UPDATE 11/18! - WDW w/an Obsessive Planner,an Ex-Soldier,a Marine, & a Drama Queen [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Simba22

08-11-2007, 11:55 PM

Pre-Trip Report
Part 2 - Added 8/12 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20253067&postcount=3) ◘ Part 3 - Added 8/12 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20256728&postcount=6) ◘ Part 4 - Added 8/13 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20273238&postcount=11) ◘ Part 5 - Added 8/14 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20294332&postcount=12) ◘ Part 6 - Added 8/15 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20307575&postcount=15) ◘ Part 7 - Added 8/19 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20375893&postcount=17) ◘ Part 8 - Added 8/24 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20471133&postcount=18) ◘ Part 9 - Added 9/2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20612993&postcount=24) ◘Part 9.5 - Added 9/2: Memory Lane (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20618105&postcount=25) ◘ Part 10 - Added 9/20 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=20906141&postcount=37) ◘ Part 11 - Added 9/26 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21012033&postcount=54) ◘ Part 11.5 - Added 9/30 "Not an Official Update but I had to tell you about my day" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21073494&postcount=62) ◘ Part 12 - Added 10/5 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21151422&postcount=82)

The actual Trip Report:
Chapter 1: The Arrival (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21336183&postcount=86)
Chapter 2; Part 1: No more bagels, Erika's first ToT & RnRC ride, and Mike gets a freebie (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21350650&postcount=94)
Chapter 2; Part 2: No Beauty & the Beast, No Dinner, and the Mess at the Pepper Market (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21369977&postcount=98)
Chapter 3; Part 1: Stitch's Bodily Functions, Attack Ducks, and Mike Gets Another Freebie (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21384896&postcount=102)
Chapter 3; Part 2: RWI's, Dinner at Tony's, and Injury # 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21409230&postcount=103)
Chapter 4: Speed Safari-ing, lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and MNSSHP! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21442901&postcount=106)
Chapter 5: Review of CSR, & (Most of) The Videos I Promised You (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21493290&postcount=109)
Chapter 6: Erika & Mike try Beverly, Dinner at San Angel, and a Broken Necklace (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21564645&postcount=115)
Chapter 7: The Worst Morning Ever, Ride Buddies, and My (One & Only) Screw Up (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21581613&postcount=119)
Chapter 8: A Fun Day at AK, The Cirque du Soleil Episode, More Freebies, and Injury # 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21607113&postcount=124)
Chapter 9: Another Late Start, A Late Lunch, and a Great Dinner (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21641705&postcount=133)
Chapter 10: Waiting for Ariel, Dinner at LTT, Injuries # 3 & 4, and the Extra CS Credits Fiasco (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21768485&postcount=140)
Chapter 11: Going Home (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21839908&postcount=145) :sad1:

Welcome to my Pre-Trip Report everyone! I started writing this a few weeks ago, but I wasn't sure if I would have enough to talk about before we left. I am now finding that I have MORE than enough to blabber on about so here we go!

Wednesday 07/18/07
Pre-Trip Part 1

The first thing I want to do is introduce the cast. Anyone who read my last TR will remember me and my boyfriend but for this trip we have two new guests along for the ride….and what a ride it will be….

Me: Ali - The Obsessive Planner, age 24.
DBF: Lumar - the Ex-Army Soldier, age 23. (For those that did not read my December TR, his parents’ names were Luis and Maria so they just combined the two names. It is pronounced LOU-mar)
DB: Mike – The Marine, age 20
DSIL: Erika – The Drama Queen, age 20

Here is a little background info on all of us:
Hello, my name is Ali, and I am an Obsessive WDW Planner. I never used to be this way, at least not this badly but the DIS has done something to me that I cannot explain. It’s strange because I am the kind of person that never plans anything….I get up and go to work everyday and besides that, I have no idea what else I’m doing. I decide at the last minute on everything but most of the time, I can't make decisions for myself. But when it comes to WDW, I just can’t stop thinking about planning. I decided when we came back from our December trip that I wanted to go again but we weren’t sure at the time if we could afford it. Then Mike found out that he was being deployed and he decided for us that we were going to WDW when he came back. It was ON from there. He left the day after Christmas and within a week I had already picked out the week we would go, & the resort we would stay at. The week after that, I made out our temporary schedule for what parks we would go to on what day, and then I started making a list of all of the extra stuff we wanted to do: DTD, Cirque du Soleil, MNSSHP, etc. I kept checking the website looking for ride closures, schedule changes, and sale dates for Cirque and MNSSHP tickets. As soon as those dates were confirmed I bought our tickets, therefore setting most of our schedule in stone. As soon as we were 180 days out, I called and made ADR’s and then a few ago, we decided to add the DDP on to our package. I’m also a “worrier.” Before every WDW trip, my mind starts picking up on every possible thing that could wrong (besides issues with the airplane which we do not discuss in order to prevent me from packing everyone into my two-door coupe and driving us 1168 miles to WDW). But for example, I always worry that we’ll run out of money, or that I’ll forget something VERY important, or that our favorite rides will all be closed….stuff like that.

Lumar is Lumar….there is no other way to describe him. We often refer to him as “The Lumar” like he is a pet or something. For example, when we went to WDW back in 2004, my family kept checking to make sure I “had my Lumar.” And if he got lost somewhere we would stop to wait for The Lumar. He likes to know his schedule in advance. Not that he will actually remember it, but he likes to know anyway. Here’s another example for you. He writes down his work schedule on the calendar at home so he knows what time he has to work for the rest of week. But then asks me “what time do I work tomorrow?” Or, for another example, we made plan two weeks ago to go to the local aquarium this past Sunday. On Saturday night, I picked him up from the movies where he was with some friends from work, and I could hear him making plans with them for Sunday. I was like “Um hello? Does that mean you don’t want to go to the aquarium with me?” Of course we went, but it’s stuff like that that bugs me. He gets upset that I make plans off the top of my head but he doesn’t remember anyway if I tell him in advance. I think that his need for a schedule comes from the fact that he was in the Army a few years ago…he did his two years so they would help him pay for school and then left so he could work full time (although they still stalk him....they call him all the time and even showed up at his mom's house to try and re-recruit him).
This is me and him on our December trip waiting for the train to RPW:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/51.jpg

Mike is my baby brother and the Marine. He was going through a rough time in his life (teen angst and all) when he got to his senior year of high school, and he decided that rather than make a decision about what he wanted to be when he grew up and spend hundreds of thousands of dollars going to college only to decide that he didn’t like that job anymore, that he would “make life easy” and join the Marines. Don’t ask, I’m only related. I have no idea how this decision makes life easy. But anyway, Mike is the one who really cemented this trip for us. He was deployed to Africa back in January and, of course, after I made the decision to stay at CSR, which is a moderate, instead of a value, he starts complaining via email about how broke he is. Meanwhile, we get a package every other day that contains items he bought online because he was bored. Now in his defense, it’s so hot out where he is that his sunglasses and digital camera melted. And I do mean MELTED, like into a bubbling heap of blah. And when it’s that hot there isn’t much you can do in your spare time that won’t cause heat stroke. So he sits in his air-conditioned tent and buys stuff online then has it sent home….to collect dust until he comes back. Speaking of Mike coming home, this brings me to my first “WDW Worry”: Mike is, at this point in time, scheduled to arrive stateside on 09/26/07. That’s a Wednesday and exactly 9 days before we leave. He is supposed to go for “debriefing" and that can take 3 or 4 days. After that he has to fly to his home base for “relocalization” which is supposed to take 2 weeks but he has cleared it with his CO to leave early for our trip. However, as it stands this poor kid is going fly 18 hours to the US from Africa, get on a plane 3 days later to fly from his debriefing unit to his home unit, and drive home 2 hours to CT the day before we leave for Florida…where we will be flying to. I never really thought it was possible to spend more time in the air then on the ground but it sounds like he may accomplish it during this week. Mike is extremely passive, has no thoughts one way or another on anything we do, ever. And it takes A LOT to make him angry. So when I asked him things like “where do you want to stay, where do you want to eat,” etc, and he kept saying “it doesn’t matter to me” I took that and ran with it….but then he complained that the resort was so expensive….

Erika is my future sister-in-law and she is one of the greatest people I know. She and my brother were together in high school, then they broke up, then they got back together…and you can repeat this process about 4 more times. Erika is going to a private college in NYC for acting and singing (and boy, can she sing), and she is currently working on an independent film with her best friend who directed it, which has been chosen for an independent film festival in NY (it’s not as big as Tribeca but it’s like the next best thing). My brother says he is going to propose to her next summer…he wants to buy tickets to opening day for the NY Mets (I don’t like baseball but my entire family is Mets fans) and propose on the giant TV screen. She’s not really a “Drama Queen” in the sense that we all know it, but since she is an aspiring actress, it seems fitting.

This is Mike & Erika:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/MikeErika.jpg
I know, :sick: so cute you want to vomit :rotfl:

I'll post part 2 tomorrow! Thanks for joining me!

disneylovinfamily

08-12-2007, 12:06 AM

great start, can't wait for more---I hear ya on the DIS turning you into crazy planner---it happened to me to me too, maybe the computer is sending obsessive planning frequencies.:rotfl:

Simba22

08-12-2007, 05:31 PM

Wednesday July 18, 2007

I have a scrapbook to commemorate every trip to WDW I have been on, since my first trip in 2002 to my most recent trip in December 2006. The one from December is known, to everyone who has seen it, as The Holy Grail. This thing is enormous, and if you read my TR from December, you will know all about my adventure in obtaining the book I used. So anyway, Erika came over the other night to hang out with me and Lumar for a few hours and she looked through the book, making comments on every page about how she can’t wait to do this, and can’t wait to see that. Erika went to WDW once, when she was 4. She said that she and her family only went to Epcot and the Magic Kingdom and she doesn’t remember hardly anything except being hot and cranky. Plus, if she was four, that would have been around late 1991or early 1992. It’s been 15 years and even if she did remember her first trip it’s definitely time for another visit! While flipping through the book, she comes across the ride photo from RnRC and exclaims “I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS!! MIKE TALKS ABOUT IT ALL THE TIME!!” Imagine the feeling in the pit of my stomach (and my heart!) when I start reading rumors on the DIS a week later about RnRC possibly being shut down for refurb from Labor Day until “the beginning of October!” Our trip is scheduled for October 5 – 14so I immediately go into worry-mode. 1) This happens to be the favorite ride of me, the Lumar, and Mike. 2) It is the ride that Erika is most looking forward to riding. 3) “The beginning of October” could mean anything and I already have the schedule made and switching around ADR’s will be nearly impossble! The good news, at this point in time, is as follows:
1) RnRC was just down for a major refurb in January…why the heck would they need another refurb 9 months later?
2) wdwinfo.com and allears.net are extremely reliable when it comes to this type of news and neither of those websites have RnRC listed in their closings schedule. So I am being very hopeful right now and praying that this is all just a rumor and will not turn out to be true. After all, we are only 1 month away from September at this point. Other rehabs and refurbs are listed at least 2 months in advance.
3) Spaceship Earth and Big Thunder Mountain are going to be closed during our trip. Disney wouldn’t close down 3 major attractions at once…..would they?? PLUS Coronado Springs, where we are staying, will also be undergoing construction while we are there!! MUST….STOP…..WORRYING!!!

Moving on, it just occurred to me that I still have not called to add the DDP to Mike and Erika’s reservation…I should do that tomorrow. We already have ADR’s in place for our whole trip and right now are pretty happy with our choices. Hopefully we will continue to be happy with those choices while actually on the trip. Our schedule right now looks like this:
Fly out of Bradley Airport (in Hartford, CT) on Friday 10/5 @ 3:15pm and arrive at MCO at 6:07pm. It was originally scheduled to leave at 4:15pm so I am glad they bumped it up an hour. If they could bump it up another hour, that would be spectacular only because I’m worried about how much time we will have, since we have an ADR for 9:00pm at Planet Hollywood. I know, most people hate this place but we love it! We will have our $15 meal vouchers so we will not need to use the DDP for this meal.

Saturday 10/6: Disney MGM Studios
We plan to eat breakfast at the resort in the morning, paying out of pocket (or OOP) and then we have an ADR for dinner @ 6:40pm for Mama Melrose’s. Again, some people on the DIS have said it’s not that great but every time we try to walk in without an ADR it’s packed full with no room for walk-in’s so it can’t be that bad. Besides, everyone has their own opinion and we will try anything at least once to form our own opinions.

Sunday 10/7: Magic Kingdom
I made an ADR for breakfast at 9:20am for ‘Ohana. This was my favorite meal on our last trip and I am very excited to do it again! We also have an ADR for dinner at 6:55pm for Tony’s Town Square. I was told to make sure I ask for outdoor seating so that we can watch the parade from our table, should we still be eating at parade time.

Monday 10/8: Animal Kingdom
We have no ADR’s for this day, but plan to be up and running by the time the park opens. We will be leaving right at 5pm when the park closes, and heading back to CSR (hopefully to change into costumes) for MNSSHP at 7pm. Lumar and I did MVMCP for the first time in December and had so much fun we knew we had to go back for Halloween. We are very excited about this as it will be our first MNSSHP. We are just having problems right now deciding on costumes. We all want to dress up but we can’t agree on anything. We all know we want to do a theme, but Lumar keeps picking things like Power Rangers or Super Hero’s…stuff that requires tight spandex-type clothing and masks…clearly, not happening. Mike of course, doesn’t care either way, and Erika is about 50 pounds soaking wet and holding the hose so she can wear anything and make it look good. I, on the other hand, have to be careful about what I wear. On top of the fact that we need to have costumes that are light-weight so we don’t roast, and comfortable enough to wear around the park. I suggested 50’s attire, with Erika and I wearing poodle skirts with white tennis shoes, and cat-eye glasses, and the guys could just wear jeans with Converse sneakers (which they both own a pair), and a t-shirt (white or black). Lumar said that’s boring and it will look like he and Mike are not in costume. I keep trying to tell him that people will get it, and it’s not something that looks so outrageous that people will be staring at them… But he’s just impossible so I’ve given up for now. I told him he can go as Elvis instead and that didn’t seem to work for him either. So right now, I have no idea what to do as far as costumes are concerned

Tuesday 10/9: Epcot
I had originally made an ADR for dinner at Le Cellier but the consensus after everyone read the menu’s was San Angel Inn so I switched us over to there for 7:15…which is perfect because we can hopefully get a good seat outside for Illuminations

Wednesday 10/10: Disney MGM Studios, Day 2
We have an ADR for dinner at 6:30pm for the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. We normally eat here on every trip but The Lumar and I didn’t get to it in December. So we are really looking forward to eating here again.

Thursday 10/11: Animal Kingdom, Day 2
I went out on a limb here and made an ADR for breakfast at 9:00am for Boma. I have been dying to visit the AKL, since I will never be able to afford to actually stay there, and people on the DIS were raving about the breakfast and zebra domes so I finally get to try them both! Once again, we will be leaving AK right at 5pm, but this time heading to DTD for Cirque du Soleil. I purchased our seats in advance through ticketmania.com and even though the show starts at 9, we have to be there by 8pm to pick up our tickets. Lumar and I purchased our tickets the same way for the last trip and the seats were fantastic. We looked at the seating chart for this year and our seats may be even better, from what I can see!

Friday 10/12: Epcot , Day 2
We have an ADR for lunch @ 1:00pm for Nine Dragons (although we have always been able to walk in) and we also have a dinner reservation @ 6:30pm for Coral Reef although I am considering trying to get this changed to 7pm just to give us a little more time between meals. We have never eaten at Coral Reef and I am really looking forward to it!

Saturday 10/13: Magic Kingdom Day 2…our last day :sad1:
We have a dinner reservation at 5:05pm for Liberty Tree Tavern and are planning to watch Wishes before we leave. I like to have the fireworks be the last thing we do before we head home…it really makes a great memory.

Avivasmom

08-12-2007, 05:39 PM

Sounds great so far!!!! Looks like you have it planned well.

Hope your brother gets home in time and is not so tired.

And you both make very cute couples!

Simba22

08-12-2007, 06:06 PM

great start, can't wait for more---I hear ya on the DIS turning you into crazy planner---it happened to me to me too, maybe the computer is sending obsessive planning frequencies.:rotfl:

I swear that Erika thinks I am totally insane! Since she is new to the whole WDW experience, jumping right in with someone like me has got to be brutal! :rotfl2: I even ordered her a 2007 Planning DVD and I am having it sent to her apartment in NYC. I hope that doesn't freak her out too much!

PS your kids are adorable!!

Sounds great so far!!!! Looks like you have it planned well.

Hope your brother gets home in time and is not so tired.

And you both make very cute couples!

Thanks for the well wishes! I hope Mike gets home on time too! He is pretty certain that it won't be an issue but as an Obsessive Planner and Worrier, I'm always thinking "what if???"

And thank you for the compliment! Your daughter is so cute! She is so adorable in the pic in your siggy! :cutie:

Simba22

08-12-2007, 09:31 PM

OK so I had another chance to come online again today so all of you lucky readers get another installment! It's a short update but it's an update! I'll have part 4 (and maybe 5) up tomorrow!

Pre-Trip Report Part 3
Thursday July 26, 2007

Ok so I have a few Good News items and one Possibly Terribly Horrible item. We’ll start with that one first.

I checked wdwinfo.com again today, and also checked one of the 400 threads on the DIS to see what the current status is on RnRC. It’s still not listed on the website however I read this:

“I work at RNR. The refurb is going on in September, and will be on electrical and launch base control systems, and is 100% needed and planned for at least a year. The Jan refurb was the addition of the single rider line and replacement of magnets along the LSM.”

What LSM is, I have no idea but it’s not relevant anyway…. Since it’s not listed on wdwinfo.com, I am still remaining hopeful but if this person truly is a CM and knows something that the mods of the website don’t, I am going to be VERY upset. But I’m getting depressed now and I have to remain positive so let’s move on to the good news.

I called WDW last night and (finally) added the DDP to Mike & Erika’s reservation (which he gave me the money for over a month ago…oops. Good thing they don’t run out of those!) I also called on the 18th and changed our ADR for Coral Reef from 6:30 to 8:00 so "you’re welcome" to whoever got that time slot and thank you to whoever cancelled their 8pm ressie.

Now for the best part: I got an email from Mike on the 23rd and he had this to say:
“Okay, keep this on the down low. Between you and me, we received word that we will be home, as in at our parent units between September 18-22. So I am confident that we have a green light for vacation”

I just want to take this moment to say WA-HOO!!! Even if he gets back to his unit on the 22nd, that’s a full week ahead of schedule because originally he wasn’t supposed to even arrive stateside until the 26th and then he was supposed to go for "debriefing" (I hate that word...it always makes me think they are going to steal his underwear!) and THEN to his parent unit. So this information essentially means that they will be arriving for debriefing almost a full 2 weeks earlier than originally planned. Now, if we can just keep RnRC open for our trip then I will feel truly invincible! Ok, well at least when it comes to planning WDW vacations!

This is a picture that Mike sent me from his base. There is an orphanage in the next town over (which means MILES away) and this is him and "his baby." He said he has no idea how to pronounce her name so he just calls her "Shorty." She is about a year and half old and I want to adopt her! Those cheeks and eyes are just to die for, aren't they??
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/Mikebaby.jpg

ILMICKEY

08-13-2007, 12:53 PM

Simba22

08-13-2007, 02:22 PM

Hey, I made it!!

Great Plans-I'm excited for you!

I do have a question, can you really eat outside at the San Angel Inn? I thought that was just the CS restaurant. I think I would switch one of my ADR's for that.

Yes, adopt her~~she is adorable! I even want her.

Hey good to see you again!!

No the San Angel Inn is in inside the pyramid...the Cantina is across the street with the outdoor seating. I am just hoping that since we will be in Mexico for dinner, we will be able to run right out there and grab seats for the fireworks... although in December we sat along the railing right next to Canada and had a perfect view....maybe I was better off with Le Cellier??? AHHHHHHH!!!!!!! Now I'm worrying again!!!!! :rotfl:

the4princesses

08-13-2007, 02:59 PM

Simba22

08-13-2007, 03:36 PM

The Cantina de san Angel is a CS that sits right on the lagoon, the food is Mexican, and very good. you can sit and eat and watch the fireworks there . When we went in 2005 we sat and watched the fireworks.
It is very nice!!:yay:
Kathy

Hi Kathy!! thanks for joining me on my PTR!

We have eaten at the Cantina several times, and you are right, it is very nice, especially as the sun is setting... It's beautiful out there and if you can get a good table, it's perfect for watching Illuminations. But we never ate inside at the Inn before so we decided on dinner for that for now. Hopefully it will be a good meal and worth possibly losing out on good Illuminations seats!!

Simba22

08-13-2007, 08:03 PM

Pre Trip Report Part 4
Friday 08/03/07

I wanted to post some pics of "The Holy Grail" for you guys to see exactly what I'm talking about. The book is so thick that it doesn't close all the way in the front. I put a ruler up against it so you can see the width.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_1901.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_1902.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_1903.jpg

So the official announcement was made today: RnRC will be closed for refurb….Thank all that is Holy & Powerful that it will be reopening the day before we arrive! The refurb is scheduled for 9/4 – 10/4 and we are arriving on 10/5! I am soo happy right now I could cry. Of course, I truly feel bad for anyone who will be there while it is closed…it sucks to be there when attractions are closed…I know, we will already be missing out on SE and BTMRR, last May PotC was closed, and the year before that the HM was closed.

Anyway now that I can breathe a little easier, I wanted to share my thoughts… Since this is going to be Mike’s “Welcome Home” trip and Erika’s first “real” trip, I decided to look into getting WDW gift baskets for them. I asked around on the DIS about some ideas for baskets for adults, since I had only really seen baskets for kids, and got some pretty good ideas and links to websites. I am looking to try and save as much money as possible, and since I still have a little over 2 months, I am trying to see if I can possibly make the baskets myself. I have searched at the Disney Store a little bit but I didn’t really get a chance to look so I will be doing some more of that this weekend…and Lumar and I are going to go to NYC next Saturday to check out the World of Disney store in Manhattan and see what we can find there. I’ve also been looking online at Disneyshopping.com but haven’t really found anything I was looking for…and Ebay has been surprisingly unhelpful. Here are some of the items I want to put in Erika’s basket:
A pair of Disney Flip-Flops
A tank top
Those pink sparkly Princess mouse ears with the green, pink, and purple things coming down the back
A Disney picture frame, dated 2007
A keychain (hopefully from CSR, where we will be staying)
A beach towel
Some Disney snacks

In Mike’s basket I want to include:
A WDW baseball hat
A WDW T-shirt
A dated 2007 picture frame
A beach towel
A CSR keychain
Some Disney snacks

So we'll see how this goes, but I'm really excited. I feel kind of bad for Lumar because I'm not doing one for him but this isn't a special trip for him!

In other news, our Disney Visa is almost paid off – only another $1900 to go… then that will be used on the trip to buy our souvenirs and stuff. Thank goodness for the DDP…knowing that all of our meals (except breakfast most days) are paid for in advance is so comforting… I don’t have to worry about factoring in money to pay for food on the trip!

So all in all, everything seems to be going really well so far. With 63 days to go, I hope things stay this way, unless of course they want to open SE and BTMRR early! But I won’t push it…right now I’m just happy to have RnRC!

Simba22

08-14-2007, 10:08 PM

Part 5
Saturday 8/11/07

Ok so I have a few things to update you all on:
1) I bought 2 pairs of crocs…a pair of Capri style and a pair of the Disney Beach style. I was really debating between the Disney ones and the Cayman style ones but Lumar talked me into the Disney ones since they were only $5 more than the Caymans. These will be my first pairs of Crocs and I am actually pretty excited about them! I know that a lot people think that the Cayman, Beach, and Mary Jane style ones are ugly, but I never really thought they were THAT bad…I mean, I’ve seen way worse. There are some ugly shoes out there people, just go to shoes.com and look around the women’s section. There are things on there that would make you cry. But anyway, I was really thinking about how bad my feet hurt on our last trip (to the point where my toes on my left foot felt numb and tingly for about a month after we came back!) and I decided I really don’t want to go through that again. I have not heard one person say they regretted their investment after buying a pair so I have high hopes!
Here are the ones I bought:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/capri_seafoam_sm.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/pink.jpg

2) I ordered 2 surprise gift baskets from Peggy! I am SO glad she is back in business! I emailed her all of the stuff I was looking for and not only did she say “no problem” but she also went out and took pictures of various items for me, then emailed me the pictures so I could see what I was purchasing before committing to it! I am going to purchase some items from Target and Ebay…and I am shipping them to Peggy to include in the baskets! It is going to be a bit expensive as the basic charge is $25 per basket, plus the cost of the items, PLUS 20% of the cost, or $10 whichever is more, for the items she had to go and purchase for me. To be honest, I probably could have found a cheaper rate if I really looked around, but so many people recommended her that I figured, “what the heck?” There is that old saying “you get what you pay for” and everyone I talked to who used her services before told me that they were extremely happy and would go back to her again…and most of the people I talked to have used her for more than one occasion so this is shaping up to be a pretty good thing! I opted to NOT make a basket for Lumar only because he already has everything that I would put in a basket for him… several pairs of ears, keychains, plushes, hats, towels, etc. So I will just pick him up some small stuff and surprise him with a small basket I made myself, on the morning we leave. I ordered a Jack Skellington beach towel for Mike off of Ebay for $3.99, brand new with tags, and I found an Ariel one for Erika, also brand new with tags. I put in a bid on it without searching more first (why am I so hasty???) and found another one that was $4 cheaper, but I like the design on the first one better because it includes Flounder and Sebastian, and I’ve never seen it before. But that one was $12.99. I am going to go to out tomorrow and see if I can find Disney character squoosh pillows (they are like $20 if you get them from WDW, and plus Peggy would charge me $10 each so they would become $30) and Peggy is picking up picture frames (dated 2007), shot glasses, a hat for Mike, and the Princess Ears for Erika.

3) I went to the Pay It Forward board and found someone to be a Fairy God-Mailer for me (thanks again Dee47!!) She is going to WDW the last week of August and is going to mail 3 cards for me…one each to Mike, Lumar, and Erika. Mike’s card will get here before he does, but it will be waiting in his pile of mail for him when he gets home…right on top of the pile, of course!!

You know what’s funny? Everyday I go online to the DIS and without fail there is a thread someone started titled something to the effect of “done planning…now what??” I can never answer to those posts because I feel like everyone has their own idea of what “done planning” really means and I think that everyone’s idea of “done planning” changes with each trip. For example: the very first time Lumar and I went to WDW without the rest of the family was May 2005. We were “done planning” after we paid for the trip in full. On our second trip in May 2006, we were “done planning” after I decided that maybe this time, I should make a packing list and decide in advance, which days to do which parks. For December 2006, we were “done planning” after I made 2 ADR’s (one at Ohana and one at CP, both for breakfast), and bought MVMCP and Cirque du Soleil tickets. For this coming trip, I have confirmed two reservations, including rooms, park tickets, MNSSHP tickets, Cirque du Soleil tickets, made ADR’s for everyday of our trip except two, put all 4 of us on the DDP, started working on gift baskets, ordered postcards from the Fairy God-Mailer, and we are still planning by deciding what costumes to wear for the Halloween party. It seems to me that you choose to be “done planning” it doesn’t end on its own…. But I digress…as usual.

OK so remember how in my last update, I said that the Disney Visa was almost paid off? Well I have been working overtime at work just to earn some extra cash to put towards the balance on the card so it could (hopefully) be paid off before our trip. This morning, I got up at 7:30am and brought my car in for an oil change, transmission fluid change, and tire rotation. 5 hours later, I was standing in the shop, my car up the lift, giving the OK for a $150 job to become a $300 job, as the mechanic showed me how dangerously worn out my brakes were. He was nice enough to “cut me a deal” and gave me about $70 off so I only ended up spending $230…but that is still $80 more than I was planning on. So much for the 10 hours of overtime I put in…. On top of the fact that my next paycheck will ALSO include 10 hours of overtime, but I have to bring my car back to the shop for rear brakes and new drums, to the tune of another $224. Plus I need to get the emissions test done (before 8/29) so that I can pay $85 for my registration. It never fails. It seems that any extra money I earn always goes into my car…. I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t buy the $230 worth of pins I wanted from disneyshopping.com!

Well, enough depressing stuff! As of today there are only http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/glitter_maker_08_14_2007_21_29_02_9.gif days left until we leave! Can’t wait for our DME stuff to come!!

disneylovinfamily

08-14-2007, 10:57 PM

Loving all the plans so far and the gift baskets sound great. What a great sis you are!:)

ILMICKEY

08-15-2007, 06:19 AM

That's a bummer about your car. It always seems the whole world knows when you have a little extra cash, and they want it!!

Don't worry though, you still have time!

The gift baskets are a really nice idea. How thoughtful you are!!!

Simba22

08-15-2007, 04:12 PM

Pre-Trip Report Part 6
Wednesday 8/15

I was so excited when I logged onto the Disboards yesterday morning because they had a link to wdwinfo.com that had a Discount Code for Disney Visa Card holders who are traveling between September and December 2007. I started a thread asking if I could still get the discount even though my trip was already booked and someone responded and said yes. I was totally psyched to save some money on this trip, since I still have Mike breathing down my neck about the cost, and now Erika is feeling the strain as well because she needs to buy her costume for MNSSHP. So I figured even if we save $50 per reservation (both of which are in my name) that will give Erika $25 towards her costume, Mike $25 to buy some random junk online that he won’t even see or use until after we come back from Florida, and I can use the discount off of my & Lumar’s room to apply towards the balance on the card. So needless to say, I called CRO and spoke to Fladiana (I think I spelled her name right, she rambled it off so fast you’d think it was as common as John or something) and she told me that the discount was “not available” for CSR! She said “do you want me to try another resort?” Sadly, I told her no, we were really looking forward to CSR. So she offered to try another room, which was fine since I don’t know what section/rooms were are going to be in anyway, but that didn’t work either. So I went back to my thread to post my bad news and a bunch of people responded thanking me for posting the discount because they called and saved HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS! One DISer saved about $700 and most of the others were about $400 on average. I am still really bummed about it but Lumar keeps telling me that it’s Karma…I posted the discount and helped out a bunch of people, and I’ll get my reward for that in time. I know that he is right, but it still doesn’t take away from the suckyness. Right now I am really considering calling CRO back tonight when I get home from work and checking to see what resorts have availability. One DISer told me that the discount allowed her to switch from CBR to AKL for her entire trip and AKL cost the same with the discount as CBR did without it. So to me that would be worth it if we could get a deal like that...although I'm really looking forward to CSR.... I guess I will just call tonight and see what they can offer me and choose from there.

In better news, we have all decided on costumes for MNSSHP! Mike emailed me and said he wanted to go with the 50’s theme I suggested so I was really excited about that, and then of course I mentioned it to The Lumar and he complained about it some more. My mom happened to be walking by the room as we were talking about it and she told him how when she and my dad were younger they used to go to 50’s themed parties all the time and she had pictures to show him. It worked and he is totally for it now that he has seen what it will look like when we are all together! He wants to go dressed as the “nerd” with the white button down shirt, khaki pants, bow tie, suspenders, and thick glasses with tape on the bridge. If he and my brother wore the same prescription he could borrow the military issued glasses that Mike got when he went to basic. The “BCGs” as they are called (aka Birth Control Glasses) are ENORMOUS and the lenses honestly and truly look like the bottoms of Coke bottles. But I would rather he got “prop” glasses anyway so he can still wear his contacts under them.

I ordered my costume last night and I am so totally excited for it! This is picture from the website (and if you are going MNSSHP on 10/8, please don’t copy me!). Everything in the picture, except for the shoes, is included but I ordered an extra pair of glasses in black and I also ordered a pair of cats eye sunglasses too in case it’s still sunny when we get to the party. I told Erika that she can use the pink ones that come with the set.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/blackpink.jpg

So now that we have the issue of what to wear out of the way, I just have to work on making sure that everyone actually GETS their stuff. Everything will be easy to get, and we aren’t spending a lot of money on the guy’s costumes…just a cheap pair of khaki’s for Lumar from Walmart, same with the shirt and suspenders. I just have to try and find glasses somewhere…although I’m sure that the Halloween Store will carry them. I just have to wait for one to pop up in the mall. I also have to make sure I stay on Erika to order hers so that we can make sure it gets here on time for her to exchange it in case it doesn’t fit. I’m trying to convince her to get this one:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/pinkwhiteblack.jpg

In Pirates News, I got an email from FYE today that I didn’t actually open, but the subject line said “Pre-Order Pirates 3!” So I deleted the email and called Lumar and told him to go upstairs to the Disney store (he works in the mall, by the way) and pre-order it there. He called me back a little while later and said that the girl there told him they weren’t taking pre-orders yet and she didn’t know when they would start. His next sentence was “she’s new.” Yes, we know, on a personal basis, the manager and assistant manager of the Disney Store. So again, I was a little bummed but I figured that they will probably start taking reserves in October (they started taking reserves for Jungle Book in August and its release date is October 2. So using that formula ….) and in which case we may be able to pre-order it in WDW and get a cool pre-order gift. Lumar pre-ordered Aladdin when we went in 2004 and he got a LE lanyard and two LE Aladdin pins….

That’s it for now…more tomorrow! Thanks again for joining me on my pre-trippie! :flower3:

Simba22

08-15-2007, 10:38 PM

Loving all the plans so far and the gift baskets sound great. What a great sis you are!

Thanks! I try! I just hope it doesn't go unappreciated...my brother can be weird about stuff like this sometimes.

That's a bummer about your car. It always seems the whole world knows when you have a little extra cash, and they want it! Don't worry though, you still have time! The gift baskets are a really nice idea. How thoughtful you are!!!

I know, it sucks but I need to drive and my car (knock on wood) hasn't let me down yet and I've had it for 6 full years....It's got 114k miles on it and it's still going so a few hundred bucks here and there to keep her running is more than worth it!

And regarding the gift baskets, both of the Beach Towels I ordered came today so this weekend I am going to search one more time to see if I can find those pillows I was looking for and then send everything off to Peggy!

Simba22

08-19-2007, 05:10 PM

Pre-Trip Report Part 7
Sunday 8/19

Hello everyone!

Not much to report on here, today but a couple of things came up...

1) I've given up on trying to get the MYW Package Discount. :sad2: First they released the codes for the Disney Visa card holders and I had no luck with that, then they released the codes to the general public this past Thursday and even with that I couldn't get anything for CSR. They just kept telling me they only had SSR available and we don't want to change resorts, especially since it would end up costing us more money to switch.

2) I went out today to search one last time for those squoosh pillows for Mike & Erika's baskets but had no luck. It's funny because every single time I went to Walmart, or Target, or the Disney Store, I came across these pillows and never had a reason to get them. And now that I actually NEED them, I can't find them anywhere. They had a few in the Disney Store in the mall but they were much too big...not the ones I was looking for. Peggy has not emailed me to let me know if she found CSR shot glasses or not...so for now, I have a hat for Mike, the Princess Ears headband for Erika, and a towel and a picture frame for each. Assuming Peggy can find shot glasses, we can add in one of those to both baskets, but if not then I am stuck with getting them keychains.... I still want to add one more thing but I can't think of anything to add! I don't want to do clothes like flip flops or t-shirts because if they don't fit or something then they're useless. My brother is not into pin trading and I'm not sure if Erika will be either, so I don't want to spend the money on the pins and lanyards if they aren't going to be used.... :headache: This whole thing has gone from making me really excited to making me really have a headache.... I had wanted to have some WDW snacks included but Peggy can't put food in the baskets due to some FL state regulation or something.... I'm just lost! (Although the towels are VERY nice!)

3) I posted a thread on the photography board to see if I can get any info about camcorders. Lumar and I were both thinking about getting one but neither wanted to bring it up to the other, and last night we were out and saw a display and I mentioned it under my breath and he got really excited about it. So today we were out at Walmart and we were browsing through the camcorders they had there, but nothing really seemed to match what we want. We don't want something that records to a tape, and I don't REALLY want Mini DVD's or DVD's either... I wanted something completely digital, that I can just hook up to my computer and upload the video there, and just hook up to the TV with A/V cables and be able to watch it there, as well. But it seems that the only camcorders with that capability only have like 5x optical zoom and I want something with more than that! I would even take 8x! But it just seems that even the ones with 8x zoom use tape or DVD's. :guilty:

4) I do have TWO good things to report, one is that we got an email from Mike's CO, and it says that the guys will be back between the 15th and 20th, which is even earlier than Mike had thought a few weeks ago! And I got "The Essential Disney Idea Book" which is LOADED with scrapbooking (and other crafting) ideas. I'm very excited to work on my scrapbook when we come back! I think I am going to put one together for Mike and Erika too...maybe if I can get it done in time, I can give it to them for Christmas....

Stay tuned for more...I'm still searching for more ideas for the gift baskets!

Simba22

08-24-2007, 08:14 PM

Happy Friday everyone! I'm so glad it's the weekend!

When Lumar gets home from work tonight we are going to be ordering our new camcorder! I'm so excited! I just hope we actually use it when we get to WDW! After talking to some nice folks on the Photography Board, I think we are going with the JVC MiniDV Camcorder (GR-D750):

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/EC_JVC_GRD750US_TMP.jpg

Can anyone else NOT wait for PotC AWE to come out! December 4th seems SOOO far away! I want to watch it now!! :hyper: sorry, ADD....

So I don't remember if I told you or not, but I decided to do a surprise gift basket for Lumar too...I'm not going through Peggy for this one though, I'm just going to make it myself. Well, I've found a PotC pillow for him (for the plane ride), a PotC beach towel, a couple pins, and I'm also thinking about adding in the PotC Trilogy Edition Monopoly set. He collects Monopoly games, and PotC stuff (as I'm sure you noticed) so I figure that is a pretty good bet. I also found the pillows I was looking for, for Mike and Erika. Mike's came in yesterday (along with 24 pins I bought on Ebay for trading! :banana: ) and Erika's will be here Monday so on Tuesday or Wednesday I should be able to send everything to Peggy and then that's done! After I take care of the baskets, the only thing left to do is start shopping! Can you believe there are exactly 6 weeks to go until we leave? That means that in like 3 weeks I'll be getting our DME stuff! :yay: That's exactly 42 days from today!! :hourglass

BTW, my costume for MNSSHP came in the other day! I tried it on and it looks fantastic! I'm so excited, this party is going to be so much fun!

Hedy

08-24-2007, 08:36 PM

Yay for new toys!

ILMICKEY

08-27-2007, 12:28 PM

I can't wait for it to come out because I didn't go see it at the movies. It always seemed something was going on. That will be the same for the Bourne Ultimatum! Want to see that too.

Did you get the camcorder?? Remember NO HOME MOVIES!! If you know what I mean.

Are you going to wait and surprise us with a picture from the MNSSHP or can you show us your costume now????

Simba22

08-27-2007, 12:56 PM

I can't wait for it to come out because I didn't go see it at the movies. It always seemed something was going on. That will be the same for the Bourne Ultimatum! Want to see that too.

You know, I never saw any of the Bourne movies? I know, I know! I'm a blasphemer! I should rent them this weekend.... And as for PotC 3, I saw it in the theater 5 times. I thought it was amazing and I am totally obsessed with it.

Did you get the camcorder?? Remember NO HOME MOVIES!! If you know what I mean.

Yes we bought a camcorder although we ended up going with a Canon instead of the JVC model. We are both happy though...should get it in the next few days! And no, there will be no home movies...trust me. :rotfl2:

Are you going to wait and surprise us with a picture from the MNSSHP or can you show us your costume now????
No I'm going to make you wait until after the party! Sorry! :goodvibes

Simba22

08-27-2007, 01:09 PM

Also, just thought I would share that our DME stuff came in the mail today!! WOOHOO!!!! 39 days to go!!!!!!!! :cool1: :banana: :woohoo:

Hedy

08-27-2007, 01:14 PM

Also, just thought I would share that our DME stuff came in the mail today!! WOOHOO!!!! 39 days to go!!!!!!!! :cool1: :banana: :woohoo:

:woohoo:

Simba22

09-02-2007, 03:14 PM

Hello everyone! I know you are all DYING to know what's been happening around here... :rotfl2: Honestly, not really anything exciting has been happening although I do have a few tidbits to share.

First, here is what our new camcorder looks like:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/camcorder.jpg (obviously this is a stock photo and I have no idea who the girl in the display is lol). It is a Canon MiniDV Camcorder ZR830 and I love it! It just came in yesterday and I have already charged it up and messed around with it to get a feeling for it. I can't believe how small and lightweight it is! I swear to you that it weighs less than my digital camera and it is considerably smaller as well! We are both really excited about bring it to WDW!

Speaking of which, there are only 33 days to go! It's funny because I keep "forgetting" about certain things we are scheduled to do on this trip, like Cirque du Soleil, and our ADR's, and things like that and everytime I am reminded of them, I get excited all over again! Our luggage tags and official itinerary, along with all of the vouchers we get, came in the mail on Friday, and I shipped the two pillows and towels down to Peggy yesterday! I have also finished shopping for Lumar's basket as well so this whole project is DONE! :cool1:

Also, I just wanted to throw this in: I convinced Lumar to get a pair of Crocs! They are the flip-flop style ones, not the regular ones. He tried on my Capri Crocs the other day and although they were too small he said they were really comfortable so we went online and he picked out a pair of the Crete style:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/pinkwhiteblack.jpg
I know that my brother is totally going to want a pair of them after he see's Lumar's but he can buy them himself :rotfl:

I wanted to share a few pictures from my past Disney Trips...kind of a stroll down memory lane, which is an idea I am totally stealing from Nikki. I'm going to try and narrow it down to "My Favorite Picture" from each trip. Unfortunately, I need to scan pics from my trips in 2002 and 2004 so I am going to go try and do that now and hopefully I'll be able to post them before the end of the day. Otherwise, you guys will get another update tomorrow! Just to keep in the spirit alive, why don't you guys post your Favorite Picture from your trips? One picture per trip! Have fun! I'll be back later!

Simba22

09-02-2007, 09:59 PM

OK, I wasn't able to scan my old pics because my step-father is currently using the scanner as an extension to his desk (in other words there is a ton of junk piled on top of it). But I was able to take pictures of pictures and my camera is so totally awesome that it actually worked out pretty well. These are my favorite pictures from each trip.

This is Me & Tigger from my first trip to WDW: September 2002
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/AliTigger2002.jpg

This is the whole family, essentially... from the left: Me, my sister Stephanie, Lumar, my step-dad Lenny, Mike, and my mom Diane. This is from July 2004
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/WholeFam2004.jpg

I actually had two favorites from this trip. Here I am with my two boys, Lumar & Mike, from the same trip (please pardon the horrific whiteness of Mike and myself next to Lumar. We have to be the whitest Italians in the world....and I mean the WHOLE world not just Disney World :rotfl: )
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/TheThreeCaballeros2004.jpg

This one is from the first trip Lumar and I took by ourselves back in 2005:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/AliLumar2005.jpg

And this is from May 2006 when we went with Mike and Lumar's brother Robby:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/MK14.jpg

If you want to see pictures from our December trip, you can see them in my December trip report by clicking the link in my siggy (where you see 12/2006)

ILMICKEY

09-04-2007, 05:20 AM

Great Pictures!!

You have a very nice family.

Simba22

09-04-2007, 03:46 PM

Great Pictures!!

You have a very nice family.

Thank you! They are all a bit weird, but whose family isn't? lol And thanks again for the Memory Lane idea!

Marion

09-04-2007, 11:45 PM

Great report :thumbsup2 It caught my eye tonight for some reason and I realized you'll be at CSR same time we will... I'm getting so excited... we'll be leaving in 4 weeks! :cool1:

Simba22

09-05-2007, 05:08 PM

Great report :thumbsup2 It caught my eye tonight for some reason and I realized you'll be at CSR same time we will... I'm getting so excited... we'll be leaving in 4 weeks! :cool1:

Oh yay! you are the first DISer I've talked to who will be at CSR with us! everyone else is at POP! Thats because we're better!! Thanks for reading my pre-trip! I'm getting very anxious to start the ACTUAL TRIP!! 30 days from today!!!

Simba22

09-10-2007, 03:07 PM

Hi everyone!! Just checking in to give you the 25 Days Update! There are only 4 short weeks to go until we leave! Mike is scheduled to be back in the states on September 19 so we are OK in that area! And I was able to make a "last minute" ADR for Crystal Palace on Saturday October 13 for breakfast! I thought for sure that the CM I spoke to was going to laugh at me when I told her I needed an ADR at the MK on a Saturday but to my surprise, she actually had a LOT of times available! So 9:15am on our last day, we will be dining with the Winnie-the-Pooh characters! I ate here for the first time on our December trip and it was so much fun so I'm really excited to be going back!

Lumar left yesterday morning for a business trip in Las Vegas... We left at 4:30am yesterday to bring him to La Guardia Airport in New York and we arrived there around 7am. It's a REALLY good thing we left early because the airline couldn't find his reservation! Lumar called the travel agent and she kept telling him his confirmation number, ticket number, everything...but United Airlines kept saying he wasn't listed under those numbers. So the travel agent made him a new reservation AND bumped him up to first class! He was so excited but a little bummed because the friend he was going with was stuck in coach. Oh well! He said it was a very comfortable ride whch is good because he usually gets nervous when he travels. He had a layover in Denver but the connecting flight to Vegas was delayed so he spent a good 5 hours in Denver... but finally made it to Las Vegas safely! He comes home on Thursday (hopefully with lots of cool swag!) and then NEXT Thursday, the 20th, we are going to see Aerosmith in concert! Woohoo! Just in time to pump me up for the RnRC!! :hyper:

Hedy

09-10-2007, 03:11 PM

Awesome!

ILMICKEY

09-11-2007, 07:22 AM

Aerosmith AND Disney all in the same month??? Wow, I'm so jealous! Lucky, Lucky girl!

Is Lumar doing any gambling while he is out there? Make a little extra spending casn for Mickey?? I have only gambled once. Didn't do so hot.

Well anyhoo, your almost there!! Yaaaaaaay!:banana:

ILMICKEY

09-18-2007, 07:13 AM

Helloooooooooooo!!!

Hope everything is all right!!

Simba22

09-18-2007, 11:19 AM

Helloooooooooooo!!!

Hope everything is all right!!

Hey Nikki! Yes things are OK, it's just that Lumar came home from his business trip to Las Vegas with a little present for me...a COLD!!!! :sick: So now I'm sick as a dog and trying to guzzle down Orange Juice and medicine so that I can get better before Aerosmith on THURSDAY!!!!!! Here's hoping!!

Oh and Mike is leaving Africa today and will officially be stateside tomorrow, September 19! :cool1:

PS: WE ARE IN THE TEENS!!!!!!! 17 days to go!!!! And Mike, Erika, and Lumar STILL have not bought their costumes for MNSSHP!!!!

ILMICKEY

09-18-2007, 11:38 AM

Tell him YOU DO NOT ACCEPT PRESENTS LIKE THAT!! But if your not better, I would be happy to go in your place. Don't worry, I'd tell you ALL about it!!

Yaaaaay!! He's coming home. I wish they all would, but I guess we have to start somewhere!!

I KNOW!! That is why I was checking your report. I kept thinking "huh, wonder why she hasn't posted" Then, "did she leave already?" Then, "nope, she still has 17 days left"!! Then "huh, maybe she won the lottery and has left to go buy Disney" Then "If she did buy Disney, I will be hearing from her really soon, cause I'm sure she would give me an all expense paid trip cause I'm her biggest trip report fan"

I have a super imagination!!

Glad your alright! Minus the cold.

Simba22

09-18-2007, 01:49 PM

Simba22

09-20-2007, 02:24 PM

Howdy Everyone! It is time for an official UPDATE as we are officially 15 days away from our fantabulous trip to WDW!

First, just want to say thanks to everyone who stuck with me during my absence! I am still feeling the effects of the "souvenir" that Lumar brought home for me from Las Vegas (aka a raging headcold with flu-like symptoms) but certainly feeling well enough to head to the AEROSMITH CONCERT tonight!!!!!! :cool1: I'm skipping out of work at 5pm instead of 7 so we can (hopefully) make it to the Mohegan Sun Arena before the show starts at 7:30pm. Did I mention that the opening act is Joan Jett? How cool is that?

In other news, Mike called last night at 10pm and told us that he is officially stateside! He has his "debriefing" today and he arrives at his home base tomorrow, then he has 96 hours (4 days) of leave which he gets to spend being dragged in 100 different directions so that everyone can spend time with him. Even though, after an 18 hour flight halfway around the world (literally) all he is going to want to do it sleep, I'm sure. But we have been renovating the house the past few months, we have new siding, new windows,a new front porch, new gutters, and a new basement (which is where Mike sleeps) so he will probably not even recognize it. After his 4 days of leave, he does have to go back to his base to "work" because technically he is active duty until 12-14-07, but he is coming home on Friday the 4th so we can leave for vacation!!!

I spoke to Erika on Tuesday and she was buying costume stuff and asking me questions about my costume for MNSSHP, so I am assuming that she has FINALLY bought her costume although I will be confirming that with her later today or tomorow. Lumar changed his mind about the "nerd" thing and decided to go as a "greaser." So Erika bought him and Mike those combs that look like switch blades, and the wigs. We'll be going out next weekend probably to pick up the rest of the outfits!

I posted on the Fairy Godmailer board today to take requests for postcards, but if any of my faithful readers would like postcards too, just PM me and put Trip Report in the subject line so I don't decline your request :thumbsup2

BTW, did I mention there are only 15 days left!?!?!

DinDin233

09-20-2007, 02:41 PM

ILMICKEY

09-20-2007, 02:42 PM

You have a great time tonight!

Yaay! 15 days. :woohoo: :banana: !!!

Hedy

09-20-2007, 02:49 PM

Yay! 15 days!

Simba22

09-20-2007, 03:15 PM

I love your trip report! It must be so exciting that you're leaving so soon!! I'm not going until December :guilty: So I will be waiting anxiously for you to return to start your trip report...

By the way, how did you put the link to your pre-trippie in your sign?

TIA!!! :)

Don't worry! December is not that far away and WDW is BEAUTIFUL at that time of year! It will be worth the wait!

to put the link to your TR in your siggy, you have to first go into you TR, copy the url from the address bar and then go to you CP, and click edit Signature. Type whatever you want the link to say (like the name of you TR or whatever) into your siggy, then highlight it and click the little icon that is the earth with a little paperclip looking thing under it. Paste the url into that window and click OK! Now your done! Hope that helps!! Thanks for reading!!

You have a great time tonight!
thanks! I had a blast the first time I saw them and it was outdoors and kinda rainy so this is already going to better since I will have an actual seat and no weather issues to contend with! I was thinking about trying to sneak in my super-dee-duper camera....we'll see if I can squish it into my purse.... Maybe I'll have cool Aerosmith pics for you guys tomorrow!

DinDin233

09-21-2007, 08:43 AM

Thanks so much for your help!!! Look it worked!! :cool1:

Simba22

09-21-2007, 10:04 AM

Thanks so much for your help!!! Look it worked!! :cool1:

It looks great! Glad I could help! I'll jump over during the day today and start reading!

For all of you dying to know....Aerosmith was incredibly awesome last night! :worship: And I was totally blown away by Joan Jett! She's amazing! Let me tell you, all of them rock pretty hard for being in their 50's and 60's! If you get a chance to go see this show, GO!!!! You will NOT be disappointed, it was SOOOO worth the money!

As we speak, Mike is on his way home - if I can, I'll try and take some video of his "homecoming" with my new camcorder and post it up here for you guys to see! Since I'm working until 7pm though, I don't know if I'll be able to...I'll try really hard though!

14 days!!!

Simba22

09-21-2007, 01:18 PM

OK guys, Mike is home and no there is no video because I was working when he got here and couldn't leave to go tape it but, he has once again caused me to hit the PANIC button.... He said to me that when he gets back to Base on Wednesday, meaning 9/26, he will put in his vacation request and hope they approve it. Yeah....he hasn't even REQUESTED our vacation week off yet!! :scared1: He said that they wouldn't let him make any time off requests until they came back from Africa.... I think I'm going to CRY!!!!!

ILMICKEY

09-21-2007, 01:43 PM

Simba22

09-21-2007, 02:28 PM

It'll be alright!!
They gotta let him have it right? How long has he been gone? Don't worry, it'll come together.
But you can give him a little punch in the arm for not tellling you that VERY IMPORTANT bit of information.
Go ahead~~it might make you feel a touch better!!

I am praying that it does, even though in my heart I believe it will all be OK, it is still my duty to panic!

And I would punch him the arm but I learned YEARS AGO that he punches back...and it hurts lol Hey, what are baby brothers for? :rotfl:

Simba22

09-22-2007, 05:54 PM

Hey guys! Since I didn't get a video of Mike's homecoming, here is the news story! You will see Mike, my sister Steph, and Erika getting interviewed and there is also a quick shot of Mike getting off the bus, and my family waiting for him. Obviously I wasn't there because I had to work :sad1: Not sure how long this video will be up for but here is the link:

WWLP News (http://www.wwlp.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1772460&h1=Heartwarming%20Homecoming%20for%20Many%20Local% 20Families&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=118533&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&playerVersion=1&hostPageUrl=http%3A//www.wwlp.com/global/story.asp%3Fs%3D7112358&rnd=75412551)

Simba22

09-23-2007, 09:27 PM

OK - so Mike has officially been home for 3 full days. I am (still) in panic mode about the fact that he has not even been approved for our vacation week off yet, but I am remaining positive and trying not to think about it. I made our packing lists today and told Erika to make sure she comes with me next Thursday to get a manicure and pedicure (this is almost as exciting as the trip itself!)
I have been on the Disboards practically all day, waiting for some postcard requests but besides Nikki, I only got one so far from the Paying it Forward board. I guess no one wants some pixiedust!

This is how Mike and Lumar celebrate being only 12 days away from our trip:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_2118.jpg

Yeah...playing video games! Welcome back to the U.S. Mike! :rolleyes: The sad part is that for 7 months while he was away, he actually got to play video games over there on his time off, so it's not like he's been missing out on it or anything....meanwhile, Erika is downstairs sleeping already.... :confused: What a bunch of bums!!

ILMICKEY

09-25-2007, 06:39 AM

Thank you for sharing the video. I love to see families reunite after being away from each other for so long.

HE STILL DOESN'T KNOW??? How long does it take to get an answer? Alright, I'd be panicking now too. Tell him he doesn't have time to be playing video games, he needs to be bakin cookies, cakes, whatever to kiss up to the guy/gal that approves the vacation!!

10 days!! I'm so excited for you guys!!!

addictedxloser

09-25-2007, 08:56 AM

yay :banana: good trip report. cant wait to read more. hopefully he gets approved for the vacation :)

Simba22

09-25-2007, 02:18 PM

yay :banana: good trip report. cant wait to read more. hopefully he gets approved for the vacation :)

Thanks for joining me! Yeah he is going back to his base tomorrow and putting in his request.... I'm praying really hard that he gets approved but he must know something I don't because he is not even worried about this in the least :sad2: MEN!!!! I'm agreeing with Nikki though, and he should absitively, posolutely be baking cookies to use as a bribing tool

Simba22

09-26-2007, 11:27 AM

SEE MY TICKER!!

:cool1: :banana: :yay: :cheer2: :dance3: :woohoo:

I'll post an official Single Digits Update tonight after work!

DinDin233

09-26-2007, 12:38 PM

SEE MY TICKER!!

:cool1: :banana: :yay: :cheer2: :dance3: :woohoo:

I'll post an official Single Digits Update tonight after work!

9 DAYS!!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

That deserves three dancing bananas!

You have to let me know how CSR is!

Simba22

09-26-2007, 08:20 PM

Howdy everyone! Welcome to the 2nd to last installment of my Pre-Trip! My ticker says we have 9 days to go, but since it's 8:16pm that means the day is over and there are now only 8 days to go!

While I was working today, I couldn't stop stressing over how rushed my day is going to be next Thursday. I have to work from 11-4:30, then rush to meet my friend about 15 minutes away to quickly give her a Happy Birthday Cheesecake (home-made, of course) and card, and then come home, pick up Erika and head to the nail salon for mani's & pedi's.
OK, time for a flashback/backstory and this might seem like it has nothing to do with my mani/pedi but I assure you, it does: For those that did not read my December TR, I have two fur-babies, Alex & Scout. They are bunnies:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_2118.jpg
Scout is the gray one (and her eyes are blue, BTW, I just didn't feel like editing out the red-eye), Alex is the tan one (obviously since that's the only other option). Since no one in my family will take care of them for me when I go away, I bring them to my friend Brandee's house and she takes care of them while I'm gone. Now bunnies are more comparable to horses and elephants than any other animal because of their breathing patterns and digestinal tract. SOO, taking care of a rabbit is NOT like taking care of a hamster or guinea pig. They live in a pen thats about 6 ft x 8 ft. They have two litter boxes (yes, rabbits can be litter box trained!), a water bowl, a food bowl for pellets, and a food bowl for vegetables, and a 20lb box of hay. All of this crap has to go with them when they travel (except for one litter box which they need to deal with). It takes me approximately 20 minutes to get all their junk packed into my tiny little car (by myself I might add since Lumar always ends up working the night before we leave) and that includes running around like an idiot trying to catch them to put them in the carrier. I assure you, that is quite a workout....

Maybe I will leave the video camera unpacked until after I get this task done so I can show you how much it sucks. Ok so now that they are all packed, I have to drive 15 minutes to Brandee's house, and then carry all of this crap inside and help her set it up. That's another 20 minutes (assuming that I don't let her convince me to stick around and BS with her for a while). Now I have to drive 15 minutes back home, where I have to get the shop vac out of the garage, and lug it up a flight and a half of stairs because I can't leave for vacation with rabbit fur, hay, and turds everywhere (yes they're litter box trained but they're not PERFECT!)

OK so here is where I tie this into my mani/pedi. In December, I got out of work at 5:30 on Thursday night and went right to the nail salon....I got stuck with "Slow Lady" who took an hour and half to do my nails. By the time I got out of there, they should have been closed for 25 minutes. So then I had to rush to the store to get bunny food, then rush home and pack the bunnies, then rush to Brandee's, then rush home and START packing.

And all of this occurred the night before we left for Disney. This time, I am going to be managing my time just a teensy bit better and I will be dropping the bunnies off at Brandee's either on Wednesday night, or Thursday morning before work.

Ok so back to the mani/pedi. I was actually thinking about calling and making appointments for me and Erika, just to be sure that I don't get Slow Lady again...maybe I will do that...good idea Al! :idea: It's usually really slow on Wednesdays at my job (and I work from home) so I am going to try and get as much stuff packed on Wednesday as I possibly can. I will have Erika pack her stuff too, and then we just have Lumar and Mike's stuff to worry about on Thursday. Mike can do his own packing, so I'm not worried about that, but I have to pack Lumar's stuff because he just can't grasp the concept of FOLDING clothes....he just rolls everything into a ball and tosses it in. We can't have this. So I'll pack for him on Thursday while working.

Speaking of working...while I was working today, this is how my cat, Sox, celebrated being in SINGLE DIGITS:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_2120.jpg
My other cat, Pooka, was a little more into it:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Random%20Stuff/IMG_2120.jpg
Neither was much help when it came to writing my shopping list.

Ok so now on to the BIG IMPORTANT NEWS:
Mike went back to base today and put in his request for the week off. He has not gotten back to me to say whether he was approved or not, but he probably won't get an answer until tomorrow or Friday. I don't care what day it is, as long as the answer is OK, YES, AFFIRMATIVE, or anything else with the same meaning. He did, however, say that the person who takes the requests told him "it shouldn't be a problem." Mike has said that on numerous occasions regarding this trip, and it has worked out for us so far, so here's hoping. That really wasn't that big and important, was it?

If Mike doesn't go, my sister is going to take his place and I really don't like her that much so..... Yeah my sister and I do not get along very well...I know, it's sad but we just kind of tolerate each other and other than that, stay out of the others way. We are night and day and just can not ever agree on anything. That and she's mean :mad: So once this is taken care of, I can then start worrying about the weather in Disney during our trip :rolleyes:

ILMICKEY

09-27-2007, 05:56 AM

Howdy everyone! Welcome to the 2nd to last installment of my Pre-Trip! My ticker says we have 9 days to go, but since it's 8:16pm that means the day is over and there are now only 8 days to go!
I agree, 8 days. Well since I'm a little late getting here, it really is 8 days!!
Happy Birthday Cheesecake (home-made, of course)
Did I tell you when my birthday was????

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/AlexScout23.jpg

Awww, they are so cute. I had no idea you could litter train a bunny!!

Maybe I will leave the video camera unpacked until after I get this task done so I can show you how much it sucks.

Yes, do this!! I've seen people chase greased up pigs, not bunnies.

Ok so back to the mani/pedi. I was actually thinking about calling and making appointments for me and Erika, just to be sure that I don't get Slow Lady again...maybe I will do that...good idea Al! :idea: Thursday.
Believe it or not, I have never had a manucure/pedicure. I am so getting one this time.

Neither was much help when it came to writing my shopping list.
Not at all?? What are the kitties doing while you are gone?

Ok so now on to the BIG IMPORTANT NEWS:
Mike went back to base today and put in his request for the week off. He has not gotten back to me to say whether he was approved or not, but he probably won't get an answer until tomorrow or Friday. I don't care what day it is, as long as the answer is OK, YES, AFFIRMATIVE, or anything else with the same meaning. He did, however, say that the person who takes the requests told him "it shouldn't be a problem." Mike has said that on numerous occasions regarding this trip, and it has worked out for us so far, so here's hoping. That really wasn't that big and important, was it?
I'm sure it will work out. That would be a bunch of crap him committing every minute to the military, then when he wants a little "him" time, they say no. I can't imagine them saying no.

If Mike doesn't go, my sister is going to take his place and I really don't like her that much so..... Yeah my sister and I do not get along very well...I know, it's sad but we just kind of tolerate each other and other than that, stay out of the others way. We are night and day and just can not ever agree on anything. That and she's mean :mad: So once this is taken care of, I can then start worrying about the weather in Disney during our trip :rolleyes:
Well, hopefully you don't have to do this. It just doesn't sound like very much fun. Those family pictures will turn out nice though!!!:lmao:

m11dolphin

09-27-2007, 12:26 PM

Single digits are the best. I am not leaving until December too, so have fun for me while you are gone. will be waiting for the trip report to start when you get back. Love the bunnies and kitties.

Simba22

09-27-2007, 06:22 PM

Single digits are the best. I am not leaving until December too, so have fun for me while you are gone. will be waiting for the trip report to start when you get back. Love the bunnies and kitties.

Hey Dolphin! :wave: Thanks for joining me! Like I told DinDin earlier, December is a beautiful time to go to WDW so it is well worth the wait! You guys will have a fantastic time!

TheDisneyBunch

09-29-2007, 08:31 PM

Simba22

09-29-2007, 08:54 PM

Aww, I just found your report! You are getting so close now! How are things going? I am so jealous!

Your pre-trip has been so much fun to read about. I hope you have an awesome time at mnsshp!

I love how kind you are trying to set nice things up for people! So sweet!

Thank you again for everything!

Oh and btw, that whole scrap book thing is just awesome! WOW! Want to come do mine too? lol

Have a wonderful trip! Lots of :wizard: coming your way!:dance3:

Thanks for joining me! We are getting very excited as we are now down to 5 days (not counting today, Saturday, since it's 9:18pm...the day's over!) I was thinking today about what I am MOST excited for on this trip, and I honestly think it is meeting Captain Jack! Everyone is talking about how great he is and the Pirate Tutorial that he does during the day is fantastic! I'm SUPER excited for that! 2nd in line would be all of the new restaurants we are eating at, thanks to the DDP. :woohoo:

And I would LOVE to do your scrapbook! LoL! I actually have been told by several people that I should open my own business and do scrapbooks for people....I would so love to do that! What better way to make money then helping people put their Disney memories in order? I wish I could share the actual books with you guys! They are like, my most prized posessions! Of course it takes me like 3 months to do one book, but if scrapping was my only job, I could probably get a complete book done in about week. We'll see what happens!

Thanks for pixie dust! We are going to need as we still don't know what Mike's status is, and I am SO SCARED it's going to rain all week while we are there! And I'm afraid I'm going to get lost trying to find my way around CSR! :rotfl2:

TheDisneyBunch

09-30-2007, 12:05 AM

Thanks for joining me! We are getting very excited as we are now down to 5 days (not counting today, Saturday, since it's 9:18pm...the day's over!) I was thinking today about what I am MOST excited for on this trip, and I honestly think it is meeting Captain Jack! Everyone is talking about how great he is and the Pirate Tutorial that he does during the day is fantastic! I'm SUPER excited for that! 2nd in line would be all of the new restaurants we are eating at, thanks to the DDP. :woohoo:

And I would LOVE to do your scrapbook! LoL! I actually have been told by several people that I should open my own business and do scrapbooks for people....I would so love to do that! What better way to make money then helping people put their Disney memories in order? I wish I could share the actual books with you guys! They are like, my most prized posessions! Of course it takes me like 3 months to do one book, but if scrapping was my only job, I could probably get a complete book done in about week. We'll see what happens!

Thanks for pixie dust! We are going to need as we still don't know what Mike's status is, and I am SO SCARED it's going to rain all week while we are there! And I'm afraid I'm going to get lost trying to find my way around CSR! :rotfl2:

I might can make you feel better about one part of that.. We went the week you are going last year and we were there for 8 days and we saw only a couple sprinkles ONE DAY! It was beautiful the whole time. Just amazing!

Eek about not knowing Mike's status! Keeping you worried there are they? Good luck with that!

Holy cow about doing a scrapbook in a week if you had the time!! When I used to try to scrap it would take me hours just to do one page! I could not make up my mind about anything. I gave up sadly so Ethan's book is just up to about this first birthday..lol

I am so jealous over the meet and greet with capt jack! They started that like a day after we left!!! :sad2: I would have been on top of the world.

DinDin233

09-30-2007, 09:09 AM

5 DAYS!!!! (Don't you just love how I start all my posts to you with your remaining days in CAPS...:rotfl2: )

You guys are going to have such a good time!!!

And I am sending pixie dust that Mike gets the time off! pixiedust: pixiedust: pixiedust:

Simba22

09-30-2007, 06:12 PM

It's 6:41pm on Sunday...do I get to say that there are only 4 days left or do I still have to say 5? :confused3

Today I went shopping with Mike and Erika to finish getting the stuff for their costumes! When we got home, Erika and I put ours on to show my mom, step-dad, and sister...we look SOOO cute!! This party is going to be AWESOME! We are so excited! Mike bought a pair of jeans that are smaller than what he normally wears, and we found some Airwalk brand sneakers at Payless that look like the Chuck Taylor Converse. The "Grease" wigs I bought for Mike and Lumar came the other day and I made Mike take his out and try it on.... as with any wig it needs work so when we get to WDW on Friday night, Erika and I will trim them a bit and comb them out a little so it looks like hair, and not a helmet. Lumar hasn't even seen the sneakers I got but he is already complaining that I didn't get him REAL Converse. Why spend like $50 on real ones (that he'll never wear again, I'm sure) when the knock-off's were $20? Seriously....if he wants me to return the fake ones and he wants to spend his own money on the real ones, then fine. But I just think that's stupid when it's a savings of at least $30 he could use on the trip for buying other stuff. And NO I did not take pictures of us in our costumes...you have to wait until I post our day at MNSSHP! Actually to be honest I didn't even think about taking pictures, but if I had I would have vetoed myself and made you wait anyway! Ha Ha Ha!

Oh can I just say how insanely jealous my sister is that she is not coming? She bought herself an iPhone and an iMac for a grand total of $1600. For $1400, she could have come to WDW. :rolleyes1

I went up to the attic to get my suitcase this afternoon and I couldn't find it. I'm so annoyed. :headache: It probably got buried behind the 500 boxes of Christmas decorations that my mom has stored up there...and we don't have electricity up there so I have to plug in like a utility lamp in the bathroom downstairs and drag the lamp up to the attic with an extension cord. That does not make for easy searching. So I have to wait for Lumar to come home and then have him come up there and help me look. It's funny though that ALL the suitcases are together in one part of the attic except for mine :sad2:

I saw that a new discount code was released yesterday for anyone who booked a MYW package for travel between 9/30/07 and 12/23/07. So I called to see if I could get the discount and two different CM's told me that this code is only valid for travel dates starting 10/21/07 until 12/23/07. So I come online to the DIS for the expert opinion on this matter, and I do in fact find out that wdwinfo.com was wrong and posted the wrong dates. So once again, no discount for me. Oh well...that must simply mean that this trip is going to be overly fantastic!

Still no word on Mike's Vacation Status, but he tells me today (and I quote)
"Since Friday is a half day for us, the Sgt says he may be able to let me leave at 8 instead of 12." I was like, 8am?? On FRIDAY?? Mike says "yeah." :scared: I'm like "Our flight leaves at 3:15....that means we have to be at the airport by 1:15. It takes over an hour to get there from Dad's house and it takes an hour TO GET to Dad's house. So we are leaving here at 10am so we can get to Dad's by 11...leave around 12 and get to the airport by 1. You are going to be in Mass. and it's going to take you 2 hours to get home. Which means, IF you get to leave at 8am, you will get home just in time to leave again. If he decides to make you stay until 12, then you won't get home til 2pm and you'll miss the flight." So he says "I'll just meet you at Dad's then."

I was going to tell him that even still, it will take him an hour to get to my dad's from Mass, so he would arrive there at the same time we will all be getting to the airport...but I decided to not worry about it right now and deal with it, only if I have to, on Friday.

And lets all go back to Page 1 where Mike said that joining the military would make life easy.... (Right now, I wish there was a smiley icon of one smiley smacking the other smiley upside the head, because that's the one I would be using right here)

ILMICKEY

10-01-2007, 05:29 AM

Oh, I am so excited for you. I can't wait to see the costumes.

I can't believe Mike still doesn't have an answer. What the heck is his boss waiting for? Are you dying to call and talk to someone yourself?? That would be what I'd be thinking.

Of course I would just be thinking it, not really doing it. But I swear men are like little kids sometimes (please no flames). I just don't know what they would do without us women!!

Oh, I'd have bought the cheap converse knock off too!!

YAAAAAAAY 4 more days!!

Simba22

10-01-2007, 11:27 PM

Hey everyone...for those interested, I posted some pictures of a few pages from my scrapbook on another thread and thought I would share with you in case you wanted to see some examples!

Click Here! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21095771&postcount=4)

TheDisneyBunch

10-02-2007, 12:00 AM

Ok, now I really want you to come do me a book. So when you get back just stroll on this way and begin. :lmao:

Those pages are great. I so wish I had the creativity to do them. I bet it would be so much fun to look through the whole book! Thanks for sharing! You are quite talented.

jordanyosh

10-02-2007, 12:19 AM

ILMICKEY

10-02-2007, 05:30 AM

VERY nice scrapbook!! I've been working on one for about 4 years. I have 3 pages done.:woohoo:

I bought tons and tons of stuff but just can't seem to get it going. I even have the pictures separated into categories!

Oh well.

Hey,

3 MORE DAYS!!!!!

Simba22

10-02-2007, 11:27 AM

I've been lurking and now I am subbing right before you leave...:sad1:
I would have some plans in place just in case your brother doesn't make it in time.........I think it would put your mind at ease knowing you have some alternative plans...
Perhaps call the airlines to see what happens if he misses his flight. Is there a fee to take a later flight? Is there another flight? What happens w/ Magical Express? can he just take another bus.....
I would rather know the answers to those questions before Friday. You wouldn't want your brother to be late and THEN try and figure out what to do.....

We bought Mike and Erika the refundable airfare, so if it turns out that he is going to be late or something, he can exchange his tickets for a later flight. I thought of that when I booked the trip because I didn't even know if he would be home from Africa in time! It's not really anything to panic over, I just hate it when things don't go my way! :rotfl:

Nikki & Amanda: Thanks for the compliments on those few pages you saw! I wish I could share the whole book with you! When we come back, I have to do a book for Mike and Erika (Merry Christmas!) and then mine and Lumar's but after that I would be willing to do your Disney books! You could send me your stuff via UPS or whatever and I could totally do them for you! Let me know if it's something you're interested in! :thumbsup2

3 Days!!! BTW I did all of my packing last night and I started Lumar's too so I am well ahead of schedule! Just need to do some last minute shopping today!

jordanyosh

10-02-2007, 11:34 AM

We bought Mike and Erika the refundable airfare, so if it turns out that he is going to be late or something, he can exchange his tickets for a later flight. I thought of that when I booked the trip because I didn't even know if he would be home from Africa in time! It's not really anything to panic over, I just hate it when things don't go my way! :rotfl:

Nikki & Amanda: Thanks for the compliments on those few pages you saw! I wish I could share the whole book with you! When we come back, I have to do a book for Mike and Erika (Merry Christmas!) and then mine and Lumar's but after that I would be willing to do your Disney books! You could send me your stuff via UPS or whatever and I could totally do them for you! Let me know if it's something you're interested in! :thumbsup2

3 Days!!! BTW I did all of my packing last night and I started Lumar's too so I am well ahead of schedule! Just need to do some last minute shopping today!

Of course, I should've known that people on these boards already thought of every single possible detail;) I hope they all know how much effort you are putting into making their vacation great.:)

By the way, I saw some of your posts on DinDin's thread and followed you over here....:)

Simba22

10-02-2007, 04:34 PM

OK guys...this is what the forcast in Orlando looks like for the weekend into next week:

Fri
Oct 5 Scattered T-Storms
HIGH 90° LOW 75° Chance of Precip: 40%

Sat
Oct 6 Scattered T-Storms
HIGH 87° LOW 74° Chance of Precip: 40%

Sun
Oct 7 Isolated T-Storms
HIGH 87° LOW 74° Chance of Precip: 30%

Mon
Oct 8 Isolated T-Storms
HIGH 86° LOW 72° Chance of Precip: 30%

Tue
Oct 9 Scattered T-Storms
HIGH 84° LOW 71° Chance of Precip: 30%

Wed
Oct 10 Scattered T-Storms
HIGH 85° LOW 71° Chance of Precip: 60%

Thu
Oct 11 Scattered T-Storms
HIGH 85° LOW 71° Chance of Precip: 60%

Should I start panicking yet?? :scared:

Hedy

10-02-2007, 04:35 PM

:scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

DinDin233

10-02-2007, 10:13 PM

Simba22

10-02-2007, 10:37 PM

Guys, seriously, as if I am not already worrying enough (in all fairness, I did warn you all on page 1 that I am a "worrier") I just found something out about my camcorder. Remember I was going to try and record Mike's homecoming for you, and then I said I was going to record me trying to pack up the bunnies? Well I just found out that the stupid thing didn't come with a USB cable so I have no way to put my video's on my computer! :headache: I just posted a thread on the photography board, desperately seeking help, because there are like 6 different cables available and I am totall electronically clueless and have no idea what any of that technical stuff means!

I know that everything will be OK, I'm just feeling frustrated and needed to vent to the only people who won't give me a blank stare and then change the subject (at least not to my knowledge)!

jordanyosh

10-02-2007, 10:44 PM

ILMICKEY

10-03-2007, 05:00 AM

It should give you some information in the book that came with it. Now remember, I say should!

If not, you can always go to the website of the brand of camcorder.

It'll be alright!! You only have

2 days!!!!!!!!!

Simba22

10-03-2007, 09:46 PM

TheDisneyBunch

10-03-2007, 10:00 PM

ACK!!! ONE MORE DAY!!!!

I'll have an official update for you guys tomorrow night before I go to bed and then you won't hear from me again until the 14th or 15th!

Thanks for following along with me everyone! Watch for my last Pre-Trip Update tomorrow night!

I am excited for you! I bet you will have one awesome trip!! I can't wait to see pics! I know you are going to have a blast at MNSSHP!

I will look forward to your TR when you get back.

Thank you again for your kindness as well. It was so very sweet of you! :hug:

Oh yeah and I might take you up on that book offer later. It might be some time though as I still have to put them all into an album and then worry about getting more if I want to scrap as well! :rotfl: Choices choices!

You will have to share more pics of your book. I like seeing scrap pages.:goodvibes

m11dolphin

10-03-2007, 10:44 PM

have a safe trip and remember (with the rain) a bad day at disney is still better than a good day at home.
Cant wait for the trip report

ILMICKEY

10-04-2007, 05:15 AM

Have a fantastic time!!! I will be waiting for you to get back to hear all about it.

I know I don't have to tell you to take lots of pictures. Be careful!! (that's the mom in me)

DinDin233

10-04-2007, 01:52 PM

Just wanted to wish you a great trip!!!! :cool1:

jordanyosh

10-04-2007, 02:58 PM

Have a great time!!!!

Simba22

10-05-2007, 12:57 AM

Thanks for the well wishes everyone!

It's 1:04am on 10/5...I just finished doing "everything" and I do mean EVERYTHING!
Let me tell you about my day, shall I?

Ok, I got up this morning at 7:30am to bring Lumar to his friends house, as they had a meeting for all of the stores in the district at 9am, in a town about 45 minutes away. So Lumar's friend, Angel, said he would drive. I drop Lumar off at Angel's house at 8am. On my way home, I stop and pick up an egg & cheese sandwich from Burger King (I'm obsessed with them, I don't know why but I seriously eat breakfast there almost everyday). I get home around 8:20am, sit down and eat my breakfast while flipping through the newspaper. At 8:30am, I start making a cheesecake for Lumar. He was upset that I was making one for my friend at work and I never made one for him in the 4 years we have been together, so I make him one...at 8:30 in the frickin' morning.

At 10:57, the stupid thing is FINALLY done baking so I stick it in the fridge and run upstairs to start work (my shift starts at 11am). I work until 4, then take my lunch, during which I take a shower. At 4:30 I am officially on vacation! I run out the door to pick up Erika from the train station (did I ever mention she lives in New York City?) After I get her, we drive 15 minutes to meet my friend so I can give her the birthday cheesecake and some scratch-off tickets, which she won $104 on! At 5:15, we head to the nail salon.... here is where things get sticky...as usual.

Yesterday, Lumar and I were at Target and I saw the lady who does my nails, Vi, there. I told her that I forgot to call and make an appointment but I told her I was coming in today around 5:30pm. Not knowing that she actually put me on her schedule, when Erika and I showed up, there was a couple woman who RAN IN ahead of us and sat down. One of the other girls that works there, Lisa, said to me and Erika "don't you guys have an appointment?" And me, in my infinite wisdom says "no." :headache: < this is what I look like after smacking my own forehead a dozen times. So Vi says to me "yeah you made an appointment...." Then one of the two women who went rushing past us in the parking lot (who was very scary, I might add) says "well she just said she didn't have an appointment!" So now I panic and say the first thing that comes to mind....which is NOT "oh I wasn't talking to her, we both have appointments" instead it was "I have an appointment, she (pointing to Erika) doesn't." Yes, I'll wait while you all smack me upside the head......

So Vi takes me right away, but now poor Erika has to sit around and wait for both of those other women to go. How STUPID could I be?? Clearly, Vi and Lisa were both trying to help me out and I was just too dumb to realize it. So Vi is just about done with my manicure when Erika FINALLY gets to go. And guess who she gets? SLOW LADY!!!! (for those who didn't read the last TR, this is the lady who does a really good job but takes FOREVER!) 3 people went and had manicures and pedicures, and another woman came in and had a pedicure done, in the time it took for Erika to get a complete manicure and halfway through a pedicure! Tell me why we were still sitting there at 10 after 7!?

Ok, so we leave the nail place and I need to drop Erika off at her cousin's house which is like 35 minutes away. Meanwhile, Lumar is calling me every 30 seconds to find out where I am because he has to go into work tonight for an inventory at his store. He told me he didn't have to be there until 9pm. Of course at 8:23pm he calls all upset that I'm not home yet, because he "wanted to get there early." I was like YOU TOLD ME 9!! He said "I figured you knew that I would to get there early." AHHH!!!

Ok so I fly like I'm already on the RnRC down a dark highway, hoping I don't get pulled over, and get home at 8:40pm. I bring him out to the mall for his inventory and get home at 9pm. Now it's time to pack the bunnies. Thankfully they were actually very well behaved this time and I was able to just scoop them right into their carrier, and the woman they are staying with is also a bunny owner so I didn't need to bring half the stuff I own because she already has it at her house. I leave here at 9:15, and go to drop them off. I don't leave until 10:10pm. When I get home it's about 25 after and now I have to finish packing! I break out the packing list and keep going over and over it making sure I have everything I need. :laundy:

At 11pm, Lumar calls and says that he's going to be really late tonight because their computers froze and they had to start all over again which they were just doing now. :sad2: Erika gets home from her cousin's house at about 11:30 and I go up to the attic to help her get a suitcase down for Mike, who won't be home until morning.

I finally finished packing at about 12:30am and then I sat down to balance our checkbooks. And that brings us to where we are now. My back is killing me and my eyeballs want to go to sleep but I know that as soon as I fall asleep, Lumar will call me to come and get him. Oh, and we have to get up early again in the morning so we can go visit his mom and say goodbye before we go. Plus, I need my Burger King :rotfl: Mike is leaving Base at 8am so he should be home around 10am, just in time for us to leave for my dad's house!

Goodnight everyone! I'll talk to you all when I get back next Sunday! :grouphug:

DinDin233

10-10-2007, 08:03 AM

Hope you're having a great time! I can't wait to hear about CSR! :banana:

Simba22

10-16-2007, 12:13 AM

Hey everyone! :wave: Just wanted to let you know that we're back :sad1: and, hopefully I can start my TR tomorrow... Erika has some of our pics on her camera so I just have to get her SD card and upload them to my computer!

And BTW, Lumar and I are already planning two trips to The World for 2008! lol

jordanyosh

10-16-2007, 12:23 AM

So when are you going to start the PTR for those 2 trips in 08?;)

Simba22

10-16-2007, 11:09 PM

Friday October 5

Ok so here it is, my first official trip report post.

We left for Disney today. The End.

KIDDING!!

We woke up at 8:30am on Friday morning and packed out "last minute stuff" like toothbrushes and all that jazz. Mike called shortly after we got up and said he was already on his way and would be home right around 10am.

Lumar and I went to his mom's house, arriving there just after 9. We stayed until 9:45 then left. I needed to stop and get gas so I stopped at the closest station, and as luck would have it, the first pump I pulled up to wasn't working. But was there an "Out of Order" sign on it? NO! So I had already turned the car off and gotten out and was trying to swipe my card before I realized (after the 4th swipe) that this just wasn't happening. So I get back in the car and drive around to another pump. Thankfully this one was working.

We got home at 10:05 and Mike was already there...but can someone explain to me why he and Erika were down in his bedroom STILL PACKING?? I was under the impression that she had taken care of all of this last night. We didn't leave home until 10:40 and then had to stop at Burger King for breakfast (except Lumar who is "not hungry"). We got to my dad's at 11:50, all of us went in the house to make pit stops while Dad loaded all of our luggage into his car and then we were off! We arrived at the airport at 12:38, check in and print out our boarding passes to find that our flight that was supposed to be leaving at 3:15 was now not leaving until 3:30. Security only took about 5 minutes. As soon as we get through security, The Lumar states that he is now hungry but he doesn't want to stop and get anything right now while we are standing in front of the food places. :sad2: So we walk all the way down to our gate, which, as usual, is the very last gate all the way at the end of a very long walkway. I sit down and Mike says that he's going to go back to the food court area to get something to eat and asks Lumar if he's coming. Lumar says no. Seriously, I had to actually argue with him to get him to go with Mike to get something to eat. This was at 25 after 1. I told him that we still had 2 hours before our flight was leaving and then it was a 2.5 hour flight to Orlando. I don't know if that is what convinced him or if he just didn't feel like hearing me nag, but he got up and went with Mike to get food. He came back with....are you ready for this?.... cashews. That's it. One tiny little plastic package of cashews. Of course, Mike was no help....he got Fig Newtowns and a pack of chocolate chip cookies. Keep in mind that dinner is not until 9pm.

For the next two hours, Mike slept, Lumar listened to music, dozing off occassionally. I did a couple word search puzzles, and Erika spent her time on her laptop on PerezHilton.com. It's a tabloid type website that keeps up on all the gossip with the trashiest of the trash in Hollywood (ie Paris, Nicole, and Britney, etc). I found out this day that Erika is absolutely obsessed with celebrity gossip. :eek: (this is me, losing brain cells while she blabbers on about people I couldn't care less about) Oh an while we were sitting there waiting, Erika's manicure started chipping. After all that we went through yesterday for it, it chipped off before we even got on the plane. :headache:

So remember how our flight was supposed to leave at 3:30? Well, we didn't start boarding until 3:30. As we were settling into our seats, the theme music from that HBO series "Six Feet Under" was playing on the cabin radio or whatever it is... And this kid sitting next to us and back one row kept saying things about "just in case I die today," and talking about planes that crashed into each other and on and on. I wanted to punch him. He was 15 years old. His dad kept telling him to shut up, but this kid just wasn't getting it. So I turned on my Ipod and listened to "Stars & Motor Cars." Of course I had to turn it off for take-off but the kid has stopped speaking at this point and the two women in front of us were talking about their ADR's which I thought was pretty funny.

We landed at 6:30pm and although it wasn't raining at the time, it clearly had been raining only minutes before we arrived. It was still very humid though. We headed straight for the DME counter...YAY no line!! Mike and I checked in and went and got in the CSR line, which supposedly (according to the sign) was shared with AKL. Not too bad, considering they are so close to each other. We loaded onto the bus and sat there for 40 minutes. I don't know why, but we did. At 7:35pm we finally left the airport and the driver says we are stopping at POP first! WHAT?!?! That's like no where near CSR! We have Blizzard Beach and MGM in between us! So I cry internally, thinking we are never going to make it to our dinner ressie on time and on a Friday night, Planet Hollywood is going to be packed. We finally arrived at CSR at 8:45 and Mike and I checked in. Our CM was also named Mike and he was really nice and QUICK! That's what I'm talking about! After waiting 45 mnutes to check in at ASMo in December, 5 minutes to check in at CSR was HEAVEN! And he surprised Mike and Erika with their gift baskets right there at the counter! My camera was not accessible, but Mike had his in his pocket so I took a picture but Erika has the SD card with her right now so I can't show you the pic until later. Sorry :rolleyes1 Erika cried. Mike had one of those poo-eating grins on his face which means he was happy.

We were in Casitas 5, on the second floor, rooms 5241 & 5242. They were adjoining rooms which was cool. Here is Erika with her Princess Ears (I don't know what Mike is doing there...just ignore him)

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2158.jpg

At 8:55 I called PH and the lady I spoke to was really nice and said that as long as we had a ressie, they can get us in for dinner whenever we get there. THANK YOU JESUS!! We were soo hungry! So we run to the bus stop and I took this picture of Lumar waiting patiently for the DTD bus to arrive:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2160.jpg.

When we got to Planet Hollywood, there were two girls and a guy standing at the booth. One girl was on the phone, the 2nd girl just stood there and did not acknowledge us, but the guy said "can I help you?" He wasn't in a uniform or anything so I had figured that he was a boyfriend or something waiting for one of the two girls to get off of work, but when I said "we have reservations" he goes "Oh OK, she'll be with you in one moment, she's on the phone with the manager." So maybe he was an employee and his shift just ended...who knows. But regardless, the two girls who were actually on the clock could have been a little more "interactive," we'll say. When Girl # 1 got off the phone, she took our info and said we could be seated right away so she gave us a little ticket and told us to go inside and up to the 2nd floor and someone would meet us there. We go up and get seated and our waitress comes over. I can't remember her name for the life of me but she was great! She was so nice even though she did spill water on Mike! He deserved it though! No, seriously, she did spill water on him but it was just a little bit, on his arm, and it was an accident so we didn't hold it against her. Plus she didn't make us split the check to use the two $15 vouchers we had, she just took $30 off the total bill. I got the Turkey Club with a Bananarama, both were DEE-LISH! Mike got the Shrimp Alfredo and a Bananarama. He said that everything was good but he was still hungry after finishing his meal so he thought that the portion could have been bigger (you also have to understand that Mike is on a high calorie diet, as he is trying to "build muscle" so he eats constantly, all day long. I probably would have eaten half of his plate and been full) Erika got the Salmon and loved it, and Lumar got the Pulled Pork Sandwich which he said was very good, as well. So overall it was a good meal, with great service, and we all had a fun time!

When we got back to the room it was close to midnight. I went into my bag to get out the schedule for tomorrow and lo and behold, I left it home! So I called my sister and had her email it to me. I logged onto the internet with my crappy little cell phone and later realized that both Mike & Erika brought their laptops and the cell phone was totally unnecessary. We went to bed around 12:30am.

Next up: Disney Studios - Day 1 (with a lot more pics! I promise!)

jordanyosh

10-16-2007, 11:34 PM

Get start!!!!!!!

ILMICKEY

10-17-2007, 04:47 AM

Yaaaaaaay, you're back!!

I was really concerned when you said Lumar wouldn't eat. I figured, yep, as soon as he gets on the plane, he will suddenly be hungry, like last time!

I'm so glad they liked their baskets. She looks cute with her princess ears.

Thanks for the postcard. But I got in trouble. My son said "why do you keep giving people on the internet our address"??:confused3 I PREACH this stuff when they are online, so I guess I deserved it.

But really, it said it was from Mickey right??

I am so ready to hear all about your trip. And 2 for next year, WOOHOO!! Lucky you. I'm trying to figure out how to plan a girls only trip sometime next year. I dunno, guess we will play that one by ear!! When are you going??

DinDin233

10-17-2007, 08:47 AM

Yay Simba you're back!!! :banana: :banana: :banana:

Great start to the trip report...sorry it took you so long to get down there. :mad: But at least check-in at CSR was a breeze!!

So how was CSR???? Can't wait to hear more!!

Hedy

10-17-2007, 09:05 AM

Great start. I love Planet Hollywood.

Simba22

10-17-2007, 11:54 AM

Thanks for the postcard. But I got in trouble. My son said "why do you keep giving people on the internet our address"??:confused3 I PREACH this stuff when they are online, so I guess I deserved it. But really, it said it was from Mickey right??

You know, it's funny because Lumar said the same thing to me when I requested the FGM cards a few weeks back. Don't these men understand that this is the DIS?? We're all crazy but we all have the same goal: to be in WDW!

When are you going??
Right now we are looking at March and again in October but I told him last night that I really want to move out of my parents house and into our own place before the end of next summer so we may be scaling this back to March only, since we already have a confirmed trip with my parents to Aruba in July. We just don't have that kind of money for three vacations!

DinDin: CSR was GORGEOUS and we have both decided to try and stay there as often as possible for all future trips. The Pepper Market was a bit confusing at first but I'll get into it later in the report.

Hedy: I love Planet Hollywood too! I don't understand why so many people hate it but oh well! More for me and you!

Marion

10-17-2007, 12:35 PM

Welcome home! That's so cool... we were actually in the same building as you guys :) This was our home from Oct 3-11...

http://i166.photobucket.com/albums/u102/marion1mb/IMG_0521.jpg

Simba22

10-17-2007, 02:19 PM

Welcome home! That's so cool... we were actually in the same building as you guys :) This was our home from Oct 3-11...

Howdy neighbor! Wasn't is beautiful there? I loved it! Lumar and I were discussing our next trip, possibly in March and we priced it out... To stay at CSR is like $700 more than to stay at a value but I think I've been spoiled... I dread going back to values now! They are so noisy and chaotic compared to CSR!

Simba22

10-17-2007, 08:30 PM

No more bagels, Erika's first ToT & RnRc ride, and Mike gets a freebie

We woke up on Saturday morning to one of the worst things you can see on a Disney vacation....RAIN! The wake up call came at 7:30 but clearly I was NOT getting up that early so I went back to sleep and got up at 8:05. Since The Lumar tends to take a while getting ready, I made him get up and take a shower and when he got out at 8:20 I called over to Mike & Erika's room to get them up.

We left for MGM right around 9am and got to ride on one of the newer Disney buses. There seemed to be more room in the aisle and the seats were new and cushioned - really nice! It wasn't raining anymore but it was foggy and getting very humid. When we got to MGM I took this picture on the way in:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2165.jpg

Ok so there is that little cart right outside the main entrance and of course we had to stop to play! Here is Erika doing her best Nicole Richie impression:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2166copy.jpg

And here are Mike & Lumar being ridiculous... yes Mike has on the Minnie Ears:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2167copy.jpg

Ok so we go over to RnRc to get FP's and they have a return time of 11:35-12:35. We are greatful for this because it gives us enough time to eat breakfast. So we head back to Starring Rolls, which is jam packed (as usual) and (as usual) they are out of bagels. Well, of course, we were all looking forward to getting bagels. So now Mike is frustrated, Erika keeps looking at me like I'm an idiot for coming here for breakfast, and Lumar is thisclose to having a meltdown because he "doesn't like anything else." I asked one of the girls behind the counter if they were making anymore and she said no. So I do what I do best and make lemonade with my lemons. I grab a tray and head to the back of the hut/shanty that they should totally refurb and make bigger, and I grab a cinnamon bun, an apple danish, and an orange juice. Mike follows suit and grabs a croissant, a chocolate chip cookie, and a cinnamon bun. Erika happened to see the food that was in the refrigerated case and decides she is going to get a croissant and the salmon platter. Lumar is still complaining that there aren't any bagels, but Mike and Erika convinced him to get a croissant and get it toasted. So I go up and pay for my stuff, then go outside to get us a table. Mike comes out a few minutes later with his tray, follow shortly after by Lumar. Erika is still inside trying to get to the toaster so she can toast the three croissants. She finally comes out...without butter or jelly. So I tell her to sit and I went in to get some packets. Finally, we were all sitting down prepared to enjoy our meal!

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2170copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2171copy.jpg

About halfway through, Mike gets this very thoughtful expression on his face and says "yeah, I think I got this cookie for free..." He lifts up the plate with his cinnamon bun on it and there, underneath, is the cookie. Lumar tells him that's impossible, the CM's are trained to look for that kind of stuff. But he pulls out his receipt and sure enough, he got the cookie for free! Here he is exhibiting the offending cinnamon bun:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2172copy.jpg

So after we ate, we headed over to ToT. The sign said 30 minute wait so the guys went and got in line and Erika and I stood in line at the ice cream cart to get bottles of water. The line ended up being more like 15 minutes, which is always a welcome surprise. But I was able to take this great picture of ToT…it’s become my favorite picture from this trip (so far).

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2174.jpg

This is the ride picture from Erika’s first ever ToT ride. It’s blurry because I had to take a picture of the picture but you get the idea:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2851copy.jpg

I swear, I hate going on that thing in the daytime! The sun always blinds me when the doors open!

After our ride, we still had some time before we could back to RnRc so we hung around in the gift shop. Lumar found some pins he wanted to trade for and Erika found a My-Size Jack Skellington:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2186copy.jpg

No, that Jack is not abnormally tall, Erika is just a bit on the short side. Mike and Lumar picked on her during the whole trip, lining her up to the measuring bar at each ride to make sure she was tall enough.

We returned to RnRc and found that the addition of the single rider line changed the whole layout of the queue. And when we got off the ride, the first thing Erika said to me was “I wasn’t expecting it to go that fast!” Then I took this ridiculous picture of her and The Lumar:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2194copy.jpg

Then we went outside and took this ridiculous picture:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE56.jpg

If that is not the most feeble attempt at an air guitar, on my part, I don’t know what is. I thought I did better than that, but I guess not. We didn’t buy our ride picture because Mike put his arms up and blocked Lumar’s face so we decided to wait and get the next one.

Hedy

10-17-2007, 10:03 PM

How much was the Jack Skelleton?

Simba22

10-17-2007, 10:10 PM

How much was the Jack Skelleton?

lol i have no idea i didn't look! I'll see if Mike or Erika noticed and let you know!

Simba22

10-17-2007, 10:58 PM

How much was the Jack Skelleton?

Erika said she thinks it was about $30 but she can't remember for sure

Simba22

10-18-2007, 11:00 PM

"No Beauty & the Beast, No Dinner, and the Mess at the Pepper Market"

There was a showing of Beauty & the Beast at 1:45 and we all wanted to go see it because we never got it on any of our other trips. We left the RnRC gift shop at about 12pm and walked through Villains in Vogue and a bunch of other stores and somehow ended up in front of the hat.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE54.jpg

It was about 12:30 when we got there and I suggested we ride the GMR. Well, they changed the queue for this too and the line was much longer than we anticipated but by the time we got inside where the movie screen is, it was like the point of no return so we just waited. I know everyone keeps saying this but it seems to generate action when I mention things in my Trip Reports so I’ll say it again: This ride seriously needs to be updated! The CM’s aren’t even into it anymore! The CM that played the gangster that took over our car SO seemed like she had better things to be doing. It’s just not fun anymore, for any of the parties involved. And what makes it even worse is that waiting in this line caused us to miss Beauty & the Beast, because we didn’t get out of there until 1:30. So we went over to Star Tours and saw the end of the Jedi Training Academy. SOOO CUTE!! Even if you don’t have kids, you should watch this show. It’s not as good as the Pirate Tutorial (obviously since Captain Jack isn’t in it!) but watching the kids get so pumped up to fight Darth Vader is adorable.

Star Tours was great as always. It was Erika’s first ride and she really enjoyed it to! For those that read my December TR, you’ll be happy to know that I did not get hit on by any CMs this time! Here we have a rare picture of “Casual Friday aboard the Death Star” (even though it was Saturday and we were not on the Death Star):
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2210.jpg

So after Star Tours we went and had lunch at Pizza Planet and then went to see Muppets 3-D. We were planning to go see Indiana Jones but we missed it because we took longer at lunch then we anticipated. So we went over to Streets of America for the 4:30 LMA show (it was 10 after 4 when we got there) but of course, The Power Rangers were coming out for a meet & greet at 4:15 and we all know that The Lumar can’t live without the Power Rangers in his life. So we skipped LMA to stand in line and meet the Red Ranger:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE51.jpg

Again, a little less enthusiasm on my part than I thought but it’s not as bad as the air guitar. My problem is that I am easily embarrassed so when I think I’m doing something that makes me look stupid, I feel like EVERYONE is staring at me. But in reality, I end up looking dumb because I’m not as into it as everyone else. Maybe I should start drinking something with a bit more “kick” on my Disney Trips to relax me….

Ok so after meeting the Red Ranger (and yes, I know which specific season of Power Rangers he is from…) we went over to the Pink Ranger (and yes I know what season she was from too) but she had to go when we were next in line so we didn’t get to meet her. It was about 4:45 and since our dinner ressie wasn’t until 6:40, I asked if anyone wanted to do the backlot tour. Mike was being grumpy and said no so we went to Voyage of the Little Mermaid instead. Lumar and I never got to do this before either so we were excited to be doing something new. It was good but Erika (who’s favorite Princess is Ariel) was highly upset by the fact that “Ariel” messed up the words to “Part of Your World.” She got one word wrong and it was to the point where Erika was going to cry because she was so upset. Maybe I wasn’t that far off when I titled her “The Drama Queen??” Oh and some guy decided halfway through the show, that he didn’t want to be there anymore so he got up and walked across our row, firmly stepping on my toes as he passed me. HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS DID THAT HURT! I seriously thought he broke my toes. Of course I was wearing my Crocs Capris today, and not the Disney ones so my toes were fully exposed.

After VotLM we went through the Animation Studio and drew Donald Duck. This is my drawing:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2854.jpg

Lumar’s:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2857.jpg

Mike’s:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2855.jpg

And Erika’s:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2856.jpg

After Mike’s rendition of Stitch from our trip last May, I was really surprised at how well he did on Donald!

Ok so after drawing we headed over to Mama Melrose’s for dinner at 6:40pm. We got all the way there and I turned to everyone and said “is anyone actually hungry right now?” The consensus was “no” since we just ate pizza like 3 hours ago so we skipped dinner. I was really upset because I was looking forward to eating at a new place, but it saved us a TS credit which we would be able to use later in the week for the last minute Crystal Palace ressie I made before we left. So since it was about to be 7pm and Fantasmic was at 8pm, I suggested that we run, not walk, back to the theater and get in line. Well, of course, we all wanted ice cream so we stand in line at Hollywood Scoops. The woman in front me is ordering 3 things and has to be picky about all of them. So it took us almost 15 minutes from the time we got in line until we finally paid for everything. By then, they had already started letting people into the theater and by the time we got to the top of the walkway, the WHOLE center of the theater was packed. So we ended up sitting to the right, in front of one of those giant poles, I might add. And not only was my ice cream melting faster than I could eat it, but there was this little girl sitting behind me who was very cute except for the fact that she kept grabbing my shirt and leaning on my back and then screeching at the top of her lungs every time she threw her bottle of juice at me and it landed on the ground under the bench in front of me. So then when the show started, I realized that we were right in the middle of two water screens and because of the angle we were at, it was nearly impossible to watch them. But it was still great to be able to watch it again and I cried, of course. So did Erika... and Lumar and Mike try to pretend that they didn’t cry but they’re liars.

After Fantasmic, we headed back to CSR and we were going to go swimming but now Mike and Lumar decide that they’re hungry (seriously, can we get a little smiley icon of one smiley punching another smiley over and over again in the head?? Cuz that's the one I'd use here!). So we went down to El Centro to the Pepper Market. I brought my FGM list so on the way out I could stop at the gift shop and pick up postcards. I had read up on how the system at the Pepper Market works (on the DIS of course) so I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing. When you walk in, there is a CM standing there, waiting to give you “order cards.” You can ask to be seated, or tell them that you want your food to go, and they will give you a “To Go” card instead. I told the CM that we wanted to take our food to go. But clearly he was either deaf, or didn’t speak English because he gave us utensils and sat us at a table…which actually turned out better than I thought because Mike, Lumar, and Erika all ended up getting actual meals. I got a ham & cheese sandwich. This is where I got really upset though. We all got up to go get food and when we came back, all of our utensils were gone and the menus were gone. Apparently the server thought we left so she cleaned off the table, throwing away my list of people who I was supposed to be sending Fairy-Godmailer Cards too! I went to the guy at the front and told him that our table got cleaned off while we were getting food, and he took me over to the server for our area. She claimed that she didn’t clean off the table. So, basically, they told me “sorry, nothing we can do about your list.” And of course, I only had one copy of it so that night I borrowed Mike’s laptop and came online to the DIS to see if I could find the people who were expecting postcards from me. There were only two (besides you, Nikki!) and neither of them responded all week so unfortunately, they are not getting postcards. I was so upset! I hooked up to the internet everyday (at $9.95 per 24 hours) to see if they responded to me but they never did. If either of those two people read this: I’m so sorry!

We headed back up to the room and by the time we got there it was 10 after 12 so we couldn’t go swimming because the pool closed at midnight but it was OK because we were all tired and ready for bed. Breakfast at Ohana in the morning!

ILMICKEY

10-19-2007, 05:27 AM

For those that read my December TR, you’ll be happy to know that I did not get hit on by any CMs this time!
Hey, it's fun to get hit one once in a while, keeps us feeling pretty!!

Again, a little less enthusiasm on my part than I thought but it’s not as bad as the air guitar. My problem is that I am easily embarrassed so when I think I’m doing something that makes me look stupid, I feel like EVERYONE is staring at me. But in reality, I end up looking dumb because I’m not as into it as everyone else. Maybe I should start drinking something with a bit more “kick” on my Disney Trips to relax me….

I'm the same way. I are really going to try to let loose a bit more on this trip. I figure, those people will never see me again!

HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS DID THAT HURT! I seriously thought he broke my toes. Of course I was wearing my Crocs Capris today, and not the Disney ones so my toes were fully exposed.

You didn't kick him in the butt after he did it? Oh man, I don't think I could have let him get away. (I'm just a pretend toughguy!)

There were only two (besides you, Nikki!) and neither of them responded all week so unfortunately, they are not getting postcards. I was so upset! I hooked up to the internet everyday (at $9.95 per 24 hours) to see if they responded to me but they never did.
Got it and Loved it! Thanks so much for taking time from your trip to do it! It sure made my day.:hug:

I sure hope your week got better. You were so excited about going!

DinDin233

10-19-2007, 11:04 AM

Loving your report so far!!! :thumbsup2

Your pictures are awesome!!! I LOVE the Power Rangers pictures....

Reading your trip report and seeing the pictures is making me want to be there RIGHT NOW!!!! :love:

I'm a little leery of Pepper Market....I can't believe they threw out all your stuff while you guys were looking for food! :scared1: Hope the experience there gets better!

I can't wait for more and I am so happy that you guys had an awesome time! :cool1:

Simba22

10-19-2007, 05:32 PM

Hey, it's fun to get hit one once in a while, keeps us feeling pretty!!

Well in that case last year it was a woman, and I don't think she was hitting on me, but Lumar seemed to think so....

I'm the same way. I are really going to try to let loose a bit more on this trip. I figure, those people will never see me again!
Yeah I need to really learn to cut loose! I'm too worried that I'll end up in some other DISers pics looking like a moron on the "Pictures titled '***' thread" :rotfl:

You didn't kick him in the butt after he did it? Oh man, I don't think I could have let him get away. (I'm just a pretend toughguy!)
No because my foot hurt too badly to stand! JK - he was carrying a baby so I'm assuming that he was taking her out of theater before she started crying and disrupting everyone, so he is forgiven but it still hurt really bad!

Got it and Loved it! Thanks so much for taking time from your trip to do it! It sure made my day.:hug:
Yay! I'm glad you liked it! Mickey told me he is very excited that you are coming to see him again! :mickeyjum

I sure hope your week got better. You were so excited about going!

It gets better and we did have a great time all around, jsut certain things happened each day that really bugged me! You'll see what I mean... ;)

Loving your report so far!!!
Your pictures are awesome!!! I LOVE the Power Rangers pictures....
Reading your trip report and seeing the pictures is making me want to be there RIGHT NOW!!!!
I'm a little leery of Pepper Market....I can't believe they threw out all your stuff while you guys were looking for food! Hope the experience there gets better!
I can't wait for more and I am so happy that you guys had an awesome time!

I'm glad you like my pictures so far! My camera was acting up a bit and some pictures that I took didn't come out as good as I hoped they did but for the most part, I did OK! And I was kind of upset because a lot of the photopass pictures came out blurry or with lights streaking across the pictures...but almost every night that we were there, photographers were complaining that their camera's were down so there must have been some kind of glitch with all of their gear. 99% of the pics came out good though, so I'm not too worried!

Don't be afraid of the Pepper Market! Once we got past that first night it was a breeze! The set up is a little stupid....like they have all the food counters crammed into the back of the place and this one little aisle that they expect people to walk in and wait in line in...so it was a bit cramped at times. One thing to remember though: Once you tell them you want your food "To Go" you have to tell the CM at the podium if you changed your mind, you can't just go and sit! We got yelled at by the manager one day for that! lol

I'll have more for you guys tonight! :woohoo:

Simba22

10-19-2007, 09:31 PM

Stitch’s Bodily Functions, Attack Ducks, and Mike Gets Another Freebie

I woke up at ten after 7, and got in the shower…was out by 7:30 and at that point I woke up Mike, Erika, & Lumar. At 7:50, Mike & Erika were still sleeping. I knocked on the door that joins our rooms and woke them up again. We had breakfast reservations at Ohana for 9:20 and since we already skipped out on one reservation, I was not about to miss another one…especially Ohana!

We left CSR at 8:35am, which was 5 minutes later than I wanted to but I was trying really hard to not be a Commando Planner on this trip so I didn’t say anything. By the time we actually got on a bus and arrived at MK it was 9am and then by the time we caught the monorail and actually made it the Poly, it was exactly 9:20. Well, now we have to wait in line to check in and for some reason the line for this is always really slow.

After check in, we went and had the photographer take a picture for us, then we went and sat down in the lobby. Mike and Erika went to check out the gift shop and Lumar, of course, ends up taking a nap. At 10am we were still waiting to be called and we were all starving, plus I tend to get really aggravated at small things when I’m hungry. I could feel an explosion coming on (all because Lumar put his feet up on the table in front of his chair) and I knew I had to eat ASAP. So I go up the podium and asked the CM how much longer the wait was. She pulled up our name in the computer and goes “Oh my goodness! You’ve been waiting 36 minutes!” YEAH! NO KIDDING! If this was any place but Disney, I wouldn’t have been able to control my sarcasm. She said there was only one more family ahead of us and as I was walking back to my chair, that family was called so within 5 minutes of that, we were being led to our table.

The food was SO good! I swear, I love this place! And Mike even liked the juice and he claims to “hate orange juice.” We all had a good time and a good meal, and had fun meeting Lilo & Stitch. When Stitch cam and stood next to me and Erika, he was making “raspberry” noises and I asked him if he farted (joking of course), and he shook his head. So to keep playing along I was like “Eww! Stitch farted!” and that’s when Lumar snapped the picture so that is why I look completely disgusted here:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2249.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2250copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2252copy.jpg

By the time Mickey and Pluto made their way around to our side, we were already done eating so we didn’t stay to wait for them. The CM came by with our picture but I didn’t like the way I looked and $31 is a lot of money for a package that includes a bunch of wallet size pictures that I don’t want, so we skipped it. We headed back outside and caught the monorail back to MK, arriving about 11:15am. Lumar took this picture while I was waiting in the bag check line, and he did such a good job, I had to share it:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2255.jpg

And we stopped to take a picture for the Photopass:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE48.jpg

We headed over to Adventureland, where I thought I was going to get FP’s for PotC. So while Mike, Erika, and Lumar were all distracted by Captain Jack’s pirate tutorial, I went in search of a FP machine, only to find out from a CM that there are no FP’s for Pirates yet. So I went back to watch the rest of the tutorial (When Captain Jack asked for more volunteers, Erika raised her hand and he looked at her, smiled, and said “I’m saving you for port….”) then it began to DOWNPOUR just as the show ended and everyone and their mother ran into the Pirates queue. Thankfully the line moves quickly and we only waited about 15 minutes to get on. Within 5 minutes of being line, the sun all of the sudden appeared again as if it wasn’t just raining a second ago. Lumar said that he thinks that Disney has learned to control the weather and they make it rain at the end of the tutorial so that Captain Jack can make his getaway without being attacked by all of the “crazy women.” That was pretty funny until I realized that he was including me and my sister in that description….
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2264.jpg

Our ride on Pirates was fun but I HATE PEOPLE WHO USE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY WHEN THEY AREN’T SUPPOSED TO!! I really wish that Disney would be more strict about this rule! It’s dark in there and every time someone flashes their stupid camera it nearly blinds everyone else! Stop being so selfish and ignorant! The rules says “no flash photography!” Not, “no flash photography unless you think you are better than everyone else!”

Ok I’m done ranting. So after Pirates we went to Splash to get FP’s, which had a return time of 2:15-3:15pm. It was only about quarter to 1 so we had a while to wait and we couldn’t get new FP’s until 2:30pm, so we went back to Main Street to hit up Casey’s for lunch. Can someone explain why my DBF is such a tool, and paid CASH for our lunch? HELLO?? We had NINE counter service credits to use this week! Of course I did the one thing I should never do and that’s leave him and my brother in charge. But if I stayed to order the food, no one would have gone to find us a table. And it was “Brazil Week” while we were there and there were neon green shirts everywhere, stalking guests, ready to pounce as soon as a chair became available. So I went over to the Noodle Station place (I can never remember the name) and found us a nice table down by the water. This is the part where I’m supposed to show you my first video with my new camcorder but I don’t have a cable for it yet so I can’t hook it up the computer so you’ll have to use your imagination. I was sitting at the table alone, waiting for the others to come with our food. There was a mom and her son sitting at another table near me, and there were these two ducks that were standing there begging for food. They keep standing on their tiptoes to try and reach the food out of the kids hand (he was giving it to them, they weren’t stealing!) So I was taking some pictures:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2283.jpg

So Mike, Erika, and Lumar come back and sure enough, shortly afterwards the ducks migrate over to our table. Well, the male (the one with the green head) is standing over between me and Mike and he’s actually JUMPING off the ground to grab pieces of bread out of Mike’s hand. So the female (the brown one) is on the other side standing between Lumar and Erika. Lumar gives her a couple fries and then goes on eating his food. The next thing I know, he jumps so hard the whole table shook, and he yells “OW!” The duck pecked his leg to get his attention! I quickly gave Erika the camera and about 30 seconds later, the duck did it again! It is the funniest thing in the world to watch! I’m hoping to get that cable tomorrow or Sunday so I’ll be able to upload my videos so you can see this.

After lunch we went into Tomorrowland and rode Stitch’s Great Escape and by the time we got off of that it was just after 2:30 so we went to get FP’s for Space and then went all the way back to Frontierland to ride Splash. I love that ride and it was really humid this day so getting wet was kind of nice…except that Lumar and I were in the front row and I got sprayed directly in the face on the drop! It was like someone put me in front of a fire hydrant and kicked the cap off! And was my makeup water-proof? NO! Somehow I managed to keep myself from looking totally beasty but I was NOT expecting that! I’ve never been hit with water like that before! Mike’s eyes were closed when the flash went off so we didn’t buy the ride photo.

Our return time for Space wasn’t until 6:15pm so we waited in line for HM. The changes they made earlier this year are awesome! While we were waiting in line to get on, there was a woman standing behind us who told us that they closed down Pirates around 1pm and they said it would be closed for the rest of the day. I never found out why they closed it but I was glad that we got on when we did!

Next we went through Fantasyland and of course I had to stop at Mrs. Potts for ice cream! I stood in line while Lumar went to find a table, and Mike & Erika went over to the pretzel cart. When I met up with them Erika was laughing and said the funniest thing just happened. She goes on to tell me that Mike went up to cart and said he wanted a pretzel and was going to use his snack credit. The CM said that their card machine wasn’t working and they were only taking cash. Mike was obviously a little disappointed but he said “are there any other pretzel carts around here that take cards?” The CM looked at him and with no emotion in her voice said “do you want it salted?” Mike was confused and was like “what?” So the CM repeated “do you want your pretzel salted?” Mike was like “uhh… yeah…” So the CM turns around, takes out a salted pretzel, hands it to Mike and again, with no emotion at all goes “have a magical day.” Erika said Mike just stood there thinking it was a joke or something and then the CM called the next person in line, so he left. And then when he saw my ice cream he decided he wanted that instead so he gave the pretzel to Erika and used his snack credit to get ice cream. This was much more worth it, in my opinion, since the pretzel is like $2 and the ice cream was like $6 because he had to get the Super Duper Jumbo Brownie Explosion Thing. Some people just have all the luck!

Simba22

10-21-2007, 06:55 PM

RWI’s, Dinner at Tony’s, and Injury # 2

(I apologize in advance because I just realized that after the first part of the day, I stopped taking pictures so this one is lacking. I’ll make up for it, I promise!)

After ice cream, we went back into Tomorrowland but we still had over an hour before our return time for Space Mountain. We on TTA (which I love) and then we stood in line for the Astro Orbiter which none of us had ever done before. The wait was half an hour and the line moves really slow. But we finally made it up to the top and we were the first people in line on the platform on the right hand side. The people from the left side loaded and the CM went to start it up and it wouldn’t start! She tried like 5 times and it just wasn’t happening. Then a new CM came up to take over for her, and she told him that it wasn’t working. He tried it twice and it didn’t work so then he had to reboot the system or the something which took like 5 minutes. After that, it worked OK, I was getting a little upset though that we waited for ½ and hour and then when we were next in line it almost shut down! But we got on OK and it was very cool but I started to get a little dizzy!

Next we did Carousel of Progress which Mike and Erika had never done before. Apparently there were some people in other parts of the theater who did not understand the concept of “REMAIN SEATED” so a CM had to keep coming over the loudspeaker to tell them to sit down, and it even delayed the rotation a couple of times so we started watching the 2nd scene again, and then we arrived late at the last two scenes so we missed the beginning of each of those. I told Erika when we got off that I have never had so many issues with rides while at Disney (first there was Pirates that got closed, then the Astro Orbiter, and now CoP). When we were finished with CoP, it was 6:25 so we headed into Space and with our FP’s we got all the way to the top where the CM diverts you either to the left or the right. He sent us to the right side and all of the sudde, the lights come on and they start talking about technical difficulties. We waited for 15 minutes but nothing was happening and then they finally made everyone that was already seated get off. And since our dinner ressie for Tony’s was at 6:55, we couldn’t wait any longer so we left the line. Apparently they were closing the ride anyway, because on our way out we got free FP’s for any MK ride that were valid until October 31. We were bummed that we couldn’t ride but at least they gave us those FP’s! So that officially made 4 “RWI’s” or “Rides With Issues” today…. :guilty:

We arrived at Tony’s and I went and put our name in. There was a family of 6 that was there waiting and they were called up just as we arrived. Their server told them they were getting outdoor seating and they all started having a hissy fit about it! The Manager came over and said that she could get them an indoor table but it would be another 15 minutes. They gave her a huge attitude and said they weren’t waiting any longer then left. I told her we would gladly take outdoor seating but she didn’t write it down anywhere so obviously, she didn’t really care. So I turn around to go sit back down and all of the sudden Erika collapses and starts crying hysterically! We were all like “what’s wrong??” :confused: Apparently, every so often, she gets a really sharp pain, almost like a cramp, in her left leg. She said normally it only lasts about a second and then it goes away and it happens randomly so she doesn’t know what causes it. Well this one last all though dinner and for the majority of the night. When they called us to our table, the CM saw that she was in pain and asked if there was anything she could do. Erika asked her for a bag of ice. The CM brought her ice, wrapped in a cloth napkin, so within 10 minutes the ice was almost completely melted and now not only was the seat wet, but so was the back of Erika’s skirt. :sad2:

I have to say that we were all disappointed with Tony’s. I know that a lot of people on the DIS would say “I told you so,” but we always like to try things for ourselves and normally we end up liking the food (like at Planet Hollywood, and Nine Dragons). Tony’s has a limited menu (I think there were 6 entrée items to choose from and I only remember 4: NY Strip Steak, Spaghetti and meatballs, Porkchops, and Salmon. Erika and I both got the NY Strip. They were cooked beautifully – very juicy and exactly to order, but they don’t offer you steak sauce, or ketchup or anything to go with it and our server was MIA for the majority of the meal. So if we waited for him to come back to ask for steak sauce, our food would have been cold by the time we got around to eating it. Mike and Lumar got the spaghetti. Both said that it was very dry and needed more sauce, but they both said that the sauce wasn’t that good anyway. We did order the Spinach Dip for an appetizer and that was fantastic! We all had gelato for desert and it was good but I feel like I would have rather gotten regular old ice cream instead, you know? So we probably won’t be returning to Tony’s anytime soon. We will probably try the Plaza Restaurant next time we go.

So after dinner, they were showing Wishes and SpectroMagic, even though they originally were not planning to. But Erika’s leg was still hurting her and we knew we were coming back to MK for the Halloween Party, and again next Saturday before we left so we would have another chance to watch both of those and do some of the other stuff we missed.

We got back to CSR around 8:45. Here is Mike carrying Erika through the parking lot:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2299copy.jpg

They went down to the Dig Site so Erika could sit in the hot tub for a while. Lumar and I went down to Panchito’s to pick up the stuff we had shipped over from MGM, and then we headed upstairs again to watch TV before going to sleep.

AK tomorrow!

ILMICKEY

10-22-2007, 05:00 AM

Wow, 4 rides?? Sheesh. What a bummer.

I thought about Tonys, only for watching Spetromagic though. It would be nice to not fight anyone for seats on the sidewalks. I didn't like the menu though.

Poor Erika. Does it happen more when she walks alot?

Simba22

10-22-2007, 09:46 AM

Poor Erika. Does it happen more when she walks alot?

Nope, it's completely random. She said sometimes she gets up and walks 5 steps. But it doesn't happen everyday... We were thinking maybe it's a pinched nerve or something... :confused3 You can see the water on the back of her skirt in the pic I posted of Mike carrying her. Imagine sitting through dinner and then the bus ride back to resort in wet denim? So uncomfortable...

Simba22

10-23-2007, 08:40 PM

Speed Safari-ing, lunch at Rainforest Cafe, and MNSSHP!

We woke up late today (well, late for someone who’s at Disney, anyway). It was 8:45am when I finally rolled out of bed and got ready for the day. Of course, Mike and Erika are not the “get up and go” type, as I’m sure you’ve figured out so we didn’t actually leave CSR until 10am. Our bus to AK was PACKED and since we share the AK stop with Typhoon Lagoon, I was hoping that most of the people were getting off there. I think 2 people got off at TL. So when we got to AK and the line to get through the turnstiles was extending down to the baggage check area, I knew we were in for a rough day. :headache: What was it about today that was causing everyone to come to AK today? OH THAT’S RIGHT! Magic Kingdom was closing at 7 because of MNSSHP, that we were going to. So since most people do only a half day at AK anyway, I guess they assumed they might as well use today to do that park. We stood in line for 20 minutes just to get through the turnstiles. There was some lady in front of us who was having trouble getting her ticket to process…she kept gumbling that “the machine was messed up.” Ok lady, that’s why 300 other people just got in using this same machine, and you’re the only one having an issue. Come to find out, the twit was scanning a different finger then the one she used the first time. DUH! :idea:

OK so we beelined to Kilimanjaro (no pictures from Discovery Island because I wasn’t allowed to stop), which already had an 80 minute wait. Mike and Erika said they would get in line, while Lumar and I did the speed-walk over to EE. We were almost there when I had to stop. Guess who I saw? Devine!! Yes! Goal # 1 for this trip has been realized!
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2300.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2303.jpg

Ok so we got our FP’s for EE, which had a return time of 2:00-3:00pm. Lumar and I headed back to KS and by the time we got there, Mike and Erika were already halfway through the line, and waiting in the part with the TV’s. It was so humid, just standing there was a chore. It was a good ride, and we saw a lot of animals but our driver was going much faster than any other driver we have ever had and I hardly got any pictures. This guy was absolutely FLYING through. After the safari we walked through the Pangani Forest Trail. The meerkats were all hiding except this one guy who was “the lookout.”
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2332.jpg

The gorillas were also off in the distance in the shade, instead of sitting right at the big window. When we got back to the entrance, Erika and I both stopped at the ice cream cart and then we walked through the gift shop (Mombasa Marketplace I think) where I found a stuffed Simba keychain for my backpack. When we left there, it was 1:30 so we went over to RPW and walked through, hoping to see something going on in the veterinary room but we got nothing. We did that sound booth thing in the dark room, which I love…I just wish they gave you something to wash the headphones off with…. Then we had enough time to walk through and look at the tanks of bugs and lizards, but we didn’t go outside into the Affection Section. At 2:00pm we headed back to Harambe and then crossed over into Asia.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2348.jpg

When we got in line at EE, it was 2:30. It only took us about 5 minutes to get on and it was a great ride, but I wasn’t prepared for the picture so I was in the middle of talking and looked stupid.

After EE, we were all getting hungry so Mike suggested we see if we could get into Rainforest Café. We headed over and they told us it was going to be 35-45 minutes. 20 minutes later, they called us so we were really happy! The longer I spend in gift shops, the more apt I am to spend money on stuff I don’t need. I did get a pair of really lightweight pajamas with Cha-Cha the Frog on them. The pants were Capri’s and I wanted them to wear under skirts for the rest of the week to prevent that painful chaffing. I was upset to have to spend $30 on the set when all I wanted was the pants, but I wore them all week and they were SO worth it!

I didn’t take any pictures of the food itself but Lumar and I were pleasanly surprised at how good everything was. We ate the RC in DTD last December and it was thisclose to being a terrible experience. This time, I got the Nile Shrimp Embrochette, Lumar got the Mojo Bones, Mike had the Planet Earth Pasta, and Erika had the Brave New World Pizza with the clam chowder for an appetizer. Mike and Lumar also ordered the Lava Nachos, which honestly, could be a complete meal for 2. All 4 of us were picking at them (they were SO good!) and we barely left room for dinner.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2354copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2362copy.jpg

After we ate, we left AK for the day and headed back to CSR to prepare for MNSSHP! It was 4:30 when we got on the bus back to CSR and even with just about 2 hours to prepare, we still didn’t actually get on a bus to MK until 7:15. I’ll give you one guess as to which party members caused our delay. If you guessed me and Lumar, you’re wrong.

The Halloween Party was SO MUCH FUN!! We all want to go back again! Hallowishes was so awesome – I have it recorded on the camcorder so once my cable comes in I will share the video with you all. The Boo-To-You Parade was great except it seemed shorter than the other parades…. I actually found a CD called Magic Kingdom Event Party Music and bought it because it has Boo-To-You and Hallowishes on it, along with songs from the Pirate & Princess Party.

Mike said he felt like Michael Jackson in the “Beat It” video, and did the corresponding dance sporadically throughout the night but everytime I tried to get it on tape he stopped. I’ll have to check to see if Erika got it on their digital camera, but I assure you, it was hilarious. He and Lumar made fun of themselves all night because they knew they looked ridiculous…the wigs I got for them were terrible! Of course they are itchy to start off with, as most wigs are, but these were made with hair that was really long and then hairsprayed into place. When Lumar first put his on, he looked in the mirror and goes “I look like an eagle…” The front part of the wig was so out of shape from being in the package that it was like pointy and hanging really low over his eyes. I laughed really hard when he made that comparison but then I immediately felt bad because this was, afterall, my idea. So when we put the wigs on the guys heads and started messing with them to try and make them look like hair and not helmets (or birds), they literally started falling apart. Hair was falling out of them in clumps and it was just gross. They wore them for a few minutes once we got there but ended up taking them off after Hallowishes (which was at 8pm). And it was so beasty humid that my straight hair didn’t stay straight for long…I think it started frizzing up before we even got on the bus to go to MK. There were a ton of places to get candy but we didn’t hit them all because we wanted to ride rides! We saw Genie and Abu ride the Magic Carpets and we got on after them and rode twice, we also got on Space (finally!) Pirates (we were all alone in there! No one in front of us or behind us – it was kind of scary!) and Haunted Mansion. After HM, we got in line to have our picture taken with Cinderella’s Coach (sorry it’s a picture of a picture because my step-dad is still using his scanner as additional desk-top space) and then we went on ISAW (Mike hates this ride, and Erika was quite frightened by it but it was still fun). We never saw a line or anything for Captain Jack so I guess he wasn’t out for the party. I was quite sad but I didn’t let it ruin my night! Here are some of our pictures from the party
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2366copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE36copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE45copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2863.jpg

We left right at midnight and on our way out, we saw these two people waiting just inside the turnstiles. Since Ariel is Erika’s favorite she asked if she could take a picture with her. The guy that this woman was there with was dressed as Prince Eric and Erika thought afterwards that she should have told him to get in the picture but she didn’t think about it at the time.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2439copy.jpg

As we were leaving, Erika said “I bet she wouldn’t have messed up the words to Part of Your World!” Oy…. :rolleyes1

We got back to CSR at 12:30 and went right to bed. Epcot tomorrow!

ILMICKEY

10-25-2007, 02:45 PM

There was some lady in front of us who was having trouble getting her ticket to process…she kept gumbling that “the machine was messed up.” Ok lady, that’s why 300 other people just got in using this same machine, and you’re the only one having an issue. Come to find out, the twit was scanning a different finger then the one she used the first time. DUH! :idea:
Ding ding, we have a winner!!

The gorillas were also off in the distance in the shade, instead of sitting right at the big window.
Oh, you saw my ex husband!! How nice! Is he still throwing his feces?\

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/IMG_2366copy.jpg
at least you got some pictures before the wigs came off!!

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE36copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE45copy.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/IMG_2863.jpg

You guys are adorable! Nice costume choice.

Simba22

10-25-2007, 04:22 PM

Ding ding, we have a winner!!
I couldn't believe that our line was backed up to the bag check gate, for almost 25 minutes because of this moron!

Oh, you saw my ex husband!! How nice! Is he still throwing his feces?
Now, now, let's not insult the gorillas! :rotfl: They resent that remark!

at least you got some pictures before the wigs came off!!
Yeah we have a couple but the others are all on Mike's camera and he has YET to send me all of the pics!

You guys are adorable! Nice costume choice.
Thanks! Lumar and Mike were talking about costumes for next year and they came up with some good ideas but I don't remember them now. The crinoline under the skirt was a little much and made it a little tough for rides like Space Mountain but we were comfortable and we got lots of compliments!

Simba22

10-27-2007, 12:10 AM

Review of CSR, & (Most of) The Videos I Promised You

OK so since I owe you all videos from previous days, I am posting them here so you don't have to go back through each post.

Ok, here a video of the Attack Ducks:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/th_AttackDucks.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/?action=view&current=AttackDucks.flv)

Here is a short clip from the Boo to You Parade during MNSSHP. It's only the PotC float and I'm only posting it because I swear that this is really Johnny Depp up there. Usually for the parades they use the "look-a-likes" that don't really look alike because you're too far away to really see them, but the resemblance here is uncanny. I would put money on it that this is the REAL Captain Jack!
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/th_CaptainJack.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/?action=view&current=CaptainJack.flv)

I know I still owe you Hallowishes but it's like 15 minutes long and hasn't finished uploading to photobucket yet.

Ok so now I'll tell you all about CSR. Let me start off by saying that on the whole trip, I took 2 pictures of the resort....and they are same picture but one is a close-up version. Here it is:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2743.jpg
That's a view from El Centro from in front of our building, which was Casitas 5. Ok, so the reason I didn't get more pictures will be explained later in the report, but the jist is that I just ran out of time. By the time we came back from the parks it was dark and when we were leaving in the mornings, we were usually late as it was, and stopping for pictures just wasn't happening. I know that Erika and Mike have more pictures but alas, I am STILL waiting for everything to be sent to me. So maybe someday, I'll have more pics of the resort to post.

When we first got to CSR, I was impressed by the lobby alone! It's nice and open with lots of windows so it's always bright in there. The CM's at the front desk and in Panchito's Gift Shop were always pleasant and willing to help or just chat. Lumar found a shirt in there one night that he wanted but they didn't have his size and a CM overheard him talking about it, went into the back and brought one out in the correct size for him! He was so nice and it made Lumar happy. He always says "that's how you know you're in Disney...when people do nice things for perfect strangers just because they can."

Ok so after our first night in the room, I was sort of feeling like we spent the extra money to stay at a moderate instead of a value, for nothing. I wasn't really feeling like it was all that great. But as the week went on, I grew more and more attached. We walked around the whole resort a couple of times (to and from the pool) and it's just absolutely gorgeous. The lake is beautiful and the sidewalk that goes all the way around the resort has parts where it branches off and there are benches there. So you can sit on the bench and just look out over the lake (GREAT view of Illuminations!) but you're off of the main path so people aren't constantly walking in front of you, and you don't feel like you're blocking the way for anyone.

Th quiet pools supposedly close at 10 but we saw people in there after midnight so I think as long as you keep the noise level down, they don't really care if you're in there. Lumar and I went to the main pool, The Dig Site, only once during the trip. Erika and Mike went two or three times. The pool is enormous and it was very clean, as was the area around it. The hot tub is next to the pool but maybe 30 feet away so you are secluded a bit from it. The volleyball court is a ways down from the entrance to the Dig Site and it's a good size but sourrounded on 2 sides by trees so I wonder about what happens to volleyballs that go flying off in that direction.

The bus stop for our building was located right outside. We had to cross the parking lot but for one thing, it's not that big, and plus they provide crosswalks and shady sidewalks to get get you across. At the beginning of our trip, the bus always started with Stop 2 (which was our bus stop) then went to 3, 4, and then 1, which was El Centro. When we came back, it was the same order -dropped off at Stop 2 first, then did 3, 4, & 1. Towards the end of the week, and I don't know why this changed, they started going to #1 first then going around to 2, 3, & 4. Both on the way out of the resort and when we came back. Again, I don't know what prompted this change.

As far as the busses themselves, ones for MK definitely come more often than anything else, with Epcot being the rarest. We waited exactly 20 minutes between Epcot busses (you'll get THAT story later in the report :sad2: ) But in that 20 minute time span we got two MK, MGM, and AK busses, and 1 DTD bus. The busses were always very clean and the only days that it was packed to capacity was that AK day, and Saturday coming back from MK.
It's funny though, because everyone staying at CSR was so nice! There was one night that the 4 of us got on and a woman with a baby got on. So Lumar stood up to let her take the seat. Then another woman with a sleeping baby got on, and Mike got up to let her sit. By the time we actually left the park, about 7 more women with children got on and people were standing up left and right to give up their seats. It was amazing, the compassion you could feel in the air that night, :hug: and I know from experience that this is something I would NEVER experience on an All-Stars bus.

You've all read what happend at the Pepper Market the first night we went to it, but it really did get better after that! They have a lot of different food types to choose from. The first night I was like "what the heck is going on here?" but after that it was like "Wow this easy!" The only person who was "rude" was the manager but it was partially our fault and maybe he wasn't really being rude, I may have misread him...again, that's a story you'll get later in the report. But the food was always good, fresh, and hot. The drinks were always cold, and they prepare everything right in front of you so you can see what's happening. The only drawback is that everything is kind of cramped near where the food is. And now that I know everything is Counter Service, we will be sure to eat there more often on our next trip. (Just wait for the Extra CS Credits Fiasco on our last night... :scared: )

So after 9 nights, Lumar and I decided that of the 3 Disney resorts we have stayed at (ASMo, CBR, and CSR), this is by far, our favorite. Mousekeeping was perfect, the location to the parks is perfect, everyone was very friendly and helpful, and it's overall just absolutely worth the extra money. I really want to try POFQ at least once, but other than that, we will be staying here on all future trips when at all possible.

Ok so that's it for now. When/If I ever get those pics from Mike, I'll just add them here and post it on the first page that this one has an update! Let me know if you have questions!

Marion

10-27-2007, 10:20 AM

Ok so now I'll tell you all about CSR. Let me start off by saying that on the whole trip, I took pictures of the resort....and they are same picture but one is a close-up version.That's a view from El Centro from in front of our building, which was Casitas 5.

Hehehe.... I did the same thing. We stayed at this gorgeous resort and somehow I've got the same pic you do, not one but two of our room door, a couple at the outdoor bar by the lake and one picture of the fountain in El Centro about 10 minutes before we left for the airport! I didn't even take a single photo of that gorgeous pool!

I obviously have to go back now....

ETA about the bus thing... there was one bus, I *think* it was the DTD/waterpark bus, that did the stops in the 1,2,3,4 order instead of hitting our stop first like it should have :teeth:

Simba22

10-27-2007, 04:53 PM

Hehehe.... I did the same thing. We stayed at this gorgeous resort and somehow I've got the same pic you do, not one but two of our room door, a couple at the outdoor bar by the lake and one picture of the fountain in El Centro about 10 minutes before we left for the airport! I didn't even take a single photo of that gorgeous pool!

I obviously have to go back now....

I actually do have a few pics of our room but since they are pretty much just standard rooms I didn't see the point in posting them. I didn't take any pics of the room number or the pool or anything. We have to go back now to :thumbsup2

Simba22

10-31-2007, 06:11 PM

Guys I just booked 9 nights at POFQ for Feb 29 - March 9! Going (hopefully to the P&PP on March 6! Am I crazy!?! I haven't even paid off THIS trip yet! Oy!

BTW, for anyone still reading this, i will have an official update tonight!

Marion

10-31-2007, 06:16 PM

I'm reading! :yay:

You are insane and incredibly lucky! :teeth:

pssst... you should ask the moderators to move you over to the trip reports and out of the pre-trips :rolleyes1

Simba22

10-31-2007, 08:03 PM

I'm reading! :yay:

You are insane and incredibly lucky! :teeth:

pssst... you should ask the moderators to move you over to the trip reports and out of the pre-trips :rolleyes1

You know, I thought of that, but I don't know how to ask! Should I just PM one of them?

Simba22

10-31-2007, 08:05 PM

OK so last night I was doing laundry in the basement (where Mike lives) and I saw his laptop sitting there all alone so I went on and copied all of the vacation pictures!! HAHAHA!! I WIN!!! Here is another one of the 4 of us from MNSSHP. We were still at CSR waiting for the bus so the guys still have the wigs on:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00419.jpg

And here are a couple more of the lobby at CSR. The 2nd one is the giant domed ceiling:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/Mike3.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/Mike2.jpg

And here is one from Planet Hollywood:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00250.jpg

And the video of Hallowishes is refusing to load to photobucket so you’re just going to have to go to MNSSHP and see it in person.
************************************************** **********
Erika & Mike try Beverly, Dinner at San Angel, and a Broken Necklace

I woke up at 8am and called over to Mike and Erika's room to wake them up, then I went back to sleep until 25 after. At which point I got up to take a shower and I called Mike and Erika again at 8:40 when I got out. Needless to say, they were still sleeping and I was kicking myself for not calling them again at 8:25 when I got up.

We left CS at 9:30am and by the time we got to Epcot and over to The Land pavillion it was 10 after 10. We went to get FP's for Soarin' and the return time wasn't until 12:30. At first I was kind of upset that we had 2 hours until we could ride, but it ended up being OK because we got to do some new stuff. First things first though, and we went to Sunshine Seasons for breakfast where we all got the French Toast which was incredibly good. The CM that rang us up, however, not too bright. We handed her two KTTK cards, Erika’s and mine, and stated “two CS credits on each card.” Well, she rang up all 4 CS credits on Erika’s card. So when she realized her mistake she charged two more CS credits to Erika’s card and then 2 to my card and said she would have to get a manager to come over to credit back the first 4 she charged on there. Why she didn’t just NOT charge them a second time, and credit her back two, I don’t know. But she managed to get the issue resolved.

It was about 10:40 when we finished breakfast and we went on Living With the Land, which we had never done before. Mike normally hates boat ride type attractions but even he had to admit that this one was pretty cool. The wait for this was 20 minutes and then the ride itself was about 5. So at 11:05 we were all like “OK what now?” We went upstairs and watched Circle of Life (another new thing!) which was cute but it made me sad so we probably won’t watch it again. We still had about 40 minutes until we could go back to Soarin’ and we had to wait until 12:09 to get new FP’s, so we left The Land and went over to the Figment ride and then headed over to Mission: Space to get FP’s for that. It was FINALLY 12:30 so we trekked back to The Land and got in the FP return line for Soarin’. Even with the FP’s we still waiting in line for about 15 minutes, which even though it sucks to wait, it was better than waiting 75 minutes in the stand-by line. At 10:40 when we finished breakfast, the FP machines were already cranking out tickets with a return time of 4:30pm! The ride was amazing, as usual, and Erika was totally blown away by it. Before we “took off” I told her to take her shoes off for an even more amazing experience. I love the way it feels when you think your feet are going to get wet!

Ok so here’s the fun part. We left The Land and went over to Club Cool where I convinced both Mike and Erika to try Beverly for the first time:

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/th_MikedrinkingBeverly.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/?action=view&current=MikedrinkingBeverly.flv)

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/th_ErikadrinkingBeverly.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/?action=view&current=ErikadrinkingBeverly.flv)

Our return time for Mission: Space had come (1:30pm) so we went back to ride. It was Erika’s first time and she loved it! I was surprised (but glad) that she didn’t experience any motion sickness or anything. Most people get a little messed up on their first ride so I was expecting it, but she said she was cool so we went back to The Seas and rode the Nemo Ride (does this ride actually have a name??) and walked through the downstairs part for a little while.
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00481.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00478.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2474.jpg

Around 2:30 we finally headed into World Showcase. We made it to Canada just as Off Kilter was starting a set so we stopped to watch for a few minutes:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2480.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2479.jpg

Next we stopped in France for some pastries – YUM! We stopped along the way to take a lot of pictures of random things, but we never stopped for any international food/wine/beer. When we arrived in Japan, we went in and spent a lot of money, as we always do. Erika got to pick her first pearl which she had put in a ring setting and I picked one that I had mounted onto a small gold setting. I was wearing my own gold necklace so I didn’t need to buy a new chain. While we were waiting for our pearls to be set, we walked down to Germany and walked through all of the shops. I wanted to try one of the glasses of wine they were offering but I had no cash on me and it seemed silly put $6 on my credit card. I vowed to go to the ATM and come back for it later. Meanwhile, I gazed longingly at all of the crystal figurines I wanted (Simba, Stitch, Dumbo, Tigger, and Thumper….) and I was hoping Lumar secretly bought me one when I wasn’t paying attention but that didn’t happen (I should have learned my lesson after last year when I secretly hoped he bought me that $125 egg from AK with the Lion King things painted on it and he didn’t).

We headed back to Japan at 6pm to pick up our pearls and I called my friend, Brandee, to check on my bunnies who were doing fine (of course). So it took us 10 minutes to walk from Japan to Germany, 10 minutes to walk back, and then we turned around and walked all the way back to Norway to get in line for Maelstrom. I don’t know why this ride is so much fun! Even Mike was excited about going on it and he hates everything. Ok, so we waited 20 minutes to get on and by the time we go off it was about quarter of 7. We had an ADR for dinner at San Angel Inn for 7:15 but we always have time for pictures in Norway:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2513.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2515.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2519.jpg

After pictures, we went right over to Mexico but somehow between Maelstrom and Mexico, Lumar managed to break his sunglasses so we stopped at the little store right next to the Cantina and got him a new pair, went inside the pyramid and managed to get in line at San Angel right at 7:15. They weren’t ready for us yet so he gave us a pager and we split up to look around. Lumar and I found a bunch of stuff and Erika said she found stuff she wanted, but Mike is a tight-wad and wouldn’t get her anything.

At 7:30 our pager went off so we headed back to the podium to be seated. We didn’t get a table on the “river” but we were right next to the bathroom which was convenient for Lumar who has the 2nd worse bladder in the world (I’m definitely the worst) and it kept us out of the way of traffic. I can’t remember our server’s name but he was really nice. We placed our orders and the server kept coming back to check on us while we were waiting. He kept apologizing that it was taking so long and asking if we needed anything, which was really nice. I hate it when your food takes a while and they don’t even bother to acknowledge you. It did take a while for the food…about 45 minutes, but it was INCREDIBLE! By far, the greatest meal I’ve ever eaten, anywhere! The 4 of us talked about this meal for the rest of the week and Erika even mentioned it when she came over today to visit. Erika had Ceviche for an appetizer:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2526.jpg

I only took a picture of my meal but Mike had the Pollo a las Rajas, Lumar had the Puntas de Filete, Erika ordered Filete Motuleno, and I had Camarones con Fideos:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2529.jpg

I was so happy that our meal was so fantastic, especially after the let-down at Tony’s. We are SOOOO eating at San Angel Inn again! And the desert was just as perfect, and we were able to take it “to-go” so we could go watch Illuminations. Even though it was 5 of nine when we got outside, we were still able to get a great spot to watch from. Today was literally, a perfect day all around.

After Illuminations we were herded back to the bus and when we got back to CSR we all changed into our bathing suits and hit the pool! There was only one other group of people there so it was nice and quiet, and after swimming for about 20 minutes we went over to soak in the Jacuzzi for a few minutes which was WONDERFUL!!

We got back to the room at about 11:30 and as I was getting ready for bed I saw something pink and shiny on the floor. I bent down to pick it up and lo & behold, it was the pink sapphire out of the necklace I was wearing! I don’t know HOW I managed to drop it IN the room and not in the pool, or HOW I managed to see a pink sapphire on a red carpet but I am so glad I did! I was upset at first but I knew it would be an easy thing to fix once we got back home, and now I didn’t feel so bad replacing it with my new pearl!

We finally went to sleep at 12:40am – Next up: MGM day 2!

Marion

10-31-2007, 08:09 PM

You know, I thought of that, but I don't know how to ask! Should I just PM one of them?

Yup, either Marla Hellwig or OhMari ... they had me moved within minutes of my asking :)

Hedy

10-31-2007, 08:14 PM

Simba22

10-31-2007, 08:29 PM

Yup, either Marla Hellwig or OhMari ... they had me moved within minutes of my asking :)

Thanks! Marisa just moved me! :YAY:

Simba22

11-01-2007, 10:09 PM

The Worst Morning Ever, Ride Buddies, and My (One & Only) Screw Up

Since you have probably figured out by now, the Mike & Erika never got up the first time I woke them, I’ll just cut to the chase and tell you that we didn’t leave our room this morning until 20 after 10. We went down to El Centro for breakfast at the Pepper Market, and we were going to grab stuff to go (like bagels and stuff) so we asked the CM at the podium for “To Go” cards. Well, Mike and Erika decided that they wanted waffles and eggs so we ended up sitting down to eat. About 30 seconds after we sat down, this guy comes over and asks us if he sat us there. We told him no, and I tried to explain that we were originally going to get our food To Go, but changed our minds. He launches into this long story about we can’t do that because it’s a different ticket and they have to make sure they have enough tables for everyone, and blah blah blah. In other words, since our tickets said “To Go” the cashier wouldn’t know to charge us the 10% gratuity. Like it wouldn’t be obvious that we ate all of our food already and weren’t walking out with 3 plates of waffles and eggs, and two bagels. So then he says “it’s OK for today since we’re not busy but next time, you have to tell us and let us seat you.” Ok fine, can I eat now? popcorn::

Ok so earlier in the week, Mike had suggested that we all get “ride buddies,” or a stuffed animal to bring on the rides with us that would end up in our pictures. At MK, I bought a little Brer Rabbit, and Mike had the Jack Skellington pillow plush that I had included in his gift basket. Erika was determined to find Flounder, and Lumar wanted the little ghost and pumpkin Mickey beanies. So after breakfast we went onto Panchitos so I could pick up some postcards, and Lumar and Erika picked up their ride buddies. As we’re headed out of El Centro to get on the bus, Erika says she forgot her ring (the one she made yesterday at Epcot). I really was not planning on going all the way back to room for her ring but then she said she forgot to put on sunscreen, too. I was so mad, I swear I was about to get on the bus without them, but I knew if I let them go back to the room alone, they would probably go back to sleep. So we trekked all the way back to Casitas 5 and at 11:30 we were FINALLY leaving for the bus. As we are walking away from our door, Lumar says “did you grab the keys?” Of course I don’t have the keys – the keys are his job! So yes, our keys/tickets/DDP card was now locked safely in our room. :headache: And I closed and locked the door that joins our two rooms so we couldn’t even get in through Mike’s room. So Lumar and I hike all the way back to El Centro, and Mike and Erika stay behind. I told them to wait 5 minutes then head to the bus stop, get on the bus for MG and we would pick it up at El Centro. When we got the front desk, the lady tells me that we could have just called from one of the convenience phones (or Mike’s room) and they would have sent a runner out with new keys for us. So we go outside and sit down to wait the bus. I had told Mike to call me and let me know he was on the bus, but sure enough, an MGM bus came and Mike and Erika were not on it. So I call them and Mike tells me that they missed the bus by about 30 seconds…as they were getting to the stop, the bus was pulling away. Now, it took Lumar and I just under 10 minutes to walk to El Centro, 5 minutes to get new keys made, and then we were waiting outside for 5 minutes before that MGM bus came. So clearly, Mike and Erika did not leave the room when I told them to. So they got on the Epcot bus and took it to El Centro to meet up with us. It was another 10 minutes before a 2nd MGM bus came and it was 12:06pm when we finally sat down on the bus.

OK so when we got to MGM, we stopped to take a picture in front of the ToT:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE31.jpg

We wanted to try and get to all of the shows today, since we did all of the rides on Saturday but we knew we wanted to do the rides again, too, since we now had ride buddies. So Mike and Lumar got in line at ToT and Erika and I went for RnRc FP’s, which had a return time of 2:55pm-3:55pm. The sign for ToT said 20 minutes but it was definitely more like 10:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2867.jpg
And, again, I was not scared – the sun is just too darn bright!

So after ToT, we went to see Beauty & the Beast (FINALLY!!!) It started at 1:45 and we stopped for ice cream on the way in which was rapidly melting as we waited for the CM to let us into the theater. The show was really good and I’m glad that it was worth the wait (It only took me 6 trips to finally get to see it!). The opening act is an acapella quartet called 4 for a Dollar. They are so good, I would go see a show of just them performing. Sorry I accidentally hit the “stop” button part of the way through so it skips a few words of song:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/th_Disney2_0003.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/?action=view&current=Disney2_0003.flv)

It was about 2:15 when the show got out and we had a little less than 45 minutes before we could go back to RnRc so we went to meet Mike & Sully who were coming out for pictures at 2:35pm. Lumar, however, had been bugging me all week to find him cashews and the only place he knew that had them was the cart outside of the GMR so we stopped and bought him 5 bags of cashews, which he & my brother started eating while in line for Mike & Sully:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2582copy.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2583copy.jpg
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE30.jpg
It was exactly 3pm when we left there and walked all the way back to RnRC. We were in the last car which, some people said feels faster than being in the front so we weren’t too disappointed. It definitely DOES feel faster but it was also really bumpy! My head was banging around all over the place! Sorry this picture is really bad – but you can see what G-Force did to Lumar’s ride buddy!
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2872.jpg

This is the part where things got ugly. I must have read the times guide 50 times that day and had decided that we would go see the 4:30 showing of LMA, and then go to see Indiana Jones at 5:15pm. But I totally messed up and we went to see Indy at 4 instead, because I was thinking that LMA was at 5:15. So after Indy we headed over to the the LMA theater and we could hear the cars already…I panicked thinking that the show started early so I reached for times guide and of course the show started right at time….at 4:30. And it was the last show of the day. So needless to say, we missed that. So we went on the Backlot Tour and I made Erika sit all the way to the left because she was the only one who didn’t know about Catastrophe Canyon….

We got back at 6:15 and headed over to Sci-Fi for our 6:30pm ressie. The food was OK but after eating in Mexico, we knew that nothing else on this trip was going to come close!

On a side note, the DDP was so worth it! It cost us $78 per couple per day and it included a CS meal, a TS meal, a snack, and an 18% tip. Here, we just spent $80 and that was dinner alone, without our breakfast (that was another $40 per couple), snacks, or the tip. Easily we would have spent about $150 per couple on this one day. Now that they have taken out the 18% gratuity for 2008, I’m not sure it will be as much of a savings as it was, but we are still planning to get it for our March trip, just because it’s so convenient to have basically all of your meals paid for in advance.

Ok so after dinner, we went back to Tatooine Traders so Lumar could pick up a t-shirt he wanted, and we headed out of MGM at 8:30pm.

Mike and Erika went to sleep around 9:30 and Lumar and I, shortly after that. Tomorrow we have breakfast at Boma at 9am!

ILMICKEY

11-02-2007, 04:56 AM

Simba22

11-02-2007, 11:28 AM

Hey! Great updates. You are cranking them out woman. I can't believe you already have another trip planned, lucky you.

Seriously isn't there any other place you would like to go????

Me NEITHER!

I just I'd be the first to say that.

I love your ride buddies. I don't think I could convince my group to do that. I noticed Erica had pants in one picture and the next they were gone! Did she get a little hot?

Yes I am cranking them out because I have no life. This is precisely the reason why I MUST continue to go to WDW at least once every year for the rest of my life...if I don't I won't have a TR to write or a scrapbook to make and then I would just wither away while watching Lumar play video games.

You know what's funny, is that I haven't told my parents that we are going again...and it's for exactly this reason! I know that they are going to have something to say about "saving the money so we can move out" and blah blah but we already have that part taken care of. WDW is just not something everyone else understands. And you know what's funny? My mom has planned a family vacation to Aruba for July, and Lumar and I seriously considered passing that up, so we could go back to WDW again in October (after our March trip!). Seriously...DISers are the only people who would pass up a once in a lifetime trip to Aruba for ANOTHER trip to WDW!

And yes, a lot of people commented on our ride buddies and thought it was a great idea. It was a lot of fun! You should have everyone in your family pick one out and make them carry it for a whole day...if they don't want to after that then fine, but at least you'll have pics of that one day!

DinDin233

11-02-2007, 02:03 PM

Just wanted to let you know I'm here and loving every minute of it! Your videos are great. Thanks for taking the time to post them!! :cool1:

Simba22

11-03-2007, 04:08 PM

Just wanted to let you know I'm here and loving every minute of it! Your videos are great. Thanks for taking the time to post them!! :cool1:

YAY DINDIN!! I missed you! Where have you been? I'm going over to your report right now to read your update!

Simba22

11-03-2007, 07:03 PM

A Fun Day at AK, The Cirque du Soleil Episode, More Freebies, and Injury # 2

We had breakfast reservations at Boma for 9am so I wanted to leave CSR by 8 to make sure we got to AKL in enough time. We ended up not leaving until 10 after, and I was really freaking out that we were going to be late. We took a bus from CSR to AK, since that’s the closest park, and then took a bus from there to AKL. When we arrived, it was 8:50 and they sat us right away which was cool! They served us that yummy juice that Ohana has, and since it’s a buffet, we all got up to walk around see what was there. I got French Toast (it had raisins in it, and it was SO good!) and scrambled eggs, with some potatoes. Mike and Lumar both had omellete’s made. I don’t remember what Erika ate but it was a really good meal! I wanted to take pictures of the resort so badly though, that I forgot to grab a zebra dome to try! The lobby is really hard to photograph because there is a lot of light from the huge floor to ceiling window, but the décor is very dark. I’m sorry that the first picture is blurry…Mike’s camera sucks.

This is headed downstairs to Boma:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00515.jpg

Here is the lobby:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2648.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00517.jpg

So we left AKL and arrived back at AK at 10:10. Of course we have to take the Cheesy Tourist Photo:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2658.jpg

http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2659.jpg

I had only two goals for today: Make sure we saw the Nemo Musical, and make sure we rode Dinosaur so we could scare the living daylights out of Erika. :rotfl2:
The first thing we did was go to the 10:40 FotLK show (again, no pics from Discovery Island…sorry guys). For those that read my December TR, you will remember that I didn’t really like it the first time I saw it, but now that I knew what to expect, I really had fun watching it!
My future tattoo (except mine won’t have the mane, and it won’t say Festival of the Lion King around it lol)
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2661.jpg

After the show, we stopped in Asia to get FP’s for Everest, which had a return time of 2:55-3:55. This worked out perfectly with the schedule for all of the shows for the rest of the day so I (being the Obsessive Planner that I am) was totally in a good mood that this day was going to go so well! We headed back to Dinoland and rode Dinosaur and Erika was completely horrified :scared1:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2911.jpg

The first thing she said when we got off was “I don’t want to go on that anymore.”

We somehow ended up back on Discovery Island in our quest to get back to Asia for Flights of Wonder and we all stopped to get temporary tattoos:

Mine (duh):
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2683copy.jpg

Erika’s (duh):
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2680copy.jpg

Lumar’s (pirates…duh):
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2693copy.jpg

And Mike’s (duh, since he’s the only one left!)
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2694copy.jpg

And then we stopped to take a picture in front of the ToL:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DISNEYPHOTOIMAGE27.jpg

So we finally make it to FoW….I love this show so much! If I ever go work at WDW, I want to be the person on stage (not the tour guide!) bringing out all of the cool birds! Check out Pogo, the Sulfur Crested Cockatoo:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/th_FlightsofWonder.jpg (http://s181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/?action=view&current=FlightsofWonder.flv)

Wasn’t he great?! I apologize for the shaky camera…I was trying not to laugh and it just wasn’t working out for me.

So next we went back to Dinoland to ride Primeval Whirl and then we walked around in the gift shop for a little while. I found some really cute Stitch earrings that I bought and after we spent about half an hour in there, we went to ride Primeval Whirl again! I actually recorded our ride on the camcorder but I was holding the camera at a bad angle so the whole tape is Mike and Lumar’s legs.

At 2:40, we went back to Asia to ride EE. By the time we got there it was 2:45 and then we only had a 10 minute wait for our FP return time so we just hung out:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2666copy.jpg.

In the gift shop I bought a 2007 Animal Kingdom picture frame that I was planning to put our picture in front of the ToL in, but the ONLY picture the Photopass Photographer took was the one I posted before, and the frame takes a vertical picture, not a horizontal one. So now, I have a $13 frame, that I love and have no use for. :headache: And since I (purposely) bought one with the year on it, I can’t even use it for a picture from our next trip or previous trips:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2918.jpg

While I was getting my picture frame Mike was….um….doing this:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/DSC00525copy.jpg

We were all getting hungry and since we were going to DTD tonight to watch Cirque du Soleil, we decided to go eat now since we wouldn’t really have a chance to later. So we headed over to Discovery Island and hit up Pizzafari then went outside onto the patio area to watch the parade (only the greatest parade EVER!) After the parade was over we went back the Theater in the Wild so we could go watch the Nemo Musical. Holy Moly this show was GREAT!! It was so awesome – we will definitely go watch it again! I had seen the soundtrack in the Dinoland gift shop earlier and I was tempted to go back and get it but I was feeling much too lazy. So we went back to Asia and EE said 10 minute wait but in reality there was no wait, it just takes 10 minutes to walk through the queue. We then went to KRR and got to ride twice in a row! The thing I love about this ride is that you always make friends with the people on your raft! There was the 4 of us, an older couple, and a man with his son, and 4 year old grandson (they were from Ireland!). The little boy was the cutest thing ever! He had already been on KRR twice before we got there, and then we around twice so he rode it 4 times in a row! He was soaking wet and loving every second of it! It was so much fun, and it was so hot outside that we could have gone around a few more times had the park not been closed. The CM kicked us off when we got back after our 2nd time because it was 5 after 6. So we headed out and caught a bus back to CSR at 6:30pm.

Ok so the day was absolutely perfect up until this point. But, of course, it couldn’t just stay that way. I bought our Cirque tickets online from ticektmania.com. They sell Category 2 seats at a discounted rate (I think we save like $10 a ticket or something like that). The only catch is that they don’t mail you your tickets in advance. They send you “ticket vouchers” that show you paid for the seats, but you have to get there at 8pm to pick up the tickets at the Will Call window. I told everyone that we needed to leave at 7:30 so that we could catch a DTD bus, and if at all possible, leave a little earlier than that because we had to get off at the 2nd DTD stop, and walk all the way down to the Cirque tent, which is a 10 minute slow walk/5 minute speed walk from the bus stop. At 7:25 I gave everyone the 5 minute warning. Lumar and I ready to leave at 7:30. But Mike comes into our room and says that Erika decided to “go all out” and she’s not ready. I asked him what she was doing and he said she was drying her hair but she wasn’t even dressed and hadn’t put on make up yet. I said we would wait a little longer for her but Mike said that Erika had told him she was going to need at least another half hour but probably more like 45 minutes. AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! :mad: I swear this was like the LAST straw! I know that it seems like a silly thing to be upset over…I mean, this is vacation and all. But when we have reservations for something, that you knew about in advance, and you knew that we had to be there by a certain time to pick up our tickets, you should not be getting ridiculously overdressed…especially since I was wearing a regular skirt with a polo and my Crocs flip-flops, and Lumar was wearing denim shorts and a Boba Fett t-shirt (from Star Wars, for those who don’t know). So at 7:45, I’m PO’d because she’s still not ready and Mike isn’t helping. So Lumar and I left without them so that I could at least get there to pick up our tickets. Yeah….that was all well and fine except that a DTD bus didn’t show up until 8:10. By the time we actually got the PI bus stop it was 8:40. We walked as fast as possible, cussing out Erika the whole time, and got to the ticket window about quarter of 9 (the show starts at 9, BTW). The CM was really nice and told me I could still get my tickets (which I was seriously, about 30 seconds from crying when we got to the PI bus stop because it was so late). I had sent Mike a text message with directions on how to get to the Cirque tent from the bus stop. I called them 3 times and they never answered and then finally at 8:50, Mike called me and said they just got off the bus. I told them to run and he said that they couldn’t because Erika was wearing stiletto’s. :sad2: “W/T/F IS WRONG WITH HER???” I shouted at him, then told him to pick her up and carry her or something, but of course he wasn’t going to do that. By then it was 8:55 so Lumar and I went in and found our seats. They were spectacular! Right in front of the stage and we were in the first row on the balcony so there was nothing but a wall in front of us! They were perfect! Literally a minute after we sat down, Mike called and said they were there, so Lumar went outside to meet them and give them their tickets. I was so mad about the whole thing that I didn’t even look at her when they came to sit down. The show was so phenomenal though, that I was feeling better afterwards and in a bit of a better mood although I was still a little upset. I decided I needed to get something to eat, because that would make me feel better. Well, of course it’s 11pm and everything is closing so our only option was Wetzel’s Pretzels/Hagaan Daz. I got in line for ice cream and Mike and Lumar got in line for pretzels. Erika said her feet hurt (well duh!) and she was going outside to find a table. As I was walking outside, I saw her sitting at a table over on the side so I made a quick left out the door and WHAM! I walked right into a bench, hitting the top of my thigh on the top corner of the back of the bench. I hit it so hard that I actually felt pins and needles go shooting down my leg into my calf. :faint: When Mike and Lumar finally came out, I was halfway done with my ice cream, but they have literally both arms full of food. Erika and I both asked them why they bought so much and they just looked at each other. Then Mike says “well actually, I only paid $1.05…” and Lumar says “yeah I paid $1.05 too.” They each had 2 sodas, two pretzels, and 2 cups of pretzel bites. So Lumar proceeds to tell us that the two of them were talking to the CM that was ringing them up and he was telling them about how terrible the manager is and how he treats the employees like garbage, then goes on to say that all day long, people treat him like garbage because he “works at the pretzel place and must be a moron.” So I guess Mike and Lumar were nice enough to him that he decided to be nice back and only charged them for one pretzel each. :woohoo:

By the time we got back to CSR it was after midnight and we were all so tired that we literally just passed out.

Day 2 at Epcot tomorrow!

Marion

11-03-2007, 09:49 PM

Ok, here's a thought, not sure if this would work but it might and it hurts me to see such a lovely frame go unused! Take the group photo to a camera shop/Walmart whatever has one of those Kodak/Fuji do it yourself photo kiosks. You know, where you plug your memory card in and print off your pictures. Anyway, they usually have a scanner... scan the group one and print it off large so you can cut it to fit. Think that might work? It's either that or you obviously have to go back sometime within the next 8 weeks ;)

In the gift shop I bought a 2007 Animal Kingdom picture frame that I was planning to put our picture in front of the ToL in, but the ONLY picture the Photopass Photographer took was the one I posted before, and the frame takes a vertical picture, not a horizontal one. So now, I have a $13 frame, that I love and have no use for. :headache: And since I (purposely) bought one with the year on it, I can’t even use it for a picture from our next trip or previous trips:

VandyFan10

11-03-2007, 10:20 PM

lol what's really funny is that I didn't even notice until just now that it clearly states in your siggy that the two little ones are Shih Tzu's lol

and yes, I can see Border Collie in Tank! The pointy ears always make me think shepherd!

Here are the two "mixed breeds" (to be politically correct) I have:
We know Skippy's mom was a German Shepherd but he definitely has the coloring of a collie...and the long pointy nose!
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/TrueBlue2282/Skippy1.jpg

And Skyla appears to be a chow/golden retriever/something else...she has a spotted tongue that could possibly be from a chow...her hair is definitely that of a Golden, but I've never seen a brindle chow or golden before....
http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i287/TrueBlue2282/Skyla.jpg

Hey Ali!!

I've read some of your TR but don't think I've posted here yet!

Your babies are cute also....Skyla is BEAUTIFUL!!! Very interesting color for sure! Wasn't sure if you already had them here on your thread....but I figured they deserved to be there again :upsidedow

Speaking of Tank's BC/Lab mix.....the first thing the vet told me was 'ahhhh...good one hyper and more hyper'....and boy could he ever be more RIGHT!! He just turned 4 and still crazy.....I'm keep thinking he'll slow down!

I can't wait to read more of your TR.....34 more days (or 2948734 :woohoo: seconds) for me!!!!

DinDin233

11-04-2007, 12:18 AM

A Fun Day at AK, The Cirque du Soleil Episode, More Freebies, and Injury # 2

My future tattoo (except mine won’t have the mane, and it won’t say Festival of the Lion King around it lol)
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/IMG_2661.jpg

I love the tattoo! I've always wanted one but I've always been too much of a chicken....:rolleyes1

After the show, we stopped in Asia to get FP’s for Everest, which had a return time of 2:55-3:55. This worked out perfectly with the schedule for all of the shows for the rest of the day so I (being the Obsessive Planner that I am) was totally in a good mood that this day was going to go so well! We headed back to Dinoland and rode Dinosaur and Erika was completely horrified :scared1:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/IMG_2911.jpg

The first thing she said when we got off was “I don’t want to go on that anymore.”

That picture is hilarious!!! :rotfl:

Ok so the day was absolutely perfect up until this point. But, of course, it couldn’t just stay that way. I bought our Cirque tickets online from ticektmania.com. They sell Category 2 seats at a discounted rate (I think we save like $10 a ticket or something like that). The only catch is that they don’t mail you your tickets in advance. They send you “ticket vouchers” that show you paid for the seats, but you have to get there at 8pm to pick up the tickets at the Will Call window. I told everyone that we needed to leave at 7:30 so that we could catch a DTD bus, and if at all possible, leave a little earlier than that because we had to get off at the 2nd DTD stop, and walk all the wait down to the Cirque tent, which is a 10 minute slow walk/5 minute speed walk from the bus stop. At 7:25 I gave everyone the 5 minute warning. Lumar and I ready to leave at 7:30. But Mike comes into our room and says that Erika decided to “go all out” and she’s not ready. I asked him what she was doing and he said she was drying her hair but she wasn’t even dressed and hadn’t put on make up yet. I said we would wait a little longer for her but Mike said that Erika had told him she was going to need at least another half hour but probably more like 45 minutes. AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!! :mad: I swear this was like the LAST straw! I know that it seems like a silly thing to be upset over…I mean, this is vacation and all. But when we have reservations for something, that you knew about in advance, and you knew that we had to be there by a certain time to pick up our tickets, you should not be getting ridiculously overdressed…especially since I was wearing a regular skirt with a polo and my Crocs flip-flops, and Lumar was wearing denim shorts and a Boba Fett t-shirt (from Star Wars, for those who don’t know). So at 7:45, I’m PO’d because she’s still not ready and Mike isn’t helping. So Lumar and I left without them so that I could at least get there to pick up our tickets. Yeah….that was all well and fine except that a DTD bus didn’t show up until 8:10. By the time we actually go the PI bus stop it was 8:40. We walked as fast as possible, cussing out Erika the whole time, and got to the ticket window about quarter of 9 (the show starts at 9, BTW). The CM was really nice and told me I could still get my tickets (which I was seriously, about 30 seconds from crying when we got to the PI bus stop because it was so late). I had sent Mike a text message with directions on how to get to the Cirque tent from the bus stop. I called them 3 times and they never answered and then finally at 8:50, Mike called me and said they just got off the bus. I told them to run and he said that they couldn’t because Erika was wearing stiletto’s. :sad2: “*** IS WRONG WITH HER???” I shouted at him, then told him to pick her up and carry her or something, but of course he wasn’t going to do that. By then it was 8:55 so Lumar and I went in and found our seats. They were spectacular! Right in front of the stage and we were in the first row on the balcony so there was nothing but a wall in front of us! They were perfect! Literally a minute after we sat down, Mike called and said they were there, so Lumar went outside to meet them and give them their tickets. I was so mad about the whole thing that I didn’t even look at her when they came to sit down. The show was so phenomenal though, that I was feeling better afterwards and in a bit of a better mood although I was still a little upset.

Sorry about all the drama......I would have been mad too esp. because of all the planning you've done. But I am extremely jealous you got to see Cirque!!! Unfortunately, I couldn't schedule it into this trip. But that just means there has to be a next time right? :thumbsup2

And to top it off you hurt yourself! :eek: That was just the icing on the cake wasn't it?

Can't wait for more!

Day 2 at Epcot tomorrow![/QUOTE]

DinDin233

11-04-2007, 12:21 AM

ILMICKEY

11-05-2007, 04:58 AM

Simba22

11-05-2007, 10:02 AM

Ok, here's a thought, not sure if this would work but it might and it hurts me to see such a lovely frame go unused! Take the group photo to a camera shop/Walmart whatever has one of those Kodak/Fuji do it yourself photo kiosks. You know, where you plug your memory card in and print off your pictures. Anyway, they usually have a scanner... scan the group one and print it off large so you can cut it to fit. Think that might work? It's either that or you obviously have to go back sometime within the next 8 weeks ;)

I tried it :sad1: If I blow it up, I only get Lumar and Erika in the picture. And it also has a feature where you can turn a horizontal picture into a vertical one and that just cut the quality way down so I didn't do that. I might just have to fake it and use a picture of Lumar and I from our December 2006 trip...that was ALMOST 2007 so it counts right?? :laughing:

Simba22

11-05-2007, 10:04 AM

Simba, sorry about the crazy way I posted above. Can you teach me how to quote certain things in the same post so that I can answer to each individually? Hope that made sense.....sorry I'm such a dummy! :rolleyes1

That's OK - I knew what you were going for, and I sent you a PM! Hope it helps! :goodvibes

Simba22

11-05-2007, 10:14 AM

Stillettos?? Are you kidding me? I think about this time I would have told the two of them how hard you worked planning this vacation and would have just went my own way!

I feel so bad for you. But at least you have another vacation to look forward to right? Yaaay!

OMG I wanted to break her ankles I was so mad! Don't get me wrong, the trip overall was a lot of fun and we really did have a great time! But there were just certain points during the week where I was ready to hurt someone! And I know that she had a really had a good time on the trip and since it was her first "real" trip to WDW, I tried really hard not to be too commando (also since my brother just got home from a military tour, I was trying not to recreate the experience), but when I say we have to be somewhere at a certain time, common courtesty would lead you to perform only the actions necessary so that you can leave on time.

Oh well, it's over and done with and I'm not holding a grudge. We made it to the show and didn't miss anything so it's not like the night was TOTALLY ruined.

Simba22

11-05-2007, 09:10 PM

Another Late Start, A Late Lunch, and a Great Dinner

Earlier in the week, we all decided to take a bit of a break today. We all slept in a little bit, and did our own things in the morning, with the plan to meet up at Epcot around 2:30 for our lunch ressie at Nine Dragons which was at 3pm. Mike and Erika went to the gym and the Spa, and my plan was to get up around 9, go down to the Pepper Market for some breakfast and then walk around CSR and take some pictures, before heading to DTD for a couple of hours. Well, Lumar didn’t wake up until 11:30 and that is when he woke me up, so there’s your explanation as to why I have no pictures of CSR. At this point I don’t even know why we bothered going to DTD but we did and we got there around 1pm. Lumar “needed” to eat (with only 2 more hours until lunch I begged him to just get a snack, but no, he needed to have Earl of a Sandwich. So we waited in line for 25 minutes to order food (I got myself a salad and it was DEE-LISH!) and by the time we finished eating it was 1:40. Lumar had wanted to go to the World of Disney Store but we walked by the Pin Traders and can’t ever pass that up so we went in and spent a ridiculous amount of money. The next thing I know, it’s 2:15! We were planning to leave at 2pm so we could make sure we got to Epcot in enough time to walk halfway around the world (yes, the pun is intended) to China. So we’re sitting at the bus stop and Mike calls to say that he & Erika had caught the bus to Epcot, but it was sharing with Blizzard Beach so they had just left there. Lumar told him we were still waiting at DTD for a bus. Lumar had suggested that we hop a bus to another resort since it was taking a while for a CSR bus to come, but just as we started walking towards the stop for POR, a CSR bus showed up. By now, it’s 2:30pm and I’m beginning to panic. Then of course, when we get over to the PI bus stop, we sat there for 15 minutes because apparently the back door of the bus wasn’t working properly. So we had to wait for a manager to come on the bus to fill out a report, then the driver had to go to the back of the bus and reset the door mechanism. We didn’t leave PI until 2:45pm.

I didn’t bring the backpack with me today, just my purse, and I was running so late that I didn’t pack it efficiently that morning. So on the bus ride back to CSR, I mention to Lumar that I’m going to run into Panchito’s while waiting for an Epcot bus to buy a chapstick (I’m a total chapstick addict and I was having a mild meltdown without it). He tells me to be quick because he has a feeling that the Epcot bus is going to get there right away. So I run (and I do mean run) from the El Centro bus stop into Panchito’s, grab a Blistex, pay $1.75 (while Lumar is calling me telling me the bus just got there) and run out the door. I get out to the bus stop just in time to see the Epcot bus pull away. Then Lumar tells me that he asked the bus driver if he could wait one minute for me to come out, that I was on my way out of the lobby, and the bus driver told him no, that he was on a very strict schedule and couldn’t wait. So we were both really PO’d that we missed the bus. So PO’d in fact that of the 3 (count ‘em, three) MK busses that came, never once did it occur to us to get on an MK bus and take the monorail from the MK to Epcot. Now we have to stop at Blizzard Beach to drop off/pick up guests, then we finally head to Epcot. Mike called us twice while we were en route, to let us know where they were in case we got there and couldn’t reach them (which was very responsible of him IMO. Especially after the debacle last night, which I know he was feeling guilty for and it wasn’t even really his fault). By the time we got to Epcot it was 4pm. While waiting for us, Mike and Erika got to do Soarin’ (which some random couple gave them FP’s for because they thought Erika’s Princess Ears were the Wedding Ears and that she and Mike were Honeymooners), Mission Space, and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I called Mike when we arrived and told him to head to China and we would be there in a few. Lumar and I got there at 20 after (and he has to use the bathroom, of course) so while he was in there I waited outside for Mike and Erika. When they didn’t arrive 5 minutes later, I called Mike to ask where they were. “Oh we’re just leaving Japan,” he says. So much for being responsible. I don’t know how they did it, but they somehow managed to arrive at Nine Dragons at 4:30 and thankfully they seated us right away. We were all starving and couldn’t wait to eat.
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We all had a fantastic meal and felt really good when we were done eating! I swear I don’t know why some many people don’t like this place because we love it. We have never had a bad meal here, and I am sad that it’s going to be closed when we go back in March. After lunch, we all went back to Mexico to ride El Gran Fiesta Tour. I am not crazy about the changes but the one thing that really bothered all of us was the magic carpet that Jose and Panchito are flying around on…. What is that about?

After Mexico, we split up again, with plans to meet in front of Coral Reef at 8pm for our dinner reservation. Lumar and I walked through all of the countries on the way back towards Canada, and I even stopped in America to use the ATM so I could go get some wine from Germany, which I knew I would have to backtrack for, and the stupid ATM wasn’t working! I was so upset I almost went back to Germany to see if they would take my card for a $6 glass of wine, but I decided I was too lazy so we just kept walking, taking a few photopass pictures along the way.
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So we all met up at Coral Reef at 8pm and all of us were so relieved to hear that they were running about 20 minutes behind on their reservations. I know, seems strange to be happy about that, but we were all still full from lunch which was only 3 ½ hour ago. We took some pictures outside while waiting for our table:
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Dinner was really good, although the menu is very limited. If you don’t like seafood, don’t expect to find “Old Faithful” options like steak. On the same note, the Chocolate Wave they serve for desert has to be one of the greatest things a chocolate lover can ever come into contact with.
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Onve again, those Princess Ears came in handy for Mike and Erika, as the CM who served us congratulated them and then proceeded to NOT card them when they ordered beer. (They are both 20 so it's not a big deal to me, but I was sure they were going to get snagged for this!)

The restaurant itself is absolutely gorgeous – again I apologize because Mike’s camera sucks so the pictures didn’t come out that great:

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After dinner, Mike and Erika left right away to go back to CSR while Lumar and I shopped around in Mouse Gear. That place was packed! To the point where it took us an hour just to check out! We finally left at 11:55am and went right to sleep when we got back. Can you believe tomorrow is our last day already? Sheesh! Where did my vacation go?

Hedy

11-05-2007, 09:26 PM

Wow, I can't believe you're on your last day!

DinDin233

11-05-2007, 09:34 PM

I'm glad you had a nice dinner at Coral Reef. I CANNOT wait for our dinner there!!! :goodvibes

How can it be your last day already?? :sad2: It feels like you didn't even leave yet!!!

Can't wait for more! :surfweb:

ILMICKEY

11-06-2007, 04:39 AM

Simba22

11-07-2007, 12:48 PM

Not the last day already!!

Sounds like you had a nicer day. Cept for the bus turmoil. I loved the pictures of you and Lumar. Very nice. Do they seem to have more photographers around because of the CD's? That will probably be the only time I will be in a picture. My husband is a wannabe snob and won't take pictures:confused3 !

I don't know if it's because of the CD's or not, maybe we just notice them more because we know we want to buy the CD :confused3 And Lumar is the exact opposite, he always wants to use the camera and I cringe at the thought because I'm terrified he is going to drop it and break it!! :eek:

Christy LOVES Disney

11-07-2007, 07:07 PM

Just found your TR and read it all. It was good, I'm waiting patiently for the next installment. Question: Where did you get your scrapbook?

Simba22

11-08-2007, 10:48 AM

Just found your TR and read it all. It was good, I'm waiting patiently for the next installment. Question: Where did you get your scrapbook?

Thanks for joining me! I'm glad you are enjoying it so far! I'm so sad that I'm almost done but I guess now I can start my pre-trip for March, right?? :goodvibes

I bought that scrapbook in WDW in December. When I was there in October they didn't have anymore in blue but they did have some in red with the same picture

Simba22

11-13-2007, 10:08 PM

Waiting for Ariel, Dinner at LTT, Injuries # 3 & 4, and the Extra CS Credits Fiasco

I had made breakfast reservations at Crystal Palace for this morning at 9:15am. Due to a series of unfortunate events (i.e. Mike and Erika can’t get up on time) we didn’t even leave CSR until 9:15, By the time we got on the bus is was 25 after and by the time we go the Magic Kingdom and through the gates, it was 9:40am. Of course, there was a mob of people outside CP and I thought for sure we were going to get turned away, but the CM at the check-in desk was very nice and told me that us being late was not a problem. She gave me a pager and I went and sat down on a bench with Lumar while Mike and Erika watched (what they could see from that distance) of the Dream Along With Mickey show. About 5 minutes later, our pager was going off and we went in to be seated. Eeyore was just walking by our table and the CM said he was going to give a second to sit down and he would bring Eeyore back to see us. Yeah right….I had to follow him around as we wer LEAVING the restaurant to get a picture of him!

Mike and Erika went up to get breakfast first and Pooh came by while they were gone so just Lumar and I got a picture with him…and the CM that took the picture didn’t get that great of a shot (notice the blurriness) but it’s not too bad:
http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2760.jpg

Tigger came by next:
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And then Piglet:
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Breakfast was really good and I was very happy that I made this last minute reservation. After eating, we headed straight for Fanstasyland so that Erika could fulfill her lifelong dream of meeting Ariel. When we first walked into the playground area, I swore the sign said 10 minute wait, but as I got closer I noticed that it actually said 40. I was a little perturbed but I figured this was probably the only chance we would have to do this and since it was the only thing that Erika really wanted to do on this trip, I figured it would be OK. Of course, this was before we noticed how exceptionally SLOW this line moves (for what reason, I have no idea) and 99% of the line is in direct sunlight. So we are all sitting there sweltering and then Erika says “I’m going to go sit on that bench in the shade so I don’t sweat my makeup off.” Me and Lumar were so PO’d! We were, after all waiting in this line because SHE wanted to meet Ariel….so how come she gets to go sit in the shade and we all have to stand here melting? Why is it OK for the three of us to look totally beasty in the picture but not her? Finally after waiting in line for an hour, we made it into the shady part where the rocks are….we were first in line at the rope and the CM says “Ariel’s taking a short break, she’ll be back in a few minutes.” 15 minutes later the CM comes back and lets us in. And as upset as I had been with Erika while waiting in line, it all went away when I saw how happy it made her to meet Ariel! Yes she cried (Drama Queen, hello?) and was totally speechless and maybe it was an exaggeration but I like to believe that it wasn’t. It really was one of those moments that you think about all the time and can’t help but smile because you know that there is no other place in the world that you can get this kind of “magic.”
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So after meeting Ariel, we headed over to Pinocchio’s so we could all use the bathroom and then grab some water. Erika and I also split a cannoli (YAY!) then we walked down to Toontown to meet Mickey!
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As we walked back through Fantasyland, I saw Rabbit doing meet and greets across from the Teacups and I really wanted to get in line but I felt bad for Mike and Lumar after standing in line for Ariel and I agreed to actually get on the Teacups instead. For anyone who doesn’t already know, I HATE the Teacups! There are only two kinds of rides that I can’t do: the first is anything that hangs you upside down for extended periods of time, the 2nd, is teacup type rides. I didn’t actually get sick but I really wished I had gone to meet Rabbit and let the others ride without me.

We walked back through the hub and over to Adventureland where we waited 30 minutes to ride Pirates and then I stopped in the gift shop to buy a t-shirt for my dad, then we went back to the Agrabah Bazaar so Erika could get a skirt to wear since she was roasting in those jeans she had on. I don’t know how all of this took 3 ½ hours but it did and it was now 3:30pm. Erika and Lumar stood in line to get Dole Whips while Mike and I sat in the shade to wait:
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Our dinner at LTT was at 5pm and although Mike and Erika kept saying they were tired, they opted to just stick it out until after eating and then they were going to go back to CSR for a nap before Wishes. We left the shady spot in Adventureland at 4pm and for some reason, it took us 45 minutes to get from Aloha Isle to LTT. We were debating on squeezing in a ride on HM before dinner but the sign said 45 minute wait so we skipped that and went back to put our names in. They were able to seat us right away and we had a fantastic meal here! This is another place that I don’t understand what people hate about it!
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This is Mike going “I’m so full!!” just as I was taking a picture of all the stuff on the wall behind him: http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2805.jpg

After dinner, we stopped at the bathrooms and Mike and Erika decided they were going to head back to CSR. I gave them their room keys and Lumar and I headed back to Toontown and rode the train all the way around the park. Remember, no bad dancing on this ride!
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We stopped to buy some pins on our way back out of Toontown, then went back to Liberty Square and saw Hall of Presidents for the first time. We both really liked this and we knew that Mike would really enjoy it too, so we decided to take him and Erika back here tonight. Something at this point in my life told me that I needed to take out our room keys and I’m really glad I did because I accidentally gave Erika my card instead of hers so she wasn’t going to be able to get back in the park! I called her we agreed to meet at the front gate at 8:30pm

The HM still had a 45 minute wait and it was 7:45. We decided to wait anyway since the line appeared to be moving quickly and said that we would leave at 8:15 if we weren’t close to getting on. By 8pm we were not only inside, but getting on our doombuggy. We were psyched that we got to ride before we went back to get Mike and Erika, but one thing we forgot to take into account was SpectroMagic. So at 8:15, Lumar and I are pushing and shoving our way through a packed Main Street, trying to get back to the front gates. We made there exactly at 8:30 and then we all had to push back up Main Street to get the hub, while 1000 other people were all trying to get out of the park. It took us another 20 minutes to get back to that noodle place and Wishes started right at 9. We had a really good view of the fireworks but you can’t hear the music from back there so that kind of sucked.

After Wishes we were going to head for Space Mountain but there was no line for Laugh Floor and we hadn’t done it yet so Mike, Erika, and Lumar, all duck under the chains and get in line. I go to follow but with the backpack on, I can’t get under the chain so I try to step over instead. Can someone please explain to me HOW I manage to get one of my toes stuck INSIDE one of the links on the chain? And to make it worse, when I pulled it back out the chain snapped back and whacked me in the shin, and that caused me to lose my balance and fall slightly forward, dragging the same shin all the way down the chain. It was probably one of the worst moments of pain I have ever had in my life and to this day (literally a month later) it STILL hurts! The bruising went away but there is a still a lump where the chain hit me, and the whole bone is extremely sensitive to the slightest touch. Shaving my leg is very painful, that’s how hard I hit this thing!

The Laugh Floor Comedy Club was highly entertaining. While you are waiting in the queue to go in, they have TV’s that say you can text your joke to some number and if they like it, they will use it in the show. So Erika, texted in a joke and unbeknownst to myself she said that she was “Alison from Florida” – meaning me and I happen to be in Florida at the time. The joke went like this: Two muffins are baking in an oven. The first muffin turns to the other and says “It’s kinda hot in here, eh?” The second muffin responds “Holy moly a talking muffin!” Not the funniest thing I ever heard but they used it in the show!

We headed back to Space Mountain which had a 45 minute wait but lucky us had those FP’s they gave us on Sunday when the ride shut down and we were able to get right on. After Space we hightailed it back to Liberty Square, knowing that the Hall of Presidents plays every half hour and it was almost 10:30pm. Imagine how PO’d we were to arrive at 10:28pm and find that the last showing was at 9pm. But it wasn’t a total loss because SpectroMagic was traveling through that area and there was no crowd so we stayed to watch and then we hit the Haunted Mansion one last time.

Here are my attempts at taking cool Photopass pictures. I think they are actually pretty good representations of what it would be like if you were drunk in the MK…notice how the castle appears to be falling over in this picture of Lumar….
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http://i181.photobucket.com/albums/x317/Simba_22/Disney%20October%202007/IMG_2843.jpg

I finally got a good one but it’s just the castle and there is no pretty reflection in the water…
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On the way out, Mike and Lumar wanted to stop at Casey’s so Erika stayed with them while I went to Exposition Hall to get our Photopass CD made. The CD used to be $100…the CM told me that they were “having a special” and if I bought the CD for $134.99 I would get 3 free 5 x 7 prints with character signatures or whatever I wanted on them. So in reality, they jacked up the price to $134.99 to cover the cost of those 3 prints and the CD is still $100. And I was über mad when we got home and I realized that I forgot to put the pictures from MNSSHP on the CD so I ended up spending another $60 to have those 6 pictures printed directly from Disney and now I can never make reprints. While we’re on the subject of the CD, I thought I would mention that I totally forgot all about it and Lumar reminded me as were on our way to Casey’s.

While they were getting their food, the CM that was ringing them out mentioned to Lumar that he and I still had 8 CS credits to use, and Mike and Erika still had 7. Then he noticed that we were checking out the next day and said “if you guys go to the Main Street Bakery, practically everything there is a CS credit but it’s stuff you can take home with you.” We were really excited as we had never gotten anything from the bakery before. So we get in line at the bakery and when we got up to the counter, I asked the CM “what items count as Counter Service credits?” She replied (and I quote) “everything except this first tray and the Uncrustables.” Well Erika happened to be talking at the same time so I asked the CM the same question again, just to be sure, and she gave me the exact same response as before. The 4 of us are going through the items adding them to our trays like a bunch of pigs. Seriously, by the time we got to the checkout lady, we each had a cinnamon bun, an apple turnover, 2 muffins each, a bunch of cookies, cheesecake, chocolate cake, and some other things that I don’t remember. Erika went back to get herself a bottle of water and I tell the CM at the register that we are paying with CS credits. She looks at me and says “none of these are CS items, they are just snacks…” My jaw must have hit the floor because Erika came over and asked me what was wrong. I told her what the CM just told me and her jaw then hit the floor. Both of us said that the CM in the line told us that everything was CS except the first tray and the Uncrustables. She said that there was probably a misunderstanding and the CM probably thought we were asking what snacks we could get with a CS meal as the dessert. I told her point blank, look – we don’t want all of this if we just have to pay OOP for it, because that totally defeats the purpose. So I asked her if she could ring it up as CS – we didn’t care if, in the end, we were losing some money by not getting the whole meal. She said that she can’t do that because they have to keep track of what they sell. So then she said we could just get the complete meals and have sandwiches made. I was like it’s 11:30pm and I am not going to sit here and wait for them to make 15 sandwiches that we weren’t even going to eat. So she told us to go sit for a minute and she would call over a manager to see what they could do. So the manager comes over and tells the CM that we can get one drink per credit in addition to the snacks we had, and to just pick anything and ring it out as the entrée then put it all in as CS. So Erika and I went back to the drink island and got a bunch of drinks (some juice and water bottles) and put everything into a couple of Disney bags. By the time we actually walked out of the Magic Kingdom it was 10 of 12 – and I still had to go back to the room and START packing!

As I was running around like a maniac trying to pack everything (while Lumar was lying in bed half asleep, by the way) I managed to hurt myself YET AGAIN and I kicked the leg of the bed with my little toe. I swear I thought I snapped the darn thing right off of my foot. At that point it was 2am and I gave up on trying to shove things into our luggage and just put everything that was left over into 2 Disney bags and left it on the bed…I would go down to Panchito’s in the morning and buy another duffel bag. Keep in mind that I had both of our suitcases and two duffel bags that I packed empty, just to carry souvenirs home in, plus each of us had a backpack and I STILL didn’t have enough room. The problem I ran into was that I had been planning to send all of our souvenirs home from the gift shop in one box but in order for them to do that, you need all of the receipts. Well do you think I had those? No, of course not. So all of the stuff I was planning to ship, now had to come home on the plane with us. AAAHHHH!!! Next time, I’m keeping the receipts!

Simba22

11-14-2007, 02:21 PM

You know that the Disney Store STILL is not taking reserves for PotC 3? I asked a CM there the other day what the deal was and he said that they will probably start taking reserves next week. UM.... PotC comes out on 12/4...you're only allowing 2 weeks for reserves? Yeah, that makes sense! They were taking reserves for HSM2 for over a month! Sorry just grumbling because if I watch Dead Man's Chest one more time someone in my house is going to harm me! pirate:

ILMICKEY

11-14-2007, 02:32 PM

Really?? Honest and truly???

They were on time coming back to meet you?? Wow. I am very impressed.

I'm so sorry you got hurt, that must have really sucked! At least you and Lumar had some quiet time together. I seriously know that if that were me and she would have got out of line for shade and I had to wait for her, I'd have got out with her!!

You are way too nice!

I know, I have been waiting for that movie to come out too. I didn't get to the theater to see it, so I'm kind of jonesing for it. Maybe try somewhere else, like a video store. Maybe they would know more about it. I know, I know, it's a Disney store, but maybe the guy doesn't have his facts straight!

Simba22

11-14-2007, 06:03 PM

Really?? Honest and truly???

They were on time coming back to meet you?? Wow. I am very impressed.

I know I was shocked too! I think it was because Mike really wanted to watch Wishes and he forced Erika to be up and out of the room. Why he couldn't do that for the WHOLE week, I don't know... :confused3

I'm so sorry you got hurt, that must have really sucked!
oh it did! I wanted to cry it was so horrible. And the big purpley welt on my leg was quite a sight. I was glad it at least happend on the last day and that I didn't have to wear shorts so no one could see it and know that I'm a total spazz and can't even climb over line ropes :rolleyes1

At least you and Lumar had some quiet time together.
It was nice to go back to not having to worry about anyone but ourselves! It's funny becaue whenever we go to WDW alone, we always say "Wow so-and-so would LOVE this! We have to take them here!" And then we end up going back with that person or persons and we end up arguing all of the time because we are so frustrated with the tag-alongers. :headache:

I seriously know that if that were me and she would have got out of line for shade and I had to wait for her, I'd have got out with her! You are way too nice!
I know I am! I try to be mean but it just doesn't work out for me. I kept justifying it by saying that she got herself all gussied up to look nice in her pictures with Ariel and it's only fair that she look nice. What can I say? I'm a pushover...

I know, I have been waiting for that movie to come out too. I didn't get to the theater to see it, so I'm kind of jonesing for it. Maybe try somewhere else, like a video store. Maybe they would know more about it. I know, I know, it's a Disney store, but maybe the guy doesn't have his facts straight!

FYE is taking reserves but they don't give you anything cool with your reserve. The Disney Store usually gives out art cells or lithographs or something so that is why we wait to reserve movies there. And the CM said that there were trying to get the public to focus on HSM2, sicne they knew that everyone and their mother would reserve PotC 3 Now we just wait it out I guess :hourglass

jordanyosh

11-16-2007, 12:42 AM

what are you still doing up?

I have been reading your TR all along really. :)

We'll have to talk about the Medi DCL. My cousins had a great time, but would do a few things differently.

Simba22

11-18-2007, 09:06 PM

Going Home

I got up at 7am and did some last minute reorganizing the left for Panchito’s at 7:30. I got there at 7:45 to find that they are not open yet, but there is no sign anywhere that tells me their hours. So I go over to one the convenience phones and call Lumar, who was back in the room. He checks the info that was in our packet from check in and tells me that they open until 8. Great…our DME bus was picking us up at 8:15!

So I walk back to the room and get there at 7:55am. Lumar was not even dressed yet! I called Mike and Erika and, miraculously, they were already awake! I packed up all the rest of our stuff into Disney bags and head out of the room at 8:10am. We each had a backpack, a suitcase, and a Disney bag in tow (yes, Lumar and I had 4 Disney bags worth of stuff that didn’t fit into any of our luggage. Plus we had the two duffel bags that I brought with us.

I went and checked us out and Mike and Lumar went into Panchito’s to get another bag. At 8:15, I’m standing in the middle of the lobby where the fountain is, shoving stuff into the new bag. I told Mike and Erika to go get on the bus and let the bus driver know that we were coming right out. After stuffing in as much as I could, we still had 2 Disney bags of stuff. I was freaking out but Lumar reminded me that we are allowed one carry on item and “personal item.” So Mike took one of the Disney bags as his personal item, and Lumar took the other, and Erika and I each took a duffel bag. The new one we just bought was checked at the airport. I was so upset that we were so late this morning that I didn’t get a chance to do to the resort airline check in. We could have left all of our bags with them and not had to worry about them, but alas, I can never be that organized.

When we arrived at MCO, Mike and I were starving so we went to our gate to unload all of our carry-on stuff, then the two of us went back to Burger King. Erika and Lumar both said they didn’t want anything so off we went. It was 10:04 when we got there and they stopped serving breakfast at 10am. I was SOOO mad and I get really moody when I haven’t eaten. So we stopped at Snacks on the Fly where we picked up a turkey & cheese sandwich. I also grabbed a cookie and a PB&J Uncrustable because the turkey and cheese didn’t look all that great, and Mike picked up some other stuff too. The lady tells us that the card machine isn’t working so she’s taking cash only. The total for all of the stuff we had was $25. Mike and I had $14 in cash between the 2 of us, so I took off my turkey and cheese and my cookie, keeping only my PB&J and a bottle of water. We got back to the gate, and Lumar says “is that for me?” pointing to the PB&J. I argued with him that he said he didn’t want anything. He said “I didn’t want anything from Burger King….” Of course he doesn’t have any cash on him so I give him the stupid sandwich and I went and sat down and put my iPod on. I knew that if people tried to talk to me right now, I was going to be very rude and have an attitude, simply because I was hungry and PO’d that Lumar once again went through this whole hungry/not hungry thing. What, are you 4? Come on! So I sat there for 2 hours, starving. We finally boarded the plane and I fell asleep before we even took off. Apparently, so did Lumar:
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Each trip to WDW gives me a new experience and also helps me learn how to be better prepared for the next trip. I learned this time to keep every single receipt I get so that I can ship everything home from the gift shop! I also learned that if the title of my trip report has “drama” in it, that there is bound to be some on the actual trip! After we got home I realized two things:
1) I forgot to leave a tip for Mousekeeping
2) We left all of the snacks we picked up at the MK Bakery in the refrigerators in our rooms. After all of that mess we went through to get them, I forgot them all!

Well, everyone, that’s all I’ve got! Thanks to everyone who stuck with me through this! I am looking forward to my next trip (103 days to go!) and I will start a pre-trippie sometime in the next few weeks!

Everyone have a Happy Thanksgiving!

-Ali