants to do there is get a hotdog at Casey’s anyway. One surprising thing he said yesterday – he really liked the Premium Outlets (he calls it “that mall”) and today he was saying “let’s go back and walk around that mall”. I can make plans in concrete – to him plans are a more fluid, changing idea sort of thing <g>.
We ended up leaving before 10 and caught the bus to Epcot. It was fairly busy getting in, but not too bad. Our first stop was Soarin’ and I saw on the tip board that the standby time was 45 minutes. Once we got over there I got our fastpasses (11:42 at 10:16) and the standby time had been changed to 30 minutes. There were long lines at the Living with the Land boat ride, so we decided to just wait in line for Soarin’. We ended up being inside the theater in 15-20 minutes, which surprised us both. We got the 2nd row, and enjoyed the attraction.
We started walking back to World Showcase but then decided to come back later tonight instead. He was in the mood for a hotdog from Casey’s, so we took the monorail to the TTC and switched over to the mobbed express monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Thank goodness it’s a short ride, as it’s not pleasant being part of a herd of cattle. If nothing else, it further reinforced my personal feelings that staying offsite is no way to do WDW – not when your day starts like this! Once we got through the massive bag check line it was a breeze getting through the turnstiles. We went straight to Casey’s and were surprised to find nobody in line!
We ordered a hot dog, fries, corn dog nuggets and soda – everything was good, and we had a nice table outside. Those chairs sure are uncomfortable, though! I guess they’re designed to maximize how quickly the tables turn over, as nobody would want to sit and linger on them! Once we finished eating we headed back to the exit, with a stop at the candy store. There we ended up buying another of the rice krispie treats with chocolate (still had most of the first one, but I won’t be back for at least a month), a rice krispie on a stick for Chris, one of the big specialty apples, and a pecan log roll thing SB liked. It’s mostly all in a bag on the table – it’ll go home with us tomorrow.
We left the park and the OKW bus was waiting for us again <g>. The driver asked which stop we wanted, and ended up stopping at the Hospitality House to let us and another couple off before beginning the usual route. Another nice touch – not expected, but appreciated! I put the chocolate in the room and grabbed the car keys, then we drove over to Premium Outlets.
We ended up walking past all the stores at least once, browsing in a few shops but not finding what we were looking for. None of the stores there had the perfume I liked in France – they all heard of it, but said they didn’t carry it. I was hoping SB could at least smell it and if he absolutely hated it we wouldn’t need to go to France tonight. We did pick up an international phone calling card he can use to call his daughter while she’s studying in Spain this semester. According to the guy at the store it had almost 500 minutes when calling Spain, but when we used it back at the studio the computer said we had 56 minutes of time for her number. Strange, but for $5 I guess I didin’t really believe it would give us 500 minutes <g>.
We went back to OKW and relaxed in the studio for a couple of hours. I packed up what I could, updated the report, watched General Hospital and just relaxed. Shortly before 4:30 we walked over to meet Dottie and Joe at the Gurgling Suitcase. They were already there, and we all moved to a picnic table outside. They had their drinks already, and it took forever to get ours. The bartender was on loan from Saratoga Springs and was just overwhelmed. It was somewhat ridiculous, as it’s such a small place it doesn’t justify having more than 1 person on duty. SB and I had Turtle Krawls, which are one of the specialty drinks unique to this resort – and they taste very similar to the Ferris Wheels over at the Boardwalk. We sat outside chatting for almost 2 hours, then accepted Dottie and Joe’s invitation to join them for dinner at Olivia’s Café. We were able to get a table outside, since it was such a perfect evening.
Dinner was terrific – the company was great, and the food was all excellent. SB and I shared a Caesar salad which was very good but it came uncut and I prefer my salad ready to eat. He also had the conch chowder, which he said was ok. For dinner I had my usual tomato and mozzarella stack, and brought half of it back to the studio – I’ll eat it for lunch at work tomorrow. SB had the prime rib, which he really liked. Joe had the penne pasta with shrimp and Dottie got the barbecue grouper. Both dishes were also excellent. I think we were all pretty full at that point, but the men each ordered the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce (SB with a scoop of ice cream, Joe with a glass of skim milk), and the women helped them eat it. It was after 7:30 by the time we finished, and although we hated to see this portion of the evening come to an end, we still needed to get to Epcot. We said goodbye to Dottie and Joe and I literally ran my leftovers back to the studio while SB waited for me at the bus stop.
As I got to the studio I saw the Epcot bus turning down our street, so I didn’t linger at all. The bus arrived at the stop shortly after I got back there, and we got to Epcot about 8. We rode Spaceship Earth first, and then went to Soarin’. By now it was almost 8:30 and there was no wait at all – both the fastpass and standby lines never slowed until they were in the final area. We got the 2nd row again, and we enjoyed the attraction very much. Next we headed out to World Showcase and walked over to France. It was pretty congested with people lined up for Illuminations, while Future World was nicely deserted! At the Guerlain store SB sprayed some of the perfume on his hand but didn’t like it. I sprayed some on my wrist – it smelled different (better) on me, but he still wasn’t thrilled with it. He said he’d get it if I wanted it, but I didn’t see the point in wearing a perfume he didn’t like a lot. So, we headed back towards the exit. The further away we got, the more he liked the perfume <g> but he never really loved it. We’ll look around home to see what he likes – and we can always get this in February if we don’t find something better. In fact, I may get it myself in April and wear it while he’s away for baseball if I still like it as much.
At the bus stop we had to wait for the bus to arrive, and predictably it did not arrive until after Illuminations had ended and the line of people exceeded the capacity. We were the 2nd family there, so we had no trouble getting seats – many families were left waiting for the next bus. We got off at the Peninsular Road stop again and returned to the studio. I set the alarm for 3am (ouch) – that will be here in no time, but I’m not going to bother trying to sleep until I’m actually tired.
Today was a nice day – we didn’t do a lot of park stuff, but we enjoyed what we did do. The nice thing about the seasonal and annual passes is you can enter a park to do 1 attraction, enter another to buy a hotdog, and then return to the first park for 2 more attractions – and not feel like you’re “wasting” an admission or your money. We had a great time with Dottie and Joe – hopefully our trips will overlap again soon.
In the morning we’ll be on the road by 4:15 am so I can be to work by 7:30 (work clothes are hanging in my office). It makes for a long day, and long week, but it’s worth it to have our last day at WDW be a full day/night.
Things I learned this trip:
Crocs are not as comfortable on me as they seem to be on everybody else, as evidenced by my blister and sore feet. I’ll still wear them, but only for morning or evening, not both in the same day.
SB has a new favorite restaurant (‘Ohana), although we both agree it’s way too much food and nearly impossible to avoid eating more than you should.
Building 64 at OKW is a great location
In the pre-dawn hours the birds chirp much louder than any other noise (including the buses) at OKW.
Dining outside at Olivia’s Café is delightful – especially with good company.
There’s no need to run like a fool when the Magic Kingdom opens.
Pleasure Island was pitifully empty on Thursday night, which is a very bad sign. Comedy Warehouse shows are excellent, but more people need to go see them so the audience isn’t so small.
Comedy Warehouse now gives a free smaller box of popcorn with drink orders
Magical Express was truly magical for SB. He walked off his plane and walked right onto the waiting bus (no line) and the bus stopped at OKW first. The bus only had 6-10 people riding, which was nice. Can’t beat a free ride like that!
SB really enjoys WDW, even though he grumbles about all the walking and needs his “down time” for sports or other tv. As long as the weather is nice, I can use that time for laying by the pool!
I really like that perfume in France, and was disappointed SB wasn’t crazy about it. If we don’t find something we both like better, I’ll probably buy it and wear it while he’s away during baseball season. He did like it better the more time had passed, and so did I (is it weird to go to sleep sniffing your wrist, lol?)
Ok, that’s enough “learning” for one report. We’ll be back for a weekend in February, and we’ll arrive after work Friday night and leave at 4:15 am Monday morning so I can get to work. It’s short, but we’ll have 2 full days plus 3 nights – better than nothing! Until then, thanks for reading.
Sue Holland
WDW1972@aol.com
Sue gets in five days at WDW, mixing some couples time with some solo time.
Sue Holland -- January 2007 - Walt Disney World (OKWR)
Dates: January 11 - 16, 2007
Travel Method: Personal car, Airplane, Disney’s Magical Express
Resort: Disney’s Old Key West Resort
Experience: Frequent Guest
INTRODUCTION:
When I booked this trip 11 months ago I wasn’t sure whether it would be a solo trip or a couple trip. It ended up being a combination of both, and about 2 weeks before the trip I added the final night. SB needs to be out of state on the 12th and can return on the 13th. Flights were more reasonable and more plentiful from Orlando, so it made sense for him to fly round-trip from there rather fly up from home and then make the return trip into Orlando. He could have just gone home, but then he would have missed time at WDW!
I have to work Thursday (1/11), but I’ll get out early. We’ll drive to Orlando, where I’ll drop him off at the airport before returning to check in at Old Key West. When he returns on Saturday night he can take Disney’s Magical Express from the airport and join me at OKW. That will leave me with 2 days being solo and then we’ll have 2 days as a couple. I’d booked 2 meals – lunch at LeCellier and lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. LeCellier is clearly for me, although he likes it too. That one’s scheduled for Friday, so I’ll dine solo. The other one’s scheduled for Sunday, so unless he doesn’t want to visit the Magic Kingdom that day (he might prefer Epcot or Animal Kingdom – since he won’t be back until fall I figure he can decide where we go these 2 days), we’ll both be there for that. They have a pot roast on the menu, and I figured he’d like that. I added the Monday night so we’d have a 2nd full day once he got there – we’ll be on the road by 4:30am so I’m at work on time at 7:30!
The weekend of January 7th we were relaxing on the beach (living in Florida has it’s perks sometimes) and discussed what he wanted to do during the 2 days he’d be here with me. As expected, he’s interested in Animal Kingdom and Epcot, and doesn’t care if he goes to Magic Kingdom at all. So, I decided to get my MK time in during the first 2 days, and I cancelled the Liberty Tree Tavern lunch. We also decided to book a weekend in February, before he begins spring training and baseball season.
On January 9th I learned my friends Tom and Leanne will also be at WDW for the weekend, with some additional family coming in for the day on Saturday. I called Disney Dining and added a LeCellier lunch for Saturday, in case I join them on Friday and miss LeCellier on that day. I asked for an early lunch, and they had 11:40 available – not bad for less than a week before arriving! However, I found out later that day that they wouldn’t be arriving before my Friday LeCellier ADR so I ended up keeping that one and canceling Saturday. I’ll make Friday more of a parks day, and leave myself Saturday afternoon for the pool if the weather permits.
On January 10th he decided he wanted to eat at Cape May Café during this trip, saving Puck’s for next time. Once I read the menu on allearsnet.com he changed his mind <g>. Instead we thought about ‘Ohana, so I’ll call on the 11th to see if anything is available. If not, there’s always next month.
Strangely enough, when I called to add the last night (on 12/22/06 for 1/15/07), they said there was nothing but a 2br available at OKW. However, they offered a studio at either Saratoga Springs or Villas at Wilderness Lodge. Saratoga wasn’t really a surprise, but VWL was since it’s so small! In any event, I wasn’t interested in packing up and moving for 1 night. I asked about finding the last 3 nights available anywhere in a studio or 1br, figuring I’d keep OKW in the studio for my solo nights and then move before he flew in on Saturday. The cast member said “nothing” was available. I had a funny feeling that she might not have really checked, or checked very carefully, so 5 minutes later I called back and got another person. I said I had 4 nights at OKW and wanted to add the 5th but it wasn’t available, so I’d like to check some other scenarios. This person said “we have a studio at OKW for that night”. Huh??? It’s possible somebody called during the preceding 5 minutes and canceled an OKW studio for that night, but I’ll never know for sure. In any event, we booked my 5th night – the lesson I guess is to call back a 2nd time if the first person seems to say “no” too quickly.
As for specific plans there really aren’t any. A lot will depend on the weather, as January is very hit-or-miss when it comes to spending time by the pool. Crowds should be moderate at the worst, as even a holiday weekend in mid-January isn’t as bad as regular weeks in many other months. I hope to get over to Comedy Warehouse, hit my usual favorite attractions in the parks, enjoy some good meals, and just relax and soak up the atmosphere of being in this wonderful place!
The plans so far are:
Thursday 1/11: Work, SB to Orlando airport, Check in OKW, Comedy Warehouse
Friday 1/12: Epcot or MK, LeCellier?
Saturday 1/13: Epcot or MK, Pool, SB arrives
Sunday 1/14: AK, Flame Tree Barbecue
Monday 1/15: Epcot, Puck’s Café?
Tuesday 1/16: Drive to work
DAY 1 – Thursday 1/11/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
Plan: Work, SB to Orlando airport, Check in OKW, Comedy Warehouse
Actual: I worked until SB showed up just before 3pm. Since I was going straight to work from WDW on Tuesday, we left his car at my work so he can go home after dropping me off. I called Disney Dining to inquire about a reservation at ‘Ohana for Sunday night. LOL – the earliest they had for 2 people was 9:20 pm, which is way too late for us to be eating like that! I tried Monday, but the earliest was 8:45pm, so we won’t be doing that either!
When SB asked what time we were leaving, I said he should leave the house around 2 for my workplace so we could be on the road by 3. So, when does he stroll into my office? Just before 2pm <g>! Oh well – we ended up leaving a minute or 2 before 3 and had a very easy drive up. I was expecting more traffic, but it was really quite pleasant! Since we had time, we stopped at Premium Outlets first. I gave him the wrong directions and we ended up entering Disney property near Epcot and exiting down by Crossroads to get to the outlets!
We stopped in the Coach store to look for an ipod holder for his Valentine’s Day gift but they didn’t have anything decent. We tried Kenneth Cole across the walkway but they had nothing either. Next stop was the Character Premiere, as I wanted him to get a Disney sweatshirt to wear on cool evenings. I should have realized that they’re still selling them in the parks at this time of year, so the selection at the outlet was pretty pitiful. So far we were batting zero, so we stopped at the information booth to check the map of the shopping center (thinking there might be some other store with an ipod case). I suggested Wilson Leather, so we walked over there and lo and behold – in the sale bin was the perfect black leather ipod holder for him! Even more bizarre, I think it was marked down to something like $5 – unreal. We did find something else he’d been wanting, so we bought both items and headed back to the car.
Traffic on I-4 was still light, so I decided to drive to highway 528 to get to the airport. It was an easy drive, with 2 tolls of $.75 each. His flight was on Southwest so we followed the signs to terminal A and I dropped him off around 7 for his 8:25 flight. From there I took the south exit (417) to WDW, and found no traffic there either. I went straight to OKW and was checked in by 7:30.
Normally I request and receive top floor, but this time I was given a first floor studio. However, I was secretly glad for that, as my suitcase weighed a ton with both of our stuff (plus bottled water) crammed in there! I ended up in one of the new buildings - #64. This building is the one that doesn’t have it’s own parking lot, but I think I can deal with that. The studio itself looked fine, and I quickly dropped off most of my stuff before rushing back out to the car to try to make the first Comedy Warehouse show!
I was impatient and drove somewhat aggressively when there were slower cars ahead of me. I was almost to Pleasure Island when I saw the sheriff deputy’s lights flashing in my rear view mirror. I pulled into the parking lot and stopped the car, then heard him on some speaker thing ordering me to step out of the vehicle with my license, insurance and registration. He looked over my documents and asked me if I knew the speed limit was 35. I was honestly able to say no – I figured it was more like 45. He said it was clearly marked but maybe I didn’t see the signs as I passed him going over 50 mph back there (oops). In any event, I was clearly in the wrong here, but he decided not to ticket me! I promised to slow down and thanked him – boy, talk about lucky! Going home to OKW later I kept it at the speed limit!
When the deputy left I pulled into the nearest parking space and walked quickly to Pleasure Island, entering down by Planet Hollywood. I was surprised to see only about 10 people in line, and would have figured everyone had been seated already except the door was not open! Yikes – we ended up with maybe 40 people in the audience by the time the show started. I sat with David and his lady friend, who I hadn’t seen for a while. They now serve a smaller box of popcorn free with the purchase of a drink at Comedy Warehouse, which is a nice touch. Carol Stein was on the keys tonight.
The 7:45 cast was Krista, John, Brian, Lisa and Philip. Krista rang the bell in Should Have Said, where Brian was an Amway recruiter in the union hall. John was a disgruntled customer and Philip was the coworker being recruited to sell Amway. Next Krista did a Forgotten Song called “Women who won the west” – doing a beautiful job as always. They did Up Your Alley, using an audience volunteer who was an expert in cowboy shooting. John hosted as Witherspoon Smith. Lisa was a female named Billy who shoots male cows (cow boys) to make them girl cows (cowgirls). Philip was a native American called Falling Rocks – the last member of his tribe not shot by cowboys.
Overall it was a pretty good show – especially considering the small audience! I left right after the show and walked over to the Marketplace to find some dinner. Earl of Sandwich had a long line but it appeared to be moving pretty quickly, so I stopped there. The line really didn’t take as long as I’d feared, which was a good thing! I ordered the caprese salad and brought it back to the studio. It was a long walk back to the car, and a short drive back to OKW.
I unpacked, ate the salad, updated the report, and watched General Hospital on SoapNet before SB called to let me know his plane had landed safely. I stayed up to watch some of the local news, then called it a night.
Today was a bit stressful, between being pulled over for speeding and having to drive out to the airport before checking in. I’m glad I got the outlets visit out of the way, as now I can just stay on Disney property until it’s time to go to work on Tuesday (SB will use Magical Express to get here Saturday). It’s good to be back here, and I’m looking forward to relaxing more tomorrow!
DAY 2 – Friday 1/12/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
Plan: Epcot or MK, LeCellier?
Actual: I slept really well last night, and woke up on my own about 6:45. The alarm was set for 7, so that was pretty much perfect timing. I just wish the sun came up earlier, as it was still pretty dark at 6:45. Breakfast was cappuccino and half of a toasted cranberry bagel brought from home. I can’t see spending time to get breakfast here, and since SB isn’t here today there won’t be any reason to stop for breakfast in a park. Around 8:30 I left the studio to make the short walk to the main building for a bus to Magic Kingdom. One nice thing about this location is you’re the last stop so you don’t have to circle the resort before heading to a park. Returning, I’ll just get off at the first stop and walk back (it’ll be much faster than riding the bus until we get to the last stop).
The last MK bus must have just come through, as it was a good 15 minutes before one arrived. When it did, there were only a handful of guests on board. We got to MK right at 9am (missed the opening ceremony) and although the security and entry area looked really busy it didn’t take long to get through there at all. I headed first to Space Mountain and picked up a fastpass for 10:10. The standby time was 20 minutes, which could have been an overstatement, but I wasn’t willing to risk that much time since I only planned to be in this park for a short while.
I decided today to concentrate on my favorites in Tomorrowland, Fantasyland, and the Haunted Mansion only. Tomorrow (assuming I decide to come back again) I’ll start on the other side of the park. The Pooh ride had a very short wait – not more than a couple of minutes. The only annoying thing was the woman seated behind me kept taking flash pictures throughout the entire ride! Give me a break – who wants or needs a dozen photos of the inside of a ride???? When I got to the exit I hightailed it away from them so I wouldn’t be stuck with them at my next destination! Next stop was Peter Pan’s Flight, which had no wait at all. I love the slow season!
I went next to the Haunted Mansion, and enjoyed that with very few other guests. It looked like a group of new cast members were being toured through the park, and it was a big group! There were more of them than there were guests in the area. After Haunted Mansion I backtracked over to Tomorrowland and rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (or WEDway People Mover for the old-timers). The ride ended at 10, and Buzz Lightyear had a 10-minute standby time posted, so I decided to try my luck at shooting alien targets. I was actually off the ride within 10 minutes, so the wait time was slightly overstated. My score sucked – around 29,000 points but that was no surprise. I was back over at Space Mountain by 10:15 and heading out of the park at 10:30.
I was a bit aggravated to see the entrance to the express monorail was closed off to guests. When going to Epcot, that’s so much faster and easier than taking the resort monorail, and I hate when they do that! Since I had no choice, I went up the ramp to the resort monorail and was glad to see it was sitting in the station so I didn’t have a wait there. After a stop at the Contemporary we continued to the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTC). Once there I had to take the long way around to the Epcot monorail, which was also already in the station! I thought I’d really lucked out, but then there were problems with the monorail. Whenever it would attempt to go forward, it would shudder and shake, then stop. They claimed it was undergoing a“routine maintenance check” – yeah, maybe, but I’ve known Disney to lie about this stuff quite often in the past <g>. We sat there a while, then finally started on our way, getting to the first curve before it shuddered and died again. We sat some more, then slowly made our way backwards to the station (going a couple feet before shuddering to a stop, then repeating that over and over again). Ugh – I’d hoped to get to Soarin for a fastpass before showing up at LeCellier for my 11:30 lunch but now it was looking like I might not even be at Epcot by then!
After another period of sitting there, we were finally ready to go, and the monorail operated normally (yay)! It was about 11:15 by now, so I wasn’t going to bother with the Soarin’ fastpass.
SB called just as I got off the monorail, so I talked to him on my way to the security/turnstile area. Once inside the park I went straight to Canada and checked in at LeCellier a little before 11:30. I also informed the cast member I had a reservation there for tomorrow, which could be canceled. I no sooner went to sit on the bench when they called my name, and I was the first one seated for the day.
The meal and the service were both excellent – and thankfully the atmosphere was not ruined. As my server was taking my order a family of 7 (5 adults, pre-teen boy and school-age boy) were being seated nearby. You could hear them long before you could see them – the younger boy (around 8-10 years old) was LOUDLY doing one of those obnoxious cries like Lucy Riccardo did on I Love Lucy. He was definitely not happy to be at LeCellier, and it truly was so loud everyone in the restaurant was disrupted and was quietly looking around with a “what the hell???” look on their faces. Finally the mother took him screaming into the restroom and they stayed in there until he was able to stop acting that way. He continued to be very loud and repetitive, and I realized he must have a developmental disability that was causing this behavior. In any event, the rest of the meal was pleasant, and that family was able to all enjoy their meal (without one of them having to leave with him). The one time I took my son out of restaurant due to his behavior was LeCellier when he was almost 2 years old (waited for the rest of the family outside with him). I can’t imagine having to deal with stuff like that routinely, no matter how old the child gets.
For lunch today I had the usual wine and the cheese soup, but also ordered the appetizer beef tenderloin kabob for my entrée. I never would have tried this if I hadn’t done the Disney Dining Plan when it was free in September, and I was really impressed with this item. It’s a bit expensive ($10.99) for a tiny portion of beef over a couple tablespoons of orzo, but it’s really good. Everything was perfect, and I didn’t feel rushed at all yet I was walking out the door just after noon. I walked one lap around World Showcase, and then entered Future World. Today was a gorgeous day, with lots of sunshine and temperatures in the mid-70’s. A little later more clouds built up, but it’s still pretty nice!
I went to the Land pavilion and picked up a fastpass for Soarin’ (approx 3-4pm), figuring I’d most likely be back in Epcot later today. Since the Sunshine Seasons Food Court was right there I decided to pick up something sweet for later. I ended up with 2 things – a chocolate chip cookie and a rice krispie treat. I was surprised the krispie was only $2.29, but I guess that’s because it’s much smaller than the big ones I see at some other places. In any event, it’s plenty for me!
Spaceship Earth didn’t have a wait, so I rode that before leaving the park. The OKW bus was at the bus stop, so I had no wait again! The driver asked if anyone was wanting the Hospitality House, and most of us (about 5 people) said yes. She stopped just past the intersection and let us off at the sidewalk so we wouldn’t have to wait for our stop – very nice! I spent some time relaxing in the studio, instant messaging with SB, updating the report, and watching General Hospital. I tried to reach Leanne, but she didn’t have her phone on, so I didn’t know where they were. I knew once it started getting dark it would get cooler very quickly, so I decided to hang out at the resort until late afternoon and then return to Epcot dressed for the evening. The low is supposed to be 59, which for me is jeans and sweatshirt weather. SB wanted to know our plans for tomorrow night, but since his flight doesn’t get in until after 7 I’m not expecting him to get to the resort until somewhere between 8 and 9. We thought about a Comedy Warehouse show, but eventually decided to have a drink in the room and spend a quiet night together. I’ve got a couple of his new favorite beers (Heinekin light) in the fridge, so I’ll just need to pick up an individual serve bottle of wine for me.
At 4 I walked over to the OKW store but they only had full-size bottles of wine and since it’s just me drinking the wine that didn’t make any sense. I browsed in the shop a while, then returned to the studio to dress in jeans/sweatshirt and add some thick socks since I was wearing my Disney Crocs. From the porch I can see what buses go by and not leave until I see an Epcot bus. By the time it goes to Miller’s Road and back I’ll be at the final bus stop.
My bus strategy worked really well, and is something I’ll keep in mind for tomorrow. At Epcot it seemed like there were an awful lot of people arriving, but I guess it’s due to the extra magic hours for resort guests tonight. I’d heard the park gets uncomfortably crowded during that, and I soon found out those reports were accurate. I got into the park quickly, despite a rather anal security cm who was determined to question every item in every pocket of people’s bags. The whole security check thing is ridiculous in my opinion, so I much prefer the ones who give a quick and cursory glance before sending you on your way. I don’t for a minute believe this security façade would deter anyone who truly wanted to cause trouble in the parks – it only slows entry down for ordinary people. Oh well, enough of that rant!
I headed over to Soarin’ first, to use my fastpass from earlier today. The standby time was 60 minutes, and all fastpasses were gone for the day. Near the boarding area they needed a party of 3, so they pulled me and a party of 2 from further back. I figured I’d probably get stuck with row 3, but I figured if I didn’t go now I still had a 1 in 3 chance of still getting that row. As it turned out, we were put in row 3, but it was in the center section so it wasn’t really bad at all. The woman from the party of 2 spoke to her date and I recognized the voice as belonging to Bonnie – a somewhat regular at PI and Comedy Warehouse. I turned around and we chatted until the attraction started. It was a great ride/movie/whatever – I always enjoy Soarin’.
Living with the Land had only a 5-minute wait, so I got in line for that. I ended up being seated directly behind one of the biggest men I’ve seen in my life. I swear his shoulders were as wide as a garage door, and he was way over 6 feet tall. He was riding in a power scooter, and even in that he looked huge. I couldn’t see a thing from behind him, but luckily they didn’t put anyone else in my row so I scooted over behind one of the women with him. This time once we got to the greenhouse part an announcement came on 3 times warning people to keep their hands, arms and feet inside the boat – and to not touch the sand. Evidently they monitor us and some jackass on my boat was doing something they shouldn’t be doing. It’s always amazing that people will be in such a nice place and not respect it.
I went over to Test Track next, but it was not operating and the lines inside had really backed up. The fastpass return line extended outside of the building, and the single rider line was much too long for me. I ended up turning around and walking out, then went to check out the cars at the exit briefly. Sunset was approaching so I decided it was time for World Showcase. The sky was really pretty, and the remaining daylight reflecting off the lake was just gorgeous. I started in Mexico and walked around enjoying the beautiful atmosphere. It definitely was busier than I would have expected, no doubt due to extra magic hours later tonight.
In Italy I stopped at the wine store to try another white wine, and decided on the Le Rime blend of chardonnay and pinot grigio. I hated it! It just tasted awful to me, and I thought about just dumping it out. The wine wasn’t spoiled or anything – it just wasn’t to my taste. From here on out I’ll stick with Germany! I sat on a bench in Italy for a while and choked down the wine. The line of people checking in for dinner at Alfredo’s was huge! I saw the same thing later (twice) at Chef’s de France, so evidently Epcot restaurants are mobbed at dinner tonight.
Eventually I started walking again and stopped to browse through the shops in France. Several of the shirts were on sale, and some pretty ones were as low as $8.99! I didn’t really need any though, so I passed. For some reason I went into the Guerlain shop, even though I never wear perfume. SB was going to get me some for Christmas, but didn’t know what to get so I ended up with jewelry instead (much better, in my opinion). They gave me a sample of a scent that was absolutely wonderful – I think it was called Insolence. I kept sniffing the paper strip for the next hour or so, it smelled so nice. I tried one of the men’s colognes too but that was horrible! SB can stick to what he already uses!
I decided to return to Future World, and this time Test Track was operating. I used the single rider line and it went pretty quickly. They actually pulled us out before the preshow ended, which didn’t bother me at all. I thought about getting a bracelet for the extra magic hours, but the line was pretty long and I realized there wasn’t much chance I’d still be in the park at 9pm anyway! I wandered around a bit, then returned to World Showcase, starting again in Mexico.
This time I stopped in Germany to get a glass of wine – this tasted so much better! I sat on a bench in Germany for a while, once I found a bench that had no view of the lake. The benches closer to the water were already claimed by people waiting 2 hours for Illuminations! Yikes – fireworks are nice, but I just don’t like the current version of Illuminations. Eventually I continued walking, browsing through a few shops here and there, ending up back at the Guerlain shop in France. I wanted to try the perfume on me to see if I still liked it, so the guy sprayed some on my wrist and put some of the matching lotion on my other hand. I definitely like it, so if SB likes it when we’re in Epcot later this trip we’ll get it.
Epcot was really busy by now, and there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do badly enough to put up with the crowds, so I walked back through Future World and left the park. At the bus stop I waited and waited and waited some more for the OKW bus. An elderly couple with 2 power scooters were already waiting when I arrived. Once the bus finally arrived the driver parked too far forward, so after a big delay he shut the doors and pulled the lift up and then went to back the bus up. We repeated the earlier process, and he realized he still wasn’t far enough back, so we waited some more while he went back to the driver’s seat to back the bus up again. Finally he’s in the right spot, and I swear he had more trouble tying down those scooters (the guy stayed in his, but grandma walked onto the but and one of the grandkids rode it on) than any driver I’ve ever seen. We were easily there 15 minutes after the bus arrived, and I was surprised the next OKW bus didn’t arrive while we were there. By now the line was long, and not everybody was able to get a seat on the bus either – that’s somewhat unusual for an OKW bus before the park closes.
To my surprise, the bus stopped first at the Hospitality House, which worked out great for me. I was back in the studio about 9 – despite leaving Epcot around 8! I had some cappuccino and a piece of biscotti in lieu of dinner. After the big lunch I wasn’t hungry for a real meal, but I wanted something. Later I may finish the cookie or eat part of the rice krispie treat – there always seem to be room for sweets <g>.
I got comfortable and settled in for the night – watching a little tv, finishing the report, talking to SB, and sniffing my terrific-smelling wrist <g>! I did learn something today – although people swear by their Crocs as being incredibly comfortable, my feet were hurting by the time I got back tonight and I took a very long break mid-day. They certainly would not work if I was an all-day park visitor, but they’re fine for a partial day.
Overall today was really terrific. Lunch at LeCellier was excellent, I got to ride some favorite attractions but also spent time relaxing at the resort, and I found a perfume that I actually like! The only bad part was that Italian wine – yuck!
Tomorrow I’ll probably head back to Magic Kingdom in the morning to at least ride Big Thunder, maybe Pirates, and repeat a few other favorites. Assuming the sun is shining I may take some time for the pool also, and maybe return to Animal Kingdom in the hour or so before it closes to ride Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur (not SB’s favorites) before getting ready for his arrival.
DAY 3 – Saturday 1/13/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
SB (49), Sexy Boyfriend
Plan: Epcot or MK, Pool, SB arrives
Actual: This morning I woke up around 4:30 due to some bird chirping really loudly and repeatedly! Who would have thought I’d be woken up by a bird at WDW?? I dozed again but then it started making noise again, then finally at 7 I got up. Breakfast today was an English muffin I’d brought from home, and a cup of cappuccino. I watched for the Magic Kingdom bus from the room, and left to catch it at the main stop around 8:30 or so. I’m really liking the convenience of this location for bus transportation, although I would prefer being closer to a quiet pool rather than the main pool.
The bus arrived just after I got to the bus stop – imagine that <g>! We got there before the opening show started, and could see the characters sitting on the parked train waiting to ride into the station. I got through security and the turnstiles quickly, then waited just under the train station for the show to begin and end so guests would be let onto Main Street. Of course there were those who felt the need to run like fools, but they were held up at the entrance to Adventureland. I simply walked, and was among the first 10 people to arrive. It seems so dangerous when mom, dad, and 2 kids are all running while holding hands, when the pavement is soaking wet, and it’s all to be the first on a damn ride! At Adventureland the cast members walked slowly and formed a line across the entire street so the runners had to walk like the rest of us. When we ducked into the walkway to Frontierland the runners once again started running – only to be met by another wall of cast members holding us there <g>. Those cast members walked us right up to Big Thunder (Splash was closed for refurb) and the runner family made one last dash to ensure they were the first ones in line – give me a break! We were all on the first train to leave the station, and it was barely half full.
Each time we got back into the station there were hardly any people waiting to board so I rode 3 times in a row without getting off. I enjoyed looking at some of the many details that get missed when you’re zooming along the track! After 3 rides I could have stayed on, but decided it was time to try other things. I walked over to Pirates of the Caribbean but saw that even though it was only 9:20 there was a 25-minute wait posted (and hordes of people entering). There’s no way this attraction is worth a wait for me, so I skipped it. Instead, I went over to Tomorrowland and picked up a fastpass for Space Mountain before walking back to Fantasyland.
I walked right onto the Snow White ride, which is nothing special but I was in the mood for it. At Peter Pan the wait was listed as 10 minutes and I figured what the hell – and got in line. I think it was a little shorter than that, but either way 10 minutes would be ok. From there I went across to Small World and was very happy to not have any flash photographers in my boat! I know the song can be annoying, but this attraction is so visually appealing – I just love the colors, costumes, etc.
Next on my “to do” list was a repeat of the Haunted Mansion, and the doors were open when I got there! It was much more crowded than yesterday, but since I know where to stand in the stretch rooms I’m always first in line to board the doom buggies. By now it was time for Space Mountain, so I went back to Tomorrowland to ride that. I swear the left side seems a little faster most of the time, although it could be my imagination. When I went to enter the fastpass line a group of teen girls ran in ahead of me and literally ran the entire inside queue. Of course, I caught up with them at the turnstile so they didn’t really get ahead by running! However, one of the girls was gesturing to some of their friends further back in line to come up and join them. I’ll note these girls were from a foreign country (is it Brazil season?) and seemed to not have a concept of “line cutting”. Their friends passed several parties to join the ones in front of me – and the twit calling to them was flapping her arms around to get their attention and ended up hitting me in the face with her hand. It was an accident, but it wouldn’t have happened if she was not sneaking her friends up the line in the first place! I was pissed – she apologized, and I didn’t make a federal case out of it, but she knew I was pissed at her (more for having her friends cut in line than for accidentally hitting me).
Oh well, some things you have to just let go. After riding Space Mountain it was about 11am and the park was really getting busy! It is Saturday after all, and it’s a holiday weekend! I went over to Cosmic Ray’s and had to stand in line to buy lunch! I got the kids’ mini corndog meal and ate it at a sunny table outside. The meal costs $3.99 and consists of 4 mini corndogs (all combined probably less than a whole hotdog), and for my sides I got fries and grapes. It comes with a beverage, so I got the small bottled water. I’d gotten this once before, and it’s a perfect size meal for me. After eating I decided to just leave the park since it was so crowded, without bothering with one last ride on the TTA.
I poked through a couple of the shops on Main Street, and inside the candy store I saw a small Mickey-shaped rice krispie with a Mickey-face made of milk chocolate on top. It was so cute, I had to buy one – I think it was $5.25 or so plus tax. Hopefully it’ll taste as good as it looks!
I left the park and just as I got to the bus stop the OKW bus pulled up! I have to say, this trip my experience with the buses has been mostly much better than average! The bus was freezing, though – they must hire drivers from Antarctica or something! Back at OKW I changed into my swimsuit, grabbed a couple magazines and went over to the main pool. I don’t like that you have to show your room key to get towels here, when they’re available freely at the quiet pools. I realize it’s a way of keeping outsiders out, but are locals really going to come spend the day at this pool???
I spent a couple of hours reading and relaxing in the sun, but never went into the pool. At one point a couple set up camp a few chairs away and asked me to watch their stuff while they went to the bar. Evidently yesterday they went to get a drink and while they were gone staff removed their towels! Today nobody came by, so their stuff was safe. When I left I offered my magazines to the woman, and she was thrilled. It’d be nice if they had a place by the pools for people to donate/recycle magazines – not everyone thinks to bring something to read.
I went back to the studio and spent an hour talking to SB (he arrived at the airport around 2 for his 4:50 flight – didn’t want to risk missing it, lol) and updating the report. I took another shower, finished yesterday”s rice krispie from Epcot and decided to drive over to Animal Kingdom to possibly ride a couple things he doesn’t care much about. They had most of the parking lot blocked off, so even though there were undoubtedly lots of empty parking spaces you were stuck in the Dinosaur section! I went down a row and the only empty spots were at the far end, so I went a few rows closer and backed down the row to one of many empty spots near where the trams travel. I ended up walking in to the park, as I didn’t feel like waiting.
Once I got into the park I was shocked at just how mobbed it was just 2 hours before closing! Lots of people were heading out, but way too many more were still in the park. People were lined up waiting for the 4pm parade, but even that didn’t ease the crowds everywhere else. I headed into Dinoland and saw the standby time at Primeval Whirl was 60 minutes! There is no freakin’ way, lol! I was able to get a fastpass for 5:05 (didn’t understand why so many people were in a 60-minute line when the fastpass return was about 45 minutes <g>). Since I was in the area I figured I ‘d wait for Dinosaur no matter how bad it was. The posted standby time was 30 minutes, and the line extended outside and was snaked around inside. However, I was boarding my ride vehicle within 15 minutes so it wasn’t that bad at all.
After Dinosaur I just wandered around a bit – over to Expedition Everest for a while, through Asia, then back to sit on a bench for about 10 minutes until 5:05. Even with the fastpass, there’s still a fair wait to get on Primeval Whirl. It was a fun ride, though. At this point I was finished with the crowds and worked my way back out of the park. I drove over to the Polynesian but missed the entrance and had to turn around and go back! I parked in the 30-minute parking area since I knew I wouldn’t be there long.
My first stop was ‘Ohana, which was very busy, with lots of people waiting. I inquired about a table for 2 tomorrow night, and the very nice cast member directed me to the concierge desk downstairs. He also told me they take walkups at 5pm and if concierge says the restaurant is full to come back at 5pm tomorrow and he’d get us in if we’re willing to eat that early. I went downstairs – the earliest time available was 6:50 so I booked it. I figure once I check with SB we can cancel it if we’re not going to keep it. From there I went to Captain Cooks, where 2 of the 3 computerized ordering terminals had guests who were having nothing but trouble. I don’t think anything was malfunctioning – 1 lady wanted a single burger rather than a double (so she was told to order the kids’ meal) and the guy in front of me I think accidentally hit the button for a language other than English even though he only spoke English. Needless to say, it took a while!
I ordered the turkey club for us to share, then picked up an oatmeal cookie, yogurt parfait and the single serve bottle of wine. I was shocked to see on the receipt they charge $6.10 for that little tiny bottle!!! At Publix the 4-pack is usually $5.99 so that’s really ridiculous! But, I guess it’s my fault for not thinking ahead and bringing better wine from home.
I drove back to OKW and found the parking lot was almost full already. Holiday weekends are tough here, since I guess more people drive in (perhaps FL residents). In any event, I’m in the last space before you cross the street to the Hospitality House (the other side of the building next to us). If we do have dinner at the Poly tomorrow I don’t want to be stuck relying on Disney transportation, but we most likely will have trouble parking if we take the car.
After putting the food away I checked Southwest’s site to see the status of SB’s flight. It looks like he’ll get in about 20 minutes early, which is a nice surprise. He only has a carryon bag and he’ll take Magical Express to OKW. The 2 little brats next door were yelling and screeching – how their parents could stand it over there is beyond me! It has to be ear-splitting within the same villa, for it to be so loud over here.
SB called once he got to Magical Express. I was going to meet him at the Hospitality House, but he’s such an OKW expert now he insisted he could find the room himself <g>. I gave him the room number and told him which direction to head and watched some tv until he got in. We spent the rest of the evening in the studio – the turkey club was good, and my very expensive little bottle of wine wasn’t bad either.
Today was a nice relaxing day, although looking back I managed to spend time in 2 parks plus the pool – all before 6pm. It’s great having SB back, even though there’s a football game playing on the tv now <g>. He liked the 6:50 time at ‘Ohana so unless we change our minds and show up at 5, I guess we’ll keep the reservation. Tomorrow we’re headed to Animal Kingdom, and I sure hope it’s not as busy as it was today while we’re there!
DAY 4 – Sunday 1/14/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
SB (49), Sexy Boyfriend
Plan: AK, Flame Tree Barbecue
Actual: I didn’t sleep well at all, and neither did he. There weren’t any birds chirping <g> but for whatever reason we both were awake a lot. Oh well – such is life. I got up just after 7 and took my shower, then made some cappuccino for breakfast. I tried a few bites of the yogurt parfait, and it was really good. I just wasn’t in the mood to eat much since I knew we’d be having lunch very early. He got up about 8 to take his shower, and we were out the door a little after 8:30. His razor broke so he used mine – saying he could live with hairy legs if the razor was ruined, lol! Luckily I have another in my bag <g>.
At the OKW bus stop SB asked bell services if they knew the score of last night’s football game, but they did not. A few minutes later though, one of the bellmen had found the answer and came over to us to give SB the score – very nice. The bus arrived shortly, and we got to Animal Kingdom shortly after 9 (thanks to an unnecessary stop at Blizzard Beach even though that park didn’t open for over an hour at 10).
The sky was very dark and gloomy, and by the time we got into Animal Kingdom it had started to rain. It was more of a mist at first, but it didn’t stop and got heavier as time passed. Poncho sales were brisk, and I was glad I had my umbrella in my bag. We stopped at First Aid briefly so I could pick up a few bandaids for the blister I got from my Crocs. Yes, these things aren’t the perfection (for me) other people claim them to be! Also, when it rains, with all the holes in the Crocs your feet just stay wet inside them. I guess it’s better than getting my sneakers wet, though.
We went to Harambe and picked up a couple safari fastpasses for 9:55 and decided to also get in line now since the standby time was posted at 20 minutes. Plus, with it raining I didn’t really want to be wandering around and with our early lunch plans I didn’t want to go get breakfast at Tusker House like we normally do. The line moved quickly, and soon we were on our safari. SB was surprised by how many animals were out in the rain – we saw just about everything except the lions. The baby giraffe was standing right by our side of the road, and it was so cute! It was watching it’s parents across the street eating from palm trees.
When we got off the safari it was time for the fastpasses, but he didn’t feel like riding it again. We had about 30 minutes before Flame Tree opened, so we decided to ride the train to Conservation Station since we were right there. SB had never done this before, and therefore had never seen the buildings where the animals are housed after hours. We saw several – a big black rhino, and also saw the female lion watching us from up on the rocks. When we got to Conservation Station we just stayed on the train for the ride back (along with several other people). By the time we got off the train and walked to Flame Tree Barbecue they were just about ready to open.
A cast member asked a family if they would help open the restaurant, but they declined (what the heck??). She asked for another volunteer, and I said I would – I figured we’d get our order taken first that way <g>. Basically the cast member calls out each type of worker and when she does, I ask them “Are you ready”. I thought it would be just once, but it happened about 6 times, lol. Finally they opened, took our order first, and gave me a magical moments certificate.
I knew SB would prefer a combo ribs and chicken plate, but they don’t have that here. So, we ended up with the ½ slab of St Louis ribs (with baked beans and corn on the cob), an order of onion rings, and a kids’ chicken wing meal. The kid’s meal was only 2 wings, but they were huge – and very messy. For the 2 sides we got grapes and more grapes. I had the small bottled water from the kids meal and he got a light lemonade. Everything was good, and between us we didn’t quite finish it all. We sat down by the water, and found a boy scout troop there working on a project so we sat off to the side of them. These 2 ducks came over and started pecking at SB’s sneakers, lol! It got to the point he wasn’t able to enjoy his meal because they were just stalking us! We finally shooed them back far enough – and when we were almost ready to leave (nobody else was around) we did feed them some leftover grapes and chicken. I know you’re not supposed to, so sue me. After the food was gone they left – waddled down the path to the water and probably went to find some other people with food somewhere else!
By now the rain had stopped, and it looked like the sun might break through the clouds. We decided to leave the park, since there was a football game he wanted to see. Sunday is always our day to lay around and do nothing in the afternoon (after a morning at the beach usually), so I wanted to respect that and not push him to go to another park. We left the park and found the OKW bus waiting for us! After yet another Blizzard Beach stop – what’s up with that?? – we were back at OKW.
We got comfortable and he found the football game channel on tv. I updated the report and then decided I could live without football <g> - so I changed into my swimsuit and headed over to the pool for a while. He ended up falling asleep before the game even started, lol.
The pool was wonderful – bright and sunny but with enough clouds to give short breaks from the sun. There was a nice breeze, too – and a nice crowd. At one point they started playing music and did some pool games. I didn’t participate, but it sounded like everyone was having fun. After about 1.5 hours or so I walked back to the studio, where SB had mostly been watching the game. He was ready for a snack, so we decided to try the 5pm ‘Ohanas seating and would cancel our 6:50 reservation over there.
We laid around the rest of the afternoon with the door to the porch open – the breeze from outside felt great! About 4:30 we drove over the Polynesian, and got upstairs to ‘Ohana around 4:50. There were lots of people waiting (already checked in) and Bill was working again. He canceled our 6:50 reservation and said he was sure we’d get right in. We went over to the lounge and sat while we waited for the blinking thing to go off. We ordered a Lapu Lapu and shared it – it tasted ok and it’s certainly appealing in a whole pineapple, but at $12.75 it’s not something I’d do very often! There’s also not a heck of a lot inside the pineapple for $12.75, lol!
We were called to be seated just after 5, and ended up with a great table right by the window. We had a perfect view of the castle and the Grand Floridian – if we were going to be here later for the fireworks or Electrical Water Pageant it would have been the ideal location. Each table has 2 servers, and we met our people. To start they bring a bowl of salad and some wontons with 3 different dipping sauces. The salad was excellent – I loved the dressing. The wontons were no big deal – just fried chips really. Next came the chicken wings and the shrimp. I don’t eat shrimp, but SB enjoyed them. We both liked the chicken very much – I was ready to be finished eating after a few of those! Next they brought out a plate of delicious scalloped potatoes and a bowl of vegetables (he had to eat those alone). Soon the skewers starting coming around – first turkey and sausage, later steak and pork. It was all good, but the turkey is still my favorite. SB loved the restaurant, but by the time we were leaving he was saying it was too much food to do again!
The food really is excessive – even just trying a few bites of each item is overkill, and there’s so much food wasted. They did coconut races, a limbo contest, celebrated birthdays, etc. At times it was quiet but other times it was rather noisy – it’s not a romantic place, but it is fun. For dessert we had the bread pudding a la mode with bananas foster sauce. I expected to hate it, but it was delicious! As full as we were, we ate most of it. We rolled out of there after taking care of the check, too stuffed to go anywhere but back to the studio.
We spent the rest of the evening in the studio – he watched the rest of the latest football game while I finished up the report and spent some time online. Hopefully we’ll both sleep better tonight, and I know I need to get to bed earlier tonight as I’m kind of tired.
Today started out rather questionable – with the clouds and miserable rain. However, we made the best of it with a good safari, and I enjoyed my pool time while he was watching football. I’m glad we tried ‘Ohana, although I think it’ll be quite a while before we return for such a huge meal.
Tomorrow is Epcot – and Soarin’, then we’re meeting friends later in the afternoon.
DAY 5 – Monday 1/15/07
Who: Sue (48), DVC member
SB (49), Sexy Boyfriend
Plan: Epcot, Puck’s Café?
Actual: I slept better last night, and once again got up just after 7. Breakfast was cappuccino and biscotti for me; nothing for him. He was trying to figure out why aol kept opening up on his computer without his doing anything, so at 8:30 I was ready to go and he hadn’t gotten out of bed yet! It’s a beautiful sunny day today – it would be a shame to waste it sitting in the studio for much longer.
He was still tired and didn’t feel like moving. I considered going to Epcot myself and waiting for him to meet me, but decided against it since these 2 days were planned to enjoy WDW together. We really should have talked last night about what time we each wanted to head out this morning, so there wouldn’t have been the mis-communication and differing expectations. He was in the shower by 9:30, which wasn’t bad. I’d asked him this morning if he was going to want any breakfast when we went out – it was only after he said “no” that I ate my biscotti. Now he’s saying he wants pancakes and sausage (argh). I guess I’m a bigger anal-planner-type than I’d realized, because I was going nuts <g>. He also said he wanted to go to Magic Kingdom, but by the time we’d get there would be the time I always want to leave the park, lol! I’m pretty sure the only thing he really wants to do there is get a hotdog at Casey’s anyway. One surprising thing he said yesterday – he really liked the Premium Outlets (he calls it “that mall”) and today he was saying “let’s go back and walk around that mall”. I can make plans in concrete – to him plans are a more fluid, changing idea sort of thing <g>.
We ended up leaving before 10 and caught the bus to Epcot. It was fairly busy getting in, but not too bad. Our first stop was Soarin’ and I saw on the tip board that the standby time was 45 minutes. Once we got over there I got our fastpasses (11:42 at 10:16) and the standby time had been changed to 30 minutes. There were long lines at the Living with the Land boat ride, so we decided to just wait in line for Soarin’. We ended up being inside the theater in 15-20 minutes, which surprised us both. We got the 2nd row, and enjoyed the attraction.
We started walking back to World Showcase but then decided to come back later tonight instead. He was in the mood for a hotdog from Casey’s, so we took the monorail to the TTC and switched over to the mobbed express monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Thank goodness it’s a short ride, as it’s not pleasant being part of a herd of cattle. If nothing else, it further reinforced my personal feelings that staying offsite is no way to do WDW – not when your day starts like this! Once we got through the massive bag check line it was a breeze getting through the turnstiles. We went straight to Casey’s and were surprised to find nobody in line!
We ordered a hot dog, fries, corn dog nuggets and soda – everything was good, and we had a nice table outside. Those chairs sure are uncomfortable, though! I guess they’re designed to maximize how quickly the tables turn over, as nobody would want to sit and linger on them! Once we finished eating we headed back to the exit, with a stop at the candy store. There we ended up buying another of the rice krispie treats with chocolate (still had most of the first one, but I won’t be back for at least a month), a rice krispie on a stick for Chris, one of the big specialty apples, and a pecan log roll thing SB liked. It’s mostly all in a bag on the table – it’ll go home with us tomorrow.
We left the park and the OKW bus was waiting for us again <g>. The driver asked which stop we wanted, and ended up stopping at the Hospitality House to let us and another couple off before beginning the usual route. Another nice touch – not expected, but appreciated! I put the chocolate in the room and grabbed the car keys, then we drove over to Premium Outlets.
We ended up walking past all the stores at least once, browsing in a few shops but not finding what we were looking for. None of the stores there had the perfume I liked in France – they all heard of it, but said they didn’t carry it. I was hoping SB could at least smell it and if he absolutely hated it we wouldn’t need to go to France tonight. We did pick up an international phone calling card he can use to call his daughter while she’s studying in Spain this semester. According to the guy at the store it had almost 500 minutes when calling Spain, but when we used it back at the studio the computer said we had 56 minutes of time for her number. Strange, but for $5 I guess I didin’t really believe it would give us 500 minutes <g>.
We went back to OKW and relaxed in the studio for a couple of hours. I packed up what I could, updated the report, watched General Hospital and just relaxed. Shortly before 4:30 we walked over to meet Dottie and Joe at the Gurgling Suitcase. They were already there, and we all moved to a picnic table outside. They had their drinks already, and it took forever to get ours. The bartender was on loan from Saratoga Springs and was just overwhelmed. It was somewhat ridiculous, as it’s such a small place it doesn’t justify having more than 1 person on duty. SB and I had Turtle Krawls, which are one of the specialty drinks unique to this resort – and they taste very similar to the Ferris Wheels over at the Boardwalk. We sat outside chatting for almost 2 hours, then accepted Dottie and Joe’s invitation to join them for dinner at Olivia’s Café. We were able to get a table outside, since it was such a perfect evening.
Dinner was terrific – the company was great, and the food was all excellent. SB and I shared a Caesar salad which was very good but it came uncut and I prefer my salad ready to eat. He also had the conch chowder, which he said was ok. For dinner I had my usual tomato and mozzarella stack, and brought half of it back to the studio – I’ll eat it for lunch at work tomorrow. SB had the prime rib, which he really liked. Joe had the penne pasta with shrimp and Dottie got the barbecue grouper. Both dishes were also excellent. I think we were all pretty full at that point, but the men each ordered the chocolate cake with raspberry sauce (SB with a scoop of ice cream, Joe with a glass of skim milk), and the women helped them eat it. It was after 7:30 by the time we finished, and although we hated to see this portion of the evening come to an end, we still needed to get to Epcot. We said goodbye to Dottie and Joe and I literally ran my leftovers back to the studio while SB waited for me at the bus stop.
As I got to the studio I saw the Epcot bus turning down our street, so I didn’t linger at all. The bus arrived at the stop shortly after I got back there, and we got to Epcot about 8. We rode Spaceship Earth first, and then went to Soarin’. By now it was almost 8:30 and there was no wait at all – both the fastpass and standby lines never slowed until they were in the final area. We got the 2nd row again, and we enjoyed the attraction very much. Next we headed out to World Showcase and walked over to France. It was pretty congested with people lined up for Illuminations, while Future World was nicely deserted! At the Guerlain store SB sprayed some of the perfume on his hand but didn’t like it. I sprayed some on my wrist – it smelled different (better) on me, but he still wasn’t thrilled with it. He said he’d get it if I wanted it, but I didn’t see the point in wearing a perfume he didn’t like a lot. So, we headed back towards the exit. The further away we got, the more he liked the perfume <g> but he never really loved it. We’ll look around home to see what he likes – and we can always get this in February if we don’t find something better. In fact, I may get it myself in April and wear it while he’s away for baseball if I still like it as much.
At the bus stop we had to wait for the bus to arrive, and predictably it did not arrive until after Illuminations had ended and the line of people exceeded the capacity. We were the 2nd family there, so we had no trouble getting seats – many families were left waiting for the next bus. We got off at the Peninsular Road stop again and returned to the studio. I set the alarm for 3am (ouch) – that will be here in no time, but I’m not going to bother trying to sleep until I’m actually tired.
Today was a nice day – we didn’t do a lot of park stuff, but we enjoyed what we did do. The nice thing about the seasonal and annual passes is you can enter a park to do 1 attraction, enter another to buy a hotdog, and then return to the first park for 2 more attractions – and not feel like you’re “wasting” an admission or your money. We had a great time with Dottie and Joe – hopefully our trips will overlap again soon.
In the morning we’ll be on the road by 4:15 am so I can be to work by 7:30 (work clothes are hanging in my office). It makes for a long day, and long week, but it’s worth it to have our last day at WDW be a full day/night.
Things I learned this trip:
Crocs are not as comfortable on me as they seem to be on everybody else, as evidenced by my blister and sore feet. I’ll still wear them, but only for morning or evening, not both in the same day.
SB has a new favorite restaurant (‘Ohana), although we both agree it’s way too much food and nearly impossible to avoid eating more than you should.
Building 64 at OKW is a great location
In the pre-dawn hours the birds chirp much louder than any other noise (including the buses) at OKW.
Dining outside at Olivia’s Café is delightful – especially with good company.
There’s no need to run like a fool when the Magic Kingdom opens.
Pleasure Island was pitifully empty on Thursday night, which is a very bad sign. Comedy Warehouse shows are excellent, but more people need to go see them so the audience isn’t so small.
Comedy Warehouse now gives a free smaller box of popcorn with drink orders
Magical Express was truly magical for SB. He walked off his plane and walked right onto the waiting bus (no line) and the bus stopped at OKW first. The bus only had 6-10 people riding, which was nice. Can’t beat a free ride like that!
SB really enjoys WDW, even though he grumbles about all the walking and needs his “down time” for sports or other tv. As long as the weather is nice, I can use that time for laying by the pool!
I really like that perfume in France, and was disappointed SB wasn’t crazy about it. If we don’t find something we both like better, I’ll probably buy it and wear it while he’s away during baseball season. He did like it better the more time had passed, and so did I (is it weird to go to sleep sniffing your wrist, lol?)
Ok, that’s enough “learning” for one report. We’ll be back for a weekend in February, and we’ll arrive after work Friday night and leave at 4:15 am Monday morning so I can get to work. It’s short, but we’ll have 2 full days plus 3 nights – better than nothing! Until then, thanks for reading.
Sue Holland
WDW1972@aol.com