4 + 1 = happy memories? I hope so! NEW: Final thoughts! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

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Liz

10-20-2007, 01:16 PM

Index:
Trip report begins page 5

1. 12/15 Leaving Home - page 5, #69
2. 12/15 Travel day - page 5, #73
3. 12/15 We're here! Let's get to All Star Music - page 6, #76
4. 12/16 Leaving ASMu, Arriving Wilderness Lodge - page 6, #84
5. 12/16 Magic Kingdom - part 1 & 2 - page 6, #89 & #90
6. 12/17 Epcot - part 1 & 2 - page 7, #97 & #98
7. 12/18 MGM - parts 1, 2 & 3 - page 8, #109, #110, and #111
8. 12/19 Chef Mickeys - page 8, #118
9. 12/19 Animal Kingdom - page 9, #125
10. 12/19 A most unusual sight - page 9, #134
11. 12/20 Segways! - page 10, #147
12. Kelsee's photos! - page 11, #157
13. More of Kelsee's photos! - page 11, #158
14. 12/20 WS Mexico - page 11, #162
15. 12/20 WS Norway - page 12, #168
16. 12/20 WS China & Africa - page 12, #169
17. 12/20 WS Germany & USA - page 12, #170
18. 12/20 WS Italy & Japan - page 12, #177
19. 12/20 WS France, UK & Off Kilter - page 12, #178
20. 12/20 Our Epcot evening - page 13, #181
21. 12/20 Biergarten - page 13, #184
22. 12/21 An unfortunate turn of events - page 13, #193 (part 1) and #195 (part 2)
23. And even more of Kelsee's photos! Pg. 14 #208 - Epcot, Pg. 14 #210 MGM, Pg. 15 #213 - Chef Mickeys & AK
24. 12/22 A day like no other - THANK GOODNESS! - Page 15, #214
25. 12/23 Leaving Disney - page 16, #226
26. Final thoughts! - page 16, #235

Pre-trip details

There are three type of days in the year. Days when you are anticipating your next trip, days when you are actually at Disney World (the best days of all) and the dreaded days following a trip when you are overwhelmed with "homesickness".

We are currently in the stage of counting down the days (56) and that's a pretty good place to be. Only I have a nagging worry in the pit of my stomach as I await a phone call from the doctor that could potentially derail the whole thing.

Our cast:

Me - I caught the Disney bug first and spread it to the rest of my family. Luckily, as far as I know, there is no cure and if there is I don't want it. I grew up in Florida and fell in love with WDW when my mom and I would take trips there beginning in 1976. We'd spend three days visiting the Magic Kingdom (the only park at the time) and were fortunate enough to stay at the Contemporary and Polynesian. Sadly, now I can't convince my mom to go anymore but I love planning trips for my wonderful family.

Paul - My DH would love to go to Alaska or back to Yellowstone even but he likes WDW very much. He just thinks there are other places we could visit but I point out we have to go to Florida to visit my family anyway and we can't really afford two vacations a year. So far its worked. His personality varies between Goofy and Grumpy, depending on his mood.

Jeff - (20) - Our wonderful son who is at college for his second year. He's 2 hours away from home and, while it has gotten easier having him gone, I still miss him terribly. In our family he's definitely the next biggest Disney fan. He loves talking to people, drumming and is very outgoing.

Laura - (18) - Our precious daughter who has been through more challenges in her young life than many of us will in our entire lives. She had a heart transplant when she was 6 weeks old. Her health has been mostly good but its a roller coaster ride (and not the good kind). A few years ago she had West Nile Virus which put us in the hospital for almost two months and required her to learn how to walk again. She's our angel on earth and in our home.

Kelsee - (20) - Jeff's girlfriend who will be accompanying us for the first time on our vacation. I was against her coming at first because we're 50/50 on whether its worked out well vacationing with anybody but our family. But it looks like Kelsee will become part of our family at some point so we're going to give it a try and hopefully it will be a good thing for everyone.

Yesterday Laura had a biopsy on her heart and we're awaiting a call for the results. If its not good news we don't have a lot of time to get things turned around before we leave for Florida so I'm really nervous. Although if the news is bad, going to Florida is the least of our worries.

Avivasmom

10-20-2007, 01:54 PM

Liz

10-20-2007, 10:28 PM

Great start so far...I hope the news comes out good for your DD...and what a great mom you are to take your DS girlfriend. Thankfully, I have a few years to worry about that.

Cannot wait to read more.

Thanks! Still no word from the doctor. I suppose no news is good news but I won't relax until I get the word. Your little girl is so adorable!

Liz

10-20-2007, 10:29 PM

I mentioned we were 50/50 on whether it had previously worked out well vacationing with other people.

A few years ago we traveled to Disneyland with my BIL & SIL and their family. If I had written a trip report for that vacation it would have been called "NEVER, NOT EVER AGAIN." Looking back I realize I need to accept a good share of the blame for things going wrong but certainly not all. We have a great time on our trips and I'm sure they do on theirs but our vacationing styles do not mix. We never argued or had harsh words on the trip but when we got home we spent a lot of time apart in order for things to get back to normal between us.

With the memory of our Disneyland trip still fresh in our minds we began to plan a WDW trip with friends of ours. Our sons have been best friends since preschool and are now at college together. Our daughters are very good friends too. Our friends knew all about the things that had gone wrong with our Disneyland trip. We all felt certain that we would have a great time together and we did. We stayed 8 nights at Pop Century and everything was pretty close to perfect as a vacation could get.

So I really hope this trip with having Jeff's girlfriend along will be a good one. My family is used to me and my super charged enthusiasm! Hopefully I won't scare off Jeff's girlfriend and make her think twice about ever wanting anything to do with me again!

Liz

10-20-2007, 10:36 PM

I know a lot of people like to do split stays. We don't. We haven't actually tried it but it doesn't sound like something we would like to do. When the four of us stayed 8 nights in a room at Pop we never got tired of being there and felt like we had plenty of room. We like settling in and making one resort "home" for the duration of our stay. Which is why, on the surface, our plans for this trip make very little sense!

1 night - All Star Music (12/15)
6 nights - Wilderness Lodge courtyard view (12/16 - 21)
1 night - Pop Century (12/22)
1 night - Dolphin or All Star Sports (12/30)

When Jeff graduated high school last year we let him choose (within our budget) what resort we would stay at. He chose Ft. Wilderness and for the first time we stayed in a cabin there. This year Laura graduated so we let her do the same. She liked the Boardwalk Inn, Wilderness Lodge and Caribbean Beach. With no code available at the time, CBR was the only one in our budget so I made reservations for eight nights in December.

Later we were fortunate enough to receive a PIN in the mail. I tried switching to WL but it wasn't available for all 8 nights. I found out if I dropped the last night I could get us in. The change was done and I secured a reservation at Pop for the extra night.

After making our plane reservations, and being the money conscious (aka cheap) person that I am, I started thinking of how much money we would save if we spent the first night at a value resort instead of WL. We come from a snowy climate and we'll be flying in December. If we happen to be delayed for very long I won't be thinking of all the dollars going to waste if we are just at a value resort the first night. Wanting to try a place we've never been before, we got a reservation at All Star Music for our first night and cancelled the WL for the 15th.

After WDW we are spending a week with my family. Our plane departs Orlando for home at 7:00 AM which will require us being at the airport around 5:00. My parents live two hours away so we are spending that last night back at Disney in a yet undetermined resort. All Star Sports is the only value with availability (December 30th) and the price is a staggering $160 including tax.

I just applied for a Starwood Preferred American Express but it hasn't come in the mail yet. When it does I will get 10,000 points for making a purchase, which is enough for one night at the Dolphin. I'm hoping my card will come soon and I can get those points right away and possibly use them for a room at the Dolphin our last night. That would be awesome! We had wonderful stays there two years in a row and it is a magical place! Jeff and I were at a store in the mall when he was younger (may have been Nordstroms) and there was a man playing a grand piano in there. Only half kidding, I told Jeff if he's ever in a store where they have a person playing a grand piano that's a good sign we can't afford to shop there! When we were in the lobby of the Dolphin we saw a man playing a grand piano and Jeff smiled like he was so happy he could burst and said "mom, remember what you said about if a person is playing a piano there we probably can't afford it?" Thank you, Dolphin, for being affordable and letting us feel the Disney magic within your walls! Hopefully it will work out where we can return to this beloved favorite resort, even for just one night.

Liz

10-21-2007, 07:03 PM

I really prefer booking everything myself (as opposed to using a travel agent). I know what I want but sometimes make a lot of changes before all is said and done and feel like I'm bothering a travel agent if I have to keep going back to them to make these changes.

Our Wilderness Lodge reservation was booked with a PIN but at the time we made that reservation we didn't know Kels would be coming with us. Later when we needed to get a reservation for her the only discount available was with AAA. I found a wonderful AAA agent who took care of Kels ressie and has been great to work with in every way.

I also used this same AAA agent to make our All Star Music reservations for the night of the 15th. I have an annual pass so we have one room with an AP discount and (thanks to Disney's new rule of needing an AP holder in every room) we have an AAA discount for the second room at Music.

All correspondence from our AAA travel agent said we were set for All Star Music and our requests were noted (Jazz section). Well last weekend, as I was filing our paperwork into a binder I take with me on our trips, I happened to notice one paper (the "official" looking one that I had to sign and send back) said we had two rooms at All Star SPORTS and that we had requested the Jazz section!!! YIKES!!!

I immediately e-mailed our TA (a week ago today). I have not heard back from her. I'm not panicking because 1) she's been great to work with so I'm sure she must have been out of the office last week, and 2) at least I know we have a reservation somewhere. We don't want Sports but if that's what it ends up having to be we will deal with it.

I'd just like to know! If I don't hear from her tomorrow I'll have to make a phone call.

Liz

10-23-2007, 08:31 AM

Laura's test results were good! Not great but good! It showed evidence of mild rejection but they aren't going to treat it and will just test again the first part of next year. So nothing should stand in the way of us going to Florida! :cool1:

Now that that worry is out of the way I am getting a little angry that the TA has never answered my e-mails about our reservation mix-up. I'll have to make a phone call today.

Donald is #1

10-23-2007, 05:36 PM

Liz

10-23-2007, 09:53 PM

That's great news! :woohoo:

Thanks so much! I found myself being so happy today and I know it was having that stress and worry taken away - - until time to do it again!

Liz

10-23-2007, 09:54 PM

I talked to our TA today. For some reason she never got my two e-mails last week and all is fine with our reservation for the 15th! We're set at All Star Music! Wahoo!!

Liz

10-24-2007, 06:46 PM

Every day or so I have been sending out fun little polls to our group by e-mail. I send out a new question along with the answers to the last one. Thought I'd share a few of our questions and answers here!

Who is your favorite Disney character?

Paul: Goofy

Jeff: Goofy because he's... well, Goofy!!!! Like me!!!!!!!!!

Kels: I love tink because she's small but packs quite the attitude lol but i also love mickey mouse

Laura: Tinkerbell

Me: Mickey, Minnie & Tinkerbell (with an extreme fondness for Pooh characters!)

Which of these things do you enjoy the most? Parades, fireworks, rides, meeting Disney characters, eating.

Jeff: rides. Yeah... I think rides. As long as that includes Shows~! (beauty
and the beast, lights, motors, action, and such)

Laura: I would have to say fireworks

Kels: i love rides so i'll go with that! :)

Me: Fireworks! Especially WISHES and ILLUMINATIONS!

Paul: eating

WHY DO YOU LOVE/LIKE DISNEY WORLD?????
WHAT MAKES YOU WANT TO RETURN?

Kels: Well, I LOVE the feeling i get just thinking that i'm actually going there!!!! Grins all over! There's a reason why they call it the happiest place on earth and i'm so excited to experience it! :)

Laura: I love disney world because its just so amazing!!:) Like when I see the fireworks and parades and stuff it almost makes me cry cause I love it so much and it's really the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH!!!!

Jeff: I love everything about Disney World. Honestly, Everything about it is wonderful!!!! I can't wait to go!!!!!!!! I always want to return because
it's the happiest place on earth, with the happiest people on earth, and
this time around I'll be with the love of my life, in the happiest place on
earth!!!!!!!!!! WAHOO!!!!

Me: I love Disney World because its a place our whole family can have a MAGICAL time together. Its not a place where the parents are bored while the kids have fun or the kids are bored while the parents have fun. And I love it that no matter how many times you go there is always something new to see or experience! And while there is always something new, the old favorites are there too. You can act like a kid and not feel like a total dork!!! Is it perfect? No, but its pretty darn close. When I go under the Disney World arch I feel like I am home again!!

Liz

10-24-2007, 06:54 PM

What thoughts will be going through your head the morning of December 15th?

Laura: I will be so excited and my heart will be pounding like it always does! And sad that we're leaving the dogs at the same time. I always get nervous when that time comes when we have to leave the house..

Jeff: One signal is going to be blairing through the neuro-electric passageways of my brain. That is the saying "I AM GOING TO DISNEY WORLD TODAY WITH THE LOVE OF MY LIFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" (Thanks Jeff, I feel the same way about you! Love, Mom)

Kels: The thoughts going through my head... "AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!! I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!" and "my cheeks really hurt from smiling so much" lol

Paul: I hope I can go to the bathroom before I have to get on the plane.

Me: I hope we aren't forgetting anything . . . last time I forgot the itinerary ya know . . . I hope the dogs will be okay . . . did Laura take her medicine . . . I'm so glad its not snowing . . . I hope nobody gets sick . . . I can't believe this day is finally here! Why didn't I lose weight???

If you could work at Disney World, what job would you love to have?

Kels: I think it would be so fun to be a performer in one of the shows (or many of them)!!!! I used to want to do that for a job when i was really into theater! :)

Jeff: A fun job at Disney World would be to be a character!!! Or I would like to be one of the Jamminators or something similar to them. Playing the drums at WDW would be awesome! ....Or be a ride tester! Love ya'll

Laura: Maybe operating a ride..like the Winnie the Pooh ride or Snow White..one of those kinds. Peter Pan would be fun.

Paul: Play Goofy

Me: I always thought it would be fun to be a monorail pilot! And you'd get to meet people from all over the world when guests rode up front with you. I think that would be very fun but their costume would look horrible on me (jumpsuit)!

Close your eyes and imagine you are at Disney World. Where do you picture yourself (park, hotel, etc.) and what are you doing?

Laura: I am in Magic Kingdom walking towards Thunder Mountain Railroad, is that what its called? I always forget the name of that ride..and Splash Mountain. (You always forget the name of that ride, sweetheart, because we never call it by its real name! We call it "Rocky Mountain Railroad! ~Mom~)

Jeff: I picture myself over by Peter Pan, Snow White, Dumbo, and the character greet for winnie the pooh- Running and Jumping around... smiling holding hands with Kels.

Kels: Close my eyes and i see....Smiles!!! :) I'm in the magic kingdom, walking down the streeys, holding hands with jeff (aww), listening to all the laughs of my second family and thinking this is the best vacation ever!

Paul: Getting ready to ride Tower of Terror and I'm looking at Rod Sterling.

Me: I spend waayyy too much time imagining I'm in Disney World, but when I think of our trip and imagine myself there a couple of things come to mind. Being the first one awake in the morning and going out on the balcony at the Wilderness Lodge to welcome the day and watching WISHES from the middle of Main Street!

klj27

10-24-2007, 08:25 PM

Looking forward to reading your pre trip report!! I found your last trip report a few weeks ago and was excited to see that you are going again.

Liz

10-24-2007, 08:36 PM

Looking forward to reading your pre trip report!! I found your last trip report a few weeks ago and was excited to see that you are going again.

Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the last one! I think about 3 people actually read it! LOL! But that's okay! I hope this one ends up being worth following! Can't wait for December!

klj27

10-24-2007, 08:45 PM

Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the last one! I think about 3 people actually read it! LOL! But that's okay! I hope this one ends up being worth following! Can't wait for December!

I found it after it was completed and couldn't post to it!

Liz

10-24-2007, 08:49 PM

What ride(s) will you NOT go on?

Jeff: Carousel of Progress. haha, Just kidding.. If I need a good nap, that'll be my first place to go. :) I can't think of any ride whatsoever that I wouldn't go on. OH WAIT! I don't like that really long dinosaur ride with what's her name... Helen? Ellen? Degenerous? lol~ I don't know. :)

Kels: I don't think there are any rides that i won't go on if you ask me to go on it! I'm gonna want to experience it all since I really never have! haha

Laura: Mission Space. I never want to go on that ride again.

Paul: Tea Cups and Mission Space

Me: Rock N Rollercoaster, Tower of Terror, Splash Mountain, Space Mountain, Kali River Rapids (not that I'm afraid of that one, I just don't usually like to get DRENCHED and it always seems to get me!) Oh, and possibly Expedition Everest. Depends on my mood and how brave I'm feeling at the moment!

When we stay at Pop Century, are you going to do the twist if we are there for it?

Laura: Yes, most likely!

Kels: Twist and shout! lol depends on who's going to do it with me though! :)

Jeff: I will do it if Kels will do it with me! :D

Paul: Yeah, if I'm awake.

Me: I wouldn't twist myself, but if someone else was going to do it I'd be there to film it or take pictures! That would be just as fun for me!

If you could be a character for a day, who would you be and why?

Laura: Maybe Cinderella..so I could talk to all the little girls. And maybe I could be in that Cinderellabration and get my prince charming! Haha

Jeff: We already had a question similar to this one. I think I would be Aladdin because I would get a chance to show off my beautiful abs and pecs and so on and so forth. haha, I'm just kiddin'! ....Goofy!

Kels: I would have to say Cinderella...Plus, she's got Prince Charming and so do I so we're alike in more ways than I normally would admit! lol (I love you Jeff!)

Paul: Goofy cuz I'm Goofy!

Me: I would definitely want to be a face character because I would absolutely die in the heat if I was in a full body costume! I'd like to say I could play Cinderella or Belle but that's stretching it. At this stage of my life about the only character I could play would be the Fairy Godmother and I think that would be a BLAST!!!!

What thoughts come to mind when you think of the Segway tour?

Jeff: I CAN'T WAIT!!!! I CAN'T WAIT TO RIDE ONE OF THOSE AGAIN AND TO EXPERIENCE IT WITH KELS!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Laura: I liked it. I wasn't sure if I would be able to do it though. But it was really fun!

Kels: "I'm never going to be able to drive that funny looking scooter thing..." haha I'm very excited for it! :)

Me: Shock at finding out I could actually do it without killing myself or anyone else. Never being able to get on and off without feeling nervous. Not worring about Jeff at all because I knew he'd be great. Worrying about Laura but seeing that she was pretty good too. Giggling at Paul who had trouble staying in one place. Can't wait to see how Kels likes it and knowing that she will. Having my feet and legs hurt afterward!

Liz

10-27-2007, 04:26 PM

Yesterday we reached our 50 day mark! In a perfect world we might commemorate that occasion by reviewing our packing list or perhaps buying an outfit for the trip. But this isn't a perfect world. This is our life which sometimes seems full of challenges.

Last night Laura had a freak accident. She was sitting in the computer chair and had rolled away from the computer to look at what was going on in the kitchen. As she pushed away from the wall to roll back to the computer the chair tipped over and she landed funny on her foot.

It didn't swell (thankfully) but was very painful. We gave it till this morning to see how things felt and today she can't put any weight on it at all. Having a problem with your foot or leg is not something you want to happen when a Disney trip is approaching and I found myself thinking "why couldn't it be your arm!"

It didn't seem likely her foot was broken but with not being able to walk on it at all we paid a visit to the ER just to be sure. After x-rays they told us it is indeed not broken but her foot and ankle are sprained. And sprains are sometimes more painful and take longer to heal than a break.

So we are just hanging out at home this weekend and letting her rest. Its her right foot that is injured so she's hopping around on her left leg. The only problem is that is her left leg has some permanent weakness as a result of the West Nile. Maybe this will help strengthen it!

Hope anyone who is reading is having a good weekend of their own!

Avivasmom

10-27-2007, 05:53 PM

So we are just hanging out at home this weekend and letting her rest. Its her right foot that is injured so she's hopping around on her left leg. The only problem is that is her left leg has some permanent weakness as a result of the West Nile. Maybe this will help strengthen it!

I am so sorry....I hope with rest it gets better...thankfully you have 50 days to go...

I loved all the questions you asked of your group...and loved the answers too.

Liz

10-27-2007, 06:14 PM

I am so sorry....I hope with rest it gets better...thankfully you have 50 days to go...

I loved all the questions you asked of your group...and loved the answers too.

Thanks! It definitely could be worse.

The questions and answers have been fun but I'm running out of ideas! Any suggestions?? Its hard coming up with questions where everyone can participate since Kels has only been to WDW once and that was when she was 6 (I think)!

Noticed you have a trip coming up soon! Hope you have a great time!!!

klj27

10-27-2007, 09:51 PM

I hope she heals quickly. Make her rest!!! Some people have such a hard time allowing others to take care of them. I hope she isn't like that.

Liz

10-27-2007, 11:30 PM

I hope she heals quickly. Make her rest!!! Some people have such a hard time allowing others to take care of them. I hope she isn't like that.

Hello! I hope Laura heals quick too! She already seems a tiny bit better tonight. We just finished a marathon game of Disney Monopoly since our other plans for today got shot. But this was a lot of fun too. We're together as a family (Jeff is home from school for the weekend) and that's all that matters. Thanks for the well wishes!

Liz

10-29-2007, 11:06 AM

My first venture into the magic of Disney was in the late 70's. I grew up in Jacksonville and even though WDW opened in 1971, I didn't first enter the park until 1976 for Grad Nite. (I'll save ya the trouble of doing the math - I just turned 49 yesterday!) I knew nothing at all about Disney before making that trip other than some fond recollections of watching "The Wonderful World of Color" on television as a child.

Grad Nite was fun but most of the night was spent watching a concert in front of the castle by KC & The Sunshine Band and shopping (I still have a stuffed Donald Duck I bought that night). I went on a grand total of one, yes one, ride that night - Its A Small World! I don't remember exactly who I was hanging around with but they must have been as clueless as I was. We didn't see any rides!!! I was used to amusement parks where you can see the ride function and know exactly what it was going to do or not do before deciding if you wanted to go on. I am a certified ride chicken now but back then I was probably worse and didn't want to get in a ride vehicle, enter a building and not know what was going to happen next! I don't know how, exactly, I ended up on Small World but I assume it looked relatively safe and calm!

After graduation I started working for State Farm and got a notice one day that there would be a "State Farm employee day" at Walt Disney World. My mom and I talked about it and decided we should go! My parents divorced when I was 16 and I'm an only child. This would be the first time we ventured away from home just the two of us. Remember we were just going from Jacksonville to Disney World, approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes away. If memory serves me correctly it took us about 5 hours to get there!!!!! We stopped in Daytona for lunch and I think stopped once more to go to the bathroom!!!! Memories of that first trip always make us laugh now!!! We stayed at the Contemporary and paid around $60 per night. We were in love hook line and sinker with all things Disney.

Mom and I made many more trips to Disney World. We stayed at the Contemporary several times before trying the Polynesian and loved it there even more. All our future trips were at the Poly until it became too expensive (when it reached around $150 per night - how nice would it be to pay that now!) On one trip we heard about something called a "Moonlight Cruise" and thought it would be fun to go out on a boat in the lake. We both remember freezing to death and feeling very out of place because all the other passengers seemed to be romantic couples! Our favorite place to eat was the Crystal Palace (cafeteria). We remember Epcot being built and having the option to take the monorail over to see its construction (we didn't - I could kick myself - but we thought the whole concept of Epcot sounded dumb - oh and yeah, this "dumb concept" turned into our favorite park.)

tyandskyesmom

10-29-2007, 12:13 PM

A few years ago we traveled to Disneyland with my BIL & SIL and their family. If I had written a trip report for that vacation it would have been called "NEVER, NOT EVER AGAIN." Looking back I realize I need to accept a good share of the blame for things going wrong but certainly not all. We have a great time on our trips and I'm sure they do on theirs but our vacationing styles do not mix. We never argued or had harsh words on the trip but when we got home we spent a lot of time apart in order for things to get back to normal between us.

Funny. I began my pre-trip report about a week ago and I mentioned the same thing about my mom and my sister-in-law. I could have written that unwritten TR too!

Liz

10-29-2007, 01:39 PM

Funny. I began my pre-trip report about a week ago and I mentioned the same thing about my mom and my sister-in-law. I could have written that unwritten TR too!

And I would imagine, like us, the trip seemed like a good idea before leaving home? At home these family members told us they spend about $1,000 a month eating out. But once we got to S. Calif. everything cost too much and they wanted to take sandwiches from the grocery store into DL so they wouldn't have to spend money on food. We scrimp and save at home so we don't have to pinch every penny on vacation! We drove to Calif. in two cars and by the time we got there, DBIL and SIL were in a raging fight! That is just a small part of it. On my part I have a hard time realizing not everyone likes to go at a commando pace. We love them dearly but wouldn't travel with them again (at least to Disney) for anything.

I will look for your TR!

Liz

11-04-2007, 05:08 PM

Instead of sending out our usual e-mail question, I sent out an "assignment" last week. The assignment was to write a song about our vacation to the tune of "Its A Small World". Laura and I worked together, Jeff and Kelsee were a team and Paul was on his own. Our finished products ranged from "well that was nice" and "good effort" to hilarious (Jeff and Kelsee's version). I'll share theirs below!

Theres a guy named Paul,
and he's kind of tall,
when he needs a bathroom,
we'll find a stall,
drop the lid, lock the door,
drop his pants to the floor,
we'll be waiting down the hall.

Then there's mom all giddy,
and shedding tears,
acting like a kid,
going back some years,
don't slow down, we'll be late,
dinners here, clean your plate,
listen to how our mother cheers.

Next theres Kels, she's thrilled,
and in quite a shock,
she is snapping pictures,
around the clock,
look at her, she's so fine!
Jeffrey says, "She is mine!"
her big smile you just can't block.

There's a goofy grin,
that won't leave his face,
when he sees Splash Mountain,
he's on the chase,
Kelsees right by his side,
lets get on the next ride,
Can you keep up with Jeff's pace?

Laura's such a sport,
and a load of fun,
and a wheelchair means,
fun for everyone,
"Jeff slow down", she'll declare,
as she's pushed, here and there,
grab a churro on the run.

What a trip that's only for our family,
this is so exciting and magically,
We have all found the parts,
being kids in our hearts,
all together we will be...

(Chorus)
Making memories, having fun,
sharing laughs with everyone,
we'll be sad when it's all done,
it's the greatest trip of all!!!

klj27

11-04-2007, 05:46 PM

Love the song! Thanks for sharing.

VandyFan10

11-17-2007, 11:50 AM

Liz

11-24-2007, 08:18 AM

Love the song! Thanks for sharing.

We do have an odd sense of humor in our family sometimes!!! Glad ya enjoyed it!

Liz

11-24-2007, 08:22 AM

I've really enjoyed your 'question and answer' with your family....that makes it a lof of fun!! :goodvibes

I'm sorry about everything your daughter has had to go through.....and I'm glad the doctors report was good a few weeks ago...hope everything continues to get better!!!! :dance3:

Hope you guys have a great trip...only 21 days left for us....it will be my first time at the park during Christmas and I CAN'T WAIT!!!!! :yay:

Have a great weekend :upsidedow

Glad you enjoyed the Q&A! It has been so fun! I've saved all the answers so I'll use them with photos when making a scrapbook of our trip. The hardest part has been coming up with enough questions to ask!

Thanks for the good wishes for Laura! Hopefully she can stay well for this upcoming trip!

What are the dates of your trip? It must be really close now!!! I hope you have a magical time!!!!!!!!!

Liz

11-24-2007, 09:10 AM

Sorry to have neglected my trippie! So busy!! I do have a funny little story to share.

In high school Jeff dated the same girl ("M") for a couple of years. She worked as a checker at the grocery store so I would see her occasionally.

I was always friendly.

She always has a look on her face like she's smelling something bad! :eek: LOL!

Last year M's family went to Disney World for the first time. Even though they weren't a couple anymore, I e-mailed "M" a couple of times offering to help if she had any questions because she (this girl who just graduated high school) was planning everything and totally in charge of the trip! She didn't accept or want any help, which was fine. I did ask her why they weren't staying onsite and she said they weren't "made of money".

When I saw her in the grocery store after their trip last year I asked how things went and she responded with a snarky "I don't know how you can stand to go every year!"

Fast forward to last week.

"M" is now away at college and not working there anymore but her younger sister "K" is. "K" has always been sweet and nice.

"K" asked if we were going to Disney World at Christmas again and I said yes. She said "so are we!!!"

My first thought was oh no, this can't be good. The old girlfriend and the new girlfriend at Disney World at the same time!!! I asked when they were going and she said they would be there December 27th - January 3rd and I breathed a sigh of relief because we will be gone by then.

I asked her where they were staying and she said she didn't know because "M" was their "travel agent" and handles everything!

I said "just so you know, the week between Christmas and New Years is the busiest time of the whole year."

Her face just dropped.

I so wanted to say "your travel agent should have told you" but I used amazing self-restraint and didn't!

"K" said "are you serious? I hate waiting in lines!"

I said "well don't wait in lines, use fast pass" and she looked totally bewildered.

I told her I was sure they would have a wonderful time in spite of the crowds and to just get to the parks early but I said "that's why we are leaving Disney on the 23rd."

Oh, I also said I was surprised they were going back so soon because from what her sister had said it didn't sound like she liked it very much. She said when they were there last time they enjoyed it very much but didn't understand why people kept going back but as soon as they got home all they could talk about was how soon they could return.

I think they are in for the shock of their lives when they see wall to wall people on this trip!!!! I find that sad for the nice sister "K" but quite amusing for the know-it-all snarky sister "M" who refuses any help! :rolleyes1

MARY-IN-OH

11-27-2007, 10:03 AM

Hi Liz!!!! :wave: I found that you are writing a report thru a post of yours on the codes board (the amex swan/dolphin thread) that I accidentally posted this to and removed it - oops!! :rolleyes1

Kels seems very cool, I'll bet your "plus one" is going to be great! Seeing Disney through her eyes is going to be really special for all of you!

Looking forward to seeing pics! My DS18 met a wonderful girl since our last trip (he was just getting to know her while we were at Disney last Dec via many many cell phone calls). She wants to go to Disney with us in the worst way, she has never been to Disney (you know I'm gonna get her there!).

Yay, you are going back! My DH and I went in Sept for 8 nights and I did a quick trip back for the Halloween party only in Oct for 3 nights w/my sister and youngest DD. Next trip (hopefully) is May w/DD27 (who has never been to Dis with us).

I'm happy to see that you are writing a report, and glad Laura is OK, - how is her ankle? It is wonderful that Jeff still likes Disney. He is going to love being there with Kels. :lovestruc

No Christmas trip for me this year, so I am glad that I can come along with you thru your report. :cool1:

Have you seen the new christmas castle pics posted on the main wdwinfo page? Breathtaking!
-mary

Liz

12-01-2007, 05:17 PM

Liz

12-01-2007, 05:34 PM

You know how irritating it is when you are in line at the grocery store and the person in front of you pulls out a wad of coupons that take forever for the cashier to scan?

Hi. That would be me with the coupons. If you're a DISer I'll let you go in front.

I like a bargain. No, I love a bargain! Travel bargains are my favorite!

The penny pinching, bargain hunting side of me wasn't happy with our plan for December 30th to spend one night at the All Stars at a price of $160 per night. That just didn't sit right.

And I did entertain the idea of using Starwood points and staying at the Dolphin free but it seemed like a waste to use 10,000 points for only a few hours.

So plan C was born.

When we leave Florida to come back to Utah (12/31) our plane leaves at 7 AM. So we have to be at the airport like 5 AM. Crazy. My mom said she didn't want us driving in the middle of the night and leaving her house at 2:00 AM so she insisted we spend the night of the 30th in Orlando.

I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions on the DIS about what was a good hotel near the Orlando airport. I really wanted the Hyatt Regency actually IN the airport but even with an AAA rate it was $170 per night including tax so that was out of the question. Still I thought how great that would be because we could return the rental car on the 30th and just walk to our gate the next morning.

Did more research and was encouraged to look into Priceline or Hotwire.

Scary.

Again more research on www.betterbidding.com. On Hotwire there were three 3.5 star hotels in the Orlando Airport area with the amenities listed. I checked www.tripadvisor.com and all three got great reviews so I knew if I ended up with any of them I would be okay. I checked each hotel's website to see what the cheapest I could get a room on my own and they were all over $100. There was the Hyatt Regency in the airport, Sheraton Suites and Rennaissance something.

This is a long story huh? Are you still with me?

I wasn't familiar with how Hotwire works so maybe you aren't either. They tell you the star rating and the price. Then you find out what hotel you got after you commit to buy. You don't bid like Priceline.

When I started considering making a purchase the price was $79 plus tax for the 3.5*. Then it came down to $59 so I made the reservation hoping I hadn't missed anything and I got a good place.

Immediately it came up that I got the HYATT REGENCY IN THE ORLANDO AIRPORT!!!!!!!!!!! I know my mouth dropped open!!!!!!!!! I am sooooooooooo THRILLED!!!!!!!!!!! My total for the one night is $73.13, almost $100 savings over the AAA rate!!!!!!!!!

And when I changed our car rental reservation to return it the night before it took $10 off so its like getting the Hyatt for $63!

I so love a bargain!!!

klj27

12-01-2007, 06:00 PM

I have not been brave enough to use hotwire, but that price makes me want to give it a try! Great job from another grocery store coupon shopper.

Liz

12-01-2007, 06:06 PM

I have not been brave enough to use hotwire, but that price makes me want to give it a try! Great job from another grocery store coupon shopper.

It helped knowing that any of the hotels I could have gotten had good reviews! Otherwise I don't know that I would have been brave either!

I didn't use coupons for years and only started recently! It takes a little time but it saves so much. I use www.pinchingyourpennies.com to get organized. Have you ever tried that site?

klj27

12-01-2007, 06:09 PM

It helped knowing that any of the hotels I could have gotten had good reviews! Otherwise I don't know that I would have been brave either!

I didn't use coupons for years and only started recently! It takes a little time but it saves so much. I use www.pinchingyourpennies.com to get organized. Have you ever tried that site?

I don't use any sites, but I take part in a coupon exchange. A couple of friends and I cut out every coupon in the Sunday paper. We keep what we want and pass the others on. It's a great way not to waste coupons and to get duplicates of things you use without buying more ads.

Liz

12-01-2007, 06:14 PM

I don't use any sites, but I take part in a coupon exchange. A couple of friends and I cut out every coupon in the Sunday paper. We keep what we want and pass the others on. It's a great way not to waste coupons and to get duplicates of things you use without buying more ads.

I started out cutting every coupon but now I just put them in folders with the date. My friend at work does a coupon exchange but I haven't gotten in on that (yet)! Happy couponing!!

Liz

12-02-2007, 12:29 PM

I'm giving our itinerary one last go over and printing it out because I'm not leaving that sucker home again! (Now watch I'll leave something really important home this time!)

Thought I would share what we're doing and when we're doing it! I don't think I ever mentioned we aren't all on the same flight. Jeff, Laura, Paul and I are together but Kelsee is flying in from another state and we will meet her in Orlando. Jeff and Kels haven't seen each other since Thanksgiving so I'm sure it will be a nice reunion. :hug:

December 15 – Saturday

Fly to Orlando

We arrive 6:50 PM and Kels arrives around 8:00. Paul, Laura and I will get the luggage and rental car and head to All Star Music, leaving Jeff behind to wait for Kels. They will pick up her luggage and take Magical Express to AS Music. Hopefully that all works without any glitches!

Check in All Star Music - Hoping they will let me check in both rooms so when Jeff and Kels arrive everything is done (and no, they aren't in the same room!)

Eat dinner at the food court and since it will be probably 10 PM by then, we need to get to bed so we'll be ready for tomorrow!

Liz

12-02-2007, 04:31 PM

Chances are anyone reading this is going to say to themselves there's no way we'll get everything done that's listed here! I know that but I like to plan an optimistic itinerary and we just go from there!

December 16 - Sunday

Leave All Star Music (8 AM at the latest hopefully)

Check in Wilderness Lodge - Try for Flag Family any day but 20th

Leave luggage with Bell Services if rooms aren’t ready.

Rub Humphrey’s nose for good luck!!

Take GREEN FLAG boat to MAGIC KINGDOM (Hours 9 AM – 7 PM)

Space Mountain

Buzz Lightyear

Tomorrowland Transit Authority

Splash Mountain

Big Thunder Mountain

Magic Carpets of Aladdin – only if line is not long

LUNCH TIME?? Remember to eat at 11:30 to avoid long counter service lines!!

Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Tutorial

Haunted Mansion

Tiki Birds

Philharmagic

Pirates

Jungle Cruise

Laugh Factory

Carousel of Progress

Hall of Presidents

Castle Lighting Ceremony & Wishes

Take boat to Wilderness Lodge. Get settled in.

DINNER: Whispering Canyon Cafe

Watch Electrical Water Pageant – approx. 9:45 PM

Liz

12-02-2007, 08:41 PM

December 17 - Monday

Spend the day at EPCOT - mainly focus on seeing World Showcase entertainment.

Until WS opens, do what we can:

Soarin

Listen to the Land boat ride

The Seas with Nemo (if the line isn't horrendously long)

Turtle Talk w/ Crush (opens 9:45)

Living Seas exhibits

Imagination pavilion

Test Track

World Showcase: Enter WS as close to its 11:00 opening as possible.
Have lunch in Mexico, Norway or China.

WS Schedule:

Mexico:
Gran Fiesta boat ride
In the back of Kidcot station is an area to send videos via e-mail

Norway:
Malstrom boat ride

USA:
Voices of Liberty - Shows: 12:30 - 1:15 - 2:00 - 2:40 - 3:10 - 4:15 (15 min.)
American Adventure (30 min.)
National Treasures exhibit
Gingerbread house

Japan:
Miyuki - 1:40 - 2:30 - 3:40 - 4:30 - 5:15 - 6:15 (20 min.)
Drummers - Shows 1:05 - 2:00 - 2:50 - 3:25 - 4:15 - 6:00 (15 min.)

France:
Serveur Amusant - Shows: 12:45 -1:35 - 2:25 - 3:05 - 3:55 - 4:40 (20 min.)
Impressions De France (18 min.)

Canada:
Off Kilter - Shows: 1:00 - 2:00– 3:00 – 4:00 – 6:15 (30 min.)
Holiday storyteller - 4:30

DINNER @ LE CELLIER - 5:10

If we are out in time, head over to Christmas tree for lighting ceremony (6:00).

Head back to American Pavilion and get in line for Candlelight Processional which begins at 8:15.

See Gingerbread House and National Treasures exhibit if we haven't already.

Illuminations (9:30)

Stop in Norway on the way out to use snack credits at Kringli Bakery. Save for breakfast tomorrow!

carissanboys

12-03-2007, 06:10 AM

Hi Liz :)

I'm really enjoying your pre-trip report! I'll have to check out your other completed trippie when I get a chance.

Thanks for the tip on the pennypinching/coupon website! That looks great :) I also love a bargain and I love to save money.

Your Epcot day looks a lot like ours. Last trip we spent quite a bit of time in Future World, spread across two days. So, this time the plan is to focus on the World Showcase. And dh and I have an ADR at Le Cellier that evening. I can't wait for that!

Glad to hear your daughter's ankle has healed nicely. Can't wait to read more!

Donald is #1

12-03-2007, 05:34 PM

Chances are anyone reading this is going to say to themselves there's no way we'll get everything done that's listed here! I know that but I like to plan an optimistic itinerary and we just go from there!

Your plan definitely looks packed. But then again, I take the opposite approach. I pick 2-3 highlights (attractions) for the day and then make those my must do's. I then continue going to lots of other attractions. For me this method works. Both styles work, we just approach it differently. :thumbsup2

Liz

12-03-2007, 08:55 PM

December 18 - Tuesday

Take bus or drive to MGM

RnR

ToT

Little Mermaid - 17 min. (skip and go directly to B&B if there isn't time for this)

Beauty & the Beast and “Four for a Dollar” - 30 min. - Get seats at 10:30 for 11:00 show

LUNCH (11:30-12:00)

Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular - 30 min. - Get seats at 12:15 for 12:45 show

Great Movie Ride - 28 min.

Backlot Tour - 40 min.

Mulch, Sweat & Tears – New York Street (30 min.) - 3:30 show

Lights, Motor, Action – 4:15

DINNER - 50's Prime Time Cafe - 5:10

Osborne lights – 6 PM

Fantasmic – 8 PM - 25 min.

Not on Itinerary - no where to put them!

Star Tours – 10 min.

Muppets – 30 min.

Magic of Disney Animation (note-no restrooms inside)

One Man’s Dream

Streetmosphere performers

Liz

12-03-2007, 09:10 PM

Liz

12-03-2007, 09:13 PM

Your plan definitely looks packed.

I know! Even though I said I like going with the optimistic approach it does give me some stress to look at it! I wish I could have more of a "go with the flow" attitude. I do better once I get there but in the pre-trip stage I obsess with trying to make everything perfect. And we all know trying for perfection just leads to disappointment! Thanks for stopping by and saying hi!

Liz

12-03-2007, 09:29 PM

December 19 – Wednesday

NOTE: We can sleep in a little today. Need to be at the boat dock by 9:30.
Breakfast @ Chef Mickeys - 10:10

After breakfast take bus from Contemporary to Animal Kingdom. Tonight is AK's evening EMH. Closes 9 PM

Non-EMH Attractions

Flights of Wonder – 30 min. - 1:00

Kilamanjaro Safari

Pangani Forest trail

Rafaki's Planet Watch

Maharajah Jungle Trek - not very many animals will be out if its a really cold day

Finding Nemo, The Musical - 38 min.

EMH Attractions

Expedition Everest

Triceratop Spin

Primevil Whirl

Dinosaur

Kali

Its Tough to be a Bug - 8 min.

Festival of the Lion King - 25 min.

Liz

12-03-2007, 09:59 PM

December 20 – Thursday

EPCOT: Need to be in the car, ready to leave Wilderness Lodge by 7:30! Epcot parking lot should open at 8 AM.

SEGWAY TOUR
Tour begins 8:30 AM – be there 8:15
Photo ID required

If we are dying tired and need a nap we could return to WL after the Segways for a couple of hours to nap, then return to Epcot for the afternoon and evening.

Spend rest of the day seeing Future World attractions and any World Showcase entertainment we missed Monday.

Soarin’

Listen to the Land

Journey Into Imagination

Image Works - have e-mail addresses handy

Test Track

Mission Space - green is the no spin version, orange is the ride in its original format

Disney VISA picture – 1:30 – 4:30 – Innoventions West - Don't forget to pick up free picture and try to do it before end of evening when lines get very long!

Turtle Talk w/ Crush

The Seas with Nemo - only if the line is not long

Living Seas exhibits

World Showcase: Opens 11:00 - see anything we missed last time or would like to see again

Entertainment not on Monday's schedule:

China:
Acrobats - Shows: 2:55 - 4:15 - 5:15 - 6:15 - 7:15 (15 min.)

Italy:
Sergio - Shows: 11:55 - 1:15 - 2:15 - 3:00 - 4:00 - 5:00 (20 min.)

United Kingdom:
World Showcase players - Shows: 11:30 - 12:30 - 1:30 - 3:30 - 5:00 (25 min.)

Canada: O Canada - movie (new)

Epcot Attractions – easy to see anytime

Ellens Energy Adventure

Club Cool (formerly Ice Station Cool)

Innoventions West – closest to Soarin

Think Place - 12-person group 'Thing-a-ma-jig' space race game allows you to build your own ship and race it against other guests through a series of caverns and rivers while you attempt to collect as many IBM 'innovations' as you can.

Where's the Fire? - game with two teams

Jammitors - 10:10 - 11:15 - 12:15 - 1:20

Innoventions East - close to Test Track

Internet Zone – virtual game of Tag

Fantastic Plastics – free robot

Test the limits lab - product testing

Jammitors - 10:20 - 11:25 - 12:25 - 2:30

Mission Space - Space Base (games in exit area)

Honey I Shrunk the Audience

Circle of Life - film

Tree lighting ceremony - 6 PM

DINNER: Biergarten 6:55

Illuminations - 9:30

Liz

12-04-2007, 07:58 PM

I'm giving our itinerary one last go over and printing it out because I'm not leaving that sucker home again! (Now watch I'll leave something really important home this time!)

The pre-trip nightmares have officially begun as of last night. It was awful! We were at Disney World and I realized I left all of Laura's anti-rejection medicine at home. For some reason I hadn't looked at my packing list to prepare for this trip and didn't bring the most important thing of all, her medicine. I tried calling the transplant coordinator at home to see if they could call a pharmacy in Florida but couldn't reach anyone. Then I decided our pet sitter could put all the bottles in a padded envelope and overnight it to us but she would still miss at least a couple of doses (she takes it twice a day.) It was A W F U L.

Then Jeff and Kelsee wanted to go off on their own saying they would meet us for dinner. I was sad thinking this isn't going to be fun at all with them always wanting to go off and do their own thing.

I keep meaning to call CRO and put a room request on our reservation but haven't gotten to it yet. In yet another nightmare we got a room in some weird location right in the middle of the lobby!

Unbelieveably I had another nightmare (all last night) not related to our trip but I borrowed my friend's tape that she uses to record Survivor since I missed it last Thursday and in my nightmare I forgot to give it back so she missed the show this week because she wasn't home and I had her tape!

Needless to say I guess I'm a teensy bit stressed!!!!! I had the worst headache when I woke up this morning!!! :headache:

Liz

12-04-2007, 08:57 PM

December 21 – Friday

Sleep in and be at marina at 10 AM.

Rent Sea Racers. Marina hours 10 AM - 5 PM.

Note: Today we have several options.

Option 1
Rent boats
Return to Animal Kingdom for a few hours.
AK closes at 6 PM
Dinner at 1900 Park Fare (Grand Floridian).

Option 2
Rent boats
Return to MGM

Option 3
Rent boats
Hang around the Lodge during the day.
Return to MGM for nighttime only.

Option 4
Rent boats
Go to Magic Kingdom for just a couple of hours to see the castle lighting ceremony and/or Wishes or whatever we would like to do.
Magic Kingdom closes early for the Christmas party so we couldn't be there at night.
Dinner would be 1900 Park Fare.

Option 5
Any other suggestions?

Today is meant to be an easy day since we have had so many full ones!
Pack up to prepare for move to Pop the following day.

Liz

12-04-2007, 09:11 PM

December 22 - Saturday - OUR LAST FULL DAY!

Check out of WILDERNESS LODGE and into POP CENTURY.
Hopefully this won't take too long and we can get to Magic Kingdom.

See the things we missed or want to repeat.

Do not miss CHRISTMAS PARADE, WISHES and SPECTRO.

Not on itinerary our first MK day:

Dumbo - do not even attempt this unless we are at the Fantasyland rope drop

Winnie the Pooh

Peter Pan's Flight

Snow White

Mad Tea Party

Small World

Toon Town

Mickeys Very Merry Christmas Parade - 3 PM

Wishes - 9 PM

Spectro - 8 & 10 PM - See 10:00 parade because its definitely less crowded

Liz

12-04-2007, 09:15 PM

December 23 - Sunday

Breakfast: Pop food court
Be in food court for TWIST!

Leave Pop by 9 AM and take Kelsee to airport (she's going home to spend Christmas with her family.)

Drive to Jacksonville to spend Christmas with my mom!

Liz

12-04-2007, 10:03 PM

Here are a couple of pics to put names with faces!

Kelsee & Jeff

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3005.jpg

Jacksonville beach - Christmas day 2006 - Jeff, me and Laura. Kels wasn't on that trip so Jeff was on the phone with her! It wasn't beach weather but how often can you say you were at the ocean on Christmas day? Well not very often when you live in Utah!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_2805.jpg

Paul and Pocahontas

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_2655.jpg

MARY-IN-OH

12-05-2007, 10:34 AM

Liz

12-06-2007, 08:36 PM

Beautiful pictures, Liz! Jeff & Kelsee look really happy together, the pic at the beach does look a little chilly! But, after the snowy weather we had here this morning, I'd take the beach any day! (we left FL on 12/24 in 06, we were by Ft Myers at my in-laws and it was windy and really foggy.)

(oh, and boy do I know those pre-disney nightmares! I get them before every trip too...) :scared1:
-mary

I bet that picture of Jeff on the phone with Kelsee reminded you of your son with his girlfriend last trip!

Tomorrow we are supposed to get between 6-12" of snow! YIKES! :scared1: I hope the weather is good the day we fly out to Florida!

Liz

12-06-2007, 08:49 PM

I keep going back and forth on our itinerary for the 22nd, our last day at Disney and we are spending it at the Magic Kingdom.

Here's the info I've got to work with!

We need to move from the Wilderness Lodge to Pop sometime during the day.

Let the WL move our luggage or just take it in our car? If we stay at MK till it closes at 11:00 I don't want to come back to Pop at midnight and try to hunt down our luggage.

At MK we definitely want to see the Christmas parade at 3:00, Wishes at 9:00 and Spectro at 10:00. We have dinner reservations at 6:00. So basically we need to be at MK no later than 2:00.

We likely haven't done any Fantasyland attractions at this point.

Don't want us to be so tired we won't feel up to staying at the park till it closes.

So with all those things in mind - Should we:

Be at MK when it opens.
Ride Fantasyland attractions and maybe a few other things.
Go back to WL, drive to Pop and check in.
Thought I would ask for any location at all that may be available (hoping to be able to move luggage into the room at that point.)
Go back to MK for the rest of the evening.

OR

Leave WL and check in Pop first thing.
Spend the rest of the day at MK.

What would you do? Other suggestions? Would you let WL move your luggage to Pop or not? Like I said I don't want to have to hunt it down late, late at night.

Liz

12-06-2007, 09:13 PM

We leave in 9 days and I have so much to do its ridiculous. (So why am I sitting at the computer? Maybe because I'm so tired and had about 5 hours sleep last night so this is all I feel like doing while I wait for Laura to get home so I can go to bed!)

Last night, after working all day, I drove down to see Jeff perform in his last band concert at college.

It's 2 hours 15 minutes one way.

WHEN EVERYTHING GOES RIGHT!!

I ended up going alone (not the best idea) and I don't see very well to drive at night. Not a good combination!

Oh, and did I mention I wasn't paying real close attention to my surroundings because I was distracted by the camels.

Who weren't camels at all when I got closer but horses in a big group and the head of one looked like a hump on another . . . .

And right by them was a horse with his eyes all covered with a blindfold. Being an animal lover that really disturbed me because I didn't think it looked like something he would enjoy wearing.

So back to my travels . . . .

Since my mind was distracted by the horse/camel/blindfold situation I lost track of where I was.

Did I mention I was taking back roads through the middle of no where? I do fine taking this route in the daytime but as I mentioned I don't see as well as I should at night.

Back to the story if anyone cares to follow along.

I was supposed to turn left when I saw a sign for the sand dunes. I thought I had passed it so I figured I better turn around. This was a narrow road with one lane each direction and big ravines on each side.

Carefully but quickly I turned around before any cars came and started back the direction I had come.

After going awhile I thought this can't be it and I figured I shouldn't have turned around.

So you guessed it.

I turned around again. Turn, back, forward, back, try not to fall off the road.

Nothing was looking familiar. It wasn't pitch dark but more dusky. Could someone turn on a light please?

So back for the second time I headed down the road. I went much further and I didn't see the sand dunes sign. I really had no idea where I was and started to cry. Jeff called to see if I was coming and I boo-hooed to him then lost my cell service in the middle of no where.

I turned around on this narrow road a third time and debated just heading back home. I knew I could find my way there but I also knew Jeff really wanted me at this concert.

There was another road that went through a bunch of small towns. I knew it was the wrong road but I thought it would get me there (indirectly) so I took it. Part of it went 30 mph through a winding mountain pass. Still crying but trying to stop because I needed to be able to see!!!

To make a long story short eventually I made it to Jeff's college with 7 minutes to spare. The 2 hour 15 min. trip took exactly 3 hours. I still don't know if I went too far or didn't go far enough but I will never, ever go that way at night again, even though its shorter than taking the freeway (which I took coming home).

When I was sitting in the auditorium during the first band (not Jeff's) I still had tears rolling down my face because I wasn't finished with my pity party yet. I started debating the pros and cons of when we should check into Pop Century on our last day at Disney (see post above) to get my mind on something else and dry up my messy face! Jeff's concert was EXCELLENT and in spite of all the troubles I'm so glad I went!

So that's why I'm tired and sitting here instead of packing.

And Laura just got home so I can go to bed!

Nite all!

Donald is #1

12-07-2007, 05:55 AM

So with all those things in mind - Should we:

Be at MK when it opens.
Ride Fantasyland attractions and maybe a few other things.
Go back to WL, drive to Pop and check in.
Thought I would ask for any location at all that may be available (hoping to be able to move luggage into the room at that point.)
Go back to MK for the rest of the evening.

OR

Leave WL and check in Pop first thing.
Spend the rest of the day at MK.

What would you do? Other suggestions? Would you let WL move your luggage to Pop or not? Like I said I don't want to have to hunt it down late, late at night.

Since you have a car, I would put your luggage in the car and then drive over to the Pop and check in. I would then leave the car there and take a bus to the MK.

I would do it in this pattern so that I wasn't thinking all day about having to check in at the Pop after 10:30 in the evening and it minimizes the time spent traveling back & forth.

Liz

12-07-2007, 08:06 AM

Since you have a car, I would put your luggage in the car and then drive over to the Pop and check in. I would then leave the car there and take a bus to the MK.

I would do it in this pattern so that I wasn't thinking all day about having to check in at the Pop after 10:30 in the evening and it minimizes the time spent traveling back & forth.

Thank you! That's what I was thinking but kept waffling due to wanting to hit the Fantasyland attractions at rope drop. If we got up real early and went to Pop and still tried to make it to MK rope drop I doubt we would have the energy to stay till closing.

Did you notice as my itinerary got towards the end of the week it started looking more like yours with just the few highlights we wanted to be sure and see?:thumbsup2

Good grief, its turning into an absolute blizzard outside. :eek: Better leave for work! Hope you (and everyone else) has a great day!

TheDISneyFamily

12-09-2007, 09:28 AM

Liz

12-09-2007, 10:38 AM

Hi Liz!!! I found you! This is Michelle (mlill) with my new screen name. (I'm not sure if you knew that I changed it.) I remembered that you were going back to WDW for Christmas! :santa: I'm so happy to find your pre-TR! It looks like you have your plans all set... well, except for your last day... I agree with Donald is #1's suggestion. You guys are going to have such a great time! Take lots of pictures, OK?!

Your getting lost in the dark wilderness story was scary! :eek: We did the same thing going to some friends' house a few weeks ago. DH thought that he would take the scenic route... needless to say... we saw way more scenery than we wanted to! We took the interstate back home, just like you did. LOL! :lmao: I'm glad you made it to Jeff's concert in one piece! :hug:

If I don't get a chance to tell you before you leave...

:rainbow: Have a great time in WDW!!! :rainbow:

Take care,
Michelle

Michelle! Hi!! So glad you stopped by my little pre-trippie! I did not know you changed your screen name so I'm glad you came over to say hi:wave2: ! I can't wait to catch up on your October trip! Your family just seems so sweet. I love reading about your adventures! I'm so busy trying to get everything done in the next six days so I'm thinking about printing out your TR and reading it on the plane! Doesn't that sound so fun?!!!

Merry Christmas to your family!! :santa:

Liz

12-09-2007, 10:56 AM

Well I've been able to get a lot done this weekend towards our trip NEXT SATURDAY! I can't believe I'm saying that. The month of September seemed to be 60 days long as the time dragged by.

A snowstorm this weekend kept me home and focused on my "To Do" list. Don't we all have those as we prepare to leave home? Last night as the weather cleared a bit Laura and I headed to Wal-Mart with our list of things we needed to buy for the trip. A staggering $156 later we left the store!!! Holy Cow!

Its always a horrible thought that someone might be sick on vacation. We had that once when Laura was sick for her entire Make A Wish trip. That was truly hearbreaking. Traveling in winter seems to increase the odds of catching something. I remember last December sitting in the waiting area at the airport and trying to avoid the "coughers" and hoping they weren't sitting by us (not that it would matter as we'd all breathe the same air.) We dodged the bullet and stayed pretty well at Disney last year. I got sick our second week in Florida and had to find a doctor for a bad sinus infection but its okay if you have to be sick at your mom's house.

But in order to be prepared for any event that might occur while at WDW, here's what's in my ziploc bag of medical provisions:

Theraflu
Mucinex
Tylenol
Imodium
Sinus medicine
Cough drops
Thermometer
Thermometer covers

Oh please let us come home with all these things unopened!!!

Liz

12-10-2007, 07:38 PM

Have you visited the creative geniuses on the DISign board? I highly recommend it if you have TIME and LUCK! Both of which I am running extremely short of now!

I had just two designs made for our trip. One for our Segway tour:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/segwaymom-1.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/segwaydad-1.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/segwayjeff.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/segwayKelsee.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/segwaylaura.jpg

And another for maybe our Magic Kingdom day:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/stick_jeff.jpg

This may be the only place these designs are ever seen because we are now 5 days away from take-off and I haven't gotten the first shirt made! Oh its not for lack of trying. I have the transfer paper and two white shirts and one gray but I can't find FIVE white shirts in the right sizes or FIVE gray shirts or FIVE of ANY color in the right sizes!!! The only store we have in town is a Wal-Mart. Tonight Laura and I ventured into Salt Lake City to go to Michaels. After about 15 minutes we had to turn around due to more . . . say it with me . . . . SNOW.

I figured it wasn't worth killing ourselves over a few shirts. If the weather clears on a night I'm free we'll try again. I think they would be very cute and hope it works out, especially since some wonderful DISers went to the trouble to make them for us.

Oh well, its not like I don't have anything I can be doing tonight at home. Which I better get busy doing right now!

Liz

12-12-2007, 09:41 PM

I'm in the middle of making shirts tonight which means the weather was good enough to run into Salt Lake last night. We purchased five white tees for the Segway shirts and five red tees for the one with the stick figures. So far we have six successes and one failure (the first one I tried to make on the red tees). But one failure means another trip back to Salt Lake City for a replacement red shirt. Hopefully that's the only reject in the bunch because I have so much to do. Luckily Jeff got home from college tonight (semester and finals are over!) and he can probably run in and get the shirt for me.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't like to go on vacation and leave my house a mess, which it is right now. Especially since people will be coming into our home to take care of what we fondly refer to as "the puppies":

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_1846.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_1771.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_1934.jpg

As you can see they aren't the least bit spoiled! :goodvibes ;)

Friday night we're having "Christmas" and opening presents. Thankfully I'm almost ready for that. Dinner is going to be simple to prepare and simple to clean up. I'm thinking pizza. Just taking a few gifts to Florida so the kids can have something to open on real Christmas day.

My "To Do" list looks something like this:

Do laundry
Clean the house
Finish packing
Finish shirts
Deliver Christmas gifts :santa:
Work two more days (oh how everything would be so much simplier if I could stay home!)

Back to shirt making! I tried keeping it as a surprise but Laura is in on it now and is my able assistant! Jeff know I'm doing something with shirts and keeps taking a peek as I shoo him away! Hope its all worth it!!!

hddanis

12-13-2007, 12:01 AM

Stopping in to say hi! Love your puppies, are any puppies really spoiled? I think not. Our poopies (yep, that's what we call them) aren't spoiled at all. They have their own couch in the family room...

I get the nightmares too. I'm already having them and I've still got 42 days left. Mine are about me leaving MY meds at home:scared1: I've been in and out of the hospital over the past couple of months and the idea of me being without my meds terrifies the daylights out of me.

Liz

12-14-2007, 08:15 AM

Liz

12-14-2007, 08:18 AM

Last night my husband came home late from Salt Lake. I had him stop at Michaels and pick up a replacement red shirt. Early this morning (about 4:30 AM) when I couldn't sleep I took it out of the bag and threw it in the washing machine then later the dryer. Just now before going to work I went to iron on the last transfer with the Mickey stick people and I looked at the shirt more closely. He got a YOUTH size XL not an ADULT XL. So we are STILL one shirt short and there is NO TIME to go back to SLC and get another one. I'm going to check Wal-Mart and see if they have a red tee. It may not be the exact same shade of red. And if they don't have one then one person will just have to not have a matching shirt. Unfortunately that one person is me!!!

carissanboys

12-14-2007, 08:25 AM

Hi Liz :)

Sorry to hear about your t-shirt troubles! I'll bet they turn out great.

I wanted to wish you a fabulous trip and I can't wait to hear all about it once you return. Have a great time!

Liz

12-15-2007, 06:03 AM

Hi Liz :)

Sorry to hear about your t-shirt troubles! I'll bet they turn out great.

I wanted to wish you a fabulous trip and I can't wait to hear all about it once you return. Have a great time!

Thanks for the good wishes! I hope everything goes well! I think if we can all stay healthy everything else will take care of itself! I'll have to catch up on your trippie when I get back!

Liz

12-15-2007, 06:10 AM

Well the day is finally here! We leave for the airport in three hours. My clock was set to get up at 6 AM but I actually got up at 5:15 and was awake long before that. Figured I can sleep on the plane. I likely won't but I could!

Last night I was so exhausted but we had a fun "Christmas" and opened our gifts other than the few things that are going to Florida with us. The kids were thrilled with everything. Both of them got new digital cameras and Jeff got a share of Disney stock which he said is the best gift he has ever gotten in his whole life. I almost got Laura one and wish I had because she wanted one too.

But anyway, last night I felt like I might be getting sick. I think it was just from being so tired. I feel better this morning.

The t-shirt troubles are mostly solved. We got another red one at Wal-Mart and I finished it last night. Its not the same shade of red but who cares at this point. I was going to redo my white Segway one because it has a little bit of burned marks on it from the iron. I did my shirts first so any boo boos could be on them. I ended up being just too tired to redo it and its not that noticeable.

Almost all packed except for the last minute stuff. Still doing a little bit of laundry and straightening up. Can't wait to go and hopefully we don't have any problems with bad weather in St. Louis. Apparently they are having snow today!

We'll be in Disney World till the 23rd but won't be back home till the 31st. Merry Christmas everyone!!!

IluvXU

12-18-2007, 04:28 PM

Your at WDW- sending good wishes your way!:banana: :banana: :banana:

MARY-IN-OH

12-27-2007, 09:54 AM

Getting excited to hear everything!!!!! Hope you had a wonderful time!
mary

Liz

12-31-2007, 07:39 PM

We're home! Happy New Year everybody!!! I'm so tired. We've been up since 2:40 AM Utah time so I don't think I'll still be up in five more hours to ring in the new year!

We had some very good Disney days and some not so good. Will try to update again soon!

Liz

01-02-2008, 09:30 PM

This has been a hard year for our family so its not with any sadness that 2007 is behind us. I was really hoping this Florida trip would end the year on a positive note.

Let the fun begin!

I usually like to book the earliest flight to Florida available (around 6 AM departure) but its a difficult conversation to ask someone to take us to the airport at 4 AM! The morning of December 15th was somewhat relaxed since we didn't have to leave for the airport till 9 AM.

I still got up early and spent the morning packing our last minute items, DISing and watching the clock. Right on time at 9 AM my sister-in-law showed up for our ride to the airport. It was a cold, cold Utah morning and my SIL's van was freezing! We didn't say anything but huddled a little closer together for warmth in the backseat.

Just as we reached the area of the airport terminal where we were to be dropped off my SIL's van started overheating and losing power. She assured us everything was fine and we should go on. After unloading our luggage we exchanged hugs and waved goodbye as SIL drove away. We took our luggage to the skycaps and all of us had chattering teeth from the biting cold.

Inside the airport the security line was extremely long but moved at a steady pace. Shoes off, liquids bagged, video camera out of its case - it was so much easier in the old days when the greatest concern was whether you remembered to remove keys from your pocket. One of our carry-ons was pulled aside because I hadn't taken out the portable DVD player. I saw a bag that belonged to another flying passenger being opened and several full sized bottles of hair care products were being removed and discarded. What do you suppose happens to all the stuff they confiscate? What a waste if its just thrown away. I hope it is taken to a homeless shelter or something.

Once we found our gate, Paul called his sister to make sure she had gotten home okay and we were horrified to learn she was broken down just outside the airport and was waiting for a tow truck. :eek: She was so nice and said all would be fine, there was nothing we needed to worry about. Still we felt so bad for her. She said airport security had stopped by to make sure she was okay. Several days later when we talked to her again we found out the oil pump (I think) had gone out. I don't know what we would have done if the van had broken down between home and the airport. I guess we would have had to call a cab??!! I'm glad it didn't come to that!

Sitting at the airport would anyone guess we were DISers?

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3610.jpg

Jeff was on the phone with Kels and found out she was in traffic and running late for her flight!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3612-1.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3613.jpg

Finally Jeff reported Kels was at the airport and would make her flight. We were also aboard our Southwest flight and headed for our first destination - St. Louis.

Laura and I sat together in a window and middle seat. The aisle seat was occupied by a beautiful and stylish young lady who had the pointest shoes I had ever seen in my life! I couldn't help looking but didn't want to stare but I kept thinking there must be 4" of shoe before her toes started! I am so not up on the current fashions but she looked quite beautiful.

We landed in St. Louis early. I had been monitoring St. Louis weather reports all week and was concerned we would be delayed. Here's what it looked like as we waited on the ground:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3618.jpg

We didn't have to change planes, just wait to take off again. Jeff talked to Kels and found out she had made it to Las Vegas and was on her way to Florida.

Additional passengers got on and we were able to take off for Florida! We changed our seating arrangement and I sat by Jeff on the way to Orlando. I could tell I was tired because he was talking about all the things we were going to do at Disney World and while I tried to be as excited as he was, none of it sounded as good as a nap.

Up next: We made it!

MARY-IN-OH

01-03-2008, 06:58 PM

checkin in, and looking forward to the next installment! Whew! glad Kels made the flight, I was :scared1: there for a minute!
-mary

carissanboys

01-04-2008, 07:33 AM

Welcome home! :)

Great start so far. Can't wait to hear all about the trip :)

Liz

01-07-2008, 08:50 AM

Our flight arrived in Orlando at 6:50 PM. Kels flight wouldn't arrive till 8:15 so we left Jeff in the terminal to wait at her gate. They would get her luggage and take Magical Express to our hotel and meet us there. None of us had taken ME before but hoped it would all go smoothly.

Laura, Paul and I retrieved our wet luggage. Yes wet. I hoped the contents were dry because we know how well things dry out in Florida.

We missed having Jeff's help with the luggage but found our way to National. We looked for the Emerald reserve aisle for the full sized cars. A National rep asked if she could point us in the right direction and I showed her my confirmation. She pointed right in front of where she was standing and indicated we could choose any of the cars available. We were gazing at huge, luxurious SUV's, etc. I then noticed the sign said "executive" or something like that. Luckily I new that wasn't what we reserved and we moved over to the full sized aisle. I have no idea why the National rep told us to choose from the executive aisle. We never would have gotten out of the airport with one of those vehicles I'm sure.

As much as I plan and plan I always seem to leave something important behind. It didn't take long to find out what it was on this trip. I made a change to our National reservation just a few days before our departure and threw away the old print out and replaced it with the new one. Only I threw away the $30 OFF COUPON as well and didn't realize it till we stopped at the booth as we exited the airport. The very nice National employee asked for the coupon and said he couldn't locate it in his system. When I couldn't find it he said he would have to charge me $30 more. :sad2: However, he said he would note in the computer and write on our paperwork that the car was empty when we picked it up so we could return it as empty as we could instead of having to return it full and that would save us most likely more than $30. :wizard: Wonderful! We were on our way!

We easily found our way to All Star Music! This was our first time to stay here and would only be visiting for one night but I was excited to see it. Paul and Laura sat with the luggage while I checked us in. I was hoping they would let me check in for both rooms and they did. I had requested rooms in the Jazz section but received parking lot view rooms in the Rock & Roll section. It was a little farther from the main building but okay for one night.

When I checked in I asked the CM what the procedure was for having luggage moved to the Wilderness Lodge the next day. He said to call Luggage Assistance from our room and make arrangements for them to pick it up.

We drove around closer to our room and hauled everything to our rooms. We came into the rooms and were excited to find this!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3621.jpg

And hidden Mickeys in the carpet!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3624.jpg

Got a phone call from Jeff. Kelsee had arrived safely, they had picked up her luggage and found Magical Express. They were sitting alone on the bus waiting to leave the airport. He said while they were waiting for the bus a CM was talking to them and saying how he feels like he is in "prison" working for Disney because they never let him sit down! At first I thought he was talking about the bus driver but he said no, it was someone in the airport who dealt with people waiting for ME. Not a very magical way to begin your vacation to hear a CM complaining like that. I could see that it was going to take a lot longer for them to join us than I had anticipated. It was going to be a super late night!

While we waited I took a couple more pictures in the room:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3622.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3625.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3623.jpg

Jeff called again to say they were on their way. We headed down to the main building to wait for them. Once they arrived there were hugs all around.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3628.jpg

None of us had had dinner so we were starving. We ate at the food court, which was tasty especially since we were all so hungry. I can't remember what we all had but it seems like just cheeseburgers and sandwiches of some kind.

We walked through the resort saying we would take pictures in the morning when it was light outside. Its really very pretty there. It was so late though. Jeff and Kelsee arrived at the resort at 10:15, two hours after Kels plane landed. It took a long time to get her luggage and once they were on the bus there was a long wait before it left.

We ordered a wake up call for both rooms and went to bed, excited to move to the Wilderness Lodge in the morning!

Best part about today: We all arrived safely and we love All Star Music

Worst part about today: The time it took for us all to finally be together at the resort

Donald is #1

01-07-2008, 06:59 PM

Only I threw away the $30 OFF COUPON as well and didn't realize it till we stopped at the booth as we exited the airport. The very nice National employee asked for the coupon and said he couldn't locate it in his system. When I couldn't find it he said he would have to charge me $30 more. :sad2: However, he said he would note in the computer and write on our paperwork that the car was empty when we picked it up so we could return it as empty as we could instead of having to return it full and that would save us most likely more than $30. :wizard: Wonderful! We were on our way!

Wow! That was an awesome compromise by the person at the exit booth!

MARY-IN-OH

01-08-2008, 03:32 PM

Checkin in! Can't wait to hear more! popcorn::
-mary

carissanboys

01-10-2008, 10:45 AM

I'm curious what time your wake up call was for! I hope not too early ;)

Can't wait to read more! :)

Liz

01-10-2008, 10:37 PM

Your at WDW- sending good wishes your way!:banana: :banana: :banana:

Thanks for stopping by to say hi! :)

Liz

01-10-2008, 10:49 PM

Wow! That was an awesome compromise by the person at the exit booth!

I know! And I'm so stupid when he was explaining what he wanted to do I said "no, I don't want to do that, we'll just fill the car up before we bring it back." I thought he was trying to sell us that pre-paid fuel program. My husband had to tell me what he wanted to do for us!

Liz

01-10-2008, 10:51 PM

Checkin in! Can't wait to hear more! popcorn::
-mary

Thanks for sticking with me Mary! More to come soon!

Liz

01-10-2008, 10:52 PM

I'm curious what time your wake up call was for! I hope not too early ;)

Can't wait to read more! :)

You'll find out real soon about our wake up call! ;) Stay tuned!

Do you know how to do that multiple quote thing? I used to know how but I've forgotten!

Liz

01-11-2008, 12:40 AM

Our wake up call was scheduled for 7:00 AM. The only problem was it never came in either room! Very odd! Not surprisingly I was already awake and got everyone moving which was not an easy thing to do because we had a BAD night. Paul snored loud enough to wake the folks sleeping in Cinderella's castle. He does that when he’s really tired but at least at home I can find refuge in another room. We semi-attacked him when he said he "didn't sleep well". Jeff also had a real hard time sharing a double bed.

When everyone was presentable and almost ready to head out, I called Luggage Assistance and asked what we needed to do to have our belongings moved to Wilderness Lodge. They said we should bring our luggage to the front of the resort and they would take care of it. I liked the instructions I received at the front desk the night before much better when they said Luggage Assistance would come to the room to get it.

We had a LOT of luggage between the five of us. I was down at the car with Jeff and Kelsee putting our carry-ons in the trunk and Paul came out to the landing to ask if we were ready to bring everything else down. I asked him to call Luggage Assistance again to see if there was any way they could come get the rest of our stuff. He called and told them we had bags that needed to be moved to the "Fort Wilderness Lodge". They said they would pick them up so we left the bags with a tip. I also left a note when I got back upstairs and learned there was a chance our bags might be headed for Fort Wilderness.

We hurried as fast as we could and were ready to leave the resort by 8:30, just 30 minutes behind schedule. Since we were running late we decided not to take the time to walk around and take pictures, which I kind of regret now but at the time seemed like the right thing to do. We did get these pictures outside the doors to our rooms:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3629.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3630.jpg

We drove to the Wilderness Lodge with a slight detour. We went through the Magic Kingdom entrance but weren't able to get over to the far right lane so we had to circle around and go back through the entrance plaza again. Seems like we made that same mistake last year when we stayed at the Ft. Wilderness cabins. We went through the same toll plaza our second time and stupidly I said “hi, it's me again” and started to explain why we were passing by twice in a matter of minutes. The CM had probably seen 100 cars in the time it took us to circle back around and must have been thinking “lady, I have no idea who you are nor do I care!” As soon as I said “Wilderness Lodge” he said “far right lane” and motioned us on.

We finally made it to the beautiful Lodge! We had been there to eat twice before but this was our first time as guests. In the process of checking in, I told the CM I did not want charging privileges on our account. Perhaps I misunderstood but I believe the CM told me if we didn't have charging privileges we couldn't have express check out.

“Does this mean the morning we leave I need to come to the front desk to check out?"

She said yes. I thought that was unusual but said okay.

While I was waiting for our CM to finish typing away at her computer, I overheard the guest on my right having a conversation with what appeared to be a supervisor. The guest stated his room was paid in full before they ever checked in and he couldn't understand why charges for the amount of his hotel room were being added to his account each night. Hearing his side of the story I didn't understand why he was receiving the charges either. I'll have to say from my point of view it seemed like the supervisor didn't handle the matter very well. He talked down to the guest and said something about it being like a savings plan. I didn't get to hear how it came out but was left with the overall impression that the supervisor could have been nicer.

We had a courtyard view and Kelsee had a standard view. I was hoping we would be blessed with some Disney magic and Kelsee would be upgraded to courtyard too. Sadly it was not meant to be. The CM said they placed us as close together as possible. We were both on the 4th floor north wing, our room being 4023 and Kelsee's was 4044.

Jeff came up to the counter and asked where we might find Humphrey. The CM next to ours wasn't busy and she indicated she didn't know what he was talking about. Our CM explained to her co-worker that Humphrey was the bear on the bottom of the totem pole and people rubbed his nose for good luck or something. She said his nose had been rubbed so many times that they had to repaint it. And she told Jeff it was outside the Mercantile.

Before we were finished at the counter I asked if there were any openings for flag family during our stay. She checked and said the earliest available was the 23rd. We were still going to be at Disney on the 23rd but moving to Pop Century on the 22nd. Rats! I hate split stays!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0020.jpg

Our rooms weren't ready so we left our carry-ons with the valet staff and hurried for the boat dock to the Magic Kingdom. As we were making our way along the boardwalk we heard a boat horn so we hurried faster. Once we got there we found it to be the blue flag boat instead of the red which we wanted. Recently they changed the boat routes and this new red line would take us directly to and from the Magic Kingdom without having to stop at Ft. Wilderness! Nice!

On the boat to MK, I asked Jeff where his camera was. Both Laura and Jeff got new digital cameras for Christmas (we had our Christmas on the 14th, the day before departing for Florida). I knew Laura had hers but hadn't seen Jeff with his. He said it was in his backpack (that we had just left with the valet at WL). I gently chastised him and said that wasn't a good idea because it could be stolen. I am a worrier and knew I needed to put some serious effort into not letting this ruin my day and said a prayer that the people who were handling our luggage were honest. The camera wasn't hundreds of dollars but it was expensive enough that I would be SICK if we got back and it was gone.

Laura's photos from the boat:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0023.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0029.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0026.jpg

Next: Our day in the most Magical Kingdom of all!

carissanboys

01-11-2008, 06:44 AM

You'll find out real soon about our wake up call! ;) Stay tuned!

Do you know how to do that multiple quote thing? I used to know how but I've forgotten!

Under each person's response is a "+ symbol. Click on that for each person you want to reply to. Then when you hit reply, all of the quotes will show up. I just learned how to do it fairly recently ;)

carissanboys

01-11-2008, 06:51 AM

Jeff and Kelsee make such a cute couple :love:

I completely understand your problem with getting over to the right lane at the entrance!! We stayed at SOG last time and the same thing happened to us the first (and perhaps 2nd and 3rd ;)) time we tried to go through. I felt like we kept going in circles! Well, that's probably because we were :)

Bring on the MK!

klj27

01-11-2008, 07:02 AM

Our wake up call didn't come on our first day either! Can't wait to read more.

Liz

01-11-2008, 08:58 AM

Under each person's response is a "+ symbol. Click on that for each person you want to reply to. Then when you hit reply, all of the quotes will show up. I just learned how to do it fairly recently ;)

Yea! It worked! Thanks!!

Jeff and Kelsee make such a cute couple :love:

I completely understand your problem with getting over to the right lane at the entrance!! We stayed at SOG last time and the same thing happened to us the first (and perhaps 2nd and 3rd ;)) time we tried to go through. I felt like we kept going in circles! Well, that's probably because we were :)

I think they are pretty adorable too! :)

I'm glad we aren't the only ones who had troubles with that far right lane!

Our wake up call didn't come on our first day either!

What's up with that?! I know we did it right because the rest of our trip we got our wake up calls just fine! Weird! Thanks for reading!!

Liz

01-13-2008, 04:01 PM

December 16

Entering the Magic Kingdom was wonderful and the weather was perfect!

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I was expecting heavier than normal crowds based on DIS reports but it didn't seem crowded at all.

There was lots of this going on:

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We basically threw the itinerary out the window (gasp!) and headed for Tomorrowland.

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We stopped at the first thing we came to, the Laugh Factory, and went inside. Jeff sent in a couple of text jokes and soon we were able to enter the theater. This would be fun! During the show they came to speak to Jeff. They asked where he was from and he said "Salt Lake City, Utah". The monsters said “the funny thing about Salt Lake is there actually isn't any salt or a lake but it is the home of the Eiffel Tower!”

Later in the show they read two of the jokes Jeff sent in via text! It was lots of laughs!

From there we went on Buzz . . . .

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. . . and the People Mover. You know its not a crowded day at the Magic Kingdom when your third ride of the day is the People Mover! By that I mean we weren't feeling the need to rush to the next attraction as quickly as we could. Paul and I were in one car followed by the “kids”.

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I had to smile and remind Paul that “Zzub likes that part” when we heard the page for “Tom Morrow!”

Everyone went on Space Mountain but me. I looked around the gift shop at the end of the ride then sat down to wait. A cast member came over to ask me some survey questions which, in my opinion, need to be tweaked a bit. For instance I was asked if I went in the arcade.

No, I replied.

The next question was "please rate the friendliness of the arcade staff".

Um, I didn't go in the arcade.

When it became obvious that wasn't an acceptable answer I gave them a good rating and hoped they deserved it.

After we all were back together Jeff said Kelsee loves the Tea Cups so we went to take a spin!

Only to find disappointment in that it was C-L-O-S-E-D. Darn.

Well Fantasyland beckoned so we rode Pooh with its catchy little tune of "Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, la la la la la la la la stuffed with fluff he's Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh, silly nilly willy old bear!" After the ride Kelsee was singing the Pooh song with all the words and all the verses! I already knew this was a jewel of a girl but this just proved it!

We rode Snow White, Peter Pan and Small World.

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We were hungry at this point and Pinocchio's Village House was convenient. I believe everyone got pizza (really good or else we were really hungry) except Paul who got a cheese steak sandwich.

From there we went in the newly renovated Haunted Mansion and then Jeff and Kelsee went over to Tom Sawyer's Island for awhile. I can't remember why the rest of us didn't feel like going over there but we took the opportunity to use the bathroom and relax.

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Paul and Laura went on Splash Mountain.

Can you spot Jeff & Kels coming back from the Island? Its our own version of "Where's Waldo"! Clue: Kels has a Santa hat on!

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When Jeff and Kelsee got back from the island we all rode Big Thunder Mountain. Jeff, Kels and Paul rode Splash. Laura didn't feel like going on it again so we planned out where to go next.

We debated watching the afternoon parade but decided instead to head over to Pirates and then watch the Tutorial. It wasn't my favorite Capt. Jack but he did a good job. He just wasn't the one who was a dead ringer for Johnny Depp.

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During the tutorial in the part where they have the kids say "there's the governor's daughter!” one kid yelled "there's the president's daughter!" It was so funny, especially the reaction of Capt. Jack and his mate.

We took a ride on the Jungle Cruise . . . .
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. . . . then stopped to use our first snack credits on the fabulously wonderful Dole Whip. What I wouldn't do to have one of those right now!

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Jeff and Kels went over to say hi to Rafiki.

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We thought of what we could do till time for the castle lighting ceremony and decided to go back to Fantasyland to see Mickeys Philharmagic. On the way we ran into these “lovely” ladies!

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As we were leaving them, one of the girls told Jeff to "bring a ring next time!" When he indicated by pointing to Kelsee that he was "taken" they were disgusted!

After Philharmagic we found a place in front of the castle right next to the statue of Minnie to wait for the lighting ceremony and WISHES.

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Laura and I held our places while Jeff and Kels went shopping and Paul wandered. While we were waiting I was approached by a lady who asked "so what boards do you hang out on?" A DISER!!!!!!! She had seen my lime green Mickey head on my backpack! I was thrilled! It was "UP Disney" (which stands for Upper Peninsula). We talked about their stay and ours, we met her husband and she met our family when they returned. It was like running into a friend you didn't know you had!

The castle lighting was AMAZING!

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We had seen video of it but in person it was just fantastic! After the lighting ceremony my DIS friend left to do other things while we waited for Wishes! Wishes is one of the things before we left home that I was really looking forward to. Sometimes things get built up in your mind that they are going to be a certain way and occasionally it actually lives up to your dream! In my pre-WDW mind I imagined us all standing there watching Wishes side by side, perhaps even arm in arm (corny I know but its my dream so I can make it as corny as I'd like)!

Well my dream was partially coming true because we were all together (which is all that really mattered) until a giant of a man came to stand about three feet in front of me with his tiny wife. Unfortunately I'm not referring to his character when I say he was a giant of a man. He truly was a big guy, like 6' 5". He wasn't in front of me enough that I could say "hey you can't stand there" (not that I would be brave enough to say that in a million years) but he was clearly in my way, especially when he raised his arms to take pictures (one right after another).

So the reality of my Wishes dream consisted of my family all standing 3-4 feet behind me while I moved up to stand beside Mr. Giant so I could see and take pictures of my own. He so easily could have stood behind his wife. Irritates me even now. When I got up beside him I said in a loud voice "CAN YOU SEE LAURA??" She said yes because he wasn't in front of her but that was about as brave as I got when it came to standing up for myself. Wishes was still amazing but I was glad we would have another opportunity to see it later in the week. Or so I thought.

Stay tuned for part 2 below!

Liz

01-13-2008, 04:07 PM

Enjoying the show:

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Here's a beautiful picture Laura took of the castle and fireworks!
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As soon as the fireworks ended we did the theme park shuffle out of the park.

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Mickey's Christmas Party was starting and we didn't have tickets. In one of my original drafts of our itinerary I had us going to the party but we ended up needing to cut a few corners financially so we nixed the party, didn't have hopper passes, did the split stays (did I mention I hate split stays), etc.

One of the best things about staying at WL is the easy boat transportation to and from MK. Its incredibly convenient to exit the park and walk straight to the boat dock. While we were waiting for our boat to come, I mentioned how anxious I was to get back to the Lodge and make sure Jeff's camera was still there. Kels said she left some valuables in her unlocked luggage too - her laptop for instance!!! I was so glad I didn't know this till we were almost back to the Lodge because I would have had a hard time not worrying about that all day.

Waiting for the boat we were all cold and tired. We'd had a long but extremely fun day. I dreaded the thought of having to go back to the Lodge, get our luggage delivered and settle in to our room. It would have been so nice to stay in one place and have all that done the night before.

When we arrived back at the Lodge we went straight to the 4th floor, stopping first at Kelsee's door. Her key wouldn't work after multiple attempts. We sent Jeff and Kelsee back down to the front desk to see what the problem was. Paul, Laura and I went to our room (4023) and were so impressed with what we saw. I immediately went to see our view and loved it! My only request on our reservation was a view of Silver Creek Springs pool (or is it Silver Springs Creek pool, I can never remember). I didn't want to make a lot of requests because I wanted to make it as easy as possible for our room to be close to Kelsees. When I made the request I did the reservations CM told me ALL courtyard rooms had a view of the main pool. I told her that was not correct and some courtyard rooms had a view of the villa pool.

Mousekeeping had left this for us:

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Jeff came back to our room and reported Kelsee was originally supposed to have a different room but was moved at the last minute so that's why her keys didn't work. She was now in her room and settling in.

We called to have our luggage brought up and good news - they had everything from All Star Music and it didn't end up at Fort Wilderness! They also brought up the stuff we had left with Valet and my heart pounded until we saw that Jeff's camera and Kelsee's laptop were safe. You'd like to think that nothing is ever taken at Disney but we all know that it can happen.

We had dinner ADR's at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We had only eaten breakfast here in the past and I wasn't real impressed with their dinner menu but we knew it would be fun and it sure fit the bill for convenience.

We checked in a bit early and told them we were happy to wait. A musical group was performing in the lobby of the Lodge so we enjoyed hearing them sing and looked at the menu. We weren't sitting for more than five minutes when we were called. As we were taken to our table we were told they had to be quiet and not have the usual loud "fun" until the lobby performers were done for the evening. I was a little disappointed but we were tired so having the fun toned down a little worked for us.

This was our first time ever on the dining plan. I had carefully planned our TS meals and there were two instances when we would need to share entrees and tonight was one of them. Jeff and Kelsee would share, Laura and I shared and Paul had his own meal. We were seated about 7:50 and at 8:00 the performances must have ended because the whooping and hollering started with wild abandon! The kids had pony races, a neighboring diner had to ride a stick horse around the lobby for making fun of his wife, we twirled our napkins and had an okay meal. The food wasn't great and I wouldn't go here again for dinner but it was sure nice being able to just go up to our rooms afterward and get ready for bed!

We'd had a LONG but extremely fun day!!!

Best part of the day: Almost everything!

Worst part of the day: Finding out Kelsee's room couldn't be next to ours.

carissanboys

01-13-2008, 06:22 PM

klj27

01-13-2008, 09:18 PM

I can't believe that you didn't have big crowds! How fabulous!!

winkers

01-13-2008, 11:00 PM

Liz! I'm so glad I found your report! I haven't "seen" you in awhile!

I have to say I love the song to IASW!:rotfl:

Liz

01-14-2008, 08:30 AM

What a great report so far Liz!! And those are amazing pictures!! You must have a nice camera ;)

That's so great that the crowds were low. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for our trip. And how neat that you got to meet a DISer! :)

Glad you are enjoying our adventures! :) The pics are a combination of mine and Laura's. My camera is just a little Kodak and Laura's is the camera she got for Christmas which is a Canon PowerShot A560. I want one like hers now!

I can't believe that you didn't have big crowds! How fabulous!!

It was wonderful! It got busier later in the day as people arrived for the Christmas party but all day long it was perfect!

Liz! I'm so glad I found your report! I haven't "seen" you in awhile!

I have to say I love the song to IASW!:rotfl:

Hi Cherie! I've still been reading your TR at work where its hard for me to respond! :surfweb: I thought of you more than once on this trip, although I will say we didn't have dental problems. Betcha wonder why I would think of you then? Stay tuned!

Glad you liked the song! It was pretty funny!

TheDISneyFamily

01-14-2008, 04:41 PM

Entering the Magic Kingdom was wonderful and the weather was perfect!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_36332.jpg

I just love this picture! You all look so happy! :goodvibes Liz, I'm really enjoying your TR and I can't wait to read more! I'm interested to see how well it went taking Kelsee along, because we just asked my son's girlfriend to go with us on our next vacation!

Hope your new year is off to a great start! :hug:
Take care,
Michelle

Liz

01-16-2008, 09:56 PM

I just love this picture! You all look so happy! :goodvibes Liz, I'm really enjoying your TR and I can't wait to read more! I'm interested to see how well it went taking Kelsee along, because we just asked my son's girlfriend to go with us on our next vacation!

Hope your new year is off to a great start! :hug:
Take care,
Michelle

Hi Michelle! Having Kelsee along really had no negatives at all! I think it depends on the individual but what better place to see how the girlfriend fits in with your family?!!

Liz

01-16-2008, 11:16 PM

December 17

Our view in the early morning light:
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http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3745.jpg

Kelsee's view:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3938.jpg

To the left:
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To the right:
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I forgot to mention when we were unpacking and getting ready for bed the night before I couldn't find my toothbrush or a huge bottle of conditioner I brought from home. I guess in our haste to leave All Star Music and get to Wilderness Lodge we didn't check the bathroom very well. Paul went downstairs to buy me a toothbrush. I told him some places have those sort of things complimentary if a guest forgets theirs but he just bought one figuring a toothbrush wouldn't be that expensive ($2.50). As for conditioner, we just shared the small complimentary bottles Mousekeeping brought each day. Losing my conditioner, buying a new toothbrush, paying tips to have our luggage taken to WL and delivered to our room once we got there - - kinda seems like the savings of staying at a Value for the night got a little bit diminished, not to mention the inconvenience. Guess I mentioned I'm not fond of split stays, huh? Well you never know till you give it a try. Oh yeah, and I found my toothbrush in a random pocket of our luggage – when we got home!

Bright and early we were up at 7 AM. This time the wake up call worked! Laura and I were the first ready so we went down to the lobby to wait for the others. The Lodge is so beautiful, especially at Christmas!

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Today was one of our two Epcot days. Epcot is my favorite park and I was excited to go! It was a brisk Florida morning and the forecast indicated it would be that way all day and get even colder as the day turned to night. We drove to the park instead of taking Disney transportation so we could leave all our warm clothes and blankets in the trunk and go get them before it got dark. Originally our Segway tour was scheduled for today. I was glad I had rescheduled it because it would have been a chilly morning for that!

A few granola bars in hand for breakfast, we all got in the car and I said "everyone got their passes?" Laura looked for hers and in a panic said she thought she left it in the room. Thankfully we figured it out before getting all the way to Epcot. Paul went upstairs with her and a few minutes later they called down to the car and said they couldn't find it. We were tearing apart the car to make sure it hadn't fallen out of her purse there. I ran upstairs to help them look and when we couldn't find it we went back to the car. I figured we'd just have to buy her another one. No big deal, wasn't going to ruin our day, its only money, right? Then Laura had an inspiration. She remembered she put it in her camera bag, not her wallet! Hooray! Pass found! It was with her the whole time! We were on our way! If Laura is forgetful she gets it from me. That's something I probably would have done too!

I had planned for us to spend most of the day touring World Showcase and our second Epcot day would have us mostly staying in Future World. Since it was so cold I did a switcheroo on the itinerary and decided we should do Future World today since the attractions are mainly indoors. It worked well!

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We were excited to see Spaceship Earth open so that was our first stop. The changes to the ride were nice, although I was not fond of the animation at the end on the touch screens. There were a couple of fun games at the exit which we watched for a few minutes. I tried to guide us along since we had a bit of a late start and figured we'd come back to those games later if we had time.

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From there we helped find Nemo as we rode along in our clam shells then walked around viewing the fish and other exhibits. We especially enjoyed watching the manatees having their morning meal.

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We were able to get into Turtle Talk at the last minute just before they shut the doors. He's such a cool dude!

Listen to the Land was our next stop (I love this one)! We needed to have an early lunch since our dinner reservation was early. I'd heard good things about "Seasons" in the Land so we decided to have lunch there. Lots of choices! Can't remember what everybody had but I know I got Key Lime pie for dessert which was heavenly!!!

Our tummies full we went on Soarin and then next door to the Imagination pavilion. After riding the kids spent some time sending e-mails home. I looked around the store and found an Epcot t-shirt for only $4.99 and bought it for Laura. Seemed like all the apparel with 2007 on it was pretty inexpensive!

While we were waiting for the kids to finish their e-mails we sat outside in the sun by the fountains. The sun felt nice.

Just before posting this pic I spotted Laura's reflection in the mirror above the ImageWorks sign! She's wearing her pink crocs and pink jacket!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0169.jpg

I walked over to the place to meet Figment to see if anyone was in there. It was unlocked but not a soul was inside. It was kinda funny and cool being in there all alone so of course I had to show everyone else and have them check it out too.

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Part 2 immediately following!

Liz

01-16-2008, 11:42 PM

It was time for the free Disney VISA picture and I love something free! This turned out to be a BAD decision. The line had about 8-10 groups in it as best I could estimate and was extremely slow moving. I figured everyone else could explore Innoventions while I stood in line so that helped somewhat. I don't know what some people do in there with the characters but they must have individual pictures with every family member. We shouldn't have waited but you know how it is, after you have waited awhile you figure you have invested that much time you might as well stick it out. And I kept thinking maybe the line would eventually move faster. The VISA picture must have gotten more popular or well known since last year. In 2006 there was only one family in line before us and it went really quick. Or maybe we just got lucky.

When we were finally able to go in we got pics with Mickey & Pluto! This one was taken with our own camera:

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We were making our way to the other side of Future World but stopped on the way to try the Coke products from around the world.

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And then there's Beverly:
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Notice Jeff's reaction. What a nice boyfriend! :rolleyes1
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We decided to see Ellen's Energy Adventure even though that's one of the things Jeff said he didn't really care for. He doesn't remember when it was truly boring and only educational with no entertainment value! We were waiting to go in and they announced there were technical difficulties so the ride would be closing. Another guest waiting with us exclaimed "there is a God!" We had a good laugh over that one.

Laura and I didn't want to go on Mission Space so we sat down in the sun to relax. Paul went on the non-spinny version while Jeff and Kelsee did the full deal. Kelsee didn't even realize they had been spinning and enjoyed it very much.

Jeff & Kelsee decided to do some shopping. Paul went to the car to get our warm hats, scarves, blankets, etc. Laura said she was tired and since we had to go all the way around to World Showcase for the Candlelight Processional later we got her a wheelchair. While Paul was headed to the car, Laura and I went to the Kodak shop to choose our free VISA picture. We had our picture taken approximately 2:15. It was about 4:00 when we were in the store. The pictures weren't on our Photopass card!!! I was so upset thinking we had wasted all that time in line and the pictures weren't even on our card!!! The CM said they probably just hadn't been uploaded into their system yet and to come back later. I said the reason I was there now is because I didn't want to come back later when there would surely be long lines. It seems like it takes people a long time to make their selections at the Photopass machines and I didn't want to be in that line when the park closed. He said the park wasn't at all busy that day so not to worry, there wouldn't be lines later. I was not happy but there didn't appear to be anything I could do about it. We left and took some pics while waiting for Paul to come back from the car:

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We all reunited and headed to Canada for our dinner reservations at LeCellier. I'd never eaten here before - - well I actually had back when it was a cafeteria years ago. I doubt it was called LeCellier then but could have been, I don't remember. I was excited to try this restaurant since it has such high praise on the DIS. But also a little nervous because often things don't live up to the high expectations set for it.

When we were checking in another guest was commenting on the cold and told the Canada CM that she “must be used to this kind of weather”. She replied “no, this is a different kind of cold.” She looked like she was freezing too!

Laura and I went to the restroom and came out to find the rest of our group already seated. We were right by the entrance to the restaurant. I’d read that tables were placed awfully close together at LeCellier but we didn’t find that to be true, at least where we were sitting.

The food and service can be summed up in one word – SUPERB!!! Every single thing that touched our lips from the diet Coke to the steak was PERFECT!!! LeCellier deserves every bit of its wonderful reputation.

Jeff had a smoothie for his drink:
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Cheese soup:
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Grilled Pork Chop
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Creme Brulee
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Chocolate Mousse
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When we exited the restaurant it felt like it had gotten a lot colder. We had our Candlelight Processional stickers on but I said if everyone was too cold and we didn’t want to stay that was okay. While we decided we heard Off Kilter playing so hurried over there to catch the end of their performance. We LUV us some Off Kilter! Jeff has two of their cds that we all enjoy listening to. Its kind of amusing to see this non-drinking Mormon family singing along to one of our favorites – “Whiskey in the Jar”!!!

We made our way over to the American Adventure pavilion. No one said it was too cold to stay. We were seeing the 8:15 Candlelight performance and it was about 7:00 when we arrived. I wanted us to be able to have good seats so I got in line and told everybody else to go do something, go in the shops, anything to try and stay warm. In every day life I’m fairly shy and wouldn’t start up conversations with strangers. But at Disney World its fun to talk to people. However this night I probably came across as being really unfriendly because I was bundled up with a scarf covering my face just trying to keep from freezing to death! After a little bit the line moved up enough that I was right by an empty spot on a BENCH! I was able to sit down and huddle into my not-warm-enough clothes some more. Its my own fault for being cold. The weather forecast before we left home showed fairly cold temps but I refused to bring my heavy coat. Lows in the 30’s didn’t sound too bad when that was the high temp in Utah. But standing by the water that night at Epcot was pretty darn freezing.

Jeff & Kelsee, Laura & Paul went to the Norway ride. Not sure what else they did but eventually I heard Jeff calling my name. They were trying to find me in line. I hoped my fellow line mates wouldn’t protest when four people came to join me. They were great about it and actually had people come join them too. The people just behind us had a daughter in the choir that night.

While I was sitting on the bench Jeff sat on my lap for awhile and it was really helpful to stay warm. Then Laura sat with me for awhile. Before long it was time to go in the theater.

At LeCellier they had given us a sticker to put on our clothing to indicate we had the purchased the dining package.

Well after all that waiting in line . . .

in the cold . . . . .

my sticker . . . .

was gone!!!

We frantically started looking for it on the ground, on the bench, on my clothes, on Jeff & Laura since they had been sitting in my lap. Even the people around me who I had been too cold to feel like talking to were helping look. Jeff said he would give me his so I could go in. What a sweetheart. I wouldn’t let him, of course, but so nice to offer.

Then, bless her heart, Kelsee found it! It had unattached itself from my jacket and attached to my fleece scarf! WHEW!! She found it just as they started to let people in the theater! If we hadn't been able to find it I wonder if they would have let me in if we explained. Luckily I don't have to find out what would have happened! I was surprised to see so many people already sitting down when we got in the theater. I’m guessing that was the handicap line that went first? Not sure.

We got pretty good seats, a little to the side but I wanted to be as close to the front as possible and under the shelter with some protection from the wind. No one had to ask us to scoot together to make room for others! We were scrunched up as close as possible to share the blankets and body heat!

I’m so glad we stayed for the Candlelight Processional!

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I enjoyed it soooooooo much more than last year! I don’t know if it was the narrator we had (Kirk Cameron) or if the mood I was in was much more receptive at the moment but it was fabulous. After seeing it last year I didn’t think we would do it again until the narrators were released and I knew I wanted to see Kirk Cameron. It was fun that it was somebody the kids knew too. Last year they were clueless as to who Edward James Olmos was (although he did an excellent job as well.)

We headed towards Morocco and found a wonderful spot there to watch Illuminations. The pre-Illuminations music was playing. We listen to Disney music at home on Live365.com and I always hit the mute button when some of the pre-Illuminations music plays because I don't care for it. I told Laura to put it on Mute and we laughed. It was an excellent view and not crowded at all. We weren’t quite as cold (at first) after being warmed up a bit during the CP. The special ending for the Christmas season is particularly wonderful! I was happy to be able to see it again!

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We made our way slowly out of the park and when we arrived at the Kodak store I looked to see if there was a line so I could choose our free Disney VISA photo. The line was semi-long – long enough that I knew I’d probably be in there half an hour – and we were ready to head back so I didn't get a picture.

We were back at Wilderness Lodge in no time at all. Whenever we drove to the parks Paul would always drop us off right at the door of the Lodge when we returned in the evening then he would go park the car. Our very own valet service! Up in our room we found this:

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Best part of the day: Being together at LeCellier and having a wonderful, relaxing meal

Worst part of the day: The long wait for the Disney VISA picture and then not even being able to get our free photo.

carissanboys

01-17-2008, 05:36 AM

klj27

01-17-2008, 07:30 PM

Another great report! FYI: You don't have to get your visa picture the same day you have it taken. We went back four days later with our coupon and got it then.

winkers

01-17-2008, 08:26 PM

I'm glad you had a good time at LeCellier and the candlelight processional!

Liz

01-17-2008, 09:53 PM

What a wonderful report Liz! I really enjoyed that :)

So glad to hear how much you enjoyed Le Cellier! I'm really excited for our dinner there.

I love that close up of Spaceship Earth! So cool! Although, it looks really weird to me without Mickey's arm! ;)

Hi Carissa! I know you will enjoy LeCellier! The creme brulee was wonderful! I noticed you are also eating at Wolfgang Puck Express. We ate there too - there are a ton of choices on the menu so maybe look at it online ahead of time so you aren't as overwhelmed as I was! I had creme brulee for dessert at WPE and it wasn't nearly as good as LeCellier. I bet you are so excited!

Another great report! FYI: You don't have to get your visa picture the same day you have it taken. We went back four days later with our coupon and got it then.

ACK!!! You're kidding?!!! :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: Okay, I know you aren't but :scared1: :scared1: darn it!!! I had no idea (obviously)!

I'm glad you had a good time at LeCellier and the candlelight processional!

Hi Cherie! Guess what I'm doing right now? Going through your trip report again page by page looking at the pictures! I've been reading your report at work and they have a block of some sort so pictures don't show up. So I can read the report and only imagine what the pictures look like! I just e-mailed Jeff, Kelsee and Laura the pics of your kids at Club Cool! Thanks for visiting my trippie!! :)

sunlver

01-18-2008, 07:12 AM

Just found your trip report and loving it:thumbsup2 . I expecially love all the photos. Waiting to read more :)

Liz

01-18-2008, 07:44 AM

Just found your trip report and loving it:thumbsup2 . I expecially love all the photos. Waiting to read more :)

Thanks so much! :goodvibes Glad to have a new reader!! :)

G8r4evr

01-20-2008, 02:26 AM

Loving your trippie! I also reeely enjoyed your last one, so Im excited that yall returned to the world to soon =))

Very glad to hear Laura's test results were good!

Liz

01-20-2008, 11:32 PM

Loving your trippie! I also reeely enjoyed your last one, so Im excited that yall returned to the world to soon =))

Very glad to hear Laura's test results were good!

Hi! Thanks for coming back to follow our WDW adventures again! Glad you enjoyed the last trip report!! :cool1:

Thanks for the good wishes for Laura! I can't believe we'll soon be coming up on time to do the tests again. :scared:

DizzneyDAnn

01-20-2008, 11:42 PM

subscribin'

Liz

01-21-2008, 06:14 PM

subscribin'

Welcome! :flower3:

Liz

01-21-2008, 10:23 PM

December 18

So far we've had two pretty long (but amazing) days! Could we handle one more without collapsing?!

Today was our one and only MGM day so we had to get an early start! Up at 7:00 again and out the door on time! Yea! While it was still chilly out, we could immediately tell it was warmer than yesterday. We decided to drive again and have our warmies in the trunk just in case we needed them in the evening.

On the way to the park I commented how I still had not ever seen the Dream Team in this or our last trip during the Year of a Million Dreams. Oh well, maybe sometime before we go home we'll get lucky! We parked in the AAA Diamond lot so we were pretty close to the entrance. I'd read a suggestion on the DIS where someone said they call and leave a message on their phone with the location of their vehicle so at the end of the day they can listen to their messages and know where to find their car. I called Paul's phone from mine and left a message so finding our car at the end of the day would be easy.

We made it in the park before it fully opened.

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We looked around the stores and then headed for our first stop, Rock N Rollercoaster!

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Everyone went on the ride and I looked around in the store that has nothing at all to really hold my interest.

They were off their limo ride fairly quickly and Wah-la!! They all were sporting dream fast passes!!! They met the dream team inside the queue for RnR!!! COOL!!!! I still hadn't seen the dream team but I was just as happy that they had! Kelsee said most of the people acted like they didn't realize what was happening or that they had won a dream!

Next stop - Tower of Terror!

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I again waited for them but I like this waiting area because there is a place to sit down and in the summer its dark and cool. And its fun watching everybody coming off the ride and seeing their reactions.

With the two biggies out of the way we went to see if we could get into Little Mermaid. A show had just started so it was awhile before the next one. Wanting to keep moving we tried the Great Movie Ride. It was having technical difficulties and not operating. Sheesh!

In retrospect we should have just waited for Little Mermaid or gone to the Animation Building (which I really wish we had done because we never got back there). Instead we moved on and headed for the Backlot Tour. On the way we stopped so Kelsee could take a peek at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground.

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Walking down the street we ran into these guys driving down the road! So cool!

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The beginning of the Backlot tour was very different that what we've seen before! They said it was too cold to have guests play the roles in their battleship scene so instead they demonstrated the different special effects they can do such as bullet shots in the water, sound effects, fire, etc.

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The CM went through each of those things twice and we were quickly on our way to the tram portion of the ride. We had a really funny tour guide which made it especially nice!

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From there we high tailed it back to the other side of the park to watch my favorite, Beauty & the Beast. Four for a Dollar were performing as we entered.

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MGM - part 2 below!

Liz

01-21-2008, 10:45 PM

We ate burgers at the little place across the street from B&B and they were okay. Nothing to write home about. We were on dessert overload from being on the dining plan. Sometimes it wasn't bad when the desserts were really yummy but when chocolate and carrot cake were the only choices - bleech! I'm not a big chocolate eater (strange, I know) but I love carrot cake. I even love rich icing like you get on cakes from the supermarket bakery. But neither of these choices were very good. The icing was almost as thick as the cake. I just don't recommend them!

Next we heard a voice that was hard to miss - Rosie the cleaning lady! She's HILARIOUS!!! We watched her for awhile and she had everyone laughing! What a hoot! The streetmosphere performers are one of my favorite things about MGM!

Going down the road we came upon an officer in the middle of the street! A guest was passing him with an orange and white striped shirt. The officer was yelling "Nemo! Nemo! I found Nemo! Oh wait, false alarm, never mind!" It was really funny! We asked if we could have a picture of him with Jeff and got this doozy:

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Last year we missed Little Mermaid so we wanted to make sure we saw it this time, even if we had to wait a little bit. Love it! Classic, wonderful Disney production!!!

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Indiana Jones was next. Jeff tried to get picked to be an extra but wasn't chosen. Maybe next time he should wear a Hawaiian shirt cuz they always seem to pick some guy wearing one!! ;)

It was about time for the afternoon parade so we found a spot by the famous head statues. We had to have a picture with Andy Griffith because in our house we love the old Andy Griffith shows. When I'm stressed or worried about stuff I pop in a DVD of the old shows and it helps me relax.

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We weren't early enough to get a spot right up front so we sat by the circular planter a little farther back.

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The kids asked if they could stand on the planter and I said you can and then we'll see how fast they come and tell you to get down. Umm, the answer to that question was about 30 seconds! The CM was really nice about it though and later came back again to suggest we stand behind the people sitting and we'd have a real nice view there.

Took a few photos while waiting for the parade to start:

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And some nice photos during the parade!

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Our next stop was to see if the Great Movie Ride was operational. It was and the line was long but we decided to wait anyway.

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Jeff & Kelsee went to see Lights, Motor, Action! Later they reported the whole stadium as being full. There were only two showings during the day and they went to the second one. When they came out of the show they saw Mulch, Sweat and Tears perform and really enjoyed that a lot. Now Jeff wants an electric drumset after seeing them.

Laura and I have seen LMA twice and don't care to see it again so we shopped and agreed to meet at 5:15 in front of Prime Time Cafe for our dinner reservation. Paul shopped some and watched more Streetmosphere performers.

I've been using pictures from Laura's and my cameras for this trip report and found this pic on Laura's memory card. Obviously Laura was doing some digital "shopping" of her own when I wasn't around! :rotfl:

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After our shopping was done we sat on a bench and people watched - always a fun past time! After receiving the dream fast pass Laura was getting into the whole "Year of a Million Dreams" concept. It was about 4:50 PM and I suggested we walk around a bit, maybe visit the restrooms, before meeting in front of Prime Time Cafe at 5:15. Laura said "let's just sit here till 5:00 because maybe the people sitting on this bench at 5:00 will win something!"

MGM - part 3 next!

Liz

01-21-2008, 11:05 PM

Eventually we all reunited at Prime Time Cafe! We always eat here! So fun!

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The last three times we have, just by luck, had Aunt Elaine as our server! We love her!

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When we checked in I asked to be seated in her section, if possible. We waited maybe 20 minutes or so when our name was called. Aunt Elaine came out to see who requested one of her tables. She told us it would probably be another 20 minutes before a table for our size was available in her area and we could wait or sit right next to her section and she would come visit us so that's what we did. She's a hoot!

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Jeff asked Aunt Elaine her opinion on the college program because that's something he's always been interested in. She said you have to be really mature and responsible because a lot of the CP kids party a lot and its easy to get distracted from what you should be doing. Jeff actually asked several people about the college program while we were on this trip and only one person acted really positive about the experience.

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After dinner we went to the Osborne lights! Very pretty! They played some really odd Christmas music when the lights danced.

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We saw another family that had the Mickey stick figures on their shirts! I made Paul chase them down and ask if they were DISers (which they were!) We didn't really stop to talk but said hi and told them we had the similar shirts to wear later in the week. That was fun and they seemed nice! Hope they didn't think we were stalkers!!

The kids wandered around looking at the lights as did Paul and I. I looked at my watch and realized it was getting close to time that we needed to be at the theater for Fantasmic! I called Jeff so they could meet us and we could head over. We found them and made our way quickly through the busy crowds viewing the lights. When we got out of the most crowded area I realized we were missing LAURA! Everyone stopped and waited to see if she was lagging behind and would catch up. When she didn't we had Kelsee stand at the entrance/exit to the lights in case Laura appeared. Paul, Jeff and I went back the way we came looking for her. I didn't know if she realized we weren't together and thought we were behind her so she turned back to look for us. I just had no idea where she was and felt SICK inside. All of us had cell phones but for some reason Laura's hadn't worked from the moment we arrived in Florida. And STUPIDLY we had no meeting place in case we became separated (its never really happened before and I guess we got lazy thinking it never would.) When we still couldn't find her we had Jeff & Kelsee go to Fantasmic to see if she had just gone there. Paul and I looked again up and down the Osborne lights street then went on to the Fantasmic theater ourselves, looking for Laura along the way. We got about half way there and I just felt like I should go back. The mother in me couldn't leave the last area where we had Laura with us and go on without her so Paul went on and I turned back. I wondered what a CM would say if I asked what to do in this situation. No idea. I mean Laura is 18 so its not like losing a child.

Finally Jeff called and said they were at Fantasmic and Laura was there! She knew where we were headed and when she became separated she just continued on by herself. She claims she never was lost, we just didn't show up!!! I told Jeff to hang on to her and give her a big hug, I was on my way!!!! What a relief!!!! Sometimes I feel a bit like Nemo's dad in that I'm overprotective of Laura but its easy to do when she's struggled with health issues all her life. But like Nemo, this situation made me realize Laura is doing quite well and not a little girl anymore. Even with a "tiny fin" I need to let her grow up and try not to worry so much.

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We had a great time watching Fantasmic!

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My favorite part is the end when the boat comes past with all the characters! Love it! It was kind of scary when it was over because it felt like I got some ash from the fireworks in my eye. It wasn't terrible but I immediately could tell something got in my eye. As we were leaving I looked at the girl to our left and she had her head down and was holding her eye so I think the same thing happened to her, but perhaps even more so. Scary.

We attempted to make our way to the parking lot and find our car. I guess Paul didn't understand my phone message where I had left the location of our car and he erased it! YIKES! Also in the dark with tons of people, other cars and buses around it looked totally different than it did early in the morning when the parking lot was practically empty! It took us a few minutes to find our car but nothing too serious. It was nice to be quickly back at the Lodge and found Mickey & Tigger waiting for us (compliments of Mousekeeping!)

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I went down to the beach to watch the Electrical Water pageant. No one wanted to come down with me right then so I went alone and looked at the geyser (didn't see it go off) and then found the beach. There were a lot of people down there! I found a chair and relaxed, reflecting on our day and how blessed we were to be there! I mistakenly thought the water pageant began at 9:45 (actually 9:30). I remember this from early trips with my mom and it was so awesome to see it again! I was just thinking to myself "it seems like there was something to do with flags" and right then they started playing "You're a Grand Ole Flag"! I also saw fireworks from Magic Kingdom (I guess) while I was on the beach. It was a nice way to end the evening. After it was all over I got up to leave and ran into Jeff and Kelsee coming down to the beach to see it. I felt bad that I had been mistaken about the time it started and they missed it.

Jeff, Kelsee and Paul went to the pool and hot tub for awhile before heading to bed. Tomorrow we get to sleep in!

Best part of the day: Finally being able to say some of our group won a dream!

Worst part of the day: Losing Laura at Osborne Lights! (Didn't have to even think about that one!)

sunlver

01-22-2008, 05:48 AM

Thanks for the great update, looking forward to reading more...:)

klj27

01-22-2008, 05:50 AM

Thanks for another great update! Did anyone in your party end up using the dream fast passes?

MARY-IN-OH

01-22-2008, 09:08 AM

Your report is going great! Lovin' it!!

I want to hear the background story on Laura's digital shopping photo! What a cutie!!

Ya know, I have never been to Beauty & the Beast! DH doesn't like shows at all, and we just haven't made it. I am going to get to it on the next trip!!

keep em comin! love all the pics, great job!
mary

winkers

01-22-2008, 04:41 PM

What a fun day!
I love your Nemo analogy! Laura is obviously a smart cookie!

pjstevens

01-22-2008, 06:23 PM

Jeff asked Aunt Elaine her opinion on the college program because that's something he's always been interested in. She said you have to be really mature and responsible because a lot of the CP kids party a lot and its easy to get distracted from what you should be doing. Jeff actually asked several people about the college program while we were on this trip and only one person acted really positive about the experience.

Liz,

My daughter just got back from the college program on January 4th and we can't tell enough good things about it. Yes, she matured, having to be responsible to get where she needed to be when she needed to be there (even having to get to a doctor once) without a car. She survived, she loved it (we loved it too) and she's talking about doing another semester next fall. She's made friends from all over the world. Tell Jeff if it's something he really wants to do, go for it!

Liz

01-22-2008, 11:35 PM

Thanks for another great update! Did anyone in your party end up using the dream fast passes?

Glad you are enjoying reading! Everyone brought home their dream FP's fully intact! We didn't go on Star Tours, just got in the regular line for Mermaid and Indiana Jones. Also no need for it for LMA. Anyway, it made for a nice souvenir!

Thanks for the great update, looking forward to reading more...:)

Thanks! :) Working on the next update and I'll have it ready in a few days!

Your report is going great! Lovin' it!!

I want to hear the background story on Laura's digital shopping photo! What a cutie!!

Ya know, I have never been to Beauty & the Beast! DH doesn't like shows at all, and we just haven't made it. I am going to get to it on the next trip!!

keep em comin! love all the pics, great job!
mary

Hi Mary! I love Beauty & the Beast! It always makes me cry!! We never saw shows when my kids were little because they didn't like to sit through them. I hope you get to see it next time! Its so awesome!!

I asked Laura about . . . .

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. . . and here's what she had to say:

It was after the Back Lot Tour and I thought he was cute and I didn't want it to look like I was just taking a picture of him. So I pretended that I was taking a picture of the thing in the background (I have no idea what it is because I am NOT a fan of Star Wars} and I "pretended" that he got in my way.

Too funny! :lmao: :lmao: That would be great if someone on the DIS knew who he was!!

What a fun day!
I love your Nemo analogy! Laura is obviously a smart cookie!

She is a smart girl! Glad to have you here! :goodvibes :thumbsup2

Liz,

My daughter just got back from the college program on January 4th and we can't tell enough good things about it. Yes, she matured, having to be responsible to get where she needed to be when she needed to be there (even having to get to a doctor once) without a car. She survived, she loved it (we loved it too) and she's talking about doing another semester next fall. She's made friends from all over the world. Tell Jeff if it's something he really wants to do, go for it!

I'm so glad your daughter enjoyed the CP! Jeff would be awesome at it! He's such a people person! Maybe some day he can do it. Right now he has other plans but that's always out there as an option! Thanks for sharing your daughter's experience with the program! Its good to hear something positive!

Liz

01-25-2008, 08:54 AM

December 19

It had been great getting up early each day and accomplishing a lot, however we were in need of a day to sleep in! Normally I had asked that we be ready to leave the room at 8:00. Today we just had to be ready by 9:30. It wasn't sleeping till noon but still it could be considered "sleeping in" right?

Oddly enough on our sleep in day I was up at 6:45. I hadn't set the alarm, I just woke up. I wanted to do some laundry, which I really don't mind doing at WDW. I don't like having piles of dirty clothes. I got ready for the day and prepared to go downstairs when I realized there was a problem with my plan. Earlier in the week when we were in the car going to Epcot I wondered why my backpack was so heavy. I looked inside and realized I was still carrying around a baggie with approximately $10 in quarters for laundry. I put it in the glove box so I didn't have to tote it around all day. So the quarters were in the car, Paul was asleep and I had no idea where the car was parked the night before. Guess who isn't going to do laundry after all? I absolutely wasn't going back to bed but was excited to have a free morning to myself!

I went downstairs to fill my mug. It was so early the hallways around Roaring Fork were dark and there wasn't another person in sight. Cool.

I went to the gift shop and wandered around, picking up the shirt I had purchased for Laura in Epcot and had delivered to our resort. I looked around for a gift for my friend back home and wished I could call her but it was two hours earlier there so way too early for a phone call. I overheard a conversation where people were complaining they had bought the refillable mugs but they can't fill them anywhere, only at the resort! "But we're never at our resort" they exclaimed! It amazes me that some people obviously have done no research before their trip!

I went back upstairs and sat out on the balcony. It was a nice, warm day! Being at Disney always seem to make my emotions more intense. As I sat out on the beautiful balcony that morning I shed a few tears as I thought about our family and how it was changing. Soon after we get home Jeff will be leaving for two years to serve a mission for our church. The paperwork was in and any day we would hear where he would be going. This would be one of the greatest challenges in my life to not see him for two years. I couldn't do it if I didn't believe it was the right thing to do.

I missed my dogs. I missed my friend. But I wasn't at all ready to go home! I loved watching the resort "wake up" and people head for the boats or enjoy their breakfast outside. "Zzub's ducks" were enjoying a morning swim in the pool. It was an amazing way to start the day except I was starting to wish EVERYBODY WOULD WAKE UP!!!!!

Being on the north wing, when the sun came up it shone in our room with bright intensity. It served its purpose when I was ready for people to get moving! I noticed Jeff fell asleep in his clothes last night and I couldn't get him to wake up for anything. Our sliding glass doors were open so we could hear the music playing outside. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" was often repeated and was wafting through the air at the moment which gave Jeff inspiration to make up his own lyrics as he stumbled to the bathroom - "On vacation you are supposed to be able to get sleeeeeeep and rest . . . ". Sing all you want baby, just get ready for the day! We've got breakfast with a mouse!

Laura got ready pretty quickly so we went downstairs and waited for everyone by the pool. We waited and waited hoping to see the geyser go off - it didn't.

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It was a beautiful morning and nice to just relax by the pool. I mentally decided that whenever I had to wait I wouldn't look at it as "we need to get going, this is awful" but instead look at it as an opportunity to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy where ever I was at the time. I'm at DISNEY WORLD!!! So very grateful!!!

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When we got to the dock we found the boat to the Contemporary ready and waiting. It was a quick and fun ride across the water.

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When we exited the boat Jeff asked the skipper what the construction was. He said it was just "an addition to the Contemporary". ;) ;)

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We went upstairs to Chef Mickeys, got our pager and were heading to the large plate to get our picture taken. Before we could get to the plate our pager went off so we just turned around and went back - no photo! No temptation to buy! Fine with me!

We went up a few stairs and were seated in a little room not far from the buffet. Immediately Pluto and Goofy came in but left before coming to our table. Paul got his food but the rest of us waited to see if Pluto and Goofy were coming right back. We were able to see Donald and I asked him where Daisy was and he indicated with his arms that she was swimming. Pluto and Goofy came back and later Mickey.

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Goofy started doing this weird "Linda Blair" thing with his head in front of Laura! We all just sat there quiet not sure what was happening! It looked like he was going to pop his head off! :scared1: Maybe he had a migraine!

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We got pictures with them then went to get our food. Everything was really good! Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day to eat out.

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We were getting ready to leave and thought we weren't going to be able to see Minnie but she showed up and we got pictures with her. Paul had gone to the bathroom so he missed Miss Minnie.

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Our plans were to spend the rest of the day at Animal Kingdom but we had to get there first! We went outside to the bus pick up area and we waited. And waited. And waited for a bus to Animal Kingdom. After we had been waiting awhile Paul asked the cast member standing outside how much longer it would be. She said 6-7 minutes. Ten minutes passed then fifteen. Still no bus! We noticed the cast member we spoke to before was gone. Finally the Animal Kingdom bus arrived but first we had to stop at the Polynesian. There was a large family group all in matching shirts waiting to board the bus. Their shirts said something like "Thank you Nanny & Papa for our trip to Disney World!" I immediately wondered if Nanny & Papa had paid for all those people (probably 20 or so) to stay at the Polynesian. And wondered if Nanny & Papa would like to adopt me. :worship:

From there we stopped at Blizzard Beach. It was at least an hour from the time we arrived at the bus stop till we got to Animal Kingdom. I think that's just crazy. So much for my positive attitude about waiting!

Up next: Animal Kingdom!

klj27

01-25-2008, 09:04 AM

Looking forward to hearing the rest of your day! About four years ago we gave up on Disney transportation all together. It is so much less stressful for us to drive ourselves.

Liz

01-25-2008, 09:17 AM

Looking forward to hearing the rest of your day! About four years ago we gave up on Disney transportation all together. It is so much less stressful for us to drive ourselves.

I go back and forth on the whole Disney transportation thing! Sometimes I think its just luck whether it goes fast or slow. It is nice letting someone else do the driving but that hour wait to get to AK was nuts! :confused3

Thanks for reading and hope you have a great day! :cool1:

winkers

01-25-2008, 01:06 PM

Did he get his mission call???? where's he going???

Liz

01-25-2008, 10:14 PM

Did he get his mission call???? where's he going???

::yes::

NEW YORK ROCHESTER MISSION

He leaves home April 2nd.

winkers

01-25-2008, 10:37 PM

::yes::

NEW YORK ROCHESTER MISSION

He leaves home April 2nd.

That's so exciting!! That's a long wait!

MousekaMaddi

01-25-2008, 10:53 PM

nice report, keep ;) it coming

Liz

01-26-2008, 09:28 AM

December 19 (part 2)

After leaving modern society (Contemporary), passing through a tropical paradise (Polynesian) and a wonderland of water (Blizzard Beach) we finally arrived at Animal Kingdom!

First stop after taking a gaze at the Tree of Life . . . .

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. . . was the Safari.

The cast member asked if we wanted to be seated in one row or two. He said we might be more comfortable if the five of us were in two rows. Okay! When our jeep arrived Jeff and Kelsee got in the last row. Paul, Laura and I got in the row right in front of them. The family waiting behind us followed right into both our rows! Jeff & Kelsee had three more people with them and we had the rest of the family with us! I didn't know what to say and hoped the CM would intervene and thankfully he did at the very last minute! That would have been just strange to be crammed in with these other people. Its a lot more bumpy in the back of the jeep but lots of fun. We had a great driver.

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From there we went to Flights of Wonder. I prefer sitting up front to see better but this time we were in one of the back rows of the main section. Little did I know my quick thinking, plan ahead, Disney savvy son had taken a dollar out of his wallet and put it in his pocket just waiting for the time in the show when the CM asked for a volunteer with a dollar bill. Jeff immediately raised his arm with the dollar and he was picked! This was the part of the show where the bird flies out, lands on his arm and takes the money back to the cast member on stage. Then the bird flies back and returns the money! Way cool that he got to do that!

After a pretzel pit stop . . .

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. . . . we went in the Maharajah Jungle Trek.

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It was interesting for awhile but we hurried through the last bit, ready to do something else.

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Everyone went on Kali while I held purses, hoodies, etc., etc. I looked like a pack mule! And I couldn't find anywhere to sit! I knew our next stop was Expedition Everest so I hoofed it over there thinking all along the way "they could have put benches alllll along here" instead of there being NOTHING at all until I was almost to Everest. When I found a bench I plopped everything down. I wasn't moving! I called someone's phone, maybe Jeff's because he always has his on, and told them where to find me.

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A few minutes later they showed up. I think Kelsee and Jeff got the worst of Kali's water!

While everyone went on Everest I was finally able to call my friend back home and see how things were going. They were taking care of our pets and her son had had his wisdom teeth removed the day before. Everybody was doing okay and it was so good to talk to her.

Paul and the kids came back from Everest! They loved it! Kelsee hadn't realized it went backwards but she likes roller coasters so she thought it was great!

I'd been seeing people walk past with soft serve ice cream and it looked so good. We got some at the stand by EE and ate it as we walked to Dinoland. Laura and I sat on a bench while we finished our ice cream. Jeff and Kelsee tried to stay in the sun to dry off. Paul wandered. As we sat there I wondered what Walt would think of Dinoland. Maybe its just that I don't care for it but I thought he wouldn't like it very much either.

Paul, Laura and I went Triceratops Spin. Its really rare when Paul will go on anything that spins! He doesn't like that at all so I was surprised when he got in line with us. Laura sat in the front of the dino with Paul and I sharing a seat behind her. While we were up in the air we spotted Jeff and Kelsee watching some performers "Smear, Splat & Dip". They had also been on Primevil Whirl.

We all rode Dinosaur and when we got out some cast members asked if we were staying for evening EMH. We were! So we got our wrist bands and carried on with our evening.

I had the Nemo musical as a "maybe" on our itinerary. We saw it in 2006 and I thought it was just okay. Actually had a hard time staying awake and kept looking at my watch to see how much longer and mentally going over the plot of the movie to see what material still had to be covered! Awful I know! I just didn't really care for it. At that time we were sitting in what was supposed to be really good seats, about half way back almost in the middle but a little to the right.

Well we were close to Nemo and the cast member who gave us our wrist bands said we should hurry over because it was almost time to start. I was thinking "oh great we are going to be waaaaayyyyyy in the back this time since we are arriving at the last minute." WRONG! We were taken to the very front row on the far right side. From what I've read that's supposedly not a very good place to sit because you have to turn around to see the puppetry behind you. I respectly disagree! I absolutely, positively, 100% LOVED Nemo this time!!! I loved being close enough to see the faces of the performers. Enthralled is what I was and when it was over, the last scene with Nemo and his dad had me in tears. I would love to see it again if I could guarantee to be up front. If I had to sit anywhere but there I'd just as soon skip it.

What's a trip to Animal Kingdom without encountering a grasshopper with an attitude, a smelly stink bug, and being stung by a bee. Yep, Its Tough to be a Bug was our next stop. After a trip several years ago when we first experienced ITTBAB, we came home and I told a family member what it was like. I remember he said "guess they ran out of ideas of fun things for people to do there." Hmmm.

It was dinner time and we ended up at Pizzafari. I remember eating there a when the kids were little because it was so colorful and I thought they would like that. Tonight I wasn't super hungry so I just used a snack credit instead of a counter service meal and got bread sticks and marinara sauce. An excellent use of a snack credit and it just hit the spot!

Next we went to my favorite, Festival of the Lion King. Since the sun had gone down we were starting to get cold and were glad it was indoors. Once we got our seats we were still freezing and hoped once the show started and they closed the doors it would be better. It wasn't. I froze through the whole thing but still enjoyed it.

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We batted around the idea of going back to Everest so the kids could ride it once more in the dark. Now as I sit here and type this I think dang, we should have done that. But at the time it was getting late-ish and we had a super early morning the next day.

Before making our way to the exit we had a little spur of the moment, unplanned fun! We explored the trails around the Tree of Life! We walked past Pizzafari while we were deciding whether to go back to EE and we spotted a small trail on the right hand side so we took it! It wandered through and around and we ended up on the other side of the tree. It was then we decided to head back to the Lodge and started out but still had our eyes peeled for any fun trails to explore! When we got by the fast pass machines for Bug, we saw another one! I wasn't sure if it was open but there were some CM's standing there and they didn't say boo so we continued on. That trail was really fun and took us back to the area of Pizzafari again. I highly recommend taking time to explore these oft overlooked trails at Animal Kingdom!

Animal Kingdom's evening EMH was totally uncrowded and lots of fun but it truly was time to get back to the Lodge. When we got to the bus stop the Wilderness Lodge bus was right there waiting which made up for our horrendous wait to get to AK from the Contemporary.

All in all another beautiful Disney day.

Best part of the day: Being spontaneous and crazy exploring the AK trails at the end of our day!

Worst part of the day: The time it took to get to Animal Kingdom!

Liz

01-26-2008, 09:32 AM

That's so exciting!! That's a long wait!

That's what we thought too but the time is going by fast and there is so much to do (and buy!) We've never been to that area of New York but we hear its VERY, VERY COLD in the winter.

nice report, keep ;) it coming

Thanks! Glad to know you are here!! :)

winkers

01-26-2008, 11:00 AM

I love animal kingdom! What quick thinking on Jeff's part to have the dollar bill ready! i'll have to file that idea away!

Liz

01-26-2008, 11:04 AM

I love animal kingdom! What quick thinking on Jeff's part to have the dollar bill ready! i'll have to file that idea away!

Yeah, he told me afterward that he had that all planned! They always choose someone in the back for that part so if you're seated there be ready for it! I wish I had gotten a picture but I had the video camera out at the time.

DizzneyDAnn

01-26-2008, 02:22 PM

pjstevens

01-26-2008, 08:33 PM

We got to sit in the last seat on the safari on our trip in December. It is so bouncy back there, but the view is great. I definately want to hit AK for some emh next times, sounds great.

Liz

01-26-2008, 09:02 PM

Congratulations on the mission call!!!!!!! It gets REALLY cold there in the winter, so make sure he has lots of warm things! Send my condolences to his girlfriend! TWo years is a LOOOONG time!

BTW, great life philosophy, to just enjoy what's going on around you, rather than worrying all the time about where you need to be heading to.

Two years is a LOOOOOONG time alright, especially for a MOTHER!! Maybe there are some Western NY DISers who will look out for him?!! :idea:

We got to sit in the last seat on the safari on our trip in December. It is so bouncy back there, but the view is great. I definately want to hit AK for some emh next times, sounds great.

We normally avoid all EMH's but were happy with the non-existant crowds at AK that night! It may have had something to do with it being one of the few nights in the week that MK didn't have MVMCP going on so a lot of people may have been there to see Spectro. That was my hope anyway and it seemed to work out! :)

TiggWDW

01-26-2008, 11:01 PM

Nice trip report, mom!

Liz

01-26-2008, 11:26 PM

Nice trip report, mom!

Thanks sweetie! :hug: :love:

Liz

01-27-2008, 08:37 AM

When writing about our day in Animal Kingdom, I forgot to mention the most unusual sight of the day! :eek:

When I was sitting by Everest waiting on the fam to come back, a lady passed by in an EVC. Nothing unusual about that. However, behind the lady holding on to the back was a big girl, maybe about 10 years old, riding in an umbrella stroller! Her feet were on the back of the EVC and her arms were holding on to something and she just rolled along right behind her mother/grandmother. Very strange! I wish I had had my camera ready to get a shot of that! :rotfl: I don't know if that was their method of transportation throughout the whole park - this girl was waaaayyyy too big for an umbrella stroller - anyway, definitely unusual! :upsidedow

xoprincessmomxo

01-27-2008, 12:51 PM

I am really enjoying your trip report and all the beautiful pictures! You have a beautiful family and Kelsee seems like a lovely girl! :goodvibes

Liz

01-27-2008, 01:33 PM

I am really enjoying your trip report and all the beautiful pictures! You have a beautiful family and Kelsee seems like a lovely girl! :goodvibes

Thanks! Glad you are here!! Just a warning, it gets a little unpleasant towards the end! :eek:

DizzneyDAnn

01-27-2008, 04:02 PM

My 12 year old very large twins, took a nap in the Disney strollers while we were parked so others could go shopping. It was very cute. They were out! And there feet were out, too!

Liz

01-27-2008, 05:32 PM

My 12 year old very large twins, took a nap in the Disney strollers while we were parked so others could go shopping. It was very cute. They were out! And there feet were out, too!

It does sound cute! I definitely don't have a problem with older kids in strollers but this was unusual because I've never seen a person riding in a stroller hanging on to the back of a moving EVC!

winkers

01-27-2008, 10:40 PM

Liz

01-27-2008, 10:43 PM

Maybe she sat down to rest for a minute and her bum got stuck?:confused3 That does sound pretty funny!

I hope the EVC didn't make any sharp turns or stop quickly!

DizzneyDAnn

01-27-2008, 10:47 PM

:angel: Stand for Something.

Liz

01-27-2008, 10:51 PM

:angel: Stand for Something.

I know! :lovestruc :angel:

xoprincessmomxo

01-28-2008, 06:55 AM

Thanks! Glad you are here!! Just a warning, it gets a little unpleasant towards the end! :eek:

:eek: :rolleyes1 popcorn:: ...and I thought I was hooked before!

carissanboys

01-28-2008, 07:30 AM

I have a lot of catchin' up to do!! :) Hopefully I can get caught up in the next couple of days.

carissanboys

01-28-2008, 10:13 AM

All caught up! :)

I'm so glad you got those quiet moments to yourself. I would have really enjoyed that.

Laura has good taste in boys. He was a cutie ;)

Liz

01-29-2008, 07:37 PM

:eek: :rolleyes1 popcorn:: ...and I thought I was hooked before!

:lmao: I hope its worth the wait!

I have a lot of catchin' up to do!! :) Hopefully I can get caught up in the next couple of days.

All caught up! :)

I'm so glad you got those quiet moments to yourself. I would have really enjoyed that.

Laura has good taste in boys. He was a cutie ;)

Glad to have ya back Carissa! That morning to myself was really nice and unexpected! :cutie:

Liz

01-29-2008, 07:48 PM

December 20

Every morning pretty much started out the same way - with regards to Jeff at least. He'd wake up and call Kelsee before getting out of bed.

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We had a wonderful Mousekeeper who arranged our stuffed animals in a cute way each day. So today I did a little something different with our tip envelope - hopefully to give her a giggle!

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We were on a definite deadline to get going today! We had Segways waiting for us! Last year it had been the highlight of our trip and we couldn't wait to do it again! And Kelsee was anxious to try it for the first time. We had to be at Epcot by 8:15 and after worrying to death we were going to be late last year while waiting for Disney transportation we were definitely driving ourselves today

We got to Epcot and through security without any delays. And it was a beautiful morning!

Oh, did I mention we were all wearing our matching Segway t-shirts?! Yep! We were a sight to behold! After doing the paperwork at Guest Relations they told us there was a very hard to find hidden Mickey in there. We looked all over and I think somebody found it after they gave us a clue to look down. I thought it was a bit of a stretch to call it a Hidden Mickey but they said it was and they're the experts! Nope, didn't think to get a picture.

We went outside and I started to take a picture of everybody when the CM from inside came out and told me to get in the picture too. Nice guy!

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Very soon our Segway instructor rolled up on his transporter. He was the same guy we had last year. Can't remember his name but he said he's the only CM that does the Segways full time. When he saw our matching shirts he proclaimed them "HORRIBLE"!!! I honestly don't know if he was kidding or not! But we did get lots of other comments throughout the day (positive ones) so I felt better. We started out keeping track of how many people liked our shirts but then lost count.

First stop - classroom training where we were given helmets and instruction. Paul insisted on putting his helmet on over his baseball cap and I told him he was going to get in trouble, until I noticed our teacher had the same set-up.

After the short class period we left the room and were told to choose a Segway. This was in Innoventions West (I think, the one closest to the Land). We lined up in rows and learned different skills starting with the very basic of trying to stay in one place. Then we turned in a circle without running over our neighbor and went forward and back about 3-4 feet. All this was a repeat of what we did a year ago. As we progressed we broke into two groups and learned to go around cones, walk our Segway over a barrier, go up and down a hill, etc. I was proud of myself because last year I never mastered getting on and off without feeling like something tragic at the most, embarrassing at the least, was going to happen any second! This time I had no problems whatsoever! Wahoo!

Of course the most fun of all is when we got to go outside! Our first stop was the restrooms and afterwards we formed a large semi-circle and had a group photo taken by a Photopass photographer. Nice idea but by the time 12 people fan out the photographer had to stand quite far back to get us all in the shot. I wish he had been able to take individual parties instead of everyone together.

After our photo we rolled along like duckies, one behind another towards the Christmas tree. We passed the earlier class coming back in and one lady said "nice shirts!"

We headed for World Showcase starting with Mexico. After we got past Norway we were no longer in any areas where we might encounter guests. The second of our two instructors would have us stop at each country and give us a short history or trivia lesson about the area we were in. We did this last year also with a lady CM. Both were very good however this CM's little lessons were longer than before.

Also in each country we would have little challenges that our practice had prepared us for such as weaving in and out of the columns in Italy, going up and down ramps in China, etc. Most fun of all was riding through Japan and Morocco!

When we were in Germany and stopped for our mini-trivia lesson our CM asked us a question: "Which of the lands in the Magic Kingdom has the same style of architecture as the German pavilion?" Last year we didn't get a chance to answer questions!

Immediately after the question was asked and before anyone else could respond someone in our group shouted out FANTASYLAND!

I told myself that if any more questions were asked during our tour I would give someone else a chance.

And by the way my answer was correct. Duh.

When we were by Italy we were given some free space to ride around on the Segways. However, there were some workers leaning up against the railing looking at the water along with two service vehicles about the size of large golf carts parked in our "free space" area! They didn't seem to be in any hurry to move and told our instructors that they would move "when we were done." I imagine they were told otherwise because they quickly left. Most of the time we were required to stay single file. The free space area isn't that big and you really can't get too creative other than going around in some big circles or figure 8's but its still fun.

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http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3839.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3838.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3837.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3835.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3834.jpg

Laura's feet hurt so she used the time to sit down and give her feet a break. I got off my Segway and took some photos. Our free time seemed much shorter than last year and I think that's due to our trivia lessons being a bit longer than before.

All too soon we were on our way. In the USA pavilion we had the opportunity to answer another trivia question and true to my word, I kept my mouth shut. Actually I wasn't 100% positive of the answer.

The question was "Who are the two hosts of the American Adventure"? After a short pause and when it became obvious no one was going to answer, I said "Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin?" Our CM instructor said "once again the correct answer goes to the lastname family!"

When our time was up we headed back to the Innoventions pavilion where we received our way cool Segway pin and turned in our wheels for the next set of guests!

Just a tip to anyone doing the Segways, if you are prone to sore, tired feet (and who isn't at Disney World) I strongly suggest doing the tour early in your visit. Last year we did it on our second day as opposed to almost the end of our trip this time. The Segways make your legs tired and I really noticed a difference between starting out with fresh feet & legs and starting out already tired.

Up next! The rest of our Epcot day!

Liz

01-30-2008, 09:10 PM

:wizard: It didn't bump to the top when I added my most recent post so I'm shamelessly posting this to get it back to page 1! :wizard:

winkers

01-31-2008, 12:20 AM

I love your shirts! That cm must have had his undies in a bunch or something!;)
How old do you have to be to do the segwey tour? It looks like alot of fun!

Liz

01-31-2008, 08:07 AM

I love your shirts! That cm must have had his undies in a bunch or something!;)
How old do you have to be to do the segwey tour? It looks like alot of fun!

Thanks Cherie! You have to be 16 to do the Segway tour. It is so much fun!

carissanboys

01-31-2008, 08:36 AM

That looks like so much fun! :) My friend Liz (liznboys) was suppose to do the tour last weekend so I'm anxious to hear how it went for her.

And the t-shirts looked great :thumbsup2

Liz

02-02-2008, 08:42 AM

That looks like so much fun! :) My friend Liz (liznboys) was suppose to do the tour last weekend so I'm anxious to hear how it went for her.

And the t-shirts looked great :thumbsup2

I'd love to hear how she liked the Segways too! Is she going to do a TR?

carissanboys

02-02-2008, 08:54 AM

I'd love to hear how she liked the Segways too! Is she going to do a TR?

I don't think so (not to post on the boards anyway), but maybe she can talk about it in my TR.

DizzneyDAnn

02-04-2008, 12:22 PM

popcorn::

Liz

02-04-2008, 08:26 PM

popcorn::

I'm working on it! :goodvibes

klj27

02-04-2008, 08:30 PM

I got so excited when I saw you had posted...... just a tease!

Liz

02-04-2008, 08:44 PM

I just got Kelsee's photos a few days ago so while I'm working on the rest of our Epcot day, here are some of Kels pics of the days I've already covered!

All Star Music

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne022.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne023.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne020.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne007.jpg

Wilderness Lodge boat dock

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne045.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne047.jpg

Magic Kingdom

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne116.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne092.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne063.jpg

Buzz Lightyear

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne077.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne075.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne076.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne081.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne079.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne080.jpg

People Mover

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne082.jpg

Small World

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne101.jpg

Liz

02-04-2008, 09:06 PM

Segways

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay003.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay004.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay005.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay006.jpg

Silly Faces and Silly Hats!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-64.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast244.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast012.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/Somemore-24.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-159.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne123.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne124.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne125.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne126.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/DayOne127.jpg

MGM Photos

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-73.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-71.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-70.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-15.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-14.jpg

Little Mermaid

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-59.jpg

Backlot tour

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-18.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-17.jpg

Playground

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-21.jpg

NY Street

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-10.jpg

Rosie

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-61.jpg

Liz

02-04-2008, 09:10 PM

I got so excited when I saw you had posted...... just a tease!

Sorry! :rotfl: Tomorrow for sure the next one will be up! In the meantime enjoy the new pics! :)

winkers

02-05-2008, 12:00 AM

Looks like they were having fun with the camera!:rotfl:

carissanboys

02-05-2008, 06:11 AM

Those are some great and funny pics! I especially love the ones of them sucking the straw! :)

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:26 AM

December 20

Having just finished our Segway tour we were starving and in need of a place to sit down! We found ourselves at Electric Umbrella where we indulged in burgers and chicken. It was nice to rest for a bit.

Since we had done most of Future World on our prior Epcot day, today we would be touring . . .

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay075.jpg

And it was a gorgeous day for it.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3851.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3852.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay078.jpg

We started with Mexico and tried out the new boat ride. Loved it! The old version was nice but I thought this was great! Who doesn't love Donald?

We sent video postcards in the area by the Kidcot station. It has some hilarious choices and I recommend checking it out! For instance I sent a video postcard with my head on the body of a male (only option) cliff diver! :rotfl:

More silly hat pictures!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay021.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay022.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay023.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay024.jpg

Laura and I went outside the pavilion while waiting for the others and I saw somebody usually only seen in Canada! The bagpipe player from Off Kilter! I'm not sure where he came from but he walked down the little walkway to the side of Mexico and went backstage. He looked so different (and cute!) in regular clothes! I had my camera out but was afraid to take a picture since he wasn't "working" and I didn't want to bother him.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3849.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3844.jpg

xoprincessmomxo

02-05-2008, 10:39 AM

I am just loving all of your photos! :goodvibes

klj27

02-05-2008, 11:35 AM

More, more, more!

carissanboys

02-05-2008, 11:43 AM

We had such a great time in the World Showcase on this visit :) Sounds like you started on the opposite end of where we started ;)

winkers

02-05-2008, 02:24 PM

I love the pics you took by the pyramid from below! Great idea.............I'm filing that away to steal!:)

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:09 PM

Looks like they were having fun with the camera!:rotfl:

Ya think?! :lmao: They definitely take pics that I wouldn't have thought to take but its fun! :yay:

I love the two little doggies in your signature!

Those are some great and funny pics! I especially love the ones of them sucking the straw! :)

I like those too! I came out when they were taking them and I was like "what are you guys doing?!" :confused3 I also like the one with the crown on Jeff's head from Norway!

I am just loving all of your photos! :goodvibes

I'm so glad! It gets discouraging sometimes seeing how few people have any interest in my trippie but I'm very grateful for every one who is here! :dance3:

More, more, more!

Give me about 5 minutes! :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes Thanks for being here!!! :thumbsup2

We had such a great time in the World Showcase on this visit :) Sounds like you started on the opposite end of where we started ;)

I love World Showcase too! We never really spent much time there when the kids were little. This was before the days of Kidcot stations.

I love the pics you took by the pyramid from below! Great idea.............I'm filing that away to steal!:)

Steal all ya want! I think they came out kinda interesting too! :cool2:

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:13 PM

I said it was fine if we skipped the Norway ride because everyone else had already gone on it the night I was in line for the Candlelight Processional but everyone wanted to go on it again. This is a fun ride but way too short. We skipped the movie at the end, looked through the stores and gasped at the prices of some of the clothing! Before leaving the Norway pavilion we took a few more photos!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay037.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay038.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3858.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay039.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay043.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay044.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay045.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay030.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay035.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3857.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3862.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3856.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3854.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3861.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3860.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3853.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3864.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3863.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3850.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3867.jpg

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:25 PM

In China . . . .

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3865.jpg

we were lucky enough to run into Mulan with a very short line! I gave the CM my camera and I guess they only took a picture of Jeff & Kelsee with mine and the group photo is only on Photopass. While waiting in line I noticed Mulan being especially sweet with the children. When I had a chance to speak to her I let her know I appreciated how kind she was to them. She looked at me kinda strange like my comment was unexpected.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3866.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0393.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay073.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay063.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay067.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay062.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay056.jpg

Moving right along we elected to skip the China movie. Half the fun of a ride/attraction is being able to sit down and rest your feet for awhile! I guess they didn't take that into consideration when they decided these standing room only movies would be good for World Showcase. France got their movie right since its in a theater with seats!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay057.jpg

Jeff can't pass up the drums at the African Outpost. He entertained passersby with his talent! He's been playing the drums since 4th grade!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3875.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3872.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3870.jpg

Paul had to get in on the fun . . . . he'd been playing the drums for about 5 minutes! :lmao:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3871.jpg

And Laura in Africa . . .

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3873.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3876.jpg

Nearby there was this man sculpting the most fantastic things out of wood!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay082.jpg

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:35 PM

We looked around briefly in Germany . . . .

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3868.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay084.jpg

. . . but didn't spend a lot of time because we would be having dinner here this evening and I knew we'd probably have time to look around then. Jeff asked this German girl to explain the pickle tree. This picture cracks me up! Separated at birth! ;)

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3880.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay085.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3881.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay089.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3879.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3877.jpg

Before leaving home I had carefully mapped out our World Showcase itinerary to enable us to see the most live entertainment possible. However that was Monday's itinerary (which we switched with today due to the cold weather). And Monday we didn't do Segways. Anyway, we were off schedule and I was desperately trying to figure out how to get us back on track! I was walking along chanting "must stick to the schedule, must stick to the schedule". Laura said "I think Mom's cracked up." :lmao:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3869.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3884.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3883.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3882.jpg

We got to the USA pavilion in time to see a little bit of the Voices of Liberty. I love them!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay113.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay116.jpg

I meant for us to take a look at the National Treasures exhibit. We were just about to go up the stairs that would take us to the theater and I looked in the window and saw Abraham Lincoln's hat. So cool and I thought we've gotta come back in here and check this out. But as often happens, we never got back so I'll have to be happy with a distant peek through the glass.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay112.jpg

Paul and sometimes Jeff can't seem to stay awake during the American Adventure! Doesn't matter what time of day we go, Paul will definitely fall asleep. Although I can see how it can be a bit sleep inducing I always enjoy it. I've always been patriotic from the time I was a little girl. I can remember hearing my parents clock radio going off in the morning and it would always be tuned to a radio station that played the Star Spangled Banner as it began broadcast for the day. I would stand up in my bed with my hand over my heart till the song was over then I'd lay down and go back to sleep. I always cry at parades too when the flag passes by. So natch' the American Adventure is one of my favorites.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay111.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay108.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay110.jpg

Donald is #1

02-05-2008, 08:40 PM

Jeff asked this German girl to explain the pickle tree.

OK, so I have to ask. What is the explanation of the pickle tree?

klj27

02-05-2008, 08:49 PM

World Showcase is our favorite! Thanks for shaing all the pics. I can't wait to hear your review of Biergarten. We are eating there next month for the first time. We are trying to eat around the world, but so far we have only had Canada, England, Norway, and Mexico.

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:53 PM

OK, so I have to ask. What is the explanation of the pickle tree?

One pickle ornament is hung on the tree and on Christmas morning the children run to the tree to try and be the first one to find the pickle. Whoever finds it first gets a special present! :wizard:

Liz

02-05-2008, 08:56 PM

Donald is #1

02-05-2008, 09:04 PM

One pickle ornament is hung on the tree and on Christmas morning the children run to the tree to try and be the first one to find the pickle. Whoever finds it first gets a special present! :wizard:

Cool! I have never heard of that before.

carissanboys

02-06-2008, 11:22 AM

Great pictures as usual Liz! :) I didn't even realize there was a National Treasure exhibit there!

Liz

02-06-2008, 02:24 PM

We didn't plan on seeing Sergio, the performer in Italy, because he didn't fit in with our original schedule. But since the schedule was now hopelessly off track, Sergio fit perfectly into our plans. We backtracked to Italy and got there just in time for the start of his show. We've never seen him before and it was fun. I probably wouldn't make a special effort to see his show again but I'm glad we saw it once.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0400.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay124.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay126.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay102.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay103.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay107.jpg

We hurried over to Japan and caught Miyuki (already in progress). What an extremely talented and entertaining artist! Last year Laura was fortunate enough to be chosen and Miyuki made a candy penguin for her (which she still has). We didn't try to get chosen this time so others could have a chance.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay128.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay129.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay138.jpg

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As soon as Miyuki was done the Japanese drummers started. Paul, Laura and I were looking across the water because a CM had told Paul earlier in the day that a space shuttle was going off and to watch for it in the sky above Mission Space. It was time for it (2:00 I think) but we never saw anything.

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Liz

02-06-2008, 02:35 PM

Still looking at my itinerary and the Epcot WS entertainment schedule to see where we should go next and I saw Server Amusant was scheduled to start in France soon. This was another performer that I didn't have on my itinerary but it looked like we would be able to fit in. We told Jeff and Kelsee we were going to head over there and they should come as quickly as they could when the drummers finished.

When we got to France the performance should have already started and we couldn't see anything. I looked at the Epcot time chart and realized my mistake. It said "Tues only"! DORK! :eek: I was embarrassed to tell everyone my mistake. Oh well. :rolleyes1

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay144.jpg

About the only thing in the area that was coming up next was Off Kilter so we went that way and stopped for awhile to listen to the United Kingdom Santa.

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/SegwayDay167.jpg

We were early for Off Kilter but wanted to get seats so Paul, Laura and I headed over and sat down while Jeff and Kelsee looked around in the UK.

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The weather was perfect. I sat there gazing across the lagoon looking at how beautiful World Showcase is and tried to burn that image into my mind so when I'm sitting at work in a basement with no windows I could remember this moment and be back at the place I love with the people I love.

I looked at the Epcot schedule again and saw the World Showcase players were performing in the UK right after Off Kilter so I thought that would be a great place to go next. Jeff and Kelsee showed up and said "guess what we just saw? Some performers over in the UK that were so funny!" YIKES, they had just seen the WS players. Back to the drawing board. :rolleyes:

Hey, here's that Server Amusant listed again. We aren't far from France so we could go back there after Off Kilter and try to catch the later show. We had a plan. Now time to enjoy OFF KILTER BABY!!!!!!!!!!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3887.jpg

We walked all the way back to France (okay not that far really) but far considering what happened next. We got to France and I looked at the times chart again and realized I had dragged us half way around the world (when you're coming from Canada) to a show that was once again TUESDAY ONLY. :scared1: If I was embarrassed the first time I was doubly more so now. How could I be so stupid??? :eek: The notations for "Tuesday only" were small and not very standoutish (or maybe I was just tired!) Who knows! But it was ridiculous! Getting off schedule really threw me off my game!!!! :upsidedow :scared:

klj27

02-06-2008, 07:22 PM

You know, I have still never taken the time to see Off Kilter.

Liz

02-06-2008, 09:09 PM

Great pictures as usual Liz! :) I didn't even realize there was a National Treasure exhibit there!

I remember reading about it on Deb's site. I wish we had gone in there because I'll probably never be that close to Abraham Lincoln's hat or the other things like that again!

You know, I have still never taken the time to see Off Kilter.

For a long time when we went to Epcot we didn't see them either. Now that we have we always make sure we see them at least once and we've bought two of their cds!

Liz

02-06-2008, 10:03 PM

After admitting my foolish mistake with the entertainment in France we decided to split up and meet in about an hour for the tree lighting ceremony. Paul went in to see the France movie. Jeff and Kelsee stayed in France and found Aurora!

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Laura and I ran into Jeff & Kelsee around the UK shops and Kelsee said the Pooh characters were in one of the stores and there was no line.

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We hurried in and were able to go right up to them and get a picture. Laura gently patted Pooh on his head, just playing with him, and he shook his head at her in a firm "NO!" Oops! Guess Mr. Pooh didn't like that so much.

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Laura and I walked slowly back towards Canada, stopping to get some drinks. Then we went to wait by the tree so we could get a good spot.

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We sat here for awhile . . . .

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. . . till a person sat down near us who had an awful cough. We moved away from him and sat on the ground with others in front of the tree.

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I was thinking about our ADR for tomorrow night and wasn't feeling real excited about it. We were scheduled to eat at 1900 Park Fare which hadn't gotten real good reviews of late for the food but I chose it mainly because I'd heard such great things about the stepsisters. But we had been fortunate enough to have met the stepsisters in the MK earlier in the week and had our pictures taken with them so I was thinking we didn't really need to do that again. I was racking my brain thinking what's another restaurant that's supposed to be really good. Tomorrow was our free day and we didn't have any definite plans (can you believe it?) I didn't know what park, if any, we would be in so I was trying to think of a good restaurant in one of the resorts. All of a sudden it hit me! KONA!

I whipped out my cell phone and called the dining reservation number and asked if anything was available the following evening at Kona for a party of 5. At first the CM said she didn't see anything. Then she said "wait, I do have something but not till 9:00". Great I said, we'll take it! I thought to myself we can always get there early if need be and perhaps we'll be lucky and they can take us. I didn't cancel the 1500 Park Fare ressie at that point because I didn't have my confirmation number with me and I wasn't sure what phone number I made the reservation under and no one can ever spell our last name right without a lot of effort so I left that one for now (but I did call the following morning and cancel it).

While we waited for the show Laura and I (and other people around us) were amused by a darling little girl probably no more than 5 or 6 who spoke as passionately and forcefully as any adult ever would about a cause dear to their hearts. This little girl was sitting relatively close to the front but there were a group of adults standing in the very front of the tree. Two or three times this child would walk up to the people standing and say (using her arms for emphasis) "if you would all PLEASE just sit down so the little children in the back can see!" A kind lady explained to her that when the show started everyone would be standing and this little girl said "but if everyone would just stay seated then everyone could see, especially the little children!!" She'd go sit down for awhile then get back up again to plead her case. So cute! I got out my video camera because I thought if she does this again I want to capture it but I guess she figured it was a lost cause. I noticed when the show started she went up to the front to stand with someone so she was able to see very well, even with people standing.

Jeff, Kelsee and Paul came and joined Laura and me to wait for the show. Here's a bit of what Jeff & Kelsee (aka "never met a hat I didn't want to try on") had been up to!

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The tree ceremony was exactly the same as last year, and I'm so glad it was, because I loved it then and loved it now!

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Just like last year, Silent Night made me cry! Jeff was born two months before Christmas so when he was a tiny baby I used to rock him and sing Silent Night so for me that song represents a special bond between me and my boy, even if he doesn't remember it.

When it was over we agreed to meet in front of China to watch the acrobats at 7:00. Jeff and Kelsee went to shop while Paul, Laura and I went back to Mexico and rode the boat again. Its not Splash Mountain (thank goodness!) but its got its charm!

We watched the Norway Santa, which isn't a Santa at all - a mischevious gnome maybe? I can't remember. We haven't seen all the Santas around WS but out of the ones we have seen I think Norway's is the most entertaining.

We got to China a little bit early and I was able to get a bench facing the acrobats. That was nice because I wasn't in the mood to sit on the ground anymore. Laura and I were on the bench and there was room for the rest of the family when they arrived. A couple showed up and asked if they could sit down and I said sure. When Jeff and Kelsee arrived the couple offered to move but they told them to stay seated and they went to find seats on the ground. Paul went to see the China movie and joined us when the acrobats were over. They are TRULY AMAZING!!!

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Up next: Biergarten!

carissanboys

02-07-2008, 07:25 AM

That little girl was too funny!! I can just picture her :)

We also saw the candy lady and the World Showcase Players. Both were special events for us ;)

Even though we spent quite a bit of time in the WS, we missed a lot of the shows. There's just so much to see and do there! That's the first time I've seen pictures of Off Kilter. All I can say is Yummy! ;)

Liz

02-07-2008, 07:08 PM

We also saw the candy lady and the World Showcase Players. Both were special events for us ;)

Oooh, sounds interesting!!

The Off Kilter guy on the far left is the one I saw walking through Mexico! I agree about the yumminess!! :goodvibes

Liz

02-07-2008, 07:25 PM

This day has been going on forever! Time to finish up!

We had dinner reservations at Biergarten. We ate there for the first time last year and really enjoyed it and our dining companions so we were anxious to try it again. After letting the CM at the podium know we were present we looked around the shops in Germany. Laura bought a ring (which turns her finger green!)

Soon we were called to dinner. I was a few steps behind a man going into the restaurant and instead of noticing I was right behind him and holding the door he just let it drop. Of course this man ended up being one of our dining companions. The five of us, this man dining by himself and a little later another man dining alone were all seated together. It was a little uncomfortable, more so than last year when we dined with two couples. We situated Paul by the single men without making it obvious that's what we were doing. He's very friendly (like Jeff) and likes to talk to people. By the end of the meal the first man was talking freely and seemed quite nice. The other man was a little more quiet but most likely very nice too.

The inside of the Biergarten is so beautiful. I love it there, however it was cold inside. I like that its a buffet rather than ordering something from a menu that might not be to our liking. The roasted chicken tasted like chicken I'm used to. But some things that sounded "normal" like pot roast had a different flavoring that was not that great. We all found plenty to eat that we enjoyed and had a great meal and server. The entertainment is awesome too!

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I can't remember what was so funny but Jeff said something that cracked me up! No one can make me laugh like Jeff. Just a look can send me over the edge!

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We had a cute little waitress and got this picture as we were leaving!

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After dinner Jeff thought of something he wanted to buy in one of the UK shops so he and Kelsee went over there while Paul, Laura and I slowly headed off in the other direction. We stopped at the Norway bakery and used three snack credits for skool bread. None of us had ever had it before and got it strictly based on DIS recommendations! We took it back to our room and put it in the fridge for later.

We were in Norway when Illuminations took place so we stayed there to watch. Beautiful!

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One last pic in Norway before moving on . . .

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We met up with Jeff and Kelsee by the Christmas tree. They had had a really great spot for watching the fireworks but got dusted with ash. Leaving Epcot was sad! Its my favorite park and I knew it would be a long time before I would return. The CM's were all along the exit waving goodbye in their white Mickey gloves.

Back at the Lodge we were surprised to discover Mickey now had a purse compliments of Mousekeeping!!!

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Jeff bought Laura a "Hidden Mickey" book for Christmas which she really enjoyed.

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Since we didn't have plans for tomorrow we all met back in our room to decide what to do. We decided to go to Downtown Disney in the morning and rent the Sea Racers in the afternoon. Then Kona in the evening.

Here's a random picture from the day that was on my camera. It must have been taken by accident because I don't remember taking anything like this on purpose but it is definitely an interesting shot - and look at that sky!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3885.jpg

Best part of the day: Well you know its a good day when its hard to choose a "best part"! My favorite part though was Off Kilter! :love:

Worst part of the day: LEAVING!!!!!!

Up next: If things only could go as planned!

klj27

02-07-2008, 07:46 PM

xoprincessmomxo

02-07-2008, 08:17 PM

I would love to try the Biergarten some day. It just looks so pretty inside. Another great update! :)

Liz

02-07-2008, 08:33 PM

I am always sad when we leave EPCOT too. Glad you had a great time at Biergarten. I mentioned that we will be eating there for the first time next month. Will there be many things for a non meat eater to eat? I have checked the menu at allears but you can never tell from the buffet menus exactly what it will be like.

I bet you are so excited about your trip!!! :cool1: Gosh, I don't remember a lot about all the options on the buffet but I'm sure there will be plenty to eat. Maybe ask on the restaurant board and someone over there is sure to know? Sorry I'm not more help! I know it was really good!!! :cloud9:

Liz

02-07-2008, 09:45 PM

I would love to try the Biergarten some day. It just looks so pretty inside. Another great update! :)

Its soooo pretty in there! I added a couple of Kelsee's pictures from inside the restaurant to my post. I love the attention to detail like the big moon!!!

winkers

02-07-2008, 10:51 PM

I love all your pictures! Jeff really cracks me up with all his hats and goofy pictures! He'd get along great with my boys!

carissanboys

02-08-2008, 05:21 AM

Biergarten looks huge on the inside! Not what I had imagined at all. We almost ate there on our first trip, but it didn't work out.

The pictures of Illuminations are wonderful! :)

The pictures of you laughing are so cute :) And that last one IS interesting! I love to find pictures on my camera that I don't remember taking and trying to figure out the mystery ;)

You all had a GREAT time in Epcot!

wilma-bride

02-08-2008, 06:04 AM

I'm really late to this trip report but so glad I found it. You guys look like you're having a great time - Kelsee seems so happy to be in the company of your family and she and Jeff look like a great couple. The story you told about Laura getting lost at the Osborne Lights and you being like Nemo's Dad brought a tear to my eye. She sounds like an incredibly brave and mature young lady and I hope her next test results are positive.

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

Liz

02-08-2008, 08:44 AM

I love all your pictures! Jeff really cracks me up with all his hats and goofy pictures! He'd get along great with my boys!

He's got a great personality and so fun to be around. I'm going to miss him sooooooooo much these next two years!!!!

Glad you are enjoying the pics! I'm gathering pics from Laura, Kelsee and my camera for my posts.

Biergarten looks huge on the inside! Not what I had imagined at all. We almost ate there on our first trip, but it didn't work out.

The pictures of Illuminations are wonderful! :)

The pictures of you laughing are so cute :) And that last one IS interesting! I love to find pictures on my camera that I don't remember taking and trying to figure out the mystery ;)

You all had a GREAT time in Epcot!

The Biergarten is pretty big and has several tiers of seating as maybe you can tell since it looks like Kelsee's photo was taken looking down on the entertainment. You'll have to give it a try on a future trip!

I'm really late to this trip report but so glad I found it. You guys look like you're having a great time - Kelsee seems so happy to be in the company of your family and she and Jeff look like a great couple. The story you told about Laura getting lost at the Osborne Lights and you being like Nemo's Dad brought a tear to my eye. She sounds like an incredibly brave and mature young lady and I hope her next test results are positive.

Looking forward to reading more about your adventures.

Thank you so much for your kind comments!! Glad to have you here, late or not! ;)

Liz

02-09-2008, 03:48 PM

December 21st

Up to this point we'd been going semi-commando so today was meant to recharge our batteries, have some fun and begin to pack a few things in order to move to Pop tomorrow morning. Tomorrow would be our last park day and it was going to be a full one so we needed some down time.

I began the day by getting up early (sleeping in just doesn't work for me). I definitely needed to do laundry (and I had my quarters this time)! The south wing of the Wilderness Lodge looked like it would have better view of the lake and electrical water pageant but the north wing, where we were, was extremely convenient to the laundry room and Roaring Fork.

I found the laundry room empty with the exception of one washer being full of wet clothes. I got my loads started and filled my mug. All week long I had been left with an unfavorable opinion of Roaring Fork. There were two drink stations and the one on the left usually was out of ice and the button for diet Coke never worked on the right drink station. So I had to get ice from one then go to the other to fill my mug. One night there was no ice in either dispenser and I found it the same way the following morning.

Anyway, I wandered around a little bit while our clothes cleaned. It appeared to be another beautiful day (except for a very mild little cough which I seemed to have developed overnight). I love wandering around in the early morning hours before things get busy.

Back in the laundry room I was joined by a very nice gentleman from Arizona doing laundry for his family. The two of us chatted. He had done the Segway tour on Monday (the really cold day) when we were at Epcot also. He said their hands froze while riding around World Showcase!

By the time my laundry was done there were five people attempting to do laundry! That laundry room is TINY!!! I think there were around six or seven washers. It was NUTS and I was so glad to be leaving!

My family began to wake up and as soon as we were ready we left for Downtown Disney. DTD is nice but for me it doesn't have the magic of the parks or the resorts. I enjoy it for a short while and then I've had enough. Probably if I actually had money to be able to buy things I'd enjoy it more.

First we shopped at World of Disney. Laura found a lot of things she wanted and ended up spending about $100 (which actually isn't all that hard to do at Disney)! I put everyone's purchases on my Disney Visa to get the extra 10% off.

After that it seems like we split up. Jeff & Kelsee went to the "nothing over $10 store" and had fun each getting a grab bag.

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In our original plan we were going to stay at WL for the morning and eat lunch at Roaring Fork. Now that we were at DTD I remembered reading that Wolfgang Puck Express was a good place to eat while on the dining plan so we met there for lunch. There were a ton of overwhelming choices!!! I couldn't make up my mind so I ended up getting pizza, which was pretty good. I also got crème brulee which was not even close to being as good as the one I had at LeCellier earlier in the week. Since the pizza didn't come with a side I think I should have gotten one with my counter service meal but I didn't think of it till later.

Kelsee's:
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3917.jpg

Paul's something or other (isn't it obvious why I'm not doing a report on the restaurant board? I'd be soooo helpful!)
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Laura's:
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Jeff's salad:
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Crème brulee:
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Guess I didn't get a picture of my pizza.

Jeff was asking about Cirque and why hadn't we ever seen that. I know its extremely popular and I don't think I've ever read about a person not loving it but for some reason it holds no interest for me whatsoever! And mostly likely if I saw it I would love it like everyone else. I know it's quite pricey and there has always been plenty to do at Disney so we've just never done it. Jeff called some number to ask about getting tickets for that day's performance for he and Kelsee. After he found out the prices they decided against it. If he really wants to do it that much then I'll definitely try to plan for it next time. It just doesn't seem "Disneyish" at all to me. It just seems like some non-Disney thing on Disney property. I bet there's not a Goofy or a Hidden Mickey in the whole show!

Anyway, after lunch we looked around the area by the Lego store.

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http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast036.jpg

Suddenly felt like I'd had enough. I had no problem at all if Jeff & Kelsee wanted to stay but I was ready to go. I called Jeff's phone and said we were leaving and they could either come with us or we would find out where they could catch a bus back to the hotel when they were ready. (By the way, Laura and Paul were ready to go too so it wasn't just me.)

Jeff & Kelsee decided they would come back to the resort too and we would all rent the Sea Racer boats! In the car going back to WL I was suddenly so tired. I felt like I'd been run over by a Disney bus (hopefully one going to Epcot!)

Thankfully our room had been cleaned and we found Mickey & Tigger had made their own fun in our absence!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3919.jpg

Laura fell on the bed and said she wanted to take a nap. I suggested we all go on the boats in about an hour or two after Laura napped (and I hopefully regained my strength too!) The idea to postpone the boats wasn't well received so I gave Jeff my Disney Rewards card which I had set aside for this very purpose then sent the three of them off to have fun. When Laura woke up if she wanted to still go then the two of us would go out on the water then.

After seeing them off I sat on the bed. Laura was out immediately. By the way I was feeling I thought if Laura feels the same way I do then she surely must be getting sick. Laura being sick causes more concern than if it happened to one of the rest of us. My throat was hurting a tiny bit but my body had started to ache something fierce. I tried to sleep but my mind wasn't cooperating and I couldn't give in to sleep no matter how tired I was. I didn't think I had a fever but took my temperature to be sure (and I didn't.) I took Tylenol to see if that would help with the achiness.

I knew I could see the boat dock from our balcony so I got the video camera and went out to see if I could spot our three. I was able to zoom in and get some video of them as they pulled away from the dock and made a few circles on the lake before taking off in the water. I love the Sea Racers and hoped Laura and I would be able to go out later.

I got back in bed and wondered how we would need to adjust our plans with Laura being sick (because I was sure she must be). I still couldn't sleep. I may have dozed off for no more than 10 minutes. But yet my body screamed to rest. It was a dreadful feeling.

Jeff, Kelsee and Paul stayed out on the water for 90 minutes (we had a coupon to get 90 minutes for the price of 60). Here are some pics from their fun!

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast045.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast046.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast047.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast048.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast050.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast052.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast053.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast057.jpg

Part 2 immediately following!

klj27

02-09-2008, 04:07 PM

Liz

02-09-2008, 04:23 PM

December 21 - cont.

When they came back to the room Laura woke up and thankfully she felt better having rested! She wasn't sick at all! Yea!

My brain is a little fuzzy about the details of this afternoon but it seems like Laura didn't care one way or another whether we went out on the boats so we decided not to.

I think it was maybe around 3:00 in the afternoon at this point (just a guess). We decided to walk around the resort, going out by the geyser (which again didn't go off) and over to the villas. It was a nice day but cold if we weren't in the sun. The villas were so lovely and didn't even seem like a hotel. It was quiet and absolutely beautiful inside. The pool seemed really unexciting and small though.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3932.jpg

This is the shirt I bought Laura at Epcot for only $4.99!

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3931.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3930.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3929.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast059.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast065.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast066.jpg

We found this guy and stopped to say hi!
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3927.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3926.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast077.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast058.jpg

While walking around I put a smile on my face and tried to shake off the awful feeling that was my body. I couldn't understand why I felt so bad when my throat problem was really mild. I used to get terrible sore throats growing up. Never had my tonsils removed but any time I would get really sick it was always my throat. Today on a scale of 1-10 my throat was probably only a 2 so I kept thinking why do I feel so bad. The Tylenol wasn't helping the body aches at all.

I just wanted to go back to the room and lay down again. I wanted everyone to have a good time but I couldn't even think of things to suggest. Now I think they could have gone to Ft. Wilderness (walked or by boat), rented bikes, gotten a list of hidden Mickeys from the front desk, anything. At the moment all I could think of is "why don't you go swimming" which no one wanted to do.

I told everybody I wasn't feeling that great and they could do whatever they wanted till dinnertime. I knew we had a busy, busy, fun packed day (hopefully) planned for tomorrow so my thoughts were if I just stay in bed and rest today I'll be fine for tomorrow.

Jeff & Kelsee had one day left on their passes which would expire at the end of our trip if they didn't use them. They decided to go over to Magic Kingdom even though they wouldn't have time to do much, if anything, there. I don't think they left the Wilderness Lodge till about 5:30 and the park closed at 7:00 for the final MVMCP. Laura was going to go with them but then my frugal/selfishness/miserly self kicked in and talked her out of going. They would have an hour at the most in the park and Laura's pass was a non-expiring one so I hated to see a whole day of park admission being used for such a short period of time when we could save that admission for a future trip. She agreed to stay after I explained my reasoning to her but I still feel bad about it. She hadn't had much fun at all today. :guilty: :sad1:

Paul went off to find a spot at the Lodge to read and stayed gone for awhile. Poor Laura was stuck in the room with me. She watched the Disney channel (which she used to love but we no longer get on our cable system) so I hoped that would make her happy. She had a good time watching some of old favorite shows and some new ones. We watched Hannah Montana together and it was cute. That was the first time I had ever seen it. I still have trouble getting the whole premise of the show and had to keep asking "who is she now?" Does he know who she is? What about now?

Remember the boy who she "accidentally" took a picture of on our MGM day? Well stuck in the room without a cute boy in sight, poor Laura was left with taking photos of boys on TV! :rotfl:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0474.jpg

This picture pretty much sums up our miserable afternoon. That's me in one bed and Laura took this from sitting on the other one.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/IMG_0471.jpg

All the while I felt like crap.......................:sick:

Our dinner reservations were for 9:00 but we were going to leave the Lodge at 7:00 and drive to the Poly. Under normal circumstances I have no doubt we would have taken the boat to the MK or Contemporary and then monorailed around to the Poly. But there was nothing "normal" about this night. The car seemed like the quickest way to get there with the least about of possibly having to stand in any sort of line. I was supposed to get a lot of things packed up tonight so tomorrow's move would be easy but I hadn't accomplished anything. Before going to the car for our drive to the Poly I threw a few things into a couple of our carry-on pieces so we could leave them in the trunk. I could feel the pitying stares as we wheeled our paltry pieces of luggage out the door as others were checking in.

As we left the Lodge we saw a lot of bells set up on tables in the lobby. I think the sign said it was a hand bell choir from a Methodist church. I was wishing we could hear that because I'm sure it was beautiful.

Throat still was a 2, body aches 8, guilt 10. Yuck.

Polynesian here we come.

If money was no object I would stay at the Polynesian in a heartbeat. It's so beautiful and I have so many wonderful memories of staying there when I was much younger. One funny little memory from when my mom and I stayed there. We were going to eat or something and I was waiting on my mom to finish getting ready. I was 17 or 18 at the time. I told my mom I would wait for her in the lobby so I went down there and found a place to sit and people watch. I was feeling very appropriately dressed for the Polynesian atmosphere, wearing a white sundress and a yellow flower behind one ear. I remember because we have pictures. Anyway, I'm somewhat shy now but back then I was EXTREMELY shy and had had almost ZERO experience with males since I didn't have brothers or a dad in the home. While I was waiting for my mom a man came and asked me if I would like to go have a drink with him. I was like :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: and went back to the room like a scared rabbit. It's a wonder I ever found somebody to marry me!!! :lmao:

When we walked in the lobby of the Poly I was surprised to see a ton more hand bells, exactly like the ones that were set up in the lobby of the Lodge. I don't know if there was one hand bell choir that traveled from resort to resort playing their bells? It seemed odd that they would have so many bells to have complete sets in more than one resort.

We called Jeff on the phone. They were still shopping on Main Street but would be leaving soon. We decided to ride the monorail around while we waited for them to arrive.

At the Magic Kingdom stop we saw HUGE lines waiting for the monorail so we called the kids again and let them know. We rode around some more and at one of the stops I saw a lady waiting to get on that was wearing a red shirt with the Mickey stick figures on it! Cool! We were going to be wearing ours tomorrow. I'd saved them for our last day because according to the weather reports tomorrow was supposed to be our warmest day of all.

As we rode around I rested my head against the window of the monorail. Every stop seemed like there were crowds of people waiting to get on. I had no interest in getting off because I knew that would mean waiting in those lines to get back on. We got to the Grand Floridian. Paul and Laura started to get off because at some point I must have said when we rode around we could get off and look at the Christmas decorations. When I saw they were getting off I either said "I'm not getting off" or "we're not getting off". Either way they both sat back down and Paul said if he had known all we were going to do was ride around and not get off he never would have gotten on in the first place. That helped. I know Laura was disappointed and probably bored out of her mind with how this day had gone. Still I didn't have the strength to do anything about it.

There was somebody in our monorail cab who Laura said played one of the wicked stepsisters. She wasn't dressed in costume but another passenger was saying that lady "knew Cinderella well" or something like that.

At the Poly we got off and went upstairs, finding a place to sit and wait for the kids. Soon Jeff & Kelsee arrived. Our reservations were for 9:00 and it was about 8:20 at this point. I went to the Kona podium to check in, telling them I realized we were early and we were happy to wait. I got the blinky thing (which was not blinking at the moment, of course) and went back to sit down. We were in the area across from the entrance to Ohana. I didn't know if we could just sit there or if that was a lounge type place where you were supposed to order drinks. I didn't care. Someone actually did come and ask us if we wanted drinks and I said no and told him we were waiting to be called for dinner at Kona.

There was a Hawaiian gentleman playing and singing where we were sitting. He was very good and nice to listen to. Paul and Laura walked around the looked in the gift shops while I stayed put in my chair. I looked at families waiting with little children and realized I hadn't seen any over indulged, over stimulated, tantrum throwing kids all week. Just happy families enjoying each other. It was nice. Magical.

After about 20 minutes our blinky thing went off and we reported to Kona. It's cool how they have all the desserts on the counter to see how they look. I'd heard people comment on the closeness of tables at LeCellier, which we didn't find to be true in our case. However at Kona there were people at a table extremely close to where Paul and Jeff were sitting. They were so close it almost seemed odd to not say hello so we did. They were staying at Pop and leaving the following morning. Very nice people.

Laura and I ordered the shrimp and scallops. I liked the shrimp but the scallops not so much. Kelsee had the pan Asian noodles. When they brought our food Laura was given pan Asian noodles instead of the shrimp & scallops. We told the waitress she was supposed to get the shrimp and scallops, not the noodles and instead of being apologetic and fixing the mistake immediately the waitress told Laura she did not order the shrimp & scallops and had ordered the noodles!!! The nerve!!! :mad: After telling her a second time that Laura was supposed to get the shrimp and scallops she took the plate away and said she would get them for her. She never once apologized although she did come back a few minutes later and said she had put the order in and she would have her food to her quickly. Our server was not good because never once did she refill or offer to refill our drinks.

I did a very poor job of taking pictures of our food, with a few rare exceptions. Tonight I managed to get pictures of our dessert and that's about it.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3935.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3934.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast076.jpg

I think overall everyone was very pleased with their meal at Kona and I felt a little better while we were sitting there. When it was time to go we went straight back to the Lodge and I got right to bed hoping and praying tomorrow I would feel back to normal. We were supposed to be up early to move to Pop and I had done practically nothing to be ready for an easy and quick move. (I hate split stays!!!)

Best part of the day: Hard to find much good about today but it would have to be that if I was going to feel bad it thankfully happened on our "rest" day.

Worst part of the day: Feeling like Laura didn't have much fun and I know that wouldn't have been the case had I felt better.

Up next: A day to remember or a day best forgotten?

Liz

02-09-2008, 04:28 PM

They are much braver than me. When we rented a boat the five us could ride on from the WL we didn't go past the contemporary. I didn't feel safe with my husband driving through the canal when so many Disney boats were there also. I am a huge wimp.

Oh its really fun!! You have to go very slow through that canal area but there is definitely a lot more boat traffic once you get closer to the MK! You'll have to be brave and give the Sea Racers a try some day!

carissanboys

02-09-2008, 08:27 PM

klj27

02-09-2008, 09:23 PM

Don't feel bad for Laura. It would have been a crime to waste a whole day ticket for 90 minutes of crowded MK.

I hope you are feeling better for your last day!

Liz

02-10-2008, 04:46 PM

Awww...as moms, we sure know how to lay the guilt on ourselves, don't we? :hug: I really hope that you felt better the next day!

You planned and executed such an amazing trip for your family. I'm sure Laura understood that you didn't feel well. She seems like a wonderful daughter and I'm sure she didn't hold your getting sick against you :goodvibes

Those boats look like a lot of fun!

Don't feel bad for Laura. It would have been a crime to waste a whole day ticket for 90 minutes of crowded MK.

I hope you are feeling better for your last day!

Thanks guys! Yep, Laura never complained about being bored or her day not going well. :lovestruc I was sure sad a precious Disney day was going to waste but these things happen sometimes. And I'm so careful about washing hands, trying not to touch railings, doorknobs, etc. when I can.

winkers

02-10-2008, 06:05 PM

Why is it that "bad mommy" guilt is 10x's worse at disney? I hope your felt better for the next day!

Liz

02-10-2008, 07:01 PM

Why is it that "bad mommy" guilt is 10x's worse at disney? I hope your felt better for the next day!

Well about our next Disney day . . . . Umm, I'll just say it might make this day look good? :scared1:

eyeheartgoofy

02-10-2008, 07:15 PM

Well about our next Disney day . . . . Umm, I'll just say it might make this day look good? :scared1:

:scared1: The suspense is killing me!:scared1:

Liz

02-11-2008, 08:45 AM

:scared1: The suspense is killing me!:scared1:

I guess I'm actually gonna have to relive that final day, huh? :eek:

eyeheartgoofy

02-11-2008, 12:04 PM

I guess I'm actually gonna have to relive that final day, huh? :eek:

Oh, dear. I hope it wasn't that bad.

xoprincessmomxo

02-11-2008, 02:41 PM

So sorry you got sick at Disney! :guilty: And you have no reason to feel so guilty! Reading through this, you come off as a super mom who goes way above and beyond for her children! Children come to realize that even their super hero mom's are just human some days, too! I am happy to hear you liked the food at Kona. We are planning to eat there our last day of vacation.

Liz

02-11-2008, 06:47 PM

Oh, dear. I hope it wasn't that bad.

I'll let you guys decide ;) . I'm working on it so it shouldn't be more than a day or two.

So sorry you got sick at Disney! :guilty: And you have no reason to feel so guilty! Reading through this, you come off as a super mom who goes way above and beyond for her children! Children come to realize that even their super hero mom's are just human some days, too! I am happy to hear you liked the food at Kona. We are planning to eat there our last day of vacation.

Thanks for your sweet comments!!!

Yes, Kona was very good!!! :)

KristinAnne

02-11-2008, 08:56 PM

Should have been preparing for my day tomorrow and instead I've been reading your TR! It looks like you had a great time...course I haven't seen the next enstallment yet!

Liz

02-12-2008, 08:51 AM

I'm working on our next day's events but in the meantime here are some more of Kelsee's photos from our first Epcot day! Enjoy!

Canada

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-192.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-191.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-181.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-179.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-180.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-177.jpg

Test Track

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-147.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-165.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-146.jpg

The Seas

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-120.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-119.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-118.jpg

The Land

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-126.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-135.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-133.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-131.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-129.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-128.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-127.jpg

Jamminators

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-148.jpg

Liz

02-12-2008, 08:53 AM

Should have been preparing for my day tomorrow and instead I've been reading your TR! It looks like you had a great time...course I haven't seen the next enstallment yet!

Glad to have you here!! Hope you got everything ready for today!! :goodvibes

Liz

02-12-2008, 08:56 AM

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-3.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-2.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore.jpg

50's PTC
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-33.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-34.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-31.jpg

Mulch, Sweat & Tears
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-38.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-19.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-20.jpg

Fantasmic
http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-61.jpg

Donald is #1

02-12-2008, 06:07 PM

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Somemore-120.jpg

Cool! I have never seen this in the Living Seas!

Liz

02-12-2008, 06:40 PM

Cool! I have never seen this in the Living Seas!

Yeah it is! There are actually one or two more besides this one!

Liz

02-12-2008, 09:52 PM

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-147.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-142.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-139.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-134.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-133.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-132.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-130.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-129.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-128.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-123.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/Walt%20Disney%20World%202007%20TWO/Somemore-183.jpg

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Liz

02-12-2008, 10:41 PM

Sigh . . . .

I guess there is no point in further delaying having to revisit this day in our family’s Disney history.

And we begin . . .

I woke up around 2:30 in the morning still feeling achy and horrible. I took my temperature again and still no fever. Popped two more Tylenol and hoped for a miracle.

For once I didn’t wake up super early and got up when everybody else did about 7:00. And I was actually blessed with a mini-miracle of sorts! My body aches were GONE but my throat hurt a bit worse. Seeing as how this was our last Disney day I could live with that and I was determined to have fun! And finally today we were wearing our cute as all get out Mickey stick figure shirts! Wahooo!!

Thankfully with the body aches out of the way I had the strength to get some of our luggage ready for the move. I believe I already mentioned we had a lot of stuff. We each had a large suitcase plus a carry-on plus Kelsee’s stuff.

Before leaving home I had debated whether to let the Lodge move our luggage to Pop or do it ourselves. I knew we would be coming back from MK very late tonight (perhaps almost midnight?) and was trying to avoid having to track down our luggage at that late hour. So the “before leaving home plan” was to put everything in the trunk, drive to Pop and check in then go to MK from there. Then at the end of the evening when we returned we could just grab our luggage from the trunk and go to our rooms. One MAJOR problem with that plan was there was NO WAY everything was going to fit in the car much less in the trunk.

In hindsight we should have just had the Lodge move everything. Yes, I hate split stays but the luggage headache that is to follow could have just been eliminated had we let them do the transfer.

So the new and unimproved plan was for Paul and I to take a load of luggage to Pop and check in while the kids finished getting ready for the day. We’d leave the luggage with Luggage Assistance (assuming our rooms weren’t ready) then go back for the kids, putting everything remaining in the trunk of the car. We’d take the boat from WL to MK and at the end of the day return to the car and drive to Pop. We’d already be checked in and have our keys. Unfortunately we would still be left with having to track down the luggage we left there in the morning.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Gosh, I’d have to be saving a boat load of money to do this again.

Paul and I put our stuff in the trunk and he said his back was really hurting. Really, really bad. He has back problems from time to time but usually nothing serious. He got behind the wheel and we began driving to Pop. While driving there his back problems went from really, really hurting to almost unbearable. It was BAD.

With him in pain and me concentrating on him being in pain we missed the turn to Pop and ended up at the entrance plaza of Animal Kingdom. Another car stopped to talk to the CM and drove on. Now it was our turn. I told him we were trying to get to Pop and missed our turn.

It was a cute little man with a twinkle in his eye and a strong accent who said “ahh, now I’m going to have to punish you like the people before you!” At any other moment I would have found him amusing and adorable. Now not so much.

He gave us very good instructions on how we needed to get back to Pop. Paul drove away from the toll plaza then pulled the car over to the far left and stopped so we could switch drivers. I hope we didn’t alarm the cute little man because he probably wondered why we were stopping and getting out. Also when Paul got out he started doing his back exercises that he was given by a doctor or physical therapist at one time to help with his problem.

I got behind the wheel and Paul got in the passenger seat and we began our drive to Pop, rather quickly I might add. He needed to get out of the car because sitting there was painful.

Paul had taken some pain pills for his back and they were now upsetting his stomach. He needed a bathroom and something to eat NOW. I dropped him off at the front of Pop so he could hurry in and take care of both those pressing needs while I parked the car.

I got one big suitcase and one carry on and went in the Pop lobby. In spite of the horrible turn the morning had taken, it felt good to be back there. I have nothing but wonderful memories of our 8 night stay in 2005.

I didn’t see Paul anywhere so I got in the short line to check in. Before the CM helping me got very far in the process I explained to her that we had one member of our group who was sick and we would appreciate getting any room that was currently available, even if it was not the room we were originally assigned.

That statement was met with a dumbfounded silence.

I repeated myself: “you know, any room that is available now even if its not the one we were supposed to get. Like a room that didn’t need to be cleaned this morning because no one stayed in it last night”.

Still no response. I don’t think she had any clue what I was talking about.

I said never mind.

Perhaps there were no rooms like that.

My CM happily resumed checking us in and gave me the keys. She said we were in the 90’s section (I had requested 50’s) and gave me a number to call later to find out if our rooms were ready. While we were taking care of the checking in process I saw Paul walking around by the gift shop and silently prayed that he was feeling better.

When I was finished at the counter I went over to Paul hoping to hear the words “it’s a little better” – anything like that.

Instead I heard just the opposite.

He still hadn’t gotten anything to eat so he was going to do that while I took care of the luggage. But before getting any more out of the car I needed to deposit the stuff I was currently dragging around.

I started to find Luggage Assistance then realized I didn’t have any small bills for a tip. So I went back to find Paul and he was sitting outside the back of the food court eating a muffin. He gave me some money and I went back to Luggage Assistance. Thankfully there was no line.

I gave the very nice CM my two pieces of luggage and said I had more to drop off. He said I could drive up closer and pointed to an area but I wasn’t sure where he meant. I nodded my head like I got it and left. I don’t know why. I was so upset about everything that was happening I forgot to give him any tip money.

I reached our car, got in and started to drive around to the hopefully correct drop off place. There’s a little semi-circular driveway that looked like it would be okay to drive in there but I didn’t see any people that looked like guests with their cars. There were a few delivery type vehicles and such. I just wasn’t sure I was supposed to go in there and I didn’t want to do the wrong thing so I just went back and parked the car again.

I figured after dropping off the luggage I would have to repark anyway and go find Paul so it would be almost as easy to just park, drop off the luggage and find Paul in one swoop.

It actually wasn’t too hard and the luggage did its part to help by staying upright and rolling along. I had one large suitcase with a carry on hooked to it in each hand. I gave these remaining pieces to the same CM and once again forgot to leave a tip!!! GOSH!!!

I found Paul and as we went to the car I asked him what he thought we should do. He said he wasn’t sure but he needed some help and couldn’t keep feeling the way he was. We began driving back towards the Wilderness Lodge. The thought entered my mind that if I knew how to get to Celebration Hospital I would take him directly there. But I had no idea where it was.

Back at the Lodge I dropped him off by the door and parked the car as he went upstairs. I had read on the DIS about a doctor service that will come to your hotel and also another service where they will pick you up, take you to the doctor and bring you back. I stopped at the Conceirge desk to ask for help. They gave me a pamphlet on physicians services and indeed one will come to your room and the other will pick you up. I was mulling over the idea that if Paul had to go to the doctor then maybe I’d just see them too about my throat.

Back at our room I showed the pamphlet to Paul said he didn’t care which we did, just do something fast. I think it was the same phone number for both. The problem with having a doctor come to our room was we had to be out by 11:00 since we were changing resorts. It seems like it was around 10:00 AM when I called. I still asked what the charge would be for the doctor to come. It was $325 which didn’t include medication (I think) and they didn’t take insurance. YIKES.

The other option wasn’t a lot better. It was $215. They would pick him up, take him to one of three clinics (they monitored the wait time at each one and would take him to the one with the shortest wait), take him to a pharmacy afterward for any prescriptions that needed to be filled then return him back to our resort. Sounded like the best option so we made arrangements. They said for him to be out front and the van would be there in 15 minutes.

Oh, and by the way, when I saw how expensive it was going to be I decided my throat wasn’t bad enough to see a doctor. We’d be in Jacksonville tomorrow and I knew of a clinic up there I could go to if necessary. I went there last year when I got sick and it was only $49.

Anyway, when we got back to the room I was expecting everybody to have finished getting packed up, fully dressed and ready to go. That wasn’t quite the case. And we were less than an hour away from needing to be out of the room.

Jeff went downstairs with Paul to wait for the van while I hurried to throw everything else in the last suitcase. I made two trips to the car with the last of ours and Kelsee’s stuff. On my second trip to the car the van hadn’t arrived yet and I told Paul if it hadn’t come when I came back from the parking lot I would just take him and we’d call the place and cancel the van. But when I got back up to the entrance Jeff said the van just picked him and about four other guests up. Wow, five sick people from our resort alone.

When everybody was ready I sent the kids to Magic Kingdom and told them to have fun. Remember when we checked in six days ago I was told I had to go to the front desk to check out? I took care of that and the CM told me since we hadn’t charged anything I didn’t need to stop at the desk. Oh well, not exactly what I was told at check-in but at this point it was a minor annoyance.

Paul and I kept in contact by phone. He said they took him to a clinic that wasn't the closest because that one had a two hour wait. The place he was at had a one hour wait.

I sat down in the Wilderness Lodge lobby over by the little bridge and the stream and tried to decide what I should do. I thought of Cherie (aka Winkers - if you aren't reading her trip report you should) and how some things had gone wrong on their trip. I realized sometimes things just happen but you deal with it and move on.

I talked to Paul again. He was doing okay but still in pain and waiting to see the doctor. I didn't know how hard it would be to find him but trying to get there didn't seem like the best idea. Every time we spoke I could hear people coughing who sounded like they were at death's door so honestly, I wasn't anxious to go to that germ infested place. You know people must be pretty sick to go to the doctor on vacation. And I knew he was going to be taken care of.

We talked about whether when he was done he should come back to the Wilderness Lodge or see if they could take him to Pop. I told him there was really no reason to come back to the Lodge and I thought he should try to go to Pop. Except if he got back soon the room likely still wouldn't be ready. And even if it was I had the keys. So we decided if he could go to Pop I would meet him there with the keys. There just seemed to be no good option either way.

I hadn't eaten anything so I went to Roaring Fork. I wouldn't normally consider lunchtime a "rush hour" at a resort food court but the place was PACKED. Crazy.

I decided to take the boat over to MK and try to find something to eat there and check on the kids. I started to go down to the dock then remembered the room keys to Pop were in the car. I should have them with me so when Paul said he was on his way back I could leave from MK and meet him at Pop with the keys.

I walked down to the parking lot and couldn't find the room keys in my Pop packet of important materials. Duh, they were in my backpack, which had been with me all along. Sigh.

Back to the boat dock and over to Magic Kingdom. It was not a happy moment. I went in the park and planned on just getting something to eat at the Main Street bakery. The park seemed extraordinarily crowded and the line at the bakery was to the door so I kept walking. I didn't want to use a counter service credit and was just looking for a snack.

Turned right at Tomorrowland and found myself at Cosmic Rays. It was a crazy crowded. Long lines. I did, however, see a snack item on the menu that sounded good - chili cheese fries, which I ordered. I couldn't find a place to sit though and ended up sitting at a table outside which would have been nice had it been warm. Today was supposed to be our warmest day but it wasn't.

I called the kids and they were coming over to meet me. They had been on Big Thunder Mountain and had seen the Pirate tutorial again.

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Jeff had eaten a turkey leg so he wasn't hungry. I ended up using our last counter service credit for one double cheeseburger meal (paying for an extra bun) for Kelsee and Laura to share. As soon as I delivered the food to them I got a call from Paul. He had just left the pharmacy and wanted to know where the car was. I said it was at Wilderness Lodge so he said he was heading back there. All along we had been talking about there being no reason for him to go back to the Lodge and if he was on pain killers he couldn't drive anyway so I'm still not clear why he wanted to go back to the car. I didn't question it though and told him I'd meet him there.

I began my trek through Tomorrowland, fighting the crowds to the front of the park to catch the boat to back to Wilderness Lodge.

The next thing that happened is not surprising at all really, considering the way our trip was coming to an end. As I was making my way towards the front of the park, I felt something wet hit me right on the top of my head. I looked up to see a flock of birds flying low overhead. Yup.

And I just kept walking. I did reach up and touch my head and wondered how obvious it was that I had just been pooped or peed on by a bird. I didn't care. You know what thought entered my mind? Honest to goodness I thought "my hair is so dry, maybe its moisturizing." :rotfl: I think I was losing my mind!!!

For the second time in about an hour I caught a boat across the water to the Wilderness Lodge. While on the boat I called the Pop number to see if our rooms were available. It was 1:00 because I remember saying to the person on the phone (and being surprised it wasn't something automated and a person actually answered) "I know its only 1:00 but I was wondering if there is any chance our rooms are ready." YEA! THEY WERE!!!

I got back to the Lodge about 20 minutes before Paul and stopped in the bathroom to check out the pee/poop on my head situation. I couldn't see anything so it probably soaked right in.

Paul called me when the van arrived (I was sitting in our car in the parking lot.) When he said he was there I drove over and picked him up. He was still hurting but the pain wasn't as unbearable anymore, which was a very good thing. The doctor had done an EKG to make sure the back pain wasn’t anything with his heart (it wasn’t). By the time he got out the door of the clinic it was over $300 plus meds. Ouch.

We drove to Pop and made it there without any difficulty this time. I had our room numbers (9452 and 9453) but was almost totally unfamiliar with the layout of this side of the resort. In 2005 we stayed in the 50's and loved that location which is why I requested it again. Anyway, one would think the progression of the buildings would start at one end of the resort with the 50's then go to the 60's, 70's, 80's then 90's. Right? Wrong. We went to the last building of the resort in search of our 90's building and it was 80's. We walked to the end of that building and went to the next one. That was a 70's building. I thought there surely was some building after the 80’s that we had failed to notice so we went back the way we just came. Where was the stinkin' 90's building!!!!!!! Paul got angry with me because we were walking and walking. He yelled that he couldn't keep doing that and we needed to find our rooms!!!!!! (Later he apologized for yelling and said he was just hurting at the time. It was fine.)

We found a CM emptying trash and asked him how to find our room. He walked us around the corner of a building and pointed to where we needed to go. BLESS HIM!!

Our rooms were on the top floor looking down on a little courtyard and not too far from the parking lot. I got Paul situated in the room and we had a conversation that went something like this:

Me: Is there anything I can do for you?
Paul: No, I just want to get in a hot tub.
Me: There is no hot tub here.
Paul: No, I just want to get in a hot tub.
Me: Okay

I went to the car to get the rest of the stuff and bring it to our room. I was actually thinking in one respect this was good because everything would be upstairs early in the day and we wouldn’t have to worry about it later.

Based on my earlier success with rolling two large suitcases and two small ones I got bold and tried it again. Only in addition to that I placed two more small bags on top. Pure madness but I wanted to try and get everything in one trip. I was tired of hauling luggage around half the day. (I realize it beats what Paul had been through so don’t judge.)

These suitcases weren't quite so cooperative so I'd go a few feet and one or the other of them would topple over. I'd balance everything again and go a few more feet. A wonderfully kind CM saw my dilemma and said to wait while he ran to get me a luggage cart. He took off with speed and customer service that would make Walt proud. I stayed put for a minute or two waiting for him to come back but then decided I could at least try to make some progress in the meantime. So I continued my walk a few feet, have everything fall over, rebalance, repeat dance. I didn't want to go too far and have my kind rescuer come back and find me gone. When I got almost to the elevators my CM was just coming out with the luggage cart. He helped me load everything on and I thanked him profusely and told him I could take it the rest of the way.

We called for the luggage we dropped off in the morning and it came really quick. See how much trouble I could have saved myself if we had just let the WL transfer everything? Live and learn.

Paul was ready for a hot bath and a nap. He told me to go to MK, find the kids and have fun. Sadly I left without him and went to the bus stop. I was bundled up in a scarf and feeling cold, although it wasn't really that cold out. Deep down inside I knew going to MK was a mistake but I was refusing to admit it. On the bus to MK the feeling grew deeper. It was like all the adrenaline of the morning had left my body and now I was tired. But it was our last day so I pressed on.

I entered the most magical park of all but not able to feel any of it. There was a parade going on (not the Christmas one) in Town Square and the place was packed. It seemed like it would be hard to go down Main Street so I went in the Kodak building and had them combine my photopass cards on to one.

I called Jeff to see where they were. They were outside the Tiki birds and told me to meet them there. It was slow going in all the crowds but I found them. They had found a good spot to watch MVMCP a little earlier:

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We went in to see the Tiki show. Once we were seated for the show I "rested" my eyes and didn't open them till it was over.

I realized at that point this day wasn't going to get better and there was no sense trying to fight it anymore. Outside the theater I sat down and explained the situation to the kids. It was 4:00 and we had a reservation at Crystal Palace at 6:45. I knew there was no way I could hold out that long. Sadly I told the kids I was going to leave. Laura said she would come with me. Jeff and Kelsee would stay and keep our reservation. I told them when they checked in to just let them know there were only two instead of five and the rest of your group was sick (well Laura wasn't but close enough.)

Laura and I exited the Magic Kingdom and as I went through the turnstyles one last time and saw the message overhead that said "See ya real soon" I had tears roll down my face. It wasn't supposed to end like this. Its always sad to leave Disney World but the sadness is worse when things haven't ended well.

There was a short line at the Pop bus stop. Since the Magic Kingdom was so crowded I was glad to not be waiting for a bus at the end of the day with all those people. While we were waiting we called Paul to check on him and let him know we were coming back. He had just been ready to leave Pop and meet us at Magic Kingdom. Whatever the doctor prescribed for him he was feeling no more pain. When he heard we were coming back he said he would just stay there and wait for us.

On the bus a lady was sharing her life history with me. She was also concerned the bus driver wasn't taking us to Pop. I wasn't in the mood to talk but she was nice and didn't know how I was feeling so it wasn't her fault.

Laura and I stopped in the food court before going back to our room and got a couple of pieces of cheesecake. I got a tye dyed one that I remembered were so good. Laura got a plain one.

Back in the room when we thought about all we were missing we briefly regretted leaving and at 5:45 considered going back to make our 6:45 dinner reservations. But after I sat on the bed for a minute I knew I wasn't going anywhere. Pure exhaustion took over. Whatever reserves I had built up from resting the day before were entirely spent by the activities of the morning and afternoon. We had been talking about some options for dinner and I had been trying to think of some less popular restaurants at a resort where we could get a last minute reservation. Paul wanted to go to Coronado Springs because we ate there years ago and it was great. We had three TS meals on the dining plan left to be used that would expire at midnight.

Unfortunately after sitting on the bed for a few minutes I said I only had to strength to go to the food court at Pop. And additionally, after a few more minutes I didn't have the energy to do even that.

Paul and Laura went to the food court for dinner. I said I didn't know if there would be any issues with using a TS credit at a CS location but I thought it would be fine. Paul got salmon, Laura a cheeseburger. Pitiful use of our last TS credits. A manager had to be called because the card wouldn't work, which I am sure must have been because we had no remaining CS credits. They watched the Disney channel while eating in the food court.

They came back to the room and found me right where I was when they left - in bed. You know how when you get x-rays at the dentist and they put a heavy lead apron over you? That's exactly how I felt, like I was being held down by an unseen weight.

Jeff and Kelsee came back later after going to dinner at Crystal Palace . . . .

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. . . . and seeing Spectro.

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They hurried to the buses immediately after the parade and before Wishes so they missed the crowds.

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I woke up and Paul went to the food court to bring me back something for dinner using our final TS credit. I told him to just get a cheeseburger because I couldn't think of anything that sounded good. He brought it back and I ate one bite then went back to sleep for the rest of the night.

Best part of the day: Paul feeling better. Also Jeff said he enjoyed being alone with Kelsee at MK because it felt like they were on a date hanging out and going to dinner just the two of them. I'm glad the day is a happy memory for them and that Laura was able to have some fun too.

Worst part of the day: Seeing the day crash and burn and having no idea when we will be back. And even though we were all wearing our cute as all get out matching shirts we never got even one picture of us wearing them! Not one!

klj27

02-13-2008, 07:57 AM

I am so sorry those are your last memories of MK. That only means one thing..... it is time to start planning another trip. :thumbsup2

winkers

02-13-2008, 09:55 AM

Uggg! What an awful way to end your trip! I'm glad Jeff ended up feeling better.

Not to self.......Never do a split stay! Just seems like too much hassle.

I was looking forward to seeing you in your stick figure shirts! What a bummer.

How is all the mission prep going?

eyeheartgoofy

02-13-2008, 11:55 AM

I'm getting a headache just reading this ... you poor dear! What a lousy last day at MK.:sad1:

As you said, at least Jeff and Kelsee had a fun evening together.

You know ... maybe a bird poop is a bad sign. On my first trip to WDW I was happily rocking in a chair while eating an ice cream at Aunt Polly's when a bird pooped on my knee. Two days later, I was in bed with a sore throat and body aches (at the Wilderness Lodge!) watching the Monica Lewinsky story break on TV (while medicating myself with $12 Tylenol and $15 throat lozenges from the gift shop ....:rotfl: ).

DizzneyDAnn

02-13-2008, 02:22 PM

Why did Laura go back with you. I'm pretty sure my kids would've said, "See ya," as they ran to the next ride. :sad2: I think my DH would've left me, too!

Ya, know, things happen for a reason. Maybe J and K needed that time alone. You'll never know. It's all in His hands, isn't it?

Liz

02-14-2008, 07:45 AM

I am so sorry those are your last memories of MK. That only means one thing..... it is time to start planning another trip. :thumbsup2

I wish I could start planning another trip! We have gotten so spoiled going once a year but now I have no idea when we can go back. :headache:

Uggg! What an awful way to end your trip! I'm glad Jeff ended up feeling better.

Not to self.......Never do a split stay! Just seems like too much hassle.

I was looking forward to seeing you in your stick figure shirts! What a bummer.

How is all the mission prep going?

A lot of people love split stays but its just not for us. I always unpack instead of living out of a suitcase but this time we never did because we always had in our mind that we had to move again. Definitely not our style.

Well mission prep is going well. We "donated" $1,300 to Mr. Mac :scared1: and we still aren't done. Sometimes it seems like April 2nd will never get here but most of the time its racing here way too fast.

I'm getting a headache just reading this ... you poor dear! What a lousy last day at MK.:sad1:

As you said, at least Jeff and Kelsee had a fun evening together.

You know ... maybe a bird poop is a bad sign. On my first trip to WDW I was happily rocking in a chair while eating an ice cream at Aunt Polly's when a bird pooped on my knee. Two days later, I was in bed with a sore throat and body aches (at the Wilderness Lodge!) watching the Monica Lewinsky story break on TV (while medicating myself with $12 Tylenol and $15 throat lozenges from the gift shop ....:rotfl: ).

Oh dear! You got the "bird poop flu"! :laughing: I'm sure it wasn't funny at the time!

Why did Laura go back with you. I'm pretty sure my kids would've said, "See ya," as they ran to the next ride. :sad2: I think my DH would've left me, too!

Ya, know, things happen for a reason. Maybe J and K needed that time alone. You'll never know. It's all in His hands, isn't it?

Laura doesn't always have the stamina the rest of us have due to her health problems (which is why we got her a wheelchair at Epcot one day) so that's probably why she was fine going back after being at MK for about half a day. She didn't say this but maybe she felt like a 3rd wheel being there with Jeff & Kelsee, I dunno. :wave2:

DizzneyDAnn

02-14-2008, 10:55 AM

I actually wondered about that third wheel thing.:hug: :sad2:

xoprincessmomxo

02-15-2008, 02:13 PM

carissanboys

02-15-2008, 03:20 PM

Awww :( I'm so sorry your last day didn't end the way you'd hoped. It's always hard when things don't go as you've been imagining for many months :hug:

Those pictures of the castle are so amazing!!!

Liz

02-15-2008, 09:18 PM

:hug: :sad1: :sad2: I am so sorry that you're vacation ended on such a lousy note. That being said...at least it didn't begin that way and you had such a great first part! (I'm sorry....I'm kind of a glass half full person. It gets annoying, I know!) I have really enjoyed your trip report and am sad that it is coming to a close. I agree with an above poster: time to start planning another trip! :thumbsup2

I am so glad we had a really fabulous first part of our trip!! :thumbsup2 And writing this TR has been a good thing because its helped me remember the wonderful parts and not just how it ended.

I'm glad you have enjoyed this TR! Another smallish chapter coming soon!

I actually wondered about that third wheel thing.:hug: :sad2:

Totally unrelated to your comment but guess what?! Jeff's best friend just got his mission call to LONDON ENGLAND! :cool1:

Awww :( I'm so sorry your last day didn't end the way you'd hoped. It's always hard when things don't go as you've been imagining for many months :hug:

Those pictures of the castle are so amazing!!!

Thanks Carissa! I'm so glad you have been a part of this! And I have enjoyed your TR so much!!! :)

klj27

02-15-2008, 09:38 PM

:goodvibes Now that it has ended I have to confess that I thought there may be a proposal somewhere along the way.

Liz

02-16-2008, 09:00 AM

:goodvibes Now that it has ended I have to confess that I thought there may be a proposal somewhere along the way.

Oh dear! That would have really been something! Nothing like that in this TR!!!

Liz

02-16-2008, 12:08 PM

December 23rd

The sad morning of our departure had arrived. The weather was warm and it looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. I awoke feeling 100% healthy with no body aches or even a hint of a sore throat. And Paul's back problems were A-okay. Kelsee was flying home today so she could spend Christmas with her family. The rest of us were going to Jacksonville to visit my mom.

I walked around with Jeff & Kelsee to get some pictures before we had to leave:

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3952.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3948.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast335.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3949.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3943.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3942.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3947.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3940.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast337.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast339.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast341.jpg

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3953.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3958.jpg

http://i95.photobucket.com/albums/l151/kelscall05/Disney%20World%202007%20Continued/WDW%20THree/TheLast005.jpg

All too soon it was time to take Kelsee to the airport. I was trying to figure out the best way to do this since once again there was no way we could all fit in the car with our luggage. It was decided I would go with Jeff and Kelsee to the airport. Paul and Laura would stay behind and finish getting ready to go.

I considered leaving Jeff at the airport so he could wait with her till time to go to her gate and then swinging back by the airport to pick him up on our way to Jacksonville. But when we got there and saw how bad the traffic was I quickly ditched that idea. I stopped where passengers could be dropped off and said my goodbyes to Kelsee. Jeff walked with her inside and although you aren't supposed to park at those places I tested my luck and hoped he would be right back. If you've ever seen Robert's policewoman partner on "Everybody Loves Raymond", someone with remarkable resemblence and attitude to her came up and told me to get a move on! I explained my son would be right back and she said I had to circle around until he was there ready to be picked up. I circled around twice hoping each time I wouldn't get in any fender benders or worse because people were unfamiliar with what lane they needed to be in (like me) and kept moving over at the last minute. I was so glad to see Jeff waiting on my second time around and we gladly got out of that mess for our return trip to Pop.

This picture is usually one of the first in most people's trip reports but I never got one when we arrived so we took it as we reentered the property.

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p223/sehh58/100_3960.jpg

We were back just in time to pick up Laura and Paul at 11:00 when we had to be out of the room. One quick stop at the food court for a final mug refill and a quick check of our wallets to make sure we weren't keeping any money that Mickey still needed then we were on our way. For a second I thought about calling my mom and saying we would get to her house much later than expected so we could go back in the parks and make up for our abismal day yesterday. But since she hadn't seen us for a year I knew that news wouldn't be met with a positive response. And Jeff was out of days on his pass anyway.

If we thought the traffic around the airport was bad before, the cars on I-4 westbound were backed up for miles. And likely a large portion of it was headed towards Disney World. We were all thankful to have had our Disney time before the real masses arrived.

The next week was spent at my mom's house which consisted of me having one of the worst colds of my life. I went through every tissue in her house, then bought my own box and went through that. Finally I just ended up carrying around a roll of toilet paper! Paul had his own share of troubles and spent several more days with flu like symptoms but all in all we managed to have a little bit of fun.

Best part about today: Temporarily feeling better (until the raging cold started)

Worst part about today: No question its LEAVING!!!

Next: A few final thoughts

xoprincessmomxo

02-16-2008, 05:54 PM

scottny

02-17-2008, 09:23 AM

whew, finally got through it all. Great report. sorry about the problems on that one day but it seems like you all handled it well.

Glad his back was feeling better when u left.

I cannot wait to stay at WL.

All the pics were great.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

carissanboys

02-17-2008, 09:43 AM

Thanks for a wonderful TR Liz :) I really, truly enjoyed reading yours so much!

winkers

02-18-2008, 09:17 AM

Thank heavens your horrible cold waited to hit till you left!:) Your mom probably didn't feel that way .;)

Liz

02-18-2008, 05:34 PM

:sad1: The "Leaving Disney" day in Trip Reports always makes me sad. I've really enjoyed your report! Thank you so much for sharing the memories, beautiful photos, and your wonderful family with us! :goodvibes

Thanks for being a part of it with us!!! :)

whew, finally got through it all. Great report. sorry about the problems on that one day but it seems like you all handled it well.

Glad his back was feeling better when u left.

I cannot wait to stay at WL.

All the pics were great.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Thanks for stopping by Scott! Still catching up on all your wonderful updates! :thumbsup2

Thanks for a wonderful TR Liz :) I really, truly enjoyed reading yours so much!

Carissa! I'm gonna miss you and your family!!! :cutie: So glad you have been along for the ride!

Thank heavens your horrible cold waited to hit till you left!:) Your mom probably didn't feel that way .;)

Yeah, my mom wasn't fond of us showing up with all our germs! ;) After we left she got the bad cold!!! :sick:

TheDISneyFamily

02-19-2008, 06:24 PM

LovintheLodge

02-19-2008, 07:10 PM

I really enjoyed your trip report (last year's was great too!). So your '4+1' trip sounded like you all had a fantastic time. What a wonderful family you have! My kids are getting older (14 and a just turned 17 yr old) but still enjoy our family vacations too.

Your pictures were great too! Thanks for sharing! :)

DizzneyDAnn

02-19-2008, 07:17 PM

We took our daughter's boyfriend this past summer,and it was great. I grew to reallyappreciate him, becuse he rolled right along with all the chaos of our 8 children. He fit in. I think a vacation with potential in laws is a must.:thumbsup2

Liz

02-19-2008, 10:56 PM

First of all I want to thank anyone who has read all or part of this trip report, and especially those who took the time to post! It means so much to know the time put into these things are worthwhile. Oh heck, I'd do it anyway even if I didn't post just to preserve the memories for our family (even the bad ones - which we can laugh about later - sometimes MUCH later!)

Resorts!
Okay, clearly I don't like moving from one resort to another. And I found out something else about myself too. I don't need to stay deluxe to be happy. I realized that the minute we were back at Pop and I knew I would have been just as content had we stayed there the whole time. Where we'll stay next time I have no idea. The kids are really too big to be comfortable sharing a double bed so its either two rooms at a Value or Deluxe again. Which we choose will all depend on how it works out financially. I wondered if after staying at Wilderness Lodge I'd fall so much in love with it that we'd never want to stay anywhere else (which funny enough I have had that thought only after stays at Pop and Coronado Springs!) I think we missed out on some of the fun of the Wilderness Lodge since the weather was too cold most days to really enjoy the pool.

Kelsee!
It was great having Kelsee along and I think she enjoyed being with us. I was concerned about being over enthusiastic and annoying (ME not Kelsee) but she really got into the spirit of things right along with us! Who knows some day we may not be 4 + 1 anymore and we'll just be a happy 5!

Dining Plan!
This was our first experience with the dining plan and even though we "lost money" on the plan our last day when we used three TS meals at a CS location we got a great deal of enjoyment out of eating at places we normally couldn't afford (LeCellier). I'd love to do the DP again but am really sorry to see they have taken away some of its benefits.

Disney in December!
Visiting WDW during the Christmas season is very special. However, after two years in a row I'm ready to visit at another time of year. Most of all I miss hearing the regular WDW park music! And I think visiting in the winter increases the chance of getting sick. And as crazy as this may sound I miss the rain that often is a part of many WDW vacations!

Hyatt Regency Orlando Airport!
This is where we stayed for one night before leaving to fly home to Utah. We got the great deal I mentioned earlier through Hotwire. I wish I had taken pictures of our room but when we arrived my camera was out of batteries and when we left it was very early and the room looked like the Rolling Stones had just spent a night there (okay not really but it wasn't all pretty like when we checked in). Let's just say the beds were fabulous and the convenience can't be beat. I would even consider staying there again if we had to pay the AAA rate ($170-ish). One cool thing about their wake up call service, first of all it was a human on the phone not a machine (or Stitch). Our wake up call was for something ridiculous like 4:50 AM. The lady asked if we would like to be called again in 10 minutes, the human equivalent of a snooze button!

When will we return?
Overall this wasn't one of our better trips even though most of our Disney time was fabulous until the very end. We've gotten spoiled going every year and now I don't know when we'll be back. It won't be 2008 for sure. I thought maybe in 2009 we could do a weekend at Disneyland but that's a 12 hour drive each way. We will definitely be back in Florida to visit family so it might be easier to fit in a day or two at WDW instead of the long drive to California and back. For sure I'll plan a big trip in 2010 but that's so far away there's hardly any point in even thinking about it.

We don't turn on Live 365.com Saturday mornings as we clean anymore. The distance from our next trip is too far and the pain of missing Spectro is too close to be ready to hear it right now.

Even if we can't physically be back at Disney World any time soon I will be enjoying it through the trip reports of others and carrying the magic in my heart! :wizard:

DizzneyDAnn

02-19-2008, 11:16 PM

Thanks, Liz!:)

scottny

02-19-2008, 11:42 PM

thanks for sharing. If I may suggest and if u have time make a dvd of the photos and add music to it then u can always look at it when u want to go back. I do that and it is fun too watch and u get a disney fix.

I had a site I did that for people and made a little money off of it but it got real time consuming.

It was a great read.

winkers

02-20-2008, 12:47 AM

I've loved laughing and crying along with you! Maybe you should plan a little trip for after Jeff has been gone awhile to give you something to look forward to!

DizzneyDAnn

02-20-2008, 12:04 PM

Maybe a nice Mother/daughter trip or a romantic trip with your husband. I think you need to think about another trip, too.

eyeheartgoofy

02-20-2008, 10:15 PM

I thoroughly enjoyed your TR and am sad to see it end! :sad1:

I don't think I commented on it, but I also read your Fort Wilderness TR way back when - I enjoyed it as well.

Thanks for sharing with us!!!

Liz

02-21-2008, 08:25 AM

Oh No!!!! It's not over!?! :sad1: Boy, you guys had quite a trip! :faint: I'm so sorry it ended up with you getting sick. :sick: Liz, thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us. Because of you, I have hope now that it will work out if we decide to take my son's girlfriend with us. You hear so many horror stories, but your trip with Kelsee is the way it should be! :thumbsup2

Don't worry... you guys will be planning another trip before you know it! :goodvibes

Take care,
Michelle

Thanks Michelle! Till we can go back I know I can count on you to give me lots of enjoyment through your TR!! :thumbsup2

I really enjoyed your trip report (last year's was great too!). So your '4+1' trip sounded like you all had a fantastic time. What a wonderful family you have! My kids are getting older (14 and a just turned 17 yr old) but still enjoy our family vacations too.

Your pictures were great too! Thanks for sharing! :)

Thanks so much! Glad you were here! Disney definitely can still be fun with older kids!!!

We took our daughter's boyfriend this past summer,and it was great. I grew to reallyappreciate him, becuse he rolled right along with all the chaos of our 8 children. He fit in. I think a vacation with potential in laws is a must.:thumbsup2

Did you go to WDW or some place else with the boyfriend?

Thanks, Liz!:)

Thank you!!!! :hug:

thanks for sharing. If I may suggest and if u have time make a dvd of the photos and add music to it then u can always look at it when u want to go back. I do that and it is fun too watch and u get a disney fix.

I had a site I did that for people and made a little money off of it but it got real time consuming.

It was a great read.

The DVD is a great idea! I would have no idea how to do it but Kelsee is extremely talented with that sort of thing! I'm glad you are here Scott!

I've loved laughing and crying along with you! Maybe you should plan a little trip for after Jeff has been gone awhile to give you something to look forward to!

Ahh, Cherie, I would love to have a trip to plan but while we're supporting Jeff in NY its going to be hard. Maybe the reason we don't have a mission fund is because my money has been going to a Disney fund instead! ;)

Maybe a nice Mother/daughter trip or a romantic trip with your husband. I think you need to think about another trip, too.

I think I need one too. Now have a talk with my bank account!!! That $400 a month to support Jeff is cutting into my Disney budget! (But I don't regret it!)

I thoroughly enjoyed your TR and am sad to see it end! :sad1:

I don't think I commented on it, but I also read your Fort Wilderness TR way back when - I enjoyed it as well.

Thanks for sharing with us!!!

Thanks for being here! And glad you enjoyed the Ft. Wilderness TR too!! :)

HEY, WE JUST HAD AN EARTHQUAKE!!!!! :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

DizzneyDAnn

02-21-2008, 01:15 PM

Dear Liz' bank account,
As the mother of a missionary, dear Liz will need a nice distraction. Please be flexible and generous :wizard: and provide her with this opportunty. :worship:
Thank you,
Future Missionary Mom who also wants to vacation while supporting a missionary.

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

Liz

02-21-2008, 08:19 PM

carissanboys

02-21-2008, 08:31 PM

I enjoyed reading your final thoughts Liz :) Thanks again for sharing your trip and your family with us all :)

klj27

02-22-2008, 04:14 PM

Earthquake! :eek: :eek: :eek:

MARY-IN-OH

02-22-2008, 05:13 PM

Liz, what a wonderful report!! Can't help but agree with some posters, that a little Mother/Daughter trip would be wonderful for you! I'm trying it with my DD27 in a couple of months, I've never been in May so this should be cool !! We will do a few days at Pop and then we rented points from DVC member to do OKW for a few nights. Your family could spread out in a dvc room, and renting points is very affordable!! You will laugh about the down moments of your trip (eventually!) and you will treasure your photos and all the wonderful memories! It is wonderful for us to see your family enjoying each others company. :hug:
-mary

Liz

02-24-2008, 08:21 AM

I enjoyed reading your final thoughts Liz :) Thanks again for sharing your trip and your family with us all :)

I'm so glad you have been here Carissa! :) I enjoyed your TR as well!

Earthquake! :eek: :eek: :eek:

I know!!! Pretty scary huh!!! Actually Laura and I didn't feel it and Jeff was still sleeping. Paul said "we just had an earthquake" and Laura and I were like :rolleyes: and then they started reporting in on the news! :crazy2: I'm surprised we didn't feel it because it was a 6.0 which isn't exactly small.

Liz, what a wonderful report!! Can't help but agree with some posters, that a little Mother/Daughter trip would be wonderful for you! I'm trying it with my DD27 in a couple of months, I've never been in May so this should be cool !! We will do a few days at Pop and then we rented points from DVC member to do OKW for a few nights. Your family could spread out in a dvc room, and renting points is very affordable!! You will laugh about the down moments of your trip (eventually!) and you will treasure your photos and all the wonderful memories! It is wonderful for us to see your family enjoying each others company. :hug:
-mary

Thanks Mary! Who knows, maybe something will come up and we can get down there or to Disneyland at least because 2010 is a long way off. I think renting points is a great option that I've looked into before but never done it. I remember your pics of OKW and they were awesome! :wave2:

scottny

02-24-2008, 10:27 AM

I know!!! Pretty scary huh!!! Actually Laura and I didn't feel it and Jeff was still sleeping. Paul said "we just had an earthquake" and Laura and I were like :rolleyes: and then they started reporting in on the news! :crazy2: I'm surprised we didn't feel it because it was a 6.0 which isn't exactly small.

:scared: :scared: :scared:

there was one in Los Angeles when I lived there but I did not feel it. My roommate did. I told her she was a liar. then I heard it on the news. OOPS!!!

Liz

02-24-2008, 02:05 PM

:scared: :scared: :scared:

there was one in Los Angeles when I lived there but I did not feel it. My roommate did. I told her she was a liar. then I heard it on the news. OOPS!!!

I have felt a couple when we lived in California (Redlands) and they are not fun! One time I was barefoot and it felt like someone just ran a finger along the bottom of my foot as it passed under the ground. SOOOOOOOOO WEIRD!!!

scottny

02-24-2008, 03:07 PM

I have felt a couple when we lived in California (Redlands) and they are not fun! One time I was barefoot and it felt like someone just ran a finger along the bottom of my foot as it passed under the ground. SOOOOOOOOO WEIRD!!!

I would not like that, that would be weird.