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Thread: Tomasella's May Trip

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    Smile Tomasella's May Trip

    Disney Trip May 24 to 27, 2015

    Cast of Characters
    John-Trip Reporter and writer
    Norma Jean-Trip Planner

    Resort-Wilderness Lodge

    It’s been some time since I’ve written a trip report but this trip I told myself that I had to write one. I enjoy reading other trip reports and hopefully those regulars will enjoy mine. I will mention some things from our previous trips at the end of this report.

    We booked Spirit Airlines out of Atlantic City which is very convenient for us since we live in Hammonton about 25 minutes away. We like the early morning flights and the late flight coming home. This trip the early flight was 7:45. It used to be 6:30. The flight coming home is around 9:30. This trip we decided to take the afternoon flight instead since it got in AC at a decent hour. Three days before our trip they informed us that flight was cancelled and we had to take the 9 in the morning or the late flight. We scheduled for the morning flight. This isn’t the first time Spirit has cancelled a flight on us.

    We were both up early and left the house at 6 and got to airport at 6:30 and parked in the airport garage since it would be 90 the couple days we are gone. We drove so we didn’t inconvenience anyone coming home midday.

    Our flight did leave about 5 minutes early. We had a smooth flight and landed in Orlando 15 minutes (9:50) before our scheduled arrival time. As soon as NJ took her phone off airplane mode she got a text that our room was not ready. We didn’t wait long in line at ME. While waiting on the motor coach NJ got another text that our room WAS ready. We sat for about 15 minutes and left with a nearly full load. Our first stop was the Poly. There was a Disney Cruise Line motor coach in the unloading area and we waited about 5 to 10 minutes for him to leave but he wasn’t moving so our driver let the Poly guests off before the normal load and unload area. Next stop was the Grand Floridian and you guessed it, the Cruise coach was picking up guests there. There was a huge crowd waiting for the cruise bus. Nobody seemed to be moving and our driver was getting annoyed much less everyone on the bus. It seemed like 20 minutes before the cruise driver got all the luggage and people on board. The WL was the next stop, no the cruise bus did not go there. It was 11:30 when we got there after getting on board at 10.
    We went to the room to drop some things we didn’t need. Our bands did not work and we had to walk all the way back to the front desk. We were told we had too many bands and should deactivate them when we got back home which NJ did.

    We were going to eat lunch at Casey’s in MK but changed plans, instead had lunch at Roarin’ Fork in the WL. We split a tuna sandwich which was a good move two ways. The sandwich was big enough for 2 and there was room left over for a Dole Whip when we got to the park.
    We had to renew our annual passes first. There was a huge line at guest services. After 10 minutes in line a cast member came over and told people at the end of the line they could go over to little building by bag inspection behind us for certain problems. We asked about renewing AP’s and she said no. After a couple minutes we decided to go anyway because there was no line and they were able to renew them there. We got into the park at 1 and the train was just pulling into the station so we hopped aboard and got off at Frontier Land. Our first fastpass was for BTMRR but it was down. It was time for our Dole Whip. On the way there we noticed the line for Splash Mountain was back to where the boats drop. And this was the fastpass line.
    After our Dole Whip we went to the Haunted Mansion and it was showing a 50 minute wait time so we passed on that one. Next up was Philharmagic but the line was out the building. We had a fastpass for the new viewing area for the parade but I looked at the train station and it looked empty so we went up there to view the parade. It was now 2 o’clock and the benches in the sun were empty. We sat about 15 minutes and decided to try BTMRR with our fastpass. Great ride as usual and the line for fastpass was really long when we got off. People who couldn’t use them earlier were doing it now.

    We were about 25 minutes early for our next fastpass for Snow White Train Ride so we headed there. We waited about 10 minutes then got in line. We reached the Cast Member and she said we were a little early and to wait till 5 minutes before our time and we could go in. By the time we reached the next scanner it turned green. It’s not that long of a ride but it is enjoyable. It’s now about 4 and we have a 5:30 ADR at Kona so we headed back to the WL by boat. We unpacked and cleaned up and headed to the Poly. There was a bus waiting for the MK so we hopped on. Just as it was leaving NJ asked if I had the Tables in Wonderland card. I didn’t and I asked the driver if we could get off and he said no. If you’ve been to the WL it would have been easy to just make a U turn right after the stop sign. There were only two other people on the bus so it wouldn’t have inconvenienced a whole lot of people. One of those was headed to Pioneer Hall in Fort Wilderness. He had asked the driver if he could take him there. We’ve stayed at the WL many times and I don’t remember ever going there before going to the MK. It may have been added to the route now because the announcement did say the bus was arriving at FW.

    When we got to MK we went to the monorail. It was just pulling in to the station. Not many people go off. There were 17 people in our car counting the kids. Most got off at the TT/Epcot station. Got to Poly at 5:35 for our 5:30 ADR and were seated right away. NJ had the Asian Noodle with shrimp and I had the Pan Seared Scallops, both were very good. The waiter asked how everything was and I said delicious but would have tasted much better if I had my Tables in Wonderland card.

    Went back to the MK. Thought we’d do Buzz Lightyear but the wait was 50 minutes. Went over to TTA and a cast member was holding a sign that the line for TTA started where she was and that was a long way from the entrance. Enjoyable as always. Did the Laugh Floor and decided to leave the park and try the hot tub at the Lodge. We were in only 15 minutes but it felt good after a long day. Showered and in bed at 10. I could hear the fireworks when NJ went out to hang the bathing suits on the balcony.

    Day 2 Hollywood Studios
    I woke up about 5:20 and layed in bed till 5:45, dressed and went for coffee and sat in front of the main fireplace and updated my notes. Got coffee for NJ and went back to the room. We were out by 8. It was a short wait for the HS bus. The line at the Studio’s at 8:30 was huge. By 8:50 the lines were way back. They opened the park at 8:50 and we headed to Toy Story Mania thinking we could ride doing the standby line then use our fastpass which were for 9:05. The standby was really long when we got there so we decided to just wait till our fastpass time. Wait time was 50 minutes when we went in at 9. We walked right to the boarding area and got right on the ride. NJ beat me again. This is about the fifth time in a row she’s beat me even though I have an article on how to score high on this ride. Wait time was 70 minutes when we exited.

    Our normal routine is to hit Starring Rolls after we do TSM. We got the usual pastry and orange juice. After our snack we went to The Great Movie Ride. There was a 30 minute wait but it moved faster than that. I read when we got home they did some updates to the films before and during the ride. We left the park right after the ride and got a bus that was going to Animal Kingdom. We were the only two people on the bus.
    We walked back to the Safari ride but it was an 80 minute wait. Flight of Wonder was going to start in 15 minutes so we thought we’d see that before lunch which is usually at Flame Tree BBQ. On the way to F of W we noticed an area to the left of the walkway that we hadn’t noticed before so we went over to look around. It looked like a food court. There was a cast member supervisor talking to a cast member and when she was done I asked her about the Market Place. She said it had been open only 3 days. She said we had to try the Rubbed Ribs or the meat wrap that they were both great. Since Flame Tree was still closed we thought we’d give lunch a try here.

    Flights of Wonder was good as usual. The regular Guana Joe and the young narrator were both on today. The seating area was almost full today. After F of W we went back to the new Market Place. NJ got a table while I picked up our food. I only purchased one meal of ribs thinking if we were still hungry we could try the wrap. The meal came with a cucumber salad and there were enough ribs for both of us. It started to pour just as we started to eat but the tables have huge umbrellas over them and the rain was coming straight down so we ate without a problem. We did bring our umbrellas on this trip but the morning weather forecast did not call for rain so you know where they were. Safely stored away in our room.

    The Festival of the Lion King was starting shortly and wasn’t far away. It was still raining slightly. On the way there, there was a family walking along side and just ahead of us. The mother was pushing a stroller and a boy of about 11 or 12 was just behind her and the dad was right along side of us with a little girl. The mother was just passing under a small tree when the boy shook it. I don’t have to tell you what happened since we’ve all done this when we were kids. I give the mom and dad a lot of credit, she turned and laughed and the dad smiled. They didn’t yell at him at all. They may have been soaked already from the recent rain. When we reached the Lion King it started to rain again and even if you’re under the shelter you can still get wet because it’s not completely covered. The crowd started to build and they opened an area they had roped off. They opened the doors to that area first so we hopped the rope and went in with that crowd. We did get to sit in the second row. There was a family in front of us with a small boy and a teenage girl. Right as the show started a huge man in an electric wheelchair parked right in front of him. His sister picked him up and they took seats in the “reserved for handicap” area because there were a lot of open seats. A cast member came over and asked them to return to their seats. Two minutes later 5 late arrivals came in and she let them sit there instead of seating them with the general public. At times it pays to come in late. That is one of my pet peeves. I like to sit on the end of the row where I go and I’m always early so I can do so and I won’t move in for someone who arrives just as a show starts. Oh, and the show was great as usual.

    After F of LK we went back to the WL to enjoy the hot tub again. After 5 minutes we had enough and went to the quiet pool. NJ didn’t go in, she just wanted to sun bathe for a while. After 10 minutes we went back and showered and changed. We left the room at 4:10 for DTD. We checked out the menu at Wolfgang Express because NJ loves their Butternut Squash soup. Earl’s didn’t have it this night. We then stopped at the DVC booth to ask about buying addition points at the WL or another resort and they suggested we do it through our DVC member representative. We went back to WGPE for dinner. NJ got the soup and I ordered a flatbread pizza which we could share. The pizza was surprisingly good. We did some shopping but I usually sit outside and people watch. It’s one of my favorite things to do at Disney. We did stop at Ghiardelli’s and shared a banana split. After going through the Christmas shop we headed back to the lodge. After sitting in the comfort of the main lobby we went back to the room, showered and I was in bed by 9:30.

    Day 3 Epcot
    I got NJ up at 6:30 and we were out the door 7:20. Epcot had Early Morning hours today. I knew we didn’t miss the bus because there were a dozen people waiting. We waited about 10 minutes and our bus arrived. It makes a stop at Fort Wilderness before it goes to Epcot. There was a huge crowd waiting for the Epcot bus. We were in the first two seats and when the driver shut the door there were 9 people standing from the driver to us. One guy was standing right next to the door which I thought was illegal but the driver didn’t say anything. There even were some people who couldn’t make it on to this bus. We got to Epcot at 7:50. The rope line was right before Spaceship Earth. When the rope dropped we went to Spaceship Earth. There were 5 teen boys in front of us and I think this may have been their first time at Disney. I mentioned them because they come into play later. The first scene with the cavemen wasn’t visible but the audio was on.

    After SE I went to Test Track and did the single rider line with absolutely no wait. Seated next to me was a very young girl. She looked like she was 7 or 8 years old. I asked her if she was OK and she said yes. I asked if she had been on the ride before and got another yes. When the door opened for the test track she threw up her arms and screamed like a veteran. Wait time when I went in was 20 minutes and 30 when I got outside. The line stretched all the back to the entrance to the passage way to the Land. Near the end of the line were those 5 boys. I went over and told them about the single rider line and where to go in and they took off running. NJ was just coming out of Mouse Gear. We went to the Land and rode Living with the Land. Since I love gardening this is always one of my favorites. It seems like they always have something different growing. The American Alligators weren’t on display this day. We had a 9:05 fastpass for Soarin’ but first had breakfast at Seasons. We asked for the first row at Soarin’ not at Seasons and the cast member held us till the first row was available. This ride is NJ’s favorite but I have to close my eyes on the scene where the helicopter comes up at the battleship. For some reason, that makes me a little nausea.

    We went to Living Seas next and the Nemo ride had a 10 minute wait. We usually walk ride to this ride but today it was busy. I like looking at the fish but today was an interesting day. There were 3 divers in the tanks feeding the fish. One was feeding this huge sting ray and she had something in her hand that the string ray followed. Twice she had it come in front of the glass with his underside facing us. He covered practically the whole glass. Impressive. Another diver was feeding the smaller fish out of a container and they had him surrounded. A bigger fish kept trying to get some of the food but the diver kept him moving away. When we left, the line for Nemo was out the entrance. And that queue is long.

    We headed out to World Showcase and when we reached Norway it was 10:50 and the rope hadn’t dropped to the back part of WS. When it did, we went to the American Adventure which started 11:15. A large crowd of middle school kids were there for the show so we waited till they entered. Well behaved students. We see this show every time we come to Disney and we’ve never noticed the room off to the right that houses the Kinsey exhibit. As much as Sherri is a history buff I can’t recall her mentioning this in any of her reports unless I missed it. After the show we went back in the exhibit and looked around. It’s very interesting and I suggest when you go to take time to browse through there.

    We sat outside going through the times guide and the flag throwing show in Italy was starting so we headed there because we’ve never seen this. It was very entertaining. After the show we walked over to Germany to look around and the smell of sauerkraut got us urging for lunch. We decided to split a hot dog with kraut. While in line I noticed a table was going to open any second so I told NJ to go over and hold it. She walked over and stood a couple feet away letting the last person leave. As he did a boy of about 12 ran past her and sat down before she could. NJ turned and looked at me and his parents were behind me in line and she said they were smiling. She gave them a dirty look. I told her to look outside for a table. Lunch was just OK. We walked over to Mexico and rode The Three Caballero’s. We then went back into Future World to Mouse Gear to pick up a hat and backpack NJ had seen earlier. We then left the park and our bus came quickly. Odd though, the driver never let the air out for the side of the bus to come down. I’ve been having trouble with my knees lately and it was a chore to bend it that far to enter.

    NJ went to the room to try and take a nap and I got an ice tea and sat in the lobby and people watched. I went back to the room at 3:30. NJ wasn’t napping, she was catching up on her soaps. At 4 we changed for dinner. We have a 5:20 ADR at the Cape May Caf. We left the room at 4:10. We took the bus to the MK and waited 26 minutes for the bus to the Beach Club. We got to the Beach Club at 5:28. It’s been mentioned in trip reports that you should give yourself plenty of time when you have to use Disney transportation to get somewhere especially when making transfers. As usual, dinner was great. We browsed the gift shop and picked up a DVC sticker for the car. We walked over to Epcot. The British Revolution was just starting a set so we watched that. There was a nice crowd in attendance. We started walking clockwise and came across an empty bench so we sat for 15 minutes and you guessed it, people watched. We went to Mouse Gear, again, and picked up a decal for our daughter. We walked back to WS to watch Illuminations. It was only 8 but there was an open area on the concrete divider facing the lake so we grabbed it. We were able to see Illuminations OK and get a head start to the bus queue.

    A bus had just left. All the queues started to fill quickly and for about one minute there wasn’t one bus in the area to pick up passengers. There were so many people in our queue it would take 3 buses to empty it. At the Lodge we got something to drink and went back to the room. I showered while NJ packed. I was asleep before she got out of the shower.

    Day 4 Going Home
    I set the alarm for 5:15 (I take my own alarm, theirs is too complicated for me), but I was awake by 4:45. I woke NJ at 5 and we were ready to go by 6 for our 6:30 ME ride. What I like about the WL the coffee shop opens at 6 where a lot of the other resorts open at 7. We got coffee and sat in the lobby till 6:25. Exactly 6:30 the motor coach pulled up. There were about 6 people on board. Security check at the airport was a breeze. We stopped at Dunkin’ Donuts for a breakfast sandwich before heading to the gate. Our flight was delayed 45 minutes which I find unusual at that time of the morning but that’s Spirit. We picked up the car and paid the 52 dollar parking fee and headed home. Next trip will be the first week in December. We’ve been going the first week in December for quite some time and we seem to catch Pop Warner football and the cheerleaders. We still go the beginning of December but try and stay away from the first full week of the month.
    I had mentioned I would add things of our past trips that may be of interest to you readers. Since I started this report I’ve drawn a blank on anything that could be helpful to you. There was one issue we had on transportation when we stayed at the Bay Lake Towers. We wanted to take our grandkids to see the new Art of Animation resort and have dinner in their cafeteria. We walked over to the bus area at the Magic Kingdom to get the A of A bus. When we got there, 5 people were in the queue. This station is one of the 8 that they built to the right of the main bus stop. After 30 minutes (no exaggeration) not one bus came to any of the 8 stations while we watched 3 and 4 buses leave for the other resorts. We decided not to wait any longer and walked across the highway back to the bus stop at the Contemporary. We waited there for about 5 minutes before our bus came for HS (we were going to take a bus from there to A of A but the traffic was backed up really bad on the highway so we scraped those plans). When we passed the bus station at MK the bus still hadn’t come and the queue was jammed. I did get the e-mail address of the transportation supervisor and right after I sent off my complaint he called me and apologized.

    I know this is a little late but I type slow. I’ll try to keep up with the trip reports from now on.

    Hope you enjoyed my report. John


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  3. #2
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    I really enjoyed your report. If I wasn't so close to Philadelphia. Airport I would try leaving from Atlantic City one day. I know a couple people who fly out of there and like the less chaotic atmosphere.


  4. #3
    Registered User ericles's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by suejacken View Post
    I really enjoyed your report. If I wasn't so close to Philadelphia. Airport I would try leaving from Atlantic City one day. I know a couple people who fly out of there and like the less chaotic atmosphere.
    We are just about evenly between PHL & BWI (hey Hammonton....Woodstown raised gal here!), maybe a shade closer to PHL, and hear family in South Jersey talking about the convenience of the AC airport to Fl all the time. May try it one of these days just to change things up.

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    I should consider that. My sister lives in Elkton but prefers BWI to Philadelphia. Airport


  6. #5

    Thanks for the great trip report!

    Jan

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

  7. #6

    Hi Sue and Ericles

    AC is really a no hassle airport. The parking garage is a stones throw from the front door and the counters are 20 steps inside the door. I don't even have to take off my shoes because I'm 75. Next trip we're flying out of Philly on Southwest. NJ keeps going on Spirit's and Southwest's web sites and got a great deal at Southwest for our December trip.


  8. #7

    Thanks Jan. I try to make it interesting and hope there are things in the report that people can use when they go. I did mention in one report to stand under the lady in the HM room because that's where the door is to the Doom Buggies. I read in one of Larry's report he did just that.


  9. #8
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    Thanks for the info Tomasella. It's awesome that you get to travel as much as you do. My dad turned 85 in May and we took him to Las Vegas to celebrate.


  10. #9

    Thank you so much for another great trip report. I can't believe the crowds! It does seem that anytime anymore is busy.
    Ellen


  11. #10

    Excellent report!

    Living life to the fullest

    http://www.oilyhabit.com/

  12. #11

    I have to agree with you on the crowds. Disney keeps adding housing at their resorts and building new ones like the Art of Animations. We're going in December and NJ has been trying ever since our window opened for ADR's to get in O'Hana's but is having no luck.


  13. #12

    Thank You


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