Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

[natebenma]

I am going to have to read along here (and go back and read the one from your other son's trip). I am incredibly IMPRESSED that you were able to handle and plan and organize this many people. I need to stop complaining about my measly group of 5 others! LOL!

I loved NinjaMoms story...made me laugh. That would be an entertaining trip...Johnny Depp as a welcome gift and Chip & Dale (ok Chippendale's) private pool party! But only if we were allowed in!

Lynn

Lynn!

So glad to have you joining in.

I have to say that one of the advantages of making plans for a large group was that everyone accepted the plans I made without complaint. I did give groups the opportunity to change their FP reservation from Test Track to Soarin' at EPCOT (a few chose to do this) and I tried to get input in advance about what the individual groups wanted to do on their free day.

NinjaMom is definitely a riot, and I fear that I better getting moving on this report or I will fall victim to another made-up, but better-than-reality chapter.

That is hilarious that you fell asleep like that and the fact that you staged some pictures for a reenactment is even funnier.
That's a lot of pizza boxes!

L and I had fun recreating that moment.

Lots of pizza!!! But that was only the from the second wave of the pizza party. Our group purchased a total of 48 large pizzas that day.

Dee - following along!

I am so IN AWE of you and your FP+ talents (and even though I don't really understand it, apparently your MM talents too!)

Can't wait to read all about the trip!

Thanks for following along, my friend and for the kind words.

The Fast Pass stuff was not too bad, but still was nerve-wracking since I was responsible for the plans for so many people. The Memory Maker still confuses me! I haven't started working on our group's photos yet and I have some timing issues since I will be sharing my MM account with a very special friend who is at the World now.

Your friend sounds like a perfect match for you. Of course if you would just move down near me, WE would be the perfect PTA/Disney match!!!!

Been away from the DIS for a couple of weeks. It's vegetable picking time down South so we have to harvest when they're ready. A bushel each of pink eyed purple hull peas, dixie lee peas, butter beans, white acre peas, yellow squash, white squash, bell peppers & 2 five gallon buckets of Roma tomatoes later and I'm back! I've caught up on this TR and OMG Dee...you're either a Saint to lead this crew or a sinner seeking forgiveness by doing good deeds! IMO, I lean toward the former but if it's the latter, TELL US MORE!! Great start. I'm looking forward to reading how the drama (14 year old boys & girls without drama would be a miracle!) that I'm sure will ensue is dealt with!

Wow, that's a lot of gardening! Does your family do a lot of canning?

I don't consider myself a Saint, more of a Patriot!

How perfect that I have found a situation where I can merge my obsession with Disney with my compulsion to volunteer! I think this is an appropriate place for the "crazy" emoticon.

 

[cajunfan]

NinjaMom is definitely a riot, and I fear that I better getting moving on this report or I will fall victim to another made-up, but better-than-reality chapter.

The Memory Maker still confuses me! I haven't started working on our group's photos yet and I have some timing issues since I will be sharing my MM account with a very special friend who is at the World now.

The made up stories are always more interesting...LOL!

My suggestion to you on the MM is do a download now, before any editing is done. That was a suggestion from a manager at MGM (or whatever they are calling it these days). It helps and you know what you have. (and can locate what you are missing if any!) I did a MM survey for Disney recently. The one issue I had with it is the manner in which it downloads. It makes it a little difficult to organize the pictures unless you unzip the files (we had 42 zipped files of 30-38 pictures) and load them into something like photobucket. I suggested that they add on an option to organize the pictures into files of your choosing (who knows...they may have this and I missed it!), because that would help a lot in the download.

I can't wait to read more. Although I forgot that I need to go back and read your prior one!

Lynn

 

[natebenma]

All About All Star Movies (Or Not!), Breakfast and Y.E.S. Energy and Waves

This is the time in my report where I usually do a comprehensive photo tour and description of the resort where I stayed- the rooms, the grounds, the lobby, the pool, the food, etc…

But I am not feeling it.

So I will continue on with the story and perhaps do a separate post on the resort boards about All Star Movies and then link it here.

***************************************************************************

One of the sleep issues I have is waking up frequently during the night/morning, but I’m pleased to say that I slept straight through…


Until 3 am!


I woke and don’t think I really slept after that. I finally got up and made some coffee around 4:30 or so and slipped out of the room.










At 5:15, I texted Mark who was on the train to work. I hadn’t touched base with him since arriving at Movies at 8 the previous night:

Morning! Pretty uneventful night.* Boys had pizza and hung out at pool. I fell dead asleep at 11 and have been awake since 3*. L and S are doing MK class so I am off solo. Pleasant out right now. Coffee is made now and I am off to take a shower.

*At this point I hadn’t heard the story of my night-time activities


After showering, I stopped by the “breakfast room”. Part of the cost of the trip is the grab and go breakfast provided by the school staff. They make several trips to Sam’s Club for water, breakfast items, granola bars, etc. and set it up in the hallway outside some of the rooms on the 3 mornings we are going to the parks. They borrow a few mini-fridges from other rooms and some tables as well. During Nate’s trip and this one, my job was to prepare the fresh fruit- washing grapes and berries, cutting watermelon and strawberries.






















ETA:

I forgot to add the story told by one of the teachers who goes every year. He said one year, there were a couple of boys staying nearby that came over every morning and took some food. On the last day, the dad came by and asked if this was a Disney breakfast buffet. Mr. L said "No, we are a middle school class trip". The father turned beet red, but Mr. L said it was fine, they didn't mind sharing at all.

********************************************************************

Y.E.S.


The boys had the Energy and Waves class at Magic Kingdom that morning. They needed to be at Magic Kingdom by 9 am and on the two days of classes, private buses (not Disney transportation) would bring them to the parks. That means they are brought to the Ticket and Transportation Center and then take the monorail over to MK. They had to be on the buses by 8:15.

I had done the Energy and Waves class in 2012 during Nate’s class trip. The highlight of this class is going backstage at Haunted Mansion to see how the ballroom scene is done. As part of this class, the students ride Haunted Mansion, Stitch’s Great Escape and Mickey’s Philharmagic. Since I had already done the class previously, and L and S really wanted to do it, I volunteered to sit it out.


Energy and Waves: Physics Lab 201

Program Overview

Students in grades 6-8 will witness physics principles at work in creating true to form Disney attractions. With hands-on experiments and behind-the-scenes demonstrations, in this 3 hour academic adventure students come to understand the fundamentals of acoustics and optics, and the different mediums that affect the transmission of light and sound waves. Key Learning Points

During this interactive field study, students will:

• Discover that sound travels in a compression wave
• Learn that the medium in which sound travels affects the transmission of the sound wave
• Learn that the frequency of a sound wave affects what is heard
• Gain knowledge of the various factors that affect the speed of sound
• Examine the wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum
• Learn the parts of a wave, discover that light waves vary in length and make up only a small portion of the Electromagnetic Spectrum
• Explore how light can be refracted, reflected, and absorbed, as well as manipulated to create illusions and other effects
• The mystery of The Haunted Mansion® ballroom scene is unlocked as students go behind-the-scenes to discover the science behind the magic
• Learn that through the knowledge of acoustics, sound can be produced, manipulated, and controlled
• Discover that optics and light can be manipulated and controlled
• Come to realize that the brain stores memories and emotions that are associated with specific sounds
• Discover how Disney Imagineers use the properties of light and sound in designing attractions

Here are the chapters from my report in 2012, when I chaperoned Nate’s group for this class:


Y.E.S. Energy and Waves:

Part 1: The Only Attraction in Disney I Dis

Part 2: Shhhhh!

Part 3: Why Do They Call it Mickeys Philharmagic?



**********************************************************************************

Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Solo Morning at MK- Part 1

Since I would not be attending the class, I had a free morning! My plan was to head to Magic Kingdom and meet up with the group when the class was over.

Magic Kingdom opened at 8 am that morning (regular time, not extra magic hours) and it killed me not to be there for rope drop, but I felt I should hang around until our group was ready to get onto the buses.


I got to the All Star Movies bus stop around 8 am and waited about 5 minutes for a bus.





I tried to be good about making note of how long the wait and travel times were, so I took pictures of the clock on the bus as we left ASMo (8:07) and when we pulled up at the MK gates (8:26), almost a 20 minute ride.





By 8:34 I was on Main Street.





I had no agenda, no Fast Passes (until that afternoon) and nobody to answer to!








Where should I go???

Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Solo at MK- Part 2

I decided I would devote that morning to things I had never done before or to visit attractions that my guys have no interest in. I was alone, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone complaining about how long lines were.

Sounds like the perfect time for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train!!!




Actual time: 8:41 to 9:22 (41 minutes)



I was in the queue behind a mom and daughter- they spoke French and the daughter was wearing graduation 2015 ears and behind me was a father and son.

At some point the boy and I started chatting. I told him this was my first time in the standby-line for this ride and he told me that a year ago, he was waiting in line for an hour and right before they were going to board, the ride went down. But he had been on the ride since then.

He was excited to tell me all about the interactive activities in the line.



As I remember, this was a sorting activity, where there was a video display in a "river" setting and you had to sort jewels or something.



Then this squirted water and maybe made music.





As you spin these buckets of jewels, you make projections on the ceiling. This was pretty cool:













I asked him to take my picture with my phone so I could post it.




We talked about who we were traveling with (his mom and sister were elsewhere), our favorite Disney attractions and he asked me to guess how old he was

“Ten?” “No”

“Nine” “Nope”

“I’m Eight. I’m big for my age.”

He told me “I hope we get to ride together” but when we got to the point where they were asking for numbers in our party, I ended up getting placed in a different car.

Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Solo at MK, Part 3

This was my second time riding the Mine Train.


I promised myself I would just sit back and enjoy the ride and not take any pictures, since I knew they wouldn’t come out well anyway.


I lied!
































I do have a couple of ride photos and a video from the Mine Train on my Memory Maker account but I haven't downloaded them yet.


Continued in Next Post

 

[natebenma]

Continued from Previous Post

Ride Photos:










And here are a few more pictures I took after exiting the ride and later in the day from a vantage point in New Fantastyland:








\


















Up Next: A New Way to Experience a Classic Favorite

 

[Disney before Sally]

Where the stand-by line activities of the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train interesting?

 

[mickeystoontown]

As I said over on your other report, I caught up with this report but totally forgot to post. The recreation of your falling asleep amid all the papers was hilarious! You poor thing you! I can only imagine how time consuming it was to plan a trip such as this and then keep up with everything when you arrived.

I am going to forward your latest post on the YES program to my niece. Their Boy Scout Troop is talking about a trip to WDW and the YES program is something that they are looking into.

How nice that you had some time all by yourself at the Magic Kingdom. Gotta love some me time.

 

[natebenma]

The made up stories are always more interesting...LOL!

My suggestion to you on the MM is do a download now, before any editing is done. That was a suggestion from a manager at MGM (or whatever they are calling it these days). It helps and you know what you have. (and can locate what you are missing if any!) I did a MM survey for Disney recently. The one issue I had with it is the manner in which it downloads. It makes it a little difficult to organize the pictures unless you unzip the files (we had 42 zipped files of 30-38 pictures) and load them into something like photobucket. I suggested that they add on an option to organize the pictures into files of your choosing (who knows...they may have this and I missed it!), because that would help a lot in the download.

I can't wait to read more. Although I forgot that I need to go back and read your prior one!

Lynn

Thanks for the MM advice, and warnings! I think I am going to try to deal with the account tomorrow. I have over 500 pictures (unedited) and counting- there are two other families- good friends of mine- currently adding vacation pictures.

Now that you mention it, when I have helped a friend download her pictures I remember it being a real PITA that they weren't sorted in any comprehensible order.

As you might imagine, this kind of chaos really bugs me!

Where the stand-by line activities of the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train interesting?

We were actually moving along so I only did one activity.

As I remember, there was a sorting activity, where there was a video display in a "river" setting and you had to sort jewels or something.



Then this squirted water and maybe made music.



I liked the activity at the end where you would spin the bucket of jewels and make projections on the ceiling.









If you had young kids in line it would probably be a decent way to keep them from being super bored.

As I said over on your other report, I caught up with this report but totally forgot to post. The recreation of your falling asleep amid all the papers was hilarious! You poor thing you! I can only imagine how time consuming it was to plan a trip such as this and then keep up with everything when you arrived.

I am going to forward your latest post on the YES program to my niece. Their Boy Scout Troop is talking about a trip to WDW and the YES program is something that they are looking into.

How nice that you had some time all by yourself at the Magic Kingdom. Gotta love some me time.

May and June are such hectic months, and this year particularly so with the trip plans. Not to mention our upcoming Yellowstone and return to Universal/DISmeet trips coming up!

I think I literally HAD to do some of my work in my sleep.

The boys' last days of school were Thursday and Friday last week, we had a service for a relative who passed away over the weekend, so today is one of the first days in a long while I have had nothing I need to do. So I'm going to play on the DIS as much as I can!

The Y.E.S program is really excellent- fantastic classes that you really can't experience anywhere else, and incredible deals on Disney tickets/meals to boot. If your niece has any questions, feel free to give her my contact info.

:

 

[pas130]

Dee, I am SO glad you took pics on the Mine Train We rode it day and night..the night ride and seeing my castle LOVE LOVE LOVE! The kids' breakfast at All Stars is like CL "school trip" style

 

[natebenma]

Dee, I am SO glad you took pics on the Mine Train We rode it day and night..the night ride and seeing my castle LOVE LOVE LOVE! The kids' breakfast at All Stars is like CL "school trip" style

Glad you enjoyed the pictures.

I haven't been on the Mine Train at night. We probably should have tried it the night we almost closed down MK, but the other mountains were more interesting to the teens.

That's exactly what the breakfast was! And it was great that we could grab water and other snacks to take along when needed.

 

[afwdwfan]

Until 3 am!


I woke and don’t think I really slept after that. I finally got up and made some coffee around 4:30 or so and slipped out of the room.

Kind of reminds me of my early mornings in California.

After showering, I stopped by the “breakfast room”. Part of the cost of the trip is the grab and go breakfast provided by the school staff. They make several trips to Sam’s Club for water, breakfast items, granola bars, etc. and set it up in the hallway outside some of the rooms on the 3 mornings we are going to the parks. They borrow a few mini-fridges from other rooms and some tables as well. During Nate’s trip and this one, my job was to prepare the fresh fruit- washing grapes and berries, cutting watermelon and strawberries.

Quite a spread! That's actually a pretty good way to handle it for that many kids. No way you could possibly send them to a food court and expect to get anywhere on time!

Here are the chapters from my report in 2012, when I chaperoned Nate’s group for this class:

Looks like an interesting class. I wanted to reply before I lost the quotes, but I'll go check it out.

Magic Kingdom opened at 8 am that morning (regular time, not extra magic hours) and it killed me not to be there for rope drop, but I felt I should hang around until our group was ready to get onto the buses.

It's not always fun to be responsible.

he told me that a year ago, he was waiting in line for an hour and right before they were going to board, the ride went down.

Brutal.

We talked about who we were traveling with (his mom and sister were elsewhere), our favorite Disney attractions and he asked me to guess how old he was

First of all, I think that Mine Train was a good decision. Nice to be able to steal an extra ride on a newer attraction like that one. But I'm glad you managed to find someone in line to chat with to make the wait seem a little shorter.


ETA - Ok, I read about the class from the last trip. I think it looks interesting, although I can see where a park touring commando might take issue with some of the ride choices, especially during the morning hours.

The HM part looks pretty fascinating though!

For months, I have been looking forward to lunch at Columbia Harbor House.

I love the menu with the not-so-typical fare of fried fish and tuna or hummus sandwiches. I have been dying to try the lobster roll!!! I love that it never seems very busy in there (I’m not sure most people realize this is a counter-service restaurant). I love the upstairs seating with the nautical theming- it never seems crowded and is air-conditioned and it is possible to score a table overlooking the Haunted Mansion.

Next up: Lunch at Cosmic Rays

This part was hilarious...

 

[elphie101]

Well consider me signed up for the ride! I sort of dropped off the DIS during your last TR, so I'm going to stay on here I have to say I'm jealous of your boys, our 8th grade NYC trip was canceled the year before I had a chance to go (thanks to 9/11), and I wish my school had thought of YES!

What an eventful sleep night! I hope you got a better night's rest the next day! I'm glad you still got to enjoy a solo morning at MK, and I love that you're keeping track of all your wait times (I do the same thing for TRs!)

 

[wiscbugs]

Looks like a nice morning. We have never done the Seven Dwarves standby line...always the FP line.

 

[natebenma]

Kind of reminds me of my early mornings in California.

The body wakes when the body wakes. No accounting for vacation trips or time zones.

Quite a spread! That's actually a pretty good way to handle it for that many kids. No way you could possibly send them to a food court and expect to get anywhere on time!

We do tackle the food court for breakfast a couple of times, but yes, this is the best way to feed a troop of teens quickly and efficiently.

It's not always fun to be responsible.

That was actually the problem- a lot of the chaperones forget that the reason they were there was to... chaperone.

Brutal.

The kid seemed to be over the disappointment from missing that ride on the Mine Train, but it sounds like he had been on it once or twice since then.

First of all, I think that Mine Train was a good decision. Nice to be able to steal an extra ride on a newer attraction like that one. But I'm glad you managed to find someone in line to chat with to make the wait seem a little shorter.

I was not sorry I rode the Mine Train. I'll be interested to see if you agree with my next decision, though.

Looks like an interesting class. I wanted to reply before I lost the quotes, but I'll go check it out.
ETA - Ok, I read about the class from the last trip. I think it looks interesting, although I can see where a park touring commando might take issue with some of the ride choices, especially during the morning hours.

The HM part looks pretty fascinating though!

I would have done the class again if nobody else wanted to, but two of our chaperones did, so I was off the hook!

Stitch and Philharmagic? Can't you do a lesson on soundwaves at Space Mountain? Just sayin'

This part was hilarious...

I am not exaggerating when I say that is one of the most disappointing moments I have had at Disney!

But this year- Ben was on my side. He had talked to all of his friends and convinced them about eating at Columbia Harbor House the morning of the class. The other chaperones in my group agreed with the decision when I suggested it. My roomie L. knew what had happened on the previous trip.

And then, at 11:13 that morning I got a text from her saying

"We are now in Tomorrowland... Is there a dining option here? Not sure we're going to get the boys back across the park"

Dun, Dun, Dunnnnnnn...

It will be a few more updates before we find out how that turned out.

 

[natebenma]

Well consider me signed up for the ride! I sort of dropped off the DIS during your last TR, so I'm going to stay on here I have to say I'm jealous of your boys, our 8th grade NYC trip was canceled the year before I had a chance to go (thanks to 9/11), and I wish my school had thought of YES!

What an eventful sleep night! I hope you got a better night's rest the next day! I'm glad you still got to enjoy a solo morning at MK, and I love that you're keeping track of all your wait times (I do the same thing for TRs!)

YAY!!!!



So good to see you here.

The 8th grade trip changed to Disney from Washington DC after 9/11. Safety became a big issue for the teachers and Disney seemed to be a great solution for an affordable, secure and yes, educational, trip.

Yes, better sleep in coming nights!

One of the benefits of digital photography- I just took pictures of clocks or phones as I was entering queue lines and getting ready to board to help figure out posted vs. actual wait times.

I had a great solo morning!

Looks like a nice morning. We have never done the Seven Dwarves standby line...always the FP line.

I had a Fast Pass last August when I rode (again, a solo morning at MK)but this morning it was all "bonus" time for me, so I didn't mind waiting. I don't think I would wait more than 30 minutes for the ride if it was a normal, family trip.

 

[mickeystoontown]

I realized that I forgot to ask you about the breakfast set-up. Did you guys book an extra room just for that purpose or did someone stay in that room? I'm wanting to pass along as much information to my niece as I can.

 

[SarahDisney]

I finally got up and made some coffee around 4:30 or so and slipped out of the room.

They have one of those in the morning? Crazy!
And I like how you told Mark you had an uneventful night. It's not a lie if you don't know it's not true, right?

I like that there's fruit salad right next to the muffins (although they're blueberry muffins ... I guess that's healthy!)

Energy and Waves: Physics Lab 201

Sounds cool! I enjoyed reading your description of it from your trip with Nate (and I totally agree on Stitch ... don't see why it exists, never felt a need to try it)

I tried to be good about making note of how long the wait and travel times were, so I took pictures of the clock on the bus as we left ASMo (8:07) and when we pulled up at the MK gates (8:26), almost a 20 minute ride.

I think that's about the same travel time I had when I stayed at All-Star Sports ... so I guess that's about average for the All-Stars.

I decided I would devote that morning to things I had never done before or to visit attractions that my guys have no interest in. I was alone, so I didn’t have to worry about anyone complaining about how long lines were.

Sounds like the perfect time for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train!!!

It's always a perfect time for the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train!
I think some of the interactive stuff on the line is cute, but nothing too special. I actually think the interactive stuff on the Winnie the Pooh line is better.
My favorite part is the spinning gems that project on the ceiling. That was actually a lot of fun.

I promised myself I would just sit back and enjoy the ride and not take any pictures, since I knew they wouldn’t come out well anyway.

I do that all the time. Never stops me. You did get some good pictures, though!

 

[natebenma]

I realized that I forgot to ask you about the breakfast set-up. Did you guys book an extra room just for that purpose or did someone stay in that room? I'm wanting to pass along as much information to my niece as I can.

Two teachers stayed in that room, along with all the food and extra refrigerators. the tables stayed outside of the rooms. In past years, it was just one teacher in the "breakfast room", but she is retiring. This was her last year doing the Disney trip, and the other teacher roomed with her to learn the ropes.