Yet Another Review of 8 Days In WDW w/PICS!

[Amy]

Great 7th day Len! May I ask what the Visa pictures are that you have mentioned a few times now? Is it something free that comes with being a Disney Visa cardholder? Or is it just something sponsored by Visa in EPCOT?

[MadEye]

As for merchandise, I wanted to buy a classic EPCOT shirt at Mouse Gear, but they didn't have my size in the ones that I liked.

That sucks. Which ones were you looking for in your size?

[MadEye]

I will say this was the first time we ever had a CM who interacted with the pre-recorded Minnie, Goofy, and Donald prior to the show beginning in Philharmagic. I found it to be excellent and really hope that it will be a thing that catches on.

Unfortunately, something like that can get a CM in trouble. The only way it could catch on is if a manager oks it. And a manager can ok something only if the people they answer to ok it and we all know how they can be...

Consider you and your family lucky as there are only a handful of CMs willing to risk getting in trouble.

[mindflipper]

I will say this was the first time we ever had a CM who interacted with the pre-recorded Minnie, Goofy, and Donald prior to the show beginning in Philharmagic. I found it to be excellent and really hope that it will be a thing that catches on.

Unfortunately, something like that can get a CM in trouble. The only way it could catch on is if a manager oks it. And a manager can ok something only if the people they answer to ok it and we all know how they can be...

Consider you and your family lucky as there are only a handful of CMs willing to risk getting in trouble.

Maybe it would have been better to keep that bit on the QT and the hush-hush. I know a CM in that region, and you're right - to do that would be daring, and he's not that daring.

[boilerbabe]

Awesome report Len!!! You guys manage to cram alot in to each day, very impressive. Also sounds like you had a blast! I can't wait for the pictures. I'm glad to hear that you and Minnie are not over, I think you make a great couple. I was wondering who you saw for the second Visa meet. We have only seen Mickey/Pluto once and every single time after that it's been Minnie/Goofy. B-dude and I were just discussing this yesterday and wondering if they ever change them up anymore? We also wondered if they ever throw Donald in there??? After all, it's supposed to be the Fab. 5 you get to meet!

I hope you don't mind if I answer Amy's question about the Visa pictures?! Amy, if you have a Disney Visa or Debit card, you can go to Innoventions West and you and your party can have your complimentary picture taken with one or usually two of the Fab. 5. You never know who it's going to be though, they take you into a private room, so it's just you and your party. I know the first time is at 1:30 and I think the other is at either 4:00 or 4:30. You are allowed to do this 6 times in total I believe. They will give you a voucher and you pick up your free pic. at the photo shop right under SSE. We just love it, it's a fun perk of having a Disney Visa! It makes you feel like a VIP!

[Mousekedude]

...if you have a Disney Visa or Debit card, you can go to Innoventions West and you and your party can have your complimentary picture taken with one or usually two of the Fab. 5. You never know who it's going to be though, they take you into a private room, so it's just you and your party. I know the first time is at 1:30 and I think the other is at either 4:00 or 4:30. You are allowed to do this 6 times in total I believe. They will give you a voucher and you pick up your free pic. at the photo shop right under SSE...

Well, all this time we've had Disney Visas and never knew about this! I'd say Disney owes us a lot of pictures!
How does one find out about stuff like this? As thorough as Mouseoholic is about researching all things Disney, I don't think even she knew about it.

[Len90]

...if you have a Disney Visa or Debit card, you can go to Innoventions West and you and your party can have your complimentary picture taken with one or usually two of the Fab. 5. You never know who it's going to be though, they take you into a private room, so it's just you and your party. I know the first time is at 1:30 and I think the other is at either 4:00 or 4:30. You are allowed to do this 6 times in total I believe. They will give you a voucher and you pick up your free pic. at the photo shop right under SSE...

Well, all this time we've had Disney Visas and never knew about this! I'd say Disney owes us a lot of pictures!
How does one find out about stuff like this? As thorough as Mouseoholic is about researching all things Disney, I don't think even she knew about it.

It is one of those things that you find out about when reading the perks to joining the Disney Visa. You are allowed one picture per day for each Disney Visa credit card or debit card account that you have.

Mindflipper: I think it is pretty safe to expose that information as no CM name, time, or description was leaked.

BB:We managed to go on two separate days and at different times. Check your PM.

Madeye: It was a green one that said EPCOT Center on it and it had all the original Future World pavilion icons on it.

Stay tuned Days 8 and 9 are on the way...

[Mousekedude]

It is one of those things that you find out about when reading the perks to joining the Disney Visa. You are allowed one picture per day for each Disney Visa credit card or debit card account that you have....

Oh, so that's what we get for not reading the fine print. Wonder what else we've been missing out on....?

[Len90]

It is one of those things that you find out about when reading the perks to joining the Disney Visa. You are allowed one picture per day for each Disney Visa credit card or debit card account that you have....

Oh, so that's what we get for not reading the fine print. Wonder what else we've been missing out on....?

You can get 10% off your shopping at the Disney Store with a purchase of $50 or more and %10 off $75? at World of Disney in DTD. Hope that helps.

Now without further ado, I present the conclusion of our Trip Report. ENJOY! Pictures should be coming in the coming week or so...

Days 8 and 9: Even though it was close to the end, day 8 started out like the rest. We took care of breakfast and then headed off to the pool. Mark and I made sure we explored the entire pool area for one last time and got in a few trips down the slide before we had to go up and shower. On prior vacations, mom would sneak up early from the pool and quickly do most of the packing. This year Mark and I somehow convinced her that we can do it later and not to worry about it. The agenda today called for an entire day in the Magic Kingdom. Before heading out, we all made our way through our rooms to take pictures. After that it was off to the Magic Kingdom.

We lucked out as the bus for the Magic Kingdom came within 5 minutes of us getting to the bus stop. We really needed this in order to make the 3 PM “Celebrate a Dream Come True” parade. Our bus ended up being one of the brand new 2010 Nova LFS buses. At this time they had only been running for about two-three weeks and were only running on the Magic Kingdom routes. The bus was so new that it had yet to receive the on board music and route information system. It also has led to rumors that the balloons are coming off the buses. All of the 2010 buses did not have any balloons on the windows.

We got to the Magic Kingdom with about 15 minutes to spare. We quickly got some curb space on Main Street and waited for the parade. Immediately after sitting, Disney rolled out the Voluntears Cavalcade. I found it to be a really cute idea and it had some very catchy music. After the parade we headed off to Tomorrowland where we met with Buzz Lightyear and Stitch, who happens to be slightly afraid of the rain. Following that, Mom and I finally decided to conquer Space Mountain. I really enjoyed the entire attraction and will definitely be doing it in the future. As we walked out of the Tomorrowland Arcade it started raining. We didn’t care and walked around Tomorrowland to make sure we had conquered all the attractions.

After hitting up Stitch’s Great Escape and Monsters Inc. it was already time for dinner. We had reservations for Tony’s and we were a bit worried heading into this. We had heard mixed reviews and this ADR was debated a lot before hand. Just as our name was being called, we heard the music start up in Town Square for the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Mark and I quickly ran to photograph the parade as it passed by. I wished we could have followed it to the castle and joined in the dancing, but we had food to eat. I figured that IF we could get back next year, this would be something new for us to see. I personally have taken to liking the newer style of Disney parades that involve audience participation.

Dinner at Tony’s was fantastic. The food was superb and the service was great. It ended up being the point of where the sadness began for me. A lot of work had gone into making these reservations and all the planning for the trip. This was our last meal and it was depressing to think about all the hard work was now a thing of the past. Following the meal we headed over to Emporium as it was still raining. We walked through and got out by Casey’s Corner. We hit up Adventureland and began doing attractions. Between 7:00 and 8:30 we were able to get on Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Small World. Immediately after Small World we headed around Fantasyland and over to Tomorrowland for the 9PM special fireworks. We got into Tomorrowland and Disney was in full crowd control mode. They had CM’s forming the line of people to keep guests walking and tapelines to show you which way you had to walk. We somehow managed to get onto the bridge and got a spot similar to the place we had the previous year. The show was once again fantastic and a great way to celebrate the ending of our vacation.

Following fireworks, we were stuck in the crowd that was being escorted through Tomorrowland as we were not allowed near the castle due to the crowd levels. We ducked into Buzz, which was currently a Disney walk-on. After Buzz we hung around the park and went aimlessly on random attractions including the Mad Tea Party and Haunted Mansion (where I explained my dying urge to be haunt number 1,000). Upon getting ready to head towards the exit, we stopped off for one last go around on the Tea Cups. Dad decided to sit this one out, so I was off with Mom and Mark to give them the ride of their lives. I quickly chose a Pink cup since my scouting and experience has led me to believe that Pink and Yellow are the fastest spinning cups on the ride. I would say that I gave them a great ride, but that would be an understatement. It was an experience that they will never forget and even resulted in me getting a couple of blisters on my fingers! Once the cup stopped spinning it took us a long while to finally get the courage to exit the cup and the attraction. We were stumbling for a good ten minutes following the ride but dad did say we easily were the fastest. We gradually stumbled towards Main Street and decided to take one last look in the Emporium. It was just about midnight and we figured we would hang around until MSEP passed by.

We were in the store and heard the music queue up. The tinkerbell float appeared from beyond the fence but then stopped. We immediately thought that she had gotten stuck or broke down, but that was not the case. The train and drum float just behind them had broken backstage and they held the parade up to try and keep the line up together. Disney ended up running the parade without that float which really was a downer. As for the characters that usually occupy that float, all but Mickey and Minnie were given the parade off. Mickey and Minnie walked the route in front of the “To Honor America” float. Once the parade ended, we went back inside where I purchased the “Walt Disney World: Then, Now, and Forever” book.

As we exited the store I took one last long look back at the castle and made a wish to come back and see it in 2011. We left the park and headed back to our room. After taking care of all the check out stuff we finally got back to our room before 2 AM. We were exhausted, but then remembered there was A LOT of packing to be done. We somehow managed to quickly get it done so we could be in bed by 4AM. Wake up was at 7:30 as our flight departed at 10:30. I succeeded in getting about an hour of sleep after lying in bed wondering where the previous 8 days went.

We usually are the type of travelers who get to the airport about 2.5 hours before a flight so we can get through security with ease and still have time to look around at the airport. This time we left the Yacht Club just over two hours before our flight. We managed to get the car returned, suitcases checked, and through security in a hurry. We got to the gate with about 25 minutes to spare. It was just enough time to quickly eat a bagel before boarding.

The plane boarded and we left the gate on time. I took the window seat and stared out with tears in my eyes as we began to roll for takeoff. We hit full throttle and then boom, the pilot reverses throttle and slams on the brakes. He then taxis back to a gate and explains that a warning light went on. If we had taken off the cabin would have not pressurized as two vents on the outside of the plane failed to close. We hung out on the plane for 90 minutes as they made the proper repairs and we went for take two. This time I was upset but realized that I will be just thankful to make it home. We arrived back at Newark close to two hours late and were greeted by 100+ degree weather.

It was a fantastic and exhausting 8 magical days. We had an amazing time and I look back today realizing how well all that hard work and planning really paid off. I took over 2,600 pictures as we celebrated our parents’ 25th Wedding Anniversary and Mark’s and mine personal achievements. Thank you everybody for reading this and I hope you can all gain some knowledge from our experiences.

Day 8 Pictures: http://s885.photobucket.com/albums/ac53 ... 20Day%208/

[mindflipper]

We left the park and headed back to our room. After taking care of all the check out stuff we finally got back to our room before 2 AM. We were exhausted, but then remembered there was A LOT of packing to be done. We somehow managed to quickly get it done so we could be in bed by 4AM. Wake up was at 7:30 as our flight departed at 10:30.

Dang, dude, don't allow much time to sleep! I wonder if you can be charged with parental abuse for grueling time you put your parents through on a trip, Len! I think Mama & Papa Schwartz deserves a big round of applause for surviving these 9 days with Mark and Len!

[Amy]

We left the park and headed back to our room. After taking care of all the check out stuff we finally got back to our room before 2 AM. We were exhausted, but then remembered there was A LOT of packing to be done. We somehow managed to quickly get it done so we could be in bed by 4AM. Wake up was at 7:30 as our flight departed at 10:30.

Dang, dude, don't allow much time to sleep! I wonder if you can be charged with parental abuse for grueling time you put your parents through on a trip, Len! I think Mama & Papa Schwartz deserves a big round of applause for surviving these 9 days with Mark and Len!

Agreed! But I bet Mama and Papa brought their boys up to be "go, go, go" like this!
Thanks for the tips on the Disney Visa photos. I didn't know about this at all and definitely want to try to get our pictures done ~ free is always the best price

[MadEye]

Madeye: It was a green one that said EPCOT Center on it and it had all the original Future World pavilion icons on it.

They looked like patches but had the feel of plastic, correct? If so I know the one. It didn't look good on me so I had to pass that one up. It is a nice shirt, too bad they didn't have it in your size.

And just a quick question, Len. Which road do you and your family take to get to WDW and the airport?

[Mousekedude]

Great trip report, Len, and thanks for the tips on the Disney Visa.
Looking forward to the pics.

[sandi]

Your report was absolutely wonderful. It really helped us bring back our own fond memories of our times spent in Disney World. It's nice to know that others feel the same way about leaving. I know I always have a few tears at the airport on the return flight. I know your parents had the time of their life,too,and what a great way to celebrate their 25 years together being with their two sons. Thanks for letting us share your 8 days with the mouse!!!

[Len90]

Sandi: I am glad that it helped you to relive some of your old memories.
Mousekedude: No problem. Glad to share the info on the Disney Visa
Madeye: That was the one.
Amy: It is one of the few things you can get for FREE in WDW. We have always been the on-the-go type people, so this was not surprising for us.
Mindflipper: Mom and Dad did great and kept up pretty well. We didn't really get much sleep on the last night due to packing late and the early wake up for the flight. On the other nights we managed to get about 7 hours of rest. We definitely made up on the sleep on the night after we came back. Slept about 10 hours straight due to the exhaustion.