A Craigslist Vacation About This Page:

[cubfancolleen]

Finally! So glad you got on PotC! Even if it was a wet ride.

[PrincessSharon]

Originally Posted by lauriep

Finally a ride on Pirates!! I know it's been a long time for me, since I can't ride it when I'm touring alone, but that was a run of bad luck. (But I get to ride it at DLR this summer-- even better!) I've never gotten wet on that ride-- didn't even know the drop caused more than a mild splash. Do you usually take the launch or the monorail from the Poly?

You will love Pirates at DL! It's much better. And we would decide to take the launch or monorail based on if we could see the boat from the lounge. If we could see it coming, we'd take the launch, otherwise, we took the monorail.

Originally Posted by dutchdisneyfamily

Love the POTC pics. COP is one of my favorites too. I have yet to do the People Mover. It's on the list to do next time!

You must do the People Mover! It's a classic!

Originally Posted by Caldercup

If that happened to me, I'd hang onto Jilly's lovely figure.

I should've thought of that!

Originally Posted by Caldercup

Exqueeze me? It's not ME that's competitive!! Seriously, when I ride Buzz with Karen, I'm working hard to defend myself from bodily harm. Who CARES about the score? -- it's my teeth I'm worried about!

Sigh... Why do you deny it, honey? The reason she's beating you up is because you're trying to beat her. Just let her win.

Originally Posted by Coop

Yay! Finally a ride on POTC!!!! Love that the CM was playing along too! Smart choice on avoiding the wet t-shirt contest. How did Jill get 999,999 on Buzz?!?! Sounds like another fun day all around!

Jill is a secret Buzz expert! I noticed toward the end of the ride that she was just sitting there. Then I saw her score and figured out why!

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

I'm so glad you finally got on Pirates! Great morning Sha! I noticed your new countdown!

I couldn't resist squeezing in a trip before the one I'm taking at the end of the summer.

Originally Posted by Linnynad

OH, thank god...... finally on PotC. I really couldn't take it much longer. I am very happy you finally got on, but to skip Splash because of a silly white t-shirt, come on, the girls on Girls Gone Wild do it all the time, it must be ok??I really am kidding
Sounds like a great day so far, I'm looking foward to hearing about your night in the Poly lounge.

If I'd gone on Splash, it would've been like Girls Gone Wild, believe me! It was one of those shirts that reveals all when it's wet, too! Everyone in the park that day is glad I made the decision I did!

Originally Posted by goofyboysmama

Yay Pirates! (you said you "slept in until 7:00am" wow )

I know it sounds crazy, but for me, that's very late!

[PrincessSharon]

Day Three, Part Two
Getting our money’s worth out of the lounge

After singing along with the Country Bears, we went over to Adventureland and caught the next performance of the tiki birds. We missed the preshow, but I don’t think it’s anything special, so I didn’t mind. After the show, we decided to have citrus swirls. The line was fairly long, but it was worth the wait. We saw a dad buy citrus swirls for his family, then hand one to each of his daughters which caused them both to have a meltdown! One of the girls said she wanted the cup, which I interpreted to mean that they both expected to get the cute little orange bird cups. Luckily, they calmed down enough to enjoy their treats.

After a wait in line, we had our treats as well!





We got them and had to find a spot to sit – there were tables, but everything was in the full sun. We went to the shaded spot next to Aloha Isle, but all the tables were taken. We stayed in there because it was shaded and they had a fan going. I have to confess that I didn’t like the citrus swirl as much as I thought, because I thought there was too much orange juice-y acidity to it and not enough vanilla to balance it out. It was good, it’s just not breaking into my top snacks list.

After that, we were all ready for a break, so we walked out of the park. We said goodbye to Larry for now and returned to the Poly. Jill wanted to do some shopping and needed to change her DME assignment (we wanted to ride to the airport together, so she was going to ask them to put her on my later bus), so I returned to the room for a bit and then hit the lounge, where Jill joined me after a bit.

We spent a good little while enjoying the lounge, which I’d been wanting to do. I just love the view of the MK from there, and the people watching is fun too!







When it was time to get dressed for our dinner, we returned to our room. After we were ready, we went to the lounge for a glass of wine and so I could and grab some fresh pineapple and caramel dipping sauce as a snack for later. I love that – it’s possibly my favorite thing they serve in the lounge.

We walked over to the GCH to catch the monorail to the GF. Jill discovered via a FB post from Larry that the guys had beaten us there. Again! And they had to come all the way from AKL and we just went one stop on the monorail.

We found the guys and checked in for dinner. The rest had done Bob a world of good and he was his old self again. We were seated immediately. I had all but decided on the crab cakes as a starter when I saw the romaine salad go by and then changed my mind.


Baby Red and Green Romaine Salad - sustainable baby romaine, shaved aged parmesan, ciabatta croutons, oven-dried tomatoes and Caesar vinaigrette

For the main course, I had no trouble deciding on the chicken. It must’ve been because I hadn’t eaten chicken in 3 days and my body was craving it!


Crispy Pan-roasted Poulet Rouge Chicken apple-parsnip puree, caramelized red pearl onions, applewood-smoked bacon, brussels sprouts leaves, and natural sherry-chicken jus

It was seriously yummy! Although I have to confess, I liked the chicken dish at CDF better (that was possibly my favorite chicken dish at WDW). I forgot to mention that we learned at FFC that Conondrum now has a red blend, so Larry tried it with his surf and turf. I’ll let him tell you how he liked it (I didn’t taste it). Jill’s main course, Fred, was quite the little conversation starter – you can read about him in her TR. I’ll say that when she ordered Fred, the CM explained that he was a whole fish, just so there wouldn’t be any unpleasant surprises.

Our meal was fantastic. I now realize that I had not one single seafood item at a seafood restaurant! Oops! But the stomach wants what it wants.

For dessert, I had the baked chocolate mousse.



It reminded me a lot of the chocolate soufflé from Palo, so obviously it was delish! Our server was very good. I forgot her name, of course. I need to be better about noting things like CM names. Anyway, she was kind enough to take a group shot.



After our fabulous meal, we said goodnight to the boys. We’d invited them to watch Wishes with us from the lounge, but they’d already seen it a few times during their stay at BLT. We parted ways in the lobby, because I wanted to pick up some things at Basin.

After buying what I wanted (and a few other things I hadn’t planned to buy ), we returned to the Poly. I made a quick stop in the room to change, because I wanted to get in one final ride on SWSA before it closed forever, and I figured I’d do that after Wishes.

We were early enough in the lounge that we got window-side seats, and it was still open. I had my pineapple and caramel from earlier, so I had that, but Jill grabbed a little something. When Wishes started, they dimmed the lights and piped in the music. My photos weren’t turning out well, so I stopped after a minute or two. But here’s one to give you an idea of our view.



After that, Jill headed back to the room and I headed to the MK. I could see a boat offshore, so I decided to take the launch rather than the monorail. Except it was a total fakeout! The boat I saw wasn’t the GF/Poly boat, rather the WL boat, sitting offshore waiting for the EWP to pass. I figured it out when instead of pulling up to our dock, it just moved away! I couldn’t see another boat coming, but I figured it couldn’t be too long. After all, Wishes had just ended, so there were bound to be tons of people exiting the park, right? Right?

After about 20 minutes of waiting and listening to the couple behind me argue – wait, that was kind of interesting, so I’ll tell that story. This couple behind me were trying to get to the Contemporary. Why they wanted to take the boat to the MK instead of just hopping on the monorail is anyone’s guess. Apparently, they were traveling with another couple/family and they were at the point where they were kind of sick of being together. Anyway, the woman is fussing at her husband, telling him they should’ve taken the monorail. I got the feeling that it was the husband’s idea to do the launch instead of the monorail. It seemed like he did the bulk of the planning, but without much research. I should've told him about PassPorter!


Anyway, the woman is griping about everything and then the man is all, “I’m tired of this. I wish someone else would take the lead for once!” I kinda felt bad for him, even though the woman was right (but she wasn’t sure she was). It was all in her attitude. It certainly didn’t help his case that a boat wasn’t showing up.

After about 20 minutes, I figured one last ride on SWSA wasn’t that important to me, so I bailed. When the couple behind me saw me leave, they also left. I could tell, because the woman didn’t stop complaining after they’d left the line! I wasn’t really all that disappointed, because listening to that bi… woman complain was almost as entertaining as a ride on SWSA.

I surprised Jill with my quick return to the room, I’m sure. After I filled her in on my little adventure, we chatted for a good little while and then hit the sack. We were checking out the next morning, but I knew I'd be up early enough to pack then.

Up Next: Now it’s time to say goodbye…

[PrincessSharon]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I've been keeping up with Jill's updates, but I'm heading to Atlanta for the holiday weekend, so if Jill posts again, I won't be able to post my version until I get back on Tuesday!

[honeybee723]

That citrus swirl looked really good, but after you're review, I'm wondering if I should just stick wtih the oldie but goodie Dole Whip. Or maybe I should just have both! Have a great trip to Atlanta.

[honeybee723]

Originally Posted by dsteiny23

Melissa, I buy the foam earplugs for Jason and really keep them with me at all times. He is really sensitive to sound and uses them for ALL fireworks, most shows and even at the movies. It helps him a lot and they're comfortable enough that he keeps them in.

Thanks for the tip Dawn. I have a whole pack of those earplugs, and I actually took them with me on the trip, but didn't even think to use them on her. I'll be sure to put some in my park bag next time and see if they do the trick.

[njlaura]

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

I slept in a bit and didn’t get moving until around 7:00.

Only a true early bird would call getting up at 7 sleeping in.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

I have to admit, it was nice just sitting there chatting with Jill, looking at the MK while enjoying breakfast. I wasn’t all the motivated to get to a park.

Must have been because you slept so late, lazybones.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

their first attraction turned out to be the Main Street Bakery

Love that description.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Success! I enjoyed the ride (finally ), but we all got wet. I got really wet! My shoes were squishy-soaked!

Wow! I didn't know you could get wet on Pirates. Am I going to have to avoid that one too?

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

but I had already gotten a pretty good dousing, so my luck wasn’t with me, and I was wearing a white t-shirt, so I decided to skip it

Probably a good idea.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

I adore the Peoplemover and consider it a must do on every trip. Luckily it’s an easy sell to pretty much any kind of park visitor.

Yes, this is one I'm able to get my wimpier family members on.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Then it was on to COP. I don’t know why I love this attraction so much, but I do. Even when I was a little kid, I always loved it. Part of me wishes for an upgrade, but another part wants it to stay just the way it is.

I get a kick out of how they slapped a few more current things into the 80s scene to make it look like it's today.

Originally Posted by PrincessSharon

Up Next: Getting our money’s worth out of the lounge

Can't wait for that!

[chezp]

Great update - I love the shot of Larry and Jill, the smiles on their faces say it all!

Have a great weekend away!

[OhToodles!]

We're going to Narcoossee's on our September trip - I can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

[lauriep]

What good food you're having! I've never been able to convince myself to skip a Dole whip in favor of a citrus swirl, but they do look refreshing. Have a great weekend in Atlanta!

[disney_duke]

Thanks for the tip on the citrus swirl. I'm not an OJ fan, so I don't think I'd like it much. What a wonderful day you all had! Dinner looked delicious. I'm another who tends to order chicken more than anything else! Glad to hear you made good use of the lounge.

[buzzspal2]

Have fun in Atlanta.

[coffeechef]

I have been trying to stay caught up. I was laughing at the couples arguement and you saying you decided SWSA was not that important... sounds like the witch from SWSA was making a personal appearance at the boat launch. Wonder if they ever made it to MK?

Atlanta? Isn't that where one of your nieces is now... the one with your little Grand niece?

[lazanya]

What a great meal!
Have a great weekend!

[disneydani]

Your chicken dish sounds delish though I am sad they got rid of the former chicken with loaded mashed potatoes...

Sorry for the boat woes but glad you had some interesting entertainment while you were waiting.

Hope you have a great weekend in Atlanta!

Danielle