Terra Nova Guy and the Raiders of the Lost Park - an August 2018 TR *COMPLETE* 4/28

[pkondz]

Hmm...it's a pretty big red tent. Directly across from Dumbo I think. It's to the left of the Goofy/Pluto/Minnie/Daisy meet & greet.

Thanks!

I should probably give Splash another try. Maybe it won't be nearly as bad as I remember form 18 years ago. I found that RnRC wasn't nearly as bad the second time around.

I found that concentrating on getting a good photo negated the fear of the drop. Once you get over that... the drop itself...well... It's actually kinda fun.

 

[docsoliday1]

Hi everyone, I appreciate all the replies! I haven't been able to respond until now - work/life balance has been tipping in the wrong direction lately. DW is also pretty sick with the flu (literally been in bed all week) so I've been Mr. Mom around the house too. Anyway, time for a few quick replies now.


I really think it's a hidden gem.


It's a good cinnamon bun. If you like that kind of thing, I would definitely recommend it.


I think I remember reading that before. Always "fun" when that stuff happens.


Hmm...it's a pretty big red tent. Directly across from Dumbo I think. It's to the left of the Goofy/Pluto/Minnie/Daisy meet & greet.


I should probably give Splash another try. Maybe it won't be nearly as bad as I remember form 18 years ago. I found that RnRC wasn't nearly as bad the second time around.


It made for a good story


After a busy week in the parks, we like to sleep in an slowly get ourselves prepared for the trip home. It's sad either way, but at least we don't have to rush out first thing in the morning.


You may be right. I remember loving it 4 years ago (well...almost 5 years ago now). Either that or my taste has changed in my old age.


I was pretty happy with our FP this trip, we got every big ride we really wanted.


I hardly look at the Confectionary anymore. Being able to do a little shopping - and I don't mind when it's Disney shopping - is a bonus too.


Well...you will find out in my last morning update, but the short answer is no. But I wish we did.


I have been thinking that maybe I should give in and try Splash again. Maybe it won't be as bad as I remember???


Thank!. Except for the dude on the train staring at me.


Hi Kari! Nice to see you back. Thanks for catching up. Yes, I have one more post to finish it all off. Definitely no outlet mall!


I am happy to skip it too. But the more I hear people say they love Splash, the more I think I should try it again. Maybe it won't be quite as bad.


It's certainly not a must do every trip, but it's kind of fun. At least somewhere to sit down in the AC and take a break, if nothing else.


We did well with the snack credits. Meal credits on the other hand...well, if you have time, come back for my last post. More than a couple Goofy candy bags came home with us.


I know. I really think that maybe I should give it another try. Some day. Maybe....

If they didn't change the recipe, they are buying much less quality juice now. It used to be a bit tart, which was what I liked about them. Now, not so much.

As for splash... Don't worry about it. That's one of the great things about Disney and humans... Were not all the same and Disney has something for different tastes. If you don't like it that's fine... Many of us don't like iasw, so we're even.

Sorry to hear about DW. That stinks.

 

[queenofthehill]

Really enjoyed your TR. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Really enjoyed your TR. Thank you for sharing.

You're very welcome. I'm glad you enjoyed it

 

[Terra Nova guy]

August 27th – Day 10 – We Have HOW MANY Meal Credits?!

Twenty-one. Can you believe that? Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW. Eight would be used up with breakfast and lunch. But what to do with the other 13? If anyone has forgotten – because it was months ago I started this thing – we had the free dining promotion this trip. It obviously wasn’t working for us.

To get rid of a few meal credits, we all had our last Mickey waffles of the trip for breakfast. We had done most of our packing the night before, but went to finish it off and check out of the room by 11:00am. Our Tragical Express was not until 2:30pm. We prefer taking a later flight home on our last day. That gives us the morning to pack, unwind, and say a leisurely good bye, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn and rushing to the airport. We left our bags with bell services and took a stroll around the resort.

Our room is on the top floor, in the middle of the picture below. It was a nice quiet location.



Main pool at All-Star Music.



This has been our travel home day tradition. We are usually so busy to-ing and fro-ing at the parks all trip, we have virtually no time to wander around the resort and soak it in. We hadn’t seen a lot of All-Star Music other than the food court and our building, but we decided to check out the other All-Star resorts – and DW wanted to check out the gift shops if course.

We strolled over to All-Star Movies first, passing through the Mighty Ducks and 101 Dalmatians section. I was impressed by the Mickey Fantasia pool, and I wished we had tried going there one day for swimming. (It seems like I wasn’t impressed enough to take any pictures though...) I would have liked to walk down to the Love Bug section, since I grew up with the Herbie movies, but again the heat was kicking us in the butt. My wallet was happy that nothing of interest was found in the gift shop, so we headed back to All-Star Music for a mug refill and heat break.

All-Star Music lobby.



Side note: DW and I developed an addiction to Cherry Coke this trip. Where I live, Pepsi outsells Coke by a significant margin. You rarely see a Coke vending machine around here. You can come by Coke easy enough in the supermarkets, but the flavoured Coke like cherry, is hard to come by. We tried it near the beginning of the trip and I had to go over and get a mug every night. We had 3 or 4 mugs of it this last morning.

After our cool down, we walked over to All-Star Sports. We had been to the pool here on day 1, but didn’t go inside the main hall. We scoped out the gift shop and DW bought something, I think a phone case. I was trying not to pay too much attention at that point to whatever extra money was being spent.

Main pool at All-Star Sports.





We also started trying to use up all those meal credits. Obviously I was going to try getting as much out of Disney as I could, and if they were willing to give me 3 snacks for every meal credit, I was going to try using it. We picked up a bag full in the Sports gift shop, because we didn’t want the embarrassment of cleaning out the Music gift shop. The girls got some lollipops and cookies for their friends and we picked up some bags of candy and chocolate bars. Had it not been for the meal credits, we never would have bought this much junk.

Time was getting on, so we moseyed back to All Star Music and had lunch in the food court. Brianna had spaghetti, Katie and I had chicken nuggets (because Disney nuggets are “the best”), Tish had a chicken burger, which was all fine. The girls had also gotten into the chocolate milkshakes which were pretty good and surprising counted as a drink with a QS meal.







After lunch we picked up some more treats and snacks to use up our meal credits. Although it was a ridiculous amount of candy, we managed to use up all our meal credits!

We collected our bags from Bell services and squeezed dozens of candy bags into them. We waited for the Tragical Express for a little while, noticing the sky was becoming dark and gloomy, which was a bit how we felt leaving.



The bus came just in time. The moment we got on the bus, the skies opened up and dumped some of the heaviest rain of the trip. A small part of me was relieved we were not out in the parks.

Everything at the airport went smoothly and there is nothing exciting to report on our flights home. We arrived in our house about 4:00am on the 28th. Although that’s a crazy time to get home, I prefer to do it that way since we get a quiet morning in Florida. I always take that day off work as well, so I get to adjust to the regular grind again.

With that, our long awaited trip was at an end. We had successfully raided our “lost park”, happy for the wonderful memories we made, but sad it was over.

I’ll be back with one last post to wrap it up!

 

[cinderaimee]

Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW. Eight would be used up with breakfast and lunch. But what to do with the other 13?

That is A LOT of Goofy candy!

I've really enjoyed following along on your report, you are a great writer!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

I've really enjoyed following along on your report, you are a great writer!

Thanks very much! Not bad for a first timer I guess
It was nice having you along for the ride.

 

[vamassey1]

Twenty-one. Can you believe that? Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW. Eight would be used up with breakfast and lunch. But what to do with the other 13? If anyone has forgotten – because it was months ago I started this thing – we had the free dining promotion this trip. It obviously wasn’t working for us.

That's a lot of food to leave on the table.

We prefer taking a later flight home on our last day. That gives us the morning to pack, unwind, and say a leisurely good bye, instead of waking up at the crack of dawn and rushing to the airport.

We prefer this too when we fly. When we drive we want to leave as early as possible.

We picked up a bag full in the Sports gift shop, because we didn’t want the embarrassment of cleaning out the Music gift shop.

Very generous of you to the fellow Music patrons.

We collected our bags from Bell services and squeezed dozens of candy bags into them. We waited for the Tragical Express for a little while, noticing the sky was becoming dark and gloomy, which was a bit how we felt leaving.

Oh no the walk of shame. Of course the weather was mirroring your mood.

The bus came just in time. The moment we got on the bus, the skies opened up and dumped some of the heaviest rain of the trip. A small part of me was relieved we were not out in the parks.

Perfect timing.

 

[missangelalexis]

It's nice that you had time to walk around your resort and the other All Stars! That is A LOT of credits left but thank goodness they didn't go to waste!

Good timing getting on the bus before the rain hit!

 

[Jenny Sanders]

So sad the trip had to come to an end as they all do. I hope you get to go back soon, so I can have the pleasure of reading another wonderful TR.

 

[disneyAndi14]

Loved reading along and guessing at all your questions.
I’m shocked you had that many meals left, I didn’t even realize you could exchange meal credits for snacks, that is a plus!
We like to leave later on departure day as well, I hate leaving at the crack of dawn from Disney!
Do you have any trips planned for the near future?

 

[amazingact21]

That is a lot of credits left over!

The resorts are fun to walk around; smart of you to plan that into your last day so you didn't miss the chance but also didn't have to eat up park time to do it. Since I have young kids who become angry tyrants if they are kept up late I usually travel in the early morning. But reading about how relaxing and laid back your final Disney hours were makes me look forward to the day they are older and can handle a late flight.

Cherry Coke is pretty tasty; it's my husband's go-to drink when we're at Disney, too.

Those chocolate shakes looked pretty good! Nice to know they were covered with the meal credit.

 

[mustinjourney]

Twenty-one. Can you believe that? Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW. Eight would be used up with breakfast and lunch. But what to do with the other 13? If anyone has forgotten – because it was months ago I started this thing – we had the free dining promotion this trip. It obviously wasn’t working for us.

Wow! That is almost a whole extra day of meal credits! Reason #542 the dining plan is a bad idea for many.

Side note: DW and I developed an addiction to Cherry Coke this trip. Where I live, Pepsi outsells Coke by a significant margin. You rarely see a Coke vending machine around here. You can come by Coke easy enough in the supermarkets, but the flavoured Coke like cherry, is hard to come by. We tried it near the beginning of the trip and I had to go over and get a mug every night. We had 3 or 4 mugs of it this last morning.

Big fan of cherry coke as well. Although -- I actually prefer cherry pepsi (or at least I used to). I don't drink regular sodas anymore, so I haven't had either in a really long time. What's kinda strange though is that I prefer just about all coke products over pepsi -- with the exception of cherry pepsi. It's the only pepsi product I prefer over a coke product.

We also started trying to use up all those meal credits. Obviously I was going to try getting as much out of Disney as I could, and if they were willing to give me 3 snacks for every meal credit, I was going to try using it. We picked up a bag full in the Sports gift shop, because we didn’t want the embarrassment of cleaning out the Music gift shop. The girls got some lollipops and cookies for their friends and we picked up some bags of candy and chocolate bars. Had it not been for the meal credits, we never would have bought this much junk.

You can always tell when people have leftover meal/snack credits and they're on their last day of vacation. They raid the gift shop of all the packable candies.

The bus came just in time. The moment we got on the bus, the skies opened up and dumped some of the heaviest rain of the trip. A small part of me was relieved we were not out in the parks.

Now THAT is really good timing! Doesn't work that way for me too often...although I did get lucky once at DHS. It kept raining while I was inside on rides and then nothing when I came off the rides. I think it did that 3 times for me in a 2 hour stretch. Only problem was that the rain then evaporated and it turned into an outdoor sauna.

 

[suse66]

Twenty-one. Can you believe that? Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW. Eight would be used up with breakfast and lunch. But what to do with the other 13? If anyone has forgotten – because it was months ago I started this thing – we had the free dining promotion this trip. It obviously wasn’t working for us.

I totally believe you had all those credits left....our first trip we had DxDP and we had 11 meals and 43 snacks left on our last day! One of the many reasons OOP works better for our family.

We strolled over to All-Star Movies first, passing through the Mighty Ducks and 101 Dalmatians section. I was impressed by the Mickey Fantasia pool, and I wished we had tried going there one day for swimming. (It seems like I wasn’t impressed enough to take any pictures though...) I would have liked to walk down to the Love Bug section, since I grew up with the Herbie movies, but again the heat was kicking us in the butt. My wallet was happy that nothing of interest was found in the gift shop, so we headed back to All-Star Music for a mug refill and heat break.

The heat can be so overwhelming!I always want to resort hop in the afternoons but the lure of relaxing in the A/C in my room usually wins out.

The girls got some lollipops and cookies for their friends and we picked up some bags of candy and chocolate bars. Had it not been for the meal credits, we never would have bought this much junk.

Exactly!!

After lunch we picked up some more treats and snacks to use up our meal credits. Although it was a ridiculous amount of candy, we managed to use up all our meal credits!

Good for you!

Everything at the airport went smoothly and there is nothing exciting to report on our flights home. We arrived in our house about 4:00am on the 28th. Although that’s a crazy time to get home, I prefer to do it that way since we get a quiet morning in Florida. I always take that day off work as well, so I get to adjust to the regular grind again.

Did you fly back through Toronto or Halifax? I usually take the late flight too as I enjoy a leisurely last day as well.

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Do you have any trips planned for the near future?

I’ll elaborate a bit in my wrap up post, but the short answer is no. As much as I would like to have a trip planned, I will
take a break for a year or two.

I didn’t even realize you could exchange meal credits for snacks, that is a plus!

Yes it’s one of the good things about the dining plan. At least you can use up credits that way. Of course if it actually worked for us, we wouldn’t have any credits left over.

Those chocolate shakes looked pretty good! Nice to know they were covered with the meal credit.

As much as I don’t like the dining plan (other than getting it free), I did like the fact that alcohol and specialty drink like milkshakes and slushes were added to the meals. We were able to try some things that we normally wouldn’t. I should mention that if you pay OOP, these milkshakes are not included in a meal.

You can always tell when people have leftover meal/snack credits and they're on their last day of vacation. They raid the gift shop of all the packable candies.

Yes we saw a few other people obviously doing the same thing as us and bringing a bunch of candy home.

I totally believe you had all those credits left....our first trip we had DxDP and we had 11 meals and 43 snacks left on our last day! One of the many reasons OOP works better for our family.

Wow that’s a lot of credits left over! Unless I can get it free, I definitely think OOP is better for my family too.

Did you fly back through Toronto or Halifax?

Toronto. We’ve always gone through Toronto or Montreal. The Halifax connections never seem to work out for us for some reason, although I know people who have done it.

 

[World_of_Laughter]

I’ll elaborate a bit in my wrap up post, but the short answer is no. As much as I would like to have a trip planned, I will
take a break for a year or two.

Maybe because our dollar is so crappy? (Hi, from Halifax, NS!)

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Maybe because our dollar is so crappy? (Hi, from Halifax, NS!)

Hi neighbour! Glad you stopped by and welcome to my TR.
Yes our crappy dollar (and limited bank account) is one of several reasons I need to take another extended absence from the World.

 

[pkondz]

Twenty-one. Can you believe that? Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW.

I know how you can take care of that!...

We prefer taking a later flight home on our last day.

Interesting. I usually don't have much of an option other than to leave stupid early.

This has been our travel home day tradition. We are usually so busy to-ing and fro-ing at the parks all trip, we have virtually no time to wander around the resort and soak it in.

Interesting tradition. Not one I would've thought of. Then again, as I mentioned, I usually leave early.

I was impressed by the Mickey Fantasia pool, and I wished we had tried going there one day for swimming. (It seems like I wasn’t impressed enough to take any pictures though...)

I would have liked to walk down to the Love Bug section, since I grew up with the Herbie movies

Me too!

Side note: DW and I developed an addiction to Cherry Coke this trip. Where I live, Pepsi outsells Coke by a significant margin.

Really! Huh! Not like that here, I don't think. Then again... I don't know how I'd even look that up.

After our cool down, we walked over to All-Star Sports.

My least favourite resort. It just doesn't seem overly... Disney.

We picked up a bag full in the Sports gift shop, because we didn’t want the embarrassment of cleaning out the Music gift shop.

After lunch we picked up some more treats and snacks to use up our meal credits. Although it was a ridiculous amount of candy, we managed to use up all our meal credits!

...and that's how you use 'em up!

We waited for the Tragical Express for a little while, noticing the sky was becoming dark and gloomy, which was a bit how we felt leaving.

Hate those last day of vacations.

A small part of me was relieved we were not out in the parks.

But only a small part.

We arrived in our house about 4:00am on the 28th

Ouch. But... if it works for you, then... good!

 

[Terra Nova guy]

Really! Huh! Not like that here, I don't think. Then again... I don't know how I'd even look that up.

I don’t have any numbers on that, but it’s been mentioned in local media. Also at our supermarket the soft drink shelves are about 3/4 Pepsi products.

and that's how you use 'em up!

I was glad to have accomplished it, but we really didn’t need so much candy.

Ouch. But... if it works for you, then... good!

Yeah it kind of works. Getting home at 4am is not fun, but it’s either wake up stupid early in Orlando or get home stupid late

 

[kastoney]

Last days are never any fun, but glad you all had a wonderful trip

Twenty-one. Can you believe that? Twenty frickin’ one meal credits left on our last morning in WDW. Eight would be used up with breakfast and lunch. But what to do with the other 13?

That is a crazy amount of credits!!!! Jason and I got the free quick service dining once long before Casey was born and it wasn't for us either. We also had 13 credits left on our last day so we hit epcot and tried something from every quick service they had. We'd usually just take a bite or 2 and then journey on to say we tried it. This was before you could use the snack credits in lieu of them so we were bent on getting our credits used.

Side note: DW and I developed an addiction to Cherry Coke this trip. Where I live, Pepsi outsells Coke by a significant margin. You rarely see a Coke vending machine around here. You can come by Coke easy enough in the supermarkets, but the flavoured Coke like cherry, is hard to come by.

I have not had a cherry coke in years but now suddenly want one!