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Thread: Sheri Niklewski - November 26 - December 1, 2014 - Offsite (Baymont Inn and Suites)

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    Sheri Niklewski - November 26 - December 1, 2014 - Offsite (Baymont Inn and Suites)

    The almost annual Niklewski Thanksgiving Disney World trip!

    Characters -

    Sheri (52) - trip report writer whose hobby is learning about Disney World and enjoying every minute she can there

    Rich (54) - my devoted husband who has become a Disney World lover through me

    We live near Braselton, GA which is in the northeast area of the greater metropolitan Atlanta cluster. I think the last time I looked, there are 29 counties in this cluster, including two in Alabama and we are in one of the farthest out.

    Dates - Wednesday, November 26 - Monday, December 1, 2014. This is over the Thanksgiving holiday but we add a day before and a day after to avoid the road travel increase in traffic. Trust me, it's not fun trying to get back into the Atlanta area from any direction the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

    Accommodations - offsite since Disney does not offer discounts for this holiday. Our go-to place now is the Baymont Inn and Suites at 7061 Black Lake Road in Kissimmee.

    Introduction and Planning -

    When I first starting writing this report, way back when we first returned from the trip, I was going to include the firm stance that since we had such a bad time back in Maryland with Rich's family last Thanksgiving, that I would now make Disney World our destination for this holiday every year. We used to alternate between family and Disney World but that changed with the horrible visit last year. However, that's all changed (you will see why at the end of the report but it's good news) so Disney World for Thanksgiving will go back to every other year for quite a while.

    Why do I love Disney World at Thanksgiving? Some will find that a bit strange since it's a crowded time with kids and adults off school and work. But, for me, a visit to Disney World just sets the entire holiday season in motion. I'm still old school and think of the holiday time starting the day after Thanksgiving. When I was growing up, all those years ago, no one started to do anything for Christmas until the day after Thanksgiving. While Disney World plays Christmas music earlier than that and the decorations are up, the true meaning of the holiday season, for me, is with Epcot. There, the holiday storytellers and the Candlelight Processional don't begin until Friday and that sets the entire season for me. Disney World just makes the season a bit brighter.

    We also take a longer trip for Thanksgiving as we take the Wednesday before and the Monday after off work. If we left after work on Wednesday, we'd be fighting traffic to get out of the city and if we go back the Sunday after Thanksgiving, we'd be fighting traffic to get back into the city. And it's just not going south. When we go to Maryland for the holiday, we do the same thing going north and coming back from that direction. So a six day trip with an easy drive down and an easy drive back is a great way to spend the holiday at my favorite place.

    This will be our first Thanksgiving trip with Magic Bands and the FastPass advanced reservations so I put some thought into what parks to go to on what days. Rich and I talked a bit about the attractions we wanted to use FastPasses for and since it's just the two of us and we can only get three FastPasses in advance for each park each day, it wasn't that that difficult to get a plan in place. And it's easier than most families as Rich doesn't care where he is on what day so I get to do that on my own and he doesn't complain as long as he's doing something once he's there. I don't envy larger families with lots of different choices and having to plan so far in advance. I guess that's why I like the new system as it's just the two of us and we have very similar favorites at Disney World.

    I had a loose plan of action for the time. I knew we would arrive in Kissimmee around 5ish on Wednesday so knew we'd head to Epcot for the evening. We are not big fans of Soarin' and since Epcot is a tiered park, I got a FastPass for that starting at 7:00. I will only list the beginning FastPass times as they are all an hour window. That was the easy part.

    Thursday would be Thanksgiving and I wanted a sit down lunch somewhere and suggested places at the Studios since I thought that would be a good park for the day. But Rich suggested the Biergarten in Germany at Epcot so that changed me thinking of doing an entire day at Epcot. We have never used the FastPass reservations at Epcot since we usually visit that after we visit another park during the day so that was fun for me. I did check the Biergarten's band performance schedule and initially set up the dining reservation for 2:30 but then decided that was not going to work so switched it to 1:00 since the band's first performance started at 1:15. That would give us enough time to be seated, order drinks, get a plate of food and then enjoy a full show.

    I thought when I switched from 2:30 to 1:00 that my original reservation would be cancelled but it wasn't so I had to do that manually as with the no-show policy, I didn't want to get charged for that second reservation. I think it's important for everyone to make sure your My Disney Experience account is correct before you leave your home.

    With the lunch reservation made, now I had to concentrate on the FastPass reservations. Soarin' would be out of the picture since we had that one Wednesday night so it turned out fairly easy for us. I knew Mission:Space was a must do for both of us and we hadn't done the new version of Test Track so that was a given. But the third one, the third one. I called Rich into the planning (the first time for this trip) and he said Ellen was a large capacity theatre so we could get into that without a FastPass. Spaceship Earth and Figment are constantly moving lines so he didn't think we needed anything for those. I suggested Living With the Land but he's still convinced that's an easy loading one as well. Then I listed the other attractions available and he chose Turtle Talk with Crush as he reasoned that we could do that and then The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends or we could reverse the order depending on the times constants. Plus, we hadn't done Turtle Talk for quite a while so it was a good choice.

    I ended up with Test Track at 11:30, then lunch at 1:00, Mission:Space for 3:35 and Turtle Talk at 4:40. This would give us plenty of room around the reservations to fill in with other attractions or just to walk around World Showcase.

    Friday became the Studios day so I booked (and rebooked several times before the trip) Twilight Zone at 12:45, Star Tours at 1:55 and Toy Story Mania at 4:00. This is another park with tiering so I couldn't do Rock N Roller Coaster since we were doing Toy Story Mania. At least Rock N Roller Coaster has a single riders' line so we'll try and fit that in at some point during the day.

    Our last two parks were Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom and I thought Magic Kingdom would be crowded until Sunday so I slotted that park for Sunday hoping most people would be leaving to go home. I got Saturday FastPasses at Animal Kingdom for Safari at 12:25, Expedition Everest at 2:00 and then needed a third one. We would normally do Kali River Rapids and then leave the park since we usually get very wet on that one. But, with the temperatures probably going to be much lower than we are used to, I thought if we wanted to do the attraction, we could have a decent wait. But what else to do at Animal Kingdom where you needed a FastPass? Dinosaur is not a good one for us as it's too loud for Rich and too shaky for me so while it's good, it's not enjoyable for either one of us after we exit. I called Rich back into planning (not on the same day at for Epcot - that would have overwhelmed him ). The only other option that really would need a FastPass was Primeval Whirl so I got that for 3:00.

    Then it was Magic Kingdom for Sunday and, I'll get flamed for this but oh well, it's our least favorite park and we'd end our visit with this so I wanted some sort of a good plan for a half day. Rich immediately said Splash Mountain which was a no brainer for me and he also said the new Snow White coaster since we hadn't ridden it yet. I didn't think that was going to happen since people staying onsite with a sixty day advance reservation system were finding it difficult to book. And I was not going to stay up until midnight just to get a FastPass reservation. Rich mentioned we hadn't done Jungle Cruise for a while so that became out fallback if Snow White wasn't available. We also penciled in Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Of course, Snow White was totally booked up so we ended with Jungle Cruise at 11:35, Big Thunder for 12:40 and Splash Mountain for 1:40.

    You'll notice that I didn't get the first FastPass in each park until late morning or early afternoon. Rich and I totally agree on one thing on vacations. They are vacations and they are meant to relax us from the daily stresses of our lives and jobs. We don't want to rush out and be there first thing in the morning. Even if we are awake and can be there, we just don't want to be there. Rich likes to have two Diet Cokes for his breakfast and I can sit back and read before I start my day so we didn't want to be in a rush in the mornings. That works for us.

    Also, except for Thursday when we'd already be at Epcot, we'd head over to our favorite park after we're done with the "park of the day". Our routine is to have a walk around World Showcase before heading back to the room.

    The only other thing to fit into the plans as to watch the holiday tag for Illuminations. Since that wouldn't start until Friday, the two nights we could see would be Friday and Saturday but I left that out in the open. Yes, it was showing Sunday night as well but we don't like being out that late the night before we need to head home. We'd look at the weather and how the day was going and how we were feeling and see it either day depending on our moods.

    I set up our hotel reservations at the Baymont Inn before I did anything else. We really like this location as Black Lake Road is near Highway 192 aka Irlo Bronson Highway. It's kind of like a spur off of the main road so it we want to go there, we can but we don't have to. Also, it's very quick and easy to get onto Disney World property by coming out of the hotel, make a left onto Sherberth Road and then the property is right there near the Animal Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom Lodge. A quick right onto Osceola Parkway leads to all things Disney. I'm also a member of the Wyndham Rewards program so I earn points for our stay and Rich is an AARP member so we get a 20% discount which was great since we were staying for six nights and that more than paid for the yearly AARP membership. The Baymont has its flaws but we aren't picky people and just need a clean and decent place to stay with a good staff and we haven't been disappointed yet.

    The second thing I did was to set up a very dear reservation for the holiday. Cat sitting. We have four rescued furbabies and I wanted to make sure they were taken care of while we were gone. Our service is run by a woman named Kat (seriously) and she takes the care of cats to heart. She will also bring in our mail, water our plants, and if we requested, rotate the blinds in the house or leave the lights on and come back to turn them off. She was definitely available for the time so this takes a lot off us and we know the cats will be well cared for. Our cats are named Gus and Belle (age 13) and Nemo and Meeko (age 10) so we have a mouse, a human, a fish and a raccoon! Kat will also make sure she physically sees each cat which Rich and I laugh about because all four will dive under a bed the minute the front door is opened since the two of us always use the garage door. Poor Kat makes sure all four are accounted for and leaves us a daily message about where they all were. Great, great service.

    So, with the My Disney Experience printed out, hotel reservation printed out, cats taken care of, we were ready!

    Day One - Wednesday, November 26, 2014

    The alarm was set for 7:00 but we both knew at least Rich would be awake earlier than that so the thinking was more like we'd get up no earlier than 6:00 (our normal get up time during the week) but no later than when the alarm went off. It kind of worked as Rich was up shortly before 7. We had everything packed except for a few things we needed this morning and our routines are synched so the only oddities were to make sure the cats had full food and water bowls and empty litter boxes and to shut down our PCs. After packing up my Maxx, we were pulling out of the driveway at 8:11.

    I knew our drive would be an easy one since all the Atlanta school systems were off this week so we made excellent time although it was very weird not having any traffic delays all through the city. It was also weird doing this part of the drive in the early daylight and having the sun in our faces.

    We stopped at a McDonald's for lunch at exit 18 in Valdosta and I'm not sure we'll do this one again. The service was fine but this exit is very congested and since it was the day before Thanksgiving, it seemed as if everyone was out shopping in the nearby stores. We also filled up the gas tank since Maxx decided to tell us he was hungry as well. He did that by flashing the "low fuel" message to Rich. Maxx can be persistent!

    I took over driving for the next two hours and had a very interesting last few minutes of that time. Again, we were making great time but then traffic slowed down to a crawl in Ocala. I figured it was just the normal traffic through there but things were much, much slower and we saw the right shoulder was closed and some work was being done with flashing lights on some trucks on the shoulder. We assumed once we cleared that, we'd be back to speed again. But that didn't happen. We inched along a bit and then saw some smoke in the median. I was in the middle lane of three and some vehicles in the left lane wanted to come over into the middle one and then we heard a fire truck. Then we saw the fire truck going down the left shoulder. We kept inching forward and inching forward and it didn't appear the smoke was getting any closer. After about fifteen minutes of inching, we were finally there.

    I tried to find out what happened because my first thought was "someone died in that accident". A pickup truck had crashed into the barrier on the northbound side and the truck was still smoldering. The front of the pickup was completely smashed in. Before we had reached the scene, Rich remarked that there was no northbound traffic and now we could see why. All lanes were blocked going northbound. The driver of that pickup sure did not have a good start to the long holiday weekend. The northbound traffic was backed up for about five miles but at least the people in those cars weren't on their way to a hospital. Very sobering sight to see and to think about.

    We made it to the Baymont Inn by 4:00 and had a very quick and easy check in even though I changed the credit card on file and the woman seemed confused but was helped out by someone else so we were set. We're in room 1217 which is on the second floor so we used the elevator to take things up but found the stairs to go down. We unloaded everything in two trips and then relaxed in the room a bit since our FastPass for Soarin' wasn't until 7:00. I unpacked my suitcase while Rich was living out of his for the next six days. I didn't have that much room as the two bottom drawers were stuck again. We like the Baymont for the price and the location but it's not a Taj Mahal and we live with it. It really didn't matter to me as I was on vacation and my clothes were clean and ready to go and so was I.

    I did remember on the way down that I forgot to pack our fold up laundry hamper, darn it! I like being able to keep the laundry stuff away from the clean stuff and also off the floor and in one spot. So my suitcase became the laundry hamper.

    We left for Epcot somewhere around 5:30ish and parked in Create but not a bad walk to the front. Epcot was more crowded than we thought it would be and the evening was getting much cooler. I had checked the weather forecast every day before we left and I only brought jeans to wear but Rich was optimistic and brought shorts. However, he was in jeans today and had a jacket for the evening. I had a sweatshirt on. Rich is a guy who will wear shorts as long at the temps are supposed to be above 70. I'm the type of person who will wear jeans at anything less than 80 and will have a pair of thin wool gloves in my back pocket. Somehow, it works.

    We were not in our window for the Soarin' FastPass so we did a walk around World Showcase and Rich even admitted it was getting chilly. Once around the World, Soarin' was up so we did that and while it was nice and all, I just don't get the appeal of doing this multiple times in a trip. Rich doesn't either. I like the feel of the attraction and wish maybe it was more like Star Tours where you don't know what scene you will get any time you are on it. My wish would be for the films to revolve. One for California, one for Florida, one for Paris, one for Hong Kong, one for Tokyo.

    We exited and decided the day was long enough so made our way back to Maxx and then to the room for relaxation on our first day of vacation. We tried to relax and watched "encore" presentations of SVU on the TV but it was difficult to figure out what to watch as we didn't have a TV guide in the room so had to figure out which channel was which. Again, not a big problem for us but I wish there was some sort of literature in the room saying "Channel 2 is ABC, Channel 3 is NBC, etc." But Rich found ESPN so all was right with the world at that point.

    We also had problems connecting with the internet and Rich called the front desk. The guy apologized and said his best times for connecting were 3-4 AM to which Rich replied, "I'll be asleep by then!" The guy did say the hotel was changing providers after January 1st but that didn't help us now. The glut was supposedly for all the people in the hotel for the holiday weekend but as Rich pointed out, we were here for July 4th and had no connectivity problems at all.

    What we think was happening was a lot of people would log onto a connection in the morning and leave whatever device into that connection for the rest of the day. So, someone could connect with a cell phone in the morning and also with a laptop or a pad or whatever and leave both connections all day long. Why stay connected all the time when on vacation? I guess we are the minority as we unplug and if someone needs us, they call or text and if we're not available, there will be a message waiting for us. That's what a vacation should be about.

    So we just relaxed and watched SVU once we found TNT and lights out around midnight.

    Day Two - Thursday, November 27, 2014 - A Day to Give Thanks

    Today was something we very rarely do - spend all day at Epcot, our favorite park. Our first FastPass was for Test Track at 11:30 and since we would be driving, we could sleep in as we wouldn't have to think about any transportation issues. However, we are getting older and I guess that means we don't need as much sleep as we were up and about around 8:00. We took our time getting ready and were able to sort of log into the internet but had poor signals as the stronger connections were all jammed up. So we ended up at Epcot around 10:00 or somewhere around there. We had already done Soarin' last night and had three FastPasses for Future World for today so Rich decided we'd do everything in Future World on this trip. I suggested Journey Into Imagination with Figment since that seldom has a line and if it does, it moves fairly fast. However, there was quite a long line stretching out of the pavilion so we veered off a bit and went into Captain EO, not my favorite but it could be crossed off the list of things to be accomplished today.

    We walked right into the preshow and that would be starting in about eight minutes which was fine except we had to stand on a slightly forward sloping floor with nothing to hold onto. My right ear had been closed for most of the week and had started to open yesterday and today so my balance was off. It didn't help that the young man in front of us either had a problem or was just uncomfortable as well since he swayed back and forth constantly during the entire preshow. BTW - I really think, if this attraction continues, that the preshow could be changed since it's the original one and it's a bit boring as it just shows the dancers rehearsing. Maybe it was more original back in 1986, though.

    We entered the theatre and I prepared myself for the dated Captain EO but was pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying the presentation. So I changed my mind and the attraction can stay put until something better can fill the space.

    Next up was our first time doing the new Test Track. Since we usually visit Epcot after first going to another park, we hadn't been able to FastPass anything at Epcot so we were going to get our money's worth today. I told Rich not to ask me anything about the new version of Test Track because I really didn't know what it all entailed and I'm not a car person at all. Rich is so I thought we'd get a nicely designed car but, well, we were not impressed by this attraction.

    We didn't think the design phase was user-friendly at all. We thought the instructions were not that great and we thought it was difficult to move from one step to the next or go back and figure out why our car looked like it did. We also didn't realize there was a time frame involved so once we decided we'd just make do with whatever we ended up with on the screen, we didn't know what to do until the time ran out. Maybe they could have play screens outside so us dummies could practice before we had to do the real thing. We weren't that impressed with the loading process either but that might be a reaction to the design phase spilling over. We had a single rider seated with us and she just texted through most of the ride and didn't speak at all. I don't think the actual ride has changed but the overheads made it seem like we were part of the attraction even though we had created a crappy car. We'd do Test Track again but it's not a high priority for us anymore.

    Next was a slow walk back to Germany for our Thanksgiving lunch. Rich topped off the walk with a couple of pre-lunch beers which surprised me as I knew we'd be doing the big beers with lunch but I didn't say anything and gladly accepted the suds. I checked us in around 12:50 for our 1:00 reservation and was given a pager and I think that's the first time that's happened to us at this restaurant. We could tell the Biergarten was going to be very busy as there were several parties standing around with pagers waiting to be seated. We were paged in less than five minutes so while the restaurant was busy, the seating worked nicely. In the past, the entire table of eight was seated together but this time, whether it was due to the crowds or this is just a new wrinkle, we were led to two open spots at an already occupied table where the other guests were finishing things up. No one minded at all and we sat with a family of four at the end of the table nearer to the stage (two on each side of the table) and then a couple from Northern California were seated side by side across from us.

    Rich and I each ordered a large pitcher, I mean, mug of beer with mine being the lightest and his being darker but not the deep dark stuff he says tastes like a bunch of dirt. We were also told that the buffet included traditional American Thanksgiving choices but had the normal German things as well. So we grabbed a couple of plates and made our way to pick up our choices. My plate was completely full of various things and I used a salad plate for desserts so I was fully loaded when I made my way back to the table. Rich wasn't shy either but his plate had lots more of the brauts and German food. My timing of the meal was perfect as the band started playing just as we returned to the table. We both were happy and ate everything on the plates and tackled the beers. The Northern California couple was very nice and we had good conversation with them as we have visited that area several times and my sister used to live there. They and the family of four (who were nice but the kids were interested in the show and the parents were having fun as well although the dad joined us in a few toasts during the performance) left just before the band finished their set leaving just Rich and me at a table for eight.

    So we drank some more beer and I asked for a To Go cup and the server (who was excellent), brought back two although Rich somehow managed to finish his beer but I poured the rest of mine into the cup and the cup was completely filled! The bill was brought out and Rich groaned as the total cost was $115 and we haven't spent that much on Disney food for a very long time. But, the meal was fantastic, the entertainment very good and a great group of people at the table. Then Rich glanced at the beer prices and started some calculations. I think the beers were around $15 each and I still have a full cup to go and a cup that size would cost about $7 outside the restaurant for just a Bud Light. So, the big beers at Germany are a good bargain for a theme park. A family was brought to our table and we greeted them but none of them spoke that much English so we settled the bill and left a nice tip for the server and no, he really didn't "serve" us but he took care of us and made sure we had a nice experience. The Biergarten definitely preserved its place on our list of repeat restaurants.

    Our next FastPass was for Mission:Space starting shortly after 3:30 so we had time to spare and we took a seat in the Germany area for me to finish my big beer and Rich to take a Grapefruit one that he likes so much. This was a nice sit for us to regroup after the filling meal and to reestablish from one full day at one park. Since it's been a while for all day at one park (even with it being our favorite), we just kicked back and relaxed. I think more people should do that at some point. Not with beers or a heavy lunch but just to take a time out. We sat and watched people and had a break.

    We then walked and did our Mission:Space ride with the FastPass. This is my favorite attraction at Epcot so it was very easy for me and easier when Gary Sinise is up on the screens. We do the orange side and we both have a great time with the effects.

    Our next FastPass was for Turtle Talk with Crush but we had time before that started so we checked out Figment again but the line was long again so we nixed that and headed to The Land for The Circle of Life to get another attraction done in Future World. Rich was still determined to do all of these this trip and the film is very rarely crowded and no FastPass needed. We had about eight minutes to wait for the next show so took seats and read the depressing facts about recycling and conservation in the area. To understand us, back in 1990 for the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day, we watched the PBS special on Earth Day and all that. The reason we did that? I worked for PBS for three years and part of my accounting job was to make sure all the monies for the production of the special were dealt with. Yes, this was a boring lead-in but when my boss realized I didn't recycle, he chided me for that so back in 1990, I just wanted to let him know I had watched the special. And it turned me into an environmentalist and recycler. I am proud to say that if we have one large kitchen trash bag for our trash each week, that's a lot of trash for us. Everything else gets recycled. It does help immensely now since we have curbside bins for recycling. But, I digress. The film was good but I can see where some wouldn't like the overriding message through the entire film. It is a bit preachy.

    We were close to the Turtle Talk FastPass start time so we did the ride at The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends and then toured the aquarium. I was able to get a great photo of a manatee and we were both glad these creatures in this tank can live a sort of normal life even though this one had some boat cuts on his/her fin. We also saw the group of divers in the tank and we remembered when my father and stepmother were part of this experience for my dad's 70th birthday. Very nice time and then we went to see Crush.

    Rich and I made sure we went towards the back of the theatre so kids and their families could sit up front for the interaction. There was a family sitting to my right and I think they didn't realize the kids could go up front. They had a boy of about four years old and they wanted him to be able to stand on the bench in the back so he could see. Once the parents realized their son could be down front, they asked him if he wanted to move to the front. He declined as he thought it would just be him and not his parents down there. The parents tried to explain to him that one of them would go with him and he hesitated but then right before the show started, decided to go for it but his father said it was too late. That made the boy a little upset and I could understand the father thinking it was too late but if they had gone down to the front, I'm sure it would have been fine. The boy calmed down almost immediately so good job by the parents and I think that child will grow up just fine.

    The show was cute but it's something we don't have to do every trip. Rich is still amazed at how seamlessly Crush interacts with the kids and how he can "see" them. Of course, we all know Crush is real and turtles can talk and stuff.

    The only Future World attractions we hadn't done yet were that pesky Figment, Ellen's Energy Adventure, and Spaceship Earth. We wanted to end the day with our usual walk around World Showcase so we headed back there but veered by Figment just in case and, yes! We finally saw the purple guy. This time, we just walked all the way through the queue and had to wait for maybe five families to board before us. I think a secret to doing a lot in Future World without FastPasses is just to keep coming back to see how the long the wait is.

    After our visit to the Institute, we did a loop around World Showcase. By this time, it was getting dark and in our advanced age, we find it difficult to see very well. Especially when our first priority was avoiding all the families and single people who were also walking around. Some were heading to Thanksgiving Day dinner and on a mission, some were done with Thanksgiving dinner and were meandering around with full stomachs, and some didn't have a clue what to do in such crowded conditions. This is why we like having a Thanksgiving lunch - you don't have to deal with the dinner crowds. We grabbed a couple of beers, zigged and zagged through the hoards and were content.

    Once back to the entrance to Future World, we had to make a decision to either head out of the park or do another walk around. It had been a long day at one park, at least for us, so we jointly decided the calmness of our room and the night football game sounded very good. We did check out the stand by queue for Spaceship Earth and while the sign said 10 minute wait, it wrapped around quite a bit so we passed on that for tonight. Rich drove us back to the Baymont Inn and we had a nice evening watching football and reading as the internet was still a bother as we figured it would be. Lights out at some point.

    Day Three - Friday, November 28, 2014

    Today was The Studios and then Epcot after (naturally) so we drove to Epcot for parking and were surprised that we got a much closer parking spot than the other two times we've been here this trip. Rich says he wants to know the thinking behind how Disney parks people. I told him he thinks too much and to be happy at our space. We entered Epcot easily and then walked back to World Showcase and out the International Gateway. World Showcase had not officially opened yet but it was close. Our first FastPass for the Studios wasn't until 12:45 so we had plenty of time and decided to do the walk but if a boat was nearby at one of the resorts, we could pick it up there. Our timing wasn't great so we just did the entire walk. Rich remarked on the walk that even though it was a cool morning, there weren't that many walkers out there and he found it funny that when we were here over Labor Day with the temperatures in the high 90s most days, there were tons of people out here sweating. We both commented that humans are a strange breed.

    Once at The Studios, we still had time before the FastPass for Twilight Zone so we went down Sunset Boulevard and checked out the single riders' line for Rock N Roller Coaster. It didn't seem that long so we joined the end and had the usual delays with the way single riders load into the preshow areas but we were through the attraction in about an hour. We still wish we could FastPass this and Toy Story Mania but at least one of those attractions has a single riders' line so we can do both in a trip. The bad thing is that if a family of five wants to do both attractions the same way we do it, there are now five people in the single riders' line at Rock N Roller Coaster. The result is longer single riders' lines. We've been here before and were told single riders would take the same amount of time as the 90 minute standby line and the single riders' queue was completely filled in. Hopefully, Disney will either change the way single riders are handled or do something about the tiering system in this park. But we got our dose of Aerosmith and then rest of the day was FastPass orientated.

    We still had about ten minutes until we could enter Twilight Zone and even though I told Rich we could probably get in five minutes early, he was being a rule follower and didn't want to chance it. So we did a restroom break and hunted for some water fountains to no avail until it was the proper time. Then we could finally enter the queue for my favorite Studios attraction. We had a lot of first timers in the library and it's always a treat when some people think the library is the ride vehicle and that we stand and then drop from the library. I was able to get right in front of the TV since people were just milling around waiting for "the drop"! After Rod Serling did his thing, some guests were confused when the door opened to the boiler room. It was pretty funny. Rich and I let everyone sort things out and left the library last. When we got to the split in the queue line, most of the people just assumed you could only go straight so that way was crowded and Rich and I took the other route and then others got the idea so they followed us. Rich and I kind of follow the Disney way - if there's no barrier up in any line, use the open queue if shorter.

    Unfortunately, when we were seated in the elevator, I was on the end of the aisle so I didn't have anything to my left except open air. Rich asked, before we boarded, if I wanted to switch places with him but I said I would be fine. I just grabbed hold of anything I could on the way up and then hoped for the sake of my sanity that we would not get the sequence I think is the "worst" one. We were settled into the drop zone and I hoped and hoped we would not go up. And damn it! We went up! I really think this sequence is the trickiest because I never know when we drop or how far we drop or if we're going to go back up one or two or three times and then how far down we go on any given drop. Once we go up first, I lose my entire mind. And I had nothing to my left except air. Once the horror was over, I was shaking very much and I haven't done that on this attraction in several years. I loved it!

    Rich noticed my shakiness and wisely suggested some beers so we walked (I might have wobbled a bit) up the Boulevard and across to the Oasis Canteen for the beverages and then went back to Min and Bill's since there were empty tables there even though the food lines were fairly full. We had tried to find a bench so we wouldn't take up a table that was meant for food but the benches were all full. And, if we saw a family who needed a table, we would have given ours up. But, there was no need so we relaxed, I stopped shaking, and we got our second winds. Once again, though, a guy stopped and asked us where we got the beers so we directed him to the Oasis which almost never has a line of length and he thanked us greatly.

    Our next FastPass was for Star Tours and we both thought we really wouldn't need it since the standby is usually about 10 minutes and once we approached the queues, that was the stated standby time. But, we had the FastPasses so went into that queue and were glad we used the FastPass. The standby line was almost out the door! But we were able to walk quickly through our queue and boarded within five minutes in total. We got the Wookiee Forest again which is my favorite so the trip was an enjoyable one yet again. I like how Lucas and Disney teamed up to improve this attraction and make it something that is almost never the same. After the ride, we exited to the gift shop which was packed so we quickly glanced at things and then left. We saw the standby wait time was now posted at 50 minutes which was probably true and there were crowds everywhere so not really sure what was up. The Jedi Training Academy was going on but something was totally out of whack around Star Tours at this particular point in time.

    Other than our breakfast bars in the room, we hadn't had anything to eat today so food was a priority. Rich mentioned a hot dog and thought the Backlot Express would be an option but I reminded him that place is usually crowded. But we wouldn't know until we checked it out so we went inside. As we walked up to the order area, we checked out the seating areas and didn't see any tables open. Once at the order area, there was one queue for everyone to enter the same line and then once at the beginning of the line, the parties were being directed to the next available cashier. So we knew this probably was not the best choice to be able to relax. There wasn't a system where the parties needed to stay together and have food before sitting so we thought it would be very possible to have our tray of food and then not be able to find a place to sit. That's not what we wanted to do so we exited and thought of other options.

    I thought Studio Catering Company would be a good choice as it has plenty of seating and we both like the sandwiches. But that would mean going back through all the Star Tours crowds so we balked on that one. We both like Fairfax Fare and that would be a relatively uncrowded walk down Sunset Boulevard. However, the seating area for Fairfax is a bit cramped but, again, we wouldn't know it until we were there. The lines were not that bad so we ordered and waited. I got the half chicken and Rich did his usual hot dog with BBQ topping and, of course, a couple of Bud Lites.

    We like the food at Fairfax Fare but I wouldn't recommend it for speed of service. I don't know if it's because of the demeanor of the Cast Members here or because of the cooking of the food or what but it seems as if we give our order and then stand around and wait quite a while for the tray to come out with our food. The good part is that the food is very good and a decent value for a theme park.

    Our food finally arrived and then we went to the seating area which is shared with several other places nearby. With our visits to Disney World, we have become different from normal American eaters when we sit down. We will offer our available seats to others and if we see a place for two people to sit, we will ask the others at the table if they mind if we join them. We only do this at crowded seating areas like this one. We ended up joining a table that already had two families seated there but there was an empty bench Rich and I shared. We all relaxed and the two families had several kids that were coming and going at various times plus one of the families had other people who were doing different things so it was interesting hearing all the doings of other guests. We had a very nice time with the families and ate everything on our plates. Rich had to go back and get his bag of chips since that wasn't put on his plate but that was easily resolved since he went to the side to do that.

    After we had our fill of food (the chicken was excellent yet again and since I had time, I ate the entire thing), we moved with our beers to outside Min and Bill's again so we could free up the seats for others who needed a place for food. Min and Bill's still had tables available so not quite sure if this area has more tables than the people they serve (although the line wasn't empty) or if people get their food here but then walk around instead of eating at a table.

    We still had time before our Toy Story Mania FastPass so we relaxed and enjoyed the day again. Then we headed to Andy's Room where I was sure I would do much better this trip. My excuse, and I'm sticking to it, was I had a defective string. I think I might need to give up on this attraction as I'm running out of creative reasons for my pitiful scores. I've tried being more accurate and not just pulling on the string and I've tried just pulling on the string and not caring where I was aiming. I've tried focusing on one target and just hitting that one target and I've tried just spraying the entire area. I've tried thinking while I'm doing the shooting and I've tried not thinking while I'm doing the shooting. It doesn't help that Rich is fairly good so he gloats every time he beats me. Yeah, I might send him on this in the future and I'll just do Rock N Roller Coaster with my FastPass. Grumble, grumble.

    After my humiliation and with the increased crowds at the park, we decided to go to Epcot for a walk around World Showcase. We decided the line for the boat wasn't that bad so we joined it for the next transportation. As it turned out, we made it on the boat and managed two of the last seats but not together and then even more people piled in after us. I had donned a second sweatshirt and Rich had zipped up his jacket so the crowded conditions were great for keeping warm but not for being able to breathe with the packed bodies. Once we reached the Swan and Dolphin dock, we exited for air. Then we walked to the International Gateway via the Boardwalk. We each grabbed a beer for the walk around the Showcase and I put on my thin wool gloves since the temperatures, with the evening advancing, were dropping quickly. Once the sun goes down during this time of year, the coolness comes along very fast. We just did a quick walk around the Showcase and then headed back to the car for warmth.

    We needed a quick stop at Publix so we did that and then up to the room for the rest of the evening. Rich found some movie on TNT which he liked but it was some sort of a war/disaster movie or something so I just read my book. Rich didn't know the title of the movie and no credits were shown at the end so we had to come home to find out the name! It was Battle: Los Angeles from 2011. I never heard of it and saw where it had received mostly negative reviews but this is why Rich liked it - "Battle: Los Angeles will entertain only the most ardent action junkies". If that's not Rich, I do not know what is . Lights out after his movie was finally over.

    Day Four - Saturday, November 29, 2014

    Once we were up and dressed, Rich surprised me with suggesting breakfast at Denny's which was a short walk across the street. He figured since it was later, it wouldn't be that crowded but he was wrong as there was a line to give our name to the host. But we were seated in about five minutes so not bad. We enjoyed our choices and Rich was able to use his AARP card for 20% off so that was even better. Then back for the car and the drive to Animal Kingdom. I joked with Rich and asked if he could park in a lot that wasn't Epcot's. He said he thought he could do it as long as he remembered to make the left turn into the park instead of going straight on Osceola Parkway.

    He managed the turn and I haven't mentioned it yet but when we drive to the parks, he makes sure I have to show my parking pass and my ID to the guard. He rationalizes that it's easier that way but I think it's because he doesn't want to hassle with the proper way to do this. Since we have the MagicBands for our annual passes, we have a separate parking card and a photo ID is needed so the card doesn't get handed out to anyone except the annual passholder. Maybe one day the parking will be on the MagicBand but not right now. And I have lots of practice now with having the parking card out along with my driver's license with the photo accessible for a quick look by the parking guard. A lot of the guards will thank me for being prepared so it goes very quickly.

    So getting into the lot was easy and so was parking since we were directed to almost the very last row of the area! I think it was Giraffe 41 or something right next to the Yeti section. It was so far out, I think we saw an actual Yeti. Of course, the trams to the entrance were all jammed with people and the lines for the next tram were also packed so we just walked a long way to get to the sidewalk and then to the entrance. I was leaving bread crumbs so we could find our way back.

    Once in the park, I grabbed a Times Guide to see the times for Flights of Wonder. The next show was at 11:45 so we made our way back there with just a few minutes before the start of the show. When we walked into the theatre, a Cast Member wanted to direct us to the left and down to the bench seats but we declined and went to the right and the bleachers. There was plenty of space up there so I guess the Cast Member wanted people on the benches or maybe she thought that's where we wanted to sit. We think at this show, the bleacher seats are much better since you don't have heads in front of you and since you are higher than the stage, you can see everything going on there easily. So we got our favorite spot and enjoyed the show as usual. There was a different Guano Joe though and he had an unfamiliar spin on things and the host was kept on his toes with different verbiage for some of the acts. But it was handled well and I don't think the birds took notice of anything.

    Our first FastPass of the day was for the Safari at 12:25 so we did a slow walk over to Africa, used the bathrooms and still had to wait about five minutes before our window opened as it had to be 12:25 and not 12:20 according to Rich, the rule follower. There were Cast Members scanning the FastPasses instead of each guest using the stationary scanners. For some reason, the Safari FastPass entrance usually has a very slow moving line so this speeded things up a bit. We had a wait a bit after the FastPass and stand by lines joined. This is usual as well since people don't realize we are all one big group now with no more lines until the split to the right and left for boarding. This area is also confusing for handicapped groups since they need to go to the right for their boarding. But once cleared of all that, we veered to the right side for boarding. We had a good driver but it was difficult to hear either because of the microphone or because people were talking over the narration. We did see the Addax and most of the people in the jeep didn't hear this species is critically endangered meaning it's rare to see naturally but is common in captivity. All three lions (two lionesses and one male) were quite visible and, surprisingly, awake. We also saw two cheetahs and I did see them - I usually can't make out the imps since they hide so well.

    The Expedition Everest FastPass started at 2:00 so after the Safari, we had plenty of time to take in the Pangani Exploration Trail. Actually, we had too much time as there were no birds at all in the aviary and we should have noticed something was up as the bird guides weren't out. The gorilla family was hiding but there was one bachelor high up on a hill. And my bullfrog was not in his container which highly disappointed me. But we did see the warthog and some naked mole rats. Not the best walk we've ever taken and I have recently learned that the attraction was undergoing some refurbishments so when we go in May, things will be better.

    We walked over to Expedition Everest with a side trip to the Kali River Rapids area for a beer. I had told Rich we probably wouldn't need a FastPass for this attraction and I was proved correct with the lower temperatures as the Stand By line was only 10 minutes. The day wasn't as chilly as the past two and we could have taken a splash fairly quickly but the thought of possible wet clothes for the rest of the day decided that was not the best idea. The small seating area near the beer stand was totally occupied since it was around lunch time so we took our beverages over to Expedition Everest and the viewing area there. We actually were able to snare a bench at the exit to the attraction and sat with those who were either waiting for the rest of their party to get done with the ride or just wanted to see the fools who were stupid enough the come down the drop. Wait a minute, we would be fools in a few minutes ourselves!

    It's nice now being able to ride with Rich on this attraction as before, with the paper FastPasses, we just did the single riders line. Since we can reserve our passes now, we can ride together. A plus for FastPass + in our opinion. Another great ride and we tamed the Yeti. Just hope our car wasn't getting tamed by a Yeti out in the parking lot.

    Our last FastPass for the day was Primeval Whirl so we trudged over to Dinoland and still had some time before our window opened. We were doing a lot of walking today and it was beginning to show. Once at Dinoland, we found a bench on the Cretaceous Trail where we could watch Safari Donald entertain kids. Once our window opened, I survived Primeval Whirl. I am not a fan of these types of attractions that don't have a lot of closure around the ride vehicles. Plus, you go up and up and then slowly come down and down. I don't relax at all until I feel I'm in a thuddable range to the ground. But, we hadn't done this attraction for quite a while so nice change of pace.

    We were out of FastPasses for the day but this is why I like Animal Kingdom as there are many things to see and do without FastPasses. We love Rafiki's Planet Watch so we did the long walk from Dinoland back over to the farthest reaches of Africa. Our dogs were really barking now but knew the sight of goats and pigs would be worth it. However, when we reached the Tree of Life area, It's Tough to be a Bug was a walk on so we went to see Flik first. We love the ending here and the guests' reactions to it, especially first timers. And we did walk right into hearing the bees and waiting for a few minutes for the doors to open. We had a nice show but the girl behind us was definitely not amused by the ending we like so much. Hehehehe.

    Then we finally made it to the train to the Conservation Station and our chance to pet some animals. Once at Rafiki's Planet Watch, we were told the petting zoo area would close at 5:00 so we hustled over there for our goats and pigs. Alas, those pigs must have known it was close to dinnertime as there were none to be found. Drat it. So the goats got my attention instead. Oh, to win the lottery and get a farm so Rich could pet goats all day long if he wanted.

    We toured the exhibits inside and then returned to Africa. On the way back, since the animals start their nighttime trek "home" around 4:45, we saw a few who either knew the time or had heard their tone to come in. I've heard other guests complain about Animal Kingdom not being open late and also heard there could be a nighttime show at Animal Kingdom. That's all great but I hope Disney continues to let the animals keep to their schedule and not force another human one on them.

    And we silly humans now had to walk all the way to the front of the park from basically one of the most remote spots in the park. And once we got to the front of the park, Maxx was somewhere over in Yetiland! Fortunately, since it was so late in the day and most guests had already left, we actually were able to board a tram and did that. We haven't been on the trams in such a long time, we had to learn to use the doors. Our feet thanked us immensely and we were whisked back to the far corner of the parking lot and back to Maxx. I think I did see some Yeti hairs attached to the antennae.

    Tonight's missions was to see Illuminations with the special holiday tag at the end so we went back to the room for a break and saw that Georgia Tech beat the Georgia bulldogs in the season's rivalry bowl. We are not bulldog fans at all so yay Yellow Jackets! After our break, we drove over to Epcot and got a decent parking space. Illuminations with the holiday tag is a big reason I love coming to Disney World for Thanksgiving weekend. The show really starts my holiday spirit going. We were waking back to our favorite spot in Germany around 8:30 and there were already people lined up at the front of World Showcase for the show that started at 9:30. We had picked up a couple of beers and I told Rich our spot probably would not be crowded since it's at the back of the Showcase and most people want to make a quick exit after the show so we'd be fine to walk back there and take a seat and relax. We did that but Rich was restless and he doesn't like sitting around and doing nothing in the dark. If there was light, he could people watch but that wasn't happening. He suggested walking back to Mexico and doing the Grand Fiesta Tour as he was certain that would be a walk on with the crowds getting around the Showcase for Illuminations. So we backtracked and had a good time with Donald, Panchito, and Jose.

    And then back to Germany with still about 20 minutes until the start of the show but we had a great spot (this really is a good location for Illuminations since it's at the back of the park) and waited for my special show. And it was a great show but when "Let There be Peace on Earth" started to play, I teared up. I was thinking about the recent Ferguson grand jury decision and how there wasn't peace for some people. But that the peace needs to come from inside yourself, not from anywhere else. No one can find peace unless it does begin with you. So not only was I sappy with the start of the holiday season, I was sappy with hoping all people can put aside differences and learn to live in peace without judgment.

    After the show and with eyes still weeping a bit, we slowly walked around to the exit. We did a bathroom break and then still walked slowly towards the front of the park. Even when we stay onsite, this is what we do as there are no Cast Members yelling things about the park being closed and that's a great thing about Disney World. It's not the Cast Members who make you feel like you need to exit and exit now!, it's the other guests. More on that in a bit.

    We made it back to Maxx and noticed the stupidity of the other guests. Each side of the parking area had a lane for exiting and there were cones set up to help guide the traffic. If everyone had just followed those guide markings and stayed within the cones, the traffic would have been so much easier. But the lane of cars on our side was shorter so cars from the other lane were knocking down the cones and coming over into our lane which then backed up our lane and left the other lane without guide markings and that became a mess. So all the careful planning on Disney's part to move the exiting traffic became null and void thanks to the stupid guests who just had to be in a shorter line even though their line was moving just fine. See what I mean about the other guests making people feel like you have to exit and exit now!? Once the two lines were about the same length and we had cones to make the lanes, traffic flowed extremely well. Sigh, humans are a strange breed.

    We were back in the room shortly after 10:30 so the Baymont Inn is a great location for after Illuminations. Lights out after a fairly long day for us.

    Day Five - Sunday, November 30, 2014

    Today was a day I hadn't really been looking forward to since it was the Magic Kingdom day. Yes, the original park and magical for some but not for us since we have left the child rearing days far, far behind us. Even if we are here with our grandkids, our son tells them that Grumpy Grandpa and Grandma will probably be leaving them sometime in the afternoon so we can escape to Epcot. And the day didn't start off very well because of, well, kids. A couple of them decided that the walkway outside would make a nice race track so they were running up and down in front of our door. We had also figured today would be a day of most of the guests leaving to return to their homes so this was expected. And why we take tomorrow to make our drive back.

    So we were up earlier than we wanted or needed to be so had a small breakfast in the room while we slowly got ready. Then we made our way to Disney World for our last day. We again parked at Epcot and got the same section as yesterday but at least we wouldn't be exiting with the masses tonight. Then we monorailed over to the Transportation and Ticket Center to transfer to the Magic Kingdom. Once at the TTC, we saw the ferry boat was filled up and the gates were closing but saw the second boat approaching so our decision was made for us and we cruised over to the Magic Kingdom. I don't know what time we arrived at Magic Kingdom but our first FastPass window didn't open until 11:30 and we had plenty of time before that. Rich loves to ride the train here so that's what we did first and took the round trip without getting off anywhere.

    Once back at the Main Street depot, we explored the photos downstairs which were very nice and showed Walt Disney's love of trains. If you've never taken the time (or didn't know the photos were here) to see these, it's a pleasant diversion and highly recommended to "visit" with the man who started it all.

    On our way up Main Street, we saw the trolley show which was cute and then we continued on over towards the Jungle Cruise since that was our first FastPass but we still had time before the window opened so we decided to see the revised Enchanted Tiki Room. We were fans of the Under New Management version (horrors, I know) and after seeing this version, which is similar to the original, this goes on the "maybe once every five or ten trips to Magic Kingdom" list. It's cute but just not our cup of tea so not a repeater.

    Then we wanted to see Jack Sparrow and his lovable pirates so we went to the Caribbean but the winds must have been blowing strangely as the ride broke down while we were in line. We waited for a while to see if things could be fixed quickly and once we entered the window for the Jungle Cruise, we waited a bit more and then decided we could come back later so we left. Of course, once we exited the queue, the announcement was made that the ride was back up. But we went to the Jungle Cruise, err, the Jingle Cruise since it was set up for the holidays. We hadn't been on the attraction for quite a while so I was looking forward to it but it disappointed me. I'm not sure if it was the holiday version or what but it was just OK. I did like the way people are being seated on the attraction as the parties are told where to sit based on the number in their group. I think the last time we rode this, people just climbed aboard and sat wherever they wanted. Rich commented on that as well.

    Then back to Jack Sparrow where the stand by queue listed a 30 minute wait but we had time before our Big Thunder Mountain Railroad FastPass window opened so we went back to the Caribbean and were on and off the ride in that 30 minutes.

    Next was the FastPass for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad so we joined that line and were on and off within about twenty minutes or so. We had passed this attraction from the back side while we were on the train earlier so I tried to find all the things we saw from a much lower and slower point of view. I wasn't that successful. This is a fun ride but it's rapidly getting on the "don't have to do again for a while" list. So far, our two FastPass attractions left a lot to be desired for these older people. I think next time we visit Magic Kingdom, I'll try and talk Rich into Winnie the Pooh and/or Peter Pan.

    We hadn't had much to eat and we weren't interested in a full counter service meal so we went looking for a soft pretzel, one of our favorite snacks at Disney World. Surely with all these kids at Magic Kingdom, there would be soft pretzels out and about, right? Rich thought he remembered seeing some in the new Fantasyland when we were here in March so we went over there not only for food but to take a look around again at the new area. We hadn't see the Snow White and Seven Dwarfs roller coast completely finished so that was a goal as well. Well, we saw the roller coaster and it looks like fun once we can get a FastPass for it but not enough fun to stand in the stand by queue. We didn't find any soft pretzels, though. Lots of healthy things but nothing we were interested in.

    This was the warmest day not only in temperature but also for our temperaments and we realized we were getting fried with the place and the atmosphere. Magic Kingdom truly is not a happy place for us so we grabbed a Diet Coke and then headed back to Splash Mountain where I knew my faith could get restored as this is my favorite Disney World attraction. We had to divert around all the parade stuff though so I tried to keep my good thoughts about our last ride at Magic Kingdom.

    Once at Splash Mountain, we had a short wait to board our raft and I used those moments to remember why I love this attraction and why I love the movie Song of the South. My mother had many dark moments in her life and she would let things build up inside her and once it reached a boiling point, she exploded. She did this to me when I was in college and had come home on a Saturday instead of Friday evening so I could spend her birthday weekend with her. I had told her beforehand but when I came home that Saturday, she was distant and finally blew up at me Sunday morning and told me to leave and never come back. I couldn't return to college since I was taking a friend back so I spent that afternoon in the back row of a movie theatre watching Song of the South and crying my eyes out. That was back in 1980 and it changed my life and the way I think about things. Because what happened was I watched the kids in that theatre watch the story of how two people from vastly different backgrounds could be friends. My tears stopped while watching the movie and the kids. I knew my mother would go back to her normal ways within a few days and her way of dealing with what she thought was disappointment wouldn't be remembered by her by the end of the week and it wasn't. I also realized that everyone has a Laughing Place and my hobby became all things Disney since that's my Laughing Place where I go to escape from troublesome things.

    So I laughed and had fun on Splash Mountain and got all the bad feelings about Magic Kingdom out of my mind for the time being. I think it's funny that most people who first go on the attraction think it's just a log you get into, you go up a hill and then you splash down and that's it. They don't expect the entire free floating ride and the characters you meet. And that's what Disney World does for me. It truly is my Laughing Place.

    With my good thoughts back intact, we headed out of Magic Kingdom via a walk down Main Street where we saw another trolley show. And then we went to the exit and it was a bit confusing for us. I'm not sure if this is due to the expanded bus area but we had to exit to the right and then cross through people coming into Magic Kingdom to get to the Boardwalk bus over to the left. Maybe with the holiday it was more congested than we are used to or maybe it was just the mostly not so good experience we just had? But we finally made it to the bus queue and unloaded at the Boardwalk so we could spend the last part of our trip at our favorite place, Epcot.

    Once inside Epcot, we were in time to catch the Canadian Holiday Voyaguers and I told Rich I thought the discussion group had mentioned maybe former members of Off Kilter could be part of the group so we grabbed a beer and get set to see a good group but no one we knew and we were very tired from Magic Kingdom so we continued on our trek of getting all the Future World attractions done on this trip.

    We entered The Land for the only attraction there we hadn't done yet, Living With the Land. It was good again and Rich made me laugh when he yet again said there wasn't a live Cast Member narrating and then asked when that changed. I think he does that every time we ride this. After our nice ride, we checked on Spaceship Earth and saw that only had a ten minute wait but decided to go in search of food so we did a walk around World Showcase to really get calmed down from our adventures of the day.

    When we reached Africa, I needed a sit so we found an empty table and really did relax for a while. By this point, we had been talking about food and what we wanted and while I thought pot stickers and egg rolls in China sounded good, Rich wanted a "good" burger so we talked about the Liberty Inn. But when we got there, I really didn't see anything I wanted as I think the burgers here aren't all that great. In retrospect, I should have just gotten my stuff in China and sent Rich off for his burger and then we could have met in America and relaxed more. But hindsight is always 20-20. I told Rich to get his burger and I'd share his fries but I think that day was getting to him so we just continued around the Showcase.

    We both realized it had been a strange day for us at Disney World and I silently vowed that no matter what I think of the crowd levels, we won't ever end a trip with a visit to the Magic Kingdom. We'll do that park first so any negative things can be negated with more positive experiences at the other parks. I know that sounds horrible about the original park but it's more for the kids and we haven't had one in our everyday lives for about 15 years and even before then, our son was his own person so not really a "kid". I don't think Chris has been a kid since 1994 when he turned twelve.

    We decided to head out but saw Spaceship Earth was now a walk on so we joined the stand by line and Rich noticed the FastPass return line was longer than the stand by line. And he made me put that in here. We enjoyed Spaceship Earth a lot because it reminds us now of our grandson, who rode this six times in one day on his last trip. So, while we don't have kids in our everyday lives, we do have them in our everyday thoughts even though physically, our grandkids are 800 miles away.

    Then we found Maxx again and finally got some "decent" burgers via Wendy's near the room. We had a bit of a mix up trying to get to the Baymont but finally found it and enjoyed the "decent" burgers but not the fries as the mix up had them go a bit cold. But at least we had some food by that time.

    After dinner, we packed the little that we had to pack since one suitcase was filled with dirty clothes so we just piled any leftover clean stuff into the other one and then laid on the beds and watched TV until lights out.

    Day Six - Monday, December 1, 2014

    Not too much to report on for today. The alarm went off at 7:00 and we had packed up everything in the room last night so now it was just a matter of getting it back into Maxx. As usual with the drive home, I got up first and then started to take things to the car while Rich got ready. It actually takes him longer than me so by the time he was done, all we had left was his suitcase since that was holding the things we needed this morning. We checked out, took a few breakfast options for the drive (pastries) and we heading out and home shortly after 8:00. Stopped at Burger King for lunch and were home safely around 4:30 so we beat the Atlanta traffic mess through the downtown area part of the drive. It took a while for the cats to all show themselves and I had to make sure Gus knew it was us and not the "stranger" Kat.

    Final Thoughts

    The only big disappointment I had with the trip was doing the Magic Kingdom on our last day. It's not a park for us so if we go again for a longer trip, I will make sure we do this park on our first or second day just to get it out of the way and to have more enjoyable parks ahead of us. I would have done that but relied too much on crowd predictions and I won't do that again.

    We were disappointed with the new Test Track but I have since found out that you can enter from the exit and there are machines to draw your cars and then test them out so we'll check on that for future trips. So there are machines for us dummies to use.

    We'll still use the Baymont for our offsite stays but, like I said, there are flaws. The drawers in the bureau were stuck, the internet connection was not the greatest, and we didn't have a TV guide for channels in the room. But the location is excellent and the staff great so we can forget the little things and go with what really makes a vacation for us.

    Rich's idea to do all of Future World on the trip worked out nicely and the only one we didn't do was Ellen's Energy Adventure but each time we talked about doing it, the thought of spending 45 minutes in one spot was too tiring for us at that point. We thought we'd fall asleep and Rich wisely said, "there's always next time".

    We really enjoyed the Biergarten with the variety of food, the band performing and the others at the table. Rich also really enjoyed the beer prices and the huge mugs so I don't think this will ever be a "no" if we are wanting a table service meal. I have found out that we could have received a 10% annual passholder discount so I need to remember to ask next time. The meal made Thanksgiving a little nicer.

    We had to drive to the parks every day and while we have free parking with the annual pass and there was never a problem, I just prefer taking Disney transportation so I'm not in agreement with the "Disney transportation stinks" crowd. Our hotel did have a shuttle service and Rich was tasked with getting that information for a friend whose daughter was looking for a place to stay for a quick trip. Once Rich saw the schedule, he knew it wouldn't work. As with most places in the offsite areas, the Baymont had only two times in the morning and none of them would have gotten anyone to a park for rope drop. There were no departure times in the afternoon so you would be stuck at the parks all day. And the evening departure times weren't all that good for being able to watch the nighttime stuff and then make a slow walk out of the park to get to the shuttle which, of course, is not where the Disney buses are. If you do plan to stay offsite, I highly recommend getting a rental car and factoring in that cost and the price of parking into the savings of staying offsite. We have our own car and get free parking with the annual pass so it's a win for us for the cost but not for the convenience.

    And now for why Disney World will not be an annual trip for us for this holiday. My son and his family live in Ohio. My daughter-in-law has a Master's in Counseling and has been working with a youth center for the past year. However, my son has his Master's in Museum Arts since he wants to be an archivist which is the person who catalogs donations and makes sure things match up to the time frame and period for displays. Sounds boring but he loves it as he had an internship doing just that and found he learns more about his passion - history. However, there aren't that many museums in the Toledo, OH area and for other reasons, the entire family wants to move from that spot. My mother-in-law set up an interview for my daughter-in-law at a facility in my husband's hometown (long story on how that happened) in Maryland. My daughter-in-law went, interviewed and got the job! So my son and his family will be living in my husband's hometown sometime this summer! We will now being going to Maryland for holidays since all of my husband's family will be in the same place. We just have to do certain years since my granddaughter will need to go back to Ohio to be with her father every other year.

    I hope to be at Disney World for our usual Memorial Day trip but we will see as my new boss at work and I didn't really mix all that well and I was terminated from my job after six years (only one month with the new boss and he fired me in an email) in early January. But it's all OK as now I don't have to wake up with a stomach ache at the thought of going into work and dealing with the new boss. Let's just say he's the type of person who doesn't want an employee of his to suggest other ways of handling things and to work as a team. It was his way or the highway and he showed me the highway, thankfully. But Disney World is my Laughing Place and I will be back at some point.


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  3. #2

    Sheri,

    THANK YOU for another wonderful trip report! But I'm so very sorry to hear about your job loss. Hope & pixie dust that something much better will come your way soon. And I'm super glad for you that your son & family will be moving much closer! Grandkids are precious, and I'm so glad you'll be closer to yours.

    Jan

    "A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference." --Eeyore

  4. #3

    Oh I was so excited to see your trip report this morning. I just love the way you and Rich travel.

    Sorry about the job loss - in a way I guess. If it was making you sick then it was needed to find something better. There is nothing worse than having to go to a job you hate. Hopefully you will find something you like real soon.

    Glad the family situation has worked it's way out. Grandbabies are the best and even better when they are closer.

    I do have a question - Did I miss your trip report - the BIG one - with the whole family? I was really looking forward to it and I never saw it. Did I miss it?

    Thanks again,
    Ellen


  5. #4
    Registered User Silvercat's Avatar
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    Sep 2007
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    Birmingham, UK

    Hi Sheri - thanks for another lovely trip report, I really enjoyed it. I'm not sure I agree with you that the Magic Kingdom is more for the kids, as we really love that park ourselves; having said that, we DO agree with you that Epcot is our favourite park too! And it wouldn't do if all folk were the same, would it - it's the differences between us that make the world an interesting place.

    I was so sorry to hear about your job loss, but hopefully you will find something better soon. All things happen for a reason, I believe. When I learnt I was being laid off last year, I was horrified; now, I have the best job ever (apart from working as a Cast Member, that is!) - lovely people, a much more interesting and fun job, more money, better terms & conditions, and a huge amount of job satisfaction, way more than I had in my last job. So being laid off was the best thing that could have happened to me, particularly as I got a good payout as I had been there for almost 9 years and we were able to use some of that money to go to California last year! Fingers crossed for you.

    Thanks again for taking the time to post your report, it was fun.

    Silvercat

    (Enjoy reading trip reports? Why not try my books, "Tiggerific Travels" - all 4 books available now as e-books)

  6. #5

    I enjoyed reading your trip report. I agree with your thoughts on Disney Transportation. I think for most people it is more like someone’s luck occasionally stinks, not the transportation. Just like parking your own car. Parking stinks when you park at the very end of the row. It’s great when you are close to the tram or to the entrance. All a matter of luck.

    Michael and Kellis August 2016 Trip with 25 Friends and family
    http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?234828
    Common Walt Disney World Wild Birds http://bochnik.com/disneybirds/disneybirds.htm
    Our other Disney Trips (including our Disneymoon): Kelli and Mike's Adventures http://www.bochnik.com/

  7. #6

    Sheri, I just saw this on RADP's facebook page and thought of you--Off Kilter at Cedar Point!

    http://www.ohio.com/blogs/airtime/ai...ekend-1.610096

    Jan

    "A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference." --Eeyore

  8. #7

    Hi Sherry, always glad to read your trip reports. Maybe I can help you out on the channel numbers at Disney. I have a small notebook that I make my notes when I go Disney, in the back I have the channel numbers of all the channels we watch at home and the corresponding number at Disney so when we get to Disney I don't have to search for them.


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