NMAmy's Adventure with Teens--Feb 29-March 8-Last Installment Posted 3/26!!

[NMAmy]

If you'd like to skip the pre-trip report, the actual REAL trip report begins on Page 7! Thanks for reading!

In 30 days, we'll be at WDW! :mickeyjum

I'm so freaked out. You would not believe the number of details I have NOT nailed down for this trip. I've been procrastinating. In fact, I have even been procrastinating about starting a pre-trip report because I've been worried I'd start it and just forget where I left it. ;) Because 2008 seems to be that kind of year for me. Did I mention I didn't even start planning this trip AT ALL until December 23? So, really, even 2007 was a big procrastination year for me, as well.

So, please join me for 30 days of errand running and hair tearing out and whining. Because, really, what more would you expect from a pre-trip report from me?

Here's a picture from our trip last trip--March 2007. Spring Break. Yeah, we're dumb. We've also been at Christmas--Spring Break was marginally less harrowing.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858wdw198-med.jpg

That's me, Amy, on the left. DH's name is Alex. Then DD's friend, Jen, and DD, Caitlin, is on the right. Jen and Cait are 17 years old now. DH and I are quite a bit older than that. ;) Jen came with us last year and she is an absolute peach. We are so happy to have her coming along again this year. Thank you to her mommy for sharing her with us.

Our trip this year will be February 29 through March 8. Yes, we're taking the girls out of school for a week. See the statement above about harrowing. Also, the girls are cheerleaders and have some kind of competition thingy during their spring break this year so taking them out of school was the only option.

We will be staying at the Dolphin, our old favorite, again this year. This time for the whole trip! Never again will I try to move two teenage girls from one hotel to another not just once but TWICE in one trip. The Dolphin is our favorite--we love the location and this will be, I think, our sixth stay there. So, if you have any questions about the Dolphin, I'm your girl. ;)

For those that are new to my trip reports, I always have a little extra zing of stress planning these trips because Caitlin lives in New Mexico with her dad and Alex & I live in Michigan. It's nothing personal--she and I get along wonderfully and Caitlin and Alex are best pals. She was having trouble with her school here in Michigan and is finishing up with school there and then she'll move back to Michigan for college. It's hard but we make it work. We talk several times a day and we love each other very much.

BUT--this always causes huge headaches on our WDW trips. It would really cost too much to fly Caitlin and Jen to Michigan and then fly us all to Orlando. So, Alex & I fly to Orlando from Michigan and they fly there from New Mexico. Coordinating this makes me have a lot of sympathy for the coordinators of big events like the Oscars. Except they don't have to worry about two teenage girls being stranded somewhere like I do.

SO--the plan for flights is that Alex and I are flying out of Lansing on February 29 after work. Except I forgot one of my co-workers will be gone that day and I'll have to work until 5:00 and our flight leaves at 6:50. :scared1: My student employee works for the airline though and he told me as long as I'm there before 6:15, I'll be fine. We'll arrive at midnight, spend the night, and then the girls will arrive around 2:00 p.m. the next day. I like to give us plenty of time for problems with flights and I want to make sure we're there before the girls.

The girls will be leaving early on March 8 and Alex and I will be hanging around the airport for many hours that day until it's time for our flight that evening. That's my official story anyway. I'm actually considering going back to the parks for one more day but don't anyone tell Caitlin this little tidbit of info. :rotfl: I've sworn to her that there is no way in heck that I would ever go to a park without her presence.

I'll continue on with stories from our earlier trips and plans for this one and, as always, lots of pictures. Hope you all enjoy!

[Maleficent13]

Yay! Another TR! I need to be ambitious like you.

[Hedy]

Yay! Another TR! I need to be ambitious like you.

Glad to see another TR!

Did you get any ADR's?
Who's watching Sunny?

[NMAmy]

Yay! Another TR! I need to be ambitious like you.

You do, Mal! I'd love to read a trip report from you. As long as you don't wear that dress. ;)

[NMAmy]

Glad to see another TR!

Did you get any ADR's?
Who's watching Sunny?

Thank you, Heather! You're always so sweet to me.

I DID get ADR's. It's one thing I haven't procrastinated on--I held Caitlin and Alex hostage on a drive down to my sister's for the holidays and made them choose restaurants. :rotfl2: My list is at home--I'll add them all on here later because I can't remember where we'll be for what meals.

Our pal, B, is watching Sunny again. He's very excited--he loves to stay at our house and he's SO good with Sunny. He told his mom that he wanted Alex and I to adopt him.

[dddisrunner]

:cool1: Yes, I am in! Another TR from Amy! Let the fun begin!:thumbsup2 Let's avoid lattice covered windows this trip huh!:lmao:

[becca011906]

Another Pre trippie for spring time!!! Yippy! you had/have a little less time then i do for planing and your trip/ect... We didn't decide we were going till 12/15 (when dh ordered the PPP tickets online) then booked our room on 12/23, but we are going a few days later then you guys. I usally book/start planning 6-12 months in advance!!!! Can't wait to hear more!

[NMAmy]

:cool1: Yes, I am in! Another TR from Amy! Let the fun begin!:thumbsup2 Let's avoid lattice covered windows this trip huh!:lmao:

Hi, Diane! :wave2:No kidding on the lattice covered windows. Now I know: DO NOT accept a room on the 4th floor at the Dolphin! Plus, we'll be in there for a whole week this time--there's no way I could bear it for a whole week!

[NMAmy]

Another Pre trippie for spring time!!! Yippy! you had/have a little less time then i do for planing and your trip/ect... We didn't decide we were going till 12/15 (when dh ordered the PPP tickets online) then booked our room on 12/23, but we are going a few days later then you guys. I usally book/start planning 6-12 months in advance!!!! Can't wait to hear more!

Hiya, Becky! :welcome: Thanks for reading!

Ah, a fellow hasty trip planner! ;) Since I've also raised a procrastinator, I had a heck of a time getting Caitlin to commit to a date when she could go. Then we had to clear it with her dad, her school, Jen, Jen's mom, and the school for Jen. :rotfl2: Alex & I had the relatively easy schedules compared to the girls--we're going during Spring Break for the college where I work, and although we're open, no one else had asked for the week off so it worked out well. Alex has so much vacation time, he could never use it all.

You're going to the Pirate & Princess Party? I'm debating about whether to buy tickets for that myself.

[NMAmy]

Plans, Plans, Plans

We are not the kind of people who plan out every minute of every day at WDW. I mean, I could do that, but no one would cooperate so why bother, KWIM?

As I stated earlier, I held Alex & Caitlin hostage on the 1.5 hour drive to my sister's for Christmas. With a park hours schedule and the Unofficial Guide in hand, we decided on our one TS ADR for each day of the trip. That's really as much as I can get them to commit to. :lmao:

The parks do not have late hours while we're there so Caitlin SWORE that this time she and Jen would go to the AM EMH's or the opening of the park we choose for each morning. We'll see. I'm hoping the fact that they'll be done by 9:00 at the latest will motivate them to get their behinds out of bed.

So, here is our plan so far:

Saturday - The girls arrive mid-afternoon. No ADR's for that day--we'll just do whatever we want that evening and eat CS at whatever park we choose.

Monday - We plan on going to AM EMH at the AK. Caitlin requested Rain Forest Cafe for lunch. We've never been to one at WDW before although we have been to one in the Detroit area. We'll see how that turns out. If you've been here, how did you like it?

Tuesday - Epcot for EMH. We'll be having lunch at Le Cellier.

Wednesday - Ohana for breakfast. Stitch is Caitlin's favorite so I'm hoping he'll coax her into getting there by 9:00. :rotfl: It didn't work out last trip and I'm hoping it does this time! I miss character meals and this is the only one I can talk her into.

Thursday - Dinner at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. We love this place.

Friday - Dinner at the Rose & Crown. Alex's one request. He's British so he likes this little taste of home. Last year, the whole place was full of Brits. :rotfl:

That's it! Considering I made ADR's only 50 days out, I had no problems at all and a wide choice of times were available.

I'm thinking on some of the days when the girls ditch us, Alex & I can slide into some of our favorite places for dinner--like the Restaurant Marakesh and the Biergarten. We'll see how it works out.

So, two new places (Ohana & Rain Forest) this time around! Aside from the ADR's, we'll be park hopping to wherever takes our fancy.

[becca011906]

Hiya, Becky! :welcome: Thanks for reading!

Ah, a fellow hasty trip planner! ;) Since I've also raised a procrastinator, I had a heck of a time getting Caitlin to commit to a date when she could go. Then we had to clear it with her dad, her school, Jen, Jen's mom, and the school for Jen. :rotfl2: Alex & I had the relatively easy schedules compared to the girls--we're going during Spring Break for the college where I work, and although we're open, no one else had asked for the week off so it worked out well. Alex has so much vacation time, he could never use it all.

You're going to the Pirate & Princess Party? I'm debating about whether to buy tickets for that myself.

Thanks for the welcome.

we actully have this whole trip planed b/c we feel in Love with the PPParty last year (went twice). the kids had so much fun. there were NO lines at all for rides, walk on everything. now seeing characters on the other had was alwaful we waited for 90 min to see the princess' and then my youngest feel asleep and i couldn't get her to wake up to see them :( so we went to the party #2! LOL
If you guys have me extra funds to go i say go for it! It is fun last year we got in around 4:00 w/ the party tickets only and reports from thoes that have been this year are saying the same so you can actully be in the parks 7 hours on the PPP ticket. You can see my story (at my pretrip link below in my siggy) of how we were going to go to the PPP for ONE night then drving to cape coral... well that changed and we are now going to disney for 7 days! LOL

[Hedy]

I'm looking forward to hear your reviews of restaurants.

[Maleficent13]

Ack! I haven't made one ADR. I usually don't, but I need to at least line up some character meals. And some buffets...gotta get 'em in while Hepzibah eats free! ;) I'm thinking of doing Boma again; we haven't been there in a few years and I really like it.

[MickeysMommy]

popcorn::

[NMAmy]

Ack! I haven't made one ADR. I usually don't, but I need to at least line up some character meals. And some buffets...gotta get 'em in while Hepzibah eats free! ;) I'm thinking of doing Boma again; we haven't been there in a few years and I really like it.

Oh, absolutely! Hepzibah definitely needs a character meal. :thumbsup2 Has she done one before?

MM! Welcome to the party, pal! Is there any shopping I need to do for you while I'm there?

[NMAmy]

Here are a few photos from our trip in March 2007.

The horrible lattice room that dddisrunner was talking about:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858dolphin1-med.jpg

Don't ever take a 4th floor room at the Dolphin or you'll have to peer out between the big boards covering your windows. :rotfl2:

And the stormtrooper who terrorized Caitlin at Star Tours last year--following her right into the ride!

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858wdw18-med.jpg

Our weird girls sharing a ViewMaster at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. I'm not sure why I love this picture so much--I think it's because I can see Caitlin as a little girl in this one.

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858wdw25-med.jpg

Have I mentioned that I still don't know where Alex and I are sleeping on the night of 2/29? :rotfl: I need to find a hotel near the airport. I got some great suggestions on the CB when I asked about it but, for some reason, I keep putting it off. I think I'm subconsiously wanting to go right to WDW.

Also, I'm still pondering the whole rent a car vs using Tiffany Town Car thing. I could rent a car the day the girls arrive, we could drive to the Dolphin, get our room, make a grocery stop, and then go back to pick up the girls and return the car to the Dolphin. Or..Alex and I could hang out at our nonexistent hotel near the airport and then head over to the airport by shuttle around noon and wait until the girls arrive at 2:00, then use Tiffany to take us all to the hotel with a grocery stop.

What do you all think?

[Hedy]

For me, it would depend on the price, myself.

Have you looked into Rainforst Cafe's Safari Club? Depending on how far your local one is to you, picking that up might not be a bad idea. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1635225

I liked the AK RFC when I ate there in '02, however, it was when my dad got lost, so we were a little distracted.

[Hedy]

Thank you, Heather! You're always so sweet to me.

I DID get ADR's. It's one thing I haven't procrastinated on--I held Caitlin and Alex hostage on a drive down to my sister's for the holidays and made them choose restaurants. :rotfl2: My list is at home--I'll add them all on here later because I can't remember where we'll be for what meals.

Our pal, B, is watching Sunny again. He's very excited--he loves to stay at our house and he's SO good with Sunny. He told his mom that he wanted Alex and I to adopt him.

Your TR was my Gateway drug into the TR world. I saw Wilderness Lodge and Dolphin, and though, oh, this could help me make up my mind. Then I was laughing at the falling story (it's not a vacation until I injure myself-I laughing at you, not with you). Then I clicked a link in Tiggerbell's signature, and it was all over. ;)

[NMAmy]

Your TR was my Gateway drug into the TR world. I saw Wilderness Lodge and Dolphin, and though, oh, this could help me make up my mind. Then I was laughing at the falling story (it's not a vacation until I injure myself-I laughing at you, not with you). Then I clicked a link in Tiggerbell's signature, and it was all over. ;)

:rotfl2: I can't believe how very touched I am to be called a gateway drug! That's so great, Hedy, I'm glad you enjoyed it. And Tiggerbell is a GENIUS TR writer.

Oh, and you can sure laugh AT me and WITH me, pal, about my falling problem! It wasn't funny at the time but, holy cow, that has become one of my very best stories. :lmao:

[dddisrunner]

Here are a few photos from our trip in March 2007.

The horrible lattice room that dddisrunner was talking about:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858dolphin1-med.jpg

Don't ever take a 4th floor room at the Dolphin or you'll have to peer out between the big boards covering your windows. :rotfl2:

The infamous lattice!:lmao:

And the stormtrooper who terrorized Caitlin at Star Tours last year--following her right into the ride!

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858wdw18-med.jpg




I'll send Eric along to protect Cait!:rotfl:


We've never eaten at AK Rainforest but have been to the one at DTD. I found the food to be good. Really it was the same as the one we normally go to in Atlantic City!

I would rent a car stay at Disney go pick up the girls and then take the service back. Just my .02 this way you could sneak in some extra magic! Notice I've adopted your spend more money attitude!:rolleyes1 :rotfl2:

[ILMICKEY]

Hey! I remember you! How was Europe? I can't wait to hear all about your new adventure!!!

[NMAmy]

I'll send Eric along to protect Cait!:rotfl:


We've never eaten at AK Rainforest but have been to the one at DTD. I found the food to be good. Really it was the same as the one we normally go to in Atlantic City!

I would rent a car stay at Disney go pick up the girls and then take the service back. Just my .02 this way you could sneak in some extra magic! Notice I've adopted your spend more money attitude!:rolleyes1 :rotfl2:

Hey, Eric may get an extra trip out of this! ;) Caitlin definitely needs some protection.

It's been a while since we've been to Rainforest here in Michigan. I remember it as being okay but that could be because I'd spent a long day at an outlet mall and I was too tired to really enjoy it!

I'm leaning on getting a car on arrival and departure day so Alex & I won't have to just sit around the airport. But there is one important thing here--Alex and I rarely ever argue. However, one thing that is practically guaranteed to get us arguing is driving in a strange place. I love him but if I am in the car with him, navigating, he just loses all sense of direction. He gets along fine by himself but if I'm navigating--forget it.

We drive to my sister's house near Detroit several times a year. EVERY SINGLE TIME, he tries to get on the wrong highway. He did it again at Christmas:

Me: You're not planning on getting onto 75, are you?
Alex: Yeah, that's the way I'm supposed to go, isn't it?
Me: No. You TRY to go that way every time but that is not the way to Sis's house.
Caitlin: She's right. You had the exact same conversation at Thanksgiving. :rotfl2:

So, I guess I could drive and let him navigate. He actually prefers if I drive. Which may be why we have the 75 debate about 6 times a year.

[NMAmy]

Hey! I remember you! How was Europe? I can't wait to hear all about your new adventure!!!

HEY! I remember you, too, neighbor! :wave:

Europe was great! We went to England in July to visit Alex's family and had a fabulous two weeks. We stayed in the London area for a while and also made a trip up to Yorkshire with my FIL to his cottage.

Here's Hampton Court which is about 10 minutes away from BIL's house:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858england_3-med.jpg

The view from the castle in Alex's hometown of Richmond in Yorkshire:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858england35-med.jpg

Canterbury Cathedral:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858england25-med.jpg

The Roman Baths in Bath:

http://photopost.wdwinfo.com/data/500/17858england6-med.jpg

We also went to Whitby, and Portsmouth, and all over in London--the Tate Modern, St Pauls, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum.

There's actually a tie-in with this trip. I have a friend who was going to be in London at the same time as us. We'd arranged for me to call her on Monday night to set up arrangements for the following day. Monday morning, my SIL decided to take us to her hometown of Bath.

We had a great time--tea at the Pump Room, lunch at Sally Lund's (the oldest house in Bath), and she left us at the Baths while she did some shopping. Alex and I wandered through and we were killing some time in the gift shop, waiting for SIL to meet up with us when I heard a familiar voice.

It was my friend's daughter! She'd seen me in the baths and was a tad offended that I hadn't recognized her. :rotfl2: We collected my friend and her husband and visited for a bit and made plans to meet up the next day. Of course, the next day, it took me 20 minutes to find them in our designated spot!

So, said friend was asking me the other day if I was going anywhere for Spring Break. I told her we were going to WDW.

Guess where she and her family are going to be? :lmao: We're turning into vacation buddies! We're hoping to meet up for dinner at the Rose & Crown on our last night. I'll probably run into her dd before then, though.

[Maleficent13]

Inspired by you, I have started my own report...it is nowhere near as entertaining as yours, but here it is.

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1705725

[MickeysMommy]

Still popcorn::

[becca011906]

Great pictures!!!

[NMAmy]

Still popcorn::

You are a girl of few words on this thread, my friend! Thinking about my shopping list? ;)

Becca--I'm glad you liked the photos!

[MickeysMommy]

You are a girl of few words on this thread, my friend! Thinking about my shopping list? ;)

:rotfl: Actually, I do have something for you to get me if you would - and we need to plan that girls trip ladies!!!

[ILMICKEY]

Europe was great! We went to England in July to visit Alex's family and had a fabulous two weeks. We stayed in the London area for a while and also made a trip up to Yorkshire with my FIL to his cottage.

We also went to Whitby, and Portsmouth, and all over in London--the Tate Modern, St Pauls, Westminster Abbey, and the British Museum.
I LOVE the pictures!! Thanks for sharing them.


It was my friend's daughter!
So, said friend was asking me the other day if I was going anywhere for Spring Break. I told her we were going to WDW.

Guess where she and her family are going to be? :lmao: We're turning into vacation buddies! We're hoping to meet up for dinner at the Rose & Crown on our last night. I'll probably run into her dd before then, though.
I'd say great minds think alike!! It's so weird to go that far to run into someone that lives so close. I've had it happen a couple times at the world.

I'll be in your neck of the woods this weekend, we are coming up to the Turkey and Deer Expo.

[Maleficent13]

I'll be in your neck of the woods this weekend, we are coming up to the Turkey and Deer Expo.

Wow! Things are exciting in your neck o' the woods, Amy. I can't imagine why you'd even need to go to WDW.

;) j/k I am sure the Turkey and Deer Expo is extremely interesting.

[NMAmy]

MM-
Just let me know what my quest is this trip and I will, hopefully, do better than I did last time! :rotfl2:

ILMICKEY & Mal:
I didn't even know we had a Turkey & Deer Expo! Where is that, ILMickey? You're right, Mal, I have no idea why I ever leave the area. :rotfl2: Could be the sub-zero temperatures, the freezing rain, and snow, though.

[NMAmy]

I am going to WDW THIS MONTH!!!!! Okay, I leave on the last day of the month and arrive at midnight but if my plane is even one minute early, I will be there this month! And that is definitely close enough for me. Woo hoo!

I haven't done a whole lot on the planning front. Alex & I did do some shopping this weekend and I got some spring shirts and skirts. Hopefully, I'll be able to wear them when we go to WDW. There were some really good sales--I accidentally got a t-shirt at Kohl's for $1.20.

Really, it was an accident, I thought it was $7.00 until Alex pointed it out on the way to the car. If I'd known it was only $1.20, I'd have gotten a few more. :rotfl: He was all impressed with himself for getting a dress shirt for $4.50. HA! Amateur. I can accidentally get a better deal than him without even trying!

Here's some interesting news--my cousin recently got some family history stuff from another branch of the family and has posted it all on ancestry.com. Well, that's only interesting to me but there is a link to click that lists your possible famous relatives. I am quite possibly related to........wait for it........Walt Disney! My 9th great grandfather and his 5th great grandfather are the same person. :rotfl2: I'm calling CRO today to ask about my family discount. I'm also possibly related to a Mayflower guy, a couple of first ladies, and Louisa May Alcott. I knew there was a reason I just loved Little Women.

I did do some checking online about a hotel for us on 2/29. The good news is that some of the prices for hotels around the airport are coming down a bit. Embassy Suites was recommended and it's $130 a night and has a shuttle from the airport. But, of course, I checked the Disney site and Pop is available for $130 that night, as well. Hmmm....so now I'm debating staying at Pop, taking ME there, somehow getting from Pop to the Dolphin the next morning and renting a car there to go back to the airport to pick up the girls.

I'm so indecisive about this whole thing. Has anyone taken ME around midnight? I would definitely pick up my bags first and then take the bus over. I'm just wondering how long it will take. That's already WAY past our bedtime so I know Alex will want to do whatever thing gets him checked into a room the quickest.

What do you all think?

[MickeysMommy]

Whew! I'm tired just reading this.

Your 9th great grandfather and his 5th great grandfather? I can't wrap my head around that :headache: but, I am jealous! Mr. Disney would have loved me!!!

PM on the way

[dddisrunner]

I am going to WDW THIS MONTH!!!!! Okay, I leave on the last day of the month and arrive at midnight but if my plane is even one minute early, I will be there this month! And that is definitely close enough for me. Woo hoo!

I haven't done a whole lot on the planning front. Alex & I did do some shopping this weekend and I got some spring shirts and skirts. Hopefully, I'll be able to wear them when we go to WDW. There were some really good sales--I accidentally got a t-shirt at Kohl's for $1.20.

Really, it was an accident, I thought it was $7.00 until Alex pointed it out on the way to the car. If I'd known it was only $1.20, I'd have gotten a few more. :rotfl: He was all impressed with himself for getting a dress shirt for $4.50. HA! Amateur. I can accidentally get a better deal than him without even trying!

Here's some interesting news--my cousin recently got some family history stuff from another branch of the family and has posted it all on ancestry.com. Well, that's only interesting to me but there is a link to click that lists your possible famous relatives. I am quite possibly related to........wait for it........Walt Disney! My 9th great grandfather and his 5th great grandfather are the same person. :rotfl2: I'm calling CRO today to ask about my family discount. I'm also possibly related to a Mayflower guy, a couple of first ladies, and Louisa May Alcott. I knew there was a reason I just loved Little Women.

I did do some checking online about a hotel for us on 2/29. The good news is that some of the prices for hotels around the airport are coming down a bit. Embassy Suites was recommended and it's $130 a night and has a shuttle from the airport. But, of course, I checked the Disney site and Pop is available for $130 that night, as well. Hmmm....so now I'm debating staying at Pop, taking ME there, somehow getting from Pop to the Dolphin the next morning and renting a car there to go back to the airport to pick up the girls.

I'm so indecisive about this whole thing. Has anyone taken ME around midnight? I would definitely pick up my bags first and then take the bus over. I'm just wondering how long it will take. That's already WAY past our bedtime so I know Alex will want to do whatever thing gets him checked into a room the quickest.

What do you all think?

:rotfl: This is nuts. Last Sunday I went to Kohl's and bought 5 t-shirts in different colors that were $1.20 ea.:thumbsup2 I was so excited! Those kinds of finds are the best!:goodvibes


:rotfl2: What are you waiting for call Disney for that family discount..hurry,hurry! Psst.....don't forget I am part of your family too! Remember:confused3 :rotfl:

I have never taken ME that late but I imagine that because of the late hour retrieving your own bags shouldn't take nearly as long as it would earlier in the evening or afternoon. Also, I imagine ME will be pretty speedy as well! Pop is a great choice. You can take a cab from POP to the Dolphin. Last year when we went from POP to the Yacht Club for the boys pirate cruise the cab cost about $9. Then you could rent a car from the Dolphin!:goodvibes Besides if you've never been to POP it really is a fun resort and the food court has an awesome variety!

[ILMICKEY]

ILMICKEY & Mal:
I didn't even know we had a Turkey & Deer Expo! Where is that, ILMickey? You're right, Mal, I have no idea why I ever leave the area. :rotfl2: Could be the sub-zero temperatures, the freezing rain, and snow, though!
It's at the Civic Center. I realize it's not the most exciting thing to do, but where I live, going to Walmart is a treat!! There is absolutely NOTHING here!!

[NMAmy]

MM--I know, Walt and I are SO closely related! :rotfl2:

Diane: You were smarter than me to realize that the t-shirts were actually on sale and snatch up more than just one! I mean, who can't use t-shirts?

ILMICKEY: I know what you mean about having nothing to do--in the winter, it feels like the only place to go is the movies or the mall. And, even then, you have to plan very carefully to make sure the weather is good enough to travel that far! I hope you have a great time.

[NMAmy]

HOLY COW!!! I leave for WDW in 22 days!!!!!

And I still have no idea what we're going to do on our arrival night. :rotfl2: That's it, this weekend, no more procrastinating, I'm going to make a decision, darn it!!

Snow, snow, and more snow. That's what it's been like around here for the last week and a half. We got 8" of snow yesterday. It took Alex & I 1.5 hours to make our usual 25 minute commute home last night. I think our top speed was maybe 15 miles per hour. Now we have to go home tonight and shovel out--the snow blower didn't want to work last night and we got home so late, that it didn't get done. Alex takes his civic duty very seriously so it was only when I told him there was no school today that I managed to talk him into putting it off until this evening.

I have to keep riding the bus into work (because I don't do well driving in snow--go figure. Of course, I chose to live in MICHIGAN!) and the only way I can tolerate the bus ride is by thinking...in 23 days, I'll be on a boat to MGM! Or possibly a bus to the MK! Since I don't plan too much, it's hard to tell but I'll definitely be on some kind of WDW transportation to somewhere fun and exciting in a mroe temperate climate instead of on a city bus sliding around in the snow. ;) Woo hoo!

I'm still deciding on a grocery stop or Garden Grocer. If any of you have used Garden Grocer, let me know what you thought of it, please!

[dddisrunner]

HOLY COW!!! I leave for WDW in 22 days!!!!!

And I still have no idea what we're going to do on our arrival night. :rotfl2: That's it, this weekend, no more procrastinating, I'm going to make a decision, darn it!!

Snow, snow, and more snow. That's what it's been like around here for the last week and a half. We got 8" of snow yesterday. It took Alex & I 1.5 hours to make our usual 25 minute commute home last night. I think our top speed was maybe 15 miles per hour. Now we have to go home tonight and shovel out--the snow blower didn't want to work last night and we got home so late, that it didn't get done. Alex takes his civic duty very seriously so it was only when I told him there was no school today that I managed to talk him into putting it off until this evening.

I have to keep riding the bus into work (because I don't do well driving in snow--go figure. Of course, I chose to live in MICHIGAN!) and the only way I can tolerate the bus ride is by thinking...in 23 days, I'll be on a boat to MGM! Or possibly a bus to the MK! Since I don't plan too much, it's hard to tell but I'll definitely be on some kind of WDW transportation to somewhere fun and exciting in a mroe temperate climate instead of on a city bus sliding around in the snow. ;) Woo hoo!

I'm still deciding on a grocery stop or Garden Grocer. If any of you have used Garden Grocer, let me know what you thought of it, please!


22 Days I am sooo jealous! I want April to get here fast. I can't believe all the snow you're getting:confused3 We have had NONE, NADA, ZIP, well I think maybe I saw a flurry once for about 10 seconds a couple of weeks ago. I am actually jealous. Would love a snow day...no getting up and at em you know!:goodvibes Anyway, you better get busy with your arrival night plans. Be careful shoveling snow, it is dangerous!:thumbsup2

[dddisrunner]

Hey Amy, just giving you a bump and making sure everything is OK!:goodvibes

[NMAmy]

Hey Amy, just giving you a bump and making sure everything is OK!:goodvibes

Hi, pal! :wave2: Everything is fine--it's just been a bit crazy around here. Everyone at work is on vacation. I have jury duty coming up next week. My great aunt passed away and I had a funeral and family stuff over the weekend. She was almost 90 and had had Alzheimer's for a few years but it was still very sad. She was such a sweet lady--she'll be greatly missed.

I was telling my mom that my aunt had continued to send me birthday cards with $2 in them until I was well into my 30's. :rotfl2: That was fantastic when I was little but as an adult, I was like :confused3 --just send me a card! My mom pointed out that I always sent her a thank you card with a letter in it and she thought THAT was why she continued to send me the $2 every year.

Anyway...SIXTEEN more days to go! And roughly 17 zillion things to do to get ready. :rotfl2:

I did find that my procrastination has paid off for once in my life. :thumbsup2 I've decided that we'll stay at the Embassy Suites by the airport on our first night. And the price has gone from $150 when I first checked down to $109. Alex & I will sleep in and then take the shuttle to the airport before the girls arrive. I'm thinking we'll stick with Tiffany Town Car to pick us all up and take us to the Dolphin. Then I won't have to worry about the driving or the navigating. ;) We'll make the grocery stop along the way.

Caitlin is doing great--she filmed a commercial on Saturday! :scared1: She'd auditioned on a whim and was shocked that she got it--it's for a cell phone company. She had to text. Which is like a normal day for her. Last trip report, I told about how shocked the cell phone company guys were at the amount of texts she sends--they worked it out to be 150 texts per day!!! So, seriously, that was the PERFECT job for her.

She made $100 for half an hour of texting--which she usually does for free. :rotfl2: Apparently, oddly enough, her dad turned into a stage mom. He's convinced this is her future career and has plans to get head shots taken and have her try out for other commercials. Cait made him wait in the other room while she filmed it because he was freaking her out. :rotfl: So, she's told him this was something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon but is NOT her new career choice. I think he's backed off a bit but that was a total surprise to both of us.

And, she's already spent the $100--well, she had me do it for her. There aren't any "cool" stores in her area so she picked out stuff online and I purchased it for her. Now she has some summery shorts/shirts to take to WDW. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to wear them!

Thanks for keeping an eye on me, Diane! I promise to keep up with this better. But if you don't hear from me next week--that means I was chosen for jury duty.

[Hedy]

that's cool about Caitlin's job.
Sorry to hear about your great-aunt.

[NMAmy]

that's cool about Caitlin's job.
Sorry to hear about your great-aunt.

Thank you, Hedy. I appreciate it!

[Maleficent13]

And, she's already spent the $100--well, she had me do it for her. There aren't any "cool" stores in her area so she picked out stuff online and I purchased it for her. Now she has some summery shorts/shirts to take to WDW. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to wear them!

You know you're totally never going to see that $100, right? ;)

[NMAmy]

You know you're totally never going to see that $100, right? ;)

:rotfl2: Well, DUH.

Actually, I send her $100 every two weeks for spending money/lunch, etc. So, I told her to keep her $100 for that stuff and I wouldn't send a check this week.

Of course, I'll send an even bigger one next week for her to buy whatever she needs for the trip and for her and Jen to use in the airport for food. FOOD!!! One time, she used that food money to buy clothes at the Minneapolis airport. Now, I make her bring me the food receipts. :rotfl:

[Hedy]

:rotfl2: Well, DUH.

Actually, I send her $100 every two weeks for spending money/lunch, etc. So, I told her to keep her $100 for that stuff and I wouldn't send a check this week.

Of course, I'll send an even bigger one next week for her to buy whatever she needs for the trip and for her and Jen to use in the airport for food. FOOD!!! One time, she used that food money to buy clothes at the Minneapolis airport. Now, I make her bring me the food receipts. :rotfl:

:lmao: :lmao: :lmao:

[dddisrunner]

Hi, pal! :wave2: Everything is fine--it's just been a bit crazy around here. Everyone at work is on vacation. I have jury duty coming up next week. My great aunt passed away and I had a funeral and family stuff over the weekend. She was almost 90 and had had Alzheimer's for a few years but it was still very sad. She was such a sweet lady--she'll be greatly missed.

I was telling my mom that my aunt had continued to send me birthday cards with $2 in them until I was well into my 30's. :rotfl2: That was fantastic when I was little but as an adult, I was like :confused3 --just send me a card! My mom pointed out that I always sent her a thank you card with a letter in it and she thought THAT was why she continued to send me the $2 every year.

Anyway...SIXTEEN more days to go! And roughly 17 zillion things to do to get ready. :rotfl2:

I did find that my procrastination has paid off for once in my life. :thumbsup2 I've decided that we'll stay at the Embassy Suites by the airport on our first night. And the price has gone from $150 when I first checked down to $109. Alex & I will sleep in and then take the shuttle to the airport before the girls arrive. I'm thinking we'll stick with Tiffany Town Car to pick us all up and take us to the Dolphin. Then I won't have to worry about the driving or the navigating. ;) We'll make the grocery stop along the way.

Caitlin is doing great--she filmed a commercial on Saturday! :scared1: She'd auditioned on a whim and was shocked that she got it--it's for a cell phone company. She had to text. Which is like a normal day for her. Last trip report, I told about how shocked the cell phone company guys were at the amount of texts she sends--they worked it out to be 150 texts per day!!! So, seriously, that was the PERFECT job for her.

She made $100 for half an hour of texting--which she usually does for free. :rotfl2: Apparently, oddly enough, her dad turned into a stage mom. He's convinced this is her future career and has plans to get head shots taken and have her try out for other commercials. Cait made him wait in the other room while she filmed it because he was freaking her out. :rotfl: So, she's told him this was something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon but is NOT her new career choice. I think he's backed off a bit but that was a total surprise to both of us.

And, she's already spent the $100--well, she had me do it for her. There aren't any "cool" stores in her area so she picked out stuff online and I purchased it for her. Now she has some summery shorts/shirts to take to WDW. Hopefully, it will be warm enough to wear them!

Thanks for keeping an eye on me, Diane! I promise to keep up with this better. But if you don't hear from me next week--that means I was chosen for jury duty.

No problem!:thumbsup2 That is so cool about Caitlin! Jury Duty:scared1: although sometimes if you get a juicy case it is a nice break from work;) Sorry tohear about your Great Aunt:sad2: Glad you got a good rate on the hotel for your 1st night. You are so lucky your trip is so close, the rate I'm going I will owe a mortgage payment to the mouse:rotfl2:

:rotfl2: Well, DUH.

Actually, I send her $100 every two weeks for spending money/lunch, etc. So, I told her to keep her $100 for that stuff and I wouldn't send a check this week.

Of course, I'll send an even bigger one next week for her to buy whatever she needs for the trip and for her and Jen to use in the airport for food. FOOD!!! One time, she used that food money to buy clothes at the Minneapolis airport. Now, I make her bring me the food receipts. :rotfl:

:lmao: You do know that some food establishments also sell clothes:rotfl:

Glad to hear all is well! Looking forward to more!:goodvibes

[NMAmy]

:lmao: You do know that some food establishments also sell clothes:rotfl:


Well, unless it's listed as a "cheeseburger", she'd better not be buying any more clothes in airports unless she's stranded somewhere. ;)

Guys, I need to throw in a little apology here and ask for a little pixie dust to be thrown my way. I won't go into the gory details but I have a medical issue that's come up. I was hoping that I'd get good news yesterday but just found out that I have to go in for more testing over the next couple of weeks and won't know more until 2/28. Yep, the day before I leave on vacation. Hopefully, it will be a manageable situation and I'll have worried over nothing. Me? Overreact? ;)

Because I'm a tad freaked, I probably won't be on here too much getting excited about our plans but just holding on and trying to make it through all the tests. It makes all my usual pre-vacation freak outs just seem kind of...eh. Now I don't care so much about what happens before hand or if everything turns out perfectly on the trip. The trip itself will be my big reward no matter how it all turns out.

What is UP with all this "no eating or drinking for TWELVE hours before the test" and "No food or drink after midnight"???? Seriously, they're torturing me before I even get to the hospital! ;)

So, my friends, please think happy thoughts for me and keep me in your thoughts or prayers. I always appreciate all of you reading along with me and I appreciate it even more so now. :grouphug:

[dddisrunner]

Well, unless it's listed as a "cheeseburger", she'd better not be buying any more clothes in airports unless she's stranded somewhere. ;)

Guys, I need to throw in a little apology here and ask for a little pixie dust to be thrown my way. I won't go into the gory details but I have a medical issue that's come up. I was hoping that I'd get good news yesterday but just found out that I have to go in for more testing over the next couple of weeks and won't know more until 2/28. Yep, the day before I leave on vacation. Hopefully, it will be a manageable situation and I'll have worried over nothing. Me? Overreact? ;)

Because I'm a tad freaked, I probably won't be on here too much getting excited about our plans but just holding on and trying to make it through all the tests. It makes all my usual pre-vacation freak outs just seem kind of...eh. Now I don't care so much about what happens before hand or if everything turns out perfectly on the trip. The trip itself will be my big reward no matter how it all turns out.

What is UP with all this "no eating or drinking for TWELVE hours before the test" and "No food or drink after midnight"???? Seriously, they're torturing me before I even get to the hospital! ;)

So, my friends, please think happy thoughts for me and keep me in your thoughts or prayers. I always appreciate all of you reading along with me and I appreciate it even more so now. :grouphug:


:grouphug: pixiedust: Oh Amy I hope that everything turns out alright:goodvibes I completely understand about not making it onto the boards but please know my thoughts and prayers are with you! 12 hours fasting, not fun:sad2: Think positive thoughts my friend!:thumbsup2 :flower3
:Diane

[Hedy]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

[NMAmy]

:grouphug: pixiedust: Oh Amy I hope that everything turns out alright:goodvibes I completely understand about not making it onto the boards but please know my thoughts and prayers are with you! 12 hours fasting, not fun:sad2: Think positive thoughts my friend!:thumbsup2 :flower3
:Diane

Thank you, Diane! :thumbsup2 Fingers crossed that it's nothing!

[NMAmy]

:grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug:

As always, you're so sweet, Hedy. :grouphug: Thank you and right back at you, pal.

[tiggerbell]

And Tiggerbell is a GENIUS TR writer.



:flower3: And, for the record, I was subbing to this as soon as I saw it was YOU, not because you said such a nice thing about me!

And please don't hold it against me that I get a 2 week TEEN FREE trip this year! :lmao:


Actually, I send her $100 every two weeks

Can I give you MY address???



So, my friends, please think happy thoughts for me and keep me in your thoughts or prayers. I always appreciate all of you reading along with me and I appreciate it even more so now. :grouphug:

:hug: Thoughts and prayers headed your way!

[AussieAngel]

Hi Amy!! :yay:

Remember me!? You read my trip report and I read yours! Yahooooo!!

So pleased you're heading back to Disney. I had lots of fun reading your last report, and can't wait to hear all about your next adventures!

I wish you lots and lots of luck and pixie dust for your medical tests. You're right - the timing really sucks, but then, I guess sometimes it's better to get yucky tests out of the way asap. :hug:

Just think... this time in 12 days (or so!), you'll be in Disney World!! :banana:

[NMAmy]

:flower3: And, for the record, I was subbing to this as soon as I saw it was YOU, not because you said such a nice thing about me!

;) I'm one of your biggest trip report fans, my friend! And I'm also glad you found your way over here to my newest endeavor.



And please don't hold it against me that I get a 2 week TEEN FREE trip this year! :lmao:


Can I give you MY address???

:lmao: Actually, most of my time at this point is teen-free so I'll not begrudge you your teen-free vacation. Which is why I know I'm getting off easy with the $100 every two weeks!


:hug: Thoughts and prayers headed your way!

:hug: Thanks, Jaime!

[Maleficent13]

Hugs, pal. :hug:

[NMAmy]

Hi Amy!! :yay:

Remember me!? You read my trip report and I read yours! Yahooooo!!

So pleased you're heading back to Disney. I had lots of fun reading your last report, and can't wait to hear all about your next adventures!

I wish you lots and lots of luck and pixie dust for your medical tests. You're right - the timing really sucks, but then, I guess sometimes it's better to get yucky tests out of the way asap. :hug:

Just think... this time in 12 days (or so!), you'll be in Disney World!! :banana:


I do, I DO remember you! :thumbsup2 You had the wonderful trip that was several WEEKS long, if I remember correctly, you lucky duck, you. ;)

Thank you so much for your good wishes. I WILL be in WDW in 12 days and I will be SOOOO happy to get there, let me tell you!

Had all my blood drawn for my first test today. So, one down! :thumbsup2 I was never so happy to have a pb&j sandwich in my life. :rotfl2:

[NMAmy]

Okay, enough moping. Do you know why?

BECAUSE I AM NOW DOING THE SINGLE DIGIT DANCE!!!!

NINE DAYS UNTIL WE LEAVE FOR WDW!!!! :mickeyjum

After much stress yesterday, I ended up NOT having jury duty and was able to get the rest of my tests done today. Now I sit around and wait until next Thursday to see what all they found but until then, I refuse to worry about it. I am now totally focused on WDW. Well, that and jury duty. ;) Because I have to have SOMEthing to complain about. But I am extremely happy that I now no longer have to fast for 12 hour stretches and can have all the Diet Coke I want in the morning. Because without the Diet Coke and some food, I am incredibly cranky. Alex will attest to that, bless his heart for putting up with me.

I did do one Disney trip related thing today. I called Disney Dining (which, nerd that I am, is totally programmed in my cell phone!) and changed our Friday, 3/7, reservation for dinner at the Rose & Crown to include my friend, her husband, and daughter.

I was on hold for quite awhile and was jammin' away to Topsy Turvey from the Hunchback of Notre Dame when all of a sudden, someone picked up the phone. I had that moment of panic you get when you've been on hold for a while and you've forgotten who you were calling. But that lady set me straight right away.

Disney Lady: Hello, my name is (insert fake Disney name here). How can I make your day magical?

I'm thinking...REALLY??? I have a pretty long list that involves jury duty and medical tests but perhaps I should just stick with something she could actually accomplish.

Me: I need to see about adding three people to a reservation.

Nice Disney Lady proceeds to look up my ADR and tells me that if I'm willing to change the time from 5:00 to 4:40, then, yes, we can add three people to my reservation. Woo hoo! Sign me up, nice Disney Lady!

What I really said: Well, looky there. You DID make my day more magical! Well done!

I made her laugh. :rotfl: Well, she made me happy so we're square. Savvy?

I can't remember what all I've told you about the plans I've been half-heartedly and begrudgingly completing. Alex and I will stay our first night at Embassy Suites. We'll meet the girls at the airport on 3/1 and Tiffany Town Car will meet us at baggage claim and whisk us off to the wonderful world of the Publix Supermarket. ;) Then on to the Dolphin.

I'm pretty sure I have just one more call to make--I set up my Dolphin reservation with Dreams Unlimited and my trip is not showing up under my Starwood Preferred Guest (meaning extra special VIP type person, please upgrade to the Presidential Suite) card. So, I need to call SPG and make sure my number is on the reservation.

I spoke with my dogsitter's mom and he's all psyched to be coming over--that was my confirmation call. She told me she'd evicted him so he may be arriving early. :rotfl:

After that--should be just packing! And, oh, happy day--the first day of our trip is now showing up on weather.com. Looks like it will be a high of 74, low of 58. Compared to the -7 windchill this morning, I'm thinking even 58 will be pretty freakin' balmy to us!

Thanks for all the support, guys! I really appreciate it!

[Maleficent13]

LOL, I hear you about the weather. Any day I don't have to wear 11 layers is a warm day!

What is up with the fake Disney names? I've talked to a Caramel (3 syllables), a Rainbow, a Twinkle and a Sapphire.

I was sooooo tempted to ask Twinkle how Wayne was doing, but I refrained. :rotfl: (Only those with kids under 6 will get this.)

[NMAmy]

I was sooooo tempted to ask Twinkle how Wayne was doing, but I refrained. :rotfl: (Only those with kids under 6 will get this.)

:rotfl2: I'm glad you added that about the under 6 crowd because I'm thinking, "Who the heck is Twinkle and how do they know Wayne?"

I'm out of the loop with the pre-school set. My 4 yo great-niece rolls her eyes at me because I am SO clueless unless it's a Princess thing.

Speaking of that little niece, her mom emailed me the other day with this message--"J took a picture of Caitlin as her Show & Tell this morning. I have no idea what she was going to tell about her." :rotfl2: Caitlin was extremely impressed that she is show & tell worthy.

[Hedy]

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Hope all turns out well on the test front.

At Thanksgiving, my DSIL was relaying a story in which another DSIL (the DISer ;) ) had rattled off the ADR # to friends going on a trip. I was shocked that this wasn't common knowlege-doesn't everyone have that number memorized. :confused3 :confused3 :confused3

[NMAmy]

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Hope all turns out well on the test front.

At Thanksgiving, my DSIL was relaying a story in which another DSIL (the DISer ;) ) had rattled off the ADR # to friends going on a trip. I was shocked that this wasn't common knowlege-doesn't everyone have that number memorized. :confused3 :confused3 :confused3

Thanks for the good wishes, my friend!

:rotfl: about the number. I always have trouble converting the WDW-DINE to actual numbers. I did pull out my cell phone on the last trip and gave the number to some folks waiting in line for the boat at the Dolphin. Alex was mortified. :rotfl2:

[dddisrunner]

Hey Amy! Glad to hear your hanging in there:thumbsup2 I hope your magical presidential suite starwood card works for ya!:rotfl: Today I was driving and saw a car with a personalized license plate that said PRE-TR and I said oh look Pre Trip report! Bryan thought I was INSANE!:lmao: Good to here from you pal!:thumbsup2 Hooray for 9 more days:cool1:

[dddisrunner]

Hey Amy, just checking to see if you're hanging in there!:goodvibes I hope you are able to get excited for your trip! Just wanted to say hey and have a great trip!:thumbsup2
Diane

[Hedy]

Two days!

Hope your out of test result heck by then.

[NMAmy]

Hey, Diane & Hedy!

Thanks for the good wishes. I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow morning so I'm pretty much on pins & needles waiting to hear the results. I really appreciate you all thinking of me. :grouphug:

TWO MORE DAYS! And I cannot wait to get out of the snow, believe me. We got dumped on again yesterday. I rode the bus back and forth to work and it took me an hour and a half for the usual 45 minute bus commute. Seriously, if the bus is sliding all over the place, there's no way in HECK that I'm driving my little PT Cruiser in that mess.

I am mostly packed--need to do some laundry tonight and stop at Target to pick up some of the stuff I forgot to get last weekend. Before we went to the store, I'd written a long, very complete list and put the list in my pocket. We went to breakfast at our favorite diner.

Sidenote: they have the BEST breakfasts. They make this stuff called Hippie Hash which is hash browns with onions, green peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, and feta cheese on top. You can also get gyro meat or corned beef added to it. The servings are so huge I take half home and have a full meal for lunch on another day.

So--after stuffing myself, we walked into Office Max. I reached in my pocket because I'd written down the information for toner on my super fantastic list. And...the list was gone! I was traumatized--after all that work! THIS must be why I never write lists. We never did get the toner. I had to use Alex's fancy printer to print off all our reservation information. And now I have to get all the stuff I forgot. :rotfl:

I will try to post tomorrow and let you all know how things went. Thanks again for all your support!

[fraggle551]

I just wanted to say hi! I had read your trip report when I first joined the DIS, and I really enjoyed it! Im glad I found your pre-trip report. I can't wait to read your next one! You seem like a really great mom, Cait sure is lucky to have a mom who likes WDW so much. I hope you guys have a wonderful trip, and hope your doctors appointment goes well tomorrow!

Kate :)

[AussieAngel]

AuH!!! Amy!!! You're going to Disney... today!!!

Well... hang on. It's the 29th in Australia, but not yet in America. So um... perhaps you're going tomorrow.

At any rate, I really, really, really hope everything went okay with your test results. :hug:

Disney World... here you come!!!! (Nearly!!) :banana:

[Hedy]

:cool1: :cool1: :banana: :banana:
Good test results dance and one day dance in one! :goodvibes :goodvibes

[NMAmy]

First off, I have GREAT news!!! Everything is fine. I won't go into details but I don't have to have surgery, it's not cancer, and I'll just be checked every year to make sure surgery is not needed. :mickeyjum :mickeyjum There are just not enough bouncy Disney characters to express my happiness and relief today! Thank you all so much for your support--I cannot tell you how much it's meant to me. You have all been so kind.

In related news, you'll be happy to know that my cholesterol is good, my blood sugar is good, my thyroid is good...basically, I'm disgustingly normal. ;) I'm a very happy camper.

Kate: Thank you so much! I'm glad you found my pre-trip report, too! Cait thinks she's pretty lucky to have a mom who loves WDW, too. She was extremely worried about her 7 year old half sister at Christmas. My ex and his wife had taken her to Disneyland and my ex is afraid of heights and his wife doesn't do fast rides. Caitlin was very upset that her sister was not getting indocrinated correctly with no one to start her out on BTMRR. :rotfl2: Seriously, she went on and on about it all during Christmas break.

Aussie Angel: Wow you really got my hopes up there for a second! I was thinking, DO I leave today?? I've been a bit distracted, it's certainly possible, but I'm not all the way packed. :lmao: I am SO excited now--my doctor was even talking about it this morning. Alex will be quite happy--he was telling me last night that he much prefers me to be in my Disney excited mode as opposed to my worried mode. He told me it's just not the same for him. ;)

Hedy: As always, thank you, my friend! The good results dance WORKED!! And now I have one day to go but TWO full days to work which is a bummer. Tomorrow, I'll be a total pain. And I'm the only one in the office for most of the day so I won't even have anyone to annoy.

Thanks again, pals!

[AussieAngel]

Yahoooooooooooo!!!! :banana: :banana: :cool1: :cool1:

I'm so pleased for you, Amy!!! Fantastic news!!!

Now you can head off to Disney knowing all is well, and truly appreciate everything!!!

Sometimes a health scare puts everything in perspective, and helps us remember to appreciate life - where better to do that, than in Disney!?!! :yay:

:woohoo: :cheer2: :dance3: :banana:

[Hedy]

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Good luck with getting through two days of work.

[fraggle551]

I'm glad everything is normal!!!! What more could ya ask for right?

Thats too funny about Cait and her half sister. Nice of her to be worried about the important things in life! :rotfl:

Now comes the hard part....getting through the rest of work. We're going on spring break to Myrtle Beach tomorrow morning and I don't think I can even get through my last 2 classes today! If I don't get a chance to pop back on before you guys leave, have a safe flight, and a WONDERFUL trip!

Kate

[NMAmy]

Yahoooooooooooo!!!! :banana: :banana: :cool1: :cool1:

I'm so pleased for you, Amy!!! Fantastic news!!!

Now you can head off to Disney knowing all is well, and truly appreciate everything!!!

Sometimes a health scare puts everything in perspective, and helps us remember to appreciate life - where better to do that, than in Disney!?!! :yay:

:woohoo: :cheer2: :dance3: :banana:

Thank you!! And you're absolutely right about the health scare putting things in perspective. I now have no stress about what room we get or ADR's or what we do each day. Of course, I will still have the stress of everyone meeting up--I hate having Cait and Jen fly in to meet us here--but aside from that, I'm good to go!

Of course, we're getting 2-4 more inches of snow tomorrow. :scared1: It should just be in the morning, though, and we're flying out in the evening. One good thing about living in Michigan--we usually don't let a couple of inches of snow stop much. :rotfl:

[NMAmy]

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:
Good luck with getting through two days of work.

Thanks, Hedy! As you can see, I'm not getting much work done yet. :rotfl2:

[NMAmy]

I'm glad everything is normal!!!! What more could ya ask for right?

Thats too funny about Cait and her half sister. Nice of her to be worried about the important things in life! :rotfl:

Now comes the hard part....getting through the rest of work. We're going on spring break to Myrtle Beach tomorrow morning and I don't think I can even get through my last 2 classes today! If I don't get a chance to pop back on before you guys leave, have a safe flight, and a WONDERFUL trip!

Kate

Thanks, Kate! I hope you have a great spring break, too! I'll be SO happy just to be somewhere warm with no snow for a change!

[dddisrunner]

Amy!!! I thought about you ALL DAY TODAY!!!!!:goodvibes I had to substitute all day and had no access to a computer!:sad2: I am so happy for you, I am sitting here with tears in my eyes and wanting to jump through the computer and give you a hug!:hug: That is AWESOME NEWS:cool1: :banana: :dance3: :yay: Have an amazing trip pal you deserve it!:goodvibes :thumbsup2
Diane

[NMAmy]

Amy!!! I thought about you ALL DAY TODAY!!!!!:goodvibes I had to substitute all day and had no access to a computer!:sad2: I am so happy for you, I am sitting here with tears in my eyes and wanting to jump through the computer and give you a hug!:hug: That is AWESOME NEWS:cool1: :banana: :dance3: :yay: Have an amazing trip pal you deserve it!:goodvibes :thumbsup2
Diane

Awww, thank YOU, Diane. I got all teary eyed reading your post, my friend. I really appreciate how supportive you have been. :grouphug:

Now, keep your fingers crossed, it's snowing AGAIN. They're saying 2-5 inches but it should be done by afternoon. We don't leave until 7:00, so we should be fine. My student employee works for the airline and he swears he'll get me to Detroit if he has to push the plane all the way there. :rotfl2: He is our go to guy for airline travel.

So, it looks like I'll be riding the bus one last time before riding a Disney bus. That's the only way I can bear public transportation. I ignore everyone and pretend like I see sunny skies, palm trees, and I'm on my way to the Magic Kingdom. :rotfl:

Thanks again, pal! I'll be annoying as all get out tomorrow whining about how slow the day is going!

[Hedy]

:goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes

Doing the no snow dance.

I always find it very rude when the schedule snow when I'm supposed to be travelling.

Any last minute panic from Cait?

[dddisrunner]

Awww, thank YOU, Diane. I got all teary eyed reading your post, my friend. I really appreciate how supportive you have been. :grouphug:

Now, keep your fingers crossed, it's snowing AGAIN. They're saying 2-5 inches but it should be done by afternoon. We don't leave until 7:00, so we should be fine. My student employee works for the airline and he swears he'll get me to Detroit if he has to push the plane all the way there. :rotfl2: He is our go to guy for airline travel.

So, it looks like I'll be riding the bus one last time before riding a Disney bus. That's the only way I can bear public transportation. I ignore everyone and pretend like I see sunny skies, palm trees, and I'm on my way to the Magic Kingdom. :rotfl:

Thanks again, pal! I'll be annoying as all get out tomorrow whining about how slow the day is going!


My fingers are crossed! You deserve a stress free trip to Disney so here's a littlepixiedust: for not too much snow! Just think Mickey!:goodvibes
Diane

[ILMICKEY]

Have a WONDERFUL time!! Can't wait to hear all about it.

Hopefully you get out of here on time with all this crappy snow coming down. YUCK!! Please bring back some warm with you!!!!

[NMAmy]

:goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes :goodvibes

Doing the no snow dance.

I always find it very rude when the schedule snow when I'm supposed to be travelling.

Any last minute panic from Cait?

I find it very rude, too. Of course, after we leave, the temp is supposed to go up to the 40's next week. Believe me, that's practically a heat wave! That's good news for you, ILMICKEY! :thumbsup2 At least you'll have weather that's a BIT better.

No last minute panic from Cait but she doesn't leave until tomorrow. :lmao: I'm sure I'll hear more today. I talked to her early last night--she was on her way to cheer for two basketball games so I think she had a pretty late night. I think they're driving down to Albuquerque tonight to leave early tomorrow morning.

[AussieAngel]

Is it officially the 29th in America now? Yayyyyy!!! Your leaving day!!

Have a fabulous time, Amy!! :yay:

Can't wait to hear all about your adventures!

Have some cheese popcorn for me! popcorn::

[NMAmy]

Is it officially the 29th in America now? Yayyyyy!!! Your leaving day!!

Have a fabulous time, Amy!! :yay:

Can't wait to hear all about your adventures!

Have some cheese popcorn for me! popcorn::

Yes, it is FINALLY the 29th! And I will have Caitlin have some cheese popcorn for you. Unfortunately, I just cannot do it. Popcorn is meant to have real butter only--in a pinch, movie theatre butter is the only acceptable alternative. :rotfl2: Caitlin, however, will douse hers with powdered cheese every time! I take an extra brown paper bag in my pocket so she can have her own without contaminating mine. ;)

Okay, I am now enduring the longest day in the history of man. Really. I mean, I usually work 7:30-4:00. Of course, I decided that leaving on Friday night would be a fabulous idea. However, I had forgotten that my coworker had taken the week off so I'm working until 5:00. With no lunch. Well, lunch at my desk but how exciting is that? Not very, let me tell you.

Alex has the day off so I keep calling him and reminding him of things to do for me and items I forgot to pack. Like a light jacket. I took a rain coat but had planned on leaving my winter coat in the car. Then I got to thinking that we're arriving after midnight--plus I have yet to be in an airport or on a plane when I didn't get cold. So, he's packed my fleece jacket now. He's very good to me. Plus I'm sure he doesn't want me to steal his jacket.

Did I tell you all my sister is in Florida right now? I didn't realize she was going--she has a condo down by Miami. We usually split up our trips so someone is here if something should happen to Mom but this was the one time both of us could go.

Yesterday, she asked me if we wanted to drive down to visit them. That's her and her...well, what do I call him? She's 55 and he's in his 60's so boyfriend sounds pretty bizarre. So, I guess I'll say my sister and her pal, Del.

Unfortunately, we won't have a car nor do I think I can drag the girls away from the parks for a day to visit. They're now thinking about driving up to visit for a day which would be great. Now that I think about it, I've never been to WDW with this sister. She's 10 years older than I am so she didn't come along on the trips we took when I was 10 and older.

I had to ride in on the bus this morning because of the snow. Luckily, it appears to have stopped now. And the whole time I was riding the bus in blizzard like conditions, I was thinking--thank heavens, tomorrow I will be riding a bus or a boat somewhere at Disney World!!

Okay, thanks for letting me get all that out. I'm totally annoying my coworkers by bragging to everyone that walks in the door about where I'm going tonight. I'm going to have to take poor Mickey off to the side somewhere to read the list as long as my arm of people who wanted me to tell him hello. :rotfl:

[Hedy]

:cool1: :cool1: :cool1: :cool1:

[dddisrunner]

Wanted to be the 1st to say WELCOME HOME!:cheer2: I hope you had a great trip and can't wait to hear all about it!:goodvibes
Diane

[fraggle551]

Welcome Home!!! I hope you all had a great trip! :goodvibes

[NMAmy]

Thanks so much, everyone! We seemed to have a theme of late planes on this trip so with the time change and everything, we didn't end up making it home until 2:00 am last night.

After a day spent in the airport and a short night's sleep for two nights in a row, it'll be a bit before I can get organized and get pictures downloaded, etc. Right now, my first priority is the grocery store. :rotfl2:

But, let me tell you, we had a fabulous time! Very low crowds, beautiful weather, and we all had so much fun. I can't wait to tell you all about it. As always, none of us wanted to come home.

[dddisrunner]

Take your time, well not too much time but I guess eating is important so alright go ahead and go to the grocery store, I guess I can wait:surfweb: :rotfl2: :rotfl:

[Maleficent13]

Oh, you're home!!! I am so glad you had a fabulous time!

[tiggerbell]

Glad you had a great time! Can't wait to hear all about it! But first, get settled... We'll wait... :rolleyes1




Are you settled yet? :confused:




No? :sad2:




How about now? :rolleyes1

[AussieAngel]

Yayyyyyy, you're back!!! :cool1:

So glad you all had a fab time! Can't wait to hear about your adventures! :yay:

[NMAmy]

How about now? :rolleyes1

:rotfl2: Yes, NOW I am settled. All the pictures have been uploaded and I'm ashamed to tell you that I sluffed off on my notes midway through the trip so I had to write them up on Sunday so I wouldn't forget anything!

And we have food in our house. So all is good. Except for the fact that it is COLD and I'm still irritated by springing ahead one hour. I really hate that. Especially coming back after vacation.

:wave2: Hi, Aussie Angel! And Hello, Mal! (How are you coming on your trip report, my friend?)

[Hedy]

Can't wait to hear more. :cool1: :cool1:

[Maleficent13]

I'm in the middle of my dining report and will then start the TR.

I agree with you about the cold and the springing ahead. Bleh.

[NMAmy]

And so it begins...

There are no pictures in this first installment--mainly because it was a long, boring day and I had NO desire at all to document it in photos. ;) The next installments will have pictures.

Friday, 2/29/08

So, as those of you who kept up with the pre-trip report know, we had a big snowstorm on the day we left AND I had to work all day. Alex had the day off, the dirty dog. I took the bus so he wouldn't have to drive me in. We were leaving for the airport right after I finished so we didn't want to have two cars to deal with.

As I was standing in blizzard like conditions, covered with snow, totally pitiful, waiting for the bus--the only thing that got me through was knowing that tomorrow I would be on a bus or boat to somewhere! I didn't know where we'd be going because Saturday was totally unplanned but I knew I'd be doing SOMETHING in warm weather!

After a long, boring day--it was the Friday before Spring Break AND a snowstorm so the whole place was pretty empty--my boss came out about 4 o'clock and asked why I was still there. She gave me permission to leave early, bless her heart, so I called Alex. Well, Mr. Nervous Nellie traveller was already on his way to my office. By 4:30, he was there and I tromped through the snow banks to get to the car. Woo hoo!

We made it to the airport by 5:00. Unfortunately, our flight was delayed. Luckily, when checking in we’d discovered that our second flight was delayed, as well. We were supposed to leave at 6:50 and ended up leaving at 7:30.

For some bizarre reason, the restaurant in the airport closes at 5:00. Who knew? There was a little snack bar open on the other side of security and I got a hot dog to hold me over until we got to Detroit.

Once our plane arrived and we were getting ready to board, I simultaneously got a phone call and heard my name paged. The call was from my student employee, who also works for the airline. He was checking to make sure we'd been upgraded to first class--which was why the lady was paging me. So, for our first 25 minute flight, we were in the big seats! Woo hoo again!

We weren’t seated together but across the aisle from each other. I was seated next to the jumpy, bouncy Sneezy McCougherson who coughed and hacked and sniffled and absolutely refused to use a tissue. As we were getting off the plane, we realized Alex had been seated next to his wife. Apparently, she was trying to avoid catching the plague from him. I certainly understood her reasoning as I spent the entire 25 minutes trying to hold my breath. Here I had avoided catching all the terrible viruses going around my office for three weeks and then, once I thought I was home free and on my way on vacation, I get Typhoid Mary's sicker brother next to me.;)

We had some McDonald’s in the Detroit airport. Our second flight was supposed to leave at 9:00. We boarded at 9:20 and were supposed to leave around 9:30. As we were boarding, it began to snow really hard again so we had to wait to be de-iced. Once it was our turn to be de-iced, the trucks had to leave for more of the chemicals. :scared1: We sat on the tarmac until 11:30. We were seated in the tail and we who watch Lost know that it just isn’t very lucky to be a Tailie--besides the fact that it takes forever to get OFF the plane--everyone on Lost who was in the Tail seemed to die a horrible death. Probably from Typhoid Mary's brother.

The first row were bulkhead seats with six feet of leg room. We were seated behind them and of course, the man in front of me immediately reclined his seat and then kept pushing back on it in an attempt to make it go back even further into my measly 6” of leg room. Which was great fun since I was sitting on the plane for roughly two hours longer than we were supposed to.

So, our flight that was supposed to arrive at midnight, arrived around 2:15 am. I wasn’t even excited when we got on the pretend monorail—I was practically sleepwalking.By the time we got our luggage, we were too tired to take the shuttle to Embassy Suites and we just decided to make our first impetuous vacation expense and hailed a cab. The driver wasn't sure where our hotel was but asked another driver and got us there fairly quickly.

As we arrived at the hotel, I gave my name and the desk clerk had all my information all waiting. We were probably the last folks with a reservation to arrive and he was wanting to go watch tv in the back room. :rotfl: We finally got checked in and to the room at 3:15. Aargh. It was a nice hotel from what I remember.:rotfl2:

Really, if you need a place to stay that's close to the airport, the Embassy Suites is very nice and my procrastination got us a better deal on the price--it was $109 for the internet rate.

[NMAmy]

I'm in the middle of my dining report and will then start the TR.

I agree with you about the cold and the springing ahead. Bleh.

Ooh! I'm going to find your dining report!

[Hedy]

Glad to hear Embassy Suites was a good thing.

[MickeysMommy]

Oh, Am, where oh where have I been? In a fog I think. I missed you pal. PM me when you get a chance. :hug: :flower3:

[tiggerbell]

The call was from my student employee, who also works for the airline. He was checking to make sure we'd been upgraded to first class--which was why the lady was paging me. So, for our first 25 minute flight, we were in the big seats! Woo hoo again!




Well, that was so sweet!!! :hug:

[NMAmy]

Hedy: Embassy Suites worked out great. It even felt like you were in a little cottage--the living area had little shutters that you could close on the hallway window. They were doing some maintenance in the atrium but I was too tired to really care. ;)

MM::grouphug: Hey, pal! I missed you, too!

Jaime: It was really sweet of him. Plus the fact that I knew he was having a party that night--he'd taken the time to check and see my flight was late and call to check up on that and the upgrade. He'd upgraded Caitlin on the first leg of her flight at Christmas and she thought I was SO cool for knowing someone who could do that! He's a really good guy.

[NMAmy]

Saturday, 3/1/08

I woke up at 7:00—I think I heard the shower running in the room next door. Since Cait & Jen were supposed to be taking a 6:15 am flight, I called to see if they were at the airport since it was 5:00 there. I could tell Cait was extremely annoyed when I called. At first, I thought it was because she was up so early but then she told me they were not at the airport yet. :scared1: I could tell it wasn’t a great time for me to freak out and add to the problem so I told her to keep me posted. Great, now I couldn’t go back to sleep. She finally called me at 7:45 and told me they were able to check in and board so it all turned out okay, thank heavens. Later I found out that Jen's mom didn't think they needed to be at the airport early and had even planned on making a stop at a store until Cait totally freaked out. The last time I took her to the airport, the child had the nerve to tell me that I always got to the airport "insanely early." :rotfl: That's when I told her it was better to be bored than anxious. I think she believes me now.

I was too hungry to go back to sleep so Alex and I went down to the free breakfast. I had scrambled eggs that were too wet (I really like my scrambled eggs fully cooked, thank you!) and hash browns and Alex had cereal and a pastry. After eating, I was able to sleep for another hour or so before I had to take a shower to check out on time. We left the hotel about 11:45 and took the shuttle to the airport.

As we arrived, the girls landed in Atlanta. Cait called to tell me they were at their gate and everything was going fine. She wanted to know if we were stopping anywhere on the way to the hotel. I told her Alex and I were tired and wanted to skip the grocery stop if they didn’t need anything. Turns out Jen needed some girl stuff and, Cait had developed a couple of canker sores on Friday. She told me to look around in the airport and see if I could find some. Sure, as if. I could’ve gotten stuff for Jen but seriously, canker sore medicine? I told Alex that I was going to open a line of drug stores for airports. It’s a big money maker. Any of you with money to invest--please feel free to steal my idea so I can reap the rewards. Caitlin does this to me EVERY time she travels. Oddly, Alex told me later that he had almost packed canker sore medicine. :rotfl: He's usually our boy scout who comes to the rescue with first aid supplies.

We waited and their flight arrived on time. You'll be pleased to know that I actually recognized my child when she came out! Usually, I don't recognize her for some weird reason. :confused3 I gave birth to her--you'd think I could pick her out in a crowded airport. I was SO glad they'd arrived--I'm always a nervous wreck when Caitlin has to switch planes although she's done it a million times. I'll be so happy when she's 18 and she could actually get a hotel room if she needed one!

We met our Tiffany driver downstairs and I asked him if we could skip the grocery stop but stop at a drug store for a few minutes instead and he said that would be fine. We got the stuff we needed at a CVS and headed off to the Dolphin. FINALLY!

At check-in, the guy told me he wasn’t sure if he had an Epcot view (which I had requested) but asked if we’d rather have a room on a higher floor or a lower one. I told him a higher one and Alex came up a bit late and asked about a fireworks view. Bless his heart, the guy found us a great room—8001 East—right at the very end of the building overlooking the YC/BC and with a fantastic view of Epcot and two huge windows. The room seems a bit smaller than normal but has a little alcove with a sitting area/desk. The view makes the long walk and the smaller room bearable.

Partway through the trip, Alex asked me to take a picture of the hallway we had to trek down each day. He said it reminded him of the Twilight Zone--just an endless hallway to nowhere.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1050.jpg

See that dark green doorway ALLLL the way at the end? Once you got there, you STILL were not at our room. We were just to the right of that.

Here are some pictures of our fantastic view:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0959.jpg

Spaceship Earth and the YC/BC

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0960.jpg

The Boardwalk

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0961.jpg

Now that's worth a bit of a hike, isn't it? ;)

Caitlin needed to take a shower so I unpacked a bit and Alex took a quick nap. Once the girls were ready, we went down to Picabu’s. Of course, they were hungry so we three girls had chicken ceasar salad and Alex had a sandwich of some kind and we got a refillable mug for everybody.

Later, we headed to MGM and made it there by about 4:30.

Here's my first picture of the girls waiting for the boat:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0962.jpg

As you can see, Caitlin is ALREADY making that annoyed face at my photo taking. Caitlin is on the right and Jen is on the left.

For our last few visits, it seems our traditional first ride has become Rock n Rollercoaster. There was only a 20 minute wait so we gave it a whirl.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0964.jpg

Here's the girls waiting in line. Caitlin got annoyed with me because I'd put the camera away before they got to the door with the marbles. :rotfl2: I just cannot win!

The ride was great fun. Jen was debating about riding ToT sometime during our stay. Caitlin is definitely NOT doing it.

Poor Caitlin was trying to stay with us but I could tell she really wanted to head off on their own. I stopped her and told her that it was perfectly okay. Alex & I went to Star Tours and there was no wait at all. There were a couple of little boys on the ride who were just adorable—one threw a hissy fit when it ended and didn’t want to get off.

We then wandered over to try to find the store by the Back Lot Tour that supposedly sold Lost merchandise but couldn’t find it. We decided we were exhausted and headed back to the hotel.

We stopped by Picabu’s to fill up our mugs and I got a bag of Maui Onion Kettle Chips which were delicious. Alex conked out immediately and the girls came home by 8:30. I fell asleep soon afterward I watched Illuminations from my bed. Ahh...the luxury!

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0967.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0968.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0969.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0979.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0980.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0982.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/WDW%202008/CIMG0983.jpg

[dddisrunner]

Holy Smokes I came on here to reply to your first post and now your done with your second! You go girl!:woohoo: OK, what a terrible start to your trip:sad2: I would have been a nervous reck if I had to wait for a plane to de -ice:scared1: How nice of your student worker to look after you like that!:) I agree about "wet" eggs...totally GROSS:sick: Caitlin's freakout is like one I had my freshman year of college. It was our X-mas semester break and I had to drive 1 1/2 hours to the airport. A friend drove me and we were sooooooooo pressed for time. I kept freaking out about missing the plane, I was so homesick and just wanted to get HOME! I made it by literally running to my gate but sadly my luggage did not:sad2: So I get the whole rather be bored than anxious thing:thumbsup2 Love your view from your room! Much better than last year! It looks like Jen lightened her hair from your last trip!:confused3 Can't wait for more:surfweb:

[NMAmy]

Holy Smokes I came on here to reply to your first post and now your done with your second! You go girl!:woohoo: OK, what a terrible start to your trip:sad2: I would have been a nervous reck if I had to wait for a plane to de -ice:scared1: How nice of your student worker to look after you like that!:) I agree about "wet" eggs...totally GROSS:sick: Caitlin's freakout is like one I had my freshman year of college. It was our X-mas semester break and I had to drive 1 1/2 hours to the airport. A friend drove me and we were sooooooooo pressed for time. I kept freaking out about missing the plane, I was so homesick and just wanted to get HOME! I made it by literally running to my gate but sadly my luggage did not:sad2: So I get the whole rather be bored than anxious thing:thumbsup2 Love your view from your room! Much better than last year! It looks like Jen lightened her hair from your last trip!:confused3 Can't wait for more:surfweb:

:rotfl2: Yeah, I wanted to post at least one installment with pictures although I need to figure out how to resize them. I'm using Photobucket for the first time so we'll see how it goes. ;)

You're very observant! Jen did lighten her hair. Alex kind of freaked as they got off the plane and said, "Caitlin did NOT go blonde, did she?" :rotfl:

[dddisrunner]

:rotfl2: Yeah, I wanted to post at least one installment with pictures although I need to figure out how to resize them. I'm using Photobucket for the first time so we'll see how it goes. ;)

You're very observant! Jen did lighten her hair. Alex kind of freaked as they got off the plane and said, "Caitlin did NOT go blonde, did she?" :rotfl:

Not sure if you figured it out yet but, on photo bucket while you are in your album if you click on edit there is an option to resize your photo and then you can click on the preset sizes option and then choose the message board option.:goodvibes

[Hedy]

I noticed Jen's hair too.
What does Cait's shirt say?
Wow-what a view-I'm amazed that the DTD hotels are that tall and I never see them onsite.

[NMAmy]

Not sure if you figured it out yet but, on photo bucket while you are in your album if you click on edit there is an option to resize your photo and then you can click on the preset sizes option and then choose the message board option.:goodvibes

Thanks, pal! I'll give that a try!

[NMAmy]

I noticed Jen's hair too.
What does Cait's shirt say?
Wow-what a view-I'm amazed that the DTD hotels are that tall and I never see them onsite.

Caitlin's shirt says, Vote Yes to Save the Dinosaurs. I think. :rotfl: I have no idea what that means--she and Jen made them last year.

The Dolphin is right between Epcot and MGM. I was actually surprised that you can see the Dolphin from the Lights, Stars, Motorcars theater. You know, after I got over the shock of falling down the stairs. :rotfl2: And, no, there is no way in heck I went there again on THIS trip.

[fraggle551]

great updates! sounds like you guys are off to a nice start of the trip.

I have a question about the dolphin. Have you always stayed there, or at any other resorts? The only thing deterring me from the Dolphin is that you cant get the dining plan there. My moms a nurse, so im sure she would love the discount, and how can you beat that view?! The beds also look amazing. I suppose my question is, do you think the dolphin is worth it without the dining plan?

[NMAmy]

great updates! sounds like you guys are off to a nice start of the trip.

I have a question about the dolphin. Have you always stayed there, or at any other resorts? The only thing deterring me from the Dolphin is that you cant get the dining plan there. My moms a nurse, so im sure she would love the discount, and how can you beat that view?! The beds also look amazing. I suppose my question is, do you think the dolphin is worth it without the dining plan?

Hiya, fraggle!

Besides the Dolphin, we have also stayed at AsMo (when Cait was young and she adored it) and at the WL. The WL was nice but I missed being so close to Epcot.

The beds ARE amazing--really, that's the only hotel I get a good night's sleep at which makes it worth it for us.

We get the gov't rate or the teacher's rate (I work at a college--DH works for the state). Frankly, with the money we save compared to what we'd pay for rack rate at an Epcot deluxe, we can eat very well and still come out ahead even adding in the price of the towncar. The DDP doesn't fit very well with our eating style--Caitlin can eat 17 times per day but just little bits. She will often just get an appetizer at dinner while the rest of us get a meal and then she'll eat something else later.

We also earn points for future stays and with the SPG card get automatic upgrades. I paid for a standard room and got that very nice view. I've even been upgraded to balcony rooms with the Epcot view before. And I don't have to hint around about it--they just do it which is really nice.

Okay...my ad for the Swan/Dolphin is now over. ;)

[Ronald Duck]

:rotfl2: Yeah, I wanted to post at least one installment with pictures although I need to figure out how to resize them. I'm using Photobucket for the first time so we'll see how it goes. ;)

If you ask me, the pics are a perfect side! I LOOVE big pics...the more detail the better.

Terrific room view pics, BTW...I'm collecting them for the Dolphin to go along with my nearly-complete room map:banana:

We get the gov't rate or the teacher's rate (I work at a college--DH works for the state). Frankly, with the money we save compared to what we'd pay for rack rate at an Epcot deluxe, we can eat very well and still come out ahead even adding in the price of the towncar.

Yeah, Disney has pretty well priced us out of the Deluxe market...but I'm a college prof so we still have the Swolphin!

[AussieAngel]

Yayyyyyyy!!! Two updates!!!

Some points of interest...

1) Your second sentence of your report cracked me up. Only 2 sentences in, and I'm laughing!! "... the dirty dog." Phhhht!!! :surfweb: See that little yellow man drinking coffee? Imagine him spitting the coffee out from laughter, and that's me!

2) Two updates, and two Lost references!?! Yahoooo! This is my kind of report!! :banana:

3) I'm totally on board with getting to the airport insanely early. My whole family thinks I'm insane, even my Dad, who's as organised as they come. I won't even tell how many hours I like to be there for, before our plane leaves. It's a little embarrassing.

4) What's a canker sore!?!! Or maybe I don't want to know.... :confused:

5) The girls look gorgeous and glam, as always! Slightly different from last year - I think that Caitlin looks a bit younger and fresher, and Jen looks like she's 32! Not in a bad way, just in a glamorous way!! Like she should be living in Melrose Place. Heh, am I talking nonsense?

6) I like that you're always happy for the girls to go and explore and play by themselves. Do they ever tell you what they do? Cause my friends and I would totally have kissed boys. Heeee. Sorry. :rolleyes1

Right, I think that's enough from me!

Keep up the great work, Amy!!! :yay:

[NMAmy]

If you ask me, the pics are a perfect side! I LOOVE big pics...the more detail the better.

Terrific room view pics, BTW...I'm collecting them for the Dolphin to go along with my nearly-complete room map:banana:

:wave2: Hello and thanks for reading!

It's weird--they look fine on my home computer but at work they look enormous. As long as they're not annoying anyone, I'll keep them as is.

So, let me know, pals, if they're annoying to you!

I'm glad you liked the pictures. The room map explains how you knew exactly where that room was. :thumbsup2 I have to check out my scrapbooks just to remember what rooms we've had in the past.

Word to the wise--do not stay on the 4th floor or you'll get one of those lattice view rooms. They are not good.


Yeah, Disney has pretty well priced us out of the Deluxe market...but I'm a college prof so we still have the Swolphin!

Thank heavens for the Swan/Dolphin! It's the only way I can talk Alex into a deluxe.

[NMAmy]

Yayyyyyyy!!! Two updates!!!

Some points of interest...

1) Your second sentence of your report cracked me up. Only 2 sentences in, and I'm laughing!! "... the dirty dog." Phhhht!!! :surfweb: See that little yellow man drinking coffee? Imagine him spitting the coffee out from laughter, and that's me!

:rotfl2: Sorry about the coffee, pal! Alex gets a lot more vacation than I do and he always takes that extra day off before we leave. While I do hate that he's off work while I'm slaving away but he did run all my errands and cleaned the house for me that day so it did work out for me that way. ;)



2) Two updates, and two Lost references!?! Yahoooo! This is my kind of report!! :banana:

:thumbsup2 I had Lost on the brain--we watched two episodes last Thursday. Unfortunately, Caitlin hasn't seen more than Season 1 so I spent the entire time explaining stuff to her. Jen was totally confused since she'd never seen any of it.


3) I'm totally on board with getting to the airport insanely early. My whole family thinks I'm insane, even my Dad, who's as organised as they come. I won't even tell how many hours I like to be there for, before our plane leaves. It's a little embarrassing.

Well, I must admit--I only get there two hours in advance which is insanely early to Caitlin. Luckily, she's never been on an overseas flight with Alex.

When we flew to England in 2004, I had to work until 11:30 and we had a flight out at 9:30 pm. I came home and was puttering around and Alex was driving me crazy about driving the 1.5 hours to Detroit. Did I mention it was JULY??? It wasn't like we were going to get stuck in a snowstorm or something. :rotfl:

We ended up getting to the airport at 1:30 in the afternoon for a 9:30 flight. So, basically, 8 HOURS in advance! :lmao: I did put my foot down on our last trip and we only got there 4 hours early.


4) What's a canker sore!?!! Or maybe I don't want to know.... :confused:

A canker sore is a little sore in the mouth. Caitlin gets them occasionally--I'm convinced that it's because she eats too much junk food and not enough veggies. I hate that I don't have any control over the food she eats anymore. ;)



5) The girls look gorgeous and glam, as always! Slightly different from last year - I think that Caitlin looks a bit younger and fresher, and Jen looks like she's 32! Not in a bad way, just in a glamorous way!! Like she should be living in Melrose Place. Heh, am I talking nonsense?

:rotfl: No, not nonsense. They do look much older than I did at that age. Thank you for the compliments for the girls. Hanging around the two of them really makes me realize how old I am.


6) I like that you're always happy for the girls to go and explore and play by themselves. Do they ever tell you what they do? Cause my friends and I would totally have kissed boys. Heeee. Sorry. :rolleyes1

:rotfl2: No need to be sorry! Caitlin and I had talked before the trip and we'd decided that they would spend more time with us this trip. Caitlin's been missing me a lot and at one point, actually accused ME of trying to ditch THEM. Most of the times we did leave them on their own, they met up with us much earlier than expected. So, it was nice to have a lot more time with her this time around.

I don't think there was any kissing going on--Jen is IN LOVE with her boyfriend at home and Caitlin has sworn off boys for this whole year.

Thanks so much for reading, pal! I'm glad you're enjoying it!

[Maleficent13]

6) I like that you're always happy for the girls to go and explore and play by themselves. Do they ever tell you what they do? Cause my friends and I would totally have kissed boys. Heeee.

:lmao:

My parents cleverly solved this problem for me at that age. "Go off on your own? Sure, honey! Be back in 4 hours...and here, take your little brother. See you soon, sweetie!" :teeth:

BUT...just because Jen is in love and Cait has sworn off boys does not mean that they did not have a trail of bedazzled youths staring longing after them as they walked through the parks. :lovestruc

[NMAmy]

:lmao:

My parents cleverly solved this problem for me at that age. "Go off on your own? Sure, honey! Be back in 4 hours...and here, take your little brother. See you soon, sweetie!" :teeth:

BUT...just because Jen is in love and Cait has sworn off boys does not mean that they did not have a trail of bedazzled youths staring longing after them as they walked through the parks. :lovestruc

:rotfl2: Actually, they were walking with ME during one such incident where a boy yelled at them to come with him. Caitlin was appalled and said, "Here, you need to talk to my mom." :rotfl2:

What really creeped me out, though, were the older men that would watch them. :scared1: It was gross.

[acourtwdw]

Subbing!!

We are in Lansing too!

40 degrees today!

[NMAmy]

Sunday, 3/2/08

I woke up at 6:15 and saw this misty view:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0987.jpg

Kind of looks like a watercolor painting, doesn't it? ;)

I hopped in the shower and I got the girls up at 7:30 so we could go to MGM by 9:00. We were pretty close—we left at about 9:10. Once again, the primping involved with 17 yo girls just drives me bananas. They did pretty well that day, though.

While we were waiting for the girls, Alex & I had breakfast at Picabu’s—the girls weren’t hungry. I had scrambled egg and potatoes and Alex had cereal again. I found that at Picabu's, you do not have to order a whole breakfast meal which is WAY too much food for me but you can order items a la carte--so I got one scrambled egg and an order of potatoes instead of the huge meal.

The crowds were very low except for the ESPN-The Weekend areas. I am so thankful that Alex is not a sports guy. We kept hearing them talking as we walked past and Alex told me he could not believe how boring it was. :rotfl2: Even my sporty girl, Caitlin, was totally uninterested.

We got to Rock & Rollercoaster and there was only a 15 minute wait for standby. Here are the girls by the marble door finally:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0988.jpg

We rode and then got some fast passes for 10:50-11:50. Caitlin was hungry now (of course!) and wanted a bagel so we went to the Writers’ Store to get one for her. The little bakery place by Tot/RnR area was closed for remodeling so we went all the way to the back of the park.

Here are the girls by the Monster's Inc meet & greet (I think--there was no one there when we were there!):

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0990.jpg

Caitlin insisted on finding the "perfect" stoop for the girls to sit on. She liked the blue door:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0991-1.jpg

The girls were not really wanting to do anything. Caitlin had seen a Princess sash the night before and really had been coveting one. So, we searched around for that and finally found them at the store by the Little Mermaid--the ones at other places had a tiara but apparently they did not want to go THAT far. Obviously, the tiara would be lame but the sash was totally cool! They each got one and wore them for the rest of the day.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0994.jpg

As we were heading toward Rock & Rollercoaster, I really had to go to the bathroom and Caitlin was just antsy to get to the ride. Alex & I gave the girls our fast passes so they could ride twice. He and I went to the Villain’s store where I found a Nightmare Before Christmas jar labeled Deadly Nightshade. I thought it would be fun for cookies. ;-) Caitlin later suggested loose tea which might scare some of my guests. :lmao: I'll take a picture of it later--it is SO cool. I had planned on not buying souvenirs this trip but, for some bizarre reason, I just cannot seem to control myself once I arrive. Alex promised to carry it back in his suitcase for me.

As I was waiting in line, some lady came in front of me with her daughter to look at the glass counter. Her husband told her she had cut in front of me and she said, “It’s ok. I just want to ask him a question.” :sad2: She then proceeded to ask how much this big snow globe thing was. The guy had to unlock the counter, pull it out, tell her the price, then she and her daughter had to admire it and decide if they wanted it. I got exasperated, walked around them, and told the guy I needed to buy my item. He rang it up but boxed it like the guy from Love Actually--I told Alex that I kept expecting him to ask if I wanted a sprig of lavendar in the box. ;) Rude lady and her family wandered off at that point after huffing about how rude the CM was to leave them waiting. :confused3 Oh, goody, my first rude person.

We headed to our lunch reservation at Sci-Fi. We got in right away although our name was spelled wrong on our reservation. Luckily, I had had the confirmation number. Great, now all our reservations are going to be under the wrong name. It made for an interesting trip because each time I checked in, I had to give the wrong name and tell them our RIGHT name which made them all laugh. Because the misspelling was just weird.

The girls met up with us and we got our table right away. We had a blast making fun of the clips. Caitlin and Jen got the lightup straw hooks of Captain Hook and Tinker Bell. Caitlin had spinach artichoke dip and cheesecake, Jen had a turkey sandwich, and Alex and I got cheeseburgers and fries and got an order of cheesecake to go. The girls left a bit before us—they were going to go to MK right from MGM. Alex and I were going to rest awhile in the room. A boat arrived just as we got to the dock and Alex told me, “I saw two princesses get on the boat.” I surprised the heck out of them when I walked up and told them they were in big trouble. :rotfl2: There was no bus out front that would go to the MK so they were headed back to the hotel. Caitlin wasn’t feeling too well and on the way over, she laid her head in my lap which was so sweet and then decided she wanted a nap.

We all took a nap until about 2:00 and it was wonderful. The girls got up and headed to the MK. Alex and I left a bit later. Cait had called and said she’d forgotten her cell phone. As we arrived, the parade was going on so the only place we could get to was Tomorrowland. I tried to call Jen’s phone but got no answer so we decided to go on Buzz Lightyear. They called as we were getting on the ride so I told them to meet us outside. Alex kicked my behind on Buzz--I'm used to riding with Caitlin and she always steers. Alex had me steer this time and so I sucked at the ride. That's my story. I do have proof of the truth of this later in the trip. ;)

I talked the girls into riding the TTA with us. Apparently, they'd picked up some cotton candy somewhere along the way. :rotfl:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0995.jpg

I just love the TTA. It used to be Caitlin's favorite when she was little and we'd ride it over and over again. It's how she finally got up the nerve to try Space Mountain.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0996.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0997.jpg

As we passed Carousel of Progress, Cait asked Jen if she’d ever been on it. She said no so of course I said, “Oh, you HAVE to go on it!” Caitlin was pretending like she didn’t want to go but I doubt she would have even mentioned it or actually gone on it if she hadn’t wanted to do it and blame it on me. As it turned out, Jen had missed a LOT of the smaller rides on our first trip because Caitlin had insisted on riding only the headliners. I think that Cait herself missed the smaller rides because she "begrudgingly" went on a lot of those this trip, using me as an excuse of course. Here is her begrudging face:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0998.jpg

We then split up—Alex & I headed over to the Haunted Mansion and the girls were going back to the room. I’d told them they could go to EMH’s at the MK and they wanted to get some warmer clothes. The Haunted Mansion had a 45 minute wait—in fact, the whole MK was really busy so we decided to ditch it and head over to Epcot for some dinner. It just didn’t seem like we were really here until we’d been to the MK.

We took the monorail to the TTC. A teenage guy sitting across from us was talking to his parents about how horrible turkey legs were and started laughing when I was nodding along with him. I told him, “It’s sad because they smell so good but taste like crap.” :lmao:

We then switched over to the Epcot monorail and arrived at the park. There was no line for Spaceship Earth. I believe I am in the minority here but I really liked the changes a lot. The interactive part at the end was hysterical and I didn’t even mind going backward through the future. :thumbsup2

Soarin’ had a 45 minute wait and we had no patience so we went to visit our pal, Figment, which had NO wait. Alex said he feels sorry for the little rides that are good but seem neglected. Except by me. And now Caitlin.

There was no one around and so Alex had fun conducting music:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG0999.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1000.jpg

The park was not really busy at all and was very nice. We were hungry so we went to Morocco for dinner at the Tangierine Café.

See Morocco over there?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1001.jpg

We each had the lamb plate and it was delicious. We usually share but I was starving and told Alex he had to get his own. ;) Lamb, tabbuleh, hummus, bread, cous cous. Yummy. Except the hummus doesn’t have much flavor. I got the food while Alex went to the little coffee place and got himself some mint tea and some dessert.

Three parks in one day is a personal best for us but we were beat. We waited for the boat back to the Dolphin. There was a little boy and his mom seated behind us. The little boy was adorable. They were from Wales and he talked my arm off the whole way. He had a Pluto hat and Pluto had signed it for him at the Garden Grill. There were going to be thunderstorms tomorrow and Tuesday (he’d discovered the Weather Channel, his mom said.) His dad had walked back so he could get more beer. :lmao: (His mom was a bit mortified at that one!) He almost followed me to the Dolphin—they were staying at the Swan. He was SO cute.

Alex & watched the Tudors and then turned off all the lights, opened the curtains, and laid in bed to watch Illuminations. The girls decided to come back early so they could get up for EMH’s at the AK tomorrow.

It was really a fantastic day!

[NMAmy]

And, I had too many pictures in the last thread, so here's the one's that wouldn't fit!

Some World Showcase views for your enjoyment:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1002.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1003.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1004.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1005.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%202%202008/CIMG1006.jpg

[Hedy]

I love the girl's sashes. And how does a teenager forget a cellphone? :confused: I though Cait was scared of food in Moroco.
Another high-quality NMAmy installment.

[Cory's Gal]

Enjoying your trip report! Your view from the hotel is fabulous!! Can't wait to hear more!!!

[ILMICKEY]

Wow, great updates. You are really cranking them out!

Hey, thanks for bringin the warm back with you!! Your a pal!

[NMAmy]

I love the girl's sashes. And how does a teenager forget a cellphone? :confused: I though Cait was scared of food in Moroco.
Another high-quality NMAmy installment.

:rotfl2: I was a bit surprised by the cell phone, too. Really, she had so much stuff jammed into her bag that I'm sure it was easy to overlook.

A little tidbit for my fellow Gilmore Girls fans--we were in the MK one day and Cait was looking for something in her bag and was handing me stuff to hold. She pulled out a book!! :lmao: Now, granted, I take a book most everywhere with me--even to WDW to read at the airport, on the plane, in the room--but even I do NOT take a book to the parks with me. She's my very own little Rory Gilmore. :rotfl:

Thank you so much for your kind compliments, as always, Hedy. You are always so sweet to me and I greatly appreciate it!

[NMAmy]

Enjoying your trip report! Your view from the hotel is fabulous!! Can't wait to hear more!!!


:welcome: Cory's Gal! And thank you so much for reading. I really appreciate it!

I noticed from your countdown that you have a new addition coming soon. Congratulations! :cheer2:

[NMAmy]

Wow, great updates. You are really cranking them out!

Hey, thanks for bringin the warm back with you!! Your a pal!

Hi, neighbor! I am so glad I brought the warmer weather back, too, although it was a shock to come out of the airport into 21 degrees. :scared1:

We were a bit freaked out when we arrived in Detroit and there was snow everywhere. It was quite a relief when we arrived home and all the snow was melted. :thumbsup2

I am a quick trip report writer--barring any computer or health issues, I should be done in a week. I try to write up my notes every night while on the trip and then I embellish and add pictures on here so it goes pretty quickly since it's mostly already done. I make scrapbooks so the trip reports come in pretty handy for those. ;)

[dddisrunner]

Great update Amy! Love all the World Showcase pictures. The pic. of Alex at Figment is too cute:goodvibes I love Caits bedgrudging face, she really is quite pretty. 3 parks in 1 day WOW!:eek: I could not imagine doing that ! So cool that you get to lay in bed and watch Illuminations:cloud9: Looking forward to more!:thumbsup2
Diane

[Maleficent13]

A little tidbit for my fellow Gilmore Girls fans--we were in the MK one day and Cait was looking for something in her bag and was handing me stuff to hold. She pulled out a book!! :lmao: Now, granted, I take a book most everywhere with me--even to WDW to read at the airport, on the plane, in the room--but even I do NOT take a book to the parks with me. She's my very own little Rory Gilmore. :rotfl:

How adorable. Although she'd probably kick my butt for calling her adorable. But she is. :teeth:

What was the book? (I need a new one to read.)

[emmababy]

We were there the same time as you! The weather was great, but we returned to our own blizzard in Ohio. I miss my WDW!!!

[NMAmy]

How adorable. Although she'd probably kick my butt for calling her adorable. But she is. :teeth:

What was the book? (I need a new one to read.)

:rotfl2: I teased her about it all week. She swears she gets it from me so I guess she comes by it honestly. I'm just glad she's a reader.

She was reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. I've seen threads about it on the CB. She told me she thought I'd really like it so I bought it in the airport and I'm reading it now. It is pretty good, actually. She really hasn't steered me wrong yet on a book recommendation.

[NMAmy]

We were there the same time as you! The weather was great, but we returned to our own blizzard in Ohio. I miss my WDW!!!

Hello and :welcome: , emmababy! Wasn't it a great week to be there?? I miss it, too. I was just thinking of what I was doing LAST Wednesday which was SOOO much better than today. ;)

Did you have a good time? Where did you stay? Duh! Now I see it was the Boardwalk! We were neighbors.

[Ronald Duck]

I can tell how much fun you had traveling with grown kids. That's how I felt going to WDW with my (late-20s) son last month! I even enjoyed chauffering my son around to all 4 parks on our last morning and afternoon (dad was just too pooped:guilty: )

[AussieAngel]

That really does sound like a fun, happy first day! :yay:

I love Caitlin's "Princess" pose - she looks much more like a rock chick in that photo!

And aww, cute moment when she put her head on your lap on the boat. Sometimes they're the nicest memories of a vacation - tiny little incidental moments which stick with you and make you smile!

And hey, we haven't seen any photos of you yet!!

[MickeysMommy]

popcorn::

[NMAmy]

I can tell how much fun you had traveling with grown kids. That's how I felt going to WDW with my (late-20s) son last month! I even enjoyed chauffering my son around to all 4 parks on our last morning and afternoon (dad was just too pooped:guilty: )

It is nice to travel with grown kids but I DO really miss going with a little one. Even Cait misses it--our dream trip would be to take my grown niece and her 3 kids. The little girls are 4 and 2 and I'm just dying to go with them. We're waiting to hit the lottery! :rotfl2:

[NMAmy]

That really does sound like a fun, happy first day! :yay:

I love Caitlin's "Princess" pose - she looks much more like a rock chick in that photo!

And aww, cute moment when she put her head on your lap on the boat. Sometimes they're the nicest memories of a vacation - tiny little incidental moments which stick with you and make you smile!

And hey, we haven't seen any photos of you yet!!

Oh, yeah, the princess pose. She was tired of me taking pictures at that point. :rotfl:

She and I did hear something really funny during our trip. We heard a mother near the Bippidi Boppidi Boutique saying to her little girl, "Well, you are certainly not ACTING like a princess right now!" :lmao: That's our new catchphrase. ;)

[NMAmy]

popcorn::

Next installment coming soon-ish ,pal! ;)

[MickeysMommy]

It is nice to travel with grown kids but I DO really miss going with a little one. Even Cait misses it--our dream trip would be to take my grown niece and her 3 kids. The little girls are 4 and 2 and I'm just dying to go with them. We're waiting to hit the lottery! :rotfl2:

You can go with me, Am...I am a 2 year old when it comes to going to WDW...you can even take me on Dumbo - never ridden that!!! :scared1:

[NMAmy]

Monday, 3/3/08
We all got up early for EMH at AK. I ended up waking up at 5:00 for some bizarre reason, even though I was up late. I hopped in the shower and went down to Picabu’s for refills for our mugs and Raisin Bran for Alex & I. The girls got up—Jen wasn’t feeling well but she was a trouper and agreed to come along.

We arrived at the park not long after 8:00 and headed directly for Expedition Everest. Caitlin was so excited—it’s her favorite ride. We got fast passes for later and hopped into the stand by line—it was only about 10 minutes until we were riding and saw the Yeti. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the lines during the first week of March? Last year, we went during Spring Break and it was horrible. This year was fabulous even if I was a bad parent and took the kids out of school. ;)

Here's the girls waiting for EE:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1007.jpg

Look at how happy Cait is even though she had to get up early! That IS a Disney miracle, my friends. She is normally incredibly grumpy in the morning--I tend to just avoid her.

We had a blast and got right back in line for a second ride. It was just as great the second time around. We stopped by the gift shop and got t-shirts for everyone to commemorate the day.

In the gift shop:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1008.jpg

Caitlin realized that Jen had somehow never been on Kilimanjaro Safaris so, of course, we had to go on it. Somehow Jen missed a lot of stuff on the last trip so we had a lot on our to do list. We had a great driver who asked where everyone was from. When he heard us yell Michigan, he asked us what town we were from. Turns out he was from East Lansing--the town right next door! He told us that’s how he got to be so good at driving through potholes. :rotfl2: We actually had a theme today of running into people who moved from Michigan to Florida--in February, I can certainly see the wisdom of such a move. ;)

Safari pictures:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1016.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1009.jpg

This is Cait's usual morning face. Apparently, the safari did not make her quite as happy as EE. :lmao:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1010.jpg

Jen - excited about her first safari:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1011.jpg

Caitlin has recently decided that hippos are her favorite animals. I had decided I was just going to enjoy the safari and avoid taking pictures this time--really, my scrapbooks have pictures of every animal already so there was no need. However, she freaked out and decided she really needed a picture of the hippos so here's one that is a tad out of focus because I had to wrestle the camera out of the case while bouncing around:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1013.jpg

Cait was starving by the time we were done so we got in the long line for the bakery in Harambe next to the new FANCY Tusker House. Seriously, that was the longest line I stood in all morning. We got a muffin for Cait and a drink for the rest of us.

It may be the best food in East Africa but it was certainly the SLOWEST. Why does this place take so long?

[IMG]http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1014.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1017.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1018.jpg

Cait ate quickly, then we gave the girls all the fast passes. Alex and I walked the Maharajah Jungle Trail while we waited—in fact, they finished before we did.

Here's our trek--enjoy!

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1019.jpg

This is the only picture of a bat you will EVER see in my trip reports. :lmao: I'm freaked out by bats and birds so I have to do my jungle trek extremely quickly with my eyes averted during those sections.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1020.jpg

The empty tigers area:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1021.jpg

The tigers are apparently hiding--how safe could we really be?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1022.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1023.jpg

Ahh...FINALLY a tiger!

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I'm going to have to divvy this day up into two posts because I have too many pictures. So...more to come!

[NMAmy]

You can go with me, Am...I am a 2 year old when it comes to going to WDW...you can even take me on Dumbo - never ridden that!!! :scared1:

You've got it, pal! :thumbsup2 I love Dumbo but haven't ridden it since Cait was about 8.

[Hedy]

Great pictures. I'm excited to take the boys (9 and 12) in August, but I'm worried they may be more mature than I am. :blush:

[NMAmy]

Great pictures. I'm excited to take the boys (9 and 12) in August, but I'm worried they may be more mature than I am. :blush:

:rotfl: You are very lucky to go with them! You are going to have a fantastic time. And when you are acting young and fun, that gives them permission to do so as well. ;)

That's my excuse anyway.

[dddisrunner]

Great installment as usual Amy! I love how you take the time to take pictures of all the "little things" wish I could get myself to stop and smell the roses a little:rolleyes1 I have a fear of bats too!:scared1: Love that you rode Everest twice! We are praying that Eric makes the height requirement for Everest so we can all ride together! Looking forward to more!popcorn::

[NMAmy]

Monday, 3/3 - Part Two

More pictures from our jungle trek:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1026.jpg

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I seriously thought about trying to steal that bike. My feet were starting to hurt.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1029.jpg

Can you see the sleepy tiger back there by the wall?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1032.jpg

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http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1035.jpg

The crowds were really small this morning so we decided to take advantage of it before lunch. Jen had also never been on Primeval Whirl so we went on that which was probably not the greatest idea for someone with an upset stomach. Even though there was no line, we figured once was probably enough.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1036.jpg

That's Jen BEFORE the ride. I don't think she realized it was so spinny. She didn't look quite so happy afterward. ;)

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1037.jpg

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Next we went on Dinosaur—again virtually no line. Caitlin really hates this ride so it was very brave of her to ride with us. Although we did spend a lot of time debating what side of the car she needed to be on to avoid the dinosaur. The picture turned out great. I bought it but I've forgotten to scan it in so I'll post it later for you all. It's hysterical.

We stopped at a couple of gift shops trying to find a stuffed hippo for Caitlin but no luck. We had a lunch reservation at the Rain Forest Café which we’d never been to before. The girls checked out the gift shop to look for a hippo while I went to find a bathroom.

We checked in and the guy was laughing when I told him what our incorrect name was. Rainforest Café does not use the confirmation numbers. Just a handy tip from me to you--I have no idea what would happen if they couldn't find your reservation. We were taken to our table right away. I learned that is the largest Rainforest Café and seats more than 1000 people--all on the way to our table from our friendly host guy. Just in case you need to know--the bathrooms are "just under the rainbow and to the right." :rotfl2: Seriously, how many times do you get to say something like THAT in your life?

Turned out our server was from Kalamazoo—everyone from Michigan was hiding from the snow. Jen wasn’t too hungry so I got her a kid’s menu and they let her order off that. Cait got an appetizer sampler, I got the huge and delicious shrimp platter, and Alex had a chimi-ha-ha. My platter had shrimp scampi, coconut shrimp, and really decadent shrimp stuffed with crab and wrapped in bacon. Yum. I ate every shrimp on there. Alex is allergic to shellfish so the only time I get to eat it is when we eat out so I really made the most of the opportunity!

Here's the girls poring over the menu in the dark:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1041.jpg

The girls were tired so they left early and gave away the EE fast passes on the way out to some deserving family. We left shortly afterward and caught the bus back. As we waited for the bus, we saw this heron walking down the road. It was a pretty long wait and we had a full bus although we were first in line.

IS this a heron? I'd written it so authoritatively in my notes but now that I'm posting it publicly I remember that I don't really know much about birds seeing as how they creep me out and all.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%203%202008/CIMG1044.jpg

He/She was cracking me up--walking right down the middle of the road at a snail's pace. The wind was blowing and his neck would wobble back and forth with the wind.

When we got back, the girls were already conked out. Alex & I took a nap, too. It was wonderful.

The girls slept a long time. Cait woke up first and had a craving for ice cream. Jen didn’t want to wake up so we left her a note and the three of us headed downstairs to the Fountain for an ice cream. I had an enormous soft serve twist cone, Alex had caramel cappuccino cone and Cait had a cheesecake shake with hot fudge which she let me taste and it was delish.

The girls were going to EMH’s at MGM. They were lollygagging around so Alex & I decided to head over to the MK and we left them in the room.

The bus showed up right away and we got there pretty quickly. Alex told me I had to quit enticing little children—the baby boy sitting across from me kept flirting with me. Alex called me the Pied Piper.

We got to the MK and it wasn’t too crowded. We wanted to check out the changes to the Haunted Mansion and the line was only 10 minutes long. We loved it. A poor little girl freaked out when the lights went out and the CM in the room broke character and told her, “I promise that’s the scariest part of the whole ride. Here’s some stickers. Really, you’ll like the rest of it, I promise.” It was sweet.

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The only thing with the changes--now I have a hard time remembering what was there before and what was new. :rotfl:

It was pretty crowded over by Splash and BTMRR. There was only about a 10 minute wait for BTMRR so we went on that and had a great time.

Splash Mountain had a 40 minute wait and Pirates had a 30 minute wait so we decided to hold off until later in the week to go on more rides. Plus we were ready for dinner.

We decided to stick with our 3 parks in one day theme—although I’m not sure how long we could keep that up—and head to Epcot for dinner. Since the girls were off on their own, we thought we’d go to Biergarten for dinner.

Caitlin called as we were on the monorail and the girls were at Epcot. I told her we were thinking of Biergarten for dinner and she said they’d rather eat on their own. Actually, first she told me she’d come along for some spatzle and Jen wasn’t very hungry. I pointed out that since this is a buffet I didn’t want to pay a fortune for their meals if they weren’t going to eat so they decided to just get something on their own.

ANOTHER RUDE PERSON ALERT: We didn’t have reservation but were seated in about 20 minutes. Alex and I laughed because the Germans take queueing very seriously. There was a long line and just as we approached the podium, a woman came over to the side and asked if they were seating walk ins. The girl at the podium told her yes, but it would be about 20 minutes. The lady said, Oh, good, can I leave my name with you? The girl said, Yes, you can go to the end of the line and then leave your name with me. :cheer2: She rocked. As we were waiting, the wait time was up to 30 minutes when that woman got to the podium again and she threw a hissy fit and told the girl she’d told her 20 minutes earlier. What a pain. The CM, bless her heart, just told her, "Yes, it was 20 minutes when you approached me earlier but the people waiting in line are in front of you." I was tired of people trying to jump the line to “ask a question.” What in the world do they think all the other polite people are actually lining up for? Free beer?

We were seated with 3 other couples and we had a FABULOUS time. They were all very chatty and nice--one of our tablemates was celebrating his 70th birthday. The beer helped, too. We ate like pigs—I love wurst salat and schnitzel and sauer kraut. We got to hear the band and they played the Chicken Dance which always cracks Alex up. He was amazed when he moved to Michigan and they play the Chicken Dance at every wedding. He'd never seen it before he came here. Hey, we're Germans. We like to line up correctly and to get rowdy, we then do the Chicken Dance. :rotfl:

As we came out, we had planned on staying for Illuminations. Cait called and asked if we’d come back to the room. It took a long time to walk from Germany to the boat, wait for the boat, ride to Boardwalk and then to YC/BC, then wait for another boat to leave the dock so we could stop at the Dolphin. Cait called as we were coming up the escalator and asked what was taking so long.

Once we were in the room, the girls immediately decided to go to MGM. :confused3 I have no idea why we had to come home—Alex thought I was being punished for having fun without letting Cait have spatzle. We watched the fireworks from the room and I waited for the girls to come back. I watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 and reflected on how much Kate annoys me. ;)

[NMAmy]

Great installment as usual Amy! I love how you take the time to take pictures of all the "little things" wish I could get myself to stop and smell the roses a little:rolleyes1 I have a fear of bats too!:scared1: Love that you rode Everest twice! We are praying that Eric makes the height requirement for Everest so we can all ride together! Looking forward to more!popcorn::

I'm glad you liked it, pal! I try to take new pictures every time. Since we've been so often, it's forced me to look around more for little stuff I've missed before. I actually took a lot less pictures this trip than ever before.

And (gasp!) we did not use Photo Pass. It was humid and rained occasionally which meant my hair looked like a bird's nest--curly and messy. Every time we saw a photographer, I thought, "Ick, do I really want to memorialize THIS look?" So there are very few pictures of me in this trip report this year.

Here's hoping Eric is tall enough to ride everything he wants to! :thumbsup2

[Maleficent13]

I was tired of people trying to jump the line to “ask a question.” What in the world do they think all the other polite people are actually lining up for? Free beer?

:rotfl: No kidding. I always immediately go to the end of a line and then ask the people in front of me "Is this the line for XXX?" Just to make sure I'm not standing in a line I don't need to be in. :rotfl: People are nutso.

When we were there it seemed like there were a lot of people who were under the impression that if you weren't walking at their speed, it was permission to walk OVER you. Not around you, OVER you. :confused3 I am obsessive about walking to the far right leaving plenty of passing room to the left, so I so don't get this.

Just adding my rude people vents to give you support! :)

[NMAmy]

:rotfl: No kidding. I always immediately go to the end of a line and then ask the people in front of me "Is this the line for XXX?" Just to make sure I'm not standing in a line I don't need to be in. :rotfl: People are nutso.

When we were there it seemed like there were a lot of people who were under the impression that if you weren't walking at their speed, it was permission to walk OVER you. Not around you, OVER you. :confused3 I am obsessive about walking to the far right leaving plenty of passing room to the left, so I so don't get this.

Just adding my rude people vents to give you support! :)

:rotfl2: Yeah, actually, when we first got into the line, I asked the lady in front of me, "Is this the line for the check in for the Biergarten?" She told me yes but an older man coming out laughed and told me not to bother, he'd already drunk all the beer. :rotfl:

And I've got a section coming up about us being fast walkers but, for the record, I would NEVER walk over anyone. Because I'm polite. Ish.;)

[swwake]

OMGoodness, Amy!!! I did not know you had a PTR and TR!!! Why didn't I ever see that in your signature? Why didn't you fuss at me for not posting on your TR???

Well, the good news is, now I have a fun TR to read and lots of pics to see. Your trip was so similar to what ours will be (ages of the girls). I can't believe I didn't know this earlier?!

I feel dumb!

[NMAmy]

OMGoodness, Amy!!! I did not know you had a PTR and TR!!! Why didn't I ever see that in your signature? Why didn't you fuss at me for not posting on your TR???

Well, the good news is, now I have a fun TR to read and lots of pics to see. Your trip was so similar to what ours will be (ages of the girls). I can't believe I didn't know this earlier?!

I feel dumb!

:rotfl2: Oh, no, don't feel dumb, Susan! I didn't list the trip report in my signature until I got back. Mainly because it was kind of a downer compared to my usual ones. ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoy it! I need to get back to yours--I love your mom's viewpoint. :thumbsup2

[Hedy]

Did Mickey's Mommy ever get her frozen mug? I saw them everywhere in December, and was thinking of your mission.

[wendy3]

I watched Jon & Kate Plus 8 and reflected on how much Kate annoys me. ;)

I KNOW!!!! I thought I was the only one who finds Kate incredibly annoying. Yet, I keep watching because the kids are so stinkin cute

[acourtwdw]

I love the fact the you ran into so many peolpe from MI!

Love your trip report!

Keep it coming !

(I like ! Can you tell?!)

Annette :)

[swwake]

she's a great writer
she's Walt's cousin!
she's a veteran bargain shopper ($1.20 shirts - are you KIDDING me?!)
she has a fabulous sense of humor, even in the face of adversity
she has Disney Dining programmed into her cell phone
she believes the CMs use fake names (?) maybe?
she inserts small bits of dry wit just to see if we're paying attention (hint: we ARE!)
she is "disgustingly normal" - thank goodness!!
she believes popcorn only belongs with real butter
she sat next to Sneezy McCougherson - who else can say that, will ya tell me?
she watches Lost
she likes her eggs fully cooked, thank you

We already know that we have golden retrievers, single teen daughters (as in - only child, not as in not attached to some random long-haired boy...oh, sorry, that may be only my kiddo), both named a variation of Cait/Kate, and what else was there? I remember there were several things...

Wait, now, both of our girls are budding actresses? Wow!

I still haven't figured out what NM means...for some reason I want to think "Nurse Maid"? I hope you don't take that as an insult. Definitely not meant as such - I may just be an idiot who has had one too many glasses of wine tonight! :rotfl:

I am waiting to see if you got the receipts for the food purchases at the NM airport....

I am only halfway through page 7, but it is late here and I have a solid day of work tomorrow before leaving after a half-day (how will I do it?) to visit my ailing grandmother. I will find a way to get all the way caught up later. Can't wait to read more!

ETA: Ok I was just proof-reading my post after posting it (because that is how I do things- haha!) and I figured out that NM means New Mexico! Am I right? Do I win the prize??? So much for Nurse Maid.....

[AussieAngel]

What a terrifying photo of that pretend bat!! It seems as though he has a little male apendage in between his legs! How odd!

I hate anything with wings - especially moths - so I'm totally with you on running through that part of the trek. Actually, I just couldn't do it to start with. We have a choice of walking through bats, or walking through birds!? Bah, I'll take neither! :scared1:

And oh my goodness, those photos of Primeval Whirl brought back bad memories! That ride hurts!!!

Also... Kalamazoo is a real place? Wow! Cool. I wish I was from Kalamazoo. I think I always thought it was just from a Dr Suess book. Silly me!

Keep up the great work, Amy! :yay:

[NMAmy]

Did Mickey's Mommy ever get her frozen mug? I saw them everywhere in December, and was thinking of your mission.

You know, I don't know, Hedy. Did you, MM? Because, actually, this trip I saw them everywhere, too, and I did wonder if you'd ever gotten one. And I cursed the fact that they were hiding them all during my trip last year. :rotfl:

[NMAmy]

I KNOW!!!! I thought I was the only one who finds Kate incredibly annoying. Yet, I keep watching because the kids are so stinkin cute

:welcome: wendy3! Thank you so much for reading. And, of course, agreeing with me about Kate. ;)

We didn't have a whole lot of channels to choose from and the girls kept watching Little People, Big World which I ended up enjoying. But, there is just something about Kate--the constant need for assistance and, well, this is going to sound kind of mean but the way she's always going on about how people who watch the show just love her kids and so, of course, they give them money to go places and to buy stuff. And she's not very nice to one of her older dd's.

[NMAmy]

I love the fact the you ran into so many peolpe from MI!

Love your trip report!

Keep it coming !

(I like ! Can you tell?!)

Annette :)

Hello, neighbor and :welcome:, Annette! Thank you so much for reading along.

I'm glad you like the trip report--and I know for sure there is at least one other Michigan encounter coming up! ;) Really, it was so cold here in February, I can't blame everyone for running away to balmy Florida.

[NMAmy]

she's a great writer
she's Walt's cousin!
she's a veteran bargain shopper ($1.20 shirts - are you KIDDING me?!)
she has a fabulous sense of humor, even in the face of adversity
she has Disney Dining programmed into her cell phone
she believes the CMs use fake names (?) maybe?
she inserts small bits of dry wit just to see if we're paying attention (hint: we ARE!)
she is "disgustingly normal" - thank goodness!!
she believes popcorn only belongs with real butter
she sat next to Sneezy McCougherson - who else can say that, will ya tell me?
she watches Lost
she likes her eggs fully cooked, thank you

We already know that we have golden retrievers, single teen daughters (as in - only child, not as in not attached to some random long-haired boy...oh, sorry, that may be only my kiddo), both named a variation of Cait/Kate, and what else was there? I remember there were several things...

Wait, now, both of our girls are budding actresses? Wow!

I still haven't figured out what NM means...for some reason I want to think "Nurse Maid"? I hope you don't take that as an insult. Definitely not meant as such - I may just be an idiot who has had one too many glasses of wine tonight! :rotfl:

I am waiting to see if you got the receipts for the food purchases at the NM airport....

I am only halfway through page 7, but it is late here and I have a solid day of work tomorrow before leaving after a half-day (how will I do it?) to visit my ailing grandmother. I will find a way to get all the way caught up later. Can't wait to read more!

ETA: Ok I was just proof-reading my post after posting it (because that is how I do things- haha!) and I figured out that NM means New Mexico! Am I right? Do I win the prize??? So much for Nurse Maid.....

:rotfl2: You ARE right, Susan! When I first joined the DIS boards, I was living in New Mexico. I lived there for 15 years before I moved back to Michigan. Mal likes to use me as a trivia question on the CB board occasionally. ;) Although Nurse Maid wouldn't be far off base with my job, now that I think of it. :rotfl:

And you took the time to make me my own list! That is so sweet. And thank you for the compliments! I really appreciate everyone reading along--I love re-living our trips.

You know, I never did get receipts from Caitlin for the airport food. :lmao: She did call me from Atlanta and let me know exactly what she was eating--I think to tease me. I can't remember what exactly it was but she was VERY impressed by it. I was annoyed that I had sent her the money to get stuff for the trip, she knew she had canker sores on Friday, and yet she waited until Saturday to decide she needed the medicine.

I hope your grandmother is feeling better, Susan! Thanks for posting and reading along!

[NMAmy]

What a terrifying photo of that pretend bat!! It seems as though he has a little male apendage in between his legs! How odd!

:lmao: DING, DING, DING--we have a winner! I wondered who would be the first to comment on that. ;) As we were walking through, I made the comment to Alex that it was so weird for the wooden carvings of bats to be painted in whimsical colors and yet, they still felt the need to make them anatomically correct! :rotfl2: And did you see the teeth?? Ick!


I hate anything with wings - especially moths - so I'm totally with you on running through that part of the trek. Actually, I just couldn't do it to start with. We have a choice of walking through bats, or walking through birds!? Bah, I'll take neither! :scared1:

Me, too, but I do love to see the tigers and you can avoid the bats--they even have a special non-bat corridor. I just walk quickly through the birds. ;)


And oh my goodness, those photos of Primeval Whirl brought back bad memories! That ride hurts!!!

Really? I'm sorry, I do love Primeval Whirl even with my neck issues. If Jen hadn't looked a bit green, I would have ridden again with Caitlin. Now I did find out on this trip that I am definitely too old for Space Mountain now. Too jerky.


Also... Kalamazoo is a real place? Wow! Cool. I wish I was from Kalamazoo. I think I always thought it was just from a Dr Suess book. Silly me!

Keep up the great work, Amy! :yay:

:rotfl2: Yep, Kalamazoo IS a real place. It's southwest of here. Actually my cousins were born in Kalamazoo! We have a lot of towns with weird names here in Michigan.

Thanks for reading--I'm glad you're enjoying it, my friend!

[Maleficent13]

Really? I'm sorry, I do love Primeval Whirl even with my neck issues. If Jen hadn't looked a bit green, I would have ridden again with Caitlin. Now I did find out on this trip that I am definitely too old for Space Mountain now. Too jerky.

*sigh* This is what I'm worried about. I stopped being able to ride RnR a couple years ago. Was still okay on BTMRR and Space Mountain, but it's been a few years since I rode them and I'm a bit concerned that when I do again I'll be in the same boat.

At least I'll have ToT and Splash Mountain. :goodvibes

[MickeysMommy]

You know, I don't know, Hedy. Did you, MM? Because, actually, this trip I saw them everywhere, too, and I did wonder if you'd ever gotten one. And I cursed the fact that they were hiding them all during my trip last year. :rotfl:

Yes :thumbsup2 I bought 2 when I was down there in December.

PS...thanks for posting the pic of my husband, Alex...er, I mean YOUR husband, Alex ;) :love:

[jbmom]

I just found your trip report! You are so easy going with 2 teenage girls, I want to know your secret in about 6 years!


Btw, I live in Kalamazoo and they sell pins and shirts that say "Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo!".

[NMAmy]

*sigh* This is what I'm worried about. I stopped being able to ride RnR a couple years ago. Was still okay on BTMRR and Space Mountain, but it's been a few years since I rode them and I'm a bit concerned that when I do again I'll be in the same boat.

At least I'll have ToT and Splash Mountain. :goodvibes

It's sad, really. I can do RnR because it's so smooth. I can do EE but only a maximum of twice in a row. After that, I get dizzy.

Space Mountain is a no no--I think it's the fact that I can't gauge which way it's going to go so I can't brace myself and it really jiggles my neck around. BTMRR was still ok, though! :thumbsup2

It's hard to get old.

[NMAmy]

Yes :thumbsup2 I bought 2 when I was down there in December.

PS...thanks for posting the pic of my husband, Alex...er, I mean YOUR husband, Alex ;) :love:

:rotfl2: You're welcome, pal!

[NMAmy]

I just found your trip report! You are so easy going with 2 teenage girls, I want to know your secret in about 6 years!

:rotfl2: It took me a long time to get that way! Now I just have to keep realizing that in 8 months, Caitlin will be 18. She'll still be in her senior year in high school but our control will be much more limited. Luckily, WDW is one place I'm quite comfortable giving her some freedom. At least she's not driving there, KWIM? ;)


Btw, I live in Kalamazoo and they sell pins and shirts that say "Yes, there really is a Kalamazoo!".

:thumbsup2 I have fond memories of visiting a friend at college in Kalamazoo. And, you have a neighbor working at the Rain Forest Cafe!

Thanks so much for reading!

[NMAmy]

Tuesday, 3/3/08

Ah, Tuesday was the day Alex & I hit the wall and discovered that we are now officially old. Really, you would have thought I'd have realized that going to three parks each day for two days might be a bit much for us. :rotfl2: But, sadly, I apparently still thought we were in our 20's.

Alex & I got up early to go to Epcot while the girls slept in. We made it over by about 8:30 and caught the end of EMH’s.

First stop was Soarin’. Although the lines were short everywhere else all week, Soarin’ did have long lines by the evening. As we came in, there were some guys working on the down escalator so there was kind of a traffic back up on the stairs which made us nervous the lines would already be long. Luckily, there was a 10 minute wait time! I don't think I have ever seen the line that short. We stopped and got some Fast Passes for a second ride and hopped in line for our first ride. We managed to score the second row.

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After Soarin’, we decided to head over to the non-spinny version of Mission Space.

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Early morning was incredible—the waits were not over 10 minutes for anything. Non-spinny Mission Space had a nNOminute wait. :thumbsup2 Really. As we came into the room, the CM opened the door and ushered us in to the pre-show that had already started. We had to man our own shuttle with only the two of us but luckily, they tell you to exactly when to press the buttons which explained the two minute training session before we were allowed to man a space mission. :lmao: If only you could really get by with Gary Sinise just telling you, "Push the button...NOW!"

We are not Test Track people so we skipped that but I did note that there was only a 10 minute wait over there, too.

We headed back to Spaceship Earth but the park had opened by that point and there was actually a line there now as people came into the park so we decided to wait for a bit and try again later.

Look, Ma, no wand! You know, even though I thought I didn't like the wand before now, well, it just seems kind of...empty without it to me. I'm so fickle.

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We had a bit of time before our Fast Passes came around so we decided to go visit Nemo and friends.

See how empty it is? I heart the first week of March.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1055-1.jpg

Fish are friends, not food. How weird is it to have this as a catchphrase and ALSO to have a restaurant serving FISH inside an aquarium? :confused3 Just something to think about. ;)

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1056-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1057-1.jpg

After riding around in our clam shells, we stopped by to see Turtle Talk with Crush. We sat in the back and watched parents freak out that their kids were up at the front on their own. We were seated by one woman who spent the entire time hovering about 2 feet above the bench in order to keep an eye on her child. I have no idea where she thought the child could sneak off to but I felt sorry for the people seated behind her.

One little girl that Crush asked to speak to spoke French so that one didn’t go very far. :rotfl2: Then a little girl asked where turtles go potty which cracked up the entire theater when Crush replied, “Everywhere.”

Caitlin had sent me a text message when we were on Crush and told me they were getting ready to come over for lunch at Le Cellier. Since it was time for our fast pass now, we stopped by Soarin’. The line was much bigger now and we ended up in the bottom row which sucked. I hate the bottom row. We stopped and picked up a fast pass for the girls on the way out.

Alex & I wasted some time at Mouse Gears which is one of my favorite stores. I picked up a Por Favor monorail t-shirt there and some other little necessities. Then we stopped and sat on a bench to watch some adorable little children play in the interactive little fountain between Future World and World Showcase. One little boy was about 18 months old and he was trying to sneak up on the water and suddenly it would shoot up behind him and it was just hilarious to watch. :lmao: I hope his mom didn't think we were stalkers.

After the kids were soaked and had given up, we strolled over to Canada and just did some people watching as we waited for the girls. Alex & I love to be snarky about other people's choices for theme park attire. Because we're so totally cool and all, you know. Some choices just really make you scratch your head and say, "Hmmm...what WERE they thinking?" I didn't photograph anyone to protect the innocent, though.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1058-1.jpg

See? Empty park!

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1060-1.jpg

Okay--a picture of Alex in a mountain rescue t-shirt in front of a mountain and all ready to rescue someone is just way too good to pass up. :rotfl2:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1061-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1062-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1066-1.jpg

As usual, they were running late so I checked us in but they wouldn’t seat us until everyone had arrived. Walk-ins were being turned away and were told they were booked up for 3 months.:scared1: Really? I made this reservation about 50 days ago and there were several times available for lunch.

Once the girls arrived, we were seated almost immediately and hiked to the Northwest Territories in a little nook. The girls each got Pirate’s Punch with a light up Tinkerbell. For lunch, Alex & I had the prime rib sandwich, Caitlin had the flat iron steak sandwich with blue cheese, and Jen had a burger. For dessert, Cait and I shared a chocolate moose.

I think she likes to order the chocolate moose so we can take a picture like this: :rotfl2:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1067-1.jpg

Here is one of the few pictures that prove I actually came along on this trip! Of course, my hair is goofy and I'm not actually smiling. This is why we don't usually allow Alex to take the pictures.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%204%202008/CIMG1068-1.jpg

We were kind of tuckered out but Caitlin really wanted us to come along with them. I think she was using me as an excuse to get on the rides they usually skip. I had talked them into trying Spaceship Earth to try the interactive part. I was being a smarty pants and stuck my tongue out when our picture was taken. Apparently, the computer didn’t like this because when it showed our future at the end, it was Alex and his friend, an African American gentleman. Not even a woman! The girls thought the whole thing was hysterical and since they were in front of us, we could see their screen. Caitlin looked like a Stepford wife which was what I was trying to avoid after our first experience where I'd had a dazzling smile on our earlier ride.

It was time for the girls to ride Soarin’ so we went over to Norway while they rode and took a spin on Maelstrom. Then they wanted to do Mission Space but they wanted the spinny side. They tried to talk Alex into going along with them but I told him no so we waited until they were done. We saw a guy with a cool Yoda backpack as we were waiting and we critiqued people’s them park attire.

By this time, my legs were just killing me and Alex wasn’t much better--Alex has a torn meniscus that needs surgery and I was just out of shape since I'd been feeling poorly and hadn't been doing my usual walking in the past few weeks. I could barely walk at all--my legs and feet were cramping. The girls decided to come back to the hotel with us—I’d promised Caitlin earlier that we could go to Downtown Disney this afternoon. It was supposed to rain so the plan was to do some shopping and then go see The Other Boleyn Girl at the movies. We went up to the room and I was just dragging. My legs and feet were cramping.

But I’d promised so I got the girls around and we headed to catch the bus to DTD. By the time we got to the bus stop, Cait took pity on me and let me head back to the room. Especially since I was about a mile behind her.

What was funny was that Alex and I had been talking about how the three of us usually walk much faster apparently than normal human beings. :rotfl2: We'd been bypassing everyone all week. Suddenly, I was roughly half a mile behind Caitlin now. Alex wasn't far ahead of me. We are old. And creaky.

I let the girls order two movies in the room. They stocked us up with snacks and drinks at Picabu’s and then I talked them into watching Juno which they loved (and I knew they would.) Then they watched Dan in Real Life which Cait and I had seen in the theater together and loved.

After our movie afternoon and the rain stopping, the girls decided to head off to another park and Alex and I spent the rest of the day in the room. We did hobble down to Picabu’s for dinner. I had roast chicken, mashed potatoes, and mac & cheese. Alex had a sandwich. Usually the food there is very tasty but this time, mine didn’t taste so great--it was kind of bland.

The girls came back for an early evening and we all went to sleep early so we could have breakfast with Stitch in the morning. :thumbsup2 That is, if Alex and I could walk to the bus anymore!

[MickeysMommy]

Where do you keep getting these pictures of my husband? :rolleyes1

[NMAmy]

Where do you keep getting these pictures of my husband? :rolleyes1

:lmao: He just insists on coming on vacation with me, MM. What can I say?

[MickeysMommy]

:lmao: He just insists on coming on vacation with me, MM. What can I say?

That two-timing, no good Brit....:love2:

[Maleficent13]

Alex & I wasted some time at Mouse Gears which is one of my favorite stores. I picked up a Por Favor monorail t-shirt there and some other little necessities.

I bought the SAME shirt in the SAME store. :rotfl: Which is also one of *my* favorite stores.

It sounds like you guys had a nice day in the room; sometimes you just need to do that (it's hard though...you feel like you need to be "go go going!!"). :moped: Hopefully it helped rejuvenate you for the rest of the week.

[NMAmy]

I bought the SAME shirt in the SAME store. :rotfl: Which is also one of *my* favorite stores.


:lmao: Well, of course, you did, pal. We are so alike, it's scary sometimes. ;)

[acourtwdw]

I love your pictures! We have been there so many times that I love seeing the details that I forgot are there.

Can't wait to hear about Stitch. That is one of the few places my dad (62 yrs young!) has requested to go in Sept.

[Hedy]

Can't wait for Cait+Stitch. I love how the girls keep on matching their t-shirts.
FWIW, My mom had the meniscus surgery last year (lathroscopic) if you have any questions.

[DisTeach1]

How did it work taking the girls out of high school? I'm considering it this year...My son will be in 9th grade. Does it work out?

[NMAmy]

I love your pictures! We have been there so many times that I love seeing the details that I forgot are there.

Can't wait to hear about Stitch. That is one of the few places my dad (62 yrs young!) has requested to go in Sept.

Thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

And we had a blast with Stitch and loved the food, as well. Juicy details coming up...probably tomorrow depending on how long it takes to clean my house tomorrow. ;)

[NMAmy]

Can't wait for Cait+Stitch. I love how the girls keep on matching their t-shirts.
FWIW, My mom had the meniscus surgery last year (lathroscopic) if you have any questions.

It was funny about the t-shirts. Even Alex matched them that day--those were the shirts they bought at Expedition Everest.

Alex's knee is okay most of the time--the doctor told him it would eventually get worse but if he was okay for the majority of the time, holding off on surgery would be the best bet for now. Which is great because Alex is not a happy camper as a patient. I'm dreading it, truthfully.

[NMAmy]

How did it work taking the girls out of high school? I'm considering it this year...My son will be in 9th grade. Does it work out?

You know, I really debated about it. I talked to my ex who talked to the school and they said it would be fine. Caitlin is a very good student but I know she was struggling a bit this week trying to catch up. Ninth grade, Caitlin was able to take a week off with no problem whatsoever. I scheduled that trip for a week when they had parent/teacher conferences and three half days.

Unfortunately, she has a cheerleading coach who likes to schedule required events during the breaks which kind of chaps my hide. Last year, she messed up Caitlin going to England with us during the summer by waiting until about a month prior to schedule something required. Caitlin ended up not coming with us and then the coach let two other girls take those weeks off. Frankly, I've been over the whole cheerleading thing since it began. Her coach is very unorganized.

[Leslieann1024]

I KNOW!!!! I thought I was the only one who finds Kate incredibly annoying. Yet, I keep watching because the kids are so stinkin cute

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one . . . ! But then again, that's television for you - I don't think they'd have near the ratings if everyone was boring and normal !

(OT, but does anyone think that this also applies to Matt from Little People Big World ?)

[dddisrunner]

Amy great update!:thumbsup2 You are NOT old but I know Disney can make you feel like that!:rotfl2: OK that pic. of Alex is so stinkin cute!:goodvibes I love Caitlins face with the moose dessert! I agree the bottom row on Soarin STINKS! Hope you're having a great weekend and as always I am looking forward to more!popcorn::
Diane

[AussieAngel]

Yay, another fun chapter from Amy!! :worship:

I love Crush too... and I can't wait to try the Nemo ride for the first time! (Look, I have a countdown in my signature now, yayyy!) I just love Nemo. "I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine." It's a bit sad how much I quote Nemo in everyday life.

And woohoo!! Finally a photo of you, Amy! I guess now we believe that you were really there...

Looking forward to the next instalment!! :banana:

[Disneychix]

Hi Amy! I'm a lurker with a question! :)
Can I ask what type of camera you were using? The pictures are wonderful!

[NMAmy]

I'm so glad that I'm not the only one . . . ! But then again, that's television for you - I don't think they'd have near the ratings if everyone was boring and normal !

(OT, but does anyone think that this also applies to Matt from Little People Big World ?)


That's probably true about the ratings. Just look at the show Wife Swap. Could those people possibly be any freakier? :rotfl2:

I actually don't mind Matt--he has some quirks but ones that don't annoy me apparently.

Thanks for reading!

[NMAmy]

Amy great update!:thumbsup2 You are NOT old but I know Disney can make you feel like that!:rotfl2: OK that pic. of Alex is so stinkin cute!:goodvibes I love Caitlins face with the moose dessert! I agree the bottom row on Soarin STINKS! Hope you're having a great weekend and as always I am looking forward to more!popcorn::
Diane

Hiya, Diane! I am old-ish but I cover it better than some. ;) And I sure feel it more at WDW.

I'm glad you liked the pictures of Alex & Cait. She likes to make the "moose face!"

Hope you had a great weekend, too. I got too busy to post, unfortunately. The whole extended family was in town for a wedding shower which was fun but took almost all day yesterday!

[NMAmy]

Yay, another fun chapter from Amy!! :worship:

I love Crush too... and I can't wait to try the Nemo ride for the first time! (Look, I have a countdown in my signature now, yayyy!) I just love Nemo. "I shall call him Squishy and he shall be mine." It's a bit sad how much I quote Nemo in everyday life.

And woohoo!! Finally a photo of you, Amy! I guess now we believe that you were really there...

Looking forward to the next instalment!! :banana:

:rotfl2: I love Nemo, too. The ride is not a big exciting one but it's cute, I have not had to wait in a long line for it, and I LIKE it. :thumbsup2

Yes, I WAS really there! Although there are only two slightly unflattering pictures to prove it but, really, I was there. ;)

Thanks for reading, my friend!

[NMAmy]

Hi Amy! I'm a lurker with a question! :)
Can I ask what type of camera you were using? The pictures are wonderful!


:wave2: Hello, there! I'm so glad you came out of lurkdom. :thumbsup2

My camera is a Casio Exilim, 10.1 megapixals. The only reason I can tell you this with great authority is because I had it in my purse so I doublechecked. :rotfl2: Alex picked it out for me because it is very easy to use and has roughly a zillion pre-set options to choose from. I really like it a lot.

I'm so glad you like the pictures and thank you for reading along! If there are any other lurkers out there, stop by and say hello!

[NMAmy]

Wednesday, 3/5/08
Breakfast with Stitch this morning! The girls got up early with minimal complaints (can you believe it??? Only Stitch can work this kind of magic with teenage girls, my friend! Sort of like mommies and Captain Jack Sparrow) and were out the door by 8:00 so we could go to Ohana. Of course, the morning I’m definitely trying to get somewhere by a certain time is when the pokey transportation begins. :scared1:

It didn’t take long for a bus to appear that was going to Magic Kingdom. Today, instead of heading straight to the MK as we've done on EVERY OTHER TRIP this week, we stopped by the Yacht Club and waited for stragglers to arrive. We stopped by the Beach Club. We stopped at Boardwalk and let off people that had gotten on at the Yacht Club. That was weird--why would you take the boat when you could walk or take the boat? :confused3 We hit every stop light on the way to the MK. Finally, we arrived and headed to the monorail.

We got on the resort monorail--stopping at the TTC freaked Caitlin and Alex out who were both sure I’d gotten us on the wrong monorail. Caitlin was sure we had to switch trains at Epcot. :confused3 I have NO idea why she would think that--we were not on an Epcot monorail. I think she was still sleepy. We did arrive at the Polynesian about 8:55 for our 9:00 reservation. We’d never been here before so it took us a few minutes to locate Ohana. Cait was the smart one who found the map and realized it was right in front of us. Doh. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting but it wasn’t that. It wasn't bad or anything, I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly. :rotfl:

The view from the second floor:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1069-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1070-1.jpg

They took our name, gave us a pager, I took the picture above and the pager rang immediately. On our way to be seated, we each got a pink lei and we had to stop to watch the parade. One of my favorite songs played—Hawaiian Rollercoaster Ride—and the kids & the characters paraded around the restaurant with maracas. We were each handed a maraca to cheer the kids on. Every time Stitch walked by, he’d nonchalantly tip over the basket with extra maracas. :rotfl2: I told our hostess, "That Stitch is BAD." She started laughing and told me, "He IS very naughty."

Once the parade was over, we headed to our table. The welcome bread was delicious—one kind was raisin; the other was pineapple. We were also given a bowl of fruit. Cait began to whine that she was starving but she wouldn’t eat either the bread or the fruit. She had the nerve to tell me she didn’t like fruit—after I spent her entire childhood cutting up watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydews for her—and I don’t like melons.

The Mickey waffle man came by and gave us each two to get us started. I think those things are laced with crack but Cait thinks they’re made by Mickey with love and then Stitch sticks a finger in for flavor. :scared1: I personally do not even want to think about how dirty Stitch's finger might be.

Our cousin was Nita and she was fabulous. She brought us orange-pineapple juice (I think) which I loved--I can't tolerate orange juice but I love it if it's mixed with something else. Like champagne. Or vodka. Or apparently other kinds of juice, too. She kept us stocked up really well on everything—even seconds on waffles. The skillet had scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, and biscuits. Everything was really good and we totally pigged out. Stitch and Mickey came to the table and we had a blast watching them with the little kids.

Here they are with my big kids:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1071-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1072-1.jpg

Lilo never made it around but Caitlin had decided she did not like Lilo so that was ok. I'm not sure why she took a sudden aversion to Lilo but it really seemed like they were in a fight. :rotfl:

We waddled out and then stopped to check out the gift shops. I got Caitlin a necklace and we did a little wandering in the main building.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1074-1.jpg

Mickey & Minnie in the gift shop:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1075-1.jpg

The atrium:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1076-1.jpg

The only other picture of me on this trip!

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1077-1.jpg

This guy makes me smile:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1078-1.jpg

Oops--I have to divvy this up into two sections--too many photos!

[NMAmy]

Wednesday, March 5, Part 2!

After finishing at the Polynesian, we got back on the monorail to go to the Magic Kingdom. We had to stand because the monorail was just leaving as we got on so we had to just pick the closest car. Cait & Jen were in front of a little boy about 4 or 5, who immediately began to flirt with them. :rotfl2: He introduced his entire family and his mom and I got to chatting. Turns out they were from Holland, Michigan which is about half an hour from my mom’s cottage on Lake Michigan. More Michiganders escaping the icky weather!

Once we arrived at the MK, the girls decided that they were going back to the room to shower and change and probably sleep. Not in that order. Alex & I headed on to the MK even though we were both having trouble walking still. I was particularly having trouble with ramps that went up or down. Sheesh, it was annoying.

I was trying to figure out a route with the least backtracking and walking involved. We headed first to Adventureland and rode POTC.

Then we headed toward Frontierland and ran into Woody's Roundup. :thumbsup2

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1079-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1080-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1081-1.jpg

Then we went to Splash Mountain and only had about a 10 minute wait. Here's Brer Frog:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1082-1.jpg

I cut Brer Rabbit's head off!

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1083-1.jpg

We also rode BTMRR which had a short line but was a little too bumpy for me that day. Ahh...old age.

We then went on Philharmagic which is one of my favorites. Here are a couple of shots of the castle:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1084-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1085-1.jpg

And then, Alex graciously agreed to go on It’s a Small World. I :love: him. Of all the things we rode that day, THAT had the longest line. It was crazy! It was about a 15 minute wait. As we were waiting, we caught the glockenspiel which I’d never seen before. We also saw a totally cool boat where a wheelchair can just be driven right on to the boat. I had no idea they had those!

Before the glockenspiel:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1086-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1087-1.jpg

And NOW I have an alibi for where I was at exactly 12:00 on Wednesday, March 5. Not that I really needed one, but it's handy to have...just in case, you know. :lmao:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1089-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1090-1.jpg

After IASW, we were tuckered out and decided to head back to the room to recover. I was a bit irritated because the girls were sitting around watching a marathon of The First 48 Hours and had not removed the do not disturb sign so our room hadn’t been cleaned. Since they were still in the midst of getting ready, it meant we couldn’t just take a nap. It took them so long to get ready that eventually, I just remade the beds and traded dirty towels for clean when Housekeeping came around.

After a nap, the girls went to the AK for evening EMH’s and Alex and I headed over to Epcot for dinner.

The view from the boat dock:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1091-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1092-1.jpg

There was no way we were walking so we caught the boat—just like a duck who rode in from the Studios and sat on the bow of the boat all through the stops at Swan/Dolphin and YC/BC and then disembarked at the Boardwalk like it was his stop! "Oops...this is where I need to get off. Reservation at the Flying Fish!":rotfl2:

Our hitchhiker:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/Marchc%205%202008/CIMG1093-1.jpg

Even though Mexico seemed like it was a million miles away, we decided to have dinner at the Cantina. I got a yummy margarita and I had nachos. Alex had tacos al carbon which is what I usually get. They were both very good--mine was huge and I'm embarassed to tell you that I ate almost every bite! And the margarita was excellent as always.

We had planned on going to see the American Adventure but it would have been a while for the show to start and the crepe cart was calling me from France. I was the only one in line and got a crepe with chocolate and strawberries. For some reason, I was just starving—Alex had a bite but I ate most of it. We had planned on staying for Illuminations but Alex’s knee was hurting and we were just wiped out. We hopped the boat back and got back to the hotel to watch Illuminations while lying in bed. The girls got back not long afterward, a bit disappointed with the PM EMH’s at AK. Apparently, the only thing open that they wanted to ride was Expedition Everest which they did many times. It’s very cool at night. I don't know that from personal experience but that's what they tell me! :lmao:

[wendy3]

[QUOTE=NMAmy;23846092] Sort of like mommies and Captain Jack Sparrow

OK, THAT made me :lmao: I hear ya on this one!! Your Caitlin sounds so much like my Calla - she's 16, and she's REALLY good at it. ;) The whole bread/fruit/there's nothing to eat and I'm starving thing was vintage Calla. Gotta love teenage girls! (Really. I mean, we DO have to love them, don't we? All the time? Just kidding :) )

[NMAmy]

OK, THAT made me :lmao: I hear ya on this one!! Your Caitlin sounds so much like my Calla - she's 16, and she's REALLY good at it. ;) The whole bread/fruit/there's nothing to eat and I'm starving thing was vintage Calla. Gotta love teenage girls! (Really. I mean, we DO have to love them, don't we? All the time? Just kidding :) )

:rotfl2: I think loving them most of the time is sufficient. As long as we don't actually KILL them the other 10%. Calla does sound a lot like Caitlin--I think they get a training manual when they hit puberty. 198,000 Ways to Annoy Your Mother.;)

I forgot to mention--once Cait had had some eggs and bacon and waffles, she nonchalantly reached across the table and speared all the canteloupe off the plate. I said, "WHOA, THERE!! What are you doing? You HATE canteloupe. You hate watermelon. You hate honeydew. No fruit for you!" That's when she told me, "I was lying." :rotfl2:

Thanks for reading and commenting, wendy!

[Maleficent13]

Wednesday, 3/5/08
We did arrive at the Polynesian about 8:55 for our 9:00 reservation. We’d never been here before so it took us a few minutes to locate Ohana. Cait was the smart one who found the map and realized it was right in front of us. Doh. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting but it wasn’t that. It wasn't bad or anything, I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly. :rotfl:

Never been to the POLY??? ACK!! :scared1: It is my 2nd favorite place to stay, even though I haven't stayed there since the 80s. So relaxing yet monorail connected. :thumbsup2

Our cousin was Nita and she was fabulous. She brought us orange-pineapple juice (I think) which I loved--I can't tolerate orange juice but I love it if it's mixed with something else. Like champagne. Or vodka. Or apparently other kinds of juice, too.

:rotfl:

I was a bit irritated because the girls were sitting around watching a marathon of The First 48 Hours and had not removed the do not disturb sign so our room hadn’t been cleaned. Since they were still in the midst of getting ready, it meant we couldn’t just take a nap. It took them so long to get ready that eventually, I just remade the beds and traded dirty towels for clean when Housekeeping came around.

After a nap, the girls went to the AK for evening EMH’s and Alex and I headed over to Epcot for dinner.

So they'd spent all day in the room watching TV?? At DISNEY?? Because I've never turned on the TV in the morning while getting ready and gotten caught up in reruns of Designing Women. :rolleyes1

[NMAmy]

Never been to the POLY??? ACK!! :scared1: It is my 2nd favorite place to stay, even though I haven't stayed there since the 80s. So relaxing yet monorail connected. :thumbsup2

I know, can you believe it? I've been through on the monorail but never actually stepped foot inside. It looks very nice--I'm not sure if I'd like staying in a different building from the lobby, though. Does that make sense? I like being able to stay inside when I'm on my morning Diet Coke run like at the WL or the Dolphin. We might try it sometime, though, it looks like a fun place to stay!


So they'd spent all day in the room watching TV?? At DISNEY?? Because I've never turned on the TV in the morning while getting ready and gotten caught up in reruns of Designing Women. :rolleyes1

Yes. They got up for breakfast, came back to the room, napped, and then watched...The Next 48 Hours marathon. So, it may have really taken 48 hours to watch it all, I'm not sure. :rotfl: Caitlin has a weird fascination with police stuff and forensics. She told me her favorite show is CSI.

That's when I reminded her that CSI in all its many versions is also GRANDMA'S favorite show. :rotfl2:

[MickeysMommy]

Ok, seriously! Stop posting pictures of my husband!!! :mad:

[NMAmy]

Ok, seriously! Stop posting pictures of my husband!!! :mad:

:rotfl2: Okay, okay! Really, the man follows me everywhere. He even went to the grocery store with me the other day. :rolleyes1

[MickeysMommy]

:rotfl2: Okay, okay! Really, the man follows me everywhere. He even went to the grocery store with me the other day. :rolleyes1

I'm going to have to have a chat with him! :snooty:

[Ronald Duck]

I'm loving your trip report and pics. And may I say objectively that you are almost as good-looking a family as mine;)

Notice how your daughters each look about 3 years younger with the characters in the Ohana pics? So cute!

[Hedy]

Great 'Ohana pictures. I'm also surprised you've never been to the Poly (but I only got to the Epcot resorts first time last trip, so I probably shouldn't speak.)

Is Jen a Stitch fan too, or is that just Cait's deal?

[NMAmy]

I'm loving your trip report and pics. And may I say objectively that you are almost as good-looking a family as mine;)

Notice how your daughters each look about 3 years younger with the characters in the Ohana pics? So cute!

:rotfl2: Thank you, Mr. Duck! And, yes, I did notice how they became little girls again with Stitch and Mickey. I kind of wished I'd gotten them an autograph book this year. ;)

[NMAmy]

Great 'Ohana pictures. I'm also surprised you've never been to the Poly (but I only got to the Epcot resorts first time last trip, so I probably shouldn't speak.)

Is Jen a Stitch fan too, or is that just Cait's deal?

I don't think Jen really has an opinion. Cait is ALL about Stitch and has been for the last few years. Remember the really big Stitch that she wanted me to pack and bring along last year? :rotfl2:

I'm not quite sure how I've missed the Poly all these years. There are a few resorts I've never seen--AKL is one I'd like a chance to check out at some point. There's ALWAYS something new to do at WDW.

[AussieAngel]

Yahooooo!!!

popcorn::

Now I'm hungry, and I would like some watermelon, waffles, and bacon. Please.

I guess I'll just have to keep eating my imaginary (cheese) popcorn, and wait for your next instalment.

popcorn::

[Maleficent13]

I don't think Jen really has an opinion. Cait is ALL about Stitch and has been for the last few years. Remember the really big Stitch that she wanted me to pack and bring along last year? :rotfl2:

I'm not quite sure how I've missed the Poly all these years. There are a few resorts I've never seen--AKL is one I'd like a chance to check out at some point. There's ALWAYS something new to do at WDW.

What I remember is Alex telling you to buy it for her and "take it out of his allowance". :teeth:

AKL is amazing. I've only stayed there once, but we had giraffes right out side our room. I mean, we could have stretched out a hand and pet them. It was totally cool. I completely recommend both Jiko and Boma as well. Fabulous restaurants. :drool: It's my third favorite hotel. OKW, then Poly, then AKL. Then French Quarter and then Caribbean Beach. Just in case you were keeping score. :p

[NMAmy]

What I remember is Alex telling you to buy it for her and "take it out of his allowance". :teeth:

Actually, I'm glad we talked about this because this story will be referenced in my installment today. :rotfl2: Good segueway, eh?



AKL is amazing. I've only stayed there once, but we had giraffes right out side our room. I mean, we could have stretched out a hand and pet them. It was totally cool. I completely recommend both Jiko and Boma as well. Fabulous restaurants. :drool: It's my third favorite hotel. OKW, then Poly, then AKL. Then French Quarter and then Caribbean Beach. Just in case you were keeping score. :p

Well, sure. That's very helpful for those of us playing the home version of the game. :lmao:

I have a friend who was less than thrilled with the AKL--I can't remember what her issues were but she feels quite strongly against it. :rotfl: I do want to try Boma although I'd leave Cait and company because I don't want to hear whining about "weird food." She's gotten so strange since she's become a teenager. This is the girl whose two all time favorite foods are artichokes and stuffed grape leaves. And then she complains about "weird food" in Germany. :confused3 Ummm...sauer kraut? We eat that at home. Roasted chicken? Ditto. Schnitzel? I make it but call it breaded pork--for some reason she has not made the connection. :rotfl2:

[NMAmy]

Thursday, 3/6/08
This day ended up seeming like we did not accomplish much. I let the girls sleep in after our early day yesterday and the plan was to go to DTD. It took them forever to get up and get all their beauty preparations done. Alex went down to the pool and took in the sun while reading his book and had a great time.

Okay, I was bored--here are a few pictures of the view from our room. Isn't it a beautiful day? Aren't we crazy to be sitting inside watching reruns and the girls straighten their hair?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1096-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1097-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1099-1.jpg

I’d been taking a jacket because of all the air conditioning but Alex talked me out of it that time. Big mistake—I froze my behind off waiting for the bus and at Planet Hollywood.

And just out of curiosity--what is UP with Floridians and air conditioning? It was below 10 degrees when I left Michigan. It was in the mid-70's in Florida. That's a perfect room temperature to me. And yet, the a/c everywhere we went was consistently down to about 62 degrees! :scared1: If I wanted to be cold, I'd have stayed in Michigan, thank you! Even the housekeeper kept turning our A/C back on when we'd turned it off and left the room!

It was about 11:30 by the time we arrived and everyone was hungry. The girls wanted to go to Planet Hollywood. We had no problem getting in and were seated right away. The girls were really tickled with all the stuff. At first our server was kind of snotty but he got nicer as the meal went on. Alex got a burger, I got a pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw, and Caitlin got a big appetizer sampler thing. I don’t remember what Jen got. Our server told Caitlin that the secret coating for the chicken was ground up Captain Crunch cereal. After that little tidbit, we all had to try it. It was very good.

Here's Caitlin doing her impression of my 4 yo great niece. She's a big smiler. Every time you take her picture, she'll smile like this until her mother yells, "No, smile BIGGER!!" Then she'll laugh and look like a normal human being for the picture. Caitlin is smiling bigger here.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1100-1.jpg

And then a regular smile:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1101-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1102-1.jpg

This was funny--we saw the shrimp boat from Forrest Gump. There was a guy standing very still on the deck for about 5 minutes. The girls thought he was a statue of some kind until he looked up, saw them staring, and waved. :scared1: They jumped about a foot. He and I had a good laugh about it, though.

Can you make out that man on the deck there?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1103-1.jpg

Stuffed to the gills, we headed out to DTD to walk it off going through Pleasure Island on the way to the Marketplace. I’d never been through it before—Caitlin wants me to take her there when she’s 18. Really? You want to go bar hopping with your mom? :rotfl2:

And who is this guy outside Raglan Road? Anybody know? I guessed James Joyce but I didn't see a marker anywhere.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1104-1.jpg

We stopped by the Lego store to try to find something for my great nephew but I wasn’t sure what all he had. And there were WAAAYYY too many choices for me to even make a guess.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1105-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1106-1.jpg

World of Disney store was next and Alex waited outside for us.

The girls and the plastic princesses:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1108-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1109-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1111-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1113-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1114-1.jpg

We’d only been able to lure Alex to DTD with the promise of food. He got some sun while he waited for us. MM's husband is so nice that way. ;) I think the girls and I spent about an hour in there. I got the Enchanted soundtrack for Cait and I and a bunch of presents for the little kids. I also got some 2008 scrapbook stuff. Oddly, Cait was hungry again so we stopped to get them each a churro.

Okay...I have to split this up so I won't go over on pictures!

[NMAmy]

Thursday, Continued!

Jen was pretending to be mad that Cait was kissing "her" boyfriend, Buzz.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1115-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1117-1.jpg

Okay, here is where the story of the really big Stitch comes back into play. A couple of years ago, Alex was not able to come on vacation with us. Caitlin found this really big Stitch at DTD and I told her no, she could not have him. So, she picked up her cell phone and called Alex and told him her sad, sad tale of her totally mean mommy. :rotfl2:

Alex had her give me the phone and told me to buy it for her and take it out of his allowance. ;) Well, she tried to duplicate her previous win with a really big Minnie. Alex isn't so brave when I'm right in front of him, though, so this time it didn't work. I did take a picture of Minnie so she could always remember her.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1118-1.jpg

I'm really shocked that face did not work on Alex again. He's finally becoming immune. He's only known her for 10 years, it took him long enough. :rotfl2:

We were all getting a bit tired so after a quick stop at Goofy’s Candy Co for cotton candy and chocolate covered strawberries for the girls and chocolate covered pretzels for Alex and I.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1119-1.jpg

I love this picture:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1120-1.jpg

We headed out to the bus which was luckily just loading as we arrived. The bus was pretty full and one guy sitting in those seats that face each other wasn’t planning on moving his feet until I flat out asked him to so we could sit. Then he had the gall to have a conversation with his girlfriend about how poorly behaved all the kids were at WDW and that they all needed to be spanked. :scared1: At least they had the excuse of being kids—bad manners in an adult are even more unattractive. Other people felt it necessary to have a seat for the bags--really, it was kind of like riding the bus at home--these people had ZERO Disney spirit. It took about 45 minutes to get back to the hotel after all the other resort stops.

Alex and I were beat again so we went to the room and the girls headed to MGM since that was where we were having dinner. After about an hour’s rest, we headed over to MGM and it started to rain once we arrived at the park. Of course, my raincoat was up in the room. :confused3 The weather man swore it would not rain on Thursday! Liar. I did have a fleece jacket, though, which was good because it turned chilly.

Alex and I went directly to the Star Tours store to pick up a t-shirt for my great-nephew. Alex found him a Jedi Academy tag with his name on it. The girl at the store asked where my little Jedi was and I explained that he was with his mom in Michigan. :lmao:

Cait called because it was really raining hard at that point. They were already at Prime Time and it was about half an hour before our reservation. She wanted to know if we could try to check in early because of the rain. We headed over and we were seated almost immediately but I had to spit out my gum first.

We had a great server. Caitlin is always so paranoid here—she was freaked out and didn’t want to order anything she couldn’t eat all of. She was originally going to order chicken noodle soup but decided on the salmon at the last minute if I would eat the corn relish for her. Jen got the same thing. I got fried chicken and Alex got steak.

We had a table with a tv and so we talked to the girls about things in the old days. Jen asked for another Coke and our waitress told her, “Well, okay, as long as you’re sure you’ve got that bedwetting problem under control.” :rotfl2: When she brought the drink, she told me VERY LOUDLY, “If you forgot to pack the rubber sheets, remember what Mom did the last time she visited. Just use the shower curtain—it works great!” When the kid at the next table was using his cell phone, his server said, "You know Mom said no walky talkies at the table!"

She referred to Alex as Skippy for the entire night and gave me a hard time about not eating all my chicken and teased Alex about licking his plate clean.

Here's Caitlin trying to figure out the ViewMaster. I don't know why she looks so confused--she actually had one of these when she was little.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1121-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1122-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1123-1.jpg

I caught Caitlin with her elbows on the table so she did her little elbow dance. I noticed she checked to make sure the server was not in the room, though. :rotfl2:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1124-1.jpg

We did order dessert—the girls had the brownie sundae and Alex and I shared the angel food cake with strawberries and it was wonderful. I’d forgotten Alex didn’t care for strawberries so I got most of it.;) As we were leaving, our server reminded me that the family reunion is in June and Mom had me down to bring the corn on the cob! :rotfl2: Which is funny because my own personal mom always has me bring corn on the cob, too.

The sign outside as we were leaving:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1125-1.jpg

The girls left before we paid the bill and I got a phone call as we were leaving. It was really cold and of course they were dressed inappropriately but very cutely. They were freezing. I told them I’d buy them each a sweatshirt but I really wanted to go on Muppets 3D which I’d missed on this trip. Well, after a mixup as to where they were—they came to Primetime while I’d gone to their location, we started going through the stores and there was nothing they liked. I was getting really frustrated when Cait decided she was sure there was something they’d like at the Rock-n-Rollercoaster. They did find a sweatshirt and Cait asked us to ride it with them.

The line ended up taking forever and Alex and I wanted to try to catch Fantasmic since we’d never seen it. As we left the ride, it began to pour. Of course. There is some kind of conspiracy so I have never been able to see Fantasmic. We started heading down to the theater but it started raining harder and was just not letting up. With no raincoats, we decided not to chance sitting there forever and having the show cancelled.

We headed out and as we got in line for the boat, who should be in front of us but the girls! :rotfl2: Turned out, Rock-n-Rollercoaster was shut down for technical difficulties so they’d decided to head back to the hotel. It was just NOT our night. We all rode back together—soaked to the skin. We dried off and decided to try for a more successful day tomorrow.

[Maleficent13]

Okay, here is where the story of the really big Stitch comes back into play. A couple of years ago, Alex was not able to come on vacation with us. Caitlin found this really big Stitch at DTD and I told her no, she could not have him. So, she picked up her cell phone and called Alex and told him her sad, sad tale of her totally mean mommy. :rotfl2:

Alex had her give me the phone and told me to buy it for her and take it out of his allowance. ;) Well, she tried to duplicate her previous win with a really big Minnie. Alex isn't so brave when I'm right in front of him, though, so this time it didn't work. I did take a picture of Minnie so she could always remember her.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%206%202008/CIMG1118-1.jpg

I'm really shocked that face did not work on Alex again. He's finally becoming immune. He's only known her for 10 years, it took him long enough. :rotfl2:

We are now the proud owners of an enormous Mickey. Not quite as big as Stitch, but in proportion it's ginormous. Courtesy of "the face". We have much to learn, master mean mommy. :worship:

The girls left before we paid the bill and I got a phone call as we were leaving. It was really cold and of course they were dressed inappropriately but very cutely. They were freezing.

Priorities. ::yes:: Cute before comfort. I think you outgrow that when your joints start predicting rain. And even then we all have our moments. :blush:

[Hedy]

Sounds like fun at 50's I hope I get a good server in August with my nephews.

[NMAmy]

We are now the proud owners of an enormous Mickey. Not quite as big as Stitch, but in proportion it's ginormous. Courtesy of "the face". We have much to learn, master mean mommy. :worship:

You have much to learn, grasshopper. Unless you want your entire house taken over by stuffed animals you must NIP THIS IN THE BUD! To paraphrase Barney Fife. :rotfl2:

We STILL have several boxes of stuffed animals that are just WAAAYYY too important and hold too much sentimental value to just give away. Seriously, we haven't opened the boxes since we moved in--I'm going to ditch them soon.

Ahh...Hepzibah. So young...and already so manipulative. I think Cait mailed her the training manual.:rotfl:



Priorities. ::yes:: Cute before comfort. I think you outgrow that when your joints start predicting rain. And even then we all have our moments. :blush:

:rotfl: Caitlin had the nerve to try to steal my jacket. Actually, she did that many times on this trip. I'm used to it at home--I'll take a sweatshirt to the movie theater and she'll steal it halfway through the show and I'm sitting there shivering. Now I bring two. But I'm not carrying her coat at WDW, darn it. Of course not. I'll buy her a new one. :rotfl2:

I have to take my own nipping it in the bud advice, don't I?

[NMAmy]

Sounds like fun at 50's I hope I get a good server in August with my nephews.

We had a blast, Hedy! Just tell them you want a fun server when you're checking in. Maybe you'll get to sing I'm a Little Teapot in front of everyone. ;)

[MickeysMommy]

SO bought me a HUGE Mickey and I didn't even ask or have to make the face :snooty:

[dddisrunner]

Amy! I LOVE the picture of Cait with her elbows on the table! She looks like she thought it would be the funniest thing in the world to try and get away with that!:rotfl: Alex is an even BETTER GUY (if that's possible) then I thought, sitting outside for an hour waiting for you ladies!:scared1: maybe that's why it was so easy for him to resist Cait's pouty face:rotfl2: PTC looks like so much fun! Maybe I should switch one of my ressies:idea:

[Dav2205]

Hey, I'm new to this TR and have just caught up and it's fantastic!!

I am always one for pretending that I don't like certain rides while trying to get the rest of the family on the ride (Ellen's Energy Adventure comes to mind :rotfl2: )

Your daughter and friend are so cute as well :lmao: (I'm a teen before anyone thinks I'm some creepy old man btw :rotfl: )

[NMAmy]

SO bought me a HUGE Mickey and I didn't even ask or have to make the face :snooty:

:lmao: He is definitely a keeper, MM. And that's way better than an Oprah dvd. He's getting better at this gift giving thing!

[NMAmy]

Amy! I LOVE the picture of Cait with her elbows on the table! She looks like she thought it would be the funniest thing in the world to try and get away with that!:rotfl:

:rotfl2: Yep, that's one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip. She kept glancing over her shoulder and she'd then bounce her elbows all over and then she'd look again. She's way more worried about the server there than she's ever been about me. I don't get to publicly embarass her about table manners at our dining room table, though, so I think the server has the edge there. She's gotten used to ignoring me over the years. ;)

Alex is an even BETTER GUY (if that's possible) then I thought, sitting outside for an hour waiting for you ladies!:scared1: maybe that's why it was so easy for him to resist Cait's pouty face:rotfl2: PTC looks like so much fun! Maybe I should switch one of my ressies:idea:

Alex IS a great guy. As long as we provide food at some point, he'll hang around and wait until we're done. Plus, he got to sit in the SUN so he was pretty happy. He should have borrowed Cait's book.

You know, we just love the Prime Time. As much as I hate to be responsible for you changing your ADR's--I do think your boys would love it. ;)

[NMAmy]

Hey, I'm new to this TR and have just caught up and it's fantastic!!

I am always one for pretending that I don't like certain rides while trying to get the rest of the family on the ride (Ellen's Energy Adventure comes to mind :rotfl2: )

Your daughter and friend are so cute as well :lmao: (I'm a teen before anyone thinks I'm some creepy old man btw :rotfl: )

Hello and :welcome:--a reader from Scotland! How great! Alex lived there for a while when he was in his 20's and loved it there. Thank you for reading--I'm glad you like it.

I'm glad to know it's a normal teenage thing to get parents to "force" their kids on to some of the non-cool rides. :thumbsup2 It's been fairly well established over the years that I am definitely NOT cool--but I am a lot of fun. :rotfl:

Good to know you're not a creepy old man. ;) I won't tell the girls you think they're cute though--they might take EVEN longer in their morning preparations, you know.

Thanks again for reading! I appreciate it and I loved hearing from you.

[MickeysMommy]

:lmao: He is definitely a keeper, MM. And that's way better than an Oprah dvd. He's getting better at this gift giving thing!

I wish I could say he was but that was *before* the Oprah DVD :rolleyes:

[Maleficent13]

I wish I could say he was but that was *before* the Oprah DVD :rolleyes:

:hug: It'll be okay. Maybe next year you'll get the Jerry Springer Collection. :lmao: :flower3:

The more I read about the girls' grooming habits, the more I'm trying to remember if I was like that. I'm sure I probably was, but I can't remember it. I'll have to ask my mom.

[MickeysMommy]

:hug: It'll be okay. Maybe next year you'll get the Jerry Springer Collection. :lmao: :flower3:
Or maybe Montel :rolleyes1

[AussieAngel]

Sounds like you had a fun, relaxing day!

My favourite is the photo of Caitlin amazed at the presents. At first I thought she was yawning, but then I worked it out! Cute!

[Dav2205]

Hello and :welcome:--a reader from Scotland! How great! Alex lived there for a while when he was in his 20's and loved it there. Thank you for reading--I'm glad you like it.

I'm glad to know it's a normal teenage thing to get parents to "force" their kids on to some of the non-cool rides. :thumbsup2 It's been fairly well established over the years that I am definitely NOT cool--but I am a lot of fun. :rotfl:

Good to know you're not a creepy old man. ;) I won't tell the girls you think they're cute though--they might take EVEN longer in their morning preparations, you know.

Thanks again for reading! I appreciate it and I loved hearing from you.

I was on holiday last year with 8 girls (and 9 guys). Believe me when I say I know your pain :rotfl: .

[swwake]

Amy, you are one early riser! Always posting on the DIS at 5am!! You know I'm sound asleep all snuggled in my bed at that time.

[NMAmy]

:hug: It'll be okay. Maybe next year you'll get the Jerry Springer Collection. :lmao: :flower3:

The more I read about the girls' grooming habits, the more I'm trying to remember if I was like that. I'm sure I probably was, but I can't remember it. I'll have to ask my mom.

That's it, MM. Dream BIG! Maybe you'll get Jerry Spring, Montel, and the Maurie collections! :rotfl2:

You know, Mal, the sad part is that I DO remember being that way. You've seen how curly my hair is. I used to straighten it every freaking day. It would take me hours. Then after Caitlin was born, I gave up.

Now, I asked Caitlin to borrow her straightener for my unruly bangs while we were there and she had the nerve to ask me, "Do you need me to show you how to use it?" :lmao:

[NMAmy]

I was on holiday last year with 8 girls (and 9 guys). Believe me when I say I know your pain :rotfl: .

:rotfl2: I can't imagine that multiplied by 8! Or were the boys just as bad? I have no boys so I just imagine they are much easier but I could be totally wrong.

[NMAmy]

Amy, you are one early riser! Always posting on the DIS at 5am!! You know I'm sound asleep all snuggled in my bed at that time.

I know, I'm nauseating, aren't I? Instead of walking on the treadmill like I'm supposed to be doing, I sneak on to see if anyone has read my trip report. :rotfl:

I have to be to work by 7:30 am so getting up at 5:00 gives me time to walk and to get ready, as well. Now, we go to bed at about 8:00, so we're kind of old fogies that way. :lmao:

[wendy3]

:
The more I read about the girls' grooming habits, the more I'm trying to remember if I was like that. I'm sure I probably was, but I can't remember it. I'll have to ask my mom.

Of course we were! Only instead of straightening our hair every day (my daughter), I used a curling iron trying to get the Farrah do :hippie:

[wendy3]

:rotfl2: I can't imagine that multiplied by 8! Or were the boys just as bad? I have no boys so I just imagine they are much easier but I could be totally wrong.


Oh, no no no. My boys (13 and 18) are TEN times easier than my daughter, 16. ten HUNDRED times easier. Plus they still think I can walk on water :thumbsup2

And boys are way quicker in the grooming department (other than begging them daily to PLEASE take a shower:sad2: )

[NMAmy]

Oh, no no no. My boys (13 and 18) are TEN times easier than my daughter, 16. ten HUNDRED times easier. Plus they still think I can walk on water :thumbsup2

And boys are way quicker in the grooming department (other than begging them daily to PLEASE take a shower:sad2: )


:rotfl2: Well, I love Caitlin dearly but now I'm kind of longing for a boy. TEN HUNDRED times easier? Really??? AND they think you can walk on water?? It's like a strange dream world I can only imagine. :rotfl:

[heaven2dc]

I am having so much fun reading this! Your girls make me wish I had another daughter (of course, my one and only is NOT spoiled princess: ). I think it's great your girls still love to tag along with mom and dad. btw your pics are wonderful - I take terrible pics so haven't even finished my TR.

Now off to do some actual work since I'm at work :surfweb: and hope to read more soon!

[MickeysMommy]

popcorn::

[Maleficent13]

Yeah, popcorn::

[swwake]

I'll join in. popcorn::

[NMAmy]

Yeah, popcorn::

New installment soon-ish!

Nag, nag, nag.;)

[NMAmy]

Friday, March 7

The last day :sad: and I was determined to make the most of it. Alex and I got up early to get to the MK by 9:00. Actually, I’d been shooting for around 9:05ish—trying to miss standing at the gate but the bus was a little quicker than I’d thought it would be and we arrived by 8:45. Wow, for once in this trip I managed to get somewhere earlier than planned! :rotfl:

Sitting across from us on the bus was a mother with a baby around 18 months old and a toddler and an enormous stroller. We chatted on the way over and I asked Alex to help her get the stroller off the bus. He whispered that he’d be happy to help her but was a bit freaked out that he might be asked to open the stroller up since it was very complicated. :rotfl: Alex's daughter is 26 and he wasn't around when Caitlin was in a stroller so he gets a bit mystified by all the equipment the average baby needs.

After helping our friends on their way, we headed toward the gates and saw part of the opening ceremony.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1126-1.jpg

We didn’t have to wait in line at the gate and headed up Main Street. It was weird—there wasn’t a rope at the end of the street so we thought the park was open. Alex wanted to ride Space Mountain first so we slipped through the Noodle Restaurant and came around the corner to a mass of people. Oh, so THAT’S where the rope was. We only had to wait a few minutes, then in a swirl of pixie dust, they moved the ropes out of the way. As we were waiting, I heard a little girl pointing at the TTA as it came by and telling her sister very seriously that “THAT is a very scary ride.” :rotfl2: Yes, Mal, I know you still call it the People Mover. It was Cait's favorite ride when she was little and she insisted that I call it by the name on the sign. ;)

I was taking a picture when she said it. See how scary it is?
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1127-1.jpg

We went with most of the other folks toward Space Mountain and got in line as they hadn’t opened up the line yet. In a few minutes, we were able to walk through the whole ride at a very sedate pace due to the folks in front of us (slow walkers) and had no wait at all to get into our rocket.

I discovered again that I am old. :scared1: Too old to be bounced around by Space Mountain. Something about the jerkiness of the ride and not being able to brace myself in the dark just kills my back. I’m much better on RnR or EE.

I was definitely NOT doing that one again so we decided to ride the TTA. I was actually trying to kill a little time before riding Buzz in the hopes we’d be able to recreate our success last year in scoring a Dream Fast Pass. I even took a little video so I could ride the TTA whenever I needed to go to my happy place but for some reason I'm not able to download it. We were pretty much the only ones on the ride—I think we surprised the CM’s when we arrived up there. Plus the guy at the bottom of the stairs took pity on me and called me Princess princess:, bless his heart, and called Alex “Monty” for his Monty Python t-shirt.

Here's a little bit of the TTA for you:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1128-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1129-1.jpg

See how dreary and dark it is? It was kind of rainy this morning but it warmed up fairly quickly. I even remembered to wear my rain coat this time!

Next we went on Buzz and no Dream Team in sight but also no line at all so all was well. I’m used to riding this with Caitlin and she usually steers and it turns out, I have a hard time both steering and shooting. I only got about 20,000 points. Alex whipped me.

As we came out, I asked Alex if we could do it again and he could drive. Alex doesn’t usually like to ride something twice in a row but he took pity on me and agreed. Again, no dream team and no line. This time, I was able to score 89,000 points so I was happy!

Just in case you wanted the secret plans to build an XP37 Space Cruiser in your basement:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1132-1.jpg

More fun with ViewMasters:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1133-1.jpg

Next I wanted to head to Fantasyland. Here's a look back toward Tomorrowland as we headed over the bridge:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1134-1.jpg

Mickey & Minnie topiaries:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1135-1.jpg

The show in front of the castle was going on as we passed. Now how did I manage to get Donald with his eyes closed? Did he blink because of the flash?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1136-1.jpg

The wishing well:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1137-1.jpg

Belle's storytelling area: (Have you noticed how EMPTY the park was? I'm telling you--the first week of March ROCKS!)

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1138-1.jpg

As we arrived, I was shocked to see there was no line for Winnie the Pooh. So we hopped into a honey pot and bounced along with Tigger. Really, there was no line for anything!

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1144-1.jpg

This is in Pooh's store:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1145-1.jpg

The carousel--I really wanted to ride but I knew Alex would never go with me. Or if he did, he'd start talking with a cockney accent like Bert from Mary Poppins! :scared1: I decided a picture was probably a better choice. So he didn't scar any children permanenetly.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1146-1.jpg

[NMAmy]

Continued... (Rats! Too many pictures!)

We thought about Philharmagic next but I wanted to hit the more crowded rides before the lines got longer. We saw this topiary as we headed toward Liberty Square. I like the velvet rope. I'm sure it's to keep kids from ruining it but it kind of gives it the appearance of some exclusive dance club, doesn't it? ;)

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1147-1.jpg

Totally empty Fantasyland. I have a picture of the same place just filled to the brim with people when we were there at Christmas one year. :rotfl2:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1149-1.jpg

We rode the Haunted Mansion again so I could look at all the new stuff.

It was about 10:30 by this time and Alex’s Raisin Bran had worn off. I had planned on going to Columbia Harbor House for lunch and it was opening in a few minutes. I dragged Alex to the Christmas store to buy our annual souvenir Christmas ornament. I found a flat porcelain one with the year on it—pretty AND easy to pack. Perfect!

Almost totally empty by the Harbor House:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1150-1.jpg

By that time, Columbia Harbor House had opened and we were the sole customers. I got a half a Lighthouse sandwich (hummus and broccoli slaw) and a bowl of clam chowder. Alex got a ham sandwich and chips. I don’t know about Alex but mine was fantastic. I love that sandwich and the chowder was wonderful—big chunks of clams and potatoes and a really velvety soup. Yum. I kind of want that for dinner now. ;)

Okay, guys, my apologies but I'll have to finish the last portion tomorrow. We had a long day that day so there's enough for a whole 'nother installment!

[swwake]

An update! Yay! Boy, everyone had pity on you that day, didn't they? :) Thanks for the pics. Being 11 years since the last time I was at MK, I really need to "get my bearings". I think alot has changed, but I also know that when we were there last, I was with a 5-year-old and probably spent more time paying attention to her than paying attention to what was around me. For example, I didn't realize you could see the castle from TTA.

I can't believe how empty the park was or that there were no lines. Y'all did so much before 10:30! But doesn't it seem a little weird with nobody around? Like it's missing some energy or something? I guess it's a trade-off.

Need I ask where Cait and Jen were? I am assuming they were either snoozing or straightening their hair and primping! :rotfl: Funny, Katie spends all this time primping and I honestly can never tell a significant difference - do you feel the same?

I'm not sure I want the magic to end, so I can sure wait for the last installment. :(

[dddisrunner]

We CANNOT be at the last day already:sad2: :scared1: I LOVE the pics. of an empty park, that is so cool! I agree with Susan take your time, I don't want it to end:goodvibes

[NMAmy]

An update! Yay! Boy, everyone had pity on you that day, didn't they? :) Thanks for the pics. Being 11 years since the last time I was at MK, I really need to "get my bearings". I think alot has changed, but I also know that when we were there last, I was with a 5-year-old and probably spent more time paying attention to her than paying attention to what was around me. For example, I didn't realize you could see the castle from TTA.

You are going to have so much fun rediscovering everything! Shall I give you my cell phone number? You can be like Caitlin--she kept calling me and asking questions like, "Mom? Where is the closest bathroom to the Rock-n-Rollercoaster?" or "Mom? Which counter service should we go to if we're hungry and we're in Fantasyland?" :rotfl2:


I can't believe how empty the park was or that there were no lines. Y'all did so much before 10:30! But doesn't it seem a little weird with nobody around? Like it's missing some energy or something? I guess it's a trade-off.

You know, I just love it without anyone really around. We supply all the energy needed. ;) Plus, the fact that it's emptier seems to make all guests and CM's friendlier--we always end up chit chatting with other folks everywhere--the buses, in restaurants, just walking around. There's less of a competitive streak at those times, I think. We'll never, ever go at Christmas again--possibly Spring Break but we prefer the emptier times.


Need I ask where Cait and Jen were? I am assuming they were either snoozing or straightening their hair and primping! :rotfl: Funny, Katie spends all this time primping and I honestly can never tell a significant difference - do you feel the same?

Yep, you're right, they were sleeping and then straightening. :lmao: It is true that there is no significant difference. I can't tell you how many times I've told Caitlin--"You are 17 years old. You will NEVER look this good again with very little effort. Don't waste your time primping!" Sometimes she listens, others she doesn't.


I'm not sure I want the magic to end, so I can sure wait for the last installment. :(

Me, either. The whole trip just went WAY too fast and now the trip report is the same way. I don't like to make you guys wait too long, though. I get frustrated when I read trip reports and the writer disappears for weeks at a time so I write it all up usually before I even get back so I can post the whole thing pretty quickly.

[NMAmy]

We CANNOT be at the last day already:sad2: :scared1: I LOVE the pics. of an empty park, that is so cool! I agree with Susan take your time, I don't want it to end:goodvibes

I KNOW!! If I were in charge of the space/time continuum, days spent at WDW would be 48 hours long each. :rotfl:

It's almost Easter, pal! I can't wait to read all about your surprise to the boys!

[AussieAngel]

Oh no! Up to your last day already!! :sad:

I've really enjoyed reading about your adventures so far - hair straightening, bats with doodles, Lost references, afternoon naps... what's not to love!?

I agree with you about Space Mountain - I'm too old for that ride too, and I'm 27! Ouch!! And also, it's scary! I thought I was going to fly straight out of the little capsule at times, never to be seen again!!

Hehee, anyway. Looking forward to your next instalment! :thumbsup2

[swwake]

I KNOW!! If I were in charge of the space/time continuum, days spent at WDW would be 48 hours long each. :rotfl:
I think that's the best idea EVER! How can we officially put you in charge of the space/time continuum? The only thing is, I would want the days that Katie is away visiting her dad to be only 12 hours long each. Can you manage that too? :rotfl:

I agree with you about Space Mountain - I'm too old for that ride too, and I'm 27! Ouch!! And also, it's scary! I thought I was going to fly straight out of the little capsule at times, never to be seen again!!I sure hope I'm not too old for SM now :( I can tell you that I'm too old for the roller coaster on top of NYNY in Las Vegas. I have been too old for that every time I have ridden it - hurts my head so bad!!! Maybe it's the alcohol though, ya think? :confused3

[NMAmy]

Oh no! Up to your last day already!! :sad:

I've really enjoyed reading about your adventures so far - hair straightening, bats with doodles, Lost references, afternoon naps... what's not to love!?

:lmao: These are a few of my favorite things...


I agree with you about Space Mountain - I'm too old for that ride too, and I'm 27! Ouch!! And also, it's scary! I thought I was going to fly straight out of the little capsule at times, never to be seen again!!

Hehee, anyway. Looking forward to your next instalment! :thumbsup2

:thumbsup2 Oh, good, well, I'm much older than you, my friend! I'm glad it's not just me!

I'm happy you're enjoying it...end of last day's installment coming along soon-ish!

[dddisrunner]

You know I feel that way about SM too! I am no spring chicken either!;) My dilemma is that Eric is FINALLY tall enough to ride it and I am a wreck to let him ride because he is soooooo skinny. This means that I HAVE to ride!:sad2:

[NMAmy]

Friday, March 7 - Continued.

Now I was kind of sleepy so we had to get up and walking. The lines for the rides were still really short—BTMRR had a 10 minute wait and Splash Mountain had a 15 minute wait. We decided on Splash because it had rained a bit earlier in the day and we’d both been smart for a change and worn our raincoats. Perfect Splash attire. And, really, what is better for food digestion than a plunge down a steep hill in a hollowed out log?

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1151-1.jpg

Brer Frog's hangout:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1152-1.jpg

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http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1155-1.jpg

The line went quickly and we were in the back row. The splash factor was turned up high and we got soaked. Well, my raincoat did. And Alex did. I had the hood pulled all the way down over my face. And my mouth and nose still got really wet--they SERIOUSLY had the you will get wet factor turned up quite high. Because scattered showers are just not enough.

Caitlin called when I was on the ride and said she and Jen were on the way over. We went on POTC while we waited. Here's our little stroll over there:

Jungle Cruise. We did this last year and really, once every couple of years is enough. I did see it though. And only a 10 minute wait.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1156-1.jpg

And the spitting totem poles were doing their thing:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1157-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1158-1.jpg

Avast, matey. There be rough waters ahead. Really. Read on.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1160-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1161-1.jpg

Because, of course, Flashy McFlasherson sat in front of me. In fact, his daughter was directly in front of me and he kept shoving the camera in front of her face—pointed and his daughter AND me—and would take a picture to get her reaction to the ride. Which, if she was like me, she could no longer see because of the spots in front of her eyes. I seriously considered flashing him the finger but she was a little girl so I restrained myself. My mother would be so proud.

Needless to say, I didn’t really enjoy our ride. Caitlin and Jen met up with us and wanted to ride Splash. Alex’s knee was hurting so he opted to head back to the room for a rest since we knew we’d be at Epcot for our last hurrah tonight.

The girls laughed at my raincoat but were jealous when we got off the ride and I was pretty much dry. Our ride picture was pretty hysterical though--all you could see was a big red raincoat with my hood pulled all the way over. Hey, I was little Red Riding Hood! :lmao:

More Splash pictures:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1162-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1163-1.jpg

Do you like their matching hoodies? You ought to. That's what they picked out at Rock-n-Rollercoaster the night before and they cost me a fortune! :rotfl2: So, please. Admire them.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1164-1.jpg

The girls then wanted to ride Pirates with me again—and once AGAIN we got seated by a different Flashy McFlasherson. This one took multiple pictures of the same scene because apparently one was just not enough. As we were walking out on the way out, he was taking pictures of his fellow riders. I remarked fairly loudly to Caitlin that he wanted a record of all the people he’d annoyed on our ride.:lmao: One of the girls with him heard me and gave me a glare.

As you can probably tell, I was getting a bit cranky. I’d wanted to go on Philharmagic but it was already about 1:30 and we had a 4:40 reservation with friends at the Rose & Crown. The girls went on to play some more and I headed out toward the bus. I lucked out in that I was the last person on the bus and we left right away.

As I was riding the bus, I called my friend, Deb’s daughter and left a voicemail message. My phone didn’t work everywhere that week so when I got back into the hotel, I had a voicemail from my friend and Caitlin was calling since Deb had called her, too. The girls were on the bus on their way back. I took my shoes off and put my feet up for a bit and we decided to meet up at about 3:30 at the International Gateway.

[NMAmy]

Rats, too many pictures again!

I dragged myself out of bed and we headed down to the boat. Caitlin wanted to walk but Alex & I wanted to conserve our energy. We had to stand for the first part of the ride but the crowd thinned out once we hit the YC/BC, thank heavens. Here's Caitlin, annoyed that we were riding the boat instead of walking:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1166-1.jpg

Here's a picture of our room location. Right under the fish--second row down.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1168-1.jpg

As we arrived, I saw Deb, her husband, and her daughter right beside by the store. In fact, I heard her dd say, "Hey, there's Amy!" I started waving and we had a happy reunion.

I really wanted them to try Soarin’ so we headed over for fast passes. The line was at 55 minutes so we really didn’t want to wait.

We then decided to show off the changes at Spaceship Earth. Deb is in a wheelchair but instead of bringing her huge motorized chair with her, had opted for a scooter for the WDW portion of their trip. Deb took her scooter up the regular entrance and the CM (who was not at his post) freaked out and made her back it all the way down the line. We then went around to the exit and had to wait about 10 minutes before we were allowed to enter and get on the ride. It was worth it, though, I heard them all laughing during the interactive part.

As we were on our way, we passed Ice Station Cool and Caitlin found out Deb had never been there so insisted we show it to them. I warned Deb not to try Beverly which just made her grab a glass and take a big slug. Boy, did she regret that.

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1170-1.jpg

It was getting to be time for our dinner reservation so we headed toward the UK. Deb had had an issue with a chess set she’d ordered last year so she wanted to go to the shop to talk to someone about it. While we waited for her, we caught the World Showcase Players showing the Holy Grail. Very funny, as always.

Deb was still waiting for a manager so I headed over to the Rose & Crown to check us in. After about a 5 minute wait, they were ready so her dd went over to tell her mom and dad. They would send a manager over to the restaurant when they arrived.

We had a great table on the patio. Caitlin and I ordered the fruit & cheese plate and shared it with everyone. I ended up eating most of it—I wish they still had slices of Stilton instead of in the puff pastry. For dinner, I had bangers and mash which was wonderful, Alex had vegetable curry which was also very good (I tried some!), and everyone else got fish & chips. That was also delicious and I know because I had part of Caitlin’s. Caitlin & Jen split the guiness chocolate cake (which they didn’t really care for) and Alex and I shared a trifle which was really good.

The manager from the store came over before the meal and told Deb that the chess set she’d ordered was no longer available and they weren’t really selling chess sets anymore. So they refunded her the money she’d paid. She was really disappointed.

The view from our table on the patio:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1171-1.jpg

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1172-1.jpg

Peace and love:
http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1177-1.jpg

They weren't even drinking beer like Deb and I were. :lmao:

After dinner, it was time for our fast passes for Soarin’. Unfortunately, we got the bottom row again but everybody really enjoyed it.

Caitlin really wanted to go see Figment so we headed that way. This was so cool—they had a car that Deb could just drive her scooter right on to. It was amazing. Again, no wait.

They’d never ridden this one before. Deb's dd was sitting in front of Alex & I with the girls. She saw Caitlin holding her nose during the skunk smell and managed to copy her in time to avoid the smell. Deb was not so lucky and after the Beverly incident, thought I was trying to torture her.:rotfl:

We grownups played in the Imagination Center for awhile. As we headed out, I found the girls doing this:

http://i172.photobucket.com/albums/w6/amywhite63/March%207%202008/CIMG1179-1.jpg

They were trying to get reception on their cell phones to send a picture to someone. :rotfl:

I was really getting tired—I’m sure it had nothing to do with the enormous meal and the Stella Artois I’d had with dinner—and all the girls wanted to ride Test Track. As we walked over, Alex’s knee was hurting again so as we arrived, I told everyone that we’d sit this one out. Deb was so relieved and said she and her DH would wait with us while the girls rode together.

I bought a couple of pops and we found a nice bench and chatted. Until it started to rain. Then we moved to the covered area between Innoventions and Mouse Gears and found another out of the way bench and chatted some more. I called Caitlin when she was in the line to let her know we’d moved.

Apparently, our bench was a little too out of the way because Cait called me all panicky and unable to find us. I came out of our little alcove and waved them over.

It was starting to rain harder and our friends had a 2 hour drive to go back to their condo. They decided to skip Illuminations and head out. Caitlin and Jen were originally planning to stay for evening EMH’s but decided to go back to the hotel with us instead. We were all pretty tuckered out.

We caught the boat and it was pouring as we left the International Gateway and really raining hard by the time we arrived at the Dolphin. We snuck into the hotel through the weird new revolving door that will either move at snail speed or you have to run through it and got back in time to watch the end of Illuminations and a really spectacular lightning storm.

We finished packing and all went to sleep early. We had to get up at 5:00 to leave the hotel by 6:30. Ick.

I will write another installment about our awful time at the airport and post some pictures of the cool stuff I bought. Again, I did not document our time at the airport photographically because it was too horrible to remember. :rotfl2

[swwake]

Amy I just love the way you write. Have you ever considered stand-up? haha

Thanks for the pics. How on earth does Disney keep everything so squeaky clean and so fresh and new looking? Does anyone know the secret? I could sure use it at my house. Our weekly housekeeper just isn't cutting it when I compare to these pics!

And the spitting totem poles were doing their thing: yet another thing I don't remember - either because they weren't there in '97 or because I was chasing Katie.

Because, of course, Flashy McFlasherson sat in front of me. I LOVE the nickname!! :rotfl:

.... I seriously considered flashing him the finger omgoodness you are killing me! :lmao:

I love the matching Element hoodies. Those are cute! (there....admired.)

So sorry you didn't get to see Mickey's P. A reason you need to go back very soon!

[swwake]

so glad you got to enjoy some time with your friends. Sounds like you had a good time, despite you torturing Deb!:rotfl2:

Are you sure those girls were looking for cell phone reception? Every time I see Katie and friends in that pose, they are taking their next MySpace pictures. You know, the "MySpace Face".

They are such cute girls. I have to ask, wasn't Jen's hair dark on the last trip?

I am so jealous of all the no-lines. I am sure that in August we will have a 2 hour wait for Figment and may pass it up :(

[NMAmy]

so glad you got to enjoy some time with your friends. Sounds like you had a good time, despite you torturing Deb!:rotfl2:

Are you sure those girls were looking for cell phone reception? Every time I see Katie and friends in that pose, they are taking their next MySpace pictures. You know, the "MySpace Face".

They are such cute girls. I have to ask, wasn't Jen's hair dark on the last trip?

I am so jealous of all the no-lines. I am sure that in August we will have a 2 hour wait for Figment and may pass it up :(

:lmao: Although it does look like the MySpace Face (I LOVE that!), they were actually trying to get reception. I have two pictures of them in different phone reception poses! Why they couldn't walk a ways is beyond me.

Yes, Jen's hair was dark brown on the last trip. Apparently, she decided to go blonde. I'm hoping Cait doesn't decide to do it, as well. ;)

I don't think that even in August you will have a two hour wait for Figment! I've been at Christmas time and that was one of the only rides that had a reasonable wait. :thumbsup2

Thank you so much for your kind compliments, Susan. I'm glad you've been enjoying our little adventure!

[Hedy]

My mom did the same thing at Club Cool-'Don't drink the Beverley! Mom, what are you doing?" "I like bitter things!" :sick: :sick:


For some reason, i find it funny you guys go to Rose and Crown.

[NMAmy]

My mom did the same thing at Club Cool-'Don't drink the Beverley! Mom, what are you doing?" "I like bitter things!" :sick: :sick:

:rotfl2: I have no idea why Deb did that. I have really never steered her wrong--I don't know why she had to check for herself.


For some reason, i find it funny you guys go to Rose and Crown.

It IS kind of funny. What I neglected to mention was that when we met up with Deb and her family in England, we went to dinner at an Italian restaurant. :rotfl2: So, now we went to Florida and had dinner at a British pub. :confused3

[dddisrunner]

Can't believe they still have the water soaking factor still turned up so high! Love the girls matching hoodies! Your so generous!;) I agree, Jungle Cruise once every few years is PLENTY!:rotfl2: OK back to read the 2nd part............

[dddisrunner]

OK part 2!

I love Cait's face on the boat! Matthew makes that same face and he's only 8!:rotfl2:

Deb should have trusted you about the Beverly! Tastes like FEET!:sick:

Bryan is dying to go to Rose and Crown and well if it's good enough for Alex then it will def. be good enough for Bryan!:rotfl:

Too funny the girls with their cell phones!:lmao: You take GREAT pictures Amy!

It seemed so nice that you got to meet up with friends and share a meal together!:goodvibes

Airport Drama:scared1:

popcorn::

popcorn::

HAPPY EASTER!:flower3:

[Maleficent13]

popcorn::

[AussieAngel]

I'll join in on the popcorn:: , as long as it's cheese popcorn, of course!!

popcorn::

[fraggle551]

Just saying hi! Hope you guys had a good Easter!