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Thread: Sheri Niklewski - Thanksgiving Weekend 2016 - Offsite

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    Sheri Niklewski - Thanksgiving Weekend 2016 - Offsite

    Introduction -

    Participants: Me - Sheri (54), accountant and Disney World lover; Rich (56), senior buyer and a converted Disney World lover

    When - Thanksgiving weekend, 2016

    How - personal vehicle from slightly northeast of Atlanta, GA

    Where - offsite

    Experience - Veterans

    2016 has stacked up to be a very interesting year for us. In February, our house caught on fire and we lost two of our four cats and most of the inside stuff had to be repaired/replaced. We did manage to go to Disney World for Memorial Day, July 4th weekend, and Labor Day though so it took our minds off living in a rental house. We finally were able to move back into our real house in October and this trip was going to ease us into a new routine. Things didn't go as I wanted them to and I am now unemployed but that decision was an easy one as you will see. But, that's all just background information. The real stuff is how to enjoy (or sometimes not enjoy) Disney World on a very crowded holiday weekend. So, off we go.

    Introduction -

    Since we are back in the house with the two surviving cats (they hid behind the washer and dryer and the other two were sleeping upstairs and died of smoke inhalation so they did not suffer), we have been surrounded by boxes. The insurance company hired great people who came in and carted everything out they could, got it all cleaned up and then put everything remaining into boxes and bubble wrapped even the smallest thing so we have boxes of stuff in each room. The company even put the boxes in the rooms where the items were originally. It's just been difficult to go through each box, unwrap the items, figure out if we still want it and then put it where it should go. We lost all of our shelves since the smoke and soot were too ingrained into the "wood" (fake stuff) so it was less expensive to give us replacement money than to clean the shelves. So, we have no shelves because while we can buy them, who the heck wants to put together shelfing units? We did get a new bedroom set since that's where the fire started (under the bed in one outlet with one thing plugged into it) and our living room furniture was cleaned and returned. We also had to get three new TV and two new PCs since all electronics were deemed unsalvageable because it was an electrical fire. That's what we were looking at before we left - fun times!

    Thanksgiving is a busy time at Disney World and they aren't stupid so offer no discounts and so far in all our trips, we have never paid rack rates and this time would be no different so I set us up at the same Ramada on Highway 192 we stayed at for Memorial Day and July 4th weekend. It's an easy drive to the parks and the hotel is large and spread out so I knew we would have a good room. Plus, it's a member of the Wyndham Rewards program so I would earn points for the stay. The rate wasn't that bad and Rich said it was fine so I booked it a month or so in advance.

    I also had to book FastPasses (those would change as you will see) so had to think of a game plan for the three days we would be there. We went to Magic Kingdom over Labor Day and, um, as we were walking up Main Street Rich said something like "now I know why we only come here every five years or so" and that was not an option for this trip. We would leave our house Wednesday night and go to Valdosta (reservation made at our favorite Days Inn off Exit 5 on I75) so would be arriving on Thanksgiving Day and have a "short" day so I picked the Studios for that day for FastPasses and then we'd go to Epcot for the evening. Rich mentioned that we hadnt done a lot of Future World at Epcot with the FastPass situation and only being able to get FastPasses in one park 30 or 60 days out so Friday would be an all Epcot day. Then Saturday would be more relaxing with Animal Kingdom. I had all of the FastPasses done and set and we were almost ready to go.

    One thing I like about going to Disney World for Thanksgiving is that it feels like Christmas when I come back (that wouldn't be the case this year). We don't do a traditional Thanksgiving meal of turkey and all that garbage as neither one of us likes turkey and family and that stuff. I asked Rich where he would like to eat Friday for lunch as our "Thanksgiving meal" and since we'd be at Epcot all day, he picked the Biergarten for the food and, um, the beer! So I booked that for 3:00 since the band would be playing and we could relax and enjoy ourselves.

    With all the plans in place, we were ready to go. But would everyone else cooperate?

    Next up was getting our cats, Gus and Belle, situated with the cat sitter. Her name is Kat and she's wonderful but a bit anal retentive in my opinion. Since we were back in the house, she needed to get new keys and to see where things were now that we only had two cats. She came over the Saturday before Thanksgiving and we got all that done and while Rich griped at the price ($110 for the four days and two cats), she also brings in our mail and makes sure the house is secure and, as you will see, will update us every day on the status of Gus and Belle.

    And then the bad stuff started to happen again.

    The week before Thanksgiving, my boss finally informed me that the company, which is global, does not give the Friday after Thanksgiving off so I was expected to log in and work that day even from Disney World. There was something that needed to be done and while I could do some of it earlier than the holiday I HAD to be online Friday. Everyone needed to be. So, that all Epcot day just got shot to heck so I had to change all the FastPasses to after noon since that was the deadline for the thing that needed to be done. I was so very close to just cancelling the entire trip and I'm glad I didn't with the outcome. Changing the FastPasses was not that easy as I like to have them all set up one after the other so not to worry about schedules but with Soarin' being a huge favorite of others, I just set things up for what I could get and had to go on with life. I tried every single day in that last week to get things closer together but I guess we will be bopping back and forth between Future World and World Showcase for walk arounds. I also moved the Biergarten reservation to 2:30 in an attempt to consolidate the timing of things. At this point, I was so not happy with having to work on the Friday after Thanksgiving and only being given a week's notice that I had so that soured the mood for the entire trip. But, I had to move on and so I did and decided to have the best trip I could.

    Day One - Wednesday, November 23, 2016 - "This could have been done earlier!"

    Today at work was not a good one as that deadline of noon Friday was looming and we had one of the four members of our "team" on vacation so the boss was filling in for him. The other co-worker and I were called into the conference room in the morning and told that we should have everything we could possibly do for that deadline done before we left for the day, we should take Thanksgiving Day to be with family, and then work until noon Friday. The boss even suggested I just take the work laptop to a park and work from there "in between going on rides". So Wednesday afternoon was a mad rush for me to get things done but I didn't get it all done and knew I'd have a troublesome holiday. And then, the boss informed everyone that the office was shutting down at 2:00 PM and to have a happy holiday! What the heck? I was trying to ask him questions about what I was doing but he wanted to be on the road to his holiday happenings so I didn't get much help and once he was gone after 2:00, there wasn't much I could do as I'm still learning the job and didn't have anyone left to ask so I left at 2:30 and realized I'd be working a lot over the weekend to get things done. Unfortunately, I had to take the work laptop with me.

    Meanwhile, on Rich's side, his company will usually let people go early on the day before a holiday and his boss has been a stickler for knowing that but not allowing it in her group. However, with recent cutbacks at the company, it's just her and Rich and her attitude has softened quite a bit so he was released at 2:30. I beat him back home and we had packed last night so I already had both my laptops in the car and my suitcase when he pulled into the driveway to add his laptop (why we feel the need for this crap on a vacation is beyond me) and a case of beer (now that we need!). Then he packed a few remaining things into his suitcase while I was making sure Gus and Belle had a full food bowl and fresh water and the litter boxes were cleaned out. Once everything was loaded up and we said goodbye to our furbabies, we were on the road somewhere around 4:00 PM. I think this was the first time ever of me taking a trip that I did not note the exact time we were leaving. That was my mother's tradition and I think I broke it.

    We expected traffic to be horrible since it's the night before a four day weekend (for most people) but we had clear sailing through most of the northeast and then below the airport on our route. And then. we hit it. As usual, just after getting off I675 and back onto I75, things crept along. We kept moving but at a very slow speed except for idiots who wanted to go faster and kept cutting in and out of lanes even though no one was going more than 10 MPH. The worst was a motorcyclist (we are big fans of motorcycles and we both want Rich to get one) but this moron was cruising down in between the lanes like he didn't belong on a regular road. That ticks us off big time. At least he wasn't wearing shorts and flip flops like some other even more brain dead motorcyclists do but I digress. The point is, the traffic was bad and we just moved along in the regular lanes and stayed in the lanes. After we were finally past Atlanta Motor Speedway, people mysteriously disappeared from the highway and we were able to get back up to speed again.

    Since my days have been extremely stressful and hectic at work, I have not eaten lunch at work for the entire time I've been employed and I had been trying to not think about work so I was actually hungry but Rich said we'd be at the hotel in enough time to just walk across the street and do McDonald's for dinner so I had some candy and was satisfied. Or so I thought. I needed a vacation, not more stress but that wasn't going to happen.

    We arrived at the Days Inn close to 9:00 so a later dinner than I wanted/needed. But our check in went smoothly although I had somehow booked two rooms yet again and I'm chalking that up to the work situation although I didn't make the reservation at work, I did it on the weekend but my weekends were either thinking about work or working from home. One room was cheerfully taken away and we were given keys to the room right next to the lobby so that was nice for us. We unloaded only the suitcases and a bag of snacks for the night and I consciously left the darn work laptop in the car.

    After we unloaded, we needed food and McDonald's was just across the street so we walked over there and wanted something called service. Not going to happen. When we walked in, no customers were at the counter and there were at least three employees in the vicinity so we both thought it would be an easy in and out. Since my appetite was lower than normal and breakfast all day now includes the Egg McMuffin, that was my choice. Rich's was a double cheeseburger and a medium fry. All to go so we could just quickly walk back to the room and detox from the week. Oh - Rich ordered his burger without onions or mustard (he's learned not to say "just ketchup and pickle" as that's what they leave off). We were told to step aside and our order would be up soon. That was fine and expected. Then a woman came in after us and ordered something very quickly (we later learned it was fries and a drink) and she stepped aside as well. Then two guys (I thought) came in and I later found out a third guy was with them but didn't go up to the counter and they ordered over $22 worth of food with at least two salads (one grilled, one fried). They also stepped aside so all three parties waited. And waited.

    Then the lady was called for her food and I figured it was a small order so no big deal. And then we waited again. And waited. And then the three guys' order came out! By this time, it was close to ten minutes after we had walked in the door and I was getting bothered. I admit, the stress of the day and the week had something to do with it but even the guy who went to pick up the big order said, "these guys were here before us, why are we being served before them?" I had to say, "we had three things on our order yet everyone else is being helped before us, what is the deal?" I told Rich that we should have gone to Wendy's and he agreed. So far, no one on the McDonald's staff even said a word to us except for the taking of the order and the giving of the cash.

    After the guy's comment, Rich went to the counter and asked when our food would be ready. The clerk gave him kind of a dazed expression and said, "what did you order?" I yelled, "the only other order you have on your screen for three items!" Then the clerk blinked and turned around to see what was going on. The fries had been in the bag and the Egg McMuffin was ready so the "cook" slowly brought up the double cheeseburger and Rich asked if it had been made to order like requested. The "cook" just shrugged his shoulders and said "yeah, I think so" and the shuffled to the back. But what ticked me off the most was the clerk just smiling her happy face off and saying, "you all have a nice night!" I yelled, "we will now that we have food that took so long to prepare". I honestly thought Rich was going to rip off the door when we exited and he didn't even stop to check for enough ketchup. He was that ticked. If my husband doesn't check for enough ketchup, the world stopped spinning, trust me.

    We made it back across the street and into the room where my food was good (and needed) and Rich opened his burger to find the pickle (only one) and a smear of ketchup so he took the packets he had managed to get out of the ditzy clerk and poured that onto the burger. The fries, of course, were cold. Fortunately, we had some chilled beers in the cooler so enjoyed those and cursed this particular McDonald's and while we stay right across the street from them, we will never go back there again.

    Then we just watched TV, read and relaxed as much as we could. Lights out when I couldn't keep my eyes open and thoughts off work.

    Day Two - Thursday, November 24, 2016 - A Day of Thanks

    Before I get into the day's events, I want to pause and give meaning to what this day should be all about. Giving thanks for what we have. I have a fantastic family (for the most part) - my husband of almost 35 years has been a constant levelheaded man who keeps my moods in line and has made me a better person. My son found and married a fantastic woman who is one of my best friends and you can't beat that. And between the two of them, we now have three terrific grandkids - Marlie, who is 18 and in college and on a path to become a health care provider; Mitchell, who is 10 and a great boy who goes pretty much along with things; and Amara, who surprised most of us and is now is five months old. They are spread out and Marlie's dad lives in Ohio but is involved with her life so we are a blended family but it all works out. We have gone through so much in our lives and we are there for each other. That is what today is all about and it should be that way every single day of the year, not just one day we have off work.

    Neither Rich nor I slept very well last night and I knew my reason but didn't know his until later. Mine was because I knew I needed to log into work tonight to get some things done so tomorrow wouldn't be that bad. I found out later that Rich had dreams (or nightmares) that when he saw the small amount of ketchup on his burger last night that it really wasn't ketchup but, um, something else. And there's episodes of TV shows where "cooks" do things to food and he was imagining all kinds of things like that. So, we were both tired and irritable this morning. I had my phone alarm set for 8 but we were both up before 7 so were on the road by 8 and still not in the best of moods.

    Rich had bought blueberry scones for breakfast and after looking at what the Days Inn had (picked clean by the holiday travelers), we were prepared to do those justice. Except, the scones he thought these would be like were not what he bought. He did the big head slap are realized the ones he liked were bought in Maryland at a Martin's and these were bought in Georgia at a Publix. I took one bite and thought I could taste sawdust and while he didn't agree with me, he did say they were dry and not that good. He did manage to eat three of them, though.

    Traffic was hit and miss again today as most of the time it wasn't a big deal but then we'd hit a glut of vehicles or one truck passing another with a slower moving car in the left lane and get glugged up. We also noted that north Florida police were out and ready to pull over speeders so remember that for future visits on holiday weekends. Kind of like "hey, I have to work today so I'm going to make it count and thanks for driving through here Mr. Joe Citizen". But then again, if you aren't speeding, you have nothing to worry about.

    We were at the Ramada right at 11 which was good time but a bad time since that's check out time at the hotel. We walked in and the line at the counter was back quite a ways and we both needed the bathroom so Rich, the gentleman that he is, went off to do his business and left me to stand in line. Of course, by the time it took him to find the facilities off the lobby and then conduct business and come back. I was next in line. Most of the people were checking out and only two parties were checking in but it seemed to take a long time for each party.

    I (we) were called next and when I said we were checking in the woman said that check in time was 4:00 PM and I kind of inwardly groaned. But she said she would see if a room was available and I said that we didn't care where we were on the property and Rich agreed. We later realized she was "working on her ears" and was a newbie which was also fine as people have to learn at some point and maybe putting her on the desk at check out was a good thing but she didn't really know how to handle someone checking in. For some reason, her discovery of a room on the second floor didn't suit her for us as she said "I don't have anything on the ground floor but I do have a second floor room." Rich was surprised and asked me if I had requested a ground floor room and I said I didn't request anything and didn't care where we were. So not quite sure what the woman (probably younger than our son) was thinking. Rich is 56 and I am 54 and while we are no spring chickens, neither one of us walks with an impediment or has any outward signs of needing special handling so why a ground floor room was in this woman's radar for us was puzzling. I just said "we are in good shape and can walk up stairs so we'll take it". We were put into the room and the woman took my credit card info which was different from when I booked it (does anyone really remember which card they use when they book online?) so she had to call over a supervisor to make the change and that person walked the woman through everything and all that was fine. I just wanted a room to move into now so we didn't have to think about it anymore.

    We had our keys and moved the car down to the next building to find the room, taking only smaller things up with us. The location might have been good for some but for us, it wasn't that great as we found out later on. It's a kind of weird configuration in that we were near the outdoor pool but our room was undercover as there is a patio next to the pool that attaches to the lobby area and a couple of place to eat/drink. The patio had several tables and chairs for that purpose and with that being under cover, when people would talk or talk across tables, the sound echoed especially in the mornings. But we didn't know that when we unloaded the car and entered the room.

    The room itself was functional and had a separate sink area from the toilet/shower room so that would be nice for the mornings. But the surprising thing was there was no carpet on the floor, just "wood" and Rich and I both agreed that makes sense for hotel rooms. The reason for that is when our house was being repaired, we were asked if we wanted the carpet replaced where there had been carpet or if we just wanted wood floors. We had asked a friend who owns several rental properties and he and his wife immediately said to get wood floors because the upkeep is so much easier. That didn't happen with our house though but it makes sense for hotel rooms. Rich even said that the rooms in Ocean City, Maryland (he visits each year with his family) need to switch so there's not sand and bristles and stickers all over the room.

    I checked my phone (a new one and I was still trying to figure it all out) and saw I had a message from Kat, the cat sitter and that concerned me greatly. I had given her the new keys and I was worried she wasn't able to get into the house so Gus and Belle would be alone until Sunday evening. So I quickly checked the text and she was concerned because she couldn't find either one of the cats. Now, we knew they were in the house (our cats have been outside once in their lives - when they were abandoned behind a neighbor's auto parts dealership). They do not even go near open outside doors in our house - ever. But, Kat being Kat, needed to physically see both of them. As I said, our house is filled with boxes, most of them still closed up but the silly cats like to get in between the boxes and "hide" to sleep. Plus, the last time anyone came into the house through the front door (we use the garage almost exclusively), it was the Fire Department and they were anything but quiet since they had to break down the front door to get in. I texted Kat back that Gus and Belle were probably just in between boxes and they were fine and expected her to put out more food, refresh the water and change the litter.

    I unpacked my suitcase as we each drank a beer and we got arranged in the room for the next three days. It didn't take very long and then we were off to Epcot to park and then walk or take the boat to the Studios for our FastPasses and maybe some lunch. I had made the FastPass reservations to start at 2:30 because I hadn't wanted to rush to get down there but I did have Star Tours, Twilight Zone and then Toy Story Mania so we had plenty of time and I didn't want to think today after not sleeping very well last night.

    We were parked in Discovery 18 so I told Rich it would be easy to remember our row since we just had to discover Kyle Busch. If you don't know NASCAR Sprint Cup series, you have no idea what I'm talking about but it was easy for us. We walked to the entrance as it wasn't that far and after sitting in the car that morning, our legs could use the exercise. No problems with the bag check and Rich made sure nothing was in his pockets as he's the one to get pulled over for the random search. I had had the car keys in my jeans' pocket (Rich was wearing shorts) but decided to put them into my bag just in case. And, I was selected for the scanning! I was actually laughing because the only other time I had been selected, Rich also was and just about every person in that line was so this was unusual for us. When I came out of the quick process, I said to Rich, "are you happy now?" and he was laughing as well so I think the acrimony of Rich and the scanning thing might just be gone slightly now.

    Once through the turnstiles, I wanted a time hack and when I did that on my phone (we don't wear watches), I saw I had another message from Kat. She sent me photos of both cats who were, surprise! - both between different sets of boxes. Her message just read "success!". This had taken her well over a half hour to find them and send the photos. Rich was amazed she stayed that long. I just said "that's why we pay her the money we do because she has to see each cat every day." We kind of laughed because we might not even see a cat until late at night or maybe first thing in the morning. They have been through trauma with the fire, the hotel stay, the rental house stay, the moves in between and now back home. But cats are cats and they will figure it out.

    We just walked through Future World and out the International Gateway and I needed to sit down for a minute or two before we started walking since no boat was in sight. We had determined on the walk out here that we would only walk one way today so this was going to be it. But once I stood up and we started again, we saw a boat coming into dock so we reversed and took the lazy way to the Studios. I knew we had plenty of time so we just sat back and relaxed.

    Once at the Studios, I figured either Rich or I would be scanned which would set him off but I saw a guard moving toward me (still had the car keys in my bag) and I didn't look up so I was safe. Rich wasn't even looked at. I just wish there was a better way of doing this than the random scans as I saw couples who didn't want to be separated and families where one member was asked to be scanned so the other people had to meet up and most are not prepared for that. With Rich and me, it's not a big deal but for others, it is. And while it's supposed to be random, if it appears you move an entire family out of line to be scanned, the discrimination thing can be called into play. I don't mind the scanning at all but I think the random thing needs to be rethought.

    We had a lot of time before our Star Tours FastPass so we first went to Star Wars Launch Bay to see if there were any Christmas gift ideas for our son, Chris, and his family. While I don't think my daughter-in-law is such a big fan of the film series, Chris has Marlie and Mitchell turned onto the franchise. And I'm sure Amara will be once she can speak and talk and express and have an opinion. Chris also introduced Marlie to the series by doing the episodes from first to last and not when they were released so her reaction is quite different from others. We were looking for Kylo Ren things for Mitchell but didn't see anything here so thought we'd look at the end of Star Tours.

    Then we went back to look at what had happened with the Muppets refurb area. I saw Gonzo's Royal Flush and mistakenly thought that was Pizzerizzo but quickly realized this was the, um, restroom facility so appreciated the subtle humor that is so classic with The Muppets. We did find Pizzerizzo and since it was still lunch time, kind of hung out and looked at the menu and the portions for Rich. I though the portion size was fine but he deemed it a "snack" and at the prices, he decided it wasn't for us. I might just do this as my own meal and he can get something else but that's for another day. We were still sleep deprived and moody so we decided to go and get into Star Tours a bit earlier than our FastPass window.

    A word about the FastPasses. Rich is a stickler for rules. He has had me stand outside and wait if we get to an attraction five minutes early. I have told him that we can go in five minutes early and fifteen minutes late to the magical one hour time frame but he hasn't listened to me. I knew he wasn't doing the best when he "allowed" me to enter the line five minutes before our time. And we were admitted with no problems so that changed his thinking from now on (we will get to his mood in a bit).

    We had seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens and are impressed with how the series can continue so this time, I was very happy to be flying along with the Millennium Falcon but I've been advised by BB-8 just a few too many times. At the end, since we don't really know all the last scenes and where they are supposed to be, I told Rich we needed to watch Star Wars again from Episode One to Seven and he agreed but we just have to find them in all the boxes at the house.

    A beer was needed before Twilight Zone (we had time before the window opened and that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it) so we grabbed one at Fairfax Fare and relaxed. My mind was still thinking about work and what needed to be done tonight and Rich confessed his fear about what had happened to his burger last night so we kind of grumbled about things for a while. Rich has been in his job for over 11 years and doesn't have a lot of concerns about being let go or having to prove himself but I just don't feel comfortable with my job of three months.

    After our break, I needed the bathroom but each one had a line and I don't wait in bathroom lines because, well, females can be stupid. I know I am one but if I am in a bathroom, I go in, do what I need to do and leave. I don't stand in there chatting about stuff or be in the way of someone who needs to use the facilities because I am waiting for someone else to get done. I do like that Disney has the mirrors away from the sinks but I took notice that now leaves a waiting place for women to block people from actually using what they came to use. I was also annoyed when, as I was trying to get into the room, the women coming out (and were relieved) blocked my way. Come on, when you are entering a bathroom, you should get a little leeway (no rhyming pun intended) to get in since you only have one thing on your mind.

    Since my mood with the grumbling and the bathroom stuff was bad, I figured getting the stuffing scared out of me on Twilight Zone was going to be good. Once we were seated (I was next to the right wall, thankfully so I had a brace) and my hands were firmly attached to the holds (Rich doesn't stand a chance with the holds, I have them both) the only thing at that point in my mind was "please don't go up, please don't go up!" because that, in my opinion, is the worst sequence for me and I, um, yell something that won't make it into this report. And by up, I don't mean the initial sequence, I mean after we are on the slides where the doors could open. We also had a lot of first timers in the elevator and some thought it was just to go up to come down. They didn't realize there was stuff going on inside. Once we got through the rooms and were "positioned" for things (I do not like knowing when that happens but Rich kind of grins and says something like "here we go"), I kept muttering "do not go up, do not go up" and. we didn't! This might be the only trip this year where we did not go up and it was so much more enjoyable for me. I didn't know the drops, had no idea what would be happening and did yell something but it was different. Nice ride even though I was shaking after.

    And I realized that I was extremely tired. Emotionally, mentally and physically. Rich realized it as well but he told me later after our not so nice evening. We checked The Great Movie Ride at some point but the line was out the door so we passed and went to get a pretzel as I only had a bite of the scone this morning (part of Rich's concern) so we shared that while we waited for our FastPass for Toy Story Mania to start. We sat at a point where we could see the Star Wars stuff that had been going on in front of The Great Movie Ride (where the hat used to be) and we had seen the commotion at various points during the day. But the next performance had been cancelled "due to unforeseen circumstances". However, instead of disappointing the numerous Star Wars fans at this point, a film of some sort was being shown. Maybe it was for Rouge One, I'm not sure because I blanked out on it. I had been so inodiated with Star Wars that I was sick of the series. I'm glad the Studios is getting Star Wars Land to revive it but it was over the top for me today. At this point, I was ready to just return to the hotel room and rest and sleep and not think for a while but I had been close to beating Rich at Toy Story on our last trip so he was up to the challenge this time. I put my brain on hold while we entered as challengers to each other.

    And I did find a bathroom without a line so I was prepared when we entered Toy Story Mania.

    My husband is a person who wants to win or at least do well. I am a person who wants to have fun. So I just pulled on the cord, shot whatever I could, did the best I could do and we were pretty close until the end. Rich later admitted that once he saw how close we were, he went wild with what he was doing because "you had put it on the line so you can only blame yourself". Note to self - next trip to Toy Story Mania, I will tell him I'm not even trying since he always beats me. Hehehehehehehehehe.

    We then decided we were done with the Studios for this trip and I heard Star Wars music yet again on the way out. I know it was just my mood and thinking about having to work tonight and tomorrow but I mentally cursed Luke, Leia, Han, R2D2, and C3PO. I did not curse Chewbacca, though. That Wookie holds a place in my heart. And Jar Jar Binks as well although my son does not like that Gungan at all.

    Our intention was to take the boat to Epcot and just do one walk around World Showcase since I knew it would be crowded with the Thanksgiving meal takers. A boat was at the dock but the line was waaaaaayyyy long so we decided to walk or use the bus if it was over in the slot. We were both tired from the broken night's "sleep". We did the walk as the bus wasn't in its' slot and we "chatted" about food choices. Rich had been mentioning Bob Evans all day so I finally just said we should do that so it would shut him up. That comment really put the damper on the evening as he thought it was a logical choice but I thought he had been cramming that only option down the throat all day long. So we had some words on the walk. I really didn't want to go out, I wanted to go back to the room and there were options at the hotel so that was my choice. I also thought about Lotus Blossom Cafe for pot stickers for me and orange chicken for him but once we got to Epcot, that wasn't going to be a choice.

    As I had predicted, World Showcase was really crowded with people going to dinner or, worse, just being out since they didn't have to work tomorrow. I think that's what really set my mood for a downward turn since I did have to work and didn't know that until last Friday. So we walked around World Showcase, veered off when we would see locals out away from their families and being able to sleep in the next morning and kept sniping at each about food for the evening. Rich finally said we could get something back at the hotel so once we were back at the entrance/exit to Future World, we headed out to regroup for tomorrow.

    And we did need to regroup as once we were almost at the Ramada, Rich snidely pointed out where Bob Evans was and said there was a Perkins and a Denny's close by as well but he pulled into the Ramada, sighed, and said we would do the pizza place for dinner. We were both just tired of things and my mind was working on work for the next day and this evening so I was snippy as well.

    We went to the room and I just wanted to go down and get a pizza and bring it back up to the room so we dropped off our stuff (not much) and then headed down one flight to discover - the pizza place was freaking closed! Rich suggested the sit down place so we went there and saw they had a menu and also a buffet and that sounded good. But when we were seated, the hostess said it was just a buffet for the holiday and I didn't really want to serve myself so she suggested we go up and see what was on the buffet offerings and then decide. And it was nothing but traditional Thanksgiving food - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, etc. Exactly what we didn't want. So we declined to stay. We also checked out the sports bar but that had a limited menu for what we needed and wanted.

    So we went to Bob Evans after all but we had to give our name to be seated as it was so busy and it would be a 30 minute wait! I was so frustrated that we were doing the Niklewski Restaurant dance that I finally shut up and told Rich I didn't care where we went because I was going to explode on him. We ended up at Perkins and Rich had a breakfast platter he couldn't finish and I had soup and sandwich but the sandwich was not to my liking and we both agreed we needed to go to the room and chill for the rest of the night.

    Which we did but the internet access was extremely slow and I didn't bother to try and pull up anything for work. Rich started in on me that I was a contractor and I didn't have to work when the company said I had to and so we had another argument about that and I finally just took out my book and read and didn't talk to him for the rest of the night.

    Day Two - Friday, November 25, 2016 - Work Stinks but Biergarten and Illuminations Rule!

    I had another horrible night's sleep thinking about work and was awake at 4:00 AM after having lots of anxiety dreams. I laid there thinking about work for the next two hours and then finally got up and turned on the work laptop to get done what I could get done. I knew I needed my boss' help for things and I knew it would be difficult since we were separated by distance and by how differently we worked. By 7:30, I had completed as much as I could on my own so I Skyped the boss, sent him an email and around 8:00, I texted him as well. Our first FastPass at Epcot was at 1:00 and I didn't want to rush over there after the work was finished. Rich was not a happy camper as he was still in bed but he knew I was up and working so his rest was interrupted as well. The boss finally answered my Skype after 8:00 so I worked with him for the next few hours to get things done and his replies were a bit terse in my opinion but I wanted to learn and I wanted to get it done.

    BTW - there were workers or something downstairs in the courtyard so their voices echoed up to our room and while I was awake and working, Rich had wanted to go back to sleep or at least rest but couldn't. Both of us realized the room location was not the best for what we needed this trip.

    I suggested to Rich that he go out and go to Wal Mart or something (his favorite store) but then realized it was Black Friday but he didn't want to be in the room with my mood and my swearing at the work situation (I did drop the really bad word a few times with things) so he headed out and did Wal Mart, Target, and a thrift store that he liked but I doubt most people would.

    He was back around 11 and since my boss had taken a leave of absence and I hadn't heard from him for over a half hour, I decided that my half day of work was done. I Skyped the boss what was left to do (one thing) and then said I would check back in once I returned to the room that evening. I wanted to start my real vacation without thinking about work and what HAD to be done. I guess my real tick off was Thanksgiving is an American holiday and one I am proud we do. I can understand the rest of the world not understanding it but for the American office to have such a critical deadline the day after Thanksgiving and not saying anything about the timing was just off. Since we, in the United States, have to deal with other global offices closing down for a week for their holidays. But I was willing to put that aside and go have fun.

    We made it to Epcot and knew the day would be a not so great one as the parking line to get in was quite long but we joined and then walked to the entrance. This time, we were in Discovery 21 so we had to discover Ryan Blaney. And there were lines for the bag check and to get into the park as well but I wanted to relax finally so we dealt with them. We also took notice that the trams from the parking lot are now sometimes dropping guests off on the left hand side of the entrance which is good since the monorail and the bus system are on the right so this evens out the distribution of the turnstiles at the front. Since we were going to stay for Illuminations tonight, I had a sweatshirt and a thin pair of gloves for the evening. Yesterday, I wore jeans and Rich did shorts but today, we were both in shorts and I am a person who, once I get cold, I can't get warmed up enough after so I wanted to be prepared. Rich graciously put my sweatshirt and gloves into his daybag and he was also stuffing his jacket in there for the evening.

    Our first FastPass was for Spaceship Earth at 1:00 although I wish the tiering system would go away. We would have liked to give the new Test Track another go but since I had Soarin', that wasn't going to happen. We had time and I had reminded Rich that Ellen's Energy Adventure was going to probably be turned into "that movie you can never remember the title to but you liked it" and he responded "yeah, that one with that guy". So, we did the stupid thing while on vacation and pulled out cell phones. I wanted to make sure Ellen was getting turned into Guardians of the Galaxy (I have never seen it) but Rich resisted when I said I thought the lead actor was Chris someone. I confirmed what I thought and Rich was still going through the Chris actors. Chris Pine is Star Trek, Chris Evans is Captain America and I said this Chris was married to Anna Ferris and Rich didn't know who that was. So, interesting conversation going to Ellen.

    A show must have just started as we walked into an almost empty preshow and were able to take a seat on a bench in the back. Jeopardy hadn't even started so we talked about how the show did need to be updated since this Alex Trebek (OK, he's the only Alex Trebek) still had a mustache. Then a fellow and I guess his mother came in and sat on the bench to our left and he started asking us if we had seen the show before and we answered in the affirmative. He then (talking loudly) asked if we had seen it more than once and we answered yes again. Then he asked if there was anything to be afraid of like things jumping out at you and unexpected things but he wasn't quite clear on what he was asking. By that time, the show had already started and more people were coming in and Rich was in between myself and the guy and the mother was in between the guy and Rich so it was difficult to hear. Rich and I thought we allayed the guy's fear of things popping out at him and then settled in to watch the preshow which I love. At some point, the guy and his mother left the area and went outside.

    We entered the theatre and took our usual seats since I like the placement of those while we are moving along and we were quite surprised when the guy and his mother took seats a row or two behind us. I guess he or his mother decided it wasn't going to be such a bad ride for him. The guy was concerned quite a bit with the dinosaurs as he thought some of them would jump out but he calmed down but kept talking through the ride. At this point, I realized that he had some problems so tried to put it out of my mind as I knew this would be my last time on this attraction. When we walked out, the guy and his mother were also walking out and the guy did have some problems so glad we could help him enjoy an attraction that wasn't too scary for him. And we silently said goodbye to Ellen's Energy Adventure and I told Rich I needed to see Guardians of the Galaxy.

    We had time for a beer before our Spaceship Earth FastPass so did that and on the walk to get one, Rich was still trying to remember the name of the actor from Guardians of the Galaxy (who is married to Anna Ferris). He kept running through the alphabet for the last name because I knew it was Chris something. But we had our beers and just sat and looked at each other because conversation with Rich when he's thinking about something he should remember is pointless. We did chit chat but no meaningful stuff. After 35 years, I know my husband.

    Our window was open so we did Spaceship Earth with the FastPass and I decided we should choose the ending on what our grandson, Mitchell, would like. Or what we thought he would like. On his first and only trip (so far), he was five and this was his "go to" attraction while the rest of us were doing other things. In one day, he and his mother rode it six times so he knows the Phoenicians invented the alphabet, trust me. The only thing we couldn't decide on but picked one was which thing he cared about the most when on vacation - his house or his pet. They don't have pets and they live in an apartment. I guess I should have chosen the house/apartment but we were soon going over the Great Wall of China and we had never done that before so it was a nice time and a good thing having Mitchell in our lives.

    Next up was Germany and the Biergarten for our Thanksgiving meal and with the crowds, I wanted to get back there as I figured there would be a line to check in. Rich didn't agree but I reminded him that if we got there too early and there wasn't a line, we could always just have a beer and chill so we started the slow walk back there. And along the way, Rich shouted out "Chris Pratt!" Yes, the star of Guardians of the Galaxy. My husband is a very patient man and while I pulled out the phone, he just let his mind do the work for him.

    Once back in Germany, there was an extremely long line to check in for the Biergarten. Rich groaned but I did an "I told you so" and we both stood in line for the process. There were many people sitting around outside and I kind of inwardly groaned with that but they didn't have beepers and as we inched forward, I realized they were just taking a break. We were joined by an older couple behind us who wanted to make sure this was the line to check in and we concurred so we inched along more and more. The lady of the couple asked us for the time of our reservation and we said 2:30 and she thought we would be seated together since that was their time. I wasn't sure but I nodded since sometime you are seated at a table where others have already been seated. Since it was so crowded, I didn't have any idea.

    We were finally up at the check in desk and did that and were handed a beeper so we stepped over to the side and went to just lean up against a wall. Rich and I were still not in synch as he wanted to be somewhere else and I snapped at him and realized I needed to calm down and get some food. I had not eaten at work during the day since I started there and this was a buffet and I wanted to get my money's worth and not have an "episode" later. I also knew Rich liked this place and wanted to make up to him my miserable morning so went over to where he was and I was able to lean against something and he could stand with the scanner for a bit. We didn't wait very long and then were called and we were with the couple that were behind us in the check in line. Plus a family of four ahead of us but all was good. I just wanted to eat and not think about work for a change.

    After seating, I asked Rich if he thought I should get a liter of beer or just a half liter and he suggested the half liter and I agreed. With my mood, even though I could get a liter and a to go cup, I really didn't want that much. We ordered drinks and I was surprised that all but one of us at the table got beer. I've been here when we've had people who frowned upon getting beer (it's the Biergarten!) and the one that didn't get beer was underaged. Rich ordered, he thought, the Schofferhofer Grapefruit Hefeweizen and I did a much more boring beer. The family of four had a mom and dad sitting to Rich's right and the guy inquired as to what the beer was so Rich told him about it and they both ordered the same with the dad getting the liter and then the mom decided to do that as well.

    When the drinks were delivered, though, Rich took a sip and it wasn't the grapefruit version. Our server was not in sight so I stopped another server and asked her to get ours back since the drink wasn't right. She wasn't all that pleasant and we just said we wanted the server to stop by. Then she became friendlier and our guy came over a bit concerned. When Rich said it wasn't Schofferhofer, the guy said that was what Rich ordered and Rich said it didn't have any grapefruit in it. Then the server said "oh, you wanted the grapefruit one!" and hurried away to fix it. The drink menu was still on the table so I picked it up and sure enough, there was a regular version and a grapefruit one and Rich had not specified that when he ordered. Once the correct drink was back, Rich apologized and the server was fine with everything.

    Then we could finally go up to the buffet and get our food. There was a long single line to slowly move through things but I wanted to just get a few items and go back to the table. I hadn't been eating much with the stress of work so wanted to make sure I filled my stomach slowly so I could enjoy the rest of the vacation. I sort of went to the end of the line where there were smaller plates since it was near the desserts and grabbed one of those and then went over to where the chicken pieces were and politely grabbed a few of those to take back. Then I saw some rolls and picked up one of them but couldn't see any butter so shrugged and went back to the table after grabbing a dessert cup that looked interesting.

    I was the first one back to the table so slowly ate the chicken and drank the beer until others started coming back. Rich was funny in that he said he wished he could have just gone around the people at the salad area because "who wants that food when there's real stuff coming up?" so I told him what I had done and he agreed it made more sense than standing in a long line and slowly going past items you didn't want. I had finished a good portion of one of my chicken pieces and decided that some fruit would be nice so I went up to get another small plate and some fruit. When I got back, the rest of my chicken was gone! The server had come in and swiped the plate and Rich didn't say anything. I grumbled to him a bit and then went back to get more chicken and told Rich to not let the server take anything from my area. Rich was busy stuffing his face to really care and said it was a buffet and there was plenty of food but I didn't like the waste.

    I also had potatoes on the first plate so I made sure to get more of those and then returned to keep an eye on my food staying where I wanted it. I also had made sure to do a complete survey of the line since it was much shorter and found butter so I picked up several packets as others at the table said they didn't see any either and then also a couple more rolls. I was pretty set for my lunch now.

    We enjoyed talking to the other couple across the table from us and the family of four was pleasant but I couldn't hear much of what they were saying since I was on the end (due to my "handicap" of being left handed) but Rich said they mostly talked to each other but enjoyed everything. Since I had had to move the lunch forward a bit, we came in when the band was playing so it was quite loud and when we were getting our food, the band was off which is totally opposite of what I wanted but then, as we were about halfway through our meals, the band came back out so we were able to see a good performance or two. I'm also glad I only got the half liter of beer as I still needed a to go cup for the remnants which was much but enough. I had prepared Rich for the bill shock as I had forgotten this was a holiday weekend so the prices were higher than I had anticipated and he sighed and said he had seen the prices and knew it would be over $100 so I guess we eat Ramen noodles for the next month or so. He had to pay for this one since I had put the hotel on mine so he grumbled a bit more about that. I figure, it's both of our money so who cares. Plus, I had finally relaxed a bit after the work pressures of that morning.

    After saying goodbye to our new friends, we paid the bill and then started the slow walk around to Future World (not the way I wanted to do today so that was on my mind) for Mission:Space. I didn't want this attraction after a filling meal but really had no choice with having to switch around the FastPasses. We accepted our orange FastPasses after being behind a family who had to discuss which side they wanted and why but we were on our way to see Gary Sinise, er, Mars. Yeah, Mars. I have no problem admitting Gary Sinise is one of my favorite actors and to know he does so much for veterans adds to my admiration of the man. We did our mission successfully and then exited this attraction for a time hack.

    We were both tired from the day and the trip and I was more than mentally exhausted from the work problems. Rich had said his left hip was bothering him again so we wanted to take this slow since I wanted to stay for Illuminations. But when I told Rich that was at 9:30 and not 9:00 he groaned so I said we didn't have to stay for it, we could skip it this year and I'd be fine. That's the mood I was in - I was going to skip the holiday tag of Illuminations which I couldn't believe I was willing to do.

    But Rich said that's what we were here for so let's just take it easy and do what we can and if we have to just sit and have a beer, well, that's what vacations are for. And that's what we did or tried to do. The next few hours are what a vacation should be about.

    We still had a lot of time before our Soarin' FastPass (I think it was around 6:30 for the pass) so we looked at what was left in Future World. I suggested Living With the Land or The Living Seas with Nemo and Friends and even suggested Figment so we headed over to the other side for things that we didn't necessarily need FastPasses for and once there, Rich veered to the right for Nemo.

    I will digress for a moment. Entering this building was bittersweet for me. One of our cats who died in the fire was named Nemo. And in the ride portion of this attraction, they are trying to find Nemo and Marlon keeps saying "Nemo, no" and things like that. Our Nemo was our little imp, always trying to get into things and jumping around and trying to play. So it will be difficult for me not to remember our little fluff ball (OK, he wasn't that little) on the attraction but we have to move on.

    We enjoyed the exhibits at the end of the ride portion and took our time walking through them. It was disheartening to read that the manatee have no natural predators so humans are the only ones harming them. However, manatees only mate every two years so bringing young ones into the world is a slow process. I'm glad Florida is doing as much as it can to keep this species off the endangered list worldwide.

    After visiting with Nemo, we headed to Living With the Land as our FastPass for Soarin' was getting closer and we would be in the same building. The stand by line said 40 minutes but we didn't think it was that long so we joined after Rich asked the Cast Member at the queue starting point if it really was 40 minutes. She just smiled and said "why don't I give you this to wear and we'll see?" and passed the counter thing over to Rich. We just walked through the queue and knew we had an hour and a bit more until we would be shut out of Soarin' and we were right there next to it so we would be fine.

    And then we turned a corner and saw the rows and rows and rows of interlapping queues and knew it was going to be tough. Plus, the line had completely stopped and we weren't even close to where we could see the actual entrance to get on the boats. Rich asked how long until Soarin' started and it was ten minutes so he said we would wait until our window opened and if things didn't improve, we would leave. At this point, I knew he was tired and irritable and the whole morning was not pleasant for him and this was not a vacation for him so I agreed as this is not my favorite attraction but it would have fit with a nice down time for us. After shuffling a few more feet in the next ten minutes, we asked the woman behind us (who Rich had been chatting with about the slowing moving line) if she would take the counter thing. She was a bit confused but Rich explained that it just told the Cast Members when we entered the line (she was right behind us so the time was the same) and when we finally got to be loaded so they could adjust the stand by queue time. She then agreed and we left with Rich saying he could be a Cast Member since he just undid the chains so we didn't have to duck under any or jump over any. And we were right next to the side so it wasn't like we were doing this in the queue and disrupting any other guests.

    Then over to Soarin' for the first time on the new film and the new layout. We were not fans of the "old" Soarin' at all as I thought they could have done so much more with it so I was looking forward to the new stuff. We had a bit of a wait even with FastPasses and again, I wish those long hallways could have something to keep us entertained while we stood and waited for the next group to be herded in so we could move up a few paces. It wasn't that long but my patience was wearing thin with the day and Rich's moodiness (and mine) so I was glad when we were finally in our places and listening to Patrick Warburton telling us what we needed to do.

    We were in the last row and I couldn't remember if that was the one on top or the bottom but it was the bottom one. I also didn't remember that there were catch bags under the seats to store your stuff. I thought you just left those on the floor but Rich said there were always there. I didn't agree but we were off to fly. I'm glad we were given where we were going to before we boarded because some of these things I would have never known. However, due to me not knowing the film, I was, um, a bit "uncomfortable". I am not a big fan of feeling like I'm just flying through the air without anything to catch me and that's exactly how I felt on this trip. Once back down on solid ground, I was a bit shaky with the ride and told Rich on the long walk out that it's going to be a while until I'm back on it again. He liked the changes and I'll go on it again but will know it'll take some time until I feel comfortable.

    The Living With the Land stand by time was now down to 10 minutes but the line looked to be the same length as before so we decided to pass for today and Rich suggested doing it tomorrow evening after Animal Kingdom. I did not disagree at all so we left The Land with no plan in mind except for Illuminations even though I told Rich we could skip it.

    But he said this was the night for Illuminations so we walked over to the Outpost for some beers to enjoy before the show and then took those back to America to get a table outside at the Liberty Inn to relax. I knew we would be able to hear the Candlelight Processional and the narrator tonight was Stephen Curtis Chapman who I had looked up before we left and Rich had no idea who he was. But, we got a table and we able to hear the songs but not the talking portions which was fine with us. We have seen the performance once, on our now 18 year old granddaughter's first visit when she was five and while it was nice, it's not something either one of us wants to sit through again. If my now grown granddaughter would come down for this, I might sit with her but I think Rich would be back at the Outpost getting another beer. After about a half hour of listening, Rich said "does that thing ever end?" so you know why I made that observation.

    We knew tonight would be another night with locals and increased crowds and it was so had decided that we would move to our favorite spot for Illuminations at some point but not terribly early since people had started to stand at the rails as early as 8:00 and we didn't want that. I really wanted to listen to Illuminations and didn't need to see everything but wanted the spirit of the season to lighten my work heart a bit. We still had plenty of time for our plans and Rich suggested going back to the Outpost for a beer since America had a longer line so we backtracked and then planned to come back to our spot for the show.

    Once at the Outpost and with beers in hand, Rich asked for a time check and we had plenty of time so he asked where we would be sitting once we got back to our place for Illuminations. It was still more than an hour away so I said I could just sit on the ground and be fine and he could walk around if he wanted. But then he spied an empty table across from the Outpost and close to the water so he said we could sit there and then leave right before the show. I agreed so we sat and talked and saw a couple of families spread out and realized they were here to watch Illuminations. The view is not the best and we had space in between us and the wall so people could come up and stand right in front of us so I wouldn't advise it for a space to stake out since so many things could go wrong and it could get ugly.

    But we sipped and talked and then realized the time was slipping away so decided to leave and then decided to stay. We had trees in our way and the threat of someone coming in right in front of us but that didn't happen so I sat back and watched and listened to the show. And had tears in my eyes at the end. Why can't people just live in peace and respect each others' feelings and beliefs? I'm glad it took us a while to walk out of Epcot but my cheeks were still wet from the tears.

    Rich drove us back to the Ramada where we quickly got ready for bed, climbed into each of ours and just relaxed. I didn't bother to check in with work and glad I didn't.

    Day Three - Saturday, November 26, 2016 - Nice day with animals

    This morning we were bothered again by workers but not outside workers or whatever they were yesterday morning but by the housekeepers outside the rooms yelling at each other about things. While the physical location of the room was nice, having the covering over the patio just didn't work for where we were. We were under it but it was still outside so conversations were on the loud side of just about every person walking along the corridor which was half "inside" and under cover and half outside next to the pool. After the ladies (and they were ladies) were done with opening and closing doors and checking with each other, we managed to get back to sleep and this is when I knew the vacation wasn't really a vacation up until this point. We slept until almost 9:00 AM which we haven't done in months.

    I finally got out of bed and told Rich the time so he was up and about while I went for my shower and got ready. Then he did his turn and we didn't bother with breakfast today since the scones weren't an option and we were still smarting from the earlier mornings in the room. We still like the Ramada, just not this room location so in the future, I will be asking for a room in the back and not close to anything. We talked about it on the way to Animal Kingdom and I guess people want to be close to everything but we don't. We are on vacation and since we both drive at least an hour to and from work and have to deal with people every single day, we want quiet and rest. I guess we are old fashioned but we think that's what time away from home should be about.

    Rich had to remember (and I pointed out) that we were not parking at Epcot today so we exited World Drive earlier than the last two days and took that long loop around to head to Animal Kingdom. Rich just whistled when we pulled up to the parking area as it looked like we would have a nice long walk to the front. I was trying to be positive with things as I only had about three interrupted sleep cycles with anxiety dreams about work since I hadn't logged in last night, so I said "oh well, we'll just walk and see the animals and all will be good."

    Our parking space was in Giraffe 45 (Richard Petty sees a giraffe) and since the area for the tram was mobbed with people, we decided to walk again. As we were going down the pathway next to the tram, a lady behind us asked us if we had been here before and me, thinking about the guy from yesterday at Epcot, gave a cautious "yes" since I had thought we had driven the guy away the day before. But all the lady wanted to know was if her party could walk to the front instead of taking the tram. It was herself, her husband (assuming) and two kids plus an older man and woman. Then she explained that her parents hadn't been there before so their first day and while she had been there it was a few years ago and they had only one stroller but she didn't want to fold up her double stroller and try to get it on the tram. So we told them to follow us across the parking lot road and once over there, to just pick an aisle and go down it and Rich motioned with his hand on where the entrance was and I said they could walk straight down an aisle and get to the sidewalk if they wanted. So they walked their way and we did our own thing to the entrance.

    We didn't get scanned again so I think it is totally random and Rich might finally be agreeing. Our first FastPass was for the Safari and since I didn't have to change things around today, things were the way I wanted them to be. We had time so we walked back to Africa and took the train out to Rafiki's Planet Watch, a favorite of ours. Once out there, we slowly walked back to Conservation Station and Rich had picked up an animal guide when we first entered the park and was amazed to see that the animals out here were mentioned so he wanted to identify the species and I was all for that.

    We walked the trail and left others who didn't want to see animals go in front of us and saw the primates on the walk (cant remember the species name) and saw the two youngsters that were born earlier and also knew there was one male in the enclosure and the other four were female. We also adapted our moods to just relax today and enjoy natural things.

    Once at the Conservation Station, we enjoyed the exhibits and saw there were new ones and the arraignment of things had been changed since Labor Day so spent some time inside. As we were going around looking at the creepy crawlies, we were behind a family with a boy almost teenage years who was talking about each and every species so that was nice. I wasn't sure if he knew each creature but he was excited about all of them and that's what I remarked to Rich when we were going out to Affection Section.

    There was a mouse or rodent in the vet area getting an annual check up so there weren't that many people looking at the action there. A nice Cast Member was explaining to a family about how the animals are looked after all year round whether they are on stage or not. Rich wondered how the vets know all about the many different animals and we reasoned that there is probably a lot of vets and each has their own specialties so they can call in each other when needed. Disney World is a big place and also a nature preserve so we're glad the vets are there for all the animals on property.

    Out at Affection Section, I was dismayed to see my pigs behind a fence and not out to be petted. Drat it. I love petting the pigs. There were a lot of goats out and about so we made them feel happy and Rich remarked that they were livelier than the last time we were here which was over Labor Day weekend. I replied that this time, the weather was much cooler so they weren't huddled under shade and were freer to walk around the entire area. Just wish we could hit the lottery, buy a farm and get some goats so Rich would stop telling these guys that's what we are going to do.

    Rich used his animal guide and determined the cow is a Pineywoods cow and in my research once back home, I discovered there are less than 200 breeding stock left of this species and they are on the critical list so let's hope they can be rescued and have the stock replenished.

    We were still too early for our Safari FastPass so we did a bathroom break and noticed how crowded the park was getting. We slowly walked to the entrance for the Safari and did the five minute early thing again and Rich never said a word so I think he's learning how to relax finally. We were on a jeep in no time and our guide was really good. She was humorous and also gave us facts about the animals that we hadn't heard before so it was a funny and educational trip. I can remember her name since it's the same as one of my nieces - Kelsey. So if you get Kelsey, you will have a great ride.

    Since we hadn't had anything to eat yet, Rich was on a search for a pretzel and we were approaching our FastPass time for Expedition Everest so we decided to look for something on the walk over there. It's tough walking from Africa to Asia, going through the Middle East and crossing India to finally get to Nepal. Oh - it just seemed like we were doing the actual trek since the park was getting crowded and we had to constantly dodge people. It amazes us in such crowded conditions that families of five or six will walk side by side and refuse to let the two of us, walking behind each other, pass through them. Of course, we had the people looking at their phones as they were walking so we had to move since they never saw us and we had the stoppers who didn't realize there were tons of people behind them and just put on the brakes and expected people to walk around them. Frustrating and we didn't see any pretzels so we arrived at Expedition Everest a bit tired, irritable and hungry. But we had a Yeti to catch!

    With having the large crowds on this holiday weekend, we were also getting a lot of first timers on the attractions and I like when that happens. This time, we had a father/daughter (assuming) in front of us and they thought what a lot of people think who have never been on the attraction. That it's nothing more than the long climb up and then the drop back down. Once we were seated and taking off, they raised their hands in anticipation of climbing up. Well, that doesn't happen so they quickly were holding on to their restraints. Then we did start the climb up (I was not looking around at all and the duo in front were helping with my fears) and their hands went up again. Once at the top, the father said, "here we go down!" and I had to laugh. I wanted to shout "no we don't!" but thought I'd let them find that out themselves. Inside the mountain, they didn't know what to do with their hands and kept looking at each other and talking. The backwards part really surprised them and when I knew the drop was coming, I think they sensed it too but their hands didn't go up again until they were sure. I had such a good time watching their reactions and then, after the drop, they thought that was it and were laughing at the end and through the rest of it. And through the entire ride, I heard other first timers behind us as well. I wanted to go up to each one and remind them that Disney doesn't do just rides, they do attractions and if you think it's just another roller coaster, you will be incorrect. And THAT is why we come back here so many times. Just wish I could get other people to understand that.

    We now had a lot of time until our next FastPass and I had planned that all along. We are die hard Flights of Wonder fans and I wanted to make sure we had an opportunity to do that without having to "plan" it. Today, it was running on each half hour so 10:30, 11:30, etc. except for 1:30 so the 2:30 show would be perfect. We headed for a beer and the sought after pretzel finally. We knew where the pretzel was but figured we'd have our beer dilemma again and we did. While Disney is staying true to its' Anheuser Busch products, it has introduced Safari Amber at more and more places. While it is "OK", we prefer Bud Lite which we have to seek out. We knew it was at Flame Tree BBQ so we crossed our fingers that the lines weren't too bad and headed for there with our pretzel. But, it was not to be as there was one line and a Cast Member directing people into the individual register lines. So we turned around and went back to the kiosk and got the Safari Ambers and then headed to the Flame Tree BBQ seating area for a much needed break.

    There was a larger group at three or four tables across from where we were and then another table of four gentlemen closer to us but across a walkway. I thought they were all together but realized later I was mistaken. And the only reason I was watching them was because a girl of about 13 or 14 kept kicking at the birds that were walking around. I warned Rich about it and he noticed the mother of the group wasn't thrilled about the birds either and kept yelping when they would walk near her table. The birds are American White Ibis and are harmless and just looking for food on the ground. But I guess the long curved bills were frightening to the mother and the girl was "having fun". It didn't help when one of the four gentlemen took some of his fries and threw them onto the walkway so the birds could eat. Disney has signs all over the place not to feed the animals and the reason the Ibis are so carefree is silly guests do feed them and drop popcorn and other things on the ground so the birds don't have to forage for their food. I just wonder how that girl would feel if all she wanted was food but someone kept trying to kick her. But, I digress. The four gentlemen left and things quieted down after that. Humans can be so stupid.

    We finished the pretzel and the Safari Ambers and decided to head over for Flights of Wonder but wanted "real" beers for the show so back to Flame Tree BBQ again and hoping the lines were shorter. They still had the one line to enter and then a Cast Member to point us to a register. We said we just wanted a couple of drinks but were directed to a queue behind a family who ordered a ton of things and when the family on the other side of the register wasn't ready yet, the cashier asked us what we needed. We ordered the two beers and stood to wait. Since the family in front of us had a ton of food, we figured we'd just have to be later to Flights of Wonder. But much to our surprise, the beers were up right away and we got them and headed to the Caravan Stage for one of the best shows at Disney World. Although with the theatre having just about every single inch of bench space filled, Rich said I have to stop praising the show on the discussion boards and in trip reports as it used to be a hidden gem for us.

    The show has changed a bit and that's a good thing about it. It all depends on the birds available and their moods. For this one, the owl, who used to fly just from the stage to the back and then from the back to the stage to show how quiet he/she is, flew over the entire audience before they did the photo thing on the stage. That was very nice so that more than just the people in the flight path could not hear the owl. As I said, the place was pretty well filled in so it was almost at capacity and when Hope, the American Bald Eagle was out, she got a standing ovation from some. I'm glad so many people took the time to find this show today.

    We had some time before our FastPass for Kali River Rapids so we needed to sit down and wait for a while. I had booked this reservation for the last thing we did in case we got soaked but also thought if the weather didn't cooperate, we could just leave without doing it. I haven't mentioned the weather but I wore jeans Thursday and then switched to shorts yesterday and today. Rich was in shorts the entire time. We both brought a jacket or a sweatshirt for the evenings and today I even left my gloves back in the room. But, we've been here during Thanksgiving before and needed winter jackets and hats so don't plan your next November trip and think the weather will be the same.

    We found Quality Beverages or something like that and they had both the Safari Amber and Bud Lite and there was a nearby table open for us so we really lucked out with the wait until our FastPass window opened. We had a table with four chairs and offered them to people who were coming to sit around us and some were surprised we did that. We didn't need the chairs at all. But we did notice a few things about silly humans. People were using the chairs, which, because of the more crowded conditions were needed for humans, to place their bags on. We placed ours on the table or, since I had a sling bag, on the back of the chair where I was sitting. Our hats were also placed on the table. I guess people at Disney World have more a "me" mentality than looking out for others who might need something more than they do. Silly humans.

    But after the human observations, we were surprised to see three baby ducks walking around looking for food or something. What was interesting was there was no mother duck with them so she might have been injured or worse. Fortunately, since these little ones were still fluffy and cute, no one bothered them like the people earlier with the ibises at Flame Tree BBQ. And even if they were motherless, they will be taken care of here.

    Then we went off to get wet and I hoped it wasn't too bad since it was getting later in the afternoon and I didn't want to be soaked and have the sun go down as the temperature drop quite quickly when that happens. We were on the raft with first timers and no one wore a poncho and we all chatted about things as Rich and I knew that if we went down the drop backwards, we'd get soaked. We explained that to the other people as some were nervous and again, thought it was just go up the incline and then right back down. Once we did get to "the spot", Rich and I were on the opposite side of the wet one so we got to laugh at the people across from us who, by now, knew they were going to get it. However, maybe because of the weather or the weight in the raft, Rich and I were pretty well wet by the time it was all over.

    We walked to the front of the park (ever wonder if that's why Kali River Rapids is all the way in the back - so people have a chance to dry off by the time they leave the park?) and while we weren't totally dry, at least we wouldn't leave puddles in Maxx for the drive over to Epcot. I didn't note where we parked at Epcot because we had to come up with a different way to remember it since no NASCAR drive had the number. I know it was in Discovery and we walked to the front. It had started to get a bit cooler and our shorts were still wet so we decided to do Living With the Land and then see about a walk around of World Showcase. Again, we were not chosen for scanning so it was only one time this trip and that person was me so I playfully punched Rich and told him he can shut up about scanning from now on. He totally agreed.

    The line for Living With the Land wasn't that long so we joined and finally got into our boat and then took off for a lesson in something I'm horrible at - growing food. But my stepmother and stepsister are into this so I enjoyed it for them. After exiting the attraction, we talked about what to do. We still had to pack and get back home in the morning, we were getting colder and we were still a bit wet and we were tired and I was still stressed from the work issues. So we reluctantly but wisely decided the vacation was at an end and walked back to the car. Once back at the Ramada, we both changed into nighttime clothes and I put the dirty laundry into my suitcase since I hadn't been able to find our laundry bag before we left (of course I found it after we got back) and then got all my stuff together for Rich to start doing his. He never did tonight so he'll have to do it in the morning. We also were concerned about traffic the Sunday after Thanksgiving and getting back into Atlanta during a prime drive time for all that. I asked Rich what time he wanted me to set my phone alarm and he never answered me so I set it for 7:00 and didn't tell him.

    Then we settled down for the evening and watched mindless TV and read until lights out fairly early but it was the last day of the vacation. I just wished I could sleep without anxiety dreams about work and dreading going back to the office on Monday.

    Day Four - Sunday, November 27, 2016 - Home We Go

    We were both awake before the alarm went off and with our concerns about traffic today, I just got up and went for my shower. I was also a bit worried since Rich hadn't packed anything last night and he's not the most responsive to getting up and ready in the mornings. I thought maybe me moving around would entice him to at least get his things together. So I was a bit antsy this morning after a fitful night's rest since I did have work dreams and I still hadn't checked to see if things had gone well Friday after I left for the park. I was determined not to check until we got back home.

    Much to my surprise, once I was out of the shower, Rich was up and had just about everything ready to go so I was relieved on that aspect of the day. While he was getting ready, I took as much stuff as I could down to Maxx so we didn't have to make multiple trips and be overloaded with bags. I also went in search of an ice machine for our cooler for the way back. Once Rich was done getting ready for the day, the only things left to take to the car were the two suitcases (mine with dirty clothes and his with everything clean that we didnt need), a few bags, and the cooler. Once Maxx was filled up, we walked the keys back to the front desk and checked out the breakfast offerings with Rich vowing to get waffles next time but admitting he would need to ask a kid how to operate the machine first. We didn't take anything as it was pretty much picked clean by the holiday travelers. We were on the road before 8:00 AM so hoped we would miss most of the traffic of the day. Fortunately, we had gotten gas last night so Maxx was full of fuel and ready to go back to Georgia.

    Rich had spied a brand new Wal Mart on the way in on 429 so I knew that would be our first stop and it was. However, the parking lot is set up very awkwardly and the store itself just didn't feel right to us. We wanted to stop here anyway because our granddaughter, Marlie, said she wanted funky socks for Christmas and while we had seen some Disney ones at the parks, we thought there would be Disney stuff at Wal Mart for cheaper. There was a Disney section in the store but not at good enough prices and no socks. Since we hadn't had any breakfast, Rich suggested I get something to eat for a snack and he had candy bars for himself so I picked up a couple of candy bars for myself and we enjoyed a very unhealthy breakfast as Rich was driving us out to the Turnpike.

    Many years ago, we had "invested" in a mini Sun Pass so we wouldn't have to make sure we had change in the car for our many trips to Disney World. The mini Pass is only good on the one vehicle to which it is affixed on the windshield but we were given a credit after activation so the pass was basically free for us. And a new added bonus is that we can now use the Sun Pass in the Peach Pass lanes in the Atlanta area. So we were disappointed to see the "funds low" sign when we went through the first toll booth area on the Turnpike. I thought I had everything correctly set up to automatically put on extra funds when we got to a certain point but I guess not so I'll have to update that once we get back home. You don't get pulled over to the side if your Pass is out of funds but once you do replenish the Pass, the amount you owe gets deducted from the amount you are adding. So, we were fine for today.

    Traffic was not bad at all and when we needed a bathroom break, Rich suggested our stand by Wal Mart in Lake Park which he thought was much closer so I had to cut back on my water intake until we finally got there. After our stop (and he was able to get some more sports cards), we stopped at a Wendy's for our lunch. Since he was still driving, I wanted to get a baked potato as I would have two hands to eat it with but they were out of potatoes. That was disappointing as I didn't want another fast food burger after that terrible experience at McDonald's Wednesday night. But I got a junior cheeseburger and then we were back on the road again.

    Rich continued to drive and I wanted to relax but kept thinking about work. I haven't really been happy at this place and decided that this weekend was enough. I was tired of being tired since I have anxiety dreams every night and I dread going into work every day. So I came to the conclusion that I don't want the job anymore and once the year is over, I will start looking for another one. I work to live, I don't live to work and I feel the boss is the latter and that isn't the way it should be. I've been there and done that in that situation and figured out that my family is the most important thing in my life, not my job. My boss is younger than my son and is married but said on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving that he is addicted to work and his wife knows that. I'm not sure I can work with someone like that.

    I had been reading in the car but figured Rich was going to need a break from driving so I wasn't surprised when he said we should pull into the next rest stop and make the change. I hadn't driven so far on the entire trip so we switched places and he had the Reader's Digest and some nap time to make him happy and I had an increase in traffic to keep me awake and my mind off work. Using cruise control was an iffy situation as the traffic seemed to be in gluts at some points and then it others, clear sailing. Once we were at the last darn rest stop before our house (just outside of Macon and we still had two hours to go), we pulled in for the last driver change and I am glad. Rich and I have agreed through the years that with his patience levels being a lot better than mine, he should be the one to drive us through the last two hours as we have to hit almost true Atlanta traffic. And it was ebb and flow the entire time until we finally were above the Perimeter and then could break free. We didn't encounter any stoppages but when you are moving along around 10 MPH and you see people getting tailgated when they can't go any faster than what is in front of them, you know you have holiday traffic.

    During the last two hours, I took a nap myself and had a terrible dream about work since I hadn't checked in online during the actual weekend. Once I woke up, I was in a snappy mood which was not good. I knew that finding another job would really help my mental and physical health and put my relationship with Rich back on track. We are best friends but he's been in a good work position for 11 years and is comfortable with it. He knows this job is driving me crazy but doesn't know what to tell me to help me. He made a career change to take the job he now has and even though I've been an accountant my entire career, I thought about just getting out and doing something different. So, I was not in a good place.

    Once we had cleared traffic and were rolling back home, Rich asked what I wanted to do for dinner and I snarled that I didn't want fast food or pizza, I wanted a real restaurant where people came to you and asked what food you wanted instead of standing at a counter waiting for it to come to you. I also just wanted to go home, get laundry going because we had to be up at 5:45 AM for the dreaded work. Rich kind of looked at me like I was insane but he could tell the work thing had me riled so we went back to the house, dropped off everything, I got a load of laundry started and we went to this place that has good burgers and beer and that was all that was needed for me at that point.

    And so ended another Disney World vacation. Not my best one but not the worst one either. This one was second worst.

    In Conclusion - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

    This is the summary of the trip and I always start out with the Ugly to get it out of the way. I think everyone knows what that is but it turns into something good.

    The Ugly was the JOB. Having to work on Friday and not being in the office but expecting to get everything done in four hours was not great and it weighed on me the entire weekend which led to this not being a great trip overall. I did check into work once back home and the Skype message back to me on Friday after I told the boss that I was leaving to get to Epcot and would check back later that evening was "that will be too late". So I'm glad I didn't check anything for the rest of the trip as I would have been agonizing over that the entire time. Once back at work Monday, everything seemed fine but I was going to still look for a new job after the first of the year. And I will have to do that because I quit the job on Wednesday after a work PC issue had the system at slow pace all day Tuesday. It took me a half hour to open an Excel file. Since Wednesday was the last day of the month, everything had to be done by noon. When I told my boss I couldn't meet that deadline and needed help, he told me the others had their work done already and I should have been prepared in advance. I told him this was my second time doing the entire month end and he had helped me the month before so I hadn't been able to get my stride. He replied that I should have been asking more questions and working longer hours. When I said that my vacation was not great because I had to work on Friday, he said I should have known that ahead of time. So I snapped and said I was resigning. He actually had to ask why. So, I left there feeling darn good about things since I didn't want or need the stress of that job. I will take December off and just chill and then look for a new job after the first of the year.

    The Bad - the noises at the Ramada from under the "roof". Workers and guests yelling across to each other and having the sound bounce off the enclosure. We are not morning people and we are on vacation. We'd like to relax but really couldn't.

    The Ramada meal options on Thanksgiving were just a buffet of true holiday options which we didn't want and the pizza place was closed.

    FastPasses - with having the change things around for Friday, once we were in the park earlier, I wanted to get the FastPasses done in a more straight forward way but I found with the phone app, I couldn't get anything earlier than what I had. That really frustrated me as it would have been nice to do things before our 2:30 lunch reservation since we were there but nothing came up. I do have a new phone so it might have been me but I think the phone app should be easier for a dummy like me to use.

    The Good - the Ramada - I know I bashed it above but we like the location, the security, and the price so it's become our "to go" place for the near future. We just need a room in the back of the property so we don't have loud talkers to listen to in the mornings.

    The lunch at Germany was very good and so was the company and the band. The Biergarten is a place where we can go to relax and have a good meal.

    First timer reactions were great and glad to hear and see so many of them. Disney World attractions might stay the same for years but the people always change and that makes the trip for me.

    Star Wars - this is a good/bad thing for me. I like that Star Wars is going into The Studios but it seemed a bit too much this weekend and I'm going to chalk that up to my mood from work. I am looking forward to the new stuff and will need to find the CDs of the films so we can go through them before our next trip. Just hope it's not too much in the park and other things get lost.

    Twilight Zone - we didn't go up before the drop!!!!!

    Illuminations - I just wish other countries would listen to the holiday tag of Let There Be Peace on Earth. No two people have the same beliefs, not even Rich and me. But we live together and are friends. That's the message of the show and it gets me every time.

    And I usually would put in Exceptionals but there weren't any this time and that's why, for me, this wasn't a good trip. But, fortunately, I'm sure we will have many other trips to push this one out of my mind.


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  3. #2

    I'm so sorry this was not an ideal trip. I've had those times with my husband where one thing sets us on the wrong footing and it can just mess us up for too long of a time period.

    He often gets "hangry" and needs to eat to fulfill a specific craving. I very rarely eat breakfast and can go nearly a whole day without eating so we are never in sync there. Often he pushes himself to not eat as well and the blood sugar drops and problems begin.

    Glad you are back in your home! Even if there are boxes, at least it is home. I love your pet sitter - the last one I had nearly killed my cat with cancer by forgetting to take care of him (he was in a separate room).

    Good for you in regards to your job! It's your boss that was a problem; he should of (or his supervisor) stuck up for the employees and said that national tradition in the US gives the Friday off. If a global company wants to have good company culture, they need to respect that. I've worked for companies with vendors and locations across the world and never have I heard of one telling us inthe states we needed to work and not give us overtime. Good luck in the New Year! I'm sure you will manage to find something better. Personal well being needs to be taken into account.

    I think Animal Kingdom must be a magical place because I'm always so relaxed and calm there. I hope Avatar doesn't ruin it because I love how serene everything is. And yes you are right - FOW is the best show! We should scrounge our pennies and nickels together because I'm constantly telling my husband how I want a farm with goats as well! Just love them so much! Next time you take a walk to the gorillas stop in that station (I think right after the bird area) where the dung beetles are. We had so much fun watching them.


  4. #3

    I'm sorry that this trip turned out so stressful for you both. I know how much you enjoy your WDW trips and your job really put a damper on things for you. I hope you get some much needed relaxation the rest of the year and that 2017 is a great year for you both. I'm sure you'll find a much better job come January!


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