crazycatperson's best trip yet - November 2014

More photos! The Frozen Sing-Along and more Osborne lights.

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Okay, gotta get this one finished so I can focus on the next trip.

Saturday, day 8, departure day, bummer!

I did most of my packing Friday evening, so I was able to sleep in a bit Saturday morning while hubby had to get his packing done. (It's always like this, he procrastinates more than I do.) Breakfast was leftover bagels and, yes, leftover bread service from Sanaa, which IMO makes a great breakfast! After eating, we started the dishwasher and went out on the balcony to look at the animals one more time. Then we discovered that the dishwasher was leaking water and suds! Oops! We immediately turned it off, put towels down, and called maintenance, then left the unit for the last time, bummer! Gary and Sherry loaded up their rental car and headed for the airport, since their flight left earlier than ours and their length-of-stay passes were used up. They did end up spending quite a bit of time at the airport; we'd suggested that they hang out at AKL, but they really wanted to get going.

For hubby and me, check-out went quickly, after which we checked our large suitcases and left our carry-ons with bell services and headed out to a park. We had no specific plans or FPs and decided to catch the first bus that arrived, except for DHS since we'd just been there the day before, and ended up back at Animal Kingdom, a good choice since it only takes a few minutes to get from AKL to AK.

Once we'd arrived, hubby went to smoke while I ran to make a few FastPasses. Unfortunately, Festival of the Lion King and Kilimanjaro Safari had no times available before we had to leave to catch the Magical Express, so we ended up with Finding Nemo, It's Tough to be a Bug, and Everest (for hubby). We started by catching the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch and went through the conservation station for the first time. We'd always skipped it because we figured it was mostly for kids, but it was actually interesting. There are some very interesting critters in there.

Then it was time for our first FP, It's Tough to be a Bug, after which we got samosas and hubby got edamame. Hubby wandered off after lunch for another smoke break and I wandered around Asia waiting for him. And after a while I got boooooorrrrred waiting. Hubby has a habit of lingering in the smoking areas chatting up other people (and texting folks back home). Meanwhile, I was a little concerned about our 4:00 FP for Finding Nemo - I thought it would be pushing it to get back for the ME that late. So while hubby was off smoking, I got in the standby line for the 3:00 Nemo show. I texted him to come get my Magic Band so he could use my Everest FP, but he said he could get on faster using the single-rider line.

Hubby and I usually do Nemo on a FP and sit in the front row of the rear section so we have a great view of the scenes that play out in the aisles. This wasn't possible using the standby line, but I was able to snag a seat in the front section on the aisle so I had an unimpeded view of the stage! Awesome!

After the show, I headed for Dinoland to find the restroom, not realizing that hubby was outside the Nemo exit waiting for me. He followed but lost me when I entered Dinoland; eventually he texted and I told him where I was. Once done with the "necessary," I decided to get my favorite park snack, popcorn, since I hadn't had any all trip and those samosas weren't very filling. Then on our way out of the park, we passed the Dug and Russell meet and greet location and decided to get in line since we'd never met them before. And just as we reached the front of the line, Dug and Russell had to take a short break! And there we were trying to get back to AKL for the Magical Express! Fortunately, Dug and Russell were only gone for a few minutes (ummm, they walked away in one direction and returned from a completely different direction...), and I snapped hubby's photo while Dug freaked out over hubby's CAT T-shirt. Dug and Russell were lovely, and I'm so glad we stopped.

And then it was time to catch the ME. Bummer! We had a little time to kill back at AKL, so I went out to the Kidani overlook to watch the critters while hubby smoked yet again. Unfortunately, I didn't think to take my camera out of my checked bags, and my old stupid phone didn't take really good photos, so none of these critter photos are very good. Once done with the critters (bummer!), I found hubby, we got our carry-on bags, and I changed into long pants for the trip home. Hubby stayed in his shorts (and regretted it once we'd returned to the cold North).

Outside at the ME stop, a bus pulled up and the driver told us he was just letting people off, another bus would be along shortly to pick us up. Then a few minutes later he apologized and said he'd just been assigned to pick us up, so we got on board. It was dark by this time so there wasn't much to see as we swung by Jambo House and Art of Animation before making our way to the airport.

I breezed through the TSA Precheck line with my backpack, slingpack, and our laptop computer (so hubby wouldn't have to open the computer bag) and then waited on a nearby bench for hubby to join me. Near our gate, I got a slice of pizza and hubby got a wrap for dinner; at our gate we noticed several large family groups with small children, and I wondered why they'd opted for such a late flight (ours didn't arrive at our destination until nearly 10:30). I guess it was because the fares were cheaper than for the earlier flights. Unfortunately, boarding was delayed just a bit as a harried Southwest employee had to repeatedly explain that people with B and C boarding passes couldn't board with their family members who had A boarding passes. I'm not sure how this even happened; maybe Dad or Mom is a frequent flyer and automatically gets to board with the A group, but they didn't want to pay for early bird check-in for the rest of the family? Whatever.

And then came the flight from hell. Sitting directly in front of us were three members of one of those large family groups, one of whom was holding on his or her lap a toddler. And this toddler, apparently, was up past her bedtime and NOT AT ALL PLEASED with being restrained. So as the jet took off she was screaming, "PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN! at the top of her lungs. All during the flight she screamed any time she wasn't allowed to do as she pleased. When a flight attendant came around to collect the trash, she stood up on a lap and screamed, "I WANT THAT! I WANT THAT! I WANT THAT!" over and over and over...and the seat belt light was ON, so a flight attendant came back to tell her parent to hold her and she screamed some more. And then the plane came in for a landing and she was screaming, "I WANT TO GET DOWN I WANT TO GET DOWN I WANT TO GET DOWN!" nonstop. Seriously, I understand she's just a toddler, but DAMN! Somebody needs a little discipline! Thank God, once we were off the plane we didn't have to deal with her anymore. And it was COLD, and hubby really wanted those pants, and then it was on to baggage claim (wish there were a Magical Express to get back home) and back home to the kitties.

Photos! All taken with the crappy camera so not that great. A ginormous bug from the Conservation Station, the musicians in Asia, Finding Nemo - The Musical, hubby and Dug

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It was a bummer when we left, but now we're just two weeks from our next trip and I'm seven weeks from my solo trip so I'm not bummed anymore. But I'll happily accept condolences on March 3 as I slide into a long stretch with no Disney at all.