The Tenth Honeymoon is the Best One of Them All! - May '14 TR - COMPLETED 4/19

[nilla]

During the early morning hours of a late-winter's Saturday, I laid peacefully asleep, under the blanket of a dream. I do not recall if my subconscious thoughts were the usual patchwork of past memories stitched together in an almost absurd narrative, or some prognosis of events yet to come. I do know how I awoke from them, however - with the sudden crush of a laptop computer on my chest and the sound of a frustrated wife.

"This is so stupid. You can do it."

And so began the great dichotomy of my relationship with the system known as FastPass+.

+.

Plus.

In other words, better. Improved.

Supposedly.

But of course, I'm skeptical. I'd be stupid not to be. This was uncharted territory - a massive detour in the touring methodology we had thought WE were plussing.

Everyone knows the drill by now. Get the wristbands, make your selections online, and hope it all works out.

Step one was complete. Well, the wristbands were ordered weeks ago, but we still haven't received them.

Step two is where we left off. Me, on a Saturday morning, underneath a laptop and tasked with making our FastPass+ selections. Kristin gives me the rundown of the difficulties, which seem to revolve around not having our saved selections showing up for all members of the family. Even if we save with all four names checked, it says only one person has FastPasses. What? Ok, let's try again.

Now it's not letting us pick certain people at all for ANY fastpasses on our Animal Kingdom day. This makes no sense. And it's clunky. Just give me my FastPasses. This is getting silly.

Nevermind the fact that the Epcot "E-Ticket" policy is a bit absurd (Malestrom is an E-Ticket attraction? Are you joking? FPs for Spaceship Earth? Really?), this website is a major pain.

After about another hour messing with it, I have it down to only one day were there's only one person with FPs. Can't get it changed, though. I guess I have to pick up the phone and actually - *gasp* - talk to someone. Ok, I guess. If I have to.

While I'm on hold, I try deleting the FPs for that entire day and re-adding them....success! I hang up the phone before I'm even connected with a human. I guess they're busy, and I think I know why.

But anyway, we have FastPasses! FastPassPLUSES! Now, we just have to hope it all works out in the parks. Again, I'm skeptical.

 

[nilla]

Of course, there's more to this planning phase than just this, but first, let's tell you whom we're talking about here.

First off, is this guy. Known by Disney as Magic Band #S15Y34IL, we'll refer to him as "Jon", "me", or, occassionally, "this author". No "yours truly", though. Anyway, here I am:



Up next is the wife, Magic Band #T631J210I. Known for our purposes as "the wife".

No, not really. she's Kristin. Here SHE is:



We got birthday/anniversary presents last year that solidified us as Disney for life:





Couldn't be happier with them! These, two, on the other hand, can be a bit of a mess sometimes...

Magic Band #1TR5T123L. "Dylan". 12 years old. Will ride anything. Anything? Anything.



And Magic Band #P982HK527. "Emily". Ooh, ooh....fashion. Age 8. Oh, and gymnastics. All the time. She got a mat for Christmas, and it's in the living room, so yeah...all the time.



That's us. And boy, do we love our Disney. And guess what? We're going there! Soon! But first, the planning!

 

[nilla]

I led with the annoying part of planning, but left off the fun parts. After months of playing "write down what Full Service restaurants we're going to" while at restaurants at home, we came up with the following plan:

Wednesday, June 7th - Sunday, May 18th. Coronado Springs, fourth consecutive year. "Home"

Thursday: Magic Kingdom, 'Ohana
Friday: Hollywood Studios, Cape May Clambake
Saturday: Epcot, Coral Reef
Sunday: Animal Kingdom, Maya Grille
Monday: Magic Kingdom, The Wave
Tuesday: Epcot, San Angel Inn
Wednesday: Downtown Disney, Raglan Road
Thursday: Hollywood Studios, Hollywood Brown Derby
Friday: Epcot, Biergarten
Saturday: Magic Kingdom, Be Our Guest
Sunday: Animal Kingdom?

Of course, no initial plans can end up the same, so the question of "why did we pick the Wave?" comes up. The answer is "we don't know", so that's about to get bagged. The replacement? Well, there's not much in the Magic Kingdom, and we're skipping Kona after a lackluster meal in the trip report I never wrote last year. The winner? Artist Point. We've heard great things about it, and we want to see Wildreness Lodge again.

Next casualty is the Brown Derby. We heard great things about it as well, but also read some not-as-great things about it. Besides, AP is now our two-credit. Another one would require us paying for an additional meal.

One complication is that HBD has the Fantasmic Package (tm), and the only other place with that is Mama Melrose, home of another lackluster meal in the trip report I never wrote last year. In the end, we decide to use standby like the commoners and go back to Sci-Fi. The kids are ecstatic. And so am I. I love Sci-Fi!

Now, we're set. We think. Ok, we are. At least for dinners. A revised list will be used as the Table of Contents.

Now, back to the FPs. Since we're like Prince's mother (she's never satisfied), we have to muck with the FP times. We put more in the morning on rumor of Disney eventually allowing extra FPs if you use all three, so it makes sense. However, there is still this matter of Elsa and Anna.

Emily loves Frozen. As do we. As does everyone on the planet. Except Dylan. He hates it. Jerk.

We know the two are moving to Magic Kingdom, but when will FPs be available? We read conflicting reports on the web about it, but we've never seen it. I keep checking. Now, it seems they ARE available, but only in theory - they've been snatched up long ago. And standy waits are expected to be 5-7 hours.

I'll give you a moment to clean the soda you just spit off the monitor, if this is the first you're hearing this. But it's probably not. This is stuff of legend.

Then, one day...after I had poked around a bit, Kristin took the wheel and managed to secure a lone Elsa and Anna FastPass, in her name. Unreal! Of course, now we have to add the other family members, but that's usually pretty easy.

But not this time. There is only one. That's it. In Kristin's name.

She calls Disney, and the Cast Member is just as surprised as we are. There are no more FPs, which is why we can't add ourselves onto it, but he does switch it to Emily. We'll sort it out at the park. Disney CMs claim it won't be a problem, so we're willing to try.

With all that sorted out, we can really focus on the countdown:



Getting closer! Magic Bands arrive.



To Emily's dismay, Kristin removes the gray extension so it will fit better. Emily doesn't like the look of it without the gray, and now Kristin is in agreement. So it's on the phone with Disney to order another MB for Emily.

THAT arrives, and it's time to pack! We have lists of what goes in which suitcase from years passed, which make the whole thing easier. Typically, we come within 1 lb. of the 50 lb. limit on just about all the bags. Planning!

Closer we get. I start reading TRs. We're hooked to the DISboards. Mine Cart - open or not? Additional FP+s...how do they work?

Five days out, I call CSR to put in a room request: first floor, Cabanas 8B, near on in room 8506. "We cannot guarantee..." Sure, I know. But that's ok.

Another thing to mention is my mid-year's resolution to say "my friend" to people more. This starts with this phone call.

"Thank you, sir, and have a Magical day (TM)!"

"You, too, my friend!"

Now, more FP+ tweaking. For no good reason. Kristin checks the DISboards and finds out that the Mine Cart won't be opening until AFTER our trip. Oh well. Guess we have to hope for a soft opening, but what are the odds of that?

Now, all that's left to do is wait. Will the new policies and technology make this trip a bust? Or, rather, will this experience prove that


THE TENTH HONEYMOON IS THE BEST ONE OF THEM ALL!


?

.

.

.


Ok, I guess I gave away the ending with the title. But you still don't know WHY it was a great trip. Nah, of course you do. You know it was a great trip because it was a trip to Walt Disney World. But honeymoons 2-9 were there, too. So why was this one the best? Hang around and I'll tell you!

Be sure to tune in for our next update, where we don't get to Disney World, but we at least leave Bethlehem!


[POST=51490495](next update)[/POST]

 

[JeanetteK]

I am so in for this! Can't wait to read along! Hope you all had a wonderful time. So glad we got to spend a little time with you guys!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

You're back!!! Super huge fan of your past reports and can't wait to follow along for this adventure. Have to get to work so scrolled through quickly...will come back to read tonight.

Love the tattoos! Guess there is no going back now- Disney fans forever!

 

[Clarf]

Whoa! This was an awesome thing to wake up to this morning. I have been a lurker on your past trip reports and was sad to not see one last year. Your reports have been so helpful to me in planning our 2012 and our upcoming September 2014 trip! They are also really entertaining. Can't wait to hear how this year's went.

Love both of your tattoos. Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride of all time, and the castle, well, it's the castle. Awesome.

Oh, BTW, I know from reading your past reports that you are a Vikings fan. I am from Wisconsin, but I'm not so into football and I HATE the Packers, so any team who has the potential to beat them is okay in my book!

 

[esquared221]

I have only recently started the foray into trip reports and with yours I am hooked. Easy to read! You've got me laughing. I'm in!

 

[sarahcor]

I have read your previous reports and figured that you all got "tired of Disney" but then I log in today and yay new report from nilla!
Excited to follow along!

 

[klacey1]

Joining in!! Love the tattoos!

 

[nilla]

I am so in for this! Can't wait to read along! Hope you all had a wonderful time. So glad we got to spend a little time with you guys!

It was a great way to kick off the vacation! Your scene will be coming up before too long

You're back!!! Super huge fan of your past reports and can't wait to follow along for this adventure. Have to get to work so scrolled through quickly...will come back to read tonight.

Love the tattoos! Guess there is no going back now- Disney fans forever!

Thanks! It's fun to be writing one again. You're right - we're all in now!

Whoa! This was an awesome thing to wake up to this morning. I have been a lurker on your past trip reports and was sad to not see one last year. Your reports have been so helpful to me in planning our 2012 and our upcoming September 2014 trip! They are also really entertaining. Can't wait to hear how this year's went.

Love both of your tattoos. Haunted Mansion is my favorite ride of all time, and the castle, well, it's the castle. Awesome.

Oh, BTW, I know from reading your past reports that you are a Vikings fan. I am from Wisconsin, but I'm not so into football and I HATE the Packers, so any team who has the potential to beat them is okay in my book!

Anyone who hates the Packers is ok by me

Great to hear that we've helped you out! The DISboards and TRs have been great for us, too.

I've wanted an HM tattoo for a LONG time now, and turning 40, I finally did it. Kristin had no plans whatsoever to ever get another tattoo...until she watched me get mine

I have only recently started the foray into trip reports and with yours I am hooked. Easy to read! You've got me laughing. I'm in!

Glad you're here! It's nice to have people read my stuff!

I have read your previous reports and figured that you all got "tired of Disney" but then I log in today and yay new report from nilla!
Excited to follow along!

I had the photos uploaded and the TR started last year, but put it down for a LONG time and never really recovered. I didn't even post what I did write. That wasn't going to happen again!

Joining in!! Love the tattoos!

Thanks! We love them, too. As did some other people. Stay tuned!

Photobucket is apparently down, so my mini-update looks like it will be postponed. Postponed? Oh no, there goes this trip report...

 

[nilla]

...and it's time!


We have a VERY early flight out of Philadelphia on Wednesday (5:30), so we're staying over in the City of Brotherly Love (TM) on Tuesday night and catching a shuttle to the airport early Wednesday. There are no more direct flights out of Allentown , and the connection last year was miserable. So we're back in Philly.

Tuesday morning, I woke up at 4:30 and couldn't fall back to sleep. I guess I'm ready for Disney, since that's a common occurrence when I'm in the 'World.

I'm "working" today...well, actually I do get a lot done because I'm rushing to finish things before we leave. Of course, emails about software issues 15 minutes before I'm set to leave don't get the same attention they normally would, so it's out the door and home to get ready to head out.

We leave home around 5:00 pm on Tuesday to drive down, just in time to make it to our first ADR.



We arrive at CDFR just in time for our ADRs. Unfortunately, CDFR doesn't take the DDP, so I have to use my DC, but at least we get the DCBR out of it. NBD.

Kristin got the Chicken Cordon Bleu, which got great reviews from AllEars.net.



She said it was only ok, though. Nothing special. I got the Homemade (in a different font than the rest of the entree, which means it HAS to be true) Chicken Croquets.



I guess Kristin's was homemade, too, since the Barber Foods corporation has to have a home, right? The kids get pancakes. Not sure where they were made, since the menu didn't specify.



After dinner, it's off to the Wyndam Garden Inn resort, where we'll stay the night until we resort-hop to Coronado Springs the next day.

There's an "Underage Veterans" convention going on at this resort. There are pictures with stories in the lobby, and one tells of a man who joined the military at 12, got kicked out for being underage, rejoined at 13, got kicked out again, rejoined at 15, got kicked out again and jailed, then joined again at 17. Wow. When my generation lied about our age, it was to get into an R-rated movie or buy cigarettes. Again...wow.

We get settled into the room, the kids catch up on some homework, we watch "The Goldbergs", then hit the hay. WDW tomorrow!

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[tinkgurl]

Such a good start and you're not even at WDW yet!

 

[JeanetteK]

It was a great way to kick off the vacation! Your scene will be coming up before too long

Wish we would have had more days there when you all were there, but it was a nice topper on the end of our vacation.

 

[ebhcole]

I recently started reading trip reports. I've learned a bunch and many are very informative. Yours is also entertaining right out of the gate. Love your writing style! Looking forward to reading about your trip.

 

[nilla]

Here's what's happening:

• Wednesday: Flight down, Pepper Market
• Thursday: Magic Kingdom, 'Ohana
• Friday: Hollywood Studios, Cape May Clambake
• Tangent #1 - The Story that Never Was
• Saturday: Epcot, Coral Reef
• Sunday: Animal Kingdom, Maya Grill
• Monday: Epcot, San Angel Inn
• Tuesday: Magic Kingdom, Artist Point
• Wednesday: Downtown Disney, Raglan Road
• Thursday: Hollywood Studios, Sci-Fi Dinner Theater
• Friday: Epcot, Biergarten
• Saturday: Magic Kingdom, Be Our Guest
• Sunday: Animal Kingdom?, Flight home

 

[nilla]

 

[nilla]

Wake up call is for 4:30 AM, and I'm up. Kristin's up. Emily's up, and surprisingly happy for 4:30 in the morning. Dylan's not up, though. And he doesn't want to get up. But too bad - it's Disney day! We get packed up and head out for the shuttle from the hotel to the airport. The driver asks the passengers if they're flying domestic or international. A couple answers "international", to which I immediate reply in my head, "Disneyland Paris? Tokyo Disney? I mean, it HAS to be Disney, right?"

We get to the airport, and the guys in front of us checking baggage are going to CSR, too. So it's the Amazing Race, Coronado style! Gotta reach that checkpoint first!

We reach the counter and weigh our first bag - 50.0 lbs exactly. Now THAT's planning. The man working the baggage check jokes that we can't do any shopping on vacation, but we have a good 95 lbs. of bottled water and sunscreen spread amongst the suitcases, so it shouldn't be a problem. One photo op before we board:



We have virtually no wait until boarding, so on we go. Up into the air, and the Sky Mall catalog gets opened. 8-foot tall gorilla statue for only $4499 (+$999 shipping)? No brainer! But that'll have to wait until we land. Kristin snaps in-air shots of the kids.

 

[nilla]

We touch down in Orlando, and it's onto the monorail. First ride in Florida!



Aw, heck - why do the kids get to have all the fun?



Weather's beautiful inside today!



And now we get our first signs of why we're here.







Across the plaza is the Universal store. Pshaw, I say. Pshaw. We're not here for that. We're here for this!



Magic Bands get us access to the bus, but only one person in our party needs to scan in, so Kristin takes it. No fair! Well, it seemed to work, so we're 1-for-1 with Magic Bands. Of course, from what I read on the ever-optimistic Disboards, this should all come crashing down on us soon enough. After all, these bands are the antithesis of everything Walt stood for and an end to the Disney magic as we know it. Supposedly. It's hard to ignore stories of people disintegrating into ash when trying to open their resort room door with the bands, or of others who were thrown into a Florida prison for trying to book a fourth FastPass.

We're on DME and ready to go, but first, more pics!





SO much love. And speaking of love...



She sure loves that bear. A lot. Meanwhile, Donald's NOT loving those ghosts.



The good news is there is a BRAND NEW Magical Express hype video! Finally! No more shots of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, Roger Rabbit, or Swift's Chicken Plantation! Kristin and Em activate their Wonder Twin Magic Band powers.



And there's that bear again.



I'm guessing Emily got hold of the camera here.

We're too far back to get a shot of the archway to what I'm calling "The Walt" (you know it as "Walt Disney World"), but trust me, we went under it. We're home!

 

[nilla]

And speaking of home:



Ok, now we're REALLY home! It feels like we never left. In all honesty, this trip came up on us before we even knew it, which is a huge departure from the long, impatient countdowns of other years. I think it's because we had so much going on before the trip, or maybe it was the uncertainty surrounding these colorful rubber bracelets around our wrists. Anyway, we're here, so the Magic (tm) can begin!

Pennies get tossed into the fountain as we enter, and I think I forgot to make a wish. Oh well - it already came true. We're here!

Lots of conventioners checking in/out, so we have to wait. Eventually, we get to the front, and our room's not ready yet. Well, not unless we're willing to compromise on our room request (Cabanas 8B, first floor, near where we were last year). They have second floor, but we want first floor. If you read last year's TR (which is impossible, since I never actually wrote it), you'd know that the fewer stairs for Kristin, the better

We link up our Magic Bands to a major credit card (which is majorly dangerous), but we'll have to wait for a room to open up. Also, it turns out we supposedly asked for 8A instead of 8B...which I'm not entirely convinced we did, but the CM assures us we'll get one or the other.

With carry-on baggage in tow, it's off to kill time until the room opens up. We packed bathing suits so we wouldn't have to wait for our luggage to swim, but without a room, changing into them might be a bit dicey. So it's off to Panchitos, were Emily discovers the Sully costume for Duffy is in stock! But we're carrying enough already, so we'll have to come back. She doesn't like that idea.

Panchito's has a cool map board in it where guests can indicate where they're from, and we're in on this game. Pushpin placed. Next order of business: mugs.

Oh, wait - that's NOT the next order of business. More shopping is. Emily finds her second potential purchase - Duffy jibitz for her Magic band. But like the Sully suit, that'll have to wait as well. At the register, a big sheet of paper allows guests to write what they're celebrating. Emily writes that she's celebrating having off from school, which is only somewhat accurate - we pulled the kids out for this trip. Again. Bad parents!

So NOW it's time to get our mugs. The mugs have a new design this year, and that's not all - they're apparently hi-tech as well, with some crazy authorization chip in them that interfaces with the soda machine to keep people from re-using mugs from prior years.



Take that, freeloaders! Kristin's happy because her old favorite is back, and with no such limits, apparently.



We're supposed to get a text when our room is ready, but so far, nothing. Wait - my phone is ringing! It's the front desk! They have a room available on the second floor of 8B. Man, no! FIRST floor! FIRST! So it's off to the Dig Site and Siestas for lunch, with the bag-carrying growing really tiresome.

Off topic of the bag, have I ever mentioned that I love this pool?



The ducks like it, too!



These ducks look cute, but don't be fooled. More on that later. For now, more shots of the pool area.



A new addition to the playground area is the game "BFC". I'll let you guess what that stands for.

 

[nilla]

We put our bags down and order lunch. The food is taking REALLY long to come out, and the guy behind us is FURIOUS. "These people are idiots!", he declares angrily. Sheesh. You're on vacation. Lighten up!

The food comes out, finally. Dylan and Kristin each got the cheeseburger. Dylan's request of no onions or tomato was not honored, so he had to take matters into his own hands. With the help of a french fry squeegee, of course.



Kristin said it was a bit dry. I got the fish tacos, which were really good.



Emily got the cheese empanadas. She liked them as well.



Remember when I said "SO much love" before? Well, you should, because it was only a few paragraphs ago. Well, there was also SO much love BUGS.



I saw one flying by himself at one point, and felt really bad. I ensured him that he'd find his soulmate one day.

The lovebugs seemed to really like the lid of Emily's mug, and they weren't the only ones about. The ducks kept popping in. Sorry, guys - no handouts. Those nasty black birds were around, too, and one was puffing himself up as he followed the other. Not sure what that was about. We finished eating - decent meal, as usual, but certainly not one that will knock your socks off. We finished it up with a- oh, for gosh sakes...not you now!



No, we are NOT feeding you. It's springtime. Nuts are aplenty. No excuses.

we cap it off with ice cream.





I'm glad I got the sandwich, since the Mickey thing was a melting disaster.

After lunch, we decided to hit up the arcade to blow our comp credits, since we still had no word from the front desk about our room.

Included in our package are enough arcade credits to let Emily and Dylan split about 1/3 of a life of Pac-Man, if we're lucky. Ok, I exaggerate. But not much. Skee-ball and hoops are about they can do, since we're not really up for defective foosball this year.





Meanwhile, I think I found the Utiladors at CSR, which are cleverly hidden ABOVE the resort.



No time for the Keys to Coronado tour today, though...we want a room! Kristin tries to call the front desk, but can't get a connection. We decide to walk back to El Centro to see what's up, and once there, Kristin finds a courtesy phone to allow her to bypass the line. But just as she's about to dial, my phone buzzes - we have a message! Cabanas, room 8126! Would've been nice to get this 5 minutes earlier, since we pretty much just walked past there, bags and all...but we'll take it. We think. Let's go see.

It's in 8A (we really asked for 8B), but it's a GREAT room. First floor corner, and it has a great view. No complaining here. Still no luggage yet, but that's ok, since we packed our suits in our carry-ons. We also bought a less-than-three-ounce bottle of sunscreen, so we're set to go. Awww, and look what they did...



We're all ready to get to the pool, but I'm not ready to post anything else tonight, so we'll break here and probably say "to be continued..."


(to be continued...)


See?

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