YEA! I'm getting a bonus day at WDW

emnbensdad · Post by **emnbensdad** » Apr Wed 08, 2009 7:47 pm

Thanks for the advice, wdwannabe and Dr. Ravenscroft. I mentioned to my DW that they should plan on getting to WDW no later than 9:00 am Friday morning. She wasn't planning on getting there that early. I'll pass this info along and stress the crowd issue.

I'll post pics when I return.

wdwannabe · Post by **wdwannabe** » Apr Thu 09, 2009 9:43 am

Yes, you had better get there before they open, you may not get in other wise. Get fastpasses for what you must ride first.

emnbensdad · Post by **emnbensdad** » Apr Sun 12, 2009 4:32 pm

Got back home to the Atlanta area late Saturday night. Had a whirlwind 24 hours at WDW. It went very well. I'll post details later. It was a bit crowded but the crowds moved extremely well throughout the park.

packwingfn · Post by **packwingfn** » Apr Sun 12, 2009 4:36 pm

emnbensdad wrote:Got back home to the Atlanta area late Saturday night. Had a whirlwind 24 hours at WDW. It went very well. I'll post details later. It was a bit crowded but the crowds moved extremely well throughout the park.

Glad it went well and that the crowds didn't bother you too much down there. It can be pretty easy around this week with the kids out on spring vacation but as long as you don't overkill yourself, you can easily ignore the crowds and still have a pleasant time

.

Can't wait to read about the details!

emnbensdad · Post by **emnbensdad** » Apr Sun 12, 2009 6:13 pm

I'm going to put this into two parts because the trip was on two days, even though it lasted about 24 hours total. This post is long so I apologize in advance.

Thursday finally arrived but I had a few errands to take care of before I got out of town. I had a routine doctor appointment. It was running late and I had to wait about an extra 45 minutes. No biggie. And for those of you living outside the US that have a longer wait I apologize.

I then had to get a prescription filled and I had to wait for that.

I had a friend drive me to the airport so I wouldn't have to park my car there for 2 + days. Kept that cost down!! Had to wait for him to get off work. Also, he only had a small window where he was available to take me so I got to the airport 2 hours before my flight. Guess what?? More waiting . . .

Finally arrived in Orlando. Having never taken advantage of DME I didn't know where to go exactly. I knew it was the lower level, B side. Finally found the counter and got in line (not much of a wait), was told which line to get in to get to my resort (CBR) and then I boarded the bus. This is the time I started to finally relax. It was SRO and I tried offering my seat to a foreign couple (I was guessing one of the Baltic states) but they refused.

Made it to CBR and headed over to the Guest House to check in. I had taken advantage of online check-in and it was a breeze. I proceeded to the concierge desk to check on some general info and to find out the best way to get to Wilderness Lodge. I had reservations at 9:00 at Whispering Canyon Cafe. The CM told me it would take about an hour to get over there so I thought I had better leave. It was around 7:30.

I went to the bus stop and waited about 15-20 minutes for a Magic Kingdom bus. I was told that the best way to get to WL was bus to MK and then boat to WL. That's what I did. I got off the bus at MK and headed over to the ferry departing in about 2 minutes for WL. Arrived at WL at 8:30 (bus ride from CBR to MK and boat ride from MK to CBR took about an hour). Made my way into the lobby from the walkway (great walk by the way . . . really got me psyched about booking a future stay).

Finally made it inside and I just stopped and looked around and up. I was completely immersed in the feel of the lodge. The background music just barely audible above the crowd noise. Made my way over to Whispering Canyon to check in. There were lots of folks in the lobby with pagers from the restaurant. I figured with the crowd . . . they would be running a little behind. I was right. Since I was dining alone, they told me it wouldn't be long. Well, I went shopping. Got my daughter and son lanyards (POTC for DS and Princesses for DD) plus an extra pin for each of them, Mickey as Anakin and Minnie as Princess Leia. They both dig Star Wars.

Got buzzed about 9:15 for dinner . . . was really getting hungry by now. Got seated and my server (Judith, Philippines) and she threw the napkins at me. I was tired, hungry and not happy about waiting and this totally took me by surprise. In no time, Judith had me smiling and playing along. One table called for ketchup and there happened to be some at the table next to me. Well, if you've ever eaten there, you know what you have to do. So I delivered 8 bottles of ketchup to a table across the restaurant along with about 6 other bottles from other tables. I ordered the meatloaf, which came with mashed potatoes, green beans and corn bread. Iced tea to top it off and I was in heaven!!

Now all I had to do was make my way back to CBR so I reversed my earlier course. I headed out to the loading dock and there was a boat waiting to head back to MK. As we rounded the bend, several of us heard the noise. It was 10:00 and like clockwork, the fireworks started at MK. If you've never seen the fireworks from one of the boats along the lake, you're missing a treat. What a view!!!!! And I was alone. My DW was in bed about 75 miles SW of where I was.

It was still spectacular and we pulled up to the dock just in time for the finale.

I made my way over to #16 just as a bus pulled up. I climbed aboard and was at CBR in no time. I hadn't been to my room at all. I finally found my building (I was a bit lost) and when I opened the door, there was my bag just as they promised! I settled in and finally drifted off around midnight.

I'll post about the day at MK shortly.

wdwannabe · Post by **wdwannabe** » Apr Tue 14, 2009 9:12 am

Oh great first day! I bet those fireworks were a nice "magical experince!"

emnbensdad · Post by **emnbensdad** » Apr Tue 14, 2009 12:08 pm

Yeah . . . but I wasn't with my DW. I shared it with another family on the boat and a CM grabbing a ride back to MK. NOT my idea of romantic.

Post by **Len90** » Apr Tue 14, 2009 4:37 pm

Great story. Whispering Canyon is definitely a blast. Did you ask to speak to the chef while you were there?

emnbensdad · Post by **emnbensdad** » Apr Mon 20, 2009 9:24 am

No I didn't ask to see the chef. Does something crazy happen? I would expect it there.