Originally Posted By nbodyhome The Pop transport was sooo bad in September - I was there 11 nights (wow!), for the free dining. There was always a wait, sometimes an hour. I just couldn't wait anymore. It took me a week of that to finally drive my own self. Steve says thanks, he joined me in the room for the ball to drop. I made a rib roast for his birthday dinner, and letsee...I set the smoke alarm off, dropped the trivet/pot holder onto the oven burner unit (thankfully it is good up to 500 degrees!), and his mom gave our cat a gift of a fishing pole with a fish on the end (a cat toy, but a heavy one). I was trying to throw the line, but threw the reel and hit her. I have mentioned that I'm a klutz, but that really took the cake (I'm usually not that bad!) At least dinner came out great. Anyway, I haven't seen him in a couple of hours (we tend to do our own thing), so I'll go spend the next 10 minutes with him!
Originally Posted By CMDad Same from Sandy and myself - also sitting and watching Rocking New Year's Eve and waiting for the ball to drop. (I was there once in 1969 - that was enough for me! <G>)
Originally Posted By nbodyhome We watched the last bit of the Rocking Eve - I am glad to see Dick Clark doing so well. However, I didn't realize that Anderson Cooper was having his own show on CNN, I would have had that on.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN >>The coolest part of the midnight fireworks was the countdown with the numbers in fireworks! (10-1) (No usuable pix of that however.)<< Agreed! Agreed! That was so COOL! And Happy New Year to you too Denise.
Originally Posted By TDLFAN NO. I spent new year's eve with relatives and the parents in south Orlando. My parents were not in the mood for the parks after the whole day we spent at the MK. So for the first time in over 2 decades, I did not spend New year's eve at WDW.
Originally Posted By nbodyhome Wow, first time! I thought about it, and probably would have drove down myself had I not been there the 30th. Even if I did miss the big fireworks!
Originally Posted By CMDad Sadly, I was back home for the stroke of midnight - so I wasn't able to get back either.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<The Pop transport was sooo bad in September - I was there 11 nights (wow!), for the free dining. There was always a wait, sometimes an hour. I just couldn't wait anymore. It took me a week of that to finally drive my own self.>> That's why despite loving DME and the cheap flights up, I'd rather drive and have my car with me. And this plays in perfectly with I'm arguing in another thread about the inconsistency of the Disney product these days. I have had trips where I never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus, and most times it seemed like there always one was there. But I have also had nightmare trips where just to get from say the WL to PI took 75 minutes. And it doesn't make a difference what resort you stay at. Dave had a terrible experience at DAK Lodge in late '06 with buses there. I was there like a month later and never had a problem. It's truly all the proverbial luck of the draw and, frankly, it shouldn't be. <<Steve says thanks, he joined me in the room for the ball to drop. I made a rib roast for his birthday dinner, and letsee...I set the smoke alarm off, dropped the trivet/pot holder onto the oven burner unit (thankfully it is good up to 500 degrees!), and his mom gave our cat a gift of a fishing pole with a fish on the end (a cat toy, but a heavy one). I was trying to throw the line, but threw the reel and hit her. I have mentioned that I'm a klutz, but that really took the cake (I'm usually not that bad!) At least dinner came out great.>> I can so picture that. But at least the food was good!
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<We watched the last bit of the Rocking Eve - I am glad to see Dick Clark doing so well. However, I didn't realize that Anderson Cooper was having his own show on CNN, I would have had that on. >. You just can't go to the bathroom these days without tripping over good, old Andy Vanderbilt.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 <<So for the first time in over 2 decades, I did not spend New year's eve at WDW.>> OK. You're either very, very devoted to the Disney magic ... or have no life ;-) I have done NYE at Disney parks maybe seven times, but I've pretty much realized that I like my celebrations smaller ... and I like my space. I did NYE at EPCOT in 1999 and 2000 and then at DL in 2001 ... and I think that (plus earlier times at MK and EC) gave me my fill. Now that crazy Party they do at TDL might be something to try one day ...
Originally Posted By Mr X **That's why despite loving DME and the cheap flights up, I'd rather drive and have my car with me.** Do resort guests have to pay for parking at the parks?
Originally Posted By Mr X I was just wondering if that factored in...I'd have to say that if I had to pay for parking I probably wouldn't rent ($11 a day adds up quick).
Originally Posted By nbodyhome But if you got a great rate offsite, than $11 for parking might not seem so bad (some hotels also have shuttles).
Originally Posted By SuperDry <<< I have had trips where I never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus, and most times it seemed like there always one was there. But I have also had nightmare trips where just to get from say the WL to PI took 75 minutes. And it doesn't make a difference what resort you stay at. Dave had a terrible experience at DAK Lodge in late '06 with buses there. I was there like a month later and never had a problem. It's truly all the proverbial luck of the draw and, frankly, it shouldn't be. >>> When they installed the GPS receivers and the new spiels on the buses last year, does anyone know if the buses transmit their locations to control center of some sort? If so, then they have the opportunity to dramatically improve the bus service by making it much more consistent.
Originally Posted By CMDad They are indeed moving buses constantly by need ... I had seen many times this trip where buses were told to take a different resort after their current run. I would hate to think that they were only using the GPS's to trigger the spiels.
Originally Posted By Spirit of 74 ^^They're not from what I understand. But overall it still hasn't IMHO made any positive difference. When Disney Transport works, it's great. When it doesn't, it can be a nightmare.
Originally Posted By CMDad I guess that I have been extremely lucky over the years, as despite hearing of nightmares from others, I have only experienced one or two problems in all that time. More often it has been good.
