"I'm tired of this, can't we go to Disney World now?" Birthday TR! 5/28 MK Part 4!!

[tink774]

Welcome to the trip report for my quick, last-minute trip to WDW not only to get a quick Disney fix, but to celebrate my birthday at the MK!

Contents:
Link to PTR (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2140949)
Travel/Arrival Day - Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31594188#post31594188)
Travel/Arrival Day - Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31628342#post31628342)
My Birthday at the MK - Part 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31632191#post31632191)
My Birthday at the MK - Part 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31641570#post31641570)
My Birthday at the MK - Part 2.5 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31641945&posted=1#post31641945)
My Birthday at the MK - Part 3 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31901144#post31901144)
My Birthday at the MK - Part 4 (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32033331#post32033331)
Downtown Disney
Departure/Back to the Real World :sad2:


Here are some of the details of our trip just to get the ball rolling:

When: April 20-22, 2009
Where: POP!
Why: For my 21st birthday!

Who are we?
First, there is me, Anna/Tink. I'm a huge Disney fan, and most of my friends believe me to be practically addicted to the Mouse. My first trip to WDW was at age 3, and we stayed at CBR. Since then, I have visited the Mouse at least 30 times, but I have no idea exactly how many. For several years when my sister and I were younger and easier to pull out of school for a long weekend, we had AP's and drove the few hours to WDW frequently for short trips to get our fix. But now that we're older, the trips have become far less frequent, but equally cherished! I'm a college junior living in GA, and I am definitely a classic Disney fan. My favorite Disney films include Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Robin Hood, Ichabod and Mr. Toad, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and many others. My favorite characters include Tinkerbell, Dale, Dopey, most of the characters from Winnie the Pooh, Belle and several other scattered film stars.

My travel companion was "dear ole" Dad, as he calls himself. I know, who celebrates their 21st birthday with a trip to WDW, and with their dad at that? Me! If you'd like to know just how this became a father/daughter adventure, the full details are included in my PTR.

I will update ASAP to get the actual report started. Thanks for tuning in, and I hope that you'll stick around!!

Take care!!
~ Anna

[mickeystoontown]

Readin' along and anxiously awaiting more.

[katiebelle21]

Welcome back! I hope you had a good birthday trip!

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

I'm here! See told you I was heading right over. Can't wait to hear how your b-day went. Oh by the way thanks for stopping over at my ptr!

[tink774]

I'm so glad to have you all on board for my TR! I'm currently working on the Travel/Arrival Day, but there are pretty much no pictures at that point (we were driving late at night, and there really isn't anything cool to take pictures of), so I'm trying to jazz it up a little bit. :wizard:

[tink774]

Time to start the Trip Report! I’ve finally got some good time to sit down and work on it! And I forgot how slooooooow Photobucket can be, so it’s taking forever to add pictures!

Now I warn you, I was a horrible DISer didn’t take any pictures on the official first day of our trip, deemed “Travel/Arrival Day.” The only thing we did was drive, drive, and drive some more! We were driving late at night, and the route from my hometown to Orlando is definitely not exciting anyway. So I’m going to have to jazz up my TR with some pics from past trips just to keep you entertained. :smickey:

Travel/Arrival Day – Monday, April 20th, Part I

I’ll start at the beginning of the day, because I feel that it all counts as “part of the trip!” In the morning, I woke up at 9:00am as usual, because one of my roommates and I have a workout schedule. But lately, “working out” has just become eating breakfast at 9am and surfing the internet until it’s time to get ready for class. :surfweb: Anyway, this day was no exception. My packing was coming along slowly, as my laundry was thrown all over my bed. I needed to be packed and have the car loaded up to leave at 12:45, because I was driving to campus for class and leaving directly from there at 3:30. This way, I could leave ASAP, rather than wait until 4:00pm to get home on my bus.

Of course, I didn’t really pack this much stuff. I actually used my overnight duffle bag for this trip since it was only a two-night venture. But we’ll just use the photo of this packed suitcase from my December 2007 trip to jazz up this post a bit.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0252.jpg

So I got my small duffle bag packed. I still hadn’t decided what I wanted to wear for my birthday, so I packed two potential outfits that I like. Then I packed up the car with everything that I was bringing, including a few books for school just in case I felt like getting some work done on the long drive home Tuesday.

I drove to campus, and went to my two classes that day. I’m telling you, I was going crazy just sitting there, knowing that I would be in WDW soon! :hyper: Actually, I considered just skipping my second class and getting an earlier start. But that professor usually takes pretty strict attendance, so I ultimately decided to go ahead and go. And then he ran over time, so he decided not to take attendance that day!!! Ugh. But it was a very important lecture for the class, so I’m glad that I did go in that respect. But still, I could have gotten to WDW an hour sooner! Not that it would have made much difference, we still would have just gone straight to the room at POP and slept.

Anyway, 3:30pm finally rolls around, and I race myself to the parking garage to be on my way! On the way out, when I stopped to pay the parking fee, the woman asked me if I was a Tinkerbell fan! My car has lots of Tinkerbell accessories, such as the seat cover, the window dice, a steering wheel cover, etc. And we chatted about Disney stuff for a few seconds, but I can’t remember exactly what was said. Then I left the garage, headed for the long road home, and was on my way!!

[tink774]

I have a nice long update for you today about our arrival in WDW! Enjoy!

Travel/Arrival Day – Monday, April 20th, Part 2

So I proceeded on the road home to meet up with my dad, and absolutely nothing exciting happened in that hour and a half. I was in a hurry, and at the beginning there was some slow traffic. Not what you want to encounter when you’re trying to get to Disney! I arrived there just after 5:00pm, and Rob was pulling into the driveway to see me! My sister was taking a nap since she just got home from school, so I didn’t see her. But I visited with my parents and Rob for about 25 minutes before Dad said, “Well, I don’t want to be rude, but we need to jump in the car and go!” So that’s what we did!

As we were pulling out of the driveway, I realized how hungry I was. I’d eaten lunch at 12:30pm, and the only thing I’d had since then was a 100-calorie bag of baked cheetos. It was time for dinner! So we drove through the Taco Bell a minute away from our house, and then got on the highway. So at roughly 6:00pm, we were on the road to WDW!

I won’t bore you with too much about the driving stuff. We drove straight on through to about 10:00pm, when we stopped for gas, coffee, etc., and I took over the wheel for the remainder of the trip. Historically, the drive to WDW has taken us about 8 hours. But without my mom (who wants to stop every two hours or so for twenty minute breaks) it took a lot less time! The week before, when my family drove to and from WDW they were stopped for long periods of time by construction. We didn’t have this problem, and we were stopped for maybe ten minutes. Otherwise, it was just smooth driving all the way! :car:

We got on I-4 a little after midnight, and at almost 12:30am, my phone rang. I saw that it was Robin, my best friend since age three! Well, since I was driving, I figured I would just call her back later. Sometimes one of us will call the other late at night just to chat because we’re both night owls, and I figured that’s what this was. Then I glanced at the clock, knew exactly why she was calling, and picked up excitedly.

Sure enough, the first thing I heard after saying “Hello?” was “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!” What a great start to my birthday! We chatted for a little bit about summer plans, because we’re trying to make a trip to St. Augustine, FL, together mid-June. A couple of months ago, we realized that we haven’t traveled together since our Girl Scout days, and that needs to change! Then I asked a bit about her parents’ move to North Carolina for her dad’s new job. Off-topic, I get so sad when I think about that. Their house in my hometown is being sold, and even though neither Robin nor I live with our parents anymore, having your parents sell the house you grew up in is just one of those things. :sad1: And since I basically spent half of my childhood there, it gets me down thinking about it.

Back to happier subjects! So we got off the phone, and by that point, we were almost to the WDW gates!! I wish I could have taken a picture, but it wouldn’t have come out very well at that point. So we go through the gates, and make our way towards POP. :yay:

Since it was too dark to take pictures, I’ll throw in a couple from a past trip just to liven up this post!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0304.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0306.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0316.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0312.jpg

I pulled up the car to the security gate, and at that point it was right about 12:30am. Now this security guy was weird. I got my driver’s license out for him to see when we pulled up, and handed it to him when he asked. He looked at it, and was about to hand it back, then looked at it again for a minute strangely. I thought, “Oh, he’s noticed that it’s my birthday!” Nope. He told me my license was expired and I shouldn’t be driving!!

I don’t know about licenses for other states, but here’s how they are in Georgia for people under 21. You have a big red border around your picture with the worlds “UNDER 21” on it, then at the very bottom of the license in red letters is “Until (date of your 21st birthday).” So mine said, “Until 4-21-2009.” I’ve just always assumed that this meant I was under 21 until this date, at which point I could renew my license whenever I please and get a new one without all of the red underage writing on it. Then at the top, just under the big words “Driver’s License,” they have in big black letters “Expires” and the actual expiration date on it. In my case, it said, “Expires – 4-21-2011,” at which point the one I have will be completely expired if I haven’t already renewed it. This way, I have two years to get the license renewed. So the security guy didn’t quite understand the different dates, and thought the big red letters “Until 4-21-2009” meant that my license expired that day! So he basically tried to convince me that I shouldn’t be driving on my expired license. Silly me, I thought he was going to wish me happy birthday! So as I pulled the car away from the gate, Dad and I had a good eye roll over that one. But I don’t really blame him for mis-reading it, looking at so many different licenses must get confusing. I just couldn’t believe he tried to tell me I shouldn’t be the one driving. :rolleyes2

We pulled up to the Classic Hall, and I was getting so excited at this point!! But I knew that wasn’t good, because soon I would need to be getting to sleep for the morning ahead! So I parked the car and we went up to the building to check in. There were a couple of people at the desks ahead of us, and three CMs were running the whole show. We waited for about five minutes, then as we’re walking up to the Check-In desk these two women jumped in front of us from the side and demanded that the CM give them directions to the nearest Waffle House. So he asked us politely to wait for a moment while he helped them, and then he came back, apologized, and checked us in. I wish I had remembered his name, because he was so friendly! It was almost 12:45am, so we were ready to get to our room and rest, and he was very quick and helpful.

Our room was in the 80s section, and I’ve never stayed there before so I was excited! We were put in building 7. And just before we left, the CM said, “And Anna, I want to wish you a very happy birthday!” and handed me my button! Now I’ll be honest, it still hadn’t hit me at this point that we were here, and that I was celebrating my birthday in WDW! I’ll tell you when it did later in my TR. So we thanked the CM, and headed off to park the car and bring our bags to the room. Since we hadn’t stayed in the 80s section before, we got lost for about two minutes. We were on the third floor by the Rubix (Is that spelled correctly? Doesn’t look like it…) Cube staircase. And from right outside our door, we could see the main gate!! I didn’t take a picture of it then, but I’ll have one from later in the morning when we were on the way to the MK to share.

We got into our room, and I wish I had bothered to take pictures before we threw our stuff on the floor and on the beds and made a genuine mess rather quickly. I decided that I needed a quick shower, so I took one to get ready for bed. Before I went into the bathroom, I broke out my fuzzy pink slippers and put them on. My dad cracked up at this! I’m rather strange in that I never like walking around in my bare feet, and even just socks doesn’t feel right. So I just packed my slippers for walking around the room in, and he found this very amusing. I got in the shower, put on my comfy PJs, and came out of the bathroom to climb into bed. Dad was looking at the POP resort map when I walked out, and he said, “You know… I’ve been studying this map and I think that our room is the absolute farthest away from the coffee pot in the food court that you can possibly be here!” :lmao: Oh, my.

So finally, at about 1:20am, I settled into my comfy POP bed for a few hours of sleep. Of course, I was too excited to sleep! In just a few hours, I was going to be at the MK for my birthday!!! :woohoo:

Coming up, the first installment of my birthday at the MK! :ccat:

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

I pulled up the car to the security gate, and at that point it was right about 12:30am. Now this security guy was weird. I got my driver’s license out for him to see when we pulled up, and handed it to him when he asked. He looked at it, and was about to hand it back, then looked at it again for a minute strangely. I thought, “Oh, he’s noticed that it’s my birthday!” Nope. He told me my license was expired and I shouldn’t be driving!!

I don’t know about licenses for other states, but here’s how they are in Georgia for people under 21. You have a big red border around your picture with the worlds “UNDER 21” on it, then at the very bottom of the license in red letters is “Until (date of your 21st birthday).” So mine said, “Until 4-21-2009.” I’ve just always assumed that this meant I was under 21 until this date, at which point I could renew my license whenever I please and get a new one without all of the red underage writing on it. Then at the top, just under the big words “Driver’s License,” they have in big black letters “Expires” and the actual expiration date on it. In my case, it said, “Expires – 4-21-2011,” at which point the one I have will be completely expired if I haven’t already renewed it. This way, I have two years to get the license renewed. So the security guy didn’t quite understand the different dates, and thought the big red letters “Until 4-21-2009” meant that my license expired that day! So he basically tried to convince me that I shouldn’t be driving on my expired license. Silly me, I thought he was going to wish me happy birthday! So as I pulled the car away from the gate, Dad and I had a good eye roll over that one. But I don’t really blame him for mis-reading it, looking at so many different licenses must get confusing. I just couldn’t believe he tried to tell me I shouldn’t be the one driving.


Haha. I would have thought he would have wished me a happy birthday too! I don't know about Florida but in Pennsylvania our licenses are the same way. Oh well at least he let you in and hey you're at Disney World! How did you like Pop? Can't wait to hear about your birthday day!!!

[tinawv]

Can't wait to read more. :)

[tink774]

Haha. I would have thought he would have wished me a happy birthday too! I don't know about Florida but in Pennsylvania our licenses are the same way. Oh well at least he let you in and hey you're at Disney World! How did you like Pop? Can't wait to hear about your birthday day!!!

Glad I'm not the only one who would have expected a birthday greeting! :laughing:

I loved POP! In the past, we've stayed in the 60s and 50s sections, and I could never understand the complaints from others about hearing too much noise from their neighbors. I've never heard a peep from any other rooms! You can't help but hear those turbo toilets flush, but other than that we've never had any problems with noise. In the 80s section however, I could definitely tell a difference. Our neighbors weren't loud by any means, but I was hearing more from other rooms than ever before. I guess out of all of the rooms I've stayed in at POP (this was my fourth stay), our room in building 7 was the only one where I've ever had this happen. But my only true complaint about the entire stay was the dingy towels in the bathroom. I know that towels at the Value resorts aren't going to be as thick and fluffy as others might be, but these were definitely showing some wear and tear and looked like they needed to be replaced. Other than that, the only thing I noticed that was unpleasant was that whenever our toilet flushed, it sounded like a cat was dying in it! :scared1:

But Mousekeeping kept our room very clean (and they came early too!), and our stay was an overall pleasant one! I'll definitely include some more thoughts on the resort for you to read up on while preparing for your trip!

Can't wait to read more. :)

Glad to have you aboard!! :thumbsup2 Hope my TR will prove to be an entertaining read for you! And I'm so jealous that you're staying at the Poly! Out of all the MK resorts, it's the one I'm most anxious to try one day! Do you have a PTR?

[tink774]

Welcome back! I hope you had a good birthday trip!

I just noticed that you have the Yacht and Beach Club on your ticker!! Are you staying there? If so, I'd love to read a PTR if you have one. I've never stayed at any Deluxe, but the BC and YC look like they'd be fantastic resorts to try!

[twenty3curls]

Just found your PTR and TR from a post you made on another thread... but I can't remember which one (even though it was about 20 minutes ago)... I guess that what happens when you're sick in bed reading the Dis all day! :p

My DF and I were going to celebrate our May birthdays in Disney this year since they're are only 7 days apart. Alas, my brother graduates law school on DF's birthday and our friend is getting married on mine. :( Love your TR, so far, so I'm going to live vicariously through you!!

Can't wait for more! :thumbsup2

[tink774]

Just found your PTR and TR from a post you made on another thread... but I can't remember which one (even though it was about 20 minutes ago)... I guess that what happens when you're sick in bed reading the Dis all day! :p

My DF and I were going to celebrate our May birthdays in Disney this year since they're are only 7 days apart. Alas, my brother graduates law school on DF's birthday and our friend is getting married on mine. :( Love your TR, so far, so I'm going to live vicariously through you!!

Can't wait for more! :thumbsup2

You're getting married at Disney!! I'm going to run over to your PJ and live vicariously through you!!!!! Hopefully a Disney wedding is somewhere in my future, but not for a couple more years. Got to finish up with school and get a FT job first. Luckily DBF is all for it! :thumbsup2

I'm sorry to hear that your trip plans fell through. I hope that another opportunity presents itself soon!! Is there any time later this year that you could go and still celebrate your birthdays, even if not on the exact dates?

[tink774]

Two updates in one day, wow! I guess when you have final exams to study for, nothing seems more appealing than hanging out on the DIS.

My Birthday at the Magic Kingdom!! – Tuesday, April 21, Part 1

I can’t remember exactly what time I woke up this day. I set my cell phone alarm for 7:35am, and set up the wake-up call for 7:30. Didn’t want to use the alarm clock in the room because I can’t stand those crazy bells!! Dad woke up and answered the wake-up call, and he got out of his bed right away to take a shower. I rolled over sleepily for a little while, and I think I finally got out of bed just after 7:45. By that time, Dad was showered and dressed and anxious to head up to the Classic Hall for some coffee! I had packed several of my favorite bottled Starbucks frappuccinos for the trip, so I drank one of those in bed and watched Stacey for a couple of minutes on the TV. Dad left to get some coffee and sit by the pool while I got ready.

I wanted to try and look cute today, so first I dug through my bag to pick out what to wear. I realized that I forgot to pack my Chip & Dale shirt!! Here’s a picture of me in it from Dec. 2007. Too bad that I forgot it, because it would have been fun to wear! :(

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0120.jpg

So instead I decided to wear my Seven Dwarfs shirt with my pink skirt. If Stacey can walk around the parks in a skirt, why not me? Then I showered, dried my hair, and finished getting ready. And I remembered to put on my birthday button! Just before 8:45am, I texted Dad to let him know that I was heading down towards the food court. But on the way, I took some pictures!!

Here was the view of the main WDW gate from right outside our door.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0002.jpg

We got a towel animal in the window!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0003.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0005.jpg

The girl right next door was celebrating her birthday, too!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0006.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0007.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0010.jpg

At this point I got mildly lost… then I looked over my shoulder and saw this! (I was born in 1988).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0011.jpg

So I had to take a picture with it!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0012.jpg

Then I was still trying to find my way to Classic Hall (how embarrassing, I’ve never gotten lost at POP before!!) and I wandered into the field area with the Big Wheel and the giant Mickey Mouse phone.

I don’t know what they were doing, but it amused me!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0013.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0014.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0015.jpg

Then I figured out my way and headed to Classic Hall. It took Dad and I a minute to find each other via cell phone, Then it was time for some breakfast! The food court was still pretty hoppin’, but it was starting to empty out a bit. So we went and got in line for Mickey waffles for me and a cinnamon bun for Dad. Took us a minute to find a table, but once we sat down we dug into some yummy food. While working on my second waffle, I realized that I meant to take a picture! I didn’t feel like getting out my camera, so the cell phone camera would have to do. So this is one of only two food porn pictures that I have from the trip, sorry DISers!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/waffle.jpg

After a delicious and filling breakfast, we headed out to the bus stop. We had to wait for a couple of minutes. After a short wait the bus came, and we all got on. Dad and I managed to get seats, and these two adorable little boys were sitting on the floor in front of us. One of them wished me a happy birthday, and told me it was his brother’s birthday the day before. Then he asked me how old I am! Haha, I wanted to tell him that it’s not polite to ask a lady her age just to be silly. Instead I told him that I was a little bit older than he is (I think he said he was six years old). He was persistent in finding out my age, so I finally told him that I was turning 21. So he asked, “How many years of school have you done?” and I replied, “Too many.” :upsidedow

The bus ride was fairly quick, there wasn’t any traffic on the way to the MK. As we were riding, Dad and I discussed the different resorts we wanted to try. He said that as a birthday surprise to me, he tried to get us a room at the Contemporary Resort so that we could walk over to the park. What a sweet thought! :hug: But he said the only thing available was some kind of suite for $2,000 a night!! :scared1: I would never have wanted him to spend that much, especially since our room at POP was less than $75 per night! I can be quite cheap, and the thought of spending $4,000 for two nights at a resort is insane to me. I thanked him for the thought, but I am actually glad that we didn’t stay somewhere I’d never been before. I would have wanted time to explore the resort, and unfortunately we just didn’t really have the time during this trip. And to be perfectly honest, the Contemporary Resort wouldn’t be my first choice for a Deluxe anyway. My top choices for a Deluxe would be Beach Club, Yacht Club, Poly, Boardwalk, and Wilderness Lodge. I hope to try all of the Deluxes at least once, though. So then for the rest of the trip, Dad told me about his first stay at the Contemporary, back when he and my mom brought his two nieces to WDW back in the early 1980s.

Coming up, getting into the MK!! :wizard:

[wdwdavem]

Great update. I can't wait to hear more. Belated happy birthday to a fellow april birthday.

[tink774]

Great update. I can't wait to hear more. Belated happy birthday to a fellow april birthday.

Thank you! And happy belated birthday to you, too!!:thumbsup2

[tink774]

My Birthday at the Magic Kingdom!! – Tuesday, April 21, Part 2

We arrived at the MK at about 9:30am, right after it opened. There was a crowd waiting to get in, but it wasn’t too bad. Dad didn’t bring any bags, so I just had to go through bag check with my purse. The security guy saw my birthday button and said, “Happy Birthday Anna! Are you turning 21?” I asked how in the world he knew, and he said that he was just guessing. I found this really funny because people almost never guess my actual age. They always think I’m much younger than I am! I suppose I’ll appreciate that as I get older, but most of the time now it’s just annoying. Quick story: When I was 19, I was working at a store in the mall of my hometown. You had to be 16 years old to work there, and I’d been there for more than a year. A guest (we called customers that just like Disney does) approached my manager and said that she didn’t think I looked old enough to work there! Really?! I was 19 years old and I didn’t even look 16?! Ugh. So it was very nice to have someone actually guess my age correctly, especially on my 21st birthday!

Anyway, I was ready at this point to just get into the MK! However, first we had to go wait in the line at Guest Relations to get my Birthday Admissions Pass! Dad bought his day ticket back at POP, so he was good to go. We went and stood in the Guest Relations line with my printed birthday registration and my driver’s license. We were in line for about 5 minutes or so, slowly weaving our way up. Then we got to the very front of the line, and they told us to turn around and go over to this special Birthday Admission building they have set up now. I get the feeling that it was brand new, and I wish we’d known about it before we stood in that line. At least they’ve designated a special area for the Birthday Admission promotion, because I can imagine Guest Relations needed the load off to deal with other things.

So we go over to the tiny building which has some decorations to resemble a cupcake. I didn’t think to take a picture. We waited for about 30 seconds before I was next in line, so I walked up to the window and gave them my documents. The person who printed up my ticket was very friendly and quick with the process. I’m sure he could sense how anxious I was to get into the park! He gave me my ticket, and I was on my way! We didn’t even think to take my picture with it, and I don’t have one on my computer right now. I’ll try to take a picture of it soon and include it in the TR, because it’s a cute admission pass. Dad and I took our tickets to the admission gate, put them through the machines, and we were finally inside the Magic Kingdom! Just as a side note, keep in mind that it still hasn’t hit me by this point. I’ve been to Disney so many times that it’s just become routine to enter the parks and it’s not something I stop and think about very often, if that makes any sense.

Now that we’re in the park, time for some photos!

I’m not crazy about this one, but it’s the first one in the park so I have to include it!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0016.jpg

Then on Dad’s camera:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/100_3014.jpg

To be honest, I’m not crazy about the way my dad frames his photos. My mom is the same way. They both try to get as much as possible in the picture, so it ends up just looking busy and whatever subject they’re actually trying to capture can look lost. Sometimes they’re better about it, though. I’ve often thought about getting them a book on digital photography, not in a mean “Your photos suck” kind of way, but just to help them improve because they both enjoy taking pictures. And especially now that my dad has a better point-and-shoot camera than he did before, I feel like he could enjoy taking pictures more with a few tips. It’s funny, they don’t believe in candid photos! Like, if the person in the photo is not posing and saying “Cheese,” they just don’t find it worth taking! So I think I am going to look for a nice tips book for basic point-and-shoot photography to help them out.

We got one of the Photopass photographers to take my picture here, too, but his didn’t come out well at all. I was actually very disappointed by the Disney Photopass people on this trip. I don’t know if it’s because they were coming off of spring break/Easter crowds and were tired or if they were just lazy and grumpy, but most of the ones we encountered were pretty rude and not at all creative. When we got home, I was looking at my family’s Photopass pictures from the week before, and they had tons of photos that I thought were great. But out of the ones we took, there are maybe two that are actually worth buying. I was mainly disappointed in the photographers because they were not particularly busy that day. Any time we went up to one, they were usually standing around looking for something to do or chatting with another CM. It’s not like there were hoards of people waiting on them to finish up with us. Oh, well. I’ve enjoyed the Photopass services every other time that I’ve used them, so I won’t let this experience stop me!

After the photo stop, we walked through the tunnel towards Main Street! :cloud9:

I'm going to cut off this section here and put up the next one soon, because it has a ton of pictures in it.


Coming up, my first Birthday Wish of the trip! :woohoo:

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to more.

[tink774]

My Birthday at the Magic Kingdom!! – Tuesday, April 21, Part 2.5

And now we come to a very important part of the Birthday TR… MY BIRTHDAY WISHES! Haha. I made out a list of things that I really wanted to try and do on this trip, from the little things like a certain snack, to the big things like certain photos I wanted to try and get. Now we’ve arrived at the very first fulfilled Birthday Wish of the trip (besides getting there, of course!). :goodvibes

Birthday Wish #1 – Get my picture taken with Chip and Dale!

I am a huge fan of Chip and Dale! Dale is my favorite, though. Once I was staying at CBR and in the gift shop, I bought just a Dale stuffed animal instead of the pair, and the CM at the register thought I was being very unfair to Chip. Rescue Rangers is one of my favorite television shows ever, so I was very disappointed when the chipmunks stopped appearing in their costumes from the show around the parks (Chip wore what I think was a leather jacket and an Indiana Jones-esque hat, and Dale wore a red Hawaiian shirt). But they are still two of my favorite characters to get pictures with, and it’s quickly become a tradition in the last two years to try and get one on every trip.

This one is May 2007, on the first day that Rob and I were in the MK. I wish my hat hadn’t fallen so far down my face!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/dis07_200.jpg

Then during the December 2007 trip, I found them several times!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0002copy.jpg

These were taken during EMH, and it was like 3:00am, so I look really tired.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/disney97copy.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/disney92copy.jpg

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/disney99copy.jpg

Dale got a hold of my camera and took this one himself!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/disney101copy.jpg

And of course, Dad got one taken, too!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0139.jpg

Well, I didn’t manage to find the chipmunks during the New Year’s trip this past December/January, so I was determined to get a photo on my birthday! We walked into Main Street, and I immediately started looking around the area in front of City Hall for them. I saw Daisy, Pluto, and Pinocchio hanging around, but it took me a minute to find Chip and Dale. They were tucked away in a corner over by the barber shop. So we raced over to them and jumped in the line. While we waited, Dad attempted to take his first ever “Myspace” picture. I was very amused. He sees my sister and I take pictures of ourselves with things all the time, but he’d never tried it.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/100_3015.jpg

And I took a photo of the shoes I was wearing that day. They’re the most comfortable flip flops I’ve ever owned, and of course I had to wear shoes saying “I heart Me” on my birthday! Sorry, but it’s not a very good photo.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0023.jpg

While in the line, Dad called my mom, who was stuck at work!! She works in Infection Control in a hospital, and she was in her office when Dad called. She was so jealous that we were back in Disney while she was working. My mom is like me, she’d probably move to Disney if she could. I know that she wanted to go along on this trip, too, but she just couldn’t get time off of work after just getting back from a week-long vacation. After we got off the phone, it was my turn to see Chip and Dale!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0025.jpg

This is another example of my Dad getting too much in the frames of his pictures. I showed him how to work the Zoom feature on my camera, but he didn’t use it. I had to crop about half of the picture out in Photobucket just to get this snippet. I’ll probably play around with the original version in Photoshop before I get my photos printed to try and get a better cropped version. And I can’t figure out why they put the chipmunks in such a shadowy area of Main Street! It was too bad that they didn’t have Photopass photographers out with the characters, either. Sometimes they do, and sometimes they don’t. But it would have been nice, because often they’ll take really cute candid pictures of you hugging characters and stuff and their interactions with you (You know, the kinds of photos my dad doesn’t believe in taking :rolleyes:).

Right after my photo, the chipmunks were moved even further into the shadows to make way for the trolley as it pulled into the car barn. I hardly ever see this out anymore, so I took some pictures.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0027.jpg

Then we moved on down Main Street, and stopped to try and get a picture in front of the Cinderella Castle. Since the sun was right in our eyes at this point in the morning, we decided to come back and try again later.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0029.jpg

And now that we fulfilled one birthday wish, it was time to move on the next one… What will it be??

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

Glad I'm not the only one who would have expected a birthday greeting! :laughing:

I loved POP! In the past, we've stayed in the 60s and 50s sections, and I could never understand the complaints from others about hearing too much noise from their neighbors. I've never heard a peep from any other rooms! You can't help but hear those turbo toilets flush, but other than that we've never had any problems with noise. In the 80s section however, I could definitely tell a difference. Our neighbors weren't loud by any means, but I was hearing more from other rooms than ever before. I guess out of all of the rooms I've stayed in at POP (this was my fourth stay), our room in building 7 was the only one where I've ever had this happen. But my only true complaint about the entire stay was the dingy towels in the bathroom. I know that towels at the Value resorts aren't going to be as thick and fluffy as others might be, but these were definitely showing some wear and tear and looked like they needed to be replaced. Other than that, the only thing I noticed that was unpleasant was that whenever our toilet flushed, it sounded like a cat was dying in it! :scared1:

But Mousekeeping kept our room very clean (and they came early too!), and our stay was an overall pleasant one! I'll definitely include some more thoughts on the resort for you to read up on while preparing for your trip!

Thanks!!!! It's my first time staying at a value resort we usually stay at OKW (my family are DVC members) and I think it's going to be so much fun! I requested the 60's area because my dbf loves the 60's, so hopefully we get it. I think those toilets are at every resort, I know they're at OKW, they sound like space shuttles lifting off!!! :rotfl: Thanks in advance for any more thoughts!!!

My Birthday at the Magic Kingdom!! – Tuesday, April 21, Part 2

We arrived at the MK at about 9:30am, right after it opened. There was a crowd waiting to get in, but it wasn’t too bad. Dad didn’t bring any bags, so I just had to go through bag check with my purse. The security guy saw my birthday button and said, “Happy Birthday Anna! Are you turning 21?” I asked how in the world he knew, and he said that he was just guessing. I found this really funny because people almost never guess my actual age. They always think I’m much younger than I am! I suppose I’ll appreciate that as I get older, but most of the time now it’s just annoying. Quick story: When I was 19, I was working at a store in the mall of my hometown. You had to be 16 years old to work there, and I’d been there for more than a year. A guest (we called customers that just like Disney does) approached my manager and said that she didn’t think I looked old enough to work there! Really?! I was 19 years old and I didn’t even look 16?! Ugh. So it was very nice to have someone actually guess my age correctly, especially on my 21st birthday!

This happens to me all the time. Once I was shopping with my mom and a lady told me she didn't think I was any older than 13!!!! I was 21 at the time!!!!:scared1: Oh well like you said we'll be thankful for that once we get older! I can't wait to hear more about your birthday day!

[tink774]

Thanks for the update. Looking forward to more.

I'm glad that you're enjoying it, and thanks for reading! :goodvibes

Thanks!!!! It's my first time staying at a value resort we usually stay at OKW (my family are DVC members) and I think it's going to be so much fun! I requested the 60's area because my dbf loves the 60's, so hopefully we get it. I think those toilets are at every resort, I know they're at OKW, they sound like space shuttles lifting off!!! :rotfl: Thanks in advance for any more thoughts!!!



This happens to me all the time. Once I was shopping with my mom and a lady told me she didn't think I was any older than 13!!!! I was 21 at the time!!!!:scared1: Oh well like you said we'll be thankful for that once we get older! I can't wait to hear more about your birthday day!

Wow! Mistaken for 13, how crazy! Yes, we'll definitely enjoy this in a few years! For me, the most depressing part was when I stopped getting taller and my younger sister kept growing past my height. :rotfl2:

I hope that you get your request for the 60's buildings! Both times that I've stayed in that area, we've been on the third or fourth floor of the Mowgli/Baloo building facing the lake, and it was so nice and quiet! You'd never know we had neighbors at all!

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

Wow! Mistaken for 13, how crazy! Yes, we'll definitely enjoy this in a few years! For me, the most depressing part was when I stopped getting taller and my younger sister kept growing past my height. :rotfl2:

I hope that you get your request for the 60's buildings! Both times that I've stayed in that area, we've been on the third or fourth floor of the Mowgli/Baloo building facing the lake, and it was so nice and quiet! You'd never know we had neighbors at all!

My brother is already way past me! He's 3 years younger than me and is about 6 ft. tall and I'm about 5ft 2 so I call him my big little brother. Thanks for the review of pop!

[kaos928]

I'm glad that you're enjoying it, and thanks for reading! :goodvibes

Wow! Mistaken for 13, how crazy! Yes, we'll definitely enjoy this in a few years! For me, the most depressing part was when I stopped getting taller and my younger sister kept growing past my height. :rotfl2:

Ugh this happens to me all the time!! BOTH of my younger sisters are taller then me also. No one EVER believe that I'm the oldest.

Once I got IDed for a R rated move, and I was 21! I couldn't believe that girl actually thought I was UNDER 17 :rotfl: And the lady at the gas station was CONVINCED that I was one of those stings were they try to catch people selling alcohol to minors :lmao:

Everyone says I'll be happy about it when I get older, but I don't think my round baby face is going to stop me from getting wrinkles! But everyone thinks my mom and one of her sisters are twins or just the same person... they are 12 years apart! My aunt gets pretty upset over this! :rotfl2:

OK I'm rambling now I had two Ice Lattes today (my fave!!) lol Can't wait for mroe of your TR :thumbsup2

[katiebelle21]

Great start so far!

I just noticed that you have the Yacht and Beach Club on your ticker!! Are you staying there? If so, I'd love to read a PTR if you have one. I've never stayed at any Deluxe, but the BC and YC look like they'd be fantastic resorts to try!

I am staying at the Beach Club again this year. My husband and I stayed there last year and loved it!

[tink774]

Once I got IDed for a R rated move, and I was 21! I couldn't believe that girl actually thought I was UNDER 17 :rotfl: And the lady at the gas station was CONVINCED that I was one of those stings were they try to catch people selling alcohol to minors :lmao:

LOL Once Rob and I went to a movie, and I think at the time he was 20 and I was 19... something like that. Anyway, it was an R-rated film, and he was buying the tickets for both of us. I was standing next to him at the window and the lady in the box office points at me and says, "I need to see her ID!!" Just me! How embarrassing.

And a couple of months after my 18th birthday, I went with his family out to some restaurant/casino. I was with Rob, his mom, his grandmother, and his great-aunt and uncle. As we're walking in the security guard makes a big show of running up to me and demanding to see my ID immediately. Again, not even Rob. Just me. :headache: I wonder if these ID hounds realize how much they are embarrassing people unnecessarily. A simple, "Excuse me, could I please see your ID?" would be so much more pleasant!

I am staying at the Beach Club again this year. My husband and I stayed there last year and loved it!

Awesome! The BC looks like such an awesome resort, and I hope to try it at least once in the future! Hope you guys will have a wonderful time! :yay:


I'm in the last 25 hour stretch for final exams. My only one today isn't until 7:00pm, so I'm going to try and use the rest of the day to prepare for that and get some more work done on the paper I have to turn in tomorrow. It's wonderful to think that I'm so close to being done, until I realize how much I still have to finish before then!! :scared1: But then I will definitely update my TR for you guys!

[katiebelle21]

I'm in the last 25 hour stretch for final exams. My only one today isn't until 7:00pm, so I'm going to try and use the rest of the day to prepare for that and get some more work done on the paper I have to turn in tomorrow. It's wonderful to think that I'm so close to being done, until I realize how much I still have to finish before then!! :scared1: But then I will definitely update my TR for you guys!

Good luck on your exams! You're almost done! :goodvibes

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

I'm guessing your last final is over! I hope they all went ok and you got your paper done! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

[tink774]

I'm guessing your last final is over! I hope they all went ok and you got your paper done! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

YES. I just walked into my apartment and will promptly be collapsing into bed. I'm going to try and write the next update tonight! Haha, I know that I'm exhausted because my plan was to come home, open a bottle of my favorite wine that I got specifically to celebrate the end of the semester with, and watch the LOST episode that I didn't get to see last night. But I think that it will have to wait. Two of my friends and I were writing papers in the library until 2:00am last night, and then I got up at 5:00am to finish writing and study some more for today's exam. And it didn't help that I had a bit of a panic attack during my exam last night (it was super stressful), and so then I was feeling very anxious and stressed the rest of the night until I took a nap from 3:30 to 5:00. Then I felt pretty clear-headed and got the rest of my work done on time. And now I'm done with classes until July 6th, when my summer session starts. :dance3:

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

Well I'm glad everything went ok. It's nice to be able to relax a bit. Well enjoy your nap and that special bottle of wine!! (I can't say my classmates and I limited it to one bottle but we did something similar! :rotfl: <---That's us after our "celebrating")

[tink774]

Well I'm glad everything went ok. It's nice to be able to relax a bit. Well enjoy your nap and that special bottle of wine!! (I can't say my classmates and I limited it to one bottle but we did something similar! :rotfl: <---That's us after our "celebrating")

:lmao: I'm pretty sure my roommates think I'm already some sort of drunk only a couple of weeks after my birthday, haha. I bought a bottle the week of my birthday, had one last week, and now the new one for celebrating the beginning of summer. Neither one of them drinks much at all. One of them turned 21 over a year ago and she's had maybe one and a half glasses of wine since then. I just like to keep some in the cabinet to have a glass every once in a while, and luckily my favorites are extremely cheap so I can afford to do so. Just not one for the high-class stuff, I guess. :drinking1

Glad to hear that you're finished, too!! Hope all of your exams went wonderfully!

And now I'm off to catch up on LOST, because all my friends have been talking about last night's episode and I'm dying to see what I missed! Then I will start working on the next update. :surfweb:

[kaos928]

:lmao: I'm pretty sure my roommates think I'm already some sort of drunk only a couple of weeks after my birthday, haha. I bought a bottle the week of my birthday, had one last week, and now the new one for celebrating the beginning of summer. Neither one of them drinks much at all. One of them turned 21 over a year ago and she's had maybe one and a half glasses of wine since then. I just like to keep some in the cabinet to have a glass every once in a while, and luckily my favorites are extremely cheap so I can afford to do so. Just not one for the high-class stuff, I guess. :drinking1

Glad to hear that you're finished, too!! Hope all of your exams went wonderfully!

And now I'm off to catch up on LOST, because all my friends have been talking about last night's episode and I'm dying to see what I missed! Then I will start working on the next update. :surfweb:

Yep I gotta have a bottle of White Zinfandel in the fridge! Some days you just need to put your feet up and have a glass. My fav is also cheap like $8 or something :rotfl: I love it though! I can't wait til I'm finally done with this semester, although I am taking a "May Term" class which is 8:50 to 1pm Mon-Fri for two weeks :scared: But at least I'll get it over with! Then I'm taking one online class in July. It'll all be worth it so I can have a super easy last semester in the Fall and have Tuesdays and Thursdays off which will save me about 2 hours of driving!!

[tink774]

Yep I gotta have a bottle of White Zinfandel in the fridge! Some days you just need to put your feet up and have a glass. My fav is also cheap like $8 or something :rotfl: I love it though! I can't wait til I'm finally done with this semester, although I am taking a "May Term" class which is 8:50 to 1pm Mon-Fri for two weeks :scared: But at least I'll get it over with! Then I'm taking one online class in July. It'll all be worth it so I can have a super easy last semester in the Fall and have Tuesdays and Thursdays off which will save me about 2 hours of driving!!

That's my favorite, too! Do you have a favorite brand? I'm partial to Oak Leaf and not just because it fits with my college budget. :thumbsup2

I'll be taking a July semester with two classes, both just electives because I have a lot of those to fill up before I can graduate. I actually have more electives to use up than classes left for my major! I was registered for a May term, too, that would begin on Tuesday and meet 3 hours a day until June 3rd. But as it got closer, I decided that I really needed the break, and since I was doing July too, I could take the time off. It looks like this fall I'll only have classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday if my registration stays the way it is now. I haven't done that since freshman year, and it could be pretty nice! Good luck with your May semester!! :goodvibes

[tink774]

So I'm working on the newest update for my TR (I know, I've been awful lately!) and I realized something. I left my detailed list of everything that we did during our trip back at my apartment! I'm currently home for a few weeks before my summer class starts, and I realized that I left that list on my nightstand when I was packing up clothes and stuff. So I'm going to try and squeeze out some updates on what I remember and go from there! :headache:

[tink774]

Oh my goodness, Photobucket is being ridiculous right now! :headache: It's making uploading my pictures quite an ordeal.

Sorry that I haven't updated in so long! I've been quite the lazy DISer over the past couple of weeks. :sad1: And then today, I was suddenly struck with the urge to be at WDW and enjoying a ride on Splash Mountain. So I figured that updating my TR would make me feel better, and here is part three of my birthday at the MK!

My Birthday at the Magic Kingdom!! – Tuesday, April 21, Part 3

So after I got my picture with the chipmunks, Dad and I were finally heading down the rest of Main Street, U.S.A.! And now we come to…

Birthday Wish #2 – Ride Pirates of the Caribbean first!

In the last couple of years, it’s somehow become a tradition for me on Disney trips to make Pirates the first ride I do on the first day at the MK, so I wanted to continue that with this trip! The first time I rode this after all of the refurbishing was back in May 2007. I’m not crazy about all of the changes, but I feel like some of the updates are pretty neat! So we headed off to Adventureland!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0393.jpg

We went past the Crystal Palace and Dad and I talked about whether or not we should have tried to get an ADR there for breakfast. While it would have been really fun to do for my birthday, we would have just been too tired to get there much earlier than we did. And besides, that’s why there are future trips! I’ve never had breakfast at CP, so I will try it one day. Here’s a silly picture of Rob and I with Piglet during a dinner at CP back in January.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/sMKcrystalpigannarob.jpg

We walked through to Adventureland and when we heard the music as we walked over the bridge, we got really excited! We made our way to Pirates, and as we went by we saw Rafiki and then Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. I thought about getting my picture taken with Hook and Smee, but the line was pretty long so we decided to skip it. But here is one from when my sister and I met them back in December 2007. It’s embarrassing that she’s three years younger than me but I’m the short one. (And can you tell that this picture was taken by my dad? :rolleyes1)

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Finally, we arrived at Pirates!

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There was only a five minute wait at this point, so we chatted about what to do next while we waited. Dad and I got a seat in the very back of the boat, behind a big family celebrating a reunion. We enjoyed the ride, as always! At one point while we were sitting there, I remember thinking about what I’d be doing back at college if I wasn’t sitting on a boat riding Pirates of the Caribbean in the Magic Kingdom. And while it didn’t hit me quite yet, I felt so very fortunate! I think it was right around 11:00am at that point, so I would have been sitting in my second lecture of the day (and probably doing a crossword puzzle because I hated that class… shhh!).

We finished exploring the Caribbean with Jack Sparrow and embarked on a one-way trip to… the gift shop! I looked around at some of the new merchandise, and tried to decide what I should get Rob on the trip. After looking at the shotglasses, I decided that I would find him one of those somewhere in the park, because he collects them to display in a glass case at home (I take the credit for starting this, because I bought him the first shotglass in his collection during my study abroad trip when we stopped in Amsterdam for the night. I figured, what shotglass could be cooler than one from Amsterdam?). But I didn’t find one there, so we headed back into Adventureland. Oh, and am I the only person who thinks that the Davy Jones/Goofy plushes are creepy? I wish I’d taken a picture!

Dad and I had decided that this was a good time to go get Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, so we made the quick walk over there.

Welcome to “Rontierland!”

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We got FPs for 11:45am, which was a little less than forty minutes away. So we decided to hop in line for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! The sign said the wait was ten minutes, but we probably waited closer to fifteen or twenty. We were seated at the very back of the train, which was really cool to me since that’s where the ride is most exciting! I stole an idea from my sister when I saw a picture that she took while she was on the ride two weeks before. While we were on the big hill, I took the chance to snap a photo of us!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0032.jpg

The sun was behind us, but it was so bright outside that we were forced to squint. And then I couldn’t help myself but to try this one!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0034.jpg

After the ride, we noticed that we still had a couple of minutes before our FPs for Splash Mountain, so we took a quick bathroom break. Then there were still a few more minutes, so we just waited outside the FP entrance for like three minutes before 11:45am. I took a picture of the façade over some construction work near the MK train.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0036.jpg

Finally, it was time to ride Splash Mountain!! We were seated in the back of the log with a rather disinterested family in the rows ahead of us. I love to take pictures on Splash, so here are a few for you!

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http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0053.jpg

And then I took our picture after the big drop!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0055.jpg

Looks like there’s a traffic jam up ahead!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0056.jpg

We decided to buy the picture, but I don’t have it scanned in yet. Unfortunately at this point, I’m a bit fuzzy on what exactly we did when we got off Splash Mountain. So I’m going to end part 3 here and update again ASAP after I retrieve my list of everything that we did from my apartment!

[mickeystoontown]

Thanks for the update! I wish I could remember to take pictures while on Splash Mountain. I did take a few on Big Thunder Mountain while we were whizzing through the dinosaur bones.

[tink774]

Thanks for the update! I wish I could remember to take pictures while on Splash Mountain. I did take a few on Big Thunder Mountain while we were whizzing through the dinosaur bones.

I'd never taken pictures on Big Thunder Mountain before, it was really fun! I tried to take some indoor pics on Splash without the flash, but they all came out really blurry. But it's such a fun area to take pictures in! How did your pictures in the dinosaur bones come out? I tried it, but the flash accidentally went off (outside! I couldn't figure that out because it was on Auto Flash) so it came out almost completely white!

[mickeystoontown]

They came out pretty good. Of course, some of the scenery was whizzing by but it made for a cool picture.

[tink774]

Finally, an update!!! :yay:

My Birthday at the Magic Kingdom!! – Tuesday, April 21, Part 4

So we got off of Splash Mountain, purchased our picture, and tried to figure out what we should do next. Since it was just after noon, we were getting hungry! I love to eat at Pinocchio’s Village Haus in Fantasyland, so that’s where we went. We slowly made our way through Frontierland and Liberty Square to get there. As we passed Peter Pan’s Flight, we decided to get FPs for it. Now this is where I’m a bit confused as I look at my play-by-play account of the day. It says that we got our FPs before lunch, but I don’t think two hours had passed by after getting them for Splash Mountain. So I’ll just say that at some random point while we were in Fantasyland, we picked up FPs for Peter Pan at 3:45pm.

Oh! And this is where I’m going to tell you where the title of my TR came from. It was so funny! Dad and I were walking through Fantasyland heading for lunch, and we passed by this family with a little boy. The boy was clearly tired and not enjoying the heat, and he turned to his father and said, “Dad, I’m tired of this. Can’t we go to Disney World now?” It was definitely one of the highlights of the day for me! :lmao:

Usually I like to eat inside at Pinocchio’s to enjoy the atmosphere. I love all of the images from the film on the walls. But today, we decided to eat outside. While I went inside to get my food, Dad stayed at the table. I decided to get a personal cheese pizza, because I always get at least one of these on every WDW trip. Pizza is one of my favorite foods ever, and there is never a time when I’m not in the mood for it. The line wasn’t long, and it took me about five minutes to order my food and head back to the table with it. Then Dad headed inside to do the same, only he went healthy and ordered a salad. Then he stopped off at the fruit cart outside and grabbed two bananas for us. I don’t have any pictures of my meal, but it looked something like this:

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As we were eating, we decided that our next stop would be PhilharMagic since we were right next to it. By the way, I was being a horrible DISer at this point and forgot to take any pictures! So here are a couple of photos from a past trip to keep you awake!

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I love this show so much! It took me years to actually give it a try, but once I did it quickly became one of my favorite attractions in the MK. It brings together some of my favorite Disney songs, and you just can’t help but love Donald! So this was a must-do for my birthday. There was no wait to get inside, and so we hung out with our opera glasses for about five minutes before they opened the doors to the theater.

Not quite opera glasses, but you get the idea!
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As we were watching PhilharMagic, it finally really hit me that I was in the Magic Kingdom for my birthday! I don’t know why it took so long, but once I finally felt like I was really there (I guess I was in a happy dreamlike state up until then) I was so happy and never wanted it to end! :cloud9:

By the way, I discovered that I have a slight colorblindness while on this trip! On the way to Disney, I was telling my dad about how I can’t see most of the 3-D stuff in shows like PhilharMagic. The images are clear, but I don’t see most of the stuff popping out at me like I’m supposed to. And my dad told me that I probably inherited some of his colorblindness. Wait… why didn’t anyone tell me about this?! Apparently I have trouble seeing some greens or something like that. I talked to my doctor about it, and he agreed that it seems to be greens that give me trouble. Weird, huh? But just wait; there are more medical discoveries on the way in this TR!!

After the show, we walked around the gift shop for a bit and decided to get a few things.

Are you paying attention, Sara? This is what I purchased that reminded me of you and your PTR! Sorry that it’s so wrinkled and badly positioned in the picture, I had to unearth it from a pile of clothes in my suitcase to take the picture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0298.jpg

I loved Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride when I was younger, so I had to get this shirt!! The film is definitely one of my favorite Disney movies so I was thrilled to find it. I also got these Mickey earrings with my birthstone. It seemed appropriate for the day!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0297.jpg

Dad and I got a few more things as well, including a small snowglobe for Mom to keep on her desk at work, a pair of Mickey birthstone earrings for her, and some Donald stuff for my younger sister. We had enough to qualify for the $15 blanket, so we got that too! Since we didn’t have enough time to send everything to POP, we just sent our packages to the package pick-up at the front of the MK along with our Splash Mountain photos.

After our shopping, we backtracked to the Haunted Mansion to visit some ghouls!
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I have no idea why my pictures of the mansion came out so crooked. Oops.
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We had about ten minutes to wait outside, so I entertained myself.
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We had an awesome ride through the Haunted Mansion. I really enjoy the changes that they’ve made over the last couple of years. I do miss some of the old elements, though. On the way out, we picked up a hitch-hiking ghost! By this point, it was about 2:30pm according to my account of the day, and we decided to make our way over to Tomorrowland!

On the way there, we passed by the teacups and saw the White Rabbit on the ride! My sister had seen him there during her trip two weeks before, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen him around the park so I was excited! Dad and I stopped and tried to take a couple of pictures.

This was the closest that he got to us.
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We got to Tomorrowland and browsed through one of the gift shops near Cosmic Rays (Mickey’s Star Traders? I can’t remember!). Space Mountain was closed for refurbishment during our trip, and this really emptied out Tomorrowland! There was almost no one in the whole area! We weren’t too bummed about Space Mountain, but we were sad that the Tomorrowland Transit Authority was also closed since it runs through the mountain. This is one of our favorite rides, and it would have been nice to do together. Oh, well! We grabbed some FPs for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin for 3:20pm. It was around 3:00 at this point, but the line was actually pretty long. No one was interested in the FPs, I guess. :confused3 So with about twenty minutes before our FPs would work, we decided to kill time by riding the Speedway!

[DisneyFaeriePrincess]

Are you paying attention, Sara? This is what I purchased that reminded me of you and your PTR! Sorry that it’s so wrinkled and badly positioned in the picture, I had to unearth it from a pile of clothes in my suitcase to take the picture.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v447/bellarose16/photos/IMG_0298.jpg

I loved Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride when I was younger, so I had to get this shirt!! The film is definitely one of my favorite Disney movies so I was thrilled to find it. I also got these Mickey earrings with my birthstone. It seemed appropriate for the day!


Haha, Yay!!! I loved that ride! And of course I loved that I was in the ride as "Madame Sara"!!! I have to find that picture and post it! That shirt is really cute, I've never seen anything from Mr. Toad's, I'll def. have to look for it on my trip. Thanks!!!