"What's Your Problem?" Caught by loop and hook... (Updated 11/19, post 169)

[Emma's Dad]

:welcome:
Hello all! Thank you for tuning in to my very first WDW trip report. For those who might be looking for a PTR, don't bother... I never got around to making one! I thought about making one... I really did... but procrastination reared it's ugly head and rendered me useless. My DW can testify to my distracted ways. I'll try to keep focused while I bring you this TR and I apologize in advance for the occasional delay in future installments. Now on to the formalities:

When? April 28th - May 5th, 2009

Where? On-site - Disney's Coronado Springs Resort

How? Round trip, non-stop flights with Southwest Airlines. Magical Express to resort.

Cast of characters:
http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/th_Disney2009111.jpg (http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/?action=view&current=Disney2009111.jpg) Me(37): Don - Software engineer from Virginia Beach, VA. I love to spend time with my family and don't normally have much time for other hobbies outside of work. Most of my "extra" time is spent either on the computer catching up on the DISBoard (smiley) (or any other number of geeky-type computer activities), performing some sort of remodeling project for our house, or helping out with our local church. I'm not much of a writer (or even a reader), but I felt compelled to capture this trip in a TR to be a reminder of our wonderful visit this year. Seems as time goes on the memory doesn't store as much information as it used to... and this is a trip I do not want to forget. Oh... and I'm the Disney fanatic of the family :)

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/th_Disney2009070Small.jpg (http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/?action=view&current=Disney2009070Small.jpg) DW(39): Kathleen - My extraordinary, marvelous wife of 15 years and mother to our sweet daughter. We only dated for 3 months before we got married! She loves her job (stay-at-home mom) and enjoys watching her favorite afternoon soaps while updating her Facebook page on the laptop. Unlike me, she likes reading spoiler pages for the variety of shows she watches (Heroes, Lost, Fringe, etc). While not an eccentric fan of all things Disney, she has come to realize that there is something special about WDW. You will not find her in many pictures... fear of the camera! Her favorite character is Tinkerbell.
:tinker:

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/th_Disney2009037-1.jpg (http://s303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/?action=view&current=Disney2009037-1.jpg) DD(6): We'll call her Sil (Short for Silvermist... her favorite fairy). Actually, I should nickname her Ariel for her red hair and ardor for singing. But, alas... she is forever in awe of Silvermist at this time in her life so I'll stick with Sil. Her favorite movie this week is HSM3 and she is soooo cute when she is signing and dancing along with the movie. Surprisingly, she is not much of a movie watcher and would rather spend her time watching Noggin all day long. The new Tinkerbell movie is a very close second. But I must say this, (this will help you understand the importance of a character meet later in the TR) for about 2 months before our trip Sil and I would occasionally watch old Donald Duck cartoons on YouTube. Sil is very much a daddy's girl and is the pride and joy in our lives.

Previous trips:

DW and I visited WDW back in the 90's on two different occasions:

First time was a 8 day land/sea package we "won" for a timeshare demonstration. We stayed off-site for the land portion and had credit cards stolen from the room! We found out about the credit card being stolen as we were standing at a shop in EPCOT and the card was declined while trying to buy a hat. That was not a good day! The CC company was good to us and reversed the charges (thankfully as this was our means for eating at the time!). The sea portion was not a good experience for my DW because our room was located right over the engine room. This was fine for me as I was in the Navy at the time and was used to loud ships! HAHA! She still declares that we will never go on another cruise.
Stayed at the SOG when a friend of ours stayed at WL. DW and I were living in Port Charlotte, FL at the time and I was still in the Navy. This was a good weekend experience, but I don't remember much from that trip.

Sil had her first WDW trip last year (exactly a year before). During that trip we had a great time staying at Pop Century Resort and had free dining. MIL came along with us for that trip. Unfortunately, we thought 6 days would be enough to see a lot of things, but we were sadly mistaken. I ended up running everyone ragged, renting a scooter for MIL, and in the end we really needed a vacation from the vacation.


Sooooo... based on last year's vacation, I was given strict orders to make this a more relaxing, enjoyable experience this year. I believe I accomplished the task, but I suppose you will need to read along and come to your own conclusion :)

This particular trip was not supposed to happen. It wasn't even a thought... until... the 4/3 deal was announced (This was back in December 2008). Oh, no. My DW will kill me if I approach the subject of going to WDW again so soon. Besides, she REALLY wants to go somewhere like the Grand Canyons or something exotic.So what do I do? Hehe... I make a spreadsheet . Not just a spreadsheet...I mean a SPREADSHEET. This baby had every scenario and pricing you could think of. How much for Poly for 7 nights with DSP? Wait... how about ASMu for 8 nights w/ hopping and QSDP? Seriously, I don't think I missed a scenario.I think I personally added about 20% more traffic to Disneys online reservation system. I spent probably about a week working on this thing when I finally gather enough courage to approach the issue with DW. The first conversation went something like this:

Me: "Honey, Have you seen the new commercials where Disney is offering 7 days for the price of 4?"
DW: "You are NOT thinking about going to WDW, are you?!?"
Me: "Ummmm... sort-of."
DW: "What do you mean, 'sort-of'?"
Me: "Let me show you something I've been working on."
DW: (Silence as she is looking at the SPREADSHEET)
DW: "You mean we could stay at a moderate resort for $xxxx.xx?"
Me: (Getting excited) "Oh, yeah! Let me show you what CSR looks like."
DW: "What's CSR?"

We didn't end up booking the vacation until the end of March... we were waiting for some financial things to come into place. But I sure am happy we got to do this trip (thanks to the SPREADSHEET... and the 4/3 deal)!

OK... this intro is long enough. Let's get this show on the road! Happy reading to ya'll!

Day 1, Part 1: Oh, no! I left it in the van! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31737562&postcount=11)

Note: The pictures taken for this trip were mostly taken by yours truly. I am by no means a photographer, and the camera used to capture these moments is a Sony Cybershot W55 digital camera. I like it because it's small, quick to turn on, and takes pretty decent pictures (for my eyes anyway).

[Emma's Dad]

Here is your quick link to chapters: :goodvibes

Day 1, Part 1: "Oh, no! I left it in the van!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31737562&postcount=11)
Day 1, Part 2: "Where is everybody? I call Shotgun!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31762868&postcount=20)
Day 1, Part 3: "A little slice of heaven" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31828824&postcount=41)
Day 1, Part 4: "I'm never doing ToT ever again!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31862701&postcount=51)
Day 2, Part 1: EPCOT - "Character Spot" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31911260&postcount=64)
Day 2, Part 2: EPCOT - "Old guys rule!" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31938572&postcount=67)
Day 2, Part 3: EPCOT - "Fairies, Butterflies, and Pixie Dust" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32203985&postcount=79)
Day 2, Part 4: "Is that the Goodyear blimp?" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32374342&postcount=96)
Day 3, Part 1: "Get me out of here... now!" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32419216&postcount=105)
Day 3, Part 2: "Ahhhh... this is more like it" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32648638&postcount=115)
Day 4, Part 1: "CHIP AND DALE!!!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33254037&postcount=133)
Day 4, Part 2: "I sure hope Sil is there!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33860233&postcount=149)
Day 5, Part 1: "Finally! TSM!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34395747&postcount=169)

[carissanboys]

I'm here! (And first I think!) :cool1:

Will be back to actually read. :rolleyes1

[Emma's Dad]

I'm here! (And first I think!) :cool1:

Will be back to actually read. :rolleyes1

Yep... You are first! Thanks for reading (eventually) :rotfl:

[wild4dis]

I'm with you now...dont leave me in the van !! ; )

BTW, I have a DW who is a fan..but not a fanatic, so I have that same spreadsheet approach.....worked well for DVC !!!!

[carissanboys]

I find it funny how most of us on the Dis and who are married have a spouse who is a "fan, but not a fanatic." I'm always jealous of those couples who are both fanatics. But, if that were the case, I might have to fight my husband in order to do all of the planning (which is my favorite part). :rolleyes1

Okay - I'm all caught up now! I got the bathrooms cleaned and my husband making pizza so I had a chance to read. :surfweb:

Your wife has good taste in TV shows - just had to add that. :thumbsup2 And I also spend a good portion of my time on Facebook. It is my social outlet. :cool2:

Can't wait to hear all about it! :goodvibes

[Emma's Dad]

I'm with you now...dont leave me in the van !! ; )

BTW, I have a DW who is a fan..but not a fanatic, so I have that same spreadsheet approach.....worked well for DVC !!!!

HAHA! I won't leave you in the van... promise! Interesting thing happened on the trip... DW had actually asked about DVC and how it worked.

I find it funny how most of us on the Dis and who are married have a spouse who is a "fan, but not a fanatic." I'm always jealous of those couples who are both fanatics. But, if that were the case, I might have to fight my husband in order to do all of the planning (which is my favorite part). :rolleyes1

Okay - I'm all caught up now! I got the bathrooms cleaned and my husband making pizza so I had a chance to read. :surfweb:

Your wife has good taste in TV shows - just had to add that. :thumbsup2 And I also spend a good portion of my time on Facebook. It is my social outlet. :cool2:

Can't wait to hear all about it! :goodvibes

With each trip DW gets a little more into WDW... I'm waiting for the day she actually asks me when we're going back :goodvibes

DW says "thanks!" about the shows. She also says Hi!

Cool thing! I just added this thread to my FB account. Sweet!

[Disnewbie76]

Alrighty! more writing and less chatting!! :D just kidding...lol I'm along for the ride. :cool1:

[Emma's Dad]

Alrighty! more writing and less chatting!! :D just kidding...lol I'm along for the ride. :cool1:

Hope you like to read! This is going to be a long one...

Your wish is my command pixiedust:

[nutz2notz]

I'm in. :thumbsup2

Looking forward to your reports. :goodvibes'

[Emma's Dad]

4/28/2009
Special note: There are no pictures for this part of the TR. Sorry... I just plain forgot!

The alarm was set for 4:30 AM... or so I thought it was. So why, after wiping my eyes several times to get the crusties out, does it say 5:05 AM? :scared1: OH NO! Panic mode. "Honey! Wake up! It's 5:05 AM and we gotta be at the airport by 6:00." Our flight is scheduled to depart at 6:55 AM, and it's about a 20 minute drive to the airport. MIL planned to be at our house to take us to the airport at 5:40-ish. OK... no problem... we can do this. We're going to Disney World!

So we get showered up, dressed, and have the bags ready to go by the door with just minutes before MIL shows up. After some last minute checks to make sure we have everything, we load the MIL's minivan and head to the airport. At this point, all was going well... traffic was moderate, and no accidents. Nice! We get to the airport right around 6:00 AM... we get out, give our hugs and goodbyes to MIL, and grab our stuff to head into the departures for Southwest Airlines.

Since we are flying Southwest, I had already spent my 10 minutes the day before waiting until the 24 hour mark arrived so I could print out our boarding passes. Playing the Southwest boarding lottery yielded us positions A15, A16, & A17! Sweet... we get to board before the families with small children! :woohoo:

We get to the Southwest check-in counter and check in 3 suitcases. "Excuse me, Sir", says the check in guy behind the counter. "This suitcase is a few pounds over 50 pounds." Hmmmm... DW's suitcase. :confused3 Interesting. But the kind, professional calmly says, "You may want to even out the suitcases on your way back. Have a nice day." Whew! No extra fees today! Thanks, Southwest! You guys rock! :thumbsup2

Let's get over to security! It's getting to be 6:15 AM now. Boarding should be starting at 6:35 AM... gotta get moving. So we get to the security checkpoint and there is no line. No problems getting through... UNTIL... "excuse me, Ma'am. We are going to need to test the container in this bag". She is referring to a spill-proof cup that we put DD's Carnation Instant Breakfast (CIB) in. DW had placed it in DD's brand new (for the trip) Fairy backpack. Inside the backpack included a fairy blanket and 3 stuffed animals (DD's favorites, of course). Well... I didn't know which cup DW had used and it just so happened to be the only one that leaks. Hence, when the backpack was opened, we find the drink (8 ozs of 2% milk with CIB) had leaked onto just about everything in the bag! :mad: We quickly remove everything from the bag and start drying everything while the Southwest agent is using a fancy chemical checking device to check for possible explosives. Fortunately, we found CIB to be non-explosive and we are now cleared from security. 6:25 AM... gotta run!

Running to the gate I'm going through my mental checklist again. Family... check. Backpack (VERY IMPORTANT! Has all required docs for resort, Magical Express, itinerary, camera stuff, etc. More on the mighty backpack later in the TR)... check. Checked luggage... check. Camera... check. What am I missing? Hold on! Wait! No... I didn't... did I? But I spent the last week getting it ready! I know I put it in the van! "Honey... did you grab the laptop bag?"... "No... you pulled all the bags out of the van," she says. I can literally feel the blood draining from my head and feel slightly faint. The laptop bag contains the laptop (naturally), the in-flight DVDs to be viewed on the 2 hour flight, headphones, and the cell phone chargers. Most of the bag was really just entertainment value except for the cell phone chargers (DW and I both brought our phones). The other purpose of the laptop was to transfer pictures of the memory cards in case we filled them and connect to the internet in case of a work "emergency" (or to check out DISBoard!). Oh well. By the time we got to the gate and after about the 20th time I said "I can't believe I forgot it!" I had already resigned myself to the fact that we can make the trip without it and life is going to be good. We called MIL just to make sure I didn't leave the bag anywhere else and she confirmed the bag is safe with her. Good job, Don... way to start the vacation. :sad2:

We finally arrive at our gate at 6:30 AM. I know it's 6:30 AM, because I now have my cell phone in my hand waiting for a very important phone call. It's supposed to happen at 6:30. Allow me to explain... about 2 weeks before the trip I was outside pushing DD on the tree swing. I suddenly have this bright idea to whip out my cell phone and act like I'm receiving a phone call. I flip it open and answer... "Hello? Yes, this is he. Mickey! How the heck are you? Yes, we have 9 more days before we get there. Yes... Sil is excited to see you and can't wait to see Donald Duck, too. OK... I'll let her know! Bye!" DD was absolutely floored that the big cheese actually called to check on us! Her face lit up like the sky during Wishes! But then just as quickly as her face shined, she quickly put a worried look in it's place. "Daddy! You told Mickey we are going to be there in 9 days!". I said, "Yep!". And she replies, "But we are leaving in 8 days!! You HAVE to call Mickey back and let him know!!" She is about to be in tears at this point, and I am trying with all my might and will power not to burst into laughter (I thought she was playing with ME at this point). Well, I quickly call Mickey back and settle the misinformation. All is well.

Sooooo... After that phone call, I received daily requests from DD to call Mickey and let him know that we are still on track to visit him on the 28th. Then another bright idea hit me... I wonder if there are web sites out there that will call someone and sound like Mickey? Sure enough... Disney provides just the service... Disney's Enchanted Calls (https://secure.uvoxnetworks.com/disney/). After discussing with DW that this was going to cost $2.49 for a single call, we decide that Mickey was going to give DD a call the morning of the trip. Guess what time? Yep... 6:30 AM.

Finally... at 6:33 AM, my cell phone rings. It's THE phone call. I run through the process of accepting the call and put it to DD's ear... HAHA! You should have seen her face! (Yep... I was in such a sad state after the laptop incident I completely forgot the camera for the magical moment!) It was such a precious moment that I am still kicking myself for not capturing it. She was even talking back to Mickey. Ah... the magic... the innocence... and the believing. Now THIS is the way to start the trip! :banana::banana:

Two minutes later the gate person is calling out for the "A" group to board. That's us! Wow... this is good timing. So we board and we are able to settle into the 737's second row with the three of us... DD at the window, DW in the middle, and yours truly taking the aisle. Orlando, here we come! :dance3:

Next up... Does the flight leave on time? Should I have put the yellow stickers on the checked luggage? (Pics to be included this time!)

Day 1, Part 2: Where is everybody? I call Shotgun! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31762868&postcount=20)

[MouseFan Down Under]

Loving your trip report!

You are a great writer...bring on the next chapter!

[Emma's Dad]

Loving your trip report!

You are a great writer...bring on the next chapter!

:blush: Thank you for your kind words. I'm working on Day 1 Part 2 now... Stay tuned ;)

[OhMari]

I should say, did you turn off your cell phones, since you were on vacation.
But I hope you found the tip, that resorts have cell phone charges. Many people leave their charges behind and the resorts started to keep them and they lend them out.

The start of your vacation was a little stressful, I hope you guys simmered down. :laughing:

[carissanboys]

I'm glad you added some pictures in the first post. :thumbsup2 (You DID add those after I first read it, right? Or did I just completely miss them?)

Your daughter is adorable! Love the red hair. :goodvibes

Great start so far - great writing. :cool1: Sounds like a crazy morning and beginning to the trip! Hope everything else started to go smoothly for you.

[Emma's Dad]

I should say, did you turn off your cell phones, since you were on vacation.
But I hope you found the tip, that resorts have cell phone charges. Many people leave their charges behind and the resorts started to keep them and they lend them out.

The start of your vacation was a little stressful, I hope you guys simmered down. :laughing:

Thanks for the tip, OhMari... I actually did not know the resorts keep chargers handy. But I don't want to give away too much for my future installments ;)

I'm glad you added some pictures in the first post. :thumbsup2 (You DID add those after I first read it, right? Or did I just completely miss them?)

Your daughter is adorable! Love the red hair. :goodvibes

Great start so far - great writing. :cool1: Sounds like a crazy morning and beginning to the trip! Hope everything else started to go smoothly for you.

HAHA! Yes, I added the pics last night. Photobucket is blocked at work and I really wanted to get my TR on the boards yesterday afternoon!

Thank you :goodvibes DD is truly a wonderful blessing to DW and I. We love her red hair, too :love:

It was definitely a crazy morning! We were wondering what kind of trip was in store for us!! :laughing:

NOTE: Next installment will not be until later today. I now have my work assignments for today from DW :cool2:

[carissanboys]

NOTE: Next installment will not be until later today. I now have my work assignments for today from DW :cool2:

Ahhh - the honey-do list? ;)

I have my own list to get busy with. I'll be looking forward to your next update. :thumbsup2

[addictedtothemouse]

Great start tot he trip report!:thumbsup2 I can't wait to read the rest.
Your daughter is such a cutie.:cutie:

[Emma's Dad]

Ahhh - the honey-do list? ;)

I have my own list to get busy with. I'll be looking forward to your next update. :thumbsup2

Sorry... I missed these replies! Yep... it was the honey-do list :)

Great start tot he trip report!:thumbsup2 I can't wait to read the rest.
Your daughter is such a cutie.:cutie:

Thank you! And welcome to the show. Here comes the next installment....

[Emma's Dad]

We are now buckled into our comfy, leather seats and get settled in for the 2 hours flight. I have to say this... Southwest is one of the best airlines I've ever had the chance to fly with. Granted, I'm not much of a traveler, but these guys got it going on. Great prices, great service! Everyone was boarded, strapped in and we were heading down the taxi way right on schedule at 6:55. And for some reason, our pilot was in a BIG hurry to get this plane in the air! I mean, this was the fastest I had ever taxied to the flight deck... Formula One style! :drive: He didn't even slow down once we made the final turn... it was "turn and burn" time! And this was quite fine with me... Mickey is waiting!

About 5 minutes (at least that's what it seemed like) into the flight, the captain announces we've already made it above 10,000 feet and all approved electronics can now be used. GRRRRRRR! He just HAD to remind me about the laptop, didn't he? Oh well... let's see what's new in the Sky Mall this year. Has anyone ever actually bought something from that catalog? There's really cool stuff in there!

DD is an awesome traveler. For the most part she is able to entertain herself. This trip was no exception. Even with all the excitement building up to get to the World, she is still amusing herself by imagining different Care Bears in the clouds we are now zooming over. Every once in a while she asks to play a game of rock, paper, scissors. She's rather good at this game!

Hey! It's the captain again. I didn't see any flocks of birds and it's only 8:20AM... we aren't due to arrive until 8:55. Now he's telling us that we will be arriving 20 minutes early. :woohoo: This day is getting better already! And true to his word, we were walking through the terminal gate around 8:40AM. We made a brisk walk over to the tram and got right on (of course it was waiting for us... it knows we are going to WDW). The size of the airport still amazes me each time I visit. But we manage to find the carousel that is going to deliver our luggage and we wait. This is the point where I just happen to mention to DW that we could have used the yellow stickers to have ME take our luggage straight to the resort. :rolleyes1 Let's pause here for a moment. I should take this time to admit that I don't always think through what I am saying at the time I'm saying it. If only I had a Twix bar for these situations. :sad2: Anyway... DW is not very happy about this sudden revelation. But I insist that I would rather not have another set of hands moving our luggage for the sake of not losing it. Besides, we are still young and need the exercise. I am fortunately saved from this conversation as the belt buzzer is sounding and luggage starts flowing. We grab our luggage and head to ME.

As we are walking down the LONG passageway towards the end with ME, I suddenly notice how empty this part of the airport seems to be. I really wish I had been in tourist mode at this point and had my camera ready for a picture of the scene. But... I didn't start taking pictures yet and you'll just have to take my word for it. We get to the ME counter and there are three friendly folks ready to assist me... there is no one else in line. I am quickly processed and informed to head to line "A". YEAH! There's the red carpet! :cool1::cool1::cool1:

We go to line "A"... um... where is everyone? I keep looking around to make sure we are at the REAL Magical Express that is going to take my family to WDW. Again, no one is ahead of us... only 2 minutes pass and we get ushered to the ME bus that is waiting outside. A very nice man named Jason (the bus driver) safely stores our luggage in the under carriage and allows us to board the bus. As I'm walking up the stairs, this is what I see (Finally, Don... you bring on the pics!):

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009003.jpg

So I call shotgun! and climb into the front seat... and DD sits right next to me. Have I mentioned she's a daddy's girl yet?

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009004.jpg

After about 5 minutes, Jason climbs the stairs, gets into the driver's seat, closes the front door and begins backing up the bus. DW and I look at each other... and SMILE :) "Excuse me, Sir... are we going to Coronado Springs Resort?" I ask the driver. He replies "Yes." So I ask, "We aren't picking up anyone else?"... "nope!" And so our adventure starts with a 45 foot limousine ride courtesy of ME. We got to know Jason pretty well since we were right up front and DD was watching the video. The 30 minute ride went by very quickly, and soon we were looking at this familiar sign:

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009010.jpg

And shortly after that, we arrive at CSR:

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009013.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009014.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009015.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009016.jpg

http://i303.photobucket.com/albums/nn125/go0s3man/Disney%202009/Disney2009017.jpg

And thus ends our journey to get to Coronado Springs Resort. The next installment will get us checked in and assigned to our awaiting room. Which building will we be assigned? Casitas? Cabanas? Ranchos? popcorn::

Day 1, Part 3: "A little slice of heaven" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31828824&postcount=41)

[addictedtothemouse]

Man is that bus empty!
:cloud9:this is how I feel when I drive under that sign.

[carissanboys]

Wow - you made awesome time with your flight! I have flown Southwest numerous times and they're my favorite. Usually the flight attendants are so funny and joking around instead of being all stuffy. :rolleyes1

If you only had a Twix bar... :rotfl:

How cool that you had the entire bus to yourselves! What a great start to the trip. :thumbsup2

[Emma's Dad]

Man is that bus empty!
:cloud9:this is how I feel when I drive under that sign.

I usually forget to take this picture because I'm so full of excitement! DW kindly reminded me to get the camera out... :goodvibes

Wow - you made awesome time with your flight! I have flown Southwest numerous times and they're my favorite. Usually the flight attendants are so funny and joking around instead of being all stuffy. :rolleyes1

If you only had a Twix bar... :rotfl:

How cool that you had the entire bus to yourselves! What a great start to the trip. :thumbsup2

We didn't get a funny crew this time... and my DW made the comment when we landed - "I wonder why they didn't sing Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah??" HAHA! We got that special treat last year!

Too bad Twix bars melt... or I'd keep one in my pocket at all times :thumbsup2

Gotta say... never had a bus ride all to ourselves... it was awesome!

[Disneychix]

I'm really enjoying your TR! Great so far! Your DD is too cute.

I can't believe you were the only 3 on the ME bus. That's too fun!

[trennr]

WOW...Early Flight...Private Bus. :thumbsup2

ALL HAIL DON!!!
:worship:

[porknbeans]

I'm finally getting caught up Don. Great stuff and keep it coming. Your daughter has such a beautiful smile. From one dad to another, nothing better than being wrapped around your daughters finger!

[Emma's Dad]

I'm really enjoying your TR! Great so far! Your DD is too cute.

I can't believe you were the only 3 on the ME bus. That's too fun!

I'm so glad you are enjoying this TR... I'm beginning to think it's going to take a year to finish! I had no idea how challenging it is to write one of these things.

We couldn't believe it either. We HAD to take the picture for evidence :rotfl:

WOW...Early Flight...Private Bus. :thumbsup2

ALL HAIL DON!!!
:worship:

HAHA! I was thinking about the RnR and was hearing Steven Tyler's voice giving me back-stage passes as I read your post! :lmao:

I'm finally getting caught up Don. Great stuff and keep it coming. Your daughter has such a beautiful smile. From one dad to another, nothing better than being wrapped around your daughters finger!

Thanks! And welcome to the TR, fellow DIS Dad :thumbsup2 It's amazing how we can fit around those little fingers, eh? HAHA! Nothing better!

[onelilspark]

Mickey calling your daughter is just too precious!

[Emma's Dad]

Mickey calling your daughter is just too precious!

I almost didn't schedule the call. But when she kept asking me to call Mickey all week it was a no-brainer. She really loved it and it was such a precious moment :hug:

[Disnewbie76]

I can't wait to see that sign and for my girls to see it too. :) They have never seen it in person yet. September can't get here fast enough! :banana:

[trennr]

HAHA! I was thinking about the RnR and was hearing Steven Tyler's voice giving me back-stage passes as I read your post! :lmao:

They must have heard you were like the President of the Dis Dad's Club. :goofy:

[LYNSUE]

We saw the loop and hook show (Velcro) at Innoventions on our trip in April In fact DH ended up partisipating in the show. It was the last game where two guys feed and diaper babies.

Here are two pictures (DH is closest to front)

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/gbpackfan9/DSCN0308.jpg

http://i416.photobucket.com/albums/pp242/gbpackfan9/DSCN0309.jpg

He tied with the other guy for the most babies diapered. They each got a sticker that says "Whats Your Problem" printed on a blue ribbon.

The show was great fun.

[Emma's Dad]

I can't wait to see that sign and for my girls to see it too. :) They have never seen it in person yet. September can't get here fast enough! :banana:

I'm soooo excited for you and your girls! If I could move time for you, I would :wizard:

They must have heard you were like the President of the Dis Dad's Club. :goofy:

HAHA! Does the DIS Dad's Club have a president? :rolleyes1

We saw the loop and hook show (Velcro) at Innoventions on our trip in April In fact DH ended up partisipating in the show. It was the last game where two guys feed and diaper babies.

He tied with the other guy for the most babies diapered. They each got a sticker that says "Whats Your Problem" printed on a blue ribbon.

The show was great fun.

That's awesome, LYNSUE :goodvibes Actually, since you bring it up, I suppose I should confess the title of this TR is based on the show you mention :yay: But you don't get any more details about why it's the title... yet :cool2:

[mla1977]

So far I'm loving your report. I'll have to go back and look at the pictures when I'm on my home computer.

ETA: You got my 2000th post! pixiedust: to you!

[Emma's Dad]

So far I'm loving your report. I'll have to go back and look at the pictures when I'm on my home computer.

ETA: You got my 2000th post! pixiedust: to you!

WOW! I feel totally honored :worship: Congratulations on your 2000th post! :woohoo:

[porknbeans]

Great TR. I know they are time consuming but we're lovin' the effort. Keep up the good work.

[Emma's Dad]

Great TR. I know they are time consuming but we're lovin' the effort. Keep up the good work.

I'm really glad you are enjoying the TR. I'm not sure how other people get their TR's updated so frequently. Should have the next installment out by tomorrow morning. Thanks for hanging in there :thumbsup2

[heaven2dc]

Hello fellow Virginian!! Enjoying your report so far - your daughter is so adorable (I'm a redhead too altho right now it's more mixed blonde/red/grey :rotfl:)

Sure wish a magic fairy could have whisked your laptop bag to you :wizard: I can only imagine that feeling you had when you realized you didn't have it with you.

Can't wait to hear how you liked the CSR. My DS31 wants to stay there our next visit for a couple days (we are BWV die-hard fans and even with all the great deals Disney offers, we still save more $$ by renting points and getting a Boardwalk view).

Sounds like your trip is off to a magical start (how sweet of you to have Mickey say hello to your daughter :love:)!

[coffeehousemom]

Hey Emmasdad!! I followed you over from Carrisa's trippie. I am the fellow '72 baby. Great start far what a cute little peanut you have. Love the hair. Can't wait for more.

[Emma's Dad]

Hello fellow Virginian!! Enjoying your report so far - your daughter is so adorable (I'm a redhead too altho right now it's more mixed blonde/red/grey :rotfl:)

Sure wish a magic fairy could have whisked your laptop bag to you :wizard: I can only imagine that feeling you had when you realized you didn't have it with you.

Can't wait to hear how you liked the CSR. My DS31 wants to stay there our next visit for a couple days (we are BWV die-hard fans and even with all the great deals Disney offers, we still save more $$ by renting points and getting a Boardwalk view).

Sounds like your trip is off to a magical start (how sweet of you to have Mickey say hello to your daughter :love:)!

Welcome, heaven2dc! :welcome:
Thank you for the compliment :hug: I haven't quite made it to day 2 yet... but Minnie Mouse really liked her hair, too :goodvibes

That sinking feeling should never be allowed... it was awful. I'm really glad I left it in the van rather than somewhere in the airport :scared1:

Without giving away too much... we all liked CSR :thumbsup2

Mickey had fun making the call :rotfl:

Hey Emmasdad!! I followed you over from Carrisa's trippie. I am the fellow '72 baby. Great start far what a cute little peanut you have. Love the hair. Can't wait for more.

coffeehousemom! Welcome to you, too :welcome:
'72 was a good year, wasn't it? I mean, Atari came out with the game "Pong" that year! ;)
I aspire to gain the notoriety and following that Carissa has achieved with her trip reports. She keeps me wanting to hear more.
DD is the best and I keep close tabs on her cuteness at all times. Thank you for the compliment :)

[Emma's Dad]

April 28, 2009

We thank Jason for the personal, magical service he provided for us as he was retrieving our luggage from the bus. We made sure to tip him well since we were his only patrons on this particular trip. We then say goodbye and head for CSR's lobby.

At this time, I am going to refer you back to the SPREADSHEET and the conversations DW and I took part in while trying to figure out which resort we were going to stay at. I originally was trying to push for a stay at the Poly. I figured if Disney was offering 7 days for the price of 4, we might as well get our money's worth! And this would be one of the few times we could actually afford a stay at one of the deluxe resorts... AND... there were actually rooms available at the Poly for the promo. Well... to make the story short, DW did not want to unnecessarily spend the extra $ on a deluxe for this trip. Instead, she wanted to try a moderate resort. After showing DW the many pictures and reviews for the resorts, we (I mean, she) ultimately decided on CSR. DW just HAD to lay in one of the hammocks on the beach :beach:

OK... so... the resort was chosen and reservations were made in March. We requested to have a room in either Cabanas 8A or 8B, as these two buildings are closest to the Dig Site and to the luxurious hammocks DW is now drooling over. I had also faxed the same request to the resort 3 days prior to arrival. I opted not to use the online check-in process because I knew I was going to ultimately talk to a CM anyway to make sure we got a room in the Cabanas section. Not sure what kind of sweet-talk I would have used if we didn't get the Cabanas, but I was willing to try anything :flower3:

Hey! There's no one in line... again! :woohoo: Is this a sign of things to come when we visit the parks? Hmmmmm... wouldn't that be great?

"Welcome to Coronado Springs Resort!" we hear, as we are greeted by our first official CM (Sorry, Ryan... you didn't count... you work for Mears). By now I must have looked like a big, goofy kid on Christmas morning with a smile going from ear-to-ear cause I just can't contain myself anymore! The lobby is immaculate and spacious and just plain WOW! (Sorry... again no pictures... too excited to find out where we are going to be sleeping the next 7 nights) So we get our Keys To The World and find out we are staying in building......... Cabanas 8A! :dance3: Room 8123... which is a room on the first floor very close to the target hammock my DW fell in love with. I was ready to lean over the counter and give the CM a kiss. OK... not really... but I was ecstatic that we got what we requested.

After check-in we head straight for our room. It's about a 5-7 minute walk from El Centro and there are two ways to get to 8A... either across the bridge, or along the sandy shore. Both ways are about the same distance, although DW says it's shorter to go by the hammocks. I think she just liked to see the sand and hammocks! Since we weren't sure exactly where in building 8A we would find room 8123, we (me :rolleyes:) decided to take the bridge route. The landscaping is truly magnificent... as most Disney property usually are. But it was really nice to see everything blooming and swaying in the cool spring air. By now we are going on 10:00 AM (or thereabouts) and it was still in the mid 70's. Just right for a stroll with luggage in tow!

Hello, renovated, queen-size beds havin', room 8123! :lovestruc This will do just fine!

Room with bathroom area doors closed:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3tS_6rAI/AAAAAAAACYk/m9D2pd1jRY8/s800/DSC02166.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jLlKAzBvdrYEBwwLMNSzEQ?feat=embedwebsite)


Room with doors open:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3vvE8VFI/AAAAAAAACYo/LzZ4A40b7t8/s800/DSC02167.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jt0kg2sfjQHBrxn7Z5DJIQ?feat=embedwebsite)

Beds:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3v8-8jyI/AAAAAAAACYs/Vo05B-WVw4w/s800/DSC02170.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZYMlKharrGDfCqtCUIBAzA?feat=embedwebsite)

Desk/dresser area:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3v8ePi0I/AAAAAAAACYw/qQUx42QsPrU/s800/DSC02171.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HgyAQrh59zcuvIBNoE1Y7A?feat=embedwebsite)


We are all very happy with the room and the location. I'm surprised the room was not considered a water view room since we were just a few steps from the "beach"... although technically you could not see the water from inside the room. Here is the view from the door of the room:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3wD41-pI/AAAAAAAACY0/42g44OwZR_c/s800/DSC02174.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/J4lSus_JvIj1f9I9a4jD-A?feat=embedwebsite)

DW unpacked just a few items and decided to leave the rest of the unpacking for later in the day. DD and I got out one of her many pre-trip presents and prepared to use it. This particular present consisted of window cling stickers... a very smart idea I learned from this awesome DIS Board! Makes it very easy to figure out which room is yours! Dollar Tree has several different Disney themed sheets of stickers, including the ones we bought - Tinkerbell (must have), Mickey & Friends, and the princesses. While DW was unpacking and organizing, DD and I were busy putting up the stickers. Again... 643 pictures taken and not a single picture of the stickers in action. Sorry guys! As you can see, I was not really planning on a true TR for the boards. I'll do better next time :thumbsup2

We have plans to head to DHS first thing, but we wanted to get to know our immediate surroundings at the resort before we left for DHS. First stop: THE HAMMOCK! Here is the "official" video of the "beach" area and the hammock DW claimed as her own. The title of this installment is based on this video:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1giHq3ULI/AAAAAAAACaQ/e-CCNDBrFxk/s800/MOV02176.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cnFvjtvV2qQzFDFou7PUyg?feat=embedwebsite)

View of Lago Dorado from the same area:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3ybdl-nI/AAAAAAAACZk/HQ0el9eu3zI/s800/DSC02175.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Jyi4xJVH97OO6YjjIEkmtw?feat=embedwebsite)

OK... DW's favorite location out of the way. Now it's time for DD to go see her favorite spot... the pool! If you are interested in staying at CSR and be close to the Dig Site, I highly suggest Cabanas 8A. Don't be worried about noise from the Dig Site. It's a great setup and no noise gets over to 8A. Anyway... on our way over to the Dig Site, DW just HAD to take this picture:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3wTOqaEI/AAAAAAAACY4/Jmnyu7fvGfE/s800/DSC02178.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iBKS84389HjCgJvyQjLq9Q?feat=embedwebsite)

That pictures shows the backpack I mentioned in Day 1, part 1. DW found it amusing that DD had stuffed Bunny into the side of the backpack for quick access while manly Dad carried him around. That's fine... I'm secure in my manhood :cool2: It was decided before we left for the trip that Bunny would be used in case of a "scare" emergency (security blanket). He pretty much stayed in the backpack for most of the vacation and he was very thankful he did not have to do all the walking (LOL). This backpack was purchased for our Disney trip last year and I found it to be the perfect bag for what we needed everywhere we went. Typically it carries: Itinerary, vouchers, sunscreen, extra camera batteries/memory card, snacks, water bottle, light jacket/sweater (for DW and DD for the cold bus rides), hat, and anything else we picked up along the way. Basically, I was the packmule and it would not be a good thing to lose the bag.

Entrance to the Dig Site (look for the hands rails):

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3wsXaarI/AAAAAAAACY8/oRyELbSfLQs/s800/DSC02179.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bZZAegB-toLWhl7kMJ7j5w?feat=embedwebsite)

And here is the video of the first view of the pool area (notice the lack of people :) ):

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1gt1XQbVI/AAAAAAAACaY/pSn4buQYhnM/s800/MOV02181.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4oRfMfaiK9sMJmtwghDJzA?feat=embedwebsite)

Empty pool (This is at 10:45 AM):

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3yja8ttI/AAAAAAAACZs/-XaiIKjh3As/s800/DSC02182.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oizqCuLF1jPFNs9O8pz0uA?feat=embedwebsite)

Now that we know where the hammock and pool are... Let's go find our bus stop! We realize after checking the map we are very close to Bus Stop 4... we head down the walkway and wait patiently for the next ride.

Bus Stop 4 sign:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3wt0UMJI/AAAAAAAACZA/qL61dmC_BsU/s800/DSC02184.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NSWtBn1FWbi45uKSH00AQA?feat=embedwebsite)

DD at Bus Stop 4:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3wyH6VBI/AAAAAAAACZE/Du2SxUeeUkU/s800/DSC02185.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8Ad2x5qRkJmciJ05c0xeTQ?feat=embedwebsite)

View from Bus Stop 4:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3xDxAf4I/AAAAAAAACZI/CqMt9r203G8/s800/DSC02186.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mIMcwepmlTfxw3aDnhU9RA?feat=embedwebsite)

Next up:

Day 1, Part 4: "I'm never doing ToT ever again!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31862701&postcount=51)

[Disnewbie76]

very nice! :D

[addictedtothemouse]

Great update. Those hammocks are a slice of heaven.:lmao:

[porknbeans]

Love the videos! Your wife's reaction to the hammock was almost exactly the same as my wifes. :lmao:

What a great room at a great location on the property. I bet Emma had a ball decorating the windows.

[Emma's Dad]

very nice! :D

Thanks :goodvibes

Great update. Those hammocks are a slice of heaven.:lmao:

Except when some guests decide to go straight from the pool to the hammock and get it soaking wet! :laughing: This only happened once...

Love the videos! Your wife's reaction to the hammock was almost exactly the same as my wifes. :lmao:

What a great room at a great location on the property. I bet Emma had a ball decorating the windows.

I would definitely say we had a great location! This spot will be on our next request when we stay at CSR again :thumbsup2

She surely did! There were at least 40 stickers on the window :rotfl:

[heaven2dc]

Your room was absolutely beautiful! I loved that room over the others I've seen pics of at CSR :love: I definitely will have to show my son these pics - we are planning a trip in March 2010 and will be renting points for a 2-bedroom at the BWV w/boardwalk view but we need another room and he wants to stay at CSR. I tried to tell him for the price of CSR we can get a studio at BWV but he definitely is hooked on CSR. Can't wait to show him these room pics!

[momtoBrandon&Jacob]

I am so in! Great TR so far and looking forward to more. I just love it when the hubbys do the reports for some reason...;)

[Emma's Dad]

Your room was absolutely beautiful! I loved that room over the others I've seen pics of at CSR :love: I definitely will have to show my son these pics - we are planning a trip in March 2010 and will be renting points for a 2-bedroom at the BWV w/boardwalk view but we need another room and he wants to stay at CSR. I tried to tell him for the price of CSR we can get a studio at BWV but he definitely is hooked on CSR. Can't wait to show him these room pics!

I am sooooo glad you liked the pictures! Truly, though, the pictures still don't do the room justice. The space and the queen beds are fantastic.

I am so in! Great TR so far and looking forward to more. I just love it when the hubbys do the reports for some reason...;)

:welcome: momtoBrandon&Jacob! Thank you :hug: Sometimes you just need to have the guy's perspective :thumbsup2

[wild4dis]

This is the point where I just happen to mention to DW that we could have used the yellow stickers to have ME take our luggage straight to the resort. Let's pause here for a moment. I should take this time to admit that I don't always think through what I am saying at the time I'm saying it. If only I had a Twix bar for these situations. Anyway... DW is not very happy about this sudden revelation.


:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:
I'm still laughing..I feel like I have been in that same spot and had the same look you were probably getting from DW

Also that pic of the WDW welcome archway:cool1:....
With all the great things to look forward to at WDW, our family cant wait to see that each time, its the "official" start to vac. We get the camera out in the rental car garage and DW is at the ready the whole trip down the highway...we dont want to miss getting our 100th copy of that photo you know:laughing::laughing:

Keep up the TR, cant wait to hear about DD getting to meet MM this time and I'm sure talk about the phone calls !!

[Emma's Dad]

:rotfl2::rotfl2::rotfl2:
I'm still laughing..I feel like I have been in that same spot and had the same look you were probably getting from DW

Also that pic of the WDW welcome archway:cool1:....
With all the great things to look forward to at WDW, our family cant wait to see that each time, its the "official" start to vac. We get the camera out in the rental car garage and DW is at the ready the whole trip down the highway...we dont want to miss getting our 100th copy of that photo you know:laughing::laughing:

Keep up the TR, cant wait to hear about DD getting to meet MM this time and I'm sure talk about the phone calls !!

It's nice to know I'm not alone in my thinking :goodvibes I wonder how many other dad's have had the same look? HAHA!

I don't think you could ever take too many pictures of the arch. Keep going back!

Next installment should be ready tomorrow. Just finishing up day 1... wow.

[Emma's Dad]

April 28, 2009

We wait about 10 minutes for the bus to DHS and hop on. There are only a handful of people on the bus and we quickly find our seats. We get about half way to Bus Stop 1 and DW looks at me and says, "Where is the backpack??". Uh oh. I thought I had it right here... on the floor. Nope! I left the backpack at the bus stop! This is not good. Fortunately, it's only about a 5 minute ride to Bus Stop 1 (El Centro), so I quickly get off and start running to Bus Stop 4. As lady lucky would have it, there are none of those fancy golf carts in view on my way to the bus stop or I would have flagged it down for an emergency ride. I huff and I puff all the way to the bus stop. About 5 minutes later, I arrive at the bus stop to find a family of four going through my bag! At this point I'm not sure what to think... I'm half torn between being completely thankful for the bag still being there and being violated that someone was going through my stuff. As I approach the man now holding my bag open, he begins to say something... but he is foreign. What I heard was "No name, no nothing." I didn't really care what he was saying at that point... I just wanted my bag back. I immediately explain that it's my bag and I left it on the seat by accident... gave him a smile and a thank you and he offered up the bag. It happened so fast and I was so embarrassed that I'm not even sure I looked at his face :confused3. I didn't even think to give him a hand-shake, reward, or anything. Looking back, I really didn't handle the situation well, but I was happy I had the backpack in hand. And it occurred to me that he was looking for some form of identification so he could return the bag to it's owner. I have since included that information in the bag! Well... I quickly taking inventory as I began hoofing it back to Bus Stop 1... all seems in order... WHEW! Another great job, Don :sad2:

This is supposed to be a vacation, not a test of my cardiovascular system! :rotfl: Once I get back to Bus Stop 1, DW is relieved to see the bag on my back. We board the next bus to DHS 10 minutes later and look forward to putting the events of the morning behind us.

I should remind everyone of the strict orders for me to plan a more relaxing, enjoyable trip. That meant I was not permitted to map out our days at each of the theme parks.... ONLY which park on which day. We were going to "wing-it" at the parks (OK... yes, I hear you screaming... NOOOOOOOOOOO! :scared1: It will be ok... deep breath... in through nose... out through mouth).

First thing we do when we get to DHS is grab some lunch. Since we bought the Quick Service Dining Plan (QSDP) we needed to find a counter service restaurant that would meet our needs. I had always wanted to try Pizza Planet (I'm a Toy Story fan) but had read not-so-good reviews of the place. We were all so hungry we decided to give it a try anyway. DISCLAIMER: I did not plan to write this TR until after the trip was over. There will be no pictures of food. Please accept my apology for those of you who were looking for food porn... you won't find it here :(
Pizza Planet was OK. I ordered the sausage and pepperoni pizza, DW had a salad, and DD had a cheese pizza. Not the best pizza I've had, but it was OK and it stopped the tummy from yelling at me. We ate outside... away from the craziness of the arcade inside... and it was nice out! I'd eat there again. Here are a few pics outside the restaurant:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3x-Ob8WI/AAAAAAAACZY/0_Zu9tvp408/s800/DSC02190.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/_eUJNQnZOD2nN_KBRBr-Jw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3xQf8pnI/AAAAAAAACZM/2Zj4XPjyqlM/s800/DSC02187.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DWqMOkjZDEnjQWlmFJFppw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3xWQC3_I/AAAAAAAACZQ/vdB7VI2xQ9A/s800/DSC02188.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/m9uvHUJi4YXBjW32hp3C6Q?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3xjZJkLI/AAAAAAAACZU/aC_nbWKHz-A/s800/DSC02189.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AyBErbNkLynMpph1l8EfaQ?feat=embedwebsite)

Now that our bellies are full, we start our trek across the park towards ToT and RnR. We stop along the way for a few photo ops:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3yIaoLMI/AAAAAAAACZc/a-Q0vUHGar4/s800/DSC02208.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-4xRQbCg-C_HkpXSnzYW6w?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3ydpBTAI/AAAAAAAACZg/zUOfy2UzeJ4/s800/DSC02210.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DA0-pnjgrLs15ZsNwSGoYA?feat=embedwebsite)

DD has been looking forward to DHS ever since we decided we were coming back this year. During our visit in 2008 we were able to successfully talk DD into riding TOT. Unfortunately, this ride scared the wits out of her... she was fine until the vertical drops in the dark... where she cried her eyes out until it stopped. I felt horrible. I thought she'd be scarred for life. BUT... my DD is a trooper and I think time had worn away some of the memories because this was the ride she really wanted to do again. She wanted to conquer her fears I think.

We go over to RnR and grab fast passes, then head over to ToT standby line that currently shows 10 minute wait. Yeah... you heard me. And if it weren't for the pre-show, we would have walked right onto the ride. Actually, as we were getting into the room for the pre-show, I overheard a few teenage boys commenting on how much it sucked that they had to wait through the preshow! HAHA! We walk right onto a car from the preshow and get strapped in. DD is doing good so far. We get through the hallway and we get to the part where the doors open (the doors with the vertical lights.. the LAST doors)... DD is starting to get scared again. Then we DROP! Woohoo! DD is frozen as if she just saw a ghost. She is not screaming or crying... just frozen. I could tell she was thinking "What have I done!". For me, this was the best ride I've ever had on ToT... we must have gone up and down about 7 times! DD was not liking it, though. We get off the ride and DD says, "I'm NEVER riding that ride again!" Poor thing... I give her A+ for effort and I just know she'll want to do it again on day. She's a daddy's girl and Daddy likes ToT!

From ToT, we head back over to RnR. We get through the standby line in 10 minutes. This is a great day for DHS! Actually, according to TP's crowd calculator, this day was going to be a "5", which would be the lowest number for the rest of the week (Except for day 2, which was also a "5"). The rest of the week was indicated as an "8". Anyway... DD LOVED RnR. We returned later at our FP time and rode it again that day. We also checked out the Lights! Motor! Action! stunt show that afternoon. DD really liked the show...and this was my first time seeing it. I LOVED it! I am definitely going to see it again. I won't bore you with these pictures.

About 3:00 PM we head back to the resort to allow DD to get acquainted with the pool. We make a quick stop at El Centro to pick up morning snacks and milk. Here's another photo op with DD:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3y3amgRI/AAAAAAAACZw/Rgf5gYMBSbU/s800/DSC02213.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/FCmxAv7j5aXCAzC3DLmMYg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3zCN_qeI/AAAAAAAACZ4/MbV0mNvbWgo/s800/DSC02214.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/S0yrLmRqe1sZQ4uuV9z3EA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sgy3yzts3OI/AAAAAAAACZ0/oH7JlYUN3Gg/s800/DSC02215.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YnJKmNPc***71WxBeg-UAg?feat=embedwebsite)

We head back to the room where DD and I get into out swim gear and DW heads for "her" hammock. We are now each in our own "little slice of heaven"! :cloud9: After swimming, we eat at the Pepper Market, then headed back to the pool until bed time (DD and I). DW spent the evening unpacking and enjoying the hammock and cool night breeze. It was a beautiful ending to our first day at Disney World!

Next Up: Day 2, Part 1: EPCOT! Character Spot (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31911260&postcount=64)

[nutz2notz]

All caught up with your report. Looking forward to more. :thumbsup2

[Wherem I Now]

Checking in! Great TR so far Don. Looks like you guys did a great job of taking the good with the scary. Two bags lost on the first day?!?! That definitely sounds like us.:sad2: Glad that you found both of them quickly. Looking forward to more.

[addictedtothemouse]

April 28, 2009
DD has been looking forward to DHS ever since we decided we were coming back this year. During our visit in 2008 we were able to successfully talk DD into riding TOT. Unfortunately, this ride scared the wits out of her... she was fine until the vertical drops in the dark... where she cried her eyes out until it stopped. I felt horrible. I thought she'd be scarred for life. BUT... my DD is a trooper and I think time had worn away some of the memories because this was the ride she really wanted to do again. She wanted to conquer her fears I think.

We go over to RnR and grab fast passes, then head over to ToT standby line that currently shows 10 minute wait. Yeah... you heard me. And if it weren't for the pre-show, we would have walked right onto the ride. Actually, as we were getting into the room for the pre-show, I overheard a few teenage boys commenting on how much it sucked that they had to wait through the preshow! HAHA! We walk right onto a car from the preshow and get strapped in. DD is doing good so far. We get through the hallway and we get to the part where the doors open (the doors with the vertical lights.. the LAST doors)... DD is starting to get scared again. Then we DROP! Woohoo! DD is frozen as if she just saw a ghost. She is not screaming or crying... just frozen. I could tell she was thinking "What have I done!". For me, this was the best ride I've ever had on ToT... we must have gone up and down about 7 times! DD was not liking it, though. We get off the ride and DD says, "I'm NEVER riding that ride again!" Poor thing... I give her A+ for effort and I just know she'll want to do it again on day. She's a daddy's girl and Daddy likes ToT!
:lmao: Poor baby!

[trennr]

April 28, 2009
...then we DROP! Woohoo! DD is frozen as if she just saw a ghost. She is not screaming or crying... just frozen. I could tell she was thinking "What have I done!". For me, this was the best ride I've ever had on ToT... we must have gone up and down about 7 times! DD was not liking it, though. We get off the ride and DD says, "I'm NEVER riding that ride again!" Poor thing... I give her A+ for effort...

This sounds like my DS14...who was DS12 at the time. :scared1:
DW didn't care too much for ToT either.
DS9 is pretty much fearless. He'll ride anything with a :woohoo:

Great TR so far...keep'em comin'.

[dvczerfs]

hay, great trip report!! love the movies!! ill have to drive down to vir. beach and you can do a tr for me!!:lmao: cant wait for more.

[scottny]

Hi,
Just foudn your tr and it is a great read.

The pics look great also, what kind of camera do you use?

Glad you liked CSR, me and partner were there in December and just did not enjoy it, it is not owned by Disney and one hte CM's made sure I knew it. :mad: but it was a really gorgeous resort.

Can't wait to here the rest.

[Emma's Dad]

All caught up with your report. Looking forward to more. :thumbsup2

Still working on the next installment :thumbsup2 Life got busy this week!

Checking in! Great TR so far Don. Looks like you guys did a great job of taking the good with the scary. Two bags lost on the first day?!?! That definitely sounds like us.:sad2: Glad that you found both of them quickly. Looking forward to more.

I am certainly glad we found them, too! Would not have been such a magical trip if either would have been a total loss.

:lmao: Poor baby!

She definitely needed one of these... :hug:

This sounds like my DS14...who was DS12 at the time. :scared1:
DW didn't care too much for ToT either.
DS9 is pretty much fearless. He'll ride anything with a :woohoo:

Great TR so far...keep'em comin'.

I think by the time DD turns 12 she'll be ready for any rides. She's already asking me when she will be tall enough to ride the Griffon (http://www.buschgardens.com/Bgw2/Explore/Rides.aspx?id=495) roller coaster at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. I even said I would wait until she is tall enough before I ride it for the first time.

hay, great trip report!! love the movies!! ill have to drive down to vir. beach and you can do a tr for me!!:lmao: cant wait for more.

:lmao: Come on down! You can enjoy the beach while I'm typing away at the keyboard... :rotfl:

Hi,
Just foudn your tr and it is a great read.

The pics look great also, what kind of camera do you use?

Glad you liked CSR, me and partner were there in December and just did not enjoy it, it is not owned by Disney and one hte CM's made sure I knew it. :mad: but it was a really gorgeous resort.

Can't wait to here the rest.

I used a Sony Cybershot W55 camera for all the pictures. It's been a good little camera for our trips... bought it last year right before our trip to the World. I really like how it takes a mere 2 seconds for it to be ready for a shot and it takes 640x480 videos, too. No more lugging around the video camera just to get some video clips. I think I'll be looking to upgrade the camera for the next trip. Still not sure what I would get, but the new Cybershots are pretty cool, too.

Sorry to hear the CM acted that way (can you call them a CM if they aren't on Disney property :rotfl2:). We didn't have any issues with the CM's while we were there, and they provided awesome service for us. I was very happy with the resort.

[Gabes_mommy]

What a great report! :goodvibes

Your DD is so cute and your pictures of CSR are making me want to book a stay there ASAP. :laughing:

Keep it coming! :)

[Emma's Dad]

What a great report! :goodvibes

Your DD is so cute and your pictures of CSR are making me want to book a stay there ASAP. :laughing:

Keep it coming! :)

:welcome:, Gabes_mommy!

Thank you for taking the time to read along. This was our first time staying at a moderate Disney resort, and we just loved it. DW has requested we try CBR next time (Since they also have hammocks :goodvibes).

I'm still writing! I hope to have the next installment by the weekend. I'm such a S-L-O-W writer! :scratchin

[heaven2dc]

Don't you just love those low crowd days esp at HS?!! I seriously am considering rethinking our planned trip for March to reschedule it to the first week in May.

That fountain at CS is beautiful. You definitely are convincing my son to stay there now!

[carissanboys]

Okay Don! I'm all caught up! :cool1:

Your room was gorgeous! It may only be a moderate but it looks so elegant. :goodvibes

Thank goodness your backpack was still there. :thumbsup2

Your daughter is definitely a trooper for going back on ToT - I won't even do it once. :rolleyes1

Sounds like a great first day!

[Emma's Dad]

Don't you just love those low crowd days esp at HS?!! I seriously am considering rethinking our planned trip for March to reschedule it to the first week in May.

That fountain at CS is beautiful. You definitely are convincing my son to stay there now!

I have to be honest here... I am spoiled with the low crowds! Last year we went the exact same week and had nearly the identical weather and crowds. maybe we'll try again next year?? :rolleyes1 I believe your son will have a GREAT time if he tries it out :thumbsup2

Okay Don! I'm all caught up! :cool1:

Your room was gorgeous! It may only be a moderate but it looks so elegant. :goodvibes

Thank goodness your backpack was still there. :thumbsup2

Your daughter is definitely a trooper for going back on ToT - I won't even do it once. :rolleyes1

Sounds like a great first day!

"It may only be a moderate but it looks so elegant." - you are soooo right! With the exception of covered walkways, I would think this IS a deluxe resort :goodvibes

You don't know just how HARD my heart was pounding as I was running to go get it. I thank God it was there!

LOL... I'll have to tell her that tonight. "Hey, Honey... did you know you're braver than Carissa?" :rotfl2::lmao:

It was indeed a magical day! :wizard:

[Emma's Dad]

April 29, 2009

Day two of our vacation begins around 7:00 AM as sunlight begins to peek around the top of the window curtains. The queen-size beds alone are enough to bring me back to CSR! DW and I are used to our king size bed at home and let's just say DW likes to use much of that king size real estate. How my 5'7" wife can take up so much room is beyond me. We had no problems cohabitating in the same bed this time. Pop Century last year was a different story. I'm surprised we escaped last year black-eye free!

So we get showered up and head over to El Centro to get some breakfast at the Pepper Market. We decided beforehand to use our two quick service meals for lunch and dinner, so breakfast was out-of-pocket. Here we are for our first Pepper Market experience:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u54EAczI/AAAAAAAACaw/G_DG5oX_L-c/s800/DSC02216.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KFeXTbmt4AJiS_AcHkBoNg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u6CLs5WI/AAAAAAAACa0/r2tcOSBrW9Q/s800/DSC02217.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/O0LZ2oz07KxW4Mu2TvAl2w?feat=embedwebsite)

And here is our first server (she was a sweatheart and took good care of us):

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u6Fp3bxI/AAAAAAAACa4/46zQYjPJkEE/s800/DSC02218.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LuA6RzjcAcBkEQGIM_C2Kw?feat=embedwebsite)

We found the ordering process was different, but not too confusing. You get a "ticket" that you take with you to whichever station you want to get food from. Once you order your food from the station attendant, they stamp the ticket with what you ordered. When you are all done, you take your ticket(s) to the cashier and pay for the items that were previously stamped on the ticket. Drinks are handled by your "server". This "server" is the weird part of the whole quick-service dining part for the Pepper Market. You might as well say this is table service except you have to go get your own food. Although normally you don't tip for a quick service meal, we ended up giving $2-3 tip each meal for our "server". And the Pepper Market is a bit more expensive. Most of the entrees where at least $10 just for the food. That didn't include the drinks.

OK... breakfast over and done with... we head to bus stop 1 and wait for the EPCOT bus. It's about 9:00 AM at this time. A few more photos while we are waiting:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u6QPC69I/AAAAAAAACa8/B8fmnBRYeOo/s800/DSC02221.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8zh39rKWcZ7waJlaPTpXKg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u6btRpKI/AAAAAAAACbA/-PkiLkeUmQY/s800/DSC02223.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/S5nYr44K27o2ZMd43FdE1Q?feat=embedwebsite)

This is DD with her fan we brought from home. This is used later in the TR for a special moment :)
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u6orETYI/AAAAAAAACbE/kl398zt_444/s800/DSC02224.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/v_ADJqYwZwX4fNSOL71d3Q?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u6tnqaCI/AAAAAAAACbI/RKDhA9Xv7bo/s800/DSC02225.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Gd162ECvg0CiqKXQKdR45A?feat=embedwebsite)

Twenty minutes later... EPCOT!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u662BWXI/AAAAAAAACbM/xw3QssztKG0/s800/DSC02226.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vCpGonXnejmBb6HfYJAaDg?feat=embedwebsite)

Here are some pictures of the topiaries they had out front:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u7fK2oRI/AAAAAAAACbY/bnICeRSG0c8/s800/DSC02229.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hdnBtAMv0gp5dDpoujvVZw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u7TjgPvI/AAAAAAAACbc/WCWwDacnL-c/s800/DSC02230.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PetzrKDWim_peqWbOhn8ZQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u7hSoyoI/AAAAAAAACbg/OMEhM-jGDDI/s800/DSC02231.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WZpPabPJz2IabjOyoK8DZw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u8XKwDFI/AAAAAAAACb0/ydauRp82ylY/s800/DSC02235.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/H3U32dR7YvpB4q4srJhxGA?feat=embedwebsite)

And here is me and DD in front of another topiary:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u86rgQ3I/AAAAAAAACcE/yho_J5eGhcs/s800/DSC02239.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/kzmV9q39vTfgba6tX0w7xw?feat=embedwebsite)

If you have never been to EPCOT during the Flower and Garden Festival, I would highly recommend it some time. We have been there the past two years at the same time and I just can't imagine seeing EPCOT without all the beautiful topiaries and extra things they do. It really makes it magical!

Having no "specific" plans (remember... RELAXING vacation) we make our way over to The Land. DW and DD hang out where the below picture is taken while I take their KTTWs and get FPs for Soarin'.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u9nyBR9I/AAAAAAAACcY/pDXvV4SPF9Y/s800/DSC02244.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OSxzqMf5tGPoaad5R_tLSA?feat=embedwebsite)

With FPs in hand and a return time of 12:00-1:00, we make our way towards Mission Space. First, we make a pit stop at Character Spot. Last year we chose not to do Character Spot because the line was out the door! When we were walking passed it this time, there were about 30 people in line... TOTALLY do-able! And we are GLAD we did! DD had a blast meeting all the characters. I actually tried something different this year... any time DD was going to meet a character, I would take a video of her walking up and getting the autograph. Once the character was done with the autograph, I would switch over and take the still photos. This is awesome! The ONLY character I forgot to do this with is Mickey! Can you believe it?? Anyway, here are the pics from the meets:

Mickey! (Sorry, no video!)
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1u9wwOntI/AAAAAAAACcg/BT5nadGp5iE/s800/DSC02246.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uRsFReZAR5sdlT5Z7GeTvw?feat=embedwebsite)

Pluto!
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vEh6tdVI/AAAAAAAACc4/dY83fTSdYmk/s288/MOV02251.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/DscJ3ReEqsyNNX0GmuIDog?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vEx_vUdI/AAAAAAAACdE/WjKcsHFvSZE/s800/DSC02253.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/TgLoPyU-rh9XFKh0KcNukg?feat=embedwebsite)

Minnie Mouse!
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vJTZMAcI/AAAAAAAACdI/N9ZlIoKH2RU/s288/MOV02254.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iZtlb2mmrQ2516xeknCmQA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vJzWjvnI/AAAAAAAACdY/fIK6-qT5zw0/s800/DSC02257.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PvY6B9CgF4qmOWtE77RzSQ?feat=embedwebsite)

Donald Duck!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vNcJ524I/AAAAAAAACdc/HAWvk9cYgj8/s288/MOV02258.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OPzehcifbloXleBc9w-yKw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vNwzVv_I/AAAAAAAACds/boGkr53iHvM/s800/DSC02261.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/a3KG0vv5mq2ndT0cLNdLsw?feat=embedwebsite)

Goofy!
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vQhT0CJI/AAAAAAAACd0/zlGw4EU-H-M/s288/MOV02263.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/7Qgmzt7XyptslMCyB99h1A?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vQ7Q8azI/AAAAAAAACeA/NCTk3dc8qS0/s800/DSC02265.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/F75rKgAjYG4qvXjkBkXRHw?feat=embedwebsite)

And I had to get in the action with Goofy!
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vRKuko3I/AAAAAAAACeE/2DyoyrJ-_I8/s800/DSC02266.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2Dr-a8VWjPWYYzHe4uwn7Q?feat=embedwebsite)

Next up:

Day 2, Part 2: EPCOT - "Old guys rule!" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31938572&postcount=67)

[porknbeans]

I'm having a hard time figuring out who has the bigger smile Emma or dad!

[Emma's Dad]

I'm having a hard time figuring out who has the bigger smile Emma or dad!

:goofy: This was Goofy! I HAD to have a big smile! :cool1:

[Emma's Dad]

April 29, 2009

From Character Spot we head over to Mission Space. I can't help but notice just how beautiful the weather was. Just enough clouds to keep you in the shade for a few moments, and then when the sun was shining through it seemed to be a brighter, cleaner light. I'm not sure how to describe it... just a very white light. OK... maybe it's just because I was in the World and things always seem to be better there :) Who knows! But on our way we find another photo op... my flower girl! :goodvibes

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vRgAvHGI/AAAAAAAACeY/9zF18FljFVw/s800/DSC02271.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/iPqODLMnMiXVNz2dE4Ww3A?feat=embedwebsite)

And we arrive at Mission Space (Caught one of those Segway dudes running around - far right on pic):

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vR2KFcnI/AAAAAAAACeg/ECKF5-Hfb3I/s800/DSC02274.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4V9kYP0_0T3HlhRVmL7gUQ?feat=embedwebsite)

This is actually everyone's first time riding this ride. Can't remember exactly why we didn't do it last year... maybe it was down for some reason. Anyway... we head for the entrance and then I ask the question... "Orange or green?". Everyone was feeling brave, so we grabbed our Orange team card and get in line... or should I say NO line. We walk up and get our seat assignments. DD is Engineer, DW is Navigator, and I am the pilot :thumbsup2 As we were waiting for our turn to enter the ride, DD is getting nervous. She's second-guessing the Orange situation. I reassure her there are no drops (still got ToT knots in her tummy), and that we just HAVE to ride this! Just kidding... I told her she could go Green team if she really wanted to. Again, being the trooper she is, she decides to stay Orange and gets on board. Gotta say... that's one COOL ride! I wanted to do it again! But DW and DD both agreed that while the ride was fun... it wasn't THAT fun! :rotfl:

Since we were right there, Test Track was next.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vSEpJkTI/AAAAAAAACek/49oxC96YYYQ/s800/DSC02275.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/wZqNUyc1sg3_K72d0IfptA?feat=embedwebsite)

Another first time ride for everyone! I know this one was down last year... it was the one ride I was looking forward to! I like cars... fast cars... and I've been curious to see how this ride played out. For the first time since we arrived, we had a wait. Since we still held our FP for Soarin' we had to go through the standby line. The sign said 30 minutes and I think it was pretty close to that. The queue area is pretty cool... though a little loud and annoying at times when the line is not moving. But I enjoyed seeing the crashed stuff. The ride itself was pretty cool. DD was saying afterward that I drive crazier and faster than that ride! :rotfl2: She said she liked the ride... but we didn't have much time to ride again as our FP time was coming up for Soarin'. As we were heading out of Test Track, we stopped for a photo op at the cars. This was a really cool car:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vSXM7xJI/AAAAAAAACeo/ExYAg4IxQ10/s800/DSC02276.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/gSUDQ2LYxnrrncKWsBAKDw?feat=embedwebsite)

Just as we turned to get out, DW nudged me and said, "check out that guy's shirt! I want a picture of it!". We kindly ask the gentleman if we could take a picture of his shirt and he agreed. So here's the reason I titled this installment:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vSxVTTtI/AAAAAAAACe8/5BoKvLFrQuE/s800/DSC02281.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8Nimd5zRwzMbKVhF-Hr9rQ?feat=embedwebsite)

From Test Track we start making our way back over to The Land. I took a shot of Cool Wash on the way:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vTMw8_NI/AAAAAAAACfI/cWba1Pf-mfE/s800/DSC02283.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/OGzCrlCcT1kc8yVemt_IfQ?feat=embedwebsite)

Just like most kids DD's age, she LOVES Soarin'. It was her favorite ride last year. Off we go through the FP line entrance and start making our way through the queue. Wow... I'm still amazed how far you have to walk just to get to the front of the line! Maybe I'm just getting old! HAHA! We ended up on one of the lower seats this time. It was actually the first time I've been on the ride and have seen feet. Must have been lucky all the other times! Soarin' is just one cool ride. :thumbsup2

Quick photo of inside The Land pavilion:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vTP7PVHI/AAAAAAAACfM/9u7noZ7BxT4/s800/DSC02284.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3CDU0nKxWoxwI56zTaafbw?feat=embedwebsite)

With Soarin' out of the way, we hop over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends (DW's favorite at EPCOT). One of my favorite parts of EPCOT is seeing and hearing the seagulls! I just LOVE those guys! I could sit there for hours and wait for the "Mine! Mine! Mine!" conversations. HAHA! Living by the beach, we hear the real seagulls almost every day... and I sometimes imagine those guys saying "Mine!" Ahhhh... it's the little things in life, right? Here we are in front of the seagulls:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vTzTWdBI/AAAAAAAACfc/XV5flQKkveE/s800/DSC02288.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dOBQtKoM9fNcbWsbuPOUkg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vUAkHfzI/AAAAAAAACfo/aaSa_Agcd8o/s800/DSC02291.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WAHSItXLcCNXO7o_aHGAyw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vUf0rycI/AAAAAAAACfs/4158aK9TcgA/s800/DSC02292.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VNuF2P86ZlrUmIiEpX_g7g?feat=embedwebsite)

DW really enjoys the Nemo ride. For me, I like the aquarium at the end... DD pretty much could do without stopping here. We were able to get right on the ride and catch some waves with the turtle dudes! Kowabunga!

From there we stop in one of the shops and DD found this Mickey ear: (She's just too cute!)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vVHfUBTI/AAAAAAAACf8/olXYI-AsYfU/s800/DSC02295.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/alOHztAg4NID1dywC125HQ?feat=embedwebsite)

We're all having such a great time in EPCOT! I had debated while planning this trip whether or not to make Magic Kingdom the park for this day, but I gotta say that I'm glad we chose EPCOT over MK. There's something special about being able to experience EPCOT without being in a rush during the Flower and Garden Festival. In the next installment we'll slow things down a little bit and enjoy some of the little things along the way :flower:

Day 2, Part 3: EPCOT - "Fairies, Butterflies, and Pixie Dust" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32203985&postcount=79)

[dvczerfs]

:lmao:wow! i cant believe you got her on mission after tot! i do the non spin on mission! what a trooper!:thumbsup2

[Emma's Dad]

:lmao:wow! i cant believe you got her on mission after tot! i do the non spin on mission! what a trooper!:thumbsup2

Looking back, I'm surprised, too! And I forgot to mention in the TR... when we were on the ride and it came time for her to push her button, she couldn't reach the button! She was trying sooooo hard to reach it, and she was saying "Daddy! I can't reach it! Were going to DIE!!" :rotfl2: I had to reach over for her to press her button. Good thing I was there to save the day :woohoo:

[trennr]

Looking back, I'm surprised, too! And I forgot to mention in the TR... when we were on the ride and it came time for her to push her button, she couldn't reach the button! She was trying sooooo hard to reach it, and she was saying "Daddy! I can't reach it! Were going to DIE!!" :rotfl2: I had to reach over for her to press her button. Good thing I was there to save the day :woohoo:

Our Hero! :thumbsup2

Tell you what Mission Space makes me sick...not the G forces...but that freaky magnifying effect on those monitors in front of you. :sick:

[Wherem I Now]

The Seagulls are awesome! We went by them early in the morning one day when they were all quiet and I shouted MINE! at them. They immediately started up MINE! MINE! MINE!. My girls thought that I had started them up! :lmao: (I didn't even know that they did anything at that time!)

Tell you what Mission Space makes me sick...not the G forces...but that freaky magnifying effect on those monitors in front of you. :sick:

Me too, but I still like the ride and so do my older two. DW has never been on.:scared:

[scottny]

great update and pics.

The bourbon chicken at Pepper Market is really good.

I would love to go once during the flower and garden festival. so pretty.

Orange side = :scared1: not for me. I get vertigo (like most of today) and that would not be good for me.

[crzy4my2]

I am loving your TR. Your DD is adorable. I wanted to stay at the CBR last time we went but my SIL had already been and wanted to try a different resort. We are hoping to go again next year just the 4 of us (me, DH, DD and DS) and that is one of the places I am looking at

[WalkingintheFog]

Great report!

I've been guilty of losing a few things in my lifetime, so now I always (almost always!) take a couple steps and look behind me before moving away from my seat... at a bus stop, on a plane, at the doctor's, etc.

I can't wait for my Sep 09 trip.. really looking forward to slowing down and checking out all the special things... Looking at your pics, I realize I didn't often take the time to look up- love the ceiling pic of the Land Pavillon.


I don't know if I should mention this, but does your hammock-loving wife know Poly has hammocks on the beach too? And you can see the castle from some.....

[Emma's Dad]

Our Hero! :thumbsup2

Tell you what Mission Space makes me sick...not the G forces...but that freaky magnifying effect on those monitors in front of you. :sick:

:yay: I love being the hero :yay: I guess I didn't really notice the effect of the monitor... sorry you don't do well with them. It's such a great ride!

The Seagulls are awesome! We went by them early in the morning one day when they were all quiet and I shouted MINE! at them. They immediately started up MINE! MINE! MINE!. My girls thought that I had started them up! :lmao: (I didn't even know that they did anything at that time!)

:welcome: Wherem I Now! You made over from the club! Good too see you here! :welcome:
:rotfl2: That's too funny! I can just imagine your surprise when they started going crazy! :lmao:

great update and pics.

The bourbon chicken at Pepper Market is really good.

I would love to go once during the flower and garden festival. so pretty.

Orange side = :scared1: not for me. I get vertigo (like most of today) and that would not be good for me.

:welcome: scottny! Welcome to my TR! :welcome:
Thanks :thumbsup2 I didn't try the bourbon chicken, but I'll keep that in mind for next time. I can't think of anything on their menu that I wouldn't get again... as long as I'm on the dining plan that is.

I am loving your TR. Your DD is adorable. I wanted to stay at the CBR last time we went but my SIL had already been and wanted to try a different resort. We are hoping to go again next year just the 4 of us (me, DH, DD and DS) and that is one of the places I am looking at

:welcome: crzy4my2! I like your username! :welcome:
I'm really glad you are liking the TR. I need to get busy on it again! And I'll be sure to tell DD what you said :) Interestingly enough, DW wants to try CBR next time. We may have to thumb wrestle over the location :scared: Hope you get to stay at CSR next!

Great report!

I've been guilty of losing a few things in my lifetime, so now I always (almost always!) take a couple steps and look behind me before moving away from my seat... at a bus stop, on a plane, at the doctor's, etc.

I can't wait for my Sep 09 trip.. really looking forward to slowing down and checking out all the special things... Looking at your pics, I realize I didn't often take the time to look up- love the ceiling pic of the Land Pavillon.


I don't know if I should mention this, but does your hammock-loving wife know Poly has hammocks on the beach too? And you can see the castle from some.....

:welcome: WalkingintheFog! Thanks for tuning in! :welcome:

After my incidents from this trip, I definitely take a few glances around to make sure I leave with what I came with. :goodvibes

Compared to the trip we took the year before, this one was WAYYYY slower and much more enjoyable for everyone. BUT... we didn't see near as much as last year even though we visited each park twice this time! I sure hope you get to slow down and "enjoy the roses".

Hmmmmm... may have to keep the poly remark a secret for now. Perhaps we'll get lucky with another 4/3 deal next year? :scratchin

[Maxwell42]

Just found this - it's nice to see a rare trip report from a male perspective. (No disrespect to anyone, but those seem to be rare around here.)

Anyway, I'll stay tuned. I haven't read what you have yet, but I'm particularly interested, since we'll be spending a week at the CSR starting in 12 days!

[Emma's Dad]

Just found this - it's nice to see a rare trip report from a male perspective. (No disrespect to anyone, but those seem to be rare around here.)

Anyway, I'll stay tuned. I haven't read what you have yet, but I'm particularly interested, since we'll be spending a week at the CSR starting in 12 days!

:welcome: Maxwell42! :welcome:

Hope you enjoy the TR... I have no idea how long this is going to take to get to the end, but at my rate, I don't think you'll see the final chapter before you leave in 11 days! :rotfl: But I think you'll find CSR to be a beautiful, relaxing resort.

[jordanyosh]

Another Dis Dude signing on...so few guys do TRs.......so I'll join in.....

[Emma's Dad]

I should take this time to explain a few things before getting into this installment. You see, our DD is not much of a movie watcher. In fact, It is difficult to get her to watch ANY movie at all. Thinking back to when she was younger (around 3 or so) we had watched "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland". This movie had a PROFOUND impact on DD's view of movies. She did not understand why Elmo's blanket was lost and she was completely frightened of Huxley, the "bad" guy, since he stole his blankie. She still didn't like the movie even after Huxley was foiled and Elmo's blanket was returned. And so it began... DD's fear of watching any movies with "scary" parts in them. She would rather watch Blue's Clues for the millionth time than watch a movie!

Fast forward to October, 2008... the release of Tinkerbell the movie! DW LOVES Tinkerbell and just HAD to have this movie when it came out (not that I wasn't looking forward to it in any way (WHISTLE)). We were trying to get DD to watch the movie with us and at first was reluctant. But then as she caught a few scenes she really started to like it. So what do you tink happened after that? Yep... this became her favorite movie and she watched it almost every day for weeks. And if you read the first post of this TR, you will know who her favorite character is. Our DD... the water lover :)

Now that you are equipped with a little background info, let's get on with the show.

We turn the corner and find Pixie Hollow Fairy Garden! DD had a blast looking at all the things in the garden.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vVkWSOVI/AAAAAAAACgI/hdF4gdAbgIg/s800/DSC02298.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ooyhrICrKrnG6opIA8uyvw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vVou2i4I/AAAAAAAACgM/W4zsX5H5Uqg/s800/DSC02299.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/f1CRbUifmKlt8BBOsANe9A?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vWZN2SZI/AAAAAAAACgU/NpoMOqwwB5w/s800/DSC02301.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dilLi4h2THe33CuSjGtRFg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vWviecwI/AAAAAAAACgg/qzUDpQzoaYc/s800/DSC02303.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/g4gva9MIEbnvLxN7ugRtnQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vW7x0KUI/AAAAAAAACgk/Uojj4m3ti_I/s800/DSC02304.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ugkhFP6BvmGRbfYDPhAB2Q?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vXKe3pEI/AAAAAAAACgo/cupJDEH9lkw/s800/DSC02305.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RvCZpc4JqnqgyTg62lXaHQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vXW37XrI/AAAAAAAACgs/Iq-1S4YS0TQ/s800/DSC02306.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/98XW9xAbQSv3jrauYB_AdQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vXvONSrI/AAAAAAAACgw/i1mmtm_DxXI/s800/DSC02307.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rlsMaCwJB_JTYR7ovWOVJA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vYKqfLpI/AAAAAAAACg4/EwG-WnG_8y8/s800/DSC02309.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PdlMvacPWZjuQGJSVQrHUA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vYko8wMI/AAAAAAAAChI/WIMBNQPtC68/s800/DSC02312.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/SyqK652cxgIW4kRXKDaryA?feat=embedwebsite)

We spent close to 10 minutes in the garden before we moved over into Minnie's Magnificent Butterfly Garden. This was in the same location as last year and I'm not quite sure if they have this all year round or if this is a spring only exhibit. Interestingly enough, I just Google'd it and it seems to be only open during the Flower & Garden Festival. Boy will DD be surprised if we go back to EPCOT at any other time of the year! HAHA! Here are some pictures from the exhibit:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vbt116GI/AAAAAAAACiQ/yWkB4KUcQjc/s800/DSC02329.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WD1_pgfdcISSvpgKprSm4w?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vbXDb6lI/AAAAAAAACiM/LzumExCa_W8/s800/DSC02328.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XXPMsC85UTlzroUtykUgGA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vbd7qe2I/AAAAAAAACiI/kD96kWywdPk/s800/DSC02327.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/8P8FLQchdyRa7dwlRsc2Mw?feat=embedwebsite)

Sorry.. just HAD to sneak this shot of the monorail in here. This was shot from the butterfly entrance. Picture-perfect day!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vbH8MG4I/AAAAAAAACiE/GV8Kzuo-xR8/s800/DSC02326.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/JoKPjm2zNOn1YaOUPjEmnw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vZrXu6VI/AAAAAAAAChc/zdjtj7PIh5M/s800/DSC02317.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-A3JZcVbOK2KdIPYJOaR9g?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vZvUkIrI/AAAAAAAAChY/kuHfhqLuleQ/s800/DSC02316.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rd-A5k645PCn8bBUbcE9KQ?feat=embedwebsite)

"Chrysalis apartment"
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vZ3KAFLI/AAAAAAAAChg/48Kf4-BDZSk/s800/DSC02318.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/IhnJJx_8PCXKv6wCPRKhlw?feat=embedwebsite)

This guy had just been hatched from his chrysalis:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vaEAcwrI/AAAAAAAAChk/VepF1lMd11o/s800/DSC02319.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/o-AM5VN5aGDXIbZSKYzZ3g?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vaH5MIjI/AAAAAAAACho/UxJsJYS5bko/s800/DSC02320.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/emFfdpzTC0zFP8zQ3lb2Sg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1va6T3FSI/AAAAAAAACh4/XkXK8WaqDeU/s800/DSC02323.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5XgmWG9xBCSQN_bscvBkpw?feat=embedwebsite)

Another newly-hatched butterfly:
http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vbLDD6uI/AAAAAAAACiA/TCc_aKy2uz8/s800/DSC02325.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0kCrnD14NPwvARKPS6tDzA?feat=embedwebsite)

A little over 30 minutes was spent walking around this little tent and marveling how these creatures transform from their chrysalis into beautiful, fluttering insects. I do believe this is one of DD's favorite parts of the vacation, though she says otherwise! She always asks to come here when we go to EPCOT. The fairy garden was just an added bonus this time.

And speaking of fairies, there was another station set up outside of Innoventions East where kids could sit down and do some crafts with CMs. Very cool... and the kids get some souvenirs in the process (a little pixie dust):

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vb0_QvbI/AAAAAAAACiU/fAWbQ1bCHJA/s800/DSC02330.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/14F9khDO-PSyah0nLDkdZg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vb2BZPPI/AAAAAAAACiY/oHJqU0lKdoc/s800/DSC02331.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hRWezcBn2nTDGfhm06z8uA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vckcx2vI/AAAAAAAACig/Z2jvD53Oqtg/s800/DSC02333.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PrQ3gcYMRfU1JQhGfPLfjw?feat=embedwebsite)

From the fairy station we walked around a little more before we headed toward the exit to catch a bus. "Bus to where?", you ask? Stay tuned for the final installment for day 2!

Day 2, Part 4: "Is that the Goodyear blimp?" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32374342&postcount=96)

[WillowBelle]

Stopping by to sub to your TR. I've never read one from a daddy's perspective. My DH isn't in to all things Disney like my DDs and I are :laughing:. Your DD is adorable! So far it looks like you've had a great trip. Your room is amazing. I've never seen pictures inside of it before. We always stay value because DH won't/can't justify spending the extra dollars for a room that we only sleep/shower in. Can't wait to read more!

[porknbeans]

Great update, keep them coming.

[Emma's Dad]

Another Dis Dude signing on...so few guys do TRs.......so I'll join in.....

:welcome: Can't believe I missed your post earlier! Sorry! Welcome to the TR!

Stopping by to sub to your TR. I've never read one from a daddy's perspective. My DH isn't in to all things Disney like my DDs and I are :laughing:. Your DD is adorable! So far it looks like you've had a great trip. Your room is amazing. I've never seen pictures inside of it before. We always stay value because DH won't/can't justify spending the extra dollars for a room that we only sleep/shower in. Can't wait to read more!

:welcome: Glad I could provide a dad's perspective here :thumbsup2 We stayed at Pop last year, and according to DW, we are never going back to a value :rotfl2: We used to think the same thing... "it's only a room!"... but I'll tell you what... it makes a difference! Especially the queen beds :cloud9:

Great update, keep them coming.

Will do! The magical question is... how fast will they come? :hourglass

[trennr]

Will do! The magical question is... how fast will they come? :hourglass


:lmao: I swear I checked this thread the other day and heard a cricket chirping in the distance. :lmao:

Just kidding keep up the good work. :thumbsup2

[Emma's Dad]

:lmao: I swear I checked this thread the other day and heard a cricket chirping in the distance. :lmao:

Just kidding keep up the good work. :thumbsup2

:rotfl2: You didn't know about that new feature on the DIS?? If you wait long enough, dinosaurs walk out of your monitor :lmao:

[thechesters420]

Super cute TR. I'm really enjoying the pics so far!

[crocko]

Just found this TR and got caught up. Enjoying the pics and your TR style.
My wife and I went the 2nd week of May back in 2002.....I remember it being not too busy....early May just must be a good time to go.

[Emma's Dad]

Super cute TR. I'm really enjoying the pics so far!

:welcome: Thank you for joining in the fun! The pictures are the fun part, right? :thumbsup2

Just found this TR and got caught up. Enjoying the pics and your TR style.
My wife and I went the 2nd week of May back in 2002.....I remember it being not too busy....early May just must be a good time to go.

:welcome: I like your username! Glad you like my style :woohoo: We still have LOT'S to get through on this TR!
Yep... May seems to be a winning month for us. Maybe we'll catch some good deals next year, too :)

[dvczerfs]

:thumbsup2:thumbsup2

[MagicShell]

Great report, I just found it and have caught up. Your daughter is a cutie. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who leaves things around. I lost my phone, tickets, and driver's license once at Epcot. I just left the bag sitting on the Nemo ride. Luckily someone turned them in, but I was panicking for a while.

Your daughter is BRAVE. My six year old son was scared of just about every ride when we were there in Dec. I hope he will be more willing to ride next time so that we can all do more together.

It is hard for me to relax during a Disney vacation as well. I always feel like I am wasting time if we rest. I am sure my husband would appreciate a little rest. Maybe I will think about it.

I can't wait for more.

[scottny]

great update and pics.

the toparies are gorgeous.

[carissanboys]

Once again, your daughter is braver than me. :rolleyes1 I have no intention of doing Mission: Space.

It's funny looking through your pictures because I took so many of the same ones at the Flower and Garden Festival. :thumbsup2

Leaving Epcot without doing the World Showcase?? :eek: I hope you went back for that later!

Great job Don. :goodvibes Sorry it took me so long to get caught up.

[DisneyDaddy-O]

:lmao: I swear I checked this thread the other day and heard a cricket chirping in the distance. :lmao:

Just kidding keep up the good work. :thumbsup2

I think I may hear the crickets myself:lmao:

Waiting patiently for the next installment.:rolleyes1:bored:

[Emma's Dad]

:thumbsup2:thumbsup2

;)

Great report, I just found it and have caught up. Your daughter is a cutie. I am glad to hear that I am not the only one who leaves things around. I lost my phone, tickets, and driver's license once at Epcot. I just left the bag sitting on the Nemo ride. Luckily someone turned them in, but I was panicking for a while.

Your daughter is BRAVE. My six year old son was scared of just about every ride when we were there in Dec. I hope he will be more willing to ride next time so that we can all do more together.

It is hard for me to relax during a Disney vacation as well. I always feel like I am wasting time if we rest. I am sure my husband would appreciate a little rest. Maybe I will think about it.

I can't wait for more.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the moment it seems we just lose our senses (and stuff!) I'm glad to hear you had a good Samaritan looking out for you :goodvibes

I'll be sure to tell DD how brave she is! Although, I think ToT has really scared her for a good while. We were at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, last weekend and she would not ride the Lochness Monster roller coaster because she thought it would drop like ToT. She got her on it anyway... and then rode it 6 more times because she liked it so much :rotfl: I certainly hope your DS will be able to overcome his fears and enjoy some of the great rides WDW has to offer.

As for resting... I sometimes felt the same way... it's a lot of money to be sitting around doing nothing :scared: But then I realize that there's more to a vacation than GO! GO! GO!

great update and pics.

the toparies are gorgeous.

Thanks! They truly are works of art and I can only imagine how much time and love is spent on those things.

Once again, your daughter is braver than me. :rolleyes1 I have no intention of doing Mission: Space.

It's funny looking through your pictures because I took so many of the same ones at the Flower and Garden Festival. :thumbsup2

Leaving Epcot without doing the World Showcase?? :eek: I hope you went back for that later!

Great job Don. :goodvibes Sorry it took me so long to get caught up.

You could always do the green team :thumbsup2

Great minds think alike? :)

Yeah... no World Showcase this time. :rolleyes1

And considering what you've been up to, I'm pleasantly surprised you visited the TR and got caught up. Now it's my turn to get caught up on yours! (And mine)

I think I may hear the crickets myself:lmao:

Waiting patiently for the next installment.:rolleyes1:bored:

Thanks for the bump. I'll get you something before the end of today popcorn::

[carissanboys]

;)You could always do the green team :thumbsup2

Great minds think alike? :)

Yeah... no World Showcase this time. :rolleyes1

And considering what you've been up to, I'm pleasantly surprised you visited the TR and got caught up. Now it's my turn to get caught up on yours! (And mine)

I'm too scared to do even the green side. :rolleyes1 I'm mainly concerned about feeling sick. I get motion sick pretty easy. :sick:

Happy Father's Day, Don! :hug:

[Emma's Dad]

I'm too scared to do even the green side. :rolleyes1 I'm mainly concerned about feeling sick. I get motion sick pretty easy. :sick:

Happy Father's Day, Don! :hug:

Thanks, Carissa! I'm sure the kids are missing dad for this special day (mom too, right?)

[Emma's Dad]

April 29, 2009

As Carissa politely pointed out, we left EPCOT without visiting the World Showcase this day. We were having so much fun taking in and enjoying what Future World had to offer. And at this time of the day, DD was starting the "pool chant". You know it... the never ending, "Daddy, can we go back to the pool yet?". Or it's close variation... "I just wanna go back to the pool!" The latter phrase being used more aggressively as the sun arrives at it's mid-day perch in the sky. The beads of sweat lining my forehead were in agreement with DD and we all decided to head back to CSR for some pool time. A short walk to the #1 bus stop and a 10 minute bus ride and we were back to the resort for some "down" time.

I was too busy enjoying the jaguar slide and the near-empty pool to remember to take pictures that afternoon. Actually, looking through my collection of images I only have a select few shots of DD in the pool. I HAVE to remember on our next trip to get more shots in the pool. Especially considering about 20% of the vacation was spent there! Perhaps even an underwater camera will be in order :)

After a few hours in the pool, we get dried off and dressed to head over to DTD. In our pre-trip planning DW jumped for joy when she found Wolfgang Pucks Express on the list of available places to eat with the QSDP. This was one of the destinations she was absolutely looking forward to on this vacation. Plus we always have a blast walking around that area. So... we head to bus stop 4 and grab a bus for DTD.

Since we were all pretty much famished from all the walking and pool-playing from earlier, we head straight over to Wolfgang Puck's. I ended up getting the four cheese pizza, DD tried the Cheese Quesadillas, and DW tried the Margherita Pizza. All was yummy and I give DD extra credit for trying something new. She ALWAYS wants the chicken!

After WPE, we start walking around DTD to see what's new. There was a store that caught our eyes that I didn't remember seeing the year before. It was called something like Under $10 Store. Everything in the store was $10 or under. Pretty cool... but most of what they had in the store you could also buy at any of the other shops and did not seem discounted. Seemed to be another marketing ploy to pry those dollar's from your already dwindling supply in your pocket. We were able to leave empty-handed even though DD wanted everything in the store.

To infinity... and beyond!

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vdXXeLdI/AAAAAAAACi4/wZ5YMg_YKm8/s800/DSC02338.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/1B2prbnFxavuKlIYiPx72A?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vdRvFz_I/AAAAAAAACi0/MkvPHNrfSxU/s800/DSC02337.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/3kOo06C11vuRC36bnQuYeQ?feat=embedwebsite)

DD playing with Mr. Potato Head parts:
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vdtKCMbI/AAAAAAAACjA/do7MaZYd3ys/s800/DSC02340.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/118fad0DcfZiAnZYbASKNQ?feat=embedwebsite)

As we were walking out of the store, I look up and see this in the distance... YEP... the Goodyear blimp. I believe they were there for something that was going on at the WWS complex, but I didn't hear any rumors or anything. Pretty cool!

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1veRq8vfI/AAAAAAAACjQ/X7HW97LSzxg/s800/DSC02344.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-7iWLrIRPSfNseYSt0SZ7w?feat=embedwebsite)

We ducked into Goofy's Candy Store and I found a funny mirror... thought I'd be "cool" and take a few shots. This is where I picked up my family-sized bag of taffy... mmmmmm!

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1ve1OY8ZI/AAAAAAAACjg/FELk6ZkWWCY/s800/DSC02348.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LVf8WvsvzrhcTeY6Z6X4iA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1veZ1aiFI/AAAAAAAACjU/RMvYFH7Y2RY/s800/DSC02345.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/QFFC-ul7Rc6hH8_sfJg-7Q?feat=embedwebsite)

DD posing with an artfully sculpted Mickey:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vfK0sxjI/AAAAAAAACjk/GfeCj_1WudM/s800/DSC02349.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/AZUf72aC1k8tSQJ9qXhhBw?feat=embedwebsite)

As as we were getting ready to leave DTD, DD just had to play in the water fountain... my little water baby. This is actually one of my favorite videos because it shows just how much she loves playing in water (and I love how she just barely misses when all the fountains come on at once!)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vm54PJBI/AAAAAAAACjo/TBPq_8fN6M4/s800/MOV02350.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pBuvt780ZxfnDTyvWLyicw?feat=embedwebsite)

Alright... bellies are full and we need to check into something. On Monday (May 4th) we have plans to go to Sea World... but we don't have a car. And we aren't willing to shell out more money for a shuttle from the resort to Sea World. So... we have the grand idea to try... Orlando's Public Transportation! Yep. We're doing anything to save money here. Having said that, we get on a bus to head to the Grand Floridian resort. DW wanted to see a glimpse of the resort and we needed to grab a monorail ride over to the TTC so why not bus it over there first?

Here are a few pics of the GF lobby as we were walking through. They did not turn out as well as I'd hoped. I'm sure one day we will be making a stay here, I just know it :)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vntLNKjI/AAAAAAAACkA/oWdcDBVPF7s/s800/DSC02355.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/cQpXnLvDUZOSXtzLnuCVZg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sg1vnR8j6LI/AAAAAAAACj4/Fcd7SkxeA3E/s800/DSC02353.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bNCqs3KTZc5kvosmlqIoaQ?feat=embedwebsite)

From the lobby we get on the monorail and enjoy the scenery as we speed over to the TTC. I love the monorail. Maybe it's that "old bandaid" smell... or the fact that you get from one place to another so efficiently... but mainly I think it's all the fantastic memories accrued while enjoying it's convenience going from resorts to parks.

Once at the TTC, we start walking... to where we are not sure yet. We've only heard that you can catch a Lynx bus from there. And that's just the reason why we were at the TTC so many days before hand... a "dry run" so to speak. We stopped in one of the nearby stores and asked a friendly CM where to go and she kindly directed us around the corner along with a map of bus route 50. We only needed to walk about another 50 yards to get to the actual place where the bus would pick us up. Mission accomplished... and for only $2 a piece each way we now have our ride figured out for Sea World. Here is a picture of the bus stop sign:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Sj7aXdcOf7I/AAAAAAAAC_c/uzcJ4nu7sow/s800/Disney2009%20471.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MAcIZmDd6oRUw9N0Frg7_w?feat=embedwebsite)

That pretty much ended our second day vacation. We headed back to CSR for a good night's rest and skipped all the night life the World has to offer.

Next up... Day 3, Part 1: "Get me out of here... now!" (http://disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32419216&postcount=105)

[nutz2notz]

Another great update.

I enjoyed seeing your daughter playing in the fountains. My youngest loves the water as well and when we were there in '07 when he was 10 years old, he made sure to get wet in the fountains on purpose. :confused3

I love WPE as well and can't wait until we go back in 2010 to enjoy it as well.

Look forward to your next update. :thumbsup2

[MagicShell]

What a great idea to ride public transportation. I didn't even know that was possible from Disney World. The price is definitely right. I can't wait to see how it goes.

[Emma's Dad]

Another great update.

I enjoyed seeing your daughter playing in the fountains. My youngest loves the water as well and when we were there in '07 when he was 10 years old, he made sure to get wet in the fountains on purpose. :confused3

I love WPE as well and can't wait until we go back in 2010 to enjoy it as well.

Look forward to your next update. :thumbsup2

Funny how water seems to make everything fun... until your clothes are soaking wet... and you have to get on the ice-cold bus :sad2: Sounds like you've got another trip planned for next year :thumbsup2

What a great idea to ride public transportation. I didn't even know that was possible from Disney World. The price is definitely right. I can't wait to see how it goes.

:welcome: Thanks for checking out my TR! Before we left for this trip I found a few posts on this forum that talked about taking the public transportation to Sea World instead of paying for other services ($16 per person (round trip) for a shuttle from the resort, or $35-$50 for taxi round trip). We figured we saved at least $25 by taking the city bus. That was enough to pay for lunch at Sea World ;)

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Great job on the TR so far, really enjoying it. My boys love to play in that same fountain, and have had their share of near misses. Love the idea of the bus to SeaWorld, we were maybe planning a longer trip in Jan and SeaWord is on the list. How did everyone enjoy the day? How was the bus ride?

Disney-on-a-dime! Who would have thought. :thumbsup2

[scottny]

great update and pics.

I love that mirror, makes me look thin. :rotfl2:

[thechesters420]

I know the "pool" talk you speak of..were not going for another year and a half but she has already said she is swimming. I try to tell her it will be December but she says it doesn't get cold in Florida....so lets hope

[Kimberly815]

I found your trip report today and I am really enjoying it! Great pictures! My DH and I were always traveling to Disney alone or with a few adult family members or friends. Now with our first child on the way, it is great to get a good idea of what it might be like to travel with kids of our own!

[Emma's Dad]

Great job on the TR so far, really enjoying it. My boys love to play in that same fountain, and have had their share of near misses. Love the idea of the bus to SeaWorld, we were maybe planning a longer trip in Jan and SeaWord is on the list. How did everyone enjoy the day? How was the bus ride?

Disney-on-a-dime! Who would have thought. :thumbsup2

Wow... I thought I already replied to you, DisneyDaddy! Didn't mean to get back to you so late. Anyway... It's amazing how kids just love to get in there and get wet! We will be getting to Sea World later, but I must say we enjoyed the park and the bus ride was interesting ;) (in a good way). I'd liken the bus ride similar to a Disney bus.

great update and pics.

I love that mirror, makes me look thin. :rotfl2:

HAHA! I never knew it existed before :rolleyes:

I know the "pool" talk you speak of..were not going for another year and a half but she has already said she is swimming. I try to tell her it will be December but she says it doesn't get cold in Florida....so lets hope

December is a tricky month... it could be warm enough... it might not. But the pools are generally heated anyway, so she might just get her wish :)

I found your trip report today and I am really enjoying it! Great pictures! My DH and I were always traveling to Disney alone or with a few adult family members or friends. Now with our first child on the way, it is great to get a good idea of what it might be like to travel with kids of our own!

:welcome: Hello Kimberly!! I'm glad you found my TR and are enjoying it. Your trip will never be the same again with kids along for the ride! But you'll find a whole different view of the World when you do :woohoo:

[Emma's Dad]

April 30, 2009

We get up around 7:15 AM and start getting ready for our day at Animal Kingdom. This is my least anticipated day of the vacation... I haven't had very good experiences at this park. About the only thing I ever look forward to at this park is Expedition Everest... one of the most awesome roller coasters I've ever been on. But I put on my optimistic hat and prepare myself for a good day at a Disney theme park :)

Waiting for a bus to AK took a lot longer than we were used to. Actually... we started noticing a lot more people waiting for the buses this morning. It took nearly a half-hour to get the bus from bus stop 1. This was a theme that would continue through the rest of the vacation. We were so spoiled the first 2 days!

We arrive at AK just before 10:00 AM and stopped at the first store outside the entrance to see if they had any sunglasses straps for DD. We were determined to have her wear her sunglasses this day and she had been complaining about not having anywhere to keep them. So while DW was looking, I had DD put on this Dale hat:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJYFxdEW6I/AAAAAAAADAI/LId91zgk01w/s800/DSC02356.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WrEj-LJ6DF3MIBYhIzeBkA?feat=embedwebsite)

I guess I could take this time to mention DD's introduction to Chip and Dale prior to our trip. As I mentioned previously in this TR, DD is not a big movie watcher. Getting her to watch even one Disney movie is challenging. This has been both a blessing and a curse for us. BUT... before the trip I managed to get her to watch some old Donald Duck cartoons on YouTube! She fell in love with Chip and Dale and asked me almost every night to watch the shows. She became very interested in having the chance to meet them at one of the parks during this trip. And according to the sources I've researched, Chip and Dale can be found in both AK and MK. We were hoping that today was the day we'd find them!

Fortunately for my wallet, DD wasn't too interested in keeping the hat. DW found a strap for DD's sunglasses and we were off to the entrance for AK. Once we got through the gate, we headed straight over to the kiosk to order our "picnic in the park" meal. This was new to us... I had read about it from Kathy Werling's review (http://www.disunplugged.com/2009/04/14/picnic-in-the-park-at-animal-kingdom/) on April 14th and it sounded interesting. Plus... we can use a quick service credit for the meal. We placed our order and would be back a few hours later to pick it up. They give you several choices as to when you want to pick up the meal. More on the meal later ;)

During our visit last year we did not have the opportunity to check out the Dinoland part of the park. This is the one thing I set my sights on the make sure we experienced this trip. So we make sure we have all our belongings and start our trek over through Discovery Island then over to Dinoland. I have to make a comment at this time. WHY... WHY... WHY did Disney create this theme park to funnel all traffic to go through Discovery Island? This has to be my biggest gripe about this park. The traffic patterns that are created with this setup creates nothing but frustration as people are trying to cut through each other to get to various places. I would even go as far to say that I would never visit this park again simply because of the way foot traffic is handled. OK... I'm done venting... for now. You'll most likely hear another tantum later in this installment as I display my distaste for Discovery Island.

We arrive at Dinoland a few minues later and we immediately head over to Primevel Whirl. DD was not tall enough for this ride last year, and I love roller coasters... so this was one of the must-do's for the day. The sign in front says 30 minute wait. Seemed about right from what we could see, so we get in line. Now, I don't know if you've had the chance to wait in queue for this ride, but let me warn you... it's LOUD. Perhaps I have passed the "if it's too loud, you're too old" point in my life, but WOW was it loud. Between the whirring of miscellaneous displays in the queue and the constant clanging and motions of the cars this was almost unbearable. Then we had the luck of being "entertained" by a group of a dozen or more, matching t-shirt tweens who thought it was hilarious to keep yelling at each other for no apparent reason about every 5 minutes. Yeah... they had "chaperones". My poor DW kept saying over and over that she wanted to leave the queue, but we wanted to see what the ride was like. We managed to get through the queue without applying bodily harm to anyone and we were all 3 in one car. OMG! That ride simply blows. I've been on local carnival rides that were way better than that piece of junk. It was very jerky, loud, and overall a bad experience. To think we wasted nearly an hour on this ride still make my blood boil thinking about it today. As we were stepping off the ride, my DW just kept saying "Get me out of here!". We needed peace and quiet... quickly. SO we head towards Expedition Everest and found Finding Nemo on the way. We never even looked over our shoulders... Goodbye, Dinoland! :furious:

*Note: I was so frazzled at this point that I did not take any pictures in Dinoland. I'd rather not have any visual reminders of it either.

As we approached the entrance for Finding Nemo - The Musical we see the line is moving and are entering the stadium. We go in and find seats close to the exit in the front section of seats... optimum location for a quick exit. Waiting for the show to start we find Nemo hiding and playing in the bubbles at the side of the stage. I didn't catch him, but here's a blurry shot of the bubbles:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJzcJns1-I/AAAAAAAADAw/FXWslQLC3WE/s800/DSC02359.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nVzDnaYcUSk7mWpxnPZwXA?feat=embedwebsite)

This was such a welcome break from the madness. The show was awesome! My favorite character was Dory... she was fantastic! Not having read any reviews or anything about this show, I was very pleasantly surprised by the great acting and beautiful props for the show. Absolutely top notch. You have to see it!

From the show we go over to EE and grab some fast passes, then start making our way to Africa to get our meal by Tusker House. Remember how I was taken aback by how slow the parks were and how we were able to just walk on rides? Well... this was my punishment for enjoying those 2 fabulous days. It seemed as though everyone in Orlando had made an appearance in AK for the day. AND the temperatures were rising quickly. And with those temperatures, my patience was getting thinner. Mind you, I am probably one of the most patient people you would ever meet. I was in the Navy for 8 years... I know patience. We all needed food, water, and rest.

When we finally arrived at the window to pick up our food, there was no one waiting and the nice CM's were able to quickly provide all the items for the meal. We walked over to the Tusker House outside seating area and made ourselves comfortable. For the meal we ended up getting the chicken, potato wedges, a dessert, and water. I'm not much of a food review person (I'm a picky eater), but on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best, I would give this meal a 5. The chicken was OK... there was not much meat to it. The potato wedges have some funky-tasting spice to it that did not appeal to my taste buds - and they were rubbery. The dessert was one of the prepackaged brownies and was pretty good. In all, I would say it was not worth the price, but was OK for a quick service meal. Would I do it again? Maybe... if I go with the sandwiches next time. Just my 2 cents here.

OK... we are now sort-of rested, fed and ready for more "fun". Next up is DW's favorite part of the park... Kilimangaro Safaris. There was hardly any wait for this ride (maybe 10 minutes) and this is where I handed off the camera to DW. I had already video taped the entire ride last year and I was ready to see it without having to concentrate on snapping photos or holding a camera still. We all enjoyed this ride and even got to see a few more animals than last year. Giraffes are cool :) Here are a few shots (there are plenty more in the album if you are interested):

Our driver:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJ7DLYAD6I/AAAAAAAADA0/clJ3aeDaJ8E/s800/DSC02362.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bBruy1kAzWJUU043VMvlMA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJ7JXbnCwI/AAAAAAAADA4/lOsLv5UAP6c/s800/DSC02363.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XokBv5jYddoH57_CvFF8iQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJ7o7dg3DI/AAAAAAAADCI/4rQM2StcHfA/s800/DSC02384.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nax5e_jsLcSiympfjolCsg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJ7uqrf70I/AAAAAAAADCc/cRqsJurIKsE/s800/DSC02390.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2JY_eBxNKdhUnyjvquQSPw?feat=embedwebsite)

Baby giraffes:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJ7wgvDMRI/AAAAAAAADCo/3obo69GJ4f0/s800/DSC02392.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/K67LyCyr2yrC1AxmOdyAjA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkJ73braOvI/AAAAAAAADDE/3kNqTbkf9nI/s800/DSC02399.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/hkUVEXpFvo7KdapAJjpO9Q?feat=embedwebsite)

After the ride it was time for our EE fast pass to be used. Back over to Asia we go... talking DD into going on the ride all the way there. She has been scared of the Yeti ever since I told her about it. She seems to think it's somehow going to escape and get her on the ride :rotfl: By the time we get to the entrance she is still unsure. I pull out my bribe card and offer her a prize of ice cream if she goes through with the ride. SOLD! So we zip through the FP line (I love FP... have I said that lately?) and we walk on the ride. I love how the ride is just so smooth. You know a woman had to design this thing! :thumbsup2 A man never creates a ride thinking "how smooth and pain-free can I make this?" Hehe... I'm just kidding. DD had a blast on the ride and actually wanted to do it again. But the standby line was around 45 minutes and I didn't have the patience to try my luck in another queue at that point. Instead, we decide it's time to track down Chip and Dale! Of course, DD got her ice cream along the way :mickeybar

The only place we could think of that might have Chip and Dale on standby was over in Camp Minnie-Mickey. On our way over there we find a photo op:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkKAD_Vu4ZI/AAAAAAAADDo/VxOcSeKoKYw/s800/DSC02411.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qutV180dyQ3qeoxcdy-6yw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkKAJbQDmLI/AAAAAAAADDs/QqoeyqNlxTE/s800/DSC02412.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/eUIF5WBktUs6BaHbaY3fHg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkKBsbz5RJI/AAAAAAAADEQ/zu6_03LCDuI/s800/DSC02415.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZjvFWItrCIVccQV15IMgmw?feat=embedwebsite)

And Daisy with her nephews:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkKA4RdP0oI/AAAAAAAADD4/E3n15DHgsgo/s800/DSC02416.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/53KtYglnTqwqQUA95Rf1nw?feat=embedwebsite)

We made it to Camp Minnie-Mickey and we found several other characters, but Chip and Dale were not to be found. Also, I was pretty much done with this park. It was too hot, too crowded, and I needed to get out of there. So we called it quits for Animal Kingdom and we headed for the buses. We did manage to say goodbye to this guy before we left:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SkKDXD7Up8I/AAAAAAAADEo/bWDO7Von4EA/s800/DSC02419.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/M6TKNj4YsFqxlhdEk9krFw?feat=embedwebsite)

And by 3:30 we were out of there. For future trips I may have to think long and hard before we come back to AK. If we do, we better have park hopping added to the tickets because I am NOT staying all day! HAHA!

Next up... Day 3, Part 2: "Ahhhh... this is more like it" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32648638&postcount=115)

[dvczerfs]

:thumbsup2 great updates!!! love the pics.:thumbsup2

[mla1977]

Great update. I personally really enjoy Animal Kingdom. I'm bringing my niece there and I think she'll love it too since she loves animals.

If you ever make it there again, I recommend starting your day at the Safari then picking up fast passes for Everest then heading to Dinosaur and Nemo. After using the fast passes, you want to head to lion king and bugs life. I don't do any of the other rides in Dinoland, and you might want to wait until DD is older for Dinosaur, but I find that this plan works great. I've done it successfully twice already.

[Wherem I Now]

Still reading and thoroughly enjoying! We also show our DD2 the old cartoons on youtube. She loves them! :love: It's a shame that you can't see them on TV any more. I've said for years that Disney needs to start a Disney Classics channel. :happytv:

BTW, AK is my fourth favorite park at WDW...

[MagicShell]

I know what you mean about Primeval Whirl. That ride is painful. I wanted off that thing as soon as it started. I love EE and the Nemo and FTLK shows. I am not crazy about the rest of it. It took us close to an hour to get out last time we were there because we kept getting turned around. AK is definitely my least favorite park.

[trennr]

Caught up! :thumbsup2

Just back from Myrtle Beach. :woohoo:

Seems you feel the way about AK as I do HS.

ToT and RR being HS only saving graces...haven't seen Toy Story Mania yet...so that may help...just about everything else at HS is a tourturous nightmare for me. :headache: But I used to feel the same way about the World Showcase until I deside to eat my way around the world...made it more...uuuhhhh...palatable. :rolleyes1

AK after the parade is pretty cool...aside from EE everything else is pretty much empty...Primevil Whirl is not all that bad if you can just walk up and get on. We like to ride Kali River Rapids about 2-3 times in a row...also I've had better luck seeing the "Big Lion" on one of the last rides out on the Safari...

[crocko]

Amazed to hear that about Primeval Whirl.

It is one of my top 5 favorite rides in all of Disney World.

[carissanboys]

Hey Don - why don't you really tell us what you think about Animal Kingdom. :rotfl:

I love AK! I'm not a huge fan of Dinoland, but there are some things about it I like. Did you go to the Boneyard?? That's the best part! I hated Primeval Hurl - I mean Whirl. Dinosaur is pretty cool though!

I agree that the park was not set up well and certain areas get very crowded. But, so much fun stuff to see and do. Have you done It's Tough to Be a Bug before? That's really good too.

[trennr]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r68/arabiguria/Mulan/clipcrikee.gif http://www.dtuneslive.com/images/shoutcast/jiminy.gif

[Emma's Dad]

Great update. I personally really enjoy Animal Kingdom. I'm bringing my niece there and I think she'll love it too since she loves animals.

If you ever make it there again, I recommend starting your day at the Safari then picking up fast passes for Everest then heading to Dinosaur and Nemo. After using the fast passes, you want to head to lion king and bugs life. I don't do any of the other rides in Dinoland, and you might want to wait until DD is older for Dinosaur, but I find that this plan works great. I've done it successfully twice already.

Thanks for the suggestion. That is pretty much the course we took the year before with the exception of Dinosaur and Bugs Life. We had a slightly better time that year, but the park just doesn't do it for me... which is weird because I love the outdoors and animals and such.

Still reading and thoroughly enjoying! We also show our DD2 the old cartoons on youtube. She loves them! :love: It's a shame that you can't see them on TV any more. I've said for years that Disney needs to start a Disney Classics channel. :happytv:

BTW, AK is my fourth favorite park at WDW...

Hmmmm... a Disney Classics channel... that's a brilliant idea! There are soooo many kids now-a-days that have no idea what some of the classics look like, which is just a shame.

I know what you mean about Primeval Whirl. That ride is painful. I wanted off that thing as soon as it started. I love EE and the Nemo and FTLK shows. I am not crazy about the rest of it. It took us close to an hour to get out last time we were there because we kept getting turned around. AK is definitely my least favorite park.

Eek! An hour?? Wow. I feel your pain!

Caught up! :thumbsup2

Just back from Myrtle Beach. :woohoo:

Seems you feel the way about AK as I do HS.

ToT and RR being HS only saving graces...haven't seen Toy Story Mania yet...so that may help...just about everything else at HS is a tourturous nightmare for me. :headache: But I used to feel the same way about the World Showcase until I deside to eat my way around the world...made it more...uuuhhhh...palatable. :rolleyes1

AK after the parade is pretty cool...aside from EE everything else is pretty much empty...Primevil Whirl is not all that bad if you can just walk up and get on. We like to ride Kali River Rapids about 2-3 times in a row...also I've had better luck seeing the "Big Lion" on one of the last rides out on the Safari...

That's interesting... we LOVE DHS. So much to do and there's not a ride there that DD doesn't like (Excpet for ToT for now ;)) Funny how everyone has their own favorites!

Amazed to hear that about Primeval Whirl.

It is one of my top 5 favorite rides in all of Disney World.

I'm glad you enjoy the ride. There were a lot of people there that also seemed to enjoy it, too.

:thumbsup2 great updates!!! love the pics.:thumbsup2

Thanks! I'm working hard to get another update out soon. This summer has become VERY busy already!

Hey Don - why don't you really tell us what you think about Animal Kingdom. :rotfl:

I love AK! I'm not a huge fan of Dinoland, but there are some things about it I like. Did you go to the Boneyard?? That's the best part! I hated Primeval Hurl - I mean Whirl. Dinosaur is pretty cool though!

I agree that the park was not set up well and certain areas get very crowded. But, so much fun stuff to see and do. Have you done It's Tough to Be a Bug before? That's really good too.

LOL... I thought I was being reserved :rolleyes1

We flew by the boneyard. I didn't think DD would be very interested in it and DW just wanted to get out of there. Maybe next time!

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r68/arabiguria/Mulan/clipcrikee.gif http://www.dtuneslive.com/images/shoutcast/jiminy.gif

HAHA! Nice. Sounds like someone is anxious for another update popcorn::

[Emma's Dad]

April 30, 2009

With Animal Kingdom in the rearview mirror (of the Disney bus) we turn our thoughts to more relaxing, enjoyable activities... like swimming and reading a book. Back to CSR we go with DD and I changing into our swimwear and DW grabbing her book to claim her favorite hammock. This was a much needed break from the heat and the stress from the morning. I finally remembered to take my refillable mug to the pool this time so I could take advantage of the free refills at the cabana. With an ice-cold Coke in my mug and ice water in DD's mug we throw our stuff on a lounge chair and head for the Jaguar slide. Such a cool slide for a resort pool. It's not too fancy... but it's fun enough to go on it again... and again... and again... without burning up too much energy. The pool was starting to get more crowded on this day. Even with several dozen people in the pool, it was still very enjoyable and fun. DD always meets new friends there and has a blast!

After fun time in the pool, we decide we are going to try a different restaurant this night. Again, being on the QSDP, choices in restaurants are limited. But one that caught both our eyes was Captain Cook's at the Poly. But then we also decide we are going to make this an adventure. We start off by heading to Bus Stop 4 and catching a bus to Magic Kingdom.

Once we get off the bus at MK, we head for the boat launches. Having never been on one of the boats to the resorts we figured now would be a good time to travel to Poly in this fashion. Here are a few pics as we are waiting for the boat:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldANpaWV1I/AAAAAAAADF0/0kEY65PoLEE/s800/DSC02420.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NJL8-XCy-QhlbDZna4Fu3g?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAN0h54kI/AAAAAAAADF4/U4qYi8f4ELQ/s800/DSC02421.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GJJGVLQhEFjOpAFLu3J5Gw?feat=embedwebsite)

This one is my favorite...

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAOeuyl7I/AAAAAAAADGA/gx30OghZDsU/s800/DSC02423.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/0MlW0og5AhfXEjoQQtOxiA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAOPPbFnI/AAAAAAAADF8/Q6nLSGTJKyw/s800/DSC02422.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BnCF8QywNmTCZ_kbIJb4ww?feat=embedwebsite)

And here are a bunch of pictures while we are on the boat ride over to the Poly. I never knew the boat rides would be so calm and peaceful.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAOyeXY9I/AAAAAAAADGI/GIz7A6TTo1k/s800/DSC02425.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BAIMpNStIrcd8LEKXzCJFw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAO9Kk-XI/AAAAAAAADGM/TLzvZA3aLfI/s800/DSC02426.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NeUf_aHNl6PrrlsT5FkTSg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAPZcoaZI/AAAAAAAADGU/LhheatIX77g/s800/DSC02427.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Iof_9qH9uz-z2oq-MuO5YA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAPkARsVI/AAAAAAAADGY/Gj2KzUmgy9g/s800/DSC02428.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/dh80VN1EP2XASyVf8yQDfQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAd3d4VAI/AAAAAAAADGo/GOzqFdkLMwY/s800/DSC02431.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WVJ_y2r3c8A1v3a7YAWlbA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAeCjfiKI/AAAAAAAADGs/wUabvDyrpIs/s800/DSC02432.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/w_5Weq0oaCMbQjj_0eIuVg?feat=embedwebsite)

And here is a video I took while on the boat. I was amazed at how DD was able to see and distinguish Space Mountain! I didn't even prompt her for that! She is catching on quickly to the Disney ways!

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAdlu9OGI/AAAAAAAADGg/v-MPnPizv2M/s288/MOV02430.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YS5wQ2HQkUdDd3vEmgLqgg?feat=embedwebsite)

We made it safely to the Poly and had fun checking out the volcano pool on the way in. This was the first time I've seen the pool up close. I like how it's close to the beach... too bad you can't go swimming by the beach! Anyway, we find Captains Cook's with little trouble. But then we try to order our food. They have a new touch-screen ordering system that allows you to simply select the food you want and the sides. BUT... you'd think this would be easy. No such luck. Half way into our ordering process, we had to ask someone a question about the kids food. By the time we got our answer (which no one seems to want to acknowledge you), the ordering screen had reset and we had to go through the whole process again. This was VERY frustrating. Once we finally got our food, we took to the outdoors, as the temperature was just right to be eating outside. In all, the food was OK, the service was mediocre, and the atmosphere was good. I do believe we said we would never go out of our way to eat there again.

From Captain Cook's, we found our way to the monorail station. We took the monorail back to MK and then caught a bus back to CSR for more fun and relaxation. We needed to get some more milk for the morning, so DW and DD went back to the room while I got off Bus Stop 1 and grabbed a few supplies. On my way back to the room I took these pics from various parts of the walk:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAepI5HJI/AAAAAAAADG0/VhSdiEI__70/s800/DSC02434.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/YJ7NBPHnvCkhQNSno0_lKA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAe-1gCuI/AAAAAAAADG4/yMUGfIW1jZM/s800/DSC02435.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/D48tmbgOMW_XqhZQYWQT8w?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAfE09HCI/AAAAAAAADG8/985j8ZAhH4o/s800/DSC02436.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/B2xrhh9HO9rq2tWcoVgfIg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAfZ9BnmI/AAAAAAAADHA/qdzjR_qecwA/s800/DSC02437.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ifJo-1ntn7sOqn2TbgWEow?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAfhyN83I/AAAAAAAADHE/2-rLVE_bXWU/s800/DSC02438.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/BCUJclPAsrLfTmRXy4_v5A?feat=embedwebsite)

I dropped off the supplies in the room and went over to the pool to see what DW and DD were up to. DD was in her environment and was having fun with other kids. The pool was pretty busy at this time of the night even though the temps were dropping down into the 70's by that time. Here are some pics of her in the pool:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAf7-yxSI/AAAAAAAADHI/B9qYgUjZF9A/s800/DSC02439.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bFmqlCbZp8q3zmnd75Og8Q?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAgMvF8KI/AAAAAAAADHM/HREZNXoTf4U/s800/DSC02440.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/-90zQ9c5EXdbwxw8nq5TsQ?feat=embedwebsite)

And another video:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAmIWbjRI/AAAAAAAADHQ/ys191EMyXUM/s288/MOV02441.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/zocTVN7mn8NxvaTlgO73PQ?feat=embedwebsite)

I needed some relaxation, so I grabbed the camera and headed over to DW's favorite hammock. I also wanted to see what the hype was all about. When I get to the hammock and lay down, I could immediately feel all of the day's stresses slowly melt away. There was a gentle breeze coming off the lake right over the hammock and just enough to make the palm trees make that soothing brush sound. The temperature must have been in the mid to lower 70's and very low humidity. I was thinking it was such a perfect night to be sitting there and taking it all in. It then occured to me that I should try to take some night shots with my camera and see how they turn out. Here are the results (sorry for the dark ones... I tried different settings).

This one was taken as I was laying on my back on the hammock. Notice the moon is this picture :smickey:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAmcaqwiI/AAAAAAAADJg/7kLu-w7dE5Q/s800/DSC02442.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/9LMvx8-n1UUfzv8ieCFtMA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAmhx8_nI/AAAAAAAADI8/W9Cweeiijms/s800/DSC02443.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LoKyvaMa8hnsMePxgARcuA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAm3NkM6I/AAAAAAAADJA/gySqzsarB-o/s800/DSC02444.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jrRkQmPqMtkKkQv6IBVD6w?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAnMfnymI/AAAAAAAADHk/Yh22PXYSzg8/s800/DSC02446.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mePAvWRqLCr4e9AyiUmykA?feat=embedwebsite)

And so the day comes to an end. What started as a hectic, blood pressure rising day at AK turned out to be a very relaxing and enjoyable evening. And as we are getting ready to turn in for the night, I took a final picture of DD as she put on her "stare" while watching some TV before the lights were turned out. She slept very well this night... and so did I. I love Disney World.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SldAon-no4I/AAAAAAAADIA/9KGa1nM2hgU/s800/DSC02453.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Bx8ziXUQ3mWetCKiltlLMw?feat=embedwebsite)

Next up: Day 4, Part 1: "CHIP AND DALE!!!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33254037&postcount=133)

[dvczerfs]

great update don!! (now im home sick):lmao:

[Emma's Dad]

great update don!! (now im home sick):lmao:

Thanks ;) Aren't we all a little home sick?? I'm thinking we might need a mini-vacation in the fall!!

[trennr]

I'm headed for "home" in 7 Days...13 hours...59 Miutes... :cool1:

[Emma's Dad]

I'm headed for "home" in 7 Days...13 hours...59 Miutes... :cool1:

Yeah... you keep rubbing it in, would ya? :lmao: You're going to have a blast at CSR!

[trennr]

Yeah... you keep rubbing it in, would ya?

Sorry...just a little excited! :hyper:

[carissanboys]

Lovely photos Don. I could feel myself relaxing just looking at them. :goodvibes

[thechesters420]

Great update and wonderful resort pictures too.

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Great update, my kids get that same stare after a long day at the parks and watching the tube.:laughing:
I am also not to big on dinoland, it just seems completely misplaced and that whirl was a first and last time ride for us as well on our last trip.

My wife has been trying to convince me that a summer trip is in order,(not that it would take much convincing) but someone has to think straight....... right?:lmao:

Scary thing, having two Disney freaks in one family! (two mini freaks as well);)

Looking forward to your next installment!

[Emma's Dad]

Lovely photos Don. I could feel myself relaxing just looking at them. :goodvibes

Oh to be there right now............

Great update and wonderful resort pictures too.

Thanks. CSR is pretty photogenic :goodvibes

Great update, my kids get that same stare after a long day at the parks and watching the tube.:laughing:
I am also not to big on dinoland, it just seems completely misplaced and that whirl was a first and last time ride for us as well on our last trip.

My wife has been trying to convince me that a summer trip is in order,(not that it would take much convincing) but someone has to think straight....... right?:lmao:

Scary thing, having two Disney freaks in one family! (two mini freaks as well);)

Looking forward to your next installment!

I feel your pain about the summer trip. I keep looking at Southwest's prices and it pains me to know that I could get round trip airfare for the 3 of us for about $400 right now... plus Free Dining promo... but I have no more vacation time. I'm feeling the need for a Disney fix.....

I'm proud of you for being the "voice of reason" during these difficult times :rotfl:

[MagicShell]

I have been gone for a while, just caught up. I could just imagine what it was like to be swinging in that hammock. And, I love palm trees.

[scottny]

another great update and pics.

AK is my favorite park for photography.

the swimming looked nice and even nicer was the lying in the hammock. so relaxing.

[Emma's Dad]

I have been gone for a while, just caught up. I could just imagine what it was like to be swinging in that hammock. And, I love palm trees.

Good to have you back! I've been mentally away for a while. I hope to have another installment ready for you soon!

another great update and pics.

AK is my favorite park for photography.

the swimming looked nice and even nicer was the lying in the hammock. so relaxing.

Thanks! I must agree... AK is good for taking pictures.

I'd love to be in one of those hammocks right about now....

[trennr]

Hey Don,

Just checking in...back from my trip to the CSR. :thumbsup2

Was thinking about doing one myself...

...and have now started it...Link in my Signiture.

[trennr]

Hey Don!!!!

I'l be Posting Day 3: Part 3 on my TR about Monday.

You better get this show on the road!!!

:rotfl2:

[Emma's Dad]

All right... that's it. I'm writing day 4 now.... :surfweb:

[Northern Disney Girl]

Great TR!!! :goodvibes Your daughter is beautiful! princess: It sounds like you had a VERY relaxing trip! We are planning our second trip for January 2010 and are hoping to do something similar! Rest, rest, relax, relax! No running around like crazy fools this time! :) I am very much enjoying reading your Report, waiting for more! :thumbsup2

[Emma's Dad]

Great TR!!! :goodvibes Your daughter is beautiful! princess: It sounds like you had a VERY relaxing trip! We are planning our second trip for January 2010 and are hoping to do something similar! Rest, rest, relax, relax! No running around like crazy fools this time! :) I am very much enjoying reading your Report, waiting for more! :thumbsup2

Thank you :goodvibes She is my little princess. I have to admit, this trip was completely different than the first trip we took the year before. Relaxing is much better for all parties involved :rotfl: I hope your trip will be as good as ours was.

No promises... but I'm trying to get another installment posted by tonight :)

[Emma's Dad]

Before I start this installment, I have to say that I have new respect for writers. How they are able to remain constantly focused and motivated to write all those words every day is beyond my thinking. Just trying to finish this little TR has proven to be above my writing skills... or should I say desire. This summer has focused my attention on more "funner" things in life like playing in an eight foot inflatable pool with DD or spending long days at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. In any case, at this time I want to extend my most sincere apology to my fans who have been following this sporadic report and have waited over a month for a new update. I will make an extra special attempt to make this installment more entertaining :)

May 1, 2009

Finally! It's Magic Kingdom day! WOOHOO! I always look forward to the first day we get to visit MK during the trip. It's that magical feeling you get when you are dropped off at the bus stop and you start walking towards the entrance and see the train station looming overhead... or (if you are lucky enough) see a monorail train passing swiftly by... or watch a boat or two preparing for mooring... all while listening to the theme park music inviting you to join in on the fun. My poor family... they always try to keep up with my long legs (I'm 6'2" BTW), but I get so excited that I'm nearly dragging both of them to the gate!

The number one goal for this day is meeting the fairies at Pixie Hollow and getting some autographs. DD is soooo looking forward to meeting Silvermist! DW wants to meet Tinker Bell. Me... well, I'm favorable to Tink too, but don't tell DD I said that!

We are able to swiftly pass through the gate area and we start to head for the train station. We figured it would be the easiest and laziest way to get to Toon Town. BUT... before we even get one foot on the stairs to the station, DD announces she needs to use the restroom. No problem... there's some right over by City Hall. So as DD and DW come out of the restrooms, we are getting ready to point our noses in the direction of the train station again and out of the corner of our eyes we notice the doors opening to the CM area where the Main Street vehicles usually come out of. To our surprise, out comes Chip and Dale blowing bubbles!! Woohoo!! DD is super excited since Chip and Dale were at the top of her list (right below Silvermist of course). She was able to be the second person in line to get their autographs.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7qvlYkzAI/AAAAAAAADME/eCKIz6YLalA/s800/DSC02454.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/KTy-DRjBWejfmwg6IPk_Xw?feat=embedwebsite)

As you watch the following video of DD meeting Chip and Dale, you will notice they start playing with her little battery operated fan. They were too cute!

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7q8YcyX2I/AAAAAAAADMI/UhFCPMctpXE/s288/MOV02455.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/mLwksGjUErBSSPiuAsYEVQ?feat=embedwebsite)

Oh... and then we were getting ready to leave, and thank goodness DW has a habit of checking the autographs... Chip forgot to finish his autograph!! He wrote "Ch"... I guess he got too distracted with the whole fan thing! DD thought that was totally hilarious and made Chip finish it. Dale was almost rolling on the ground with laughter at Chip's mistake. You would have thought Dale would have been the one to forget! HAHA! Here is the bunch all together and behaving now:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7q8hBUsmI/AAAAAAAADMQ/UMFHnXkHPQc/s800/DSC02456.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/c1MwaPX0u7qFDPI5sRXSCw?feat=embedwebsite)

With our day starting off with some exciting Disney magic, we change our minds and figure we should go ahead and visit the Main Street Bakery for a little breakfast snack. Besides, we still have another snack credit left from the day before on the QSDP. Here are a few pics on the way across the street:

Fairy display on Main Street:
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7wukPKtOI/AAAAAAAADNY/nRjMOpsfxcc/s800/DSC02457.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jOE-42QQ3Qlrzpd6eYCSTg?feat=embedwebsite)

DD on Main Street:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7w3Fnhf0I/AAAAAAAADNg/SQJjlZExGv0/s800/DSC02458.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/rvCpGVf8UQHaEsZdXqKFrA?feat=embedwebsite)

And here is a picture of me and DD while we are waiting at Main Street Bakery. Some excellent photography going on here.....
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7w16atowI/AAAAAAAADNc/fyjGWZTNfng/s800/DSC02461.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5sADXXpyofqkGNzdd4DV5A?feat=embedwebsite)

I must say... they make some killer cherry turnovers here! And DD is still talking about meeting Chip and Dale :) With our bellies a little fuller, we finally make our way over and up to the train station just as the train was pulling into the station. Toon Town, here we come!

Day 4, Part 2: "I sure hope Sil is there!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33860233&postcount=149)

[dvczerfs]

hi don!! great update! i try to stay away from chip and dale, they seem to have fun w/ what little hair i have. love the bakery!!!:thumbsup2

[Northern Disney Girl]

:thumbsup2 I'll keep reading if you keep writing! :)

[floydfamily4]

My DH took the kids out for some "daddy" fun and I used my "me" time to share in your vacation :) Thanks for sharing. I love that you got to meet Chip and Dale finally. Looking forward to your next installment!

[trennr]

:banana:

[MagicShell]

Yay, an update! My husband like the cherry turnovers at the Main Street bakery as well. Chip and Dale are always so much fun, aren't they? I am wondering how long the line for the fairies is going to be for you. I have heard many tales of LONG lines. I am glad you are continuing to write and I am sure it is a lot of work.

[carissanboys]

Yay for meeting Chip and Dale! I love hearing about great character interactions. :goodvibes

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Thanks for the new installment, I will definately keep reading. My younger boy really loves Chip and Dale, so that is always a "must do". There is nothing better than when characters just "appear", especially if they are on your autograph list.:) You looked like you all were having a great time.

I can't wait to go back.:goodvibes

[luvdumbo]

popcorn:: Enjoying the report!

[scottny]

great update and pics.

I agree with the writing that is why I keep the words to a minimum and let the pics speak for themselves.

[thechesters420]

I have to Know if you met the fairies!!

[stacopp]

I read through your whole report (so far) and gotta tell you it's great! Looking forward to more!!

[Emma's Dad]

hi don!! great update! i try to stay away from chip and dale, they seem to have fun w/ what little hair i have. love the bakery!!!:thumbsup2

HAHA! I love Chip and Dale. They are always getting into trouble!

:thumbsup2 I'll keep reading if you keep writing! :)

Well... as you can see, I hope you are not holding your breath! I promise to have another update very soon!

My DH took the kids out for some "daddy" fun and I used my "me" time to share in your vacation :) Thanks for sharing. I love that you got to meet Chip and Dale finally. Looking forward to your next installment!

Thank you for stopping by to read my TR. Now I feel extremely bad that I haven't even replied to your post or provided an update. I hope you'll continue reading despite my lacking :guilty:

Yay, an update! My husband like the cherry turnovers at the Main Street bakery as well. Chip and Dale are always so much fun, aren't they? I am wondering how long the line for the fairies is going to be for you. I have heard many tales of LONG lines. I am glad you are continuing to write and I am sure it is a lot of work.

Thanks! You should be finding out very soon about the fairy line....

Yay for meeting Chip and Dale! I love hearing about great character interactions. :goodvibes

Thanks, Carissa! I can only aspire to be such a wonderful TR writer as you. At least you give updates :lmao:

Thanks for the new installment, I will definitely keep reading. My younger boy really loves Chip and Dale, so that is always a "must do". There is nothing better than when characters just "appear", especially if they are on your autograph list.:) You looked like you all were having a great time.

I can't wait to go back.:goodvibes

We did! And I can't wait either!

popcorn:: Enjoying the report!

Welcome! Thanks for reading (what there is of it anyway)

great update and pics.

I agree with the writing that is why I keep the words to a minimum and let the pics speak for themselves.

:rotfl2: Maybe I should just post up all my pictures and quit talking! :lmao:

I have to Know if you met the fairies!!

OK... it's coming! Promise! :woohoo:

I read through your whole report (so far) and gotta tell you it's great! Looking forward to more!!

Wow! Thank you so much for reading along! Welcome... and I will do my best to keep trudging on. I hope I'm done by the time my next trip comes up in April! :rotfl:

Thanks to everyone for following along in our adventures. I told DW that I need to focus on this and get through it, so I've got her on my side pushing me along. She's my inspiration :love:

OK... I'm getting to writing now... hope to have this updated again very soon!

[trennr]

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gifhttp://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gifhttp://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gifhttp://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gif

[scottny]

I wouldn't stop talking all together. :lmao:

I am doing a tr for my Europe trip and I write as little as I can. :lmao:

[DisneyDaddy-O]

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gifhttp://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gifhttp://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gifhttp://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gif


:lmao::lmao::lmao:

Don, I hear a rumour of a PT report......:rolleyes1

[Emma's Dad]

May 1, 2009

The WDW Railroad is such a nice way to travel around the World. All you have to do is climb aboard and let the conductor drive you to your destination... no zig-zagging through Main Street. No emergency walk-stopping because someone decided in an instant to turn around and go the opposite direction. No... all you have to do is sit. And that's exactly what we did all the way to Toon Town. After a quick stop in Frontierland, we were on our way to see what the fairies were up to in Pixie Hollow. DD was getting more excited by the minute... and asked several times if Silvermist was going to be there. I assured her that it was my most important wish on this trip to see her give Sil a big hug. But I also let her know that the fairies were very busy at this time of the year because spring was in full bloom... and all the flowers needed constant attention and watering. "I sure hope Sil is there!", she says.

Once the train arrives in Toon Town, we make a beeline straight to the Hall of Fame Tent. Fortunately, our youth and long legs gives us the advantage over the remaining guests disembarking from the train and we are able to lead the pack into the tent. The sign above the entrance to the fairy line indicates about a 30 minute wait. Not bad. We waited longer for the princess line last year. There was no wait to go see the princesses. Poor things. I'm imagining one of the princesses (Snow White) sitting down with her arm propping up her head saying to the other princesses, "I wonder if those fairies like to eat apples?" :rotfl2:

Why does it seem like those lines in the tent take FOREVER to get through? We got to the very front on the line where the red rope is and it seemed like 20 minutes went by before the CM came to let us in. Maybe they had some special dignitaries stop by... or maybe Fairy Mary blew a gasket and told the fairies to clean up the place. IDK... but we were finally walking down the hallway and becoming fairy-sized! DD really loved how everything was getting bigger... she thought she was actually shrinking pixiedust:

I should pause here for a moment and explain one of our traditions we started the year before. During our trip in 2008 we found a beautiful piece of art in The Art of Disney in DTD of all the princesses together. We had never seen anything like it before and came up with the idea to have all the princesses sign the artwork. Well, we managed to get everyone's autograph but Jasmine's that year. So this year we had saved up reward dollars on the Disney card specifically to get another piece of art for the fairies to sign. I suppose I forgot to mention this in the Day 2 installment... but we did manage to find and purchase a very nice poster at The Art of Disney of all the fairies together. Actually, we bought two of the same posters... one for DD and one for her friend. And I even remembered to bring them with me this morning. :thumbsup2

So we get into the room and the first fairy we meet is Iridessa. She is so very nice and polite with DD. The first thing DD did was pull out the posters for her to sign. What happened during the signing of the posters is best left to be seen in this short video. Let's just say Tinker Bell was feeling a little frisky at about 14 seconds into the video!

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7zNLgSOTI/AAAAAAAADN8/GBVPiRqcb2E/s288/MOV02467.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/58tMMR7aW9NiXLP_QXNIlg?feat=embedwebsite)

And here is DD getting her picture taken with Iridessa:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7zNiFFS2I/AAAAAAAADOI/IuPhZtteOvA/s800/DSC02469.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/x7FHGfXBDzDTERHCmwEU6w?feat=embedwebsite)

Next up was Tinker Bell. She was so full of energy! I'm surprised DW didn't get a picture with Tink as well... but I guess she was a little distracted.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7zTIANyEI/AAAAAAAADOU/RKWb176dRXM/s800/DSC02472.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tqCxHNeTpHyXOsjSKtgUdQ?feat=embedwebsite)

And lastly, there was Rosetta:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/So7zU9cZreI/AAAAAAAADOo/Z3cnY3y1fZ8/s800/DSC02477.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qeyrkwBzWCaUw2pQEr3fnw?feat=embedwebsite)

We tried to find out when Silvermist would be back in Pixie Hollow, but the fairies were not sure. :confused3 They thought she was out at the babbling brook catching up on the latest gossip ... who knows. But seriously, we could not find a single CM that would divulge when/where we could find Silvermist. DD was a little disappointed, but she was still happy that she got to meet Tinker Bell!

After the meet and greet, we hang out in the shopping area for several minutes... until we got tired of saying "no" to each of DD's request of purchasing highly expensive toys. We managed to get out of there product free... this time. LOL!

The whole experience with the fairies was a good one overall. Even though we waited longer than I had hoped, DD was entertained by the TVs in the queue which were showing snippets of unseen fairy footage. And, of course, previews for the upcoming Tinker Bell movie (Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure)... which is coming out soon and is a topic of conversation lately. I believe you will find our family there again the next time we go.

From Toon Town, we make our way counter clockwise around the World. I wanted this day to be relaxing and special, so I did not take many pictures along the way. Just wanted to take it all in and not worry about whether or not I got all these fancy camera shots. We hit almost all the major attractions... except I still did not manage to get her on Splash Mountain! Not sure why she keeps fighting me on that ride, but I'm sure one day she'll do it and fall in love :love: This year was the first time we visited Tom Sawyer Island. Even DW liked the little getaway from the normal asphalt walkways. BUT... it was getting hot... and we didn't have any water on us... so we left there to go eat at Pecos Bill's. This was also a first for us. I really like tacos... so this was good for me. DD and DW found stuff, but they weren't as enamored with the place as I was. I suppose next time I'll be on my own there.

I can't remember exactly where we found this little hideaway... but I believe it was under the train station by Splash Mountain. DD loves play areas... even if she is too big for them! This gives me and DW a chance to relax for a few minutes.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsybLRGuqFI/AAAAAAAADXA/aDzPdYfZLko/s800/DSC02479.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Z0tm7oqMeJzCOX3uhPnPBQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsybNiIWcXI/AAAAAAAADXE/B6yJFYNUHPI/s800/DSC02481.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/HRIKl4UngtCaPPJHJbpH2Q?feat=embedwebsite)

Later on in the day we manage to run into a parade on Main Street. As you can see by the crowd size, this was not a well anticipated parade. I was not very impressed by this particular parade... although I DID get to see Woody! Didn't seem to be much thought put into the parade... like someone said, "Hey! round up various characters, put them on these spare floats over here, and open the gates!"

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsydY1JC8oI/AAAAAAAADYE/JqSWyi_ZPMA/s800/DSC02485.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/IY9r0EBE6-_NltBN1VybOw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Ssyd39_zWXI/AAAAAAAADYQ/lOCuMj__HWI/s800/DSC02487.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/qvjVxPhJFMaa4jP_xx2ooA?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Ssyd6cNlohI/AAAAAAAADYU/CSWS-h4izro/s800/DSC02489.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/VdmonqtA7zWTqzaJeEnIPA?feat=embedwebsite)

Here are a few more photo ops:

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsyczlURPpI/AAAAAAAADXs/Noaiflb5pKw/s800/DSC02484.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ue0dQjF-JmH45Z4EG90DLg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Ssyep30EkQI/AAAAAAAADYY/GfK7ZTrinHc/s800/DSC02493.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/nDZ-UeOvQ9GIN8-O_2Vcbg?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsyhETFWoRI/AAAAAAAADYk/teOUGiwdOEk/s800/DSC02494.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fcR0EV1t0WdwouY_5vbE6w?feat=embedwebsite)

Then, as evening is setting upon us and the hour draws closer to Wishes, I grab the following pictures while getting into position for the viewing. We like to get close to the exit for a quick getaway :) This looks like a typical Wishes crowd....

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/Ssyh9yH0frI/AAAAAAAADYw/w9EgEdhckyM/s800/DSC02497.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ZK2AzcReohT_w1BsNTlZAw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsyiBGxgU3I/AAAAAAAADY0/LGHuPEh6dgM/s800/DSC02499.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/caKKyDNNWBX2VVJz5nPRWw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SsyiJhAyVUI/AAAAAAAADY4/vbAtPlvezVU/s800/DSC02509.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CPw6cohyKx6EDsLvpuR7Dg?feat=embedwebsite)

Sorry... no pictures of the fireworks. I was finally able to enjoy the whole show with my family. Then, just as the show ended, we bolted for the exit to get our tired, exhausted bodies back to the resort. I'm so glad CSR has the number 1 bus stop... how that happened, I don't know. But we catch the bus and get back to CSR with no problems. And as our heads hit the pillows, our thoughts and dreams drift off to wonder what is in store for the next day... at Hollywood Studios.

Day 5, Part 1: "Finally! TSM!" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34395747&postcount=169)

[FreezinRafiki]

I know what you mean about the Princesses. We waited 45 minutes for the Fairies last time we were there. We could have gone through the Princess line 3 times while we waited!
Tink was a ball full or energy with us to. The second time we saw them, it was Silvermist, Tink and Fawn. DD greeting Sil, then ran right past Tink to Fawn. Tink started throwing a little fit, stomping her feet and pouting. Fawn just laughed and danced around with DD. :rotfl2:

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Nice job on the highly anticipated update.:goodvibes

The look on Iridessa's face is priceless when Tink shows up, I guess she was just as surprised as you guys were. Your daughter's smile says it all.
We have never seen the fairies, (having 2 boys and all) but next year we are going to go with my cousin who has a little girl, which should give us a different prespective of visiting all the "girly" stuff. (as my boys would say.)

We actually do the opposite of you at the end of the Wishes fireworks, we get up close and slowly walk around until the crowd leaves, that's how I got that pic in my sig. Then we walk to the buses and no crowds.

Look forward to the next installment in December. :rotfl::lmao: just kidding.....

I am really setting myself up for some serious ribbing if I do a TR for my next trip.

[Emma's Dad]

I know what you mean about the Princesses. We waited 45 minutes for the Fairies last time we were there. We could have gone through the Princess line 3 times while we waited!
Tink was a ball full or energy with us to. The second time we saw them, it was Silvermist, Tink and Fawn. DD greeting Sil, then ran right past Tink to Fawn. Tink started throwing a little fit, stomping her feet and pouting. Fawn just laughed and danced around with DD. :rotfl2:

Oh my! I can see that causing Tink having a fit! :lmao: That would have been interesting to watch!

[Emma's Dad]

Nice job on the highly anticipated update.:goodvibes

The look on Iridessa's face is priceless when Tink shows up, I guess she was just as surprised as you guys were. Your daughter's smile says it all.
We have never seen the fairies, (having 2 boys and all) but next year we are going to go with my cousin who has a little girl, which should give us a different prespective of visiting all the "girly" stuff. (as my boys would say.)

We actually do the opposite of you at the end of the Wishes fireworks, we get up close and slowly walk around until the crowd leaves, that's how I got that pic in my sig. Then we walk to the buses and no crowds.

Look forward to the next installment in December. :rotfl::lmao: just kidding.....

I am really setting myself up for some serious ribbing if I do a TR for my next trip.

HAHA! I'm surprised I didn't jump even more when Tink did that! When I finally got to downloading all the pictures and videos, this was one of the first videos I checked... I wanted to see how much I jumped! :rotfl2: And yes... the smile says it all... she would have wanted to stay longer if she was allowed.

Personally, I would like to hang out after the fireworks, but DD's normal bedtime is 7:30... and with all the excitement she wasn't going to last much longer.

HAHA! December! Wait... that's just around the corner...... I better get started....

[FreezinRafiki]

Oh my! I can see that causing Tink having a fit! :lmao: That would have been interesting to watch!

As soon as I get some time, I'll upload the video. It's hilarious!

[carissanboys]

Too bad about not seeing Sil. But, love Tink's energy! :thumbsup2 Very cool idea about getting the posters and having them signed.

Great to see an update, Don! :)

[Emma's Dad]

As soon as I get some time, I'll upload the video. It's hilarious!

Dude! I'm sooooo watching it when you post it. I'll be looking forward to it :thumbsup2

Too bad about not seeing Sil. But, love Tink's energy! :thumbsup2 Very cool idea about getting the posters and having them signed.

Great to see an update, Don! :)

Thanks, Carissa! DD's friend loved the poster... she is still waiting to get to WDW!

[trennr]

Great update.:thumbsup2

Sorry y'all didn't get to see Silvermist. Gotta see your and FR's Movie when I get home.

Ya know...I almost put the e-mail update notification in the Spam folder...thought it was a hoax.
:lmao:

[MagicShell]

I hate to hear that your daughter didn't get to see her favorite fairy. I am glad that see took it well though. I enjoyed looking at your pictures as usual.

[dvczerfs]

great update don!! sorry dd didnt get her fav. princess. sounds like a good reason to have to come back! i allways forget to do something so that way i can tell dw,well, we have to come back!! :thumbsup2

[Emma's Dad]

Great update.:thumbsup2

Sorry y'all didn't get to see Silvermist. Gotta see your and FR's Movie when I get home.

Ya know...I almost put the e-mail update notification in the Spam folder...thought it was a hoax.
:lmao:

:rotfl2:

I hate to hear that your daughter didn't get to see her favorite fairy. I am glad that see took it well though. I enjoyed looking at your pictures as usual.

I'm glad she took it well, too. She's amazing :)

great update don!! sorry dd didnt get her fav. princess. sounds like a good reason to have to come back! i allways forget to do something so that way i can tell dw,well, we have to come back!! :thumbsup2

Thanks, Dave. I'm getting good at leaving reasons to go back :thumbsup2

[Northern Disney Girl]

:goodvibes Love the update! :thumbsup2 Tink IS a bit of a crazy girl isn't she? ;) When we were there in January, my daughter, then 5, had a very good explanation as to why Miss Tinker Bell was so wired! She said that maybe Tink had had too much sugar for breakfast! :lmao: She does bring a smile to your face though! :)

[crocko]

30 minute line for Fairies isn't too bad. In September, the shortest we saw was 75 minutes.

I wonder if part of that is a built-in wait time for the breaks that the Fairies may need every so often.

[dvczerfs]

:rotfl2:



I'm glad she took it well, too. She's amazing :)



Thanks, Dave. I'm getting good at leaving reasons to go back :thumbsup2

:thumbsup2, i miss the days of dd being little.

[trennr]

http://i58.photobucket.com/albums/g275/trennr/cricket.gif

[dvczerfs]

looks like crickets are moving in again!! they look like they are getting gray?? hair

[itJeff]

I'm imagining one of the princesses (Snow White) sitting down with her arm propping up her head saying to the other princesses, "I wonder if those fairies like to eat apples?" :rotfl2:


:lmao::rotfl2::lmao::rotfl2:

That's hilarious. I'll be waiting for the next installment. :surfweb:

[FreezinRafiki]

I'll be waiting for the next installment. :surfweb:

Join the club! :lmao:

Remember how small and cute and adorable Sil was in all those pictures? I hear she's getting ready to graduate high school this spring...

:rotfl2::rotfl2:

[Emma's Dad]

OK... yep... It's been over a month now... gotta get the next installment out. :surfweb:

[Emma's Dad]

May 2, 2009

OK... so this is our first and only Saturday in the parks. We've been blessed so far on this trip with minimal crowds. But now we are heading into the weekend and I am fully expecting a change in the crowd level. Per the crowd calculator, this day is ranked as a "9" and the park to avoid is.... drum roll please... yep... DHS. And we are totally going to take advantage of the early EMH for this day. We have never made a rope drop yet and I was determined to get us to at least one :thumbsup2

The park opens at 8:00 am and therefore we needed to get up and at 'em early. The plan is to get showered, dressed, fed and on the bus by 7:30 am. We managed to miraculously make our deadline and end up at the park around 7:40 am (Yeah... it's a short ride from CSR to DHS). By 7:50 we are walking up to the rope area by the shops. One thing I found interesting about rope drops... everyone seems to congregate in the middle of the street by the rope. We managed to zip by about 50 people simply by sneaking off to the sides of the street :tiptoe:

While we are waiting patiently for the rope drop, we start to formulate our plan. Our mission: Get FP's for TSM and head over to RnR. We are poised and ready to go... nothing can stop us now! I've been waiting sooooo long to finally get to ride TSM! But since we are going to play it smart, I was going to have to wait a little longer until the FP time arrives.

OK... the rope is dropped!! Woohoo! We start our way down Hollywood Blvd and we just get past the hat when all of a sudden I see her! Oh no... not a distraction... we're soooo focused on getting those FP's! But it was too late. DW and DD both saw her at the same time... it was none other than the sweet object of Donald's obsession... Daisy Duck. What to do?!? You can't just walk by Daisy and not say "hi"! We quickly discuss an alternate plan... DW would keep the camera and spend some quality time with Daisy and DD... I would continue on with the objective of capturing FP's for the three of us. I hear Daisy was pleased with the visit:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwQy5KFAQoI/AAAAAAAADc4/ut2hZU0Lr7o/s800/DSC02511.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/uozCBHyH_Y6mKHjRSkX8cQ?feat=embedwebsite)

What a crowd! By the time I had stopped, handed over the camera, and said a quick farewell to my group, the FP line had already grown considerably. Took about 10 minutes to get through the FP line and retrieve the passes. Mission accomplished. Return time: 9:00 - 10:00. Now it's time to go gather my ducklings and head over to RnR.

I find DW and DD where I left them and we start our journey across the park. Just as we see Sunset Blvd in view, DW also notices Starring Rolls Cafe. Uh oh. Another detour is about to occur... yep... DW is hungry now (she doesn't eat breakfast right away). So we stop in and check out what we could get for a snack credit. They have a pretty good selection of things to eat for a snack credit. If you're on the QSDP, then this is a nice change from the normal snack stuff. Highly recommended :thumbsup2

With our appetites feasting on the newly acquired morsels, we point our bodies back down Sunset Blvd. Ahhhh... there you are... oh wonderfully scary ToT. If only DD would grow to love you more! Maybe next year :goodvibes So we take a left at ToT and go get in line for RnR. Here's a quick video I took while we sauntered up the ramp to the entrance:

Video:
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwRVTLSLYBI/AAAAAAAADdI/H_0CWUTyBnk/s400/MOV02514.jpg (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WaDuZ9YwhqzLBwPnrioKWw?feat=embedwebsite)

There's not much of a line... we only wait maybe 15 minutes and we are being accelerated from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds. Did you know that you experience more G forces during the launch than an astronaut does during a space shuttle launch? The things you can learn on Wikipedia! :lmao: DD has announced that RnR is her favorite Disney ride. It's no wonder... that ride ROCKS!

Maybe it wasn't such a bright idea to do RnR next as it's a pretty good walk to and from Pixar Place with not much in between the two places. Although on our way back to TSM, we saw one of Chip and Dale's friends hanging out in the landscaping. See if you can find him here:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVMaaPkLMI/AAAAAAAADeQ/EEWItJjKEXE/s800/DSC02515.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/NQTU6yPYcgx7qoSHqRZn1A?feat=embedwebsite)

And here he is posing... such a ham:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVMeS1b4UI/AAAAAAAADeU/mFmC_9VaVsQ/s800/DSC02517.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/RTrHM2PbG91hHDOUy7WDMQ?feat=embedwebsite)

A few minutes later we are in front of Pixar Place and the time is right for our FP. So we go get in the FP line. TSM is a pretty fun place to hang out... even in the queue areas. I think we ended up waiting about 15 minutes... even in the FP line. This ride is very popular. DW and DD ended up in one car and I in another. Which was fine with me... no distractions while taking out all the targets. I didn't keep track of scores or anything, but I know I pelted out quite a barrage of ammunition. DD was proud of her high accuracy percentage! We all agreed that this was one of the best rides at Disney World. Too bad we only experienced it one time this visit. As we were leaving, I took a quick photo of the queue coming out of TSM:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVMkyZkdLI/AAAAAAAADeY/KbgcyT_POw0/s800/DSC02520.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bplob7yMJeMjI9ZZGsCOTg?feat=embedwebsite)

After TSM, we decide to head over to check out Studio Backlot Tour. DW has been looking forward to this ride. She's a TV/movie person and likes to see what goes on behind the scenes. Here's a few shots on the way over to SBT:

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVMwoFRxMI/AAAAAAAADec/T4_Ex6v8XBE/s800/DSC02521.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/oqWiGj9Z_fgb-xZjMp6EwQ?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVVYEFW9hI/AAAAAAAADek/TxJQTmTt--E/s800/DSC02522.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/fJOlXCezBkjLwBdcNOPHlQ?feat=embedwebsite)

I never noticed the snow stuff last year:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVVb0DqypI/AAAAAAAADeo/G0nAvHfBAkE/s800/DSC02523.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/avnZvXWDY8Osv7oeM_slJw?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVVeswu4aI/AAAAAAAADew/EpwLtKptUws/s800/DSC02524.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/4S1ETdYTNsli_L8tY4rG3A?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVVt-roH5I/AAAAAAAADe8/Ro_DajO7J9Y/s800/DSC02537.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/CIdWjM7bcjPedgFUwLVnhg?feat=embedwebsite)

The SBT was pretty fun. It had been many years since I had last been through it. DD seemed to like it, but was not thrilled with it. She was a little freaked out during the scene with the truck, fire, and water. But when she saw the back side of the scene, she was like "Whoa!! How did they build THAT!". That's my little engineer :)

From SBT we travel up Streets of America towards Star Tours. I've been looking forward to riding this one again because the last time I rode it was back in 1993. DD was fighting with us and was very reluctant to get on the ride. She is not fond of 4D simulators... this fear stems from a ride she went on at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, when she was 3. Scared the wits out of her. But as we neared the attraction, she seemed to be more interested. We caught the middle of a Jedi training session... DD wanted to join in on the fun... but we ended up watching it from the back. This was just enough entertainment to make her want to check out Star Tours. Apparently, this ride has lost it's spark. I couldn't even enjoy the queue because there was no one in the line. But I did manage to take a few shots while walking through:

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwViPnCK8cI/AAAAAAAADfI/KYzIR2zNyq8/s800/DSC02541.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/vKRaeKaPmiCvjHoqOYbL3g?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwViXtzMFNI/AAAAAAAADfM/nUAxCLrqhmo/s800/DSC02542.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/aRKNIt_7_qqrrynnx85v1Q?feat=embedwebsite)

The ride was just as I remembered it. DD and DW both seemed to enjoy the ride. But it really does need to be updated. Would be cool to get some high definition video in there and maybe some awesome explosions... add some realistic heat to go with it. So many things they could do!

Those were pretty much the highlights from this trip to DHS. We ended up walking around and checking out some shops and caught a street act or two. Just around lunch time we danced and sang along with a HSM3 show at the hat. Then we followed the float back down Hollywood Blvd toward the exit. Kind-of felt like we were in a little parade! Anyway... through the exit we went and onto a bus back to CSR for some R&R. Swimming and playing were pretty much all we did the rest of the day. Here are a few shots of DD playing at the Dig Site:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVpENbVteI/AAAAAAAADfo/HD51UqLU3Hk/s800/DSC02544.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/weaBX-XlsCAA-QPKCtBt6w?feat=embedwebsite)

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_bTi81UdLw0M/SwVpLNCvr7I/AAAAAAAADfs/_wXjQmGhSV4/s800/DSC02543.JPG (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GAPLK0esZX51cQydmFUvBQ?feat=embedwebsite)

After a long day at DHS, we decided to turn in early this day. We were able to enjoy yet another beautiful sunset at CSR... and DW got some more quality time in "her" hammock. And of course DD and I were water-logged from all the time in the pool. Have I mentioned just how relaxing this resort is? We didn't want to leave......

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Awesome another update!

I am glad you guys had a great time at DHS, this is on of my favorites. TSM is a stroke of brilliance and I couldnt agree more about Star Tours, but it is coming soon. Both my boys were picked to do the Jedi training, I have some great pics and they got a certificate.

Love the "Streetmosphere" in this park, that is something I really look forward to. Last year I got caught by some ladies that needed someone to move the red carpets for them because they were stars and only walked on red carpets.:lmao: really fun and my boys thought it was hilarious.

Too bad about TOT, but I am surprised your daughter went on RnR, I can't get either one of my boys on that. The 360 scares them. Maybe this year.

Great Job, maybe we will all lay off for a while........or not;)

[Emma's Dad]

Awesome another update!

I am glad you guys had a great time at DHS, this is on of my favorites. TSM is a stroke of brilliance and I couldnt agree more about Star Tours, but it is coming soon. Both my boys were picked to do the Jedi training, I have some great pics and they got a certificate.

Love the "Streetmosphere" in this park, that is something I really look forward to. Last year I got caught by some ladies that needed someone to move the red carpets for them because they were stars and only walked on red carpets.:lmao: really fun and my boys thought it was hilarious.

Too bad about TOT, but I am surprised your daughter went on RnR, I can't get either one of my boys on that. The 360 scares them. Maybe this year.

Great Job, maybe we will all lay off for a while........or not;)

Thanks, Nick! My girl would have LOVED to be part of the show. Before this trip occurred, I had been playing Star Wars The Force Unleashed on the Wii since that past Christmas. She had never seen the movies, but knew what a Jedi was based on the game! :rotfl2:

Good word! "Streetmosphere"... I like it, too.

Yes... it was a bit surprising to find out she liked RnR over TOT... but whatcha gonna do? lol

I'm thinking... probably not.... :lmao:

[DisneyDaddy-O]

Thanks, Nick! My girl would have LOVED to be part of the show.

We actually waited two shows and had the boys on the carpets first for the second show. They got to fight Darth Vader and became official Padawans. Of course now they have pop up lighted light sabers with sound effects that are used as real weapons when one gets mad at the other. I always say watch one of you dosen't cut the others hand off and that usually gets them laughing again.:lmao:

Boys will be boys.:darth:

:yoda: May the force be with you.

[Emma's Dad]

We actually waited two shows and had the boys on the carpets first for the second show. They got to fight Darth Vader and became official Padawans. Of course now they have pop up lighted light sabers with sound effects that are used as real weapons when one gets mad at the other. I always say watch one of you dosen't cut the others hand off and that usually gets them laughing again.:lmao:

Boys will be boys.:darth:

:yoda: May the force be with you.

:rotfl2::rotfl2: Too funny!

[dvczerfs]

wow an update!!! nice pics don!! i thought you were done.:lmao: its almost time to start the pre trip report.

[zuperdaave]

Great TR! Looking forward to Day 6!

[Emma's Dad]

wow an update!!! nice pics don!! i thought you were done.:lmao: its almost time to start the pre trip report.

:rotfl2: I'm not sure there will be a Pre-TR for the next one... that would mean I'd have to do another TR! :lmao:

Great TR! Looking forward to Day 6!

Thanks :thumbsup2 It will be much sooner than most will expect :laundy:

[FreezinRafiki]

Great update! Good see that you haven't abandoned us!
My DD is a sucker for Daisy, too

Dare I ask: when will we see more? :rotfl2:

[Captain_Oblivious]

Hey Don, just catching up now. Can't wait to try TSM for ourselves. And maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I still love the Star Tours ride! My kids just discovered Star Wars, and I'm hoping they get to ride it next year...but I'm afraid it'll be shut down before we make it. We'll see...