Tropical Storm Ernesto and I are going to WDW for my B-day! Complete! Posted 10/8

[tictoc]

Okay, I just finished posting the final post from my June trip. I have not been watching the news about the tropical storm, but my mom and husband have! In the original plan I had plane tickets to leave at 7:10 p.m. on 8/29. Wel with the weather alerts, my husband decided the kids and I should leave in the morning. Now I have a meeting with the teachers to pick up the kid's schoolwork. I have an appointment for a pedicure tomorrow and I was planning to complete my trip report from my previous trip report all tomorrow morning. Well, now I leave at 7:45 a.m.

So much to do! I had to go to Wal~Mart, run to my parents, chat in the DisBoards Chat Room to say bye to everyone and weigh all of the suitcases. The weighing of the suitcases is a ritual for any trip! Iit is all done. I have even completed my last trip report so now I can begin the pre-trip report for this trip.

Cast:

Rhonda--me lover of all things Disney! Truly obsessed with the mouse. This is my 48th trip to the world

Malcolm--My not so Disney husband. At about trip 25 he declared he would never return to that place. Well, it is my birthday on the 4th of September so he agreed to go just one last time! What a trooper!

Drew--ds11--also lover of all things Disney. Very giving child. Just started Middle School and is already missing a week!

Steven--ds10--lover of all things Disney except Tower of Terror! Most loving child! Just started 5th grade and is already missing a week!

Rachel--dd5--lover of Rachel! It is all about her! Not so much a princess more of a diva. Thinks she should get to do Bippity Boppity Boutique and My Disney Princess Tea Party every trip!

The trip is finally here. I booked this trip while waiting in the airport for my last trip. I swore I would not over pack, but the seven suitcases sitting at the end of my bed beg to differ! I am very excited about staying at Port Orleans riverside. I think it is a very beautiful hotel. I am also excited about the free dining plan. Since my oldest two are considered adults the savings equaled almost $160.00 a day!

The alarm is set for 2 1/2 hours from now. I can't wait to fill this report with so many great memories from this trip!

See you guys in a week!

[pumba]

Hope you and ERNESTO have the best time ever......Our friends are there right now and hope they are enjoying themselves too

[Lil' Grumpy]

first : :bday: & all your wishes come true! :cake: and lots pixiedust:
for some magical moments!

ha! ..you not foolin me, i know a few lil rain drops can stop you...but
hobo's..hiding in bushes.. naw...hoping [ :wizard: ] this is a DREAM come
true for your family! here'
a lucky :tink: :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock:

p.s..we're doing a disney cruise in bout 18days....so close...

[tictoc]

lil grumpy--congrats on your cruise!

[tictoc]

The trip is finally here. And it is 12 hours early. We were supposed to leave at 7:10 p.m. but in anticipation of the incoming storm, we decided to fly in at first opportunity. We felt it would be better to get there before the rain rather than during it. I called Continental first to see how much it would cost to change the flight. There were plenty of seats available on the 7:45 a.m. flight CO586—so book it! The best part of it? Because of the storm they were not charging the normal $100 per person change fee! Another good thing, we got seated 15 rows above where we were previously seated! Wahoo! Go Ernesto Go! Next came moving the rental car pick up time to 11:00 a.m. so for an additional $55.00 we would have a car upon arrival.


There were two things that I ran out of time to do before the trip began. The first was to pick up my son’s prescription and the second was to get a pedicure. So my husband, who is coming in on Thursday will bring the medicine. Luckily we have three days worth and I will forfeit the pedicure. I guess worse things could happen!

The boys had also not picked up their school work for the week they will be missing. Judge me if you must but I have taken the kids out of school every year and it has been okay so far. Next year when Steven hits Middle School I will not be able to get away with it any longer. I do not want to cause him the stress of getting behind.

I turned on the light in the boys’ up-stairs bedroom and I cried out “who wants to go to Disneyworld?” No one stirred. Hmmmm. What is this? Nobody wants to go see Mickey this morning? Perhaps it is because they have only been asleep for 4 ½ hours. So I tried again. This time I had a much better response. The boys did not exactly bound out of the bed, but there were four opened eyes and that was at least a step in the right direction.

The boys donned their Astros shirts and it was time to go down stairs and dress Sleeping Princess Rachel Beauty. I had let her pick out her own outfit to wear on the plane and she picked her favorite shirt. This is a very strange shirt. It is cream in color and has two hamsters in cowboy hats on it. I guess to each her own taste.

We got our seven checkable bags, three children, one bag of books for the plane and the computer bag safely to the airport. Whew, we are on our way! Kisses to Daddy and we were Florida Bound!

After baggage check-in. it was time to feed the hungry crew. We stopped by Wendy’s and $14.00, three pancakes, a sausage biscuit, a bacon, egg biscuit and hashbrowns later and suddenly these very hungry kids were no longer hungry. So we threw away the food and made our second trip to the restroom within fifteen minutes.

Safely at the gate we awaited our departure. One more last minute call from my mom to let me know there was a possible hurricane coming. Now she had let me know this approximately 19 times in the past twenty four hours. This time was special though. This time she had actual coordinates. I was prepared though. In those checked bags were 24 bottles of water, twenty juiceboxes, poptarts, peanut butter, jelly and bread, beef jerky and flashlights with plenty of batteries.

Watch out Mickey, Ernesto and I are on our way!

Ernesto and I go to WDW for my Birthday—Possibly the Worst Plane Ride Ever

We boarded early with those that have children four and under. Now Rachel is five, but I figured we would get away with skipping this line! Had my odds been a little better, like two adults to three kids, then I would have chanced waiting.

The plane was not very full. Now that is a good sign, I think. Unless it is empty because all of the people saw the imminent danger and decide to stay home. Either way we got two roes of three chairs for the four of us. I though it best if Rachel sat with me since these kids can fight their way through any vacation. However, I am easily swayed. Steven wanted Rachel to sit by her so he could read her a book. Now I am so gullible.

It started so wonderfully. Ii was sitting on Row 12 with Drew by the window and Steven and Rachel were seated in Row 11 with Steven by the window and Rachel in the middle. Steven was reading aloud to Rachel and all was right in the plane. It was about five minutes before take off, the cabin doors were shut and I heard a loud squeal from the seat in front of me. It seems that Steven found a headset that someone had left on the plane. Now I have headsets, I have more headsets than I care to claim and they are all in the checked baggage. Why did I need to bring the old headsets when Continental gives you a coupon for a free pair per ticket? Why, because some yahoo may leave theirs behind and my kids will decide it is worth starting World War Three over.

I stood up, even though Ii think the time limit for that was over and started to take care of the problem. That is when the man in Row 10 made a hateful remark about kids needing to ride outside of the airplane. I was mad. I was furious mad. People are so rude. I have been on planes before where babies have cried for the entire trip and I have never made the parents feel bad. I said aloud “Not very intelligent to think you were going to get on a plane to Orlando and there not be children on it.” The rest of the flight he glared back at me between the crack in the seats.

Now I spent 15 years working in the fifth busiest emergency center in Houston. The emergency center where the wait is sometimes 12 hours long. The emergency center where we work with criminals, drug abusers and people that are anxious and in crisis and therefore not their usual cheery selves.. I have been called names. I have had people be rude to me. I have even had people assault me with clipboards and such. That was all in the first week of employment. I lasted another 14 years and 51 weeks. I can last two hours and one minute in an airplane with Grouchy Gus. I can also let my daughter scream, holler and kick your chair for those two hours and one minute. Hmmmmmm.

The plane ride really went okay from there. Rachel settled in with Drew in row 12 and Steven and I shared Row eleven. I got a jump start on this report and am actually typing this on the plane. It is 39 minutes until we land in WDW; my favorite place. Twelve hours early. Can I get a Wahoo, Rachel?

[em'smom]

I hope you have a great trip! Please keep us all informed on a daily basis!

[OhMari]

Hi Rhonda,
I heard Ernesto is just rain now-so I hope it doesn't hamper your day today and tomorrow. Get them poncho's on and head on out.

Happy pre-birthday. I think we talked in chat how our birthdays are around Labor Day and how nice it is to have off when Labor Day lands on our birthday. Mine is the 6th and I have to work-so celebrate in spirit for me, I'm just going to ignore mine this year.

OhMari
aka Marisa

[arizonacolbys]

Great trip report so far! :thumbsup2

I LOL about the guy on the airplane giving you trouble! :rotfl: There's always more little ones aboard Orlando flights than just about anywhere else. I'm happy to hear that he didn't give you anymore trouble! :teeth:

Can't wait to hear about the trip!! Have a Great Birthday with Mickey!!! :wizard:

[GOOFYsince71]

tictoc..........let me get this straight!!!!
The guy actually said kids should ride outside of the airplane!!?
I guess I would have had to say,,"Ladies First"
Get it? Say Ladies first to a guy :rotfl2:
That would have had him feeling a little insecure for a while!
What the heck was he thinking.....
Have a very Happy Birthday.......
My son is celebrating his, Sept.5th at Disneyland in California!! :banana:

party: :cake: :bday:
here's to you tictoc.................................
:drinking: Have one on me!!

[Disneyland_Mama]

Great start! I love how you handled that guy on the plane!! Atta girl!
You share the same birthday and my DH! Have a Happy Birthday!!

Have a great trip and I'm looking forward to reading your next installment! :Pinkbounc

[rosiejo]

Great start - now I have to go find your previous trip report to pass the time until you update this one :)

[BeautyNBeast]

Have fun on your trip! Ernesto is breaking apart from what I have heard on the news. Enjoy and I cannot wait to hear how your trip goes.

[jamieandben]

Have a great Birthday and Trip
BTW we share the same birthday
And i will be going down on the 13 for my 40th :cool1:

[tictoc]

Debbie came to the very short but not so much moving line at Port Orleans Riverside Check-In to say “ I am sorry that it is moving so slow, but the computers are down. We can assign rooms and have to give temporary park cards. You can not use your DDP but we will refund anything you spend on food.” I interpreted that as “why the heck are you waiting in line? You already have park tickets!”

Just as we were walking away the computers came up! The line was really long now but the lady that was in front of me let me back in line. We checked in and I grabbed the kids and headed to the Grand Floridian. I always valet park at the Grand Floridian when we are going to the Magic Kingdom.

As we entered the park we realized immediately that this was not the normal volume of attendees! It was 2:16 and there was no one lined up to watch the three o’clock parade. Boy was it hot though. I considered grabbing Casey’s hot dogs and sitting outside to watch the parade while we ate. But it was too hot! So we grabbed the hot dogs and sat on the bleachers and ate while watching cartoons.

I am not a big hot dog fan but I do love the ones from Casey’s! We finished lunch at 5 before three and there was still plenty of room to watch the parade. So we took our piece of the curb to wait. There was some cast members playing jump rope with the waiting kids so of course, my three lined up. They had a blast waiting and I did not have to keep asking how much longer it would be!

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I really liked the changes to the parade. The globes were gone and there was new music. Steven is so cute watching the parade. He is ten but still loves the characters to give him a high five!

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Yo Ho Yo Ho the reason the kids were so anxious to head to the Magic Kingdom first was to see the addition of Jack Sparrow to The Pirates of the Caribbean. So off to Adventureland we ventured. It was so hard walking past the Dole Whip spot without stopping but Johnnyjack awaited! On the way we passed a street show with Jack Sparrow. It was really cute and I thought the actor did a great job imitating Johnny Depp’s character.

We were in luck. There was only a ten minute wait. Wahoo or uh Yo Ho! We were making our way through the line with no delays. We were off, we were almost running, we were practically sprinting and then we came to a complete stop! The ride, it seemed, was having technical difficulties! Humph! We finally left the line and returned five more times but it was always broken. No Johnnyjack for us.

In between efforts at riding the POC we did manage to squeeze in the messed up version of the Tiki Room, Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride and the Jungle Cruise.

“I wasn’t to ride Splash Mountain.” That was the cry of Rachel from the time she discovered she was not going to get to ride johnnyjack the first time we tried. So off to grab those fast passes. Fastpasses? Who needs a stinking fastpass? The line is only five minutes long.

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“Is this the big drop Momma?”
“No Rachel”

“Is this the big drop Momma?”
“No Rachel”


“Is this the big drop Momma?”
“No Rachel”


“Momma, I see the buzzards”
“So what do you think that means Rachel?”
“It is the big drop.”
“Right”
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

Zippity Doo Dah Day!

I tried to go back and get that Dole Whip but the ice cream was too soft. See all of that Disney Magic? They even help you watch your figure!

Snow White and the Quicked Ween, I mean the Wicked Queen was next.

Sometime during the day we also managed the chamber without doors and windows and several other rides. Timing was great. The longest we waited for anything was five minutes.

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About the time we decided to get on the carousel the lack of sleep caught up with Rachel. She was relly upset that someone had taken her horse so we rode again.

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No big deal right? Well the big deal came when she threw herself on the ground screaming after the second ride.

Can anyone say—take that kid to the hotel???? I know I have said that subconsciously to many other guests. Kinda in a telepathic effort. So I took that kid back to the hotel!

We grabbed the monorail to get back to the Grand Floridian. Rachel laid down on the top part behind my head and actually fell asleep.

We got back to the hotel and looked everywhere for our Disney vacation Club pargo Parking Spot but they did not seem to have that in the parking lot of the Port Orleans Riverside. Humph! Well, welcome home anyway!

We ran to the food court area to grab dinner. The food was not nearly s good as it was at the Pop. I was really surprised. We ended up with an overcooked burger, Chicken strips and cold fries and a steak sandwich. The cast member taking our order was so friendly. His name was Jean and his smile was very bright.

For dessert we thought we would get ice cream sundaes. We ordered two chocolate and a strawberry. First the cast member Anita sighed heavily when she realized she was almost out of chocolate ice cream and would have to get some more To the point where I actually apologized to her. So, I stood back and I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. . . . Finally I said I was gonna run and get Rachel some Benadryl for her runny nose while she made them. When I returned she had not even started them.

Rhonda—“I need to pick up my sundaes”
Anita—“I will make them in a minute”
Rhonda—“You mean you have not even started”
Anita—I have been busy, I got a lot of customers”
Rhonda—“Well wasn’t I your first customer in line? Why would you help the people behind me first?”
Anita—“I have to take care of everyone”
Anita-- got a styrophome take out container. Not the cute bowls they normally put them in. Scooped a huge amount of ice cream and whipped topping in each while glaring at me the entire time. Glaring at me she sprayed the topping on the counter instead of in the containers! Glaring to the point where the lady in line behind me said I can not believe she keeps looking at you like that. Glaring at me so much that I knew if I had not been watching her make those “sundaes” there would be a bonus in them that I would not want.
Rhonda—went and got a manager and showed her the fruits of Anita’s labor. The pseudosundaes.
Manager—I can not believe this. I will deliver real sundaes to your room”

Now considering we ate those sundaes and they were made out of my sight, I sure hope Anita did not make them!

I hooked into the internet because there was some work I could do while the kids rested. I was tempted by the Dis chat room, however and never made it to the work. I did however, unpack while I chatted. Unpacking is so easy because I pack everything on the hangers. It is just a matter of pulling from the suitcases and hanging it up!

I chatted until late and then decided I better try and get some sleep for the big day Soarin’ over Epcot today!

Now for those of you who read the report from my previous trip you know the Power Rangers sing me to sleep every night at Disney World. Well during the chat all three of the kids fell asleep. So on this night, the first night of MY DISNEY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, I got to watch the Tonight Show with Orlando Bloom.

So much better than Power Ranger Pink!

[keliblue]

I am soooooooo hooked !!! What about the weather ??

[forr2grls]

Hey Rhonda! Love the trip report so far!!!! Hope to talk to ya soon!


Paula

[tictoc]

Drew had slept on the trundle bed and when I awoke to Stitch he was half on the floor. It didn’t seem to be bothering him though, so I took his pillow since he was not using it anyway. I lay for a few minutes until about 6:30 and then rolled out of the bed. After everyone was dressed and Sleeping Princess Rachel was loaded into her car seat we headed to Epcot.

We arrived at 8:30 and parked in the very first spot on Journey Row Four. Now it is raining. Not in that torrential sorta way, just kinda raining. It is raining enough however that there are not very many people pulling in around us. I got the ponchos out and handed them all around. Rachel woke up about this time and put hers on as well. We sat in the van for a few minutes and the rain subsided a bit. It did not really matter. I mean it could have been a monsoon and I would still be going in. So, we unloaded and headed in. The rain was so light that even though we had our ponchos on we did not even put our hoods on. I did however make Rachel and Steven, the two illness prone kids put theirs on.

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“So” I said to Ernesto, “what’s it gonna be?” I thought to myself, I can beat this guy. I was just hoping no one else felt that way. As we sat by the front gate and waited for it to open it looked as though I may be right. When we went in the park there was only maybe five gates open and probably no more than fifty people in each line. We headed of course straight to the right. Straight to Soarin’ we were going.

“Momma?”
“Yes Steven?”
“I want to go to Universe of Energy”
“We will do that later. First we are getting fastpasses to Soarin’, and then we are going to see Crush.”

“Noooooooooooooooo”
“No what, Rachel”
“I do not want to see Crush yet.”
“Well it is the most logical progress.”
“But I don’t want to”
“How many months have you spent studying for this trip”
“Huh?”
So we went to Soarin’ first.
About this time the Soarin’ Cast Member showed up. Now there are two areas to enter that side of Epcot. One is a wide area and always has many bodies shoved up against the ropes. The other is a very small path in between some foliage that no one is ever at. No one but my happy little uncrowded family.

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So we follow the cast members down the path and there is a very small crowd, but people are still pushing like mad! In fact, one man pushing a stroller made the cast member so mad that he stopped the entire pilgrimage to reprimand him!

So we got those fast passes and then walked right on the ride. It is such a great ride. One of my favorite parts of that ride is listening to the people in the pre-show when they start recognizing the voice of the actor. The adults say it is Puddy from Seinfeld and the kids call out Kronk and Lok from Tak.

We got to the Living Seas and I think we were the only ones in the entire building for a while.

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The show did not start for another thirty minutes so we had plenty of time to explore the exhibits. Rachel loves to eat shrimp and got a real kick out of seeing them alive.

During the show Drew got picked by Crush. Drew always gets picked by Crush. But this time was different this time Crush asked to talk to Drew’s mother! So, Natalie handed me the mike and I got to answer some of Crush’s questions about humans!

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Now last time we were here we did not see Universe of Energy and the kids could not wait to get in there. So we went to our obligatory science lesson. See, I told you taking them out of school would be okay!

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We decided to do lunch at Seasons in the Land. Drew got salmon which is his favorite, and Rachel and Steven got chicken. I was not much on eating today, so I skipped this meal. The total came to over fifty dollars for three meals. The good part, it was free to me. I just love this promotion!

On our way to lunch Rachel happened upon the Junior Chef Cookie Making Exhibit. Rachel donned her chef hat and went in to make some cookies. I could not wait to get a picture of that little chef. I turned the camera on and it read across the back—“focus error”. Never seen that one before. I tried to turn it off and back on but the lens would not retreat back into the holder. So after lunch I went by the camera shop to find that it probably could not be repaired. Bummer. Luckily there is a spare camera in the hotel room. Seems like a good time for a mid-day break!

The kids felt a rest was in order so I posted to this trip report and downloaded all of my photos while they re-energized.

Steven--“Mom, it has hardly rained all day.”
Mom—“Don’t jinx us”
Steven—“I think I will do a rain dance.”
Mom—“rain dances don’t work silly”
Steven—“ahahahahahahahahahahah” while dancing around
The Sky—started to drizzle!

By the time we made it back to Epcot it was more than a drizzle, but less than a storm. So we donned those ponchos and headed toward Innoventions. We spent a little time on the games, but forever making plastic robots. In fact the next group had come in and we still were not finished.

Cool Club, previously known as Cool Station was next. It just is not as much fun if you can not trick anyone into drinking the gross stuff!

This was about 6:30 and we had 7:15 dinner reservations at Teppenyaki. So we started toward Canada. Not a bad trip around the world. About half way to Japan I realized Drew was not walking but gliding. That child had his wheels in! After our last trip, I could not believe it!

About this time I got an e-mail. I was thrilled! It was a person from London that we had met on our previous trip. We met while watching Illuminations in Japan! What a coincidence!

Arriving at Japan we were met by a small crowd waiting for the Candy Artist. There were more people gathered around here than there were in Soarin’. That lady is incredible. It is pretty fantastic how she so quickly makes those perfect candy sculptures. Drew got chosen to get one. Rachel was asleep in the stroller but Steven looked a little let down. Drew picked a blue panda. Go figure! After the show, I asked the candy lady if she would be there on Monday and she told me that she would take care of Steven then!

So now, off to dinner. We were ten minutes late for our reservation. It would be about twenty minutes for a table. Perfect, just enough time to go shop downstairs. My kids all love the store in Japan. The boys like to get the Pokemon stuff and Rachel loves that Kitty with the freakishly big head.

Just as we paid the disc lit up. Boy this was going well. I woke up Rachel because she was so looking forward to this meal. We got to the table and the other family was a 14 year old boy with his parents. They were so loud and so much fun. The chef did not do any of the entertainment they normally do but he was cordial enough. Just as all of the food got on the grill, Daniel, the 14 year old, spilled his soda all over the grill. It was great! His mother and father both yelled at him for like five minutes. It was such a Steven thing to have done. I was glad Steven has a kindred spirit out there.

The family was really concerned about walking to the front in the rain. So worried, in fact that was about all they talked about during the meal. So we all started out right after Illuminations. We walked about 100 feet and the sky opened up. It was not a light rain, it was a down pour. I had extra ponchos, so I gave each of the boys two and took mine off to cover the top of Rachel’s stroller! By the time we made it to the car we were drenched, but laughing. We laughed so hard. Everyone piled in to the van and turned the heater on! Imagine the heater at WDW in August! Wow!

So now it is nearing Midnight and two of the kids are still awake. We are headed to MGM tomorrow and have 8 a.m. breakfast reservations. I bet we come back for a mid day break! See you tomorrow!

[keliblue]

Your trip is awsome so far... I am sending you a little pixie dust to ward away the rain :wizard:

[3princesses+aprince]

I love this report, and all of the pics. :thumbsup2

[fgauer]

People can be so rude - i hope you are sincerely enjoying your trip!

[MickeyNicki]

Love your report, I feel like I am right there with ya!

[sharonW]

I left chat when sue said you reported! Just had to read about more
of the magic. Even Ernesto can't spoil your love of the mouse! I'm glad
your having fun! Hope Malcolm arrived safe and sound. Somethings got
to be done to make that man as passionate as you and the kids are about
disney!! :wave2:

[Torjohnson]

great report. No reference to my e mails though. Guess I have to move to London to get some respect...
yay

[tictoc]

Okay david, I owe you an apology1 Your emails have been the highlight of the trip! Keep 'em coming!

[cherokeemamma]

Good Morning tictoc,
Hope you are having a magical day!
Loving your TR and the pics! :thumbsup2 Your kiddos are so cute.

Thank goodness Ernesto decided to move on up north a bit. It looks like you guys only had the one day of partial rain. :cool1:

How are the crowds in general? Wait times? I'll be there the end of next week and just curious. :woohoo:

As far as the ice cream sundae making CM...What's up with that? It sounds like she needs some pixie dust added to her coffee!

Have fun and thanks for posting!

[DeterminedOne]

For dessert we thought we would get ice cream sundaes. We ordered two chocolate and a strawberry. First the cast member Anita sighed heavily when she realized she was almost out of chocolate ice cream and would have to get some more To the point where I actually apologized to her. So, I stood back and I waited and waited and waited and waited and waited. . . . Finally I said I was gonna run and get Rachel some Benadryl for her runny nose while she made them. When I returned she had not even started them.

Rhonda—“I need to pick up my sundaes”
Anita—“I will make them in a minute”
Rhonda—“You mean you have not even started”
Anita—I have been busy, I got a lot of customers”
Rhonda—“Well wasn’t I your first customer in line? Why would you help the people behind me first?”
Anita—“I have to take care of everyone”
Anita-- got a styrophome take out container. Not the cute bowls they normally put them in. Scooped a huge amount of ice cream and whipped topping in each while glaring at me the entire time. Glaring at me she sprayed the topping on the counter instead of in the containers! Glaring to the point where the lady in line behind me said I can not believe she keeps looking at you like that. Glaring at me so much that I knew if I had not been watching her make those “sundaes” there would be a bonus in them that I would not want.
Rhonda—went and got a manager and showed her the fruits of Anita’s labor. The pseudosundaes.
Manager—I can not believe this. I will deliver real sundaes to your room”

Now considering we ate those sundaes and they were made out of my sight, I sure hope Anita did not make them!

I'm glad you got the manager involved. Anita's behavior was unacceptable!

[NUguyinCrew]

Great report so far! Cant wait for more!

[GOOFYsince71]

Hey,Nuguy,
The countdown is ON!!
We will be at Pop,,same time!!
Start Packin'
Hey tictoc............. :)
What's the day been like for ya?
Thanks for the extra helpin' of pixiedust:
Soooooooo looking forward to the new installment! :surfweb:

[femail]

and i should be thinking about packing, or something, but instead, what am i doing? reading the boards!! i am so hooked!! :o0 see you in 2 count em 2 days......femail "hippie chic":butterfly

[BeautyNBeast]

Glad you guys are having fun, and not letting Ernesto ruin your trip.

[kimwim8]

Loving your report again!

That's the way to do it, too. Get it done each day while you're still AT WDW!!! That way everything is fresh in your mind...and when you come home to reality, it's so hard to get them posted (at least for me!).

Have fun and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[katiesmomluvsdizne]

Glad to see you are having a great trip. Here's wishing good weather the rest of the time :wizard:
And HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! party:
Glad to see you are having a great time!! We are leaving in 20 days :banana: I also pull my DD out of school, and will continue to do until it causes problems!!!
Can't wait to hear more.

[GOOFYsince71]

:happytv: "When last we heard from tictoc,the family was settling in for a much needed rest.They were due to visit MGM in the morning with an 8AM Breakfast reservation.................."

Did They make it?
Was Breakfast Not-So-Magical?
Did Ernesto Show up and Drench the Poncho Family?

The answer to these and many other questions on the minds of all the Dissers, to be answered by tictoc..........soon.........we hope...........!


Hope all is going well
Your audience is waiting with SHARKBAITed Breath!!!! :wave:

[tictoc]

thanks to everyone that is reading. i have written several of the days( all except the last two). I will post on Wednesday to the report. I have good notes for those days!

[tictoc]

Hi Rhonda,
I heard Ernesto is just rain now-so I hope it doesn't hamper your day today and tomorrow. Get them poncho's on and head on out.

Happy pre-birthday. I think we talked in chat how our birthdays are around Labor Day and how nice it is to have off when Labor Day lands on our birthday. Mine is the 6th and I have to work-so celebrate in spirit for me, I'm just going to ignore mine this year.

OhMari
aka Marisa

We did talk about our birthdays in chat. Happy Birthday--Yours is today. I am back at work now :surfweb: feeling pretty tired! I hope you have a blast today.

[tictoc]

One more thing about the family from New York.

Man from New York-- “It is gonna rain out those fireworks”
Rhonda—“They still have Illuminations in the rain”
Man from New York—“No, no, they will cancel them”
Rhonda—“Okay” I thought to myself, no they do not!
About ten minutes later. . . . .BANG
Man from New York—“Listen to that thunder”
Rhonda—“That is Illuminations”
Woman from New York—“I want to go watch them.”
Man from New York—“I don’t”
Woman from New York—“I want to go watch them.”
Man from New York—“Bye”
Woman from New York leaves alone.

They were seriously cracking me up!

For those of you who red my previous trippie, you know that on my last trip these rotten kids of mine made me watch Power Rangers every night. Now they have supposedly outgrown Power Rangers but the other option was Raven and they can’t stand that show!

So this trip so far the kids have all been asleep long before I have gone to bed so I have been able to watch real television. You know the kind where there is a host sitting in a chair talking to a celebrity sitting across from him. So the first night I lucked upon Orlando Bloom. I think he is really attractive. So last night, I came across Jimmy Kimmel and Tommy Lee. I think he is really hot. I have really had some pixie dust!

This morning Stitch called at 6:00. I hung up on him! I listened to the weather and found out that it was 70% chance of major rain. A lesser soul would have rolled over and gone back to sleep. But not this Disney loving Momma. No, I rolled out of bed and into the shower. Within minutes of waking up the boys they got in a major fight. Now a lesser soul, or a better mother, would have enforced the no fighting rule and cancelled the park visit fo the day. Not this Disney loving Momma. So everyone is dressed and teeth are brushed and here we go! I will punish those big boys though. We are off to MGM to eat breakfast with JoJo. Hopefully I will be able to really seal the punishment by getting tickets to see The Wiggles in concert. The power of being a mother.

Drew—“Momma?”
Me—“Yes Drew?”
Drew—“Did you know that South America has never been involved in a war?”
Me—“No, I didn’t”
Drew—That is because they are simple people like farmers. We should be that simple.”
"Interesting thoughts at Disneyworld, but could you help me find the keys we are late for breakfast.”

So we get to MGM and park in Stage 41,

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take the photo so we will know where we parked at the end of this day and head toward the gate. The intent is to head to breakfast and then go get tickets for the earliest showing of the Wiggles.

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When we got to the front we were surprised to see a very long line already in place to go get tickets. Hmmm, breakfast is at 8 and the cast member informed me that this line moves in at 8. So, do I skip JoJo for breakfast or do I chance not getting to see The Wiggles? There was a manger type guy walking around so I explained my dilemma to him. He said not to worry. Just go to breakfast and I will bring the tickets to you! Wow that Disney magic.

So we headed to Hollywood and Vine. Now those of you that are familiar with my travel to the world know that my daughter is a very hard sleeper. She sleeps through us dressing her, putting her in the car and getting her back out. She sleeps through the entrance and we wake her up when we are getting on the first ride or going into breakfast. So as we rolled the stroller into stroller parking we roused her awake.

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She usually wakes up in a great mood when we wake her up this way. When we wake her at the hotel she is usually so worked up by the time she gets to something fun, there is heck to pay.

This proved to be an excellent character meal. The characters came to each table and spent time dancing with the kids. The characters also seemed to work the room pretty efficiently. In about 40 minutes we had seen all of the characters and the kids had all eaten. I of course, kept my policy about not eating buffets. I remember when Hollywood and Vine was a character meal where Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale were all dressed in old Hollywood Glam and they danced with you as well. That was one of the best meals and this proved to be the same standard. So, if you want a meal that is all about the little kids, here is the ticket!

During the meal Steven really wanted to go see those characters. He knows he is really too old to still like the preschool characters, but he really is still such a kid at heart. So I said, “hey Steven I would really like to get a picture of you and Drew with the characters and Rachel too. Would you mind?” He leapt from the table!


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Drew had been very patient during that meal. Thank goodness for Game Boys and books! After lunch we headed to Tower of Terror.

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Drew is the only one of the kids that likes this ride and he loves it! We could only get a fastpass because we had to line up for The Wiggles soon. We got one lonely fastpass for Tower. Man how I wanted to ride! I did not however want to ride it badly enough to force the other two to ride it. So one solo pass for Drew and two passes for Rockin’ Rollercoaster was all we got. Man that one would really hurt! I love that ride. I love rock, I love Arrowsmith and I love the combination.

With the security of no lines later in hand we headed toward the Indiana Jones Theater to watch The Wiggles. Rachel was so excited about this concert. She danced throughout the show. It was kind of weird at the beginning. One of the dancers came out to introduce the main characters and announced that Greg had been suffering from fainting spells and had to return to Australia so that he could see his doctor. The part of Greg will be played by Sam. The entire rest of the day and even now, I find myself very worried about Greg.

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The concert was so cool and it was so cool that it was free. Of course Rachel made friends with the two little girls behind us. The older of the two was named Avery and she will be five on Malcolm’s birthday.

After some rides we headed over to see that spaceman, cowboy and that cute little cowgirl. Today they threw in a green army man for good measure.

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I was amazed all day that the crowd was so light. We just kinda meandered our way around though. We did not accomplish tons of things. We watched Ariel and Playhouse Disney. We did Star Tours and of course shopped at Tattooine Traders. We got R2 Patatoo and Spud Trooper. We needed play mates for Darth Tater.

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We went through the Art of Animation and met some Incredibles and Cars and learned how to draw Pluto.

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We took a picture, but did not eat at Pizza Planet because I hate that pizza!

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We went to fight some gangsters in the Great Movie Ride.

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After all of that it was time for our dinner reservations at Mama Melrose’s. Dinner at 3:30 so I guess you could really call it Lunner. While we were waiting the 35 seconds it took to get a table this is the conversation Rachel and I had:
Rachel—“Momma those fruit people are naked”
Me—“I know”
Rachel—“Momma, why are they naked.”
Me—“Because it is art”
Rachel—“But you can see their booties.”
Me-“Yeah, I know—it is art”

So then Rachel went to tell the other kids, kids that we do not know, about the naked fruit people. I sure wish I had taken a picture of that statue to share! Maybe I will update this after our visit to MGM on Sunday!

Here was the issue: Steven had just eaten a giant pretzel. Steven loves pretzels and is not a big eater anyway. So when it came time to eat he was not hungry. I told the waitress that he was not hungry and in a minute the manager Eric approached our table. He explained that even if Steven did not eat he would be charged for a meal. Because it was the Fantasmic Dinner Package everyone that gets in the special place gets charged. So my answer was to not give us the ticket into Fantasmic. There was hardly a crowd in the park today and it had been raining off and on anyway. So, he gave me the ticket to get all four of us into Fantasmic. Happy Birthday he said as he smiled from ear to ear. I think it made him happy happy to do this for me. It made me happy happy too. So we three ate and Steven played video games and he and Rachel called their grandparents to say hi.

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When the dessert menu came around, Steven had suddenly regained his appetite. Funny how that kids tummy works!

Leaving the restaurant this conversation took place:

Rachel—“Mommy can you draw a heart? I can.”
Me—Yes, but probably not as beautifully as you”
Rachel—“Well you know hearts don’t look like hearts.”
Me—“You will need to explain that.”
“Well I saw a book that had a picture in it. The picture showed what the inside of your body looks like/. The heart did not look like a heart. It is oval with a bunch of lines coming out of it. It was ugly.”
Me—Hmmmm.

After dinner I had another camera issue. This time it was with the only working camera on the trip. I did not have a charger for the battery. I lost the piece that plugs in. I know they sell these chargers at MGM because I bought one here In June. Why, you ask? Because I lost the little piece tat plugs in. Sound familiar? It is becoming a pattern!

The camera shop amazes me at MGM. They are the best camera shop on property. Jean Claude and Bill work in that shop. They go way out of the way to make customers happy. Bill is kinda older and maybe a little impatient with kids, but that is some of his charm. When Steven and Drew turned the television volume up too loud he simply walked over and turned it down. He did not get frustrated; he just took care of the problem.

The problem was that they do not sell those chargers any more. In fact Jean Claude said they are very hard to come by period. He searched every nook and cranny looking for one of those pieces to just give me. He gave me a European one and told me to go to the gift shop and they will have an adapter. Bill told me to come by there every morning and they will charge my battery and loan me one to use while it is charging. I do not have the solution yet, but I am still working on it!

So it was time for a midday break. We had some really special decorating to do. Malcolm arrives tonight and we wanted to decorate the room for his arrival. So we returned to the hotel and made a sign for the door.

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I went to the front because I had very special Fairy Godmailer packages and post cards to send out. I had 7 kids total to send things too. I still needed to find name badges and plying cards, but otherwise I had all the stuff! Leaving the lobby I got turned around and it took me forever to get back to the room. So much for my rest!

If we were gonna make it back to Fantasmic, we needed to get going!

Fantasmic is my absolute favorite thing at Disney World. I have a lot that I love but this stands out. I think this show is so beautiful. I first saw this show in the late eighties or early nineties at Disneyland. I fell in love. I have been a fan of Disney and Walt has been my hero since I was quite young. This epitomizes Disney for me. I love the belief that the good guy always comes out on top and that the power of believing is enough to defeat evil. I am also a sucker for the love stories!

The part I do not like about Fantasmic? The wait is so long! The kids get impatient and I am the only adult to entertain them. This time it will be different. I made sure that I had game Boys, books and coloring supplies for Rachel. I had my Blackberry and plenty of emails to answer.



Something was noticeably different about Fantasmic tonight. Not at first, not until the almost very end. The part where Maleficent catches the water on fire did not happen. The River Boat with Steamboat Willie did not happen either. Instead all of the characters lined up on stage and waved their banners around. It was not bad it was just different. I felt betrayed a little that they had changed my favorite part of Disney without consulting me first. So on the way out I asked a cast member. Not to worry, the difference was due to technical difficulties not permanent change.

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On the way out I found one of the Godmailer items I still needed. One more set of kids down and only one more to go.

We returned to the hotel a little glowy. We had a great day and it ended on such a good note as well.

Plus, Daddy would be here soon. We all kind of settled in, Rachel drifted off and the boys waited anxiously for Daddy to arrive.

He just got here and they went down at Midnight almost to get something to eat. Six a.m. will come awfully early tomorrow! Oh yeah, and guess what is on television—Power Rangers!

[tictoc]

first : :bday: & all your wishes come true! :cake: and lots pixiedust:
for some magical moments!

ha! ..you not foolin me, i know a few lil rain drops can stop you...but
hobo's..hiding in bushes.. naw...hoping [ :wizard: ] this is a DREAM come
true for your family! here'
a lucky :tink: :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock: :shamrock:

p.s..we're doing a disney cruise in bout 18days....so close...


Howdy Lil' Grumpy--We are back and barely even water logged! There were no hobos hiding in the bushes this trip and my husband came and had a good time! Oh boy Oh Boy!! It was the best birthday ever!

I can not wait to hear about your cruise!

[Disneyland_Mama]

Oh man... The Wiggles?!? That Greg is H-O-T! Too bad he wasn't there. We get Ralph and his boring World when we go to WDW. I would have soooo loved The Wiggles. :thumbsup2
I love the "Art" convo with Rachel :rotfl2: :rotfl: :lmao:

[brandt79]

Love it - can't wait for the next installment!

[tictoc]

Love it - can't wait for the next installment!


Is that a Bichon in your pictures?

[ampc3]

I am enjoying your TR :) could you please tell me what a "fairy godmailer" is??
Thanks

[tictoc]

I woke up to the sound of Stitch at 6 a.m. I showered and got dressed. Net I dressed the boys and Rachel. Hmmm. No suitcase for my husband yet. I knew he would not want to go to the park until he had his clothing accounted for. I walked down toward the luggage room to see if it was there. Luckily it was.

I came back to the room and woke him up to get showered. I woke up the boys and they got dressed. Then Malcolm, having not been on one of these trips in a while did something that almost made me drop my teeth! He actually woke Rachel up! I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs “No! You do not wake her up until we are getting on something fun. Obviously he has never stood in line with her! I kept my cool though and said nothing. Besides as soon as I placed her in the stroller she drifted back to lalalalalala land.

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Also because Malcolm was with us, we decided to take the bus today. This will be the first time that I have stepped foot on a Disney bus this trip. It will be only the second time this year I have stepped onto one of those busses. I am grateful to Disney for having the transportation option, I just prefer to take my Sleeping Princess Rachel Beauty in a car. So now Malcolm was really throwing off my groove. But I must remember I am not the Emperor and must be flexible.

Today was Magical Beginnings, one of the Extra Magic Hour Mornings for preschoolers. I had not done much studying of these mornings so I did not know what to expect. It was a lot like any other a.m. EMH but the only rides that were open were the Fantasyland rides. The one distinct difference was the characters. There were characters everywhere. Peter Pan and Wendy were playing near Peter Pan’s Flight. The Fab Five were running around and the Hundred Acres Woods gang was hanging out in that Pooh themed used to be some leagues under the sea play area. Well, Rachel found Alice and the Mad Hatter. They skipped, ran, played ball, and just frolicked with Rachel, Steven and Drew. They played in Pooh’s playground and they hop scotched by the teacups. They even rode the teacups a couple of times with the kids.

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There was one little girl playing ball with the group that got an eye injury! She cried a lot. I am not sure Mad Hatter and Alice knew what to do. They never broke character; Mad Hatter’s voice became real shrill! I am sorry the little girl got bumped, but it was hilarious to watch the reaction of the characters. Alice kept talking about how she cried herself an ocean when she got hurt. The girl’s mother said it was okay, but they left!

Now I enjoyed playing with Alice and the green hat guy but after about 45 minutes I wanted to go see Peter Pan and Wendy. Rachel, however, did not. Rachel wanted to stay with Alice. Mad Hatter even commented on how attached she seemed to be! Malcolm took Steven to play with Peter Pan and Wendy and I was so envious. I forgot to send the camera though so I did not get any pictures. Steven came back to report that he played Mickey Says with Mickey Mouse and Pluto as well.

I had thought we were getting there early to get as many rides done as possible. That is not what happened though. Instead we spent a wonderful hour playing with the characters. Even Drew commented on how lucky we were. It was as if the rain clouds had separated and the Pixie Dust Clouds opened up and poured that magic all over us.

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Just as we were about to leave Alice and MH saw a squirrel on the tree. They were mesmerized by that rodent. Kinda like all of us when we see a certain 5 fott Mickey Mouse!

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After the play date we started on the rides. There was no one in the park. We managed to get everything done in Fantasyland in no time.


We flew on Dumbo

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We saw my favorite princess Tiger Lily

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We rode around the world with all of the singing dolls and then went to see my personal favortie princes. . . Princess Tiger Lilly

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The weather was a little warm and pretty humid but dry. We walked right onto the Tomorrowland Racers. Well, should I say the guys did? Rachel decided that she did not want to ride. She and I waited on the bridge and took pictures of the boys.

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Next we hit Tomorrowland. Again, absolutely no wait. Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear was five minute waits.

Notice that perfect score? That was my score. I know the secrets!

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and it did not hurt that the car stopped for several minutes!

We managed to ride everything in Tomorrowland, saw Stitch, rode Stitch, took a picture of the Stitch topiary

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and headed across the hub.

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Johnnyjack was next on our list. We made a beeline straight to Pirates of the Caribbean. During the walk over the grey clouds filled the sky. The changes to Pirates of the Caribbean were great additions. I loved the beginning as did the boys. Leaving PoC we realized the sky had opened up. It was a major downpour. So we donned those ponchos and headed out into the storm.

Jungle Cruise and Aladdin’s Carpet Ride was closed. We went in to the Enchanted Tiki Room to see Jose, Michael, Pierre and Fritz. Even though I think thise new set up with Zazu and Iago is weird, you still have to go see it cause if you mess with Polynesia, the tiki gods will squeeze ya.

Afterwards, off to Frontierland where Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road were closed. So Country Bears here we come. Perfect timing. The next show was beginning in five minutes. We could not have asked for better. We parked the strollers inside Pecos Bills so that they would not get wet and headed to the theater. We walked one step inside and Rachel announced “I have to go potty!” Okay we have five minutes to get there and back. Everyone decided they needed to go. I had Rachel there in seconds. Malcolm and the boys were l a g g i n g way behind. I mean it took them forever to get those few yards to the restroom in the tunnel between Adventureland and Frontierland. We missed the show and now the next one did not start for 17 minutes. I think that family of mine must be too hungry to go any further. The problem was that our Crystal Palace reservation was not until 3:30.

We thought we would try and get in early. The rain stopped shortly after it started but a lot of people had left and there were very few people there anyway. We did manage to get in early. The restaurant was nearly empty. I ran a few errands while the family ate. No buffets for me ya know. This lunch was really uneventful. The food and characters at Crystal Palace are always great. At one point I saw a character approaching and I wanted to make sure all of the kids were ready. You know how those character meals are done in xommando style. I am not really sure why I would rush today though sicne less than a third of the tables actually had people at them!

Me-“Drew be ready Tigger is coming.”
Drew—“I was born ready”
Me-“What?”
Drew—“I have been raised here mom, I can get in photo mode in mere seconds.”
Me—Hmmm, maybe too many trips!

After lunch we were heading toward some more rides when we crossed the bridge from to Liberty Square. The portrait people were there and Malcolm suggested we get a portrait of Rachel. The boys suggested we get portraits of all three. It was not that Malcolm did not want portraits of all of the kids it was just that we had portraits made of the boys but never had Rachel’s done. We left with a portrait of all three!

Now I have been to Disney World many times and I have seen many battles on that property. Just yesterday I saw two couples in heated arguments throwing some wild remarks at one another, I saw two teenaged sisters arguing and I saw many a baby and child protesting against the inhumanity of a twelve hour day in the sun. I saw a match yesterday however unlike any other. There were two cast members in a very obvious, very heated debate. Apparently one (a guy with no name tag, but the other cast members had called him Mark) had assigned another (a lady with a nametag that read Marie, but Mark kept calling her Ann) too many jobs. Ann/Marie was working too hard and was not happy about it. She continually picked up the log that was on a clipboard and dropped it to the counter. He apologized. He apologized again. He even apologized a third time but overworked Ann/Marie was having none of that. No siree.

Finally she kept pushing those buttons and poor Mark went right over the edge. Mark turned away from her but right towards us and muttered some pretty strong word. Words that would probably make Minnie blush and Mickey’s tail stand on end. There were four words in that phrase and the only one I can put here is the second one *stupid*. The others were for those websites where you have to give a credit card to get on.

Now remember my husband is not a Disney fan. He does not want to be here and I am really worried that this is going to taint the magic that Alice and Mad Hatter had worked so hard that morning to create. They were obviously not going to stop. She was painting a portrait of another guest and they were still at it. Finally our artist said “excuse me guys” and they got the message. For a minute anyway. So I still needed a charger. I asked Malcolm if he would mind if I ran to the Kodak Expo while he stayed with our three models. While I was on Main Street I felt I should mention the behavior to Guest Relations. I was really disturbed that this was going on and I was really upset that Malcolm had witnessed all of this. After the report I went and got the charger. They had one! Yeah. Our vacation was saved. Watch out Ernesto, those pixie dust clouds are taking over.

I returned to the portrait area to find those two cast members at it again. I sat through it for a second and finally approached.

Me—“I hat to get involved, but I must ask that the two of you do this somewhere else. It took me a lot to convince my husband to come here and you are kinda ruining it. I told him stuff like this never happens here.
Ann/Marie and Mark—apologized profusely and stopped fighting. I wish I had done that in the beginning. I wish I had never mentioned this to Guest Relations. We all have our moments and they just needed to be brought to reality. Within a few minutes a lead approached.
Lead—“I need tot talk to you two.”
Rhonda—Feeling like a really bad guy. Like a villain. Like the Evil Queen even.
Ann/Marie—“Is it about our nametag?”
Lead-“A guest actually complained about you.”
Mark—“I guess we got out of hand.”
Ann/Marie—“At least it is the only mark against me.”

I felt so uncomfortable with this conversation taking place within feet of me! I thought the lead should have taken this to a back room somewhere. I thought it was just as inappropriate for him to reprimand them as it was for them to argue in front of guests. I just hoped Malcolm did not realize that it was me who complained. He would hate that. He would hate that more than watching them argue.

Our artist was really great with the kids. He played with Rachel and had her giggling throughout the entire experience.

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I was gad when the portrait session was over. I was ready to move on. So now onto Toontown to ride the Winnie the Pooh Ride. I love this ride, I really do. I love Winnie the Pooh and gang. I just feel a little sad every time I go through there and realize the only thing left of Mr. Toad and his wild ride is a picture of him. I love all of the new Disney stuff. I love all of the movies and I really like the Pixar stuff. I do however feel really sad when the old guys are kicked to the curb to make room for the more popular guys. I work in Marketing so I understand the need to fill the requests of the majority. It just makes me kind of sad. Kind of like when Iago and Zazu take over Jose’s room.

The park was getting busy now and I was glad I had grabbed fastpasses this morning while Rachel played with Alice and Mad Hatter. Something grand happened in that line for Pooh. Malcolm had not had much to say to me that entire day. The only thing I can really remember him saying is “Do you have any Advil.” But in this very short fastpass line, he kissed me. Not a strong Public display of affection, just a peck. It was enough to let me know that he did not like being at Disney, but he was not miserable!

After Pooh we headed to Toon Town. It was the only land that we had not visited. So we stopped by Pete’s Gas Station because the littlest traveler had to go POTTY again. Then it was time to storm the barn with Goofy. This ride is so meaningful to me. My sons loved this ride as kids. I can remember Steven in a full run heading down the street to get to that ride. I love any memory of Steven running. He had some trouble as an infant and we were told he would not walk until he was much older. He beat the odds. He had a great physical therapist and made a remarkable progress. Very lucky we are.

So anyway back to the ride. There are anmatronic chickens on this ride. They were always there but there used to be live chickens too. One time when Drew was two we rode this. The cast member told Drew as he got in not to scare his chickens. From that day forward as we get on that ride, even if the kids are in a full blown fight, they will stop and say “Don’t scare the chickens”!

We had some popcorn to pop and some baking to do next at Minnie’s then we had to hit the characters. We decided to wait to see Daisy but skip the princesses since we would eat breakfast with them on Monday. While we were waiting in line Rachel was really tempted to write in her autograph book. The problem with that is the book she has claimed is actually Steven’s.

Rachel—“Mom, can I just write Daisy’s name for her?”
Me—“No Rachel”
Rachel—“Why not?”
Me—“Because that would not be an autograph, that would just be a name.”
Rachel—“An autograph is a name.”
Me—“But it has to be written by the person of that name to be an autograph.”
Rachel—can I just write it anyway?”
Cast Member—“Okay it is your turn. Daisy is waiting.”
Me—“Thank Goodness!”

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Now everyone was in a great mood. The kids had hit their stride. Rachel was giggly and the boys were very happy. Malcolm had relaxed a lot and was even holding my hand. Man life was good. It was about 45 minutes before Spectro and I really did want to stay and watch it. I was afraid though that the luck would run out. The kids would get hungry and bored waiting. More than Spectro I wanted to see Wishes with Malcolm. I decided though that we better go while everyone was still happy.

Just as the bus pulled away form the parking lot Malcolm remembered we had forgotten to return and get our portrait. So I volunteered to ride the bus back and pick up the portrait while he took the kids to eat. I was very tired, but thought I should do this. He readily agreed.

So I stayed on the bus with Sean. Sean was really cool and a big Disney fanatic. There was only one other couple on the bus heading back to Magic Kingdom. Sean and the couple all knew lots about Disney. We had a great conversation and Sean hosted a trivia contest between me and the man. The man told me he had the advantage because he was so much older than me. Ha!! Let it go Sean. Let’s see who is in charge! I beat the guy hands down. I knew much more than him and even gave Sean a few new things for future guests. Who’s da man now?

So I ran to the portrait place to pick up the photo. Who should be there but Mark?
Mark—“I am really glad I was here when you pocked this up. I wanted to apologize for that argument earlier.”
Me—“That is okay. We all have our moments.” Besides, I wanted to say that lady pushed way too hard. I wanted to tell her off!
Mark—“I would hate to think I had caused your family to lose some of the magic of their vacation.”
Me-“It really is okay. I understand that sometimes it is tough to stay on while in front of customers. Thanks for apologizing and have a good night.”
Mark—“Goodnight.”

Boy, now I really felt like garbage for complaining earlier. So, I stopped back by Guest Relations and completed a Fantastic Customer Service Compliment card!

When I got back to the room it was empty. Where was that family of mine? In the pool? Still eating? Hmmmmm. Maybe I would have some time by myself to. . . The all bounded through the door. Oh well!

They had brought me food. I realized that I had not eaten all day. I had some water and two bites of a turkey leg earlier. That is often the case for me at Disney though. I am too excited to eat! I was hungry then though.

I will say I have never gotten a blister at Disney but on this day my feet were covered. Six separate blisters had popped up on the bottom of my feet. I am sure from walking in wet shoes. So I covered them in moleskin while Rachel colored a picture for Cinderella. It was nearing midnight and Malcolm’s tee time was for 8:03. Everyone get to bed. We have Donald’s breakfast in the morning!

No Power Rangers, no television at all. Lights out! Get to sleep!

[ReneeA]

I think we were following you around!!

We were also at MGM on 8/31 and MK on 9/1.

I thought lines both days were very low and manageable.

Glad to read your trip reports!! :)

[Disneyland_Mama]

Great post! :thumbsup2
I just loved the photos of Little One's Magic Hour. Looking forward to doing that as well.
Thanks for sharing!

[Boo99]

Hi Rhonda,

Your trip report is wonderful so far, love all the pictures. And we finally get to see Malcolm. He seems like a happy guy in those pics bet he's liking disney more then he wants to admit. LOL :love:

Waiting for the rest of your TR.

See you in chat!!! :surfweb:

Sue

[GOOFYsince71]

What would happen if someone woke Rachel up!!???? :confused3

[MomPlanner22]

I read your entire last report (loved it!) and am loving this one as well. My DH thinks I am nuts though. When I saw your pictures of The Wiggles I said, "There's a new Greg!" Now that I have read your explanation, I am worried about him too. I hope Rachel loved the show. We saw them last year in a local theatre and the show was amazing. Greg and Anthony kept cracking each other up and it seemed like they were having a really fun time with performing.

Glad Alberto didn't get you down and looking forward to more!

[tictoc]

What would happen if someone woke Rachel up!!???? :confused3


Pure havoc. She picks on the boys the entire time we are waiting to get into the park THEN the fight is on and I am allergic to the kids fighting so I start cussing. Fighting causes me to have Turrets!

It is not a pretty sight. Did any of you see our family? They were fighting and I was cussing my way down Main Street!

[Torjohnson]

hey, malcolm is real!!!!!
He doesn"t look at all like I imagined him

[GOOFYsince71]

Pure havoc. She picks on the boys the entire time we are waiting to get into the park THEN the fight is on and I am allergic to the kids fighting so I start cussing. Fighting causes me to have Turrets!

It is not a pretty sight. Did any of you see our family? They were fighting and I was cussing my way down Main Street!



Spunky little chick!!!Good for her. Early Childhood training is Smart!!
The Allergic thing........hysterical.......... :rotfl:

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

hey, malcolm is real!!!!!
He doesn"t look at all like I imagined him

See, it's funny tor...he looks just like I imagined him. I got it all right except for the goatee. Beautiful family Rhonda!

I am so glad Malcolm is having fun. Call me pathetic but I was worried about it all week.

See you in Chat tonight!

[tictoc]

I am enjoying your TR :) could you please tell me what a "fairy godmailer" is??
Thanks


I will be happy to explain what a fairy godmailer is. It is when you send a postcard or small souvinier to a child that has recently been or may be going or just likes Disney. For example my friend from home will be going soon for their first trip so I sent them nametags, Epcot passports and a post card that read Can't wait to see you!" Several other kids got postcards anticipating thier arrival and one kid got some Stitch stuff. I will be going back in November if you need a Fairy Godmailer just let me know. I also think there is a Fairy Godmailer thread on the trip planning baord.

[tictoc]

Malcolm got up to go play golf and I got up and worked on this report. I had a little while before I had to get the kids up and ready and I wanted to let them sleep as long as possible. So I just took a little time relaxing after my shower and worked on this trip report.

I woke the kids up with just enough time to get dressed and go to the bus. Again, I was to find myself on a bus. This time heading to the Animal Kingdom. I got everyone up and Drew woke Rachel. I started to dress Rachel and she revolted against the outfit I had chosen for her to wear. No purple shorts she said. So by the time I got her dressed and got everyone to the bus station we were leaving very late. We had a reservation for Donald Duck’s Breakfastsaurus at 8:40. The bus got there almost immediately. We might make our reservation yet. To my surprise the bus headed to the Blizzard Beach. That was an unexpected delay in the plans. I had not accounted for that in the time plan! So, needless to say we missed our breakfast. We arrived at Animal Kingdom right at 9 and the gate was just opened.

We grabbed a double stroller so Stevie and Drew could take turns resting and pushing today. Of course we followed the crowd and headed to Expedition Everest first. There was only a 10 minute wait in the standby line. The boys rode twice and we got two switch tickets to use when Daddy arrived later. I also got four fast passes that we could use later. I love that ride and wanted to get on there right then. I had to wait until Malcolm arrived though. For the sake of the children!

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After Expedition Everest we all went to ride what Rachel calls the circle boats where you get all wet. It was already hot and we could not wait to ride. The kids love to watch and see who gets the wettest. The other family on the boat was from Europe. One of the ladies in that party was wearing a very white t-shirt. You know what happens when women in white t-shirts get wet!

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Notice the bruise on Rachel'sforehead. That was from jumping from one bed to the other two nights before!

So after the river ride through the rain forest we headed to Hester and Chester’s Dinorama.

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The boys rode Primeval Whirl and Rachel and I went to try our luck at the carnival games.

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Rachel won a complimentary small purple dinosaur. I say complimentary because the ball never really made it into one of the colored circles. The cast member gave Rachel the prize and she said “Hey Mommy, I get the dinosaur and I lost!” That is the problem as to why she is so spoiled. People are always giving her things like that. When the boys got off of their ride they wanted to plays some games too. I have an attic full of the stuffed dinosaurs. They opened these carnival games in 2000 and we have taken several home on each trip.

Drew won a large blue dinosaur.

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Now blue is Rachel’s favorite color. We had gone all day without fussing, fighting, whining or crying. In fact, we had gone two days. There was very little to no strife yesterday as well. I knew luck would not last. I want that blue dinosaur; Drew can have my purple one. She snatched the dinosaur from his hands. I took it from her and said no way! The irony is Drew had actually won an orange dinosaur but had traded for blue so he could give it to her. Now there was no way she was getting it. Drew had been so good all day. Drew had pushed his brother around in the stroller. Drew had helped me carry things. Drew had acted like an adult. The problem was Drew is not an adult. Drew is only eleven. I was not going to let Rachel take advantage of him.

While we were in Dinoland I suffered yet another technical difficulty. This one was not with the camera. This one was with my Blackberry. I turned it off and when I did it said it would not power back up until the next day. I suddenly had no timepiece, no phone and no way for Malcolm to reach me when he arrived. It was right at eleven and I have no idea how long it takes to play a round of golf. So I headed to Guest Relations to call him. While I was there I also picked up a Birthday Button for myself. I know my birthday is not for two days, but I wanted a button from each park! Please don’t flame me!

I found out that we had about an hour before Malcolm would arrive and it was oh so hot! So we were in search of shelter. We headed to “It’s Tough to be a Bug.”

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We took our time going up the trail and looking at all of the animals carved in the tree.

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It was another perfectly timed arrival. I am so glad that we took our time looking at the tree and not waiting inside for the show. The doors were just opening as we entered the room. We managed to get on the front row. Now I know most people would not love the front row, but we all do. We can get such a great view of Hopper.

Drew has always been scared of bugs. Trust me he gets it honestly. I am very afraid of bugs myself. He normally does not react to this show but today he was very sensitive to everything. He sat on the edge of his seat so that he would not feel the stinger. He also buried his head in my shoulder during the majority of the show. Another advantage to being in the front row is being able to stay and take a picture!

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After the show we took a few more pics!

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We had twenty minutes until Daddy arrived and I wanted to see what characters might be out. We managed to get photos and autographs with Koda and Kenai.

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After the bear hunt we took pictures of those Disney Scouts and fishermen.

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We met Malcolm at the front and as soon as Drew saw him he started crying. We had a great day I just think sometimes he takes on so much responsibility when Malcolm is not with us. I put him in the back of the stroller and Steven in the front. We made our way to Pizzafari and had lunch. I hate pizza and I do not eat sandwiches but Steven wanted to eat here so I adjusted my groove one more time.

On the way through Africa we stopped for some music time.

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We did manage to ride Expedition Everest. First Malcolm and the boys rode using the fastpasses from this morning. My kids always do crazy things in the photos. When they disembarked the photo was the three of them doing “Hear no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Now it was my turn to ride with them and I had to figure a way to top that photo. So in our photo Drew was nail biting. Stevie was holding his head and I was praying. This woman from the single rider line was beside me and I had to get her into the picture as well. So I urged her to pray with me and she joined in the fun!

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I took some pictures during the ride.

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We then went on three more expeditions. The kids and I did. Malcolm and the boys went on one more as well. So that makes seven total times for each of the boys hmmm.

While leaving our expedition we had this conversation:

Steven—“Momma, did you know we bought a lot of land for Napoleon?”
Me—“No, not really.”
Steven—“Do you know what he wanted the money for?”
Me—“No not really.”
Steven—“To use against us in a war.”

See I told you Disney is a learning experience. Skipping school is no problem. It is these conversations with the kids that I treasure so much.

After our expedition it was time for a safari. It was jumping hot but we still managed to see quite a few animals.

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Okay we are all hot and tired. We have had a blast and Drew just hit Steven. It was time to quit while we were ahead.

Animal Kingdom is a great place to take pictures of the scenery.

We got to the tram. I had to take a bus to get here but Malcolm brought the car to pick us up. Yay!!! When we got on the tram, Malcolm showed me a blister on his finger. I diagnosed it as a flesh eating disease and put a Bandaid on it. Of course it was his middle finger so I spent the rest of the ride getting flipped off! “See my finger?” He is such a kid! But he is at Disney and he is having fun. Life is as it should be!

When we got to the van we decided that since the rental had Massachusetts plates we would pretend to be the family from Mass!

I took this picture of Malcolm and Drew walking into the hotel after we got back.

Of course the kids wanted to hit the pool as soon as we got to the hotel. I wanted some lemonade. I told Malcolm to go ahead and head to the pool and I would meet him there in a bit. I took my laptop with me so I could work on this poolside. When I got to the pool the rest of my clan was nowhere to be found. I took this as a divine sign that I needed a break! I headed back to the room and moved my photos from the camera to the computer.

When Steven got dressed after his shower, I noticed his underwear and socks looked a little odd.

Me—“Steven?”
Steven—“Yes Mom?”
Me-“Are you wearing your Dad’s underwear and socks?”
Steven—“I don’t know”
Me—“Well, do they seem to big?”
Steven—“Yes.”
Me—“Then change into your own.”
Steven—“Okay.”

The family is back, we have all showered and we are heading out to the Hoop de Doo Revue. I love that show. Malcolm loved Hee Haw. I am hoping it is a match made in Heaven!

I get lost everywhere I go. Even if it is somewhere I have been before. I am still gonna get lost. I do know my way around every park, but I have been there so many times! I can follow most signs and get to most of the parks and resorts. So, luckily I knew just how to get to Fort Wilderness for the Hoopty Dee Doo Musical Revue. So why did we end up in the Contemporary parking lot? He followed my every direction. So, the security officer at the CR gave us a map. Malcolm handed me the map to follow. Hmmmm. We have been married almost fourteen years. What part of directionally challenged does he not understand? So we both started laughing and he took the map.

Malcolm—“It says to turn right here.”
Me—“yes”
Malcolm—“I asked you if we were supposed to turn here when we first went through the gate.”
Me—“yes.”
Malcolm—“and you said no.”
Me—“I just wanted to see the Contemporary all lit up. It is so pretty at night.”
Malcolm—“Hmmmmm”

Somewhere on that trip to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue that night we also ended up in the parking area for the Wilderness Lodge.

Once we got there and parked we had to take a bus to the back. All of the kids as well as us were in really good moods. We were ready to go Hoop Dee Doo! When we got there it started feeling like rain. It has rained every day, but only for a little while. We got our photo made before the rain started. We sat under cover for the twenty minutes we needed to wait to go in.

Pixie dust was still spreading. We got the front row table. We were seated right up against the stage. As soon as we sat down I knew there would be a problem. It was freezing in that Pioneer Hall. I do not mean cold, I mean freezing. Rachel immediately said she would like to leave. I was shivering and so was the rest of the family!

When our server Bill came over I mentioned it was very cold. He brought us a ll out table cloths to cover up with. I thought that was so fantastic. We may have looked silly but at least we were comfortable!

This show is always funny. We all love this show. It was Malcolm’s first time to see it and I think he really liked it to.

When it was time to leave, we pulled out of the parking lot and followed the signs out. We took a left and then a right and we were back at the Port Orleans!

Malcolm--One left, one right and we are back at the hotel.”
Me—“Wow that was fast.”
Malcolm—“You had us driving around for thirty minutes on the way there and it was only one left and one right. Less than five minutes to get back.”
Me—“But we did not get to see the Contemporary all lit up.”
Malcolm—“Hmmmmm”

So it was beddy by time. We went to the 9:30 show so it was after 1:30 when we got back into the room. Lights out. MGM is tomorrow!

[sharonW]

Still really enjoying the report. Its Great!!
Wish it would never end!

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

Me—“Steven?”
Steven—“Yes Mom?”
Me-“Are you wearing your Dad’s underwear and socks?”
Steven—“I don’t know”
Me—“Well, do they seem to big?”
Steven—“Yes.”
Me—“Then change into your own.”
Steven—“Okay.”


I think your son and my son may be related by confusion. This is a normal everyday conversation around here.

[kimwim8]

Another great installment!

So....when are you going BACK to WDW?? It's been so nice to read 2 trip reports in a row from you!! :teeth:

[tictoc]

Another great installment!

So....when are you going BACK to WDW?? It's been so nice to read 2 trip reports in a row from you!! :teeth:

I will be back in November for a conference staying off property. I will find time to get to the parks though. I already have bought tickest for MVMCP and the Luau!

I also hope to go in December with my daughter and one of her friends! I will be sure and report back. Thanks for reading. I will update very soon.

[tictoc]

I think your son and my son may be related by confusion. This is a normal everyday conversation around here.

Sheli--You crack me up! Kindred Cousins those boys are from our kindred sisterhood.

[tictoc]

Still really enjoying the report. Its Great!!
Wish it would never end!

Sharon, sometimes I think it never will! I have been writing trip reports for 4 months! But I guess the bright side of that is I have been to Disney World twice in four months!

[Tinker*Shell*Bell]

Sheli--You crack me up! Kindred Cousins those boys are from our kindred sisterhood.

It's feeling a bit like 'Ohana around here Cousin Rhonda

[femail]

i looked and looked for you when we were there; but we did mk on the 4th and mgm on the 8th and nothing... i even fockered people at random and followed people with backpacks on .... but we did have fun! even a magic moment for my two older grands!! enjoying your report; could you write one for me?? :sunny: kathye

[tictoc]

i looked and looked for you when we were there; but we did mk on the 4th and mgm on the 8th and nothing... i even fockered people at random and followed people with backpacks on .... but we did have fun! even a magic moment for my two older grands!! enjoying your report; could you write one for me?? :sunny: kathye


Dang femail! I had my big sign on and everything! I can not believe you did not find me. i would have loved to meet up with you.

I will be happy to write your report for you. Send me some photos. The parts I do not *remember* i will just make up!

[femail]

you know; that sounds like a lot of fun!! i took the pics to walgreens to have cds made and 125 of the best ones printed; i will send you pics in sequential order and see what you do with them! this may really be a hoot... kathye

[tictoc]

It is 8:00 and everyone is up and dressed. I woke no one up. Everyone got up on their own today. Everyone got dressed on their own today. Everyone that is except Malcolm. We are all ready and he is still asleep. I am fighting the urge to bounce, to pounce, to wake him up! I want it to be a good day though, so we will be patient!

Rachel was awake for the wake up call. I told her to answer the phone and she was so excited. She announced that Stitch had escaped the Magic Kingdom and was calling her on the phone! She said that she must tell Mickey about this!

This is the kids waiting for Daddy to wake up.

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It is 8:44 and Malcolm is now up. He is getting dressed. At a very slow pace. He is about two thirds the way there and we will be heading out soon. Here is the dilemma, the boys want to go to MGM and Disney Quest today. Rachel wants to go to Bippity Boppity Boutique today. We have MGM planned and we can make that have a day then Disney Quest. We also have reservations for Whispering Canyon Café. I missed that reservation in June and I really want to go there today. We will see how this pans out!

We are heading out!

So we decided to go ahead and take the car since we had it and all. I really do not like riding the busses all that much. As we approached the end of our parking section there was a whole slew of linen carts lined up along the edge.

Malcolm—“What are all of those?”
Me—(Cause I know everything)—“Linen carts.”
Malcolm—“Why are they there?”
Me—“They line them up there in the morning and Mousekeeping picks them up so they have linens to use in the rooms.”
Malcolm—“I think you are wrong.”
This conversation will come back to haunt me again and again!

As we neared the exit of the parking area Malcolm pointed out that last night we could have taken a right then a left and we would have been at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue. I pointed out that we would not have been able to see the Contemporary all lit up. This will become a pattern throughout the rest of the trip. One of many patterns. Linen carts, right then left, have you seen my and buzzards become the themes of the remainder of our trip!

We spent the rest of the ride to MGM with Malcolm explaining to the rest of the family that Fort Wilderness is only a right and a left away from the Port Orleans Riverside!

When we arrived we had to park a little back. Not much just far enough for the kids to want too take the tram. They were really taking advantage of their daddy being here because I always make them walk from the parking lot. I do however rent a 20 dollar stroller for a ten and eleven year old to ride in so they won’t get too tired! Meanest momma around!

Well it is on the tram that Rachel had her first meltdown of the day. She was really being not so easy to get along with. Like my good friend David, who was my email buddy this whole trip, reminded me, though, she is just a little girl and this is a lot for her. I was thinking though that it might be a rough day.

Please note for those of you who read my last report and think I am an obsessed, over zealous fanatic. This is the second day in a row we have arrived after the opening. Within minutes of opening, mind you, but I still get credit all the same.

We stopped to take a few photos at the front of the park. We took pictures in front of the hat but we also took pictures of the kids on that mechanical horse outside the five and dime. My goal was to get as many pictures on my 99 dollar photopass CD as possible!

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Almost as soon as we got inside the park Steven started asking to go to Disney Quest. We all love Disney Quest. The problem is I do not like going to Disney Quest with Rachel. This is the place where the kids seem to start running in opposite directions. It is very hard to keep up with them. Plus, Malcolm was really enjoying being at MGM and he also really wanted to all stay together.

After stopping for bananas and juice we headed down to Tower of Terror and Rockin’Rollercoaster. I wanted to get some distance between Rachel and Malcolm so her mood would not spread to the rest of them. I got fast passes to Tower of Terror while the guys all rode Rockin’ Rollercoaster.

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While they were on the ride I tried to figure out if I could get them to Disney Quest and still make our reservations for Whispering Canyon Café. Before the trip we had decided to not do Disney Quest this time. But I hate to disappoint that Steven. After they rode, it was my turn, but I was a little worried. There was no line so it only took them about 15 minutes to get back to us. Then I rode with the boys and was sure I would return to Malcolm and Rachel melting down.

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Whew there was peace in the world. Daddy, it seems, took her shopping for a new Mickey T-Shirt and all was fine. Everyone was happy! So of course, after I rode I had to do some shopping of my own. I bought Drew the hat with the long red hair. Drew has been working for the past 16 months on letting his hair grow long.

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So we sped, I mean ran, I mean skipped, I mean jumped all the way to Tower of Terror. Drew and Malcolm went on first. This was when Steven started asking about going to Disney Quest. I told him I did not think they were going. He looked sad, but I do not think he really believed me! I took a picture in front of the sign of the two chickens that would not ride.

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After they rode, it was my turn. I hardly ever get to ride this. My younger two kids hate it and so Drew always rides alone. Today was my day.

Walking up through the queue we looked for the U R DOOMED letters in the sign and they were gone! I could not believe it. They were always there. Kinda made me sad!

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There was a couple behind us in line. They were probably in their fifties and they were very nice. There were no kids with them. I wondered what it may be like to go to Disney World without kids. After the kids are all grown up. You know, like that old commercial where the parents tell their grown son he is not invited. This couple was very nice. The woman was very scared and had never ridden before. Since Drew was quoting the script from the pre-show she knew he was obviously a veteran at this! She said that she would
Just stick with Drew. As we were boarding she really got nervous and she yelled the entire time. Afterward she had decided this was not the ride for her! Walking out she told her husband that if he wanted to ride again he would have to go with Drew!

Again on this day there were absolutely no lines. It was a glorious way to visit the world. We left the big kid ride area and headed toward the Lights, Action, Motor Cars show. Steven absolutely loves this show and I thought Malcolm might really like it too. On the way we passed some really famous rides. We lucked out on seeing Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater. I love those guys!

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Then we went on to see the original four wheeled hero. Herbie the Love Bug. I have loved that car since I was a little girl. Ii have all of the movies and the kids and I watch them all of the time. I think that car has some real personality. If I could figure out how to get three kids in the backseat and leave enough room so they do not have to touch each other I would drive a little bug.

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Now it was time to go into the show. We managed to get a really good seat. We had stopped at the produce stand and bought pretzels and water on the way to the show. I always try to use my snack credits for the high dollar items like pretzels and Dole Whips! The guys enjoyed those pretzels while they watched the fast cars. What more can you ask for out of life?

Here I am enjoying the show in my new hat that Malcolm bought me from the Rockin Rollercoaster store.

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After the fast car show the second major meltdown of the day occurred. Was it Rachel you may ask? No, this time it was Steven.

Steven—“When are we leaving to go to Disney Quest?”
Me—“Steven, we are not going to Disney Quest.”
Steven—“I want to go to Disney Quest.”
Me—“I think we should just enjoy being where we are.”
Steven—Crying
Me—“Why are you crying?’
Steven—“It is just that you promised that we could go to Disney Quest.”
PROMISED???? WHEN????
Me—“I do not think I promised. I said I did not think we were going”
Steven--“It felt like a promise.” Still crying.

I saw Mickey’s place not too far from where we were. I love Sorcerer Mickey and try to see him as much as possible!

The whole time we were in line, Steven continued to cry. I could not believe he was crying in the picture with Mickey! The cast member was really trying to make him smile while we were in there. Bravo to you cast member for trying to make my child happy.

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After Mickey we found another Little Einstein to take a picture with. . .

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I pulled Steven over to the side and explained that we were all having fun and sometimes you just have to enjoy where you are instead of trying to get to the next thing. He still was not happy, but he did shake it off for the rest of the day.

We stopped by the Beautiful Belle and the Burly Beast show and I fell in love all over again. Rachel sat up with the girl in front of us and they played with her little light up guitar pin throughout the show. This was much to the disliking of the girls mother! One thing that disappointed me in this show was that four for a dollar was not there for the pre-show.

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While we were waiting for the show to start I ran to the front of the park to return the plug that Bill and jean Claude loaned me a few days before. I also stopped by Guest Relations office to write a compliment card for those two. This was the second trip that had gone above and beyond for me!

[tictoc]

We did another run through the Rockin’ Rollercoaster and Malcolm bought more stuff at the Aerosmith store.

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Then off the Tower of Terror before heading to see Indiana Jones. They have changed this show a little since it debuted, but it has always been a steadfast favorite of the whole families.

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We stopped to see Donald and Daisy because Rachel really wanted to see them one more time.

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Somewhere in this day we also stopped by to Tour the Stars with that droid that says “This is probably your first flight, and it is mine too.” He is wrong on both accounts. I have seen him flying that car before. As we walked through the queue Steven and Drew pointed out the hidden Kermit and the two mechanical birds. The birds, they said, are a tribute to the two buzzards in Splash Mountain.

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We also stopped for a run through Muppet Vision. My favorite part of watching that show is all the memories of the boys from when they were little. They loved that show. We alos love to look for the key under the mat at the front and my personal favorite is the Net Full of Jello tribute to Annette Funicello.

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We had reservations to Whispering canyon Café and we have not eaten there in a long, long time. I really was looking forward to this restaurant experience. So we had to turn in the rental and head to the car. First however, we stopped for some chocolate ice cream. YumYum!

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Tram anyone?

Of course Malcolm continually let all of us passengers know that he knew exactly where the Wilderness Lodge was since he had been taken there in error the night before.

By the time we pulled in to that hotel it was pouring down rain. I am a cardholder for the Disney Dining Experience and I use the free valet privileges shall we say freely. So a quick drop off of the car and we were headed in to the lobby.

Drew—“Momma?”
Me—“yes Drew”
Drew--“Isn’t this the hotel we ended up in when we got off the bus at the wrong stop last year on our way to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue with the Buchanans?”
Me—“Yes Drew. Do not let your Daddy hear you please.”
Malcolm—“You got lost last year going there too? And you were on the bus???? Hahahahahahahahahahaha.”
Me—“yeah but you were the idiot that handed me the map last night.”

We got the list of Hidden Mickeys while we waited for our table. We only found a few of the since several of them were outside and it was a raining by that time.

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We waited a few minutes for our table and played with the Lincoln Logs and coloring sheets. My boys always love playing with those Lincoln Logs so on one visit I bought them one of those huge cans of logs. They have never played with them. Not once. I do not mind the money so much but when I think of what I went through to get that giant can back to Atascocita Texas!

The Cast Members made it a great dinner. They played with the kids and the waitress threw napkins at us. Steven was identified as a trouble maker. When it came time for the kids to do the stick horse race, they called my name to come to the front. Since it was my birthday I got to head up the racers. Boy Malcolm had fun with that one!

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We all had steak for dinner except Rachel who had the main steadfast chicken strips and fries. Of course when she asked for ketchup she got a real kick out of everyone bringing us theirs.

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Stevie had fun with his milkshake mustache!

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We finished up just after nine and had an early breakfast the next morning. You all know what the next morning was right? It was my birthday and I had some princesses to see.

So back to the hotel and off to bed with all of us!

[sharonW]

Hi friend! Funny you commented about how it feels to be at disney
at 50 and without kids. I asked you in chat one night if you still
thought you'd go to disney when your kids are grown. You didn't
reply, think it was one of those night when you were writing brb
a lot!! Having done disney many times at 50 and beyond I can tell
you it is still magical. I am so glad I took all those yearly plus trips
since I am no longer able to. I have many many happy memories
with dh and the grown children tagging along too on some of those
trips. Love your tinker bell shirt!!

[tictoc]

Hi friend! Funny you commented about how it feels to be at disney
at 50 and without kids. I asked you in chat one night if you still
thought you'd go to disney when your kids are grown. You didn't
reply, think it was one of those night when you were writing brb
a lot!! Having done disney many times at 50 and beyond I can tell
you it is still magical. I am so glad I took all those yearly plus trips
since I am no longer able to. I have many many happy memories
with dh and the grown children tagging along too on some of those
trips. Love your tinker bell shirt!!

aww sharon, I did not mean to ignore you on the chat! I am sure those kids just got me distracted. I am so happy that your family has all of those wonderful trips to remember and I am sure you will see brighter days. I will be reading the trip report entitles Sharon's grandbaby takes the first trip to the world--No Bugs Allowed!

[sharonW]

You really know how to bring a smile to my face :)
Thanks for cheering me up!!! Your the Best!! ;)
Se ya in the chat room!

[mikayla73]

popcorn:: I love the pics with your trippie! I can't wait to try out WC for my self. I am not telling DH about the antics they have there. It should prove interesting :rotfl:

[tictoc]

Have a great Birthday and Trip
BTW we share the same birthday
And i will be going down on the 13 for my 40th :cool1:


Man, I hope your trip is turning out to be as magical as mine was! I hope to hear from you when you get back. I want all of the juicy details! :cheer2:

[tictoc]

So I woke up to Stitch wakey wakey. It is my birthday. It is my birthday and I am at Walt Disney World. I have been so many times and I have never ever been on my birthday. Actually none of us have ever been on our birthdays because Malcolm wants us with him on our birthdays and Malcolm does not want to be at Disney World. This year is different though. This year I am at Disney World, it is my birthday, Malcolm is with us and he seems to be having fun. Yea! What a great year my 38th is starting out as.

This is what I woke up to. . . . this great pile of people I love!

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Happy birthday Utahmama, Jamie, Marisa, Disneyland_mama’s husband and Goofysince71’s son! Virgos rock! It is also my daddy’s birthday. It is kinda cool being born on your father’s birthday. This was the first time in my entire life that I was not with my dad on our collective birthday. I was kinda sad, but I did not regret coming to Disney World on my birthday.

I got up and got ready to go. We had 8:30 reservations with Jasmine and company. I had bought a shirt just for the occasion. I ordered a shirt through the on-line shopping website that read Birthday Princess. The only problem was it is huge. It went almost to my knees. I thought Ii might not wear it because it was so big, but I really wanted to wear it anyway so I did. Besides, I figured, if we stayed out too late, I could pull my shorts off and use it as a night shirt. Ove out of that rented double kids, it is my turn to take a nap!

Everyone got up and got ready and we were actually moving pretty quickly.

Malcolm—“have you seen my Bank of America card?”
Me—“No.”
Malcolm—“It is not where I left it.”
Me—“Where did you leave it.”
Malcolm—“Right on that shelf with the papers that you moved.”
Me—“I do not remember seeing it.”

I checked the papers that I had moved and it was not with them. This is a pattern in our house. Everyone leaves stacks of paper and clutter sitting around. When I finally move it I have lost the most important thing in the world.

Me—“It is not with the papers. Have you used it since you have been here?”
Malcolm—“No, but I did take it when I played golf.”
Me—“Did you check the pockets on those shorts?”
Malcolm—“No.”

He checked them and stated that it was not in the pockets either. Things like this stress Malcolm out. I figure I am not responsible for any charges that were not made by me, so I do not worry about these things. Now my debit card would be a different story, because I would need that to get money the rest of the trip. I was very surprised that he did not let it get him down. He cancelled the card and let it go. Wow.

So all of a sudden it was 7:35 and we got in a rush to get out of there. I am not sure why we were panicking. It was only a ten minute drive in our own car and they did not open the parking lot until 8:00. Either way, we panicked and everyone ran for the car. In the haste, I forgot to put my tennis shoes on and ended up going in my flip flops! This would not be a comfortable walk through Epcot!

As we pulled around the parking lot Malcolm noticed the laundry carts lined up again.

Malcolm—“what are those?”
Me—“Linen carts.”
Malcolm—“Why are they there?”
Me—“I do not know.”
But I really did!

As we approached the exit,

Maclolm—“Did you know if you take a right up here and then the first left you will be at the Fort Wilderness?”
Me—“So I have heard.”
Malcolm—“Yeah, everyone does not know that and they drive around for about thirty minutes before the get to the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.”
Me—“Really? Those idiots!”
Malcolm—“Yeah but they get to see the Contemporary all lit up.”
Me—“Lucky devils.”

Sure enough we pulled up to the gate at 7:52 and it was not open yet. Malcolm took advantage of this time to give me my birthday presents. First he gave me a card that was so sweet I started crying. I am setting in front of Epcot with tears rolling. The kids wanted to know what the card said but I could not read it aloud. So Malcolm read it aloud and he got choked up too! The card he picked out choked him up. That was followed by a cute Minnie Mouse card from the kids. Then the presents. First gift was a Blue Tooth. This was for my safety and the safety of thousands of other Houstonians. I drive 55 miles to work one way. I also travel a lot from one hospital to another so I drive a lot during the day as well. I use this time to chat on the phone. To make both business and personal calls. I know it is a safety issue so flames are not necessary.

The second gift was a beautiful eternity ring. I have always thought those rings are so pretty and in light of some rough times we have had anything that means an eternity means a lot.


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While we were waiting for the line to open Malcolm showed me his afflicted flesh eating diseased finger.

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Okay, the lights are green and it is time to go in! Can I get a wahoo Rachel?

We parked in the very first spot in the parking lot. I love that spot and get it almost every time we go to Epcot. I love being first. We made our way to the front and I distributed park tickets. We went to the breakfast entrance and we were the only ones in sight.

While we were walking in we overheard some others saying that Steve Irwin was killed that morning. I just pretended that I did not hear. Had that been true I would have been crushed. . . . .


We asked a cast member to take our photo and she did not cut our heads off, she cut our bodies off!

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We strolled slowly to the World Showcase. On our way we stopped and picked up a stroller. With those flip flops I toyed with the idea of getting an ECV but thought that too silly!

So strollers in hand we were off to the breakfast. We took our time and took a lot of photos of the empty park. This is one of the reasons the breakfasts are so appealing to me. The ability to get through the park by ourselves. I never mind getting up early either.

We asked another cast member to snap a phot and we got lots of cement between us and the actual picture!

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I stopped to take some photos of the flowers in the trees and the park.

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When I caught up with the rest of the family Malcolm and Rachel were dancing in the street to “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes.” When I approached Malcolm began dancing with me. Boy this was the next best thing to getting married in the Cinderella Wedding Pavilion. We danced for a few minutes and I was really on cloud nine.

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We finally made it to the podium at the Princess Storybook Breakfast and Rachel realized that she had to have a build your own princess crown. So we made a beautiful crown with a beautiful purple rose and a lovely veil. She also put each of the princesses on it and a castle. I grabbed another princess autograph book and Rachel grabbed yet another princess hat! We paid the bill just as we were summoned to go in to the restaurant. A quick photo op with Belle. Now I had a picture of Rachel made with Belle in June and it was terrific. This photo was not so great. It was okay, but we skipped the purchase.

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The breakfast was good and we got some nice photos with all of the princesses. We lucked out and were seated right next to the door where the princesses enter the room. Within 40 minutes we had seen all of the beauties, eaten our fill and were ready to go. The bill was $137.00. All free to me! Happy, happy, happy birthday to me!

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We were walking towards the Soarin’ fastpasses when a cast member stopped Steven and asked him if he would like to learn how to wash windows. Steven said yes!!! So there we were washing the windows of one of the stores.

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It was kind weird. So I asked Malcolm if I could go get the passes while he headed toward Crush. He said Shya, totally dude. Now Malcolm has never seen Turtle Talk and I just knew he would love it. While getting the fastpasses a cast member saw the birthday button they had given me at the gate. He gave me a set of paper tickets that could be used only to get fastpasses. So the entire day I was able to get double fastpasses.

The first Crush show is at 10 a.m. I got the fastpasses and was inside The Living Seas at 9:50. There was a line but not too bad. What was obviously missing from the line was my family. I called Malcolm to find out where they were. I knew they were close because I had seen the strollers outside. He replied that he was in a shark’s mouth.

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I said come on dude and they appeared just as the doors opened. Whew!

We got in and of course the kids went straight to the area in front. When it came time for questions Rachel asked Crush how he gets his shell off. He replied that he works really hard at not getting his shell off.

After Soarin' we stopped for the obligatory photo outside The Land.

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We headed toward the Land next and rode Soarin’. This would be another first for Malcolm. Before we made it as far as Soarin Steven asked if we could see Circle of Life first. I was very anxious to Soar with Malcolm but I gave in without a fight! After our helping of guilt around the pollution problem it was time to smell those oranges.

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We had our fastpasses so we went straight to the top. I just love this ride. I love the pre-show with Puddy to the Hidden Mickey Fireworks at the end.

As we left The Land my phone rang and it was my mom telling me happy birthday. She also confirmed the rumor about Steve Irwin. So here I am on my 38th birthday at my favorite place with my favorite people and I am reduced to a puddle of tears. I really lost it. It hurt bad. I am not sure why it affected me so. I really like Steve Irwin, but this was a bad reaction.

Drew loved Steve Irwin. We had the games, the cards, the movie, the action figures. We watched the two shows a lot. My grandmother died when I was pregnant with Rachel. I was pretty close with her. She loved Steve Irwin too. She watched his show every day. Toward the end of her life she was very restricted on her mobility. She would sit and call Drew when she watched The Crocodile Hunter. They would watch it together over the phone. It was super cool. Maybe that is why it was so hard. Honestly, it is almost a week later and I am still very blue about it.

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Anyway, so Malcolm says, “Man, I hate to see how you will react when Elvis dies.” That just cracked me up. I started laughing and could go to the next spot!


Rachel found a bug that she could play with during all of the drama. She did note that the centipeded(?) that she found had a lot of legs and if it were a real boy would need a lot of shoes!

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Gotta Crawl, gotta crawl, gotta crawl to the ugly bug ball.

[tictoc]

Great trip report so far! :thumbsup2

I LOL about the guy on the airplane giving you trouble! :rotfl: There's always more little ones aboard Orlando flights than just about anywhere else. I'm happy to hear that he didn't give you anymore trouble! :teeth:

Can't wait to hear about the trip!! Have a Great Birthday with Mickey!!! :wizard:


So your sept/oct trip must be getting close! i am excited for you. By the way, the picture in your signature inspired the picture in my signature!

[MomPlanner22]

I am really enjoying your report. The picture of you and Malcom dancing & having a smooch is the best! Gotta love those sparkly birthday baubles!!

Where did you see the Pooh characters with Rabbit? My DS keeps asking for Rabbit and I don't know where to find him.

Thanks and keep writing and posting pictures!

[tictoc]

I am really enjoying your report. The picture of you and Malcom dancing & having a smooch is the best! Gotta love those sparkly birthday baubles!!

Where did you see the Pooh characters with Rabbit? My DS keeps asking for Rabbit and I don't know where to find him.

Thanks and keep writing and posting pictures!

The Pooh characters can often be found in Epcot at the toy/book store in the UK area of the World Showcase. Rabbit is not always with them but I have lucked out several times and seen him. That is the only place I have ever seen him other than when he used to be at the Crystal Palace before they replaced him there with Piglet. You will also run into Alice and Mary Poppins often in that book store.

By the way, I am glad you are enjoying it and thanks so much for reading!

[tictoc]

:happytv: "When last we heard from tictoc,the family was settling in for a much needed rest.They were due to visit MGM in the morning with an 8AM Breakfast reservation.................."

Did They make it?
Was Breakfast Not-So-Magical?
Did Ernesto Show up and Drench the Poncho Family?

The answer to these and many other questions on the minds of all the Dissers, to be answered by tictoc..........soon.........we hope...........!


Hope all is going well
Your audience is waiting with SHARKBAITed Breath!!!! :wave:

Hey Goofy Since 1971--are you there yet? Are you back yet? How is the trip going??? Do not keep me in suspense!!!!!

[sharonW]

Your trip report is so enjoyable to read and
so full of magic too. Every moment seems
special. Being away from reality sure does
rock!! The eternity ring is beautiful..took my
breath away! Your truly blessed to have
such a great dh and adorable kids!

[arizonacolbys]

So your sept/oct trip must be getting close! i am excited for you. By the way, the picture in your signature inspired the picture in my signature!


We finally leave this Saturday!! :cool1: It sounds like you had a great birthday with your family at Disney!! I hope we can find as many Pooh characters in England when we return next week! :teeth:

[tictoc]

It was time to see some characters. Off to Character Connection we went. We saw the main guys. I love those characters and coaxed Malcolm to hop in the pictures with us. He was so gracious to me.

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I have a small beaded Donald Duck hanging from my camera. I bought it in Humble, TX at a bead store called Frendzies for 50 cents. It gets more attention! I wish I had bought several. I could have made a mint! Well, Donald Duck noticed it and he really went nuts. He kept kissing me and dancing around. It was really cute.

Then we saw Goofy and goofy is my dad’s favorite. So we got a birthday note from Goofy to my dad.

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As we made our way around that very lightly crowded park I must have been wished happy birthday hundreds of times. Kinda felt like a VIP!

Now that little speed demon of mine, Rachel, wanted to get to those fast cars. So we headed to Test track. I told the guys to hit Mission Space and I would get fastpasses for the fast cars.

We went to the play area to wait for the guys and I looked at my watch. Hmmm, it said it was 10:50. That is the same thing it said when we were getting the fastpasses. I wonder how that could be. OH NO!!!! MY WATCH IS NOT WORKING! This is my new watch. The watch I had just gotten two days before from the kids for my birthday. What could be wrong? More than that worry, we were supposed to be at the candy art lady in Japan at 12:30. We would never make it! We ran, we sprinted, we jogged and we showed up at 12:33. Right in front of Japan. Right at her little kiosk thing. All by ourselves. No candy lady.

Malcolm—“Did we just run half way around the world for nothing?”
Me—“I guess.”
Malcolm—“That was a hard run.”
Now this is the guy who RUNS marathons!
Me—“I am sorry bout that.”
Malcolm—“Let’s ask inside the store.”

We found out that she would not be out until 12:55. Well, at least we had not missed her! I went to get the motley crue some drinks while we waited. There was pone other family waiting with us. It did not look very crowded. Soon we saw here heading across the street. She was carrying her box of 200 degree melted sugar.

When she approached the table the crowd started. Let me tell you she is incredible. This one kid asked for an alligator and it is incredible how she makes that candy so quickly. It is quite entertaining how she talks about the candy as well. Oh, sweet alligator, oh scary candy teeth, oh, pretty alligator.”

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Well, luckily enough all three kids were chosen for candy. Rachel chose a blue unicorn, Steven chose a golden dragon and Drew had to have a brown eagle. He is such an ornithologist in the making. Now I was happy the kids got picked, but I wanted a pink flamingo so badly!

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After the show, she took a picture with the kids and autographed their book. She is really the best show at Epcot. She noticed my birthday button and told me to come back at 4:30 and she would make me candy too. Yea!!!

After all of the candy excitement, Malcolm found himself being called toward Old Mexico for some grub. Being from Texas, it is difficult for us to go a week without tacos! When the lady in the restaurant saw my birthday button she gave me an extra churro. Yum yum.

After lunch we headed back to use those Test Track fastpasses. We all love this ride. The boys told Malcolm that we would not be able to get a photo because the ride picture place was closed on our previous visit. On the queue in we found the Hidden Mickey on the table. We had a blast in the car. I took pictures the whole time we were on the ride.

After Test track we did it again.

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Later we found ourselves heading back toward Japan. The kids had passports and Rachel had napped my birthday button. We stopped at the countries to get their passport signed. Rachel started one of the masks and everyone was writing happy birthday to her in their language on her mask. She loved it!

It was time to head back to get that pink flamingo and as promised she delivered the bird to me.

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We took our time wandering through the rest of the world Showcase. We got the passport and mask completed. On the way through we managed to see Alice, Mary Poppins and Rabbit, Pooh, Piglet and Tigger in the UK.

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We also saw the street show of King Arthur and the Holy Grail. Rachel had been eating the blue unicorn and her face was covered in blue!

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In France we ran into Bell and her Beastie. I love that hunk of a creature. Beast that is!

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Rachel got lots of birthday wishes and it was just about time to head to Coral Reef.

We had time for one more spin around the track first though.

we found the Hidden Mickey in the queue. . . .

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As we got in the line, Rachel declared that she would be riding with her daddy.

Rachel—“I am riding with my daddy.”
Me—“I do not really care.”
Rachel—“I love you, I just love him more.”
Me—“I know Rachel.”
Rachel—“He is my favorite parent.”
Me—“I know Rachel.”
Rachel--“Do not try and cut in line.”
Me—“I won’t Rachel.”
Rachel—“Daddy, make sure she does not get in front of us.”
Malcolm—“I will Rachel.”

Hmph!!!

I took pictures going around the track. . . .

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This time we rode with a single rider. He joined in as part of the family!

I had heard many mixed reviews of the Coral Reef. I have not eaten there in many years. We got there really early for our reservation but we were seated within a few minutes. We were on the middle level and had a pretty good view of the tank. The waitress was very nice. I just thought the entire experience was so-so. Not because anything was wrong. It was just a little low keyed for me! It was a nice meal though.

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I had my favorite desert with a Hidden Mickey. . . .

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It was a nice ending to a great birthday!

We slowly made our way to the front of the park. We exited the restaurant just as Illuminations was letting out so we were definitely not the only ones heading to the front. We dropped the stroller and made it to the car within minutes. Time to head back to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel, there were two surprises waiting for me. The first was abag of snacks that Malcolm had delivered from the WDW Florist. It was a nice birthday surprise. The second came when Malcolm walked straight over to where his sorts were hanging and pulled his credit card from the pocket! He had already cancelled it though.

I needed a Disboards fix so I got on and chatted with the group for a little while. Then it was suddenly time to pack. Time to pack. It seemed we had just unpacked. Waaaaaaaaaaa. I do not want to go home. No, do not make me go!

Realistically though, we had to go the next day, so pack I did.

[UtahMama]

WOA!!!! You forgot to "lend" me your refillable mugs!!!! Hee-hee! I would have loved to meet you! I know you are a fun girl!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY (late!) Virgo-pants!

Ok!!! Did you notice the huge hidden mickey in your official Test Track photo??? Hmmm??? Go back and look, I'll give you a minute!...

I'm rolling that you noticed little bolts hidden Mickey but not the rope one!!!! (I'm laughing WITH you, dontcha know!)

Your younger son reminds me of my Dallen who's 8. Sorta. From a distance. Without my glasses.

I LOVE this TR! Glad your DH went with you so you could ride share!

:sunny:
UtahMama

[Glendamax]

Ok!!! Did you notice the huge hidden mickey in your official Test Track photo??? Hmmm??? Go back and look, I'll give you a minute!...
UtahMama
Hey I just saw it! Pretty cool!

Great report so far! LOVE your pictures!

[UtahMama]

AND another Hidden Mickey in that same photo is behing the spare part bumper looking thing....(Your younger son is pointing RIGHT at it with both his hands and you are touching one of the hub caps with your left fist) in the form of a tire and two hub caps...REALLY hard to see. But it's there. I love hidden mickey's!!!

It's like a treasure hunt!

[tictoc]

AND another Hidden Mickey in that same photo is behing the spare part bumper looking thing....(Your younger son is pointing RIGHT at it with both his hands and you are touching one of the hub caps with your left fist) in the form of a tire and two hub caps...REALLY hard to see. But it's there. I love hidden mickey's!!!

It's like a treasure hunt!

Okay UtahMama :worship: I am worshiping you and I hereby crown you Queen of the Hidden Mickeys! BUT do you know where my favorite Hidden Mickey is????? I will give you a hint--this ride is a real splash and the warning comes via two buzzards.

By the way, thanks for bringing Glenda over. You two are such a hoot.

[sharonW]

Rhonda, I enjoyed every bit of your wonderful disney
experience. The pictures are great! You are building
many special memories with each and every magical
visit!

[Torjohnson]

wow, sounds like you had a great time!!!!!
and the little icons at the bottom of your report rock like Ratt...
or to go with the Disney theme

Mosh like Mouse :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :dance3:

[tictoc]

wow, sounds like you had a great time!!!!!
and the little icons at the bottom of your report rock like Ratt...
or to go with the Disney theme

Mosh like Mouse :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :dance3:

Mosh Like Mickey--that is great. hey David, thanks for reading!

[tictoc]

Rhonda, I enjoyed every bit of your wonderful disney
experience. The pictures are great! You are building
many special memories with each and every magical
visit!

thanks Sharon--one more day to write and post and it is sure to have a familiar photo with a little creature in it just for you!

Stay tuned. . . . . . . . .

[mikayla73]

I know it is so sad that the trip is almost over, but thanks for writing and sharing sucha great report :)

Umama - :worship: I had to look twice to find it

[UtahMama]

Okay UtahMama :worship: I am worshiping you and I hereby crown you Queen of the Hidden Mickeys! BUT do you know where my favorite Hidden Mickey is????? I will give you a hint--this ride is a real splash and the warning comes via two buzzards.

By the way, thanks for bringing Glenda over. You two are such a hoot.
The famous silouette of Mickey! MY favorite too!

Did you see the one in the party scene on the Haunted Mansion? The Dinner plate and the bread plate and the dessert plate are arranged as a HM on the ballroom table at one place setting. That was my first accidental sighting 8 yrs. ago!

Thanks for the Kudos! I just like the free stuff like autographs and hidden Mickeys!

[Glendamax]

Okay, I have to admit that I can't see the last one that 'Mama pointed out.

I did see the one in Haunted Mansion, and pointed it out to my Mother. I also saw one in the shot out/downtown scene in the Great Movie Ride in MGM.

TicToc thanks for thinking that I'm "a HOOT!" :blush: And thanks UM for giving me a ride over here . . . :moped:

[GOOFYsince71]

Hey Goofy Since 1971--are you there yet? Are you back yet? How is the trip going??? Do not keep me in suspense!!!!!
TicToc,
You amaze me......I am back and needing a dose of Disney right now.
And there you are just when I needed it!!!! :love:
I am lovin' every single word of your fabulous TR......Makes me feel like I am there with ya!
I am so long winded, so I decided to NOT do a trip report,,,I know it will put millions of people to sleep instantly!! Maybe I could bottle it though, and put it on the market as a sleep aid!
In a Nutshell,,,,,
Good flight,,(nice and short)
Fast check-in(POP)
Got the room I wanted,(after a little bargain-ing!)
Loved the Music
Broke down and Bought a new "MUG" (to use the rest of my life!(zzub)
Decorated my windows........BTW.......Cost Plus World Market has great
little bags of Alien Green chocolates.They go well
with the Alien green mickeys!!Hand them to all
fellow Dissers!
Love Love Loved Soarin'
Ate all the food in Walt Disney World and left nothing for the upcoming
vacationers!!!!!! YEP!
And the Winners are...............

Best Fried Chicken................. Prime Time Cafe...They give you the recipe!
Best Counter Service..............Coronado Springs..PepperMarket..hands down
Best Double cheeseburger........Pecos Bills
Best Mexican.........................Coronado Springs..PepperMarket
Best BarBQue........................Wilderness Lodge,Whispering Canyon
Best Apple Strudel..................Biergarten...(get it while its Hot,use the
Vanilla sauce on the side!)
Best Quick serve fish..............Columbia Harbor House......MmmmmMmmmm
Best Steak............................LeCellier

BIGGEST Dissapointment.........

1900 Park Fare.....................I should have gone to the Grand Floridian Cafe
'Ohana................................Means "family" I should have eaten at my
sisters,,,,,and she doesn't really know how to
cook.Sorry,,,The wontons and salad were good
The majority of the C.M.'s......No Magic........Not too many smiles....Must be
Under Stress of Tourism or somethin'!Even
Though I tried really hard to get them "happy"

So I don't end on a negative Note,,,The trip was awesome,,,really loved the meals, the parks ,the boat rides, busses and every other form of transportation..........Everything ran seamlessly.


Oh,yeah........two helpfull hints,,,,you all probably know, but for those who
don't.......

H.H.#1..........To get to Coronado.......it's easy...
Take your resort Bus to the closest park.
Get off and get on the Bus to Coronado.That's it!
And H.H.#2....For those of you going to Epcot for dining reservations in
World Showcase....save the long walk thru the front half of the
park..I mean the bus stops are almost a mile from the
entrance!!!!......Take a bus to MGM and take the boat
that's just outside of the entrance to the right.. ......It Brings you right to the backside of World Showcase and saves you lots of steps!
Not any quicker,,,but easy on the feet and a great tour!

Anyway,,,see,,,this is why I don't do a TR :wave2: ...........I never stop........For your sake I will say,,,,,,,,,,Have a Magical Day :tinker:


----------------------------------------------------------jan

[Glendamax]

And H.H.#2....For those of you going to Epcot for dining reservations in
World Showcase....save the long walk thru the front half of the
park..I mean the bus stops are almost a mile from the
entrance!!!!......Take a bus to MGM and take the boat
that's just outside of the entrance to the right.. ......It Brings you right to the backside of World Showcase and saves you lots of steps!
Not any quicker,,,but easy on the feet and a great tour!
----------------------------------------------------------jan

AH MAN!!! I wish I knew this while I was there. We did have some time that we couldve gone over there, but it was tooo far. Well I'll just have to remember this for the next time I go.

[tictoc]

The famous silouette of Mickey! MY favorite too!

Did you see the one in the party scene on the Haunted Mansion? The Dinner plate and the bread plate and the dessert plate are arranged as a HM on the ballroom table at one place setting. That was my first accidental sighting 8 yrs. ago!

Thanks for the Kudos! I just like the free stuff like autographs and hidden Mickeys!


you guessed it Utahmama! You are the queen. I do know about tht Mansion Mickey. i actually learned about it in the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I have a photo of the plates onthe door to the sop in Epcot World Showcase too. My favorite freebie by the way is the build your own robot!

[Boo99]

Hi Rhonda

TR is going great. Loving all the pics too.
Also enjoying all the hints and places to find hidden mickeys.
Can't wait to read the end of it.
Can't believe soon I will get to write my TR.
23 days and counting. :Pinkbounc :woohoo:

Sue

[femail]

*ahem... when this trippie is done, you are doing mine for me as you "remember" it, "remember??"

pics are all here; do you think that the best way for you to get them is for me to upload them to a file you can access? lmk i am dying to hear my "trip report" kathye:)

[tictoc]

*ahem... when this trippie is done, you are doing mine for me as you "remember" it, "remember??"

pics are all here; do you think that the best way for you to get them is for me to upload them to a file you can access? lmk i am dying to hear my "trip report" kathye:)

yes I do remember, and I have been dreaming up the trip! Can't wait to get the pics!

[tictoc]

This was it. The final day had arrived. I was so sad that it was over but I was so glad that it went as well as it did. It had been a wonderful trip. It was the first really terrific trip that our whole family had been on in a long time!

I had packed everything the previous night, but I had not been able to fit everything into the suitcases. In my tired state I had just stuffed some of the clothing into the cases. So I took all of it out and folded it neatly until everything fit in.

After I packed I took a quick shower. After the shower, I thought I would climb back in the bed. I asked Malcolm to scoot over.

Me--“Malcolm, you hogged the bed all night.”
Malcolm—“You are lucky you got to sleep in the bed at all, It is not your birthday anymore!”

Finally when everything was packed, I started waking the group. Everyone needed to get their new clothes on so I could pack the dirty clothes. After I had everything dirty and everyone was bathed I called the Luggage service to come and get all of this stuff. We had a lot of luggage. We had ten very full suitcases in various sizes.

The bellman took the luggage down to the airline check in. Now let me spend a few minutes complimenting Disney on this very magical service. I love that I can leave my luggage at the hotel and it appears in Houston. It is an amazing service. Now because of my diva attitude and dislike of the busses I do not get to use Magical Express. I must have a car. So, I always have to trudge my own luggage to the hotel. Now let me tell you what I found out on this trip. If you are staying at a Disney Hotel, you can use magical express for your luggage even if you do not take the magical express bus to the hotel. The cast member told me to just mark it with my yellow bands and it would still be delivered to my room. I can not wait until my next on property trip so I can try this out.

We let the bellman take the luggage to the front and we pulled the Massachusetts van around to the front. The Rachel’s favorite color blue van around to the front of the hotel. On the way to the front, Malcolm noticed the linen carts in the parking lot.

Malcolm—“Hey what are those?”
Me—“Linen carts.”
Malcolm—“why are there only two of them today?”
Me—“I dunno.”
Malcolm—“Glad we are checking out today, because some of these folks are gonna be sleeping on dirty sheets.”

Okay, so back to airport check-in. We checked those ten bags and let me tell you they were weighing them. I have never seen them weigh the bags at the hotel airport check-in. I was sure glad I had spread the weight around!

We hopped in the car and headed to breakfast at Chef Mickey’s.

http://i9.tinypic.com/2qsz7l1.jpg

We had a 7:50 breakfast reservation and I could not wait to get there. I love that place. We usually eat there on the first night. Since we were supposed to get there at 11 p.m. we scheduled it for our last day. When we reached the exit, I expected Malcolm to take a right then a left. Instead he went to the left.

Me—“Hey, what are you doing?”
Malcolm—“I am heading to Magic Kingdom.”
Me—“We are going to The Contemporary first to have breakfast at Chef Mickey’s.”
Malcolm—“I know, but I have to park the car first.”
Me—“We can park at the Contemporary.”
Malcolm—“and leave the car there all day?”
Me—It will be okay, we will valet. You should have taken a right then a left.”
Malcolm—“But the Contemporary is not all lit up right now.”
Hmmmmmm!

So we headed to the Contemporary to have breakfast the long way. I know that you are not officially supposed to leave your car at The Contemporary once you have finished eating at Chef Mickey’s and I normally do not. However, today was my last day and I did not want to spend it chasing a car. So, I broke the rules. I know that does not make it right, but it is what it is. I did not however, hop any pools or reuse any mugs on this entire trip. That I did not do!

On the way in through the revolving door my son Drew yelled “Mom there is a roach right by your foot.” I looked down and sure enough there was a roach right by my foot.

http://i9.tinypic.com/43wp8wy.jpg

Now this cracked me up! It cracked me up because I have a dear friend from the chat room named Sharon. Sharon has stayed at the Contemporary several times and has always said there were roaches there every time. We tell her that she must be mistaken. Well, I got photographic proof that there are roaches at the Contemporary!

So it is 7:40 and Chef Mickey’s is only about a third full. We are some happy happy happy people. We have had a great time and we have an agenda for fun today!

We were seated at a great table. Our waitress has been our waitress many times before. She remembered us and even remembered I did not eat buffets. That was pretty amazing to me. How she could remember that as many guests as she has served! The kids filled up on Mickey waffles and fruit. We had used our final table credits the evening before so we would be paying cash for this meal. We did however, have the Disney Dining Express Card so we would get the discount. The characters were all at our table within seconds it seemed. Pluto is always a great character at Chef Mickey’s. Very playful and interactive.


http://i10.tinypic.com/3zjhhk7.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/2pzmxdz.jpg

http://i9.tinypic.com/3ys429e.jpg

http://i10.tinypic.com/2w6gitf.jpg

http://i9.tinypic.com/2nqwhn6.jpg

We celebrated, twirled our napkins and had a great time. And Malcolm got carried away with his napkin twirling celberating self! It was time to get to the park.

Now, I wanted to walk to the park. I think it is the fastest route from the Contemporary to the Magic Kingdom. The kids however wanted to ride the monorail. They had only been on the monorail once that entire trip and felt kinda cheated. So to the monorail platform we went.


Next time I return to the report we will be in The Magic Kingdom! Yea!!! For the final time on this trip. Waaaaaaaaaaa!!

[sharonW]

Well, I feel honored to be mentioned in your TR, even though
it is in regard to those critters!! Told ya they were there! :rotfl2:
Chef Mickeys sounds like a ton of fun! Anxious to read the end yet
sad...but they'll be another soon since your a frequent visitor! :goodvibes
Love all your great pics too!! :lovestruc

[GOOFYsince71]

Hey there tictoc,
thanks for remembering I was at WDW..........By the way, have you seen my pictures yet.....I am always pluggin' my thread "Must see ...pictures..just got back..must see.."
Hope you enjoy them even a tiny bit as much as I have enjoyed your writing skills...
You are a whole lot of Pixie Dust pixiedust: pixiedust:
Thanks for sharing :)

[tictoc]

Hey there tictoc,
thanks for remembering I was at WDW..........By the way, have you seen my pictures yet.....I am always pluggin' my thread "Must see ...pictures..just got back..must see.."
Hope you enjoy them even a tiny bit as much as I have enjoyed your writing skills...
You are a whole lot of Pixie Dust pixiedust: pixiedust:
Thanks for sharing :)

I rolled when I saw those pics! I thought that was soooo great great great! I even showed my co-workers. And. . . . it seemed much easier than all of the downloading I have done!

[CRSNDSNY]

I just want to say that I'm about halfway through your TR and I'm really enjoying it! THANKS!

[MickeyNicki]

Tictoc

I loved your report! The picture of you and your husband dancing brought a tear to my eyes, what a romantic he is!

Quick question, how much did the profile picture of the kids cost? I am taking my 2 nieces next month and would love to have this done with them and give it to their mother as a birthday gift.

[tictoc]

Tictoc

I loved your report! The picture of you and your husband dancing brought a tear to my eyes, what a romantic he is!

Quick question, how much did the profile picture of the kids cost? I am taking my 2 nieces next month and would love to have this done with them and give it to their mother as a birthday gift.

Thank you MickeyNicki--it brought tears to my eyes as well! He is such a great guy!

The picture is 16 dollars per subject so it was around $50.00. For frontal views I believe it was 25 dollars per person.

Do not give up on me I will try and finish the final day today!

Glad you enjoyed it. I have enjoyed writing the reports from both of my 2006 trips and look forward to writing for my upcoming 2006 trips in November (solo) and December with just Rachel. Pray for me on that second one!

[tictoc]

I just want to say that I'm about halfway through your TR and I'm really enjoying it! THANKS!

Melody--that is one of the best pictures (from your signature line) I have ever seen! Just beautiful!

Thanks for reading!

[tictocspal]

I am new to the boards and I read the entire report in one sitting. Sounds like it was a great time for all. I can not wait to read the end!

I am gonna look for your other report too! :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Glendamax]

tictoc - you are a TRUE DISer, for documenting the roach! :thumbsup2 :lmao:

[tictoc]

Thanks for noticing Glendamax! Every High Class Trip Report should include photos of the disney husband flipping the camera off and a giant roach!

going to catch up on your report now!

[Glendamax]

Thanks for noticing Glendamax! Every High Class Trip Report should include photos of the disney husband flipping the camera off and a giant roach!
going to catch up on your report now!

:lmao:

[Torjohnson]

if I was a poet I would write poems about this report. Or I would be tictocs pal

[Torjohnson]

go ahead bump.....might as well bump

[Glendamax]

Hey! Is this report over?! Did I miss it?!

[tictoc]

Hey! Is this report over?! Did I miss it?!

Not over yet! Life has kind of gotten in the way this week. Team mother for two baseball teams for three players, dance class, room mother for two classrooms, Assistant Cubmaster for the Cubscouts, taxi driver for a boy and girl scout. . . . .you know the drill (or you will one day Glenda)!

On top of it all, I am making a BIG career decision. Thought it was made and now it all blew up in my face yesterday!

And with another big loss, it has just been an emotional week!

Plus you and Utah Mama keep writing these terrific distracting reports!

However, that is much more than you wanted to know, right?

I will work on another installment tonight becuase I can not leave it at this. I can not leave until you all know Rachel's plan to sneak illegal contraband on the plane. Oh, and by the way it was not a lip gloss filled bra!

So, with that said, I must get to work so I can work on that installment!

[Glendamax]

I will work on another installment tonight becuase I can not leave it at this. I can not leave until you all know Rachel's plan to sneak illegal contraband on the plane. Oh, and by the way it was not a lip gloss filled bra!
So, with that said, I must get to work so I can work on that installment!

YAY! Doncha hate how life gets in the way of The DIS!!!

[GOOFYsince71]

Not over yet! Life has kind of gotten in the way this week. Team mother for two baseball teams for three players, dance class, room mother for two classrooms, Assistant Cubmaster for the Cubscouts, taxi driver for a boy and girl scout. . . . .you know the drill (or you will one day Glenda)!

On top of it all, I am making a BIG career decision. Thought it was made and now it all blew up in my face yesterday!

And with another big loss, it has just been an emotional week!

Plus you and Utah Mama keep writing these terrific distracting reports!

However, that is much more than you wanted to know, right?

I will work on another installment tonight becuase I can not leave it at this. I can not leave until you all know Rachel's plan to sneak illegal contraband on the plane. Oh, and by the way it was not a lip gloss filled bra!

So, with that said, I must get to work so I can work on that installment!

HEY tictoc,
It's me, Goof, I just read the above post and couldn't believe the similarity to my life.........just that it was like that 15 years ago!!
I just want you to know,,that even though you will be a mother forever(and a darn good one you are)....It DOES get easier. I am proof of that..Oh, I'm not saying that it stops...No,No, ! Just that you will someday , get some time to yourself and believe it or not,,,,Miss the frantic , crazed schedule you are living now...In the meantime...keep up the good work, It will all be worth it in the long run, and you will look back on it and be proud. :cheer2:

--------------------------------------------------------jan :surfweb:

[tictoc]

HEY tictoc,
It's me, Goof, I just read the above post and couldn't believe the similarity to my life.........just that it was like that 15 years ago!!
I just want you to know,,that even though you will be a mother forever(and a darn good one you are)....It DOES get easier. I am proof of that..Oh, I'm not saying that it stops...No,No, ! Just that you will someday , get some time to yourself and believe it or not,,,,Miss the frantic , crazed schedule you are living now...In the meantime...keep up the good work, It will all be worth it in the long run, and you will look back on it and be proud. :cheer2:

--------------------------------------------------------jan :surfweb:

Well since you seem to have some time on your hands now, will you be available to take Rachel to her brownie meeting tonight???

Just kidding. Life is wonderful. I would have it no other way. It is just these emotional things that have thrown me for a loop this week. I will overcome though! It is actually nice to be fought over at work. The loss of a good friend, though is not making it easier! So I will just lean on all of you for now! :grouphug:

[tictoc]

When we got to the platform we asked if we could ride in the front. We were told we would have to wait until the monorail arrived so they could check for availability. I knew that meant that it was not the monorail for that resort for that day. So I was not getting my hopes up! When it arrived the cast member told us they only had room for two people. Drew, gracious as always, offered to sit in the passenger car with me and Malcolm while the young of the clan rode in the front. This kinda worried me because those little ones fight a lot. I could just see the battle breaking out while the driver tried to control them! The two of them were so excited. They were racing to the front when Steven had the idea that he should take the camera with him to record the event. So I handed him the camera and we set off on our journey.

You know, I love having three children. I love chaos and I love to stay busy busy busy. But those few moments when it was just the three of us were very peaceful. It took forever to get to the Magic Kingdom because they stopped to do one of those routine safety checks. I knew we should have walked. Precious time was a wasting! I took a deep breath and reminded myself that this was vacation. A vacation at Disney where there was nothing new to see or do for us. It would be okay to go slow.

So with my renewed outlook on the day we arrived at the station. When we got out the two drivers got their licenses but also got some new trading cards.

http://i10.tinypic.com/49jpft2.jpg

They were so excited and wanted to show me the pictures that they had taken. They took pictures of each other. As I scrolled through the photos I found pictures of them making funny faces. Steven said it had been Rachel’s ideas to make those faces.

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http://i9.tinypic.com/2d0yhbp.jpg

So now that we were at the park what to do first. I had some really good ideas about a certain pirate, or some rides through the fantasies or even a trek through the future. Instead we headed to a store. Hmmmmmm…… well that was good too. So we grabbed a few goodies and during this shopping trip I became the owner of a new visor. I do not often wear hats, but Malcolm really likes me in hats, so I was game.

My other goal of the day was to get some more group photos for the Photo Pass card. So we stopped three times on Main Street to get pictures snapped.

http://i9.tinypic.com/49gfdra.jpg

Eventually we made it to Fantasyland to ride our way through all of my favorite movies. I love the Disney Classics. Some of my favorite memories as a kid involve those movies. Sunday nights meant sitting on my dad’s lap and watching The Wonderful World of Disney. When a movie was re-released it meant a very rare trip to the movies to see the magic on that humungous screen. That is when this all started for me. This obsession with all things Disney that I am plagued with. I fell in love with a man named Walt and all of his magical creations. I loved when they had the shows on nature and animals, but my absolute favorites were the cartoons. I loved the beautiful shows about love and romance that involved princes, princesses and a promise of happily ever after. So that is why Fantasyland will always be so special to me.

So here we were to say goodbye to all of these rides until our next trip. So we hit Peter Pan first. We got fast passes just in case we were able to come back again, but since there was no wait we jumped in the line for now. Peter pan is my favorite Disney movie. My favorite nonDisney movie is probably Big Fish and To Kill a Mockingbird, but that is a completely different story! As we glide over London we yell goodbye to Nana and the nursery we hold our arms out and pretend it is our silhouette on the moon. We whistle at the mermaids and yell How to my favorite princess; Princess Tigerlilly.

http://i9.tinypic.com/2zqg8ci.jpg

Then we fight off all of those nasty pirates and help Peter Pan save Wendy. We really get in to these rides so if you were in the car behind us and our rowdiness disturbed you, I do sincerely apologize. Caution to you though because next time we ride we will do the same thing. We ended this ride (after saving Wendy of course) by throwing the dreaded Captain Hook over to my name sake Tic Toc.

http://i9.tinypic.com/29y49wx.jpg

So Fantasyland was a little deserted still on this morning. We made it through all of the rides in no time at all. We rode everything too. We went to Philharmagic and smelled the wonderful smells of apple pie and we sang the beautiful songs while wearing the silly 3D glasses. On the way from one side of Fantasyland to the other Malcolm kind of veered in another direction. We had parked the stroller so of course Rachel followed her favorite parent and I was alone. I yelled out that it was fine if they went their way. I heard Malcolm laughing out loud. Really laughing like the funniest line ever from Blue Collar Comedy Hour just played through his head.

Me—“what is so funny?”
Malcolm—“Rachel just said, ‘go ahead Daddy, don’t you want your freedom?’”

Now I can not say Malcolm was not tempted to make a run for that freedom thing, but he stayed strong and remained with me.

We said goodbye to the Quicked Ween. . . .

http://i10.tinypic.com/2mhzlty.jpg

See those two buzzards? Do you know what they represent?

http://i9.tinypic.com/2mqt9ab.jpg

Goodbye Dumbo. . . .

http://i9.tinypic.com/2j14z2d.jpg

Goodbye Ariel. . .

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We went to ride those fabulous Hunny Pots next. I do love that bear and pals. I even hand painted those characters on Rachel’s bedroom wall. I did this while 7months pregnant and really feeling bad. I made a hand made tree and a swing for that bear to rest upon. So I have sacrificed for that guy. But you know, I am kind of a traditionalist too and that ride is full of melancholy for me. I miss a certain little toad and his wild ride.

As we rode through the room filled with smoke rings and into the rainy room Malcolm made not of the two watering cans over head.

http://i9.tinypic.com/4dmzz0i.jpg

Malcolm—“see those two watering cans?”
Me—“yes.”
Malcolm—“They are representative of the two buzzards in Splash Mountain.”
Me—“you know so much about Disney. . . . “
In reality, in my head I was yelling that he was wrong wrong wrong!

But that was the spirit of the day. Everything was representative of those buzzards and we looked not for hidden Mickeys but for hidden rocks, and cement and water and anything else that was in plain sight.

After pooh, Rachel noticed Alice was out and about at the teacups so off we went to say goodbye to her new best friend. We stood very impatiently in the line while we waited to see her. Now, even though there was a line, I think it was only three or four people deep. So we were impatient but not for good reason. It only took moments before we were up to Alice.

http://i10.tinypic.com/4hnde8y.jpg

So next up we page Mr. Morrow, Mr. Tom Morrow. . . . . .

[sharonW]

Rhonda, Your report was so magical. I really enjoyed all of it.
I felt like I was there with you...wishing you many more wonderful
trips to the greatest place on earth! ;)

[Glendamax]

Hey! You guys had a great last day! Love the pictures! :thumbsup2

[cgbsilver@hotmail.co]

Hi Rhonda:

I have been reading your report and loving it. You have a great looking family and your husband seems like a very cool guy, as a previous poster said I think he enjoys WDW more than he cares to admit.

Why don't you eat at buffets, just curious?

Christian

[tictoc]

Hi Rhonda:

I have been reading your report and loving it. You have a great looking family and your husband seems like a very cool guy, as a previous poster said I think he enjoys WDW more than he cares to admit.

Why don't you eat at buffets, just curious?

Christian

Thanks Christian!

I think Malcolm is a pretty cool guy myself. He did seem to enjoy this trip.

I do not eat buffets because I feel like they tempt you to overeat and I do not need any temptations!

[tictoc]

Life is brighter on this sunny Sunday afternoon! I am working on the update for the last day and hopefully will post soon! Stay with me. . . .

[tictoc]

So after Fantasyland, it was time to wander over to see that hot pirate. You know the one, Captain Johnny Jack. So as we wandered into Adventureland a litty diddy played through my head. You know the one, the one that starts out “Yo Ho, Yo Ho” but this one had a little difference to the lyrics. It went kinda like this “Yo Ho Yo Ho it is a Dole Whip for me!” So a Dole Whip it was. I veered to the right and into the Dole Whip line before the rest of the travelers knew what hit them. The boys, they don’t like no stinking Dole Whips but that girl of mine loves them. So I tossed my room key on the bar and demanded two Dole Whips please.” Now those Dole Whips are good on any given day, but on the final day they are so so so good. The knowledge that it will be a while before another whip passes the lips just makes them so much better.

So we wandered toward the Pirates of the Caribbean to see my favorite pirate. There was absolutely no line so we could have flown to the boarding station but not in today’s agenda, flying that is. Except on Dumbo of course. And well, we had already done that today. We had already said goodbye to the elephant this was all about the pirate. So we soaked in all of the scenery along the way. It kinda got us in the mood for the swashbuckling. We stopped to cheer for the skeletons playing chess and of course bought one of those POTC Chess sets at the store in the unloading are. But I get ahead of myself. . . .

On our last visit the ride was down so they could add in the additions. We have always loved the POTC.

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We have a redhead. My oldest son is red headed. He is often mistaken as the not oldest son due to his short stature, but Drew the red head is the oldest. Back to topic we love to ride through the ride and yell out “We want the red head and watch Drew blush!

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So as you go into the ride Captain Davy Jones tells you that “Dead men do tell tales.” Davy is on a screen of smoke that looks like a screen of water so it is not until you actually go through it that you are satisfied that you will not be all wet. And there are a few opportunities to spot old Captain Johnny Jack himself and he is a hottie even as an animatronic device. He is not quite as hot in a gorgeous sort of way as Will Turner, but seems oh so much more dangerous and that is good.



So after the ride we bought some loot and headed out. Rachel noticed Captain Hook and Mr. Smee across the way and really wanted to go see those guys. So across the street we bound and it happened. Just as we approached the line, the line with only one family ahead of us, the cast member announced that the line would be closed for a few minutes so the captain and his first mate could check on their ship. Well, that did not seem like an unreasonable request so we had a seat on the bench.

It was about then that the gate next to where we were lounging opened and out came a pirate. He fled across the street to the area next to the POTC ride. So Malcolm and the young buccaneers headed across to see the show while the momma pirate held our place in line. While I was waiting I saw a very close look alike to Captain Jack come out of that gate and dance across the street to the show area. I could not resist. In the time I had sat there no one had lined up behind me. I mean why would they??? CAPTAIN JACK SPARROW WAS RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET!!!!

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So I ran across the street as well. I watched as all of my kids were inducted into the life of a pirate. They were all sworn in as official pirates. It was quite exciting I might add to see the heights to which my offspring could climb.

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After all of the pirate stuff and finally getting to see Hook and Smee we realized Chef Mickey’s had long since worn off. Not really, but we still had about 14 counter service credits and needed some grub. So we headed to Pecos Bills, home of the famous fixins bar. Yum Yum give me some! I got in the line to order the food while Malcolm shuffled the kids to a table. While in line, I struck up a conversation with the people behind me. They asked my opinion of the food at Pecos Bills and in doing so I discovered what they were planning to have for lunch. I asked them if they would mind if I buy their lunch and they balked at first. Once I explained I had all of these credits, they let me do the deed. I had paid for several table service meals because we really like doing the table service.

After I wished them a happy day it was time to consume all of that food. I do not remember what we ordered, but I do remember that we did not eat much of it. We had all five desserts left over of course and so we gave them to the kids at the next table.

It was time to ride Splash Mountain.

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You all know that mountain. The one where Rachel exits declaring “I want to do it again!” As we approached the entrance Rachel insisted that she would not ride this ride. It was sooooooo scary. Hmmmmm? I went ahead and went to the place to get on and she started screaming! Now all of these people were looking at me as though I am the meanest mother in the whole world. I felt compelled to explain to them that she had ridden this many times and loved it. But out of shame I hung my head low and slithered across the boat to the exit.

At the exit I waited for the male members of our party to return. I had planned for the Splash Moutaineers to become Big Thunder Mountaineers while I waited behind with the chicken, because even though in May 2005 this was her favorite ride, in May 2006 she decided it was the worst ride in the world. Well, to my surprise she insisted on going on the ride. Demanded that she be taken on the ride. Declared it to be her right. So off we all went up the trail to the queue. Ride it she did. She did insist on sitting between me and Malcolm in case she was to hit her head she had said. Whatever, just get in the train seat. So we rode and she giggled and hollared and gave a big wahoo.

We took this photo on the ride. . . .

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Then as we disembarked she requested to ride on Splash Mountain. This girl is too much.

So back to Splash Mountain we trekked for a last chance to see the two buzzards. As we approached the top of the big drop, the one where Brer Rabbit says “Go ahead and roast me. . . “ Malcolm let us all know that the two buzzards at the top of that hill were representative of the buzzards from Splash Mountain. . . .. . Hmmmm that was what I was thinking too.

So as we went through the ride I snapped a ton of photos and ended the ride with a view of my all time favorite Hidden Mickey. I love the Hidden Mickey that is a silhouette in the clouds.

After Splash Mountain it was time to finish out Tomorrowland and Rachel was lobbying for a final ride on Goofy’s Barnstormer. So this happy, almost finished with this trip, family headed for Tomorrowland. We grabbed fast passes for Space Mountain and then went to ride Buzz Lightyear. We would have time to do Buzz, Space Mountain and Goofy then go by the VMK shop one final time to trade in those last scavenger hunts for playing cards.

As we parked the stroller Drew realized he did not have his hat. He loves that dirty, silly little hat and he had a melt down. It is not often that Drew has a meltdown, but he was having one at that moment. Malcolm had walked ahead of us and was oblivious to the problem as he stood at the entrance to the Buzz Lightyear Space ranger Spin. So instead of realizing he left the hat behind, he got mad at me and Malcolm for not telling him he did not have the hat. He did remember the last time he had it was at Pecos Bills. He kept blaming Malcolm and Malcolm was not happy. I was talking to the cast member to see if he could call Pecos Bills to check for it. Rachel and Steven were anxious to go into the ride. Malcolm just walked off. He does not take meltdowns well and just walked away. Which was a good solution, better than joining in the meltdown, but that left me with three hysterical kids. All hysterical for different reasons so I could not fix it all.

So I gathered the kids and went to where Malcolm was. He took Drew by the hand and headed toward Frontierland to look for the hat. It was tense. It was very tense. Steven, Rachel and I waited by the stroller for their return. This would not the heck out of our schedule and I doubted the hat would get found. I emailed my friend and told him of the drama of the last day. Lucky was I though that this was the first real drama of the trip! Within a few minutes here they came down the walkway. Father and son walking hand in hand and Drew had a hat on his head. Whew disaster averted.

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Now time was really of an essence. We rushed through the queue at Buzz and saved the empire from Zurg.

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The dilemma was left though of what to do to end our trip. Believe it our not we decided to skip Space Mountain. Malcolm took Rachel and Drew (and his hat) to ride Goofy’s barnstormer and I took Steven to the VMK shop and to get my photopass CD.

While I was waiting for the CD to copy all 144 pictures Malcolm and the gang approached. Now his idea was that he would leave me with all of the kids while he went and shopped across the street. I said okay that would work. I still had some snack credits I wanted to use! After my CD was ready I took the kids to the candy shop where we got some chocolate bars, 3 giant lollipops and 4 large bags of pretzels. I still had two credits to use for drinks on the way out. I met Malcolm in the big store on Main Street and gave him the kids. They had a couple of souvenirs still to buy and I wanted to go to Casey’s.

I also had seven counter service meals left. I am not sure if it is the right thing to do to buy other guests meals with those credits. When I pay for the credits, I think it is fine to share with others. However these credits were free so I am in an ethical dilemma. I went to Casey’s to get two bottles of water to take on the plane. . . . just kidding! Those bottles of water were for drinking on the way to the plane. I asked the cast member at Casey’s what she thought about sharing the free credits. She said she thought it would be fine. She said Disney purposely avoids making rules about those type things so that people would not have to feel like they were not doing the right thing when spreading the magic. So there happened to be a lady in line and I happily paid for seven counter service lunches for her large group!

Now it was time to meet the family and head to the car. We never really cut it close at airport time, but I always get nervous. One time when I was returning from MCO alone it took over an hour and a half to get through the scanners and I was the last passenger on the plane. It was a close call and since this was the last flight out I wanted to take no chances! Malcolm had graciously missed work for this trip and I did not want to push it by risking him not being able to get back the next day!

As soon as I saw the glub faces standing in the corner of the store I knew something was wrong. Malcolm met me with the question of the day: “have you seen my Debit Card?” What! My husband who has never lost a credit card in the fourteen years that we have been married has lost two on this trip. Plus there had been the tale of the missing Aggie Cap! Would you people please keep up with all of your crap??? He was trying to be calm but I sensed panic! I was the calm in this storm.

Me: “When was the last time you used it?”
Malcolm: “I am not sure.”
Me: “Well what have you paid for today?”
Malcolm: “Your hat this morning.”
Me: “Then you must have left it there in that store.”

So Ii sent him to Town Hall while I went back to that store. It was not in the store but they did have a few last minute things my kids could not live without. I was really dreading telling Malcolm the card was not there. He walked through the tunnel with a smile on his face and the card in his pocket. He had left it at the store and they had turned it in. What a relief. Now, let’s go before we lose on e of the kids!

This time I chose the mode of transportation and we walked to the Contemporary to our illegally parked Massachusetts van. We were after all the family from Mass for just a few more minutes!

The ride to the airport and the return of the car were uneventful. The kids were probably a little disappointed in this. When I am alone with the kids on our trips we always get lost on the way to the airport. It is usually very exciting. Then once we get to the airport I almost always go the wrong way for rental return. Not this time though, Sorry kids Daddy is here and he knows how to follow signs.

We got Burger King while waiting for the plane. The kids were eating and relaxing while Malcolm walked through the airport shops.
Me: “Guys be sure and drink up, because you can not take liquids on the plane.”
Rachel: “Well, I am glad that I got milk instead of liquid so I can drink mine on the plane ride.”

Of course the boys thought that was hilarious.

The plane ride home was a great ending to the best trip ever. We landed without misery, but it was so fun to listen to Malcolm and the kids review the events of the trip. We took the park and ride back to the van and were home before we knew it. I can say this was a great trip. I hope we can all go back soon as a group, but if not I will always have this great gift for my thirty-eighth birthday!


Here is my final attemtp at getting a photo of that castle. . . . .

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[cgbsilver@hotmail.co]

FAAAAAANTASTIC..

You make me want to be in Disney, even more, I will not make it back for a while but I sincerely hope you make it back soon so you can keep sharing the magic.

Have a nice day Rhonda,

Christian

[kimwim8]

Oh no, it's over! What a great great report! I've enjoyed reading about your last 2 trips so much.

When is the next trip?? You must have some idea, right? :confused3

I was excited about writing a trip report for our upcoming November trip until I read yours! It would definitely pale in comparison!

Thanks again for sharing your memories! :wave:

[monte]

That was a great report...sounds like your crew had a blast, thanks for sharing :goodvibes

[Beana9802]

Sad that it is over. Great story! Go on another trip, so I can read about it! puhLEEZE! :lmao:

[tictoc]

Oh no, it's over! What a great great report! I've enjoyed reading about your last 2 trips so much.

When is the next trip?? You must have some idea, right? :confused3

I was excited about writing a trip report for our upcoming November trip until I read yours! It would definitely pale in comparison!

Thanks again for sharing your memories! :wave:

Coincidentally the next trip is in November! November 11-15th to be exact and this one will be kidless. Just me and staying off property. It is a work trip, but I will have evenings and one extra day to spend in the world!

I really want to read your report so please indulge me. I hope to read all about it as soon as you return. I know that it will be great.

[fey_spirit]

Please tell me you wouldn't have let your kids get away with harrasing this poor man if he had been polite enough to keep his opinons to himself? Because right now you kind of sound like the exact kind of parent I have Disney nightmares about... you know the one with kids whose parents I'm going to have to threaten with a lawsuite because they wont stop their kids from bashing me in the head with a Buzz light year toy.

I don't agree with what he said. If kids misbehave long enough to become a nusiance it's not the kid - it's the parent that's letting it continue. I have no problem with kids, I have problems with parents who wont parent. I sometimes think that parents become so used to their own children's behavior that it never occurs to them how obnoxious it is to have your chair repeatedly kicked, or have a high pitched wail spiking through your ear drums. (Not to mention physically painful)

Maybe next time you could set a better example for your kids, stop your kids from fighting when they start, before anyone has a chance to get annoyed, and if someone is rude enough not to give you the chance - rise above and show your kids what real class is. Because all allowing your child to harrass this man really did is reinforce negative behavior - for them and for the "gentleman" in question.

Ok I should have read the whole report before I opend my mouth - it seems the incident on th plane was an isolated event. Still not sure it was handeled in the best way possible, but I do have to admit when I overreact. :confused3 Blame it on the literal nightmares I've had about the scenerio above after reading a certain WDW board that I never should have been on in the first place... blame it on the CT I have in about an hour that's going to start the prelimanaries of telling me whether I have cancer... blame it on any host of things and it still comes down to I overreacted and I'm sorry.

[tictoc]

I am not offended by your comment. I agree with what you said about parents needing to parent. I did stop the fight as soon as it began. What I thought was unreasonable was that he immediately made a rude remark without giving me the opportunity to correct the kids. He stated that my kids should have to ride outside of the plane just because they are children. And I did not by the way let Rachel kick his chair. i was just really tempted to!

I am praying for you right now. As we speak, I am sending as much pixie dust your way as I can possibly muster. i hope that the tests come out well with a negative diagnosis and a positive prognosis. i work with cancer patients every day and the good news is there is so much advanced technology these days. Please PM me and let me know how the tests go. I will keep you in my thoughts until I hear from you.

[fey_spirit]

What I thought was unreasonable was that he immediately made a rude remark without giving me the opportunity to correct the kids. He stated that my kids should have to ride outside of the plane just because they are children. And I did not by the way let Rachel kick his chair. i was just really tempted to!



I just don't understand people like that. Being a parent is one of the hardest jobs on earth. And I have nothing but patience for good parents, the thought of not allowing a parent time to correct their child's behavior just dazes and confuses me... I don't get why anyone has to be like that.

The only time I have problems with parents and misbehaving kids (kids will be kids - that's why they have parents) who don't do anything about it (obviously - not you). Just the other day I was at the phone company and shocked when three kids started crawling all over the artwork, and moving stuff, and yelling and screaming, while the two adults with them did nothing... those are the people I get upset with.

I'm sorry about the misunderstanding about Rachel kicking his chair. I have this horrible habit of beliving what people tell me. Now - note because there are no voal inflectins here - that I'm not being sarcastic. It really is a horrible habit - esp when combined with my habit of taking everything people say litterly. It has gotten me into trouble more then once over ensuing misunderstandings. Everyone else on here figures out you're joking - I'm actually seeing the behavior being carried out. Sorry.

I will PM you with the details since you asked - it certainly couldn't hurt me to have a friend who knows something about what's going on... thank you for your concern and your prayers.

[Boo99]

Hi Rhonda,

congrats on finishing your TR. It was awesome.

Can't believe I am finally going on my trip. Only 2 more days!! :cheer2:

Your family (including Malcolm) really looked like they had a great trip!

See you in chat!

Sue

P.S. Hey Rachel can you give me a "woo hoo", I am almost on my way to the most magical place on earth!!!!!!

[kimwim8]

Coincidentally the next trip is in November! November 11-15th to be exact and this one will be kidless. Just me and staying off property. It is a work trip, but I will have evenings and one extra day to spend in the world!

I really want to read your report so please indulge me. I hope to read all about it as soon as you return. I know that it will be great.

How cool to "have to" go for work! Maybe some day.... :wizard:

We'll be there at the same time! Our trip is Nov 7th - 15th! I'll definitely write a trip report, so keep your eye out for it! :thumbsup2

Enjoy your solo trip!! Can't wait to hear about it!

[tictoc]

Hi Rhonda,

congrats on finishing your TR. It was awesome.

Can't believe I am finally going on my trip. Only 2 more days!! :cheer2:

Your family (including Malcolm) really looked like they had a great trip!

See you in chat!

Sue

P.S. Hey Rachel can you give me a "woo hoo", I am almost on my way to the most magical place on earth!!!!!!

I am so excited for your trip. Kinda sick I guess but I was actually thinking about your trip this morning. I am so excited for you and Vicki and I know you will have a blast together. I love going with a large group. I am very jealous that you will be checking out Nemo first! :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc :Pinkbounc

[sharonW]

I love the TR Rhonda..I'm sad thats its over.
You'd better get there again and fast so I
can look forward to more good reading. Now
I look forward to Sue and Vickie's report! The
reports really help bring some magic and pixie
dust into my life. I can get lost in them and
actually picture myself at the most magical
place on earth!! Its heaven! :wave:

[OhMari]

Hi Tictoc, (Rhonda)
It took me all day to read your TR, darn boss and work kept getting in the way.

I have a question: I do not get to use Magical Express. I must have a car. So, I always have to trudge my own luggage to the hotel. Now let me tell you what I found out on this trip. If you are staying at a Disney Hotel, you can use magical express for your luggage even if you do not take the magical express bus to the hotel. The cast member told me to just mark it with my yellow bands and it would still be delivered to my room. I can not wait until my next on property trip so I can try this out.

I have read that you cannot use luggage service if you do not register with ME.

I hope I can make it to chat more, but my dh has me doing his paper work, puting it in a Word document and sending it to his phone, so he has the info for his meetings the next day. Thank goodness it is on the computer and I can sneak back and forth.

If you don't mind, I'll move this up to the "completed Reports" this weekend.
OhMari
aka Marisa

[tictoc]

I have read that you cannot use luggage service if you do not register with ME.

If you don't mind, I'll move this up to the "completed Reports" this weekend.
OhMari
aka Marisa

Marisa,

First, thank you for reading my trip report and giving it life again temporarily! I called ahead and registered for ME prior to leving the house just liek if I was using the service. I asked the ME baggage people at the airport if they would take the luggage if it had yellow tags on it but you were not riding the busses and they said yes. I also used the check in service at the hotel to check my baggage but did not ride the bus back to the airport. Hope this answers your question!

And yes, you may move my report to the completed section this weekend.

It was nice chatting with you last night!

[OhMari]

Thanks for clarifying the ME. I will be coming in at 6:30 p.m. and we will be using ME, but I thought we should pick up our own luggage. I keep hearing how people don't get their luggage that nite and they finally get it the next morning.

[tictoc]

I have used ME six times and have always gotten my luggage usually within an hour of arrival at the hotel. just FYI