The Trip Where Nothing Really Bad Happened - The End 6/1, Bonus Features: Disney 100 Celebration, Mickey Minnie Runaway Railway queue 2/8

[franandaj]

I'm here, Alison.

Glad I found you! I am not here on the DIS much anymore these days as I have to focus on other things for a while.

I know what you mean. I'm finding it difficult to find time to be here, but I'm determined to keep it up!

But the TRs I do read are people I really enjoy and consider friends. Thanks for sticking with me too!

And likewise too!

 

[suse66]

I know what “our parks” are like in this new world. We’re about to find out how much or if any the other US Disney parks have changed!

I hope you’ll join me in reliving this Disney adventure in a new exciting world!

Hi! I commented on your post in "No Steve's Allowed" and decided to come out of lurkdom on your TR.

But here’s a first! This has never happened before. All four of our suitcases are in the foyer ready to load in the car at 5PM the day before we leave! It’s amazing!

Sweet! So satisfying to have everything organized the night before.

Down on the 4th floor of the Contemporary they now do screening for the monorail. They have new screening systems, similar to what my European friends have spoken of. Now you no longer have to have some ultra picky or ultra lax security guard go rifling through your stuff. You simply take all your bags with you, walk through the screening rods, and if there is something suspicious, you get taken to the side for them to check it manually.

Fran learned very quickly (after trying to walk through on this occasion) when they asked her if she could walk through the screeners, she would reply, “Not very easily.” This got her an all expense paid ticket to the guard with the wand where she would promptly proclaim, “I have a ceramic hip, but I have metal knees.” And just on cue the little wand would beep at her knees every time. And then they let her through.

I really like the new system. It is so efficient.

By the time we got to the bar, it was almost 10:00 and Sam's wasn't serving food anymore. I put my name in and they said that it would be 35 to 40 minutes. So we went down to Captain Cook's and ordered some food. She got the pulled pork sandwich with fries.

The food at CC is always good. I love the kids chicken and pineapple with salad. Just a perfect light meal. And I cannot wait to go to Trader Sam's! Hopefully this March.

After that it was back home to BLT to have our Owner's Locker brought up, finish unpacking and take a bath. Mostly I just got everything out of the suitcases and put the suitcases in the foyer. The only clothes I actually put away were socks and underwear. I just piled all of our other clothes on the dresser and sorted out kitchen food and bathroom bags/stuff. This was all the food, before grocery delivery.

Those pantry cupboards at BLT are awesome.

 

[happily single]

Following. I love your Trip reports

 

[Dizzy4DL]

Following! I'm not sure if I've ever commented, but I love your trip reports.

 

[3threebabies]

Newish South Texan who has yet to travel by land or air to Houston here. I did just fly in/out of Dallas last month. Most grass goes dormant for a few months—even in San Antonio. I have seen a few yards that must be a more drought resistant or native type grass. Last spring/summer we had lush green grass well in to August for many yards, but some seem to never fill in completely. It was our 1st year and we had well above average rain with few water restrictions.

 

[franandaj]

Yep, best practice! Welcome back to the land of the living!

Well, been back in the land of living since April 1st last year when we got our second shot and finally Fran said we could go out to dinner again instead of take out. Just never had any place to fly until this trip came around.

I do that too, but even still I can mess up the timeline.

Happens to the best of us!

OH how fun! I hope Su-Lynn said hi! Wish I could have joined you all!

Su-Lynn will eventually make an appearance and definitely more than just a cameo!

Mine ALWAYS get checked. I've several things go missing so wonder why exactly they are in the bags. These 3-letter agencies are becoming the newest 4-letter words.

I don't think I've had anything go missing, but I carry all my valuable stuff on the plane with me. Between my camera, lenses, computer, and jewelry satchel, I don't even want to think how much money is in that bag!

I am wondering if it's a climate thing? There just isn't a lot of rain and it's either HOT or very cold. Maybe too hard to maintain?

Someone said that their lawns go dormant in the winter, but I didn't see anything at all, no cactus gardens, no outlines for the lawn. It just seemed weird to me.

Oh boy, she knows the drill!

YAY!! TS's is such a fun place to have a bit of fun!

I wish we could have gone back there. I like their lettuce wraps and potstickers!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Sounds like a fun trip and having everything ready and in the foyer seems like a good omen! Hurrah for nothing bad happening!! Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.

 

[franandaj]

You always do!

Aw shucks!

Well... he's not wrong...

Does that usually work???

Well, as you must have read the two with external locks were locked. The two with "built in locks" weren't. I didn't give them the bags that way.

Well, poop. Have you tried it since?

Nope, but I was thinking about pulling the "can we order out tonight" card and maybe we could do that instead of Pollo Loco.....

That's okay. I've seen frozen pizza.

Holy cow!
You need one of these:

It blares and rolls away and won't stop until you catch it.

It would scare the cats.

Hmm... you might save that just in gas. You'll definitely save in time. Worth it.

Well the time factor was definitely worth it!

Heh. It does to me. I've worked at four. None of them had jetways.

I've only been to one or two that did not have jetways.

First ride of the trip!

Woot!

A travesty. And a tragedy.

Yeah, but with all the people using Lyft and Uber, no one was trapped on property anymore and that was the point of Magical Express to strand people on property so that they had to spend all their money with Disney. When they could go off property the money spent to strand them there didn't make sense anymore.

So how does that work? Is that something you booked in advance? Or do you buy tickets when it arrives? Or???

Mears (who operated Magical Express) has a website where you can book round trip transportations for like $16pp or was it $32? Whatever it was for folks with 2 scooters, 4 suitcases, and 2 carry ons each, it was a good deal.

Front seat photo perk.

Thanks for all the photos. I've wanted to stay there (but almost certainly never will.)
That tub looks great!

It's quickly becoming one of my favorite resorts! We stayed there for the first time in 2011 for a D23 convention, and we have been back three or four times since. I love the large living room!

But of course.

It's only a monorail trip away!

And first DISmeet!

Unplanned as well!

So much rum in that place. Maybe next time I'll just order a Coke.
(They'll probably try to sneak some rum in it.)

There are drinks without rum and other libations.

Did you have to pay for that? Just saw yesterday (I think) that they're charging for that now.

I did not pay one delivery charge at all throughout the trip. At the end when I received my checkout statement, they were all $0. I pay an annual fee to the Owner's Locker people, but not the resort.

What a view!!

I like "lakeview" rooms because almost always (when you book an accessible room) it has a partial view of the MK. I wish I had taken even a couple shots of our view of the fireworks. It wasn't in perspective like if you saw it from in front of the castle, but the big bursts were going off right in front of the balcony and I could see those just great!

 

[franandaj]

I am following along …

our trip is next week (!!!!) and I am just PRAYING this TR title will apply to our trip as well.

How exciting! Where are you staying?

Kind of on pins and needles but we are as prepared as we can be so crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

That's all you can do!

 

[Minniemoo15]

How exciting! Where are you staying?



That's all you can do!

We are staying at Poly...it is our DVC home and I can't wait !

 

[franandaj]

Hi! I commented on your post in "No Steve's Allowed" and decided to come out of lurkdom on your TR.

I've seen you on a few other folks TRs! I'm glad you came out of lurkdom!

Sweet! So satisfying to have everything organized the night before.

And it's not something that usually happens for us!

I really like the new system. It is so efficient.

It took a bit of getting used to, but now that I know how to pack for the day, it's good.

The food at CC is always good. I love the kids chicken and pineapple with salad. Just a perfect light meal. And I cannot wait to go to Trader Sam's! Hopefully this March.

We've eaten there two times when we were waiting for Sam's and both times I really liked the food. Last time I had a flatbread and the kids Mac n Cheese

Those pantry cupboards at BLT are awesome.

I really liked that pantry. Our space at the Beach Club didn't fit quite as much stuff.

 

[franandaj]

Following. I love your Trip reports

I'm glad for you to post! The more the merrier!

 

[franandaj]

Following! I'm not sure if I've ever commented, but I love your trip reports.

Yay! More people coming out of Lurkdom!

 

[franandaj]

Newish South Texan who has yet to travel by land or air to Houston here. I did just fly in/out of Dallas last month.

Most grass goes dormant for a few months—even in San Antonio. I have seen a few yards that must be a more drought resistant or native type grass.

That's interesting. Our grass grows year round. It would probably be a bad occupation to be a gardener with half the year of no gardening work!

Last spring/summer we had lush green grass well in to August for many yards, but some seem to never fill in completely. It was our 1st year and we had well above average rain with few water restrictions.

Does the grass just grow naturally or do you plant seeds, or lay already grown grass?

 

[pkondz]

Aw shucks!

Nope, but I was thinking about pulling the "can we order out tonight" card and maybe we could do that instead of Pollo Loco.....

It would scare the cats.

Or you'd find out which ones are brave!

But... yeah. For sure.

I've only been to one or two that did not have jetways.

Not surprised. Most people travel from major airport to major airport.

Yeah, but with all the people using Lyft and Uber, no one was trapped on property anymore and that was the point of Magical Express to strand people on property so that they had to spend all their money with Disney. When they could go off property the money spent to strand them there didn't make sense anymore.

Huh! I hadn't thought of that!

Mears (who operated Magical Express) has a website where you can book round trip transportations for like $16pp or was it $32? Whatever it was for folks with 2 scooters, 4 suitcases, and 2 carry ons each, it was a good deal.

Thanks for that. I'm still undecided on how we'll get there/back, but have time to figure it out.

It's quickly becoming one of my favorite resorts! We stayed there for the first time in 2011 for a D23 convention, and we have been back three or four times since. I love the large living room!

Didn't know it was becoming a fave. It doesn't seem to get much love... and I was never quite sure why. Lack of theming, I presume.

There are drinks without rum and other libations.

I do believe I ordered wine... that I also didn't like!
But I try to do that when I have good friends who can help me out in situations like that.

I did not pay one delivery charge at all throughout the trip. At the end when I received my checkout statement, they were all $0. I pay an annual fee to the Owner's Locker people, but not the resort.

You might be surprised the next time you go...

I like "lakeview" rooms because almost always (when you book an accessible room) it has a partial view of the MK. I wish I had taken even a couple shots of our view of the fireworks. It wasn't in perspective like if you saw it from in front of the castle, but the big bursts were going off right in front of the balcony and I could see those just great!

Oh, wow!

 

[3threebabies]

That's interesting. Our grass grows year round. It would probably be a bad occupation to be a gardener with half the year of no gardening work!



Does the grass just grow naturally or do you plant seeds, or lay already grown grass?

I think it is mostly sod, and a lot of irrigation (when allowed). We never left the 30s today, and I am still getting used to the climate and how different it is from east coast. We had some leaves wait to change until December and early January, and different trees have had new leaf growth starting for several weeks

 

[franandaj]

Sounds like a fun trip and having everything ready and in the foyer seems like a good omen!

Hurrah for nothing bad happening!! Looking forward to hearing more about your adventures.

So great to have so many people coming out of lurkdom!

 

[Mom2m&k]

So excited to read your report! I got a sneak peek on instagram from one of your meet ups! I may have fan-girled a little bit seeing people I love to read about together!

 

[franandaj]

We are staying at Poly...it is our DVC home and I can't wait !

How exciting! I love the Poly!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hi folks!

Hi Alison! I'm finally here. Haven't had a ton of time for the boards lately so I'll probably be slow.

Well regardless, before we left on this trip, Fran was terrified of catching "the rona". No, she didn't call it that. In fact, Covid, Omicron, SARS-Covi 19, call it what you will, it's all like Voldemort with her: That Which Will Not Be Named. I'm not sure I have ever actually heard her call the disease by its name out loud. But we didn't. At least not so far. We still have a few days since our plane ride home, in which case I'll need to change the title.

Here's hoping nothing has changed!

Any number of things can go wrong on a trip, and I'm happy to report that none of them happened this trip.

Well, things are looking up already.

One thing about this trip is that I was really tired, especially leading up to the trip. Normally I make a bunch of plans, but this time I didn’t. I made some ADRs, but not as many as I normally would. On my trips I usually take a ton of pictures to document almost everything, but this trip, sometimes I just wanted to be in the moment and I forgot to pick up the camera.

Nothing wrong with that. Sounds like you needed some rest more than anything.

For me it's not about running from ride to ride, it's just being in the Disney environment. I realize that every inch has been "manufactured", but I like that people have taken the time to create such a fun and interesting place where you can be out in "nature" and then moments later be sipping cocktails in a comfortable air conditioned lounge.

Well said!

Here we are on Toy Story Midway Mania, where she has started a winning streak of beating me. I think it’s only because she isn’t trying to unlock the secret stuff, so I’m fighting a losing battle doing it on my own.

Come on! There's secret stuff! How can you not want to see that?

I know folks at WDW think our castle is tiny, but we still love Walt’s castle.

How can you not love Walt's castle?

(It's so tiny.)

But here’s a first! This has never happened before. All four of our suitcases are in the foyer ready to load in the car at 5PM the day before we leave! It’s amazing!

Evidently I am not a nice person when I'm awakened at 5AM.

Is anyone, really?

I'm not a very good at being a morning person anymore (when I was young, I totally was)

Uh huh. Sure you were.

This trip we were trying something completely different. Southwest Airlines started flying out of Long Beach about five years ago, but there were never any convenient flights for us. In 2020 they added 17 new destinations and all of a sudden our local airport became a whole lot more convenient than LAX!

I've heard some people say they really like Long Beach as opposed to LAX.

One of the reasons we had never flown out of Long Beach was that I'd heard that boarding the plane was like the 1950s with a staircase to board on the tarmac. However, many people said, "Its just like a normal airport." Well this doesn't look like a normal airport to me. When I think normal airport, I think indoor boarding ramps. I mean what if it was raining, not likely, but it could happen! I'm still on the fence as to whether or not we want fly out of here again.

Gotcha. A little low-tech. But honestly, everything looks well-appointed after flying into Gustavus, Alaska.

Is this just a California thing that we all have nicely manicured yards and gardeners to take care of them?

For the former: probably. For the latter: definitely.

The horror! No more Magical Express!

Don't get me started on the Disney bean counters!

Soon we were on the way to our resort. It would have been a pleasant trip if the kid in the seat behind Fran wasn't belting out "The wheels of the Bus" at the top of his lungs. He also only knew the first line of the song. I guess I should be grateful he didn't know the other verses, but he just kept singing that first line over and over and over.

Just getting you ready for It's a Small World. It's the exact same experience.

They have new screening systems, similar to what my European friends have spoken of. Now you no longer have to have some ultra picky or ultra lax security guard go rifling through your stuff. You simply take all your bags with you, walk through the screening rods, and if there is something suspicious, you get taken to the side for them to check it manually.

That sounds like an improvement.

It was just over 15 minutes from when I got the first text saying, “you’re on the list” that I got the "We're ready for you text". We hadn't even finished dinner.

So even the Poly is inflating the wait times!

Pretty sweet view!

That's exactly what I first thought of too!