Frozen SSRMonkey thaws out. Live from SSR May 4-10

[SSRmonkey]

I’m baaaaack! For those of you who don’t know me, let me introduce myself. I am SSRMonkey. You probably guessed that SSR is my home (and favorite) resort.

I am lucky enough to travel with my Mom and Dad and my best bud Koala. We have lots of adventures at WDW and typically get into some trouble.

Our trip from PA was uneventful and our stay in Jacksonville on Saturday night was made better by the guy who seems to always be working when we are passing through. And after a wholesome breakfast of McDonalds, we were on the road to WDW.

Since the good Wetzels is now closed in DTD, we stopped at Earl for our first meal. It was super busy, but worth the wait.

We checked in to SSR yesterday afternoon and weren’t impressed with the CM who checked us in. She was pleasant enough, but didn’t give us any information about anything except our room number and how to get there. Oh well, we know the drill, so it wasn’t a big deal. Until we got to our room…

When it’s just the four of us, we book a studio so we are able to come down a couple times a year. Well, we opened the door to the room and it was a one bedroom. Uh oh. Mom called the front desk and was told we got a complimentary upgrade to a 1BR…for the whole week! #pixiedust Being the skeptic that she is, she immediately logged on to dvcmember.com to be sure they didn’t take any more points from our account. Nope! SWEET!! I don’t know if my favorite part is the washer and dryer or the awesome shower.

Nah, I think it’s the HUGE bed! (Beware, Koala is on a “selfie” kick these days.)

That’s more like it.

After our obligatory trip to Wal Mart and some dawdling around the resort, we thought we would stop at Wendy’s for dinner. Bad idea. Apparently the Wendy’s we chose was run by kindergartners. It took about 15 minutes to get Mom and Dad’s undercooked food. Rather than waiting for another 15 minutes for fries, I confessed that I had sneaked some fluffernutters into my bag that I was planning on sharing with Winnie the Pooh. But I could see how hungry Mom and Dad were so I thought I could give Pooh some more fluff on another day. They were very grateful…especially for the explanation as to why my paws were so sticky…and why I kept licking them.

After that, it was off to MK. The crowd level yesterday was only a 5, but we must have hit the park at a bad time. It felt a little like Christmas. It was open until 2am, so maybe that was part of it.

Anyway, we had FP for Buzz. As usual, Dad did very well…Mom, well, let’s just say that she stinks at Buzz. We headed back to the Storybook Circus and then wandered through Fantasyland.

The Seven Dwarfs Mine Ride looks awesome! Can’t wait for it to open. By the way, doesn’t Disney realize that this is a very politically incorrect ride? Should’t they call it the Seven Little People Mine Ride, featuring Snow Caucasian? I guess it just doesn’t have the same ring to it…

Koala decided to take up woodworking.

This is his first creation. Not bad, bud. Not bad.

While Koala was working on the Horse Caterpillar (Google it), I had a bit to drink.

That got me talking to this guy.

The look on his face shows how starstruck he was. Apparently he follows my posts on the Dis. He said he’s in talks with Old Spice to develop a new scent. I think it still needs some work.

We walked over to Pooh and it was a short wait. I told Pooh about the fluffernutters and he said it was ok, he went to IHOP for dinner and got some of that new cinnamon roll French toast, so he was stuffed. Get it? Stuffed? I crack me up.

After bouncing with Tigger, it was time for some ice cream.

Koala got an ice cream headache, but I dumped hot chocolate on his head. That worked. ☺

Then we headed over to HM. Well, the parade just ended and tons of people were headed that way, so we thought we would head over to Pirates.
I have some bad news. One of the biggest lies Disney has ever told is about to be revealed. They say that Dead Men Tell No Tales. I hate to break it to you, but they do. Doesn’t anyone at Disney watch CSI or NCIS??? Probably not. Those shows are on CBS, not ABC. Maybe that explains it, but I really think they should stop perpetuating this lie!

After Pirates it was time for FP on BTMRR. I love riding this at night. On our way back past Splash, we took this shot.

We decided to head out before the 11pm parade. That was maybe not such a good idea. It took us an hour to get back to the car! Oh well, we made it.

This morning, we actually slept in. It’s amazing how much longer you can sleep when your evil cat, Chloe, isn’t head butting the door to get you up.

Today we are headed to Epcot for some Soarin’ and who knows what else! Stay tuned!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Where did all these people come from? It was another busy morning at Epcot. It looks like things are going to slow down later this week, but I don’t remember seeing the line for Spaceship earth as long as it was. Lucky for us, we had our FP all set for Soarin.

It looked like it was going to be a long wait there too, but we walked in pretty quickly. They must have just put new scent canisters in—it was really smelly. In a good way.

We were going to head to see Figgy, but the line for that was out the door too, so we decided to go look at the butterflies.

They added some glass flowers and butterflies to the tent this year.

Koala is looking for ideas for fairy gardens. Well, actually, he wants to make a Smurf garden, but isn’t sure where to start. It’s hard to find mushrooms big enough for Smurfs. And it would be hard to keep the evil cat Azreal away too.

They also added a fountain to the tent. I would like one of these at home.

Just a pretty picture.

On the way to the Festival Center, we saw some ducks floating around.

This was taken right before the male duck jumped on top of the female duck and tried to drown her. I’m not kidding. I didn’t include a picture because it was too traumatizing.

Koala got tired of getting out of the bag for selfies.

We tried to conduct a cooking demonstration, but the only thing we know how to cook is mac and cheese and cakes. None of the appropriate ingredients were available, so we just took a picture.

I found this bird’s nest on the way out.

Koala selfie.

After some high class food for lunch (Subway), we are headed to the pool. I do NOT swim…wet monkey smell is terrible. So I will just go catch some rays.

 

[Splashboat]

Great start and very funny. Waiting to read more. you were so lucky to get the rare DVC upgrade.
Hope you have a great trip.

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

Love my Monkey updates!

 

[Chellymouse]

I'm still cracking up at the "politically correct version of the seven little people's mine ride with snow Caucasian!" LOL! That's one of the best ones I've heard all day! I love Epcot in the spring....the flowers are amazing, not for the allergies, but oh well! hope you're paws are no longer sticky! it was very nice of you to share your fluffernutter with mom and dad! Maybe they will reward your good behavior with an adult version of the dole whip at Epcot! Tell mom to try the candied strawberries from China! She won't be disappointed!
Can't wait for the next installment, especially with all of you in the big room! Poor mom and dad....much harder to keep you an koala out of trouble. At least you should be able to sneak out if they let you sleep on the pull out!

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Glad you survived holding your nose through southern GA. Can't wait to see more of your TR. You guys are always getting into something!

 

[SSRmonkey]

We had a great time at the Paddock pool yesterday afternoon. I really like going there because of the snacks (and maybe because of the adult beverages). Because it was about 93 degrees yesterday, I thought the pool would be packed, but it wasn’t. After being in the water for about 30 minutes, Mom and Dad were successful in starting their transformations into lobsters. Well, let me rephrase that. Dad is slowly becoming a lobster and Mom is so nice to help him by just standing next to him and letting the sun rays bounce right off of her. So he gets double the sun.

After the pool Mom and Dad decided to head to one of the outlet malls. While they were looking at clothes (BO-RING!!!) Koala and I headed out to do some exploring. We found some more horse caterpillars. Koala really wanted to buy this, but it was bigger than both of us combined, so we couldn’t carry it.

Besides, who needs bedazzled horse caterpillars?

Koala has a thing for owls. He says he just thinks they are cool looking, so he took this picture of owls in a box. (I won’t say what song this makes me think of.)

See any resemblance?

On our adventure, we found this and really wanted to buy it for the evil cat, Chloe.

But then we thought, she’s pretty destructive on her own, imagine the chaos that would ensue if she had a unicorn horn.

She would probably give us this lovely look.

Mom and Dad were finally done window shopping, so we headed to the Olive Garden for dinner. The OG at home is always busy, so it’s nice to be able just to walk in and sit down and get drumsticks right away. I mean,breadsticks.

We went to DTD to wander around for a bit. I was startled by how angry this Nemo looked. I tried to talk to him, but he gave me the fin. At least it was the little fin.

Mom and Dad surprised me this morning with a new shirt!! I guess I won’t complain about going to the mall again.

This morning we are headed to MK and hopefully to the Laugh Floor. I’m getting the camera packed and jokes warmed up right now.

 

[SSRmonkey]

Unfortunate news…it took us 20 minutes to get into the TTC parking lot today. And then when we got to the TTC, it was a 30 minute wait for the boat and monorail. One of the nice things about DVC is that we don’t feel rushed and that we have to fit everything in… So, we turned right back around and went back to the car.

We decided to check out the pro shop at the golf courses. It’s a good thing we did because we never would have seen this beautiful piece of equipment.

I tried to steal it for Dad, but my foot didn’t reach the big Mickey shoe pedal.

Oh well, I’d hate to get kicked off property with most of the week left to go. If it’s still there on Friday, they better hide the keys!

There’s a baking supply shop here that Mom and Koala like to go to, so we decided to head there after some lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.

On the way we stopped by the Orlando Mini dealer. Mom has started looking into buying me a Mini…ok, buying herself a Mini, but I’m going to drive it. They have a much better selection here than in PA, so she wanted to check out some color combos. She’s torn between a red one with a black top so it looks like Mickey, or a blue one with a white top so it looks like Penn State. Maybe I can convince her to get a red one with a black top and get some yellow rims. Then it really would look like Mickey!
We are going to try some mini golf this afternoon and then try heading back to MK for the evening. It’s a good thing we don’t want to meet the Frozen princesses…the line is still 220 minutes long. Geesh!

Time to hit the road!

 

[Chellymouse]

Hopefully you made it the bakery and back safely....that's a scary trip!! Hope they found something awesome! Mom makes awesome cupcakes!! Looks like you had fun today!! Love the Mickey golf cart.....I would not be surprised if you and Koala found a way to get that home! Tell mom she should go for the Mickey minnie.... Can't wait to see what you two got into this evening!

 

[SSRmonkey]

I’m really glad we headed back to MK last night. There seems to be a transportation problem this week, though. We waited on the monorail for 20 minutes. Not because of crowds, but because there was some other issue. I’ll get back to transportation in a few minutes.

After finally arriving at MK, we decided to go grab some food. (Koala was acting like he needed a Snickers, so getting food quickly was important. Otherwise, I was going to put him in a bag and ship him back to the resort.) Mom and Dad wanted something quick and wanted to try Pinocchio’s. I’m afraid of marionettes and told Dad that I really, really, really, really didn’t want to go there. Apparently I was convincing because for the first time ever, Dad told us we could go off on our own for an hour. What?!?!? Sweet freedom! The only catch was that we had to take Dad’s phone. That way they could keep track of us via the stalker app (Find My iPhone). Whatever! See ya, Dad!

We saw these huge waffles a few trips ago and thought that sounded like the best and most nutritious dinner possible, so it was off to Sleepy Hollow. We both got a waffle with cinnamon and sugar. I didn’t want to get my paws sticky again, so I used a knife and fork.

But Koala wasn’t so refined…

We ate as quickly as we could because we had a lot to do before our hour was up.

First, Koala wanted to go talk to Minnie.

Then we headed over to Under the Sea. We were just about to get into our shell when the ride stopped. Darn it! We’re on a schedule, people!

Well, it turns out the ride stopped because someone got out of their shell. For real, someone climbed out of the ride. That’s one good way to get kicked out of MK. Believe it or not, it wasn’t me or Koala. As much as I wanted to touch Ariel’s fin and Koala wanted to swim with Flounder, we never would jump out of the shell. At least not without Mom and Dad there to rescue us from the security guards. Finally the ride started moving again. Koala forgot how afraid of Ursula he is and I thought that might ruin our night, but he got distracted by some pelicans.

We stopped for a picture of the Seven Little People Mine Ride.

Then we headed to the Barnstormer.

We thought it would be great to go to the Laugh Floor. We thought that since we were unsupervised, we would be able to sneak backstage and see what really happens back there. Our plan was to take over for Mac and Cheese. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad happened to catch us as Koala was taking a selfie. They figured out what our plot was and it was back to the bag.

Koala pouted for the whole show because Dad took his cell phone back.

Mom felt bad for Koala and convinced Dad that we should ride the teacups. We have never been on the teacups because Dad said it would make us sick. But it had been a while since we ate our waffle, so barf bags were not necessary. It was so much fun!!!

After the teacups, we headed to HM before our night time ride of BTMRR. We ended up being on the ride during Wishes. That was pretty cool except for Koala singing his version of the song at the top of his lungs. “FISHES….” At least it was entertaining for the rest of the train.

By that time we were getting tired, so we headed toward the exit.

Once we got out, we saw the line for the monorail. And the boat. I’ve never seen lines like that, not even at Christmas. It was unbelieveable. We asked a security guard if they were running busses to the TTC like they were in the morning. Nope. The lines were so long that Koala and I wanted to hop a bus back to SSR while Mom and Dad waited to get back to the car. Dad shut that down really quickly. We could have gotten into a lot of trouble I guess.

We rode the boat. At least they had two boats docked at once and were trying to get people moved out as soon as they could. Koala sang “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” the whole way across the lake, trying to lighten the mood for some people who looked like they had a less than magical day.

Once we got back to TTC we decided to walk to the car rather than wait for a tram. Good idea. It took an hour for us to get from MK to the room which seemed like a long time for this time of year. Oh well. After watching a little Jimmy Fallon, it was time for bed.

Today its time for TSM at DHS. I’ve been warming up my arm all night. Koala is hoping that Constantine and/or Tine Fey will be around at the Muppets. Tonight we are planning on heading back to Epcot.

 

[SSRmonkey]

This morning we had a great time at DHS. We had FP for TSM, so we headed there right away. We walked right on…awesome!! We had reviewed the tips online so we could score bonus points. We remembered most of them and Dad ended up being a deer and Mom was a cat. No beavers!! It was awesome!

Koala wanted to check out the Muppets area. Unfortunately Tina Fey was nowhere to be found, but we did find a Constantine poster. Better than nothing.

It took some convincing, but Koala talked the Electric Mayhem into letting him play a set with them. Believe it or not, bagpipes don’t really go with their sound. So it was a one and done for Koala.

Koala was tired after his bagpiping, so we decided to sit down for a bit.

We had a nice chat with Fozzie. He told me some of his jokes, so I have some new material. (He looks so much bigger on TV.)

We stopped into the Christmas shop to see what we could find. Koala gets sucked into infomericals even more than I do and one of his recent purchases was Brazilian Butt Lift. Apparently it worked…his butt got stuck in the stocking.

When we get home it will be time for some Insanity to lose that butt.

After that, we were heading to the animation area to see what characters were hanging around. On the way we saw they were showing previews for Malificent. Even though Koala is still mad at Angelina Jolie for breaking up Brad and Jen, I convinced him it would be good. It was! Can’t wait for May 30.

Wreck it Ralph is still set up in the animation area, so we decided to skip that and head out to get some lunch. In the parking lot, we found this little beauty. Even though it’s Mini, I needed a boost from Mom. Oh, and something ate part of its stripe. It wasn’t me.

It was really hot today, so Koala and I took a nap in the air conditioning while Mom and Dad went to the Florida Mall. As usual, Dad found some awesome shoes.

They surprised us with Earl for dinner! A holiday for me and grilled cheese for Koala.

Now we are off to Epcot to see what kind of trouble we can get into. And to get some candied strawberries that come so highly recommended by Chellymouse!

 

[a742246]

SSRMONKEY. You give the most enjoyable trip reports. Thank you!

 

[Chellymouse]

Wow!! Can't believe mom and dad let you run around unsupervised! Looks like you had a great time! Koala looks like he needs to read up on some Emily Post for table manners! What's up with Koala and the selfies? He's quite the selfie taker! Hope mom and dad enjoyed the strawberries! I did figure out how to make them, tell mom I'll message her the recipe if she wants to try it! Can't wait to see what trouble the two of get into tomorrow!

 

[SusieBea]

By the way, doesn’t Disney realize that this is a very politically incorrect ride? Should’t they call it the Seven Little People Mine Ride, featuring Snow Caucasian? I guess it just doesn’t have the same ring to it…

That got me talking to this guy.

The look on his face shows how starstruck he was. Apparently he follows my posts on the Dis. He said he’s in talks with Old Spice to develop a new scent. I think it still needs some work.

Hahahaaa! LOL!

 

[SSRmonkey]

We had a great time at Epcot last night. Things started out with some good luck when we were able to park in the third row! (It’s the little things that make me happy. Well, some big things too… ☺)

We hadn’t been around the WS yet, so we headed that way. Another piece of good luck—Dad’s favorite attraction in all of the parks, the dancing fountain, was on. And it was dancing along to Yanni. If only it would have been dark with the lights on. It would have been a trifecta!

I like the colors they used for the flowers this year.

Um, how did I not know that there was recruiting going on to track down Constantine??? I was sure I would be the one to track him down, so off we went!

Koala apparently thought he is a WANTED Koala. Nice try, buddy.

We saw DA BEARS! Because they were made of sand, they were less than helpful to my investigation.

Did you know Constantine weighs between 45 and 55 pounds? That’s a pretty big frog!

I soon got distracted…
I wish this shirt was monkey sized.

I wonder if the guy who plays Mr. Bean is really like his character…

These are two of my favorite bears. I can’t wait for the Paddington movie to come out. I might wear my Pooh costume to the theatre, though. Maybe they will serve orange marmalade on the popcorn.

I think Paddington knows something, but he wouldn’t talk.

Oh no! He was here! I’m on the lookout!

I went incognito…well, maybe this made me stand out even more.

I hopped on this bike to get around France a little more quickly and to check out some leads. I saw what I thought was a big frog and started pedaling as fast as I could and then I ran into these flower pots. Oops! Koala and I got out of there fast.

We headed to Italy. There was some sort of party going on there and lots of drunk people. Normally I would have struck up a conversation with them because they can be very funny, but I didn’t think I would get any good information from them.

Koala stopped for another selfie.

This guy insisted that he was the real Kermit, but I couldn’t get close enough to see if he was covering up a big mole. I told him I would be watching him.

Then I ran into Snow Caucasian. We talked about the new mine ride in MK and she said they are considering changing the name, but no decisions have been made yet. She said she would text me when she knows something. I think she would have told me the real story if that guy wasn’t hanging around suspiciously in the background.

Koala needed to relax a little, so we headed to China.

While he was chatting up this guy, I got some delicious strawberries. My only complaint is that the seeds got stuck in my teeth.

We made it all the way around the WS with no good leads, so I called it a night. I hope to pick up my investigation later today.

All of that investigating made us hungry so we headed to DTD to get some mac and cheese bites at Paradisio 37. There was a long wait there, though, so we opted to get some popcorn from the theatre and a big drink from Splitsville. The cup is my favorite part!

Mom and Dad wanted to go to the pool last night, so we all walked over. I spent my time looking through the bushes for Constantine leads. All I found were a bunch of lizards and they just ran away from me.

Today we are headed back to Epcot for the morning. We have FP for Soarin and hope to see Figment and Nemo. Who knows where our adventures will take us this afternoon!

 

[SSRmonkey]

Chellymouse--not sure why Koala is taking all these selfies. Apparently it's the cool thing to do these days...

Please send Mom the strawberry recipe when you get time!

 

[sznk]

hello SSRM & K, etc - we've been here at SSR (THV) for 3 days now and have not seen you yet! not that we're stalking you, but it would be fun to spot SSRM & K around the property! oh, well, maybe today at the pool or tonite at DTD?

your trip reports & photos are SO GOOD! you must be a very well- educated little monkey
^oo^

 

[SSRmonkey]

Hi SZNK! We haven't gotten over to THV. We usually go there to do some Squatchin, but I think it's been too hot for the Squatches. We are in the Carousel so it's a long walk to THV. I frequently post my location on my FB page if you want to follow me there. (Shameless FB plug-I'm a shareholder and trying to make millions so I can move to Golden Oak.)

I don't like to brag about my education, but I have my BS in Shenegains. And an MBA (Masters of Banana Advocacy). Both have served me well.

 

[sznk]

Hi SZNK! ... I frequently post my location on my FB page if you want to follow me there. (Shameless FB plug-I'm a shareholder and trying to make millions so I can move to Golden Oak.)...

we have been FB friends for quite some time now

 

[sznk]

off to the Poly & GF to check out the new Villas.
tried to get info about future DVC at FWCG but only get the "deer/headlights" stare from CMs