*Jeni and Carl's PJ and TR-SBP/CG/Wishes Cruise 8/17/09-UPDATE 8/09 - Discovery Cove*

[Chilly]

Glad to see you are finishing your TR :goodvibes

[Scrap_Vamp]

Glad to see you are finishing your TR :goodvibes

Thanks - figured I needed to get ahead here so I don't run out of posts for the DIBB as well :lmao:

[daisygirl902]

Between yesterday and today I read through your whole PJ/TR....what a beautiful wedding! I am stealing pics of you to use for my "inspiration pics" for my hair....I have been trying so hard to find the right style, and I just LOVE how yours turned out! I will likely have them put mine a bit higher and pin the veil underneath, but seriously - that is THE most gorgeous hairstyle I have ever seen at a wedding. I love that it looks polished yet still "natural"....not shellacked (sp?) into place!

Beautiful colors, pictures, and everyone loos soooo great! Thanks for sharing!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Between yesterday and today I read through your whole PJ/TR....what a beautiful wedding! I am stealing pics of you to use for my "inspiration pics" for my hair....I have been trying so hard to find the right style, and I just LOVE how yours turned out! I will likely have them put mine a bit higher and pin the veil underneath, but seriously - that is THE most gorgeous hairstyle I have ever seen at a wedding. I love that it looks polished yet still "natural"....not shellacked (sp?) into place!

Beautiful colors, pictures, and everyone loos soooo great! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you so much! I know what you mean about polished but not overdone - that's exactly why I liked it :flower3:

[florida sun]

Wonderful, wonderful report, your wedding was stunning and I love your colour choices,you looked beautiful, thank you so much for sharing, will keep checking in for updates:goodvibes:goodvibes

[wils]

Just catching your updates - great report :)

[Scrap_Vamp]

Wonderful, wonderful report, your wedding was stunning and I love your colour choices,you looked beautiful, thank you so much for sharing, will keep checking in for updates:goodvibes:goodvibes

Thank you :hug: I am hoping to finish this one before we head off for our anniversary trip :rotfl:

[Scrap_Vamp]

Just catching your updates - great report :)

Thank you - I'm glad you're enjoying it! :woohoo:

[Scrap_Vamp]

So, after a bit of relaxation at POFQ we got the bus to Downtown Disney and straight onto a bus for AKL. We were really pleased with our luck, but then we had to wait about 20 minutes at the Pleasure Island stop as it seemed to be a time when lots of drivers were swapping over!

We finally got to AKL at 3.40, where we joined a short queue to check in. We were all checked in by 4pm, and found out we had a Savannah view room, which was really exciting! We were told it was at the far end of the Kudu Trail, and when we got in the room we were certainly impressed by the view and the balcony. There was even a towel Mickey head on the bed!

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We had a view of a wide variety of animals:

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After unpacking the small bag we had brought with us (including the champagne and glasses gift set), we decided to explore the resort. Although we had visited twice before when eating at Boma, we'd never gone further than Jambo Lodge and the area immediately outside. This time we went to the pool, and looked around some of the other viewing areas at the animals.

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Following this we went into the Mara and picked up some CS for tea. We decided to split two entrees between us - cheeseburger with couscous, and a flatbread - then have a side salad, with some Zebra Domes and watermelon for dessert. We also picked up a couple of bottles of Bud Light, with our intention being to eat on the balcony, and follow up with the champagne afterwards. When we got to the cashier, she noticed that we were on honeymoon and asked about our wedding. She then said that she wouldn't be charging "the honeymoon couple" for the Zebra Domes, and that we should enjoy them as a gift from AKL!

We took the food back up to the room, having thanked the cashier, and ate out on the balcony as we had planned, using the guide to identify the different animals we could spot!

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After we had finished our main course, we stopped for a bit and went inside. We found a Harry Potter double bill on the TV, so lay on the bed and watched that for a bit. Then we decided we were ready for the champagne, which had been chilling in the ice bucket. The glasses were lovely, with tiny etched Mickey heads on them, and the whole arrangement came in a beautiful basket.

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We enjoyed our champagne and dessert sitting on the balcony again, and picked up the bounceback offer card that was in our room. Having done the sums and deciding it was a very good deal, we ended up on the phone and booked a week at POFQ for free dining during our 1st anniversary!

We had planned to go out to do the animal spotting with night vision goggles later in the evening, but we got a little distracted. In the end we called in-room dining and ordered our breakfast to be delivered the next morning. We had never done this before, so we were looking forward to it! As we wanted to make the most of our mornign before checking out, we booked it for 7.30, and settled back for a lazy and relaxing evening!

[starann]

YAY Another update!!!!

Will the whole family be going back or just the 2 of you?

I've never been to AKL, what are Zebra Domes?

[Scrap_Vamp]

YAY Another update!!!!

Will the whole family be going back or just the 2 of you?

I've never been to AKL, what are Zebra Domes?

It's just the two of us going back this time - it was nice having the family around but this time we don't have to worry about seeing others at various points - we just have to please ourselves!

Zebra Domes are a sort of chocolate praline dessert, I guess? I'm not really sure how to describe them, but they are delicious! I've never had anything else quite like them.

[Stefy]

Another great update. Your room looked amazing and the view very good :)

Sounds like you had a nice relaxing afternoon with tea on the balcony :) Those champagne glasses were really cute and the champagne must have tasted good with your zebra domes :)

[Scrap_Vamp]

Another great update. Your room looked amazing and the view very good :)

Sounds like you had a nice relaxing afternoon with tea on the balcony :) Those champagne glasses were really cute and the champagne must have tasted good with your zebra domes :)

LOL, it did make a very good combination :rotfl::cheer2:

So, with our breakfast set to be delivered at 7.30, our alarm went off at 7.15. Breakfast then arrived right on time, and the CM who delivered it was very friendly. He asked us what we were doing today, and we told him we were going to go and use the pool before we had to check out. He recommended that we should walk across and use the pool at Kidani Villas because it was great, and we were allowed to use both. We thanked him and then took our breakfast out on the balcony to eat while watching the animals wake up. We had ordered a cooked breakfast with orange juice, a big pot of coffee and a pastry basket, which all looked wonderful. We shared the cooked breakfast and then saved most of the pastry basket for later!

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After eating we slowly got ready to go to the pool, and wandered over to Kidani Villas. It was strange walking around a path that was almost entirely empty! We hardly saw anyone, and there were only a few families using the pool that early. We swam for a bit, and spent a very relaxing 15 minutes in the hot tub, as well as just chilling and looking around the area. We were very impressed with the kids' splash play area, although it only started up (along with the water slide) as we were about to leave.

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We went back up to the room and finished packing up our bits and pieces, putting the pastry basket contents safely away!

Random photos on the way out:

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We were on the bus by 11am, having opted to do the auto checkout this time, and headed back to POFQ via Animal Kingdom. We were back pretty quickly and, having put our things away again, decided to go back to AK. We were there by 12.30.

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On our way in we saw the Photopass photographer, and asked him to take the Simba photo for us - it was the only one we hadn't got on our last trip!

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[Scrap_Vamp]

After this we went to the centralised FP area and picked up FPs for Dinosaur, before exploring some of the trails around the Tree of Life. It was really nice not to feel rushed, and there are some nice cooler areas of shade down there.

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Next we got the train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch and, when we arrived, we sat outside the main building and ate our lunch, which mainly consisted of the leftover pastries and muffins from breakfast :rotfl:

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After lunch we spent some time looking at the indoor exhibits and petting the goats (one of our favourite things at AK!). The crowds seemed much lower than on our previous visit.

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Coming back on the train we decided to go and explore the Pangani Forest Trail - we love looking at the gorillas, and reading all the information that there is to find out about.

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When we were done here we saw it was time for our FP for Dinosaur, so went straight there. It seemed darker and scarier, unless I'm just getting jumpier as I get older :rotfl2:

Looking at the time we needed to head back to POFQ as we were going out for dinner with the family, it being Rob and Row's last night. Dad was due to pick us up at 5.30, which he did, right on time! We were supposed to be going to Bob Evans, and we were looking forward to this, as mum had told us good things about the food earlier in the trip. However, Robin changed his mind and we were told we were going to a Black Angus steakhouse. Now, this is my idea of hell, as I don't eat red meat at all! My mum also wasn't looking forward to it. When we arrived there was very little choice for non-meat eaters. When I asked if they offered a veggie burger at all, I was told in a very condescending voice that this was a Steak House, so of course not! Overall, while the meat eaters enjoyed their food, mum and I were not impressed as we ended up with oily margherita pizzas. There wasn't even any chicken as an option! Unfortunately the atmosphere was a little bit sour because of this, which was a shame.

When we were dropped back at POFQ Carl and I got straight on the bus to head to MK for evening EMH. On arriving we got some shots in front of the castle in the dark, because that always makes a great photo!

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After this we went to Toontown as we wanted to ride the Barnstormer for the first time. I'm glad we did, as it will soon be disappearing into a new form with the Fantasyland expansion! In the queue we started to chatting to a really friendly American boy. We talked to him about school and what he wanted to do when he was older. He was riding on his own, and he ws really sweet, probably about 11 or 12 years old.

After the ride we checked the line for the Fairies again but it was still 60 minutes, so instead we walked across to Adventureland to ride the Jungle Cruise. This is always one of our favourites in the dark, and we got a great captain who had lots of fun with the fact that we were newlyweds, which we played along with. Everyone else on the boat seemed to enjoy the banter too :rotfl:

When we got off JC Wishes was just starting, and there was virtually no queue for Aladdin's Flying Carpets, so we decided to ride - it was great to have the fireworks going off in the background! Although we had planned to stay a bit longer, we decided to head back down Main Street, spending about half an hour in the glassware shop, watching the glass being blown, as well as the guy at the back forging swords. We then got to the bus stop just before 11pm, and although the queue seemed really long, we got a seat on the second bus to come along after only 10 minutes :cool1:

Tomorrow - Rob and Row's last day in Florida, at Magic Kingdom and Sweet Tomatoes (again!) :)

[Stefy]

Great photos, looks like you had a lovely time.

I love that last photo with the Princess and the Frog border :)

[figmentfan814]

Wow, it seems like the room service was well worth it, the pastries you ate later on looked especially yummy! I've never seen the Simba picture before, that is really cute :simba:

You got some great pictures in front of the castle, I like the new Princess & the Frog borders. We have ridden Dumbo during Wishes and really enjoyed it, so I can imagine that Aladdin's had to have been just as fun pixiedust:

Looking forward to reading more!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Great photos, looks like you had a lovely time.

I love that last photo with the Princess and the Frog border :)

Thanks - I put the Princess and the Frog border on without telling Carl because I thought it would be funny - he said I was cheeky :rotfl:

[Scrap_Vamp]

Wow, it seems like the room service was well worth it, the pastries you ate later on looked especially yummy! I've never seen the Simba picture before, that is really cute :simba:

You got some great pictures in front of the castle, I like the new Princess & the Frog borders. We have ridden Dumbo during Wishes and really enjoyed it, so I can imagine that Aladdin's had to have been just as fun pixiedust:

Looking forward to reading more!

The pastries were great (there were croissants, pain au chocolats, and muffins), and I would definitely have in-room dining as a treat if we stayed at a Deluxe resort again - a real treat!

The Simba photo is one we knew about last time but there were rarely any PP photographers in that area - this time there were always loads :cloud9:

[Disney9.9.10]

Your pictures are lovely! I have never stayed at the AKL, it looks great, and the room service went over well too. Riding Aladdin's Magic Carpets with wishes in the background must have been great, I will have to try that on my next trip lol good thinking!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 14 - part 1

Today was Rob and Row's last day of their holiday, and also the day that mum and dad took their hire car back, while Carl and I picked ours up!

So, we had arranged the day before that the Avis shuttle would come to pick us up from POFQ at 8.30. We got up at 7.15, showered and had breakfast etc. then went to wait out the front of the lobby.

By 8.55 the shuttle still hadn't arrived but mum and dad pulled up as they were checking into POFQ that day. While mum went and waited in the lobby, dad drove us to the Avis rental desk which was at the Hilton on Hotel Plaza Boulevard. Dad went back, and we got to deal with possibly the surliest guy we have ever encountered in the vicinity of Disney! He was awkward when we complained about the shuttle not picking us up, and told him that the staff at POFQ had said they were famous for not arriving on time. He was then getting more and more rude, and almost accused us of lying at one point! Luckily he didn't try and push us to buy any extras, but I took my time reading the small print before I signed, which seemed to annoy him even more!

Eventually we went out into the lot and picked up our car, which was a Chevrolet cobalt in a sort of diamond gold colour. In the end we got back to the resort at about 10am, relieved that we wouldn't have to go back there for another week!

As it was Rob and Row's last day we asked them what park they wanted to spend the morning in, and they chose Magic Kingdom. They had gone to Downtown Disney to check in, and had some issues as Virgin's computer systems were down (again!), causing a long wait despite them having arrived early. Eventually they did get checked in, and we were all able to meet at Toontown just after 10.30. When we got there, Rob and Amelia were just coming off of the Barnstormer, but apparently Milli really didn't like it, bless her!

Next stop was a tour around Mickey and Minnie's houses.

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Milli really liked all the interactive bits, and was intrigued by the fridge. The only problem was that another kid nearly shut her in it! Luckily I just about managed to stop him competely squashing her, or I could imagine there would have been a few tears.

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Next we headed into Fantasyland and picked up FPs for everyone on Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The others all got in the queue for the Tea Party, as I don't ride this - spinning makes me very ill! The queue time said 15 minutes but they got on in less than 10. While we were waiting we saw Alice arrive and choose a child to ride with as well.

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Amelia went in one tea cup with my mum and dad, and Carl went in another cup with Rob, Row, and Joshua. Milli turned their tea cup madly and absolutely loved it, but my mum looked a bit scared, lol!

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While I was waiting for them, a CM had used a mop and water to create a fantastic Mickey head on the ground.

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After they all came off the ride, Alice was signing autographs, so we got in the very short queue. Alice was lovely, very chatty, and took a lot of time with both me and Amelia!

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[disneybarbie]

Hi!!
I've only just found your TR today and I've read the entire thing.. love it!!

I'm another Disney fan from Kent (I grew up in Sevenoaks!) but now live in Surrey :goodvibes

My family's DVC resort is Boardwalk Villas so I always love seeing weddings at SBP!

By the way..

- I nearly cried when I saw those photos of your niece & nephew running to greet Mickey & Minnie!
- M&M's reaction to the glasses breaking is sooo funny!!

- your stay at AKL looks lovely - that's our plan for the first night of our Disneymoon before we set off to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Dream!! It looks like a wonderful resort :goodvibes

luv & pixie dust!

Emma princess: x

[Scrap_Vamp]

Hi!!
I've only just found your TR today and I've read the entire thing.. love it!!

I'm another Disney fan from Kent (I grew up in Sevenoaks!) but now live in Surrey :goodvibes

My family's DVC resort is Boardwalk Villas so I always love seeing weddings at SBP!

By the way..

- I nearly cried when I saw those photos of your niece & nephew running to greet Mickey & Minnie!
- M&M's reaction to the glasses breaking is sooo funny!!

- your stay at AKL looks lovely - that's our plan for the first night of our Disneymoon before we set off to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Dream!! It looks like a wonderful resort :goodvibes

luv & pixie dust!

Emma princess: x

Hi Emma! Thanks for your comments :) How strange that you now live in Surrey - that's where I am originally from!

You will love AKL - it really felt like somewhere we could totally relax, with the privacy of the balcony :D

[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 14 - part 2

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After meeting Alice, Millie decided that she wanted to go on Dumbo again. The queue stated 30 minutes, which I wasn't looking forward to, but Carl and I queued to ride with Amelia. While we were in the queue she had great fun putting on our sunglasses and playing with the mirrors and other interactive elements in the line! In the end we waited for 25 minutes but it felt like longer in the midday heat.

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While we were in the queue Rob and Row went back on IASW with my dad - I still can't get over my shock at how much my brother loved this ride!

Next stop was to ride The Many Adventures of Whinnie the Pooh with the FPs from earlier, which Millie and Josh really enjoyed. For lunch we went back to Pecos Bills. As I had made another bagel Carl and I just shared a bowl of chips (French fries!) and then went across to Aloha Isle to get my pineapple Dole Whip float - yum!

By this time it was just after 2 so mum, dad, Carl and I went to get spots in the disabled viewing area while the others went to see the Country Bear Jamboree. While we were waiting my dad and I played a game of quoits, and I tried my hand with a hula hoop - turns out I'm a lot better on the Wii version than doing it in real life :rotfl2: The others joined us about 10 minutes before the parade started and Carl held onto Millie the whole time. Lots of characters said hello, and waved at us, and the kids really enjoyed the parade.

After this we said our goodbyes and wished them a safe flight home before we headed out of the park. At 4.15 we arrived back at POFQ to pick up dad's car, which we returned to the Grovesnor Resort. The only problem with this was that the resort has been renamed, which we didn't know, so we drove past it the first time! Once it was safely back, we had a repeat trip to Sweet Tomatoes for dinner together.

When we returned to POFQ mum and dad headed to their room, while Carl and I took a trip to the arcade. We played a few games, incuding Guitar Hero, where we both made the top scores screens :banana:

Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom photo shoot and La Nouba :goodvibes

[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 15 - part 1

So today was a really exciting day as we were going to be meeting our Disney photographer for photos in the Magic Kingdom - I was especially excited as Carl didn't know we'd asked for special photos by his favourite place - the Partners statue :goodvibes

We got up at 6.30 as we were due to meet by the Rose Garden at 9.15. I have to say, I'm glad we didn't have to get back into all our wedding regalia at this stage - getting ready for this shoot was plenty!

We got to the bus stop at 8.30 and a bus came straight away, meaning we were at MK by 8.45. We stayed over to one side for the opening ceremony and ended up stood next to a CM, who threw our own personal pixie dust over us when the confetti cannons went off - she told us it was for joy and happiness in our married life :cloud9:

Once inside the park we went straight to the Rose Garden. I had decided we should wear our wedding ears as this would make it obvious when the photographer was looking for us. Regina arrived at 9.10 and we headed straight into the business of taking photos. We had a great time with Regina, and she told us all about how she had originally worked as a parade dancer, then she kept seeing the wedding photographers and realised that was what she wanted to do, so she went back to school to retrain. It is obvious that she really loves her job, her passion comes through in the photographs:

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[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 15 - part 2

More photos:

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[sambycat]

so cute!!!! congrats!!! its so funny how the daylight varies so much in the year - it looks like high noon in your pics! :cool2:

[pixie921]

Love your photos -- you guys are so cute! :)

[Stefy]

Oh wow what an awesome shoot. Some great shots and you guys look so cute :goodvibes You can only get a shoot done in MK if you having a wedding through DFTW right?

Love the shots of Amelia playing in the queue, she looks like she is having the time of her life :)

[Scrap_Vamp]

so cute!!!! congrats!!! its so funny how the daylight varies so much in the year - it looks like high noon in your pics! :cool2:

I know - it's hard to believe it's only just after 9 :rotfl:

[Scrap_Vamp]

Love your photos -- you guys are so cute! :)

Thank you :lovestruc

[Scrap_Vamp]

Oh wow what an awesome shoot. Some great shots and you guys look so cute :goodvibes You can only get a shoot done in MK if you having a wedding through DFTW right?

Love the shots of Amelia playing in the queue, she looks like she is having the time of her life :)

Thank you - Amelia had a great time and she keeps asking if she is going back this year!

I think you are right about getting the MK shoot but I have a feeling I heard from some other brides (who are planning at the moment) that you can only do the other 3 parks now, not MK - they said you could only get MK photos now if you do the bridal shoot. That could be wrong though!

[DznyGal]

I love your MK photos, that is a great idea to get 'wedding' pictures in semi wedding attire. I never thought of that, for me it was thinking of either full wedding attire or no shoot. That was actually one of the reasons we didn't do any park shoots, I didn't want to get up that early the morning of the wedding, and I didn't see much sense in doing it after and getting my hair and makeup done again.

We have talked about maybe an anniversary shoot, but still not sure. :goodvibes

Thanks for the great idea!

[Scrap_Vamp]

I love your MK photos, that is a great idea to get 'wedding' pictures in semi wedding attire. I never thought of that, for me it was thinking of either full wedding attire or no shoot. That was actually one of the reasons we didn't do any park shoots, I didn't want to get up that early the morning of the wedding, and I didn't see much sense in doing it after and getting my hair and makeup done again.

We have talked about maybe an anniversary shoot, but still not sure. :goodvibes

Thanks for the great idea!

Thanks :goodvibes We also thought it stopped all the photos from looking the same!

We're possibly going to do a shoot with Randy Chapman around a couple of the resorts for our Christmas trip - we thought the decorations would make a lovely backdrop :cloud9:

[DznyGal]

Thanks :goodvibes We also thought it stopped all the photos from looking the same!

We're possibly going to do a shoot with Randy Chapman around a couple of the resorts for our Christmas trip - we thought the decorations would make a lovely backdrop :cloud9:

Christmas is such a beautiful time to be at Disney, I love visiting the resort to check out there decorations. I know you will get some awesome shots! Good luck!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Whoops, I've been a bit slack on getting the trippie finished again! As 3 weeks today we'll be back in the parks I think I need to get it done :rotfl:

So, after we had finished the photos with Regina we continued with our plan for the morning, which was to meet the fairies. The time was 9.45 and we were surprised to find that Toontown was already open, and the queue was already 45 minutes. But, as this was our plan, we joined the queue. In the end we waited for 35 minutes but it was probably the least pleasant queue we stood in as there was a really obnoxious girl who seemed to have the entire family's holiday organised around her. She got annoyed everytime a "big" person stood in front of her and she couldn't get a view of the TV screen - apparently we had no right to be there, lol. In the end we began talking to the mum and daughter in front of us, who were lovely - the two little girls couldn't have been more different!

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After the meet with the fairies we crossed the park to Liberty Square and used some of our honeymoon registry funds to buy a print with the definition of both of our names. While there we also looked up our family coats of arms, which we might get on our anniversary trip. By this time Carl was feeling quite hot in his jeans and shirt, so we decided to head off. We did happen to see the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It party, though, and he let me stop to get a couple of pictures with the promise we could watch it properly another day!

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[Stefy]

Love the fairy pics, must catch them this year. Wonder where they will be?

How horrible to have to deal with that person, not what you want whilst waiting in line, but at least the parents were nice :)

[Scrap_Vamp]

Love the fairy pics, must catch them this year. Wonder where they will be?

How horrible to have to deal with that person, not what you want whilst waiting in line, but at least the parents were nice :)

I've read the answer to the Fairies question but I can't remember what it was! I've now got to try and find Princess Tiana as Amelia has decided she is her new favourite :goodvibes I've heard she has been doing meet and greets again recently, so I'm hopeful!

Anyway, on with the trippie....

We spent the afternoon back at POFQ, checking emails and uploading photos. We called Dining on the off-chance and managed to get an ADR at House of Blues for 5.30. So, just after 4pm we got the boat to DTD with mum and dad.

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We walked over to West Side and browsed the Cirque du Soleil shop, picking up some souvenirs.

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By the time we were done it was 5.15 and we got seated straight away in House of Blues. The meal was fantastic.

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After the meal, Carl was totally full!

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Plus we had a doggy bag to take home. We decided that, as we still had quite a bit of time to kill, we would go back to World of Disney for some shopping.

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Having bought quite a few things, when we were done in the store it was pouring with rain! We sheltered for a little while before deciding it wasn’t going to ease off anytime soon. At that point we put our ponchos on, covered all the electrics on mum’s cart and headed back over to West Side at 8.10. In the end my feet were slipping around in my sandals, so I took them off in order to be able to run!

We arrived at the Cirque arena just before 8.30 and went into the auditorium. The first seats we were directed to turned out to be in the wrong section, but when we moved to our correct seats (about 2 minutes before the start!) they were even better. The show went so quickly – I wasn’t sure how much I would like it but it was something that Carl really wanted to see. As it turns out, I loved it! I would definitely go and see another Cirque performance on the basis of this one. We came out of the theatre at about 10.40 and were feeling pretty tired so we got the bus back from Pleasure Island.

[Scrap_Vamp]

As today was am EMH at Hollywood Studios we got up at 6.30, aiming to leave at 7.30. We decided to take the car and ended up parking by 7.50. On arrival we went straight to the end of the street for rope drop but we seemed to be waiting some time – in the end rope drop finally happened at 8.10 but we never found out what the delay was! We walked with the crowds to Rock n Roller Coaster, and virtually walked on the ride. This time it was my favourite Aerosmith son – Dude Looks Like a Lady.

At 8.40 we met up with mum and dad, who had come on the bus. Carl and dad went to get Fast Passes for TSM, while mum and I went to the entrance to see if the scouts were out for the American Idol Experience. We found that they were there, so I walked up to audition. I had to stand in front of the big background screen and sing. I chose Torn by Natalie Imbruglia. The CM said he loved my belt, talked to me a little bit and said he was putting me straight through to the next round. I had to hang around a little bit then, until a couple of us who had been put through all walked together with some CMs to the audition facility. When we got there, other people were lining up to do their first audition, so I was glad I had got mine over with out on the street as it was much quicker. We were taken to the Coca Cola lounge where we were given Ipods with the song arrangements on. Before the trip I had looked at the list of songs and had some idea what I wanted to do, but a couple of the arrangements were unfamiliar, so it was a bit stressful choosing songs!

After about 10 minutes I got called through to audition for Producer Kendall. My two songs were Breakaway and Colours of the Wind. I had to stand on the X and sing into the camera, while the producer watched me live, and on the TV screen. I sang all the way through Breakaway, then less than half of Colours of the Wind. At that point Ryan Seacrest came on the video screen and said, “I can’t tell you you’re going to Hollywood, but I can tell you you’re going to be performing live at Hollywood Studios’ American Idol Experience!” By this point I was very excited, and I am sorry to say I screamed little bit (no British decorum for me!) and Carl got a bit embarrassed (they let him come in to my audition with me). The producer then gave me all the details, like when I had to come back, and what would happen. He said he was going to ask me to sing Colours of he Wind for the live show as I have more of a musical theatre voice (which I knew) and that I would be in the 12pm show. As a bonus I was given 4 Fast Passes good for any ride – well, we already knew we would use them on TSM! Finally I was asked who my favourite American Idol was, and I said Kelly Clarkson – the original.

When we came out of the audition facility we didn’t know where mum and dad were, so we wandered a little aimlessly trying to find them. Finally I got a text message which said they were at Muppetvision so we went over to meet them. From there we used our special FPs to ride TSM – I still wasn’t very good at it, lol. By this time it was 10.30, and I needed to be back at AIE for 11am. I went in the bathrooms and got changed. It might sound like I’m really vain, but I took a dress and nice pair of shoes just in case I got on the shoe – it made me feel more confident than if I’d kept my shorts and T-shirt!

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I arrived first out of the contestants on my show, but when all 3 of us were there we were taken in. I was competing against a 17 year old girl, and a mum in her late 30s. First stop was the green room, where the procedures were explained to us. We each got ten minutes with hair and make-up, ten minutes with the vocal coach, and ten minutes to chill and listen to the track on an Ipod again – the difference this time is that the Ipods were not chained down :D The vocal coach was really helpful, and also gave me tips on movement and working the camera. After all this, we had 30 minutes of rehearsal which consisted of walking through positions for the show, and singing our song once on the stage. We also got some more movement tips. It was really interesting to see how things work on TV, because it really is a proper TV show environment. Finally, we all had to have a tracker attached to us, which was for the follow spots, so they would always know where we were and would track our movements.

By the end of this rehearsal time they had let our families in for priority seating, and Carl, mum and dad waved to me.

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For the actual performance I got to sing first, which I was glad about as it meant less time to worry! As I was first, I got a “special message” from Kelly Clarkson to wish me luck. In the end I was really pleased with how I sang.

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One judge told me I was hot and probably made the audience think again about teachers! She also liked my “theme park heels.” I got told that my voice was more musical theatre than pop (which it is!), and although I had reduced my level of vibrato there was still a bit too much. The ‘mean’ judge told me I reminded him of when he saw Pocahontas at the cinema, because he fell asleep then as well! To be honest, I got the least harsh comment of the three of us, so I didn’t mind. There were a whole lot of British people down near the front who were really rooting for me, but I didn’t win. The older lady and I had predicted that the 17 year old would win, and she did, but I didn’t mind as I had a great experience. I was just pleased that anyone thought I was good enough to go up and do it in the first place.

After the show I went outside to meet my family, and some kids who had seen the show asked for my autograph, which was quite exciting! Some other people said they had voted for me, so I thanked them, and smiled, but I think I also went bright red. I got more comments like this throughout the rest of the day, and the English family from the front row saw me later (Carl told me I had to stay in my dress so I was recognisable!) and shouted out “You were robbed!”

After the show, Carl and I went to our ADR at 50s Prime Time Cafe. We had told guest services earlier that we would be a little late due to the AIE show I had been scheduled in, and they had said that wasn’t a problem – they had been really excited for me, lol. When we got there we were seated in 5 minutes, which ended up being 25 minutes after our scheduled time.

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Our server was Laurie, and she was great fun. Within seconds of introducing herself she announced to the whole place that we were newlyweds, which got a round of applause. She also had to tell Carl to keep his elbows of the table! For an appetiser we shared onion rings, which were huge and very tasty.

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As entrees I had chicken pot pie, which I’d been looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint.

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Carl had Southern fried chicken with mash and greens.

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To drink I had a smoothie and Carl had a PB&J milkshake, on Laurie’s recommendation – this promptly became our favourite drink ever, and I don’t normally like peanut butter!

After the meal we went over to meet mum and dad again, who were coming out of Lights, Motors, Action, which they had really enjoyed. We didn’t watch this as we’ve seen it at DLRP and we know all the tricks and secrets! We had been looking at the pet ID tags for a while, and it was at this point that we got engraved Mickeys for our cats, Terk and J.D.
Next up we used our original FPs for TSM – finally I broke the 100,000 barrier! By this point mum and Carl had got super competitive and Carl actually ended up with a blister on his hand from working the string so hard. This was followed by all of us riding the backlot tour – as mum had her electric wheelchair we had to sit in the front compartment, which meant we got to chat to one of the CMs for quite a bit of the tour. At the end of the tour we stopped for a drink at the Studio Catering Co. We’d heard a lot of bad things about the food here, so we did limit ourselves to only a drink! We also looked around the store that is there, where Carl tried on this fetching Stitch hat!

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After this we said goodbye to mum and dad, who got the bus back to POFQ. Carl and I walked across to Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and then finished our day with the 5.45 performance of Beauty and the Beast. As my favourite Disney film, this is a must-do for me every trip. Towards the end of the performance it started to rain, and we found ourselves very glad that we had brought the car and didn’t have to wait for the bus. We were back in our room by about 6.40 and had an early night, drinking a couple of beers and watching TV :goodvibes

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[Sarah <3 Disney]

Yay, updates! :) Loved your MK photos, they are so cute!

Love the fairy pics, must catch them this year. Wonder where they will be?

I've read the answer to the Fairies question but I can't remember what it was! I've now got to try and find Princess Tiana as Amelia has decided she is her new favourite :goodvibes I've heard she has been doing meet and greets again recently, so I'm hopeful!

To answer these questions, the fairies are in Mickey's Toontown Fair in the tent with the princesses. Also, Tiana and Naveen are found under their green gazebo in Liberty Square. :thumbsup2 At least that is where they were on Monday!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Yay, updates! :) Loved your MK photos, they are so cute!

To answer these questions, the fairies are in Mickey's Toontown Fair in the tent with the princesses. Also, Tiana and Naveen are found under their green gazebo in Liberty Square. :thumbsup2 At least that is where they were on Monday!

Thanks Sarah, that is really useful to know :thumbsup2

[Scrap_Vamp]

Today we had our first real lie-in of the trip, and we didn’t get up until 8.30. By 9.30 we were in the car and on the way to the Florida Mall, arriving just after 10am. We browsed for a bit, and went in some of our favourite stores. I bought Skechers trainers in the sale at JC Penney, some clothes for my bears from Build a Bear, a nice autumn top for work, and a few other bits and pieces. Carl bought a couple of bits, including a polo shirt for playing golf. We enjoyed taking these photos in the M&M store, as well as buying some!

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On the way back we headed to Michaels, as we had already been to JoAnns. I got some more scrapbooking items, including a gorgeous album for my wedding layouts. I only wished I could get some of the storage items home – the prices are so much more reasonable than they are in the UK, as we have to have everything imported.

On the way back we drove down International Drive and then came off onto the 192 so Carl could pick up the game he had reserved earlier in the trip, the one that was for Robin’s best man present. We couldn’t decide where to get lunch so we just popped into McDonalds, knowing we had an ADR in the evening. When we arrived back at POFQ we found that the photos from the Magic Kingdom shoot had arrived – even better, there was also a disc of all the photos which we didn’t know we were getting – we had been told we would only get two prints, chosen by the photographer! SO we loaded up the laptop to look at the photos and we were really pleased. We also found this fetching towel ‘couple’:

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After this we lounged by the pool for an hour and a half, reading and swimming, and Carl also popped into the arcade for a bit. Then it was time to get ready for our ADR. This was at 6.15 so we left at 5.30 as I was driving across. Last time we had visited Wilderness Lodge we had gotten the boat from Magic Kingdom, so it was interesting to drive in!

We arrived at 5.50 and spent a little time browsing the gift shop before we checked in. We also saw a Photopass Photographer and got some photos. For some reason I look a bit pregnant!

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We were seated in Artist Point just after 6pm, and the restaurant was still fairly empty. Our server recommended the Portobello mushroom soup for appetiser, so we shared this and it was delicious. Our main courses were pretty good too, but overall we weren’t as impressed with Artist Point as we had been with some other signature dining that we have experienced. If anything our server became a bit too clingy, and repeatedly appeared at our table!

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At 7.45 we finished our meal and drove over to the Boardwalk. We took a couple of photos around the resort, and looked at it in more detail than we had been able to on the wedding day!

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Then we headed to Jellyrolls. As it was still early, we were only the third group in there. We sat near the front, but not right at the front. As it got busier, it got more and more lively – we would have stayed much longer if we didn’t have an early Keys to the Kingdom Tour the next day. As it was we stayed until 10.30, by which time we had had our request for a Green Day song played – they chose Good Riddance (Time of Your Lives) which was great. When we emerged onto the Boardwalk again it was raining, and I managed to slip over. Luckily I only hurt my ankle a little, but my ego was definitely bruised!

[Stefy]

Great update, how fun was the AI experience :)

I love those M&M flip flops, awesome!

That drink in Artist Pointe looks delish, what was it?

To answer these questions, the fairies are in Mickey's Toontown Fair in the tent with the princesses. Also, Tiana and Naveen are found under their green gazebo in Liberty Square. :thumbsup2 At least that is where they were on Monday!

Do you know where they will be once Toontown has gone?

[starann]

I can't wait to hear about KTTK tour!!!! I want ot do that so badly, but with the kids, I dont want to miss them in the parks....so one day, when I do a solo trip....hahahahhaha!

[Sarah <3 Disney]

Mmm, that food is making me super hungry! So many M&M's... I think it is now time for dinner! :rotfl:

And you looked really cute for you Idol day! Love the dress! :goodvibes

Do you know where they will be once Toontown has gone?

Now this I do not know. I would imagine they would be in Fantasyland somewhere if they were to remain in the Magic Kingdom.

[Scrap_Vamp]

Great update, how fun was the AI experience :)

I love those M&M flip flops, awesome!

That drink in Artist Pointe looks delish, what was it?

I can't remember exactly but it was a virgin strawberry cocktail of some description, I think - it was yummy!

[Scrap_Vamp]

I can't wait to hear about KTTK tour!!!! I want ot do that so badly, but with the kids, I dont want to miss them in the parks....so one day, when I do a solo trip....hahahahhaha!

Will post it in a bit - have it all lined up and ready to post but am at my mum's at the moment!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Mmm, that food is making me super hungry! So many M&M's... I think it is now time for dinner! :rotfl:

And you looked really cute for you Idol day! Love the dress! :goodvibes

Thank you :cloud9:

[Chilly]

Phew all caught up, I didn't realise I was so behind.

[Scrap_Vamp]

I'm back again!

Day 17 Part 1 - Keys to the Kingdom

This was another early morning for us as we were booked on the first Keys to the Kingdom Tour of the day. We got up at 6.30 and were at the bus stop by 7.30, where a bus arrived almost straight away. By 7.45 we were in the queue for entry with those who had breakfast ADRs, and were sent through to City Hall. After taking some great photos we registered for our tour at 8am. We were given a name badge and told to help ourselves to coffee and water, which was very welcome!

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We also found a Photopass Photographer:

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Having wandered around a little and looked at the newly appeared Halloween decorations we then met back in the garden next to City Hall at 8.25. Here we met Jerred, our guide, and were given our headsets so we could listen to his conversation. The tour was fascinating, with lots of new bits of trivia. We got to ride the Haunted Mansion, and were given specific things to watch out for, and when we were backstage we saw Goofy’s Candy Co float rehearsing ready for the Not So Scary Halloween Party parade! We had lunch at Columbia Harbour House, and I had chosen the salad which was enormous and very tasty. We also got enormous soft drinks!

At the end of the tour we received a surprise (I won’t mention it here in case anyone else is planning to do the tour) and were told that there would always be a seat for us at the Magic Kingdom – we were stood by Roy’s bench at this point, and I will always remember that when I see it from now on. By now it was 1pm and we had plans to go and eat around the World, so we headed off on the monorail to EPCOT.

[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 17 - Part 2 - Eating Around the World

We had planned to meet up with mum and dad, but when we arrived we beat them and decided to look for our Leave a Legacy tile, which we eventually found after getting confused at first.

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At this point there was still no sign of the parents so we got in the queue for Spaceship Earth. Posted wait time was 10 minutes, but we actually waited about 5. After we came off the ride I had a text message to say mum and dad were now riding SSE!

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At this point we decided to go and pick up FPs for Test Track. As the time was for 7.15-8.15 we decided to save them for the EMH.

By this time we met up with mum and dad, and mum was annoyed we didn’t wait for dad to get FPs (?!). Sometime my mum gets in a bad mood for no reason, and today was one of those times! We stayed with them, though, and went to the Gran Fiesta Tour. Last time we had ridden this it was El Rio Del Tiempo, so it was interesting to see the changes. The ride was a walk-on, which was nice. Our first food item then had to be churros – one of our favourites. By this point mum was making it evident that she was annoyed with me, although I still wasn’t sure why, so Carl and I went off on our own to queue for Maelstrom. Posted wait time was 10 minutes and we ended up waiting slightly longer than that. After the ride we got our second food item – school bread. This had been recommended by lots of people and we found it was delicious. We were glad we shared it, though, as it was quite large.

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The next country was China and we were trying to decide whether we should have tea or beer when we spotted Mulan. The CM told us she would be back out at 4pm so we spent some time browsing the pavilion and joined the queue at 3.55. We then met Mulan at 4.05pm. Before leaving China we finally bought a Tsing Tao beer!

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When we got to Germany we didn’t want to get Bcks, having just had beer in China, and we also didn’t want food so we decided to come back later. We moved onto Italy where we found a PhotoPass photographer who was really funny and insisted on taking photos of us in loads of different places! The funniest one for us was with Dominic the Donkey, as our favourite DJ plays the Dominic the Italian Christmas Donkey song every year.

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As we were in Italy we obviously had to get gelato, so we shared some cookies and cream flavour.

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[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 17 - Part 3

Halfway round World Showcase and we were at the American Adventure. We were early for a show so we were able to see Voices of Liberty perform, and they were very good. We’d never watched the American Adventure before, and about half way through I came over very sleepy – I think we both slept for part of it –whoops! After the show we went and ordered a veggie burger with a side order of grapes, which was our food item, and shared it. We decided against funnel cake having already eaten school bread and churros, plus we always eat funnel cake at Sleepy Hollow in Magic Kingdom. When we were ordering we found that the CM was from England and we chatted to him for a bit.

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Moving on to Japan we decided we would try some sake. We were browsing the menu and discussing options when a lovely American couple started chatting with us, and they recommended a particular brand. They were also kind enough to take a photo for us. The man was celebrating his birthday, and they also then recommended the Oktoberfest beer in Germany as we told them we were eating and drinking around the world.

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From this recommendation we went back to Germany to buy the beer, and wandered into the UK pavilion to watch the British Invasion. It was about ten minutes into their set when we got there, and who should we see but mum and dad on a bench! We went over to them and my mum had evidently cheered up, which was a relief, so we shared the bench with them and watched the rest of the set.

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After the show Carl and I went into Morocco and decided to get two side orders from the Tangeriene Cafe: cous cous salad and marinated olives. The area was incredibly hot, so Carl said he would queue while I stayed somewhere more shady. In the end he queued about 25 minutes, and I’m surprised he didn’t faint with the heat. The food was good, but it wasn’t worth that wait.

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The final country was France and we decided to get two things here: a crepe with strawberries for Carl, and a Grey Goose slush drink for me.

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By this time it was 8.20pm so we decided it would be a good time to find a spot for Illuminations. As we didn’t want to fight any crowds, we sat by the lake, and Carl went to get some chilli cheese fries for us to snack on while we waited. We had a pretty decent view for Illuminations, with just one overhanging branch, which doesn’t matter as we’ve seen it many times!

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After Illuminations we headed back into Future World to use our FPs for Test Track. We managed to beat most of the crowds due to our choice of viewing spot, and very much enjoyed riding Test Track in the dark as it felt much faster.

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After the ride we contemplated staying for more of EMH but the wait times for the rides were pretty high, and we were feeling tired, so we decided to head back to POFQ just after 10pm, but not befor grabbing some night time shots from a PhotoPass Photographer:

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[Scrap_Vamp]

Day 18 - Discovery Cove

Now we were into our final weekend and mum and dad had booked for the four of us to go to Discovery Cove. Carl and I had been on our trip in 2006, but we were very much looking forward to going back.
We wanted to be there early to get an early dolphin swim, so we got up just after 6 and got ready the few things that we needed to take with us. We left at 7am and had gone a short way when mum realised she had forgotten to bring any ID so we went back for that! In the end we arrived at 7.35 and were able to check in pretty much straight away. We were allocated a 9.25 dolphin swim and mum decided to rent one of the cabanas for the day so we had somewhere shaded, and a base to go back to. When we found our cabana we realised it was a distance to most of the activities so we persuaded mum to let us push her in one of the big sand buggy type wheelchairs, although she didn’t enjoy this! We walked (wheeled) around to get our bearings, and then went and ate a good breakfast.
We were shown to our cabana, which was lovely, with towels all laid out and a massive cooler filled with drinks and ice. There were 4 chairs around a table, as well as 2 loungers, and there were fresh flowers to decorate. There was also supposed to be someone who checked on our needs, although we rarely saw them, which was a little bit annoying.
Once we had arranged everything at the cabana and applied the dolphin friendly suncream we were ready for our swim. First we saw the video and had the talk about health and safety before being put into groups. Last time Carl and I went we had little Yoshi for our dolphin – this time it was 10 foot long Capricorn, and we remembered seeing him do some amazing jumps on our last trip! We all enjoyed the experience, even my dad, who did the shallow swim as he doesn’t really swim very well.

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After we had finished with the dolphins we went straight to the stingray snorkelling pool. I was much better at this than last time – before I kept panicking and that would let lots of water in, but now I was able to stay more relaxed and enjoyed the experience more! We took some underwater photos but we are getting those developed on our next trip, as it is cheaper than developing them at home. Also we didn’t quite finish up one of the cameras.
Next stop was the lazy river where we floated around quite gently, and even managed to keep dad under control for most of the time. We stopped in the aviary for quite some time and had fun feeding the birds. We got dad to go through the steps and doorways before the waterfall, though, as it proved difficult getting him through those!

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By this point it was time for lunch, which I was really looking forward to. I had pasta primavera, as did mum and dad, but Carl opted for breaded chicken and fries with a hot dog on the side! For dessert I had a little pot of strawberries and a slice of red velvet cake, which was delicious. In some ways it tasted like cherry bakewells, which are one of my favourite cakes. After lunch we spent an hour relaxing back at the cabana to let our food go down, although Carl got bored after half an hour and disappeared for a swim. When he came back we went together and snorkelled again, before going to the stingray touching pool to feed the rays.

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At this point it was 3pm so we decided to go and look at the photos as they would be available. We had already decided to buy a package which included some prints, key rings, and a disc. At this time we were able to choose the photos fro the prints and key rings, but we would have to come back later to get the CD made as our most recent photos hadn’t made it onto the system yet. As it wasn’t going to be too long until we could do this, we decided to go and get ready to leave, as we had decided to go to evening EMH at Animal Kingdom. I really enjoyed using the gorgeous smelling Crabtree and Evelyn products that they provide in the showers and came out feeling refreshed. The last thing to do was to refill our snacks and drinks for on the way home, and do some shopping. Mum and dad were planning to stay a bit longer and then get a taxi back, still, so Carl and I picked up the photos and CD and headed off to Animal Kingdom at about 4.50pm, having spent the best part of 9 hours at Discovery Cove!
When we arrived at the gates to Animal Kingdom we found we were just about the only people driving in, as everyone else was heading out. We went straight through the gate and were able to park very close to the entrance. Once inside the park we checked the wait times board and saw that Expedition Everest had a wait time of only 10 minutes so we got in the standby line and waited less than 5.
As we knew we had plenty of time, we strolled up to the Maharajah Jungle Trek and waited patiently for the tigers. Tigers are my favourite animals, so I was more than prepared to wait, if we had to. We spent a good amount of time talking to the CM there, and she let us in on some secrets and put right some common misconceptions that people have. The info that she gave us meant our 20 minutes actually watching the tigers was even more enjoyable than normal, especially listening to some of the comments other guests were making.
After the Jungle Trek we found that Dinosaur had a wait time of 10 minutes, so again we got in the standby queue and found this wait was about right. I still got scared by this ride, as always! We decided to go to It’s Tough To Be a Bug next, and managed to walk in right as they were about to close the doors. Carl tried to make me sit right back in my chair, but I refused as I really don’t like the bit where you get “stung”, lol. By the time the show was over it was about 7.15pm so we decided it would be a good opportunity to go back to Everest again. It still said a 10 minute wait but going through the standby line this time it was a walk on! We could have walked straight back on again, but we decided to wait a little while longer and finally rode Everest for a third time at 7.45pm as the sun was setting in the sky, which was a great experience. We were pretty tired by this point, and as we had the car we were able to get back to our room nice and quickly, where we watched TV and had a couple of beers for an early night. We’re really looking forward to doing evening EMH at Animal Kingdom again, as we felt we got so much done with practically no waiting.

[Stefy]

Great updates :thumbsup2

Loving all the photos, sounds like the KTTKT was alot of fun. We must do that one day.

Loving your Discovery Cove update, how awesome that you swam with the dolphins and all the photos are really good too :)

[tinkerbell 766]

Jeni,
Can I just ask where you booked DC? Did you book it in the UK and if so who with and how much did it cost. I am hoping that it will be possible (?budget) for DH to do this the day after our VR. Our whole holiday will be with all our guests (15 of us altogether) and I figured it would be great for DH and us to have one day on our own here as a sort of one day honeymoon!!! Thanks so much. It looks great fun!!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Jeni,
Can I just ask where you booked DC? Did you book it in the UK and if so who with and how much did it cost. I am hoping that it will be possible (?budget) for DH to do this the day after our VR. Our whole holiday will be with all our guests (15 of us altogether) and I figured it would be great for DH and us to have one day on our own here as a sort of one day honeymoon!!! Thanks so much. It looks great fun!!

It is a really great day! We did book it in the UK - I think we went direct through the DC website but I have a feeling you can sometimes find special offers. I'm not sure of the cost, but the website has all the details. It seems expensive but when you consider you get all your food and drink (including alcohol if you want it), and they limit the number of guests it is well worth it, as it is really relaxing.

[tinkerbell 766]

Thanks Jen
I will certainly be looking in to this!!!

[mad4282]

Just stumbled upon your trip journal and I have to say, what a fun and gorgeous wedding!!! Congrats!

[Scrap_Vamp]

Just stumbled upon your trip journal and I have to say, what a fun and gorgeous wedding!!! Congrats!

Thank you so much :lovestruc