MarkCanada's Reports. . . Part 5( Nov 11, 12)

Originally Posted By markcanada

Friday, Nov. 11th – last day of vacation before travelling. We had one day left on our 5 Day Park Hoppers, and had decided that we could go to the park once more to ride It’s A Small World as my daughters really wanted to do this. I had seen them doing final cleaning and touchups when we were at the park on Wednesday, and had filled the canals, doing some final paint touchups. The park opened at 8:00 that day with no early entry. I can’t recall what time we got there exactly, but we went right to Small World. I think we were there before 8:30 and the ride was basically a walk-on. When we got off, though, the lines were much longer. If Peter Pan was a great way to start off a Disney vacation, Small World was a great way to finish it. Especially with the holiday overlay in all the continents. Plus, the mixing of “Jingle Bells†and It’s A Small World is much more tolerable and makes it easier to resist the urge to begin screaming “make it stop, make it stop, for the love of God, make it stop.†It actually is a very charming ride, with lots of visuals to look at, and we all really enjoyed it.

We then headed over to Tomorrowland to finally use those special FastPasses for Space Mountain I had gotten the previous Friday (please see my Part 1 Trip Report if you have chosen not to read these in order). This was our second ride of Space Mountain, so I’ll give you my impressions. First, isn’t the ship in the load area the same one that used to be at the top of the climb right before the ride started? The audio for launch prep and the light effects during the prep/climb were really neat as well. Also, during the load area, I got to watch them swap out cars from the track when they had to load guests with special needs – that was really neat. Well, you really get a sensation of speed on the ride, and the star effect is also neat to run through. You really can’t see the frames. I don’t know if I like the music, almost distracted from the ride. I think I’d prefer a “whoosh†noise, but there is no sound in space, technically, but technically, you can’t breathe in a vacuum and the ride should be enclosed, but obviously, it’s not meant to be a “technical†ride . . .for that, you have Star Tours. Anyway, my daughter and I enjoyed it, and I really liked the deceleration effect at the end right before you head back to the unload area.

By the time we were done (about 9:30?), you could see that the park was getting very crowded. We had planned for this to be more of a shopping day, and had done all the rides we wanted (which was pretty well all of them) by this point, and so headed to Downtown Disney. After some shopping there, we headed out and did some shopping at the TJ Maxx on Jamboree, and then back to the hotel for a long swim. There was this beach ball in the pool the entire week we were there, and we had some fun hitting it around. We then left the younger kids with my mom, and I took my wife and son to do some more shopping. Yes, we did go back to the Character Warehouse and yes, we did get a replacement cap for my daughter (see Trip Report #3). No, I did not staple it to her head. Then back to the hotel for some final packing and preparing for the trip home. My son and I watched the fireworks from the parking lot at 9:25. By other reports, it sounds like the park was at capacity and it would have been very difficult to go back to watch from within the park.

Saturday, November 12th – Travel day back to Winnipeg. We finished our packing and headed back to the airport. No problems with traffic on the Saturday morning. We returned the van and took the shuttle to Terminal 3. We were very unimpressed with the check-in delays at the WestJet counter, and it wasn’t very well organized. Not much to do or see once through security at Terminal 3, but I enjoyed watching airplanes take off and land. We left around 1:50 and got into Calgary three hours later. Strangely enough, the Canada Customs forms only allow you to list four family members in total, so I had to do a separate form for our youngest daughter. That was o.k., we put all the alcohol and cigarette declarations on her form.

However, minor tragedy. The orange stroller which had served us so faithfully in our California adventure did not fare well on the return trip, when one of the handles was snapped off. Also, one of our suitcases lost a wheel, and WestJet advised that they are not responsible for damage to any external objects like handles or wheels. Well, in all honesty, it wasn’t the most expensive suitcase in the first place.

There was a layover of a few hours. In the waiting area at the Calgary airport, there are a couple of huge airplane mobiles that are powered by hand cranks. The girls played with those a bit, and I took some video. My wife joked that we could say these were Disney rides, and if you look closely, you can see us in the airplanes. Our flight back to Winnipeg went smoothly, and my father-in-law and brother-in-law picked us up at the airport. We were home by about 10:30 p.m. I then drove my mother to her house, and then back home again. I logged into my work email at 11:30 p.m., responded to a few urgent items that needed my attention, and then got to bed after midnight. Did I mention that I had to catch a 7:45 a.m. (5:45 a.m. Pacific Time) flight the next morning for a conference I had to attend in Ottawa? Unfortunately, it couldn’t be avoided. It wasn’t easy switching gears like that. I will admit that, during some of the presentations, I started working out budgets and time frames for our next trip, hopefully in two or three years. And my own presentation was attended by four people, in case you were wondering.

Some of the cooler souvenirs we got: Beauty and the Beast and Snow White Polly Pocket type playsets for the girls; two Christmas ornaments, one of which is flawed (image printed on upside down, makes it more valuable); Monorail train set; Monorail die-cast set; two Minnie caps from Character Warehouse (only one of which made it back alive); 50th anniversary DVD; Legoland souvenir DVD; retro plate for my mother in law; golf shirt; flannel top for my father in law; various postcards; souvenir book; key chains for some coworkers; remote control monorail for my nephews; Star Tours spaceship; and Minnie Mouse cel phone toy for my 5 year old. All safely survived the trip back.

So, we’ve gotten pictures developed, watched some video, looked at some slides, and I’ve already worked out that I need to save $138 a month for the next 36 months in order for our family to go again. I wonder how long it will take me to wean myself off of Laughing Place, before it is time to prepare again? I still find myself logging in daily, just to discuss and share what I’ve learnt, look over trip reports, and think about our next trip . . .

Whoo hoo . . . bonus! I found a missing roll of print film. This one should have pics of my daughters with Belle, Alice, Mickey Mouse, and Dora the Explore at Disneyland, plus some Small World pictures! Just have to get them developed.

 

Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP

<<Canada Customs forms only allow you to list four family members in total, so I had to do a separate form for our youngest daughter.That was o.k., we put all the alcohol and cigarette declarations on her form.>>

lol!!

Overall a great report!

 

Originally Posted By kimi911

That is fantastic Mark. I'm glad your family had such an enjoyable experience!!!! Cherish those memories together.

 

Originally Posted By amazedncal2

Excellent reports I enjoyed reading every one of them. Sounds like all your planning really paid off, YAY!

Please stick around LP and let us help you plan ways to save that $138 per month

 

Originally Posted By Lisann22

Great reports Mark. Really enjoyed them. Don't wean yourself from LP. Come into Community, PlayPen, etc. No need to leave because there's no trip in the near future.

Good luck on the monthly savings!

 

Originally Posted By Misty

Thanks Mark - your reports were much fun to read!