The "Are we crazy? " **Final Thoughts 7/16** COMPLETE About This Page:

[luvnwdwgal]

Have a great trip!!

[tkd lisa]

Well, we're back! Another great trip. Some highlights (or teasers) before I start.

1) We did win a few dreams!

2) My worst fears about the rain didn't come true (thank God!)

3) I bumped into Karyn (MattnKatsmum).

4) I had a very unexpected large expense.

5) It was HOT!!!!!!!!!

[tkd lisa]

Day One, 8 July

A quick reminder of our travellers:

S Family
Me, single mom, 42, many trips to Disney, 2nd camping trip
DD, 15, loves thrill rides and Japan
DD, almost 14, loves the animation studio

K Family
DFr, my college roomate, also 42. One Disney trip as a child, then 2 days with their son in 97 or 98.
DFrH, 44. He took 4 or 5 Disney trips as a kid, then the 2 day trip with their son.
DFrSon, just turned 13. The above mentioned 2 day trip as a child, which he doesn't remember.

Background: My college roommate and her family always camp the two weeks around 4th of July. This year, they decided to camp at Disney and asked us to join them. They have a camper, and we used a tent.

Plans for the day:

Meet up at Disney in early afternoon. Set up camp, then exchange K families tickets and visit MK for a few hours. Have dinner at Ohana, and maybe finish at MK for a couple more hours.

What really happened?

My family got out of church a little later than I planned, but we checked into Ft. Wilderness by 1:30. The CM who checked me in seemed to be very new. He was a little bit ditzy, and almost forgot to return my drivers' license. He also forgot to give me our KTTW cards (but I didn't catch that until later). We were assigned site 1622. I figured we'd be somewhere in that area, since we had a preferred pet loop, and there are only 4 loops in that category. We were just past the cabins, and fairly close to the Meadow's pool. DS and I set up our tent, and about 2:15, I headed back to drop the van in the parking lot up front so that my friends could drive in with the travel trailer. I actually passed my friends driving in. I went to the check in area to get KTTW cards, and there was a very long line. It took about 15 minutes to get to the front, but I finally got my keys, then took the bus back to our site. DFr had gotten the KTTW cards that had originally been printed when they checked in, which is why they had to print new cards for me. DD, DFr and I headed out to do the great ticket trade off next, while the guys finished setting up the travel trailer.

We drove over to the TTC, because I thought there was a guest relations window there. It turned out that we had to go to the MK entrance, so we hopped on the monorail. The ticket return was very simple, and with refund securely back on my friends credit card, we headed towards Shades of Green. We took the ferry back over to pick up the van, then drove into Shades of Green. Unfortunately, there was a HUGE line there, and it wasn't moving very quickly. I know the people around us had absolutely no idea what kind of tickets they wanted. One guy didn't even know if he wanted universal or Disney, so that's probably what took so long. We waited about 50 minutes, but finally got 5 day Stars and Stripes passes, which started that day. They have made a recent change to S&S. You can now skip a day in the middle of the time period if you like. It used to be that even if you didn't use one of the days of the pass, it expired anyway. Now you can buy a 5 day pass starting Sunday, and take off one day during the week and have it good through Friday.

Anyway, we were back at the camp by 5:45 where we fixed a quick snack before heading off to catch a boat to MK. We were in the park just before 7. DS headed down Main Street to buy a gift for his girlfriend. The rest of us stopped by Guest Relations to get DFrS a birthday button, then we took the train to FronteirLand. DFrS was the guest conducted. While we were waiting on the train, another friend I worked with called to say they had just left Splash Mountain because it was closed. This guy had been visiting WDW with his family for the last week, and today was their last day. We met up at the train station exit, and I got to see how his boys had grown. They were heading out to eat off-property, so we all walked over to POC where we said goodbye.

Pirates only had a 10 minute wait posted, so we hopped in line. We ended up waiting about 20 minutes. DFrS wanted to understand exactly what this ride was. He's definitely a planner, and does much better when he understands what to expect. I think I did a fairly good job of explaining what to expect without giving away too much. I told him there was a drop (I said "just enough drop that if I had said there was no drop, you'd tell me I lied!"), etc. He really liked the ride, but by this time we needed to get on our way to the Poly. DS met us at the exit, and we caught the monorail over. We were lucky enough to snag the front cab, so DFrS was able to get a good view as we rode around the resort loop! We checked in at 8:25 for our 8:30 ADR and just had time to wash our hands before we were seated, right by the window. Great view of the sunset and the castle.

The kids were looking at the specialty drinks, and DS was lobbying hard for a Lapu Lapu (non-alcoholic). I knew he wouldn't like it, and really just wanted the pineapple so I vetoed this. All the kids ended up with some sort of smoothie, which they really liked. Our servers were Cousin Traci and Cousin Leo. They could have been a little more efficient (especially Leo). Traci did the drinks, and she was fairly quick. We waited a while to get started eating, and we asked for more sticky wings and never got them. And it took several requests to get the steak and pork brought around. DFrS went up as a birthday boy to get a lei, but declined the coconut race. We pretty much missed the sunset, but enjoyed watching the castle change colors.

I'm not sure about the bill. I had paid for the remaining campsite fee when I check in, so we decided that if DFr paid for the two buffet meals we planned, then that would make us even (we split the cost of the campsite). I did use my DDE card for the 20% discount.

Once we finished up, it was too late to get back to MK before Wishes started, so we headed out to the beach. We enjoyed the fireworks, but it's definitely different without the soundtrack. Everyone was pretty tired by this time, so we just headed back over to the campgrounds (ferry to MK, then another ferry to Ft. Wilderness). I set up DD with a sleeping pad in our van (moving out a couple of seats), but she ended up using DFr's couch instead (the camper sleeps 4). The ladies all took showers because we were really sticky, and we were all asl;eep by about midnight.

The weather today was: Hot and sticky, probably about 96-98.

The best thing today was: Seeing my friend for the first time in a long time!

Today we tried: Watching Wishes from the Poly beach and it was good, but not magical.

Up next, Morning EMH at MGM and dream team stalkers.

[shiloh]

Love the first day! Can't wait to read the rest!

[DyanKJ130]

Great start! The Stars & Stripes pass sounds like a great idea! Sounds like you had a fabulous first day!! Hurry back with more

[tkd lisa]

Day 2: July 9

Plans for the day:

Morning EMH at MGM
Lunch at Sci Fi
Break (water park for K family)
Late EMH at AK

What really happened.

This day went mostly according to plan.

I was up really early (about 4:30, but I got out of bed at 5). It was pretty dark still. I headed out to get another shower. Even with a fan, it was pretty sticky sleeping in a tent. I started the coffee brewing on my camp stove, and had my devotions by lantern light. By the time I wrote up my notes from the day before, it was getting light and other folks were stirring. Everyone got showers, and we had breakfast at our campsite, and piled in my van for the drive to MGM about 7:50.

One thing about camping is that everything just takes longer. You can't just leave things piled up. The dishes have to be washed and put away. And even brushing your teeth is a 10 minute evolution because you have to walk to and from the comfort station. All the stuff has to be stored under the awning in case it rains.

We parked in the first parking section, just beyond the lot where the tour buses let out. DD had sprained her ankle about a month ago while taking care of our neighbors dog, so she was a bit slow. We made it into the park, and I took off to get RnR fast passes while everyone else headed to the Great Movie Ride. While they were waiting on me, they chatted with a group of Dream Team CMs. DFrS was wearing his birthday button, and they gave him a nice birthday pin (it folds up like a card). Meanwhile, I saw Karyn and her family just outside the sweet shop. I spotted Kat first, who looks just like her pictures. Karyn said that they loved OKW, but that everyone had been fairly sick. Today looked to be their first healthy day. She had Steve take a picture of us, which I'm sure she'll post when she returns. Of course, I forgot to give him my camera!

I met up with the rest of our group, and we walked right onto Great Movie Ride. Everyone enjoyed the show, and we headed over to Star Tours to wait until our RnR FPs were ripe. We passed the Dream Team members as we were heading down the street, and waved to them.

DFrH suffers a bit from motion sickness, so he decided to sit this ride out. DD isn't crazy about it either, so she and I took some pictures while we were waiting. Here are a few of them.





You can kind of see DD's tie dyed mickey shirt. The three ladies were wearing them today, while DFrH and DFrS were wearing the spiral mickey shirts I made. DS refused to wear it on principle. DFrH explained that their son really had an elevator phobia, so he wasn't going to ride ToT. He doesn't get in elevators at all, so he couldn't even take the chicken exit.

Edited to add this part, which I had forgotten. After Star Tours, we still had some time until our RnR passes were open, so we headed over to MuppetVision 3D. On DFr's previous trip, their son was very into the Toy Story Characters. They had eaten at Pizza Planet, so we walked past there so they could see it. We had some extra time before the show started, and I found a CM to show me where the famous "mat with the key" was. As we were chatting, the Dream Team came walking up, so we were definitely feeling like stalkers. Our friends really enjoyed MuppetVision 3D. As the week went on, they liked all the 3D shows.

By this time our RnR FPs were ripe. DFrH decided to sit this ride out too. If his motion sickness gets triggered, it ruins the entire day, and he didn't want to risk it. On the way over to RnR, we saw the dream team again. A quick smile and wave again. DFrH waited in the shade, and played bagman (held all the bags for us) while we skipped right into RnR. DFrS wanted to understand all about the ride. I knew he like rollercoasters, because they have visited Cedar Point many times, so I was sure he'd like it. He was a little leery of the blastoff when we went past the starting area, but his mom convinced him to ride. They were in the seat behind DS and I and I could hear him yelling "cool" during the ride. Once we were done, he told me how much he liked it!

I sent the rest of the crew off to the animation studio, while I pulled FP for ToT, then I stopped at the turkey leg stand and got a big glass of ice water. I walked through the store to meet up with everyone after the movie. I found out that Jesse was the artist today, and DS's friend Timy wasn't working. Everyone lined up for the drawing class, except DFr and I. We headed outside to wait for them, and who came walking up? Our friend Michelle from the Dream Team. I joked that we really weren't stalking her! She wanted to know why we were out in the full sun instead of the shade, and my friend joked that she's naturally cold natured. By later in the week, my DFr did change her mind about that! We had a very nice talk with Michelle. She used to work at the Tampa call center (and is from Tampa). I have a friend from church who works there, and we chatted a bit about them. Michelle talked about some of her experiences with some of the big dreams. She said that she has given away the castle 3 times. One time, it was to a family who was riding the carousel, and she said that was particularly magical. Michelle also told me that the drawing class has been lengthened now, so they only do 2 per hour instead of 3.

While we were waiting, I noticed people coming out with Dream FPs, and Michelle said they had given them to the group who was in the theater right after my family and friends. Oh well, we had FPs for the big ones already, and we were planning on leaving the park after lunch. Our group came out. They had drawn Donald and really enjoyed it. We quick stepped over to catch the 11:50 LMA show next. We had fairly good seats, up high enough to be out of the sun.

Everyone REALLY liked this show. My DFr still works for General Motors (we both co-oped for them in college, which is how we met). And she told me that they build the trucks that are in the show at her assembly plant. I got some fairly good pictures here.









Once the show was over, we made our way out with the rest of the herd. Mooooo! and headed to SciFi for our 12:30 ADR. We were seated fairly quickly in a car in the last row. The K family all had cheeseburgers and shakes or lemonade. My family went with our usual, penne pasta for DD, and ribs for DS. I had DS's cucumber melon salad and a couple of his ribs, and finished DD's leftovers. Our total DDE discount was 18.10 and my part of the bills was $40. The K family really liked Sci Fi, They said their burgers were really good, and they liked that atmosphere. DFrS got a free hot fudge sundae, and a birthday card signed by all the staff.



We headed out about 1:45 and the ladies headed to ToT. The guys looked in a couple of the shops while we were gone. We waited about 10 minutes even with our FP to get into the library. The standby line was up to 70 minutes by this time. DFr really enjoyed this ride! She said that she thought her husband would really like it too.

We headed back to the van, and were at our campsite to let the dog out by about 2:45. This was our longest morning of the trip, but we had that sit-down lunch which took some extra time.

DD's ankle was bothering her, so she stayed in the camper resting it. DFr and I took the boys down to the Meadows pool, while DFrH took a little nap.

Up next, dinner at camp, and evening EMH at AK.

[tkd lisa]

Originally Posted by DyanKJ130

Great start! The Stars & Stripes pass sounds like a great idea! Sounds like you had a fabulous first day!! Hurry back with more

Yes, for the 5 day pass, we saved almost $30 off the price of a 4 day hopper with water parks plus hopping options. So they got an extra day, plus some flexibility.

Basically, if you are staying on-property and plan to either park hop or do the water parks, the S&S is a break even price, but with increased flexibility (any park, any number of entries during a certain length of time). If you park hop and do the water parks, you'll save quite a bit of money.

The Shades of Green website does a good job of explaining availability, plus it has all their ticket price options posted. I'm just glad I'm able to help my friends save some money, since the campsites didn't offer either a FL resident or AP rate while we were visiting.

[Jillybean]

Sounds like two great days so far!

Jill

[tammyd_rn]

Sounds like you still got a lot accomplished even in the heat. Looking forward to the rest of your trip.

[ArielsMomto2]

Great trip report so far. Hurry back with more.

[ariel14]

Great TR!!!!!!!!! More pls!!!!!!!!!!

[tkd lisa]

Day 2, part 2.

After we made it back to camp, we spent some time just relaxing. I pulled out my handy passporter, and we looked through the MGM section to see what we had missed. The only things my friends were interested in were the Indiana Jones show, and the Backlot Tour. They also looked over the section on the water parks, and decided to go to Typhoon Lagoon the next day. DFrH wanted to rest today, and my DD was resting her ankle. DFr and I took the boys down to the Meadow's pool.

I haven't seen much description of Ft. Wilderness pools, so I'll take a shot at it. Let me say though that I'm a very bad judge of size. I think this pool was about the size of an Olympic pool, but it was wider and shorter. It was shaped a bit like a "v" with the bend at the rope for the "deep" end. The shallow end had step going down to about 3 feet, while the "deep" end started about 5 feet and went to 6 feet. There was also a round wading pool for the kiddies. There were plenty of chairs and tables with umbrellas.

The pool was pretty crowded when we got there. And it was almost bath water warm. It was still nice to get wet though. The temperature was hovering in the high 90s again, and the humidity was awful. The boys hung out in the deep end, while DFr and I just floated around near the rope. We stayed in about 20 minutes, then got out to dry off. The dark clouds were moving in, so we headed back to camp.

The adults started fixing dinner, while the kids stayed in the camper and played with DFrS's Wii. He had just gotten it with his savings and his birthday money. They had lots of fun all week with this. We had grilled chicken, rice a roni and vegetables with fresh watermelon for dessert. Once everything was cleaned up, we closed up the camper and drove over to AK for late EMH. We had hoped to go on the last safari of the evening, but we didn't get into the park until 7:30, so it was already closed down. We picked up our wristbands in front of the Outfitters store, then headed over to ride Dinosaur. DFr really enjoyed this one! I admit I closed my eyes during the carnitore scene. I'm such a wimp! Once we finished this, we headed out through the roadside carnival. The kids wanted to ride Primeval Whirl, but the line was 60 minutes so we passed.

We walked past the Nemo musical heading over to EE. The standby line was 40 minutes which was going to be too close to the 9:00 showing of FOLK. Single rider line was already closed for the night, so we decided to come back after Lion King. Everyone except DFr and I rode Kali. We held the cameras to keep them dry. The boys got completely soaked on this!

We stopped on the deserted path through Asia and took my only picture of the night. It isn't very good though.



We headed over to Camp Minnie Mickey and walked in just in time for the show. They have added a new tumble monkey, and he's really good! They did some new things which were excellent! The vocalists improvised a bit, and overall the show was great. I think there's a new fire twirler, and he didn't seem as good to me. This is the 2nd time I've seen this show during late EMH, and I think the performers are "freer" during this show. It is always a great show, but the late shows just seem a little more improvisational.

Once we finished up, the boys were freezing, and wanted to head back to camp. We stopped to get DD some candy on the way out.

When we were driving, DFrH asked if we were coming back here in the morning. I told him we had planned to go to MK for morning EMH, and that we would be back Wed for AK's morning EMH. I told him that AK gets hot really quickly so the extra hour in the morning would mean the animals would be more active, and we'd enjoy the park more. He was okay with that, but really didn't want to go to MK in the morning. I looked over the park hours, and re-arranged a bit. Since MK was open late almost all week, it seemed like we could go to MK after dark instead of the morning EMH. We were back by 10:30, but learned that we needed to set up DFrS's bed before we left for the evening, since he was pretty wiped out and was ready to sleep.

Revised plans for tomorrow:

EPCOT for opening, lunch in World Showcase
K family to Typhoon Lagoon
Sandwiches for dinner at camp
MK in the evening

[RobDVC]

You're off to a terrific start!

[JaimeandChad]

Sounds like fun so far. So great that you were able to meet Karen, sorry to hear that they were sick though..

[disneydani]

Wow, you are certainly getting alot done and showing your friends a great time!

danielle