Monsters, bugs, and… Jack Sparrow!? Final Update 7/13!!!! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

irky416

07-03-2008, 04:11 PM

Hi! :wave2: Welcome to my trip report!

We got back a little more than a week ago and I am finally ready to start my report. I had to sort through all my pictures first. All 1200 of them. :eek: As I was going through them I managed to get it down to about 950. My Photopass CD came today, though, so that will up the number again.

Needless to say, this trip report will have a lot of pictures! :thumbsup2

The camera basically never leaves my wrist. You can see it in this picture. Unless I'm actually taking a picture, the camera never moves.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/image187.jpg

I'm irky416 and I take a lot of pictures. Now, that I've admitted it and accepted it, we can move on. ;)

I did a pre-trip report for this trip, so I will just give a brief recap of all the pre-trip details here.

Who:

Me (26): I’m a teacher. I love Disney stuff! This is my third trip to Disney (well, specifically, MK) in a year. Before that I hadn’t been in 10 years. I’m sad to say, it will probably be another few years until I make it back at this point. Unless I go solo or convince someone else I know to go with me.

DBF (25): He’s a software engineer. Not crazy about the Disney parks, but learned to like them more than he thought he would and enjoyed himself on this trip. He likes Disney movies, though. We have a huge collection and watch them fairly often. He especially likes The Incredibles and Aladdin.

DSis (18): She just graduated form high school and is starting college in a month and a half. She doesn’t know what she wants to do yet. She likes Disney when she wants. She’ll randomly get really into it and then the next day not want to talk about it at all. She did this while we were there, too. She’s still a moody teenager…what can I say?

Here's the three of us. DSis is in the black shirt and I'm in the blue shirt.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321702095_67YCn-L.jpg

DBF’s parents: They wanted to go on a trip with DBF and I, so we invited them along on this trip. They don’t really care about Disney one way or the other. They didn’t care about what we did either. We asked them and they said they would do whatever we wanted to do. (I don’t think they knew what they were getting in to with me – crazy planner and picture taker!)

I don't think they want their pictures on a message board, so I am not going to post too many pictures of them. Most of our pictures don't include them anyway, so it's not a big deal. They didn't really want their pictures taken too much. If they're in a picture I will probably blur them out, so I can still post it.

What: A magical trip to the Happiest Place on Earth – Walt Disney World! pixiedust:

When: June 19-24 :drive:

Where: Windsor Hills Resort (Offsite, but only 10 minutes away from the fun!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Online%20Pics/parque3d1.jpg

Why: To celebrate DSis’s graduation from high school and to take a vacation with DBF’s parents.

Our plans were all set, our ADR’s made, park schedules worked out ahead of time to maximize time in the parks with the least amount of crowds. (I didn’t subscribe to a service for this, but basically just tried to work around EMH’s.) We were ready to go!

Up Next: The Journey There

Quick Links to Chapters:
Day 1 - June 19
Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26023272&postcount=2)
Chapter 2 - Arrival (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26049965&postcount=6)
Chapter 3 - Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea… (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26071613&postcount=17)
Chapter 4 - Monster Encounter Numero Uno (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26085979&postcount=22)
Chapter 5 - Another bug, another monster and closing up Magic Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26113650&postcount=34)
Day 2 - June 20
Chapter 6 – First time at Animal Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26135972&postcount=41)
Chapter 6.5 - Safari Pictures (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26136324&postcount=43)
Chapter 7 - Terk and EE: More fun at Animal Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26150525&postcount=49)
Chapter 8 - Goofy loves DSis but she loves Simba (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26238762&postcount=61)
Chapter 8.5 - Goofy loves DSis but she loves Simba (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26238797&postcount=62)
Chapter 9 – Rain, rain go away... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26281099&postcount=73)
Chapter 10 – Grand Floridian and Full House (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26326630&postcount=83)
Chapter 11 – A night in MK with a Monster (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26336934&postcount=95)
Day 3 - June 21
Chapter 12 – Breakfast at Ohana (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26617759&postcount=113)
Chapter 13 – Annoyed at Epcot (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26785618&postcount=123)
Chapter 14 – Soarin and Living With the Land (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26846759&postcount=146)
Chapter 15 – Beverly (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=26979151&postcount=163)
Chapter 16 – Mexico! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27075623&postcount=184)
Chapter 17 – China! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27172999&postcount=198)
Chapter 18 – Our first trip around the world ends (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27575838&postcount=236)
Chapter 19 – Around the world….again! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=27785925&postcount=253)
Chapter 20 - Irky416 doesn't like this ride! (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28373824&postcount=279)
Chapter 21 - Illuminations (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28496083&postcount=291)
Day 4 - June 22
Chapter 22 - Sea World (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28627279&postcount=297)
Chapter 23 - A Not So Great Idea (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30251998&postcount=311)
Chapter 23.5 - A Not So Great Idea Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30252466&postcount=313)
Day 5 - June 23
Chapter 24 - Hollywood Studios (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30253279&postcount=315)
Chapter 25 - Musical and Incredible (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30319379&postcount=327)
Chapter 26 - Scoldings and Tickets (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30435845&postcount=333)
Chapter 27 - Block Party Bash (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30436025&postcount=334)
Chapter 28 - Rides and Characters (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=30887360&postcount=367)
Chapter 29 - Stunts, Props and Toys (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31073529&postcount=380)
Chapter 30 - Fantasmic! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31414486&postcount=402)
Day 6 - June 24
Chapter 31 - The last day begins (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31806400&postcount=415)
Chapter 32 - Cars, Muppets and Anty! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31945704&postcount=425)
Chapter 33 - Toy Story Mania! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32012860&postcount=426)
Chapter 34 - I make a fool out of myself (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32275575&postcount=429)
Chapter 35 - We leave (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32287834&postcount=432)

Wrap Up (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32687778&postcount=437)

irky416

07-03-2008, 05:17 PM

Without further ado...

Chapter 1 - The Journey Begins

We always pack the night before. Never earlier, never later. It takes me anywhere from 4-6 hours to get completely packed and organized. DBF on the other hand is fully packed and ready to go in less than 1, and usually more like 30 minutes! :faint:

I love packing! :lovestruc I think it’s the organizing everything part that makes me love it so much. I would do it professionally if I could. It took me awhile to decide what suitcases we were going to take. DBF took only a carry-on and I took a regular sized suitcase.

My mad packing skills allowed me to actually use up only about half the suitcase for my clothes. I discovered on our last trip to WDW that rolling my clothes and putting them in Ziploc bags saves so much space. I squeeze out all the air and four shirts now take up the space that one would otherwise. I don’t find it to cause any more wrinkles than cramming it all in so it fits does, so it is now my preferred method of packing. :thumbsup2

DSis was texting me until about 1 AM asking many questions about what she should pack. Are you bringing a hair dryer? Can I pack liquids in my checked bag? What are you taking as a carry-on? These were just some of the texts I got from her until I finally told her I had to go to sleep.

Our flight left around 12:30. I wanted an earlier flight, but the only other one on Southwest that was non-stop was at 7 AM. DBF and I decided against that one since getting up so early for a flight last time threw us off and made us so tired. And we couldn't check in until 3 anyway.

We packed up the car and headed to pick up DSis around 9:30. :drive: It takes about an hour to get to the airport and I wanted to give us plenty of time. We got to the airport with plenty of time which was good because we had to park like a mile away from the airport entrance. I guess a lot of people were on vacation!

I love that there’s free wi-fi in the airport. We were able to check the weather and pass the time away on the computer. :surfweb:

We had secured tickets in the A boarding group, so we got boarded and got our seats. It was only DSis’s second time on an airplane and she had to go through her ritual of reading the safety card and shushing me during the flight attendants safety speech! :rotfl:

We settled in and had in uneventful flight. DSis loves the plane pictures so we took a few of those.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323668980_yHQcn-M.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323669930_GN4og-M.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323669363_74Caw-L.jpg

I guess now would be a good time to introduce my new travel buddy. Captain Jack Sparrow. I was inspired late last year by some of the pictures on the cruise boards. There were some people took pictures with a stuffed Fun Ship Freddy and another who used sock money. They posed them all around the ship and others had them on other trips with them as their traveling buddy. It made me want one!

I had to be original, though. I was on the lookout for a few months for my own travel buddy. It couldn’t be just any old thing; it had to speak to me! Then, I saw a picture of a little stuffed Jack Sparrow. I have a small obsession with the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and as soon as I saw it, I had to have it! :rolleyes1

I didn’t know where to get it from, though, as I had never seen one in person so I put my Google skills to the test. Finally, I found out it was a giveaway from McDonalds a few years ago. How didn’t I know about this!? I still had to have it. But how? Well, if you have the internet where else do you go to look for anything you might want? :idea: EBay! I found one and had DBF order it for me (after he teased me about it!). Captain Jack Sparrow came to me shortly there after and is now my official travel buddy.

Jack enjoys the plane ride
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323669147_Mm3MY-M.jpg

Jack passes the time away listening to some music
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323670339_vn9De-M.jpg

Captain Jack has been places around my city, but WDW would be his first big trip. I think he was excited, too.

We finally see Florida below us!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323670782_4zkQr-M.jpg

Anyway, we arrived in MCO on time (yay for Southwest! :yay: ) and took the “monorail” to get our luggage. We barely had to wait at all for it to come out. Next, we had to go get our rental car and find the condo rental agency and then make it to our condo.

I promise there will be more pictures soon. I tend to forget to take pictures while doing the actual traveling. One, because I’m busy worried about getting where we need to be and keeping all our stuff together and Two, because this is one of the few times on vacation when the camera isn’t attached to my wrist! ;)

Next up: You call this an intermediate car!? And we make it to our condo!

kathleen27

07-03-2008, 08:00 PM

YAY!!!:cool1: You started!

Lots of pictures is good!!!

It takes me forever to pack.:sad2:

Glad Jack enjoyed the plane ride! pirate:

Can't wait for more!

jmskinner

07-04-2008, 08:46 AM

:cool1: you started your TR. I am the same way. Take camera at security checkpoint and on our way. I end up with a lot of blurry ones because I snap as I walk! Pictures that is.

I'll be here waiting for more!

irky416

07-04-2008, 10:21 AM

YAY!!!:cool1: You started!

Lots of pictures is good!!!

It takes me forever to pack.:sad2:

Glad Jack enjoyed the plane ride! pirate:

Can't wait for more!

I'm glad you came back to read this trip report!

:cool1: you started your TR. I am the same way. Take camera at security checkpoint and on our way. I end up with a lot of blurry ones because I snap as I walk! Pictures that is.

I'll be here waiting for more!

I also take pictures as I'm walking! I have less blurry ones now because I have Image Stabilization on my camera. Best invention ever!

Thanks for reading!

irky416

07-05-2008, 01:36 PM

Chapter 2: Arrival

We had rented a car from an offsite company because they were $100 cheaper than any at the airport. I was a little nervous about the shuttle taking forever to come get us. We had a bad experience with that when we got stranded in Dallas one time. It turns out, I was nervous about nothing. :thumbsup2 We called and waited maybe 15 minutes at most for the shuttle.

DSis found the sign in the shuttle amusing and insisted on me taking a picture of it.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323671001_MJdAE-L.jpg

We got to the rental place in about 10 minutes and there was no wait. We had reserved an intermediate car since we had three adults and were planning on using our car to transport DBF’s parents to the parks sometimes, too. (They rented their own car, but had reserved a compact.) The guy told us the only intermediate car they had didn’t have automatic anything. Ok, we thought, not a huge deal.

Then the problem started. :sad2: He started to try to get us to upgrade for $60 more to the next higher class of car because it was much nicer and we would be more comfortable with our luggage. We said no thanks and then he started to print the paper work for the car with that had no automatic “stuff” (a Kia, maybe? I don’t remember.). While he was printing it, he said, “Oh wait. We don’t have that car now.” Umm…what? :confused3

Then, I don’t know how it happened but he ended up giving us a Ford Mustang. He printed out the information and it was $20 more than what we had reserved for. At that point, I was getting annoyed with the whole process. He said it was still an intermediate. We had been there for about 20 minutes while he was trying to figure out what to do. He had a very strong accent and he was talking very softly. We couldn’t really understand him all that well. We ended up taking the Mustang. When we got out and actually saw it, we were kind of surprised. It looked really small.

I never took a picture, but here is what it looked like: (We had the first one)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/2007-v6-ford-mustang.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/random_016.jpg

The luggage all fit ok, but when DSis tried to get in the backseat, she realized how small it was back there. There was no way we would be fitting 5 people in there! :mad: Oh well. Too late now, and we didn’t want to argue about it. It would do.

As an aside, I hated driving this car. I found it hard to see out of and DBF had to keep looking for me to see if I could merge. It didn’t accelerate well or do stop and go driving well. On the highway was fine, but except to and from the airport we weren’t on the highway. I don’t know if it was this particular car or all Mustangs, but it made me never want to buy one.

Ok, that was way too much about the car! We brought our GPS (we named him Niles and have him set up with the British accent) and set it up to get us to the rental agency where we had to go check in and pick up the keys. It took us about 45 minutes to get there from the airport. We never got lost. Thanks Niles! :)

After picking up our keys, we headed back to our condo. It was about 15 minutes from the rental agency. We had a little problem finding our specific building. Niles didn’t seem to know all of the little roads in the complex. We found it, though, shortly after arriving at the resort. DBF’s parents were not having the same luck. Their GPS (Evelyn) was not giving them good directions. They called DBF and he talked them though the directions from the airport.

We unpacked the car and headed into the condo. It was just as nice as what we were expecting. Before we unpacked and made a mess, I had DSis pose for some pictures of what it looked like.

Outside of our building:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323621993_eJ4g2-L.jpg

Our room with the extra twin bed:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323619301_s8h4U-L.jpg

Our HUGE closet:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323621570_KEt8G-L.jpg

Our bathroom: (We have the same shower curtain at our house!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323619553_ziUfU-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323619837_qnfX3-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323620241_kQzb5-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323620546_5J7FA-L.jpg

DBF's parents bedroom complete with towel animal:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323620916_waWyt-L.jpg

DBF's parents bathroom:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323621244_tBmTW-L.jpg

We picked this one specifically because it had an extra twin bed in the 2nd bedroom for DSis. All of the condos are decorated differently, and a lot of them have Disney decorations. I would highly recommend staying here, if you want more space than a hotel room. It only took about 10 minutes to get to Disney property. :goodvibes

They also had a really nice pool area, but we never made it over there to go swimming. The one night we were planning on it, the pool was closed early for maintenance. Someone said it had just closed, so I am going to guess someone had an accident in the pool and it needed to be cleaned. :confused:

We unpacked while waiting for DBF’s parents to arrive. The plan was to get dinner with them and then DBF, DSis and I were going to head to Magic Kingdom for the rest night. :yay: The plan was being threatened, however, by the ever darkening sky and abundance of dark grey clouds.

Up Next: Dinner and will we make it to MK or will we be rained out?

poohangel

07-05-2008, 01:55 PM

Great so far. We are staying at windsor hills in April. I cant wait.

irky416

07-05-2008, 02:55 PM

Great so far. We are staying at windor hills in April. I cant wait.

Thanks for reading! Windsor Hills was great. It was really close and we barely ever hit traffic. :thumbsup2

shera

07-05-2008, 03:41 PM

great pictures,love the plane photos,thanks for sharing your trip,can't wait for more

OneTreeHillAddict

07-05-2008, 05:17 PM

:goodvibes Subbing. Can't wait to read more!

tink1957

07-05-2008, 05:44 PM

Great pics, I'm enjoying your TR so far & can't wait to read more. :cool1: Thanks for sharing.

wdwgirl03

07-05-2008, 06:44 PM

Great start! Love your little Jack Sparrow. :)

HappyDisneyMemories

07-05-2008, 06:57 PM

Love it! Can't wait for more! Your Jack Sparrow is too cute! :goodvibes

TCKK

07-05-2008, 07:23 PM

Joining in!! Love all the pics.

jmskinner

07-06-2008, 09:56 AM

Ok, I'm still here even though I am a Mustang owner!:lmao: Not something I would rent on vacation though unless it was just the two of us. Plus ours is a GT, so it has more power. I had issues with my rental car company also.

The condo looks really nice. Did I miss him, was Jack in any of those photos?

irky416

07-06-2008, 12:50 PM

great pictures,love the plane photos,thanks for sharing your trip,can't wait for more

Thanks!

:goodvibes Subbing. Can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading!!

Great pics, I'm enjoying your TR so far & can't wait to read more. :cool1: Thanks for sharing.

Thank you. I should have the next update later today.

Great start! Love your little Jack Sparrow. :)

Thanks! I love him, too! :love:

Love it! Can't wait for more! Your Jack Sparrow is too cute! :goodvibes

Thanks for reading!

Joining in!! Love all the pics.

Thank you and welcome!

Ok, I'm still here even though I am a Mustang owner!:lmao: Not something I would rent on vacation though unless it was just the two of us. Plus ours is a GT, so it has more power. I had issues with my rental car company also.

The condo looks really nice. Did I miss him, was Jack in any of those photos?

Haha. I was waiting for the first person to come and tell me they had a Mustang and I was wrong! :lmao: For the kind of driving I do at home, I don't think I would mind it, but on vacation, it was a pain. Also, at home no one rides in my backseat hardly ever. It was annoying to have to keep readjusting my seat because DSis always got in on my side. And I just hate two door cars.

You didn't miss Jack. You'll start to notice there are "clumps" of Jack pictures. Since this was his first trip, we forgot about him sometimes. :guilty: He was in my bag every day but we didn't always remember to take him out.

irky416

07-06-2008, 08:12 PM

Chapter 3: Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea…

I left off as we were waiting for DBF’s parents to arrive. They arrived shortly after we were done unpacking and we decided to go out for dinner. I wanted to go to Earl of Sandwich or the Grand Floridian cafeteria for dinner. I knew neither was expensive. I really wanted to try Earl of Sandwich based on reviews on the Dis. :thumbsup2 And DSis and I had the goal of making it to the Grand Floridian before we left WDW. Why, you ask? We both love Full House and wanted to stop and see if we could find the stuff from the episode where they went to WDW. :goodvibes I thought we could kill two birds with one stone and just eat there also.

I was out voted, however, and everyone decided to go to Shoney’s. (Don’t ask me why.) We drove to Shoney’s and had a rather unpleasant experience. :sad2: The food was mediocre and the waitress looked like she never smiled in her life. Not to mention the fact that she seemed to have no clue what was on their menu. DBF’s mom asked her what kind of salad dressing they had and the waitress looked at her like she had just asked what the capital of Yugoslavia was. :confused3

We all got free dessert with our dinner, though, which was about the only good thing about going there. :rolleyes: I took no pictures here as there was absolutely nothing worth documenting or remembering about this dinner! :laughing:

During dinner we came up with a plan for the rest of the night. DBF’s parents would head out to the grocery store and pick up some breakfast foods, snacks, and water. DBF, DSis, and I would head to Magic Kingdom for the rest of the night. pirate: DBF’s parents only had three day park passes and they were tired from traveling, so it worked out well.

As we were driving back to the resort, the sky was getting darker and darker. It looked like it was going to storm really badly. :worried: DBF’s parents dropped us off and we went inside and started to gather stuff up to head out to the park. While we were inside, we heard the rain start. It was pouring. We decided we were going to head out as planned. I was hoping to get there around 8ish so we would have 4 hours to spend. This was our only time planned for MK. DBF is not a big fan of this park and none of us had been to the other parks for a long time, but we’d been to MK much more recently.
We ran to the car in the rain. DSis and I got extra wet because I had to wait for her to climb in the back. We set up Niles for MK and headed off. Before we left, I had downloaded the Disney maps from Mousesavers into our GPS. I don’t know if Niles would have found the Disney sites without them, but for the most part it was really helpful. It poured the entire trip there. I had trouble seeing. I also did not like the Mustang in the rain, although, that was probably more due to rental car tires. It was raining really badly. So bad, that I didn’t even make DBF take a picture of the WDW gate or the MK gate. :eek: I doubt they would have turned out, the rain was coming down so hard.

It was weird, though. As we were pulling into the parking lot at MK, the rain started to slow down. As, I was parking the car, it slowed down even more. And by the time we got out and walked over to the tram, it was barely drizzling. While on the monorail, it almost looked like it was clearing up. :wizard:

By the time we entered the turnstiles at MK, this was what it looked like. (excuse the darkness and the finger in the next shot...It was the first time I was trying out our new waterproof camera)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321693531_gh2Vs-L.jpg

Blue sky and few clouds. It was perfect how it had worked out for us on our first day at Disney. (We wouldn’t be this lucky the rest of the week!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321693902_LD4Ek-L.jpg

We had preordered the Photopass, so our first goal was to get our picture taken. We found some photographers and started posing. I had to ask for the Tink shot, but the photographer was happy to oblige. (I think I saved every Photopass picture of s in front of a landmark with all the different borders, so I have a ton of example if anyone wants to see something specific.)

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464205_ZAUWf-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464302_oYYwK-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464422_JbYGp-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464520_rjgXE-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464637_AJg2s-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464741_evPJW-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464848_MLaHD-L.jpg

After getting our pictures taken, we decided we were going to head over towards Adventureland to ride Pirates. pirate: We got there and found a 45 minute wait. No thanks. DSis wanted to ride Splash Mountain. We headed over there and found a 65 minute wait and no Fast Passes left. Ok, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. 55 minutes with no Fast Passes either. :eek:

Hmmm….maybe I didn’t think coming to Magic Kingdom at 7:30 at night in the middle of June through all the way. :sad:

Up Next: Will we actually ride anything? And our first encounter with a monster!

wdwgirl03

07-06-2008, 09:20 PM

Disney Brat

07-06-2008, 09:43 PM

Just found your TR! Great job! Also I am a former Mustang owner! DH and I had one, and loved it! Sorry you had a bad experience with it! Can't wait to hear more!

MistyD

07-06-2008, 09:43 PM

Loving your TR so far!! Can't wait to read more!

irky416

07-06-2008, 10:03 PM

Oooh, your third photopass picture...that border is SOOO neat!! I wonder if they just added it because I definitely do not remember seeing that one when I was ordering a couple of our pictures. :confused3

I like that one, too! It wasn't available in February either. It probably is a new one then.

Just found your TR! Great job! Also I am a former Mustang owner! DH and I had one, and loved it! Sorry you had a bad experience with it! Can't wait to hear more!

Thanks! I'm glad you liked the Mustang. Maybe it was just the one we rented. Who knows what condition the rental cars are really in. :confused3

Loving your TR so far!! Can't wait to read more!

:welcome: Thanks for reading! I love the picture in your signature by the way. It's so adorable. :goodvibes

Next update should be up by tomorrow at the latest!

irky416

07-07-2008, 03:11 PM

Chapter 4: Monster Encounter Numero Uno

I was getting worried that we wouldn’t get to ride anything and we came out for nothing. We were kind of wondering around aimlessly. We ended up back in Frontierland even though we had just left.

I was sad because no one would get in the picture with me!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321696477_e6egh-L.jpg

Then DSis changed that!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321696738_keE8L-L.jpg

Then I stopped for a minute and thought. We’re going to do the rides that hold a lot of people at first and hope the lines get smaller as the night progresses. There weren’t that many rides we were really concerned with anyway and two of them were big shows.

We happened to be in Adventureland at this point and saw the Jungle Cruise still had FP’s. We grabbed three and headed over towards Mickey’s Philharmagic.

On the way...
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321696974_9jDwY-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321697253_9AkuB-L.jpg

On the way, we headed towards Haunted Mansion and saw it had only a 15 minute wait. All right, things are looking better already. DSis didn’t get to ride this last summer because it was closed.

We got in line, took some pictures, and rode.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321694289_rPYt9-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321694729_hzpfV-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321695139_f8NfS-L.jpg

I didn't notice last time that her eyes opened and looked around.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321695629_JVNiE-L.jpg

I was looking for Mr. Toad but I couldn't find him. It was starting to get dark and there wasn't enough light.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321695951_iSM4E-L.jpg

DSis had to ride with me because we were both too scared to ride alone. Then, we headed towards Philharmagic. 10 minute wait. Yes! This was working out. My DIS knowledge wasn’t letting me down. We got a red card from a CM. DSis and DBF kept asking what it was and didn’t believe me when I told them until they read it for themselves. (We actually ended up getting a fair number of these during the week. I would say at least 2 each day we were at a park.)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321697658_yUTvo-L.jpg
And in Spanish, because we like to randomly start speaking in the bit of Spanish we know...
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321698131_42oEx-L.jpg

It’s our tradition to take pictures of ourselves in 3D glasses.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321698438_sHs2d-L.jpg

I also pointed out the Hidden Mickey to DBF.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321699048_VmyQw-L.jpg

That led to an explanation of Hidden Mickeys. (I swear I told him about them on our last trip…) He was impressed with the idea, but we kind of forgot to look for them. I did point out some of the obvious ones to him and he was always like, “That’s cool!”

By the time that let out, it was a little after 8:30. It seemed a little less busy than before, but I was still worried about long lines. We headed over to DBF’s favorite ride (which luckily is a big show.) Monsters Inc, Laugh Floor. :sulley:

Got this picture on the way.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321699406_Mx9y8-L.jpg

I love Pleakley. Lilo and Stitch is one of the only Disney movies where I like the TV show better than the movie.

Anyway, back to Monsters, Inc. DBF loves this show. He laughs at everything they say. He was also excited to text a joke because when we were there in February we never got to. And when we went last summer my step-brother texted one and it got in the show. Ever since then, DBF has wanted to get a joke said. He secretly really wants to be That Guy, too.

DBF texted in my pirate joke while we were waiting in the pre-show room. How much does it cost a pirate to get his ears pierced? A Buccaneer!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321699719_KBXEA-L.jpg

We got in and the show was really funny. Then they started the second segment of the show. This time it was the psychic segment. Buddy Boil came out and said, “I see my volunteer…on this side of the audience…and wearing a seatbelt!” I knew at that second it was me. I had on my bag with the strap across my chest and I never take it off, even when I sit down. Of course, the next thing I know, there I am on the screen!

Ugh. I really don’t like being the center of attention like that. But, hey! I’m in Disney World I might as well get into it.

I was asked to tell the audience my number I picked while the monster covered his eyes so he couldn’t hear me. He asked me if I told them, and I said yes. Then he asked me the same thing again about eight more times. Each time I had to shout yes a little louder. (Wow, that was annoying. I felt like I was back in school repeating the same thing to students who didn’t listen the first time!) DBF and DSis are cracking up at me in the meantime. Then he told me I had to help him out with his reception. He told me to put my fingers on the side of my head, then to put them up like antennae. DSis snapped a picture of this on her cell phone.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/untitled.jpg

Then he told me I had to make noise to help him out. It was some weird gargling noise. He made me do it for what seemed like forever. Then he said he had the psychic vision and he guessed my number! Ta-Da!

The show continued and they got to Mike Wazowski’s nephew (Help with his name, please!?) with the jokes. Then, I hear that the first joke was sent in by my name and from my city and it was my pirate joke! DBF texted it as from me! Here’s what we got texted back to us after we sent in the text: Buena Vista Internet Group; Your joke was so good I couldn't believe my eye. Yours Truly Mike Wazowski I saved it in my phone so I could remember getting picked!

The show was over and when we left, DBF and DSis were still teasing me about wearing a seat belt and being a bug (just one of the bugs we encountered, as per the title of my report!) and making that weird noise. It was fun, though. DBF was jealous. He wanted to get picked for something! DSis made me reenact my antennae for a picture.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321700435_QfJ3Q-L.jpg

We went into one of the nearby shops and took a few pictures.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321700828_XJifT-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321701186_g2jB7-L.jpg

We were going to ride Buzz, but the line was still 30 minutes. We don’t like that ride that much to wait so long. It was time for our Jungle Cruise FP’s so we headed back over in that direction. We stopped in Liberty Square for this photo op that we missed the last two times we were at MK.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321701705_kJBcW-L.jpg

It was almost time for Wishes. My hope was that we would ride during Wishes and after that the park would clear out a little bit. We went over to get on Jungle Cruise. We didn’t even need the FP’s at that point because there was no line. There were only 7 people on our boat. I didn’t take any pictures because it was dark. Our guide was pretty good. But, here’s a tip… don’t ride Jungle Cruise during Wishes. It was really hard to hear him sometimes. I felt bad because sometimes no one would laugh at his jokes because we couldn’t hear. DBF, DSis and I were the only ones really getting into it anyway.

Our skipper was amused when he screamed, “Oh no! Look out!” and DSis jumped and leaned in towards the center of the boat. And then he said we were going to get wet and she looked so scared. The skipper teased her about that, too.

We headed over to Pirates next and the wait time was much smaller. We got in line and rode Pirates.

(Notice I remembered one of my many packs of glowsticks!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321702095_67YCn-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/251970770_bHRZT-L-2.jpg

This was the first day it was open after the rehab. The Jack Sparrow head in the bucket seemed to be broken. It was facing downward and not out like it was last time we were there. I hope it's fixed now!

After we got off, I was determined to find the medallion and the key that are in the store that were used in the Pirates movies. (Thanks RachelNinja for telling us about them!) I knew the medallion was on a red vase. We looked around and found it!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321703122_xRxxe-L.jpg

DBF was impressed I knew what I was talking about. At first, he and DSis didn’t believe me it was there. The key proved harder to find. I couldn’t remember what it was on and I was going to ask, but the store was actually really busy. I never did end up finding the key.

Jack also got to pose with Pirate Mickey!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321703567_dxsGm-L.jpg

Up Next: Dole Whips, parades, and the end of the night!

jmskinner

07-07-2008, 08:54 PM

I hadn't heard about the medallion and key before. You learn so much on these boards.

Great trip report!

irky416

07-07-2008, 09:20 PM

I hadn't heard about the medallion and key before. You learn so much on these boards.

Great trip report!

I know. :disrocks: I just read about them not that long ago. I wish I could have found the key!

Thanks!

tinkgurl

07-08-2008, 11:35 AM

This was the first day it was open after the rehab. The Jack Sparrow head in the bucket seemed to be broken. It was facing downward and not out like it was last time we were there. I hope it's fixed now!

We rode Pirates that day too and noticed the same thing about Jack not working in the barrel behind the other guy. But, we were there either the next night or the day after that and he was working again!

bucky1023

07-08-2008, 12:21 PM

I hadn't heard about the medallion and key before. You learn so much on these boards.

Great trip report!

I haven't heard about this either. I'll have to search for it because my nephew is a huge fan and will be very impressed with me if I know about this.

BTW - great report so far!!!

irky416

07-08-2008, 01:59 PM

We rode Pirates that day too and noticed the same thing about Jack not working in the barrel behind the other guy. But, we were there either the next night or the day after that and he was working again!

I'm glad they got him fixed!

I haven't heard about this either. I'll have to search for it because my nephew is a huge fan and will be very impressed with me if I know about this.

BTW - great report so far!!!

The medallion is pretty easy to find if you know what you're looking for. Good luck finding them.

Thanks! :goodvibes

The Moonk's Mom

07-08-2008, 02:35 PM

We were at MK on the same day! I was sitting eating during the down pour. Good planning on my behalf thank you!

Great TR!

irky416

07-08-2008, 02:41 PM

We were at MK on the same day! I was sitting eating during the down pour. Good planning on my behalf thank you!

Great TR!

Thank you and thanks for reading!

Wow. A lot of people seem to have been there that day! That was good planning on your part.

Disney Brat

07-08-2008, 02:59 PM

Great update!! I never get picked to go up for anything!! Really neat that you did! Can't wait to read more!

irky416

07-08-2008, 04:13 PM

Great update!! I never get picked to go up for anything!! Really neat that you did! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks for reading! It was pretty fun. And the monsters weren't done with us yet!

kathleen27

07-08-2008, 07:02 PM

The resort looks great!

Glad the rain stopped when you arrived!
You got lots of great fun pictures.

Sounds like it worked out great with the lines getting shorter!
How cool you found the medallion!
Monsters sounds fun, we have not done that one yet. :(
I always wear my purse like that too, something to remember at Monsters. :laughing:

irky416

07-08-2008, 08:39 PM

irky416

07-08-2008, 08:55 PM

Chapter 5: Another bug, another monster and closing up Magic Kingdom

After we rode Pirates, we headed over to see if BTMRR had less of a wait. It was posted at 20 minutes. We decided to get in line. We love this ride! We got another red card this time.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321703974_D9hX7-L.jpg

Even Jack loves this ride
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321704339_i8PEE-L.jpg

While in line, we started talking to a dad and his daughter in front of us. It was her first time on the ride and she was a little nervous. We told her it was mostly just fast and there weren’t really any big drops or anything. We were chatting for a few minutes and then his daughter recognized me from my stint at Monsters Inc! I was famous. She rode right behind us and I could tell she was enjoying it. After we got off, I asked her if she like it and she said she LOVED it.

DBF said he wanted a snack and so I figured this would be the perfect time to finally try a Dole Whip I had heard so much about. We headed over to Aloha Isle and got in line. While we were waiting, we heard a commotion off to the side of the line. A mom was freaking out and yelling and swatting at her little daughter who was in a stroller. She was yelling, “What is it!? Get it off!” Her sons who were a little older started doing the same thing. The mom finally brushed whatever was on her daughter off to the ground and it was a huge cockroach looking bug. It was so big. It was right on the little girl! It landed on the ground right in front of us, and wasn’t dead yet. DSis and I started freaking out and told DBF to kill it. He wouldn’t. He hates bugs, too, and I think he was scared of it. Finally, some guy beside us came over and stomped on it because the mom was still freaking out about the bug being on her daughter. After it was killed, the commotion died down. That was some major drama at the Dole Whip stand, though!

Anyway, DBF and I ordered two Dole Whips. We got vanilla and pineapple mixed.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321705229_3vZN5-L.jpg

Jack wanted to show his excitement at finally getting a Dole Whip.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321704715_paPUP-L.jpg

They were melting quickly. We realized we were going to have to sit to eat them. We wanted to head back over to Buzz Lightyear, but Spectromagic was going on and blocking our way. DSis said she wanted to watch the parade. So, DBF and I sat down on the ledge behind the partners statue and ate our Dole Whips. We really liked them, by the way! :woohoo:

DSis grabbed my camera and headed over to the curb to watch the parade. DBF and I watched it from where we were sitting, but Dsis wanted a better view. She kept running over to us and telling us what just went by and what she had taken a picture of, like she was 6 years old! Then a dwarf touched her hand apparently when they went by and she was really excited. She should have realized this was going to mark things to come between her and the characters.

Here are some of her pictures from Spectro.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321705746_xaeHM-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321706011_HXHSz-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321706264_gDw2j-L-1.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321706736_5KqtV-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321707218_A76wY-L-1.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321708222_DAtkQ-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321709467_bvSHu-L-1.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321710154_jTryg-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321711016_43YXu-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321711415_KiBHG-L.jpg
One of the dwarves that touched her.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321712259_TJPh8-L.jpg

We stopped for another Photopass before heading back to Tomorrowland for some Buzz Lightyear.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325464951_DSHQS-L.jpg

The line was much shorter, a 5 minute wait now.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321712698_DTSqR-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321713095_kL5FQ-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321713420_dyD8C-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321713693_qxovV-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321714061_tyt94-L.jpg

DSis begged to go on Stitch. Last time, I hated that ride. The bars were pushing down on my shoulders, I couldn’t sit up all the way, the chili-dog smell stayed with me for the next 2 hours, and I was scared because I hate the dark and things jumping at me. She was begging and pleading, though. DBF said he’d go if I went. So, we walked on Stitch. I sat way up when the bars were coming down. I never felt them once the whole ride. I breathed through my mouth the whole time and death gripped DBF’s hand. It was basically like I was sitting in a dark room with sound and getting wet. Not too horrible.

At that point, it was about 11:50. We knew we wouldn’t make it anywhere else before closing, so we jumped back in line for Monsters, Inc again. DBF had come up with a joke while we were waiting for BTMRR, so he texted in his own joke this time. What’s a pirate’s favorite subject? Arrrrrrrrrrrt.

We went in and enjoyed the show again. I made sure to take my “seatbelt” off this time! Mike’s nephew came out and did a joke. It was DBF’s! He was so excited. Those monsters really loved us today! Then, Mike’s nephew started talking to a little boy in the audience who was wearing pirate Mickey ears. The little boy wasn’t being very talkative so Mike’s nephew mentioned his Mickey ears. Then he said, “Do you now how much it costs a pirate to get his ears pierced? A buccaneer!” That was the joke I sent in earlier! They used my joke again. DBF was happy. He gets so excited over this show. It’s so cute! (Yes, I know that joke probably gets used all the time, but it was just funny that both our jokes got used and mine got used twice in the same day.)

We started to head out slowly. We stopped for one more Photopass. (Gotta put that pre-purchase CD to use!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325465198_8rqua-L.jpg

DSis and I tried to find a bathroom before we left. We left DBF on the rocking chairs in front of Tony’s. It took us a while to find one. But while we were looking DSis started hitting my arm and jumping. She claims she saw someone who was on The Simple Life. (Ugh. I hate to admit she loves that show!) She was so excited. I told her to go ask him, but she wouldn’t.

We found DBF again, and he was talking to his parents about the plans for tomorrow. We sat for a few minutes and watched more people file out of the park.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321715347_jTEpW-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321715003_k8xNi-L.jpg
We headed out and were home shortly thereafter. We were exhausted and pretty much fell into bed immediately.

Up next: Our first time at Animal Kingdom!

RachelNinja

07-08-2008, 10:07 PM

tinkgurl

07-08-2008, 10:38 PM

Up next: Our first time at Animal Kingdom!

Can't wait to read! We went to Animal Kingdom that SAME day too! :laughing: Were we following each other?!

OneTreeHillAddict

07-09-2008, 12:23 AM

Lovely resort! Love your pics with Tink too. I have never seen people holding the See ya real soon signs at the end of the night! That's kind of cool!

Can't wait to read more!!! :thumbsup2

irky416

07-09-2008, 02:56 PM

YAY! I'm all caught up now! I didn't even realize you started the TR since I was away these past couple of days at a church retreat and didn't have access to DIS.

Woot for finding the medallion on your own! I never realized how much decoration they have in that store until I started looking for it myself! And although you didn't find the key, now you can have something to search for the next time you go!

Haha, I loved reading about how your jokes were used in Monsters Inc and how you were featured! I'm curious to know what sound you made, hehe. I also always wonder what they do if they choose someone who's not responsive at ALL.

Your DSis's reactions to the parade were great! Can't wait to read more :)

I was wondering what happened to you. You hadn't updated either of your threads in awhile. I hope you had a good time at the retreat!

I wouldn't have found the medallion without your update! I do want to find the key and I guess it's a good excuse to go back! :laughing:

One time we did Monsters, there was a guy who didn't do anything when he was up there. The audience thought it was funny and the monsters at east got him to answer a few questions.

Can't wait to read! We went to Animal Kingdom that SAME day too! :laughing: Were we following each other?!

Thanks. That's funny. Did you go to Epcot the day after? If so, I think we were stalking each other! :rotfl:

Lovely resort! Love your pics with Tink too. I have never seen people holding the See ya real soon signs at the end of the night! That's kind of cool!

Can't wait to read more!!! :thumbsup2

Thanks! The signs were cool. I wish I would have realized there were people in the picture, so I could have just them. We were in a rush to find a bathroom, though!

jmskinner

07-09-2008, 07:42 PM

irky416

07-09-2008, 08:18 PM

Ok, now I know where to get a Dole Whip. I keep hearing about these things and had told myself to get one on our last trip, but never saw one.

I love the "see ya later signs". I'll have to stay until closing to see those sometime.

Great trip report!

I just looked and Aloha Isle is on the map. As long as you can remember the name you can find it next time! It's a really small store right next to the Adventureland bridge. Good luck.

Thanks!

irky416

07-09-2008, 08:41 PM

Chapter 6 – First time at Animal Kingdom

We had reservations at Rainforest Café for breakfast, but decided not to use them. No one really wanted to get up extra early and we wanted to make sure we were there for opening at 9. We got up and had breakfast at the condo.

We headed towards Animal Kingdom. We had AAA parking. That is so nice! It was so close at all the parks. I had told DBF to take a picture of the Animal Kingdom sign (he and his dad were in the front, so he had the better view).
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322070094_t4p5L-L.jpg

And then as we were still driving, he was taking a picture of something outside of the car. I asked him what he was taking a picture of and he said, “The green AAA parking line we’re supposed to follow.” I asked him why. “I don’t know, it seems like something you’d want a picture of! You always take pictures of random things.” :lmao: He knows me pretty well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/IMG_3662.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322070389_Bsjjj-L.jpg
We got there a little before 9 and had a few Photopasses taken. Sorry, I have to add Mickey and Minnie to the pics!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image1.jpg

Then DSis and I saw Meeko. I wanted to meet some characters this trip. It was a top priority. And there was hardly a line. I also had a made a bag to get autographed and I decided I would do it. (Before we left, I was undecided about wheter or not I wanted to get autographs.)

Here’s the bag – before.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Online%20Pics/IMG_3629.jpg

Meeko signing the bag
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322070716_cGNaP-L.jpg

DSis and I with Meeko
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322071027_epVnM-L.jpg

After we got in, the plan was for DSis, DBF and I to run over and get FP’s for EE and then meet up with DBF’s parents at the safari ride.

We stopped for Photopass first:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image5.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image6.jpg

I snapped these as we were walking and we made it back over to the safari in no time. There was only about a 20 minute wait.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322071399_oAatq-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322071787_csDhh-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322072199_nJe4X-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322072577_LEULR-L.jpg

I really enjoyed the safari ride. We saw a bunch of animals and took way too many pictures.

Took these in line of DSis and DBF's favorite animals
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322072919_JDDki-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322073287_o6LBV-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322073682_HpLEn-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322066912_rYn8B-L.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/IMG_3673.jpg
I loved this bumper sticker!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322074075_iKHJd-L.jpg

Since I think I'm approaching my picture limit, I'll continue the safari pictures below.

OneTreeHillAddict

07-09-2008, 08:57 PM

:lmao: I love the way you made your guests Mickey and Minnie. Is that cool border yours or from Disney Photopass? The gold one. I like it!

irky416

07-09-2008, 08:58 PM

It was my first time here. I always take way too many pictures during my first trip. It was hard to get pictures, though! It was so bumpy and we moved pretty quickly.

Safari pictures:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322074667_qLEYi-L.jpg

Rhinos (Black maybe?)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322075259_CbQfv-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322076559_v72JE-L.jpg

Hippos:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322077149_yhTgS-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322078471_7fWPw-L.jpg

Crocodiles:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322078988_VGHGU-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322080105_kptuC-L.jpg

Lovely view (as our guide called it!):
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322081093_wKvDN-L.jpg

Some random creature:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322082202_Rgkhe-L.jpg

Wildebeest with a termite hill:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322067664_mKFRV-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322083113_eztZh-L.jpg

Elephant:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322084245_w8yQY-L.jpg

Ankoli cattle (no longer a random creature!):
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322067884_VuD7j-L.jpg

A lovely tree (as per our guide):
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322084753_MhRqv-L.jpg

Ostrich:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322068409_LKPs4-L.jpg

Flamingos (or Flingmos as I've called them since I was little!):
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322085286_zbwAp-L.jpg

Giraffe:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322068145_SPbPZ-L.jpg

Rhinos (white this time, maybe?)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322087167_wpDEA-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322088193_mtc66-L.jpg

They were really close to us. The last picture was taken without even zooming my camera. DBF was worried. He was like, "Aren't they a little too close?" ;)

The lion was the only animal we couldn't really see:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322089112_MTL6Z-L.jpg

Warthog:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322089994_TWAoY-L.jpg

Another random creature:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322090384_GQLGw-L.jpg

Scary bridge, but lovely waterfall:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322090906_F3Ejx-L.jpg

Poachers camp: (We got them in case you were worried!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322091437_54HxC-L.jpg

I really liked this ride and was kind of bummed we didn't get to ride it again.

Up Next: Stop flirting with my boyfriend! And we ride EE for the first time!

Disney Brat

07-09-2008, 09:28 PM

Great updates! Love the Mickey and Minnie add ons for the pics!! Really nice pics of the Safari! Can't wait to read more!!!

irky416

07-09-2008, 09:49 PM

:lmao: I love the way you made your guests Mickey and Minnie. Is that cool border yours or from Disney Photopass? The gold one. I like it!

Haha. Thanks. I don't think they want their pictures on a message board, so i just covered them up and then thought I'd do it Disney style. Luckily, they didn't have their picture taken too much, so I don't have to do it for a ton of pictures.

The gold border is through Photopass. Apparently it's new. I really like that one also!

Great updates! Love the Mickey and Minnie add ons for the pics!! Really nice pics of the Safari! Can't wait to read more!!!

Thanks! :goodvibes I thought who better to travel with than Mickey and Minnie!

wdwgirl03

07-10-2008, 11:23 AM

Michelle_and_Aaron

07-10-2008, 12:12 PM

I have been gone a few days and BAM 4 pages. I am totally loving this tr so far! Thanks for sharing your memories with us all.

irky416

07-10-2008, 12:45 PM

Great updates! That's really cute about the girl who recognized you from the Monsters show! Don't you love hearing reactions from first-timers?

I like your safari pictures and how some of the animals are random creatures. LOL. I do know that the one (the big brown ones with the horns) are called ankoli cattle...they have those at AKL. Looking forward to more!

I do love listening to people who are riding for the first time!

Haha. I wondered if anyone would catch that. I couldn't remember all their names. :blush: I'll go back and change the one. Thanks for telling me the real name!

I have been gone a few days and BAM 4 pages. I am totally loving this tr so far! Thanks for sharing your memories with us all.

Thanks!

irky416

07-10-2008, 02:47 PM

Chapter 7 - Terk and EE: More fun at Animal Kingdom

After the safari, we did the Pangani Forest Trail. We didn’t really see much here. And I hated the part with the birds. (I hate birds!) We saw a few animals, but honestly, I wouldn’t do this attraction again when we go back.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322092487_YDRoB-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322093020_vpwAS-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322068504_W6p5o-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322093437_qSmqX-L.jpg

We had to take this because DBF is originally from Buffalo!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322093836_ABYSf-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322094752_wjDtF-L.jpg

It wasn’t quite time to do EE yet, so we headed towards It’s Tough To Be A Bug. I was looking forward to this show. I like 3D shows and heard this one was good. On the way, we saw Terk with no line. We had great interaction here.

Terk and DBF were flirting with each other! He loved it and his mom was amused as she was watching us. (DBF’s parents didn’t get into the characters. They barely got their picture taken with them even though they stood in most of the lines with us. I also think they thought DBF hated meeting the characters as they kept trying to get him to go get a snack or something when DSis and I were waiting, but he liked it too!) We spent a good five minutes with Terk, me being annoyed because she was flirting with my DBF, Terk being excited over DBF, and it ending with DBF saying “I’ll call you!” to Terk and her getting all excited about it. :lmao: (I was happy about this because I want DBF to like meeting the characters!)

Terk signing the bag
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322097414_HRHjz-L.jpg

Posing with Terk:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322096963_uYQTG-L.jpg

We headed to ITTBAB. I loved the queue for this ride! However, since there was no actual line, I didn’t stop to take any pictures, except for this one.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322068672_DjQi3-L.jpg

And of course, we took the 3D glasses picture. And we got DBF’s parents into this picture as well.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image1-1.jpg

Even Jack wanted his picture with bug eyes!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322098566_fEYga-L.jpg

I liked it, but it wasn’t as good as I thought. I would find out why the next day. For this show, we were sitting way in the front and almost all the way to the left. The picture never really came into focus for us. We discovered we were sitting too close to the screen. When we came back later in the week and sat farther back, we loved it!

It was time for EE. We headed over that way and I took a few pics.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322098855_ArMHF-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322099143_2tgFa-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322099425_ZDFzZ-L.jpg

We all got in line and I took a few more. It was the prefect place to pose Jack, but the line was actually moving pretty quick. DBF was upset because he wanted to put him in one of the backpacks. It would have been perfect, but taken way too long.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322099722_2H9ww-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/IMG_3761.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322100273_pabhk-L.jpg
I rode with a random single person. She laughed at me when I screamed at the projected image of the Yeti and so did DBF and DSis who were riding in front of me. I hate when things jump out at me! Here’s our redneck ride photo. (We're in the middle and back left)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322100549_YF6Wv-L.jpg

I liked the ride, but I didn’t really like the backwards part so much. DBF and DSis felt the same way. It was fun, but DBF and DSis missed the Yeti. They wanted to do it again, so they could see it, but the line was too long.

We were getting hungry but I wanted to get a Fastpass before we ate. We sent DBF’s parents to get us a table at Pizzafari and we went over to DinoLand to get a Fastpass for Dinosaur.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322100787_FazPQ-L.jpg

When we got there the ride was shut down for technical difficulties, but the CM’s said the Fastpasses would be honored all day when the ride got working again.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/IMG_3767.jpg

We got our FP’s and then headed over to Pizzafari for lunch.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322101265_mwvg3-L.jpg

We beat the lunch rush, so we didn’t have to wait very long to get our food. We all ordered pizza, except for DBF’s mom. This started the “Why are you taking pictures of your food?” questions that I got every single time we ate! Most of the time I posed Jack with our food.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322101566_WgmvL-L.jpg
The pizza was so-so. Far from the best I've ever had, but far from the worst. There wasn't a big selection at AK that we were interested in so it served it's purpose.

While we were eating, we decided on what shows we wanted to see and when. We had to have a plan for the rest of the day. We had to eat quickly to make it to the next Nemo show.

On the way out DSis and DBF pretended to be cats.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322101900_jgorj-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322102152_bh4vJ-L.jpg

Up next: Nemo, Lion King, and will any more characters flirt with my DBF?

Disney Brat

07-10-2008, 03:55 PM

Great update!! The pics were beautiful!! Can't wait to read more!

Michelle_and_Aaron

07-10-2008, 04:01 PM

Lol I think it is so funny that the characters were flirting with your DBF. Minnie kept blowing kisses to Aaron and Josh both when we had dinner with her. How funny is that. I love the character interactions you can get sometimes when it is not crazy crowded.

irky416

07-10-2008, 11:56 PM

I'm out of town this weekend, so I don't know that I'll be able to update at all. I have a wedding and surprise party to go to. :flower3:

Great update!! The pics were beautiful!! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks!

Lol I think it is so funny that the characters were flirting with your DBF. Minnie kept blowing kisses to Aaron and Josh both when we had dinner with her. How funny is that. I love the character interactions you can get sometimes when it is not crazy crowded.

The characters are great sometimes! That's so cute Minnie was blowing kisses!

Indiana Jacob

07-11-2008, 10:49 AM

Disney Brat

07-11-2008, 10:58 AM

I'm out of town this weekend, so I don't know that I'll be able to update at all. I have a wedding and surprise party to go to. :flower3:

Have a great weekend, enjoy the wedding & party!!:cool1:

kathleen27

07-11-2008, 12:26 PM

Those Dole Whips look so good. Vanilla Pineapple swirl sounds great.
That is a must do for me next trip. Glad you liked them.
That bug sounds scary! :eek:

Yay! For shorter lines, and Monsters using your jokes again!!! :thumbsup2

Glad you liked the Safari.

Too funny that Turk was flirting with your BF. :laughing:
Sounds like fun with the characters!

Jack looks cute in his bug glasses!
Glad you got better seats later in the week.
Some seats the 3D just doesn’t seem to line up right.

Have a fun weekend!!!

tinkgurl

07-11-2008, 12:35 PM

Well...I hate to say this..but...I think we ARE stalking each other! We ate at Pizzafari for lunch as well. It's the only place we really like to eat for lunch at AK.

Aw, they missed the Yeti? We did too our first time riding it after it opened. Then, one time we were seated in the very last row-which we now ask for every time! It's faster, scarier, and gets SO close to the Yeti's hand! No way you can miss the Yeti from there!

The Moonk's Mom

07-11-2008, 01:42 PM

I think it is so funny that we probaly spent your first night walking right past each other. We got Dole Whips just before the parade too and best I can tell we were just around the circle during the parade.

Great update!

irky416

07-14-2008, 11:34 AM

I just started reading your TR and it's really good. Terk is so fuzzy! I really like the picture of Jacks Sparrow pirate: with the 3D glasses. :3dglasses Pizzafari is my favorite place to eat at AK. Hope you enjoy Nemo and the Lion King! :simba:

:welcome: Thanks for reading!

Have a great weekend, enjoy the wedding & party!!:cool1:

Thanks! We had a pretty good time.

Those Dole Whips look so good. Vanilla Pineapple swirl sounds great.
That is a must do for me next trip. Glad you liked them.
That bug sounds scary! :eek:

Yay! For shorter lines, and Monsters using your jokes again!!! :thumbsup2

Glad you liked the Safari.

Too funny that Turk was flirting with your BF. :laughing:
Sounds like fun with the characters!

Jack looks cute in his bug glasses!
Glad you got better seats later in the week.
Some seats the 3D just doesn’t seem to line up right.

Have a fun weekend!!!

I don't think I would have like the all pineapple Dole Whips. Too much pineapple.

Thanks! We had fun.

Well...I hate to say this..but...I think we ARE stalking each other! We ate at Pizzafari for lunch as well. It's the only place we really like to eat for lunch at AK.

Aw, they missed the Yeti? We did too our first time riding it after it opened. Then, one time we were seated in the very last row-which we now ask for every time! It's faster, scarier, and gets SO close to the Yeti's hand! No way you can miss the Yeti from there!

We probably passed each other a few times!

I agree. The back is way better on EE!

I think it is so funny that we probaly spent your first night walking right past each other. We got Dole Whips just before the parade too and best I can tell we were just around the circle during the parade.

Great update!

Hahaha. We probably did. That's so funny.

Thanks!

RachelNinja

07-14-2008, 02:18 PM

irky416

07-14-2008, 03:44 PM

:thumbsup2 Um, why would you NOT take pictures of your food? Haha. I absolutely adore the Jack pictures! I liked when you said DBF wanted to put him in the backpacks. You know a guy's a keeper when he's into doing those things too! I don't know that just anyone would be okay with the way that I go, "Oh, I should take a flats picture here!" Haha, I can just imagine them saying, "Really? You carry laminated cartoon characters with you EVERYWHERE?" Yes. Yes I do.

BTW, Mickey and Minnie with the Bug's Life glasses ... awesome~ :thumbsup2

Thanks. At first, DBF was totally opposed to having anything to do with Jack. He changed his tune quickly (obviously, before we were even halfway into day 2!) after he saw that it was pretty fun.

I love your flats! (And you signature picture!) I haven't checked out any of their adventures in a while. I'm going to have to head over there and see what they've been up to.

irky416

07-14-2008, 08:21 PM

Chapter 8: Goofy loves DSis but she loves Simba

After lunch, we headed over to the Nemo show.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322102918_UCuQL-L.jpg

DSis made me take a picture of all the different signs on the way in.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322103209_UEbsM-S.jpg http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322103563_pGXv6-S.jpg http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322103908_mfuyj-S.jpg http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322104306_vNWHG-S.jpg http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322104632_4WGuy-S.jpg http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322104924_KoSCG-S.jpg http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322105317_6y5vu-S.jpg

I decided if I were an elementary teacher or even a science teacher, I might make a bulletin board out of those, but I can't think of a way to incorporate any of my Disney pictures into my classroom.

Also, this is when DBF's dad started t really tease me about pictures. They have a friend who they thought took a lot of pictures. Then, they went on a vacation with me! It was a running joke the whole week.

Anyway, we didn’t have to wait very long and got pretty good seats. We played with Jack a little before the show started. DBF’s mom loaned me her hat.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322105568_MWWoj-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322105820_sWhcn-L.jpg

I didn’t take any pictures of the show, because I didn’t realize you were allowed. I really liked it. I still get Big Blue World in my head occasionally. I keep meaning to download it, but I keep forgetting. *goes to download now*

After Nemo, we headed towards Dinoland to use our FP’s for Dinosaur. On the way there, we ran into Goofy and Pluto. We jumped in line since it wasn’t very long. Here is where DSis would start her love/hate relationship with the characters. She wanted to get her picture taken with them all, but Goofy made her wary of how they would treat her (and as you’ll see, they mostly all treated her the same way as Goofy!).

I was getting my bag signed by Pluto, so I’m not quite sure what exactly was going on between her and Goofy. From her, DBF’s and the pictures, Goofy was trying to flirt with DSis, but she was feeling too “cool” to interact with them. Goofy got mad because she was ignoring him and then started to ignore her. She was laughing and then he grabbed her for the picture.

Here’s a small series of pics.
DSis looking a little apprehensive of Goofy's apparent excitement to see her.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325470359_kcWTs-L.jpg

Goofy expressing his love
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325470528_LnLCi-L.jpg

Goofy angry at DSis for ignoring his profession of love
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325470663_knJus-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322068934_KgWTx-L.jpg

Goofy changed his mind and grabbed her (Pluto was having some trouble with my bag!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322069153_WA2e3-L.jpg

Goofy and DSis make up and pose for a lovely picture
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325470918_wSTnW-L.jpg

After, she was very scared of going to meet the characters because she just wanted to pose for a picture and be done. That wouldn’t happen! We still tease her about Goofy!

We headed toward Dinoland
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322108147_mMNHs-L.jpg

Anyway, next we got on Dinosaur with little wait.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322106954_bBVMr-L.jpg

I liked this ride, but I loved our picture! I actually regret not buying it. DSis is hiding her eyes on me, I was screaming, DBF is just looking like he’s not that impressed, DBF’s mom looks grossed out and DBF’s dad is laughing and looking like it’s very cool. It sums up everyone’s personality very well!

We're in the back row. (I'm sad I had to blur out faces for this pic! I tried to find a scared or disgusted Minnie, but it seems Minnie is always happy!)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image1-2.jpg

Continued in next post... Too many pictures!

irky416

07-14-2008, 08:22 PM

Continuing the story after we get off Dinosaur...

Up next, we rode Primeval Whirl. It’s like a few rides we have at local amusement parks here. We didn’t wait very long. I took some pictures and then took a video of DSis. You can hear me yelling as we went around the turns. (I do scream when we go around bends, but I exaggerated a little for DSis since she found it amusing!)

DBF behind us
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322109085_b4ZyH-L.jpg

DSis ready to ride
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322108510_8AoYz-L.jpg

I don't quite get the theming here, but it's still fun!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322109462_VCQuX-L.jpg

Video:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_3805.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_3805.flv)

I thought this sign was funny... This really extincts!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322110160_5UyqT-L.jpg

We saw these performers on our way out of Dinoland and stopped to watch for a few minutes. We wanted to get to the Lion King show, though, so we didn’t stop for long.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/IMG_3809.jpg

Jack wanted his photo with a dinosaur
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322110664_depsP-L.jpg

We got to Festival of the Lion King and headed inside. DSis was excited to see Simba. The whole trip all she asked me was, “Can we meet Simba?” I explained to her about 50 times, they don’t have a Simba to meet.

We watched the show and we all enjoyed it. We were actually in the Simba section so DSis was really happy. DBF liked the fire eater. It wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting something like the Nemo show, just a retelling of the story. It was more Cirque du Soleil-ish, for lack of a better description.

I took some pictures and video. DBF actually “yelled” at me for not taking video of the fire eater guys! DSis was excited to get her “picture with Simba!”

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322110925_BEKsW-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322112197_wnMdD-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322112559_AaWki-L.jpg

Simba!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image2-1.jpg

And she likes Pumba too.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322113813_phseh-L.jpg

And some videos!
Acrobats
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_3820.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_3820.flv)

Fire guy
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_3822.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_3822.flv)

And a ridiculously long video of Simba dancing because DSis was obsessed
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_3825.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_3825.flv)

Up next: More characters and a torrential downpour

Michelle_and_Aaron

07-14-2008, 09:51 PM

SwansLoveDisney

07-14-2008, 10:00 PM

Just found your TR and I love it!

It sounds like you have had a busy, fun trip so far.

I always get teased by my husband's family for taking obscene amounts of pictures. But then they all ask me for CDs of all my pics after our trips. Go figure!

Your condo looks great. I love all the palm trees!

Can't wait to read more!

Disney Brat

07-14-2008, 10:45 PM

Great update!! The pics were really cute!! I love it when characters interact like that, it sure makes the experience extra magical!!! Can't wait to read more!

irky416

07-15-2008, 01:00 AM

We did not get to either Nemo or Lion King this summer at AK. It was just to hot the day we went so after about 4 hours we went back to the room and hung out at the pool for several hours. Just something to add for next trip. (And an excuse to go sooner maybe?? lol)

Haha. That's what I always say when I don't get to do something either!

Nemo is nice because it is nice and cool in the theater!

Just found your TR and I love it!

It sounds like you have had a busy, fun trip so far.

I always get teased by my husband's family for taking obscene amounts of pictures. But then they all ask me for CDs of all my pics after our trips. Go figure!

Your condo looks great. I love all the palm trees!

Can't wait to read more!

:welcome: Thanks for reading! This is the first time DBF's family has really seen me go picture crazy! Of course, they ask for pictures too! :rotfl:

Great update!! The pics were really cute!! I love it when characters interact like that, it sure makes the experience extra magical!!! Can't wait to read more!

Thanks! We had a lot of really great character interaction this trip. I think they noticed my DSis didn't want to be embarrassed and took advantage of that!

OneTreeHillAddict

07-15-2008, 12:35 PM

irky416

07-15-2008, 02:31 PM

Is Goofy and Pluto meeting in Dinoland now? Who is over in the trails by the Lion King?

I just loved the pic of baby Jack near the first Aid stuff. :rotfl2:

Now I want Pizza from Pizzafari! :lmao:

We still haven't watched the Nemo show. That's a must do this time! How was it?

They were over by Primeval Whirl. I don't know if they're always over there. By the Lion King, we met Donald and Minnie. We saw Mickey and I think Goofy over there, too, but didn't wait for them. They were all dressed in their safari outfts.

I liked the Nemo show. It's cute, but it's kind of long.

wdwgirl03

07-15-2008, 02:56 PM

Great updates! I thought those Nemo signs were really cute and that would be cool to incorporate those into a classroom!

Love your Dinosaur picture. We bought one of ours a few years ago because it was too funny. I always get a kick out of seeing everyone's pictures after the ride.

irky416

07-15-2008, 05:51 PM

The Moonk's Mom

07-15-2008, 06:08 PM

The video of Simba is just funny...made DD bounce her head like him!

I love the scared DSis picture too...funny!!

irky416

07-15-2008, 10:31 PM

The video of Simba is just funny...made DD bounce her head like him!

I love the scared DSis picture too...funny!!

Haha. I'm glad you liked it!

Thanks! :goodvibes

irky416

07-16-2008, 03:47 PM

Chapter 9 – Rain, rain go away...

After Lion King, we saw that there were specific character lines. I wanted to meet more characters! The lines didn’t seem very long, which I was surprised about because the show had just let out.

We decided to skip Mickey because we’d see him at Ohana tomorrow morning and his line was rather long. We jumped in the Donald line. DSis was annoyed again because after signing my bag Donald grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let go.

He signed my bag #1
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325471050_q6GuN-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325471418_2dFq3-L.jpg

After Donald, we jumped in the line for Minnie. DBF’s parents decided to get in this picture, too.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325471521_WmNoR-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/Image1-3.jpg

We skipped the other character there (I can’t remember who it was) because the line was too long. We were getting ready to head out. The plan was to ride EE in the single rider line one more time so DSis and DBF could see the Yeti. Then, we were going to head out for dinner and later take DBF’s parents to Magic Kingdom for them to ride a few things there we thought they’d like.

However, as we were walking out of Camp Minnie Mickey towards EE, we saw the line for the Pooh characters. I needed to collect some more pictures and signatures. We got in line. It looked short, but took longer than expected because the characters kept rotating out one at a time, so everyone had to wait for one of them to come back. It was pretty cool down in the shade, though, so it wasn’t too bad.

Since the line was taking a while, we actually moved through these characters rather quickly. First up was Pooh. He signed my bag with his name very very large. This will come into play later.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325469491_TLCr6-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325469581_KdWa3-L.jpg

Next we met Eeyore. I loved his signature! DBF’s parents wanted their picture with Eeyore, too.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325471925_bNLL7-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325472036_KnaBE-L.jpg

Next up was Piglet. I love this picture and we tease DBF about it. The Where Dreams Come True border makes it so much better!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325472471_C728D-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325472842_TK57b-L.jpg

Finally was Tigger. I guess when you factor in that we met four characters the line wasn’t actually that long.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322069408_RyeEx-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322118809_mfLGX-L.jpg

I passed this sign and thought it was funny. DSis didn’t get it. She never did until later.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322119166_wA38H-L.jpg

The sky was getting blacker and blacker. It looked like it was about to storm. We headed towards EE very quickly.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322120725_ZpWz8-L.jpg

DBF’s parents didn’t want to ride, so the three of us got in the single rider line. It was pretty short. I think we only waited about 5 minutes. It was starting to drizzle. I was hoping we’d get on before it started to pour.

I had a problem on it this time. Between the rain and the sweat, my sunscreen/makeup started to run down my face while we were riding. It was going in my eyes and the speed was making it worse. My eyes were watering so badly it looked like I was crying. The guy I was sitting next to and his kids in front of him kept looking at me like I was crying for real. I think they were scared of me. Anyway, I got off (I still enjoyed it and rode in the back which is way better than the front!) and headed into the store where we were to meet DBF’s parents. DBF’s mom saw me and thought something had happened to me. I had nothing to wipe my eyes with because my shirt was gross, so I couldn’t even stop crying. She finally fished a Kleenex out of her bag for me and I was finally able to get my eyes to stop watering. DSis and DBF had come out in the meantime and also were wondering what was wrong with me.

It didn’t stop me from taking some pictures of Jack meeting the Yeti, though!
Jack makes friends with the Yeti
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322119826_7e86X-L.jpg

They decide to have some fun and stage a picture or two
Fighting on top of the mountain
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322120145_dWnwD-L.jpg

Oh no! The Yeti attacks Jack!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322120487_STSXZ-L.jpg

It was still drizzling, so we decided just to head out, but we wanted to stop in one of the stores on the way out. We went in and looked around and just by the time we were ready to leave, the sky opened up. It was raining so hard. We decided to just wait in the store to see if it would let up. We were kind of bored, so we decided to play with Jack and the camera.

Where's Jack?
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322123148_RFbb3-L.jpg

Jack tries on some bling
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322121531_QeApT-L.jpg

Jack wanted a smooshed penny (These penny machines shot the penny out halfway across the store!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322121904_xnfS7-L.jpg

Jack poses for a Lightning McQueen photo op
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322122315_cTAYT-L.jpg

DSis insisted on holding baby Simba
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322123544_sn9RU-L.jpg

DBF wanted to try on the hat
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322123867_U3gWC-L.jpg

After a while, we decided to go sit out on the benches right outside the store. I think we were in the store for almost an hour.

Here's the rain...
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322125785_6dfMq-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322126191_RJK7e-L.jpg

While we were sitting out there, I saw a Ben look a like from Lost. I swear it looked exactly like him. His eyes just weren’t buggy enough, though! It started to let up a little, so we made a break for it and headed to the car. Luckily, it was only lightly drizzling and we didn’t get very wet. And we were parked in the AAA parking, so we didn’t have far to go!

The original plan had changed because we left later than we’d planned. We decided to stay on property for dinner and then go right to MK. I decided it was the perfect time to go to the Grand Floridian to do our Full House spot searching! That was fine with everyone, so we headed over to the Grand Floridian. Niles got us lost on the way over. I think he tried to take us in a service entrance. We got back on track and soon saw the Magic Kingdom gates. We told them we were there to get dinner at the Grand Floridian and they let us in no problem.

Up Next: Finding the Full House spots!

SwansLoveDisney

07-16-2008, 04:01 PM

Oh no! Your make-up/sunscreen incident sounds bad. Sunscreen in the eyes hurts so badly!

I can't believe all that rain!

kathleen27

07-16-2008, 06:35 PM

Sounds like lots of character fun!!!
Too funny they liked your sis especially Goofy.

I love the yeti & Jack pictures.

That is a lot of rain!!!

Michelle_and_Aaron

07-16-2008, 07:56 PM

We had a nasty heavy rain like that when we were there at dtd. We hopped right into the world of disney and the only thing that suffered is my credit card!:rolleyes1 :rolleyes1

RachelNinja

07-16-2008, 10:04 PM

Haha, I can only imagine the faces you were receiving during EE with the makeup running down your face and the "crying"! I wonder what that family ended up telling their friends!

Love the Jack pictures! They always make a "boring" moment entertaining! Also, that is crazy insane rain! Was ANYBODY out in it?

irky416

07-17-2008, 03:23 PM

Oh no! Your make-up/sunscreen incident sounds bad. Sunscreen in the eyes hurts so badly!

I can't believe all that rain!

It was pretty bad, but I think I must have looked worse than it was because it looked like I was sobbing.

It rained that hard for awhile!

Sounds like lots of character fun!!!
Too funny they liked your sis especially Goofy.

I love the yeti & Jack pictures.

That is a lot of rain!!!

DSis now says Goofy is her least favorite character! :laughing:

That was not a normal afternoon Florida rain shower.

Thanks!

We had a nasty heavy rain like that when we were there at dtd. We hopped right into the world of disney and the only thing that suffered is my credit card!:rolleyes1 :rolleyes1

:lmao: We actually managed not to buy anything. I can't say the same would have happened if we would have been stuck in World of Disney!

Haha, I can only imagine the faces you were receiving during EE with the makeup running down your face and the "crying"! I wonder what that family ended up telling their friends!

Love the Jack pictures! They always make a "boring" moment entertaining! Also, that is crazy insane rain! Was ANYBODY out in it?

I was lucky that the only makeup I had on was tinted moisturizer. Luckily, I did not have mascara or eyeliner running down my face as well! They were probably wondering what kind of grown woman cries when they see the Yeti! :rotfl:

Nobody really was out in the rain. It would let up for a few minutes and then in the beginning people would try to make a break for it, but then it would start up really hard again. Most people were just waiting for a longer break...although it took about an hour!

tinkgurl

07-17-2008, 10:18 PM

We saw these performers on our way out of Dinoland and stopped to watch for a few minutes.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/AK/IMG_3809.jpg

We saw the same guys :eek: ! We had just left the Dinosaur gift shop and walked by them as we headed to our next thing!

emh1129

07-17-2008, 11:54 PM

Enjoying your trip report! :)

irky416

07-18-2008, 12:55 PM

We saw the same guys :eek: ! We had just left the Dinosaur gift shop and walked by them as we headed to our next thing!

Stop stalking us!! ;) :lmao:

Enjoying your trip report! :)

:welcome: Thanks!!

Disney Brat

07-18-2008, 01:05 PM

Great update!!

irky416

07-18-2008, 02:06 PM

Chapter 10 – Grand Floridian and Full House

So, we left off with us driving through the Magic Kingdom gates to get to the Grand Floridian.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323684109_VzsPN-L.jpg

We parked in the guest parking area but didn’t get a parking pass or anything. I was slightly concerned since I had read so much on here about getting a ticket or being towed for parking at the Grand Floridian for more than 3 hours. We did end up asking someone and they said it wasn’t necessary. :confused3

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323640681_Hyvdd-L.jpg

We headed into the lobby. Our main goal (well, mine and DSis’s, no one else cared) was to find the piano and the swing from Full House. As soon as we walked in the lobby, we found the piano! We were a little too excited. :yay:

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323640101_aM4os-L.jpg

Then, we headed over to Gasparilla Grill to get food before going to the beach. Poor Jack was misbehaving and so DBF threatened him with a taser! :eek:

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323641025_5NQu3-L.jpg

The food was ok. Same as any counter service place.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/IMG_3887.jpg

DBF’s mom got a kids meal, though, so I did get to keep the Mickey Head plate. It’s still sitting in my cupboard waiting to be used! :) After dinner, we went in search of the swing Joey and Stephanie sat on. We really only saw one swing, so we just assumed it was the right one. (It didn’t look to be in the right place, but we figured that in 12 years, they could have moved it!:rolleyes1 )

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323641548_72Yic-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323639463_jeqcV-L.jpg

We took a couple more pictures and DSis got really excited by standing on the steps that DJ and Kimmy walked down before they met Steve.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323641286_robmp-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323642966_TLhLN-L.jpg

The Grand Floridian is nice, but I don't think I would want to stay there. It's almost too nice. Everything is so pristine... that's not really me. Now, the Polynesian on the other hand, I would LOVE to stay at! After we were done, we headed off to the Magic Kingdom on the monorail.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323643857_jKzvW-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323644054_7p2EM-L.jpg

Up Next: A quick trip to Magic Kingdom leaves us with another Monster encounter!

(This chapter and the next one are going to be short because I want to get this day finished before I leave and I'm running out of time. I should be packing right now!)

Disney Brat

07-18-2008, 02:13 PM

Great installment once again!! I loved your full house photo spots!!

irky416

07-18-2008, 02:26 PM

Great update!!

Great installment once again!! I loved your full house photo spots!!

Thanks! :goodvibes (I somehow missed your first comment until right now.)

We still have one more key Full House spot to find! Can anyone guess where it is? (Hint: It's at Epcot)

RachelNinja

07-18-2008, 02:37 PM

Disney Brat

07-18-2008, 02:39 PM

We still have one more key Full House spot to find! Can anyone guess where it is? (Hint: It's at Epcot)

HMMM could it be from where Joey and Jessie went to do their underwater radio show?? And the Coral Reef restaurant(kinda the same scene...) Yes we are Full House junkies too...lol

irky416

07-18-2008, 04:07 PM

Haha, love it! I would have done the same thing with those Full House spots. I love it when they would have TV shows at WDW. They also had Boy Meets World and those were definitely my favorite episodes to watch!

Although ... it still bugs me immensely that Michelle kept rubbing the lamp when Stephanie should have been there ... I think I care too much ...

The Boy Meets World Disney episode was also amazing!

Haha...well, it was Stephanie's turn!!

HMMM could it be from where Joey and Jessie went to do their underwater radio show?? And the Coral Reef restaurant(kinda the same scene...) Yes we are Full House junkies too...lol

I would have loved to go there, but I didn't think we would be allowed in the restaurant just to take a picture. I might have asked, but when I thought about it, it was dinner time and figured I would be a nuisance.

It has to do with Danny and Vicky and it's outside where anyone can easily get to! (I am way too into Full House! ;) )

Disney Brat

07-18-2008, 04:32 PM

It has to do with Danny and Vicky and it's outside where anyone can easily get to! (I am way too into Full House! ;) )

Ahhhhh I think I know...where Vicky is sitting feeding the birds and Danny finds her, tries to propose, but the band interupts....could that be it?!

irky416

07-18-2008, 04:52 PM

Ahhhhh I think I know...where Vicky is sitting feeding the birds and Danny finds her, tries to propose, but the band interupts....could that be it?!

Ding ding ding!! You got it! :woohoo: One of my favorite parts...it's so sweet.

Alysa

07-18-2008, 04:52 PM

The Moonk's Mom

07-18-2008, 05:24 PM

Then, we headed over to Gasparilla Grill to get food before going to the beach. Poor Jack was misbehaving and so DBF threatened him with a taser! :eek:

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323641025_5NQu3-L.jpg

How dare he threaten Jack!:scared1:

wdwgirl03

07-18-2008, 08:06 PM

Great update! Loved the pictures of the Full House spots...I'm slightly obsessed with Full House too and of course the WDW episodes are my favorite! (PS, my senior year of college Jodie Sweetin came to do a talk and she also said that it was one of her favorite episodes, hehe).

irky416

07-18-2008, 11:04 PM

Great photos! My son loved looking at all your character shots - he is so excited! Plus he likes the Smilies in everyone's signatures.

Isn't Florida rain crazy? We once got stuck in a Christmas store near the haunted mansion in a monsoon for about an hour and the staff held wind up toy races and the winners got to keep their toys. Little bit of pixie dust. Nice memory.

Thanks! There's a lot more character photos to come!

That's so nice that the CM's were playing during the rain. The rain is crazy!

How dare he threaten Jack!:scared1:

That's what I said! ;)

Great update! Loved the pictures of the Full House spots...I'm slightly obsessed with Full House too and of course the WDW episodes are my favorite! (PS, my senior year of college Jodie Sweetin came to do a talk and she also said that it was one of her favorite episodes, hehe).

Thanks! :goodvibes

That's so awesome that Stephanie (sorry, she's just Stephanie to me!) came to your school. I totally would have went to see her.

irky416

07-18-2008, 11:17 PM

Chapter 11 – A night in MK with a Monster

We got to the Magic Kingdom and had some Photopass pictures taken.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321809352_RncgA-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/MK/Image1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/MK/Image2.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321809610_sFb6p-L.jpg

We only wanted to do a couple of things, so we headed directly over to Monsters, Inc. We thought DBF’s parents would like this.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321809963_g5CiP-L.jpg

We texted in another joke: What’s a pirates favorite kind of cookie? Ship’s Ahoy! I also made sure to take my seatbelt off! :lmao: As we were waiting for the show to start we see DSis up on the screen! It had under her picture “Thinks catsup is made from cats.” It was perfect for her because she loves cats and ketchup! :thumbsup2 However, she was in a bad mood and just sat there with her arms crossed and a mean look on her face. She was not amused. Oh well. :confused3

After that, the show started and they were picking people to do the retelling of Monsters, Inc. All of a sudden the light got bright by us, and DBF was up on the screen as Sulley! He was so excited. :banana: He got to act out Sulley for this portion. Here’s a picture of him later, reenacting it.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321810155_DdLmu-L.jpg

His parents loved it. He got his wish to be part of the show. And the best part was (well, for me of course!) that they used my joke again! We were excited because we had all been up on the screen. DBF was Sulley the rest of the night. He still talks about it! :love:

We had grabbed a FP for Buzz before we got on Monsters, so we went over to use that. DBF’s parents enjoyed that one, too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/MK/IMG_3921.jpg

Hidden Mickey
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321810326_JdLQj-L.jpg

DSis beat me... I am so bad at Buzz!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321810571_4zJ86-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321810867_yuAVd-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321811024_YtG9u-L.jpg

After that we went to see Philharmagic again. DSis was really getting cranky at this point. This was really the first and only time she was being like this, luckily, but she just wanted to go home. (I think she wanted to talk to her DBF.)

I thought it was cool that the back of Mickey was actually on the back of the poster!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321811357_6JGZW-L.jpg

No 3D show would be complete without the 3D glasses picture!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/MK/Image5.jpg

We did Haunted Mansion, and DBF wanted to go on Pirates, but DSis was whining so we just decided to leave. :sad2: We were headed out at the start of Wishes, which was a mistake. It took forever to get out of the park. We were kind of watching it as we were walking out to the monorail and we saw the end of it from the monorail. :goodvibes

We were playing with Jack on the monorail. He liked it!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321811788_bmDin-L-1.jpg

He liked it so much, he jumped for joy!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321812299_pwfRM-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/321812825_AvNYf-L.jpg

Then DSis saw the same guy she saw the other night that she thought was on Simple Life so she got excited and tried to take a picture of him. So, at least she came home in a good mood. :)

We were not really planning on being out all day that day so everyone was a little tired and moody. We pretty much went right to bed when we got home because we had early ADR’s at Ohana the next day.

Up Next: DBF’s mom gets a characters attention….

wdwgirl03

07-19-2008, 09:35 AM

Wow, what luck at the Monsters show! When we went in December they were acting out Monsters Inc and my dad got to be Mike. LOL.

irky416

07-19-2008, 12:17 PM

Wow, what luck at the Monsters show! When we went in December they were acting out Monsters Inc and my dad got to be Mike. LOL.

We were very lucky! I like when they pick people to be Mike, but they don't know how to have one eye and it takes them a few minutes to figure it out! :rotfl:

RachelNinja

07-19-2008, 12:40 PM

I only went to see Monsters Inc once so I don't know what you meant by reenacting the movie. What did DBF have to do? Haha, what happens if people haven't seen the movie ...

Haha, love that pic of Jack in mid-air!

kathleen27

07-19-2008, 12:50 PM

You really did have great experiences at Monsters!!!

Sounds like fun.

OK, my much much younger sister loved full house, but I don't remember it very well. :sad2: I am going to have to find that episode to watch. My kids saw Full House while we were traveling and loved it!

irky416

07-19-2008, 12:51 PM

I'm going out of town for a week and will have no internet access, so I'll be back next week! :goodvibes

OneTreeHillAddict

07-19-2008, 01:41 PM

Aww look at Jack on the monorail! He's having the time of his life! :goodvibes

You all really took pictures of EVERYTHING didn't ya? Love it! :thumbsup2

I showed DBFF your Jack and she likey! :lovestruc

jmskinner

07-20-2008, 08:12 AM

Just got caught up on your TR after our move. Loving all the pics and how you added Mickey and Minnie!

Had to tell you, I finally got a Dole Whip yesterday on our first day trip being Florida residents. I went all out with the Pineapple Float! Thank you for helping me find it.

Oh, and wanted to ask you what day you were at Animal Kingdom. I was thinking we were at WDW at the same time and we got hit with a huge rain storm on Friday, June 20th.

Looking forward to the next installment.

Disney Brat

07-22-2008, 11:06 AM

Wow you guys had great luck with the Monsters!! Dh would love to get picked, me not so much!! LOL With my luck I will be the one picked!!! But hey you are in Disney, who cares, have fun!! Loved the update, can't wait to hear more when you get back!! BTW, did you end up wearing your Tie Dye shirts?? (I am also over on that thread!!lol)

kathleen27

07-22-2008, 01:48 PM

Great so far! I really like the Animal Kingdom:simba: pictures and the pictures with Jack. pirate: Can't wait for more.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
editing to say:
I was looking at my subscriptions and I was listed as last post on your tr today. :confused3

:lmao:
Jacob was using my computer and forgot to log out of my user, so the top of this post is from him.

Michelle_and_Aaron

07-26-2008, 10:03 PM

Whew caught back up on your tr. I have had one heck of a two weeks so it was nice to immerse myself in your trip for a while today. We got moved into the new house, mostly. I had to go out of town for a business trip for a week then when I came back to town one of my cats had been missing for two days already but my husband did not want to tell me on the phone and sadly yesterday the search for her ended badly.
So right now all I really want to do is read about everyone on here and start planning my next trip.
Anyway, sorry to be a downer. I really did enjoy your last few updates and can not wait to read more.

jmskinner

07-27-2008, 09:20 AM

irky416

07-27-2008, 09:47 PM

Hi everyone! I'm back. I had the best vacation I have ever had. :goodvibes (*gasp* I know! It wasn't in Disney!) Jack had lots of new adventures, too! ;)

I just thought I'd check in and say hi. I will get to replying to everyone's comments tomorrow probably, but it has been a long day and I'm going to be passing out from exhaustion soon.

Michelle_and_Aaron I am so sorry to hear about your cat. That happened to us before and I know how it feels. :hug: Sometimes people don't realize how much pets can be a part of your family and how hard a loss can be. I'll be thinking of you.

Disney Brat

07-27-2008, 10:24 PM

hlrababy

07-28-2008, 10:30 AM

I am subbing!! I haven't caught up yet, but I sure plan on it!:goodvibes

irky416

07-28-2008, 02:32 PM

Ok, I finally have a few minutes to reply to comments! I hope I didn't miss anyone's. If I did, I apologize! I haven't even unpacked yet and barely have any clean clothes left, so I really have to get moving on that.

I kind of forgot about everything while on vacation, so I am going to have to go back and see where I left off, because I really don't remember. Hopefully, I'll be able to get a new chapter up soon! It'll take me awhile to get all caught up on everyone else's TR's, but hopefully not too long!

I only went to see Monsters Inc once so I don't know what you meant by reenacting the movie. What did DBF have to do? Haha, what happens if people haven't seen the movie ...

Haha, love that pic of Jack in mid-air!

Basically, the Monster on stage does a quick retelling of the story of the movie. They pick a Sulley - who is supposed to look big and scary. (DBF put his hands up in the air like in the picture and made a scary face.) Then, they pick a Mike Wazowski (who they remind the person who got picked has only one eye - sometimes it takes the person a while to figure out they are supposed to wink!) and a Randall and a Boo. The Monster tells the story and each time a character is mentioned, the person picked from the audience has to "act out" that part. It usually ends up going really really fast to get it all in so really they're just on screen for a few seconds each time their name is mentioned. All he really had to do was keep his arms up and be scary!

You really did have great experiences at Monsters!!!

Sounds like fun.

OK, my much much younger sister loved full house, but I don't remember it very well. :sad2: I am going to have to find that episode to watch. My kids saw Full House while we were traveling and loved it!

I love Full House! I watch it in reruns all the time. The Disney episode should actually be coming up on ABC Family soon (if you have that channel). I just checked the schedule and it's not this week, but if I remember I'll keep an eye on it!

Aww look at Jack on the monorail! He's having the time of his life! :goodvibes

You all really took pictures of EVERYTHING didn't ya? Love it! :thumbsup2

I showed DBFF your Jack and she likey! :lovestruc

Hahaha... I can't help the picture taking! It's like a disease!

(When we were on the cruise, some lady told me she took 27 pictures underwater while snorkeling. We had just bought a underwater digital, so I had a ton of shots, and I told her I took about 300 and her mouth just dropped open. :rotfl: )

Who wouldn't like Jack!? But, thanks!:goodvibes

Just got caught up on your TR after our move. Loving all the pics and how you added Mickey and Minnie!

Had to tell you, I finally got a Dole Whip yesterday on our first day trip being Florida residents. I went all out with the Pineapple Float! Thank you for helping me find it.

Oh, and wanted to ask you what day you were at Animal Kingdom. I was thinking we were at WDW at the same time and we got hit with a huge rain storm on Friday, June 20th.

Looking forward to the next installment.

I hope your move went well and you enjoyed your first pineapple float!

We were at AK on the 20th as well!

Wow you guys had great luck with the Monsters!! Dh would love to get picked, me not so much!! LOL With my luck I will be the one picked!!! But hey you are in Disney, who cares, have fun!! Loved the update, can't wait to hear more when you get back!! BTW, did you end up wearing your Tie Dye shirts?? (I am also over on that thread!!lol)

Being picked in Monsters wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I wore my tie dye shirt one day, for a little while. It was actually too hot for me to have so much material on, because the tshirt was kind of big. I didn't end up wearing the spiral Mickey shirt I did, because of too much white on the shirt and the rain, if you catch my drift.

I went and saw your shirts and they turned out really well!! :goodvibes

Great so far! I really like the Animal Kingdom:simba: pictures and the pictures with Jack. pirate: Can't wait for more.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
editing to say:
I was looking at my subscriptions and I was listed as last post on your tr today. :confused3

:lmao:
Jacob was using my computer and forgot to log out of my user, so the top of this post is from him.

Haha. Thanks Jacob!

I am subbing!! I haven't caught up yet, but I sure plan on it!:goodvibes

:welcome: Thanks for subbing!

Disney Brat

07-28-2008, 02:56 PM

Being picked in Monsters wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

I wore my tie dye shirt one day, for a little while. It was actually too hot for me to have so much material on, because the tshirt was kind of big. I didn't end up wearing the spiral Mickey shirt I did, because of too much white on the shirt and the rain, if you catch my drift.

I went and saw your shirts and they turned out really well!! :goodvibes

I caught your drift...;) lol

Thanks for the compliment on our shirts! :flower3:

Michelle_and_Aaron

07-28-2008, 05:35 PM

I want to say thanks to you all for all the kind words.
Irky I am so glad you had a good cruise. I can't wait to hear about it.

irky416

07-31-2008, 04:29 PM

I have to admit, after our trip last week, I am having a hard time getting back into this TR. I'm going through pictures from our cruise and I feel like that's all I want to talk about! I'm hoping that after I write a few updates, I'll be back into it. I hope this chapter doesn't sound too different. And of course I would have to start with the day that I was the most annoyed on our vacation!

Anyway, on with the report!

Chapter 12 – Breakfast at Ohana
(The start of Day 3 - Saturday, June 21)

Our reservations were at 7:30 which meant we had to get up way too early to make it. We were all a little cranky on the way over. (I actually couldn’t shake the crankiness until way later in the afternoon.)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323687681_96aeu-L.jpg
(I took a picture of this everyday, much to the annoyance of DBF who had to take the picture because I was driving. One day, he refused to do it and you don't want to know what I did! :rolleyes1 )

We parked at Poly and headed in. We were waiting in line for awhile to check in. I was getting concerned we were going to miss our ADR. I think they really need two desks…one for people who have ADR’s to check in and one for all other questions, etc. I have read other people have had this problem, too.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323666071_9mLNj-L.jpg

Anyway, since we were there right at opening we didn’t have to wait too long. Can you tell from the pictures we were tired and cranky!?

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323657159_uj9ho-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323657557_svVKe-L.jpg

Once we were seated I was excited for Mickey waffles and Ohana juice! (Which they had on our cruise as Pass-O-Guava! We were so excited; DBF and I had three glasses every morning.)

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323657844_T3RQb-L.jpg
(I now have these pink leis and the yellow leis from our last trip in the back window of my car. Along with my pirate Mickey Antenna topper, my car is very easy to spot!)

They brought us our food very quickly and the characters came right over to our table. Stitch was first, must to DSis’s dismay. She hates Stitch. She sucked it up for the picture, though.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323658645_vHzoX-L.jpg

Stitch signed my bag and then posed with DBF and I. DBF’s parents didn’t pose with any characters again.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323659065_97sfF-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323659388_84JKy-L.jpg

Shortly after Stitch was Lilo.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323656328_w34Vf-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323660127_Jm5NA-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323660453_ijb5r-L.jpg

There was a pause between characters and I took the opportunity to take a Mickey Waffle picture. I could really go for one of those right now!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323662454_Hyp2v-L.jpg

Mickey came next.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323660916_GSx6w-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323661410_7EJho-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323662122_jw4gM-L.jpg

Then, Pluto. Pluto decided to lick DSis’s head. He kept moving his tongue all over her head and she couldn’t tell what he was doing. She was freaking out, and kept asking me, “What’s he doing!?” I tried to take a picture but you can’t really tell what he’s doing. You can tell she’s scared but still cracking up. DSis wasn’t the only one Pluto would “go after”...

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323662711_bWXB3-L.jpg

As Pluto was leaving our table they called for the parade. As Pluto walked around our table, he started petting DBF’s mom on the head. She didn’t know what to think. On his way around the restaurant, he stopped back at our table and started flirting with DBF’s mom again. It was so funny. We were all laughing about Pluto flirting with DBF’s mom.

Parade Pics...
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323663204_SD2Pw-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323663613_6NetG-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323664007_qcS9c-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323664631_c9qnE-L.jpg

We finished up our breakfast (which was rather expensive thanks to the Holiday pricing…what holiday is in June!? Can you tell I was not in a happy mood this day?) and headed back out to the car. We stopped for a couple pictures on the way.

We have this thing where we have to act like statues in case you didn't notice!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323665580_Ag2fu-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323666530_Soks7-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/323666977_jCDQC-L.jpg

When we got back to the car, we started a discussion about whether we should leave the car at Poly or drive over to Epcot. I warned them what I had read about on the DIS about parking in the resorts, but we had not gotten any type of tag and again we had asked about it and were told we didn’t need one. We spent what felt like ages “arguing” over what we should do. At that point, I really didn’t care, I just wanted to get going. I knew we had to get to Soarin and Test Track at a decent time if we wanted to ride. It was probably around 8:50 at this point. I don’t like waiting.

We eventually decided to drive over to Epcot so if we ended up staying all day we wouldn’t have to catch the monorail later tonight.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322549383_LP2Dh-L.jpg

We drove over to Epcot and luckily we had the AAA parking pass. We got to park really close. It was nice. It was already a little after 9 and not having to wait for the shuttle would save us some time. Little did I know, waiting for the shuttle would have been fabulous compared to the wait we experienced next…

Up Next: Our day at Epcot begins with me being angry at Disney.

jmskinner

07-31-2008, 08:55 PM

irky416

08-01-2008, 10:29 AM

Awww man. You left me hangin'. What in the world made you so mad at Disney?

The pictures looked great, especially love the ones where you are all tired and cranky. I know my family looked like that several mornings when we got up early. But, we still love to do it don't we???

Sorry! I should have the next update soon.

It's hard to get up early when on vacation, but at Disney I wouldn't do it any other way!

AZMickeyfans

08-01-2008, 10:55 AM

Came over from another TR to start reading yours!

RachelNinja

08-01-2008, 10:57 AM

Awww, doesn't sound like a very good day! Glad to hear that you felt better in the afternoon. Curious to know what made you so angry with Disney!

Question about the Mickey waffles ... are they really yummy or is it because they're just in the shape of Mickey? I mean, I'm sure they'll be yummy to me just because the only waffles I ever eat are the frozen kind. But I'm really excited to eventually have a Mickey waffle one day, but don't want to be ... disappointed? Although if I think about it now, anything in the shape of Mickey might automatically taste better to me ...

kathleen27

08-01-2008, 12:02 PM

Sounds like you had a great time on the cruise.

Stitch is so cute in the pictures, How could she not like him. :rotfl:

Sorry everyone was cranky, some mornings are tough, and that is very early.

The Mickey waffles look great. :goodvibes

Waiting to hear what happened next to make you mad!

irky416

08-01-2008, 02:10 PM

Came over from another TR to start reading yours!

:welcome: Thanks for joining in!

Awww, doesn't sound like a very good day! Glad to hear that you felt better in the afternoon. Curious to know what made you so angry with Disney!

Question about the Mickey waffles ... are they really yummy or is it because they're just in the shape of Mickey? I mean, I'm sure they'll be yummy to me just because the only waffles I ever eat are the frozen kind. But I'm really excited to eventually have a Mickey waffle one day, but don't want to be ... disappointed? Although if I think about it now, anything in the shape of Mickey might automatically taste better to me ...

The day was actually pretty good, but I had a hard time shaking my crabbiness. If something little went wrong, I got in a bad mood all over again.

The Mickey Waffles are really good! Believe me, I like shaped food as much as the next person (like the frog face waffles they have at Rainforest Cafe) but it's not usually enough for me to love the food just because it's fun.

If you've never had made from scratch waffles, I think you'll enjoy it. They're really light and fluffy. Add some butter and syrup and :cloud9:!

Sounds like you had a great time on the cruise.

Stitch is so cute in the pictures, How could she not like him. :rotfl:

Sorry everyone was cranky, some mornings are tough, and that is very early.

The Mickey waffles look great. :goodvibes

Waiting to hear what happened next to make you mad!

She really hates Stitch! She hates that movie and gets annoyed whenever I mention that I love Stitch. I don't know what's wrong with her!! :confused: ;)

The Moonk's Mom

08-06-2008, 02:26 PM

Oh! You guys do look tired! I do not go for early morning eating...ever! Even for Disney!

Sorry this is turning out to be a bad day...hope it was the only one!

OneTreeHillAddict

08-06-2008, 05:27 PM

The Full House thing was interesting too. I was wondering though...what other shows have been filmed there? I've seen the Full House and Roseanne episodes. Loved them both! One Tree Hill needs to go to Disney! :lmao: I'll definitely be an extra in that episode! :rotfl2:

Okay...what made you mad at Disney? Do tell....:confused:

Love your O'Hana pics. That's one of our favorites! Those Mickey waffles are delicious! :goodvibes

irky416

08-06-2008, 08:40 PM

Oh! You guys do look tired! I do not go for early morning eating...ever! Even for Disney!

Sorry this is turning out to be a bad day...hope it was the only one!

I don't know if we'll be doing breakfast that early next time!

The Full House thing was interesting too. I was wondering though...what other shows have been filmed there? I've seen the Full House and Roseanne episodes. Loved them both! One Tree Hill needs to go to Disney! :lmao: I'll definitely be an extra in that episode! :rotfl2:

Okay...what made you mad at Disney? Do tell....:confused:

Love your O'Hana pics. That's one of our favorites! Those Mickey waffles are delicious! :goodvibes

I know Boy Meets World had an episode. And so did Step by Step. Sabrina the Teenage Witch did an episode but it was mostly focused on Animal Kingdom. I think I've read about a Family Matters episode, but I've never seen it (also never seen the Roseanne episode). Not sure about any others!

I have the next update typed up, I just have to get the pictures in it. I've been working on a project that has been taking up my computer time the last week. It's almost done, so I should be able to update soon. The project ended up being a little bigger than I expected and my perfectionism is making it take longer. I decided to make my own weekly calendar to print out for the school year so I could add in my own pictures on each page and it's taking longer than I thought. Of course, it has to be pretty, so I keep playing with fonts and pictures over and over again. Sorry to keep you all hanging!

irky416

08-08-2008, 11:40 AM

Chapter 13 – Annoyed at Epcot

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322550016_5EZhj-L.jpg

We walked up from the parking lot and headed for the line to get in. We all had a bag so we had to go through the bag check. The bag check line was enormous! Ok, that’s not entirely unexpected. It’s a Saturday and shortly after the park opened. What made me so angry was that they only had two people checking all the bags. And those two people were really checking the bags. :headache: (I know that’s what they’re supposed to do, but many of them just open, peek in and set you on your way.) It was taking forever. We waited in line for almost 20 minutes. I find that a little ridiculous. I didn’t understand why they didn’t get more people there. (It's like waiting in line at Walmart when there's only two lanes open and the middle of a Saturday when there should be more open!)

This just added to my already bad mood. I hate waiting around. The morning was not shaping up to be a good one.

We FINALLY got in and we took a couple pictures and got in line for some Photopasses.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322550375_AVH5e-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322550682_McWYT-L.jpg

The Photopass guy was taking forever and then when it was almost our turn, some people who didn’t speak English jumped in front of us and got to be next. The Photopass guy saw it but didn’t even say anything about it. I was really annoyed now. :headache: I smiled for the pictures and tried to move on.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Epcot/Image1.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Epcot/Image2.jpg

We sent DBF’s parents and DSis over to Test Track and DBF and I decided to run over and get FP’s for Soarin and meet them at TT. The whole way over, DBF was trying to get me to cheer up. He reminded me that we were on vacation and not to let little things get to me. I was trying. We got to the Land and I was annoyed at how far away Soarin was and how many steps and paths we had to take just to get to the FP machines. (I told you I really woke up on the wrong side of the bed this day! I was annoyed at how big the park was!) We tried to get back to TT, but took the long way around. Things were just not working out for me. :confused3

We got to TT and thankfully the wait was only about 15 minutes still. I convinced myself I was going to try to enjoy this. I hadn’t been to Epcot in about 10 years and so hadn’t done most of the stuff that was there and didn’t remember much about what I did do.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322550993_WCKYE-L.jpg

We took some pictures in line and while we were waiting to start.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322551910_XofcN-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322552262_cvZfo-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322553873_4kzYT-L.jpg

I liked this ride. It was fun. I wanted to go back on it but we never made it back. Of course we had to take a picture in the new cars!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322554197_qLNmu-L.jpg
I told you we like to act like statues!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322554625_Pxhh5-L.jpg

We also played with Jack a little bit while we were waiting for DBF’s dad to finish looking at the cars. I also bought a bumper sticker and a keychain.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322555173_qxmtd-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322555577_Kmdhq-L.jpg
(jack wanted that, but I told him no!)

I love that you can add the ride picture to the Photopass. :thumbsup2 I wish they would do this on all the rides!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Epcot/Image3.jpg

We still had some time before our Soarin’ FP’s so we headed over to the Nemo ride. I was looking forward to this ride. DBF and I love Nemo!

Continued Below...

irky416

08-08-2008, 11:45 AM

Chapter 13 continued for more pics...

There was a Photopass guy out front.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Epcot/Image4.jpg

I then had to take a million pictures of the outside, and a video of the “Mine, Mine, Mine!” (We bought DBF’s sister a bib with the seagulls on it that says Mine, Mine, Mine on it for her baby – she’s due in a month!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322557119_CuwFq-L.jpg
"You guys made me ink!"
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322568688_TcbXA-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322569031_LyxVJ-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322557815_ZVYjP-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322558904_fNt6b-S.jpg Ok, I can't put this picture that's supposed to be here in because part of the code has a bad abbreviation in it that the DIS is blocking. (Now even the computer wants me to be annoyed at this morning in Epcot!) http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322559680_QE2eZ-S.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322560626_vUUvF-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_4025.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_4025.flv)

The sign said the wait was 10 minutes, but when we walked through, there was no one there. We decided the wait was actually just the amount of time it took to walk through the queue. (It was really long!) DSis posed for this picture while running through the line. The queue was actually nice and I would have enjoyed seeing it a little more.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322561115_buHgs-L.jpg

We got in our Clamobiles and were off.

Here’s a couple pictures and a video. (Sorry the video’s so choppy. I took individual ones and then decided to add them all together.)
DBF's dad took this one...DSis and I are in the next clamobile over.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322547739_R2q8t-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322547989_ZdH7Y-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322548227_jLRC9-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_NemoRide.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=NemoRide.flv)

I loved this ride. It wasn’t until we got back that I realized the DIS hates it. I don’t really understand why. It’s way better than the rides in Fantasyland that always have huge waits. It was really cute. I had to download Big Blue World because even after being home for 3 weeks I was still singing it! I’ve been listening to it on my iPod all the time. (Much to the dismay of DBF and DSis!)

I was determined to get a picture in Bruce’s mouth this trip after seeing them all here. We got off the ride and headed over to look at the fish and find Bruce.

We didn’t spend very long looking at the fish. We did find Bruce. The Bruce picture got me annoyed again. There were a bunch of people who wanted their picture taken (obviously). But, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the line because there were a bunch of unsupervised little kids who kept running up and pushing in front of people (and I mean like climbing in front of them inside the sharks mouth and talking to their parents outside the shark in the front) and were getting in their pictures. The parents didn’t seem to care even though they saw other people trying to get pictures and getting in their way. Oy. :headache:

Finally, someone said something to the kids and they disappeared. However, the people right in front of us decided now was a good time to take 50 pictures and they all had to be just right. Oy again. :headache:

We finally got our turn. While DBF’s dad was taking the picture, DBF’s mom was doing what she thought was taking a picture with their camera. She was actually taking a movie. The video cracks me up because we’re in the shark waiting for her to take the picture and stuck in the pose and then you hear her go, “Uh-oh!” Oops. :lmao: We still got our picture!

Our picture: (I think this might go on my desk at school!)
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322548592_r7uDG-L.jpg
The video
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_4048.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_4048.flv)

We then posed with Anchor and Chum.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322561539_fSXMz-L.jpg
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322548807_qZBRW-L.jpg

We saw the sign about how to avoid a shark attack and I thought this one was interesting. I don’t know why I didn’t take a picture of the whole sign. :confused3
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322562426_h8xdb-L.jpg

We were then going to go in Turtle Talk with Crush because I really wanted to see it. We headed up to the entrance and just as we got there, they closed off the line and said they were full. Argh! :headache: Can nothing work out for me today!? The next show wasn’t for about 20 minutes so we decided to just head over to Soarin and hopefully make it back for Turtle Talk later.

Up Next: Soarin and will I stop being annoyed?

wdwgirl03

08-08-2008, 01:27 PM

OneTreeHillAddict

08-08-2008, 03:39 PM

What was going on at Epcot!? I don't get the whole bag check anyway. If someone wanted to bring in a weapon they'd put it under their clothes, not in a bag. Duh! What they SHOULD do is run the detector across people IF they're trying to be "safe". Seriously...what's the point!?

How'd you like Test Track? I think that's our all time favorite ride at WDW. The kids ride it over and over when we go.

jmskinner

08-08-2008, 04:06 PM

20 minutes for bag check!:scared1: I would be very annoyed. This actually sounded just like me when having a bad day. Just nothing works!

I had to laugh at the video of DBF's Mom saying "uh-oh". Now you were holding up the line.:lmao: I liked Nemo and completely missed the photo ops. I'll have to go back and do that.

Looking forward to the next report.

irky416

08-08-2008, 06:35 PM

Great update and pictures! 20 minutes for the bag check does seem ridiculous! I would be annoyed too. :headache:

I also really like the Nemo ride.

Your story about trying to get a picture with Bruce reminds me of our trip in January. We were looking at all the cars after Test Track and wanted to get a picture of us "driving" in one of them. Well, there were a couple people who were doing the same thing before us so we waited. They get out and then out of nowhere comes these 2 kids and they proceed to climb in the car and were not going to get out. Their mother didn't even care and just let them play in there. We decided to just gave up. Grr, it's so frustrating sometimes!

I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes Nemo!

I hate it when people don't realize others are waiting for a picture, too, or just don't care.

What was going on at Epcot!? I don't get the whole bag check anyway. If someone wanted to bring in a weapon they'd put it under their clothes, not in a bag. Duh! What they SHOULD do is run the detector across people IF they're trying to be "safe". Seriously...what's the point!?

How'd you like Test Track? I think that's our all time favorite ride at WDW. The kids ride it over and over when we go.

I don't really understand the bag check either. Especially because half the time they just glance in the bag and say ok. :confused3

I enjoyed Test Track. I was bummed we never got to go back and ride it a second time.

20 minutes for bag check!:scared1: I would be very annoyed. This actually sounded just like me when having a bad day. Just nothing works!

I had to laugh at the video of DBF's Mom saying "uh-oh". Now you were holding up the line.:lmao: I liked Nemo and completely missed the photo ops. I'll have to go back and do that.

Looking forward to the next report.

I usually don't get annoyed that easily (I'd be in trouble teaching 7th grade if I did!), but it was just a bunch of little things that probably wouldn't annoy me on a normal day, but when they all add up it just makes it seem worse than it is.

I did think it was funny that we ended up holding up the line. :rotfl2: At least we didn't make her figure out how to fix the camera and keep on waiting that whole time for a pic! We got one with one camera and that was enough for us.

irky416

08-08-2008, 06:39 PM

DBF just "yelled" at me about the time we spent in line for the bag check. :rotfl2: I guess it only felt like 20 minutes. He said it was closer to 10. That's still a long time for a bag check line!!! :rolleyes1

Indiana Jacob

08-08-2008, 07:06 PM

Those mickey waffles look good! Hope you make it to Turtle Talk later.

reyasmommy

08-08-2008, 07:34 PM

Great Trip Report! I love all your pictures. I never made it to Turtle Talk because it was always full. HOPE you got your chance. I'm also hoping we'll be able to catch it on our trip to DL next month. :(

reyasmommy

08-08-2008, 07:35 PM

Oh, and I wanted to mention that Windsor Hills looks really nice. We were going to stay there last year but decided on Lighthouse Key Resort instead. It was the first time we ever stayed off site, but we really enjoyed it. Loved being able to stretch out and have all that room, rather then being cramped in a standard sized hotel room.

The Moonk's Mom

08-09-2008, 01:22 PM

See...now I have decided that people can't get the picture thing right when they get near Nemo! What is up with that?

The line thing with Wal-Mart painted a perfect picture for me...me, three kids...no lines open...AAAHHH!!!! Yep, I would have been in a bad mood too!:scared1:

irky416

08-09-2008, 05:40 PM

Those mickey waffles look good! Hope you make it to Turtle Talk later.

Looking at Mickey waffles always makes me want some!

Great Trip Report! I love all your pictures. I never made it to Turtle Talk because it was always full. HOPE you got your chance. I'm also hoping we'll be able to catch it on our trip to DL next month. :(

Thank you and welcome!! I didn't know they had Turtle Talk at DL. (Ok, I really don't know much about DL!) I hope you get to see it!

Oh, and I wanted to mention that Windsor Hills looks really nice. We were going to stay there last year but decided on Lighthouse Key Resort instead. It was the first time we ever stayed off site, but we really enjoyed it. Loved being able to stretch out and have all that room, rather then being cramped in a standard sized hotel room.

It was nice. I like staying off site. Especially because you have so much more space. I don't know how 4 people share a value room...when it was just DBF and I it felt crowded.

See...now I have decided that people can't get the picture thing right when they get near Nemo! What is up with that?

The line thing with Wal-Mart painted a perfect picture for me...me, three kids...no lines open...AAAHHH!!!! Yep, I would have been in a bad mood too!:scared1:

Hahaha...Nemo must bring out the worst in people and cameras!

I can only imagine how much worse the line thing would be with three kids in tow! :scared1:

LITTLEKID58

08-09-2008, 05:46 PM

Luv all the pics...TFS

SwansLoveDisney

08-09-2008, 06:35 PM

I seem to always have a day like that at WDW. And it's so hard to get out of the bad mood, no matter how hard one tries!

I hope things got better for you after getting shut out of Turtle Talk!

NotSoEvilStepmother

08-09-2008, 07:17 PM

Just spent the last 45 minutes catching up on your report and I really like it. :banana: Everyone has off days (when I was there, you didn't want to be within 50 yards of me at the Animal Kingdom :rolleyes1 ). Your pictures turned out so well and I'm jealous (1300 blue/grainy pictures can do that to a person). Sounds like you guys were having so much fun. Can't wait for more. popcorn::

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-09-2008, 07:30 PM

I'm so sorry you missed Turtle Talk. That was so great when we were there in June. But at least you get to go on Soarin soon! As we were talking about next spring's trip recently I found out that that was actually Aaron's favorite ride of all 4 parks. I have to admit it is in my top 10 as well.

irky416

08-10-2008, 02:33 PM

Luv all the pics...TFS

Thank you!!!

I seem to always have a day like that at WDW. And it's so hard to get out of the bad mood, no matter how hard one tries!

I hope things got better for you after getting shut out of Turtle Talk!

It is hard to get out of one of those moods. Things do get better a little later.

Just spent the last 45 minutes catching up on your report and I really like it. :banana: Everyone has off days (when I was there, you didn't want to be within 50 yards of me at the Animal Kingdom :rolleyes1 ). Your pictures turned out so well and I'm jealous (1300 blue/grainy pictures can do that to a person). Sounds like you guys were having so much fun. Can't wait for more. popcorn::

Thank you! Did anything specific happen at AK or was it just one of those days? I would be so sad if all my pictures didn't turn out. Was your camera on the wrong setting? I had that problem a couple times this trip. I changed the setting for the indoor pictures and forgot to change it back, so they didn't turn out very well.

Thanks for reading!

I'm so sorry you missed Turtle Talk. That was so great when we were there in June. But at least you get to go on Soarin soon! As we were talking about next spring's trip recently I found out that that was actually Aaron's favorite ride of all 4 parks. I have to admit it is in my top 10 as well.

We missed Turtle Talk the first time...we do go back to try again to get in...

Soarin' and my opinion of it will be up next!

NotSoEvilStepmother

08-10-2008, 06:10 PM

Thank you! Did anything specific happen at AK or was it just one of those days? I would be so sad if all my pictures didn't turn out. Was your camera on the wrong setting? I had that problem a couple times this trip. I changed the setting for the indoor pictures and forgot to change it back, so they didn't turn out very well.

Thanks for reading!

AK was the first day of our trip--we were there at opening after getting to the off-site hotel (dump) at 2 AM and having trouble with our reservations and we'd just spent all of the day before traveling from the west coast.:scared1: My camera just...well, it stinks. I didn't notice before we went (isn't that always the case?) but all of the pictures I'd taken within the last year and a half had turned out grainy and the other camera's had been blue since we bought it.:headache: I want to just plan another trip so I can take the pictures again. :rotfl:

irky416

08-10-2008, 07:10 PM

AK was the first day of our trip--we were there at opening after getting to the off-site hotel (dump) at 2 AM and having trouble with our reservations and we'd just spent all of the day before traveling from the west coast.:scared1: My camera just...well, it stinks. I didn't notice before we went (isn't that always the case?) but all of the pictures I'd taken within the last year and a half had turned out grainy and the other camera's had been blue since we bought it.:headache: I want to just plan another trip so I can take the pictures again. :rotfl:

No wonder you were in a bad mood at AK! :eek:

Sorry to hear about your camera. That's weird. I hope you've gotten a new one!

patches07

08-10-2008, 09:48 PM

Great Trip Report! :cool1: I love all your pictures. I wish my DH and I were there right now.

Disney Brat

08-10-2008, 10:16 PM

Great updates!! Sorry you were haven't a bad day at Epcot!! I hope things started going better for you!!

PISCESANGEL

08-11-2008, 11:31 AM

I just found you!! I don't know how I have missed your TR so far, but I will read and catch up... what I have read is great so far! :goodvibes

irky416

08-11-2008, 02:24 PM

Great Trip Report! :cool1: I love all your pictures. I wish my DH and I were there right now.

Thanks!

Great updates!! Sorry you were haven't a bad day at Epcot!! I hope things started going better for you!!

We're at Disney! How could they not!? ;)

I just found you!! I don't know how I have missed your TR so far, but I will read and catch up... what I have read is great so far! :goodvibes

Thanks for joining in!

irky416

08-11-2008, 02:40 PM

Chapter 14 – Soarin and Living With the Land

We arrived at Soarin and headed into the FP line. The wait for Soarin was actually the longest wait I’ve experienced with a Fast Pass. Also, I was annoyed in this line because my DSis was talking to her DBF on the phone while we were in line and she kept apologizing to him for something that she had no control over (maybe that the phone cut off while she was talking to him last night?) and I was really annoyed because she kept saying it like he was blaming her for it. (She already knows I’m not too fond of her DBF because he’s 32 and she’s 18 and was still in high school when they started going out. Other than that, I don’t know him very well but it’s very hard for me to get over that fact.) So, I was doubly annoyed in the line because the long wait was making me listen to this annoying conversation. :sad2:

We finally got on and we got to be in the front! I was happy about that. :cool1: I had wanted to be in the front, but didn’t want to ask and therefore wait longer. Maybe things would start looking up!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322563649_9RMPQ-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Epcot/IMG_4059.jpg

I did think this ride was awesome, but I really don’t see why it has such a huge following here on the Dis. I have been on rides that are way better than Soarin. (Sorry to all you Soarin lovers!!) And I would never wait for longer than 20 minutes to ride it. I guess my expectations were so high after all the praise here, I was a little disappointed in it.

We decided to ride Living With the Land since were already there. I wanted to see the Mickey shaped pumpkins! We got on the ride and DSis started to complain that she felt like she was back on Small World because it was a boring boat ride. I kind of agreed with her. Once we got into the greenhouse, it was much cooler, but I don’t know if I’d ride it again.

I only took one picture before we got in the greenhouse because it was dark and I didn't think they'd turn out very well. (I didn't want ot be annoyed at my camera, too!) It was a picture of a gopher because DSis and I have a running joke about gophers. (RachelNinja: I did have to laugh when I just saw the picture because of course the one picture I took has a Buffalo in it! Sorry!)

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322564185_ymhaK-L.jpg

Never head of a Jackfruit befoer, but took this for DSis because she's in love with Jack Wilson.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322564558_EVnZg-L.jpg

Mickey pumpkin!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322566187_TSeMR-L.jpg

We got off the ride and were trying to decide what to do. DBF, DSis, and I weren’t really hungry (we had stuffed ourselves at Ohana…seriously, I thought I was going to throw up because I ate so much. Now, that you’ve had that lovely picture…;) ). However, DBF and I had decided earlier in the trip that if we started snapping at each other it was because we were hungry or thirsty and we had to get food/drink ASAP. (This actually worked really well. We don’t usually get snappy and short-tempered with each other and realized once we ate we didn’t do it anymore, so that was a sure sign our blood sugar was too low.) Apparently, I’d been snapping at him because he suggested we stop and get a snack since we were right by a food court. It was shortly after 11 at this point. I agreed because I was really trying to get out of my bad mood and didn’t want DBF to end up in one because of me. DBF’s parents had a different idea, though…

We told them we were going to get a quick snack and then we’d head over and get in line for HISTA. We grabbed two cookies and then went to look for them. We couldn’t find them anywhere. They were in line. Ordering lunch. Oy. :headache: DBF’s mom hadn’t eaten much at Ohana so she was probably hungry and again this is not something that would have annoyed me had I not already been in a bad mood. We ate our cookies and now had to kill time waiting for them to eat and then we’d be hungry later and have to stop again. I didn’t want to sit around and watch them eat, especially since I hadn’t been planning on it.

Even Jack shared some cookie!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322566977_zJvX8-L.jpg

We decided to split up. We’d grab FP’s for HISTA and call them with the time to meet us there. They agreed. We headed over for FP’s and they weren’t that far away. We called and told them to meet us there at our FP time. We had probably a half hour to kill so we headed over to Image Works and Journey IntoYour Imagination since it was right there. We played in Image Works for a little while and then rode with Figment.

Making some music
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322567621_SaaqZ-L.jpg

Figment
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322567762_hKwqo-L.jpg

I thought the ride was fairly cute, but was glad it was a walk on! DSis hated this ride with a passion. The funny thing was that when we were in Image Works and she saw all the Figment merchandise, she thought he was cute and almost bought something with him on it. After we got out, she had changed her mind entirely! :lmao:

By this time it had started to pour down rain again. We ran over to HISTA (luckily, a short run!) and waited in line. It felt like we waited forever in that line. It was just as well, though, because while we were inside it was pouring and the line inside kept getting longer as people were trying to escape the rain. I enjoyed the show. (I just realized we didn’t take 3D glasses pictures!) This was one thing I actually remembered doing at Epcot on my very first visit.

After that, we decided to walk all the way back over The Sea to see if we could get into Turtle Talk. Will we make it this time?

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322563235_twfss-L.jpg

Up Next: The day starts to get better and we eat at a "fancy French restaurant"

patches07

08-11-2008, 03:03 PM

I forgot to ask you one question where did you get Jack I think he is so cute.

irky416

08-11-2008, 03:41 PM

I forgot to ask you one question where did you get Jack I think he is so cute.

Thanks, I love him! He is a McDonald's toy (but I got him from Ebay!).

RachelNinja

08-12-2008, 11:12 AM

I was behind a few installments but now I'm caught up!

And those two people were really checking the bags. :headache: (I know that’s what they’re supposed to do, but many of them just open, peek in and set you on your way.) It was taking forever. We waited in line for almost 20 minutes.

That bothers me too. Sometimes I have people check my bags so thoroughly at parks and other times they just give it a glance. I've had bag checkers make me open up a smaller baggie inside filled with pads and tampons. If I wanted to smuggle in something dangerous, I think I'd do a better job hiding it than that. Of course, if there weren't any bag checks at all, I might feel nervous. I guess there's no happy medium. The best thing to do would be to have sufficient staff! That's really annoying, especially since it was the morning and there would definitely be traffic then!

The Photopass guy was taking forever and then when it was almost our turn, some people who didn’t speak English jumped in front of us and got to be next. The Photopass guy saw it but didn’t even say anything about it. I was really annoyed now. :headache: I smiled for the pictures and tried to move on.

ARGGG. Haha, I'm with you in being annoyed at Epcot. That would drive me insane. When Weird and I wanted to take a picture by the LOVE statue in NYC, we were waiting for the current family to finish and then random people would just hop in front of us even though there was a group of peope already standing there waiting! Do you not see that there are others patiently waiting? Do you not see that we have a camera in our hand at the ready? But even more arggg since the Photopass guy didn't say anything! Isn't it their job to keep things orderly?!?

The whole way over, DBF was trying to get me to cheer up. He reminded me that we were on vacation and not to let little things get to me. I was trying.

Awww, I thought this part was cute! It's nice that DBF was doing that.

I loved this ride. It wasn’t until we got back that I realized the DIS hates it. I don’t really understand why. It’s way better than the rides in Fantasyland that always have huge waits. It was really cute.

YAY for loving the ride! I'm so excited to go on this ride with Weird. Hopefully with all the people NOT liking it, we can do this many times in a row without the wait, haha. I absolutely adore the clamobiles because I like that enclosed ride vehicle without being on a creepy doombuggy. Oh dear, and that "scene" with the fish with the light on its head? Haha, I JUMPED. To me, that was definitely exciting!

There were a bunch of people who wanted their picture taken (obviously). But, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the line because there were a bunch of unsupervised little kids who kept running up and pushing in front of people (and I mean like climbing in front of them inside the sharks mouth and talking to their parents outside the shark in the front) and were getting in their pictures. The parents didn’t seem to care even though they saw other people trying to get pictures and getting in their way. Oy. :headache:

I get SO ANNOYED at little children who don't know how to wait their turn. Well, more so at the parents who are not at all supervising them! When Weird and I went to Liberty Science Center, I kept getting so heated when the kids would just push in front of us and the people watching them did not say a THING. Um, excuse you ... I paid my admission price to get in here too. I have every right to do what you want to do! Haha, that's when those violent thoughts of feeding the children (or at least their parents) to the real sharks start to invade my mind, hehe.

Also, I was annoyed in this line because my DSis was talking to her DBF on the phone while we were in line and she kept apologizing to him for something that she had no control over (maybe that the phone cut off while she was talking to him last night?) and I was really annoyed because she kept saying it like he was blaming her for it.

This would have bugged me too. I have a younger cousin who used to always somehow be in the wrong for every little thing that happened with her boyfriend. Even if she were in the right and knew it, he would somehow make her feel like the guilty one and she would be the one apologizing. Grrr.

I did think this ride was awesome, but I really don’t see why it has such a huge following here on the Dis. I have been on rides that are way better than Soarin. (Sorry to all you Soarin lovers!!) And I would never wait for longer than 20 minutes to ride it. I guess my expectations were so high after all the praise here, I was a little disappointed in it.

Haha, I feel the same way about this ride. It was really cool the first time I went on it because I didn't know what to expect. The mechanics are awesome, and I really do love certain scenes. But I don't get why it's such a huge favorite. I'd rather ride Test Track over and over again instead. I'd even rather go on Spaceship Earth over and over again. Not that I'd skip Soarin' if I'm in Epcot, but I prefer other rides more. Of course, I'm still really excited to go on it with Weird whenever we do go to WDW just because he has absolutely no clue what to expect!

We got on the ride and DSis started to complain that she felt like she was back on Small World because it was a boring boat ride. I kind of agreed with her. Once we got into the greenhouse, it was much cooler, but I don’t know if I’d ride it again.

I remember not liking this ride much as a kid. I mean, learning things? Haha, that's why little brother Piglet doesn't like it at ALL. I do like boat rides though because it means getting off your feet and actually getting a change of scenery as opposed to just sitting on a bench (although people watching sometimes might be more interesting than some scenes from Living with the Land ...).

It was a picture of a gopher because DSis and I have a running joke about gophers. (RachelNinja: I did have to laugh when I just saw the picture because of course the one picture I took has a Buffalo in it! Sorry!)

:rotfl: Haha, this is GREAT! Thanks for the mention, haha, that made my day too :). Funny thing is, I think this is the first time I noticed the gophers! I always just see the buffalo so I don't think I ever really paid attention to the gophers! It's a nice, dark picture so it kind of spotlights on that little guy in the middle. Doesn't mean I didn't quickly scroll down ... haha.

However, DBF and I had decided earlier in the trip that if we started snapping at each other it was because we were hungry or thirsty and we had to get food/drink ASAP. (This actually worked really well. We don’t usually get snappy and short-tempered with each other and realized once we ate we didn’t do it anymore, so that was a sure sign our blood sugar was too low.)

This was definitely a good plan to have. I usually start snapping when I'm started to get a little dehydrated or hungry too. The thirst thing is common since I don't feel thirsty very often so I don't notice those signs. The low blood sugar is also a big thing. Sometimes you don't even realize how crabby you're being without food but MAGICALLY everything seems better with some food in your system! Good plan for you and DBF! I gotta keep that in mind!

We’d grab FP’s for HISTA and call them with the time to meet us there.

Haha, I tried and tried ... but I cannot figure out what HISTA is ...

I thought the ride was fairly cute, but was glad it was a walk on! DSis hated this ride with a passion. The funny thing was that when we were in Image Works and she saw all the Figment merchandise, she thought he was cute and almost bought something with him on it. After we got out, she had changed her mind entirely! :lmao:

Haha, this was funny! I guess you don't really realize Figment's character until you ride that ride!

Can't wait for moreeeeeeee :goodvibes

jmskinner

08-12-2008, 11:26 AM

I feel the same way about Soarin'! I thought it was just me. If the line was short we would do it again, but I wouldn't wait for it. We had about a 20 minute wait in the FP line two years ago.

I read on another thread how someone had a Jack in the back window of their car, I thought about you.

The Moonk's Mom

08-12-2008, 08:33 PM

Okay! That's it...I'm not reading anymore...no 3-D pictures! That is a disgrace young lady!!!! You should be ashamed!!!!:lmao:

Can we pretend this is you?:3dglasses

Disney Brat

08-12-2008, 10:20 PM

Loved the update!!! Jack looked like he enjoyed the cookie! I have never ridden Soarin either, this trip will be my first, but I am not hyping it up in my mind...lol (Maybe just a bit..lol) Can't wait for more!

OneTreeHillAddict

08-12-2008, 10:30 PM

Cool new pics. I love that area after the Figment ride where you can do all that fun stuff. I like the computer center...you can take your pic and turn yourself into a cat or whatever. It's so funny!

Okay ya'll don't kick me or anything....I LOVE Soarin' but it always has a super long line and if I had to stand in that thing I'd never ride it! The Land Boat Ride is one of my favorites though. I just love me a big old banana tree! :laughing:

irky416

08-12-2008, 10:55 PM

YAY for loving the ride! I'm so excited to go on this ride with Weird. Hopefully with all the people NOT liking it, we can do this many times in a row without the wait, haha. I absolutely adore the clamobiles because I like that enclosed ride vehicle without being on a creepy doombuggy. Oh dear, and that "scene" with the fish with the light on its head? Haha, I JUMPED. To me, that was definitely exciting!

Well, if there wasn't a wait in the middle of June, I think you'll be good! And Nemo is way less creepy than HM even though the scene with the fish is scary!

I get SO ANNOYED at little children who don't know how to wait their turn. Well, more so at the parents who are not at all supervising them! When Weird and I went to Liberty Science Center, I kept getting so heated when the kids would just push in front of us and the people watching them did not say a THING. Um, excuse you ... I paid my admission price to get in here too. I have every right to do what you want to do! Haha, that's when those violent thoughts of feeding the children (or at least their parents) to the real sharks start to invade my mind, hehe.

Yes! Sometimes I think parents think because you're an adult, their child should get to go before you or it isn't important to you as to their kid. I totally agree with you about paying to get in, too!

:rotfl: Haha, this is GREAT! Thanks for the mention, haha, that made my day too :). Funny thing is, I think this is the first time I noticed the gophers! I always just see the buffalo so I don't think I ever really paid attention to the gophers! It's a nice, dark picture so it kind of spotlights on that little guy in the middle. Doesn't mean I didn't quickly scroll down ... haha.

I didn't notice the buffalo at all (even while on the ride!) until I went to post it here and thought of you!

Haha, I tried and tried ... but I cannot figure out what HISTA is ...

That's one I could never figure out either, Honey I Shrunk the Audience. When I went to type it all out I understand why people abbreviate it!

Oh and I love it when you mention your and Weird's future trip to WDW. It's so cute! (Do you have actual plans for this yet or is it still just "in the works"?)

I feel the same way about Soarin'! I thought it was just me. If the line was short we would do it again, but I wouldn't wait for it. We had about a 20 minute wait in the FP line two years ago.

I read on another thread how someone had a Jack in the back window of their car, I thought about you.

I'm glad it's not just me who feels that about Soarin'. And why is the FP line so long? I can't imagine having to wait in the stand by line.

I could never leave Jack in the back window of my car. He'd get burnt by the sun! Thanks for thinking of me!

Okay! That's it...I'm not reading anymore...no 3-D pictures! That is a disgrace young lady!!!! You should be ashamed!!!!:lmao:

Can we pretend this is you?:3dglasses

LOL! :lmao: I'm ashamed. Can you ever forgive me!? :guilty:

I love that idea. Here's the five of us in our 3D glasses at HISTA!
:3dglasses :3dglasses :3dglasses :3dglasses :3dglasses

Loved the update!!! Jack looked like he enjoyed the cookie! I have never ridden Soarin either, this trip will be my first, but I am not hyping it up in my mind...lol (Maybe just a bit..lol) Can't wait for more!

Thank you! Jack enjoys all food. He especially likes Mac N Cheese Pizza from CiCi's.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/320634441_XJNoq-L.jpg

Soarin' is a good ride, I just wouldn't wait three hours to ride it (or even more than 20 minutes.).

Cool new pics. I love that area after the Figment ride where you can do all that fun stuff. I like the computer center...you can take your pic and turn yourself into a cat or whatever. It's so funny!

Okay ya'll don't kick me or anything....I LOVE Soarin' but it always has a super long line and if I had to stand in that thing I'd never ride it! The Land Boat Ride is one of my favorites though. I just love me a big old banana tree! :laughing:

Thanks. I wanted to do the picture thing, but because we had to meet up with DBF's parents we didn't get to.

If I could just go through the greenhouse on the boat, I'd enjoy that ride much more! ;)

Next update should be up soon!

kathleen27

08-13-2008, 10:34 AM

Once you get annoyed, everything really does seem so much more annoying.
I still remember the bag check line at AK in Feb 2006, just after 9 being soooo loooong.
And those are all annoying things to begin with. :headache:

I loved the outside of the Nemo ride! The seagulls were great!!!
It definitely took a long time to walk through that queue.

I hope you get to see Turtle Talk. We all really loved that.

Mac and Cheese Pizza??? :rotfl:
I’ve never heard of that. It does look good though.

irky416

08-14-2008, 10:31 AM

RachelNinja

08-14-2008, 08:45 PM

Yesterday when I was at Weird's house, we were looking at the imagineering book. I saw something about HISTA and was like, OHHHHH! Haha! Because when I initially read it on your TR, I kept trying to think about the rides I went on at Epcot. I was thinking, "I didn't use 3-D glasses for anything ... is there a ride there that I don't know about?!?" Hehe. That was a little absentmindedness. Because the Figment ride was closed when I was there in Feb, we didn't even bother going in that area, which is why we totally skipped HISTA.

Oh and I love it when you mention your and Weird's future trip to WDW. It's so cute! (Do you have actual plans for this yet or is it still just "in the works"?)

Haha, thanks! I always wondered if people thought we were weird for discussing our future trip to WDW. Unfortunately, this is an unplanned trip. No dates have been set at all. We started a running list of things we have to do. We have a shared private online journal and I've already started writing up a "pretend" TR there and keeping track of the things I want to see and show him (since he hasn't been back in ages). We're that silly.

We just know that we must go together since we don't really know anyone else that would be willing to do WDW the way we want to do it (like our families just aren't as interested). He wants to go after he finishes school next May, but my school year won't be over just yet. Then since I went in February and we don't do very well in the heat, going in the summer wouldn't necessarily make that much sense. So that's why it's all up in the air.

We'd also have to find a bunch of people who would want to go too since we wouldn't go by ourselves. We said we have to go within the next 5 years so that gives us a pretty decent window!

Disney Brat

08-14-2008, 09:22 PM

That pizza looks yummy!!

PISCESANGEL

08-14-2008, 09:39 PM

I know that feeling exactly - when everything is just annoying and you can't get out of that mode... :sad2: I hope the rest of your day gets better!

The pics at 'Ohana are great though - I've always wanted to try breakfast there!! ;)

AZMickeyfans

08-14-2008, 10:53 PM

I love the new pictures. The Soarin' one is awesome. Mine would have never turned out!

soarin' is great. We have seen it too many times at DCA though so if its a huge line I wont waste a lot of time in it. Although dh LOVES this ride and cannot live without it. To the point where I want to say "why dont you marry it" :lmao: when it has a long line and I dont want to wait. (sigh) I think its great though.

Jack looks very happy with the pizza.

OneTreeHillAddict

08-15-2008, 10:14 PM

I love the Greenhouse part too! Have ya'll ever taken the Behind the Seeds tour? We did it in '06 and loved it!

Okay...that mac n cheese pizza just seems weird to me! I love pizza and macaroni and cheese just not together. :lmao:

irky416

08-17-2008, 03:08 PM

Haha, thanks! I always wondered if people thought we were weird for discussing our future trip to WDW. Unfortunately, this is an unplanned trip. No dates have been set at all. We started a running list of things we have to do. We have a shared private online journal and I've already started writing up a "pretend" TR there and keeping track of the things I want to see and show him (since he hasn't been back in ages). We're that silly.

We just know that we must go together since we don't really know anyone else that would be willing to do WDW the way we want to do it (like our families just aren't as interested). He wants to go after he finishes school next May, but my school year won't be over just yet. Then since I went in February and we don't do very well in the heat, going in the summer wouldn't necessarily make that much sense. So that's why it's all up in the air.

We'd also have to find a bunch of people who would want to go too since we wouldn't go by ourselves. We said we have to go within the next 5 years so that gives us a pretty decent window!

No worries! I think it's cute. We already have the next 5 summers planned out trip wise. (Not that I necessarily think it will all happen...especially since they are big, expensive trips! Italy, Japan, Alaska, Hawaii...) I think it's fun to just plan!

That would be hard to find a time to go with you working. Maybe you could take a day off and go for a extended weekend?

How come you wouldn't want to go by yourselves? Either way, I would be more than happy to accompany you on a trip to WDW!! ;) :rotfl2:

That pizza looks yummy!!

Mmmmm... I love mac n' cheese pizza! It's a guilty pleasure!

I know that feeling exactly - when everything is just annoying and you can't get out of that mode... :sad2: I hope the rest of your day gets better!

The pics at 'Ohana are great though - I've always wanted to try breakfast there!! ;)

Ohana for breakfast is awesome. If you get a chance you should try it sometime.

I love the new pictures. The Soarin' one is awesome. Mine would have never turned out!

soarin' is great. We have seen it too many times at DCA though so if its a huge line I wont waste a lot of time in it. Although dh LOVES this ride and cannot live without it. To the point where I want to say "why dont you marry it" :lmao: when it has a long line and I dont want to wait. (sigh) I think its great though.

Jack looks very happy with the pizza.

Haha. I'm glad your DH likes the ride so much! IS the one in Claifornia exactly the same?

I love the Greenhouse part too! Have ya'll ever taken the Behind the Seeds tour? We did it in '06 and loved it!

Okay...that mac n cheese pizza just seems weird to me! I love pizza and macaroni and cheese just not together. :lmao:

I never took the tour. It sounds interesting, though. Maybe if I get back I'll try it out!

If you never tried the mac n' cheese pizza, you should! It's actually pizza with no sauce. So, it's not as weird as it may sound. It's more like white pizza with mac n' cheese on top. Very tasty!

irky416

08-17-2008, 03:22 PM

Chapter 15 – Beverly

We went to Turtle Talk and got in. We had just enough time to complete a Mr. Ray’s quiz before we were allowed in the show room. They sent us a certificate that we did well in email!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322568156_UBoXh-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/download2.jpg

We all really like Turtle Talk, but I still like Monsters Inc. more. DBF’s parents particularly enjoyed it.

DBF, DSis and I were hungry after this so we decided to go get lunch at the Electric Umbrella. Their lights were burnt out, though, so we decided we were eating at a French place… the Le Tric Umbrella.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322569372_ne9qY-L.jpg

I had a chicken sandwich and fries which were pretty good and everyone else enjoyed their food also. There was a mix up with ketchup, though and we got way more than we needed. This was after everyone used as much ketchup as we could!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322569681_zDCJb-L.jpg

While we were in here it started raining again. Luckily, by the time we left, it was only drizzling and stopped shortly after.

We went in Mouse Gear to escape the rain (it seemed like we walked through that store a million times – I guess because it actually connects one side to the other) and took some pictures with Jack.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322570431_k7VNR-L.jpg

Where's Jack?
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322570907_SbAwQ-L.jpg

Jack got on the wrong side of Bruce
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322571265_zsgqn-L.jpg

Jack found some more Aztec gold
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322571745_rvodd-L.jpg

We then decided to try Spaceship Earth. I liked this ride. Actually, it was basically my curriculum. (Maybe I can organize a field trip!?) I kept going through the ride saying to DBF, “I teach that!” We took some pictures of our adventures/futures (I thought that part was cute, but I know some people think it’s cheesy and dumb). We played around in the exit area for a bit and emailed ourselves with our pictures.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322572372_GDAyS-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322574238_QFb4M-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322574571_fxDqK-L.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/download1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/download.jpg

After this, I wanted to head to the World Showcase to meet some characters. For some reason, we decided to split up. I’m sure DBF’s parents didn’t want to do characters again, but I don’t really remember why we decided to split up. I don’t even know what they did the entire time.

So we split up and DBF, DSis and I headed to the World Showcase. On the way, though, we saw Club Cool.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322576166_6od68-L.jpg

I was determined to get DSis with Beverly, so I suggested we go in to try the different flavors of pop out. I had to be sneaky for it to work. I tried to just get her to try Beverly first thing, but she wanted us all to get a cup of something different and then pass it on to the next person. Hmmm….this would be trickier.

We all tried a few and Beverly was in our next rotation. I made sure DSis got it first. I told her I wanted a picture of us trying some, so I wouldn’t look suspicious with my camera out. She made a great Beverly face!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322576934_qc6ke-L.jpg

Even better I then took a movie of her being annoyed at how gross it was and looking for somewhere to spit it out. She was not very pleased when I told her I set her up. She likes her picture though and the movie. She was amused after she got the gross taste of Beverly out of her mouth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/th_MVI_4117.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/Videos/?action=view&current=MVI_4117.flv)

DBF didn’t like it either.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322576550_vtmYg-L.jpg

I tried a little of it and it tasted like cough medicine to me. Yuck!

We wanted to try the one from China, but all of the machines were out of it
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322577734_TPdyY-L.jpg

We head off to Mexico. Our goal was to meet Mushu and I wanted to get a smushed penny from each country. Will we meet our goals?

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322578433_FB8VD-L.jpg

Up Next: Around the world showcase!

(The next updates will probably be shorter because the worst week of my year starts this week and the second worst week of the year is the week after. I'll try to get them up but I am going to be pretty busy the next few weeks.)

kathleen27

08-17-2008, 04:07 PM

If you have a CiCi's by you, you should definitely try the Mac N' Cheese pizza. It's very tasty!

I looked it up. Not in any states near us. :sad2:

I always wondered if people thought we were weird for discussing our future trip to WDW. Unfortunately, this is an unplanned trip. No dates have been set at all. We started a running list of things we have to do. We have a shared private online journal and I've already started writing up a "pretend" TR there and keeping track of the things I want to see and show him (since he hasn't been back in ages). We're that silly.

I think its cute too. I have multiple lists for different trips with different family members.

We already have the next 5 summers planned out trip wise. (Not that I necessarily think it will all happen...especially since they are big, expensive trips! Italy, Japan, Alaska, Hawaii...) I think it's fun to just plan!

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this. I've got calendars printed off for the next four years with school vacations marked off. Of course I change my mind every other day. But its so much fun to plan and learn about everyplace.

Jack got on the wrong side of Bruce
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322571265_zsgqn-L.jpg.)

Poor Jack!!!:scared1:

Love all the Jack pictures! :laughing:
They must have been lots of fun to take!

(The next updates will probably be shorter because the worst week of my year starts this week and the second worst week of the year is the week after. I'll try to get them up but I am going to be pretty busy the next few weeks.)

Back to school time? :scared1:
We have two more weeks off. I can't believe summer is ending. :sad2:

We loved Turtle Talk, so Monsters Inc must be really amazing. We will definately see it next time. We never get everything done at the MK.
Cute certificate!

Fun futures!

Too funny that you tricked your sister with the Beverly. It really is awful.

SwansLoveDisney

08-17-2008, 04:24 PM

Turtle Talk cracks me up every time.

Great Beverly pics of your sis!

AZMickeyfans

08-17-2008, 04:50 PM

I love the "French" restaurant:lmao:

Beverly never gets old does she? :lmao: I just love seeing reaction pictures..:rotfl2:

I guess Jack not being a fish does not count towards the "Fish are Friends Not food" motto of Bruce. :rotfl: Poor guy.

Can't wait to hear about World Showcase.

irky416

08-17-2008, 10:16 PM

I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this. I've got calendars printed off for the next four years with school vacations marked off. Of course I change my mind every other day. But its so much fun to plan and learn about everyplace.

Love all the Jack pictures! :laughing:
They must have been lots of fun to take!

Back to school time? :scared1:
We have two more weeks off. I can't believe summer is ending. :sad2:

Haha. I change my mind all the time, too! My newest is Japan. I was watching I Survived A Japanese Game Show this summer and it made me want to go!

Thanks! It was fun to take Jack. He definitely helped us pass some time when we were in line/waiting for shows.

Yes, it's back to school. This week is teacher in-service days which I hate because 1. it's the first time I have to get up early and wake up to an alarm since last school year (with a few exceptions - like breakfast at Ohana, of course!) and 2. they are extremely boring, long days and most of the stuff they talk to us about has no real relevance and the time could be spent much better doing other things at school. And next week is bad because it's the first student week which is always hard because I don't know the kids and they don't know me and I have to "mean."

Turtle Talk cracks me up every time.

Great Beverly pics of your sis!

Turtle Talk was cute!

I love the "French" restaurant:lmao:

Beverly never gets old does she? :lmao: I just love seeing reaction pictures..:rotfl2:

I guess Jack not being a fish does not count towards the "Fish are Friends Not food" motto of Bruce. :rotfl: Poor guy.

Can't wait to hear about World Showcase.

Beverly was awesome! ;)

LOL at Fish are friends not food! :rotfl2: Poor Jack!

The Moonk's Mom

08-18-2008, 07:47 AM

I so hate that we missed the Beverly! I will have to get everyone on our next trip!:lmao:

Hope your week goes well!

wdwgirl03

08-18-2008, 12:32 PM

Great update! Love the picture/video of your sister trying the beverly. :rotfl: I once got my sisters and dad to try it and their reactions were quite funny. I have yet to try it myself, but I don't think it's too high on my list of things to do. haha

Good luck as you go back to school!

jmskinner

08-18-2008, 12:54 PM

Love the Beverly video. I tried it once, just once.

Oh, and your pic from the "french" restaurant reminded me of our ketchup at WCC.:lmao:

Funny, we were there the same time in June, and neither of us has finished their trip report.

Keep the pics of Jack coming!

irky416

08-19-2008, 04:48 PM

I was going to try to write an update but I'm exhausted from moving my classroom all day. I'm laying on my couch typing this with one hand and that's all I have energy for at the moment. Tomorrow I won't have anything to move, just organize, so hopefully I won't be so worn out.

I so hate that we missed the Beverly! I will have to get everyone on our next trip!:lmao:

Hope your week goes well!

Have the camera ready of you get your kids!

Thanks!

Great update! Love the picture/video of your sister trying the beverly. :rotfl: I once got my sisters and dad to try it and their reactions were quite funny. I have yet to try it myself, but I don't think it's too high on my list of things to do. haha

Good luck as you go back to school!

Thank you. I'm glad I tried the Beverly so I now know how gross it is.

Have you heard anything about school yet?

Love the Beverly video. I tried it once, just once.

Oh, and your pic from the "french" restaurant reminded me of our ketchup at WCC.:lmao:

Funny, we were there the same time in June, and neither of us has finished their trip report.

Keep the pics of Jack coming!

Yes, I certainly won't be trying it again! :rotfl2: I'm glad I'm not the only one who hasn't finished yet!

Disney Brat

08-19-2008, 05:26 PM

Awesome update! Loved the pics! I am plannig on getting someone with Beverly this Oct...lol You just have to get someone with it!!!

OneTreeHillAddict

08-19-2008, 05:50 PM

Okay....like me you notice every little thing. But it's been a year now since I went and I can't remember for sure ~ lemon juice packets. Did you see them anywhere!? :confused:

Hey Jack!!! How are you doing today little man!? :goodvibes

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-19-2008, 06:59 PM

Sorry you're so worn out today. When does your school start? I had one of those lay on the couch because you are too tired to do anything else afternoons as well after spending the morning unpacking more stuff in the new house. I swear I went up and down the stairs 75 times today. I can't wait to see more Jack... and you guys too!

irky416

08-19-2008, 09:12 PM

Awesome update! Loved the pics! I am plannig on getting someone with Beverly this Oct...lol You just have to get someone with it!!!

Thank you! Haha. It took me more cunning than I thought it would to trick her! Good luck!

Okay....like me you notice every little thing. But it's been a year now since I went and I can't remember for sure ~ lemon juice packets. Did you see them anywhere!? :confused:

Hey Jack!!! How are you doing today little man!? :goodvibes

I can't say I ever saw lemon juice packets. I wasn't looking for them, so I'm not sure, but I think that would be something I would look at and say, "Wow! That's something I've never seen before!"

Jack says hi!

Sorry you're so worn out today. When does your school start? I had one of those lay on the couch because you are too tired to do anything else afternoons as well after spending the morning unpacking more stuff in the new house. I swear I went up and down the stairs 75 times today. I can't wait to see more Jack... and you guys too!

The students start next Tuesday. There's a lot of drama at school among the adults at the moment, so it's not only physically draining from having to change classrooms but mentally draining, as well.

I hope you at least got a lot done for being so worn out!

I have the cutest picture of Jack in the World Showcase! I can't wait to post it!

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-20-2008, 07:34 PM

I have the cutest picture of Jack in the World Showcase! I can't wait to post it!

I can't wait to see it! I now have a mission in life to find someone to share our trip with. Jack just looks like he had so much fun I want to make someone's dream come true also! I will be on the look out on ebay and disney stores. Do you have any suggestions?

irky416

08-20-2008, 07:57 PM

I can't wait to see it! I now have a mission in life to find someone to share our trip with. Jack just looks like he had so much fun I want to make someone's dream come true also! I will be on the look out on ebay and disney stores. Do you have any suggestions?

I don't know what size of bag you carry in the park (or anywhere else you want to take your new friend!) but my suggestion is to get something small. I like Jack because he's small (about 5") and flat. He fits in the small bag I usually take, DBF's pocket (where he spent much of our cruise!) and in my purse. I had something else I wanted to use, but it ended up too big and bulky to be practical.

Get something that has some importance or meaning to you. Everyone knows my obsession for Pirates, so it makes Jack more special.

I just did a search on Ebay for 'small Disney plush' and 'mini Disney plush' and a bunch of things came up. (Including this adorable Genie! http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Aladdin-Mini-plush-doll-GENIE-Dangler-NOTinSTORE_W0QQitemZ140259227876QQihZ004QQcategory Z19224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) I'm sure you could do the same for something non-Disney. If you want a Jack I think I searched Jack Sparrow plush. (He's a McDonald's toy, so they might have had others too! By searching that just now I found some Winnie the Pooh characters and Power Puff Girls and a bunch of other things! And a Lumiere! http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Beauty-the-Beast-plush-Lumiere-McDonalds-toy_W0QQitemZ380056752647QQihZ025QQcategoryZ44033Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Ok, I got way too excited about all those potential travel buddies. I am now resisting the urge to buy more travel buddies so Jack has some friends! :lmao: Let me know if you get one!! This is obviously very important to me since I spent the last 20 minutes looking stuff up. :goodvibes

ETA: I seriously need to remove myself from the computer. DBF isn't here and he's usually the one who speaks common sense and would insist I didn't need a friend for Jack and make me not buy anything! Jack is looking pretty lonely sitting on my coffee table all alone....

PISCESANGEL

08-20-2008, 09:10 PM

I don't know what size of bag you carry in the park (or anywhere else you want to take your new friend!) but my suggestion is to get something small. I like Jack because he's small (about 5") and flat. He fits in the small bag I usually take, DBF's pocket (where he spent much of our cruise!) and in my purse. I had something else I wanted to use, but it ended up too big and bulky to be practical.

Get something that has some importance or meaning to you. Everyone knows my obsession for Pirates, so it makes Jack more special.

I just did a search on Ebay for 'small Disney plush' and 'mini Disney plush' and a bunch of things came up. (Including this adorable Genie! http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Aladdin-Mini-plush-doll-GENIE-Dangler-NOTinSTORE_W0QQitemZ140259227876QQihZ004QQcategory Z19224QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) I'm sure you could do the same for something non-Disney. If you want a Jack I think I searched Jack Sparrow plush. (He's a McDonald's toy, so they might have had others too! By searching that just now I found some Winnie the Pooh characters and Power Puff Girls and a bunch of other things! And a Lumiere! http://cgi.ebay.com/Disney-Beauty-the-Beast-plush-Lumiere-McDonalds-toy_W0QQitemZ380056752647QQihZ025QQcategoryZ44033Q QssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Ok, I got way too excited about all those potential travel buddies. I am now resisting the urge to buy more travel buddies so Jack has some friends! :lmao: Let me know if you get one!! This is obviously very important to me since I spent the last 20 minutes looking stuff up. :goodvibes

ETA: I seriously need to remove myself from the computer. DBF isn't here and he's usually the one who speaks common sense and would insist I didn't need a friend for Jack and make me not buy anything! Jack is looking pretty lonely sitting on my coffee table all alone....

Oh, I would agree that Jack needs a friend! He has made a great addition to your trip report - so you should reward him! :rotfl:

Plus, he needs a friend or two to take along on future trips... :goodvibes

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-20-2008, 09:33 PM

I was thinking about a dumbo or eeyore because they are my fav but they are both oddly shaped. and i totally agree that jack needs a friend! i am searching also so i will let you know if i find anything good.

irky416

08-21-2008, 02:50 PM

Oh, I would agree that Jack needs a friend! He has made a great addition to your trip report - so you should reward him! :rotfl:

Plus, he needs a friend or two to take along on future trips... :goodvibes

I was thinking about a dumbo or eeyore because they are my fav but they are both oddly shaped. and i totally agree that jack needs a friend! i am searching also so i will let you know if i find anything good.

You're not supposed to be encouraging me!!!!! :laughing:

PISCESANGEL

08-21-2008, 03:12 PM

You're not supposed to be encouraging me!!!!! :laughing:

:rotfl:

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-21-2008, 03:36 PM

I found the cutest little mini Eeyore but apparently he is popular because I keep getting outbid. I think that Genie would make a great friend for Jack personally. Sorry just can't help encouraging I am a shopping addict! Ok back to scour ebay again. I will let you know if I get my Eeyore or not in a few days.

wdwgirl03

08-21-2008, 05:12 PM

HA that Genie is so awesome!!!

irky416

08-21-2008, 08:13 PM

Chapter 16 – Mexico!

(Does anyone play the Mario games and know when he comes on and says Let’s Go! in his Mario voice? I always think he says Mexico! when he says that and that is always how I say Mexico. DBF and DSis were getting very annoyed by the time we left!)

We stopped for a photopass on the way to Mexico.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325485350_dfGhu-L.jpg

We arrived at Mexico and headed into the temple thingy.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322579101_RUbbh-L.jpg

This is the only part of the World Showcase I remember doing when I was there last time. We walked in and saw Mexican Donald so we jumped in line for him.

While we were waiting in line I found these little sombreros that were the perfect Jack size. He tried one on and it was perfect!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322579526_YCJH5-L.jpg

I love this picture! It might be my favorite one of our whole trip! I actually decided later in the trip that I really should have bought that hat for Jack. It was perfect. It was one thing I wish I would have bought when we got home. I didn’t even know how much it was. However, when we were on the cruise we saw the mini sombreros in the real Mexico! I bought one for $4 almost exactly like he’s wearing in the picture. I was happy, especially because it was probably way cheaper than it was in the fake Mexico. (Does anyone happen to know how much it is in Epcot?)

Anyway, we met Mexican Donald. We actually heard a CM yell at somebody here. The CM was taking a picture with my camera of Donald and I guess the person behind us on the ledge leaned down into the picture. She asked him nicely to move his head out of the picture and I’m guessing he rolled his eyes at her and gave her a dirty look because she yelled at him, “Move out of the picture! You don’t need to stand there and I don’t need an attitude!” Yikes. I think that CM was having a bad day (not that the guy didn’t deserve it…)

There's the guy before he got yelled at:
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325485701_bkpfT-L.jpg

And now he's gone...
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322580054_Y4UGj-L.jpg

I had to find the penny machine. It was time for my first penny around the world. I put my penny and quarters in and pushed and nothing. It was broken! No penny from Mexico. I was so bummed. Even if I got the rest I wouldn’t be able to complete the collection. (The machine never got fixed, so I never did wind up with a penny from Mexico.)

We decided to ride El Rio de Tiempo even though that’s not the name of it anymore. There was absolutely no wait. It was a cute ride.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322580978_VkCYa-L.jpg

DSis wanted to print this out and put it on our house for her graduation party
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322581315_KwNNg-L.jpg

DSis and I loved this part
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322581662_H5g98-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322581981_bdPQu-L.jpg

After that, we had to get sombrero pictures for the humans, so DBF and DSis posed for pictures in the sombrero.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322580331_dWhYa-L.jpg

I tried the penny machine one more time. Still no luck. We headed out of Mexico and headed for China. We were hoping to get lucky and see Mulan and Mushu. Mushu was at the very top of all our lists. I was hoping my luck would change and the penny machine would be working! I still wanted pennies from all the countries!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322582240_yfm9P-L.jpg

Even though the penny machine was broken, it seemed that crossing over into the world had broken my bad mood! I was feeling much better especially since we were on a mission to get pennies and more character pictures and autographs for my bag.

Up Next: Will we meet Mushu? Will I get the rest of the pennies?

kathleen27

08-21-2008, 08:31 PM

reyasmommy

08-21-2008, 08:34 PM

I finally got caught up on your TR! I love it .... You're pictures are great, I love em! Look forward to more.

irky416

08-21-2008, 08:50 PM

Jack looks so cute in the sombrero!!! :goodvibes
Glad you found him one on the cruise!

We haven't been on the new version of the fiesta ride.
The Donald pinata is cute!

I hope you meet mushu!

Did you buy anything on ebay. :lmao:

I liked how they added Donald in at some parts. It's a little more colorful than I remember it being.

I do love that Genie.... DBF didn't even try to talk me out of it when I showed it to him! :woohoo: (It doesn't go for 3 more days though!)

It would be perfect because that's DBF's favorite movie and every single time I tell him to pick a movie for us to watch he always brings Aladdin! We must have watched it about 50 times.

I finally got caught up on your TR! I love it .... You're pictures are great, I love em! Look forward to more.

Thank you! :goodvibes

Disney Brat

08-21-2008, 09:24 PM

Great update! Jack looks great in that sombrero!! I have heard of a few of the cm`s getting snappy like that! The pics were very cute!!

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-21-2008, 09:54 PM

Heehee Jack is going to have a travel buddy for the next trip! And I think I am going to get both Eeyore and Tigger! Yay!
Ok enough ebay nonsense. I have always meant to tell you that I love your teasers at the end of your updates.

The Moonk's Mom

08-22-2008, 05:51 AM

Aw...love Jack's hat! Glad you finally got one and you are right probably cheaper!

Glad that the world got you to feeling better!

jmskinner

08-22-2008, 07:33 AM

Great update! Love the Sombrero! I'll try to check out the pricing next time we head over to Epcot (which I am having withdrawals right now, I was just at WDW a week ago).

Glad your mood was improving. Epcot just kept picking on you though. It cracks me up when CM's have finally had it. They put up with a lot!

Hopefully you have your classroom all ready so you can rest this weekend!

:goodvibes
Melissa

Indiana Jacob

08-25-2008, 09:48 AM

I love the picture of Jack in the Sombrero. Can't wait for more!!!

RachelNinja

08-25-2008, 01:54 PM

(Again, this is in reply to a bunch of your posts! I was vacationing for a while!)

Planning vacations is definitely fun! I'm thinking more about road trips and stuff before we do the WDW thing. They're shorter and closer and of course, less expensive! I'm really interested in a DC trip just because there are a ton of museums there, and Weird and I really enjoy museums and learning ... to an extent, haha. Your big, expensive trips sound fun! I feel like DIS needs to have a TR section that's not necessarily all WDW-related!

We wouldn't do WDW by ourselves because it would mean getting 2 separate rooms, and I don't know that we can handle a cost like that! Haha, gotta split it with others. And yes, a trip with you and your DBF would be quite exciting! We should definitely have a DIS meet in the future :)

Haha, Le Tric ... very fitting for Epcot too! It really does sound like a restaurant name.

Wow, that's a ton of ketchup! I think I have a problem with not getting enough ketchup. I'll get one or two and I never want to get up to get more when I need it! I could have used 3 of those ... but then you'd still have extra!

I still get so giddy seeing those pictures of Jack with Bruce and the pirate medallion! It also makes me think of the adventures that Jack could have along with Weird and Ninja!

I say that too! The "I teach that!" thing! Haha, not necessarily on Spaceship Earth since I don't cover anything about history, but I do it often enough. Haha, I actually suggested WDW for a field trip to my kids as a joke. One of their vocabulary words was "innovation" so I was trying to get them to remember it because of Innoventions, like innovation and invention. I said that we should go to Epcot so they'll remember it for good, haha.

Oh yeah, I also saw you posted a while ago on one of the DISigns threads about the picture of Roz saying something about paperwork. I read that you were going to use it in your classroom. If you do that and other Disney things in your room, take pics and share please! Haha, I'm interested to see how you use it because I definitely want to add touches to my homeroom ... except I don't really teach there unfortunately since we move around in middle school.

Haha, DSis was a good sport about the Beverly! I don't know who I could pull that trick on since, as I said in my TR, Chinese people are a bit more accustomed to bitter tastes. Haha, gotta bring one of my younger cousins who are very Americanized!

I also read your comment back to kathleen. I hope your first two weeks go well! I only experienced that week of "teacher in-service days" once last year and already I don't like them! I mean, yes, there were useful things for me since it was my first year there, but I actually started thinking about what would happen the following year. Would they repeat everything again? Would we watch the same videos, have the same discussions ... I mean, unless there are changes being made, do we really need to sit and listen? I could have had so much more time doing inventory and getting classrooms ready and all that.

Also about that first week ... I'm happy that I'll know most of the kids since it's a small private school, and I've subbed for the incoming 6th grade too. But everyone knows me as nice ... so I know that I have to do the mean thing too to set the tone. I plan on being a lot stricter this year. Haha, at least from the start ...

Anyway, back to your TR! That sombrero Jack picture is perfect! I have a picture with Ninja on vacation in Virginia (it's why I've been away from DIS for over a week) where I feel like she was just the perfect size (I'll post it later on in that thread, of course!). It gets me so happy, like things made for them! Haha, so I can understand your giddiness with Jack's mini sombrero!

Yay! You got the picture of pinata Donald! I didn't have my camera out on that ride and I missed getting it!

And a huge HOORAYYY for the better mood in World Showcase!

irky416

08-25-2008, 04:35 PM

Great update! Jack looks great in that sombrero!! I have heard of a few of the cm`s getting snappy like that! The pics were very cute!!

Thanks! We had another case of a CM getting snappy later in the week.

Heehee Jack is going to have a travel buddy for the next trip! And I think I am going to get both Eeyore and Tigger! Yay!
Ok enough ebay nonsense. I have always meant to tell you that I love your teasers at the end of your updates.

Did you get your Eeyore and Tigger? I want to see pictures if you did!

Thanks!

Aw...love Jack's hat! Glad you finally got one and you are right probably cheaper!

Glad that the world got you to feeling better!

Thanks. It was perfect for him!

Great update! Love the Sombrero! I'll try to check out the pricing next time we head over to Epcot (which I am having withdrawals right now, I was just at WDW a week ago).

Glad your mood was improving. Epcot just kept picking on you though. It cracks me up when CM's have finally had it. They put up with a lot!

Hopefully you have your classroom all ready so you can rest this weekend!

:goodvibes
Melissa

I would love to know the price, if you remember about it! (Still so jealous you get to go all the time!)

That CM really had had it. It was kind of a random thing to get upset about, but oh well.

The classroom is finally finished (good thing, since the kid start tomorrow!) but I was insanely busy getting stuff done late last week and this weekend.

I love the picture of Jack in the Sombrero. Can't wait for more!!!

Thank you Jacob!

irky416

08-25-2008, 04:46 PM

Planning vacations is definitely fun! I'm thinking more about road trips and stuff before we do the WDW thing. They're shorter and closer and of course, less expensive! I'm really interested in a DC trip just because there are a ton of museums there, and Weird and I really enjoy museums and learning ... to an extent, haha. Your big, expensive trips sound fun! I feel like DIS needs to have a TR section that's not necessarily all WDW-related!

I love road trips! DC is fun. I've been there a few times and have chaperoned our school trip twice. I still want to go back to do the zoo (we only made it for about an hour there and didn't get to see much) and the Holocaust museum. I know there is a lot of fun Weird and Ninja (both the flats and the people!) could have in DC!

I still get so giddy seeing those pictures of Jack with Bruce and the pirate medallion! It also makes me think of the adventures that Jack could have along with Weird and Ninja!

Haha. Think of all the fun they could have together! I need to take Jack to some more places. I think he's getting jealous of Weird and Ninja's many adventures!

I say that too! The "I teach that!" thing! Haha, not necessarily on Spaceship Earth since I don't cover anything about history, but I do it often enough. Haha, I actually suggested WDW for a field trip to my kids as a joke. One of their vocabulary words was "innovation" so I was trying to get them to remember it because of Innoventions, like innovation and invention. I said that we should go to Epcot so they'll remember it for good, haha.

Oh yeah, I also saw you posted a while ago on one of the DISigns threads about the picture of Roz saying something about paperwork. I read that you were going to use it in your classroom. If you do that and other Disney things in your room, take pics and share please! Haha, I'm interested to see how you use it because I definitely want to add touches to my homeroom ... except I don't really teach there unfortunately since we move around in middle school.

I'm glad it's not just me! I like the Innoventions thing.

I did end up posting the Roz poster in my room today. I also took a picture and I will try to get it up ASAP. I didn't want to go Disney overboard (especially since most of the pictures on my desk are from our Disney trip!), so that was the only thing I used. My friend put Finding Nemo fabric on one of her bulletin boards and is going to make it show student work and say something about swimming into good work or something. (I'll find out for sure and let you know!) She was also pondering using the Nemo theme and putting the seagulls with Mine, mine, mine instead of please don't touch!

I also read your comment back to kathleen. I hope your first two weeks go well! I only experienced that week of "teacher in-service days" once last year and already I don't like them! I mean, yes, there were useful things for me since it was my first year there, but I actually started thinking about what would happen the following year. Would they repeat everything again? Would we watch the same videos, have the same discussions ... I mean, unless there are changes being made, do we really need to sit and listen? I could have had so much more time doing inventory and getting classrooms ready and all that.

Good luck when you start! I hope your days aren't as boring as ours are. When do you go back?

Anyway, back to your TR! That sombrero Jack picture is perfect! I have a picture with Ninja on vacation in Virginia (it's why I've been away from DIS for over a week) where I feel like she was just the perfect size (I'll post it later on in that thread, of course!). It gets me so happy, like things made for them! Haha, so I can understand your giddiness with Jack's mini sombrero!

I can't wait to see what was Ninja sized! (And to read about your vacation, I hope!)

PISCESANGEL

08-25-2008, 09:15 PM

Great update - you are definitely giving me some major EPCOT withdrawals!

Now I'm curious and I'm gonna have to go see how much Jack's sombrero would cost in the world... :)

irky416

08-26-2008, 03:32 PM

Great update - you are definitely giving me some major EPCOT withdrawals!

Now I'm curious and I'm gonna have to go see how much Jack's sombrero would cost in the world... :)

Thank you! I'm curious too. Maybe jmskinner will remember to look on one of her many trips!

irky416

08-26-2008, 04:49 PM

I figured a short chapter was better than no chapter at all.

Chapter 17 – China!

We headed off to China with 2 goals in mind. One, a penny and two, meet Mushu.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322589114_EB2Re-L.jpg

Mulan is another movie DBF and I watch all the time. When I ask him to bring up a movie for us to watch he either brings Aladdin or Mulan. He’s probably seen it way more than me because we’ll put it on and I’ll fall asleep and he’ll finish it. It usually takes me three nights to see a movie all the way through in the school year and he watches the entire movie each time! That’s a lot of the same movie! :eek: Anyway….DBF and DSis were both very excited about meeting Mushu.

We walked into the building and immediately saw Mushu and Mulan with no line! But as we got closer Mushu was walking away. :scared1: We asked the handler if Mushu was coming back and he said yes. So, we were waiting. The handler was teasing DSis because she was not hiding her excitement over meeting Mushu very well. We were at the very front of the line and no one else was there. Finally, another group came in and wanted to wait for Mushu, too. Poor Mulan. She had been talking to the handler and then looked over and saw us waiting for Mushu. She looked sad and said, “But the movie was called Mulan!” Haha. It was so cute! :goodvibes That was my first real interaction with a face character. We usually steer clear of them. We felt bad for her!

Mushu came back out and we got to meet both of them! :woohoo:

Mulan looking at my bag. She refused to sign next to Pooh! :rolleyes1
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325485805_ZkvdR-L.jpg

Mushu's turn!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322582563_7PUSH-L.jpg

After signing my bag, the handler told Mushu about DSis liking him and Mushu started hugging her and tried to walk away with her. She loved it. :cloud9: He made the call me motion after the photographer made him stay where he was and she said she’d call him.

You can see Mushu holding DSis's arm!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325486007_2xeR6-L.jpg

The photographer yelling at Mushu
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322582827_VZA7Q-L.jpg

We went and tried to find my penny. No luck! I couldn’t find a penny machine anywhere. Maybe I wasn’t meant to get a penny from each country. Mexico’s machine was broken and there wasn’t one in China. I finally asked at one of the stores if there was a penny machine and they told me it was located in the International Gateway. That was all the way across the world, so it would have to wait. I wasn’t doing too well with the pennies. I was 0/2 so far. :sad1: I was hoping this trend would change!

We took some statue pictures again. I really don't know why we feel the need to do this!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322589409_pHGDv-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322589737_N7YgX-L.jpg

Then we ran off (Mushu had really put us in a meeting character mood and we were hoping to get to some more!) to search for some more characters. DSis was impressed I knew which characters would be in each country thanks to the DIS! We just missed Snow White and Dopey in Germany. They were taking a long break and we didn’t want to wait. We headed off to Morocco in hopes of finding Aladdin. I didn’t stop in at any of the countries because we were looking for characters right now and we were walking with a mission!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322587492_zrYYK-L.jpg

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322587772_ucevo-L.jpg

Up Next: Will I ever get a penny!? And we get a surprise in Morocco!

PISCESANGEL

08-26-2008, 05:50 PM

Yes, a short update is definitely better than no update! Thanks for sharing - I hope you start having more luck finding your pennies! ;)

The Moonk's Mom

08-26-2008, 06:13 PM

Oh very good short update...good pics!

I do not know why I didn't really look for characters on the day we were there...so hot I guess...unhappy kids? Who knows...:confused3

Gosh...I sure do hope you get some pennies!!!!:scared:

NotSoEvilStepmother

08-26-2008, 07:48 PM

Yay! An update. Yes, a short update is better than none. And it gives a chance for a cliffhanger.
Which you did and now I'm really curious. popcorn::

You have to love how some of the characters just make it seem like they're real.
It's the Disney magic.

wdwgirl03

08-26-2008, 08:57 PM

Sounds like you had fun with Mulan and Mushu! I don't think I've ever met them.

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-26-2008, 09:54 PM

nice update!
i stopped bidding on my eeyore because it was getting much higher than it was worth and i never bid on the tigger. i decided to wait for the perfect friend to come along. did you get geenie?

jmskinner

08-27-2008, 07:09 AM

Yes, I will try to remember to go check on the price of that Sombrero. I have the itch right now to go to WDW. I mean, it's been over 2 weeks :confused3, we have to go.

Enjoyed the mini-update. I love your pictures with the statues. I have lots of pictures of statues, wish they had people in them, it would mean more.

By the way, how is the first week of school going?

irky416

08-27-2008, 04:07 PM

Yes, a short update is definitely better than no update! Thanks for sharing - I hope you start having more luck finding your pennies! ;)

Thanks! More about the pennies in the next update!

Oh very good short update...good pics!

I do not know why I didn't really look for characters on the day we were there...so hot I guess...unhappy kids? Who knows...:confused3

Gosh...I sure do hope you get some pennies!!!!:scared:

Thank you. We were kind of sorry we ran around the WS looking for characters after we did it. We had to o back around to see the things we missed because we were only looking for characters first. We were exhausted!

Yay! An update. Yes, a short update is better than none. And it gives a chance for a cliffhanger.
Which you did and now I'm really curious. popcorn::

You have to love how some of the characters just make it seem like they're real.
It's the Disney magic.

It will be hard for me to get to long updates now that school has started again. Especially in the beginning of the year...it's the craziest!

Hopefully I'll have an update soon! I don't want to leave you hanging too long!

Love that Disney Magic!!! :lovestruc

Sounds like you had fun with Mulan and Mushu! I don't think I've ever met them.

We were happy. Mushu was one of the few requests DBF made to meet.

nice update!
i stopped bidding on my eeyore because it was getting much higher than it was worth and i never bid on the tigger. i decided to wait for the perfect friend to come along. did you get geenie?

Awww....that's a bummer that you didn't get Eeyore. He must be really popular! I'm sure something perfect for you will come along and then you'll be happy.

Hmmmm....Genie.....
:rolleyes1

Yes, I will try to remember to go check on the price of that Sombrero. I have the itch right now to go to WDW. I mean, it's been over 2 weeks :confused3, we have to go.

Enjoyed the mini-update. I love your pictures with the statues. I have lots of pictures of statues, wish they had people in them, it would mean more.

By the way, how is the first week of school going?

Wow! 2 weeks! I wish I could say I felt bad for you...;) Have you been too busy with the new house to get there?

I don't have any pictures of statues by themselves! We started the trading of "being the statue" and we've kept it going.

School is so far, so good. Because of weird grade scheduling, I've actually only seen my students one day so far. They're always good the first day! :rolleyes: Thanks for asking!

Disney Brat

08-27-2008, 09:26 PM

Great update!!! Loved the pics with Mulan and Mushu!!

PrincessNewsie

08-28-2008, 04:22 AM

The camera basically never leaves my wrist. You can see it in this picture. Unless I'm actually taking a picture, the camera never moves. I'm irky416 and I take a lot of pictures. Now, that I've admitted it and accepted it, we can move on. ;)

That made me laugh so hard.

GASP you stayed off site?

And finally, how the heck do you hyperlink each chapter?

kathleen27

08-28-2008, 10:26 AM

Mulan is another movie DBF and I watch all the time. When I ask him to bring up a movie for us to watch he either brings Aladdin or Mulan. He’s probably seen it way more than me because we’ll put it on and I’ll fall asleep and he’ll finish it. It usually takes me three nights to see a movie all the way through in the school year and he watches the entire movie each time! That’s a lot of the same movie! :eek:

That is a lot of the same movie. :lmao:
That is exactly what my DH does. :headache:
He now says "Put on a movie for me to fall asleep to" :laughing:

Great updates and photos!!

Sounds like lots of fun meeting Mushu and Mulan!
Poor Mulan though. :rotfl:

I hope your luck with the pennies improves. :eek:

AZMickeyfans

08-28-2008, 10:53 AM

I love the Mushu meet! EPCOT looks beautiful. I'm so ready for it.

Can't wait to hear about Morocco. :cool1: :cool1:

RachelNinja

08-28-2008, 12:44 PM

DC is fun. I've been there a few times and have chaperoned our school trip twice. I still want to go back to do the zoo (we only made it for about an hour there and didn't get to see much) and the Holocaust museum. I know there is a lot of fun Weird and Ninja (both the flats and the people!) could have in DC!

I don't think I've ever gotten the full DC experience before. I've been there as a kid with my mom's side of the family, but when you're with a whole bunch of other kids, you kind of end up jumping from one thing to the next. I think that's the bad part about school trips, unless there are a lot more chaperones with smaller groups of kids. In JHS, I had a small group of friends with our math teacher when we went to Liberty Science Center and it made all the difference!

Haha. Think of all the fun they could have together! I need to take Jack to some more places. I think he's getting jealous of Weird and Ninja's many adventures!

Haha, actually I think we need to take Weird and Ninja out more often. They've been kind of taking a backseat to the real adventures Weird and I have been having, what with trying to squeeze in time together before work+school starts! Have you ever taken Jack to school?

I didn't want to go Disney overboard (especially since most of the pictures on my desk are from our Disney trip!), so that was the only thing I used.

Even if it's only a few Disney touches, I think it'll still be great to have a few things around. I like how MeMom (I think it's MeMom ...) wears Disney earrings to school. Haha, I specifically love reading about Disney things from fellow teachers. Haha, I wonder if it would be weird if I put a picture of a Dole Whip somewhere on my desk too :rotfl:

Good luck when you start! I hope your days aren't as boring as ours are. When do you go back?

I go back next week. I start teaching on the 8th. I don't even know what my schedule is like during the faculty things, and I don't want to email to ask ... haha, I'm in denial.

I figured a short chapter was better than no chapter at all.

Short chapters are great too! Haha, it's how I got the bulk of my TR done ... speaking of, I should finish it before school starts!

Mulan is another movie DBF and I watch all the time. When I ask him to bring up a movie for us to watch he either brings Aladdin or Mulan. He’s probably seen it way more than me because we’ll put it on and I’ll fall asleep and he’ll finish it. It usually takes me three nights to see a movie all the way through in the school year and he watches the entire movie each time! That’s a lot of the same movie! :eek:

Haha, that's funny! Does that mean DBF can recite the lines from those movies? I also like that out of all the Disney moves out there, especially with the Pixar ones out, those are the ones you watch the most. I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the Pixar ones, but there's still something about those older Disney movies ...

She looked sad and said, “But the movie was called Mulan!” Haha. It was so cute! :goodvibes That was my first real interaction with a face character. We usually steer clear of them. We felt bad for her!

Awww, poor Mulan! It should have been reversed with our trips because I was more interested in meeting Mulan than Mushu!

We went and tried to find my penny. No luck! I couldn’t find a penny machine anywhere. Maybe I wasn’t meant to get a penny from each country.

This was upsetting to me too. We purposely walked all around China two trips ago to try to find one. Haha, of course out of all countries, that's the one I wanted the most! Alas, it was not there. And that was before DIS so I didn't know about the checklist from Guest Relations!

We took some statue pictures again. I really don't know why we feel the need to do this!

Haha, it's your thing! You could probably put an entire scrapbook together of these statue pictures! Just like I'm sure in the future, Weird will be able to put together an album of pictures of me and sushi. For some reason, anytime we go to eat sushi, he takes a picture of it with me in the background. Haha, such a weird DBF.

And we get a surprise in Morocco!

Oooo, can't wait to hear what it is! Haha, even if it is a little while later because I know you're busy! How are your kids?

irky416

08-28-2008, 05:07 PM

Great update!!! Loved the pics with Mulan and Mushu!!

Thank you!

That made me laugh so hard.

GASP you stayed off site?

And finally, how the heck do you hyperlink each chapter?

Off site is so much cheaper and nicer with more people. I would love to stay onsite again sometime though!

Hyperlinking each chapter (I hope this makes sense!):

After you post your chapter click on the post number in the upper right hand corner of your post. That will open a separate page. Copy the link from that new page that is in the address bar.

Once that's copied, open your first post (or wherever you want you link to be) and hit the edit button. Click on the Insert Link button - the world picture with the link in front of it.

Paste the address of the individual chapter you just copied into the box that pops up. When you click ok, you will now have a link to that chapter. If you leave it there, the link have the text of the address, so http://www.disboards.com/yourspecificnumbershere.

If you want to change the text to Chapter # and Title, wherever you put the text (probably at the bottom) there should be a part that is highlighted. The highlighted section is the text that will show up as the link. Change that to Chapter # and Title. You should now have a link to an individual chapter with the correct chapter name.

I hope that works! If not, let me know and I'll see where I went wrong.

That is a lot of the same movie. :lmao:
That is exactly what my DH does. :headache:
He now says "Put on a movie for me to fall asleep to" :laughing:

Great updates and photos!!

Sounds like lots of fun meeting Mushu and Mulan!
Poor Mulan though. :rotfl:

I hope your luck with the pennies improves. :eek:

Haha. The other night I couldn't fall asleep so I told DBF to go get Aladdin because I haven't seen the end of that movie in ages! I'm glad it's not just me!

I did feel bad for Mulan. She wasn't the only princess this happened to when we were around! ;)

Penny update will be in the next chapter!

I love the Mushu meet! EPCOT looks beautiful. I'm so ready for it.

Can't wait to hear about Morocco. :cool1: :cool1:

Epcot is definitely beautiful. I have a picture of the sun setting over the World Showcase that I just love. It really shows how beautiful it is.

Haha, actually I think we need to take Weird and Ninja out more often. They've been kind of taking a backseat to the real adventures Weird and I have been having, what with trying to squeeze in time together before work+school starts! Have you ever taken Jack to school?

It's hard to remember about them sometimes isn't it while you're out having your own adventures!?

Jack comes to school everyday because he lives in my purse but he has never seen the school. I will have to try to remember to show him around. He'd love it!

Even if it's only a few Disney touches, I think it'll still be great to have a few things around. I like how MeMom (I think it's MeMom ...) wears Disney earrings to school. Haha, I specifically love reading about Disney things from fellow teachers. Haha, I wonder if it would be weird if I put a picture of a Dole Whip somewhere on my desk too :rotfl:

I wear my Mickey earrings in my second hole everyday! I was telling the kids about me today using this picture thing I made and I have a picture of Cinderella Castle with fireworks in front of it to show that I love fireworks and some kid today said and "That's in front of Disney World so you must love that too!" He was the only one who noticed that! I was so proud of him! :rotfl: Especially because it's a small picture and it's kind of hard to see!

I don't think a Dole Whip picture would be weird! Definitely a conversation maker!

I go back next week. I start teaching on the 8th. I don't even know what my schedule is like during the faculty things, and I don't want to email to ask ... haha, I'm in denial.

Haha. That was me not that long ago! You start really late! When do you finish?

Haha, that's funny! Does that mean DBF can recite the lines from those movies? I also like that out of all the Disney moves out there, especially with the Pixar ones out, those are the ones you watch the most. I mean, don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the Pixar ones, but there's still something about those older Disney movies ...

Yes, he knows the movies word for word almost! We love the Pixar movies, too and we used to watch Monsters Inc and Incredibles all the time, but you're right, there is something about those classic Disney movies.

This was upsetting to me too. We purposely walked all around China two trips ago to try to find one. Haha, of course out of all countries, that's the one I wanted the most! Alas, it was not there. And that was before DIS so I didn't know about the checklist from Guest Relations!

We did end up finding it, but I had to ask about 20 people. No one actually knew where it was and I just happened to stumble upon it because I really wanted it so I didn't give up looking!

Haha, it's your thing! You could probably put an entire scrapbook together of these statue pictures! Just like I'm sure in the future, Weird will be able to put together an album of pictures of me and sushi. For some reason, anytime we go to eat sushi, he takes a picture of it with me in the background. Haha, such a weird DBF.

That's funny! :lmao:

Oooo, can't wait to hear what it is! Haha, even if it is a little while later because I know you're busy! How are your kids?

Kids are ok so far, I had to threaten some with phone calls already on the second day of school, so we'll see how that goes. It takes them awhile before they realize I don't play games with them. I took a picture for you of my Roz sign and I'll try to get it up ASAP!

irky416

08-28-2008, 07:47 PM

RachelNinja, here's my use of the Roz sign in my room. This is where I put work with the kids name on it when they are absent, so they just come pick it up. Roz was perfect!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/360868955_msSGr-L.jpg

Michelle_and_Aaron

08-29-2008, 12:38 AM

Your Roz bullitin board for kids who were absent is really cool! I wish my teachers had had something like that when I was in school.

jmskinner

08-30-2008, 07:31 AM

Love the board. That is so cool and great idea!

Just had to tell you, not rubbing it in, but we are off to Epcot today, mainly for WS, so I will try to remember to look at that Sombrero for you. Also, I am so excited. I finally found DS's coin books(they were supposed to be in my WDW suitcase, but somehow ended up in one of packed boxes:confused3 ), and I just printed off the checklist for coins, so I plan a day of coin pressing.:cool1:

RachelNinja

08-30-2008, 02:29 PM

It's hard to remember about them sometimes isn't it while you're out having your own adventures!?

Jack comes to school everyday because he lives in my purse but he has never seen the school. I will have to try to remember to show him around. He'd love it!

It's gotten to the point where Weird and I don't even take many pictures of ourselves just because we're having so much fun with our adventures! Normally, we documented almost everything we did or ate. Now it's just more about being odd together in places like Bed Bath & Beyond (haha, I was looking for a small garbage can) and Staples (school supplies!).

:rotfl: I got a kick out of the "because he lives in my purse" thing. Haha, I don't know why because Weird and Ninja have the same home too, but it just sounded that much funnier when you wrote it!

... I have a picture of Cinderella Castle with fireworks in front of it to show that I love fireworks and some kid today said and "That's in front of Disney World so you must love that too!" He was the only one who noticed that! I was so proud of him! :rotfl: Especially because it's a small picture and it's kind of hard to see!

That's GREAT! I had one student who loved WDW too! Went pretty much every year and all that. I already know he's going this Christmas, and we were talking about the Osborne Lights (I've never been) and I said, "I've never seen WDW during Christmas, take pictures!" and he was like, "I definitely will!"

Haha, other students just didn't understand. They would be like, "If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?" and I would reply, "Disney World." They think I'm missing out on a lot, but I don't believe I am. Right now, WDW is IT. Sure, I would also love to go back to the Bahamas and I still want to do the DC thing, but those are completely different vacations. Disney is just ... well, I don't have to explain it to you :goodvibes

Haha. That was me not that long ago! You start really late! When do you finish?

I finally got an email that said I start the faculty stuff on Wednesday. We end fairly early too, in the middle of June. I know that we don't get off from school like public school does so maybe that's why we can do that. I teach in a private Christian school so we don't get the Jewish holidays.

Kids are ok so far, I had to threaten some with phone calls already on the second day of school, so we'll see how that goes. It takes them awhile before they realize I don't play games with them.

Agh, don't remind me of phone calls to parents! I hated doing that. Is it just me? I think that's one of the worst parts of the job. When people ask if I like what I do, I always reply, "I love teaching it's purest form." That means I love teaching for teaching. I love when a kid finally understands something. I love when you can be there for a kid and encourage him or her in life and not just academically. But part of the job includes dealing with the administration and parents who will just never be happy with what you do.

RachelNinja, here's my use of the Roz sign in my room. This is where I put work with the kids name on it when they are absent, so they just come pick it up. Roz was perfect!

Thanks for posting it! Love it, it's so creative! I also like the entire concept of the absentee work too. I think I'm going to print some fun Disney things out for like, binder covers or something, just so that I have some Disney magic in my day. If I open up the one with my lesson plans and see something Disney, my mood can totally change!

Disney Brat

08-30-2008, 04:43 PM

I LOVE the Roz board!!! What a great idea!

AZMickeyfans

08-30-2008, 05:08 PM

Awesome Roz board!

jmskinner

08-30-2008, 07:53 PM

Ok, I had to go back and look at the picture in your TR and I believe I looked at the same sombrero at Epcot today. Guess what, they were $4 also.

It was fun, never got to look around in any of the shops before.

Bring on more of the TR!

kryptonqueen

08-31-2008, 07:11 AM

I'm really enjoying your trip report. Mulan is one of favourite films and you were so lucky to meet Mulan and Mushu! I can't wait to read more, and I hope you meet more characters.

kathleen27

08-31-2008, 08:57 AM

The Roz sign is perfect for that board!

When I read it, I can hear Roz's voice. :lmao:

irky416

08-31-2008, 08:15 PM

I'm working on another update, but like I said this is my busiest time of the year. Seating charts and grade book sheets need made, names all need entered into the online grading book and participation charts, and I'm trying to get back into the groove of doing something other than being on the Dis all day! ;) Hopefully, I'll have an update soon! Things should die down a little in a week or so. I'm dying to tell you all about the surprise in Morocco!

Your Roz bullitin board for kids who were absent is really cool! I wish my teachers had had something like that when I was in school.

Thank you! It's my little bit of Disney I can smile at in the middle of a bad day.

Love the board. That is so cool and great idea!

Just had to tell you, not rubbing it in, but we are off to Epcot today, mainly for WS, so I will try to remember to look at that Sombrero for you. Also, I am so excited. I finally found DS's coin books(they were supposed to be in my WDW suitcase, but somehow ended up in one of packed boxes:confused3 ), and I just printed off the checklist for coins, so I plan a day of coin pressing.:cool1:

Thank you! And thanks for checking it out! How did the coin pressing go? You didn't happen to notice if the Mexico penny machine was working or not did you?

Now it's just more about being odd together in places like Bed Bath & Beyond (haha, I was looking for a small garbage can) and Staples (school supplies!).

Do you also have a huge love for school supplies that no one else understands? (I ask because not many people put an exclamation point after school supplies!)

:rotfl: I got a kick out of the "because he lives in my purse" thing. Haha, I don't know why because Weird and Ninja have the same home too, but it just sounded that much funnier when you wrote it!

:rotfl: Great minds think alike!

I finally got an email that said I start the faculty stuff on Wednesday. We end fairly early too, in the middle of June. I know that we don't get off from school like public school does so maybe that's why we can do that. I teach in a private Christian school so we don't get the Jewish holidays.

That's not that bad. We're done in early June. We don't get Jewish holidays off either.

Agh, don't remind me of phone calls to parents! I hated doing that. Is it just me? I think that's one of the worst parts of the job. When people ask if I like what I do, I always reply, "I love teaching it's purest form." That means I love teaching for teaching. I love when a kid finally understands something. I love when you can be there for a kid and encourage him or her in life and not just academically. But part of the job includes dealing with the administration and parents who will just never be happy with what you do.

I love this explanation. I totally agree! I did have to call on Friday. I think the first one is always the worst.

Thanks for posting it! Love it, it's so creative! I also like the entire concept of the absentee work too. I think I'm going to print some fun Disney things out for like, binder covers or something, just so that I have some Disney magic in my day. If I open up the one with my lesson plans and see something Disney, my mood can totally change!

I love the binder covers idea! I just made up grade sheets and used the Disney font for some of the stuff on there! I'm going to steal your idea for binder covers and I'm going to put something on the clipboard I always carry.

Any ideas anyone?

I LOVE the Roz board!!! What a great idea!

Thank you! I got the idea and the picture from rumblytumbly on the Dis Creative boards.

Awesome Roz board!

Thank you!

Ok, I had to go back and look at the picture in your TR and I believe I looked at the same sombrero at Epcot today. Guess what, they were $4 also.

It was fun, never got to look around in any of the shops before.

Bring on more of the TR!

Wow! I'm really surprised they were only $4 in Disney, too!! Thanks for remembering to look! I was really curious. I'm glad you had fun looking in the shops!

I'm really enjoying your trip report. Mulan is one of favourite films and you were so lucky to meet Mulan and Mushu! I can't wait to read more, and I hope you meet more characters.

:welcome: Thanks for joining in and commenting!! I love Mulan too. We were excited we were able to meet both of them. We definitely meet a lot more characters! Stay tuned...

The Roz sign is perfect for that board!

When I read it, I can hear Roz's voice. :lmao:

It really is perfect for that board. I wouldn't have come up with the idea if it wasn't for rumblytumbly on the Creative board. She does amazing work!

I look at it during the day and hear Roz's voice, too!

RachelNinja

09-01-2008, 03:40 PM

I'm working on another update, but like I said this is my busiest time of the year. Seating charts and grade book sheets need made, names all need entered into the online grading book and participation charts, and I'm trying to get back into the groove of doing something other than being on the Dis all day! ;) Hopefully, I'll have an update soon! Things should die down a little in a week or so. I'm dying to tell you all about the surprise in Morocco!

Grade book sheets seem like such an easy task. When I had to do that last year, I was like, "I'll do this while watching an episode of Gilmore Girls. I'll be done in no time." Oh dear, I did not realize it would take me FOREVER. I guess you don't really know about those little things until you experience them for yourself!

Ooo, online grading! I wish we had that. For progress reports, we have to do all of it by hand. Then if one teacher makes a mistake on it, we usually start a new one because we don't want a grade covered up by white-out (it'll make the parents and student wonder if there was a different grade underneath even if it was just slip of the pen!). I can't stand writing out comments. Typing things in would be so much easier! Then for the report cards, we do that all by hand and hand it in to the administrative assistant who puts it into the computer. Then we get print outs that we need to go over to make sure it was typed in correctly. I think online grading would take away all that tedious work!

I may have to set an alarm to stop me from spending so much time on DIS once the year starts! I know it'll take over if I don't control it.

Dying to hear about the surprise!

Do you also have a huge love for school supplies that no one else understands? (I ask because not many people put an exclamation point after school supplies!)

Haha, I didn't even realize I put the exclamation point there but yes! I do love school supplies! That was the one thing that kept me sane during the start of the school year when I was in school! New notebooks and new pens, choosing folders, all those colors and choices! Now everything is so fancy. I remember when I was a kid, Lisa Frank was the main company that made wacky pencils and erasers. Now they're everywhere! Haha, I had so much fun at Staples the other day picking out the colors for the binders I wanted! There was a limit of 8 so I stood there for a while trying to figure out which ones I wanted (and Weird was patient through it all and helped me decide, hehe). The colors can make all the difference!

I love this explanation. I totally agree! I did have to call on Friday. I think the first one is always the worst.

I realized I had a typo in my quotation. It should've read, "I love teaching in its purest form." That wasn't very teacher-y of me to make that mistake! Don't you remember the time when a teacher would call a parent or request a conference and then the parent would ask the child, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!?" Now I feel like it's never the child's fault~ :rolleyes1

I love the binder covers idea! I just made up grade sheets and used the Disney font for some of the stuff on there! I'm going to steal your idea for binder covers and I'm going to put something on the clipboard I always carry.

I'm so glad I have a color printer! When I do my Disney stuff, I'll post it on my thread too :)

irky416

09-01-2008, 05:06 PM

Grade book sheets seem like such an easy task. When I had to do that last year, I was like, "I'll do this while watching an episode of Gilmore Girls. I'll be done in no time." Oh dear, I did not realize it would take me FOREVER. I guess you don't really know about those little things until you experience them for yourself!

Ooo, online grading! I wish we had that. For progress reports, we have to do all of it by hand. Then if one teacher makes a mistake on it, we usually start a new one because we don't want a grade covered up by white-out (it'll make the parents and student wonder if there was a different grade underneath even if it was just slip of the pen!). I can't stand writing out comments. Typing things in would be so much easier! Then for the report cards, we do that all by hand and hand it in to the administrative assistant who puts it into the computer. Then we get print outs that we need to go over to make sure it was typed in correctly. I think online grading would take away all that tedious work!

Our school doesn't have an online grading program (we have to enter the final grade and comments into the computer program for progress reports and report cards and then the office can print those out, but that's all we have) but I found two free ones online. I used one the past 3 years and liked it a lot and am trying a new one that the students can access online this year. I can't imagine doing grades by hand! If you want the websites, let me know. It will save you so much time in the long run.

Haha, I didn't even realize I put the exclamation point there but yes! I do love school supplies! That was the one thing that kept me sane during the start of the school year when I was in school! New notebooks and new pens, choosing folders, all those colors and choices! Now everything is so fancy. I remember when I was a kid, Lisa Frank was the main company that made wacky pencils and erasers. Now they're everywhere! Haha, I had so much fun at Staples the other day picking out the colors for the binders I wanted! There was a limit of 8 so I stood there for a while trying to figure out which ones I wanted (and Weird was patient through it all and helped me decide, hehe). The colors can make all the difference!

Lisa Frank!! :lovestruc I loved all that stuff.

I do the same thing in the stores. I'm glad Weird is patient! My DBF is at first, and then after 30 minutes of me looking for the perfect pens he starts to get a little anxious!

I realized I had a typo in my quotation. It should've read, "I love teaching in its purest form." That wasn't very teacher-y of me to make that mistake! Don't you remember the time when a teacher would call a parent or request a conference and then the parent would ask the child, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!?" Now I feel like it's never the child's fault~ :rolleyes1

I figured that's what you meant!

Yes, now the parents ask me that question!

I'm so glad I have a color printer! When I do my Disney stuff, I'll post it on my thread too :)

Please do. I would love to see it!

PS. I love your new signature picture!

irky416

09-05-2008, 02:55 PM

I had high hopes of writing a nice long update this weekend. But, DBF's sister had her baby this past week, so we have to go out of town and meet DBF's nephew. So, I probably won't have any time to post an update since it's a five hour drive to her house and DBF's parents house has a very slow internet connection and it makes posting pictures too hard! I'm actually running around like crazy trying to get stuff packed and school stuff printed and organized so I can take it with me. Of course, the DIS puts all that stuff on hold! :rotfl:

I will leave you with a few pictures to keep you entertained!

Jack's new best friend:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v460/irky416/Trip%20Report%202/IMG_5690.jpg

Jack in a coconut...his favorite fruit. It reminds him of Lost and he loves that show!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/342359839_BwbfC-L.jpg

Jack tried bowling last week. The ball was a little too heavy for him...
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/360862707_LQVU2-L.jpg

Jack loves meeting characters even if they're not in Disney!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/342349799_W8xpc-L.jpg

He even tried riding on an elephant! DBF and DSis did it once, so Jack insisted he try it too.
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/342354741_N5TiA-L.jpg

And they don't make Jack sized life jackets, but I still wouldn't let my Jack drown!
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/342330845_BrNbY-L.jpg

Have a great weekend everyone! I will have an actual Disney update soon!

Michelle_and_Aaron

09-05-2008, 03:43 PM

RachelNinja

09-05-2008, 04:00 PM

Ahhhh, finally Friday! I'm relieved, but at the same time, I'm worried about next week (first teaching week). I have a ton to do, but my mom said that I need a break too! So here I am, on your TR taking a nice long break!

If you want the websites, let me know. It will save you so much time in the long run.

Thanks for the websites! I'm hoping that I can utilize that, just for myself, not necessarily for student access. I just realized in October when I have to do the first set of progress reports, I'm going to have to do grades for 9 classes! AGH!!! If I grade things and use engrade, then I'll have it all there when the time comes.

Yes, now the parents ask me that question!

Many of the parents from last year who caused a lot of problems didn't enroll their children this year. I'm breathing a little easier because of it. I would have this particular mother attack me (and the other teachers who had her kids) all the time. She even would go around me and go directly to the principal. Even though the principal was on my side, for the most part, I still got really upset about that and cried so much! The assistant principal told me before the school year started last year that the first year is when you need to develop thick skin. I hope that thick skin is still intact after the summer break!

Please do. I would love to see it!

I didn't have a chance to do anything on the computer these past few days so I'll have to do that work this weekend. Since I actually have my own classroom this year (YAY! I don't have to move from class to class along with the students!), I can actually decorate my room because I'll be in there! Which means ... many more opportunities for Disney! I already know that I'm going to be printing some things out in Waltograph.

PS. I love your new signature picture!

Thanks! Weird and I went biking last weekend so we took it then. It was our last hurrah before work+school!

Jack in a coconut...his favorite fruit. It reminds him of Lost and he loves that show!

I think that if I met Jack, we could totally be buddies. I love Lost too! I can't wait for the season to start again. I'm also really thankful that ABC has the shows online because with work? I probably won't be able to sit down and watch it when it's on TV!

Jack tried bowling last week. The ball was a little too heavy for him...

Ahhh! Weird and Ninja want to be friends with Jack too! They went bowling last Friday!!!

Jack loves meeting characters even if they're not in Disney!

Yep, Weird and Ninja went to a theme park, Kings Dominion in Virginia. Even though it wasn't Disney, they still enjoyed :)

And they don't make Jack sized life jackets, but I still wouldn't let my Jack drown!

Such a good Irky, I'm sure Jack's mighty appreciative!

I really enjoyed this installment! Jack's having plenty adventures on his own too! And as always, I hope you're doing well at school! I despise this beginning of the year stress. I have 5 new students in my homeroom (6th homeroom, even though I requested 8th because they were my homeroom last year, but I understand why it didn't work out) so I tell myself that they're probably really nervous to start a new school with new students, students who have been at that school for a while and know it inside and out! I don't think people realize that teachers can get nervous too!

kathleen27

09-05-2008, 05:47 PM

Congrats on the new friend Genie!!!

How cool that Jack got to ride on an elephant!!! :yay:

PISCESANGEL

09-08-2008, 08:27 PM

That elephant is adorable! :goodvibes

And I'm sorry, I never got over to Mexico to find out how much that sombrero was (I just got back Friday night) but hopefully someone else will find out for you soon! ;)

irky416

09-09-2008, 03:00 PM

Oh! I am so excited that Jack has a new best friend! Genie is so adorable and I am glad that he found a good home. I am still not positive about my perfect friend. I think I have found her but I want to wait until she gets here to make sure we click. Then I will post a pic for you.
Through out the search Aaron had thought I was crazy of course! But by now he is used to that.

Genie is cute, but I'm glad he's just a friend of Jack's and not my travel buddy. He isn't as good as Jack.

I'm glad you found yours! Even if you don't click, will you still post a picture? I'm very curious as to what you picked! :rotfl: I hope you two get along!

I hope Aaron reacts the same way as DBF. At first he kept calling me crazy and teasing me about Jack and saying he wanted nothing to do with him. Now, he helps me pick places for Jack to pose! :lmao:

Ahhhh, finally Friday! I'm relieved, but at the same time, I'm worried about next week (first teaching week). I have a ton to do, but my mom said that I need a break too! So here I am, on your TR taking a nice long break!

I hope your week is going well!!!

Thanks for the websites! I'm hoping that I can utilize that, just for myself, not necessarily for student access. I just realized in October when I have to do the first set of progress reports, I'm going to have to do grades for 9 classes! AGH!!! If I grade things and use engrade, then I'll have it all there when the time comes.

Wow! 9 classes of grades. That's a lot. I hope the websites make things a little easier on you.

Many of the parents from last year who caused a lot of problems didn't enroll their children this year. I'm breathing a little easier because of it. I would have this particular mother attack me (and the other teachers who had her kids) all the time. She even would go around me and go directly to the principal. Even though the principal was on my side, for the most part, I still got really upset about that and cried so much! The assistant principal told me before the school year started last year that the first year is when you need to develop thick skin. I hope that thick skin is still intact after the summer break!

Some of our "problem" kids also didn't come back this year, but we are expecting them back soon because they never last at the private schools or Cyber School.

I hate parents like that. I used to drive home and cry everyday my first year and many days my second year. Last year I only cried after school a few times. I hope your skin is still thick. I was much better my second year at saying no and not letting the kids walk all over me.

I think that if I met Jack, we could totally be buddies. I love Lost too! I can't wait for the season to start again. I'm also really thankful that ABC has the shows online because with work? I probably won't be able to sit down and watch it when it's on TV!

Yay! Another Lost fan. I just got into it this past year and watched them all online, too.

Ahhh! Weird and Ninja want to be friends with Jack too! They went bowling last Friday!!!

That's too funny! :rotfl:

And as always, I hope you're doing well at school! I despise this beginning of the year stress. I have 5 new students in my homeroom (6th homeroom, even though I requested 8th because they were my homeroom last year, but I understand why it didn't work out) so I tell myself that they're probably really nervous to start a new school with new students, students who have been at that school for a while and know it inside and out! I don't think people realize that teachers can get nervous too!

I always get nervous too. School is going ok. They're starting to realize I "don't play" as they put it. I hope you're doing well with all your new students. They're probably more nervous than you are!

Congrats on the new friend Genie!!!

How cool that Jack got to ride on an elephant!!! :yay:

Thanks! Jack liked the elephant. He keeps asking me to make him an elephant to ride here, but I don't remember how to do it! ;)

That elephant is adorable! :goodvibes

And I'm sorry, I never got over to Mexico to find out how much that sombrero was (I just got back Friday night) but hopefully someone else will find out for you soon! ;)

No worries. jmskinner checked when she was there and it was only $4. The same as I got the one from the real Mexico for.

I hope you had a good trip!

On a different note, does anyone think it would be totally wrong of me to ask my student who's going to WDW next week to get me the Mexico penny I missed when they're at Epcot!? ;) :rotfl:

jmskinner

09-09-2008, 03:50 PM

irky416

09-09-2008, 04:47 PM

If you would like me to, I can get you one and mail it to you next time I go. Gives me an excuse to go. "But Honey, Irky416 needs her penny from Mexico!":rotfl: I would be happy to do it for ya!

I wouldn't see anything wrong with asking a student to do it. Curious as to what others think though.

I was mostly kidding about asking the student to get the penny for me. ;) I do wonder what others think, though, too. Especially parents getting such a request from a teacher! While I may very well ask a student, it would be for a trip in May and only a student who I have developed a close relationship/bond with over the course of the year. If they were only going in May... :rolleyes1

You already did a favor for me with the sombrero! Although, if you're there and you happen to think about it....I would really love it. I would certainly be glad to return a favor! I really don't want you to go out of your way, though. I really appreciate the thought. It always gives me an excuse to try to head back, too!

mommylovesdisneymore

09-09-2008, 08:00 PM

Great Trip report :lovestruc Loved all the pics I love my photos too!

Michelle_and_Aaron

09-09-2008, 11:27 PM

Lol I do not think anything is wrong with asking a student if they will get you a pressed penny in epcot. Of course I am Disney obsessed so I might not be the best person to ask.
Here is the new friend I have.
Lizzie McGuire
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/Michellelhs/1474_11.jpg
She is not here yet but soon I hope. The description was kind of fuzzy about the size and I did not have time to contact the seller to find out so she might be larger than I want to deal with. I picked Lizzie McGuire because when I was in college I would watch that show in the afternoon with my nieces Courtney and Kelsey. We loved that show and it was very precious time with them.

irky416

09-10-2008, 02:51 PM

Great Trip report :lovestruc Loved all the pics I love my photos too!

Thank you!!

Lol I do not think anything is wrong with asking a student if they will get you a pressed penny in epcot. Of course I am Disney obsessed so I might not be the best person to ask.
Here is the new friend I have.
Lizzie McGuire
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r306/Michellelhs/1474_11.jpg
She is not here yet but soon I hope. The description was kind of fuzzy about the size and I did not have time to contact the seller to find out so she might be larger than I want to deal with. I picked Lizzie McGuire because when I was in college I would watch that show in the afternoon with my nieces Courtney and Kelsey. We loved that show and it was very precious time with them.

OMG!!!! Lizzie McGuire!!!!!! I knew who it was as soon as I saw the picture. That is my favorite Disney show of all time! I'm so jealous! (I will also admit I saw the movie in theaters when it came out, own it on DVD and have watched it numerous times because it's also on my ipod, so I watch it when I'm flying!)

That's great that you have good memories of the show and it's perfect with her being little like she was in the show!

I'm so excited about this and she's not even mine! (Can you tell by the massive amounts of exclamation points!?) I hope she's a good size for you! Thanks for posting the picture!

Michelle_and_Aaron

09-10-2008, 05:27 PM

I love Lizzie McGuire too! And I will admit I saw the movie (though I do not own it, but that is a good idea about putting it on the ipod!).
So yeah we just clicked when I saw her on ebay and she should be here any day now. This seller seems a little slow but she has good comments so I will try to be more patient.
I will let you know how we get along when she gets here!

irky416

09-14-2008, 04:08 PM

Chapter 18 – Our first trip around the world ends

I had left off when we had just met Mushu and Mulan and were in search of more characters. We were headed towards Morocco looking for Aladdin. Most of the characters were inside, so I went ahead and looked while DBF and DSis hung back. I peeked in one of the buildings and saw Aladdin and Jasmine with hardly any line! :woohoo:

I went to get DBF and DSis and we headed back to the meet. While we were waiting in line, all of a sudden someone cuts in front of DSis. It was Genie!

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322583328_NzJKC-L.jpg

Genie just stood in line for a few minutes and tried to be inconspicuous. No one even noticed him! Eventually, he got tired of waiting and walked up to the front of the line to see Jasmine and Aladdin and they both exclaimed, “Genie! We missed you!”

Now we were going to get to meet all three! Shortly after Genie went to join the meet n’ greet, we have yet another person cut in front of us. This time it was Belle and Beast.

http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322583693_sQWSx-L.jpg

They had escorted two little girls over and Belle and Jasmine had a quick conversation about how Belle was looking for them earlier but they weren’t there. :confused3 Belle and Beast left as quickly as they had come. It was really random. But now we knew Beast was meeting and so that was our next goal!

We finally got to the front of the line for Jasmine, Aladdin and Genie and had great interaction. Jasmine of course asked me if DBF was my prince and when I said yes, she said, “Oh yes, my prince is here with me as well.” She held the bag for Aladdin to sign and then she went to sign it. Aladdin had already turned away to get into the conversation DBF and Genie were having about their matching goatees! Jasmine got mad and said, “Aladdin, you left me.” And he said, “Oh, I’m so sorry princess. I would never leave you princess.” DSis and I thought it was so cute the way he kept calling her princess! :love: We kept talking about it the rest of the trip. They had to pull Genie away from admiring DBF’s goatee to sign my bag and get a picture taken!

We have barely any pictures from all this because the one of the photopass guys (there were two there) had our camera and he was chatting with the other guy instead of taking pictures. We were with them for a good five minutes and we have like 2 pictures. I was kind of annoyed, but oh well. :sad2:

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http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/325486232_pHaK6-L.jpg

DBF was happy Genie liked his goatee! He’ll still mention it if I say something about his goatee! Aladdin is his favorite movie and he got to meet the characters, so he was excited. :thumbsup2

After meeting the Aladdin characters, we knew Belle and Beast were out so we ran (well, walked very very briskly) over to France. We were looking all around for them and couldn’t find them. We asked a few CM’s who all said they were down by the water. We saw two families standing in line and figured Belle and Beast must be coming back out, so we went down and waited. We all wanted to meet Beast!

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We didn’t know how long it would be and we had already been waiting for a good five minutes, so while DSis and DBF waited I went into France and back over to Morocco to try to get my first pennies with instructions to them to call me when it was close to our turn. I found the one on France rather quickly and was excited because it was actually working. Yay! My first penny from the WS. :banana:

I then headed over to Morocco and looked around the country for a few minutes, enjoying the shops as I was looking for the penny machine. I finally found it and it was working, too! I picked out my penny (I ended up getting the same pennies from all the countries – the ones with Mickey in the hat of the country or in front of the symbol of the country.). As I was trying to put the penny away, the cell phone rang. DSis called and said Belle was out and to hurry up back over there.

I thought she meant we were next, so I ran back over to France. As I get closer, I see that only Belle is out and DBF and DSis are cracking up at me running across the WS. I yelled at them for making me think we were next and DSis tried to tell me she just said they were out, not that we were next… I still don’t know if I believe her! :mad:

I took a picture of SSE while waiting
http://ksquared.smugmug.com/photos/322584508_hAVsx-L.jpg

Anyway, only Belle was out and no one in the front wanted to just meet Belle. Beast was coming out soon and everyone wanted to wait for him. Poor Belle – it was Mulan and Mushu all over again! :laughing: She was just standing around talking to the CM.

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The line was getting really long at this point because it had been growing before anyone even saw a character out there! Here is where there started to be a big problem. A family came up to the front and asked if they could just meet Belle and the CM yes. Then another family did the same thing. Then a huge line started to form right next to the line we were in for only Belle. At first, the CM kept saying this is only for Belle when Beast comes out, you’ll have to go back. But as more people got in the line, fewer people were listening to what he was saying and not realizing there was already a line formed for both Belle and Beast. See where I’m going with this…?

Eventually, Beast came out. The people in the second line were all excited that they were now going to meet Beast and Belle. And the CM had seemed to have forgotten about the first line. One group of people from the second line got to meet Belle and Beast and the family in front of the first line told the CM it wasn’t fair. They were actually very polite about it, and the CM realized he had a mess on his hands. We had been waiting probably 20 minutes at this point to see Beast and the family in front of the line was there well before us. The CM told the second line it was only for Belle and now that Beast was out they had to go back to the end of the first line. The people there got angry because they were at the front of the line and thought it wasn’t fair that they would have to go all the way back to the end of the first line which was really long at this point.

At least the CM enforced it. I was worried we were going to get passed over. They were rushing through people, though, because the line had gotten so large. The family in front of us tried to get about 25 pictures that were all perfect and the CM finally told them they had to move on. When we got up there Belle signed the bag for both her and Beast…she said Beast was still learning how to write. Does anyone know if this is always what happens or did Beast not sign because they were so rushed? Belle also told me I shouldn’t use green sharpie because Mrs. Potts has a hard time getting it out of their clothes. I wonder why green doesn’t come out but others do?

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Anyway, we got our picture and headed on over to the United Kingdom in hopes of seeing Mary Poppins or Alice in Wonderland. We were still on our character mission! We got over to UK and we saw Mary Poppins out. We just missed her line, though, because the CM was standing at the back saying it was closed. I was sad. :sad1: It was about 6 at this time and that was when all the character meetings stopped in the WS, so we were out of luck for any more characters that day. We did see Pooh, Piglet and Tigger in the Toy Store but they had a long line and we had already met them all at AK the day before.

I had to stop and take my picture in the phone booth. It brought back memories of my trip to London!
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We went in search of the penny and found it. Now, I was finally getting somewhere with my penny collection. We had walked around the whole world showcase and I still needed some pennies! We headed over to Canada and I got my penny there. We looked around a little bit, but we weren’t so into the countries. I mostly just wanted my penny and whatever we saw on the way to get it was what we saw of the country.

I wanted to get the rest of my pennies, but we couldn’t imagine walking all the way back through Canada, UK, France and Morocco to get to the other side, so we decided to go to the Showcase Plaza (I think, this part of the day is a bit blurry at this point…) and catch the Friendship boat to Morocco and we would walk from there. DSis and DBF weren’t very happy about all the walking, but I wanted my pennies!
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On our way back to the WS for the second time...
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Up Next: Our second trip around the world!

OneTreeHillAddict

09-14-2008, 04:35 PM

PrincessNewsie

09-15-2008, 02:33 PM

I LOVE YOUR TR:worship:

Your TRs made me take up the offer I just received from Disney for free dining 12/19-24... Unfortunately I thought better of this and will now be cancelling... Josh and I really want to buy DVC at Contemporary on our honeymoon :)

are you going back soon?

Michelle_and_Aaron

09-15-2008, 04:52 PM

That is a great update Irky! I wish we could have sent all that time meeting characters. Josh only wants to meet a few at his age but I still want to meet all the princesses and well everyone else! I am so glad you were able to FINALLY get some pennies!

wdwgirl03

09-15-2008, 04:56 PM

Great update! Looks like you had a great time.

irky416

09-15-2008, 07:01 PM

I love all your character pics! The whole character in the line thing was funny. Just think at one point you had Genie, Aladdin, and Jasmine + Belle and Beast in the same small area at one time. That is kind of rare! Your Jasmine looks like Paris Hilton btw. :lmao: When we met Belle and Beast there were people waiting for Beast to come back too. Sounds like your CM made a big goof. It's good that you guys stood up for yourselves. I don't think Beast signs as the Beast. I've never noticed but he has huge hands and usually those people made like that don't? I know you can meet him during Christmas as the Prince but then he wouldn't be signing Beast (I wouldn't think so anyway). GREAT new pics!!!

Thank you! I was impressed we had all those characters in one spot for even a short time! Now that you say that, our Jasmine does look like Paris Hilton! :rotfl:

I didn't think Beast signed but wasn't sure.

I LOVE YOUR TR:worship:

Your TRs made me take up the offer I just received from Disney for free dining 12/19-24... Unfortunately I thought better of this and will now be cancelling... Josh and I really want to buy DVC at Contemporary on our honeymoon :)

are you going back soon?

Thank you!! Sorry you had to cancel, it would have been fun to go for Christmas. Hopefully, you'll be able to get the DVC on your honeymoon!

How are things going on the wedding planning and job front?

I don't think we'll be back anytime soon. We are tentatively planning Hawaii for next summer and that trip will be expensive because of the flight, so I don't want to spend any extra money on Disney. I'm dying to go at Christmas time, though, and see the castle lights and the Osbourne Family Lights. Maybe next Christmas....

That is a great update Irky! I wish we could have sent all that time meeting characters. Josh only wants to meet a few at his age but I still want to meet all the princesses and well everyone else! I am so glad you were able to FINALLY get some pennies!

Thank you! I was surprised DBF was so into meeting characters after he claimed he didn't want to when we went in February. I love meeting the characters!

I hope you get to meet some princesses on your trip!

Great update! Looks like you had a great time.

Thank you! We had fun on our character hunt. I was excited to get my bag signed by the characters. :goodvibes

jmskinner

09-15-2008, 08:44 PM

You know when two lines form, there will be trouble. That poor CM. He was trying to be nice.

Great pics with all of the characters! Really enjoying your TR!
Melissa

PISCESANGEL

09-18-2008, 06:22 PM

Great update! You were lucky to get to meet the Beast. When we went it was just Belle, but my DD was hoping to meet her as we had not met her before in her storybook outfit. Sorry you had line issues though! :rolleyes:

PrincessNewsie

09-19-2008, 06:03 PM

Thank you!! Sorry you had to cancel, it would have been fun to go for Christmas. Hopefully, you'll be able to get the DVC on your honeymoon!

How are things going on the wedding planning and job front?

I don't think we'll be back anytime soon. We are tentatively planning Hawaii for next summer and that trip will be expensive because of the flight, so I don't want to spend any extra money on Disney. I'm dying to go at Christmas time, though, and see the castle lights and the Osbourne Family Lights. Maybe next Christmas....

Now that they announced BLT Josh is all "Where do we sign?" and i'm telling him we are waiting until we have at least half to put down on 166 points so we can get MK view studio every anniversary or skip a year and stay 1 to 2 br with bank and borrow. I love it i think it's gorgeous and i can't believe DFi is excited...

December 2009 we're gonna go. Maybe we'll see you and your DBF there!

Disney Brat

09-19-2008, 09:12 PM

Awesome updates!! I loved seeing Jacks adventures! We too are huge LOST fans and can't wait for its return! The whole mess with Belle and the Beast sure seemed like a handfull! The pics turned out great! From what I know, Belle always signs for the Beast...there are a few others like that as well.

jmskinner

09-20-2008, 07:00 AM

So, did you ask the student to pick up the Mexico penny for you?

The Moonk's Mom

09-20-2008, 08:13 AM

You know they made you run on purpose to pick on you! Shame on them! Glad you got to see so many characters!!! Wow! I think that will be my aim for our next trip to Epcot...then the kids will get a little more into it...maybe?

irky416

09-21-2008, 11:14 AM

I should have a new update soon. Things are still crazy at school for reasons I shouldn't say here. I'm basically working 12 hour days at the moment. I got a new toy that I've been playing with that was keeping me from writing more of an update this week. And we saw Wicked yesterday so I didn't have time then. (Wicked, by the way, was amazing! I strongly suggest seeing it, if you haven't already. It's tied for favorite musical ever.)

You know when two lines form, there will be trouble. That poor CM. He was trying to be nice.

Great pics with all of the characters! Really enjoying your TR!
Melissa

I know. I felt bad for that CM. Luckily, it was really only a group of teenage girls that were being vocal about their annoyance and they were doing it in a way that no one felt bad for them.

Thanks!

Great update! You were lucky to get to meet the Beast. When we went it was just Belle, but my DD was hoping to meet her as we had not met her before in her storybook outfit. Sorry you had line issues though! :rolleyes:

I doubt we would have waited for just Belle. We were very happy the Beast was out. Hopefully, you'll get to meet him next time!

Now that they announced BLT Josh is all "Where do we sign?" and i'm telling him we are waiting until we have at least half to put down on 166 points so we can get MK view studio every anniversary or skip a year and stay 1 to 2 br with bank and borrow. I love it i think it's gorgeous and i can't believe DFi is excited...

December 2009 we're gonna go. Maybe we'll see you and your DBF there!

I'm not in the DVC loop... what is BLT? I'm glad Josh is excited about it finally! MK view sounds very nice! That would make for a nice anniversary trip.

December 2009 seems like such a long way off!

Awesome updates!! I loved seeing Jacks adventures! We too are huge LOST fans and can't wait for its return! The whole mess with Belle and the Beast sure seemed like a handfull! The pics turned out great! From what I know, Belle always signs for the Beast...there are a few others like that as well.

Thanks! We just got into Lost and watched all four seasons in a row, so it is really hard to have to wait. We're used to instant gratification!

I had a feeling Belle always signed for Beast because of his hands, but the way she said it was something like I'll sign for him because we're so busy and he hasn't quite learned his letters yet... I couldn't tell if it was something she always said or because she was trying to make the line fiasco go faster. Thanks for the info!

So, did you ask the student to pick up the Mexico penny for you?

I was actually going to...I had the $.51 and everything to give her and then she left a day early without warning! :sad1: I'll have to wait for another student to tell me they're going! :rolleyes1

You know they made you run on purpose to pick on you! Shame on them! Glad you got to see so many characters!!! Wow! I think that will be my aim for our next trip to Epcot...then the kids will get a little more into it...maybe?

Hahaha... I still think they did it on purpose!

There were a ton of characters in the WS. I don't know if we had more interest in it or not, though! We really had tunnel vision looking for characters. We didn't see much of the WS that way. We saw more of the WS looking for the pennies, because you actually have to go in and look around for the machines. Sometimes we would stop because we saw something else that caught our eye. Maybe that would work better?