Day #6 was MK w/EMM. Left the house at 6:30am and we were at the TTC, parked, and waiting for a monorail/ferry by 7am. And even that was too late to get us into Fantasyland by 7:45. I must say i really think Disney needs to do something about this. They only run the resort monorail prior to 8am and wont fully load it to keep space for the resorts it stops at along the way. (which nobody got on) We had to wait for 2 monorails before being allowed to board. Then once in the park you head to fantasy land and they only have 2 CM’s scanning your bands for breakfast ADR’s and EMM guests which was all backed up. Once scanned your then sent to another CM to put on the band. Really nothing stopping an ADR guest from walking up to the CM administaring bands and getting one. No real line either, just a bunch of guests gathered around one CM. I thought we made good time by being in line at the TTC 45 minutes prior to start and we didnt get to our first ride until 8am.
Regardless the EMM was hectic for my group. My plan going in was to just let everyone split up with their individual groups and do their own thing for 75 minutes and then everyone meet up for breakfast. Some wanted to eat first, some had no clue where to go and wandered aimlessly, some didnt realize they could meet princesses… Poor planning on my part for expecting them to understand how it worked. Then at 9am (regular RD) some wanted to head to Frontierland, some wanted tomorrowland, some wanted to RD rides i already had FPP’s for… It was a mess. But we had fun and got some great picures.
We all met up by 10am at Rays for breakfast and lets just say we got our moneys worth. I liked the old EMM breakfast they had at PVH 1,000 times better. This was basic Mcdonalds breakfast but it did the trick. The strwaberry smoothies were a big hit and i didnt even know they were included. You just have to ask.
After breakfast we headed to EtwB. Never done it before and we had a blast. All 4 kids had a role and i was picked to be a guard. Then it was off to fpp#1 Jungle Cruise. It was getting hot early and i could tell i was losing my group just on the walk from Fantasyland to Adventureland. Had a great cruise then called an audible and ditched tiki room since we were already running behind TP schedule. Plus fpp#2 was up and it was PoC. From there we did Country Bears in memory of my Dad (his favorite attraction) he used to love interacting with the bears when they were sometimes out front of the attraction. Fpp#3 was HM and 1/2 the group wanted to skip it and go home since it was so hot out. (97 w/ real feel of 105+). It was only 12:30 and i had BoG ressie for 1:40 (wasnt using the BoG reasie to eat but more for a place to sit down, drink and maybe try some of the desserts) i knew if i could get them inside i could charge their batteries enough to make it to the parade which was my ultimate goal.
I felt the mutiny a coming as they broke off into different groups and seemed to be plotting against me LOL, but i got them inside BoG and pre ordered drinks and cupcakes and they seemed to be recharged. After BoG they decided they each wanted to do something different and meet in the front after the parade.
I must say by 3pm i myself was toast. I now understand what y’all mean by Florida being “surface of the sun hot” in summer. Made it to the parade, gathered everyone afterwards, hopped on the ferry, back to the car, and was in our pool by 4:30. (I didnt even take my clothes off and change into my trunks) in one continuous motion i merely walked in the front door, emptied my pockets on the kitchen table, slipped my sandals off, walked out the back door and just jumped in.
Anyway, we swam, napped, showered, ate and i was surprised most of the group wanted to go back for fireworks and a couple more rides. Only Great Grandma and Godmother stayed behind. So i booked a table for 1 at the Wave and we parked at the Contemporary. No way i was going through that TTC process again. We were back in the park for 8:15ish. Everyone split up and hit different rides that they asked for as 4th fpp’s before we left in the afternoon, we watched HEA from different spots then we hit BTMRR and Splash while DD30 and DgD4 went to Dumbo and speedway. Everyone took seperate photopass pictures afterwards and did some shopping in the emporium before we met back up out front afterwards.
Hub was packed for HEA as usual but everyone said they enjoyed it. Some from main st, some from frontierland and we watched from CP steps. Walking back to Contemporary was much better than the TTC and we were back home by 11:30.
Overall we left a ton of rides, shows, attractions on the table. Items i had scheduled but had to drop due to the group just being sluggish, hot, and wanting to stop and browse throughout the day… IASW, laugh floor, Move it shake dance party, Tiki room, magic carpets, and philharmagic. Again, i will say i needed to plan for this large/diverse group much differntly in the future. I thought my plan was relaxed enough but it wasnt even close.
If i had to do it all again i would make some changes. #1. i would still do the EMM but not for the entire group. I would only do the EMM for those who were going to take advantage of the rides and simply make an ADR for the rest of the group. #2. I wouldnt push them all the way to the parade before the midday break. #3. I would pay to valet at Contemporary prior to park opening to avoid the whole TTC fiasco. #4. I’d add a 5-10 minute break after each attraction on the TP to accomodate for the sluggishness, heat, and browsing.
Heres some pics from Day #6
Well that washed what ever was in my eye out.
)
So great you found a thrill seeker Disney buddy!
