Sue's April '08 SSR Trip - Day 1 of 4

[wdw1972]

DAY 1 – Friday 4/25/08
Who: Sue (49), DVC member

Plan: Work, Drive to WDW, Epcot

Actual: No dental appointment today! I’ve been in Gainesville for the past few days, and rather than leaving by noon to allegedly drive back to Ft Myers, I only had a 2-hour drive to get to WDW. So, I arrived earlier than normal, which is always a good thing! Since I was passing the exit for the Russell Stover outlet, I had to stop there for a slight detour. A lot of the prices aren’t that outstanding, but they do have some stuff really cheap – particularly if you’ll buy 4 of something (usually for less than 2 would cost). I didn’t need 4 boxes of anything, though. I did buy a small box of something I really like, and a large box of milk chocolate rocky road for the office. When I went to pay my credit card wasn’t in my wallet, and besides looking like a deadbeat I was worried that I’d lost it somewhere. Then I noticed my driver’s license was also missing, and remembered last night I’d moved those 2 things into my travel wallet in the Disney backpack in the trunk of the car!

The drive passed quickly, as I was on the phone quite a bit. Before I knew it I was passing under a WDW gate that was new to me, and I realized I was behind Coronado Springs. I would have preferred to stay off the property until after I went to the outlet, but that didn’t happen. I had to deal with all the Disney traffic lights and pass through Downtown Disney to get to the Premium Outlet (it might not be called that anymore – not sure). I hadn’t been to Character Premiere in a while, and since it was only 2pm I figured I’d kill some time there before checking in to increase the odds my studio would be ready.

Traffic at the outlets was a pain, and the place was mobbed. Don’t tourists have better things to do than shop??? I fought my way through the hordes in the food court building and only went to Character Premiere. They had some decent frames for only $2.99 so I got one hoping my Belize aerial trek photo will fit. It’s not Disney, but so what! I also found a Christmas gift for SB, but can’t say what it is because he might be on this trip report list (can’t remember – too lazy to check). After that I began the tedious trip back through traffic and checked in to Saratoga Springs by 3pm. The extremely anal security guard wasn’t working today, so I didn’t have to leave a dna sample in addition to showing my license, credit report and social security card. I’ll be using the back gate from this point, so I won’t have the pleasure of encountering him this trip!

My studio was ready, the cast member checking me in (earning her ears) did a great job – very quickly, too. I got Congress Park (as requested), 3rd floor, and my view is the lake & Cirque du Soleil. The quiet pool is on the other side of my building, which is perfectly convenient for me.

I unpacked quickly, then talked to a friend at work for a while, then talked to SB and checked some things for him online. Then, just as I was about to use the restroom and head out the door Leesa called. We’d made plans to do Comedy Warehouse Saturday night but I hadn’t followed up in writing this time. She thought we said Friday night, then read my pre-trip report this morning and learned we were a day off. Since she has to arrange transportation, I said I’d join her tonight so she didn’t have to try to arrange a ride tomorrow night (& incur the extra expense). It’s just easier for me to be the one to change, and since the concert at Epcot is the same tomorrow as it is tonight, I won’t even miss anything!

We finished up on the phone, and I walked over to Downtown Disney since I was getting very hungry. I’d had a big breakfast (fresh waffle with strawberries & whipped cream – more like dessert than breakfast) and no lunch, so it was time to eat again. It was a little after 4 and I was shocked that Puck’s Express wasn’t busy at all! The lady placing an order was inordinately clueless and was taking forever, but the line was short. Finally after a long time with the same lady at the register another guy came out and opened a 2nd register.

I ordered the side Caesar salad and side 4 cheese macaroni, and got 10% off for being DVC (same discount is good for passholders and I think DDE). The wait for the food to come out seemed a bit long, considering maybe 10% of the tables were occupied. I used to love their mac & cheese, but what I had today wasn’t nearly as good as I remember (it’s been years). The side portion is plenty for a kid, and is really too much if you’re also eating a meal. I ate more than half, then pushed it aside. The side Caesar was excellent! It wasn’t too big, it was freshly made, and it was delicious. I’ll definitely get this here again.

to be continued....

[wdw1972]

continued

After dinner I walked to the bus stop area and boarded the waiting Boardwalk-Swan-Dolphin-Yacht-Beach Club bus. Yes, it stops at all 5 resorts! It stopped at Pleasure Island, and then Typhoon Lagoon. At TL there was a big crowd waiting since the park was closing in 5 minutes, so I moved over to the empty seat across from me so a party of 2 could take my seat and the empty one next to me. The woman I ended up next to asked if I was Sue, and when I said yes she asked if I was Sue Holland, and I said yes again. Turns out she’s read the trip reports and MousePlanet stuff, and recognized me from photos. She wrote a blog on allearsnet.com about her stay in the castle last December, so I’ll have to go back and read it again now that I’ve met the author, lol! I remember reading one over there, and I bet it was hers! We chatted away until we got to the Swan, where we both got off.

I walked around the Yacht/Beach Club side to the International Gateway, and arrived just after the boat dumped off a lot of people. So, entry wasn’t very quick but the security guard was basically letting people through with barely a glance at the bags. I hate that whole ridiculous bag check thing, and it’s insulting that Disney would think I’m stupid enough to feel “safe” because of it, lol!

Once I got in the park I was surprised to see how busy World Showcase was. I stopped at the bakery in France to get one of their chocolate chip cookies for later, but the line was out the door and not moving. The cookies are great, but I can wait for a less crowded time. I was still wearing slacks and a blouse (from work), so while it was comfortable in the shade, when I hit a sunny spot it was a bit too warm! I kept walking until I got to Germany, then walked through the shops (a/c was cool) to the wine cellar. I bought a glass of Riesling then went to Sommerfest and got a cup of ice to make the wine colder. I finished walking around the countries, finding shade whenever possible. Once I got to Future World I sat on a shady bench near the fountain and people watched while I drank most of the wine and tried to cool off.

Eventually I got up and walked over to the Land. I knew Soarin’ would be out of fastpasses, but I was surprised to see a 25 minute wait for Spaceship Earth on the tip board! I finished my wine and went into the Land to see if anything at Sunshine Seasons looked good (cookies), but there was nothing I wanted. Living with the Land only had a 5-minute wait, but I decided to save it for another day. Back outside I headed for Spaceship Earth, and although the posted wait was now 15 minutes, I didn’t like the looks of the line so I skipped that for now too. I exited the park and went to wait for the Saratoga Springs bus.

It arrived in about 10 minutes or so, and it had around 7-8 people plus me. One guy let his son walk around on the bus while it was driving, which I thought was extremely stupid and careless on his part. The boy would run to the back to torment his little sister, who would yell at him. Idiot Dad pointed out the lever or something on the seats that get raised to tied wheelchairs down, so of course the boy had to play with that stuff, fold the seat up, etc – all while the bus was moving. I’m not the bus police, but I would have liked to see the driver pull over and tell us all he cannot drive the bus while people are walking around <g>. At one of the Saratoga bus stops a huge crowd filled up the bus, so the boy had to go sit still at that point!

I went up to the studio, and the cold air conditioning felt great!! Leesa called to report she wouldn’t make it to the first show because she had some idiot van driver who was headed in the wrong direction (towards St Cloud) instead of here! She sometimes has problems with the drivers, but this was a bit much. I told her I’d skip the 1st one too, so that way I can get her call when she’s getting closer. I finished updating the report, then around 7:30 or so walked back over to Downtown Disney figuring I’d wander around now that it was getting cooler outside.

I was shocked once again – it was mobbed!! Everywhere it was shoulder to shoulder, and just like at World Showcase every food/beverage stand had a huge long line. I swear I could set up a stand selling Fancy Feast cat food and I’d have had a line 12 people deep all night, lol! At Earl of Sandwich the line filled in the queue, extended along the side and then curved and ended back inside the kitchen shop! I have never seen it like that. Puck’s line was outside the door, too.

I passed through Pleasure Island (also busy), got my wristband at the Adventurer’s Club, and headed to the West Side. From the bridge all you could see was a sea of people – it was unreal! Leesa called when I was down near Bongos, so I turned around and went back to meet her at Adventurer’s Club since we had about 10 minutes to kill.

The Club was quiet upstairs, but it was quite busy downstairs even though it was pretty early. Jennifer Br was working as the maid tonight. We headed over to Comedy Warehouse around 8:45 and had a brief wait for the 8:50 seating. I realized when I was walking over tonight that I’d forgotten to bring a pen or any paper. Instead of taking my usual bag, I wore the lanyard thing I bought on the HAL cruise a couple weeks ago, and only had my cell phone, room key and PI pass. So, tonight I took no notes at the Comedy Warehouse shows. Both shows were very good, and the people working were Philip, Matt, John, Brian, Lisa, Missy & Christine (5 of them per show). They did Story Time in the 2nd show I saw, and it was a sick story but very funny. Sorry about the lack of details – I’ll do better next time! I didn’t even bring a camera this trip, so I’m really slacking this time <g>.

The show ended just before 11, so Leesa headed to meet her van ride and I walked back to Saratoga Springs. It was still surprisingly busy at the Marketplace. Back in the studio I started getting ready for tomorrow and was going to set out my coffee cup (Styrofoam) for cappuccino and the only one up there was the one holding the utensils. I actually prefer the foam cups to the real mugs, but I don’t want to drink cappuccino from a paper cereal bowl! I called housekeeping, and they sent someone over – with 32 cups for me! LOL – I will have to buy more cappuccino to use all of these <g>.

I finished up the report around midnight, talked to SB for a while, then settled in to hopefully get to sleep soon. Tomorrow will be a brief MK visit, followed by pool time and lunch at Portabello Yacht Club (not sure if it’ll be lunch first or pool first), then Epcot for the evening. Maybe the crowds won’t be so bad tomorrow – ha ha!

[harmrose22]

Thanks for sharing! Thinking about that salad is making me hungry!

[nono]

Always a fun read!

[disneyfreak89]

Great report so far Sue! :goodvibes I was wondering what the walk was like to and from DTD especially at night? Is it well lit? I find it a bit unnerving that ANYONE can walk into SSR from that general direction whether they are staying there or not. Every other resort it seems that we've stayed at are all closed in/restricted access, so we always felt safe walking around at night....but SSR set up makes me a bit uncomfortable....do I need to worry? :worried:

[wdw1972]

Great report so far Sue! :goodvibes I was wondering what the walk was like to and from DTD especially at night? Is it well lit? I find it a bit unnerving that ANYONE can walk into SSR from that general direction whether they are staying there or not. Every other resort it seems that we've stayed at are all closed in/restricted access, so we always felt safe walking around at night....but SSR set up makes me a bit uncomfortable....do I need to worry? :worried:

It's not completely dark - I never paid attention to what lighting there is. I've never felt unsafe there, either. Sure, people can come in off the street, but Disney property isn't really in the middle of any residential or commercial areas where people would be hanging around looking for trouble. Sure, every other resort has a guard shack, but anybody can get past that.....the "security" is really just for show. Sometimes there are other people on the path to SSR late at night, sometimes I'm the only one - but I've never given it a 2nd thought. I wouldn't walk around alone late at night in most other places but anywhere on WDW property makes me 100% comfortable and safe-feeling.

[disneyfreak89]

Thanks Sue! That gives me the reassurance I needed. :bowdown:

[CRSNDSNY]

Sounds like a fun first day! :dancingba