AKV CL PTR/TR - taking practically first timers -TR starts on P. 17 (completed)

[Pinkocto]

Some future trip updates:

I was able to book BCV at the seven month mark for my June trip. I had AKV-Savannah view booked as a back up since I really wasn't holding my breath that I could get BCV but I was able to snag it. Very excited to stay at an Epcot resort, and to try out SAB. I also decided to add a day to the beginning of the trip so will fly in late that night instead of early in the morning like I planned. My dates for that trip are 6/6-6/11, any chance we overlap Mary Ellen?

Also, today was the day that I could book excursions for my January cruise and I booked the sea lion excursion that I've been thinking about. In the back of my mind I'm wondering if I should just stay on the ship but this is something I've wanted to do for many years. There were two options, 9:45 and 12:45. I booked the 12:45 so I could have a leisurely morning. I've decided not to book a Palo dinner since this will be my first time on the Wonder and lots of new things to experience already. Not to fear, we will definitely be doing Palo on the March cruise.

[Pinkocto]

Originally Posted by dgbg100106

I feel like they want us to show them the way... Since we have been there before

Hmmm, I'm sorry. I hope David asked your thoughts on this before inviting them. Are they wanting to do excursions or just want to relax and enjoy the ship? I found the biggest thing is that I felt pressure to make sure R & M enjoyed their trip and that stressed me. Time is quickly helping me forget the bad and treasure the memories we made.

[dgbg100106]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

Hmmm, I'm sorry. I hope David asked your thoughts on this before inviting them. Are they wanting to do excursions or just want to relax and enjoy the ship? I found the biggest thing is that I felt pressure to make sure R & M enjoyed their trip and that stressed me. Time is quickly helping me forget the bad and treasure the memories we made.

He asked them right in front of me... He knows that I am ok with it. They are all elderly and I know he wants to spend time with them, they are all he has left.

One is confined to a wheelchair and one has had a stroke and is a little slow walking, so I do see much in way of excursions, but they could surprise me.

I feel ashamed of making a big deal about it, I should be grateful that his family wants to be with us... and that David gets to spend time with his family!

[Pinkocto]

Originally Posted by dgbg100106

He asked them right in front of me... He knows that I am ok with it. They are all elderly and I know he wants to spend time with them, they are all he has left.

One is confined to a wheelchair and one has had a stroke and is a little slow walking, so I do see much in way of excursions, but they could surprise me.

I feel ashamed of making a big deal about it, I should be grateful that his family wants to be with us... and that David gets to spend time with his family!

I am foreseeing a very laid back and stress free trip . Fingers are crossed. Good quality family time. And then you have your magnificent transatlantic to look forward to.

[dgbg100106]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

I am foreseeing a very laid back and stress free trip . Fingers are crossed. Good quality family time. And then you have your magnificent transatlantic to look forward to.

True so very true..

[Pinkocto]

We crossed over to Adventureland through the hub and thankfully I was keeping an eye on everybody because R and mom just barreled ahead while M stopped to take a bunch of castle pictures. They were doing a show in front of the castle so M could have been totally lost in the crowd. She finally realized she was alone and looked around in a panic until she saw me a couple feet away. R and mom had no idea what was going on, they were far away from us in the shade.

While R decided he needed another smoke break I decided I needed to try a Pineapple Float for the first time. It was magnificent. I had to get everyone to try some it was so good. They all agreed with me. I sat out going to the Swiss Family Treehouse. Usually I enjoy going through it, but it was hot and I was enjoying my delicious treat. They all claimed to have enjoyed it&. I just wish they would spruce it up a bit, it was quite dusty the last time I saw it. Anyway, then we did The Magic Carpets of Aladdin with no wait. We were all spit on by the camel many times. Followed by the Jungle Cruise which was another walk-on and everyone loved it. Our driver, Al, was fantastic. I have never ridden it back to back, so not sure if they say the same jokes every time. If so, I dont know how they dont get bored. We tried clapping at the giant spider in the queue to show R & M how it lunges at people, but it didnt scare us as bad this time. The first time we did it a few trips ago the spider itself reared up and lunged. This time only the cage tilted toward us. It still got the heart pumping. We then headed to Pirates which was another walk-on. I was loving life. Everything was going fantastically.

Pecos Bills was on the agenda for lunch, especially since we didnt get taco salads the night before at the Pepper Market. M got distracted at a little stand that had beautiful glass trinkets. I took R and left M and mom behind, mom has been to Disney many many times and should know her way around by now& At least thats what I thought. Apparently she still has some kinks to work out and was a little annoyed we left her. R was getting concerned that they were taking a while to catch up with us, but Pirates is right around the corner from Pecos Bills, it wasnt like they had to maneuver through a maze or anything. I do think we had to back track a little to find them, but then the main focus was lunch. It was completely empty which was great and we must have ordered a little faster than them because we got separated a little. They found us very soon later at the toppings bar and we all loaded our salads up with deliciousness and went to find R who had left us to find a table. We found him as far away from the ordering station as he possibly could, suddenly with a bad attitude. We couldnt get him to talk, he was just eating in silence, complaining a bit that the toppings bar should have had more things to top with& And then suddenly he said, I think Im going to leave. WHAT!!! What was going on? He wouldnt talk with us, M had no idea what was going on. We were all in limbo. A little history is that R can get in a deep funk very fast and usually it lasts very long. So when he said he was going to leave, I thought it was a good idea because I didnt want him ruining our day with his horrible mood. When he finished his food he said he was going for a walk and left. We were able to get a little info from M who didnt want to talk about it when he was there. Apparently when they were ordering their food the CMs saw their anniversary buttons and had rung some cow bells as a kind of congratulations. Mom and I had heard the bells when we were at the toppings bar but had not thought anything of them. Well R hates any kind of extra attention and this just set him over the edge. It was absolutely ridiculous. M decided she was going to stay with us if he did leave. Well he was gone for so long we all figured he just left without telling us. He finally showed up again after we were all finished with our food, which was fabulous as usual.





R had ended up going off for a smoke and had calmed himself down enough that when he came back he decided since we were right near Splash Mountain and BTMR he would do those with us before leaving. Needless to say he took his anniversary button off. M got a bit sad over the whole situation because it left her feeling that he wasnt proud to be celebrating their marriage. Ugh, what a horrible person my brother can be sometimes.

At some point R let us know his feet were killing him. He had foolishly brought brand new sandals on the trip and they were giving him blisters. I must say that I warned them to pack comfortable shoes for the trip many times before we left, he chose not to listen to my advise. This was unfortunately adding to his bad mood.

Splash Mountain was one that M remembered from her previous trip and was not looking forward to reliving. Thankfully she enjoyed it and it was only a five minute wait. I loved the ride photo and would have bought it except the line was quite long, and the CM said I could buy it at any photo place in the park with the number she gave me. Ok, I would think about it for the rest of the day, if I was still wanting it Id buy it before we left. On the way out of the gift shop R saw some sandals he thought would work better than the ones he had on, just regular thongs but the ones he had on had a back which was causing the problem. For some reason he didnt get them& Onward to BTMR which was another walk-on, everyone loved it. Things were going very well except for Rs attitude. He had to stop for another smoke break and I was so annoyed with him I sat across the way. Hes in the middle left of the photo. I just needed to try and calm myself down a bit.



Mom and M went to buy him the sandals he had eyed. I find it so annoying when women have to take care of men because they are too stubborn to do something themselves. If it was me I would have let him suffer until he decided hed take care of the situation himself. Off the soapbox for now.



The new sandals felt much better and he decided to stick with us until he couldnt stand it any longer. Wed see how the day continued.

[dgbg100106]

I love that all the lines were short and that you got to come and go pretty quickly, sorry the attitude was off, but hopefully you had a good overall.

[Pinkocto]

Originally Posted by dgbg100106

I love that all the lines were short and that you got to come and go pretty quickly, sorry the attitude was off, but hopefully you had a good overall.

We would never have gotten a third of what we had done if the waits were longer. It was just amazing. It ended up being a very good day, but for that bit of time you could have cut the tension with a knife. He can turn into a five year old throwing a tantrum so fast it boggles my mind.

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

My dates for that trip are 6/6-6/11, any chance we overlap Mary Ellen?

.

Why, yes, our trips will overlap. We will be arriving on the 8th and leaving the 15th. We are driving so I don't know our exact arrival time. Of course, if you find some great SWA fares out of BWI, please feel free to pm me. We definitely must meet up.

OMG - your brother. Well, at least he knew enough to walk away when he got in a bad mood. In all seriousness, do you think he has a bit of a mood disorder? I don't mean that in a negative way. It's just that mood disorders run in my family and it sounds similar.

On a brighter note - I put mushrooms on my Pecos Bill taco salad, too.

[dgbg100106]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

We would never have gotten a third of what we had done if the waits were longer. It was just amazing. It ended up being a very good day, but for that bit of time you could have cut the tension with a knife. He can turn into a five year old throwing a tantrum so fast it boggles my mind.

And this is your brother right?

[Pinkocto]

Originally Posted by MEK

Why, yes, our trips will overlap. We will be arriving on the 8th and leaving the 15th. We are driving so I don't know our exact arrival time. Of course, if you find some great SWA fares out of BWI, please feel free to pm me. We definitely must meet up.

Excellent! And I will definitely let you know if I find some good deals. The thought of driving that far just exhausts me.

Originally Posted by MEK

OMG - your brother. Well, at least he knew enough to walk away when he got in a bad mood. In all seriousness, do you think he has a bit of a mood disorder? I don't mean that in a negative way. It's just that mood disorders run in my family and it sounds similar.

I've thought that for many years but he refuses to go get checked out.

Originally Posted by MEK

On a brighter note - I put mushrooms on my Pecos Bill taco salad, too.

I just love Pecos Bills! I need to try some other restaurants but I can't drag myself away from my favorites.

[Pinkocto]

Originally Posted by dgbg100106

And this is your brother right?

Yep, this is my brother.

[Leshaface]

I find it so annoying when women have to take care of men because they are too stubborn to do something themselves.

This. I would have been so annoyed if my brother had acted like this. Luckily for me, my brother loves Disney.

I really hope i'll be able to try Pecos in a few weeks () It looks really good and fresh.

[dgbg100106]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

Yep, this is my brother.

I guess I dis not mean it like that, I meant he was not your brother in law... At least with ypur own you know how much you can push...

[MEK]

Originally Posted by Pinkocto

Excellent! And I will definitely let you know if I find some good deals. The thought of driving that far just exhausts me.

It exhausts me, too. But I look at it this way. It's an extra trip that I hadn't planned on. So I rationalized it by saying we would drive. Two of my nephews may drive down with us (the two oldest). I am looking at it as an adventure.