“Trouble in Paradise” Day 3

[DisneyJade]

Cast: Jade – Disney Planner (1st trip as an adult)
Yorke – Disney Skeptic (1st WDW trip – DL aficionado)

WHOOPS! We overslept and missed early entry to AK.
I woke up well rested and blissful from our perfect first-full-day. Yorke, however, woke up cranky and tired. I think he may have gone back down to the bar to drink some more after I fell asleep.

He seemed pretty hung over.
I decided we should stay on schedule even though it was after 9am. So we headed to AK and we were still able to walk on to everything! Now, I have to say here… AK completely exceeded my expectations!!!

I had read some conflicting reports about the park as a whole, and there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of rides, so I only planned a half-day there. We could have easily spent two full days.
We both agree AK is our favorite park by far. You don’t have to rush around to get from this ride to that just to fit it all in. It’s so much more leisurely… and no matter where you are there is something to see. So, on with the itinerary! As per all the guidebooks and DIS board tips, we headed straight for the Safari (and walked right on!) We saw lots of animals

and I got a few good pics, but next time I think I’ll stay at the AK lodge and do the sunrise safari.. Given more time, I would have ridden the safari over and over again, but Yorke wanted to keep moving. We grabbed some coffee and cinnamon rolls from Kusafiri coffee shop, and I bought some souveniers. Then we wandered through Maharaja Jungle Trek and Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Both attractions are so nice because you make your own pace and can chat as you wander through… i.e. spend quality time together while also getting your money’s worth. We headed to ITTBAB, but we got lost (easy to get lost in AK) and ended up at Dinosaur… what a great ride! Another one that’s too short to wait in line for hours for, but once you’re on it it’s sooo cool!! I wasn’t interested in the Carny-type games, but Yorke wanted to win me something, so I had to let him. He wrung the bell on the strong man game and got me a stuffed snake. ITTBAB was the last item on the “to-do” list so we did that. It was a great show… but I can’t decide if it beats “Honey I Shrunk the Audience” or not. Then, it was time to go, but we both wanted to dawdle, so we kept coming up with reasons to stay (check out this gift shop… oh, darn, we’re lost again)

Finally, Yorke announced he really wanted to ride Kali River Rapids even though it was freezing out. I figured, since we were going back to the hotel to eat and rest anyway, we wouldn’t be wet for too long – and what are the chances we’ll get soaked anyway? Well, you guessed it. We were right at the bottom of the car when we went down the big drop.

I got completely drenched and Yorke was almost as soaked as me. Thankfully, we’d stuffed our sweaters and coats into the center dry compartment, so we had something warm to put on. We staggered out of the park wet and miserable and headed back to the hotel.
At the hotel, we changed into dry clothes and grabbed a bite to eat. Then Yorke decided to take a “short” nap. After an hour, I knew it was getting too late to ride all the rides we wanted to at MGM, so I woke him up. This is where the trouble begins.

He got irate and starting ranting that he needed sleep and this is his vacation too and why couldn’t we do MGM tomorrow… I, being the trip planner, informed him that we couldn’t do MGM Fantasmic tomorrow b/c we had to do ToD and Fantasy in the Sky fireworks.

We were fighting pretty bad at this point, so I’ll skip past the expletives and get to the point. He wanted to sleep and skip MGM and felt I was ruining his vacation by not letting him relax. I wanted to skip the sleep and go to MGM since we were on a tight schedule and felt he was ruining my vacation by making me wait around for hours while he slept… and then not coming with me at all! I could have gone to MGM by myself hours ago!!
Anyway, we “sort-of” compromised. I would give him another hour to sleep and then he would wrap up the day with me at MGM. I killed time by calling home and browsing the gift shop for postcards. Woke Yorke up around 4pm and we got to MGM by 4:30. This we the first time we’d been at the parks so late in the day, and it was a little more crowded. We went straight to Tower of Terror and had our longest wait of the trip at 15 minutes. It was tough to enjoy this ride because Yorke and I weren’t even speaking, let alone cuddling up on scary rides. So, I had only the safety bar to cling to. L After that, we went to RnR, but the 25 wait was too long for our taste, so we skipped it. Then we booked it over to Millionaire only to “just miss” the last show of the day. At this point, I’m fuming because it’s all Yorke’s fault that we’re missing these rides because he had to sleep the day away.

We rode the Great Movie Ride in silence. When it was over, we both agreed it was pretty boring.
FINALLY, it was time to grab a seat for Fantasmic. We headed into the theater at 6:15 b/c I’d heard you have to get there that early to get seats. Well, suffice it to say, a third of the seats were still empty when the show started. We could have walked in at the last second. So even though he didn’t say anything, I could tell Yorke was mad at me for making him sit outside in the cold for 45 minutes when we could have just as easily ridden a couple more rides before the show started.

Oh well. I escaped his scowl by getting in the long line for pretzels and hot chocolate. I was pretty disappointed. See the dining report for more info and a RIP OFF ALERT, but I will say this much: they were running out of hot chocolate, so they only filled the mugs about half-full. The show was stunning!! Even better than I expected. I kept wishing my parents were there b/c they would have absolutely raved over Fantasmic.
Getting out of the theater after the show was a NIGHTMARE. Even with minimal crowds, the crush to exit was horrendous. There is only one way out, so it created this terrible bottleneck of people. It could be hard to keep track of kids in that mess. Here’s a tip though. Once you get out onto the “street” part of MGM… use the sidewalks. For some reason, in both MGM and MK everyone sort of herds into the street like cattle, and the sidewalks are wide open. We must have passed about 500 people by just strolling down the sidewalk instead of cramming into the street.
Back at the hotel, Yorke and I were still tense and barely speaking, so we decided to can our plans for Pleasure Island… just one more thing to cram into the last day. We grabbed some dinner at the food court and took it back to the room .See Dining Report Despite his long nap earlier, he was in his PJs and starting to snooze by 8:30pm. I went down to the bar, had an overpriced drink and called my folks to complain.
The weather today was cold, but thankfully it didn't rain like it was supposed to.
Buses were nice and smooth again.

Tomorrow: The last day. Can Jade and Yorke salvage the vacation?

 

[nativetxn]

It's unfortunate that you two had an argument but that happens when you get over tired and when one person wants to tour commando style and the other person doesn't

You still got a lot done this day and I enjoyed reading about it. Thanks for taking the time to post this.

Katholyn

 

[zurgswife]

Sorry things got so tense.....

 

[Luv2Roam]

It is very easy to become the Bickersons at WDW. Esp when you two were on quite a different time zone internally.
The one time we rented a car, DH and I were the Bickersons because we were so tired and stressed. Never again a rental!
But I enjoyed your reports.
Too bad on RnRC. It is a good one! Dh really likes CA Screamin'. But he says RnRC is better.
I think Fantasmic is better at DL.
That was one thing that I think is ridiculous about Fantasmic during off season. If they would just let guests come in and sit where ever they wanted, the congestion problem would not be near as bad, we don't think.
Instead they insist on squeezing guests in narrow walkways, where they are halfway blocked anyway from people just standing and not moving. Then you have the jerks trying to squeeze through any space that a mouse can barely make it through, who then wonder why they get separated from others in their group.
We were at Fantasmic the 16th, and the stadium wasn't near full. We arrived a half hour early. And like you, I thought "Geez I could have riden ToT a few more times." There were plenty of seats remaining even after the show started. At least four sections. And the last two sections were very sparce.
DH and I sat down on the end of one section that was barely occupied. Another family of four was behind us. (We knew we were going to leave just before Fantasmic ended just to avoid the crowd and didn't want to disturb others.)
Some CM with a chip on his shoulder made us move to a crowded section. Even the guy behind us said to the CM, "Why? So we can move back once you open this section up in ten minutes?"
Which is what DH and I did.

Then I couldn't understand why they have the throngs of guests pack themselves in like sardines to get the end of the row, only to tell them to walk back to the other end (that they just passed) once they reach a row.
It's like Disney gets so caught up in crowd control they are overly anal rententive about it. In this case, they cause the crowd.
Off my soap box now. Thank you!

 

[dzneelvr]

Jade--way to go, girl, for making the best of a grouchy spouse. I think we've all been there-done that.

Might I suggest that Yorke look at a WDW vacation as a tad too expensive to nap through !
You can sleep on the plane or the car ride home--don't sleep through the magic !

I give both of you credit for keeping your argument silent as far as when you're out in public.

In 2000, my hubby, 12 and 10 y/o and I heard the worst argument of all time while waiting for the slide at Blizzard Beach--the "f" word and all--I think the couple must.ve ended up divorcing....
And this summer, right outside the RR Roller Coaster, this husband and wife were yelling at the top of their lungs--one was tired and the other wanted to keep going.
EXTREMELY inappropriate behavior and to think that people spend all kinds of money to get to disney and then act like that....shame....
Next trip you'll have a better idea of how independent you can be while yorke naps. My family has been know to split up for the better part of a day when hubby wants to sit on the web at innoventions and the kids and I want to ride--makes for a great time for all. We meet up for the evening dinner, and all are happy !

Thanks for sharing......

 

[Krissalee]

Traveling with a loved-one is very hard!!!!!!

DH and I usually bicker from time to time while on vacation, but we get over it. When on vacation, we are spending 24/7 with each other. At home, we have our own schedules and our own lives. I have found that even though we are enjoying our time together, we both need our space. I try to spend some private time apart from DH.

For the most part, seems like a fantastic trip!!!!!

 

[Jen D]

Bummer. I had to suppress the commando urge like crazy on my trip, too, and there was so much we didn't do and I only let it get to me once! I just shut my mouth and went to the Brown Derby for wine. Our trip was six nights though, so I could swallow some "forced down time." If I was only going four days I'd be going nuts!

Thanks for your report on AK. I'm one of the folks that is ambivalent about this park. We only spent about five hours there. I thought it was pretty but needed more attractions, and the "zoo" element was nothing special compared to my hometown zoo. But I think there is something to be said for slowing down and taking your time at the AK. I think that one problem people may have with the AK is that for most of the year (we went in September) it is so hot, and it is not a great park to be in the heat at-- it is subtropic! So casually strolling around is not too enticing. We left early because my family was wilting. Maybe we would have done better in January!

 

[Tess]

My husband and I don't argue in Disney--he just does everything my way and we get along splendidly!

Actually, it's our daughter that causes some periodic consternation. She insists that she MUST swim each day--doesn't really matter the weather as long as she gets her pool time. The other 3 of us like to tour longer with a later in the p.m. break. A pre-teen girl can make your life a living **** if things aren't going her way!

She was better last summer--of course, it was the mother of all rain events in June 2002--that helped because the pools were closed A LOT! We've been stretching our day out on her and after last summer, spending time at a park until 2 or 2:30, she saw the benefit. She had no idea all the cool things she missed in the parks between 1 and 5 p.m.

I feel your pain though. . .nothing worse than to have those resentments building on a terrific vacation!

 

[pkitty]

Hey DisneyJade!!!
It's refreshing to read a trip report with some drama!!!!I think we've all been there at one point or another with our significant others and kids (especially those little 9 year old princesses like my LB who also insists on swimming every day....what is with that!!!)As for Animal Kingdom it is my favorite also...I live in a house with 3 dogs 2 cats and 1 spoiled weasel...our stinky minky ferret so believe me I am the consumate animal lover. It bothers me though when I here people complain about the lack of rides at AK...yet they miss out on the uniqueness of the habitats....in particular the gorilla habitat which is one of the only habitats ever endorsed by Jane Goodall....it's a natural environment unlike most zoos...it even has it's own bachelor group...a suggestion you probably could have made to you man, if he didn't like the way things were going on your trip!!!!And yes WDW is definately too much $$$$$$ to be spending your time napping!!!!(Especially if your Canadian and your dollar is worth squat!!)Enjoyed your report though...very entertaining!!!! PKITTY!!!!P.S WHERE'D YOU GET THE COOL SMILIES!?!?!