Princesses, Slushes, LEGOs, and a maxed CC - Sept 2009 1st Timer TR

[crocko]

Wow, these are some long threads.Long trip, lots of pictures. :)

Hmm...I have been looking at Play N Dine but for an early lunch. The food is suppose to be pretty decent. I LOVE that June remember Samantha--how sweet and what good memories for her. :goodvibesYep...it was definitely fun that one of her favorite characters gave her so much attention.

Samantha got a great score! I think Madeline managed to get 600 on that ride. lol

I love the boat ride from MGM to Epcot.Yeah...very relaxing and peaceful ride and you get to see a lot of great sites with the 5 hotels that you pass.

Impressive scores by everyone! Especially Samantha! :thumbsup2

So sweet that June remembered her. I don't know any of the Playhouse Disney characters. I learned all their names through you! :laughing: I do know Handy Manny though because my 3 year old nephew adores him.The PHD characters they have roaming around right now seem to be Little Einsteins, JoJo & Goliath and Handy Manny (of course, I think we'd all agree that Phineas & Ferb deserve their do somewhere in the parks...)

great updates. Joshua looked so cute in his peter pan costume. I am glad you told me about a 10 day trip being a little too much. Next time we thought about going longer because we thought it would be less rushed but maybe 10days isnt the answer either.

I see you and your wifes trip is getting closer. How exciting. I am so jealous.

Cant wait to hear about the rest of your trip.Long trips are great, but handling young ones wears you out.....

Wow ! I was several updates behind , you sure keep a steady pace ! LOL Samantha in the Cinderella Dress and Shoes , priceless ! Seems to me everyone had a very successful shopping TR at DTD , great pic's . Love all the early morning pictures of the empty Liberty Square . Priceless pictures of Samantha & Alice . Very cool Teacup and Astro Orbiter pictures ! Love the WL pictures . Joshua looked so adorable in his Peter Pan costume :) The food at WC looked so yummy , I love there milkshakes ! Toontown pictures were soo cute . How cool that Joshua got to be the 1st person through the turnstiles on the 25th . H&V pictures were too cute :) Your family should hold a record for riding TSM but I can't blame u it's so much fun !Thanks for all the great compliments. And yes...we definitley rode TSM a lot but come on....the ride is so fun. Shortly after returning, I started having TSM withdrawals.....we bought the TSM Wii game while at Disney World. It is super fun, but makes me miss the real ride even more! :laughing:

Great updates! Tell Samantha that I like the horse with the flowers too :goodvibes And that's too funny that Joshua was nervous his third time riding Star Tours. You'd think he'd be a pro by then! ;) I'm glad the BTMRR and Splash FPs worked out. And isn't that boat ride wonderful?! I'm excited to see what else the kids pick!Joshua is so silly like that....he can be very unpredictable. Samantha, though...very predictable. Doesn't like villains....loves pretty stuff.....

:wizard:

[crocko]

Day 9 (Kids' Choice Day)
Chapter 2 -- 70 Minute Wait for Nemo & Friends!




I left off in which we had finished at Hollywood Studios for the day and had taken a boat trip/short walk over to the Epcot International Gateway. We weren’t here for the World Showcase this day, but got to pass through the UK and Canada on our way to Future World.

Backstory – Last December, while in the UK, we noticed the red phone booths. One of the pictures we had taken there was of Bridgette and I kissing in the phone booth.


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The kids had seen this picture before the trip and thought it was really funny.

On our World Showcase day, we were getting tired….UK was busy and we moved through the country quickly enough that we didn’t really get to notice the red phone booths.

Well, on Day 9….the Showcase was still pretty empty and we were moving along leisurely. Samantha and Joshua quickly noticed one of the phone booths and wanted to get pictures.



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It was fun that they remembered the picture and wanted to get their own pictures taken. The funny part had to do with Samantha. She specifically remembered that her mommy and daddy had been kissing in that red phone booth. So to her….the ONLY way to take a picture in the red phone booth at Disney World was to be kissing her brother.


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We have like 15-20 pictures of her trying to give Joshua a kiss while in one of these booths.
We tried to get pictures of just Joshua in a booth and just Samantha in a booth, but she would have none of that!


Next….as we passed through Canada, we walked by some of the F&WF kiosks and noticed 3 familiar people in line to get some Canadian food….my sister and parents! (after a Kona Café breakfast, their main plans were to check out the F&W festival.)

Then, on toward Future World. We happened to walk straight up the main entrance…before heading to rides. I’m so glad we did, because to the right of the fountain (near MouseGears) I noticed a character that I was definitely not expecting to see but knew that Miss Samantha would be absolutely thrilled to see.



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Marie!!!

I veered off and Bridgette was wondering where I was going until she noticed her as well….We quickly hustled and got in line and it was a good thing. We managed to be the LAST family to get pictures with Marie. Otherwise, it would be another hour or two before she’d come back out. Wow!!



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Next, while close to Club Cool. We went in to get the kids slushies…and not just slushies, but cool “Make-Your-Own Slushy Holder” slushies.


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Now, time to see what rides the kids want to do here. Between the two of them, they wanted to do Nemo and Imagination again. While walking toward that side of the park, the electronic board said that Nemo & Friends had a 70 minute wait!!!!!!! Ach! (uh, maybe we won’t be doing that today). Imagination only had a 5-minute wait time, so we decided to head there first.

While on the ride, I kept joking with Joshua that I hoped when we got to the smelling part of the ride that we got roses or oranges this time. As soon as we got close to that section, Joshua started holding his nose. He’s smart…because believe it or not, Figment sent us a not-so-rosy smell again.

Then…back to the board to check on the Nemo times. Now, the board said a 5-minute wait at Nemo & Friends. LOL….pretty sure there had been some mess-up earlier. We were very pleased….so, another walk up line for Nemo & Friends. This time, though, we took some time to get some pictures of the queue



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Yay….we completed our two kids’ faves for Epcot (that gave us a trip tally of 3 rides for both Nemo and Imagination!)

Now, off to the monorail to head to Magic Kingdom.

At MK, we entered and quickly headed up to the Train Station (once again….not fun taking your own strollers on the train).
Bridgette didn’t realize that on your way to Frontierland you actually go through Splash Mountain. The kids thought that was cool.
The plan to start the day was to get over to ToonTown and the barnstormer…a ride that both kids really wanted to do. I also knew Joshua would want to ride Splash Mountain, so I went ahead and got off the train at Frontierland to get FP’s, while Bridgette and the kids went forward on to ToonTown.

It was turning into a pretty hot day (after noon, I believe and no lunch yet) so during my walk from Frontierland to ToonTown, I grabbed myself a strawberry bar. Yum….only one I got to have on the trip.

When I got to ToonTown, Bridgette called to say that the Princesses line was only 15 minutes so they had jumped in it. So, I waited for a couple minutes while they finished up.



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(as of yesterday, Sleeping Beauty is currently Samantha’s favorite princess)

After that, we moseyed through Minnie’s house again…



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And then went to tackle the Barnstormer. Samantha sat with Bridgette again and apparently she had the thrilled, but terrified look on her face the whole ride again. Haha!

Soon after, Samantha crashed out. It was about 2pm at this point and we were definitely getting hungry. So, we headed over toward Pinocchio’s knowing that it was a place that we would all be able to eat at. (Joshua and I took a sidetrip to get Buzz FP’s and then met back up)

Here’s Samantha at lunch:



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Had our pizzas at Pinocchio’s (still not near as good as the pizza at Pizza Planet)…..then Joshua said he wanted to ride It’s a Small World (surprised me…didn’t know he had liked it). So, while Bridgette sat with Samantha, the boys went on IASW.


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(Bridgette snuck over to a family’s table and waved to us….which Joshua thought was really fun)

After seeing all the singing kids (and geese)…..met up with the girls (Samantha still sleeping) and headed off to Splash Mountain.

Joshua wanted to go with Bridgette, so I waited near the splash point while they got in line. Not too long after, I saw them mosey on by….



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I then proceeded to take pictures of about 20-30 logs that came down the big drop. The whole time, I was afraid that I would manage to miss them or…..I wouldn’t notice them and still be taking pictures of logs when they came around to tell me they were done. LOL. I finally managed to snap a picture in which I noticed what I thought was Bridgette


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Yay! I got them!


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Up next: What will be our final Disney ride of the trip? And the accountant crunches some numbers…..

[mommyof2Pirates]

I love the pics in the red telephone booths. So cute that samantha wanted to be kissing her brother. I cant believe how many parks you hopped to that day. Thats awesome. You got to do all the favorites. I cant wait to hear about the ending.

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Such good pics. Samantha and Joshua in the phone booth was priceless. I feel you should frame yours from last time and their's this time. So very sweet. What an excellent day you had. How nice it wasn't so packed and you got to do what you wanted to do. It's almost like the park was yours.

Getting so close to next trip.

Ginny

[MAJ RN]

Jumping in for your trip report!! Wanted to say I was in before a read the rest. Your children are beautiful, the pic of Samantha sleeping on the plane, precious!!! Can't wait to continue reading.


Melissa

[jenny105]

That picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the booth is ADORABLE!! Love it!!

I didn't know you could make your own slushy holder. The things you learn by reading other people's TRs. :rotfl:

[stacikristine]

Oh my goodness--the picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the UK phone booth is adorable! :goodvibes So cute. And I love that they were mimicking you and Bridgette! Woah--I was scared that the Nemo wait time was real, and that would have meant Soarin' would have been somewhere around a 4 hour wait :upsidedow What a great Kids' Pick day so far!

[longing2Batdisney]

Great updates! love the phone booth photos!!! too cute!
wow ya'll had a full and great last day!!! three parks! with two kids great job!!!
and you have to getting sooooo excited its just about time for the Adult only trip!!! :yay:
:wave2:

[crocko]

I love the pics in the red telephone booths. So cute that samantha wanted to be kissing her brother. I cant believe how many parks you hopped to that day. Thats awesome. You got to do all the favorites. I cant wait to hear about the ending.Yep...lots of great rides this day!

Such good pics. Samantha and Joshua in the phone booth was priceless. I feel you should frame yours from last time and their's this time. So very sweet. What an excellent day you had. How nice it wasn't so packed and you got to do what you wanted to do. It's almost like the park was yours.

Getting so close to next trip.

GinnyGreat idea...we definitely need to do something like that with our pic and the kids' pic.

Jumping in for your trip report!! Wanted to say I was in before a read the rest. Your children are beautiful, the pic of Samantha sleeping on the plane, precious!!! Can't wait to continue reading.


MelissaGlad you're here! Enjoy the TR :thumbsup2

That picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the booth is ADORABLE!! Love it!!

I didn't know you could make your own slushy holder. The things you learn by reading other people's TRs. :rotfl:That's why I wanted to make sure and point it out. We learned about it while on the trip. Goofy's Candy Co. and Club Cool are the two places you can do it. At GCC, they'll let you use a snack credit for a refill (I believe)

Oh my goodness--the picture of Samantha giving Joshua a kiss in the UK phone booth is adorable! :goodvibes So cute. And I love that they were mimicking you and Bridgette! Woah--I was scared that the Nemo wait time was real, and that would have meant Soarin' would have been somewhere around a 4 hour wait :upsidedow What a great Kids' Pick day so far!Yeah....we were absolutely amazed to see a 70-minute wait. Definitely glad it was just a mistake :rolleyes1

Great updates! love the phone booth photos!!! too cute!
wow ya'll had a full and great last day!!! three parks! with two kids great job!!!
and you have to getting sooooo excited its just about time for the Adult only trip!!! :yay:
:wave2:Yes! So close....we'll be on a plane in less than 87 hours!!!

:wizard:

[crocko]

Day 9 (Kids' Choice Day)
Chapter 3 -- Take this Zurg!!


I left off our day 9 activities in which Bridgette and Joshua had just gone on Splash Mountain and I had managed to snap a picture of them on the way down the big drop.

During all of this, the 3 o’clock parade was passing through Frontierland not too far from my location. I was a little ways back and obviously had a bunch of people/heads in front of me. BUT…I had two things going for me.
1) I was standing on an elevated position
2) I had Bridgette’s camera with me which has 18x zoom

So, I also managed to snap a few character close-ups of the parade (while once again…Samantha was sleeping)




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Then they met me at my spot. Joshua really wanted to get to ride Splash Mountain again (first time through, the standby line was so short that they hadn’t even used the FP’s yet). I said I’d go with him this time, but he still wanted Mommy. So, they went to get in line again, while I headed off to get a slushie. Before making it to the slushie place, my phone rang – Joshua had changed his mind…he wanted to ride with me (Yay!)

So, we met back up and traded children….and Joshua had a good ol’ fun time riding Splash Mountain together (so yes…that makes 4 big Splash drops for Joshua on his first Disney vacation)

After that ride, we met up with the girls in Adventureland….where Samantha had awoken and slushies had been purchased. There was one ride the kids wanted to do in Adventureland that we hadn’t made it to yet:



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Aladdin’s Magic Carpets!!

Because of the drinks, I just stayed off and took pictures while Bridgette took them both on. The kids had fun on this and the lines were so small that they actually got to ride twice in a row.



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After a couple carpet rides, I took Joshua over to an area I was sure he would like


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Meanwhile, Samantha cooled off slushie-style….


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She finally decided to get a piece of the action, though…..


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To finish off our kids’ choice day, we then headed back over to the east side of the park


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Bridgette had been talking to our CM friend (the one we met up with on Day 3) and found out that she was coming to MK for a little bit. The kids wanted to ride Buzz Lightyear with her, so while waiting we walked over to the Tea Cups for another good spin.


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Now let me say something real quick. All-in-all, I handle weather good and I handle any type of ride well. But, this tea cup ride was probably the closest I’ve come to needing to puke during/after a ride. This was one of the warmer days of our trip and we had been outside a lot…..Plus, I was getting pretty hungry by this time and probably had not kept myself hydrated enough. So, add those elements with going spinning on the tea cups and things got a little bit wobbly inside for a couple minutes. Luckily, we got to just sit for a couple minutes while we waited for our CM friend and I felt all better.

Once she and another CM arrived, we chatted for a little while then headed over to Space Ranger Spin.
This would end up being our final Disney ride of the trip. And I would make sure to make it a good one!

Remember my score the last time? Somewhere in the vicinity of 60,000.

Well, I did a little bit better this time around….



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Hahahaha!!!! Over 600,000 And I’m not telling how I did it….that will remain my little Disney secret.

After Buzz….we leisurely strolled down Main Street to head out (no big rush….just enjoying the day). We saw plenty of people coming into the park who were coming for the MNSSHP party. I saw some really cute shirts and some pretty good costumes. There was a black man that had he not been black, I would have thought was the actual Jack Sparrow….he was spot on!

Back to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We dropped the kids off with my parents and Bridgette and I headed down to the Mara.



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This was a nice peaceful dinner by ourselves….it also had another motive, though. Number-crunching! Remember that innocent little DVC tour we went on to get $100 in Disney dollars. Well…all that tour really did was feed on the 8-year desire we’ve had to join DVC. I spent some time at dinner running over numbers and our financial situation to see what could work. We discussed several different things during dinner and finished the evening without having to a definite conclusion. There were lots of good thoughts on both side of the decision, so we decided to just sleep on it.

Back at the room, though, we could see that everyone was having a good time.



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Kids’ choice day had been a fabulous day! We hit 3 different parks and managed to do some of the kids’ favorite things at Disney World. Fun, fun, fun! Just one more half-day to go though (sad face)







Up next: A stressful afternoon on departure day……..

[jenny105]

Buzz Lightyear is so random. My first time around I didn't break 100k and then I magically got 700k. And Joe got 999,999 before we even got out of the first room on one ride through it. I'm convinced something was wrong with his gun because he never came close again!

[SoonerGirl]

Now let me say something real quick. All-in-all, I handle weather good and I handle any type of ride well. But, this tea cup ride was probably the closest I’ve come to needing to puke during/after a ride. This was one of the warmer days of our trip and we had been outside a lot…..Plus, I was getting pretty hungry by this time and probably had not kept myself hydrated enough. So, add those elements with going spinning on the tea cups and things got a little bit wobbly inside for a couple minutes. Luckily, we got to just sit for a couple minutes while we waited for our CM friend and I felt all better.

I'm afraid this is how I would feel EVERY time I rode the teacups. I did them once - never again! :sick: :laughing: I'm glad you sudden illness didn't last long!

I'm thinking that the maxed out credit card has something to do with that innocent little DVC tour.........

[chicagoshannon]

UGH you're not going to share your Buzz secret. :( pout.

What was your final DVC decision?

[mommyof2Pirates]

It sounds like you guys had a wonderful last full day there. Such a great idea to have a kids choice day. The two of you are such amazing parents and I can tell that just from reading your story. :lovestruc I cant wait to hear if you joined DVC or not. We are hoping sometime in our lifetime we can join but I know its not anywhere near in the future. (maybe by the time we have grandkids):laughing: I am anxious to hear about your departure.

[Charlefours]

Oh my goodness--the picture of the kids in the photobooth--how precious! It is so cute Samantha remembered the picture. You cover a lot of ground!!

DVC: its in the back of my mind that if we have such a great time we are thinking we are going to have than it might be wise to look in investing into DVC in a few years. It will have to wait until I am done with my PhD though.

[crocko]

Buzz Lightyear is so random. My first time around I didn't break 100k and then I magically got 700k. And Joe got 999,999 before we even got out of the first room on one ride through it. I'm convinced something was wrong with his gun because he never came close again!Yeah, it definitely has a more random feel to it....TSM is such an awesome upgrade.

I'm afraid this is how I would feel EVERY time I rode the teacups. I did them once - never again! :sick: :laughing: I'm glad you sudden illness didn't last long!

I'm thinking that the maxed out credit card has something to do with that innocent little DVC tour.........:rolleyes1

UGH you're not going to share your Buzz secret. :( pout.

What was your final DVC decision?Okay, I'll tell you my Buzz secret....(it really helps if the ride stops for a couple minutes a couple times....find a good target and just keep shooting....even if you think your hand will fall off)

Oh...and stay tuned.

It sounds like you guys had a wonderful last full day there. Such a great idea to have a kids choice day. The two of you are such amazing parents and I can tell that just from reading your story. :lovestruc I cant wait to hear if you joined DVC or not. We are hoping sometime in our lifetime we can join but I know its not anywhere near in the future. (maybe by the time we have grandkids):laughing: I am anxious to hear about your departure.Thanks so much for the kinds words!! And departure day is coming up! By the way....departure day is the shortest day in the world, I think.

Oh my goodness--the picture of the kids in the photobooth--how precious! It is so cute Samantha remembered the picture. You cover a lot of ground!!

DVC: its in the back of my mind that if we have such a great time we are thinking we are going to have than it might be wise to look in investing into DVC in a few years. It will have to wait until I am done with my PhD though.PhD....yuck! j/k I've considered PhD....I really like NOT being in school, though.

[crocko]

Day 10 (Departure Day)
Chapter 1 -- The Final Chapter




Day 10 – the final day of our trip. None of our flights were until 6pm, so we still had a good half-day left to enjoy Disney World. Originally, my plan was to try and get some more “theme-parking” in, but instead we decided to get around more casually and scheduled a late breakfast at ‘Ohana.

So, after waking up, we got everything tightly packed and our bags checked at bell services.
Then, off to wait for an MK bus. From there, monorail to the Polynesian.



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Got seated pretty well on time for breakfast. Here, instead of buffet-style, you are served breakfast family-style. They bring Mickey waffles around as needed…..the rest comes out on a big hot skillet (bacon, eggs, sausage, etc…) They also start you off with some yummy “Hawaiian bread”. The food here was very good. I prefer buffet-style because it gives you more options, but quality wise, ‘Ohana breakfast was definitely yummy.

Before any characters made it our way, a parade went through



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After the parade….time to finish eating and wait for our Disney friends….


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First up! Mickey the Mouse!


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Then, Stitch…who decided to have some fun with my dad (Nice Cubs cap there, Stitch!)


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Then, Miss Lilo came by….followed by our last friend of the trip…Pluto!


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Once Pluto was gone, time to go ahead and head on out of the restaurant. This is the point in which things started to get stressful.

Bridgette and I split ways with the kids and my family for a little bit. They went on out to the monorail so they could get over to MK and catch an AKL bus.

Meanwhile, Bridgette and I stuck around at Poly for a few minutes and found a special kiosk…..a DVC kiosk to be exact. Why?
Well, to check in as ready for a DVC van to come pick us up and take us over to Saratoga Springs.

We waited a few minutes and our DVC driver pulled up and took us over to SSR. While there, we were ushered into the big DVC portion of SSR and sat in a waiting room for a few minutes.

Here we were….about to buy into the Disney Vacation Club. A long-time dream! A lot of money, too! I was getting pretty sick to my stomach at this point from all the fretting, pondering, and calculating…..

We finally got settled into a room and the paperwork was started. Once the process actually started, I actually calmed down and the butterflies started to fly away. The stress didn’t go away completely, though, because we were on a tight schedule. We needed to be back to AKL by 2:15 and we didn’t get paperwork started until after 1pm. Ach!! It felt like we spent forever waiting in that little room for everything…..Finally, a nice young lady popped in with all of our final papers, homework, and goodies. Once all the lines had been signed, we were whisked out to get in another van waiting at the door for us….to take us back to AKL (our new home!!)

So, yep! We are now DVC members – with Animal Kingdom Lodge as our home resort!!!!
(This is the reason for the maxed CC line of this Trip Report). We used our Disney Visa on the trip for two main items – the Dining Plan bill and souvenirs…the money was sitting in our bank, but we didn’t want to bring that much cash with us. I knew we’d have enough CC room for those items. Well, the downpayment on DVC is another nice little chunk that we had to use the CC for…..and man oh man, did that expense bring us almost right up to our card limit. I had to make a quick payment as soon as we got home to give us some leeway before the statement actually came due. Whew!


Now, our ME bus was not scheduled to come until 3pm, but we wanted to get back early, because we had to stop at Boma to do some final spending. Spending of what? Dining credits!! We had about 7 snack credits left and 3 QS credits (I believe). They let us go 3-for-1 on the QS credits for snacks. We also had 3 child TS credits left….and the nice woman at the Mara also let us go 3-for-1 on the TS credits….So, we walked out of Boma with a good 25 or so snacks in our new big, DVC bag. Haha! (Good thing we became DVC members!!)

Back to Kidani…..made in time and the stress was finally receding. Got on to a more-than-packed ME bus and got back to the Orlando airport. While waiting for our plane everyone in the terminal got to listen in on some woman’s telephone conversation with her boyfriend about how she caught him cheating on her….how she called and some tramp woman answered the phone. The conversation went on and on in which she used inappropriate language at times and the content of the conversation was definitely inappropriate for an airport terminal. It finally got bad enough that I said something to her. She got huffy at me, but hung up soon after (luckily, she was not seated right next to me on the plane)

Finally…time to head home



http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/crocko33/10120.jpg


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Landed in Houston….where we had a pretty long layover, so we casually made our way to the other side of the airport to sit and wait….


http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/crocko33/10122.jpg



Got on a pretty small plane to head to OKC and a little after 10:30pm, made it home. All 4 of us slept at some point on the homeward flight. Got our luggage and then stood outside to wait for Bridgette’s sister to pick us up.


http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/crocko33/10123.jpg


http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/crocko33/10124.jpg



Last picture of the trip? A picture that will reminds us that even though THIS trip is over, there are PLENTY of more trips to come…


http://i696.photobucket.com/albums/vv330/crocko33/10125.jpg




And that’s it!! Vacation over!
Tomorrow, I’ll try to make a post in which I summarize the trip and some of my thoughts about things going on at Disney right now.

[SoonerGirl]

Ha! I knew it! Congrats on becoming DVC members, that's awesome!! :cool1:

Thanks so much for sharing your trip, I had a great time reading along with you. Are you going to write a TR for your adults only trip coming up?

[kate_wdw]

I'm sorry to see your trip report come to an end.

Congratulations on becoming DVC members!

[stacikristine]

Ah, what a great ending to "Kids' Choice Day"! I can't believe Joshua rode Splash 4 times! And that's so exciting that yall are thinking about buying DVC. It's really a great thing (so I hear ;) ) I'm anxious to hear if you decided to buy or not. Oh--and WOO-HOO on your Buzz score! :thumbsup2

[longing2Batdisney]

Congrats! on becoming a DVC member!!! :yay: how exciting!!AKL!!!!

[jenny105]

Congrats on becoming a DVC member! That's great! I hope to be one someday...;)

I'm sad reading about this trip is over but I can't wait to hear about the next one. And so soon! :)

[chicagoshannon]

Aw a DVC owner. So when's your next trip? :)

Can't wait for your final thoughts.

[Charlefours]

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Congrats on the DVC membership!!

I am looking forward to hearing your final thoughts. You are soon off again!! :)

[crocko]

Ha! I knew it! Congrats on becoming DVC members, that's awesome!! :cool1:

Thanks so much for sharing your trip, I had a great time reading along with you. Are you going to write a TR for your adults only trip coming up?Thanks!

And yes...I'm planning on putting together a TR for this weekend's trip. I'll just let the end of this TR be the "PTR" for it. Then, when I get back I'll start a new thread and provide the link here.

I'm sorry to see your trip report come to an end.

Congratulations on becoming DVC members!Gracias!

Ah, what a great ending to "Kids' Choice Day"! I can't believe Joshua rode Splash 4 times! And that's so exciting that yall are thinking about buying DVC. It's really a great thing (so I hear ;) ) I'm anxious to hear if you decided to buy or not. Oh--and WOO-HOO on your Buzz score! :thumbsup2We did! And it is exciting to KNOW that we'll be headed back to WDW often. Guess we just have to go back now...shucks!

Congrats! on becoming a DVC member!!! :yay: how exciting!!AKL!!!!AKL was nice....very nice environment over at Kidani.

Congrats on becoming a DVC member! That's great! I hope to be one someday...;)

I'm sad reading about this trip is over but I can't wait to hear about the next one. And so soon! :)Yep, it was a great trip....I like though this idea of going on a trip, putting together a report and then once you're done, go on another trip. :rotfl:

Aw a DVC owner. So when's your next trip? :)

Can't wait for your final thoughts.Next trip announcement will be made tomorrow!

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Congrats on the DVC membership!!

I am looking forward to hearing your final thoughts. You are soon off again!! :)Less than 39 hours!!!

[SoonerGirl]

And yes...I'm planning on putting together a TR for this weekend's trip. I'll just let the end of this TR be the "PTR" for it. Then, when I get back I'll start a new thread and provide the link here.


Looking forward to it! I need some more TRs to get me through the days until our trip - 37 days and counting!!! :woohoo:

[crocko]

Okay, let's see if I can remember all the summary points I wanted to make about this trip.

Disney Dining Plan
Doing the DDP ended up being almost a last-minute decision. We had enough TS meals already booked that it finally made sense to me. QS wouldn't work because we like doing a few TS each time (especially character breakfasts) and the Deluxe is just too much food...plus it cost twice as much!

We really enjoyed the DDP, though. We were able to eat whatever we wanted at TS meals without feeling guilty about cost, plus it allowed us to be a little more adventurous in what we might choose to eat. Also, the snack credits worked out nice. Water bottles were the only thing we paid out of pocket for. Otherwise, if getting a snack or slushy we used credits. For a 9-night trip, we only ended with 7 snacks leftover and it was fun to be able to bring some items back home with us....let the magic live on a little longer. Most likely, we will continue to use the DDP going forward (as long as prices don't get out-of-hand).


Cast Members and Cleanliness
Before the trip, I had read some posts discussing how cleanliness at the parks had gone way down and that CM attitudes had diminished. Well, this was not our experience. In general, most CM's seemed very pleasant and there were plenty of instances of CM's going out of the way to do something special (i.e. a World of Disney CM who played with a sleepy Joshua for several minutes...hid a toy in the boys' section that he had to go find...once he found it, she gave him a cool certificate; very nice waitresses at Norway breakfast and at Crystal Palace breakfast). The only instance that we were unpleased with service was at our Mexico lunch (previously mentioned).

And cleanliness, the park seemed very clean to me...very normal Disney cleanliness in which for the most part, you never really noticed anything unclean. There were even some cool ground-washers (correct term?) out at the parks a couple times who had used their mops to "draw" characters on the ground with water.


Photopass
Another area I was concerned about based on posts I had been reading. I had seen comments about there not being enough PP spots around the parks...photographers aren't very good...not enough pictures.
After the first 2 days, we were concerned. But from day 3 on, things picked up. On a 10-day trip like we were on, Photopass ended up being a GREAT deal. We ended up with over 300 PP pictures that I ended up turning into over 1,100 pictures after going enchancement crazy. Some of the pictures turned out amazing as well. As for poor quality of picture...I disagree. If there is too much ceiling or floor in your picutre, then CROP it! Turns out great if you do so. Plus, on a few pictures I cropped by zooming in really tight. I was worried that the quality might be fuzzy, but once we got the CD's, those ultra-cropped pictures still looked really good.

We probably won't do Photopass on this 3-night trip, but for a good sized trip, I think it is a great buy, especially if you are doing a lot of character greets.

Plus, we had the really cool Photopass guy who was not busy and just decided to follow Samantha and Joshua around while they played at the Epcot splash area...that was awesome!


Animal Kingdom Lodge
I'll start with the cons...

Cons:
Distance to....well, anything
Any time you took a bus somewhere you could expect a 10-minute trip. Anywhere from 20-30 minutes when going to the Magic Kingdom. Not a huge deal, but time is FUN! when you're at Disney World.

Room location (possibly) As I mentioned earlier, if you are staying at Kidani, you could possibly get a room with a very long walk. If that's something you can't stand, then be aware when making a reservation (might be able to request a room closer to the lobby)

Food court location -- If you are at Kidani, just be aware that you have to walk/bus over to Jambo House to get to the AKL's food court.

New Pembe savannah -- Also be aware when at Kidani, that there is the main savannah in the middle of the resort and the new Pembe savannah on the outskirts. You could possibly pay for a savannah room and get Pembe. If so, from your balcony, realize that you will probably not see giraffes or zebras. You will still see lots of cool animals, but not the ones you may have been planning on. All those animals, though, can of course be seen while walking through the halls or hanging out near the lobby.

Pros:
Atmosphere -- Especially at Kidani. I found that Jambo House could be a pretty loud environment, but Kidani Village is so peaceful. Never had any noise problems...and the lobby area is so tranquil. Doesn't seem like it would be a big deal, but after spending your day with two rugrats and hanging out at packed parks...it is so refreshing to come back to Kidani and things be much more quiet and peaceful.

Play -- So much fun stuff to do here. The pool/splash pad/playground area is a lot of fun. Plus, they have games and camps that seem to be going on all the time. The Community Hall also had tons of great activities. Craft activities, TV/DVD, board games, pool, foosball, computers, Wii...

Animals -- Come on...it's cool to be so close to beautiful African animals...from okapi's to deer to zebras to giraffes. So close and so fun to watch.

Restaurants -- You are very close to several restaurants. First off, the Mara (the QS restaurant) is very good as far as QS goes. Normal fare, plus some slightly more African fare as well. On top of that, 3 TS restaurants on location. Sanaa (at Kidani), Jiko, and Boma (which Bridgette raved about!)

Rooms/decorations -- The rooms were very nice (and yes...a 2 bedroom or 1 bedroom can spoil you!). Great decorations in the rooms and plenty of great decorations throughout Kidani and Jambo.


Meals
Overrated:
Pinocchio's. I miss the hot dogs here. The pizza was just not quite right and the dessert options are minimal...including a horrible chocolate cake.

Play'n'Dine. Characters are fun, but the food was the most boring of all the breakfast buffets.

San Angel Inn. The food wasn't bad, but the darkness was a bit much while trying to eat food and the service was unexceptional.

Great Grabs:
Akershus! Best breakfast ever!! Not only do you get to see 4 or 5 princesses during your meal, but the food was outstanding. The price is also a bargain considering the fact that your picture is included.

Boma. According to Bridgette, this dinner buffet was outstanding...I think she occasionally dreams of that food.

Pizza Planet. Now here's where you get yummy pizza plus, you can get Mickey-shaped Rice Krispy treats as your dessert. :thumbsup2

Wolfgang Puck Express. Wow, what a deal for a QS credit. Easily spend $15-$20 here on one credit. The food is VERY good, plus you can get a creme brulee as your dessert. (WPE...we have a date with you this Sunday)






I'll leave my summary at that for now...if I remember something later, I'll try to add some more thoughts tomorrow. Plus...I'm still planning on getting some of our Photopass pictures added to this TR as well (just may have to happen after this next trip)


Thanks for following along everybody!!

[chicagoshannon]

I've really enjoyed reading about your trip. I hope you add your weekend away to this TR too! :)

[mommyof2Pirates]

I loved reading your trip report. You did such a great job telling us all about your trip. Congrats on becoming DVC members and have a wonderful time on your upcoming trip with your wife.

[jenny105]

So sad the TR is over. I really looked forward to reading about your trip. Can't wait to hear all about the next one! Have fun! :)

[stacikristine]

Oops--I didn't keep reading after I replied the last time. I could have seen for myself that you are now DVC owners!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! :thumbsup2 That is so exciting. I know your family will love going back so often. And woo-hoo for buying at AKL! SUCH a great resort! Thanks for the summaries--very good info! :goodvibes

[longing2Batdisney]

Great closing summary! have a great adult visit to WDW this week!!!
can't wait to hear all about it and to see your PP pixs!! when you get back!!
:mickeyjum

[jordanyosh]

Too bad it's all over.

Congrats on DVC!!!

Also thanks again for your feedback about kidani since I'm staying there in Feb.

[MagicShell]

Thanks for sharing your trip. I really enjoyed reading all about it. Congratulations on your DVC purchase.

[aaaateamsgrandma]

Loved the report. Your children are just as cute as can be and I'm glad you had such a good time. Anxious to hear about you short trip. Congrats on the DVC. That is totally awesome. With the ages of your children you will get a lot of use from it. What a fun way to be guaranteed good vacays.

Ginny

[crocko]

Looking forward to it! I need some more TRs to get me through the days until our trip - 37 days and counting!!! :woohoo:Getting very close!!

I've really enjoyed reading about your trip. I hope you add your weekend away to this TR too! :)Thanks!

I loved reading your trip report. You did such a great job telling us all about your trip. Congrats on becoming DVC members and have a wonderful time on your upcoming trip with your wife.Muchas gracias.

So sad the TR is over. I really looked forward to reading about your trip. Can't wait to hear all about the next one! Have fun! :):3dglasses

Oops--I didn't keep reading after I replied the last time. I could have seen for myself that you are now DVC owners!! CONGRATULATIONS!!! :thumbsup2 That is so exciting. I know your family will love going back so often. And woo-hoo for buying at AKL! SUCH a great resort! Thanks for the summaries--very good info! :goodvibesYep...knowing we'll be going back often is exciting!

Great closing summary! have a great adult visit to WDW this week!!!
can't wait to hear all about it and to see your PP pixs!! when you get back!!
:mickeyjumComing soon (hopefully)

Too bad it's all over.

Congrats on DVC!!!

Also thanks again for your feedback about kidani since I'm staying there in Feb.No prob!

Thanks for sharing your trip. I really enjoyed reading all about it. Congratulations on your DVC purchase.Thanks!

Loved the report. Your children are just as cute as can be and I'm glad you had such a good time. Anxious to hear about you short trip. Congrats on the DVC. That is totally awesome. With the ages of your children you will get a lot of use from it. What a fun way to be guaranteed good vacays.

GinnyYep...we're excited!

[crocko]

Well, we're back!

Actually, flew back in to OKC Tuesday night....been busy ever since, though...finally catching a breather to post on here.

We had an absolutely WONDERFUL trip with some interesting things to report and some very exciting adventures to share as well!

This weekend, hopefully I can get pictures downloaded and sorted.



Some sneak peeks:
- Though not officially open, Space Mountain was in testing phase while we were there...
- Tiana's Showboat Jubilee...
- A new much-loved "attraction"...
- Toy Story Mania...how busy? how many times? how'd we do???
- report on Old Key West...
- Le Cellier and Kona reports...
- and 400 feet in the air...

[longing2Batdisney]

Welcome Home! so, just curious how the surprise went over with Bridgett...or did you tell her before you left :rolleyes1

take your time; but, can't wait to hear all about it popcorn::

[jenny105]

Ooh, sounds interesting! Can't wait to hear about your trip. welcome home!

[mommyof2Pirates]

so excited to hear all about your trip.

[Charlefours]

Great wrap up of your previous trip! Such tiny morsels to keep us in suspense. I am looking forward to hearing about your latest adventure. :goodvibes

[stacikristine]

Welcome back! I can't wait to read about your trip!! It sounds fantastic! :thumbsup2

[Lynn5700]

Figures I get here when it's all OVER, lol!!!! I really enjoyed reading it. Sorry it took me so long to get here. I just spent a god amount of time reading. I just have to tell you that your kids are adorable!! I loved seeing their happy faces in all your pictures. I could feel the joy in them, so cute.

I love how excited your daughter was when she put on her Ariel costume, aww!! And the pic with her and Ariel is adorable!

Glad your son was picked to do the Jedi training!!! I bet he was thrilled!!!

Thank you for sharing your trip! I look forward to your next!

[Charlefours]

Happy Holidays! I hope you have had a lovely season thus far. :goodvibes