Our Short but Sweet, Sizzling HOT Summer Trip to the World! Updated 12/3...Finally!!! [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

Angies1274

09-01-2009, 08:19 AM

"Any wish is possible, all it takes is a little courage to set it free." Jiminy Cricket

Hi Everyone!!! I’m so excited to do this TR. I hope you decide to follow along and relive our wonderful trip:goodvibes As you can tell from the title of the report, it was a short trip (only 4 days) but that doesn't mean it was lacking on fun!!! We had an amazing time--saw some characters, rode some new rides and had lots and lots of family time. :welcome: back for those who read my last TR and for those who are just joining in...:yay::woohoo: I'm so happy your here!!!

Cast of Characters—Me (Angie) If you read my last trip report, you would know that I am the planner of all our Disney trips and I love it!! I feel lost when we return from a trip because all my planning is done and I immediately start begging DH to return just so I can start all the fun over again. Currently, I am a stay at home mom/student. I love scrapbooking, although lately it seems I never can find the time to do it. I enjoy music and movies (especially Disney movies)But, best of all, I love to curl up with a good book and great cup of coffee and when I’m not reading,chasing after the boys or going to school-- I’m daydreaming, planning and obsessing about our next Disney Vacation!! My favorite park is Magic Kingdom and favorite ride is EE.
http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy263/neils38_2009/100_1773.jpg
DH a great husband and father. Has been very supportive of my decision to return to school, which I really appreciate. On our first trip, he wasn’t very excited and admits to it. But now he has caught the Disney bug and can’t seem to get enough. Which is a great thing because it means our Disney adventures are not over yet!! His favorite park is also Magic Kingdom and his favorite ride is BTMRR.
DS9-Nick (he's on the right) He is wonderful little boy (actually not so little anymore and is growing up way to fast) He is very kind and sensitive. He loves music, sports and of course video games. He is a great student and we couldn’t be more proud of his achievements in school. He is just as crazy about Disney as I am and couldn’t wait to show his Grammie, Papa and Uncle all around Disney. He told me before he left “Mommy, I can’t wait until they feel the magic too!” Ahhh….such a sweet boy!! His favorite park is Magic Kingdom but his favorite ride is Test Track.
http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy263/neils38_2009/100_1523.jpg
DS6--Noah (he's on the left)—He’s my baby and he knows all he has to do is flash me his smile and I melt. He’s definitely a Mommy’s boy and loves to be at my side. He’s kind and sensitive like his brother but he can also be very stubborn and likes things his way. He has a wonderful imagination and he absolutely loves the Disney characters, especially all the villains. His favorite Park is Magic Kingdom and favorite ride is Splash Mountain.
http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy263/neils38_2009/100_1520.jpg
Grammie and Papa (my parent’s) Their very first visit to Disney and inspiration for this trip. They figured what could be better than a trip to Disney to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. They are wonderful parent’s and very supportive in everything I do. I have been after them since we returned from our first trip last year to come back with us. It was also going to be their first time flying and they were extremely nervous.
http://i798.photobucket.com/albums/yy263/neils38_2009/100_1641.jpg
Last but not least is my brother Lee, he decided to come along because at first he couldn’t believe we’d ever get our parent’s on a plane. He’s a great brother—funny, easygoing and the boys love being around him. It’s also his first visit to Disney and although he didn’t let on that he was excited. I think he secretly was….

The Plans
When---August 24---August 27
Where---Pop Century Resort w/ Free Dining.
(We had purchased 3 day Magic Your Way tickets—but were hoping to add an extra day once we got there, with the hopes of being able to visit all 4 parks)
A recap—So we only have 4 days with 3 newbies…..could we do it? How much would we get done?
I hope your still with me and decide to follow me along on our adventure to the World!!!

Handy Chapter Links!!!

Background/Plans (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33399303&postcount=2)
Are you ready for this? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33415002&postcount=11)
Hello, Pop Century!! We're Back!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33434215&postcount=23)
Plans Change?? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33489492&postcount=38)
Yay!! A Scavenger Hunt!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33489545&postcount=39)
There's a ride in that? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33519293&postcount=57)
Look at that line!! We're melting!! We're melting!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33572797&postcount=77)
Lunch with the Fab 5!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33625848&postcount=101)
Rain,Rain Go Away!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33674993&postcount=118)
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33711708&postcount=130)
Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!! (continued) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33711717&postcount=131)
A Wet and Wild Ride!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33763152&postcount=144)
Deep in the Hundred Acre Woods..... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33801148&postcount=159)
Celebrate You.....and an Anniversary Cruise!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33846843&postcount=172)
A little Disney magic.... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33887146&postcount=185)
Where's Boma? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33958386&postcount=199)
Taking a Whirl and Dodging Dinosaurs!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34007882&postcount=212)
Are We There Yet? and....Finding Elephants!!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34082607&postcount=227)
An Encounter with the Yeti!! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34229244&postcount=244)
Now, it's time to say goodbye....... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34407681&postcount=256)
Final Thoughts...... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34550761&postcount=270)

Angies1274

09-01-2009, 11:19 AM

When we came back from Disney last year, it's all I could talk about and frankly I think eventually everyone got tired of hearing about it.:laughing: But I couldn't help it!! We had such an amazing first trip that we immediately started planning another trip. We had narrowed it down to April. On Easter, we were visiting my parent's and of course we started talking about Disney and I mentioned how I wished that they could come with us. We had planned to leave for our trip 3 days later and were super excited!!! When out of the blue, I heard my DF agree to go with us, but next year. Huh?? Was I hearing things? I couldn't believe it. They are not travelers at all and honestly I was shocked, speechless and wanted to jump for joy!! We decided that May 2010 would be a good time and three days later, we boarded the plane for our 2009 trip. Little did we know when we returned we would be in for a big surprise. I was so worried that they had changed their minds. Instead, they wanted to know if we could possibly find a way to squeeze in a quick trip before summer ended and they would join us. They didn't know if they could afford it next year but knew they could this year and they also wanted to celebrate their anniversary and figured it would be a perfect way. At first, I was so disappointed because as much as I wanted to go back, I didn't think there would be any way we could do another trip this year. But on the other hand I was so afraid they would change their minds, that I eventually agreed and desperately tried to figure out a way to return. I began pricing our trip and with the Free Dining package and only staying 3 nights, it became affordable. YAY!!:yay: I immediately began the planning and was thrilled to do so!! It took alot of encouragement along the way because it was going to be their first time flying too. My DF told me later that they almost backed out many, many times. I'm so glad they didn't because we had such a great time!!

Our Plans

Day1--Enjoy resort/ DHS (hopefully)
Day 2--Epcot
Day 3--Magic Kingdom
Day 4--Animal Kingdom

I spent months planning because I knew we would have to take things at a much slower pace. But I was also excited to slow down on this vacation and maybe stop to "smell the roses" every now and then. Of course, we wanted them to experience all that they could but we were realistic...I mean we only had 4 days to show them why we love:lovestruc Disney soooooo much!!! Beside the usual countdown chain (which included fun trivia questions for the boys), we also had a chart that we marked off the days and spent many nights before the trip watching Disney movies and doing activities that went along with the movies. It was alot of fun and made the time go by much quicker and before we knew it, it was time to pull off the very last chain!! We were so happy--we were going back to WDW!!!

Up Next--Are you ready for this??

onejellyshelly

09-01-2009, 11:50 AM

Yes I am ready! I can't wait to hear about your trip and how you liked the Pop. We are within our thirty day countdown:banana::cool1::cloud9:!

cjackearl

09-01-2009, 01:57 PM

Hey girl, you know I'm in.:yay: I just noticed your link in your siggie. Now back to actually read your intro!:laughing:

onelilspark

09-01-2009, 02:03 PM

I'm in!

mommytothreeboys

09-01-2009, 04:10 PM

YAY!! Angie started her report!! I'm IN!! Can't wait to hear about your "4 days with 3 newbies" adventure! :banana::banana:

Angies1274

09-01-2009, 07:15 PM

Yay!!!:yay: I have readers!!! :welcome:

Yes I am ready! I can't wait to hear about your trip and how you liked the Pop. We are within our thirty day countdown:banana::cool1::cloud9:!
Thanks for joining in!!:goodvibes We love Pop!! This was actually our third time staying there. Your trip is coming soon--You must be soooo excited!! I noticed that you stayed at ASMovies last year. We are considering that resort for next year's trip. Did you like staying there?
Hey girl, you know I'm in.:yay: I just noticed your link in your siggie. Now back to actually read your intro!:laughing:
Hey there!! You found me!! Yay!!:yay: I'm glad you joined in!!!
I'm in!
Thanks for joining in!!!:thumbsup2 I noticed you have a TR for August too!! I'm on my way over to check it out!!!:goodvibes
YAY!! Angie started her report!! I'm IN!! Can't wait to hear about your "4 days with 3 newbies" adventure! :banana::banana:

Hi Missy!! I'm so happy that you're here!!!:banana: It was definitely an adventure!!;)

mickeystoontown

09-01-2009, 07:35 PM

I'm here! Now, I gotta go back and read!

Angies1274

09-01-2009, 09:45 PM

I'm here! Now, I gotta go back and read!

Hi Lisa!!!

I'm so glad you joined in!!! I can't promise it will be as exciting as your TR but I will certainly try!!!:thumbsup2

mickeystoontown

09-02-2009, 09:34 AM

Angies1274

09-02-2009, 11:32 AM

After pulling off our very last chain,I decided to do another quick check of the suitcases and once I was reassured that I had remembered everything or at least hoped I did. DH and I moved the suitcases by the door. It was already eight o'clock and we wanted to head to bed early since the alarm was set for 2am. Why so early you ask?? Well, the closest airport to us is 3 hours away and although normally we leave the day before and spend the night so we are closer to the airport. My parent's preferred just to leave early. Remember, they are not travelers and leaving home, even for only 4 days was a huge step for them.:) So, off to bed we went--but that didn't mean we fell asleep. Well, the boys fell asleep but I didn't and neither did DH. It's really hard to try and force yourself to sleep at 8 o'clock when 1. Your not used to going to bed until close to midnight and 2. You know that you are heading to the most magical place in the world in only a few hours. Hmm...I guess you could say that I was too excited to sleep!!!!

By 1:15 am, I couldn't take it any longer and rolled out of bed. It wasn't long before DH followed and we began to get ready. Grammie, Papa and Lee were supposed to meet us at our house around 3am and then we were loading up our van to head to Burlington Airport. Our flight was scheduled to leave at 9:55am but we wanted to be there by eight. We knew we were going to be stopping for breakfast on the way and wanted to allow ourselves plenty of time. Before we knew it, everyone arrived. I could tell they were extremely nervous and I looked at them and asked "Are you ready for this?" They nodded but didn't look too convincing. I told them it would be fine and to just think about the great time that we were going to have. Again, they just nodded but looked terrified.:scared1: I felt so bad for them, but I knew how they felt. We flew for the very first time last year and it can be scary especially when you don't know what to expect.

Finally at around quarter to four, after checking all my lists that were scattered across our kitchen island. It was time to leave. We packed 7 people and 4 suitcases, 5 bags into our van. Turned on the Portable DVD for the boys and popped in "Finding Nemo" and we were off. It was a pretty uneventful trip--it was still dark so there wasn't too much opportunity for pictures until finally we arrived at the Ferry that would take us across Lake Champlain from New York to Vermont. Here are some pictures while we were crossing.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1377.jpg
We ended up sitting in the car, it was a chilly morning and we all had shorts on, ready for Florida weather.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1378.jpg
After getting off the ferry, it was less than an half hour drive and we were in Burlington, VT. It was almost seven and everyone was starting to get hungry so we decided to stop at McDonald's for some breakfast. I ended up grabbing an egg mcmuffin, which I barely ate since I wasn't very hungry--nervous I guess.:rolleyes1 The airport was just up the road and soon we were parking and making our way inside to get our boarding passes. If you read my last report, you may remember the whole incident with our boarding passes so now I make sure to look and double look to make sure everything is exactly like it should be. I began checking them over and wait..oh no. There was a problem. Grammie's seat had been changed. They were supposed to be in row 15 seated from left to right seat A, B, and C. Her boarding pass said she would be sitting in seat D instead, so that meant a stranger would be sitting between everybody. Probably, not a big deal but this was their first flight and they were relying on each other for support. So, back up to the Jetblue counter we went. Come to find out seat B had been blocked because the TV wasn't working. Problem solved, and it relieved Lee because it meant he wouldn't have to sit with anyone. Okay,I think I've babbled long enough.:laughing: Here are a few pictures of us waiting in the airport.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1380.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1381.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1383.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1384.jpg
I'm not sure what they were talking about?:confused3
Time to board!!!!:yay:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1386.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1387.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1388.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1389.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1394.jpg
They didn't look too nervous did they??
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1390.jpg
What to watch?? Gotta love Jetblue and their TV's and snacks!!! Unfortunately, nothing good was on that morning.:sad2:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1391.jpg
Not the best picture....but it was the only one I got looking out the window. So, I had to include it.:goodvibes

It was a great flight and before we knew it, we were landing at Orlando International Airport. We hopped the shuttle and headed straight to DME. They sent us through and we were so happy to see the sign to Pop Century!! YAY!! We arrived!!!

Up next---Pop Century.....we're back!!!!

Angies1274

09-02-2009, 11:38 AM

I know just how you were feeling.....how do I squeeze it all in with just a short amount of time to do it. We went to Disney once for just 4 days (second trip that year) and I wanted to see it all but knew we couldn't do it.

I'm looking forward to reading all about your trip!

It was definitely tough trying to squeeze in so much, in only 4 days. Especially since it was their first visit and we wanted them to love it as much as we did!!

mommytothreeboys

09-02-2009, 11:45 AM

ellajeansmom

09-02-2009, 01:51 PM

:wave2: Yay, I found your report and looking forward to reading all about your trip :goodvibes

I'm interested to see how you slowed down and managed extra people! I almost have my parents convinced to come with us next time and my mom has to be careful to not get herself tired out.

popcorn::

onelilspark

09-02-2009, 03:57 PM

I love how JetBlue reassigns people due to the TVs...yes, we live and die by the screen :rotfl:

Angies1274

09-02-2009, 07:43 PM

YAY! Off to the airport! I can't imagine being afraid to fly...I've always loved it! But they hide their nervousness well! :thumbsup2 I hope you have a smooth flight!

Getting to the DME counter and seeing the buses really makes you feel like you've arrived, doesn't it?! :goodvibes
It was a great flight!! We only had a little turbulence and they did awesome, once we were up in the air they were fine.:thumbsup2
We are always soooo happy to see the DME counter!! Such a great feeling.:goodvibes
:wave2: Yay, I found your report and looking forward to reading all about your trip :goodvibes

I'm interested to see how you slowed down and managed extra people! I almost have my parents convinced to come with us next time and my mom has to be careful to not get herself tired out.

popcorn::
Yay!!!:yay: You found me!! I'm so happy you decided to join in again.:goodvibes Slowing down was quite a challenge for me, but I knew it had to be done. My mom has to take things slow also, and not get tired out, or she gets sick very easily.
I love how JetBlue reassigns people due to the TVs...yes, we live and die by the screen :rotfl:

Too funny!!:rotfl: Isn't it crazy though, a perfectly good seat. What made it even funnier is that my brother ended up sitting in that exact seat and the TV ended up being fine after all.:rolleyes1

johnad

09-02-2009, 07:52 PM

I'm in- can't wait to hear all about it!! :)

cjackearl

09-02-2009, 08:31 PM

Your family looks so happy to be together.:goodvibes So far, so good. What did mom and dad think about the flight? Beautiful, peaceful pictures from the ferry, too!:)

onejellyshelly

09-03-2009, 06:45 AM

I am so glad that you like the Pop! All-star Movies is wonderful. We stayed in the dalmation building and it was the perfect location.

I can't wait to hear more about the Pop.

Angies1274

09-03-2009, 08:37 AM

I'm in- can't wait to hear all about it!! :)
:welcome: I'm glad you joined in!!!
Your family looks so happy to be together.:goodvibes So far, so good. What did mom and dad think about the flight? Beautiful, peaceful pictures from the ferry, too!:)
They loved the flight!! They couldn't believe that they spent so many months worrying about it. They even told me the other day, that they are ready to go back!!:thumbsup2
I am so glad that you like the Pop! All-star Movies is wonderful. We stayed in the dalmation building and it was the perfect location.

I can't wait to hear more about the Pop.

I'm so happy to hear that you liked All-star Movies!!:woohoo: Although, we love Pop, we wanted to try someplace different next year. We're still deciding but ASMovies looks like such a fun resort!!!

Our Arrival at Pop is up next!!!:goodvibes

wdwgirl03

09-03-2009, 09:33 AM

Angies1274

09-03-2009, 10:55 AM

I'm in...saw you posted on another TR I'm reading and decided to come on over. We were there around the same time as you were (the 20-25). I'm trying to find all the other August people! Can't wait to hear more. popcorn::

Hi and :welcome: I'm happy you joined it!! I see that you have a TR too!!:yay: Yay! Another August TR--I'm on my way over to check it out.:thumbsup2

Angies1274

09-03-2009, 04:49 PM

When I left off, we had just arrived at Orlando International. We'd had a smooth flight with very little turbulence, which we were very happy about. We stopped for a quick break before heading toward the DME counter.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00186.jpg
After taking the elevator down to the first floor, we made our way to DME. I was very happy to see that the line was short, and sent DH up to get us checked in. Just as I was setting our luggage down and preparing to get comfortable, I turned around and he was back. What? Wow, that was quick!! Apparently,we didn't need to check in and we were sent on our way!! YAY! We stopped and showed someone our ME booklet and then she pointed us in the direction of the Pop Century line. This was the one lonely picture I got.....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0455.jpg
As we walked outside, the humidity hit us hard!! Wow, we are Northerners and not used to the heat. We are lucky to see an 80 degree day, much less 95 degrees with humidity of over 100. It was quite a shock to our systems, considering we had spent most of the summer battling the cold, rainy day blues. We were however very pleased to see that the line was moving and with no wait, we hopped aboard. Now, I was hoping that I would be able to snag a seat in the front of the bus this time because I really, really wanted a picture of the arch! But, of course the front was filled and we made our way toward the back. No worries though, the boys were able to get a seat right behind one of the TV's and the fabulous Disney video kept them occupied the whole way. I took a seat by the window just so I could take in the sights. I'm sorry to say that I didn't get any pictures during this time, because I was so busy watching my parent's and brothers reaction to everything. Honestly, I remember laughing to myself because their expressions were of pure amazement.

Do you know how there are moments when you see something--want to get a picture but then think...Aaah...I'll just get it later. Well, I guess that was my thought as we were pulling into Pop Century. I have taken many, many pictures as we were pulling in on our last two trips. So this time, I just tried to just enjoy the moment. Oh well... Anyway, once we arrived we pulled open the doors of the lobby and felt a blast of cold air...ahhh.....and we saw this--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1629.jpg
and this hanging on the wall....there was one for each year but I only took a few pictures of them this trip. (I'll post the other two later)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1627.jpg

I had such good luck with online check-in last visit, that we decided to do again. I was somewhat concerned this time though because I had made two requests--connecting rooms and the 70's section. We had paid for a preferred room to be closer to the Classic Hall but I also wanted something quieter, and since the 70's didn't have a pool out front,it seemed perfect. We were again pleased to find a non-existent line and made our way over to receive our welcome packet and get our room keys. We were granted the 70's section!! But we didn't get connecting rooms. I guess one out of two requests aren't bad. Especially since our rooms were right next to each other. We ended up being on the second floor, just over top of Twister, and very close to the Classic Hall. (you'll see from the pictures)
Ahhh...we finally arrived.... could you tell poor Nick was tired. He saw that nice comfy bed and climbed right in to relax--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1396.jpg
DH relaxing on the bed--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1397.jpg
Now, this is what I like to see--EXCITEMENT!!! We are in Disney after all!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1398.jpg
A few pictures of the rest of our room--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1399.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1400.jpg
A Hidden Mickey!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1402.jpg
A picture hanging on the wall--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1406.jpg
I had asked Noah, if he wanted to walk around with me, so I could get some pictures outside our room. He happily agreed, and attempted to put on his sunglasses. Oops...wrong way!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1404-1.jpg
Our room number!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1407.jpg
Looking down, we had a great view of Twister--pretty cool until one night at 11:30pm just as I had barely fallen asleep, I was woken up by a very loud game outside.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1408.jpg
It was about this time, that my poor camera started fogging up from the change in temperature. A foggy view from our room--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1409.jpg
Okay, I wiped the lens--now lets try this again-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1411.jpg
A picture looking down the hall toward the Big Wheel--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1410.jpg
As you can tell, it started raining...
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1412.jpg
You can see, we were pretty close to the Classic Hall, which was awesome!!!
Here is another close up of Goofy's Water Jets (I think that's what it's called?)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1413.jpg
The walkway up to our room--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1416.jpg
This little guy was waiting for us in the window....not sure what he was??
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1417.jpg
We decided to walk a little further down and this is what we saw-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1418.jpg
I couldn't resist getting a picture of Noah w/ Mickey in the background!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1419.jpg
At this point we decided to walk back to the room to see if we could persuade Nick to get up and go down, and get cooled off a little with Goofy. It had stopped raining but it did nothing to battle the humidity. Noah was excited and went in to change into his swim trunks. It didn't take much persuading and soon they were both getting cooled off.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1422.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1424.jpg
You may be wondering, where the rest of our party was? Well...they were exhausted after the trip and decided to take a quick nap before dinner. Then we needed to decide what we were going to do next?

Up next--Plans change?

wdwgirl03

09-03-2009, 04:57 PM

cjackearl

09-03-2009, 05:23 PM

Wow, Pop looks so fun! I'd really like to break the glass on the shadow box and play with all of those toys from the 80s!:rotfl:

Cute pictures of the boys in the water jets. Did they hit the pool also?

You must have all been whipped, since you were up before the crack of dawn, but it seems Disney adrenaline is keeping you going, Angie.:laughing:

A change of plans, huh? Wondering where dinner will be.popcorn::

mommytothreeboys

09-03-2009, 06:05 PM

I think if we ever decide to go with 2 rooms at a Value, we'll definitely go for Pop. I am always impressed by the pictures I see of that resort! It looks like so much fun! :thumbsup2

Love the excited picture of Noah...at least someone knows how to react when you get to Disney!! :banana::banana::banana: Sleep??? Puh-lease! :rotfl:

Mickey_Mom

09-03-2009, 10:51 PM

Ummmm, where the heck have I been?!? Going back to read!!!

Mickey_Mom

09-03-2009, 11:16 PM

....aaaaaand I'm back. You know how much I love the Pop. :love:

I saw your lobby photo and I had to let out a little giggle because I was there when you took that picture! OK, I'm not in the picture of course, but I was there at the same time as you. Ok, I was actually at DHS when you took that picture but..... oh you know what I mean!

I'm glad your parents feel better about flying. Do they have the travel bug now? :goodvibes

Oh dear, plans change? Is that why I never saw you at DHS? :rotfl:

MouseKTeer

09-04-2009, 07:59 AM

Following along...

Fun photos of the Pop! In our group, we have grandparents, parents, and 2 boys, just like yours--only your boys are a little older. So, looking forward to reading more!

dismagiclover

09-04-2009, 08:22 AM

Angies1274

09-04-2009, 08:38 AM

Yay, you made it to WDW! :banana: I know what you mean about taking pictures. Usually I take a TON but this trip I didn't take as many. I sort of wanted to just enjoy everything. Plus I always feel like I end up getting the same pictures over and over. :rolleyes:

Pop Century looks really fun!
That's exactly how I was feeling!!;) I usually take a ton of pictures too, but since this was our 3rd visit to Pop Century--I kept thinking, well..I have a picture of that already and two pictures of that too.:laughing: It sometimes becomes a challenge to find what I haven't taken a picture of.:rotfl:
Wow, Pop looks so fun! I'd really like to break the glass on the shadow box and play with all of those toys from the 80s!:rotfl:

Cute pictures of the boys in the water jets. Did they hit the pool also?

You must have all been whipped, since you were up before the crack of dawn, but it seems Disney adrenaline is keeping you going, Angie.:laughing:

A change of plans, huh? Wondering where dinner will be.popcorn::
I know...me too!!:rotfl: How I would love to play with all those toys!! They bring back such good memories....
The boys did hit the pool eventually, but not that night. Although it was super hot, it kept raining off and on.
It was definitely Disney adrenaline that kept me going because I don't think I got a wink of sleep the night before.
I think if we ever decide to go with 2 rooms at a Value, we'll definitely go for Pop. I am always impressed by the pictures I see of that resort! It looks like so much fun! :thumbsup2

Love the excited picture of Noah...at least someone knows how to react when you get to Disney!! :banana::banana::banana: Sleep??? Puh-lease! :rotfl:

Pop is such a fun resort!! This time we stayed in a preferred room and it was so worth it because we were very close to everything--the pools, the food court, gift shop and bus stop.:thumbsup2

We walked in the room and everyone just collapsed on the beds. You'd think we'd been traveling for days the way they acted. I mean we were in Disney!! You'd think they would have shown a little more excitement......:rotfl:

Angies1274

09-04-2009, 08:56 AM

Ummmm, where the heck have I been?!? Going back to read!!!
Yay!!:yay: You're here!!! I was hoping you'd find me!!;)
....aaaaaand I'm back. You know how much I love the Pop. :love:

I saw your lobby photo and I had to let out a little giggle because I was there when you took that picture! OK, I'm not in the picture of course, but I was there at the same time as you. Ok, I was actually at DHS when you took that picture but..... oh you know what I mean!

I'm glad your parents feel better about flying. Do they have the travel bug now? :goodvibes

Oh dear, plans change? Is that why I never saw you at DHS? :rotfl:
My parent's feel so much better about flying! They loved it and are ready to go back!! My father mentioned the other day, how he would love to go back at Christmas next time.:goodvibes
We love Pop too!!! It's so funny--I can't believe we were there at the same time!! But, we didn't get to see each other.:sad2: hmmm.....plans did change...that may be the reason you didn't see us.:rotfl: But...a scavenger hunt may be on the way.:rolleyes1
Following along...

Fun photos of the Pop! In our group, we have grandparents, parents, and 2 boys, just like yours--only your boys are a little older. So, looking forward to reading more!

:welcome: I'm so happy you joined in!! Wow!! that's so cool--I'm off to check out your TR now!!:goodvibes

Angies1274

09-04-2009, 09:00 AM

I'm a little late but I'm here:yay: How exciting for your parents and brother! This was quite an adventure for them, I'm sure. I can't wait to hear about their reactions to all the Disney Magic. I think you've given us enough hints for me to guess that they loved it! Can't wait for morepopcorn::

Yay!!:yay: I'm so happy you're here!! It was so awesome seeing Disney through their eyes this time. It made it feel new all over again.:goodvibes

Mickey_Mom

09-04-2009, 09:04 AM

My father mentioned the other day, how he would love to go back at Christmas next time.:goodvibes

...a scavenger hunt may be on the way. :rolleyes1

I'm really, really trying to go back December 2010. My aim is December 17th-ish to a few days before Christmas, over the school holidays. Perhaps they (and you!) would like to go then ..... :rolleyes1

:yay: A scavenger hunt!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Angies1274

09-04-2009, 03:00 PM

I'm really, really trying to go back December 2010. My aim is December 17th-ish to a few days before Christmas, over the school holidays. Perhaps they (and you!) would like to go then ..... :rolleyes1

:yay: A scavenger hunt!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Next December, huh?? I'll start working on them now!!:rotfl:

Yup, a scavenger hunt. I finally got that list together.:rolleyes1 Thanks to you pointing me in the right direction.;)

WDWRocksMySocks

09-04-2009, 03:50 PM

Angies1274

09-04-2009, 06:14 PM

Love your latest update. We actually stayed one night at Pop. We were in the 70s building, too, in room 303. I was really happy w/ the location and how close it was to Classic Hall. Plus, it was really quiet. Nice!!

Thanks:goodvibes and welcome!!! We loved staying in the 70's section, it was great not having all the pool noise that the 50's and 60's sections have. But the best part was how close we were to everything, which made things much easier when we came back from the parks.:thumbsup2

Angies1274

09-08-2009, 09:22 AM

After the boys cooled off in Goofy's water jets, it was around 4:30pm. If you read our plans in the beginning you would remember that we were supposed to have fun exploring the resort and hopefully??? visit DHS. We had only purchased 3 day MYW tickets with the hopes of adding an extra day once we got here. I knew that DHS had EMH from 7-10pm this night, so it would work out. However even before we left my father seemed against it because he knew how tired my mom would be after getting up so early and then the drive/and flight. Before we left, we knew this trip would be much different and that we couldn't keep up the same pace we are so used to. My mom has some health problems and has to be really careful not to get too tired out. We were concerned because we knew we had 3 more days ahead of us, with tomorrow morning being an EMH. Plus the days were jam-packed with everything we wanted to do including our ADR's.

So, when they woke up we pretty much knew what their decision would be and prepared ourselves. We had such a great time at DHS last trip, and were anxious to visit again. But...we didn't want to separate, it was our first night and we wanted to enjoy all being together. In the end we knew it would just give us a great excuse to return next year. Mom was still really tired when she woke up but was looking forward to touring the resort. But first we wanted to wander over to the Classic Hall to pick up some souvenirs and grab a bite to eat.
After looking around for quite a bit, we decided on these purchases. Now, I usually wait until we are well into the trip before I buy something for myself. I prefer to look and take my time deciding but.....after seeing this on another TR (thanks, cjackearl ;)) I knew I just had to pick one up and for the price, I think it was $2.99?--I couldn't go wrong and it would definitely come in handy!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1855.jpg
A photo album (thanks, dad)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1861.jpg
Some autograph books for the boys. If you read my last TR, you would remember that my boys can become a bit intimidated by the characters, so I was hoping getting their autographs this trip would help them be more comfortable around them. Did it work? Hmm.. you'll have to wait and see.;)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1864.jpg
Of course, we picked up our refillable mug--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1873.jpg
Noah got the Sorcerer Mickey w/ Villains figurine set. He tore it open before I could get a picture of it. They also got a few friends that night, who enjoyed the rest of the trip with us. (well, at least the room) This picture was taken when we got home.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1879.jpg
With a little shopping accomplished we figured it was time to get something to eat. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures because I had forgotten to bring my camera with me when we went shopping and to eat.:rolleyes:But I ended up getting the Greek Salad which I love with the Tye-dye cheesecake and a bottled water. To at least give you an idea, here is a picture that I took sometime during the trip posted in the elevator of the salad.(see I told you I really like it!!:rotfl:)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1630.jpg
All the guys got a burger and fries, the boys got chicken nuggets with grapes and applesauce and my mom got the Chicken TV Dinner which she loved!! Everyone was very pleased with what they ordered and since it wasn't too busy, everything was nice and warm when we got it back to the table.
After dinner on our way out, the boys spotted the arcade and begged to go inside. Their uncle loves the arcade as much as they do and had a great time!!I just walked back and forth watching, the arcade is really not my thing.:confused3 I guess it needs to start being my thing though because we promised the boys we’d take them to Disney Quest next trip.
After the arcade, we stopped back at the room to drop off our purchases and pick up my camera. Here are a few pictures I took as we began to walk around--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1425.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1426.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1427.jpg
They stopped to play a quick game of Twister!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1428.jpg
Posing by Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head-- Say Cheese!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1431.jpg
Another one of all of us (or almost)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00200.jpg
We eventually made it over to the Generation bridge
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1439.jpg
We looked in the water and thought it was very cool to see some turtles swimming around--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1440.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1441.jpg

Scavenger Hunt on next post!!!

Angies1274

09-08-2009, 09:26 AM

During this walk around the resort, I wasn't the only one taking pictures. Since, this was our 3rd time staying here I was looking for a way to get the boys excited about exploring the resort again and one day I happened to stumble upon a scavenger hunt list. I was so excited--what a great idea!! Unfortunately, as the trip got closer I couldn't find it--until I was pointed in the right direction! (thanks Mickey Mom) I decided instead of having the boys go against each other because they are very competitive anyway and I didn't want any fighting. I had them work together and take turns snapping the pictures. It worked out great. I didn't think my parent's would appreciate running all over the resort So, when I made our list I decided to pick a few randoms items but group them so they were in the same general area. It worked out great because as my parent's and brother were looking all around the boys were running around the different years snapping pictures like crazy!!:rotfl: It was really nice seeing them work together to accomplish their goal!!

Scavenger Hunt!!!
1. Find and take a picture of the Big Wheel--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1420-1.jpg
2. Find Mickey and take his picture with somebody in front--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1725.jpg
3.Find Twister, take a picture and then play a game-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1727.jpg
4. Take a picture of something in the area we are staying--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1728.jpg
5. Find Baloo and Mowgli, take their picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1453.jpg
6. Find the Play-doh and then take a picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1438.jpg
7. Find Tramp from "Lady and the Tramp", take his picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1451.jpg
8. Now, find Lady and take her picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1452.jpg
9. Take a picture of everyone beside the year they were born--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1731.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1733.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1735.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1740.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1742.jpg
10. Take a picture of every animal you see--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1738.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1744.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/HPIM1729.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1447.jpg
11. Take a picture of our room--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1624.jpg
(we were just above the shoe on the second floor)
12. Find Goofy, now take his picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1632.jpg
13. Find the Hippy Dippy Pool and take a picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1625.jpg
14. Where is the playground? Take a picture--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1631.jpg

At this point we were actually supposed to be passing by the playground and heading over to the 80's/90's section to complete the scavenger hunt. However, two little boys decided that they had enough and once they saw the room they were ready to call it a night.:sad2: So, as you can tell the last picture of the playground was taken as we were walking back to our room. Even though we didn't quite finish, I think they had a great time!! It was definitely alot of fun watching them.
Once we got to our rooms, we decided to grab our refillable mugs and head back to the Classic Hall for some drinks and a snack before bed. We were very excited because tomorrow was our first official day in the parks and we picked Epcot as our first park to visit!! I couldn't wait to see everyone's reactions. It was a long exhausting day and I couldn't wait to climb into bed. Even though we were disappointed to have missed DHS this trip, we knew it was the right decision and like I said before it always gives us an excuse to come back.;)

Up Next--There's a ride in that?

onelilspark

09-08-2009, 09:54 AM

I love the Scavenger Hunt! We have some time to kill on our first day, I'm tempted to use it :)

mickeystoontown

09-08-2009, 11:06 AM

Angie:

I am sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I have been reading along but just now realized that I hadn't posted any comments. Let's see: 1) glad that the flight went smoothly for your family; 2) I understand the whole "gotta slow down this trip" mentality. We took my mother to Disney years ago and we knew it meant we had to take things more slowly.; 3) sounds like you guys were lucky that the rain held off until you got to your room and then quit so you could go on your scavenger hunt; 4) cool scavenger hunt idea.

Hum? I am sure that I am missing something that I wanted to comment. Hum? I can't remember.

Looking forward to reading more!

Lisa

dismagiclover

09-08-2009, 11:11 AM

Your trip is off to a great start! I think you definitely made the right call about DHS. No reason to overwhelm the newbies;) There were a couple of things I could definitely relate to. First of all the stuffed animals. What is up with kids and stuffed animals? Everywhere they go they get them and then they come into our house and multiply like rabbits:laughing: We probably have hundreds:scared1: The other thing little boys love is video games. My boys think an arcade is pretty much the coolest thing in the world. My 4 year old sometimes even thinks he's playing when he hasn't even put any money in. We're trying to encourage that:rotfl: The scavenger hunt looks like great fun! Great idea to keep the boys from getting bored:thumbsup2 Can't wait to hear about Epcot!

Disney4nonah

09-08-2009, 03:04 PM

Wonderful report, can't wait to read more! so excited you got to go as an entire family :)

wdwgirl03

09-08-2009, 04:42 PM

Great update! Looks like you got some neat purchases. I have one of those tote bags too but stupid me always forgets to bring it with me when I go shopping! :rolleyes: I think I should just leave it in my car so I have it...

That is so neat about the turtles in the water!

ellajeansmom

09-08-2009, 06:48 PM

What a fun evening at the resort - a great combo of exploring and taking it slow :thumbsup2 Looking forward to reading about the reactions to Epcot!

MouseKTeer

09-08-2009, 07:26 PM

Looks like a successful shopping trip!

And the scavenger hunt is such a good idea--I need to store that idea :idea: for next trip.

Isn't it fun to share the world with the whole family?

Angies1274

09-08-2009, 09:41 PM

I love the Scavenger Hunt! We have some time to kill on our first day, I'm tempted to use it :)
You should use it.:goodvibes I revised my list down alot from the original list, but it was still a great time for the boys, which was my goal!!:thumbsup2
Angie:

I am sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I have been reading along but just now realized that I hadn't posted any comments. Let's see: 1) glad that the flight went smoothly for your family; 2) I understand the whole "gotta slow down this trip" mentality. We took my mother to Disney years ago and we knew it meant we had to take things more slowly.; 3) sounds like you guys were lucky that the rain held off until you got to your room and then quit so you could go on your scavenger hunt; 4) cool scavenger hunt idea.

Hum? I am sure that I am missing something that I wanted to comment. Hum? I can't remember.

Looking forward to reading more!

Lisa
Hi Lisa,
It was a great flight and my parent's loved it!! (well, maybe not loved it but they did enjoy it.;)) We did slow down alot this trip, but it was actually good for me because I'm such a go-go-go kind of person. I noticed alot of cool things that I haven't before, which was really great!:goodvibes
Your trip is off to a great start! I think you definitely made the right call about DHS. No reason to overwhelm the newbies;) There were a couple of things I could definitely relate to. First of all the stuffed animals. What is up with kids and stuffed animals? Everywhere they go they get them and then they come into our house and multiply like rabbits:laughing: We probably have hundreds:scared1: The other thing little boys love is video games. My boys think an arcade is pretty much the coolest thing in the world. My 4 year old sometimes even thinks he's playing when he hasn't even put any money in. We're trying to encourage that:rotfl: The scavenger hunt looks like great fun! Great idea to keep the boys from getting bored:thumbsup2 Can't wait to hear about Epcot!

We were definitely disappointed about DHS, but we knew we only had 4 days, or actually more like 3 1/2 since we arrived so late in the afternoon and you can only get so much done. They are already talking about going back so there is hope yet that they will visit DHS!!:thumbsup2

I know what you mean about stuffed animals!! We have them everywhere!!:scared1: The boys just can't seem to get enough of them.:rolleyes: Too funny that your 4 year old thinks he's playing the video games without any money.:rotfl: I wish my boys thought that.:rolleyes1

Angies1274

09-08-2009, 09:55 PM

Wonderful report, can't wait to read more! so excited you got to go as an entire family :)
:welcome: and thank you!!!:goodvibes I was so happy that we were all able to go because we had such an incredible time!!
Great update! Looks like you got some neat purchases. I have one of those tote bags too but stupid me always forgets to bring it with me when I go shopping! :rolleyes: I think I should just leave it in my car so I have it...

That is so neat about the turtles in the water!
The minute I saw the bag on another TR, I knew I had to get it!! Good idea about leaving it in the car.:thumbsup2 As much as I want to remember, I have a tendency to forget those kinds of things too.:rolleyes1

We thought seeing the turtles were so cool!! I think we counted 5 or 6 swimming around in that one area.
What a fun evening at the resort - a great combo of exploring and taking it slow :thumbsup2 Looking forward to reading about the reactions to Epcot!

Hi!! It was a fun evening.:) Even though we had looked around the resort before, it was wonderful to see it through their eyes this time and very funny watching the boys running around getting the pictures. So, it was relaxing for the adults, but...not so much for the boys.:rotfl:

Angies1274

09-08-2009, 10:02 PM

Looks like a successful shopping trip!

And the scavenger hunt is such a good idea--I need to store that idea :idea: for next trip.

Isn't it fun to share the world with the whole family?

Even though they finished early, I think the boys had a really good time doing the Scavenger Hunt. I know we had alot of fun watching them.;)

It was so great to be able to show them why we love Disney so much!!--and they had a blast!! They still haven't stopped talking about it.:goodvibes

eandesmom

09-09-2009, 12:19 AM

Hi Angie!

I'm in :)popcorn::

Love the scavenger hunt!

mommytothreeboys

09-09-2009, 07:11 AM

That scavenger hunt was a great idea! It looks like the boys had fun and getting them to work together is always a plus!

I LOVE Greek salad...YUMMM!! :goodvibes

It was probably a good idea to skip DHS in favor of your mom. Better to save the energy and not get all zonked out on the first night!

Can't wait to hear about Epcot! YAY...my favorite! :)

Gabes_mommy

09-09-2009, 08:26 AM

I just found your TR and I love it! The scavenger hunt is such a great idea. I can't wait to read all about your parents' first impressions of the parks. :goodvibes

Angies1274

09-09-2009, 12:18 PM

Hi Angie!

I'm in :)popcorn::

Love the scavenger hunt!
Hi!!:wave2: You found me!!:yay: So glad you decided to join in!!! I was just looking at your TR the other day and all your great FW pictures!! I'm trying to talk my parent's into going back and staying in the cabins.:rolleyes1
BTW--Great DISigns!!!
That scavenger hunt was a great idea! It looks like the boys had fun and getting them to work together is always a plus!

I LOVE Greek salad...YUMMM!! :goodvibes

It was probably a good idea to skip DHS in favor of your mom. Better to save the energy and not get all zonked out on the first night!

Can't wait to hear about Epcot! YAY...my favorite! :)
Hi Missy!!
It was great seeing the boys work together at the Scavenger Hunt list!!--and there was no fighting, which was wonderful!! That's always a plus with two boys.:rolleyes:

I know...Greek Salad is soooo yummy!! I always look forward to having it at POP, because it always tastes better there than anywhere else.:thumbsup2

I think we made the right decision. We were already exhausted when we arrived but to add another few hours touring a park would have been just too much especially for my mom.

I'm hoping to get another update posted tomorrow.:)
I just found your TR and I love it! The scavenger hunt is such a great idea. I can't wait to read all about your parents' first impressions of the parks. :goodvibes

:welcome: and thank you so much!!! The scavenger hunt was very fun!! The boys had a great time with it.:thumbsup2 I was so excited to bring my parent's to Disney for the first time. I just had to show them how magical it is!!

Ooooh!! I forgot to mention--You only have 5 days left!!! You must be so excited!! I hear the CBR is just beautiful!!

eandesmom

09-09-2009, 01:28 PM

Hi!!:wave2: You found me!!:yay: So glad you decided to join in!!! I was just looking at your TR the other day and all your great FW pictures!! I'm trying to talk my parent's into going back and staying in the cabins.:rolleyes1
BTW--Great DISigns!!!

Awww...thanks! I :love: the cabins :)

WDWRocksMySocks

09-09-2009, 01:45 PM

Love the scavenger hunt idea -- very clever! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun doing it, too.

Angies1274

09-09-2009, 05:14 PM

Awww...thanks! I :love: the cabins :)
:goodvibes
Love the scavenger hunt idea -- very clever! It looks like you guys had a lot of fun doing it, too.

The scavenger hunt was alot of fun!! I was so happy when I found it posted over on the Pop Century thread :) I knew the boys would love to do it!!! I just revised it a little to make it work for us.:thumbsup2

Angies1274

09-10-2009, 09:39 AM

Tuesday, August 25th--Epcot

As I turned over in bed, I opened my eyes and even though it was still dark, the glow from the alarm clock brought things in focus. I was still a little disoriented, but when I caught sight of Mickey on my bedspread, a slow smile crept over my face. Ahh...there is nothing like waking up at Disney.:cloud9: I looked back over at the clock and it read 5:00am. I heard the shower turn on in the room beside us(parent's and brothers room) and knew that someone next door was up early. Apparently, someone was just as excited to start the day as I was. The night before I scheduled a wake-up call for 6:00am. I knew we would probably be awake by then and I wanted the boys to answer it. Believe it or not, this was our first time, we had never heard Mickey or Stitch wake us up before. I pulled back the covers and went over to look out the window. It was still dark but it looked so pretty outside. I wish I had taken a picture. By this time, DH was up and decided to get ready first, it was fine with me. I turned on the TV to check the weather for the day.

By around 5:45am, the boys were just starting to wake up, when we heard a knock at the door. I opened it up to find my dad and brother standing there. They were laughing because they had tried to go down to the Classic Hall, to get some coffee, and even though it was empty inside, they went in. A CM saw them and asked them how they got in? They told him the door was unlocked, he looked very surprised because it wasn't supposed to be. The don't actually open until 6:00am. I knew this--but honestly I didn't know that they were going to try and get coffee at 5:30 in the morning.:rolleyes1 Anyways, they came inside and I told them about our wake-up call so they decided to stick around so they could hear it too and before we knew it the phone started to ring. I picked it up, put it on speaker phone so everyone could hear and the music began to play. After the music we heard Stitch say "Good Morning", I think...but it was so fast and then it cut off.:sad2: I have to say, we were a little disappointed. Hmm...I guess I expected more--who knows?? I forgot to do it the rest of the trip so we'll try it again next time.
After everyone was ready, we all headed down to the Classic Hall. It was already really warm out.I could only imagine how hot it was going to get today. It must have been before 7:00am because only one place was open and of course the grab and go section. So, we all grabbed some muffins, juice and some fruit to share and headed to find a table big enough to hold us all. Here are a few pictures at breakfast that morning--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1455.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1456.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1458.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1457.jpg
We began talking about Epcot and what we wanted to do. Somehow the topic of riding Soarin' came up, which my mom was so excited to ride. My dad, however was not so excited, in fact he decided he was going to sit it out. He is afraid of heights and especially riding anything where his legs would dangle. He discovered this one year on a ride at Six Flags, and was so scared, he vowed he would never do that again. Despite, all of our convincing on how fun it was,he still held tough.

It was finally time to go wait for the Epcot bus and we were first in line, when it pulled up--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00223.jpg
Of course, when we entered Epcot we had to get this shot!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1460.jpg
A few of the boys, while the others took their pictures and discussed our plan of attack!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1463.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1462.jpg
We stopped to take a few more on the way--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1464.jpg
Me and my Mom!!:lovestruc
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00226.jpg
It was an EMH so only a few rides were open. Our plan was that the boys would go and ride Test Track and the girls would ride Spaceship Earth. I was very excited because this was actually my first time riding this ride. I know..crazy?...right? You have to pass right by it to get into the park.:laughing: Before, we went our separate ways I heard my father look up and ask.."Is there really a ride in that?" I nodded as they waved good-bye and we promised to meet up later in front of the fountain.
As we walked up to Spaceship Earth, it wasn't quite 8:00am yet so we got in line.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1465.jpg
Finally, it was time and away we went to travel back in time--
They snapped our photo and then we had to answer a few questions as we went up, up, up--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1467.jpg
It was a great ride, actually I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would and my mom just loved it!! Here are a few photos from our future--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1468.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1469.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1472.jpg

After, Spaceship Earth, we headed to wait for the guys. A pic while we were waiting--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1474.jpg
By around 8:30, they came wandering toward us. They had a fun ride too and of course the boys were bubbling over with excitement because it is one of their very favorite rides. Here are a couple of their pictures--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00228.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00229.jpg
Since there were only a handful of rides open and we still had a half an hour of EMH. What would we do next?

Next--Look at that line? We're melting, We're melting!!

wdwgirl03

09-10-2009, 09:45 AM

Great update! Love the story about your dad and brother trying to get their coffee.

Glad you liked SSE! I really like how they did the choose-your-own-ending.

Angies1274

09-10-2009, 12:23 PM

Great update! Love the story about your dad and brother trying to get their coffee.

Glad you liked SSE! I really like how they did the choose-your-own-ending.

Thanks:goodvibes I thought it was so funny, that they were already up and trying to get coffee at 5:30am. :laughing: Can somebody say...excited!!;)

I think I liked the end of SSE the best-- choosing your own future. It was fun to see us on the screen.:thumbsup2

dismagiclover

09-10-2009, 02:39 PM

eandesmom

09-10-2009, 11:15 PM

cjackearl

09-11-2009, 07:08 AM

I have two updates to comment on.:o Love the shopping, yea for the reusable bag! Cute scavenger hunt. I've loved reading you and Mickey Mom's accounts. What a great way to explore the resort.:thumbsup2

SSE was our first Disney ride this trip and we all loved it. So funny that your dad didn't think there was a ride inside.:rotfl:

Wow, you and your mom look so much alike. It looks like you have a lot of fun together. I love my mom, but I'm not sure a week at Disney with her would be my idea of fun.:laughing:

mommytothreeboys

09-11-2009, 07:16 AM

Ahhh....Epcot! My favorite park! Love the update....so funny that your dad and brother went so early for coffee. But I can relate...if I'm up, I want my COFFEE!! ;)

Beautiful early morning shots of Epcot..isn't an empty park fantastic!!

Can't wait to hear more about your day!

Gabes_mommy

09-11-2009, 07:27 AM

What a great update! That is so sweet that everyone was up so early excited for the parks.

Classic Hall at Pop looks so nice - I can't wait to stay there one day.

Can't wait for more! :goodvibes

MouseKTeer

09-11-2009, 09:24 AM

Angie,

So impressed that your whole family was up and ready to go early! (We probably will never know what that's like in our family ;) )

Angies1274

09-11-2009, 11:02 AM

Boy I thought we were early risers, but your family definitely has us beat! Sounds like a great start to the day. I love the picture of Spaceship Earth where you can still see the remnants of sunrise. I just love summer mornings:goodvibes

We usually don't get up quite so early. I think being at Disney has a little to do with it.;)

Summer mornings are the best!! That morning in particular was just beautiful.:cloud9:

Angies1274

09-11-2009, 11:25 AM

Wow you guys were up early!

I can NOT see that happening with my crew. Time difference notwithstanding, if DH is on vacation a 6am wake up call would send him over the edge!

We are the evening EMH crowd. Which does limit you with fast passes etc but, you have to roll with what you got! I can't say I'm much of a morning person either, if I saw 5am, I'd be rolling over and going back to sleep. LOL on the sneaking in for coffee before 6am!

I can completely relate to SE. I'd never been before this trip either and I have to say it was a favorite of everyone's and a great first ride for us on our trip!
I'm usually not a morning person--except at Disney. The boys are very early risers,and I knew they would be waking us soon anyway. That's probably why morning EMH seem to work best for us right now.;)

We loved SSE! I was so glad that we picked it for our first ride that morning.:)
I have two updates to comment on.:o Love the shopping, yea for the reusable bag! Cute scavenger hunt. I've loved reading you and Mickey Mom's accounts. What a great way to explore the resort.:thumbsup2

SSE was our first Disney ride this trip and we all loved it. So funny that your dad didn't think there was a ride inside.:rotfl:

Wow, you and your mom look so much alike. It looks like you have a lot of fun together. I love my mom, but I'm not sure a week at Disney with her would be my idea of fun.:laughing:
Thanks :goodvibes I love the reusable bag!! Honestly, I probably wouldn't have even noticed it if I hadn't seen on your TR, since it was near the register and barely visible there.:confused:
My dad really did seem amazed that there was actually a ride in SSE. It was too funny. :laughing:You should see how he reacted when he actually rode it!!
Ahhh....Epcot! My favorite park! Love the update....so funny that your dad and brother went so early for coffee. But I can relate...if I'm up, I want my COFFEE!! ;)

Beautiful early morning shots of Epcot..isn't an empty park fantastic!!

Can't wait to hear more about your day!

I never expected that they would try and get coffee so early in the morning. They are too funny!!:laughing: My father said he had a hard time sleeping so he apparently kept everyone up over there.:sad2: That's why they needed their coffee fix so badly.:rolleyes1

It was a beautiful morning!!! We love morning EMH!! You're right, there's nothing like an empty park--it's wonderful!!!!;)

Angies1274

09-11-2009, 11:49 AM

What a great update! That is so sweet that everyone was up so early excited for the parks.

Classic Hall at Pop looks so nice - I can't wait to stay there one day.

Can't wait for more! :goodvibes
It's so funny--I don't know who was more excited them, because it was their first time or us, because we just couldn't wait to show them everything.;)

Pop is a great resort and we always have so much fun staying there, which is making it very hard trying to plan our next trip. We want to stay someplace new but we love Pop so much. Hmm...decisions..decisions??:rotfl:
Angie,

So impressed that your whole family was up and ready to go early! (We probably will never know what that's like in our family ;) )

I was so surprised that everyone was up and ready to go for EMH. This from the bunch that were complaining before we left because they couldn't believe that we had to get up so early to be at the parks for opening.:rolleyes1 (I guess they were more excited than they let on.;))

WDWRocksMySocks

09-11-2009, 01:37 PM

onelilspark

09-11-2009, 04:42 PM

Nice shirt ;)

Mickey_Mom

09-12-2009, 01:33 AM

mickeystoontown

09-12-2009, 09:10 AM

Here I was thinking I was waaaaaay behind but I only missed an update. Thank goodness! I love that everybody was up and about super duper early. Sometimes, we do the same thing.

I am lovin' the pictures of Epcot....especially the "hardly any crowds" pictures. I think we may just have to give the Epcot early morning hours a try.

Angies1274

09-12-2009, 10:45 AM

WOW!! I am beyond impressed with you and your family. All of you up before 6am?!?! :worship: Seriously, that is just a fete that could never been accomplished by my family when I was growing up. I am truly amazed. :laughing:

Love the update and the pictures. Look like fun!! Makes me think I should've headed over to Epcot on that day to ride TT. Bummer!
I was actually pretty impressed myself. I can't believe everyone was up so early and ready to go. It was nice being in Epcot so early without the crowds.;)
The guys love TT!! Definitely one of their favorites!! So far we've been really lucky and it's never been down when we wanted to ride it.:)
Nice shirt ;)

Thanks!!!!;)

Angies1274

09-12-2009, 11:03 AM

Yay scavenger hunt! You made the right choice doing it over going to DHS. Its tough to give that up, but your first day sets the tone and you could have had a whole other vacation experience if your parents were unhappy rushing.

5AM ?? :faint: Kudos to you guys, I couldn't do it. We were lucky to hit the buses by 10am most days! :rotfl: Hey wait a minute. Your Epcot day was the day we left to go home. We were at the main hall at 7am! :laughing:
I think we made the right choice too.;) Although, I really missed not visiting DHS this time. (especially not being able to see the UP characters, which I was looking so forward to.):sad2:
I know...5am...crazy...right?:rolleyes1 I have a bunch of very early risers on my hands. But it made getting to the parks at rope drop super easy!!!
Hey, I can't believe that we were probably at the main hall around the same time!!!:laughing:
Here I was thinking I was waaaaaay behind but I only missed an update. Thank goodness! I love that everybody was up and about super duper early. Sometimes, we do the same thing.

I am lovin' the pictures of Epcot....especially the "hardly any crowds" pictures. I think we may just have to give the Epcot early morning hours a try.

Thanks!!:goodvibes It was so nice getting to Epcot so early!!! The sun was just peeking up, and it was so quiet. I would love to try EMH, next time during the F&G Festival. I bet it would be just beautiful.:cloud9: Oh and the lack of crowds is always a plus!!!:thumbsup2

ellajeansmom

09-12-2009, 02:51 PM

Angies1274

09-13-2009, 08:01 AM

Too funny that everyone was up so early!! That's so great that your parents and brother were excited to be there :thumbsup2

Your dad: "There's a ride in there?" :rotfl2:

Great pic of you and your mom just after the entrance!

I never expected they would be up that early!! But, I was very happy that they were excited to start the day.;)

It was so hard not to laugh, when my dad asked about SSE.:rotfl:

Thanks!!:goodvibes--I love that picture!!:love:

Angies1274

09-14-2009, 12:28 PM

When I left off, we were trying to decide what we were going to do next. Well, we actually had a pretty good idea since there were only 4 rides open that morning since Living with the Land was down.:sad2: We knew we wanted to skip Mission Space. (sorry to all of you who love it) But, I just can't do that ride, I get motion sickness and I'm so afraid that ride will do me in for the day.:confused3 I'm sure my brother would have loved it because he loves thrill rides and I was actually concerned before we left because for him it's the higher and faster the better. I kept telling him that Disney is about the whole experience. So, anyway the only ride left to ride was....ah...you guessed it!! Soarin' Yay!!:yay:, one of my favorite rides in this park.
As we head over toward The Land, we had already been at the park for a half an hour. We had completely and happily missed the mad dash to Soarin' first thing. Since it was EMH, I wasn't sure if we should grab fastpasses or just ride stand-by. I didn't want to have my mom walk more than necessary so DH and Lee (my brother) went to check it out while we were waiting. http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1477.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1476.jpg
We told them to call us if the line was short enough to ride. We waited and waited...and finally they appeared walking toward us with fastpasses in hand. I asked them how long stand-by was and they didn't answer, apparently forgetting to look. They had got distracted trying to find where to get fastpasses.Oh well and according to our fastpasses, we couldn't ride until 10:41am. Now, the smart thing would have probably been to head back in and just ride it--then we could have came back later to ride again. But, instead I suggested that we head over to Nemo....hmmm.....honestly I don't know why?? Didn't we just talk about what rides we could ride????:rolleyes1
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1479.jpg
As we approached Nemo, I noticed a massive line winding outside, around and around. At first I started to panic, completely forgetting that the park wasn't officially opened yet. All I kept thinking was you've got to be kidding, we were here around Easter last time and the line wasn't this bad. While we were contemplating whether to get into line or not, a very nice CM offered to take our picture.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00237.jpg
It's at this point, I start to feel very stupid because it occurs to me that it's not even 9:00am yet and everyone is waiting outside to go in because they haven't opened the doors yet. Duh? :rolleyes1 Okay, with panic gone and feeling a tad bit foolish we get in line. Everyone looks to me to be reassured that this is a good thing. I assure them it is and once they open the doors we will be able to climb right aboard our clam shell without any wait. It was the wait outside that started to be a problem. Of course, we were standing right in the sun and it started out hot this morning or at least hotter than we are used to even in the middle of the day, where we are from. So we stood there, sweat pouring off us waiting. The only one who didn't seem to mind it was my DF who kept saying "I'm not sweating, it's not too bad." We all looked at him faces red, wiping the sweat away as fast as it formed and laughed, "Are you kidding?" Finally, the doors opened and the line moved, around and around we went until finally we were hit with a blast of cold air--Ahhh...okay, let me soak this in for a minute.... ready...We walked inside just to go around and around again until finally our clam shell was waiting and we climbed aboard. I heard my parent's saying...wow, in the clam shell beside us. It was too cute!! I knew that they would like it.
After our ride with Nemo and friends, we decided to explore a little.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1485.jpg
I tried so hard to get a good picture of these dolphins, but they were swimming way too fast.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1489.jpg
While we were exploring the boys noticed a Kidcot station and decided to stop.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1493.jpg
I wandered nearby (DH stayed with them) to take some more pics--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1494.jpg
At this point, we decided to head downstairs to try and make it to Turtle Talk with Crush. We had tried earlier but the show was already all filled up and hadn't even started yet. So she told us to come back.
Before we headed downstairs, I thought I should share a little background about my youngest son, Noah he does not do well with escalators. He likes going on them but is always not quite sure when to step on or step off. It's pretty nerve wracking watching him. Of course, when it was time to head downstairs, he's in front and goes to step on before I can grab him. We usually like him in between us so we can watch him. I step on right behind him as quick as I can and of course just at that time he changes his mind on what step to take and I lurch forward as we literally almost tumble down the escalator. I grab the railing, and I grab him and try to balance us and get us firmly on one step trying to avert the fall. Finally, I am able to steady both of us and everything is fine. My heart is beating so fast. Whew--that was very close and when we stepped off everyone rushed toward us. "We saw it all" they said "But, there was nothing we could do for you." UGH!!-lesson to self--avoid all escalators in the future!!:rolleyes:
We walked up to Turtle Talk again, only to see the same lady shake her head. Sorry, the show's all filled up. We were disappointed but we didn't want to wait all day, so we headed over to see Bruce!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1496.jpg
We decided it was time to leave the Seas with Nemo and friends for now, and head to the Imagination Pavilion to ride Figment. But not before a quick rest outside on the benches. Boy, was it hot so we picked the shade.
I finally got around to filling up the Mister fan and the boys were having fun playing with it!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1498.jpg
After a little rest we decided to head over to ride Figment. I know it's not one of the most talked about rides and not very exciting to some, but we love it and we knew that my parent's would get a kick out of it as well.
On our way--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1500.jpg
We walked inside and in no time we were on the ride ready to be entertained by Figment. We sat behind my parent's and my brother so we could watch how they reacted to everything and it was too funny!!!:laughing: So what is the verdict? Did they like the ride?.....you bet!! We had alot of fun!! The boys still got freaked out at the end. (but at least they knew to expect it this time.:rotfl:) On the way out, the boys stopped to play a little--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1501.jpg
After Figment, we decided to head over to Club Cool. I wanted to get pictures of the unsuspecting trying the "Beverly". I know...I know, I'm such a bad daughter.:rolleyes1 Needless to say after my first attempt at a picture (that didn't come out because I was way too close) and then my second attempt that was blurry because I was laughing so hard, I decided to put my camera away. Sorry no pictures to share.:sad2: (but I did try) It took them drinking alot of the veggie one (can't remember the country?) to get the awful taste out of their mouths.
After leaving Club Cool and alot of dirty looks shot my way from not warning them. (just kidding). It was finally time to use our Fastpasses to Soarin!! YAY!!:yay: We still couldn't talk Dad into coming with us, and trust me we tried!! He decided to get a snack and wait for us instead. The wait wasn't that long, in fact much shorter than the fastpass line last trip and soon we were watching the monitor and listening to Patrick Warburton. The door opened and we headed to our seats. We were in row three, so we were closest to the ground. We buckled and finally we were gliding over The Golden Gate Bridge, and then we were smelling pine trees and then orange blossoms. Lastly, the fireworks....ahh...my favorite part!! It was a great ride like usual and we all loved it!! We wanted to ride again but the stand-by was too long and fastpasses were between 4:30-5:30. We decided to wait for now. I stopped to take a couple pictures on the way out.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1507.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1508.jpg
At this point it was getting close to noon and we had an ADR for lunch that required us to take the Epcot monorail to the TTC and then get on the Resort monorail. Our ADR was for 1:00pm and I didn't want to be late. So, we headed out for the afternoon but we knew we would be back later on to explore the WS.

Up Next--Lunch with the Fab Five!!

dismagiclover

09-14-2009, 12:48 PM

mickeystoontown

09-14-2009, 01:08 PM

Great update. Your escalator "adventure" with Noah sounds like the ones I often have with my mother when we go to the mall. She wears tri-focal glasses and says it is hard to judge when to step on the escalator and when the step off. I usually stand behind her on the way up and behind her on the way down. That way, I can tell her when she needs to take a step.

I am so glad that your parents are enjoying themselves. Isn't the feeling so rewarding when you see how much fun they are having?

cjackearl

09-14-2009, 01:21 PM

Oh my, I'm so glad you both didn't go tumbling down the escalator!:scared1: My 10 yr. old has an elevator phobia. She hates going down, but I make her face her fear because I'm a mean mom.;)

Love, love, love Soarin' too. Did I mention love?

The picture of your whole crew in front of The Seas is really good.:thumbsup2

mommytothreeboys

09-14-2009, 01:53 PM

onelilspark

09-14-2009, 02:31 PM

I don't like escaltors either. When I was little my Mom stepped on and I didn't. It was just the two of us, so she was at the bottom and I was at the top, refusing to step on until an older woman took my hand and took me down to my Mom. Even today I have issues with down escaltors (up is easier.) But with any escaltor, I have to be on the right and I have to have my right hand clear to hold onto the rail. If I don't, I panic & freeze. I was at a work function where there were a lot of escaltors. We were going down and I somehow managed to find myself on the left hand side and my right hand was clear, but not my left. I totally panicked and the nice guy next to me sensed it (he was a little older and obviously had been through it with his kids) so he grabbed my elbow and said to me, just step, I've got you. I was totally embarassed, but luckily he was the only one who saw!!

...So yeah, I get it!

MouseKTeer

09-14-2009, 04:39 PM

Yay, Soarin'!! My absolute fav ride in Epcot :yay:

Hope you do get a chance to go to Turtle Talk next visit. Bet your boys would really like it. Different, tho', is the way your Noah and our DGS3 feel about escalators--our little guy is crazy for them! Told DD she needs to do more mall shopping (hehe).

I so understand how you feel about Mission: Space. I think you've been reading my TR about our family's unforgettable experience there...

eandesmom

09-14-2009, 06:56 PM

wdwgirl03

09-14-2009, 07:38 PM

Great update! I am definitely with you on Mission Space. I don't like motion simulators either and am afraid I would not be able to handle this one. My dad and sisters keep saying it's not that bad but I'm still too chicken. :guilty:

Soarin is one of my favorites and I like Nemo too! Bummer you guys couldn't get into Turtle Talk. That's a cute show.

Mickey_Mom

09-15-2009, 06:11 AM

What a fabulous picture of you all outside Nemo!

Alex, when he was younger, was always nervous and was more than a tad "clumsy" around escalators. Heck I still am sometimes.... which step do I go on? That one? Whoops, too slow! OK, now that one...aaaaaand... step! :laughing:

We have never been on Figment. I really wanted to on this trip but the timing was off and we didn't make it.

Ah Soarin! I hope you Dad can overcome his fear and see it. :cloud9:

Angies1274

09-15-2009, 09:01 AM

Great update:thumbsup2 Sounds like everyone is dealing with the heat and having fun anyway. I'm with you about Soarin. It just makes me smile everytime I ride it! And we always ride Figment too. I especially like the play area at the end because it never gets real crowded. Can't wait to hear about your lunch at Chef Mickey's. Did they have lunch because of free dining? I know they usually just have breakfast and dinner.
We love the play area after Figment!! (or at least the boys do;)) You're right though, it never seems to get very crowded. The boys love all that interactive stuff so it's always a must-do for us.
Chef Mickey's was only open for lunch because of free dining and boy was I happy when I found out!!! I had been trying to get an ADR there with no luck.:sad2: They were completely booked for dinner the whole week we were there and I called at 90 days out at 7:00am.:rolleyes:
Great update. Your escalator "adventure" with Noah sounds like the ones I often have with my mother when we go to the mall. She wears tri-focal glasses and says it is hard to judge when to step on the escalator and when the step off. I usually stand behind her on the way up and behind her on the way down. That way, I can tell her when she needs to take a step.

I am so glad that your parents are enjoying themselves. Isn't the feeling so rewarding when you see how much fun they are having?
I try to tell Noah when to step on the escalator but he just gets so nervous about taking that first step on. He will step and then change his mind and then do it again. Needless to say there is always a line forming behind us, so we try to keep him in the middle of us so we can both guide him down.

It was the best feeling, knowing that they were having such a great time!! I'm so glad we were able to talk them into coming with us.
Oh my, I'm so glad you both didn't go tumbling down the escalator!:scared1: My 10 yr. old has an elevator phobia. She hates going down, but I make her face her fear because I'm a mean mom.;)

Love, love, love Soarin' too. Did I mention love?

The picture of your whole crew in front of The Seas is really good.:thumbsup2

The escalator incident was very scary!!:scared1: Let's just say, I'm not in a big hurry to go on another one anytime soon.:sad2:

Isn't Soarin' the best!!:love: I never get tired of that ride!!!

Thanks.:goodvibes I think the picture turned out pretty good too!!!

Beauty & the Best

09-15-2009, 09:33 AM

Angies1274

09-15-2009, 09:35 AM

Great update! I'm with you on the whole Mission Space thing...it's SO not worth it to me to be sick for the rest of the day. The rest of my family rides while I sit outside and enjoy the scenery!

So sorry about the escalator incident. I had one of those when I was little...my shoelace got caught when I tried to step off and they had to shut off the whole escalator! I don't remember where I was, but I remember being horrified! :eek:

Stink....no Beverly pics! And with first timers too! :rotfl:

I hope you get back to see Turtle Talk...so funny no matter how many times you seen it! :laughing:

Yay...lunch with the Fab Five! Can't wait! :banana:
Hi Missy!!

I know...I just can't take a chance and ride Mission Space. I'm so afraid that I'll be one of those people who end up feeling sick after they ride it.:sad2:
How scary to get your shoelace stuck in escalator!!:scared1:
After seeing your great Beverly shots, I wanted to at least try.:rotfl: I think they suspected something was up, when I told them to taste it and then pulled out my camera. Then we were all laughing so much, it was hard to think straight much less take a picture!!!:laughing:

We love Turtle Talk!!! Unfortunately, we didn't make it back....you'll see why.:sad2:

I don't like escaltors either. When I was little my Mom stepped on and I didn't. It was just the two of us, so she was at the bottom and I was at the top, refusing to step on until an older woman took my hand and took me down to my Mom. Even today I have issues with down escaltors (up is easier.) But with any escaltor, I have to be on the right and I have to have my right hand clear to hold onto the rail. If I don't, I panic & freeze. I was at a work function where there were a lot of escaltors. We were going down and I somehow managed to find myself on the left hand side and my right hand was clear, but not my left. I totally panicked and the nice guy next to me sensed it (he was a little older and obviously had been through it with his kids) so he grabbed my elbow and said to me, just step, I've got you. I was totally embarassed, but luckily he was the only one who saw!!

...So yeah, I get it!
Escalators can be very scary, especially when something like that happens as a kid. I'm hoping that my son will feel more at ease getting on one as he gets older...but we'll see.
Yay, Soarin'!! My absolute fav ride in Epcot :yay:

Hope you do get a chance to go to Turtle Talk next visit. Bet your boys would really like it. Different, tho', is the way your Noah and our DGS3 feel about escalators--our little guy is crazy for them! Told DD she needs to do more mall shopping (hehe).

I so understand how you feel about Mission: Space. I think you've been reading my TR about our family's unforgettable experience there...

Believe it or not, I think Noah actually likes escalators. I know he enjoys the ride down, it's just getting on that first step that always seems to be a problem. My oldest son loves them too and has no problem with them at all.:confused3

I did alot of research on the rides before we went to Disney mostly to see if they were going to be too scary for the boys and the one ride that caught my attention the most was Mission Space. I do get motion sickness, so I knew it was a ride to avoid. I'm glad now that I have stuck to that--especially after reading your TR about how your DD felt.:sad2:

3princesses+aprince

09-15-2009, 09:40 AM

Angies1274

09-15-2009, 09:51 AM

Oh your escalator story scared me. We've had many a like incident with DS9 when he was younger. My brothers FOOT was eaten by one, once, it ripped the shoe right off his foot! Thankfully his foot was ok and the department store it happened at gave him some new, very pricey, shoes so he was thrilled. I still freak out at the edges even though I know they are a lot safer than they were when I was a child!

I'll be watching the hottness of your report, while August is NOT my dream month to go, we don't really have a choice so have a feeling we will be exploring lots of indoor things that we've skipped by in the past!
I was so scared that we were going to fall....it was that close.:sad2: Okay, that is super scary that your brother's shoe was ripped right off!!:scared1: Glad, he was at least able to get some brand new ones out of it!!

We had a great time this trip but compared to April, August is HOT! The best thing about Disney though,is that alot of their rides/attractions are inside so it's definitely doable!!
Great update! I am definitely with you on Mission Space. I don't like motion simulators either and am afraid I would not be able to handle this one. My dad and sisters keep saying it's not that bad but I'm still too chicken. :guilty:

Soarin is one of my favorites and I like Nemo too! Bummer you guys couldn't get into Turtle Talk. That's a cute show.
It's funny, because every time I read a TR where they have went on Mission Space and loved it. I think..hmm...maybe next time. But I still haven't been brave enough.:sad2: I'm so afraid it will do me in for the rest of the day!!

I know..we love Turtle Talk!! We were really disappointed we missed it this trip.

What a fabulous picture of you all outside Nemo!

Alex, when he was younger, was always nervous and was more than a tad "clumsy" around escalators. Heck I still am sometimes.... which step do I go on? That one? Whoops, too slow! OK, now that one...aaaaaand... step! :laughing:

We have never been on Figment. I really wanted to on this trip but the timing was off and we didn't make it.

Ah Soarin! I hope you Dad can overcome his fear and see it. :cloud9:

Thanks!!!:goodvibes I love that picture!!!

Escalators have never made me too nervous until Noah. I've spent so much time watching him when he's on them, that I realized that they are starting to freak me out as well.:laughing:---and that's Noah exactly as you described--this one...um...nope missed it....okay this one.:rotfl:

We really like Figment!! You should give it a try next time.

Hopefully, next time they come with us, (if we can talk them into it again) he will give Soarin' a try. I know that he would love it!!

Angies1274

09-15-2009, 10:05 AM

Hi!
I just picked up your TR...we're going for only 4 days too, starting next Wednesday so I'm hoping to pick up some tips for getting the most out of that short amount of time!!:goodvibes

It's been good reading so far!

:welcome: I'm so glad you joined in!!! Wow! You're going next week?? You must be so excited!!! Even though we were only there for 4 days, we actually got alot done. We are used to going in April when it's super crowded so it was nice to see shorter wait times this visit.:thumbsup2

eandesmom

09-15-2009, 10:06 AM

I was so scared that we were going to fall....it was that close.:sad2: Okay, that is super scary that your brother's shoe was ripped right off!!:scared1: Glad, he was at least able to get some brand new ones out of it!!

We had a great time this trip but compared to April, August is HOT! The best thing about Disney though,is that alot of their rides/attractions are inside so it's definitely doable!!

It's funny, because every time I read a TR where they have went on Mission Space and loved it. I think..hmm...maybe next time. But I still haven't been brave enough.:sad2: I'm so afraid it will do me in for the rest of the day!!

I have to say that I don't think Mission Space is that bad. Granted, I've only done Orange, and would like to try green but I do agree that there is just no sense in even attempting something that might possibly wreck your day!

I'm sure Aug will be a LOT warmer than Feb! Which, truth be told, was a little cool at times and the temp swings were a total pain to pack for. It makes for a LARGE suitcase when the temps swing from 50-80! So planning for hot will be a much easier packing situation but I'm going to need some of those misters!

Angies1274

09-15-2009, 10:16 AM

I'm really enjoying your TR!! We are going next August and as I'm reading i'm of course getting nervous because of the heat, but I want to be as prepared as possible, so I'm preparing myself here.lol Not sure how my dh will do with the heat and lines mixed but we have misting fans too and we'll just do what we can in the morning and then come back at night. I'm desperately waiting to see how this night goes for you guys back at Epcot. We love epcot.

:welcome: and Thanks!!:goodvibes I was extremely nervous before we went on this trip because we usually go in April when the weather is beautiful. But honestly the misting fans helped alot!!! We also brought along bottled water and getting to the parks early when it was a little cooler helped too. It was hot but definitely doable!!!;)

Angies1274

09-15-2009, 10:25 AM

I'm sure Aug will be a LOT warmer than Feb! Which, truth be told, was a little cool at times and the temp swings were a total pain to pack for. It makes for a LARGE suitcase when the temps swing from 50-80! So planning for hot will be a much easier packing situation but I'm going to need some of those misters!

It was definitely much easier to pack!! Since we were only gone for 4 days we were able to do it with just carry-on's this trip, which was awesome not having to wait for our luggage to arrive.:thumbsup2

When we were there last April, the temps were all over the place. The first 2 days we were wearing coats and long pants. The rest of the week we were in shorts and t-shirts. So at least in August you know what to expect!!!;)

Beauty & the Best

09-15-2009, 12:51 PM

I'm so glad you joined in!!! Wow! You're going next week?? You must be so excited!!! Even though we were only there for 4 days, we actually got alot done. We are used to going in April when it's super crowded so it was nice to see shorter wait times this visit.:thumbsup2

Yes we're VERY excited! :woohoo: We leave next Wed for a quickie trip like yours - just Wed through Sun. I wish we could go for longer, but it's an all girls trip & we're leaving the husbands and boyfriends at home so it can't be for too long. :rolleyes:

I got through all of your days so far and it's so funny b/c we are doing the same parks in the same order as you are! Can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip went :)

Angies1274

09-17-2009, 11:41 AM

Yes we're VERY excited! :woohoo: We leave next Wed for a quickie trip like yours - just Wed through Sun. I wish we could go for longer, but it's an all girls trip & we're leaving the husbands and boyfriends at home so it can't be for too long. :rolleyes:

I got through all of your days so far and it's so funny b/c we are doing the same parks in the same order as you are! Can't wait to hear how the rest of your trip went :)

Ohhh....an all girls trip sounds like so much fun!!! What a great idea!! That's so funny that you are visiting the same parks in the same order as we did. Our parks days seemed to revolve around where we were able to get our ADR's, since we didn't get park hoppers this trip.

I'm hoping to get another update posted soon!!:)

3princesses+aprince

09-17-2009, 01:37 PM

:welcome: and Thanks!!:goodvibes I was extremely nervous before we went on this trip because we usually go in April when the weather is beautiful. But honestly the misting fans helped alot!!! We also brought along bottled water and getting to the parks early when it was a little cooler helped too. It was hot but definitely doable!!!;)

Thanks, I feel better already!!:goodvibes

Beauty & the Best

09-17-2009, 04:08 PM

Ohhh....an all girls trip sounds like so much fun!!! What a great idea!! That's so funny that you are visiting the same parks in the same order as we did. Our parks days seemed to revolve around where we were able to get our ADR's, since we didn't get park hoppers this trip.

I'm hoping to get another update posted soon!!:)

We're not doing park hoppers either. :confused: I have an AP so I'm used to hopping around when things get too crowded, so this will be different for sure...but we're hoping that b/c it's Sept it won't be super crowded. *crosses fingers*

Angies1274

09-18-2009, 08:56 AM

Thanks, I feel better already!!:goodvibes
Yay!!:yay: I'm glad I could help.;)
We're not doing park hoppers either. :confused: I have an AP so I'm used to hopping around when things get too crowded, so this will be different for sure...but we're hoping that b/c it's Sept it won't be super crowded. *crosses fingers*

I thought the wait times were great at the end of August, so I'm sure they will be even better this month. Like I mentioned before, we usually go in April and are so used to getting up super early to get to the park to get on the rides because the wait times in the afternoon are just--wow! really long!!! :laughing:

Less than week now for you!!!:dance3:

Angies1274

09-18-2009, 11:13 AM

So, when I left off, we had just rode SSE for the first time, the boys rode TT. We almost melted in line waiting to get in The Seas w/ Nemo and Friends, enjoyed the clam shell, explored a little, almost fell down the escalator,spent some time with Figment and finally rode Soarin'!!!Our next adventure for the day was a special lunch with the Fab 5!!! That's right, we were on our way to Chef Mickey's!!!!!
You are probably thinking....hey-wait...isn't Chef Mickey's only open for breakfast and dinner? Well, normally it is, but this was during Free Dining and because of it's extreme popularity they decided to open it up for lunch. As I found out this trip it is a very popular restaurant because I called 90 days out at exactly 7:00am to get a dinner ADR there. They were actually booked for dinner all week and trust me I tried numerous times to get a ressie there at 80 days out, 70,60,50....okay I think you get the picture... So, anyway I was extremely happy when I found out about lunch, and booked for 1:00pm I figured it would give us awhile to explore Epcot and we knew we would be coming back later on so it worked out perfectly.
We decided to leave Epcot around noon just to make sure we were there in time. A short monorail ride later we were at the TTC to board the Resort Monorail to the Contemporary Resort and in no time we were there, luckily we were still pretty early so I had the boys change their shirts into more appropriate attire--Goofy and Pluto shirts...of course!! They spotted the arcade, and talked their father and uncle into going inside. I decided to check out the gift shops and my parent's decided to rest on one of the benches near by. Soon, it was getting close to our ADR time so I gathered everyone up and off we went to check-in. They immediately gave us a pager and sent us to wait in the picture line. At this point everyone was starving. Remember, we had a very early breakfast. About 5 minutes later our pager went off, but we were still in the very long picture line. Although, I'm sure it would have been a great picture our tummies won out and we ducked out of line to be led to our table.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00257.jpg
We ordered our drinks and then made our way up to the buffet.Sorry, I didn't get pictures of the actual buffet but it consisted of rolls,salads,chicken, beans, pork ribs. I can't really remember what else. Everything was fresh and tasty but selection was small. They didn't have the Parmesan potatoes or any carved meat. It had a whole barbecue theme instead. Finally, as we sat down the characters began to arrive. First up was Minnie--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1511.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1512.jpg
Next was Donald--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1515.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1516.jpg
YAY!! It's time for a little napkin waving!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1517.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00265.jpg
As you can tell, everyone got in on the fun!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1518.jpg
After all the excitement our server brought a cupcake over for my parent's anniversary. They thought it was the best thing!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1519.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1520.jpg
Next up was.....Mickey!! Yay!! I've said it before, there's just something about that mouse that I love!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1521.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1522.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1523-1.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1524.jpg
It was finally time for the boys favorite--Goofy!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1525.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1526.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1527.jpg
Pluto stopped by shortly after Goofy!! The boys got a kick out of how he signed their autograph book--As you can tell the autograph books were a great hit!! They definitely helped the boys become more comfortable around the characters and they actually gave me a great opportunity for more pictures (which you know I love!!!)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1531.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00270.jpg
Bye Pluto!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1533.jpg
We were there long enough for the napkin waving to begin again--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1536.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1538.jpg
A view from our table, which was in great location--just off to the left from the buffet.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1539.jpg
As we were leaving, I decided to take a quick picture of the monorail--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1542.jpg
Another one on the way out--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1543.jpg
With bellies full, we headed out of Chef Mickey's toward MK to catch a bus back to Pop for a quick rest, and some much needed pool time!!! It was a great morning but we couldn't wait to head back to Epcot later on that night. But how would it go?? Oh...no!!!

Up Next--Rain, Rain Go Away!!!

onelilspark

09-18-2009, 11:41 AM

I love it, "Sorry I didn't get pictures of the buffet."

Where else besides the Dis is this a normal statement? :rotfl:

dismagiclover

09-18-2009, 11:58 AM

Great meal at Chef Mickey's:goodvibes I'm glad they had lunch too or we would have missed out! And rain is coming? Oh no:eek: I hope it doesn't spoil your evening!popcorn::

Angies1274

09-18-2009, 01:42 PM

I love it, "Sorry I didn't get pictures of the buffet."

Where else besides the Dis is this a normal statement? :rotfl:
You are so right!!! That's too funny!!!:lmao: It does seem like such a normal thing to say around here.;) Probably because we're always reading "What??? No food pics?".:rotfl:
Great meal at Chef Mickey's:goodvibes I'm glad they had lunch too or we would have missed out! And rain is coming? Oh no:eek: I hope it doesn't spoil your evening!popcorn::

It was a great meal!! We try make it to Chef Mickey's every trip. It's become sort of a tradition for us.:) Let's just say, when you only have 4 days to tour the parks--rain is something you don't want to see.:sad2:

cjackearl

09-18-2009, 02:00 PM

wdwgirl03

09-18-2009, 05:13 PM

Looks like you had a lot of fun at Chef Mickey's! I had no idea they're usually only open for breakfast and dinner.

Mickey_Mom

09-18-2009, 07:40 PM

Yay Chef Mickey's! I heart Chef Mickey's. :lovestruc What a great table you had right by the windows. Twirling napkins! Happy Anniversary Angie's mom and dad! I'm so glad the autograph books let the boys be more comfortable. Don't you just love how Pluto signs? :rotfl:

Angies1274

09-19-2009, 08:44 AM

What a smart move by Disney to open up lunch at Chef Mickeys. Cute pictures.:) Your parents look darling in their anniversary shirts. Did you make them? Oh no, not rain.:eek: I hope it didn't ruin your plans!
I was so happy Chef Mickey's opened for lunch!!! We :love: it there!!! I did make the shirts for my parent's, with a little help from some great DISigners!!!:thumbsup2
Looks like you had a lot of fun at Chef Mickey's! I had no idea they're usually only open for breakfast and dinner.
Chef Mickey's has become a tradition for us. Our boys love it!!! We've been lucky enough to try breakfast, dinner and now lunch there.:)
Yay Chef Mickey's! I heart Chef Mickey's. :lovestruc What a great table you had right by the windows. Twirling napkins! Happy Anniversary Angie's mom and dad! I'm so glad the autograph books let the boys be more comfortable. Don't you just love how Pluto signs? :rotfl:

I know....gotta love Chef Mickey's.:yay: It's so much fun!!!

It was a really great table right by the window. It was far enough back so you didn't feel so crowded in with everyone around you.

Ahh...Mom and Dad say thanks!!!;)

The boys got such a kick out of Pluto!! At first they didn't know what he was doing, thinking that maybe he was just being silly.:laughing: We all thought it was so cute!!

mickeystoontown

09-19-2009, 09:59 AM

Beauty & the Best

09-19-2009, 02:01 PM

Great update Angie!

I've never gone to Chef Mickey's but I felt like I was right there with you guys! :goodvibes

Ewww, I hope the rain doesn't ruin everything...I guess I'll just sit tight and see what happens. popcorn::

Gabes_mommy

09-19-2009, 03:32 PM

Great updates! It looks like you guys had a great time at CMs. I am so sorry to hear about the escalator incident. :hug:

I agree with you about M:S. I get motion sickness very easily so I don't plan on ever trying the intense side because I know it would ruin the rest of my day. I did try the tame version once though and it was fine. :goodvibes

ellajeansmom

09-19-2009, 04:32 PM

So glad everyone enjoyed the morning at Epcot - its hard to tell who was having more fun, your parents with all the new experiences or you watching them ;)

The anniversary cupcake was a great touch :thumbsup2

Angies1274

09-19-2009, 09:55 PM

Morning Angie,

Sorry I was away for a couple of days but, as you know, I was with my Mama.

I'm glad that you had a good time at Chef Mickey's. Our dinner there was just okay and I thought the selection was minimal at best. You got some awesome pictures of your family while there!

Looking forward to more!

Lisa
Hi Lisa!!:goodvibes
Ahh...Don't worry about it.:) I know you've had a rough week!! I was so happy to hear that you got some good news about your Mom and that she's decided to go through with the surgery. It's better to get it taken care of then having to worry about it.
We always seem to have a good time at Chef Mickey's!! I wouldn't say the food is the best or the selection very big...but..we just love the character interaction!! I guess you could say that's what keeps us going back.;)
Great update Angie!

I've never gone to Chef Mickey's but I felt like I was right there with you guys! :goodvibes

Ewww, I hope the rain doesn't ruin everything...I guess I'll just sit tight and see what happens. popcorn::
It was a great lunch!! But, I think I spent more time taking pictures than actually eating my meal.:laughing: Oh well..we had fun!!
Hmm....the rain?:sad2: You'll see.....;)
Great updates! It looks like you guys had a great time at CMs. I am so sorry to hear about the escalator incident. :hug:

I agree with you about M:S. I get motion sickness very easily so I don't plan on ever trying the intense side because I know it would ruin the rest of my day. I did try the tame version once though and it was fine. :goodvibes
Thanks!!!:goodvibes
Oh..the escalator incident was very scary.:eek: We haven't been on another escalator since we've been back and I'm definitely not in any hurry.:sad2:

Hmm...I haven't heard too much about the tame side of MS. I may have to work up the courage to try it next time we go.:laughing:
So glad everyone enjoyed the morning at Epcot - its hard to tell who was having more fun, your parents with all the new experiences or you watching them ;)

The anniversary cupcake was a great touch :thumbsup2

Hi!! I know...that's so funny but so true!!! We were all having such a great time!!:)

I was so pleased that they brought out an anniversary cupcake. It made it so special for them.

D!SNEYgram

09-20-2009, 07:35 AM

Loving your TR. Glad you got to share the Disney magic with your parents and brother - great memories!

mommytothreeboys

09-21-2009, 07:16 AM

Hi Angie!

Yay for lunch at Chef Mickey's. That's one place we have not eaten at yet..I definitely want to try it next trip. It looks like a lot of fun!

Pluto is one of our favorite characters to meet. He's always so playful!

Uh-oh...rain doesn't sound good. I hope it clears up for you and you can still enjoy Epcot. Looking forward to more!

Angies1274

09-21-2009, 11:41 AM

Loving your TR. Glad you got to share the Disney magic with your parents and brother - great memories!
:welcome: I'm so glad you joined in.:goodvibes We were thrilled when they decided to join us. I definitely think they felt the Disney magic because they already want to go back!;)
Hi Angie!

Yay for lunch at Chef Mickey's. That's one place we have not eaten at yet..I definitely want to try it next trip. It looks like a lot of fun!

Pluto is one of our favorite characters to meet. He's always so playful!

Uh-oh...rain doesn't sound good. I hope it clears up for you and you can still enjoy Epcot. Looking forward to more!

Hi Missy!!

Chef Mickey's again...:rolleyes1 We just can't seem to stay away from that place.:laughing: We just always seem to have such a great time there!!

Ahh...Pluto was so much fun!!! This was the first time the boys brought autograph books there and they thought it was so hilarious how he signed them. It was a great lunch and a nice break from the busy parks.:thumbsup2

MouseKTeer

09-22-2009, 10:20 AM

Angies1274

09-22-2009, 01:24 PM

When I left off last, we had just had lunch with the Fab 5. We had enjoyed the atmosphere, laughed at Pluto's silliness and had a relaxing lunch. (well, as relaxing as it can get with character dining.)
We were headed back to Pop for a rest and some much needed pool time. One thing I can definitely say about August is it makes you wish you had added that water park and more option because it's just so darn hot. I'm not trying to scare anyone who's planning a trip in August because let's face it, free dining is awesome and combined with shorter wait times it's great. But, honestly the heat I could live without. When we finally made it back to the hotel, my parent's headed to their room for a nap. DH decided he could do without the swim as well and opted out. This is what we found when we got back--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1872.jpg
We didn't get any towel animals but we were left with a few nice touches that makes staying at a Disney resort so special--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1545.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1546.jpg
So, that left my brother, the boys and myself. We quickly changed into our suits and headed down to the Hippy Dippy Pool (60's Section). It was busy, but not too bad . As I stepped in I was hoping to at least get a little cooled off. However, it was definitely not refreshing. Hmm...just picture a warm bath. It wasn't until we discovered the flower sprayers that we were finally cooled off. But, boy were they powerful. We found that backing into them worked best.:laughing:
After about an hour or so, we decided to head back up to the room. We were very surprised to find the others up and ready to head back to the parks. It was about 5:00pm, so I hurried in to get changed and dried off. Before long, we were out the door and on our way to Epcot to check out the WS. My mom was really looking forward to it and had talked about it alot leading up to the trip. Once we arrived the first thing that we wanted to do was ride SSE again. Remember how much my mom loved it? Well...she wanted to show my dad. Unfortunately, the boys weren't cooperating and preferred to head over to Innoventions. DH volunteered to take them, while the rest of us headed inside. This time I sat with my brother and my parent's sat together. They all liked the ride. However, at the end when you are answering all your questions to determine your future my father was freaking out just a little bit. He doesn't like heights, and when he realized that we were going down backwards. He kept saying "Wow! We're high!! We're really high!! and then the questions...."What if there's a problem and we just fall backwards." Ahh, Dad we said "Just enjoy the ride". We made it out in one piece and went off to find the boys and DH. We found them over by Runtime, the place where you can put yourself in a video game. I didn't think to take any pictures while we were actually doing it but I did take some when we got home so I could share them with you--not the best quality though.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1917.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1919.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1921.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1922.jpg
We decided to finish up in Innoventions because it was getting close to 7:00pm, and we needed to find a place to eat. Our original plan was to head over to Sunshine Seasons but since we hadn't even made it over to the WS and we only had 2 hours before Illuminations started, we figured we better get going. A few pictures on the way--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1549.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1551.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1552.jpg
As you can tell, it was getting pretty dark and we had felt sprinkles of rain on the way. As we were nearing one of the boat docks, I suggested that we take it over. I was worried because I didn't want my mom to do alot of walking. But as we approached, the next boat wasn't going to leave for another 15-20 minutes and it was their last boat of the night. I wanted to wait. My father didn't. So off we went toward Mexico--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1553.jpg
We were still contemplating where we wanted to eat. Half of us wanted to eat in Mexico and the other half China. At this point it was getting later and later and no decisions were being made. We should have probably separated but nobody really wanted too. We decided to wait and eat in China but since we were here we might as well go in and quickly explore Mexico. We hopped aboard our boat to ride the Gran Fiesta Tour. Everyone enjoyed it and it was so funny because my brother's girlfriend called while we were on the ride. We all laughed when we heard him say...Oh yeah, You're at the Dollar Store? Well...I'm in a boat going through Mexico and watching the fireworks. I guess we are easily amused bunch because we were still laughing about it the next day. After the our nice, relaxing ride through Mexico we decided to let the boys sit and color their masks. Unfortunately, once we stepped outside it started to pour. We grabbed our ponchos and put them on. I had purchased extras in case anyone's ripped but I only brought enough for the four of us, leaving the extras back at the hotel,thinking that they would remember their own. But......my brother forgot his and thinking or I guess hoping it would let up, decided to just wait it out. We finally arrived in China!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1556.jpg
This was where we were supposed to eat but......this is were we ended up instead.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00285.jpg
Yup, nobody could agree, there was nothing that looked good...etc.,etc. So, we settled on good old American burgers and fries.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1559.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1558.jpg
Oh...I almost forgot on our way over to Liberty Inn, I took a quick picture of Italy--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00284.jpg
Our plan was to explore some of the other countries once we had finished eating but once we left America, it only rained harder and harder. I tried to take pictures but my camera was getting wet--Here's the only one I managed as we were sloshing our way through the water--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1560.jpg
It was around 8:30pm at this time, it might have been even a little later. We were going to watch Illuminations but my brother was soaked and too stubborn to go in and buy a poncho--declaring what would be the point since he was already soak and wet....hmm..point taken. Everyone was really tired anyways, especially my mom. So we decided to head out for the night, weaving around people trying to find a good spot and others who like us were rushing out of the park hoping to miss the crowds. Before we left I snapped a couple quick shots--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1561.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1562.jpg
The line for the buses were quite long so apparently alot of other people had the same idea as we did. We were so disappointed that we had missed so much but it's so hard when you only go for 4 days and if the weather doesn't cooperate then you do what you can do. It was a great day overall and we'll go back. As I keep saying it gives us something to look forward to on our next trip!!

Next up--Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!!!

Angies1274

09-22-2009, 01:34 PM

We've only been to Chef Mickey's for breakfast, but enjoyed it like you guys. BTW, great photos inside the CR! I especially like the one of the monorail over the buffet bar.

And isn't Pluto a riot how he signs the autograph books :rotfl:

Thanks!!:goodvibes We did Chef Mickey's for breakfast on our trip before this one. I actually liked the food better at breakfast than lunch or dinner. But we mostly go for the character interaction. The boys love it there!!;)

Pluto is such a riot!! So funny!!:laughing:

eandesmom

09-22-2009, 03:01 PM

mickeystoontown

09-22-2009, 03:23 PM

I know what you mean by it being HOT in August. We were there August 6th through the 15th and it was horribly hot. In 2008, it didn't seem quite so hot in August. :confused3

Even though you guys didn't get to see and do everything, you still had a good time and that's all that matters.

mommytothreeboys

09-23-2009, 07:28 AM

What a shame that you missed so much of the WS. But...like you said...all the more reason to go again!!

The rain looks miserable. But at least you all still look like you're having fun!

I can't imagine trying to get a group that size to agree on where and what to eat! UGH! :eek:

Here's hoping the rain goes away soon! :thumbsup2

3princesses+aprince

09-23-2009, 10:28 AM

Great updates, I cannot wait to go to Chef Mickey's in August!!!! Looks like so much fun.

Sorry about all of the rain. When we went in May we got hit with rain for 3 straight days. It was a bummer, but we still managed to have a nice time. Gotta make the best of what you got!!!!

Can't wait to hear about you MK day!!

Angies1274

09-23-2009, 11:32 AM

Oh WOW!

It sounds so...

HOT

and

SOGGY

and a wee bit frustrating. This is the 2nd TR I've read where the Pop pool was less than refreshing. I am nervous about an August trip. It is not at all the time of year I'd like to go. But it is the only time of year that will work for us for myriad of reasons.

I am really hoping that between the Lagoon Pool and SAB that it will cover us and we can skip the water and more, I really don't want to spend my day at a water park.
Well, it was hot and soggy...but luckily that was the only night that it rained that hard.
August wasn't really our most ideal time to visit but we wanted to avoid having to pull the boys out of school. Despite the heat, and the rain we still had a great time as I'm sure you all will too.:goodvibes

SAB sounds great!!! If we were able to stay at either the YC or BC then we probably won't add on the water park option either.
I know what you mean by it being HOT in August. We were there August 6th through the 15th and it was horribly hot. In 2008, it didn't seem quite so hot in August. :confused3

Even though you guys didn't get to see and do everything, you still had a good time and that's all that matters.
August is HOT!! We are not used to those temps way up North where we are.;) But, you're right--we did have a great time just being together and really that's all that counts!!:) I was just feeling a little bit grumpy about the rain.:laughing:
What a shame that you missed so much of the WS. But...like you said...all the more reason to go again!!

The rain looks miserable. But at least you all still look like you're having fun!

I can't imagine trying to get a group that size to agree on where and what to eat! UGH! :eek:

Here's hoping the rain goes away soon! :thumbsup2
We love Epcot and we were disappointed to miss so much in the WS....again!!:sad2: We wanted to show them everything we liked about the park, but it left very little time to explore the things we haven't even seen yet ourselves.

The rain was miserable...... I was trying to make the best out of the situation but it was making everyone grumpy especially the boys.

Luckily, the rain does go away!!!:woohoo:......for a little while anyway.:rolleyes:

Great updates, I cannot wait to go to Chef Mickey's in August!!!! Looks like so much fun.

Sorry about all of the rain. When we went in May we got hit with rain for 3 straight days. It was a bummer, but we still managed to have a nice time. Gotta make the best of what you got!!!!

Can't wait to hear about you MK day!!

Chef Mickey's is so much fun!! Are planning to go for breakfast or dinner?

I can't imagine 3 straight days of rain.:sad2: I guess we've been spoiled going in April because our last couple trips we didn't have rain at all...well except for one afternoon when it rained for about a half hour.

Despite the rain, we had still had alot of fun just being together!! I think I was more disappointed in the fact that we were not able to explore much in the WS, because we ran out of time.

wdwgirl03

09-23-2009, 04:48 PM

haha, the RunTime game was pretty fun!

It kind of looks like it's snowing in those last couple pictures because of the rain! :eek:

ellajeansmom

09-23-2009, 09:36 PM

Too bad about the rain - I'm sure its hard for everyone to be happy and excited when you're all soggy :sad2: As you say there's always next time!!

I can't imagine how hot it must have been - especially when it was a cooler summer in the north this year, plus I always find its the humidity that really zaps your energy. Even when we went in May (which was apparently unusually hot) I found the pool just barely refreshing - and that from someone who gets "refreshed" (or down right cold) very easily :)

Looking forward to hearing about your MK day :goodvibes

Angies1274

09-24-2009, 07:45 AM

haha, the RunTime game was pretty fun!

It kind of looks like it's snowing in those last couple pictures because of the rain! :eek:
It was pretty fun to actually see yourself in a video game!! I just wish we would have had more time to check out some of the other cool things they have in Innoventions.:rolleyes:
Too bad about the rain - I'm sure its hard for everyone to be happy and excited when you're all soggy :sad2: As you say there's always next time!!

I can't imagine how hot it must have been - especially when it was a cooler summer in the north this year, plus I always find its the humidity that really zaps your energy. Even when we went in May (which was apparently unusually hot) I found the pool just barely refreshing - and that from someone who gets "refreshed" (or down right cold) very easily :)

Looking forward to hearing about your MK day :goodvibes

It was really hard to stay happy and upbeat when it was raining so hard. Although, we did try!! The only good thing that came out of the rain is that it cooled it down some. (not much but some.;))

It was such a cool summer here.::yes:: I think that's why the heat seemed to hit us so hard. I'm so glad that we brought along a mister fan because that helped out alot!!

Mickey_Mom

09-24-2009, 05:23 PM

Angies1274

09-25-2009, 08:17 AM

Ahhhh that's the key isn't it? A misting fan. Such a little device but it makes all the difference! Its funny, because we've gone four Augusts in a row and this year didn't seem so bad to me. I think the Pop should throw truck fulls of ice every evening into their pools.... then it would be refreshing! :lmao:

I'm sorry the rain interrupted your Epcot day :sad2:

I can't wait to hear your MK day! popcorn::

Ahh...a misting fan....a definite life-saver!!:laughing: It's funny because when we were in AK, the boys were getting a little carried away with it--once even spritzing some people beside us on the bench. As the boys were apologizing, the couple laughed and told them they could do it as much as they wanted, it felt so good.:rotfl:

I think the rain just made us all a little grumpy but I think it was the lack of time to do everything we wanted to that was so disappointing. We know we are planning to go back eventually, but we're not sure we can talk them into going again. My father is very practical and we feel very fortunate that we were able to convince him to spend the money to go this time.

MK day--up next!!:thumbsup2

Angies1274

09-25-2009, 09:47 AM

Wednesday,August 26--Day 3

When I woke up that morning, I was so incredibly happy to see the sun shining through the crack in the curtain, gone was any indication that it had even rained the night before. The day before had been a great day, despite the rain. It was so unfortunate that we were not able to do more, but honestly even if it didn't rain we were pressed for time. We had arrived late, had to eat dinner when we should have eaten earlier. However,we were able to see the park all lit up and how beautiful it looked and essentially that was our goal anyway to see Epcot at night. (which we had never done before). So anyway we were so excited about this day because it was our Magic Kingdom day and if you happened to read my last report you would know of my love for this park.:cloud9: We love the sights, the sounds, the smells, and the feeling you get while you are walking down main street. It never get old, it feels new every time we go. We "get" it and I think we are very lucky that we do, because unfortunately alot of people don't. So our objective on this day was to share some of that magic with my family and hopefully they would "get" it too. They would understand why we keep planning trips to return because there's just something about the place that makes you feel like you are 5 years old and laughing and giggling because you just hugged Mickey Mouse and it was the best feeling in the world.

I was the first one up, everyone was exhausted from the night before and I decided to let them sleep a little longer. However at around 6:15am, little heads started peeking up from under the covers and once I reminded them it was our MK day!! They couldn't wait to get out of bed and get going, not that they moved too fast but they were still very excited to show their Grammie, Papa, and Uncle Lee their very favorite park!! Nick, my oldest got up first and decided to go next door to see if everyone was up. Of course, my father was so they decided to take a little walk around Pop. My father told me after that it was one of the highlights of the trip for him, getting to spend that one on one time with Nick, because they don't do it very often.:lovestruc Once everyone was all ready, we headed down for breakfast. To make the most of the dining plan, we decided to use our snack credits for a few muffins and bagel, filled our coffee mugs and grabbed some chocolate milk for the boys. It didn't take long and we were standing in line to get on the bus for MK. I wanted to try and be there for rope drop and early enough to be able to watch the opening show. :love:

When we arrived this is what we saw--It was decorated so pretty!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1564.jpg
We waited for the show to begin.....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1565.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1567.jpg
YAY!!! They have arrived--I can still here the music...."Good Morning, Good Morning to you!!"
Some pictures that I took during the show--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1568.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1569.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1571.jpg
It was finally time to go inside and after grabbing a Times Guide and Maps for everyone we walked through to see this on our right-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1573.jpg
And.....this our left--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1574.jpg
We stopped to watch....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1575.jpg
I was so excited to see how they would react seeing the castle for the first time....and extremely happy that they had taken down the crane behind it. Let me explain....a week before our trip, I happened to read on the DIS that there was going to be a crane behind the castle the entire week we were going to be there. I won't lie, I was very disappointed especially after seeing the pictures. If it was just us then it wouldn't have mattered so much but it was their very first visit and I wanted them to see if for the first time...crane-free!! On our way to Chef Mickey's the day before passing by MK, I saw the crane and my heart sunk. As we made our way around I took a quick glimpse of the castle and no crane!!YAY!!:yay: Unfortunately, it reappeared later in the day but we had gotten our pictures before then. So anyway, here they are just about to round the corner for their first look--the anticipation is building.......
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1577.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1578.jpg
There it is!!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1580.jpg
and another.....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1582.jpg
Some of the boys...
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1583.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1584-1.jpg
As you can tell, they got new hats that morning. They had already gotten Mickey ears on our last trip, so they wanted these so they could be like their dad.:worship:
Although, we didn't get the Photopass CD this time because it was such a short trip-when we returned home we did order a few photpass pics.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1886-1.jpg

DH had volunteered to run and get fastpasses for BTMRR, while the rest of us headed over to Tomorrowland. We stopped for a quick picture on the way. I'm not sure what Noah is reaching for....hmm....maybe he saw Tink.;)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00313.jpg
Continued on next post---

Angies1274

09-25-2009, 09:48 AM

We were on our way to Tommorrowland!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1587.jpg
Ahhh...I just love the look of any empty park first thing in the morning!!:goodvibes
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1588.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1589.jpg
Our first ride.....hmm....if you guessed Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin...you would be correct!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1591.jpg
I can't remember what our scores were but I remember that my brother scored the highest. Thanks for all the tips I got on the DIS, my score improved as well. I almost beat him!!:laughing: I made him promise we would have a rematch later. We have always been very competitive with each other!! My turn was coming.....:rotfl:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1592.jpg
On the way out the boys spotted someone and were anxious to get their autograph--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1593.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1594.jpg
We had planned to explore more of Tomorrowland later on, and had agreed to meet DH in front of Mad Tea Party.
We decided to take a quick spin before we made our way over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. (a favorite of the boys) DH opted out this time, he doesn't really like this ride so he decided to take the pictures instead. I usually opt out because I get motion sickness very easily but I decided to just go for it.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1598.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1595.jpg

Let me just say, it was not a good idea--we went fast.:sick: As we were getting off the ride I tried to maintain some kind of balance and when I happened to look over at my parent's and Nick. They were laughing one minute and then I heard Grammie say..."Oh, I don't feel so good." Apparently they were supposed to take it easy, but Nick got a little carried away......
So, would we make it to Winnie the Pooh or not?

Up Next-- A Wet and Wild Ride!!!

dismagiclover

09-25-2009, 01:01 PM

I just love Magic Kingdom mornings! I think they are the best kinds:cloud9: Love all the castle pics. So do your first timers "get it"?popcorn::

cjackearl

09-25-2009, 04:47 PM

What an awesome tour guide you were! And yea for the crane agreeing to disappear for your newbies first glimpse of the castle. That's some pixie dust!pixiedust:

I almost never get motion sick so its hard for me to relate, but I've heard those tea cups can be bad news for those that are prone. I hope your tummys feel better fast!! NO nausea at Disney allowed!

wdwgirl03

09-25-2009, 05:09 PM

WOW, we literally missed the Halloween decorations by a day! :eek: That is crazy!

onelilspark

09-25-2009, 05:47 PM

8/26 and they start putting up the Halloween decorations...amazing!

Mickey_Mom

09-25-2009, 06:06 PM

That's a really nice photopass pic of you all and I really like the ones of the boys in front of the castle. It seems we missed the halloween decorations by just a few days... I miss the boo to you parties!

I'm so not a spin rider :sad2: I hope everyone's OK!

Angies1274

09-26-2009, 08:16 AM

I just love Magic Kingdom mornings! I think they are the best kinds:cloud9: Love all the castle pics. So do your first timers "get it"?popcorn::
I agree, there's nothing like an early morning at MK!!:love: Both my parent's were very excited to see the castle. I actually think my father took more pictures of it, than I did. It was a great morning, and yes...I think they finally did "get it".;)
What an awesome tour guide you were! And yea for the crane agreeing to disappear for your newbies first glimpse of the castle. That's some pixie dust!pixiedust:

I almost never get motion sick so its hard for me to relate, but I've heard those tea cups can be bad news for those that are prone. I hope your tummys feel better fast!! NO nausea at Disney allowed!
I know....:yay: for the pixie dust!!! I was so happy that they took the crane down that morning. We were able to get all the pictures we wanted before it went back up in the afternoon.:thumbsup2

When I rode the teacups last year it wasn't a great experience.:sad2: However, when I rode them in April I was fine because I had read a little trick on the DIS to just concentrate on the silver wheel you spin and it helps.This time we ended up spinning much faster, which was probably why we felt like we did.:sick:
WOW, we literally missed the Halloween decorations by a day! :eek: That is crazy!

Really? Wow--only a day? We weren't expecting to see the Halloween decorations in August. But glad we did because it looked so pretty all decorated.:thumbsup2

Angies1274

09-26-2009, 08:26 AM

8/26 and they start putting up the Halloween decorations...amazing!
Isn't is crazy? We definitely weren't expecting them. But they were nice to see anyway.;)
That's a really nice photopass pic of you all and I really like the ones of the boys in front of the castle. It seems we missed the halloween decorations by just a few days... I miss the boo to you parties!

I'm so not a spin rider :sad2: I hope everyone's OK!

Thanks.:goodvibes We did get a few more photopass pics, but they are at my parent's so I couldn't include them.:rolleyes1

The halloween decorations were really pretty. Hopefully, one of these days we will make it to a MNSSHP.:thumbsup2

It was rough for a few minutes after the teacups.:sick: But, I couldn't let it ruin the day....you'll see.;)

mickeystoontown

09-26-2009, 10:53 PM

3princesses+aprince

09-26-2009, 11:50 PM

Great update. We never made it to park opening in May, that is my goal for our August trip. I would love to see the opening show!! And an empty park.

Angies1274

09-28-2009, 07:44 AM

I am so glad that you guys made it to the park to see the opening show. What an awesome way to introduce your parents to the Magic Kingdom! I bet you were about to bust to see their reaction to seeing the castle for the first time. Aren't you glad that they "got it".! You know "it"......Disney magic at work.:wizard:
Last year on our first visit seeing the opening show was so wonderful, that I knew it was something that I wanted them to see too--and they loved it, especially my mom.;) I actually think it was my father that seemed more excited to see the castle. We stood there for the longest time while he got picture after picture of the castle. It was very cute!!:laughing:
Great update. We never made it to park opening in May, that is my goal for our August trip. I would love to see the opening show!! And an empty park.

Oh, you should definitely try to make it. It's such a cute show!! I'm sure your family would love it!!! An empty park, first thing in the morning, especially at MK is the best.:cloud9:

mommytothreeboys

09-28-2009, 09:13 AM

Angies1274

09-28-2009, 09:06 PM

YAY!! Who doesn't love the MK? And I'm so glad your family got to see the castle for the first time crane-free!

Love the pp pic of the whole group in front of the castle! :thumbsup2

Halloween decorations in August?? YIKES! But cool that you got to see them.

I love that your Dad enjoyed his time with Nick so much. Those things are so special....enjoy them while you can! ;)

We love Space Ranger Spin. You may have to give me a few of those pointers you mentioned...I STINK at the game but it's so fun!

I know...so happy that the castle was crane-free!!! Disney must be magical!!!pixiedust:

I thought it was so sweet that my Dad and Nick got to spend some quality time together. My dad just thought it was the best thing. He kept saying.."Wow, Angie...Nick is just so smart!! He was telling me about Magic Kingdom and everything that was there...and boy is he a talker.:laughing: It was too cute!!

Space Ranger Spin is so much fun!!! I'm liking even better now that my score has improved!!:rotfl: The only tip that I tried that seemed to work was instead of pressing the trigger in and out, hold it in and don't release it. It worked....and trust me I was really BAD at the game!!! ;)

Angies1274

09-29-2009, 11:42 AM

When I left off, we had just finished riding the Teacups. It's a ride I normally skip because I'm prone to motion sickness. But, I was able to ride on our last trip at MK and was fine. I figured I would give it a try again.....well bad idea!!:sick: My brother, Noah and I sat in one teacup and my parent's and Nick were in the other. My brother did all the spinning and boy, did he spin FAST!! Apparently, they were spinning almost as fast because when we got off the ride. I was extremely dizzy, but it was my mom who suddenly felt sick to her stomach. We figured it would be best to find a place to sit and relax before we headed to Winnie the Pooh.

A short rest and a few drinks of water later, she was feeling somewhat better. We told her we would wait as long she needed but she said she'd be okay and was anxious to do another ride. So, off we went to one of Noah's favorite rides...The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh!!!He especially likes the part where we see Tigger and our vehicle bounces. I cherish these moments, because I know he's getting bigger and soon Pooh will be an afterthought as he rushes to the next thrill ride......
Here are a couple pics while we are waiting to go on the ride--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1600.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1601.jpg
Another one on our way out of the ride--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1602.jpg
In the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh-
Fun Find --Wind blows the words off the storybook page in the attraction's first scene.
Hidden Mickey Check the radish marker in Rabbit's garden.

We stopped in the gift shop on the way out so my brother could buy some Winnie the Pooh figures for his girlfriend's son. We all enjoyed the ride, my mother more than the guys but they still thought it was cute. At this point my mom was feeling better and my brother was itching to head over to Frontierland, he was ready for a little more excitement. We thought the quickest way to that was to head over to Toontown to board the train. It wasn't quite 10:00am yet, but I knew because of all my research on the DIS (thanks,dismagiclover!!) that Toontown actually opens earlier than posted. :woohoo: We decided once we got to Toontown, we would stop and tour Minnie and Mickey's houses. First up was Minnie's, I didn't get too many pictures because I took so many last trip but here are a few that I got-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1603.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1604.jpg
I thought this picture was so cute, leaning against the wall-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1605.jpg
Hidden Mickey--Hanging kitchen skillet and pots.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0822.jpg
The boys knew that Grammie would love Minnie's gardening area--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1608.jpg
Lee rushed through, pretty quick he obviously wasn't interested.:rolleyes:http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1610.jpg
We attempted to make our way over to Mickey's house--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1611.jpg
But....the boys were becoming impatient and really wanted to head over to ride BTMRR and to keep peace we decided to skip Mickey's house and Goofy's Barnstormer for now, hoping to get back later. A few pics on our way to the train-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1613.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1612.jpg
A short ride on the train to Frontierland...

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1615.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1616.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1617.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1618.jpg
Before we headed over to BTMRR, I decided to run down and get fastpasses for Splash Mountain. This was the one ride, that my mom was looking most forward to. She had seen our Splash Mountain picture from last trip and was so excited to ride it herself.
Once we reached BTMRR, there was some discussion as to whether my mom should ride it or not. She insisted she would be fine, but we were unsure especially after she felt sick not too long ago. Although, not a scary ride it can be a bit rough. After much persuasion on her part, we reluctantly gave in. I put my camera away at this point because the fastpass line always seems to move so quickly on this ride and this time was no exception. Soon, we were off on a runaway train. My parent's sat in front of us and it was so funny to hear my mom screaming and laughing!! She loved the ride and wanted to ride it again later. The guys liked as well. My father doesn't really like roller coasters but he rides them for my mom and my brother rides the ones where his legs dangle where he's going upside down and inside out.(well....you get the point.:laughing:) He thought it fun but a very mild ride compared to what he's used to.

We decided after BTMRR, to head over to Liberty Square to check out the Haunted Mansion. This would be my first time riding because the boys wanted to skip it last trip. DH decided to stay back with the boys again. We tried to talk them into going but Nick wouldn't budge, and then Noah who was scared by what Nick said about the ride decided to skip it too. Hmmm....I don't know about those two.:rotfl: I have to say it was not what I was expecting....but it was so much fun!! I guess I thought it would be scarier...who knows.:confused3 The only time I was actually scared was just before the ride began, when we were in complete darkness or so it seemed.... and that darn brother of mine stuck his hand in front of my face to scare me and it worked because I let scream out of me.:scared1: I don't think he's ever laughed so hard. It was such a fun time,but sorry no pictures...:sad2: I left my bag with DH so I wouldn't have worry about it.
Haunted Mansion--Fun Finds---*In the Stretching room, grates along the bottom of the walls form monstrous faces,** In the Music room, the window frame is decorated with coffins.

It was finally time to use our Fastpasses for Splash Mountain. There was some misunderstanding in the beginning about who would sit with who. Nick wanted to sit with my mom but he also wanted to sit in the very front of the log. My father on the other hand preferred that my mother didn't sit in the front. So after going back in forth, we finally came up with a seating order that everyone seemed happy with. It was a great ride as usual!! Everyone was enjoying the sights, laughing, anxiously waiting for the big hill to arrive..... Finally, it was time--and Weeeeeeeeee.......down we go!!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1859.jpg
We came off wet, smiling and declaring it one of the best rides of the day!! Even though it was still early, we decided to head back to Pop for lunch and then a rest for my mom. We had early dinner reservations with the Hundred acre woods gang and we didn't want to be late!!

Up Next--Deep in the Hundred Acre Woods.......

dismagiclover

09-29-2009, 01:53 PM

mickeystoontown

09-29-2009, 01:53 PM

So sorry that you and your mother came away from the teacups feeling all woozy.

Don't worry too much about your boys growing up and not wanting to ride Winnie the Pooh. Hunter is 12 and wants to ride it each and every trip. I know he likes to ride it because it's in Disney. If it were a similar ride somewhere else.....probably wouldn't.

I can't believe you got such great pictures in Minnie's house. When we go, it's so busy that you can't even take pictures.

My mother rode both Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain when she was 66 years old. Loved both of them. I'm glad to see that your parents loved them too.

Blessed_wth_Triplets

09-29-2009, 02:08 PM

just found your TR and LOVE it! It's really getting me excited for our next trip...God willing in August too! Your boys are so sweet and what a nice idea to go with your parents and brother...what great memories you made!! Can't wait for more!!:)

eandesmom

09-29-2009, 03:00 PM

mommytothreeboys

09-29-2009, 03:49 PM

Oh man...teacups! No thank you!

You really got lucky with being able to tour Minnie's house without fighting crowds! It pays to be there early I guess. :thumbsup2

Love the train ride! I'm glad your mom liked BTMRR and Splash Mountain. Those are two of our very favorites!

Too bad you can't get the boys to go on Haunted Mansion..it's really more fun/scary than scary/scary! ;)

Mickey_Mom

09-29-2009, 06:01 PM

Thank goodness your Mom was feeling better and Pooh Bear is a great ride to take it easy on. :thumbsup2

We missed Toon Town all together this trip and while I wish I'd gone to the character greets, it seems we've already outgrown it like Lee...;)

I laughed too reading how he spooked you at HM :rotfl: Your Splash Mountain pic is awesome!

Ah... Crystal Palace! I can't wait to go back there next trip. :cloud9:

Angies1274

09-29-2009, 07:25 PM

Great update:thumbsup2 I can't believe your kids will ride Splash Mountain and not the Haunted Mansion. Hopefully one of these times you can get them to go on Haunted Mansion and they will realize it's more fun than scary:goodvibes
Thanks :goodvibes I couldn't believe it either.:sad2: I think they have this vision that ghosts are going to pop out and grab them.:rotfl: I'm already working on them for next trip. Hopefully, I can change their minds.;)
So sorry that you and your mother came away from the teacups feeling all woozy.

Don't worry too much about your boys growing up and not wanting to ride Winnie the Pooh. Hunter is 12 and wants to ride it each and every trip. I know he likes to ride it because it's in Disney. If it were a similar ride somewhere else.....probably wouldn't.

I can't believe you got such great pictures in Minnie's house. When we go, it's so busy that you can't even take pictures.

My mother rode both Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain when she was 66 years old. Loved both of them. I'm glad to see that your parents loved them too.
Aww....I hope the boys still want to keep riding Winnie the Pooh.:love: It's such a fun ride and so Disney!!

Minnie's house was almost empty when we walked in. I wish I had gotten more pictures---because you're right, it's very rare that you see it that empty.

We had such a great time riding BTMRR and Splash Mountain!! I think it made even more fun, watching their reactions to the rides!!
just found your TR and LOVE it! It's really getting me excited for our next trip...God willing in August too! Your boys are so sweet and what a nice idea to go with your parents and brother...what great memories you made!! Can't wait for more!!:)

:welcome:and thank you!! I'm glad your enjoying it!! It's been so much fun reliving it!! I'm so happy that we were able to talk my parent's and brother into joining us because we had such a wonderful time!! :goodvibes

Angies1274

09-29-2009, 07:50 PM

Great update! I'm glad your mom rebounded and was able to enjoy BTMRR (and that you guys didn't talk her out of it) and Splash!

We didn't make splash on our last trip, it wasn't warm enough during the times we could have done it. I don't see that being an issue on this next trip!

The first part of HM, even when you know it's coming, is a bit scary! The rest, well....just plain fun.
I know...I'm so glad that mom was able to ride BTMRR because she loved it so much!!! I guess we're just really protective of her, especially my dad because of some of the health problems that she has had to deal with.

Yes...it will definitely be warm enough to ride Splash on your next trip.;)

UGH!! I wish I could talk those boys of mine into seeing the HM. It was so fun!! I'm working on them:laughing: Hopefully I'll have them convinced before our next trip.:thumbsup2
Oh man...teacups! No thank you!

You really got lucky with being able to tour Minnie's house without fighting crowds! It pays to be there early I guess. :thumbsup2

Love the train ride! I'm glad your mom liked BTMRR and Splash Mountain. Those are two of our very favorites!

Too bad you can't get the boys to go on Haunted Mansion..it's really more fun/scary than scary/scary! ;)
I think I've definitely learned my lesson as far as the teacups go!!! It was not an experience I want to repeat!!!:sick::sad2:

BTMRR and Splash are so much fun!!! Definite favorites for us as well.

Now, that I've rode the HM and saw that it was more fun than scary maybe they will ride. I actually think I may have Noah convinced!!:thumbsup2 But...we'll see.;)
Thank goodness your Mom was feeling better and Pooh Bear is a great ride to take it easy on. :thumbsup2

We missed Toon Town all together this trip and while I wish I'd gone to the character greets, it seems we've already outgrown it like Lee...;)

I laughed too reading how he spooked you at HM :rotfl: Your Splash Mountain pic is awesome!

Ah... Crystal Palace! I can't wait to go back there next trip. :cloud9:

Pooh was a nice relaxing ride and it seemed to work, because mom was feeling much better afterwards. :thumbsup2

That brother of mine.:rolleyes1 He's too funny!! Definitely not interested in Fantasyland or Toontown.:sad2: But loved Frontierland and especially the HM. I'm not sure if it was the ride he liked so much or that he scared me so bad.:eek: He laughed about that all day!!

Can't wait to share our dinner at Crystal Palace with you--it was such a fun time!!:lovestruc

cjackearl

09-30-2009, 06:37 AM

Little brothers never really change, do they?:rotfl: I've got one too. My big girls didn't love the HM, its fun but creepy too, so I can see your boys hesitance for sure. Maybe next trip.:thumbsup2

wdwgirl03

09-30-2009, 06:57 AM

Other than the teacups it sounds like a fun time at the MK! That is really funny about your brother scaring you at the Haunted Mansion. I've seen a lot of people trying to do that to their family. :rotfl:

Glad your mom liked BTMRR and Splash Mountain!

3princesses+aprince

09-30-2009, 08:46 AM

Awww, I love the Winnie the Pooh ride, it was too cute, and I loved the music. I like your Splash Mountain picture, we didn't get to that one in May, so it's on our list for August!!!

mickeystoontown

09-30-2009, 12:09 PM

Good morning (oops, afternoon) Angie,

Hope you and your crew are having a great day.

Looking forward to reading more!

Lisa

Angies1274

09-30-2009, 12:17 PM

Little brothers never really change, do they?:rotfl: I've got one too. My big girls didn't love the HM, its fun but creepy too, so I can see your boys hesitance for sure. Maybe next trip.:thumbsup2
No...little brothers never seem to change....always trying to aggravate their big sisters.:laughing: He did make the trip more interesting, I'll give him that!!

HM was alot of fun, but I agree there are some parts that are kind of creepy. My boys don't like that kind of stuff. They like the thrill rides but show them something that may have ghosts, etc in it and they run in the other direction.:rotfl:
Other than the teacups it sounds like a fun time at the MK! That is really funny about your brother scaring you at the Haunted Mansion. I've seen a lot of people trying to do that to their family. :rotfl:

Glad your mom liked BTMRR and Splash Mountain!
We laughed so hard about it after because he had scared me that much.:scared1: I had heard beforehand that the HM was more fun than scary so it was definitely unexpected!!
Awww, I love the Winnie the Pooh ride, it was too cute, and I loved the music. I like your Splash Mountain picture, we didn't get to that one in May, so it's on our list for August!!!

Isn't Winnie the Pooh such a great ride? Aww...so much fun!! We couldn't leave that Splash Mountain picture behind--it was just too funny seeing everyone's expressions!!:rotfl:

Angies1274

09-30-2009, 12:25 PM

Good morning (oops, afternoon) Angie,

Hope you and your crew are having a great day.

Looking forward to reading more!

Lisa

Hi Lisa!!!

We're doing good here.:goodvibes I thought I would get on the DIS and try to get caught up on all the PTR/TR's I'm following. Now, that the boys and I are back in school. It seems so easy these days to get behind.

Hope you're having a great day too!!!:)

Angies1274

10-02-2009, 09:27 AM

Deep in the hundred acre wood
where Christopher Robin plays
You'll find the enchanted neighborhood
of Christopher's childhood days
A donkey named Eeyore is his friend
and Kanga and little Roo
There's Rabbit and Piglet and there's Owl,
but most of all Winnie the Pooh

Okay, I'll admit it....I have a love for Winnie the Pooh and all his friends that go back to my childhood. I've always loved them. There's a recording of me, when I was very little singing this particular song. I have all the stuffed animals, books, toys that I have passed down to my boys. Unfortunately, although the boys like Pooh and friends they didn't develop the same feelings for these special friends that I have. As they've gotten older the books are rarely read and the toys and animals have been put away. But they still hold a special place in my heart. Hmmm.....maybe I'm getting a tad sentimental. Well the reason why I've decided to share this is so you could understand how extremely excited I was to visit Crystal Palace last year on our very first trip to Disney. Unfortunately, it wasn't the experience I had hoped it would be. Oh sure it was wonderful to see the castle before the park opened and the food was yummy. But.....the character interaction was not good, as a matter fact Pooh just passed by our table with just a wave....huh? The boys started to get up.. but nope passed us right by which was very disappointing. Tigger, I guess trying to be silly stuck Noah's roll with fork, and then kind of tossed across the table...hmmm.. Anyways, it was not the experience I had hoped it would be.

Fast forward to August 2009, over a year later. You are probably wondering why we decided to give it another chance. Well...have I mentioned how much I love Pooh?:rotfl: and..with everyone liking different things...remember Epcot? We figured a buffet would work best.

So on with the TR!! If you remember, we had just headed back to Pop for a rest and some more pool time. Pool time became a necessity in August. So after grabbing a quick lunch in the Classic Hall, which I believe consisted of mostly meatball subs and salad for everyone. We headed back to the room for a quick rest. Well...except me I decided to do a little shopping. I didn't end up buying anything though. Still undecided on what I wanted to get. Eventually, everyone woke up and we headed down to the Pool. The water was much cooler today. YAY!! So it actually was quite refreshing!!

At about 3:45pm after leaving the pool, getting changed and making our way to the bus stop we were on our way back to the Magic Kingdom. Our ADR was for 4:35pm, early I know but that's the best I could get. We arrived at MK fairly early and made our way over to CP. It was extremely crowded outside and as I went to check in, I heard a man complaining that they had already been there for over 30 minutes and how much longer was it going to be? Uh Oh...not again I had a bad feeling, maybe we should have went somewhere else. We sat down and I told everyone to be prepared for a long wait. But......about 10 minutes later our name was called....wow I was really surprised. Later DH told me a couple people asked when our ADR was for because they had seen us come in after them.:eek:

So, lets show some pictures....finally!!! This is what we saw when we got to our table...
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0668.jpg
I had added my parent's anniversary celebration to our ADR. Our server came over and presented us with fastpasses. YAY!! We were very excited!! We didn't even get a chance to go get our food and look who finally stopped in to say Hello!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1635.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1636.jpg
Still waiting to get our food....Piglet was right behind him!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1638.jpg
I love the look on Nick's face in this picture as Piglet is signing the autograph books....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1639.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1640.jpg
Lee wanted to get in on the fun!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1641.jpg
We finally made our way up to the buffet and the selection was wonderful. It's much bigger than at Chef Mickey's and everything was so delicious!! My brother is still raving about their food. The salads were very fresh and tasty and I just loved the spoon bread....OMG so yummy!! We were very happy that we gave CP another try!! Before we knew it Eeyore came by...my favorite!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1645.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1865.jpg
We were just about finishing up and hoping to see Tigger...when who came around again....Pooh!!! Okay, I guess this makes up for skipping us last time!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1649.jpg
and then Piglet again....boy they must really be BFF's!!:laughing: Piglet always at Pooh's side!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1651-1.jpg
Finally, just as we were pushing our plates aside, Tigger shows up and was so funny!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1653.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1655.jpg
I thought his autograph was very cute!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1866.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1656.jpg
Sadly, it was time to wave good-bye to our hundred acre friends... one more picture on the way out.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1688.jpg

Next up--Celebrate You and It's so nice you brought your wife on cruise for her anniversary!!!

mickeystoontown

10-02-2009, 09:43 AM

Angies1274

10-02-2009, 02:34 PM

Good morning Angie,

I'm glad that you had a great experience with Crystal Palace this time. We have to eat at the Crystal Palace each trip. I am weird about buffets but the one at the Crystal Palace is great. I think the spoon bread is the best thing on the entire buffet!

You got some really good pictures with the characters.:thumbsup2

Hope you have a good day and a fantastic weekend,

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

I'm so glad that we decided to give Crystal Palace another try. We were really happy with the food last trip, but the overall experience left alot to be desired. This time the character interaction was just as wonderful as the food.:thumbsup2 It was such a great time.;)

Have a great weekend!!!!:)

dismagiclover

10-02-2009, 02:36 PM

Looks like you had a great time and got lots of cute pictures:goodvibes We may have to try CP dinner sometime.

MouseKTeer

10-02-2009, 02:55 PM

Catching up with you again. Thanks for your report on the CP and glad you did have a good time there this time.

Back to the teacups--I've found that who I ride with makes a critical difference in how I feel afterward ;) DH has been known to spin the cup like a crazy man!

Mickey_Mom

10-02-2009, 06:47 PM

This is what we saw when we got to our table...
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0668.jpg

How sweet is that!

I'm glad you had a much better time. That wait at the front can be crazy, but we seem to have the same luck as you and get right in no problem. :thumbsup2

I love Crystal Palace. I've heard the refurb is limited to the kitchen, thank goodness. It's such a beautiful place I couldn't figure out what they would change! :confused:

We love the ice cream station the best ! :rotfl:

Angies1274

10-03-2009, 07:35 AM

Looks like you had a great time and got lots of cute pictures:goodvibes We may have to try CP dinner sometime.
Oh, we did have such a great time!! Glad we gave CP another chance!!!:thumbsup2
Catching up with you again. Thanks for your report on the CP and glad you did have a good time there this time.

Back to the teacups--I've found that who I ride with makes a critical difference in how I feel afterward ;) DH has been known to spin the cup like a crazy man!
Hi! The food at CP is so yummy!! We were very happy with our meal there.:)

I agree with you!! I think it makes a huge difference who you ride with on the teacups!! Last year I was the one controlling how fast the teacup was spinning. But this year it was my brother....I think it was his crazy spinning that made me feel the way I did.:sick:
How sweet is that!

I'm glad you had a much better time. That wait at the front can be crazy, but we seem to have the same luck as you and get right in no problem. :thumbsup2

I love Crystal Palace. I've heard the refurb is limited to the kitchen, thank goodness. It's such a beautiful place I couldn't figure out what they would change! :confused:

We love the ice cream station the best ! :rotfl:

I thought it was really nice for CP to decorate our table, especially since the place was packed and they were soooo busy!! (the extra fastpasses were a nice bonus as well.;))

It always seems like such a crazy wait outside of the place. Hmm...if I remember right, it was like that at breakfast last year too.:rolleyes1

I just heard about CP refurb. So glad that it's limited to the kitchen. It's so beautiful inside....I wouldn't want them to change it.:sad2:

The dessert station is always our favorite at the buffets!!:laughing:

eandesmom

10-04-2009, 04:06 PM

what a great update! I'm so glad you went there again. Hearts on the tables, fast passes, yummy food and great characters. What a memorable event!

Glad to hear the pool was refreshing this time!

Angies1274

10-05-2009, 08:19 AM

what a great update! I'm so glad you went there again. Hearts on the tables, fast passes, yummy food and great characters. What a memorable event!

Glad to hear the pool was refreshing this time!

Thanks.:goodvibes I'm so happy that we decided to give it another try too!! I have to admit, I got a little worried when we arrived to see that huge line. But, I was so glad to see those little surprises and the extra effort that they put in to make my parent's anniversary celebration so special!! ( even though it was sooo busy.)

I know....and yay!! a refreshing pool in August!! We were very happy!!!;)

mommytothreeboys

10-06-2009, 07:16 AM

onelilspark

10-06-2009, 07:59 AM

I haven't been to CP in years, so many memories!

Angies1274

10-06-2009, 09:00 AM

I've heard great things about the food at CP, but I am hesitant to go there only because my boys are really out of the Pooh and Friends stage. I, however, LOVE Piglet, so maybe next trip! I'm glad it was a better experience for you this time. :thumbsup2

All the character pics are great! You should have gotten in on one, especially considering your long relationship with Pooh. :) I remember coming home from our first trip in 2007 and not having ONE picture of me with a character. I was sure to change that on our trip this past spring. I got in on as many as I could! It's really fun to interact with them and makes you feel like a kid again! ;)

My boys who are 9 and almost 7 are out of Pooh and friends as well. But...they did enjoy getting the characters autographs. It's so funny because I think my brother enjoyed it more than any of us. He loved the food and is still raving about it to everyone and he got right up when the characters came around so he could get his picture with them too!! It was very cute and so unlike him.:laughing:

I'm in the pictures....the one with Pooh and my brother.;) I also got one with Tigger that I thought I posted but it didn't show up and I just haven't added it yet. But you are so right!!!.....when we went for our first trip I wasn't with any of the characters either or in very many pictures period, since I take them all. Luckily, this trip my father was taking pictures so I'm actually in a few this time.:rotfl: I need to convince DH to start grabbing the camera once in awhile.:rolleyes:
I haven't been to CP in years, so many memories!

Awww....CP is so much fun!! I'm glad we had the opportunity to give it another try. The place is beautiful, the food is yummy and the characters are great!!! What more can you ask for?

3princesses+aprince

10-06-2009, 09:41 AM

Wow, what a great Crystal Palace meal. Looks like it was perfect. The picture of your son watching piglet sign his book is absolutely adorable.

Angies1274

10-06-2009, 09:53 AM

When I left off, we were just finishing up our yummy dinner at Crystal Palace. It was a wonderful time full of heart decorations, surprise fastpasses, delicious food and great character interaction with my favorite friends. We were on our way to check out Adventureland. It was the only land that we had missed that morning and everyone was anxious to see it. When what did we hear behind us....."Hey....Get Up....Get Loud....We're Pumpin' up the Party Now!!!" YAY!!:yay: It was the Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it!! Street Party!! I was so disappointed that we had missed it earlier in the day, that I had completely forgotten it was going to run again tonight. I guess I had assumed we were going to miss it because of our dinner. Anyway, I quickly told everyone that we needed to head back towards Main Street. This was the only type of parade that we would be able to see while we were there and we had enjoyed it so much on our last visit. We found a spot and I began to snap away.
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As you can tell, the pictures are a little hazy. I wanted to wipe off the camera but I didn't want to miss these characters!! Finally I wiped off the lens. Hmmm..that looks better....Hey Genie!!!........."We got some wishes to grant!!"
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One more of the castle--
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Awww....the street party was so much fun!! The boys went out in the street with Grammie and danced with Donald. I thought I videotaped that part but I have yet to find it...... Anyways, it was a great time and I'm glad that we got the chance to see it again.

So, it finally time to maneuver our way through the crowds that were following the parade down the street and make our way to Adventureland. But before we did I got a quick picture of Papa and his boys.....:lovestruc
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Adventureland....here we come!!!

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We decided that first we wanted to head over to the Jungle Cruise. I had a feeling that my parent's would really enjoy the ride. We had expected to use the fastpasses we had got at Crystal Palace to ride. But were pleasantly surprised to see only a 10 minute wait. It felt alot less than that and in no time we were ushered into our boat. I was right!!! My parent's loved the ride and even all the corny jokes..... Here's a few pictures my father got--
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My father declared this his favorite ride of the trip and on the way out of the boat our Skipper hollered to the back where we all were and said "It's so nice that you decided to take your wife on a cruise for her anniversary!!!" My father got a kick out of that and was still chuckling about it when we made our way over to Magic Carpets of Aladdin. The guys decided to sit this ride out while my mom and I and the boys got in line to await the journey on our magic carpet.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0726.jpg
A few more that we took of each other.......
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After our magical ride trying to avoid getting squirted by the camel...we decided to head back over to Fantasyland. I had been telling my brother about a certain 3D show that I knew he would enjoy and he was anxious to see if it was as good as I said.....

Hmmm....so would we have another wait on the bench....not quite get it again Toontown moment that we had this morning or.....would would my brother finally discover the Disney magic?

Up Next-- A little Disney Magic.....

Angies1274

10-06-2009, 10:03 AM

Wow, what a great Crystal Palace meal. Looks like it was perfect. The picture of your son watching piglet sign his book is absolutely adorable.

It was a great meal!! So glad we went!! Aww...I love that picture of Nick watching piglet sign his autograph book. I smile every time I see it.:)

Blessed_wth_Triplets

10-06-2009, 01:43 PM

Great Update!! We have been twice now and have yet to do Jungle Cruise! I'll add it to the list for our next trip!

mommytothreeboys

10-06-2009, 01:50 PM

LOVE, love, love the Jungle Cruise! I'm so happy to hear that someone else enjoys the corny jokes!

And, DUH! How did I miss you in that picture with Pooh??? I really must be getting old! :confused3

We didn't see that parade this trip. It looks like a lot of fun! :goodvibes

MouseKTeer

10-06-2009, 09:18 PM

:lmao: Your dad splurged on an anniversary cruise--good one!

Great update! Is it Mickey's :3dglasses PhilharMagic??

Mickey_Mom

10-06-2009, 09:37 PM

onelilspark

10-07-2009, 06:45 AM

My Mom and I went on Aladdin back in February. I don't think the cammels were working, either that or we somehow managed to avoid them without knowing it! I had no idea they spit at you until I came back and read it on here :rotfl:

Angies1274

10-07-2009, 10:54 AM

Great Update!! We have been twice now and have yet to do Jungle Cruise! I'll add it to the list for our next trip!
Thanks:goodvibes You definitely have to give the Jungle Cruise a try!! It's so much fun!!
LOVE, love, love the Jungle Cruise! I'm so happy to hear that someone else enjoys the corny jokes!

And, DUH! How did I miss you in that picture with Pooh??? I really must be getting old! :confused3

We didn't see that parade this trip. It looks like a lot of fun! :goodvibes
I know...we enjoyed the Jungle Cruise so much in April, we knew they would love it too!!

We always seem to miss the 3:00pm parade in MK. It's definitely on our list for next time....but I think we have seen the Street Party/Parade 3 times now. We love it, especially the music!! It's so catchy!;)
:lmao: Your dad splurged on an anniversary cruise--good one!

Great update! Is it Mickey's :3dglasses PhilharMagic??

I think we laughed about that the rest of the night--too funny!!:rotfl:

Hmm......you may be right.;)

mickeystoontown

10-07-2009, 10:58 AM

Angies1274

10-07-2009, 11:05 AM

Loved your update! Parade photos ... woot! I liked the one with Minnie on the balloon in front of Mickey... its like they're side by side! :laughing:

The Jungle Cruise is always a favorite, but I've yet to ride it at night. I heard its completely different..... ?

Are you guys putting together an album or photo collage or something similar for your parents? .... because you have some great shots so far of them with your family. Ooo! Make it a Christmas gift!

Pfft! What's not to like about Mickey's Philharmagic? Of course he'll love it! :3dglasses
I've heard that riding the Jungle Cruise at night is really cool!! Well...along with BTMRR, Splash Mountain etc.,etc. We always seem to be staking out a spot for the parade and fireworks during this time. We hope to do some night riding next visit.;)

When we were at Disney, they bought a big photo album and had their pictures developed and organized the day after we came back.:laughing: I'm still working on mine.:rolleyes: I did get them a nice frame for Christmas and I'm going to put in all my favorite pics of everyone.
My Mom and I went on Aladdin back in February. I don't think the cammels were working, either that or we somehow managed to avoid them without knowing it! I had no idea they spit at you until I came back and read it on here :rotfl:

The boys love trying to get me wet on Aladdin.:rolleyes: On our first trip, we rode and I didn't notice it either. It wasn't until we rode it again in April, that I kept getting wet as we were flying around and it wasn't raining. I finally figured out where it was coming from.:laughing:

Angies1274

10-07-2009, 11:18 AM

Angie,

You got some really good parade pictures. We missed the parade because we were waiting to be seated at the Crystal Palace. Isn't it neat that the family got to boogy down in the Magic Kingdom!

Love the Jungle Cruise boat captain's comment to your Dad.

Hope that you have a great day,

Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Thanks.:goodvibes I just kept snapping away.;) I love that the parade stops and gets everyone involved. We all had so much fun dancing in the street!:laughing:

We're still laughing about the Jungle Cruise comment.:rotfl: What they were most surprised at, is that the boat captain had actually seen their anniversary pins since we were sitting in the very back of the boat.

Hope you have a great day too!!:)

wdwgirl03

10-07-2009, 05:11 PM

Angies1274

10-08-2009, 08:07 AM

Oh great, now I am going to have that Hannah Montana song stuck in my head again! Whenever someone mentions the Move it shake it Celebrate it parade I keep hearing "HEEEEEY GET UUUUUUUUP GET LOUUUUUUUD..." :rotfl::rotfl: You got some great pictures too. I love how it's so colorful and festive.

That's so cute about what the skipper said on the JC. :thumbsup2

:lmao: too funny!! Your right though....every time I look at those pictures that song pops in my head and then I find myself singing it for days and days.....I just can't seem to get it out of my head.:rotfl:

Angies1274

10-09-2009, 09:48 AM

So, we had just had a great dinner, watched a fun parade, danced in the streets, went on an anniversary cruise, and tried to avoid getting spit on by a camel. Next on our agenda was to make our way over to Fantasyland, because with the exception of riding Pooh and Mad Tea Party, we pretty much skipped Fantasyland this morning. As you could tell from my earlier pictures in Toontown, my brother wasn't too impressed with this side of the park. Remember he's into thrill rides, the faster and the more they throw you upside down the better. We were already in the 3rd day of our trip and would be leaving tomorrow. I knew he enjoyed Epcot but so far he had been quiet about Magic Kingdom, well....with the exception of our dinner which he loved. I decided it was finally time to show him a little Disney magic......

Where were we heading? Hmm....if you guessed Mickey's Philharmagic!!! You would be right!!! Although, he seemed to be having a good time. I wasn't sure if Disney had made the impression on him that I had hoped it would. So, off we went in the direction of Fantasyland. We decided to head over thru Liberty Square. I took a quick picture walking by the Haunted Mansion, because I didn't get any earlier. I was hoping since DH had the camera that he would take a few, but I guess he was busy with the boys and forgot.

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Awww.... you can barely see it....but I had to at least get one picture.

Since we were going by anyway and there was hardly any wait we decided to ride IASW first.
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We boarded our boats and were on our way. Everyone really enjoyed our boat ride through Mexico in the WS. So, I was hoping they would like this as well.
Here are a couple pictures that came out--( My pictures never seem to come out good on this ride.....)

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My parent's enjoyed the ride, especially my mom. Lee? Hmmm....I think so, but I'm not sure. I could tell he was anxious to get over to Mickey's Philharmagic. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in my last TR, but the boys are not too fond of 3D shows. They like them now much better than they did on our first visit. But the whole idea of something popping out at them made them a little nervous. Thankfully now, it seems most of the movies coming out are in 3D so they are getting used to it. So, I was looking forward to my parent's and brother watching the show but also hoping the boys would enjoy it as well again.(I was pretty sure they would though.) We grabbed our 3D glasses on the way in and waited....and waited for them to open the doors. Finally it was time....YAY!! I was hoping we would be somewhere around the middle but of course when we went in, we heard the usual spiel about moving, moving all the way over. As we were making our way down the row, wouldn't you know it there was quite a few people that had parked themselves directly in the middle and refused to move to the end. Despite, the constant...please move all the way down, that we kept hearing. Now,I realize that everyone wants the best seats but I just think it's inconsiderate because we literally almost had to climb over them to get down the aisle, which of course ended up putting my parent's at the very end. So, we decided to rearrange seats and we moved to the very end and they moved a little closer to the center but still really far off to the right hand side. The sad part is that as I looked over after we were seated and the show was about to begin, I noticed the theater was not even half full....oh well.

So the lights dimmed and the music began.....It was a wonderful show as always. I love how you can smell a fresh baked pie, get spritzed with water and take a journey on a magic carpet. When the show was finished, I couldn't wait to hear their reactions. They were all laughing and my brother actually said it was his favorite thing so far on the trip. YAY!!! He had actually discovered some Disney magic!! I was so happy!!

We decided after the show to make our way over to ride the Carousel as requested by the boys and my mom. I thought it was just going to be the four of us again, like Aladdin but my brother must have been feeling the magic....because he decided to join us. I took a few pictures on our spin around. (the quality's not the greatest, I must have had it on the wrong setting from when I was taking pictures on IASW)

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As we were getting down off our horses. Noah tried to get down before everyone and ended up hitting his head on the front of the horse...really hard. He started to cry as we made our way off the carousel. I felt so bad for him, first the escalator incident the day before and now bumping his head. Luckily, there was no bump and he recovered quickly. Nick wanted his picture taken with the sword because he didn't get to on our last visit.
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We decided to make our way through the castle, starting to think about a spot for Wishes. Here is a picture before we went in....
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As we were walking through.....
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As we made it to the other side....a picture courtesy of my father--
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A few pictures as we were walking down the pathway.

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We realized that we still had those fastpasses from Crystal Palace. Our original plan was to ride BTMRR but we didn't want to walk all the way back. My mom was starting to get tired as were the boys. Since we had decided to watch the fireworks from the Tomorrowland bridge, we figured we would head back over and use them for Buzz Lightyear again since DH didn't get to ride this morning.
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The stand-by line was about 30 minutes so we handed our fastpasses over and away we went. This time I was on a mission.....to score higher than my brother......Did I do it?....well...of course I did!!!! and I rubbed it in his face all the way back through Tomorrowland. I know...bad sister but I couldn't resist!!

We finally decided on a spot off to the left of the Tomorrowland bridge. (I don't what's it called.) Anyways, it was starting to rain so out came the ponchos again. Lee remembered his...YAY!!! So there we stood, the boys munching on popcorn and the rest of us enjoying our ice cream treats. I had some time on my hands so I decided to take some pictures of the castle... as purple
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as red
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as blue
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as green
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Waiting for the fireworks to begin--
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Finally....we heard "Starlight, Star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight. Make a wish and do as dreamers do.....

I love Wishes....it's so magical. I wish I had gotten better pictures but here are a couple I got-- (I videotaped it last year, so this year I just wanted to take it all in and enjoy)
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I had wanted to view Wishes from Main Street. But if you read my last TR you would know that my DH does not like big crowds. They must make him claustrophobic because it's like he panics a little and then gets really grouchy. He just wants to get out of there. Last trip, we watched the fireworks close to the train station and made a quick exit. But this time he promised we could watch them a little closer as long as we stayed off Main Street. Now, I knew it was going to be jam-packed with people EVERYWHERE anyway on the way out so I thought if we hung out in one of the gift shops and tried to wait until the crowd thinned, it would be better for DH. Wrong!! It was a bad, bad idea. The shop even bothered me because you couldn't get around anywhere. We finally decided our best bet was to just head out to the bus stop.
OMG!! When we arrived it was crazy. There wasn't enough buses and people were complaining. We waited for awhile, I'm not sure how long but it had to be close to 45 minutes. Honestly, when another Pop bus finally arrived people started clapping and cheering. We were lucky enough to get a seat toward the back and so happy that we were on our way back to Pop.

It had been a great day starting off with a wonderful opening show and it ended with a fabulous fireworks display, not to mention all the magical and exciting things that had happened along the way. We definitely were not going to let a little bus situation cloud our day. It was to be expected, especially since the park was closed. So, where were we off to the next day....well I'll give you hint...Disney's largest theme park......Yes! Animal Kingdom! But first we had a yummy breakfast to look forward to!!

Next up---Boma...baby!!

mickeystoontown

10-09-2009, 10:22 AM

mommytothreeboys

10-09-2009, 10:44 AM

Before I forget to say it....your pics of the castle are really beautiful! I love it all lit up at night!

I'm so glad your brother enjoyed Mickey's PhilharMagic. It's hands-down our favorite 3D movie at Disney! What better place to get in the "Disney mood"!

Poor Noah with all his accidents! It's a good thing he's a tough boy and bounces back quickly. :goodvibes

Good for you for beating your brother on Buzz! I can't beat anyone on that ride....But I LOVE it anyway!

Ahhhh...WISHES. **sigh**

Can't wait to hear about Boma. It's a place we'd love to try!

eandesmom

10-09-2009, 11:12 AM

YAY for Philarmagic!

We didn't see it last time and it's a must do this trip.

I love "seeing" people get Disney magic :goodvibes

MouseKTeer

10-09-2009, 11:58 AM

dismagiclover

10-09-2009, 02:47 PM

Loved the update! I'm so glad your brother felt the magic at Philharmagic. That is one of my favorite things in the MK as well:goodvibes And I love the shots of the park at night. That is such a great time! Can't wait to hear about your AK daypopcorn::

Mickey_Mom

10-09-2009, 03:13 PM

Oh I teared up a bit reading your "Starlight, starbright..." start to Wishes! I really, really super miss that.

Yay to PhilharMagic working its... well, magic on your brother! :rotfl: It is the best! I'm sorry Noah smacked his noggin on the Carousel but good for him.... he bounced back. :thumbsup2

Aren't those tile scenes in the castle just beautiful? We only got to see them once this past trip... it seemed every time we were around the castle a show was going on so it was blocked off.

Love the picture of your Mom and Nick in front of the castle! :cloud9:

Angies1274

10-10-2009, 08:45 AM

I am soooo glad that you were able to give your brother some Disney spirit. There's simply no better way to do it than Mickey's Philarmagic. I mean, how can anybody go to that show and not come away "feeling" Disney? You got some really great castle pictures!
I know....me too!! I was getting a little worried for a minute that he wasn't going to see how special and magical Disney really is!! I'm glad Mickey's Philharmagic worked!! :thumbsup2
Before I forget to say it....your pics of the castle are really beautiful! I love it all lit up at night!

I'm so glad your brother enjoyed Mickey's PhilharMagic. It's hands-down our favorite 3D movie at Disney! What better place to get in the "Disney mood"!

Poor Noah with all his accidents! It's a good thing he's a tough boy and bounces back quickly. :goodvibes

Good for you for beating your brother on Buzz! I can't beat anyone on that ride....But I LOVE it anyway!

Ahhhh...WISHES. **sigh**

Can't wait to hear about Boma. It's a place we'd love to try!
I was so happy with all my castle pictures, especially the close-up one. I have a very similar picture that I took in April. I think the castle was even the same color.:laughing:

Poor Noah....I was so relieved that he bounced back so quickly!!! Unfortunately, it's not the last thing that happens to him on this vacation.:sad2:

My brother and I are so competitive with each other and it seems like he always wins. It was nice to get the higher score at something for a change:rolleyes1
YAY for Philarmagic!

We didn't see it last time and it's a must do this trip.

I love "seeing" people get Disney magic :goodvibes

Mickey's Philharmagic is so much fun!!!! So glad that my brother was finally able to "get" a little bit of the Disney magic!!! It was about time!!:laughing:

Angies1274

10-10-2009, 09:09 AM

"(I videotaped it last year, so this year I just wanted to take it all in and enjoy)"

There's definitely something to be said for that! :thumbsup2

Love your photos of Dumbo and Mickey's Philharmagic taken from the Carousel! Cool vantage point! :) Great update!

I love Wishes.:cloud9: It was so nice this time to just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

Loved the update! I'm so glad your brother felt the magic at Philharmagic. That is one of my favorite things in the MK as well:goodvibes And I love the shots of the park at night. That is such a great time! Can't wait to hear about your AK daypopcorn::

We love Mickey's Philharmagic too!! Well....now that the boys are more comfortable with it. Last year, it seems we spent alot of the show telling them "just take off your glasses if you're scared.":laughing: This year was much, much better. I'm glad my brother finally felt the magic too!!:goodvibes
Oh I teared up a bit reading your "Starlight, starbright..." start to Wishes! I really, really super miss that.

Yay to PhilharMagic working its... well, magic on your brother! :rotfl: It is the best! I'm sorry Noah smacked his noggin on the Carousel but good for him.... he bounced back. :thumbsup2

Aren't those tile scenes in the castle just beautiful? We only got to see them once this past trip... it seemed every time we were around the castle a show was going on so it was blocked off.

Love the picture of your Mom and Nick in front of the castle! :cloud9:

How can anyone not love Wishes? It's so magical.:cloud9: We were watching it on You Tube last week and Nick said "I miss Disney, Mom." It brought a tear to my eye because I know exactly how he feels.:sad1:

I know...it's official Mickey's Philharmagic really works!!! (even for the doubtful Disney goers.):laughing:

I love walking through the castle especially at night. We discovered this last visit. The tile scenes are amazing!! We didn't have much time to spend though because the CM's were starting to block it off and were ushering us through but we were still so happy we got to see it. It's so beautiful inside.:goodvibes

ellajeansmom

10-10-2009, 09:28 AM

wdwgirl03

10-10-2009, 09:47 AM

Sounds like you had a fun evening! I really like Wishes and PhilharMagic too. I have a funny story from Philharmagic but you'll have to wait to read it in my TR. :laughing:

I love that one picture of the castle you got with the green lighting. So cool!

Angies1274

10-11-2009, 10:54 AM

I got a little behind but all caught up now! What a wonderful day you had :thumbsup2 I said something recently to my girls about us having missed the opening show at MK because they were so slow getting going in the morning and Ella said "well I didn't know there was a show, we'll have to see it next time!" :lmao: Anyways good for you guys getting there to see it!

You did so much in one day, including a rest in the afternoon! Glad the pool was more refreshing this day :) We loved CP, the food was delicious and we found the character interactions great - Tigger seemed to have a constant little bounce even when standing still!

The anniversary cruise comment on JC is too funny! We never saw Philharmagic, its at the top of my MK list for next time, but I'm so glad that your brother enjoyed it and got some Disney magic :banana:

All the evening shots in Fantasyland and of the castle are wonderful, they look so pretty and magical! :goodvibes

Interested to hear what you thought of Boma, I haven't really heard a lot about it one way or the other.
Hi!!:goodvibes

We love:love: the opening show at MK!! It's a such a magical way to start the day!! You definitely have to try and make it next trip.;)

Aww...CP was such a nice surprise for us, especially after our not so pleasant first visit. I'm so glad we gave it another try, it was such a fun time!!--and I think you're right!! Tigger definitely had a little bounce to his step. :laughing:

Mickey's Philharmagic is such a wonderful show!! Your girls would love it!!!:thumbsup2 I was so happy that my brother enjoyed it as much as he did. :)

There's nothing like seeing the castle all lit up at night.:cloud9: It was actually one of the things that my father was looking most forward to seeing on the trip. (I thought I took alot of pictures of the castle--you should see his.):rotfl:
Sounds like you had a fun evening! I really like Wishes and PhilharMagic too. I have a funny story from Philharmagic but you'll have to wait to read it in my TR. :laughing:

I love that one picture of the castle you got with the green lighting. So cool!

Can't wait to hear your funny story from Philharmagic!!!!popcorn:: But...it really is a great show, isn't it!!

That's one of my favorite pictures that I took of the castle. Awww.... I love MK all lit up at night...it's so beautiful!!!:cloud9:

Sue88

10-11-2009, 01:52 PM

Angies1274

10-12-2009, 07:53 AM

I have enjoyed your trip report this weekend! It is so nice to read about a family enjoying each other and making some really wonderful memories. I'm so glad for you that your parents were brave and got onto that airplane!
Thank you fro shareing the magic.:wizard::hug:

:welcome: and thank you!! So glad that you're enjoying it.:goodvibes We had such a wonderful time!! I'm very happy that they were brave too!!;) But, trust me it took alot of convincing on my part.:laughing: They were soooo nervous. Thankfully, they loved it and they're even ready to go back!!:thumbsup2

Angies1274

10-15-2009, 09:27 AM

Well, I knew it was coming....the very last day of our trip.:sad2: I tried not to think about it because we were having such a great time. But....4 days just goes by way too fast. It seems like we had just walked through the doors of Pop Century and now here we were packing up the suitcases to leave.

It was around 7:30am when we headed down to leave our bags and catch the Animal Kingdom bus. We were excited to head over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge because we had never been there before. Boma was actually a last minute change in our plans. We had originally decided on breakfast at Ohana's but with it being our last day, and the fact that we were heading to Animal Kingdom, we figured it would be too time consuming to have to head up to MK, take the monorail, then head back to AK. It just made more sense to try and get somewhere closer to Animal Kingdom. We tried to get in to the Tusker House but it was completely booked.:rolleyes: I was sad at first that we had to change our ADR because we LOVE Ohana's breakfast but.....we were also very excited to try someplace new and the fact that it wasn't a character breakfast meant it wouldn't take as long and we would be on our way to Animal Kingdom. We only had a few hours after all.........

So, on with the day. It wasn't long after getting in line, that a bus pulled up and soon we were at AK and while everyone else was heading toward the entrance, we took a quick left and headed back to the bus stop. I thought at first we were going to be the only ones, but soon a few other families got in line with us to wait...and wait. A bus pulled up....we got excited...and then it left. Hmmm....I was starting to get a little nervous. We had left early enough but I wasn't sure how long it was going to take. We had never taken a bus back to a resort in the morning before. YAY!! Finally a bus pulled up and we hopped aboard for our quick trip to the the lodge.

Since this was a last minute ADR, for some reason I didn't think to research where exactly Boma is at AKL. I guess I just thought it was like every other resort we have eaten at, you walk in and it's straight ahead or there is usually a sign showing you the way. Hmmm....well the bus stopped and we got off as did every other family on the bus. But we had no idea where to go. Everyone looked to me and I had no idea. :confused3 I couldn't believe it with all the research I had done before this trip on the DIS, I had forgotten. Oh well...when in doubt follow the family in front of you.:rotfl: The were heading toward the entrance and figured that would be a good place to start. Unfortunately, once we got up there we were told that we were supposed to stay on the bus and take it to the next stop which was the Jambo House. So, back we headed to the bus stop, we were also told we could just get on any bus because they would all stop there first. A few minutes later, a bus to MK pulled up and us along with the other families climbed inside. At least I didn't feel so bad since nobody else seemed to know where to go either. :rolleyes1

When we finally arrived, it was just as beautiful as I had read about....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1756.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1755.jpg
We had to head downstairs...I'm not sure how I knew this? Maybe there was a sign...I can't really remember or maybe we just followed the other people in front of us again.:laughing:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1754.jpg
My father did not like this at all!! He is terrified of heights.:scared1: (maybe you remember his resistance to riding Soarin'.)
Once we arrived, we were given a pager and sat down on the bench. Despite all the confusion with the buses, we were only about 5 minutes late...not bad. We were led to our table, which was very close to the buffet I might add. Our server explained what was in the juice and asked us if we wanted coffee. She was great by the way, very friendly and always coming back to see what we needed. I didn't get any pictures...again.:rolleyes1 Mostly, because it was just your usual breakfast fare, eggs, sausage, bacon, pancakes, breads,pastries, fresh fruit such as watermelon, pineapples and cereals and much, much more. It was huge buffet!! But, I have to say my favorites were the scrambled eggs with chives and goat cheese and the Brioche, which was like french toast. OMG they were sooooo yummy!!Everyone was extremely happy with their breakfast!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1748.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1750.jpg
As you can tell.;)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1747.jpg
Noah and his yummy juice!!!MMMMmmmmm.......
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1753.jpg
I would have taken one of the guys but every time I got out the camera they always seemed to be back up at the buffet. See, I told you they liked it!!:laughing:
One of the buffet area--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1751.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1752.jpg
After about an hour our bellies were full and we knew that it was time to say good-bye to the lovely Animal Kingdom Lodge. The food was delicious the atmosphere and our server were wonderful. I would definitely recommend it.:thumbsup2 The only thing that would have made it better, is if we had our own car instead of relying on Disney transportation because it wasn't the most convenient. But, we got there and once we knew where we were going it was fine.
A few more pictures on the way out....the gift shop looked nice but...we didn't take the time to go in.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1757.jpg
I tried to take a picture of the wall on the way out while I was walking and talking....hmmm..not a good idea obviously.:laughing:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1758.jpg
Another one on the way out--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1759.jpg
Finally, it was time to visit our very last park.....and we couldn't wait!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1760-1.jpg
Up Next: Animal Kingdom here we come!!!

eandesmom

10-15-2009, 01:26 PM

what a lovely morning!

MouseKTeer

10-15-2009, 03:31 PM

Yep, you've got 'em too...I recognize them...the "last day blues"

Isn't the lobby of AKL gorgeous? Glad you enjoyed your breakfast there. The only thing better is to have dinner there, with lots of zebra domes on the dessert bar!;)

cjackearl

10-15-2009, 03:53 PM

Hi Ang! Sorry for my long absence. Your breakfast looks great! I've heard many amazing reviews of the juice. Great pictures of the AKL.:thumbsup2 I can't believe its your last day!:sad2:

dismagiclover

10-15-2009, 04:54 PM

Boma breakfast looks fabulous! We've only done dinner there. Can't wait to hear about your AK timepopcorn::

Mickey_Mom

10-15-2009, 08:17 PM

Oh boo, your last day. :sad1: AKL is gorgeous, I do regret not going there when we had the chance. I'm definately going to have to take Ariana so she can get her Lion King fix in. :laughing:

I love how you just followed other people around :lmao: I so would have done the same thing though... just look for the signs when you walk in right? :rotfl:

Sue88

10-15-2009, 08:23 PM

I enjoyed the update!
Your breakfast sounds very good! Looking forward to hearing more!!:wizard:

katrocity

10-16-2009, 07:02 AM

Angies1274,

Thanks so much for this report. It is really getting me excited! We are taking our 7 yr old twin boys for the first time for a surprise trip in December. Our vacation is around the same length as your's was so it is helping me get things planned and giving me an idea of what we can get accomplished each day.

Can't wait to read more!

Kate:cheer2:

Angies1274

10-16-2009, 08:45 AM

what a lovely morning!
It really was!!:goodvibes
Yep, you've got 'em too...I recognize them...the "last day blues"

Isn't the lobby of AKL gorgeous? Glad you enjoyed your breakfast there. The only thing better is to have dinner there, with lots of zebra domes on the dessert bar!;)
I know...I have them.:sad2: I can't deny it.....the "last day blues". But, it was such a great trip, just thinking about having to leave that day makes me sad.:sad1:

AKL is so beautiful!!! I wish we would have had more time to look around. Hmmm....we may have to look into dinner there. My guys are not very adventurous eaters. Do you think they would still like it?
Hi Ang! Sorry for my long absence. Your breakfast looks great! I've heard many amazing reviews of the juice. Great pictures of the AKL.:thumbsup2 I can't believe its your last day!:sad2:

Hey there!!:goodvibes Breakfast was really great!!!You probably couldn't tell...but I'm actually not really a breakfast person. However, the selection was so wonderful, it was hard not to like.;)
Oh and the juice--Yummy!!! Nick was so happy to learn that it was the same juice he had last year at Ohana's that he loved so much and raved about for months after.:)

Angies1274

10-16-2009, 09:10 AM

Boma breakfast looks fabulous! We've only done dinner there. Can't wait to hear about your AK timepopcorn::
Breakfast was wonderful!! I keep hearing great things about dinner there....we may have to give it a try.:thumbsup2
Oh boo, your last day. :sad1: AKL is gorgeous, I do regret not going there when we had the chance. I'm definately going to have to take Ariana so she can get her Lion King fix in. :laughing:

I love how you just followed other people around :lmao: I so would have done the same thing though... just look for the signs when you walk in right? :rotfl:
I can't believe I'm on my last day already.:sad2: But with only 4 days--I knew it was coming quick....

You will definitely have to bring Ariana to AKL!! It is a beautiful resort. I want to go back so we can spend more time and actually visit the animal viewing area this time.

I couldn't believe that I had forgotten to find out exactly where Boma was!! Crazy...I'm so glad we had those other people to follow though.:rotfl: Hey! It worked!:thumbsup2 They got us where we needed to be.:laughing:
I enjoyed the update!
Your breakfast sounds very good! Looking forward to hearing more!!:wizard:
Thanks!:goodvibes We were very pleased with breakfast! The food was so yummy and the selection was wonderful!! It's definitely a must-do for future trips.:thumbsup2
Angies1274,

Thanks so much for this report. It is really getting me excited! We are taking our 7 yr old twin boys for the first time for a surprise trip in December. Our vacation is around the same length as your's was so it is helping me get things planned and giving me an idea of what we can get accomplished each day.

Can't wait to read more!

Kate:cheer2:

:welcome: and thank you so much for the compliment.:goodvibes
How exciting!!! A surprise 1st trip for your boys!! You're going to have such an amazing time!! We went on our first trip last year and now we just can't seem to get enough.;)

mommytothreeboys

10-17-2009, 08:24 AM

wdwgirl03

10-17-2009, 06:45 PM

I love the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Can't wait to hear about your day at AK. But I'm sad it's almost over! :sad2:

Angies1274

10-19-2009, 09:16 AM

I so want to try Boma! I'm glad you all enjoyed your breakfast. The one thing that has been stopping us from going there is the transportation issue. We never have a car, so we'd rely on the buses as well. As much as I am a big fan of Disney transportation, I know it's not always the most convenient to get from resort to resort so we stick to restaurants in the park or on the monorail. Hmmm...maybe next trip we'll give it a try...I'd LOVE to see AKL!

Can't wait to hear about your AK day...we LOVE Animal Kingdom! :thumbsup2
Hi Missy!!
We loved Boma!! The food was so yummy!! But...relying on the buses were definitely worrisome. I was so afraid that we were going to be late, even though we left much earlier then we would have if we had went to another restaurant....and the getting lost part didn't help either.:sad2: That said, it is a beautiful resort and such a lovely restaurant, I'm glad we at least tried it because it was such a great experience.

YAY!! Animal Kingdom!! We love it too!!;)
I love the Animal Kingdom Lodge! Can't wait to hear about your day at AK. But I'm sad it's almost over! :sad2:

The Animal Kingdom Lodge is definitely a beautiful resort.:thumbsup2 I'm hoping if we get a chance to go back, we will have more time to spend to explore.:goodvibes

Sad it almost over too.:sad2:

Angies1274

10-19-2009, 03:20 PM

When I left off, we had sadly packed our suitcases and began our very last day at Disney. We had finally made it to Boma, after getting a little lost but had ended up having a fabulous breakfast and got to see the beautiful Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We were now back in front of the entrance to the Animal Kingdom Park.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1761.jpg
It was about 10:30am at this point and we had so much we wanted to do. But...first thing first, I needed to grab some fastpasses. I was so happy when I had read before the trip that they had set up centralized fastpass machines in AK. I knew that we didn't have alot of time to explore AK this trip and not having to keep running around the park collecting fastpasses, then backtracking was going to help get as much accomplished as we could. So, I told everyone I was going to run ahead to grab them and Lee volunteered to come with me. I handed off the camera to DH, so that he could get some pictures while they were walking through the Oasis. These are what he ended up getting--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1762.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1764.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1765.jpg
Yup, that's it!!.... He's not really into taking pictures....so I was happy that I least got these and they didn't turn out too bad either.

Anyways, while they were exploring and taking pictures...off we went to grab the fastpasses. I was sooooo excited to find out that we were able to get fastpasses for 3 different rides--Dinosaur, Killimanjaro Safaris and EE. YAY!! So, with fastpasses in hand we headed back to find our group, only to see them walking toward us. Since our fastpasses for Dinosaur was ready first we decided to head over to Dinoland--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1766.jpg

My mother got such a kick out of this picture...she told me she thought it looked like the Dino was chasing everyone down the street!!:lmao:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1769.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1770.jpg

The boys were begging to ride Primeval Whirl. But, my parent's and brother weren't really interested and decided to check out the gift shop instead. It was already really hot at this point. The stand-by said 20 minutes, and at first I didn't really want to wait because there was so many things we wanted to show my parent's and I felt a little funny leaving them, when we had just arrived. But, they assured us it was fine and we would meet up afterwards. So, off we went to wait in line and although the line moved steady it was so HOT in there.

Noah didn't seem to be fazed by the heat!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1771-1.jpg
Poor Nick with the heat, his glasses kept falling down and pushing them up so much caused plenty of smudges.....I'm amazed he could see.:rotfl:

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1772.jpg

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1773.jpg

A few before we started spinning---
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0540.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0542.jpg

Then I carefully, tucked my camera away in my bag and off we went. Spinning, jerking, stopping, spinning again, and down the hill we go...backwards this time. The boys had a blast, like usual and wanted to ride again. But, we reminded them that Grammie, Papa and their Uncle were waiting for us. We easily found them waiting outside the gift shop trying to stay cool and made our way over to Dinosaur. The boys didn't want to ride. (hmm...I've got to stop watching all those Disney specials on the travel channel.) They see it on tv and decide before they ride, that's it's too scary. Anyway, since DH sat out for the Haunted Mansion, I told him he could ride with my parent's and brother. This was one of the rides that my brother was looking most forward to riding. I took a few pictures while we were waiting.

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1774.jpg
The boys climbing up---and then another while they finally decided to sit for me so I could get a picture-
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/ImportedPhotos00398.jpg

Just as I finished up this picture, I looked to see my parent's coming back without the guys.:confused3 They had decided because of all the ride warnings and the fact that the ride was so bumpy, that maybe they shouldn't ride it, due to some back and neck problems they have. I felt so bad, but they told me that the guys were waiting for me to go. What?? Okay, I'll admit I was a little bit scared myself....hmm. maybe I shouldn't have watched the Travel Channel specials either.:laughing: So mustering what little courage I had, I went off to find the guys. They were anxiously waiting to head inside, I had left my bag/camera with my mom with all the confusion and away we went to enjoy the little pre-show w/ Claire Huxtable from the Cosby show. It was nice to see a familiar and friendly face. It made me feel a little bit better....a little. Finally it was time to get on our Time Rover.:scared1: I honestly don't remember too much of the ride, except it was fast, bumpy, dark and ......so much FUN!! Okay, I loved it!! Honestly, it was one of my favorite rides of the trip...don't ask me why, since it seemed like I closed my eyes through most of it.:laughing: We all had such a great time and it was hilarious when we finally found our picture because the guys were like "Hey, Angie...Where are you?" Apparently, I had not only closed my eyes but had ducked down as well. I bet you didn't know I was such a chicken...oh well my secret's out!:rotfl:

It took us a while but we eventually found everyone else waiting for us--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1778.jpg

Noah looks happy!! They had just got done having ice-cream....that's probably why!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1779.jpg

I took a quick picture as we were leaving the area--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1777.jpg

So far, we had explored Dinoland but my parent's hadn't even rode one ride yet, so we decided it was time to head over to Africa to try and catch some poachers!!

Up Next---A Safari Ride!!

MouseKTeer

10-19-2009, 05:15 PM

Mickey_Mom

10-19-2009, 06:01 PM

Fun update! That Dino does look like its coming down the street! :scared: Rides for the first time are the best!

Draw it out! Make the report last please!

mommytothreeboys

10-19-2009, 07:41 PM

My whole family loves Dinosaur..even Jonah. He was 6 the first time we went and he rode it like a trooper! My boys aren't afraid of much...that can be a problem sometimes!

I didn't know about the centralized FP machines..very cool. :thumbsup2

Can't wait for the Safari! :banana:

onelilspark

10-19-2009, 08:05 PM

The Centralized FP was closed last weekend! I was so sad!!!

I had to drag my boyfriend on Dinosaur!!

eandesmom

10-19-2009, 09:05 PM

Can you explain how the centralized FP's work? I know it's in "test" and only at AK but I am super curious! It sounds very cool.

I love Dinosaur too! It's Kendall's favorite ride. Or 2nd fav.

wdwgirl03

10-19-2009, 09:25 PM

haha, that one picture does look like the dinosaur is chasing everyone down the street!

I read in another trip report that the lady in the Dinosaur preshow was Mrs. Huxtable from the Cosby Show. I had no idea and told my dad that yesterday and he said he thinks of the Cosby Show every time we go on! It's not like I've never seen that show before...whatever. Funny how you were ducked down in the ride picture. I'm pretty sure that's what I looked like after our first ride I was so terrified! LOL.

claryche

10-19-2009, 11:28 PM

Just spent a big portion of the night reading you trip report, that I just found. I'm loving it and hating that it's your last day.

Angies1274

10-20-2009, 07:54 AM

Hi Angie,

That's cool :cool2: you were able to get FPs for all 3 rides you wanted at once. Only half of our group experienced Dinosaur--your story makes me laugh :) Next time I'll have to try it.

Our time at Primeval Whirl sounds very similar to yours. It was so hot during the wait, which was longer than the posted time, as I recall--the :worship: misting fans got us through. Still a fun ride, though.

I was so happy to be able to get all the fastpasses at once. I was really dreading having to run all over the park getting them.:sad2:

Oh...you will definitely have to try Dinosaur!! I'm such a chicken when it comes to those kind of rides. (that's probably where the boys get it):laughing: But, if I can do it anyone can.;)

What would we do without misting fans!!!:thumbsup2
Fun update! That Dino does look like its coming down the street! :scared: Rides for the first time are the best!

Draw it out! Make the report last please!
Thanks!!:goodvibes I didn't even notice that it looked like the Dino was coming down the street, until my mom pointed it out.:confused3

I'm trying to draw it out.:laughing: I really don't want it to end.:sad2: But, on the brighter side...when it's finished I'll have more time to read your awesome TR!!;)

My whole family loves Dinosaur..even Jonah. He was 6 the first time we went and he rode it like a trooper! My boys aren't afraid of much...that can be a problem sometimes!

I didn't know about the centralized FP machines..very cool. :thumbsup2

Can't wait for the Safari! :banana:

I can't tell you how much I loved Dinosaur!! So intense but also very FUN!! That's so cool that Jonah rode it when he was only 6!! I wish I could talk the boys into trying it. Maybe next time.:rolleyes1
The Centralized FP was closed last weekend! I was so sad!!!

I had to drag my boyfriend on Dinosaur!!

Sorry it was closed.:sad2: It definitely made it easier to tour the park when we were there especially in the August heat.:thumbsup2

Angies1274

10-20-2009, 09:03 AM

Can you explain how the centralized FP's work? I know it's in "test" and only at AK but I am super curious! It sounds very cool.

I love Dinosaur too! It's Kendall's favorite ride. Or 2nd fav.
We loved the convenience of the centralized FP's!! I'm really hoping that they decide to bring them back for good, however I read on another thread that there was mixed reviews.(I think mostly because people were afraid they were going to eliminate the FP kiosks near the actual rides.) Anyways, this was our experience...

They were located just outside of It's Tough to be a Bug, very easy to find. That day there were 3 set up, Dinosaur, Killimanjaro, and EE. We grabbed fastpasses for EE, I wasn't sure if we could grab them from all 3 machines until a CM nearby was telling another guest that you could. So, we tried Dinosaur next, and then Killimanjaro. They all worked! I asked about return times because Dinosaur and Killimanjaro were very close and the CM said it was fine if we returned after the fastpass time--just not before. Also, you are not able to get another FP until about 2 hours later. (I think this is normally the case anyway) And, you can only get fastpasses once, from each machine. So, you can't get EE, then Dinosaur, and then go back and get more for EE all around the same time.The big thing we didn't like was that they didn't tell you a return time until the machine spits out the FP's.
Great concept, they may have a few things to work out. But I hope they do because it made touring...especially in the August heat much easier!!!

haha, that one picture does look like the dinosaur is chasing everyone down the street!

I read in another trip report that the lady in the Dinosaur preshow was Mrs. Huxtable from the Cosby Show. I had no idea and told my dad that yesterday and he said he thinks of the Cosby Show every time we go on! It's not like I've never seen that show before...whatever. Funny how you were ducked down in the ride picture. I'm pretty sure that's what I looked like after our first ride I was so terrified! LOL.
I was very surprised to see Mrs. Huxtable in the preshow for Dinosaur. It was so dark walking into there and I was already freaking out a little. It's funny because seeing her actually helped.:laughing: Hmm....maybe that's why they used her, because her character was so nice and it distracts you from thinking about all the Dinosaurs that soon will be chasing you.:scared1:... LOL
Just spent a big portion of the night reading you trip report, that I just found. I'm loving it and hating that it's your last day.

:welcome: I'm so happy that you've joined in.:goodvibes Aww... I'm very sad that it's already my last day.:sad2: Wish I could drag it out...just a little longer.;)

eandesmom

10-20-2009, 09:19 AM

We loved the convenience of the centralized FP's!! I'm really hoping that they decide to bring them back for good, however I read on another thread that there was mixed reviews.(I think mostly because people were afraid they were going to eliminate the FP kiosks near the actual rides.) Anyways, this was our experience...

They were located just outside of It's Tough to be a Bug, very easy to find. That day there were 3 set up, Dinosaur, Killimanjaro, and EE. We grabbed fastpasses for EE, I wasn't sure if we could grab them from all 3 machines until a CM nearby was telling another guest that you could. So, we tried Dinosaur next, and then Killimanjaro. They all worked! I asked about return times because Dinosaur and Killimanjaro were very close and the CM said it was fine if we returned after the fastpass time--just not before. Also, you are not able to get another FP until about 2 hours later. (I think this is normally the case anyway) And, you can only get fastpasses once, from each machine. So, you can't get EE, then Dinosaur, and then go back and get more for EE all around the same time.The big thing we didn't like was that they didn't tell you a return time until the machine spits out the FP's.
Great concept, they may have a few things to work out. But I hope they do because it made touring...especially in the August heat much easier!!!

I was very surprised to see Mrs. Huxtable in the preshow for Dinosaur. It was so dark walking into there and I was already freaking out a little. It's funny because seeing her actually helped.:laughing: Hmm....maybe that's why they used her, because her character was so nice and it distracts you from thinking about all the Dinosaurs that soon will be chasing you.:scared1:... LOL

:welcome: I'm so happy that you've joined in.:goodvibes Aww... I'm very sad that it's already my last day.:sad2: Wish I could drag it out...just a little longer.;)

Well normally wouldn't you only be able to to EE and then have to wait 2 hours to get soemthing else? Anything else? To get 3 at once, wow! Boy that would make our days so much nicer...I hope they keep them.

She seemed a little out of context to me, but cute. I kind of wish I'd bought our ride pics, it is the one I didn't and they are a riot.

Angies1274

10-20-2009, 10:46 AM

Well normally wouldn't you only be able to to EE and then have to wait 2 hours to get soemthing else? Anything else? To get 3 at once, wow! Boy that would make our days so much nicer...I hope they keep them.

She seemed a little out of context to me, but cute. I kind of wish I'd bought our ride pics, it is the one I didn't and they are a riot.

Yeah, The wait is basically the same as it is any other time you get a fastpass. But, you would be surprised the amount of people who wanted to know if they could get another one, a short time later.:rolleyes1 I think it was confusing to some because supposedly the machines were not actually connected to the ride itself, which was what allowed multiple fastpasses at once. So, if maybe not connected, then they thought they could go back to the actual FP kiosk in front of the ride and get another one, right after they received one at the centralized location. Anyways, I hope they keep them too!! It was great to have all the fastpasses in our hands at once. Definite time saver!!:thumbsup2

ellajeansmom

10-20-2009, 06:41 PM

mickeystoontown

10-20-2009, 07:20 PM

I was two updates behind. I want so badly to go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and take a look around. We aren't breakfast people and the lunch and dinner menus at the AKL restaurants didn't look so good to us. From the look of your pictures, I may just have to give one of their restaurants a try anyway!

I know what you meant about relying on Disney transportation to get to a resort restaurant. We had some "issues" with getting to our ADRs on time.

On to the Animal Kingdom park installment. You really did luck up when you were able to get Fastpasses for three attractions at once. I wish that Disney would keep the centralized Fastpass machines. Sounds like a good idea.

Poor Nick! I know the problems he has with the sweaty, sliding glasses. Hunter has the same problem. I sometimes wonder how he can even see out of the dirty lens.

I am proud of you for riding Dinosaur. You had a great time and made fun memories.

Angies1274

10-21-2009, 12:38 PM

AKL looks beautiful, I'm glad you enjoyed your breakfast :)

How did you find the spinning part of Primeval Whirl? It looks like fun but the spin part made me nervous to try it.

So cool that you loved Dinosaur :woohoo: We had been looking forward to that one but when Ella ended up being sick on our AK day we decided to stick with less intense experiences!

I think the central FP is a great idea, especially if you can get more than one ride at that spot. Thanks for sharing how it worked :thumbsup2 Hopefully they keep it and maybe even start it at the other parks.
AKL is really gorgeous inside. There's lots of little details everywhere you look. Aww...and breakfast was so yummy!! I could really go for some of those eggs right now.;)

I thought the spinning would bother me the first time I rode Primeval Whirl. But, it's really not like the Teacups where you keep going around and around....:sick: It's more like riding a small rollercoaster but when you get to the corners, you spin a couple times and then straighten back up again. It's a fun ride and the boys love it but.....because you're stopping so quick all the time it can make for a very jerky ride.:rolleyes1

Loved the centralized FP!!! It made it much easier touring AK. I hope they keep it too and adding it at the other parks would be wonderful!! Just think how much time and energy we would save not having to run ahead to get them!!:thumbsup2

I was two updates behind. I want so badly to go to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and take a look around. We aren't breakfast people and the lunch and dinner menus at the AKL restaurants didn't look so good to us. From the look of your pictures, I may just have to give one of their restaurants a try anyway!

I know what you meant about relying on Disney transportation to get to a resort restaurant. We had some "issues" with getting to our ADRs on time.

On to the Animal Kingdom park installment. You really did luck up when you were able to get Fastpasses for three attractions at once. I wish that Disney would keep the centralized Fastpass machines. Sounds like a good idea.

Poor Nick! I know the problems he has with the sweaty, sliding glasses. Hunter has the same problem. I sometimes wonder how he can even see out of the dirty lens.

I am proud of you for riding Dinosaur. You had a great time and made fun memories.

Hi Lisa,

I'm really not a breakfast person either but I knew DH and my father were. They were both really impressed with the selection on the buffet and we all loved the looks of AKL. It really is beautiful!! I wanted to check out the Savannah while we were there, but we were all anxious to get to AK. Maybe next time though....

I'm generally very happy with Disney transportation but we have also had a couple "issues" with the buses, especially for morning ADR's. I learned my lesson last year when we ended up late for our CP breakfast. This year I wanted to make sure I had allowed plenty enough time.....glad I did, with the whole getting lost thing.:rotfl:

It's so funny about the glasses! Nick's can be so smudged up and dirty and it's like he doesn't even notice.:confused3 It really is amazing that he's not running into things some days.:rolleyes:

Angies1274

10-26-2009, 09:04 AM

When I left off, we had just explored Dinoland, taken a spin on Primeval Whirl,and got chased by dinosaurs and loved every minute of it!! During this time, my parent's had spent alot of time waiting....and waiting for us, which I felt really bad about. But...they did get to do a little shopping, and had ice cream with the boys, so they were happy about that. I was determined to get them on some kind of ride and the first one that popped to mind.....hmmm......yup, you guessed it!! Killimanjaro Safaris. The problem was trying to navigate around all the people that seemed to be everywhere!! Oh and I forgot to mention the HEAT!! It was without a doubt the hottest day so far!! I can definitely understand now, when people say that AK is definitely the hardest park to get through because of the heat. Honestly, I never got it before....since we go in April, when the weather's great....Trust me, I get it now!!

We made our way toward Discovery Island---
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1781.jpg
Anyone need a spritz!! Me! Me!! (and that's just from the people nearby!!) Just Kidding!! But, it did happen while we were at AK that day. I can't really remember at what point, but Nick happened to be using the misting fan and sprayed a couple by accident, apologized and they said "No..No, it felt good!!!" and then laughed.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1782.jpg
At some point, I took a quick pic of the Tree of Life....sadly it was our only picture of the tree the whole day.:sad2:
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0638-1.jpg
We began to walk.....and walk. Okay, we see a sign....We'll be there soon!!- or will we?
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1783.jpg
And.....another sign!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1784.jpg
A picture of EE in the far distance--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1785.jpg
Some more signs....and we walk and walk--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1787.jpg
Are we there yet? UGH!!.....Almost?
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1788.jpg
Yay!! We finally arrived!! We handed the CM our fastpasses and off we went! It wasn't long before we were climbing onto our truck and away we go--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1791.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1792.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1793.jpg
Soon after the ride starts, I hear my father beside me, saying "Angie, how are you getting pictures?, We're moving too fast!!" I told him to try putting his camera on sports setting to see if it would help.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1794.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1796.jpg
Okay, lets try that again, but a little closer this time--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1797.jpg
Yay!! Hippos and I finally got a semi-decent picture. I asked my father around this time, if his pictures were coming out better and he just laughed and said " I don't know? But I seem to be getting some good shots of the back of Lee's head!!"
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1798.jpg
Next up--my very favorite.....Giraffe's!!! I tried to take a ton of pictures but this one is my favorite--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1804.jpg
And...as we were coming around the bend, I noticed how close they were but on the opposite side of the truck--ugh!! So I snapped this picture....I spy....a giraffe!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1806.jpg
Believe it or not, we have never seen an elephant on this ride before. I'm not sure why but on both the trips before this one.....no elephant. So, I can't tell you how excited I was when saw this.....hmm....can you see him?
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1808.jpg
Since I didn't have any pictures of them, I tried desperately to get a good shot, as the truck was bouncing this way and weaving that way. Darn, I almost got him......
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1810.jpg
Finally, a few blurry pictures later, a couple elephant ears, legs...well, you get the point. YAY!! I get the shot!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1814.jpg
A few more on our "2 week safari"--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1816.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1817.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1820.jpg
Although, I tried....no lion picture this time. Last trip, I got a picture of him but it was soooooo far away, all it looked like was a yellow dot. This time I zoomed in and was all prepared--unfortunately zooming in and then trying to find him while the truck is moving so fast, presented a little bit of a problem which resulted in nice blurry pictures of trees and grass. I'll spare you from having to look at them!! LOL

Aww....he's found!!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1826.jpg
Everyone enjoyed our safari ride, but...my father was a little disappointed in his pictures and frustrated that he couldn't get better ones. Next time I told him. (that was just my way of trying to convince him to come back again.) I'm still working on him by the way. So, what to do next? Hmm.......

Up Next: A first encounter with the Yeti!!!!

onelilspark

10-26-2009, 09:14 AM

I heard they changed the story on the safari? true?

Mickey_Mom

10-26-2009, 09:21 AM

Great safari shots! I think we've done the same thing, random spritzer shots with the misting fan :laughing: I wonder if any Imagineers have considered adding a water park/play area to AK? What a great way to cool off other than Kali?

Hey tell your Dad he needs to take video next time! ;) :thumbsup2

Do you get your parents on EE ?! popcorn::

eandesmom

10-26-2009, 09:50 AM

Great Elephant shot, that's the shot we missed on our safari. Bummer about the lion.

I need to get some of those misters for the trip. I though there was a water play area somewhere in AK...I have pictures from our 04 trip and I can't figure out where it is but it is definietely AK!

Or at least we all remember it as being AK! Some outdoor bar area with a water play area close by....

mickeystoontown

10-26-2009, 09:53 AM

Well at least the one shot of the Tree of Life that you got had the hidden Mickey in it!

I agree with you.....your dad simply must go back to Disney simply to get better safari pictures.;)

mommytothreeboys

10-26-2009, 05:38 PM

Great safari pictures! So glad you saw the elephants this time!

dismagiclover

10-27-2009, 07:20 AM

Great Safari pictures! I love that ride because it's different every time:goodvibes

Angies1274

10-27-2009, 08:39 AM

I heard they changed the story on the safari? true?

Hmm....interesting? I didn't hear that. It was the same story when we went in August.:confused3 Now, I'm wondering..... Anyone else know?

Great safari shots! I think we've done the same thing, random spritzer shots with the misting fan :laughing: I wonder if any Imagineers have considered adding a water park/play area to AK? What a great way to cool off other than Kali?

Hey tell your Dad he needs to take video next time! ;) :thumbsup2

Do you get your parents on EE ?! popcorn::

Thanks :goodvibes I think a water park/play area would be great in AK!! They must be aware of how hot it is there, because I think it's the only park that I remember seeing those huge misting fans scattered around.:confused3

Great idea on the video!! I don't know what I was thinking? Well....it was probably because last year when we went I had DH take videos, while I took pictures and honestly I can't even watch the video because it makes me dizzy.:laughing: He was paying more attention to the animals and just holding the camera in their direction and when the truck bounced the camera bounced. :rolleyes1 It's too funny to watch.:rotfl:

Great Elephant shot, that's the shot we missed on our safari. Bummer about the lion.

I need to get some of those misters for the trip. I though there was a water play area somewhere in AK...I have pictures from our 04 trip and I can't figure out where it is but it is definietely AK!

Or at least we all remember it as being AK! Some outdoor bar area with a water play area close by....

I was so happy to finally get a good elephant shot!! Trust me, it took many blurry pictures to get that one great one.:laughing: Besides the elephant, I really wanted one of the lion!! I think it was your TR that I saw the great lion picture? Hopefully, next time I'll get it.:thumbsup2

Is there a water play area? We have always missed it when we were there. I was just saying how great it would be to have one because I think it's the one park that needs it the most.:thumbsup2 Especially since I think they have them in all of the other parks?:confused:

Angies1274

10-27-2009, 08:48 AM

Well at least the one shot of the Tree of Life that you got had the hidden Mickey in it!

I agree with you.....your dad simply must go back to Disney simply to get better safari pictures.;)

Cool!!:cool1: I didn't realize that my one lonely picture of the Tree of Life had the hidden Mickey in it!!

That's what I keep telling him....just to get better safari pictures, he must return to Disney with us!! :rotfl:
Great safari pictures! So glad you saw the elephants this time!

Thanks!!:goodvibes I was happy with how they turned out. There were a few animals I missed but there's always next time, right?;) We were so excited to finally see the elephants!!:thumbsup2
Great Safari pictures! I love that ride because it's different every time:goodvibes

Love the safari ride!!! It's a new experience every time you ride!! We were worried this time that we wouldn't see as many because it was very hot that day, but I think we saw more animals out this trip than on any other.

Angies1274

11-02-2009, 08:41 AM

Wow!! Where does a week go?..........

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!! We had a very busy but fun weekend! I spent most of the week trying to get Nick to feel better in time. It seems like the whole month of October, I have been trying to get them well enough to go get their flu shots but one gets sick and then gives it to the other. It seems like I have spent the whole month scrubbing the house from top to bottom....but then they head off to school and come back sick again....ugh!!

Oh well, anyways I'm hoping to get another update posted tomorrow? Can you tell I'm dragging my feet a little....:rolleyes1 I really should finish it though so hopefully I can start planning our next trip. Still waiting on some deals........

I thought I would post a few pictures of our weekend fun!!!;)

Carving our pumpkins--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2070.jpg

We opted for the more traditional jack o' lanterns this year--The boys designed them and DH carved them.;)
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2080.jpg

Halloween Parade at school--
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2096.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2097.jpg

Halloween cookies that the boys decorated.....
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2103.jpg
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2104.jpg

Heading out Trick or Treating---
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2114.jpg

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_2113-1-1.jpg

We can't forget to bring Mickey along with us, can we?

Aww...it was a great weekend, but now it's time to get back to work, and.....it's time to start thinking about Christmas.:eek: Can you believe less than two months away?Wow!!

I hoped you enjoyed my non-update.:goodvibes Again, I'm hoping to get a real update up very soon!!:goodvibes

mickeystoontown

11-02-2009, 02:55 PM

onelilspark

11-02-2009, 04:31 PM

I miss Halloween parades in school!

Your kiddos look great!

wdwgirl03

11-02-2009, 04:39 PM

Cute Halloween pictures! I was at school on Wednesday last week and was surprised at how many Marios and Luigis I saw in their parade! :laughing:

Angies1274

11-03-2009, 07:57 AM

Look at your Mario and Ninja! Love the pictures. I didn't take one Halloween picture. Can you believe it?

I don't blame you for dragging out the trip report. We never want a Disney trip to end.

I would love for you to start planning another trip to Disney. I've already booked for May 27th through June 5th but am still holding out hope that Disney will have a special offer for me!

I really don't want this TR to end.:sad2: I've loved writing it...but on the other hand it would be great to start planning another trip!! We are still trying to decide on the dates to go. Since, we took two trips this year, next year is definitely going to be a budget trip. We were originally hoping for April but airfare is just crazy. So now we have been thinking about the last week of June after the boys get out of school. Like you, I'm really hoping they send some special deals our way.:goodvibes

I miss Halloween parades in school!

Your kiddos look great!

Thanks!:goodvibes Aww...Halloween parades are the best!! So much fun!!;)

Cute Halloween pictures! I was at school on Wednesday last week and was surprised at how many Marios and Luigis I saw in their parade! :laughing:

I know...I couldn't believe all the Mario and Luigi costumes I saw during the parade. Even Ninja costumes seemed to be very popular this year. It was a cute parade. It's always fun to see all the little ones dressed up.:goodvibes

eandesmom

11-03-2009, 03:26 PM

I was so happy to finally get a good elephant shot!! Trust me, it took many blurry pictures to get that one great one.:laughing: Besides the elephant, I really wanted one of the lion!! I think it was your TR that I saw the great lion picture? Hopefully, next time I'll get it.:thumbsup2

Is there a water play area? We have always missed it when we were there. I was just saying how great it would be to have one because I think it's the one park that needs it the most.:thumbsup2 Especially since I think they have them in all of the other parks?:confused:

Yep! I had the lion pic :) Well Evan took the Lion pic, I get no credit.

It's so wierd. I KNOW there is a water area, I have pictures to prove it. these are from the scrapbook of that trip.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/eandesmom/Travel/Disney/AKwaterarea0002.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/eandesmom/Travel/Disney/scan0006.jpg

:confused3

Where it is, I've not a clue other than there was a shaded bar nearby. Which I think was Dawa. All the adults stood in the shade with beers and the kids got soaked. I recall everyone being excited about the beers, we didn't realize that AK wasn't a dry park until that moment and we were all quite warm. Happiness all around.

Then we took the second picture. The kids were wet from the pulley things in the first one that dumped on them, not Kali. Clearly we are in Africa. I believe this is across from Dawa or part of Dawa?. I've looked and looked online and there is no mention of this existing at all! I remember it as being in plain sight! It had to have been. All of the kids were between 3 and 7, we would not have let any of them out of our sight!

Mickey_Mom

11-03-2009, 05:55 PM

Love the Halloween costumes and pumpkins! Excuse me while I wipe the drool off of my chin, but are those peanut butter cups plunked into the middle of those cookies?! Peanut butter cups rank high in my list of great inventions. :lmao:

I tried taking trick or treating pics but I more or less ended up with several pictures of Ariana's butt as she was awaiting treats to be dropped into her bag :rotfl2: and Demetri always stood in front of her so he was blocked. I ended up taking pictures of cool displays and pumpkins and such.

Oy, I'll be looking for that water area next time! Dunking the water like that looks heavenly on a hot day.

Angies1274

11-04-2009, 08:01 AM

It's so wierd. I KNOW there is a water area, I have pictures to prove it. these are from the scrapbook of that trip.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/eandesmom/Travel/Disney/AKwaterarea0002.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k308/eandesmom/Travel/Disney/scan0006.jpg

:confused3

Where it is, I've not a clue other than there was a shaded bar nearby. Which I think was Dawa. All the adults stood in the shade with beers and the kids got soaked. I recall everyone being excited about the beers, we didn't realize that AK wasn't a dry park until that moment and we were all quite warm. Happiness all around.

Then we took the second picture. The kids were wet from the pulley things in the first one that dumped on them, not Kali. Clearly we are in Africa. I believe this is across from Dawa or part of Dawa?. I've looked and looked online and there is no mention of this existing at all! I remember it as being in plain sight! It had to have been. All of the kids were between 3 and 7, we would not have let any of them out of our sight!

Thanks for posting the pics!!!:goodvibes (oh my, your kids are so little and so darn cute!!!)
But....yeah that definitely looks like a water play area and it's definitely in AK. Hmm....I will have to be on the look out for it next time we go!! LOL on the "Happiness all around":laughing: It seems like a perfect spot to put a play area to me--the kids were having fun and so were the adults.;)

Love the Halloween costumes and pumpkins! Excuse me while I wipe the drool off of my chin, but are those peanut butter cups plunked into the middle of those cookies?! Peanut butter cups rank high in my list of great inventions. :lmao:

I tried taking trick or treating pics but I more or less ended up with several pictures of Ariana's butt as she was awaiting treats to be dropped into her bag :rotfl2: and Demetri always stood in front of her so he was blocked. I ended up taking pictures of cool displays and pumpkins and such.

Oy, I'll be looking for that water area next time! Dunking the water like that looks heavenly on a hot day.

Thanks!!:goodvibes Oh..I know..peanut butter cups make everything better!!:laughing: I saw the cookies in a magazine but they used those chocolate covered caramels instead, huh?? I though the PB cups would be much yummier!!;)

Too funny about your trick or treating pics!!:rotfl: I only got a few of the boys actually trick or treating. Noah was pretty excited and practically running to the next house. I could barely keep up, much less get any pictures.:rolleyes1 Great idea on taking pictures of the cool pumpkins and displays!! Hmm....why didn't I think of that?:confused3 Especially since we saw some really great decorations....

Angies1274

11-06-2009, 09:04 AM

Thursday, August 27th

When I had left off, we had just finished riding Killimanjaro Safari's. It was a great ride like usual and I was extremely pleased that we were finally able to see the elephants!!--and I've been secretly using the fact that my father got alot of blurry pictures and even a few of the back of Lee's head:laughing:...... to try and entice him to come back with us. Come on, Dad!! You know you want to get better pictures on the safari ride!!!;) Can't hurt to try, right?:rotfl:

Anyways, Lee couldn't take any longer!! Mr. Thrill Ride himself...sat through the Nemo ride at Epcot and ITASW at MK. He liked them well enough...but he was finally ready for some excitement. A rollercoaster!! His very favorite!! Now, he enjoyed BTMRR..but it didn't go high enough, or fast enough, backwards or upside down. He told me he could live without the upside down..but he needed some speed!!:laughing: We had gotten 4 fastpasses earlier, hoping that the boys would agree to go. DH and Dad opted out once they saw how high we had to climb. The heat was really getting to my Mom, she also decided to sit it out, hoping to relax a little bit in the shade with a snack. The boys thought that sounded good as well and again opted out.:sad2: So, it was just Lee and myself who were going to be brave enough to face the Yeti!:eek: But....if you remember from Dinosaur, I wasn't all that brave, excited...maybe....scared...definitely!!:scared1:

http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1786.jpg

The plan was for us to head over to Asia, ride EE twice:woohoo: and then after their rest/snack in the shade, meet up. They were going to either take the train up to Rafiki's or they were going to walk around the trails. So, off we went in search of some excitement!!!! Can I just say how far away Africa and Asia are!! Oh my....maybe it just seemed like it because it was so darn hot that day, but boy it seemed to take forever to get over to EE. When we finally made it, after stopping a couple time to try and get cooled off by the giant misting fans, we proceeded to get in the fastpass line. We ended up behind a father who was waiting with his two sons. It was questionable whether one of the boys were tall enough and he was brought over to be measured. Poor kid, he was just a tiny bit too short. There seemed to be a collective Awww....from behind us, as a few people encouraged the CM to let him through since he was so close. But, he didn't and they sadly left the line.

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I left my camera with DH hoping he would take some of the animals on the trail or Rafiki. Finally it was time to get on EE and
we went....up...up...up and then Dooooowwwwwn, around in the dark, and then STOP! Okay, seeing the track like that did freak me a little bit.:eek: I'm glad I wasn't sitting in the very front!! Then we went.....backwards...and STOP..Yeti:scared1:...forward again. It was a great ride....an excellent ride even!!I didn't think after all the fun that we had on Dinosaur that anything could top it but I have to say EE did! I just loved it!! I only wish the boys would have rode it, because I know they would have as well. We used our second set of fastpasses to ride again and then called everyone else to meet up. We had to have been gone for about an hour at this point and you wouldn't believe it, but they were in the same place we had left them. Apparently, the place they picked for a rest ended up being Harambe School and they were too polite to get up and leave. So, they ended up missing Rafiki and the Trails...so no pictures:sad2: which means I could have brought the camera with me.:rolleyes1 Oh well, from what I hear my mother and the boys really enjoyed it and learned alot too!!:thumbsup2

At this point it was around 1:30pm. It was hot...we were sticky, sweaty and tired. The majority wanted to head back to POP, but I just didn't want to leave yet. I felt so bad that they had missed out on so much in AK. It seemed like they had spent most of the day waiting for us. I couldn't go...not yet....So, I suggested we head over to watch Finding Nemo the Musical. It's one of the boys favorite shows and I figured air-conditioning + sitting down and watching a great show=:thumbsup2 They agreed and we were off.
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_0629-1.jpg
After winding down the hill a few hundred times....we made it inside!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1829.jpg
Not the best picture...I think I was trying to get Nemo swimming around in the bubbles.

Hi Noah!!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1830.jpg

Hi Nick!
http://i684.photobucket.com/albums/vv207/angies1235/100_1831.jpg

I was hoping that they would see the magic in AK as they had in Epcot and MK. Last year, on our first trip we ended up visiting AK on our last day as well, and I don't know if DH and Nick were tired or just sad to be leaving but they were sooooo GROUCHY that day! It seemed like I was constantly trying to get them to smile or say they were at least having a good time.:confused3 The last thing we did that day was to watch Finding Nemo, and honestly as silly as it sounds...it saved the day!! Both the boys LOVED it and DH thought it was very cool!! We actually came home and bought the soundtrack and for months after the trip, you would find us singing along in the car to "Go with the FLOOOOOOWWWW!!" or some other favorite song from the show. I know that Nemo has mixed reviews...some like it and some not so much but...our family just loves it! I think it's because it was the very first show that the boys had ever seen like that and watching it through their eyes made so much more magical.:wizard:

So would it work on my parent's as well? You'll see.;)

Up Next--Now, it's time to say goodbye........