"An Orgy of Fun"--A Free Dining Trip Report w/ pics 8/25-9/4

[smartestnumber5]

After getting back from the park we stopped in at the food court to have a snack. We discovered the awesomeness of the sundaes at Pop --sure it was no dole whip or ice cream cookie sandwich, but the sundaes half the size of your head are still a pretty good snack/dessert option. (I'll leave the details to the dining reviews though).

GF said that we could go swimming when we got back to the room, but we were only there a few minutes when collapsed onto the bed. She asked if we could go swimming later and I said of course and then she fell asleep for the next three hours. From the moment her head hit the pillow I pretty much knew that there was no way we'd end up going swimming that day; she was going to sleep until dinner.

I've probably mentioned before that GF has sleep apnea (not enough air gets into her airway while she sleeps so she doesn't sleep normally--never, ever gets any deep sleep). She has an apnea mask which takes care of it now, but she still has sleeping issues--a lot of trouble going to sleep at a reasonable hour at night even if she's been tired all day long. I, on the other hand, am more like clockwork--after a few days of getting up at a certain time my body kind of adjusts to it and I wake up at that time without an alarm. And generally I can go to sleep at will pretty easily--so it's pretty easy to arrange so that I go to sleep around 8 hours before I have to get up. GF is pretty jealous that I sleep so well. At Disney, though, GF sleeps just as well as I do--she is just completely out! And it doesn't matter if she slept 9 hours and took a 3.5 hour nap--she's still like a rock! Seems to indicate that at home maybe she needs more physical activity so that she's tired at the right time at night.

I watched some tv (lifetime movie network I believe--man the cable is bad at WDW) and eventually I figured I might as well nap too. We woke up around 6 pm and then headed out at 7pm for dinner at Boma.

Dinner was pretty quick. We had an ADR for 8pm but got seated around 7:45. We left AKL around 9pm and were trying to decide what transfer point would be best. An MGM bus pulled up and I thought that MGM closed at 8pm that night, so I wanted to check and see if we could still transfer there. The driver said yes so we got on. There were only about eight more people onboard--two families it seemed. The driver proceeded for first drive to Animal Kingdom (which had at that point been closed for 4 hours I think) and drop some people off . After that there was just one other family left. We were in the back of the bus and they were up front and there were two children (one maybe 10 and the other in his early teens) who were standing and holding onto the handrails and seemingly enjoying swaying about. GF kept scrunching her nose and saying she smelled fart. I said maybe it was her but she assured me it wasn't . A few minutes later she elbowed me and gestured toward the front of the bus. I missed what was going on but she told me that one of the parents said to the younger child, "I thought your stomach hurt?" and the child replied, "It did, but then I farted a lot and it felt better"--guess we were downwind .

We assumed the bus was on its way to MGM during all of this, but the next stop was at All Star Sports . We were totally confused and worried that we wouldn't get where we needed to go so I went up to check with the driver that he was indeed going to MGM. He said he was. I realized that I really should have asked if could take us right to our resort which it seems is what he was doing with the other folks. Oh well.

We arrived at MGM--must have been 9:30ish at this point and I thought we should be able to quickly get on a bus since it was an hour and a half after closing. The driver actually didn't enter the bus loading area but dropped us off before that--guess he was done for the night or assigned to go elsewhere. So as we started walking over to the bus area I started noticing lines--many, many lines filled with many, many people waiting for buses. Why are there so many people so late after closing I wondered.

I still don't know what the answer was, but I suspect that I was wrong about closing time. Either that or it must have been the Fantasmic crowd, though I just can't believe that the Fantasmic crowd could have been that huge. we made our over to the Pop bus stop and found a big line. The entire queue was full and the line was extending all the way down past a 2nd queue.

Well, we knew that would take quite a few buses, so we thought we'd sit on a bench and wait for the line to clear out a bit. Well we sat and we sat and people just kept on coming. A few buses came, but not nearly as many as one would have expected given how steadily more people were entering the line. While we were sitting on a bench we started noticing that there seemed to be one queue in front of us that never had any buses stop there. Pop was like #9 and this was queue #8. I got up to check what the sign said for that queue but found it blank. As I was looking around I realized what was going on--the line for Pop was actually covering not just one full queue (#9) and extending all the way down the path, but that line had also been routed through the #8 queue . The line was actually twice as long as we'd thought .

I went back to the bench to tell GF what I discovered--she was disbelieving at first. We began paying attention to what the other queues lines looked like. The ones we could see from where were sitting--mostly deluxe resorts--looked nothing like the Pop one! We'd never seen the bus situation anywhere near this bad. Was Pop just crazily booked compared to what it had been like during free dining in 2006?--I don't remember it being anywhere near that bad then. Or maybe they just cut the bus service since then? I did notice that the All Star lines across the parking lot had the same thing going on--taking up two queues--and might have actually been a longer line. GF and I waited a little longer thinking we could spare our feet and just sit while the line cleared out, but it soon became obvious that the line was never actually going to clear--the buses just were not coming fast enough to make much progress. Eventually we began to see a little bit of progress--the line was mostly contained by just the 2 queues and not extending down the path that much anymore--we decided we'd better get up and take a spot in line. A few seconds later a family walked by us and I heard some talking about Pop. They'd walked right past the entrance to the line because the entrance was so far away from where the actual queue was. Like thousands of people before them who'd we witnessed do the same thing, they turned around and walked back a bit and looked confused as they took a spot behind me. One of them asked if this was the line for Pop and when I confirmed that it was, one of the family members expressed outrage at the length of the line. I informed them that this was the shortest the line had been in at least a half an hour!

Luckily the line moved faster than we thought it would. I do think, though, that it was one of the longest lines we waited in for the whole trip. It's pretty sad when the lines for the bus are longer than the ones for the ride. The transportation situation just was not great this trip--we had a few problems the last few trips, but this time it seemed like anytime before noon and anytime after 2pm the buses were standing room only. I think we're going to have to think carefully about the possibility of renting a car in the future--not an expense we really want to take on, but we might have to. I just can't imagine what it's like for people with children. I mean I dreaded getting on the bus because it so often meant standing in line in the direct sunlight sweating and feeling like dying before even leaving the hotel! I can't imagine doing that while holding a toddler and pulling along a diaper bag and stroller . Everytime I see parents of young children in WDW I feel so old and tired and lacking in stamina--if GF and I feel like collapsing after 3 hours at a park, how could we possibly take a child around WDW and survive?

 

[smartestnumber5]

Since it was early in the trip we managed another early day (well early by our standards means an 8am wake up call ). We left the room by 9am and decided not to bother stopping in at the food court--there's just too many people there at breakfast time. It was really nice to have a coffee pot int he room so we could make GF some real coffee.

We got to MGM a little after 9:30 and went right to the Tower of Terror (after a little bit of bench sitting for GF's feet to rest). Surprisingly it already had a half hour wait. We could have done a fast pass, but figured the time the say usually isn't totally accurate--it's usually quicker than they say it will be. So we figured 20 minutes which I think is more like what it was.

GF screamed her head off on the ride like usual . In the gift shop connected to the exit we found some LOST merchandise--a few action figures and a hatch scene I think. This prompted us to wonder if Disney might at some point create a LOST ride--wow, there are some great possibilities there! I hope they do it!

After Tower of Terror we decided to head over to the Backlot Tour. We'd missed this the last two trips so GF had never been on it. We don't really like much at MGM--really we just go for ToT--so we were just going to hit the tour and then leave.

On the way we spotted Toluca Turkey Legs. GF had been very interested in getting a turkey leg here for the past few months--she decided the turkey legs looked really good and that she liked the name "Toluca" for some reason. I've been teasing her for weeks--I'll look at her all serious and then in a little girl voice quietly say "Toluca" .

It was only like 10 am so understandable that she didn't want a turkey leg then. But she never got one at all at any of the parks after all of that talking about it .

On the walk over to the Backlot Tour I decided I needed a snack and GF decided she could use some coffee. I grabbed a pretzel and we headed over to the Writer's Stop (around the corner from Sci Fi Dine Inn) to grab her some epresso. We sat there for awhile to eat and drink and discussed what we should do after the backlot tour. We weren't really interested in any other rides, so we thought about heading over to world showcase by boat or just going back to Pop. We also didn't know where we should eat lunch since we'd heard such bad things about MGM counter services.

After our break we tried to go over to the Backlot Tour. Looking at the map it seemed like the only way to get there was to walk back toward The Great Movie Ride and then go around the corner past where Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was and keep walking. We tried to do that only to find the area past the old Who Wants to Be a Millionaire blocked off . By this time we were really hot and tired and had to break out the iced washclothes we'd brought with us. (We put washclothes from the hotel in a ziplock with ice and some water so we had something refreshing to put on the back of our necks.) The idea of walking back to where we just came from sucked, but we persevered and walked down the streets of new york area (wow it's horribly lacking in shade and benches there! ) and finally found the tour.

After all that GF found it kind of lame (I could have predicted that really). When it was over we happily agreed to go back to Pop and have lunch there and then go swimming. When we got to our room we found another towel animal waiting for us. We decided that we should make bodies for them so we covered some bottles with towels and placed the heads on top.

After food and a swim an fun with towel animals it was time for a nap.

A few hours later we left again to go to dinner at Le Cellier. Here's a pic of Spaceship Earth. Before our first trip to WDW (when GF was, oh, 29) she thought that ALL of Epcot was in the ball! Wow, she either thought Epcot was really small, or that the ball was really big .

We purposely left early so that we could hit up a ride before dinner. We chose Mission Space since it had a short line. We went on the non-spinning side. GF can't even go on dumbo because it moves in a circular path--I don't think she hold up to well on the spinning Mission Space .

There was a guy in line in front of us who seemed to keep staring at us. We didn't know if he wanted to talk to us or was somehow offended by us or what . Here's a pic from in the queue line:

After the ride we walked to Le Cellier and took some pics of the fountains on the way:

We had a really great meal at Le Cellier and only had to wait less than five minutes to be seated (and we were early). While we waited outside I took this picture:

This is the building way above Le Cellier. We were trying to figure out what the deal with it is. Is it a real building--or just a facade of a building? If it's real, do they actually use it for something?

And here's me looking at the fountains on our way out of the park:

 

[smartestnumber5]

wrong thread

 

[smartestnumber5]

Wake up call was at 8am again--"No Schleeping!"

GF took a while getting ready--she is amazingly easy to distract. Having the TV on is very dangerous for her. She'll be in the middle of putting a sock on and suddenly just sit on the bed and stare at it like she's in a trance . Since she was taking so long I went over to Pop to grab us some food and she met me there.

While there I decided I needed some safety pins for my shorts. They were a pair I never wear and they were a little less than a size too big. So they kind of fell off my waist to my hips and then felt like they were really low and baggy. I wanted to fold over the waistband so they'd fit better but they were denim so it wouldn't stay. So I figured I'd safety pin it. I found safety pins for like $1.50 in the gift shop, but when I went to buy them the CM asked how many I needed. I said five or six and she took a whole pile out of her pocket and gave them to me so I didn't have to buy any. How nice .

We decided to head over to MK for the day and found a line at the bus stop (like usual). We got in line but it was clear when the first bus showed up that we wouldn't get seats on it. Concerned for GF's feet I suggested we wait, but she said we should just get on. So we got on. I don't mind standing on the bus when it's going from Pop to MGM or Epcot--but the ride to MK is just very long. By the time we got there my lower back was hurting and one look at GF indicated she was in some pain. So we had to sit on a bench in the sun again while she iced her feet.

When she felt a little better we headed inside and went to Tomorrowland. On the way, we sat at the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station. We've never eaten here, but have seen the menu online and it seems that there is no sushi on the menu. Yet there is clearly sushi in the picture at the entrance. What gives?

We hit up Monsters Inc Laugh Floor which was new to us. It was fun--they had a lot of audience participation. Next was Buzz Lightyear. Then Tomorrowland Transit Authority.

And of course Space Mountain where GF screamed like a baby again .

We hit Cosmic Rays for lunch and then headed to Fantasyland to see if Alice in Wonderland was around. There was no sign of her so we agreed that we should go to Mickey's Philharmagic and then go back to the hotel for a rest. This ride was also new to us. While we were waiting for the doors to the auditorium to open a voice over from Minnie announced that the doors would be opening shortly and that she loves the orchestra almost as much as she loves the conductor. GF looked and said, "Is that supposed to imply Minnie is a slut--that she's hot for the conductor?" I looked at her like she was nuts and said, "Uh, the conductor is Mickey! Aren't they like married or in a committed relationship or whatever?" A light dawned for GF --she tried to save face by saying "Well how was I supposed to know that Mickey is the conductor?" Gee, you'd think that the name of the ride "MICKEY's Philharmagic" would've been a clue!

 

[tigger536]

Great TR so far! I followed the link over from your food thread! It looks like you are having a great time. Sorry about the Pop bus situation. We have never had good luck with Disney transportation. We always either drive or rent a car. I've never stayed at Pop, so I'm enjoying the pics of it. Would you stay there again or would you do a moderate or something else next time? My only experience with the values has been the All Stars, and I was not impressed. Pop looks cool though, it just always seems to be booked for when we go.

Anyway, great report!

And PS, I love the pics of your cats. They are so cute. I have several feline "children" as well. Leaving them for vacation is hard.